Chapter 9. Check (1)
Kalian just got up, got ready, and came out of the room as usual. However, unlike usual, instead of going to the restaurant, I went straight outside the palace and had breakfast with Lemain.
After breakfast, a simple ceremony was held. And after saying hello to Lemain, he climbed onto Raven’s back.
In front of Calian, Arsene took his place to the left and right, Kirie and Jan took their seats behind him, and Hina, who could use healing arts, took his place behind him. And in front and behind the group, knights dressed in black lined up.
If he had been riding a royal carriage, there would have been a royal emblem, but Calian had no markings that would identify him as royalty. Since Calian had a striking appearance and still had more enemies than his allies, I thought it would be no good to go out and make it known that he was royal.
As the Sispanian-looking prince was leaving Rosellita, a crowd of people gathered around the royal road from the square to the outer castle of Cairisis to say farewell.
Calian stepped in front of them.
There was no fancy carriage, but there was Siegfried’s knight. And in the middle of it all, there was Calian, showing off his presence. Because his majesty was by no means lacking compared to previous princes, cheers rang out and voices praying for his safety were heard at every step Kalian took.
The prince’s coming-of-age ceremony.
The only opportunity to meet the will of Sigmund Khan Sispanian.
Rosellita has begun.
* * *
There were no problems for a few days after departure.
This is because communications from the royal palace were sent in advance to the cities where Calian would go, and there were not a number of knights that anyone could hastily approach. Calian spent his days comfortably sitting on top of Raven watching and chatting with Jan, as he had been imagining whether he should avoid or take action if a fight broke out.
And sometimes I heard Alan’s voice.
– Yes, Master. Is there anything special going on?
– They said messengers from Tensil suddenly arrived. Since Lemain is busy, the old man is alone.
Calian, who had been sitting on Raven’s back and thinking about having a leisurely conversation with Alan, hung his head with a look of disappointment. This was because, despite everyone talking, I understood that Alan was busy because Lemain was busy.
– You must be busy.
– I guess it happened that way.
Yan asked as he saw Calian, who was looking at the ring with an excited face, quickly retrieving the mana contained in the ring.
“Lord Manasil says you can’t deal with him?”
“Yes. It’s a busy time.”
“You talk to me like that every day, and it’s even more surprising that you receive it every time. I’ll take care of it for you, so stop being boring.”
Calian seemed to be complaining that nothing was wrong, so he smiled awkwardly and looked around.
Currently, Calian and his party were passing through the Latria Forest and heading to a city called Latran. Below the royal road that runs through the low forest, about ten round lakes were visible. Unusually, the lakes were very similar to each other and each one was quite large.
In fact, although it was a lake, the water was almost dry.
This is because it was not a lake created by naturally filling water.
It was an artificial lake, the origin of which has been passed down with certainty, created by the Sispanians. Of course, the ancient dragon didn’t want to create a lake in a place like this because he had nothing else to do. It was created by water accumulating in the place where a meteorite was dragged down and dropped while chasing away evil spirits.
Calian, who was staring at it, smiled awkwardly.
“I’m going to see the person who left a mark in the valley that won’t disappear even after 500 years.”
“But even so, you won’t be meeting the incarnation, so don’t feel too pressured.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Would you like to look around the lake and have a meal here? We have to go another two or three hours to Latran, and if we go any further, there won’t be a good place to rest.”
There was no particular reason to refuse.
Jan had already passed by this place several times, and Kalian was not. Therefore, Calian readily agreed, and the party moved to a flat, grassy forest slightly outside the royal capital.
Calian, who was leaning against Raven’s legs as he was busy grazing, was handed a sandwich he had brought back from the previous city. Soon Hina came over and offered glasses of water to Kalyan and Jan.
“thank you.”
I saw Hina smile, nod, and sit down next to Kirie. Jan said after seeing that.
“Kirie takes great care of Hina.”
“Because she’s my younger sister.”
Jan laughed and responded to those words.
“If my younger brother was like that, I would really want to take care of him.”
It was Jan’s first time talking about his family.
The more he left the palace, the more Yan seemed to return to his original self, rather than a servant. Even if you look at it now, it is like that. Even though I didn’t ask them to, they sat next to me and ate on their own.
When Kalian looked at the family story Yan was telling with a curious face, Yan shook his head and said,
“There’s a kid who stabbed my sleeping brother with a knife because he didn’t give me a birthday present, and the prince will soon see that. Be careful.”
Calian put the last piece of bread in his mouth and laughed. Because that’s what I imagined. Jan must have cried.
After some time, Kalian got up after finishing his meal and tried to climb on Raven’s back again.
But then I heard a strange sound.
– Sasak!
A small sound coming through the bushes.
At the same time, the thick bushes leading to the forest were seen swaying from side to side. At the same time as Calian looked at that place, Kirie suddenly approached and blocked Calian’s path.
The knights also took a defensive stance with Calian and Yan in the middle.
“No, wait…”
Kalian was about to say that he didn’t think it was a situation where he needed to be this alert, but a human being much smaller than Hina stuck her head out of the bushes. Then, he looked at the knights and wizards aiming at him and looked surprised. Then he raised both his hands and shouted.
“That’s right! Help me!”
What does this mean?
The knights who did not understand the words frowned. Calian’s expression hardened for a slightly different reason. Although it may have been familiar to Siegfried’s knights, it was not an appearance to Calian.
The little figure was a boy with short hair, and on the side of his face were ears that were slightly longer and more pointed than those of a human.
Kirie, who was always silent, opened her mouth without realizing it when she saw the child.
“Elf?”
As if answering those words, the elf boy slowly stood up.
The big ripple effect in Calian’s peaceful journey started with one elf boy who suddenly appeared like this.
The elf spoke without any time to marvel at the intact ears of an elf he had never seen before.
“I am Sia.”
Now the same expression appeared on everyone’s faces. From earlier, I couldn’t understand what the elf was talking about.
Knight Yuran’s eyes turned to Kalian.
“What would you like to do?”
The question is whether you should point your sword at this wayward intruder or just remain on guard.
Elves do not attack people. I’m not good at lying either.
Calian, who thought it would be a good idea to relax his guard a little, took a step closer to the elf, gesturing to put away his sword. With that, the knights’ swords were taken away.
Calian asked, slightly bending down and examining the elf’s face.
“Sia? Is that your name?”
“Yes. I’m hungry.”
“Are you here to ask for something to eat?”
“I was hiding.”
It felt like there was a conversation, but strangely I couldn’t understand it.
Calian scratched his cheek with a face like I had no idea what he was talking about. After thinking for a while, Calian turned his head and looked at Kyrie. I wanted to ask if all elves were like this, but Kyrie was looking at Calian with the same expression. Of course, Hina standing next to him was no different.
Calian, seeing that expression, laughed helplessly.
“Yeah. You never know.”
Calian scratched his cheek again and opened his mouth.
“What are you doing here?”
“That’s right. Sorry.”
hmm.
Calian was contemplating whether to put this conversation aside and send him food or to be a little more patient.
Then, suddenly, Calian’s eyes changed.
Calian slowly straightened his back and said with a smile.
“… If there was someone chasing me, you should have told me that first.”
I heard the sound of horse hooves.
That alone wasn’t that big of a problem. However, it is said that it is coming straight towards Calian and the others and that it has a sword in its hand. And above all, the problem was that speculation that could not be contained was leaking out.
The knights put their hands on the handles of their swords again.
“thank you.”
As the elf named Sia said that, she cried and held on to the hem of Calian’s clothes. I didn’t understand what he said earlier, but I could recognize his actions. It meant asking for help.
Calian suddenly thought that it would be easier to have a conversation if he didn’t open his mouth, so he started laughing without realizing it. Calian responded in a low voice to the gesture for help.
“Just take a look.”
First, Calian took out the robe that had been tied to Raven’s saddle and covered Sia’s head. Then he sent Sia to the back and spoke to Kyrie.
“I’m taking you with me.”
Kirie nodded and took Sia with her and made her stand next to me.
Meanwhile, the knights blocking Calian’s path were ready to draw their swords at any time, and Arsene was ready to unfold his shield at any time. And Calian briefly checked the knife in his sleeve.
But I wondered if there was any reason to bring it up. Because there was only one horse approaching.
– Multi-faceted, multi-faceted.
Soon he came near the group and stopped.
Calian turned his head towards the dark-haired boy who continued to approach without paying attention to the group of twenty knights.
He was a long-haired man. I don’t know what kind of soldier he belonged to, but he was wearing a soldier’s uniform. The man stepped forward and glanced at the group.
The reason he didn’t show any particular reaction after seeing Calian was probably because he didn’t recognize Calian based on his appearance alone. So Kalian thought it was a little strange.
‘Any noble would belong to the upper class. ‘If that’s the case, it’s not like I don’t know the path I’m moving on.’
At that time, Yuran stepped forward.
Fortunately, I didn’t do the tactless thing of first telling the suspicious-looking person who Calian was.
“Who are you?”
“A thief stole something and ran away, so we are chasing him. Have you seen the strange child?”
It wasn’t an answer to the question. Yuran frowned as he spoke.
“You don’t look like you’re chasing a thief.”
“Is there a face that chases away thieves?”
“There is no such child here, so go away.”
The man glanced at the group once again.
Then I found a child wearing a robe standing in a corner. It looked suspicious to anyone who saw it, so the man grinned.
“I think there is, but I’ll take a quick look. I didn’t come here to fight the knights, so please clear the way.”
Soon the man got off his horse and took a step towards the group.
I was very reluctant to enter a place where there were twenty knights without hesitation. Since he was a soldier who couldn’t even fight, Calian felt something as he looked around, thinking that there must be something he believed in.
Perhaps because he noticed the same thing, Yuran looked a little more wary. Then he raised his sword to block the man’s path and spoke again.
“Stop.”
Kalian looked at Yuran for a moment and then stepped forward.
The man’s trusted corner. That is, after he figured out that there were several bows hidden in the bushes on the other side and pointing in this direction.
