The Archer of Beast Woods

by Kanata Yanagino

  “Hm? You mean—”

  I nodded. “My friend Meneldor called to the elementals, dispersed the Words, and made the wyvern plummet to earth by manipulating the wind.”

  “Then he is the elementalist. I see. What about the others?”

  “They were me.”

  “Sorry, could you explain in detail what exactly you did?”

  “First, I attempted an independent lightning strike against the wyvern. This failed. With the help of Meneldor’s powers, I attempted a second strike. This succeeded in provoking the wyvern and luring it to us. After that, I attempted to use the Sanctuary prayer to prevent it from swooping in and managed to kill its momentum, but unfortunately, after the wyvern emitted a mysterious corrupting gas, I ultimately allowed it to break through...”

  Describing my own failures out loud was making me feel a little pathetic. Mary would have been able to stave off the attack for sure.

  “Things were looking precarious for a moment, but with Meneldor’s elementals helping by providing a burst of downwards air, I forced the wyvern down into the front garden with the Word of Knotting. A crowd was still assembled in the area, so I aimed to finish the wyvern off not with highly destructive magic, but by stabbing my spear into its heart. However, I failed at this.”

  Blood would have given me a strange look for making a mistake like that. I seriously needed to go back and train again from the ground up.

  “The wyvern was on the verge of breathing fire and causing casualties in the crowd, so I had no choice but to take the offensive once more, this time with my bare hands. It tried to bite me. I dodged. I grabbed its neck and threw it against the ground, held it down, and throttled it to prevent it from breathing fire. I had magically enhanced my strength beforehand, so I remained in that position and let my muscles do the rest, the battle concluding with me breaking the wyvern’s neck.”

  What a mucky fight. After I finished outlining the battle—a battle which, for me, left a lot of regrets—the duke’s mouth twisted into a crooked smile. “So you killed a wyvern and aren’t even proud. It pleases me to see that truly brave warriors exist not just in legend.” And he chuckled.

  ◆

  “If Your Excellency doesn’t mind me saying, are you sure you can afford to spend time talking to me like this?” I asked. “Don’t you need to be helping the city handle the damage done by the wyvern?” With many civil servants and people who seemed to be military officers busily moving around, things had looked pretty hectic outside the mansion.

  “Of course. I have seen to a number of things already, and I have much more to do after you leave as well. Reports, instructions, visiting the sites personally and offering reassurance, hearing petitions...” The duke humorously counted them off on his fingers. “But there are matters of higher priority.” He looked at me. “For example... giving my thanks to the hero who solved the root problem.” He gave me a roguish smile.

  “Oh, no, you don’t need to...”

  “Do not humble yourself. I do not wish for my people to speak ill of me and call me a man who doesn’t know gratitude.” The duke sat up straight and faced me and Menel. “On behalf of Whitesails, I would like to express my gratitude to the both of you. Thank you for greatly limiting the damage that could have been caused by that sudden wyvern attack.” He even bowed slightly.

  Even I realized that a person with this much power bowing their head was not a normal occurrence. Some people may think that it doesn’t cost a person anything to bow and is of little consequence, but when you become someone this powerful, bowing to others will cause you to lose your authority.

  “Your words are wasted on me. I am honored.” I bowed back.

  But... Oh gods. Thinking of what was about to unfold was giving me a serious knot in my stomach. But I couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste.

  “I would very much like it if you would accept a reward,” he said. “Do you have anything in mind?”

  “I do.” This was probably going to cause me big problems, but I had to commit to it. Okay, I thought. Here goes nothing. “I came here today through Beast Woods, to the south. The villages of said region are currently being menaced by demons in command of ferocious beasts.”

  “I see.”

  “Firstly, I would like to confirm—does Your Excellency have the power to mobilize soldiers to hunt demons? Is that possible?”

  A serious look came over his face. “Speaking purely in terms of capability, it would not be impossible. Not impossible, but certainly difficult. You saw that wyvern,” he said, massaging his temple in little circles. “We never foresaw a monster that great coming directly to Whitesails, but we have been experiencing similar monster incidents frequently within the areas of Southmark governed by the Fertile Kingdom.”

  I was almost afraid to ask. “When you say similar incidents...”

  “Yes, I mean that strange, toxic miasma. Those touched by it are corrupted by the poison and go berserk.” He explained that beasts with that stuff flowing through their body were rampant right now. “What about you, William? You had your arms around the neck of that wyvern as the gas flowed from it. Has it not affected you?”

  “I don’t poison easily, Your Excellency.”

  “I am glad to hear it. Soldiers often collapse after a fight with those beasts, you see.”

  Thinking back on what had happened with the god of undeath, it looked like these kinds of poisons didn’t affect my body, which had been raised on holy bread. So that was what happened when an ordinary person came in contact with that miasma... And there were many monsters like that...? This was probably, no, definitely the demons’ doing.

  “We are spread too thin as a result of the previous King’s expansion policies. We are unable to even provide adequate protection to all of the villages that are under our governance. I hope you can understand what I’m saying.”

  I could, and what he had left unsaid, as well. Under such circumstances, he couldn’t spare troops for independent settlements on the frontier, which neither paid taxes to the Fertile Kingdom nor were under its aegis. If he did, he would face backlash from the villages that were a part of it. He couldn’t pull his forces from those paying their way and give them to those not paying a penny. In terms of capability, it was technically possible, but practically speaking, impossible without a doubt.

  “In that case—” I’d found out what I needed to. Now for the real talk. “Could Your Excellency grant me permission to organize adventurers and hire mercenaries at private expense to hunt the demons?”

  I’d been thinking about it for some time. There was no way I could go out on my own and hunt down the huge number of demons running rampant in Beast Woods. And if I couldn’t do it alone, I was going to have to spend money to hire people and increase my numbers.

  But the moment I asked, I saw the Duke of Southmark’s temple twitch. He silently brought his hands up to his eyes and rubbed his temples again and then, slowly, he returned his gaze to me.

  “William, do you understand the meaning of what you have just asked me?” He stared at me hard. The mood inside the room slowly began to change.

  ◆

  “I do understand the magnitude of what I am asking for.”

  “And still you request it?”

  “Yes.”

  The Duke stared at me for a long time. I felt like I’d just learned the true meaning of the phrase, “powerful eyes.” That stare alone would be more than enough to make a person of weak temperament quake in their boots and withdraw their opinions. But I had my oath to fulfill.

  “I beg you to consider just how many villages will otherwise be put to the torch, how many people will end their lives amid hunger and suffering and violence.”

  “But to save them all would be a feat so great that not even the gods could accomplish it.”

  We stared at each other, neither backing down.

  The duke was the first to look away. Then he shrugged. “What rotten luck,” he muttered. “This would have bee
n far easier had you simply been a man of no repute.”

  “I sympathize fully, Your Excellency. That said, had I not killed the wyvern, I may not have been granted an audience.”

  The duke put his hands up to his eyes and rubbed his temples again. It was probably his tic. “Quite. However...” He fell silent.

  The accomplished Wyvern Killer was already starting to act undesirably.

  It was just as he had said: if I were just an ordinary man who couldn’t bear to see the border areas in such a state and wanted to gather a few people at private expense and do a little bit of demon hunting, that would have been fine. He would probably have been able to overlook that. The reality was that this world was full of evil races, and hiring adventurers because the lord couldn’t respond fast enough wasn’t uncommon at all, so that would have been within the limits of acceptability.

  But I was none other than the hero known as the Wyvern Killer, who was furthermore being mistaken as having some noble background; and I was declaring my intent to assemble forces that could potentially serve as a private army, and operate in Beast Woods, an area to which the lord’s power didn’t currently extend.

  What’s dangerous about that, you ask? Only that there are so many potential risks stacked on top of one another in that scenario that it’s impossible to list them all. For example, I could become the leader of a rebel movement. I might be acting in another country’s interest. I could overdo it and end up provoking the forest beasts and evil races instead.

  So the prudent course of action was obvious.

  “I must give consideration to having you killed.”

  The duke suddenly looked a lot more intimidating.

  “That’s frightful. How will you say I died?”

  “I will leave you with your dignity, that at least I promise. How about this: you suddenly started coughing up blood, presumably poisoned from your battle with the wyvern. We tried to treat you, but alas.”

  The solemn guards standing behind the King’s brother shifted slightly. The moment he gave them the order, I was sure those two would kick over the desk and lunge at me.

  I could probably dispatch those two, but I thought I sensed soldiers concealed in hidden rooms on the left and right, who would probably try to hack me to pieces. I would also have to worry about projectiles. The duke himself looked quite skilled, too. And if he ordered them to, the guards would go on the defense while he retreated, so it would be difficult to take him hostage...

  Just in case this developed into a battle, I found myself thinking about how it would play out, but the truth was that there was really no point thinking about it. Even if I could kill everyone in this mansion, it would be the end of me socially. It was never an option.

  “Oh?” The duke’s eyes flickered towards Menel. “Oh my... How frightening.” He made a big show of shrugging his shoulders. Wondering if something had happened, I turned to look behind me, but only saw Menel standing there, expressionless.

  “What?” he said.

  “I thought... Never mind.”

  Hm. What was that? I couldn’t keep looking at Menel, so I turned back to the duke.

  I may have brought this on myself, but even so, things were not headed in a good direction. I had to get through this situation. My hands were getting clammy under the table. I had no confidence that this was going to work...

  “Your Excellency.”

  “What?”

  “If the salt of the earth loses its flavor, with what will it be salted?”

  ◆

  “Hmm?” The duke regarded my sudden question with suspicion.

  I continued. “If all the world’s torch bearers remain under the light of day, on what will their torches shine?”

  He said nothing. I looked into his keen eyes. I met his gaze. I didn’t look away, I didn’t flinch. I looked straight at him.

  “I have been gifted with a portion of the light of Gracefeel, god of the flame.”

  Look into his eyes, I kept telling myself.

  “I believe that those who carry the torch of Gracefeel must take the first step into darkness, ahead of all others. They must shine a light on people suffering in the dark, and show the way to those that would follow them. I believe that to be my mission.”

  Face what’s in front of you. Appeal to him with words from the heart. That was the only way, and the right way. Affectation and trickery were clearly going to be counterproductive against this man.

  “So I beg you. Can you grant me some form of permission for my activities?” I got up from my chair, kneeled down, and lowered my head in a deep bow. I wasn’t being clever or wily. I was just being completely straight with him. It might have been naïve, but I thought that if you were going to make an unreasonable request of someone, you owed it to them to be honest.

  The duke was silent.

  “William,” he said, after a long pause. “In almost all cases, that road leads to despair. It will rarely lead to the result you desired, and even if it does, you will be paying a hefty price for it.”

  Hearing those words, I slowly raised my head, and smiled at His Excellency. I know that, I thought. But all the same—

  “The thing is, I have some business with despair,” I commented.

  “Oh? What kind of business is that?”

  “Well, I just don’t like the looks of it, so I was planning on kicking its ass until it gets the message,” I said, shrugging.

  The duke looked a little stunned at my answer for a moment... and then he burst out laughing. “Hahahah! Kicking its ass, huh. I like that. Hah hah hah!”

  It had gone over well. The duke was holding his sides and slapping the table. There were even tears in his eyes.

  “Haha. Yes... That was a good reminder. You are, after all, a high priest, who even wields the prayer of Sanctuary. Not to mention the good friend you have!”

  “Huh? Uhh...”

  “Hm? You didn’t notice? The instant I mentioned killing you, that half elf behind you had the nerve to shoot me a murderous glare. Those were the eyes of a soldier ready to die for his cause. He was prepared to kill everyone here and go down fighting to protect you! Most impressive, most impressive...” The duke laughed.

  I slowly turned back to look at Menel.

  “Th-That’s bull! I was just... steeling myself, figured he’d kill me as well, that’s all... Dammit, quit grinning like an idiot!”

  I didn’t realize I was, but it made Menel’s mood even worse.

  Suddenly, from somewhere down the corridor, I heard a rush of stomping footsteps and a great deal of shouting.

  ◆

  “B-Bishop, I beg you to stop, His Excellency is engaged in conversation—”

  “Wait! Dad, wait!”

  “Let go of me! I said let go!”

  I could hear all kinds of voices.

  “Stop with your meddling, you witless fools!”

  The door flew open with a bang.

  It was Bishop Bagley. He was followed by a train of the mansion’s servants, a young woman who I assumed was a deacon, and more besides. Breathing heavily, he tromped into the room, dragging people along as they clung to him in protest, and without any reservation, he stood before the duke.

  The bishop’s eyes glinted in a different way than Ethelbald’s, and he took a moment to glare at him before opening his mouth. “I would greatly appreciate it if Your Excellency would refrain from this sort of bullheaded behavior.”

  “Oh? Bullheaded behavior? To what do you refer, Bishop Bagley?” He shrugged as he asked, looking almost amused.

  “Do not take me for a fool!” The bishop stomped loudly on the floor. “This young man,” he shouted, pointing at me, “is registered at my temple! Temporary arrangement or otherwise, he is a member of the temple! Yet you beckon him here without a single word of notice! What is the meaning of this?! Does Your Excellency mean to completely disregard the temple’s authority?!” He was so incensed he hardly paused for breath.

  “Oh, I see... I had no id
ea. Is that true?”

  “Um... yes.” I did write my name in the register. But that had clearly not been anything very important... It was more like a guest book or something...

  “Ignorance is no excuse! Just because I was absent does not give you license to ignore verification procedure!”

  “That may be so, but the people at your temple seemed quite happy to send him here.”

  “A simple lack of training! I will give them a good scolding later!!” he said, and slammed his bloated hand, covered in gold and silver rings, on the table. The way the fat wobbled from the impact looked somehow ridiculous. “In any case, he belongs to this temple! It is not acceptable for Your Excellency to freely—”

  “That is where you are mistaken, Bishop. He is more than that.”

  “What...?”

  “He asked me to let him form a private army. He says he wants to save the poor people of Beast Woods.”

  “What?!” The bishop’s head snapped towards me this time. “Y-Yo-You...” he sputtered, his eyes wide.

  “To be honest, I would be lying if I said the thought of killing him didn’t cross my mind.”

  The bishop was speechless now, and his mouth was flapping open and closed like that of a goldfish.

  “But he spoke his mind so openly,” the duke continued, “that I found myself intrigued.”

  “Wh—?!”

  “I am thinking of appointing him as a knight. What would you say, Bishop, about the temple giving its blessing?”

  “Wh-What?!”

  “You know, a holy knight. A paladin. Both I and the temple would take equal share of the responsibility and the profits... Well?”

  “WHAAAAT?!”

  He was so loud. The entire room was trembling.

  “He would fall under our joint authority, and if it came to it, you could always have him excommunicated.”

  “That is not the issue!”

  “The temple can attest to his good character, and with him being the Wyvern Killer... Yes, I’m sure it will work out.”