Kran was startled.
―No, no. Lucion has collapsed before! He might collapse again.
Ratta suddenly jumped up and shouted energetically.
Soon, checking where Lucion was, she ran over and rubbed her head against his.
―Did you have a good sleep, Lucion? Hehe.
“I can’t keep you waiting.”
Lucion said as he petted Rata.
“A week is too late.”
“You’re quite stubborn, Kran. Is it because it’s morning?”
“Then in two days.”
Lucion quickly realized that he had only been thinking about himself and changed his words imdiately.
Kran must be equally tired.
“This isn’t sothing to negotiate over.”
“And that’s why, Kran.”
“Why aren’t you asking why I was hurt?”
At Kran’s cautious question, Lucion chuckled.
“Thanks.”
“There’s soone trying to kill . I still don’t know who they are.”
[No.]
―No, Ratta knows.
Russell and Ratta answered together.
“I’ve never pushed myself, Kran.”
[That’s right. He’s quick to catch on.]
―That’s right. Kran is smart!
Russell and Ratta, who were playing along, seed particularly annoying today.
“Hold on, Kran. Have you spoken to Brother Heint yet?”
“Alright. I’ll see you in two days.”
Lucion set aside the communication device.
‘What should I do during these two days of waiting?’
With the feeling of restlessness surging through him, Lucion sighed, having long forgotten the sensation of relaxation.
‘Ah!’
Suddenly struck by an idea, Lucion’s eyes widened.
* * *
For a day, he remained quietly at ho.
He didn’t leave his bed except for eating, mindful of his father and older brother’s watchful eyes.
His father and Brother Heint visited him, perhaps concerned that he might be bored, while Brother Carson hardly left his room at all.
Hu, absorbed in his books all day in his own room, indirectly ntioned a ‘dream.’
When he spoke of a dream that went beyond the border, Lucion couldn’t help but think of the ‘Kingdom of Keortia’ he was going to.
The next day, to give the idea that the imperial knights were visiting Cronia, they left with a hasty farewell in the early morning.
Without even getting a chance to bid farewell to Heint.
“Don’t be disappointed, Lucion. The entire imperial knights returned worrying about you. Heint also asked to take care of you.”
As Carson’s voice ca from behind, Lucion flinched.
“Are you certain you don’t want to accompany you?”
“It’s just a light stroll; you really don’t need to co, brother.”
Lucion faced Carson at the front of the main gate.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
After saying this, Lucion walked away with Hu to a place out of Carson’s sight, then used shadow movent to head to where Zamad was.
Wearing his mask for the first ti in a long ti, Hu transford into Rental and waved at Zamad.
“Good day, Mr. Zamad, the new blacksmith.”
Zamad, who had been about to strike with his hamr, abruptly stopped.
“I almost miss that talkative mouth of yours from when we first t.”
“Co on, why would you miss that?”
“You do get labeled as shaless quite often, don’t you?”
“In moderation.”
Lucion chuckled and extended his hand.
“I’ve co to collect it. Please hand it over.”
“You haven’t even contacted . How did you find out?”
“I have keen ears.”
“Your ears aren’t that sharp.”
“Just say I have good hearing. It’s a long explanation. Honestly, you don’t like it when I stay for too long, do you?”
“Who told you such nonsense?”
Zamad straightened up, hamr in hand.
“Do you want to stay longer?”
Lucion asked in surprise.
“…Uh, ahem.”
Zamad sat back down, looking flustered.
“Seeing you reminds of my grandchild… Feel free to stay as long as you like.”
“It’s nice to have a place to pass the ti.”
“If you get bored, you can remove your mask. I can keep a secret better than you think.”
“I’ll take that into consideration. I’m just not ready yet.”
In response, Zamad gestured towards the greatsword resting against a wall.
It was the sa sword that had captured the attention of Russell and Bethel upon their arrival at Zamad’s forge.
“Why don’t you give it a go and try to break it?”
Zamad smirked slightly.
Hu’s eyes lit up with excitent.
“Can I really do anything with it?”
“That’s precisely why I’m inviting you. Go ahead and attempt to break it. Though it probably won’t break.”
[Hu, even if you swing it with all your might, you probably won’t break it.]
Russell sounded confident.
[Indeed. It’s a genuine ‘legendary sword.’]
Bethel nodded in agreent.
Encouraged by their words, Hu gripped the greatsword.
It was heavy.
Hu appreciated its heft.
At the sa ti, Ratta’s head was raised along with the greatsword.
—Ratta can’t tell much about swords, but it’s really beautiful!
While the rugged exterior typical of a greatsword was like others, the gleaming blade seed to target prey like a predatory beast, and its shine sparkled as if stars had been scattered.
As Hu raised the sword toward the sky, it seed to tremble quietly in response.
“This… feels different.”
[It’s said that legendary swords have souls imbued within. Of course, it’s not really imbued with a soul.]
Russell kept his gaze fixed on the greatsword.
Hu stepped outside and stood in front of a nearby rock.
‘Lightly at first.’
Hu swung the greatsword from top to bottom.
Crack!
Not only did the rock crack, but the ground was also gouged out, and a gust of wind swept through.
Yet, the greatsword showed no signs of damage whatsoever.
“It didn’t break.”
Hu looked at Lucion in disbelief.
“Now, try again with more force. Infuse it with ice.”
“Yes!”
After energetically responding, Hwim walked into a dense forest.
Hah.
A white puff of breath escaped from Hu’s lips.
The greatsword froze.
Though it was his first ti imbuing a weapon with ice, his heart quivered with joy.
Hu swung his greatsword forward with all his might.
Whooosh!
The sound of cutting the wind struck Hu’s ears.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
A powerful wind surged alongside as ice began to rise along the path he had carved.
He stared at the long path of ice, not sure how many trees he’d cut down, and lifted his greatsword, feeling the weight of it still in his hand.
It felt light.
It was as if the greatsword welcod Hu with the sa unchanged appearance as before.
Hu trembled with exhilaration and shouted loudly.
“It didn’t break!”
‘I thought my eardrums were going to burst.’
Lucion was genuinely surprised and hurried to calm his racing heart.
“Did you see that? Can I now join the organization?”
Zamad looked at Lucion with pride.
“You were already a mber, weren’t you?”
“Huh. I’ve never felt so tingling in the back of my head before.”
“Well then, how about going to the hospital?”
“That mouth of yours. I should silence it for good!”
Lucion bowed his head to Zamad, who was getting up with a hamr.
“You really worked hard. You’re the first to forge a weapon that can withstand the power of Rental. Thank you. Now, Rental can finally protect and defend herself.”
The craftsmanship in shaping the weapon was truly remarkable.
Zamad smiled broadly even though he knew he had been taken by surprise.
Having confird that he could still create better weapons, as a blacksmith, there was no greater complint.
* * *
“I’ve prepared only the most delicious dishes since I didn’t know what you would like.”
Anthony, the butler of Cronia’s household, said with a smile to Miella.
“T-thank you.”
Miella visited Cronia as a friend, just as Lucion wanted.
In fact, since they had t at the auction house, it felt completely natural.
Although there was no reason for it to be uncomfortable, the re ntion of Cronia made her tense.
However, within Cronia, the reality differed from the rumors.
Just by being Lucion’s friend, the large and heavy gates of Cronia opened easily, and everyone welcod her, treating her as if she were a princess.
It was so overwhelming that she felt like she wanted to leave at that very mont because it was hard to adapt.
After Anthony left, Miella let out a big sigh and turned to Kran, who had accompanied her as a butler.
“I’m so nervous I feel like I might faint. I’m really here at Cronia. The Cronia that is said to be difficult to enter!”
Her teacup trembled in her hands.
“I…”
Before Kran could reply, the door opened.
“Don’t be anxious; just make yourself at ho.”
Lucion entered with a smile.
“I’m a bit late. It wasn’t a special occasion, but I had a small debate on whether to dress up or not.”
Lucion sat down with a tired expression.
“So, who won?” Kran asked, intrigued.
“I did,” Lucion replied, casting a glance at Kran as if to say, ‘Isn’t it obvious?’
“Y-You didn’t dress up?” Miella expressed her surprise.
“I’m sorry. I guess I look pretty bad. If I had known this would happen, I should have dressed up a bit before coming.”
Suddenly, both Miella and Kran fell silent.
Kran seed to be holding back his anger as Lucion tilted his head slightly.
Bethel nudged Russell, silently urging him to speak on her behalf.
Russell let out a sigh and spoke lightly.
[Lucion, don’t go around saying things like that, you’ll only get yourself in trouble.]
Even under Lucion’s questioning gaze, Russell refused to elaborate.
To dispel the awkwardness, Lucion changed the subject.
“Let’s head out now.”
“So soon?” Kran asked, surprised.
“We need to visit the Chefran mansion, reassure my father, and then depart.”
Despite his words, Lucion casually popped a macaron into his mouth.
“Ah, shall we grab a bite before we leave?”
Miella and Kran exchanged glances, then burst into laughter.
Lucion now appeared more his age.
* * *
“How is your health?”
Once the carriage left Cronia, Miella finally felt comfortable enough to ask.
“As you can see, I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You’re just forcing yourself to move.”
Hu, seated beside him, imdiately refuted Lucion’s claim and continued, “You still have a slight fever. The doctor recomnded at least two weeks of rest.”
“Hu, are you going to keep at this? I’m moving because I can,” Lucion retorted, giving Hu a sharp look.
He wasn’t made of steel; how could he force himself to move when his body resisted?
“That’s precisely the issue. Not recognizing why that’s a problem is the real problem,” Hu sighed.
“I had a feeling this would happen.”
Imdiately, Kran furrowed his brow.
“If you hadn’t said that, I would have insisted on moving in a week regardless.”
“Mr. Hal, I’m telling you this just in case.” Miella pulled out a necklace and shook it.
In an instant, everyone fell silent, turning their attention to her.
“Is it completed?”
When Lucion asked, Miella nodded.
“Sunbeam is not omnipotent. However, it remains the only redy for you, Mr. Hal.”
“What about side effects? I haven’t noticed any so far.”
In response to Lucion’s question, Miella shook her head.
“I wouldn’t call it a side effect, but if your body requires 100 units of regeneration to heal, even with Sunbeam, it never surpasses 70, leaving 30 untreated.”
‘The regenerative power is better than I thought?’ Lucion was amazed.
“This is a chronic aspect present in all light-based powers, including Sunbeam. I’m working on overcoming it. In any case, please accept it.”
As Miella handed over Sunbeam, Lucion felt a rush of excitent the mont he received it.
“But, Miella, do you think I’m acting this way because I trust Sunbeam?”
“Isn’t that the case?” Miella appeared surprised.
After a mont of thought, she playfully threw out a question.
“Or do you perhaps enjoy being in pain?”
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