The Warrior’s Ballad

Translator: Willia

The waves flattened as they washed onto the sandy beach and left behind a smooth, even layer of fine sand as they receded.

As he gazed quietly at it, it felt as if the dregs in his heart were also being swept away, leaving his mind clear and organized.

Ricardt lifted his head. And there, he saw an expanse of water stretching to the ends of the earth. It was the first time he had ever seen the sea. Though he had heard about it, this was his first time seeing it in person.

Ricardt momentarily lost himself as he stared at the endless horizon. What could this grandeur possibly mean? Who, other than a god, could orchestrate such harmony?

He felt a mix of shock and reverence. It was unbelievable. It was far more shocking than seeing a vampire up close.

The sea breeze swept through Ricardt’s hair, tousling it roughly. His hair became tangled, but he couldn’t care less.

Though it wasn’t the ideal season to admire the sea, it didn’t matter. Even if the wind was cold, it was nothing compared to the flesh-biting winter winds of the north, it felt almost warm in comparison.

It was cold, but not chilling. Instead, it felt refreshing, as though his chest was wide open.

In the blue sky above, light clouds floated like tufts of cotton. The sun wasn’t harsh on the eyes; it was simply comforting.

And the sound of the waves truly resembled the wind blowing across the fields.

Swoooosh…

“Incredible…”

Ice, standing a bit apart from Ricardt and gazing at the sea, muttered. He, too, was seeing the sea for the first time.

The two young swordsmen stared at the sea for a long time. How far did it stretch? If one reached the end, would they fall off?

“This must be the end of the world.”

Ice said.

“No. Beyond there, somewhere, there might be heaven. Not in the sky, but somewhere out there.”

Ricardt replied. It seemed more realistic than the idea of an ideal world floating in the heavens. The thought of an island somewhere, hidden from everyone, and that place being ideal felt much more tangible.

Ricardt gently stepped onto the smooth, wet sand. Like snow, his footprints were left behind. Then, a thin wave rolled in and brushed against the soles of his feet.

He scooped up a bit of seawater and tasted it. Good heavens! It really was salty!

Since most of the salt commonly consumed came from rock salt, Ricardt had assumed that all salt was mined from the mountains. But to think that this endless expanse of water was all saltwater.

It was truly unbelievable. Considering how expensive salt was as an ingredient, his sense of economics felt completely upended.

He looked at the sea again. No matter how much he stared, it seemed he would never tire of it. And then, a thought crossed his mind: he wished his other friends could also see the sea at least once.

And, overwhelmed by the refreshing scenery, Ricardt felt a surge of exhilaration rising within him. He shouted toward the sea.

“Waaaaaahhhhh!”

Ice turned to look at Ricardt’s impulsive action, laughing. Then he, too, shouted loudly.

“Waaaaaahhhhh! Hahaha!”

They couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Since things had already come to this, Ricardt took off his gear and jumped into the seawater.

Splashing sounds, the stinging cold tightening around his chest, bursts of laughter, and a sense of liberation.

Ice also threw himself into the seawater. The two of them played, splashing around like children.

From ancient times, immersing oneself in saltwater held sacred significance. It was as if the divine had prepared salvation for all humankind.

But no matter how sacred the act, dealing with the aftermath was inevitably troublesome. As time passed, they lit a bonfire to dry themselves, but since it was already a chilly autumn, they were at risk of catching pneumonia if they weren’t careful.

Ricardt and Ice hung their wet clothes near the fire and shivered.

Still, had they been alone, it might have felt pitiful. But since they had acted foolishly together, all they could do was laugh.

“What will you do once you become a Sword Master?”

Ricardt, who usually wouldn’t pry into parts of a friend’s life they preferred to keep hidden, felt strangely lighthearted enough to ask.

“I don’t know.”

“If you become a Sword Master, will you have to return to the Order?”

“Probably…”

“That’s too bad. It’d be nice if we could all stay together forever.”

“I think so, too. But if I don’t do what I have to, my younger brother’s death will have been in vain.”

“Can you tell me about your brother?”

Ice didn’t respond immediately, instead staring into the campfire for a moment. The flickering flames were gentle, not fierce.

“He was a boy who smiled a lot. But because of that, he committed a sin, was punished, and died. I had to spit on my brother’s corpse. So now, only devotion to the divine can save him.”

Ricardt didn’t understand, but he refrained from criticizing Ice’s religion out of consideration for him.

However, it seemed that Ice’s feelings for his brother might outweigh his devotion to the religion itself.

He appeared to be tormented by the fact that he had been a bystander to his brother’s death and, worse, that he had spat on his brother’s body instead of giving him a proper burial.

The pain was too deeply rooted to simply tell him to let the past go and forget. Saying something like that would likely be a grave insult to Ice.

Moreover, he seemed to carry guilt - guilt over whether he even deserved to be happy when his brother had died in such misery.

Unescapable torment. Ice was floundering, trapped in a prison without bars.

"......To think smiling became a sin. When there's this much salt water."

“Right. It would’ve been nice if my brother could’ve seen the sea.”

“Hasn’t he already seen it first?”

“Huh?”

“Somewhere out there on the far sea, there’s bound to be an island for pitiful souls. A place free from pain and suffering. And he’s probably waiting for you there. When you meet again someday, he’ll greet you with a smile.”

Ice stared quietly at Ricardt for a while, then gave a faint smile. Above the dark sea, countless stars were shimmering. Yes, there were so many beautiful things in the world.

The sound of gentle waves, the crackling of the campfire, and the twinkling stars in the sky.

The next morning, Ricardt and Ice brushed the salt off their dry clothes and put them back on. After donning their equipment again, they headed south along the shoreline.

Departing at dawn, they arrived in Harlen by late morning.

Just as they had experienced the sea for the first time the day before, Ricardt and Ice were now experiencing a major city for the first time.

Ernburg was a small town with a population of around a thousand, and even the largest town they had seen, Reinfurt, was nothing compared to Harlen.

Harlen was so vast that it was hard to grasp its full scale. The population easily exceeded ten thousand. Its port was enormous, the ships were massive, and the market was overflowing with exotic goods of all kinds.

If they had thought Stormhertz was a backwater, it turned out the entire northern region was just a rural outpost compared to this.

Ricardt first approached a fishmonger in the market to ask for directions. The overwhelming stench of fish piled on the stall was enough to make his head spin, but he didn’t grimace.

“Excuse me, may I ask you something? Do you know where the Rose Circus is?”

“...Hmm, I’m not sure of the name, but if you want to see a circus, you’d have to head further into the city.”

“Is that so? Could you point me in the right direction?”

“Well, first, find the Grand Cathedral, then head south from there. Once you’re there, ask around again.”

“Got it. Thank you.”

Ricardt handed the fishmonger a coin and turned away.

Finding Harlen’s Grand Cathedral wasn’t difficult. It was one of the most prominent buildings in the city and large enough to be seen from afar.

In front of the Grand Cathedral was a plaza, and at its center was a blood-stained execution platform. However, public executions were no longer held there, and the site had become a playground for the city’s children.

Walking south from there, they soon saw boats passing along a canal, and the houses were narrow, elongated, and packed tightly together. The canal gave off a faintly unpleasant smell, but it wasn’t too overwhelming.

Here, Ricardt stopped another passerby to ask for directions.

“Excuse me, do you know where I can find the Rose Circus?”

“Hm? Are you a traveler?”

“Yes, something like that.”

“Then it might be hard to watch a performance. You need an invitation to get in. The place is near the entrance to the catacombs. If you take that road over there and turn right, you’ll find it.”

The catacombs referred to ancient underground burial sites. Depending on the city, some were so expansive and maze-like that one could easily get lost in them.

“Understood. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy your travels.”

The passerby smiled brightly as he spoke. Unlike the stern and harsh atmosphere of the North, the people here seemed to exude a sense of leisure.

Following the directions given by the passerby, Ricardt and Ice walked on. After a while, they came across the barred entrance to the catacombs, and next to it, a very large building came into view.

Sure enough, there was a sign attached to the building's wall that read 'Rose Garden'.

“This must be it. Let’s find an inn first.”

“Yeah.”

Having identified the location, it was now time to settle in and devise a plan.

Ricardt and Ice secured accommodations not far from the Rose Garden, unpacked their belongings, and had a meal of smoked herring. Afterward, they wandered the alleys to familiarize themselves with the surrounding area.

“That catacomb seems suspicious, don’t you think?”

Ricardt asked as they walked through a shaded alley.

“Pretty certain, isn’t it?”

“They’re not acting openly, it seems. Otherwise, it’d be too obvious a place to draw suspicion.”

“But how do we get an invitation? Should we sneak in at night?”

“They’re a race of the night. Doing something at night would mean giving up our advantage.”

“Hmm…”

“Let’s observe for now. There’s no need to rush. We might be up against a high-ranking vampire. We need to be cautious.”

“Should we try reaching out to the Thieves’ Guild?”

Every city had a Thieves’ Guild. Just as light created shadows, wherever there was civilization, there was crime. If anyone had information on vampires, it might be them.

But Ricardt shook his head.

“Let’s hold off on that too. It’s probably not a good idea to reveal our identities.”

Even the most dominant predator starts a hunt by hiding and observing its prey. Ricardt wasn’t the type to act recklessly, relying solely on his swordsmanship.

Thus, they spent their first day exploring the area around their lodgings, checking the location of the city gates and noting the times they opened and closed.

That night, they returned to their inn and observed the Rose Garden through the window.

Sure enough, when night fell and ordinary people were fast asleep, lights came on in the building, and people began to gather one by one. Some arrived in carriages, hinting at their wealth.

However, every single one of them wore long black cloaks that covered almost their entire bodies, white gloves, and neatly styled hats. It was an incredibly formal appearance.

Ricardt and Ice silently watched the scene unfold. Eventually, the doors closed once everyone had entered.

Some time later, people began leaving the building, laughing joyfully, as if they had seen an entertaining performance. Those who had arrived in carriages got back into them, while the rest walked away on foot.

"Eight people are missing."

"Huh?"

“The number of people entering and leaving doesn’t match. Eight people didn’t come out.”

Though Ice was often surprised by Ricardt's abilities, he was newly impressed by Ricardt. To think he had counted them all and compared the numbers going in and coming out.

Plus, it was night and hard to see clearly.

"But the people were laughing."

Ice said. The people seemed too happy for something sinister to have happened inside.

“If it’s a vampire, wouldn’t it be easy to pick off a few people without anyone noticing?”

“Hmm… definitely suspicious.”

“Remember, though, our mission is strictly to kill the vampire Armand. Let’s not lose sight of that.”

“Right.”

Ice nodded in agreement.

The next day, Ricardt and Ice spent their time once again wandering the area. However, it turned out that the entrance to the catacombs wasn’t limited to a single location, there were several scattered throughout the city.

Some of these entrances weren’t even sealed off, and around them, vagrants had set up camp, lighting fires and living under makeshift tents.

They seemed incredibly vulnerable to vampire attacks, yet they appeared to be living without any particular concerns. Moreover, for vagrants, their faces and clothing looked surprisingly clean and tidy.

That night, Ricardt and Ice observed the Rose Garden from the inn’s window once again. As usual, people gathered to watch the performance, and when they left, the number of people was smaller than when they entered. Tonight, five were missing.

The following day, they spent their time in a similar manner, gradually formulating plans, whether to sneak into the catacombs, ambush audience members at night to steal an invitation, or some other approach.

However, something unusual happened that evening. After all the attendees had entered the building, a gentleman stepped outside, looked directly at Ricardt’s location, and removed his hat, offering a polite bow. It was as if he was letting them know he was fully aware they had been watching.

Then, putting his hat back on, he returned to the building, and the doors closed behind him.

Ricardt and Ice widened their eyes simultaneously and exchanged glances.

Ricardt chuckled.

"Hehe, we've been caught. How did they know?"

"They're incredibly perceptive."

Even though they hadn’t done anything particularly suspicious, it seemed their surveillance had been noticed. The inn and the performance hall weren’t exactly close to each other, and they had made sure not to watch with the lights on in their room.

The next morning, the innkeeper handed Ricardt and Ice an invitation from the Rose Circus. The gesture felt almost like a challenge, as if they were being invited to a duel.

Ricardt, cautious when necessary but bold when the time called for it, saw this as an opportunity. He thought this might actually be for the better.

With the intention of facing them head-on, Ricardt immediately visited a tailor to have a formal outfit made and then waited for nightfall.

As the hours passed, the sun gradually disappeared below the horizon. The time had come for the creatures of the night to awaken. Ricardt and Ice donned their white gloves, formal suits, and long black cloaks. Each carried only a single dagger, concealed under their cloaks, as they made their way to the Rose Garden.

Under the night sky, the stars didn’t seem beautiful, they looked as though they were snickering, laughing ominously at them.