Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

Roxy’s Resolve

AARON AND I FELL to the ground, our breathing ragged with exhaustion. For me, it was because I’d forced my half-starved state back under my control. For Aaron, he was at the limits of his magical power because he’d maintained the Eternal Grand Cross for so long.

Eris suddenly jumped to her feet and began to clap. Roxy began applauding, along with all those who had watched us with bated breath alongside her. Aaron and I climbed to our feet, enveloped in the cheering of the crowd. Then Aaron took my right hand and raised it toward the sky.

“I yield,” he said.

At the sound of his voice, and the declaration of a victor, the crowd exploded into bigger cheers. I turned to Aaron to thank him for the duel, but he’d collapsed back into sitting on the ground. He’d pushed himself beyond his limits; the modified tech-art had taken its toll. I wiped away the blood from my right eye with my sleeve, then reached my hand out toward him.

“Aaron,” I said. “Let me help you up.”

“Many thanks, Fate.” Aaron grinned as he pulled himself once more to his feet and ruffled my hair. “You’ve gotten stronger,” he said. “Actually, you’ve always been strong, ever since we first met. But now your heart has caught up with your body, and you’ve grown stronger once again. I don’t know if I can keep up with you anymore.”

“I’m certain you’ll find a way. I don’t have nearly as much experience as you do.”

“It’s just experience. Live and it is yours, whether you want it or not. But experience alone won’t get you to your destination. We equate experience with worth, but it’s not as important as we believe.”

Aaron turned to the still cheering crowd.

“I hereby grant the title of the Blessed Blade to Fate, for this battle is his. No one who witnessed this duel can object. And so I shall entrust the future to the new Blessed Blade.” 

“Aaron…I’m not…I…” 

I didn’t have very much time left. There wasn’t much of a future to entrust to me. The Gluttony was already transforming my body, and there was no way to stop it. Before long, I would lose myself to it. I didn’t think I would make it back to the kingdom after I left. I wanted to tell Aaron, but his voice rose into a shout.

“You will return!” he said, and there was nothing else I could say. Aaron’s eyes looked at me with a clear honesty. “Even if the way forward feels impossible. Even if it is impossible. You will return! I will believe in you, and I will wait for you.”

I stayed silent.

“Never forget,” said Aaron, “that there will always be a home for you here.”

No matter how far I went, or how lost I became…I would always have this place to come back to. I felt as though Aaron was empowering me with his own courage and bravery, just as usual.

“You always go too far, Aaron. Setting up this duel…” 

“If I didn’t go this far, it would be too easy for your convictions to falter. I took it to this extent because my son causes me no end of trouble. Well then, Fate? I’m still waiting for you to say it.”

“I…I will return, I promise you. I will come back to this place!”

“Yes, and I’ll be waiting for you, my son.”

This was Aaron’s way of saying goodbye. Even though he had once told me that real men don’t cry, I saw the tears in his eyes. Tears welled up in my own eyes as well. I didn’t need to gild my words so long as I spoke the truth. I wanted to tell him one more thing, from the bottom of my heart:

“Aaron, thank you so much. For everything.”

“Go. You are Fate Barbatos, the new Blessed Blade.”

We looked in each other’s eyes, shook hands, and nodded. No more words were necessary, for we spoke through our swords. It was here, among the cheering voices of the crowds of Seifort, that my duel with Aaron Barbatos came to a close.

***

In the early morning, the sun showed its radiant face from the east. It was the day I had promised to depart with Eris. I went to our meeting place, the Goblin Grasslands, with Memil by my side.

“You’re really coming with me?” I asked Memil.

“Of course I am. I already told you, didn’t I? I’m going to watch over you until the end.”

“Can you not say that? ‘Until the end’? It sounds really ominous.”

Memil giggled. “I suppose it does, doesn’t it? Still, that was Aaron’s edict, after all.”

Aaron had sent Memil to join me in his stead. She seemed happy about it, but in truth the road ahead was paved with conflict. I worried that perhaps she had lost sight of that fact.

“I am also here to look after the party’s needs while we travel. It will certainly benefit Eris to have me along for the ride too.” 

“I have a feeling that’s why she gave you permission to join us, if I’m being honest.”

Memil’s duty was to provide support on our way to Hausen, and afterward. Tracking down Shin was sure to bring danger with it. With that in mind, if we were bringing any servants along with us, they needed to know how to fight.

“I can’t wait!” said Memil. “It’s like taking a vacation!”

“Hey. Don’t forget: We’re not tourists!”

“Yes, yes, I know. But I still haven’t seen Hausen with my own eyes. I’ve heard that it’s a pilot program for cities running on the power of magitech.”

“I want to build a place where people can live without having to rely on skills. To that end, we’ve implemented a lot of Galian tech.”

“I see, I see. Oh, I just can’t wait!” Memil cried happily. “It really is like going on vacation!”

“Did you not hear what I just said?”

It was useless even trying to get through to her, so we walked on. I thought back to all the people we’d thanked before leaving—all the people who’d helped me get to this point. Aaron hadn’t had much more to say since the battle, but that was just like him. Sahara had been a little more trouble. She had clung to me tightly, face full of tears as she begged me not to leave. She had only let go when Aaron told her to, after which I gave her a gentle pat on the head like always, then left.

After leaving Barbatos Manor, we stopped by Hart Manor. I let Lord Mason and Lady Aisha know I was leaving, and we shared a sad goodbye. I also looked for Roxy, but she was absent. When I asked Lord Mason and Lady Aisha about it, they said that they hadn’t seen her since last night.

On that night, there was a small going-away party at my regular tavern. I’d been a regular even before my Gluttony had awakened, and the barkeep surprised me by organizing the party on short notice. Mugan and Miria were there, along with all the soldiers I’d fought alongside in Galia. The tavern was really bustling. Only Roxy seemed lost in her own thoughts, her mind distracted. I’d wanted to go over and talk to her, but by the time I had the chance, she was gone.

I began to worry. What if Roxy never went back to the manor that night? 

I didn’t want to keep Eris waiting, but I decided it was okay to be a little late in this case. While I thought about it, a figure caught my eye. It was a young woman with beautiful golden hair, waiting by the gate out of the Merchant District. When the girl noticed me, she slowly strode toward us.

“Well, what do you think?” she asked. “Do you like it?”

“Roxy… Your outfit, it’s…”

She was stunning. Gone was the light armor she wore as a holy knight. In its place, she was dressed in the style of a traveling swordswoman. The outfit was mainly white with a few blue accents, as if alluding to her holy knight status.

“It looks incredible. It totally suits you.”

“Thank you! I’m…I’m glad you like it.”

Then Roxy joined us as we walked toward the Goblin Grasslands.

Huh? Wait a second…

I stopped, perplexed by her actions. Roxy faced me, her face full of determination. 

“I am no longer the head of the Hart family,” she said. “I gave the position back to my father. I have decided to go with you, Fay. Not as a holy knight, but as myself, Roxy Hart.”

Are you sure? It’s too dangerous… Those were the thoughts that crossed my mind, words I simply couldn’t bring myself to utter. I felt her deadly seriousness, and I knew there would be no changing her mind. I was powerless against her resolve.

“Well, come on,” said Roxy. “Let’s go!”

“Yeah. Let’s go…together,” I said.

Memil watched us without saying a word, a bright smile on her face.

Roxy explained that she hadn’t wanted me to hear of her decision from anyone else, so she made sure her mother and father stayed quiet about it. At least now I knew why they’d acted so awkward and stiff when I met them earlier to say goodbye.

The three of us passed through the western gate and entered the Goblin Grasslands. We made for quite the strange party of travelers. To my right was a former Vlerick family holy knight: Memil. To my left was yet another former holy knight, now that Roxy had renounced her position and returned it to her father. When I had returned to Seifort, I never imagined that I would leave it quite like this. It made me laugh just thinking about it.

“What are you giggling about, Fay?”

“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s nothing.”

Roxy kept on asking me because she wanted to know, but it was so silly that I kept telling her it wasn’t worth it. Then Memil dropped another bombshell.

“Hm? Oh, dear me. Were you thinking naughty thoughts because you’ll be in the company of three women?!”

“What?” exclaimed Roxy. “Fay! Why in the world would you think such things?!”

How could Memil say something like that when all that awaited us was battle?! Her overactive imagination was going to land me in all sorts of hot water. 

Then again, I thought, I really am outnumbered by women…

“What about me? I’m here too,” muttered Greed as I scolded myself for my wandering thoughts.

“You’re a sword,” I said. “You’re an object.”

“How could you say that about the mighty sword, Greed?!”

While I was dealing with Greed’s smug pride, Roxy and Memil continued to speculate on Memil’s previous statement. They teased me about it all the way to the edge of the grasslands, where we saw Eris.

Huh. Now what are those?

Eris stood beside two black objects. I had a feeling I’d seen one of those things before. I thought back and remembered that it was the motorcycle I’d seen in the Military District. They were two-wheeled vehicles people once used in Galia, powered by the rider’s magical energy. According to Greed, they were a hundred times better than any horse. Just looking at them filled me with excitement. I had wanted to ride one ever since I saw it, but I never had the chance. Now there was one right in front of me.

“You like what you see, huh?” said Eris, flashing a knowing smile at the excitement plainly written all over my face. “Glad I got them ready for just this occasion.”

“So, two people per motorbike?”

“That’s right. I had the seats modified to accommodate more than one rider. With our magic stats, all four of us can ride them. They also come equipped with automatic balance stabilizers, so they’ll never fall over.”

“Can I ride one?”

“By all means. I couldn’t possibly say no to a face so full of eagerness.”

“Yes!”

We decided that Eris and I would drive first. Roxy would ride with me, and Memil with Eris.

“Excuse me,” Roxy said politely as she sat behind me and wrapped her hands around my waist.

It was a closer fit than I thought.

Come on, Fate… I told myself. Concentrate on the driving now. The driving.

When we were settled in, Eris looked over at us. “Well then, let’s head off to Hausen.”

“All right. I’m right behind you.”

When I fed magic into the handlebars, the motorbike’s tires moved. I started slow, but as I got used to how it handled, I fed more energy into the motorcycle.

“Whoa! This thing is fast!” I said.

“The wind feels so nice!” said Roxy.

Our bikes roared onward in pursuit of Shin, whose presence Eris had felt somewhere near Hausen. Myne would have to be somewhere nearby. If she really was trying to open the Door to Distant Lands, then it was up to us to stop her. According to Luna, we still had time, because the changes to the world had only just begun.

Even if it meant fighting Myne herself, we had to close the Door. What exactly that would mean for all of us, I still didn’t know. I had a suspicion that by the time I found out, it would already be too late.