The Men of the Kingdom Part II

by Kugane Maruyama

  “I have a demon mob standing by to attack the entire city at any time.”

  Oh no.

  Marquis Raeven’s men were patrolling the city, but she didn’t think they would be able to handle all the demons Jaldabaoth had ready. He’d essentially taken the entire city hostage.

  So if we beat him here…

  “Killing me won’t make those demons disappear, you know. One word, one mental command from me, and they’ll spread all over the city. Of course, there aren’t that many, so you can probably handle them—but who knows how many casualties will result!”

  “But we don’t have any guarantee that you’ll keep your word!”

  No, even Jaldabaoth couldn’t guarantee that he would win if he kept fighting the super-elite warrior Momon. So I’ll completely withdraw, so please forgive me, at least don’t chase after me. If not, I’ll take you all with me?

  How convenient.

  But if the capital was taken hostage, they weren’t on equal terms.

  I see. Evileye respected Momon from the bottom of her heart. He read between the lines, and that’s why he took the proposal—no, taking it was probably the only option he had.

  “Now then, it seems like the gallery has gone quiet, so I’ll take the liberty of withdrawing. It’s too bad we won’t get to complete our objective of recovering that item. I pray you and I never meet again!”

  “Yeah. I hope the same, Jaldabaoth.”

  It seemed like Jaldabaoth smiled beneath his mask.

  As soon as the maids had gathered around him, they all disappeared at once in a high-tier teleportation.

  “They’re gone…”

  Evileye floated up into the air to see what had become of the wall of fire. There was nothing left of it. All she saw was the night view of the city, albeit more troubled than normal.

  Maybe the curtain has fallen on this disturbance for now. But what will the outcome of so many casualties and expenses be?

  A being called Jaldabaoth whose powers surpassed those of an evil spirit… The elite warrior Momon who is equally powerful… When the world finds out about these things, how will it change? Where are we headed?

  Evileye shook her head to clear away the jumble of thoughts. They could take their time later to think about what would happen next.

  For now, she had more important things to do. She landed on the ground and spread her arms wide. “Wahhhhhhhh!”

  She ran at full speed with a scream of joy that could also have been taken as a battle cry. Her Fly spell was still in effect, but at times like these, running seemed more apt.

  She was heading toward Momon. Perhaps she startled him? He practically got into a fighting stance. Ignoring that, she leaped at him. It was like sprinting directly into a wall, but with Evileye’s physical damage resistance as a vampire, she was unharmed.

  She hugged him.

  “You did it! You won! You won! I wouldn’t have expected any less!”

  “Uh, sorry…could you get off me?” He made the request in an even tone. She was clinging to him like a koala. He must have been feeling bashful.

  He could totally just hug me back…

  Evileye was after something she’d heard about once. Someone had told her that some men worked off the post-battle buzz with the opposite sex. She was hoping she could get him to do it with her.

  Evileye glanced at Nabe, who was frowning sharply. Don’t mind if I do beat you to the punch!

  She tried rubbing up on him a little, but it didn’t seem like it was working through the armor, and when she hit a dent, it hurt.

  Momon sighed. “Nabe, do you mind helping me put away my swords?”

  Realizing her efforts had been wasted, Evileye let go and detached from the tree that was Momon.

  Yeahhh…I should time my advances better. Now that Jaldabaoth has seen how strong Momon is, the chance he doesn’t keep his word is probably low, but there are still other people fighting, and we need to hold funerals for the dead… We can’t just give in to our desires in this situation.

  The demon battle was certainly over.

  But Evileye’s battle as a woman had only just begun.

  Running over the options for her next move, she looked up at the sound of metal clanging.

  There was a group running toward them. Adventurers, soldiers, and…

  “The captain of the Royal Select? And everyone else…?”

  Gazef Stronoff was there, as well as Lakyus and Tina. Not only that, but Gagaran and Tia were there, too. They all looked a bit grungy, and she sensed the struggles they’d gone through to get there. They gazed upon the aftermath of the fierce battle. Then they gasped and stared at Momon.

  Inferring what they were thinking, she whispered to Momon, “Sir Momon, proclaim your victory.”

  But he didn’t move. As she was wondering what the issue was, she heard him say in a low voice, “This is so embarrassing…”

  That wasn’t the response of an elite warrior. He sounded so ordinary that Evileye broke into a smile. “You have to do it! You’re the one who achieved the most! Please just resign yourself.”

  He sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I should do it.”

  Momon gripped a sword and thrust it up into the air. “Rrrrraaaaaaaaagh!”

  A moment later everyone in the square raised their fists in the same way and exploded into a roar of victory. They praised the name of Momon, the hero who had saved their country.

  Epilogue

  6 Late Fire Moon (September) 8:45 AM

  The maids were lined up before Sebas, a total of forty-one homunculi. In front stood the dog-headed head maid, Pestonia S. Puppydog. All the maids performing general duties inside Nazarick were present.

  “Everyone, this is a new maid who will be working for Nazarick.”

  “Pleased to meet you. I’m Tsuareninya.”

  She bowed deeply, and the head maid greeted her on behalf of herself and her staff.

  They exchanged a few words, and Tsuare didn’t seem particularly frightened.

  In the first place, besides the sewn-up scar down the middle of her head, her face was that of a gentle-eyed dog. And the maids behind looked like humans. They didn’t have scary appearances like grotesques did.

  Still, it wasn’t as if her fear of others, due to her previous situation, had disappeared. The reason she was able to handle things had to have been that she understood the circumstances she was in and knew she had to work as hard as she could.

  If I don’t keep an eye on her, she might have a breakdown.

  While Sebas was thinking of her, the formalities ended, and Tsuare walked off with one of the maids. She turned back to look at him. When he nodded, she nodded back and walked on without turning around again.

  “Master Sebas, how much should we train her to do? Woof!”

  “Please aim to have her pass as a Nazarick maid. Do, however, train her appropriately given that she is only human.”

  “Understood. Woof!” Her dog face warped to bare her teeth. It was the face of a predator about to tackle its prey, but her eyes were gentle. “I thought her being a maid was just a stopgap.”

  “What do you mean?” Sebas responded, puzzled because he honestly couldn’t see what she was getting at.

  “…Woof! No, I mean I thought she would retire when you got married. Woof!”

  “What?!”

  Sebas’s face twitched, and Pestonia’s soft laughter echoed across the ninth level of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

  7 Late Fire Moon (September) 4:51 PM

  Climb checked the time and whether Renner had a guest or not. Once he was satisfied there was no conflict, he opened the door to her room.

  Inside, where everything was tinted red by the evening sun, his elegantly beautiful master was sitting in her usual seat. The light spilling through the window set her off from her surroundings like a spotlight.

  “Welcome, Climb.”

  He sensed peace rapidly return to his tattered heart as it began healing in the presence of he
r sweet beauty. He hardened his expression before it could relax too much and walked over to her.

  “Okay, sit down, Climb.”

  “No, that’s all right, Princess Renner. There is somewhere I need to go following the demon attack on the capital.”

  A light went on in Renner’s eyes. They were orders from her, so she probably had an idea what he was talking about.

  He was supposed to go guard the wizards’ guild—because of a certain item.

  They didn’t yet have a complete picture of the demon raid, but in one of the warehouses, they had discovered a weird item. The wizards’ guild was investigating it now, and the magic it contained was no ordinary spell. That, combined with what Jaldabaoth had said, had everyone convinced this was the item they’d been looking for.

  For that reason, until the guild could assemble powerful veterans and decide what to do with it, they were stationing guards in the area. She’d sent Climb as one of them.

  It’s awful that we can’t get the Eight Fingers to take responsibility for this, since they’re the ones who brought that item into the city! He couldn’t completely suppress his disgust even though he was with Renner.

  The item that had brought tragedy to the capital was found in a warehouse that undoubtedly belonged to the Eight Fingers’ smuggling division. They should have been moving to crush the smugglers as soon as possible, but there was one reason they couldn’t, and only a handful of people knew what it was.

  Intelligence leaked by Jaldabaoth played a role in the discovery of the item. That was why Renner had asserted that perhaps he’d let the information slip on purpose—to use humans to find the item his subordinates hadn’t been able to.

  Since everyone found that argument compelling, everything was being covered up, so they couldn’t use its discovery in an Eight Fingers warehouse as ammo.

  “You’re going with the captain, right? Got it. Then standing is fine. So how are the citizens you saved? They were under the castle’s protection up until a little while ago, but they’ve left now, right?”

  The bomb she’d thrown made Climb’s heart leap into his throat. “O-oh, they all said to tell you how grateful they are.”

  “I see. So if I hurry, I can still see them?”

  “No, you can’t!” He raised his voice and then thought, Crud. He hung his head and quickly tried to recover from his earlier exclamation. “They’re all very busy. If you visited, I think it would take up too much of their precious time. I apologize for making your kindness come to nothing, but I would ask that you refrain.”

  As he was bringing his head back up, he thought the expression on his master’s gorgeous face would be one of discontent or perhaps a childish pout unsuitable for someone her age. But the one that met him was neither of those.

  She was laughing.

  Not just smiling but laughing.

  He’d seen her laugh now and then. If he thought back to his most nostalgic memories, he could remember the twitchy way she had laughed not too long after picking him up, but there was definitely something different about this.

  Before he could figure out what it was, her normal smile returned to her face.

  “…Well, then I guess I can’t go, huh?”

  Seeing that she understood, Climb suppressed a relieved sigh.

  Actually, almost everything he’d just told her was a lie. He had heard hardly anyone thanking her. On the contrary, they blamed her, saying things like, Why are we the only ones who got saved?

  All they did was grumble to Climb in their anger about their misfortune—the families they’d lost, the assets they’d forfeited.

  He took it, tolerated what was obviously simple venting, because he pitied them for having no one else to blame and because he wanted to punish himself for not being able to perfectly realize his master’s wishes.

  Still, he’d fought demons to save these people despite the danger, and it hurt for them to say such things.

  The demon that had appeared outside the warehouse was on another level. It was too powerful for even Brain Unglaus to handle, but it had been heavily wounded. If it had shown up uninjured, the three of them would have surely lost. Hearing later from Lakyus how strong it was, he was thankful they had been as lucky as they were to win.

  After getting through that life-or-death battle, this abuse… He was used to being alone, but this was a different kind of pain.

  Still, he was fine while the hate was directed at him. He was the princess’s direct report, but nobody liked him, so they probably would overlook him getting harassed. If he let them meet Renner, though, things could get hairy. If they turned their hate on the princess and insulted her, Climb would be forced to draw his sword.

  “Okay, Climb. Now I’m going to be the bearer of bad news. Brace yourself.” She silently closed her eyes for a few moments and then opened them. “The captives you saved from the brothel with Sir Sebas and the others…they’ve been killed.”

  For a split second, Climb didn’t understand what she’d said. Then he asked hoarsely, “Why…did that have to…?”

  From what he’d heard, they were going to shelter at the guardhouse for a little while and then be transported to Renner’s domain.

  “It was my fault. At first, I thought I would have some adventurers escort them, but then the disturbance happened, so I couldn’t hire any. With no other recourse, I hired some mercenaries and sent them instead, but…”

  She shook her head. No one made it.

  “I-it’s not your fault! Not even a little bit! It’s the ones who attacked them who were wrong!”

  “No, I should have been more careful… If only I hadn’t let them go! I thought it would be dangerous in the capital with less protection during the disturbance… If I had sent you with them, maybe things would have been different. And what can I say to apologize to the adventurer who introduced those mercenaries to me?” Tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

  Climb’s chest felt tight. Maybe it was an error on her part, but in that situation, it was the best move, so who could blame her?

  “You didn’t do anything wrong, Princess Renner!” he declared, and she was so moved she stood and hugged him.

  He was about to put his arms around the small torso against his chest—but stopped himself. It would be entirely unacceptable to do that.

  “But how in the world did the information get…?”

  “I have no idea. There was a period during the disturbance where the castle guard was looser than usual. Could it have leaked then? I had them leave right away, though…”

  He couldn’t say there was no chance of that. Or rather, he was certain it had something to do with the guardhouse, given the fact that the rescued captives had been under its protection.

  “Where were the corpses found?”

  “In the slums inside the capital apparently. I don’t know the details.”

  “And where are they now?”

  “Buried. Why?”

  “If we take a look at the wounds, we might learn something.”

  “Climb, please don’t. We can’t disgrace these girls any further. At least let them be at peace in death.”

  “…Understood.”

  Climb was struck by her tenderness. She did have a point. He was ashamed of his lack of consideration. He’d tried to go too far in the pursuit of truth.

  “But don’t worry about it. You didn’t do any— Well, what you said before.” She smiled. Her eyes were red, but the tears were done falling.

  “Yes.” Climb broke into a smile.

  “Sorry to hold you up, Climb. Do your best out there, okay?”

  Regretting that her warmth was moving away from him, he banished his desires.

  10 Late Fire Moon (September) 9:08 AM

  That day, the sky was truly blue—its color seemed to go on forever, as if it was celebrating their departure.

  “You’re going home?” Evileye asked the man in the raven-black armor with the crimson cape fluttering behind him. “Going home” w
as a strange way to put it, but that was how it felt to her, and the Blue Roses were no different. While adventurers were often thought of as wanderers who didn’t put down roots, there were some who chose a city as their home base. For Momon, that must have been E-Rantel. “I’d sure like to go with you…” She couldn’t believe how pathetic she sounded. It was just like a girl reaching out after her departing lover, and at the word lover, she nearly writhed in agony.

  “…It’s not a big deal.”

  That was all he said in response.

  He’s so cold, she thought to herself.

  She couldn’t think of anything else to say, and a breeze blew between them.

  A man had been waiting for that pause and opened his mouth to speak.

  Evileye thought it was rather insensitive, given a man and woman were in the middle of a bitter farewell, but it wasn’t as if they were the only two there. Nabe was behind Momon, and the rest of the Blue Roses were behind Evileye. The casters who would take Momon and Nabe back to E-Rantel were also present.

  “We’re extremely grateful for all you’ve done.”

  Momon acknowledged Marquis Raeven’s thanks with a slight bow.

  “His Majesty the king also wanted to thank you directly, but…”

  The name of the adventurer who had fought one-on-one with the enemy mastermind Jaldabaoth and repelled him had spread far and wide among adventurers, ordinary people, and nobles alike. It was no wonder the king would want to meet him. This sort of thing could even warrant the granting of a noble title. But Momon declined and didn’t even make an effort to have an audience.

  It probably wasn’t a very appropriate attitude.

  To the nobles, who prioritized their honor over everything, this behavior by an unknown toward the king—someone above them—was arrogant.

  There were those who said he’d slighted the king.

  Among the adventurers, some said he was being incredibly rude.

  A few nobles even went so far as to say that letting Jaldabaoth go was a mistake and that the reason he hadn’t been able to finish him off was because the two of them were in cahoots. Marquis Raeven had been able to silence those, threatening them by telling them, “Since I made the request to Momon, I’ll consider those remarks a personal challenge, so what would you care to do?”