１２ Ｊｕｌｙ， ＳｈｉｅｎＢＩＳ
文字数 3,239文字
The Death of the King
Having finished his final battle, the king had lain down in a bed of grass and was breathing the soft breaths of sleep.
When those breaths ceased, the king would die.
Two hundred years of war was about to end—because the king was in the process of unifying the lands.
The central, northern, eastern, and western regions of the continent were already his. Now he was only waiting for the report from the general he had deployed to the south.
On this day, when his supremacy was so near, one of his generals revolted.
The king was visiting a shrine.
He was accompanied by fifty guards. The attacking general had an army of two thousand. They thickly enveloped the shrine. It should have been impossible to survive.
The king had presented his guards with weapons.
The arms were treasures he had discovered in various labyrinths during his days as an adventurer.
The sword I had been given looked old and worn but had the surprising effect of doubling the wielder’s attack power.
The king and we fifty guards mounted our horses and charged as one, straight for the traitorous general.
Alarmed, the general tried to gather his soldiers around him.
But before he could, we ripped through his defenders and closed in.
We lost one man, then another, but we never quit advancing.
Finally, the king’s sword took the general’s head.
We rode right through the army and kept going. Few soldiers gave chase, and soon there were none.
The king had achieved another miracle.
But the only survivors were me and him. I was young and inexperienced, so the others had shielded me.
The king was covered in wounds, some deep enough to be fatal.
There seemed to be no way to save him.
When he dismounted his horse and practically fell to the ground, I took a knee beside him—to attend his death.
A long time passed.
“My king. I think I’ll become an adventurer. I’d like to follow in your footsteps.”
“Oh?” the king said, and sat up. “Wait, you didn’t know about this ring?”
I was dumbfounded as he removed the gauntlet on his left hand and showed me the accessory on his middle finger.
“It heals your wounds while you sleep. I found it in a labyrinth.”
“Wh-wha—?”
“Okay, back to the castle. There might be others who think they can be king if they kill me.”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”
“You can keep that sword. But if you’re going to become an adventurer, you should put it in storage. If you rely on items you were given, you won’t develop your own strengths,” said the king, who then stood and mounted his horse.
I got on my horse, too, not about to be left behind.
Apparently the king wasn’t going to die just yet.
Translated by Emily Balistrieri/Arranged by TranNet KK
ShienBIS
Born in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture. Began posting on the website Shōsetsuka ni narō (Let’s become a novelist) in 2011, and later began his literary career on the website. His representative works include
Having finished his final battle, the king had lain down in a bed of grass and was breathing the soft breaths of sleep.
When those breaths ceased, the king would die.
Two hundred years of war was about to end—because the king was in the process of unifying the lands.
The central, northern, eastern, and western regions of the continent were already his. Now he was only waiting for the report from the general he had deployed to the south.
On this day, when his supremacy was so near, one of his generals revolted.
The king was visiting a shrine.
He was accompanied by fifty guards. The attacking general had an army of two thousand. They thickly enveloped the shrine. It should have been impossible to survive.
The king had presented his guards with weapons.
The arms were treasures he had discovered in various labyrinths during his days as an adventurer.
The sword I had been given looked old and worn but had the surprising effect of doubling the wielder’s attack power.
The king and we fifty guards mounted our horses and charged as one, straight for the traitorous general.
Alarmed, the general tried to gather his soldiers around him.
But before he could, we ripped through his defenders and closed in.
We lost one man, then another, but we never quit advancing.
Finally, the king’s sword took the general’s head.
We rode right through the army and kept going. Few soldiers gave chase, and soon there were none.
The king had achieved another miracle.
But the only survivors were me and him. I was young and inexperienced, so the others had shielded me.
The king was covered in wounds, some deep enough to be fatal.
There seemed to be no way to save him.
When he dismounted his horse and practically fell to the ground, I took a knee beside him—to attend his death.
A long time passed.
“My king. I think I’ll become an adventurer. I’d like to follow in your footsteps.”
“Oh?” the king said, and sat up. “Wait, you didn’t know about this ring?”
I was dumbfounded as he removed the gauntlet on his left hand and showed me the accessory on his middle finger.
“It heals your wounds while you sleep. I found it in a labyrinth.”
“Wh-wha—?”
“Okay, back to the castle. There might be others who think they can be king if they kill me.”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”
“You can keep that sword. But if you’re going to become an adventurer, you should put it in storage. If you rely on items you were given, you won’t develop your own strengths,” said the king, who then stood and mounted his horse.
I got on my horse, too, not about to be left behind.
Apparently the king wasn’t going to die just yet.
Translated by Emily Balistrieri/Arranged by TranNet KK
ShienBIS
Born in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture. Began posting on the website Shōsetsuka ni narō (Let’s become a novelist) in 2011, and later began his literary career on the website. His representative works include
Meikyū
no
ō
(King of the labyrinth) published by Kodansha,Henkyō
no
rōkishi
(The old knight on the frontier), andŌkami
wa
nemuranai
(Wolves do not sleep) published by Kadokawa.
