novelraw Chapter 84 : Chapter 84
Chapter 84 : Chapter 84
Chapter 84
The battle surrounding the corpse of Leviathan Roka was over.
The damage to Unit 917 was nil… is that the right way to put it?
To tell the truth, by the time Unit 917, having confirmed Demersia’s crash at the target location, joined the ground forces, the battle was already in its final stages.
The remnants of the Purity faction were busy fleeing, and the Alliance was chasing after them, unilaterally pouring down cannon fire.
As a result, there was no particular threat or battle for Unit 917.
It felt less like a battlefield and more like a stroll through the neighborhood.
Thus, we achieved victory, and that evening, all the commanders and soldiers staying at Ederka gathered for a small festival.
Although the festival consisted of nothing more than eating meat, drinking, and enjoying music.
And the music, overlapping with the characteristic loud noise of Ederka, was not at all pleasant…
* * *
“…Thinking about it, it is annoying.”
I stopped reminiscing and threw myself out of bed.
Byan, who had just woken up and was tidying his bedding, looked at me in surprise.
“What is?”
“We finally got a vacation period after the battle ended. But we have been stuck here at Ederka for several days now. It does not feel like a break even when we are resting.”
“That… is true for you too.”
We both let out a sigh with the same meaning at the same time.
Ederka is a supply base built for military operations.
Since it is not a facility designed for rest, there is nothing to enjoy for leisure, and all we can do is lie in bed all day and stare at the ceiling.
Of course, I hate spending time so meaninglessly, so I have been dedicating a little more time to self-training, but there is a limit.
I cannot just swing a sword all day.
In the end, since we could not enjoy a proper vacation, the atmosphere surrounding Unit 917 was growing a little more gloomy with each passing day.
“Sir Rian Kaltz.”
“…?”
A strange voice came from outside the door.
When I opened it, a young woman in the uniform of an Ederka officer was staring at me.
When our eyes met, she hurriedly bowed her head.
…What is this?
Is not an officer of Ederka a noble?
“Uh… it is an honor to meet you. I have heard many times of Sir Rian Kaltz’s exploits, starting from Achimlab Fortress. As a fellow soldier, I respect you.”
“Ah… Yes. Thank you.”
Is she some kind of obsessed fan?
I did not know how to react and just stared, so she blushed and bowed her head.
“Uh, that is… that was just my personal feeling. This is the business. Lord Saeb is looking for you. It would be best if you could visit Lord Saeb’s office within the hour.”
“Understood. Thank you for letting me know.”
“This is my job, so you do not need to worry about it.”
She smiled brightly and walked away with a cheerful gait, as if she was in a good mood.
I stared at her receding back for a while, then went back into the room and immediately started getting ready to go out.
“Are you going right away?”
“There is nothing to do here anyway.”
“That… is true. But why would the administrator of Ederka be looking for a field commander?”
“I do not know either. Whatever the reason, I just hope he will let us go now.”
The reason Unit 917 was currently staying at Ederka was solely due to Saeb’s order, disguised as a request.
Saeb’s words were still vivid in my mind.
[Mergan’s Unit 917 will remain at Ederka for the time being. The battle is over, so the soldiers should be given a vacation, you say? What does that have to do with anything? It is not like I am making them work. Ederka is also a good place to enjoy a rest.]
…He spouted such nonsense.
That crazy person.
It is a place where a person would go mad from the mechanical noise after just one day, yet he said it was a good place to enjoy a rest. It was clear that having been cooped up in such a place for so long, he had a screw loose somewhere.
Or maybe he was just a strange person from the beginning.
“You have arrived? Sir Rian Kaltz. I have been waiting.”
Had I been too focused on complaining about Saeb?
When I came to my senses at the sound of a voice, I found myself already in front of my destination.
A soldier, as if he had been told in advance, recognized my face and cleared a path.
Inside the office, Saeb and his secretary were still buried in a pile of documents, having a busy day.
Saeb did not seem to have noticed my arrival.
Only when his secretary leaned over and whispered in his ear did he finally raise his head and look me in the eye.
“You came quickly.”
“Because Lord Saeb summoned me.”
“You probably wanted to get the troublesome things over with first.”
“…”
It had only been a few days since we met, but that man already had a pretty good grasp of who I was.
He might be a good observer.
Saeb led me to the table, which was messy again, even though he had probably cleaned it up just a few days ago.
Saeb’s secretary, who was staring at the messily cluttered table, swung her arm without a moment’s hesitation and swept the documents off the table.
“…”
Saeb, the owner of the office, might be one thing, but you, his secretary, should not be doing that.
The secretary with a proud look on her face, and Saeb with a look of complete disinterest in whatever his secretary was doing.
They were clearly crazy people.
“Do you know why I summoned you here?”
“I am not sure.”
“…It seems security is being well-maintained. First, here is the reward for the subjugation of Galakal that you chose before.”
At Saeb’s signal, the waiting secretary placed a small box on the table.
The box was too small to contain the left eye of that giant fiend.
But it was definitely Galakal’s left eye.
“It has already been refined for use.”
“This level of service is a matter of course. Ederka is skilled at processing Galakal’s mana source, so it was not a difficult task.”
Most mana sources must undergo a processing stage before use.
This makes them easier to use and increases the amount of mana that can be absorbed.
The aerial base Ederka is optimized for procuring Galakal’s mana source, so related technicians are always on standby, and their skills are excellent.
I opened the box.
A faint red light bloomed with a refreshing scent that was hard to believe came from processing a fiend’s eyeball.
“…”
I desperately wanted to use the Eye of the Dragon to check the detailed information.
Even without checking, I knew its performance, but it was like wanting to double-check something good to be sure.
But I held back because I did not want to create unnecessary trouble.
“Thank you.”
“Do not mention it. It is a reward you rightfully earned, so there is no need to thank me.”
“Then I will do so.”
“…”
Saeb, who had been staring at my face for a moment, let out a chuckle.
I waited for Saeb’s command to take Galakal’s left eye and leave.
But instead of ordering me to leave, Saeb gave an additional instruction to his secretary, and the secretary, nodding, began to place something on the table one by one.
They were very large gems.
I did not know their identity, but there were several red gems of different shapes, and a few blue and black gems.
There were easily dozens of them.
“May I ask what these are?”
“Did I not promise you? The Empire will give you a reward befitting your merits.”
“Is this the reward?”
I do not know much about gems.
But I could tell just by their size that these gems were quite valuable.
Although they were uncut, if I could find a good craftsman, the value of the gems could be raised to an astronomical level.
If I could do that, I could expect a decent profit.
“…You do not seem very happy.”
“Ah, yes. I am not particularly interested in money.”
It is not like I am going to live here forever.
I only need enough money to get by.
The story would be different if I could buy mana sources with money, but unfortunately, mana sources are items that cannot be bought even with money, so I naturally lost interest in money.
“I knew it, but you are a peculiar person. But I would like you to know that these are not just ordinary gems.”
“What do you mean?”
“This is a mana source obtained from the corpse of Leviathan Roka.”
“…!”
I was genuinely surprised.
It was such shocking news that I wanted to praise myself for barely succeeding in suppressing the scream that was about to erupt from my throat.
I know about most of the mana sources that exist in this world.
If there is something I do not know, it must mean it is a newly discovered mana source that has not existed until now.
And during my time playing D&K, Leviathan had never been hunted, and there were no past records of it being hunted.
As for hunting Leviathan out of curiosity, it would be like cutting open the belly of the goose that lays the golden eggs, and I would end up turning not only the Alliance but also other Purity players against me.
For various reasons, my curiosity had remained just that, but.
When I thought about the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity in this way, my fingertips tingled.
‘…Should I use the Eye of the Dragon?’
If I had my way, I would immediately use the Eye of the Dragon to appraise each of the gems in front of me.
And I would want to fill them in neatly in the mana source catalog in my head.
But I also did not want to take on that much risk for mere curiosity.
These two conflicting desires were clashing violently, and it seemed to show on my face.
When I came to my senses, I was frowning and biting my lip, and Saeb was watching my expression with interest.
“You may use your Authority.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“I do not fail to understand your desire to hide it… but the investigation on you is already complete.”
“…”
To be honest, my first thought was not that I was in big trouble, but that what was meant to be had finally come.
I had tried to hide it, to conceal it, but for various reasons, I had used it in front of others a few times, so the rumors must have eventually spread.
“They say you use black mana.”
“…That is correct.”
“As you know, black mana is the exclusive property of the Archmage. Depending on the circumstances, you could be implicated in treason, so I investigated, even though I know it is impolite…”
“…”
“Lord Lupel told me. The black mana you use is related to him… so there is no need to worry too much about it.”
The tension that had been constricting my very soul was released in an instant, and I could feel my tensed muscles relax.
Damn it.
Why did I have to suffer so much mentally over something like black mana?
A cold sweat broke out.
“Now that that is settled, let us take a look at them one by one.”
“Is this an appraisal request?”
“…Ah. You might feel that way. It is not like that.”
Saeb said with a playful smile.
“I will give you one of these as a reward for your merits.”