Chapter 5

Outsiders always seemed to bring misfortune with them. At least, that was how Ricard felt. Hadn't his life begun to go wrong the moment that cavalryman carrying a red flag arrived in Heiden?

Yet the visitor from the main house seemed far removed from anything as grand as fortune or misfortune. He just seemed rather strange.

He was stout enough to waddle when he walked, and, most strikingly, his clothes were as colorful as a jester's. His beard reached his chest, making his age difficult to judge. He also wore something that looked like a nightcap. Did everyone who studied at a university have such peculiar tastes?

He whipped off his cap and bent his thick waist in greeting to Abelich, revealing a bald head. The sparse patches of hair by his ears looked rather forlorn. To Ricard, presenting that smooth crown looked almost like making a rude gesture with a finger.

Straightening again, the man spoke with a pleased expression.

"It has been a long time, my lord. Congratulations on the birth of a boy. I feel quite guilty for having neglected to visit for so long, and your warm welcome leaves me quite overwhelmed. Sir Graut, you look as gallant as ever. Oh, Lady Aileen, it has been some time—ah, should I call you the Lady of Stormhertz now? Ho ho ho! You have done splendidly."

The visitor from the main house greeted Ricard's sister-in-law as an acquaintance too. He had, in fact, been Aileen's tutor in letters.

"You have had a hard journey in this cold, Doctor Reno. Is the count well?"

"Well enough, though I shall tell you more about that later."

"Hmm. Very well. And this is my second son, Bilter, and my youngest, Ricard."

The man called Doctor Reno regarded Bilter and Ricard with the same pleased smile. He had not come for a social visit, but to discuss the two boys' futures.

"Young Master Bilter, Young Master Ricard. My name is Reno. This is the first time I have seen you since I caught a glimpse of you at the wedding. I am delighted to see that you have both grown up so healthy. Ho ho ho."

Doctor Reno was a resident guest of Count Kaldebern's household, performing all manner of tasks, large and small. He served as a tutor, carried the count's messages to other lords as an envoy, and supplied knowledge as needed. In short, he was an administrator, diplomat, and adviser.

If retainers were a sort of permanent staff, serving a noble house across generations, resident guests were more like contract employees. Those whose abilities were recognized would stay with a noble household for many years. Doctor Reno had spent twenty years with Count Kaldebern's family, which was a fair guarantee of his competence. That was why he was treated with a measure of respect despite being a commoner.

"By the way... is this the young hero who killed the boar? The count's household is full of the story. Indeed, I can see his spirit just by looking at him. Most impressive. Ho ho ho."

Whether the story had reached him incorrectly or he simply could not tell with the boys before him, Reno was looking at Bilter as he spoke.

"No. Him. He's the one who killed it."

Bilter pointed to Ricard beside him. Reno looked at Ricard, his expression initially suggesting that he was struggling to reconcile what he had heard with what he saw. A boy who had yet to lose all his baby fat was staring blankly up at him, as though examining some curious spectacle.

Reno blinked several times, then decided it was a joke.

"Ho ho ho. I may not be terribly bright, but I do possess a little discernment."

"Riki really did kill it."

Abelich confirmed it with a serious expression. Doctor Reno looked back and forth several times between Ricard and the stuffed boar's head mounted on the wall. The head alone gave him a good idea of the animal's size when alive, making the story impossible to believe.

"... Eh? Did he deliver the finishing blow after it had already been subdued?"

When a noble household went hunting, the lord commanded the proceedings, while the actual work of tracking, exhausting, and cornering the quarry fell to his subordinates. Delivering the killing blow was the lord's role. Sometimes he would grant that honor to someone else, and Doctor Reno assumed that was what had happened.

"No. It was something of an accident. He stood his ground against the charging boar and pierced it squarely between the eyes."

"Uh..."

"He had extraordinary luck. But his courage was real enough. At any rate, we have little to offer in this season, but there is drink and meat. Come warm yourself and fill your belly first. You boys, don't wander off. Wait in your room."

"Yes, Father."

"This way."

Abelich led the still-bewildered Reno toward the dining room. Reno kept looking back at Ricard as they went.

Bilter and Ricard waited in their room. The brothers had little to say. Reno seemed cheerful and pleasant enough, but this was hardly an occasion for fooling around.

Yet Bilter, who had been anxious all this time, showed little agitation now that someone from the main house had actually arrived. He simply gazed calmly out the window at the frozen world.

Winter birds flew far away across the cold-colored sky. Now and then, someone emerged from a house, gathered firewood, and went back inside. White smoke curled up from a few chimneys. Whenever the wind blew, the bare branches shuddered as though trembling with cold.

It was a still landscape, so why did it seem so fascinating today? At the same time, even the ordinary stones and dry grass by the roadside seemed difficult to leave behind.

As the sun moved on and the sky slowly began to change color, someone opened the door and entered. It was Doctor Reno.

"Might I have a word with you?"

Bilter finally turned from the window to look at him. Without his noticing, Ricard had lain down on the bed and fallen fast asleep.

"Of course. Riki, Riki. Wake up. You really don't have a care in the world."

"Uh, huh? Uh... huh? It's the jester."

"A jester? These are the clothes worn by the citizens of Baricelli, a city like heaven itself."

"Really? They don't look very good for hiding."

"Why would I need to hide...? Now, now, never mind that. Have a look at this."

Doctor Reno sat down and spread a large sheet of parchment on the table. The two boys came closer and found a strange picture drawn on it.

"Do you know what this is?"

"Well, I'm not sure. What is it a picture of?"

"Ho ho ho. This is what we call a map. It depicts all the lands of the world we live in."

"This is a map?"

Maps were rare in this age, so the boys had not immediately recognized the drawing. Maps of the world were rarer still. In truth, much of the world map Doctor Reno had brought was drawn from imagination, making it inaccurate. Even so, its overall shape was roughly correct. More importantly, nothing broke open the narrow horizons of people who knew only their own little world quite like a world map.

Even the usually indifferent Ricard's eyes lit up. Besides, Reno's map showed more than terrain. It was covered in all sorts of fascinating pictures: fire-breathing dragons, serpents swimming through the sea, an emperor wearing an imperial crown, strange monsters of every kind, legends, and treasures. There were majestic mountain ranges, deserts, plains, forests, and countless cities.

In his previous life, Ricard had roamed the Empire on a killing spree. But he had simply sought out and destroyed the people and organizations trying to kill him, so he knew little about geography.

Reno smiled fondly at the two boys' shining eyes, then posed a question as though setting them a riddle.

"Can you find Stormhertz on here?"

It was a question meant to spark their interest, not put them on the spot. Bilter and Ricard's eyes shone all the brighter as they searched for the land where they had grown up and lived. But however hard they looked, they could not find the word "Stormhertz."

"Stormhertz is around here."

"Here?" Bilter asked, tilting his head.

"Yes."

"Why isn't our estate named?"

"The County of Kaldebern isn't labeled either, is it? We must locate the duchy and work out the direction and position from there. This is His Grace the Duke of Brummbear's land. The County of Kaldebern lies to the southeast, so it would probably be here. Then, if we look for Stormhertz within it, it should be about here."

Even the duchy was tiny on the map. The boy felt as though his sense of space were being twisted out of shape. But it was not unpleasant. It was a fresh, startling revelation.

"It's this small? This is it? It looks smaller than an ant."

"On the scale of the world, yes. How do we commonly describe the Empire's territory? From the Polypus Coast to the Black Forest, west to east, and from the Cementa Peninsula to the Roof of the World Mountains, south to north, do we not? From here to here, and here to here. This is the Empire."

Even the Empire occupied only a quarter of the world map. By now, not only Bilter but Ricard too found it impossible to believe. It showed on their faces, and Doctor Reno smiled at the two boys as though he found them endearing.

"Beyond the Empire live the Salaman people. They worship different gods from ours, and so neither side hesitates to kill the other. Yet we also trade in silk, porcelain, spices, and meteoric iron. They may be heathens, but they are skilled with numbers and wonderfully dexterous. Legend says they learned their crafts from the dwarves. And this is where the Holy Emperor received his sacred sword from an angel. Here is where the hero Siegfried fell in battle, and here is where Ilya, the hero who slew a dragon, performed his deeds. And..."

Reno went on pointing out places from legend, myth, and history. Just as the map itself mingled imagination and reality, people's beliefs were a mixture of fact and fantasy. What mattered was that, true or not, they were a force that inspired people to dream and move forward.

"Not all knightly orders are alike, either. The Order of Flame, for instance, has its headquarters here. Its members swear lifelong celibacy and serve to defend the Empire's southwestern border against heathens. A noble calling, certainly, but no easy one. The Order of the Lily, on the other hand, is headquartered here, and has grown very wealthy through trade and moneylending. They are criticized for being overly worldly, but life in their order seems relatively comfortable."

Perhaps it was only natural for a doctor, but he certainly knew a great deal. Bilter and Ricard had had no opportunity for study beyond learning their letters, and it seemed to them that there was nothing Doctor Reno did not know. He continued talking, weaving history and legend into stories that would capture the boys' interest.

Doctor Reno pointed to yet another place.

"This is Fernland, conquered a hundred years ago by Martellus II, famed as the Conquering Emperor. In those days, it was known as the eastern expeditionary front. They say this is where the infamous devil of devils—or the gods' chosen one, depending on whom you ask—came from: Riki, that unparalleled killer and Sword Master. Come to think of it, Young Master Ricard, your nickname is Riki too, isn't it? Ho ho ho. Perhaps that is why you are so brave."

"..."

Hearing someone else speak of his previous life left Ricard feeling strange. His heart grew heavy, and his head seemed to turn cold. He did not deliberately turn away from those memories, but they were certainly not pleasant.

"Where are the fields of Heiden?" Ricard asked.

"The fields of Heiden? Let's see, was there a place by that name? Ah, I believe I've heard it once. I cannot be certain, but I heard it was somewhere in the north. Something to do with wool... If it is sheep-grazing country, it would probably be one of these places: here, here, or here."

"... That's terribly far..."

Ricard meant the distance from the fields of Heiden to the eastern expeditionary front, but Doctor Reno misunderstood.

"Indeed. It would take a good month to get from here to Heiden. But where did you hear of it?"

"Nowhere in particular. I think I heard it mentioned somewhere. But why did that Conquering Emperor go so far away to wage war?"

"No one knows for certain. According to one theory, it had to do with a document called the Codex Orient."

"The Codex Orient?"

"Yes. A document discovered by an adventurer named Grunwald. You might call it a secret art of a forgotten ancient empire. Supposedly, cultivating a certain power within the human body allows one to walk through the air, strengthen a blade until it slices through iron like cheese, and gain other such superhuman abilities. It is thought that the Sword Master Riki may have wielded that power."

'Huh? That's not how it happened,' Ricard thought. He had never read a word in his previous life. He had not known how.

"Lately, that theory has come to be regarded as all but certain. After all, if spellcasters exist, why should this be impossible? Several Codices Orient have actually been discovered, and some people really have gained superhuman abilities. Most of the ones circulating on the market are fakes, but information obtained through a few adventurers' guilds suggests the real thing exists. Why else would the imperial house sponsor adventurers' guilds and train adventurers in the first place? In the old days, adventurers were little more than ruffians."

Originally, adventurers had traveled from region to region collecting unpaid debts or working as hired fixers. With no clearly defined occupation, they had given themselves the grand-sounding title of adventurer. They might have thought their lives romantic, but to everyone else, they were merely a nuisance.

After the discovery of the document known as the Codex Orient, however, emperors and kings had begun personally sponsoring the training of adventurers with specialized expertise. The eastern expeditionary front, now called Fernland, was a sort of bridgehead. Using it as a base, adventurers were exploring nearby dungeons and ruins to recover ancient technology and knowledge.

"Besides the codices, there are also relics imbued with magic. Most are useless bits of junk, but quite a few are useful. Like this one."

Doctor Reno took a short rod from inside his clothes. A fist-sized orb was set into its tip, and when he tapped it against the table, it began to glow faintly.

"Oh?"

Bilter's eyes widened. Ricard, by contrast, seemed briefly surprised, then quickly lost interest.

"Ho ho ho. With this, I have no need for a torch at night. It is my treasure."

"But what happened to the people who originally lived there?" Ricard asked.

"Pardon?"

"The people who lived on the eastern expeditionary front. In Fernland, I mean."

"They all died. Or surrendered and were assimilated into the Empire. Well, perhaps a few tribes remain? But it was your family's founder, the heroic knight Chaldebert, who ended that war, was it not? The Empire's greatest military commander, Chaldebert the Breaker. There is a famous story of how he once killed so many barbarians that the blood inside a fortress rose ankle-deep. The records suggest even the people of the Empire were rather shocked at the time, and some called it excessive. Still, His Majesty granted him lands and even the right to found a new house, so I suppose it hardly matters. In sheer numbers, he probably killed more than Riki himself."

"I see..."

Ricard thought of Chaldebert. He had looked more like a scholar than a knight. He had also been the only person Riki could truly call a friend, and apart from being an able commander, he had been a genuinely warmhearted man.

To think that he had done something so terrible. It was hard to imagine what he must have felt. If I had not left the battlefield, if we had stayed together, would either of our fates have been different?

I still vividly remembered that complicated expression when I asked to be discharged. What had he been about to say? It had seemed as though he wanted to say something. I did not think it was merely regret at parting. I remembered such sadness in his eyes.

Back then, I had been so sick of war that I had not even had the strength to look after myself. And then I had gone home, only to find what awaited me there...

"It has grown dark. I think we should leave our conversation there for today. We have tomorrow, after all. I have plenty of interesting stories, so you may look forward to them."

Doctor Reno smiled as he spoke. As he said, evening had fallen, and it was difficult to make out the map without lighting an oil lamp. They had become so absorbed in his stories that they had lost all track of time.

"I shall leave the map here. I'll take it back on the day I leave."

Leaving the map on the table, Doctor Reno rose. He walked over to the fireplace, laid a few logs on the dying flames, and stirred them back to life with an iron poker.

"Pleasant dreams," he said as he left the room.

The gentle way he closed the door seemed to reveal something of his character.

Bilter seemed utterly absorbed in the map. He carried it to bed and lay examining every picture and place-name in the dim room. Ricard studied it beside his brother for a while, then drifted off to sleep. The moonlight through the window was bright enough for Bilter to keep poring over it late into the night.

From the next day onward, the brothers ate and walked with Doctor Reno, talking about all manner of things. He was a truly fine man. Rather than simply explaining the paths available to them, he gave the boys dreams and hopes of their own.

Unexpectedly, however, Bilter wanted to join the Order of Flame. Its knights swore lifelong celibacy and defended the Empire's far southwestern border. Of all the many orders, it was famed for being the most dangerous and demanding.

When asked why he had made that decision, Bilter replied, "Because I think it will teach me patience and perseverance." It seemed he had taken his father's words to heart.

Ricard, meanwhile, wanted to become an adventurer. His reason puzzled them all.

"Because I want to know whether it was worth fighting a war over..."