Chapter 43: Holy War, Absolute Holy War! (2)

“Speak freely about what you want. Since I have received such great favor, I will do my utmost to help, even if it’s a bit of a burden.”

The Duke’s generosity was immense.

He said he would do his best to help, even if it became difficult.

“Actually, I have about two requests.”

“Only two?”

This man’s standards for gratitude and repayment must be different from mine.

Of course.

I was born as the son of a small merchant family, a commoner, while he is someone who has lived as a Duke for a long time.

“One… I think our interests align. I want to take revenge on the Krapi family.”

“The Krapi family? You mean that Samiocheu Krapi fellow from the Empire?”

I nodded and slowly recounted the story between me and Deon Craphy.

The Duke listened silently, but by the time I finished, his face had turned red, and his fists were trembling.

“That damn scoundrel!”

“Your Grace?”

In the end, the Duke couldn’t contain his anger and slammed his fist on the table.

“The Academy is a sacred place for education! Are you telling me such filthy things happened there? All organized to erase talented people like you… fools!”

Somehow, the Duke was much angrier than I had imagined.

Well, it certainly made things easier to discuss.

“So, let’s form a joint front.”

“A joint front, huh? That makes sense. I too want to repay my grudge.”

“I actually have an idea already.”

“Oh ho, you’ve got a plan then.”

Since I was in the Akashic Record, I’ve dreamed of revenge every day.

Now that I have power and backing?

I can start putting some of those plans into motion.

“Yes. It’s a long story, so I’ll send the detailed plan by letter next time.”

“Understood. You said you have two requests. What’s the other one?”

“If you have any old tomes or something equivalent, I would like to receive them.”

“Hmm?”

The Duke raised one eyebrow in surprise.

“Is it because you’re interested in studies? But as you know, our library was completely destroyed.”

“I know. I was there at that moment. But I was hoping there might be some hidden tomes, or books that weren’t classified because their origins were unknown, or perhaps personal collections of yours.”

“You’re quite the mysterious one. Usually when people want to be repaid, they ask for treasures, money, land, or power. But you want scholarship… scholarship…”

Unintentionally, I think I earned the reputation of being obsessed with studies.

In fact, I wanted those old tomes because of the possibility of reconnecting with the Akashic Record.

The library was completely ruined, and with the relentless rain over the past few days, the books were utterly destroyed.

Besides, they were old tomes.

Books that would crumble just by being handled improperly surely couldn’t have survived.

Even the tomes that came from the Akashic Record had completely disappeared due to this incident.

“I’m sorry, but there are no books. It’s not that we don’t collect them, but I believe books that are merely decorations on shelves are meaningless, so they were all kept in the library.”

I nodded at the Duke’s words.

That made sense.

The books held in the library were truly remarkable.

Some could have been mistaken for treasures passed down from minor noble families.

There was nothing to be done. My next access to the Akashic Record would have to be postponed for a while.

When I return to the Helpion Duchy, I should start searching for and gathering old tomes.

Maybe Lone could help me get results.

“But I think I can grant you something similar to what you’re asking.”

“Similar?”

The Duke chuckled and pulled out a small pouch from inside his jacket.

It was a worn pouch, incongruent with his elegant attire.

“What’s that?”

“There was a protective barrier around the library for Giselle. Did you know that?”

“I heard about it.”

It was a shield created by one of the world’s very few 8th Circle Archmages.

“The spell was cast by my childhood friend. He said that this magic wouldn’t easily break, but there might be unforeseen circumstances.”

“Is this some kind of emergency item?”

“Yes. It’s a catalyst that activates the 8th Circle’s invisibility and protection magic.”

The Duke carefully pulled an object from the pouch.

It looked like a gem that reflected the colors of a sunset against a crystal-clear sky.

The gem’s light was so bright that a faint purple afterimage lingered in my vision.

It seemed almost alive, glowing orange, then purple, then yellow.

What was unique was that countless lines radiated from the gem.

These lines felt fundamentally different from those drawn by swordsmanship.

Where swordsmanship’s lines were offensive intentions aimed at defeating an opponent, the lines from this catalyst seemed like conversations.

Endlessly reaching out and retracting, like a blind person groping the world, emitting energy in every direction.

“Since Giselle has decided to come outside, and with the library destroyed like that, this item is now useless. I’ll give it to you.”

The Duke slowly extended the gem toward me.

I took it.

No, the lines from the gem reached out and grasped my hand.

At the same moment, there was a crackling electric sound, and the gem’s light completely faded.

“Huh?”

“What?”

Just moments ago, the gem shone brilliantly, showing off its beauty.

Now it was gone.

All that remained was a gray stone, pebbles, or some such, rolling on the floor from between our startled hands…

Uh… um…

I’ve read about this situation in the Akashic Record.

When a mana-charged catalyst reaches the end of its lifespan, it appears like this.

But just by touching it, the lifespan of the Mana Stone was completely exhausted? That dazzling light?

I slowly lifted my head and met the Duke’s eyes.

The dignified expression he had just moments ago was replaced with obvious embarrassment.

“What did you just do?”

“Me? What did I do?”

“The catalyst was fine just a moment ago, but the moment you touched it, it died! Clearly, it’s your fault!”

“There’s no way I did anything wrong. I don’t know how to handle mana at all. As for the protective magic, isn’t your friend, the Archmage, a fraud?”

“What? You say Talio, the master of the Magic Tower, is a fraud?”

Wow.

The Duke’s childhood friend is Archmage Talio.

The very master of the Magic Tower.

The one who can only operate it if he has his own family and over a hundred mages under his command.

“But if the magic wasn’t poorly designed from the start, it shouldn’t break so easily.”

“Ahem, aheh ahem.”

The Duke cleared his throat repeatedly, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Meanwhile, he slyly picked up the fallen catalyst, put it back into the pouch, and then back into his jacket.

He seemed ready to confront Archmage Talio later.

But with this, what happens to my repayment gift?

“Do you have any other old items?”

The Duke averted his eyes, looking a little uncomfortable.

“Hmm. Actually, that’s the oldest and most intellectual item I have to give you. That’s it…”

“So?”

“Right now, I don’t have anything that meets your criteria.”

Ha, ha.

I had some hope, but this was disappointing.

A sigh slipped out involuntarily.

“Why the sigh, young man? Just take the item! Wait a month, yes, a month! Back in my day, when a senior gave a gift, we didn’t ask for conditions; we just waited patiently. But now, people even demand things…”

I learned something new.

When the Duke is flustered, he starts rambling like crazy.

“Hey, what’s with that look? I’m telling you, I’ll give it to you! When has it ever been that I wouldn’t? But that damned Archmage messed up magic not once but twice and embarrassed me…”

For the next hour, Duke Squaret’s nagging, trying to hide his embarrassment, continued without end.

The next day.

I left behind my long stay at the Squaret Duchy and headed to the Helpion Duchy.

The group that had been only ten people when I first arrived had grown to an enormous size for some reason.

“Many things have changed since you left.”

“It’s been a long and short time, depending on how you look at it, but a lot has happened.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“At least for me, it’s not all bad. But for others, I doubt that.”

Lady Titania gave an ambiguous smile and looked around.

The reason was that a large number of people were moving toward the Helpion Duchy on Duke Squaret’s orders.

Seven civil officers who wished to serve in the Helpion Duchy, including Lady Titania herself.

A few retainers to assist Lady Titania.

With all these people gathering, the group grew this large.

And there was one unexpected member among the group.

For example, Teron, who was slumped deep inside that carriage and showed no intention of coming out.

After punishing the Order of Knights and the civil officers, Duke Squaret also turned his blade toward Lady Titania and Teron.

Lady Titania, who had been focused on cleaning up the aftermath, was held responsible for failing to properly manage her retainers, and was transferred to the Helpion Duchy along with the Strategic Planning Office’s civil officers.

But no one was unaware that this transfer was merely a pretext to allow their public romance.

Two young people who exchanged letters now in the same territory?

There was no way feelings wouldn’t arise.

But Teron’s case was entirely different.

“They will hold Teron accountable for blindly allowing the factional battles among loyal vassals in pursuit of family succession. He needs to experience life and death to understand how many lives are lost when a person in power gives bad orders.”

Duke Squaret specially requested me to place Teron at the very center of the battlefield.

Of course, that didn’t mean leaving Teron to die there.

More like a request to treat him harshly.

But Teron seemed deeply shocked by even that level of warning.

No, “pouty” would be more accurate.

Though joining the group, he barely greeted anyone, ate alone, and even now, late into the night, hadn’t shown his face once.

Is he even sleeping over there? A well-raised young master shouldn’t behave like that.

And there was one more unexpected member.

I glanced toward the very back of the group.

A small blond boy walked, his face half wrapped in bandages, looking at the ground.

The bandages weren’t only on his face.

Thin arms and wrists peeking out from under his robe were also wrapped.

That boy was Chechil, who had been kidnapped by Lumpen Hound and suffered severe wounds all over his body.

Chechil’s situation in the Squaret territory was very ambiguous.

The civil officers treated him like a knight, since he was involved in the destruction of their library.

But the knights refused to accept Chechil, who had betrayed Giselle’s location, as one of their own.

He was the child who had scorned the knights because of his inflated ego, so it was only natural.

In the end, accepted by neither side, he volunteered to join this group.

Since his situation was pitiful and his talents were excellent, it was hoped that by gaining battlefield experience, he might mature, so he was allowed to come along.

But permitting his accompaniment and naturally blending into the group were two different matters.

Teron could hide inside the carriage and do nothing, but Chechil had no such luxury.

He had no choice but to endure the scornful gazes of those around him while walking silently.

He seemed well aware of his position and neither spoke nor acted much throughout the journey.

Anyway, that’s why our group had grown so large.

“Let’s rest here today. If it gets any darker, we could be attacked by monsters.”

At Lady Titania’s suggestion, I looked around.

Indeed, this place had not yet been overrun by large monsters.

With Alice here, we didn’t have to worry much about ordinary monster attacks, but it was better to be safe.

“Understood.”

“Set up camp!”

Upon my agreement, Lady Titania ordered the servants around, who began to move busily.

Chechil was among those moving busily.

When camping, mages are very useful.

They can cast Alarm Magic or Light Spells to provide illumination.

“We’ll set the alarm magic boundary from this tree to that rock.”

Chechil said this as he began chanting a spell.

Suddenly,

My world throbbed, like a heartbeat echoed through everything.

As the night darkened, a black veil swiftly descended.

This feeling…

I had felt it recently.

It was the sensation I had when accessing the Akashic Record.

But why now?

I watched Chechil in the endlessly slowing time.

A faint green mana glowed slowly, radiating from his body boundary, clearly visible to the naked eye.

Is mana usually visible like this?

The mana intersected in the air in complicated circles and strokes, and then the world went completely dark.

“Congratulations on becoming a mage, rookie.”

A voice greeted me.