episode_0019

Reaching the level of a sword expert was a very mysterious experience.

With a small realization, the level of the soul goes up one level, and it feels as if some of the mind and mana resonate and become one body. By following that feeling and refining the mana, I was able to easily transform into an aura and release it outside the body.

I heard that there are people who live their whole lives as mana users because they have no talent, but now I understand.

The key is whether or not you can penetrate this wall of the soul and mind and resonate with mana.

“Phew…”

I observed the aura emitted through the sword with all my concentration.

The shape is not constant, it flows continuously, and it is so weak that it appears blurry.

It’s almost embarrassing to even call him an Auror.

However, just by swinging it lightly, you can split trees and rocks in two.

Steel…is still a bit difficult. To reach that level, you need to be an intermediate sword expert.

“…Not bad.”

The time that can be maintained is about 10 minutes.

It’s a bit of an uneasy time, but it’s appropriate for fighting monsters. Unless you’re unlucky.

“Now that preparations are complete, we need to find a suitable hunting ground…”

To be honest, it is no exaggeration to say that the area around Delheim Territory is a monster paradise.

Although knights and soldiers periodically subdue them, monsters exceeding that number constantly come down from the Fleminim Mountains.

I’m confined to the estate, so I haven’t seen much. Anyway, I decided to gather information first. Obtain a map and ask knights to find out the habitats and areas of monsters, as well as the locations of dungeons and ruins.

“Umm…”

There is no place I like more than I thought.

Among the numerous monsters, the ones I am most comfortable dealing with right now are small species such as goblins, orcs, and kobolds. Dealing with monsters that are bigger and stronger than that is only possible if you are intermediate level or higher.

No, I could probably kill him at a low level, but I’m sure I’d get fatally wounded somewhere. There is no need to take that risk.

However, in the forest outside the territory, many types of monsters were intertwined, each creating and invading their own territory, so there was almost no place where they could be singled out.

Dungeons and ruins are so far away that they are completely out of the question.

“It might be difficult to do alone. Should I take someone with me…?”

After thinking about that, I quickly shook my head.

Currently, I am tied to regular training. It is impossible to escape from the Delheim House unless you pass the training or die.

In other words, you have to secretly climb over the wall, but it’s a bit difficult to take a colleague there.

In the first place, the knights and soldiers loyal to my father, Helberg, would not help me.

“Oh my, it’s hard, it’s hard…”

“Little brother! I heard that you are trying to hunt monsters!?”

At that time, my older brother, Camelcam, the undistinguished genius of the Delheim family, burst through the door.

Currently, at the age of 18, he has reached the advanced level of Sword Expert. It is no exaggeration to say that he is the best among the empire’s promising young people. He is so handsome that he receives countless invitations from social circles, including marriage talks, so many people complain that he spends more time going to banquet halls than training these days.

“Hyung. What do you mean?”

“It’s no use hiding it! The rumor has already spread! They say they go around looking into the distribution and habitat of monsters! Max says it’s probably to save the magic stone… Is that really true?”

“……”

I can’t do anything here alone.

“Ugh…that’s right. There’s something I need some magic stones for…”

“Where do you need it?”

“That’s…a secret.”

“Wow, my lovely younger brother’s hair has gotten thicker and now he’s even keeping secrets from himself! This guy is sad!”

“…Leave me alone.”

“By the way, little brother. You didn’t finish your regular training, right? So you won’t be able to leave the mansion? Unless there is an order from my father like last time.”

“……”

“Hehe…you plan to climb over the wall, right?”

He smiled sinisterly, as if he knew everything, and tapped my shoulder.

“No need to worry! It is said that among all the children of the Delheim family, including me, there is no one who has not planned a Waltham! In some ways, it is no exaggeration to say that it is a traditional event!”

“What? Really?”

“Okay then! Honestly, how normal is regular training here? It must be so frustrating.”

“Wait a minute, then you too…”

“Of course, it is a separate story from success! For your information, this guy failed!”

“……”

I frowned at his confident voice.

If he, a genius, failed even though he tried to get information, doesn’t that mean I have no clue?

“Don’t be so disappointed, little brother. Escape from this mansion has nothing to do with your swordsmanship skills! Because Dahlia was a success! I ran away from home for two days and was caught!”

“Sister Dahlia?”

“Okay. This body was successful. It was really difficult back then.”

I turned around at the sudden voice and saw Dahlia, who had been around for some time, shaking her black hair and striking a pose.

My older sister, who is now 14 years old, was also a genius who had reached the intermediate level of Expert.

When I live in this house, I sometimes get confused because there are so many Sword Experts around, but it is very rare for people to reach the level of Sword Experts in their teens.

“How did your sister escape?”

“I received help from my mother and Rebecca, the representative wizard of our family. In the end, I barely escaped by holding my mother hostage.”

“……”

I don’t want to escape like that…?

Rebecca is the head of the wizards in our family. I’ve lived here for 11 years and have never seen it once. From what I’ve heard, he’s a weirdo who lives in a research lab and focuses solely on magic research.

“You did that, but you were caught in two days?”

“Yes. They chased after me fiercely. I wanted to see the city and the estate, but I was so sad that I couldn’t even do that…”

Her face frowns slightly, as if she was recalling that time.

“So in reality…it means that escaping is impossible. I really…”

“Well, that’s right. Still, it’s not a bad idea to give it a try. Because it’s all experience.”

You have to have even the slightest chance of success to be motivated, you guy.

Sister Dahlia, who was staring at me, put her hand on my head.

“Why do you need magic stones? A guy who isn’t even a wizard.”

She naturally lifts me up, sits on the bed, and touches my cheek.

Although she is smaller than Camel, she is tall enough for her age, so she fits comfortably into his arms. I heard that women end their growth period at a younger age than men, is that why?

Damn it, when will my growing up period come? I wish I were taller, please.

“I just need it personally.”

“Eojuguri. You want to keep it a secret? A guy with no dried blood on his head…”

“Ah! It hurts!”

“So? Are you going to give up?”

“Umm…well…how about asking your father for permission? I said I was going to go hunting.”

At my words, both Camel and Dahlia laughed and shook their heads.

“You don’t know your father yet?”

“You won’t be able to go anywhere until regular training is over. Until I die.”

“That much? No, are you really my dad? Didn’t you actually pick it up from under the bridge? This isn’t raising children, it’s raising weapons of war!”

“Up to there. You told me to be more selective about what I say, right?”

“Anyway, you need to know our youngest’s personality.

My older sister is pinching my cheek and glaring at me, and my older brother is smiling and stroking my head as if it’s fun.

I shook off my sister’s hand covering my mouth and sighed.

“Ugh… Well, there’s nothing I can do about it. I have no choice but to promise later. In the end, all you have to do is pass regular training, right?”

I don’t know how many magic stones I’ll need, but I can’t stage an escape drama every single time.

When I say that, the two people look at me with blank eyes.

“Well, why.”

“Rom. Even though you seem to have a fiery personality, you secretly try to follow rules and frameworks. It’s so unique.”

“That’s right. I thought you would wake up right away…”

“Do you think I’m a wild boar that can’t tell the difference? I have that level of discernment. I don’t want to cause trouble and make a mess.”

“……”

“……”

The two were silent for a moment and looked at each other.

“It’s no fun like this…”

“That’s right. Hmm.”

“…What is this? Is this suspicious? What were you two trying to do with me?”

After running away from my sister’s arms, I opened my eyes and glared at them, and they scratched their chins and heads and laughed awkwardly.

“No, I was trying to help you escape. We experienced the bitter taste of failure, but I didn’t want to give it to my younger brother.”

“Same. I still grind my teeth when I think about that time… So you should succeed too, right? Well, to be honest, I also want to punch my father and the knights.”

In the end, my heart was touched by their words that they were for me.

Past life… So, it was something I never felt when I was living as Kim Kang-pil on Earth. Because he was the son of a chaebol family, he was materially wealthy, but he also had a bleak personal relationship with his siblings and relatives, with suspicion, checks, and competition. So much so that I was thankful that I didn’t get killed by a hitman.

“Hmm…”

In the meantime, I kept my distance from their favor and affection because I felt burdened and awkward, but at this point, I think I can accept them at least once.

“To what extent can you help? Or do you have any plans?”

At my words, the two people smiled confidently and shook their heads confidently.

“No! Not at all!”

“Having nothing is our advantage!”

“…Haa..”

It’s clear that my poor older brother and older sister only gained muscle in their heads from training in swordsmanship.

I shouldn’t be like that.

“Then we have no choice but to discuss them one by one from the beginning.”

“Oh…”

“Have you made up your mind? It was good. It’s fun like this.”

Camel and Dahlia locked the door tightly, drew the curtains, and radiated mana to block out the sound before sitting down in front of me.

Two eyes sparkling with childlike anticipation.

Even though Dahlia is like this, Camel is like this even though he is all grown up… No, if he is 18, is he still a high school student on Earth? Then it’s a kid.

“Then, shall we talk slowly?”

In this way, our secret operations began to come together one by one.

My goal of hunting monsters and getting magic stones changed to buying them at a store that deals with magic items, but I guess it didn’t matter. Anyway, all we have to do is check how effective the magic stone supply in the action list is.

Rather, this was a more realistic goal.

That is, as long as you have money. My brother and sister decided to lend me that part, so it will work out somehow.

So our new goal was to shake off the Delheim family’s pursuit and enjoy the city to our heart’s content.

In other words, it is a grand plan for the older brother and older sister to play with their favorite youngest child.

***

All preparations were completed and there were no setbacks in the plan.

In the early morning when everyone is asleep, the empty bed feels lonely because I didn’t hug the woman to control her condition.

“Whew…is it really right to do something like this just to see the city…?”

I once again felt a sense of self-destruction, but there was no turning back.

I quickly left the room and followed the shadow of the building, keeping my presence as low as possible.

After a few minutes of moving like that, we reached a place where the inner walls of the Yeongju Castle could be seen and saw knights patrolling in groups of two.

“…Ugh~ The moonlight is bright today?”

“That’s right. On nights like this, it’s best to drink something strong and massage a woman’s buttocks…”

“Tsk… When you say that, I suddenly feel like it.”

“Hehe, I happen to be off duty tomorrow, so what do you think? Do you want to go together?”

“Why do you always take me with you?”

“That’s because you’re a hot guy?”

“You bastard, damn it…there’s no way around it, dude. I recently broke up, so you buy it.”

“What!? Why all of a sudden!? Things were going well!?”

“Phew…how can I know a woman’s heart…it’s just the wind.”

“This is crazy! You just left that alone!? How did that happen!?”

“That’s right…you know, that bitch runs a flower shop, right? But one day, a beggar looking like a gisaeng brother came to me and asked for ‘a flower.’ So…”

Knights are people too, right?

I always saw them cutting off my arms and legs with their wooden and stone faces, so I thought they were half-human.

“……”

But I’m really curious about that affair story. Shall we listen to it for a bit?

“Keu…!”

I was extremely curious, but now that I had something to do, I forced myself to take steady steps.

…I also remembered the driver’s face, so I’ll go and listen to it later.

“Phew…the important thing starts from here…”

The place I came to was a stable.

As it is a place where war horses raised directly by the Yeongju Castle are managed, it is a spacious place that can be called a horse-only lodging rather than a stable.

“……”

I looked closely at the surroundings, including the top of the inner wall and the watchtower. After confirming that there was no one around and that the soldiers standing guard at the watchtower were not looking in this direction, I opened the stable and entered.

“Purrp.”

“Whoa, stay still.”

He calmed down the gallant warhorses who had woken up from their sleep standing up in dissatisfaction and took the three horses out of the stables. Then, I went up to the roof with the horse barrel that I had previously hidden in the corner of the building.

“Phew…”

After looking at the clear, shining full moon, he opened the bucket and sprayed all the liquid inside onto the roof.

This thick blue liquid is called mana oil, and it burns very well when lit.

“……”

I didn’t say it wrong.

Right now, I’m trying to set fire to the stables to escape from this lord’s castle.

Well, they say that mana oil is so volatile that it will burn down the roof and go out… It’s clear that this is crazy.

“…Is this really true?”

Even though I was doing it myself, I had doubts and tilted my head several times.

But those doubts were soon crushed to the corner of my head by a loud scream.

“It’s fire!”

“The grain warehouse is on fire!”

“What’s going on!”

“Bring water!”

Hearing the noise in the castle that immediately threw me into confusion, I drew my sword, took a flint from my pocket, and struck it.

Grumbling-

It didn’t take long for the small spark that jumped up to grow larger, nourished by the mana oil that soaked the roof.

From now on, we have to move quickly.

I gritted my teeth as I dragged the three horses I had taken out of the stable beforehand.

Questions kept popping up in my head.

I don’t think this is something…