Editing Rakuin no Monshou:Volume4 Chapter4 (section)

=== Part 2 ===

Orba galloped across hills and valleys, man and horse cutting through the wind.

"Prince, where are we going? Prince!"

Also astride a horse, Bane was the only one to be following him.

Quite some time had passed since they had left Apta. Although Bane had several times called out to the prince as they dashed straight into the wind, not once had he turned around.

It had been completely unexpected. Bane had been enjoying himself at the banquet which was still being held every night on the pretext of being a victory celebration, when he was called to the stable by prince Gil Mephius.

"My prince. What is your command?"

"Come with me for a bit”, the prince was already on his horse as he spoke, "I'll show you something good for you."

They had easily galloped out of Apta but as more than an hour had passed, Bane was having doubts. Having left Apta like that, where on earth was he planning on going? Besides there had also recently been bandit attacks along the roads to the citadel. No one knew where they would strike again.
While on the one hand he was filled with anxiety and doubts, Bane didn't consider that the prince's eccentricity was strange. No matter how bizarre his behaviour might seem at first, it would surely pave the way to achieving results.

''This – could he be meaning to set me up for some outstanding achievement?''

Since the time they had been on the inspection tour of Apta, the prince had seen him in a different light. Bane couldn't help but hope that the prince was planning some grand strategy in which he himself would be given an important role to play.

Orba meanwhile continued to charge forward without saying a word. A thought flitted through his mind.

''My home village?''

Since coming to Apta, he had constantly been thinking of going to the place where his native village had been. For a start, it was doubtful whether the village even still existed but even so, he wanted to go. It was simply that that was the land where he, his brother Roan, Alice and also his mother had lived together and he felt that he wanted to smell the nostalgic scent of the wind there.

It wasn't for such a sentimental reason that he now urged his horse to gallop like a gale however. If that had been his only reason, he naturally wouldn't have brought Bane along.

Eventually, they finally arrived at a place that he remembered. Having slowed his horse's steps for a moment, he dismounted at a spot that formed the entrance of a valley. A nearby riverbank stretched out from it and to Orba's left a river flowed. When the height was at its highest, he, his brother and Alice would walk the hour-long distance to go and bathe there. And on the way back, they would feel hot again so on the whole, they barely felt cool at all.

"Come down, Bane."

As the footholds had grown difficult, Orba and the other man led the horses. Carrying a lantern, they walked on. The surrounding area was so deathly quiet as to be eerie. Nervously following the prince, Gowen didn't notice at the time that several human shadows moved along the top of the cliff.

Before long, Orba came to a stop.

When he quickly raised the light anew, something like a fence could be seen at the end of the increasingly narrow path.

''As I thought: somebody is here''.

Although he tried to calm down, he couldn't help but be feel excited. Orba forcefully dragged his horse along at a half run. The fence that separated the outside world from the inside of the village didn't appear to be decayed. There were also the shadows of houses. The violent pounding of his heart beat loudly in his ears. Maybe someone he knew was there, no, maybe, possibly, even one of the people he had never stopped looking for might be living there like before...

"Prince, where are we?"

Ignoring Bane's question, Orba tied his horse to a slender tree growing near the fence and was about to rush to the other side.
"Wait!" He heard a voice from behind him.

"Hii!" Bane screamed.

Several people stood in the dim circle of light cast by the lantern. All of them were armed with swords and guns, and the one at the front was pointing a pistol in their direction. There was no doubt that those figures belonged to the ones who had staged the surprise attack when they had been on the road to Apta.

"Oh ho!" The man spoke somewhat excitedly. "Amazing. This guy's the crown prince of Mephius!"

"What!?"

"Impossible" Another man lit a flaming torch and directed the light towards Orba. He was the one who had called out to the prince; he nodded, his eyes lit red from the fire. "You're right. I've definitely seen him. More than that, I even fired a gun at him."

There was a stir among the men. In their eyes, there appeared the conflicting lights of both hatred and delight, and all of their lips curled into a smile.

"I don't know on what whim it was but the prince really graced us with his presence of his own accord."

"Come, come. Don't be turning down our hospitality in this unworthy place."

Aiming their guns at him, the men moved towards him in a narrowing circle. Orba didn't make a single move.

"Let go, you curs!" Bane yelled, but with so many people within such a short distance, not matter how fiercely Orba fought to reach him, their chances of survival were slim. In the end, Orba had the sword and gun that were at his waist confiscated and, along with Bane, he was roughly shoved by the shoulder into the village grounds.


On the other side of the fence, he could vaguely make out huts in the twilight. There seemed to be about twenty of them. It looked like all the villagers had left and been replaced.

Orba was pushed into the village square in which a bonfire blazed. That this was the prince of Mephius was passed around, and the other side of the fire seemed to be seething with people. The atmosphere reeked of beasts and the air was filled with a murderous bloodlust.

"That's the crown prince of Mephius?"

"Kill him!"

"Let's string him up, here and now!"

"Burn him to death. Just like they did to our families!"

In the face of the fact that hands carrying axes and swords could reach at any moment from all directions to tear them to shreds, Bane wasn't even able to raise his voice and remained silent. Orba on the other hand was carefully watching them.

"Hmm, wait."

A well- built man took a step forward. The muscles on his bare arms were prominently on display. With a smirk on his unshaven face, he carried two swords in his hands. He flung one of them at Orba's feet.

"Beat, what are you thinking of doing?"

"Something this bastard loves. You've watched slaves kill each other, right? Well this is a rare chance for My Lord Prince to experience it for himself."

"Sounds good!"

"Show us, Oh Prince!"

The mingled voices of men and women rose in insistent ovation. While thrusting his sword at him, Beat began to circle around Orba. Every so often, he provocatively took a step forward then back again.

"Come on, take the sword, oh prince." Beat spat a glob of saliva. "Even if you stand there silently, this isn't the imperial court. No one will come and save you."

Orba unhurriedly bent down and picked up the sword. Standing in the centre of a storm of whistling, his eyes tracked Beat's movements.

Flames, the shadows of the crowd, Beat's smile. They spun around and around in turn into Orba's field of vision. Beat took a step forward and made a thrust. Pretending that he had failed to parry, Orba shook violently and staggered to the right.

His right shoulder felt heavy from where his collarbone had been shattered by Zaat's bullet. However receiving that blow made him realize that it had healed considerably.

"How skilful, Prince, how skilful!"

"Beat, don't kill him just yet."

"Let everyone have some fun!"

As though to say that he got it, Beat licked his lips. Swinging his sword with all his might and missing on purpose, he gradually cornered Orba who was dodging around excessively. Amidst the incessant laughter and cheering, Orba's back finally hit the wall of hut.

"There!"

Beat closed the distance between them in a blink, aiming to stab at Orba's shoulder.

"Ah!"

And yelped out almost immediately. His sword went whirling lightly upwards then fell to the ground and the tip of Orba's blade glittered just before Beat's eyes.

Without granting a single moment for surprise, it was Orba this time who offhandedly closed the distance between them and, pinning Beat's arms behind him, brought his sword against his neck.

"Like this?" The bandits had been rendered speechless and Orba gave them a scornful smile. "Useless guys who can't hold out should shut up. But sure, let's continue this game of make-believe. Or don't tell me that he's the strongest you've got?"

The prince's cold gaze and nerves of steel had even Bane staring in wide-eyed amazement, however,

"Bastard!"

"Don't be so full of yourself!"

"There aren't any vassals to change your nappies around here!"

As the people surged in a mass of hatred and were about to close in, Bane once again fell on his backside.

Swords, spears and the nozzles of several guns were aimed determinedly at Orba.

"Release Beat!"

"If you don't, then we'll kill you in the worst possible way!"

Still using Beat as a shield, Orba glared back at the pack of hate-filled eyes.

"Wait."

As a voice rose up, the wave of people was parted in two. A man walked down the centre of those who, left and right, had taken a step back.
Sparks suddenly flew from the nearby bonfire.

''As I thought'', Orba reflected to himself.

"That was surprisingly good, Crown Prince of Mephius. If you're confident in your strength, compete with me. I'm the strongest one here."

No one made any objection and seeing how meekly they were all behaving, he was probably the leader of the bandits.

However Orba knew that face that was lit by the fire's glow. Even though it had been more than six years, those sharp eyes, that characteristic aquiline nose - there was no mistaking them.

As the other drew near enough to make out Orba's face, he too looked faintly surprised.

''They look alike'' - that was probably what he was thinking.

Without saying a word, Orba released Beat, lowered himself at the waist and braced himself anew.

"Ho. So that's your mood, is it?"

The bandit chief's lips twisted into a smile. However he didn't appear in the least bit mocking. He languidly dangled the tip of his sword, swaying it back and forth beneath Orba's eyes. Orba could tell that he was experienced. He was measuring the distance while pacing his breath, and Orba also readied his own breathing.

From across his raised sword, Orba glared at the chief, but...

With a ''Hah'', he averted his gaze.

In the instant that he showed that he had lost in terms of willpower, the chief's blade suddenly drew near. It wasn't fancy. There were no feints either, what bore down was simply bloodlust and vigour. Two blows, three blows, were given without being thought out; from the first move, his sword cleaved wildly between life and death. In words, it was swordsmanship cultivated through actual combat.

''Schling''.

With a strangely clear sound, a sword was once again sent whirling into the heavens.

Orba held his right hand that had gone numb and crouched where he was.

"He did it!"

"Doug won. Did you see?"

"Seize them." Unlike his men, who were seething with excitement, the bandit chied Doug calmly gave his order, maintaining his position, the tip of his sword still in mid-air.

There was a stir among the delighted voices, and this time, from all four directions, the crowd advanced on and encircled both Orba and Bane.


At the same time.

The Imperial Guards were running around Apta Fortress, having received orders from Shique.

''Orba isn't here''.

The day was dying by the time Shique realised that. Orba had been there to see Esmena off, but after that he hadn't been seen again. Thinking that after all he was probably secluding himself in his chambers, Shique fortified his resolve to drag him this time and headed to the prince's private room. He couldn't bear to see Vileena's worried expression anymore.

''That young lady has grown to be more adult-like''.

Shique had that impression despite their still being little more than acquaintances. Maybe it could be said to be something distinctive to those destined to lead others. However it was a fact that while that young lady had from the start possessed boundless energy and ability to take action, her guts and strong willpower were being completely torn up at the roots.

''Puberty''.

Everyone goes through that period. A period in which they feel as though they were a different person from who they were just the day before. Relations with other people, with relatives and above all with oneself would change. This was surely what Vileena was currently experiencing. Moreover, she had married from the royal family of another country. There must be plenty of things for her to think about.

Therefore Shique had decided to rouse Orba by force if need be so that they could talk about the reinforcements to Garbera. He himself didn't understand why he was supporting princess Vileena to that extent. It might be that what was closest to Shique's current state of mind was that, as a misogynist, what he saw in Vileena were the capacities of a male lord, but he didn't think that that entirely explained it.

''It's probably because I want to see it'', he thought suddenly. To see the figures of Orba, a man who had risen from being a gladiator, and of Vileena, whose soul held the lustre of royalty, as they ran together through this worn-torn era. Shique believed that would make a very thrilling story.

''Orba the Swordsman is mine to the last but I don't think I mind giving her Orba the Prince''.

Still chuckling at his own thoughts, Shique arrived in front of the door to the chambers but, according to the guard protecting it,

"The prince left his room some time ago and hasn't returned."

With no other option, he looked for him all over the fort but didn't find him.

''Strange...''

Shique ordered the other Imperial Guards to also search throughout Apta. They did so stealthily  so that far as possible, no one other than themselves would realise anything, however, when night fell several hours later, they had no choice but to give the alert.

Having conveyed the news to Oubary, they received help from the Black Armoured Division and extended their search to the streets of the castle town.

"Let's hope he hasn't been kidnapped", Oubary Bilan said, passing it off as a joke. "In Taúlia as well there must be people who don't look favourably upon the alliance with Mephius. If some troublemakers came over among Princess Esmena's guards, couldn't they have secretly stayed behind in the fortress and taken the prince away?"

Before long, they received accounts from fortress servants that "The prince left the castle on horseback along with Bane." Apparently they had spotted them by chance at the time.

It was already close to daybreak. That being the case, there was no choice but to organise a military troop to go and search outside Apta.

''And at a time when the princess' homeland, Garbera, is in danger''.

Having called a number of commanding officers to the headquarters on the barracks' ground floor, Shique was making preparations when he noticed the shadow of a young boy near one of the pillars. It was Dinn, the prince's attendant. He beckoned him over.

"Well! A secret assignation with such a young child? Your tastes have changed, huh, Vice-captain." Aeson of the Imperial Guards upbraided him critically.

"Don't be stupid."

Upon rushing towards Shique, Dinn timidly held out a letter. From that alone, he could hazard a guess.

"From the prince, hmm? What kind of plot am I going to find this time?" Without waiting for Dinn's reply, he opened the letter. As soon as he read it, Shique's expression changed. "Ah, what kind of idiocy is that prince up to now!"

Previously, Shique could truly have been said to never have batted an eyelid at anything that Orba might say or do, but this time he rushed out of the barracks in a panic.

"Hey, what about the meeting? Oubary will be here soon, you know."

"I'll leave the meeting to you, Aeson, since you’re the Assistant Vice-captain of the Imperial Guards."

"Since when?"

"I just appointed you."

He hurried away without looking back again. Shique being Shique, preparations other than those of looking for the prince were now necessary.