Episode 89. Festival Outing (1)
Operation ‘Bleaching Morning’ officially ended at 9 AM the next day. As the sun rose, the White City briefly turned orange.
The news that the rebels had been eliminated and martial law lifted resonated through the streets. The suppression force, whose voices had been amplified by magic, repeated the same announcement for an hour.
“Amret, who was the mayor of Philimond, planned a rebellion using the black zone and continued to oppress the citizens… … .”
“Accordingly, His Majesty the Emperor has urgently… … to remedy Philimond’s pitiful situation.”
“To celebrate the success of this ‘Bleaching Morning’ operation, by order of His Majesty the Emperor, a week of unparalleled festivals will be held in the city… … .”
Citizens came out onto the streets with faces filled with fear.
At first glance, it was no different from usual. The bloodshed was minimal, and it was quiet for a city that had been involved in a local war.
But everyone felt the changes that had taken place in their city overnight. It wasn’t just a change in leadership, like cutting out the rotten parts of a potato.
The atmosphere of the city itself has changed.
Groan, groan.
Rubin passed a group of people huddled together, talking about the ‘Bleaching Morning’. The rest of the Blue Cat crew were just beginning to fall asleep after staying up all night.
The place he went for a walk was the black zone.
‘It’s completely gone.’
It was literally empty.
Only the square surrounding the area was intact, but all the buildings and alleys had disappeared. It looked like a crater with a hollow center.
The precarious cityscape is gradually relaxing. People can be seen entering the empty spaces left behind by the disappearance of the black zone.
There are people giggling like tourists looking at a historic site, and there are also painters who open their easels and busily record the street scenes from afar.
The streets were filled with citizens singing. The lively music and cheers were endless.
Rubin returned to the Blue Cat. The ship was completely quiet, separate from the atmosphere of the streets. Rubin walked around and checked on the condition of each of the group.
‘Everyone is still sleeping.’
Soon, Rubin also closed his eyes quietly on the chair inside the ship. He was not trying to catch up on his long-awaited sleep. He was trying to visit his inner world.
I haven’t been able to look into my inner world for a while. I did communicate with Haneke after entering the black zone, but it was only to the extent of talking and asking for advice. It’s been about two weeks since the demon infiltrated through Chloe’s necklace, so it’s been quite a while.
Before my tightly closed eyes, my inner world unfolded.
‘Hmm, it’s changed a lot.’
A completely new landscape. Meanwhile, the training ground was perfectly built. It was large enough to train hundreds of soldiers at the same time.
-Rubin. What do you think?
‘Did you make it all yourself? You just asked me to provide the building materials.’
An inner world where anything can be created according to Rubin’s imagination. However, Haneke only requested building materials. It seems that he had built a training ground himself.
-It wasn’t difficult. It was just a type of training.
‘It’s too big for a type of training. Are you planning on training an army?’
– Of course I don’t know. This is the head of the General Corps that commanded the Imperial Army. He must have shown off his skills in life. I don’t need to sleep here, so this is easy.
‘There are traps too?’
-The demon won’t set foot here again, but just in case.
Haneke’s trap was exactly the same as the one he had set up on the outskirts of his camp when he was still alive, but it was so large that it would surely capture any demon no matter how big it was.
-It looks like things have ended well.
‘It wasn’t what I expected, but I got everything I needed from Philimond.’
-Are you leaving for Capotini right away?
‘No. I think I’ll have to stay for another week, according to my mother’s orders.’
– It’s the Emperor’s way to give a carrot after a whip. It looks like a fun festival is about to unfold. Siren will probably want to give you a little break.
‘Could that be true?’
I don’t know if it was Siren’s intention as Haneke said, but it’s true that I can now take a breather. After entering the black zone, only precarious situations continued.
A faint smile appeared on Rubin’s face.
‘They said that even the Hwanhyeol tribe can roam freely during the festival, so I think we should all go around the city together.’
-That sounds fun. Whatever the details, festivals are fun.
‘Well, before I do that… … .’
Rubin stood in front of the training ground with an interested look in his eyes. Before Haneke could say anything, he quickly ran inside.
There was no need to hear an explanation, because I already understood the principles of the training ground designed by the general.
It took about 20 minutes to go through the whole process.
When Rubin, who had gone through the training process several more times, stood in front of Haneke again, sweat dripping down his forehead.
Haneke, who was leisurely looking at the energetic Rubin, stroked his beard and asked.
-I heard it from you briefly last time, but can you tell me more?
‘… … ?’
-The real reason you’re going to Capotini.
The reason why Capotini was chosen as the annex. Haneke only knew roughly. Tina and Kuze did not even know that.
-I told you that we need to eliminate someone. Someone who needs to be killed before Telmah.
‘…Per Lorenzini.’
-Per Lorenzini?
‘He is the wizard I must eliminate. Per will be admitted as a student at Capotini School of Magic.’
-The Lorenzini family… …
After thinking about it carefully, it was a family that Haneke had never heard of. Although he was not familiar with the wizarding world, Haneke knew of one of the most famous wizarding families on the continent.
‘It’s not a famous family. It’ll be the same in 20 years or so.’
-Why do you want to get rid of him?
‘He was the leader of the war to suppress the Assassin Sword.’
-The wizard is the vanguard… … .
It was not a common occurrence. Even within the Imperial Army, the Magic Brigade had a strong support force. If a magician was in the vanguard, it meant only one thing. He had the ability to do so.
Rubin recalled the first time he saw Per. Per, the wizard with blue eyes and blue hair.
When I first saw him on the battlefield, I thought he had red hair. Later I found out that it was because he had been covered in the blood of the assassins he had killed.
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‘We didn’t have any information about him until just before the war started.’
-So you were a hidden talent.
‘It’s a monster that was about my age, but had already reached the 7th level.’
-Huh, 7 stars?
Rubin’s expression became more serious.
Per’s fear was not just in the overwhelming realm. If his abilities were that great, he would have gladly considered making him his comrade.
But Per Lorenzini was an exception.
‘Per Lorenzini seemed to exist only to eliminate the Assassins.’
-What does that mean?
‘It means that he was filled with hatred towards the Assassin Swordsman.’
The original Assassin Swordsmen were people who were far from the emotion of fear. This was not only due to the harsh training process, but also due to the dark smoke flowing through their bodies, whether it was original or artificial. This is because if there is dark smoke, fear instinctively diminishes.
But the madness displayed by Per Lorenzini was enough to make his vassals tremble with fear.
The vassals who stood against Per did not survive. His goal was not victory. His only goal was to kill as many assassins as possible, and do so as brutally as possible.
One of the scenes Rubin remembers.
The moment Per grabbed the outstretched hand, the four assassins in front of him suddenly burst into flames and died.
Rubin continued speaking softly.
‘All I know is that he graduated from the Capotini School of Magic. I don’t know the exact date of his enrollment. However, I expect he will enroll sometime within the next three years.’
-You want to get rid of that sprout before it grows.
‘If possible, I will also find out why you came to hate the Assassin Swordsman.’
Haneke nodded. Now he understood.
It was then that Haneke turned his head and looked towards the sky of his inner world. Rubin also knew the meaning of that gesture.
-It looks like someone has come to find the Blue Cat.
‘Everyone is sleeping, so I guess I should go out.’
Finally, Rubin emerged from his inner world and got up from his chair. When he went out onto the deck, he saw a woman loitering around the ship at the ferry.
It wasn’t just the woman. There was also a little child standing there holding on to the woman’s skirt.
“uh!”
The child who found Rubin cried out in surprise. A look of joy crossed the child’s face, but only for a moment. The child quickly became anxious, as if something had occurred to him.
But the child mustered up his courage and opened his mouth.
“Hello, Young Master.”
“… … .”
It was the little boy who helped Rubin escape the black zone. He didn’t even know his name because he didn’t open his mouth in the black zone, but I didn’t know he would come back like this.
Eventually, it was the child’s mother who broke the awkward silence.
“Nice to meet you, ‘Great Master.’”
“Are you a great master?”
“My child said that he was able to survive thanks to the great master, Kuze, and the kind-hearted drunkard grandfather.”
“Oh, I see.”
Rubin got off the boat and faced them.
After Kuze safely brought the child home, the child quickly recovered. The child’s parents searched for Philimond, looking for the benefactor who had saved their child’s life.
Since Rubin and his party knew that they had arrived on the Blue Cat, the process of finding them was not difficult. The Blue Cat had become famous in the city of Philimond as a ship used by imperial nobles.
When martial law ended, the mother took her child to meet her benefactors in person.
“Your Majesty, may we invite you to our home? The festival is about to begin. How about enjoying the festival at our home?”
The woman asked politely. Rubin hesitated for a moment, and the woman intervened.
“I heard there are more people in the group, but you can all come. I hope you will accept the invitation, Your Highness. If it weren’t for the three of you, the child might have been erased from this world along with the Black Zone.”
“Ma’am, there are two people in our group who are hemorrhagic. So… … .”
“It’s okay! His Majesty the Emperor has a great deal of generosity, so he says that even the giants can freely roam the city during the festival period.”
“Then, could you please wait a moment? Please give your opinion to the group… … .”
It was then that a pleasant voice was heard from behind.
“I agree.”
“Hey, Mr. Kuze!”
“… … .”
“Hahaha, how have you been?”
Kuze, who had appeared on the deck, left only a nod of agreement and disappeared back inside. The next person to appear was Ako.
“I agree. Oh, is this our first meeting? My name is A-Keu-Keu. I am a member of the Big Blood Tribe and a sailor on this Blue Cat.”
“Wow, a giant!”
“… … .”
There was something uneasy about the sight. Rubin shook his head and crossed his arms.
After greeting him politely, Kuze quickly disappeared from sight. What appeared next was, as expected, Warak.
“I agree, Master Rubin!”
“Warak, my name is Luden.”
“Oh, I was mistaken! Master Luden!”
It’s obvious who Kuze, Ako, and Warak, who said they agreed, were in reality. The real three are probably still asleep. Tina, who happened to overhear Rubin’s conversation, quickly took advantage of this opportunity.
It didn’t end there. There was another passenger who showed his approval. The black cat’s eyes sparkled and its tail waggled.
“Meow meow meow.”
