Chapter 154
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: Aftermath and a New Morning
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Two Rahnas, countless demonic beasts, and even the Vile Breed leading the operation.
The attack was over, and the situation had been resolved for now.
But his mind wasn't clear. More questions had arisen.
Pernyan gently stroked the sleeping Wooden, who was hanging from his necklace, and asked.
“Do you have any idea what that book could have been?”
First, there was the book the Vile Breed was holding. There was nothing written in it.
If the Vile Breed hadn't used it as a medium, neither Pernyan nor Rosalia would have even considered it a magic book.
“I wonder. I've never heard of a magic book that allows one to use magic beyond their limits in exchange for its pages.”
“Neither have I. If such a thing existed, the Dragon God Cult would have been the first to sell it exclusively.”
They were the most magic-obsessed people in the world; if such an artifact had been developed, it would have surely been by the Dragon God Cult.
‘A book. Come to think of it, Abel was holding a book too...’
It wasn't strange for a mage to be holding a book.
But there were commonalities: they were both Vile Breeds, and both had vanished without leaving a corpse.
It was a shame he hadn't been able to open Abel's book. If he had seen its contents, he would have been more certain.
“As far as I know, it's demons that don't leave corpses.”
“But it was far too weak to be a demon.”
“Hence the mystery. Not a demon, yet different from ordinary Vile Breeds. And it seems there isn't just one or two of them...”
“Not just one or two? Have you encountered one before?”
*Oops.* Pernyan cursed inwardly.
He had promised the Chancellor not to tell anyone about Abel, but the words had slipped out unconsciously.
“No, this is the first time.”
“Speak.”
“We should get out of here quickly. The carriages are intact, but we've come down deep, so getting things back in order will take...”
*Crack—*
Pernyan's feet froze, sticking to the ground.
“Speak.”
“I'm an investor.”
“I'm a professor.”
“...You can't tell anyone.”
“I've always been tight-lipped.”
He already knew that. He had known Rosalia for years.
“...I see. I thought it was strange when Abel Kalens suddenly withdrew.”
In any case.
“If anything like this happens again, ask for my help anytime. This has happened more than once. They seem to think I'm some pushover who will just take it. It's time they learned otherwise.”
Gaining a useful ally he could call on anytime wasn't a bad thing.
* * *
Perhaps they had poured everything into that one attack, as no further problems arose.
For the first time in a while, Pernyan and Rosalia enjoyed a leisurely journey.
“There must be someone among the Vile Breeds proficient in earth magic, or they're teeming with demonic beasts that can burrow. Otherwise, there's no way so many demonic beasts could be roaming freely within the Empire's territory.”
“I agree.”
He didn't even have to consider the demonic beasts.
Pernyan had been caught up in countless incidents, and every time, those Vile Breeds had operated from underground.
Nine out of ten times, the Vile Breeds went underground. It would be impossible without something related to the earth.
“What do you think will happen at the Continental Academic Conference?”
“If those bastards have any sense, they won't stir up trouble this time. That's likely why they aimed for now.”
But one never knew. Now that their meticulously laid plan had gone awry, who knew what crazy stunt they might pull?
Hadn't they said that even a cornered mouse will bite a cat?
“True.”
Rosalia also agreed.
It was the first time all seven Electors would gather since one of them had been replaced.
Would they, who had witnessed the chaos wrought by the Vile Breeds and demons, neglect their defenses?
In one sense, it was a dangerous place where all seven Electors could be killed at once, but in another, it was a death trap that the Vile Breeds would never dare to enter lightly.
“So, what will you do after the delivery is complete?”
“I plan to see how things unfold until the very end.”
While his top priority was to prevent Rosalia's research from being stolen by the Vile Breeds, he wasn't uninterested in the Continental Academic Conference or the Electors' council.
“What do you think, Professor? Do you believe an alliance will be formed at this Electors' council?”
“In the first place, the Electors are all part of the Empire.”
“They are individual states under the name of the Empire.”
And it wasn't just the Electors coming to this council.
The pretext of the Continental Academic Conference meant that royalty and high-ranking nobles from other nations would also attend.
An alliance wouldn't be formed in a single meeting, but if the talks went well, it would be possible to lay the groundwork.
“The Electors are no fools, so at the very least, the discussions won't be negative.”
“I hope it goes well.”
“Everyone thinks that way.”
As the clouds drifted by, the carriage sped toward Valerich.
* * *
*Peck, peck, peck—*
“Ugh.”
*Peck, peck, peck, peck—*
Aint opened his eyes to a splitting headache. There was no sunlight streaming through white curtains.
“...Stop it.”
Aint pushed away Silver, who was pecking at his forehead.
*Chirp—*
Silver flapped its two pairs of wings, welcoming his awakening.
- *Good grief, it's not even a rooster. Still, it's convenient not needing to set a magical alarm.*
“It would be great if you didn't peck my forehead to wake me up.”
Five in the morning. Aint checked the time and drew the curtains. The sun had not yet risen.
After a quick shower, Aint took a few Blood Worms from the food box Pernyan had given him for Silver.
Blood Worms were monster-type insects, two to three times the size of an earthworm, with bodies as red as blood.
They were blood-sucking parasites that latched onto the skin of humans and other creatures to drink their blood, and Silver absolutely loved them.
When he offered a Blood Worm with a pair of tweezers, Silver chirped happily and devoured it in one gulp.
“How strange. A mythical beast eating a monster.”
- *Later on, it'll become an omnivore that eats anything. The Saint Bird raised by the previous emperor loved a well-cooked steak.*
- *Its palate was so refined that it wouldn't eat anything but the finest heifer.*
- *And it would throw a fit if you didn't occasionally feed it an elixir as a delicacy.*
“A person without money couldn't even dream of raising one.”
- *What do you expect from a mythical beast?*
In that sense, it was a good thing that Silver had imprinted on Pernyan as a parent. Aint couldn't have afforded its food expenses.
“It seems so gentle at times like this. It'll leave as soon as Pernyan gets here, won't it?”
- *Absolutely.*
As he watched Silver eat, it became six o'clock.
Aint pulled the cord by the door, and a moment later, a servant brought his meal.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Thank you.”
It was a light soup and bread, but the soft texture and rich aroma of butter were exquisite.
After changing into his training clothes, Aint took his sword and went out to the training grounds.
Seeing someone already occupying a corner of the grounds, Aint waved cheerfully.
“Ruina!”
“Aint, I was faster today.”
“When did you get here?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
“Shall we start sparring right away, then?”
Though it was never arranged, sparring early in the morning had become a routine at some point.
And this was the moment Aint cherished most.
It was a time when he could cross swords with the senior he admired.
They say that knights speak with their swords. Just clashing blades with her felt like they were sharing a great deal.
- *Well, I'd advise you to give up.*
- *That one's eyes aren't looking at you.*
‘I know.’
He knew where her gaze was directed, but this much was okay, wasn't it?
Slowly, Aint drew his sword.
“Am I invisible?”
Just then, Verian, who had been warming up beside them, scowled.
“Oh, you were here too?”
“...Unbelievable.”
Verian drew his sword.
“I'm going first this time. Come at me.”
“Anytime.”
Silver settled on a tree branch. At the same time, Aint's and Verian's swords clashed.
After dozens of exchanges, it was Verian who was sent flying.
“...You've gotten even stronger than before, haven't you?”
“I had a bit of an epiphany.”
“...You've got to be kidding me.”
Verian collapsed with a hollow laugh. His aura was completely depleted, and he no longer had the strength to stand.
He closed his eyes and circulated his mana. A moment later, when he opened them, Aint and Ruina were sparring.
“Dammit, the gap keeps widening every day.”
Their swordplay was so fast, precise, and heavy that Verian couldn't even begin to comprehend their level.
If he were thrown in between them, he probably wouldn't last long before being knocked out.
“Ruina is the winner of the jousting tournament who even beat Rob Kaelin, but that Aint guy is really...”
When they first met, he had definitely been superior to Aint.
His rank of 38th, and his position as runner-up, proved it.
But since when? The gap, which had narrowed little by little—no, stride by stride—was suddenly reversed, and had been widening rapidly ever since.
“The world is unfair.”
Even if he was an Armian, the nemesis of demons, was this even possible?
What was more frustrating was that, objectively, he wasn't weak.
3rd place. Verian still maintained a good rank within the academy.
“Did he find an elixir somewhere? Even his aura has reached an insurmountable level, hasn't it?”
It wasn't just Aint; Ruina was the same.
*Cheep—*
Just then, the Saint Bird flew down in front of him.
“A Saint Bird...”
The mythical beast that had recently taken to following Aint around, always perched on his shoulder.
He could only be envious, wondering where on earth he had obtained such a precious creature.
“Your name is Silver, right?”
Verian caught an earthworm crawling on the ground and offered it to Silver. Tilting its head, Silver slowly approached.
“Aargh!”
And it pecked Verian's hand.
“That hurts! What are you doing?!”
Silver threw the earthworm to the ground and stomped on it with its tiny feet.
“So you're saying you won't eat a mere earthworm? Your palate is too refined because you're a mythical beast?”
Damned bird.
Now even a bird was looking down on him. He felt miserable, wondering how he had fallen so low.
“Yawn, everyone's early today, too.”
Just then, a vermilion-haired elf sat down next to Verian, letting out a long yawn.
“Oh, Silver. Hello.”
As Aria waved, Silver landed on her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek.
“...Are you discriminating against people, or what?”
“I'm an elf.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Elves are close not only to spirits and the forest, but to all flora and fauna.”
“A Saint Bird is a mythical beast.”
“It's a Saint *Bird*. A bird.”
Aria took something crimson from her pocket, and Silver eagerly gobbled it up.
“What's that? It wouldn't eat what I gave it.”
“The finest beef.”
“......”
This picky little birdbrain, seriously.
Its behavior is just like its owner's.
No, they said the Saint Bird's real owner is Pernyan, so it's differen—
‘Wait, it seems even more similar?’
Verian struggled to suppress his boiling anger.
Just then, an elf servant came running from the distance, out of breath.
“Miss Aria, there you are.”
“What is it?”
The servant handed her a letter.
“It's a letter from the main house.”
“A letter?”
Upon reading the letter, Aria's expression hardened instantly.
“What's wrong?”
“No, it's nothing.”
She stood up from her seat.
“It really doesn't look like nothing.”
But it wasn't really his business.