Ch.251Chapter 251: Lanos (3)

#

Trudge, trudge

The footsteps of Iriana Ranos returning after finishing everything lacked the confidence she had shown just moments ago when facing the monsters swarming this wasteland.

And understandably so.

Just a few hours earlier, she had been mindlessly swinging her sword to avenge her subordinates with whom she had shared joys and sorrows.

With each swing of her invisible formless sword, monsters that had been roaring were cut in half, their bodies tumbling across the wasteland.

The result of firmly wielding her sword with unbreakable fighting spirit against creatures that wouldn’t retreat after just one or two of their kind were killed.

Successfully honoring her fallen comrades by executing a Mine who tried to shift the bloodshed that should have been on his own hands to others while reaping only sweet rewards.

Now, with her back to the monsters who had lost their will to fight, she was barely managing to direct her steps toward where she needed to return.

After all, how could there be any strength left in her steps when all the tension that had built up had reached its peak and transformed into fatigue?

Trudge, trudge

“Hmph…”

Even as she continued walking, she let out a light, self-deprecating chuckle at her own powerless steps.

“I should have swung my sword one more time instead of wasting time saying I’m tired.”

As she turned her steps, she muttered to herself, implying that she still felt regret despite seemingly having put it behind her.

If she returned, the fortress would be filled with people who would be relieved just knowing she was safe, considering it a preservation of their forces.

Indeed, the safe return of the vice-commander of the Imperial Knights was immeasurably important for the Empire.

And while she herself understood the importance of her safe return better than anyone else…

Her footsteps toward where she rightfully needed to go clearly showed that she couldn’t completely shake off the regret of not having defeated more monsters to honor her fallen comrades.

This wouldn’t do.

If hesitation crept into her steps and delayed her, she might be caught from behind by monsters emboldened enough to turn on her.

If that happened, unlike moments ago when she had faced them without a single wound, injuries would start accumulating one by one, inevitably leading to a dangerous situation.

“…I wasn’t going to do this.”

As Iriana muttered these words filled with bitter regret, her right hand reached inside her winter coat, which had never left her body since the battle began as protection against the extreme cold.

Her right hand moved busily, trying to retrieve something from inside.

Unlike when she wielded her formless sword that dismembered the monsters’ bodies without any unnecessary movement.

Her struggling to extract whatever was inside revealed that, regardless of her reluctance to take it out…

Her body, unknowingly exhausted from battle after battle, could barely manage even this simple task.

Most likely, whatever she was trying to retrieve from inside would play a significant role in alleviating both her physical condition and the regret that kept echoing in her mind.

As she continued her heavy footsteps, her ceaselessly moving hand finally…

“…Found it.”

With those words indicating she had found something, her hand stopped.

“Let’s see…”

With words devoid of any particular expectation, her hand finally emerged from the winter coat.

Bringing out what she had been diligently searching for.

“The smell is so strong that I normally wouldn’t even want to bring it near my nose, but I have no choice…”

In her right hand, as she grumbled to herself, was something that resembled the most preferred supply among knight-rank and above personnel stationed at Knight Haven recently.

Rolled in leaves of green or brownish color, slightly less than a handspan in length, it looked so much like an elegantly packaged tobacco leaf that anyone would immediately think of a high-class cigarette.

A cigarette? In a situation like this?

While she should be trying to return to the fortress as quickly as possible before the encroaching darkness fully set in…

Why would she smoke something that emits a scent detectable from far away, with the winter wind scattering the smoke in all directions across this wasteland?

Was it confidence that she could handle any monsters attracted by the smoke without even drawing her sword?

Or was this leaf cigarette so important to her right now that she couldn’t go without smoking it?

The cigarette in her hand raised numerous questions.

After briefly frowning at what she held, she…

Snap-!!

Lightly flicked her thumb and index finger of her opposite hand, making it clear that whatever concerns might exist weren’t important to Iriana right now.

It was strange enough that she had taken out a cigarette that would produce fire and smoke.

Now she was even making sounds by snapping her fingers.

It seemed contradictory to her earlier careful steps when she had been suppressing even the sound of her footsteps.

But the sight that unfolded in her left hand following the snap of her fingers produced a spectacle worthy of momentary admiration, pushing aside any bewilderment.

Whoosh

A flame—small and thin, but visibly containing sufficient heat to anyone who might see it—

Now flickered on Iriana’s left index finger.

How could she conjure such a flame just by snapping her fingers?

No, more importantly, with a flame openly flickering on her finger like that, was her finger alright?

It was a sight that would undoubtedly amaze anyone who saw it.

Yet the protagonist who created this spectacle showed little reaction to the flame dancing on her finger.

“…”

Without a word, she glanced once at the flame on her left index finger and immediately brought the tip of the leaf cigarette in her right hand to the flame.

Given the heat emanating from the flame on her finger, it seemed the tip would turn red-hot and immediately start smoking even if she just held it nearby rather than directly touching it.

“…Just because it’s a special product doesn’t mean it’s automatically good. I’ve applied more than enough fire, but it’s not catching right away.”

Iriana, who had been silent all this time, grumbled with evident displeasure.

Despite her small but powerful flame, the leaf cigarette showed no signs of lighting, only emitting thin, white smoke.

While Iriana said nothing more as she looked at the still unlit cigarette…

“…”

The slight twist of her barely closed lips and the very subtle narrowing of her brow indicated…

That her dissatisfaction with this unlit leaf cigarette was growing increasingly evident.

By the standards of knights who routinely traversed battlefields, this was extremely mild behavior.

But for Iriana, who rarely expressed emotions in such a manner, even this much was a significant display.

In any case, if lighting the leaf cigarette took any longer, there was a high possibility she would apply force with her right hand and simply snap it in two.

Sizzle-

As the same color that had danced on her finger now flickered at the cigarette’s tip, the tediously long lighting process finally came to an end.

“Phew…”

A faint sigh escaped Iriana’s lips.

It took the form of misty breath when combined with the frigid climate that dominated this land.

It was just an ordinary sigh, but…

“You should know how lucky you are today.”

For some reason, it created the illusion that such words were contained within that sigh.

Although Iriana’s expression subtly revealed a slight anger that a mere leaf cigarette had caused her such trouble…

“Well then…”

Soon, as if it had never happened, Iriana composed her expression, instantly extinguished the flame on her left hand.

Then carefully brought the cigarette in her right hand toward her nose.

Normally, once a cigarette is lit, the proper thing would be to bring it to one’s lips and take a proper drag to savor the unique smoky aroma of the leaf cigarettes included in Knight Haven’s supplies.

“…”

With her eyes closed momentarily, concentrating on the scent of the smoke rising from the cigarette, Iriana already seemed to have sufficiently savored the aroma and taste of the tobacco leaf through her sense of smell without putting it in her mouth.

If any knight working at Knight Haven saw this scene, they would undoubtedly be unable to contain their disappointment.

But right now, there wasn’t a single person beside her who could lecture her about the cigarette.

And seeing how Iriana’s complexion grew increasingly vibrant as she savored the smoke through her nose, any potential complaints would surely cease.

“…Ugh.”

Though she didn’t stop the groans that suggested she was only doing this because she hadn’t died, it was still strange.

While cigarettes were becoming increasingly restricted in distribution networks for ordinary non-superhumans due to theories about their negative effects on the respiratory system…

For superhumans whose trained bodies were barely affected by respiratory concerns, cigarettes did provide a psychological calming effect to those who smoked them.

Yet there was no function to restore a person’s physical strength just by savoring the smoke without actually smoking it through the mouth.

So why was this happening to Iriana?

It was a scene that raised peculiar questions.

But the time it took for this to continue wasn’t very long.

“…Who in the world gives someone magic herbs that temporarily restore physical strength just by inhaling their scent, rolled up like cigarettes, just because I threw a tantrum saying I can’t eat anything more bitter than coffee?!”

Despite her increasingly vibrant complexion from inhaling the smoke, Iriana’s expression lost its composure as she revealed the true identity of what looked like a leaf cigarette in her hand.

Magic herbs, unlike tobacco which negatively affects the respiratory system but provides psychological stability when inhaled…

These were designed to allow those with the ability to strengthen their bodies using fighting spirit to temporarily recover physical strength just by inhaling the smoke produced when burned, in order to mitigate the bitter taste of regular magic herbs that was so intense it could be described as repulsive.

Judging by the color returning to her previously fatigued face after inhaling the smoke, the effect was certainly real.

“Lucius, you handed this to me saying it was a prototype but that you’d perfected both taste and aroma—just you wait.”

Given how she was grinding her teeth at the friend who had given her this, it was clear that she couldn’t give it a good score for taste and aroma even as a white lie.