Chapter 224 – 224. Master Murder (1)
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The sea of Valencia, located in the eastern part of the Liberia Peninsula, was famous for its ultramarine blue color like lazurite.
Pleasant climate and rich soil,
As it is adjacent to the sea, not only the shipbuilding industry was developed, but it was also famous as an agricultural area where crops such as rice, oranges, and olives were grown on a large scale.
Ardena loved Valencia more than anyone else, full of riotous vitality.
Because this city was my pride.
Because it was a precious place with my memories.
He had a desire to keep peace while gazing at the scenery of Valencia with his loved ones.
“Suddenly it rains!”
“Ouch, everything will get wet! Let’s go home!”
It started raining in Valencia.
It was a downpour of rain.
I thought the rain would stop after a while, but the raindrops started to get thicker. Due to the heavy rain, Valencia’s elves had to temporarily stop their livelihoods.
Elves like to be in the rain like plants, but they don’t like strong showers that make their skin sting. The rain showers were so strong that it was difficult to see ahead, causing inconvenience to the elves for a while.
“Ardena-sama, are you okay?”
The maids of Valencia Castle hurriedly came out with umbrellas and asked how Ardena was doing.
Ardena was on her way to inspect the city for a while.
During her inspection, Ardena was caught in a shower and her whole body got wet like a drowning mouse.
“I am OK. It only rained for a while. It’s nice to be cool. Rather, it is a good thing. Even so, many citizens suffered inconvenience due to the hot weather.”
Ardena, far from being uncomfortable that her clothes were wet from the sudden shower,
She was worried about the citizens who would have been overworked in the heat.
And as rain fell from the sky, the exhausted intellect was replenished, and they prayed for a great harvest this harvest season.
“Anyway, I didn’t expect it to rain all of a sudden.”
Ardena’s clothes were soaked in the sudden shower.
Wet blonde hair,
Ears dripping with water.
A puppy playing in the backyard seemed to have been struck by water that struck it out of nowhere. Her emerald eyes, shining brightly, reminded her of her puppy.
The white blouse she was wearing got wet, revealing the bra she was wearing underneath.
A white belly and a smooth belly, of course,
Her narrow waist was also visible through her clothes.
At the unintentional exposure of her young lady, the ladies-in-waiting cleared her throat and calmed her blushing face.
“You mustn’t let her body get cold. Come on inside. I will serve you hot tea.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Ardena, nodding her head at the words of her maid of honor, entered her annex with her maids of honor.
She headed to the room where the fireplace was.
After warming up her cooled body with hot water in the shower room connected to her room, she changed into the clothes given to her by the ladies-in-waiting and sat down on the sofa in front of the fireplace to drink steamy black tea.
While she had a cup of tea for a while, she waited for the return of her master, who had left for a while on business at Maherit’s palace.
‘You said that Yushin began to receive instruction from Sir Heinkel again. You train hard. Well, there’s no way he could have built that level of martial work overnight. He must have become stronger through bone-cutting training.’
Ardena smiled softly as she sipped black tea at Yushin’s effort to become stronger without settling for her current strength.
A person who tries is a beautiful law.
Not relying on her own talent and genius, she deserved respect for those who were desperately trying.
‘It’s a new demon king…. Yushin, you continue to grow without me knowing. I must become stronger too. I need to become stronger in order to always be by his side.’
Yushin became a complete demon king by accepting both the power and the personification of the demon king.
I expressed concern about accepting the power of the Demon King, a being who stood on the opposite side of the Elves, but….
Ardena firmly believed that Yushin would use the demon king’s power in her hands in the right direction.
“… Hmm.”
Ardena’s eyes flickered as she watched the flames crackling inside her fireplace.
Is it because I took a hot shower?
Her craving for sleep rushed in as her eyelids grew heavy.
While nodding her head for a moment, I inadvertently touched the table next to her with her elbow.
The teacup she had set on the table swayed.
Soon after, her teacup slipped on the rug on the floor.
Fortunately, she did not wake up, but the commotion aroused Ardena, who was nodding her head, from her slumber.
‘Do something embarrassing….’
Ardena hurriedly rose from the sofa, picked up the teacup that was rolling on her rug, and
She might have spilled tea. She fumbled on the rug.
Fortunately, she drank all the tea and avoided spilling it on her rug.
“Miss.”
After a brief commotion, she
She heard the voice of her maid calling from beyond the door.
Ardena replied to that.
“Okay. I am listening.”
“Sir El Cid has returned from Maherit.”
“I get it…. Hurry up and get out!”
Master, who left on business, has returned.
Ardena decided to go out to the front door to meet her master.
* * *
El, who returned to Valencia through the warp gate, had a serious expression on her face.
Her face was full of sorrow.
Because of her very explicit appearance, her maids-in-waiting took notice of her.
Then Ardena arrived. When she saw the disciple who ran out in a hurry, her expression was clear, and she tried to smile even though El was wet with her anxiety.
“Master.”
Ardena opened her mouth.
Ardena, who was about to welcome her, had to erase her smile from her mouth when she saw her teacher in her worried look.
“Ardena.”
Elle opened her mouth.
It was clearly a voice full of sorrow.
“Could you give me a moment? I have something to tell you.”
“… Yes, of course.”
At her cautious question, Ardena nodded her head without hesitation.
However,
It was her big mistake.
Ardena should never have accepted her request.
Because what awaits her from now on,
Because it was such a harsh reality.
* * *
The place El Cid chose as the place to have a conversation is a space with memories between teachers and students… ,
It was the cabin of Youngrim in Valencia.
Even though it was raining heavily, Ardena followed her master through the tortoise grove and set her foot in her hut.
Moisture remained all over her body.
She moved with an umbrella, but there was no way to avoid the pouring rain.
Although the feel of her wet clothes made her feel uncomfortable, Ardena didn’t have time to clean herself up. As soon as she entered the cabin, she had to listen to El’s story.
“Ardena, it seems the time has come to tell you everything.”
An elf woman with her light purple hair hung a dripping raincoat from her hanger.
She said the rain water relentlessly soaked the wooden floor.
And with every step Elle took, the wooden floor creaked.
Creaking. The sound from the wooden floor seemed to represent El Cid’s complicated mind.
“… Do you mean me?”
“Okay.”
Ardena’s eyelids trembled.
Like a confession,
Feeling her fear at the sight of her master opening her mouth with her complex face on, Ardena was unconsciously expressing her own feelings.
“But I don’t know where to start telling you. There are a lot of stories I want to tell you….”
Elle, who was seated in her chair, invited Ardena to sit in her chair opposite her.
Ardena took her seat.
But even after her pupil sat down, El couldn’t get her to speak.
Only a few hoarse voices came out of her mouth.
“Ardena, how much do you know about the oath?”
“… Is that a promise?”
It was a sudden question.
Ardena was quite taken aback, but she struggled to keep her cool and opened her mouth.
“It’s just that a total of five pledgers, including Master, can’t participate in power struggles and territorial disputes due to divine restrictions, and that the beast that tried to devour the Valois kingdom is the demonic pledger.”
“Yes, all of them are correct.”
Did you hear from Yushin?
Maybe he heard from Heinkel.
Recognizing that Ardena knew to some extent about her oath, El nodded her head.
She seemed to be easy to explain thanks to her.
And she thought Ardena would convince her by hearing her own story.
If you know anything about the oath….
She believed she would understand what she was trying to do.
“Yes, as you know. Those bound by an oath cannot be mobilized for war and strife. Even if her own people are attacked by an outside threat, she will not be able to step out.”
With her hands and feet tied,
She had no choice but to watch her fellow countrymen die horribly.
Ardena could feel the deep sorrow from her master’s words.
The sadness of not being able to protect compatriots even though they had the power to protect them. Lament. And regret and powerlessness. The strong, who have the power to destroy the continent’s sphere of influence in an instant, feel helpless.
“However, after twists and turns, I… , I found a way to escape from the interference and deterrence of the oath.”
“Are you sure?”
Ardena replied with a surprised expression.
How to get out of the oath.
If Master is freed from the interference of the oath, his compatriots will no longer have to tremble under the threat of the demon king’s army.
Isn’t that great news?
I’m sure all of my compatriots will be delighted.
The priest and the other warrior chiefs. And all the elven knights will also rejoice at El Cid’s true return.
‘If Master is freed from the interference of the oath… , Yushin no longer has to fight. Even the six demon lords wouldn’t dare to cross the land of elves and humans.’
It would be too far forward to assume that all wars on the continent might come to an end.
But at least the wars caused by the Demon King’s army will end one by one under the pressure of Master’s might.
How to get out of the covenant.
Ardena, who was delighted that Master had such a method, suddenly felt a question.
In the excitement of the heart, fear for no reason began to take root in a deformed way.
“… Master.”
Ardena spoke her words cautiously.
Seeing the disciple’s appearance, L seemed to have noticed, and he closed and opened his eyes, waiting for the next words.
“It may be my foolish suspicion, but….”
The reason Master left me.
The question of not remembering the time when I broke up with Master.
And Master,
The reason why he reappeared in the land of elves after 300 years of wandering.
Ardena is finally starting to get closer to the answer.
“What the heck is knowing a way to get out of the interference of the oath… Can you tell me when?”
The disciple asked.
The master answered him.
“Three hundred years ago.”
My heart started beating like crazy.
Like something crashing down
The heart was screaming with terror and fear.
“Then, Master, the way to get out of the oath is… Please tell me what the alternative is.”
Whoa.
At Ardena’s question, El let out a deep sigh.
She closed her eyes again.
It is because she had to control her surging emotions for a while as her feelings crossed.
At last the time has come for her to say all things.
The time has come to untie the three-hundred-year-old knot.
The time has come for her to tell the whole truth to her beloved disciple and ask for forgiveness and permission.
‘All of this is for Ardena and her compatriots.’
El rationalizes her purpose as if brainwashing herself,
She finally opened her mouth.
With a sad smile on his face.
“You, my disciple, will inherit all my powers and powers.”
“I will pass on Master… In other words, do you mean to succeed Master?”
“Okay. You are the second El Cid… It is to become an incarnation that inherits all of me.”
I will replace Master.
Ardena couldn’t contain her surprise when she heard that.
And she had a question.
An incarnation that inherited all of Master’s powers and abilities. It was definitely something to be welcomed with open arms. If Master could bear the burden on his shoulders instead, he would have accepted it without the slightest hesitation.
But why
Didn’t that happen 300 years ago?
“… How can I do it?”
To that question, L stood firm.
She put on a hardened expression, as if to show that she had already accepted it.
“The day when the world tree Bria is in full bloom, when the intellectual powers of the Liberia Peninsula gather beneath it. By piercing my heart with the holy sword I handed down to you, you inherit all of me. I took the interference of the oath, and you become my incarnation and the guardian of the elves at the same time.”
Neither strength nor authority.
Even life.
I must inherit all my things.
Even though I will lose my life in the process, if the ceremony is successful, my compatriots will be able to enjoy peace without being threatened by the Demon King’s army anymore.
“Ardena, you are the successor who has no shortage of passing on all of me. Not only do they have great abilities and qualities, but they also combine wisdom and upright character. I trust that you will never misuse my power and use it properly for the good of your fellow countrymen.”
Like comforting a crying child,
El praised Ardena with her kind and benevolent voice.
But Ardena didn’t hear anything.
Master with these two hands,
I was just feeling panic at the brutal fact that I had to kill with my own hands.
“Ugh… !!”
Ardena’s mouth overflowed with her sobbing, crying, tinged with sorrow and wailing.
For Master.
And for compatriots.
I have to kill the person I love and respect the most in this world.
Then, Ardena
She learned the truth of that day, the reason why she separated from Master three hundred years ago.
“Aaaaa!!!”
The sorrow and wail that began to overflow,
Mixed in with the pouring shower outside, it was transformed into a terrifying scream.
