33. The warrior leaves the warbler’s nest (3)
The next day.
Zeke woke up in a surprisingly soft bed.
It was a room in a guesthouse in the inner part of the royal palace.
When I looked up, there was someone there.
Signi, who opened her eyes first, was sitting by the window in the living room, drinking tea.
The place where SIGNI stayed was right next to the room where Zeke slept.
Since the three siblings were accustomed to falling asleep crushing each other in the small room under the stairs, it was rather awkward for them to each use the extra king bed.
“did you sleep well?”
“yes. “What about your brother?”
“I don’t even know how I fell asleep. What time is it now?”
“It’s half past eleven.”
“already? “I was supposed to go see Regin today… but he must have been upset for coming late.”
Signi laughed softly.
Zeke scratched his messy hair and sat across from the table where Signi was sitting.
Signy poured himself a cup of cold lemon tea and set it down in front of Zeke.
“They say cold water is not good for your health, but… your brother always drank only cold water.”
“Because it feels good when your throat feels refreshed.” Zeke smiled and drank his tea.
“Now that I think about it, it’s been a really long time since I’ve sat leisurely like this.”
“Because I always went to work.”
“Because I was busy.”
“Especially these days. “After I met Deus.”
“Don’t call me Nim. Because he is now the enemy.”
“Onii-sama, you don’t have to go overboard in front of me.”
“No, you have to be more careful in places like this. “I might accidentally make a mistake in the comfortable atmosphere without realizing it.”
“Do you hate him?” Zeke was speechless when asked while looking straight ahead.
After a moment of silence, Signi
opened her mouth.
“I… I don’t hate you. No, I am more grateful.”
“He is the devil.”
“Yes, but he is a benefactor.”
“Signi.”
“You think so, too. “I still can’t forget him.”
“I will forget. “All the grace I received from him.”
“Your brother is not that kind of person.”
“I am a warrior. A hero who can’t forget the devil’s grace .
That’s so weird.”
“It’s not strange. “Because he was such a devil.”
Signi looked at the distant sky outside the window and opened his mouth,
“280 days. He held my hand for that long time. When crossing a river of burning lava or passing through a land covered with thorn vines. Even while my legs were torn and burning, he held my hand without wavering. “I couldn’t do anything because I was enduring my pain, but he
dragged me along without showing any signs of pain.”
Signy’s cheeks turned red.
“Signi…
“My insides are filled with His grace. So, brother. “If anyone should be punished for my resurrection, it is me, not my brother.”
“it is not so! “That was my wrong choice.”
“I could have refused, but I didn’t.”
“Signi!”
“Brother, please go to a higher place
.”
Zeke closed his mouth.
Signi said, moistening her mouth with tea water.
“I am a saint. “She is a saint who sacrifices herself for the warrior on the day when the warrior sacrifices himself for humanity.”
Around lunchtime, Lexia came to visit Zeke.
“Can we talk alone?”
At Lexia’s words, Zeke looked back at Signy.
My younger brother smiled and opened his mouth.
“Please come and have a meal. I ate breakfast late…
I could have asked for food in my room, but Zeke headed to Akoma Castle with Lexia.
Everywhere I went inside the castle, people were whispering about Zeke.
The guards raised a salute as if greeting a king.
When he left the castle and entered the city, Zeke was surrounded by a rush of people and was in a lot of trouble.
“I guess I should at least wear a mask.”
Zeke smiled bitterly at Lexia’s words.
The place where Zeke and Lexia settled down was a small restaurant at the entrance to a back alley.
The prices on the menu weren’t that burdensome, and I really liked the small terrace seat next to the inner moat.
I thought it would be perfect for eating without being disturbed by others.
After ordering pasta and salad, Lexia stuck her head out to the terrace.
I saw a family of ducks floating on the moat.
“It’s peaceful here.”
“Is Joryx Castle okay now?”
“Yes, I’ve regained some stability. It’s already been almost two months. “The building that was being built is almost complete.”
“What a relief.”
“Now Zeke will stay in Verde.”
“ah! Are you going to go back? Jorick Throw.”
“That’s right. Because the family is there.”
Zeke nodded.
If we broke up like this, there seemed to be no guarantee when we would see each other again.
In fact, there was no particular relationship other than the relationship between seniors and juniors during public school days.
After Zeke goes through the ordination ceremony as a Zodiac Knight and is officially inaugurated as a Paladin of the Lion, the reason to go to Zorick Castle disappears.
“So I wanted to have a meal together at least once. “Just the two of us.”
“Because Zoryx isn’t that far away…
“It’s the center and end of the continent. Is it far
? whopping. Even if you take an express carriage, it would take about ten days.”
“If I receive a mission to Zoryx, I will definitely come visit you.”
“I’m not telling you to stay here.”
“yes? yes? ah! But…
“No. Pretend you didn’t listen. Actually, I thought about it a lot. The Zodiac Knight is both a knight and a commander who leads the troops. I was thinking of asking them to join that unit too. But…
Lexia said with a wink.
“I hate it because it hurts my pride. Although he is from the outskirts
, he is still the heir of the warrior family that represents the castle. “I will definitely become a D-class hero.”
“If you are a senior, you can do it!”
“Zeke must also become the best paladin. It’s still the best though. If a war breaks out in 20 years, Zeke will be at the forefront. And I will definitely be with you then.”
The food came out just in time.
Lexia did not talk about the fact that they were breaking up after that.
I praised the dish in front of me, savored its taste, and enjoyed the scenery.
Although Lexia was a woman, she tried to walk the path of a warrior rather than a saint.
If you think about it, they were simple pronouns such as man being a warrior and woman being a saint, but over a long period of time, roles based on gender were implicitly becoming fixed.
It is true that differences in strength and aptitude play a big role.
However, there were bound to be some oddballs like Lexia who hated that framework.
I don’t know if it would have been easier to stay by Zeke’s side if she had been a saint.
Trying to become the best saint next to the best warrior.
Lexia erased those thoughts from her mind.
After eating, we shook hands and parted ways.
“Definitely again.”
“Yes, I will definitely see you again.”
Lexia’s smile left a long lasting impression.
Currently, the South Warbler Pavilion was the most crowded with people since Seonghwangcheong went into exile.
It was thanks to the return of the Zodiac Knights.
The number of paladins was now only 6 or 7, but the troops under their command numbered in the thousands.
The formal paladins alone were enough to fill the guesthouse at Whistle Hall.
The reason they all gathered together was for the investiture ceremony of a new Paladin.
Zeke van Holwitsch.
He is only a 14-year-old boy.
However, his ability as a warrior was already at the top of all warriors.
The ender. The constellation
he would receive, after earning the nickname of the Crusade Ender,
was Leo Leo. The Protocol Department of Seonghwangcheong was busy all day preparing for the investiture ceremony of the Zodiac Knight.
However, Zeke, who was actually involved, was spending time with his younger siblings with a calm expression.
Regin sat on his brother’s lap and smiled broadly.
5 years old.
He was just a kid who did what his older sister told him to do because he was not yet mature enough.
Zeke
was lucky enough to earn a lot of money and was able to enter a private after-school boarding school.
At first, he was ostracized there because his family was weak. But now the situation is completely opposite.
He was serving as a leader and had colleagues several years older than him as his subordinates.
There was no one who could defy Regin in kindergarten.
“Donald brags every day that his father is a G-class hero. But now you can’t even brag in front of me. “Don’t you know how good that feels?”
Zeke said, ruffling Regin’s bangs.
“Humility and humility. I can’t emphasize enough how good of a virtue that is. Just because I was lucky enough to gain some power doesn’t give me the right to look down on others. “Why would you want to return the humiliation you felt to someone else?”
“I was treated worse by him!” Signi took Regin’s side. “Donald was a bit mischievous. “I even had my gang pick up dog poop and put it in Regin’s slippers.”
“That was a bit harsh.”
“yes? “You should be grateful even if you didn’t return it as is.”
Signi said to Regin.
“Listen to your brother, Regin. You are no longer a country bumpkin. Everyone will be watching your actions. “Do you want to embarrass your brother?”
“That’s not right. “I will be your proud younger brother!”
“So you have to be more careful. “You must train hard and try to become a great warrior.”
“huh! “It will definitely happen.”
Zeke laughed.
Even though I answered like that, it was obvious that I would go back to being a naughty person the next day.
Still, I was glad. We have truly been able to provide the best environment for Signy and Regin.
If you go to college and study under the best tutors, you will never go back to a provincial family.
But even at this moment, Zeke was thinking about Deus.
Without him… this glory
would have been nothing more than a dream within a dream.
Zeke and Signy were invited to a dinner hosted by the Holy Emperor.
After wearing the livery sent by Seonghwangcheong, I was able to shed the appearance of a country knight a little.
Although it was said to be a clergy’s banquet, there was no solemnity.
Like any other noble family, it was a place of luxury and pleasure.
In fact, although they were clergy, they were allowed to marry except for the highest ranking people such as the Pope and cardinals, so
they lived like ordinary nobles.
Bishops, the chief priests of cathedrals in large castles, had power equivalent to that of a duke or marquis.
“Dorf is not in trouble either. “Because strange monster fish appear in Lake Laguna and attack fishermen.”
“Isn’t there a Holly Spruce family there? “If it were a D-class hero family, it would be quite strong.”
“Nothing is impossible even if a hero steps forward. “Aren’t they just clowns who can’t do anything without the support of the Holy Hwangcheong?”
“Well, if you cut off support, the rating
of a group of warriors will quickly drop.”
“They say the money it takes to learn swordsmanship and magic is astronomical.”
“The youngest in our family suddenly said he wanted to pick up a stick and become a warrior or something, so we sent him to the warrior school, but…
“That family is owned by Blood…
“I bought a castle belonging to Half Blood. “If you’re not a pureblood, isn’t it just an ornament?”
While the bishops were talking about various things, something came to mind and
they focused their attention to one side.
Come to think of it, Cardinal Le Sulet was quiet today.
“Is something bothering you
?”
In response to the bishop’s question, Le Sulet let out a low groan.
“Isn’t it always a pain in the ass?”
“But thanks to His Majesty the Cardinal’s wisdom, it always works out well.”
LeSulet smiles.
It was obvious flattery, but I didn’t hate it. The world calls it courtesy.
