Ch.122Two Stars (2)

Stars were shining in the night sky.

Najin stared blankly at the sky.

The dragon’s surging blood, the final scream it let out, and the cheers of people that followed all felt infinitely distant. The pain that had been throbbing throughout his body gradually faded.

And so, in the stillness where time seemed to slow to a halt.

Najin gazed at the stars.

Among the countless stars adorning the night sky, there was one star emitting a soft light. A star that belonged to no one else but him alone. Though Excalibur had already been sheathed, Najin’s eyes gleamed with platinum light.

“I promise you, Ivan.”

“I’ll hang my star at the highest point in that night sky.”

“That you were at the beginning of my journey, that your decision to send me outside was the right choice, that even though you fell, you were a knight who never lost his light.”

“I will.”

“I will prove it.”

Words he had recalled in his mind countless times.

Words he had pledged to himself over and over again.

“……”

Recalling those words, Najin slowly raised his hand. He spread his palm wide toward the sky. It was almost like a habit of his. Even in the underground city, he would habitually reach his hand toward the ceiling.

But the gesture then and.

The gesture now held opposite meanings.

‘You know.’

Najin monologued.

Though it was a soliloquy, it wasn’t truly one since there was someone listening. Merlin, standing beside Najin, remained silent as she listened to his words.

I, that is to say.

In the underground city. I was trash buried in what the outside world called a landfill. In that dark place where stars couldn’t be seen, I could only look at the luminous stones embedded in the ceiling and imagine what starlight might be like… I was a human being furthest from the stars.

Not even allowed to see stars.

And even when I reached my hand toward the sky, the stars remained untouchable.

But this moment is different. Looking up at the sky, I could see the vast night sky and stars. Reaching my hand toward the sky, it felt like I could grasp my own star shining there.

The star of my own that I had longed for so much.

Though it wasn’t yet at the center of the sky or hanging in a high place, it was definitely a star that existed there.

Looking at the star, Najin smiled. It was a smile that crossed many emotions. To Najin, who wore a smile that couldn’t be summarized in a single word, Merlin, who had been silent, opened her mouth. Her voice was a little softer than usual.

-Well done.

She touched Najin’s shoulder with her hand.

Merlin was slightly shorter than Najin, so she had to raise her arm, and even though she was an illusion without substance, so her touch didn’t actually reach Najin’s shoulder…

Her emotions did reach him.

The constellation with eleven stars spoke to the new star (新星) who had just gained a star.

-Two stars at once, you’ve done something absurd again.

She laughed incredulously.

-Well, you did jump into a dragon’s mouth, so I suppose it’s fitting. My heart nearly stopped watching you. Even in my era, madmen like you were rare, really…

Trailing off, Merlin said.

-Still, it was impressive.

-Rest a bit. You must be tired.

Najin slowly exhaled. Time, which had been flowing slowly, found its original pace, and the noise surrounding him began to transform into people’s voices. Najin lowered his arm that had been stretched toward the sky and looked around.

Knights shouting in jubilation.

Those who stood in shock with their mouths agape.

Roseline Askarlo approaching him with an incredulous smile. And even Rihart, applauding as if blessing the birth of a new star.

Every single one of them was praising the achievement Najin had accomplished. It was an achievement worthy of such praise. The boy had challenged the dragon at the risk of his life and ultimately achieved the feat of dragonslaying (龍殺).

Those who had cleared the path for the boy to run, and those who had blocked the dragon’s attacks, also gained fragments of stars. It was a battlefield that witnessed the birth of a new star and left fragments of stars that would rise in the future. Amidst the cheers, Najin wore a faint smile.

With trembling hands, Najin raised his blood-stained sword high into the sky. Just as Arthur had done, Najin declared the end of the subjugation.

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

An even louder cheer echoed throughout Stonehenge.

2.

After the dragon subjugation.

Naturally, Najin had to be bedridden. Somehow it seemed like he ended up this way after every battle, but the injuries sustained in this fight wouldn’t heal easily.

-Release (放出), Excalibur’s first star.

-That’s what happens when you use that. Since you’re pouring out everything you’ve accumulated at once, after firing it once, your output drops significantly and the blessing weakens for a while.

It was partly because Excalibur’s healing power had weakened, but also because his injuries were more severe than usual. Compound fractures, grotesquely bent fingers, and full-body burns. The priests clicked their tongues and asked, “Are you even alive?” so what more could be said?

‘I really almost died.’

Wrapped in bandages, Najin muttered.

Even considering his high recovery rate, he was told he needed to rest in bed for several weeks. Having obtained a star, there would surely be some changes, but Najin was inwardly disappointed that he couldn’t experience those changes right away.

-I understand you’re excited, but be patient.

While lying in his sickbed passing time, several people came to visit him. The first to visit were Roseline and Rihart.

“So you’re the hero of the Red Dragon subjugation.”

With a cheerful laugh, Rihart set down a fruit basket he had brought as a get-well gift. Roseline perched on the edge of the bed, looking at Najin and chuckling.

“With all those bandages, you look like an undead.”

“I had similar thoughts looking in the mirror.”

“It’s more surprising that you didn’t melt after jumping into those flames. What was it like inside the dragon’s mouth?”

“Incredibly hot.”

Najin shrugged as he answered.

“Nothing but fire in there. I wondered where the breath came from, but it seems like it just takes a handful from inside and spits it out as breath.”

“Kya, so you swung your sword in the midst of that breath and split the dragon’s heart?”

“Something like that.”

“This kid is truly insane.”

Roseline slapped her knee and laughed exaggeratedly. Whether Najin’s words were exaggerated or true was uncertain, but regardless, the fact that Najin had jumped into the dragon’s maw and split its heart remained unchanged.

In all of history, only one person.

The Dragonslayer (龍殺者), Siegfried.

Najin had recreated the feat accomplished only by the First Sword Master, who was called a great hero. It’s going to get noisy again soon. Thinking this, Roseline curled up the corners of her mouth.

“Thank you, kid… no, Najin.”

“Suddenly?”

“The things I gained thanks to you aren’t just one or two.”

Roseline opened her palm in front of Najin.

She smirked and glanced at Rihart. Nodding, Rihart also opened his hand wide. As if showing something.

Then, sparkle.

Small stars shone in the hands of both. Najin’s eyes widened. There was one in Rihart Polshen’s hand, and two stars shining in Roseline Askarlo’s hand.

“Both I and old man Rihart had accumulated some achievements, but this battle was decisive. We gained new stars.”

“This is my first star. I quit being a knight because I didn’t want to step into dangerous battlefields, but to think I’d be able to gain a star at this age.”

Rihart shrugged.

“It’s thanks to you. Thank you.”

“That’s what I should be saying. Thanks to you, I was able to reach the Red Dragon with my limbs intact.”

“Your limbs don’t seem very intact to me.”

“If I can run and swing a sword, isn’t that intact enough?”

Both Rihart and Roseline burst into laughter at Najin’s response. The two chatted for a while before leaving the room.

“You really never have a day without injuries.”

The next to visit the hospital room was Dieta. Looking at Najin wrapped in bandages, Dieta sighed. Somehow, she seemed to have expected this.

“I heard the story. You jumped into the Red Dragon’s mouth? It’s causing quite a stir everywhere. The broken seal at Stonehenge, two fully revived dragons, the witch’s intervention, the Red Dragon that became complete by devouring the other dragon…”

She read from the newspaper she had brought.

“And, the Dragonslayer who killed the dragon.”

The youngest Dragonslayer.

“The adventurer who gained two stars at once after killing the dragon.”

The youngest Two-Star.

“It seems like you’re collecting all the titles with ‘youngest’ attached to them?”

“I guess the news of me gaining stars has already spread.”

“Well, it was quite a commotion. They say it’s been a millennium since a witch’s constellation appeared, and amidst all that, a new star rose, so it’s natural for the observatory to take notice.”

Observatory, a term referring to the Grey Tower.

“Do you know how loudly Master Nayuta of the Grey Tower was shouting? She ignored all the reports from the Empire’s officials, saying she needed to name your star, and locked the doors of the Grey Tower.”

“…Name my star?”

Scritch scratch. Taking an apple from the fruit basket and peeling it, Dieta nodded.

“Originally, naming stars is the role of the Grey Tower Master. Here you go.”

Dieta handed Najin a piece of apple that was unevenly peeled, suggesting her knife skills weren’t the best. When Najin raised his bandaged hand to show her, Dieta hesitated slightly before bringing the apple piece to Najin’s mouth.

While eating the apple, Najin asked.

“When you say naming a star… do you mean an epithet? Like Arthur, the Sword of Selection?”

“Something like that. She brings several candidates, and you choose one that you like. Later, as you accumulate more stars, your epithet might change.”

Najin mentally recalled the epithets of the constellations. The first to come to mind was, of course, Arthur, known as the “Sword of Selection,” followed by Merlin, the “Magician of the Lake.” However, both of their epithets seemed somewhat plain.

-They’re meant to be simple.

Merlin grumbled.

-Hey, both Arthur and I could have had very flashy epithets. ‘Magician who pierces truth,’ ‘Sword that cleaves the sky,’ ‘Staff that dropped a star,’ ‘One who silenced the end’—these were all candidates, but we rejected them.

Constellation names should be simple to bring out their flavor. It’s about restraint. Ignoring Merlin’s muttering, Najin hummed in contemplation.

“I’m a bit excited. What kind of epithet I’ll get.”

“Since it’s rare to keep the first epithet until the end, you can just think of it as a stage name. If you don’t like it, you can change it later.”

“Still, the first one is important, isn’t it?”

Continuing to peel the apple, Dieta smiled.

“Well, then you can ask the person directly.”

“Pardon?”

“She’s coming to visit you directly. Master Nayuta of the Grey Tower.”

“…Pardon?”

“You can’t move, right? And she said she’s concerned about public attention if she summons you to the Grey Tower. She’s worried you might get snatched by some creatures on the way.”

So, Dieta said.

“She’s coming here, personally.”

The magic towers lined up in the Empire.

Is it okay for the person responsible for one of them to move so easily? Isn’t that somehow not right? Thinking this, Najin asked.

“When is she coming?”

“Tomorrow.”

Najin was at a loss for words.

3.

A day later, Grey Tower Master Nayuta visited Najin’s hospital room. Najin blinked as he looked at the Master of the Grey Tower who had abruptly come to see him without any escort.

‘Well, I guess she doesn’t need an escort…’

Someone of the Tower Master’s caliber would be a powerhouse comparable to a transcendent being. Though she was said to have reached her pinnacle in star-counting rather than combat, once one reaches a certain level, differences in capability emerge.

The person who flung open the door and entered.

Grey Tower Master Nayuta’s first impression was somewhat gloomy. Her jet-black hair was carelessly tied in a single ponytail, as if even tidying it was too much trouble. Her eyes looked somewhat damp and eerie. And her skin was not just pale but ghastly white, suggesting she had spent a long time indoors.

“So it’s you? You’re Najin? I’ve heard the rumors. The youngest Sword Seeker who reached that rank at eighteen. I learned while observing your star that you also clashed with the Witch of Glimmer, Ermina?”

And.

“You have many achievements related to challenges. So many. Not just one or two? You’ve clashed with strong opponents every time. The words attached to each one I examined are no joke. Crisis, death, injury, overcoming, awakening, struggle…”

She poured out words.

Before even properly introducing herself. After rambling on for a while, Nayuta clapped her hands and gave a wry smile.

“Look at me, really.”

She sat down on the chair right in front of Najin. Her movements seemed somewhat casual. When Najin tried to show respect, she gestured for him to stop. It meant it was fine.

“I’m Grey Tower Master Nayuta. I’m in charge of observing stars and naming them. The reason I came to see you today is none other than… to name your star.”

She pulled out a paper from her bosom.

It was an exceptionally luxurious paper.

“I’ve brought a few candidates, would you like to choose one you like? Don’t think I’m being rude, but if you think ‘this one’s a bit off,’ feel free to say so right away. It’s really okay! Surely I wouldn’t behead you just because you said, ‘Your naming sense is a bit off?’ I’m not that petty, so don’t worry.”

Najin slowly nodded. She was a person with a somewhat hard-to-follow atmosphere.

-Let’s put that aside and take a look, shall we?

Together with Merlin, Najin unfolded the paper. It contained the epithets Nayuta had written down. There were more than ten candidates, and as Najin slowly read through them, his expression hardened. Merlin’s expression was the same.

“One who cleaved through flames and pierced the dragon’s heart to kill it.”

“One who leaps into fire when it comes.”

“The Dragon Slayer.”

-This is a bit, well, how should I put it.

“One who has forgotten the fear of death.”

“Sword that cleaves death.”

“The Death Sla…”

Najin closed his eyes midway.

For some reason, his body felt painful, and he felt his fingers curling up.

-Isn’t this too grandiose, flashy, and tacky? No, even if these epithets were given to those with more than five stars, they’d still think ‘this is a bit much.’

Merlin seemed to feel the same way.

Najin seriously doubted the Grey Tower Master’s qualifications. But he couldn’t say “What’s wrong with your naming sense?” to Nayuta, who was looking at him with sparkling eyes… so Najin opened his eyes.

Let’s just read through all of them first.

As he scanned down, an epithet at the bottom, crossed out with two lines, caught his eye. It had a note saying it was too plain and therefore not good.

“This one is nice.”

Najin pointed to that epithet with his finger.