“Quiet…”
Who’s dying? I’ll just hold out until I succeed. I glared at the ‘Bad Bond’. Meanwhile, the intense pain was growing worse. It felt as if a violent storm was raging inside my body.
[…Young Hero.]
Then, a voice echoed in my head through the hilt of the ‘Bad Bond’ once again. It wasn’t Kalgos’s hoarse and unpleasant voice, but a steady and strong one. This was Albert’s voice.
[For some reason, my old Bad Bond does not seem to want your death.]
[I also cannot just stand by and watch your danger.]
[I shall grant you a small bit of help.]
[I pray that you overcome this ordeal well—]
As soon as those words ended, the ‘Bad Bond’ emitted Light.
“Albert. Why is this guy living together with Kalgos? He didn’t even answer when I called!”
I grumbled inwardly, but thanks to him, my interior began to stabilize little by little. The Light flowing from the blade suppressed the energy that had been churning inside my body.
Thanks to that, I was able to grab the reins of the unruly energy.
“Anyway, things have become easier.”
I utilized my Faith through the gap Albert had created. I firmly pressed down the magic power that was surging like an erupting volcano and forced it to circulate along the Mana route.
“My Mana route was made by Vallak. There’s no need to create a new path.”
Tougher than an Orc, more elastic than an Elf.
Vallak’s Mana route, which maximized the Human strengths of elasticity and toughness, was perfectly suited for a Magic swordsman.
I circulated the energy several times along that well-trodden path.
With every circulation, I felt like I could breathe again. When I opened my eyes once more, a round ring was floating above my palm.
Heh.
A laugh escaped me. No matter how I looked at it, it was clearly a Circle.
A Mage’s Circle is both a measure of their realm and an auxiliary ‘power organ’ of the heart used to manifest Magic.
But this current situation… To put it simply, it was like a right atrium was throbbing on top of my palm.
“The energy of the artificial heart has settled throughout my body. And the artificial heart isn’t even an elixir. Hmph, is it because I already have a Knight’s heart?”
Continuing my thoughts, I rotated the Circle on my palm once. Then, Divine Power gathered through my palm, and I felt the surrounding Mana being drawn into the Circle as well.
Whirrr, whirrrr—
The ring, glowing brightly with Divine Power, vibrated naturally.
“The caster’s Mana and the Mana of nature gather in the ring and resonate. It’s undoubtedly a Mage’s heart.”
At this point, I needed to hear the opinion of someone with deep knowledge of Magic. One thing was for certain: the path of a Magic swordsman had opened for me.
Unfortunately, my companions did not give me time to fully enjoy this energy.
“Saint! What on earth happened?”
The guys who had been stomping their feet in anxiety rushed over in a flurry.
I had explained the general plan while exploring the ruins, so why were their eyes so full of resentment as they looked at me?
“Hey, don’t worry. Everything went according to my plan.”
“What do you mean ‘according to plan’! You coughed up blood so many times!”
“You didn’t say it would be this dangerous, you jerk!”
“Aya! Seriously, this old man hasn’t had a single day of peace. Please stop making us worry.”
After that, I had to silently listen to their words of resentment for an hour.
“Next time, I should definitely tell them if it seems even a little bit dangerous.”
Of course, I could have expressed my own grievances. I hadn’t expected that absorbing the artificial heart would be this perilous.
However, the screams of Moritz and the Temple Knights that I heard while being crushed by Kalgos’s teeth were still vivid in my ears. I didn’t want to make them worry anymore.
***
“Hmm, hum, hummm—!”
On the way out of the ruins, Adele hummed a song.
“In! The middle! Of the night! I shall deliver the joyful news—!”
Not stopping there, she hopped around while singing a hymn. Richard and the rest of the group looked at the back of her green head with satisfaction.
“Ahem… It seems Mother is very happy.”
“I suppose so. She couldn’t even talk properly last time.”
“It was a very regrettable matter for us as well.”
“………. I’m sorry I couldn’t pay more attention then, Tarsar. I could have made some time for you to talk with her.”
A strange light appeared in Tarsar’s eyes. Then, he soon gave a faint smile.
“Do not say such things. We Elves are living the happiest days since we were born.”
The eyes of the Elves following Adele grew moist.
The happiest days since they were born. Those words were not a lie. Compared to the days when they had to hold onto their withering Mother and stifle their tears, now was truly more than they deserved.
Even if the world provoked their karma and desires in another form, being able to be with a smiling Adele was a great blessing for the Elves.
“Now, the Elves of the South will also enjoy those happy days.”
“Yes, that’s right. From now on, I will make sure the Elves are never persecuted again. Even if I have to stake the name of Moritz on it.”
Moritz, who had suddenly jumped into the conversation, spoke while putting his arm around Richard’s shoulder.
“Hehe… Thank you. Human friends.”
The expressions of the group as they walked were very light.
However, their eyes and ears were wide open; it wasn’t that their discipline had slackened in the enemy territory known as the Southern Continent. Soon, they reached the ‘promised place’.
“There’s no one here?”
Moritz scanned the surroundings with a slight frown. All he could see were trees; he couldn’t sense a single Human presence.
“Richard, did that guy really receive a revelation?”
“Hmm… I’m sure he did? Let’s wait a bit first.”
“Pfft. To think the Saint of the South would act so sluggishly even after receiving a revelation. I really don’t like him.”
Richard, sitting with his back against a giant rock, stifled a laugh. It was funny to see Moritz talking as if he had been waiting for a long time when they had only just arrived.
“He’ll arrive in about an hour.”
Having grasped Alan’s location through Divine Eye, he slowly took in the sight of his companions. Since they would have to be apart for a while, his intention was to see them as much as possible now.
***
Screeeech—
A bird woven from blue wind cried out. The 2nd Circle Magic, ‘Crying Bird’.
It was nothing more than Magic used for sending signals to allies, but if the caster was the genius Markus, the story changed completely.
It became a magnificent mount capable of instantaneous mobility surpassing a Wyvern.
Alan’s face, sitting atop the ‘Crying Bird’, was severely distorted.
Ever since he had escaped the main house four days ago while avoiding the gaze of the family head, it hadn’t smoothed out for even a single moment.
“Margarten.”
“Whoa.”
“If I call you, please say something, Human.”
Mar, who was gripping his back tightly, felt like crying. How many times had he called without getting a response?
If he had his original strength, he would have smacked the back of Alan’s head to his heart’s content by now. It was then that Mar’s eyes were clouded with sorrow.
“Come. Always.”
Alan spoke as if spitting out each syllable.
“Are you the one receiving Hor’s revelation in my stead? I have something urgent to say to that person…”
Mar recalled what happened recently at the sound of the voice heated with anger.
– Alan Markus. Hor has sent a revelation.
– What…?
– He said to face the Saint of the North at the center of the Kar Forest, where the giant rock is.
– If you want to avoid the surrounding eyes, you should leave right now. Pack your bags quickly.
Right. Looking back, whenever this damn Saint of the South made a face as if he were something special, it was always after Mar had delivered the revelation in his stead.
“I had a feeling… Was he just sulking because he didn’t receive the revelation himself?”
In fact, it wasn’t even a revelation. Richard had simply made his intentions known to Mar through Adele. Mar had just wrapped it up nicely under the name of a revelation and delivered it to Alan.
“Crazy guy. He’s completely lost his mind.”
Screeeech—
The Crying Bird cried out at the right timing.
“What? What did you say?”
“Nothing, never mind. Ah! There it is. Descend!”
A wide rock in the middle of the forest came into view in the distance. Humans were gathered together on that rock.
Though they weren’t clearly visible due to the distance, it was definitely the Saint of the North and his party.
***
The bird made of Magic landed precisely on the rock.
Shhh—
Amidst the mana currents dispersing grandly into the air, Alan stood upright on the rock and looked down at Richard. Richard was also looking at him.
“Saint of the North.”
The voice that flowed from Alan’s mouth could not be described as friendly, even as a polite remark. The knights who immediately blocked Richard’s path raised their blades.
A silence, as if a violent fight might break out at any moment, enveloped the area. Alan broke that silence.
“Did you also receive a revelation from Hor through the World Tree? Or did you receive the command directly from Hor?”
Richard’s calm eyes glanced at Mar. Behind Alan, the green-haired boy was shaking his head.
“Oh?”
Richard, who grasped the situation in that short moment, curled up the corners of his mouth.
“Hor hugged me gently and made an earnest request.”
“Wha, what…?”
“Ahem. Let’s stop this talk for now. It’s not important anyway.”
Ignoring Alan, who had frozen white, he pushed the Elves and Adele forward. It meant they should go and catch up with Mar.
“Ma, Mar—!”
“Adele…! Children of the North!”
The boy and girl, whom green suited well, embraced each other. The Elves, who had been hesitating at a distance, were seen approaching with brightening faces at Mar’s gesture.
“Hup. Let’s leave those guys alone for a moment.”
With a single leap, Richard climbed onto the rock and met Alan’s gaze.
“I heard your father has become a heretic.”
Focus returned to Alan’s blank eyes. However, his slightly trembling pupils were undoubtedly reflecting on Baphel Markus, who had become a heretic.
“I… I am a Heresy Inquisitor. Even if the heretic is my father, the name of an Inquisitor will never be tarnished.”
“Right. You are the Saint of the South and a Heresy Inquisitor at the same time. But Hor wouldn’t have urged an unconditional burning at the stake, right?”
[You must present the proper path to those who serve the wrong things.]
Richard did not want to give Alan false hope.
He had also come to the Southern Continent with the intention of killing Baphel Markus.
However, that didn’t mean one could turn a blind eye to hope itself.
“Your sister, the ruler of the Laplace Kingdom.”
Thud.
Richard, placing his hand on Alan’s shoulder, his eyes shining.
“We will bring Alisa Markus to our side. If her forces stand in the way of Markus, a war between the Northern and Southern continents won’t break out immediately.”
The most important thing was to buy time. Once Markus pulled the trigger for war, it would be uncontrollable from then on.
However, Alan was skeptical of that opinion. Alisa Markus. Alan knew the personality of Alisa, the eldest daughter of the Markus family, best. It was natural. Because Alisa was Alan’s Magic teacher.
“She is someone who acts according to her own beliefs. Even I do not know what she wants, so how could someone like you, who hasn’t even met her, recruit her?”
“I know. That woman doesn’t know true peace, but she loves peace.”
Richard slowly raised his hand. A ring emitting brilliance rose in that hand.
“I’m going to learn Magic from her. Everything you haven’t learned, even ‘Laplace’.”
Gasp.
Alan’s mouth slowly hung open at the sight of the Circle. It was a shock he couldn’t possibly hide.
“In exchange, I intend to clearly show the ruler of Laplace what peace is, and whether the current system of the two great families is true peace.”
Whirrr, whirrrr—!
The Circle greedily expanded its size. It was a feat that could never be performed with a normal Mage’s ring.