"A circus troupe, huh…"
Yuri muttered.
"Well, they can do as they please."
Yuri did not pay much attention to the innkeeper's words. Whatever circumstances the runaways might have had, his top priority was getting to Balshad.
"We're leaving early in the morning, so everyone, get some rest."
"Yes."
Francesco complained.
"Is this really the best this inn can offer? The bed is so uncomfortable. I prefer something soft to—"
"Sir Francesco."
"Mm?"
"If you don't want to lie on the floor, just sleep."
"…Right."
Yuri regularly scolded Francesco. Ever since the incident with Sibylla, he had felt that the man had a knack for earning beatings.
Even if Francesco regained his strength, Yuri was confident he could still thrash him, so he held back nothing.
"Damn it…"
Jared spoke to Francesco as if in understanding.
"His Highness has quite a sharp temper, doesn't he?"
"You're telling me."
"Perhaps, he needs something sweet to—"
"More than sweets, I'd prefer a drink…"
"Oh, that sounds good. Let's have one later…"
The room arrangements were that Yuri would have one to himself, Jared and Francesco would share, and Simon and Guinness would share another.
Yuri ignored the two and went to his own room. Sitting on the bed, he leaned Guilty against it, closed his eyes, and sank into thought.
Ultimately, Yuri had to eliminate both Cedric and the Demon's Grimoire.
To do that, he vaguely understood that he had to perfect both the Heart-Soul Slash and the power of chaos.
But it was not easy.
Chaos inevitably called forth the heart demon.
Whenever he closed his eyes, in the visions that came, Yuri had to endlessly spend time drifting. It was the same now. All kinds of random thoughts took on distorted forms and burrowed into his mind.
It was Yuri's task to find a path amid these chaotic possibilities.
He suddenly thought of Cory.
The power of chaos resembled a half-orc. Without consistency, each being formed in a completely different shape. Most ended up incomplete and were eliminated, but on rare occasions, miraculous results were born, like Cory, who had been born with the structure of a Dragon Speech Organ.
Yuri sighed and murmured.
"I wonder if he's learning well from that dragon."
From Yuri's perspective, Cruar was not wicked at heart, but his mental state was not normal. Especially with his habit of talking to himself, it wouldn't be strange if his madness flared up at any time.
Still, Yuri believed Cory would do well.
He might seem weak at first glance, but inside, he was solid.
Yuri hoped Cory would quickly master language magic and return as a great force in the fight against the Empire.
"Mmm…"
From outside, noisy sounds kept reaching him. The townsfolk seemed to still be chasing the circus troupe members who had escaped.
"Over there, I saw them!"
"No, this way!"
Standing by the window, he saw a group running busily with torches in hand.
"If we catch them, we'll get a bounty, so just keep them alive!"
"They're slave brats, so nothing to worry about!"
"When you meet them, thrash them good with a club!"
Yuri stroked his chin.
He did not want to meddle, but somehow, he disliked their words and actions.
"Hm…"
Holding Guilty, Yuri threw open the window and jumped down.
Even though he dropped from the second floor, he made no sound when he landed.
He slipped into an alley and melted into the darkness. Spreading his senses, he located the runaways and sprinted along the hidden paths of the town. Now and then, townsfolk passed right by him, but none of them sensed his presence.
Yuri moved in the opposite direction from where everyone else was looking.
The runaways were clever enough. They had created several distractions to draw attention and slipped away in the opposite direction. No one but Yuri had caught on to their trick.
He stopped in front of a warehouse on the edge of town. It was fairly large, perhaps for communal use.
"Hm…"
After glancing around, Yuri knocked on the warehouse door.
Through his senses, he felt the bodies of the runaways inside freeze.
He pushed open the old door and stepped inside.
"Hey."
Immediately, something came flying at him.
"Well, well."
It was a farming tool stored inside the warehouse. Yuri leisurely stepped aside, and the attacker stumbled and fell instead.
"Why so hostile?"
"Y-You…!"
Next, someone else charged at him with an iron skewer. Yuri kicked him down at once.
"Ugh!"
"Hurry, hit him!"
Suddenly, a dagger came flying from behind with the sound of air being pierced. Yuri leaned his body back to avoid it, and the missed throwing knife grazed the cheek of one of the runaways standing in front.
"Eek!"
"Sorry!"
Another dagger flew. Yuri waved his hand in the air, and the dagger landed neatly in his grasp instead.
He tossed it back into the air, watching his opponent leisurely.
"You throw a decent knife. Former acrobat?"
Inside the warehouse were three circus troupe members.
Two of them stood frozen in fear, while the short man who had been throwing daggers slowly reached his hand into his pocket as he stared at Yuri.
Yuri shrugged.
"Looks like the kind of guy who'd put an apple on someone's head and throw knives at it, but if you play with knives one more time, I'll just kill you."
Smiling as he threatened, Yuri made the man freeze mid-motion with his hand still in his pocket.
From just that earlier move, it was clear how strong Yuri was.
"I'm not here to catch you, so calm down."
Yuri's gaze swept over the three faces in turn. All of them looked quite ordinary. The knife-thrower was only short; otherwise, his appearance was one you could see anywhere.
Yuri asked,
"So, why did you run away from the circus troupe?"
They remained silent.
Yuri drew Guilty and gave it a little swing.
"I've got a sword too. Let's solve this with words while we can, alright?"
It was not a threat, just a fact. If he wanted to, these three would be corpses on the warehouse floor in an instant.
"So, why did you run?"
Then, one of the men who had been standing quietly in the back spoke.
"The circus troupe leader tried to kill us, so we ran."
"What?"
"A rich noble hired a swordsman to kill us. Just for fun. The circus leader doesn't care what happens as long as he's paid enough. We ran to stay alive."
That was their explanation.
One day, a wealthy imperial noble came as a patron, and they held a performance for him. In the middle of it, the noble brought forth a swordsman he had with him. He said that if they could avoid the sword he wielded, they would be spared.
But that swordsman was no ordinary man.
"It wasn't just impossible to properly avoid his sword, it was impossible even to follow it with our eyes. It was the attitude of someone toying with human lives for amusement."
"I see."
"Our turn was the next day, but we were too afraid and ran away."
Yuri nodded. There were plenty of people as unhinged as that noble.
"I see."
"Please, spare us."
"I told you from the start I wasn't going to harm you."
Yuri spoke.
"Here."
Yuri handed them something — a pouch of money.
"Take this, and run off somewhere."
"Uh…"
The circus members stared blankly at Yuri. He gave them a broad grin.
"My arm's getting tired."
"Thank you!"
"Thank you so much…"
They bowed their heads in gratitude. Yuri shrugged.
"No need. What's the use of money? What matters is what's ahead of you. That part's up to you."
The circus troupe would surely continue to hunt them. A few coins would not solve the problem. In the end, they would have to keep running.
"This is all because of that half-orc bastard…"
One of the members muttered, and the word "half-orc" caught in Yuri's ear.
"Hm?"
Perhaps it was only to himself, because he gave no response to Yuri.
Yuri asked him,
"Hey, what did you just say?"
"Pardon?"
"You said something about a half-orc, didn't you?"
"Ah…"
There was no way Cory was the only half-orc in the world, but for some reason Yuri felt uneasy.
"The thing is, our circus troupe originally had a half-orc."
The half-orc he described was lazy, self-centered, greedy for money, and a lone wolf who looked down on the other members.
"I see…"
So, the noble's reason for bringing out his swordsman was because of that half-orc.
Thanks to that nasty half-orc, the noble's mood had soured. Unaware of this, the half-orc kept acting out, and the noble decided to put him in his place by sending his swordsman onto the stage.
The noble was a cruel man with neither blood nor tears, so he told the swordsman to target the entire circus troupe. The circus leader, in the end, postponed the matter by setting conditions.
In that time, some of the troupe members escaped — those very people before him.
"Is that half-orc dead?"
"Yes. Of course."
"What was his name?"
Yuri, who had been quietly listening, asked. They looked at each other and hesitated.
"A name? Would a half-orc have a name? We just called him this guy, that guy, you know."
"Yes, he didn't have a proper name."
"Is that so?"
Yuri tilted his head.
"Yes. He couldn't even speak properly, being a half-orc."
"I see."
Yuri wondered if that half-orc could have been Cory, but after hearing their words, he dismissed the thought.
Cory was extremely fluent in speech. He was nothing like the half-orc they described.
"Alright. The townsfolk are looking for you, so get moving."
"Yes, yes…"
Yuri left the warehouse.
The circus members muttered among themselves, then bowed deeply to Yuri before walking toward the outskirts of town.
He didn't know where they would go, but it would be a difficult journey.
"I'd better get some sleep."
He muttered this as he turned back, when suddenly, the townsfolk were running toward that direction.
"Hm?"
Yuri slipped back into the shadows.
It seemed the circus runaways and the townsfolk were about to cross paths. Yuri scratched his head.
"Well, now…"
Both sides were armed.
The townsfolk far outnumbered them, but the circus troupe had the knife-throwing acrobat. If he decided to target people in earnest, quite a few would die.
Yuri sank back into thought.
If he intervened, he could minimize the deaths.
But he had no idea which side to help.
"Kill them!"
"Aaaargh!"
The two sides clashed.
Yuri crossed his arms, still thinking.
In that time, screams began to ring out.
"Mmm…"
He decided to leave it alone. This was not a situation where one could say who was right or wrong, and it was not a matter in which he had any connection worth acting upon.
Like flowers in a field, each blooming after its own struggle or simply withering away, this was a fight they had chosen, and they would have to find their own answers.
***
A few days earlier.
"S-Sir Laurent?"
Cory asked as he looked at the masked swordsman before him.
Though outwardly he looked completely different from the Laurent he knew, something about him made Cory think of that man.
Laurent was a noble who never flaunted his status, and he was kind to everyone. He was a man Cory respected as much as Yuri Briol.
"Is it you, Sir Laurent?"
But the man did not answer.
"What are you doing in a place like this? And why do you look like that…"
"I am not Laurent."
The man answered in a mocking tone. His voice was ruined, rough and hoarse, as though someone had shredded his throat.
But hearing his voice, Cory was all the more certain.
"You are Sir Laurent, aren't you? How…"
Tears welled in Cory's eyes.
"Sir Laurent, it's me, Cory."
The man Cory suspected to be Laurent was slowly drawing his sword. Cory, without fear, stepped closer.
"Sir Laurent, please, come with me to Prince Yuri…"
In that moment, the sword swept toward Cory's neck.
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