At the edge of a precipice, looking up at the sky, the Orc Shaman Sherdic stroked his chin. The mysterious stones in his hand clattered against one another, emitting a rhythmic clicking sound.
“Warriors.”
“Yes! Speak, Shaman!”
“Steel is calling to us, puh-hel-hel.”
Sherdic tossed the stones in his hand down the cliffside.
“It seems our friend is in trouble. A quite terrifying sort of trouble. I ask you, warriors: who among you will go out into the world to aid our friend?”
At Sherdic’s words, every single Orc gathered there raised a massive hand without exception. It was as if they had rehearsed the moment. The Orcs bellowed in unison.
“Orcs! Do not! Fear! The struggle!”
“Whether the foe! Is a Dragon! Ruling the Sky Mountains!”
“Whether the foe! Is a Dragon King! Dominating the vast seas!”
“Whether the foe! Is an Emperor! Of a renowned Empire!”
“Orcs! Do not! Retreat—!”
The roar was thunderous.
Listening to the shout, the Orc Shaman Sherdic let out a “puh-hel-hel” laugh.
Amidst the hearty laughter, an Orc with an exceptionally large build stepped forward from the crowd. Standing over three meters tall, she was more powerful, more majestic, and possessed the aura of a hardened general more than any other elite warrior. As she moved, the surrounding Orcs began to stir.
“To think Sherizik would step forward for this.”
“Even the way she walks with such dignity is beautiful.”
“Look at those traps. How can they be so perfectly sculpted?”
“Even the Goddess of Beauty would be jealous!”
It was a beauty that no male Orc could help but fall for at first sight. To Orcs, who equated strength with charm, the female Orc Sherizik was a peerless beauty that appeared only once in a thousand years. As Sherizik walked forward, the Orc Elder Sherdic cleared his throat.
“Sherizik! My daughter, do you intend to go as well?”
“Yes, I wish to go.”
Even beautiful silk robes could not conceal the sheer mass of Sherizik’s muscles.
“You told me, Father, that he is a warrior-like human you have your eye on as a potential husband for me. But Father, aren’t you just a shaman? I cannot trust your eyes alone. Therefore, I shall go and judge for myself whether he is a man worthy of being my husband.”
The daughter of the Orc Shaman Sherdic.
Sherizik’s manner of speech was refined, unlike a typical Orc, and lacked even a hint of a snort. She was truly the female Orc loved by all.
“As expected! Wise! My daughter!”
“I know.”
As the Orcs said: a beauty that appeared once in a thousand years.
To put it another way:
“I hope he is up to my standards.”
A once-in-a-millennium…
…true warrior born with the talent of a God of War.
“I have never once been satisfied on this mountain.”
The 「Green War God」.
The Orc Great Warrior, Sherizik, descended from the mountain.
*
The old guards protecting the entrance to a backwater village in the Verdi region stood their watch trembling in fear. There was only one reason: the barracks lined up at the village entrance. Those tents housed numerous knights, mages, and even the second son of a Great Family.
“Ugh.”
News travels fast in a backwater village. The old guards knew that two of their colleagues had been brutally murdered not long ago. They knew that one of the two had been slapped repeatedly until the moment he died. These old guards were not mythical heroes. They were just rural residents who, until last year, would have bolted at the mere sight of a wild boar.
They had only applied because the village was looking for able bodies regardless of experience. They were old enough not to fear death, the work wasn’t difficult, and they could provide for their families. To be honest, they wanted to run away. But for guards as old as they were, there was nowhere to go.
They had lived on this land their entire lives.
They didn’t even know how to write properly.
They couldn’t read difficult words.
The old guards knew nothing of the Sword.
What they knew was how to farm or how to raise calves and piglets. All they had learned was how to spread fertilizer and tell nonsensical, entertaining old stories to their grandchildren. That was why one of the old guards on watch eventually sat down and began to sob.
“Why—why are you crying? You old fool.”
“I’m scared, so scared. Aren’t you scared?”
“……”
“I thought I wasn’t afraid of death because I’ve aged as much as one can. But now that it’s actually right in front of me, I’m terrified. If those Lord Knights over there so much as kick me once, I’ll die. Even if they grab me by the hair and slap me all day long, I can’t even resist. I can feel that. That’s why I’m so scared.”
The other guard couldn’t bring himself to scold his crying friend.
“My situation is so pathetic, not even being able to run away. I’ve lived here my whole life; I can’t even think of where to flee. Our village was constantly raided by wild beasts, so we moved here to what they said was a decent neighboring village. That’s why I started this guard job. But now, Lord Knights who are far scarier than wild beasts are threatening me.”
“……Hey, friend.”
“I’m not the only one who doesn’t know how to run. My wife, who has lived her whole life trusting only me, my sons and daughters, and my cute grandchildren—none of them know how to leave this land. Even so, I told them to leave. But my son, my daughter, and my grandchildren who have only just started walking said this: ‘We can’t leave Father behind. We can’t leave Grandfather behind. Let’s live together. Or rather, let’s die together.’”
“…….”
“They were grateful words, but it’s so miserable. I wonder what my life was for. The Gods said that if you are loyal to your family and live without committing sins, a happy life will unfold. I lived like that. I lived honorably. But why is the world doing this to us?”
Tears dripped from the eyes of the slumped guard.
“It’s not like I asked for much. Waking up in the morning to eat a piece of bread, gathering with the whole family in the evening to laugh and chatter over silly jokes, and occasionally singing and dancing until the village shook when a festival was held… that, that was everything.”
The guard muttered as he wiped his flowing tears.
In the midst of this, the other guard standing next to him tapped his shoulder.
“St-stop. Stop it now.”
“Just what sin did I commit? Why does Heaven give us such trials? Is even a tiny bit of peace not allowed…?”
“G-get up. Quickly, friend. The Lord has arrived.”
Hearing the urgent words, the guard slowly raised his head. Through his blurred, tear-filled vision, the young lord was indeed standing before him. Though he had a prominent, masculine build, the young lord’s face still retained the traces of a boy. Seeing the lord, the guard scrambled to his feet. The young lord did not ask about his fault.
Instead.
“My father once said something like this.”
“L-Lord. I’m sorry….”
“’I shall step forward myself to set right this world, which is full of sin and turning the wrong way. I am a great knight who has inherited the blood of Caravan. I shall judge you; I am the great knight who hunted the Evil Dragon and the iron-blooded protector who guards the kingdom. I am the righteous watcher who has inherited the blood of Caravan’—he said such grand things that sounded like they came straight out of a chivalric novel.”
“……Pardon?”
“My father suffered from madness. He became a madman who identified himself with the protagonist of a novel, unable to distinguish between fiction and reality. It was as if his head had gone empty; he let go of his sanity and began to say things that were utterly bizarre.”
The young lord spoke words that made no sense to the guard.
The lord gave a thin smile as he looked at the dazed man.
“However, I believe some of my father’s words were true. My father was not a great knight who hunted an Evil Dragon, nor was he an iron-blooded protector of the kingdom, nor a righteous watcher.”
“…….”
“But I do believe that this world is indeed turning the wrong way.”
The young lord slowly drew his Sword.
“And I believe that someone must step forward to set right this world, which is full of sin and turning the wrong way.”
The lord said no more.
Ending his meaningful words, the young lord, Arhan, headed toward the barracks where numerous knights were staying. The young lord’s footsteps were dignified and light. The old guards did not dare to stop him. They could only watch, unable to take their eyes off his receding figure.
The eyes of one of the two old guards were sparkling. Having lived a long life with no hobby other than reading books to his grandson, the guard had read many books for someone who had lived in the countryside his whole life. That was why the old guard recognized the words the young lord had just recited. It was a line from a certain chivalric novel: The Knight of La Mancha.
It was the old guard’s favorite novel.
In the guard’s eyes, the back of the young lord walking toward the barracks looked just like a certain old knight from The Knight of La Mancha . Like La Mancha charging toward the windmills.
*
I entered the barracks.
Inside, numerous knights were gathered in groups, chatting. Some were playing cards, some were arm wrestling, and some were drinking wine. The moment I entered, every knight there stopped what they were doing and drew their swords. Every knight here was a 「Sword Runner」.
“You came here? Are you insane?”
“No.”
“Then, did you come to surrender?”
“Not that either.”
“Then what?”
No one launched a surprise attack immediately. They just watched me, holding their swords steady.
I didn’t look at them. Instead, I looked at a certain man lying on a bed in the distance. A man swallowing a grape with a bored expression. Glaring at the man draped in five-colored silk robes, I spoke.
“Edan Rhapsody.”
“Why do you call me?”
“I challenge you to a duel.”
At my words, Edan Rhapsody let out a snicker, which soon erupted into a loud, boisterous laugh. He, who had been yawning continuously and wearing an indifferent expression, was showing intense emotion for the first time. After laughing for a long while, Edan Rhapsody looked at me, his lips still curled upward.
“What an interesting fellow. Fine, I’ll indulge you as much as you want. Shall I set some constraints? I could stay rooted to the spot, use only one hand? Or I could even do it with a blindfold over my eyes.”
After hearing his words, I replied.
“I don’t care what kind of duel it is. It’s fine even without constraints.”
A swordsman evaluated as the successor to a Swordmaster. A powerful figure expected to lead one of the Great Five Families. A duel without constraints against such a person was no different from a suicidal act.
But I had no intention of dying.
“However, I have one condition.”
After agonizing over it with everything I had, this was the only lifeline I had come up with.
“Bring your young master—the one who lied and said I defamed his honor. I will say it again: I have never defamed your young master’s honor.”
One cannot spread their wings just by shutting oneself away and training for ten days. Furthermore, even if I were to spread my wings, there would be no chance of victory if their legion arrived ten days later. If that was the case, I thought the right answer was not to agonize and suffer, but to go out and fight.
“I will say it again. I have never brutally murdered your loyal family members. I have never committed a sin for which I must take responsibility.”
Clashing swords is not the only form of combat. Every conflict in the world is a battle.
“So, bring the Rhapsody young master before me.”
This, too, was a battle.
“And tell him to look me straight in the eye and say it again. Do you understand?”
Having heard everything I had to say, the second son of Rhapsody slowly stood up. He was no longer lying down like an idler. He was no longer yawning.
“Paltry fighter, are you finished with your message?”
“Yes.”
“Understood. Ten days from now, when our army arrives, Toma will come with them.”
At Edan Rhapsody’s words, one of the knights shouted.
“Young Master! What do you mean by—”
“Instead.”
The knight’s words were cut short. A calm but overwhelming voice dominated the inside of the barracks.
“You will not die a peaceful death, paltry fighter.”
A terrifying voice. It was a statement like a death sentence.
After hearing those words, I didn’t even reply; I immediately turned my back and walked out of the barracks. As stinging gazes followed me, Liam spoke.
「It really happened just as you said.」
I nodded at my master’s words. Then I replied.
“Now, all we have to do is wait.”
Ten days from now.
Everything will be overturned.
