My villains, episode 340
, 58. Reunion (9)
“Lord Phoenix, my knight.”
Ulkar had taken off his helmet, revealing his iconic silver hair, deep blue eyes, and handsome face.
“long time no see.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while.”
He strode forward with his arms wide open and hugged me by the shoulders.
“I have heard a lot of news about you from afar. It’s rare that I’m not happy about anything.”
“Haha,
looking over Ulkar’s shoulder with an awkward expression, he saw four people who could be called his closest aides following him. They were the giant Sir Ankir, the sorceress Lymond, and Sir Filter and Sir Gisela.
I was familiar with the previous two, so as I was greeting each other, Prince Ulkar patted me on the back a couple of times and looked back at the people next to me.
“Theodora. My proud niece was also here.”
“Outside.”
Theodora placed a hand on her chest to show her respect, and Ulkar nodded softly. Then, when he saw his nephew, who looked a little sullen, he tilted his head.
“You have a shadow on your face. Has anything happened in the past?”
“yes? No I…
“…no it was done. I will know even if you don’t tell me.”
When the princess’s pale green eyes wavered, the prince continued his speech in a serious tone.
“I heard the saint’s story.”
“……ah.”
“I can’t fathom the pain you’ve been through, but please don’t give up your will to despair. At times like these, shouldn’t we strengthen our resolve and lead the believers?”
Theodora, who had a blank look on her face for a moment, nodded her head with a sunken gaze.
“Do not worry. Because now my heart is stronger than ever.”
“Is that so? That’s good.”
With a light smile, Ulkar looked back at Atalanta this time.
“Oh, that was great. It seems I haven’t properly judged your skills until now.”
“…Your Highness, that is.”
“Oh, I don’t mean to reprimand you.”
The prince waved his hand lightly, as if to reassure her.
“Isn’t it a well-known fact that the power of vision is influenced by the mind? I heard that it is natural that the power varies from time to time.”
“That’s right, Your Highness.”
“But… there must be a reason why its power reached its peak today.”
“yes?”
“You were showing off six purple spears that you wouldn’t normally show at all. Who was it that cheered you up that much?”
Atalanta, who had hardened her complexion for a moment at the mischievous or playful question, smiled as if her tension had eased.
“I must have been a little excited to meet the lover I’ve been longing for.”
“The lover you’ve been longing for.”
Ulkar looked back at me with a playful expression.
“Fire Witch Ellen went back to La Palais Palace, right? I was quite saddened to hear the news, but now that I look at it, it seems that everyone has a passerby side.”
“Ah… haha.”
ambiguous situation. As he was scratching his head, fooling around with a laugh, the prince’s gaze soon reached Heila, who was standing on one side.
“…for the beautiful lady over here.”
Just as I was about to introduce myself, Heyla took a step forward.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness. This is Phoenix’s fiancée, Heila.”
“Hayla… you?”
A flash flashed in the prince’s navy blue eyes. He just nodded his head without saying a word. It was a hard-to-read expression.
“…To have a fiancée and even a lover.
You’re quite resourceful, Sir Phoenix?”
It was a time when I was quietly scratching my eyebrows and looking for something to cover.
“majesty.”
The one who saved me was a middle-aged man who appeared out of nowhere.
“Let me check your arm.”
“This Master Madaz.”
The sorcerer approached, showing off a faint presence as if he were a ghost, and snatched Ulkar’s left arm. The prince tried to dissuade him, but gave up his arm with a wry smile.
Looking at it again, the middle-aged man was wearing a black robe and monocle glasses with thick lenses stacked on top of each other. On top of that, he was a man who gave off a scholarly atmosphere, even with his calm dark green eyes.
“Your Highness, this person is…
“Oh, Master Madaz. Thank you wizard for giving me this wonderful arm.”
“I see…
Even though he was introducing himself, the wizard Madaz didn’t even look at me.
“But you still haven’t been treated? I heard that if left as it is for too long, it will become difficult to regenerate.”
Prince Ulkar laughed bitterly, entrusting his arm to the scholarly mage.
“Yeah, I know that too… but the military funds are not enough. You can’t spend money on useless things.”
“It’s useless, Your Highness.”
It wasn’t me who stepped out with an angry expression, but Gisela Winged, the ‘Knight of the Birdhawk’ who was standing behind.
“Your Highness is the one who inherited the divine lineage. It is unbelievable that such a person would save the gold and silver needed to restore the body.”
“Yes sir, you are absolutely right. But what can I do? I am a natural cobbler.”
“majesty.”
As Gisela sighed, Ulkar only smiled and shrugged.
In the meantime, Master Madaz took out a hook-like tool from his bosom and disassembled the shining silver prosthetic arm.
Cheeky.
He opened the top of the prosthetic arm wide, took out a small brush, cleaned the inside, and replaced a few thin tubes.
His hands were so nimble that it took less than three minutes to complete the series of steps and assemble the prosthetic arm.
“Are there any problems?”
“I do not know.”
Madaz, who answered bluntly, glanced at Ulkar’s prosthetic arm while arranging his tools.
“But, since Your Highness has pulled that ignorantly ignorant bow a few more times, there must have been a problem.”
Ulkar looked down at the prosthetic arm with a puzzled expression. With a purring sound, the metal joints moved like those of a human.
“…Hmm, I don’t think there’s anything unusual about it.”
“On the surface, it is. As soon as we get out of this dust pit, we will take a closer look.”
“Yes, I beg you… Oh, did you hear that Master Madaz also had a special bond with Lord Phoenix?”
I widened my eyes at that sudden statement.
“A relationship? Am I talking to this wizard?”
“exactly. Master Madaz is a wizard belonging to the Rao family.”
“…the Rao family?”
The Lao family is one of the three most famous magical families in the kingdom, along with the Dawning Council of the Palace of La Palais. Earth magic using rune pieces is also famous, but there was also a family that was famous for making golems.
Yeah, come to think of it, I had connections with the magicians of the Rao family.
“…Do you know Siren and Ethan’s brother and sister?”
“Of course.”
Master Madaz nodded as he kept the tools in his arms.
“Because they are my children.”
“yes?”
Surprised or not by the unexpected answer, he kept glancing at me and continued talking without eye contact until the end.
“I have heard that my children owe me a few times, but I will not express my gratitude otherwise. Ethan may not know, but Siren would have paid the price.”
“…uh.”
“I will make a deal if you wish. If you have the necessary reagents or materials, I will give them to you at a reasonable price.”
And Madaz turned around and left. It was an unmatched cool attitude, as if he had finished what he had to say.
A very funny man
Perhaps reading my expression, Prince Ulkar smiled bitterly.
“Please don’t misunderstand Master Madaz. It’s true that he’s a bit eccentric like a wizard who has devoted his entire life to research, but he’s not a bad person
.”
Anyway, I never imagined that I would meet Shi Ren and Ethan’s father here. Because the world is so small
But wait. You said that Shiren and Ethan are the nephews of the head of the Rao family. So, that man is the brother of the head of the Rao family, and then he is a magician of a fairly high level…
“…Why is such a wizard here? How
did you attract them?”
“That’s… well, it’s complicated. It’s not that important.”
The prince evaded his words and put his arm around my shoulder and looked around.
“I’d like to chat with my driver for the first time in a while. Could you give me a moment?”
At that order, the prince’s aides as well as my party backed off meekly.
For some reason, only one Gisela remained in her seat, giving me a wary look. But when Ulkar asked ‘Sir Gisela?’ I told him in a soft voice, and he immediately backed away.
what the. Even his earlobes blushed just because his name was called by his lord once. If it’s a skill, it’s a skill to openly reveal emotions like that.
It’s been less than two hours since I met Gisela, but I think I can bet ten gold coins on her admiration for Ulkar.
“Ah, Sir Gisella has a relationship with Sir Phoenix. You forgot me.” “yes? What are you talking about?” “Her aunt is Sir Eselda. The best swordsman in the Marva region.”
“…Yes? Sir Gisela is his niece?”
Ethelda Horton.
A middle-aged female knight often called ‘beautiful’ Eselda, she was a peak swordsman who freely handled the two-handed sword ‘Lily’.
He was a renowned knight and a vassal of Count Mullin’s family, so he fought a duel with me on behalf of his master, Doyle. I still have vivid memories of having a lot of trouble because I couldn’t use blood manipulation.
“It was Sir Eselda who raised Sir Gisela to be a knight. I lived as a servant under her.”
“Aha…
Maybe Gisela’s wariness was caused by my beating Sir Eselda.
I, too, crossed half of the kingdom of Cham and made all sorts of connections.
“By the way, I don’t know if I interrupted your rest for nothing. If not, you must have suffered a commotion in the middle of the night, and you must have been quite tired.”
“No, thanks. The atmosphere was cluttered anyway, so I took a break.”
“Good luck, then. Would you like to walk?”
Ulkar led me up a gentle hill. He walked slowly and looked down at the soldiers who were busy clearing the battlefield.
“I’ve said it before, but I’ve heard about you many times.”
What story did you hear? My doubts were quickly dispelled.
“In Longville, in Modos, in Seteniorra. You always drew your sword for the weak.”
“…well that’s it. It’s not ‘always’.”
“I am more than happy to say that.”
“yes?”
Contrary to how I narrowed my eyebrows, the prince had a subtle smile on his lips.
“I knighted him in the square in South Harbor in midsummer. It’s probably the best thing I’ve done in recent years.”
“…uh.” It was difficult to meet those sparkling eyes.
If I knew everything I did during my last trip, would Ulkar say the same?
Perhaps the prince thought I was burdensome, so he naturally changed the topic.
“It must have been sudden for the reinforcements including Sir, but this was a pretty decisive battle.”
“…Um, is that so?”
“then. You’ve regained stability in the rear. It’s no fun when thousands of cavalry ravage a territory, seeking change from the inside. Now, if you clean up the remnants of the Bloodmane Mercenaries, you will be able to focus on the enemy in front of you.”
“well. Aren’t there some guys coming over to the sea again?”
“I’m fine now. The Iron Fleet is coming from the Southern Shore soon.”
“A steel fleet?”
Ulkar nodded as he repeatedly squeezed and extended his prosthetic arm.
“I heard that you met Sir Langboldt and Sir Ariad at Longville a few months ago. Do you remember?” “yes? Ah…their mission was to borrow an iron fleet from the Southern Shore.”
“Right. Since Sir Langboldt is the second son of the Earl of Lytton, I thought that if I explained the situation well, I could get reinforcements.”
“Looks like it worked.”
“exactly. Needless to say, I was stranded for a while due to the outbreak of pirates from the east at that time. Still, they say they finally succeeded and are on their way back with the Iron Fleet.”
In the darkness of the place, we moved slowly, using the lights of the camp as lighting. Ulkar talked about the reinforcements, but his expression was not very bright.
“The first time I requested the Steel Fleet was to fight against the Witch of Hymn and the Fishmen. But now we are in a situation where we have to deal with Mittergerand.”
“How did the adari fit so well?”
“…Yes, just as you said, the anglerfish matched well. However, I couldn’t just be happy in a situation where enemies constantly appeared.”
Her long silver hair fluttered in the burnt wind. Ulkar brushed his hair and sighed in the wind.
“Tough times, Sir Phoenix. Mysteries, which were rare before, run amok from time to time, and the feudal lords and great families are each unfolding their own will. No matter how much I pray and ask for wisdom, I cannot see an inch ahead.”
Ulkar quietly looked around.
“It is dark.”
what does he want What would you like me to say?
I’m by your side, so hold on to your worries, or if you’re a prince, you’ll be able to overcome any adversity. what do you want to say?
I scratched my eyebrows and opened my mouth.
“The sun will rise soon.”
“……is the sun going?”
Ulkar looked up at the sky.
In fact, the sun had already risen. It was just that there were clouds full of snow all around him.
I sniffed, remembering a story I once heard from Utequai.
“The wind smells dry. The clouds will lift soon.”
“exactly?” “yes.”
We stood on the hillside and looked up at the eastern sky.
How many minutes had passed since they stood there without a word? The clouds that had been wriggling together among them were blown away by the wind and began to disperse.
“…uh.”
Unlike me, who was taken aback by my casual remarks, Ulkar was staring blankly at the sky.
And finally, the sun appeared.
The sky was still full of snow clouds. It was still midwinter, and it was the boundary between dawn and morning. So the sunlight couldn’t melt the land full of blood, ashes and snow.
However, only the sunlit areas were warm. The soldiers who were dragging the bodies of horses and people raised their heads and narrowed their eyes in the dazzling sunlight.
“…the sun is rising. The clouds are clearing.”
The sunlight, which had been slowly expanding its territory, stopped abruptly at the mid-slope of the hill.
I wish it could expand the area a little more and shine even where we were standing, but the clouds were persistently blocking the sun.
After being silent for a moment, Ulkar slowly moved his feet.
Down the hill into the warm sun.
He took a deep breath at the warmth he felt on his face, then looked back at me and smiled.
“Would you like to have breakfast together?”
“…yes. That’s right, Your Highness.”
I smiled as if imitating him.
