Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Great Forest
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Nod, nod.
Rev's head swayed weakly.
His eyelids lifted heavily in his half-asleep state, opening his eyes, but his focus blurred almost immediately.
The lantern hanging inside the carriage struck Rev's eyes, and he squinted as the light hit him head-on.
“.........”
The light was brighter than he'd expected.
So he closed his eyes again.
But—
“......”
He felt a weight on his shoulder.
A warm breath, just a touch rough, tickled his body.
Rev slowly opened his eyes once more.
This time, he turned his head slightly as well.
And then...
“.........Ah.”
Adel was leaning on Rev's shoulder, fast asleep.
Adel's breathing was calm and steady.
Every so often, her fine strands of hair brushed against Rev's arm with the slightest tremor, sending a subtle itch through him.
“......”
Rev stared blankly at her for a moment.
Like someone just emerging from a dream, it took time to register the reality.
‘......Not a dream.’
Whether he'd closed his eyes briefly from drowsiness or to savor the moment longer, even Rev couldn't tell.
The carriage rocked along, and with each jolt, Adel's body tilted.
“......”
Rev instinctively straightened his posture.
He raised his shoulder a bit more to keep her from falling.
And... he leaned his body ever so slightly toward her.
Nod, nod.
It looked like he was simply drifting back to sleep, but Rev's eyes kept opening and closing repeatedly.
‘......Just a little longer.’
Rev closed his eyes again...
pretending to sleep as he leaned against Adel.
***
“Guide~ Got any other stories?”
Seros bounced along in front of Caden, full of energy.
We'd gotten out of the carriage at some point and were now trekking through the forest path.
The bumpy trail was too narrow for the carriage, and the air was thick with the scent of dense trees all around.
At Seros's question, Caden thought for a long moment before curling up the corner of his mouth.
“Hm... How about a story on family names?”
“Family names? Like the ones attached to titles?”
“Yes. The ones in your names, for instance. Take... Seros von Spade.”
“Von Spade—that's just 'cause it sounds cool, right?”
At Seros's foolish question, Laphia muttered “idiot” from beside her, and Caden chuckled softly while shaking his head.
“Some families do pick them for flair now and then, but they usually carry meaning. Especially 'von,' which dates back ages.”
The forest echoed softly with the sound of footsteps.
Caden waved his hand gently as he walked, and wisps of wind scattered from his fingertips in rhythm with the motion.
“'Von' means 'from where,' 'belonging to where,' or 'heir of where.' It's common in the empire's great houses... or old noble lines.”
“Ooh... so that's what it means?”
“But—”
Caden snapped his fingers.
Wind gathered, and motes of light swirling in the air coalesced...
forming a white chessboard in midair.
“Huh?”
Seros's eyes widened as he stared at the chessboard.
On the front row of the board.
The small pawns lined up one by one, taking shape.
At Caden's gesture, one of them jutted forward.
“And 'pawn' is also the piece that stands at the front line in chess.”
“Whoa? Sounds just like the family name.”
“Exactly. In ancient times, it was also used as a metaphor for 'the advancer' or 'the one who takes the first step.'”
Whoosh.
Caden flicked his hand, and the pawn sprang to life, marching forward.
Thud.
It tumbled upon hitting another piece, then advanced another square.
“The pawn in chess is weak, the first to be sacrificed.”
Dust swirled in the wind, and the pawn pressed on through countless perils, forward, ever forward.
Everything in its path was just an obstacle.
“But... if it reaches the end, the pawn can become the strongest piece.”
Caden raised his fingertip, and the far edge of the chessboard glowed silver.
The small piece that had looked so frail.
But the moment the pawn(Pawn) touched the end of the board—
its form shifted, as if sprouting wings.
“So... it's weak, but if it goes all the way, it becomes the strongest! Something like that?”
“Precisely.”
“Kinda fits nobles, huh? The Spade family was just some no-name barony, but our ancestor carried hard and turned it into a marquisate.”
“Bragging that your family used to be nobodies.”
And it was true.
House Spade had been weak as a barony, its name unknown.
Yet the previous generation had pushed relentlessly forward, becoming the marquisate it was today.
It was mentioned early in 'Aka Rejang,' and something I'd confirmed myself in the library.
“From way back, those bearing the name 'von' carried the meaning that even if they seemed small now, if they forged their path to the end, they could become stronger than anyone.”
I glanced at Caden.
The way he used the past tense 'carried'...
suggested he knew just how rotten the nobility had become these days.
“So I'm super awesome then?”
“It's not you who's awesome—it's your ancestor.”
“Yeah, got it, Third Place.”
“......Hmph. Third Place can become a queen if she goes all the way too, you know?”
Laphia shot back indignantly, while Seros calmly picked at his ear, chanting “Third Place~ Third Place~” on repeat.
Caden chuckled at the sight, then clapped his palms together.
Snap—
The chessboard of light scattered into the wind and vanished.
“Now, shall we learn about the 'de' in family names?”
“...'De'?”
“'De' has a slightly different origin from 'von.'”
Just as Caden was about to continue.
Whoosh—
The scenery around us began to waver.
Vast grasses rippled like waves and faded away, revealing the enormous forest hidden beneath, as if drawing back a curtain.
The Great Forest.
Leaves fluttered toward us on the wind from afar.
“Ah, there's the Great Forest.”
“Skip that!”
“Hm. You seem to enjoy my stories immensely, Seros.”
“It's not enjoyment—it's just annoying when you get interrupted mid-tale!”
“I see, indeed.”
I half-listened to their banter, my gaze fixed on the Great Forest.
Towering ancient trees of deep green, vines twisting around the sky.
And... farther still.
A single tree standing at the forest's heart.
Taller than any other, older than any other...
The World Tree.
‘...Those who reach out to the World Tree shall advance even further.’
A legend of a tree untouched by any hand.
It was said that one who touched the World Tree would pierce through walls and venture deeper.
‘......’
I paused for a moment, gazing at the backs of my companions walking ahead.
“'Born from what,' 'originated from where,' 'bearing what'—that's the meaning it holds.”
“Not like 'von' at all?”
“'Von' declares one's origin. But 'de' signifies what one was born alongside.”
Seros and Laphia naturally tuned into Caden's words.
The venomous barbs they'd hurled at each other moments ago were gone without a trace.
“...Lame.”
“B-but... it's not like my weakness is the issue here.”
Off in the distance, Charlotte and Klaus traded verbal spars without drawing their blades.
And a bit farther back.
“Hm...”
“......”
Rufus and Erwin walked on without letting go of their books.
Neither looked ahead, yet they matched steps perfectly.
“......Nyaa.”
Neru was half in dreamland.
Eyes half-closed, head lolling, but her legs moved steadily forward like clockwork.
No doubt about it—she was sleepwalking.
“Over there? The place we were supposed to go originally.”
“Yes, the barracks built on the outskirts, not the inner depths.”
“This must be the president's grace as well...!!”
The student council members let out small gasps of awe toward them, their eyes brimming with respect and emotion.
Violet looked a touch proud at the scene, and Carnel smiled faintly.
Watching them, I fell silent for a moment.
‘.........’
Everyone had come to this training camp to break through walls.
To grow stronger still, to advance one step further.
But I...
‘......Me—myself.’
To find myself.
While everyone looked ahead, I turned back, searching for the 'me' within.
“For example... Rev de Lumiere, the saintess's name.”
Caden's sudden mention of Rev's name made Rev, who had been sticking close by my side, crack open sleepy eyes—only to squeeze them shut again against the glare.
“'Rev born from light,' or 'Rev who holds the light'—that's the meaning.”
“Ooh... suits her.”
“What do you take the saintess for?”
“'De' is praise in itself. It's a name bestowed to laud someone's very 'essence.'”
At those words...
“.........Atchoo.”
“?”
Rev sneezed beside me.
I startled and looked at her.
Her small frame trembled faintly.
And... honestly, I was shivering a little too.
The weather had turned chilly; as we neared the Great Forest, the wind grew colder and damper.
“......”
So my hand moved naturally.
Whoosh.
Rev stared blankly at my hand in her still-groggy state...
then gently clasped it.
Rev's hand was warm.
“It signifies a special origin, but it also promises a heavy, arduous path.”
“Eek... what's next?”
“Yes. One born from light must always guard the light; one born from stars must live so they do not crumble; one born from wind must endure torn wings.”
“Super picky.”
“'Tis fate. Not where one comes from, but what forged them. A current one cannot resist, pushing from the moment of birth.”
Crunch.
The soft sound of grass underfoot continued steadily.
But unlike that gentle noise, the Great Forest's interior was utter chaos and turmoil.
Twisted vines, ancient trees soaring high with branches entangled.
Beneath dense leaves that barely let sunlight filter through, only a thin path stretched onward.
...No exaggeration to say getting lost meant death.
“And one more thing...”
In that brutal forest, Caden paid no mind to grass or trees.
He leisurely prodded the air with a finger as he spoke.
“Do you know of the family name 'Ban'?”
“Ban?”
“Never heard of it.”
“As it should be. There are only three beings in this world bearing the name 'Ban.'”
For some reason, I felt a chill of unease.
With every step Caden took...
the Great Forest parted before him, submitting as if opening a path in his direction.
“The name 'Ban' is given to those who betray a god, turn against the world, and finally forsake their own existence.”
Whoooosh—
The wind howled.
With a force incomparable to before.
Caden clapped calmly and said,
“Now, now~ Pay attention.”
But Caden didn't even need to clap.
Before he spoke, every eye in the group was already fixed on him.
“This is a wager.”
────!
The Great Forest began to tremble.
The ground quaked, and ancient trees twisted their trunks.
“Pierce the forest and reach the heart.”
Whoosh—!
Caden's robe billowed in the wind.
And what was revealed.
“Uh...”
“Huh.”
“......”
Long ears.
Sleek, sharply curved.
The mark... of an elf.
Caden the elf's true nature revealed itself naturally before our eyes.
“Rampage as you will. The forest is not so frail as to break before you.”
Rustle—!!
The earth split.
Massive tree trunks tore through the soil, surging up mercilessly between us.
“Wah...!”
“What the—!”
Enormous trunks rose like wedges, separating us one by one—leaving me completely isolated from Rev.
Not within arm's reach, not even within shouting distance amid the shaking.
“Sing your hearts out. Your own tales.”
Chaos swelled, yet Caden stood serene alone.
As if this entire upheaval were the score he conducted.
As if we were all dancing to the script he'd penned.
And Caden...
made no secret of being the conductor and performer of this mayhem.
“The forest will listen, and the leaves will dance.”
Pabababam—!!
Dozens of trunks erupted from the ground like explosions.
They formed a wall around me, swallowing my vision in an instant.
“Waaah...!!”
“Hey! What is this—!”
Voices of the group rang out, then faded faintly beyond the thick woods.
The forest devoured even our breaths.
No matter how we shouted, no matter how we reached out...
In the end—isolation.
‘Damn it.’
The Great Forest...
severed us perfectly, without a moment's hesitation.
Forcing each to spin their own tale, to play their solo melody.
“Play your Kadenza with all your might.”
The next instant.
My vision went completely black.