Episode 191. The Helpers (2)
Siren announced to all the Dark Shadows gathered that the Emperor had approved Rubin’s proposal.
“Really? That quickly?”
Diven Khaldun’s eyes widened as he questioned the Emperor’s answer, which he had not expected to receive in about three hours.
Even if you use a telecommunications device, it would have to go through a considerable number of circuits.
“You used a magic stone. And it’s a magic stone that only the royal family can operate.”
The other lords immediately agreed with Shakes Pear’s words. At that level, communication with the palace would have been possible right away.
Even some of the Dark Shadows remembered that Siren was the head of the Assassin’s Blade family and the Emperor’s half-sister. It was information that only a select few were allowed to know, but there were some among the Dark Shadows who had access to it.
“The meeting is over now.”
“I hope there will never be another gathering like this. If all the Black Shadows meet Lord Roinen again, it will be a serious matter and not a good one.”
As the situation came to a close, the faces of the black spirits became more relaxed.
“… … .”
In fact, Siren did not reveal everything to the Dark Spirits. She kept two facts hidden.
One is that Rubin has already been given his first task by the Emperor.
Another is that if Rubin fails, all the suspended punishments will be carried out, without any choice being given.
Rubin seemed to know why.
‘Even if the Emperor’s tyranny is added, the Black Shadow cannot object. It was something everyone agreed on from the beginning.’
It’s not that he’s blocking the backlash from the black shadow, but rather he’s trying to reduce Rubin’s psychological burden a little.
From now on, the family’s fate can be shouldered entirely by Rubin. There is no need to start out with a sense of burden.
“You may all return to your homes. I need to speak with Rubin some more.”
The meeting was concluded for now, and there would be no farewell from the head of the family.
At those words, the Black Shadow Lords bowed to Siren one by one and left the Dark Hall. Since there was no longer any reason to stay here, most of them planned to leave the Roinen Mansion by the end of the day.
“My lord, I would like to stay a few more days. Is that okay?”
Except for one person.
‘Benick. What are you talking about?’
Rubin was suspicious of his motives when it was Benik Benar, of all people, who made the request.
He is the man who will later steal the treasures from the top three black shadows.
I still had no clear idea what kind of being he was, and I was reluctant to leave him at the Roinen mansion.
But Rubin couldn’t help it. It was Siren’s decision.
“Let’s do that.”
Siren didn’t care. She quietly watched Benik leave the twilight hall, and eased the guard of Rubin standing next to her.
“Don’t worry. Benic is trustworthy.”
“…All right.”
Does Mother know that the old head of the household might be the strongest among the Black Spirits? If he had reached the Eighth Star Realm, then perhaps it was possible.
Anyway, following his mother’s advice, Rubin didn’t bother with the matter any longer. He didn’t have to worry if Benik had any ill intentions.
This is the Roynen Mansion. Even though Rubin was an unbeatable opponent, there was Damon and Killian. And there was the one who had reached the highest level, Siren Roynen.
“Rubin, let’s talk about your task now.”
Everyone left, leaving only Rubin and Siren in the twilight hall. From now on, it was a story about tasks.
‘Investigating the traces of the auror that were discovered in the northern grasslands… … .’
Telmach called this aura the aura that ‘should have disappeared’.
It was easy to guess what that meant. It meant the remnants of a swordsmanship family that had fallen out of favor with Telmah. Despite the extermination of their entire family, their lineage continued to exist.
“Rubin.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Six months ago, a farmer in the northern plains found a dead beast in a strange state. If he had been lucky, he might have just passed it by. It was just a beast, not a monster, and the farmer would have just gotten the hide without any trouble. But the farmer was unlucky.”
It just so happened that imperial troops patrolling the nearby area discovered the corpse of a wild beast in a farmhouse.
A strange trace. The Imperial officer immediately recognized it as the trace of an aura. Although the sword’s trajectory was somewhat sloppy, it clearly showed traces of an aura.
‘The sword’s trajectory is messy?’
Now, are you telling me to chase after the remaining auras?
At that moment, Siren’s explanation continued.
“As you may know, the northern steppes are the homeland of the nomadic Tuhun tribe. Although they have become considerably smaller compared to the olden days.”
The Tuhun tribe has long been a people who have lived in various parts of the northern grasslands. However, as Siren said, after the unification of the continent, they were only allowed to live in some parts of the northern grasslands that Telmah had allowed. Compared to the time of the wars between the kingdoms, their number was only 10%.
The reason Telmach left the Tuhun tribe with such a small amount of land was because their usefulness was obvious.
Further north from the Northern Plains was the so-called ‘Polar Zone’, one of the monster flood zones.
Even though they had built a huge wall to keep the monsters out, the Empire was suspicious of something.
Telmach used the Thun tribe as a sort of breakwater. In case any monsters were to cross the barrier? The Thun tribe would act as a sort of beacon.
At this point, Rubin was able to guess Auror’s true identity to some extent.
“It wasn’t the aura of the Tooth Tribe.”
Siren nodded.
Since there are those among the Tohun tribe who possess the aura ring, there was an aura that was passed down.
But if the aura discovered in the northern grasslands was that of the Tuhun tribe, there would be no need to order a pursuit.
“Yes. The aura found on the beast’s corpse was different. It wasn’t something that could be found near the northern plains. And-”
The beast’s corpse was taken to Imperial Army headquarters, where it was examined for traces of Auror.
“Our investigation revealed that this is an aura that should not remain in the immediate area, nor in this world.”
As far as Rubin knows, there is only one.
“You were an auror from a famous swordsmanship family that had fallen into ruin.”
Siren was silent. It was a sign of affirmation. She rose from her chair for a moment and walked to the window.
Grrrrr.
In front of the window, her Roinecrow Roho sat proudly. Siren said, lightly touching Roho’s beak.
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“As you live your life, sometimes you can see the outline of your destiny.”
“… … .”
“It seems to me that you were given this mission to track down the Auror, a corner of fate.”
Siren wrapped her left arm around her right hand, as if she was suffering from the cold.
Suddenly, Rubin remembered that the body part covered by the siren had an old scar. It was the scar left over from the assassination of Haneke.
It was also because his sword blade dug into that place that Haneke’s soul was able to possess Rubin’s body now.
“Rubin.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“I know you have the aura of black lacquer, the aura of Brion.”
“I thought you would have heard from Damon.”
“Yes, you’re smarter than I thought. But you’ll have to be smarter from now on. Especially if you have a lot of secrets.”
Siren half-turned her head toward Rubin. Through the window, red sunlight illuminated her. Her red eyes flashed in response.
“There are many different auras of light in the world, but pitch black is rare.”
“… … .”
“You won the first round, but you chose a piece of Haneke’s sword. It was a piece of crap that no one could call a weapon. I always wondered why. But now I think I know.”
Ice.
As expected, Mother knew. As the head of the Assassin Sword Family, she had acquired a great deal of information and great secrets hidden in the world. And one of them was the concept of ‘possession’.
Siren realized who had given her youngest son the pitch-black aura.
“Haneke Brion. He opened the way of the sword to you.”
Then Siren quietly lowered her head.
Haneke realized what it meant before Rubin. Haneke, who had settled inside himself, also bowed his head.
It was a tribute to the Siren.
“I will not deny it. The great general within me also pays homage to you, my lord.”
“Yes. Even though it was an assassination by imperial order, at that moment I experienced the extreme of nothingness. Thanks to that, I was able to go to a higher place.”
I can feel Haneke’s satisfied smile.
But Rubin was curious.
What does the mission that Rubin is given have to do with Haneke Brion? Why on earth does the mother see her own destiny?
“Rubin, have you ever been to the Northern Plains?”
“…doesn’t exist.”
“Yes, I thought so. That auror we found on the beast’s corpse, it was Brion Auror.”
“yes?”
Rubin grabbed my heart in an instant. Siren guessed the reason. It means that Haneke was much more shocked than Rubin.
“…Does the General need time to calm down?”
Rubin frowned, but then shook his head.
“No, it’s fine. But, my lord, wasn’t the Haneke Brion family wiped out?”
Haneke’s grandson is definitely dead. His grandson Felchion, who was accused of being a traitor, not only had his head cut off, but his head became a toy for wild dogs. Didn’t you see this clearly in ‘Tower of Light and Rebellion’?
If Brion Auror had been discovered in the ‘Valley Prison’ in the western part of the continent rather than the northern plains, it would have been understandable.
Because it was Rubin’s. During the prison break, Rubin intentionally left behind an aura to hide his tracks.
‘Why was it discovered in the northern plains?’
Siren continued speaking.
“After the mission, I clearly saw the Brion family being erased from history. Not only Haneke’s grandson, but also his followers were completely purged.”
“… The Brion swordsmanship book must have burned as well.”
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe it was carried to the northern plains by someone.”
It was then that Haneke’s voice, calming the shock, rang out from within Rubin.
-You can manifest Brion Aura with just the swordsmanship book? That’s impossible.
Rubin told Siren that. Siren smiled briefly as she felt once again that Haneke was possessed within Rubin.
“Is that so? One, at the time of his removal, didn’t the general have different thoughts from His Majesty the Emperor? Regarding the policy toward the foreign races?”
They were an immigrant people, namely the Tuhun people.
At that time, the emperor wanted to narrow the territory of the Tuhun tribe, so he ordered Haneke to eradicate some of the Tuhun tribe.
When Haneke withheld the order, the Emperor’s mind completely changed. That was the real reason for summoning the Siren’s Sword.
“A general who was passive in suppressing the Tohun tribe. And coincidentally, Brion Auror was also discovered in the Tohun tribe’s territory.”
“… This is the perfect excuse to provoke His Majesty.”
“Yes. Rubin, what did Mr. Haneke say?”
“This is a matter that must be confirmed regardless of the task bestowed upon you by His Majesty the Emperor, that is what you are saying.”
“That’s why I said it was your destiny.”
-… … .
Haneke’s feelings about the discovery of Brion Auror in the northern plains were far from joyous. It was unexpected.
Haneke was a great general of the empire and the head of a renowned swordsmanship family. It was a clear dishonor for him to be wandering around Auror without any descendants.
Even though their reputation had faded to that of a rebel family, Brion’s name was being appropriated.
-Rubin! I want to confirm the truth right now. When are you leaving?
Perhaps guessing my impatience, the answer came from Siren.
“There will be a formal procedure for granting the title of queen at the Imperial Palace, so stay here for a few more days.”
I could feel Haneke letting out a sigh of regret.
“… Yes, I understand. Then, while I’m here, I’ll spread the ‘shadow field’ that Kuze created to the people.”
“Yes, Killian, Damon, and the Lang assassination squad are the priority. Then it will be easy to spread the news to the other vassals of the main house.”
Rubin’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm.
From the moment of its creation, the ‘Shadow Force Field’ has never been a magic spell for Rubin alone. Rubin always wanted this magic spell to be a weapon for his vassals.
But who would have thought that opportunity would come so soon? All of this was the result of Maphis’ death. It wasn’t all dark.
“If your Majesty is curious too… … .”
Rubin pushed the chair away and stood up. He opened his mouth cautiously. It was clear that not only the vassals, but also his mother had to be equipped with a magic spell.
If not now, then maybe next time.
but-
“Do you want to be my teacher?”
Sigh. Siren laughed.
“If you hadn’t shown me in front of the Croquison family earlier, I would have accepted your teachings too. But that’s no longer necessary.”
That is to say.
“Because I already learned it.”
Siren’s words were not empty boasts. Rubin could tell. It was only for a moment, but Siren had sensed exactly how Rubin’s dark energy worked.
“It was original and excellent. It was neatly organized without any unnecessary details. How did you recognize the genius of Kuze, who was branded a failure in the Croquis family? I got another curiosity-”
“… … .”
“It will be my job to solve this. As always.”
Grrrrr.
The low, deep cry of Loho. Siren opened the window and gave the boy freedom. And Rubin too.
“Go back and rest. You’ve had a lot going on today.”
“… I understand, my lord.
Rubin walked to the door. Before opening it, a thought crossed his mind. Rubin turned around again.
“My lord. Aside from the servants you just mentioned, there is one more person I would like to tell you about the Shadow Master.”
“Are you talking about Tina?”
Rubin shook his head. If it were Tina, there would have been many opportunities to teach her, even if it wasn’t now. The problem is that she herself finds learning boring.
“Then who is it?”
“This is Brother Dorian.”
Siren turned her head. It seemed as if Rubin was joking. That must be how unexpected it was. If you want to solidify your position as the next head of the family, you don’t need to teach Dorian the secret.
But why?
“If you’re thinking of insulting Dorian, then stop.”
“No. I really want to tell Brother Dorian.”
If he had been going to insult or mock Dorian, he would have done it a long time ago.
Now, Dorian was no longer a competitor to Rubin, nor was he someone to be subdued.
‘Dorian needs to get stronger too. He’s someone we have to fight together with anyway.’
Under Rubin’s control, it was a target that had to be raised.
