Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: 48. The Seventh and Eighth (3)
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"Through the pitch-black new moon night under moonlight, green rust clings thickly to the blade."
Karrrruk.
The once pure sword hum turned grating, like nails on iron.
"With the pale gibbous moon, I shake off the blue rust, honing the dulled edge to the chilling howls of wolves."
The brilliant flash of the aura blade had softened to a subtle glow, like moonlight.
Bernard Ilai stared straight at me.
I quietly drew Eosureum.
And gave a small nod.
He swung his sword fiercely.
Saaak.
A sword light shaped like a crescent moon lunged toward me.
He slashed down from above with full force.
His sword light bit into my aura blade with a crunch.
Kaduduk.
The grating noise, like teeth gnashing on steel, faded away.
"What do you think? Of my heroic verse."
Bernard sheathed his sword and asked me, his face eager for praise.
Instead of answering, I looked down at my hand.
A strange chill roiled in my palm.
I closed my eyes and savored the energy of the heroic verse.
The grudge harbored in the heart of a scion from a fallen house, and his extraordinary resolve to overcome it—it all came through crystal clear.
"I used the new moon night and rusted sword to depict my family's decline due to the mana ring. Mentioning the gibbous moon after the new moon symbolizes seeing light at the end of the deepest darkness. You could say it echoes the idea that the night is deepest just before dawn."
If Bernard hadn't launched into an unasked-for explanation of the lyrics, I might have lingered on that energy a bit longer.
"Tch."
I clicked my tongue and clenched my fist tight.
The chill swirling in my palm scattered with a pop.
"The pale gibbous moon is the one I saw during the floodplains. Shaking off the rust means I finally broke through to swordmaster there. Honing the blade to the wolves' howls means I found a new path through battles with the beastmen."
Bernard was still rambling on about his heroic verse.
Never met a guy like this before.
Explaining his own verse like that.
It was absurd.
I stared at him blankly, and he got even more excited, chattering away.
"How'd I come up with the heroic verse? While wandering the floodplains, I happened to look up at the sky. Even far from the kingdom, it was just as dark and bleak. That sparked old memories, and naturally..."
"Enough."
"Memories of those hard times brought back my whole life..."
"Enough!"
If I let him go on, he'd blab about his trivial past all night, so I bellowed to shut him up.
Bernard looked at me with a sullen face, eyes full of resentment.
"Fine, just tell me the poem's name."
I ignored it and asked for the title.
"Haven't come up with one yet."
He answered brightly.
Didn't need to guess. He'd rushed over the second he pieced the verse together. And probably woke me and the three from Gwayne in the dead of night to show off.
No time to title it.
"What I mean is... well..."
The chatterbox suddenly hesitated, then made a proposal out of nowhere.
"It wouldn't be bad if Your Highness named it..."
Unexpected.
Figured the smug bastard would have some grandiose title ready.
I didn't refuse.
Some heroic verses got their names from others, not the author. And most of those became heroic epics.
I hoped Bernard's verse would reach those heights too.
"You don't like it?"
"No."
A name popped into mind.
"Let's call it the Poem of the Full Moon."
Bernard, who had gazed at that meager crescent after the empty new moon void.
I hoped the moon in his heart would shed its thinness and become a ripe, full moon.
"Ah..."
Bernard let out a gasp.
"Poem of the Full Moon..."
He mulled over the name I'd given him, over and over.
"It's romantic."
After a long moment, he looked at me and smiled.
Seemed he really liked it.
"Congratulations, Bernard."
"No need..."
"So now, let's get some sleep."
Bernard's proud reply twisted into a scowl.
*
Bernard haunted the floodplains constantly, adding verses to his poem.
Now a swordmaster, he had no more reservations. I let him poke around there for a few days.
In the meantime, old Burk visited to report on the war.
The imperial forces harried by monsters in the floodplains had begun their retreat, shifting their main thrust toward the southern seas.
I heard some unbelievable tales along the way.
The Aerial Knights had failed to stop the imperial fleet's landing.
Didn't make sense.
Warships drifting on the open ocean were no match for wyvern knights.
Wyvern riders could just carry mages high into the sky and rain magic down—the imperial fleet would be helpless.
And reportedly, the Aerial Knights had tried exactly that.
But failed.
"They say the empire's mage forces were overwhelming."
Not just strong, but their response was ruthlessly organized. Old Burk clicked his tongue.
"In the capital, they're speculating the empire formed a dedicated mage unit. No other way mages could coordinate like knights."
Unprecedented.
Mages don't mesh into units like that, and even if they did, exposing them to concentrated fire would mean irreplaceable losses.
Dispersing mages is basic warfare doctrine.
"Frontline folks are calling them the Imperial Mage Legion."
But the empire flipped the script.
Only possible for an empire with bottomless reserves of both knights and mages.
"The imperial fleet lost just six of their two hundred warships. Now stopping them falls to the southern front."
Old Burk stared at me pointedly.
His eyes seemed to say the war had moved from west to south—time to leave without regrets.
Sure enough, my business in Dotrin was done.
The world had changed.
And in this changed world, the Dotrin-empire border had been redrawn.
The floodplains were now home to the Full Moon Clan, tree spirits, and countless monsters. Any imperial land invasion would have to cross them first.
Won't be easy.
For Dotrin, the monsters were guarding the kingdom's border.
But not everything favored Dotrin.
They'd lost the floodplains and everything east entirely. They'd stopped the empire, but at great cost.
Just as the empire could only enter Dotrin by sea now, Dotrin could only reach the continent by sea too.
But that was for Dotrin's king and nobles to fret over—not me.
I simply wished their forces luck.
"Looks like you're leaving right away."
"Nothing left to do."
Old Burk straightened up formally at my words.
"Burk of the Bertin house will never forget the devotion and sacrifice Prince Idrian Leonberger of the royal house showed Dotrin. I pray your kingdom rises again as the north's envoys."
"Idrian Leonberger—we too hope Dotrin achieves final victory and resolves its long grudge. And I wish health upon the former head of the Bertin house."
Old Burk extended his hand.
I clasped it, and he gave me a deep look.
As I met that gaze, I added one thing.
"Make the reward light in bulk but heavy in value. Yeah, jewels will do."
Had to collect payment for fighting for Dotrin all this time.
*
Old Burk sent one of the old knights to the territory for the jewels. While waiting, Dotrin's magitechs and mages arrived.
But they didn't stay long. They left one magitech with the main force and headed south again.
As those mages came and went, the old knight returned from the territory.
"Here you are."
Old Burk paid me on the spot, and I handed it straight to Bernard.
While he inspected the jewels with unnecessary thoroughness, I bid farewell to the old knights.
"I wish you all good fortune."
"It was an honor fighting beside you."
"May the day come when we repay your goodwill as you did ours."
"Assuming we don't croak of old age first."
The old knights chuckled through their goodbyes. Bernard nodded once he'd checked the payment.
I looked around the camp.
Not my kingdom, but I'd spent nearly a year here in Dotrin. A poignant final moment.
I burned it all into my eyes, then mounted the waiting wyvern.
"You sure about leaving like this? Even without revealing your identity, the hero of the floodplains could get a grand send-off."
"No thanks. Hate all that mushy stuff."
Old Burk nodded, like he'd expected as much.
"Then, we're off."
I nodded, and the wyvern knight pulled back the old knights and old Burk.
"Stand clear."
The wyvern flapped and leaped into the air.
Instead of bolting straight away, the Aerial Knight circled the camp low.
Dotrin soldiers and knights spotted the wyvern, stopped what they were doing, and waved.
Some thought we were off on a mission, yelling for us to hurry back. Others wished us luck in farewell.
"That's enough."
At my word, the Aerial Knight yanked the reins.
Kyaaaaaah!
The wyvern roared skyward.
Amid the thunderous wingbeats, faint shouts from Dotrin knights reached me.
"May the Bail Mercenary Corps' fame blanket the continent...!"
"Good fortune to Captain Ian of the Bail Mercenary Corps...!"
No need to infuse mana into their voices.
And so I left Dotrin's main camp behind.
*
The wyvern detoured to Dotrin's capital instead of heading straight home.
There, I met the Dotrin king again, discussed the world's changes, and pledged close cooperation.
A king of a nation and a mere prince.
Mismatched stations, but the Dotrin king didn't mind.
He swore that when the kingdom rose against the empire, Dotrin would stand with us. In turn, I vowed to aid Dotrin with all my fervor against the coming turmoil.
No signatures or documents needed.
A single oath staking our stations sufficed.
The Dotrin king and I parted, promising to meet again.
I rode the wyvern toward home.
North, ever north, the wyvern flew.
The hot air chilled in moments.
The biting northern cold pierced my lungs—I inhaled deeply.
The kingdom's territory spread below.
Unlike Dotrin's lush green, a barren expanse.
Seeing that snow-blanketed wasteland, I finally felt I'd returned.
By nightfall, the capital appeared in the distance.
"Bernard Ilai of the Ilai house has finally become a swordmaster and returned!"
Bernard shouted our homecoming in an emotional voice, over and over.
Normally I'd snap at him to shut up, but this time I let him rave.
The wyvern reached its destination and began descending.
A quiet clearing, away from the capital.
"Straight to the southern front?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Godspeed."
"May glory follow Your Highness alone. You've worked hard."
With brief words, the Aerial Knight remounted and soared away.
I turned from the vanishing wyvern silhouette.
"Let's go."
I stepped toward the distant capital gates.
The kingdom's seventh silver lion and eighth silver lion followed at my back.