Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1956, 1928. Elon Mel
"Are you reminding me to be careful?" Mare Mare himself seemed unconcerned by Lann's words. "I appreciate your concern, but please don't worry. Sunshade City isn't big, but it's still a castle. My health, cough cough. I usually just do clerical and administrative work in the castle."

Amidst the chaos, some people genuinely wanted to do something right. Lan En had seen this situation many times before.

But to put it bluntly: such people often face difficulties.

They cannot change the overall direction; instead, they are oppressed and harmed by the chaotic situation.

However, it cannot be said that this was a futile effort, because it was precisely because there were more people like this that the chaotic situation was eventually brought under control.

Of course, that's in the normal world.

The more Lan En tried to understand the border region, the more he realized that this world could hardly be called normal.

In Lan En's eyes, the borderlands might be a world on par with Yharnam and the Flame World in terms of anomaly.

And for someone like Maré Maré, who wants to start from the smallest details and do what he can amidst the chaos, it's hard to predict what kind of result he will achieve.

Therefore, the Witcher wasn't too bothered by what Marley Marley said.

“It seems I’ve come at the perfect time.” The head of the Mare family hurried forward a few steps and resumed leading the way as the castle’s master, while listening to Lann say, “I can also see how the Executioner family works.”

Maré Maré humbly stated, "It's not a complicated ceremony or craft."

"Before the Golden Law collapsed, all we executioners could do was torture the prisoners, making their deaths less easy. The souls of the prisoners would still return to the Golden Tree after death and begin their cycle of life."

“The Golden Age!” Maré Maré exclaimed, “Everyone has an infinite number of chances to start over! Because life itself is infinite!”

Although it has been less than a month since the collapse of the Golden Law, the past was so beautiful that it is all the more easy to recall and reminisce about.

It's as if those wonderful days have been gone for a long time.

But after expressing his feelings, Maré Maré sighed again.

"But now, the Golden Law has collapsed, and the new law has not yet met the Elden Ring. People no longer have infinite life, and they can no longer even die."

"Actually, as the head of the Mare family, I've begun to doubt whether the execution methods I uphold are still suitable for the present."

Lan En already understood, but still very obligingly asked, "Why is that?"

At this moment, Mare Mare had led Lann and Velvet Ball to the city wall. The soldiers bowed respectfully to the castle's master, while looking at Lann with curiosity and aloofness.

They continued upwards, the main hall of Sunshade City and the rooms and guest rooms of the Mare family were still higher up, far away from the pool of venom.

The velvet ball slipped through a gap in a Mare family statue at the corner of the stairs, deftly keeping up with the eldest brother's pace.

“Because the punishment and the law are no longer equal,” Maré Maré said as he walked. “In the old Golden Law era, the executioner could certainly torture the prisoner. Pain was the punishment, and death was the announcement that the punishment was over and a new life could begin.”

"But now no one can die. The pain of punishment will forever haunt the soul within the body until the rules of the world return to normal. But that will be sometime in the future that we cannot foresee."

"Since the consequences of imposing punishment are already so severe, I'm considering whether some of the punishment standards established during the Golden Age should be lowered?"

Lann followed the head of the Mare family up the last step: "This falls into the realm of legal scholars. Please forgive me, but I am not an expert in this area and therefore cannot offer my opinion. Perhaps you should consult the priests of the Golden Tree in Rodell, or the fundamentalists of the Golden Law, to discuss this further."

“Golden Law fundamentalists!” Maré Maré nodded emphatically. “I’ve heard of them. They advocate understanding the Golden Law through reason and logic, right? Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to meet any of them yet.”

"However, we don't need to dwell on such profound and heavy topics today. Because even if we punish this serious offender who is here today with the most severe punishment, I wouldn't feel it's wrong in the slightest!"

With that, Mare Mare extended his hand in an invitation, leading Lann and the velvet ball to the edge of the battlements on the upper platform of the castle.

A large tapestry embroidered with a golden tree pattern was laid down from this battlement and covered the entire wall.

When you stand on the battlements, looking down from this vantage point, your palms can rest comfortably on them. This tapestry seems to be made of bearskin; it feels wonderful to the touch.

I wonder how big this bear must be to be able to cover a city wall.

Lann followed Mare Mare and placed their hands on the city wall to look down, while the velvet ball jumped up and sat next to him.

Below, the venom pool where Sunshade City is located remains a lush green. The gate that Lan En opened to welcome him has not been closed; instead, it continues to extend outwards, forming an uphill slope leading into the city.

Meanwhile, an open carriage carrying iron cages containing prisoners was passing through a pool of poison and heading towards the city gate.

The iron cage was covered in rust and bloodstains, and it looked like something the Mare family, a family of executioners, had been using for a long time.

But the person inside seemed to fit perfectly into the iron cage at this moment.

"【Executioner Knight】Elonmel. Or now, we should call him 【Ironthorn】Elonmel."

In a tone of resistance and disgust, Mare Mare quietly introduced the prisoner entering the castle to the envoy of Rodel beside him. The man was about the same size as Lann.

He carried no weapons, only a large square shield, which was leaning against the outside of the iron cage in the carriage.

He was still wearing armor, looking as if he had only recently been captured. The armor had an exotic style different from that of the border region.

However, both his shield and his armor were wrapped in layers of messy, thorny wire.

Lan En knew that people with these wires wrapped around their bodies were death row inmates from the Golden Dynasty.

And this person had just arrived when he got tangled in these wires on the way...

"What law did he break, meow?"

At this moment, the velvet ball turned its head and, through Lann, stared at Marley Marley with wide, watery eyes and asked.

"The ten unforgivable crimes".

The city lord of Sunshade City first gave a cold overview, and then listed out the crimes of the criminals who were being escorted into the city one by one.

“Elonmer was a stranger who came to the border before Queen Marika sealed it off with the Sea of ​​Fog.”

"His kingdom is called Ohe, which is said to be a place where a large number of reclusive cultivators gather."

"For many years, people have only thought of this knight as a bit eccentric. But to come to the border and make a pilgrimage to the Golden Tree, he can still be considered a decent person."

“But not long ago,” Marley Marley nodded to Lann, “he began committing cruel crimes.”

The "not long ago" mentioned by the patriarch of House Mare clearly refers to the turmoil that occurred in Rodríguez, most likely the time when the Elden Ring was broken.

"He seemed to have suddenly gone mad, and began to ambush and plunder passing scholars, wandering merchants, and even ordinary people along the roadside, in the corners of windmills, and in the desolate forests! He stole the bell beads that stored their valuables!"

"It doesn't matter if those bells are filled with worthless old grains! Because he wants the bells, he wants symbolic spoils!"

At this point, Maré Maré's voice was cold and filled with murderous intent.

"Can you imagine what this man did to those innocent people? Look at the wires wrapped around his body. Aren't they rusty?"

“That’s not rust, it’s blood rust! He likes to wrap his victims in barbed wire and drag them along! He lets the victims struggle, and then, because of their struggle, they get hurt more and more by the wire.”

"Now, I've wrapped his favorite wire around himself, that scoundrel!"

"When this person was so desperate that he couldn't die even if he wanted to, the wounds inflicted on those he tortured... cough cough. I even saw a guy whose stomach was ripped open and his stomach fell out."

"When we found him, his stomach was on the ground, mixed with the grass roots that the victim had frantically crushed, and it was still warm and wriggling."

Maré Maré shook his head heavily.

“In fact, I think Elon Mel has always been that kind of person. It’s just that the Golden Dynasty is currently preoccupied with its own problems, which makes him feel unrestrained. The Golden Law has also collapsed, which makes him feel that torturing people is more interesting in a situation where no one will die.”

"He is also the reason why I want to uphold the law."

The weak finger of the Mare family patriarch pointed to the carriage that had already entered the castle.

"The consequences of the collapse of the Golden Law are only the terrifying prelude. But these cruel people who disregard the law are already eager to unleash their evil intentions!"

Seemingly sensing the gaze, Elonmer, locked in the iron cage, looked up.

The helmet, wrapped in iron thorns, stared directly at the tapestry-covered walls of the upper levels of Sunshade City.

"Truly impressive."

Lann looked with great interest at Elon Mel, who was being carried off the carriage in his iron cage.

"By the way, I wonder how those victims are doing now? I've learned some perfumer's healing techniques."

“Really? That’s wonderful!” Mare Mare said happily. “Sunshade City is very remote, and I’m the only one here with a Red Dewdrop Chalice Bottle. Elommer has harmed so many people that I now only keep one mouthful for myself each day for self-defense, and the remaining two mouthfuls can heal two people.”

“And my perfumers…” The head of the Marley family said, a little embarrassed, “They signed contracts with my family’s ancestors to provide services only to the Marley family in Sunshade City.”

“They even took care of my great-great-grandfather, and I simply can’t manage them all. If you could help, that would be wonderful.”

“No,” Lann said calmly, glancing at the iron cage containing Elonmel below, then turning to look at Marley Marley. “It’s nothing.”

(End of this chapter)