Ch.95Chapter 95. Merilyn, Awakening!

I don’t know the exact circumstances, but it was confirmed that Jean and Marcus knew each other.

After resolving his hostility, Marcus exchanged a few words with Jean before giving instructions to the soldiers guarding the checkpoint.

“Open the way.”

“Are you sure, sir? We haven’t verified their identities yet…”

“I’ll take responsibility. Open the gate.”

The soldiers saluted and opened the entrance upon his repeated order.

Despite identity verification being mandatory in this imperial territory, those following Marcus’s orders showed no hesitation whatsoever.

This proved that Commander Marcus Cradle had built trust within the military over a long period.

“Heh heh, thank you. Thanks to having an old friend, we can enter without any hassle.”

Jean expressed relief and gratitude for his connection with Marcus.

However, Marcus’s expression was far from pleased despite being the one offering the favor.

“…Don’t misunderstand, Jean Cleo.”

His voice was sharp.

Addressing him with both first and last name showed none of the joy one might expect when meeting an old acquaintance after a long time.

His gaze reflected the same sentiment.

“You…”

It was clearly what one would call hostility, but entirely different from his earlier suspicion of a stranger.

If his previous hostility had been aimed at someone of unknown identity, his current animosity was clearly directed at “someone he distrusted.”

“Unlike me and the others after that day, you did nothing. You didn’t fight to protect anyone, nor did you build up power to prepare for upcoming dangers. Am I wrong?”

“…I sincerely explained my circumstances, but I see you still don’t trust me.”

“It would be strange to trust someone who only played the role of a bystander for half a century after claiming to succeed her.”

As he said this, Marcus Cradle turned his fierce gaze toward me.

For a moment, thinking his hostility might be directed at me, I shrank back, and Merilyn quickly stepped in front of me.

“…Merilyn?”

“Calm down.”

Before I could question further, Irie immediately grabbed her hand.

Though Merilyn shot her a cold look, Irie spoke quietly with a firm voice.

“It’s okay, Merilyn. Nothing bad will happen if we stay put.”

As a prophet, she could probably guess what was about to happen.

Indeed, Marcus glanced at me briefly before continuing his conversation with Jean without much concern.

“Is that person the ‘successor’ you mentioned?”

“Yes, he’s just at the starting point now. I chose this place for his training, but could you guide him to a place where he can warm up a bit?”

“…I’ll assign a soldier to guide him to the training ground. You come with me for a moment.”

“Sure, we have a lot of accumulated stories to share.”

Jean paused the conversation and approached me.

Despite facing someone of the rank of Imperial Commander, he showed no signs of intimidation.

“I’ll have a chat with my old friend for a while, so you go ahead and start your training.”

“By myself?”

“Don’t worry. That young lady over there will know what I’m planning to do.”

Jean glanced at Irie as he spoke.

Receiving his gaze, Irie nodded and began stepping into the garrison area.

“…I’ll take care of things here.”

The exchange of glances between them revealed a strong sense of trust.

***

It didn’t take long to realize why Jean had entrusted his absence to Irie.

As a prophet, Irie had the ability to vaguely understand the past of those she encountered.

Additionally, since she could easily foresee the immediate future, finding a suitable spot in the training ground without the soldier’s guidance would be simple for her.

“It’s break time now, so no one will come here for a while. This is suitable for freely testing your new power before beginning formal training.”

After entering the empty training ground, Irie confidently positioned herself in the center.

Her actions seemed prepared to take charge of the training, but naturally, I had several questions.

“What do you mean by ‘new power’?”

“I suppose I’m late in explaining this to you, Hyoseong.”

Irie turned to look at me.

Her gaze fell on the armor I was wearing, which was essentially responsible for all my combat power along with Pailoi.

Naturally, I would wear it during training unless instructed otherwise.

“Hyoseong, could you try gathering magical power in your armor?”

“Magical power?”

“Rather than explaining, feeling it physically will make more sense to you.”

“Ah, yes. Then…”

At this point, Irie was in charge of my training in Jean’s place.

Deciding to follow her instructions without question, I prepared to draw magical power through the armor as I would in actual combat.

The method isn’t difficult.

When I exert my will, the armor draws mana for me since I lack the ability to handle it myself.

-Woong.

Responding to my will, a shimmer began forming around the armor.

Seeing that mana had been drawn to me, Irie turned to Merilyn who was watching from the side.

“Next, Merilyn, could you play…”

“Fufu, leave it to me~”

Merilyn raised her lute as if she had been waiting for this.

I couldn’t help but question her natural cooperation.

I had thought Jean was in charge of this training with Irie as his substitute, yet Merilyn, who had been on bad terms with Irie, was being cooperative. Could this also have been pre-arranged with Jean?

-Tiriing~♬

As these questions crossed my mind, Merilyn began plucking the strings of her lute, filling the air with clear melodies.

My spirits were gradually lifting, clearly due to her performance, and I was just beginning to lose myself in the clear melody when—

-WOONG!!

Suddenly, I felt the magical power in my armor growing abnormally, beyond my control.

What’s happening? I didn’t try to increase the output…

“Urgh…!!”

No, this wasn’t my imagination.

The armor, which had been relatively light and easy to move in, was becoming two, then three times heavier…

Eventually, it became so heavy that I could barely move.

“What on earth…”

“It’s not that the armor has become heavier. It’s a phenomenon caused by the armor’s instinct suppressing your will.”

Irie answered my question with a composed attitude.

As if she had anticipated my reaction, her explanation continued without hesitation.

“What do you mean by the armor’s instinct?”

“It’s the result of our modifications to enhance the armor’s performance. You’ve noticed the significant increase in magical power, haven’t you?”

Indeed, since Merilyn’s performance began, my freedom had been restricted, but the magical output had also increased.

Treating this as the core of the training, Irie’s voice grew increasingly serious as she continued her explanation.

“But even with increased magical power, the conditions for handling it are not easy… From now on, Hyoseong, you must resist the power of the armor—which has been stimulated by Merilyn’s performance—and make its output completely your own.”

“You say its instinct is heightened by the performance… has the armor developed some kind of consciousness?”

“It’s not as sophisticated as an ego weapon. Demons each have their own unique desires that form the basis of their magical power, and those desires remain even when processed into equipment, making it possible to stimulate their instincts.”

So while different from an ego weapon, the armor has developed enough instinct to increase its magical output on its own.

Hearing this, I became aware of a voice coming from the armor.

-Trou…

A low voice that drained the listener’s energy…

Yes, it was a memorable voice.

It was definitely the voice of “Sloth the Indolent,” who had become the material for this armor.

-Trouble…some…

Though only the corpse remained, its desire still lingered in the armor, exerting its will.

The magical power growing under that will’s influence was weighing down my body more and more as the muttering became clearer.

-Moving is… troublesome… I just… want to lie down…

…This guy’s still the same even though only his corpse remains.

I wondered why movement was becoming so difficult—could it be because this guy’s basic instinct was pure laziness?

“We’ve only made modifications without testing them directly until now, but I can anticipate any dangers that might arise, so you needn’t worry too much. Let’s try moving around as a test.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll give it a try…”

Taking a deep breath, I gripped a training spear and prepared to swing it at a practice dummy.

Right, I shouldn’t overthink this.

Irie enhanced my armor with good intentions, and the armor itself hasn’t actually become heavier.

It’s just the armor’s desire suppressing my actions.

Since I can overcome this by exerting my mental strength, this training demands more mental fortitude than physical strength.

-I want to lie doooown…

But with Merilyn’s performance strengthening the will, the creature’s laziness was growing stronger than my resistance.

At first it was just difficult to move, but now it felt like it was trying to completely crush my body…

Damn, how much does this guy hate moving?

-Crack, creak!

Even ignoring that, my joints creaked as I tried to move.

The armor’s joints had stiffened from the mana it was emitting, requiring considerable force just to move.

Had I been prepared from the start, it might have been different, but having begun in a compromised posture, it was impossible to generate momentum.

“Merilyn… this is hard to endure. Could you stop playing for a moment?”

Let’s catch my breath first, then try again properly after regaining composure.

With that thought, I urgently asked her to stop playing, but—

-Tiring, tiring~

Despite my words, Merilyn continued her performance, even gradually increasing the tempo.

“Merilyn, wait, the performance… ugh!!”

Could she be too focused on playing to hear me?

No, her gaze was directly on me as she played.

The faint smile on her lips almost seemed to suggest she was enjoying my struggle.

“…Fufu.”

No, this wasn’t my imagination.

I could tell just by recalling her characteristic mischievousness toward me.

-Tiriring~ Ting~♬

By the time I realized this and tried to express my desperation, it was already too late.

With the cheerful performance increasing the perceived weight tenfold, my body, unable to withstand it, collapsed to the floor with a thud.

“Merilyn, why…”

“I’m sorry, Hyoseong. I want to cooperate with you, but somehow seeing you struggle makes me excited without even realizing it.”

Yet far from stopping, she seemed to be putting even more strength into her fingers on the lute.

Closing the distance between us in this state, she turned her unusually gleaming eyes toward me and began to flush.

“So just a little, just a tiny bit more, I thought I’d increase the tempo…”

“Please endure until the end without giving up, okay? Hehe~♡”

As if seeing my suffering had awakened something dormant within her.