642 – 8. Testament (16)
“You must have lost your mind.”
It was the impression the swordsman uttered after hearing Celine’s warning.
There was not even a hint of embarrassment or fear in the eyes of the swordsman who answered like that. He was the best swordsman on the continent, and he was the confidence of a strong man who occupied one of the only three masters.
I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut for a while at that sullen reaction.
No matter how you think about it, the swordsman was right. It is said that Celine gained some kind of power through her contract, but she couldn’t match that skill to a master. If that were the case, the academy would have been in ruins long ago.
No, even if you look at the Alpenhauser raid on the ‘Golden Fortress’ that happened not too long ago. Siene-senpai said that there was a sound of weapons colliding under the building at that time.
It was an unnecessary act for the Master.
If it was a swordsmith, a great witch, or a saint, the building itself would have been destroyed from the outside.
There was only one reason why a monster the size of that might have been able to fight swords and fists, and it was purely ‘play’ based on interest.
Thus, the swordsmith’s impression was not wrong. Celine lost her ability to judge normally as her demonic energy reached her brain. Clearly, that would be more likely.
Why is it so hard to erase the faint anxiety?
In the end, my lips moved and I let out a timid objection.
“Wouldn’t it be bad to prepare just in case?”
“Of course… Wasn’t the other party from the Dark Church in the first place? There are a lot of ambiguities about your childhood friend acting alone.”
Then, the swordsman huffed and stopped talking for a moment.
It looked like he just remembered something. Before long, a low voice escaped from the middle-aged man’s mouth.
“Do you understand why?”
Why do you bother asking for my opinion?
If the swordsman realized something, it was enough to share it. I wanted to ask if there was a need to waste time, but the swordsman’s expression looked quite serious, so I decided to stop.
After thinking for a while, my mouth slowly opened.
“The source of the information… It’s ambiguous.”
“What information?”
“Celine’s raid.”
The swordsman did not immediately answer my question. She just glared at me with her blue eyes, her arms crossed, as if to tell me something.
I decided to give a more thoughtful answer.
“Alpenhauser’s ‘Golden Fortress’ was a place everyone at the academy knew. So it wouldn’t be strange if he raided solo. Celine must have known of its existence as long as she was a student at the academy… However, the circumstances under which Her Highness Iris was attacked are different.”
Then the corner of the swordsman’s mouth went up quietly.
First of all, it meant passing. As he continued to be silent, I continued my reasoning.
“The actions of the heir to the throne are treated as top secret. It was to the extent that I didn’t even know that Her Highness Princess Iris was coming to the academy… However, Celine got the route and timing right.”
“It is as you say!”
A satisfied smile appeared on the swordsmith’s lips. He nodded his head and strongly agreed with my opinion.
“Of course, your childhood friend could have acquired special powers through the ‘contract’. Being able to foretell other people’s history and actions… However, there is something that I do not understand even more.”
“Why did you ignore the drastic power difference and take on the challenge?”
“Yeah, that’s it!”
The power to infer other people’s powers and actions.
It was a very powerful ability, but if you had it, today’s challenge would be ridiculous. Even if you brought all the Seven Sins, the opponent who could guarantee victory or defeat was ‘Gemgong’.
It was an overly unreasonable tactic to dismiss as strategic ignorance or momentary insanity. It was natural to have reasonable doubts about this.
“Then there are two conclusions. First, if you’re really hiding your power to face me…….”
“A simple gimmick.”
At my instinctive chanting, the middle-aged man burst into laughter.
“First of all, we should consider both possibilities. However, there is one thing I want to ask you.”
My eyes blindly turned to the swordsman. Then, with a more serious expression, the swordsman asked me the following.
“Can you fight?”
A sense of suffocation for a moment.
It was the momentum caused by the swordsman on purpose. In the past, I would have resisted and escaped, but now my body is not normal.
A body that twists its intestines and vomits blood when it causes an image.
I groped my waist with trembling hands. It was rather an act of instinct.
From the moment I took my first steps, the sword has always been by my side.
It was only after I grabbed my teeth that my heart was free from the storm.
“Aren’t you my childhood friend?”
It was an assertion.
From noble mtl dot com
I gritted my teeth and there was a crunching sound between my jaw joints. It meant that the muscles were over-stressed, but it was not something to worry about right now.
I was pretending to be calm without trying to generate magic.
“Didn’t the swordsman just say that? This could be a trap to lure the swordsman in.”
“So?”
“I will go first.”
I wanted to take the swordsman’s place, but that was an unrealistic story.
To begin with, I’m not as skilled as a swordsman. Wasn’t it a state where he couldn’t even draw out the image properly?
In such a yard, it is said to replace the swordsman?
I never had the jaw to listen. Because the swordsman was already very concerned about my physical condition.
“I will go ahead and scout the enemy’s movements. After that, isn’t it a problem for the swordsman to join us?”
“The true purpose may not be the academy. For example, the Imperial Palace…….”
“If the elder leaves, the imperial palace will be nothing more than a building. If that’s enough to worry about.”
The sound of swallowing saliva again.
The swordsman crossed his arms and tapped the forearm on the other side with his index finger. After a few seconds of thought, his mouth finally opened.
“Ha, nonsense!”
The Imperial Palace.
It was literally an ant hell. Alpenhauser could only mobilize gold coins, but the imperial family could mobilize anything.
Long-forgotten secret arts, cursed gold arts that require a price, and even the existence of a ‘master’ whose limits are difficult to measure.
The imperial family, which had been engrossed in defense for hundreds of years, was truly an impregnable fortress. Even if the Master rushes in, it will take days and days to capture it.
These “Few days” Were more important than anything else.
It took less than a day for the masters of the empire to arrive, or at least the masters from all over the continent who had heard the news. The moment they arrive, the enemies disappear without a trace.
Therefore, the option of directly attacking the imperial family was virtually non-existent.
“So please keep your seats…” You never know when or where to attack the elders.”
“Hmm… ….”
The swordsman closed his eyes for a moment and tilted his head back. He seemed to be in trouble, but the conclusion was drawn not long after.
The gaze of the swordsman slowly turned to the front.
“Can I be honest? I don’t think what you said is right. No matter how powerful the enemy comes, I believe that there is no way that my sword will not be able to cut it.”
This is really arrogant.
If the person in front of me hadn’t been the famous ‘swordsmith’, I would have dismissed it as a simple bravado. But i watched it
The sword that split the sky and dimension.
It was definitely one of the destinations for all sword paths. That’s why I couldn’t bear to erase the swordsman’s confident smile.
“But trust me.”
I didn’t ask why.
Because I thought asking would only add to the burden.
There was no way he didn’t know this, so the swordsman added an even more incomprehensible sound.
“Because the time has come for you to understand the weight of responsibility… see and feel for yourself What consequences your choices can bring.”
It’s a story I don’t want to know for the rest of my life.
I wanted to add that, but I shook my head and turned my back. Anyway, how many times have I already made a choice?
Guilford, Mitram, Leoric, Yuren.
I took my own life. Where is the burden as heavy as the weight of murder?
That’s how the story ended, that night.
Thump thump!
I was taking some cheap whiskey off the shelf. There was a strong knock on the door, so I listened slightly.
Anyway, it was my room that had recently been visited by many visitors. After becoming the continent’s ‘rising morning star’ or something, interest in me soared, which soon led to a distorted contact attempt.
Terribly.
It was around the time that such a distorted follower visited today as well.
“Lee, Sir Ian!”
A crying voice.
As soon as I heard this, dark blue hair came to my mind. The naive light gray eyes, and even the fragile appearance that shed tears every time.
The 5th Princess Shien.
She was the woman who left not too long ago, shedding tears. I left the door wide open, fearing that my lovely junior would get hurt.
And I saw it.
A handsome boy with brown hair stood behind Shien, avoiding my gaze.
He was someone I had been trying to avoid. Realizing this, I wanted to close the door immediately.
Kick.
Until my best friend Leto grabbed the doorknob.
“Do you want to search?”
I tried to put more strength into the hand holding the doorknob in silence. To be honest, there was no way it would be difficult to shake off such a weak wizard.
Why am I still hesitating?
It was because I knew Leto too well. As much as Leto grasped me, I was also well aware of her temper head. The possibility that he came here without any measures converged to nothing.
Should I really call it Leto?
He met my expectations in no time.
With a single letter fluttering in your hand.
“Close the door. Instead, when the door is closed, this letter will be delivered to Saint Ciendel.”
In the first line, these sentences were written.
‘To Saint Lucia, the most beloved daughter of the heavenly gods, the living earthly ruler, and the rightful owner of the sun and moon.’
My shaky gaze scanned the text beneath it. There, the circumstances were written in every detail.
For example, I think I will die soon.
I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of the aftermath of that letter.
“No, you crazy bastard… Hey, you just have to send me this letter!”
“Then open the door.”
Open the door?
You can refuse. It was a matter of stretching out and tearing this letter to shreds right away.
Of course, there was no way Leto would not have considered all those possibilities.
Even so, I couldn’t do anything.
The look on Leto’s face when he said that was solemn, but he looked very sad.
“…… If you don’t want to fall behind.”
Or the words that you say as if nothing is wrong are imbued with deep sadness and sincerity.
In the end, I had no choice but to quietly open the door with my head down.
Until Celine comes, just two days.