2012-09-28: The Awakening - Act VIII, Part 2
The Awakening, Act VIII, Part 2 / 覚醒 - 第八章 第二節
| Author: Unknown author | Published: September 28, 2012 |
Looking out over the water from his balcony, Lord Blackthorn steepled his fingers in front of his face. It had been a long time since he’d seen these waters and had the chance to enjoy the gentle movements caused by the current, and he savored it. Heckles had certainly done a good job of having the place repaired, and even had it furnished the way that he himself likely would have. Looking to the left, he glanced at the travel chess set he’d carried with him all this time, and once again his thoughts started to drift back towards simpler days…though this thought brought a bit of a wry grin to his face. They only seemed like simpler days in retrospect, of course…at the time they were every bit as complex and difficult as these days were.
Rising, he began to stroll through the castle, taking stock of the place and its vast array of rooms. There was no doubt that he’d need to hire on some of the townspeople to staff the place; he chuckled to himself and hoped that Heckles hadn’t completely emptied his treasury for the castle. It felt good to once again be in the city of Britain…and it felt even better that finally, things seemed to be on the road to redemption. The Honor moongate had been fixed, the rioters almost all quelled, the nobles sated, and Exodus routed…despite the progress though, there had always been one person that Lord Blackthorn had hoped against hope he’d have had a chance to see again.
Leaving behind his castle, he walked through the streets, many recognizing and greeting him, and being stopped by a traveling gargoyle who insisted on thanking him many times for healing his sister who had come down with the plague. Once he’d managed to slip away without taking any sort of gift, he finally came to the gates, locked still after the riots he’d been told about. His hand clasped around the cold metal and he peered through the gates towards his old friends castle, staring at the untended garden and foliage. He wondered for a moment if he’d ever see him again…but then he’d had the same thoughts during his imprisonment of ever seeing the city, and that had come true.
Turning, he headed on his way back to his own castle, and coalesced his thoughts into a purpose. Whether or not he would ever see his friend in these lands again and get a chance to match wits against him once more, he would make sure that it was a land worth returning to, and one which he could come back and be proud of. It had been too long in this land since the name of Blackthorn was associated away from the dark and terrible legacy that his mechanical surrogate had left, and it would be a long road to the final redemption…but he intended to walk it for as long as he could.
It had been longer than Dupre could remember since he needed to polish his armor for ceremonial reasons. Still, he believed that this was the right course, and the only way for Britannia to advance. He sat back to look at the armor, gleaming in the glow of the torchlight. It was as good as it would ever get…and a smile came to his face as he looked over to the other perfectly polished and shining object in the room. He set the armor down and approached it, lifting it up and holding it in one hand. It was made of fine metal, and almost…delicate. Still, Dupre could feel the weight of the crown in his hand, and he didn’t envy Blackthorn to wear it. He wondered what Cantabrigian would have to say about this turn of events, and chuckled softly to himself, gathering up his things and preparing for the trek to Britain
Japanese version
自分の城のバルコニーで水面を見渡しながら、ロード・ブラックソン（Lord Blackthorn）は両手の指を顔の前で合わせた。前回この水面を目にし、ゆるやかな流れを楽しみ、味わってから久しい。ヘクルス（Heckles）は、城の修繕について実にいい仕事をし、あえて言うなら“ブラックソン流”の内装も施されていた。左手をみて、常に携行していた旅行向けチェスセットに目をやり、これからのより単純な日々について再び考え始めた……。だが、考えはじめると、ちょっとした苦笑いのようなものが浮かんでしまった。もちろん、振り返ってみた時には単純な日々なのだが……、その時その時では、複雑で困難な日々だったからだ。
立ち上がり、彼は城の中のまだ見ていない場所、多くの部屋を散策しはじめた。ここには何人か街の人々を雇わなければならないのは明らかだな、と考えて一人でクスクス笑い、ヘクルスが城向けの資金を使い込んでいないことを願った。再びブリテインの街で暮らすことは心地よいものだった……。最終的に物事がいい方向に向かっているように思えることも、さらによりよい気持ちにさせてくれた。名誉のムーンゲートは修復され、暴徒はほぼ沈静化し、貴族たちは満足し、そしてエクソダス（Exodus）は倒れた……。このように物事は好転しているにもかかわらず、ロード・ブラックソンは、ある人物に再び会いたいという叶いそうにない願いを常に抱いていた。
彼は城をあとにし、通りを歩いた。多くの人々が彼に気づき、あいさつした。妹が病から救われたという旅のガーゴイルにも出会い、長々と礼を述べられ、すっかり足止めされてしまった。様々なお礼の品を受け取らずになんとかやり過ごし、ようやく門にたどりついたのだが、話に聞いていたとおり、門には例の暴徒の件から鍵がかけられていた。冷たい鉄を握りしめ、間を通して旧友の城内の荒れた庭と草木を見つめた。一瞬、再び彼に会うことはできるのだろうか、という考えが頭をよぎった……。すると、幽閉中に街を再び目にできるだろうかと自問自答した時に浮かんだのと同じ考えが胸の内に湧いた。少なくともあの時の考えは現実のものとなっている。
振り返り、彼は自分の城へと向かいながら、自らの想いをまとめ決意した。たとえ、この世界で友と再会し、かつてのような議論を交わす機会が訪れなくとも、この地は帰還するにふさわしいものであると思え、帰還した際にはこの国が誇れるものであるように努めようと。機械体である偽者によって着せられたブラックソンの汚名をすすぐには長い時間を要したし、全てを清算するまでの道のりはまだ長いだろう……。だが、彼は力尽きるまでその道を歩もうと心に決めていた。
デュプレ（Dupre）は、式典に臨むために鎧を最後に磨いたのはいつだったか覚えていなかった。それだけ長い時間が経っていたのだ。それでもまだ、これが正しい道であり、ブリタニアが前に進める唯一の方法だと信じていた。深く腰掛け、松明の明かりで微かに光る鎧を見た。それは、今までにないほど見事に磨きあげられていた……。そして、その部屋の中にあるもう一つの完璧なまでに磨き抜かれ輝く物体を見たデュプレの顔に、笑みが浮かんだ。彼は鎧を置いて、それに近づいて手に取った。金属製の見事な品で……、優美で繊細だった。それでいて、ずっしりとした王冠の重さを手に感じ取れた。これをブラックソンが戴くことに、妬みを感じることもなかった。ケンタブリジアン（Cantabrigian）がいたら、この予想外の展開についてなんと言うだろうな。そう考えたら思わず笑いがこみ上げてきた。そして、身の回りの品をまとめ、旅支度を始めた。ブリテインへ向かうのだ。
