Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Outsiders always seemed to bring misfortune with them. At least, that was how Rickart felt.

Hadn’t his life begun to go awry from the moment the cavalryman carrying a red banner came to Heiden?

And yet, the man who had come from the main family seemed far removed from either fortune or misfortune. He simply seemed a little strange.

He was rather portly, so he waddled when he walked, and above all, his clothes were as colorful as a jester’s. His beard reached down to his chest, making it difficult to guess his age.

He was also wearing something that looked like a nightcap. Did everyone who studied at a university have such peculiar tastes?

He swept off his hat and bent his thick waist to greet Abelich, revealing a bald head. The sparse patches of hair remaining near his ears looked rather forlorn.

To Rickart, thrusting out his smooth crown like that seemed almost akin to making an obscene gesture with one’s finger.

The man straightened up again and spoke with a genial expression.

"It has been a long time, my lord. Congratulations on the birth of your son. I have felt deeply apologetic for failing to visit all this time, so I hardly know what to do with myself after receiving such a warm welcome. Sir Grout, you remain as gallant as ever. Oh, Lady Aileen, it has been a long time—ah, should I call you Lady Stormherz now? Ha ha ha! You have accomplished a great feat."

The visitor from the main family also recognized Rickart’s mother. That was because he had once been Aileen’s tutor.

"You must have had a difficult journey in this cold, Doctor Reno. Is the Count well?"

"He is well enough, though I should speak to you about that later."

"Mm, very well. These are my second son, Vilter, and my youngest, Rickart."

The man named Doctor Reno continued to smile warmly as he looked at Vilter and Rickart. He had not come merely to visit. He was here to discuss the two boys’ futures.

"Young Master Vilter and Young Master Rickart, my name is Reno. The last time I saw either of you was from a distance at the wedding. I am delighted to see that you have both grown up healthy. Ha ha ha."

Doctor Reno was a resident retainer of House Kaldevern and handled all manner of tasks, both great and small.

He served as a private tutor, carried the Count’s words to other lords as an envoy, and supplied whatever knowledge was needed. In other words, he was an administrator, diplomat, and adviser all in one.

While sworn vassals were akin to permanent employees who served noble houses generation after generation, resident retainers were closer to contract workers.

Those whose abilities were recognized often remained with a noble family for many years. Doctor Reno had stayed with House Kaldevern for twenty years, so his competence was well established.

That was why he received a certain degree of respect despite being a commoner.

"By the way... is this the young hero who killed the wild boar? Word of the feat has spread throughout the Count’s household. Even at a glance, I can see that you possess a spirited bearing. Most impressive. Ha ha ha."

Perhaps the story had reached him incorrectly, or perhaps he simply could not believe it after seeing the boys in person, but Reno was looking at Vilter as he spoke.

"No. Him. He’s the one who killed it."

Vilter pointed at Rickart beside him.

Reno looked at Rickart, his face briefly showing a hint of cognitive dissonance.

The boy, whose cheeks still retained some baby fat, was gazing blankly up at him as though examining something curious.

Reno blinked several times before apparently deciding it must be a joke.

"Ha ha ha. I may not be the cleverest of men, but I do possess at least some discernment."

"Ricky truly was the one who killed it," Abelich confirmed with a serious expression.

Doctor Reno alternated his gaze several times between Rickart and the stuffed boar’s head mounted on the wall.

The sheer size of its head was enough to imagine how enormous the beast had been while alive. It was simply impossible to believe.

"...What? Did he merely deliver the final blow after it had already been subdued?"

When a noble family held a hunt, the lord directed the overall affair, but it was the subordinates who actually tracked the quarry, exhausted it, and drove it into a corner. The lord’s role was to deliver the finishing blow.

That honor was occasionally granted to someone else, and Doctor Reno assumed that this must have been what happened.

"No. It was something of an accident. He stood his ground against the charging boar and pierced it squarely between the eyes."

"Uh..."

"He was blessed by extraordinary luck. But his courage was genuine. In any case, we have not prepared much because of the season, but there is wine and meat. Warm yourself and fill your stomach first. You two, stay here in this room and don’t wander off."

"Yes, Father."

"This way, Doctor."

Abelich led the still-bewildered Reno toward the dining hall. Even as they walked away, Reno repeatedly looked back at Rickart.

Vilter and Rickart waited in the room. The brothers did not say much. Reno seemed cheerful and likable, but this was hardly the atmosphere for fooling around.

Curiously, Vilter, who had been anxious all this time, showed little agitation now that someone from the main family had finally arrived. He merely gazed calmly through the window at the frozen world outside.

Winter birds flew beneath the pale, cold sky in the distance. From time to time, someone stepped outside to fetch firewood before returning indoors, while white smoke curled from the chimneys of several houses. Whenever the wind blew, the bare branches of the trees quivered as though trembling from the cold.

It was a still and quiet scene, yet for some reason it seemed particularly fascinating today. At the same time, even the insignificant stones along the road and the withered grass filled Vilter with a strange sense of regret.

Eventually, as the sun moved and the color of the sky gradually began to change, someone opened the door and entered the room.

It was Doctor Reno.

"Would it be all right if we spoke for a while?"

Vilter finally turned away from the window and looked at Doctor Reno. Rickart, unbeknownst to him, was lying on the bed and sleeping soundly.

"Of course. Ricky, Ricky. Wake up. You really don’t have a care in the world, do you?"

"Huh? What...? Huh? It’s the jester."

"A jester? These are the clothes worn by the citizens of Baricelli, a city like paradise."

"Really? They don’t look very suitable for sneaking around."

"Why would I need to sneak around...? Well, never mind that. Take a look at this."

Doctor Reno sat down and spread a large sheet of parchment across the table. When the two boys approached, they found some strange picture drawn upon it.

"Do you know what this is?"

"I’m not sure. What did you draw?"

"Ha ha ha. This is what we call a map. It depicts all the lands in the world where we live."

"This is a map?"

Maps were rare in this age, so the two boys could not immediately recognize what kind of drawing it was. A map of the entire world was rarer still.

In truth, much of the world map Doctor Reno had brought had been drawn from imagination and was inaccurate.

Its general shape was more or less correct, however. More importantly, there was no better tool than a world map for freeing the minds of people who had lived all their lives at the bottom of a well.

Even the usually indifferent Rickart’s eyes began to sparkle. Moreover, Reno’s map did not merely depict terrain. It was filled with all sorts of wondrous illustrations.

There were fire-breathing dragons, serpents swimming through the sea, an emperor wearing a crown, bizarre monsters, legends, and treasures of every kind. There were magnificent mountain ranges, deserts, plains, forests, and countless cities.

In his previous life, Rickart had traveled throughout the Empire on a killing spree. However, all he had done was seek out and destroy the people and organizations that wanted him dead, so he knew little about geography.

Reno smiled with satisfaction as he watched the two boys’ eyes gleam. Then he posed a question as though giving them a riddle.

"Can you find Stormherz on this map?"

It was not a question meant to embarrass them, but one intended to stir their curiosity. Vilter and Rickart’s eyes shone even brighter as they searched for the land where they had grown up and still lived.

Yet no matter how hard they searched, they could not find the word "Stormherz."

"Stormherz is around here."

"Here?"

Vilter tilted his head in puzzlement.

"Yes."

"It’s this small? This place? It looks smaller than an ant."

"From the perspective of the entire world, yes. How do we commonly describe the Empire’s territory? From the coast of Polyphus to the Black Forest from east to west, and from the Cementa Peninsula to the Roof of the World mountain range from south to north, do we not? From here to here, and from here to here—this is the territory of the Empire."

Even the Empire occupied only a quarter of the world map. By this point, not only Vilter but even Rickart thought it was absurd.

Their disbelief showed on their faces, and Doctor Reno smiled at the two boys as though he found them adorable.

"Beyond the Empire’s borders live the Salaman people. They worship a different god from ours and therefore do not hesitate to kill us, just as we do not hesitate to kill them. On the other hand, we also trade silk, porcelain, spices, meteoric iron, and other goods with them. They may be heathens, but they are skilled with numbers and possess remarkable craftsmanship. Legend has it that they were taught their techniques by dwarves. And this is where the Holy Emperor received the Sacred Sword from an angel. This is where the hero Siegfried fell in battle, while this is where Ilya, the dragon-slaying hero, performed his great deeds. And..."

"Why isn’t our territory named?"

"Even the County of Kaldevern does not have its own name marked here. Therefore, we must locate the duchy and estimate its direction and position. This is the land of His Grace, the Duke of Brumbear. The County of Kaldevern lies southeast of it, so it should be around here. And if we search for Stormherz from there, it would be somewhere around this point."

Even the duchy appeared tiny on the map.

The boys felt as though their entire sense of scale had been distorted. Yet it was not unpleasant. It was a refreshing shock.

Reno continued pointing out the sites of legends, myths, and historical events. Just as imagination and reality mingled on the map, what people believed was itself a mixture of fact and fantasy.

What mattered was that, whether true or not, such stories gave people dreams and drove them forward.

"Not all knightly orders are alike. Take the Order of the Flame, for example. Their headquarters are located here. They serve for life under vows of celibacy, defending the Empire’s southwestern frontier against the heathens. It is certainly a noble calling, though by no means an easy one. The Order of the Lily, on the other hand, has its headquarters here. Its members have grown immensely wealthy through trade and moneylending. They are criticized for being excessively worldly, but life in their order appears to be relatively comfortable."

Perhaps because he was a doctor, Reno knew a great many things. Apart from learning how to read and write, Vilter and Rickart had never had the opportunity to receive a proper education, so Doctor Reno seemed to know everything in the world.

Doctor Reno continued his stories, weaving together history and legend in a way that children would find fascinating.

Pointing to another place, Doctor Reno said, "This is Fernland, the territory conquered a hundred years ago by Emperor Martellus II, famously known as the Conquering Emperor. In the past, it was called the Eastern Expeditionary Territory. They say that the infamous Ricky came from here—the demon among demons, or perhaps the man chosen by God; an unparalleled murderer and Sword Master. Come to think of it, Young Master Rickart’s nickname is Ricky, isn’t it? Ha ha ha. Perhaps that is why you are so courageous."

Hearing someone else speak about his previous life gave Rickart a strange feeling. His heart grew heavy, and his head seemed to turn cold.

He did not deliberately avoid those memories, but they were certainly not pleasant.

"Where are the Fields of Heiden?"

Rickart asked.

"The Fields of Heiden? Hmm, was there a place by that name? Ah, I believe I have heard of it once. I cannot be certain, but I recall that it was somewhere in the north, and that there was something about wool... If it is suitable for raising sheep, then it must be one of these three places."

"...It’s incredibly far away..."

Rickart was referring to the distance between the Fields of Heiden and the Eastern Expeditionary Territory, but Reno misunderstood him.

"Indeed. It would take at least a month to travel from here to Heiden. But where did you hear of Heiden?"

"No particular reason. I think I heard the name somewhere in passing. But why did the Conquering Emperor travel all the way out here to wage war?"

"That is not precisely known. According to one theory, it was because of a document known as the Codex Orient."

"The Codex Orient?"

"Yes. It was a document discovered by an adventurer named Grunwald. You might call it a secret art from a forgotten ancient empire. By cultivating a certain power within the human body, one can supposedly gain superhuman abilities—walking through the air, for example, or strengthening a blade enough to cut through iron as though it were cheese. It is believed that Ricky the Sword Master may have wielded that power."

What? That wasn’t it at all, Rickart thought.

In his previous life, he had never read anything of the sort.

After all, he had not known how to read.

"Recently, that theory has come to be regarded as almost certain. Spellcasters exist in this world, so why should such a thing be impossible? Several copies of the Codex Orient have actually been discovered, and some people are said to have genuinely acquired superhuman abilities through them. Most of the copies circulating on the market are fakes, but according to information obtained through several adventurers’ guilds, some are authentic. Why else would the Imperial Family sponsor adventurers’ guilds and train professional adventurers? In the old days, those calling themselves adventurers were little more than ruffians."

Originally, adventurers had been people who traveled from region to region collecting unpaid debts or working as hired problem-solvers. Since they had no clearly defined profession, they had given themselves the grandiose title of "adventurer."

They might have thought of it as romantic, but to everyone else, they were merely troublemakers.

After the discovery of the documents known as the Codex Orient, however, emperors and kings began personally overseeing the training of skilled, professional adventurers.

The Eastern Expeditionary Territory, now called Fernland, served as a kind of bridgehead. Adventurers used it as a base from which to explore the surrounding dungeons and ruins, retrieving ancient knowledge and technology.

"There are also magical relics besides the Codices. Most are useless pieces of junk, but a fair number are quite useful. Like this one."

"But what happened to the people who originally lived there?"

Rickart asked.

Doctor Reno took a short rod from inside his clothes. A pearl-sized orb was embedded in its tip, and when he tapped the rod against the table several times, it began to emit a faint light.

"Oh!"

Vilter’s eyes widened. Rickart, on the other hand, seemed surprised at first but quickly lost interest.

"Ha ha ha. With this, I have no need for a torch at night. It is one of my treasures."

"The Eastern Expeditionary Territory—I mean the people who originally lived in Fernland."

"They all died. Or they surrendered and were assimilated into the Empire. Who knows? Perhaps a few small tribes still remain. But it was the heroic knight Kaldevert, founder of your family, who brought that war to an end, was it not? Kaldevert the Breaker, the finest military commander in the Empire. There is a famous story that he once killed so many barbarians in a single day that blood rose to his ankles inside the fortress. According to the records, even the people of the Empire at the time were rather shocked, and some said he had gone too far. Still, His Majesty the Emperor granted him a territory and even the right to establish a new noble house, so I suppose it did not matter. In terms of sheer numbers, he probably killed more than even that Ricky."

"I see..."

Rickart thought of Kaldevert.

The man had looked more like a scholar than a knight.

He had also been the only person Ricky could truly have called a friend. Apart from being a capable commander, he had been an exceptionally warmhearted man.

It was difficult to imagine what such a man must have felt while committing such atrocities.

If Rickart had not left the battlefield and the two of them had remained together, would either of their fates have been different?

He could still vividly remember the complicated look on Kaldevert’s face when he applied to leave the army. What had he been trying to say? He had seemed to want to tell him something.

It had not looked like simple regret.

Rickart remembered that his eyes had been terribly sad.

Back then, however, Rickart had become so sick of war that he had possessed neither the energy nor the will to care for even himself.

And when he returned to his homeland, what awaited him was...

"It has grown dark. I believe we should stop here for today. There is always tomorrow. I have many more fascinating stories to tell, so you may look forward to them."

Doctor Reno smiled as he spoke.

Just as he said, night had fallen, and the map was now difficult to see without lighting the oil lamp. They had become so engrossed in his stories that they had completely lost track of time.

"I shall leave the map here. I will take it back on the day I depart."

Doctor Reno left the map on the table and rose from his seat. He walked over to the fireplace, placed several logs upon the fading embers, and stirred them with an iron poker until the flames revived.

"Sweet dreams."

Doctor Reno said this as he left the room. The gentle care with which he closed the door seemed to reveal something of his character.

Vilter appeared utterly captivated by the map. He carried it over to the bed and lay down, carefully studying every illustration and every place-name in the dim room.

Rickart looked at the map beside his brother for a while before drifting off to sleep.

The moonlight shining through the window was bright, and Vilter continued studying the map until late into the night.

From the following day onward, the two brothers ate and took walks with Doctor Reno, speaking with him at length.

He was a truly excellent man. He did not merely tell the boys about the various paths they might take in life; he made it possible for them to dream and hope.

Unexpectedly, however, Vilter said that he wished to join the Order of the Flame.

Its knights swore lifelong vows of celibacy and guarded the frontier at the southwestern edge of the Empire. Among the many knightly orders, it was renowned for being the most dangerous and demanding.

When asked why he had made such a decision, Vilter replied, "Because I think it will help me develop patience and perseverance."

He had probably taken his father’s words to heart.

Rickart, meanwhile, wished to become an adventurer.

When he explained his reason, everyone looked puzzled.

"I want to find out whether the war was worth fighting..."