Chapter 130
Chapter 130
Chapter 130
About four hours had passed since the train journey began. It was still a long way to the Federation.
No matter how fast the magical levitation train was, it would still take three more days.
“Time for snacks~ Master, you won’t get any, just so you know.”
Eleanor seemed to be in a picnic-like mood. Perhaps because of the discrimination earlier, she was especially prickly towards me, but… it didn't matter.
She wasn't hurting Arietta, so I would endure it.
It was strange that she was only prickly towards me, but wasn't she a pitiful child?
She would have to work hard again this time anyway, so I hoped she would enjoy this moment.
Eleanor, whether she knew her impending fate or not, began rummaging through a large bag that seemed big enough for a person.
She looked genuinely excited for a picnic, which was heartbreaking.
What on earth was she thinking, bringing so much luggage?
“Ack!”
“Ah, sorry.”
“Stop right there.”
Someone's voice came from inside her bag. Right, I thought the bag was too big after all.
“Who did you kidnap…?”
“……It’s a secret.”
“Noah, I'm going to subdue you right now and open that bag without permission, okay?”
“No.”
The word 'without permission' doesn't imply asking for permission.
“Aaah! No!!”
Eleanor hugged the bag and began to resist.
This brat…?
Since awakening, her strength had needlessly increased.
“Ugh! Help me, Baekyang, Saintess!”
“What…?”
The people Eleanor asked for help were Baekyang and Arietta.
And surprisingly, both of them blocked me, as if responding to her outrageous request.
No, Baekyang could be expected. They were always birds of a feather.
But I never expected Arietta to take Eleanor's side here.
Anxiety suddenly enveloped me.
“For everyone to block me here means….”
- Not me. I don’t know anything about it.
Correction.
For everyone except one person to block me means…
“Everyone’s an accomplice, aren’t they?”
“……”
This was shocking.
I couldn't imagine Arietta participating in such a criminal act, unlike the other two.
What was most frightening was that.
The number of trollers I had in mind might not be two, but four.
Arietta showing an unexpected side, and someone inside the bag. Anxiety swept over me at this unforeseen situation.
“Haa… I won’t be angry, so can you come out of the bag first? Isn’t it stifling in there?”
“Yeah, it was stifling anyway.”
“Ah! You’re not supposed to come out yet!”
Responding to my obvious lie, the person who crawled out of the bag was, as expected.
“……It was you after all, Marie.”
My vision went dark.
A target even more prominent than myself had escaped [Scientia].
This journey would now require me to prepare for not only assassins but also undead.
“You… no… haa….”
They say a person is speechless when flustered, and that's exactly my situation.
I don't know where to begin. It's just… painful.
“Oz. I’ll take good care of her, so please don’t be angry.”
Arietta’s defense, and.
“Master. Marie is always left alone. Don’t you feel sorry for her? We’ve been traveling by ourselves all this time, and if we take Baekyang with us this time, how lonely will Marie be!”
Eleanor's audacity.
“That’s right, I’m pitiful.”
Even Marie wasn’t making an excuse.
Is it okay to affirm that?
“Well, seeing that expression, I think I did a good job.”
I'll deal with this brat later with violence.
“This is a premeditated crime. Right?”
From the beginning, there's no way Marie could have avoided my [Contemplation] just by hiding in a bag.
Arietta's divine art must have covered Marie's aura.
Did she want to get Marie onto the train so badly that she would go to such lengths to deceive me? Why, exactly?
What made her do that? Were they perhaps close?
Then, even if they were close, she poured divine power onto Marie during the final exams as if she was going to purify her on the spot?
“Haa…!”
Whatever it was, I felt utterly dismayed.
- Ahahaha. Still, if the Saintess continuously erases her aura, she probably won't be discovered, right?
This girl is also an accomplice.
She said she wasn’t earlier, but if she had not been hiding from the beginning, she would have been caught at the Empire's gateway.
How much does a magical levitation train ticket cost to have such lax inspections?
It’s clear she legitimately bought a ticket, secretly entered the train station, and then hid in Eleanor’s bag.
“I said something earlier, but… Master, would you like some snacks?”
“As if that would appease me.”
“Th-then, how about some tea? Oz. I brought apple mint leaves.”
Six people in total, zero on my side.
I had expected two trollers.
But once revealed, the conclusion began to emerge that everyone but me might be a troller.
“Don’t worry, Oz.”
“……Marie. Shouldn’t you be a little worried?”
The biggest problem right now is Marie's [Key of the Immortal].
Considering its value, it wouldn't be strange for the [Death King]'s forces not to come after her in truckloads.
“Father won’t move.”
“What? Why?”
“He’s stopped all activity and confined himself. He's not even using half the key to watch over me now, is he? So it should be fine.”
“No.”
That's problematic in another sense. The fact that the [Death King] Thanatos has gone into seclusion means that all future episodes have been thrown off.
A dangerous episode has disappeared? That's fine. However, I dread how the reaction to that vacuum will return.
“……What on earth am I supposed to do?”
“First, would you like some snacks?”
“I said no.”
Why are they all doing this to me?
There have been many variables so far, but the biggest variable has always been the [Death King] Thanatos.
The butterfly effect is immense.
The result of him not moving itself began to frighten me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Lunar Federation.
[Goblin Forest]
Alexios was imprisoned in a cave in a village strangely covered in yokai.
“Hahaha! Baekyang is returning with someone to pick you up, they say? You might be freed soon. Fist King, Al, Alos?.”
“It’s Alexios, you idiot….”
“Right! Allosaurus! Names from the Western Country are hard to pronounce!”
Alexios glared at the gigantic goblin, who was sitting cross-legged in front of him, sipping from a sake cup.
“You won’t just let me go anyway. I don’t know who this person coming to get me is, but they won’t fall for your negotiation.”
“Well, we’re hedonists, you know. Who knows if we might let you go just by sitting down to negotiate? Why don’t you have such expectations?”
“Haa…! If you like fun so much, why don’t you release me right here and now? I think I can make it fun.”
“Hahahahaha! That’s exciting! But no, I don’t like it. What fun is there in that state? If you really want to play with me, why don’t you eat well and recover your body first? You probably wouldn't last long in that condition, would you?”
“Hmph….”
Alexios frowned, looking at the massive goblin in front of him.
It wasn't arrogance. The opponent possessed the skill to back up such words.
That was natural. Even if Alexios was depleted, this was the one who subdued him in an instant.
He was an opponent that would be difficult to guarantee victory against even when his body was in normal condition.
The opponent was one of the representatives of the Federation who governed this strange forest.
[SSR Goblin King]
Bihyeong
“Fist King. Why don’t you just tell me? Who was the brat you fought? The one who caused trouble in our territory. If you tell me who he is, I’ll just release you, you know?”
“Well? I don’t know.”
“Hahaha! That’s not the face of someone who doesn't know, is it? At least you must have some idea, right?”
“He was someone I’d never met before.”
“Hahaha!”
Bihyeong downed the sake in his cup at Alexios's firm refusal and then stood up.
He didn't intend to interrogate him deeply.
He just thought it would be good if he could hear something.
Before leaving, Bihyeong spoke to Alexios with a serious face.
“……Allosaurus.”
“It’s Alexios, you idiot! You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you? Don’t you know that’s harder to pronounce?”
“Hahahahaha! You caught me! Please understand, alright? It's just the nature of us Goblins!”
Bihyeong laughed heartily and then spoke again in a serious tone.
“I know you're not the culprit. The one who killed Dorin. It was him, wasn't it? The one you were fighting.”
“……”
Alexios’s benefactor and master.
And family, ‘Dorin’.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you’d better be careful. That guy. He’s stronger than you. Not as strong as this old man, though! Hahahahaha!”
With those words, Bihyeong left the cave.
“……I know.”
Alexios pondered Bihyeong's last words in the silent cave.
He was an opponent Alexios simply couldn't defeat. He had already known the extent of that gap when they first met.
“Still….”
He left a scar.
If so, it was like taking the first step. He just needed to get stronger.
Yes, a simple conclusion.
“Next time, I’ll win.”
Therefore, Alexios replayed the moment of his defeat.
His mistakes, his opponent's mistakes, and the answers he could gain through them.
Alexios began to search in the memory of that fierce battle.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
At the time Oz and Eleanor were preparing for the [Death King]'s attack at the Papal States, Alexios headed to the Federation.
The Federation was like a second home to him. The fortuitous encounter that allowed him to learn how to fight was gained in the Federation.
The Empire's image of the Federation was that of a dangerous place, but living there, it wasn't quite that bad.
At least, that's how Alexios saw it.
As he reached the entrance of the [Goblin Forest] where he was supposed to meet Lena.
“Long time no see, big brother. How have you been? ……How is it? It’s a Federation greeting, is it okay?”
“Lena.”
Alexios could see Lena smiling softly.
He wondered what tricks she might be playing, but Lena seemed defenseless.
Perhaps Oz was mistaken. Lena might have no connection to the organization called [Parade] that Oz mentioned.
Perhaps she simply wielded an axe because she disliked Oz. If that was all, Alexios didn't need to worry.
Oz had done many things that could get him stabbed anyway.
Therefore, Alexios…
“Gasp…!”
First, he delivered a kick.
As family, there were things he knew. Oz’s words were true.
“What…?”
But Alexios’s attack merely swept through the air.
It didn’t hit Lena.
YShe evaded it despite it being a surprise attack. Alexios frowned the moment he realized this.
“What just happened?”
“……Shouldn’t I be asking that? Brother, a kick out of nowhere? If your kick hit me, a delicate person like me would be gravely injured, you know?”
Normally, Lena’s words would be correct, but Alexios didn’t think so.
“That attack wasn’t meant to be dodged in the first place. I intended to break your leg. But how did you evade it?”
“……”
Lena said nothing. She merely blinked her eyes in surprise and observed Alexios.
“You had no talent whatsoever. You were the only powerless ordinary person among us.”
“……That’s a hurtful thing to say.”
Lena bit her lip at Alexios's words and began rummaging through her bag.
“Well, fine. It’s truly disgusting that you’re pretending to be interested in me now, but… you’re still family.”
With those words, Lena pulled out a giant axe from her handbag-shaped subspace bag and swung it.
“This is….”
Alexios caught the axe as if clapping with both hands.
It was a heavier blow than he expected. She was truly capable of handling a battle axe, an easy-to-wield weapon.
That was incomprehensible.
“What have you done?”
Alexios twisted his hand, deflecting the axe’s trajectory.
Normally, he would have followed up with another attack immediately, but Alexios hesitated and had to step back.
“Spear.”
Lena’s second weapon aimed for Alexios’s opening.
The spear, thrust straight, showed years of dedicated effort.
“Throwing knives.”
What flew at Alexios, who had widened the distance, were numerous throwing knives, including shurikens.
Some even had complex shapes that required special training to throw.
“Sword.”
Seeing Lena re-enter his range, Alexios said coldly.
Axe, spear, throwing knives, and sword.
She used numerous weapons as if she were accustomed to them. There were undeniable traces of effort, clearly indicating many years of dedication.
“It can’t be.”
CRACK!
And Alexios broke all of them head-on.
Even the techniques of a mediocre talent, if they are the culmination of years of effort, cannot be dismissed lightly.
But they could not reach Alexios, who possessed the realm of manryugwijeong [All rivers flow to the sea],implying ultimate mastery.
“It absolutely cannot be.”
“Kkhh?!”
Lena faltered and backed away, intimidated by Alexios's increasingly cold and rough demeanor.
He knew it, but the skill gap was far more significant than he had thought.
CRACK!
Lena continued to fight bravely, wielding many weapons, but she could not withstand Alexios's single blows.
All her means were utterly crushed by Alexios’s attacks.
“A mediocre talent, through countless years of persistent effort, reaches the realm of a master. Yes, that is possible.”
“Is that so? But coming from someone who shatters it head-on with pure talent, it makes one feel truly powerless.”
“But Lena. You are not that person. You didn’t have that many years.”
The question that Alexios felt.
Lena was a mediocre talent. But Lena’s techniques were close to a master’s.
It was impossible.
Considering her age, even dedicating those years to mastering a single weapon would barely be enough.
Yet Lena wielded various weapons as if she were accustomed to them.
“Are you Lena? Or someone wearing Lena’s skin?”
“That’s hurtful… You know I’m real, yet you’re just curious, aren’t you? How did these damnable products of effort come to someone as mediocre as me?”
Alexios did not answer.
There could be a fortuitous encounter. There could be some method.
But it was something Lena could never achieve alone.
It would be impossible even with the support of a fairly large organization.
Then what about the mysterious organization Oz mentioned, one that even he might struggle to face?
What about groups like [Parade], whose limiters had been removed?
“Tell me everything you know about an organization called Parade, Lena.”
“Ah, so that’s why you came? Of course, you wouldn't care about someone like me now.”
Lena ruffled her red hair, then spoke in a calm yet utterly cold tone.
“After all, to people like you, someone like me has no value.”
Because she was a mediocre talent.
Because she was at the very bottom, a place she couldn't reach no matter how much she tried alone.
The Fist King, the Saintess, the successor of the Mage King—those raw talents.
They couldn't understand her.