Chapter 51
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Timons Merchant Group (1)
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‘Deliver the final blow?’
The sheer absurdity left me speechless.
With my current skills, charging at the Dark Lord Rugal Necris would be nothing short of suicide.
‘If I could at least learn it directly, I’d give up on Setting Addition, but that’s impossible too.’
Fabian possessed an innate genius for martial arts, and Damian, recognizing that talent at a glance, had offered to pass on his swordsmanship first.
He believed that through Fabian, he could witness the limits of the sword he himself had never reached—the pinnacle of the Moonlit Divine Sword.
‘I’ve grown stronger than before, incomparably so…’
But comparing myself to Fabian, who had ridiculous talent, was futile.
In the end, to obtain Damian Viet’s swordsmanship, I had no choice but to defeat the Dark Lord Rugal with my own hands.
“Your expression doesn’t look good. Is something wrong?”
“……No, it’s nothing.”
What should I do with this?
After pondering for a moment, I opened my mouth.
“Based on everything so far, Rugal has revived multiple times, and Sir Damian has been stopping him each time, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“And from the circumstances, this resurrection seems significantly different from before. What’s the reason for that?”
The deathly aura sensed by the Fairy Queen.
It was undoubtedly the energy released when Rugal revived.
But according to her, this cycle had been greatly delayed.
“As I said earlier, I’ve defeated Rugal more than once or twice. No matter how many times I killed him, he kept coming back.”
The faint red glow in his helmet turned toward me.
“After centuries of repeated defeats, he changed his approach. This time, he’s staking everything on a final showdown.”
Damian’s explanation went like this.
As a lich, Rugal could revive endlessly as long as his life-force core remained intact, and it was hidden so secretly that destroying it was nearly impossible.
That was why Damian had never been able to kill him completely.
However, hiding the core wasn’t entirely advantageous for Rugal. While it allowed him to avoid true death, it also limited the power he could wield.
Realizing this endless stalemate, Rugal chose all-out war. He risked exposing his hidden core to confront Damian at full strength.
‘In other words, I have to fight the Dark Lord Rugal when he’s going all out, betting his life?’
I could just give up on the Moonlit Divine Sword, but it was far too tempting to let go.
It was the swordsmanship that had made Sword God Damian Viet the strongest on the continent.
“……Sir Damian, one last question.”
“I’m already dead. I have plenty of time, so ask away.”
I stared intently at him as he answered calmly, then slowly spoke.
“Why go this far?”
Abandoning even the glory of a hero to continue this endless, lonely battle.
Could that truly be a decision driven solely by a sense of justice?
I couldn’t imagine myself doing the same, so pure curiosity welled up.
“……Because Rugal and I are alike.”
A mix of emotions colored his voice.
His face was hidden by the helmet, expressionless, but somehow it felt like he was smiling bitterly.
“The despair of being unable to surpass your goal. I know that feeling all too well, so I can’t leave him be.”
Unable to surpass your goal…
For Rugal, that goal had surely been Damian.
“But saying you and Rugal are alike…”
It implied Damian also had someone he aimed to surpass but never could.
Sword God Damian Viet was hailed as the strongest swordsman of his era, said to have glimpsed the ultimate limit of human martial prowess.
The idea that even he had someone he couldn’t surpass was astonishing.
“Yes. I too had someone I could never overcome until the end. You probably know her too. No one on the continent doesn’t.”
And his next words far exceeded my expectations.
“Gransesia Atel.”
The Virgin of the Eternal Star.
The Saintess representing the Altair Church.
“She was my goal.”
* * *
I returned to the Fairy Forest late at night, under the moon. As soon as I arrived, Monet ran up to me as if she’d been waiting and scolded me.
“Where on earth have you been? I was worried!”
“Did you have fun with the fairies?”
“Yeah, it was fun and all…”
Monet narrowed her eyes at me.
“You didn’t go somewhere dangerous again, did you?”
“No. The Fairy Queen asked me to handle something, so I took care of it.”
“Then I’m relieved, but…”
Mentioning Beatrice finally eased Monet’s expression.
Beatrice, meanwhile, seemed a bit guilty as she said to me,
「Clay, you’ve had a hard day. Who would’ve thought the source of that ominous energy was the Dark Lord Rugal.」
“Do you know him too, Your Majesty?”
「How could I not? He’s a hero whose name was once renowned long ago. Come to think of it, I recall a commotion back when the forest was still young.」
Beatrice gazed into the distance, reminiscing about the past.
「So, how long until the Dark Lord revives?」
“Yes. About half a year left.”
It was an episode that originally occurred after Fabian visited the Aintban Kingdom, so this timing was natural.
「Half a year…」
Not short, but not long either.
Beatrice pondered for a moment before speaking.
「In any case, now that I know the reason, I’ll keep my promise and give you your reward.」
“Thank you.”
Yet Beatrice’s face still held worry, even after her question was answered.
No, her expression was worse than when she first entrusted me with the task.
“Are you concerned about Rugal?”
「It’d be a lie to say otherwise. If this Damian can’t stop him, our forest will suffer greatly too.」
I paused briefly before speaking.
“Your Majesty, I have a request.”
「A request?」
“Yes, regarding this dungeon.”
「Tell me what it is.」
“There’s a mithril vein inside the dungeon. If it’s alright, I’d like permission to mine it.”
With so many humans needing to enter Kitten Forest regularly for sustained mining, her approval was crucial.
「A mithril mine? We have no use for it, so take as much as you want.」
Fortunately, Beatrice nodded readily, but there was still one more hurdle.
“Mining will take a long time and require many workers.”
「Hm. I suppose so.」
“So, could you at least create a small path—anything—for the laborers to pass through?”
「You want a path through the forest untouched by magic.」
“Yes.”
「Hmm.」
She looked quite troubled by this request.
It was essentially opening a section of Kitten Forest, after all.
I quickly added,
“In exchange, I’ll help Damian ensure Rugal is defeated for good, never to rise again.”
「You?」
“Yes. I promise. If I fail to defeat Rugal in half a year, you can seal the path again—no problem.”
Seeing my earnest face, Beatrice slowly nodded.
「Very well. Then one more promise from me. If you successfully subjugate Dark Lord Rugal Necris, I’ll keep the path open until mining ends and bestow a great blessing upon you.」
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
That settled the mining issue.
Only then could I sigh inwardly in relief.
‘Beatrice doesn’t know Rugal is definitively destroyed half a year from now.’
According to the Synopsis, even if I did nothing, Rugal would be vanquished by Damian.
‘Probably thanks to the Human Sword Genova.’
If I were an ordinary human, she wouldn’t trust me.
But a human wielding Genova claiming to defeat Rugal? That inspired confidence.
‘That said…’
I glanced down at my hand. Hidden by the black glove, it bore the Eye of Simosa.
‘Normally, she’d scold me for scamming at a time like this, but she’s quiet.’
It must be because I met Damian.
‘Is there some connection between them? Maybe his disciple?’
[No, nothing like that.]
Reading my thoughts, Gransesia spoke in a low voice.
[Damian was a boy who often visited the temple to see me.]
‘Why?’
[I don’t know. Maybe because he saw me fight a few times. He even said it back then—he wanted to be like me.]
Gransesia reminisced about the past.
Her long-ago era, and the times she met Damian.
[Of course, I didn’t think much of it. But who’d have thought he’d become the revered Sword God later. I’m glad, but… to end up like that.]
‘Because he became a Death Knight?’
[I was shocked at first, but not now. More than that, Damian said it himself—he’s like Rugal.]
Right, he had said that.
But…
‘I think differently. Those two aren’t alike at all.’
In truth, they might share similarities as Damian claimed.
But I disagreed.
Rugal couldn’t bear failing to surpass his goal and chose the wrong path, while Damian sacrificed himself to protect the world.
Even as a Death Knight, Damian remained the hero I’d admired since childhood.
How could anyone call them alike?
Yet Gransesia seemed to think otherwise.
[No, I can feel it. That boy… he still has regrets. Why on earth did he admire someone like me?]
“……”
Her voice was so bitterly wistful I had no reply.
* * *
Having secured the Fairy Queen’s promise for mining, I headed straight to the Timons Merchant Group.
The place was in quite a bustle, gathering laborers and equipment for the mine as I’d requested.
“Ah, Count Banheart. Welcome…”
Rabin, directing the workers carrying goods, widened his eyes upon seeing the string of laborers following me.
“Long time no see, Merchant Leader Rabin.”
Over ten workers each carried large bundles, carefully setting them down before Rabin at my instruction.
“Count, what in the world is…”
“You’ll see when you open them.”
Gesturing for him to hurry, Rabin cautiously unwrapped one.
“Gasp! Th-this!”
“As expected, sharp eyes. You recognized them at a glance.”
“How could I not! Any merchant who can’t identify mithril armament doesn’t deserve the title!”
Rabin examined each piece as he spoke.
“Where on earth did you get these?”
“Do you remember me mentioning a dungeon in Kitten Forest before?”
“……Don’t tell me all these came from that dungeon?”
I’d already explained the dungeon in Kitten Forest when discussing the mithril vein, so he caught on quickly.
“Exactly. Armaments recovered from monsters.”
“Good heavens. You took down every last one? If there’s more left…”
“Sadly, that’s all. But this should more than clear the debt to the Bellun Count Family, right?”
“Debt? Oh!”
This quantity of mithril gear could settle the Bellun Count Family’s debt without even starting mining.
“It’s possible. More than possible. It’ll cover repayment and leave at least 50,000 gold surplus!”
“Good to hear.”
I smiled brightly, and Rabin looked dazed.
“You’re giving all this?”
“Precisely, an investment. Hiring laborers and tools for mining will cost money anyway. This should cover it all.”
“More than enough!”
Now grasping the reality, Rabin nodded vigorously, his face beaming.
I nodded graciously in return.
Of course, inwardly, I wasn’t as calm.
‘It’d be a lie to say it doesn’t hurt…’
Those mithril armaments were my sole property left after distributing to the three adventurers who helped in the last Kitten Forest dungeon.
Honestly, mining the vein would eventually clear the Timons debt anyway—no need to give up the gear.
But I wanted to bring the Timons Merchant Group under Banheart territory as soon as possible.
‘Time’s getting tighter.’
I had no time to focus solely on mining now. I needed every moment by Damian’s side to train in swordsmanship.
To do that, settling the Timons debt and relocating them swiftly was key.
‘…Right. An investment, just an investment.’
It stung, but compared to the fortune ahead, this was nothing.