EP.119 Be careful as the end approaches (1)
The sun was shining brightly.
Belnoir sat down on a chair in a cafe in the royal capital and tilted his head back. It’s a hot day and I already feel exhausted even though I haven’t done anything.
Rattling.
Belnoir took a long gulp of coffee with ice and let out a long sigh.
The blowing wind is hot.
Beads of sweat form in the bright sunlight.
With the weather like this, I have no choice but to wear lighter clothes. Belnoa hates the sun and dresses tightly, but he eventually gives in to the weather.
“Is that Habok? “Oh my, it’s so pretty!”
···Actually, rather than succumbing to the weather, it was more a result of being harassed by Chloe. Chloe was pulling Belle Noah’s bottoms with a sparkle in her eyes. He seemed very excited.
“What about the girls’ school uniforms? Pretty?”
“I don’t know because I haven’t looked at it closely.”
“Do you think it would suit me?”
“I don’t know.”
Chloe smiles brightly and tilts her head. Belle Noah responded appropriately and grabbed her chin.
Kidnapping and rescue.
Although quite a bit of time has passed since then… that incident instilled caution in Belnoa. He was alert that just because it was a royal road, it wasn’t necessarily safe.
“I also want to go to Aplia quickly.”
“···Is that so?”
Of course not Chloe.
As I looked at Chloe smiling brightly, as if something like that had never happened… I could only sigh. As a girl whose head is a flower garden, she only feels that she needs to come to her senses more.
“Whoa…”
As Belnoa sighed for the unknown number of times, Chloe quietly called Belnoa’s name. She tilted her head slightly.
“Belnoir.”
The girl’s pure white hair is flowing.
She smiled and opened her mouth. A soft voice rang in Belnoa’s ears.
“Thank you again.”
“······What a new thought.”
“I heard it was especially dangerous this time.”
“It was dangerous.”
Belnoir nodded slightly.
This time it was really dangerous. If Professor Rania hadn’t come at that moment… it would probably have ended just like that.
‘Is it Professor Rania or Master Raniel…’
He is a person with an inexplicable sense of distance.
As he thought about the professor, Belnoir inadvertently remembered the disaster he had encountered there.
Apostate, Gletus.
An alchemist called disaster.
For some reason, the sight of the catastrophe that occurred at a small distance felt familiar to Belnoa.
‘White hair, green eyes.’
Belnoa looks in front of him.
Chloe, who was smiling brightly across from her, also had white hair and green eyes. It’s not just the colors that overlap.
‘It definitely looked like Chloe had grown up.’
They were surprisingly similar.
The image of the catastrophe, which seems to be madness in the shape of a woman, and the image of Chloe in front of me keep appearing over and over again.
“Belnoir, are you in a bad mood today? Or did I do something wrong?”
“what?”
“You were frowning earlier… so I was wondering if I did something wrong.”
“No, I just have a lot to think about.”
Belnoir smiled bitterly as he looked at Chloe, who was muttering in a hushed voice with the corners of her eyes drooping. Only then did Chloe pretend to sweep her chest, as if she had sighed.
“I want to meet you too.”
And then he says it right away.
“Professor Rania, did you say this? “The professor who helped me this time said Belnoir had a lot to learn.”
“…He’s a unique person.”
“Do you think Belnoir is a good professor when he says that?”
Good professor.
“······.”
Belnoa was silent for a moment at those words.
“hmm······.”
It is true that he is a good person. It is true that he is a person with a lot to learn. He is a person called the Gray Wizard. There is no doubt that he is a person worthy of respect.
But, why?
If you ask who is a good ‘professor’… the answer is not easy to come by. It was difficult to say yes to those words.
“well···.”
In the end, Belnoir answered with a mysterious expression.
“He’s a good person. “A great man.”
“Belnoir, why do you look like that?”
Chloe tilts her head.
Belnoir looked at Chloe with a pitiful expression. Not long ago, Professor Rania spoke.
-Did you say your childhood friend, Chloe?
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-When does she start school?
It was exactly like a wild beast stalking its prey.
Belnoa let out a long sigh inwardly.
“Well, you’ll know when you meet.”
I had no choice but to say that right now.
For one reason or another, he was a difficult person to explain in words.
2.
“Etch!”
I rubbed the tip of my nose at the sudden sneeze.
Is it because I got covered in dust on the way here? The tip of her nose itched.
“Anyway.”
I sighed and clenched my chin. If you look around, there are plenty of old magic tools.
A flask filled with dust.
Magic books piled up randomly.
Looking at things like that… you can get a rough idea of how much the owner of this store doesn’t clean.
“Why do you really live in a place like this?”
“It was built in a place like this so people wouldn’t visit, but there was always at least one customer.”
The store owner responded to my grumbling words.
“What’s going on again, Raniel?”
Silver-haired elf, Cardi.
He looked at me with an expression that seemed like something new, and then he said, holding out a teacup in front of me.
“···What is this?”
“Didn’t you say last time that you like green tea? So I tried boiling it.”
“You’re f*cking bad at making tea.”
“It’s not that I can’t boil it. Young people these days are good at making tea. “So good that it’s useless.”
It was a very lame excuse.
‘Still, since I gave you a ride in the car out of kindness, I guess I should take a sip…?’
With that in mind, I tilted my teacup.
The moment a liquid so strange that it could not be called green tea touched my lips, I put down the teacup without saying a word.
“Sigh.”
It was absolutely not worth drinking.
“Aren’t you going to drink any more?”
“drink? “This?”
I opened my eyes and glared at Cardi.
This was something that would be better described as ‘chewing’ or ‘forcibly swallowing’ rather than drinking.
Cardi smoothed her chin in response to my answer.
It seemed like he seriously couldn’t understand.
“That’s strange. “She liked it.”
“I don’t know who that is, but I don’t think he has a normal sense of taste. “Isn’t there something wrong with your tongue?”
Cardi just shrugged.
With a wicked smile on his face as always, he opened his mouth as he removed the teacup I had pushed away.
“So, what’s going on this time?”
“I have something to ask.”
“I have a lot of questions.”
“I need to tell you something properly.”
I put my hand on the cape that had the expansion and storage spell on it. After rummaging around for a while, my hand reached something. It was something that gave me goosebumps just by touching it.
Swish.
I pulled it and pulled it out of the cape.
The moment he placed it on the table, Cardi’s eyes narrowed.
“This···.”
“The Arms of the Apostate.”
The left arm of an apostate connected to the other world.
That’s what I put on the table.
An arm that opens a door to another world just by stretching it out. A symbol of an apostate and, in fact, a key element in subduing that madman.
I said, pointing at it.
“Something was strange.”
It is an arm that looks as if it has copied the night sky. When I touch it, it feels more like putting my hand in water rather than feeling skin and bones.
“It doesn’t rot or crumble even after being taken away from that bitch. “I tried using starlight, but instead of it working… it feels like the starlight is being sucked in.”
I tried all kinds of methods.
I thought it must have some use, so I studied this arm with all my knowledge.
“But I didn’t know anything.”
And, the result is the same as now.
I don’t know. Really, I couldn’t figure out anything. The only thing that has been revealed is that it is related to the ‘shade’ that Cardi mentioned last time.
Cardi closed her eyes for a moment at my words. The yellow-gold eyes were shaking, albeit slightly.
“···Is that why you came to visit me?”
“It’s just that all I can think of is you.”
What I don’t know.
Something related to disaster.
The only person who would know that…at least in my opinion, was this unknown elf.
“I guess you met her.”
“They invaded the royal capital.”
“I just heard about it. “I guess they were trying to exploit that child.”
Cardi took a short breath and looked at me. There was a little bit of surprise in those eyes.
“…It’s amazing, really.”
He touched the apostate’s arm and said,
“Tearing off Delohim’s arm without a holy sword, much less without the blessing of the stars… is a truly unexpected result.”
“···The Arms of Delohim?”
“This is the name of this arm. “It used to be called that, but I’m not sure what it’s called now.”
Now, the name is not important.
Cardi muttered and rolled up her sleeves.
“···What are you going to do?”
“Try to be quiet. “I need to concentrate.”
Cardi, who was groping the apostate’s arm, tightened his fingers at some point. “Phew,” his fingers dug into the dirt.
“···uh?”
A door leading to another world.
Cardi opened the door without using any spells. He had no time to be surprised by that.
Kuuk.
First his thumb, then his index finger… so Cardi inserted five fingers one by one into the apostate’s arm. The veins on Cardi’s forearms stood out.
“······.”
Cardi frowned.
It looked like he was holding something with some force.
Okay.
Eventually, he pulled out his hand that had been dipped into the other world. There was something in its grasp.
“···key?”
That was the key.
A key that is old and rusty, but still contains starlight.
“···As expected, I still have it.”
Cardi looked at the keys and smiled bitterly.
He looked at the key for a moment with vague eyes, then closed his eyes for a moment. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts.
“Raniel.”
When he opened his eyes and called my name, his eyes no longer wavered. As always, he looked at me with depthless eyes.
“Go north.”
He said.
“Let me draw you a detailed map. There is a small research facility I built in the Kurakt Mountains in the north. “It’s going to be difficult to find because the fog is thick and there’s a snow storm…”
Cardi pointed the key to the apostate’s arm.
“If you have this arm and this key, you will be able to find it easily. “It would be possible if you could read the flow of mana.”
I asked a question.
What is there?
“You came this far on your own, so now you can tell me.”
Cardi answered my question.
“Martyr, Gleria Bel Armias.”
He laughed bitterly.
“You will learn about the woman who was once called the incarnation of Delohim.”
And, Cardi added.
“Even a way to kill the apostate Gletus.”
3.
The western front line, the demon world Krempelia.
Kyle looked around in the early morning air. Just a few weeks ago, the castle was overrun with apostates, but now it is quiet.
“······.”
Kyle thinks as he looks around.
This battle was dangerous. The apostate’s force was strong, and the number of casualties was double that of the usual battle. Of course, he wasn’t in danger.
You won’t die at this level.
However, the front line almost collapsed.
“… I’m glad reinforcements arrived in time.”
Even though it was a reinforcement group, there was only one person.
In fact, the reinforcements were somewhat expected. Because he always showed up in places associated with apostates.
Sword Demon, Draka.
A ghost who lost everything to an apostate.
-···Looks like there is no gray wizard this time.
-It’s unfortunate from a soldier’s point of view, but I personally welcome it. Get out of the way. That’s not how you catch that monster.
He is more capable than anyone else when it comes to catching the apostate’s demons. Thanks to him taking charge of the group of demonic beasts, we were able to avoid the situation where Krempelia was taken over.
Kyle suddenly remembered the conversation he had with him.
-It looks like you plan to stay on the Western Front for a while. I’m thinking of going back to the north.
Why are you heading north?
It was a useless question. The Sword Demon’s course of action was all decided by the ‘apostate’.
It wasn’t just a day or two that Draka was chasing traces of apostates in the north. So, there was nothing particularly strange about it.
‘but······.’
Something was different this time.
-It may have been difficult due to the snow storm… but I heard from the guard there that the fog had become cloudy.
-This will be our chance to investigate the ruins. I plan to finish it this time. Because I’ve been tied up for too long.
This time.
I even felt an eerie feeling in those words.
-I will definitely find it.
-How to hunt apostates.
He is a person who has spent his entire life chasing apostates.
A person who rose to the ranks of superhumans with a tenacity that bordered on madness uttered the word ‘definitely’.
‘I won’t choose any means or methods.’
He is a person who tried to destroy an entire territory in order to hunt down apostates. If Raniel hadn’t stopped it… Draka would have really carried out that crazy plan.
Hatred and obsession.
He is a person who lives with only that as his driving force.
“…I guess I should avoid the north for the time being.”
It is best to keep your distance from such people.
At least, that’s what Kyle thought.
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