Chapter 89
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 89
It was a night so chilly that the tip of one's nose stung. Deep in the hills near Rubensheim, a campfire crackled.
Wrapped in his cloak, Rickert stood looking down at Rubensheim, which shimmered in the darkness like faint starlight. That city was the headquarters of the Rubens Guild.
Rickert and his three friends were boldly camping right in its backyard.
"Ricky."
Marie's voice came from behind him. Along with it, the scent of agarwood drifted past his nose, which had gone slightly numb from the cold.
Rickert turned around. Boribori and Ice were sharing maintenance tools as they polished their weapons, while Marie was burning agarwood from the tip of a thin, grooved stick.
Rickert sat down next to her and inhaled the smoke she held up to his face. Boribori and Ice looked up, staring blankly at him.
After all, the way he breathed in the smoke looked rather unsightly, ridiculous, and more than a little bizarre.
"Mmm... this is strangely addictive."
Rickert didn't care how his friends looked at him; he simply enjoyed the agarwood. Although the scent wasn't actually addictive, it was so pleasant that after smelling it morning and night, he had begun to look forward to it for pleasure rather than just medical treatment.
"It does smell good. It feels calming," Boribori said.
"But isn't that expensive? How much is left?" Ice asked.
"Since he has to inhale it morning and night, I think we have enough to last over a month," Marie replied.
Rickert, breathing the smoke from the stick Marie held so he wouldn't even have to lift a finger, frowned slightly.
"Stay sharp, you guys. We're right in the middle of enemy territory. You've all gone soft."
"Ricky, you're the one who told us to camp here," Boribori said, looking dumbfounded.
"I know, but still, stay on your toes."
"Are we actually going to go into the city to kill them? Aren't we supposed to avoid fighting inside cities?"
"The enemies crossed the line first. If we're the only ones keeping to the rules, we're just putting ourselves at a disadvantage. I'd prefer not to, but for now, I want to see how they react."
"Will they even accept the negotiation? I feel like mentioning the antidote was a mistake. It feels like we're just giving away our weakness," Marie asked, still holding the short stick under Rickert's nose.
"I had no intention of negotiating from the start. That was just bait. A lure thrown out to see how their Guild Master would react."
The three negotiation terms Rickert had proposed were simple: either the Guild Master dies alone as a representative, the guild suffers near-total annihilation, or they hand over the antidote.
In truth, none of those options meant anything.
"I don't really get it. You still need the antidote, don't you?"
"I need it, but I don't need it from him. Besides, if you get hung up on what you need, you end up getting dragged around by the nose. Actually, it's better if they think exactly like you do, Marie. If they stall for time thinking I'm desperate for the cure, we can use that time to tear them apart at our leisure."
"Wow... Ricky might not study, but he's really smart," Boribori marveled.
Marie, however, couldn't bring herself to share his admiration.
"It's not a 'wow,' Bori. I think he's being too reckless. What if something goes wrong later because he didn't get treated in time? What he just said means he's not taking care of his own life. I don't understand why he has to go to such extremes just for a tactic."
"Well, if that's what he wants, what can we do? I'm not Ricky's fiancée, so what do I know?"
"...Are you starting to sound like Ricky?"
"Me? Wait, is that an insult or what?"
Boribori was two years older than Rickert. He was already an adult and had experienced a lot, so he was no longer as naive as he used to be. And just as Marie pointed out, because he spent so much time hanging around Rickert, he had unconsciously picked up many of his mannerisms.
"Stop it, you two. What are you saying right in front of me? Marie, don't worry too much about the antidote. We'll find a way to cure it later, one way or another. Trust me. Right now, the priority is securing a favorable position."
"But... still..."
Marie whined, still unsatisfied. Boribori and Ice watched them with dumbfounded expressions. They've gotten so obnoxious since we last saw them. They used to be so cool.
Rickert had enough self-awareness to realize how they looked, so he cleared his throat awkwardly. To escape the embarrassing atmosphere, he steered the conversation back to business.
"Let's say the Rubens Guild has about a hundred members. If they scrape together kids from their affiliated academy, maybe a hundred and fifty at most. But if all those people gather in one place, they'll just waste food. If we leave them be, they'll suffer massive losses on their own. But their Guild Master isn't an idiot either, right? What would you do if you were in his shoes?"
"I don't know. Just tell us," Ice said flatly.
Rickert momentarily wondered if the Socratic method wasn't the best teaching style. After all, they were his friends, not his students.
"If the Guild Master were a coward, he'd panic and gather all his available forces in one place. If he had guts, he'd let the adventurers keep working at their respective posts. The most logical response is to form a small squad to hunt us down. Looking at Rubensheim today, there didn't seem to be any unusual gathering of people. That means he has some spine and intends to handle this using only his inner circle. Honestly, that's his only option if he wants to keep his position from crumbling."
In truth, the Rubens Guild had been struggling for a while. It showed all the classic signs of a declining organization, evidenced by their recent desperate attempts to scrape together money.
When a group falls on hard times, the greatest danger is the loss of cohesion and members jumping ship. Eventually, the group dissolves. Regardless of status or class, this was what every leader feared most.
That was exactly what Rickert was targeting. A man who had survived so long as an adventurer wouldn't fear death. Therefore, Rickert planned to drive him toward what he truly feared: ruin.
Step by step, systematically severing his limbs.
Whether he ended up cornered, begging with tears and snot running down his face, or tried to wage a final, desperate battle, the end result would be the same: utter destruction.
"Tomorrow, let's go to Hetz. If we wipe out the guys there, their food supply will take a hit. Let's see how long they can hold out."
Once the agarwood had burned down and he finished inhaling the smoke, Rickert twitched his nose. His sense of smell felt temporarily numb, but it quickly returned. He could smell the burning campfire and the scent of Marie's hair beside him.
Even though Rickert had told them to stay sharp, the three of them seemed completely unbothered. It wasn't out of carelessness. It was because they had accumulated plenty of real combat experience by now.
Looking back at each incident, it felt like they had barely survived, scraping by with narrow victories. As a result, their bond had deepened, their mutual understanding had grown, and they could now face most crises with calm indifference.
Had they grown? Were they becoming adults? What did being an adult even mean? Such questions crossed his mind, but there was one thing in particular that weighed on Rickert.
"Ice."
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever heard of the Sisters of Prophecy?"
Rickert brought up what he had heard from Daisy's mother, whom he had run into by chance in Nibelungen. Since it was related to the Order of Condemnation, he was a bit cautious.
But Ice didn't seem to mind much. He stared into the campfire, organizing his thoughts for a moment before speaking.
"The Order has been steadily researching the Codex for a long time. I heard that among their findings are secrets to longevity, magic, and secret arts of prophecy. My training was focused on becoming a Swordmaster, and my mission was to steal the Imperial Family's techniques. I've never seen the Sisters of Prophecy myself. I only heard that they foresee the day of God's resurrection, and that they are preparing to carry on His divine lineage once He returns. They bathe daily, pray, things like that."
"So when is He supposed to return?"
"I don't know either. Even the Sisters of Prophecy only see fragments. That's why several of them train together and cross-reference their visions to deduce the date. The incident in Nibelungen a while back was probably a sacrificial ritual. They believe that if the Imperial Family and the nobles oppress the Order, God will resurrect on the promised day and sweep them all away."
"..."
To Rickert, it sounded like they had built a meticulous plan on an absurd foundation. No matter how detailed a plan was, what was the point if the premise was ridiculous? He truly couldn't understand it.
Well, he supposed they did it because they believed it was real.
"But what if He really does resurrect?" Boribori asked.
"We have Ice on our side, so He'll probably go easy on us," Rickert joked.
At Rickert's lighthearted jest, a faint smile finally touched Ice's lips.
"Sorry, but I'm an apostate. I've committed a sin far greater than simple atheism."
"That's harsh. You worked hard all this time, so He should at least pay you back for that. Even if He's a god."
"It doesn't work that way, Ricky." Ice let out a dry chuckle at Rickert's utter ignorance of religion.
"But that holy temple, or whatever you called it—is the headquarters really in the Haiden Fields?"
"Yeah. The members of the Order there are different from those on the outside. In the temple, 'blinded' Paladins guard the Holy Sword, waiting for the promised day."
"The Holy Sword?"
"Yes, the sword with which the God of Condemnation punished sinners. From the sinners' perspective, it would be a Demonic Sword."
"..."
It sounded exactly like the sword Ricky had used in his previous life. That's still around?
"The blinded Paladins are all Swordmasters. That was my ultimate goal too. Not that it matters anymore. A Swordmaster is nothing."
"How many Paladins are there?"
"At least thirty."
"Thirty?!"
"Does that even make sense?!"
Boribori and Marie's eyes widened in sheer shock.
"The number of children who died to produce that many must be hundreds of times greater. I almost became one of them."
The world was not perfect; it was full of problems. But the Order of Condemnation was by no means normal either. It felt as though monsters created by the world were trying to take revenge on it in an even more brutal fashion. Just like Ricky had in his previous life.
The mood grew heavy at the thought of the children who had died just to produce Swordmasters.
"Can't we all just live while respecting each other a little?" Boribori said. No matter how one thought about it, it was such a simple thing. It shouldn't be hard. Was that why it was actually difficult? Because the simplest things somehow never seemed to happen. Everyone agreed with Boribori's words in silence.
"How about you? Are you okay?" Rickert asked Ice.
"Me? Well... to be honest, a sliver of anxiety still remains. The difference now is that I don't let it control me, but I guess I can't completely erase it. It's thanks to you and Armand that I've made it this far. Thank you."
"What are you anxious about?" Boribori asked. When Rickert wasn't around, the two of them were surprisingly close. Their personalities seemed to mesh well.
"The thought of 'what if what they said is true?' What if God really resurrects? What do I do? What about my brother? That kind of anxiety."
"How about dating a girl? Love changes everything, Student Ice," Marie said, suddenly throwing her arms around Rickert.
Ice shook his head with a lukewarm expression. "I don't really trust women. They all say they like me even though I haven't done anything for them."
"Wow..." Boribori gasped, dumbfounded by a statement no ordinary man could ever make.
Ice gave an awkward smile and said, "I'm not trying to brag, it's just the truth. I honestly don't know if I'm handsome."
"Wow..." This time, Rickert, Boribori, and Marie all gasped in disbelief simultaneously. Ice shook his head, as if realizing he shouldn't have said anything.
*
Leaving the fate of the world aside, the four of them focused on the task at hand.
Following Rickert's plan, they went to Hetz and wiped out all the Rubens Guild adventurers there. After that, they targeted only the guild's most painful spots, killing every adventurer they came across.
Since the enemies were no match for them, Rickert's group roamed around openly and leisurely. Sometimes Marie took the lead, sometimes Ice did, and sometimes they fought together. Rickert was the only one who had it completely easy—to the point where his bad lungs felt like a mere excuse.
From the Rubens Guild's perspective, doing nothing meant accumulating losses, but gathering their forces raised doubts about whether that was the right move against just four people. Since this wasn't an official war between guilds, Rickert's group could simply flee to Beringen at any moment. The initiative was clearly in Rickert's hands. He could do whatever he pleased.
It felt as if he were repeatedly poking them with a spear, asking, Are you still going to just sit there? What are you going to do about it?
The Master of the Rubens Guild had no way out, as he stood no chance in a direct confrontation. It felt as though an inescapable death were hovering around him. They were even more vicious than the Ehrenberg Quintet of the past.
As time passed, he lost trust, and adventurers began to leave. Their communication network was paralyzed, to the point where he couldn't even gauge his own remaining strength.
Yet, even he had one final card to play.
It happened when Rickert was lingering near a village called Koguts with his friends. It was a small village with a flowing stream and a mill. Brown frogs hopped around in the grass near the water. It was about time for them to hibernate.
Rickert craned his neck and looked around the village as if searching for something, when someone walked along the path beside the stream.
"Huh? Isn't that Dunkel?" Boribori was the first to notice.
Rickert turned his head to look at the figure approaching from a distance. It was Dunkel, wearing his combat gear—a rare sight. By combat gear, it meant the attire worn for assassinations or battles. It was a tight-fitting, dark brown leather vest with numerous pockets. There was no telling what kind of hidden weapons might be concealed inside. A machete was strapped to his waist, and in his hand, he held a large bundle wrapped in cloth.
Dunkel approached Rickert and said with a faint smile, "It's been a while. What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here, Dunkel? This is Rubens Guild territory. Is the Beringen Guild Master allowed to be here?"
"Wait, didn't Sally say she killed Dunkel?"
"Hey, did you actually believe that?"
Sally tended to speak rather dramatically, and it seemed Boribori had actually believed her claim.
"Ricky." Dunkel took a deep breath, exhaled, and called out to Rickert.
"What?"
"It's time to stop. They surrendered. The Rubens Guild."
"To whom?"
"A guild surrenders to another guild, of course. That's how it works."
"Uh... but this is a personal grudge."
"You've killed at least forty of their adventurers. Isn't that enough to satisfy your grudge?"
"Well, I don't think that's for you to decide, Dunkel. Shouldn't they at least apologize to me? I almost died, you know."
It was an undeniable fact that if he had inhaled just a bit more of the poison, his life would have been in danger.
"There is no antidote. They said they bought it from a Wasteland Mage."
A Wasteland Mage referred to a Salaman mage. It wasn't that they had a grudge against Rickert; they had simply sold a product.
"So you're telling me to just drop it?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I am ordering you to."
"Hmm... but I belong to the Ehrenberg Branch. Isn't there a chain of command? Can a Guild Master directly order an adventurer belonging to a regular clan?"
"Ricky." Dunkel's smile faded, replaced by a serious expression as he called Rickert's name once more.
"What?"
"I kept the secret about your handsome friend. I hope I can continue to keep it."
Dunkel had known for a long time that Ice was from the Order of Condemnation. He was also the one who had warned Rickert to stay away from Ice.
"Hey, talk to me," Ice interjected, frowning as he listened. But Rickert extended his arm to hold him back.
"That was a threat just now, wasn't it?"
"Ricky, are you going to act recklessly like the Ehrenberg Quintet? Especially in times like these? Weren't forty lives enough?"
"But why are you the one making that judgment and decision, Dunkel? I'm the one who almost died."
Though it might have sounded like a tantrum, Rickert was right. Why should the guild dictate what to do about a personal grudge?
Dunkel turned his head to look at the quiet village and let out a deep sigh. Then, looking back at Rickert, he spoke.
"The Imperial Family currently has no leeway to mobilize troops. At the earliest, next spring, adventurers will be deployed in the subjugation campaign against the Order of Condemnation. You slaughtering adventurers here is just reducing our potential forces for no reason. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Are we obligated to obey if the Imperial Family orders us?"
"Why do you think the Adventurers' Guild was created in the first place? Creating us, raising us—it was all planned by the Elder. Since a long time ago. All to nurture the ultimate swordsman. In any case, if we lose our connection to the Imperial Family, adventurers are literally nothing more than sellswords. I don't mean that as a derogatory term; we really would just be a band of hired blades. Is that what you want?"
"..."
Dunkel went so far as to reveal highly classified secrets to persuade Rickert. Rickert pondered in silence, then nodded.
"Alright."
"Go back to Ehrenberg. I will personally guarantee the identity and safety of your handsome friend. And I'll give you the Rubens Treasure they surrendered to us. This is enough. You've done plenty, and Rubens has paid a steep enough price."
Dunkel placed the bundle on the ground and departed. He walked into the village, rounded the temple, and vanished from sight.
Rickert was suddenly reminded of what Volka had once said: that you can't last long working under someone else.
"Whether it's the Order's cultists or us, we're all just puppets in the end," Boribori said. It was an undeniable truth.
However, the reason Rickert accepted Dunkel's directive was because he believed a final showdown had to take place in the Haiden Fields.
There was no choice but to seek the answer in the place where everything had begun.
Arc 18 – Where Destiny Points. End.