Chapter 38
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Boy, Take Up the Sword (1)
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The funerals for the fallen knights were conducted with utmost solemnity and splendor.
The Tolome family spared no effort in honoring them with the highest rites, while simultaneously etching the terror of the black mage discovered in the Baum Mine deep into the public's minds.
It was all to make the knights' deaths as meaningful as possible and restore the family's damaged reputation.
Tideman, the black mage known as the "Soul Collector."
A terror from two centuries ago, a dormant calamity awakened by the Tolome knights.
Even in the face of overwhelming horror, the Tolome knights stood unyielding, raising their honor high and piercing the heart of that evil being.
They were true knights—heroes in every sense, without question.
It began as the Tolome family's propaganda, but the Felix royals saw an opening to advance their interests, and the Goddess Church joined in to bolster their religious authority through the fear of black mages. News of the Baum Mine incident spread like wildfire.
What started as a bid to elevate the Tolome name ended up glorifying Blanc, the one who slew the black mage.
It wasn't Blanc's intention, but now he had surpassed his titles of Moonlight Grass Knight and sixth knight of Aselheit to claim yet another: "Slayer of the Era's Terror."
And at this moment, the slayer of that era's terror was frowning deeply as he stared at a silver-haired girl.
"Tasty?"
"Yeah, tasty."
"...That really tastes good to you?"
The girl in front of him was puffing out her cheeks, savoring the mint candies Blanc had brought.
Not satisfied with one, she quickly popped another into her mouth.
"It'th delithiouth."
Her cheeks bulged like a squirrel with an acorn, but Blanc couldn't find it cute.
He knew exactly how vicious the contents of her mouth truly were.
"Don't eat too many..."
Blanc sighed as he pushed an entire box of mint candies—brought as a substitute for stimulants—toward Izrelin Tolome.
Dragging the unconscious Stefan, Blanc arrived at the Tolome estate but was summoned here and there before he could even fully recover.
The royals, the church, merchants eager for first dibs on dungeon loot—everyone wanted to meet him.
Blanc met with anyone and anywhere that might yield profit.
As a result, beyond the gold squeezed from Baron Tigore Baum, he now held over 100 gold from royal and church rewards combined with advance payments from merchants.
Of course, the merchant group fronting the advances was the one led by Weard Tolome.
'100 gold should be workable.'
Poor nobles could sustain a household on 100 gold if they pinched pennies. For a noble, it could last a year.
If spent frugally, that is.
"My lord, as instructed, here is the list of knights participating in the kingdom tournament, along with their profiles."
"Good work."
Billy, once entangled in Tolome family affairs even before joining the Baum Mine expedition, now focused solely on Blanc's tasks without a second glance elsewhere.
Blanc's rising status in the family, plus his official hiring as the Cardmus family steward, made it so.
Blanc put Billy to work investigating matters right after hiring him as steward.
Blanc's first priority upon returning to Baltimer was the White Lightning cultivation method.
All he knew about White Lightning was that it emphasized speed and swiftness, suiting his nature perfectly.
But battling the black mage Tideman revealed hidden secrets within it. Though he pursued them diligently, the one who gave it to him hailed from 30 years in the future, its origins in Anton Kingdom—leaving Blanc in Felix with few leads.
A mere steward trainee like Billy couldn't unearth deeply buried secrets either.
'Can't borrow the Tolome hand for this either.'
Reluctant to involve Tolome in something tied to his core aura cultivation, Blanc focused on immediate solutions instead.
Like recruiting knights.
Thanks to the kingdom tournament, knights from across Felix had flooded into Baltimer.
No better time to recruit.
A noble house's greatest strength came from its knight order.
True, it required wealth and power to sustain, but in dire straits, drawing a sword outpaced gold or authority.
In the worst scenarios, only force was reliable, in any era.
Even Berger Neuendorf, pinnacle alchemist and top-tier mage, maintained a knight order for his family.
For Blanc, rebuilding House Cardmus, securing a force was paramount.
He was the man destined to battle Gartaria's three families—to block the first void incursion and reclaim Cardmus lands.
Even with full Tolome knight support from Baum Mine, they were borrowed blades.
To stand under the Cardmus name, he needed his own knights—swords he could draw at will.
If he and other regressors had returned properly, this would unfold as planned.
But only Blanc actively countered the void now.
So he had to build from the ground up, step by step.
Blanc scanned the knight list Billy had compiled.
It started with top tournament performers.
'Yonas, couldn't take the win after all.'
Yonas placed fourth.
No finals, let alone victory.
'Not bad, but not enough to overturn his position in the family.'
Blanc had led the search party partly because Yonas yielded it.
Yonas sought opportunity in the tournament instead but failed to claim the crown.
Blanc, choosing opposite, basked in praise as the slayer of an era's terror—Yonas must be burning inside.
'Will he get another shot?'
Already fallen from Bartolomeo Tolome's favor over the Izrelin incident, fourth place wouldn't salvage his standing.
Blanc shelved thoughts of Yonas. His choices no longer concerned Blanc.
Blanc pondered the list deeply.
Blanc Cardmus: rising star, legendary knight of Aselheit, hailed as a deity reborn.
Supreme as a knight—but as a liege lord?
How did knights view him, the one meant to command oaths of loyalty?
'Even I'd hesitate to serve under me...'
Regrettable, but Blanc wasn't an appealing lord from a knight's perspective.
First: unstable position.
To outsiders, he was a guest riding Tolome coattails, his standing wholly at their mercy.
Second: financial woes.
No territory meant no steady income—unless a meritorious noble.
Knights needed pay to live.
Finally: Blanc's perilous future.
Rightful heir to Norinton.
To reclaim ancestral lands from foes as legitimate successor, he must become avenger.
Bloody war awaited with Gartaria's three houses.
Territorial wars against equals were dicey; against three superior foes at once? Suicide for any recruit.
'Not easy.'
Top-round knights had offers from better lords. No reason to pick Blanc.
Proven elites: impossible recruits.
Mid-tier ones too—they'd bide time for superior lords over joining Blanc.
Blanc was left scraping bottom-barrel prospects.
'Tricky.'
At least his regression gave future knowledge.
He knew overlooked knights who would soar unexpectedly.
But none entered this tournament.
Couldn't just grab any low-ranker.
'No trash picks.'
Bottom knights earned their spots: either unskilled or deeply flawed.
Headache for Blanc.
Clutching his head, Blanc scrolled the list until one name made his eyes widen.
The absolute bottom of Billy's list.
'Preliminary dropout...'
Simon Diez.
Nothing beside his name.
Tournament nobody—no results, no impression.
Blanc knew him.
'He was here, at this time?'
Blanc fixated on the name.
If not a namesake, this was a goddess-sent golden opportunity.
Void corruption didn't just steal souls.
It shredded spirit and flesh mercilessly, forcibly awakening potential.
Turning victims into humanity's horrors.
Simon Diez: unremarkable knight before void takeover.
Diez family bastard, grateful just for his knighthood.
This obscure figure later seared into memory—for leading the void.
Void-twisted, he unleashed dormant potential, growing beyond human rivals.
Corpses, silence, void trailed his path.
In his past life, Gornas Valtazar barely slew him in a desperate duel—humanity's last hope.
'If this is my Simon Diez, I must meet him.'
Absolutely.
Recruit and nurture void-endorsed ultimate potential? Game-changer for Cardmus.
But if corrupted like before...
'Kill him before he grows.'
Couldn't let humanity's enemy roam.
Ally or foe—Simon Diez belonged at Blanc's side. Best outcome either way.