The House of Roimets-Fomor. Richard slowly emerged from the back door, like a shadow crawling out.

　If he had walked out of the front door, his master, Reumetz, would not have said a word, but it would have been better to be cautious.

　Besides, Richard couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with such an opulent place as the main gate of a high-ranking nobleman's mansion. Just being there made him feel as if he were sipping on something bad. He would rather be in the back streets, where it was a little darker. The water, the air, the body.

　Each human being has a specific place to breathe, Richard thought. Just as a fish does not jump into the sky and dance in the air, or a bird does not submerge itself into the water and make it its home.

　Human beings have a certain place to live, or rather a certain place where they can live. Whether that is determined by some unknown god or by something else entirely, Richard does not know.

　It's not that he is unworthy. It's a ridiculous thing to ask people to be respectable. Some people, even if they are born into nobility, are not suited to the world above. Others are born into a world without sunlight and die because they cannot adapt to it.

　In the end, one cannot live outside of the world in which one should live. That's all there is to it.

　In the midst of these thoughts, the image of a former student suddenly popped up in the back of my mind. Come to think of it, I wonder how he is now.

　He, Lugis, was undoubtedly born into a world without sunlight, and survived there. I remember how he was covered in mud, claiming that he was going to grab the sunshine in his hands.

　It definitely had the aptitude to live in a place without any sunlight. But that doesn't mean he had any talent to shine. It is not that I found myself capable of being a hero. I just had the right stuff.

　The quality to be covered in sludge, to have your body carved up by taunts, and yet still be able to reach out and bite into life. That's why I taught him a few things. How to survive in such a helpless world. The art of living.

　That Lugis is about to step out into the light. What, even if he is a traitor, it is certain that he has been bathed in the sunlight of history.

　Richard stroked his white beard and narrowed his eyes. Wrinkles etched deeply into his face. I'd like to talk to him for a minute, Richard thought. Even though he was about to go into battle and cross blades, he was genuinely curious.

　Is the world you're in now comfortable for you or not? That's what I wanted to ask you. It's not that I was hoping for either answer. Really, it was just curiosity.

　After all, it's a path I've taken before. And a path I couldn't adapt to. There was nothing strange about a little curiosity bubbling up in his chest. The wrinkles on Richard's face contorted and the shadows deepened.

What's the matter, you're in a very good mood, scoundrel. Have you finally had enough booze in your head?

　The swear word was thrown at Richard, catching him off guard. It was a woman's voice, piercing him sharply. Richard's eyelids fluttered involuntarily.

　At the end of the back street, just as he was coming toward him, the figure was staring at Richard. His face was obscured by his robe, but the voice was familiar.

You're here too, Valerie? You're a busy man, aren't you?

　It was not as if he was speaking to the person standing in front of him, but rather as if he had just thrown the words into the air. Richard walked forward without stopping, not knowing if the other person was listening. Like Richard, the other man seemed to have no intention of stopping either, and they moved closer to each other.

　Although they were speaking to each other in a familiar manner, they were not paying attention to each other, and were simply heading towards their destination.

What is your destination?

　Without changing her expression at all, the woman called Valerie's lips quirked slightly. The tone of her voice was unmistakably that of a noble woman. Richard could hear the accent of the higher classes in every word that came out of her mouth.

East. I thought we might have some good fish. I'm sure there's some good ones out there right now.

　Richard said without blinking. The distance between them grew closer. Just as they were about to pass each other, they both stopped for a moment.

"Well, I guess I'll take the west then. The east is not easy. After all, everyone still thinks that the main battlefield is here.

"Then you'd better get it over with and make it easy for me. I'd rather stay in the background if I can.

　That was it. No greeting, no chatting. That's all they said to each other, and then they walked away. From a distance, it's probably just an overlap of paths. There would be no sense of connection between them.

　Richard stroked his white beard with his fingertips and narrowed his eyes. Valerie, the woman who had just passed me made so much sense to me that it filled my heart with gloomy emotion.

　Yes, the truth is that no one thinks of the east as the main battlefield. None of the Garlist nobles think that the heraldry is a beast that will bite your head off. They must not have even imagined that they would be defeated. After all, the heraldry is still no more than a piece of wood in the eyes of the Garlist.



　Then the more important thing is not just to win. The more important thing is not just to win, but to win and hold the advantage in your hands. Now the heraldists are expanding their sphere of influence not only in the trading city of Garouamaria but also in the mercenary city of Belle Fain.

　In such a situation, the nobles of the Garlist Kingdom and the priests of the cathedral now have only one thing to think about.

　After all is said and done, who will own the land, or rather, the profits? Some of them, Richard thinks, will be applauding the current uproar. In times of turmoil, you may be able to dredge up lands that in normal times you would not be able to take, like a thief in a fire.

　Ah, heralds. If you're going to die, take more and more than what's around you and grow fat before you die. There must have been many people who were thinking like that.

　That's why they use people like you, Richard understood. His eyebrows rose and his eyes glittered in the pale darkness.

　The only work that Richard's master, Roy Metz-Fomor, entrusted him with was the behind-the-scenes work that he could not show to the public. In other words, he specializes in dirty work.

　As he did when he brought down his political rival, the House of Bardnick, he was to work behind the scenes to benefit his master.

　And yet, the fact that this old soldier has to be brought out into the open now means that the rest of the army must be suppressed in the political arena.

　But, well... For once, the exchange between the nobles that smells of corruption is not so bad. It's going to be interesting for the first time in a long time. Not bad. Not bad at all.

　--Well, well, Lugis. You've grown up a bit, haven't you?