Book 7 Chapter 21

Episode 170

Miria was waiting for me in the Bellaquior Temple Colonnade. Leaning against a half-destroyed pillar, stroking Aki's head.

It was around the time I descended the temple steps, when the smoke rising from the old altar gradually subsided and dusk fell upon the world.

No sooner had I appeared than Aki immediately scurried over and clung to my right leg.

"Daddy c-came."

It was touching.

He used to toddle around crawling, but when did he grow so much…?

- Master.

- Master.

- Wizards don't cry. Right?

At the sudden thought of his old disciple's brilliant growth, the young man suppressed his sadness with a smile and lifted Aki into his arms.

"You can walk now, you've grown up."

No, but why did he actually grow bigger?

He used to be a two or three-year-old baby, but now he's five? Or six, judging by his physique. I tilted my head for a moment when I picked him up due to the unfamiliar weight.

Do True Dragons grow in stages?

"Aki c-can w-walk."

"It's good that you're talking, but why do you talk like Pipi?"

"Aki, t-talks li-like Pipi?"

Pipi, the owner of that peculiar tone, remained silent, perched on my shoulder.

Even now, he was only staring at the smoke far in the sky, carrying Toreina's soul upwards.

As I buried my face in Aki's crown with a bitter sigh, the cozy scent of fire unique to Red Dragons calmed my turbulent heart a little.

"I'm sorry, was I too late?"

"N-not late."

"Really?"

Was it something he said without much thought, or did he say it with sincerity?

Even if I couldn't know Aki's thoughts, I felt as if a lump that had tightly bound my soul had melted away with those words.

It felt as if a disciple I could no longer meet had said something like that.

"No, I was late. I won't be late again in the future."

Aki purred contentedly, rubbing his head against me. After a long while, I lifted my face and looked at Miria.

"Now we really have to part ways."

"That's how it is. I'm a busier person than you'd think."

"Catching goblins?"

"What! Is there a problem?"

"No, just… but why are you covered in bruises?"

Miria then sighed with an expression as if she didn't know the reason either.

"I don't know. That Paequarier named Millone kept asking me to spar with wooden swords…"

"Did you win?"

"Does it look like I won to you? I hardly did anything and just got beaten up."

That was a very natural outcome.

Paequarier are the strongest soldiers in humanity; is there anyone who can match their strength in close combat?

There was something I could guess about why Millone requested a duel.

"Sword energy."

But was what Miria used really sword energy? To call it sword energy, it was far too weak compared to what Rista used 300 years ago…

"Isn't it because you unleashed sword energy back then?"

"Sword energy? Me? That's ridiculous. I didn't even properly receive ManaChain (鎖) training. I don't know how I unleashed the sword's aura back then, but… it's definitely not sword energy."

But her tone was as if she couldn't confirm it herself. I thought she would explain how she came to use it, but Miria immediately changed the subject.

"After knocking me down three times, he muttered, 'Was it a misunderstanding?' and let me go."

Miria pressed her temples, her head throbbing again at the memory.

However, her expression wasn't too dark, perhaps finding sparring with a Paequarier to be a somewhat fresh experience.

My gaze shifted to Miria's shoulder, darkening slightly.

A half-broken single-edged sword blade hung loosely, wrapped in bandages.

"Why? Oh, this?"

Miria saw the emotion mixed in my gaze and shook her head coolly.

"It's fine. It was a sword I supposedly took from a Goblin Shaman… It had considerable demonic energy and was quite useful, but it protected Aki and me this time, so it has fulfilled its value, I suppose."

"Supposedly took?"

"Because it wasn't something I took, but something my father passed down to me. My adoptive father, that is."

It would have been a lie if a sigh hadn't escaped me at the sight of her turning the sword over and over with a bitter look, despite saying it was fine.

"My name is Rain Ludwig."

"So what?"

"It means I'm the heir of the Ludwig family. Take this and go to our mansion."

What I handed Miria was a ring.

It was a ring proving her status as a student of the Magic Academy <Delighten>, with the string '1388 - Rain Ludwig' elaborately engraved on the inside of its gem.

"If you explain what happened, my parents will give you generous compensation. Enough to buy a masterwork sword made by a master craftsman."

Miria glanced down at the ring and opened her small, beady eyes in disbelief.

"You know, you always manage to annoy me, both at the beginning and at the end. Hey, when did I say I wanted money?"

"……?"

"I was trying to save Aki. Seeing him smile like that after saving him is enough."

Then she strode forward and gently stroked Aki's head.

A defenseless smile appeared on her lips as Aki rubbed his head against her hand. But as soon as she noticed my gaze, she immediately erased the smile and stepped back.

Clearing her throat and steadying what might have become a sharper voice, Miria said with one eye slightly open,

"If you really want to repay me that much, there's nothing I can't accept. Treat me."

"Treat you?"

"There's a really amazing restaurant in <Aurelinople>. There's one in <Aristapo>, where we need to go now, too. Aki would like it."

A chuckle, a smile formed.

This guy, he doesn't want to eat it himself; he wants to see Aki eat it.

Just as Miria was about to demand what was so funny, another voice interrupted their conversation.

"I'll take that treat, too."

The man with dark blue hair who appeared from the darkness of the dusk-laden ruins was named Valentidis.

His movements were a bit unstable, perhaps not fully recovered, but his obnoxious face was still obnoxious.

"Even a slacker among slackers like you wouldn't be so without conscience as to say you won't repay me, who helped you escape from an extreme crisis and then even risked my life using Toreina's composite spell."

Now, when I look at this guy, no matter what the past was, all I can do is laugh absurdly.

And I also thought I should keep an eye on this guy.

Because I felt like I could see another possibility of my old disciple who fell into the abyss, in this guy, the disciple's disciple.

Even while thinking that, I deliberately shook my head with a sigh that sounded like a click of the tongue.

"No, you can't. You're out."

"O-out."

Valentidis, having received a counterattack of double negation from me and Aki, playfully raised his eyebrow.

"Hmm, why is that? Present a sufficiently convincing reason, Rain Ludwig. If you were thinking of spending some intimate time with that goblin woman, I would gladly withdraw."

"Hey, who's a goblin woman?"

"Is that the kind of reason it would be? My life's goal is to not spend a single penny on you."

"Such a truly remarkable life goal, I've seen. Did you receive home education to repay kindness with hostility?"

"The student council I half-forced myself into taught me that."

"The student council, you mean… the place where the wizard you respect the most is?"

"You dog, come here. Aren't you coming? Hey!"

"C-come here."

Miria pressed her temples and sighed in a headache, watching the two men circle each other like children, with her between them.

"No, what are you two doing… We're supposed to go eat, but suddenly you're playing tag."

* * *

[Report on mission progress.]

Only the sound of underground wastewater flowing echoed through the terrifyingly dark cavern.

An old fortress buried in the Era of Genesis, most of its structures had sunken and become soggy due to the erosion of wastewater, but the frantic terror it harbored remained as it was.

This underground fortress, which even renowned adventurers crossing the 'Flowing Desert' were reluctant to explore, was a strategically important border region of the Holshvez Kingdom in the Era of the Abyss.

"Well, um, there's a piece of news that you might not find very pleasant."

Now it had lost its glory and become a no man's land… But on the rampart of that fortress, a young man sat cross-legged.

An eye patch with seven strange eyes drawn inside a triangle, those eyes intermittently blinked like living creatures.

When wearing that eye patch, this young man, Zernix, did not become blind.

Rather, he became a being equivalent to a transcendent, able to scrutinize everything within a 500-meter radius as if looking at the palm of his hand.

"Toreina seems to be dead."

Zernix said this in a casual tone, as if saying it will rain today, or it will be foggy tomorrow.

Normally, he would have yawned and scratched his back, but he dared not do so during a regular meeting like today.

Because the spirit body of a being that made even Zernix, who would flirt with any beautiful woman, nervous in the face of impending death, was perched on the rampart.

[I thought Lujaixian had endless utility, but you let her die too quickly. What made Toreina rush so much?]

The First Pillar of the Black Church…

It was that very individual who had revived the Second Pillar Zernix and the Third Pillar Ellamas with the power of the Abyss.

"I don't know. I heard Ellamas met Toreina recently; wasn't he the one who incited her then?"

Zernix pointed to the other side with his finger, and the girl's spirit body, who had been lightly scurrying around inside the rampart, gasped and stamped her foot.

[What are you talking about? I only visited once when I caught the baby dragon, that's all! Brother Zernix, you're the one who caused this!]

Ellamas's voice was even floating due to extreme exasperation, but her eyes and voice carried the blade of truth.

Hmph, as expected, he knows everything.

It was I who leaked information about Toreina to lure the dragon's guardian to <Aurelinople>, and it was I who immediately conveyed that information to Toreina to make them meet.

"I don't know. You and Toreina conspired first, and I just helped with that."

[Oh, come on~ You wanted to hold Toreina so badly, didn't you? But you kept getting rejected, so you got angry and caused this, didn't you?]

Then Zernix yelled,

"What, you punk? Hey, this Zernix is a man among men whom all women in the world beg to kiss just one more time! Why would I, such a person, ruin a great plan for one 300-year-old woman?"

His true feelings were that he was tremendously regretful.

No matter how wide the world was, it wasn't easy to find a woman like Toreina, flawless in face, figure, and voice…

However, forcing himself upon someone wasn't Zernix's taste, and the problem was that Toreina had been single-heartedly devoted only to Lynn, the junior Archmage Zernix had killed 300 years ago.

[I'm a woman too, but I have no desire to kiss Brother Zernix.]

"Oh~ I don't have a taste for kids like you either."

[What did you say?]

It was then that the First Pillar uttered a bone-chillingly cold voice.

[As I said before, I don't care what pranks you two play. However, if it obstructs the great plan, there will be no forgiveness, even for you two.]

As if to confirm his will, the sword, which clearly took the form of a spirit body despite being a weapon, resonated with its master's will.

The murderous intent exhaled by that sword was so fierce that even Zernix and Ellamas, who had been playfully conversing, immediately shut their mouths.

For the true identity of that sword was Yoniulan, one of the True Holy Swords that had slain countless old nobles and even defiled the bodies of kings in the Age of Gods.

True Holy Swords were the real holy swords used by the five Ascensi Quarriers, legendary weapons that became the prototypes of the twelve Supreme Holy Swords currently used by Paequariers.

[At any rate, with this, our influence over the Akrad Continent can be considered virtually lost.]

The tone was very dissatisfied.

Because Shar'kass and Nariaduk failed to play an active role and exited quickly due to unpredictable entities that appeared from who knew where.

"Yes, yes, the Water Dragon race and the Papal Authority would think so too. Because the Mad Dragon is gone."

The Black Church also suffered an unexpectedly significant blow, but it wasn't as great compared to the damage sustained by the Dragon Races.

The Dragon Races lost the Mad Dragon during the Black Spot Incident when all three pillars of the Black Church were fully involved (even Toreina couldn't have caused such a thing alone), and then they also lost the eldest daughter of the Red True Dragons who protected the North Pole.

The power of human nations was slowly, but surely and clearly declining.

This decline would be starkly revealed when the Age of Dragons completely ended.

"Besides, isn't our main stage the Adrion Continent? Let them be as complacent as they want."

As if pleased with the meaning implied in Zernix's answer, the First Pillar nodded his head.

[I will cross the wall soon. If that dragon's guardian has crossed over to the Adrion Continent by then, I will handle it.]

[Wow, really? When? You'll come to meet Ellamas too, right?]

Ellamas, whose love and loyalty for the First Pillar were unparalleled, covered her mouth with both hands and cheered genuinely, but…

"Cross over to the Adrion Continent? That guy? How do you know that?"

Zernix asked in a tone as if to feign how it was possible.

Of course, he knew.

If the guy had intended to hide in the Papal Authority instead of coming, he had been planning to threaten him by taking one of his family members hostage to make him come.

'But a Paequarier was guarding near Bellwin Mansion, so that was impossible…'

His younger sister, who was at <Rainbow Garden>, was being protected by another awakened one of Bell Quarrius, so he dared not lay a hand on her either.

'I did manage to find out his destination by casting a possession spell on an imperial army officer who had gone to Trident Point, but I was the only one who knew…'

Then, as if he had already seen through all of his schemes, the First Pillar looked at him with a meaningful gaze.

'This, my plan will be completely twisted.'

Zernix knitted his brow slightly and inwardly clicked his tongue.

To achieve my purpose, to finally escape from the grasp of that monster, I need his body.

So I had intended to water and fertilize the fruit until it was fully ripe, but…

If he meets this monster with his current skill, not knowing the 'true power' of Bell Quarrius, he'll definitely die.

'He'd be torn to shreds, not even a trace of his original body remaining. That Yoniulan is that kind of sword. Then I can't take over his body.'

I'd like to act first before they meet, but I can't move my main body until this work is finished.

If I abandon this work and move my main body, I would be killed by that Yoniulan first.

Should I set things up to delay that kid when he crosses the continent?

'No, perhaps there's no need to rack my brains over it?'

Because I've deployed 'those scoundrels' to the Tersh Archipelago, which can be called the connecting point of the two continents.

The adventurer group 'Slayers,' who gained all sorts of infamous reputations on the two continents 500 years ago before being exterminated by Paequariers.

Zernix finally crossed his arms contentedly and inwardly let out a smug smile.

'Hmph, huhuhuhuh, as expected, my wisdom is perfect, too perfect.'