Alessandro (1)

At the booming voice of Alessandro, a momentary silence fell. Walter, as expected, rejected the suggestion outright.

"No, this requires a direct report by letter."

Walter thought that sending Alessandro alone was entirely out of the question. Knowing Hemingway's personality, he would no doubt pounce immediately to investigate how the legendary sword was obtained.

But with Alessandro's timid nature, Walter didn't think he could possibly withstand that barrage of questioning. Thus, Gregory would have to go with him.

"Gregory, go with him."

He had already received instructions from Hemingway, so there was no putting it off any longer. That's why Gregory had no choice but to head to the Radiant Light Order with Alessandro.

"Yes, I understand. I'll return as quickly as possible. But instead of letting the others rest comfortably, please put them through training."

Walter replied with a meaningful smile.

"Understood."

Gregory and Alessandro left the reception room, and before the door closed, Walter's words echoed in their ears.

—Did you hear what Gregory said? Starting today, it's storm training.

It didn't really matter. It wasn't as if they were just going to have fun—they were only making a brief report and coming back.

Rather than sending a vague letter, Gregory thought it much better to show things in person and speak directly.

As they walked down the corridor, Alessandro questioned Gregory.

"Um, Gregory, there's something I'm curious about. May I ask?"

"What is it?"

Because Alessandro was usually attentive, he'd noticed a subtle change.

"Doesn't the knight order commander look a bit unwell?"

At Alessandro's words, Gregory recalled Walter's face. Certainly, there seemed to be a gloominess settling over him, in contrast to before.

At first, Gregory thought Walter simply looked grim due to the soft lighting, but his thoughts soon changed. After all, Ernest had once told Gregory something.

'No way...'

That was as good as saying Walter might be in a critical condition.

'At this rate, the pillar of the Dawn Knight Order could collapse. The difference between him being here and not is immense.'

Moreover, Walter was now one of the colleagues Gregory depended on, and so he had to protect him at all costs.

If he truly was ill and his condition was worsening, they would need to find a treatment.

"Hm... I think you might be right."

As Gregory acknowledged this, Alessandro put on a look of conviction, as if making up his mind about something.

It was clearly different from the expressions he'd shown earlier—like he'd made a firm resolution.

There was nothing to be done for now, and since it wasn't certain Walter was unwell, they decided to let it go for the time being.

While they were walking together, Alessandro suddenly turned in another direction. Gregory was startled by this unexpected move.

"That way leads to the lodgings—where're you going? We're supposed to head to the Radiant Light Order."

"I know. There's something I need to grab."

But Alessandro said he had something to bring and quickly dashed into the lodgings.

'What's he up to...? We're short on time.'

Fortunately, Alessandro returned swiftly, and Gregory took him straight to the Radiant Light Order.

While Gregory and his companions were on a journey to find the ruins of Boriha, a new development had occurred at the Dawn Knight Order.

Now, there was no need to drive the carriage themselves—a proxy driver had been hired to chauffeur them. Thanks to this, Alessandro and Gregory could travel comfortably.

"Wow... So this is the new carriage. I have to try it out right now!"

"H-hey, wait! Stop!"

Despite Gregory's attempts to stop him, Alessandro didn't listen and leaped onto the carriage, the legendary sword still strapped to his back.

Exactly what Gregory had feared happened.

But at this point, there was no need to lie to Hemingway, and as they'd already told Walter, all they had to do was report the truth, so going to the Radiant Light Order no longer felt burdensome.

What worried Gregory was the thought that the carriage might not withstand the weight of the legendary sword and could collapse into the ground or even tip over completely.

His companions had pulled with all their strength and still couldn't budge the sword, so Gregory was concerned the weight might affect the coach as well.

But contrary to his worries, the carriage seemed perfectly fine.

As Gregory alternated his gaze between the carriage and the legendary sword, Alessandro seemed to notice and muttered,

"Ri-right! I almost forgot I'm carrying the legendary sword, but the carriage is fine?"

Gregory wondered if the information he knew was wrong. Durandal was said to curse its bearer as a side effect, but—

As for the legendary sword, he realized something new: only those chosen by the sword could wield it.

***

A few days later, Gregory and Alessandro arrived at the Radiant Light Order.

Gregory, remembering the splendid sights he encountered before, hoped for a similar reaction from Alessandro.

However, the look on Alessandro's face as he rode in was simply serene. Gregory asked him,

"You look so relaxed. Isn't this view beautiful?"

Alessandro looked at Gregory strangely, wondering what kind of question that was.

"What are you talking about? Haven't you at least come here a few times for royal banquets and such?"

Gregory suddenly realized. If he was nobility, he'd likely been invited to royal banquets or had opportunities to appear before the king several times.

But in Gregory's case, except for his previous life, he couldn't remember seeing the king's face.

He could never forget the expression of Arme's king last seen before the fall of the capital and his capture—at once filled with a kind of terror, yet tinged with resignation.

Suppressing a cough, Gregory grabbed Alessandro by the wrist.

"Ahem. Enough talking. Just follow me."

Gregory entered the Radiant Light Order and set out to find Hemingway.

Knock knock—

Even after knocking at Hemingway's audience chamber, there was no response.

"She must not be here..."

While they stood there, somewhat troubled, a familiar voice approached from afar.

Gregory and Alessandro looked toward the source of the voice.

It was the butler, Magnus. Seeing Gregory, Magnus' face brightened as he hurried over.

"Young master, have you been well?"

Alessandro, feeling awkward around Magnus, said nothing. He'd seen him before but never spoke one-on-one, so he seemed uncomfortable.

"And this must be Sir Alessandro, correct? It's been a while."

"Ah, how do you do."

Bowing his head, Alessandro greeted him. After glancing about furtively, recalling the reason Gregory came here, he became somewhat awkward.

"Young master, but why did you personally come here?"

Gregory hadn't sent word ahead about coming to the Radiant Light Order, so his timing seemed off.

"I just came to see my father for a moment."

"Ah... I see. Unfortunately, the Lord is out right now on an urgent matter."

"How long will it take?"

At Gregory's query, Magnus hesitated for a moment but eventually replied.

"Probably... about two weeks."

"Two weeks..."

It was an awkward amount of time. Even if they went back to the Dawn Knight Order and returned, significant time would be lost; yet they couldn't just wait around indefinitely either.

Thus, he'd have to find something to do for at least half that time—one week.

"If you're just stepping out for a bit, I can leave a note for the Lord."

"Thank you."

At Gregory's request, Magnus wrote a note, and then Gregory and Alessandro left the Radiant Light Order.

"Gregory, if you don't have anywhere else to go, could we stop by the marketplace nearby?"

"All of a sudden, why the market?"

"I just want to check out some gear..."

From Alessandro's unconvincing answer, Gregory sensed he was hiding something.

He'd just acquired a legendary sword, and with a forge at the Dawn Knight Order, it was suspicious to go gear shopping.

"You're hiding something, aren't you? Do you really want to browse for gear?"

Gregory thought Alessandro might simply be curious about other equipment, but seeing him hesitate and avoid his eyes—not to mention having nowhere urgent to be—it was obvious.

If Alessandro gave a reasonable explanation, Gregory was thinking about stopping by the market for a while.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=Is Walter poisoned? Stressed or what?There's a high chance he's getting poisoned by the chef...Also, for some reason, author changed Hemingway's name to Parsei, so I will follow the change, if anyone knows the reason why the name changed... Please tell me...【「(°ヘ°)?】

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