Side Story –
The red carpet that decorated the boy and girl hallways had been removed.
There was only an empty jar on the decoration stand with only a few withered flower petals remaining.
Bayezid’s mansion, where the splendid banquet has ended, is now a quiet place where all the guests have left.
Now Vlad was walking alone in a place where only the chirping birds could be found.
“…….”
Vlad was already wearing a thin cloak, as if he had also finished preparing to leave.
So early in the morning, stepping through the bluish colors of dawn, Vlad went to the room where Oksana Bayezid, the hostess of the mansion, was located.
“Are you feeling okay?”
Although it was not yet dawn, the owner of the room was already awake.
No, she may have stayed up all night unable to sleep due to a deep cough, but Oksana’s smile as she greeted Vlad still remained.
“…Are you leaving now?”
It would have been fine to lie still, but Oksana sat on the bed with a pillow propped up.
He probably didn’t want to cause unnecessary worry to Vlad as he left.
“yes. “I’m going to go back now.”
However, no matter how hard we tried, we could not hide the full extent of her illness.
Vlad smiled helplessly as he looked at Oksana’s lips, which were as white as if they had been applied with candles.
“okay. If you want to leave, you have to go early. “The weather in the North is completely unpredictable, isn’t it?”
The sunlight trickling in through the window was directed towards Oksana’s bed.
It was a warm orange color, just like the color it was when I first saw it here.
“…….”
Oksana’s appearance looking at Vlad under those colors was like a painting.
Although it is not beautiful or flashy, it is a painting that gives you a comfortable feeling that you always want to hang on one wall and look at.
“Now dawn is breaking. “I have to go quickly.”
The painting I always wanted to see was telling me that it was time to leave.
While tapping on the small bundle left by the bed.
“Are you dressed for the season now?”
There was a boy who was wearing winter clothes even in the middle of summer.
The boy was curled up as if he was still cold despite the blowing summer wind.
“In the first place, clothes worn in places that cannot be seen are more important. “There is a difference in a person’s dignity in such places.”
“…….”
The bundle that Oksana is holding is probably full of underwear and socks for Vlad to wear.
In some ways, it may have been a trivial gift, but it was also the kind of gift that could only be received from a mother’s perspective.
“That girl was pretty. Did you say Geminah? “It was great to see the two of them standing side by side.”
“thank you.”
“……okay.”
Now that we’ve said everything we need to say, it’s time to leave.
Oksana was quietly nodding towards the last remaining guest, but Vlad, who was actually being seen off, was not slowing down.
“…I plan to come here again around winter.”
“huh?”
That’s why Vlad turned around again and was speaking.
His voice was a bit stuttering, as if it was not easy to connect a conversation that had already been lost.
“I want to learn to fish. “It’s smelt fishing, but I heard it can only be done in the winter.”
“fishing?”
Although the topic was completely out of context with the conversation just now, Vlad was trying to continue speaking.
That’s because I want to see Oksana in action.
Because I know that I will miss her smiling at me more than the picture that will stand still.
“There is such a thing. It’s something you naturally learn when you have a father. “I don’t know anything about that, so I’m learning these days.”
“…….”
“Last time, I learned how to farm from Ramund and…”
Vlad’s world is truly diverse.
The boy who wanted to become a shining star rather than a perfect dragon was a person who did not want to be described with just one word.
“But I still don’t know.”
To some, it is a dragon born of perfection, to others it is a sword master wielding a shining sword.
But now, in front of Oksana, he is just a child who says he doesn’t know anything.
Now the child was looking at Oksana with awkward eyes.
“So, if I have any questions, can I come back and ask?”
The sight of Vlad cowering while holding the bundle in his arms did not look awkward at all.
At least that was the case for Oksana.
It looks like an orchid that grew wild because no one took care of it.
Looking at the boy who was still looking at her as if he didn’t know what to do, a pale color began to seep into Oksana’s now colorless world.
“……okay.”
A boy who lost his mother and a mother who lost her son were looking at each other.
The pieces of the two pieces that were broken due to the wound did not fit perfectly, but if they were stuck together, they would at least be enough to block the blowing wind.
“Come again. “I’ll be waiting.”
When Oksana told him to come again, the young boy in front of him started laughing brightly.
The boy was wearing summer clothes that Oksana had given him instead of the old winter clothes he was originally wearing.
※※※※
“Thank you for staying until the end.”
It is the duty of a host to see off guests, but it would still be unusual for them to follow him to the front of the castle gate.
However, behind Vlad, who was now leaving, Rutger, who had become the new head of the Bayezid family, and his knights were following him to see him off.
“Thanks to you, my succession ceremony was brilliant. “It will probably be recorded as the most splendid succession ceremony in the family’s history.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
Behind the smiling Rutger, several familiar knights were waving their hands.
Cade and Maxim. And they were Rutger’s knights who were with him when he captured Deathworm and Lindwurm.
“Then I guess I’ll go back to Shoara now.”
“Yes.”
“What do you plan to do after you go back there? Are you going to be called here and there again like last time?”
There is a price to pay for shining honor.
It is a price of honor that must be rightfully paid by Vlad, who inherited the name of the Sword Master.
But now Vlad was quietly shaking his head in response to Rutger’s question.
“no. “I plan to take a break this time.”
With those words, Vlad glanced at the carriage next to him.
In the carriage that would return to Shoara with Vlad, there was Zemina sitting quietly, wondering if someone would talk to her as well.
“……Right. Well, it’s time to get some rest.”
Rutger’s smile brightened as if he understood what Vlad was saying.
“I have to go now.”
“okay.”
Rutger nodded as he watched Vlad climb onto Chat Noir’s back with a short greeting.
The carriage began to creak and move with him.
The Swordmaster’s squire, who shrugged his shoulders as he saw off the knights, pulled the reins and soon the gates of Sturma began to open.
“…It’s a nice day.”
The morning sunlight shining through the gates filled Rutger’s eyes.
Vlad’s shadow follows the emerging east towards the green meadows.
Rutger shouted softly at the shadow.
“Come anytime. “Bayezid’s best dragon slayer.”
It wasn’t the sound I was told to hear, but Vlad in front of me started waving his hand.
Although the hand was waved without even looking back, the hand clearly showed willingness to understand.
※※※※
“……How are you feeling today?”
Peter quietly approached the bed, ignoring the maids, and looked at Oksana with a worried face.
“I need to feel better. To do that, take some food…”
He was always busy with work and could not take care of Oksana, but now he was free from his duties.
That’s why Peter stopped by early in the morning, but a sight different from usual was waiting for him.
“You already ate.”
“yes.”
A bowl that had just been emptied and had not yet been put away was sitting next to Oksana.
Although it was a light soup made for a patient, Peter’s face began to look happy for the first time in a long time when he saw it empty and clean.
“They said they would come again.”
“huh?”
The rising morning sun was shining on Oksana’s face as she looked out the window.
“To learn to fish. “They say it will come around winter.”
She had her head down because she didn’t have the courage to live for tomorrow, but today she was looking forward to the beginning of the day.
And when she finally looked outside, Josef’s tombstone was quietly looking at her.
The tombstone was always filled with loneliness, but today it was shining toward Oksana with the rising morning sun shining on it.
※※※※
Leave Sturmah and go to Shoara.
The carriage that was running along the summer meadow was already facing the sunset catching up to its side.
“Leader. “I guess I’ll have to stay homeless.”
“okay.”
It was impossible to reach the village in just one day from the famously wide northern grasslands.
That’s why Vlad and Zemina were nodding their heads as if it was natural when Got said that they should sleep out on the street.
“The sun sets quickly on the grassland. “I think we’re losing faster than in Shoara.”
Jemina, who was picking up tree branches nearby, looked at the sky in wonder and said.
“The stars will rise soon.”
The narrow back alleys of Shoara.
The sky I looked up from where the shabby buildings were lined up was always fragmented.
The night sky of Shoara was always dim, obscured by the eaves of the building and consumed by the lights that lured guests.
It was quite difficult to find a twinkling star in that fragmented sky.
“Hey.”
However, the night sky of the meadow that Zemina was looking up at was so full of stars that it made her wonder if there were so many.
Jemina was unable to easily lower her raised head, as if she had been mesmerized by the dazzling appearance.
“Jemina.”
“huh?”
“Please come here.”
Gemina, who had been lost in her own world for a while, turned her head when she heard Vlad’s voice next to her.
“why?”
The bonfire that Goth had lit was crackling.
Zemina, who followed the sound, was able to see Vlad holding Noir’s reins.
“He wanted to say hello.”
“huh?”
“Noir said he wanted to say hello to you before he leaves.”
It was a black horse that went well with the night sky.
The words that fit so well together that seemed to melt into the stars in the distance were now approaching Gemina.
“You mean to say hello? “What does that mean?”
Gemina asked while caressing Noir who was facing her.
However, Vlad, who was supposed to answer, simply nodded towards the hill in the distance.
“It means that it’s time for Noir to go back too.”
A hill in a meadow covered in starlight.
There stood a herd of wild horses that I had seen before.
Looking at Noir next to Vlad as if it was time to return from his trip.
“send? “So suddenly?”
“Now is the perfect time.”
Gemina was embarrassed by the sudden breakup, but Vlad started to take off the harness that Noir was wearing without any hesitation.
I took off the saddle I was sitting on, took off the reins that covered my face, and put down the luggage I had carried instead.
“Thank you so much.”
Vlad was saying goodbye to the son of Meadow, who had returned to his former self.
“Have you finished saying hello?”
“huh? Ugh…….”
“Then go now.”
We were able to broaden the boundaries of the world between you and me.
However, the world you stepped into was a grassland here, and my world was a city over there, so it was time to part ways.
“Don’t look back.”
Chat Noir kept looking back as if he was disappointed with the hand that gently pushed him away, but Vlad just looked at him with his arms crossed.
The simpler the breakup, the better.
Seeing Vlad putting into practice what someone had said, Noir began to carefully tour his feet as if he were greeting him.
“……Goes.”
When he left, his steps were full of hesitation, but as the hill got closer, his strides became wider.
Now, as she watched the black horse running towards the starry night sky, Jemina began to shed tears.
“Is it because he takes after his owner? “He doesn’t even look back once.”
Gemina naturally clung to Vlad’s side, perhaps feeling sorry for the empty space left by the breakup.
“Don’t be so sad.”
Vlad and Jemina stand side by side, watching Noir leave.
The sight of them sticking together looked exactly like the children I saw in front of the old blacksmith shop.
“It’s not like we’re breaking up forever.”
As he watched Noir leave, Vlad took out a picture from his arms.
The painting that was familiar to Zemina’s eyes was the painting given to her by the priestess of the World Tree.
“Looking at this sunflower now. “I think the petals on this one resemble the color of your hair.”
“okay?”
In the picture that seemed to have been drawn by a child, there was a blonde man and a red-haired woman.
And even a small flower blooming between them as they laugh.
Why did they bother to draw a smiling face on that flower?
“thank you. Jemina.”
“huh?”
Vlad wrapped his arms around Zemina’s shoulders as she approached him, as if the night wind was cold.
Zemina looked at him as if surprised by the sudden action, but Vlad was still looking at the night sky where Noir was up.
Just like before. Just like the time I looked at the unadorned sword hanging above the shabby blacksmith shop.
“For trusting me back then.”
The spring of separation after the winter of birth.
And now the boy’s trip continues until summer, when he awaits new encounters.
The journey probably began with the sword given to me by the red-haired girl.
“Now let’s go back together. To Shoara.”
A boy and a girl who looked at the stars together even though their toes were in the mud.
And now, a shooting star in the meadow was falling on the two people looking at each other.
Even if it’s not high up in the night sky.
Even if you are away in a place where no one can see.
If we want to shine ourselves, we can recognize each other.
Because we are stars.
Because everyone is a star that can shine.
So, goodbye until we meet again.
Sword Master with Stars (complete).
※※※※
Dawn when everyone was deeply asleep.
Deep in the night, when even the stars above were asleep,
there was a voice that woke up the man who was sleeping without knowing the world.
“……sir. …… Mr. No.”
The voice of a young boy who doesn’t seem to have had any transformation yet.
Therefore, the voice seemed a little lacking in power to wake up a man who was in a deep sleep.
“oh! “Tager!”
“I want you to wake up!”
Is this what it feels like to be stung by a bee?
The man, startled by the sudden pain, began to look around with unfocused eyes.
“what? what?”
“Shh!”
The boy motioned for the man who had not yet come to his senses to be quiet and began to look out of the stable.
With a small frog held tightly in both hands.
“You’ve been looking for it for a long time! “Why are you sleeping in the stable instead of leaving your normal room?”
“…Is this a stable?”
A foolish man who doesn’t even know where he is lying.
If it weren’t for his handsome face, he had such a pitiful appearance that anyone who saw him would sigh.
“It felt warm somehow.”
Contrary to the boy’s anxious appearance, the man, who was still half asleep, gathered up the straw around him and began to lie down again.
Even the frog the boy was holding puffed out its cheeks as if it were dumbfounded as he crouched up to his shoulders as if he was cold.
“Now is not the time! “We have to run away now!”
“……What is he saying now. “Can’t we just talk about it later?”
At the sight of the man lying down again, reeking of alcohol, the boy pounded his chest as if his clothes were about to explode.
However, the atmosphere around me soon became cluttered and I took my breath away.
-Where are you hiding!
-I know you’re here! You can’t come out!
“hmm?”
It was a voice that was harsh to anyone who heard it, as it was screaming loudly.
Moreover, there was even a sound of doors being kicked down with all their might, as if they were trying to destroy the surrounding stores.
Unlike the boy next to him, the man who had just laid down began to blink at the threatening atmosphere.
-Quijano Frausen! What a damn libertine!
“Eh?”
The smell of burning oil-soaked torches is pungent.
The sound of hunting dogs barking around is harsh.
However, what really caught the man off guard was the word ‘lover’ attached to his name.
Kwasik-!
The man quickly stood up as if he had finally figured out the situation, but it was already too late to prepare.
“I was hiding here.”
A man pressing his yellow teeth with all his might as he looks at the man he has finally found.
He, who had an impressive shiny bald head, began to laugh as he looked at the man who was just straightening his clothes.
“I found it. Quijano Frausen.”
The man who is still dazed and the boy who is now crying as if everything was wrong.
And even a frog in a hat sighing quietly.
“…Why are you looking for me?”
This is a story from long ago.
A story that is neither legendary nor great.
However, the story that started everything began right here in the stables of a shabby inn that did not even have a proper sign.
