Chapter 543: Awakening of Pride
Six days later.
“Let me hear your answer”
Rainer appeared at the top of a cliff in the valley and confronted me, Neia and Maia.
“Don’t be in such a hurry, Rainer Exeliza”
“…………”
Rainer hardly shows any expression, just a look and asks me to continue, 「Is there something you want to say?」. I didn’t look at him, though I was aware of Neia’s presence and gave Rainer one last confirmation.
“I’m guessing some of the reasons why you want Neia……over here, but in the end, it’s not even a very interesting prediction”
“I don’t recall……saying it was an interesting story?”
“Thats right. But it’s not just a whim, is it?”
“Not by a long shot. ……You wanted to talk about that?”
“You didn’t say it in a way that I could understand anything. ……I cant help it”
“It’s a sideshow. ……One of the last reasons I care about this country”
“Don’t people often say you’re not a good talker?”
“I’ve never had much trouble with it……”
Ah, he looks a little concerned. Sometimes he’s talking like a riddle on purpose, but I’m sure there are many times when he simply doesn’t have enough words and leaves it at that because it’s too much trouble. It’s hard to be born in this valley and grow up to be a glib man in a position like this. I’m beginning to see the outline of this man, just a little. No, I could confirm it.
“Until now, I might have been content to just cut to the chase……when I got tired of talking, but I’m a dragon rider just like you. I don’t want you to take out all the logic and everything. If you want something from me, I have the right to ask why”
“…………”
Rainer looked a little uncomfortable. For Rainer, it was probably something he had never experienced before having someone say that to his face. Yes. This guy is more about being a dragon rider than a hero. 「Hero」is a small exception to this narrow world. And a 「Dragon Rider」 who does not fit into that exception either. They are aliens everywhere and to everything. That is why there is no need to seek understanding. I am the only one who is equal to the dragons in their 「Pact」 and the only one to whom they will not tolerate any unreasonable behavior. To the rest, there is no need to explain my intentions anywhere. However, as long as the 「Power contract」 with the dragons is the background of his power, he cannot just question me. If I do that, he will question my qualifications for power and I will lose the support of the dragons.
“……I can’t stand that woman. That’s a good reason to make a deal”
“I’m sorry, but Neia is my property. And it would be outrageous, even for the dragons, to touch her just because you don’t like her”
Neia looked a little perplexed, but I didn’t let her say anything. After Rainer looked more and more uncomfortable.
“I’m not trying to pick a fight with you. As a hero, I am dealing with her treason against the state and I have a condition that I will let you off the hook”
“Duplicity goes unnoticed. ……You can not care. I stand before you as a dragon rider”
“…………”
Rainer glared at me for a moment and then said.
“If you demand to know the details of it all……then you will have to leave quietly as outsiders. Are you ready for that?”
“You were hoping I’d stay silent and let it happen, weren’t you?”
“……No”
Rainer shakes his head.
“What I was hoping for, though, was that you’d……remain silent and face me”
When I silently urge him to continue, Rainer looks away and slowly begins to speak.
“I happened to be born in a village that was saved. In the past, the hero for me was Faria Grans……that woman’s teacher. I don’t care about other people, whether or not they exist. Justice is……I thought that hope, the power to protect the world was concentrated in that woman’s figure”
“…………”
Neia’s face clouds over. She is tormented by a sense of guilt, believing that she was the one who killed Faria and this is almost like a denunciation of her. However, she continues to raise her eyes without flinching.
“That was all lost so easily. She was trying to save one stupid child. It’s infuriating. She pretended to be a hero, didn’t understand the king’s madness or the princess’s arrogance and couldn’t even see into the future. I’m not denying that I have a personal grudge. I’m not denying that I’m going to save my hometown and make my life easier by simply relying on others. I think so”
He spoke for a moment.
“Now, I’ve told you. That’s reason enough for me to kill her”
“……It’s quite a throw away”
“It’s no big deal. Really. ……It won’t make any difference, except that I’ve been forced to show off my boring sentimentality”
Rainer looks at me as if he’s going to shoot me in the eye.
“Dragon rider from a foreign land. You are left with two choices. You can either leave this woman here and leave her behind emotionally, or you can take this chance with me and make a fool out of yourself. Either way is fine. Either way, you, the eyesore who restricts my free use of dragons, will be gone. That fact is what matters”
“I see……”
This man’s ultimate goal is not to eliminate Neia, or to deal with me, of course. His ambition goes much further. As a dragon rider, as a hero……or perhaps as a ruler. He is thinking of something bigger and trying to deal with that obstacle, poor us. That’s why he said sideshow. Anyway, I guess I and Neia are in the way and if we can be eliminated to the satisfaction of the dragons who follow us, so be it. How far would that 「Great Ambition」 go? ……With one of the strongest fighting forces and rare influence over the dragon legions, he might be capable of creating a great kingdom that would sweep the continent like the legends of ancient times.
“Well, yes. As you say, there were no interesting new discoveries”
I said, pausing for a beat.
“Then, let’s see if I can find my feet. ……Rainer Exeliza”
“Hou. Since you were claiming that you couldn’t fight, I thought it wouldn’t be strange for you to turn your tail and run away”
“It seems you’ve had a fair amount of insight into the outside world, but as it turns out, you don’t seem to know me very well”
He laughs. Normally that would be just a bluff, but oddly enough, for me right now, it seemed comical to Rainer from the bottom of my heart.
“I’ve faced many monsters in my life. Master knights, sword saints, holy beasts, devils”
“Chirp to me all you want. It’s a sign of friendship between dragon riders. Until the end, your voice becomes hoarse……”
Rainer breaks off. Then, he looked at me as if he was looking at something creepy and muttered.
“……What?”
……Ah. Grandpa Dan. You were right. The Predecessor. Your appearance has taught me that.
“What are you……?”
Once I’ve made up my mind, I can step into that dimension. I’m not bluffing. A dimension of kings and heroes who believe in the power of the people behind them and can bear it as it is……without being swept away by it. I can use everything that pushes my back and intimidate Rainer. And it wasn’t old man Dan or the previous king who made me take this resolve. It was my father’s words, spoken to me in prayer.
He didn’t say anything special. He was dead. He couldn’t tell me anything new. But that was alright.
『Because Andy looks just like me──』
I was ashamed that I had been looking for a reason to give up. And yet, I was okay with that. Is it okay that I’m just like my father, that I’m the one who gives up here? ……I wondered if my children would be proud of me at and someday they would be proud of me. And I finally realized that that’s what High Priest Duke was talking about when he said 「Prayer」. It didn’t matter if I was looking at the faces of those who were kind to me. I would do something I could be proud of to God, to my father and to my descendants whom I had yet to see. Not to the people who would be kind to me, no matter how bad I was at it. I had to question the merits of my wish, my efforts, by someone I could never betray, someone who might be disappointed if I faltered. And I was determined to save Neia with everything I had.
“I am Andy Smithson, son of Peter Smithson of Polka”
Dad. I’m proud. I’m proud to be your son. That I was born in Polka and raised in a generous way, that I had the good fortune to fall in love with a half elf and to join hands with all kinds of awesome people. I will use all of that good fortune to protect Neia.
……The metal creaked under the cloak.