Chapter 12

“Serpens.”
“I know.”

Serpens drew his sword from its sheath.
He could tell even without Lucas saying it.
What he had to do was not face that massive monster, but deal with the surrounding monsters that were faintly visible.

‘To think he intends to train me even in this situation.’

He threw away the thought of whether he could do it.
Wasn’t Lucas doing something even harder?

Pat.
Tadat.

The two began to run.
There were no complaints like before in the boy’s head.
Tension and anticipation.
Now that those two thoughts had taken root and spread, there was no room for anything like complaints.

“Serpens, think of that massive thing as if it doesn’t exist.”
“I’d like to, but it is so massive I can see it no matter where I look……”
“Do not worry. It will become smaller soon.”
“I’m not worried about the monster! I am worrying about what I need to do so I don’t get hurt.”

The two quickly arrived before the monsters.
Serpens quickly changed direction.

Kereuk?

Was the goblin also flustered by this situation?
The neck of one goblin that had somehow been standing there blankly was cut in an instant.

‘I wasn’t just playing around either!’

The three weeks aboard the ship they took after leaving the gorge.
During that time, he had trained with a wooden sword Lucas had brought from somewhere.
Even that had broken, so he had spent the last few days unable to train, but…….

‘Still, I learned a lot during that time.’

Swish!

Serpens’s sword moved once again.

Slice.

Another goblin’s neck was cut off.
Dark red blood splashed onto the boy’s face.
Serpens quickly wiped it away and began running toward a new enemy.

‘This is actually fortunate.’

Some individuals were slowly starting to adapt.
But most of them had their attention stolen by the massive monster.
Thanks to that, he could strike them relatively easily.

Whoosh!

“Kkeuk!”

An orc’s axe passed over his head.
If he had not slid as if falling, his body would have been split in half.

Goblins were manageable.
Their builds were similar, and as for experience, his dogfights from his back-alley days supported him at least a little.
Most decisively, the month he had spent with Lucas.
The faint sketch drawn onto Serpens, who had been a blank slate, exerted great effect by its very existence.

“Sorry, but I’ll face you after I get a little stronger!”

But that was only the effect of the sketch.
With a twelve-year-old’s body, he could not face an orc.
Getting drunk on progress and forgetting one’s own limits was a foolish thing.
It was also a shortcut to death.

Tadadat.

That was why he had to avoid fighting orcs.

“Hup!”

Swoosh!

“Heuap!”

Slice!

Serpens’s sword moved without a moment to rest.
As the blood of monsters seeped into the territory’s field, a foul smell began to rise.
If those who cared for the count family saw it, they would surely be horrified.

‘……?!’

For a moment, Serpens’s head turned toward Lucas.
For some reason, the monster was not falling even under Lucas’s attacks.
Until now, there had been no monster that had not fallen to one of his strikes.
Of course, he had never encountered a monster that large.

Still, he wasn’t worried.
Could a man who had even split the sky fail to split a massive monster?
Even Lucas himself would likely think it troublesome at most, not dangerous.
And that thought was correct.

‘This is troublesome.’

Whoosh!

Lucas’s attack split the massive monster.
The trace of the attack was carved into it for only a brief moment.
The area the sword had passed through soon returned to its original form.

‘Is that the cause?’

The corpses were decomposing at an astonishing speed.
The sticky liquids coming out as they decomposed. That was likely the reason it could not be easily cut.

Just as one could not cut water by simply swinging a sword, a sword form close to a simple swing could not cut the liquid that made up the monster.
Then what should he do?
The answer was simple.
He simply had to use a form that wasn’t simple.

Shff.

Lucas released one of the two hands holding his sword.

Kueeeek!

The monster stretched out something that looked like an arm.
An attack flew in with a strange sound.
Lucas stared at it and put strength into his right hand.

Sat!
Chachachachachat-!

The monster’s attack was shredded apart as if torn.

Kieeek!

The monster, feeling pain, screamed.
Rage and bewilderment. At the unexpected pain, the monster made a hasty judgment.

Pucheucheut.

A three-pronged attack.
It was thicker and faster than before.

Chachachachat!

But it was useless against Lucas,
and what returned to the monster was only three times the pain.

Kieeeeeek!!!

Even though Lucas’s form had changed, it had not changed greatly.
It was only a faster attack with more strength behind it.
It was not some hidden secret technique or a strike with all his strength.

Pat!

A powerful leap. A fountain of dirt burst where Lucas had been.

Kiek?

Lucas momentarily left the monster’s sight.
After taking the monster’s back, he swung his sword without hesitation.

Chwat!

A clean movement without waste.
The sword energy Lucas sent out cut the monster once again.

Keek!

The monster spat out filth.
The monster staggered briefly, then collapsed with a heavy sound.

‘It was not completely cut.’

Lucas examined the dead monster.
The wound from which filth flowed out.
It had been cut deeply, but not severed.
The attack just now had been intended to sever its entire body.
If it had gone as intended, this monster should have been cut in half.

“Lucas! All the monsters are running away! Should we chase them?”

Serpens approached while avoiding the flowing liquid.
Blood on his sword and face.
The boy no longer felt much discomfort.

“It is fine.”

The fleeing monsters didn’t matter.
The territory’s soldiers would deal with them on their own.
Now that he had killed the massive monster, further involvement would only be unnecessary effort.

“By the way, this thing must be on the strong side, right? You attacked it quite a few times, Lucas.”
“No, it is more of a disposable type.”
“Disposable type?”
“It maintains its form with decomposing corpses. It would have collapsed on its own because of its gradually melting body.”
“Could that not be wrong? What if it survived even after completely melting and became stronger instead?”
“Look at this.”

Lucas pointed to the ground with the tip of his sword.

“Oh……. You are right. It is completely melting and seeping into the ground.”

Serpens narrowed his eyes.
The liquid from the corpses seeped into the ground.
The stench would be a problem, but if the land was contaminated, the losses would not be small.
If he were the owner of this territory, he would surely have suffered extreme stress.

‘Well, it is not my territory.’

It was merely unfortunate.

Serpens looked around.
Scattered corpses. A stench so thick it seemed to shimmer like heat haze. Blood flowing in thick waves.
Even if they belonged to monsters, it was certainly not a pleasant sight.

“Is it unpleasant to look at?”

Lucas’s sudden question.

“I can’t say it isn’t.”

“…….”

No answer came back.
To ask first and then not answer.
He had become somewhat used to it, but it was still absurd.

“We have to walk again.”
“……Ahh. All the way to that palace-like house?”
“Yes.”
“I really don’t even get annoyed anymore.”

Even if he tried to recognize it as stamina training, it wasn’t easy.
Could walking really have much effect?
Rather, the blisters got in the way.
But what could he do?
Walking with aching legs was much better than running until his lungs burst.

“Let’s move. Also, there is something we must find out.”

Lucas turned his body.
He walked while wiping the blade with the edge of his robe.
The smell of blood soaked into the robe.
It seemed it was definitely time to change it.

“……What are you doing instead of coming?”

Serpens was peeking around and examining the dead monster’s corpse.

“Wait a moment. I think I just saw something.”
“That is natural, since the corpses of countless monsters were mixed together. At best, it would be the orcs’ accessories. They’re not worth even half of half the price of the sword you are holding.”
“Ah, just wait a moment. I really saw something shine.”

The boy eventually stuck his hand in and searched through the corpse.

Squch. Squelch—

A disgusting sound spread.
But he didn’t frown at all.

After rummaging for a moment.
Something hard was caught in Serpens’s hand.

“Wow! I hit the jackpot!”

A size that fit neatly in one hand.
Though it was covered in blood, its brilliant red form sparkling in the light was clearly a jewel.

“Lucas! Come here and look! It is a jewel, a jewel!”
“……What?”

That couldn’t be.
The monsters that made up that massive corpse were what one would call small fry.
For those with a certain level of skill, they were not troublesome no matter how many there were.
Lucas had cut down such monsters countless times.
In his memory, he had neither heard of nor experienced obtaining a jewel after killing monsters like those.

‘But……’

What was in Serpens’s hand was clearly a jewel.
He approached to check, just in case, but it was clearly a red jewel.
He had confirmed Serpens had searched through it himself, so he couldn’t doubt it either.
Even after thousands of experiences, an exception encountered for the first time was always bewildering.

“Huh. This feels strange-”

Thump.

And in that instant.
Serpens, having lost consciousness, leaned limply against Lucas.

“Serpens?”

The small body rapidly grew cold.
Feeling something was off, Lucas took the jewel held in the boy’s hand.

“……!”

An unpleasantly alien sensation entered through his hand.
It was a kind of pain, as if poison was slowly infecting his body, as if a burned hand was throbbing hot.
Lucas had felt a sensation like this before.

“Demonic energy.”

A vivid energy commonly felt from powerful monsters.
The energy emitted by the red jewel was faint, but that was exactly why Lucas frowned.
There were two reasons demonic energy could feel faint.
Either the demonic energy was weak, or conversely, overwhelmingly powerful.

He would prefer the former, but it was likely the latter.
For it to be weak energy, the level of the unpleasant alien sensation was considerable.
Perhaps enough to count among the strongest demonic energies he had ever felt.

“Ah…… What? Huh? Lucas! Give me my jewel! I found it!”

Fortunately, Serpens soon came to his senses.

“No. Not this.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’! I found it, so it’s obviously mine!”

Since it emitted demonic energy, he couldn’t expect it to have the monetary value Serpens wanted.

“Haa……. Okay. Fine. Take it, take it.”

Serpens sighed and waved his hand.
If it had been someone else, he would have fought to get it.
But he couldn’t worsen his relationship with Lucas over such friction.

‘Well, I don’t know if this man would get offended over something like this……’

But one never knew.
Even if he was so expressionless on the outside, inside, he might have more varied faces than anyone.

‘There’s more than one or two things I can milk out of him later. Let’s think of it as an investment in the future.’

He only grumbled, thinking that what was good was good.
Serpens had no choice but to follow Lucas back.

“We have never hired a magician.”
“Huh……?”
““The knights within the territory are enough to clear out monsters. Do you even know how much magicians cost?”
“But……!”
“But what!”

Kwaang!

Kerel Navigatou slammed the desk.
The noise rang out. Rail’s body flinched.

“Are you saying you came back to ask a useless question! Did you not say you would sweep away the monsters! How much precious time must you waste before you stop doing this nonsense, Rail Navigatou!”

Kerel’s furious voice grew as loud as it could.
Rail only bit his lip and lowered his head.

“You stupid bastard. Get out!”
“……I’ll take my leave.”

Clatter.

“Haa……”

Rail barely held back the tears that were about to come out.
If he had failed to hold them back, he would surely have made an ugly scene.

He had run back to the territory because Lucas had asked, yet nothing had been solved.
Rail did not resent him.
The massive monster he had seen, though he could not be certain.
Could he have been of any help in a confrontation with that monster?
In one corner of his heart, he was also grateful to Lucas for sending him back to the territory.

“I really am useless.”

He was no help on this side or that side.
He had tried, but the result was tragedy.
It felt as if the world was trying to make him miserable.

“Hoo……. Let’s stop by an inn. Places with many people are bound to have more information.”

Even so, Rail moved his feet again.
Because if he even stopped moving, he would truly become useless.
Even if the results were not good, he still had to try.
It was not to be acknowledged by his father or by others.
Only by doing even that could Rail keep from giving up on himself.