Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 73

A Restless Night

(Part One)

That night, up on a solitary watchtower on the East Wing of the Castle, two figures were standing side by side. They were looking over the city as cold wind blew through the large open window of the stony infrastructure.

The man on the right was tall, imposing, and stout while the one on the left was hunched, short, and feeble.

“How goes the preparation for the event tomorrow, Advisor?” King Gerard asked.

“It is ready. I have already made the necessary preparations for the unveiling,” the crooked man said while his hands were gripping the skull-shaped knob on his walking stick hard. “It will be glorious! We will show the Alliance our strength and cement ourselves as the only Kingdom fit to lead them to war! To end the Demons once and for all!”

King Gerard sighed as he looked down at the ancient church which was still brightly lit. The people of the Church were still hard at work decorating the place. From up on the tower, they look like ants. Ants hard at work to keep the Maiden, the avatar of Junnaveil happy. Just like ants would their queen.

What difference does it make, her position and mine? For we were both born to our position. We do not choose to be a King or the Maiden of Water.

“Responsibility…,” he muttered softly, ignoring the old man’s words. Then he sighed. “…Still. To use the most important day of a child to unveil ‘that’ does not sit well with me.”

“What is one girl’s blooded day compared to our dream, Gerard?” The advisor did not use his title now. Opting to use his name instead. Normally, this act would have been an affront worthy of being sent to the chopping block. But the hunched little man was a different case.

“You are soft sometimes, Gerard. It is your worst quality.”

“That’s because you’ve never had a kid, Arlond,” Gerard said in retort.

“And you know the reason why, Gerard,” the advisor said in reply without missing a beat.

“Yes. Not a single day went by without me constantly asking myself if I could do better if I had another chance,” The King said with a sad look.

“We are only given one chance, Gerard. Calendia cannot repeat the mistake it made with the First King.”

At the mention of the First King, the King threw a glare at him that would have made lesser men pee on the spot. But Arlond had been on the other end of that stare many times and had grown immune to it.

“I would have thrown you off this tower if you were not someone I needed, Arlond.”

“And why do you need me?” the man asked and then answered without waiting for the King to respond. “Because I do not let emotion hinder me from my purpose. You need only to see the result, Gerard.”

“The result,” The King’s feeling was conflicted. “The result. That stupid son of mine had made her question me about it. You know how she is. How close she is to the Faith.”

“She does not understand. Only we do. That is why only a select few know about it. We…cannot continue to rely on the Heroes or the Faith. It is simply…unsustainable. It is…a flawed system.”

“…I know. There is no turning back for either of us.”

“Yes. Tomorrow is the beginning of a new era.”

“Yes. The beginning…of a new era.”

The two looked at each other. What needed to be said had been said and there was no need to prolong this encounter. Thus, the old man excused himself and began walking down the stairs, where out of the shadow a familiar maid appeared and took hold of his arm.

The King, now left alone, took in the midnight air and saw the shadow of a solitary figure swinging a sword at the Training Field late into the night.

“So young, so ambitious. If it was any other era, you would have been a good choice to be the next King. Alas, I had no daughter to give you.” The man sighed at a lost opportunity. “Unfortunately, the blood needed to be passed down.”

On the Training Field, the Hero Sakagami Akira had been swinging Grunford repeatedly since evening. Grunford was a great deal different to the sword that he had been using. It had a different center of gravity and much heavier in mass. Swinging with one arm tired him faster than usual so he had been training to increase his stamina. Each swing counted towards his sword mastery. And by now he had increased his mastery of the sword by one point. 4 more to surpass the man sitting on a tree stump in front of him.

Instructor Gregory Sieghart was overseeing his training. He was a heavy-set man with a stout body and a well-groomed mustache. His graying hair was cut short messily as he did it himself with a mirror, as the man did not trust anyone with a sharp edge anywhere near him.

The man felt honored to have been chosen as the Instructor for the Hero and was quite taken by the hard-working young man.

“…9999…10000.”

Akira fell on one knee while using Grunford as a crutch to keep himself from falling. His arm felt extremely sore and his body was so hot he could imagine his sweat evaporating from the heat.

“Uph!”

A thick cloth was thrown over and covered the young Hero’s face.

“Wipe your sweat off. Let’s call it a night,” the Instructor said. “You are improving at a very fast rate. I guess the title Hero is not something light.”

“I still have far to go, Instructor.” the young man said. “I’ll continue after a bit of rest.”

“Haha, ambition is a good quality for a Hero. But overtraining is not good. It will just ruin you.”

The handsome young man did not agree with the Instructor’s view. “…I have to improve, even if only a bit more…if I want to do my job as a Hero. I need to be acknowledged by te Water Dragon.”

“I think you’ve done more than any hero aside from the First King had done, Akira. You’ve attained Grunford, conquered a Dungeon and created your own Faction! That’s an achievement worthy of praise!”

“…”

“Rest assured. With your gift and my guidance, you will become a true swordsman rivaling me soon enough! After all, you are being taught by someone who had gone toe-to-toe with a Demon Commander!!”

Normally after hearing that much praise, anyone would feel happy. But Sakagami Akira felt irritated instead. He felt unworthy. Inadequate. Because he had seen what the pinnacle of swordmanship looked like.

That one slash had shattered his common sense and his confidence.

“…Instructor. Can I ask you something?”

“Of course. What is it?”

“If we are talking about swordsmanship, who is the best in the Kingdom?”

The Instructor stroked his mustache and a name came into his mind instantly. “If we are talking pure skill, then it would be Marshall General Wilhelm the Stormsplitter. It was said that he once slashed through a storm when an expedition went awry.”

Marshall General Wilhelm. He had never met the man, but he had heard stories told about him. A man said to be so strong he could siege a castle all by himself.

“Amazing! Can he cut through sound?”

Gregory looked at him like a teacher looking at a student who just asked a stupid question. “That’s just silly. How can you cut something you can’t see? You must be delirious from the fatigue.” the man waved him off.

“Ah, Prince Mikael!” the man suddenly called out. “Care to join this old bones for a bit?”

Akira turned to see the blonde prince passing by. He looked rather annoyed as he shook his head. “I’m afraid I have to decline. I am busy tonight.”

“Another time, then,” the stout man said with a nod.”

“Evening, Prince Mikael,” Akira greeted him.

The blonde Prince looked at the sword he was holding, harrumphed and went on his way.

Ever since he obtained Grunford, the Prince’s treatment of him had been cold. A big difference to how he treated him before.

He vaguely knew the reason for this change. It was because he created a Third Faction that went against the Nobles. The Prince and his fiancée were - after all - proponents of the superiority of Nobles.

For Akira who came from a place where equality was enforced, it rubbed him off the wrong way. He would not have joined them even without being blackmailed by the hateful Connie. At the same time, he also could not join the Military Faction, otherwise he’d be on the opposite end with Hannah’s family, making her miserable.

The only choice he had was to make a Third Faction. The Hero Faction. A faction standing on a neutral ground with him as the leader, focused solely on the goal of defeating the demons.

Thanks to that act, the doomed future that he saw with his True Clairvoyance had changed.

At the same time, he knew that with this change many more hardships will follow. Even without using True Clairvoyance, he could sense the restlessness in the air.

After considering the beatings he received from Connie and the scolding from Sidonai, he realized that he was immature. Just because he had the Cheat does not mean that he could single-mindedly rely on it. If he did, then he would just stop thinking entirely and became unable to make his own decisions. Even so, he took the advice with a grain of salt.

Just as he was about to begin his training once again, his True Clairvoyance activated.

The feeling was similar to the time when he saw the war that happened over Grunford.

Images went past him so fast that all he could see was a blur. But one particular image burned into his mind like firebrand.

When the Skill deactivated, he fell face first onto the grassy ground.

“Happened again, huh? I told you to learn to control that thing,” the Instructor said unconcernedly.

“Oh…oh no. Oh, nononono. That is bad. That is really bad.” Sakagami Akira wiped away the blood running down his nose, distressed after seeing a glimpse of the future.

Immediately he stored Grunford into his Item Ring and sneezed out the rest of the blood on his nose and wiped his hand with the edge of his shirt.

“I – I need to go.”

“Where are you going?!”

"Just - just out!"

He quickly ran out of the castle and headed towards the Church.

The preparations for the event had been ongoing for a while now but none of the faithful followers looked even a bit tired. They offered candles and fruits and sweets to Junnaveil, making a large pile before the statue.

Though there were many people, none of them dared to speak loudly. At the most, they were speaking in whispers. As if to hide their excitement.

When Akira finally get there, he approached one of the Church Knights standing at the bottom of the steps in haste.

“I need to see the Maiden.”

“Everyone does,” the man said lazily. “But the Maiden is currently in a self-imposed confinement to prepare for the Ceremony. None can meet her, even if it’s the Pope herself.”

“I am Sakagami Akira! The Hero of Calendia! And I really need to see her! He knows me. Just tell her my name!”

“Please, sir. Ssshh!” the Church Knights tried to calm the excited Akira down. “This is a sacred night for us. Have some decency.”

“Who is that making a noise?” the Cardinal Deacon that had been praying along with the faithfuls came out, making his way down the steps wobblily.

“This man claimed to be the Hero of Calendia, Cardinal Deacon.”

Akira walked up to Babblebrook. The Church Knight who had stopped him before quickly stood before the Cardinal Deacon and put his hand on Akira’s chest to stop him from coming closer.

“I am the Hero of Calendia, and I need to see the Maiden. Please!”

“Yes. I know who you are. I was there when you were summoned.” the man said, unperturbed. “Unfortunately, I have to refuse your request. “We cannot afford ill rumors of an uncut seeing her when it’s so close to our Maiden’s ascension as a true Maiden of Water. Even if he’s a Hero.”

“Uncut?” the handsome young hero asked irritatedly. “If I am not an uncut, then I can see her?”

“Yes.”

“How do I do it?”

“…” Babblebrook raised an eyebrow, face deadpan. “Well, first, you have to prepare yourself to abstain from women for the rest of your life. And second, to like pissing with a very small copper pipe stuck to your nether.”

“Hah? Is this a joke?”

“I assure, you, Mr. Hero. I do not joke.”

The Church Knights behind them sniggered at the innocent reaction.

“Now, if you can please leave. You are disturbing the solemnity of the proceedings,” the fat Cardinal Deacon said. Fed up with the rude Hero. He turned his back and returned into the Church.

The Hero did not move away, stubborn in his quest. However, he knew that it was a delicate time and he could not risk making a scene now. So, he chose to step back and try another way.

“…I need to meet her before the Ceremony begins. Can you tell me how I can do it?”

“I can’t tell you, Mr. Hero,” the Church Knight that he had been speaking with shook his head, making the unpleasant sound of iron grinding against iron.

“Please. This is very important.”

“…” the man looked left and right, sighed, and then said. “The Maiden will bless the believers with water at the Main Gate before beginning the procession. Try it then.”

“Thank you - !”

The Church Knight put an iron gloved hand on Akira’s mouth and shushed him angrily. It left a red bump mark on his lips.

"SSSHH!!!"

With an embarrassed face, he apologized to the man and went back to the Castle, still in distress.

“Tomorrow. I have to do it tomorrow. God, why does this have to happen to me?!”