I hadn’t fully understood the implications of my final request: the “Flag.” Recalling what the apprentice knight had told me, the explanation went something like this:
“You may request that a tarnished honor be raised and made to shine once more. We call this the ‘Flag’…”
Listening to the apprentice knight’s formal explanation, I had answered without hesitation.
“Then I’ll go with that.”
Looking back, the apprentice knight seemed quite flustered by my answer. It was a natural reaction, considering how valuable my first and second requests could have been.
Meken was the Vice-Captain of a knight order and a “Sword Runner,” so he surely possessed great wealth. Furthermore, having such a powerhouse as a slave to do my bidding would have been of immense value. However, those things could not resolve my fundamental discomfort.
I only wanted Petel’s soul to be honored, even if just a little.
So, I cast aside greed and requested the Flag.
Well.
「That knight would be pleased to see this sight.」
I hadn’t expected it to become such a grand affair, though.
“I’ve never seen anything like this.”
I was overwhelmed by the scene before my eyes.
The hour had grown late, and a pitch-black night sky stretched out above, but it was filled with various mystical flames conjured by the wizards who had come from afar.
It was the first time in my life I had ever seen a wizard. It was enchanting to watch them handle flames like clay, shaping them beautifully and gathering them in the sky.
It looked like fire spirits dancing, or perhaps a captivating illusion from a legend. Amidst the bursting of beautiful flames, valiant songs and the beating of drums echoed.
In the center of the village, a festival was being held solely to mourn Petel’s death. There were no villagers to enjoy the festival; in this lonely, backwater village, a ritual was being conducted to honor the soul of a single man.
「It is proof that the knight lived a proper life. It is proof that there is at least one person who wishes to remember him even after he has left this world. Whether the scale is grand or humble is not what matters. Being remembered by someone is the most important thing for the deceased.」
For some reason, Liam was watching the flames with lonely eyes.
「You can see it by looking at me and my family—we who were greater than anyone else, yet are now remembered by no one. My young descendant.」
The knights mounted on horseback raised their swords in salute. At the entrance of the village, a massive stone monument engraved with Petel’s name had been erected. All of this had been accomplished within a single day.
It was the result of the painstaking efforts of numerous knights and wizards.
Gazing at this scene that bordered on the mystical, I muttered absentmindedly.
“Master.”
「Yes.」
“What happens to people when they die?”
What becomes of a person after death?
It was a subject handled differently by the many religions of the continent, and one of the questions the living were most curious about. I had posed a rather philosophical question.
Liam’s answer did not come immediately.
So, I asked again, differently this time.
“…Will Petel be able to see this sight?”
Liam remained silent.
He floated there like a specter for a long time before finally answering.
「Only the Sword knows all.」
As always, Liam spoke in riddles, much like the witches of the Sky Empire. Yet, his words left a deep, lingering resonance.
All Petel had left behind was “Twilight,” a sword as straight and upright as he had been in life. That blade held the traces of the path he had walked.
I thought that perhaps his answer was a wise one to a foolish question.
While I was lost in philosophical thought, watching the ritual honoring Petel’s soul, a woman approached me. It was certainly a face I was seeing for the first time, but strangely, she didn’t feel like a stranger.
When she drew very close, I realized why.
“…So you are the child who became my Petel’s Proxy Warrior and protected his honor.”
I had never met her in person. But I knew of her. I had seen her countless times in the memories contained within the sword, and I had felt her numerous emotions like waves.
I stood dazed for a moment before her name escaped my lips.
“Daisy.”
Petel’s former master.
The woman he had thought of even at the edge of his life, gazing at Twilight when his world had utterly collapsed. Daisy was there—no longer a girl, but a proper woman.
* * *
“My Petel’s honor will be restored. The bards of the Iron Kingdom will sing the song of ‘Loyal Petel’ until people are sick of it, and the knights of every academy my husband sponsors will hear the name ‘Petel.’ I will mobilize every means at my disposal to decorate Petel’s death magnificently.”
Amidst the biting night wind, Daisy spoke of what she could do. She had become a far more formidable woman than the one Petel had known.
The “White” family was a great family, famous enough that even I, tucked away in a remote corner of the world, knew of them. Daisy was the legal wife of the current head of the White family.
I didn’t know what circumstances had led to this.
But whether Daisy had become a great woman or not changed nothing. As I listened to her lengthy explanation, I felt her voice growing increasingly sorrowful for some reason.
So, I spoke up, tossing the words out.
“Even if you don’t do all that, Sir Petel will remember you.”
“….”
“Honoring his soul is enough. Sir Petel will be satisfied with that.”
Hearing my words, Daisy stopped her relentless stream of speech.
Then she said, “…He was not a man who should have gone like that.”
“….”
“My Petel was more loyal and wonderful than anyone. If not for him, I wouldn’t be alive today.”
Daisy gave a thin smile.
In contrast to her smiling lips, her eyes were brimming with moisture.
“The life my Petel showed me was light. The hope that if one stands firm and endures against the world until the end, a happy day will eventually come. Petel was the proof of my life, and my eternal companion.”
A single hot tear rolled down Daisy’s cheek.
In that moment, the new background Daisy had acquired became entirely unimportant.
Whether she was a girl, the successor of a fallen noble family, a powerhouse of the Iron Kingdom who had become the wife of the White family, or a lingering former master who couldn’t forget her past knight.
In this moment, Daisy existed simply as Daisy.
“You are a good person, child. Thanks to you, Petel’s end must not have been lonely. I am so grateful for that. Unbearably grateful.”
Daisy wiped away the tear on her cheek. She sobbed for a moment longer, and I waited patiently until she could compose her emotions.
“Wait a moment.”
Saying so, Daisy approached the grave of Petel that Seol-yoon and I had prepared. She then pressed a kiss against Petel’s dust-covered tombstone. A red lip mark appeared on the upper part of the grave, and Daisy smiled with a complex, subtle expression.
Then, she folded her hands and offered a prayer in the way Petel always had. It was the way of the Markia Order, carrying the wish for him to go to the peaceful heavens.
Daisy stayed like that for a while before turning around and approaching me.
She reached into her robe and pulled out a pure white medal. It was different from the medals used to verify identity in the “Arena.” Handing me the medal, which made a clear sound whenever it shook, Daisy spoke.
“Take this.”
“What is this?”
“A reward for not letting my dear friend go lonely.”
With a joyful smile, Daisy pressed the medal into my hand.
“The Watchers of the White family never forget a debt. Whether it be a favor or a grudge, they always repay it. I am no exception.”
“….”
“When you are in desperate need of help, break this medal. If this medal is split, I will come to help you. No matter what danger you are in, I will come.”
Daisy’s gaze changed in an instant.
“The Watchers will guard your future.”
I looked at the medal Daisy had given me with a stunned face. A boy from a remote backwater had no idea what this object was or what meaning it held.
Only Liam let out a hearty laugh.
「…Ho-ho. My young descendant, you cannot even imagine what you have just received.」
Indeed. I couldn’t even imagine.
But I knew one thing for certain.
“Thank you.”
That there was someone else besides me who truly grieved Petel’s death.
“Sir Petel was a good friend to me as well.”
So, I spoke with total sincerity.
“If you ever need my help, please let me know. Since we shared the same friend, we are friends as well. I will do my best to help you within my abilities.”
Daisy let out a short laugh at my innocent words.
“You are cute, child.”
She stroked my cheek once.
“But for some reason, I have a feeling you will truly become great one day. I feel like you’ll become the kind of person who won’t tremble even before the name of ‘White’.”
I couldn’t tell if Daisy’s words came from the heart or if she was just saying them to flatter me.
I simply recalled an old moment as I listened to her.
— For some reason, I feel like the Young Master will leave his name in the history of this continent.
The precious words my kind neighbor, now departed from this world, had once said to me.
Petel and Daisy were alike.
Even though they had walked different paths.
* * *
Daisy mobilized everyone she had brought with her to conduct the ritual for two full days before departing.
“This was merely a formal ritual. The real ceremony will be held properly in Petel’s hometown after his body is recovered. So that everyone living in Petel’s hometown will remember his death and carve the name Petel into their minds.”
“….”
“His honor will shine even brighter. I will make it so.”
I would likely never know about the ceremony that would take place in the capital, or the honor of Petel that would echo among the social circles and knights. I had no intention of becoming a knight, and even less intention of stepping foot into high society.
In the end, whether Petel’s honor was elevated or his death was remembered more magnificently, it meant no change for this village. My kind neighbor had left this world.
Only one thing had changed.
That his death had not been defiled.
I decided to be satisfied with that.
「Humans die eventually. That is why how one’s death is remembered, and how those left behind in life remember them, is what matters most.」
Liam’s words hit home.
After all, the destination for all humans is ultimately death.
“Now, let’s head out!”
Setting aside the emotional aspect, what I gained from Petel’s death and the victory in this Duel of Honor was less than one might think.
I had defeated a knight equivalent to a “Sword Runner,” but since I had chosen the impractical option of restoring a dead man’s honor, it was only natural.
I hadn’t chosen gold coins, I had kicked away the chance to gain a slave at the level of a “Sword Runner,” and I had even passed up the opportunity to spread my feat of defeating a powerhouse who had risen to the rank of Vice-Captain of a knight order. All the honor would go to Petel.
Of course, it wasn’t as if there was no harvest at all.
“Your equipment was far too poor. It’s nothing much, but it’s a gift. We’re friends, after all.”
Before leaving, Daisy had given me a wealth of equipment as a gift. Sturdy mithril armor and mithril boots used only by the Watchers of the White family, and a sharp Dwarf steel sword that could slice through ordinary steel like a radish.
I accepted the equipment gratefully, but in truth, I wouldn’t have regretted it even if I hadn’t received them. Hadn’t the very reason my revenge began been emotional in the first place?
If I couldn’t even find emotional resolution for my friend in the process of carrying out my revenge, I would lose the decisive reason I started it. Everything was for the sake of my own relief and peace of mind.
Becoming Petel’s Proxy Warrior and taking revenge was, in the end, for my own sake.
With those thoughts, I watched the departing groups. Daisy’s party left first, followed by Meken’s knight order.
The knights all walked with depressed faces, slumped like defeated soldiers, but Meken’s face in particular was pale white. Like a prisoner who had received a death sentence.
I didn’t know why Meken was trembling in such fear, but honestly, it served him right. He wasn’t a likable character by any means.
It was time for silence to return to my village, which had briefly seen many guests. While I was blankly watching the departing figures, an old knight approached me.
“Hmm. You are smaller and much younger than I thought.”
“…Who are you?”
“But there are many fascinating parts about you. I can see very well why Meken, that idiot, lost.”
The old knight with a magnificent beard didn’t answer my question and only said what he wanted to say. The knight in silver armor stared at me intently and smiled.
“How can such a body exist? A jewel was hidden in the remote countryside.”
“…?”
“Your heart seems crude, as if it were made not long ago, but its hardness is as steadfast as steel that has been hammered for decades. As far as this Bermartin knows, ‘that family’ is the only kin with such characteristics…”
The old knight’s piercing eyes scanned me.
After staring at me with a silent “Hmm,” the old knight eventually gave a short laugh.
“There’s no way. There’s no way the blood of Steel still remains on this continent. You must just be a boy with similar traits…”
The blood of Steel.
The moment I heard those words, I almost failed to control my expression.
I tightened my facial muscles, which had nearly collapsed for a second, and gave an awkward smile.
At that, the old knight showed his gums and gave a sly smile.
“You are still young, indeed. Your expression management is immature.”
The old knight suddenly thrust his face right in front of my nose.
I answered, stuttering despite myself.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Be careful, boy. I’m letting this slide only because you possess a romance that doesn’t suit this era, and because you’ve done something that looks magnificent to one who walks the path of a knight.”
The old knight’s hand patted my shoulder.
Heavy as steel.
“I came because I thought I’d only be satisfied if I saw you in person, and I’m glad I did. As expected, this Bermartin’s intuition hasn’t died yet. Hu-hu-hu. To think a descendant of Steel, whom I thought had vanished, remained in the outskirts of this Iron Kingdom.”
“Like I said, I don’t know what you mean…”
I tried my best to play innocent.
But in the next moment, the old knight’s expression changed completely as he spoke.
“If you cannot hide it perfectly, hold your tongue. A clumsy lie is worse than complete silence. Young boy, Steel is silent.”
In that moment, I felt as if I were being overwhelmed by something.
The old knight, with his changed expression, looked like a fierce beast rather than a human.
“Hide yourself more perfectly. Unless you want to end your life by being caught by the Iron Prince’s executioner.”
“….”
“The Iron Prince’s executioner shows no mercy to any man over the age of eighteen. So, in the little time you have left, learn how to hide yourself perfectly. If you want to live.”
I could understand everything the old knight was saying.
The small clues were enough.
My eyes widened.
The Iron Prince’s executioner.
The one who shows no mercy to men over eighteen.
The old knight was talking about my enemy.
That is, about Swordmaster Carlos.
“You should consider yourself lucky that I am a swordsman who loves Steel.”
Having spoken so gravely, the old knight soon relaxed his expression like an ordinary old man. In the suffocating atmosphere, the old knight added:
“Young Proxy Warrior of the Duel of Honor. You seem to have many questions.”
“….”
“But for now, I cannot explain anything, no matter what you ask.”
The old knight gave a wide grin.
“Wings.”
“….”
“When you have created wings, come find me then.”
The old knight said this and slowly withdrew his face.
Then, at the very end, he gave the answer to the first question I had asked.
“You should come to the capital of the Iron Kingdom, the City of Blades, ‘Cherny’.”
“….”
“Come to me, Sir Bermartin, there.”
The old knight turned his body and said, “Everyone will know if you say ‘Sir Bermartin of Steel’.”
With those words, all the guests who had visited the village truly departed. But I stood in place for a long time, unable to come to my senses. Truly, for a very long time.
* * *
The death of my first neighbor, Petel.
The fight with the rogue knight, the Duel of Honor with a “Sword Runner,” the visit from the legal wife of the “White” family—one of the Great Five Families—and the ritual of the wizards I saw for the first time in my life.
All of them were new and confusing events, but the final incident had overshadowed everything else.
The words spoken by the old knight named Bermartin had made me just as dizzy. His words had shaken me, and the confusion lasted quite a while.
Well.
「What are you worrying about so much?」
Naturally, I wasn’t trapped in that confusion forever.
「Nothing has changed. There is only one thing you must do, young descendant.」
Because my goal was clear.
「To become strong. To move forward without stopping.」
No matter what happens, that alone does not change.
Therefore, I have no need to be confused.
Realizing that belatedly, I looked at Liam.
Liam was looking down at me with a dignified expression, as he always did.
「In the way of the Caravan.」
In the shabby mansion, there was Liam, floating beneath the blue sky.
There was no need to rack my brain and worry alone.
Because I had a great master who always provided the right answer.
And this time, too, my master presented the answer I should head toward.
「It is time to devour a new sword, young descendant.」
