Chapter 14
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: The Outbreak
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"The day has finally come."
["You again! Aint Armian!"
Verian charged. Aint calmly met his assault.
Having honed his skills with grinding determination since his defeat, the tip of Verian's sword was sharper than ever.
A fierce clash ensued.
But the victor was already decided. Aint was not so careless as to lose to an opponent he had already broken.
Especially not with the greatest of teachers, Gardner Alpenparsen, by his side.]
["I don't have anything against you, really."
Aint's sword struck Verian. Verian's map was burned.
"It's over..."
"Don't make me laugh!"
Despite this, no instructor appeared, and Verian refused to accept his defeat.
- What a despicable cur who has forgotten his chivalry. Kill him. He's a vermin who will only tarnish the honor of knights if left alive.
"I can't do that."
- Then just knock him out. If you leave him, the instructors will take care of him.]
[Leaving the fallen Verian behind, Aint was unaware. He didn't know that demonic energy had begun to creep out, consuming Verian's body and mind.]
In the early dawn, as the first light of day broke, Pernyan awoke to a headache.
After a light tea time, he visited the academy branch of the Golden Turtle Merchant Guild.
"Gongjanim, you've arrived?"
"Gongjanim."
He gave a cursory acknowledgment to the employees' greetings and headed for the warehouse.
Opening the door to one of the dozens of massive warehouses, he stepped inside, opened his personal subspace, and began to sweep goods into it.
"What are you doing?"
"Preparing for the worst."
"...Are you going off to war or something?"
Pernyan ignored the other's words and continued to stuff his subspace until it was full. Empty patches appeared here and there in the guild's spacious warehouses.
"Hyde, when did you get here?"
"I arrived when you entered the warehouse."
Hyde replied.
"What about Verian?"
"Did you not ask me to come early this morning?"
"So, Verian?"
"Still nothing out of the ordinary."
"Still?"
"Yes."
"That's a bit of a problem."
There was no reason for Hyde to lie to him. Though something felt off, Pernyan had no choice but to accept it.
'In that case, there are two possibilities.'
Either the demon doesn't exist, contrary to the Prophecy Book.
"...Or your skills were lacking."
"That's the first time in my life I've heard that."
Hyde's expression turned serious.
"I don't know the details, but I would venture to suggest that perhaps your suspicion is just that—a suspicion."
"So in short, you're saying I'm delusional."
"That's not what I meant. In the first place, I don't even know why you ordered me to watch Verian Calburden."
Of course he didn't; Pernyan hadn't given him a clear reason.
Even if Hyde tried to reason it out, unless he knew about the future where that man fell to a demon, he couldn't possibly come to a rational conclusion.
'Right, this is how things usually go.'
Things rarely go smoothly. Especially when it involves demons, which haven't appeared in the last thousand years. Of course.
"In any case, there are more pressing matters right now."
Pernyan retorted, closing his full subspace.
"I'm going to observe the midterm exam now."
"The first years again?"
"Yes."
"Do you really have to go this far for Aint Armian? I don't quite understand."
"I'll explain everything after this is over."
He should be able to. If Verian truly became a demon's dog, he could present the evidence. If not, he could convince Hyde by explaining that the prophecy was false.
"I trust you, but must you go right now?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because I cannot accompany you."
"...What do you mean?"
Pernyan's eyes widened at the completely unexpected turn of events.
"A letter arrived from the family."
Hyde handed him a letter with a broken seal. After reading it, Pernyan clicked his tongue.
"A summons from my father."
"Yes."
"Hah... Of all the times?"
"Yes."
This is a problem.
He was on his way to confirm the demon's existence with his own two eyes. Unsure of what variables and dangers might be lurking, he had tried to prepare as much as possible.
In that sense, an escort was not an option, but a necessity.
After a moment's thought, Pernyan nodded.
"It can't be helped. Go. I'll go with someone else."
"Someone else?"
Pernyan tore off a piece of paper from a stack in the corner of the warehouse and scribbled something on it.
"Deliver this to Ruina Bercefe. As quickly as possible."
Fortunately, he had another card up his sleeve.
* * *
"What's this all of a sudden, so early in the morning?"
After leaving the guild, Pernyan went to a café. It was one run by the guild. When he opened the door to a private room, Ruina, who had already arrived after receiving his message, greeted him.
"We don't have much time, so I'll get straight to the point. I've discovered a very rare elixir growing in the northwestern mountains."
"An elixir?"
"It's comparable to the mandragora you ate. I intend to harvest it."
At the mention of mandragora, Ruina's eyes widened.
"What does that have to do with me?"
"I want to ask you to be my escort. When I'm harvesting the elixir, I won't be able to pay attention to my surroundings."
At Pernyan's words, she tilted her head.
"...But if it's the western part of the mountains, isn't that where the first-year Knight Department's midterm exam is taking place? Access should be restricted, shouldn't it?"
"There's nothing in this world money can't buy."
"...You say that you bribed someone with such confidence."
A contemptuous gaze shot toward Pernyan.
"Who was it? No, I don't even need to ask. Professor Grad, to think he'd take a bribe and allow you to trespass on the exam grounds..."
"That's not important."
"You think that's not important?"
Pernyan had brought up the non-existent elixir because he knew her personality well.
It was better to have a clear purpose—and to prove that this purpose was not to harm others—than to simply barge into the exam grounds for no reason.
"I'll just quietly harvest the elixir and leave. If you act as my escort, we can avoid causing a commotion."
"Does it have to be today?"
"It's a rare elixir. What if someone else finds it today?"
"Just one day late..."
"With plants, ownership can change if you're even a minute late to harvest."
And once he dragged her there, all he had to do was orchestrate a chance encounter with the demon.
Ruina Bercefe was a person who possessed a textbook sense of chivalry, believing one must revere justice and protect the weak.
What if a real demon appeared before her?
What if she realized she had to fight the existence known as demons?
How would she react? Would she stand by and watch, or would she try to do what she could?
Furthermore, would she become more cooperative with Pernyan, who was trying to stop the demons, or not?
'The Prophecy Book's credibility has fallen a little, but in it, the entire continent was engulfed in the flames of war because of demons.'
It wasn't something a single person or a single family could stop.
He needed allies.
If left alone, Aint Armian would stop them on his own, but Pernyan was now aware that his own actions could change the future.
He couldn't dare to guess what kind of butterfly effect the changed future might cause, so it was right to prepare for everything he could.
"In that sense, you are quite suitable."
The second-ranked student at the academy, and the daughter of a former Elector family that, while half-crumbled, was slowly recovering its power.
And, though its credibility had been slightly cracked, she was a future Royal Knight certified by the almost-always-correct Prophecy Book.
As an ally, she was perfect.
Originally, he had planned to just show her the evidence, but with Hyde being called away, he had no choice but to make her his escort and have her see it with her own eyes.
"...What do you mean, out of the blue?"
"I mean, I'm counting on you for the escort."
"I never said I would."
Ruina's brow furrowed.
"Why on earth should I? I'm busy with my own midterm exam."
"You ate the mandragora root."
Her aura was quite different from before. It seemed she hadn't fully assimilated the elixir's energy yet, giving her a wild and unrestrained feeling.
"...How long do you think you can use that against me?"
"This is only the second time. And the last."
"Even so, trespassing on the exam grounds is a bit..."
As she hesitated, Pernyan spoke again. He hadn't intended to ask for her help for free.
"I'll be visiting my family during the upcoming break. I was thinking of mentioning the Bercefe family to my father."
"...Are you threatening me right now?"
"No. It's a proposition. If you help me, the interest might be waived for a while, even after you graduate."
"Even if you do that, I..."
"I believe we've built a reasonable amount of trust."
"Even so..."
"This could advance the reconstruction of the Bercefe family by several years."
Ruina grabbed his hand.
* * *
The first years' midterm exam was nothing special.
They would show off their skills in the same way the second years had, in the same northern mountains they had run through not long ago.
The only differences were that they were not in pairs but competing as the Knight Department alone, the time limit was two days, and this was not a practical exercise but a real exam.
Dense mountains. A man and a woman were moving through them.
"Suppress your presence as much as possible. Don't get caught by the professors or instructors."
The man, Pernyan, spoke from under a stealth cloak that concealed his presence and aura.
"Didn't you say you bribed Professor Grad?"
"Just because I bribed him doesn't mean wandering around openly isn't a problem, don't you think?"
"It's a relief you at least realize this is a problem."
Ruina, also wearing a stealth cloak, let out a small sigh.
"So where are we going?"
"Hold on."
Pernyan took a map out from his coat. It was a map with red and blue dots moving around.
"According to the map..."
"...Isn't that a professor's map?"
"It is. I received it along with a warning not to run into any instructors or other students."
"...Hah. Professor Grad. I'm not even surprised anymore."
No, perhaps this was the best method, given that he let them in. She muttered under her breath.
Thinking he'd handled that well, Pernyan looked for a number. A dot labeled 38. That was him.
"Hoh."
His eyes gleamed with interest as he confirmed a dot labeled 2 not far away.
"This way. Let's go."
"Yes. We must harvest the elixir and leave immediately."
"Of course."
"When you say it, it somehow doesn't sound so obvious."
The two moved quickly into the mountains. Monsters appeared, reeking of a foul stench, but by suppressing their presence as much as possible and with the help of the artifacts, they managed to avoid them.
Thanks to using the map to avoid them, they didn't encounter any other students or instructors at all.
The anomaly occurred then. Just as Pernyan and Ruina reached the central part of the mountain range.
───!
──!
The monstrous shrieks and cries of monsters began to echo from all directions.
An ominous energy spread from all around.
The dots on the map began moving frantically, and the students' screams echoed through the mountains.
"...What is this?"
Ruina drew her sword in alarm.
Before them stood a troll with bloodshot eyes and flaring nostrils.
Prominent veins and muscles, and the drool dripping from its mouth, signified that the beast was not in a normal state.
─!
Sword and club clashed. The blue aura sword split the club in a single blow.
But even after losing its weapon, the troll didn't lose its fighting spirit. Its eyes flashing wildly, it threw a punch.
*Kwang!*
A small crater formed in the ground. Shattered fragments flew in all directions.
Simultaneously, spears of rock assailed the troll from all sides, but the beast lacked the self-preservation instincts all living creatures possess.
It ignored the spears piercing its back and only charged forward to kill Ruina.
It smashed through trees with its body and paid no mind even when its arm was severed by Ruina's sword.
It was madness itself.
"What in the world is this!"
"It's gone berserk. Be careful! That troll feels no pain now, so you have to completely sever its neck to finish it."
A berserk monster enters a state completely different from a normal one. Burning through its own life force to fuel its rage, each and every one was incredibly difficult to face.
It was an anomaly serious enough to warrant an immediate halt to the exam.
He hadn't expected it to instinctively see through their stealth artifacts, but Pernyan remained composed.
'It's begun.'
Because he knew this was the event mentioned in the Prophecy Book, the one that was supposed to happen.
'So the monster wave happens even though there was no demonic contact with Verian.'
It's not like it's trying to play hard to get. How ridiculous.
Pernyan scoffed and began to cast a spell.
For now, it was time to deal with that persistent beast.