episode_0049
by fnovelpia“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“It’s useless to play innocent. I’ve just confirmed that you’re the one who left these traces on my body and made that child do that.”
At her words, Pan was silent for a moment. He started laughing as if something was incredibly amusing.
“Ha, hahaha! So, a witch’s magic can do something like that?
*Slurp*, he swallowed the drool that leaked out while he was laughing. He’d heard it was highly versatile, but he hadn’t expected it to be this much. He wanted it more. So much that he wanted to possess that girl right now. A powerful impulse shook Pan. Did she think she could threaten him with something like that? If so, it was truly funny and cute.
“So, what can you do just because you know that?”
If she said something like that without any basis, she might be suspected of being crazy or pointed at, accused of actually pretending to sleep and enjoying it.
“Are you planning to tell everyone while revealing that you’re a witch?”
If she revealed and proved she was a witch, it would mean big trouble for the girl. There would definitely be people who would try to sell her to the higher-ups. Because humans are inherently such creatures.
“You can’t do anything.”
Moreover, was that all?
“Stop beating around the bush and decide. Whether or not to offer your body.”
In his hand, the boy, whom the girl cherished so much, was held captive.
“Let go! Let go of me!”
“Shut up!”
“Ugh!”
Usher struggled and kicked him, annoying Pan, so he used magic again, making the girl suffer again. He had already figured out how to handle these two a long time ago.
“You don’t want to make Belka suffer more, right? Huh?”
At Pan’s words, Usher had no choice but to stop struggling and grit his teeth. No matter what the girl decided, she would fall into his hands, but it was best if she surrendered to him herself if possible. Because if the boy who had just arrived suddenly disappeared, things would get troublesome. Of course, it would just be troublesome, and as a sorcerer, he had more than enough power to handle it. But he knew things wouldn’t go that way. The girl would never be able to turn away from the boy.
“…Yes, that’s right. There’s nothing I can do.”
The girl couldn’t deny his words. Her magic could only just block his. But he was a professionally trained knight before he was a sorcerer. There was no way a country boy and she, who had severe restrictions on using magic, could defeat him.
“Still, I won’t let things go the way you think they will.”
“What?”
Feeling something strange at the girl’s words, Pan finally noticed the sound of something cutting through the wind behind him. He tried to dodge immediately, but it was already too late. A dull thud from the arm that was holding Usher came first.
“Gah!”
Pan screamed, letting go of Usher from his hand. And then, a familiar voice was heard.
“Are you okay? Kids.”
Enduring the pain from his broken arm, he looked back and let out a low groan.
“Donar!”
There stood Donar, wearing shoes padded with thick cloth so they wouldn’t make a sound when stepping on sand, looking down at him. In one hand, he saw a piece of iron that seemed to have just struck his arm. It looked like a simple rod and wasn’t a particularly powerful weapon, so it wasn’t something knights who usually dealt with monsters or dragons used very often, but considering its main purpose was suppression and self-defense, it was by no means a laughable object. Donar looked down coldly at Pan, who called his name.
“You’ve been running wild pretty well until now. You bastard.”
He couldn’t understand this situation. Pan had definitely aimed for a time when everyone would be asleep, just in case, and had first used the sleeping incense he had snuck into each carriage where the drivers slept to prevent anyone from waking up halfway through.
“Ugh, how did you wake up?! I definitely used sleeping incense…!”
“Are you talking about this?”
In Donar’s hand, the sleeping incense sticks that Pan had placed in the drivers’ carriages were clumped together.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know? Even though I look like this, I often go to Trus’s carriage, so I know very well what sleeping incense smells like.”
And he said it was weirder not to smell it in the confined carriage from the burning smell, even though sleeping incense was relatively odorless, crushing the sleeping incense he had gathered in his hand. But what Pan couldn’t understand above all was that he was clearly protecting his body with defensive magic. But why?
“No way!”
A witch had the power to cancel a sorcerer’s magic. Could it be that it didn’t correspond to one magic spell at a time, but canceled all magic currently in use with just a single attempt? He quickly looked at where the girl had been standing. But there was no one there. As he panicked and looked around, he saw Usher and Belka watching him from a distance with another knight. Even if he had been distracted, their speed was excessively fast. The knight he thought of was one whose specialty was running.
“Shalvi…!”
“Where are you losing focus?”
“Gasp?!”
Pan stumbled forward from a blow felt in his waist. It seemed his ribs were broken. He gritted his teeth and glared at Donar. He had always protected his body with defensive magic, so he shouldn’t have felt pain no matter how much he was hit. That’s why he had threatened Trus, deceived people, and lived without his armor, pretending to be sick, but that had turned out to be the worst choice. But now, it was a chance. Shalvi had taken the boy and girl far away, and Donar was blocking the way as if protecting them.
In that case, the girl was in a state where she couldn’t even confirm if he was using magic. There would only be one chance to use it, but that one time was enough. Because he was confident he could subdue all the knights with that single spell. When Donar kicked him. Thinking it was his chance, he endured the pain and raised his finger to draw a rune.
“Aaaaargh!”
However, an unbearable agony, incomparable to anything until now, came from the finger drawing the rune, and Pan screamed. He tried to grab his finger to endure the agony, but all he felt was the chilling sensation of his finger being bent in the wrong direction. As he became aware of that fact, his attempt to endure the pain only conveyed the pain more vividly. Forgetting that this place was the wilderness in his terrible agony, he rolled on the dirt floor and realized the presence of another knight.
A knight who had taken a position different from Shalvi, loading a bullet into a sling made of rope and leather and swinging it around. It was clear that he was the one who had done this to his finger. With this horrifying accuracy, targeting and breaking it as if waiting for him to raise his finger, it could only be Odur. He was already surrounded. Pan wanted to hurl insults at them, but Donar, who approached him, knocked him unconscious first.
Donar bound the unconscious Pan tightly and thought. His rescue of the children from Pan was not a simple coincidence. Before the trial opened, he had visited the old man.
“Sir, is what Shalvi told me true?”
The story he had heard from Shalvi was something that could greatly overturn the outcome of the upcoming trial.
“Yes, it seems Shalvi relayed it well.”
At the old man’s affirmation, Donar felt relieved inwardly. If Shalvi’s words were true, it meant that Trus, who was currently captured, was not the culprit.
“Then who is the real culprit?”
Then he wondered about the fact that was still unknown. If Trus wasn’t the culprit, then who was the real culprit who did that to the girl? To think that such a thing hadn’t happened at all was impossible, as what he had witnessed with Siff were clearly traces of intercourse. At his question, the old man sighed and.
“It’s Pan.”
“That bastard…!”
“Can’t you stop right now?!”
The old man, who had expected Donar to rush out to capture Pan as soon as he heard those words, roared and made him stop.
“Didn’t I always tell you? Your quick temper is always the problem!”
Knowing this would happen, he had first told Shalvi not to talk about the culprit, the old man scolded him.
“But didn’t you say Pan was the culprit? Then we should catch him right now.”
“Hoo, yes. That’s not wrong. But right now, people believe Trus is the culprit. If we present Pan as the real culprit without any reason, people’s suspicions will only grow.”
He was about to ask why he was stopping him, but the old man had already anticipated his thoughts and continued speaking.
“In the worst case, even after punishing Pan, they might still think Trus was the culprit and that Pan was framed.”
“Such a thing.”
That was truly the worst-case scenario. Then he realized something strange.
“Sir, how did you know that Pan was the culprit?”
“There was someone who witnessed the incident directly. Thankfully, they came to me to tell me.”
The old man had a bittersweet yet commendable expression.
“Come out now.”
“You?”
And he was surprised by the appearance of the person who came out. And he could understand why the old man hadn’t carelessly put Pan on trial by presenting the witness, despite having one. After that, they planned a strategy to catch Pan directly at the scene. The plan was to superficially pass judgment on Trus at the trial held after dinner, and that night, Donar, Shalvi, and others would capture Pan. Unexpected things did happen, though.
“….”
The small girl with red hair subtly illuminated by the small candle lit to brighten the inside of the carriage, wearing a pure white mask that hid what she was thinking, and the blond boy glancing at them with extreme tension. Those who had gathered in the old man’s carriage after Donar knocked Pan unconscious were glancing at the children who weren’t originally supposed to be here. Perhaps it felt a bit wrong to just leave them after capturing Pan, so Shalvi had brought the children with him. Although there were only four people in total, including the old man, they had heard the entire conversation between the children and Pan.
“Uh, so, are you really a witch?”
Feeling awkward staying silent like this, Donar asked. He had been waiting for the old man to speak first, but seeing the old man with his eyes closed, showing no sign of opening his mouth, he spoke first. At that, the girl, who had been staring only at the candle until now, raised her head and looked at him.
“It doesn’t matter what you call me. You’re already certain, aren’t you?”
“Hmm, is that so.”
It was a very unique way of speaking, but perhaps because of the girl’s atmosphere, which was utterly unlike a child, it didn’t feel awkward or strange. Was she thinking they would sell her off? Just as it felt difficult to continue the conversation because of the girl, who rarely showed her emotions, and Usher, who was watching their reactions.
“Ahem!”
The old man cleared his throat, gathering their attention.
“Let’s keep this matter confidential.”
The children looked at him, surprised. The old man’s words were definitely surprising, considering the perception of witches. Since ancient times, saints had been praised, while witches were treated as ominous and evil, and people eagerly sought them out to report them to the higher-ups or threaten them and exploit their power. There was nothing to hinder them from doing so. Because witches weren’t even allowed to feel wronged when such things happened to them. But those gathered there didn’t object to the old man’s words.
“What are you talking about, sir? I only saw Pan, that bastard, getting caught by Donar while trying to attack this child?”
The first to speak was Odur, who was with them because someone else was watching Trus at night.
“Hmm, let’s just say I was out for a walk with these kids, heard strange noises, checked it out, and discovered Pan doing that.”
With even Shalvi saying that, Donar had nothing to say.
“Hey, if you guys say that, I’ll look like the clueless one.”
“You were always clueless.”
“You bastard!”
Donar lunged at Shalvi, who was dissing him. Perhaps he couldn’t keep up with the situation that had suddenly become boisterous. Usher watched them blankly.
“As for Trus and Pan, we will talk about them at the trial tomorrow. Now, it’s late, so hurry and go to sleep.”
The old man ordered them to disperse and told the children to go to sleep. So they left the carriage.
“I’ll take the kids back and come.”
“Alright, don’t attack them.”
“Do you think I’m a bastard like Pan!?”
Donar exchanged jokes with them and walked in the opposite direction with the children. As they walked silently between the carriages, the Hildisvinis occasionally raised their heads and looked when they heard footsteps, but they didn’t give a warning. Seeing them do that every time they passed seemed amusing. Usher, following him with the girl, asked.
“Um… aren’t you going to ask anything?”
“I am curious.”
Donar didn’t deny Usher’s words.
“Because ‘witch’ isn’t exactly a good feeling.”
“Then why?”
“Before that, you guys are our benefactors.”
It was an incomprehensible statement. Why on earth had they become their benefactors?
“We never dreamed that Pan would be a sorcerer. If we had rushed in without knowing that fact, we would definitely have been defeated, wouldn’t we?”
That wasn’t really their fault. Because magic was something that was very rarely used by anyone. What criteria? Why? How someone could use magic, no one knew, making it even more so. Moreover, if one could use magic, the benefits of revealing the fact that they were a sorcerer were so vast that they usually wouldn’t even attempt to hide it. Therefore, if a sorcerer hid the fact that they could use magic, like Pan, there was no way anyone could know he was a sorcerer.
“So, it’s thanks to you guys.”
Eventually, they arrived in front of the carriage.
“Have good dreams.”
It was as Donar confirmed that the children had entered the carriage and turned around.
“Excuse me.”
A small voice calling him from behind was heard. He turned around to see the girl he thought had gone in, looking at him from the boundary between the carriage and the wilderness.
“Is there something else you need?”
At his question, Belka’s body trembled slightly. As Donar pondered if he had said something that might have frightened the girl with that delicate gesture.
“There’s something I want to say…”
It was a voice that wouldn’t be heard if you didn’t listen closely, but perhaps because it was quiet all around? Even the girl’s faint voice clearly reached his ears. Then the girl fumbled with the mask covering her face with her small hands and soon took it off. And Donar couldn’t help but stare blankly at Belka’s revealed face.
“Thank you.”
A plain single word without any embellishments. That was all, but the girl who said it was smiling brightly like a child who had received an unexpected gift. The girl’s pure smile, illuminated by the moonlight, and the golden light full of goodwill felt like they were etched into Donar’s mind. A shock, as if being punched in the heart, came over him. Soon, as if saying that sight was an illusion, the girl put her mask back on and quickly turned around as if shy, closing the carriage door. He watched blankly, not even thinking of stopping the girl.
‘Da- dangerous.’
If he hadn’t had someone in his heart, he might have fallen for the young girl, failing to act his age. On the way to his carriage, that smile didn’t fade, causing him to almost bump into the carriage several times and receive strange looks from the Hildisvinis, but since they were just animals anyway, he didn’t care. Meanwhile, Donar thought about witches again. Witches were ominous and looked down upon even in his hometown. If one was ever found, capturing them by unconditionally being ordered to apprehend them was one of the many duties of knights.
Even so, he had no intention of selling the girl to the higher-ups. Because they were no longer citizens or knights of Pasiphaenia. Moreover, the irrationality and oppression they had experienced gave them a strong sense of kinship with those called witches. Above all, the person he had in his heart was, in a way, a witch herself. How could he possibly sell her just because she was a witch? He had simply done what he thought was obvious. In their homeland, even the provisions protecting women had no mercy for witches. It was truly an irrational and selfish disregard.
But this was probably the same story no matter where you went. The thoughts and commands of the higher-ups were the justice and everything they followed. A long time ago, he hadn’t even thought that was wrong. Back then, he was merely a machine carrying out the higher-ups’ orders. His own thoughts and judgment were just a luxury. Being a knight in Pasiphaenia meant that. However, no matter how much he considered himself a machine, he was ultimately human, and a limit came. He had realized.
If only he hadn’t known that fact, it wouldn’t have been so painful. And what came wasn’t pride in his work, but a terrible skepticism about life. Because what remained most in his memory wasn’t honor that wasn’t even superficial, but only words of resentment and curses from those in a similar situation to him. The girl’s shy words of thanks held a more special meaning for him. He liked the sense of satisfaction that came from deep within his heart, not just the hollowly echoing sense of obligatory righteousness and praise from the higher-ups.
“Did that person feel this way too?”
He remembered the benefactor left behind in his homeland.
“Donar, why do you think that winning the war is everything?”
That day, too, was a day when blood was washed away by blood, as always.
“Well, isn’t it only by winning the war that we can gain everything?”
On the contrary, if we lose the war, we will lose everything.
“That’s not wrong. But…”
Saying that, he squatted down in front of the fallen knight’s corpse. It was an enemy corpse.
“Shedding blood isn’t the only answer. We shouldn’t be counting how much more blood we can make the opponent shed, but how much less blood we can shed ourselves.”
Stroking the helmet of the one who had grown cold.
“Think about it. We are definitely fighting to bring down the people above. But who are the ones we’ve been fighting tooth and nail until now?”
The enemy was wearing the same armor as us. That’s why he must have decided to form this caravan. He had received so many favors from that person that it was hard to remember each one, but he reaffirmed his promise to live a life where that person’s sacrifice would not be in vain.
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