Even If Your Regret Tries to Hold Me Back - Chapter 42

A bright morning perfect for sleeping in. In an inn in Futuo, five gloomy men had gathered around a long table.

“As you know, our financial situation isn’t particularly good due to the heinous theft incident.”

Dion, sitting in the center with his hands clasped and forehead resting on them, spoke gravely.

Then a response tinged with laughter immediately flew back, striking Dion.

“Because of a certain pathetic aide.”

The serious atmosphere he had worked so hard to build was instantly shattered.

Dion lifted his head from his clasped hands and shot a glare at Elai.

“Sometimes I think it would be nice if you could pick up a little something called tact.”

“Is that so? I’ve sometimes thought it would be nice if His Majesty’s aide could pick up a little something called flexibility.”

“Unfortunately, it seems you had tact for breakfast this morning.”

“Yes. It was quite delicious. Next time, why don’t you join me?”

At this moment, Dion couldn’t help but admire his master’s excellent judgment.

‘How did he manage to gather only people exactly like himself?’

Dion sighed in resignation, pressing his throbbing head, and grumbled in a tone of defeat.

“Anyway, everyone put out whatever you have.”

Though his word choice sounded like a back-alley thug, Dion was serious.

The pathetic but exemplary aide first placed three gold coins on the table.

The knights also began rummaging through their clothes and emptying their pockets.

Soon, piles of coins appeared on the table one by one. One, two, three, four…

One was missing.

Dion slowly raised his gaze from the table and said,

“Sakin, don’t try any tricks and hurry up… wh… what?”

Dion suddenly shot up from his seat. The pushed chair fell over with a loud crash.

He began frantically counting while checking each knight’s head.

“Elai, Eden, Samte, Odyssey, Sa… Sa…”

In just a few seconds, his mouth went completely dry.

“Where is Sakin!”

It was an extremely urgent cry. However, the knights remained unperturbed.

Among them, the most composed was undoubtedly Elai. Sitting diagonally close to Dion, he feigned surprise and answered.

“Didn’t you know? He’s been missing for a while now.”

While saying this, he hooked his foot on the back of the fallen chair and casually swung his long leg to set the chair upright again.

His leisurely attitude, not even removing his hand from his pocket, only made Dion’s head burn hotter.

“What?! Then we should look for him! Why have you all been sitting still until now!”

“Oh, we were supposed to look for him? I thought we only needed to find His Majesty the Emperor.”

“What if he wanders into some strange place and we never see him again…!”

“He’s not a child, he’ll manage fine on his own.”

“Aaaahhh!!”

Dion suddenly let out a shriek and tore at his hair.

Dion versus Elai.

It was an event held like an annual tradition, and since the outcome was always predictable, the knights who had been consistently ignoring it began preparing to leave.

Eden quietly adjusted his glasses and closed his book first. Samte pulled his robe over his large frame, and Odyssey hastily gathered up the money he had taken out.

Only Dion, whose originally soft green hair seemed to have caught fire, was jumping up and down.

“You and I are going to settle this today!”

“You won’t win.”

“Ha! I may not look it, but I was once called the iron fist of the House of Cedrick—”

While Dion was rolling up his sleeves, Elai placed the sole of his shoe against the leg of the chair he had just set up and pulled it forward.

Dion, whose knees hit the back of the pulled chair, naturally ended up sitting down with a thud.

“Ugh.”

“You’re at an age where you should start taking care of your body. Save your strength. You suffered for two months after breaking your arm last time.”

While Dion was adjusting to his suddenly lowered perspective, Elai stood up.

“Well then, I’ll go look for His Majesty again today—”

His drawn-out words, delivered with a smirk, further grated on Dion’s already frayed nerves. The corners of his mouth, curled up in a sneer, were something he definitely wanted to pinch.

…Of course, it was only possible in his imagination. Feeling even more dejected, Dion tearfully took out his communication device as Elai and the knights left the room.

Click. The loading light went out and the awaited face appeared on the screen.

Dion reached out his hand as if he could grab the person in the screen.

“Your Highness… beloved Your Highness… sob I miss you so much…!”

The screen rippled and flickered where his fingertips touched. Heidi shook her head as if she couldn’t stand it.

“You had another fight with Elai. You always confess to me whenever that happens. You’ve gone to a distant land, so try to get along.”

“It’s impossible with that guy, even if I die and come back to life. Do you even know what situation I’m in? sniff…! I miss you so much, Your Highness…!”

“Sorry, but one-sided affection is burdensome for me. How about we try to find you a partner where it can be mutual?”

“Y-Your Highness?”

Click.

The screen disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Only the pathetic sound of sniffling echoed forlornly.

“Huh? Is it broken?”

He couldn’t bring himself to accept reality. But nothing was closer than reality.

Dion hugged the turned-off communication device and banged his forehead on the table.

“Oh God, why do you give me such trials! Even if I sold out my country in a past life, this is too much!”

It was a peaceful morning.

Except for the fact that the aide to Emperor Rihalt of the Empire had developed a bald spot.

—–

As soon as the communication screen disappeared, Heidi collapsed onto the sofa as if melting.

“Ah, my head is pounding… Really, we should put a bell on his mouth and stand him in a barley field. Then he’d go down in history as the legendary strongest scarecrow.”

Though the content was quite harsh, her voice lacked strength. Zimmer, Heidi’s close lady-in-waiting, approached her as she complained of pitiful lethargy.

She quietly cleared away the turned-off communication device and selected a soft velvet cushion from the sofa. She carefully supported and cushioned Heidi’s neck while saying,

“Then why did you bother taking the call?”

Heidi closed her eyes and wriggled to find a comfortable position.

“Even if my ears hurt, my mood improves. Seeing that he’s fine, it seems they still haven’t found each other.”

After a groan passed, a fit of wheezing coughs erupted. Heidi curled up her body and struggled to control her coughing.

However, her convulsing body wouldn’t easily settle down. The worry on Zimmer’s face deepened.

She watched a little longer, then turned to get another communication device. As her brother before being Emperor of Rihalt, he too needed to know about his sister’s condition.

But the moment she took a step, Heidi grabbed her.

“It’s not like I have a fatal disease, so what for.”

Heidi pulled on the clothes she had grabbed to stop Zimmer.

“Get me a glass of whiskey.”

At the unexpected request, the shadow that had covered Zimmer’s face instantly lifted.

“Whiskey, when you were just nearly poisoned? How could that possibly be appropriate?”

“I spat it right out, and I didn’t die. My tongue is the world’s greatest loyal retainer.”

Heidi brazenly joked while forcibly swallowing another cough that was about to erupt. Zimmer let out a troubled sigh. Really, these siblings never listen properly.

She gently removed Heidi’s hand that was firmly gripping her clothes and sat at the edge of the sofa.

“…Could Chetscher have returned? He’s known for prowling at night, and there was testimony of seeing a masked figure last night.”

It was a reasonably logical assumption, but Heidi frowned. She looked at Zimmer with drowsy eyes.

“No, it’s Beelze’s doing. Since there was no reaction last time, he’s probably testing again. If it had been poison made by Chetscher, you’d be preparing my burial clothes by now.”

“Why do you say such things?”

“So just one drink, quickly. Don’t you want to become a loyal retainer comparable to my tongue?”

Heidi shook their joined fingers pleadingly. Zimmer placed another cushion behind Heidi’s back and stood up.

“Is putting only sweet things in your mouth what makes a loyal retainer? You keep talking nonsense, so it seems the poison hasn’t fully left your system. I’ll brew more medicine.”

“You want me to drink that nauseating stuff again?”

“The more bitter the medicine, the better it is for you.”

“Right now, the most bitter thing for me is your irreverent words.”

Heidi waved her hand trying to grab Zimmer again. Zimmer avoided her with graceful movements, then approached the door and turned around.

“You told me to become a loyal retainer.”

****

The guild was located at the edge of the village. This was to immediately prepare for beast invasions.

The scale seemed about the size of a small district in a rural village. It had communal dormitories divided into sections, a dining hall, training grounds, an open area, a smithy, and other facilities that were quite systematically organized.

“That’s all the luggage, so there’s nothing much to organize.”

Gelda came out of the room assigned to Helena and immediately moved on. She continued her guide tour, pointing here and there in a manner that was rude yet kind.

“Still, if you need anything, let me know. Tomorrow Angri is going down to the central district, so I can tell him to buy it.”

Helena followed behind her, listening quietly.

Her room was in the same building as Gelda’s room. It seemed like an arrangement considering that the guild was mostly male.

A few minutes later, when they reached the open area, Gelda stopped. She pointed to the forest beyond the high wooden fence that surrounded them like a fortress.

“Do you see that green forest over there?”

Helena nodded, and immediately she felt someone approaching. Ian, who had also been assigned a room and come out, approached and focused on Gelda’s explanation along with her.

“It’s right next to here, but there’s nothing to worry about. Places where the trees are green aren’t beast habitats. You only need to be careful of the black forest. That place is always black because of the pheromones and bodily fluids that beasts emit to mark their territory.”

Gelda moved on again while adding,

“Of course, not all beasts leave traces with black bodily fluids. So you have no choice but to get used to specific smells. Even that varies slightly depending on the habitat environment, so it’ll take quite a while to distinguish them clearly.”

Come to think of it, there had been a strange smell when passing through the black forest. A smell that didn’t raise her guard because it wasn’t a foul odor.

Helena glanced at Ian.

‘So he sensed danger through smell back then too. Hunting beasts… was it already familiar work for him?’

She had heard of merchant groups that occasionally hired skilled knights to break through trade routes occupied by beasts, and whose members also practiced swordsmanship.

Considering the scars carved on his body, he might also be leading that kind of merchant groups.

Helena briefly stared at Ian’s hands, covered with small scars, then turned her head away.