Chapter 319
Chapter 319
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 319
Chapter Title: Side Story 3. Dream Bird (2)
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"The New Continent?"
"Yeah. The great eastern continent far across the sea. These papers attached here are definitely from one of their countries."
Naviroje nodded. She explained that the paper, which looked like it had been dipped in a chamber pot, was a type of magic scroll called a 'talisman'. Looking closely, mana was definitely seeping out.
"Fascinating. It's writing I've never seen before. Can you read it, Instructor?"
"I can't either. Exchanges with the New Continent only began recently. It was only after the war ended that formal communication started."
"Ah."
Ronan shrugged at the interesting information. He'd been so busy with inland matters that he truly knew nothing about it. Fiddling with Cita, he snapped his fingers.
"But wait a minute. Doesn't that mean this guy went all the way to the New Continent across the ocean?"
"Probably. I don't know where it picked these up from, but something big must have happened there. I've heard that these kinds of figurines or talismans are usually used to ward off something."
"Damn, this thing is a global nuisance."
Ronan grumbled. He knew Cita's size had grown and its range expanded, but he hadn't anticipated this level. He patted Cita.
"Hey, enough sleeping. Wake up."
He needed to grasp the situation. But Cita, thoroughly intoxicated by All Things, was still dazed and unfocused. No matter how much he shook or pinched it, nothing changed.
'This is no joke.'
He felt the deceptive power of All Things more acutely than ever. This was the first time since it had drunk all the blood on the southern battlefield and gotten blackout drunk. Sighing, Ronan gripped his sword hilt.
"Sigh, my fate."
He'd have to use his secret weapon. Ronan nicked his fingertip and dripped a drop of blood into Cita's mouth. Soon enough, Cita smacked its beak and opened its eyes.
"Pya... pyaaa?"
"You sober now? Good work."
Ronan shook his head. Even with its increased size, its antics hadn't changed. Like a dog shaking off water, Cita whipped its head around and then straightened up. Ronan lifted the figurine and asked.
"Where'd you pick this up from? Huh?"
"Pyuuung?"
"Hey. Don't play dumb just now. Did you really go to the New Continent?"
"Pyaaa!"
As Ronan pressed, Cita flapped its wings vigorously. The eager motion was a clear affirmation. Ptui! Suddenly, five or six more figurines similar to the first spat out from Cita's open beak.
"Pya! Py!"
"Ah. Shit."
Ronan cursed involuntarily. The family of figurines, each one looking far from ordinary, were all plastered with those talisman papers.
They were usually used to seal dangerous entities. Oblivious to that fact, Cita puffed out its chest with a proud expression, as if it had brought amazing gifts. Ronan slowly rubbed his dry face and turned to Naviroje.
"...We have a problem, Instructor."
"Speak."
"If a dog messes up, the owner takes responsibility, right?"
"That's right."
"Damn. Didn't expect its first overseas trip to go like this."
His vision seemed to darken. Since Cita had caused some incident, he had to take responsibility and clean it up. In the worst case, it could escalate into an international issue.
Already swamped with work, and now he had to go to the New Continent? As Ronan groaned at the sudden added task, a familiar voice came from the direction of the door.
"Ah, there you are, Lord Ronan."
"Huh?"
Ronan turned his head. A man with long hair braided back stood demurely. His round glasses and the thick book tucked at his side were striking. Looking at the smiling face, Ronan raised an eyebrow.
"You're... Balus, right?"
"Long time no see. I hope you've been well."
"Yeah, but... what the hell happened?"
Ronan chuckled. As he'd suspected. It was Balus, his penal legion comrade whom he'd once rescued from Caribolo.
Ronan had grabbed him at Baeksuje and recruited him as Baren's assistant. The last time he'd seen him briefly was before the war—what on earth had happened in between? The Balus he saw after so long had become a full-fledged scholar, transcending mere bookishness.
"With Professor Baren's support, I studied abroad in various places. The world has so much I didn't know. Thanks to that, I even presented a paper at the Royal Society this time."
"...Good for you."
"It's all thanks to you, Lord Ronan. Meeting you and Asel on that reconnaissance mission years ago was the greatest luck of my life. Of course, it was terrifying enough to kill me back then."
Balus smiled. No trace of his past vulgarity remained in that gentle smile. The crudest among the penal legion scum had clearly changed—proving that growth matters more than origins.
'I wonder if the other idiots can end up like this.'
Suddenly, the faces of his old penal legion playmates flashed through his mind. Since he'd graduated, it was about time to start executing his plans in earnest.
The bothersome noble title he'd received was for their sake. Nobles get territory and can legally hire people to work. His goal was rehabilitating his still-redeemable penal legion comrades.
In fact, a few were already living in his territory of Valture. Dragged there after a thorough beating, they were reclaiming the northern wilderness day and night like untamed land. Of course, he paid them fair wages for honest labor.
'First make them human, then send to Phileon. Education isn't my forte.'
As Ronan pondered his future plans while stroking his chin, blood suddenly trickled from Balus's eyes and nose. Turning pale, he hunched his shoulders.
"Gasp! B-blood?!"
"Pyahaha!"
At that moment, choppy laughter came from behind. Cita was flapping its wings and giggling. Realizing the situation, Ronan barked.
"Hey! Cut it out right now!"
It was the prank Cita had pulled the first time it met Balus. That near-fatal hemorrhage was how Ronan had saved him, starting their bond. Cita drooped its head.
"Pyuuuung..."
"S-survived."
The blood from Balus's face flowed back to its place. Confirming even the stains on his clothes had vanished completely, he let out a sigh of relief. Ronan patted Balus's shoulder.
"Sorry. It's just so playful."
"N-no... it's fine. I was just startled since it's been so long."
"Good. So, what brings you here?"
Ronan asked. The joyful reunion had made the conversation drag. Straightening his clothes, Balus clapped his hands.
"Ah. Professor Baren is looking for you. He says he's figured out the identity of the orb."
"Huh? Already?"
****
Ronan headed straight back to the office. Naviroje had left for class after saying they'd talk soon. The moment he opened the door, Baren exclaimed.
"Ooh, you're back!"
"Gah, you startled me."
Baren sat at his desk with an excited expression, waiting for Ronan's return. The once-neat desk was now a mess of documents and experiment tools.
The massively enlarged Cita had only its head poked through the window, blinking. Scratching Cita's chin, Baren spoke.
"After investigation, you're right, student Ronan. The mana composition from inside the orb matches the Dream Bird by over 90%."
"What the fuck. Really?"
Ronan's eyes widened. He'd thrown it out casually, not expecting it to be correct. Baren pointed to the orb on the desk and continued.
"Yes. The reason mana couldn't be detected visually is because the shell is too thick. I've seen many animals, but nothing this thick before."
"Unbelievable. Then why was a Dream Bird egg in my pocket?"
"No idea. Honestly, I have no way of knowing. You have no memory at all from when you acquired the egg?"
"Hmm... well..."
Ronan's brow furrowed. Closing his eyes and retracing time, something seemed to surface.
The last scene Ronan saw before nearly dying was the coast of a dying star. Amid a brilliant starry sky, red sea, and white sands, he had beheaded Abel.
'Right. I reached out then.'
The memory of Abel dying while bleeding was still vivid. In his fading consciousness, Ronan had reached out. And grabbed the orb on the white sand, putting it in his pocket.
That was it. Groaning, Ronan opened his eyes.
"I remembered."
"Ooh, good. Then, were there any Dream Birds or suspected creatures nearby?"
"No. It was a star destroyed by the baldies."
"Think carefully. There must have been something nearby."
"No, really nothing. The only other creature besides me was that bastard Abel... Huh?"
Ronan's eyes widened. An absurd idea flashed through his mind. No way, fuck, it couldn't be. Shifting his gaze to the orb, he spoke.
"Then, you're saying Abel was the Dream Bird?"
"...My god."
Baren froze. His pupils narrowed to pinpoints behind his glasses. At the far more serious reaction than expected, Ronan asked back.
"What? Why no denial? You think it's actually possible?"
It was so ridiculous he laughed. The leader of Nebula Clazje, who terrorized the world, being a Dream Bird? Even a novel would get flak for that. Trembling, Baren emptied his teacup and spoke.
"It's... not entirely impossible."
"Huh?"
"You might not remember. Dream Birds change their form endlessly under some influence. Cases of taking non-bird animal shapes are common, and there are even records of them turning into buildings like palaces or towers. No precedent, but theoretically, transforming into an intelligent being isn't impossible."
"What... no way, really?"
Ronan let out a flustered sound. When the foremost authority in the field said that much, he couldn't outright dismiss it. Suddenly, an old tale Cain had told him crossed his mind.
'Come to think of it, back then.'
Cain had drunk the previous Giant King's blood and gained the power to grant wishes. With it, he repaired ruined villages and saved nations on the brink, but he couldn't revive the dead.
But Abel was different. He had been resurrected exactly as Cain wished—for his brother. Though technically an unborn brother.
Looking back, he'd been strange from birth. Perhaps he really was the one who left this egg. Ronan said.
"Then what the hell hatches from this one here?"
"No idea. Honestly, even I can't guess. A being born with the Nebula Clazje leader as its parent... Aha!"
"Shit, why the yell all of a sudden?"
Baren suddenly shouted. Heaving his heavy frame up, he began rummaging through the study. Soon, he returned with a rolled-up scroll.
"I got it and completely forgot. Let's use this here."
"What's that?"
"It's a spell Professor Secret made based on information Ballus and I gathered. It should be the key to uncovering the Dream Bird's secrets."
"Spell...? Secret...?"
Color returned to Baren's previously stiff face. Hearing Secret's name, Ronan narrowed his eyes.
"Somehow ominous. What exactly does it do?"
"Haha, don't be scared. This is none other than..."
Baren deliberately trailed off. His anxiety only amplified. Turning his head, he stroked Cita's head and said.
"A spell to polymorph an animal into a human."