Chapter 43 – Sudan
000
I hated the sky of screams covering my head.
In the harsh environment of Dragon’s Valley, there were few days with clear skies.
Even if the day is clear, if you look up at the sky and meet the eyes of the wyvern.
The end was to become their daily bread that day.
I hated the village.
He hated his own clan for being forced to live like that.
And I hated the powerlessness of being forced to adapt to it and live with it.
I hated my family.
My mother gave birth to me without knowing who my father was.
Although she loved me in her own way.
The family itself that makes me even more miserable in a poor environment.
Nara could not stand that even the fundamentals of human life were not correct.
I hated it.
The moment when the child I was playing with in front of me flew up into the sky bleeding from the wyvern’s claws.
I hated myself for thinking I was glad it wasn’t me.
I hated myself so much for returning home without crying.
Hate.
Hate.
Hate.
If there is only one thing you like.
Climb the spire and look at the stars.
A precious secret place that only I know.
A day when the sky is clear and the moon is bright.
Even if you climb up here and look up.
The predators of the sky do not see this way.
However. The secret place became unsecret.
When was the last time I saw a boy a little older than me open the door to the spire and enter?
A child’s greed sometimes has no reason at all.
I just cried at the thought of having my place taken away.
So. Even that day.
Even on a sunny night, great for stargazing.
Just waiting for the day I can get out of this hellish place.
Sat down for the night
I don’t remember what her mother said before going to bed.
I didn’t think it would be her last words.
The house burned down.
People burned
The village was burned
Kill, commit, break, beat.
Screams and shouts from all directions.
Before her eyes, she watched her head fall as her mother cast her spell on herself.
The man who murdered her mother touches me.
That moment.
A star fell from the sky.
With a golden flash.
I didn’t know what it was.
However, the man next to him tore open the dimensional door.
Some of the village women I’ve collected.
She takes a dozen people, including herself, out of there.
She turned her head to the star-gazing spire.
A weak light was visible.
If only there was that boy over there.
If there is a boy who gave up looking at the stars together due to his own trivial feelings.
Ah.
I wish we were together
I wish I could have shared the view of the sparkling sky.
The stars are hard to see here.
001
It was the next morning when Cleon woke up.
As the events of last night slowly flashed back, I woke up at the presence of a person next to me.
There, sitting on the bed, quietly shedding a tear from one eye.
There was an expressionless Rubera.
The pattern of exile on the back of her hand.
Covered by Cleon’s seal of dominion.
It showed a geometric pattern.
“Lube…”
The moment she was about to call her name, Ruba turned to Cleon.
Seen from the front, it was a somewhat resentful face.
“I saw it. Pervert.”
What she said Cleon ‘saw’.
Probably, Ruba’s own past that flowed through the imprint.
Cleon quietly nodded her head.
“It’s the worst. Looking into my past on my own.”
“…”
Cleon didn’t say anything.
Obviously, it is possible to use the imprint of control to peek into the past of others.
But sometimes.
That there are times when the past that the imprinted person wants to show flows into him in the form of a dream.
Maybe Ruba wanted to check it out.
She entered a place she had given up on her own accord.
Wasn’t that boy Cleon?
Of course, knowing that fact wouldn’t change anything.
Cleon and Ruba. Together, the two of them are protected by Luti.
There might have been a future that would bring them to this town together.
However, the villagers who were sacrificed in the process.
Rubera’s death of her mother would not have been overturned.
Then, in the end, Lubera is the same.
I realized her preciousness through the loss of all the precious things I hated.
She would have sharpened the blade of vengeance.
That’s why Cleon didn’t say anything.
Ruba didn’t ask anymore.
Just she had tears running down her cheeks
Cleon’s hand was just wiping it off.
002
Quietly waiting for her tears to stop, Layla knocked and came inside.
In his hand, he was holding a magic tool for testing.
Seeing the two people in a strange atmosphere, he hesitated and came closer.
“How are you feeling?”
Layla asks Ruba, and Ruba moves slowly.
“No problem. Rather, it seems to have improved.”
“I’m glad. Cleon did it right.”
“Yeah… That’s it.
Lyla’s face blushed at Rubera’s sarcastic remark.
Cleon turned his head shyly.
“Most of the magic nerves in the body have returned to normal. With this, there should be no problem with awakening the demonic sword.”
“Awakening of the magic sword… It’s Barisah.”
When Rubera quietly called the name of her demonic sword, her beautiful sword hung on the wall.
Emits a soft magical glow.
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know. Awakening is not something I can do with my will.”
Rubera shook her head like that.
I wonder if it’s Ryla too,” He spat out regretfully.
I turned my head to Cleon.
“Cleonon. How is Galatea?”
“No problem.”
The answer was not Cleon’s.
A green-haired woman who changes from a demonic sword to a human form and appears next to Cleon.
Seeing that, Ruba seemed a little surprised.
“You, Cleon’s demonic sword?”
“Yes. It’s Galatea.”
Galatea introduces herself at Rubera’s words.
Ruba slightly narrowed her eyes and spoke to Cleon.
“It’s amazing. It’s not the incarnation of a baby body type.”
“I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding, but I’m not a pedophile.”
Why? It was Lyla who was damaged by those words.
“In order for your sword to awaken, you need an opportunity.”
Galatea carelessly talks to Ruba.
Ruba just tilted her head.
“The trigger… Is it?”
“Yes. So to speak, is it a powerful shock? Awakening literally means ‘waking up’. You could also describe it as waking up.”
At Galatea’s words, Ruba puts her hand to her chin and ponders.
At that time. In a back alley in the rain.
The voice he heard in his despair was definitely Barisada’s.
What Galatea is talking about is an opportunity.
Probably, the ups and downs of the owner’s raging emotions.
Despair. Anger. Sadness. Hatred.
When the stage of emotional wealth has reached its highest level.
The demonic sword wakes up from a long sleep and grants new power to its owner.
He looks at Galatea, who clings to Cleon and tries to kiss him on the cheek.
If, by any chance, Barisada is this type of demonic sword…
I think the same, but I hope not.
“Then, both of you, change your clothes and come to the drawing room. I have an important story.”
Lila changed her expression from relaxed to serious.
I got up from my seat and left the room.
Ruba and Cleon try to dress up, too.
“Ah.”
Looking back at Rubera’s words.
I could see clothes with holes in her precious parts and near her armpits.
“…”
003
“I told you to change your clothes and come… “
Layla frowned, with sinew floating on her forehead.
I looked at Rubera in front of me.
The outfit she appeared in the drawing room with Cleon.
He was wearing Cleon’s slightly larger shirt over his underwear.
“If you don’t have clothes, at least borrow Sasha’s clothes!”
“Are these my clothes!?”
Sasha was startedled and opened her mouth when Lila got angry.
Quon turned his gaze away from Ruba with a slight blush on his face.
Only Luti was quickly examining the papers on the desk with a serious expression.
It was Luti in work mode that I haven’t seen in a long time.
“The guild has issued a request for the ‘Unexplored Area’ of the Living Forest.”
Cleon’s eyes widened at those words.
Until now, making and accepting requests there.
It was forbidden by the guild rules established by Luti.
I never thought that the rules would change as soon as Luti left.
But considering the purpose of the regressors and the Marquis Hughes being related to them.
In a way, it was a natural procedure.
“What is the content of the request?”
“It’s about recruiting an exploration team to solve the mystery of unexplored territory.”
“It’s awkward.”
Lila nods.
Adventurers like quests with a clear goal.
This is because it is convenient to claim the reward even when the side has completed it.
Probably, ordinary adventurers would refuse this request even if they thought of Luti.
“The pay is definitely good.”
Quon speaks and points to the parchment’s repair section.
The amount of money that a tolerable adventurer could earn by working non-stop for nearly 10 years was written.
Of course, considering the degree of risk, that alone is not enough.
“Probably. The ones receiving this request must be adventurers with the breath of regressors.”
Ruti put her parchment down and opened her mouth.
“No matter how much it is, if you go in and out of unexplored territory without permission, you will arouse suspicion around you. As a means to avoid that, I issued it as a request to give everyone a chance.”
“Are you saying that the returnees and their subordinates are just considered money-mad people…”
Silence hung over the drawing room.
Perhaps, so far, it will be as they intended.
The fact that Ruba disappeared from Marquis Hughes’ hand in the middle was probably the biggest surprise.
It was obvious what they were trying to do in unexplored territory.
Resurrection of the Beast Beast, Shradsel.
An existence capable of transforming the world only with its own magical power.
If it changes its form or nature with human hatred and reappears in this world.
How many sacrifices will there be?
It was a situation no one expected.
“What do you want to do? Even now, let Luti go back and cancel this request… “
Lila comes up with an idea, but Luti shakes her head.
“It’s impossible. I’ve completely given up the authority of the guild master now. I’m an outsider in the guild.”
“But wouldn’t it be possible to persuade?”
To Quon who said that, Luti pondered for a moment.
Then he nodded her head as if he understood.
“I don’t know how many people will listen to my story, but… I get it. I’ll try.”
“It’s also a way for me to go to the marquess’ house and cut his throat.”
Ruba speaks terrifying words.
Cleon pondered for a moment, but he shook his head.
“Not a bad proposition, but I don’t think the regressors will stop when he dies.”
“Is that so…”
The drawing room becomes quiet again.
At that time, Cleon kept talking about the fact that bothered him.
“In the first place, why is Marquis Hughes hanging out with the regressors?”
“…? That’s it, aren’t you trying to make a profit from an ancient artifact?”
Layla shakes her head when Ruba asks why she asks for the obvious.
“No, if the beast is resurrected, even the person who has settled in the city could be in danger.”
“I’d say I’m an idiot who can’t even think of that… But Eustes is that stupid.”
Cleon nodded at those words.
“You mean your life is guaranteed to be safe?”
“Your life is guaranteed… The opponent is a being called the World Tree, isn’t it?”
Sasha’s words remind Cleon of yesterday’s conversation with the regressors.
They said they would subdue the Beast.
Maxwell is mad, but they’ve made a plan so meticulous that they act with Cleon, who is said to be dead, in their calculations.
That means -.
“They have the means to subdue the Beast…”
“If that’s true, in a way it’s fortunate. At least there’s a way to stop the Beast.”
At Ruba’s words, Cleon shook his head.
“No, no one knows if that method will actually be effective. The opponent is from thousands of years ago.”
“…”
Existence thousands of years ago.
Enemy of the world.
Lila keeps thinking about something.
Suddenly, she stood up, stunned by the conclusion she had reached.
“Iona Chevalier… Holy Sword…!”
“… No way.”
Layla nodded her head at Cleon’s words.
“Yes! If the hero is defeated while fighting the enemies of the world, the function possessed by the holy sword will be activated and run out of control. Albain did that!”
“…A runaway of divine magical power that is so powerful that it rips through the sky. The incarnation of light that does not stop until the enemies of the world are destroyed. However, Iona is half a holy sword and half a human .”
“Did you see her sword’s core working? She is proof that her holy sword’s function is working properly for her as well. If Iona’s personality requires her to sacrifice herself to prevent her from breaking down…”
When Layla said that, Quon spoke as if he was taken aback.
“But…Those people. The regressors said that the shradsel cannot be killed.”
“That’s the story of the world tree. According to what they say, they’ve already lost their connection to the stars. Of course, even so, they have tremendous power.”
“…So, are you aiming for a rampage of holy swords that can co-destroy it…”
Cleon stood up from his seat.
“We need to find Iona.”
“I will go with you.”
Ruba gets up from her seat.
For a moment, Cleon sees Rubera.
“…You should do something about the clothes first.”
“…”
004
Ruba received one of the cute girl clothes collection that Luti had and put it on her body.
Ruthie says it’s one of her outfits she has prepared to play with Cleon.
The overall impression was a comfortable outfit that fits snugly to the body.
Instead, her arms extend only to her shoulders.
The upper part of the chest was exposed.
At the waist, a plank that covers both thighs and a strap that replaces a belt.
All other parts are made of the same material as the black tights.
“Wait… Are there any more normal clothes… “
Although Ruba expresses dissatisfaction with Luti like that.
The rest were all sky-blue dresses or clothes with lots of cute decorations.
“…Kuh…”
Ruba let out her saliva in anger.
As for Cleon, he only took off his maid outfit from the clothes he wore before.
The same feeling just happened.
“Okay then, come on. We’ll go to the city as soon as Luti is ready.”
“Okay.”
Layla opens the portal.
Cleon uses changeling magic on his body her to hide his identity her.
I entered the city through the dimensional gate.
The place where I set foot is the back alley of the city.
“Iona told Talchek yesterday that she was going… Anyway, I guess I’ll have to go to the Marquis Hughes’ mansion.”
At Cleon’s words, Ruba looked down at her own pattern her for a moment.
“Don’t worry. The Glyph of Exile will no longer function.”
“You should hope so.”
He approaches the mansion of the Marquis Hughes with Rubera, and hides the two of them with Cleon’s magic.
If you lightly jump over the wall and find Iona and Talchek.
“For a moment.”
Rubera stopped Cleon and hid behind a wall.
There, he could see Eustes, with bandages wrapped around his body his, holding a sword and heading towards the training ground of the mansion.
“What is it? Are you practicing sword training?”
“As far as I know, Eustes is a person who, firstly, hard work. Second, diligence. Thirdly, he hates sincerity.”
It is impossible for such a person to be a cultivator. Says Ruba.
However, Cleon thought differently.
Eustes’ eyes his were slightly different from the day before yesterday when he was terrified in the dungeon.
Anger.
I know where that anger is going.
Right away, it was anger towards the weak self.
“Could it be that Talchek is training him?”
“Exactly.”
As Cleon muttered, the answer came back.
At the sudden voice from an unknown place, Rubera and Cleon put their hands on the sword at the same time.
There, he saw a smiling Talchek.
“Uncheck… You. Can you see us?”
“Huh? No. But I can feel the presence or death.”
The swordsman’s beastly senses penetrate the veil of Cleon, unnoticed even by the beasts of the living forest.
Cleon was only genuinely curious about what these gorillas usually eat.
After confirming that there are no other humans around, Cleon unwinds the veil.
Talchek looked at Rubera and then smiled at Cleon.
“Did you increase the number of women again, Cleon. You’re doing quite a bit too.”
“I’m not Cleon’s woman. Gorilla.”
Rubera frowned.
Talcheck only let out a laugh.
“Talcheck. Did you find out anything while staying with Marquis Hughes?”
“Hmm. I understand that he’s a little bit discerning about alcohol. All the liquor in the warehouse tastes good.”
“Shall I ring?”
“Be patient. I am also patient.”
Cleon restrains Ruba from putting her hand on the handle.
“You must have heard the story about the Beast from Iona.”
“Ah, I heard. What they are aiming for. Isn’t it really fun, Cleon?”
Such carefree words made Cleon even more impressed.
A person belonging to the Kingdom’s intelligence agency reports an incident that could endanger the entire continent beyond the country.
Leaving the impression of ‘interesting’ was not understandable to Cleon.
However, the man in front of me has unchecked the Sword Saint.
A man who achieved independence with only one sword.
That’s why the desire for the strong sometimes precedes conscience or common sense.
“They might try to use Iona to subdue the Beast.”
“Oh. Chevalier? He’s not that strong.”
“…She’s stronger than you think.”
At Cleon’s words, Talchek looked down at Cleon for a moment.
Eyes as if judging something.
After staring at him for a while, he opened his mouth wide and smiled.
“I’m not giving my daughter!”
“Okay. Veja.”
When Cleon tried to draw his sword, Rubera blocked it this time.
“Seriously? She’s your daughter…”
“It’s noisy. If you’re that worried, you can tell yourself.”
It pisses me off, but for now it was for the best.
Thinking so, Cleon asked Talchek.
“… Where is she?”
“I heard that the guild had requested an exploration of unexplored territory, so I went there. They ran in haste.”
Lubera recalled her work when she and Iona fell into unexplored territory.
Even Iona knows how dangerous that place is.
She must have felt the need to dissuade her idiots she might not know.
“This gorilla doesn’t even feel the letter ‘ㅅ’ of fatherly love.”
Talcheck made a noise saying “Yeah” To Rubera’s words.
“I think the guys around me call me gorilla more often than my first name.”
Cleon lightly ignores Talcheck’s complaint and moves along with Ruba.
“Hey, Cleon.”
Talchek lightly called him.
“What would I have done if he had been there at a time like this?”
“Either the regressor, or the Marquis Hughes.
“Perhaps, even if the beast of prey appears.”
Cleon nodded at Talchek’s words.
“We can’t be that guy. Don’t mistake the target for cutting.”
Talchek’s words were somewhere close to self-help.
Cleon looked at his old master for a while.
It was to leave the mansion quietly.
“I’m begging you. Cleon. The one you need to cut is…”
Talcheck spoke quietly as if entrusting something to him.
He moved his feet to the training ground where Eustes was waiting.
