Chapter 136: The Road of Hardship

The first destination was the northeastern border that led into the Danas Federation.

After passing through the Chelon Territory, I arrived in the Arenvatz Territory.

Originally there had been three of us, but another person appeared beside Raion and the party. That person was none other than Deborah Mineta.

“Your Highness. Are you truly certain it is all right for you to accompany us?”

At Raion’s question, Deborah furrowed her brow tightly.

“Do you dislike that I am coming along? And you said we’re heading to the Bachenan Holy Kingdom.”

Originally, Deborah was supposed to be protected by the royal palace at Taron’s Palace.

But as Raion left the Chelon region, Deborah suddenly appeared on horseback.

Naturally, it was impossible not to be surprised.

“For now, let’s stop by the Arenvatz Territory briefly before we continue.”

“It has been a while since we last saw the Duke.”

Since Patrick shared a friendly relationship with him, he looked forward to it a little.

Thus the four of us rode across the border of the territory and headed toward the Arenvatz Castle.

Rustle……!

The undergrowth in the forest shook restlessly.

We, who had been riding quietly, sensed the presence and came to a halt.

At the same time, a group of around twenty men burst out from the bushes and encircled us.

Those at the very front raised their spears so our horses could not move.

It was a rather organized movement.

At the sight, Raion scratched his head with his finger.

“Ugh…….”

As his deep sigh flowed out, a man stepped forward and shouted.

“Kahahahaha! If you don’t want to die, hand over everything you’ve got!”

The sudden appearance of bandits was such an obvious cliché that it felt too predictable.

There wasn’t even any sense of value in dealing with them.

But then words spilled from the bandit leader’s mouth—words that should never have been said.

“That wench over there has quite a body! We’ll play with her first and then send her to a nice—!”

Wham—!

His words never reached the end thanks to Deborah’s kick.

Of course, the assault did not end there.

She stormed into the bandits standing nearby like a raging tempest.

“Look at this crazy bastard! What? You’re gonna what to me? You filthy pieces of shit!”

Whack! Whack-whack!

Bronze-colored arcs sliced through the air as the bandits were knocked down one after another.

Neither Raion, Patrick, nor Turklan could step in.

Since she was already nearing the level of a beginner Swordmaster, the bandits were no match for her.

“Patrick, you’re not going to stop her?”

“……Lady first, after all.”

I had no idea what was supposed to be ‘first’.

The three of us simply watched quietly until Deborah finished taking care of the bandits.

It did not take long.

In an instant, they were all dealt with and lay flat on the ground.

Deborah still seemed to have some anger left even after doing that much.

“Ugh……!”

“If you’re not planning to kill them, that should be enough.”

“Can I kill them?”

“Eeek—!”

The faces of the bandits, who we thought were unconscious, turned pale.

“You’ll only dirty your hands for no good reason.”

“Tch! You three idiots get out of here before I count to three. One! Two!”

At that moment, the bandits scrambled up and fled into the forest.

What a pointless ordeal.

Shaking his head, Raion took the lead again.

It did not take long to pass through the gates of the Arenvatz Castle and arrive at the mansion.

Thud…….

As the massive doors opened, I saw Duke Saliann Arenvatz standing in front of the mansion with his subordinate nobles.

“It has been a while, Raion.”

“Have you been well?”

“I’m always the same. More importantly, I see you have guests.”

The Duke’s gaze moved to the side.

The two bowed their heads.

“I am Deborah Mineta.”

“Turklan, sir.”

“Mineta? Could it be from the Mineta Kingdom……?”

Hearing her surname, recalling the kingdom was not difficult.

Uncertainty also mixed into his tone.

“That is correct.”

“How is the princess of the Mineta Kingdom here?”

“Due to an unforeseen crisis within the kingdom, I am under the Crown Prince’s protection.”

Watching the situation, Raion felt a strangely unfamiliar sensation.

But Deborah and the Duke of Arenvatz kept talking.

“A crisis, you say. Has something happened to the King of Mineta?”

“My father passed away due to illness.”

“My goodness……! Let’s go inside first.”

We moved seats.

In the meantime, Patrick came from the mansion’s kitchen with tea.

Once seats were prepared again, the Duke’s gaze lingered on Turklan.

“And how are you related to Raion?”

“I owe him my life.”

“Your life……? Seeing that you remain by his side, it seems it wasn’t in a negative sense.”

“I intend to take it in a positive way.”

“More than that, judging from the aura I sense from your body, you must be quite skilled with a sword…….”

Strength and certainty weighed on his final words.

Turklan slightly nodded upon hearing them.

“I spent more than half my life devoted to the sword.”

“My eyes weren’t mistaken. And it seems Her Highness is also quite skilled.”

He had recognized that Deborah had stepped into the realm of a beginner Swordmaster.

If that was the case, it meant Duke Saliann Arenvatz’s own skill had grown higher than before.

“Thank you for recognizing me, Duke.”

“And you, Raion…….”

Having climbed to an even higher realm, the Duke tried to gauge Raion’s strength from earlier.

But what he sensed was like a completely still sea.

He could not determine what or how much was contained within.

“How far have you climbed?”

A smile formed on my lips at his question, which was filled with astonishment.

“It’ll be more than what Grandfather imagines.”

“Hoho…! To think I’d be overtaken by my own grandson.”

He could be certain just from the energy he felt throughout his whole body.

Turklan, who had once witnessed my skills with his own eyes, found the memory flashing across his mind.

“Master’s ability was truly extraordinary. I cannot even guess when you completed such a realm.”

Since I wasn’t even twenty years old yet, it was only natural that it was hard to believe.

“It’s simply astonishing. In a way, that child might have been the kingdom’s blessing.”

“If you keep praising me like that, I’m only going to feel embarrassed.”

“Isn’t it something I should obviously say? More importantly, I heard you’re going past the Danas Federation and the Dior Empire all the way to the Bachenan Holy Kingdom. What business takes you that far?”

He had already been informed beforehand, so he roughly knew the situation.

Recently, the atmosphere near the northern border had been unusual.

For the Duke of Arenvatz, who was responsible for the border, it was impossible not to worry.

“That’s because of me.”

“You?”

“Along with the life he owes me, he’s going that far to help my wife.”

After that, I gave a more detailed explanation.

Hearing this, the Duke of Arenvatz slowly nodded.

“Mm… I see. You must’ve had a hard time.”

“Not at all.”

“But Raion, do you have a way?”

“I do. That’s why I’m going with him.”

“What do you mean?”

There wasn’t a particularly outstanding Priest among our group.

Besides, Turklan’s wife was in the Bachenan Holy Kingdom, which was famous for its Priests.

There couldn’t be a better place for treatment.

“I have a power I’ve kept secret from Grandfather and everyone else.”

“A power…?”

I picked up the clock on the table and dropped it forcefully to the floor.

Crash—!

The clock shattered into pieces.

“Why would you do that?”

“Just watch.”

I stretched both hands toward the broken clock.

“Restoration.”

As my ability activated, the clock lying between my hands began moving as if time were turning backward.

Each component found its proper place and assembled itself piece by piece.

In an instant, the clock returned to its original state.

Watching the scene, the Duke of Arenvatz widened his eyes.

“Oh-ho…! How can such an ability…?”

“Its permitted range isn’t wide. And depending on my mana, the effect changes.”

At first, I had thought the Restoration ability only healed.

But that wasn’t the case.

Everything within the activated range of the ability returned to its original state.

Of course, I couldn’t set a very wide range. And depending on the severity of the problem, the mana consumption varied greatly.

“It’s truly… fascinating.”

“With this, it should be possible.”

“It sounds like something to look forward to.”

Thus, our conversation continued.

This was the first time we faced each other properly and had a relaxed conversation like this.

The Duke of Arenvatz was more than satisfied with the meeting.

Of course, we couldn’t stay long.

We only spent a day.

As soon as early morning came, the four of us prepared to depart at once.

When we came out to the front of the mansion where everything had been prepared, the Duke of Arenvatz looked regretful.

“I wish you could stay longer… how unfortunate.”

“I don’t think we can afford to delay.”

“There’s no helping it. Sir Turklan, I hope your wish will be fulfilled.”

“Thank you. We had a good stay.”

“Please take care. I’ll visit again.”

Turklan and Deborah also said their farewells to Arenvatz.

But the one who was actually closest to him—Patrick—remained quiet.

As we rode our horses and moved along, I asked him.

“Patrick, is it fine not to say goodbye? You were quiet the whole time yesterday too.”

“We talked until dawn.”

“Incredible…”

“No matter how amazing Master is, I’m sure there are still many things you don’t understand.”

Patrick looked pleased.

It seemed they had shared many things over the long years they had spent together.

Meanwhile, our horses kept moving.

Our next destination was beyond the border of the Danas Federation.

Turklan gauged the distance and schedule.

“If we increase our speed a little, we should be able to reach the border leading into the Dior Empire before the day ends.”

“I suppose so.”

“That sounds right.”

Patrick and Deborah also agreed easily, seeming to estimate the direction and distance in the same way.

Only I remained quiet.

‘Come to think of it, this is my first time leaving the kingdom.’

In my previous life, I had never even left the Kanas Territory.

I had spent my whole life trembling in fear there, until I met my end at the hands of the Empire.

Of course, things were different now.

But the expectation of seeing a world I had never experienced before swelled within me.

“Soon, we’ll be outside the Canel Kingdom.”

“Crossing the border might be a little tricky.”

Turklan, who was at the front, looked worried.

“Even with the badge we made last time? Or should we circle around to another border?”

It was my first time crossing a border, so I couldn’t help having questions.

“It’ll likely be the same.”

“Sir Turklan is too well-known as a mercenary, so that’s probably the issue.”

An S-rank mercenary who was a Swordmaster was rare.

Naturally, he would have traveled between countries, and thus his face was known in most places.

“True… unless you change your face, it’ll be difficult.”

“If we’re unlucky, information on Turklan could reach the Black Crescent Moon.”

We had to move cautiously.

Any unnecessary commotion was a concern.

“If we get caught at this border, the real problem will be crossing into the Dior Empire.”

“That seems likely.”

Patrick nodded in agreement.

“Let’s just try crossing first. Either way, we’ll have to deal with it.”

There wasn’t an immediate solution I could prepare right now.

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