Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Grand Duke's Heir, You've Run Away
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<My clingy lover brought the sword she wasn't supposed to bring.>
The Acus River, which pierced through the Divinum Holy Land, flowed across the territory of the Yosrahim Empire all the way to the vast great lake at the continent's easternmost edge.
At the confluence where the Acus River met the great lake. In the thick darkness, a massive log with its base severed floated downstream. The leaves still clinging to its branches were fresh and green, suggesting it had been cut recently.
Oddly enough, tiny bubbles kept rising around the stems of water plants protruding from the surface beside it. That was because I was holding my breath underwater, submerged.
I poked my head above the water for a moment and scanned the surroundings. The endless expanse of the great lake stretched out, but there was no one in sight. Only then did I relax, climb out, and settle onto the log.
"Now that I've come this far, even that fly won't find me, right?"
The distance from Divinum Holy Land to here was over 90 kilometers. No matter how sharp a Valkyrie's mana sensing was, tracking me would be impossible.
I glanced at Yojjo strapped to my waist and flicked the bridge of my nose with my index finger.
"Hey, what if I told you to go that way? This is betrayal."
Yojjo remained utterly silent.
"Anyway, since you used some weird magic to get me out of that pinch last time, I'll let it slide for now. Be careful next time."
Finishing my one-sided grumbling, I drew Yojjo and stroked its blade. I'd thought Yojjo was just a tough divine artifact that couldn't even use magic, but surprisingly, it had decent magical abilities. At the end, when it crushed Catrine with that immense weight, I wondered if something had possessed it.
'Oh, but how did it activate again? It's definitely not by infusing mana like the other artifacts...'
At the time, I'd withdrawn all the mana I'd infused into Yojjo and pushed it back into my body. So it wasn't mana infusion. That meant some other activation method, but I couldn't quite grasp it. The magic had emerged in such a chaotic moment.
But I'd figure it out eventually. If it activated once, it'd do so again.
'Yeah. Don't forget that sensation from then. There was definitely something.'
Humming a tune, I paddled with Yojjo as an oar. Now, I was free. The moment I'd broken through Catrine and escaped, no one could catch me.
"Ehey-diyeyo~ Row, row away~"
My destination was the nearby riverbank. I could go farther, but someone was waiting here. Shura.
When I'd momentarily shaken off Catrine's pursuit, I'd discarded the pendant with its location-tracking magic. Carrying it would reveal my escape due to the internal mana fluctuations. But I hadn't just tossed it away. I'd left a small clue on the back so Shura could follow.
'I wonder if she'll make it? If not, I'll ditch it and go.'
It sounded harsh, but if Shura couldn't come, I'd leave her behind. I'd warned her before. Told her I'd abandon it.
Besides, even in the heat of being chased by Catrine, I'd gone out of my way to leave a hint. If she couldn't live up to that, it was better to part ways here.
She'd just be a blockhead. Dragging someone like that around would wear me out.
"Even if she doesn't show, she has all the luggage and money pouch, so she'll manage on her own."
I built a fire and started grilling the fish I'd caught while coming down the river. They were small, but I'd caught plenty—enough for two.
As the fish turned golden brown, I sensed a presence rushing toward me along the riverbank. Fast. It had to be someone trained in assassin movement techniques or a professional tracker.
I smiled faintly. I'd recently taught Shura assassin mobility skills.
"Master!"
Soon, a woman's desperate cry rang out. It was Shura. As she approached the campfire and saw me, her body trembled, and she threw herself into my arms.
I patted her back.
"Hey, you made it?"
"You're alive after all!"
Shura held out my pendant. On its back were two ancient runes symbolizing water and flow. Meaning, follow the water's path, and you'd reach me.
Divinum Castle's underground waterways were incredibly complex. But water flows downward, so tracing it leads to the Acus River at the sewer's end. And following the Acus brings you here.
"Of course. You think a Valkyrie can kill me?"
Shura gave me an odd look.
"Not Idrone's wielder?"
"Idrone's wielder is the Flame Valkyrie. Be careful if you meet her later. That woman's got a foul temper."
"Ah."
Shura shuddered.
"Why?"
"This morning, I heard you'd died, Master. I was about to go for revenge."
"Really? But you didn't, right?"
"Yes. I went to retrieve your body first, so I looked for the pendant."
I picked up a fully cooked fish and offered it to her.
"Good girl. Here, eat this. You must be starving after running all day."
Shura hurriedly stepped back and knelt politely.
"Master!"
"What's with you all of a sudden?"
"Master. I've become the wielder of the Yin-Yang God's Sun-Moon Thousand Sword Dalahan."
Shura recalled becoming Dalahan's wielder and beamed with joy.
Well past midnight the previous night, she'd entered the Hall of Divinity with Orter, a dark high priest.
She'd picked a tier-2 divine artifact she liked and tried to manipulate it per my advice, but Orter's watchful gaze made her nervous. Distracting him was simple, though. He'd been awestruck, emitting light's blaze and darkness's chill as Dalahan floated in the air, and fell to his knees in prayer. She'd gone to claim it then, but Dalahan flew to her and bonded instead.
Yes. Dalahan had chosen Shura as its wielder. Afterward, she received the worship of the dark holy knights and paladins, was escorted to the dark cult's pope, and even got congratulations from a wood elf archbishop there. The daughter of a wood elf had achieved something truly great, they said.
It felt a bit sticky at the time, but overall, it was a thrilling moment for her.
"Ah, that Dalahan...?"
"Yes."
She drew the sword, revealing a blade divided sharply down the center—one side gleaming black darkness, the other bright silver light. Definitely Dalahan.
In my previous life, it hadn't even appeared during the age of ruin, yet now it was in Shura's hands.
'Damn it!'
I didn't know what expression to make. Congratulating Shura was fine, but I was in deep trouble.
Shura was my bed partner, my spouse. Husband and wife are one body. If she became Dalahan's wielder in this situation, I'd become a prime candidate for the next Yosrahim imperial throne.
It might seem forced, but that's what made it worse. Fierce power struggles erupt in ambiguities.
The reason no power struggle brewed between me and my half-brother Yosef was because I was the Karl Grand Duke family's irreplaceable heir—even my father couldn't touch me. If it were ambiguous, blood would have spilled between us.
Yosef said it himself, so it's true. Annoying as he is, he doesn't spout nonsense.
"This is insane."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. No big deal."
I barely schooled my face and waved it off. It wasn't Shura's fault. I'd failed to warn her not to go for Dalahan, thinking it wouldn't happen.
Besides, the throne goes to those who want it. If they don't, it doesn't. Since I'm presumed dead, as long as I don't return to the empire, no issues.
"By the way, you got the incantation scroll from the cult, right?"
"Yes, I have it."
"Let me see."
Shura handed over the parchment scroll. I scanned it, then eyed her subtly.
"You gonna learn this?"
"Yes."
"Really learn it?"
"Yes."
"Fine. Your choice, handle it yourself."
I returned the scroll with a complicated look, and Shura tilted her head.
"Am I doing something wrong?"
"Not really. Just... you're deciding so lightly at such a crucial crossroads."
"Crucial crossroads? What do you mean?"
I scratched my nose bridge and spoke carefully.
"What do you think will happen if you learn Dalahan's magic?"
"I'll get stronger."
"Yeah, you'll get strong. But is it you getting strong, or Dalahan? And the path of the sword you'll walk from now on—will it be yours, or Dalahan's?"
"That's..."
Shura fell silent.
"You choose. Your path is great, and Dalahan's isn't bad either. But don't agonize forever between them. You'll just go in circles."
"Yes."
"Alright, let's eat. The road ahead is long."
"Yes."
I handed her the grilled fish, and she took it demurely, sitting beside me. Throughout the meal, her eyes stayed on me, while mine gazed at the distant night sky.
I've abandoned everything and left, but it doesn't feel hopeless. I have skills to make a living, and beside me is a beautiful elf lover who only has eyes for me. This might be enough for a decent life till the end.
<My clingy lover brought the sword she wasn't supposed to bring.> End