Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Black Magic Tower (5)
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Unfortunately, my memories only go back eighteen years, from the moment of possession until now. I had a vague idea about Kashyrn, Ivar's father, who was devoured by a magical beast before Ivar even reached adulthood, but I had no confidence in recognizing him if we ever met face-to-face.
As I approached the fallen Balmor, a sword I'd never seen before suddenly appeared in my hand.
A blade radiating murderous intent, forged from Rubia's unique magic tool. I pressed it to his throat and demanded,
"How did you make the black dragon go berserk?"
There were only four special-grade magical beasts on the continent, all slumbering in the grasslands. The original story never clearly explained how to awaken them, so Balmor, who knew the method, might have been worth keeping alive...
"Curious, are you?"
"Spit it out."
"Then first, kill that woman and the knight order she brought..."
Clang—.
——But I didn't. There was no particular reason not to kill him, though.
His head, severed clean like tofu, rolled across the floor. As his body crumpled, a small box fell from it. Inside were round objects resembling elixirs, three of them in a case with four compartments. As I examined it, I noticed the seal stamped on the bottom.
It was the imperial crest. Either the imperial family was foolish, or Balmor had been cunning. Or perhaps both.
"......"
"Huh? That's...!"
I hid it before the others could notice, but I couldn't fool everyone's eyes. Rubia, who was nearby, and Nerisa, strapped to her back—they had seen it. The master of the Black Magic Tower, presumed responsible for driving the black dragon berserk, possessed something given to him by the imperial family.
Rubia approached me without showing any reaction, pointing to the pocket where I'd hidden the box.
"What you just saw must never leak out."
"That someone in the imperial family wants to awaken a special-grade magical beast?"
The moment those words left my mouth, it wouldn't be surprising if the Golden Edict enforcers stormed in and wiped out my entire clan. But on the flip side, this information was a powerful weapon that could strangle someone in the imperial court just by knowing it.
What was needed was silence. We had to keep it secret until the time came to play this card.
Rubia pulled a metal fragment from her bosom.
"It's called the 'Lifespan Horror.' A family heirloom—if you break the pact, your lifespan halves."
"I see."
"Don't worry. The lifespan penalty only kicks in if you tell outsiders."
"And if I refuse?"
A chilling tension hung between us. Rubia glanced at the murderous sword still in my hand.
"I'll kill you."
"You mean that?"
I moved instantly, channeling Ancestral Power to vanish from her sight in a flash.
Rubia reacted just as quickly. She whipped out a lash from her hand, binding Nerisa's arms—who was right beside her—in one swift motion. Seizing the moment I pried open Nerisa's mouth, she shoved the Lifespan Horror inside.
"Mmph!? Me? It was me!?"
"Open wide."
"You're the only one here who might blab the secret!"
"That's too much!"
With that, I'd safely sealed away the one loose-lipped risk factor.
After parting ways with Wagner's group waiting at the base of the magic tower, I returned to the village without incident.
The Water Star shamans happened to be staying in the village. They warmly welcomed me, the one who always fetched them clean water.
"Kuh...!"
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing. Anyway, what is it?"
"Could you take a look at this?"
I showed them the elixir and asked what it was made of. The eldest sister, Irena, cautiously sniffed it, then coughed softly behind her mask.
"It's a mix of various things, but the most prominent scents are human blood and flesh. Probably ground up from over five hundred people."
"Dangerous?"
"Pretty dangerous, yeah? The smell alone is enough to draw magical beasts."
Indeed, that must have been how he awakened the special-grade beast. I pondered how to dispose of it. No point keeping something so risky with no use for it—best to bury it where no one could touch it. As I mulled it over, the sisters offered a solution.
"Soak it in water?"
"Think that'll work?"
And so, on the way to dump the elixirs at the bottom of the Eternal Lake, I broached the topic of lifespan. I'd meant to ask Aiter directly, but she was away performing an important ritual. Fortunately, Irena knew something and answered.
"Lifespan? Want to live longer?"
"Personal curiosity."
"Hmm... Not impossible, but tough. Everyone born in the grasslands receives a blessing from their own god."
To live beyond one's allotted lifespan required a god's blessing. But it wasn't permitted to the grassland tribes. Dying gloriously in battle to reach Doom Helm was the will of Ishkar, whom we served.
However, there were other higher beings in this world. Gods from foreign lands, revered by tribes and worshipped by shamans.
"So, ask your god?"
"Mind putting down that sword and axe first?"
She glanced at my hands and the weapons on my back, shaking her head with a weary look.
"No use. Our god isn't desperate enough to beg a mere mortal."
"Not desperate? Seriously?"
"Look how well we're doing? Sure, we get pelted with stones by hostile tribes or can't marry sometimes, but we're prosperous enough to keep our feet in the grasslands."
There were times when contempt for shamans went too far—plagues ravaging settlements, or failing to save a chieftain's son injured climbing walls.
When tribal fury ignited like wildfire, shamans—without hills to cling to—were always the first sacrificed. The Water Star shaman group had faced plenty of persecution, as far as I knew. Yet their god remained silent.
"So, no way to extend lifespan?"
"Not none. Find ones in dire straits."
Groups on the brink of extinction due to grave crises. Saving them could earn their god's favor, granting extended life as reward.
"Can't think of any. Other shamans keep decent numbers too, don't they?"
"Well, we provided services to tribes even before trade started, so we never starved in winter."
Tribes vanishing for various reasons still served Ishkar, so saving them wouldn't extend life. Did that mean looking beyond the grasslands?
The empire might have some. Across the continent, minority ethnic groups weren't limited to grassland tribes.
We arrived at the Eternal Lake mid-conversation. I unhesitatingly tossed the three elixirs into the water. Watching the black rings vanish into the endless transparent depths, Irena spoke.
"Smart move."
"Which part?"
"Not messing around with that. The lords of the grasslands want to leave this land. They devour humans to grow stronger and ascend higher."
"Maybe that's the god I'm looking for," Irena sighed.
"Swallowing it might've granted your wish. Though you'd have become something other than Ivar."
"Should've said so sooner. What a shame."
"What?"
"Kidding."
I'm not a child; I wouldn't eat something from a stranger. It looked suspicious anyway.
Power gained without effort demands a steeper price. As a warrior, not a merchant, I had no interest in interest games.
Anyway, this made the grasslands a bit safer. Feeling relieved, as I went to toss the box too—
Irena, unable to hold back anymore, adjusted her mask and pointed behind me.
"Fine, I wasn't gonna ask since you kept dodging, but..."
"What?"
"Who's that woman who's been tailing you since we got back to the village? And her maid."
"......"
"Ahaha..."
There stood Rubia and Nerisa, who'd followed us from the magic tower, watching us.
*
"Ahem, just to be clear, I didn't come here of my own will."
She sipped her tea, face slightly flushed, and spoke. Inside the tent. I'd invited two guests, but the space felt crowded with all sorts of armaments scattered about.
One of them—Rubia, hand on armor sprouting sharp spines at shoulders, hips, and elsewhere—explained why she'd followed me.
"This thing moved on its own."
"Oh?"
Then just take it off? Normal armor was cumbersome to don and doff, but one made from a unique magic tool shouldn't be.
No need to voice that. I could already sense why she couldn't remove the rogue armor.
"D-don't go! Boundary, you too...!"
Boundary edged toward me again. The chains that had bound Nerisa now naturally linked the axe handle and my arm on one side each.
The murderous sword hung at my waist untouched. The other armaments, gauging their owner's mood, began inching my way.
"P-per imperial law, found weapons must be returned to their owners."
"I'm not an imperial citizen."
"The Golden Edict's lifted...!"
"You lot lifted it on your own. And even by edict, grassland tribes aren't granted imperial citizenship."
Besides, they all seemed to like me—what could I do? One trembled like a rain-soaked kitten. The Axe of Fury, apparently thinking I wouldn't use it since I already had an axe.
No problem. More weapons, the better. I'd return the current axe to Roman's boy someday. Spares were handy.
Dad'll bring you home soon. First, deal with the persistent former owner.
"So, you're planning to keep following me without taking off that armor?"
"No, I'll sever my attachment to you. Then I can regain control of the armaments."
It all boiled down to Rubia's emotions. If her fondness for me faded, she could rein in the rampaging weapons.
"Raggedfoot—no, Ivar. The man granted the title of Royal Consort, right?"
"That's me."
"You brazenly hid your identity and infiltrated among the soldiers. Nearly killed my family's retainers and smoothly claimed the reward for capturing Balmor."
Her black pupils gleamed coldly. She was nitpicking my flaws to undermine me.
"In the end, you secured an item that could become the imperial family's weakness and justification for imperial invasion by liberating a minority ethnic group. Even scarier than the rumors. Who knows how deep your ambitions run."
"......"
That wasn't me. I couldn't admit I just spotted a conveniently climbable tower nearby.
Rubia's words were full of holes, but they were meant to sway emotions, not reason—so if she convinced herself, that was enough. Indeed, some weapons influenced by her feelings peeked toward the other side, murmuring 'Is that so—?'
An invisible tug-of-war. I neither pushed nor pulled, but reinforcements suddenly joined.
"B-but, miss, didn't Ivar save your life?"
"Nerisa, you...!?"
Nerisa had swallowed two Lifespan Horrors today alone. The first, which she'd agreed to on her own, was to help make Rubia my wife.
"The Chastity Armor moving on its own, and seeing you behead the black mage without hearing his offer—you figured it was safe to entrust your body to him...!"
"......!"
To avoid halving her remaining lifespan, she desperately defended me. Cracks began forming in Rubia's blank expression.