Sweet Days in Merlin
After the battle ended, a suffocating silence settled over the cave.
I caught my breath for a moment and took in the scene.
I really… almost died there.
[Indeed.]
Inoxia’s appearance had been completely unexpected. How was a hero everyone assumed long dead still alive?
[But now a few things are starting to make sense.]
Make sense?
[Yes. Didn’t Levation say Bastil coveted his equipment?]
Had he? Ah—right. I remembered that conversation clearly.
—Yes. That coward Bastil had his eye on my gear. I had no choice but to hide it. I’ll tell you the location. But…
That was what he’d said.
So what about it?
[Levation’s ring is impressive, but it never suited Bastil’s temperament. It certainly wasn’t something worth making an enemy of Levation over.]
In other words, Bastil had coveted something he had no reason to want. The reason was simple.
Because of this ring?
[Exactly. Levation stole Bastil’s belongings first.]
Hmm. And then he had the nerve to paint Bastil as the thief. Classic Merlin.
Anyway.
“Lady Ellie, are you all right?”
“Y-yes. But what on earth just happened? My sister seemed like a completely different person…”
How was I supposed to explain this?
[Just tell her the truth. It should be fine now.]
You’re right.
The situation had changed. Before, claiming Kashabella was under mental magic would have lacked proof. Now Ellie had seen it with her own eyes. She was the perfect witness to prove the “mental magic victim” theory.
So I told her everything without holding back.
A short while later—
“I had no idea… that something so terrible had happened to Sister Kasha…”
Ellie broke down in tears, overwhelmed. They were tears of mixed grief and relief—grief for the horror that had befallen her blood relative, and relief that the behavior Kashabella had shown all this time had never been her true self.
“Then what do we do about my sister? Should we take her to the family mages?”
“We use the ring.”
“The ring?”
“Yes. Founder Levation said his own ring would be able to heal Lady Kashabella.”
I casually name-dropped Levation to add credibility. Part of me wanted to announce that all of this was the wisdom of our great ancestor, but…
Better not reveal the ancestor’s existence.
I had learned that much for certain. With the old heroes corrupted and still alive, the ancestor’s presence would become a dagger pointed straight at them.
And so—
“I’ll put the ring on Lady Kashabella.”
“Yes. Please.”
I slipped the “Mental Immunity” ring onto Kashabella’s finger. There was no guarantee this alone would restore her, but we would have to wait and see.
“Shall we head back now?”
With that, our short treasure hunt came to an end.
Kashabella opened her eyes several days later.
“Kashabella, are you with us?”
“Kasha!”
The ones waiting for her were the blood of Merlin—the count and countess, Ellie, and even the returned eldest son, Ahentar.
The first words out of Kashabella’s mouth were these:
“It feels… like I’ve been dreaming for a very long time.”
At that point I quietly left the room. I had no desire to interrupt a tearful family reunion.
Lucky, right? No need to give her a taste of Valhalla’s judgment.
[Yes, fortunate that Kashabella is safe… Hmm?]
The ancestor stared at me pointedly. I ignored him.
Oh, and for the record, we split the founder’s legacy.
“Thirty percent of the platinum coins and two rings. Not a bad haul.”
We decided to take the rings of “Protection” and “Pride.”
[I’m especially pleased we got “Pride.”]
Oh?
According to the ancestor, “Pride” was a relic that detonated the user’s latent potential. It came with side effects and a cooldown, but its value couldn’t be explained by “potential explosion” alone.
[Bastil’s talent was never that great. He was worse than Levation, who was the least gifted among us. The only reason that bastard never fell behind was, frankly, because of “Pride.”]
Tasting a higher realm through a forced surge of potential. That alone had been enough to bridge the gap in talent. Once you’d stepped into a realm—even by cheating—it became easier to reach it again properly.
Then how did he lose something that important?
[How should I know? Maybe he got careless.]
Careless?
[Bastil had a habit of looking down on Levation. Levation was a bit naïve, after all.]
Ah. So he’d underestimated him and gotten thoroughly backstabbed.
At this point I was starting to wonder what kind of man Founding King Bastil really was. From the way the ancestor and Levation talked about him, he sounded less like a founding king and more like a two-bit swindler.
Either way, the effect of “Pride” was undeniably impressive.
Look.
Tss, tsszzzz—!
Necromantic essence being drawn out of bone. Something that had only become possible after using Pride.
Right now I can only extract it… but with a little more practice, I should be able to generate it myself.
Which meant recreating the “Dark Valhalla Skeleton Legion” that had first appeared in the cave was only a matter of time.
I pictured it: myself leading a skeleton army immune to aura onto the battlefield, smashing demon skulls. At the front would be Golgol, Brother Myuhan, and Tiktak’s Minitons.
When that day came, who could possibly stop me?
“Heh heh.”
[You’ve lost it.]
I couldn’t hold back the grin spreading across my face. That was when Ahentar came looking for me.
“Little brother Khtun, are you in?”
“Brother?”
“It’s me. Mind if I come in for a moment?”
“Ah—yes.”
The instant I gave permission, Ahentar threw the door open and strode straight toward me.
“Brother.”
“Y-yes?”
I flinched and stepped back. His eyes were wide—he looked furious. He stopped right in front of me and glared as if he meant to kill me.
For a second I felt the urge to jab those eyes.
Then Ahentar seized me in a crushing hug.
“Khh—kack—!”
“Thank you. Truly, thank you. You saved Kasha. I… I don’t know what else to say except thank you.”
Ahentar kept murmuring his gratitude, shoulders shaking. I couldn’t say a word. Mostly because I was about to die from lack of air.
Shit… save me.
Ahentar only came to his senses after I fainted.
Thankfully, I survived.
According to the ancestor, the moment I blacked out Ahentar panicked and fetched a physician. Without that testimony I might have suspected he’d been trying to assassinate me.
Because Ahentar was a Merlin too. As long as Merlin blood ran in his veins, the day I fully trusted him would never come.
That aside, everything else proceeded smoothly.
“Little brother, I hear you asked Father for the position of southern alliance leader. Has that changed?”
“No. If it was going to change in a few days, I never would have brought it up.”
“Then I’ll take the post.”
“Are you sure? Things must be chaotic right now.”
Ahentar’s words were welcome, but the Merlin household was in considerable turmoil.
—My nanny poisoned me.
Kashabella’s old claim had been proven true, so they had launched a full spy hunt. As a result, a significant number of those who had died by Kashabella’s hand turned out to have been agents. Their contact, incidentally, had been one of the count’s own estate mages.
He fell for a promise of help advancing his realm and became a spy?
The count had been shocked. He’d trusted that mage that much.
That was the current state of Merlin, so of course I was concerned. Ahentar, however, seemed to see it differently.
“That’s exactly why I must step forward.”
“Why?”
“So we can conceal the family’s chaos, and so the witch Inoxia won’t dare touch the south lightly. Besides, I’ve decided to take the lead on this matter myself.”
“So it came to that after all.”
The count appeared to have designated Ahentar as the next heir.
But will Kashabella accept it?
The ancestor had said Inoxia’s bewitchment magic couldn’t create emotions that never existed. Meaning the desire for the count’s seat and the jealousy toward Ahentar had both been her own feelings.
[Well. That’s Merlin’s problem to handle.]
True enough.
What came after wasn’t our concern.
Over the next few days, Ahentar and I discussed the founding of the alliance.
“…That’s our position, and everything I can tell you.”
“So at present only two houses—Falaon and Hadion—support Merlin. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“A bit thin… but justification can always be manufactured. I’ll handle that side. We’ll send someone later to discuss the details.”
We wrapped up the conversation there.
Plenty more happened in Merlin afterward, but I won’t bother mentioning it.
Count Merlin was so moved by the greatness of Saint Khtun that he vowed to regard him as a lifelong benefactor, and golden child Kashabella repented her wrongs… well, those are just everyday occurrences in the chronicles of Saint Khtun.
[You’re full of shit.]
Hey!
Full of shit? Everything is based on real events and hard facts!
In any case, even the sweet days in Merlin eventually drew to a close.
“You’re welcome to stay a few more days.”
“I’d like to, but I need to bring this news back to my family.”
“Of course. Once again, you have my deepest thanks. I will not forget this debt even in death.”
“I’m grateful for the sentiment.”
I bowed my head at the count’s lavish kindness. Ahentar approached next to say goodbye.
“Little brother, I’ll come find you soon.”
“Yes. Until then. And I’ll see Lady Ellie again before long as well.”
“Take care.”
One by one we exchanged farewells. In the corner, one face hovered awkwardly.
“Um…”
“Yes, Lady Kashabella. Go ahead.”
Kashabella chewed her lip with a complicated expression before finally speaking.
“All I can say is thank you. It feels as if I’ve woken from a truly vicious nightmare. You pulled me out of it, so how can I ever repay this debt? Name anything. As long as it is within my power, I will do it.”
“Hmm.”
An extension of everything I’d been hearing for days. The new part was the “repayment,” and honestly I hadn’t been hoping for more.
The platinum coins were solid, and two rings are plenty.
Lady Ellie’s request and restoring Kashabella had been separate jobs, but I was willing to call this much free service.
Still, if she insisted on giving something…
“Well… would it be possible to arrange a large mansion inside Merlin’s walls?”
“What?”
“A large mansion.”
Seeing Merlin had given me an idea.
Might as well go all the way—wouldn’t a crimson sunset look even better from a fine mansion?
And yet—
“…Very well. I’ll prepare one.”
Kashabella’s face twisted slightly.
See? Merlin is still Merlin.
[Mm. Being Levation’s descendants, they do have a certain ungrateful air about them.]
With that we finished our goodbyes and set out. A long journey, if one could call it that, had finally ended.
And a few days later, upon arriving at Falaon, glad news was waiting for me.
The messenger was Sir Gellos. He had been pacing in front of the castle gate; the moment he spotted me his face lit up.
“You’re back! I’ve been waiting forever!”
“Ah, Sir Gellos. Waiting? If it isn’t urgent, may I greet my father first?”
“Hear this first! It won’t take long!”
What could be short enough to make him this happy?
Simple.
“The sewing machine is finished!”
The first seed of industrialization had sprouted.