Chapter 91
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Friends Aren't Eternal. (3)
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'What a hassle. I like the nation of Trasson itself just fine... but if it's going to be like this, why did they bother including it in the plan in the first place?'
Jin found Jeki's constant tailing and prying questions increasingly annoying.
But since the Mera Federation—and Wu's alliance in their plans—he let it slide without a word.
The Mera Federation's council had warned against sharing too many details with people from the Trasson Free State.
Rumor had it they planned to use them as pawns and discard them later.
'Come to think of it, Lynn Pacific... Didn't they say they were pulling her home country into the plan too?'
A comment from the council suddenly came to mind for Jin.
The Pacific Kingdom was a small, powerless nation.
But they figured they could draw it into the plan through Lynn Pacific.
They planned to send agents to gradually infiltrate them.
There was a knight captain who got utterly crushed by Lynn in Hasler recently and even lost an arm.
That seemed like the starting point.
'Like that guy in the Carr Empire?'
The Carr Empire did have one person they'd pulled in that way.
Seduced with sweet words about turning a grim, dark future into something glorious.
No, it wasn't entirely untrue.
Their plan held that much power.
Maybe because it was the nation most steeped in power and authority.
Promising a brilliant future made hooking one noble not all that hard.
'The Carr Empire's next on the list soon. They said some nobles have already been fully swayed.'
It had taken time to lay the groundwork given the empire's size, but swallowing the Carr Empire whole would make everything much smoother.
So thought Jin.
'It'd make reeling in Jenny Harkur... way easier too.'
As he watched the Mera Federation's—and Wu's—plan slowly but surely unfold,
he wore a pleased smile.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!"
Niber, the knight captain whose right arm—his lifeblood as a right-handed swordsman—had been completely severed.
He'd abandoned his knights and returned to the Pacific Kingdom alone, spewing curses nonstop.
But it wasn't from anger or frustration.
It was fear.
The kind of terror you face an unstoppable force.
Spitting harsh words just to somehow escape it.
He was terrified.
Of that woman, Rin.
That Ice Witch.
A power of absolute strength he could never reach, no matter how hard he tried.
Even if his arm were perfectly healed, he'd never muster the courage to face her again.
It had been that overwhelming. That terrifying.
He just wanted to hurry back to the castle. To his home.
To that safe, comfortable place.
But even that was unforgivable.
After all that big talk, he'd returned not with Rin in tow, but missing an arm.
What if the king deemed Niber useless?
'I'll be discarded.'
Nothing left.
His status as a knight, his money, his honor—all of it.
Stripped away completely.
"Ah... Aaaah..."
It was utter despair.
Unable to go back, unable to stay away.
He lingered at a distance, staring at the border city of his kingdom, hesitating endlessly.
If only he'd died.
If only Rin had killed him right there.
Then he wouldn't have to wrestle with this nightmare.
'It's all that bitch's fault.'
For a fleeting moment, rage flared.
But then...
So what? flooded his mind.
So what? Could he get revenge?
You, minus an arm.
You, trembling in terror.
Could you avenge yourself against that mighty Ice Witch?
Fear replaced rage in his heart once more.
'I... I can't do anything...'
Terror and emptiness.
As those gnawed away at his sense of self,
"Do you want revenge?"
"...?!"
A voice suddenly came from behind.
Niber whirled around in shock.
There stood someone cloaked entirely in pitch-black robes, like their whole body was made of shadow.
"Wh-who are you?!"
The figure in black didn't answer Niber's question.
Just asked another.
"Do you want power?"
"......"
Do you crave revenge?
Do you crave power?
Whispered from the darkness in his moment of despair.
Niber knew well what such beings were.
He'd heard the tales plenty.
"A demon...?"
Beings from the demon realm.
Called demons.
Always crawling up to devour the mortal plane.
Infiltrating the depths of human hearts, possessing them.
Utterly wicked existences.
Niber thought a demon had burrowed into his own darkness.
But.
"Sorry, but I'm human."
The robed figure chuckled and pulled back the hood.
Inside was the face of a surprisingly young girl.
Golden bobbed hair, clear blue eyes.
A charming 13-year-old with faint freckles dotting her face.
Hard to tell under the robes, but she looked barely 140 cm tall.
"See? Just a person."
"Wh-what...? Am I hallucinating?"
Niber was baffled.
He'd thought demon, but it was a 13-year-old kid in a black robe asking if he wanted power?
A demon in disguise seemed more plausible.
But that didn't add up either.
Demons typically used human possession just to cross into the mortal plane.
Meaning they had no form before possessing.
And if it was a descended demon...
No need to possess a human once already here.
So... she wasn't a demon.
Human... or at least, a mortal plane being for now.
"We'll figure that out later. Care to answer my question?"
She smiled brightly and asked again.
But something felt off.
'What... what's this chilling vibe?'
Clearly just a little girl.
A powerhouse like Niber could snap her bones with his rarely used left arm.
Small and fragile.
Yet he couldn't even fathom opposing her.
No mana, no presence detected.
But instinct screamed warning.
Don't touch.
"Gulp..."
Sensing this girl was no ordinary soul—and that he'd stumbled into something extraordinary—Niber awkwardly smiled and answered.
"P-power... I want power."
Thump!
Want revenge?
Didn't that mean giving him enough strength to get back at Rin... that woman?
Of course, he had no idea how this kid knew Rin or his defeat.
But Niber didn't care.
What did it matter what he said here?
No skin off his back anyway.
"I want it. The power to rip that bitch... that ice bitch apart!"
Split—
The little girl grinned ear to ear, as if she'd gotten the answer she wanted.
"Good. I'll give you power. Oh, one more thing first."
And asked one more.
"By any chance... know anyone nearby interested in immense power or 'immortality'?"
"Mera Federation?"
"Yes, that's right. Something wrong?"
Kane tilted his head curiously at Jenny's reaction.
It was like...
She'd heard something she shouldn't have.
"...No, it's nothing."
Jenny hesitated a moment, then...
"Ah, never mind. Just worried since it's so far away."
She brushed it off.
But she had no choice.
'Mom and Dad's last stop before they got sick was the Mera Federation... No need to mention that.'
Just a silly superstition.
They got sick after visiting there.
No basis, pure jinx.
Saying she was worried would just get her treated like a kid.
"Hmm... Yeah, the Mera Federation is pretty far. And your first time abroad...!"
Kane felt a twinge of unease at Jenny's evasion,
but her excitement over her first trip overseas swept it away.
"Abroad, huh. Looking forward to it."
Kane had never been abroad either.
Marquis Harkur territory, capital Carmen, Hasler.
All within Carr Empire lands.
"First time for me too, outside the Carr Empire."
Beside him, Rin grinned ear to ear, buzzing with excitement.
As princess, she'd never left Pacific Kingdom since childhood.
She'd come to Carr Empire for Hero Academy due to her hero potential,
but that was hardly a free trip—more like forced relocation.
This was her first proper overseas journey.
Though her thrill was more about traveling alone with Kane than the destination.
'Eeeek! Just me and Kane! Just me and Kane! Just me and Kane! Just me and Kane!'
...Her excitement bordered on scary.
Scarier still: inside, she was headbanging with joy, yet outwardly calm and composed.
"Rin, take good care of Kane bro..."
Feeling uneasy, Jenny started to ask her to look after Kane, but stopped.
Because...
'...She's the most worrisome one.'
Rin, with her feelings for Kane.
Pretending otherwise while burning with passion.
She seemed the biggest threat to Kane on this trip.
'I was horrified when I saw Rin's room before...'
It was madness incarnate.
Kane photos and drawings, plus assorted merch(?) plastered with his images, handmade or not.
The walls were so covered, you couldn't see them.
Jenny had only glimpsed it briefly, but it chilled her to the bone.
Like gaining a rival who was terrifyingly unhinged.
She turned from Rin toward Kane,
grabbed his shoulder firmly,
and said in a resolute voice,
"Bro, in this world, the only one you can trust is yourself."
"...? Y-yeah."
Her vibe like a resistance leader heading to a suicide stand made Kane nod instinctively.
"Heh heh heh. Wasted effort..."
Watching them, Rin smirked slyly with sparkling eyes.