Chapter 21

A meadow not far from the Oratio Empire.
The fluttering green grass was gradually turning red.

“Lucas? Did something bad happen?”
“No.”

Lucas wiped the blood from his sword with his robe.
He slowly returned to the carriage and handed the coachman one silver coin.

“Thank you for your trouble.”
“N…… not at all.”

The young coachman’s hand trembled as he received the silver coin.
The man before him was scarier than the sudden raid by the raiders.

To the young coachman, Lucas was his savior.
If not for him, he might have died or been dragged away as a slave.
But from the perspective of an ordinary person, Lucas, who had slaughtered twenty people in ten seconds, was no different from a monster.

“We will depart.”

Lucas got back into the carriage, and the carriage began moving as if nothing had happened.
The one clear change was that the coachman’s humming could no longer be heard.

The carriage Serpens and Lucas had ridden rattled away.
The two had arrived in Litoret.
The salty smell of the port flew in on the wind.

“Lucas. Can I ask you one thing?”
“…….”
“Aura is different for each person too, right?”
“That is right.”
“Then are there traits that show in the Aura of stronger people?”
“The color is darker.”
“Color?”
“Think of that elf.”

Serpens recalled Viento.
The green wavering that had covered the area around him.
That was Viento’s Aura.
Just how dark did “darker” mean?

‘I would have to have seen other people’s to know.’

The only people Serpens knew who used Aura were Viento and Lucas.
Those two were the only ones Serpens had seen.
But it was strange.

Lucas was clearly stronger than the person called Viento.
Even so, Serpens couldn’t see any color of Aura around Lucas.

“What color is yours, Lucas?”

Serpens asked furtively.
Instead of answering, Lucas quietly continued walking.

“Is this a sensitive subject? You can tell me, can’t you? Between master and disciple.”
“Black.”
“Black……?”

Had he ever seen a black wavering around Lucas until now?
He had no memory of seeing it, even half-asleep.
Forget a black wavering, he had never seen any wavering at all.

“That’s strange. If someone is as strong as you, Lucas, shouldn’t the color be really dark?”
“…….”
“You said you could use Aura. You said you trained for about four years too. So why have I never seen it?”
“I cannot use Aura.”
“Aha. You can’t use Aura.”

At that moment, Serpens’s feet stopped.
Lucas’s back slowly grew farther away.
The boy’s eyes began to waver.

“……What?”

He could not use Aura?
Had he not clearly said in the carriage that it took him four years to be able to use it?

“For certain reasons, I cannot use Aura.”

Serpens hurried after Lucas.
Then what in the world was this man?

“Serpens. Using Aura does not make a person strong.”
“That does not seem right, since Viento only became evenly matched with you after he used Aura.”
“He was already that strong. Aura is only another kind of technique.”
“A technique?”

Lucas grabbed his greatsword as he walked.
Serpens blinked and focused on him.

“There are many ways to handle a sword. Like cutting horizontally, cutting vertically, and cutting diagonally. Aura is only one of them.”
“Then if I become able to use Aura too, does that mean I can use that magic-like thing?”
“That, I do not know.”
“Ah! Why is it so difficult!”
“But what is certain is this.”

Whoosh-

Lucas’s sword stopped right before Serpens’s nose.
Serpens’s hair whipped in the wind that followed.

“Right now, you need to train.”

“Hup!”

Whoosh.

“Hup!”

Whoosh.

“Hup!”

Whoosh.

Repeated, unwavering movements of the sword.
Beneath the setting sunset.
Serpens was swinging his sword.

‘He wasn’t using Aura?’

Lucas had clearly said so.

‘What kind of human is he?’

The more he thought about Lucas’s words, the more absurd they became.
The feats Lucas had shown until now, which Serpens had thought were monstrous.
Using a sword to split clouds, or leaps beyond the limits of a human, and so on.
He had been amazed every time, but he had also wondered.
But after seeing Viento, he had thought those things were entirely possible.
Like thrusting a sword and shattering the ground.
He thought it would be possible if one used this concept called ‘Aura’ that he had not known.

‘So it was pure physical ability?’

But Lucas said he could not use Aura.
Then did that not simply mean he was a monster?

He was not someone who would lie about something like this.
That was why it felt even more like a lie.

Thud.

Serpens sank down onto the ground.
His sweat-soaked body felt heavy.

He turned his head and looked at Lucas sitting nearby.
For some reason, he wasn’t watching him train.

Was he lost in thought?
A faint seriousness could be felt on his face, which usually showed no expression at all.

“Seup. Huu. Seup. Huu.”

Since he had no particular desire to disturb him and no urgent business, Serpens steadied his breathing.
He planted his sword on the ground and stood up.
How many times had he swung his sword?
Because he had been lost in thought, he had forgotten to count.
But judging by his trembling arms, it was certain he had done many. Very many.

“Hup!”

Whoosh.

“Hup!”

Whoosh.

Even so, Serpens moved his sword again.

The feeling of challenging his body’s limits.
Because that painful pride helped him sort out his thoughts.

Night came to Litoret.
Perhaps because the end of summer was approaching, a fairly cool wind had begun to blow.

Pat. Pabat.

At a late hour when everyone was asleep.
Four people were moving silently toward Lucas’s house.

“Captain. Who in the world is the target for them to pay so much money for the request?”
“I don’t know either. We only have to do what the client tells us.”

Black outfits covering their faces.
It was the typical assassin attire.

“Jobs with big money on the line make me nervous.”
“That’s because you’re not used to them yet. Even murder that feels like nothing now was somewhat uncomfortable at first.”
“……That’s true.”

The assassins reached Lucas’s house at high speed.
A house even larger than expected.
Among all those countless windows, which one belonged to the target’s room?
To handle the job quickly and accurately, they needed to be careful.

“Now. You take the left. You take the right. You follow me.”

When he gave the order for the search.

Pshuk.

The world of the assassin giving orders turned upside down.
By the time he understood the situation, it was already far too late.

Roll-

Four heads lay fallen on the ground.
The cut surfaces were unbelievably clean.

As moonlight shone, the blood on the greatsword glimmered.
Lucas, who casually wiped off the blood, looked down at the corpses.

Their equipment and skills were both poor.
It was more likely they had targeted Serpens than him.

Lucas lifted the cloth covering their faces with the tip of his sword.

‘Faces I have never seen.’

They were people he had never seen since settling in Litoret.
They were killers hired by someone.

‘If they had a grudge against Serpens, there is no way they would know he is here. In that case…….’

Lucas looked up at the sky.
The clouds floating in the sky began to cover the moon.
He swept back his long hair and slowly walked toward the house.

“Troublesome things have started happening.”

The carriage attack when they left Oratio.
Then the assassination attempt at his house.

It was too unlikely to think of it as a coincidence.

“Wake up, Serpens.”
“Uwoeh?”

Lucas woke Serpens, who had been sleeping soundly.
Startled, Serpens tried to hurry to his feet, only to twist his body from muscle pain.

“We are returning to Oratio.”
“……? But we just arrived in Litoret today.”
“We are returning to Oratio today.”
“Did you leave something behind?”
“Stop talking and follow me.”
“Damn it.”

Serpens hurriedly dragged his exhausted body along.
The smell of blood brushed his nose, but he paid it no mind, thinking a pig must have been slaughtered.
He was annoyed by having to move before dawn and by his muscles screaming.
But he simply followed along.

Because Lucas didn’t move without a reason.

“The magical thread connected to the hired assassins has been severed.”

A space where faint moonlight entered through the window.
Inside the castle of the Oratio Empire, in the emperor’s office, someone was secretly receiving information.

“It seems they were caught by Lucas.”
“Tsk. They were so confident in their skills, yet they couldn’t even deal with one child.”

The voice of an old man, carrying the weight of age, was heard.
At the irritation felt at the end of his words, the subordinate lowered his head.

“I apologize. It seems we underestimated Lucas too much.”
“Useless fool.”

The old man looked down at Oratio through the window.
The vast empire visible even in the dark night.
The old man’s eyes flashed with desire as he looked toward the empire.

“Form a special unit.”
“……One wrong move, and the plan may be exposed.”
“Do not make me say it twice.”
“Understood.”

The old man slowly sat on the throne.
It was an act that would shock others terribly if they saw it.
In the space where only he and his subordinate existed, the old man seated himself with a satisfied expression.

“If only that man falls, this empire will be mine. Is that not so?”
“That is correct. However…….”
“However……? Do you have doubts? Do you not trust me?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Then what did you mean?”

The subordinate hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“I do not know how his skill has changed over time, but in the end, he was someone who was like a symbol of the empire. I worry that if such a man dies, our empire’s national power may weaken.”

Hearing those words, the old man laughed heartily.
The subordinate could only bite his lip as he watched.

“Hahahaha! Do not worry. No matter how outstanding a swordsman he is, in the end, he is only a star that has begun to set. I have a newly rising star.”
“Is…… that so?”
“That is so. So do not worry and focus only on dealing with Lucas Liberator.”
“Loyalty!”

“This is driving me crazy.”

Serpens kneaded his own shoulder.
His muscles, which he could not tell were knotted or torn, were screaming.

“Why Oratio from early dawn? It was hard to find a coachman too.”
“There is someone I need to see.”
“Someone to see? Who?”
“Kerum.”
“Who is that? Last time it was an orchestra, so is it a merchant this time or something?”
“The emperor.”
“Emperor? The emperor of merchants?”
“The emperor of this empire.”
“……What?”

How was he supposed to react?
They were going to meet the emperor of the empire?
Was that something one could do as one pleased?
According to Serpens’s common sense, it was not.

‘What kind of crazy man is this guy?’

But Lucas was not someone who would wake him up from early dawn just to mess with him.

“Once we get to Oratio, do not leave the inn.”
“I want to see the emperor too.”
“He is not someone you can see just because you want to.”
“…….”

Serpens’s eyebrow twitched.
Was he not going to see him because he wanted to?

“I am different from you.”

Lucas answered Serpens’s sharp gaze.

“Yes, yes. I’m sure you are.”

Serpens let out a small sigh and lowered his head.
A person he could not understand even if he tried.
He could put off getting to know such a person until later.
Right now, making up for his lost sleep came first.

Lucas glanced at Serpens, who soon fell asleep.
If his thoughts were correct, Oratio was dangerous for Serpens.
Even so, he couldn’t leave him behind.
His house had already been exposed.
If he separated from Serpens, the boy would surely fall into even greater danger.

Lucas opened the window and let the chilly wind blow against him.
His current goal was to bring the boy to the level he himself wanted.
It was a sudden, temporary goal.
That was why he still couldn’t understand why he was helping him despite all the trouble.

Even so, Lucas protected Serpens.

Sometimes, the heart made one do things the head couldn’t understand.
Normally, he thoroughly excluded such things.
But this time, he couldn’t do so.

“Huu…….”

Finding that reason.
That became the reason Lucas stayed with Serpens.