Chapter 369
Chapter 369
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 369
Chapter Title: Humanity's Territory Expands Once More
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『Humanity's territory expands once again.』
『Reclaiming lost lands and history.』
『Frontlines advancing relentlessly.』
Rustle.
『Successful recapture of the Magic City of Artia, seized 120 years ago by the heretic Gletus.』
『Ancient lich Skeval repelled for the thirteenth time already next year. Hero Lania's remark, "We could probably build a tower out of Skeval's skulls," becomes a hot topic...』
Rosel van Trias let out a chuckle as he skimmed the newspaper.
Tilting his coffee cup, Rosel delved into the paper. A barrage of flashy words and sentences. He didn't care much for this overwrought style, but when it came to reading the news, he made an exception. More precisely, he made an exception only when it came to lines praising his one and only disciple.
"Still the same as ever, that kid."
What parent wouldn't rejoice at seeing their child praised? No matter which paper Rosel opened, the name "Lania van Trias" was everywhere, drawing a pleased smile from him. She seemed to be doing just fine.
Thud. Setting the newspaper down, Rosel gazed out the window. The long winter had ended, and spring had arrived. Glancing at the languid spring sunlight pouring in, he thought to himself.
The third spring without his disciple.
Three years had passed since Hero Lania van Trias set out on her expedition. In other words, four years since Hero Galahal's death, or three years since Hero Kyle's retirement. Or...
"One year since those kids graduated."
There was a group at Aphria Academy known as the "Golden Generation." The kids under the hero once called Aphria's nightmare. Those who endured the roughest school days of all had graduated and entered society a full year ago.
Rosel slightly lifted the newspaper he'd set aside.
Finding articles about them was easy—they were right after Lania's exploits. Staring at the bolded names, he let out an involuntary "Huh."
『Shadow Knight, Belnoa van Draconic.』
『Hero of the Sacred Stream, Chloe.』
『Pioneer, Resti Eleanor.』
『Guardian of the North, Rak van Grace.』
Glancing over their achievements on their respective stages, Rosel chuckled. Kids grew up fast—so much faster than adults expected.
2.
Jingle. The small bell on the tavern door rang out cheerfully. A gust of snowy wind rushed in through the open door. Winter was over and spring had come, but northern spring was still a ways off.
"Hoo..."
The man who entered let out a long breath and threw back his deeply hooded robe. Shaking the snow from his hair and shoulders, he grumbled.
"Why meet in a place like this? Trudging through the snow was a pain."
"Because you said you'd treat me to the best booze in the north."
The voice came from inside the tavern.
As if the raging blizzard held no chill for him, a lightly dressed young man tilted his glass toward the newcomer and shook it.
"This place has the best booze in the north. First off, it's sweet! Can't even compare to that harsh, bitter stuff. Northern warriors keep pushing that vicious swill on me, but I still don't get what they taste in it..."
"Yeah, sure..."
The young man smirked at the man's incredulous expression.
"Long time no see, Belnoa."
"Yeah. Long time, Rak."
Guardian of the North, Rak van Grace.
Shadow Knight, Belnoa van Draconic.
"And long time no see, Chloe too."
"You doing okay? Rak."
Chloe, following behind Belnoa, smirked as she threw back her hood. Her snow-white hair cascaded down like waves.
"Feels like it's been a year!"
Her voice as lively as ever, unchanged from graduation day, Chloe strode into the tavern. But her steps didn't last long—Belnoa grabbed her by the nape.
"Robe. Shake off the snow first."
"Oh, right."
Flashing a sheepish grin, Chloe handed over her robe. As if this were routine, Belnoa shook it out with practiced motions and draped it back over her shoulders. From afar, they looked like a parent tending to a child.
One year since Aphria's graduation ceremony.
The trio, reuniting after a year, sat at the table and clinked glasses. Belnoa was the first to broach the topic.
"So, you heard? We're here for an operation in the north..."
"Yeah, Father told me. Demon King's army movements are suspicious. They're after something here."
"Well, not just that."
Chloe poked at her glass beside the two conversing.
"It's been ages since we last saw your face 'cause we've all been busy. So I came to see you this time! Heard you've been up to some amazing stuff, Rak."
Chloe rummaged in her robe and pulled something out. Years later, her hobby unchanged, it was a scrapbook of clipped newspaper articles.
"Check this out. Solo repelled a horde of beasts flooding the north, lopped off the head of Demon King's army's Hundred Man Commander 'Kephert' with one axe swing..."
Flip. Turning the page, Chloe continued.
"Demon King's army keeps pouring in to breach the north, but not once did you call for aid from the capital—you held them off alone... That's you, right, Rak?"
He hadn't earned the title Guardian of the North for nothing. Over the past year, Rak had repelled wave after wave of Demon King's army without a single casualty.
The snowfield he guarded was just a vast plain, but northern warriors called it the Wall. An unbreakable wall guarded by a stalwart warrior.
"I've heard about you two as well."
Rak scratched his hair sheepishly and said.
"An apprentice hero diving into every operation, and the shadow knight supporting her... Sounds like you guys. Warriors keep asking me about you—how strong is this Belnoa the Shadow Knight?"
Chuckling, Rak raised his glass to Belnoa. She gave a hollow laugh and clinked hers against his.
"So I told them. Stronger than you, Belnoa."
"What're you on about?"
"It's true, right? I won our duel for top honors at Aphria."
"That was ages ago..."
Belnoa didn't bother adding that things were different now. It wasn't just her who'd changed since then. A glance at Rak's forearms revealed a multitude of small scars—from holding back beasts and clashing with the Demon King's army, no doubt.
What Rak had lacked was combat experience.
But the past year's real battles had surely filled that gap completely. Belnoa clearly remembered the tales of Rak she'd heard through battlefield rumors. After all, many incidents in the snowfield he guarded never made it to the public.
Of course, the same went for her.
"Seems like you're meeting up with alumni more these days. Resti visited the north not long ago."
Rak muttered over his glass.
At the familiar name, Chloe tilted her head.
"Resti? She came by?"
"Yeah. Something about establishing an Ashen Mage Tower branch in the north... I remember her talking with Father for a while."
Well, anyway.
Rak set down his glass as if this were where the real talk began.
"Belnoa, did you succeed with 'that'?"
A vague question, omitting the object.
But Belnoa knew what he meant. She quietly shook her head.
"No, not yet. Haven't even sensed it."
"I see..."
"You?"
"Same here. No sign yet."
Rak and Belnoa let out long sighs.
Chloe blinked in confusion as Belnoa tapped the table with her fingers.
"The professor said we'd know as we progress, but there's no response."
"Still a long way to go, I guess. Feels like a seed lodged in my heart. No sign of it sprouting."
Three years ago, something Lania had handed to Rak and Belnoa before her expedition. Recalling it, the two smiled bitterly. The professor's final assignment lived up to Aphria's nightmare reputation—brutally difficult.
"Makes me think of the professor."
"Funny, I was just thinking of her too."
Lania van Trias.
A true mentor who'd taught them so much, now their senior on the same path. They'd finally reached the starting line of her road... but they could feel how impossibly far it stretched.
"She was plastered across the front page of today's paper too."
"The kind who racks up merits daily."
"Oh, I clipped that one too!"
Ignoring Chloe flipping through her scrapbook, Belnoa rested her chin on her hand and muttered.
"It's been a while since we last saw the professor."
"She never comes back to the capital."
Her stage lay far away.
A place untouched by human feet for centuries. She was advancing toward the deepest heart of the demon realm. Belnoa and Chloe hadn't reached there yet.
"I miss the professor. Got a ton of stuff I wanna brag about."
Chloe smiled faintly, stroking a page in her book. It bore someone's signature—"Galahal" up close.
"Wanna tell her we're doing well, chasing hard after her... but she's so busy, hard to even see her face."
"But she must be hearing the news, right?"
Belnoa muttered over her glass.
"You don't know the professor well, Chloe, but she's surprisingly tuned into public reactions."
"...Huh? What do you mean?"
"Might be collecting newspapers like you."
"Nah, not the professor."
Chloe waved it off, insisting it was impossible.
"The professor's noble. Wouldn't care about what others think. She just charges ahead, aloof and dignified."
"...Well, she is a 'great' person."
What if she really was listening to it all?
With that idle thought, Belnoa raised her glass. Clink. The glasses rang out loudly.
3.
The foremost frontline, the heart of the demon realm.
Knights had advanced to lands preserving humanity's lost history and ancient civilizations intact. The ruins and debris scattered around held incalculable historical value, but no one spared them a thought.
This was merely a battlefield.
Traces of ancient civilizations or ruins—they were tools for strategy as needed. In the midst of such a battlefield walked a single knight. Unarmored, his steps were light. Even traversing the demon realm's core, not a trace of tension showed in his gait.
It wasn't that this knight was special.
Anyone would be the same "here."
This was "her" sector, after all. Unlike other frontlines swarming with beasts, not a single one lurked here. Though at the demon realm's center, the battlefield lay deathly silent, with only ash drifting in the air.
Step.
After a long walk, the knight reached his destination.
There, amid swirling ash, sat a woman perched on a rock. The wind tousled her hair. Her flowing locks were the same ash-gray as the dust filling the air.
A woman utterly out of place in the landscape.
Her presence clashed with the surroundings, almost alien, yet even that enigmatic aura had become a symbol. She was this sector's commander-in-chief, single-handedly holding an entire frontline.
"Reporting to Hero Lania van Trias!"
The strongest hero. Humanity's greatest force.
A sage, a guide, heir to the ash mages' lineage elevated to grand magus.
"Today's newspaper!"
The knight bellowed toward her, known by countless epithets. Only then did the woman on the rock turn to look at him. He swiftly pulled the paper from his breast. This was his duty.
'Deliver the world's news to the Hero!'
More precisely, 'gather pieces praising the Hero.' That was his assignment. Seemed an odd job for a knight, but so what? He took pride in it.
Lania's face lit up with a bright smile at the sight of the newspaper.
He'd seen that smile countless times, yet the knight froze stiff for a moment. It was that captivating. Part of why he stuck with this duty was surely to see it.
"I've been waiting."
Bring it here.
The knight dashed toward Lania as she murmured.