Episode 94
The moment I broke my promise to the King, my aura would go out of control.
It wasn’t that there was no way to break it. Fortunately, I knew the method in theory. However, I didn’t have the ability to put it into practice. I wasn’t a magician.
‘There is no need to worry. Even if it is impossible right now, there are many ways to gradually break it. If you thought you could bind me with this magic, you were mistaken, King Zenon.’
“I will choose the painful way.”
“I will serve Zeno.”
* * *
“Sealing failed.”
A somber voice echoed through the hall. The figure of the voice speaker was not revealed, but Pope Harjan nodded after hearing the words. He did not waver at all, as if he had become one with the constellation made of pure white marble.
The lower body of the Pope, who had been as stiff as a stone statue, slowly moved. Before long, a gentle smile appeared on his eyes and lips.
“Don’t be disappointed. It was all expected. Has the oracle been fulfilled?”
Pope Harjan received an oracle. It was rare, but it happened whenever the world was in turmoil.
In Haryanism, the oracle was above all other doctrines. It had to be accomplished even if it meant destroying all priests and popes. Even if it meant throwing the world into chaos.
“We are lacking in foreign races, so we are capturing mixed-bloods. We have not yet reached the required number, so we have contacted slave traders, but I heard that there is a noble who has been buying slaves in large quantities recently.”
“Who is he?”
“I am the Viscount of Hebron.”
Pope Haryan’s eyebrows twitched.
“I know that young man. He is not a young man who cannot communicate, so I will send him a letter myself and try to persuade him. How many are missing?”
“It’s 500.”
“Are you saying that you filled 1,500 souls?”
“I was just following the trust.”
“You did your best. It’s your fault, Seamus.”
Seamus was a renowned holy knight. Since he was appointed Inquisitor ten years ago, hundreds of people have died at his hands.
“May it be filled with sacrifice and love.”
“May it be filled with sacrifice and love.”
The two people’s thin murmurs floated through the hall and then disappeared into thin air.
* * *
The moment I read the letter from Pope Haryan, I felt a burning sensation. I threw it at Amy and threw it at her in frustration.
“What is this crazy guy talking about?”
Amy said after reading the letter.
“40 gold per person? As expected, the Haryan Order has a lot of money. How many nobles can afford to pay 20,000 gold in cash?”
Hebron had 640 slave soldiers. Somehow Pope Harjan found out about this and asked for 500 slave soldiers. It was more like an order than a request.
“Amy, I love what’s mine. I love it so much.”
I had barely finished basic training. Those who had no talent and were useless had already been sorted out and assigned to other tasks. Asking me to send out 500 regular troops who could be deployed immediately was nothing short of crazy.
Even if I received 20,000 gold, it wasn’t enough to save 500 slaves. Thinking about saving slaves with difficulty and training them made my eyes darken.
“I know. But if Pope Haryan himself asked you to do it, there could be huge repercussions if you refuse.”
Pope Harjan was a man of equal power to the Duke of Breiot. Considering his religious fanaticism, he was a more difficult man to deal with than the Duke of Breiot.
There was one person who could give me strength in this situation. Amy looked at me as if she was thinking of him.
“… …Can I ask you a favor?”
“No. I brought you to Hebron to protect you and to help you live a quiet life, so I can’t come here and ask you to fight the Pope now.”
If I had asked Raphael, he might have intervened, but I felt I had not yet repaid my debt to him.
“20,000 gold isn’t a bad deal. How about choosing less-trained slaves and offering them to the Pope? If that’s difficult, you could also rent them instead of selling them for 20 gold.”
“Do you want to rent it?”
“In my judgment, the Pope wants slaves. People who won’t have any trouble. I don’t think the Haryan Order has the facilities to employ 500 slaves. The large temples are overflowing with believers who volunteer for free. Also, the request to move the slaves quickly is concerning. It seems like something urgent is going on over there. Have you heard anything from your lord when you were in the palace?”
There was. I met the Pope and had a subtle conversation with him. It was difficult to judge this incident based on that alone. Amy’s words, “I want someone who doesn’t have any troubles,” were like a thorn in my throat.
“I’ll have to ask Gaius.”
“Even though Gaius is the fourth prince, he will not be able to disobey the Pope’s orders.”
“This is not the Gaius of old. His Majesty loves His Highness Gaius very much.”
“I see? Then will there be changes in the succession structure?”
Amy looked at me with an expectant expression.
“That’s not the case. Gaius is not a man who covets the throne. He is just a simple man who longs for a handful of warmth. No, judging from his usual attire, I would say he is far from simple. After all, that is an expression of ‘Please look at me!’”
The person I wanted to ask for help from was not Gaius, but the king. Since I often visited him to treat his illnesses, I thought he would be able to help me with something like this.
Gaius readily accepted my request. He used his teleportation bracelet to go in and out of the castle. This also exposed him to a large amount of mana and was quite physically taxing. Some archmages even limited teleportation magic to once or twice a month.
Gaius, who had just returned from the palace, said in a tone of incomprehension.
“… … He has given permission. But it is foolish to ask His Majesty for something like this.”
“I am very protective of what is mine.”
“Even so, it’s only 500 slaves.”
While Gaius was at the palace, I made up some hypotheses. I considered the possibility that I might clash with Pope Harjan, and I created an alibi that would allow me to refuse his request. It had to be based on truth, and it had to make a good impression on Gaius, because his ears were connected to the royal court.
‘Gaius seemed to be passing on even the most trivial things to the King. If I use him, I might be able to gain the King’s favor.’
“I taught the Sardian swordsmanship to the slave soldiers.”
“… … What did you say?”
It was only natural that Gaius’ expression turned fierce. The remnants of Sardia, the rebels, could not be left behind.
“When we attacked Sardia’s hideout, we found their swordsmanship book. Although we discarded it, we memorized the book and taught it to our slave soldiers. We decided that it was the only way to insult the ungrateful Sardia family and leave their useful swordsmanship in the Zenon Kingdom. I apologize for not telling you in advance.”
The fact that Sardian swordsmanship was taught to slave soldiers rather than regular soldiers moved Gaius’ heart. No one would have thought of teaching the Duke’s swordsmanship to mere slaves.
“You didn’t teach me the Ora Yeong-gong method, did you?”
“I taught the Sardia swordsmanship and training method with some modifications. I didn’t teach everything, just the basics.”
“Huh! So that’s why you couldn’t send those slaves to Pope Haryan!”
Gaius nodded, as if he finally understood.
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“It was to prepare for times of turmoil. If Your Majesty so desires, I will present the slave army to Your Majesty. But I cannot send them to the Pope.”
Gaius nodded vigorously. Sending slave soldiers trained in the art of rising swordsmanship to the Haryan cult could weaken the royal authority.
“Did Pope Haryan find out about this? Is that why he requested slave soldiers from Hebron?”
“That doesn’t seem to be the case. From what I’ve found out, Pope Haryan is buying slaves. I’ve heard he’s also dealing with the Serpense.”
Gaius’s eyebrows twitched. Even he seemed unaware of Pope Haryan’s intentions. The Pope was working somewhere Zeno couldn’t see. Something very secretive and dark seemed to be happening.
“I will tell Your Majesty when I have the chance. But this is not the way things should be done in the future.”
“I will consult with Your Majesty in the future. And I have taught the soldiers of Hebron the Monolith Spear technique.”
Gaius blinked.
After a while, Gaius seemed to come to his senses and opened his eyes and asked.
“It’s not the Aura method, is it?”
“There are some who have awakened, but this is not the Monolith Marquis’s training method, and this is also at a basic level.”
“What on earth are you doing?”
It was problematic to teach not only the Marquis’s spearmanship but also the martial arts to a mere soldier who was not a knight. The Kingdom of Zenon favored knights. It was also Zenon’s custom to teach proper martial arts and martial arts only to knights.
Although it was not against the law, it was something that could easily offend the knights. This could have been a factor that shook Zeno’s foundation.
“When the real chaos begins, Zenon will be attacked by branded monsters. He has no choice but to stop them.”
It was a logic riddled with holes. Even when I was teaching the soldiers the Monolith Spear technique, I had no idea that branded monsters would overflow like this.
But Gaius accepted this consequential logic, because he could not cast me out.
“Does the Marquis of Monolith know about this?”
“I admired the spear technique of the Monolith Marquis, and I have created a spear technique that imitates his appearance. Just like the Sardia sword technique, the Monolith spear technique has also undergone a transformation. I have changed it into a new spear technique that is suitable for the Hebron soldiers.”
“Changed? What and how did you change it?”
“This is the Sardia swordsmanship.”
I held Serenade and performed Sardia fencing. I just showed the typical movements with the intention of teaching the form of fencing.
Gaius watched me with his eyes wide open. He also learned swordsmanship and had awakened his aura. It was not at a great level, so in times of emergency, he would rely on his escort knights rather than step forward himself. However, he was not an outsider to swordsmanship. The fact that he was mesmerized by my swordsmanship was proof of that.
“And this is the swordsmanship I taught to the slave soldiers.”
A modified version of Sardia’s swordsmanship was introduced.
If you take out the first part, it would be believable if I said it was a completely different swordsmanship.
“… … It wasn’t a swordsmanship that existed from the beginning?”
“This is a sword technique adapted from the Sardia sword technique. You can think of it as a new martial art.”
“Come and see the training method too?”
“If you only change the form, the power of the swordsmanship will inevitably decrease. You need to improve the training method along with the form to properly display the power.”
“You did that?”
“If you want, I can teach you.”
I looked at Gaius. His face looked like he had no idea where to begin believing this absurd situation.
