Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Tulip Spirit Tomb (4)
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“The Tulip Flower Arrangement Guild wasn’t founded just for flower arranging. It’s a spirit tomb to honor the ancestors slumbering beneath this place.”
Aud had volunteered to guide Theo’s group around the guild.
He kept emphasizing that it was a sacred site, hoping these scoundrels—who might draw their swords at any moment—would show some restraint.
So he thought—
‘These muscle-headed idiots for real!’
But they were barely paying attention.
Wellington just nodded quietly.
Ray yawned nonstop, Selphard and Arin traded jokes without end.
Theo was outright lost in other thoughts.
Part of him wanted to force all four of them to their knees and preach at them for five straight hours.
「Give it up. What interest do kids these days have in ancient ruins?」
The Back Dragon caught Aud’s murderous glare and sent back a telepathic message laced with amusement.
「How can you say that! This place holds the spirit and soul of the North!!」
「But it doesn’t spoon-feed you rice. Or hand out money.」
「How can you compare history and tradition to mere money!」
「Do you know what they call people like you in today’s world?」
「What?」
「Boomer.」
「You...!!」
Aud’s face flushed beet red, like he might leap right off the ground.
The Back Dragon chuckled.
「I know full well how much pride you take in your work. I know it’s an important mission. But that doesn’t mean you can force it on others. Young people’s interests are worlds apart from ours.」
Aud clamped his lips shut.
「Truth be told, when we were their age, weren’t we more focused on ourselves and our immediate circles than family matters?」
It was unwelcome advice, but spot on.
Still, Aud pouted, unwilling to admit it.
「Don’t lump me in with you old folks. I’m a different generation.」
「This punk, even when I say something nice?」
While the two bickered,
Theo was recalling the conversation between Leje and Cassandra from moments ago.
Could I become king?
Leje’s question to Cassandra still echoed in his ears.
Even aiming for the throne, he’d never imagined asking a prophet outright.
‘It’s a sensitive issue that could look like treason if mishandled.’
With Kyle still active, talking about the ‘throne’ instead of ‘succession rights’ was playing with fire.
Yet Leje seemed utterly unconcerned.
Whether from supreme confidence or desperation, Theo couldn’t tell.
But the real issue was Cassandra’s response.
-Yes.
Short, but what could be more definitive?
The envoys following Leje had noticeably shifted in mood.
Theo’s group, meanwhile, pretended not to hear.
Theo had been shocked at first, but soon spotted a contradiction.
‘Leje ultimately fails. At the hands of Torkel.’
The clash between Leje and Torkel.
And Leje’s death in battle.
The societal shock from one of the five candidates’ elimination was still fresh in Theo’s mind, like yesterday.
‘Yet Cassandra said he’d become king... so one of two things.’
Either Cassandra’s prophecy was incomplete, or the history Theo knew had changed.
If neither,
‘The Clockwork Chariot.’
Cassandra’s prior prophecy.
-The king of the dead rewinds the chariot wheels.
The tarot card depicting the Wheel of Death kept flickering in his mind.
‘If it’s a king of kings, then a king it is.’
Leje’s mistake, if any, was asking too vaguely.
Had he specified becoming the king of the North, it might’ve been different—plenty of room for reinterpretation otherwise.
Of course, this was all Theo’s speculation.
But it felt right.
For good reason.
-Spirit tablets of the heroic dead.
The very place they stood was smack in the middle of a tomb for the fallen.
Aud led the group to the guild’s central building.
A greenhouse blanketed in glass.
The moment they entered, tulip fragrance pierced their noses, and gravestones dotted the garden.
“Long ago, in an era barely recorded in history, a horde of monsters from beyond the demon sea ravaged the North and reached this far, plunging the world into peril of extinction.”
Aud spoke while gazing at the weathered, barely legible stones.
“Then, Ragnar formed a suicide squad of 299. They staked their lives to halt the monster horde and its king. And right here, they clashed with the enemy and fell gloriously.”
Exactly 299 gravestones.
“Oral records say Ragnar barely claimed victory. The monster king retreated to the demon sea, and the world was saved. But Ragnar, having lost its finest, began to decline. The world, far from gratitude, forgot their sacrifice.”
Selphard, Arin, and Ray—who’d ignored Aud’s explanation—straightened up.
The atmosphere had grown heavy.
“Until the founding ancestor Aslaug appeared to rebuild the crumbling house, the North endured a long, sorrowful dark age. But we mustn’t rage or regret it. This too is proud Ragnar history.”
Rage, but no regrets.
Even if the world forgot Ragnar’s sacrifice, Ragnar itself mustn’t regret stepping forward.
They should hold their heads higher.
It was their ancestors’ choice.
‘The war with the [Nameless Lord]... the site where that suicide squad lies.’
Theo’s eyes stayed glued to the stones.
The phrase ‘king of the dead.’
The prophecy spun endlessly in his head.
* * *
“Did the heart serve you well?”
The Back Dragon snapped Theo from his reverie.
He meant the Garuda heart.
Theo bowed quickly.
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
“Good. Looks like it worked wonders.”
The Back Dragon let out a light whistle, eyeing Theo’s transformed muscles and frame.
Now he truly looked like a swordsman fit to represent Ragnar anywhere.
The growth was absurdly fast.
“Glad to hear it. Hilda will be thrilled.”
“Is Hilda well?”
“Thriving. So spry I worry she’ll outlive this old bag of bones. Heh heh heh.”
The Back Dragon shot Theo an odd look with a smile.
“She was so feisty about hunting down her disciple that I had my hands full calming her.”
Not even a candidate—just ‘disciple’?
It revealed exactly how Hilda viewed Theo.
Cold sweat beaded.
“...But is it alright for you to be out here like this?”
“The higher-ups kicked me out, saying quit playing around and earn your keep. What can I do? Orders are orders.”
For all his words, the goal was clearly training his disciple Wellington in real combat.
And the priority before that.
“Hilda gave separate instructions, didn’t she?”
“You’re sharp as ever.”
“May I ask what?”
“Even knowing it means becoming Hilda’s disciple for sure?”
“...No. No need to pry into secrets.”
“Might score points if I just tell you and drag you to her.”
“Should I run now?”
“Heh heh heh.”
Theo hadn’t realized the Back Dragon had such a playful side.
“I don’t know the details myself. Just that she told me to look into the ‘Naga.’”
‘The Naga? Already?’
Naga were known as the most intelligent among lesser dragonkin.
Half-human, half-serpent, they built their own civilization far from human society.
But after centuries, they’d emerge into the world.
Thanks to Hilda.
If Kyle sought Ragnar’s glory, Hilda pursued personal ascension.
Transcendence.
Shedding the mortal coil to enter the pantheon’s threshold.
And the Naga held that knowledge.
‘I hear the tool Hilda used to lure the Naga tribe was the Garuda heart... Is there another?’
Whatever it was, Hilda breaking her seclusion signaled major shifts in world affairs ahead.
Theo resolved to check her movements upon returning to Winterer.
‘Nothing readable, though. Too ancient?’
He glanced at the stones and smacked his lips.
[‘Skill: Hatchling Synchro’ probes for latent thoughts.]
[Nothing found.]
He’d hoped for info on the [Nameless Lord] from those who faced it, plus a glimpse of their swordsmanship.
No residual thoughts left—just a shame.
‘Ancient sword arts differ vastly from modern ones. Wonder if I’ll ever see them.’
He wanted ties to Leje via prophecy too.
But he didn’t dwell.
He hadn’t expected anything from the start.
Instead, the unexpected reunion with Priest Wellington was a delight.
Chatting about recent events and war news, time flew till nightfall.
Leje, though, was nowhere to be seen.
‘Still clueless about the Grim Reaper.’
As a non-Selector, no way to know of the ancient dragon relic. No worry there.
But having claimed ownership, he needed to retrieve the Grim Reaper.
For now, he’d shelve it.
No clashing with Leje yet, and he’d already secured the relic’s key <Arrangement>.
He’d claim it in time, Theo figured.
Time passed, to the next dawn.
“...Even on an external mission, you do dawn training without fail?”
Wellington approached Theo, who was warming up in the guild building’s backyard, with a weary look.
“Miss a stretch, and your senses dull.”
“Any dulling would thrill us latecomers.”
“But you’re out here training too, aren’t you, Wel?”
“Fall behind, and you hustle harder than the leader—or you’ll never catch up. But when the leader hustles more, it’s brutal.”
Wellington shook his head, stretching his legs lightly.
Theo glimpsed how rigorously he’d trained under the Back Dragon from those rock-hard thighs—strictly business despite the whining.
“Wel.”
“Yeah?”
“Warm up with a spar? It’s been ages.”
“Heh. Let’s.”
Theo and Wellington faced off with training swords.
A nostalgic vibe, like their first meeting.
Clang—
Swords met lightly,
Flash!
The instant both surged forward at full power.
Chill!
Something spine-tingling hit Theo and Wellington.
“Young Master Theo!”
“Yeah. Something’s coming.”
The problem: it came from Cassandra’s direction.
Theo and Wellington launched toward it.