Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: The Child's Treasure
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"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"Sob... How can we ever repay this kindness..."
"Sirs! Please, you must visit our village someday. I don't know if it'll suit your tastes, but... my wife makes the most amazing stew. It's nothing fancy, but we really want to treat you."
The survivors from the village near Mount Flame—those who had lost their families, relatives, and all their worldly possessions—were tearfully expressing their endless gratitude to Ian and the Latent Dragon Squad, their faces streaked with snot and tears.
"N-No, it's nothing. It's just what we were supposed to do..."
Perhaps unaccustomed to such fervent thanks.
Unlike the squad members who responded with awkward smiles to the villagers,
"If you're grateful, then rebuild your village strong and proud. That way, we can feel truly rewarded."
Ian smoothly patted the shoulders of the villagers and merchants, soothing their wounded hearts.
As if he had been through this a dozen times before.
Once the people dispersed with broad smiles, clutching the spoils the Latent Dragon Squad had shared, only the squad members remained.
"Captain, what the hell is your deal?"
Ryu An voiced the question on everyone's mind.
"I know rumors get exaggerated and twisted, and they're not always reliable. But yours take it to another level. It's like they're talking about a completely different person."
Though the Latent Dragon Squad had only known Ian for a short time, he had already shown them so much.
Martial prowess, courage, flexible thinking and adaptability.
And finally, the ability to win over the common folk.
None of these were skills one could acquire overnight.
It only made sense if he had deliberately hidden nothing from the start, with some deeper purpose.
"Could it be you're aiming..."
—for the top of the clan?
As Ryu An trailed off, hesitating, Ian just chuckled softly.
"Who knows? Everyone has a secret or two. Even you guys haven't told me everything about yourselves, right?"
...Twitch.
The squad members flinched at Ian's words, shoulders tensing.
Pretending not to notice, Ian continued.
"We still need more time to share our stories. That day will come, so no need to rush. Alright, dismissed for today. Rest up till tomorrow, and we'll divide the remaining spoils the day after. As for future plans...?"
Ian paused mid-sentence and turned around.
A child in ragged clothes was approaching, catching his eye.
Likely one of the kids living near Mount Flame.
"Um, excuse me..."
The child hesitantly spoke up.
Ian approached, knelt down, and met the child's eyes at their level.
"Yes, little miss? Do you have something to say to us?"
The child blushed furiously, shy at his words.
But she didn't run away, instead rummaging in her bosom and holding something out to Ian.
"H-Here..."
"Hm?"
In her small hand was a filthy, discolored rag doll.
"My daddy said... it's a doll with a key that can open the most precious thing in the world. For you, young lord..."
It looked far from precious—barely fit to wipe with in the outhouse.
"Oh! To give me something left by your father. What a treasure. Thank you."
Looking into the child's eyes, Ian made a big fuss as he took the key and patted her head.
"Thank you. I'll cherish it. You grow up strong too, okay?"
"Hehe... Yes!"
Perhaps thrilled that he accepted her gift, the smiling child ran off to her waiting mother in the distance.
"Bye-bye, young lord!"
Ian waved back until the child, still waving vigorously, vanished from sight, then turned to the squad.
"...We'll need to adjust the spoils distribution. I'll take this instead. Now, dismissed for real."
Whisk, whisk!
Ian headed to the Latent Dragon Squad's lodging near Mount Flame, clutching the seemingly worthless doll.
The squad members watched him go with strange expressions.
Thud!
Ian flopped onto his bed.
Staring blankly at the ceiling, he mulled over his conversation with Paon in the patriarch's hall.
—Continued favors become rights. It might encourage many to demand them from you as entitlements.
"...Maybe. But I see it differently."
Paon's view wasn't entirely wrong.
Ian himself had thought that way once, when ruling the Alexandros Empire.
He had unified the northern continent by systematically purging his brother, the great tribal leaders, and the parasitic scum sucking their blood.
He had never regretted those actions.
Even if he returned to that time, his choices wouldn't change.
But.
'...The hearts of the people aren't that simple.'
Ian answered his own heart.
His choices might stay the same, but the methods would differ.
If asked whether there had been even one innocent death in that long process of cleansing the vast northern continent.
Ian couldn't nod.
To one walking the Path of Domination, bloodshed was fate.
But that thinking was wrong.
Because of such complacency, when Siegfried and the allied forces from other continents invaded the north.
So many had willingly guided them to the Kairon Plains.
Paon and the other ruling class might think otherwise.
We're risking our lives to save you.
Shouldn't you endure and accept the unavoidable sacrifices?
Not wrong.
Rulers everywhere preach seeing the forest, not the trees—think on a grand scale.
...But.
'Those unavoidable sacrifices might one day turn their blades on us when opportunity knocks.'
The Lichtenauer Martial Clan had faced no major crises thanks to the great calamity as a powerful external enemy.
So such handling hadn't caused issues yet.
But crises don't only come from outside the clan.
For instance.
'...Like when choosing the next patriarch.'
Reaching the top of an organization isn't just about personal prowess.
It means broader popular support and aid from those favorable to you.
Even if not visible now, at the critical moment.
The fervent backing of the masses would be one of Ian's strongest weapons.
Just as the once-weaker Siegfried had used his 'hero' reputation to win the war against him.
'I won't repeat the same mistake.'
That way, he could secure the foundation for bloody revenge against those who had stabbed him in the back.
Resolve gleamed in Ian's eyes.
A moonless night where the stars shone unusually bright in the pitch-black sky.
Though most Aslan Kingdom citizens were deep in slumber at this late hour, the office of the Tiger Cloud Unit—one of the clan's core forces—still blazed with light.
No, it had to be even brighter now, for unit leader Alex Lichtenauer.
...Rustle!
Alex finished the last page of documents on his desk, set down the report, and leaned back in his chair.
"...What a headache. Never imagined this would happen."
The subjugation of the Red Fang Orc Tribe.
It hadn't been entrusted out of goodwill.
Just to test the claws this pup had hidden.
If they were feeble, he'd be orc chow; if he bungled it but learned his place, he'd at least save his skin.
Of course, he'd lose the wild dogs' loyalty and become a clan laughingstock, but that was unavoidable.
Daring to bare his teeth at him deserved that punishment.
Thus, the mission was Alex's way of teaching Ian his place.
Yet.
"Not only zero casualties for the Latent Dragon Squad, but they wrapped it up in less than a week."
The report detailed how Ian subjugated the orcs.
Sylvia Clonen's poisons, Dane's magic and terrain use enabled such stunning results.
One might think Ian's prowess ordinary from that, but Alex didn't judge rashly.
"So, what did you see?"
Alex asked the shadow by the door, cloaked in darkness.
"...His personal martial might is no small thing. He routed the orc chieftain single-handedly."
Perhaps due to the moonless night.
The desk lamp didn't fully illuminate the reporter's face.
"Routed the orc chieftain, huh..."
Plenty in the clan could handle an orc chieftain alone—Alex included, and every collateral heir vying for successor.
But at Ian's age?
No.
Even the talented Latent Dragon Squad members his age wouldn't dare face an orc tribe.
"Martial power beyond his years, and elegant improvisation in his first real battle... Hm."
Tap, tap!
Alex's fingers drummed the desk incessantly.
"Irritating. Way too irritating..."
The reporter's throat bobbed.
Ian's fate would hinge on Alex's words.
After brief contemplation, Alex addressed him.
"Keep watching Ian. No summons for now—avoid drawing suspicion with flashy moves."
"...Understood."
Whoosh!
As the figure silently slipped out, Alex rose and gazed at the night sky.
Without the sun, the moon rules the sky undisputed.
But moonless, the stars flaunted their light, claiming dominion.
"...For now, I can't take my eyes off Ian."
Ian's unexpected success irked Alex greatly.
But everything has its flow.
Delaying the Gate Opening Ceremony, assigning him squad captain, even the unreasonable orc subjugation—all had pretext, so even his father, Patriarch Paon Lichtenauer, stayed silent.
But forcing more unreasonable demands on a triumphant returnee?
It would undermine his built position, pretext, everything.
Becoming the star in the moon's stead doesn't happen overnight.
Better to repaint from scratch than force it hastily.
"Well, nothing for it. Watch Ian a bit longer..."
Slowly!
Alex's eyes shifted to the North Star, brightest in the sky.
As his gaze hit the fainter stars orbiting it, his eyes flashed coldly.
"For now, time to clean up those pesky surrounding stars one by one."
Distracted by Ian, he'd wasted time, letting more pests scurry about cluelessly.
They needed to learn their place.
At that very moment, as someone quietly reported in Alex's office.
Ian sat on his bed, pulling out a carefully stored box from his bosom.
Given the item's nature, better not to let others see.
The secret treasure he'd pocketed without reporting to Paon in the patriarch's audience chamber: the Hundred Ghosts Pill.
He planned to consume that dangerous spirit pill to advance his Blood Demon Iron Chain Art another level.