Raykadi stared blankly at Tiya.
I explained to her.
“There is a close connection between Order Knights Commander Tiya Ferlich and the Terok Trading Company that Lady Raykadi destroyed not long ago.”
“…!”
“The reason the Terok Trading Company appeared before Lady Raykadi was a deliberate arrangement on their part. They were acting under Commander Ferlich’s orders.”
I pointed at the silent Tiya.
Raykadi blinked, still struggling to process the situation, but she quickly regained her composure and countered my words.
“Even if what the Sub-Master says is true, why would the commander of the Order Knights do such a thing? There is no clear benefit for her.”
She seemed to find it hard to believe. But I had decisive evidence.
“You should hear the rest from her own mouth.”
With that, I looked at Tiya, and Raykadi’s gaze followed mine.
Finally, Tiya’s mouth opened.
Nadia, the princess of the Litvin Kingdom who viewed Raykadi as a thorn in her side, had promised significant financial and political support to the Order Knights in the future.
In exchange, she asked Tiya to find a pretext to force Raykadi’s expulsion from the Order by citing her personality flaws.
Tiya had accepted the deal.
The two had colluded with the Terok Trading Company and deliberately arranged for them to clash with Raykadi while she was on patrol. Thanks to this, Raykadi had accumulated many achievements and her reputation had soared.
Of course, it was all a trap.
They had fabricated false circumstantial evidence suggesting that Raykadi’s encounters with the Terok Trading Company’s underlings had been suspiciously frequent, planning to frame her for colluding with the company to build merit.
It was all to create a justification for forcing her expulsion without drawing protests from the powerful Shafeck family backing her.
“…That is all.”
“………”
Raykadi stared at Tiya in a daze.
She had already realized that the commander’s confession was not nonsense. After all, she had always been quick-witted in the original story.
“Now do you understand? What you are pursuing does not exist here, Raykadi. The essence of the Order Knights changed long ago. They are no different from the countless secular knight orders that exist everywhere.”
“………”
Raykadi closed her eyes tightly.
Then, without warning, she tore off the three-line emblem pinned to her chest and threw it away.
The emblem symbolized affiliation with an organization. Throwing it away in front of the Order’s commander needed no further explanation.
“I am grateful for everything until now, Commander.”
Raykadi gave a slight bow, then picked up the warhammer—a military pick—that had been leaning in the corner of the reception room.
“This is my punishment for the commander who joined hands with a corrupt company like Terok against the Order’s ideals, and my answer to the deception you sent my way.”
With a hardened expression, Raykadi swung the hammer.
BOOOOM!
Tiya’s body was slammed into the office wall by the massive impact. After staring at the motionless commander for a moment, Raykadi tossed the hammer aside and walked toward me.
“I owe you greatly, Sub-Master of the Blispiel Clan. I almost suffered an unthinkable disgrace.”
“Does this mean you accept the proposal I made earlier?”
“…For now. Since I have formally withdrawn from the Order, the timing of my joining will be moved up considerably.”
I had successfully recruited Raykadi as a new comrade!
Without hesitation, Raykadi completed the withdrawal procedures from the Order Knights and immediately filled out the application to join the Blispiel Clan.
A carrier pigeon flew far into the distance toward Elanore. Watching it, Raykadi spoke.
“Sub-Master.”
“What is it, Raykadi?”
“Since we will be together for a long time and you outrank me in both age and position, you may speak comfortably. You can also call me Ray for short.”
“Alright, Ray.”
I nodded readily. I remembered how, in Part 3 of the original story, Epio and the others had called her by that nickname.
Ray opened her mouth again.
“It seems we will be spending quite a long time together, Sub-Master.”
“Even though I might disappoint you like the Order Knights’ commander did?”
“Until I feel I have repaid my debt, I will tolerate your actions to some extent even if I dislike them.”
“‘To some extent’ means you’ll smash my head with that hammer the moment I cross the line, right?”
“Helping to ensure my superior does not stray onto the wrong path is also part of a subordinate’s duty.”
I was momentarily stunned.
‘To some extent’? Did those words really just come out of this girl’s mouth?
In truth, I had never been particularly fond of Raykadi. Even when Part 3 of Reca Chronicles was being serialized to great acclaim, she was a character who inspired strong mixed opinions.
She had a righteous and proactive personality, but she also often showed frustratingly rigid and old-fashioned behavior. Because of this, the comment sections were full of people calling her a “knight auntie wearing the mask of a beautiful girl.”
However, after speaking directly with the young Ray, I could see a certain flexibility in her.
Perhaps it was because she had avoided Nadia’s trap early, or maybe it was due to the various hardships she had experienced between now and Part 3.
It was probably both.
Just as Chesa’s personality had changed quite a bit from the original due to my influence, the same seemed to apply here.
[MacGuffin No.611 / Winds of Time recovered.]
[Achievement Points + 250]
‘Winds of Time’… what a name for a MacGuffin…
In any case, the fact that Raykadi’s personality was more flexible than I had expected was a positive development.
She had high potential.
Leadership ability.
Capability to maintain discipline.
There had been many reasons I hesitated to recruit such an outstanding top-tier talent. As you know, compatibility with the other comrades I would recruit later was a major issue.
But seeing her now, my worries seemed unfounded.
She said to me,
“Sub-Master. If it’s alright with you, could you introduce me to the other clan members right away?”
“Uh… Sure.”
I brought Ray outside to where the rest of the group was waiting. Judging from first impressions alone, her compatibility with the other members didn’t seem bad at all.
Chesa, Epio, Linia, Visanya… Even Clara, who I had been most worried about, greeted her warmly—unlike when Visanya had joined. Only then could I breathe a sigh of relief.
Ray valued promises and was not the type to speak empty words.
Unless something major happened, she would likely stay with the clan for a long time. It seemed like the right time to give her “that item.”
“Linia. Take it out.”
“You mean… that?”
At my command, Linia’s expression stiffened slightly. She pulled something out of her bag. It was a fist-sized object wrapped in a sealing cloth.
I unwrapped it without hesitation, and something extremely ominous emerged.
Twisted Old Tree’s Soul (S-)
- Upon consumption, acquire the trait Decay Hex (S-)
- Greatly increases dark-attribute resistance and dominance upon consumption
- Increases potential upon consumption …
※Inflicts a very powerful curse on the consumer
※Will corrode surrounding objects if left unattended
It was the S-grade elixir we had taken from the Kirianejial family in the Great Forest. It had poor compatibility with me, so I had prepared it specifically to give to Ray upon recruiting her.
“A welcoming gift for joining the clan.”
“Is this a cursed elixir?”
“You recognized it right away. With the thick blood of the Shafeck family flowing in you, you should be able to digest it without much difficulty.”
“You seem to know a lot about my family.”
“I exchanged some letters with your father, Lord Eckhart.”
“Hmm…”
Ray’s expression hardened.
Although not widely known, she had beaten up her older brothers who opposed her joining the Order Knights and left home. It would be uncomfortable for her to see her family again.
I chuckled and said,
“I also heard that your relationship with your family is strained. If you don’t want it, I have no intention of reaching out to the Shafeck family, so you can rest easy.”
“…Very well, Sub-Master.”
Nodding, Ray took the Twisted Old Tree’s Soul (S-).
I watched her quietly as she fell into thought.
The strongest warrior in Shafeck family history.
Heavenly Sword Emperor.
Leader of the Heroes.
Bellifort Shafeck, who held many titles.
It was said that he had been particularly strong against opponents who wielded curses and other sinister powers. This wasn’t unique to him alone—it was a kind of family trait.
Those who inherited the blood of the Shafeck family, which had maintained the tradition of exorcism, often manifested traits that resisted evil. The form and effect of these traits varied greatly, but the talent Raykadi was born with was undoubtedly the greatest among them.
The Curse Devourer (S) trait, which allowed her to convert curses placed upon her into power.
For someone like Ray, the penalty of “a powerful curse is placed upon the consumer” was practically nonexistent.
In fact, it was a plus.
“Ugh…”
After swallowing the soul, Ray suddenly gasped and sat down in a lotus position to stabilize her internal energy.
We held our breath and silently watched the scene.
Ray opened her eyes three days later.
As she stood up, she clenched her fist with visible excitement and spoke to me.
“I owe you yet another debt, Sub-Master.”
“Then repay it with results.”
“Understood.”
Right after our conversation—
Fwoooosh!
An ominous energy suddenly enveloped Ray’s body. It was the cursed energy originating from the Twisted Old Tree’s Soul (S-).
A heavy pressure filled the room.
Chesa asked while breaking into a cold sweat,
“Aiden… is this dangerous?”
“Just watch.”
Soon, the sinister energy began to evaporate as if it had never existed. It was being converted into pure mana by her Curse Devourer (S) trait.
In the original history, Ray could only use this trait when others placed curses on her. However, by consuming the elixir with a built-in penalty, a curse was constantly present within her body, allowing her to replenish her own energy at will.
Epio shouted,
“Whoa! That’s amazing!”
〔…Quite different in form from that Bellifort fellow. But effective. So the power of exorcism can manifest in this way as well?〕
The atmosphere grew noisy.
I cleared my throat lightly.
“Ahem… Since Ray has joined the clan, we’ve seen everything we needed to see in the Lenska Kingdom. Let’s head to the Lucer Kingdom now.”
It was then.
Visanya, who rarely spoke, opened her mouth.
“S-Sub-Master. Someone is coming this way… Obsidirola just told me…”
“…Hm!”
It had taken Ray quite a long time to fully absorb the elixir. It was more than enough time for unnecessary trouble to arise.
We stepped outside the building.
Heavily armed knights had completely surrounded the area. Suddenly, Nadia stepped forward from among them.
“You’ve finally come out, traitor Raykadi.”
“…Nadia Litvin.”
“I heard that not only did you leave the Order without proper reason, but you also assaulted the commander and left her severely injured. For the honor of the Order, I cannot let this slide. Therefore, I challenge you to a duel.”
“You, Nadia? Challenging me?”
“Of course not. There is no need for someone of my noble status to dirty her own hands.”
A middle-aged man with an extraordinary aura stepped forward in front of the sneering Nadia.
“We have prepared an appropriate representative for the arrogant you. Sir Rival, the strongest knight of the Litvin Kingdom.”