Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Twenty-Fourth Fragment, Carpediem
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One of the adventurers they'd missed was none other than the scarecrow Ea. He had no idea why she was traveling with Cain, but the mere fact that she had already joined their group meant they were in a very tricky situation. Judah forced a wry smile as he glared into Ea's crimson eyes.
"Calling me a rat? That's a bit harsh for someone who just helped you."
"If you hadn't shown up, I wouldn't have needed any help in the first place."
"Hah, that's rich."
The saying "help a jerk and he'll bite you" wasn't born in vain. Judah leaned back against the tree behind him, shifting his weight and lifting his right foot. He then kicked Ea hard in the stomach as she pressed forward with her sword right in front of him.
"Urk! How dare you!"
Groaning as she staggered back, she glared at him sharply, kicked off the ground, and swung her sword. He ducked his upper body to dodge the horizontal slash aimed at his neck and slipped out to her side.
But she was too late to pull back her swing—with a slicing sound, she cleaved through the tree. Ea frowned at the flying bark, quickly recovered her sword, and spun around, only to find a sharp blade pressed against the nape of her neck in that instant.
"......!"
The cold edge made her freeze on the spot, but her nape was already slightly cut, blood trickling out. Her eyes twitched from the stinging pain. She glanced down at the blade at her throat and scowled irritably.
"Hah, not bad. But you'd better get this off me quick, kid."
"What's with the confidence?"
Judah let out a hollow laugh. He knew getting on good terms with this scarecrow was impossible. So there was no point in trying to play nice.
"Or you'll die. Wanna test it?"
As Ea's hand twitched toward the sword gripping his blade, Judah stopped her cold. The sword at her throat dug in a little deeper.
"Stop. Don't move. One more twitch and you'll see your head parting ways with your body."
"Hoo. Scary stuff. Go ahead, if you can, young hero?"
Ea sneered mockingly. She still remembered the incident at the lord's castle two years ago. Maybe her hostility stemmed from some inferiority complex. Judah considered using the power of his newly acquired fragment on her—hypnosis—but it wouldn't activate, apparently not meeting the conditions yet.
...No choice but to play along then.
"Nothing I can't do."
If he couldn't have it, he'd break it. Just as he moved to press the blade against the confidently smirking Ea's throat, his name rang out.
"Judah! Don't!"
Riel was rushing over with the nameless priestess. They weren't far apart, so they reached him in moments. Judah still had his sword at the scarecrow's throat. Glancing sidelong at Riel, he saw her clothes splattered with goblin blood, fidgeting anxiously. She wanted to intervene, but with the raw killing intent between them, it was hard to jump in. As the standoff continued, Cain arrived after finishing off the remaining goblins.
"Judah, please. Put the sword down."
Not just Riel—Cain was pleading with him too.
"Your friend says to let me go. You gonna ignore him?"
"Ea, stop it too."
Cain turned to Ea. She just shrugged with a shameless expression.
"Fine, I'll let her go. But first, one question. Did you run into a Blue Spear Knight around here?"
"...Blue Spear Knight? There's only one dispatched here. You mean that woman? Heard she was wandering the eastern forest. Guess you didn't get what you wanted. If she were here, that is."
Ea curled her lip amusedly. From her reaction, she knew now. Good—Ea's presence with Cain's group seemed coincidental. So was Jeanne alone in those ruins? He'd have to go check.
"Perfect. Next time you or that woman cross paths with me, I'll kill you both. So how about removing this sword now? Or should I take it as you wanting to go all out with me?"
Judah sheathed his sword and turned away as she boldly flicked the blade tip away with her finger. He half-expected a back attack, but with Cain stepping between them, it seemed unlikely. He retrieved the dagger he'd thrown at the goblin to save Riel.
"Judah!"
"Yeah? What?"
He'd expected Cain first, but Riel approached. Clutching her staff tightly in both hands, she beamed at him.
"Thanks, really. You saved my life."
"No need to thank me. Even without me, the esteemed knight here would've helped."
He nodded at the spear embedded in the goblin. Ea had thrown it at almost the exact same moment. If she'd aimed to kill him instead of saving Riel, both their lives would've been in real danger. Well, thanks to her concern for Riel, he'd spotted the ambush.
'Almost died just three days after loading my save.'
He wiped the blood off the dagger and tucked it into his belt.
"But how'd you end up here?"
"Just looking for someone."
"Who? That Blue Spear Knight you mentioned?"
"Yeah, you know her?"
Riel hummed and shook her head. A brief silence followed.
"...Be more careful next time. I only helped because I saw you by chance. Otherwise, you could've gotten hurt."
It might not have ended with just injuries. Though in Judah's view, it was less Riel's fault and more Ea's for wandering off and leaving the path open. Glancing at the scarecrow, he saw her getting her neck wound treated by the priestess. Their eyes met, and hers burned like she might lunge at him any second. No desire to stir trouble, so Judah looked away.
"Judah, if you're looking for that person, why not travel with us? Way safer than going alone. Cain would love it."
"And the knight over there would hate it."
"Oh. Right, Ea..."
Riel made an oops face. After seeing them ready to kill each other moments ago, suggesting they join was premature. Judah chuckled dryly at Riel's awkwardness and straightened her crooked hat.
"Appreciate it, but I'm going solo. Don't worry about me."
"But it's dangerous... Do you even know where this person is?"
"Not sure. Probably nearby, I think. If not, oh well."
He planned to wait at the ruins—if she didn't show, he'd head back to the castle. Since the scarecrow hadn't met her, Jeanne was likely still alive and, barring anything unusual, would return to her inn. Riel fell silent at Judah's firm tone.
"Mm. Guess there's no helping it then. Okay."
Judah nodded. Lingering would just make things awkward, so he decided to leave.
"See ya."
He waved casually, like parting ways in town, and stepped off. Glancing back at Cain on his way, he saw the boy waving. Judah gave a light wave in return and plunged into the underbrush.
+ + +
Riel watched Judah vanish into the bushes and sighed.
"Ah, he's gone. Such a shame."
She turned at the cold voice nearby. Ea had approached and was pulling her spear from the goblin corpse, inspecting the blade impassively.
"Oh, Ea. Is your wound okay?"
"Yeah. It wasn't serious. No need to worry."
The priestess's healing magic had fixed it right up anyway. Riel smiled at her gentle tone—so different from the icy one earlier. She bowed her head.
"Sorry for being late, but thanks for the help."
"Just doing what anyone would. If that young hero hadn't shown up, we wouldn't have needed to."
Riel shivered at her mutter of "Should've killed her." She looked up hastily, but Ea just shook out her red hair and smiled softly, as if nothing was wrong. Riel eyed her cautiously for a moment.
"Something to say?"
"Um, if it's not rude, can I ask one thing?"
"What? Spit it out."
Riel hesitated, then mustered her courage.
"Why do you hate Judah?"
Ea tilted her head at the question. It wasn't hard, but she couldn't answer easily. Hate? Why would there be a reason? She snorted.
"Does hate need a reason? I just do. Bad enough I want her dead."
If pressed, she'd say he just rubbed her the wrong way—nothing more. Riel was speechless.
"That look says you don't get it."
"Yeah..."
"No need to overthink. You were born and raised in Serennia Castle, right?"
Riel nodded.
"Do you know why the Black Wolves and White Wolves hate and fight each other?"
"? No, not really."
"Same thing. I don't know either—just hate 'em."
"......"
Ea walked past the speechless Riel toward Cain. He was extracting magic stones from the goblin corpses, skillfully slicing open hearts with his sword tip.
'He was just a rookie not long ago.'
Ea recalled the week since teaming up with Cain. Two years back, she'd gotten zero help from the lord. The Blue Spear Knight, who'd shown up by chance alongside her, fared no better—which was some comfort, but the humiliation lingered.
Afterward, she'd wandered the western forest for two years hunting fragments, but with no leads, it felt like wasted time.
Deep in thought, she'd sought out Caseun Sabnak, Baekje's honorary noble and owner of a spirit sword, but he knew nothing either. Returning to the Empire empty-handed after all that time here was unacceptable.
Determined to gain something, she'd asked him for training in exchange for guiding Cain through the western forest. She wasn't thrilled about babysitting an inexperienced kid, but she repaid favors in kind.
Unfortunately, she had nothing to teach. Cain was already a polished gem, forged by Caseun himself. Chosen by the third Holy King Gabriel, he'd skipped all steps to become a Holy Knight outright. A boy with a bright future ahead.
Naturally, she had little to offer. Her role was just leveraging her two years navigating the forest and her knowledge of the terrain to lead him around.
Babysitting a soon-to-be-adult chick? Infuriating, but unavoidable. And today, she planned to drop the role for a bit.
"Cain."
"Yeah?"
Cain looked up, magic stone fresh from a goblin heart in hand. Seeing a Holy Knight—who prized spiritual value and maturity above all—holding what was basically money felt like shattering some ideal. The disconnect hit her every time. She sighed softly at his gauntlet stained with goblin blood.
"You know the way back, right?"
"Yeah, I do... We've come this far every time."
Cain nodded curiously.
"Then head back alone today. To the castle."
"Alone? Weren't we pushing further today?"
"Changed my mind. Doesn't matter—we've got tomorrow and the day after."
"Hm. Okay, but what about you?"
Ea flashed an enigmatic smile. Beautiful with its gentle curve, yet somehow chilling down the spine. Meeting Cain's eyes, she turned toward where Judah had vanished.
"Me...? Eh, might tail you from behind, see if you find your way. Unless it's real danger, no helping. So try it yourselves. I can't guide you forever, right?"
Cain could only nod.