Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: When a Sword Gets Serious? Black! Hahaha (5)
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Pippin scratched the back of his head awkwardly and turned his head away. Lately, no matter how much Pippin combed and groomed his hair, a strangely protruding spot had started forming in one corner of his crown.
It was the spot where Dahlia and Daisy had teamed up to tie ribbons.
No matter how dull Pippin's personality was said to be, there was no way he'd welcome two five-year-olds festooning him with ribbons. He was at an age that had passed through puberty and should possess delicate sensibilities. Poor Pipi. Hang in there, Pipi.
"Still, the more you suffer, the easier it gets for me as your master. Keep it up from now on."
"Master..."
I patted Pippin's shoulder.
"Take care out there, Duke."
The head butler fussed over me, making sure I had everything. I shrugged and smiled.
"You trust me, right?"
"Of course I do. But regardless, this old man is always scared."
"Scared of what?"
"The very fact that the fragile baby young master I remember is now the Duke heading off to battle."
His words were thick with worry. In both my previous life and this one, the head butler was the only one who worried about me this much. Was this the power of five affinity points?
No, it was the opposite. That's why his affinity was displayed as five—because he thought of me this way.
"Don't worry. I'll kill a ton of powerful beasts and rack up some amazing military achievements."
"That's exactly what worries me..."
Soon, the carriage sent from the imperial palace arrived. This time, we weren't taking our own carriage. We had to head straight to the harbor and join up with the crown prince's group. The journey to the harbor wouldn't be far.
I met Pippin's eyes and asked plainly.
"You up for some action?"
"I'll exceed expectations."
[Leave it to me too~ You can't talk about action without including this Ragia! My body's already itching. Metaphorically speaking, got it? Hahaha!]
Ragia suddenly butted in. The cloth I'd wrapped him in to keep him quiet had come loose without me noticing. I sighed and fully unwrapped it. A sharp scythe with a sky-blue tint revealed itself. Who could imagine that this crescent-moon-shaped blade, so keen and deadly, housed a soul that spouted nothing but nonsense?
"Ragia. Please, stay quiet normally. Carrying around a talking sword is a bit embarrassing for a human."
[Hahaha! Embarrassing? Plenty of things are! If you got embarrassed by every little thing, life would be too complicated. Enbi is the type who gets embarrassed even in situations where she...]
I wrapped the cloth around him again. I felt intense vibrations from beneath it, but I ignored them. This should keep him quiet for a little while.
Finally, Dandel came out to see me off. He packed snacks and clothes galore, sniffling all the while.
"Take care out there, Duke. Beast subjugation is somewhere a commoner like me can't just go to, so I can't follow, and that makes me so sad. Please don't get hurt, preserve yourself as much as possible, don't do anything heroic, and if a beast shows up, run away no matter what."
"Isn't that advice a bit weird?"
"But coming back unhurt is the top priority. I know you're strong, Duke, but beast subjugation? With tons of beasts? I'm so worried."
As Dandel wiped his runny nose and fretted, the head butler patted him reassuringly. At the same time, he looked at me with serious eyes, as if to say he trusted me.
"Have a safe trip. I believe in you. No matter what choice you make."
"Of course. I trust myself too."
I grinned, grabbed Pippin by the scruff of his neck, and boarded the prepared carriage.
"See you later!"
***
The only harbor from which one could reach the Hermit's Land: Karamara Harbor, directly managed by the crown prince himself.
Upon arrival, dozens of ships ready to depart for beast subjugation were already docked. We were guided to the largest and most ornate one.
On the ship's deck, in a spot with a wide view of the open sea, a handsome man with a languid expression stood imposingly, casting his gaze toward our group. Crown Prince Taimus was waiting for us there.
"You're late."
We weren't.
If this were a group project, he'd just be the group leader who arrived first.
But social obligations demanded it, so I approached the crown prince with a smiling face.
"Did we keep you waiting long?"
The crown prince didn't answer, merely scanning Pippin and me up and down. It irritated me to no end, but my expression didn't falter. I'd done my time as an upscale department store clerk in my past life. Facial control was my forte.
"This is quite the scale."
"We might need to dock at the Hermit's Land depending on the situation. We have to prepare."
The crown prince was unusually serious. Even his serious face annoyed me for some reason.
"Duke Sierra!"
Bishop Orchid, who had been receiving various reports near the crown prince, spotted me and greeted me familiarly. I returned the greeting warmly, and Bishop Orchid's expression nearly softened. That's when the crown prince coldly uttered a single word.
"Composure."
Composure? What did that mean? As I tilted my head in confusion at the crown prince's word,
Bishop Orchid immediately schooled his expression at that one command.
'Ah... Bishop Orchid was about to get all excited.'
Crown Prince Taimus had controlled Bishop Orchid with a single word.
It was pitiful, but this time, I was on the crown prince's side. If Destrooda caused some incident on the deck, we'd all have to head home before even going for subjugation.
*Ahem.*
Bishop Orchid cleared his throat and composed his voice before speaking.
"The goal of this beast subjugation is to slay as many beasts as possible. Beasts are expected to appear occasionally on the way to the Shrike Strait as well. Of course, the crown prince's forces will handle them, but we may need to step in for the stronger ones."
As Bishop Orchid explained, the ship rocked with a swell. Soon, the captain and crew rushed about, shouting at the top of their lungs.
"We'll be departing soon. It won't take long to reach the Shrike Strait. Once there, we'll anchor briefly, and the elite unit's full subjugation will begin."
Elite unit?
Was there such a thing?
"What do you mean by elite unit?"
"Us."
Bishop Orchid answered plainly.
"Oh."
It seemed the crown prince, Bishop Orchid, Pippin, and I were the elite unit. I'd figured an outwardly incompetent mage like me would be treated as dead weight, but they were including me after all.
"Bishop Orchid Libido. Don't exaggerate."
The crown prince sighed deeply as he looked at us. Then he glared at me and said.
"Did you come to farm?"
Blood rushed to my face in an instant. I was holding a scythe, and Pippin had a pitchfork. Even thick-skinned Pippin seemed embarrassed, staring at the deck floor and pretending otherwise. See? That's why I told you to carry Ragia.
No helping it now. I protested with all the injustice I felt.
"Wasn't it Your Highness who equipped us like this?"
"Me?"
"We received these weapons directly from Sir Helio on Your Highness's orders. We had to bring them."
"Helio?"
The crown prince's expression turned peculiar. Apparently, Helio hadn't reported it this way.
Well, I wouldn't have reported it honestly either. To a crown prince who slaps faces when displeased, saying, 'I dumped a pitchfork and a talking sword on the duke,' probably took more guts than he had.
"Ah, were they given to me for farming? If so, I can handle that mission too."
Feeling unnecessarily offended, I sniped back. The crown prince just snorted at my reaction.
"I know your magic skills are lacking. The only reason you're in this so-called elite unit Bishop Orchid mentioned is because of the name Gluttony. You're here out of pride, I suppose..."
The crown prince narrowed his eyes sharply and barked.
"Don't get in the way."
That was when Ragia began buzzing violently, shaking off the wrapped cloth like a dog shuddering in fear. The long pole emerged, and the sharp blade gleamed.
"In the way? Our Sierra's going to shine big time! Why? Because he'll be with this body, Ragia!]
Everyone, including the crown prince, froze. Pippin shook his head as if he'd seen something dreadful.
"What was that just now?"
The crown prince nodded toward the scythe I was gripping tightly.
"Was that sound from your farming tool?"
[Farming tool? Did you say farming tool? You just called me a farming tool?!]
Ragia vibrated furiously, clearly enraged. He trembled so hard he nearly slipped from my hand, raising his voice toward the crown prince.
[I'm a scythe! The fearsome scythe of the Grim Reaper. Sure, I was a sword once, a hammer other times, and even a stiletto one go. But right now, I'm a mighty scythe that can cleave anything in one stroke! Got it? What do you take me for?]
I hid the clamoring Ragia behind my back. I'd begged him to stay quiet, but he couldn't hold it in. I couldn't even scold a bladed weapon properly—it was awkward.
Surely no one would mistake me for some weirdo now?
Wearing a pitiful expression, I explained to the crown prince.
"It's the sword Sir Helio gave me. When I grabbed it, it changed shape into a scythe. The form is a scythe, but it'll help with casting magic. Even I can manage small explosion spells..."
"The form and your usefulness aren't the issue. The problem is why this blade can talk."
I shrugged, conveniently omitting tales of the mermaid king or Enbi.
"Maybe it's enchanted with magic?"
The crown prince seemed about to approach me, but he merely scanned Ragia up and down before walking past, adding,
"Frivolous."
What a jerk. Out of sight of his back, I secretly flipped him the bird with my middle finger. My other hand covered it—no one would notice.
[What a jerk. Frivolous? Human—no, you were called Sierra, right? Sierra, you don't think I'm frivolous too, do you? I'm solemn like... Hey, why do you keep wrapping me up? Hahaha! Do I mean that much to you? I won't wear out that easi—mmph mmph...]
With that noisy greeting concluded, the voyage began smoothly. Until we reached the strait, we were free, so I lost myself gazing at the sea.
In my previous life, I'd never been to the sea. Only seen it a few times on TV. Come to think of it, this was the first sea of my life.
"The sea... it's so blue."
The sea was blue and vast, its end unknowable. Like the empty void of my past life's hopeless days, yet for some reason, this beautiful scene completely captivated me.
My little sister probably hadn't seen the sea either.
Had Dahlia ever seen the sea?
"Duke Sierra."
Bishop Orchid's voice shattered my reverie.
"What is it?"