Chapter 167: It Won't Be Peaceful at All (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 167: It Won't Be Peaceful at All (1)
It was a rainy night.
The moon was undoubtedly bright, but a thick blanket of dark clouds stretching between the earth and sky blocked its light from reaching the ground.
There was a certain poetry to a rainy night, even when the brilliant moon remained hidden. Surely everyone had experienced at least one day in their lives when they found such a night truly delightful.
That is, assuming they weren’t camped outdoors.
If only she weren’t outdoors, Euria would have found it delightful. She would have gladly indulged in a rare wave of sentimentality, holding a glass of beer—or perhaps Himolica, renowned as the strongest liquor in Kairis—and gazing out a window at the downpour.
Watching the falling rain, she would have reminisced with bitter nostalgia about the other magic attributes she had abandoned long ago.
The house I burned down back then is probably gone without a trace… Ah, how fleeting time is.
Such would have been her thoughts.
“It has no intention of stopping.”
Whether it was rain to bid farewell to spring or to usher in summer, she couldn’t tell, but it continued to pour relentlessly.
But right now, there was no window to frame her sentimentality, nor a roof to catch the patter of raindrops. The fact that she wasn’t in a warm room was frustrating enough, but above all, she had no drink in her hand. That was her greatest grievance.
“Ah, I want a drink.”
And so, Euria vented a bit of her frustration, uttering a line completely faithful to her instincts.
Crackle.
As if in response, a single spark from the quietly burning campfire drifted into the air and vanished. It was as if telling her not to dream of such hopeless desires. Euria’s eyes, now filled with even greater discontent, followed the spot where the light had disappeared.
Soon, she turned her gaze toward the distant sky.
“I really brought this suffering upon myself.”
It was the honest truth.
Her companion, Arsen, had to travel this path because of Calian’s orders, but Euria did not. In fact, Calian didn’t even know the real reason she was here. Therefore, making excuses to come all this way was indeed a hardship she had brought entirely upon herself.
“I’m glad you’re at least aware of that.”
Someone talked back to her. Naturally, it was Arsen.
“There’s someone here suffering through hardships he didn’t even ask for, so please try not to feel too sorry for yourself.”
He had created an unmelting barrier of ice to serve as a roof, dried the rain-soaked ground and firewood with magic, and kindled a flame that wouldn’t easily die out.
Arsen, who was being worked to the bone, had done all of this by himself. Naturally, he was brimming with complaints.
“What, should I do it then?” Euria retorted.
I’m older than you, stronger than you, and more sentimental than you. Why should I do the work? I’m too busy enjoying the falling rain.
“Anyway, I wonder if those little birds are getting their meals in this rain,” Euria mused, her eyes still tracking the sparks rising from the campfire. She had just extended her mana to confirm that Chase’s spies were still tailing them.
“Are you planning to feed them?”
“You’ve lost your sense of fear.”
“My mistake. It has returned.”
He didn’t even give her a moment to reply.
Arsen glanced at Euria, who, after sending forty people to their graves in what could only be described as a massacre, was now uncharacteristically worrying about someone else’s meals.
“Do you really not know why they’re tailing us?” he asked.
“Nope, no idea.”
Answering flatly, Euria spoke with a hint of anger.
“If they follow us for one more day, I’m catching every last one of them.”
Because she knew the “birds” were tailing them, she had been forced to alter their route, which only delayed their schedule. Thanks to that, she couldn’t even have a proper drink on a rainy day. Of course she was angry.
At her words, Arsen, now a master of unasked-for hardships, diligently flipped the wild boar meat over the fire. He was half-worried she might try to catch a certain blue-haired mage instead of the birds.
Because of Euria’s claim that “meat is all about the chew,” the already tough, muscular boar had been cut into thick slices and was taking forever to cook. She had even declared that meat only tasted as good as the effort put into cooking it, forcing him to abandon his plan of subtly using magic to speed up the process.
Staring blankly at the slowly cooking meat, Arsen changed the subject.
“By the way, are you sure you don’t need to inform the Prince? About where we’re going and why.”
“Why bother? He’ll just politely tell me to get lost because it’s dangerous.”
Of course, Calian, who valued his manners, had never actually said such a thing. It was just what his words would imply.
Euria was investigating the black stone Calian possessed. During her search, she had come across a record from a scholar who claimed that ‘a sacred artifact could be made,’ and she was now on her way to the laboratory where that scholar was last known to have lived.
Along the way, she had run into members of the organization that had attacked Calian. So, she killed them all. Amusingly, the ones tailing her now were not from that organization, but were Chase’s birds instead. That was why Euria was currently contemplating whether or not to kill them too.
“Isn’t the Crown Prince of Secritia investigating the same thing?”
“The meat is burning.”
She wasn’t trying to change the subject; it was actually burning.
Even in the middle of a serious conversation, Euria’s only concern was the meat. A principled attitude of never looking away from what she cared about—how typical of a skilled mage.
Arsen quickly flipped the meat—which he had hacked into exactly eighteen pieces, a number that perfectly reflected his feelings when he’d caught the boar—and looked back at Euria.
“That might be true, but it’s strange. I don’t understand why that Crown Prince cares so much about our Prince. I thought maybe he was helping so they could get along once the Prince ascends the throne, but he doesn’t even show that he’s helping, so that can’t be it.”
Generally, when someone helps expecting something in return, they make it obvious, as if to say, ‘I did this much for you, so you owe me.’ But Chase did no such thing, which Euria found odd.
“He just helps without showing off at all. Even Count Manasil takes it for granted.”
“The Commander would do that,” Arsen replied, nodding deeply. “Isn’t Commander Manasil the type of person who believes that every living, breathing thing in this world ought to help the Prince? But the Prince isn’t like that.”
There was no way Calian was unaware of Chase’s help.
Besides, Calian was the type who never accepted even the smallest favor without giving something in return. Yet, he readily accepted Chase’s help without hesitation.
“If the Prince accepted his help just like that, doesn’t it mean he’s a trustworthy person? That’s what I think. He’s not someone who would accept help with unknown motives, so just leave it be.”
Recalling Chase, whom he had met in front of Arpia Palace, Arsen spoke as he flipped the meat once more. A mage who couldn’t tolerate curiosity was telling her to just trust and let it go.
Thinking of the day of their second battle, when Chase had sent Alan and Calian had sent Sir Teilan, Euria pursed her lips and muttered, “Is that so?”
“By the way, isn’t it too dangerous for you to go alone, Association President?”
The one who had grievously injured Calian was said to possess swordsmanship nearing the level of a Sword Master. This meant Calian had been bested even though the opponent wasn’t a full-fledged Sword Master. If even one of the people Euria was pursuing had such skill, she might not be safe either.
“That’s why I’m taking you with me.”
Arsen had sparred with Calian quite a few times. Furthermore, the opponents he usually faced were swordsmen. When it came to fighting a fast-moving knight who knew proper swordsmanship, Arsen was often the better choice.
Realizing she had already planned to drag him along, Arsen replied in a voice full of complaint.
“I have work to do.”
“Yeah, and I’m planning to go there with you. I’ll help you, so you can help me too, kiddo.”
Looking at the faint lights of the Margrave’s territory in the distance, Arsen let out a deep sigh.
“I have work in the Margrave’s territory, but I’m sure a mountain of it has piled up in Valkan as well. Those guys are definitely doing whatever they want, and Prince Franz, the Vice-Commander and the Prince’s older brother, is hardly the type to help with my work. Besides, aren’t there plenty of idle mages in the capital?”
Hearing this, Euria smiled gently instead of getting angry. Then, she uttered a single sentence that Arsen could not refuse.
“The teleportation magic circle is almost complete. If you help me, I’ll give you a ride.”
Trying to tempt him with a mere teleportation magic circle.
Even if he had never used one before, she was taking him far too lightly.
With that thought, Arsen placed the plate of neatly arranged, fully cooked meat in front of Euria and said, “Yes, Association President. Leave it to me.”
Good grief.
Mages.
*
Calian was always like that.
Although he had never once asked for the reason, Franz had noticed it long ago. On the days Calian drew Bern, he would sheathe his sword. Franz knew it had always been that way.
“Where are you going, brother?”
“To Wilhelm.”
So Franz replied to Calian, who had stopped him just as he was about to leave Heisia Palace.
It was partly because he had to handle the work left behind by the other Vice-Commander, who seemed to have lost his mind, and partly because he felt that if he returned to Chermil, his thoughts would only continue to spiral in that dark room. Once his work was done, perhaps he would head to the training ground and find Kyrie. For some reason, he felt that today, he might be able to properly face that bloodthirsty sword.
“Let’s go together. To Wilhelm Hall. To the training ground.”
He was asking to spar.
When Franz looked at him as if asking what he was thinking, a casual reply came back.
“His Majesty should be at Chermil by now. I heard he was coming. I’m sorry, but I’m a bit too tired to run into him.”
Naturally, Franz had also heard that Lemain was coming. However, since he was supposedly coming to meet Randel, Franz hadn’t paid it much mind.
“You say you’re tired, yet you want to spar.”
It made no sense. He really wondered if the guy even knew how to lie.
“Is that how it sounds?” Calian chuckled softly. “Actually, I don’t really have anywhere else to go. If I go anywhere looking like this, everyone worries.”
If he went to Yan, Yan would worry; if he went to Alan, Alan would worry. Even Raven would worry, so he couldn’t even go to the forest.
He was complaining about such a luxury.
Wasn’t this the same guy who proudly wore all black while carrying a white cat? Franz knew that his current disheveled state could be made pristine with a single word.
Therefore, those words were just a clumsy second excuse. In this palace full of people who would worry about him, Calian was concerned about Franz—the one person no one would worry about.
“...My younger brother is indeed broad-minded.”
“Did you only just realize that? I thought you were as quick-witted as you are smart.”
“Still barking, are we?”
When Franz chided him, Calian only pushed further. And this was to the person who, just moments ago, had seen the exact expression on his face as he stared at the Axis of Time.
Just how, and why, was he like this?
“...Sigh.”
Left with nothing more to say, Franz let out a short sigh.
“Fine, then.”
In the end, he nodded, agreeing to do as Calian wanted once again. He felt that today he might truly die at his younger brother’s hands, but what else could he do? It was Franz who had dug up what Calian tried so hard to hide, yet Calian was the one worrying about him. Knowing this, he had no choice but to tolerate his own annoyance.
Smiling at Franz, Calian turned and took a step toward the exit of Heisia Palace.
And then, he stopped.
He felt something from inside Sispanian’s room, which they had just left. Beside him, Franz’s face showed that he hadn’t noticed a thing. The mages guarding the area were the same.
Only Calian could feel the presence no one else was aware of.
Scanning the surroundings with sharply honed eyes, Calian spoke to Franz. His voice carried more vigilance than ever before.
“I’m sorry, but… could you go on ahead?”
“Why?”
“I was planning to go find them, but they’ve come to me instead. It seems they’re calling for me…”
To Franz, who realized Calian had sensed something he couldn’t, Calian spoke without hiding it any longer.
“I mean the master of Heisia.”
Franz’s eyes narrowed. A deep curve formed on Calian’s lips.