A place to return to (3)
A room that has become narrower because it is no longer possible to be in the mayor’s office.
There, Josef was standing by the window with his back to me.
He always had his back to the sunlight, but it seemed like he wanted to see the sun coming in today.
“What are you going to do?”
In the scenery reflected in the window, I could see crows flapping their wings and leaving.
The crows that Marcus had been borrowing were leaving Josef one by one.
“If you want right now, I’ll let you change your affiliation. “Because it’s natural.”
I have to leave because it was given to me by someone else, not me.
Ravens, knights, and even the mayor of Shoara.
Josef was now letting go of things that were not his, one by one.
“Isn’t our contract for seven years?”
“The contract is over. “I have now been eliminated from the head of the family competition.”
You have the opportunity to trust me.
But now that nothing could be guaranteed, Josef had no right to hold on to Vlad.
“……”
Vlad, who was chewing his lips in a heavy atmosphere, looked up at Josef out of habit.
A man looking at the setting sun with his back to me.
The atmosphere was gloomy, but his back, which seemed somehow light, caught Vlad’s attention for a long time.
“Go where you want to go. “I will do what I want to do.”
Today’s sun that I let go of everything and greet myself.
I don’t know why, but his expression in the sunlight rather than in the shadows seemed to be smiling.
※※※※
An empty lot in City Hall with no one around.
Ramund tilted his head back in horror as he saw the blue sword shooting out like an arrow.
“…!”
It’s sad to see the joints twisting and giggling with age.
However, Ramund had no time to lament his old age and had to rush to face the next attack.
“Whose did you steal again?”
The intrusive steps were sly, not appropriate for his age, but the space where the toes were heading was precisely blocking Ramund’s intentions.
Biting coldness on top of flexibility.
Looking at Vlad filling in another piece of the world, Ramund was able to understand that there were other victims like him.
“Where did you learn the remaining tricks from?”
It was a skill too noble to be considered a remnant, but there was still no definite path at the tip of Vlad’s sword.
Although he ate it greedily, he had not yet digested it properly.
“Cheet!”
Vlad clicked his tongue as he felt that the flow of the offensive had suddenly changed.
As expected, Ramund was a strong knight.
Enough to grow old without dying.
Vlad was shocked to see the sudden change in the sword path, but Ramund had already predicted Vlad’s reaction.
Taang-!
His shoulder, which was forced between the sword blades, shone.
Here was the original form of Gangchejutsu, which I had learned but could not dare to imitate.
“Think about your age! “He’s still making a fuss!”
“Even the goalposts are better than yours!”
It started with a light sparring, but Vlad became furious when he saw Ramund not sparing his old body.
I’m at an age now where if something breaks, it won’t be able to be put back together properly.
“And you said you don’t use Aurors!”
“So what I’m saying is be careful. “Because there are knights who cheat like this!”
Vlad closed his left eye as he looked at Ramund’s shoulder, which was as shiny as his smooth forehead.
In order to fight against that knight’s aura, I also had to give up something similar.
“……Ohh.”
Vlad’s world, which reached the blue moon but could not cross it, was unfolding through the sword.
Still, the struggle was not in vain, and Ramund kept nodding his head as he looked at the golden color flowing between Vlad’s left eyes.
“Come and see!”
Ramund, who knew that there was a ray of his own color in the shining golden light, grabbed the sword with joy.
No matter how young things are, they grow up quickly, but the growth speed of the one in front of me was amazing every time I saw it.
“No matter where it breaks, don’t complain.”
“The young man only lives with his mouth.”
There is a beast growling in front of me.
However, that growl, which seemed pitiful when he first saw it, now became a real threat and held Ramund’s gaze.
Knight Vlad’s level had already reached his level.
“…!”
I was watching, but my old body couldn’t keep up with my young movements.
The unexpectedness, which could not have been predicted based on his previous appearance, deceived Ramund’s eyes.
‘Much more than before!’
It’s so fast that it’s like jumping through time.
Vlad, who deceived his intentions through his footsteps and gestures, jumped out right in front of Ramund through that split-second gap.
“Hmph!”
A creaky response due to old age.
Spotting the gap, Vlad shifted the balance of power through a short breath and began to cut into Ramund’s strength without mercy.
A blow as colorful as its color.
However, contrary to its apparent splendor, Vlad’s sloppy sword strikes continued to erode Ramund’s strength.
Vlad knew very well that if he couldn’t kill with a single blow, all that was left was a serious challenge.
“It’s even worse!”
Due to Vlad’s constant beatings, Ramund’s strong body skills gradually began to wear off.
Deflect the sword and take advantage of the opportunity to strike another powerful blow.
Kyaang-! Kang!
The tactic of swinging the sword two to three times more than Ramund was also Vlad’s intention, taking into account the difference in stamina.
Vlad was now in control of the battlefield.
“now! stop! “Let’s get this over with!”
And Vlad’s eyes shining through the gap that was created.
Ramund quickly adjusted his stance, feeling that something big was coming, but Vlad’s attack was half a beat faster than that.
‘……what?’
Right in front of me was Vlad’s forehead, shining brightly after being polished.
The moment that happened because I didn’t catch the sword that flew away.
What crept in at that moment was Vlad’s forehead covered in strong body magic.
“Not this!”
Ramund let out a loud scream, but Vlad’s attack did not stop.
What has been done is repaid in some way.
That was the basic attitude of people living in the back alleys.
Wow!
The sound of something exploding resonated high in the vacant lot of City Hall, where no one was present.
It was an excessively loud sound for forehead to forehead touching.
※※※※
“……This bastard. Are you attacking me without even knowing the grace I taught you? “Actually, because he was that kind of guy, he must have been destroying convents.”
“Isn’t this all because I learned it from great knights?”
Despite Ramund’s scolding, Vlad just smiled and sheathed his sword.
Even if I had said that I had been wronged by the person who had been wronged in the first place, there would not have been any shock.
“It’s not really broken anywhere, is it?”
“Oh my…”
Seeing Ramund rolling around as if the pain was finally coming, Vlad held out his hand.
It was a hand held out to support him, but before he knew it, Vlad’s other hand was sparkling with strong body techniques.
“Hold my hand and don’t hit me. “I put an Auror on my left hand.”
“……hmm.”
Ramund looked at Vlad’s clenched fist and made a sad sound.
It was worth praising him for going ahead of what was taught, but it was rather unpleasant if he did too well.
“Anyway, what are you going to do? “Are you planning on continuing to follow the master?”
“…I guess that’s why I called you here.”
After all, old people cannot let down their guard.
As if sparring itself wasn’t the goal in the first place, Ramund’s question penetrated Vlad when he was most off guard.
“do not do that. “It is already over.”
“…….”
A heavy silence began to fall on the vacant lot that had been noisy just a moment ago.
If he didn’t know, he couldn’t help it, but since he knew, Ramund had to tell him.
“I don’t know, but the other knights will probably leave Joseph’s side. “That’s right and it’s the law.”
The old man’s advice to the young was unmistakable.
Ramund’s advice, which he knew because he had already experienced it, was aimed precisely at Vlad’s comfort.
“Joseph, if you bend now, your life will be saved. “It’s not a great place, but it’s quiet…”
“I don’t want to do that.”
Vlad flopped down next to Ramund, who had no intention of getting up.
“what?”
“They say they don’t want to live like that.”
I don’t want to live a life that is only given to me.
Josef firmly believed that this could not be the only reason why a person like me was born into this world.
Because the path I have walked so far has not been lacking or shameful.
Even in the midst of coughing and coughing, Josef was a man who did not let go of his faith in himself.
“I thought that was kind of cool.”
“Haa……”
Vlad shook the sand off his hands and smiled at Ramund.
Now, even when I look up at the night sky, there is no blue moonlight that I longed for.
Now the path Vlad must follow is not the distant sky, but the cry within himself.
Just like Josef now.
“I’ve been busy all this time, but I’ve never thought about what I wanted to do.”
They stole to eat and killed to live.
But none of those things were what Vlad truly wanted.
“so. “Is following Joseph what you want to do?”
“I’m not sure about that either.”
What you want to do, not what you have to do.
Vlad, who was touched by the blue moonlight, decided to walk the path that I must now find, not someone else’s.
“Do you just like this one better?”
“Crazy guy…”
Not chasing anyone, just for me.
Vlad, who freely confessed his inner thoughts, seemed to understand why Josef was smiling.
※※※※
A few days after the sparring with Ramund.
True to his words, all the knights around Josef were ordered to be demobilized.
Now the only knights left by his side were Zayar and Bordan, who had nowhere to go, and Josef was preparing to return to Oksana in a shabby manner.
“Are you leaving tomorrow?”
“huh. To Baron Utman.”
Vlad was also preparing to go on a trip around the city with Gemini.
However, the difference was that Vlad’s destination was Baron Utman rather than Sturma like Josef.
“I have finished all the urgent work, so I decided to help the Northern Orthodox Church for the time being. “It’s a kind of pilgrimage.”
A knight who was Bayezid’s knight but was also endorsed by Bishop Andrew.
Peter, like Joseph, could not refuse a request from a renowned bishop.
Vlad, who knew full well who the name he had been given originated from, decided to leave to help Andrea’s young deacon cleanse the evil place.
“But isn’t it dangerous there?”
Because the alley was narrow, the eyes of Jemina, who was nearby, were trembling.
I don’t know what exactly makes me tremble, but the trembling probably also contains concern for Vlad.
“It’s dangerous. “The Vatican has already stepped on everything there.”
“Is it really safe?”
“Have I ever lied to you? “Why can’t you trust people?”
“Why isn’t it there?”
They walked side by side, but only when they stopped standing alone did Jemina’s shadow grow longer.
It was getting longer, as if trying to catch Vlad who was moving away.
“You wrote nothing but lies in your previous letters.”
“…….”
“I’m just staying in a safe place and next to Josef, that’s bullshit. “I heard you ran out alone?”
Vlad could feel that the voice coming from behind him was filled with resentment and a hint of moisture.
The letter was sent to reassure her, but now it seems to have only caused Jemina anxiety.
“You think I’m funny. You think I don’t know anything? In the first place, even with Baron Alicia…”
“What with the Baron?”
When I turned around with a sigh, I saw Jemina with an expression on her face that said this wasn’t happening.
It was a difficult time to leave again, but all that came out of my mouth was not encouragement or comfort, but the disappointment I had been holding in for so long.
“Anyway, don’t you like Deremar better than this crappy place? “Because you are Lady Alicia’s knight.”
It was a word I said by mistake, but I couldn’t stop it, and so Jemina continued to be hurt by the words that came out.
It seemed really foolish to be hurt by what he said, but Jemina had endured it all this time.
“Huh …….”
I was holding back, but Gemina poured tears with that big eyes.
However, Vlad did not think of comforting Jemina like that.
“It’s not that. “You are a really stupid girl.”
“Huhhhhh.”
Jemina’s cries grew louder due to Vlad’s words and actions as if he was telling her to cry more.
Yes, it’s okay to cry.
Red-haired Gemina was a stupid girl who didn’t know why Vlad was so busy.
“Even if you cry all the time, you only cry in front of me. Nothing has changed. uh? “It’s just like before.”
Even though Vlad was trying to get angry when he saw Zemina crying just like before, even though she wasn’t a child anymore, he ended up laughing.
Vlad had been trying his best to pretend to be Lady Gemina, but now the red-haired girl had finally raised her head and he was so glad to see her.
“Put this aside…”
“Stupid girl who doesn’t know anything, keep your mouth shut.”
Vlad picked up Gemina in one hand and passed through the dark back alley with a familiar gait.
The lights in the back alleys turn on one by one.
Vlad followed the sight, which had not changed at all as much as the weight of the girl he was carrying, and stopped in front of a store.
“…Why are you here?”
“look.”
It was always a place full of mud.
Because it was a place where the heat that melted the cold ground continued to leak out.
“That’s about it for you.”
Vlad, who had placed the Zemina he was holding in the mud, took his own position and began to stand next to the girl.
“I’m like this.”
The two people who were standing there naturally raised their heads and started looking at the store in front of them.
It was a familiar gesture as it had been done for a very long time.
Kyaang-! Kang!
Because it was dark, the light from the blacksmith shop shined brighter and reached the two.
Although the people inside were different, it was an all too familiar sound.
“Nothing changes, right?”
“Hmm…”
It wasn’t clear whether he was crying or responding, but Vlad could feel that what he wanted to say was well conveyed.
“If I come back, I’ll be here more.”
“…….”
It was a scene that had not changed.
The sound of a hammer flowing out and the glow of red molten metal.
And a boy and a girl standing side by side.
For Vlad, his hometown was Shoara, but if he were to return, it would be here.
“……Have a safe trip.”
“okay.”
Still, if there was one thing that had changed, it would be the two footprints that were slightly closer to each other than before.
Although it wasn’t narrow, Vlad and Zemina, who were side by side, stood in front of the old blacksmith shop for a long time.
The longer they stood, the deeper their footprints became.
