episode_0010

The Nation of Bosca, Burnt to Ashes

“….” “….”

Let’s… try to sort this out. Aria and I received a send-off from the Riera sisters in Melodian and arrived in Bosca, a dangerous country that I still wanted to record. In Bosca, there was slavery, a system I abhorred. Derman, the current king of Bosca, was notorious for his tyrannical rule, but he was said to be kind to famous people from other countries. So Derman was governing this country even with support from other nations, but…

“Why is the entire country burning in the middle of the night… From the hill, all the buildings are on fire.”

“Indeed, Zeke-nim. Look there! The castle is collapsing… Ah… Ahhh!!”

As Aria said, the castle was collapsing. But… Aria suddenly screamed and then collapsed on the spot. Ah… Could it be because of *that*?! The after-effects of the Estur incident are still troubling Aria…

“Aria…”

“Uwaaa… Ahhh!!”

“Cheer up.”

I grabbed Aria’s hand, who was crouching, clutching her head and trembling. Her trembling stopped. And… huh?

“Hehehehe…”

…It’s starting again. When I held her hand, she immediately seemed to feel better, taking my hand to her cheek and rubbing it against her cheek. Does she like it that much… Well… if she’s happy, that’s fine.

“Are you okay?”

“Hehehehe… Indeed, I don’t think I can live without Zeke-nim… I love you, Zeke-nim… Even if the world is destroyed, I will protect only Zeke-nim… It makes me so happy that only Zeke-nim is by my side… Hehehehehe…”

This made me curious about Aria’s previous personality. But there would be no one left who remembered Aria now… Only a slightly broken Aria lived in this world, so her past personality would remain an unsolved mystery. Oh, wait. Is that the problem?!

“Aria! Let’s go inside quickly!”

“…! No! If Zeke-nim gets even a burn… I… I…”

“You have healing abilities, don’t you?”

“Still, I absolutely don’t want Zeke-nim to get hurt! Let me go instead… No! Then Zeke-nim won’t be by my side!!!”

“You’d know immediately if I were in danger and come, wouldn’t you?”

“Still, just in case…!!!”

What’s she trying to do? Huh? What?! A yellow circle appeared on the ground where I was standing, enclosing me, and instantly transformed into a barrier… A barrier?! What is she trying to do now?! When I punched the barrier, Aria said with a smile.

“Now I feel safe! I can safely grant Zeke-nim’s request! By the way, what was the request you were going to make, Zeke-nim?”

“…So you cast this barrier to protect me?”

“Yes~”

“…Don’t do it next time… Respect my freedom too…”

“…That’s too much… Protecting Zeke-nim is my mission!”

“Ugh… Anyway, go in there and rescue all the enslaved people struggling for their lives, and bring them here. Saving people is the priority.”

“Huh? Why the slaves?”

“They were forcibly enslaved by Derman, the current king of Bosca. My father hated slavery, so I heard a lot about this country. So, I’m asking you, Aria.”

“Ah… Zeke-nim is relying on me…!!”

You made it that way, you damn… Aria ran into the burning Bosca with an ecstatic expression, thinking she would receive praise from me. Ugh… I’m forced to wait on this hill outside Bosca…

“No matter what, if you even put up a barrier, where does my freedom go… By the way, why is Bosca in this state?”

Could a rebellion have broken out like in Estur? That’s impossible. The nations that benefited from Derman wouldn’t just leave Bosca’s citizens alone. Then what on earth turned that country into such a mess?…. Oh, wait.

“Now that I think about it… did I tell Aria to look for records?”

…I didn’t. Oh no…!! The moment the books containing Bosca’s history burn in that fire, Bosca will surely become a ghost nation?! Only the royal family knows Bosca’s history, so asking the enslaved people would be useless!!!

“Uwaaaaa! Aria!! Please!!! Find the records too…?!”

Suddenly, something heavy dropped next to me from the sky. Thanks to Aria’s barrier, I was safe from the impact, but… what on earth fell?! The dust cloud made it impossible to see its identity…

“Ugh… my back… those awful guys…”

A human voice? So what fell from the sky was a person?! Is it really a person?! It can’t be a person! Otherwise, the ground wouldn’t be dented up to my ankle…! But as a human figure began to emerge from the dust, I immediately pulled out my explorer’s journal. I have to record this. It could be a new species.

“Were there remnants here too.”

The man’s voice was heard again. But… it was a hostile voice. Surely he wouldn’t attack so suddenly…? As a sword appeared before my eyes, I saw the man in the dust cloud. The man, wearing armor only on his upper body, was pointing a sword at me, which became visible as the dust gradually cleared. But I was protected by Aria’s barrier, wasn’t I…?!

“Oops, a mistake…”

The man accidentally tapped the barrier with his sword, and the barrier shattered into pieces… What?! Why did Aria’s barrier break so weakly?! As the dust cleared somewhat and the one-armed man with gray hair became clearly visible, the blood on him was stark. What?! What on earth did he do in there?! Covered in blood except for his face, the man with sharp eyes asked me again.

“Are you also a remnant of that nation?”

“…Ah… No… I’m just an ordinary explorer who arrived and was dumbfounded by the burning country…”

“…Hmm. Your clothes are certainly different… Ah, now that I think about it, you were just trapped inside some barrier, weren’t you? My apologies… I just came from a fight, so I’m a bit sensitive…”

“….”

It was so sudden that I didn’t know what to say. What on earth is this man? The man lowered the sword he was holding to the ground, looked at the book I was holding, and then asked me.

“Wait, an explorer? Then is that book a record you wrote during your explorations?”

“Oh, this book? Yes… It’s a book where I’ve recorded everything about the places I’ve visited while exploring this world…”

“Really? Can I see that book too?”

“Uh… yeah, sure…”

“Thanks.”

I handed the book to the one-armed man. Why did he suddenly want to see the book? The man stuck his sword into the ground, took my book, looked at its contents, was greatly surprised, and then returned the book to me.

“You’ve written a surprisingly good record. From currency, to food, to life… It’s rare to find someone who records this much… It’s an incredible talent.”

“Ah… Yes… Thank you.”

“So you even take a bodyguard like this with you?”

“Huh?… Argh!!”

What happened?! I saw the man quickly draw his sword from the ground… and then, in an instant, a shockwave erupted! When I opened my eyes, Aria, who had appeared in the blink of an eye, was swinging her staff at the man, but the man was blocking Aria’s staff with his sword. So that shockwave was from their clash?!

“How dare you point a sword at Zeke-nim…?! To do so with thoughts of death… Have you given up on life…?!”

“Uh… I did point it, but…”

“E… Eeekk!! Why aren’t you being pushed back!!!”

No matter how hard she tried, Aria couldn’t push back the one-armed man’s sword. The man was too strong. I could tell. Even if Aria and I attacked together, we would never defeat this man. But didn’t this man just apologize to me?!

“Aria!!”

“Zeke-nim!! Stay still!! I’ll deal with this rude person right away! Oh, Omnipotent Being in the heavens. Your follower, who serves you, wishes to borrow your power, so please lend your strength to me…”

“Aria, stop it!!! The man even apologized to me, so what about my position if you do this?!!!”

“…Zeke-nim… got angry at me…?”

At my stern reprimand, Aria’s strength suddenly began to wane. Then, with tears welling up, she collapsed on the spot and started crying, covering her face with both hands. When Aria’s staff, which had been clashing with his sword, disappeared, the man also slumped to the ground and let out a sigh.

“Phew… Destroying a nation really drains your strength…”

“…Huh? That… You did that?”

“Yeah.”

“….”

He said it so casually that I couldn’t react at all?! Can someone destroy a nation and speak so nonchalantly about it?!

“Ah… sorry, I’m too tired right now, so I spoke briefly. They deployed all their soldiers to try and enslave me. But the people in that country are really strange… They suddenly mock their neighbors once they become slaves…”

“Huh?”

“Well, you see. I heard from the enslaved people that nearly all the citizens who weren’t slaves were determined to gain positions. So I specifically attacked only the truly wicked ones. And then the slaves started setting fires behind me and such…”

“….”

Was it a revolution?! When that strong human suddenly appeared, the enslaved people started a revolution. But Bosca’s records are insufficient. I need to know everything, but for it to be destroyed overnight… I never expected it. But then…

“Who on earth are you?”

“Ugh… Since I suddenly pointed a sword at you, I guess I should tell you about myself… Still, my friends told me not to reveal my real name… So please understand that I can’t tell you my true name. My nickname is ‘Twenty Mana.’ And you might not believe it, but I’m not from this world. I’m an otherworlder.”

“…?”

What’s this now? Someone from another world? And such a person just destroyed a nation? But seeing the ground dented when Twenty Mana landed next to me earlier, it was hard not to believe. This man… he is definitely a being from another dimension.

“But why the nickname…”

“I get that question a lot. I got that nickname because I can store more energy than others. Something about being able to store 20 times the energy of an ordinary person… That’s how I got that nickname.”

“…That’s truly a strange nickname… But why did you go to Bosca?”

“As if I went there knowing… I was traveling this world and visited this country. But the king who saw me said my potential was immense and tried to capture me.”

“They sent out all their soldiers just to capture you?”

“Yeah… Believe it or not, they must have thought they could make a lot of money by making me a slave. As I fought the soldiers, the enslaved people voluntarily joined my fight. So now, all those people have been freed and have escaped to other places.”

“That’s righ… Ah, just a moment.”

“Why?”

I remembered someone I had forgotten. Shocked by this man’s identity, I had temporarily forgotten Aria. I approached Aria, who was still crying on the ground, and stroked her head. Then, Aria’s laughter began to sound. I knew it…

“Heeheehee…”

“…That woman’s mood changes dangerously fast. Who is that priestess in black robes?”

“She’s a Saintess, even if she looks like this. She’s very strong, you know.”

“Really? A Saintess in black robes… That’s quite unique. Oh, you said you were an explorer, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Are you interested in other worlds, by any chance?”

Suddenly? Well… now that I’ve heard about it, I’m starting to get interested. I’m certainly curious. I do wonder what other worlds are like. But…

“I want to explore all of this Crentid World that I can within my lifetime. While I am interested… I don’t particularly desire it.”

“…Right. Speaking from my experience… don’t explore other worlds. Seriously.”

“Ah… Yes… But did you really come from another world?”

“I have a lot of proof… Want to see? They’re items from another world…”

“…I don’t think I’d understand even if I saw them.”

“Is that so…”

Honestly, if he showed me something and claimed it was from another world, it could just be an exotic item. I can’t fully believe him. Another world, he says… Perhaps because it hasn’t been proven yet, I can’t easily trust this man.

“Then, since I was wrong to point a sword at you earlier… as an apology, I’ll give you this book. It’s one of the books the revolutionary citizens were taking with them… Since you’re an explorer, I thought it might be useful to you.”

Twenty Mana pulled a book from his backpack and offered it to me. This is…?! It’s a history book!! Aria, seeing the history book that Twenty Mana offered, puffed out her cheeks and offered me a book from inside her clothes. What kind of book is this now?

“This…!! It’s scorched, but this is also a book containing Bosca’s history! I did well too!”

“Yes, Aria. Still… two are better than one! Thank you both. By the way… do you have a secret to being so strong, Twenty Mana?”

“Oh? That… If you keep training, you’ll get that way! You seem to be like that too, don’t you? It’s definitely visible when I look at that greatsword of yours. You’ve also done a lot of training for your explorations, haven’t you?”

…It’s so true that I have nothing to say… and the secret was so ordinary that it left me even more speechless. Well… just as the man said, I also trained for my explorations… I put the books given by Twenty Mana and Aria into my backpack. Then, Twenty Mana stood up and made a request to me.

“Ah, could you perhaps heal the people who were enslaved? If you go straight to the right, you’ll see them.”

“Hah! Why us?! What you did…”

“Let’s go, Aria. We have to save people.”

“Ah, yes~”

When Aria, who had flat-out refused his request, completely changed her mind at my words, Twenty Mana made a dumbfounded expression. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing that expression a lot…

“Thanks, explorer. I’ll leave the rest to you. I need to put out that fire and then leave this world. If I stay here any longer, I don’t know what other trouble I might cause…”

“Yeah, well… that’s your decision. But if it weren’t for you, those people would have continued to suffer, wouldn’t they?”

“…Is that so? Hahahaha!!”

Twenty Mana laughed loudly and ran towards Bosca. We have to save people too… I held Aria’s hand and ran to the place Twenty Mana had mentioned. Indeed, there were people there, and some were injured.

“Uwaaaah!! It hurts!!”

“Just bear with it a little longer!… Huh?”

“Aria, you can do it, right?”

“Anything for Zeke-nim’s request! Zeke-nim, please keep recording from behind!”

“Understood.”

I sat on a log and began recording as Aria instructed. In the meantime, Aria started treating the injuries of the wounded people one by one. The people were wary of the Saintess in black robes who had suddenly approached, but seeing Aria heal them, they quickly lowered their guard. That’s a relief.

“Let’s see… the history… Oh…”

…It is indeed a history book. And it does contain history. But… I never imagined Bosca started as a violent group… They used the currency of the Magrion region, and its origin was about 70 years ago. Short. Maybe it’s good that it was destroyed quickly… All the buildings were built using the slaves the group had when it was formed, and everyone who borrowed money or couldn’t repay it was forcibly used as citizens. However, there are also people among the current citizens who weren’t like that. In short, it was a trash country with only a polished exterior…

“…It’s a bit disgusting to record, but well… I have to write it…”

“Zeke-nim! I’ve finished the healing!”

“Oh… really? That’s a relie…? ”

What. The fire that had broken out in Bosca was extinguished in an instant. That man put out all that fire by himself? Is he really someone from another world…? The moment I doubted the man, people began to express their gratitude to Aria.

“Thank you, Saintess-nim! We owe you our lives…”

“No problem… But what will you do now? Since the country is destroyed…”

“Most countries and villages in the Magrion region have kind people… So we plan to go to where those people live…”

“Or how about using that burnt area again… Ah! You have emotional attachments there, so that wouldn’t work…”

“Yes… The man who destroyed Bosca also provided us with the necessary supplies, so we’re going to try to survive for now… Thank you very much, Black Saintess-nim…!!”

…What on earth is that man’s true identity. When was Bosca destroyed? Aria saw my expression, suddenly smiled, and asked the people.

“When did that man take action?”

“This afternoon…”

Aria must have read my mind, as she asked the people the exact question I wanted to ask. By the way… afternoon? Did that man do all this while Aria and I were eating jerky on our way here? Ah… So the man caused the turmoil in the country, and the people started the fires. But these people have nowhere proper to go, don’t they? In that case… I shouted to Aria.

“Saintess-nim! How about Todrua! That place seems like it would be fine!”

“…Ah, that’s right! It would be good if you went to a village called Todrua. The people there dislike slavery, so they will welcome you! Oh, and if you go there and say that a man named Zeke saved you, the people of Todrua will welcome you too!”

“…! Thank you so much, Black Saintess-nim! This kindness… we will never forget it!”

“You’re welcome!”

The people, having received advice from Aria, began to depart for Todrua while looking at a map. Once the people were gone, I lit a bonfire and called out to Aria.

“Well done, Aria.”

“Ziknie-nim! I wasn’t acting strange, was I?”

“Yeah… By the way… that man… what’s his identity? His physical abilities alone seem to surpass those of a human…”

“I certainly knew he was stronger than me… But! Next time, I’ll pour all my strength into protecting Zeke-nim!”

“…Right. You’re dependable.”

“Hehehe…”

I stroked Aria’s head as she sat beside me. By the way, ‘Twenty Mana’… Seeing how he reacted, I get a sense of what other worlds are like. There must have been slavery in other worlds too, and that’s why the man reacted that way. Anyway, it’s a relief that Bosca was a country with little to write about… If the contents of the history books given by the two of them weren’t everything, I would have had to search through those ashes. Our next destination is Alten, the city of trade… But I still have doubts… Do other worlds truly exist? Then there must be gods too, good grief…

“Aria. That man must still be in those ashes, right?”

“Huh? Didn’t you sense it? He’s already gone, that man. The immense power I felt from him disappeared the moment the fire was completely extinguished.”

“…”

…This is confusing. I guess I’ll be fine if I just sleep.