Claude had grown fond of the place called the deck. Located on the upper part of the airship, it offered a panoramic view of the outside scenery, with clouds spreading endlessly below.
The other crew members didn’t approach the deck much. While the airship was a stable vehicle, strong winds could throw off its balance. Being on deck at such times carried the ever-present fear of falling. Thanks to this, Claude could enjoy the scenery alone at his leisure.
However, something Claude himself hadn’t noticed was that he had a tendency to avoid contact with people who knew he was a jinrou (werewolf). This was due to his experience of being ostracized the moment his werewolf nature was discovered, ever since childhood. Even if he shut himself in his assigned room, he might hear people talking about him in the hallway. For Claude, that was nothing short of terror. So the deck, with no people around and where the sound of wind drowned out noises from inside the ship, was the perfect place for him.
However, the door to the deck, used almost exclusively by Claude, creaked open.
“Thief, so you were here.”
The one who appeared was Siegfried. He had two Imperial Guards with him as escorts. From their bearing, Claude could tell these guards were skilled knights. Moreover, one of them was glaring at him with obviously hostile eyes. He seemed like a hot-blooded young man.
Well, of course they wouldn’t like a thief, Claude thought with inward bitter laughter.
Unaware of his escorts’ demeanor behind him, Siegfried advanced to the very center of the deck. There was still distance between him and Claude, who was leaning against the railing at the edge of the deck. But the Emperor called out from that position.
“Are you not afraid? This is a place where you might fall to the ground if the wind blows, you know?”
“Heh, how cowardly for His Majesty the Emperor who intends to rule the world. If you’ve got something to say, come over here. Or are you scared?”
At Claude’s mocking words, the Imperial Guards bristled with killing intent, but Siegfried remained composed. Raising one hand, he sent the guards back inside the airship.
“I am afraid. And not just of this place. I fear all things. Born without hands or feet, I am the most fragile of beings. I could not even defeat a puppy.”
“Hmph, being born into the Emperor’s family, you’d at least have enough change left over. Even without hands and feet, you’ve got more convenient metal limbs, right? You’re blessed.”
“Then shall I cut off your hands and give you these mechanical arms instead? I’m known for my generosity. It’ll be free, you know?”
At Siegfried thrusting his right hand toward him, Claude was taken aback. No matter how convenient they might be, metal could never be better than a living body. It was an uncomfortable truth.
“Thief, you are the one who is afraid.”
“…Of what?”
“Of people. You fear people, don’t you? Because you are a werewolf, you have always been troubled by human malice. So you fear people and keep them at a distance.”
“What the hell do you know? Don’t talk like you understand!”
Claude’s face twisted into a fierce expression, as if revealing his werewolf nature.
“Understand? You’re quite the romantic for your rough appearance, thief. People cannot understand each other. Therefore, I do not understand you either. But…”
Siegfried wore a fleeting smile.
“I have always faced malice. Ever since I was born, in fact. My father and mother despised me. Everyone treated me as less than human. Because I had no hands or feet, I possessed neither the means to protect myself from that malice nor the means to escape it. If I had hands, I could have covered my ears. If I had feet, I could have run away. Thief, can you understand me?”
Claude was stunned. He could easily imagine Siegfried being constantly exposed to malice. What kind of hell must that have been? Why was this man before him able to remain dignified without becoming servile, despite all that?
“…You’re right, I can’t casually say I understand. Still, I ain’t afraid of humans, but in deference to His Majesty the Emperor, I’ll let it slide this time.”
After breathing out a light laugh, Claude’s expression became somewhat clearer.
“So what exactly do you want with me? You didn’t come here just to compare sob stories, did you?”
“Of course not, thief. You see, I have come to consult with you about something.”
“Consult? The Emperor, with me?”
“Indeed. I have been severely betrayed by those I considered friends. Though our relationship involved mutual wariness and probing, Garnets and the Black Knight were still men I could call friends. I cannot say such things before other retainers, though. So I’ve been thinking about what words to throw at them when I meet them. Preferably something satisfying that would clear this humiliation. However, they probably know roughly what I’m likely to say. That’s where you come in, Claude. Being a thief, you surely know some common folk’s curses that neither I nor Garnets would think of, don’t you?”
At Siegfried’s words, Claude smiled wryly.
“I see. I’m certainly the right guy to consult about something like that. You’ve got a good eye, I’ll give you that… How about this? I don’t know what this Castle of Canaan thing is, but those ruins are something the Garnets wanted desperately. After we smash it to pieces, we’ll say this: ‘Serves you right!’ Something simple like that works best.”
Claude and the others had heard about the Castle of Canaan from Siegfried. They knew it might possess power that could influence the world. Emma had been hiding this fact, but that didn’t bother them. It was something they couldn’t care less about.
“Serves you right? What does that mean?”
“It’s a phrase to mock someone’s failure. Come on, try saying it—it’ll feel refreshing.”
“Hmm, serves you right… Not bad.”
Siegfried smiled slightly.
Even after the Emperor left, Claude remained on the deck. He had a slight premonition—
a feeling that someone else would come.
And indeed, the deck door opened again.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
It was the young guard who had been glaring at Claude earlier.
“Done protecting the Emperor already?”
Claude responded with a casual remark.
“It was just time for the shift change. No problem.”
“I see. So what do you want with me?”
“To put it bluntly, I don’t like you. Your familiar attitude toward His Majesty. Your countless acts of disrespect. And the fact that you’re a werewolf.”
Claude couldn’t help but shrug his shoulders. When someone was that direct, it was almost refreshing.
“His Majesty has a generous heart and forgives me. Maybe you should learn from him, subordinate?”
“His Majesty possesses great magnanimity. But I’m just an ordinary man. I can’t let things go so easily.”
With that declaration, the guard drew his sword.
“Murakumo is a renowned and famous knight, and Yuri is a genius mage known far and wide. So I can still understand why His Majesty hired them. But you’re just a thief. And to top it off, your true identity is that of a filthy werewolf. Who could possibly trust you?”
“I never asked anyone to trust me.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
Claude began transforming his body into that of a werewolf. The young man was cocky, but he had presence. Besides, before fighting the Black Knights, Claude wanted to get used to moving in his werewolf form.
“So you show your true nature, you wolf. Very well, here I come.”
The next moment, a sharp strike came flying like a whirlwind. It was an ideal sword technique where the step-in and swing formed a unified motion. Claude wasn’t being careless, but he hastily jumped backward to avoid it.
(This guy’s good!)
Without a moment to catch his breath, second and third strikes followed.
He wasn’t as skilled as Murakumo, but his sword carried the vigor of youth. Being attacked one-sidedly, Claude managed to regain his stance by moving around the deck like he was flying.
Then he bared his fangs, sharpened his claws, and let out a threatening growl.
But the guard showed no fear.
“You think that’s enough to intimidate me? I know your kind’s methods. My father once participated in werewolf hunts. And many knights died by your hands—because of you filthy mutts.”
That provocation made Claude lose his temper and charge forward.
“Don’t mess with me! You bastards were the ones who attacked us first!”
The werewolf’s rage was exactly what the knight had anticipated. He planned to provoke Claude into charging, then cut him down.
—But that speed exceeded his expectations.
He managed to deflect the right claw with his sword and parry the left claw. However, in that moment, the wolf’s head twisted in, and vicious fangs aimed for his throat. He barely avoided it by twisting his body away, but the sinister sound of fang against fang rang out right by his ear with a click, sending a chill down his spine.
Unable to bear it, he kicked the werewolf in the stomach to forcibly create distance, then the knight attacked again on his own initiative. Claude immediately responded. Sword and claws clashed, and several dry sounds echoed through the air.
For a while, the battle remained evenly matched, but as time passed, Claude began to gain the advantage. The difference in stamina between human and werewolf was starting to show. The guard’s movements were gradually losing their sharpness. But he showed no signs of giving up. The guard furrowed his brow deeply, gritted his teeth, and stubbornly resisted.
“Persistent fool!”
Claude deflected the sword with his right claw, made a fist with his left hand, and punched the guard, sending him flying.
A dull sound transmitted through both their bodies, and the guard was slammed onto the deck planks.
“…Why didn’t you use your claws?”
Still lying down without trying to get up, the guard groaned.
“What’s the point of crushing a capable ally before fighting the Garnets? If you want to be slashed up with claws so badly, I’ll face you again after everything’s over. Then I’ll give you all the claws and fangs you want.”
Claude returned his body to human form.
“Why did you bother picking a fight with me? For something serious, you lacked killing intent.”
Though he had thrown provocative words, his sword didn’t carry the malice his words suggested.
That was another reason why Claude had refrained from slashing with his claws.
“…My father also died in a werewolf hunt, killed in return.”
The guard’s words made Claude’s face contort.
“Let me be clear—I don’t resent you for it. But my father was disgraced. Hopelessly so. At first, he was praised as ‘a knight who bravely fought werewolves.’ For a while after the funeral, anyway. But gradually, people began whispering behind his back, calling him ‘a knight who fell behind against mere werewolves.’ When I was a kid, I was constantly teased about it. Children don’t hold back, you know. And there was jealousy and resentment toward knights mixed in. The fact that a knight—supposedly one of the chosen ones—lost and died was just a perfect target for mockery.”
“What a shitty story.”
Claude muttered as if spitting out the words.
“Yeah, it’s a shitty story.”
The guard smiled faintly.
“When I thought about how my father fought and died for people like that, it made me furious. He was ordered that ‘werewolves are demons and must be exterminated,’ and he died following that command. The shame of my father being killed by a werewolf followed me everywhere. No matter how much I improved my skills, that fact was persistently thrown in my face. To me, humans seemed far more demonic. So I always wanted to defeat a werewolf someday to clear my father’s disgrace, or…”
The guard, who had finally managed to sit up, shook his head lightly from side to side.
“I wanted to truly understand that ‘werewolves are strong.’ That losing wasn’t shameful. Fighting you, I understood that clearly. So if anyone talks badly about you, I’ll beat them up and set them straight. ‘That guy is strong. At least stronger than you.’ Well, whether I can trust you is a separate matter.”
Claude couldn’t help but smile wryly.
“I’m a thief. I’ll work as long as the Empire has money.”
“I hope so. But this is the truth…”
The guard finally stood up and looked straight at Claude.
“If something happens to us, please protect His Majesty—Siegfried-sama. He promoted me without caring about rumors. He ignores all the petty nonsense of society and will surely build a wonderful nation. He’s someone worth protecting.”
“Our contract is to deal with the Black Knights—protecting the Emperor isn’t included. But…”
Claude flashed his teeth in a grin.
“If the client dies, I’ll miss out on my payment. As a thief, working for free wouldn’t look good. So I’ll take care to watch out for him.”
The guard nodded with satisfaction upon hearing those words.
After this, Claude began walking through the airship without worrying about people’s stares.
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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