Chapter: 584
Arthur followed Lucy Allen to where the people of Ducal Lord Partlan were gathered.
Even though the war had definitely ended, the wizards of Partlan were still holding their ground.
Arthur eyed them, who seemed ready for another fight rather than a peaceful rest, and wondered why they were acting like that. What was lurking that made them gaze eagerly into the forest?
– Indeed. The Fairy Queen has engaged in a fun deal.
‘Make it clear to me.’
– Speak politely. Then I will comply.
As he tried to stretch his shoulders, letting out a sigh, Arthur moved forward, leaving the teasing behind.
“Here we are. Can you smell the loser stench from afar?”
As he reached the front of the tent, Arthur felt a creeping fear climbing up his legs.
Whispers of resentment burrowed into his ears. Despite knowing no one was looking at him, he felt the scornful glares touching his skin. The words about how it would have been better to die mixed in with the falling rain. And then—
“Cough?!”
A precise blow aimed at his solar plexus forced Arthur to double over, staggering back as he furrowed his brow and raised his head.
He thought he would hear more taunts from Lucy Allen, but she was already turned around, walking towards the tent.
“You’ve arrived. I’ve been waiting…”
“The loser has gained some power and is showing off, huh?♡ Did you want to brag?♡”
“What are you suddenly saying?”
“Fufufuh♡ If you’re like this now, imagine what it’ll be like when you get rejected later!♡ Can you give me a heads up back then?♡ So I can point out how much of a loser you are one by one!♡”
Taken aback by Lucy’s sudden accusations, Erginius spotted Arthur through the entrance and let out a laugh.
“Oh dear. My apologies. It wasn’t intentional. It was just clumsy since I’ve only just risen in rank.”
As Erginius bowed his head, something that had been clinging to Arthur vanished. Released from bondage, Arthur let out a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.
– It’s the Power of Darkness. Having faced it once before, it easily invaded your body.
‘…You’re talking about yesterday’s nightmare?’
– Just enduring it is already impressive. A normal human would have gone mad by now. Perhaps those blessings given to you…
The weight of Erginius’s words, one of the figures from the mythological era, wasn’t lost on Arthur, but he couldn’t purely accept the praise.
By that logic, what was Lucy Allen in front of him? Why was that little brat, who faced the Evil God head-on, still okay?
Is it because she’s an Apostle of God? No, the opposite. She can stand firm before Lord Erginius, who received deification, which is why Lord Jushin chose Lucy Allen as an apostle.
“Prince Soladin. I apologize for my rudeness. Please forgive me.”
Before he knew it, Erginius had moved forward and bowed his head.
“No… no, it’s fine. Thanks to Lucy Allen’s prior arrangements, we have no issues.”
“Thank you for your tolerance.”
Darkness swirled around Erginius. To start as a human and succeed in ascending to divine rank is a tale fit for legends.
In that sense, it’s not too strange that the great wizard in front of him is also a character from myth.
“The reason I called you here is related to the fragment that follows you.”
“I’ve heard about it. What significance could something yapping beside me have?”
“There are many meanings that you currently do not understand, but moreover, I want to add an additional significance as a reward for this affair.”
When Erginius reached out, the fragment seemed to sense something unusual and tried to flee, but no matter how much it struggled, its body floating in the void didn’t budge.
“Do you know about Spirit Magic?”
“I’ve seen it in fairy tales, but why are you asking?”
“I intend to help this child to do something similar, all while making some repairs to the old parts.”
– W-wait a moment, Lord Erginius. This boy hasn’t gone through the trials through regular means. Granting excessive authority is—
“You talk too much.”
After saying he’d come again when the work was done, Erginius took the fragment away, leaving Arthur to regret not making a more polite request.
*
Frey, rejected by Lucy for a duel, stealthily infiltrated the Fairy Forest, trying to escape the gazes of others to meet the Sword Saint.
She didn’t even know if the Sword Saint was inside, and even if she was, she had no way of finding her, lacking the proper knowledge of the forest’s pathways. It was all a reckless move, but Frey didn’t deeply ponder it.
Thankfully, the fairies of the forest remembered Frey who wielded a sword for them the day before.
– Is it the Sword Saint?
– That scary woman?
– I know her! She’s in there!
– Follow me!
The fairies, who enjoyed mischief but knew how to appreciate others, eagerly assisted Frey.
“How did you get in here?”
“Well.”
The Sword Saint was swinging her sword in an open clearing. If something had gotten her heated, her swings were fiercer than usual.
More than Frey usually swung.
“So why are you here?”
“How do you do that shwak! move?”
“Shwak? Ah, are you talking about the sword that cuts through darkness?”
Although most people, including Frey’s friends and father, would question what she meant, Sword Saint Yuden instantly understood Frey.
Maybe because their sword skills were similar or their levels matched, Frey was delighted that her words were getting through.
“That was really impressive. I want to do it too.”
“You can’t just want to do it. It’s more like casting magic with a sword.”
It may seem easy as if she was doing nothing, but in reality, it wasn’t, as Yuden babbled on, but Frey was no longer listening to her.
Casting magic with a sword.
Hmm. Uhhmm. That thing that the dumb Joy and the sloppy prince use.
Just waving magic power and whoosh!
With a sword?
Frey tilted her head, trying to draw the most fabulous magic circle she could remember with her sword, but she couldn’t achieve what she desired.
“It doesn’t work.”
“Of course, it doesn’t. Magic is a metaphor. A metaphor. Don’t you know what a metaphor is?”
“I do. It’s calling you an auntie, Sword Saint.”
“…That’s not a metaphor!”
“Is it not? Hmm. Then what is a metaphor?”
Yuden sighed, rubbing her forehead at Frey’s innocent confusion.
In a way, this little brat might be worse than Lady Allen. Without malice, she could probe others’ weaknesses, and it left no room to get genuinely angry! Damn it.
“You’re too stupid to understand if I explain it complicatedly, so let me explain in my way.”
“Okay! I’m dumb! Please explain!”
“…Haaa.”
Having felt this way before when she played with her, Yuden concluded that arguing with this girl would lead to defeat. Just give her a simple explanation, and eventually, she’d realize it wouldn’t work.
“Watch closely. When you swing your sword swak, the void is cut, right?”
As Yuden lightly swung her sword, the void was sliced, creating a sharp sound that echoed in the clearing.
“Narrowing the scope to the extreme.”
“Narrowing? Why? Didn’t the Sword Saint’s swak! cut wide?”
“I don’t know the exact reason. When I showed it to that bastard Luca before, he said something about focused intent reaching phenomena. Anyway, narrow it down. That’s what I did.”
Narrow it down. As Frey recalled Yuden’s words, she frowned, then nodded.
Hmm. It feels roughly like this. Whoosh. Frey’s sword sliced through the void, creating a loud, fierce sound.
On the surface, it didn’t look any different from her usual swings, but for Yuden, it was different. Did she really catch on with such an explanation?
“I think I can do more.”
Whoosh.
Swish.
Whoosh.
With each swing of Frey’s sword, the sounds gradually faded.
The screams that cut through the void grew faint.
Yuden, admiring the scene, suddenly gasped as she realized the sound was about to disappear entirely.
That thoughtless little girl! What are you going to do if you swing it towards the forest?! If you do that, the forest will be a mess!
Silence met silence. Intent and intent battled each other’s sizes. The desire to slice through what was before her screamed that her size was greater.
Despite not touching anything, a struggle of power unfolded as if it had.
“Hmm. This isn’t right. It’s different.”
“Hey! Be careful! If it weren’t for me, the forest would have been cut down!”
“It didn’t get cut, so that’s fine, right?”
“That’s not what I mean! Aaaah! Seriously!”
“Don’t be so mad, Sword Saint. They’ll say wrinkles will appear.”
“Who do you think is causing this fuss!”
Ignoring Yuden, whose face was flushed from anger, Frey aimed her sword at the sky again, only to tilt her head at the blue spear that appeared before her.
[The God of Martial Arts is watching you.]
That blue spear was something every martial artist on the land desperately wished for, but not for Frey. She effortlessly waved her hand to dismiss the blue spear.
[The God of Martial Arts…]
“Get out of here.”
[Martial…]
“Leave it be.”
[Mar…]
“Done. I’ll ignore it.”
*
[The God of Martial Arts hopes for an encounter with your friend.]
…Huh? My friend? Why is that being told to me? Shouldn’t it just go talk to that guy directly?
If the God of Martial Arts says something, anyone would welcome it…
Oh right. Not Frey. That idiot wouldn’t even read a message.
Normally, I wouldn’t help for free, but I owe a favor to the God of Martial Arts.
This time, I’ll move.
Next time, please request along with a reward. Otherwise, it’ll be returned.
“Useless prince. Do you know what stupid things that dumb swordsman is up to again?”
“Well, I haven’t seen him today.”
“Ugh. Useless.”
“How am I supposed to know if I haven’t seen him?!”
As Arthur combined annoyance and crossed his arms, he thought, hmmm. If that fool were to go somewhere…
– He says he’s in the forest!
– The others guided him!
– He’s with a scary woman!
Glancing at the fairies with a possible thought, immediate answers came.
The scary woman must be the Sword Saint!
Alright. Let’s head back into the forest. It’s a rare chance to gain favor with the deified one!
Having regained a bit of energy, I was filled with enthusiasm when I noticed someone walking toward me from afar and froze.
Wait, what? Why on earth is the busy First Prince here?
Did the First Queen call him because of Spirit Magic?
Then let’s just sneak away without him noticing.
[He seems to be coming toward you.]
‘Why is the First Prince coming to me?! He absolutely hates me!’
[That, I do not know.]
Hearing Grandpa’s words, I was startled and turned my head, catching a glimpse of the approaching First Prince and his guards.
What the heck?! Is this for real?! Why is that guy coming to me!?
Is he here for revenge about what happened in the Dungeon City?!
Tch! Well, fine! Bring it on! If I get hurt, my friends won’t just sit by!
As I pretended to casually shrug my shoulders, facing the First Prince who stopped in front of me, I internally broke out in cold sweat.
“Brother. What brings you here?”
“I have something to do, little brother.”
“Does this have to do with Lucy Allen?”
“Indeed.”
W-what? What is it?! Hurry up and tell me! Don’t keep me hanging and make me anxious!
“It’s been a while, Lady Allen. Your beauty, worthy of being called a manifestation of the goddess, seems to deepen with each passing day.”
…
What the heck is this guy cursed with some kind of weird spell?
Purification!
“It’s nice to have a reverent divine presence, but why are you saying this to me?”
Is this not some kind of curse?!
Why?!
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