Ch.169Interlude, On the Continent (1)

“What is your dream, Commander?”

One day while marching through the Outer Continent.

Alderan pondered briefly at the question his subordinate asked. Dream, a dream. Alderan chuckled as he traced through old memories. He did have one dream he had cherished when he was very young.

“To become a hero like King Arthur.”

When Alderan was a boy and said that, adults laughed. They considered Alderan’s dream as childish impulse that he would soon forget once he understood reality.

But as time passed and he became the Empire’s First Horn and the Empire’s Sword Master, no one laughed at Alderan’s dream anymore. It was no longer an unrealistic dream.

The members of the Golden Horn Knights who heard Alderan’s words also burst into laughter with reactions like “That’s just what we’d expect from the Commander.” Not mockery, but hearty laughter. Laughter that meant someone of the Golden Horn Knights’ commander should aspire to at least that much.

“Heh, that’s our Commander for you. I bet you could pull out Excalibur by now, couldn’t you? I heard you pulled it about halfway out when you were younger.”

Alderan laughed off his subordinates’ words.

After all, Alderan knew.

Though he had become much stronger than before, he still wouldn’t be able to pull out Excalibur. What was needed to pull that sword wasn’t strength. Excalibur demanded something savage that couldn’t be expressed with elegant words like “quality.”

Alderan wished to become a hero “like” Arthur.

But Excalibur wanted more than that.

It was waiting for someone who dreamed greater dreams than the great hero hanging in the highest place in the sky, someone who would surpass Arthur and go further, someone with that conviction and quality.

Not someone trying to become a hero like Arthur.

Someone trying to surpass Arthur and climb higher.

The moment he sensed this, Alderan felt that he could not become such a being.

“I won’t be able to pull it out, Excalibur.”

“If you can’t pull it out, Commander, who could?”

“Well. I wonder about that too.”

Alderan rose from his seat.

“I don’t know when that Excalibur will be pulled out, or who will pull it out, but I can be certain of one thing.”

He smiled as he put on his horned helmet that he had set aside.

“Whoever pulls it out, they’ll be an insufferably arrogant bastard. The type I’d hate to take as a disciple. I pity whoever becomes that person’s master. They’ll have quite a struggle.”

Someone who not only thinks of surpassing King Arthur but also has the quality to do so. Such a being would naturally be an unbearably arrogant genius. Whoever becomes the master of such a genius would have a headache.

As his subordinates burst into laughter at his words, Alderan shrugged and added one more thing.

“I, for one, absolutely decline.”

2.

Blink, Najin slowly blinked his eyes.

It was an unfamiliar ceiling.

Turning his head slightly to the side, he saw warm sunlight coming through the window. Natural sunlight that was hard to see in the Outer Continent filled with only starlight. Najin frowned.

His memory was hazy.

Tracing through his blurry memories, the last thing he remembered was Juel’s back. He had tried to hold on with all his might, but it seemed he had finally fainted.

What happened after that? And where was this place?

It seemed like a hospital room, but he couldn’t tell exactly where.

“Ugh……”

Najin tried to get up but failed.

His whole body ached. As Najin frowned, a grumpy voice rang in his ear.

-That’s what happens when you push yourself too hard.

Najin rolled his eyes to look at where the voice came from. There was Merlin, sitting at the head of the bed.

-Your arm is about to fall off your shoulder, you know? How could you imitate a transcendent’s technique with a body like that? I really, ha, sigh……

Merlin kept sighing and rubbing her face.

Najin could feel that relief was mixed in those sighs, that despite her grumbling, Merlin was relieved that Najin had opened his eyes. Najin smiled bitterly.

‘I’m sorry.’

-You sure know how to talk. Huh?

I can’t even hit this guy.

Muttering like that, Merlin shook her head. Then she narrowed her eyes and looked down at Najin.

-You, you tried to pull out Excalibur, didn’t you?

‘……’

Najin remained silent.

-And, you knew that even if you had pulled out Excalibur there, you wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Empress of Bliss.

‘I knew.’

-And you also knew what would happen if you pulled it out?

He knew. The moment Najin pulled out the sword there, constellations several times more numerous than those who had gathered to kill the Empress of Bliss would have descended upon that land. Before, it would have been difficult to even imagine such a scene, but now, having witnessed the battlefield of stars, he could vaguely picture it.

A war that would literally turn heaven and earth upside down would break out. And there would be nothing he could do in that war.

He knew this fact intellectually, but at that time he couldn’t recall it. No, more precisely, he thought “I don’t care.” He lost his reason in a rage that made his mind go blank. It was an experience Najin had never had before.

“……”

As Najin remained silent, Merlin exhaled a long breath and said.

-Well, considering the special circumstances, I’ll let it slide this time. It was a desperate situation, and it happened suddenly. I was also preparing to descend.

‘I’m really sorry.’

-If you’re sorry, make sure to consult with me from now on. You know how disappointed I was? Do you?

Merlin tapped Najin’s forehead as if feeling let down.

-I feel exactly the same things you feel. I can understand too. So don’t try to go ahead without me. I can tolerate everything else, but not that.

It was her sore point.

-I am your guide and companion. Not a subordinate being dragged along by you, but a person walking beside you. Got it?

Merlin bent her waist. Her flowing water-colored hair draped like a curtain over Najin’s head. Only Merlin’s face was reflected in Najin’s eyes. Najin thought that her piercingly blue eyes were a little frightening.

-Answer me.

‘Yes.’

-Swear. Swear that from now on, you’ll always act “together” with me.

‘I swear.’

Only then did Merlin smile with satisfaction.

-Good. Then I’ll forgive you too.

And, Merlin said.

-You really almost died several times, and it was truly maddening to watch, but……

But still, she whispered in Najin’s ear.

-You were amazing. I’m saying this not as your guide Merlin, but as a great constellation with 11 stars.

A human who was not a transcendent, a young star that had just risen, had changed the flow of the battlefield of stars. Merlin gave praise to that achievement. It was an achievement worthy of praise.

“Oh. I see you’ve regained consciousness.”

While Najin was talking with Merlin, the door opened and a familiar figure entered. A woman with snow-white hair. Juel was waving her only hand at Najin.

Only hand.

One of Juel’s arms was missing.

3.

“I came to explain what happened afterward and to ask you a few questions.”

Juel pulled up a chair and sat by Najin’s bedside. Noticing Najin’s gaze directed at her missing arm, Juel waved her empty sleeve.

“Ah, this is nothing. I cut it off myself.”

“…Pardon?”

“I was stabbed by the Laughing Knight’s spear. The spear he calls ‘Sancho’ was coated with deadly poison, and if I didn’t cut it off, the poison would have spread throughout my body. The severed arm is undergoing purification at the main church of the Sacred Host, so it should arrive in about a week.”

Juel spoke as if it were no big deal.

“Until then, I’ll have to live with one arm. It’s not inconvenient. I just need to ring the bell placed at the bedside, and a servant comes right away. You should try it too. It’s quite convenient.”

There was indeed a bell placed at Najin’s bedside as well.

“Where are we?”

“In a church in a city near the Outer Continent. Outside the Outer Continent, that is.”

So it was the continent after all.

Najin slowly sat up. Leaning his back against the head of the bed, Najin exhaled a long breath. His body ached, but he wanted to sit while listening.

“May I ask what happened afterward?”

“Of course. You were there on that battlefield, and you were the protagonist of that battlefield. You have the right to hear the results.”

It could have been relayed through someone else, but the fact that Juel came in person was also an acknowledgment of Najin’s achievement. After all, it was this boy who had lured the Empress of Bliss there and turned the tide of battle.

“After you removed the Empress of Bliss’s mask, the tide of battle turned. Led by Lord Kirhov, the constellations pushed back the Empress of Bliss, and the advantage shifted. Recognizing this, the Empress of Bliss ultimately chose to retreat.”

The Empress of Bliss retreated along with Quixote. Juel explained that they had inflicted significant damage on her in the process.

“Quixote lost one star and had another severely damaged. The Empress of Bliss lost a total of 17 stars, and 84 of her dolls were completely destroyed.”

She said matter-of-factly.

“This is remarkable even from a historical perspective. The last time the Empress of Bliss suffered significant damage was 150 years ago. Even then, though it’s unknown who did it or how, there are records that the Empress of Bliss’s stars shook in the sky.”

Najin knew who had done it.

As he listened to Juel’s words, Najin opened his mouth.

“What happened to Lord Alderan?”

“Alderan? Are you talking about Alderan Basaglia? Isn’t he someone who died long ago?”

Juel tilted her head.

“…The helmet, I’m talking about the knight whose helmet I cut off.”

“Knight? Hmm, if you’re referring to the corpse that went berserk right after you cut off the helmet, it retreated with the Empress of Bliss. She dragged it away in pieces.”

Najin’s expression hardened.

Reading his expression, Juel asked.

“Is this person related to you? Come to think of it, that corpse is suspected to be the purpose of the Empress of Bliss’s appearance… which is very surprising considering the Empress of Bliss’s character.”

Juel rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

“The Empress of Bliss never leaves her domain. Fundamentally, she is thorough, calculating, and closer to a ruler than a warrior. This means she doesn’t take risks.”

Despite being a constellation that had existed for more than a thousand years, records about the Empress of Bliss were extremely limited. Not only did she rarely reveal herself, but even when she did show her true form, everyone in that space became clowns, so no proper records remained.

Therefore, this appearance of the Empress of Bliss was an exceptional case and an event worthy of attention from constellations and the Order.

“It’s very strange for the Empress of Bliss to attempt a descent, especially into a forbidden area that is disadvantageous to her.”

A strange occurrence. A deviation from historical records.

The Sacred Host focused on the background of such an unusual act.

“Then there must have been something that she absolutely had to obtain even at such risk, and the Sacred Host suspects that it was ‘the corpse that the Empress of Bliss collected’.”

Juel looked at Najin.

“Do you know anything about that corpse?”

“He wasn’t a corpse but a knight.”

Najin said calmly.

“And he was my master.”

“Master?”

“Yes, his name is Alderan Basaglia. He was the former Empire’s First Horn, and his records were erased by the Empress of Bliss.”

Juel frowned.

“Please tell me again.”

“His name is……”

After listening to the end, Juel tilted her head.

“Strange. To me, what you’re saying sounds like ‘His name is ■■■ ■■■■■. He was ■■ ■■■■■ and ■■■ by ■ ■■■■ ■■■■■■.’ I’m being interfered with by some means.”

Najin wrote on a piece of paper and showed it to Juel. But again, Juel just shook her head.

“I can’t see it. I suspect it’s the power of a constellation. Similar symptoms have been recorded with the fallen kingdom of Rondinell and some forgotten constellations. In this case, even if you try to remember through some means, distortion will be applied. It’s better not to hear it at all.”

False information can be more poisonous.

Juel paused for a moment and looked at Najin. There had been no change in Najin’s expression since earlier. His breathing remained the same as before.

But Juel could feel it.

The thick killing intent emanating from Najin. The fire burning behind that seemingly impassive expression. Juel felt regret that this sticky murderous intent was directed not at her but at another being.

After a brief conversation, Juel exclaimed “Ah” as if she had just remembered something.

“Please be careful when you go outside.”

“Be careful? What do you mean?”

“I mean it might get a bit rowdy.”

Najin tilted his head.

Isn’t this the continent, not the Outer Continent? As Najin tilted his head, not understanding Juel’s words, Juel rang the bell in her hand.

Juel gave some instructions to the servant who appeared at the door, and shortly after, the servant returned with a newspaper.

Handing the newspaper filled with dense text to Najin, Juel said:

“Read it and you’ll understand.”

What your status is in the Empire right now.