Chapter 14
#14
The heavy, stagnant silence was like an ice field of unfathomable depth.
Even if it were to break at any moment, no one dared to step forward and shatter the silence.
In the silence, Walter Heiberg lowered his body. Drawing his sword, Walter knelt and placed the sword he was holding at Lucy's feet.
The sight of a general who had never been defeated in his life crouching like a loser, strangely, did not make him look small, but rather made him appear as majestic as an unshakeable ancient tree. And the woman who lowered her eyes before him looked like a goddess receiving the adoration of a saint, thanks to the general's appearance.
Golden dust quietly floated in the sunlight that squeezed through the window. Under the noble autumn sun, the sword, as famous as the general's reputation, lay at Lucy's feet, scattering a subtle reflected light.
Walter knelt on one knee, looked up at her, and gave his answer.
"Dawn will light the way for Your Majesty."
It was a sentence without any fancy modifiers, but it was enough to reverse the atmosphere.
Lucy, who had been looking down at Walter, raised her eyes and turned her gaze to the center of the conference room.
The woman, who had suddenly become queen from the daughter of a lowly concubine, opened her mouth in a clear voice.
"I have shown enough generosity, so I suppose this is enough."
Lucy raised her hand and lightly pushed Kill, who was standing at the head of the conference table.
Kill, who had been standing blankly, overwhelmed by the atmosphere, was easily pushed aside, and Lucy stood in front of the table and raised her chin.
"I have come here neither to persuade you nor to negotiate. I have merely awakened those of you who try to ignore the harsh reality and given you a chance to accept me. The information about the disease was merely a gift for that. But what is your reaction?"
Confusion, anger, contempt, humiliation.
Countless waves of emotion surged through the silence. Nevertheless, no one dared to open their mouths rashly.
"Threats? Nonsense? How dare you insult me, who has set aside my dislike and stood in this place to end the chaos. If you can utter such words even before the sword that serves me, I will gladly yield the throne."
Walter picked up the sword and slowly rose to his feet. After glancing at him standing next to her, Lucy uttered her last words.
"I will give you one day. Those who will stand against my legion, leave this place. Those who will not, prepare to pledge allegiance to the royal family once more. I hope to see you again at this time tomorrow."
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
As the moisture on the bathroom window exceeded its limit, it turned into droplets and slid down the glass.
Lucy spread her palm and rubbed the glass. As soon as her hand moved away, the glass fogged up again due to the temperature difference between the inside and outside.
Unlike Pomnos, where she was always plagued by the cold regardless of the season, the autumn in Parnassus was so warm that it felt like summer. Nevertheless, feeling the lack of warmth, Lucy poured several more buckets of hot water into the tub.
"It's been so long since I've had a bath."
The house she rented in Pomnos didn't even have a proper bathroom, let alone a bathtub. This was not because of poverty, but because of Lafi culture.
The Lafi generally do not enjoy bathing except in the summer. Even then, they only roughly soak their bodies in the stream.
For them, who replace cleanliness by discarding old feathers and arming themselves with new ones, a bathtub would be as bizarre and useless as a fountain pen for a dog.
Because of this, Lucy had to give up her greatest pleasure.
"Ah... I'm alive."
As she put her body into the hot water, a groan naturally escaped her lips. Leaning her head against the tub, Lucy scanned the scenery of the bathroom with languid eyes.
The bathroom attached to the commander's quarters was larger and more spacious than expected. It wasn't fancy, but the plain scenery made her feel comfortable.
After carelessly wiping away the water droplets on her eyelashes, she quietly closed her eyes. Drop, drop, along with the sound of water droplets falling, a low reverberation brushed through her mind.
「You must be tired, so please rest for a while. I will return before sunset.」
Walter had unhesitatingly offered her his quarters when she had nowhere to go because the royal palace was sealed off. Then, without looking back, he moved to the quarters where the officers stayed.
What was it like before that?
After the chaotic meeting, Lucy inwardly watched Walter's reaction with a nervous feeling. She was worried that he might be angry at her sudden actions.
However, Walter only stared at Lucy with eyes that could not be fathomed.
That was all.
Even though he must have had many questions to ask, Walter silently turned and left the room. He did not ask why she had not entrusted everything to him, or why she had created an unintended situation.
Why did he do that?
"Perhaps..."
Lucy, who was lost in thought, touching her forehead, found the answer in the most essential source.
Walter Heiberg is a soldier.
Wars often break out with countless intertwined gains and losses and ideologies. It is the politicians or the king who calculate these, and the legion moves according to their decisions.
Soldiers only carry out orders and do not intervene their own will in the mission. The moment they have a will, they mostly become traitors or deserters.
Conversely, if you only think about the mission itself, you become a person like the Grand General.
"...I see. It makes sense if it's because of his position."
The Sword of Parnassus, the Royal Dog.
Although they are extreme names, Walter probably likes the latter nickname. In the past and now, he was really a dog-like man.
A dog only follows the orders given by its owner and does not question the absurdity of the orders. Perhaps he does not think of Lucy's antics as whims or errors.
No, he probably doesn't think anything at all.
He will simply think that there is a deep meaning and follow the orders of his master.
"......"
Lucy, having finished her thoughts, opened her eyes wide.
"I need to be careful about this."
She didn't know whether it was good or bad that he seemed to accept even ridiculous orders without a word.
It's easier to deal with people who have thoughts and will because you can see through them.
But Walter...
Honestly, she has no idea what that man is thinking. Even if she looked through his past, she could only find a list of achievements and praise, but she could not obtain any information about what kind of personality he had. There was no history of him getting angry or happy, or any such emotions.
Is this how it feels to receive a legendary weapon from a blacksmith but not know the shape of the weapon?
A sharp sword whose blade and handle cannot be identified, so if you grab it wrong, you will end up hurting yourself.
"I need to think and order very carefully."
She shouldn't just think of him as a simple person.
Lucy, who had been quietly pondering, felt her cheeks getting hot and got out of the tub.
She roughly dried her hair and rummaged through the drawers to change into the everyday clothes given to the soldiers. She stuffed miscellaneous items into her pockets and shook her long hair in the air as she opened the bathroom door, only to be greeted by an unexpected person.
"Huh?"
Lucy was not the only one surprised by the unexpected encounter.
The drooping ears perked up, and the eyes that had been emitting a sharp light widened. Zen, Walter's adjutant, stared at her with a surprised face, his tail stiffly raised.
"Oh... oh! What's a female cadet doing here...! No, you! Yes, you!"
"Hello, Instructor. Do you remember me?"
'Surely the name is, uh, what was it,' Zen stammered and snapped his thick fingers.
"Arsino! Arsino, right? I remember the female cadets because there aren't many of them! What are you doing here?"
Lucy, who was wondering whether to correct the distorted name, realized that the fact that he roughly remembered her name, which he had only met once, was touching, and she smiled gently.
Well, it's similar to her name if you say it quickly. She thought it didn't matter.
"I'm here for some business... Ah, the Grand General said he would be back before sunset, so he'll be back soon. You came to see the Grand General, right?"
"That's right, well. Then I'll have to wait until he comes back."
"I thought you would always be with him as his adjutant, but the Grand General has been traveling alone for the past few days. Did something happen?"
Zen fidgeted with his ears and clicked his tongue.
"Wasn't the day before yesterday the full moon? I can't work for three days before and after the full moon."
Lykan who lose their minds and go berserk whenever there is a full moon light Illusion Grass before the moon rises and go into seclusion.
After spending the full moon in such a limp state, they regain their senses and devote themselves to their livelihoods again.
It is pitiful that they are dominated by the moon, but those who have seen the Lykan go berserk shudder, saying that there is no nightmare like it. It is natural to feel scared because they are so big and their strength surpasses that of humans, but even so, when you actually face a Lykan, you can't help but feel sorry for them.
"Huh? Turn around for a second."
Zen, sniffing his nose, sniffed around Lucy with a puzzled face.
Following his words, she obediently turned around, and the sniffing sound became even louder. In the gaze towards the floor, the tail shadow was seen wagging busily.
"What do you have in your pocket? It smells strange."
"My pocket? There's nothing special in it."
She took out the miscellaneous items from her pocket.
Frostbite prevention cream, bear repellent bells, and dirty ribbons. Two or so round stones and a fist-sized round bone fragment...
The trivial items that she had been stuffing into her pocket without thinking before leaving Pomnos remained intact in her pocket. Zen looked at the items with an interesting gaze.
"Oh, this stone is a little pretty. Where did you pick it up?"
"My mother picked it up while taking a walk and gave it to me as a gift."
"Oh ho. It looks like there's some gold mixed in. You could make a lot of money if you sell it."
Zen, who had been carefully examining the stone, suddenly stuck out his tongue and started panting. His burning gaze was fixed on the large bone fragment placed next to the stone.
"Wow, the main character of the smell was this guy! The smell is really unique! What is this?"
The vertically long pupils became a little more slender, and the yellow eyes flashed dangerously like the eyes of a hungry beast. Lucy stepped back and waved her hands to appease the excited Lykan.
"Ah, this is... what was it. It's a scam item sold in the market, something like a dragon's tailbone."
"Dragon's tailbone, you say!"
Along with the resounding shout, Zen bared his fangs.
