Chapter 23 - 2-13
Yugis and Haider were teasing Cloden at the same tavern as yesterday, the "Karehazaka Sake-tei."
"My family had a beautiful white cat as well. Truly, it was a cat of such... voluptuousness,"
Haider said with a composed face, to which Yugis asked,
"Did that thing catch any mice?"
"Oh, absolutely. It was a master at catching mice."
"So he says. I'd love to see you get eaten, Cloden."
Cloden Danforth rested his cheek on his hand with a sullen expression.
"Funny, real funny. Old man,"
he called out to the proprietor. The proprietor was a man with black hair, a flushed face, and small eyes, who called Cloden "young master." He had reportedly been a knight of Dint before becoming a tavern owner.
"Yes, sir?"
"Another beer. And—no, never mind. Necrat."
Yugis looked back in the direction of Cloden's gaze.
A large young man with short-cropped platinum hair approached with a leisurely stride, stepping around the tables.
"Yo, Yugis."
Ness D. Syllabus sat down in an empty seat. "Forget what I said this morning. I had planned to have a duel, but I've decided against it."
"That's a shame."
Ness narrowed his eyes and looked at Yugis. "You don't seem very surprised."
Ness's gaze also fell upon the faces of Haider and Cloden. Yugis and the others remained silent.
It would be so wonderful if I could say, 'The princess took my side and stepped in.'
If they knew the princess did not wish for Yugis's death, these fellows would stop interfering so casually.
But if he said it, it would likely cause trouble for Princess Lucy.
—After all, that person is on the Thora family's side.
Yugis thought, as if whipping himself.
The proprietor came over and placed a cup of beer in front of Ness.
"Welcome."
"Yeah." Ness Syllabus reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold coin. "Is this enough?"
"Of course it is. Right now—"
"No, it's fine. Just let these guys drink as much as they want."
"That's a problem," Haider said immediately.
"Don't worry about it. More importantly, you."
Yugis was, in truth, breaking into a cold sweat on his back.
"What?"
"Do you do swordsmanship?"
"Swordsmanship is a skill for infantry. I intend to be a knight."
"You won't do it?"
"No."
Far from not doing it, he had been thoroughly trained at Adaberta Castle.
"Keep at it."
Gulping down his beer, Ness Syllabus stood up.
"Wait, how did you find this place?"
The big man smiled at Yugis.
"I went to your boarding house and asked your servant where you were. Later."
"Why—"
He wanted to ask, You know where my boarding house is? but Ness's sturdy back was already moving away. He might have gone out of his way to ask people around until he tracked him down.
"What do you think? About the swordsmanship part,"
Cloden said in a lowered voice once Ness had departed.
"He might be surprisingly skilled," Haider Skyner said, stroking his chin. "It looked as if he were giving Yugis advice, but it also sounded like a confident declaration of war. In any case, he will find another opportunity to challenge you."
"Maybe."
Yugis answered. He thought the reason Ness Syllabus came here was likely a simpler impulse. Most likely, that man had wanted to apologize. Since he hadn't actually done anything, he wouldn't truly apologize, but perhaps something had been weighing on his chest. He might be a good guy at heart.
"Even a man like that probably doesn't want to kill people for pleasure."
"I think Ness Syllabus had an intuition," Haider said, glancing back toward the tavern entrance once. "That you would do something again someday."
"I intend to do something," Yugis responded.
"Do what?" Cloden raised his eyes sharply.
"Bite the Thora family."
The table felt as if it had turned cold.
After a moment of silence, Haider Skyner started to say something. Yugis cut him off and continued.
"Wait. I won't ask you to blindly follow me. But first, I want you to hear my thoughts. Right now, the world is at peace. I have no intention of destroying this peace. If we quietly obey them, this peace will likely continue. If I return to my hometown, I am a scion. I don't know how much value that title holds, but I want to fulfill the responsibilities that come with being called that. In other words, I want to protect this peace. To protect this peace, we must lose to the Thora family. That is the reality. As long as we don't rebel, Siddim is at peace."
"Heh, I wonder about that..."
Yugis silenced Cloden, who looked like he wanted to say something, with the palm of his hand.
"However, even so, I intend to bite the Thora family. For one, I was nearly killed today. I can't stand being killed over something of that level. If I don't strike back, my own life is in danger. For another, the people of the Third Army won't listen to our voices. On the contrary, they try to silence us with swords. It would be fine if our claims had a bit more meaning. I see no bad reason for it. For our existence to have value greater than scrap. Out of the countless stars, it should be fine for one of them to twinkle for us. Isn't it? Before I lose, I want to make them understand at least that much."
"How?" Cloden asked shortly.
"I think the Thora family's control is firm. They even have such good knights." Yugis had been impressed by Ness Syllabus's dignified attitude. "I think a method that appeals to the sword, like starting a private feud, is impossible."
"And?" Haider urged.
"Unite the followers and start a faction." Saying this, Yugis brought the cup to his lips.
Haider looked at Cloden.
Cloden gave a small nod. "I guess that's fine."
"Are you in?" Yugis smiled, becoming happy.
"In or not..."
"We've intended that from the start."
"We were waiting for you to say so."
"I thought Haider should be the leader, but since Haider pushed for you, I spoke to you."
"As soon as Cloden arrived in the royal capital, he visited my boarding house, saying, 'Do something about the Thora family.'"
"I didn't say it like that. I said that if we don't strike a blow and create an advantageous position before being swallowed by the Thora family, the East will be treated like slaves in the future."
"That's it. I agreed wholeheartedly, so I recommended you. If it's you, you'll pull it off."
"I wonder."
"You have dissatisfactions, don't you?"
"I do. Enough to sell them off cheap."
"If you have dissatisfactions, then fight. Aren't we knights? I think if it's with you, I can do it."
Perhaps because he was drunk, he didn't feel intimidated. Rather, he was in high spirits.
"Let's start moving tomorrow. It seems the lectures at the King's School will begin soon,"
Cloden said.
"We need something like a platform. It'll get complicated if there are interests in our hometown territories, so something like... a shared ambition we can unite under—"
"No, I think it'd be easier to gather people if we launch some kind of easy-to-understand project and recruit participants."
"What about funds?"
"Collect them bit by bit from the followers."
Yugis watched the two of them discussing animatedly with a pleasant feeling. He was completely drunk. The two were talking about money.
—I wonder if the princess
could provide financial aid. Yugis thought fuzzily. It was certainly impossible. Biting the Thora family was the same as biting Princess Lucy. No, that wasn't all. Even the white-haired noblewoman Krisina he met today was likely a person of the Thora side. She is the princess's lady-in-waiting.
Does Cloden understand that? He probably does. That might be why he doesn't go to see his fiancée.
Before he knew it, his two companions were looking at Yugis.
"What?" he asked with drunken eyes,
"Weren't you listening?" Cloden bared his teeth. "Protecting some shop—"
"Hey, you two, you're forgetting something important." Leaning his body on the table from the backrest, Yugis spoke. "First, let's celebrate."
"That's right!"
Haider stood up from his seat. He must be in a good mood; he was unusually excited.
"Listen up, listen up," he said in a voice that echoed through the shop.
The customers at the tables quieted down.
"Excuse me, everyone, please celebrate with us. Today is our departure—"
"Departure for follower big brothers?" one of the customers said. "What are we supposed to celebrate?"
In Malfa City, followers were looked down upon this much.
Haider did not flinch.
"The future! The hereafter! We would be honored if you could bless our tomorrow!"
"Have you finally gotten motivated?" a different drunkard from before said with a serious face.
"No need for prying," Haider wore a smile. "Proprietor, please give everyone a drink with that gold coin from earlier."
The Karehazaka Sake-tei erupted.
Cheers and applause surged. Moreover, it wouldn't stop. He heard voices saying, "Go for it!" "Don't lose!" "Do your best!" Such voices reached him.
Yugis widened his eyes and looked around at the rejoicing drunk customers. Were they just amused, or were they simply welcoming the alcohol?
It seemed different. There was something.
The applause still didn't stop. One customer stood up, a second followed, and eventually, every person in the shop stood up to celebrate Yugis and the others.
Yugis looked alternately at the faces of Haider and Cloden.
The two of them also seemed taken aback by the strange heat.
There must be something. Probably, something is here.