Chapter 25 - Yesterdays Enemy 4 (2/2)
He had wondered about the identity of the second group, who was drawn towards them likemoths.It was none other than the knights that had accompanied the crown prince Silpennon. There were some amongst them that was suffering from serious wounds.Some amongst them had bloated face as if they were suffering under the effects of poison.
Still, they were better off than the men that were killed here.They had come here to ask for help, so they hadn’t expected to witness the death of their other party.They were extremely surprised.
“Y….you bastard!?”
Artpe was wide awake, while Maetel was asleep.It wasn’t too difficult to determine, who was the culprit.
“You guys are too noisy.”
Artpe only brought out a single strand of Mana String to confront their anger.These men were like scraps compared to the men that had ambushed Artpe’s party.They were maggots, who ran away, because they couldn’t handle a single level 118 knight.
“Be quiet.Forever.”
“Kuhk…..!”
The Mana String cut through the air.Four knights had survived, and they had run away towards this direction.He took care of them in six seconds.Afterwards, a woman ran into the clearing.She had great timing.
“You bastards!You dare to call yourselves knights, who protect the royal family….Mmmm!?”
“Shhh.”
Artpe was still within the bedroll, and he was glaring at the female knight Leseti with narrowed eyes.Leseti saw the numerous corpses strewn around the clearing, so she closed her mouth.
She was pretty good on the uptake, so she was able to easily identify, who was behind the slaughter.
‘I had a hunch that he wasn’t normal, but I never expected him to be such an overwhelming force.Who is this young man….Mmm?’
She was so scared that she was unable to let out even a squeak under Artpe’s murderous gaze.She silently went over the situation when she suddenly had an epiphany.
There was an incident near here only a year ago.Two heroes had been born in a country village.When they disappeared, the whole kingdom had been in an uproar!
Two youths....
They were incomprehensibly strong compared to their ages.
Black hair and blonde hair….
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”
“Mmmm, Artpe…...?”
“Ah.”
Leseti couldn’t hold back her exclamation of surprise.Maetel opened her eyes.Leseti belatedly realized she had made a mistake.Artpe sharply raised a finger, and Leseti shut her eyes when she saw it.
A brief amount of time had passed.
“Are you ok, Artpe?”
“I wasn’t hurt at all, so you don’t have to touch me constantly.I’ll clean this up, so you should keep your eyes close.”
“I'm not going to close my eyes.I’m all right now.I’ll be fine since Artpe is here.”
“You don’t look fine….All right.You do whatever you want.”
“Yes!”
If she hadn’t seen the corpses everywhere around her, she would have been able to continue her sleep.However, once she found about about them, sleep wasn’t an option.The two heroes got up from their sleeping place, and they put away the bedroll.They started working on cleaning up the corpses strewn about their surrounding.
Artpe took all of the equipment that was useful.He also took all the silver coins they possessed.Maetel gathered the corpses he was done ‘looting.’
“Artpe, why do we have to kill other people?”
“It is the same reason as to why we killed the monsters.We all have something we want from each other.Everything else is just an excuse.The plethora of excuses given for harming living beings are just embellishments.”
“I see…..The act of living is very hard in itself.”
“The important part is to realize that we have to live within such a world.You can respect the lives of other people, but when there is a collision, you have carry through to enforce your way of life.”
“Yes.All right.”
Thirteen year old brats were talking about philosophical bullshit as they calmly cleared away the corpses.What was she supposed to say to them?Should she disagree with their views?Should she tell them to go read more books?
Of course, Leseti was banned from speaking, so she didn’t say anything.She continued to raise her two hands as she sat on her knees.This was a punishment devised by Artpe.
“That it.Did you gather all of them Maetel?”
“Yes!”
“All right.”
After Artpe threw all the corpses into the fire, he turned to look at Leseti.She still had her arms up as she carried out the order she was given.Artpe smirked as he spoke.
“Your punishment is at an end.You should go back to the crown prince.As you probably realize by now, no one will side with you even if you head back towards the palace.The two of you should go to a remote village.You should live a quiet life, while tending to cows.”
“Koohk…...”
Leseti couldn’t give a proper retort.She just groaned.
Yes, the only thing going for the crown prince was that he was the legitimate heir.However, in regards to all other issues, the rebels held the upper hand.No one would side with them.That was the miserable truth.
”Hey”
At that moment, a young man pushed past the brush, and he gave a reply instead of Leseti.
“Do you know why there was a rebellion against the Diaz family?”
It was the red haired crown prince Silpennon.Of course, Artpe had already sensed him getting close.This was why he wasn’t surprised as he gave his reply.
“Did they perhaps attack the king on the fact that he wasn’t able to properly take care of the heroes?”
“You are correct.Of course, I don’t plan on putting the blame on you guys.That incident was merely the trigger.My uncle….The duke was a wild beast, who had been waiting for an opportunity to tear into the king.If it wasn’t the escape of the heroes, he would have found another reason to start a rebellion”
Silpennon had already come to the same conclusion as Leseti that Artpe and Maetel were heroes. Still, his face remained aloof.It was said that a man grows through hardship.His gaze remained on Artpe instead of Maetel.
“You are right.Even if I recklessly went back to the palace, there isn’t much that I could do.I’m just a brat that was lucky enough to be born as the crown prince.If I act rashly, my head would be severed.It would be mounted next to the king’s head.”
“Your highness…..!”
“This is why I have to go with you guys.”
“What?”
His words were very unexpected.However, Silpennon continued to speak with a sincere voice.
“The duke rebelled using the fact that my father had lost track of the heroes.The duke used that reason to gain the throne.Now he will use all available resources to find the heroes in an attempt to solidify his reign.”
“That’ll seems likely.”
“So what would happen if I’m already in the party of the heroes?”
What was this bastard talking about?
When Artpe glared at Silpennon, he provided an explanation.
“The new king would be unable to find the heroes, yet I would be in the party of the heroes.I would be helping the the heroes.In the end, we would succeed in killing the Demon King!At that time, who would the people and the nobles want on the throne!They would want me, who gained the title of hero!”
“Oh oh. It is a very risky and wild plan!Still, it isn’t too bad.”
“Isn’t it!?”
It was a good idea considering it was devised by a kid.This stupid kingdom put importance on titles compared to any other place in the world.This plan sounded like it could actually work!
Artpe nodded his head as if there was merit to his plan.Silpennon was excited by this fact, so he started shouting his words.
“That is why you guys should team up with me!From this moment on, I’ll throw away my rank as the crown prince.I’ll help you guys defeat the Demon King.I’ll become a key player within the hero’s party!”
“Hold your horses.There is a very big flaw within your plan that can’t be ignored.”
Artpe spoke coldly.
“You are too weak.You won’t be of any help to us.I’ll be blunt.You’ll be a burden, so get lost.”
“Koo-huhk!”
The astute comment was a critical hit!The crown prince had no way of refuting that fact!The current hero’s words had a multiplier effect!