The shadow of the bell tower had already swallowed half the street.
Renn sat on the steps of the bell tower, three old booklets retrieved from the guild archives spread out before him.
He didn't look up, merely pressing his index finger against a section of text, gently pushing the book toward Esper as she approached.
The slight indentation pressed by his fingertip read as follows:
【The Fall of the Blood Hunter Domain】
【At the end of the Era of Dragon Sovereignty, after the Wild Hunt Army suffered a crushing defeat at the Plains of Holy Remains, the Storm Army conducted a thorough liquidation of the remaining Wild Hunt forces. As one of the territories of the Ten Hunts, the Blood Hunter Domain bore the brunt of the attack.】
【At the same time, the knights stationed within the Blood Hunter Domain who pledged allegiance to the Wild Hunt rebelled from within upon learning of the Blood Hunter's betrayal. Under the joint offensive of the Wild Hunt and Storm Armies, the Blood Hunter Domain was reduced to ruins in just a few days.】
Esper sat down on the steps beside him.
Renn suddenly spoke.
“The Hunter met him and called out, ‘Come with me.’ The shepherd then threw down his staff, raised his spear, and followed the King.
The shepherd said, ‘Men call me the Blood Hunter, for I was born with a thirst for blood.’
So the King rewarded him with a domain, permitting him to establish his own nation upon this land and breed his descendants.”
Esper rested her chin on her knees, her gaze falling on the faded ink lines in the booklet.
“The Epic of Dragon Sovereignty? You actually memorized that?”
“...It's a required course for Roundtable Knights. Master said we must remember the victory the Storm King won for humanity.”
“Alright, alright.”
Esper made a stop gesture.
She had heard the story of the Blood Hunter long ago.
The shame of the Vampire Royal Court, the most notorious wielder of the Authority of Blood in history.
His true name and origins were untraceable, but the most popular rumor was that he was the son of a servant from the Vampire Royal Court.
Because of an abnormal, innate thirst for blood, he had attacked the court's vampires, became wanted, and went into exile.
During this time, he disguised himself as a shepherd, drinking sheep's blood to sustain himself. But in the end, unable to suppress his desire, he attacked a passing army and crossed paths with the Wild Hunt King.
Having earned the King's appreciation, he joined the Wild Hunt Army and received the Authority of Blood, establishing a vampire territory within the dragonkin empire founded by the Wild Hunt.
Every time her sister mentioned him, Esper could feel the bone-chilling cold in her tone.
...But that was all in the past.
Renn flipped to the next page, which showed a crude diagram of the battlefield.
“The battle to besiege the Blood Hunter Domain was massive. The dead at Rank Six alone numbered in the thousands, so there are very few records with detailed information.”
His finger slid down to a small footnote at the bottom of the page.
“But there is one special record.”
Esper leaned in to look.
【『Aberrant Blood』】
【Rank Six, pure-blooded human. Within the vampire vassal state supported by the dragonkin, he earned a name through pure martial skill and became a Named Knight of the Wild Hunt Army.】
【During the siege of the Blood Hunter Domain, he covered the escape of the domain's Fourth Princess, killing several knights single-handedly before finally dying in battle due to being outnumbered. Thanks to the time he bought, the princess escaped into the wilderness and her whereabouts have been unknown ever since.】
“Pure martial skill? So he has no special abilities?”
Esper tilted her head.
“That also means his close-combat capabilities are formidable to an extremely terrifying degree.”
Renn nodded and added.
“Hart Town was built upon the ruins of the destroyed Blood Hunter Domain. It is said that this area is where the Aberrant Blood Knight died in battle.”
He closed the booklet.
“When death marchers are resurrected, they retain their memories and obsessions from life, but they become distorted. A knight who protected a princess in life becomes an undead who slaughters knights in death.”
Esper's fingertip traced the words 'Aberrant Blood' on the page.
“The Wild Hunt knights were predominantly dragonkin, while the Storm knights were mostly pure-blooded humans.
As both a pure-blooded human and a Wild Hunt knight, he faced attacks from both sides and could only fight to his very last breath.
Perhaps it was this despair and pain of being accepted by nothing that triggered it, so even though he successfully covered the princess's retreat, he still became a death marcher?”
Renn nodded.
“Hatred does not distinguish between eras. To him, anyone wearing armor and carrying a sword is one of the people who killed him that night.”
Esper fell silent for a few seconds.
“...Even a boy who dreams of becoming a knight?”
“To him, yes.”
Renn's gaze sharpened slightly.
“However, death marchers gain special powers when resurrected, and he also has accomplices. We cannot treat him as an ordinary Rank Six or a simple martial artist.”
He stood up and brushed the dust off his trousers.
“The ability of his supporter is somewhat tricky to deal with, but now that we know its basic mechanism, evading it shouldn't be too difficult.
Although he is recorded as powerful and troublesome, I am confident I won't fall into a disadvantage in a head-on duel. When the time comes, I'll have to trouble you.”
“Sure.”
Esper stood up as well, stretching. The Holy Sword swayed slightly behind her shoulder, its glow shimmering with a faint gold in the twilight.
Eladia sat on the stone platform at the base of the bell tower, her hands resting on her knees, her sky-blue eyes quietly watching the two.
“There's one more thing.”
Esper turned to face Renn.
“Can you tell me more about Yulia Wagner?”
Renn's expression didn't change.
“What do you want to know?”
“What kind of person is she?”
“...Strong.”
Renn placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“When Master adopted her, she was only three years old, yet she could already speak like a normal adult.
From day one, she learned everything faster than anyone else. Swordsmanship, physical techniques, magic manipulation—she could replicate almost all of it after seeing it just once. Master said many times that if she had worked just a little harder, surpassing Master would have only been a matter of time.”
“...How amazing.”
“...Yes, she is a genius. So is Master.”
Renn paused for a moment.
“But she is different from Master. Master has only done one thing in his life; Master's goal is to hone his swordplay to the absolute limit.
She is different. She is capable of everything, good at everything, but she doesn't care about anything.”
Esper's eyebrows twitched.
“What do you mean?”
“The way she looks at everything is exactly the same. Swords, people, battles, honor. In her eyes, they are all of equal value. All of them can be consumed, and all of them can be thrown away.”
Renn's voice was still flat, but another pause occurred.
“Except for Master.”
“...Oh?”
“The way she looked at Master was different. I can't explain exactly how it was different, but it just was.”
Esper thought of something but kept it to herself.
“And then?”
“Later, she started taking those strange commissions. Deliberately losing to monsters, letting herself be... 'disposed of'.
After word of this spread, Master's reputation was affected.”
Renn's tone grew slightly heavier.
“Master called her back and asked her why. She calmly said it was because she wanted to. Her face was completely expressionless.
Master got angry, nearly drawing his sword on the spot, but she still showed no emotion.
Master warned her never to do it again. She nodded, but she kept doing those things outside anyway.
So Master challenged her to a duel. A duel without any magic enhancement, using pure swordsmanship.”
Renn seemed to recall something highly unpleasant, and his voice slowed down even more.
“...Then, Master won. He severed her right arm and told her to leave, never to appear before him again.”
The wind poured down through the gaps at the top of the bell tower, blowing the short hair on Renn's forehead.
“She nodded and left. But before she did, she said something to Master.
I don't know the exact words; Master never mentioned them to anyone. But from a distance, I saw Master's hand trembling.”
He made one final pause.
“After that, Master locked himself in his room. He didn't come out for three months, nor did he speak to anyone. His Majesty issued an arrest warrant and handed it to me.”
Esper fell silent for a few seconds, casting her gaze toward the distant forest.
“...Do you hate her?”
“No.”
He answered quickly.
“But I must find her. Because Master is waiting for her.”
“...Maybe your master isn't waiting for anyone.”
Esper spoke with a slightly dry, soft voice.
“If Yulia really cared about your master, then why didn't she listen to him? If your master really cared about Yulia, then why couldn't he tolerate her flaws?”
Renn didn't answer. He simply turned around, facing the gradually darkening sky.
“...Why do you ask such a question?”
“I just... don't understand...”
Esper clenched her teeth.
“If they truly cared about each other... then why couldn't they be a little more patient? Why couldn't they accept each other a little more? Why must they force the other to leave completely before being satisfied, only to then search for them in a display of wishful thinking?”
—Is Fina looking for me?
She didn't know. She couldn't know.
But that didn't stop her from asking.
Renn took a deep breath, seriously gazing at the girl before him, whose eyes were almost brimming with tears.
“The sun is about to set. Let's get ready.”
Rate on N.U.
