And then, it was the tenth day after Girard’s death. The funeral of the first Beast King, Girard Estaria, was held in the capital of the dog tribe, Elden, of the Falnido Beast Alliance.
Shin and Schnee participated too. It was told that Schnee came after she had heard the report of Girard’s death, and it was accepted without any doubt. Shin and Schnee lined up to see off Girard, equipped with a full body armor for that occasion. Some of the attendees wore the equipment that they had worn when they had shared battlefields with Girard, and Shin, who had put on armor, was mistaken as a veteran hero; he was thought to be a famous soldier. Girard had had a lot of combat experience, so unexpectedly, there were a lot of people who had shared battlefields together, but didn’t know each other by sight.
At the funeral, everyone in the upper echelon of the country was present, each tribal head and successor, retired former generals, and so forth; a terrific lineup had been gathered. The representative from the village of elves and pixies was also among them. Wolfgang, who was the king, and Cuore the princess were in the front row. There was a person next to Schnee. It was the representative of the dragon imperial empire, Kilmont, an ally of Falnido, and Shin’s support character no. 4, Shibaid Etraku.
He was a High Dragnil with red eyes, and scales like obsidian. As a fellow companion that founded a country, apart from as a person that also served as a fellow vanguard in Shin’s party, Shin heard they had formed strong communications. Both the capitals of the two countries should have a considerable distance between them, but somehow, he made it in time. Shin, who saw that figure, felt nostalgic, and thought that as soon as he had calmed down, he would meet him directly.
The funeral advanced solemnly, and finished peacefully without any trouble. Girard’s body seemed to be buried in the earth where the successive kings laid. ‘I am born from the earth, live on the earth, and return to the earth.’ That was the outlook on life and death that most of the beastmen had.
At the end of the ceremony, Wolf Type, Dog Type, and Fox Type, all of the beasts howled together. It was the melody of burial rites, to send off warriors who fought till their last breath.
Girard’s body was buried in the tomb of the kings while being seen off by many people.
◆◆◆◆
When the funeral was over, Shin returned to the residence. Wolfgang and the executives of the country had a pile of matters to be discussed hereafter, and it seemed that they wouldn’t return home for a while.
“Can I sit next to you?”
Having called out to Shin, who was looking out at the garden, while he was patting Yuzuha above his knee, was Van. The figure of Rajim was seen behind him, too.
“Is the discussion going well?”
“We, the old soldiers, shouldn’t come into play.”
“That’s right, the country’s matters have already been entrusted to others.”
Van sat on the veranda, and spoke those words to Shin who was asking. And Rajim agreed with the words.
The two men were clad in such a calm atmosphere, that Shin had the feeling that they would disappear at any moment.
“What will you two do from now on?”
“Go on a journey.”
“Journey?”
“Yes, because our companion is waiting, too.”
“…I see. Go join your friend.”
Their companion is waiting, too. From the words which Van said and the atmosphere around him, Shin felt something special. He knew the destination of the two people.
“…Hey, according to you two, what kind of guy did you see Girard as?”
After a few minutes of silence, such words came out from Shin’s mouth.
“He was a great person.”
“He was a warrior rivaled by nobody.”
As Van and Rajim were feeling nostalgic, they closed their eyes and spoke.
He stood before everyone else, a leader who showed the way. A great person, who possessed overwhelming fighting power.
“He was a solitary man.”
“He was someone who got lonely easily.”
A hero without equal. A lonely king.
Because of his combat power, it was often said that it couldn’t be helped that he fought alone on the battlefield. If neither Schnee nor Shibaid was there, the two people said he would really keep standing alone on the battlefield. And yet, he seemed to impulsively pick quarrels with his friends.
“He was a person who thought of his friends.”
“He was a person who could do nothing but fight.”
For this reason, people gathered in Girard’s surroundings. For the sake of his friends he picked up a weapon, and rushed on to defeat monsters, he gathered up the tribes during the confusion of the crustal movement. He was just like a hero from the fairy tales.
Just, unlike a lot of heroic tales, he had no enthusiasm to be king. Girard’s job was focused purely on combat. Other than that, it was not important.
Though people requested it from Girard, he himself knew that he didn’t have the ability to rule. If anything, he was fit as a general. Thanks to that, he needed people to support him. Van and Rajim were firs