The Boundary Man (5)

**I went to the Prince Fredrick's office.**

"Have the academic studies been completed?"

He was still standing with his back to me, just as he had on the first day. There was no meal set up in his office.

"I suspect you'll have quite a few questions."

He didn't beat around the bush.

I didn't dodge either.

"Why did you refuse to save the civilians?"

As the lord of the Frederick estate and a prince of the Gilorian Empire, why not choose differently? Even deploying elite combat knights to defend would have been an option.

I asked with genuine condemnation.

No, it was an insult.

"That is the most efficient method."

Prince Fredrick did not deny it.

"The finest soldiers are the empire's core resource here. Instead of sacrificing them..."

"We've decided to use the empire's people as food. They can be replaced anytime."

Prince Fredrick sipped his steaming tea and gazed at me with narrowed eyes.

"I can't blame you. This is the survival method here."

He was the type who spared no means to achieve his goals.

For the greater cause, sacrificing a few was only natural.

He did not possess the qualifications to become the emperor of the Gilorian Empire.

At every decisive moment, he would pit unmatched values against each other and discard them without hesitation.

For example, the lives of empire citizens.

A bitter taste rose in my mouth.

"Have you been lingering here this whole time just to ask that question?"

He gave me a look urging me to get to the point. Hostile eyes.

"Teach me how to read the books in the Hetia Library."

The key had to be somewhere in those books. And Prince Fredrick surely knew the method.

I could not directly ask about the heretic's identity.

But he still didn't beat around the bush.

"Are you searching for the heretic group?"

There was a misunderstanding of my motive, but he had seen right through my purpose.

"Yes."

"Have you discovered the secrets hidden in the library?"

He stood up and turned toward the window.

"How many gods do you think are worshipped in the Hermitia Plain?"

He asked the same question he had asked me at the start.

"Eighteen thousand. The number of gods worshipped here."

When I said nothing, he paused briefly before continuing.

"And the number of heretics who first appeared here."

* * *

In the ancient times, the Hermitia Plain had belonged to the centaur race.

Given their characteristic of settling in open grasslands, the absurd weather here suited the growth of the plains perfectly.

Then one day.

On a night when strange lightning tore through the sky, unknown strangers appeared.

They trembled in terror for a long time with faces full of confusion.

"Of course, you can't believe it all. It's just from old texts."

Prince Fredrick blew on his steaming tea and said.

"But starting after that, some people began to manifest powers unknown to others."

Though magic and mana existed here, even they feared the lightning that tore the sky and struck the ground as a symbol of inevitable death.

The early strangers possessed small but varied powers.

Some could summon fire, promote plant growth, change wind directions, and others had lightning summoning abilities.

Using the powers granted to them, they drove back monsters, improved farmlands, and gradually expanded their territory.

"The ancient centaur race was the first to reach out to them."

Of course, it was not peaceful coexistence from the start.

They had initially been hostile, then watched, and finally opened the Hermitia Plain to them.

"Actually, was it mutual support?"

He continued with a wry smile.

His suspicious pessimistic attitude was irritating, but I had to nod at his guess that the ancient centaurs had greatly coveted the strangers' abilities.

The strangers' powers could repel distant monsters instantly and easily secure food or supplies.

"Above all, they never wasted time chanting magic circles or spells."

Instant magic deployment.

That was the core of the strangers' abilities.

Imagine a monster approaching while they were still muttering incantations.

Before they could finish, the monster would kill them first.

Regardless, they had coexisted with mutual vigilance.

And then.

Whenever that happened.

Unexpected accidents were inevitable.

Here, those accidents were the all-too-familiar 'love.'

A child had been born between the ancient centaur race and the stranger.

"That was when the disaster began."

The child's power far exceeded that of the stranger.

If the lightning summoned by the first stranger was like a firefly, the child's power was like a dragon's breath.

No, exactly powerful enough to bisect a dragon, according to legend.

"Like your ability."

Prince Fredrick's calm gaze swept over me.

He had witnessed my power.

Many had marveled at my ability, but he had not approached it with such caution.

Now he suspected the source of my power and was wary of my existence.

"Is there anyone who would purely bless such unnatural excellence?"

When someone suddenly displays extraordinary talent without qualifications, people inevitably feel jealousy and resentment. Just as Prince Fredrick was wary of me, not of royal blood.

Perhaps the baby had been surprised by their first manifestation of power.

Then confusion set in.

Confusion turned into fear.

"When the balance of power collapses, people have no choice but to harbor murderous intent."

He continued after a brief silence.

"There must have been enormous conflict over who would claim that child."

He must have realized that depending on which ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠faction the child born between the ancient centaur race and the stranger later aligned with, the ruler of the Hermitia Plain would change.

After several days of arguing, they reached one conclusion.

They would unite to kill the child.

A child born in the morning light from the love of a man and a woman was branded as an existence that should never have existed in this world to both races—the ancient centaurs and the strangers.

A demon's reincarnation, an offspring of divine wrath, and so on.

The child's parents had planned to leave the Hermitia Plain, but the people refused.

"When their own lives are at stake, people will inevitably unleash the beast they have caged within."

It was quite cruel.

On the night when the full moon enveloped the Hermitia Plain.

The three families were torn apart by the hands of transformed people resembling evil spirits and yamas.

And for several days, storms accompanied by endless lightning rained down, submerging the Hermitia Plain.

The races that had once sustained miraculous coexistence and alliance faded from the world.

After that, a bizarre tree with strange fruits grew in the place where the three families who had briefly dreamed of happiness were killed.

That was the Hetia Library now.

And whenever a storm raged, strange phenomena occurred, frightening the people.

"Whether you believe it or not is your choice."

Prince Fredrick placed his teacup on the table.

The clink of porcelain scratched an unpleasant spot in my head.

"So, what do you think? Do you believe the legend?"

I slowly approached him as he looked at me.

"It doesn't seem like an answer to my question."

"Question... you mean how to read the books in the Hetia Library?"

I nodded lightly.

My question was how to read the books in the Hetia Library.

If I only read one page a year, I could never reach the truth I wanted.

The truth I wanted was a way back to Earth. He certainly held the keys to all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠these truths. Yet he was sidestepping.

Prince Fredrick took another sip of his tea and said.

"If you worry about why the stranger appeared here, you'll understand."

He turned his back on me with those words.

"And if you can't read the full text of the book, you haven't received their approval yet. It won't take long to earn the qualification. Come find me again then."

The golden dragon emblem engraved on the back of his armor looked at me as if challenging me.

The two golden dragons entwined with each other seemed almost identical to the two suns of this place.

* * *

"Ah, good morning."

Two suns rose again today.

"You're leaving for the capital today, right?"

Prince Fredrick had ordered my departure. Kyle came up with a big smile.

"This is something our mom gave us. She said it's a special snack only she can make?"

A packed lunch, though simple, was wrapped with care.

She must have known the situation on the battlefield. No, everyone in this castle knew.

A barbarian woman and a new soldier bowed their heads politely from a distance.

Kyle scratched his head and said to me.

"Forget the ugly sight you saw that day."

And Kyle walked away hurriedly.

One soldier approached.

"Communications with the capital defense force are complete. You can come to the portal tower by 27:00."

Was the small delay I was granted Prince Fredrick's final kindness?

He ended the conversation after uttering those incomprehensible words about qualifications.

"Before that, I heard you approved the passage here."

What I had shown was about the hidden treasure vault of the Jacob group.

Precisely, it should be seen as Noris Molton's private vault, the owner of the Jacob department store.

"Ah... I heard. No escort needed. I'll guide you there."

One soldier led us forward with long strides.

Noris Molton's hidden private vault.

While imprisoned, he had secretly ordered his subordinates to bring the treasures of this place.

Well, his fanaticism still sent fan letters like petitions to the court demanding his release.

Seeing that he was eagerly searching, I needed to inspect it first. I also needed clues about Nora's husband's soul.

"Here we are."

The place the soldier led us was a cave located under a low hill in the Hermitia Plain.

"People used to come and go like an ant colony for a while, but it suddenly stopped. What's in this honey pot?"

The soldier poked his head into the cave but didn't move. There must have been Prince Fredrick's order.

"Adel, you stay here."

Nora said to one man.

It was the man who had used both dark magic and holy magic at the same time on the city wall during the battle with the death knight. His eyes were still dazed like a boiled fish.

Nora looked at the man with anxious eyes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and headed into the cave with me.

The cave was covered with magic barriers. It seemed well-protected.

"The money spent on this looks significant, but these barriers... I'm Nora."

Muttering strangely while examining them.

Then she turned to me.

"What are you doing, cutting the fruit?"

"......?"

She was annoyed.

"What do you mean?"

"The ring the principal gave us. Do you plan to pass it down generation after generation? That would disable it with one hit."

"Ah..."

I had forgotten.

The existence of the artifact ring, the Territorial Free Pass Ring, given by the principal of the Imperial Magic Tower and Nora's father.

When I placed the ring at the center of the barrier, it dimmed and allowed us entry.

After walking about 500 meters, we saw a gate exuding a majestic air, as if announcing 'This is the vault!'

Placing the ring on it again opened another gate.

"There are no obstacles."

"That's really valuable. Believe me."

Nora started talking like a con artist again.

I decided ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to name the ring 'Sesame.' Since it opened anywhere without needing a chant, open sesame!

"Whoa... this is all magic stones?"

Amid Nora's exclamations, I slowly examined the interior of the vault through the open gate.

On the left wall, magic stones were neatly aligned. From fist-sized to orc-head-sized. The number was staggering.

On the right, gold ingots and cash were stacked neatly.

"This is all I can't carry out..."

The cash bundles and gold ingots looked too heavy to lift.

"Look here."

Nora pointed to the central display stand. There were specially stored jewels.

"Most of these are magic-infused jewels. Especially the one in the center..."

A box spewing an ominous purple mist.

I touched it lightly. It spewed purple mist and summoned a strange creature.

"What... is this an illusion?"

Nora's dazed voice.

She reached out to the summoned creature.

Her hand passed through the translucent being.

"It seems the Jacobs were fooling around with this."

They had spread rumors to prepare for outsiders entering their secret vault.

When Nora infused a bit of mana into the jewel, it rose as the translucent figure of the Eric Trio brothers.

"They were injecting their delusions."

The rumors of strange creatures appearing in the Hermitia Plain were fabrications using these jewels.

"Where did you get all this...?"

Nora muttered while scanning the secret vault.

Then one thing caught my eye.

A small box emitting red light placed in a corner of the display stand.

I carefully opened it.

Inside shone something identical to the one embedded in the center of the Elfs Bone artifact.

"This is..."

Nora's eyes widened.

She recognized it instantly.

Pulling the Elfs Bone artifact from her pocket, the two jewels vibrated in resonance.

The vibration grew stronger, creating a steady rhythm like a beating heart.

And when I inserted the jewel into the empty space at the artifact's center.

A dazzling red light filled the vault.

Swoosh—

Wind blew.

The red mist leaking from the artifact swirled and rose.

And within the mist, a single voice only I could hear.

"""Last stranger..."""

Time seemed to stop.

Nora's movements froze. The red mist pulsed subtly like a vein, enveloping me.

"""You will soon know."""

The voice echoed as if thousands of whispers overlapped.

A chillingly mixed voice.

"""Like the stranger's child, you can never fully belong to this world."""

The mist thickened and formed a shape. At first faint silhouette, then clear.

It was.

My appearance.

"""Time is running out. Before the second sun disappears..."""

At that moment, the vision twisted, transforming into countless eyes.

The bloodshot eyes all stared at me.

"""...You must choose. """

Pop!

The mist quickly dissipated.

Time resumed flowing.

"Adel..."

Nora's voice was choked with tears.

It was the tragic sight of the three families torn apart in the full moon night sky.

And the wailing of the crying baby.

And the small fist of the baby.

The fist was wrapped in the same blue lightning as mine. The baby had only four fingers left on the left hand, like me.

"......!!!"

The figures vanished with the baby's last sobbing wail.

Nora could neither see nor hear those figures.

She was looking at the purplish souls that had appeared before her.

They slowly surveyed their surroundings as if waking from a long sleep.

The shadow of pain disappeared from the souls' faces, and a peaceful smile spread.

"Inspector! The Jacob victims are slowly regaining consciousness!"

The magic stone transceiver was blinking with Marian's message.

**

** ****

**

**

**

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The message transceiver flickered again.

**

**

I closed the artifact box.

Nora was staring at the red light that had just filled the vault.

The resonance had stopped, but the feeling of the voice still lingered in my ears.

"""Last stranger... you will soon know."""

I didn't know what she meant.

But I felt the same chill.

The two suns outside the window seemed to be watching us.