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Volume 8, Chapter 192: Historical Records

Reishaw, an elf scribe belonging to the Hanging Gardens of Ghazalia, desperately wrote down the conversation on the parchment in front of his eyes.

Cold sweat fell from his forehead since the beginning, but he did not have time to wipe it off. Words had being spoken one after another between the Heraldic humans and the high-ranking officials of Ghazalia. The elf scribe did not even have time to breathe properly. By the end of the joint meeting, Reishaw’s fingertips were almost numb.

However, although the task itself was extremely modest, it was an indispensable role for meetings of powers. After all, each one of the words could be used as material for future transactions. It would be troublesome for someone to imply something that he or she did not say. To prevent this from happening, it was necessary to write down the entire conversation on the recording parchment.

Just as the name implied, the purpose of the recording parchment was to record the contents of conversations in history without any stagnation. This recording parchment was rather special. Even if it were to be hit by a big fire or rough waves, the record would not be lost and the words would be passed down to future generations.

When it came to a large meeting, an elf scribe had to write everything down with precision. It was important for a scribe to write every statement without missing a single word.

Therefore, historians such as Reishaw had heat in their fingertips and brains when large meetings occurred.

Nonetheless, Reishaw himself did not think it was a bad job at all, even if his role as a scribe burdened him to an extent. This work was a valuable work that did not give him any particular danger, but made use of one’s special skills. Moreover, it was not badly rewarded.

In addition, this time, he was appointed as a scribe for the official meeting in which Fin Eldith participated. It was an honor, and meant that his position had a positive influence.

If this official meeting had high-ranking officials, such as Fin Eldith and her ministers, participating, then one could expect a high-ranking scribe too.

In that case, Reishaw would be able to finally marry his lover since the marriage was not allowed due to the modest work of a simple scribe. The position of a high-ranking scribe, which would turn him into a high-ranking civilian, would be a profession envied by many, and would give Reishaw some prestige even though he was from a rural village in Ghazalia.

If one imagined a convenient future, the current penance would no longer be a penance itself. While moving his numb fingertips, Reishaw wrote shorthanded letters on the recording parchment in front of him.

Then, the agenda was already set and the discussion reached an end. Reishaw thought his role was finally over. However, on that precise moment, words leaked from Fin Eldith’s mouth.

「So, in the campaign against the Great Holy Church, you will join my forces as a knight of Ghazalia. This is all I wish to say. 」

Her voice directed toward the knight Lugis, who was sitting in the last seat of the room.

Reishaw did not know much about Lugis’ personality, and this was the first time he saw him in person. However, Reishaw heard that he was the human man who rescued Fin Eldith from the tower prison, which led to the alliance between Ghazalia and the Heraldic religion.

It seemed that Fin Eldith was relying in a lot of human beings. Whether it was good or not, it was not Reishaw’s place to say, but he knew the knight named Lugis was a great man anyway.

Reishaw was not sure why he was sitting in the last seat of the room, but he wondered if he was in fact a humble person. By the way, Reishaw did not remember recording his words in the recording parchment of this meeting.

Reishaw recorded the knight Lugis’ name in the recording parchment extremely fast, and then, wrote Fin Eldith’s statement.

After all, Fin Eldith, a “Queen” by the words of the human world, said what she wanted. It was euphemistic, but at the same time, almost like a command. No matter what the knight Lugis would say, Reishaw was sure that he would return a positive response in the end.

This kind of writing was not something that Reishaw decided early on, but it was a common sense well known among scribes. A scribe would not be able to record all the words in a meeting where many words flew if he had to write every single question and answer. Therefore, a scribe often looked ahead and recorded statements that had fixed answers.

That was why Reishaw made a natural decision to record the knight Lugis’ answer before he opened his mouth.

…No, I’ve already decided on my role…I’ll be moving independently.

It seemed that Reishaw did not make the right decision when it came to record the human knight Lugis’ words beforehand.

Reishaw’s ink spilled on the recording parchment, becoming irremovable.

—

「…I don’t understand the meaning of your previous words. Can you tell us the meaning by professing them again?」

Saint Matia’s voice echoed. The tone of her voice seemed to tremble somewhere, yet it was a strong voice that pierced me sharply. She looked at me with her arms folded in front of her stomach.

Oh no. I misread it. I thought that in such a public place, my words would be pardoned.

The joint meeting, which had digested a certain amount of agenda, had a temporary rest. The high-ranking officials from both the Heraldic Order and Ghazalia, who had taken part in the meeting, stood up and left the room.

Therefore, there were only me and a few other people in this room right now. However, my eyes hurt strangely. It also felt as if my skin was burning.

「It’s not as if I won’t do anything at all. But if someone like me belongs to a specific unit, I bet that I won’t be able to do that many useful things. I want to stretch my wings a little.」

I meant every single word I’ve said.

The Heraldic Order had its own army, and the army of Ghazalia followed the Ghazalian strict military rules. Since I didn’t follow their practices, my presence would only produce a useless disturbance.

Being in an organization where the military aspect was strong, disturbance could lead to an overall chaos. In a campaign against the Great Holy Church, it would not be strange if internal chaos could be a source of defeat.

If so, elements such as disturbance should be removed as much as possible.

That was why I chew the words and let them spill from my lips. I felt strangely thirsty for a reason. Cold sweat ran down from my nape.

「…I see. As an organization, I see no problem in you belonging to Ghazalia alone. But you just want to work as a separate unit without getting directly involved with any organization. So that’s your request.」

Eldith, the Queen of Ghazalia, spoke with a piercing voice as usual. However, her cheeks outstretched as she smiled gently to me, and then, she stepped closer.

「Okay, I understand. I’ll forgive my knight for that much selfishness. As an alternative, it will be great if you become the knight who reports directly to me. If you are in that position, you can play an active role…」

Before the slightly viscous voice finished talking, the dark haired person interrupted those words in order to finish that assertion.

「…I think it’s disrespectful for me to say this to the Elf Queen, but I want you to wait before making any decision. In the first place, the story about a knight, and so on, was not well conveyed. If you don’t properly explain, we won’t be able to understand that story nor your intentions.」

The well-sounding voice from Filaret overpowered Eldith’s voice.

Her voice was directed to the surroundings, including Eldith, but her black eyes kept penetrating me. I saw so much heat in those eyes that could even invoke smoke.

No good. This was definitely no good. I could feel the frustration clawing in my chest and scratching the insides of my body.

It did not mean that something was wrong with my health. But, I definitely made a mistake. The constant gaze and words that I’ve received from the surroundings made me understand it even if I wanted it to be otherwise.

「It’s a simple story. I appointed him as a knight and he received it. It happened when I was still a princess.」

After Eldith’s words echoed through the room, the air became heavier.

My mouth was so dry that even my throat hurt. While trying to wake up my numbed fingertips, I turned my gaze toward Caria, who had been piercing me with her silence from the very beginning. I was not asking for her help, but I wondered if she could save me a little from this tough situation.

Her silver hair bounced in response to my gaze. I noticed her lips rippling when she tilted her neck slightly.

「…Lugis, you… It seems you enjoy making promises with all kinds of women, huh?」

She sarcastically spoke about my promises with others. She even moved her cheeks and smiled at me while saying those words.

Her cheeks were cramping.

I knew Caria’s personality. Her expression looked undeniably gentle and she even had a gentle smile on her face, but her silver eyes were as hard as stones. Caria stared at me with that distorted look, which I could not even describe it well.

「I think it is a good opportunity. Yes, for both the Heraldic Order and Ghazalia. His existence is relevant for both sides. If so, shall we clarify his contract and position now?」

Matia spoke again, with a keen eye on me. Her body was trembling, as if her facial expression, her gaze, and even her tone were all restraining her heated emotions.

Eldith opened her lips, nodding to Matia’s words.

「…Scribe Reishaw. Come in now. 」

From the back of the closed door, from the side of the corridor, the sound of someone hitting the head against something solid echoed. And then, a frightened elf man came in. His eyes were full of mixed feelings such as awe and fear.

Of course, I felt the same way too.

「I forgive you for damaging a part of the old recording parchment. Now, I need you to use a brand new one. Use all the ink embedded with magical power. Make sure to record every single word I am going to profess now, without any mistake or abbreviations.」

Then, several voices flew back and forth in the room again. The heat was comparable to the heat of the joint meeting that was held earlier.