Chapter 13: Buried Again
Alonso’s answer wasn’t unexpected, but Bai still sighed inwardly.
“So, I really have been forgotten…”
“Today is the fifth anniversary of the unnamed hero’s sacrifice. Every year at this time, we of the North Empire observe ten minutes of silence in her honor,” Alonso continued, his gaze still curious as he looked at the clearly non-human Bai.
Her salute had been flawless, her bearing that of a seasoned knight. It wasn’t something one could learn overnight. The only explanation was that she had served in the Knights, and for a long time.
But if this pink-haired, beast-eared little girl had served in the Knights, how could he not remember her?
“I see…” Bai nodded. “And you don’t remember her name?”
Alonso’s face flushed with embarrassment. “For some reason, even the Legendary Knights who fought alongside her don’t remember. Only Commander Lin (Lin Yan) and Lady Leticia vaguely recall her being a woman. Nothing else.”
“Well, for a race that prides itself on honoring its heroes, you humans certainly have a strange way of showing it,” Rex, the beastkin, sneered, his axe resting on his shoulder. “Forgetting her name…”
Alonso had no reply. It was a source of shame for the entire Empire, but they had no clues, no leads.
“Hmm… does Princess Lilia not remember either?” Bai asked, her tone casual. She wasn’t particularly bothered by being forgotten.
Although she had been lost in her dream, she knew that the North Empire and the ancient empire were connected, and that Lilia possessed a special pardon in Vikarn, something even Nisha didn’t have.
“It’s ‘Her Majesty’ now,” Alonso corrected her. “It seems Captain Bai has been… out of touch for some time.”
He was probing, trying to gauge when she had served in the Knights.
“About five years,” Bai replied casually. It wasn’t a secret.
Although it had been five years, to her, it felt strange.
Sometimes, it felt like only yesterday she had been desperately watching the sleeping Ara in the transparent container. Other times, it felt like an eternity.
“Five years… I see, Captain Bai,” Alonso said, saluting again. He made a mental note to check the rosters from five years ago, for a knight with her… characteristics. Height, for example.
Such a short… petite knight, no matter how she disguised herself, would be easy to track.
“Please convey my highest respects to the unnamed hero,” Bai said, returning the salute.
Although she knew the unnamed hero was herself… Alonso didn’t. And she didn’t feel like explaining.
So, she might as well play along.
“And you are welcome to visit Heroes’ Rest yourself, Captain Bai, to offer flowers at her cenotaph,” Alonso said with a smile, extending his hand. They touched palms briefly, a substitute for a handshake.
But Bai’s expression suddenly turned stiff, her fingers twitching.
“Heroes’ Rest again…”
First “Xu Bai,” and now this “unnamed hero.” She had been buried twice now.
Not even the greatest Legendary Knight in the North Empire’s history had received such an honor.
Perhaps because her earlier display of emotional power had intimidated Rex and Norma, they remained silent, only Rex offering a single, sarcastic comment.
After Bai and Alonso finished their conversation, Bai returned to Eleanor’s side, and Alonso turned his attention back to them, the three parties once again at a standoff, as if the earlier interlude hadn’t happened.
Eleanor nudged Bai. “See? I told you, you talk like an old knight. You and that human knight, you sound exactly alike… but… but…”
Her voice turned strange, and Bai saw her face flush red.
“It’s… it’s… with your lisp… it’s so funny! I… I can’t…”
She stifled a laugh.
To others, Bai and Alonso had been discussing a serious matter, the unnamed hero.
And with Bai’s earlier display of power, no one dared to underestimate her.
Except for Eleanor.
To her, it was a little girl, barely four feet tall, trying to act like an adult, her serious tone clashing with her adorable lisp…
“If there’s a heaven, it must be filled with Bais!”
She almost fell to her knees again, to thank the Elven God, and to ask for a few more Bais, or any other little girls.
But with her fearsome Aunt Norma nearby, she restrained herself, covering her face to hide her amusement.
“So, Lady Norma, you still refuse?” Alonso asked, a hint of frustration in his voice.
He had tried everything, laying out the benefits, the prospects.
Even Rex, who had been listening, had been swayed, even offering a truce, agreeing to the trade zone.
After all, if you could make a profit through trade, why risk your life on the battlefield? Unless you were a war-crazed fool, which Rex, apparently, was not.
“No means no,” Norma said, her tone firm. “We have just reclaimed our ancestral lands. If I allow outsiders to encroach upon them, how can I face the Elven God!”
Alonso understood her stubbornness, but the trade zone was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Of course, the North Empire stood to gain the most.
