episode_0016

Is it just my imagination? Lately, I feel like I’ve been losing consciousness frequently.

“Ugh… damn it…”

I felt like I had a terrible hangover. The nausea and dizziness made me feel like I was losing my mind. Unable to hold it in any longer, I threw up onto the grass.

“Urgh!” Splat!

“Ugh, I’m dying.”

Seeing the vomit splattered on the green grass, I felt like I was going to throw up again.

‘Wait.’

Grass? Come to think of it, why am I doing this on the grass?

…

Feeling something was off, I raised my head. It was evening. Due to the cursed power—no, now it was the ‘darkness,’ whether it was black flame or something else—I naturally couldn’t see the stars. Along with the murky sky where even the moon was invisible, a vast plain and forest stretched out before my eyes.

It was outside.

…

I looked dumbfounded, unable to comprehend what was happening.

“What on earth is this…”

I was clearly in the underground cavity, so how did I lose consciousness and end up on the surface? And not even within the city, but outside it. Too flustered, I stared blankly at the vast plain.

But.

“Pfft…”

Whatever the reason, laughter came before questions about this reality.

“Hahahahaha! I’ve escaped!”

Because I had escaped. Because I had finally succeeded in escaping the city, something I thought was impossible.

Just then, I felt a strange unfamiliarity in my hand.

“Hmm?”

Looking now, I was holding something. It was the golden sword I had picked up in the cavity. For some reason, it seemed to have come with me from the cavity when I emerged here.

‘Come to think of it, was it called Morgoth’s sword?’

I didn’t know who that person was, but considering the Black Knight I saw before losing consciousness referred to him as ‘Lord,’ he was definitely not an ordinary person.

‘To create a blade, I had to use black flames.’

I was out of my mind, so I didn’t remember everything from that time, but vaguely, I recalled that after manifesting a black aura, the black flames that formed afterward definitely created a sword blade. Recalling that, I tried to concentrate my mind.

…

Whoosh──

A power that now manifested without much concentration. However, unlike before, instead of the unstable cursed power, a black aura, similar to what the Black Knight used, manifested. It seemed there had been some change after the battle with the Black Knight.

Even though I created it, perhaps because it was a catastrophic power that had led to the downfall of the Golden Age, the clumsily manifested black aura contained a refined ferocity simply by its existence. In short, it looked extremely dangerous.

But I had no intention of stopping here.

‘I definitely used a power that looked exactly like the flames I saw back then.’

A power that seemed to be superior to the black aura. This time, I intended to concentrate my mind even more and try to manifest that power.

First, I thought a bit about what to do in this state.

‘Perhaps if I condense the power a bit more?’

I maintained it without scattering, infusing more black aura into my body. I tried to create flames by gradually increasing the density in that way.

“Ughhh…”

I felt an oppressive weight throughout my body. The oppressive feeling, like being crushed at the bottom of the deep sea at any moment, subtly informed me that I was overexerting the power to a life-threatening degree. It seemed dangerous to go any further, so I decided to give up on amplifying the aura.

“Haa, this won’t work.”

It seems impossible in my current state.

‘Indeed, it was too greedy of me.’

My body wasn’t properly trained to begin with, and my injuries were severe, leaving my entire body a wreck. It was only natural that I couldn’t wield such power forcefully in that condition.

But then again, perhaps it was a substitute.

Whirring────

Instead of manifesting black flames, I succeeded in creating a blade made of aura. Without a blade, when it only had the rain guard and fuller (the recessed part on the sword blade), it looked like a decorative sword, but with a black blade created like this, it looked quite threatening.

‘What a unique sword.’

A sword whose blade is formed from aura. As I sat there gazing at the sword for a long time, I discovered another fact.

‘By the way, even when I use power, the charring isn’t spreading.’

I discovered another new characteristic. Clearly, when I used or was affected by the cursed power, the charring worsened, but since absorbing the black flames, the charring stopped spreading.

‘Why is that?’

Is it because the black aura is more stable than the cursed power? Or is it related to my absorption of the black flames? Perhaps I’ve developed a resistance.

‘I don’t know.’

For now, the charring wasn’t spreading even when I manifested power, but you never know. If I use too much power beyond this, the charring might spread again.

‘For example, if I were to use something like black flames, it might spread again.’

Originally, the reason the charring spread due to the cursed power was that my body couldn’t withstand the immense power. Although for some reason the charring no longer spread, it wouldn’t be strange for it to spread at any time if I overused the power to the point my body couldn’t handle it.

‘So, I should use it, but refrain from overusing it as much as possible.’

Resolving to do so, I gathered my power. Then, using the golden sword, now bladeless, as a staff, I wobbled and rose from my sitting position.

The wind whistled────

A refreshing night breeze, sweeping across the wide plain, brushed past me.

‘So this is what the outside was like.’

I had no idea it would be so vast and refreshing.

‘Kara.’

How wonderful it would have been if we had seen this together. At that thought, I felt a strange bitterness at the absence of Kara and Roland, and for a moment, a gloomy feeling, but I quickly tried to regain my vitality. At first, it was my dream for the three of us to go outside the city and explore the outside world, and now that dream couldn’t be fulfilled.

But hope still existed. Since I had made it outside somehow, it was time to find them, to find Kara.

‘It will take a long time to find them.’

But it didn’t matter. Whatever my future held, at least in all the futures Roland had mentioned, Kara was alive and well. That also meant that, at the very least, Kara wouldn’t die for the next ten years.

‘Ten years.’

It’s a long time. So, during that time, I planned to find Kara and, at the same time, cultivate the power I lacked. Even if I couldn’t get Kara out of there, at least I wanted to be able to stand proudly by her side.

Although Roland hadn’t told me what would happen in this current situation, so I didn’t know what the future held, I intended to steadily build my power so that at least the worst-case scenario I imagined wouldn’t happen.

‘Because now I have this power.’

Black flames. And black aura. If only I had this power, which was stronger than aura and not the cursed power that gnawed at my body. Even if I couldn’t hold a star within my soul, I would be able to cultivate power equivalent to that of the strong individuals who had pierced through realms.

Infusing hope into my own heart, I thus began a long journey.

‘First, let’s try to cover this arm somehow.’

***

We often talked about such things. What would the outside of the city look like? What were the mountains like, how vast was the sea, how dense were the forests? How refreshing would the wind on the vast plains be, and how fragrant would the flowers be?

Mainly, Kara would often ramble on about her fantasies of the outside world, and I would often listen to her stories. It was fun. To hear about the scenery of the outside world, something I had never once imagined in my life, from Kara’s mouth, and to see her speak with a happy face full of anticipation. And her stories.

Honestly, rather than imagining what the scenery outside would be like, I often imagined more about how happy I would be if I went there with Kara. Nevertheless, the time I spent listening to Kara’s stories about the outside was undoubtedly a fun memory. At the same time, I had held a lot of anticipation.

Swish- swish-

I had felt the cool, sweeping wind of the plains for a whole week since coming out of the city, to the point of getting tired of it. But how different was it from the wind that blew in the city? The wind on the plains felt refreshing and uniquely cooler.

I tasted delicious food. After leaving the plains, I started working as a mercenary, and my skills proved useful even outside, earning me a good amount of money. With that money, I tried good wine and good food at an inn famous for its cooking.

It was delicious. It was more delicious than any food I had ever eaten in my life. The freshly cooked meat and bread, and the stew, tasted fresh with their ingredients, and they were made using proper kitchen utensils, giving the dishes a high level of perfection. Earning money for the first time and eating such delicious food for the first time, I experienced a feeling of fullness for the very first time in my life.

Hahaha- Loud chatter-

I looked at the group of mercenaries noisily chattering on the other side. They were the mercenaries I had gone on a mission with today. They said that, except for me, they were all childhood friends who had known each other for a very long time, and they seemed to get along quite well.

…

As always, but especially on that day, I felt a peculiar sense of loneliness. Watching them laugh and chat happily, I could only see Roland and Kara reflected in their figures. Hoping that someday, I, and we, could experience something similar.

The season of harvest, autumn. I went to the great plains, a granary region. Recalling Kara and Roland’s words, how they had sung about wanting to see the golden wheat fields and drink the beer there, my steps naturally led me in this direction.

Swish- swish- Whoosh──

Along with the gentle autumn breeze, the unique rural scent of the wheat fields filled the air. As I walked alone, gazing at the endlessly stretching golden wheat fields of the great plains, I could understand once again why Roland had wanted to come here.

‘It’s certainly beautiful.’

The great plains were so peaceful that it was hard to believe a massive war was dividing the continent. The sight of the golden wheat fields bathed in the sunset glow, created by the invisible sun, was more beautiful than any landscape I had ever seen in my life.

Shrieks- Giggles-

The innocent laughter of children could be heard, and I saw them playing in the distance. Their faces, seemingly without a single worldly worry, genuinely exuded happiness. To signal that it was almost dinner time, the children’s parents called out to them.

“Cain~ dinner’s ready, come on in!” “Otto, come on in too~” “Yes!”

…

Having seen that last sight, I moved on again. While haphazardly searching for Kara’s traces and traveling across the continent, I eventually reached the northern edge of the continent.

It was the coast. The vast sea was impressive, but the massive city built in front of the coast shocked me even more. The pier made of beautiful white wood, giant ships, and people of various appearances. People of various races, species, and appearances coexisting without conflict. And since I had never even conceived of the idea of building a city right by the sea, I felt a fresh shock and spent the entire day exploring the city.

And for the first time in my life, I tasted seafood. It was the food Kara had wanted to eat the most. At first, the unique fishy smell made me feel repulsed, but when eaten with alcohol, it was an unparalleled delicacy. However, it didn’t seem like a taste Kara, who preferred sweet and straightforward flavors, would like.

After finishing my meal, I stepped onto the sandy beach that stretched out on both sides of the city.

Squish- squish-

‘So this is what a sandy beach is.’

It wasn’t my first time seeing sand. Fallen was so vast that a small river flowed through it, and I had seen sand there before. But the slightly more golden, shimmering appearance and the much softer texture than the sand I saw in the city made it hard to believe that it was naturally formed.

‘Kara would like this.’

I whispered to myself.

Squish- squish-

Holding a bottle of water, I continued walking. And as dusk began to set, I decided to stop going any further, turned around, and resolved to return.

It was then that the sunset-bathed coast came into my view. Although the sun was invisible due to the curse, the orange sunset light scattered over the sea like pastels was incredibly beautiful. Incredibly.

“…Ah.”

Perhaps it was the most beautiful scenery I had seen so far.

‘No, the golden wheat fields of the great plains might have been a little more beautiful.’

But it was equally impressive.

‘Kara.’

What would she be doing right now? It had been almost a year and a half since I began ceaselessly traversing the continent. But there was no news of Kara, and not even the location where heroes like Kara gathered was known.

‘Is she really alright?’

She wouldn’t have gone to the battlefield right away. Kara was just an ordinary woman, with no realm or anything. It would probably take a considerable amount of time to turn such a Kara into a skilled knight. I wanted to find Kara before she went to the battlefield if possible, but now, anxiety was beginning to sprout about whether that would be possible.

‘Perhaps I won’t find Kara until a very distant future, after the war and everything else is over?’

Anxiety crept up in such a way.

‘No.’

Let’s not entertain unsettling thoughts unnecessarily. If I search throughout the continent, I’ll find her someday. Steeling my resolve once more, I continued to travel throughout the continent.

And when it had been about two years since I came outside.

“Are you Agape?”

As I began to make a name for myself as a mercenary and gained some fame, an old man came looking for me.

“Who are you?”

Instead of answering, the old man showed me a seal.

Thud!

On the seal placed on the shelf, there was a wolf with impressive sky-blue fur, accompanied by brilliant blue starlight. The five largest great cities surrounding Sirius, the capital of the Shahlnu Empire. And it was the seal symbolizing the ducal family that governed the city of Mulipen, one of the five dukes who ruled each of those cities.

“Oleg.”

It was the old man’s surname.

“That’s what I’m called.”

The ruler of Mulipen, the head of the Duke Oleg family. Hergil Oleg. A man who was virtually a representative among those at the pinnacle of imperial power had sought me out. At that fact, the entire tavern fell silent.

“…Why has such a noble person sought me out?”

“I hear you’ve been inquiring about the whereabouts of heroes.”

The Duke spoke as if he had already investigated all information about me. Feeling a strange unpleasantness at the Duke’s demeanor for a moment, he then made an unexpected proposal.

“I will arrange for you to meet them.”

“…What did you say?”

“Exactly as I said. In return-”

Thud!

The Duke placed something else on the shelf. The seal of the Oleg family’s knights. Showing the seal that only members of the knight order could possess, the Duke said.

“They say you’re a remarkably skilled mercenary. Come work under me. Then, someday, I will surely arrange for you to meet the heroes you so wish to see.”

At those words, my body, holding a wine glass, froze. Now, it had been two years since I parted ways with Kara. Finally, an opportunity arose to find a clue about Kara, whose traces I had been unable to find.

“What do you say, will you accept?”

The Duke’s expression was as if he already knew what my answer would be. Looking up at the cunning old Duke, I swore to become his knight.

“It is an honor, Your Grace.”