Chapter 36
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Embers of Regret (2)
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"So, in other words..."
Hedera's guard knight, Balton, couldn't hide his bewilderment even though his face was covered by his helmet. And it wasn't just him. The knights nearby felt the same.
Inside the manor, only two people remained perfectly calm.
Zekiel, leaning back against a mountain of sunweed piles.
And Anes, standing expressionlessly by his side, on guard.
"The Imperial Magic Tower's inspector identified the high demon that caused the Erosion Phenomenon... and even took it down?"
"As you can see."
Anes nodded with a blank expression.
"Hah."
Balton glanced back and forth between Zekiel and the hand holding the ice cube.
Tirvi's head was encased inside the perfectly cubic block of ice.
...It was simply impossible to believe.
He had already confirmed Zekiel's magical prowess at the announcement ceremony, but above all, Zekiel was a commoner by birth—and a total novice inspector with not a single line of experience to his name.
In other words, Zekiel had no real combat experience.
This deployment to Luipl was his first field assignment, the very first entry that would grace his record.
Yet here he was, claiming he had sniffed out a high demon right from the start—and eliminated it all on his own, without any help.
...Taking down a high demon was an incredible feat.
Not even comparable to slaying low-grade monsters.
A squire nearby chimed in.
"Is that really true?"
Anes met his gaze with her expressionless face.
"Yes. Are you saying the Imperial Magic Tower would lie?"
"No, that's not it, but..."
The squire trailed off uncertainly.
No matter the internal politics of the Imperial Magic Tower, its reputation was still immense. And with Tower Lord Hedera's name on the line, they wouldn't dare fabricate anything now.
Whoosh—
It was then that Zekiel exhaled a long plume of smoke.
"I'm not so idle that I'd bother lying."
A strange silence fell over the knights and mages, leaving the village chief awkwardly hovering in between, just watching the mood. At last, the old man smiled and spoke up.
"Hoho... In the end, things turned out well, and we have such esteemed guests gathered. No need to dwell on it when there's already not enough time to enjoy the feast."
"Mm."
"In any case, it's a fact that the inspector provided tremendous aid. He even recovered a demon sword."
"A demon sword?"
"Yes. Knight, take a look here."
There on the ground lay the massive greatsword Tirvi had wielded. Black energy rose from it like heat haze—sinister at first glance.
"Did the inspector really recover this?"
"Indeed. They say it preys on human fear, corrupting the mind. We couldn't even approach it, but the inspector moved it with ease."
Right then, another squire spoke up.
"I just can't wrap my head around it."
Anes let out a deep sigh.
"Even this doesn't convince you?"
"It's not about understanding or acceptance. It's a fundamental doubt. That demon sword preys on human fear... That's what you just explained, right?"
"Correct. That's our assessment."
"But the Tower's inspector grabbed it without a hitch. A human wielding a demon sword with no side effects? Isn't that suspicious?"
"..."
"Doesn't it make him seem more demon than human?"
An unexpectedly valid point.
Not mere nitpicking, but a reasonable question.
Everyone looked at Zekiel for a moment, fear flickering in their eyes. They had already been badly deceived by Tirvi. The thought of it happening again was terrifying.
"..."
Anes quietly turned to Zekiel as well.
Not out of doubt in him. She simply knew this was something only he could address.
Zekiel crunched into a fresh sunweed leaf.
"Not that hard. I just tamed it."
"...Tamed it? Care to explain?"
Balton asked calmly.
"This sword preys on human fear, right?"
"That's right."
"I've long since discarded fear. Pain has limits, but fear has none."
"That's practically an admission of guilt. No human could fully control their emotions like that."
"Eh, but here I am, right in front of you."
Balton was left speechless by the sheer confidence.
Right then.
"...Sir Balton."
A squire nearby whispered to him.
"A human lacking fear? Suspicious. We need to verify it somehow, don't we?"
Balton nodded quietly.
Regardless of Zekiel's bold demeanor, the inspector didn't seem like an ordinary human at all. More like some kind of demon, perhaps.
"Sir Balton, I have a good idea."
Before Balton could issue any orders, the squire kicked off the ground.
His charge hurtled straight toward Zekiel's secretary.
In that brief instant, Balton grasped the squire's intent.
'Pretend to go for her life and gauge his reaction.'
Reckless, but it had merit. No matter how strong someone was, they'd feel at least a flicker of fear if a precious comrade was in mortal danger.
But at the same time.
The moment Balton met Zekiel's blue eyes.
"...?"
A vision began to unfold before him.
Something akin to foresight, which only the most seasoned knights could perceive—his battle sense using every clue around him to predict what was about to happen.
From all directions.
Blue trajectories stretched toward the squire. Likely the paths of spells Zekiel was about to unleash.
He understood. He couldn't let this play out. The squire would end up skewered by ice, turned into a porcupine-like corpse.
"...!"
Balton paled and drew his sword.
Shing—!
Just as the squire's blade tip neared Anes's chin, Balton slashed at his own ally's wrist.
A lightning-fast upward stroke.
The entire exchange happened in less than a second.
"Wh-what?!"
The squire's wrist flew into the air, blood spraying like a fountain. His eyes bulged as his footing gave way.
He'd only meant to threaten her—never imagined losing his hand. The shock must have been immense.
"My wrist! My wrist...! Aaaagh!"
As he collapsed, writhing in pain and shock.
"Oh."
That was all the reaction from Zekiel.
The inspector exhaled smoke and nodded.
"Balton, your judgment just saved that squire."
"..."
"Train them harder from now on."
Balton ground his teeth.
He had nothing to say. Zekiel was more impressive than expected, and the squire had acted on his own. Lucky it ended with just a wrist.
Grrrrr—!
Meanwhile, the demon sword began thrashing with eerie cries, hungry for the squire's fear.
"I-it's going berserk!"
"What do we do? Run? It's dangerous!"
As black energy surged wildly.
Zekiel lightly stepped on the greatsword. Like crushing a fallen leaf.
"Stay put."
Squeak...
The blade instantly went still, like a dead mouse. With so many eyes on it, everyone was stunned.
"A demon sword... just like that?"
"So effortlessly!"
Zekiel merely furrowed his brow at the commotion.
"Didn't I already say? I tamed it."
As if it were no big deal, not worth explaining further.
Zekiel's group returned to the capital first.
"..."
Balton stared blankly at their retreating figures.
The bet had given a full week in Luipl, but Zekiel departed for the capital in just one day—after fully resolving the Erosion Phenomenon.
Yet Balton was still stuck here because...
...Naturally, he couldn't accept his loss.
"Sir Balton, what should we do?"
"Six days left. We have to try something."
With the cause gone, flipping the results in six days would be tough. Balton just felt frustrated.
'That Zekiel... no ordinary guy.'
The more he saw, the more astonishing his skill. Truly remarkable.
A commoner birth was one thing, but zero experience? Incredibly suspicious. He desperately needed to dig deeper.
And one more thing.
His liege, 2nd Princess Hedera.
"..."
Because of Balton's defeat in the bet, Hedera now had to open the Imperial Palace's report office first floor to Zekiel.
It was no one else's fault but Balton's. Balton's mistake.
Yes, Balton's fault. All Balton's doing.
That was the root of it.
"Damn it all..."
Grind—
Inside his helmet, Balton's teeth gnashed.
A week passed.
The day of the Luipl performance review had finally dawned.
The Empire's 2nd Princess, Hedera.
She greeted the morning with hollow eyes.
"Hoo..."
She took a deep breath to calm her turbulent heart.
...Zekiel. Had he truly won the bet?
That alone consumed her thoughts.