Side Story 3: The Azure Knight and the Ashen Witch
Chapter 1
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Act 1 –
Six years had passed since Sue Byron left Atlantis.
A year after Byron’s departure, a new emperor ascended to the throne of the empire.
However, the new emperor, Lawrence, immediately implemented incompetent policies that no one could understand, quickly losing the support of the people.
In less than five years since his ascension, factions yearning for a revolution had emerged, as Lawrence proved to be an inept and tyrannical ruler.
Two years after Byron left Atlantis, amid the chaotic political climate, Yuna Baba safely returned to her position as Knight Commander. Originally, the eldest son of a certain count’s family, recommended by the new Emperor, had become the new Knight Commander. However, he had abandoned his subordinates and fled during his first monster subjugation mission, resulting in his death.
Afterwards, voices within the Knights Order calling for a fearless and capable commander emerged, and eventually, the position of Knight Commander came full circle back to Viscountess Yuna.
Once again becoming Yuna’s direct subordinate as Knight Commander, I assisted her wholeheartedly.
Four years after Byron left Atlantis, having gained recognition for various achievements, I was promoted to the position of Cavalry Commander.
And as time passed further, today marks exactly six years since Byron left Atlantis.
I, Raines Noel, am stepping down from my position as Cavalry Commander of the Imperial Knights and leaving the capital.
“Are you really sure you have no regrets?”
Commander Yuna asked me as I visited the Knight Commander’s office for the last time to return the red epaulettes symbolizing being the Cavalry Commander.
Having long awaited this day, I shook my head without hesitation.
“None, ma’am.”
“…I see. Very well then. In that case, all I can do is wish you good fortune.”
The Commander gave me a faint smile, not trying to dissuade me further. Just like that day seven years ago when she helped me out of the quagmire I was in.
“Thank you for everything all this time. Then, I’ll be off, Commander.”
I gave a brief farewell and immediately left the Commander’s office.
The sunlight streaming through the window is warm enough to tickle.
Today is the day of Enje Lopetrefer’s execution, as well as the day I go to the dump site as her supervisor.
Enzhe Lopetrefer’s trial, which had been dragging on, finally reached a verdict last winter.
The sentence she received was, as everyone had expected, exile to the Wasteland.
However, the “Wasteland exile” imposed on Enzhe Lopetrefer was slightly different from the usual one.
[The criminal’s magic power shall not be extracted, but a controller and a supervisor shall be assigned to the criminal, and the criminal shall be ordered to eliminate the monsters in the Wasteland.]
Normally, prisoners sentenced to Wasteland exile would have all their magic power extracted and be literally thrown away as “trash.”
They would then lose their resistance to the toxins in the Wasteland and die within three years, at the earliest.
However, the Imperial Family, unwilling to waste such an unprecedented talent as Enzhe Lopetrefer, had decided to preserve her magic power.
Without eliminating her magical power, they attach a magic control device to her and make her dispose of the magical beasts in the Wasteland…
To put it kindly, she’s guaranteed her life in exchange for forcibly becoming a mercenary. To put it harshly, she’s been reduced to a guard dog who must live killing only magical beasts under strict surveillance until she dies.
As soon as the verdict was handed down, I went to Commander Yuna and volunteered to be Enje Lopetrefer’s supervisor.
I was easily able to become her supervisor because there was no one else crazy enough to voluntarily go to the Wasteland where it’s hard to even breathe.
Of course, my fellow knights, including Yuna, desperately tried to dissuade me, but nothing could break my stubbornness. And today has come.
At the capital gate.
In front of the maroon carriage bearing the Imperial insignia stood Enzhe Lopetrefer, clad in a straitjacket, myself, and another supervisor.
“Sir Knight, please board the carriage. We’ll be departing soon.”
At the coachman’s signal, I gently pulled the rope binding Enzhe Lopetrefer.
Without a shred of resistance, her body was dragged towards me like a rotten wooden doll.
“Get in.”
“….”
At my command, Enzhe Lopetrefer shuffled into the carriage.
‘…Is that really Enzhe Lopetrefer?’
I watched as she slumped onto the seat and couldn’t help but think,
The noblewoman of the Lopetrefer family, whom I was facing after six years, looked completely different.
Where was the pert bob that used to be synonymous with ‘Enzhe Lopetrefer’? Her jet-black hair now cascaded down to her ankles, resembling seaweed, and an unpleasant odor emanated from her as she drew near.
‘…Six years.’
Was this what happened to someone who had spent six years in a dungeon?
I shook my head, trying to push the thought away, and boarded the carriage.
The other supervisor, his face grim, followed me, and the coachman, after checking on us, cracked the whip, signaling our departure.
The carriage, imbued with a high-speed magic formula, sped towards its destination, cutting through the wind.
“……….”
“……….”
“Sob… Sob… Why do I have to go to that place…”
Throughout the carriage ride, Lopetrefer simply stared blankly out the window.
Her jet-black eyes, devoid of any life, seemed as if they would crumble like dried leaves, as if she was unaware of where she was being taken.
“Sob… Sob… My rosy future…! It’s all over now…!”
However, the one who burst into tears and wailed wasn’t the condemned Lopetrefer, but the white-haired woman who had been chosen as a supervisor alongside me.
The woman sitting across from me, sniffling, grabbed my arm and shook it.
“Senior…! What are we going to do?! Sob…”
“Senior…?”
I desperately tried to pry her off my arm, questioning her.
Finally, she released her grip and, wiping away her tears without a hint of embarrassment, said,
“We went to the same academy, so you’re my senior, sniff, right…?”
Her name was Ariel Sotetis.
She had straight white hair and large, round blue eyes, and she was a year younger than me.
Sotetis was a mage from the Imperial Palace Magic Department, a commoner who had been granted special admission to the capital due to her exceptional magical talent.
However, she had recently been caught embezzling funds from the Imperial Palace Magic Department and had been assigned as Lopetrefer’s supervisor, almost like a form of exile.
“Sniff… Senior, if a monster appears, I’m going to run away. So please take care of yourself, okay?”
Embezzlement. Had she really been that desperate for money?
I leaned my head against the wall and watched the scenery outside the window, changing rapidly.
None of the passengers in this carriage were innocent.
And so, the three of us, each with our own reasons, were heading to the Wasteland.
***
“We have arrived, Sir Knight.”
The place we arrived at wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.
Emnon.
I had been here a few times during the Barrier Defense Line inspections, and I had even visited this town with Byron once.
As if welcoming me back, a gentle breeze carrying the scent of the sea greeted me as I stepped out of the carriage. The cries of seagulls filled the air.
“Well, I’ll be heading back now. Good luck, Sir Knight, Mage.”
Unfortunately, the place we had to live wasn’t peaceful Emnon.
The coachman left, and we started crossing the only bridge that connected Emnon to the Wasteland.
“Ugh… W-we’re really going… We’re really going…”
Sotetis, her hands clutching her staff, which was as tall as she was, trembled as she shuffled along the bridge.
Lopetrefer, her neck, ankles, and wrists bound with magic control devices, followed us obediently, led by the rope.
She hadn’t uttered a single complaint or objection since she had boarded the carriage. She hadn’t even cursed, asking why she had to go to such a filthy place.
She seemed to have resigned herself to her fate. …No, she definitely had.
We reached the end of the barrier and took our first step into the Wasteland.
And the moment we stepped in, I immediately understood why this place was called the “Wasteland.”
“…Ugh.”
“Ugh! The… the smell!”
Sotetis and I covered our noses and mouths the moment we crossed the barrier, the stench overwhelming.
And even I, who was ignorant of magic, could sense the poisonous energy, swirling through the Wasteland like black fog.
“Mmph… Mmph…”
Sotetis was gagging next to me.
I sympathized with her for the first time.
To think people could live and breathe in a place like this…
I briefly regretted volunteering.
We couldn’t go any further, overwhelmed by the stench and the poisonous energy, and just stood there, frozen at the edge of the barrier.
And then, a man with a bushy beard approached us, his eyes narrowed.
“So… You’re here to be punished?”
The bearded man, his eyes bloodshot, scanned us. Ariel Sotetis looked at me, unsure how to answer. I nodded, and the man nodded back.
“I heard the story. They said all I had to do was provide you with a place to live… Follow me.”
I quickly followed the man, who had turned and started walking. Sotetis and Lopetrefer followed me.
“A place to live? Do they even have houses in a place like this, Senior?”
Sotetis, walking next to me, whispered, glancing at the man ahead of us.
I shrugged and looked around.
“People… are living here.”
Among the crumbling buildings in the gray, colorless village, I could see people living. There were even elderly people and children. They were all staring at us with curiosity, as if we were strange animals, their faces gaunt and sickly.
‘They can actually live, breathing in this poisonous energy and stench every day.’
I was thinking that as we walked, and then the bearded man stopped.
“This is it. I heard you’re here to protect us, so I’ve prepared some special houses for you.”
He puffed up his chest, as if he were proud of himself.
Sotetis and I gaped at the houses he had introduced us to.
“W-what is this…?”
I agreed with Sotetis for the second time.
There were three large boxes. …No, three box-like houses.
Three dilapidated wooden houses, barely standing, were lined up next to each other.
“Are these really houses? Aren’t they just big wooden boxes?”
Sotetis, a commoner, seemed to find it hard to accept. The bearded man, his face contorting with displeasure, snapped,
“Hmph, how ungrateful! I went through the trouble of finding you clean houses! If you don’t like them, sleep outside!”
“Ah… No, I’m sorry. They’re nice houses… Um, what’s your name?”
I had to step in front of Sotetis and apologize.
The man relaxed a little and crossed his arms.
“Gushu, my name is Gushu. You can think of me as the village head.”
“Mr. Gushu… Yes, thank you for finding us houses. We’ll be in your care.”