Chapter 241

Chapter 241

***

It was a cloudy day with the sun hidden by clouds. The wind blew a lot, so the flags planted in various places seemed to flutter more than usual.

However, if one looked quietly up at the sky, it didn't seem to be rain clouds. The gray clouds flowed at a fairly fast speed, repeatedly scattering like torn cotton and then merging again.

Nevertheless, the clouds situated higher up covered the sun, and the sun occasionally appeared faintly through the tearing clouds.

The entrance leading to the Mausoleum of the God King had neat marble stairs, and large pillars supported the roof according to the ancient style.

Upon entering the mausoleum, the shaded interior was revealed. There were braziers on the walls where fires blazed. The natural light coming in from somewhere was not very bright as the day was cloudy.

In the center, there was something like an altar, which was the coffin of the God King. A coffin without remains.

However, hundreds and thousands of candles were quietly lighting the place, and the melted wax was in such a pile that it covered half of the coffin.

So, the area around the coffin was filled with the smell of burning candles. It wasn't bothersome.

People came and went freely. They offered sacrifices and lit candles, quietly praying in their own ways, making wishes, and repenting for their sins.

Priests moved around and collected the sacrifices. The sacrifices were taken as food for the priests to eat or distributed to the poor.

On the coffin exposed outside, not underground, an inscription was carved. Although only half was visible, hidden by the wax, the meaning could be sufficiently inferred.

Even if there were no remains, it was something Caldebert would likely say. Therefore, that was what was important; to those who had faith, it didn't matter whether there were remains or not.

Conversely, for Rickart, his specific deeds were more important than faith.

Roy, who had finished his prayer, quietly stood up. Maters was still kneeling with his hands joined, earnestly offering a prayer.

When Roy looked back, Rickart was merely standing still and looking at the stone coffin.

"Is the Master not going to pray?"

"I don't particularly have anything to pray for. What did you pray for?"

"Just, well, so that I can love Bellin the way my father loved my mother."

Bellin was a girl he had met in the Esk region, the place where Rickart had defeated Vampire Papa in the past.

Bellin later became a member of the Emperor's direct intelligence organization, and through that connection, she and Roy had been close in one way or another.

The problem was that everyone around them knew Roy and Bellin were close, but perhaps because they were shy or had been close for so long, they were not yet married.

"What sudden change of heart? You only ran away even when Marie pushed you so much."

"Until now, I felt like I was losing if I spoke first. I'm a child too. But seeing the people living uninterestingly here, I wondered what the point of all that was. And I also feel like we've finally resolved our family's long-cherished wish, in one way or another......"

"Shh."

A passing priest looked at Rickart and Roy and told them to be quiet. They hadn't spoken that loudly, but because it was such a solemn and quiet place, he had given a warning.

Rickart bowed his head slightly as if apologizing and stroked Roy's head while giving him a warm smile. Unlike when he was young, Roy was taller than Rickart.

Before long, Maters, who had finished his prayer, also stood up. His expression was slightly different before and after the prayer. Should I say he felt more at ease? There was no unnecessary force in his eyes.

"Did you find salvation?"

Roy asked in a very small voice. Maters looked back at the two and, surprisingly, nodded.

He was curious what salvation it was that he had found, but since he had to be quiet, he did not ask.

"Let's go out."

Rickart said. He had just come to look around for a moment, so he didn't particularly have any business.

Of course, nevertheless, Rickart's heart was troubled somewhere, although it wasn't raining, just like the cloudy day now.

As the trio from the West were about to leave the mausoleum after showing their respect to the God King Caldebert in their own way, a priest approached.

"Please come this way."

It was a bit bewildering as it was an unexpected invitation, but Rickart and the two followed him. The place where the priest took the three was toward the lodging where the priests stayed.

Upon entering a small and modest room, he said as he took off the hood of his priest's robe.

"I am Steven of the Belstella family, the second of the four tribes of the Brightest Star. I have already heard Anustella's position through Malcolm."

"What are you talking about? By the way, were you not a priest?"

Rickart asked, tilting his head.

"From the perspective of Westerners, we would be priests. But to be more precise, the four tribes are families that carry on a kind of family business. Anustella trains with the sword, we Belstella manage the mausoleum and practice charity, Edstella handles commerce and industry, and Bespraon is in charge of the execution of the doctrine."

Rickart, Roy, and Maters looked back at each other once. Looking at their expressions, it seemed that all three didn't understand very well. It wasn't that they didn't understand what he meant, but rather a sense of 'so what about it?'

"I heard that you are seeking the remains of the God King and wish to take revenge on the Shadow of the King......"

"It's not that I'm looking for the remains, but rather looking into his final deeds. He simply disappeared and there's no record of his death, so isn't it curious? And I don't have ill feelings toward the Shadow of the King. So the expression 'revenge' is not correct, and 'removal' would be more accurate. Because they attacked us first."

"......I see."

"But why do you, and not Malcolm's family—wherever that is—have business with us?"

"They are those who follow the sword. They don't know the past, and they have no future. They know a little, but they don't consider anything important except what is related to the sword. However, we are the restorers of knowledge and the transmitters. Mathematics, architecture, philosophy, history, art—everything that made the ancient Empire shine. Naturally, we also remember the Shadow of the King more accurately."

In other words, it meant that this side knew more about the Shadow of the King than Anustella. The help Anustella gave to Rickart was a hint.

Rickart thought quietly to himself and then asked.

"Then you must also have memories of the God King while he was alive? He originally participated in the expedition here as a soldier. He participated in the operation to recapture the base after it was taken. After that, I know he was the commander of the expeditionary force for a while, then went to the West, and came back again."

"......You know surprisingly well."

"Because I am a descendant of that family."

"Was that so?"

"Then do I not have enough qualification? To hear about his deeds during his life, that is."

"There is no need to nitpick about qualifications in the first place. The deeds of the God King are well-known facts, and knowledge is not something to be locked away but to be revealed to get closer to the truth. The first thing the God King did after returning was to establish doctrines and carry out a purge. Those who went against the doctrine, whether they were soldiers from the West or natives who lived here, were all killed. With those who remained, they reclaimed the forest, explored, and expanded their living area. They discovered places like the Solarium, the graveyard of dragons, and the Needle Spire, and granted them the right to live in their own ways. He had twelve children from three wives, and they became the founders of the three tribes. The first founders are Anu, Bel, and Ed."

In establishing a city here and making it a new home for life, not only good things happened. It was true that ruthless massacres and strict law enforcement were carried out in the early days.

"By the way, did you not say there were four tribes? But why are there only three first founders?"

Roy asked. Then Steven added an explanation.

"It is because the execution family Bespraon is not of the God King's lineage. Besprim the 'Meat Chopper.' He was originally a warrior of the natives, but he was one of the disciples who followed the God King after being moved by him. The one who most actively and extensively killed the natives was not the soldiers from the West, but Besprim. Because he knew where in the forest all the natives lived. He made them kneel, burned pagan relics, and killed those who did not convert, whether they were children or adults. And the execution family Bespraon is the 'Shadow of the King.'"

"......"

Rickart was momentarily at a loss for words. Was it shocking? Or were the nightmares revived?

Besprim was none other than the barbarian warrior Rickart had spared at the end of the war a hundred years ago. And he was the founder of the last of the four tribes, the execution family.

"So what happened to the God King's end?"

Maters asked. Rather than asking because he was curious, it was closer to asking on his behalf as Rickart was silent and still.

"While reclaiming the forest, we came to know that there is a sea to the north. The sea is as abundant as fertile farmland. Schools of fish like herring that never end no matter how many you catch. However, once we came to know the sea, before long, the Nords came by boat. At first there were clashes, and later we came to trade. The Nords are clear in their actions. If the opponent is weak, they put forward their swords and axes to become raiders, and if they are formidable, they become fair merchants. That background is also why Anustella only trains with the sword. Anyway, the God King left for the sea around the time the four families settled down. And he spoke at this place. I meet my first death here, for my work here is done. Do not rely on me, but save yourselves in your own ways...... After that, this mausoleum was built here."

"In the end, he merely disappeared like the first Sword Master, and his death was not confirmed."

Roy said.

"The first Sword Master? Ah, the Steel Reaper? That is correct. The God King always wished to take the Steel Reaper as a model. He was always at the center of the teachings. One who was stronger than anyone else, fearless, resolute, yet knew forgiveness. The most pure and perfect human, the brightest star, Ricky. He spoke thus."

As much as the gloomy day, Rickart bowed his head heavily. A shadow was cast on his face. It was more accurate to say he was buried in deep emotion rather than lost in deep thought.

This was because Caldebert had not given up on him until the end.

Even though he knew of all that turmoil in the Empire, he might have performed all those activities to save his friend after death.

Perhaps because he hoped that, at least here, he would be settled as a wonderful memory. The killer among killers, the demon among demons. But he might have done it with the heart of 'the Ricky I know was not such a person.'

It was something deeper than a mere friendship. And he ended up proving it.

A neat city was established in a place that had been overflowing with fire and steel, blood, and death, and people were living vibrantly there.

"The Shadow of the King—that is, the successors of Besprim—have their base on an island called Hellskald. Unfortunately, the world no longer needs them. The reason the God King is truly noble, great, and sacred is that even his knowing and leaving by himself was perfect. But they are not. Whether it is lingering regret or obsession. They have strayed too far from the teachings."

Now, unlike a hundred years ago, it had become a place well worth living in, yet they were still bringing up the doctrine and killing people and poking around, so the other three families were also feeling uncomfortable.

Since they couldn't just strike the fundamental family that had descended from the early days, it seemed they wanted to remove them even by borrowing Rickart's strength.

In other words, Rickart's purpose and the purpose of the three families coincided. That was why they were giving him information about them.

However, Rickart, after hearing Steven's words, had a change of heart and could not easily make up his mind.

Coming out of the mausoleum again, he had thought it wouldn't rain, but eventually, raindrops began to fall one by one.

Could I just go back now? Or was it a task left for me? What was the meaning of cutting down the descendants of a person I once forgave?

And where did Caldebert go, somewhere in that far northern sea......