Chapter 141. When Did We?
I calmly organized my thoughts.
The ‘Tower of Magic’ and the ‘Sword Garden,’ both of which I had thrown together as temporary measures.
By creating these two groups, we managed to gain a certain degree of trust from the Young Lord and the Third Sword, but in doing so, we ended up catching the Lord’s attention.
And that led to the current situation.
“…What will you do?”
I gathered my scattered thoughts under the Third Sword’s grave gaze.
After hearing the Young Lord’s message, I could understand the Third Sword’s silence. In other words, he was deeply contemplating whose command to follow, the Lord’s or the Young Lord’s, two opposing orders.
And his decision was…
‘The Young Lord.’
That meant the Third Sword had resolved to devote himself entirely to the Young Lord’s cause. However, apart from that, I had a personal curiosity.
“Before you decide, there’s something I’d like to ask.”
“Speak.”
“How can we trust the Young Lord’s message? I mean, how can we believe that he’ll actually keep his promise?”
“That is…”
The Third Sword fell silent.
He knew it too. He knew exactly how this situation looked from our perspective.
Depending on how you interpret it, the Young Lord could easily be seen as a conniving fish that took the bait and then swam off, leaving us hanging, but that thought lasted only for a moment.
The Third Sword bowed his head politely.
“My apologies.”
“…”
To be honest, I was surprised.
The Third Sword of Lorutel, bowing his head? No, that wasn’t the only surprising thing.
What he did next was even more astonishing.
“I’ll entrust you with my sword.”
He drew the sword from his waist and held it out toward me.
“…Hmm.”
I let out a low hum of surprise, something rare for me. Neither Parun nor Shine were exceptions to that reaction.
“…Hmph.”
“To stake your sword? Are you truly serious?”
“…Of course.”
The Third Sword nodded solemnly in response to Shine’s question.
At this point, I couldn’t easily bring myself to say anything either.
‘He’s staking his sword?’
Frankly speaking, it didn’t mean much to us. Sure, the sword wielded by the Third Sword of Lorutel would surely fetch an incredible price, but still…
‘That doesn’t make it collateral enough for the Infinite Chain.’
In this situation, no artifact or object could serve as proper collateral for the Infinite Chain.
However…What the Third Sword was offering wasn’t simply a ‘sword.’
It was the honor of a knight.
His pride, his very self.
‘…Of course, a pseudo-knight like Shine would probably be staking the price of the sword, not the sword itself…’
I stared at the worn grip of the Third Sword’s blade, lost in thought.
To be honest, I couldn’t deny my curiosity. For him to stake his sword was, in my terms, equivalent to staking the very Tower of Magic I planned to build in the future. And not just an unbuilt tower, but one raised high and filled to the brim with substance.
Forget material worth, what mattered was the determination behind it.
But why?
Even if it was in the name of his lord’s promise, or his lord’s honor, was that really worth staking his pride for?
Just as that thought crossed my mind…
“What will you do?”
I gathered my thoughts at Shine’s voice.
Then, Shine added quietly:
[I think this one can be trusted.]
Apparently, Shine had a favorable opinion of the Third Sword’s actions. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have urged me to answer like this.
Whatever else she might be, Shine was still a knight.
Obviously, I wasn’t a knight. And neither was Parun.
[Parun, what do you think?]
At my question, Parun took a moment to collect his thoughts before answering.
In short, his answer aligned with Shine’s, though how he reached that conclusion was different.
[Whether or not we trust him, the pride of a knight of the Third Sword’s caliber isn’t something to take lightly. Questioning it now would be no different from trampling on that pride.]
In other words, even if we didn’t believe him, we’d have no choice but to accept it.
I see. So that’s how it is.
[The choice is yours. You’re the one who set up this game, after all.]
Parun handed the decision over to me and fell silent.
I took a moment to organize my thoughts before making the final decision.
Judging from both Shine and Parun’s opinions…
‘It seems they both think it’s best to avoid meeting the Lord.’
Even Shine, who was half-mad with obsession over the Sword God’s Tomb, was suggesting we accept the Third Sword’s proposal, meaning even she sensed danger in the Lord’s side. So that’s probably why they only brought up the Third Sword’s suggestion.
Which meant it really was my choice now.
“Third Sword, or should I say, Sir Zeke?”
“Speak.”
“For now, please put your sword away. It looks rather awkward, you see.”
It was a gesture of pure goodwill.
Why?
Because the sight of Sir Zeke holding out his sword with that resolute expression looked oddly lonely. However, he seemed to misinterpret my kindness, letting out a low murmur.
“My pride alone is not enough, then?”
“No, that’s not it…”
Of course, it wasn’t enough. But the reason I asked him to sheath his sword wasn’t that.
While my companions were only thinking about whether or not to trust Sir Zeke, I still hadn’t made up my mind.
Because what I was truly pondering was this…
‘Do we meet the Lord?’
Or do we avoid him?
Before deciding, I asked a question.
“It’s not really my place to ask, but I’m curious about something…”
“Ask whatever you wish.”
“If you defy the Lord’s orders like this, can you handle the consequences? The Young Lord might get away with it, but won’t you, Sir Zeke, be in quite a predicament?”
To that, Zeke replied calmly.
“I am the Young Lord’s sword.”
“I thought the knights of Lorutel swore allegiance only to the Lord?”
“It was the Lord himself who commanded it, to serve the Young Lord. Of course, the Young Lord is unaware of this.”
What an ironic situation. A knight defying his liege’s order because of that very liege’s command. That, I suspected, was what had tormented Zeke’s thoughts. He couldn’t quite decide how far ‘follow the Young Lord’ extended.
“Even so, punishment would be inevitable, wouldn’t it?”
“I’ll endure it.”
Zeke answered without hesitation. But despite his composed tone, the punishment he’d face would be no small matter.
Defying the Lord’s command. That was a grave crime that demanded an example be made.
‘Well, given his rank as the Third Sword, they probably won’t go as far as chopping off his head, but still…’
Whatever the case, the penalty would hardly be light.
As I thought about that, my confusion deepened.
“Even so, I can’t understand. From your position, it would’ve been better to follow the Lord’s command. Why go this far and suffer such loss?”
“I already told you. I am the Young Lord’s sword.”
“No, that’s not an answer. Even if it were the Young Lord’s order—if it was the wrong choice, would you still follow it? Of course you would. But this time, the situation’s different, isn’t it?”
“…I don’t quite follow.”
“When the Lord’s and the Young Lord’s commands clash, why choose the Young Lord’s? ‘The Young Lord’s sword’? That’s not an answer. If it were solely the Young Lord’s order, fine, but when the two conflict, you must’ve chosen the side you deemed right.”
“So…”
“I’m asking about that motive.”
When I finished, Zeke half-closed his eyes in thought.
“The reason, huh…”
And then, he answered.
“Because you trusted us first.”
“…?”
When did we?
I tilted my head.
Parun tilted his head.
The only one who didn’t was Shine.
As the three of us reacted differently, Zeke continued in a voice dripping with apology.
“Even though you had no guarantee we would keep our word, you willingly paid the price. Not only because I am the Young Lord’s man, but… ultimately, that’s why I followed his command. Faith. Because you placed your trust in us first.”
Uh, well…
Did we?
To be honest, I hadn’t thought much about it.
‘It’s not like we had any other choice…’
We simply assumed that secret groups like the Tower of Magic and the Sword Garden would carry enough weight to compel them to honor their promises.
So, to state it clearly…We never trusted them. And yet he misunderstood it this way.
Wait, hold on.
A sudden thought hit me, and I asked, “…How did you even verify what we said?”
Though we’d supposedly given them their reward, truth be told, all of it was intangible.
Sure, the Magic Armor Kalium was real, but we’d only told them where it was. The information on House Impir would take time to verify.
But Zeke’s answer was absurd.
“Even setting aside the Impir family information, the Magic Armor Kalium alone was enough to earn our trust.”
“Hmm? Don’t tell me… you’ve already confirmed it?”
“…? Indeed. The Young Lord himself tried on the Kalium and found it most satisfactory.”
Wait, you mean not only confirmed it, but already acquired it?
‘…Unbelievable.’
At that point, I could only shake my head at Lorutel’s ruthlessness. Even with a warp gate, to retrieve it so quickly would require their knights to work day and night.
Or maybe it wasn’t a warp gate?
‘From Cuhelon to Lorutel is about two days on horseback…’
If they’d contacted nearby knights immediately after meeting us and driven them mercilessly, the timing might fit.
Still, that aside…
“All that, just for that? The Impir information could still turn out to be a ruse, you know?”
“A ruse?”
“Well, maybe not, but still…”
“The Young Lord chose to believe, so I follow.”
“…”
Good grief.
‘Is he stupid?’
Judging by his tone, he had considered the possibility of deception. Yet because his lord believed, he simply cast away all doubt? And then, for the sake of someone he’d once suspected, he’s willing to risk his life?
I couldn’t understand that mindset at all.
Still, at this point, I could at least glimpse the logic behind his actions.
“So you did doubt us at first…”
“Yes. I even advised the Young Lord that it might be a trap.”
“But since the Young Lord believed, you abandoned your doubt? And once you did, you interpreted our actions as ‘offering faith first’?”
“That would be a fair way to put it.”
I felt dizzy.
“Sir Zeke, are you truly a sword?”
As in, do you have no brain?
“I am the Third Sword.”
“Well, that’s true enough.”
His clean, literal reply left me speechless. And only then did Zeke seem to realize what I really meant.
“Ah, I see what you’re thinking. But… I have my own conviction. You may be suspicious, but you’re not evil.”
“…And if your judgment’s wrong?”
At that, Zeke smiled faintly. But that smile carried a chilling edge.
“Then it is my mistake.”
“…No, sir.”
The formal tone slipped out on its own.
Right. I’d forgotten. Those without power have no choice but to believe, because they lack options. But the powerful can choose to believe, because even if that belief is misplaced, they have the strength to correct it.
A belief born from strength, pure and untainted.
‘…Well, when the body’s strong, the brain can afford to slack off. If you’re the Third Sword of Lorutel, you can get away with that.’
“I’d appreciate an answer now. If my sword isn’t enough…”
“No, no.”
I hastily shook my head at Zeke’s words.
“Then, what will you do?”
What would I do?
That conversation alone had already given me the answer.
In truth, the answer had been decided from the start.
— “You trusted us first.”
Zeke had responded to faith with faith.
Of course, we’d never actually offered any faith… and his own trust was rooted in sheer physical might… But the trivial details didn’t matter.
Faith should be met with faith.
Kindness should be met with kindness.
Since trust had already been exchanged, how could we ignore his plight now?
“Lead us to the Lord.”
There is no paradise in the places you flee to.
That was how I felt.
Of course, if we didn’t flee, we might end up tasting hell instead, but still.
Let me make one thing absolutely clear:
It wasn’t because we didn’t trust Zeke, his sword, or the Young Lord’s promise.
…And also. It definitely wasn’t because, after calculating the material value of the sword he offered, I found the estimate disappointingly low.
No, absolutely not.
