A Designated Request from a noble. Even Cesare seemed surprised. He also seemed subtly proud.
“Well now. Has word that we are capable already gotten around? So who exactly is the client? Some lord duke?”
“It is a Request from Viscountess Herbert. You recovered the bodies of the Fallen from Lament this time, correct? Viscount Herbert was among them.”
“Ah, right. So that is why.”
Cesare looked somehow disappointed. Beside him, Xenia took the request form and examined it.
“A noble’s Request is a good thing, right? But the details are not written here.”
“Viscountess Herbert said she would deliver them in person. If you accept, I will send word to the viscount’s household.”
There was no reason to refuse. As we left after gladly accepting the Request, Xenia followed beside me and chattered.
“We received a lot of money this time, and we received a jewel too, so I am happy. Master. What are you going to do with that Transcendence Stone?”
Xenia’s eyes were sparkling brightly. Beside her, Cesare muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“Ah, my body has been a little weak lately. I feel like I would recover completely if I ate one Transcendence Stone…….”
“You were weak, so you beat up five people earlier? Master. Brother is healthy. Please give me the Transcendence Stone.”
Their eyes were filled with greed. Dane put the Transcendence Stone back into his pocket and said, “If the two of you are going to fight over it, I will eat it myself.”
The Disciples looked disappointed, but their expressions soon changed. Cesare grinned.
“Well, it would be good if you nourished yourself, Master. Your Blood Energy has been declining too.”
“You speak as though you are treating me like an old man. I cannot give you the Transcendence Stone, but let us eat something delicious. Shall we have beef?”
“Yes!”
My Disciples had followed me admirably all this time, and money had come in as well, so I decided to treat them to something good.
And after spending 1.5 million Batz at the restaurant, Dane sank into thought, wondering whether he should have just given them the Transcendence Stone instead.
***
The next day.
We were standing before the front gate of a luxurious mansion. It was the mansion of Viscount Herbert’s family.
I pulled the cord hanging from the front gate. A clear bell rang out.
It had been a long time since I had visited this mansion. Before Balanus fell, I had once taken a Request from Viscount Herbert.
As we waited briefly for someone to come, Xenia pressed herself close to the gate and peered inside. Cesare clicked his tongue.
“Hey, Xenia. It is embarrassing, so step away a little.”
“Brother, how does the fountain work? What principle draws the water upward? If you tell me, I will step away.”
“……Just stay glued to the gate.”
At that moment, someone was approaching the gate. It was an elderly man in a tailcoat.
Guided by the Butler, we headed toward the mansion. Yet for some reason, the atmosphere felt strange.
When we went inside, the interior was shabbier than I remembered. The number of decorations had noticeably decreased, and a chill lingered in the air.
Judging by the fact that the Butler’s tailcoat also looked worn, was the household in financial difficulty?
Meanwhile, the Butler stopped in front of a certain door.
“Madam. Balanus Domus has arrived.”
When the door opened, I saw a woman seated on the sofa.
It was the Viscountess. This was another face I had not seen in a long time. I had a fairly good impression of her.
The viscount’s young son had once behaved rudely to us. As nobles and wealthy people often did.
“Mother, these people are just like Mercenaries. Would someone who is a knight like Father not be better? I do not like these people.”
I took it as the words of a child. We were in the position of being hired as well. However, the Viscountess sternly scolded her son.
“A knightly oath does not prove a person’s worth. Do not judge another person’s value through such a narrow lens. Apologize for your rudeness.”
“But these people are not nobles……!”
“You are dividing people by status again.”
In the end, the son apologized. The Viscountess also said she was sorry. Under ordinary circumstances, she might have simply ignored it.
At the time, the Viscountess who sternly scolded her son had been in her mid-to-late twenties.
Fifteen years had passed, so she should have been well over forty, yet she looked only about her mid-thirties.
She was wearing a black dress and had a black veil lowered over her face. Mourning clothes.
“Sit, all of you.”
A chill could be felt in her commanding tone. It was a voice without any goodwill. When we sat on the sofa, the Viscountess opened her mouth.
“Are you the Disciples of Balanus? I did not expect to hear the name Balanus again.”
Unexpectedly, hostility could be felt from her.
I thought she had called us because she considered us her benefactors.
The Disciples also noticed something, and their expressions slowly began to darken.
“Because of you, the city was attacked, and many people died. Yet those Disciples survived quite well.”
She slowly straightened her body as she sat. A ghostlike movement. A bloodless face. Only her eyes gleamed fiercely through it all.
“When this city was invaded, my daughter and my son returned as corpses. If only Balanus had not been here, they would not have died.”
“…….”
“So I cannot understand why only you survived.”
Her husband had gone missing in Lament, and even his body had not been found, while her daughter and son had returned as corpses.
It seemed she too believed the invasion had happened because of Balanus.
The atmosphere in the room sank even further, and the look in Cesare’s eyes was far from ordinary. He looked as though he might leap at the Viscountess and tear into her at any moment.
However, he did not actually act on it. It seemed he was holding himself back in his own way. Then, through the murderous air, Xenia’s voice rang out.
“So?”
At the bold question, the Viscountess’s eyes narrowed. Xenia spoke in a flat voice, each word clear.
“Did we cause the city to be invaded? It was never revealed why the invaders attacked, was it? And even if that were true, we were not on the invaders’ side, so why are you blaming us?”
The Viscountess frowned. Xenia continued without caring.
“Neither I nor Master killed your family. So why are you blaming us? Why did only your family die while we survived…….”
“Xenia.”
I quietly called Xenia’s name. I calmed her with my gaze.
Xenia glanced at me, then obediently lowered her head.
As silence fell, the Viscountess quietly stared at me.
“At least you have some tact. If you apologize, I will accept it.”
“Why should I apologize when there is no reason to?”
The Disciples looked at me in surprise. The Viscountess had a similar expression.
“As Xenia said, Balanus did not kill your family, Viscountess, and we are victims as well. Since we have no reason to listen to accusations like this, we will be leaving.”
The Disciples had already endured far too much blame they did not deserve for fifteen years.
Whether she was a Viscountess or the King, she could not insult us. Because I was their Master, I could not overlook this situation all the more.
“The city was not invaded because of us. Because of us, the city at least avoided total annihilation. I am not asking you to thank us for that. However.”
I looked straight at the Viscountess and said, “Please do not hurt my family any further. Just as you cherish your family, I cherish mine.”
A crack seemed to run through her eyes. How had the word family sounded to her?
The Viscountess could not say anything. I slowly rose from my seat.
“I came because you said there was a Request, but it seems your purpose was to take out your anger, so I will be going.”
When I signaled to the children with my eyes to leave, both of them stood with relieved expressions. Just as we were about to leave the room, the Viscountess’s voice came.
“……I am sorry.”
The Viscountess let out a sigh and rubbed her face with both hands.
“As you said, I took out my anger on the wrong people. You are ultimately victims too. I apologize. I called you here because I wanted to make a Request, so I would like you to accept it.”
So the person I remembered from the past still remained in her. I stopped and looked at her.
“I will accept your apology. However, that does not mean we will accept the Request unconditionally, so please tell us the details.”
Even at my somewhat rude words, the Viscountess did not become angry. She simply nodded and began speaking calmly.
“You found my husband’s body for me. In the Herbert Family, when we lay the dead to rest, we place a sword with them.”
Was that a tradition because they were a family famous for swordsmanship? The Viscountess continued in an upright posture.
“I want to place a sword in my husband’s coffin as well. Not an ordinary one, but the finest sword. He especially wanted a sword made by Master Craftsman Zeke.”
Cesare, who had been standing askew, cut in bluntly.
“So you want us to get the sword?”
“That is right. However, that master craftsman only deals with people he recognizes. With your abilities, I believe the master craftsman will be convinced, so I want to entrust this Request to you.”
“How much is the Request reward?”
“If you bring back the sword, I will give you fifty million Batz.”
Fifty million Batz. We had obtained thirty million Batz from the Administration Office, but there was nothing bad about having more money.
It would also take a great deal of money to ask the Information Guild to search for the children’s whereabouts.
“Yes, understood. We will accept the Request.”
After receiving a small advance payment, we left the mansion. As soon as we passed through the front gate, I looked at my Disciples’ faces.
When they had heard the Viscountess speak, they had been full of anger, but now they had calmed down a little.
“You must all have felt frustrated, but you endured it well.”
“It was a fifty-million-Batz venting session, right? We should put up with that much.”
Cesare grinned as he spoke. Xenia also nodded.
“And it was fun to look around a noble’s house. Though I did want to look at the fountain more closely.”
Even so, it seemed the Disciples’ moods had improved considerably. Xenia asked me, “By the way, can we receive the master craftsman’s sword? He sounds like he will be difficult.”
“Do not worry. I am acquainted with Master Craftsman Zeke. My sword was also one I received from him.”
Though I had lost that sword during the invasion. At that moment, Cesare’s eyes sparkled when he heard my story. Just like Xenia’s.
“Wow, damn. Master, you received a sword from a master craftsman? What does that man use as the standard for giving someone a weapon?”
“He looks at one’s philosophy regarding weapons, and at one’s skill.”
“What philosophy does a weapon need? You just kill them all, and that is that.”
It was the kind of remark that would make Zeke chase him with a hammer if he heard it.
“Because philosophy tells you the direction your spear tip should face. Knowing it will help you in battle too.”
“Then, well, I have to study. I have never studied before, though. Please teach me.”
It was admirable to see him endure and try, even though it was something he disliked. This was precisely when I had to play the role of Master.
“I will give you a crash course. Until we go to meet Zeke.”
I remembered how another Master had once listened to my lecture on philosophy and called me a lunatic.
Even so, Cesare would enjoy listening to it. Probably.
***
The sound of hammering iron rang noisily from every direction. It had been ringing since we entered the village.
As we passed through a street full of smithies, voices calling out to customers and haggling could be heard here and there.
Xenia looked excited, as though she had come on an outing. She pointed at an anvil and a furnace.
“Master, what is that? How much is that? Can I take it apart? Could you buy it for me? I am curious about that extremely hot-looking thing over there.”
“You will get hurt if you take that apart. Cesare, hold on to Xenia properly.”
I was worried about Xenia, who looked as though she might dart out at any moment. But when I looked at his expression, Cesare did not seem ordinary either.
There was no light in Cesare’s eyes. Unlike usual, there were dark shadows beneath them too. Xenia tapped Cesare and asked, “Brother is broken. Master, how many hours did you lecture him?”
“All night.”
Even one night had been somewhat insufficient, but it could not be helped. I had no choice but to cram it in as a crash course. Xenia asked Cesare, “Brother, what did you hear in yesterday’s lecture?”
“……Sierra Spearmanship originated in the Tuscany Region a hundred years ago and spread throughout the continent. In that process, the spear art divided into three branches…….”
At those words, Xenia’s expression turned grave.
“I can sense intellect between the words. Are you really Brother Cesare?”