Chapter 35
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: The First Emperor's Arrangement
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In the prophecy Pernyan had seen.
Aint, having barely survived the assassins' attack with all sorts of injuries, flees to the center of the island to escape the two Sea Serpents.
The monsters, which normally wouldn't leave the shore, follow him to the island's core, perhaps due to the Vile Breed's power.
At the critical moment, Aint finds an arrangement hidden by the first emperor and manages to defeat them.
So, there was no need for Pernyan to step in and deal with the Sea Serpents himself.
*Was it this way?*
The place mentioned in the Prophecy Book was between two rising peaks. Pernyan intentionally steered his escape in that direction.
His plan was to feign coincidence and spoon-feed the arrangement to Aint.
───!
"Are we going to be okay like this?!"
Hearing the roar of breaking trees and splitting earth, Ruina checked behind them and bit her lip.
Two massive Sea Serpents were relentlessly pursuing them like mad bulls, leaving a huge trail in their wake.
The only saving grace was that they were unfamiliar with land, making them a bit slow for their size.
Still, they couldn't run forever in the limited space of an island.
"How could we be okay from the moment we ran into two Sea Serpents?"
"Is there a way out if we flee to the center of the island?"
*There is. Aint Armian.*
However, since he couldn't openly admit he knew, Pernyan denied it for the time being.
"The possibility of them following us this far was unexpected in the first place."
"...That's true, but."
It was clearly abnormal behavior to anyone, and both Pernyan and Aint knew it was caused by a demon.
Ruina and Bella also noticed something was strange, but they couldn't definitively link it to a demon.
"If they follow us all the way, buy me some time, no matter what. I'll take care of the rest."
"Like last time?"
"Yes."
"I'll trust you this time."
Perhaps because of the precedent, Ruina nodded firmly.
"...Excuse me."
Just then, Aint, who had been quietly carried by the sand, half-raised his body.
Thanks to the first aid from the potion, his complexion had improved significantly.
"I can walk on my own now."
"If you wish."
The magic was dispelled.
"By the way, Sunbaenims, how did you end up here...?"
"Similar to you. We were swept away by the waves during the battle and drifted here."
"Huh? We... Mph!"
"Bella? Why are you suddenly eating sand?"
"I'm... not...!"
Leaving behind Bella, who had accidentally chomped on a mouthful of sand that flew up, Pernyan succeeded in convincing Aint.
Given the circumstances, Aint had no choice but to believe they were in the same boat.
"...Thank you. You saved my life."
"I only did what was necessary. After all, they were brazenly disguised as Golden Turtle Merchant Guild employees and didn't seem ordinary."
"Ah, about that..."
"If my guess is correct, they're Vile Breeds. Aren't they?"
"...How did you know?"
Aint's pupils widened.
After confirming this prophecy, Pernyan had considered two approaches.
One was to simply witness it together and hear the full story from Aint.
The other was to preempt him with a plausible story of his own.
*The former is safer, but I wouldn't be able to explain my past actions in preparing against demons.*
The latter, however, had the advantage that if he could provide a reasonable explanation, he wouldn't have to hide what he'd been doing.
In truth, Pernyan's choice had been all but decided the moment he brought Ruina and Bella along.
Part of his alibi was that they also knew about demons.
"It's simple. I've been tracking them for a while now."
"...Pardon?"
Aint's eyes widened as if they couldn't get any bigger.
His trembling pupils couldn't find a focus.
"...You already knew about the Vile Breeds?"
"Keep running, don't stop!"
"Yes, yes...!"
Aint, who had stopped running without realizing it in his surprise, urged his feet onward again.
He soon caught up to Pernyan and asked.
"Did you really already know about the existence of Vile Breeds?"
"Is that so surprising?"
"Of course it is! Who on this continent would believe in demons and Vile Breeds?!"
*Does this even make sense?*
*I must obtain the arrangement left by the first emperor and fight the demons.*
He had heard this countless times from Sir Gardner, but this was his first time seeing a Vile Breed.
Before meeting Gardner, demons had been mere legends or fantasies, and even now, he was still half in doubt.
The thousand years had been that long.
Long enough to make any adversary seem like a mere dream.
So how could Pernyan Fallenberg already know about Vile Breeds?
No, how could he even *believe* Vile Breeds existed?
- *What in the world?*
- *Could it be that the Fallenberg family also made their own preparations?*
Gardner seemed to be thinking the same, as a flustered voice, different from before, echoed in Aint's mind.
- *Or could it be that the Vile Breeds' activities started sooner than I expected?*
- *And you just found me too late?*
If that were the case, it was unimaginable how much the demons had already corrupted humanity.
"There's a misunderstanding. To be precise, I don't know about Vile Breeds in general. I know about the two vermin who tried to kill you."
"Pardon?"
"For a while now, there has been a suspicious flow of funds within the guild. Money was leaking somewhere. On paper, everything was perfect, but things on the ground were slightly off."
"...And that was the Vile Breeds?"
Pernyan nodded.
"It was my guess that they were Vile Breeds. While tracing them, I ran into some suspicious individuals several times, and one of them used that unpleasant energy."
He added that he had tried everything to identify it and concluded it was demonic energy.
"And seeing them today, it seems I was right."
"You believe me?"
"How could I not? The Armians have been humanity's hope, fighting demons at the forefront. You must be the most knowledgeable when it comes to demons."
- *So the demon bastards used it as a way to raise funds for their schemes?*
- *That's plausible.*
*'Do you believe him?'*
- *There's nothing particularly wrong with his story.*
- *The absolute worst-case scenario is that this guy is actually a Vile Breed himself and orchestrated this whole situation to get close to you.*
Indeed, it wasn't without its strange points.
Of all times, the unprecedented attack by sea monsters occurred when Aint first joined the Yacht Club.
The ship's owner was a Fallenberg, and Vile Breeds disguised as Golden Turtle Merchant Guild employees attacked Aint.
And conveniently, Pernyan appeared and resolved the situation.
Could all of this be a mere coincidence? Was Pernyan truly an innocent party?
*'But Ruina Sunbae and Bella Sunbaenim...'*
- *He could have brought them along, feigning coincidence, to avoid your suspicion.*
- *Honestly, if it were anyone else, I'd just believe them, but since they're nouveau riche, I'm suspicious.*
- *I can't even begin to tell you how much trouble we had because those bastards sold supplies to the demons...!*
Both Pernyan's words and Gardner's worst-case scenario were plausible, so he couldn't decide which was the truth.
But that wasn't the most important thing right now.
Surviving the two approaching Sea Serpents.
That was the top priority.
- *It's near here.*
- *The arrangement left by the former emperor.*
- *If you obtain the arrangement and join forces with them, you should be able to handle two Sea Serpents.*
The nature of the Sea Serpent—called the tyrant of the sea, but just a mere snake on land—also played a part.
- *But it's tricky. It's not good to reveal the arrangement to others in such an uncertain situation.*
Just then, Pernyan stopped walking.
"This spot should do. There's nowhere else to run anyway."
"How many minutes?"
"Ten minutes."
"Understood."
"Wait, Ruina. What is it?"
Without a word, Ruina turned around. She then pulled a bewildered Bella and charged toward the Sea Serpents.
"...What is this?"
"She's buying time. While I prepare to deal with the Sea Serpents."
"Prepare how?"
"What's a merchant's preparation? I hit them with money."
*Thud.* Pernyan pulled a heavy box from his subspace. When he opened it, it was filled with all sorts of reagents.
Seeing this, Aint and Gardner realized what Pernyan was about to do.
- *This is a good chance, Aint!*
And that an opportunity had presented itself.
- *Tell him you'll help buy time, then go find the arrangement. Thankfully, it's not far from here!*
"I'll go help Ruina Sunbaenim and Bella Sunbaenim."
"Do as you please, if your injuries allow it. Then again, it's absurd to worry about injuries when your life is on the line."
Fortunately, Pernyan didn't stop him, and Aint, pretending to charge at the Sea Serpents, changed direction and headed for the location Gardner had indicated.
* * *
─!
──!
Unable to withstand the pressure, trees snapped with a deafening roar.
The earth, frozen by a pure white frost, crumbled, and a trail of destruction marked the path of the massive bodies.
As the two sea serpents roared, the knights swung their swords at them.
A knight's aura was sharp enough to pierce the giant snakes' scales.
But being sharp didn't guarantee victory. The two knights' swords were not enough to inflict a fatal wound on the massive serpents.
If they were more developed, or if the situation were to change due to the first emperor's arrangement, it might be different, but...
*'For now, that's their limit.'*
A precarious struggle to hold on.
Pernyan saw the sign that heralded the end of that suffering.
A faint stream of light leaking from not too far away.
It was Aint, having obtained the first emperor's arrangement, in the process of reconstructing his body.
[It was a massive tree, the most conspicuous one between the two peaks.
- *This is a Fairywood. It's harder than most metals and full of the forest's essence, so those damn elves are crazy about it.*
A tree so hard and full of life that it rarely dies.
- *It's also rich in essence, making it the perfect place to hide the arrangement.*
"So what exactly is this arrangement? If I eat this, I can win, right?"
- *That depends on you, but at least it will give you a chance.*
- *Touch your sword to it.*
Aint thrust his sword into it. The Fairywood reacted to the sword and split open on its own.
And inside, a small pill was revealed.
It was translucent and emitted a soft glow, almost like a spirit.
- *This is an elixir the former emperor made himself. But it's different from a typical elixir. It doesn't increase your mana; it reconstructs your body.*
"...Reconstructs my body?"
- *Human talent is passed down through bloodlines. But it's not perfect. The former emperor was concerned about that. What if the one to obtain his arrangement had no aptitude for light?*
The Armian family's secret swordsmanship was based on light.
That's why it was unconventional, why it was the natural enemy of demons, and why the first emperor was able to drive them out.
- *You could say that pill is made of pure light. Its purity is so high that it can grant the light attribute to someone who has none.*
- *It reconstructs the body itself to be suitable for the light attribute.*
"Is something like that even possible?"
*Forcibly granting an attribute you don't have.*
If spiritmancers heard of it, they would surely try to obtain it even if it meant selling their country.
- *Of course, not just anyone can...*
The rapidly approaching roar cut Gardner's words short.
- *Hurry and eat it!*
"Yes!"
Aint swallowed the pill. A pure white light enveloped his entire body.]
Pernyan clutched his throbbing head, a side effect of recalling the future, and smiled.
"...Yes, that's it."
The arrangement Aint obtains—no, *must* obtain.
It was something he had no lingering attachment to, as it was meaningless to anyone but Aint.
The light vanished in an instant, but soon, he could be seen charging toward the Sea Serpents.
Everything went according to plan.
Now, Aint would help Ruina and Bella deal with the Sea Serpents and come to a clear realization of the threat posed by Vile Breeds and demons.
"As a bonus, the academy will establish a new naval combat course."
And his pockets would get fatter as a result.
"Well then, shall we get going?"
Pernyan put the box of reagents he'd taken out back into his subspace.
He never had any intention of wasting money by setting up traps.
A deep smile gracing his lips, he whistled.