EP.130 What a business trip, what a nightmare (4)
There is a certain cycle.
Every cycle, human history enters a dark period.
As if someone had made a promise, that time will definitely come. Even the warriors who survived for a long time face death one after another when that time comes. There are some who survive, but they become ruined.
This is what mankind called that period.
“The era when the lights went out.”
There is no flame burning brightly.
The lights go out and darkness comes. Humanity will face darkness until a new spark arises.
Cold and scary darkness.
The most recent dark period was about 20 years ago. There are people who remember that time. He closes his eyes and thinks back to that time.
There is a warrior called indomitable.
There was a warrior called immortal.
They were brilliantly shining people.
No one imagined their deaths. And, as always, despair comes from outside the imagination.
‘Everyone is dead.’
Indomitable knelt before the apostate.
Immortality was slain by the sword of death. The walls that protected humanity collapsed one after another. Thus came a period of confusion.
Numerous territories were buried in darkness.
Several countries were destroyed.
Countless villages large and small were burned down.
It was a long time later that the flame that would brighten the era appeared in the village that had been reduced to ashes. In an era when the lights went out, humanity had to face darkness without a lamp to light the way ahead.
The era of war.
An era of confusion.
Age of darkness.
Such times create heroes. There were many people who became superhuman during that time. There were a lot. This man, who reminisces about a time when the lights went out, is one of them.
“······.”
The man opened his closed eyes.
The man looks at the blade in his hand. The bloody smell of the blade seems to be looking at one’s own life.
Sword Demon, Draka.
A superman in an era when the lights went out.
The lord of Beliata who turned to ashes overnight.
“It’s noisy outside.”
he muttered.
There is no pitch, so a cool tone lingers around the room. One of the swordsmen following Draka opened his mouth.
“It looks like a new guest has arrived at the White Night Castle. They said they were holding a banquet. Do you want to go?”
“I don’t like loud things. “I don’t think I can enjoy it if I put it in a place like that.”
“Then I will tell the Archduke that.”
Squeaking, the door opened and the subordinate came out of the room.
In the silent room, Draka raised his blade at an angle. What shines on the blade is your own eyes. What you see in the eyes is an unquenchable fire.
···The era when the lights were turned off is over.
New warriors have appeared. There is a warrior who shines brighter than ever. The warrior defeated the disaster. He decapitated the black dragon, defeated the apostate, and defeated the ancient lich again and again.
A new fire is burning.
A brilliant flame lights up the darkness.
Forgetting the darkness, people live in the light.
However, not everyone is like that. Ghosts who have endured times when the lights were turned off never forget the darkness.
Sreung.
Draka lowers his blade.
“It won’t be long.”
Only cold murmurs lingered in the room.
Draka closed his eyes, leaning against the crackling sound of the fireplace.
2.
As is always the case with banquets, the White Night Castle’s banquet was not much different. Prepare a dinner party and unwind in a moderately noisy atmosphere.
‘First of all, that’s true…’
I took a quick look around.
The general framework of the banquet did not deviate. It didn’t go out of style… In other words, it was a banquet that only kept the basic style. Something, something was a little different.
“Oooooh!”
The warriors’ shouts ring out.
In the middle of the banquet hall, they rush at the meat that is spinning around on a skewer and suddenly swing their knives. Start tearing off the meat like you would sashimi.
“Take it!”
“I will knit, you take it!”
Meat is piled up on a large plate.
The meat comes in all shapes and sizes, but is cut into bite-size pieces. The warriors themselves carried it to the table.
“Thank you.”
Even the nobles dressed in formal attire just smiled as if they were used to it. There is no sign of panic. It seemed like I was the only one who was confused.
“Hey, Lark.”
“yes? professor?”
Lark, who was eating meat next to me, tilted his head. He seemed like there was nothing strange about it.
“Is it always like that?”
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“Yes, that’s the way it is.”
When asked the question for the unknown number of times since coming to the North, Lark gave the same answer for the unknown number of times. I touched my temple and sighed.
‘What kind of place is the North?’
It was a scene that was difficult for me, who has extremely common sense values, to understand.
“Uhm…”
Anyway, it is a very avant-garde scenery. I said woo! I looked away from the screaming warriors. If I pay attention to things like that, I will only lose myself.
‘The meat looks delicious. ‘I should eat meat.’
I was just about to pick up my fork while thinking about that.
“Lady Rania!”
“f*ck, I’m surprised.”
A curse came out reflexively.
Fortunately, my words seemed to be drowned out by the shouts. I lowered my hand over my mouth and saw the warriors calling my name.
“What is it?”
I blinked blankly.
The approaching warriors hold plates in their hands. There is a mountain of meat on the plate. I feel like I did a good job building it to that height.
“What do you mean?”
The warrior smiled, revealing his pure white teeth.
It was a flawless and clear smile.
“The person who will be the star of the banquet needs to eat so well to use it!”
thud! When I put down the plate, the table shook.
I looked back and forth between the mountain of meat and the warriors.
“uh···.”
“Please eat. “We only cut the most delicious parts.”
The most delicious?
Didn’t they just sashimi a whole pig?
“It is our sincerity.”
“Everyone cuts the meat with one mind and one heart, so eat until your stomach explodes!”
The warriors look at me.
He gave me a look as if telling me to pick up the fork quickly.
“It’s a northern tradition.”
The butler standing next to me whispered in my ear.
“Warriors often serve meat to guests who have passed the test of the White Night Castle. Through that amount, you can see how much recognition he received from the warriors.”
The butler nodded and smiled.
“This may be your first time being served this amount of meat. You can be proud.”
“Ah, yes…”
I picked up the fork and chopped the meat.
The warriors looked at me intently, as if they were waiting for me to put it in my mouth. It was a very, very burdensome gaze.
“Oooooh!”
As soon as I chewed the meat, the warriors cheered again. I felt like covering my ears.
‘It’s noisy, Sipal.’
I pushed the meat back and forth, recalling the extremely clichéd expression that you don’t know whether food goes into your nose or mouth.
“How does it taste?”
“It’s delicious.”
“Customers say it tastes good! “Meat, let’s bring more meat!”
“oh···.”
I’m going to be amazed, really.
“No, wait a minute, let’s start with everything…”
Just as they were trying to stop the running warriors.
The warriors suddenly stopped in place. Then he took a step to the side. Among the warriors paving the way, someone approached me.
“Hello, Miss Rania?”
She was a woman full of dignity.
She greeted me with a slight smile. Her squinted eyes were red. Red, similar to Lark’s eyes.
“Lark, you worked hard to come all the way.”
“Thanks to Sebas, I came here comfortably, mother.”
The person whom Lark calls mother.
And, the woman sitting next to the Northern Grand Duke.
“This is Palia, the mistress of the North.”
The butler whispered in my ear.
I stood up from my seat and adjusted my posture. Because he was someone who deserved respect.
“He said he wanted to talk for a moment.”
She looked at me and winked.
At the end of the gaze sat the owner of the White Night Castle.
‘Eryahl van Grace.’
The Grand Duke of the North was calling me.
3.
Erijl van Grace.
The guardian deity of the snowy mountains, he wears fur ripped from a white bear around his shoulders… and his exposed forearms are full of small scars. His palms are callused, as if he has been wielding weapons for many years.
‘The Grand Duke, rather than a ruler… is a statue of a warrior.’
Everyone who has seen Eryahl thinks so.
Eryahl also had no intention of denying that fact. Because that was the truth.
‘He swung his sword without hesitation.’
He swung the great sword, which was made from a northern ore called Bulgoe (不壞), until it crumbled. It was necessary to sort out the chaotic North.
Because it’s that kind of thing.
Since he was a person who had trained his physical senses to the limit, which had been passed down through generations of the Grace family, there was something he could recognize.
“······.”
Eryahl looked at the girl standing across from him.
He is the ‘guest’ that Lark asked about, and the person evaluated as the strongest in Aplia. Erijl inadvertently bursts into laughter as he looks at the girl.
‘It’s a monster.’
If you look closely, you can see the level.
Some people seem to express monsters in language such as ‘superhuman’… but Eryahl’s eyes more intuitively grasp the scale of strength.
Bloody beast.
A person who arrived in a distant place.
A warrior who reached the heights by cutting himself down.
I heard he was a wizard, but the aura he wore was that of a seasoned warrior. There is no way that kind of atmosphere could be created by shooting magic from afar.
Eryahl rested his chin and asked a question.
“Are you really a professor?”
“yes?”
The girl tilted her head in response to Eryahl’s question.
“It’s not an atmosphere worthy of a professor. “I guess he would have covered a lot more ground, wouldn’t you say?”
“I did travel a bit.”
“Travel, travel…”
Erijl chuckled and laughed.
“If that’s you, then that’s probably it.”
He gestured.
“Sit down.”
Only after the girl had sat down, and had everyone, including Lark and Palia, sat down, Eryahl opened his mouth.
“I heard you are teaching my son.”
He tapped and touched the head of Lark, who was sitting next to him, with the back of his hand.
“Looking at my son’s condition, it seems like he gained some insight in the royal capital. Considering that he has reached quite a level in just half a year… it seems that my thoughts in sending him to the capital were not wrong. “It’s a satisfying result.”
Eryahl narrowed his eyes.
I looked at the girl sitting across from me.
“Did you say Rania van Trias?”
“yes.”
“If it’s the Trias family… it’s the family that raised the gray wizard. “You must have had a good teacher.”
“Yes, he is a great man.”
Rania smiled faintly.
Eryahl closed his eyes for a moment and opened them.
“The reason I called you here was to express my pure gratitude, but there is something else that is important.”
He tapped and touched the table.
“To make one request and one request. “What will you listen to first?”
“I think the latter would be better.”
“It would definitely be better to explain that first. “Simply put.”
Eryahl said with an expressionless expression.
“Roll it.”
“···yes?”
“I’m talking about my son, so don’t even blink. There’s no need to pay attention to what’s around you. I, Erijl, the Grand Duke of the North, speak. Let him roll as much as he can roll.”
Rania blinked as if she didn’t understand.
Erijl said that there was nothing strange about it.
“Why would I send my son, who has a warrior temperament, to Aplia? This guy has a talent for magic. However, the brain to utilize the talent is hard. You’re just playing around with a good tool called magic. “He can’t use it.”
“···Of course, that’s true.”
Even as Rania, there were parts that made sense.
As she nodded, Eryahl added as if asserting:
“You can teach by beating, so beat up the knowledge. “If you teach it in a way that is ingrained into its body, like teaching an animal, it will learn quickly.”
“···father?”
“I am only telling the truth.”
And isn’t that the fastest way?
Lark groaned at the sight of his father asking that question. Paylea, who was sitting next to her, just smiled bitterly.
“hmm···.”
Rania stroked her chin and tilted her head.
She slightly tilted her head and opened her mouth.
“You’re already doing it without me telling you.”
“He’s a professor who knows something.”
“I’ve never thought about teaching while beating, but wouldn’t that be a bit much?”
“at all.”
Eryahl shook his head.
“There are human education methods for humans, and animal education methods for animals. The latter works better for my son. “Choose an efficient direction, Professor.”
“oh···.”
Rania exclaims in admiration.
Lark’s complexion turned pale. Lark recalls the past. What came to mind was the memory of being beaten to death during his practical exam.
‘That, every day?’
Lark’s eyes trembled.
Either way, Erijl continued speaking.
“Actually, for me, it feels very good to have a wizard from the Trias family teaching my son.”
“yes?”
“I don’t want Lark to only walk the path of a warrior. I know because I walked, and I know because my ancestors walked. “There are clear limits to this path.”
But, Erijl said.
“There is not just one road.”
“······.”
“Ashen wizard, Raniel. I met him once on the battlefield. “When I saw that wizard, I thought I should raise my son like that.”
There is not only one way. In Eryahl’s opinion, there was a more suitable path for Lark.
“A warrior who has reached the level of skill is even capable of using magic. It’s like giving a warrior one more weapon. That was the direction I wanted… but the wizard who gave it to Lark as a child seemed to have looked in a different direction.”
That’s the moment we talked about.
Erijl made a strange expression for a moment. He felt like he had forgotten something.
‘The wizard you gave me as a child?’
I felt like I was missing something, but it didn’t seem particularly important. Erijl continued speaking.
“So, learning magic directly from a wizard of the Trias family…”
That’s the moment
Rattling!
The door to the banquet room opened wide.
“······.”
Whoosh, the wind blew into the banquet room.
There was silence in the banquet room for a moment.
“Huh, huh…!”
There is a woman who opens the door to the banquet room.
She lowers her head and takes a deep breath. Her fingers trembled as she held the doorknob. Finally, she lifted her head.
“···When the annual meeting begins…!”
White Magelord, Selly Debella.
Although he maintains the appearance of a person in his 20s, his physical abilities are not the same. As she ran up the snowy mountain, she continued speaking while breathing heavily.
“You have to call me, I’m not going to do it…!”
This is a very obvious point.
“ah.”
Looking at her, Erijl made a sound like “Ah.”
‘Come to think of it, I forgot.’
It’s because I don’t remember small things.
When I thought about it, it didn’t seem like a big problem.
A word from the author (author review)
Rania considers herself to be ‘a person with extremely common sense.’ To her surprise, she really thinks she does.
