Behind the House of Hart

UPON MY RETURN to Seifort, I went to the trading post for my reward money.

It was full of rough-looking adventurers standing shoulder to shoulder. I heard

the occasional curse thrown around, as well as arguments over exact trading

conditions. Getting mixed up with these types could only lead to trouble, so I

slipped through the crowds and took my place in line.

The muscular adventurer at the end of the line turned and peered down at

me. He chuckled derisively. One look at my clothes, and he probably figured I

was some scrub running errands for a real adventurer. Whatever. That was fine

by me. If people saw me at the counter with a mountain of monster parts and

assumed I was a mere errand boy, it meant I could avoid drawing suspicion with

my thirty-eight pairs of ears.

The cashier called for me. "Next in line, please."

I took my small bag stuffed with goblin ears to the counter.

"Let's see here… My, my, that's a lot of hunting. You must have been a big

party, huh?"

"Uh…yeah," I said. "Yeah, I was. And we all fought really hard together. We

got excited, and, uh…the next thing you know…"

I grasped for details on the fly as I regaled the cashier with the adventures of

my nonexistent party. The tale of my imaginary allies…it made me feel kind of…

empty.

"How ridiculous," Greed said.

"Oh, just shut up, you."

The cashier blinked at me, confusion in their eyes. Nobody could hear Greed's

voice, so of course they were taken aback. I'd effectively just told them to shut

up mid-conversation. I'd meant the retort for Greed, but naturally, the cashier

thought I was talking to them.

"Sorry," I said. "Don't mind me."

I gave as many polite smiles as I had to and managed to get away.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I left the trading post. I'd learned from the cashier

that most parties hunted about ten monsters a day, and that was at the high

end. This was because hunting the same type of monster built up "hate," which

made the type more likely to target you. "Hate" explained why the goblins had

come at me so aggressively during the second half of my hunt.

In future, it would be best for me to follow the example of the other

adventurers and limit the number of monsters I cashed in to ten. I'd have to

give up on anything more than that, because if I kept bringing in mountains of

monster parts, it would start to look suspicious. It felt like a waste, but I didn't

have a choice.

I looked at my bag of three silver and eighty copper coins. Five years of

hardship for two silver coins, and I'd surpassed my savings in half a day.

"Five years of my life…" I muttered.

As I inched closer to what had seemed like an impossible dream of a normal,

decent life, I was being forced to see just how twisted the world was. Thinking

about it made my rage simmer. All the misery I'd endured at the hands of Rafale

and his siblings, the things they'd said. "Useless." "Less than garbage." "You

don't even have the right to be angry."

Remembering them made my stomach growl, even though I was full of goblin

souls. It was like Gluttony telling me it wanted to eat. That it wanted to be fed .

But it was too soon for that, and there was Lady Roxy to think of. The Vlericks

were no longer only my problem.

Instead, I needed to figure out what to do with the money I'd earned. When I

looked down at the patchwork rags I called clothes, I suddenly knew just how to

spend it.

***

"The clothes maketh the man, indeed."

"Shut up, Greed."

We'd gone from rags to not-quite-riches. With two silver coins, I'd bought a

decent bespoke outfit from a tailor. With another fifty copper coins, I bought a

scabbard for Greed; I threw in another ten coins to have the oily residue

cleaned from his blade.

From every angle, I at last seemed like a genuinely normal person. With my

new threads, I could go to the Holy Knight District without catching side-eye

from any of the guards or gatekeepers. I even had money left over, which

meant I could treat myself to what was, by my standards, a princely lunch.

In high spirits, I headed to the main street, which was lined with restaurants

and places to drink. I could have gone to one of my regular spots down the

backstreets, but I thought it would be nice to go somewhere different for once.

This street had the most eateries in the entire kingdom. It was full of people

coming and going. There were so many people, in fact, that even if you stopped

in place, the crowds would simply pull you along with them.

Now to choose where to go—and what to eat. It had to be meat. If I was

going to eat anything, it had to be meat. What would it taste like after five

years? Just thinking about it made me drool with excitement.

Greed took the opportunity to speak to me using Telepathy. "You're

overreacting, boy. It's just meat."

"What are you talking about? It's…it's meat !"

"Ha. As a weapon, I've never understood you people and your appetites. It's

more important to make sure you take proper care of me when I'm dirtied in

battle. That, to me, is as crucial as eating is to you."

"Yeah, yeah. Didn't I just spend ten coins to get you cleaned and mended?"

"If you ask me, you should be able to do that much by yourself."

Greed was right. Going to the blacksmith all the time would start to add up.

Moreover, if I was ever away from the kingdom for days on a long hunt, I would

have to do weapon maintenance myself. Even so, because the black sword's

blade didn't blunt, "maintenance" would only mean wiping away blood and

gristle.

I thought I could leave it at that, but Greed didn't care for my nonchalance.

He was adamant that I keep him clean. I guess that, just like people, he didn't

care for grime. He was different from other weapons, after all. He was a sword

with a soul.

Knowing he felt that way made me wonder what feelings had curdled within

him while he rotted away at that weapon stall, covered in dust and oil and

treated like nothing. If I asked, I knew he wouldn't say a word. He was stubborn

like that.

"All right," I said. "How about after lunch we make sure we're equipped to

keep you in fine form?"

"Ah, finally. You've realized how important I am. Treat me like you would a

precious stone."

"You really are the bossiest weapon I've ever met, you know that?"

"Expect nothing less from the greatest of black swords, the mighty Greed."

I could already imagine him nagging me. You missed a spot here. Don't forget

to clean this . If he got mouthy, I'd dunk him in a pail of icy well water. That'd

give him time to quiet down and cool off.

I was properly hungry now. I'd had enough of maintenance talk. It was time to

speak the finest of words: lunch. The transcendent aroma of sizzling meat

drifted from the restaurant in front of me. In that instant, my lunch spot was

decided.

I hustled toward the restaurant when what looked to be a father and his

daughter bowled straight into me. I was caught completely off guard and sent

flying onto my butt.

"Look where you're going, you piece of shit," the man growled. "Get out of

my way!"

"What?!" I cried.

This scruffy, bearded brute walked into me and had the nerve to talk like

that?! I was about to shout back, but the man was already pushing on through

the crowd, ignoring me. His young daughter was silent as she let herself be

pulled along, but I was still angry at the pigheaded jerk, so I reached out to stop

them.

As my hand brushed against the girl's, my Telepathy skill activated.

"Help… Somebody… Help me…"

In that tiny moment of contact, I couldn't catch her words clearly enough to

be one hundred percent sure, but had the girl cried out for help? Why? They

were father and daughter, weren't they? When I looked again, however, those

two didn't resemble each other at all. Was the girl being kidnapped?!

I used Identify on the man as he bulled into the crowd.

Kasim Black, Lv 15

Vitality: 920

Strength: 900

Magic: 670

Spirit: 500

Agility: 950

Skills: He didn't have skills? That was impossible. Skills were a gift from the

gods, and everybody was born with one. Had I not read his stats properly? I

analyzed him again, but the results were the same.

Greed's words cut through my confusion. "That man's abilities are hidden by

the Conceal skill, so you can't see them with Identify. However, you can tell by

his vitality and strength stats that he's an adventurer. That leaves the question:

what skill is he hiding? And what are you going to do?"

"What am I going to do? I don't…"

The man was disappearing into the crowd, dragging the girl with him. The

longer I stared, the more certain I became that she was too anxious to speak.

Now that I knew this, I couldn't just stand by and watch.

"I guess lunch is cancelled," I said. "Let's go."

"Oh, how intriguing. Going to help the damsel in distress?"

"Of course. I can't pretend like I didn't see that."

"If you've made up your mind, you'll hear no complaints from me. But be on

your guard. That man has the eyes of a murderer. Mercy has no place in a

confrontation with an enemy like that—one who has killed in cold blood."

"I…understand."

I had killed before. Even though it had been a bandit who had broken into the

castle, taking his life had brought me no pleasure. I would never forget that

bandit's glare in the moments of his death.

But I didn't regret it, either. If I'd let that bandit go, Roxy would have been in

all sorts of trouble with the other holy knights. I'd heard their power struggles

were fierce. I wanted to do what I could to circumvent anything that might

force a person like Roxy off her road to success. She was a person who cared for

the citizens.

If a piece of trash like me had to get his hands dirty to help her, I was only too

happy to do so. I was never going to be a hero, or one of the good guys, or a

beacon of justice. That was impossible. But if people were suffering in front of

me, I wanted to help. It was simple, really.

My mind made up, I tailed the man and the girl from a safe distance. After a

time, they stopped at a series of warehouses clustered together in the

Merchant District. These were where goods from outside the kingdom were

delivered and stored. The man hustled the girl into what looked like an

abandoned warehouse with worn-out, faded walls.

"Is that his base of operations?"

"Perhaps. It could be he's meeting someone who means to buy the girl, or it

could simply be a place where he intends to work his cruelty."

"Sick either way. Let's hurry."

I gripped the black sword and closed in on the warehouse. Nobody else was

around. I peeked inside through the broken windows set in the old walls.

The man snapped a steel collar around the girl's neck. A rusty chain

connected her to a pillar, like a dog. No doubting it now. The girl had been

kidnapped. She was petrified into wide-eyed silence, and the man sneered at

her.

"A little pain and you kids forget how to speak, huh? Oh, this work really is

child's play. You get it? Ha!"

The man slapped the girl across the face, hard. The smack echoed through the

warehouse.

"Orphans like you…nobody cares where you go. At the end of the day, your

parents abandoned you because you're worthless. Well, am I right?"

The girl's face went pale.

"Ha! Bullseye. I knew it. Go on, tell me what useless skill you were saddled

with. What? I can't hear you!"

The girl stared at the ground as tears slid down her cheeks. Even then, fear

wouldn't let a single word escape her lips.

This girl was one of the forsaken. She was no different from the me of just a

few days ago, despondent and powerless, stuck trying to endure it. Truly,

kidnapped for reasons she didn't know, this girl had it harder than I did. I held

back my urge to rush in and save her, and waited for the right chance.

Meanwhile, the man relentlessly showered the girl in further abuse.

"Rejoice! Even garbage like you has a place in this world! Your new life as a

plaything for a great, revered holy knight is about to begin! I'd say that's a

reason to celebrate, don't you think?"

The girl shook her head, tears flowing down her face. The man clicked his

tongue in annoyance and slapped her again.

"Looks like someone's not listening to reason. Let me tell you what happens

to little girls like that: they end up dead, quick. Why, the little one before you

didn't even last a week. It's good business for me, though; with each girl they

throw out, I get a request for another."

The man kicked the girl in the stomach. The shock of the blow brought her to

her knees. I couldn't stand to watch any longer.

I gripped Greed to unleash him from his scabbard, but he stopped me.

"Wait, Fate! Patience."

"But…"

I couldn't bear it. Any more, and the girl might be left with injuries from which

she would never recover.

Even still, Greed held me back. "Do not let your emotions dictate your actions.

You'll end up dead. Your stats are only slightly higher than his, and battle

experience lies overwhelmingly in his favor. You know this. You know what it

means."

"All right…" I said. "I'll cool down. I'll wait."

Greed was right. Again. I wouldn't win this battle by waving my sword around

in a blind rage. The skill gap was far too wide. I calmed my breath and surveyed

the warehouse interior. Even though it appeared abandoned, it was full of used

wooden crates stacked atop one another. Could I use them to stay out of sight

and get into range for a decisive blow?

As I was determining what to do, the man moved. Now that he'd destroyed

the girl verbally, he left the warehouse by another door. It seemed he had other

business to attend to. If I wanted to act, it was now or never.

I slipped into the warehouse through one of the broken windows and rushed

to the girl's side. She was stiff with fear, her head held low. My footsteps

probably made her think the man had come back.

First, I had to cut the chain to free her. I pulled Greed from his scabbard and

sliced. The blade cut through the rusted chains with ease. One problem down. I

knelt by the girl, who was now shaking.

"It's okay," I said. "You'll be okay."

The girl said nothing, but she looked up, startled at the sound of my voice. For

a time, she simply stared at me until she realized I wasn't the man who'd taken

her. She began to cry again, this time out of relief. It seemed she still wasn't

ready to speak. The horror of her abduction had stolen her voice.

"We have to get out of here while we still have the chance," I said.

I took the girl's hand to help her stand, but her look of relief melted into

something different. Terror was written across her features, and she stared at

something behind me, once more petrified. I glanced backward, where I found

the kidnapper I thought had left.

I realized then that this was a trap. The man had known I was tailing them,

and left the warehouse to tempt me inside. Now he smirked as he stalked

toward us.

"Every now and again, some idiot sees me and wants to play hero," he said.

"But you know what? When I kill that guy in front of the kids, they suddenly

become oh so obedient. You guys are like moths to flame—you always get

burned."

The man drew a one-handed sword from his sheath and stood with it at the

ready. Waves of pressure rolled off him and washed over me. This was the

difference in battle experience Greed had warned me of.

"What's wrong?" the man barked. "Not so tough when your knees are

shaking! Ha ha!"

As he edged closer, I brandished Greed. Behind me, the girl was too scared to

flee. Letting the man come to us would force me to protect her while I fought. I

needed to find a more advantageous position. If I made any rash moves,

however, I'd be doing exactly what my enemy wanted.

I told myself not to panic, but I had to come up with a plan, and I had to do it

fast. As if feeling my anxiety through my hands, Greed spoke through my

Telepathy.

"Fate, take the girl and retreat toward the mountain of boxes further back."

Earlier, I'd seen what he was talking about—a pile of old crates clumsily

stacked in a heap. They looked as though they could fall at any moment. On top

of that, getting to them would put us further from the exit. I had my doubts, but

then I realized Greed's plan. All that was left was to see whether or not it would

work…and we wouldn't know that until we tried.

The kidnapper could see from my stance that I was a lower level than him,

and that I lacked experience. I intended to use his overconfidence to my

advantage. After five years of being pushed around and bullied by Rafale, acting

the part of the weak and frightened was as easy to me as breathing. Thinking

about it filled me with emptiness, but there was no other choice.

"Let's go, Fate," said Greed. "Wait for my signal. I'll tell you when."

"Okay. Let's do it."

I grabbed the girl's hand and we fled. I channeled my wasted days as a

gatekeeper and acted like I was scrambling, desperate for a way to escape or

hide. We darted toward the mountain of old crates.

Come on, do it. Take the bait.

The man curled his lip, the desire to dominate glinting in his eyes. To him, I

was just a fumbling, frightened, and confused would-be adventurer.

"Hey," he said, "what happened to Mr. Hero? The guy trying so hard to save

that worthless kid? Don't think I'll make this quick, hero. You got in my way, and

now I'm going to ruin you."

Intimidate the fearful and remove their ability to fight back. It was a tactic

right out of Rafale's playbook. I guess birds of a feather shared the same

repellent strategies. That just meant I knew what the man would do next. He

would pursue.

"Give it up, hero! You can scuttle away and hide, but it won't make a lick of

difference."

The girl and I ran deeper into the warehouse. The space around us grew tight,

and we backed into a dead end, surrounded by old boxes stacked high. How

would this look to the man? The echo of his relaxed footsteps grew louder.

Steel sword in hand, he showed not a hint of concern.

"Nowhere to run now, hero."

Step by step, the man closed in.

Almost, almost. I motioned for the girl to back up as far as she could.

Then Greed gave me the signal. "Now, Fate!"

I held the black sword up high.

The man grinned smugly. "Let me guess. You planned to bury me under all

these old boxes, huh? Bet you didn't realize you'd bury yourself and the girl,

too. Fear made you stupid, hero."

"Did it now?"

I charged. I had one chance, and if I failed here, there would not be a second. I

brought my sword down on the man with everything I had.

We were surrounded by boxes with nowhere to run. My bet was that if I

attacked with a large, easy-to-read swing, the man would try to parry it with his

sword.

Exactly as I hoped, he didn't move back an inch. Instead, he raised his sword

to deflect my strike. He didn't realize I was swinging a black blade that cut

through even steel chains as though they were nothing. Greed sliced the man's

sword like butter.

"What?! No!"

My blade continued into his shoulder, cutting a line straight down to his

waist. Blood flew through the air as the man crumpled to the dirtied floor of the

abandoned warehouse. More blood spurted from his mouth as I knelt at his

side.

I still needed to know something: which holy knight meant to buy this girl? I

wanted the vile creature's name.

"Tell me," I said. "Who put you up to this?"

The man refused to speak, even as he died in front of me.

"Tell me! Who was it?!"

I pushed my blade deeper into his wound. His face twisted in pain, but still he

refused to speak. I had no other choice; I would have to use Telepathy to dig

into his thoughts. But as I reached out, the man finally gave in to the agony, and

he spat a name from his dying lips—a name that disgusted me.

"It was…Hado. Hado…Vlerick…"

Hado? The second son of the Vlerick family?

Hado was bad enough in public, and now I was being told he was even worse

in private?! How many other young children had ended up as Hado's prey? I

didn't have a chance to ask. The kidnapper had lost too much blood, and he was

gone.

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +920, Strength +900, Magic

+670, Spirit +500, Agility +950. Skills added: Conceal, One-Handed Sword

Technique It was just as Greed had said; the man had a Conceal skill, and he'd

used it to hide his One-Handed Sword Technique.

I used Identify to analyze my new skills.

Conceal: Hides skills from Identify.

One-Handed Sword Technique: Increases attack power with one-handed

swords. Unlocks the tech-art "Sharp Edge."

Conceal was exactly as advertised, but the One-Handed Sword Technique was

interesting; it included a secret skill called a "tech-art." According to Greed, all

such "Technique" skills came with a powerful hidden move. I used Identify again

to learn more.

Sharp Edge: This counterattack inflicts two strikes.

Sharp Edge… It dawned on me then that, if the man had used this tech-art

before I launched my attack, I probably wouldn't be standing here. It seemed

truer than ever that some battles were decided by luck, and I was fortunate to

have had it on my side this time.

We'd been in the warehouse for too long, and it was time to get away. The

dead man had set up a deal to sell the girl to Hado, and I didn't want us to be

found by the Vlericks or their men. After all, I was supposed to be on

gatekeeper duty. If they found me here, I would be in for a lengthy, torturous

death. My meager stats were still a long way from competing with the likes of

them.

I took the girl's hand, and we made a run for it. From the warehouses, we

headed to the crowded downtown area. It would be safest to blend in with the

crowds.

In the sky above us, the sun began its slow descent. My stomach rumbled as if

to remind me of the time. This was not the growl of my Gluttony, which had

just now feasted on the soul of a kidnapper. This was a much simpler hunger,

the hunger of a body that had missed its lunch and now demanded sustenance.

As I contemplated where to feed myself, I heard the cute sound of a smaller

stomach rumbling beside me. The girl I had just saved covered her stomach

with her hands, her face red with embarrassment. Nothing like the relaxation of

still being alive to remind you of an empty stomach.

"Let's get something to eat," I said. "It's on me."

The girl's face brightened with joy. I was worried the trauma of her

kidnapping might have scarred her psychologically, but finally, she was smiling. I

hoped my fears were misplaced; if the girl could smile like this, I was sure she

would be fine. It was time to get back on schedule, and that meant meat!

In the downtown area there was no lack of selection. I detected a heady scent

wafting through the air. Beef stew. Perfect for adults and children alike.

Lunch was decided. I took the girl's hand, and we headed into the restaurant.

It must have been popular, because the place was packed. There were no

tables left, but we were in luck; there happened to be two spots open at the

counter. We took our seats swiftly, and the server gave us a menu.

"What would you like today?" they asked. "The special comes highly

recommended."

The day's special was a fish dish made fresh with catch delivered that very

day. The people next to me were already devouring it, and it looked fantastic.

Not a bad choice. However…

"We'll have beef stew and some bread," I said. "Enough for two, please."

"Got it."

I'd wanted the stew from the start, and the girl's eyes had lit up when I

mentioned it. I couldn't let her down now. We waited excitedly until the server

placed our bowls before us, full of glorious, meaty beef stew with a side of

freshly baked bread. It looked nothing short of heavenly.

I was almost drooling, it looked so good. Next to me, the girl couldn't help

herself. She actually drooled.

"Is this…your first time eating meat?" I asked.

The girl wiped the saliva from her mouth and nodded. She was an orphan,

after all, abandoned by her parents because of a skill considered useless. It was

no wonder she'd never eaten meat. Even I couldn't afford it, back when I was a

gatekeeper.

She looked up at me, her eyes begging for permission to get started. I wasn't

about to deny her a good meal.

"Go on," I said. "Let's eat. You've been through a lot today."

I gave the girl a pat on the back, and she began eating tentatively. In mere

moments, the stew and bread were gone. Her stomach full, her mind and body

finally at ease, the girl let out a slow breath followed by a few gentle sobs.

Finally, her voice was coming back. It gladdened me to hear.

Delicious food really did have the power to make people happy, and it was no

different for me; with each mouthful of beef stew, I felt excitement for

tomorrow.

The time flew by, and night began to fall. I wasn't sure whether my new

orphan friend had a place to go home to, so I asked her. To my surprise, she

lived at an old orphanage in the same Residential District slum that I called

home. It wasn't far at all!

"In that case," I said, "why don't I walk you part of the way?"

"Yay!"

We left the restaurant and headed from the Merchant District to the

Residential District, then into the slums, where the poor and the downtrodden

scraped out a place to live. From there, I walked the girl to her orphanage.

We followed a path so ill-maintained it couldn't even be called a path

anymore. As the cloudy skies opened, the moon brightened our surroundings.

Even though we walked through poverty, it was beautiful to see our way

illuminated by the evening light, and it warmed me.

"Your orphanage should be just a little ways ahead," I said. Then, noticing the

girl's reticence, "Hm? What's wrong?"

The girl had gone quiet. She'd seemed so near to recovering until a moment

ago. Had the memories of today's events come rushing back?

Then she broke into a radiant smile, and I wondered why I'd even worried.

"Thank you for saving me!"

Now it was my turn to fall silent. Was this…the first time anybody had ever

really thanked me? It was awkward and embarrassing, but also, it was…kind of

nice. Mostly, I was just glad, and relieved I could help. It was a sweet thing to

feel, once in a while.

The orphanage came into view, and outside it, the nuns who worked there

frantically searched for something. I had a feeling that what they were

searching for was walking right by my side. Now that we'd come this far, she

wouldn't need an escort any further.

"Looks like you can make it on your own from here, yeah?"

"You won't come with me?"

"No, I've got my own home to go to. You be safe, okay?"

My role in this had been over a long time ago. This wasn't a world with

kindness to spare for the weak and helpless. But in order to keep on living,

there was nothing else to do but forge your own path forward and walk it

yourself.

The girl knew it, too, because she let go of my hand and returned alone to the

orphanage. In her silhouette, I saw myself on the day I'd left my village all those

years ago. With my father lost to illness, my home in the village was gone, and

all that had been left was the path that'd lain before me. I didn't know what lay

ahead that day, but the only choice I'd had was to walk.

The nuns spied the girl and ran to her, tears in their eyes as they held her

close. She'd seemed fine while we walked home, but now, the girl's smile

turned to tears that streamed down her face as she sobbed. For the sake of her

tomorrow, I hoped she might cry and keep crying until her heart found peace.

And I hoped there would be happiness in her future.

I left before the nuns saw me. As I took the path home, Greed spoke through

Telepathy.

"What's wrong? You look like a man who just did something very out of

character."

"Shut up," I said. "It's not like that at all."

Watching the girl had just reminded me of my youth. I could no longer return

to the hometown where my parents were buried, nor to the village that drove

me out and labeled me a deadbeat. Were it possible, I would've wanted to visit

my parents' graves, but I knew the village would no longer have me back.

I would never forget how my father gripped my hand, fearing for my future

even as he lay dying of illness. I wondered whether I had lived a life he could be

proud of.

"We've still got a ways to go, huh, Greed?"

"Indeed. This is just the beginning, and I can say this much: there lies a long,

long road ahead of you."

"Well, first we've got to get hired by Lady Roxy's family. And, to be honest,

I'm pretty nervous about meeting her father."

Greed laughed. "Nervous? Already? You won't even see him until noon

tomorrow."

"We're talking about the head of an important family, Greed. One of the five

esteemed families in the Kingdom of Seifort. If I'm here on earth, then Lady

Roxy's father is above the clouds. Maybe even higher. I can't believe you can be

so relaxed."

"Of course I'm relaxed. I'm a weapon."

Right. It made sense that an inorganic object wouldn't understand my

anxieties, which were driven by a fear that had soaked into me over many,

many years. Even though I now knew I could become more powerful and

increase my stats through Gluttony, my fear of the holy knights hadn't changed.

I knew Lady Roxy's father was a good man, but the idea of meeting him couldn't

help but make me nervous, like I had to be ready for anything.

In any case, I was exhausted. I decided to hit the hay early. The day had been

filled with too much excitement—I'd woken up to goblin hunt and ended up

cutting down a kidnapper. My exhaustion was probably making me overthink

everything. I knew I should trust Lady Roxy more than I did, and I felt awful that

I couldn't.

I dragged myself into my beaten-up hovel of a home and collapsed in my

straw bed. I was tired, and my consciousness faded away in moments.

***

I slept until close to noon the following day. Leaping out of bed, I scrambled

to get ready. Once I had my things together, I hurried to the Holy Knight District,

where Lady Roxy waited.

The Holy Knight District differed from the other districts, first and foremost

due to the huge walls surrounding it. They left the impression that another

great castle awaited beyond them. I gave the gatekeeper my name and made

my way in without issue. It seemed Lady Roxy had let them know I was coming

in advance.

However, because Lady Roxy needed to confirm that I was who I claimed, I

found myself sandwiched between the two gatekeepers as we walked toward

the Hart family manor. It was like I was a criminal who'd been caught midcrime.

The manor we arrived at was the very symbol of an esteemed family of

Seifort. It was impossible to judge the cost of such a place; just trying to think

about it was ridiculous. It was enormous.

One guard broke off and entered the manor through the garden. After a short

time, he returned with a girl in a white dress. She was breathtaking.

"You came! I've been waiting for you."

It wasn't until I heard her voice that I realized the girl was Roxy. I'd never seen

her outside of our work as gatekeepers, for which she wore her white light

armor. In her dress, she was so lovely she looked like an entirely different

person.

The two guards left us staring at each other. After a time, Roxy spoke—likely

because I was standing there with my mouth wide open, dumbfounded.

"Is something the matter?" There was a quizzical look on her face.

"I…I'm sorry for staring. You just…you look beautiful."

Roxy's cheeks went red, and she cleared her throat with a light cough.

"Occasionally I wear dresses, you know. I almost didn't recognize you, either.

Please, come this way."

For a gigantic manor, the place was surprisingly quiet. There wasn't a servant

in sight, and it felt like something was keeping them silent. I followed Roxy,

gazing at the immaculately manicured lawns. The silence was overwhelming. All

that I could hear was the whistle of the wind. If anything, I noticed a drifting

hint of loneliness in Roxy's silhouette.

We came to the front of the manor and turned right.

Strange, I thought. Why aren't we going inside? I wanted to ask, but the

silence of the manor seemed to demand silence from me, too. We proceeded a

little further, and the reason for the melancholy quiet revealed itself.

"This is…"

I couldn't bring myself to say anything more. Lady Roxy smiled at me kindly,

then knelt and placed a hand on the cold stone of the grave at which we had

arrived.

"Father," she said. "Fate will be working for us from today forward. I'm sure

he'll bring a little liveliness back to the Hart family." Noticing my confusion, Lady

Roxy said, "Five days ago, my father passed away in Galia, to the south of

Seifort."

"Galia?"

Galia was a continent overrun by monsters. It was said that the monsters

there were many times stronger than anything around the Kingdom of Seifort.

The role of holding those monsters back and keeping them from reaching

Seifort was the most important function of the holy knights. Those who did this

work were granted unbelievable wealth and the highest rank the kingdom could

offer.

But it was nearly impossible for me to imagine a monster with the power to

kill the head of one of Seifort's five esteemed families. As if reading the fear in

my features, Lady Roxy explained, "It was no mere monster that took his life.

Galia is also home to the heavenly calamity."

There was only one heavenly calamity she could mean. Wherever it went, it

brought earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis. The creature was the living

embodiment of the wrath of the gods: the Divine Dragon. It didn't matter how

powerful you were; there was no stopping it. The Divine Dragon was so

frighteningly strong that people had developed religions around it, calling it a

servant of the gods. If the Divine Dragon had you in its sights, there was nothing

to do but prepare for your final moments.

"They said my father's entire army was lost to it," Lady Roxy said. "We have a

full thousand years of records, and none of have ever spoken of the dragon ever

ranging so far from its nest, let alone so near the border."

The Divine Dragon's nest was in the center of Galia. I'd never heard tell of it

coming as far as the outskirts of the continent, either, but now nobody could

say for certain. What had happened to Roxy's father was, at best, bad luck. That

was all you could say about it. But whether luck was enough of an explanation

for the people he left behind was another story entirely.

"It's been terribly hectic around here with funeral arrangements and other

obligations, but as of this morning, I'm done with the preliminary duties and

engagements. I inherited the estate, which makes me the official head of the

Hart family."

Even under such trying, painful circumstances, Lady Roxy was doing the best

she could. All I could do was bow my head. I hadn't even noticed. At changeover

time on gatekeeping shifts, she looked no different from usual. There had been

no way for me to know what she was going through behind the scenes.

And yet, with everything already keeping her so busy, she had still made time

for me and invited me to the family manor. All I had done was fret about an

interview with her father and think about how to hide my shortcomings. Lady

Roxy, I'm sorry. I…

"Hey, don't look so glum," Lady Roxy said. "I need you to help me bring some

light back to the Hart family. Will you assist me?"

"Yes. It would be my honor."

On that day, I became a servant of the house of Hart.