Chapter 116 - The Shattering Leash (2)

Beneath the World Tree, where the traces of a terrible nightmare remained.

An old knight visited the place where the work to dispose of Nidhogg's corpse was busy.

"Would it be alright if I took a brief look at this creature's corpse?"

"... Go ahead."

The elves, who had been carving up the dragon's corpse for a while, made way with reluctant expressions as they looked at the sudden uninvited guest.

The human knight, Auguste.

He was certainly a benefactor who had protected the World Tree, but from the elves' perspective, he was also a delicate existence to deal with.

"Thank you very much. Opportunities to observe a dragon's corpse are quite rare, you see."

A welcome existence, yet a reluctant one at the same time.

The old investigator, who had spent his entire life investigating things, simply responded with a smile to the all-too-familiar reaction.

"... Let's see here. The start is from the left eye."

Thinking he had done everything he needed to do here, Auguste finally began acting like a retired knight.

More accurately, he was just following whatever piqued his interest.

"... He slashed right through to the inside of the membrane, just as I told him."

The trace of the sword that began from Nidhogg's eye flowed out like a wave, reaching all the way to the armpit inside the membrane.

"This was the fatal blow."

And even the heart hidden within it.

Auguste saw through that this was the fatal blow that ended Nidhogg's life.

'But it didn't stop there.'

Even though he was certain of victory, Vlad's sword did not stop.

The stubbornly continuous wound traced along the grain as if carving meat from bone, extending all the way to the tail that Auguste had half-severed.

'... He didn't stop even though he was certain it was the end.'

Even if a swordsmanship started from the same root, it would naturally take on an individual's unique character when executed.

And the sword of Vlad seen right now also held a latent, intense character that had yet to bloom.

The name of the character that Auguste recognized was cruelty.

"This guy is a real headache."

Auguste scratched the back of his head and stood up.

Even among all the kinds of humans he had seen while carrying out numerous missions, there was no one as difficult to judge as this kid.

The beginning was noble, but the end was cruel.

The young knight of the North who used the Imperial Swordsmanship was an existence as contradictory as the scar seen before his eyes right now.

* * *

The sunlight coming in through the window was warm.

Feeling the now unmistakable energy of spring, Vlad hurriedly brushed off the top of his head.

"Can't you guys go home now? Please."

With a flick of Vlad's hand, a small ball of fluff dropped onto the table with a thud.

A spirit that looked like a chick began to chirp something angrily, but Vlad ignored the young spirit's gestures and simply took off his upper garment.

"It feels so refreshing now that it's quiet."

They could be seen, but not heard.

Feeling that the imagery world he had summoned like a storm had finally quieted down, Vlad let out a sigh of relief.

Vlad had been obsessing solely over the Deep World to emit a more distinct aura, but after going through this incident, he came to realize that maintaining his composure was also a very important matter.

"... This medicine is too good."

Having brushed off all the young spirits clinging to him, Vlad clicked his tongue as he unwound the bandages wrapped all over his body.

The scar on his palm from grasping the sword blade had long since disappeared without a trace, and the wounds he received from the duel with Nidhogg were now healed to the point that bandages were no longer needed.

'I'll have to ask for some later.'

Excellent medicine is like a spare life.

Vlad, who had lived his whole life bearing minor injuries, recognized the value of the elves' medicine at a glance.

"Ah. What are you doing taking that off already?"

A quiet room where the little things kept bustling about asking him to look at them, yet no sound could be heard.

There was a girl who entered the room, breaking its stillness.

"I think I'm almost all better now."

"Your wounds were deep. Your bones were cracked, too."

The girl's words were no exaggeration.

If Vlad's wounds had been treated with ordinary methods, it was an injury that would have required him to convalesce for at least over a month.

"Hurry up and lie back down. You have to stay here for another week."

Sometimes she looked overly childish unlike her appearance, yet at other times, a wise gaze lingered in her eyes.

The Divine Maiden of the World Tree, whose name he still didn't even know, was being overly protective of Vlad, even putting aside the fact that he was a precious guest.

"Anyway, the medicine is good. Could I get some of this later?"

Seeing the girl frown uncharacteristically, Vlad tried to change the subject.

"And by any chance, do you have any medicine good for coughs? Something without side effects."

Looking at the Epsilon with its clear green light, the very first person that came to mind was Joseph.

Because his liege, who always lived with a cough, had always suffered from the cold air of the North.

Surely the elves would have a medicine suitable for Joseph as well.

Such precious medicine would definitely be an excellent gift on his way back.

"Cough... medicine?"

The girl tilted her head for a moment and pondered at Vlad's request for medicine.

The girl's golden eyes, which had been facing Vlad, gleamed for a brief moment.

"..."

Vlad realized that at some point, the girl was looking somewhere other than at him.

It felt as if she was gazing at a further place through his eyes.

"... I could give it to you if you ask, but it won't have much meaning."

The girl, who had suddenly turned her head back to the medicine bottle, returned to the ordinary appearance that Vlad knew.

"The only reason you were able to recover this early is entirely because the vitality you were born with is intense."

The girl shook her head with an apologetic expression.

"So no matter how good of a medicine you take to him, it won't be of much use to that person. That's how our medicine works."

"... I see."

A tone that sounded as if she knew who he was going to give it to.

Listening to the girl's words, Vlad ended up being enveloped in a bizarre feeling.

It was the kind of feeling where he couldn't completely understand it, yet he somehow found himself accepting it.

Knock, knock, knock.

Vlad, who had been lost in unknown thoughts for a while due to the girl's mysterious energy, could barely snap back to his senses at the sound of knocking coming from the side.

The girl, whose name was still unknown, would momentarily drag Vlad into an illusion-like atmosphere like that.

"Who is it?"

Unlike the girl who threw doors wide open, it was a sound politely announcing one's arrival.

It was a guest, but the one waiting for Vlad—who opened the door out of his duty as the master of the room—was an elf with deep blue eyes.

"Have you been well? I apologize for not checking in on you as I have been busy with work."

The captain of the rangers. Varadis.

He was leaning against the threshold, smiling.

"No matter if it's your room, you should wear some clothes. It's not a good look, especially with the Divine Maiden here."

Varadis's eyes moved past Vlad to look at the girl sitting on the bed.

The girl waved both her hands to welcome Varadis, as if to declare that she was indeed here.

Varadis's eyes quickly began to narrow as he confirmed that only Vlad and the girl were in the room.

"Well, I was applying some medicine..."

"Right. Since it's hard for you to move around, I suppose that could happen."

Without even waiting for an invitation to come in, Varadis strode inside, immediately picked up the upper garment from the bed, and handed it to Vlad.

"I'm not done applying it yet."

"It's fine. You're fully healed with just that."

Vlad took the garment and looked at Varadis with a blank stare.

"I told you to hurry up and put it on."

Varadis was smiling, yet his expression was subtly stiffened somewhere.

And the girl, who had returned to her ordinary gaze behind his shoulder at some point.

For some reason, Vlad felt as if their two faces were oddly overlapping.

* * *

"The old knight requested an audience before you. I believe the elders called you a little late because they had to handle that matter first."

"Is that so."

Vlad and Varadis exited the building provided for guests and headed toward the World Tree.

The eyes of the elves watching the two curved into crescents.

More accurately, they were all wearing pleased smiles as they watched the young spirits trailing after Vlad.

"So please don't feel too upset. The elders certainly haven't forgotten about you."

"They must have been busy. I understand."

Vlad remembered.

The old Geronimo who had cast a magic circle on him to stand against Nidhogg's claws.

Having seen the Great Elder of the elves collapse while coughing up blood, Vlad could fully understand the elves' difficult situation.

"By the way, it's a shame that your sword and armor were both shattered."

The elves definitely took a heavy hit, but for Vlad personally, the subjugation of Nidhogg was an event that brought a great loss.

Because he had lost his sword and armor, which could be considered a knight's basic assets.

Even putting aside the symbolism and blessing they possessed, just the cost of those two items alone was easily worth 20 gold.

"... Right. I suppose so."

At Varadis's words, Vlad looked at the silver sword he was holding.

The Swordmaster's sword, which he couldn't bring himself to wear at his waist.

However, Vlad could feel that the weight of the sword had become incredibly heavy unlike before.

The weight, which was vastly different from when he thrust it toward Nidhogg, made Vlad ponder a lot.

"Let's go in."

The tallest building among those erected before the World Tree.

Varadis, who threw open the door leading to it, extended his hand and guided Vlad inside.

"..."

Inside the massive building where sunlight shone in from all over.

Feeling as if he had stepped inside a tree, Vlad took a deep breath.

It smelled of the forest.

"Let's head up."

Stumps carved like stairs.

He stepped on them one by one to ascend, and there sat a giant door.

"It is Varadis. I have brought the guest of the World Tree."

"Come in."

CREAAAAAK.

Along with the voice of permission from within, the door opened on its own without anyone pushing it.

"..."

Vlad, who stepped inside, couldn't help but squint for a moment at the sunlight shining from all over.

He felt a sense of familiarity, but it was a massive space that overwhelmed everything with its sheer size.

Within it, the eyes of the elders scattered about were quietly looking down at Vlad.

"Welcome. Knight of humans. Vlad."

The elders' attitude toward Vlad was gentle.

The fact that he had protected the World Tree, even though he was a young human and a citizen of the Empire they deeply hated, was enough to change the stubborn elders' attitudes.

"I wonder if you've been resting comfortably."

"It was a night as comfortable as my own home."

A knight who had been lying injured, having lost both his weapon and armor.

The elves' attention shown to Vlad was deeply devoted, not just something spoken out of simple courtesy.

"Yes, I'm glad to hear that."

However, no matter how devoted their hospitality was, the debt of gratitude toward Vlad would not be fully paid off with that alone.

If on that day Vlad hadn't stood against Nidhogg and protected the World Tree, the only thing echoing in Aushrina right now would be sad wailing rather than the clattering sound of hammers.

"I heard you lost both your sword and armor. Of course, we intend to provide you with ample compensation for that."

The elder, who was presiding over the meeting in place of the Great Elder, reached out and pointed to the armaments hanging nearby.

"These are."

"They are armor. One is outer armor to wear on the outside, and the other is under-armor to wear beneath it."

Vlad's gaze followed the elder's gesture.

Silver armor gleaming under the morning sunlight.

It was similar to the armor given by San Rosino, but it looked sleek in a way, appearing light at a mere glance.

It was armor that clearly displayed the traits of elves, who prioritized agility.

"Still, there was one intact part left among your broken armor, so we attached it to the new one."

Vlad's gaze shifted along with the elder's explanation.

The breastplate on the left chest.

The phrase engraved there was familiar.

"The knight who protected the breaths of children. I believe it is a very fitting phrase for you."

From the fog-filled village all the way to this World Tree here.

The young knight's footsteps had always been aimed at the exact same place.

"And regarding the sword..."

Since they had given him armor, it was now time to hand over a sword.

However, the end of the elder's words slowly faded as he spoke next.

The silver sword the young knight was holding.

A sword that could not be replaced, no matter what else they offered.

The eyes of the elders, looking at the Swordmaster's sword that had protected the World Tree for a long time, sank with complexity.

"You may take it if you wish. It is a pity, but it is also a sword we cannot handle..."

The Swordmaster's sword had been here to protect the World Tree.

And the young knight in front of their eyes right now had drawn that sword and protected the World Tree, so he was surely a person with enough qualification to wield this sword.

Because that much was an undeniable fact, even if Vlad said he would take the sword right now, it couldn't be helped...

"I will return it to you."

An unpredictable existence.

A mass of potential and unpredictability.

He was now slowly putting down the silver sword that anyone would inevitably covet.

"... Wait, why."

The elders ended up opening their mouths wide as they watched Vlad slowly put down the sword.

The Swordmaster's sword was an artifact that not only humans but even elves couldn't help but covet.

"It says it doesn't want to."

"... What?"

"It says it doesn't want to leave here. This sword."

The silver sword stuck firmly to the ground the moment he put it down.

Looking at the silver sword glued flat to the floor, the elders and Varadis found themselves at a loss for words.

"If you are going to give me a sword, please forge a new one for me."

I don't need the best sword.

I only need a sword of my own.

I want a sword that can entirely contain my own will.

"I would like a sword that listens well to my words."

Rather than the countless stars floating in the night sky, the boy wanted the single faint star that hung in the smithy.

His own exclusive sword.

Vlad still missed the unadorned sword.

That sword he had bought with a girl's tears, forged from an old man's dream.

The Little Ones Who Summoned the Star

Late at night, the sound of drums echoing with a heavy beat.

The girl's white skirt, spinning in time with the sound, spread out wide.

The lights embracing the girl's skirt were even more vivid than the torches set up everywhere.

"Picture it."

Following the old Geronimo's words, Vlad quietly closed his eyes.

The breathing sounds of the girl dancing in circles around him were drawing closer and closer.

"Picture what you desire."

The elders chanting incantations.

The warriors guarding with their weapons in hand.

And the droplets of light descending from the young World Tree.

Vlad sank deep into his inner self as he felt the spirits settling on his shoulders.

What do I desire, and what am I trying to take with me?

The answer to that would only be found within himself.

Along with Vlad's meditation, the blue metal wrapped in fluttering silk began to slowly float into the air and shine.

Vlad slowly lifted his eyelids along with that light and gleam.

"..."

Then, a single scenery came into view.

He could see the unadorned sword floating brightly above the image of the nostalgic smithy.

A sound could be heard.

The sound of an old blacksmith striking a sword.

* * *

"Right, so you have to stay here a little longer?"

"They said it would take a week. They mentioned forging a sword through a ritual, but I don't know what that means."

Auguste, who had finished packing his bags, shrugged as he listened to Vlad's words.

"I don't know what that means either, but still, you should take what you're owed before leaving."

Auguste, who now had to leave to wrap up his mission, and Vlad, who had to stay behind because he had something to receive.

Since they had entered this place with different purposes, it was perhaps natural that their times of departure were different.

"By the way, I'm curious as well. About who your master is, I mean."

The young knight who, even if he didn't know the roots of his birth, wanted to find the roots of the sword he wielded.

Auguste, fully understanding Vlad's feelings, decided to give him proper advice before leaving.

"I don't know about the Imperial Swordsmanship, but you'll be able to check the list recording the Dragon Slayers if you go to the capital, Brigantes. The Dragulia Family meticulously records anything related to dragons."

Dragons that swore to kill dragons.

The names of all the Dragon Slayers who had killed a dragon up to now were recorded in the Dragulia Family, which reacted sensitively to everything related to dragons.

Perhaps Vlad's name would also be recorded at the very bottom.

"There's highly likely a chance your master is on that list."

A man who had simultaneously used the Imperial Swordsmanship and slain a dragon.

To date, there was officially only one person who had their name on both of those lists.

The knight who faced the sharpest dragon with the noblest sword.

Founding King Frausen.

FLICK-

"...?"

Auguste flicked a piece of metal through his fingers, breaking the momentary silence that had settled between the two.

A single worn, rusted, and insignificant coin.

"My name is Auguste."

A coin that could only be handed over by the lowest ones.

Vlad accepted the ducat, the kind Lamund had once given him, and stared blankly at Auguste.

"If anyone says anything about your sword later on, you may use my name."

The young knight who used the Imperial Swordsmanship.

Even though his character was blooming, Auguste even added a coat of his own color for him, who was still very inexperienced.

He didn't know who it would be, but if someone was capable of recognizing Vlad's origin, they would be able to notice his technique of discerning weaknesses as well.

"Still, try not to get caught if possible."

Even though it was a name that hadn't wielded great prestige, the name value of the former Imperial Enforcer Commander would still prevent things from escalating to the worst possible situation.

"Thank you. Lord Auguste."

"Hearing my name from you makes me feel strange."

Auguste smiled slightly as he looked at Vlad giving a silent bow toward him.

It was a short but intense encounter.

It was a life where he had laid down everything and simply stayed loyal to the Empire, but he felt somewhat unburdened, as if he had managed to leave behind a single faint trace at the very end.

"If you come to Brigantes later on, seek me out."

With those words, Auguste turned his horse around without hesitation.

An old knight departing toward the rising morning sun.

He had come in with heavy suspicions, but upon leaving, his shoulders seemed much lighter and looked sprightly.

"..."

Vlad looked at his retreating back and quietly gazed at the worn coin resting in his palm.

The ducats that had now become two coins.

Vlad, holding the coin that was heavier than it appeared, slipped the price of honor into his pocket.

* * *

"Did the old man leave?"

"Yes."

The guest room where only Vlad and Got stayed now.

However, Got, who was supposed to be here, was always chased off somewhere, and the only person facing Vlad was the unnamed girl.

"That's a relief."

"Why?"

"... I don't wanna say."

The girl's words she occasionally spat out had no coherence.

There was no subject, no object, and it was impossible to tell who she was referring to.

But since she was a girl who simply spoke of what she saw, she wouldn't know the detailed circumstances either.

"By the way, is there really a white snake in that place called Deirmar?"

"... It's extremely big."

Vlad, reading the girl's intention of struggling to change the subject, grabbed the scruff of a puppy climbing up his shoulder and replied.

"Big enough to swallow all the little ones here in one bite."

The puppy, panting and sparkling its eyes as if asking him to play, had a tail made of fire.

"I want to see it sometime. If you really think about it, it would be a spirit around the level of an uncle to these little ones."

"Is there a family tree among spirits, too?"

"I don't really know about that, but I just want to call it uncle."

The white snake that was undoubtedly born from the Mother World Tree.

The Divine Maiden of the young World Tree seemed highly interested in the traces of the Mother World Tree, which she had never seen once since birth.

And understandably so.

Because right now, she was in a position where she had to chew over those forgotten traces and prepare for the ritual.

"I just need one sturdy longsword. Looking around here, it looks like there's a smithy, too."

"No. I'm going to do it for you."

The Divine Maiden, who had been looking down at an ancient book for a while, looked at Vlad with a sullen gaze and spoke.

"I'm telling you I'll do it for you, so why are you being like this. Everyone wants to do it for you, see."

As soon as the girl's words ended, the young spirits each opened their mouths and began to cry out something.

They were probably whining and chirping.

They couldn't be heard, but Vlad ended up closing his eyes at the atmosphere that had grown chaotic in an instant.

"I absolutely have to try it at least once anyway. If I can't do it, everything will be forgotten."

"... Understood."

If it is not passed on, it is forgotten.

Countless rituals that a senior had to pass to a junior, and a predecessor to a successor, now remained only in a few old books, and the person who would kindly teach the girl no longer existed, cut off by the flow of time.

"Just wait. We'll make you a pretty one."

Vlad wasn't the only one who had to find his own path.

Here in this place as well, there was a girl who had to find a path herself and pass something on.

"Take your time."

There are some burdens that cannot be shared.

Unable to dare reach out a hand to a girl bearing such a burden she had to handle all alone, Vlad decided to just quietly stay by her side.

"Since I will be waiting."

With those words, Vlad picked up an oiled cloth and maintained Jorge's dagger.

Watching such a Vlad, the girl quietly raised the book she was holding.

Her face was covered, but her twitching ears and golden eyes, at least, were directed toward Vlad.

* * *

On a night when a pure white full moon rose, all the elves of Aushrina began flocking to the front of the World Tree.

"This is making me feel pressured, Boss."

"Just think of it like a festival."

Vlad and Got ended up slightly flustered by the situation where all the elves in the village gathered and surrounded them.

The two still didn't understand why they had to stand here instead of the smithy in order to forge a sword.

"The sun is strict, but the moon is benevolent. She will turn a blind eye for just a brief moment."

The staff he was holding trembled, but his voice was distinct.

Having recovered enough to move around now, Geronimo slowly walked over and opened his mouth to Vlad.

"So try picturing it. The form of the sword you desire."

"Do I just have to picture it?"

Listening to Geronimo's words, Vlad looked at the girl kneeling before him over there.

The girl wrapped in pure white cloth.

Atop the girl's head rested a small crown woven from flowers and grass.

"The more vividly and intensely you picture it, the better it will be."

"Understood."

Every time he saw her, she looked new and different.

Vlad, who felt an unexplainable mysteriousness brimming from the girl whose name he still didn't know, nodded toward Geronimo.

"Close your eyes, and prepare."

With those words, Vlad quietly closed his eyes.

The surrounding air turned quiet in a flash.

In an atmosphere tensed by anticipation rather than fear, Vlad found himself gulping down his saliva before he knew it.

"Please begin. Divine Maiden."

There was no grand beginning.

There was only the quietly echoing sound of drums.

The girl, who stood up in time with the sound, quietly placed a hand on her chest and looked at the young World Tree.

"..."

The girl, who began dancing along with the incomprehensible language of the elves, approached Vlad and started to spread out the cloth she was holding wide.

It was an image just like a single butterfly flapping its wings.

The sound of the drums grew louder.

The girl's sonorous voice spread out wide, riding that sound.

The surroundings were filled with the fussiness of young spirits.

CLANG- CLANG-

And from beyond those sounds, a certain sound of a hammer echoing faintly.

Focusing on that sound, Vlad sank into a somewhat deeper world.

"..."

Pitch-black darkness.

Vlad followed the fluttering butterfly's guidance and walked into the dark quagmire.

The squelching feeling touching his soles was familiar.

The sticky, clinging quagmire had been a difficult existence for a young boy to escape from, but to the current Vlad, it was merely a temporary unpleasantness.

CLANG! CLANG!

The nostalgic sound echoed from far away.

The white butterfly, which had flown off at some point, was quietly perched on the gap in the old smithy's door.

"..."

Vlad raised his head and looked at the smithy where the butterfly was perched.

A single star hanging at the highest place in the smithy.

The unadorned sword, which was now a light rather than the shape of a sword, was quietly shining down on him.

"It's been a while."

With the butterfly's guidance, Vlad stepped over the deeply etched footprints in front of the smithy and threw the door open.

The sweltering heat felt from there.

And the ceaseless sound of hammering.

"I'm here."

"Right. You're here."

Listening to the vividly echoing voice, Vlad quietly closed his eyes.

Because within a mirage that felt like it would vanish if he met it straight on, the old blacksmith was smiling at him.

"I'd like a sword forged."

"A sword?"

The old man had once said he would no longer forge swords.

He had said he couldn't forge a proper sword with his old body and a measly forge.

"Right, it's good you came. Some good material just came in, actually."

But now, he was saying that he would do it.

Because to him, his old body and worn tools could no longer be a stumbling block.

"This is what's called a meteorite. It's metal that fell from a star, so there are no impurities and it's extremely hard."

A voice brimming with strength, not a phlegm-laced voice.

Hearing that voice, Vlad smiled.

"I'd like the size to be about that of the unadorned sword. Maybe it's because it was the first one I wielded, but it seems I've grown accustomed to it as well."

"Truthfully, I can only make it about that size anyway."

The old blacksmith, having accepted the commission, vigorously lifted his hammer and struck down.

CLANG-!

The tiny tail of the puppy stoking the fire in the forge was noisy.

The little titmouse playing on the hammer.

The young pufferfish cooling the water trough.

The baby lizard endlessly pouring sand onto the sword.

A girl had paid the price for the unadorned sword with her hair, but for the sword being forged now, the young spirits were paying the price instead.

"All done."

"... Already?"

He wanted to stay here a little longer in the heat he was feeling after a long time, but time in this place was not infinite.

The white butterfly perched by the door was growing tired little by little.