EP.202 Land of Ashes (2)
There was no major difficulty in applying for a month-long vacation.
On the day I stopped by the president’s office to submit documents related to my vacation, Dean Aaron only nodded. Without any further questions, he told me this.
“Thank you for your hard work. I heard the story from the Royal Guards. “It was a great help in protecting students.”
A soft voice, a kind smile.
“I heard you were seriously injured. Please rest comfortably for a month. Just like the last traitor incident, I am indebted to you this time as well.”
This was a passage that helped me understand why so many professors respect him and why the teacher said Dean Aaron was a ‘good person.’
In any case, the vacation documents were approved normally.
All that was left was to find someone to fill my month-long absence, which wasn’t that difficult. Because there was already a wizard in Aplia who had reached the level of a superhuman.
“You mean substitute for class? The subject you were in charge of was… ah, mana trading.”
Kelhalm, a wizard who has reached the level of superhumanity.
“I know very well. I have planned several lectures on mana trading and balance. “It’s been a little over a hundred years, but I still remember it.”
Although better known as the Madman, Kelhalm was originally an educator who ran the largest academic city in history called Artia.
‘Honestly, I think he teaches better than me in ‘certain’ areas…’
My experience as an educator is different.
Not only my teacher, but even Dean Aaron is a person with a career worth putting aside. His qualities as an educator were beyond doubt.
“···Special lecture to Lesti Eleanor?”
Additionally, I also delegated a special lecture to him.
In Chloe’s case, there was nothing we could do because Kelhalm showed rejection, but Resti seemed to be okay with it.
‘···More than anything.’
Resty’s talent and class.
Kelhalm, who has already taught it once, would be better suited than me to teach it.
“Let’s try.”
Kelhalm answered like that. With this, he had finished all the work he had to do before his one month vacation.
Early morning on the day of the appointment.
Outside the walls I was waiting for Cardi.
“Huh!”
I stretched and leaned against the tree. Since the appointed time was approaching, the old elf would soon appear.
Tick.
As I was passing time by glancing at my pocket watch, the sound of footsteps rang in my ears. Light footsteps. I just turned my head slightly and looked back.
“Were you here?”
On time for appointment.
I let out a short sigh as I looked at Cardi, who arrived at the promised time, not even a minute early or late.
“If I come a little early, what happens?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been out, so it took a while because there was a lot to prepare. “But wasn’t it okay because I kept the time?”
Cardi adjusted her clothes.
He grabbed the collar of the robe and pulled it forward a couple of times, causing the robe to flutter loudly. I couldn’t take my eyes off the fluttering robe.
A robe based on white and embroidered with platinum-colored thread resembling starlight. The embroidery, which seemed to resemble a constellation, truly reached the realm of art.
‘A robe that is like a symbol of the first Mage Tower.’
It was a robe that I really wanted.
“······.”
I looked down at my robes in silence.
This robe has a clean design and practicality. It was less powerful than the robe he wore during his time as a gray wizard, but it was not something that could be compared to a decent robe.
But, why? Today, I feel like my robe looks particularly shabby.
“Tsk…”
I glanced at Cardi’s robe and quenched my appetite.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, what…”
“Speak up. “Say.”
After a moment of contemplation, but not a long one, I slowly opened my mouth.
“···hey. “Can I try it on just once?”
I’ll wear it once and return it to you. really.
2.
“I would like to entrust the investigation of the ruins to you.”
Knight Commander, Heinkel’s barracks.
In a place littered with all kinds of tactical books and maps showing the battle situation, two people are sitting facing each other. On one side is the owner of this barracks, Commander Heinkel. The other side is a hero called the hope of humanity.
“Are you talking about investigating the ruins?”
Champion, Kyle Torben.
He placed the holy sword’s sheath on the floor and asked again. Heinkel nodded his head at that question.
“You probably know that a sword spirit recently joined the battlefield. “And that too with a dependency contract.”
“···I know.”
Kyle had also encountered a sword demon on the battlefield not long ago. The sight of him randomly swiping away at the magical beast with his wide-eyed pupils… was truly close to that of a ghost.
‘It looked ruined.’
I didn’t hear the details.
I only heard that he was suppressed by a gray wizard while trying to cause some kind of incident in the north.
‘Is it that guy again?’
Kyle let out a short sigh at the actions of his former colleague, who was invisible but constantly showed his presence.
“So, is there any problem with the Sword Demon?”
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“I heard a few stories from him. To be precise, it is the inside story of the incident he was trying to cause in the North.”
Heinkel muttered and placed something on the map where the chess pieces were lined up. It was someone’s bone.
“···This?”
“They say it’s the finger of the first saint.”
Kyle narrowed his eyes.
“…If you are the first saint.”
“He is a special person who is only written about in the forbidden books of the Holy Church of Delohim. Until now, it was thought to be a fictional character that was only told in legend… but the Sword Demon revealed the real person like this. “I was trying to use the miracle of ‘resuscitation’ with this.”
Heinkel let out a long sigh.
“I didn’t hear the details, but it seems that the revival involved the sacrifice of many people. It was clearly an act that crossed the line. So, it appears that Raniel was also subdued using drastic measures.”
“···Is that so.”
“So, you might be wondering why I’m showing this to you and what it has to do with the investigation of the ruins.”
Heinkel touched the table.
“This bone joint was found in the land of ashes.”
A land of ashes.
I’ve heard that name before.
“Are you talking about a place full of pollution?”
“okay. They say it was discovered in ruins related to the Delohim Church located on the outskirts of the area, where the contamination was just beginning.”
“…I guess that’s a place you can’t set foot in?”
“It seems like some kind of shortcut was used. Anyway, I’d like to leave it to you to investigate the place.”
A land of ashes, a polluted area.
The words of entrusting him with going inside and investigating the ruins did not sound pleasant to Kyle’s ears. Kyle clasped his hands under the table.
“···Is this something I should do?”
“It’s something only you can do. “If you are absent, it will have a big impact on the front line, so I don’t want to leave it to you, but all the other warriors have failed.”
Galahaldo of the Holy Spear.
Heinkel said that both of them failed, including D’Estel. Kyle asks why they should try despite their failures.
“What do you get?”
“The Holy Grail that allows those who are close to superhumanity to reach the realm of superhumanity without losing anything.”
“···Holy Grail?”
Kyle blinked.
It is a sentence that runs counter to the definition of a superman spread throughout the world. Kyle pointed out that point.
“Didn’t you have to lose something to become a superman?”
“That’s usually the case. But not in the Holy Land of the Sword. According to the records there, those who came close to becoming superhumans went through some kind of ‘trial.’”
And, when he finished the secret trials… he became a superhuman without losing anything.
“I was able to find the answer by comparing what the Sword Demon had investigated and the materials on the banned books that had been forcibly recovered by pushing the Holy Church.”
Heinkel opened his mouth.
“Three glasses containing three lights. “It is a holy grail and holy grail made to represent the blessings of a saint.”
That is what the Sword Demon was originally looking for.
The Sword Demon, who had gone through countless records and relics with a single obsession, succeeded in specifying the location where the Holy Grail was predicted to be located.
However, the Sword Demon could not obtain the Holy Grail.
“One is to Galatric, the holy land of swords.”
Of course you can’t get it.
The sacred place of the sword became the domain of Ganicalt, the sword of death.
“The two are in the black field, the center of the demon world.”
You can’t get that either.
Because the King of Ten Thousand Demons, who devours everything that comes his way, was located there.
“The last one is said to be in the basement of the First Church in the Land of Ashes.”
There is more possibility than the above two.
However, Draka could not reach that place either.
Because the road was blocked by a door that only those with starlight could open.
“But it is possible for you.”
Heinkel pointed at Kyle.
“Of all the warriors, I think it will be possible if you have the strongest starlight.”
He handed Kyle the bone fragment of the first saint.
“If you possess this, and if you receive the help of the saint who is with you, you will be able to cross the polluted land. Please, Kyle.”
Heinkel’s eyes look straight at Kyle.
“The absence of the Gray Wizard, and your defeat as a result. The situation on the front line is getting worse day by day. “We need new superhumans just to maintain the status quo.”
It takes a superman to change the battlefield.
Now that the gray wizard who surpassed even superhumans had left, the battlefield was longing for a new superhuman.
“I would like to ask you to retrieve the Holy Grail.”
Heinkel bows his head.
Seeing that, Kyle can’t bring himself to say no. She was aware that the repercussions of her defeat would be enormous in the retreat of the current front line.
“···All right.”
Reluctantly, Kyle accepted the offer.
3.
“So, why are you going to the land of ashes?”
When Raniel suddenly asked a question, Cardi answered while resting her chin.
“Didn’t you say that the hound lost its eye?”
“Khalt?”
“okay. And aren’t you looking for a way to restore his eyes?”
“That’s right… no. “If I had to, I was planning on grabbing that crazy bitch by the hair and dragging her away.”
The way he speaks is as if he is handling an object.
While thinking about what kind of person the saint of this era is…, Cardi continued speaking.
“In my homeland, the land of ashes, ‘various means’ exist. If you use that, you might be able to restore your eyes. Going further, it might be possible to turn you into a superhuman.”
“···Making you a superhuman?”
“There were a lot of special items in my home country.”
A wry smile appeared on Cardi’s lips.
Cardi did not mention the fact that he and Gleria worked together to create the placenta.
“That’s some good news. “Already, that Kalt guy seemed a little sad to see her wearing an eyepatch.”
Raniel didn’t ask any more questions.
She just smiled softly, as if she had taken a breather. Cardi let out her sigh at that sight.
“···I don’t think you’re in a state to worry about others.”
“Well, it’s not just a day or two.”
It was always like that.
Raniel’s body, as seen through Cardi’s eyes, was already in a state of complete disrepair. Aside from lifespan, the cracks that had spread through his soul were eating away at his body, accelerating the shortening of his lifespan.
‘···It’s gotten worse since the last incident.’
Cardi mentally calculates how long Raniel will live if the acceleration continues like this. From the elf’s perspective, it was just a moment. And, even from a human perspective, it wasn’t that long of a time.
“Raniel.”
Cardi said the girl’s name in a calm voice.
“You know that your lifespan is being eaten away, right? “The wear and tear of the soul is accelerating.”
“···I know.”
“This trip is about solving that problem. Even if the lost lifespan cannot be restored, there will be a means to stop the accelerated wear and tear.”
“···I heard you’re going to look for something to fix Kalt’s eye?”
Cardi shook her head.
“That’s what I’m looking for at the same time. The purpose is to stop the acceleration of your lifespan… and to qualify you.”
“Qualification?”
“You have the right to overhear the truth. “If I reach the heart of my homeland and you ‘understand’ something, then I can tell you the truth.”
While saying that, Cardi looks at Raniel.
Her actions, breaking the silence of hundreds of years with a human life that is only a moment, are always surprising to see.
‘I came closer to the truth in less than half a century of life.’
Moreover, through this incident, the amount of information she could access increased even more. It is a step forward towards her hidden truth.
‘I recognized the name Arcadia.’
That means the time has come.
Three contracts made with the stars. Cardi senses that the second contract is coming.
“After listening, there is only one left.”
“That’s the way it is.”
After walking side by side like that, Cardi opened her eyes and glanced at Raniel.
“By the way, Raniel.”
“huh? why?”
“How long are you going to wear that robe?”
They say they will only wear it for a short time and they are not returning it.
Raniel briefly shook his shoulders in response to Cardi’s question. Eventually, she slightly turned her gaze and muttered in her low voice.
“…just until we arrive.”
“Give it to me.”
A word from the author (author review)
#No hero appears
This is an episode where a hero reappears after a long time because it seems like it will end up like this.
Originally, we were going to make it appear in the next episode, but since there were a lot of people who were curious, we brought it up a little bit 😀
