BBYW Vol. 4 Chapter 42 (WN)
Chapter 42 – An Unexpected Acquaintance
“…is he dead?”
“So it seems…cross over safely, you poor soul.”
I looked down at Jaar Menfis, who had just drawn his last breath, and slowly shook my head.
Besides me, Oboro had a grave look on his face as he clasped his hands and murmured some sort of prayer.
(What a fool…there had to be other ways to deal with this.)
Family and loyalty. What was one supposed to do, if they were weighed against each other on the scales?
Not even I would be able to answer such a forced choice.
(Which means…just choose both.)
Jaar should not have borne this dilemma alone.
He should have consulted with Valon or Vert, and asked them for help.
Those two would have definitely done everything in their power for the sake of helping Jaar.
If only he confessed to them, there was a chance he could have saved his family without having to throw away his loyalty.
“In the end, he was a weak man. He was unable to believe in his lord to the very end.”
“What drives man to betrayal is neither desire nor ambition, but weakness of the spirit…this has been a learning experience!”
“Gwooooorrrhhh…”
We were then interrupted by the appearance of another undead from beyond the corridor.
“Tch…!”
I kicked the mummy’s head and crushed its dried up skull under my boot.
Before any more could show up, I sprinted down the corridor.
“Oboro!! I hope you have researched the fortress’ structure!”
“Naturally, young master! I have listened to the soldiers’ conversations and prepared a map!”
“Good! Let’s head to the commander’s quarters, as planned!”
Ordering the “Fangs of Steel” to scout the fortress beforehand, just in case, turned out to be the right idea.
Even without Jaar as guide, we could proceed towards our destination.
The deeper we went, the more undead creatures appeared. The assumption that the Lord class was in the commander’s quarters appeared to be correct.
“Turn right at the next corner! Then straight!!”
“Gotcha!”
I swerved right at the corner and saw a large door at the end of the corridor.
“Here we…are!”
I accelerated even more and used the momentum to kick the door open.
The room I jumped in was completely dark: not a single light was turned on.
A few seconds later, Oboro entered with a lamp.
The interior of the commander’s room was revealed by the faint light.
“Who are…”
There was a lone shadow inside the room.
I peered intently to guess the dark figure’s identity, but I could only see a blurred silhouette.
The figure then walked closer, its heels striking the floor sharply.
Eventually, it entered the radius illuminated by the lamp.
“You’re finally here, Dyngir Maxwell.”
“I see…so you’re…no, you are the Lord class in charge of this fortress.”
I recognized the familiar face of the creature and my manner of speaking automatically became more polite.
Its features were dried up and mummified, but still resembled the man I knew.
Golden hair, brown skin, a sharply curved blade in the right hand.
“It has been a while. I am truly glad to see you are doing well…Valon?”
Valon Sphinx.
I called the name of my upperclassman, who I was meeting for the first time in months, and raised my sword.