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131
On the way back to the mercenary guild, Arpel glanced repeatedly at the silent Rohan.
They had left immediately after entrusting the scene cleanup. Having found no useful clues, the only hope they could cling to now was Casia’s testimony. The problem was that she hadn’t regained consciousness…
Rohan suggested stopping by the mercenary guild while waiting for her to wake up. It wasn’t a bad choice, as they had much to ask and share about the other executive they had encountered. Hopefully, Casia would be awake when they went to the temple after finishing their business.
Things seemed to be proceeding without issue, but that wasn’t the case. From the moment they started walking, Rohan had tightly sealed his lips.
“……”
A heavy silence settled between them. Is he in a bad mood? Why did it turn bad? Arpel tried to retrace his memories. The first thing that came to mind was Leriana’s absence. Thinking about it, he could understand Rohan’s suddenly gloomy reaction.
Leriana was Rohan’s best friend. It was natural for Rohan to be upset if something had happened to her. Having easily understood his reaction, Arpel chose to quietly hold his hand rather than offering various words of comfort. Hoping that his touch would provide support for Rohan.
As he naturally took his hand and interlocked their fingers, Rohan’s body seemed to tremble slightly, unlike usual, but Arpel dismissed it. Thinking that he must be really struggling.
“Lord Rohan, Lord Arpel!”
After a short while, as they arrived in front of the mercenary guild, Dein was the first to greet them as they opened the door and entered. He had dark circles under his eyes, likely from worrying endlessly while keeping watch.
“I’m so glad you’re safe!”
“…Yes, you too, Dein.”
Rohan answered while eyeing Dein warily. He had worried that something might have gone wrong on the way since there was no news after Dein left to request help from the temple, but it was needless concern. Though he looked more fatigued, there seemed to be no physical problems.
Thank goodness, I was worried because I kept hearing loud noises, are you really not hurt anywhere, please tell me if you’re not feeling well… As Dein endlessly poured out his concerns, Arpel looked at him anew.
Even while grudgingly continuing to speak, Dein led them to a spacious sofa. It was an attitude that seemed to sense the conversation would be long.
“You have questions for me, don’t you?”
Dein, who had been keenly observing their expressions all along, asked with a solemn look. He was right. There was much they wanted to ask and confirm. But… Arpel, who had been silently staring at Rohan sitting beside him, spoke first.
“Did you deliver our message to the temple as we asked?”
“Huh…? Yes, I delivered… Don’t tell me no one was dispatched?”
He was momentarily taken aback that Arpel, not Rohan who had been handling communication with others, initiated the conversation. Dein’s expression crumpled mercilessly as he immediately understood the meaning behind Arpel’s question. It was an expression that even seemed to contain a sense of betrayal.
“…Although I didn’t visit personally as I was interrogating criminals, I sent a trustworthy person to the temple. I’m certain the message was delivered.”
Damn, what could they be thinking? His voice was filled with irritation as he added this mutter.
Arpel, who had been silently observing this, tilted his head.
“It seems you’re not on good terms.”
This was the same question he had asked Nephia earlier. She had answered affirmatively to this question. It seemed best to find out the reason here, if possible.
“Sigh… To be honest, I don’t know much. I haven’t been in this village long. But even in the short time I’ve been here, I could tell the atmosphere was strange. Most people… seemed to avoid the temple. Especially the mercenaries who had lived in this village for a long time.”
Dein’s explanation went like this:
There was no special reason or cause for the relationship between the temple and the mercenary guild in this village to sour. Unfriendly attitudes, disrespectful tones, repeated slander… These things piled up, and before they knew it, the relationship between the two groups had completely deteriorated.
“This is all I’ve heard… but I never thought they would ignore even a request for help, no matter how bad their relationship was. You two could have been in danger! No, I should go and complain right now…”
“It’s alright.”
Arpel simply cut off the frantically continuing voice. Dein did stop fidgeting, but he still seemed to have many lingering thoughts. It looked like he would rush out even now if given permission.
Of course, Arpel cleanly cut off any concern about whether Dein harbored lingering thoughts or felt wronged. Right now, his mind was filled with something else.
The discord between the temple and the mercenary guild had deepened slowly over a long time. No one knows the trigger, and all that remains are rumors like urban legends. Even just hearing this brief story made him feel uneasy.
“Hah, and now they pretend to step in.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Ah, someone from the temple came by a few hours ago.”
What broke the flow of thoughts that had been continuing was Dein’s mumbling, almost like talking to himself. It seemed there was a reason not to just pass over it, and Arpel didn’t miss this. His judgment was correct. A new story about the temple flowed from Dein’s mouth.
“About the loud noise heard from the forest north of the village. I was about to check if something had happened when I heard it… Ah, you two came from there, right? Did anything happen? Were you hurt- Oh, yes. I’ll continue.”
He quickly agreed with a wave of the hand indicating it was fine, and continued.
“Anyway, the priest who came from the temple said they had already dispatched priests to the forest, so we shouldn’t worry. They said it would be safer for us to guard the village in case of any possible attack by malicious elements… Something like that. It made sense, so I instructed the mercenaries to stand by in the village as well. So I thought they at least cooperated for official matters.”
Haa. Finally, a deep sigh burst out. He added a lament that this kind of power struggle wasn’t to his taste.
“Do you know the name of that priest?”
“Ah, yes. I remember that clearly.”
The name… was it Nephia?
Arpel, who had asked the name just in case, stiffened at the unexpected answer. He silently sent a gaze to Dein to examine him, but he was nodding his head vigorously as if certain. Given how confident he seemed, he probably hadn’t confused the name.
It became even more certain after hearing a general description through several questions. The ‘Nephia’ Dein was talking about was indeed that priest they had encountered in the forest.
“Um… Is something wrong? Is there a problem with that person named Nephia…”
Seeing the unusual reactions of the two, Dein cautiously asked about Nephia. Unfortunately, no one answered his question. Rohan seemed deep in thought, and Arpel was busy organizing the thoughts piecing together in his mind.
By this point, what he had been worried about became certain. The story from the past, the lack of communication, the mismatched whereabouts… All of these pointed to one thing. ‘It’ was here.
He turned his gaze to Dein, who had closed his mouth tightly after reading the atmosphere. Now that he was certain of ‘its’ existence, he needed to warn him too. But before that, there was something he had to do.
“Dein.”
Arpel called his name in a low voice. Perhaps due to the unusual undercurrent in that voice, Dein’s body flinched just from being called.
“Let’s spar.”
“…Pardon?”
“Right now.”
“……Pardon?”
It was a proposal that was not only sudden but also impossible to guess the reason for. He handed a wooden sword to Dein, who was just blinking blankly. Arpel had already risen from his seat and prepared for the spar.
Then, he stared at Dein, who was still sitting. His gaze was full of questions as to why he wasn’t standing up.
Creak, Dein’s head slowly turned towards Rohan. His fervent gaze seemed to plead ‘save me’, but it didn’t reach him. With no response and not even an attempt to make eye contact, he had no choice but to stand up reluctantly.
“Did… did I do something wrong?”
His hand holding the wooden sword trembled, and his cautious voice shook greatly. It was such a pitiful voice that a third party might have wondered if he was crying.
But who was his opponent? It was Arpel, who wouldn’t bat an eye even if someone cried and writhed before him, unless it was Rohan. Ignoring Dein’s quite pitiful appearance, he tightened his grip on the wooden sword.
“No.”
There’s something I want to check.
He wanted to ask what that ‘something to check’ was… but Dein laughed dejectedly. Still, just hearing the confirmation that it wasn’t a rebuke for wrongdoing allowed him to feel somewhat relieved. At least he wouldn’t die during the spar.
Rohan remained quietly in his seat, as if indicating he wouldn’t intervene. Does he also know Lord Arpel’s intention? Curiosity suddenly arose, but it was a question that wouldn’t be answered now that the spar had begun. Dein calmly began to analyze his opponent.
…At first glance, he seemed full of openings, but upon closer inspection, his posture was so perfect that no gaps could be found. However, that didn’t mean there was no way at all. Since they were facing each other with swords under the name of a spar, his opponent would likely match his skill level.
Dein lightly gripped his sword and put strength into his toes. In a split second, his body shot forward like an arrow. The tip of the sword, starting from his waist as if drawing it, pointed precisely at Arpel.
In times like this, the first strike is the answer.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
