Chapter 225
***
“So, I may be away for extended periods during the vacation. I might need to request support, so please be on standby at all tis.”
I also explained the situation to the café staff.
They all looked surprised, as if they had never dread such a thing had happened without their knowledge.
“When you co to the lawless zone, you can get help from Elidore, the Academy, or the Humanity Preservation Agency.”
I had already explained it to the Star Child, the Director, and Principal Lukfels.
I would infiltrate and find out for sure, and when I gave the signal, they would rush in and provide support.
‘You need this much backing.’
As the enemy was who they were, this ti, it was not sothing I could handle alone.
This was also the reason why I had allowed Adela, Luri, and Anette to accompany .
“Master, it's too dangerous.”
Just then, Lilac spoke up.
It was unusual for her to speak up in a eting like this.
She usually just complied with the decisions I made.
“Let , let accompany you too.”
“But soone has to protect the capital.”
Relying solely on the Star Child was too dependent.
He was as busy a person as I was.
In case a force from the ‘Demon Lord’ or ‘Apostle of Chaos’ side appeared in the capital, I needed ‘my own person’ who would move according to my will.
“President, how about letting Miss Lilac accompany you?”
It was Nerjin who agreed with Lilac's opinion.
“I, too, have reached the pinnacle of celestial alchemy and can now do my part.”
It wasn't just his part.
As far as I knew, Nerjin was recreating the ‘Big Bang’ alchemy card I had seen back then.
Considering that the Big Bang that had made Kragach fall back when he was crawling up from hell was also made in a hurry, I couldn't even imagine what a properly made card would be like.
I considered it to be on the level of a strategic nuclear weapon.
“Bianca and Savo are here too. We will ensure there are no disruptions to the capital's defense or the café's operation. So, how about you permit Miss Lilac to accompany you?”
“Hmm.”
Actually, I also wanted Lilac to accompany .
I had decided to go alone because I thought it would be a burden if two people were missing….
“That's right, that's right! President, let's try it on our own! I want to try!”
“Agreed. I will hone my barista skills with a small elite team.”
Even Bianca and Savo.
If they were going this far, there was no reason to refuse.
“Understood. Then, I will gratefully accept your consideration. ”
I took out a notebook from my pocket and began to revise my to-do list.
I was happy that Lilac would be accompanying , but I had to prepare again.
This was because I had planned for a fairly long stay.
I would have to ask Luri again, who had offered to arrange everything from the carriage to accommodation, and I would also need more clothes and a backpack.
Lilac would surely take good care of her own luggage, but this ti she was also accompanying as a combatant.
I was about to tell her that in advance when I slightly raised my head.
“…?”
Nerjin, Bianca, and Savo were giving Lilac a thumbs-up.
Lilac made a small heart with both hands and returned the gesture to everyone.
‘….’
A belated sense of embarrassnt washed over .
I lowered my head again, pretending not to have seen anything.
***
The departure for the lawless border zone was in a week.
It would be a problem to waste this ti.
“But a week. It's short.”
In the vast training ground, the old hunting dog silently began to wipe the gun barrel with an oiled cloth.
“Ulvhadin's Vow Bullet. A power granted by the Hunting God and a secret technique passed down through generations of family heads, in just one week.”
William casually threw the cloth to a corner of the training ground and swiftly raised his shotgun.
“Do you have no conscience? Patriarch Martin.”
“Acting Patriarch William, I ask you nevertheless.”
“How shaless. To suddenly co and ask for the family jewels….”
Handing over the patriarch position, handing over Wild Instinct, and now even the family's secret technique.
And he planned to get it for free in just a week.
Since William knew I wasn't Martin, I felt a little sorry.
“Raise your gun, Patriarch. I will pass on the secret technique.”
I t the eyes of William holding the shotgun.
They resembled the eyes of a bird of prey descending on its prey.
‘What a murderous look. …No, wait.’
In any case, this body also received his genes.
Would people who see feel this way too?
“I alone want to capture you and taste that fierce gaze. I want to enjoy that sharp tongue. I want to monopolize you. Your sharp eyes, your high nose, your captivating lips. Your firm, muscular body, your smooth skin, all of it….”
For a mont, Adela's drunken rambling ca to mind, and my face flushed.
“No distractions, Patriarch.”
“…Yes.”
That's right.
No distractions.
This was an important mont to learn a unique skill.
“Ulvhadin's Vow Bullet is as simple as its na, Patriarch.”
“Usually, when I hear that, it's always been difficult.”
“Vow. ”
A strong wish that one desperately hopes will co true.
“Ulvhadin's Vow Bullet begins with transferring the shooter's emotions to the bullet.”
Transferring emotions, to a bullet…?
I couldn't grasp it.
“You've heard the term ‘sword and self as one,’ I presu.”
“…Yes.”
The unity of the swordsman and the sword.
A state where the thrusting sword becos like one's own limbs.
With the swordsman's heart, the sword can fly through the sky or write, and the swordsman can wield the sword as it wishes to split a mountain-like rock.
A strong will is said to ignite the wills of both the swordsman and the sword, releasing a powerful force.
“The Vow Bullet is a technique with a similar principle. It doesn't matter what emotion it is, just wish for it earnestly. The greater and deeper the total amount of emotion, the better. Because the emotion turns into a strong ‘power’ and imbues the bullet.”
William kicked up a practice shotgun lying on the floor.
He snatched it from the air and imdiately fired at the wall.
The bullet that hit the wall bounced off futilely.
“The ability to turn intense desire into powerful force. That is Ulvhadin's Vow Bullet.”
Afterward, a bullet imbued with an unknown, strange power is fired.
The bullet slamd into the wall, and thud! it embedded itself.
Cracks spread out in all directions on the wall.
“Just now, what emotion did you put into it…?”
“My annoyance at doing this at this hour.”
“….”
“Don't worry. Putting your vow into the bullet doesn't make it disappear.”
In other words, he's still annoyed…?
“There is no complex operating thod. You have been granted the power, you know of its existence, and you have learned the principle of its activation. The mont you think it, the Vow Bullet will be activated. What's important is how much and how pure an emotion you can output. If your emotional turmoil is great, the Vow Bullet will be a worse-than-useless technique. …But if you can control your emotions with superhuman self-restraint.”
William held up three fingers.
“Three tis.”
“….”
“That is the power of the strongest bullet I have ever created. I could enhance any bullet up to three tis its power.”
“….”
“I have never seen the end of this technique.”
“….”
Sothing hot began to burn from within .
It was a competitive spirit.
‘Crashing into this head-on is a foolish thing to do.’
It seed it was ti to use the points I had saved up.
A feast of points accumulated every ti I solved a major incident that occurred and every ti my na spread and people chanted my na.
***
Imperium Academy's winter vacation had begun.
Martin, too, could wake up late in the morning for two months.
Lilac hoped that her master would get more of the morning sleep he loved, and she also felt her heart flutter with the excitent of preparing for the café work together.
In the early dawn, Lilac slowly woke up to start her daily routine.
However, that routine was different from any she had expected.
“Master.”
“Yeah, I’m awake.”
In the doorway that Lilac opened, Martin stood in the middle of the room, fully prepared.
Martin, holding a large suitcase, ca out of the room.
Then he held out his hand.
“Give it.”
“Pardon?”
“The luggage. I’ll pull it.”
“Ah, no! It's alright!”
Lilac clutched her own carrier bag tightly for no reason.
And then she shook her head firmly.
“I didn't accompany you to add to your burdens, Master.”
“How admirable.”
Martin reached out and patted Lilac's head.
It was the first ti he had patted her head since Christmas morning.
Lilac, her face turning red, bowed her head deeply.
As she did, she thought.
The original Master Martin does not do such things.
Over the past year, her true master had been gradually revealing his true self.
Perhaps, it was a change so natural that he himself did not notice it.
“Let's go, Lilac.”
“Yes, Master.”
Martin and Lilac, who had stepped outside, walked the streets of the capital alone together for the first ti in a very long ti.
It had been so long since they had walked so leisurely that the mory was faint.
The streets at dawn were not glamorous, but they were full of life.
Like a seed preparing to germinate.
Thus, it would beco a sprout, a bud would form, and it would bloom beautifully.
We walked through that mont of life.
“Lilac.”
“Yes?”
“After this is over, shall we go on a trip together?”
“What?! A trip?!”
Lilac exclaid in surprise.
She had never seen her master rest with a peaceful mind.
So she wanted him to rest.
She really wished he would.
That wish had co directly from her master's lips.
“Yeah. The old man from the corner store next door went on a couple's trip to Petrak.”
“Ah, I heard it's a peaceful city where the harmony with nature is beautiful. A place where animals mingle with people without hesitation.”
At her master's words, Lilac pulls out various pieces of knowledge about Petrak from her head.
Martin, watching her, said.
“Wanna go?”
That short and simple question was so nice that Lilac answered with vigor.
“Yes!”
Winter vacation was long.
If they just set their minds to it, what would be so difficult about a trip… or so she thought at the ti.
“Ah, welco! Martin and Lilac!”
When they arrived at the eting point, the Elidore Ducal Estate, a huge 12-horse carriage was waiting.
“Woah….”
Lilac, her eyes wide, quietly marveled.
A 12-horse carriage.
It was a trendous carriage that less than 10 people in the world, including the Emperor, could ride.
Martin, too, seed not to have expected this scale, as he greeted with a slightly dazed expression.
“To this extent…. You've gone to great trouble, Lady Luri.”
“Aw, Martin, co on. It's okay, it's okay! This is all for a comfortable journey!”
Watching him speak so informally with Lady Luri, the legitimate daughter of Elidore, the most prosperous of the new noble families, she couldn't help but think, ‘As expected of Master Martin, he’s amazing.’
“Co on, co on, get in! Everyone's here!”
When I entered the carriage, Adela and Anette were already there, seated.
“You're late, Martin. To make wait, I will rember this grudge.”
“…If my eyes do not deceive , there are still 10 minutes until the appointed ti?”
“What does that matter, Crow Empress. If he is later than , he is late.”
“Ah, right….”
It was Adela, with a mindset that ignored the continent's standard world ti and believed the sun revolved around her.
“Alright, let's depart then!”
Reviews
All reviews (0)