Side Story: Isaac Hart
“What are you fighting for?” she asked, and I answered with the utmost honesty. From where does the sun rise, and where does it set? What happens to a bottle that’s dropped on the floor? What happens to water after it gets hot enough? The answer to those questions was obvious, as was the answer to this.
I responded without hesitation, and she smirked. “You haven’t learned a thing, have you?” she said peacefully. “Or maybe you just couldn’t give up. But even so, it will be impossible for you.”
Naturally, this made me deeply angry. Why must this person reject our noble goals? How would she know it’s impossible until we tried? I posed these questions to her.
“Then let’s make a bet. If you can kill me, you win. If you can’t, I win. And when I win, you must give up on your goals. Now, how much time shall I give you? You have until you die, I suppose.”
I felt insulted. Did this little girl sincerely think a rebellious knight such as myself couldn’t kill her? But in the end, the results were clearer than fire. I couldn’t kill her. The bet was still ongoing.
Standing in the room I was provided, I took out my old and beloved sword for the first time in a while. Its thin, silver blade was full of mana, and an image of a unicorn impaling a dragon was etched into the hilt. When I first obtained this, I was overjoyed. But now it had been sitting in my drawer for ages. I no longer needed it.
I was currently working as a servant in this house. I sometimes fought monsters as well, but ordinary equipment was enough for them. This weapon was only to be wielded against specific foes, so I never expected to use it again. But I still felt some of the pride I had back then, and I couldn’t forget what this sword meant to me, so I couldn’t bring myself to dispose of it. I didn’t think my mistress would appreciate that, but then again, she likely knew I still had it anyway.
Everything I did was but a trifle to her. That wasn’t limited to me alone, though. Perhaps she thought our actions to be trivial and meaningless as a whole. That was presumably why she rejected us, and the point of her bet with me. Maybe my future efforts also meant nothing to her. In her view, maybe the past was behind us and there was no need to dredge up old conflicts.
But I couldn’t forget the past like that. I came to realize I was still a fool after all these years. I thought I had changed, but maybe this was reality. I tried to accomplish something great, but reality forced me to my knees and broke me down until I clung to the helping hand that was extended to me. That was it. I was nobody.
I recalled something I’d heard the other day. It was after a boy came to visit the house, and I was taking him to someone from his village.
“By the way, the Ally who invited me asked if I’d ever heard of somebody named Isaac Hart. Is that you?” the boy asked me.
I had already heard that an Ally, someone from a group distinct from the village, invited the boy to this town. Then he mentioned that their goal was to make their existence public; they wanted to be treated with the same rights as humans. That was what convinced the boy to come to Maalt. However, he was unable to meet up with this Ally in the city. When he ran out of medicine to suppress his urges, he was left with no choice but to come to this house he’d heard about from the village elder. It didn’t sound like he knew much, but when the Ally had invited him, my name came up.
“Why would this person ask you about that name?” I asked the boy.
“How should I know? He kind of just asked it randomly, but it sounded like a pretty important question.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because he acted a bit different when he asked it. I was always causing trouble in the village and made a lot of people mad, so I got pretty good at reading people’s expressions. When he asked that question, he reminded me of how the villagers would look.”
The boy was rebellious and motivated enough to leave the village and come to this town when he wasn’t allowed to. That he developed a skill like this came as no surprise. I couldn’t guess how accurate his assessment was, but it sounded almost certain that the question wasn’t just asked to make small talk. Somebody was looking for me, and I had a decent guess as to who.
I hung the sword from my hip and headed to the estate’s exit. I ran around the side of the hedge maze and opened the front gate.
“Isaac, are you going?” someone asked from behind me just before I walked out to town. I turned around and saw a girl leaning against the gate. It was my mistress, Laura Latuule. Her eyes betrayed her youthful appearance, so deep in color that I could see into the depths of her soul.
“My apologies, but our bet may be settled now,” I answered and looked away from her.
“You’re awfully stubborn, you know. Do as you will, but stop hoping that someone else will settle the bet for you. If and when the time comes, bring an end to it yourself.”
In essence, she was telling me to return alive no matter what. I felt the corners of my eyes get warmer.
“Yes, understood,” I said curtly, then turned around and headed to town. Our relationship had been smoldering for ages, and this was the end of it. At that moment, I wholeheartedly thought this to be true.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login