Chapter 98: While the Sun Shines

Tirelia's main square lay bathed in the bright light of midday. It was quite spacious, filled with statues, fountains, and trees, as well as benches where the elderly could rest.

At that moment, however, one of those benches was occupied by someone who wasn't exactly elderly. He was merely a weary middle-aged man sprawled back against the bench, his arms hanging over the backrest. One might have thought he'd passed out.

Beside him, in much the same position, sat a man who looked even younger, with long silver hair and black clothes adorned with exquisite gold embroidery. The finery stood out all the more on someone who otherwise looked like exhaustion personified.

It was the younger-looking man, who had actually arrived only a couple of seconds earlier, who spoke first.

"Molder... funny seeing you here. I only introduced you to the Artius family a couple of weeks ago, and you're already spending all day soaking up the sun in the square?"

Molder kept his face tilted upward, his eyes closed as though he'd passed out, and did not even bother looking to the side. From the moment Nerez had sat down beside him, there had been no mistaking that presence, especially not for a mercenary like Molder.

"It's my day off, Lord Nerez... Besides, it's better to spend the day soaking up the sun in the square than drinking in a tavern, don't you agree?"

Nerez did not look over either. His gaze remained lost in the endless blue and the clouds drifting overhead, his senses focused on the birds singing throughout the square.

"Why are you calling me Lord Nerez too...? Just Nerez is fine."

"Please don't ask the impossible of me. That red-haired girl who greeted us as soon as we reached the city would split me in two if she heard me."

"Don't worry. It's taken some effort, but I've managed to teach her a little about how to behave in public."

"You say that like she's a pet..."

"No, a pet would've been easier to train. You have no idea how long Cerys has been with me, and she still acts the same way she did when I first met her."

Molder smiled and sat up on the bench.

"But there's another reason too, Lord Nerez. I have no idea who you really are. No one without real influence could've gotten me hired at the Artius mansion that easily. And that's not all. Lord Alegor had my military record wiped clean almost immediately, with a smile on his face."

Nerez sat up as well, letting out a resigned sigh. He'd thought he might finally have found someone else, besides Jeanne and Rin at the guild, who would simply call him Nerez. Apparently not.

"Alegor is a good man, but he isn't naive. He must've realized that your troubles with the army were a trap set by your superiors," Nerez said, running a hand through his long hair to smooth it back into place after the breeze had tousled it. "And if they think highly of me, it's only because they're very satisfied clients."

"It looked to me like both father and daughter trusted you blindly," Molder chuckled softly.

"Anyway, if you've got time to laze around here in the square, I take it you're already getting used to your new life as part of the household guard?"

"Like I said, I'm on my day off, Lord Nerez!" Molder protested, scratching the back of his neck and making his tangled hair even messier. "But to answer your question, it's going wonderfully. Clarile and Lady Falme already get along like childhood friends."

"I'm glad. Falme is quite responsible, but she's also a little reckless. I did find her in the middle of a cemetery full of restless ghosts, after all."

"That's right. Lord Alegor was also glad to have found a female guard who could accompany her to places where a male guard couldn't go." Molder covered a yawn with one hand. "And well, I'm basically the bonus that came with her, so there's no harm in me relaxing in the square."

The yawn proved contagious, and Nerez raised a hand to cover his own mouth.

"I think a big part of why Alegor accepted you both is that he saw your talent. You can't fool me, anyway. I've seen plenty of warriors over the years, and you stand out quite a bit."

"Over the years?" Molder asked, looking at him for the first time. "No offense, Lord Nerez, but you sound like a veteran of a hundred wars when you don't look much older than my daughter... Of course, with your strength, you could've won all hundred of them easily."

"Ha, I'll take that as a compliment. But just so you know, I simply don't look my age. If I did, I wouldn't be a mummy. I'd have turned to dust a long time ago."

"Hearing a young man talk like that makes me feel like a relic myself... Since we're talking about youth, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be making the most of the day?"

"That's exactly what I'm doing," Nerez replied, turning to Molder with the most serious expression he'd ever shown him. "I'm making the most of my peace and quiet."

"Your peace and quiet?" Molder asked, puzzled.

Nerez let out another heavy sigh. Resting his elbows on his knees, he clasped his hands and rested his forehead on them.

"Ever since that day I went out to take a na... to do a quest far from the city, Cerys and Ily haven't stopped pestering me. They say I'd run off at the first opportunity if they ever lost sight of me..."

Molder looked around before asking.

"Then why are you alone?"

"They lost sight of me, so I ran off at the first opportunity."

...

"Now that I think about it, they were pretty close the last time I sensed their presence, so I'd better get going. It was good talking to you, Molder. Give Clarile and the Artius family my regards."

"Neeerez!"

"Nerez!"

!!

But before Nerez could even get to his feet, two voices rang out in the distance.

"Too late... What else could I expect now that Ily's helping keep track of me too..."

Cerys came hurtling toward him in a single enormous leap.

"What did we say about wandering off without telling us?!" she complained.

"That's right! Nerez!" Ily added, appearing out of nowhere directly in front of him and startling Molder in the process.

"I see you have quite an affectionate party, Lord Nerez," Molder remarked with a laugh. "That's good! That's the youth I was talking about!"

It was only then that Cerys noticed him.

"Ah! You! The insolent guy with the messy hair! We meet again!"

"The insolent guy with the messy hair..." Molder took a moment to process those words, then hurried to respond. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you by asking who that impulsive young lady was! Now I'm fully aware of just how mature and powerful you are! There's a reason you're part of Lord Nerez's party!"

"That's right, mortal! That's the proper attitude!"

"Mortal...?"

"Don't worry about the details, Molder." Nerez sighed and waved a hand dismissively. "And you're right, she is hopelessly impulsive. It's just that the only young thing about her is her attitude, and even that's more childish than youthful..."

"Nerez!" Cerys complained, puffing out her cheeks.

"That's exactly what Nerez means, Cerys," Ily said with a shrug.

"Ily, wait until we get back to the Under... Wait until we get home. Just you wait!"

"Nerez, Cerys is bullying me!" Ily exclaimed, hiding behind Nerez and sticking her tongue out at Cerys.

"This is youth, Molder, just not the kind you're talking about," Nerez sighed again. "This is the kind of youth you'd find in a kindergarten... Anyway, it's time for us to get going. Good luck."

Nerez started on his way with his party practically glued to him.

"See you!" Molder called, waving cheerfully. "And again, thank you very much for everything!"

Molder, who had gotten up to see them off, did a couple of stretches as though trying to reinvigorate himself.

But a moment later, he collapsed back onto the bench and closed his eyes.

***

"By the way, what are we doing today?" Ily asked as she and Cerys walked just behind Nerez.

"Well, I was planning to escape from you two, but apparently that's already been ruined."

"Don't be like that, Lord Nereziel," Ily replied, moving up beside him with a flirtatious smile. "Though I agree we could lose Lady Cerys if you'd like."

"What do you mean by that?!" Cerys complained, moving up to Nerez's other side as well.

"I've already resigned myself to you staying here with us, but you could give us some privacy every now and then," Ily replied, resting her hands behind her head. "Can't you see I can't make a move with you constantly getting in the way, Lady Cerys?"

"Getting in the way?!"

"That's enough, or I'm running away again," Nerez cut in, quickening his pace.

"Okaaay~"

"Tch, but Ily started it..."

"By the way, Lord Nereziel, what about that quest Rin wants us to take part in?" Ily asked, touching a finger to her lips. "Something about undead armies rising all across the kingdom?"

"Ha! The mortals call it Nereziel's punishment," Cerys added, looking quite pleased for some reason.

At that, Nerez let out his longest sigh of the day.

"That quest is going to be completely ignored."

"Of course! Why should we be the ones to stop Nereziel's wrath?!" Cerys laughed, puffing out her chest.

Nerez, meanwhile, covered his face with both hands.

***

Galen, named after its founder, was one of Phatar's peculiarities. This fortress, rather than the capital, served as the kingdom's religious center.

In practice, it was a fortified city built around Phatar's most prominent cathedral.

The cathedral itself served as both the headquarters of the Church of the Sun and the Enlightened One's personal palace.

For official ceremonies, the Enlightened One, the highest-ranking priest of the Church of the Sun, wore golden robes and sat upon an ivory throne even larger than the king of Phatar's own.

At that moment, however, he was in his private quarters, reclining in a cushioned red armchair while drinking from a generously filled wine goblet.

The goblet, however, was soon emptied, joining the wine bottles that already sat empty on the finely carved low table in front of his chair.

!!

A moment later, a single sweep of his hand sent both the valuable crystal goblet and the wine bottles crashing to the floor.

"First the prince gets away, and now this!"

The Enlightened One hunched forward in his armchair and clutched his head in both hands.

"By Helux! What are the Four Lights doing?! How long do they think it's been since I sent them to evaporate those spawn of Nereziel?!"

As though fate itself had decided to answer his question, the doors to his quarters flew open at that very moment.

"Most Radiant One!"

A priest rushed in shouting and, in his haste, nearly lost his footing on the uneven floor of the antechamber.

"Why all the commotion?!" the Enlightened One demanded, rising to his feet. "You'd better be here to tell me they've brought me that lich's skull!"

"It's terrible!" the priest cried, nearly in tears.

"Don't tell me the Four Lights, the four most powerful paladins in the Church of the Sun, are having trouble with mere skeletons and zombies..."

"It's not just zombies... The ranks of the undead have swelled with ghouls, specters, wraiths, all kinds of abominations... even crypt aberrants..."

"Even so!" the Enlightened One shouted, stomping his foot. "Any of our paladins is trained to fight creatures like that! Let alone the Four Lights!"

"That... that's not the worst of it, Most Radiant One..." The priest struggled to get the words out. "The vampire progenitors have appeared again!"

The Enlightened One swallowed hard and went pale. He could not help taking a few steps back.

"How... how many...?"

"All of them! All ten!"