Chapter 75
“I ca because you said you would explain what I did not hear yesterday….”
The water-colored hair, still maintained with knife-like neatness, swayed softly at the tip of his chin.
The mont Ianpel stepped inside and took in the scene before him, his eyes narrowed.
“…What exactly are you doing?”
“As you can see.”
Aquila, seated at the table, lifted his head.
On the plate before him lay a skewer coated in dark red sauce.
“I was feeling a bit hungry, so I thought I would eat. There are so for you as well.”
And of course, he was not alone.
Aquila, Shen, Yujelia, Cahena, and Heinen.
Everyone staying at the lodging sat gathered around the table, each with a plate of their own.
To an onlooker, it might have seed like a harmonious dinner.
That was, if one ignored the fact that those present included a young master of House Reschenhardt, his attendant, his guard knight, a priestess of the Sun, and the Second Commander of the Temple Knights.
“I did not expect such an informal gathering. You are rather generous in temperant.”
“There is no need to be particular about a al.”
Though he now bore the status of a noble, whether before he had fallen into this world or on the battlefields he had faced here, everything eventually blended together.
With an indifferent expression, Aquila waved a hand.
“Sit there. You arrived sooner than I expected.”
“Yes. I have quite a few questions.”
Ianpel cast a sidelong glance at Heinen, who was staring gravely at a skewer, before taking a seat opposite Aquila.
After receiving contact through the Communication Bracelet, he had entrusted matters to Chelsey and rushed here without delay.
He had been in the west yesterday when the communication cut off, then headed northeast. By the ti he arrived, most of it had already concluded.
Although Aquila had said he would contact him again, he had been struck on the head and fallen asleep as though unconscious.
Thus, what Ianpel had heard were only brief fragnts.
“Are you truly well now? I was rather concerned.”
“Yes. I received proper treatnt.”
“…As I have said repeatedly, even if the wound has healed, you must rest. The blood that was lost does not simply return, young master.”
As expected, it was Yujelia who interjected at Aquila’s reply.
Instead of glaring at Aquila, she shot a sharp look at Shen and Cahena.
While she had briefly gone to the Grand Temple early in the morning, they had spirited him out for another excursion.
Even before sitting down at the table, they had already endured her scolding, and both flinched slightly.
“Yes… In any case, I believe you have heard the general outline.”
Aquila began explaining to those gathered.
First, he made it clear that he did not know who had been responsible for yesterday’s incident.
Then he brought up what they were most curious about.
The prophecy was delivered to Aquila Reschenhardt by the great ancient dragon.
When he had seen the corpse whose face was covered in black veins, the words he had once heard from the dragon had co to him like a bolt of lightning.
It had felt similar to when he had coughed blood under the Curse of Deadly Poison and then “co to know” the Curse Removal thod.
Ianpel’s brow creased faintly.
“Are you saying that a great being told you everything in advance, and when the crisis arrived, you recalled it…?”
“In simple terms, yes.”
“…The bloodline of Reschenhardt goes to the dragon’s nest at the age of eight or nine, does it not?”
“To be precise, before the age of ten. The young master went at nine.”
Shen added the clarification.
Ianpel’s aning was clear.
What could a nine-year-old child possibly understand, and how could he rember it until now at eighteen?
If Aquila Reschenhardt had displayed such remarkable abilities from the beginning, that would be one thing—but the most widespread rumor about him had been that he was frail.
“Rather than recalling sothing I once heard… it is more as though I simply understand it, as if I had always known.”
“Understand?”
“What must be done next. Clearly.”
Aquila closed his eyes briefly, then opened them to et Ianpel’s pale violet gaze.
“…I do not know how best to explain it myself, but if it is a blessing, then perhaps it is a blessing of that sort.”
The blessing of the great ancient dragon, Igdrein.
Every child of the Reschenhardt bloodline goes to the dragon’s nest while young.
Just as a priest receives baptism, they too receive a blessing from the dragon.
Only children under the age of ten may receive that blessing.
It was a sacred tradition; one who did not go to the nest forfeited the right to bear the Reschenhardt na.
Of course, in the past seven hundred years, only one had refused the blessing and been exiled from Igrail.
In any case, what the Reschenhardt children discussed with the dragon in the nest had never been revealed.
Those who returned from the nest never properly spoke of what had occurred there.
So chose silence; others even forgot what had transpired.
Among them, “Aquila Reschenhardt” belonged to the latter.
The nine-year-old child had collapsed with a severe fever upon returning from the dragon’s nest.
It was said that Lexenbert Fad Reschenhardt, upon seeing his fallen son, had remarked:
“He has received a love far too heavy and vast from a great being.”
…So the story went.
Of course, the present Aquila knew nothing of that ti; he had heard it all from Shen.
If he lost his mory, it works to my advantage. It makes fabricating things easier.
Naturally, everything Aquila had just said was a lie.
Originally, he had planned to claim that certain things ca to him in dreams.
He had even considered using prophetic dreams as an excuse, since he knew the exact dates and tis of major quests.
But the main scenario had begun suddenly.
Two years earlier than expected.
If I rely on prophetic dreams, it will be difficult to adapt to unforeseen situations. If sothing happens in the future, this approach allows to act without lengthy explanations.
Without changing his expression, Aquila surveyed those seated around him.
Their faces varied, but most showed shock and astonishnt.
To know how to overco a crisis when it arrives—
Was that even plausible?
Yet the red-haired youth had already demonstrated astonishing responses: removing the Curse of Deadly Poison, identifying the core within monsters, and discovering hidden corpses.
It was not sothing to dismiss lightly.
Indeed, his explanation neatly accounted for his remarkable achievents thus far.
“…Ordinarily, hearing such a thing should breed doubt, yet I can only believe it to be true.”
Ianpel murmured.
Had Aquila declared this from the beginning, no one would have believed him.
But those present had witnessed not only yesterday’s events but others as well.
There was not a trace of suspicion on their faces.
Cahena, if anything, looked convinced.
“Is it different from a divine revelation?”
“I am not certain, but since I do not hear the voice of a god, I suspect it is different.”
Aquila shrugged.
Even without swearing an oath, the atmosphere suggested they accepted it as truth.
Given everything he had done, it seed the only explanation.
This will make moving about easier.
Feeling he had explained enough, Aquila picked up a piece of fried chicken skin and brought it to his mouth.
Crunch.
Though it had grown cold during the long discussion, the salty crispness was delicious.
In the silence that followed, the crunching sound seed especially loud.
After swallowing calmly, Aquila spoke.
“In any case, we have remained in Portplum long enough. It seems ti to return to Igrail.”
“Ah, yes. That makes sense. The Founding Festival has ended.”
Ianpel, pulled from his thoughts, nodded.
Aquila had only stayed in Portplum longer at rien’s request to participate in the Old Items Auction.
“If I recall correctly, you said you would travel to Saintroia once the festival concluded.”
“Yes. It is ti to send Martio back. They have been waiting long enough.”
At the ntion of Bishop Martio, Yujelia flinched slightly.
Still, her expression was far less troubled than before.
“Have you decided on a departure date?”
“Preparations were completed before the festival. We could depart as soon as tomorrow, but… hmm. It will likely be about a week.”
“In that case, the visit to Labyrinth City will have to wait until you return.”
“It is not a place to take lightly. I intend to report in Saintroia and request cooperation as well.”
Ianpel smiled faintly.
The distance from Portplum to Saintroia was considerable. Even with wyvern transport partway, the city of Saintroia—ho to the Holy See—was sacred ground.
From a certain point onward, they would have to continue by carriage.
And even upon arrival, they could not simply conclude their business and depart at once.
Haste will change nothing….
Even so, waiting left a bitter taste. Aquila took another piece of fried chicken skin and chewed.
“Will you take the prisoner?”
“The mber of the Guild of Darkness? Yes, of course. I am rather pleased at the thought of spending a leisurely ti together in Saintroia.”
In other words, he intended to lock him away and thoroughly rummage through his mind.
Aquila offered no comnt.
The saint would extract whatever information was needed. Since Aquila had already adopted the concept of sudden insight in tis of danger, there was no need for him to intervene regarding Gilesha.
It would be convenient if he simply died there.
“Will you say farewell before I leave? Would you like to see him?”
“That will not be necessary.”
“Then what of accompanying to Saintroia? Is it still a refusal?”
“Yes. I will not go.”
Half-listening to the saint, Aquila bit into a skewer coated in dark red sauce.
A sharp heat flooded his tongue.
Oh. This body handles spice well. Perhaps it is because my hair is red as well.
With quiet satisfaction, he tore off half the skewer.
Watching him, Heinen took a bite of his own and promptly gulped down tea.
Ianpel let out a small laugh.
“Then when will you return to Igrail?”
“In a day, or perhaps two at most. After settling various matters.”
Even excluding Gilesha, he had a mountain of concerns.
He needed to et rien again and provide the sa explanation he had given here. He had to inform Peillat of a new commission and his change of lodging.
And Ark Batchel—
No. Not him. He is not soone I can handle right now.
Aquila shook his head at once.
He also needed to observe developnts in Belmaburn and await a letter from Bejiana and Ridim regarding the east.
Yet the most important event was none of these.
If asured by timing, the subjugation of Frost Forest will likely conclude tomorrow.
Lexenbert Fad Reschenhardt, who had departed for the frozen lands, would finally complete his campaign against the monsters and return to the warmth of ho.
After a long and bitter struggle against creatures coated in the mud of the Black Swamp.
The ti had co to face that man again in Igrail.
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