“Sir Trell, will you not consider?”

“Zeff-dono. I am regretful to leave you who joined at the same period as me, behind, but I do not think a [Wyvern Rider] who has lost his partner to be of any use to His Majesty.”

Sir Julberg couldn"t break the firm decision of Sir Trell either.

“I will whip this old bones and rush in haste if a demon lord appears in the Royal Capital.”

“Do you have somewhere to go in mind?”

“There is a town of [Magic Hunter] called Puta to the east of the Royal Capital, you"ll find a hidden village that gather wyvern eggs to the southeast of that town. I intend to rear the youngsters who aspire to become wyvern riders, and raise them to become the next s.h.i.+ga Eight Swords members.”

Sir Julberg had never heard Puta town, but he nonetheless nodded to Sir Trell while vaguely imagining the southeast direction of the Royal Capital.

The territory that"s famous for its wyverns is Seryuu Earldom, but the place where the wyverns are nesting is on the border to the Dragon Valley. It"s a place that"s been designated as confinement place since the Ancient King Yamato"s era, so Sir Julberg didn"t bring it up.

Sir Julberg himself has been raising the next generations of s.h.i.+ga Eight Swords since several years ago, he"s given expensive magic swords to promising young talents.

“Sir Trell, this is a parting gift.”

“Is this a magic weapon?”

“Umu, this has been granted to me by His Majesty, but contrary to its delicate appearance, it"s an excellence spear with wonderful magic power conduction on par with the divine holy swords.”

Sir Trell takes a noticeably long lance from the magic weapon rack in the corner of the room.

He streams it with my magic power, producing Magic Edge.

“Oh, how light.”

Normally he would have needed to concentrate so much that it"d look like he"d pop his veins, but Sir Trell couldn"t hide his surprise to see it happened after he only slightly concentrated.

Sir Julberg who"s of the same opinion as him a.s.sents.

“Take whichever one to your liking. I do not mind if you give it to your future pupil.”

“Is it fine? Giving me such a sword and a spear.”

“I do not mind. It"s an investment for someone who will protect s.h.i.+ga Kingdom someday.”

This is enough to be an embezzlement case in s.h.i.+ga Kingdom, but it won"t be a problem if he just reports it to the accounting head of s.h.i.+ga Kingdom Holy Knight to process the account book.

“Boss, there"s no road that goes to that mountain you know?”

The one-armed boy answered in bewilderment.

“Then, is there no n.o.ble who has an airs.h.i.+p or a flying-type monster?”

“I"m guessing that"s only the Duke or some army men under the Duke.”

A female magic hunter who was standing beside the boy answered Sir Trell haphazardly.

Surely, it is not possible for an airs.h.i.+p to exist in such a small backwater town inhabited only by the magic hunters.

An indescribable atmosphere drifts to this rural town, increasing tension.

–That is, a black shadow.

“You do not seem to be a normal person. Who are you. Declare thy name.”

Sir Trell asked for the person"s ident.i.ty in place of the other people who couldn"t move.

However, the black mystery man only laughs.

“To be so insolent while being an ordinary man dearu. I only desire tomatoes. I do not give my name to rubbish dearu.”

“What"d you say…”

Sir Trell pulls the sword on his waist.

The blade is charged with red light.

The three retainers who are following him also draw their swords toward the one who"s being impolite to their master.

“Fuhn, looks like you"re eager, however, since you"ve drawn your sword, I a.s.sume that you are prepared to be cut?”

“As someone who have a duty toward s.h.i.+ga Kingdom, I cannot let a suspicious person like you roam free. Be at ease since I will not take your life.”

The aforementioned one-armed boy jumps between the two sides of battle-honed people who are about to clash.

“P, please wait Boss Black. Boss needs the tomatoes right? I know about it so I"ll guide you there.”

After hearing the boy, the mystery man relaxes his posture and separates his hand from the rapier on his waist.

“Are you saying the truth dearuka?”

“Un, tomatoes are those red fruits right?”

Originally, it was called red fruits and not a popular vegetable subst.i.tute, but ever since the demand and price for it increased after being popularized by the [Tomato n.o.ble]-sama, it had started being cultivated not only in deserted villages, but also the vacant lands in the Puta town.

The mystery man who has waterweed-like hair floats a smile that shows his wolf-like fangs when he hears the boy"s explanation.

“That is the thing I seek. Cutting an old man with short remaining life is not my real intention. I will follow your wish if that means getting my hands on the tomatoes.”

“Wait, the battle is–”

“Pull back, menials.”

The mystery man"s eyes emits red light, and then Sir Trell and his retainers stop moving like a stone.

Sir Trell is reminded of the time when he fought a life or death battle against a vampire during the prime of his life.

His movement got stopped at that time just like now. However, vampires shouldn"t be able to move during broad daylight.

The man shouldn"t be able to spellbind him, who"s one of s.h.i.+ga Eight Swords, in an instant, if he weren"t a higher vampire or an ancestor vampire who appears in tales.

–That means, the ident.i.ty of the mystery man is.

“What are you doing, guide me.”

“Un, leave it to me. What kind of tomatoes are you looking for? The ripe soft one? Or the slightly green firm one? The inn old man can prepare you red sauce or white sauce if you need them.”

“Hou, by red sauce, you mean ketchup huh? Leave that place for later. First, I need tomato seedlings.”

The two leaves the gate while having a peaceful conversation.

Sir Trell and his retainers are finally able to move after the one-armed boy has returned from guiding the man to the tomato cultivation in the town.

“Boy. What happens to the black clothed man from earlier?”

“Eh? That boss flew in the sky to the direction of the duchy capital after buying a lot of tomatoes. Magic is really amazing.”

Sir Trell is getting dizzy from the boy"s words.

He cannot believe the mystery man who had that much power only wanted to buy vegetables.

“Oh? Kon, what"s with that sword?”

“Eh? This? I got it from Boss Black. Nice isn"t it?”

It"s a single-edged sword that even the boy with his small build can lightly swing.

“Boy, give me that sword.”

“Eeh~”

“I will not deprive it from you.”

“Okay then.”

Sir Trell puts magic power into the sword he"s received.

Flash overflows on the sword at once.

“Uwah, what what?”

“That"s dangerous!”

Besides Sir Trell who"s expected it, people are in panic toward the spectacle.

“This is a magic sword. Moreover, it"s a true magic sword that one can"t get hold of unless they defeat the 『Floormaster』 or the 『Roommaster』 in the labyrinth"s depth.”

“Eh~, that"s amazing.”

The boy who doesn"t understand the value laughs at his own sword.

“Boy, I"ll teach you the way to use this sword.”

“Alright, that"s a promise.”

Sir Trell has sent his retainers to the Duchy Capital in order to secure the way to cross the mountain range, during the wait, he"s decided to teach the boy the way to use a sword to ease the boredom.

The boy who had accidentally earned a magic sword and tutored by a former s.h.i.+ga Eight Swords member endeavored some extra hard trainings until he couldn"t move.

The retainers have returned after getting some [Wing Lizards] in order to cross the mountain, and then Sir Trell and them embark toward the mountain range.

“And so, have you become able to use the Magic Edge that the former s.h.i.+ga Eight Swords knight-sama taught you?”

“No way I can. Even I would"ve become a knight if I could. At most I can only put in my magic power after concentrating for a long time. Moreover, I can"t move anymore after using it thrice, so it probably has no use against goblins.”

The one-armed boy continues to see Sir Trell"s party off while holding the magic sword that"s making some small crackling sounds.

※The boy Kon doesn"t know that the Black Dragon Heiron appears in the mountain where the wyverns live.

[Characters]

One-armed boy: The magic hunter Kon.

Middle-aged Woman: Kena. The leader of the magic hunter party Kon belongs to.

Mysterious Man: True Ancestor Ban. He"s camouflaged his skin and hair color with magic. A vampire who doesn"t lose to the sunlight.

Sir Trell: The former fourth place of s.h.i.+ga Eight Swords. The person who challenged and lost to a lesser dragon.