Vol 2 Chapter 58 – The Parting of Ways【Vol 2 – The Condemned Knight Edition】

“Hah, hah, hah, hah…!!”

The young boy fled, his short legs pumping desperately.

In his hand was a wallet, stuffed full of coins.

With this, he wouldn’t have to do anything this dangerous again for a while.

And for the sake of the family waiting for him, he had to make it back alive, no matter what.

However…

“Damn… she’s persistent…!!”

The boy cursed as he glanced back at the knight chasing him.

They wouldn’t help those of them who were starving… The thought made him want to spit.

But this knight was relentless.

Knights usually wore heavy armor, so if it came down to a battle of endurance against a nimble boy like him, they typically gave up from exhaustion.

What’s more, these winding back alleys were like his own backyard.

To the uninitiated, it was a maze, but for him, who had lived here since birth, it was as if he had a map in his head, allowing him to dash through it.

But he still hadn’t managed to shake his pursuer, Eleonora.

Even though she was wearing armor that looked sturdier and heavier than any other knight’s, she didn’t seem weighed down by it at all.

“Ah… Crap…!”

Perhaps because he’d been lost in thought while running, he’d wandered into a dead end.

He scrambled to turn back, but the knight who had been chasing him… Eleonora… was already there.

“You’ve caused me quite a bit of trouble.”

“…Damn it!”

The boy cursed.

Then, he threw the wallet he’d gone to such trouble to steal at Eleonora’s feet.

“You want it back? Fine, take it!”

“…No, that won’t be enough.”

“Like hell I’m letting you catch me! I’ve got people waiting for me…”

Of course, the boy knew he couldn’t get away with stealing something scot-free.

If his last victim had caught him, he might have been beaten to a pulp.

But his opponent was a knight. She wouldn’t resort to vigilante justice; she’d capture him, put him on trial, and see him imprisoned.

But if that happened, what would become of his mother, his little brother, and his little sisters waiting for him?

He had to escape, no matter what.

The next moment, just as he tensed his legs to make a break for it…

“Wha-!?”

CRUMP!

The spot where the boy had been standing moments before was pulverized.

That he managed to escape could only be called a miracle.

The fact that he’d braced his legs to flee, not to dodge, just before.

And that he had reflexively moved his feet when Eleonora suddenly attacked—that’s what saved him.

Eleonora slowly raised her fist from the shattered ground.

It was covered by a massive gauntlet, powerful enough to easily crush even the hard-packed earth.

“Wh-What the hell are you doing!?”

“What, you ask?”

Eleonora tilted her head, looking puzzled at the shouting boy, who was now sprawled on the ground.

“Wh-Why did you t-try to kill me!? You’re a knight, aren’t you!? A knight trying to kill me on her own authority…!!”

“It is the duty of a knight of justice—my duty—to destroy evil. You have committed an evil act… that is reason enough to kill you.”

The boy’s voice trembled as he argued back.

“B-But… I could understand if I’d committed some major crime! But all I did was pickpocketing! You’re going to kill me… for a little pickpocketing…!”

“A ‘little pickpocketing,’ you say…?”

Eleonora’s eyes glinted coldly.

“Foolish… There is no ‘major’ or ‘minor’ when it comes to crime. Criminals must all be judged equally. And preferably, that judgment is death… Isn’t that a matter of course?”

“N-No way…!!”

The boy’s cheeks twitched.

No matter how you looked at it, the crime of pickpocketing and the punishment of death were completely out of proportion.

But what good would it do to shout that fact here?

No one would come to his aid if he cried out.

What he had done was still a crime, no matter how minor. Would the common folk, who had little leeway in their own lives, think to help a criminal who stole property, knowing they themselves could be the next victim?

“Resist if you wish. Flee if you like. However, I will absolutely end your life.”

CLANG!

She slammed her gauntlets together, and a hard, metallic sound echoed through the alley.

The threat was more than enough to make the boy freeze in terror.

“For crime, the punishment of death. Evil will always be destroyed by justice.”

“W-Wait! I-It’s not like I’m a pickpocket because I want to be!!”

The boy had to live. For the family that was waiting for him.

To that end, he pleaded desperately.

“I have a family. But I can’t even feed them… There’s no work for a kid like me from the slums. So, to earn money, I have no choice but to commit crimes…!!”

This was not a lie to escape his fate; it was the truth.

He had younger brothers and sisters, as well as a frail mother.

It was for that family that he was struggling so desperately to survive.

“————————And?”

But his plea did not reach Eleonora.

“Whatever your circumstances may be, a crime is a crime. You must receive the appropriate punishment. Besides, you not only committed theft, but you also harmed your victim. It is only natural that your sin should be even greater.”

Eleonora finally stood right before the boy.

Her eyes as she looked down on him were so cold, he wondered if anything could be colder.

They were the eyes of someone who wasn’t looking at a human being; that was the impression her cold gaze gave.

“As a knight of justice, I, Eleonora, will give you your punishment. Grit your teeth.”

Eleonora raised her gauntlet.

It was not the kind of weapon that gritting one’s teeth would help against.

The boy squeezed his eyes shut, holding back tears, and seeing this, Eleonora gave a faint smile and swung her fist down…

“Whoa there…!”

Erik, leaping out from the side, grabbed the boy and jumped back.

As a result, Eleonora’s descending fist missed the boy, merely shattering the ground once more.

Eleonora’s eyes went wide, but they quickly narrowed as she turned them to Erik.

“H-Hey… you alright…?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine.”

A piece of the shattered ground must have struck him in the head; Erik smiled, even as blood trickled from his forehead.

It wasn’t a brain-rattling impact, just a cut, so his life wasn’t in danger.

“…I apologize for injuring you. …However, what is the meaning of this?”

“The meaning of what?”

Eleonora’s gaze hardened.

“The meaning of you saving that boy. He is a villain who committed a crime and must be punished. To think that you would save him… Erik, what has gotten into you?”

“Hmph… ‘What has gotten into me,’ you ask…?”

Erik’s smile only served to further fuel Eleonora’s irritation.

He laughed, as if enjoying the intense anger and the stare she directed at him.

“Whether I wished for it or not, I am known as the ‘Altruistic Charity Hero’… It is my duty to help the common people when they are being treated unjustly.”

“Unjustly, you say?”

Helping the people in accordance with his title, ‘Altruistic Charity Hero.’ To that extent, Eleonora was impressed and could even sympathize.

But she could not accept the latter half of his statement.

“What about this is unjust? Are you telling me to let a criminal go free?”

“No, that’s not it, but…”

Erik gave a wry smile.

He had no intention of letting the crime go unpunished.

The boy was a child, but he believed that even children must atone if they commit a crime, so he had no intention of giving him special treatment just for being young.

Be that as it may.

“The severity of the crime and the severity of the punishment must be balanced. The boy committed theft, or perhaps robbery, but to kill him for it is, frankly, going too far.”

“…”

“Furthermore, he hasn’t been through a trial. For a mere knight to unilaterally pass a sentence that takes a life, without waiting for a judicial ruling… I have to question that.”

Hearing Erik’s opinion, Eleonora looked up at the heavens.

Ah, what a shame. Truly, what a shame.

“…I was so happy, thinking that you and I could get along, Erik. Like myself, a follower of justice, the ‘Altruistic Charity Hero’ also possessed a good nature… The way you threw yourself into your work for the people, for the royal family, for the kingdom—that was the very picture of justice.”

“…I still believe we can get along, Eleonora.”

“No. That will not happen.”

Eleonora’s cold eyes fixed on Erik.

“There is no longer any common ground between us. You protected a criminal… That is the very definition of an evil act. You have fallen from justice into evil… and I shall be the one to pass judgment.”

“N-No way…!”

It was Miriam who was shocked by Eleonora’s words.

She had thought Eleonora was a kind woman, someone who, despite being a knight, understood Erik, who was always treated so unfairly and underappreciated.

And yet, here was that same woman declaring she would judge him… that she would kill him. Miriam’s shock was immeasurable.

“…Erik and Miriam, you have both been a great help to me. Therefore, I will not pass judgment here and now. Tomorrow, come to the old arena on the outskirts of the Royal Capital. If you do not, I will hunt you down and deliver my judgment. …Until tomorrow, the two of you should spend your final moments together.”

With a quick glance at Miriam, Eleonora turned her back and began to walk away.

For her to retreat, even temporarily, with a criminal… with evil… right in front of her was something that had never happened before.

It seemed that Eleonora, too, had developed enough affection for Erik and Miriam to bend her own creed, if only slightly.

But her intent to pass judgment remained unchanged. Evil must, without fail, be destroyed by the hammer of justice.

“…Erik, what are we going to do?”

“Well now, what shall we do?”

Spoken to by Miriam, Erik gave a vague reply.

She thought that, no matter how kind he was, there had been no need to save the boy.

No, she felt sorry that he was to be killed for theft, but she also didn’t want Erik to antagonize Eleonora by protecting a criminal.

Although she knew it was pointless to say anything, given his boundless kindness.

Hmph… It seems my good feeling was right on the mark. Just imagining being beaten to a pulp by those massive gauntlets… Fufufu…

Whether Erik protected the boy for the boy’s own sake, or whether he did it to satisfy his own desires, was something no one could ever know.