Chapter 172
The man stared at us for a moment.
Long horsehair ponytail. Black clothes similar to Yan's. And a thin, red sword hanging from his waist.
While I was looking at him, I glanced back at the innkeeper.
The owner seemed worried about having to clean up any corpses.
"For now, please bring us something, anything."
"Didn't I just tell you to leave quickly? Listen, let these people go. They won't come back."
The man spoke again.
"I don't trust them. No matter who you send, they won't leave here alive. If I were just going to forgive and forget, I wouldn't have come out of hiding."
"They might be different. See, there's a girl and a young lady among them. I had my doubts too, but looking at their attitude now, maybe we misunderstood."
Only then did the man look at Eilin and Yuri. He had come because he'd heard the news, but it seemed odd to him that there was a woman and a girl. His guard eased a little.
"Where are you from?"
"The east."
At my answer, not only the man and the innkeeper, but even the guests, had looks of confusion on their faces. Not the west, but the far and distant east?
"Don't lie."
"We don't know what you've been through, but it has nothing to do with us. We have no intention of getting involved with this village. So don't make a fuss, just let us have a meal."
Saying that, I took out a gold coin.
The owner's eyes widened.
"That much?"
"Bring us whatever you have."
"A-all right."
The owner handed us a water bottle and headed to the kitchen.
The man remained by the door, still watching us. We sat comfortably on the chairs.
"Are you really from the east?"
"I said so."
One of the guests spoke up.
"If you're from the east, ask them about that house. If they don't know, they're not from there."
"That's right."
The man asked,
"Do you know the Hader house?"
"Of course."
"What's the name of the head of that house?"
"Ross."
At my answer, the man furrowed his brow.
His brown pupils had a certain depth.
"Ross became head of house?"
"Yeah."
Now, my group was interested in the man too.
He seemed to know Ross.
At last, he took off his helmet.
His eyes wavered as he looked at me.
"Then, could you be..."
I drank some water and answered,
"Roger Hader."
The guests' mouths dropped open.
The man's eyes went wide.
"Do you recognize me?"
The man took off his face covering.
It was a face I didn't recognize at all.
But.
"Young lord Lian?"
Donnie exclaimed in surprise.
He too quickly removed his helmet.
"Do you recognize me?"
"I don't know your name, but I remember you."
"I'm Donnie. I served Young Master Roger."
The man's eyes grew even wider.
"You're a knight now?"
"That's how things ended up."
Donnie looked at me.
"He's a friend of the family head, also the eldest son of Marquis Alon—this is Lian. I met him as a child, this is the first time since then."
I asked the man,
"Did your house get wiped out?"
"It did. I never thought that frail little kid would grow up so sturdy. I was young back then too."
"Young master, have a seat."
"I'm no longer a young master. I work as a blacksmith in this village now. And..."
The man cut himself off mid-sentence and sat in the seat Donnie offered. Since he was of noble blood, he must have trained at the imperial sword academy. But his magic power seemed odd.
"The blacksmith is a cover, isn't it?"
Lian looked at me again.
"On what basis?"
"Why are you living in this village? With your skills, you could have done much better elsewhere."
"Then why don't you remember me?"
"Because I lost my memory."
Lian narrowed his eyes.
Had he gained some fortuitous encounter?
Or perhaps someone had helped him.
"Your sword looks unusual."
"You don't seem ordinary yourself."
"Why pose as a blacksmith?"
Lian didn't answer.
"It must be because you're a pirate. You got that sword through some chance after becoming one, didn't you?"
Lian's brow furrowed.
"You're not the Roger I once knew, are you?"
"Is that a good thing? Or a bad thing?"
At my words, lian let out a short laugh.
"Yes, I'm a pirate. So what, are you going to kill me?"
"Krapos—is he a decent person?"
"He's not as bad as the rumors say."
"Then why are you here in the village, not out doing pirate stuff?"
"To protect my family."
"Did they all survive?"
Lian nodded.
"Your father saved us. When our house was exterminated, yours almost was too. I still don't know how your family survived."
"Don't misunderstand. The emperor exiled us to the east to save us."
"I see."
When our house was surrounded by the grand duke's elite. Every allied house close to ours was wiped out. Lian's house was one of them.
"Where was your house originally?"
"South of your territory."
"Who's there now?"
"House Mutran, Viscount rank."
"Your father and mine must have hunted pirates here with the others; so why did you become a pirate?"
Lian smiled bitterly.
"Do you think your father would have slaughtered refugees in villages like this? Would he have boarded a ship? No. He sat down with Lord Krapos."
That sounded plausible.
To subjugate pirates didn't mean going to sea. It meant dealing with pirates who had made it onto land.
But Krapos' base was at sea, and those on land weren't pirates, but refugees gathered from all over. Often, they were pirates' families.
"So what did their negotiations involve?"
"I don't know. That's why Lord Krapos took me in. At the time, your father gave Lord Krapos a precious treasure, and I have it now."
"That sword, I take it."
Lian's eyes narrowed again.
"Don't be so surprised. I could tell at a glance it was no ordinary sword. Look at the swords we carry—doesn't yours look similar?"
"It does."
"That's Amir's sword. My father must have gotten it from Amir."
"This is Amir's sword?"
My father must have foreseen a future connected to Lian.
Lian's sword was the demon sword of flame.
"Krapos is helping us, then?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He dipped his finger in the water glass and began writing characters on the table with water.
When he saw the words, lian's eyes grew wide.
"Did your father say that?"
"No, it just seems like it."
"You really think it's possible?"
I nodded.
"Just keep it in mind. To be honest, I could make my move at any time, but not yet. You should prepare on your end, though. Then you can move quickly."
"Are you sure about the crown prince...?"
"Yeah. When things blow up, don't hesitate—take action. The western mountains are a block, so if we just finish things here, it'll be fine."
"Count Parde nearby is grand duke's faction."
"No. Now he's on our side."
"What?"
Lian's expression changed with every sentence.
"He's on our side now, so you can trust him. He needs to defend his own territory, so he won't be able to support the west. And the western mountains make it all the harder for him to send support."
Parde's territory was east of the western mountains.
It was a southwestern desert territory in central, with the Syren faction's house and central army to its southern coast.
So if war breaks out, the two sons of Count Watts, who are high-rank in the central army, need to take control. That will cut off reinforcements heading to the capital.
Our old territory was just west of the western mountains, and Lian's house had been on the southern coast. If things went south, lian would have to take care of both territories.
"How about a drink with me?"
"Sounds good."
I went up to the room with Lian.
There was a lot to share—the present state and strength of our house, the grand duke faction, what to do if things went south, and so on.
/ / /
We ate our fill.
Everyone went outside to relax.
Only Lian and I remained in the room.
"It's honestly amazing."
"So Krapos really will help us?"
"If that's the promise he made with your father, he'll keep it. But his subordinates can't take both territories. He could blockade the sea, but that's it."
"How many troops could you gather?"
"As you saw in the village. Even if we gather all able-bodied men, not even two hundred. We're short on supplies, too."
"Even combining the coastal villages?"
"Yes."
Lian sighed and spoke.
"I guess the grand duke expected this."
"Expected what?"
"Marquis Nathan, who rules the west, and Viscount Mutran's knights, attacked coastal villages frequently. They called it a subjugation campaign."
So that was that incident.
"No wonder they misunderstood us."
"For years now, they've been slaughtering anyone they can. This year, they even came to our village. My family was in danger."
"Did you use to live at sea?"
Lian nodded.
"I stepped up to stop the massacre, and that's when the retaliation started. The viscount stopped after a few of his knights got killed, but the marquis never did."
The grand duke must have realized the Krapos pirates could be a stumbling block in the west. That's probably why he ordered those two western houses to hunt pirates.
"Are you really that powerful?"
"I don't want to brag in front of you."
"What does your sword do?"
"You can see that?"
"It's just a feeling."
Lian's sword was definitely a magic sword.
It held a powerful fire energy.
"You're... a magic swordsman."
Lian nodded.
He could probably shoot fireballs from his sword or burn anything it touched.
"Krapos must be incredible, giving you such a precious treasure."
"Your father gave it to me first. He has something even more precious. What I have isn't even useful to him—might even be a hindrance."
"The freezing gauntlet, I'd guess."
"Hahaha."
Lian let out a hollow laugh.
What a strange guy.
"It's not just freezing."
"There must be immense strength as well."
"How did you know?"
"I saw two relics of the Pirate King. Judging by their abilities, I thought the last would be strength."
"Red Beard, sure, but you met Black Mane too? She's so far away, though?"
"Turns out she's closer than you'd think."
"Black Mane?"
I just laughed.
He'd been at sea before coming here, and living out in the sticks made information hard to gather. Anyway, what to do about these western forces?
"Are there any more survivors from destroyed houses?"
"Lots live in hiding on the coast like me. They dream of recovering, but now it's nearly impossible."
"Any among them trained in sword technique?"
"Most of those who could fight, that's who I meant before. They're sharpening their blades for revenge."
The former commander of the imperial palace guard once told me. When our house moves, all the survivors of destroyed houses will rise up, risking what's left of their lives.
"Gather as many members of destroyed houses as you can. We'll provide the funds."
"You'd do that for us?"
Since they're raising troops in hiding, they won't need that much money. A thousand gold coins a year should be plenty. Equipment is more important than money.
"Lian."
"You have more to ask?"
"Get a ship for me. When this is over, I'll go straight to Parde's territory."
"That's not a problem. If you're sailing, do you want to meet Krapos first?"
"Not especially."
I hadn't even decided whether to go to Parde territory yet. Since I was here, I planned to check on the underground water pipe project and rubber tree cultivation before leaving.
"The two western houses will keep sending knights. Are you just going to block them? The innkeeper said you might strike back."
"If I want to stop the massacres, I have no choice. They call it retaliation, but they started it. If they send more, I'll go myself if I have to."
The grand duke would find it difficult to wage total war against us. Even so, if war breaks out, I'd be willing to risk everything—even the crown prince, anything—for survival. That would be real war.
"You all keep building up your strength in hiding. We'll weaken the two houses as much as possible before we leave."
"There'll be massive retaliation."
"Then we'll just prevent it."
"How?"
I explained mainly what Lian would need to do—not our full plan. If things go bad, I told him to seize both houses' lands and block the western gates.
Nobody would know who had done it or from where. If most of the knights disappeared, retaliation would be hard. The grand duke might be suspicious, but it'd be too vague to act.
Would the imperial army be sent over the 'death' of two western houses on the outskirts? The grand duke wouldn't send troops just because his sister-in-law's house was attacked.
I also considered the possibility that this business might spread into another crisis. It wasn't what I wanted, but if it happened, there was nothing to do. War always starts suddenly, anyway.
If the grand duke showed any sign of moving...
We'd strike first. He would never build strength in hiding if his house weren't threatened with annihilation.
The next morning.
I set off alone toward the western mountains.
With the dark knights.