BXBX NOVEL Chapter 2 – Help Me Out
Chapter 2 – Help Me Out
“Linus…?”
“Dian! Long time no see!”
“Linus!”
More than questioning why the protagonist was here, my joy at seeing him overwhelmed me, and I rushed towards him across the distance of a month.
Surprised by my sudden sprint, the knights stood in front of Linus as if to defend him.
Unaware that the knights would intervene, I couldn’t slow down in time and collided with them.
“Oof!”
“Ugh!”
The knights, being hit by my body, fell to the ground with a crash.
“Oh, sorry about that. It’s awkward when you suddenly barge in like that.”
“Even after 10 years, you’re still the same, Dian.”
Looking down at the groaning knights, Linus let out an awkward laugh.
Helping the fallen knights up, I asked.
“So what brings you here? Without any warning?”
“I came to see you. And I brought a gift.”
Linus pulled out a bottle of wine from his arms. Its slender, elongated shape shimmered with a somewhat strange reddish hue in the warm sunlight. That was…
“Woah!? Is that Armand Brignac?”
“I knew you’d like it.”
“Come on in, quickly.”
I led Linus and the knights into the house. Olysia was already waiting, holding the door open.
“How about taking off your armor? It’s much hotter here than in the imperial capital.”
I asked the knights who had entered the small garden, and they nodded.
“The Imperial Guard never take off their armor anywhere.”
“But this isn’t the palace, so there shouldn’t be a problem…”
Turning to Linus, I saw him smiling as he spoke to the knights.
“Take off your armor. I won’t let you be disrespectful to Dian.”
With that, the hesitant knights finally started taking off their stifling leather breastplates.
“Olysia, give each of them a glass of lemonade. And one for this gentleman here.”
“Of course, Sir Dian!”
As the knights sat on the living room sofa, Linus and I went out to the terrace.
“You’re really living in a great place.”
Linus exclaimed cheerfully as he looked out over the city and the sea below from the terrace.
“The sea, seagulls, sailing ships, markets. It’s a place brimming with romance. I envy you, Dian.”
“I’m satisfied here too. Now, do you understand why I left the palace that night?”
“After 10 years, I finally understand the significance. You really have the ability to foresee the future.”
Laughing, I spun the Armand Brignac around.
“I don’t have such abilities. If I did, I would have known that you would come here.”
“Well… I’m really glad to see you, Dian. I’ve always been curious and missed knowing what you were doing.”
“Oh, I’m just living my life. Unlike busy you. By the way…”
Putting the Armand Brignac on the table, I asked.
“Aren’t you the Captain of the Imperial Guard now? It sounded like your title changed from what I heard earlier.”
“I’ve recently been reassigned to a different position. Sitting as the Captain of the Imperial Guard for so long was blocking others from promotion to key positions in the palace. It was just a symbolic position.”
“The Imperial Palace, protected by the Hero of the continent! It must be something like that. Well… a guy like you becoming just the captain of the guard seems unlikely. So, what are you doing now?”
At that moment, Olysia brought two glasses of lemonade to us.
“Keep this wine in the kitchen cabinet for now. It’s very expensive, so be careful.”
“How expensive is it?”
“With ten bottles of this, you could buy that imperial warship we saw earlier.”
“Hieek?”
Surprised, Olysia tightly hugged the Armand Brignac and hurriedly trembled her way into the kitchen. Linus smiled at her reaction and asked.
“Is she a maid? She seems too young to be a maid.”
“I bought her from a slave ship that stopped by here. They were orphans of war, but the captain deceived them with the promise of taking them to a safe kingdom, and sold them into slavery.”
“It’s unfortunate circumstances. You made a good decision, Dian, taking her in.”
Linus, who was nodding his head, took a sip of lemonade and savored its refreshing taste.
“So, how did you know I was here?”
“Oh, that. Recently, the Imperial Intelligence Bureau obtained intelligence related to the Ferenchino Union. As soon as I heard, I knew it was you.”
“You mean the intelligence bureau knows about even such trivial things?”
“Trivial? This is about a person who single-handedly took down thirty members of a notorious gang controlling this area. How can that be trivial?”
With a chuckle, Linus shrugged his shoulders, finding it amusing.
“Dian, didn’t you leave the Imperial Palace because you wanted to live quietly?”
“That’s right. But things don’t always go as planned.”
“Well, thanks to your little incident, I knew about your whereabouts, so it turned out to be a good thing.”
With that, Linus laughed brightly. Though it’s been ten years, his distinctive aura of righteousness remains unchanged.
Linus.
The continent’s savior and the scourge of demons. He is the unique hero of the fantasy novel I transmigrated into.
With his golden hair, tall stature, and well-built muscular physique, he is as impressive as any aristocrate, if not more so.
However, due to his appearance, he seems like those arrogant and haughty types, but in reality, he was anything but that.
He hailed from a humble background, born to peasant parents in a small, unfamiliar village in the Empire’s countryside. He had been farming with his parents since he was young, but when war broke out, he abruptly abandoned his hometown and enlisted.
After having heard of the war’s atrocities he was unable to live peacefully as a farmer. Although I knew Linus’s nature well, I thought he was crazy after hearing his story firsthand.
As we fought together in the same platoon, I could confirm it. This guy was insane.
Linus was humble, with a sense of justice. He always wears a gentle smile on his lips, and his eyes are full of kindness.
He cannot tolerate injustice, and even if his life is at risk, he won’t hesitate to do what he believes is right. He’s a truly excellent example of a “Hero.”
But that’s the problem.
Linus’s journey from a grunt in the army to a commanding officer is the background setting of the original story. The prologue of the original story begins with Linus, who survived countless battlefields as a common soldier, being promoted to an officer.
In other words, for the story to even begin, this guy had to stay alive for the next few years. Thanks to his overflowing passion and sense of justice, there have been more than a few occasions where he almost died needlessly.
As an example, in the worst situation where our platoon was surrounded and only the two of us were breaking through the encirclement, Linus insisted on rushing into battle to rescue a civilian village under attack.
If I hadn’t helped him then, he probably wouldn’t have found his own corpse. Who else but a crazy person would do such a thing?
Through various hardships and adventures, I managed to keep Linus alive until the prologue.
After that, we were promoted together, and selected for the Hero Party to raid the Demon King’s stronghold. After that, it followed the original story.
So, Linus is not only the protagonist of the original story whom I need to support, but also an irreplaceable comrade-in-arms whose life and death are intertwined with mine.
“By the way, Dian. Let’s have dinner together tonight. I’ll treat you to the best restaurant here.”
“Sounds good. But instead of a restaurant, let’s eat at my place. I was planning on grilling some meat for dinner anyway. But how long will you be here? If you’re staying for a while, I’ll clear a room for you.”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
Linus shook his head.
“I have to return to the capital early tomorrow morning. I’ll just sleep on the ship.”
“You seem really busy. Well, it can’t be helped. It’d be absurd for the continent’s savior to live like an unemployed person.”
“I feel embarrassed hearing that from you. Then, let’s have dinner here.”
When I asked Olysia to bring more meat and other things, Linus sent a few knights with her.
# # # # #
As the sun gradually set, we grilled meat on the wide terrace overlooking the sea.
While Olysia and the knights were dining at one table, we shared stories at another. Stories from our days as grunt soldiers, stories from when we were selected for the Hero Party, stories of infiltrating the Demon King’s castle with party members, including Celine, and so on.
We didn’t realize the stories wouldn’t end until the stars began to twinkle in the sky above the eastern sea, fully set.
After emptying the entire bottle of Armand Brignac, when we were both feeling a bit tipsy, I asked Linus.
“Linus. Why did you come here?”
“I told you. I came to see you because I missed you.”
“Linus, you’re lying.”
I pointed my finger at Linus.
“You’re a simple bastard. You have absolutely no talent for hiding or deceiving.”
With my words, Linus tilted his glass with a faint smile.
“So, tell me quickly. Why did you come?”
“Haha. You’re amazing, as always.”
Looking at the harbor lights fading below the hill, Linus spoke.
“Do you remember the day we parted ways ten years ago? When I asked if you’d help me if I ever needed it.”
“I remember. So, do you need my help?”
“Yeah, Dian. There’s something I can ask only you for.”
“What is it? Don’t tell me the Demon King has resurrected again?”
“It’s something even more difficult.”
Something more difficult than killing the Demon King? Is there such a thing in the world?
“Do you happen to know about the Imperial Special Mission Academy?”
“I don’t. What is it?”
“It’s a newly established institution in the Empire that trains domestic and foreign intelligence experts.”
“A spy school?”
“Haha. Well, to some extent. But not everyone there does that. Simply put, it’s a place that produces elite civil servants for the Empire.”
“So? Are you asking me to teach there?”
Linus remained silent.
“…Really?”
“Dian.”
Putting down his glass, Lineus looked at me with a serious gaze.
“Become the headmaster of the Imperial Special Mission Academy.”