Chapter 677
Chapter 677
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 677
Chapter Title: Readiness to Die
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677.
“That smith, Dinette. It seems she has a son.”
Chelsea, who was waiting for Leo outside the cemetery, said this to him as he returned from paying his respects at the memorial.
It was something she'd heard from the head of the weaponsmiths who had guided them here.
“A son.”
“What are you going to do?”
Chelsea asked cautiously. Leo answered calmly.
“For now, let's focus on the conquest.”
“Okay.”
There was little Leo could do for Dinette's son right away.
*I can at least express my gratitude.*
But that was all.
They didn't have much time left.
Even if they changed actual history, it wasn't as if these people would continue to exist.
*Still, I should probably go see him.*
Thinking about Dinette's son, Leo returned to where the party's tents were set up.
By then, it was around noon.
Seeing the scene in front of the tents, Chelsea's eyes widened.
“Who are they?”
There, the group was in a standoff with someone.
Leo recognized the face of the beastkin girl facing off against Duran and muttered.
“It's those kids from yesterday.”
“You know them, Leo?”
“Not really. I've just seen their faces.”
Right before the battle, they had shown their desire to fight, saying they wanted to join the front lines too.
Of course, they weren't qualified, so they couldn't stand on the battlefield.
“What's going on?”
As Leo approached and asked, Duran's lips curled into a smirk.
“These people are saying they want to have a go at us.”
*Crack—*
Duran cracked his knuckles.
“So I was thinking of obliging them.”
“You look like you're enjoying this.”
“They say they're warrior trainees of Ivaldi.”
Their ages were similar, but they lived in a different era.
He seemed intrigued by how warrior trainees from 5000 years ago fought.
There was no sign of him looking down on them.
Duran himself was the epitome of competitiveness, but beyond that, he tried to learn and absorb anything he could from others.
Eliza, who had a similar personality, was filing her nails, looking uninterested.
*It's probably because there are no summoners.*
Even now, summoners were a rarer class than knights and mages.
In the Age of Calamity, summoners were even more scarce.
“You're the leader of this bunch, right? Bring it on.”
The beastkin's characteristic belligerence showed.
At those words, Ain, who had been watching from the back, took a step forward.
“What?”
“If you want to fight Leo, prove you're worthy.”
“And what's that qualification?”
“At the very least, you have to beat me.”
The beastkin girl scowled.
Seeing this, Leo gently pressed down on Ain's head.
“Don't make pointless provocations.”
“I wasn't provoking her...”
Leo pinched Ain's cheek.
Ain looked up at Leo.
She looked expressionless, but her eyes were full of complaint.
Leo chuckled, sent Ain over to Luke, and then stood before the beastkin girl.
“Why do you want to fight us?”
“You guys participated in yesterday's battle, right?”
The beastkin girl lowered her head.
“I'm grateful for that. Thank you for fighting for Ivaldi, even though you're outsiders.”
After expressing her thanks, the beastkin girl lifted her head.
“But from our perspective, it's a humiliation. You're our age, and outsiders at that, yet you got to fight while we couldn't even stand on the battlefield.”
The beastkin girl gritted her teeth.
“So I want to prove it to Sir Dweno.”
“That you're qualified to stand on the battlefield?”
“Yes.”
Looking into the girl's eyes, which burned with fighting spirit, Leo said.
“I'm not looking down on you, but there's no one here weaker than you.”
Leo narrowed his eyes.
“You should know that better than anyone, shouldn't you?”
At his words, the beastkin girl bit her lip hard.
Just as Leo said, she knew all too well that she couldn't beat not only Leo but even Ain, who had stood in her way.
“Ivaldi's situation is dire. Normally, you would have been on the battlefield too. But Dweno didn't allow you to go. You know very well why he made that decision, don't you?”
The girl with brown hair and cat ears hung her head low.
“What's the future?”
It wasn't the beastkin girl who flared up, but the dwarf boy next to her.
“We're in a situation where we could die at any moment! What does the future even matter!”
the dwarf boy said, his eyes filled with a profound emptiness.
“The present is more important than that crap! The warriors fighting for us right now have families too! It's more important that they return to their families! To us! And we can help with that!”
Dweno wanted these children to live even a little of their future.
It wasn't just Dweno.
Those born before the Age of Calamity felt sorry for those born during it.
A generation that had only ever had things taken from them.
A generation that had fallen into such deep nihilism that they couldn't even see a future.
The wish of Dweno and the other Ivaldi warriors was to show them a ray of light.
That feeling would have only grown stronger after they reclaimed the starlight.
But for these children, the present was far more urgent and important than an unreachable future.
*What these kids are saying isn't wrong.*
But…
*Unless they're on the level of Verkiana or Vihar... they won't be much help on the battlefield anyway.*
Leo clicked his tongue, thinking of his disciples who were far beyond the norm.
“Ditt is right! Besides! What do you know, talking like that? You're our age at best! Does being a little strong make you all that?”
The beastkin girl pointed a finger at Leo.
“Leo isn't just 'a little strong'.”
*No, in the first place, Leo is an adult even by this era's standards.*
Chelsea shook her head.
“Wow, that's really something.”
Just then, Karl, who had been watching the situation, expressed his admiration.
Seeing Karl, the beastkin girl's eyes blazed.
“In the first place! Even a weakling like him went to the battlefield yesterday! So why can't we?!”
“Huh? Me?”
“We want to go to the battlefield too! We want to go out and fight! If a weakling like him can go, then we can definitely go too!”
“Hey, that's a lot of 'weakling'. This listening weakling is getting his feelings hurt.”
Karl grumbled.
“It's a fact that you're a weakling.”
“You are pretty pathetic.”
Chelsea and Eliza teased Karl.
“Hmph. A lot of talk from people who haven't even been acknowledged as heroes.”
At those words, Chelsea's and Eliza's expressions turned murderous.
Karl quickly hid behind Luke.
“That fighting spirit... I like it.”
Just then, Duran stepped forward, a smirk playing on his lips.
“Alright. I'll take you on.”
Seeing Duran step forward, Leo said.
“Wait, Duran.”
“Is that an order?”
“It's a request. If you fight this kid, you won't learn anything.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Duran frowned.
Leo gave Duran a smile and then looked at Karl.
“Karl.”
“What is it?”
“You're up.”
“Me?”
Karl was flustered.
Seeing that, the beastkin girl flared up.
“Wait! Why do I have to fight a weakling like him?!”
“Karl is the weakest among us. If you can't even beat Karl, you won't get any recognition for fighting us. You wouldn't be qualified to stand on the battlefield in the first place.”
Leo smiled. The beastkin girl scoffed.
“I'll take down a weakling mage like this in no time and then I'll fight you.”
“That won't happen.”
“What?”
“Because you can't beat Karl.”
***
“Looks like something interesting is happening.”
In the clearing in front of the tents.
As Karl and the Ivaldi warrior trainees were preparing for battle, Enniha returned.
“Miss Enniha...! This is...”
“Yes, Ditt. You don't have to tell me what's going on. I get it.”
Enniha nodded at the dwarf boy's words.
“Miss Enniha! Please look at this!”
Just then, Driana appeared from behind, her eyes sparkling.
Driana was holding a drawing in her hand.
Seeing it, Chelsea said.
“Yesterday you looked like you were about to die from training with Sir Dweno, but you're full of energy today.”
“I learned to draw from Miss Enniha today! The stupid cat and stupid human are knocked out!”
Ditt looked flustered at Driana's words.
“Miss Enniha, what is that kid talking about? Training with Sir Dweno?”
At Ditt's question, Enniha scratched her cheek.
“This child is learning smithing techniques from Dweno.”
After answering curtly, Enniha looked at Driana's drawing and her expression turned horrified.
“It's... original.”
“Right! I knew you'd recognize it!”
“That wasn't a compliment, you stupid dwarf.”
Chelsea said coldly, but Driana didn't listen.
Ditt, after seeing Driana's drawing, flared up.
“Wasn't I supposed to be Sir Dweno's disciple?”
“Well... you'll be his disciple soon...”
“I can't accept this! That a kid with such clumsy hands became Sir Dweno's disciple before me!”
At those words, Driana's expression instantly turned murderous.
“What did you just say?”
“I said you have clumsy hands!”
“You damn midget!”
“You're a midget too! And who are you calling a damn midget! You're the damn midget who drew that damn picture!”
“You dare insult my art!”
“Art? What part of this is art?!”
“What's all the commotion?”
As Leo approached with a frown, Chelsea answered.
“That dwarf cowardly attacked Driana with facts!”
“Chelsea Llewellyn!”
Driana lunged at Chelsea.
Driana, her eyes wild, chased after the quickly fleeing Chelsea.
Watching them, Ditt said.
“Hey! Human! Let me duel that dwarf! I'll fight for the position of Sir Dweno's disciple!”
At his fierce reaction, Enniha sighed and said.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you.”
“Why not!”
“Because it won't end with just a broken bone or two.”
There's nothing more infuriating to an artist than having their work insulted.
Driana would definitely fight for real.
After calming Ditt down, Enniha looked at Driana's drawing with a grave expression.
“You regret it, don't you?”
At Leo's words, Enniha gave an awkward laugh.
“I can teach her. I just have to teach her.”
“You can't.”
Leo said flatly, then looked at Driana.
“Because her hands and her sensibilities are definitely cursed.”
It wasn't for nothing that Dweno had told her to give up on art.
In the meantime.
Karl finished his preparations for the duel.
Seeing this, Leo said.
“You all.”
At his words, the group looked at Leo.
“Watch closely.”
Leo narrowed his eyes.
“That beastkin kid has something you all don't.”
“What's that?”
Luke asked with a puzzled look, and Leo answered.
“The readiness to die at any moment.”