Imperial Year 1215, September 11th
“Are you awake?”
Rimas only blinked and said nothing.
Even so, he knew that the person in front of him was Medipl.
“You’ve been unconscious for three full days.
And in that time, even while you were out, you kept suddenly waking up, crying, screaming, then passing out again.”
Rimas knew that the man speaking to him was named Medipl, but he couldn’t quite tell what that had to do with himself.
Then, all at once, it felt as if every memory and sensation came rushing back, and the conversations and feelings he had shared with Medipl over the past few years all surged in on him at once.
Before he knew it, Rimas threw his arms around Medipl and started sobbing again.
“My father… my father…”
Medipl embraced him.
From the outside, the sight of a boy in his late teens clinging to Rimas looked like brothers in an embrace.
To Rimas as well, it felt as if he were a child who had lost his father, crying in the arms of the only family he had left—his older brother.
He cried like that for a long time, and then lost consciousness again.
When he woke for the second time, there was one more person at his bedside.
It was the Ranger Ledgetak.
This time, Rimas seemed to have regained enough of his senses and steadied himself that he accepted the barley porridge Medipl held out to him and ate.
After that, he drank some water with Medipl’s help, then spoke—not to either of them in particular, but to both at once.
“Did you catch the one who killed my father?”
Medipl shook his head.
“No.
And unfortunately, we don’t even know who it was.”
Ledgetak picked up the explanation.
“And when I say we don’t know who it was, I don’t just mean we don’t know his name.
I mean we don’t know what he is, either.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know what he is?”
This time Medipl answered.
“Before you woke up, Ledgetak and I talked at length.
Even Ledgetak, who’s a Ranger and knows every kind of monster there is, couldn’t identify what that thing was.
I went back through every book I’ve ever read, and searched all the books I have with me now, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t figure it out either.”
“I still don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I’ll explain it step by step.
According to Lady Gladeborah who witnessed him, that man—let’s assume he was a man for the moment—at any rate, he wasn’t a MOW.
Which is to say, he wasn’t a cleric, a mage, or a warrior.
Under Imperial law, unless they’re Imperial Emissary on a covert mission, all MOW are required to wear an epaulette indicating their tier.
He didn’t have any.
It’s possible he was ignoring the law and simply not wearing them, but Lady Gladeborah was of the opinion that he definitely wasn’t a MOW.”
Medipl continued.
“In that case, he might be a monster that takes human form.
But that would be very strange, because as you know, no monster can approach the roads.
Unless there is some problem with the magic cast on the milestones, monsters cannot come near them, and the stones around the scene of the incident were functioning normally.
So that thing wasn’t a monster either.”
Ledgetak nodded and went on.
“Of course, it’s not entirely impossible for a monster to approach the road.
The milestones don’t physically prevent them from coming near—more precisely, they make them unwilling to.
Monsters are said to feel an unbearable sensation around the stones, so if one were to endure it by force, it could approach.
Because of that, on very rare occasions, a monster fleeing from a stronger one may run onto the road.
I’ve never seen or heard of such a thing myself, but according to Medipl, it is recorded in the books as a rare case.”
“However, that creature was said to have been very calm and composed, and that doesn’t fit that kind of situation at all.
So to be honest, with what we know, we can’t even say whether the thing that killed your father was human or monster or something else entirely.”
“We’ll report it to the lord, of course, but it will probably be difficult to track him.
Our lord is quite advanced in years, and our fief is in the middle of a complicated time with the struggle over the next heir already underway.
Even if none of that were a problem and circumstances were favorable, at most his lordship would post a bounty.
Without some special inducement—say, an enormous reward—it will be hard to find anyone capable of tracking that creature down.”
“What if I put up the bounty myself?
My father earned money from his trade, and there’s the goods we have now, and we could sell the wagon and the mules…”
Medipl shook his head.
“According to Ledgetak, you wouldn’t be able to hire the kind of people you’d need with that amount of money.”
“To be frank, if I personally took up the chase, I think I could track him down or kill him.
But I’m under viscount’s authority as well, and getting permission would be difficult.
I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about that.”
“Sir Warf and Sir Ixt, the other warriors of our fief, could likely take him on as well, but they’re not Rangers, so tracking him would be difficult for them.
“And there’s another issue.
As far as I know, Rimas, you don’t have any other relatives, nor anyone you can really turn to.
So what to do about your future is another problem altogether.”
“That doesn’t matter right now,” Rimas said.
Medipl replied sternly.
“It does matter.”
Then Ledgetak spoke up.
“It may sound odd to bring this up now, but there is one small consolation.
While you were unconscious, we realized something more clearly: you have a talent for being a warrior.”
“What?
You mean I have the talent to be a MOW?”
“Yes.
Specifically, the talent for the warrior class.”
Looking at the abrupt change in Rimas’s expression, Medipl spoke up again.
“I was worried you’d make exactly that face when we told you this.
‘If I have a MOW’s talent, I’ll avenge my father with my own hands’—that kind of face.”
Ledgetak nodded and continued.
“It’s only natural that you’d think that way, so I won’t try to talk you out of it.
But if you’re going to do that, you’ll have to enroll in an Imperial Martial Academy and train first anyway.
It’s not as if you can go chasing after that thing right now.
So for the moment, you should focus on getting into a school.
If that’s what you want, Medipl and I can sell the wagon and the goods for as good a price as possible and use the money for your tuition.
And I’m sure your late father had some balance left in his Imperial Bank account; that can help as well.”
Rimas listened to their advice and sat silently, thinking for a good ten minutes or so.
Then, with the look of someone who had made up his mind, he asked:
“I’ve heard there are three schools for people who want to become warriors.
Is that right?”
Medipl knew the answer well and replied at once.
“That’s correct.
There’s the Imperial Martial Academy, the Mercenary Gymnasium, and a place called the Buccaneer School.
You can’t really say one is better than the others, but each has its own differences.”
“I’ll be honest.
If I want to find my father’s killer and take revenge, which path would be best?”
Ledgetak answered.
“I’m a graduate of the Imperial Martial Academy, so if you wish, I can write you a letter of recommendation.
If you don’t have warrior talent, you can’t get in even with a recommendation.
If you do have talent, you can still be admitted without one.
But if you’re going to apply anyway, it’s better to have a recommendation, assuming all else is equal.”
“That said, if I’m to answer your question as precisely as I can, I think it would be most advantageous for you to choose Assassin as your subclass and become an assassin among warriors.”
“Could you tell me why?”
“By the time you graduate, trying to track that creature’s movements will probably be pointless.
Someone like me with a Ranger class won’t be much help by then.
I’ve never even heard rumors of anyone like that, so a few years from now, what you’ll need is not tracking skills, but information.
The greatest information networks in the Empire belong to the Imperial Ministry of the Nobility and a group called the Moonlight Order.
The Buccaneer School is sponsored by six different organizations, including the Moonlight Order.
If you want to gather information, it’s best to build connections that will let you make use of the Moonlight Order.
Of course, the Moonlight Order will sell information to anyone who can pay, but there are times when money alone isn’t enough.
And depending on what exactly it is you need to kill, Assassin is the best subclass for killing people.
Taking those two points together, the Buccaneer School is the most suitable choice.”
Medipl added a comment.
“On the other hand, if that bastard becomes so notorious that he doesn’t need any information network just to be found, then you won’t need to search for him at all.
In that case, the only question will be whether you have the strength to kill him when you meet him and take your revenge.”
Ledgetak chimed in.
“You’ll learn all this once you’re in training, but since we’re on the subject, let me say one thing out of caution.
If you look purely at combat power at the pinnacle of each subclass — that is, at Grand Master level — then, for example, a Swordman Grand Master is stronger in a straight fight than an Assassin Grand Master.
But in practice, while you can’t quite say that an Assassin Grand Master could defeat a Swordsman Grand Master in a fair duel, you can say that a Grandmaster Assassin could kill a Swordsman Grand Master.
An assassin doesn’t need to face their target head-on in an honorable fight, and in that sense the assassin has the advantage.”
“As far as I know, at least in theory, it’s possible to take Assassin while also being a Swordman.
If you mastered both, you’d be on a completely different level.”
“In theory, what Medipl says is correct, but that’s very difficult.
In any case, whichever school you choose, your subclass as a warrior is your choice, and all three schools will teach you well.
You can take your time and decide after you enroll.
At any rate, I think we’ve answered your question enough for now.”
I’m going to enroll at the Buccaneer School.”
“I’d like to tell you to think it over more carefully, but I doubt it would do any good right now.
For the moment, get some rest.
You only have to decide which school you’re going to by the time we reach the Imperial Capital, so we can start preparing for your admission from tomorrow.”
“Medipl, you’re a travelling teacher.
Will you really be able to help me?”
“And you, Ledgetak, you’re bound to the viscount.
Will you be all right?”
“I intend to take some leave.
Under my contract I’m allowed fourteen days off a year, and I haven’t used a single day yet, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Well, this is quite the coincidence.
I only get seven days a year, but I was just about to use them anyway.”
“Is that so?
Heh.”
Watching the two of them, Rimas suddenly bowed his head, eyes filling with tears.
“Thank you.
Thank you both, so much.”
Teacher Medipl reached out and patted Rimas on the back.
As he gently patted the boy, Medipl turned only his head to look at Ledgetak and spoke.
“The Necromancer Order will send someone by the day after tomorrow at the latest, don’t you think?”
“Yes.
Since the Domain mage asked them personally, they’ll hurry.”
“Then what will you do, Sir Ledgetak?
His lordship looks likely to leave tomorrow.”
“The only reason I was able to stay here this long without formally asking for extra time is that his lordship happened to be staying in Whitestone Village, which is his own property.
But since he seems ready to leave tomorrow, I’ll have to ask his permission to remain another day.”
“With the viscount’s temperament, I doubt he’ll be happy about it.
He won’t actually scold you, of course, but there’s no real benefit to going out of your way to earn his displeasure.
So how about this instead?”
“How do you mean, Medipl?”
“I’ll stay here, meet the people from the Necromancer Order, and see the funeral through with Rimas.
I can always find a work-related pretext for staying on in a village a little longer.
And I will actually be teaching, after all.
His lordship will return to his townhouse in the castle town.
Once you arrive in there, Sir Ledgetak, please file my request for leave with his lordship’s majordomo on my behalf.
I’ll write the application, of course, but if you’re the one who brings it, they’ll process it properly according to regulations, without grumbling.”
“In that case, under the rules, the time I spend here in Whitestone and on the road back to the city will all count as time on duty, and my leave will begin on the day after I pass through the city gates.
If we arrange things that way, the time I spend taking Rimas back to the city will be treated as ordinary work travel, and after that the period of official leave you’ve applied for on my behalf will begin.
Ideally, this kind of complicated adjustment is something I should handle myself, and I ought to take care of it well in advance.
But if you do it for me, they won’t openly complain; they’ll just approve it.
Then, once I’ve brought Rimas back to the city, you can meet us there.
How does that sound?”
“That sounds good.
That should work.
If you don’t take leave, you won’t be able to make time for Rimas after you return to the city anyway, so you intend to take leave whether or not there’s anything specific you can actually do for him.
I understand.”
“Yes, that’s what I had in mind.”
“In that case, once I leave, I’ll ask you to take charge of the funeral for Rimas’s father.
I only met Skelvis for the first time on this trip, so my being there at the funeral wouldn’t be much of a comfort anyway.
Once I get to the city, I’ll apply to his lordship for leave, and I’ll ask for it to begin when you and Rimas arrive.
While his lordship is staying at his house in the castle town, he spends most of his time within the household anyway, so I can meet my required duty days while I wait for you there.
Once you arrive, I’ll start my leave, and we can take care of everything that needs to be done.”
“That’s an excellent plan.
I really am blessed in my students.
How many teachers can say they’ve had three MOWs among their pupils?
Hah!”
“Oh?
When you put it like that, you’re right.
Teacher, that really does make you a remarkable man.”
By that time, Rimas was still leaning against Medipl’s shoulder, and he had already drifted back to sleep, so he didn’t hear their quiet laughter.
Even so, the lighter mood around him in his sleep found its way to his slumbering heart and eased his sorrow, if only a little.