Chapter 5: Evils Lurking Near
Meanwhile, when Rio was dining together with Liselotte at her estate, by her invitation...
Alphonse Rodan had apologized to Rio, split ways with Stewart Huguenot, and was visiting the forests to the west of Amande with a few other knights.
Alphonse was currently walking along the road to the west; his goal was to, of course, investigate the cause of the huge spawns of monsters and confirm that no more savage monsters lurked in the woods. In other words, a reconnaissance in force. At the request of Duke Huguenot, an advance party was formed consisting of mostly knights traveling together with them, which he was made to join on their mission.
Incidentally, Stewart was confined to house arrest on Duke Huguenot’s order, remaining at the mansion. The fact he gave Alphonse a chance to clear his name but not his own son was probably because he had showed consideration for Marquess Rodan’s house.
Fuck this! I’ll never forget this — I’ll never forgive this! Making me lose face like this... Alphonse was holding an irrational, deep-set grudge. Rio, Duke Huguenot, Aishia, Celia, Liselotte, Aria... he couldn’t help but feel so much hatred for all the factors that stood in the way of what he wanted.
Why did I have to apologize to that filthy commoner anyway?! He was completely shelving the fact he had caused the problem, though he may have never considered it a problem to begin with, being that he thought he was a human of the privileged class.
Commoners should just shut the hell up and do as we say. Those women, too — they should have been grateful we bothered to lay our eyes on them. Getting ahead of themselves for looking a little attractive... Alphonse’s rage did not calm. In the time between bowing at Rio’s feet and moving to the forest, he had continuously simmered in his anger.
Of course, his apology had been for appearances only. Even if it was only in appearance, he had showed intent to apologize with his behavior. Duke Huguenot’s intervention meant a settlement contract had been formed.
Alphonse could no longer touch Rio and the others. In other words — he had been utterly defeated. On top of that, Duke Huguenot had stamped him as an incompetent person.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! I’m not at fault! I’m not incompetent! Alphonse couldn’t forgive the current situation. A high class and talented individual like him could not accept the fact he was being outright rejected by society.
...First is that damn duke. Just watch, you old fool. I’ll show you what I’m worth. A strong desire to prove himself was welling up within Alphonse right alongside his rage. He wanted to prove Duke Huguenot wrong so much, he could barely stand it.
I’ll definitely achieve something here. Alphonse harbored his ambitions with eagerness. He had been glaring around at the surrounding forest, searching for a target to vent his bitterness against.
“Oi, Alphonse. You’ve been restless for a while now. I get that you’re annoyed at being scolded, but we’re mid-mission right now. Get your head in the zone.” The commanding knight of the investigation squad was unable to ignore Alphonse’s clearly bad mood and gave him a warning.
“Tch,” Alphonse clicked his tongue. The commanding knight was in his mid-twenties, normally acting as the vice-commander of Flora’s elite guards, but Alphonse’s family was higher-ranked. Any speech from a person of lower social status would only fall upon Alphonse’s deaf ears at the moment.
“...Hey, I don’t like your attitude.” The commanding knight frowned. Even if Alphonse was from a better house, he was the superior rank military-wise, and proud of obtaining his position through his own ability.
“That wasn’t my intention. I’m just on edge from my hatred of monsters. More importantly, how long are we going to walk along this road for? Let’s go into the forest already.” Alphonse huffed with a rebellious attitude.
“...We are merely an advance party dispatched to strengthen guard patrol. Reconnaissance in force is part of our mission, but our goal is not to exterminate monsters,” the commanding knight replied in an unhappy voice.
At that, the knights that had formed lines while on guard of their surrounding started being distracted by Alphonse and the commander’s conversation.
“You say that, but what if a minotaur appears in the city?” Alphonse objected with a more aggressive attitude than usual.
“Cut that out already. That’s why we’re currently strengthening the city’s security. It’s not something for a mere foot soldier like you to worry about. You just follow your orders,” the commanding knight scolded Alphonse a bit harshly.
“Hmph, what a coward...” Alphonse muttered quietly.
The commanding knight finally seemed to snap, arguing back aggressively. “And here I was being considerate, since you’re clearly still a child. Would you like to head into the forest alone instead? You may be able to encounter a minotaur, as you seem to wish.”
“Kuh...” Alphonse frowned deeply. No matter how hot-headed he was getting because of anger, he wasn’t foolish enough to think he could defeat a minotaur alone.
“That will be unnecessary.” From out of nowhere, an unfamiliar man’s voice echoed loudly.
“Who’s there?!” The knights looked around them in a hurry. Two men appeared from the forest, stepping onto the road. One was Reiss, wearing a black hood to cover his appearance, and the other boldly had his face on full display. The man with his face revealed looked to be in his prime adult years, a sword hanging from his waist and in an outfit fitting for a mercenary. His name was Lucius. While his facial features were refined, he emitted a wild aura filled with confidence and spirit.
“There are no monsters in the forest right now,” Lucius said, approaching the knights without hesitation. Once he was within ten meters of the knights, the commanding knight shouted an order in a stern voice.
“Freeze!”
“Yeah, yeah.” Lucius did as he was told.
“Are you an adventurer of Amande?” the commanding knight asked.
“Nope, that I am not.” Lucius shook his head casually.
“...How suspicious. Then what were you doing in the forest?” The knights fixed their dubious gazes on Reiss, who was standing behind Lucius.
“Why, being suspicious people, of course. And would you lot be the knights from the Kingdom of Beltrum?”
“...How do you know that?” Lucius’ question made the knights all the more wary at once.
“Well, there is only one group of knights staying in Amande right now, after all. The elite knights escorting Princess Flora, that is.”
When Flora’s name came up, the knights expressions became even more grim. “...Who the hell are you?”
“I have a little business with you lot. Seems like there’s about twenty of you. And all youths, at that.” Lucius smiled with extreme cheerfulness, looking around at the knights.
“Come to think of it, you were a former noble of Beltrum, weren’t you? Are there any faces you recognize?” Reiss asked from behind Lucius.
“Nope. But it wouldn’t change a thing if there was.”
“That’s good to hear. Their bodies will be satisfactory, so I’m counting on you,” Reiss said in a flat voice.
“What a pain. Should we just mess them up a bit and restrain them?” Alphonse drew his sword. It was the perfect opponent to take his irritation out on.
“Wait, I want to talk to them some more...” The commanding knight tried to continue with his interrogation, but —
“Hahaha, there’s a lively one among them. How nice.” Lucius looked at Alphonse’s face and laughed joyfully.
“Make sure you don’t kill them. Healing is troublesome, so don’t detach their limbs, either,” Reiss said tiredly to Lucius.
“I’m helping you out... At least let me have a little fun. You just make sure no one runs away,” Lucius replied apathetically, drawing a sinister, jet-black sword from its sheath at his waist.
“The other side seems ready to go. Let me take him on.” Alphonse grinned smugly, stepping forth to fight.
“...No. Surround and capture them. If he resists, I don’t mind if you counterattack, but...” The commanding officer chose to respond with only rationality. Since they knew about the knights and Flora, he wanted to talk to them a little more.
“?!”
Suddenly, Lucius broke into a run. His unbelievable speed left the knights wide-eyed in surprise.
“Brace...!” The commanding officer tried to give his order in a fluster. However, Lucius had snuck into the midst of the knights in an instant.
“Too slow! You should have strengthened yourselves with magic the moment I drew my sword.”
“Guh...” One of the knights went flying through the air, kicked away by Lucius. The knights around them looked upon that scene with their jaws dropped.
“A-Aaaah!” Alphonse roared in anger, charging straight to slash Lucius. His mouth was turned upwards in a savage smile, the opportunity perfect for him to expend his stress.
“Hahaha, you sure are an interesting one.” Lucius blocked Alphonse’s sword and laughed heartily.
“Die! Augendae Corporis!” Alphonse used physical ability enchanting magic as he put more strength into his sword. The spell circle appeared just a moment later, making strength swell within him and helping him push his sword forward with force. However, Lucius took a graceful step backwards and retreated.
“I’ll leave you until last. Come on now, how about you lot activate your enhancement magic too?” Lucius said to Alphonse, before provoking the other knights into action.
“Kuh, Augendae Corporis!” The knights, in anger, each enhanced their physical abilities with magic one by one.
“Fine, kill that one! Just leave the hooded man instead!” the commanding knight said, having finally considered Lucius’ killing intent.
“Yeah, give it your best shot!” Lucius shouted, jumping into the group of knights himself. Of course, the knights swung their swords to slay Lucius. However, Lucius slipped through the swinging slashing swords, enjoying the thrill.
“What’s the matter, huh?! Is this all you can do?! Entertain me more!”
“D-Damn it!”
The knights felt like they were hallucinating, cutting through nothing but fog. No matter how many times they swung their swords, despite being certain they would make contact, their blades could not reach Lucius.
Lucius swung his sword, pulling it back at the last moment before it could kill any of the knights. Occasionally, when the knights thought he was attacking, he would just deflect their attacks and do nothing else.
This guy’s toying with us! the knights concluded as Lucius laughed cheerfully at them. There was no doubt Lucius was insane, genuinely enjoying this situation of slipping through the flashes of swords.
Time passed like that until Lucius spoke up, his tone full of boredom. “Ah... Guess it’s time to lower the numbers.” The end of his sword drove into the solar plexus of a knight, making him groan in agony.
“Guh!”
“Now it’s my turn to attack,” Lucius laughed brightly and began his counterattack.
“Gah!”
“Hah...”
He struck two knights with his fist and foot, making them collapse on the ground. No sooner had he done that, the next knight was being blown back by Lucius, flying through the air in a dramatic fashion. It was as though Lucius could read the movements of the knights completely, aiming for their weak points, moving before they could respond, and reaping them of their consciousness one by one with his blows.
“N-No way...” Alphonse watched his colleagues get taken down helplessly and found himself frozen in shock, before he suddenly returned to his senses and looked around. Their overwhelmingly advantageous situation had been flipped in an instant. Even at this moment, the number of knights that were safe was dwindling.
At that moment, Alphonse felt their defeat at hand — at this rate, they would lose. As he came to that realization, another knight, then another, fell to the ground.
“Wow, it sure is easier to move around when the numbers have decreased. I can go even faster now!” Lucius moved even faster than before, with no rhyme or reason to his actions. His speed was faster than that of the knights that had enhanced their physical abilities with magic.
That movement... An enchanted sword! Alphonse thought, inferring the reason as to why Lucius’ physical abilities were far beyond the norm. There was only one way he could have moved faster than their magically-enhanced selves.
Enchanted swords this, enchanted swords that! It’s unfair! If I had one too, I could’ve...! As someone without one, Alphonse felt deep envy, as unproductive and meaningless an emotion as it was to have at the moment. The likelihood of him escaping was growing smaller by the minute.
“Guh!” Struck by a knee blow, another knight fell to the ground.
“Ah, four more left,” Lucius said, looking over the cleared view of the road. Over twenty experienced knights had been reduced to four in less than a minute.
I-Impossible... Alphonse thought in a daze. When he looked around, the only people who were still conscious and on their feet were the four knights — including him and the commanding officer — as well as Lucius and Reiss.
“Thanks to you, I’ve made much progress in retrieving the unconscious knights,” Reiss was observing Lucius and the knights from a small distance away, having gathered all the knights Lucius defeated without anyone’s realization. They were all out cold.
“One last job left, it seems. It’ll be your turn soon too, yeah?” Lucius said, looking at Alphonse, who had completely lost the will to fight.
“Eek...” Alphonse backed away reflexively in fear. No, it wasn’t only Alphonse; the other remaining knights had lost their will to fight as well, inching backwards away from Lucius.
“R-Run! Retreat!” the still unharmed commanding officer yelled. Immediately, the four knights — including Alphonse — broke into a run down the road.
I-It’s for help! I need to call for help! This is just a strategic retreat! Alphonse told himself as he desperately ran. There was no trace of the enthusiastic spirit he had when he wanted to take down a minotaur to clear his name.
“Did none of you see our difference in physical abilities when I was fighting? Hey! Even if you run, I’ll just catch up to you!” Lucius said in a voice filled with scorn before kicking off from the ground and chasing the knights. The distance between them closed in an instant, but the desperate knights didn’t realize it.
“Hah, hah...!” Alphonse panted, focusing solely on moving his feet. Eventually, a sword reached out from behind him, passing a hair’s breadth away from his cheek.
“E-Eeeh?! Wah!” Unable to press on any further, Alphonse stepped to the side and haphazardly swung his sword at Lucius, but his sword slashed through the air in vain. “Wha?!”
Alphonse’s eyes widened in shock. Lucius was standing ten meters behind Alphonse, a wicked grin on his face. He watched Alphonse as he kicked the commanding officer.
I-Impossible! His sword was right there! Did he fall back to that position in an instant?! Alphonse’s eyes widened in astonishment as he touched his cheek where the cold sensation of a sword had touched his skin moments earlier.
“You’re the last, as promised. Don’t give me too much trouble,” Lucius quipped tiredly.
“G-Guh...” Unable to say anything in return, Alphonse backed away slowly. He glared at Lucius with deep hatred, as though he was looking upon something that spooked him.
“...You really do have quite the look in your eyes.” Lucius stared back into Alphonse’s eyes and swiftly walked over to close the distance between them. Alphonse shrunk back, unable to move.
“W-What?” There was nowhere to run anymore. Even as Alphonse replied to Lucius, he was groping for a path of survival.
“It’s those eyes of yours that show sly cunning. You may or may not be the one,” Lucius grinned, his words full of meaning.
“H-Huh?” Alphonse mumbled, having no idea what he meant.
“Well. In any case, I’ve become bored. Let’s end this, shall we?”
When Lucius closed the distance further, Alphonse yelled out in a fluster. “W-Wait! If it’s money you want, I’ll pay you. I’ll even stay quiet about you guys!”
“Ah? Money?” Alphonse seemed to pique Lucius’ interest, as he stopped moving forward and grinned in delight.
A-All right! It looks like I can negotiate with money! Seeing the space for negotiation made Alphonse grin in response.
“...You really are an interesting guy,” Lucius huffed through his nose, approaching Alphonse once more.
Meanwhile, at the governor of Amande’s estate, Rio had just finished his meal with Liselotte and was about to leave. Liselotte and the others had come to the garden to say goodbye.
“It’s an honor to be seen off by everyone. Thank you very much for everything today.” Rio drew his right hand over his chest and bowed his head at those present in respect.
“Thank you for coming over today. I’ll send a messenger on another day in the future, so it would be lovely if you could stay in Amande a little longer. Of course, if you need anything, you are free to visit my estate at any time,” Liselotte offered respectfully.
Rio gave a friendly smile as he nodded. “Yes, I appreciate your offer.” Unexpected events had happened one after another, but all’s well that ends well, after all. Thanks to everything, he had been able to form a close friendship with Liselotte.
For the record, defeating the minotaurs to save Liselotte and Flora was considered such a meritorious deed, they had yet to decide what to reward Rio with, requiring more time to examine the case. It was decided that he would visit Liselotte’s mansion again in the future about the matter. In other words, they would continue to be friends from here on out. Both Rio and Liselotte had the same intentions of forming a friendship, but neither of them had a grasp of their distance yet, so they were slowly building a relationship of trust without rushing. It was a bit roundabout, but this was normal for noble negotiations.
“U-Umm...!” Flora took a step forward nervously, calling out to Rio.
“Yes?” Rio replied, tilting his head.
“Umm. If we have the chance to meet again, please feel free to chat with me some more. We also want to give you our gratitude formally, so, please,” Flora said, bowing her head at Rio hesitantly.
“...Yes, it’d be my pleasure.” Rio paused for a moment before nodding with a smile.
Has she noticed something about me after all? Or is this just how she is?
He had suspicions. Flora seemed to be acting strangely, as though she was vaguely trying to meet him halfway. If there was a reason for Flora to be investigating Rio, then the most natural line of reasoning would be because she suspected Haruto was actually Rio. However, as far as he had seen from Flora’s actions until now, he couldn’t say for certain that she doubted him. At the very least, he couldn’t detect any negative feelings, and there was certainly the possibility of this being how Flora would normally interact with him.
Rio had no points of contact with Flora during his time at the academy, so he didn’t actually know what her personality was. All he knew was that she didn’t seem to be a very extroverted person.
I guess I’ll just see how things go for now.
He couldn’t afford to seem too cautious in front of her. It would be best to remain as natural as possible, in order to play innocent, being that there was no proof that he was Rio.
Hiroaki, who had been watching the exchange between Rio and Flora fixedly, spoke up. “Well, we’ll be staying in Amande until the safety of the area is confirmed, too. If you visit Liselotte’s estate, there should be an opportunity to meet again,” he said with a shrug.
“Yes — it’s as the hero says. Oh, that’s right! Sir Haruto prepares tea very well. I had some today by chance, but I could prepare a tea party for us sometime, if you are willing?” Liselotte said.
Rio nodded courteously. “Yes. I would be happy to attend if you wish to invite me.”
“Y-Yes, I would also love to,” Flora agreed nervously.
“Then let’s leave this tea party for another date and wrap this up. Don’t drag this out any longer and let him go home already,” Hiroaki said bluntly.
“You’re right — We shouldn’t keep him any longer. Sir Haruto. Let us meet again,” Duke Huguenot said.
“Yes. Everyone, let us meet another day. Please excuse me.” Rio bowed his head deeply before turning on his heel and walking off. He continued walking to the gate while Liselotte watched his back.
Time to go back to the inn and relax. Freed from acting social with the nobles, Rio let out a small sigh.
Back in the forest to the west of Amande. Rustle, rustle.
Alphonse was vaguely aware that he was being dragged somewhere, that someone had a hold of him by the scruff of his neck. However, he had no idea what was happening. Looking back on his memories, he remembered he had been scouring the forest as part of an investigation.
Ah, shit... Belatedly, he recalled the numerous humiliations he faced afterwards. A surge of anger went through him; he couldn’t forgive anyone who humiliated him.
However... rustle, rustle.
Someone was yanking Alphonse along, making him quite uncomfortable.
Who is it, treating me so roughly? Ugh... Alphonse found it most unpleasant, but a dull pain in the back of his head made him frown.
My head hurts.
Did he hit it hard somewhere? He didn’t know.
“Yo, I’m done,” a man’s voice echoed happily. Immediately after, Alphonse felt the sensation of soaring through the air, before falling to the ground with a heavy thump.
“Ugh...” It seemed he had been thrown. Alphonse groaned.
“Good work. There were so many of them so I’ve already started,” a vacant male voice echoed.
At that point, Alphonse’s mind finally snapped to, and he opened his eyes faintly. He noticed they were inside the forest, having left the road.
This is... Alphonse finally remembered the identities of the men beside him. The ones that had attacked them. Lucius and Reiss.
Reiss was crouched on the ground, working away at something. Beside him stood Lucius.
“They sure are a creepy bunch, as always,” Lucius said, looking to the side. Contrary to his words, a delighted smile was on his face. Alphonse followed Lucius’ gaze.
“Wha...” The scene that met Alphonse’s eyes was so shocking, his body trembled. He could feel his mind reeling instantly.
T-Those are the humanoid monsters that attacked us on the road yesterday! Why are they wearing the elite knights’ uniforms?!
Dark-skinned revenants wearing the same knight uniform as Alphonse stood around in swarms. All the revenants were hairless, their facial structures lacking individuality. However, there was no sign of the savagery witnessed in the ones from yesterday, all of them staring into space with vacant eyes.
What’s the meaning of this?! Alphonse’s mind couldn’t keep up.
“Oh, it looks like someone’s awake.” Reiss looked at Alphonse with a truly wicked smile.
“Tch...!” Alphonse trembled with a flinch.
“I held back a little on this one. Here, have a look.” Lucius chuckled with a grin, grabbing Alphonse’s head and lifting it up. His gaze was led to where Reiss was crouched and beyond.
“Ugh...?!”
Alphonse’s fellow knight was lying there; seeing him made Alphonse’s face twist. There was something wrong with him.
“Ah, ah!” The knight was giving small, soundless screams as his body gave abrupt, twitching jerks. Reiss was holding down the knight from above, his mouth curved into a creepy grin.
“Oh my, is this too much for you to witness? He’s just about to transform.”
As he did so, the knight’s body shook violently.
“W-What did you do?! What is that?!” Alphonse asked in agitation. The person who had once been Alphonse’s colleague was, at that moment, rapidly transforming into a non-human lifeform.
All the hair fell out of his body, his skin darkening in color, audibly hardening in texture. Though it was wearing his knight uniform, it was undoubtedly a revenant. There were absolutely no traces of his former form left. If Alphonse hadn’t known who it used to be before, he wouldn’t have been able to identify it.
“Remodeling the human body. A recreation of the soul and flesh. However, to remodel while they’re still conscious makes them struggle tremendously, so it’s more effective to recreate them while they’re knocked out,” Reiss answered in a somewhat cheerful voice.
“...Uh, hnngh!” The evil was too much for Alphonse to bear, making him feel nauseous.
Reiss, meanwhile, ignored Alphonse. “Ah, Lucius, could you please strip them of their clothes? We don’t want to leave any evidence that the original bodies of the revenants were humans.”
“No way, I have no interest in stripping dudes of their clothes. Do it yourself later.”
Reiss shook his head in disapproval. “Good grief.”
“Nngah... hah...” Alphonse was coughing violently, gasping for breath.
Reiss watched him. “So, why is he still conscious?”
“Test it out on him — your final form of the revenants. I reckon he has the qualities for it,” Lucius answered with a grin.
“It’d be a waste of a body and materials if it fails, though. Body aside, the gems used as materials are valuable, you realize? The chances of succeeding at the final form are low as well.”
“Just this one time is fine, isn’t it? You’re gonna make the rest of the guys here into the enhanced model, no? If you add all the pieces in your hand together, its plenty of power to attack Amande with.”
“...I suppose that’s true.” Reiss stood up with a small sigh. Leaving the newly-completed revenant behind him, he approached Alphonse.
“There we go.” With a carefree word of encouragement, Lucius pinned Alphonse’s arms behind his back and made him stand up.
“L-Let go! Don’t come any closer! Stop! You monster!” Alphonse struggled as he yelled, eyes never leaving the monster that was his former colleague. However, he was unable to break free from Lucius’ abnormal strength.
“Let’s have a look.” Reiss stood before Alphonse. At some point, he picked up an eerie jewel-like stone in his hand, its size the same as a fist.
“Guh?!” The stone was thrust into Alphonse’s chest like piercing through water, and he couldn’t hold back his groan. Yet despite the strange, foreign sensation, there was no pain.
“It doesn’t hurt, right? That’s because I’m not harming your physical body,” Reiss explained cheerfully, his hand in Alphonse’s chest. He leaned in to whisper into Alphonse’s ear. “Both your body and soul will start to hurt from here.”
“Guh... hah...” Alphonse gasped in agony. His heart was hot, his body was hot, and it felt like he was going to melt. He was hit with the urge to spit out everything inside his body, but he wasn’t able to.
“This will take some time.” They were crueler than the verdict of a demon declaring death.
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