Chapter 139

Chapter 139

Episode 139: A New Beginning After entrusting Mien with the contract between Emily and the Demon Sword, I met with El and had a conversation. The content of the conversation was, of course, that it would be best to leave Karaldin for a while. “…I see.” El nodded as if she understood what I said. Her expression was slightly dejected. She seemed to be subtly watching my reaction, and it seemed she felt sorry for me, even if she didn’t show it outwardly. “….” She lowered her gaze as if lost in thought. On the other hand, I looked up and stared into her red eyes. The blood-red eyes were a trace of the Blood Shadow Demonic Art. At the same time, it was quite a rare color. The reason she had wandered the underworld was probably because of those eyes. After staring at her eyes for a while, El, who had emerged from her thoughts, spoke again. “Where are you going?” “The Tybon County. It’s in the northeastern region, and it’ll take about ten days by carriage.” I had already talked about Yoo Taejin and Kim Ahram yesterday. Judging from the fact that no other names were written in the letter, it was probably just those two. As I was thinking that, El asked back with a strange expression. “Is it okay to meet them?” “Huh?” “Ah, no. It’s just… I just had that thought for a moment.” El immediately denied her words, but I could roughly guess what she wanted to say. “Why, do you think it’s dangerous?” “…I don’t think you need to think that way, but you never know what might happen.” Could you think of it from that perspective? I also partially agreed with her words. Just because we were friends in our previous lives doesn’t mean that it implies an absolute and unconditional friendly relationship. We cannot be sure that we will not be in conflict with each other due to the relationships we have built in this world. However, at the same time, I think it’s a pretty exaggerated worry. At least as far as we are concerned. “Maybe, the kind of thing you’re worried about won’t happen.” “…Well, it’s not like we have anything.” When I denied it, El chuckled and nodded. A conflict can only arise if something is intertwined. As she said, we have nothing and are not involved anywhere. If there is anything to argue about, it would be the difference between dipping fried meat in sauce or pouring sauce on it. That’s important, of course, but not enough to cause a knife fight. “Still, we’re pretty alive.” “Yeah.” El seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then said it in a passing tone. I lightly affirmed the words by nodding. The weight contained in those words is not light, but the life I have lived so far is not so shallow that I can simply dismiss it as heavy. Our power is not that great in this world. What is great is the knowledge we have, not the skills that are demonstrated by it. If we think of it as pure human force, we are quite strong, but if we get caught between groups, we are just individuals in the end. Fighting an army with a single sword is a ridiculous story, and even now that I have achieved a metamorphosis and obtained the core of a demon, I don’t feel like experimenting with it. I still don’t want to fight griffon riders or dragon knights. What about other friends who haven’t even obtained such opportunities… They might be struggling just to live, let alone achieve something. Like El and Emily. “Okay.” As I continued to think about powerlessness, El’s voice suddenly rang in my ears. She was looking at me with a slightly regretful expression. “As you said, I think it’s better to leave here. When are we leaving?” “The day after tomorrow.” Leaving Karaldin is better sooner rather than later, but conversely, it also means that it doesn’t matter if it’s delayed a little. What is approaching us is not a threat that has a clear form and exists, but a threat that remains in the realm of assumptions and hypotheses. It is the kind of threat that can disappear in vain or suddenly jump out. Even though I vaguely guess that it is dangerous, in one corner of my heart, I wonder if it is really dangerous. “Okay. Then I guess there’s no choice…” El nodded with a somehow regretful expression. Is it closer to being sad than regretful? I wanted to ask where the regret in her expression came from, but I shook my head. It’s not too late to ask after we leave. It wouldn’t be good to talk about it now and make her even more strongly entangled in regrets. “…I think I need to go out today.” “Okay. Whatever it is, I hope you resolve it well.” “Thank you.” El said to me with a smile. It was an expression of gratitude that was not so strange in the context, but I vaguely thought that the meaning included in that gratitude was a little deeper. I gave her a light smile and nodded. “It’s nothing.” // “Hoo.” The man sighed, not knowing how many times, and looked at the village in the distance. One of the knights who saw where his gaze was directed quickly added an explanation. “That’s Larrcurd. We should arrive in Karaldin tomorrow.” “I see. Thank you.” The man gave a short bow to the knight. And then, he swallowed unnecessary words such as, ‘I’m not familiar with the east…’ into his throat. According to his personal feelings, western nobles seemed to be as disliked by the eastern nobles of Kilcurd as people from the lawless cities in the southern desert. There were no nobles in this place right now, but it seemed unlikely that knights working under a master with such an ideology would actively oppose their master’s ideology. ‘…Hoo.’ He sighed again inwardly and looked at the village of Larrcurd. Once he passed that village, he would be in Karaldin. And he would have to start looking for a needle in a haystack. That bleak future was making the man depressed. The man, Zarata Kastuff, was a vassal of the Gardisha County. However, he was also in a slightly special position as a vassal, and the ambiguous title of (Deputy) Butler of the Gardisha County was a blatant expression of his position. He could not become a butler because he was not a member of the bloodline. However, Kastuff, who had been recognized for his outstanding abilities, occupied a fairly important position in the Gardisha County’s business. As such, it was an undeniable fact that he was intelligent and full of talent. The reason he came all the way to the east was to solve one of the Count’s concerns. Unlike his predecessor, he did not have a Demon Sword. Of course, he didn’t even think about asking for a Demon Sword. What Kastuff received from the Count was something less rare and more useful – checks, or the authority to negotiate business. And Kastuff liked it. After all, checks and documents were lighter than Demon Swords. Kastuff used his authority to subtly improve the situation of Baron Noitrem, who was in a position to write in his monthly report that he did not know who the culprit was. And, as if doing him a favor, he even obtained the right to view documents such as the Mesatria’s entry list. Of course, it goes without saying that the process involved quite tedious and complex persuasion techniques that could appropriately manipulate people’s minds. However, unfortunately, his three days of hard work were in vain. The reason Kastuff came all the way from Mesatria to Karaldin was because he followed the traces he had found in the Mesin Great Forest. The traces found in the Mesatria’s Great Forest were heading south, and naturally Kastuff and Baron Noitrem turned their attention to Karaldin, the southernmost stronghold city in the eastern region. There were several stronghold cities, but if the culprit had fled south, wouldn’t they want to stay as far away from Mesatria as possible? Unfortunately, Baron Noitrem’s support had decreased considerably at the point when he made that deduction. The Baron’s thoughts were leaning towards proving his usefulness to Marquis Halphide and preserving his position as the lord of the city, rather than finding the culprit who killed the Griffon Rider. After all, he had been a proxy lord who had been successfully governing the city. He thought that if he promoted a business that was appealing to Marquis Halphide, even if it was a bit of a gamble, he would not easily fire him. And Kastuff could not help but agree that it was a more sensible decision. It wasn’t good news for him, so he could only nod in his heart. As a result of that process, all Kastuff received was three knights and twenty soldiers. And they were not formally armed, but only wore comfortable leather armor and light weapons. What could he do with such a guard-like force when even a knight with a Demon Sword had been defeated? But he could understand Baron Noitrem’s situation. It wasn’t like he could lead an army to Karaldin when he wasn’t going to war with Karaldin. Swish. Zarata Kastuff took out a portrait from his chest and stared blankly at it. Red eyes and black hair. And a fairly impressive appearance. Once he entered Karaldin, it would not be difficult to find the woman. He didn’t have high expectations, but he had also brought a magical tool to track the Demon Sword. However, he doubted whether he could catch the woman who had avoided Etechafe’s pursuit for several months and even killed him with these men alone. He might be able to if he fought head-on, but tracking, not fighting, was a long and tedious task. After considering various possibilities, Kastuff was well aware that the probability of failure in this case was quite high. He looked up at the sky and sighed. “…Should I write a resignation letter?” But the twenty soldiers and three knights beside him completely ignored his words. They had their own reasons. His complaints would pop up in everyday conversations without any warning, so the six knights who stayed by his side decided that it would be better to ignore his mutterings, as they had always done. He looked at the portrait he had tied to his waist again. He had checked it so many times that he was now seeing it in his dreams. He even appeared in dreams of a slightly embarrassing nature. ‘Of course, those dreams won’t come true.’ There were various practical problems, but above all, Kastuff did not have the courage to spend a night with the woman who had smashed the balls of the Gardisha’s second son. He put aside his unnecessary fantasies and grabbed the reins of his horse again. In any case, he was in a position to carry out the Count’s orders. He had to retrieve the Demon Sword to the County, and he also had to transport the culprit who had injured the Count’s son. Other trivial matters were fine.