CHAPTER 24………………………….
‘I messed up.’
The moment he spit out that strange question at the young lady, Kei regretted it.
“What’s the point of continuing something that looks hopeless—?”
Those words were actually meant for himself.
A gravekeeper.
Kei secretly thought of himself that way. Probably not just himself, but the entire order of knights.
The head of the house had vanished, and the heir also closed his eyes for good.
The only remaining successor was a terminally ill child.
They were protecting the family— their master’s legacy— all the while knowing there was no future.
They were merely clinging to their final duty out of loyalty for their lord of the past.
But the very child they had given up on in advance, assuming she had no future because of her terminal illness—
“Mom will get up again.”
What if she was the only one who hadn’t given up?
A terminally ill mutant whom everyone insisted wouldn’t live past ten.
“I’m working out because I want to see Mom again!”
Her voice held not a speck of doubt about the hope that cowardly adults had abandoned long ago.
Who would have thought the child, who constantly talked about health despite her age and insisted she would live a long, long time, meant that?
The thing everyone else had given up on— only this tiny girl still held onto it.
“Don’t worry, everyone. …Mom and Grandpa, we’ll definitely meet them again!”
Seeing the young Lady Rin speaking so confidently, her eyes clear and unwavering, Kei felt unbearably ashamed.
This little child— their young lord— was desperately burning the fragile flame of her life, struggling to keep living.
She hadn’t given up, yet he had gotten scared and let go first.
As Kei turned his head away in embarrassment, the faces of the other knights came into view.
Even the senior knights who had quietly approached.
Without anyone saying a word, he could feel they all shared the same feelings.
A free domain. Paradise.
Ever since the Mercenary King became the Pegasus Lord, ordinary beastkin had given the Pegasus territory this nickname.
A place where any beastkin race could live out their ideals.
A place that revived the meaning of the first lord’s title— “Pegasus of Protection”— and lived up to it by protecting everyone from monsters.
Following their lord’s ideals, they had supported both the lord and the heir as they governed the territory.
But when those two disappeared—
“Of course Pegasus went down alone. If you stick out, you’re gonna get hit.”
“They poked around other domains pretending they were all righteous. Serves them right.”
They could no longer believe that their ideals could prevail.
They had merely shared the same ideals as their lord— they hadn’t expected them to be victorious in the end.
Even if everything broke apart, they intended to devote their lives to their lord until the end.
With a cynical inner monologue, they’d think, Well, we’ll probably die like this anyway, and laugh bitterly.
Like gravekeepers guarding the graves of masters who had already left.
That was how they thought they’d spend the rest of their lives.
No one ever expected to see the same kind of light that their former lord had carried— shining from that tiny child.
Lady Rin Pegasus.
The sole remaining direct descendant of House Pegasus had been plagued by rumors blaming her for the disappearance of the lord and the heir.
Of course, the knights never believed the outside talk calling her the root of misfortune, a cursed mutant who brought calamity.
Terminally ill. A weak, pitiful young lady.
No one expected such a small child to accomplish anything.
They were exhausted.
The heir lay in a vegetative state— as good as dead— and the lord hadn’t returned in years.
At first, a few hopeful words had been spoken.
“They say all mages whose mana cores shattered die instantly— but the young lord is a grand mage! It must be different! His body hasn’t turned to dust like the others!”
But although only the heir’s body remained intact, his consciousness and any vital signs were gone— an empty shell that lingered for years.
And the lord, who had left to find medicine at the heir’s final request—
“Even if the place is unknown and dangerous, the lord will be fine. Worst case he returns empty-handed, but he’ll definitely come back safely!”
“Exactly! Who is our lord? The greatest swordsman, the strongest on the continent— the Mercenary King!”
But the letters the lord sent at first stopped coming. Telling themselves “no news is good news” had already become years old.
Outside, people openly claimed he must be dead— that it wasn’t a disappearance but a death.
That the great Mercenary King died nameless in some unknown place.
The whispers— full of both surprise and ridicule— were directed at them.
Though the knights never acknowledged their lord’s death, doubt seeped into their hearts as too much time passed.
How long… how much longer do we wait?
After this long, maybe the lord really did… on the Eastern Continent…
Eventually, they gave up hoping.
The hope everyone had mocked— the hope they had stubbornly clung to— their fists finally opened and let it go.
They believed that accepting emptiness— having nothing left to hold onto— meant facing reality.
“Mom will get up again. And I’m exercising so I can see her then!”
But Lady Rin spoke of hope.
A dreamlike story.
Words so foolish that even they couldn’t bring themselves to say them anymore.
“Everyone, cheer up!”
And yet, there remained a girl who still believed in them as naturally as breathing.
The very person the lord had tried most desperately to protect— his child.
Her eyes were clear and pure, untainted by doubt.
“We’ll definitely meet both Mom and Grandpa again— just wait!”
A child speaking of belief, just as they once had when they first met their lord.
Lady Rin.
This young lady would never be able to fight alongside them or lead them like the former lords did.
“So let’s all stay healthy until then!”
But instead, she reminded them of something precious.
It’s not over yet.
It had been a long time since they felt this way.
A feeling that filled their hearts— the desire to act when they held purpose, excitement for the future.
We still have something to protect.
From the knight who first approached Rin to the veterans who had been drowning in lethargy— every one of them.
The embers within the order of knights— long thought extinguished— began burning again.
After hearing her friend Kei’s troubles, Rin began to worry.
“I think Kei’s really troubled.”
[Looked fine earlier to me. What are you talking about?]
“Oh come on. If a few comforting words could erase someone’s worries, no one in the world would have any problems!”
[That guy seemed like that type though.]
He was right— Kei really had been restored to full morale as if his eyes were opened by Rin’s words.
But Rin, unaware of her friend’s renewed spirits, worried about how to cheer him up.
And soon, she reached a conclusion.
“This is all because of alcohol.”
[Huh?]
Caligo made a baffled noise at her sudden accusation, but Rin ignored the snarky bird as usual.
“He keeps getting gloomy, oversleeps, gets scolded for being late!”
It was all because of alcohol.
If not for drinking, her good friend never would’ve acted like that, Rin declared stubbornly.
[Maybe he’s just pathetic.]
Nope. He isn’t. Kei is a good friend.
Rin ignored the insult toward her friend and thought hard— until she found a solution.
“We just have to get Kei to quit drinking.”
[Heh. A dog giving up poop— a drunk giving up alcohol? Please.]
“Luckily, there’s a perfect item in the future.”
Rin’s eyes sparkled as she excitedly scribbled something down.
The next morning.
Ever action-oriented, Rin set up a stall right in front of the training grounds.
“Mocktail”
On a sheet of drawing paper clumsily stuck to the stall, she had written the menu in big, crayon letters.
And next to it was a clear statement:
“Made by Rin and Julien.”
(Though Julien didn’t come because he said the knights were scary.)
