Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: 72. Succession (3)
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"Humans are imperfect."
That was the sentence.
"Hmm..."
Yuri glanced at a few characters before closing the book. It spoke of how humans, being imperfect, must temper their mind and body even more.
He could tell even from skimming just a little.
It meant to put in the effort.
"No matter how much time passes, the words of the elders never change."
Humans are imperfect, young people don't make the effort, so emulate the words of ancient sages and hone your mind and body. That was the gist.
It was full of obvious clichés, but the content itself was sound.
After all, true words are obvious, and obvious words are inevitably boring.
"But this elder is on another level."
He didn't know who the author was, but they argued that one must master not only martial arts but also science, philosophy, art, and interpersonal relations to become a true human.
If someone achieved that, they'd be invincible throughout the world.
Yuri closed the book.
"I wonder who built this place..."
He muttered to himself, but Yuri had a good idea who it was.
It had to be the one who built the palace. This palace had been constructed alongside the founding of Brioll by its first king.
Erich Brioll.
This was undoubtedly his secret storeroom.
There were no signs of anyone else coming and going, so Yuri might be the only one who'd discovered it.
He wasn't sure if his brother Cedric had been here, but he doubted it.
The reason he'd found this space was his unusually keen senses. No one else seemed likely to stumble upon it.
Yuri examined the interior further.
"This is..."
Fine weapons were piled up. But since Yuri had Guilty, he had no desire to take any.
"Not this sort of thing..."
As he wandered around muttering to himself,
what Yuri sought was knowledge about Erich Brioll and the Heart-Soul Severing he'd left behind.
Better yet, he wanted to understand the "chaos" that Erich had unleashed.
Suddenly, Yuri spotted a crumpled notebook inside a box.
He picked it up and unfolded it.
"Huh...?"
'On the Sword that Severs Heart and Soul' was written on it.
Yuri turned the page.
A short memo from someone presumed to be Erich Brioll appeared.
Even that was torn in places, leaving only fragmented snippets readable here and there.
"Only the Heavenly Demon's sword can sever it."
"The demonic energy is too thick."
"The Heavenly Demon sought to escape the shackles of the Demonic Cult."
Hard-to-comprehend fragments of thoughts remained like that.
Yuri couldn't grasp the full context, but he could infer that Erich Brioll had tirelessly worked to utilize the Heavenly Demon's martial arts.
Yuri had always thought the Heart-Soul Severing was linked to black magic.
The technique seemed born specifically to sever black magic.
And the Death Knight who gave him Guilty had said the dungeon had revealed itself when the time was right.
It was a hasty guess, but perhaps Erich Brioll had known of black magic's existence. And maybe he'd found a way to resist it in the Heavenly Demon's martial arts.
With those thoughts, Yuri turned the page.
More incomprehensible words followed.
And at the end, he found an unbelievable sentence.
"My friend, the Heavenly Demon... I miss him on this night."
Yuri turned more pages.
After that, there was nothing. Worn blank pages fluttered until the notebook ended.
He called the Heavenly Demon his friend.
According to Moyong Chan, the Heavenly Demon was a public enemy of the martial world, defeated by Erich Brioll and the leader of the Qingcheng Sect, the top martial artist of their era. Thanks to them, the martial world found peace.
But the notebook's writer called the Heavenly Demon his friend.
"Hah..."
Cedric had once said that the history people knew could be entirely different from what actually happened. Since we can only infer from limited records, we might be no different from blind men touching an elephant.
Perhaps something unknown had transpired between Erich Brioll and the Heavenly Demon.
Yuri realized anew the importance of records.
"I need to cultivate a habit of note-taking. Maybe start a diary."
That way, future generations could praise his exploits forever.
Yuri looked around the room one last time and turned to leave.
He hadn't achieved what he'd hoped for, but it had been an intriguing time nonetheless.
It was at that moment, as he headed back to the entrance to leave the secret space,
that he suddenly realized letters were inscribed on the inner side of the revolving door he'd passed.
Yuri stood before it.
And he ended up smiling.
At that instant, Yuri was certain. This was Erich Brioll's space, and he'd carved these words with his sword.
"Never fear the enemy."
It felt strangely fresh. He'd been too busy fighting the Empire to recall any oaths lately.
"Act upon your convictions."
Had Erich Brioll written this and reaffirmed it constantly?
"Fulfill your given duty to the end."
Everyone has duties imposed upon them, whether they want them or not. A burden on the shoulders, which one could simply refuse.
But some carry them out to the very end.
"I make this oath my honor. Erich Brioll."
This seemed to be the original text of the oath handed down in the royal family.
Yuri reached out and stroked the carved grooves. He didn't know what feelings Erich had when vowing this, but it resonated deeply with him.
The vague worries he'd harbored and his anxiety about the war faded away.
Yuri drew Guilty. He channeled the energy of the Heart-Soul Severing.
Sword ki surged forth.
Beneath the words Erich Brioll had carved, he added his own resolve.
"Me too! Yuri Brioll."
Yuri left the secret storeroom and explored the preservation archive further.
He found a few useful books in the preservation archive and read them. They were on swordsmanship, with helpful insights scattered throughout.
He hadn't found a direct solution to the problem he faced, but on the broader path of the sword, he'd made decent progress.
After roughly scanning the interior, he headed upward.
The palace librarian guarding the royal library was waiting.
"You're back."
"How did you know?"
"I heard your footsteps."
The librarian smiled faintly.
Like the imperial library in the Empire, those guarding precious materials had an enigmatic air, as if hiding profound secrets.
Yuri blurted out,
"You aren't hiding anything, are you?"
"Pardon?"
"Hiding something."
"..."
"You are."
The librarian remained silent.
It had been a joke, but now the man seemed to be gauging him.
Yuri pressed on as if he knew something.
"Confess quickly. I know everything."
"How..."
"You think you can hide it from a prince like me?"
"Well..."
The librarian smiled helplessly.
"No helping it, then. I'll tell you everything."
"Good choice."
"Sir Jared..."
"Yes?"
"Went to sector 96."
Yuri flinched.
That was the forbidden zone.
He didn't know why such knowledge was gathered in the palace library. It had simply been there at some point.
Perhaps one of the past kings had ancestors who craved forbidden things.
Yuri let out a groan.
"He went to sector 96..."
"Yes..."
The number 96 resembled the symbol for typhoon.
Like that, sector 96 was a repository of knowledge that shook the heart.
In other words, the erotica section.
"A knight venturing into a place like that..."
As Yuri sighed, the librarian wore a sly smile.
"Everyone visits once. I have records of all visitors. Heh heh heh..."
Yuri realized.
This librarian held the fatal secrets of everyone residing in the palace.
"But Prince Yuri, you never went. Surprising."
"Me?"
Yuri shrugged.
"I have no need for such knowledge."
"Is that so?"
"Of course."
Yuri had never been to sector 96.
In this life, anyway.
In his previous life, he'd frequented it so much he had memorized every book there. So in this life, he could uphold royal dignity.
The librarian said,
"Thinking of the future, it might be good to take a look sometime, Your Highness. Knowledge knows no class."
"Don't worry. I know it all already."
"Pardon?"
"An old swordsmanship manual said the best textbook is instinct."
"Oh..."
"By the way."
Yuri hesitated a moment before asking.
He couldn't hold back his curiosity.
"By any chance..."
"By any chance?"
"My big brother, I mean Cedric... has he ever stopped by there...?"
"Ah..."
The librarian opened his mouth, then closed it. He gave an ambiguous smile that revealed nothing.
"Who knows..."
"Tell me. I'll take the secret to my grave."
"Who knows..."
"I'm dying to know. Would my brother really look at such things?"
"Who knows..."
"You're just repeating the same thing."
"Hahaha..."
The librarian chuckled.
"Who knows, I really can't say."
"Tight-lipped, aren't you."
"That's a librarian's virtue."
"You told me everything about Jared."
"Shall we go?"
Cedric was tidying his room.
His room was piled with all sorts of books, models, and maps.
They were neatly arranged, but the sheer volume made it look cluttered.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, he found a book in a drawer. It was one he'd borrowed from the palace library long ago and forgotten to return.
"Ah, this..."
He smirked and lightly flipped through the pages.
Flesh tones flashed by chaotically.
"Sector 96, was it."
Explicit illustrations continued, but his eyes showed no disturbance.
No, rather, a light akin to contempt flickered.
With one corner of his mouth raised, he closed the book and shoved it back into the drawer.
Suddenly, a faint light glimmered from the drawer below.
Pulling the handle, light flowed from a crystal orb wrapped in cloth. Someone far away was requesting communication with him.
Cedric sighed.
He stared at it for a moment before taking out the crystal orb and placing it on the table.
Stroking its surface, a face soon appeared.
[Cedric.]
"What is it."
It was Katrina.
"I told you to stay quiet until I contact you first."
His voice was dry.
Anyone who knew his usual demeanor would be shocked by the utter lack of emotion.
[It's just...]
On the screen, Katrina fidgeted with her fingers restlessly.
[It's been too long since we talked, so...]
"So?"
[Sorry.]
"Yes, you should be."
Cedric sighed reproachfully and gave a dry smile.
"So, Katrina. How's the imperial palace?"
[Yugen's seized real power. Things he ordered are progressing well. Everyone will be puppets dancing to his tune.]
"And that guy?"
[Ah...]
Katrina twirled her hair.
[Shadowless Sword says he still needs time to judge...]
"This won't do."
Cedric blinked behind his glasses.
"Guess I'll have to see him in person soon."
[He's dangerous.]
"I'll be the judge of that."
[Sorry...]
"Have him come to Brioll as an envoy soon. I'll contact you again then."
[Envoy?]
"We'll end the war soon and call a truce. Brioll needs to be sufficiently broken too."
[Can you pull that off?]
"Katrina."
Cedric stared into the crystal orb.
"Soon, I'll be king."
Katrina's eyes widened.
[Really?]
"Yes."
[Fiore, I mean Father...?]
"I told him first."
[Good.]
"This is all thanks to my dear little sister."
Cedric smiled.
It was the warmest expression he'd shown yet.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing how my clever sister navigates this from here."
[Cedric. Are you just going to leave your brother alone? That obstacle, stop overlooking him and tidy it up already...]
"Katrina."
Cedric's expression hardened.
Katrina immediately bowed her head as if she'd committed a grave sin.
[Sorry. I misspoke. Sorry, sorry. I'll apologize...]
"I won't tolerate overstepping."
[Sorry...]
Cedric immediately shattered the crystal orb, tossed it roughly into the drawer, and slammed it shut.
Then he leaned back in his chair.
"..."
He said nothing. He merely stared into space with a smile.
From Cedric's body, black energy flowed.
He extended his hand.
Black energy from his fingertips formed the shape of a small tower.
At its tip hung an eerie, grotesque eye.
Gazing at it, Cedric chuckled lowly.
"I wonder what Yuri's up to..."
If Yuri Brioll had inherited Erich Brioll's sword,
then Cedric Brioll was the successor to black magic.