Ch.7070. Aftermath

Dawn has broken.

The torrential rain that poured all night had finally subsided, leaving only a fine drizzle tapping against the window.

Rex slowly rose from his bed.

It was quite early to be awake.

For the past three months, Rex hadn’t slept deeply even once. It was because of the Gears. The nightmares induced by the forbidden artifact disrupted his sleep.

Of course, today he hadn’t had any nightmares. He had removed both the Bongshin armor and the Golden Marriage Chains. However, the habit of short sleep had already become ingrained in his body, causing his eyes to open automatically without any conscious effort to wake up early.

He felt no fatigue. That was natural, since both the vitality and the nightmare-inducing prohibition were gone. Rex closed his eyes and contemplated his inner state. The Steel Heart. That blessing had once again provided its reward without fail. Though he couldn’t judge it in specific numerical terms, it was clear that his total amount of divine power had become more abundant.

A wall.

He could see a wall blocking his path forward.

The Underhand Clan had more than thirty members. Every one of them was a Holy Perceiver who had reached the stage of revelation. Rex had easily dispatched the Underhand Clan, but that didn’t mean his opponents were inferior. Clan leader Caspar, for instance, was not only skilled in handling holy flame but also possessed powerful blessings.

Even within the same realm, specific levels varied tremendously. Having defeated the Underhand Clan, Rex could clearly be considered to have surpassed the abilities of an ordinary Holy Flame practitioner. Yet he hadn’t reached the Brilliant Light stage. The wall still blocked his path.

‘It’s fine.’

It no longer seemed as insurmountably high as before. It was now at a height he could overcome with just a bit more effort. He had grown his divine power through training with the Gears, and had built a solid foundation through the Kaiserion style and the Heavenly River Technique. His preparations were sufficient.

All that remained was the catalyst. To break through the wall and become a Brilliant Light, he needed a suitable catalyst.

‘I need time.’

This was a problem he couldn’t solve right now.

Setting aside his thoughts, Rex turned his head. He could hear steady breathing. Chloe was sound asleep on the bed. Judging by her slightly upturned lips, she seemed to be having a pleasant dream. Rex stared at her for a moment, then pulled the blanket that had shifted to one side back over her.

Memories of the previous night naturally came to mind. It was an indescribably strange feeling. The sensation of their kiss remained vivid.

During his days living in his hometown, he had never had any meaningful relationship with a girl of similar age. Back then, Rex had only focused on passing the coming-of-age ceremony with excellent grades. His top priority had been to gain recognition from the villagers and secure a good job.

After cleaning the barn, chopping firewood, and helping his father with hunting, the sun would already be setting, leaving him with no leisure to even consider the idea of dating someone.

That remained true even now. Rex’s circumstances weren’t comfortable enough to leisurely enjoy romance.

‘I don’t know.’

Rex let out a small sigh.

Thinking about it, Chloe had consistently shown goodwill toward Rex from the beginning. And what she had shown yesterday wasn’t something one would do to someone they didn’t have affection for.

‘I do like it.’

Chloe was, without exaggeration, the most beautiful person Rex had ever seen. Elin was… well, she was a fairy to begin with. Anyway, having received a kiss from such a girl first, Rex couldn’t possibly dislike it. He was just confused because this experience was new to him.

In the end, this too was a problem he couldn’t solve right now.

Since it seemed awkward to wake the soundly sleeping Chloe just to tell her he was leaving, Rex gathered his belongings from the corner and quietly slipped out of her room.

For now, he would return to the inn.

Though he had eliminated every single member of the Underhand Clan, that didn’t mean everything was settled.

They had created connections by paying large sums to various nobles. It wasn’t difficult to predict how those nobles who had accepted bribes would react. Moreover, even if the Underhand Clan had no connections, an incident involving the deaths of dozens of people couldn’t simply be overlooked.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

He had no regrets. Even if he could go back to yesterday, Rex would make the same decision. By the time he arrived at the inn, the sun was gradually rising beyond the dark sky.

Instead of entering his room, he headed for the courtyard. As soon as he put on the Bongshin armor and the Golden Marriage Chains, the effects of the Gears immediately seeped in. Perhaps this was how a soaring bird would feel after losing its wings. Having briefly savored freedom, the sense of deprivation was all the greater. Ignoring the unpleasant sensation crawling across his skin, Rex drew his zweihander.

Though he faced the wall of Brilliant Light, he had not the slightest intention of stopping his training.

***

Morning had come.

As he sat on the ground practicing the Heavenly River Technique, someone called out to him from a distance.

“Sir Rex?”

A familiar voice. Squire William. Rex opened his eyes. William spoke with an anxious expression.

“The lord has summoned you. He ordered me to bring you immediately…”

Rex calmly rose from his seat.

“Let’s go.”

William seemed to know about the incident from yesterday. Throughout the journey to the lord’s castle, he kept glancing nervously at Rex, making it impossible not to notice. Though he appeared to want to ask something, William ultimately couldn’t say a word until they reached the castle. Rex also walked in silence.

“This way…”

Thanks to his frequent visits to the knights’ hall, Rex was familiar with the corridors of the lord’s castle. But only those leading to the knights’ hall. The castle was vast, and the knights’ hall occupied only a small portion of its expansive space. Though both the knights’ hall and the audience chamber were within the inner castle, they were far apart, so the corridor they were now passing through was unfamiliar to Rex.

After walking for quite some time, William stopped in front of a large door. The door was engraved with intricate patterns—the emblem of the Lindenbach barony. Heavily armed soldiers guarded the door, glancing briefly at Rex and William before looking away.

“You may enter.”

William bowed his head slightly and stepped back. Without a moment’s hesitation, Rex pushed open the heavy door in one swift motion.

“Greetings.”

While slightly tilting his head in greeting, he rolled his eyes to survey his surroundings.

Knights were lined up on one side of the audience chamber’s center, while men who appeared to be nobles stood on the opposite side. Apart from Sir Heinz, with whom Rex had briefly sparred before, he was also acquainted with the other knights. He had spoken with them a few times while receiving guidance from Berger.

While the knights generally looked at him with interest and curiosity, the nobles were different. Their furrowed brows and glaring eyes clearly conveyed hostility.

“Is that the one who…”

“How dare a lowly commoner…”

Despite lowering their voices in an attempt to whisper, Rex heard every word the nobles muttered without missing a single syllable. Contempt and disdain were evident in their mockery. He wasn’t particularly angry. If anything, it was surprising how exactly their reactions matched what he had anticipated.

“Enough.”

The murmuring noise stopped as if by magic. Rex turned his head.

The audience chamber was more magnificent than any building Rex had ever seen. A red carpet with an antique pattern stretched across the floor like a corridor, and what appeared to be portraits of past lords hung on the walls.

The carpet extended to the end of the audience chamber, where a throne was placed. On the throne sat a man just entering middle age, his face expressionless. Raimund Lindenbach. The lord of Lindveil and head of the Lindenbach barony.

“So you’ve come.”

Raimund muttered in an indifferent tone. Beside him stood Berger, clad in full plate armor, his expression unreadable behind his helmet. As this was not a situation for casual greetings, Rex simply bowed his head slightly in respect.

“It’s an honor to meet you. I am Rex.”

“I know. You’re the prized disciple of Sir Berger, the pride of our domain. I had originally planned to summon you separately for a meeting. Though the mountain of work prevented me from finding the time.”

Raimund slowly surveyed the assembly before continuing.

“I didn’t expect we would meet like this. Truly regrettable, don’t you think?”

It was a statement that struck at the core without adding unnecessary rhetoric.

“I assume you know why I’ve called you here?”

“Yes. It’s about the matter concerning the Underhand Clan, isn’t it?”

Everyone gathered here—nobles and knights holding high positions in Lindveil—knew about the incident that had occurred in the red-light district the previous night. The Underhand Clan had been annihilated. Their headquarters, a gambling den, had been split in half, and everyone inside, including clan leader Caspar, had been turned into corpses.

Raimund narrowed his eyes as he looked at Rex. The culprit behind that catastrophe was the young man standing before him. It was something incomprehensible by common sense. But regardless of how unbelievable it seemed, it was an undeniable fact.

“Even if they were criminals, the sin of killing more than thirty people weighs heavily.”

Raimund observed Rex’s expression as he spoke in a dry voice. His face, showing no trace of anxiety or concern, seemed to indicate a willingness to accept whatever punishment might be imposed.

“It is the duty of the guard to apprehend such villains. Your arbitrary action challenges my authority.”

At these words, the nobles glared at Rex with triumphant faces. The knights twisted their lips, clearly displeased with how the situation was unfolding.

‘Authority?’

Rex inwardly scoffed. Shouldn’t establishing proper discipline come before asserting authority? People had suffered because the guard had turned a blind eye to the Underhand Clan’s crimes.

He wasn’t without the desire to refute Raimund’s words. However, just as he was about to speak, Berger’s voice echoed in his mind, causing him to close his mouth.

[Wait.]

Rex flinched and looked at Berger. He was still maintaining his silence beside Raimund.

[It’s alright. Did you think I would leave you like this?]

Though Rex didn’t know what method Berger was using to transmit his voice directly, one thing was certain: this entire situation was orchestrated by Berger. If that was the case, he could rest assured. Rex responded with a composed face.

“I apologize.”

“I didn’t call you here to hear words of apology. What’s done is done, and spilled water cannot be gathered again. What matters is how we clean up the aftermath.”

Aftermath. Raimund repeated the word to himself, then spoke with a curious smile.

“To get straight to the point, I won’t be charging you with any crime.”

Rex couldn’t help but widen his eyes. While he had expected Berger to mitigate some of the backlash, he never imagined he would escape any punishment whatsoever.

Others were equally surprised by Raimund’s decision. The nobles blinked stupidly before belatedly realizing the situation and raising their voices in protest.

“What are you saying, Your Excellency!”

The first to speak out was a portly noble with a genial appearance. With a face reddened by excitement, this man, who held significant shares in the pleasure district, poured out his words.

“Are you turning a blind eye to the massacre committed by this lowly creature? This is outrageous!”

“That’s right! How can we let someone who has disrupted the law of the domain go unpunished!”

“Your Excellency, please reconsider! He is dangerous! Even beheading him would hardly be enough!”

The audience chamber instantly became as noisy as a marketplace.

The knights looked at the nobles with displeased expressions but dared not interject before the lord.

After silently listening to the nobles’ grievances for quite some time, Raimund glanced at Rex. Despite all the contemptuous criticism, Rex’s expression remained impassively calm.

“I have heard your thoughts.”

When Raimund raised his hand, the nobles’ outcry ceased.

“So… you’re saying Rex should be punished?”

“While the death of the clan members is not regrettable, we cannot overlook the arrogance of this man who disregarded proper procedures. Please make the right decision.”

“Does everyone else share the same opinion?”

The nobles nodded without a moment’s hesitation. Raimund stroked his chin and bluntly stated:

“My thoughts differ.”

“…Pardon? But—”

As the nobles were about to protest with bewildered faces, Raimund’s cold voice froze the entire audience chamber.

“Silence.”