Chapter 81
When I told him that Ershan and i might be living in fear of being cut down by a blade or cast aside, Lexenbert was seized by shock.
He had never even imagined that the twins could be harboring such thoughts.
Admitting that everything was his fault, he promised that he would make it clear to Ershan and i that nothing of the sort would ever happen.
He also said he would see to it that the servants kept their mouths shut.
Although he had made that promise, Lexenbert had a mountain of other matters to handle and was so busy that he scarcely had a mont to breathe.
There remained the issue of how to announce Celsia’s death, and discussions were still underway regarding how to deal with the attendants who had once served her closely.
A bloody purge had already swept through, but it was not as though they could kill every last one of them.
And beyond the matter of Celsia, there were other urgent concerns.
They stemd from what had occurred during the recent Frost Forest subjugation.
Just as I had anticipated, the subjugation force encountered monsters drenched in the Black Swamp.
Every warrior of House Reschenhardt was deeply versed in combat and a seasoned veteran when it ca to campaigns in the Frost Forest.
Unlike their expectation that the mission would conclude without much difficulty, a large number of ferocious monsters had appeared.
A black, viscous liquid coated the monsters’ bodies and dripped downward.
And their eyes were savage, blood-red.
Every Reschenhardt warrior who faced the monsters caked in the mud of the Black Swamp felt instinctively that this battle would not end easily.
After considerable effort and the passage of ti, Lexenbert succeeded in clearing out a portion of the monsters entrenched within the forest. However, they realized that an abnormal phenonon was occurring deeper within—beyond the point to which they could advance.
They could not push any farther inward.
Even though House Reschenhardt had taken root in the barren northern lands for seven hundred years, they had never ventured beyond that boundary.
Moreover, even if they had wished to investigate further, their provisions were running low as their allotted ti had expired.
Although the priests who accompanied them had provided healing, everyone was exhausted.
In the end, Lexenbert had no choice but to temporarily suspend the Frost Forest subjugation and return to Igrail.
And this matter would not remain confined to House Reschenhardt alone; it was bound to reach the ears of the imperial family.
Not only had an anomaly been detected deep within the Frost Forest, but the liquid that had dripped from Celsia’s monstrous body appeared strikingly similar to the black substance that flowed from the ferocious monsters.
‘If this continues, the existence of the Black Swamp within the Frost Forest—and the danger it poses—will spread faster than ever before.’
Across all previous cycles, the severity of the situation had never surfaced this early.
After Aquila’s death, House Reschenhardt had been completely overturned.
Since no one knew how the Curse of Deadly Poison had been cast, nor how to remove it, Celsia Reschenhardt would not have been imdiately nad as the culprit.
Only after Erzet discovered the Curse Removal thod and uncovered its connection to the Night God would Celsia have begun to fall under suspicion.
Or perhaps the twins, no longer able to feign ignorance, would have spoken her na themselves.
‘…It is a complete domino effect. I can even begin to understand why the Guild of Darkness tried to kill Aquila.’
By killing Aquila Reschenhardt, they had forced House Reschenhardt into choosing to close its doors entirely.
In any case, on the day Fairywind took to the skies and even afterward, I once more observed Lexenbert from within the darkness.
I had no way of knowing what course House Reschenhardt would take in a cycle where Aquila survived.
Now was the ti to gather as much information as possible.
During that ti, I learned sothing.
As long as I did not move within the darkness or was not forcibly expelled after the ti limit expired, the intensity of the pain lessened.
I also discovered that, to quell this headache, taking dicine proved far more effective than relying on Divine Power.
‘Whatever the principle behind it may be, it works in my favor. When the need arises, I can simply rely on dicine.’
The expressions of those around were far from pleasant as they watched grow paler by the day and complain of headaches, yet my mind was occupied elsewhere.
‘…The East or the West. I do not know which news will arrive first, but before that, I must build up this wretched stamina.’
***
A ssage arrived from Ianpel.
They were departing for Saintroia today.
Given the gravity of the matter, they had decided to forgo certain formalities along the way and extend the Wyvern travel distance to shorten the journey.
[I know it is you who is most eagerly awaiting my arrival in Portplum, so I thought I would inform you first. There is nothing out of the ordinary, I hope?]
“Yes… well. Thank you. At present, there does not seem to be anything we can report from our side.”
[It sounds as though you have learned sothing? I would appreciate it if you would speak candidly when the ti cos. Ah, and I have left the Second Commander in Portplum, so if you require assistance from the temple, contact him.]
Just before the communication ended, Ianpel relayed a ssage from Chelsey.
Since she would be leaving for Saintroia today, Yujelia need not trouble herself to return to the Grand Temple of Portplum.
Even if she were to return now, there would be no one to welco her, nor any pressing duty awaiting her there.
Of course, if she wished to return, she was free to do so.
When I conveyed Chelsey’s words to Yujelia, she wore a puzzled expression.
“I am worried about the young master, and I would be glad to remain with all of you longer… but would that not cause inconvenience?”
“It will not. One additional person will make little difference, and the swordsn are already pleased by your presence.”
Once word spread that a priest of the Sun was staying at the Reschenhardt Estate, it quickly reached the swordsn who frequented the Training Grounds.
The reason was simple.
Previously, whenever they sustained a serious injury, they had to descend to the lower levels of the estate. Now, soone capable of treating them was already present.
After fighting to their hearts’ content, these incorrigible swordsn shalessly presented themselves before Yujelia.
It was only natural that she let out a scream.
Although she muttered a few complaints, unable to understand those who fought like madn, she did not seem to dislike being needed.
After all, she was soone who found fulfillnt in healing others.
Shen, who had been the most disappointed at the prospect of her departure, was the most delighted of all.
‘Is he truly that pleased…?’
On the day he learned that Yujelia would remain longer, Shen’s smile never left his face. Watching him, I shook my head.
Naturally, not only the swordsn of House Reschenhardt but I as well joined the ranks in training.
My declaration that I would build my stamina upon returning to Igrail had not been empty words.
From the outset, my heart condition made intense training nothing more than a fantasy.
Thus, based on the experiences of my previous cycles, I devised a routine that I could sustain consistently.
My goal was to increase my stamina.
The thods of wielding various weapons and the structures of magical formulas were already stored within my mind; it was rely that my body failed to keep pace.
Everyone feared that I might collapse when I appeared at the Training Grounds, but contrary to their expectations, I managed quite well.
I could assess my physical condition objectively and knew precisely how to push myself.
Having deliberated at the start of every new cycle on how to raise my attributes as efficiently as possible, I was practically an expert in that regard.
On the first day, my muscles ached. On the second day, the pain persisted. On the third day, I groaned and collapsed onto my bed, muttering bitterly, “A weakling. The worst body.”
…
Though others tried to dissuade her, Cahena alone said nothing.
After finishing her report to Lexenbert, she went nowhere else and confined herself solely to the Training Grounds.
While I ran several laps around the field, she stood at its center in terrifying silence, swinging her sword over and over again.
It seed she felt responsible for my injury at the well that day, since she had been by my side.
Needless to say, her pride had been wounded as well.
She swung her sword day and night without rest, to the point that even Yujelia attempted to stop her.
Thus, whenever Cahena and I were present at the Training Grounds, a hellish silence prevailed.
No one could stop us.
As the days passed, Shen’s anxiety and concern only grew, and Yujelia began to tire of the soldiers who sought her out one after another.
Then, a single letter arrived for Aquila Reschenhardt.
***
The sender of the letter was Bejiana.
The mont I heard the news, I sprang upright from the bed, enduring the ache that consud my entire body.
Then I promptly sank back down.
After pushing myself for several days, the muscle pain refused to subside.
“…Open the letter for , Shen.”
When I attempted to lift my arm and let out a sigh instead, Shen tore open the envelope with an expression of deep pity and handed the letter within.
I grasped the paper with trembling hands.
“I will call Lady Yujelia. Just a mont!”
Although Divine Power was of little use against nausea, it worked well for muscle pain.
I wondered if I had been causing Yujelia to overuse her Divine Power since arriving in Igrail, yet rather than diminishing, her power seed to shine with an even brighter golden light.
Perhaps she was even offering nightly prayers to Sun God Raspalara, tempering her curses directed at the private soldiers of House Reschenhardt.
‘Well, perhaps by using her Divine Power so frequently, Yujelia has simply learned a more efficient way to heal.’
Shaking my head, I carefully unfolded the letter.
Then I slowly read its contents.
After the brief exchange of pleasantries, the first paragraph already contained the main point.
In summary, it stated:
[Several monsters have been subjugated, but the numbers are similar to previous years. There is no unusual movent in the Egoril Mountain Range.]
I raised the edge of my brow.
At this ti, the movents of a demonic dragon should have been detected near the Egoril Mountain Range, and an inexplicable wail ought to have echoed widely through the mountains.
The monsters, sensing danger, would have descended the slopes, resulting in multiple sightings of monster hordes nearby.
‘Is it not yet ti?’
Puzzled, I continued reading.
From the second paragraph onward, the letter discussed the temporarily sealed Black Dungeon.
Bejiana and Ridim had headed there.
As an explorer, she had written in detail, perhaps anticipating my curiosity.
In summary:
[The nad monster that appeared in the Black Dungeon is encased in thick, black scales and is so enormous that no one has yet seen its head. It does not respond when touched and appears to be asleep. No spear or blade can pierce its scales, and magic is even less effective. However, judging by the structure of its skeleton and the shape of its tail, the monster that has appeared in this Black Dungeon is…]
My eyes widened as I read the final line aloud.
“…It appears to be an Undead Dragon?”
“A dragon?”
Shen, entering the room with Yujelia, echoed my words in surprise.
Yet I reread the contents of the letter several tis, disbelief filling my gaze.
It was exceedingly strange.
From the information written in the letter, only one creature ca to mind.
‘…Why would the demonic dragon be the nad monster of an event dungeon?’
The demonic dragon that was ant to appear in the Egoril Mountain Range and plunge everyone into terror—
Had appeared in the Black Dungeon instead.
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