Chapter 84 – Blood Fragrance
“Aunt.”
“Huh?”
“But what’s going on? “Why did you come suddenly?”
“Ah~ Yes. Little?”
My aunt smiled and stretched her legs.
“Actually, I’ve been busy lately, and your dad has taken care of things well.”
“…… Day?”
“Yes, … Eugene, Undine. “Do you know that His Majesty the Emperor is dead?”
Undine, who had been walking quietly, widened her eyes at the expression that she was dead.
She, who lives in the middle of a snowy field, must not have properly understood what an ’emperor’ is. However, it seemed like someone had died.
“Who died? Who… ?”
“Emperor. Therefore… He’s my biological father. Dead. Lately. I continued to suffer, but it went away. It was so dragging that it was really annoying. Do you really want to live like that? I learned that forcing yourself to extend your lifespan is also ugly. Unintentionally. In the end, the funeral and coronation ended safely anyway. “It’s all thanks to Neferna.”
“……….”
“Well, it was an old legend about the herb that gave you eternal life and all that, so I didn’t expect it from the beginning, and you did a good job of cleaning up after Cecilia, who shouldn’t have been found out. Finally, the ‘Hero Neferna’ supported her eldest brother, who was officially the crown prince. “Thanks to the warrior with the strongest holy sword, the next emperor will be able to establish himself stably.”
She spoke as if she were talking to someone else and sighed at the end.
“With this, my second brother must have given up on the throne, right?”
“…… ?”
“Yes, it’s okay. It will be fine! Today’s vacation was given to me by my second brother! “He was smiling at the coronation ceremony and must have given up.”
I couldn’t understand exactly what he was talking to himself about.
Undine and I looked at our aunt with mixed feelings.
“No, I’m sorry. Nothing. “Let’s not worry and have fun today!”
“…………….”
***
It was said to be a festival, but I didn’t expect much.
If you drive diligently beyond the mountains, you will find a few cities scattered sporadically, but they are not very developed cities.
The city we were heading to was an area that was a transportation hub and strategic point, so even though there were a lot of people, that was only a relative expression.
To be precise, the ‘festival’ my aunt was talking about was closer to a fair than a festival.
What kind of ‘industry’, what kind of ‘precision’, etc. I was able to find out through the pamphlet that many companies in the empire were introducing their new technologies.
As it was an exhibition hosted by the Empire, not only was it large in scale, but the number of foreigners was quite noticeable.
It seems that the purpose was to promote interest in new industries, but when I asked my aunt why it was attracted to such a remote city, she said that there was strong pressure from the second prince to promote it.
“My second brother will receive a new title. Of course he will have a fiefdom. Among those territories, the most likely candidate is around here…. Well, actually, even if it’s an exhibition, it’s not a business that has that much focus. His Majesty, who took the throne this time, probably also gave it to my second brother to eat. “My second brother has been overtly interested in the throne for a long time, so maybe this is some kind of consolation or compensation for that?”
“The second prince is greedy.”
Undine, who was nibbling on the ice cream she bought from a street vendor, said absentmindedly. In the blink of an eye, my mouth was completely covered in white cream. The aunt giggled and wiped Undine’s mouth.
“Anyway, as luck would have it, I was able to have fun today with a special ticket given to me by that very greedy second brother!”
The expression ‘as much as you like’ that my aunt used was literally close to ‘as much as you like.’
Jalang~
Something shiny made a sound in my aunt’s hand.
As she was looking closely at something, she was handed a striking medal to wear around her neck as a token. On the outside, it was just a small medal. Undine played with the medal, rolling it around in her hands in fascination, but it was such a simple medal that she soon turned her attention to the other exhibits.
The true value of the medal was recognized as soon as we entered the fair.
From Noble mtl dot com
When the expo staff looked at the medals, they swallowed their saliva with nervous expressions and were busy trying their best to be kind to us. At first, such treatment itself was awkward, so Undine and I hid behind her aunt, but we quickly got used to it.
You could try out the exhibits with a sign in front saying ‘Just look with your eyes!’ Or listen to a professional explanation about the improved steam engine along with a passionate explanation from a middle-aged dwarf man in a suit. . She suddenly saw a tall elf woman hand her a carbonated drink in an expensive-looking glass, and even her inexperienced taste buds could guess the price of the drink.
At this point, it was enough to raise doubts as to what this ticket really was. Now that I think about it, it was clear that it was something related to the royal family.
When we left the fairgrounds, the evening parade and spectacular fireworks display had ended.
I walked along the street where several new cars slowly accelerated, crossed over the exhibition hall decorated in miniature with the South Port New Town Plan, and walked up the thinly flowing river, and before I knew it, I had reached the entrance of the city where the gas lights began to blink.
“Phew! “It was more fun than I thought, right?”
“Yes!”
“Undine usually lives in the snowy fields, so I think this is my first time seeing something like this. “What was the most interesting?”
“I, you… “Undine continued speaking with a flushed face, worried. “Winnie!”
“Bear… ? Ah! That military machine, right? “That’s what I said, I don’t know why they chose that design for a combat machine.”
“Yes!”
“Okay! Then I’ll give you one as a gift!”
“Really?”
“Well, my aunt can do that much…. Instead! I promise to return home on time when I feel better! Mr. And Mrs. DC also want to apologize for fighting in front of you. How is it? “Can you do it?”
The surprised Undine laughed and nodded.
What is a promise? Is it okay to talk about combat weapons so easily?
“Ah, Eugene, you should think of something too. It’s a gift! It really doesn’t matter anything.”
The aunt said lightly, as if she was going to buy her a bottle of food on the street. As someone from the mountains, I often forgot that Aunt Charlotte was a princess. It was clear to her that this was really nothing to her.
“Yes.”
The way back home was short.
My aunt said there was no need for her to walk back down the dark road. When we nodded her head, she brought her hands together and started drawing her beautiful margins.
As she was one of the most powerful wizards in the Empire, her space-time magic teleportation was a magic that could be cast if one had time. As she chanted in a thin voice, her vision reversed and she was able to reach the front of the hut before she knew it.
Cool wind. The early evening air becomes cold.
I hug my arms and walk along a familiar path for some distance.
The strange thing began then.
“Hey, you girl, we’re here!”
An unfamiliar silence lingered in the yard hidden by conifers.
Every morning around dawn, I used to sit on the swing in the yard with my mother and breathe in the morning air, so I know the smells around me well.
The faint scent of pine trees and the moist breeze by the river.
Mixed in between, an unfamiliar smell like sewage.
When I felt something strange and slowed down, Undine, who was walking with me, quickly followed me.
Meanwhile, her aunt, complaining that her mother was not answering, opened the door that had been cracking a few months ago and entered.
I could see a little glimpse of a crack in the door from the outside, and there was a lantern that had fallen from the table and was rolling around on the floor. He barely managed to break the lantern that he had lit with oil. How did it fall? However, there was no way her mother would have left the lantern unattended, which could have caught fire.
The smell flows in the wind.
The gentle smell of burning firewood in the fireplace and the unique sweet smell of an oil lantern.
And in between, a sticky and fishy scent….
I hate to admit it, but I know this smell.
I know that very well.
This, this is definitely the scent of blood.
“Eugene! “Stay away from Undine!”
My aunt shouted briefly from inside the cabin. The voice was urgent but briefly trembled.
“Eugene… Why is my aunt like that… ?”
I quickly stopped Undine from idly heading towards the cabin.
My heart starts pounding, and my thoughts begin to sporadically become dizzy.
No way?
No.
Probably not.
That can’t be possible.
“Back… “
“Huh?”
“Go back.”
Mother is the head of the blood family. One of the phases of the moon that leads the Magic Tower.
He is a wizard so great that he can support the collapsing moon with his powerful magic. A wizard who has reached a level that no other race, including humans, can reach.
At her mother’s fingertips, lightning could strike, lava could boil, and bitter cold could hit her. Even during her first meeting with her father, she was of such strong blood that she declared that if her opponent had not been the ‘hero Neferna’, she would have been able to kill whoever came in an instant.
There is no way a mother like that would do that.
“What’s wrong… ?”
“…………….”
“Eugene…… ?”
“…… “Holy sword.”
“Holy sword?”
“It smells like a holy sword. And… “
I couldn’t bring myself to say that I smelled blood, so I held Undine’s hand and stepped back.
I got a chill as I felt my blood drying up. What should I do? What should I do? Thoughts flow in a bad direction.
My aunt still hasn’t come out of the cabin. It would have been nice to come out and say it wasn’t a big deal, but there was only silence.
Tuk.
I feel something touching my back.
“Oh my. It’s amazing that this young guy has a sense of insight. “Are you saying he’s the son of a hero?”
I didn’t understand what was being said. The body moves before the voice form is input into a sentence in the brain.
The arm that was holding Undine is released greatly. There are not many magics that can be cast instantly without chanting. Among them, the most familiar magic is spirit magic and the sunlight of the dawn sky.
The flashing flames swell like an explosion and attack the opponent.
However, the man’s voice was so clear and clear that my blow was worthless.
“The value of the Fifth Holy Sword is intuition. So that means you can see it…. You are half And you… “
The direction in which Undine was pushed away.
The man was already close enough to be able to look down on Undine.
“It’s a real blood relative larva. “Your Majesty didn’t say anything, but I guess this level of dogmatism doesn’t matter.”
“… Yes? I… I… that is… “
Srumbling, the sword is pulled from the man’s waist.
That is a holy sword.
5Th Holy Sword.
Run away! I shouted hurriedly, but Undine just stared blankly up at the holy sword.
Is my body stiff?
It’s late.
You already know this, but your legs move first.
First of all, undine is dangerous.
I threw myself first. The hem of Undine’s dress is caught in his fingertips.
Gotcha.
It was when I was so sure.
Hook!
“……… ….”