Chapter 26

On the way out of the Quantums Merchant House.
Serpens spoke to Lucas, who had grown even quieter.

“Lucas, things have gotten serious, haven’t they?”
“They have.”
“I wouldn’t be of any help right now, would I?”
“Likely not.”
“……Someday, I will be of help, right?”
“I will make it so.”

Things flowed in the exact opposite direction from what the boy had thought.
Had they not come to resolve the matter with the guards?
But far from resolving the problem, only a new problem had arisen instead.
And one that was difficult to handle.

“But could that really be true? I don’t know much, but I don’t think rebellion is something that happens that easily.”
“There is a high chance it is true.”
“Really?”
“What makes even difficult things possible is human greed.”
“Umm…….”

If assassins had not come to Lucas’s house a few days ago, he would not have believed those words.

Lucas knew.
That someone had targeted him, and Serpens as well.
And that it was by no means only because of ill will toward the two of them.

“I will raise the intensity of your training for a while.”
“……It can go higher than it is now?”
“It can.”

Serpens scratched his head roughly.
Hearing that the intensity would be raised from where it was now made him feel troubled.

The two headed toward a forest located on a small nearby hill.
This forest on the outskirts of the city had thickly grown trees, making it a suitable place to block outside eyes.

“Raise your sword.”

Shring.

The boy took his stance with familiarity and aimed the tip of his sword at Lucas.

“Close your eyes.”
“Ugh.”
“Now.”

When the boy closed his eyes, his body naturally stiffened.
The fear of not knowing when or where an attack would come from.
He wanted badly to open even one eye a crack, but there was no way Lucas would allow it.

Fwoosh- Thud.

“Kkh!”

Pain felt in his shoulder.
His bones rang.

‘What did he hit me with?’

It wasn’t a fist.
If it had been a fist, it would have felt as if his bones were being crushed, not ringing.

Something hard and long.
And for some reason, it brought him a familiar pain.

Whoosh-

Crack.

“Ugh!”

This time, it was his thigh.
Only then could the boy be certain.
The feeling of his muscles bursting.
The pain of his bones splitting.

‘This is a block of wood.’

It was a pain he had often felt since he was young.
Of course, when Lucas swung it, it hurt several times more.

“How long are you going to just keep getting hit?”
“I’ve only been hit twice, you know.”
“If I had intended to kill you, you would already have died twice.”
“…….”
“Develop your sense.”

He couldn’t see anything, but Serpens corrected his stance.
Would anything change just because he did this? It was safe to say no.
He didn’t even know what this thing called sense was-

Swaek.

Crack.

“Ow……!”

The same pain.
But the boy’s face didn’t twist.
Just now, clearly, he had felt something before he was hit.

“Lucas, try it one more time.”

Swaek.

Crack!

“Ah……!”

It had been the same just now.
When the block of wood swung, something-

Swaek.

Crack!

Whoosh.

“Eut…….”

This time, Serpens also swung his sword.
Since his eyes were closed, he couldn’t know whether the direction was right.
But the boy himself was definitely getting hit.

“One more time!”

Swaek-!

The sound of the block of wood striking Serpens.
The sound of the boy’s sword cutting through empty air.
Serpens shouting for one more.
Those three things repeated so many times that counting became meaningless.

As that same time repeated.
Bruises formed all over the boy’s body, and his breathing grew so rough it was on the verge of cutting off.

“Now open your eyes.”

Serpens tumbled onto the ground.
The boy’s chest repeatedly rose and fell.
Looking at him, Lucas spoke firmly.

“This is only the beginning. You are merely at the stage of inferring direction.”
“Haa……. Still, I think I roughly know what it feels like.”
“Do not forget that feeling.”
“I understand.”

The boy tried recalling the sensation from just now.
Before the block of wood struck his body.
There was a feeling he sensed in a very brief instant.
Hearing? Touch? How should he explain it?
From the direction it approached, he felt a rather unfamiliar current.
That unfamiliar current soon changed into incoming wind, and by the time he felt that wind, he had already been hit by the attack.
Before the current changed into wind.
If he could notice that moment, blocking the attack might not be impossible.

‘I feel like I’d know for sure if I tried just a few more times.’

He wanted to grasp it firmly while the feeling was there.
But his body wouldn’t keep up.

“Eut.”

Everywhere he could see was bruised.
The pain that came with it was no joke.

“Huu…….”

A sigh escaped him on its own.
More than the hardship, he resented his weak body for being unable to follow his will.

Lucas handed a piece of bread to the boy.

“You are keeping up better than you think, so do not overdo it needlessly.”
“……If so, that is a relief.”

Lucas’s words were sincere.
If anything, he had not conveyed the proper words.
Learning this sense was not something one could do by trying a few times like this.
That was why he had intended to push him a little harder in training.
But Serpens had achieved unexpected results.
Because his eyes were closed, he himself did not know it, but Serpens’s sword that cut through empty air had been accurate in direction, at least.
If he had been able to handle the sword a little better, if his body had grown even a little more……

“Stand up. You can rest in the carriage on the way back to Litoret.”
“What? It’s hard enough just lying here, so how am I supposed to stand up!”
“…….”
“Ha……. Fine, I get it.”

Lucas silently looked at the boy letting out sounds of misery.
The training they had just done was a good training method in many ways.
It was basic training that could develop one’s sense, and training that could reduce the fear of pain.

The better the training was, the more time was needed to produce results.
Even so, Serpens had produced results immediately in that kind of training.

‘I will have to acknowledge this as a kind of talent as well.’

It was impossible without talent.
But the boy’s talent was not innate talent.
Because he had starved since childhood, he had gained endurance.
Because he had run to survive, he had gained stamina.
Because he had gritted his teeth and endured pain, he had gained instinct and toughness.
It was truly a jewel-like talent made of misfortune.

“Then or now, getting hit never changes. Ugh, my whole body aches…….”

Whether the boy knew that or not, he grumbled as he went down the hill path.

“…….”

In front of that boy, as always, was Lucas.

---

Before they knew it, a month had passed since the two had gone to the Quantums Merchant House.
Before long, autumn had come to the Oratio Empire, and fallen leaves had begun to pile up layer by layer at Lucas’s house in Litoret.

Sweep-

Sweep-

And there was Serpens, clearing away the piled-up fallen leaves.

“Oh no. I’ve gotten used to doing chores.”

At first, the chores had only been uncomfortable and annoying.
Sweeping fallen leaves, grocery shopping, cleaning up the training ground after training…….
At first, they had felt unfamiliar and hard.
But as he repeated them, they had become part of a daily life that had once consisted only of training.

Serpens straightened his back while clearing the leaves and looked around.
The cleanup was more or less finished.
The gentle autumn breeze that didn’t match the black house.
Fallen leaves glittering in the morning sunlight.
The boy took a deep breath.

“This isn’t the time. Today is the day we go back there.”

Serpens leaned the broom to one side and went to find Lucas.
Lucas was training alone in the training ground.
Every time Serpens saw him like this, he felt again how impressive Lucas was.
To think he trained steadily even with that kind of strength.

‘Does that mean I have to do that much to become strong?’

A strange comfort came to the boy.
He was clearly growing, even if only little by little.
Only Lucas would know the objective pace, but Serpens could only feel proud of the sword growing more familiar each day and his body growing sturdier.

“Have you cleared all the leaves?”
“I cleared them all.”
“Preparations?”
“I packed my sword, food, and a few tools.”
“……I see. Then let us set off soon.”

Today, the two had decided to go to Killip Gorge again.
That place they had visited not long after Serpens began traveling with Lucas.
It was a place they had left after only a few days because of an unexpected encounter.

A place filled with demonic beasts, where unwelcome powerful figures had settled.
The tension he felt was no different from back then.

‘Compared to then…….’

Even so, the boy was also hoping that something had changed.

The two left the house and boarded a ship.
For a long time, the boy complained of dizziness and continued training even on the ship.
And around the time the boy could no longer endure training because of motion sickness.
They arrived at Killip Gorge.

“Uuuh…….”

Serpens staggered off the ship.
Even if he had gotten used to pain, he couldn’t get used to this damn motion sickness at all.
If there was ever a great danger in the future, motion sickness would probably play a major part.

“We are going in a different direction from last time.”
“Alright.”

Lucas began walking along the coastline instead of into the grass.

“Lucas. Don’t we have to go into the grass if we want to encounter demonic beasts?”
“Now that we have come here, we will encounter demonic beasts one way or another.”
“Hmm…….”
“Just follow me properly.”
“Yes.”

Serpens followed Lucas while checking his surroundings.
The coastline looked relatively peaceful compared to the inside of the gorge.
Perhaps it was because visibility was clear.

When they had moved away from the ship and a hazy fog began to settle in.
Lucas’s steps stopped.

“Serpens. Look at that.”
“That’s…….”

Serpens looked at the gap between the rocks Lucas pointed to.
Branches that seemed to have been placed there unnaturally.
When he stared at that place quietly, he saw a faint tremble.
It was certainly not movement caused by the wind.

“Raise your sword.”

Serpens nodded and gripped his sword.
He felt a little sweat in his palms.

“Are they goblins?”
“Likely.”
“How many do I kill?”
“All of them.”
“All of them?”

Lucas did not answer.
Instead, he merely picked up a small pebble from the ground.

“Handle it yourself.”

Swaek-.

The pebble that flew at high speed lodged itself in the gap between the rocks Lucas had pointed to.

A brief silence.

Kriaaak!

Then the cries of the hidden goblins rang out.

Pababat.

One by one, goblins revealed themselves from the gaps between rocks, the grass, and places in the dirt.

When the boy saw the green demonic creatures, he instinctively gripped his sword even tighter.
His fingertips seemed to tremble, but he steadied his trembling heart.

Their number was twenty.
There were more than last time.

The goblin running at the front bared its teeth and swung its dagger.
The boy instantly twisted his body to the side, avoided the attack, and counterattacked.

Slice-

The goblin whose neck was cut couldn’t even scream and writhed in pain.

Kieeek!

The goblins came rushing in after it.
Serpens targeted the nearest enemy.
A goblin holding a rusty dagger leaped in, aiming for the boy’s chest.
Serpens took one step back and swung his sword upward from below.

Slice-

The tip of his sword cut the goblin’s abdomen, and the goblin fell with a groan.
Blood splashed onto his face.
Disgust surged up, but he didn’t stop moving.

Three goblins rushed in at the same time.
Serpens widened the distance and faced them one by one.
The moment a goblin tried to swing its sword, the boy’s body reacted immediately to dodge or block.
The boy didn’t miss the openings created by that.

“Huu…….”

Five goblins easily dealt with.
The remaining goblins were hesitating to approach despite their numerical advantage.

Serpens caught his breath.
If the goblins took one step forward, he took one step back.
If they showed movement, he moved at the same time and did not let down his guard.

Swaek-!

At that moment, an arrow flew from behind the boy.

Clang!

The boy immediately turned his body and deflected the arrow.
The goblin that failed its surprise attack hid itself in panic.

For the past month, the boy had done nothing but train.
He had crossed swords with Lucas and fallen countless times.

“This…… is doable.”

To that boy,
the goblins’ attacks only felt endlessly slow.