09 Murakumo
A few years ago, I had lost sight of what I was living for.
When people asked me about my purpose, I would answer with something that sounded plausible:
“I’m honing my swordsmanship to avenge my fallen homeland of Ouka.”
Most people were satisfied with that answer.
“With your skill with the sword, I’m sure you’ll achieve that someday,” some would nod knowingly. But what I was saying was nothing but deception.
I knew that overthrowing the Empire wasn’t what my master had wished for.
Still, if asked whether I held no hatred for the Empire, I did harbor resentment.
My master had fallen to a vicious bullet fired by Imperial forces.
If I could find the one who fired it and cut them down with my own hands, it might clear some of my frustration. But even that person hadn’t shot out of malice. They simply shot the enemy because it was war. Thinking of it that way, I couldn’t bring myself to live on revenge alone.
—In other words, I was living out of inertia.
I cut down pursuing Imperial soldiers mercilessly. There was no emotion in it—I simply continued cutting them down methodically. I had resigned myself to the fact that someday I would be the one to fall.
But then, one day, a man appeared before me.
“Yo, I’ve come to steal something.”
The man who emerged from a deserted road had unremarkable, ordinary features.
However, I immediately reached for my sword hilt. This man gave off no presence whatsoever. He couldn’t possibly be ordinary.
“Steal? I’m afraid I don’t carry anything of value on me. The only thing worth mentioning would be this sword, but the price would be steep—your life.”
I drew my sword in an instant and took my stance. This single movement alone should have demonstrated my skill.
But the man showed no sign of being fazed.
“I don’t need your sword. …Oh wait, a sword is a knight’s life, wasn’t it? Don’t take offense, will you? What I want is you yourself. Murakumo of Ouka, called the ‘Knight among Knights.’ I’ve been wanting a skilled thief as a companion for some time now. You’d be perfect for the job.”
The man’s plain face crumpled into a fearless grin.
“Are you a thief? I’m afraid I must decline that invitation. I have a purpose—to avenge my master. I have no intention of joining anyone before fulfilling that purpose.”
“That’s a lie, isn’t it?”
“What?!”
Having words that had never been doubted so casually denied, my agitation was transmitted to the sword I held ready.
“I’ve been observing you for a while now, and how should I put it… I couldn’t sense any of that kind of conviction from you at all. It was more like you were just living aimlessly, you know? If you were truly living with purpose, I wouldn’t have invited you to become a thief. I’d obviously be turned down. But that’s not the case. Your heart is empty, and there seemed to be plenty of openings to exploit. That’s why I came to steal—your vacant heart.”
The man’s words hit the mark. My heart was indeed hollow, with nothing inside it now. But even so, I had no intention of becoming a thief.
“You’re free to think what you will, but my heart is dedicated to my late master. It’s not something the likes of you could steal.”
“Staying faithful to a dead master, eh? How admirable of a knight. Your heart is like an offering placed before a grave. In that case, I wouldn’t mind taking it for myself, would I?”
The man laughed provocatively. It was an irritating way of putting it, but he expressed it skillfully.
“If you think you can do it, then try.”
I pointed my sword tip at him.
“State your name, thief. I’ll at least remember the name of the man I’m about to cut down.”
“I’m Claude. We’re going to have a long relationship ahead of us. Remember it well. Oh, and I’m not carrying any weapons. I’m empty-handed. Would a knight really point his sword at such an opponent?”
That was my first encounter with Claude.
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After learning that the Imperial army would conduct a mountain hunt, Emma’s demeanor grew dark.
Usually, she would go about her cleaning and laundry with light humming, but now there was something heavy about her movements. It was understandable. No matter what we said, she would still feel responsible.
I stopped swinging my sword and called out to Emma, who was hanging laundry.
“You look troubled.”
“Murakumo-san…”
Emma smiled with a slightly troubled expression.
“We’ve always disliked the Empire. This would have happened eventually. It’s certainly not your fault.”
The girl in the maid outfit made a bitter face.
“That may be so. But I’ve come to hate myself. Thinking ‘I won’t be a burden if I stay with the bandits’—what a selfish thought that was. When I left the convent with the the empire, I caused trouble for everyone there too. I really tried hard at the convent, you know? I wanted to get along with everyone. I actually thought I had become close with some people. But it was no good. At that time, only the Mother Superior protected me, while the others did nothing… Of course, that’s natural. Everyone would be scared of soldiers with guns. Even so, I had expectations, which makes me greedy, I suppose…”
Emma shook her head weakly.
“So when I woke up here, I thought ‘Claude-san and the others will be fine.’ I thought that bandits strong enough to steal from the empire might be able to hide me. But it’s still causing trouble regardless…”
Her slender neck drooped.
“Don’t think that way. We don’t consider you a burden. Even if something happens, we’re bad bandits anyway. It’s our own fault. Just think of it that way.”
“But… Murakumo-san, Claude-san, and Yuri-san don’t seem like bad people to me. Claude-san certainly looks like a thief, but Murakumo-san seems very knightly, and Yuri-san feels like a slightly eccentric mage. I can’t see you that way…”
“Even so, the fact remains that we’re helping Claude with his thievery. It’s not like we enjoy it, but both I, who served the country as a knight, and Yuri, who served as a court mage, didn’t know any other way of living. We’re clumsy. That’s why we became bandits when Claude invited us. It couldn’t be helped.”
My words weren’t lies. Both Yuri and I were the type of people who found it difficult to live normally, and becoming bandits wasn’t entirely wrong, I think.
“Um… wasn’t there a path to serve the Empire? No, not necessarily the Empire, but there are other countries too. With the skills that Murakumo-san and Yuri-san have, I think you could have gone to any country.”
At Emma’s tense expression, as if she was asking something she shouldn’t, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“That might be true. However, I had decided not to serve two masters. I had resolved to dedicate my life to one person as a knight.”
“The King of Ouka?”
“No, that’s not it. His Majesty was a good king, but the one I pledged my loyalty to was his daughter, the princess.”
“That princess is…”
Emma’s voice trembled. Since I was here, the outcome was clear.
“She died in the war with the Empire. She was about the same age as you are now, Emma. She was a beautiful and gentle lady. She never hated the Empire at all. Rather, she tried to understand them. She tried to understand Emperor Siegfried of the Empire. But His Majesty decided to fight. Emma, you’re the same. The princess did nothing wrong. She was simply caught up in it all.”
“…The princess tried to avoid war.”
“Yes, that’s right. But no one would listen to her voice. Even I thought it was natural to fight back then. ‘A knight should strike down the evil Empire,’ I believed. And we lost. Well, victory and defeat are the constants of warfare. That alone would have been fine, but the princess had to pay the price.”
I felt my face cloud over. Whether from anger, sadness, or shame, I couldn’t tell.
“Why did the princess have to?”
“The princess was a shrine maiden of the divine beast. The White Tiger, guardian deity of Ouka and one of the Four Sacred Beasts. The royal princesses have traditionally borne that responsibility. After our defeat, the only one who could protect the country was the White Tiger. The princess fought the Empire alongside the White Tiger to protect Ouka, and was shot with a gun. At that time, I wasn’t by her side. I couldn’t protect the master to whom I had sworn to dedicate my life.”
I met Emma’s eyes. She wore a gentle expression as if she were concerned about me. Though she looked nothing like her, I saw the princess’s face overlap with hers. …Ah, I see. Now I understand. I had been overlaying Emma with the princess. Two girls caught up in conflict by fate.
Both the princess and Emma possessed genuine kindness and strength. To me, that was unbearably dazzling.
“So, protecting you is also my atonement. This is my selfish desire. Let me protect you, Emma.”
“No, um… I’m not a princess or anything, well, I was technically a princess, but nothing so grand, and, um…”
Looking up, I could see Emma flustered and panicking. It was endearing, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Emma laughed shyly in response.
Seeing that smile at last, I felt relieved.
“No matter how many times the Imperial army comes, Emma, you just need to wait for our return in this fortress. I ask nothing more. Claude and Yuri think the same.”
With that, I returned to my sword practice.
This time, I’ll protect her—I swore it in my heart.
TLNOTE
While waiting for the next chapter, I encourage you, dear readers, to explore other masterpieces written by Daken-sensei :
- Monster Meat Led Me to the Throne
- Who killed the Hero?
- The Wicked Princess and 12 Eyes – The Strongest Squires and the Legendary Evil Woman, the Second Time in Her Life
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
- The Last Magic (translated by my friend narwhal)
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
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