Chapter 260, I Am a Prince (2)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

Narjan is an Elf.

 

Therefore, even if Kalian introduced himself directly, it did not matter at all. Naturally, Kalian knew this as well, and for this reason, he had told Elder Zher, the Elder of Hirisca Village, his name. However, this time he did not mention it.

 

The problem lay in the fact that Narjan was not simply an Elf.

 

He had asked who he was and been told he was a Prince, so the answer was not wrong, but the other party was the Great Elder representing all Elves. The Great Elder whom even Rmain had not yet met.

 

Kalian, facing the Great Elder Narjan, raised his head. With eyes looking down at Narjan, Plants made a sound similar to words he had often drawn out to Arsene.

 

AKA, ‘Cyries’s madman.’

 

That was how it sounded to Plants’s ears. Probably, it would be difficult to find anyone as properly mad as Kalian throughout this entire continent, not just Cyries, but at any rate, this was how it sounded.

 

Narjan’s sharp eyes, which appeared to be deep silver, closed briefly and then opened.

 

Soon Narjan’s head turned to the side. It was because he thought it would be better to have a conversation with the Second Prince, who seemed somewhat calmer, rather than the Third Prince with whom words seemed utterly impossible.

 

“Who are you?”

 

Plants exhaled a soundless sigh and set down his teacup.

 

On behalf of his mad younger brother who was now even picking a fight with the Elf Great Elder, Plants opened his mouth in a calm voice.

 

“Deputy Commander of Valkan.”

 

‘I am that fellow’s older brother.’

 

Well, the words roughly had such a meaning.

 

Kalian, who had been watching the strength entering Narjan’s hand gripping the armrest of the sofa, smiled brightly.

 

“Talk with me. My older brother is very shy around strangers.”

 

“You are both equally rude.”

 

Kalian, at such a reaction, simply stared at Narjan without adding any other words. When no answer came back, Narjan spoke again.

 

“I remember what treatment your country’s King gave us. We forgot all about that day’s events and showed courtesy despite the sudden visit, yet why do you show such an attitude? Isn’t this why we’re thinking of moving our foundation to another country?”

 

“Before making a show of having forgotten past events, you should properly examine why those events occurred in the first place. Why do you think of things as you please and forget them as you wish?”

 

Kalian moved his hand to point at the floor.

 

“The Elves you should manage made the first mistake. His Majesty gave such treatment because you tried to gloss over the matter. If you leave that out when speaking, it sounds as if we did something terribly wrong. You’re angry about not being able to enter the Royal Palace during the festival, but you don’t want to apologise for the discourtesy an Elder had committed against me, so if you thought you’d just conveniently play the weak victim who suffered injustice, and that you should have kept acting that way to the end.”

 

Kalian showed a smile without a single flaw.

 

Along with that, the long finger that had been pointing at the floor slowly moved to tap the edge of the teacup. When the clear sound briefly rang and subsided, a chilly voice continued.

 

“How dare you ask my name?”

 

Narjan closed and opened his eyes once more.

 

As he seemed unable to find what reaction to show, Kalian added an explanation. More precisely, he continued his rebuke.

 

“You said Elves are the weaker party. Having declared yourselves the weaker party, you asked for my name. Then you pretend to forget what you did wrong in the past and try to shift all the blame to our side. So should I be angry or not?”

 

“I did not expect you to come all this way to receive an apology.”

 

“Since the Great Elder came all this way, I naturally thought you would apologise first.”

 

“I thought you came to negotiate about the matter with Secritia.”

 

“I came to negotiate, but I’m currently thinking it might not be necessary.”

 

“Why do you think it’s unnecessary?”

 

“You kicked away the opportunity to negotiate with your own feet.”

 

Narjan closed his mouth briefly, and Kalian’s words continued.

 

“I came to talk quietly about what the problem is and try to reconcile, but now I’m wondering if I came for nothing.”

 

Plants lifted his teacup.

 

While closing his eyes and concentrating on the peach and apple fragrance wafting from the green tea, he pondered for a moment.

 

[Am I remembering incorrectly?]

 

It was because it seemed that from the beginning, Kalian had not intended to talk quietly and try to reconcile. But Kalian was someone who could not lie, wasn’t he? So, this was what troubled him.

 

[For this younger brother of mine, ‘quiet talk’ means slashing with swords in silence, and ‘reconciliation’ means the magnanimous act of floating Arunesia, or something like that.] Plants wondered.

 

While he was pondering whether he should learn his younger brother’s way of thinking, which seemed to have eliminated common sense along with prejudice, or filter it appropriately and grow up to be a kind and upright adult, Kalian’s words continued.

 

“Whether you want to look down at me from on high, talk to me at eye level, or bow beneath my feet. Choose one. Doing all three is greedy. If you mix them as it suits you, it becomes confusing how I should treat you.”

 

‘If you want to protect your pride, don’t pretend to be the weaker party; if you want to negotiate on equal footing, apologise first without turning away from anything; if you plan to complain while pretending to be those with less power than Cyries, then don’t ask for names.’ Such was his meaning.

 

Narjan laughed.

 

At first, a small laughing sound came, then gradually larger sounds leaked out. Eventually, he laughed so loudly that it became confusing whether the person sitting before him was the Great Elder of the Elves, Narjan, or Siegfried’s magnanimous Sleiman.

 

“Secritia’s King also said something similar to you. It’s a curious thing. The two of you seem alike in many ways.”

 

And he said such words.

 

Kalian smiled soundlessly, and Plants opened his eyes.

 

*Trickle.*

 

The teacup tilted.

 

White clothing was stained green.

 

* * *

 

At this point, it was a habit. It could no longer be called a mistake.

 

Arsene, who had been sparring with the Knights raised by Count Aizen Aprin, completed by Dmirea, and sent to Valkan, broke a sword again. Though he had said he would refrain from breaking swords during sparring while solo research was fine, he had broken it again.

 

“I’m sorry, Knight Bern.”

 

And he was scolded by Hina.

 

The reason Hina was angry despite him breaking a sword was nothing special. As soon as his shield struck down, a fragment of the sword that shattered into pieces and flew in all directions lodged itself right in the arm of some innocent Knight standing at a distance. It was truly fortunate that it did not lodge in his head or heart.

 

Thanks to this, before Arsene could enjoy the success of breaking the iron sword that had met the shield, he was scolded by Hina. He was scolded the entire way from the office, where Luci and Anne were running about playfully, to the treatment room.

 

“I’m fine. Please don’t be so angry, healer.”

 

The Knight, whose face was somewhat pale either from the profusely bleeding arm or from being a bit startled, said this while stopping Hina.

 

Eventually, Hina exhaled briefly, and Arsene conveyed his sincere apology once more with words that he would buy the Knight a glass of carbonated water once treatment was finished, then returned to deal with the aftermath.

 

‘I’ll heal you quickly. Don’t worry.’

 

Having said this, Hina placed her hand on the Knight’s arm. A golden light like spring sunshine that blooms flowers rather than the summer sun gently enveloped the arm.

 

After a considerable time had passed, the flowing blood completely stopped and the gaping wound healed somewhat. Since he was not someone with Syspanian’s Blessing like Kalian or Plants, his healing speed was inevitably markedly slower compared to them.

 

‘You’ll need to receive treatment for a few more days. I’ll inform them not to train until then.’

 

At the words conveyed along with the medicine Veronica had made recently, the Knight bowed his head earnestly in greeting.

 

“Yes. Thank you very much.”

 

The relief of having nearly met with disaster but surviving well. The pride of now being someone who had received treatment from the healer. The excitement of being able to boast about what the warm feeling experienced during treatment was like.

 

Because of such things, the Knight did not see the shadow quietly approaching from behind. Just when he turned the corner of the corridor where the treatment room had been with his spirits thoroughly elevated.

 

*Bang!*

 

Someone caught his arm from behind and pushed him against the wall.

 

Because it was the injured arm that was caught, he reflexively held back the scream that was about to emerge from habit.

 

Instead, a sharp dagger sprang from the sleeve of the arm that was not caught. The Knight, leaving the caught arm as it was, twisted his body to switch positions with the other party and swung the dagger.

 

A *crack* sounded from the twisted arm, but he ignored that as well for the moment.

 

*Crack!*

 

The other party who had attacked the Knight avoided the attack with a supple movement. The dagger, having lost its target of attack, grazed through the air and embedded in the wall.

 

The Knight let go of the dagger and extended his fist towards the other party.

 

The opponent who dodged the rapidly flying fist lowered their body.

 

And while lightly touching the floor, extended a long leg to sweep the Knight’s ankle.

 

*Thwack!*

*Thud!*

 

“Ugh!”

 

With an impact that made him wonder if his ankle had shattered, the Knight’s body, which had momentarily lost its centre, swayed. The opponent, not missing that gap, swept the Knight’s ankle once more to knock him prone on the floor.

 

The other party, who had mercilessly pressed down on both wrists and waist with knees to subdue him, grabbed the Knight’s hair and yanked it up sharply. The Knight, feeling something sharp with a chilling sensation touch his neck, lowered his eyes.

 

A beautiful hair ornament aiming at his neck entered his vision. Blue sea-coloured hair cascading down was almost simultaneous.

 

“You’re a bird.”

 

A chilly voice reached the Knight’s ear.

 

“Ah. You two should greet each other. He is just a messenger bird, and while a messenger bird is indeed a bird, it’s not the kind of bird you’re thinking of, so you need not worry. He’s a sincere man that trains really hard, so just leave him be and get along.”

 

It was just before Eila’s hairpin dug into the Knight’s neck, and just before the Knight bit the poison in his mouth, Arsene, who had belatedly thought that the two might recognise each other, came back to clear up the misunderstanding.

 

‘You rolled down the stairs?’

 

And it was a short while later that Hina, seeing the Knight who had been brought back after supposedly rolling down the stairs while hopping about excitedly after being treated for his injured arm, made a bewildered face.

 

‘How do you roll to dislocate your elbow and shoulder and break your ankle?’

 

Birds did not know each other’s faces, but Eila was not an ordinary bird, and Kalian, who was Eila’s Master, was not a considerate person enough to say ‘there’s one of your former workplace colleagues at your new workplace’, so the small incident that occurred because of this ended peacefully, leaving behind one seriously injured person.

 

* * *

 

When night fell, the Mother Tree emitted a gentle light.

 

Thanks to this, the sandy beach at midnight was sparkling as if it held fine glass powder.

 

It was the same sea, yet salt water that ultimately flowed mixed together somewhere. Because it was quite different, this beautiful night sea felt more unfamiliar than welcome.

 

“You’re here again.”

 

While the Elf healer who had received the Great Elder’s words was treating Shiona, Kalian had been at Shiona’s side. Because he did not completely trust the Elves, he personally stood guard beside her, waiting for the treatment to finish.

 

Because the wound was deeper than expected, much time had passed. On the way back together to the building where the party was staying after finishing treatment, he met Nidlen with a flustered face.

 

‘The Deputy Commander has disappeared.’

 

‘When?’

 

‘I just found out. His presence was so well hidden… I’m sorry.’

 

Habits acquired inside don’t get corrected outside, but at any rate, he heard that Plants seemed to have opened the window of the room guarded by Valkan members and jumped out.

 

Where the pea had gone was obvious, so Kalian considered just leaving him be.

 

“You could have told us and gone out through the door; no one would have stopped you.”

 

Eventually, he came looking and said these words.

 

Plants, who still stood before the waves, looked quietly down at the white foam lightly wetting the tips of his feet before drawing away, instead of answering.

 

In the wind that had become finer than yesterday, the sound of waves that had become equally quiet continued to linger and depart.

 

“In case it bothers. It is brief.”

 

“Even if you go out briefly, it’s better to inform us before going out. If we find out belatedly, it would just cause more alarm.”

 

“I understand.”

 

Kalian lowered his gaze to look around Plants’s knee area. He recalled the white clothing stained by the green tea Plants had spilled with his own hands.

 

Thanks to this, Kalian’s smile stopped, and the remaining ‘negotiation’ between the Great Elder and Kalian was safely postponed until tomorrow.

 

“Are you all right?”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

Even if the Great Elder had given his word, their healing was permitted only as far as Shiona, who was a fellow Elf. In the first place, he could not even think of asking them to heal the wound from being scalded by tea water. Not only would they not do it if asked, but it was also because one could not make the request to heal Plants’s burn while not healing Debeullan’s illness.

 

Still, since he had Syspanian’s Blessing, he would truly be fine. It was not even boiling water.

 

“Yes.”

 

So, Kalian did not bring up further words of concern, nor did he ask why he had done so.

 

“Even if you keep waiting here, you won’t hear it. Because there are too many rocks around. Whales that large just don’t come this far out.”

 

He also did not say that even if they came, one could not hear whale calls from here with ordinary human hearing. Kalian knew Plants understood all this. It was not why he was being like this.

 

“Those weren’t words asking you to listen to that sound together.”

 

At the words drawn out while looking at the distant horizon where the waning moonlight gently rested, Plants did not answer for a long while. Plants, who had been looking far away for a long time wondering if he might see a large beast coming up to breathe, even if it did not come close, at least whether he might see it, opened his mouth.

 

“I know I can’t receive forgiveness.”

 

Kalian, who had been about to say ‘let’s go back’, looked at Plants.

 

Plants, without looking towards such a Kalian, looked down at his own white clothing. White clothing that had been stained with grass dye countless times and erased countless times to remain ultimately white. White clothing that remained even after directly spilling green tea and having it all ultimately erased.

 

“I have no such greed. I have no intention of living while forgetting. I don’t know why you try to take even that on my behalf, but it’s my portion, not something for you to bear. So stop trying to bury it excessively while caring too much.”

 

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

 

Having said this, Kalian lowered his eyes.

 

He likewise looked down at the white foam of the waves that likewise wetted the tips of his feet and receded, watching it subside.

 

Plants turned his head. With clear light green eyes, he looked directly at the black and red face.

 

“I told older brother Randel that doing both was greedy, but today you said something similar. You seem very confused about applying the same standard to yourself.”

 

Kalian did not answer.

 

Plants continued speaking.

 

“Thinking that you must live as Kalian but have no right to resent or curse me. Living as my younger brother while having to look at me through the eyes of someone other than my younger brother. Throw away the idea that doing both is greedy. Live as it suits you. You’re allowed to do so.”

 

“…By what authority do you permit that?”

 

“Because I’m your older brother.”

 

A sound like a sigh emerged from Kalian’s mouth.

 

*Whoosh!*

 

Kalian’s hand grabbed Plants by the collar.

 

He finally unleashed the resentment he could not hold back.