Chapter 136. It Was Shining Steadily
“……”
I stared blankly at that bastard… no, the Young Lord.
A cool—no, a damp summer wind drifted in. With the scent of earth tickling my nose, the wind went “whoooosh!” and dust settled between my slack-parted lips.
The grit of dirt was rough.
But it wasn’t unfamiliar. I’d eaten plenty of it back when I was a Black and White Zone vagrant.
Dirt’s problem wasn’t the taste, but the texture. How do I describe it… that feeling when it wedges between your teeth…
Every time your upper and lower teeth meet, there’s this “grrk” friction—only people who’ve eaten it know.
But why dirt, all of a sudden?
Because this situation is that gritty.
‘What? What did you just say?’
So he says he’s the Young Lord.
To sum it up…
‘The bastard we beat the hell out of, all fired up, turns out to be the Young Lord of the greatest swordsmanship house on the Eastern Continent?!’
…Something like that.
‘Damn it.’
Once that thought landed, I couldn’t help but glare at Shine.
[…Did you know?]
[Well, it’s not like I didn’t. He seemed like he was trying to hide it… but I know Lortel swordsmanship well enough.]
[Then why didn’t you say—]
[Did you ask?]
Yeah. I didn’t ask.
I didn’t ask, but…
‘And that means you just don’t say it?’
This is obviously a scheme to watch me get screwed.
Otherwise, there’s no reason he’d keep quiet even while knowing full well that bastard was the Young Lord.
Anyway.
“Nngh.”
“Why no answer? Is the position of Young Lord insufficient?”
“Give me a second to organize my thoughts.”
“Your tone got very polite.”
“That’s because I’m submitting to authority.”
“An honest one.”
“Anyway, quiet.”
Leaving the Young Lord grinning like he found this hilarious, I dug through my memory.
Looking back from the first meeting, there were a few suspicious points.
‘A camper with an oddly refined air…’
And that kind of guy at this hour? Coming to Mount Fleek?
Fine. I can concede that a hundred, a thousand times—maybe it happens.
But.
‘I should’ve realized from the moment he was hanging around the secret passage entrance.’
Somehow, he wouldn’t leave the area near the secret passage even if it killed him. And that wasn’t all.
- …Magic?
- You said magic just now?
The hostility he showed the moment I revealed I was a mage.
At the time, I thought he was picking a fight because he didn’t want to lose his campsite. But it was pure hostility.
All those awkward fragments I’d felt here and there snapped into place once I knew the bastard was the Young Lord.
But I couldn’t just keep being shocked forever.
I gathered my thoughts and looked back at the Young Lord.
“First.”
“First?”
“I feel sorry.”
“…For what?”
“For, you know. Various things. A broad-minded Young Lord of Lortel would surely let it slide, but I thought we might’ve seriously offended you.”
“…Boldly craven, aren’t you.”
“Flexible.”
“You sound like you’re mocking me.”
“My personality is twisted.”
After saying that, I let out a long breath.
Third Sword, and Lortel’s Young Lord—at this point I was tired of being surprised.
Like my soul had been sucked out.
But unlike my battered state of mind, my reason interpreted the situation coldly.
‘Yeah. Even if you have to crawl, as long as you end up at the capital, it counts.’
All my planning felt pointless now, but the result wasn’t bad.
Not only could I meet the Third Sword, who was responsible for the Infinite Chain matter, I could meet the Young Lord in the same place too.
“So. Forgiveness?”
“…Like you said, I am the broad-minded Young Lord of Lortel. I will let it go.”
He seems to hold grudges, but his actions are clean.
But the problem was me.
“Still, I’m not broad-minded.”
“…?”
“We were hitting each other, right? But if only we apologize, it looks a little…”
“…What are you trying to say.”
“Well, you know. If you’re the broad-minded Young Lord of Lortel… maybe you’d offer a warm apology too. The foundation of any deal is mutual belief and trust. That kind of thing needs to be underneath it for it to hold…”
“Ha!”
The Young Lord sighed like he couldn’t believe me.
Then he exchanged a look with the Third Sword like, ‘What the hell is wrong with this one.’
But this was my own play.
‘Basically, it’s a test to see what kind of person the Young Lord is.’
A probing skirmish for the sake of steering negotiations in our favor.
It’s not because my pride got hurt from apologizing first.
So.
“……”
The Young Lord stared at me. The corner of his eyes trembled.
I stared back, refusing to lose.
Then I added one more line.
“And honestly, you were the one who started it first.”
“……”
“Well, fine. If you don’t want to apologize, don’t. We powerless common folks, we don’t really have anything to say—mmph!”
Someone clamped a hand over my mouth right then.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
As I struggled because I couldn’t finish what I was saying, a cold voice came from behind me.
It was Parun.
“Seal your mouth. Didn’t you say even a dog knows when to bark?”
A whispering, razor-edged voice. Killing intent fluttered more sincerely than usual.
‘You bastard! Do you have no pride?!’
No matter if he’s Lortel’s Young Lord, pride still matters.
And this isn’t just about my pride.
Demian and I are friends.
Which means my loss of dignity directly ties into Demian’s honor!
While I struggled, Parun kept my mouth covered and dragged me back.
Shine stepped forward in a crossing motion.
[Tsk, tsk. You vile thing. Widen your vessel. A person has to know how to be broad-minded.]
Mockery as a bonus.
“I’ll apologize on behalf of that half-baked one.”
Shine put on the mask of a noble house again as he faced the Young Lord.
“Hm. Fine.”
“Then, about the Infinite Chain—I was thinking we could talk a bit…”
“…Let’s.”
The Young Lord answered stiffly at Shine’s sudden shift in attitude.
As I was hauled back, I looked up at the sky.
Some month, some day, Mount Fleek.
Flash.
A shooting star was falling.
That was Demian’s honor—House Brando’s pride, damaged.
‘Demian… I’m sorry I couldn’t protect it…’
That was when the Young Lord’s voice reached my ear.
“First… since it seems I’m not entirely without fault, I believe I should offer you a sincere apology.”
The words were twisted, but the meaning wasn’t hard to understand.
I stopped struggling and grinned.
The shooting star had already vanished.
And beside where it disappeared, one particularly large star was shining.
‘House Brando’s pride may have fallen, but…’
My pride was shining steadily in the night sky.
With that, the situation was brought to a close—for the moment.
We huddled together over the ruined site.
Tatak, tak—
As the campfire burned, an awkward silence settled between us.
We’d decided to talk about the Infinite Chain, but we were still awkward with each other.
And that was because…
The Young Lord and Shine.
Those two had traded punches while calling each other calf-f***er and dog-bastard.
Me and Parun.
The resentment still hadn’t dissolved.
And the Third Sword had shown up and immediately pressed us down with his aura.
Honestly, if I weren’t such a good-natured person, it wouldn’t be strange for someone to have died already if it were just these four.
And if that happened…
‘The Young Lord would definitely have died.’
Most people would’ve been overwhelmed by the Third Sword and the Young Lord working together, but Shine and Parun aren’t “most people.”
They’re lunatics.
So even if they died, they’d have tried to take one person with them.
And the target would naturally be the Young Lord, whose level still lagged behind the Third Sword.
‘Wait.’
If that’s the case…
‘Am I the Young Lord’s lifesaver?’
That thought popped into my head, and I lifted my chin slightly.
“First, listen to what I have to say—”
“Even a dog knows when to bark.”
“You vile thing—chew on your insane thoughts alone.”
You bastards.
Their reflexes were so fast they rivaled spinal reflex, and my words got stuck in my throat.
But only for a moment.
I steeled myself and spoke again.
“No, I just think we should start talking business now. What do you think, Young Lord, owner of a heart as vast as the sea?”
“…Your heart is truly narrow.”
“What a compliment.”
“Don’t babble about ‘vast as the sea.’ Calling me ‘Young Lord’ is enough.”
“Fine. Young Lord.”
“……”
Ah. Was that not it?
Anyway.
“Ahem, anyway, I think it’s time to talk business.”
I cleared my throat to draw attention, then looked at the four people seated there.
Everyone reacted differently.
[Stop talking nonsense. And don’t forget to mention the “Sword God’s Tomb” at the end.]
Shine stepped back a pace, reminding me to bring up the Sword God’s Tomb.
[…]
Parun, as expected, handed me the floor.
And the Third Sword…
“……”
He kept his gaze fixed on the campfire, a hand resting on the sword hilt.
It meant he was yielding the floor to the Young Lord—but he wasn’t simply watching.
My sensitive perception could see it clearly.
Sss, s—
A thread-thin flow of energy controlled the entire area.
He was pouring all his focus into it, ready to catch any reaction we made at any moment.
I paid respect to that outstanding professionalism—then turned my gaze to the Young Lord.
And then, suddenly—
‘Ah.’
One fact I’d been overlooking surfaced.
“By any chance, are you displeased that a mage is speaking to you? I’m deeply worried we might be offending the mood of our noble and dignified Young Lord.”
Did it sound like sarcasm?
“You, truly—”
The Young Lord’s eyes flared. To be fair, it was sarcasm.
But then the Young Lord let out a heavy sigh—surprisingly.
“…Enough. What’s the point of being choosy at a time like this. I still find mages a disgusting breed beyond measure, but if there’s something you want, there are times you must be willing to cover yourself in filth.”
Meaning: I’m filth, but if it means he can screw Deculan over, he’s willing to wear it.
For me, that wasn’t a bad situation.
‘Originally, I planned to put Shine forward as the representative, but…’
Honestly, it felt risky to trust that cursed personality with everything.
So does that mean I brought Shine for nothing?
Not really.
One is good, two is better, and three is better than two.
And…
‘…If Shine hadn’t been here, we wouldn’t even have gotten a seat like this.’
No—more precisely, along with Shine…
Sword Garden.
That conveniently invented fake organization had definitely piqued the Young Lord’s curiosity.
Even now, look.
Every time he scanned over Shine, there was thick interest in his eyes.
Anyway, I gathered my thoughts and spoke—or I tried to.
“But.”
The moment my lips moved, the Young Lord’s voice cut in.
“Before we discuss the deal, I have a small curiosity.”
“Let’s hear it.”
Answering was optional, after all.
But why was it—
the Young Lord’s eyes gleamed as he smiled, like he already knew everything.
“Then I’ll ask.”
With a brighter smile than before, he tossed out his question.
And that question—
“Deculan’s Scarlet Flame.”
…Drove deep into the center of my solar plexus.
“Did you divert it?”
