Chapter 8
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Novel Revision (3)
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Boom!
The moment I drew the sword from its scabbard, a deafening roar erupted as if a cannon had fired.
“Uwaaaah!”
I let out a scream-like shout and gripped the sword tightly as it shot forward amid the thunderous noise.
Crack, crunch!
The bones in my right arm twisted with a gruesome sound as I held the blade.
Thanks to the setting addition, I could now wield the complete Silver Star Sword, but my body couldn’t keep up.
“Grahhh!”
Unable to withstand the torrent of power surging through me, the sword swung wildly off-target.
But that was enough.
Silver Star Sword, latter half, First Form: New Star.
The overwhelming pressure from this single drawing strike, which poured everything into one blow, surpassed imagination.
Byan was flung back several meters by the sword pressure generated as the blade was unsheathed.
‘Damn, my hand…’
I had averted the crisis, but the recoil was tremendous.
My left hand, gripping the scabbard, had failed to disperse the shock properly, breaking all its fingers, and my entire body buzzed with numbness.
But I had no time to stop and nurse the pain.
I had to finish him before he recovered.
Without hesitation, I charged toward the fallen Byan. As he struggled to rise, gasping for breath, I kicked up into his jaw.
“Guh!”
Bloodied teeth scattered into the air as Byan’s body crumpled.
Yet even in that moment, his gaze remained fixed on me. Eyes that still refused to give up.
As he fell, he swung his sword at my leg.
“I won’t end here! I can’t end here!”
Slash!
The hand clutching the Deolic family’s famed sword flew through the air.
“No.”
I spoke while viewing his settings.
[Byan Deolic]
The word “villain” had vanished from his settings.
I immediately understood what that meant. His fate was being rewritten right now.
Who was revising his fate?
Me.
I had rewritten it.
“Byan.”
With that, I pinned his chest down with my right foot and plunged the sword vertically toward his heart.
As the blade drew closer to his heart, Byan’s expression changed.
No longer did his face hold the noble knight’s resolve.
Nor the madness of a beast.
Only the terror of an extra remained.
“You have no backstory.”
Second son of the Deolic Count family (extra).
That was his new setting.
* * *
“Young Master, Young Master! Are you okay? How on earth did you get hurt like this?!”
“…I’m fine, so back off a bit, Mone.”
I muttered weakly from my sickbed.
But my voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, so Mone apparently didn’t hear me.
Seeing him peeling an apple with a face on the verge of tears made me feel inwardly guilty.
‘I got hurt worse than I thought.’
Few joints in my right hand were intact, and my arm seemed cracked in places. In this state, gripping a sword anytime soon seemed impossible.
“Sir Banheart, how’s your body faring?”
At that moment, someone lifted the tent flap and entered.
A middle-aged man with bright golden hair and a neatly trimmed Kaiser mustache.
I eyed him groggily before belatedly realizing who he was.
“D-Duke Gail!? Ack…!”
Startled, I tried to sit up, and excruciating pain shot through my body.
As I groaned, unable to continue, Duke Gail approached with a flustered expression.
“Oh dear, I must have come too abruptly. Lie back down.”
“H-How dare I be so rude…”
“This isn’t rudeness. How could I demand etiquette from my lifesaver? Without you, I’d already be dead.”
Remembering Viscount Delmore as Duke Gail personally helped me lie back down.
‘He delivered the message properly.’
Everything I’d orchestrated this time would’ve been impossible without Viscount Delmore’s help.
Naturally, he knew most of what I’d planned. To align our stories about swapping the poison later.
‘I’ve got his weakness too, so he won’t blab recklessly.’
Even if he’d told Byan everything right before the plan, mentioning embezzlement would mean death for him too. He was a man who valued his life, so I doubted he’d do it.
Besides, it wasn’t bad for him either.
He’d helped me out of necessity due to the embezzlement, but in return, he’d become one of the heroes who saved Duke Gail’s life.
This maintained a smooth relationship with Viscount Delmore while keeping his weakness in my grasp for future use.
“Viscount Delmore told me. He said Byan Deolic acted suspiciously, so he kept a close watch.”
“Yes. And we learned Kinzel carried poison to assassinate Your Grace.”
“Hm, I heard that too. You consulted Viscount Delmore on how to handle the poison, and he lent his wisdom.”
“…Yes?”
“If I wasn’t poisoned, Byan might hide or switch plans, so you swapped it with another poison and watched the situation?”
“Ah, yes… Right, that’s correct.”
“A fine judgment indeed. Luring the enemy into your trap by steering events as intended…”
Duke Gail looked at me with genuine admiration and a satisfied smile.
“I must have misjudged you and Viscount Delmore. Had I known you were this capable, I’d have given you greater responsibilities. Tsk, tsk.”
I was utterly bewildered by Duke Gail clicking his tongue.
‘How much did he inflate his own role?’
It was mostly my doing alone, yet Duke Gail thought we’d collaborated.
‘Well, it worked out better this way?’
It was true he’d helped, and claiming I figured and executed everything alone would invite suspicion. My usual image wasn’t great.
But with the supply officer Viscount Delmore’s assistance, no one would doubt it.
“Especially you, Sir Banheart—had you been hiding your swordsmanship all this time? To think you’d take down Byan Deolic alone.”
“It was luck. He’d exhausted himself chasing and fleeing. Plus, I had the poison.”
“Even so, the Byan Deolic you felled was an advanced Sword Expert knight. At your age, few stronger exist—not just in the kingdom, but across the continent.”
That was true.
Byan’s swordsmanship was extraordinarily skilled. Even among geniuses, he ranked at the top.
“Shame such talent died so pointlessly… but with you here, Sir Banheart, I feel reassured.”
“You overpraise me.”
“Not at all. Once you recover, I’d have you join the Penril Knights immediately.”
“P-Penril Knights?! Urk!”
My shout was too loud, sending agony through my broken bones.
The Penril Knights were Duke Gail’s order, the kingdom’s finest aside from the royal guard.
To think I’d get a chance to join one of the knight orders every knight dreamed of.
“Hm? You look reluctant.”
“S-Sorry. It’s just…”
“Haha, no need. I was too sudden. I won’t ignore your wishes.”
Fortunately, Duke Gail didn’t seem too bothered by my reaction.
“But for this upcoming operation, I’d like you at my side.”
“…This upcoming one? You mean the surprise attack in two weeks?”
“Oh, as expected of Sir Banheart! Exactly that operation.”
Of course I knew. I knew it inside out.
Even its conclusion.
‘I already checked the synopsis.’
Oblivious to my thoughts, Duke Gail chuckled heartily.
“Don’t worry about your body! Heaven must favor you—priests have arrived at our camp just in time.”
“Priests?”
“They saw silver light falling from the sky nearby. Thinking it a divine sign, they stopped by our unit during their pilgrimage. There’s a remarkable priest among them, so your injuries should heal quickly.”
My goodness. The heavenly light—that was what fell when I added the setting?
‘Should I call this luck?’
Recovery would broaden my range of action.
It’d make preparing for future events easier.
The issue was Duke Gail.
He couldn’t stand seeing talented people idle.
Impressing him was my goal, but in this situation, it could become a constraint.
“Since it came up, let’s go meet them now. Truth be told, that’s why I came today—to introduce you to the priests.”
“I need to prepare…”
“Haha! I figured, so I brought other servants. They’ll help you get ready!”
He left no gaps.
His decisiveness was impressive.
“Young Master, it’s great they can heal you quickly!”
“Hm… Yeah, sure.”
Mone’s tearful face brightened instantly.
Seeing him so happy made me think recovery was for the best.
“Move carefully so as not to jolt Sir Banheart!”
The servants, from Duke Gail’s household, were efficient and swift, carrying the stretcher smoothly as if of one mind.
As we crossed the camp center on the litter, soldiers and knights whispered upon seeing me.
“Isn’t that Sir Banheart? Heard he held off Sir Deolic alone…”
“Held off? They say he killed him in one stroke.”
“He exposed the Duke’s poisoning too, right?”
“That was Viscount Delmore, I heard.”
“Wasn’t it all Delmore?”
“But the knights who searched said…”
This was the first time I’d drawn such attention.
Before, their gazes had been sneers at a fallen noble.
Now, they mixed awe and envy.
Like a crowd witnessing a hero’s rise.
‘Hm, heh.’
I barely suppressed a grin.
Not bad at all.
But the joy was short-lived.
“Oh, right. Sir Banheart, it’d be wise to show proper respect to the priest who’ll heal you soon.”
Duke Gail approached and spoke gravely.
‘If even the Duke says this, she’s no ordinary priest?’
I’d thought it was just roadside aid, but apparently not. For him to say this, at least a high priest.
‘Wait. Could it be…?’
A figure from the synopsis suddenly came to mind. The timing was early, but one matched perfectly.
“May I know the priest’s name?”
“You probably know her.”
“If I know…”
“It’s Priestess Michel Atel, descendant of Saintess Gransesia Atel.”
Michel Atel.
From the Atel family of Saintess Gransesia, renowned for holy power rivaling a high priest on her own merit, beyond her lineage.
‘Why is she here already…’
A distant future event here.
Michel Atel was one of its key figures.