Iron Blood

Rotten, after meeting Ross, hurriedly got into his carriage and returned home.

During their conversation over tea, Ross’s words sparked a long-dormant question in his mind.

Why do Platina flowers only grow on cliffs? Rotten had simply assumed it was due to environmental factors and hadn’t bothered to consider the fundamental reason.

Climbing the mountain, Rotten ventured off his usual path and used magic to safely descend the cliff.

He usually had no reason to go down the cliff, so it was a place he rarely visited, except when he needed to collect flowers.

Using green butterflies to illuminate the bottom of the cliff, which was as deep as an abyss due to the lack of sunlight, Rotten arrived and immediately surveyed the area.

Rotten had witnessed birds drawn to the sweet scent of Platina flowers while flying around the mountain, only to be instantly turned to stone and fall to the bottom of the cliff.

If Ross was right, the bottom of the cliff should have been filled with statues of birds that had been turned to stone after touching the flowers, but the bottom of the cliff, illuminated by the green butterflies, had fewer statues than he occasionally saw.

Just in case, he counted the statues again, but it was definitely fewer.

As Ross said, someone might have accidentally discovered the statues at the bottom of the cliff and sold them at the market.

But he had never seen anyone near the cliff, and more importantly, there were no traces of human passage at the bottom of the cliff. Moreover, carrying the statues back up the cliff would be difficult for anyone who wasn’t a magician.

It was also very strange that a magician would come down to the cliff, take the bird statues, and sell them at the market….

Thinking that there might be a reason why there were fewer statues, Rotten decided to observe the bottom of the cliff. He dug through the black soil and examined the condition of the statues lying on the ground, but nothing particularly stood out to Rotten.

Even after several hours, the bottom of the cliff, shrouded in silence and darkness, remained unchanged except for Rotten and the green butterflies.

‘Could it be because of the light?’

Rotten wondered if the things that should have been happening in the dark were not happening because of the light emitted by the green butterflies.

Rotten immediately gathered the green butterflies, turned off the light, used magic to eliminate his scent, and scattered vine seeds around the area.

Like a skilled fisherman who casts bait and waits for the fish to come, Rotten held his breath and sat on a rock for several hours, listening intently.

Finally, a small change began to occur at the bottom of the cliff, which had been like an abyss.

A rustling sound, like something scraping against stone, and the sound of animal footsteps began to reach Rotten’s ears little by little.

If you lift the fishing rod hastily when the float twitches before the fish is properly hooked, you will lose the fish.

Rotten gripped his staff tightly, waiting in the darkness until a definite reaction appeared.

Finally, the thing that had been making only small, cautious noises gradually approached Rotten, making footsteps. Then, when it stopped walking and made a sound as if it were spitting something out, Rotten, who had been tensing his legs, stood up and spread the green butterflies everywhere, emitting light.

As a hacking, phlegmy scream echoed from somewhere in the green light that brightly illuminated the bottom of the cliff, which had been full of darkness, Rotten immediately swung his staff towards the sound without hesitation.

Realizing that the vines that had grown in an instant had caught something, Rotten sent the green butterflies there to identify it.

It was a bizarre-looking monster that Rotten had never heard of or seen in his life.

Its outer skin was as hard as a mineral, and its red eyes looked smaller than fingernails. Its front paws were very large compared to its body, and its claws, which looked like steel, suggested that they were used for digging. The most striking feature was its long, protruding mouth.

Approaching cautiously, Rotten swung his staff to tightly bind the monster with vines so that it could not resist.

“What were you doing….”

Rotten had to stop speaking in shock as he checked what the monster was trying to do.

In front of the nameless monster.

The statue of the bird, which had been a stone statue, was melting in a sticky, saliva-like substance and returning to its original form.

***

After all the classes were over, when I was pressing my eyelids with my palms due to fatigue, Lacar, who was sitting next to me, suddenly asked.

“Ross, do you happen to remember my sister?”

Taken aback by the sudden question, I searched my memory and barely answered.

“That, the top student of the 3rd grade combat department…. Was her name Lamine…?”

I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly at Lacar’s smiling face, as if he was pleased with my answer.

“Yeah, that’s right. My sister said she wants to meet you once.”

“Me?”

Seeing my bewildered expression in this nonsensical situation, Lacar hurriedly added.

“I was talking about clubs with my sister. I praised you a little, and she seems to have become interested in you.”

Understanding the situation from Lacar’s words, I nodded. It wasn’t difficult to greet Lacar’s sister, so there was no reason to refuse.

“Sure, should we go right now?”

“Really?”

Seeing him constantly smiling as if he was happy that I accepted so readily without any hesitation, I poked Lacar’s arm and said.

“What’s so difficult about it between friends.”

I immediately headed to the 3rd grade classroom with Lacar. As I always saw when going to Roel’s classroom, there was one person surrounded by friends.

It was obvious at a glance that she was from the Lacar family, with her striking red hair, a characteristic of Lacar.

She was someone who seemed to have had a bit of Lacar’s sturdiness removed and replaced with handsomeness.

If I hadn’t heard that she was his sister, I might have mistaken her for a handsome older brother, as she had a boyish charm.

“Lamine-nuna.”

When Lacar called her name, Lamine turned her gaze to us.

Lamine, who met my gaze, gave a handsome smile, said something to the people around her, and approached us.

“Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Lacar’s sister, Lamine. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Taken aback by Lamine’s confident handshake, I bowed slightly and accepted it.

“Hello. I’m Ross, Lacar’s friend. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you from Lacar too.”

Perhaps it was a family trait, but aside from her red hair, Lamine, who had a model-like height, was about the same height as me.

Lamine brought up stories from Lacar’s childhood and then asked me a favor.

“He’s so taciturn that he can’t express himself well even when he has something to say. It’s frustrating, but he’s kind, so please understand.”

“What are you talking about…. I speak well.”

“Really?”

Seeing Lacar subtly avoiding Lamine’s teasing gaze, I smiled, thinking that he was similar to me when Roel was around.

“If there’s anything I can help you with, tell me anytime. If anything happens to Lacar, be sure to come find me.”

Like Roel, Lamine seemed to have a similar concern for her younger sibling. The only difference was that Lamine’s hand, which tapped my arm, was spicier than Roel’s?

As we were continuing the good atmosphere, someone’s voice suddenly cut in.

“Rene! We’re going out, wanna grab dinner with us?”

When a woman who seemed to be Lamine’s friend approached, Lamine turned around and nodded.

“Should I?”

Seeing Lamine’s smiling face, I was shocked as if I had been hit by a passing carriage and flinched greatly.

“What did you just say…?”

Lamine’s friend, who received my gaze at my question, tilted her head.

“Huh?”

“Why did you call Lamine-sunbae Rene…?”

Unable to hide my anxiety, I asked with a tense voice. Lamine, who was next to her, answered as if it was nothing.

“Ah, it’s my nickname. When I first entered the school, many people confused me with someone named Rene. So, some kids call me that sometimes.”

At Lamine’s words, I observed Lamine’s appearance once again.

Black eyes, short red hair…. Fortunately, there were no large scars on her face, but my anxiety had not yet disappeared.

Yes, it could simply be a person with the same name. I comforted myself like that and asked with a cautious voice.

“What kind of weapon does Lamine-sunbae use…?”

As I looked at Lamine, desperately hoping that my prediction was wrong, the friend next to her interjected.

“Huh? You don’t know Lamine? The top student of the 3rd grade combat department who uses a spear and shield. You don’t know Rene of the Iron Blood?!”

Lamine shouted at her friend’s playful and exaggerated behavior.

“Hey! I told you not to call me that nickname!”

“Why~ I’m telling him because the junior doesn’t know! The reason why she’s called Iron Blood is~ During the ranking test, eugh-!!! Ugh, surrender. Surrender!!!”

The friend who was in a headlock by Lamine urgently tapped Lamine’s arm.

“Did you do wrong, Kanna?”

“I did wrong!!! Let me go!”

Lamine, who received Kanna’s desperate apology, released the headlock, and Kanna whined and rubbed her neck.

Lacar shook his head as if he was embarrassed, but I could only stare at Lamine with a dumbfounded face.

If my prediction is correct, Lacar’s sister, and the top student of the 3rd grade combat department, Lamine, is….

In the future, she would become the owner of the Spear of Destruction with the title of Iron Blood.

The 3rd of Confession, which was directly founded by the Pope of the Order.

She was the villain who would be called a great magician and a sage.

She was the villain who would kill Principal Nelson.