chapter 36
36 – Sorcerer’s Sword
I never expected that my head would explode.
A few drops of blood splattered on Silverin’s face.
Killing as many as a hundred people, the only damage she suffered was those few drops of blood.
She was engrossed in agony and didn’t even think about wiping.
There was no evidence left except for the blood-soaked silver hair. Even this was poor to use as physical evidence related to the family.
The only thing we can know about the ringleaders is that they are the ones who use even blood relatives and vassals instrumentally and ruthlessly dispose of them for their own purposes.
She left the charred corpses behind and hurried back to the wagon.
Damien’s past had always weighed on her heart.
And that someone in Eternia kept flashing in my head.
Rather than the physical exhaustion from the battle, the mental exhaustion caused by the biting thoughts tormented her.
Damian came out to meet Sylverine, holding on to the carriage door with one hand.
He looked at her from a distance and finally opened his mouth with a relieved face.
“Teacher… .”
And seeing Damian like that, the thoughts that had bothered Silverin melted away at once.
She reached over and hugged Damian’s head without saying a word.
“You kept your promise. Well done, disciple.”
“… .”
Damian didn’t know what to do, so he left his arms in the air and became a stone statue.
And very slowly, Damian’s arms wrapped around her thin waist.
In Silverin’s arms, he slightly raised his head and said.
“I was worried.”
“The most useless thing in the world is my worries.”
“That… What the hell happened in the village?”
“First, get out of here and I’ll talk to you.”
She slowly released the restraints.
Damian was sent into the carriage first, followed by Silverin.
I sat down and she tapped on the driver’s seat, and the carriage started moving down the road again.
The place where the flames swept away was quiet without the sound of the wind.
After a while, the carriage entered the village entrance.
Smoke was still rising from the ashes left after burning everything.
A smoky scent squeezed through the crack in the carriage door.
As Damian’s gaze turned to the window, she drew the curtains.
“You look young.”
“… … .”
Soon after, a scream rang out from the chariot that followed.
“Kyaaagh!”
It was Lyria’s scream.
The 100 corpses burned to death were enough to leave trauma.
Damian may have to kill as many people as he can catch in his lifetime.
So there was no need to accept it too early. Damian can remain a child, at least as long as he is with Silverin.
“What happened?”
“There is a family targeting you. I don’t know why. I’ve set an example for now, so I’ll be quiet for a while.”
Damian nodded calmly, as if he had guessed.
“… All right.”
At least until the entrance exam, Sylverin hadn’t bothered to talk about the matter at length. I didn’t want to upset his heart for nothing.
Damian must focus entirely on Eternia.
He rummaged through his pockets and handed Silverin a handkerchief.
“Teacher, this is it. Wipe the blood.”
“…thanks.”
She finally took a breath and wiped the blood from her face.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t all over.
Silverin simply increased the blank period until the next offensive by a little.
they come again I don’t know why, but Damian will still be a danger to them.
After this, the tricks will be more subtle, and won’t leave a single strand of hair behind.
And they would come in, aiming for the gap that Silverin was away.
But she wasn’t too worried.
When that time comes, Damian will be stronger than he is now.
***
A graceful river cut through the mountains and stretched for a long time.
The carriage was going uphill on a road that ran along the middle of the river.
Along the way, it became very common to encounter wagons accompanied by escort knights.
Each of the wagons had a unique seal like that of a prestigious family.
There were also quite a few traders pulling wagons.
Silverin said while admiring the scenery outside the window.
“Now you have entered the realm of Eternia.”
“I didn’t know that Eternia was located in a remote area like this.”
“I don’t know much about this area just by looking at the map. Isn’t it nice here too?”
I nodded.
Through the carriage windows, I could see huge sailboats going up the river.
It feels somewhat foreign to be caught in the landscape of primitive nature.
Now you’re really entering Eternia. I felt a strange mixture of excitement and tension.
Eternia could have been reached in just half a day, but it was not yet planned.
Before going to Silverin’s mansion, we were going to stop by a small town called ‘Rigbed’ for a while.
As I turned around the end of the ridge of the hill, I finally came into view of Rigbed.
With a steep mountain at the back and a river as wide as a lake in the front, the city spewed white steam over the triangular roofs of every house.
The whole city was covered with steam, as if there was a thin fog.
Silverin said as she couldn’t take her eyes off Rigbed’s mysterious atmosphere.
“It is also called the City of Steam because it boils water all day long to make potions.”
Silverin said that Rigbed was made for Eternia.
It was a midway point for transporting supplies needed for Eternia, and it was a place lined with shops selling various magic tools, alchemy materials, and various textbooks and reference books.
Thanks to its long-established roots with the continent’s best academy, a historic commercial district was formed.
It is located in a remote area where you have to ride a lot of twisted mountains, but there were quite a lot of people who came to trade or material supply.
In addition, because high-ranking nobles from each continent stayed in Eternia, embassies from empires, principalities, and city associations were also gathered here.
The Eternia branch of the Magic Society and the Alchemy Association was also located here, and the bloodlines, vassals, and attendants of those in school often came and went, resulting in a considerable floating population.
I looked down at the rigbed and thought for a moment.
Is it possible for people from different backgrounds to live together in a city with densely built buildings on a narrow flat land?
I suddenly became suspicious and asked Silverin.
“Are there other races there?”
She shook her head.
“No matter how Rigbed is, even different races do not live together.”
Heck, if there were even different races, that city would have disappeared long ago in a sea of fire.
After going on for a long time and reaching the entrance of Rigbed, the Planteras welcomed us.
They stood firm and guarded the entrance to the city.
It was strangely nice to see you again here from a long way away.
A large number of people passing through the streets glanced at our carriage several times.
Since it was an Eternian carriage that only special people, such as VIPs and professors, could ride, it was inevitable that it would draw attention.
There were a lot of kids around my age on the street, probably because of the entrance exam.
It’s the first time in my life that I’ve seen so many people of my age gathered together.
Silverin drew the curtains to block out all eyes on her surroundings.
“I’m going to get you a new sword here.”
Silverin handed me a leather pouch the size of a fist.
“receive.”
“… ?”
It was a heavy bag. When I opened it, it was full of gold coins.
“Why… .”
“With that, you choose yourself. I have to stop by the magic society for a while.”
“I don’t know anything about this place.”
I don’t know what shops are there, where to go, and I don’t even know the market price properly.
“This is different from the market floor where people eat their backs. And… .”
Silverin took out a ring from within her bosom and handed it to him. It was a ring engraved with the seal of Eternia.
“Show me this and tell me my name, and I’ll pick out the right one for you.”
Damian put the ring on his finger and said.
“… Where can I go?”
As if she knew where she was moving without even looking, she immediately pushed aside the curtain and pointed to a place.
“there.”
Silverin pointed out a shop located in the middle of a Y-shaped intersection.
“Filin’s forge?”
“Don’t go anywhere else, go over there.”
“All right.”
“Choose something that is hard and can be used for a long time. It just has a strange enchantment on it, and if you buy something like that, you’ll get scolded.”
It was as if he was admonishing a child choosing a toy.
“… Do not worry.”
Silverin knocked three times on the driver’s seat, and the carriage stopped.
“Get off here first.”
“Shouldn’t it be better to wear a mask from now on?”
“yes. It’s best to be as careful as possible, but Philin doesn’t have to be too vigilant. That grandpa is also a person with deep ties to Eternia.”
I put the mask Elizabeth had given me on my face and got off the carriage.
Silverin waved lightly and closed the carriage door.
Soon after, the wagon started moving again. In the chariot that was following me, Lilia also saw me and waved a small wave.
Seeing me, people murmur a little.
Maybe it’s because I got off the carriage in Eternia, but the eyes around me are stinging.
I tucked my gold bag deep into my chest and hurried to Filin’s forge.