Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Genius Divine Archer Who Became a One-Man Legion
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Janiel doubted his own ears.
“Hah, seventeen?”
No, more than that...
“You can wield aura, yet you use a bow?”
“Yes.”
Janiel’s pupils shook violently.
Because the implications were utterly absurd.
To use aura, one had to go through at least two stages.
First came the “Operation” stage of moving mana, followed by the “Release” stage of manifesting it.
The aura Isaac had shown earlier was an achievement of this “Release” stage.
As far as Janiel knew, there were fewer than a hundred people across the entire kingdom who could perfectly wield the Release stage.
No, that was probably an overestimate.
The next stage after Release was “Fixation,” which firmly grasped the mana that scattered freely.
Upon reaching the Fixation stage, one could wield sword aura and be classified as a mid-level aura user.
But a bow was different in nature from the swords or spears they typically used.
To coat an arrow with aura and fire it, one absolutely had to reach the Fixation stage.
“Lies.”
“Why would I lie? It’s information anyone could verify with a little digging.”
“......”
Isaac was right.
There was no reason for him to lie to me.
But that only made it more puzzling.
‘What the hell... is the Arrowhead Unit?’
If it was a place with monsters like this, he should have heard of it at least once, but there was zero information.
Perhaps that was to be expected.
Though Janiel took great interest in the kingdom’s military, he mostly knew about units centered around the capital and its vicinity.
The 6th Legion, and especially the Arrowhead Unit in Kurtein, was quite a distance from the capital.
Of course he wouldn’t know.
But through this incident, the five letters “Arrowhead” were vividly etched into Janiel’s mind.
“Is the training there tougher than here?”
“......Yes.”
For a split second, he caught the crease forming and vanishing between Isaac’s brows.
What kind of training could make a monster like this unconsciously frown?
Looking at Isaac, Janiel said,
“Training isn’t better just because it’s harder. Efficiency matters too.”
“I agree with that. But... I don’t think our unit lags behind in efficiency either.”
“......”
“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll be going.”
With that, Isaac turned away.
The main promotion exam was just a few days away.
He didn’t know how that earlier fight would affect things going forward, but
‘I have to give it my all.’
It was a promise to the deputy commander.
As he walked, Isaac clenched his fist tight. And then,
“......Arrowhead Unit, huh.”
Watching Isaac depart, Janiel kept mulling over the Arrowhead Unit.
* * *
The atmosphere changed after that day.
Within the Silver Knight Unit, there was no one who hadn’t heard the name Isaac.
“That’s the guy, right?”
“I heard he passed the sparring exam too...”
“So he advanced to the main promotion exam?”
“That’s how it looks.”
The Silver Knight members whispered as Isaac headed to the training grounds.
Then, someone approached him.
“Sergeant Isaac.”
“Yes.”
“The deputy commander calls for you.”
It was the Silver Knight deputy commander he’d met on his first day here.
It seemed he was being summoned over the incident from a few days ago.
Isaac nodded and followed the soldier to where the deputy commander was.
Knock knock.
“Deputy Commander, I’ve brought him.”
“Come in.”
The voice came from inside.
The door soon opened, and Isaac entered, placing his right fist over his left chest in salute.
“I see you, Deputy Commander.”
The Silver Knight deputy commander, Braum Ashda.
He was a man with a sturdy build and a refreshingly bald head that left a strong impression.
Braum said to Isaac,
“I assume you know why I called you.”
“Is it about the duel from a few days ago?”
Straight to the point—somehow that made it easier.
Braum nodded at Isaac’s question.
“The Planell House has lodged a strong protest over this matter.”
“......”
“You may not know, but the Planell House is a viscount family. And they’re a fairly influential noble house with territory near the capital.”
Isaac clamped his mouth shut.
It felt like something overwhelming and unbearable was pressing down on him in that instant.
Being near the capital meant they enjoyed the royal family’s favor, after all.
Braum let out a small sigh and said,
“It’s been on my mind these past few days because of it.”
“......I’m sorry.”
“As a deputy commander, it’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but when a house like Planell protests, it’s hard to just let it slide. Of course, every part of that duel was Fox’s fault.”
He had dueled with live steel against a comrade undergoing temporary training.
On top of that, he’d even used mana, clearly trying to kill.
There were so many witnesses that the testimonies overflowed.
As a result, Fox had been disqualified from this promotion exam as punishment.
“That’s what made it a problem. Fox had a good shot at promotion and entering the royal knights this time.”
He had expected things to get quite complicated. But,
“You’ve got some solid backing, it turns out.”
“......Pardon?”
“Things resolved far more easily than I thought. No, later on, Viscount Planell even sent word apologizing for his son’s poor upbringing.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a letter to Lady Sailer.”
“Lady Sailer...”
Isaac received the letter.
At Braum’s slight nod, Isaac opened it.
A letter from Sailer.
The contents were simple.
It complained about having to deal with this annoying hassle because of him, but even that was written in a light, humorous tone.
Among the letter’s contents, one line stood out especially.
-Your deputy commander begged me so earnestly before leaving that now I have to handle even this trivial matter.
Your deputy commander begged me so earnestly.
A small smile crept onto Isaac’s face as he read it.
Braum looked at him with slight surprise.
It had been half a month since Isaac arrived at the Silver Knights, but he’d never seen him smile once.
He’d been impressed by the guy’s coldly expressionless, diligent training.
“You know how to smile, huh.”
“Ah, sorry.”
“No. It’s good when people smile. Smile like that in front of others sometimes too.”
“......I’ll try.”
“Good. No issues with you anymore, so focus on preparing for the promotion exam without worry. Isn’t that why you came here?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Go on.”
That ended the conversation.
After Isaac left, Braum pulled out Isaac’s file again.
When he’d first seen it, he’d thought it was somewhat exaggerated.
‘This... it’s not like a den of monsters or anything.’
He wondered why such a unit hadn’t been known in the kingdom until now.
It was hard to find a unit in the kingdom’s history that had achieved such results in so short a time.
“Whew......”
But Braum had a rough idea of the reason.
The 3rd Legion, to which the Silver Knights belonged, stayed neutral without leaning anywhere, but others saw things differently.
“Where the kingdom is headed from here......”
He could only hope the storm’s damage would be minimal.
* * *
Clop clop, clop clop.
It was an unexpected arrival.
“Huh?”
Rian looked a bit surprised at the man riding up on horseback.
To send the hundred or so captured bandits to the kingdom, they needed outside help.
Killing them all was an option, but capturing them alive and handing them over was better for bounties and merits.
“Lord Bex!”
“Whew, impressive. How many is it?”
Rian greeted Bex, Adelson’s guard knight, warmly at his appearance.
Bex dismounted and lightly shook hands with Rian.
“How did you come here? Where’s Mr. Adelson?”
“The boss sent me firmly. To make sure Rian’s business is handled properly.”
Behind Bex were twenty fully armored knights.
Each one was skilled enough to take down five or six of these bandit scum effortlessly.
“We just need to take all these guys, right?”
“Sorry to trouble you with this.”
“No trouble at all. Honestly, I’m looking forward to it now. To see what comes from what you’re doing, Rian.”
Rian just gave a small smile at Bex’s words.
Soon, Bex had the bound bandits properly restrained once more and strung them in a line.
If any tried to buck, a tug on the rope would topple them all.
Bex, back on his horse, looked at Rian.
“Still, always be careful.”
“Thank you for coming, Lord Bex.”
“Oh, and there’s something I need to tell you. Slipped my mind.”
“......?”
As Rian tilted his head, Bex said,
“Didn’t you once ask Lord Adelson to find someone for you?”
“A person? Ah! Yes!”
Rian’s eyes widened.
Diel Pankrai.
The master strategist who, in his past life, had made a name as the kingdom’s youngest and greatest.
Come to think of it, he’d asked Adelson to find Diel not long after they met.
‘Has it been about two years already...?’
He felt grateful for Adelson’s efforts in not forgetting and pursuing it all that time.
Seeing Rian’s excited reaction, Bex said,
“But... she did have silver hair and was in her early teens, as you described, but she didn’t have the surname Pankrai.”
With that, Bex pulled a folded paper from his bosom.
Rian unfolded it immediately.
Diel Leona.
A former knight family that had completely fallen due to their predecessor’s mistakes.
The paper even kindly included her portrait.
She looked much younger than the face he remembered, but it was definitely that Diel.
‘Found her...!’
Now he had reason to wrap up Boreol quickly.
As Rian’s eyes sparkled, Bex smiled in satisfaction.
“Looks like it’s the right person. Good.”
“Please convey my deepest thanks to Mr. Adelson.”
“Then fare you well. Hya!”
Bex lightly kicked his horse’s flank and departed with the near-hundred bandits.
Not long after Bex left, a fairly large group approached from afar.
It was Herilda.
She’d left with fifty, but now returned with nearly a hundred fifty.
Herilda approached Rian and said,
“Boss, I finished everything you ordered.”
Rian looked at those who’d come with Herilda.
In that short time, she’d admirably unified everyone in Boreol.
Heh.
Now he had all the pieces.
All that was left was to smash the problem at its root.
The gathered people all looked to Rian.
It felt like something was finally about to happen.
Looking at them, Rian said,
“Then let’s get started.”
To sever Boreol’s corruption.
With Rian’s words, cheers of various emotions erupted from the people’s mouths.