The Secret
The Heavenly Killing Star was the name for a star whose aura carried an ominous, murderous edge.
According to the setting Rodeban had read, Luce’s eyes had begun to gleam with killing intent the moment she learned to speak.
Her parents, terrified, had abandoned her in the slums of the Empire’s southeast.
Rodeban suddenly recalled the day he first brought her home.
“Hand it over.”
On the day they first met in the slums, Luce had been closer to a beast that spoke fluent imperial than to a human.
“Luce, come here. If you follow the uncle, I’ll give you bread.”
“Just hand it over.”
The instant she spotted the bread Rodeban had used as bait, she lunged forward.
She swung the kitchen knife wildly, but of course it didn’t land on him.
That was because back then Rodeban had been carrying a Magic Sword.
“So cocky.”
“Ugh.”
After subduing the Luce in the slums, Rodeban had carried her back home—not exactly kidnapped, but certainly under protection.
He had washed her with warm water, dressed her in clean clothes, and stepped out for just a moment to grab a headband when…
She had grabbed a kitchen knife from the counter and pointed it straight at him.
“Give me food.”
“Uncle. What are you doing.”
The two voices had almost overlapped.
“……”
Rodeban took a deep breath and steadied himself.
Memories and reality felt hopelessly tangled.
He had faced this confusion more than once.
Through the haze in his head, only one conclusion remained clear.
……Luce is improving. I’ll think positively.
That positive change made a knight approach him.
“Lord Rodeban, everything is gathered. Shall we burn it now?”
“Yes. Let’s do it.”
Someone tossed a torch onto the pile of corpses.
A moment later flames roared to life.
Crackle—!
Flames shot high into the air.
Since the road was close by, there weren’t many trees, so there was no risk of the fire spreading.
Rodeban placed his hand on Luce’s shoulder and said,
“Luce, pray for the repose of the dead.”
“What’s repose?”
“After death, it means praying so they won’t suffer.”
She tilted her head.
“Vampire descendants are bad people, right?”
Rodeban almost told her he himself had been an extremely bad person once, but he shook his head instead.
“Even if we weren’t good while alive, we just ask that the bad souls don’t linger after death. Hurry up, or the restless spirits will chase you every time you sleep.”
Luce’s brows twitched several times.
She reacted especially strongly to the last part, so the restless spirits sounded terrifying to her.
It was mildly amusing to see the girl who had killed people like a ghost fear ghosts herself.
She finally nodded reluctantly.
“……Okay.”
She paused, then closed her eyes and spoke.
The other knight squad members bowed their heads in front of the flames.
A gentle voice began to flow along the flickering fire.
May the god bestow upon you a thousand strands of moonlight,
so that when your soul reaches the distant night sky,
we may pray that you shine pure and clear like that moon.
……While Luce recited the poem, Rodeban stared blankly into the flames.
“……”
Watching others’ lives fade, he involuntarily recalled his own.
Mainly the memories tied to the Magic Eye.
Why I accepted the Magic Eye……
A world already collapsing because no players existed.
The massive penalty of having no system window.
The weak background of the body he had been reborn into……
Rodeban closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them and shifted his thoughts.
……And the reason to purify the Magic Eye.
This was a simpler problem.
The Magic Eye was a monster that burdened the body.
It naturally affected his lifespan as well.
If left like this, he would die before turning forty.
The weakened heart would cause sudden death one day.
The real reason he hadn’t rushed into marriage was tied to this.
Purifying the Magic Eye is more urgent.
Moreover, the ingredients needed for Magic Eye purification weren’t just Holy Fluid.
He would need several more rare items.
Preferably, he would hold off on the “marriage” negotiation card until the very end.
A sudden voice from Luce cut through his thoughts.
“Uncle. It’s over.”
She was staring at him.
Rodeban stroked his short black hair and praised her.
“Good job. A poem from the fallen Holy Nation. Did you learn it at the academy?”
Luce, unusually startled, tilted her head with wide eyes and said,
“You know everything, uncle. It’s a poem in holy language that Arfria taught me. I was bragging that only I knew it.”
“……!”
Rodeban’s pupils shook violently.
The poem only the third princess knows……
It seemed he had been boasting about research results not even announced yet.
How to cover up the slip of the tongue?
Before he could figure it out, Luce added one more line.
“I think it was announced last month.”
“……R-really.”
Rodeban let out a sigh of relief.
As someone who knew the future, this kind of awkward situation happened often.
Once before, he had casually pretended to know something and was suspected of eavesdropping on a military strategy, so his heart had dropped.
He said,
“That’s good.”
Luce tilted her head.
“……What?”
“There is something. A secret only known to you, uncle.”
At the word “secret,” Luce’s face lit up with curiosity.
“……! Tell me too.”
Rodeban grinned.
Seeing the childish side of her made him smile.
He leaned close to her ear and whispered,
“It’s…… actually this world is a game. The uncle is the one who played the game and got sucked into the game world. That’s why I’m so smart and strong.”
“……”
Because the flames had some strange mana, he had blurted out a huge secret on impulse.
In reality, without evidence it wasn’t that big a secret.
Who would believe such nonsense?
Still, it felt good to get it off my chest.
It was like coming out of a bamboo forest.
Luce looked thoughtful, then answered briefly.
“Uncle, did you hit your head in the dungeon?”
She showed rare worry.
Rodeban stared at her for a moment, then forced a smile and said,
“No? I was just teasing you.”
“I see. I thought you were hurt somewhere.”
“……”
Luce stared into the flames, then changed the subject.
“But uncle…… do real restless spirits really exist?”
Rodeban looked at her.
Is a ghost that scary to her?
He had mentioned it hoping she would feel guilt over the killings, but apparently she was still at the age where ghosts scared her.
He thought about it, then answered vaguely.
“I don’t know. Am I a god?”
“Uncle, you’re mad I don’t believe in your secret?”
Her sharp question made Rodeban nod.
“Yeah.”
“Still, it’s hard to believe. Later I’ll use your knees as a pillow in the carriage.”
“……”
That damned knee pillow……
***
After clearing the corpses, there was still time left.
Reinforcements hadn’t arrived yet.
“Lord Rodeban, wait a little longer in the carriage.”
“Understood.”
He followed the knight into the carriage.
The flames were slowly dying down, and Luce was still staring at them, so he had left her behind.
Thud—
Rodeban leaned back against the seat comfortably, then placed the Magic Sword across his lap.
If it were the old days, I would have torn it apart right away.
Because the Empire had grown more peaceful.
Humans no longer needed the power of Magic Swords desperately.
The problem was that bad guys kept showing up……
This was something he couldn’t do anything about.
He had no choice but to beat them to death as they came.
The moment Rodeban felt short of breath, he took a deep breath.
“Hoo……”
He was starting to think he would have to go meet Ren again.
As soon as negative thoughts surfaced, the amplified aggression of the Magic Sword whipped through his body.
“……No more bad thoughts.”
Rodeban first examined the shape of the Magic Sword.
“Completely white.”
The blade was pure white, so bright it almost hurt the eyes.
It felt more like ice than metal.
Magic Swords usually had one strange ability each……
Is this Magic Sword’s ability ice?
Directly testing it was the only sure way.
He poured his mana into the sword.
Swish swish—
White cold air flowed from the ice-like blade.
Rodeban couldn’t help but sigh.
“Oh.”
New abilities always felt good.
p>As expected, it was cold.
The sensation was that the sword itself turned into cold energy when mana was poured in.
“Not bad.”
Suddenly the white mana that had flared from Seria’s sword came to mind.
The mana of the Crucias bloodline naturally carried a chill of its own.
……The Crucias family must know how to handle ice mana.
Rodeban recalled a scene from the training grounds with Seria and shook his head.
Ah, that’s troublesome.
After clearing the useless thoughts, he poured magic.
He extracted the ominous aura filling his Magic Eye and flowed it into the sword.
The feeling was far smoother than pulling out mana.
Swish swish……
The pure white sword turned red, and unlike before, a crimson cold energy flowed out.
“Oh!”
Rodeban gasped like a child given a new toy.
“Amazing……”
Staring blankly at the crimson cold energy for a moment.
The unique atmosphere it created was truly captivating.
Swish swish—
When he poured in more magic, red crystals formed all over the blade……
“It looks like a jewel.”
“Hm?”
Rodeban turned his head toward the voice outside the window.
A young man in black hair with short bangs, wearing an academy uniform, stood there.
His pupils glowed with a red light.
It was Luce.
Since when has he been standing there?
Rodeban hadn’t noticed at all.
Whether it was because he was a piece of junk or because Luce was exceptionally good at hiding her presence……
Ah, junk brat. Too distracted by the sword……
Luce entered the carriage and said to the negative guy,
“Uncle. You like the Magic Sword so much? You’ve been sighing like that since we started.”
“……!”
She had seen everything from the beginning!
Rodeban changed his expression to look flustered.
“Ah, no, not that……”
Luce suddenly pointed at the Magic Sword with her finger.
“Me too. Magic Sword.”
“……?”
It was a confusing sentence.
When he didn’t reply, Luce once again demanded an answer.
“Me too. Magic Sword. Quickly.”
Rodeban answered with a strained expression.
He was the one who had rushed from the Empire’s north to here because of the Magic Sword.
“Ma…… Luce.”
“Hm.”
The Luce sitting beside him looked displeased.
She crossed her arms and said,
“You’re late.”
“……Was this also something Arfria told you?”
“Yeah. Whenever boys talk to me, Arfria tells me that.”
“……!”
Rodeban’s evaluation of the third princess rose another notch in his mind.
A really good friend.
I’ll have to sign something when we meet again.
Just then, noise broke out outside.
A knight suddenly approached the carriage and reported,
“Lord Rodeban. The reinforcement force has arrived. Once the prisoner transfer is complete, we will depart immediately.”
Rodeban replied calmly.
“Understood.”
As the knight moved away, Luce looked out the window and said,
“Uncle. Someone’s coming.”
“……Really?”
It sounded ominous.
It sounded like an important person was coming.
Rodeban looked out and saw that all the knights who had been standing there earlier were now kneeling.
He swallowed the curses that rose naturally.
Ah……
Another noble had come.
Since the time he and Luce had been alone had felt so comfortable, a sudden disgust rose in his chest.
Should I pretend to sleep?
Luce asked,
“Who is it?”
Rodeban answered briefly.
“I don’t know.”
“Do you have to go out?”
“……”
Of course a commoner should go out to greet visitors.
But now he was under some inexplicable rebellious urge.
Probably because of the Magic Sword.
Thud—!
He leaned back against the seat and shook his head firmly.
“I’m not going.”
Luce nodded as if it were nothing.
“Good. Arfria says you have to scold a monster or noble once every three days.”
Rodeban furrowed his brows.
What?
He wasn’t sure where to start the criticism.
Just as he was wondering about the third princess’s philosophy,
voices came from outside.
“Don’t act so formally in front of an important guest who came from afar.”
“Your Highness. Even so……”
“Since we’re riding the same carriage, the squad members should continue with their duties.”
Rodeban sighed.
If the person called “grand duke” from the north was……
Prince Crucias von Reuron.
Well, at least it was easy to deal with.
Probably because he had come to make excuses for not being able to provide Holy Fluid from the ducal family.
What kind of grand excuse will he come up with this time……
The person who would inherit the dukedom in the future.
It was hard to openly criticize someone who needed to look good for a comfortable retirement.
In short, the grand duke had sent a perfectly appropriate person.
Ah, he’s coming over here.
Rodeban’s face showed resignation.
The carriage door opened.