act12mini

This is no checkpoint, Aloisia! We must go!

Inspector, I suggest you get out of the way if you don't want to be run ov—

Now, now, don't be hasty.

Our guys have taken out the ones in your way. I suggest you relax and refrain from using Originium Arts.

There are some traps here that are triggered by energy. And I doubt you'd enjoy the trip back to Leithanien if anything happened to your car.

When did you—

Nnnnnng—

Sir!

Oh, sorry.

To put it simply, we would like this gentleman to come with us. May we have your cooperation?

Serious advice. We're all screwed if the trap blows up.

You're good, but not good enough to deal with everyone here. Can't hurt to hear me out, can it?

There's nothing for us to discuss, mercenary.

Oh? Are you really thinking about setting it off, just to give your master a chance to escape?

That's why I never liked you spire casters. Nutjobs.

Chill out. This isn't worth any of our lives.

The inspector isn't one of ours. Neither are the ambushing archers.

...Go on.

Ah, in the mood to listen now?

Multiple groups fighting over the same objective is a fact of life in this line of work. Some people want to keep things safe, others want to watch it all burn.

Think about it carefully.

There's a little village by the road to the southeast, about thirty minutes from here. On the highest building in the village is a shield emblem that looks like it could fall off at any moment.

It'd make our jobs much easier if you waited there.

...Such a familiar light. The real Nearl.

I've read the legend of Kirill, seen the Radiant Knight's name on banners in the streets, heard of your brother's blinding light from your own mouth.

But this is only Nearl I know.

It's just like in that banquet of betrayal... I thought I'd open the door to see the ground covered in blood, only to find myself bathing in a rain of light.

...That was many years ago.

Indeed, being praised for old deeds is in itself a tragedy.

What have you been doing all these years? Your sword is still sharp, your light even more disciplined.

But there is enough power in your blade to parry even the weight of a heavy lance.

Why do you ask when you already know the answer?

Because I don't believe you're powerless.

I don't believe you couldn't have testified to Celina's innocence when she was being tried before the National Council. It would have taken a mere word.

I don't believe that she could simply vanish without a trace without you so much as casting a glance at her.

There are many things that I feel powerless about.

I didn't think they could trap you.

There was no point in testifying to her innocence. None of us could have saved her.

The old you would never have said that. You would have pushed to have the justice you saw missing from the National Council codified into law.

There were too many forces involved. Thirteen people were convicted. One law would not have brought them justice.

So you measured their injustice against your life, and decided it was not worth the risk.

Have you become afraid of death? Or have you simply decided that nothing is worth risking your life for anymore?

The campaign knight's blows fall hard.

His lance was intended to pierce armor and shields, creations of stone and steel.

But now, he aims his pent-up fury at an unseen foe.

You're losing your balance, Czcibor. Don't make elementary mistakes.

One more, and it'll be more than your armor that cracks.

Ha...

We haven't sparred in ages, have we? Maybe I'm fiercer than you remember.

And what about you? You never considered sheathing your sword when we tried to persuade you.

Another charge.

The lance smashes against the ground, sending gravel flying with Originium Arts sparks.

Nice dodge.

You didn't care what the disgraced nobles and blackmailed merchants thought. You didn't care about warnings from on high, or whether it was all for naught...

You would have exiled yourself from the Grand Knight Territory forever, gone out in a blaze of glory for justice.

...What about now?

If you can't do it, then stand aside and watch.

I'll do what you should have.

Who are you to judge what I should do?

Nearl's sword looks like it is simply shaking off the rain.

Scorching golden light falls upon the campaign knight's armor, leaving behind burn marks.

You, who throws his life away callously, and refuses to turn back despite knowing that there is no hope?

...I don't want you to die here.

Your plan should not and will not succeed. What are you so obsessed with?

*cough*, *cough* *cough*...

Hey, you're awake.

Sorry, I was hired to cause you a bit of trouble.

By the way, we're on a pharmaceutical delivery truck, and the windshield was broken by a stray bolt.

It took quite a bit of effort to get you here. Fortunately, we can take a breather now that we're in the underground transport tunnels.

This place is most chaotic in the early hours of morning. Outsourcing, irregular transactions, vehicles turned over 'accidentally'...

Wh-What do you want? Where's Aloisia?

Your bodyguard? She should be waiting outside the city, if she cooperates. I needed her to create a distraction.

Don't worry, no archer is going to be a problem for a caster of her skills.

As for us... we're here to help, I guess, but we're not exactly doing this pro bono. And the client is a bit of a penny pincher, if you catch my drift.

So, we've got a few wounded, and I think we ought to discuss your ransom. To cover the medical expenses, so to speak.

Now, will you be so kind as to put away your wand? I've always found casters from Leithanien to be a headache.

...Very well. I will pay a reasonable ransom, I will ask no questions, and I won't attempt to track you down afterwards.

We shall negotiate like civilized people.

Excellent. I'm just doing my job. Once this truck gets the goods to the destination, it'll only be a short wait before we get out.

...I hear empty crates.

Oh, I'm not suggesting that you're the goods.

The truck was rented, and the permit borrowed. Gotta put up appearances, after all.

Plus, in the event that something happens to your bodyguard, this cross-border business permit will give us a reason to drop you off outside Kazimierz.

Who do you...

Never mind, I don't want to know.

Good. Now how about we talk money, to pass the time?

You ask what I'm obsessed with?

This society has clear-cut rules. When the price of everything in life is clearly marked and labeled, it doesn't take a calculator to make the optimum decision.

But why are we not allowed to choose less wisely?

I know the Adeptus Sprawiedliwi Kazimierz invited you, as they invited every Nearl.

Not to mention the businessmen who would have every last knight humiliated in the arena.

You could have had great power, great prestige, great wealth. You could have saved so many people.

But you didn't.

You're a stubborn one too. Why are you trying to persuade <i>me</i>?

I returned to the ranks of the campaign knights, to the path of vassalage, in order to seek those who walk the same path.

...Do not misunderstand, Młynar. It's not war that I seek. War is inevitable, and the knights must carry that burden.

Many have never seen the shadow beneath Leithanien's spire, never heard the wailing in the northern wind, which is why they can cheer for the blood spilled in the arena. But I bear no grudge against them.

Chivalry may shine among the campaign knights, but it does not come from the glint of a sword. It is not authority through violence that I want to show people, nor the bones and smoldering ruins spread across the barrenlands.

What I want to show them is that one does not have to trample upon other lives... That one can also choose to sacrifice oneself for others.

That's what a knight sheds their blood for.