Episode 105 Return of the Hero (1)
The Red Awl Castle.
Surrounded by mud walls and tall watchtowers, it is a huge artificial fortress built by the magicians of Morgue.
Mines were being developed one after another above the reddish ruby veins.
dark night. Bikir climbed over a huge earthen wall and entered the interior.
I could see men dressed as guards passing under the bumps made of protruding steel frames and rocks.
Bikir melted into the shadows with Monsieur Hushu’s signature silent movement, and climbed over the castle wall and descended the iron frame.
Before long, the interior of the red awl castle unfolded.
A street where it rains heavily. A dim light was leaking through the dark alleyways.
Bikir headed down the alley looking for an inn to escape the dew tonight.
at that time.
“……?”
Bikir noticed something towering over the buildings on the other side of the alley.
It was a large and majestic statue that could be seen quite clearly even in the dark and rain.
It was a gigantic sculpture in the shape of a figure standing tall looking at the sea of water to the west, and it was probably made entirely of gold.
The golden light shining from the lower part makes the surroundings look bright.
However, the face part of the upper part was soaked in darkness and could not be seen well.
“…Why did you put something like that over there?”
Bikir tilted his head for a moment.
It’s because it’s a statue that didn’t exist until I left the fort here two years ago.
No matter how much this land is managed by the Morgue family, the essential ownership is in the Baskerville family, so there would have to be an agreement between the two families to erect such a symbolic sculpture… Was there anyone who could do that?
What’s more, it looks like a statue that’s so great that the whole body glistens with gold, but what the hell is it?
Bikir cautiously approached the statue.
The moment I try to find out who the hell was erecting such a golden statue to commemorate.
“Hey! Get out of here, wanderer!”
One of the guards guarding the golden statue gestured towards Vikir.
Apparently, there are rats trying to eat the gold of the golden statue.
“This statue is a monument erected by the House of Morgue in honor of the hero who defended the Red Fang Castle!
At the words of an overly vigilant guard, Vikir stepped back.
There was no time to fuss with the guards. Even if you reveal your true identity, you’ll get pretty tired.
‘No matter how much I’ve been forgotten by everyone for two years… But there’s nothing good about doing something annoying.’
Bikir quickly entered the alley because he wasn’t curious about the identity of the statue enough to take a closer look.
I was thinking of quickly finding an inn and getting some rest.
* * *
Eventually Bikir entered the tavern.
The floor was soaked with rainwater, and footprints mixed with dirt and coal dust were smeared and spread.
In contrast to the cold wind from the street, the warm heat covers Bikir’s eyes with misty moisture.
Everywhere, the smell of grilling meat, the smell of boiling fish soup, the sound of clinking beer glasses, loud noises mixed with shouts and laughter.
Bikir sat down.
Then, a glass of hot rum and three skewers of salted turkey heart are chinned down in front of Bikir.
Bikir raised her hand to the waitress, who swung around unkindly.
“I didn’t order this…”
“Hey, this is basic alcohol and snacks.”
The person who answered Bikir’s words instead was a man with a brushy nose who came and sat next to him at some point.
Bikir raised his head from his hood and looked to the side.
The bearded man frowned at Bikir.
“Did I see you in the alley earlier?”
Come to think of it, it was the guard who had just yelled at Bikir.
“Wahhahaha! I’m sorry I shouted earlier. But I also do it with a sense of duty. I had no choice but to be sensitive when standing guard.”
He patted Bikir on the shoulder and laughed.
Perhaps the sight of Bikir’s physique, which appeared to be in her late teens, seemed to let her guard down.
Bikir just nodded lightly.
“……I understand.”
The guard raised his hand and called for an employee as if he liked Bikir.
Then he looked at the golden statue that could be seen out the window in the distance and said.
“You should understand. It’s nothing else, it’s a mission to protect a statue honoring ‘him’.”
“He?”
When Bikir asked, the guard said excitedly.
“So. He’s the hero who saved the Red Awl Castle two years ago. Thanks to him, we were able to survive the barbarians’ massive invasion. Even the wizards of Morgue and the swordsmen of the Baskervilles.”
“……?”
Bikir tilted his head.
It’s because it’s a story he’s never heard of before.
‘Was there such a hero?’
Wasn’t it two years ago before he disappeared? Was there a massive invasion by barbarians then? And that there was someone powerful enough to protect Baskerville and Morgue?
everything is questionable
When Vikir is trying to rummage through his memory and come up with the name of a hero he may have forgotten.
“Hey! I’m going to buy my little friend a drink of mine, so hurry up and take your order! Damn it! Did you boil a tortoise leg and eat it!”
The security guard dragged the unfriendly little waiter by the back and ordered him to eat salted pork and a bottle of rum.
The guard turned to Bikir and asked.
“What would you like to drink, my little friend? I’m sorry for yelling earlier, so I’m giving it to you.”
“Then I’ll go with rum…”
“Wahhahaha! I’m so sorry to hear your voice, what kind of rum! Warm up a glass of milk!”
The guard pushed the waiter into the kitchen and sent it away.
Then, those who wore the same uniform as the guard at the table opposite laughed.
“Hey! Are you talking about ‘him’ again!”
“Anyway, if you see that guy outside, he’s busy spreading the legend of ‘him’.”
“Well, I understand. It’s because of ‘him’ that we can be alive like this.”
“That’s right. No matter how much I praise and praise ‘him’ for his achievements, it’s not enough. Cancer.”
The guards chattered loudly.
When Bikir was silent while wearing a hood, the guard man sitting next to him opened his mouth.
“Whoa, whoa. Are you an outsider? But you’d know that? ‘Him”s prestige and achievements extend beyond the city of Underdog down there, all over the territory of the Baskerville family, and even to the ecliptic of the Empire!”
“…”
“Ah, I’m so surprised I can’t even speak? How can a heroic story of a hero that started in such a small place on the outskirts shake the entire empire?”
“…”
“Yes, that’s true. But it’s true. My cousin, who recently visited the imperial city, also gave a clever testimony. How much praise is given to ‘him’ in the social circles of the Empire today.”
The guard man drank a glass of rum and shouted with a red face.
“Even though two years have passed, the memory of that day is still vivid!
“…Hmm. Apparently, a great hero appeared two years ago.”
As Bikir nodded and said, a loud reaction erupted from the surroundings.
The guards at the tables in the back also raised their glasses of beer and vodka and whiskey.
“Wahhahaha! You don’t know ‘him’! Are you a spy!? Well, when you hear ‘him”s name, even the most ignorant of you will say that you’ve heard it at least once.”
“That’s right! It was really great! ‘He’ bravely pursued a surprise attack by barbarians that day no one dared to pursue!”
“He led the allied forces of Morgue and Baskerville and entered the sea of darkness without hesitation! Can you believe it in the world? To that enemy and the sea of black! And that at night! It’s like an act of suicide! Haha But ‘he’ did it! Even Adolf-sama was just a maid that day!”
“Hey! They’re nothing! Wouldn’t it be great if we missed out on the fact that he cut down thousands of terrifying savages with a single knife and rescued Morgue’s fragile forbidden jade leaf! The fact that the Lady of Morgue, who was already poisoned by poison, was able to recover? It’s all thanks to ‘him’!”
“Uh-huh! If you haven’t seen it yourself, shut up! Do you know the bravery of ‘the man’ who single-handedly attacked an unidentified gigantic monster that suddenly appeared? I saw the end of ‘him’ with my own two eyes!”
……?
Bikir sensed something strange was going on.
A hero who wiped out numerous barbarians who had invaded out of nowhere with a single sword.
The spirit of chivalry that went into the limbs and saved Morgue’s fragile only daughter.
A holy sacrifice who bravely fought against a huge monster and bought time for the allied forces to flee.
“The great hero who existed here with us until just two years ago! That name…!”
The guard man jumped up from his seat and raised a lantern to shine out the window.
Then, in the darkness, the part of the face of the golden statue, which was clearly visible by the moonlight revealed outside the clouds, was visible.
All the guards exclaimed with exclamation at the majestic hero’s stature.
“rain!”
“key!”
At the same time, numerous guards gazed at Bikir.
Even if you’ve done this, you’re ready to throw stones if you don’t know.
Finally, Bikir answered.
“……le?”
Then all the guards shouted in unison.
“Look! You know that, right? It’s ‘Vickir Van Baskerville’!”
The golden statue standing tall in the central square of the red awl castle was modeled after the shape of Bikir.
