Volume 8 Chapter 5 My Grandfather In The Knight's Order And Glee
"Yeah, Dean was a really strange guy. When I joined the knight's order at around 20, he was probably about 40. He was in the magician unit, and he was really friendly. The other magicians looked down on us young ones and didn't talk much, but he would eat and drink with us. He was totally different."
Duran said with a nostalgic smile.
"Oh, he even took me to a brōtḥel once. He-heh."
Heath smiled as he spoke. Al was hearing stories about his grandfather's time in the knight's order for the first time, and he was amazed. He had only known about his grandfather's adventures before he joined the order. The two enjoyed discussing the knight's order while drinking. Al listened and prepared the meat. From their stories, it seemed Al's grandfather was a relaxed person.
"There were battles where the magicians played a big role, right?"
When Al asked, Duran hesitated a bit but nodded. Did he ask something bad?
"You're talking about the Battle of Gladys Plains, right? It was the final showdown in the long conflict with the Tempest Kingdom. Winning that battle led to the building of the border city Parker, and eventually, a truce with the Tempest Kingdom. During that battle, the magician unit used 'Illusion' to confuse the enemy, and that was said to be a key factor in our victory."
Duran held up his drink and gulped it down. His red face got even redder. Heath was also swaying a bit. Both of them seemed pretty drunk.
"You might not agree with this as a magician, but after that, in the knight order, magic was just a trigger. In the end, it was the knight captain who charged that led to victory. This was back when I was a student in Advanced School. I don't really know the details."
"The dragon's 'Illusion' during the victory parade was impressive... If that suddenly appeared from the sky while we were fighting, it would have caused total chaos."
Heath said quietly. Eric mentioned it was during the New Year's parade about 20 years ago. That must be what he meant. He remembers learning about the Battle of Gladys Plains in school. It happened 25 years ago in the year 147 of the kingdom calendar.
"I completely forgot, but there were rumors back then in Advanced School. Charles Rain, who was the knight captain before he inherited the title of Margrave, and Viscount Hugh Eugene, who led the magician of the knight order and is now retired, were said to have discussed and passed the credit to the knight captain──" "Hey, let's stop there."
Heath had just said that, but Duran interrupted.
"Sorry. Just drunken talk. Forget it."
Duran said with a serious face. Al nodded, feeling a bit more serious now.
"Should we grill some more meat?"
"No, it seems like both of you have had enough to drink."
Al said hurriedly, but the two stood up.
"Well then, we're going to bed. It was delicious."
"Okay, good night."
As Al watched the two of them crawl into the nearby tent, he decided to return to the leftover meat preparation.
* * *
The next day, Al woke up after a long night of work. He noticed that the others had already gone to the river, likely digging and enjoying the hot springs. Al ate breakfast alone, finishing the leftover meat stew and bread. After checking the net over the dried meat, he went to the cave where he used to stay.
At the entrance, he saw that a part of the cave had collapsed and was blocked with a wooden stick and straw rope, making it dangerous to enter. Al crawled under the blockage and squeezed through the gap. Inside, most of the bedding and movable items were gone, leaving only large furniture. A crack leading to a lower tomb was still blocked with rocks, just as Al had left it to keep it hidden from others.
In the darkness, Al used 'Sensory Boost' and moved the camouflage rocks with the strength from 'Physical Boost.' He used a rope to lower himself into the room where the golem guarding the tomb was. The golem stood still, just like the last time, staring at the closed stone door on the wall opposite the entrance to Tempest's tomb.
Al lightly grasped the assistant device, Glee, at his chest.
'What's wrong, Ally?'
"Nothing, just thinking. I was too busy before to think about it, but I realized this is the ancient ruin my grandpa talked about."
After realizing that his twin sister, Ingrid, wasn't coming back, Grandpa gave him an assistant device. At first, it seemed like a useless magic tool, but over time, he put his feelings into it. Now, it feels like the soul of his twin sister, Glee, lives in it and can talk.
'Yeah. Grandpa mentioned... ancient ruins.'
Is Glee really just a magic tool? Every time they talk, he gets more confused.
'Hey, can I talk a little? Usually, you say it's a problem if someone sees us talking, so I don't say much.'
"Sure."
The voice from the assistant device goes directly to Al's ears, so no one else can hear it. Because of this, when Al replies, it looks like he's talking to himself. That's why he asked Glee not to talk too much. But they are in a graveyard where no one else should be. It should be fine to talk. Still, Glee, who usually doesn't say much, seems different today.
'I think you should avoid giving that ring to Patricia.'
"Huh?"
Al was surprised and almost shouted at Glee's unexpected words.
'Patricia is the princess of Tempest Kingdom. She's from a different world than Ally.'
"Yeah, that's true."
"If you give her the ring, I think she might think you're proposing──Hey, right now, Ally's heart is racing... Why?"
Al placed his hand on his chest. She was right, for sure. He had heard before that Glee the assistant device could see the surroundings through her eyes, but could it really understand things like this?
"N-nothing, really."
'That's why I think the ring is not a good idea.'
"Um... okay. I'll think about it. For now, let's go to Malachi. This goblin mage had an assistant device. I believe Malachi, who has Tempest's assistant device, will know what it is."
Al took out the collar that the goblin mage was wearing from his pocket. The collar had a light blue crystal, similar to Tempest's assistant device, that was softly glowing.
'Ally, you're avoiding the issue... But really, think about it.'
Glee the assistant device said that last part and then stopped talking. Al scratched his head a few times, slapped his cheek to get focused, and started walking down the stone corridor again.
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