Chapter 31: Chapter 31

At Maya’s words, Shan lightly pinched his forearm and scratched it with his fingernail.

Yet despite his uniquely keen senses, he did not feel that anything had particularly changed.

At this, Maya spoke with a look as if watching something cute.

“You won’t feel anything yet. There is only a really slight, very tiny change.”

“Why is it suddenly getting hard?”

“It’s because a portion of the cockatrice’s physical traits has settled in your skin.”

When the blue-haired girl beside her, Chery, answered instead, Shan asked in bewilderment.

“Are you saying I’m turning into a cockatrice?”

“Judging by the progression of the change, I don’t think it will go that far. At most, you’ll just become slightly sturdier than others.”

Along with her answer, Chery shook the glass vial containing a mixture of Shan’s blood and liquid, wearing an expression as if tasting an exquisite delicacy.

“Since ancient times, the concept of cannibalism (that eating a powerful opponent after killing them allows you to absorb their strength) was widely spread. There were also stories of heroes born with fearsome monstrous strength or skin as hard as steel. But systematically observing such a phenomenon in reality is probably a first.”

The girl’s originally pale face flushed red with intellectual euphoria.

Nibbling gently on her lips, Chery asked Shan in a tone that was half talking to herself and half questioning.

“Just what is the condition? Is it because of the Demonic Realm? Or is it because you are an Altoan? Did you happen to eat it after killing it?”

“No. I haven’t tried, but it was probably too tough to eat.”

The beast did not just have hard skin; its inner flesh was also exceedingly tough.

To eat something like that, one would probably need teeth hard enough and jaws strong enough to chew through wood.

“Is there anything else special?”

“I did happen to get drenched in its blood after killing it.”

“Well, unless you killed it with a bow, that would naturally happen. In any case, getting blood on your body could also be a prerequisite, so let me note that down… Actually, I do have a guess. Plenty of people have hunted large monsters so far, but most of them were group hunts. Hey, beard mister over there?”

“Yup, Prin…! Uh, no. Yeah.”

“Even if you didn’t fight, you said you were right beside him, right? How far were you when the cockatrice died?”

“It must have been pretty far… I don’t know for sure, but maybe several dozen meters to a hundred meters…?”

“And yet you didn’t have any similar reaction at all. As expected. The spirituality of ordinary monsters is too small in quantity to manifest even if absorbed by the hunter, and a large monster of this scale must not have manifested because its spirituality was divided among multiple hunters. It’s a privilege for those who slay powerful monsters alone. If a cockatrice is like this, what happens if someone slays an even stronger monster alone? What about directly killing thousands or tens of thousands of people? I don’t know if that’s even possible, though…”

Shan nodded at her mutterings, hardly understanding half of it.

The girl, who had babbled on for a while as if unable to contain her excitement, soon cleared her throat as though calming down.

Afterwards, after spending quite some time writing and revising text with a quill alongside Maya, Chery adjusted her amethyst spectacles.

“It’s a good thing I took the time to come in person. If I hadn’t seen this with my own eyes, I would have regretted it bitterly.”

“So, is there anything wrong with my body?”

“There’s nothing wrong as of yet. Of course, since there’s no precedent, we’ll have to observe for longer.”

At the reassurance that there was no problem for now, Shan let out a sigh of relief.

Though he did not understand well, the influx of complex talk had naturally made him anxious in many ways.

Just then, Chery pulled out a round object from her waist, took a look at it, and stood up abruptly with a gasp.

“Ah, look at the time… Professor, I think I need to head out first.”

“I’m sorry for calling someone who’s so busy.”

“Not at all. Thanks to you, I saw something quite rare. Ah, you two over there?”

When Chery smiled softly at Shan, an unseemly seductiveness unsuited for her age was suddenly felt from her, something that could not be felt just moments ago.

“I brought too many things with me, so could you two perhaps help me out? You don’t have to go very far.”

Though Shan inwardly thought it troublesome, he nodded.

In any case, she was an acquaintance of Professor Maya and someone who had taken the time to examine his body.

“Sure, that much is fine. Is that okay with you, Roden?”

“O-Of course. Let’s go.”

Perhaps because it was in front of a pretty girl, he had shown a distinctly absentminded demeanor since earlier, prompting a natural sigh from Shan.

Having seen the kids back in the village act like that a few times, it was nothing new, though.

As the two walked out of the workshop carrying a few observation instruments, a man and woman wearing swords who had been waiting outside approached in surprise.

At that moment, when Chery stepped out from behind and made a subtle hand gesture, they hesitated before quickly pretending to pay no attention.

*

As they walked into a relatively secluded alley, Chery looked at Shan beside her and asked.

“By the way, how old are you, Shan?”

“I don’t know exactly. Probably around fourteen now…?”

“You don’t know your exact age? Why?”

Asking in wonder, she soon seemed to realize the answer on her own and let out an exclamation.

“Sorry, please forget the question I just asked. Then how long has it been since you earnestly trained as a warrior?”

“I’m not sure when to count from, but if I had to say, about a year by now.”

Counting from when Willow Village fell and he lived like a feral child until meeting Roden, that seemed to be about right.

Back then it was slowly turning into summer, and now it was spring.

“One year. Is that so?”

Chuckling softly, Chery suddenly turned her gaze toward Roden.

Roden, who had been looking at her with an awkward expression since earlier, hastily cast his eyes downward.

“What’s your relationship with that bearded mister over there? Is he your guardian?”

“A friend. Even though he looks like that, he’s only a few years older than me. He’s probably around your age.”

Roden would soon be twenty and this girl looked to be around seventeen or so, so saying they were around the same age was not wrong either.

“Oh my,” she said, covering her mouth as if surprised, but Shan sensed that she was not actually surprised and was merely pretending.

At that moment, looking back and forth between Shan and Roden, Chery narrowed her eyes and brought up a peculiar topic.

“Even so, he didn’t help you at all when hunting the cockatrice? How cruel.”

“That was the best way.”

“Even so, isn’t just throwing weapons from behind something anyone can do? And yet saying you hunted it together…”

“Hey.”

Stopping dead in his tracks, Shan glared straight at Chery with his eyes wide open.

Until a moment ago, her voice talking about incomprehensible magic had sounded quite pleasant, but he hated hearing her talk mockingly like this.

“Cut it out. I don’t know why you’re doing this, but stop picking fights.”

“But I didn’t say anything wrong. Everyone would laugh if they heard that a big guy like that just threw weapons from behind while a small kid like you did the fighting.”

It was not difficult to guess that her smiling face was meant to provoke him.

Shan exercised patience one last time, recalling the principles of knighthood he had learned alternately from Roden and Darkal.

Besides, she was also an acquaintance of Professor Maya…

“Keep your mouth shut and walk. Unless you want to get hit.”

“I was just feeling sorry for…”

“Wait, Shan!”

Thwack. Slumping onto the ground with the impact, Chery wore a dazed expression, momentarily unable to grasp the situation.

Only after noticing Shan’s fist (who had set down the instrument he was carrying at some point) the burning pain on her face, and the blood trickling from her nose did she realize she had been hit in the face.

“Y-You hit me…?”

“Yeah. Keep blabbering and I’ll hit you once more…”

“Princess!”

“You crazy bastard!”

Along with urgent voices, the sound of swords being drawn came from behind.

The man and woman who had been secretly following them were rushing toward them in utter shock.

“Stop! Hold on!”

Despite Chery’s shout, the two swung their swords directly at Shan.

However, bound by their master’s command, instead of taking his life, they targeted his arms and legs rather than vital points, striking somewhat loosely.

Trying to spare the life of an already unarmed opponent while attacking naturally left their assault sloppy.

In the end, that was what saved their lives.

Shan, who had been about to draw Thousand Shapes to attack, changed his mind; dodging the nearby male knight’s attack, he extended his foot and kicked the knight’s elbow.

Then, grabbing the wrist of the female knight charging next, he twisted and snapped it.

Thanks to a considerable amount of Fighting Spirit imbued in both strikes, a crisp snapping of bones echoed out.

“Keuh…”

“AAAGH!”

The two knights dropped their swords in an instant from the agony of fractured bones.

Having subdued them in a literal instant, Shan only then processed the shouting from earlier and looked at Chery.

“…Princess?”

Still slumped on the ground with blood flowing from her nose, Chery slowly stood up, took off her purple crystal spectacles, and untied her bound hair.

As her blue hair cascaded down, revealing sharp reddish-brown eyes that had been hidden from view until now, her appearance transformed completely.

In an instant, she was no longer a curious, talkative mage girl, but Cheryn, the Second Princess of Pendia, who was called the Witch of Pendia due to her decadent aura.

Though she spoke with a nasal voice because blood was still dripping from her nose.

“That beard over there seems to have known who I was already, but we’ve met once before, haven’t we?”

Cheryn did not doubt for a moment that Shan would remember her.

Whether in terms of status or appearance, she had never lacked a striking impression.

Had she not even dropped a hint by intentionally using a fake name similar to her real one?

However, to Shan (who at the time had been completely fascinated by the escort knights’ impressive gear and could not even remember the princess’s hair color) it was only natural to wonder why she was suddenly talking nonsense.

“I don’t really know.”

Could he be pretending not to know right now just to draw attention? In a situation like this?

It was one of the tricks she had experienced before, but on Shan’s face, no trace of the trickery unique to such people could be found.

As Cheryn, who was sensitive to others’ gazes and emotions, felt it, that boy truly had not the faintest idea who she was.

Feeling a sense of shame she had not felt in a very long time, she unwittingly raised her hand to cover her face.

“Ah, haha… This is a bit embarrassing. Hey, beard?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Roden did not dare reply, ‘My name is Roden, not beard,’ and instead answered politely.

After all, had they not just punched a member of royalty square in the face?

Even if she ordered him to strip naked and do a handstand right now, he would have no choice but to obey.

“We met back then. When we went to the Magic Society for the first time.”

“Ah!”

Only then realizing her true identity, Shan looked around at the current situation and whispered to Roden.

“…Should we kill her and bury her somewhere?”

“Stop talking crazy. Are you going to kill Professor Maya, too?”

“Ah.”

While he could easily kill the princess and escort knights who kept provoking him, he could not bring himself to kill Professor Maya just to cover up the crime.

Unaware that they were discussing killing or sparing her right in front of her, Cheryn wiped away her nosebleed, turned back to her knights, and spoke.

“Let’s treat this incident… as if it never happened. I intentionally provoked him intending to draw out a reaction like this in the first place. Though it was a bit more extreme than I expected.”

This was one of the methods she frequently used when she wanted to see the rock bottom of a person’s true nature.

Because knowing what a person took joy in and what angered them was quite helpful in gauging their character.

If one did not want to be stabbed in the back while employing someone, one had to directly verify at least the extent of their bond with their comrades.

Of course, even considering that she had not revealed herself as a princess, getting punched by a boy her age and bleeding from the nose was a first-time experience for her.

Shan, who had been doubtful of her words to treat this as if it had never happened, soon adopted polite etiquette.

Since Professor Maya knew they were together even if he really killed and buried them here, as matters stood, he had no choice but to lean on the princess’s mercy.

Of course, if she tried to retaliate later, Shan would retaliate as well, even if he had to leap over palace walls.

“…I greet Your Highness, I am Shan the Altoan.”

“Surprisingly, you’ve received quite good etiquette training. Is that your doing over there?”

At Cheryn’s question, Roden quickly knelt down.

“I apologize, Your Highness.”

“That’s fine, so both of you stand up. I don’t wish to draw unnecessary attention. Aran! Kagon!”

“Yes, Your Highness…”

The two knights, each with a broken elbow or wrist, approached with dismayed expressions.

Their gazes looking at Shan were so fierce that if eye contact possessed physical force, he felt he would have been torn apart and killed on the spot.

“Please keep people from approaching for a moment.”

“But, Your Highness. Staying with such a rogue…”

“Understood.”

The male knight who had been trying to object hesitated upon seeing the female knight immediately answer and lower her head, before likewise lowering his head to show obedience.

Having created a space for conversation in an instant, Cheryn sat atop the equipment she had been carrying until a moment ago.

“It was no lie when I said I had no time, so shall we proceed quickly? I heard the story. A young Altoan boy who defeated a cockatrice is looking for a noble to dub him a knight.”

“H-How on earth did you…?”

He had approached discreetly to avoid drawing attention, focusing mainly on the aides of Prince Elvin who had no relation to her, so by what means had she found out?

When Roden wore a startled expression, Cheryn looked down at him with a satisfied face and spoke.

“Naturally, I have my ways. At any rate, if you want a knighthood, I can grant it to you. Given your martial prowess in hunting a cockatrice at a young age and a recommendation from Sir Darkal… while your character has a few flaws, it seems acceptable enough.”

At her cunning smile that seemed ready to push an innocent person to ruin at any moment, Roden involuntarily harbored vigilance.

Just then, Shan, who had been quietly listening from the side, spoke.

“I want to know what the price is.”

Daring to ask a princess the price of knighthood was rude, but having already made her nose bleed, talking about impoliteness was ridiculous.

As expected, Cheryn did not become angry and obediently nodded.

“Fifteen years. During that time, do not leave to seek another lord and serve beneath me. Of course, the salary will be paid generously.”

“Fifteen years…”

As he muttered those years out loud (a period longer than the time he had lived so far, making it feel utterly surreal) Cheryn spoke softly.

“Even after fifteen years pass, you will only be twenty-nine years old. Still at an age in your prime as a knight. Plus having the clear record of being a princess’s knight. I don’t think it’s such a bad deal.”

Knights were divided into retainer knights who served nobles or royalty as their lords, and knight-errants who belonged nowhere.

Among them, retainer knights were guaranteed a salary and fief, protected by their lord, or could enjoy undue prestige backed by their lord’s power.

Naturally, in return, they had to fight at the risk of their lives according to their lord’s orders.

In comparison, knight-errants were those without affiliation, and in truth, their ultimate goal was precisely to enter service as someone’s retainer.

Roaming everywhere, hunting monsters, and lingering around battlefields or jousting tournaments to prove to nobles that they were talents worth a salary and fief was their line of work.

Even so, Cheryn acted as if this condition were somehow disadvantageous to Shan.

Why was that?

Shan, who had been contemplating, soon decided to ask directly instead of overthinking with his not-so-clever brain.

“Is there any downside to becoming Your Highness’s knight?”

“…I didn’t expect you to ask so bluntly, but you are straightforward. Fine. If you become my knight, you will likely end up doing plenty of dangerous work. My life is bound to be threatened quite often in the future, yet among the forces I hold, few can be of help while my enemies are exceedingly powerful. You would always have to fight from a disadvantageous position.”

Spun out long windedly, it ultimately meant his life would be in danger.

Since that was a knight’s reason for being in the first place, it was nothing particularly shocking, but thinking about it, it was a bizarre thing to say.

Setting aside princes vying for the throne, why would the knight of a princess (who would merely marry some high noble or foreign royalty in a few years) ever be in danger?

When Shan did not answer right away, Cheryn added threateningly.

“Remember that you have no alternative. In this country, no one besides me will grant a knighthood to an Altoan. If only out of wariness of Conrad and Elvin. The only time one of those two would make you a knight is when they suffer such a crushing defeat that there is utterly no room for a comeback.”

Mentioning her two older brothers, her expression turned frigid, as if dealing with mortal enemies.

Since Cheryn did not seem to dislike him asking direct questions, Shan decided to ask one more thing while he was at it.

“Then how can Your Highness promise me a title?”

At the bold question, Cheryn’s eyes opened wide just as before, then curled roundly.

It was a smile closer to self-deprecation than genuine enjoyment.

“That’s because there’s hardly anyone on my side in the court of Pendia anyway. If the price of gaining a formidable knight is merely adding one more reason to be hated by people who already despise me terribly, it’s more than a profitable trade.”

At this, Shan pondered for a moment, then turned to Roden and asked.

“What do you think, Roden?”

“This is purely your matter, so I don’t know why you ask your friend. Your friend is not you, so he will naturally answer according to his own interests.”

When Cheryn chided him in a tone as if asking whether he was a fool incapable of thinking for himself, Shan once again glared at her with the same gaze as before.

Momentarily frightened, the princess wore a flinched expression.

“I don’t know much about these political matters. I believe Roden knows and sees far more than I do and will judge accurately.”

“Is that belief strong enough to bet your future, your life on?”

“Yes.”

At the answer without a single moment’s hesitation, Cheryn’s reddish-brown eyes turned round in an instant.

After a short pause, she let out a sigh and motioned to call over the two knights standing far off.

“Very well, true friendship is a fine thing too. Assuming such a thing truly exists, that is. I won’t force an answer right now. Once you decide, contact me through Professor Maya.”

The two returned knights picked up the devices that Shan and Roden had originally been carrying.

Fortunately, they were not terribly heavy objects, so even with broken arms they could each carry one, though the princess carried one herself.

Before leaving, she waved her empty hand and spoke.

“I pray I may receive a positive answer.”