Side Stories: Chapter 10

Two people entered the city. In a city with a high population and numbers increasing as the festival day approached closer, no one paid attention to them. The two passed through the bustling streets and stopped in front of a restaurant. They sat on the tables outside, facing each other, and ordered a light meal. People were chattering loudly around them. The two craned their ears toward the conversations and heard people fuss about the elves, mages, and other dragon slayers that had begun to gather in this city one by one.

“Quite a lot of people came here earlier than us.”

“I wonder if they changed a lot?”

“It’s only been a year since we separated. I don’t think they would’ve changed that much.” Hans received the food and drinks the store owner handed to him and added, “We didn’t change too much either.”

“Who knows? Maybe we just don’t realize it, but other people would think that we changed a bit.” Lara took a sip of her drink and continued, “I want to meet them quickly. I wonder how they spent the past year.”

“I thought this before, but you place great meaning on this idea of ‘companions.’”

“Well, that’s what I always looked forward to the most when I left my family. I dreamed of going on mystical adventures while enacting justice with my companions. Sadly, the first ‘companions’ I made were Glen and his companions.”

“And it was the worst kind.”

“That was definitely the case for Glen.”

Since a lot of time had passed then and Lara came to terms with the incident, her face looked peaceful even when Glen was mentioned.

“I don’t know about Windne and Acous either. Honestly, Windne seemed a bit worldly, but Acous didn’t seem like a bad person. It seemed like her mind was slightly occupied by something else, and even Windne is nice compared to Zenard.”

“There’s no one who isn’t nice compared to that man.”

“That’s true, but that’s why I was especially happy when I got out of that party and joined Sir Zich’s party. Though it had its peculiarities, the camaraderie between companions was certainly there.”

“I see.”

“Ah, of course, my travels with you were very enjoyable,” Lara said with a big smile on her face. Hans also smiled. Although his travels were certainly different from the adventures he had with Zich and the others this year, he enjoyed them equally.

“If I meet them this time, I think it would be a good idea to talk to Windne and Acous again. I couldn’t talk to them properly in the past because we had been too focused on our individual goals,” Lara said.

“I hope everything works out.”

“I have a good feeling about it. Right before I left the party, I had an enjoyable conversation with the two—though it was cut off by Glen’s appearance. Now that I think back to it, I think everything will work out well.”

“If you need any help, tell me. I will do all I can to help.”

“Thank you.”

The two looked into each other’s eyes warmly. It was a sight that would’ve warmed most viewers’ hearts, and no one would’ve wanted to bother them at this moment. Yet, there were always exceptions to every case.

“Hey, bro! Are you on a date with this pretty girlie? It seems like you are having a mighty great time! Can I join you?” Even a third-rate villain from the rattiest back street wouldn’t have talked like this man. Yet, this man shouted in an arrogant tone—just like a disposable extra who existed to provoke the main character with his lover and get immediately defeated. To Hans and Lara, this wasn’t an uncommon happening. Trash was always everywhere, and Lara was undeniably a beauty. So, there were some men who thought they could steal her away from Hans.

Of course, they posed no threat to Hans and Lara since the world recognized them for their skills, and these provokers always received their rightful punishments in the end. Yet, it was true that these interactions always soured their moods. Usually, Hans would’ve gotten angry and given a man like this a Zich-like education, but he acted differently this time. Hans smirked and said, “It’s true that Lara is beautiful, but don’t you also have someone beside you who is renowned for her beauty? Please don’t stir up trouble by two-timing and give up on Lara already.”

“What are you talking about? A man with many skills like me should have a couple of lovers at least, kurgh…!”

“You blabber so well with that mouth of yours. Should I fill your mouth with dirt and freeze your lips with ice?”

The arrogant man’s voice was replaced by pained screams and a greatly disgruntled groan. Hans turned around and saw two people standing behind him. One man was struggling with both his arms tied back, and a woman was glaring intently at him while holding the man’s arms back. The two looked slightly different from Hans’ image of them, but after everything they had gone through together, their disguises weren’t enough to trick him.

“I’m glad to see that you both look healthy, Sir Zich and Lady Lyla.”

“It’s been a while, you two.”

The two greeted Hans and Lara after meeting each other after a year.

***

“Ow, ow, ow! My bones still ache.” Zich rotated his arm in exaggerated body movements. Yet, Lyla didn’t feel an ounce of guilt seeing this and felt more peeved instead.

“Stop pretending it hurts. You don’t even groan when you are covered in blood from head to toe.”

“That’s when I’m in battle. I am saying it hurts because it hurts. Especially the attack you did to me just now hurt more than any attack that I’ve endured before.”

“As if.”

They didn’t change at all. As Zich and Lyla bickered, Hans felt as if he had been transported to one year ago and felt his heart calm down.

“I’m surprised you both came earlier than us, sir. I heard that Leona, Snoc, and Elena came already, but I didn’t hear any news about you, so I thought you might not have arrived yet,” Hans said.

“Those people walked into the city in full view. Therefore, Leona and the elves were surrounded by people and couldn’t move away from the front of the castle gates for a while. Unlike them, we disguised ourselves and quietly came in—just like you guys.”

Zich studied the belts around Hans and Lara’s waists. Their two swords, Estellade and Tornium, represented one of their most recognizable traits and were disguised as ordinary swords. They hid their swords by covering them up with a camouflage shell on top of their sword sheath. Of course, they also slightly changed their appearance too.

“You two haven’t changed at all,” Lara said.

“I think it’s the same for you two as well. Ah, but it seems like your relationship status has definitely changed.” Lyla’s mischievous expression and subtle tone urged them to tell the truth.

Since he had no intentions of hiding it anyway, Hans immediately answered, “Yes, you’re correct. We became lovers.”

“I see! Congratulations!” Lyla exclaimed with a bright face, and her mischievous expression completely disappeared.

Then she poked Zich with her elbow. “What are you doing? Your dear disciple finally has a girlfriend. Why don’t you quickly congratulate him?”

“What do you mean, dear disciple? Stop using such frightening expressions.” Zich showed the goosebumps on his arms, but he also didn’t forget to congratulate Lara and Hans. “Yeah, congrats. Honestly, I thought it was just a matter of time, and if you hadn’t made any progress so far, I would have given you special guidance myself. I guess you don’t need it now.”

“…I’ve never been so glad that I confessed to Lara as of right now.” Hans had no idea what Zich’s ‘special guidance’ involved, but he was certain that it would be anything but gentle. He could even bet Estellade on it.

“Now all of the disciples are a couple,” Lyla said.

“All? Did Snoc and Elena also become a couple?” Hans asked.

“Yeah. It seems like they’re learning all kinds of subjects while staying at the Dwayne residence.”

Hans looked slightly surprised by Lyla’s answer, but he later nodded. “It’s understandable that their relationship progressed like that. Rather, it would have been strange if they didn’t end up together.”

“From our point of view, you two were the same.”

“Haha, as expected of you, Lady Lyla. You’ve seen through all of us from the start.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sharp like that,” Lyla said triumphantly, and Zich laughed at her.

“Why don’t you say that in front of Evelyn?”

“Ugh!” Evelyn was the one who gave all kinds of romantic advice to Lyla, who was awkward with the feeling of love. Lyla was speechless at Zich’s unexpected attack.

“Come to think of it, it’s been a while since we’ve last seen her. Will she also be coming here?” Hans asked.

“I told them to invite them here. With Joachim,” Zich answered. The Karuwimans hadn’t denied his request either. It was from Zich after all, and Count Dracul and Marquess Rouge had supported Count Steelwall against the allied forces even before the Bellids began their invasion in earnest. In other words, the Karuwimans were very grateful for their help in the early efforts against the Bellids before the full-out invasion began. Even if they were not on the list of dragon slayers or Bellid subjugators, the Karuwimans had no qualms about sending them invitations to the festival.

“It’s been a long time since we last saw them.”

“They’ll probably arrive right at the start of the festival since they need to manage the estate and would want to reduce the amount of time they leave their estates as much as possible. That’s probably the same case for the Steelwalls as well.”

The word Steelwall could have been a sensitive topic, but neither Zich nor the others listening to him reacted much. The relationship between Zich and the Steelwalls had already been settled.

“The Count will probably not come, right?” Hans asked.

“I don’t know. I think he’ll probably send out Greig as the representative, but there’s nothing preventing him from coming himself.”

“Then it’ll be nice for me to go and visit him later.” Hans’ feelings for the Steelwalls were completely different from Zich’s, but Zich had no intentions to criticize or put him down for it.

“If we’re done eating, let’s start heading out. You two need to greet the Pope first. Then let’s see how much your skills have improved since then.” Their evaluation of Snoc and Elena had already been completed. It was a master’s duty to also check the progress of their disciple, and neither Hans nor Lara were shielded from this as well.

“Yes, sir. I look forward to sparring with you shortly.”

“We’ll be in your care.”

Hans and Lara stood up with nervousness and anticipation.

* * *

After Hans and Lara also joined them, Zich’s party became quite boisterous. They hung out normally as the one-year gap hadn’t made any difference between them. At first, they all moved around together, but after a few days, they moved in groups. The members of each group were different from time to time. Today, Lara finally carried out her plan into action.

“Why did you bring us out?” Pina glanced suspiciously at Lara who was walking ahead.

In comparison, Chelsea welcomed Lara by stretching her arms out. “It doesn’t matter to me whatever it is. I’m just glad to be finally free from the hectic situation.”

“It must be very hard for you,” Lara said.

“Well, we’re in the middle of preparing for a festival. Whether it’s a priest or holy knight, every Karuwiman is extremely busy. Still, I’m curious why you called us.”

“It’s nothing big. We traveled together before, but we’ve never talked to each other properly. So I thought we should use this opportunity to finally converse together.”

Chelsea was delighted. “Ah, you want to have a meeting for the victims of Glen Zenard. If that’s the case, I’m all for it! No matter how much I complain about that basta—person, it’ll never be enough.”

Chelsea hurriedly refrained from saying a swear word and quickly changed her words. However, Lara and Pina were already familiar with Chelsea’s personality, so they didn’t pay much attention.

“A meeting for victims. It’s a pretty good name—I don’t really mind. What about you, Ms. Acous?”

“It doesn’t matter to me either.”

“Then it’s decided. Let’s go into a store and talk about anything we want.”