novelraw Chapter 76 : Chapter 76
Chapter 76 : Chapter 76
Chapter 76: A Changed Future (2)
“Harad!”
Deputy Commander Derrick greeted Harad with a wide smile.
Derrick liked him so much that he'd joke about dragging Toremot down and putting Harad in his place.
To be precise, he liked the warmth of the sun, but to Harad, it was all the same.
I, too, favored those with ability.
Unconditional favor was something hard to find even among family.
“This is Pisaro.”
Pisaro was a knight of average build.
His blond hair was striking, which meant he wasn't of northern blood.
“I've heard a lot about you. My expectations are high.”
“I've heard a lot about you too.”
“From whom?”
“Actually, I just said that.”
“I like your honesty.”
I'd heard a lot in my past life.
If Toremot's right hand was Derrick, Pisaro was his left.
“He's my contemporary. A peculiar one.”
In short, Pisaro was the reins that controlled the emotional Derrick.
An asset who was almost scouted by the Intelligence Bureau but was assigned to the knights because his martial prowess was too valuable to waste.
That was all Harad knew.
The Pisaro of my past life had died early. Along with Toremot.
“Are these two all?”
Toremot had assigned two knights.
“Is it not enough?”
“Of course not. It's more than enough.”
More wasn't necessarily better.
I planned to deviate from the search route. Too many people would only get us caught by mages or magical beasts.
The search party had to be minimal. At the same time, they had to be the strongest.
That was why Toremot had selected his left and right hands.
The knights who would stand directly behind Toremot if the 1st Knights were lined up.
‘Each of them is like a 4th Rank mage… not bad.’
Of course, even Derrick and Pisaro combined couldn't match one Elaine, but that would be greedy.
‘If I travel with Elaine, my own contributions will diminish.’
To climb higher, I had to keep Elaine at a distance in official settings.
Elaine was like a star. A star that absorbed the light around it. Her fame would even snatch away the credit for my own achievements.
Five knights who had followed behind went to open the fortress gate.
It was when they grabbed the iron chains connected to the pulleys.
“You're Mage Kubel, right? You're much bigger than I heard.”
Pisaro marveled at Kubel's muscles.
“What Rank are you?”
“I am 3rd Rank.”
“Mage Harad. And you?”
“A 3rd Rank that's like a 4th Rank.”
“So I can consider you a 4th Rank?”
Harad nodded.
Pisaro's face brightened, then tensed up. It seemed he was imagining a battle in his head.
‘Was he the head, not the left arm?’
Pisaro seemed to be the one who managed the 1st Knights' affairs.
A sound like the world being scraped echoed.
It was the sound of the fortress gate opening.
The gate stopped after opening just enough for a person to pass through. The knights who turned the pulleys panted as they wished us good luck.
“Gullen, are you going too?”
Pisaro looked at Gullen, who was still with them even after the gate had opened, puzzled.
“Yes, sir.”
“It will be dangerous. You don't have to go.”
It was consideration for the youngest, whose talent had not yet ripened.
“You'll only get in the way.”
Pisaro was direct.
He was rational, but he didn't know how to beat around the bush.
‘He really is the manager.’
To Harad, that aspect was appealing.
Pisaro seemed to be the one in charge of dishing out harsh truths in the 1st Knights.
“Or you could at least carry an axe.”
“...I'll handle it myself.”
However, Gullen was only nineteen.
‘Puberty hit him hard.’
I had to erase that pride.
Today, if possible.
* * *
At first, we followed the search route.
“Wolf. Tentacle. Anteater...”
Gullen muttered quietly from behind.
‘Route 45.’
Wolf, Tentacle, and Anteater were the magical beasts inhabiting search route 45.
Derrick and Pisaro took the lead.
Harad and Kubel were in the middle, and Gullen was at the rear.
“You really don't need Aura.”
Pisaro marveled at Harad's warmth.
To be able to conserve Aura in the Boundary.
It was an unbelievable effect.
“If you were an enemy, I'd want to cut off your limbs and carry them around in a bag. Can't you make a Magical Item?”
“Unfortunately, I don't have that talent.”
Pisaro was pleased that Harad was an ally, but also felt it was a shame.
“Can you only block wind and cold?”
“I can block most things. If they can be melted by fire. But it costs magic power.”
“How much?”
“Enough that I can replenish it with the magical beasts I kill.”
“So it's endlessly possible. Wait. Don't tell me it's not costing any magic power right now?”
When Harad nodded, Pisaro was amazed for a long while. The look in his eyes as he glanced back was sticky.
It was greed. With Harad, they could roam the Boundary freely.
“What did I tell you? We need to replace the Commander.”
“Derrick, I see why you were making such a fuss.”
Derrick's admiration and Pisaro's were quite different. Pisaro understood.
“Wolf magical beasts are coming. Four of them.”
“How did you sense them?”
“Ordinary magical beasts can't hide their magic power. Mages are the most sensitive to it.”
“Indeed.”
The wolf magical beasts charged from the front.
They were the size of the garrison's latrine building. Fangs as thick as a man's leg lunged at Derrick and Pisaro.
Two streaks of brilliant blue Aura horizontally bisected the wolves' maws along with their fangs.
One of them squeezed its body through the carcasses. It pushed between Derrick and Pisaro and opened its maw wide towards Harad.
‘It was deliberate.’
It wasn't a bad feeling. On the contrary, I was pleased.
I was glad there was a knight who could think like this.
A spark flew in the air. It devoured the glossy sheen on the wolf magical beast's fur and swelled.
It was instantaneous. The wolf magical beast was engulfed in a massive flame, and soon, only bones remained.
“These won't be enough for a test.”
This was the entrance to the search route. It meant the wolf magical beasts were weak creatures pushed to the very edge of the Boundary.
“And there's no need to test me. I'm probably more impressive than you are.”
Pisaro looked down at the skeletal remains of the wolf magical beast and nodded.
The flames had been so hot, yet the bones hadn't melted at all. It had melted precisely the flesh and innards.
It was a display of finesse.
As if to say, magic of this level is nothing, I can control it as I please.
“My apologies. I thought it necessary to confirm. Derrick and I are indispensable knights to the 1st Knights.”
At a time when Toremot couldn't enter the Boundary, Derrick and Pisaro were as good as the core of the 1st Knights.
“I understand, since you're in the vanguard.”
Those two had taken the vanguard position.
It meant they had entrusted their lives to Harad.
Pisaro had needed to confirm Harad's strength.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“In fact, I'm rather pleased.”
I was sincere. I was moved.
‘A cautious knight.’
In the north, the word "cautious" could sometimes be an insult.
But Pisaro was respected by the knights.
Because he was both cautious and strong.
He was a very rare type in the north.
Not just Toremot, but Pisaro too was an asset who had to be saved at all costs.
“It seems I can get along with you.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
Pisaro grinned.
Derrick pouted slightly and moved forward.
The search route was smooth.
All Harad had to do was open his mouth. If I told them the number and location of the magical beasts, Derrick and Pisaro would take care of them.
“What about Mage Kubel?”
“He's planning to conserve his magic power. My fire and his smoke have good synergy.”
“Understood.”
At those words, Pisaro slightly narrowed the distance between them.
He was taking responsibility for Kubel's area as well.
I was moved once again.
To think I could speak so curtly with a knight.
After passing through the anteater zone, where the creatures looked like they ate people instead of ants, Derrick and Pisaro stopped walking.
The ground at their feet was a mess. Deep footprints and sword marks were scattered about. There were even gouges made by something other than a sword here and there.
“This is the place.”
This was the spot where the 1st Knights had fought three mages.
Derrick's and Pisaro's gazes turned to the same place.
Not the search route ahead, but the dark blue ground to the left.
The mages came from that land.
“What kind of mages were they? I'm asking about the form of their magic.”
“Two of them spat out something black. It was like ink.”
Pisaro was the knight who had been at the scene that day.
“They were different kinds of ink. One changed into a beast, while the other was wielded like a weapon.”
It was because the vagueness inherent in each Origin was different.
The same principle as why the magic of Shura's Eye and Compaso's Eye was different.
“The other one... yes. He transformed into me. A mirror image. It was like looking in a mirror. That one was 4th Rank. I killed him.”
Pisaro was good at expressing himself.
“How did you kill him?”
“He was exactly like me. But he was clumsy.”
It meant he had gained the same ability, but his experience was different.
A knight's power was best handled by a knight.
‘Ink. And mirror.’
They were all ambiguous Origins.
“Weren't they clumsy in battle?”
“Definitely.”
A peculiar light shone in Pisaro's eyes.
“They seemed to have little combat experience. How did you know?”
“They must have been from the Ivory Tower.”
Why the future had changed.
Harad had a rough idea.
* * *
Above the dark blue ground, something like dust flew. Each one was a magical beast. Trivial magical beasts whose bloodline must have been mere insects.
Whoo.
Kubel, having lit a cigarette, exhaled smoke. Its color was faint. Instead, it spread wide like a fog.
The insect magical beasts buried in the smoke dropped to the ground, thud, thud.
“He can also detect.”
Harad explained Kubel's magic as if introducing a product.
“Two of them.”
As soon as Kubel spoke, two magical beasts shot out of the smoke. With exceptionally long snouts, they were magical beasts that looked like enlarged mosquitoes.
The two snouts bent simultaneously.
Their directions were different. A part of the fog-like smoke had become blades.
‘It can't cut them.’
This meant that the Ranks of the mosquito magical beasts and Kubel were not far apart.
Kubel seemed to have expected it. The blades dispersed into smoke, then gathered into two clumps. They struck the mosquitoes' heads in unison.
The heads of the two mosquito magical beasts were slightly dented.
They didn't die this time either. However, the creatures flying high above came down to eye level, perfect for cutting. Derrick and Pisaro amicably sliced the mosquitoes' necks.
“His detection range seems narrower than yours.”
“That's because I'm exceptional, not because Kubel is lacking. It will gradually expand in the future.”
Pisaro nodded.
“Can that smoke change its form at will?”
“That's right. Its power is still weak, but that too will gradually grow stronger.”
“There's no rule that says it must be used for attack.”
“It depends on how you use it.”
The scope of vagueness in Kubel's Origin was extremely wide.
“Indeed, it seems useful. May I ask for your cooperation from time to time?”
“O-of course.”
With just one battle, Kubel had earned Pisaro's approval.
“Don't get him killed.”
“Don't worry. If he dies, we'll die together. In the Boundary, everyone you're with is a comrade-in-arms.”
Harad smiled like a street vendor who had just sold his goods.
Magic power is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more it grows.
Kubel in this life was forbidden from devouring hearts, so he had to deplete his magic power every day.
The 1st Knights' searches would also add experience on top of that.
“I heard you have a daughter, Mage Kubel. I have a daughter too. She's eleven.”
“My daughter is ten.”
“They could become good friends.”
Pisaro seemed to have taken quite a liking to Kubel.
Kubel's physique must have played a part. He was timid, but his muscles were incredible enough to make up for it.
“Do you have a special workout routine?”
“I do, but...”
“Can you tell me later?”
When Kubel nodded, Derrick and Pisaro were pleased.
The dark blue ground came to an abrupt end.
Dark red moss was underfoot, and a crimson swamp spread out before our eyes.
The terrain was unique. A thin strip of mossy land lay beyond the swamp, and beyond that, there was another swamp.
Harad picked up a fist-sized stone from the ground and threw it over the swamp. Something shot out from the swamp, snatched the stone, and returned to the swamp.
“A tongue.”
“It's a tongue.”
Derrick and Pisaro said at the same time.
As expected of knights, their kinetic vision was excellent.
“We can't just ignore it and jump over. What do you think?”
“I can get rid of them. Both the swamp and the magical beast hiding inside.”
Harad could boil the swamp and evaporate it. The magical beast inside would be cooked to death.
“Seems like it would consume a lot of magic power.”
“I should be able to replenish most of it, since it seems to be 3rd Rank.”
The magical beast hiding in the swamp was 3rd Rank.
The size I sensed was considerable, and its magic power reserve seemed quite large as well.
“So it will still be a net loss.”
Harad nodded.
The number and scale of the swamps were a problem, but the bigger issue was that he was still only 3rd Rank. He couldn't produce the desired output without consuming a significant amount of magic power.
“Then we'll do it.”
He meant they would go into the swamp themselves.
“Derrick, you go first.”
“Got it.”
Derrick immediately took off his leather clothes and fell into the swamp. Sizzle. A sound of something burning came from the swamp. The surface rippled a few times.
Plop. Not long after, Derrick shot out onto the land on the other side. A huge something was impaled on his sword. It was a head that resembled a lizard's.
“You can cross.”
At those words, Pisaro leaped over the swamp.
Harad and Gullen did the same, while Kubel used his smoke as stepping stones to jump across.
“How was it?”
Pisaro asked the dirtied Derrick.
“It's deep. It hurts, but not enough to get injured. No need to use Aura.”
“I'll go this time.”
This time, Pisaro jumped into the swamp.
He came up later than Derrick, and in his hand was a heart.
It was because he knew Harad replenished his magic power with the hearts of magical beasts.
“Thanks.”
“It's only natural.”
It was when Harad was absorbing the heart Pisaro handed him.
“I'll go from now on.”
Pisaro threw his clothes at Derrick.
“Why?”
“Derrick, you're stronger than me. It's right for me to be the one who gets worn down here.”
It's dirty and painful.
Pisaro was a rational knight. Without hesitation, he jumped into the next swamp. And came out with another heart.
Harad crossed to the next piece of land and absorbed the heart. Seeing this, Derrick asked.
“Why don't you give any to Kubel?”
“Devouring is highly addictive. Once you start, you can't stop. If you can't eat, you become a madman.”
“Then why do you do it?”
“I plan to keep eating from now on. There's the Otherworld, isn't there?”
“Kuh.”
Derrick was amazed by Harad's ambition.
Now, he seemed likely to go around calling Harad his comrade-in-arms even outside the Boundary.
“Gullen.”
While Pisaro was submerged in the next swamp, Harad turned his gaze to Gullen. Gullen looked miserable.
“Are you angry that you couldn't play any part?”
“...”
Up to this point, Gullen had been at the rear.
It was a meaningless position. Harad and Kubel could sense magical beasts, and Derrick and Pisaro advanced mercilessly, ensuring no remaining magical beasts could tail them.
Pisaro's words that he would only be in the way had been sincere.
He had put Gullen at the rear, telling him to do nothing.
“Derrick and Pisaro cherish you, because you're the youngest.”
“...”
“Are you satisfied?”
Gullen shook his head.
He was not a man who would settle for the position of the youngest.
Harad remembered the great ambition Gullen of the past life had possessed.
Putting down the axe was also a fragment of that ambition.
“You didn't bring an axe, I see. After I went to the trouble of advising you.”
“...What kind of advice is that bullshit about knowing a magic that sees the future.”
On the day of the hunt when they met the rabbit, Harad had indirectly told Gullen to pick up an axe on their way back.
“No one's ever heard of such magic.”
“So you were conscious of it.”
“...”
“You yourself know best that the axe is right for you.”
Gullen was silent. It was an affirmation.
Knights are surprisingly particular.
They can use any weapon well, but they say there are weapons that feel uniquely like a part of their own body.
When they wield such a weapon, a knight changes noticeably. They even experience repeated growth spurts.
It was a phenomenon Harad couldn't understand.
I could only guess.
That it might be related to the individuality of one's innate Aura.
For Toremot, that was the axe.
I don't know if it was hereditary, but it was the same for Gullen.
“Well, you must have your reasons. I trust you thought it over and switched to a sword. Unless you're a blockhead.”
“...”
“I won't force you. What you wield is your choice. It's none of my business.”
Actually, it was my business.
Just as Harad and Elaine had, Gullen too had to change quickly.
That guy was the material of a future Great Warrior.
“But I want you to know this one thing. I'm saying this because you're like me.”
“...What is it?”
“Do you know when a child regrets the most?”
Gullen's face contorted.
It was the same old boring story about his father and the axe again, wasn't it?
“When their parent dies.”
“...Why would that man die.”
Gullen couldn't dare to imagine Toremot dying. That was the kind of man he was.
The Commander of Serzila's 1st Knights. One of the few Sword Masters in the world.
“That's how you end up with regrets.”
“...Don't be ridiculous.”
“I ended up here because of that.”
Gullen was at a loss for words.
“Do you plan to pick up an axe only after Lord Toremot dies?”
“...”
“If so, I won't stop you.”