“Huff! Huff!”
As usual, Keldric began his day with exercise. Sweat poured from him like rain, and next to him, Arno, who had been exercising together, quickly collapsed in exhaustion.
“Gasp! Huff…!”
“Your form is wrong. Keep your elbows steady.”
“Sir Keldric, this is too…!”
“If you want to fight, strengthening your body comes first.”
Keldric was teaching Arno how to fight.
Though he felt his own skills weren’t quite polished enough to instruct others, he figured he could at least teach the basics to help Arno survive. Arno had a sturdy frame and strong bones, promising traits. He could probably do well as a mercenary if he tried.
But that wasn’t exactly a happy life. From his encounters with mercenaries, Keldric knew their lives were harsh. It was no surprise that the profession was looked down upon, and mercenaries often found themselves in situations that spiraled out of control.
Before they knew it, they had raided villages, indulged in debauchery at brothels, or turned to banditry, only to be hunted down and killed.
On the other hand, staying by Keldric’s side required only a minimum level of fighting ability to keep oneself alive.
The world was vast and full of challenges and vile individuals. Keldric would face countless such trials, and Arno, who would be accompanying him, needed to learn how to fight, at least to a basic level.
“Take a break.”
Arno, completely worn out, collapsed onto the ground with a thud. His shoulders and chest heaved heavily as he panted.
“Don’t lie down. At least stand still while you rest. Lying down immediately isn’t good for you.”
“Yes, sir…”
The time they had in Spitzenberg was a welcome change. Since taking on Arno as his attendant, Keldric had always thought about training him, and now he finally had the chance.
But it wasn’t entirely pleasant.
“You’re slow to respond.”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind.”
Keldric looked up at the castle walls, deep in thought. The reply from Baron Spitzenberg was taking longer than expected.
Since arriving in Spitzenberg, Keldric had spent his time wandering the streets or visiting artisan workshops and blacksmiths to procure armor.
Two days had passed like that, and Keldric was beginning to question the baron’s intentions.
‘Is this really something to agonize over?’
Perhaps Keldric simply didn’t understand. He wasn’t well-versed in the political maneuvering between nobles.
From what he’d heard, Baron Spitzenberg was caught in a conflict between Count Bogenberg and Count Lassau. He was probably consulting his retainers to gather opinions.
That would explain why there had been no response to Keldric for two days. However, what puzzled him was whether this issue was truly such a complex political tangle.
If Baron Spitzenberg didn’t want to get involved, he could just declare neutrality.
Of course, Count Lassau, who blatantly sent mercenary bandits into another’s territory, might not accept such neutrality so easily.
Any noble with sound reasoning wouldn’t invade another’s land without a legitimate cause. But Count Lassau clearly wasn’t a normal noble.
However, Baron Spitzenberg found himself unable to choose a side, while Keldric, who needed an answer before Lent ended, was lost in thought.
From the baron’s perspective, both factions had their pros and cons.
Siding with Count Lassau’s faction would mean gaining the support of the emperor and putting pressure on Yaben Barony.
Conversely, joining Count Bogenberg’s faction would provide the significant task of saving Yaben Barony and align him with the group holding a larger share of the Electorate’s votes.
Either choice would benefit his territory in some way. It was unthinkable that neither faction would offer incentives to win over Baron Spitzenberg.
Whether it was partial mining rights from Count Bogenberg’s silver mines or certain tax privileges from Count Lassau’s lands, the options were numerous and difficult to weigh.
Of course, none of this was within Keldric’s realm of influence.
He wasn’t fond of idly sitting around with nothing to do. Not only was his body restless, but it was clear that inaction meant falling behind someone, somewhere.
Whether it was gathering information by wandering through Spitzenberg or finding a diviner to interpret the strange dream he’d had recently, he needed to do something.
Training Arno was just one of those things. Doing anything at all was a way to prove his worth as a knight.
After finishing exercise and training, he grabbed a quick meal and headed out into the streets. With little to do at the castle, his days consisted of either working out or exploring the town.
The Iron Claw Mercenary Company was staying separately at an inn. With nothing else to occupy their time, they were likely drinking away the money they’d received from Count Bogenberg.
“Let’s head to the workshop.”
Keldric made his way to the leatherworker’s shop, where he had left the wolf pelt given to him by Baron Spitzenberg to be made into a cloak.
The pelt had already been thoroughly tanned, allowing him to pick up the finished product relatively quickly.
As he strolled down the streets lined with stone buildings, guiding Boreas at a slow pace, Keldric kept a close eye on his surroundings. His caution was due to a suspicious figure he had noticed a few days earlier.
The Empire, as always, was in chaos, and it wasn’t unusual for unhinged individuals to wander about. Such people were precisely the ones Keldric needed to watch out for.
His brow furrowed slightly. The unsettling dream he’d had a few nights ago already weighed on his mind, and there was no shortage of things that felt off.
“Sir Keldric?”
“It’s nothing.”
He dismissed Alyssa’s questioning look and continued guiding Boreas.
Lent would end soon.
If Baron Spitzenberg didn’t deliver a clear response within the next two or three days, Keldric was prepared to carry out the “decisive communication” Count Bogenberg had mentioned.
Such action would mean resolving matters quickly and definitively, allowing him to return without prolonging his stay. There was no need to keep himself on edge.
After visiting the workshop and picking up a stylish wolf-fur cloak, browsing through armors to mark those he liked, and spending a few hours in the process, Keldric began his return.
“Ahhh!”
“A monster!”
Late in the evening, loud screams and frantic murmurs reached Keldric’s ears from near the inner castle.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
He’s right, it’s a world where things that could be considered monsters actually exist.
They were captured and labeled as demons, and although they were different from beasts, they were all the same in that they ate something and lived as part of the ecosystem.
And some of them didn’t hesitate to eat humans, or even kill them after playing with them for fun.
“Another monster.”
“Is this the seventh?”
“Eighth, and I’m sick of it.”
Keldric listened to the chatter amongst the gentry.
Another monster, and this is the eighth time.
At least that meant it hadn’t been a rare occurrence lately. Keldric’s brow furrowed as he approached the source of the screams.
Keldric’s brow furrowed.
‘The stench is…….’
Alyssa, sensitive to odors, was already clutching her nose tightly. With tears welling up in her eyes, Alyssa barely managed to speak in a muffled voice.
“It smells so bad. I don’t know what this is……….”
“We’ll have to check.”
The place where the sound had come from was now filled with people talking amongst themselves in a frenzy.
Most of them, like Alyssa, were holding their noses and grimacing, the sour stench only getting worse the closer they got.
Arno and Helga, who followed closely behind, were also sickened.
Everyone covered their noses, even Keldric, unable to bear the stench, clamped his nose and mouth with a cheap cloth. But the stench penetrated even that.
“This is horrible.”
“How could this happen…………. God!”
“Out of the way! Out of the way, everyone!”
Arno shouted, leading the way as a chamberlain, and the people, wanting to do something, then gasping at the sight of Keldric walking behind him, gave way.
The crowd parted to the right and left, drawing unnecessary attention. Keldric patted Arno’s shoulder a couple of times, nervously.
“……Well done.”
“Ah, no.”
The servant was about to exalt his master, and he couldn’t scold him for it.
Keldric walked slowly through the open gap, and soon came face to face with the source of the stench.
“What the…….”
It was a body. At first glance, it appeared to be a young woman, though that could only be discerned by her long, disheveled hair.
The condition of the body was equally horrific. Her stomach had been ripped open and her organs pulled out, some of them missing.
The stomach was nearly split in two by the digging, and the body was bloody everywhere. The gutted abdomen and chest pockets were splattered with an unidentifiable yellow, sticky liquid.
That’s where the foul odor was coming from. Cautiously crouching down, Keldric took a half-step back, shuddering at the strong odor that stung his nose.
“This is…….”
“That’s horrible, what kind of madman would do this?”
Alyssa was right, this wasn’t something that could be done with both eyes open by someone who wasn’t insane.
It was clear that this was not a case of suicide. This was murder—someone had killed her.
However, it was hard to tell if the perpetrator was a person or a monster. For a moment, a thought crossed Keldric’s mind: perhaps it was one of the wolves that often prowled the area.
But how?
It seemed unlikely that a wolf had scaled the walls of Spitzenberg’s fortress to get inside. Keldric could make no reasonable guesses.
Not particularly skilled as a detective, Keldric furrowed his brow and stepped back from the unfortunate woman’s body, unable to hide his frustration.
“I am Keldric of the House Bellaf, here on the orders of Johann Von Bogenberg, rightful lord of Bogenberg! Everyone, stand back!”
Terrified villagers scurried away, creating a wide circle around the body. The crowd’s retreat allowed the area to open up, making the corpse visible in its entirety.
Soldiers arrived belatedly, their pale faces betraying their unease as they glanced at the body.
Among them was the guard to whom Keldric had entrusted his weapon. Recognizing the man, Keldric approached and addressed him.
“You there. What on earth happened here?”
“Ah, Sir Keldric, that’s…”
The gate guard stammered, looking visibly uncomfortable. It wasn’t likely that he was reluctant to speak to Keldric out of disdain; rather, the situation seemed tangled in delicate matters.
“Has anyone gone to inform the Baron of Spitzenberg?”
“Yes, someone was sent a little while ago.”
“Good. Then we can relax for now. I’ll manage the situation until Baron Spitzenberg gives his orders. Please cooperate.”
“Understood.”
Handling a murder like this was the responsibility of the local lord, Baron Spitzenberg, not Keldric. After all, Keldric was merely a knight with no direct involvement in the happenings here, even if he had come under the authority of Count Bogenberg.
Still, as a knight, ignoring the gruesome sight of an innocent life taken without cause would have been dishonorable. Therefore, Keldric took minimal measures to maintain order.
He ensured that no one approached the body too closely and worked to calm the panicked villagers, encouraging them to return to their daily routines.
“You son of a bitch! A monster again?!”
“My lord!”
Just then, to Keldric’s surprise, Baron Spitzenberg himself stormed onto the scene, his fury manifest in the coarse language he shouted.
Keldric awkwardly stepped back a few paces from the body. Whatever else he didn’t know, one thing was certain:
There was a monster in Spitzenberg.
And it was a monster that was killed with horrifying brutality.