The Reborn Swordmaster
Chapter 42
"..."
Riyan slid smoothly down from the Sea Serpent's head, which had crashed into the spectator stands.
The surroundings were still completely silent.
He slowly walked forward and lightly brushed the dust from his clothes.
Then he bent slightly and held out a hand toward the woman lying on the ground with her broken leg, her eyes tightly shut.
"Are you all right?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly.
The moment the crowd heard it, cheers erupted.
"Wooooooo!"
Only then did the woman seem to return to her senses.
She slowly raised her head.
Black eyes were looking down at her.
Riyan's hair was plastered to his forehead with blood and water.
Apart from looking slightly tired, however, his expression was calm.
"Th-The monster...?"
At her trembling voice, Riyan withdrew the hand he'd offered and glanced behind him.
"It's all right now."
The woman's eyes followed his gaze and widened.
The Sea Serpent's head lay completely motionless, its tongue hanging from its mouth.
Its vertically slit pupils had gone dull and unfocused.
It was over.
Of course, something else wasn't.
"D-Don't move!"
Imperial soldiers.
The same guards who had been struggling desperately against the Sea Serpent only moments earlier were now pointing their spears at Riyan.
There wasn't much hostility in their actions.
If anything, several of them were looking at him with faint reverence.
But duty was duty.
One soldier who appeared to be relatively senior carefully spoke.
"...For a fighter to cross into the spectator stands during a match is a serious offense subject to severe punishment. Given what has happened, we'll need to take you into custody. Please cooperate."
The soldier's tone was reasonably polite.
But then—
"What the hell are those idiots doing?!"
A shout erupted from the stands.
And it wasn't just one person.
"You're going to arrest the fighter who killed the Sea Serpent?"
"The man who did what you couldn't?"
"You useless bastards!"
Angry voices spread from person to person until they filled the entire Arena.
Not only those who had survived the Sea Serpent's rampage, but also everyone who had watched the entire incident from above began venting their fury.
"You rotten pieces of shit! Arrest me too!"
"Take me as well, you arrogant bastards!"
Before long, boos began raining down.
Some people even started throwing whatever they could get their hands on.
"D-Don't throw things! Attacking the Imperial Guard is a serious crime... S-Stop! Stop this at once!"
The senior guard ended up taking a stone to the back of the head.
Finally, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Then what the hell do you expect me to do?! Am I supposed to say, 'Thank you for killing the Sea Serpent. Now please go back down and continue your business'?!"
"Yeah, you bastard! That's exactly what you should do!"
"Goddamn it! If I do that, they'll have all of our heads!"
But once the crowd had become angry, there was no stopping them.
The guards couldn't arrest Riyan.
They couldn't release him either.
Their faces were beginning to turn pale when—
"Enough."
A deep voice rang out.
Despite all the surrounding noise, it carried with remarkable clarity.
The crowd fell silent.
Riyan also looked toward the source.
Several figures were walking toward them through one of the Arena passages.
There were four of them.
The first thing that stood out was crimson.
Each wore a vivid red cloak draped long over one shoulder, apparently to display their affiliation.
Beneath the cloaks were black uniforms and breastplates.
Most striking of all was the emblem engraved into the dark armor.
A red-maned lion.
Riyan quickly looked them over and nodded faintly.
The crest of Military Commissioner Eisenhart. They're carrying swords, so they aren't magicians.
The Red Knights.
The moment they appeared, the crowd that had been berating the guards immediately shut their mouths.
Naturally.
No matter how excited people became, there were some lines they knew not to cross.
The four Red Knights strode forward.
When they reached Riyan, they stopped.
The one in front removed his helmet and tucked it beneath one arm.
Then he gestured toward the guards.
"Stand down."
A short command.
The guards visibly relaxed.
They bowed deeply and withdrew.
Then they began handling the surrounding disorder and trying to control the crowd.
With everyone's attention temporarily redirected, the leading knight approached Riyan.
"I am Red Knight Langhel."
"Riyan."
Langhel showed no particular reaction to Riyan's brief reply.
He placed a fist over his chest and bowed his head.
"We rushed here after hearing that a monster had caused a disturbance. But it appears you acted in our place. You have my gratitude, Fighter Riyan."
"I only did what had to be done."
Langhel smiled faintly at the answer.
"However, in order to determine the full circumstances of what happened, I'd like you to accompany us for the time being. Regardless of the reason, a monster threatened the Imperial Capital, and a combat-trained slave entered an unauthorized area. Would that be acceptable?"
"Am I under arrest?"
Langhel shook his head.
"The Imperial Capital is the Empire itself. And our lord, the Military Commissioner, has a duty to protect the Empire. Today's incident nearly became a serious threat to the capital. That is why we require your cooperation, as someone at the center of the matter. We need to examine everything thoroughly."
After speaking, Langhel even gave Riyan a small wink, hidden from everyone else.
At that point, there was no reason to refuse.
If these men had belonged to the Arena, or more precisely, to the Treasurer's faction, the situation would have been troublesome.
Riyan would have had no idea what Fenric planned to do once he got his hands on him.
But the fact that Red Knights under the Eisenhart family had appeared meant this was all part of the plan.
Riyan nodded.
"I'll come."
The Red Knights moved to either side of him as though escorting him.
Together, they began walking through the ruined stands toward the passage.
Countless people watched Riyan leave.
One person stood.
Then another.
The movement spread.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Eventually, tens of thousands of spectators rose and began applauding.
The thunderous standing ovation filled the Arena.
Riyan never looked back.
One week later, late in the evening.
During that time, Riyan had been staying leisurely inside a safe house in the Imperial Capital whose location was unknown to the outside world.
The environment itself was excellent.
Despite being a secret residence, it was still a proper mansion.
There was even a small pond and a garden.
The only differences were that tall walls prevented him from seeing outside, thick trees obscured the sky, and Langhel and his men watched him around the clock.
Snap!
Riyan was reading on the terrace overlooking the garden when he heard approaching footsteps.
He closed the book.
When he raised his head, he saw a familiar face.
"It's been a while."
Neatly braided brown hair.
Freckles across the bridge of her nose.
Calm brown eyes.
Petra.
She stopped across the table from Riyan and slowly looked around the garden before speaking again.
"Have you been well?"
"It's quiet. I don't dislike it."
"I thought you might be curious about what's happening outside, so I came to tell you."
"The way you say that makes me sound like a prisoner."
"Does it? If there are any shortcomings in your accommodations, tell me. If possible, I'll have them corrected."
She's always like a block of stone.
Riyan shook his head.
"No. I was joking. I've been alone all day, that's all."
"I see."
"Let's continue. You said you came with news from outside?"
Petra kept her hands clasped behind her back and met his gaze.
"Before that, I have something I'd like to ask."
"Officially? Or personally?"
Petra thought for a moment.
"Personally, perhaps. Because it's something I would rather not make official."
"That sounds ominous. What are you curious about?"
"Why did you steal the bracelet from the mausoleum?"
"Hm?"
Petra lowered her eyes slightly.
"Didn't I tell you? There was nothing valuable there worth stealing."
"Ah. You did."
"It's fortunate we discovered it later and dealt with it quietly. Otherwise, it could have caused unnecessary trouble."
"I thought I might be able to sell it."
"There are already hundreds, perhaps thousands, of bracelets in the marketplace claiming to be copies of Siegfried's bracelet. It's an ordinary-looking object with no obvious distinguishing features. I find it difficult to understand why you thought it would have monetary value."
"Well, you see..."
Riyan was about to brush the matter aside.
Then Petra continued.
"I understand. At your age, people sometimes become obsessed with baseless fantasies or assign value to objects for sentimental reasons, regardless of practicality. However, I simply wish to tell you that you should learn to consider the appropriate time and place."
"...!"
Riyan's head snapped up reflexively.
Then he met Petra's expressionless gaze.
He sighed again.
If he tried to explain himself, she'd probably just treat him like some stubborn adolescent whose brain hadn't finished developing.
What could he do?
He was the one who had given her the excuse in the first place.
"...Fine. I apologize."
Only after Riyan apologized did Petra give a small cough and release her hands from behind her back.
Then she sat across from him and folded her hands together.
"Good. I'll tell you about the situation outside. Is there anything you want to ask first?"
"Let's start with the mock naval battle."
Petra nodded.
Then, in her usual flat tone, she explained what had happened afterward.
Apparently, despite all the chaos surrounding it, the mock naval battle had ended rather anticlimactically.
Naturally, after the unprecedented disaster of the Sea Serpent attacking the spectators, continuing the match had become impossible.
But achievements were achievements, and rules were rules.
The final result had been declared a victory for the Rodus alliance, which had broken the most commander's flags.
"Then..."
"Fighter Aries was selected as the top contributor."
At least that's good.
Riyan felt noticeably lighter.
Satisfied, he asked again.
"Good. Then what really happened with the Sea Serpent?"
What Petra told him afterward was roughly what he'd expected.
Before the mock naval battle, Sevanne had received intelligence that the Treasurer was preparing something unprecedented.
She investigated carefully.
Once she'd discovered that the Treasurer's surprise was a Sea Serpent, the rest had proceeded quickly.
After all, it was hardly a secret that the Treasurer sometimes deliberately manufactured star fighters capable of captivating the crowd.
Sevanne had simply exploited that weakness and used a magician she'd already planted in the Magic Tower.
Since the Treasurer had no particularly capable magicians directly under his command, he had little choice but to temporarily hire magicians belonging to the Tower for an event like this.
There had also been additional preparations.
One of the Treasurer's powerful knights had conveniently been absent.
The Red Knights had been positioned to intervene at exactly the right moment.
But those were merely secondary parts of the operation.
"The way you describe it, it sounds almost simple."
"It wasn't. Knowing the Treasurer's habits and successfully exploiting them are two different matters. That is why I say your role was the most important."
"I assume you also considered planting someone you'd secretly trained and using them instead?"
Petra slowly shook her head.
"Of course. But we abandoned that plan because the chances of success were too low. You already know how much attention you attracted after defeating Yavrik, the man they called the Butcher."
True.
Not only had Riyan been followed.
Even people around him, such as Haral, had gained tails.
"The eyes of the Imperial Capital are strict. They would have investigated everything around you, including your entire past. They needed to determine whether you were someone deliberately raised with suspicious intentions. Training an asset while completely avoiding that kind of scrutiny would have been nearly impossible even for us."
"..."
"And the Treasurer has spent many years as one of the most powerful members of the Council. With his connections and background, it probably wouldn't have been difficult for him to obtain information from the Imperial Inspector. That would have reassured him. Your past was clean."
"So his own thoroughness became the blade pointed back at him."
"On the surface, yes. The Treasurer himself may simply think he failed to investigate carefully enough. But anyone who understands even a little of what happened..."
Petra trailed off.
The next words came from somewhere else.
"They won't find the Treasurer strange. They'll find you strange."
Riyan reflexively raised his head.
The voice had come from above.
But with walls and trees blocking every direction, he couldn't see a person anywhere.
Instead, something appeared between the dense branches.
"..."
Brown feathers tinged faintly with red.
Ear tufts rising from both sides of its head.
Dark crimson eyes.
A Eurasian eagle-owl tilted its head and stared down at him.
