My next target territory was a bit far.
And based on my mories from before the regression, I had to hurry a little to make it on ti. Official source is novel~fire~net
So, we paid the coachman extra and were riding through the night.
“Sorry. We’re in a bit of a rush.”
“Haha, it’s fine. The horses are strong, and the carriage is sturdy, so it’s not too tiring.”
When we left the Avis territory, we bought the finest (and most expensive) horses and carriage available there.
In short, we’d purchased a custom carriage for the Mide party.
Neril spoke.
“The coachman must be having a hard ti. Why don’t we just ride Agril instead?”
Xenia quickly responded.
“We agreed to only ask Agril for help when it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Are we short on at?”
“That’s not it…!”
I answered Neril in Xenia’s place.
“Agril is fundantally dangerous to ride for anyone without divine power. That’s the chariot granted only to the holy knight hero of the past.”
Other than Xenia or Serein—who was my comrade before the regression—no one in our party had divine power.
Neril replied.
“I was fine, though.”
“I ant it’s dangerous for Agril, not you.”
“Huh?”
“If people without divine power keep riding it, Agril will eventually lose all its original abilities. That much should be in the history books.”
Of course, Xenia could infuse it with divine power again, so it wouldn’t be a huge problem—but even her divine power wasn’t infinite, so we needed to conserve it.
Perhaps Neril rembered, as she turned to look out the window and acted as if she lost interest.
That’s why even before the regression, we avoided riding Agril unless it was absolutely necessary or for sothing truly special.
Xenia gave a slight nod, as if to thank for backing her up.
Then she said to Neril in a teasing tone:
“If you’re that worried about the coachman, then you should take the reins yourself.”
“I don’t know how to drive a horse.”
“Really? Then what did you do for 200 years… no, never mind.”
“Saying all that and then pretending you didn’t say it is pointless, you know?”
I waved my hand to diate.
“Still, the coachman needs work too. Most guild transporters who don’t own their own carriage are poorly paid.”
“Hmph.”
“Besides, if our party mbers are busy holding the reins, we won’t be able to discuss our future plans in depth.”
“So, you’re saying you’ll tell us about the next plan?”
“That’s right.”
Just then—
A bluish light glowed from within my cloak.
A ssage at midnight. I had a good guess who it was from.
As expected, it was Offense.
—Hope I’m not contacting you too late at night.
“It’s fine. We’re on the move too.”
—Busy, huh? Well, I suppose you should be.
Offense lowered his voice.
—Kaeld is almost at the fourth Hero’s Tomb.
“To look for the fake Hero’s sword, you an.”
—Right. I was wondering why he’d bother going for it even knowing it’s fake, but I’ve co up with a theory.
He was probably thinking the sa as I was.
Xenia asked in my stead.
“What theory?”
—Mide and Kaeld always move to boost their fa. That fake sword must be a tool to raise Kaeld’s reputation, Miss Pheasant.
“Who’s a pheasant? Why am I a pheasant?”
—My guess is… Kaeld will report to so high-ranking figure that the sword is a fake.
I nodded.
“If it’s a high-ranking figure, it must be the Emperor.”
—Yeah.
“In the Empire, the ergence of a Hero is a top priority for the royal family. They’d be deeply concerned about whether he’s a true Hero, when the divine oracle will co, and when to announce it publicly across the continent.”
—Naturally.
“So Kaeld is probably trying to win the Emperor’s favour by revealing the sword is fake. I’m sure of it.”
Offense asked in a slightly amused tone.
—You’ve figured all that out and still sound relaxed. You said you were rushing sowhere, didn’t you?
“Yeah. I’m on my way to do sothing that’ll make revealing a fake sword look like child’s play.”
—Now I’m curious. No need to tell now. I’ll hear it later.
“Sure. But once again, be careful.”
—Don’t worry.
Click.
The communication ended.
Neril smiled for so reason.
“That kid’s definitely on our side now. Honestly, I had considered the possibility of him turning on us later.”
“It must be that he was moved by my capability and character.”
“Look at him say that without a single change in expression.”
“Anyway, just a second.”
I called Trail.
[What now? I was just about to sleep.]
‘So you do sleep, huh.’
[Except for using the bathroom, I do everything.]
‘Whatever. Show the screen.’
[Yeah, yeah.]
I had recovered all the points from Avis as well.
Next, I asked for the map.
The northern part of the continent was now pretty well marked with our influence.
anwhile, Kaeld was still lagging behind.
Here are the exact numbers:
Nice.
I rubbed my hands together and grinned.
‘If I pull this off cleanly, I’ll overtake him. That number’s going down.’
Just then, Neril spoke.
“So what exactly are you planning to do in the next territory—Raynus?”
“You know how famous Raynus is, right?”
“Of course. It’s the birthplace of the second Hero in continental history—Lepia Odgar, the one who defeated the Demon King of Greed.”
Lepia Odgar.
She was the only female among the four Heroes in history, a legend who had supposedly reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
Raynus was the territory where she had been born and raised.
But that wasn’t what I ant.
“As expected of soone from the old days—you only rember the old news.”
“Xenia calling grandma is more than enough.”
“I didn’t call you grandma this ti though… Anyway, there are two famous figures from Raynus. One is Lepia Odgar, like you said. The other—”
I dug up a faint mory.
“Is Mariana Ayn, the Empire’s greatest necromancer.”
“Mariana? Never heard that na.”
Not surprising, since Neril hadn’t even heard of the Martial King Terce.
“Mariana is a master of necromancy. You know what necromancers are, right?”
“Don’t look down on . They summon the spirits of the dead into their own bodies to borrow their knowledge, mories, and power.”
“Exactly. You know so of the Heroes of old had necromancers in their parties, right? That’s how central necromancers are in the Empire. And Mariana is one of the best.”
It happened when the current Emperor ascended the throne.
The forr Emperor had died mysteriously without naming a successor.
So said it was poisoning, others claid it was just old age—but the person who resolved that matter was none other than Mariana.
She summoned the forr Emperor’s spirit into her own body and exposed every detail of the truth behind his death to the world.
Neril showed interest.
“I don’t know much about necromancy since it’s so different from magic… but I’ve heard that most summoned spirits just ramble nonsense and disappear. She was really that clear and rational?”
“That’s why she’s a great necromancer.”
“Hmm.”
“Anyway, because of that deed, Mariana—despite not being particularly strong in combat—was given the seventh highest rank in the Empire. And she’s the one I’m going to et now.”
Neril narrowed her eyes.
“Don’t tell you were thinking of making her our next party mber?”
Haha. As if.
Just a re seventh-ranker, daring to try and take a seat?
[Sotis, when I look at you lot, I wonder if common sense even ans anything.]
‘Thanks.’
I expressed my honest gratitude to Trail, who hadn’t complinted in a while.
Then I said to Neril,
“I’m going to et Mariana’s son.”
“Her son?”
“Yeah. He’s a necromancer hundreds of tis more talented than his mother.”
Before the regression, he was Kaeld’s sixth party mber.
The kid who joined right before as the seventh.
Unlike Neril, who called everyone a brat, I only used that word for actual brats.
‘He should be around fourteen at this point in ti.’
Adwin Ayn.
Also known as the Friend of the Dead.
Sohow, he even managed to host the souls of past heroes in his own body—truly, one of the great heroes.
It’s been a while. I’m going to hear more stories about that guy—regrettable in all sorts of ways.
Neril stretched.
“Well, seems like you’re not telling everything, but I’ll hear it later. I’m getting sleepy.”
“Yeah. We’ll probably arrive by morning, so get so rest.”
“Got it. Xenia, you too.”
But Xenia wasn’t listening to us.
She kept tilting her head and mumbling,
“Why was it a pheasant?”
Kaeld and his party arrived at the Padania tomb.
The other mbers felt solemn standing before the resting place of a legendary hero… and Kaeld wore the sa expression outwardly, but in truth, his mind was elsewhere.
‘Mide Mohan.’
Kaeld recalled a conversation with Offense not too long ago.
That was when Offense returned to the inn where Kaeld’s group was staying, having just finished his mission in the Avis territory.
Kaeld shifted in his seat and asked,
“You’ve really gone through a lot. Ca back sooner than I expected.”
“You summoned urgently.”
“Hmm. Well, sit here.”
Kaeld gestured warmly to the seat across from him.
Offense, though slightly tense, hid it completely as he took the seat.
“What about the others?”
“Serein and Lisel? Said they were bored of lounging around in the capital and went out for fun. Those two really are like sisters.”
“I see.”
Kaeld continued with a grin.
“They were asking the sa thing earlier, you know. Where the hell is Offense hiding, that we haven’t seen a trace of him?”
“Hmm.”
“This mission—it’s a secret between just you and , from beginning to end. I’d appreciate it if you fed them a suitable excuse.”
“Don’t worry. I’m quite adept at fabricating cover stories.”
Kaeld narrowed his eyes and studied Offense.
‘A top-class assassin really is different. Can’t read anything from that face.’
Well, it’s impossible to read Offense’s expression under normal circumstances.
Unless he’s actively disguised as soone else, anyway.
Eventually, Kaeld spoke up.
“I got periodic updates via the communication orb, but that doesn’t give the full picture. Give a detailed report of what happened in Avis territory.”
“Well…”
Offense spoke in a light tone.
Exactly the version he’d pre-arranged with Mide.
He explained how he managed to locate Ariena just in ti and prevent a war.
However, the success didn’t boost his fa as much as he’d hoped—most of the people in the territory were simply relieved at Ariena’s safe return.
Kaeld, arms crossed, asked,
“Weren’t you supposed to kill Ariena?”
“I failed. I ended up facing Mide head-on.”
“An assassin should never allow themselves to end up in a direct fight with a top-tier rcenary.”
“Yes, I hadn’t planned on it either, but I was interrupted by the Witch of Carnage and the God’s Agent.”
“…”
“To be honest, the fact that I returned in one piece after fighting them is a miracle. I’d say the task was excessive, to begin with.”
Kaeld asked for a more detailed account of the battle.
That too had already been coordinated in advance with Mide, Neril, and Xenia.
Offense described it casually, and it was convincing enough to satisfy Kaeld.
‘Judging by the circumstances, it all seems fine…’
But he wasn’t entirely convinced.
Until Offense said this:
“Oh, by the way, those people had an interesting conversation.”
“Hm?”
“The Hero’s Sword.”
At that mont, Kaeld’s eyes lit up.
“The one in the Padania Brook Tomb. They’re after it.”
“…”
“But that tomb is, essentially, in your territory, isn’t it? Just as you’re wary of Mide, he’s wary of you.”
“…”
“He’s hesitating to make a move because he’s worried you’ll get in his way. Still, it seems like he’ll make a decision soon. What should we do?”
At that mont, Kaeld felt a tickle in his chest.
No, more like sothing blocked had suddenly cleared—refreshingly so.
Just as Mide had predicted, the doubts and wariness in Kaeld’s heart lted away like snow.
Kaeld’s thoughts returned to the present.
That was when Serein, one of his party mbers, spoke.
“We’re finally going to get our hands on the Hero’s Sword.”
“Yeah. With this, the gap between Mide and will be irreversibly wide.”
“You an that guy claiming to be a hero in the north? Kaeld, you’ve been thinking about him a lot lately.”
“Not anymore.”
The other party mbers—except for Offense—looked puzzled at that answer.
But rather than explain, Kaeld continued thinking to himself.
‘Mide… I was a little concerned about him, but he’s clearly not hero material. He doesn’t even know the Hero’s Sword in the Padania Tomb is a fake.’
Well, of course.
No matter how exceptional that guy is, he’d never suspect the sword is a fake.
Unless he can see this.
Kaeld quietly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he was seeing an entirely different world.
Kaeld was born in a rural village.
Whenever the lord made an important announcent, a proclamation would be posted on the notice board in the village hall.
That notice.
One day, papers written in the common language had started appearing around Kaeld.
At first, he thought it was an illusion.
But no matter how much ti passed, the notice never vanished. In fact, it got closer and clearer.
Kaeld rembered the first sentence ever written on one of those notices.
He recalled his first quest, and smirked.
TL : Peakkkk
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