Chapter 228
Chapter 228
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.50 – The Knight Broods Over Defeat (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
html, body { margin:0; padding:0; }
He was scratched twice in total.
Once at the part where he was called weak.
The second time at the deception that being strong is all that matters.
Provocation and deception.
It would be weirder if he wasn't pissed off, but since the opponent was an Aura User, he couldn't exactly call him out on it.
'Lack of power is the real sin...'
He had simply stated the facts.
...But the next words made him forget the scratches and leave him stunned for a moment.
- Do you want to become a transcendent?
If anyone else had said that, he'd have dismissed it as a con artist's pitch, but the speaker was the real deal.
A living transcendent.
Someone whose words no one on the kingdom's—no, the vast continent's—roster of barely five true transcendents could ignore.
And so.
"......"
...Lee Han pondered.
'Huh? Look at this guy?'
Baltar was inwardly impressed.
If he made the same offer to a thousand knights—any thousand—they'd all react fiercely.
- I want to!
Yet this guy was pondering.
To outsiders, it might look like arrogance from a bloated ego or cluelessness deserving scorn, but Baltar knew better.
No one was as perpetually hungry as this guy, or as self-aware.
So Baltar could easily guess why he was hesitating.
And sure enough.
"...It's not 'you can become one,' but 'do you want to'? No wordplay...?"
"Heh heh, right. You've got a good grasp on the context."
This guy wasn't as simple as he looked after all.
He knew how to use his head.
* * *
"Not messing with me or anything...?"
Baltar said.
Do you want to become a transcendent?
But that wasn't 'You can become a transcendent.'
It was closer to 'Wanna give it a shot?'
In other words, wordplay.
"No wordplay. I saw the potential in you to become one today, and I was going to teach you 'the method.'"
"......"
"You have potential. Really. Statistically speaking..."
Swish.
"- You'd have about a 1% chance of survival."
Baltar wagged his index finger as he said it, and Lee Han felt.
A chill!
A spine-tingling sensation, like he'd plunge into an abyss he dared not approach!
Without thinking, Lee Han stepped back.
Baltar ignored his paling face and continued with a beaming smile.
"Half a year ago, your odds of challenging an Aura User and surviving were 0%. Not even 0.01%. But now it's different. You've learned to wield 'intent,' which fulfills one of the bare minimum requirements to become an Aura User."
"......"
"1%—to others, just a faint hope. But having even 1% means you have a shot at transcendence. How incredible is that? Ha ha!"
"...News to me. Didn't know 1% was such a big deal."
"Of course it is!"
"......"
He hadn't meant it as admiration, but Baltar bobbed his head vigorously, treating it like the greatest thing ever, leaving Lee Han speechless.
And in that moment, he realized.
'No wonder there are so few transcendents.'
He didn't know the path yet, but from Baltar's words, Lee Han sensed it.
...It was a realm you had to stake your life on to ascend.
That's why their numbers were so extremely low.
'...If I'd said yes, this old man would've bet my life without hesitation...'
One word repays a thousand nyang of debt, they say. He'd just saved his own neck.
Whew...
'People really need to think before they speak.'
Lee Han sighed in relief that he hadn't blurted out his usual unfiltered response.
...Drip.
As if blessing his narrow escape, the rain tapered off, revealing sunlight.
The fires were mostly out, and he could hear people creeping closer.
They kept their distance with Baltar and him there.
Treated as total threats, but...
'Fair enough.'
Even he'd avoid monsters who could flip walls and earth.
A perfectly understandable sentiment.
And so.
"I'll head out first. People get uncomfortable with me around."
"Quite considerate."
"Not consideration—common sense. Watch your back, old man."
"...Still no manners."
Baltar and Lee Han bickered to the end, and as Lee Han turned to leave without hesitation, grumbling.
"-Hmm, really not gonna try? Break that 1% and you could become an Aura User."
He froze.
"...Wasn't that convo over?"
"You ended it on your own. Remember my offer stands."
"......"
This time, Lee Han knew he wasn't teasing or toying with him.
Baltar genuinely wanted him to 'challenge' it.
"Every power comes with a price. For transcendence, the chip you bet instead of effort is one life coin. Pretty cheap, right?"
"Ha! Some insane equivalent exchange."
...Honestly, it tempted him a bit.
He could gain power.
No more taste of defeat.
He could grow strong.
Countless temptations tugged at him, stirring his longings, urging him on.
Cross the line.
Wasn't that resolve always ready?
But.
"...No, not now at least."
"Hm?"
"Truth is, old man, I had one question for you today. It was kinda pathetic, so I hesitated."
"What?"
Baltar said ask away, pathetic or not.
No judgment.
And so.
"You're strong—Baltar Grace. So why not step up in the kingdom's crisis?"
"......"
...For the first time, Baltar seemed at a loss for words, but Lee Han pressed on.
"See? Pathetic question, right? Whining why not help."
"...No, it's a perfectly valid doubt."
Baltar denied it.
A question anyone could ask.
"Hmm, why do you think I don't help?"
"Counter-question?"
"Answer me."
"...Various reasons."
Lee Han laid out his inferences.
"From your view, this crisis might not even feel like one for the kingdom. Strategy, tactics, schemes—none of it matters to a transcendent who crushes all with force. The kingdom's plight might seem trivial. But the Baltar I know doesn't slack off without responsibility. ...Yet I rarely see you step up."
The Demon King kill was the only time—and when the kingdom truly teetered on oblivion.
"But one thing baffles me: the Britannia war."
If Baltar had willed it, the southern unification front three years ago wouldn't have dragged on.
With him intervening, it'd have ended sooner. Yet he didn't.
He, the knight with a long rivalry against Britannia.
Not like him at all.
"Saying age made you hand it to juniors is nonsense. You said it yourself—you hit Aura User at forty-five. Prime of life. The great previous king was alive then too. Yet you only killed Hannibal the master strategist and washed your hands of Britannia. Coincidence?"
The relentless outpour was inference.
Voicing long-held oddities, inching toward truth.
Possible only because he'd faced Baltar directly and felt an Aura User's might firsthand.
And the one to confirm if right or wrong stood before him.
"...Really, fast thinker despite the looks."
Baltar showed plain astonishment.
...Laced with faint bitterness.
*
*
*
Step step.
"......"
Unlike his rushed pace to the palace, Lee Han walked leisurely.
Normally he'd jog as warm-up, but not now.
...No, correction: his head was a bit muddled.
'Feels like I learned too much I didn't need to.'
Still, he'd gotten what he wanted.
The frustration eased, mysteries solved.
Plus.
- Go there. Won't lead you to transcendence, but you'll gain something.
An unexpected bonus.
Clink...
A shabby dagger.
Rust so thick it might crumble like sand if drawn carelessly, yet Lee Han treasured it.
Like a growth event—a second job change ticket, in Taechang terms.
Undeniably good.
"Sighhh..."
But hesitation crept in more than joy.
Doubt if his path was right.
'Or pointless worry?'
What was this...
Like fretting post-lottery win when not even drawn yet.
Overkill.
"What a fool I am."
"Dunno? I don't think you're a fool, Sir Knight."
"Worrying over hypotheticals makes me the king of fools."
"Hmm, is that worry for yourself? Or for others?"
"I'd handle mine fine. No issue there. But too many others nagging at me, you see? ...Huh?"
Lee Han looked beside him.
Where moments ago nothing stood, a lovely maid with braids that suited her perfectly—Leira Winter—smiled brightly at him.
"...Maid?"
"Yesss!"
"Wh-when did you get there?"
"Since your sigh! I even called out, hee hee."
"R-right..."
Flustered.
Her natural approach, and he'd sensed no presence yet chatted—total mystery.
But she ignored his fluster.
"Hee hee, I really like such a kind knight!"
"......"
"You could live selfishly, yet you try to stay human. Caring for others makes a great person—my parents said that."
"...I-is that so."
"Yes! So even if you live foolishly or naively, I'll side with you, Sir Knight. I love your clumsy sides too!"
"......"
"Hm? Why's your face so red? Sick?"
"...Your fault."
"Huh?"
...Rare for a woman to declare her fondness so boldly, face straight.
Her cheer erased his worries as pointless.
"Hee hee."
A fragrant soap scent wafted on the breeze, and she skipped closer, taking his hand.
As if denying any room for negativity.
"......"
Lee Han wanted to pour out questions.
Why here? Did she overhear him and Baltar?
Anyone else, no—but her, it wouldn't surprise.
He wanted her thoughts, but...
"...Eaten yet?"
"Nope!"
Out came something unrelated to worries.
"Then let's eat out for once. Cravings?"
"Hmm, roast pig?"
"...Specific, nice."
Being with her comforted more than anything.
Squeeze.
Lee Han gently gripped her hand back.
This sufficed.
Instead, he steeled a resolve.
No matter what, never let go of this warm hand...
Such a small yet grand oath.
Whoosh.
The wind blew.
Cool but not cold, just refreshing.
...It was autumn.