A King is Born on the Road

As soon as he saw Iris, he bowed down in surprise.

“You were here, Princess.”

“Are you here to see Freya?”

“That’s…”

Don hesitated to answer. It seemed difficult to say that he loved a pagan woman in front of a pagan shrine and Luwan’s princess.

Iris said.

“I will keep it a secret from everyone.”

“If so, then… Yes. I’m here to see Freya.”

Don answered and approached the wall where Freya was painting the mural.

“F-Freya.”

Don stuttered without realizing, his mouth flapping.

Freya, who didn’t know that Don had come because she had climbed quite high on the ladder, looked back belatedly. She found Don and hurried down the ladder.

“Don…”

“Freya…”

With their hands clasped together, the two were quickly left in their own world.

Iris looked at them proudly, as if she had brought them together.

Then, another member of the Knights came to the place. It was Hayer and Ato.

“…Don?”

Hayer narrowed his eyes when he found the unexpected figure in front of the shrine.

Don, who held hands with Freya and exchanged glances that said they loved each other, looked back at Hayer in surprise.

“C-Captain!”

“What are you doing here?”

“Th-that’s… It’s…”

Hayer saw the hands that Freya and Don held onto tightly. He was probably in such a state of panic that he forgot to let go of her hand.

He knew that the future of the two would be a thorny road without having to say the words himself. So he decided not to ask questions about their relationship. But if he missed training, there would be a punishment.

“What about training?”

“I-it’s lunch time!”

Freya, who was wide-eyed at Don’s answer, asked.

“Did you come to see me during mealtime?”

“I can come see Freya… I don’t mind starving. No! I can starve!”

Hayer approached Don at his excited words and patted him on the back.

“Don’t be a burden.”

“W-was I being a burden?”

“Yes, it’s burdensome even for me, who’s a stranger. I can’t believe you said you can starve.”

Hayer clicked his tongue and said politely to Freya.

“He’s this kind of guy, but please take good care of him.”

“N-no, I will!”

Freya hurriedly lowered her head.

Hayer smiled lightly and took a few steps back so that the two could spend time. Then he came back to Iris.

“The princess of Luwan is at the Kawat shrine.”

“Isn’t that the same for you, Captain?”

“How can you treat me the same way? I’ve been stationed in the mountains for years, and I’m the one who came in to protect the people here when they fled from the monsters. That’s a good reason to come into this town.”

Iris burst into laughter at Hayer’s exaggerated expression, while speaking confidently.

Hayer laughed as well, feeling glad that he made her laugh out loud. However, as soon as he looked up at the mural of the shrine, both his exaggerated and cheerful expression disappeared.

“Everything is being built. It was completely broken.”

Iris wondered why the smile had disappeared from the corners of his mouth.

Although he has long been stationed here and has become favorable to the Kawats, he thought that he had not become accustomed to the religion of the people here.

Freya, who was restless about the fact that Don was starving, asked Iris.

“I heard Don came here without having lunch, so we’re going to have a meal from our Kawats. Would you like to come with us?”

Come to think of it, Iris also starved all day. It was because the butler warned her to go out, so she couldn’t eat.

However, she wondered if it would be tactless to have a meal with lovers. Freya said with a bitter face, as if she knew Iris’s feelings.

“Because the villagers don’t like the fact that I fell in love with a pagan. If it’s just the two of us eating alone, you’ll definitely hear bad things.”

At Freya’s words, Iris realized that she was a pagan to the people of this village.

As much as they were reluctant to marry a pagan, Iris thought they would be the same.

《t/n: Luwans being reluctant to marry a pagan, Kawats are also the same》

“Ah. I see. Then I’ll go.”

“Thank you!”

Freya continued with a jump of joy.

“I’ve never had a meal with Don.”

“I understand.”

Although Iris had said that as if she were an inclusive person, she actually didn’t really fully understand Freya.

Love with a pagan. Iris still couldn’t understand that far. It was just that she didn’t want to get involved because it was someone else’s business.

She asked, turning to Hayer.

“What are you going to do, Hayer?”

“I have a hangover to get over. Whose fault is it?”

“……”

Embarrassed, Iris touched her neck without any reason, and turned around to follow Freya.

Hayer, who laughed at her funny expression, soon looked inside the shrine.

Unlike the temple of the god Tilla, the Kawat’s shrine was filled with the names of the Kawats who passed away.

They tied fabrics with red thread and had names written on it, and when a person entered the shrine, it was only to write a new name.

Since many people have died after the monsters appeared, villagers have extended red threads to write down the names of the dead.

Just by looking at the distance from the knot to the end of the thread tied to the heavy bell handle of the shrine door, it showed that there were many deaths in this small village.

Hayer bent down to grab the end of the thread, but he took his hand off, thinking it was not polite.

Then Ato, who came with him, said.

“It’s all right. Shake the bell and the souls of those who passed away will protect the village.”

“We protected the village, Ato.”

“Who is it that called the captain here to protect the village?”

Heyer laughed at Ato’s words.

“That’s true again.”

“It may be unfair, but everyone in the village is grateful to the ancestors who sent the captain here.”

“I’m glad that you at least recognize my injustice.”

Ato laughed cheerfully this time at Hayer’s answer.

Hayer reached out again and shook the bell. Then, he heard a heavy sound different from Luwan’s bell, which gave a light feeling.

As the bell moved, the threads of the entire shrine swayed, and the fabrics tied there rustled. It was a scene that made him stare blankly.

“It’s beautiful.”

“We tend to value beauty.”

“Is that so?”

He touched the thread with his other hand holding the bell.

Ato asked, feeling that Hayer’s behavior was strange.

“Why are you like that?”

“Is it true that the monsters disappeared after the sacred tree was cut?”

Ato was one of the few people who knew that Hayer had cut the tree. He nodded.

“Yes. It certainly is. While you were visiting the Asheri family, few monsters appeared.”

“Then, isn’t it clear that the sacred tree is giving power to the monsters instead?”

“……”

“Ato.”

“…Yes.”

“Then is Tilla really dead?”

Ato felt goosebumps rising from his back at Hayer’s words.

Hayer had the face of a person who was about to make a big decision, instead of the mischievous face he always had.

Originally, the religious gods of this continent were relatively human, so they were immortal, but not immortal. They did not hesitate to be killed, to be resurrected, to become a human being, and then to become a god again.

However, Tilla was different for the people of Luwan. She was the god of all things, omnipotent and immortal.

Hayer seemed to have been in agony from the moment he cut down the sacred tree, Tilla’s greatest gift.

“…I believe so, but the captain shouldn’t believe that.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re going to become the king of Luwan.”

He could no longer tell whether the sound in his ears was the sound of the wind or the sound of the fabrics. Maybe it was the sound of leaves brushing against each other.

Ato had never seen a man as beautiful as Hayer Asheri in his life.

He’s never seen anyone so strong.

Born and raised as the king’s son, he was cheerful and mischievous in everything, but he never lost his elegance.

Like the desert and alpine peoples, the Kawats were an extremely closed group. They accepted Luwan’s Knights of Tejas and opened their hearts.

He thought he could call himself a Luwan if Hayer Asheri became king.

If only one person, Hayer Asheri, becomes king.

afterword 

omg tilla is referred to as she that’s so real