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Book 2 Short Story: Interlude ~Intermezzo~

Interlude ~Intermezzo~

The room was dark and devoid of any people, which made it look even emptier than it actually was.

A cool breeze brushed past his face as he stepped inside, as if to prove that no one had used this place for a while. He activated the lux blastia on the wall, and adjusted the light to be gentle on his eyes, and the interior of the room came into focus.

Flynn furrowed his brow ever so slightly. The room’s furnishings were far too grand, and the layout far too spacious for a single person to use. No matter how many times he came back here, he couldn’t help but feel out of place, even if this was his own room.

He’d never had a room to himself — not back home at the lower quarter, and not back when he had been but an ordinary, lowest-ranking knight. But after he had been appointed knight lieutenant, everything had changed.

He had to make sure he never took this treatment for granted. This wasn’t what he sought after — what he had worked so hard for. Flynn repeated those words to himself silently, as he had done countless times before.

It had been a long journey to get to where he was right now, and it hadn’t been an easy one. His promotion had caused a multitude of reactions from those around him, especially from the Imperial Knights, where the nobles loved throwing their weight around. Some had congratulated him. Of course, those who were nobles were fiercely against this decision. And there were some who were commoners like him, who were openly jealous of him. There were also some that badmouthed and harassed him, but that was nothing compared to the multiple occasions where someone had tried to frame him.

The current Commandant of the Imperial Knights, Alexei, had been pushing ahead with reforms that went against deep-rooted traditions. That included promoting people based on their ability, and not their status. But the reality of the situation was that in the field, such ideas were not common among public sentiment. In fact, Flynn could be said to have been lucky to make it this far after surviving the numerous traps placed in his way.

He had to change it — the system, into a truly fair and just one, and then, the entire world, too. That was the whole reason he had left the lower quarter and joined the Imperial Knights. Alexei’s ideals did not stop at reforming just the Imperial Knights, but aimed to change the very stagnant Empire itself. Flynn wasn’t going to just sit back and wait for that to happen — he would help enact that change.

Flynn thought back to the day when he had passed through the gates of the Imperial Knights. That day, he and his friend had passed the exams and become knights. But the memory of that day when their shining ideals had burned so brightly now also evoked bitter feelings. Because… that friend was no longer with him.

Both of them were prepared for the Imperial Knights to be a place rife with unfairness and injustice, where the nobles held sway over all else. But they wanted to grow stronger, and be able to protect the people they wanted to protect, even if it meant throwing themselves into the midst of that place. At least, that was what they had thought at first.

Because even though both their hometown of the lower quarter and the Imperial Knights were located in the imperial capital, the two places couldn’t be farther apart.

He was being treated terribly, and if it were only himself he could have tolerated it, but when his friend learnt that his hometown was suffering while he was away, he had chosen to leave. He left and returned to his hometown. He couldn’t sacrifice the ‘today’ for what he might gain ‘tomorrow’.

He didn’t make a single excuse before he left. He simply apologised for entrusting their dream to Flynn, and mocked himself for being a failure, by leaving the knights like this — even though there was absolutely no reason for him to do so.

And ever since, his friend had stayed in the lower quarter.

Flynn had been left behind. While he understood his friend’s feelings so well it hurt, he had chosen to endure the present in order to take hold of the ‘tomorrow’. And the fruit of his efforts after working hard as a knight — was that he had finally become a lieutenant.

But this didn’t mean that he believed that the path his friend had chosen to follow had been the wrong one, or that the path he had chosen had been the right one. Flynn knew that the only reason he had been able to devote all his time and energy to his mission of rising in the ranks of the Imperial Knights was because he knew his trusted friend was protecting their hometown.

The desire to continue walking the same path together, the relief that he could leave his hometown in his friend’s care, and the guilt and frustration for feeling that way — all of these feelings mixed together in Flynn’s heart and made him feel complicated about the whole thing.

Even so, he had finally become a lieutenant. Though it was rare for a commoner like him, it wasn’t completely unprecedented. He still had a long way to go. Even though he no longer had his friend by his side, even if he would have to walk down this path alone — he had to press on. Flynn shook his head, as if trying to shake off those dark thoughts in his head.

Besides, he had come back to his room — the room assigned to him by the Imperial Knights — to rest, not stew over his worries.

For the past few days, he had been pursuing a certain incident, and as a result lacked the time for a proper night’s sleep. He had been reluctant to leave, but he had to consciously rest his mind and body, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to function properly when a critical moment arose.

This, too, was part of his mission. Hoping to at least return to the past he longed for in his dreams, Flynn took off his armour, turned off the lights, and laid his exhausted body on the bed.

****

“Lieutenant! Lieutenant Flynn!”

Before Flynn even realised he had fallen asleep, he was woken up with a start by a sudden knocking on his door. Dazed and unaware of how much time had passed, he felt a brief moment of confusion. He looked out the window, and judging by the light, it seemed to be a little past dawn.

That voice outside his door belonged to his subordinate, Sodia. She was a female knight, a rarity even among the Imperial Knights, but not only was she more skilled than most male knights, her temper was just as fiery.

“Come in.”

He spoke as he put on his knight’s gear, but before he could finish his sentence, the door opened, and a female knight entered. She saluted him in one precise motion, a challenging look in her eyes. She didn’t seem to care at all that her superior was in the middle of changing his clothes.

“Any news?”

“No. But there were two new victims found on Tustle Street. Judging by the evidence, it looks to be the work of the same perpetrator.”

Sodia answered him. There always seemed to be a note of disapproval in her voice whenever she spoke to him.

“Tustle Street… so at the Mortess’s place.”

“We’re in the middle of investigating that, but most likely, yes.”

“…Lead the way.”

Grimacing at her report, Flynn ran out of the room.

The scene had already been cordoned off by a platoon, and Flynn had no trouble entering. A squad from his platoon was skilfully keeping any curious onlookers at bay.

Although it was early in the morning, the incident happened on Tussle Street, which was in a corner of the royal quarter. There was a good chance some of the onlookers were nobles, but the knights seemed to be handling the situation well and taking a firm stance against them.

This was the result of their daily training. Flynn nodded slightly.

The platoon Flynn led stood out among the rest of the Imperial Knights. Although it wasn’t unusual for both nobles and commoners to belong to a single unit, it was commonplace for nobles to occupy the higher ranks, and it was extremely unusual for both sides to receive equal treatment, let alone be led by a commoner.

And yet so far there hadn’t been any conflict between the nobles and the commoners in the platoon. No one had kicked up a fuss to hinder their missions, and no one had gone against his — their commander’s — orders. At least, as far as Flynn knew. Though not done by Flynn himself, the members of his platoon had gone through a careful selection process.

Speaking of which, the name of his unit was also extremely unusual. Normally the unit would have taken on the commanding officer’s surname and become the ‘Scifo Platoon’, but instead it had been named the ‘Flynn Platoon’. While it would have been unthinkable for the nobles, who based their entire worth on their lineage, the Schwann Brigade had also been led by a commoner, and also taken on their commanding officer’s name as their unit name instead of his surname. So the action was viewed by everyone else as embodying the platoon’s philosophy — and by extension Commandant Alexei’s philosophy — which was to value one’s ability over one’s origins. Since he and his platoon did not take orders from a captain but instead reported directly to the Commandant, naturally they were the target of a lot of jealousy and animosity. But that only increased the unity and awareness of the platoon members, and overall the morale of the platoon was high — with the exception of one person.

“Did you manage to identify the victims?”

Flynn took a glance at the remains lying on the ground and then turned to face the lone person standing beside him.

“Yes. They belong to a merchant and his servant who used to frequent the Mortes Family’s residence. The attack occurred late at night while they were on their way home after a business visit, so we haven’t found any witnesses so far.

“That’s terrible…”

Flynn frowned in anger as he listened to Sodia’s report, delivered in an indifferent tone.

There was the cloth covering their faces, as well as the large, dark stain on the ground. Combined with the fact that there was no healer in sight, it was clear that the two victims lying on the ground were beyond saving.

With this, that made ten victims in total. If you included the number of people that were injured, then the total number of casualties numbered more than ten.

Suppressing the frustration simmering in his chest, Flynn examined the body. His findings were as he had expected. He grew even angrier.

The body bore familiar wounds characteristic of those made by some kind of beast, and not a blade. However, only half of the victims followed this pattern.

So far around half of the victims had been injured in the same way. But as for the other half, judging from the wound marks on their bodies it looked like they had been attacked by a beast as well, but a different one.

The victims were all connected to either of two noble families; the Mortes Family or the Bilette Family. And the two types of wound marks were clearly distinct from the other. The first victims had been from the Bilett Family’s side, and not long after that people from the Mortes Family’s side had been attacked. After that, the Bilette Family’s people had been attacked again, and now this.

Like most Imperial noble families, the Morteses and the Bilettes were not on good terms with each other. Regardless of what had triggered it, it was almost certain that these attacks were the result of a dispute between the two families. There was also a possibility that this was all the work of a third party plotting to overthrow the two families, but investigations over the past few days had shown that this possibility was slim.

To sum it up, the two noble families were using beasts — monsters — to attack each other, right in the middle of Imperial territory. Naturally, bringing monsters into the city was a serious violation of the law, and the barriers surrounding the city should have automatically eliminated any monsters that tried to approach — but there were always loopholes to be exploited. For example, there were rumours of a blastia that could negate the effects of the barrier within a certain range, essentially creating a literal hole in the barrier. And it had always been a semi-open secret that nobles often tamed and raised monsters for less than legal purposes.

It was infuriating enough that the law was being trampled on so brazenly. But what really angered Flynn was that none of the members of the Bilette or Mortes Family were among the victims. That was how the Imperial nobility did things — rather than directly harm their enemies, they targeted the people around them. And that was what angered him the most.

To put a stop to this covert feud, they needed evidence. And at the same time, to prevent any further victims from appearing, his platoon threw all their efforts into both the investigation and patrolling the area. But despite all that, they had been unable to prevent another attack from happening.

Rather than this being a result of his platoon’s lack of competence, it was more of a result of them lacking the manpower. They were able to guard the area around each mansion, but there simply weren’t enough people in his platoon to protect everyone who came and went from the mansions, let alone conduct their investigation on top of that. All of his requests for support from the other brigades had been politely turned down.

I’m sorry. Flynn apologised silently to the victims lying down on the ground.

“This means it’s the Bilette Family’s turn to be attacked.”

Sodia said, as if she’d read Flynn’s mind. She spoke so indifferently, it was as if she was simply stating a fact. But now her tone only aggravated him. Flynn reflexively glared at her, but Sodia met his gaze unflinchingly.

Again, Flynn thought. He didn’t know why, but Sodia had always acted this way. In no way was she cutting corners on her assignments — in fact, she was quite competent. But her attitude was by no means cooperative.

Before she had been assigned to the Flynn Platoon, she had been a part of the Cumore Brigade. Following their captain, the unit solely consisted of high-ranking nobles, an embodiment of the old, traditional ways of the Imperial Knights. Their captain, Cumore, has always been antagonistic towards Flynn’s platoon, and in turn Flynn has always tried to avoid any interactions with him as much as possible.

Apparently Cumore had used his influence to get the administrative department to transfer Sodia to Flynn’s platoon — after the platoon’s members had been finalised.

But judging by her behaviour, Flynn found it hard to believe that Cumore had sent her to sabotage him. He wondered if it was because she was a noble and detested the fact that her superior officer was a commoner, but it seemed that she behaved the same way no matter who it was in the platoon she was speaking to. It seemed much more likely that this behaviour of hers had annoyed Cumore, and he had her transfer to Flynn’s platoon — kicking her out and allowing her to serve as a form of harassment for Flynn at the same time.

But there was something about her that bothered him — something that he couldn’t solely attribute to her personality. He could definitely sense from her actions that she felt some sort of contempt — towards, most likely, commoners. But compared to the other nobles, there was something different about it. What was it?

Flynn shook his head slightly. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by these thoughts any longer. As irritating as it was, he had to admit that Sodia was right. There was a very high chance someone related to the Bilette Family was going to be attacked next.

“Send a message to the Second Squad. They’re the ones guarding the Bilette Family’s estate; tell them to tighten the security. The First Squad and I will continue the investigation. Third Squad, once you finish cleaning up the area, resume your posts and go back to guarding the Mortes Family’s estate.”

The entire platoon had to continue their operations as usual. There were no handovers to another unit. Customs of the Imperial Knights dictated that once a unit took charge of a case, they held sole responsibility over it. Originally, this custom had been created to prevent arguments over who should take credit for a solved case, but this did not apply to the Flynn Platoon. But the longer this case dragged on, the closer his platoon grew to tiring themselves out.

On top of that, the people they were dealing with this time were nobles. The nobles already wielded a significant amount of influence over the Imperial Knights. Although the Mortes and Bilette families weren’t especially high-ranking nobles, they were still nobles nonetheless. And there was no short supply of other nobles that loved to meddle in other people’s affairs.

At the end of the day, when dealing with nobles, the only effective strategy he could employ was to catch them in the act. Even the other units, who would have no qualms about storming a commoner’s home and interrogating them if they determined the person was a suspect, would think twice about knocking at the front gate of a noble’s mansion. Then it went without saying that it was impossible for the Flynn Platoon, who had no political backing whatsoever — in this regard, the Commandant treated them equally, for better or for worse. It was common practice for them to go through the proper channels — complete with all kinds of complicated procedures — just to submit their requests, only to get up getting rejected.

But despite all that, he had no choice but to do what he could. Forge on, with simpleminded honesty — just as he had until now.

“I don’t want any more victims to appear. We’ll exhaust every strategy we can think of.”

****

The turning point came the next day. The Second Squad, who had been deployed to guard as well as surveil the area around the Bilette Family’s estate, had sent word of a suspicious merchant.

The merchant was trying to deliver a large quantity of food to the Bilette Family, too large to simply pass off as daily provisions. Disregarding the merchant’s arguments that the food was for a banquet, they searched through his goods and found nothing but raw meat unsuitable for human consumption.

They brought the merchant back to interrogate at the guardhouse, where he hemmed and hawed for a long time, before eventually confessing that the meat was feed for monsters. So far he had been delivering the goods under the cover of night at the request of his client, but frightened by the successive monster attacks, he had attempted to make his delivery in broad daylight, only to be caught in the act by the knights of the Flynn Platoon.

“So, he’s perfectly willing to break the law for money, but when his life is at stake he suddenly gets all cowardly… What a despicable bunch of people.”

Sodia spat out. There was a clear note of contempt in her words. Every knight within earshot — nobles and commoners alike — stiffened in unison.

Even though everyone in the Flynn Platoon treated their fellow members as equals regardless of their background, in truth they still found such topics rather sensitive to discuss. It was an unspoken rule within the platoon not to discuss anything related to the Empire’s noble-commoner hierarchy system, let alone criticise it.

But Sodia, with her remark, had blatantly broken that unspoken rule. When she said ‘bunch of people’, she had made it clear she was directing her words at not just the merchant in question, but the entire social stratum that he belonged to. In other words, merchants as a whole — and by extension, commoners as a whole.

No one spoke up to criticise her. Most likely everyone was afraid of causing any further dissension, which could shatter the unity of the platoon. But the air they exuded was thick with disapproval.

“We’re going to the Bilette Family’s estate.”

Flynn’s voice sliced through the tense atmosphere, and in unison the knights heaved a sigh of relief. But Sodia was different.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to barge into the estate? All we have is circumstantial evidence that they were trying to purchase a large amount of meat scraps. They won’t allow us inside the estate with just that.”

The atmosphere turned tense once again. But this time, Flynn was the target.

There it was again — the disapproval in Sodia’s voice when she spoke to him. Now, with an added hint of exasperation. Was she trying to tell him that as a commoner trying to take on a noble, he should learn his place? Or was she simply criticising her superior’s judgement when she pointed out how illogical he was being? Flynn couldn’t tell.

Sodia was probably right. But that didn’t mean they should just sit around in the guardhouse doing nothing, just waiting on standby. Besides, the Imperial Knights appearing on their doorstep might put some pressure on them. They would at least be catching them, even if it was only by the tip of their tail.

“Move out.”

Flynn left, and the knights followed behind him one after the other. Sodia watched as they left one by one, but eventually she joined the tail end of the group as the last person. Her actions were as if she was merely an observer of the platoon.

****

The Bilette Family’s mansion was located in the district right next to Tustle Street, where the Mortes Family’s estate was. It was because the two families were located so near to each other that they could do something like send monsters to attack each other.

The place was located in a corner of the royal quarter, and so it was unsurprising that even though it was daytime, apart from merchants and servants, there were barely any commoners about. As for the nobles, even those walking about were limited to the relatively lower ranking ones, but that didn’t mean they lacked noble pride.

However, upon seeing a group of Imperial Knights walking briskly while exuding a solemn atmosphere, all of them moved aside to let them pass without complaint. There were some who realised that the one leading the platoon was a commoner, but fortunately no one was so curious as to confront them.

On the way to the Bilette Family’s mansion, Flynn and the knights hardly exchanged a single word. They made their way through the royal quarter, past houses and mansions both big and small. Thanks to the fact that they had both commoners and nobles in their party, the knights advanced without hesitation.

Soon they arrived at the front of the Bilette mansion, where a small crowd of people had gathered. They looked like they had come out from the mansion, and were most likely members of the Bilette Family. Their leader, presumably the butler, had noticed Flynn and his squad approaching them, but showed no signs of surprise — it was as if he had anticipated that they would show up.

“If it isn’t the esteemed Imperial Knights of our Empire. May I ask what business you have with our Family?”

When servants of a noble Family reached a certain rank, they often took advantage of their master’s prestige and behaved in a polite but snide manner towards others, even if they were merely commoners. This butler was a typical example of that.

Just as Flynn opened his mouth to speak, he looked behind the butler and noticed what was in front of the other Family members, and realised he had been a step too late. Noticing his gaze, the butler revealed a faint smile.

“You are looking at a monster's corpse.” The butler said unabashedly. “Truly, we have no idea how it managed to find its way here. It wandered into the mansion, and the whole household banded together and eventually managed to exterminate it.”

Most likely one of the merchant’s partners had tipped them off. If, by any chance, there was someone who could testify to them keeping monsters as pets in the mansion, that would be more than enough evidence to warrant an arrest. But of course, they would have personally silenced any witnesses before even attempting something so risky. Once all that remained was circumstantial evidence, they could boldly deny any accusations made against them, no matter how hollow they were. Flynn felt incredibly bitter and regretful, but that was what it was like, dealing with Imperial nobility.

Most likely they had also deliberately waited for the right time, when the knights had come running, to drag the monster’s corpse out to the front gate to show it off to them. It was a clear provocation from them, knowing that the knights were unable to step any further into the mansion. A risky move, for sure, but a ‘harmless prank’ like this was also a very noble-like thing to do.

Faced with the butler, who looked like he had no intention of saying anything else, Flynn bowed silently. Then he turned around and walked away. There was a silent, uneasy tension in the air as the knights followed after their commander.

Behind them, Sodia followed.

****

“Where are we headed next, Lieutenant, sir?”

“The Mortes Family’s estate.”

Shortly after leaving the Bilette Family estate, one of the knights came up to him and asked. Flynn answered without stopping or turning around.

“Since there were monsters on the Bilette Family estate, we can be sure that the Mortes Family has monsters on their estate as well. The Bilette Family may have lost their monsters, but the Mortes Family still have theirs. We can’t let that be.”

“What are you planning to do once we get there?”

Someone called out from behind. Her interrogation-like tone stopped the group in their tracks, and as one they turned and looked at her — at Sodia.

“The Bilette Family only killed their monsters because their deeds were exposed by that merchant. But the Mortes Family has no reason to do the same. Even if you go there, you’re only going to end up humiliating yourself again.”

For the span of a single breath, Flynn remained silent. Then, he spoke.

“You’re telling me to stop because it’s pointless.”

“Yes.”

The knights tensed up again. Commoners all not, all of them would follow the orders of their commander. That was their way of doing things, and the basis of that creed was their trust in Flynn as a person. But at the same time, they agreed with Sodia.

Flynn stared closely at Sodia’s face, trying to decipher her true intentions. Sodia stared back unflinchingly. In fact, her reaction could even be interpreted by some as a provocation.

Flynn took a step forward, and the tension in the air grew even thicker.

Then, Flynn suddenly raised his hand. It was the gesture he made when issuing orders.

“Soldiers, go ahead and rendezvous with the Third Squad first. Update each other on the situation. Sodia and I will join you later.”

For a moment the knights exchanged hesitant glances at each other, but soon after quickly saluted and left one after the other, as if they couldn’t wait to get out of there as soon as possible.

Now only Flynn and Sodia were left on the street. Fortunately, besides the two of them, the street was empty. Flynn was close enough that he could strike her down with his sword. Sodia showed no signs of moving.

“You may be right. My actions may be pointless. But ordinary citizens have been hurt — mere victims caught in the crossfire of this fight. As a knight, it is my duty to do everything I can to prevent that from happening. To that end, even if I have to endure being humiliated by others, that means nothing to me.”

He had spoken from the heart, but Sodia only gave him a sardonic look.

“……Why?”

“What?”

“You’re talking about the kind of people where even if you leave them alone, they’ll keep attacking each other until they all die. Is there any point in going to such lengths for such people?”

Upon hearing those cold, indifferent words of his subordinate, even Flynn couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at her.

“……Are you serious? Noble or commoner, you’re okay with letting a person die on your watch?”

“Is that so wrong? Personally, commoners who only care about money and advancing their careers or pretentious nobles who toy with human lives aren’t worth protecting.”

Her voice was quiet, but you could hear the hatred in her words — like a sword that had rusted and now dripped with poison.

“Sodia, you…”

The moment he spoke, Flynn realised that he had made a grave mistake. Sodia did look down on commoners. But not in the way the other nobles did. It was only now that he understood the difference between the two.

She didn’t treat commoners as inferior beings. At least, not from the perspective of a noble. That was what differentiated her from other nobles. After all, she also treated the other nobles the same way — with contempt. She wasn’t looking down on them. She just despised them all. Nobles and commoners alike. It had nothing to do with if her commanding officer was a commoner or a noble.

But— if that really was the case— then why did she—

“……Sodia. What does a knight mean to you? Why did you become a knight?”

“I just didn’t want to be a commoner or a knight.”

But even the knights had let her down. Of course they had. Ultimately, knights were made up of the very nobles and commoners that she hated. Not to mention she had been assigned to the previously mentioned Cumore Brigade.

Internally, Flynn groaned. Knights were the guardians of law and order. In the face of that mission, there was no distinction between nobles and commoners. Before being a noble or a commoner, one was first and foremost a knight. Flynn believed that his platoon had been created to put that belief into practice.

And yet. While he and Sodia both believed in the same words — that ‘there is no distinction between nobles and commoners’ — their underlying meaning could not be any more different. It was like comparing the heavens and the earth.

“I understand that the Flynn Platoon is different — or at least, trying to act differently. I also understand that you aren’t obsessed with advancing his career like the others. …But, there isn’t much a mere handful of idealistic knights can accomplish.”

Sodia’s expression was mocking, but it was now mixed with bitterness. Flynn felt like he had caught a glimpse of what lay hidden underneath her scorn. Sadness, or perhaps… resignation?

The Empire’s society was divided into the nobles and the commoners. Among them, commoners becoming nobles was an uncommon occurrence, and other means of success was limited. Realistically, the only options were to run a business and get rich that way, or to join the Imperial Knights and get promoted. On the other hand, as for the nobles, they were limited — in terms of space — by the barrier surrounding the capital, and spent their days engaging in endless power struggles. They had nothing else to do.

For centuries, that had been the way of life for the people of the Empire, and that had also become the unchanging embodiment of the Empire.

It was Flynn’s wish to change that. But as for Sodia—

“Could it be that you—”

“Lieutenant, sir!”

His words were interrupted by a voice coming from a different direction.

A lone knight was running towards them, accompanied by the clattering sound of his armour. He was one of the members of the First Squad that Flynn had sent ahead. Flynn and Sodia had been taking quite some time now, and most likely the knight had been sent to see what was the delay.

Flynn didn’t need to see the knight’s pale expression to know that something strange had happened — the panic in his yell told all.

“What’s wrong?”

Gasping for breath, as the knight approached, he turned and pointed in the direction he had just come from.

“A monster appeared. It’s rampaging on the streets.”

****

It must have been quite a shock for the citizens, seeing a live monster roaming about in the Imperial Capital Zaphias in broad daylight, and in a corner of the royal quarter, at that.

But that didn’t mean they had to gather around to watch like this was a show. Flynn thought that as he looked at the backs of the crowd blocking his way. Did they really not understand that monsters were dangerous, and that their lives were in danger? Or were the nobles so bored that they just didn’t care, and sought out things that stimulated them like this?

In any case, given that the knights were responsible for maintaining public security and order, they couldn’t just say the onlookers were putting themselves in danger at their own risk and leave them to fend for themselves. Looking beyond the wall of onlookers, he could see that his platoon had already formed a wall of their own, trying their utmost to restrain the crowd.

Beyond the double-layered wall of onlookers and knights stood the monster in question.

It was huge. It looked like a bear standing on its hind legs, muscles bulging on its forelegs — arms — and thick claws protruding from its paws. Knights that weren’t busy warding off the crowd thrust their spears and halberds at the monster in an attempt to fend it off, but it didn’t look daunted in the slightest.

Along the way, Flynn had listened to the knight’s report; shortly after the First Squad had reconvened with the Second Squad, all of them had seen with their own eyes how monsters had appeared from within the Mortes Family’s estate. The monsters weren’t acting like they were under someone’s control, and no one knew what would happen next.

It was clear that if the monster decided to charge into the crowd of onlookers, it would be a disaster. They had to subdue the monster before that happened.

Flynn had to get to the monster, and to do that, he would have to push his way through the crowd. As he took a step towards the crowd to do just that, his eyes widened.

There was someone on the monster’s back!

As the monster swung its forelegs at the knights, if Flynn looked closely he could see a figure clinging to its furry, upright back. Because of the contrast in size between the monster and the person, for a moment Flynn had thought they were a child, before realising it was a full-grown man. And, judging by his appearance, he looked to be a noble too.

His heart rate skyrocketing, Flynn prepared to charge into the crowd of onlookers.

Suddenly, he heard Sodia’s yell from behind him.

“Are you trying to take them on!?!?!?”

It was a tone full of admonishment for his reckless behaviour, and, with a hint of worry in it — or maybe that was just his imagination.

But there was no time. Flynn risked a glance at Sodia before steeling his resolve, and then he plunged into the crowd. As he forcefully pushed his way through, complaints and jeers erupted from the crowd, but he paid it no heed and yelled that he was a knight.

He was about to break through the crowd when he came face to face with his subordinates, who were trying to hold the crowd back.

“Lieutenant, sir!?!?”

They cried out in surprise for a moment, but they quickly hardened their expressions and opened a space to let him — and only him — through.

Behind the monster, the iron fence surrounding the Mortes Family’s estate had been cruelly twisted out of shape, exposing the sight of the mansion inside. There was a large, gaping hole in one of the mansion’s walls, and debris scattered all around it. Clearly, some kind of violent force had smashed a hole through the mansion walls from the inside.

Between there and where the monster was a bunch of trees. All of their trunks bore marks that were strangely familiar. Flynn remembered the Bilette Family’s victims, and the wound marks on their bodies. Their characteristics matched with the claws of the monster standing right in front of him.

With a grim look on his face, Flynn nodded. It was clear the Mortes Family had been keeping this monster.

Drawing his sword, Flynn once again turned his attention to the man clinging to the monster’s back. Upon closer inspection, the man was holding something like a set of reins, which was leashed around the monster’s neck. Impressively enough, he hadn’t fallen off, but there was no telling if the monster would tear him apart the moment he did. Meanwhile, the knights fending off the monster were hesitant to attack because they were afraid of hurting the man.

The man must be a part of the Mortes Family. But despite all this commotion, other than this man, no one else from the Mortes Family had shown themselves. Flynn wondered if they were all hiding away somewhere and watching the situation play out. Maybe they were keeping quiet and waiting for the situation to resolve itself.

When the knights who were fending off the monster saw Flynn brandishing his sword, their expressions brightened, but at the same time the monster let out a tremendous roar. Intimidated, the knights retreated.

Foam dripped from the monster’s gaping maw. In fact, it was practically frothing at the mouth. And, now that he saw it, the monster’s movements seemed somewhat unsteady. He hadn’t noticed it before because he had been overwhelmed by its ferocity, but something about this seemed off.

A thought flashed through Flynn’s mind.

“……The last victim on the Mortes Family’s side was a merchant.”

Just like how there was someone providing the Bilette Family with monster feed, there had to be a person on the Mortes Family’s side doing the same thing. If that person had been killed, and the person hired as their replacement had been, in actuality, working for the other side — it would have been incredibly easy for that person to tamper with the monster’s food. Now, most likely the Bilette Family were watching this series of events unfold from a safe place.

The monster roared again, its howl shaking the earth and chilling the spine of anyone who heard it. Flynn knew that at his current level of skill, subduing the monster was not going to be easy.

But.

A knight’s duty was to protect the people. Even if those people had brought the monsters in themselves.

“We have to restrain it! Make sure it can’t move!”

Yelling that, Flynn leapt out. His subordinates thrust their spears at the monster all at once, trying to stop the monster from moving. With a single sweep of its arm, the monster swatted them away like twigs, but thanks to that there was now an opening. In an instant Flynn slipped through the knights and ran past the monster, slashing his sword at its side as he did so.

The sharp metal cut through its target cleanly, severing the reins that the man on the monster’s back was holding onto. Having lost his support, the man fell face-up from the monster’s back, plummeting towards the ground. Flynn promptly caught him in his arms, and their bodies, entangled in a heap, rolled across the cobblestones.

“W-What— a-are you— d-doing—”

Ignoring the man’s shrill voice, Flynn confirmed that the man wasn’t seriously injured before standing up and readying his sword. His actions had drawn the attention of the monster.

“Take him somewhere safe!”

Flynn ordered without taking his eyes off the monster. He heard several people rushing over to the man’s side. The man’s pitiful protests faded away, and he glanced back just to make sure.

Alright. Next is to lure that monster away from the crowd of onlookers. Then, once we’re a safe distance away, I’ll take it down quickly.

Then suddenly, something flew from the crowd and hit the monster’s head. It fell to the ground with a sharp, pinging sound.

A coin!?

Flynn couldn’t believe his eyes. But more coins were thrown one after another, all hitting the body of the monster and Flynn. Combined with the cheers erupting from the crowd of onlookers, Flynn realised, gloomily, that their actions were because of what he had just done.

But even though the nobles had meant it as a way of applauding them, the monster didn’t seem to appreciate their actions. It let out a mighty roar and, ignoring the knights keeping it at bay, turned around and ran towards the crowd. The people in front hastily scattered like a cluster of baby spiders, but it was too late. As the crowd split to the left and right, Flynn caught a glimpse of Sodia on the other side.

The monster was too far away for his sword to be able to reach it, let alone kill it in one blow. Even so, Flynn hefted his sword, and threw it with all his might. Driven by the sheer force of his spirit, his sword tore through the air and rammed into the monster’s defenseless back, burying itself deep into its flesh.

The monster screamed in pain. It turned around and glared at Flynn with glazed, bloodshot yellow eyes. But Flynn was left with only his shield. Now what, he thought to himself.

In an instant all the knights rushed over, putting themselves between the monster and their unarmed commander. They thrust out their weapons threateningly, forming a wall against the monster. The determination on their faces said they were prepared to die. Flynn felt something hot well up in his chest.

The monster didn’t move to attack them — perhaps because the pain had broken through the effects of the drug and cleared its head. Or maybe, it was because it had noticed that in their efforts to rescue Flynn, the knights had broken formation, opening up a path in the opposite direction — straight towards the crowd.

The monster roared, spun around, and ran down the unobstructed street.

****

With Flynn taking the lead, the platoon chased after the monster, running with all their might. It wasn’t hard to follow the monster thanks to the blood splatters on the ground, but even a second could spell the difference between saving a life and being too late. The knights were desperate, and they ran as fast as they could.

They heard the screams that they were dreading, coming from up ahead. Instinctively, Flynn’s legs tensed up. This was why he had his subordinates isolate the monster, but now that things had turned out like this, there was no time to criticise what had gone wrong. At the other end of the street, he could see people fleeing in panic. Both nobles, and commoners. At some point they had left the royal quarter and entered the citizens’ quarter.

Almost bumping into the fleeing people, Flynn looked around, trying to spot any sign of the monster. The crowd’s movements were too chaotic for him to read its flow. The bloodstains on the ground had been trampled on to the point that he had lost sight of them. But then — he saw it.

A huge, black figure too big to belong to a human towered over the crowd’s heads, Moreover Flynn could see the hilt of a sword protruding from its side. Flynn immediately took off running without sparing a glance at his surroundings.

“Imperial Knights! Make way!”

His yell was effective. Immediately the people in front of him made way, opening a path that led straight to the monster. Everyone near the monster had already fled — clearly, compared to the people in the royal quarter, the people here had more common sense — leaving a wide open space. However, not everyone had fled.

There was a child at the monster’s feet. No — two of them.

One of them was dressed in fine clothing, while the other — no, he couldn’t focus on that. More importantly, he had come all this way without a sword. The monster was about to attack. Be it blocking its attack with a shield or grabbing a child and running away, ultimately he could only save one of them at a time. The moment he did, the monster would tear apart the other child with its claws.

As Flynn ran towards the children, his mind raced with a thousand questions. Which child should he save? Which one should he save, and which child should he abandon?

The children had collapsed at the monster’s feet, unable to even take a step back. Their faces were filled with fear, and their eyes were glued to the monster.

The faces of all the people who had died in the conflict between the Billette and Mortes Family flashed through Flynn’s mind.

Flynn felt something deep in his chest explode, and he flew forward, as fast as an arrow. He threw away his shield and ran. Without the extra weight, he became even lighter on his feet, and he ran even faster.

The monster raised its arm and swung down. Its movements were casual, careless, even. The children flinched and shut their eyes tightly.

Like a gust of wind, Flynn flung himself forward, sliding his body in between the children and the monster. Someone screamed.

A tremendous shockwave pierced through his back and travelled towards his chest. Despite his best efforts, Flynn’s consciousness shattered into tiny pieces, and he fainted.

****

“Lieutenant! Lieutenant Flynn!!!”

Ah, Sodia is calling for me again. Amidst the darkness, Flynn thought to himself. She sounded like she usually did, her voice filled with disapproval and anger. He didn’t know why, but for some reason she detested and looked down on both commoners and nobles equally. She had said that saving and protecting them were worthless and meaningless.

I wonder if we’re worthless, too. If what we’re doing, what we’re trying to accomplish, are all meaningless. It would be a lie if he said he had never felt that way. But Flynn had always believed that one day, things would change — that he would change things.

She didn’t believe in that world. She couldn’t believe in that world.

But if that was truly the case, then why was she crying right now?

…Crying?

Startled, Flynn rose to the surface of his consciousness. Feeling the pressure on the front of his body, he realised he was lying facedown on the ground. He opened his eyes. He tried to get up, but the moment he did so a sharp pain lanced through his back, and he couldn’t help but let out a groan of pain.

“Lieutenant!?? …Are you alright?”

He looked over and saw Sodia and the rest of the knights kneeling down beside him. They were all looking at him. This was the first time he had heard Sodia sound so worried. She wasn’t crying — Flynn thought her eyes looked red and bloodshot. He couldn’t be sure, though, because the light was behind her, casting a shadow across her features.

Flynn forced a smile on his face and nodded, but he was in too much pain to brush it off.

“We just finished closing your wounds with healing artes. You mustn’t move around.”

One of the platoon’s healers announced, with a worried look on their face as well.

He reached with his arm that wasn’t supporting his body and felt around his back. With his fingertips, he traced the warped and torn metal of his armour. Underneath the gouged metal, his clothes were wet and sticky with his own blood, but beyond that his wounds did seem to have closed up.

Despite the many problems the Imperial Knights had, at least their armour did their jobs perfectly fine. If not, even if there was a healer present, he wouldn’t have survived.

But there was something else he was more worried about. Somehow, Flynn managed to sit up, and, turning his head and looking over his subordinates’ heads, he found it.

The monster lay on the ground, with several swords and spears sticking out of its body. Even from a distance away, Flynn could tell that the monster was dead.

He returned his gaze to his subordinates surrounding him, and, looking over them, he realised that they were all wounded and covered in blood — even Sodia.

They had fought the monster without him. They didn’t hesitate, even if it meant getting injured in the process. And they had triumphed over the monster. And now, they looked, from the bottom of their heart, relieved that their commander was alive.

Everyone present was sharing the same feeling. It was a feeling that they didn’t need to put into words.

For a moment, Flynn forgot the pain lancing through his entire body, and closed his eyes. He felt a smile form on his lips.

“Ah… ahhh… aaahh!!!”

Suddenly, a voice cried out, and it was as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown onto them, the mood dampening.

Everyone looked up and saw a man with a cane, staggering to the monster’s corpse. Flynn recognised the man. It was none other than the man who had been clinging onto the back of the monster. The man, who was most likely related to the Mortes Family.

The man made a gesture of mourning in front of the corpse, then as if suddenly realising something, turned around to face the knights. Slowly, he began walking towards them.

Enduring the pain and with laboured breathing, Flynn stood up. Wordlessly, he stopped Sodia and the others’ attempts to stop him, and walked towards the man. His back screamed in pain with every step he took, but he stolidly braved through the pain.

The man also seemed to have acknowledged Flynn, and he quickened his pace, staring only at Flynn in the eye.

“H-How dare you—!”

With bloodshot eyes that made Flynn wonder if he had also been drugged like the monster, the man — the nobleman — cried out.

“Were you the ones that did this?! To my precious little girl?!! You— you lowly pieces of—”

The man was so enraged he couldn’t even speak properly. Flynn let the waves of intense anger directed at him roll off him as he spoke quietly.

“You’re under arrest.”

The nobleman’s eyes went blank.

“You- What?! You’re… arresting me?? Me?? What nonsense is this—”

“You just admitted that this monster belonged to you. And the law clearly states that it is forbidden to bring one into the barrier.”

Even though his head was hazy from the pain, strangely enough the words flowed out from his mouth easily.

For a moment the man from the Mortes Family paused, as if he needed time to process the words entering his ears and flowing into his brain. The moment he did, his entire demeanour changed — from that of complaint to one of hatred.

Letting out a shrill cry, the man raised the cane in his hand and swung it down at Flynn’s head.

It was the swing of an amateur. Even though Flynn was far from being in his peak condition, he had still trained for many years, and in his eyes the man’s movements appeared slow.

In his mind, he recalled the faces of all the people who had lost their lives in this incident. The faces of the children cowering in front of the approaching monster. To Flynn, they were a symbol of all the countless people who had come before them, who had all suffered in pain, anguish, and fear.

And the cane approaching his face was a symbol of everything that had brought it about — a symbol of injustice, tyranny, and authority.

Deep inside Flynn, something dark reared its head. It was something that he had been suppressing all this time.

His fist tightened. His armour-plated fist could easily slip past the man’s cane and smash into his jaw, shattering it — and taking the man’s life as well.

It would be revenge. He could even call it retribution. He would be exercising the rights of the oppressed. But—

Flynn’s right arm moved with a speed faster than his eyes could follow.

A knight’s duty was to uphold the law.

A sharp sound rang out.

Something spun as it flew through the air. It hit the wall of a nearby building and fell to the ground. It was a cane, snapped perfectly in two.

At some point Flynn had started holding his breath, but now he let it out in one exhale. The pain in his back, which he had forgotten about, viciously made itself known again.

To the man, the ‘weapon’ in his hand had vanished within the blink of an eye, and now he stood dumbfounded, unsure of what had just happened.

“Take him away.”

Without turning around, Flynn issued an order to his subordinates standing behind him.

Flynn watched as the knights rushed over with their swords drawn and apprehended the nobleman, who had come to his senses and was now wailing and screaming. As they finally dragged him away, Flynn felt the world before him turn upside down, and once again, he fainted.

****

“Come in.”

Flynn answered the strangely uniform knocking at his door, and it opened quietly.

“Excuse me.”

Sodia saluted in the doorway and entered Flynn’s room. Her motions were brisk and precise as ever, but her confrontational demeanour was now visibly more subdued. In fact, Flynn would almost call it meek.

“The entire platoon has left the capital as per the plan. We’re the last to leave.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

Turning only his head to face Sodia, Flynn nodded, before turning his gaze back to the wall in front of him. He pondered the task that lay ahead of him.

The Imperial Knights had a custom known as ‘the knight’s pilgrimage’. In ancient times philanthropic knights would roam the lands, performing charity wherever they went. At some point, it had turned into a way for promising knights to gain experience, and now it was nothing more than a ceremony undergone for formality’s sake, for knights unofficially slated for promotion.

Flynn’s platoon had departed from the capital to recreate how the knights of ancient times conducted their pilgrimage. Despite the Cumore Brigade stealing all of the credit for the monster incident, throughout the entire incident, Alexei, the Commandant of the Imperial Knights had held Flynn in high esteem. In fact, this pilgrimage had been a direct order from the Commandant. Flynn didn’t think he was getting a big head, but he did admit that he felt proud of that fact.

“That is…?”

Noticing what Flynn was looking at, Sodia asked in a dubious tone.

She was referring to a drawing on a sheet of paper that had been framed and hung on the wall. Its linework was bold and unrestrained, and it couldn’t exactly be called a masterpiece; clearly, it had been drawn by a child. A smiley face with a head of blond hair took up most of the paper. There was a name written under it, but even without looking at the clumsily-written letters — which were, for some reason, in ancient script, and misspelled on top of that — anyone could tell it was a drawing of Flynn.

Drawn on his right was another small face, this one with a head of long black hair. Below it, the artist had also written his name: ‘Yu…’

Seeing Sodia strain her eyes to read the word, Flynn smiled.

“It was drawn by a child from my hometown.”

“I suppose it must be a very precious memento of yours.”

Still smiling, Flynn gazed off into the distance.

“That’s part of it, yes, but… it’s more of a guidepost. So I can find my way back to the right path if I ever get lost.”

“The right path…”

As she muttered that, Sodia lowered her gaze until she was staring at the floor, and fell silent. Flynn turned to face her, and waited.

Eventually, Sodia looked up, hesitance written all over her face.

“I remembered I wanted to ask you something. …Back then, why didn’t you make a choice?”

‘Back then’. She was referring to the Mortes monster incident. After the incident, hardly anyone in the platoon talked about it.

The biggest reason was because the Cumore Brigade had taken over the case. They had taken advantage of the platoon’s commander’s — Flynn’s — absence due to his injuries, and had swooped in and easily stolen all the credit. With no political backing, the platoon could only watch helplessly.

As unfortunate as that was, the silver lining was that at least someone, whether it was the Mortes or the Bilette Family, was most certainly going to receive their due punishment. There was a limit to how much Flynn and his platoon could pursue this incident, but Cumore, who was a noble with a decently high rank, had the power to make it happen — even if that man would mainly be doing so to bring down said noble family.

But Sodia was talking about something else — the two children who had been attacked by the monster. The two children, who had been abandoned by the fleeing adults and had been cornered by the monster, who had happened to run into each other and had nobody else to cling to but each other.

“When I saw those two children, I thought to myself that only one of them could be saved. That one of them was a noble, and the other was a commoner.”

That was why she had thought to himself at that moment: As a young lieutenant with a bright future ahead of him, and as a commoner himself, would he save the child who was a commoner just like him? Or would he choose to abandon the commoner’s child, and save the noble’s child instead?

Sodia had felt that no matter what he chose, the contempt she felt for him, and all the contempt she felt for commoners, would all fall onto him. While she felt fear at the thought of that happening, at the same time it felt like she was also hoping for that to happen.

See? In the end, you’re the same as them.

But her commander hadn’t chosen either option. Instead, he had chosen to use his body as a shield to save the both of them. He had suffered serious injuries to his back in exchange for their lives. He had risked dying in exchange for theirs — Why?

“I thought you had yet to accomplish your goal.”

Flynn met Sodia’s gaze steadily. He took a moment to search deep within himself for the answer, before he spoke.

“You’re right.”

Sodia silently waited for him to continue.

“If I’m being honest, back then my mind was a blank. I’m sure I was thinking about a lot of things at that time, but when I saw those two children, all of that just flew out of my mind. I wasn’t thinking about the current situation, I wasn’t thinking about anything. All I knew was the monster was about to hurt them. And, that as a knight, it was my duty to save them. Not one of them — both of them. Choosing between the two wasn’t even an option. That’s all there is to it.”

Flynn had referred to them as ‘two children’. Not nobles or commoners, but just two children.

Soda looked down at the floor again.

“…I’m a noble. From young, I’ve seen how nobles act on the surface as well as what they hide underneath those facades — sometimes, they don’t even try to hide them. I’ve seen enough to make me sick. And the commoners, I’ve seen how the nobility oppresses them, but they never stop trying to curry favour with the nobility.”

Sodia closed her eyes tightly and furrowed her brow, as if she was trying to shut out her thoughts.

Flynn remained silent. He had no idea what exactly she was agonising over, but he understood that just like how life in the lower quarter was full of hardships, life as a noble was full of its own struggles. Perhaps the source of her agony was the fact that she didn’t fit in there.

Sodia looked up with a pleading look in her eyes.

“I’m sure those two children were grateful to the Imperial Knights, and to you, sir. …And, maybe, that will be the spark for something to happen. Right?”

She hated the society that was divided into nobles and commoners, and she had joined the Imperial Knights in order to escape that. But she soon came to realised that they were no different; even in the Imperial Knights, there was strife between the commoners and the nobles. By the time she joined Flynn’s platoon she had lost all hope in the knights, just as she had for commoners and nobles alike. Now, the Commandant’s ideals and the platoon’s ideology rang hollow in her chest.

But… Was it really too late to change her mind? Besides, the people she despised were basically also the enemy of his platoon. If that was the case, then…

Flynn took a deep breath.

“I don’t know. But I want to believe in that possibility. I want to believe that every effort we make is a step closer to realising that possibility.”

And then maybe, there would come a day when he would have the opportunity to change society as a whole. It wouldn’t come drastically; rather, it would be the result of the accumulation of all the smallest things, piling high enough to reach the sky.

Sodia saw the determination in Flynn’s eyes as he said this. It was the first time she had truly looked at him. In that unwavering will of his, she felt like she had finally found it. This man truly believed in what he was saying. He was determined to make his ideals a reality.

Suddenly, all the doubts and grudges she harboured inside her heart felt so small. That heaviness in her heart peeled away — and in its place, admiration was born.

“…If you keep doing such crazy stunts, no matter how many lives you have, it won’t be enough.”

“You’re right. That’s why I’d be happy if everyone in my platoon could lend me their support. You too, of course.”

Hearing Flynn’s unabashed words, Sodia shook her head slightly as if exasperated. There was a wry smile on her lips. It wasn’t a cheerful one, but it was a smile nonetheless. It was the first time she had smiled since she joined the Flynn Platoon. And, despite her expression, Sodia was looking straight at Flynn.

For a moment, Flynn thought he saw something in the depths of her eyes that stirred up a faint sense of unease in him. It was like the gaze of a person captivated by the gleam of a sharpened blade, or — like a moth enthralled by a brilliant flame.

But the moment passed, and in a blink of an eye Sodia’s expression returned to normal. It must have been an illusion, Flynn decided — without realising that he, too, adopted the same look in his eyes when he looked at the Commandant.

“It’s not like I have a choice. As your subordinate, that is my job.”

Flynn smiled at the shrugging Sodia, and picked up the luggage he had packed and left on the ground beside him.

“Let’s go. We don’t want to keep everyone else waiting.”

****

— And so, Flynn and his platoon set off on the pilgrimage. Their departure had originally been planned to be a grand one, but instead it had been carried out in secret, and in a rush. This was done under the orders of Commandant Alexei, who had instructed them to make haste.

This was because the platoon had been given a secret mission to fulfill — that was strictly confidential — alongside the knight’s pilgrimage. And Alexei’s enemies had dispatched assassins to prevent them from fulfilling that mission.

Flynn and his platoon had set off ahead of the assassins, narrowly missing them. But after a series of coincidences, the matter of the assassins became known to an old acquaintance of his — a high-ranking noble, a bird trapped in a cage. And this person decided to take the plunge and escaped from their cage, all in order to find and warn Flynn.

Thereafter, a new and different encounter between two people would be born, which would ultimately lead to a major incident that would involve not just Flynn, but the entire world — but that was a story for another time.

— To Be Continued in the main story, ‘Tales of Vesperia’.

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