Levation's Legacy
The forest maintained for the hunting tournament was vast and sprawling.
Using all this land solely for the nobles' amusement?
I think I understand why revolutions happen.
[What revolution?]
There is such a thing.
A historical event where every last noble climbed the guillotine.
Of course, that would be impossible in this world.
Even a minor provincial noble can unleash superhuman strength through bloodline power alone.
Unless the Blood Awakening Ceremony chalice that awakens the talents hidden in one's bloodline becomes common, that gap will never close.
Anyway.
I stopped at a suitable spot and spoke to Zeke and Milo.
"You two will participate in the hunting tournament with my double."
"Yes, we shall do so."
For the record, Ellie had agreed to prepare my double.
Zeke and Milo would wait here, then move about with the double Ellie sent.
That way they could stay clear of Kashabella's eyes.
[I wonder if you're fretting over nothing.]
You never know.
No harm in being careful about everything.
With that, I spurred my horse straight ahead. The forest was so wide I had to hurry.
How long did I ride like that?
By the time I reached the forest's edge, I spotted Ellie waiting for me—she had arrived first.
"Lady Ellie."
"You're a little late."
"This area is new to me."
"Let's go."
Ellie was alone, without so much as a single attendant.
I looked at her, wondering if that was wise, and she seemed to catch the meaning in my gaze. She spoke flatly.
"I can protect my own body well enough."
"Ah. Yes."
Well, of course.
Ellie was a noble who had undergone the Blood Awakening Ceremony herself.
She looked like an ordinary young lady on the surface, but she was the sort who could thrash most grown men bare-handed.
We left the forest at speed.
Soon a broad grassland opened before us.
[Hmm. Reminds me of the old days.]
Old days?
[Yes. Before Merlin even existed. When I was not yet Falaon. The days I wandered the continent with nothing but a single sword.]
The ancestor gazed out over the grassland with a distant look, as if sifting through old memories.
In those days, they say, Merlin's founder Levation had been a shepherd.
[It's funny, isn't it. A cowardly shepherd.]
Why is that funny?
[A shepherd spends most of his time alone. No one to lean on, no one to help—just him and this grassland.]
At the break of dawn and in the deep of night alike, the shepherd would have been alone.
And still he had to guard the flock from wolves, bandits, and everything else.
So a shepherd had no choice but to be brave.
But Levation was a coward.
[I met the fellow on a day of pouring rain.]
Swaaaah—!
Torrential rain hammered down.
Thunder rolled as if the sky itself were furious, lightning splitting the dark; for a shepherd already timid, that day must have been pure torment.
Perhaps that was why.
The shepherd fled alone.
He abandoned the sheep and ran to a lonely cave.
Huddled inside, he trembled every time the thunder cracked.
[A pitiful sight. So ridiculous I watched him for a long while. When would the little fool notice me… I had a mischievous streak myself back then.]
How much time passed like that?
Then a presence entered the cave.
[An orc. I don't know how it is now, but in those days orcs were everywhere. One nearby had ducked in to get out of the rain.]
Only then did the shepherd notice the ancestor—and the uninvited guest.
Kieeek!
It sounded exactly like a pig having its throat cut, he said.
[Truly pathetic.]
A smile tugged at the ancestor's lips as he spoke.
What followed was nothing special.
Naturally the orc was no match for him.
Spot a monster, kill it, save someone.
Everyday work for the ancestor—yet something that day was different.
"S-Sir Knight!"
"What."
"H-How… how can I become as brave as you?"
[I laughed. How to become brave, he asks.]
So what did you tell him?
[Just… well.]
The ancestor fell silent a moment, wearing an unreadable smile, then answered.
"Abandon everything and follow me, and I'll teach you."
[I never expected him to actually come. Stepping into the unknown takes far more courage than people think.]
The next day the shepherd gathered the sheep scattered by the storm, sold them in the village, and set out after the ancestor.
That cowardly shepherd becoming a hero was a matter for the distant future.
We reached our destination around then.
[We've arrived.]
This is…
It was the very cave where a hero had been born.
The cave was ordinary.
No—could you even call it a cave?
It was not deep enough to keep out midwinter cold, and so narrow that four or five people would have struggled to hide inside.
Barely large enough to wait out a rainstorm.
As I looked it over, Ellie asked,
"Really… here?"
"Yes. I'm certain."
"In a place like this, the founder's legacy…"
"To stay out of the Founding King's sight, shabby was better, I suppose."
Honestly, I barely believed it myself.
Really here?
The place was far too wretched to hide the legacy of Merlin's founder.
If the ancestor had not confirmed it, I never would have trusted the claim.
Anyway.
Where could it be?
I searched every corner of the cave.
Wondering if some special magical device might be hidden.
I was a complete novice with this sort of magic, but I was a sorcerer type, after all—shouldn't I sense something?
…It did not take long to learn how wrong that hope was.
"I don't see a thing."
"What on earth…"
Ellie and I both wore blank faces.
Had the coward lied to us?
Possible.
The way he had treated the ancestor looked exactly like a kid being shaken down for lunch money.
But even so—to screw over the man who saved his life?
What a sly, petty bastard.
Just like Kashabella's ancestor, I suppose.
I was just deciding never to deal with Merlin's descendants again when the ancestor spoke.
[Dig the ground.]
The ground?
[Yes. He warned me to watch for Bastil and Inoxia. Bastil aside—if he wanted to hide from Inoxia's eyes, he would never have used magic.]
Surely he hadn't buried the legacy like some neighborhood mutt burying a bone.
But I had no better plan, so I decided to dig.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for Whitey's bone."
Ellie tilted her head.
"…? Don't tell me you actually think the founder's legacy is buried under the dirt?"
"I doubt it myself, but what choice do we have."
I summoned the Goltik Duo for the first time in a while.
Putting Brother Myuhan to work digging dirt felt wrong, so I left him out.
"Goltik."
Golgoll!
Tiktadak!
They looked up at me, eyes shining with excitement.
Why were they so happy?
No idea.
But if they were happy, I was happy.
Happy workers dig better, right?
"I need to dig some ground. Will you help?"
For some reason, though—
At my order, the light in Goltik's eyes dimmed.
Exactly like a puppy whose walk had just been canceled.
"…Why?"
Gol…
Tiktik.
I asked, but the two only shook their heads and set to work.
Their shoulders looked especially slumped; that was not my imagination.
[You haven't been paying them much attention lately, have you?]
They sulk over that?
[It's a good thing you're a real necromancer.]
What was that supposed to mean.
I did not dwell on it.
What mattered now was Merlin's founder's legacy.
But is it really here?
I watched the work with a nervous heart.
Five minutes.
Then ten.
Anxiety began to creep in.
How much longer?
Clang!
Something caught on the tip of the shovel I had shaped with Bone Weapon.
What? Is there actually something?
"Wait…"
I climbed down into the hole myself and carefully scraped away the earth.
With the cautious hands of a ginseng digger, I worked the soil until—
An old iron box emerged from the dirt.
"Is there something?!"
"Yes. There's something. Just a moment."
I had Goltik haul the box out, then climbed free of the pit.
The box was sizable.
Width, length, and height together roughly a meter?
My heart pounded.
Is this why pirates go crazy for treasure chests?
[What do pirates have to do with treasure chests?]
You don't know?
Pirates mean treasure chests; treasure chests mean pirates.
Dopamine flooding my brain.
With that fluttering heart I opened the lid.
And the result was…
"Wow."
"Ah."
Ellie and I both gasped.
Inside the box lay countless platinum coins.
"I'm… rich now."
"Pardon?"
Ellie flinched and stared at me.
What was that look?
This disrespectful gaze?
There's no count or knight watching, you know.
[Hey, you brat.]
You know it's a joke, right?
…Really.
At this very moment Lady Ellie ought to have been grateful that I was the heir to K-Confucianism.
Because the legacy of Merlin's founder far exceeded anything I had imagined.
As expected of a hero's inheritance.
[Earlier you said it was just like Kashabella's ancestor.]
That was then; this is now.
Anyway, that was not the important part.
"First… you remember the promise, yes?"
"Yes. Thirty percent of the whole, and two pieces of equipment for me."
"You remember."
Then let us see.
The critical question was whether any equipment existed at all.
Ellie and I went through the contents again.
Platinum coins, platinum coins, platinum coins… a jewel, another jewel.
What was he, a crow?
Why so many gems?
We rummaged for some time.
[That. Open that pouch.]
This?
The ancestor pointed to a pouch so shabby I had almost overlooked it.
I had meant to check it later, but—
I carefully opened it.
Inside were…
"Rings?"
"Let me see… yes. Rings."
And not merely one or two.
"It's a bit much to say, but it seems the founder enjoyed adornment."
"…"
No, what was with that look.
She had been eyeing me like some rough character since earlier; honestly I felt wronged.
The ancestor reacted at once.
[That's it.]
Yes?
[Those are Leva's equipment. Not ordinary rings. Each one is a powerful artifact. No—calling them mere artifacts does them a disservice; they are that useful. Take them out. There should be exactly eight.]
Hmm.
I drew the rings and counted.
Exactly eight.
But were they really that remarkable?
Just pocket them all myself…
[Please.]
Yes.
Honesty before the gods is a virtue of the K-scholar.
I confessed to Ellie that I had found the equipment.
"These are the founder's equipment?"
"Yes. According to records left by our family's founder, they consist of eight rings in total, and each one is extraordinary."
[For example—the one set with the blue jewel. That one activates a barrier once a day. Its defensive power can stop a single full-strength sword strike of mine.]
Oh? That strong?
The ancestor's explanation continued, and while I was at it I relayed the functions of the rings to Ellie as well.
They were as follows:
Protection, Vitality, Healing, Health, Mana, Mental Immunity, Indomitable, Detection.
Then among these, the one that can restore Kashabella to normal is…
[Mental Immunity.]
I see.
So if I simply put that one on her…?
Just as the thought formed—
Clink—!
From the pouch I had believed empty, one more ring tumbled free.
The ancestor's eyes lit up.
[That is…]
Why? What is it?
[Demand that one no matter what!]
…?
I was tilting my head at the ancestor's sudden urgency when a voice cut in.
"So this is where you were, Ellie."
That voice?
"…Uh, Sister?"
The speaker was Kashabella.
"I followed wondering where you were scurrying off like a rat, and look what I find—something rather interesting. Together with Falaon's little rat, no less."
Hmm. Instinct told me at once.
This seems like big trouble, doesn't it?
[Probably.]
Here there was no count, no watching eyes.
And standing before us was Kashabella.
In other words, we had just encountered Kashabella without a single limiter.