Ch.114The Edge of the World, the Outer Continent (8)

Beyond the world, where irregularity is the rule.

Even in such an Outer Continent, night falls.

In the deep night, Najin sat outside the tent, looking up at the sky. During the day, the sky was bizarre with blue and black colors mixed together, but when night came, the sky unified into black and looked rather ordinary.

‘Except for the hundreds of stars embedded in it.’

Stars were clearly visible in the Outer Continent.

When looking up at the sky from the inland, only large constellations were visible. Things like famous heroes’ constellations. Only when the weather was very good and the sky was clear could one barely observe smaller constellations.

But not here.

In the Outer Continent, countless constellations entered one’s view whenever one looked up at the sky. Not only the constellations of renowned heroes but also small constellations belonging to unknown individuals.

“……”

Looking at the star-studded sky, Najin exhaled deeply. To others, it might seem like Najin was looking up at the sky alone, but.

‘Merlin.’

-Yes. Speak.

Najin was not alone.

A constellation visible only to Najin’s eyes was sitting right beside him. Merlin brushed back her blue hair and wiggled her legs.

‘The Witch of Glimmer, Ermina, was strong, wasn’t she?’

-Of course she was. That woman was once a transcendent with five stars in the 8th circle. Even though she fell, her experience and knowledge don’t just disappear.

Merlin smiled bitterly.

-If Ermina had recognized you as an enemy from the start, if she had faced you with the intention to kill from the beginning… it would have been difficult to survive. You know that, right?

Of course he knew.

He felt it the moment he faced the magic Ermina unleashed at the end, Glimmer. That they were on different levels. Different dimensions.

-Still, you fought well. Better than I expected.

‘……’

-You don’t look very satisfied though?

Najin exhaled deeply.

‘I just feel like I was a frog in a well.’

To be honest, he had been arrogant.

It would be a lie to say he hadn’t been. The youngest Sword Seeker. An unprecedented genius who turned the entire Empire upside down. All those words described him.

Although he was careful… he still thought he had risen to the ranks of the strong. From an objective standard, a Sword Seeker was indeed strong.

But the Outer Continent is a place unbound by conventional standards. It’s a place teeming with powerful beings who could make a mere “Sword Seeker” seem insignificant. Najin had to deeply realize this fact the moment he faced the witch. He had heard about it from Merlin, but experiencing it firsthand was a different matter.

‘Are there many strong opponents like Ermina?’

-Of course.

Merlin, sitting on a rock, wiggled her legs and pointed to the sky. There were countless stars there.

-Heroes of the old generation. Heroes of the mythical age. And many of them who have fallen. Not just fallen? Many have obtained bodies that can withstand eternity, but their minds couldn’t bear eternity, so they became the dead.

They were called heroes hundreds of years ago.

The dead who wander the Outer Continent in a broken state.

-Highest-ranking demons with epithets, rulers of magical realms who control such demons, and at the top of those rulers sit demon lords, witches, dragons…

Special powerful beings residing in magical realms.

-Fallen stars. Broken stars. Humanity’s betrayers who communicate with Camlann… there are endless numbers of them. The world has as many bastards as it has heroes.

There were some at the Round Table too.

Muttering so, Merlin looked at Najin. Seeing Najin’s somewhat dispirited face, Merlin chuckled.

‘What? Why are you laughing?’

-It’s funny to see you so deflated. Where did the guy go who shouted at the witch, ‘It only took 18 years of my life to hold your thousand years for 15 minutes’? Only this shriveled person remains?

‘I was heated then. When you’re excited, you say all sorts of things.’

At Najin’s muttering, Merlin tilted her head with a faint smile.

-Really? I don’t think what you said was wrong.

She said.

-Sure, strong beings are scattered all over the Outer Continent. Transcendents, demon lords, demons… wherever you look, there are only strong ones. But, are they special?

Merlin smirked.

The smile of the great magician who could treat the powerful beings of the Outer Continent as “mere things” was light. Smiling lightly, she brought her face close to Najin.

-They’re just beings who have lived for hundreds, nearly a thousand years, and that’s ‘all’ they are. Stagnant and stopped beings. Not special at all. Not at all.

That was a message to Najin and at the same time.

It was also a message to Merlin herself. Because her time had stopped a thousand years ago and couldn’t move forward.

-Don’t be afraid, don’t think it’s overwhelming. You’re doing well enough…

‘Well, thanks for the comfort.’

Najin, who had been listening to Merlin’s words, smiled wryly.

‘I didn’t particularly think it was overwhelming or scary.’

-What? You had that kind of expression.

‘I just thought there are a lot of monstrous beings in the world, but why would I be afraid?’

Najin stood up.

“They’re all just stepping stones for me to climb over.”

-Wow, listen to this kid.

While pretending to be shocked and pulling her body back, Merlin was smiling. As if she liked Najin’s way of thinking. Just as Najin was about to return to his tent.

Tap.

Someone came to Najin’s tent.

The footsteps were light, but the presence was not. Drawn by those unique footsteps, Najin looked toward the source of the sound.

“Oh, I was wondering if I should wake you up.”

The Sword Master of Ruin.

“It seems you haven’t gone to sleep yet. Do you have a moment? Even if you don’t, I’d appreciate it if you could spare some time. I’m a bit busy, you see.”

The last knight of Rondinell.

Kirhov was standing there.

2.

The Sword Master of Ruin, Kirhov.

A warrior who had already reached the realm of transcendence when Rondinell was on the verge of destruction, having lived for at least 400 years. And a hero who has spent most of that time on the battlefields of the Outer Continent.

『He’s not affiliated with the Imperial Army, the Royal Army, or the Allied Forces, but he always stays on the battlefield. And whenever a variable occurs, he rushes over in one step. The lives he has saved… well, it’s meaningless to count them.』

When asked about him, Jillet answered like this.

『He’s worthy of being called a hero.』

『Even the reason why he stays on the battlefield.』

『What’s that reason?』

『Well, it’s better to hear that from him directly.』

Worthy of being called a hero, he said.

Najin looked at Kirhov who had suddenly come to his tent. His clothes were covered in soot, and he was covered in dust as if he had just been wandering the battlefield.

“Ermina, she’s a fiery woman no matter how many times I meet her. I thought I was going to die from the heat. Look at this. My skin is all burned.”

He laughed lightly and pointed to his arm. There were traces of soot and burns on his arm. But that was all. Just traces of shallow burns, no more serious injuries were visible.

It meant that he had returned with only that much injury after facing a witch who was determined to kill.

“What happened to the witch?”

“She ran away as always. I chased her, but there was no end to it, so I just let her go. I want to settle things, but she always pulls away. It seems she doesn’t want to fight with her star at stake.”

Kirhov shrugged.

‘What does it mean to fight with a star at stake?’

-There’s such a thing. I’ll explain later.

While conversing with Merlin, Najin glanced at Kirhov. Befitting a transcendent unaffected by age, Kirhov had the appearance of a young man. He had a light impression that didn’t convey the weight of 400 years.

“I heard you bought time? Until I arrived. Jillet told me.”

“It just happened that way, yes.”

“It just happened that way, huh. You speak too lightly of an achievement made by risking your life. You could be a bit more proud.”

Kirhov smiled bitterly.

“Thanks to you, many soldiers survived. I express my gratitude for buying time until I arrived. Thanks to you, I was able to arrive at a truly dramatic moment.”

Dramatic moment?

As Najin tilted his head, Kirhov shrugged and whispered to Najin.

“How was my sword? A swordsman wielding his sword alone under a falling red sky. What a magnificent scene, right? Damn, my lord should have seen this.”

Kirhov clenched his fist regretfully, and Najin blinked. He was somehow lighter than Najin had thought.

“A single strike that tears apart the red sky! Each strike, each blow cuts through the witch’s flames and pushes back the heat! It’s content that minstrels would go crazy for. And I’m quite handsome, aren’t I? It was a golden opportunity to capture the hearts of ladies, but unfortunately, only you and a few soldiers witnessed my performance.”

After delivering this speech, Kirhov smiled. He had noticed Najin’s bewildered gaze.

“Well, that’s how it is. I came to express my gratitude and make an impression. To the youngest Sword Seeker who’s the talk of the town.”

“You knew about me?”

“If you have a star, it’s impossible not to know. The moment you set foot in the Outer Continent, all sorts of stars looked your way and whispered.”

Kirhov smiled meaningfully.

“It’s not strange to pay attention to a new star that’s about to rise. It seems your place is already being prepared in the night sky.”

“…Pardon?”

“Oh, you didn’t know?”

Najin blinked.

His place being prepared in the night sky? Najin slid his eyes to look beside him. Merlin was pretending not to know and turning her gaze away from Najin.

I was going to surprise you later, she muttered in a small voice, and Najin looked at Kirhov. He was still speaking.

“You’ve already accumulated achievements worthy of being praised as great deeds, and it’s only a matter of time before they bear fruit. Buying time against the witch would be part of that.”

“Does this… also count as a great deed?”

“Of course? A human who hasn’t reached transcendence held out for 15 minutes against a transcendent. It’s not enough to become a star on its own, but it’s sufficient to become part of a star.”

When such things accumulate, they become a star.

It’s not just one massive achievement that becomes a star.

Saying so, Kirhov smiled.

“I hope you obtain a shining star, boy.”

Kirhov stood up.

“Sorry for disturbing your rest. Get some sleep. I’ve conveyed what I needed to, and I have somewhere to go today, so it’s appropriate to end here.”

As Najin watched Kirhov’s back, who had come suddenly, said what he wanted to say, and was about to leave… Najin opened his mouth.

“If it’s not impolite.”

There was something he was curious about.

“May I ask you one question?”

“Of course. One is fine.”

“What is your reason for staying on the battlefield?”

When Najin asked the question that Jillet had said “ask him directly,” Kirhov was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.

He turned around to look at Najin.

Then, he tapped the hilt of his sword at his waist with the back of his hand. There was the emblem of Rondinell, now extinct and forgotten, engraved on it.

“Do you know about the country called Rondinell?”

“I’ve heard of it.”

“Yes. I am the last survivor of Rondinell and also the last knight of Rondinell. Perhaps I am also the last sword of Rondinell.”

The forgotten country, the ruined nation of Rondinell.

The last knight of Rondinell smiled.

“Although my homeland has perished, Rondinell lives and breathes at the tip of my sword. And my lord, the last king of Rondinell, wished for Rondinell’s sword to shine on the battlefield for humanity.”

As stylishly, splendidly, and beautifully as possible.

Saying so, Kirhov fluttered his cape.

“I stay on the battlefield and wield my sword to fulfill my lord’s last wish. There are other reasons, but that’s the first one.”

Did that answer your question? When Kirhov asked, Najin nodded. Light tone. Light impression. But the weight carried by that sword was not light at all.

“That’s a knightly reason.”

“Yes. A knightly reason indeed.”

Najin and Kirhov looked at each other and smiled. One was a complete knight, and the other was a boy dreaming of becoming a knight.

“Let’s meet again later.”

Leaving those words, Kirhov departed.

As Kirhov left the tent, and Najin inside the tent, they both sensed it. The same thought crossed both their minds simultaneously.

They would see each other often in the future.

And they would be entangled in various ways.

It was an intuition and perhaps a certainty.

For some reason, both of them had this thought. And Merlin’s expression crumpled as she mulled over the name “Rondinell.” The country that was destroyed by a fallen star. The constellation that was involved in the destruction of that country came to mind.

There were three stars involved in the destruction of Rondinell. One of them was a star that Merlin knew very well, and could never forget.

One of the betrayers of the Round Table.

The filthy traitor who tarnished the name of knighthood, and thus could never call himself a knight again.

‘Lancelot.’

The former strongest knight of the Round Table.

Merlin’s eyes sank coldly as she recalled her former comrade who once occupied a corner of the Round Table.

3.

The business in the Outer Continent was finished.

Now, it was time to return. The one who came to see off Najin, who was about to return to the inland, was Jillet. Normally, a commander shouldn’t leave his post, but…

“I lost an arm, and I’ve handed over the commander position to my junior. I need to rest a bit before returning to the battlefield.”

That was all Jillet said.

With Jillet’s guidance, Najin arrived at the Last Drink, a stable closest to the border of the Outer Continent. While waiting for the carriage they had called, Najin and Jillet had a light meal.

“Kuh, the owner here cooks well. Is it because it’s the inland? The air is different from the start. It tastes good.”

Saying so, Jillet sipped his drink.

“By the way, Najin.”

After the witch incident, Jillet called Najin by his name, not as a youngster. When Najin nodded, Jillet put down his glass and pointed at Najin with his finger.

“You came to hunt wyverns, right?”

“Yes, I did.”

“You said you were practicing to face flying opponents…”

“Yes, I did.”

“So, what are you trying to hunt that you need to practice against creatures like wyverns?”

At that question, Najin smiled and answered.

“A dragon.”

“What did you say?”

“A dragon. I mean a dragon.”

Jillet, momentarily stunned by the answer, soon burst into laughter. A dragon, he says. If someone else had said they were going to hunt a dragon, he would have scoffed and moved on, but…

“Are you serious?”

“Why would I lie about something like this?”

“That’s true.”

The boy in front of him was not someone whose words could be dismissed with laughter. Certainly, if one were to hunt a dragon, wyverns would be the optimal prey for practice.

“So, do you think the practice was helpful?”

“I’ve got a feel for it.”

“I’m glad it was helpful.”

As they conversed, the carriage arrived. A carriage heading to the inland. As Najin stood up and headed towards the carriage, Jillet opened his mouth.

“Hey, Najin.”

The moment Najin turned around.

Jillet threw something at Najin with a whoosh. Reflexively catching it, Najin looked at what was in his hand.

“It’s a gift. Take it.”

It was a chain stake, the symbol of the Chain Unit.

“When you bring down the dragon, spread the word that our Chain Unit’s chains were quite useful.”

“I will.”

Najin smiled and boarded the carriage.

Now, it was time to go and bring down a dragon.