PR: Alive Sigh & Ford 53 & npc
In retrospect, this was going to be the first carriage trip of Elric’s life.
The week-long journey from the capital to Wiven was not as boring as he had expected, as there were some unexpected pleasures along the way.
For example, the slow passing of the landscape.
Even though the landscape was barren due to it being the middle of winter, the people walking on it made it warm.
There was also something solemn about the vegetation hunkering down in preparation for the coming year, and the way the blue sky turned red had a romantic quality to it that Elvus loved.
Both aspects had a calming quality to it.
Elric thought to himself.
‘I do like this sense of stillness.’
It didn’t hurt that the ever-present rumble of the guns and the shouts of the soldiers had been drowned out from his mind.After a while, they finally reached Wiven.
By the time they reached the Portman Mansion, the sun was setting.
“You’ve had a hard day.”
“No. Aldio did all the hard work. All I did was sit still in the carriage.”
“Wasn’t I the reason you’re in this carriage?”
Tyria sounded condescending towards herself, so Elric chuckled and shook his head.
“It was a pleasant enough ride. I must admit, sitting still and watching the scenery pass by sure is nice.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Tyria’s mood softened.
Elric was sure he could tell the difference between her various “expressions” now.
Maybe it was because they’d spent a week together in close quarters.
She remained expressionless in most situations, but if he paid close enough attention he could notice rises and falls in her tone or momentary shifts in her facial muscles.
Elric was pleased.
About the fact that Tyria didn’t hate her time with him.
“Milord, Milady, let’s unload first. You both need to eat and sleep!”
Taking Tyria’s hand in his as Aldio called out, Elric said,
“Let’s go inside then.”
“Yes.”
It sure was a chilly day in Wiven.
Elric walked home through the bare wheat fields with Tyria at his side.
The familiar people, familiar atmosphere, familiar smells…
He was someone that wanted to get used to it all.
In a somewhat pleasant mood, Elric concluded his journey.
-”Kasha!!!”
Only to be met by a nightmare he hadn’t had in a long time.
“Keuk!”
Groggily, Elric sat up straight in his bed.
His fumbling hand reached for the dull dagger on the shelf beside his bed.
His breathing slowly returned to normal as he cradled the cold steel in his arms.
Elric let out a long breath, wiping away his cold sweat.
The dream was still as vivid as ever.
‘It’s been a long time.’
It seemed like it had been forever.
And the vividness of the dream was making his stomach churn.
‘…Was it three years ago? No, four?’
He couldn’t remember.
He just remembered the day as if it had been only moments before.
It was the day he stood holding the defenses of Chevor, holding back the soldiers of Calvaran.
The infantry had closed in on him, and somewhere in the midst of them was a boy soldier.
-”Kasha!!!”
A frantic shout, a clumsy swipe, and a breath that was slowly fading.
Resentment hung all over the boy soldier’s face.
But the thing that had made the boy’s face so memorable was the sword he held.
The scars that adorned the boy’s sword were of his own making.
They hadn’t been made that day, but long ago, on a different battlefield.
There was something about that battlefield that he remembered.
It thus hadn’t been hard for him to realize that the boy might have been the son of someone he’d killed earlier.
He could have just denied it.
He could have just shrugged it off, saying that that was what war was all about.
But Elric still couldn’t do it… yet.
The resentment that the boy had vomited up as he lay dying was manifesting itself in his nightmares.
”Milord, are you feeling well?”
Elric squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to calm down.
His answer came a few seconds delayed.
“…I need to bathe, so please prepare one for me.”
He hadn’t had many nightmares lately so he had thought that he was all right. But apparently, this wasn’t so.
The maid said,
“Alright, I’ll pass the news along to the Lady then.”
He couldn’t seem to get away from Tyria lately.
He got the strange feeling that when he was with her, and especially when he was sleeping in close proximity to her, he was too concerned with her sleeping habits to have nightmares.
Thinking of Tyria’s face made him feel more at ease.
Elric let out a small laugh.
For some reason, he couldn’t wait to see her.
The Portmans’ breakfast still consisted of only bread, bacon, and eggs.
It had seemed like an eternity since he’d sat down to eat it.
“Good morning.”
He said, and Tyria answered.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
Having slept alone for the first time in a while, he had had a nightmare.
But why would he bother saying that?
Thus, Elric fabricated a lie.
“Home is best, I suppose. I almost overslept.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Are you being serious?” (TL/N: I didn’t understand this at first, but this whole conversation is based off of the fact that Tyria’s extremely strict on herself and would never oversleep.)
“…”
“My wife sure likes to tell jokes.”
Tyria was looking somewhat disheartened.
He could tell by the way her eyebrows arched a little and her gaze dropped down from his line of sight.
“…So you didn’t find it funny.”
He wondered if she was embarrassed.
Tyria’s hands were fidgeting unnecessarily.
For some reason, Elric found it endearing and his smile deepened.
“It was a little funny.”
With that, Elric began to eat.
Their conversation centered around the tasks that needed to be accomplished today, and the food that would be released to the families for the start of the year.
Then one more thing was added to the agenda.
“I’m thinking of starting a knight order.”
“What?”
“Didn’t Milord say that we’d need one?”
“Ah… I did say that.”
“Well, we’ve had a good harvest this year, and trade is going well, so we’ve got some money left over. I’m thinking that we’d be able to recruit one or two.”
He wondered if she really remembered everything he’d said before.
Elric suddenly felt grateful for her favor.
And, he felt a small spark of enthusiasm well up inside him as well.
“Do you mind if I take over that job?”
“Yes?”
“I know a little something about knights. Ah… did I ever tell you that when I was younger, I dreamed of being a knight?”
“…Yes.”
“So I’ve certainly done my research.”
It was obvious that he was more familiar with the founding of knight orders than she was, though not for the obvious reasons alone.
After all, he had met most of the powerful knight orders in the Western War Zone.
Therefore, this was a chance for him to show that there were some things he could do well, even if he wasn’t so good at managing the estate.
“Are you sure?”
She asked again, and then whilst nodding softly,
“…Yes, please do so then.”
“Thank you!”
Elric’s heart swelled with joy.
Quickly finishing his meal, Elric stood up, gave Tyria a curt wave, and headed out the door.
Alone, Tyria’s eyes narrowed, and then she let out a small laugh.
She had suddenly seen a younger version of Elric in front of her for some reason.
Knights.
As one of the faces showing a manor’s power and dignity, they weren’t just the men charged with protecting it.
Not only did they have to be skilled enough to do so, but their appearance and armor must also be something to boast about.
Considering that, it was difficult to find talent from within Wiven immediately.
It was natural that the process of recruiting from outside would be slow.
After all, it was said that Armin’s guns had improved once again, although the news was kind of hazy at the moment.
A mana wielder was still a rare commodity, and their price tags were very high.
But there was one silver lining.
To be fair, it was something that was only good news for Elric.
“Is everyone here? Five… That’s a pretty small group for an order.”
“Hehe… I apologize for not being able to meet your expectations.”
“Well, no. Too many people will only raise my wife’s suspicions.”
They were the Moonlings, the Reapers of the West.
Among them, Danal, the man who had been the head of the Ferdinand Branch, started cursing under his breath.
‘Which chapter of my life is this?’
It had only been a few weeks ago that he had turned to Kasha after the loss of the connection to the main body and the branch’s dwindling fortunes.
It had been another five days since he had followed his orders and traveled to Wiven, a village where there was nothing of note.
Now that he was finally facing Kasha again, Danal wiped the tears away from his eyes.
‘I thought I was just going to be doing odd jobs…’
Suddenly, he had been asked to become a knight.
And not just a part of any knight order, but for a new one specifically for the estate.
He was fine with all that actually.
It was just that…
‘Why are you being such a dick?!’
The monthly stipend was definitely a small amount of money for a newly commissioned knight.
If that was the case, why were they even knighted in the first place?
And why did he insist on knighting all five of them?
Was this really the right choice?
Danal was filled with indignation.
“Are there any objections?”
“You have my loyalty, Sir!”
Danal shouted, his survival instincts taking over.
His men did the same.
Kasha smiled with satisfaction.
“Very good. Now, shall we name our knight order?”
“Yes, Sir!!!”
Danal hated Kasha.
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