Side Story 16. Spider Trap (5)
Zendia retrieved a quill and ink from his bag as he said, "Write down the names of your friend and his father. That way, you’ll know them if you ever come back one day."
Caesar shook his head. "I don't know how… to write.”
Zendia was flustered by this. His grandchildren, Denburg and Hestia, not only knew how to write but were fluent in several foreign languages as well.
As he recalled his children and his eldest grandson, Zendia nodded. In recent years, he had become accustomed to his youngest grandson and eldest granddaughter, but Caesar wasn’t the outlier here.
Zendia put away the quill and ink that he’d just taken out. "I'll write them for you, so you can just tell me."
Caesar told him their names, and Zendia unsheathed a sword from his waist and swung it. Then, their names were engraved on the gravestone in elegant writing.
Caesar admired and touched the gravestone lightly. So they really are dead.
Seeing the large burial mound behind the gravestone caused complicated feelings to arise.
"What will happen to me… now?"
Caesar was worried about his situation. When the village was intact, even though he was a black sheep, he could find a place to sleep and something to eat.
However, all the adults in the village were dead. Not only adults but also every single child as well. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the entire village was gone.
"Well, you have many choices."
At Zendia's answer, Caesar swallowed dryly. "M, many choices?"
"Yes. One is to enter an orphanage and live a normal life."
Caesar calmly closed his eyes and recalled himself going to the orphanage. It was clear that the "normal" life that the old man talked about was no different from his life up to this point. Wake up in the morning, be wary of other people, and retrieve water. Become another black sheep—that kind of life.
"What about the other choices?” asked Caesar.
Zendia replied with a deep smile, "To follow me. If you become my disciple and receive my teaching, it would be difficult, but it would make you strong.”
It was good to be strong. He didn’t know how strong he’d become, but maybe he would grow enough where he wouldn’t have to tremble helplessly like last night. Perhaps he would be able to protect his precious friends.
Caesar carefully considered the options that Zendia had put forward and then asked, "If I become Grandfather’s student, will I be able to become a knight?” [1]
Zendia shook his head. "No, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to become one."
You couldn’t become a knight just by being powerful. It was more like a class and a rank. Most importantly, any opportunities that Zendia could create were through the empire’s systems.
"Then... Can I get revenge?"
"That should be possible."
At Zendia's answer, Caesar nodded. "Then I'll become Grandfather's disciple... No, I will become Teacher-nim’s disciple."
As he responded, he dragged his hand down a name on the gravestone. The name that said "Flam Dainter."
"Good choice, Caesar."
Zendia was sincerely happy and extended his hand, but Caesar hesitated at the outstretched hand. Then, he took the hand with a determined face. "Thank you for the name ‘Caesar.’ But I want to live under a different name until my revenge is completed."
"Another name?"
Caesar looked at his friend's grave. "Flam, Flam Dainter."
It was the name of his friend who wanted to become a knight and protect the village.
* * *
After arriving at the foot of the mountain, Glont and Bloody left the carriage. They began to climb the mountain with all their might, injecting mana into their legs. In an instant, they scaled a cliff that no human should be able to climb and jumped on tall, frigid mountain peaks.
"Is it okay to miss an appointment with the previous emperor like that?”
Glont snorted at Bloody's worries. "Hmph! What do you think an old man in a backroom can do to me?”
"I suppose you have a point. You were one of the five people who removed him from the throne.” Bloody shrugged as he jumped down the steep valley.
Among the people who forced the previous emperor to abdicate the throne, they were the empire's current emperor, Prime Minister Arcanta, the Northern Tiger Duke Asteria, Cardinal Fernando of the Great Temple, and the hero, General Glont.
These were the five. They made up an anti-corruption group comprised of the top figures from each sector: the Imperial family, financial world, politics, religion, and the military. There was no need for the core figures of this successful anti-corruption group to fear the ghosts of the past.
"Ootcha!" While falling, Bloody caught a tree growing in the middle of the valley and slowed down as he calmly landed.
Glont immediately jumped after him and followed beside Bloody, grumbling, "Is this the right path to get to Sir? No, this isn’t a path in the first place."
Bloody chuckled and laughed. "Ayy, in this area, this is a well-maintained road. The carriage can't even pass anyway because it's a mountain trail. Why, do you need to go back?”
In short, it was not a road for people to travel but a straight line to the destination.
"And when I think of the forest in my hometown, this is akin to flat land,” Bloody added.
Glont stuck his tongue out. So far, the entire ‘road’ had been rough terrain that did not fit the definition of a road. "Hmm, it's a good thing I rejected His Highness, the Duke’s offer when he asked me to go to Olympus Forest with him."
At that time, he refused because it was wartime. Instead, in order to soothe the sulky duke later, he had to search the Demon’s Territory and retrieve a phoenix's feathers from its nest.
"By the way, are we still far away?”
"We're almost there. If we just cross that hill, the village should be there.”
At the sound of ‘village,’ Glont again frowned in a frightening manner. "Let's hurry.”
Glont increased his speed and began to run.
* * *
Having just become his disciple, Zendia warned Caesar, "If you live with the name of one who is dead, you may someday be crushed to death. The name that people have signifies the amount of weight they can bear."
Caesar didn’t understand what he was worried about. He was too young to understand these words. However, he could definitely tell that his teacher was concerned about him.
"I didn't have a name before, so it's… okay." Caesar used the unfamiliar style of speaking he’d heard before and met his teacher’s gaze with clear eyes. [2]
In response to the firm answer, Zendia sighed as if giving up. "Yeah. If that's your will, it can't be helped. If the weight ever becomes unbearable, just take it off and throw it away before you are weighed down and crushed forever."
He still didn't understand his teacher's words. It would be in the distant future when Caesar vaguely understood it. That would be a day when he faced death. It'd be a time where he would be saddened by the feeling of not having anything, focusing only on what he had lost.
"It's hard to understand, but there's no way I- no, myself, will throw it away." However, the young Caesar had no way of telling the future, so he just held onto his feelings.
Zendia felt sorry for his young disciple and stroked his head. Then, he looked far away towards the hill. "The guests arrived earlier than I thought."
Caesar was embarrassed by the unfamiliar experience of someone stroking his head when he grew nervous at those words. "Guests…?"
His body’s stiffness was evidence that his fear from last night was still present. Zendia smiled softly and comforted him, "Don't worry. They're guests that I called here.”
As soon as Zendia finished speaking, two men appeared from the direction of the hill. With the appearance of these strangers, Caesar hid behind Zendia.
"Yahoo! Father! It's been a while!" Bloody waved energetically and called to Zendia.
"Father…?"
When Caesar looked up at his teacher, Zendia stroked his head and smiled. "That person with black hair is my youngest son."
Caesar seemed a little relieved at this introduction, and he looked at the two men running toward them. Although they were far away, the two people arrived quickly and approached Zendia.
"It's been a while since we first met, Sir."
At Glont's greeting, Zendia nodded. "Long time no see. I don't know if the Youngest has given you a hard time.”
Glont waved his hands at Zendia's worry. "Ohohoho! No way! He's been a great help."
"That's a relief."
When Zendia looked at his son with distrust, Bloody protested, sticking out his lips and pouting. "I'm working hard, too! Not too long ago, I made a brilliant contribution when there was a flood of demons in the Demon’s Territory."
Zendia smiled kindly at this protest. "Okay, okay. The flood of demons was not a recent event but three years ago. Still, if you worked hard, then that’s good."
"But this child...”
When Glont trailed off as he looked at Caesar hiding behind Zendia, Zendia nodded. "He's the only survivor here."
Glont's expression changed drastically at the answer he expected. After rubbing his face ruefully, he got on one knee and carefully reached out to Caesar. When Caesar flinched, Glont withdrew his hand and looked at him. "I... I'm sorry."
Caesar was puzzled when this ahjussi he’d met for the first time started apologizing to him. Why is this man apologizing? And why is he making such a sad face?
He couldn't be sure, but he felt a sense of kinship in this man’s eyes as if he, too, had lost everything.
"Can I know your name?"
At Glont's question, Caesar carefully opened his mouth. "Flam Dainter…."
Caesar said the name he decided to take on, not the name given by his teacher.
"Okay... Flam. I made an irreversible mistake, but I will take responsibility somehow. Even if I lose everything, I swear,” Glont said with determination. He then stood up and looked at Zendia. "I want to look around the village.”
Zendia looked at the shabby warehouses in the corner of the village and replied, "I know. I can't be here forever, so I'll head down to the city with this child. Call me if something comes up."
Glont nodded and said his farewell to Caesar. "Thank you. I’ll see you next time if there’s an opportunity. Although, I don't know if you’ll want to see me when that happens."
Then, he immediately moved to the warehouse that Zendia looked at.
"See you later, kid. See you again, Father." Bloody also waved and said goodbye before following Glont.
In the warehouse, the bodies of the empire’s knights and soldiers who slaughtered the villagers were gathered. They were placed in one area without being buried so that Glont could see them. Glont intended to find out who ordered the slaughter using the identification marks and orders given to the knights.
"Then let's head down and have lunch in the city." Zendia lifted Caesar gently. On his own, it was impossible for Caesar to travel down the mountain by lunchtime.
After briefly meeting and separating from Glont, the next time they would meet would be after quite some time. At that time, Glont would be the Director of the Adventurers’ Guild, not the head of the empire’s army.
Caesar looked at his hometown disappearing into the distance while being carried away by Zendia. The village, which was full of life as he came down the hill last evening, now looked desolate without a single aura of life.
1. Old people are often referred to as Grandfather/mother even if not biologically related. Just like calling a middle-aged man Uncle. ?
2. The strange style of speaking that the dead Flam used. ?
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