Chapter 11
Standing there, Kraush had just shattered the Wooden Colossus with a single strike.
To be precise, he could only remain still at that moment.
The One Strike was a sword technique that culminated in the unification of divine swordsmanship, needing absolute focus and energy.
Thus, Kraush poured every ounce of his aura, as well as his stamina and mental fortitude, into that one strike.
Without that, he wouldn’t have been able to execute the technique at all.
As a result, just closing his eyes for a moment felt as if his consciousness might slip away.
Anicks, who was frozen by Kraush’s piercing gaze, was oblivious to the fact that Kraush couldn’t even blink right now.
‘What a blunder.’
He had originally planned to lay the groundwork to steal a skill.
But with his lips rendered immobile, he was out of options.
“Kraush-sama.”
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out.
Bianca peeked out from behind him, looking him up and down.
“Can’t you move?”
Kraush didn’t have the luxury to respond.
Just seeing the beads of sweat trickling down his forehead led Bianca to make her own conclusions.
Then out of nowhere, Bianca wrapped her arms around Kraush’s waist.
“Gak!”
With that move, Kraush felt like his bones were about to shatter, and eventually, he lost consciousness.
It was essentially Bianca who had taken him down.
She struggled to lift the limp Kraush.
But, being smaller than Kraush, Bianca found it an uphill battle.
“Little one, I’ll help you.”
At that moment, Darling appeared as if by magic.
As she approached to assist Kraush, Bianca, perhaps tired of the effort, quickly handed him over to Darling.
Darling blinked at this unexpected exchange.
Wasn’t this child supposed to be Kraush’s fiancée?
Despite being so young, she was passing him along without a hint of jealousy.
Darling chuckled, bemused by the situation, and began to carry him away.
Instantly, the attention of the nobles flocking to the terrace turned toward them.
‘This little one might become quite the celebrity when he wakes up.’
Was this boldness, or was it done without a second thought?
‘Will the rumor of the underachiever carry weight? Or will the latest rumor of him hatching like an egg take the cake?’
Regardless, Darling was grinning at the likely amusing outcomes as Anicks shot a glance their way.
Anicks stared blankly at the Kraush he was carrying, already hinting at future troubles to come.
“You can’t die before helping me with my research, kid.”
Kraush was unaware of the words being muttered, as Darling resumed her march.
＊ ＊ ＊
After the events at the Shrine of the Stars, Kraush regained consciousness the next day inside a carriage.
Having essentially fainted for a whole day, waking up was a struggle thanks to the pain reverberating through his body.
One Strike was indeed a lethal sword technique.
Though he acknowledged it, he hadn’t expected the aftereffects to hit him this hard.
‘If I keep this up, it’ll be me who ends up in a grave.’
Yet, the last image burned into his mind was Anicks’s satisfied face.
What a pity it was that he hadn’t diminished the value of Anicks’s skills in that moment.
Kraush contemplated two approaches to steal skills.
One was the conventional route involving a dial that appeared when using the Black Hood.
The other method was to subtly push the opponent into undervaluing their own skill.
If the opponent believed their skill had low value, it became easier to swipe it, just like over with Arthur.
And that value plummeted most definitely when they faced a humiliating defeat.
‘Unfortunately, it seems the time isn’t right yet.’
But either way, Anicks had probably been left with the impression that Kraush was a dangerous presence.
That alone would be enough to stir up some turmoil within him.
Now all that remained was to slowly bring down the perceived value of his abilities.
‘And in the end, Recovery will be in my hands.’
Those thoughts fresh in his mind, Kraush was about to open his eyes when he felt something oddly soft yet hard behind his head, prompting a moment of curiosity.
When he finally opened his eyes, he was met with a cascade of white hair and an adorably cute face.
The peculiar thing was that the eyes were firmly closed.
As Kraush blinked, a realization hit him: the face belonged to Bianca.
“Bianca?”
Startled!
Bianca reacted a step too late upon hearing her name.
She seemed to have just woken from a doze, rubbing her mouth before greeting Kraush with a smile.
“Good morning.”
“What are you doing?”
“Taking care of you.”
Is ‘taking care’ synonymous with using your lap as a pillow?
Though Bianca almost gave him a headbutt due to dozing off, she replied, “We’re headed back to Balheim.”
“I gathered that just by seeing the scenery. What happened at the Shrine of the Stars?”
Kraush found it discomfiting that he was using Bianca’s lap as a pillow, but his body hadn’t fully recovered yet.
So, as he remained reclined, he asked, and Bianca absentmindedly started playing with his hair as she answered.
“I don’t know. I didn’t pay attention.”
Kraush had suspected as much.
Given Bianca’s nature, if they weren’t fiancées, she wouldn’t have bothered to care a whit about the situation.
However, he could tell even without Bianca’s elaboration that the Shrine of the Stars had been thrown into chaos.
‘What lies beyond that is anyone’s guess.’
All he could do was hope it’s favorable.
“Got it. Wake me up when we get back. I need to sleep a bit longer.”
At that moment, Bianca flinched.
Kraush squinted his eyes open.
“You’re feeling your legs go numb, aren’t you?”
“I’m not!”
“Then why in the world did you lay down on my lap? There’s a cushion right there.”
“Because you did that for me last time.”
While he couldn’t argue against that, Kraush still turned his body as much as he could.
“Hand me that cushion.”
Bianca quickly handed over the cushion for him to lay his head on instead of her legs.
The speed of her action suggested her legs were indeed going numb.
Finally feeling a bit more comfortable, Kraush closed his eyes and soon dozed off once more.
As he drifted into sleep, he found himself in a strange dream where he was a raven and Bianca was a cute little yellow chick.
Oddly enough, the dream didn’t feel so bad.
＊ ＊ ＊
A week slipped away since the Shrine of the Stars incident.
As Kraush approached his 14th birthday, he began his serious training again, recovering from the aftermath of One Strike.
With only a year left until he would attend Rahelrn Academy, he had to grow strong enough to surpass the academy’s prodigies in that time.
“So, I just want to train every day.”
Kraush wiped the sweat off his brow.
Then he glanced back at Aliod.
The news he brought was about none other than his third brother.
And the one in question was currently in front of Green Pinegwan, seething with anger.
“Aliod, how many times have I sent my brother a message?”
“Twenty-two times.”
Well, it was about time to be getting annoyed.
From the third brother’s perspective, the whole situation must have seemed absurd, considering he had to walk there personally.
But it seemed he had reached his limit.
Kraush wiped the sweat off his damp hair and turned to Aliod.
“Tell him to come in.”
“Are you sure that’s alright?”
Aliod seemed concerned, but Kraush nodded.
As if readjusted by his determination, Aliod headed back to the entrance of Green Pinegwan.
Just as Kraush was about to walk toward a bench, a water bottle slid smoothly into view beside him.
He received the bottle, popped off the cap, and began to gulp down water, while Bianca positioned herself a bit further away, setting the book aside.
“You smell like sweat.”
“Careful with those words. They might hurt someone’s feelings.”
“I just don’t think you’d care about that.”
Indeed, the stench from the erosion of the world was far worse than the sweat.
So, he had grown desensitized to smells over time.
‘How bad is it really?’
When he lifted his shirt and sniffed, he noticed a mild stench.
Well, given that he was constantly expelling impurities while handling aura, it was unavoidable after training.
“Are you going to wash up?”
Bianca watched as Kraush seemed ready to move.
He hesitated briefly before shaking his head.
“No, I might have to get moving again soon.”
“Well then, please don’t come near me.”
Upon hearing that, Kraush stood up from the bench instantly.
As soon as he took a step toward Bianca, she shot up, her hair standing on end like a cat.
“I warned you!”
“Whoa there, even warning your fiancée now? You’ve grown quite bold, haven’t you? You think a bookworm like you can really escape me?”
“Kraush-sama, books hurt when you get hit with them!”
Seeing Bianca casually brandish a book like a weapon, Kraush couldn’t help but acknowledge her logic as he lunged forward.
In that instant, Bianca swiftly pivoted and bolted away.
The sight of her swiftly dashing away made Kraush burst into laughter, landing a few teasing steps as he carried a startled expression.
Perhaps it was because she reminded him of a younger sister, but when he was with Bianca, his playful side popped out.
Had those who only witnessed his ruthless side seen him now, they would likely have thought him a madman.
Just then, Kraush’s smile abruptly faded.
‘Have I really grown accustomed to peace so fast?’
The world was still at a level where it could counteract the erosion adequately on its own.
Perhaps that’s why he had become susceptible to the comfort this peace brought.
‘Arthur, did you feel like this too?’
Arthur Gramate, who consistently maintained his guard and bore an intimidating air even at the academy.
Though he had momentarily lost his composure, Arthur was always on edge.
He must have felt that he couldn’t let his guard down in this facade of peace because of his experiences with regression.
Kraush disliked Arthur, but he wouldn’t undermine the path he had taken.
After all, Arthur was the one who had fought more fiercely than anyone when the world was on the brink of ruin.
I wonder what he is doing now.
The Arthur he knew no longer existed in this world.
“Messing around with your fiancée, and looking so carefree, I see.”
At that moment, Kraush turned at the mocking voice.
There stood a boy, slightly shorter than him, sporting similar hair color to his, just having hit puberty not too long ago.
One distinct difference was that while Kraush’s eyes bore a fierce glint, this boy’s were simply frowning a bit too much.
That was probably because they were half-siblings.
His name was Belorkin Balheim.
He was the third son of the Balheim family.
“Life doesn’t require one to be serious all the time, you know.”
When Kraush retorted cheekily, Belorkin’s eyebrows twitched.
From their brief exchange, Belorkin sensed something different in Kraush than he was used to.
Kraush seemed relaxed.
He, who had always avoided eye contact with him due to fear, was now looking him straight in the eye without flinching.
‘Could the rumors be true?’
That very realization deepened Belorkin’s frown.
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