SML Ch 8

Chapter 8

It seemed the black-haired young man sitting over there was the injured guardsman in question.

He’s got quite a threatening appearance.

For a moment, Reynald even wondered if Heide had brought him to a prison rather than the infirmary. Of course, he knew better than to judge someone based solely on appearances, but in all his forty-seven years of life, Reynald had never encountered a youth whose features were quite so chilling.

The young man’s eyes were slashed in a menacing way—not just sharp in shape, but covered in scars. Scars severe enough that it wouldn’t be surprising if he had lost his sight, though fortunately, both of his eyes appeared to be intact. Displeasure simmered in his green irises as he stared silently at Reynald.

His other features were equally fierce. Just walking down the street would likely cause passersby to shrink away in fear or draw suspicious glances from other guardsmen. The fact that this young man was a member of the guards was, in fact, rather ironic.

Broad shoulders and a rugged, muscular build further contributed to the young man’s intimidating impression. Volant was a fairly large man himself, but it was clear that this youth surpassed him by a few centimeters at least.

The atmosphere was such that speaking to him might very well earn a punch to the face. Granted, the young man’s right arm was heavily bandaged, so any punches probably wouldn’t pack too much power. Reynald shifted his gaze to Volant, who stood beside him. Volant had a stern face that could look quite grim when he frowned, yet next to this youth, he seemed like a naïve country lad.

It wasn’t just Reynald seeing things that way—Heide, who had been casually chatting just moments before, also appeared slightly uneasy around the young man. When the youth remained silent, Heide gave a vague, awkward smile and finally spoke up.

“My lord, this young man is the guardsman I mentioned. His name is Alex.”

“……”

“…Alex, the lord came all this way out of concern for your injuries. Don’t just sit there glowering—how about offering a greeting?”

When Alex continued to silently stare at Reynald, Heide jabbed him in the side, trying to prompt him. Reynald waved it off, indicating that it was fine. He had no intention of forcing a wounded man to show formalities.

It was clear that this young man didn’t think much of the new lord. Reynald didn’t particularly mind. He hadn’t expected everyone in the castle to welcome him with open arms anyway.

In fact, the young man’s reaction was somewhat understandable. A village that had gone without a lord for over twenty years suddenly found itself saddled with a crotchety old man claiming the title—of course they might not be thrilled. Showing a little hostility wasn’t exactly unreasonable.

Still, in a village with barely two hundred residents, it would be impossible not to eventually become acquainted with everyone. Reynald, maintaining a calm expression, extended his hand toward Alex.

“Good to meet you, Alex.”

“……”

“I had the chance to meet the other guards yesterday during the day, but this is my first time seeing you. Of course, we must’ve fought side by side on the castle walls yesterday, but things were quite chaotic, weren’t they? We were all too busy fending off the wyverns to spare a glance at each other’s faces.”

“…Yes, that’s true.”

The young man’s voice was rough, and his tone quite curt. He gave the impression that he found the mere act of conversing with a stranger deeply unpleasant.

Reynald, of course, didn’t even raise an eyebrow and simply smiled. He wasn’t young or naive enough to be offended by the reactions of a mere youth, and he was long since used to this sort of thing. When he had first been appointed as the commander of the Royal Knights, all the knights had looked at him with expressions just like this. With a bitter smile, Reynald recalled those early days.

“Is your injury healing well? How badly were you hurt?”

“……”

“I heard from Heide that you’re short on medicinal herbs. Judging from your expression, it looks like you’re in quite a bit of pain. Is there anything you need?”

Of course, it wasn’t likely that his expression was pained because of the injury, but Reynald still feigned concern as he asked. Approaching with a pleasant face usually helped to soften others, at least a little. Reynald waited for Alex’s reply with a leisurely expression.

He wasn’t entirely sure why the young man was acting so antagonistic, but with Heide and the other guards present, Reynald calculated that he wouldn’t dare to act too rudely.

However—

“Why do you ask such things?”

“Hmm?”

“I asked why someone who won’t be staying long in this domain is bothering with such questions.”

“Hold on, Alex! What kind of way is that to speak?!”

Alex turned his head sharply after speaking. Heide, flustered, began to scold him, while Volant glanced awkwardly at Reynald to gauge his reaction. Reynald narrowed his eyes slightly, studying Alex’s expression calmly.

—

While Heide berated Alex in a raised voice, Reynald quietly excused himself, leaving with the other guards. As soon as they stepped out of the infirmary, Volant began offering sheepish excuses.

“That was strange. He’s not usually the type to bark like that… Maybe he ate something bad while lying in bed? I don’t know why he’s acting so aggressively today. Anyway, um… I’ll apologize on his behalf.”

“It’s fine. Perhaps the injury has frayed his nerves a bit. I’m not bothered, so don’t concern yourself too much.”

Volant nodded uncertainly, still eyeing Reynald warily. It seemed he thought Reynald was simply holding back his anger. But the truth was, Reynald wasn’t particularly annoyed—just curious. What on earth had provoked such a reaction?

Reynald could understand someone expressing distrust toward a new lord. Saying things like “We don’t need a lord here,” or “I wonder how long you’ll last before you leave again”—those were biting but still within the realm of reason. Naturally, acceptance and tolerance were different matters entirely, and Reynald had been prepared to put such people in their place if they went too far.

But the way Alex reacted just now didn’t fit into any understandable framework. It wasn’t so much distrust—it felt like… something else entirely. Reynald tilted his head and asked Volant,

“Hmm. What kind of person is this Alex fellow? Does he have some kind of backstory?”

“Backstory? Uh, well, to be honest, I don’t know that much either.”

“You’re from the same village, aren’t you? You should at least know more than I do.”

“Well, that’s true… but he’s not originally from around here.”

From what Volant said, Alex hadn’t grown up in the village like the other guards. Apparently, he had fled to the village alone one winter over ten years ago, without family or relatives. The large scar around his eye had already been there back then.

The villagers hadn’t exactly welcomed the boy, who looked so intimidating, but they hadn’t driven him away either. They seemed to grasp the situation well enough—he must’ve gone through something terrible outside the village, and whatever had happened, it must’ve been bad enough for him to run to a dangerous place like this. Understanding enough, they accepted him as one of their own.

Alex was quick and skilled at hunting monsters, so when he grew older, the villagers began asking him to hunt in exchange for food, clothing, and other necessities. He was curt and not especially warm, but he seemed to get along with the villagers well enough. Volant, despite not speaking to him much, said he still felt a sense of camaraderie with him.

“So, yeah. He might look scary, but he’s not a bad guy. Since Mr. Heide scolded him, I’m sure he’ll apologize to you soon.”

“Could it be that he’s wary of outsiders? Judging by the scar, it seems like something awful must’ve happened to him out there.”

“Hmm, not particularly. He doesn’t seem especially distrustful of other outsiders. But he might hold a grudge against high-ranking people. Not sure, though.”

“I see…”

Reynald figured it would take quite a bit of time to understand the young man. There was clearly some history behind him, but it wasn’t something he could pry into right away. Even the villagers who had lived with him for ten years didn’t know the full story—there was no reason to expect Alex to open up to a lord who might not even stay for long.

For now, Reynald decided to leave the youth alone. His nerves were likely still raw from the injury, and pressing him now would only lead to more hostility. There was no need to waste energy on him at the moment.

So then, what now? As he stood pondering for a moment, Reynald noticed that Volant was shifting around nervously at his side.

“What is it now?”

“Ahem, well… Setting aside the matter with Alex for a moment, there’s actually something urgent.”

“Something urgent? What is it?”

“You remember what Mr. Heide mentioned earlier, right? Um… We’re running low on medicinal herbs. We used up what was left, but there are still wounded who haven’t been treated.”

Volant continued stammering as he explained that the remaining uninjured guards were planning to go gather herbs. He began to cautiously elaborate on how dangerous the area around the herbs was, how exhausted the guards were, and so on.

Reynald smiled faintly at Volant. It was obvious that he was beating around the bush rather than getting to his real point.

“Is that so? Then I’ll go with you.”

“Wha— You really will?”

“Isn’t that why you’ve been dragging your words out this whole time? I wanted to take a look around outside the castle anyway, so going herb gathering with you all doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

Volant gave an awkward laugh, clearly embarrassed that his intentions had been seen through. The other guards also brightened with visible relief and excitement. They must have been quite impressed by Reynald’s display of strength yesterday. Well, it made sense—he had dragged off five grown men after beating them senseless and shot down nearly twenty wyverns with a crossbow. Awe was only natural.

“Using an old man like this—shame on you lot. Still, this is my territory’s business, so I suppose I can’t refuse.”

“But my lord, seeing you fight yesterday was amazing. You’re a great archer, and you’re strong as an ox. Honestly, at first I thought you were just a crazy old man, but now—Ow! Owowow!”

“Did I not beat you enough yesterday? What was that—‘crazy old man’?”

Maybe this one just lacked the capacity to learn, Reynald thought, smiling as he watched Volant tear up from the harsh smack. In any case, Reynald had always preferred wandering outside to sitting around indoors. Rather than acting all solemn in the castle, going herb gathering with these young men might prove to be more enjoyable.

And besides, if they gathered herbs, they could help that inscrutable young man lying in the infirmary as well. With a bitter smile, Reynald followed after Volant.