Back to the Capital (1)

When I opened my eyes, Damian was gone.

The only trace of him left was the empty set of mithril armor lying on the floor.

“Clay, did you get what you wanted?”

While I was staring at the spot where Damian had disappeared, Maria approached and asked me.

She looked quite exhausted, likely because our dreams—mine, Damian’s, and even Grancesia’s—had all connected at once.

“I’ll have to check and see about that…”

I stopped speaking at that point.

Only then did I notice the Eye of Shimosha on Maria’s finger.

‘Good grief. What did I just do?’

At the same time, I recalled what I had done to Grancesia before waking from the dream.

I had quietly approached Grancesia from behind as she watched Damian disappear…

“…”

I automatically felt a throbbing in my head.

But it was already too late for regrets; what was done was done.

Though I wanted to put off getting the Eye of Shimosha back, it was something I’d have to deal with sooner or later.

Taking a deep breath, I reached out my hand to Maria.

“Here you are.”

When I reached out, Maria took off the Eye of Shimosha from her finger and handed it to me.

「You…!」

As soon as I took the Eye of Shimosha, I heard Grancesia’s sharp cry.

「Wha, what did you just do, all of a sudden!」

I realized for the first time that even a soul could bite its own tongue. It showed just how flustered she was.

“Well, I suppose it was… a mistake, I guess…”

「Ugh.」

She clearly had a lot to say, but only managed a pained groan.

Well, I guess it wasn’t just me who felt embarrassed.

「Haa, anyway, what happened with the Moon Severing Divine Sword?」

After taking a deep breath, Grancesia seemed to calm down and asked in a composed voice.

I also shook my head to clear my thoughts, then checked the profile for the Moon Severing Divine Sword.

“Huh?”

The profile for the Moon Severing Divine Sword was unchanged.

Instead, a new ability had been added under Setting Addition.

==

〈Sunwheel Ascendant Heaven Sword (日輪至天劍)〉

Required plausibility:

1. Acquire Moon Severing Divine Sword (achieved)

2. Reach Swordmaster

3. Defeat at least seven calamities

==

The moment I read the information, I realized that this was the very swordsmanship Damian had completed at the end.

The painful part was that I still couldn’t check the details of the setting.

‘If I recall the final sword path Damian used…’

The image of Grancesia and Damian’s final fight was still vivid in my mind.

As expected, the techniques of Sunwheel Ascendant Heaven Sword were nearly identical to those of Moon Severing Divine Sword.

There were some minor differences, but overall, they were similar, so tracing the sword path didn’t seem too difficult.

‘The problem is that the way mana is channeled is completely different.’

How in the world could the method of handling mana have changed so drastically?

I figured I’d have no choice but to get Grancesia’s help. She’d surely know the precise way of using it.

[It’s not that hard. If you do it right, you might even learn it faster than meeting all the plausibility requirements.]

I was aiming for that as well.

Reaching Swordmaster was one thing, but defeating seven or more calamities was tough for a number of reasons.

‘How many have I beaten so far? Three?’

The calamity of the dragon, the calamity of disease and demons, and the calamity of dreams.

I’d beaten more than I’d thought, but there were still four left.

And considering that the latter ones would get exponentially tougher, taking down three more seemed daunting.

“Count! We’ve gathered all the injured!”

While I was thinking about the Sunwheel Ascendant Heaven Sword, a knight of the Deoric family approached me.

He glanced around, perhaps noticing something odd.

“Where did Sir Damian go?”

Any skepticism about whether he was really Damian had completely disappeared.

They’d seen him fight Lugal. How could they not believe at this point?

Perhaps that’s why his eyes sparkled when searching for Damian.

“Sir Damian went to his rest after defeating Lugal.”

“What?! Is…is that true?”

“He stayed here to defeat Lugal from the very beginning.”

“I see…”

The other knights nearby looked just as disappointed by my words.

Since Damian disappeared so suddenly, few had witnessed his final moments.

‘He asked me a favor, didn’t he.’

It seemed that in the long months I’d spent with Damian, I had grown attached to him in my own way.

Even though I knew things would end up this way, it still came as a shock.

“Clay, let’s go home.”

Riya, who had come up to me without my noticing, gently tugged at my sleeve. She must have realized that I was reluctant to move on.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Regretful as I was, there was no longer any reason to linger here.

I probably would never have reason to return.

‘Damian, great hero. May you rest in peace.’

With that, I turned my back on it all.

Unlike Damian, my story was not yet over.

* * *

Nearly a month had passed since I defeated Lugal.

When I reported to Beatrice that Lugal would not be resurrecting again, she was genuinely delighted and promised me a new reward.

I didn’t know what it was, but I was sure it would be something worth looking forward to.

“My mana reserve is growing smoothly, too.”

According to the synopsis, I still had a bit of time. Unlike before, Fabian hadn’t made his move right away.

After a decent rest, I headed to the Kezmen Mountains with Monet.

‘At this rate, I should be able to at least double my mana before the next episode begins.’

Agatram, the scabbard made from fairywood, had incredible power.

I’d already expected great results, but thanks to Beatrice’s advice, the effect far exceeded expectations.

All the suffering I’d gone through trying to increase my mana before seemed pointless now.

“I’m just glad to see you relaxing at home, young master.”

Monet, who had just set down my tea, smiled softly.

Although she appeared cheerful, her eyes were cool. She looked a bit like Riya in that moment.

“… I’m planning to live like this for a while, so don’t look at me like that.”

“You always say that, but you end up getting into trouble every time.”

“…”

I had no way to explain myself. There was no way I could tell Monet about the events of the original story.

This time, I hadn’t been hurt or anything, but after rumors spread about Lugal, Monet’s glare was sharp enough to cut.

She must never have imagined I’d fought someone so dangerous.

“Really… geez.”

Still, Monet’s displeasure was nothing more than a small complaint.

Sometimes she’d nag me, but since it always stemmed from concern, I couldn’t help but listen quietly.

Knock, knock.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Since Monet was usually the only one to enter my room while I was doing paperwork, I found it odd. Unless it was urgent, people rarely called for me.

“Come in.”

At my words, the door slowly opened and Dorian entered.

He glanced briefly at Monet beside me, then bowed calmly.

“Sorry to interrupt your work. It’s just that… young master—no, Count, you have a guest.”

Recently, Dorian tried to call me by my proper title—Lord or Count—as much as possible.

It felt a little distant, but that was appropriate now, so I couldn’t criticize him.

Now, the only one who still called me young master was Monet.

“A guest? … Is it the Count of Deoric?”

“No, it’s His Grace, Duke Gale.”

“What?”

I frowned at the unexpected name.

‘Duke Gale came here?’

Given the scale of what happened, it was natural for him to be curious, but for him to visit personally was quite surprising.

Ivan Gale was one of the highest authorities in the Kingdom of Talua, and he rarely moved in person.

“I’ll go straight away.”

Meeting with Duke Gale was something I’d already been hoping for.

The country of other races located in the Kezmen Mountains—Lavantara.

Since humans were refused entry there, I needed to find a way in.

At first, I’d thought I could simply ask for help from the Empire of Asktalin, but unfortunately, that method was impossible.

According to Riya, lavantara was beyond the effective reach of even the empire.

‘Well, thanks for coming on your own initiative.’

Given the situation, I was already considering asking Duke Gale for help.

I walked on, hoping I’d get a clue from him.

* * *

“Damn it all!”

At the Deoric family’s count’s mansion.

At the sound of something crashing and shattering, Leon Deoric let out a faint sigh.

‘It’s practically daily now.’

Ever since the events with House Vanhart, Logan Deoric had lost all composure.

He’d grown ill-tempered and suffered frequent fits like this one.

“All because of that bastard, Clay… Clay, that damned wretch…”

Lately, the name Logan mentioned more than anyone else was indisputably Clay.

Since the incident in the fairy forest, the southern region had virtually become House Vanhart’s domain.

In the past, Deoric family might have tried to interfere and curb their influence, but that was no longer possible.

That was because word had gotten out that Logan had nearly lost his life at the hands of the Dark King Lugal.

Nobles were expected to be pragmatic, but the stories had spread too widely.

If he clashed with House Vanhart now, Logan would become a global pariah who had betrayed the man who’d saved his life.

Naturally, the family’s honor would be in tatters.

Thanks to that, all they could do was watch helplessly as House Vanhart devoured the lands and wealth of House Bellen.

“Father, our family is still standing strong. You don’t have to worry so much—”

“Standing strong? You call this standing strong? The title of southern overlord now belongs to House Vanhart! After over a hundred years, we’ve just handed over the territory we defended to some punk!”

Even among the Deoric family’s soldiers and knights, Clay’s reputation was unmatched.

At this point, he wondered if the family would take Clay’s word over his.

“… I’ll go to the capital.”

“What?”

“Hmph. I need to release some stress. Staying in this house will drive me crazy.”

At the mention of “releasing stress”, Leon’s expression changed to one of shock.

Logan had a hobby that was far from admirable.

Of course, Leon had always done his best to discourage him, but it seemed recent events had pushed Logan’s stress past the breaking point.

“Father, that—”

“Silence! I am head of the Deoric family! If I can’t even do something like this, then what am I capable of?!”

Logan kicked the desk beside him, and Leon fell silent.

No matter what he said now, his father wouldn’t listen.

‘I have a bad feeling about this.’

For some reason, Leon felt a sense of unease as he watched Logan.

It seemed that the dark cloud hanging over the Deoric family would not be easily dispersed.

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