Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Manners and Etiquette
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The journey to the capital was a leisurely one.
The relaxed atmosphere that had settled in after the training retreat seemed to have carried over to our carriage trip.
It was only natural, given the absence of any real hardships or crises.
But now, things were a little different.
A stiff tension had formed, like the calm before a storm.
It was, of course, because of those Goodspring folks who had joined us midway…
Five days had passed since we began our journey, and three since the Goodsprings joined us.
Since we were in separate carriages, we hardly saw them except during mealtimes.
But it was clear they were keeping a close eye on us.
If that were all, there would be no reason to be so tense, but perhaps because of Nabi Goodspring’s utter defeat?
The looks they sent our way were tinged with a certain degree of hostility.
“Aside from Nabi Goodspring, they don’t look like much.”
During lunch on the fifth day.
Karron spoke to me after finishing his stew, and Zeros, who had just taken a sip of water, nodded and added.
“That’s to be expected. I heard the Goodsprings’ Proving Ceremony is basically an extension of their exchange meetings. I don’t know about the level of the instructors or the quality of their education, but in terms of harshness, it can’t compare to our training retreat.”
“They picked a fight over something strange today.”
Evan said, his voice uncharacteristically angry.
“What kind of fight?”
“I was making stew, and some disciple glanced over and openly scoffed. Asked why the Bednicker disciples were eating pig slop.”
Was that the trigger?
The others began to report the group’s misdeeds one by one.
“I was practicing my swordsmanship for a bit before the meal, and they asked me why I was exercising under the moonlight. Those insolent bastards…”
“I finally worked up the courage to go and greet them, and all I got was mocked for my trouble…”
“They, they called me a pipsqueak to my face!”
After hearing everything, Charles sighed and said.
“So, they’re picking fights in a sly, underhanded way. It’s been a while, but it reminds me of my time in high society.”
“If we confront them seriously, we’ll just end up looking like fools. It seems those guys only learned social maneuvering while we were rolling around in the forest.”
I doubted that was entirely true.
Nabi Goodspring’s social skills, at least, had been abysmal.
I looked at the Goodspring disciples.
Karron was right.
I didn’t need to observe them closely; a quick glance was enough.
Most of them were children who had been coddled at home.
‘No. Not exactly coddled…’
They felt just like our own disciples before they went through the training retreat.
I wasn’t trying to claim that the Bednicker training was superior.
But the more one focused on nurturing the next generation of heroes, the more one had to acknowledge the effectiveness of such a retreat.
‘The Bednickers don’t take pleasure in their disciples dying, either.’
The reason they incorporated life-threatening dangers into the retreat was simple.
Because anyone aspiring to be a hero would inevitably face such dangers at some point.
And in those situations, the ones who survived were those who had already experienced similar crises.
I didn’t know what the curriculum of their Proving Ceremony was like…
But one thing was certain.
Those kids lacked the distinct aura of someone who has walked through the valley of death.
“What should we do, big brother?”
Karron asked in a low voice, looking at me.
I’d smacked him a few times because he kept drawing attention whenever he called me that, so now he whispered it so the others couldn’t hear.
I glanced at Hector, who was standing a short distance away, and said.
“We’ll be at the capital in a day or two… For now, let’s just watch them a little longer.”
“Understood.”
Of course, if my guess was correct, something was bound to happen before we reached the capital.
But I didn’t say that out loud.
* * *
Traveling by carriage is tedious.
The initial excitement of a journey vanishes before half a day has passed…
And the scenery outside the window ceases to be beautiful after an hour of staring.
But on this trip, I hadn’t had a moment to be bored.
“Please focus, Master.”
Arjan’s clear voice dispelled my stray thoughts.
“Slowly, concentrate your mind on the location of the Beast Crest. It will help if you think of it as moving your mana.”
I was currently in the servants’ carriage with Arjan, receiving instruction on how to handle the power of a divine beast.
This was the reason my journey hadn't been boring.
And naturally, I knew better than anyone that Arjan had a talent for teaching.
“…It’s hard to focus since the Beast Crest is on my back.”
At my grumbling, Arjan let out a low laugh and said.
“You are correct. A person’s focus stems from their line of sight. It is not easy to concentrate on something you cannot see.”
Just as she said.
Unless I had eyes on the back of my head, there was no way for me to see what was engraved on my back.
“The placement is truly malicious. Ah, by the way, where is yours, Arjan?”
“They are engraved near both of my temples. So I can empathize with your struggle to some extent.”
Her temples?
I never would have known because of her hair.
“It may be arduous now, but once you pass this stage, the advantages will be far greater.”
“For example?”
“Fundamentally, you can hide the location of the Beast Crest, and since it’s not an exposed area, there is less chance of it being damaged.”
“Ah. So Beast Crests can be damaged. If that happens, is the contract broken?”
“It depends on the severity, but yes, that is the case. Of course, you could form a new contract, but it would be difficult. A divine beast considers its crest as an extension of itself, so it will be greatly disappointed if the contractor is neglectful in its care.”
Her words certainly made sense. My back was a better spot than the back of my hand or my forearm.
As long as I wasn't attacked from behind, the risk of damage would be low.
“Let us stop here for today.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Your adaptability is frighteningly fast, young master. At this rate, you may succeed in a partial Beast Transformation before a month is out.”
Beast Transformation was, in short, an advanced technique that applied the borrowing of power.
It was a skill that maximized one’s physical abilities. To picture it, one only had to recall Arjan in the Jewel Mountains, or Seren when she fought Hariba.
A side effect, if you could call it that, was a slight change in appearance.
In Arjan’s case, deer antlers sprouted from her temples, and Seren’s fingernails and toenails grew unnaturally long.
‘What about me?’
Since I had made a contract with a snake, maybe my tongue would split, or scales would sprout.
Surely my legs wouldn't fuse into a snake’s tail, right?
‘…Maybe I should have just contracted with a different divine beast.’
A fusion of a snake and a human.
No matter how I thought about it, I could only picture a future where I became a lizardman.
‘If it looks too weird, I’ll have to find another divine beast…’
Breaking an established contract seemed difficult, but seeing the Iron-Blooded Duke’s case, it appeared possible to contract with multiple divine beasts.
‘Beast Transformation…’
If possible, I wanted to succeed before reaching the capital.
* * *
As the sun began to set, we prepared to make camp.
Of course, it wasn’t an elaborate setup.
The interior of the carriage wasn’t exactly a bedroom, but it was a fine lodging that put tents and sleeping bags to shame.
In practice, making camp meant finding a suitable flat area around sunset and preparing dinner.
After finishing a meal of mediocre stew and slightly hardened bread, most of the disciples would either train or retire to their carriages to rest.
Lately, staying outside meant getting caught up in the Goodsprings’ provocations, so the general mood was to retreat into the carriages.
I usually spent my time taking more lessons from Arjan or chatting inside the carriage as well…
But today, for some reason, I felt the urge to breathe in the night air, so I took a walk in the surrounding woods.
“Oh…”
A short distance away, I discovered a rather large lake.
There happened to be a suitably flat rock near the shore, so I sat on it and crossed my legs.
I intended to think a little more about Beast Transformation here.
‘I feel like I’m about to grasp something.’
Arjan had said it would take at least a month to succeed in even a partial Beast Transformation…
But in reality, my current stage was not adaptation, but power-borrowing.
In other words, I should already be able to use the divine beast’s power right now.
Though Liselotte did say that some time was needed to adapt.
- The most important thing is the image.
- Image?
- That’s right. Since you’ve made a contract with a divine beast, you must have met it. Try to recall the feeling of the divine beast you saw with your own two eyes and focus on your crest. If that memory becomes as vivid as a landscape you just saw, it will become the opening that clears the path.
The feeling of Liseladigos…
‘Gloomy, dark, arrogant, hates to lose, dislikes Asad.’
…That felt more like an impression than a feeling.
It didn’t seem very helpful, so instead, I pictured the black snake Liselotte had made from her hair.
‘Deep, and dark.’
What else?
Was there a hint in something Liselotte had said?
- My name is Liseladigos All Heimud. The serpent dragon that swims through the deepest darkness, the black-sky sorceress unstained even by the seven colors that streaked across the firmament.
‘The serpent dragon that swims through the deepest darkness.’
The moment I mulled over those words, the Beast Crest on the nape of my neck felt incredibly distinct.
*Voom—.*
It made a strange sound, and I thought I saw it glow faintly, but I couldn’t be sure.
However, I now seemed to understand exactly where it was and what shape it had.
“…”
I opened my eyes.
Just then, dark clouds swallowed the moonlight, making the vast lake look like a bottomless, dark pit.
A serpent dragon. In other words, an *imugi*.
A snake that yearns to become a dragon is called an *imugi*, but do all snakes truly wish to become dragons?
Wouldn’t there be snakes that are content just being snakes?
At least, the Liselotte in my memory was proud.
Even as she called herself an *imugi*, her voice overflowed with an unconcealable pride and self-esteem.
‘A snake that scoffs at dragons.’
That was the identity of the divine beast, the Black Serpent Dragon, as I perceived it.
Why this thought suddenly came to me was because…
It occurred to me that swimming beneath this dark lake was a far more fitting endeavor for a snake.
If the world beyond the clouds was the domain of dragons, then the damp depths of the moonlit lake felt like the domain of snakes.
‘Ah…’
A fragmented realization immediately led to a change.
The moment a chill ran down the nape of my neck, all my senses sharpened to a razor’s edge, and the veil of night was lifted.
For a second, I thought the moonlight had returned, but that wasn’t it.
The world I was seeing had changed.
‘Whoa…’
My surroundings were as bright as day.
Even using Fiery Eyes wouldn’t grant me this level of vision.
I walked to the lake’s edge and checked my reflection in the dark water.
“Ugh.”
I saw pupils that were vertically slit.
It wasn't as bad as I had imagined, but it gave me a somewhat sinister look.
‘My face wasn’t exactly kind-looking to begin with. This is a disaster.’
As I sighed in dismay, I sensed someone’s presence quite a distance away.
Glancing behind me, I saw Nabi Goodspring wandering through the dark forest.
What was he doing?
As I watched, I realized he wasn’t lost.
He was slowly approaching my location.
*Rustle…*
I reined in the divine beast’s power and looked at the water’s surface again.
After confirming my slitted pupils had returned to normal, I looked forward.
Just then, Nabi emerged from between the trees.
“…Ah. There you are.”
Nabi said with a smile.
“Were you looking for me?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have some business with me?”
“I know you. You’re the incompetent of the Bednickers, right?”
I tilted my head at Nabi’s words but answered anyway.
“I’m Ruan.”
“Right. That’s it. Ruan Bednicker. The idiotic youngest son who sold off the family’s treasured sword.”
I had a pretty good idea of his purpose for coming here.
I cleaned out my ear and asked, just to be sure.
“Are you trying to pick a fight right now?”
“A fight? You’re not worth that much. Your value is just about right for a punching bag.”
His directness was almost refreshing.
“Did you come alone?”
I had obviously seen him approach alone, but I asked to confirm.
“Yes. There’s no one else around here. The carriages are too far away for anyone to hear you scream. Why? Were you going to tattle to your big brother?”
“…”
“But the Bednickers… what was it again? The siblings are practically enemies, right? Something about the Iron-Blooded Duke’s policy… I heard your relationships are terrible. I’ve been watching, and your older brother hasn’t even made eye contact with you once. He blatantly avoids your gaze whenever you happen to look at him.”
“Hector does tend to avoid me a bit.”
“Right. Seeing that, I got the picture.”
A cruel glint entered Nabi’s smile.
“It means it won’t be a big deal if you get a little hurt.”
“…”
“Of course, the official reason will be a spar. Something like the youngest sons of the Goodspring and Bednicker families couldn't control their youthful vigor and had a little duel?”
“Aha.”
I rose from my seat.
As it happened, I didn’t have the Seven Sins Sword. I had left it in the carriage.
Noticing me fumbling at my waist, Nabi grinned and said.
“Should I lend you a sword? To be honest, I don’t find one-sided beatings very fun—”
I abruptly showed Nabi my two fists and said.
“What do these look like?”
“They’re hands. Do you take me for an idiot?”
“Wrong.”
I shook my head.
“Let me introduce you. This one’s name is ‘Manners,’ and this one’s name is ‘Etiquette.’”
“…What?”
“Say them together?”
As if mesmerized, Nabi replied.
“…Manners and etiquette?”
“That’s right.”
I nodded, then slammed my fists together.
*CRACK….* As the sound echoed, Nabi burst out laughing.
“Haha. You’ve got time for jokes? I wonder how long that will last. Will you be crawling on the ground after about ten minutes of beating?”
“You don’t get it. It doesn’t take ten minutes to make a man crawl.”
I retorted, thinking to myself.
‘It took one time for Hector, and about two days for Karron.’
What about this guy?
Honestly, I didn’t know the answer to that myself.
Perhaps only ‘Manners’ and ‘Etiquette’ knew.
“How dare you…”
Nabi’s face flushed with anger, and he instantly charged toward me.
“Who do you think you’re spouting nonsense to!”
…….
…….
…….
“Gack, ghk, guh…”
“…”
“S-sowwy… S-sowwy.”
I stopped punching and looked down at the bloody pulp that was Nabi.
“What was that?”
“I’m… sowwy… It was… my faul… sir…”
“Hmm.”
“P-pwease… stop… hittin’ me…”
I nodded, let go of Nabi, and checked the time.
6 minutes and 17 seconds.
It was a new record.