Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Flame #8
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Ingong opened his eyes.
As his vision slowly sharpened, he found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, just as he'd expected.
‘I'm getting used to this.’
Muttering to himself, Ingong blinked.
He'd collapsed from exhaustion a few times in what passed for lodging after the fighting and cleanup were done, but this was the first time he'd fainted mid-battle. Even when he fought Gerard, he had at least lost consciousness after the battle was completely over.
‘I should invest more points in durability and stamina... no, it's ultimately an aura problem, so raising my aura level should be the priority.’
Once he pushed aside those stray thoughts, his mind sharpened. He could also feel the warmth right beside him.
Ingong slowly turned his head to the side. As expected, he saw Caitlin's profile, sound asleep, buried in the blankets.
Seeing their clasped hands, just like at the Lycanthrope villa, he figured Felicia or Karak, who knew about the healing properties of the Moonlights, must have arranged it.
The room was dark, lit only by a warm orange nightlight, so he couldn't make out the color of her face, but her expression was incredibly serene. Ingong's heart warmed just looking at her.
*Shutora, you're so mean.*
The words Caitlin had said.
He felt sorry for forcing her to wring out her aura, but he still thought she was just too cute.
‘Relax, relax.’
Ingong soothed himself with a deep breath and gently sat up. Just then, someone lunged at him.
‘Master, you've awakened!’
As expected, it was Green Wind. Having materialized in an instant, she hugged Ingong's torso tightly, and Ingong, feeling a pleasant weight, hugged her back. With his free left hand, he stroked Green Wind's head and back.
“Whoa, easy. There, there.”
As he patted her back with the same technique he used to soothe Maybach, Green Wind grumbled.
“I feel like you're treating me worse than usual, but it feels nice. Keep going, Master.”
Since Green Wind had buried her face in Ingong's neck, it was impossible to see her expression, but he felt he knew what it looked like without seeing it.
Ingong suppressed his laughter and patted Green Wind's back slowly once more.
“There, there. You did very well. It was very clever of you to trick the guardian spirit with that green light.”
As he offered some praise, he remembered something truly praiseworthy and whispered it in her ear. At that, Green Wind shot up and looked at Ingong. She said with a wide smile.
“You noticed? As expected, you are a good master. Praise my wit to your heart's content.”
Then she hugged Ingong again.
Was a thousand years of solitude this terrifying? Or was this just her natural personality?
Unable to hold back his laughter in the end, Ingong chuckled and stroked the back of Green Wind's head. A high-class nature spirit was truly different, he mused. The feel of her long, smooth hair was exceptionally pleasant.
“There, there. Whoa. Good girl, good girl.”
*I wonder if Maybach at the Demon King's castle is doing well.*
While holding a beauty in his arms, Ingong had a rather audacious (?) thought and let his eyes wander around the room.
The walls, ceiling, and furniture were all ornate, but the room itself was quite small. The bed Ingong and Caitlin were lying on was a large single bed at best, definitely not a double.
“Are we inside Silvan's airship?”
As Ingong spoke softly, Green Wind sat up again.
“Amazing, Master. How did you know?”
“It's impossible not to know after seeing that.”
Ingong gestured with his chin toward the opposite wall, and Green Wind quickly turned toward it. A large portrait hung on the white wall.
Shining silver hair, healthy brown skin, the brilliant good looks of a nobleman, and an incredibly ornate, dark blue ceremonial suit.
But what stood out the most was the eyepatch over his right eye and the feathered captain's hat pressed firmly on his head.
It was a portrait of Silvan, standing atop a large, powerful-looking monster, striking an incredibly uncomfortable-looking pose.
‘Reminds me of a Napoleon portrait.’
Though Silvan wasn't wearing tights.
Ingong shifted his gaze from the portrait back to Green Wind's face.
“What about the others?”
“Everyone is sleeping. The fight ended several hours ago. It's dawn now. Felicia wanted to watch over Master and 'Amazing,' but she was also very tired. Moreover, since I was here, she followed everyone's advice and chose to rest.”
There was something strange mixed in with the understandable story.
“Amazing?”
He had a rough idea of what she was referring to, but he tilted his head just in case.
Green Wind said with a calm face.
“Because she's always saying 'Amazing, amazing.' Besides, Master seems to get very happy when 'Amazing' says 'Amazing'.”
It was a statement he couldn't deny. Green Wind glanced at the soundly sleeping Caitlin, then brought her clasped hands near her face and made a bright expression.
“Master is amazing.”
Despite being a blatant attempt, the effect was incredible. His heart pounding in spite of himself, Ingong let out a dry cough.
“Ahem, I can't deny it. But please don't steal Caitlin's identity.”
“I don't really know what you mean, but I understand.”
Green Wind gave a bright laugh and stood up. Becoming slightly blurry and semi-corporeal, she touched Ingong's shoulder and said.
“Rest a little more, Master. Morning is still far off.”
“Okay.”
The clock on his mini-map showed it was 2 AM. Just as Green Wind had said, dawn was still a long way off.
Ingong lay back down on the bed and closed his eyes. Perhaps thanks to the warmth from Caitlin transmitted through his right hand, he sank into a deep sleep as if submerged in water.
&
“It's a bit late for introductions, but allow me. My name is Silvan Doomblade. As you can see, I am the Prince of the Skies.”
“It's truly embarrassing... but as you all know, he's my twin brother.”
The next morning.
After Ingong and Caitlin finished washing their faces with the water Karak brought, Silvan and Felicia came to see them.
Silvan looked at the tormented Felicia with pity, clicked his tongue, and continued.
“Felicia, why are you so embarrassed? You have the beauty and grace befitting my sister. You don't need to be so ashamed. Straighten your shoulders with pride.”
*Does he not know why she's embarrassed? Or is he aware and just ignoring reality?*
“I'd rather die.”
Felicia, her face beet red with embarrassment, hid it with a fan and tried to take a deep breath. Silvan was the one doing the embarrassing things, so why was she the one who had to feel ashamed? She couldn't even lament it openly, which made it all the more frustrating.
Ingong pressed his lips together to hold back his laughter, while Caitlin looked back and forth between Felicia and Silvan with eyes full of curiosity.
Felicia, having barely regained her composure, gestured to Ingong and Caitlin and said.
“This is Caitlin and Shutora. You know them, right, Silvan?”
“Well, more or less. It's been a while since I've seen either of them this close, though.”
Silvan glanced at Ingong and Caitlin with an indifferent expression. Depending on one's perspective, his expression could even seem displeased.
But Caitlin, true to her nature, greeted him with a bright, untroubled face.
“It's nice to meet you, Brother Silvan.”
“A pleasure.”
Unlike with Felicia, Caitlin was using formal speech. Ingong followed Caitlin's lead and spoke formally as well. It seemed Silvan was harder to deal with than Felicia.
Silvan's expression softened slightly, as if he was pleased with their greetings. He narrowed his eyes and asked Caitlin.
“Is Chris doing well?”
Compared to when Chris mentioned Silvan, his tone was much softer, but it didn't feel particularly friendly either.
But Caitlin, once again, replied with a smile.
“He's very healthy. He's doing well.”
“I-Is that so.”
Silvan seemed a little taken aback by Caitlin's attitude. Felicia giggled at their conversation, placed a hand on Silvan's shoulder, and said.
“Silvan showing up so suddenly is my fault. When we were staying at the Lycanthrope villa, there happened to be a long-distance communicator, so I contacted him.”
“You did, Sister Felicia?”
“Yeah, I just called to check in, but he insisted on coming. It's quite a distance, so I thought it would take a long time, but he arrived much faster than I expected.”
This was why she hadn't mentioned Silvan when they were worrying about reinforcements in the spider forest. Felicia had thought it would take at least half a month to meet up with Silvan.
Silvan clicked his tongue at the mention of half a month and stroked Felicia's head.
“My 'Felicia-ium' was depleted. I had to recharge as quickly as possible. I flew like the wind to meet my beloved little sister.”
Despite his rather sweet voice, it was incredibly cheesy. Chris doted on Caitlin quite a bit, but Silvan seemed even worse. Felicia sighed once more and spoke to Caitlin, who had unconsciously shrunk back.
“I'm sorry he's my brother. He has a few screws loose, but he's not a bad person. He's just a doting fool.”
Caitlin gave a tentative nod. To change the subject, Ingong spoke to Silvan.
“You were a great help in last night's battle. Thank you.”
Though the first ramming charge was nullified, his performance afterward was certainly dazzling. And it was Silvan who had sorted things out after Ingong and Caitlin collapsed.
At Ingong's thanks, Silvan's eyebrows furrowed, and he replied with a wry smile.
“I played my part, but... your performance was truly incredible. I'd heard stories, but honestly, I never imagined it would be to this extent. It's astounding.”
“Right? Just like I said, right? Isn't our Shutora amazing?”
Felicia said boastfully, her chin held high. Caitlin also nodded and added.
“Shutora is amazing.”
If Chris had been here, he would have complained about why the two of them were boasting, but it was Silvan who was present.
Silvan spoke in a sorrowful voice to Felicia, who was shrugging proudly while boasting about Shutora.
“Felicia, your brother is amazing too. If I were to just remove this eyepatch...”
“I'm sorry he's my brother.”
Felicia quickly cut Silvan off. But Caitlin showed her curiosity.
“Brother Silvan, what happens when you take off your eyepatch?”
“Aah.”
Felicia lamented, but it was too late. A delighted Silvan grinned and said.
“An excellent question. This eyepatch is a special item meant to suppress my power. When I remove it, my true power awakens. However, that power is rather dangerous, so I usually keep it suppressed with this eyepatch.”
“Wow.”
Caitlin was amazed, while Felicia blushed and shook her head.
“Caitlin, take it with a grain of salt.”
“Huh? But that's amazing. That's so cool, Brother Silvan.”
As Caitlin expressed her genuine admiration, a flustered Silvan fumbled for a moment before turning to Ingong.
“Speaking of which, Shutora, are you a martial artist? You seem to use a fighting style similar to Chris's. Did you learn the Lycanthropes' Beast Fist?”
“Yes, I learned the basics of the style from Brother Chris and Sister Caitlin.”
“Our Shutora has incredible martial talent.”
Felicia started boasting about Ingong again. Caitlin, once again, nodded and added.
“The Sword Duke also praised him, saying he has outstanding talent.”
“Wait, the Sword Duke?”
For a moment, Silvan's expression changed. He turned to Felicia, his face hardened.
“Felicia, what does she mean by that?”
“Uh, well... that is...”
Felicia trailed off, looking troubled, and averted her gaze. She had known this kind of reaction would come up if the Sword Duke was mentioned, which was why she had kept it hidden.
As Felicia hesitated, Silvan turned his gaze back to Caitlin. And just then, the sound of something thumping on the floor was heard.
“You called for me. How long do you intend to make me wait?”
Amita stood before the door with a sullen expression. Felicia, looking relieved, quickly turned toward Amita.
“Lord Amita.”
“Yes, is there a problem?”
“No, sir.”
Silvan, knowing that Amita was an acquaintance of the Sword Duke, stepped back with a frustrated expression. Amita stared at Silvan for a moment before walking toward the group.
“Are you two feeling better?”
“Thanks to your concern, I've recovered fully.”
“Me too.”
Ingong answered first, followed by Caitlin.
Amita thumped its tail on the floor once more and said.
“Yesterday, thanks to you, we were able to protect the Final Flame and the guardian spirit. So, as promised, I will craft your equipment. But there is something we must do first.”
What else was left to do?
Meeting everyone's puzzled gazes, Amita let out a long breath and turned its eyes to Ingong.
“Ninth Prince, the Final Flame wishes to see you.”
“What?”
“Exactly as I said. Follow me.”
The Final Flame.
The sacred fire.
Bewilderment spread across everyone's faces.
&
End of Chapter 14 - Flame #8