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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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The door to the Five Pillars’ private bar slammed open. Edgar Lemnos, his body bandaged, stormed in, clutching a newspaper. Today’s edition, detailing the duel and the possibility of its invalidation. A potential reprieve from his humiliating defeat, yet he didn’t seem pleased.
“What is this article?!”
“Edgar! Are you alright?!”
“Zeke, get out of my way! Who wrote this…?! Ferda?! Phrygia?!”
Zeke Albion, his closest friend, rushed to his side, but Edgar shoved him aside, his eyes blazing with fury. Albion stumbled, but Lemnos didn’t even glance back.
“Calm down, Edgar. Take a deep breath.”
Lemnos, despite his healed leg, still staggered. Ferda, smiling, rose from the sofa to offer support, but Lemnos pointed the newspaper at him like a sword.
“Don’t come any closer.”
The mere gesture radiated a chilling intensity, a stark contrast to his earlier weakness. Ferda, though unafraid, complied.
“Scary~ Relax, I didn’t do it.”
Lemnos’s killing intent focused on the remaining figure, Shaara Phrygia, who sat calmly on the sofa, observing him.
“…You seem quite comfortable, Lemnos.”
“You…!”
His gaze locked onto her, and she spoke,
“Yes, I did it. I arranged it as soon as your defeat was confirmed. Why are you angry? I cleaned up your mess. You should be thanking me.”
“That was my duel. My victory, or my defeat. You have no right to interfere.”
Before being a Five Pillar, Edgar Lemnos was a swordsman. Duels held a profound meaning for a swordsman. The weight of a duel, a means of resolving personal conflicts, rested solely on the two participants, regardless of the outcome. Phrygia had casually insulted him, manipulating the outcome from the sidelines. By portraying Atlas as a cheater, she had also insulted him, the defeated opponent.
“Do you think the name of Lemnos is so insignificant, girl?”
“That’s what I should be asking you. Do you think the Five Pillars are so insignificant?”
“This isn’t about the Five Pillars! It’s about my duel…!”
“As long as you bear the name of Lemnos, it’s not just your duel. It’s the duel of the Five Pillars.”
Phrygia retorted. To her, the Five Pillars were a collective. Even if individual members disagreed, outsiders saw them as a single entity. One member’s disgrace tarnished the reputation of all.
“You didn’t lose. The sword of the Five Pillars was broken. Are you satisfied now, with our already fragile image shattered?”
Unlike the other four families, who relied on their martial or magical prowess and territorial income, the Phrygia family was a massive trading company. The Five Pillars brand was their most valuable asset, and the defeat of their strongest swordsman by an unknown freshman was a devastating blow to their image. She had been against the duel from the start.
“You…!”
Edgar grabbed her by the collar, lifting her off the ground, her feet dangling. She gasped, her delicate hands clutching his thick wrists. Unlike the other Five Pillars, Phrygia wasn’t a fighter. She possessed only average physical strength. Lemnos, a Sword Expert with superhuman strength, could easily snap her neck.
“…Go ahead. Hit me.”
Despite her precarious position, she remained defiant.
“Here. Hit me if it makes you feel better.”
She even offered her cheek. A vein throbbed in Lemnos’s forehead. He raised his hand, then lowered it, his body trembling. He wasn’t afraid of the consequences. He was afraid of accidentally killing her.
“Can’t do it? Then stop raising your hand if you don’t intend to follow through.”
Her tone and expression remained unchanged, but her words felt like a mockery. Lemnos’s anger flared again.
“You…!”
“Edgar, no! You’ll kill her!”
His hand rose again. Even a light blow could be fatal. Albion tried to intervene, but—
“Come here.”
The door opened. Lemnos froze.
“You…?”
Atlas stood in the doorway, a cheerful smile on his face.
“Are you guys fighting? Don’t mind me. Carry on.”
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Lemnos was holding Phrygia by the collar, their size difference mirroring mine and Lucia’s. Phrygia, her feet dangling, looked ridiculous. The Five Pillars were supposed to avoid conflict, so she must have said something truly infuriating. Phrygia’s personality, or lack thereof, was consistent.
Their infighting was beneficial to me. I hoped they’d continue.
“What are you doing here…!”
Lemnos was standing on both legs, which surprised me. I had severed his calf muscles; he should have been bedridden for at least three days.
He’s up and about less than 24 hours after his leg was mangled… How many potions did he consume?
This world’s healing magic was impressive, but a full recovery in less than a day suggested the use of expensive, vitality-boosting potions. A single drop cost a commoner’s family ten years’ worth of income. The Five Pillars, indeed.
“I have business with the person holding that newspaper.”
Phrygia’s expression flickered. Had she anticipated my arrival?
No way.
She couldn’t have predicted my swift response.
“I don’t know how you found this place, but only the Five Pillars are allowed here. Leave.”
Zeke Albion tried to escort me out, but Lucia, appearing behind me, stopped him.
“He’s with me. He’s not an outsider.”
“Russell? With you? You have… company…?”
Albion was startled. Lucia Russell’s social isolation was well-known. This was the first time she had brought someone with her, especially someone who had just defeated Lemnos.
“I’m here to… make an announcement. Those articles have been recalled, and there will be a retraction tomorrow.”
“Who authorized that? Do you understand what you’ve done? You’ve challenged us. You think you can get away with this?”
Phrygia’s eye twitched at the news of the recall.
“Atlas is under Russell’s protection. That duel was between Russell and Lemnos. Phrygia has no business interfering.”
“Under Russell’s protection? Russell, even you shouldn’t be throwing around such a valuable privilege! Our image…”
“I said it’s none of your business, Phrygia.”
Lucia’s tone was unusually firm.
“Well, technically, I fought Lemnos in your place, so it’s a fair trade, wouldn’t you say?”
Phrygia glared at me. Russell and Lemnos, the Two Swords, were the most influential among the Five Pillars. Lemnos usually took the lead, with Russell remaining silent, but if they agreed, the other three had no choice but to follow. And Lemnos, for some reason, seemed displeased with Phrygia’s interference.
“It seems we’re in agreement. I’m with Lemnos.”
Albion sided with them. There was no reason to oppose the united front of Russell and Lemnos.
“Looks like it. Shaara, want me on your side?”
“…No need.”
Ferda offered his support, but Phrygia refused. He was just trying to score points. Phrygia, now isolated, trembled with rage. Lacking physical strength, she relied on words, politics, and money, and all three had failed her.
“I’m leaving.”
She turned and walked out, her lips pressed together. Nobody stopped her.
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Once outside, Lucia pulled a necklace from her pocket.
“This is… what I promised…”
“I’ll cherish it.”
A necklace with the Russell crest. I reached for it, but she raised it.
“Let me… put it on for you.”
She bent down, the angle of her back a painful reminder of our height difference. As she fastened the necklace, she touched something around my neck.
“…You wear a lot of things around your neck…”
“Around my neck…? Whoa?! These are still here?!”
I felt a familiar clinking. Two dog tags, one black, from my Knights days, and one white, from my adventurer days, still hung around my neck. I had forgotten about them. Made of non-reactive rare metals, they were comfortable enough to be forgotten. Fortunately, Lucia didn’t seem to recognize them.
“Dog… tags?”
“Nothing important. Did you shorten the chain? It fits perfectly.”
“No, it’s from when I was ten.”
“A necklace… from when you were ten… fits me perfectly…”
A necklace designed for a ten-year-old Lucia fit me… It was a painful realization. She nodded, seemingly pleased with how the necklace looked on me.
“…Phrygia seemed upset… Will she be alright?”
She was worried about Shaara.
“She’s probably hiring assassins right now. Thinking, ‘If nobody knows who did it, it’s fine,’ or something.”
“What?! That’s… dangerous…!”
She sounded worried, imagining assassins. I had scared her too much.
“Just kidding. She’s not that crazy… is she?”
“R-right?”
She gave a small, nervous laugh. I had said it to comfort her, but my eyes weren’t smiling.
She probably is hiring assassins right now.
She’s that crazy.
They would come tonight, perhaps. If they didn’t, it meant she had backed down, and I’d leave her alone until the next incident. I had to focus on identifying demon worshippers. Ironically, Phrygia and Lemnos, having targeted me, were cleared of suspicion.
But if the assassins came…
I was busy. I didn’t have time for Phrygia’s tantrums. I had spared her earlier because of the witnesses. If I had come alone, I would have been the one holding her by the collar.
Phrygia, Malcolm, even Russell and Lemnos probably thought they had saved me.
Half-right, half-wrong. If Russell hadn’t intervened, I would have simply… removed everyone’s ability to cause further problems. They hadn’t saved me. They had saved Phrygia and the newspaper club.
I sensed them before nightfall. Not attacking, just observing. Phrygia, you crazy bitch, you actually did it? What a proactive woman. I’ll deal with them, then you.
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