[Trantor - Kiteretsu]


    [Proofreader - Kyros]


    Chapter 13


    Alkas recalled his recent encounter with Lina.


    “Alkas! What the hell did you do?!”


    Unlike usual, Lina shouted at him with a furious expression on her face.


    Her usual polite tone waspletely gone.


    “The sword was broken. You ruined everything, didn''t you?”


    “N-no, miss. I was just trying to save Prince Kaylen...”


    “Hah. Save him? That pig of a man? You should’ve just let him die! You made everything worse!”


    Had Kaylen died on the spot, it could have turned into a much bigger issue. But blinded by anger, Lina didn’t even consider that possibility.


    ng!


    Throwing things around the room in a fit of rage, Lina red sharply at Alkas.


    “Alkas. You were from amoner family, weren''t you?”


    “...Yes.”


    “Life must be tough for amoner in the capital. And your younger sister is about to attend the Magic Academy, right?”


    When Alkas first mentioned that, Lina had congratted him with a bright smile. But now, she was cornering him with a malicious expression.


    “But now, her enrollment in the Academy is going to be canceled. Since you failed the mission, you’ll have topensate us for it!”


    “...”


    To say that Alkas had failed the mission… Was wielding his sword to save Kaylen wrong?


    It was absurd.


    Apletely unreasonable im.


    But Lina…


    The Florence family, Lina''s family, had the power to enforce such absurd demands.


    Using this incident as an excuse, they had enough power to control Alkas'' fate.


    “Do you know how much that bastard Kaylen asked from our family? 50,000—50,000 gold!”


    “50,000...”


    “Even though we’re a wealthy family, we can’t just hand over that much money. Absolutely not!”


    Lina gritted her teeth, then took a step closer to Alkas.


    “Kaylen. That bastard wants to meet with you.”


    “...”


    “Alkas. When you meet him...”


    Thud.


    Lina pulled a dagger from her cloak and ced it down in front of him.


    “Make sure it’s dealt with properly.”


    “Miss!”


    “Or else, do you want to pay for the 50,000 gold loss yourself?”


    “Why would I—...!”


    “Hah. We’re the Florence family. Amoner like you and your family can be sent straight to the execution block without a second thought!”


    Lina shouted at him, then spun around, walking away with a cold demeanor.


    “Well, fine. If you don’t want to, then don’t. Do whatever you want.”


    “Maybe it’d be better if you just keep making your sister charge mana and treat her like a ve.”


    Step. Step.


    Lina left the room.


    Alkas stared nkly at the dagger that had fallen to the ground.


    ‘She wants me to kill Prince Kaylen with that?’


    If amoner like him were to kill the noble Prince Kaylen…


    He’d be sentenced to the most severe punishment.


    Lina’s order was no different from telling him to die.


    And that, too, would be an ignoble death.


    But what would happen if he didn’t follow hermand?


    He didn’t know what harm coulde to his family.


    Alkas knew better than anyone that the Florence family would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    His head was filled with so many conflicting thoughts.


    However, there was something that worried him more than anything else.


    Thest image of Kaylen that he had seen before losing consciousness.


    ‘He definitely… looked like a sword.’


    Kaylen, a mage, had appeared to be a sword.


    The enormous sword exuded an overwhelming presence that no one could dare defy.


    Alkas picked up the dagger.


    ‘I want to see if that image was real…’


    With that thought, Alkas stood before Kaylen.


    And was disappointed.


    “You’vee.”


    The grotesque sight of Kaylen, whose body had swollen unnaturally.


    The overwhelming sword he had seen before was nowhere to be found.


    ‘Was it an illusion?’


    Of course.


    How could a mage wield such a sword?


    It must have been a trick of the mind due to the ident.


    The illusion had shattered.


    And now, reality stared him in the face.


    Alkas bit his lip and slowly drew the dagger.


    “Prince Kaylen, I’m sorry.”


    If he killed Kaylen, only he would die. But if he didn’t kill him, his whole family, including himself, would be in danger.


    A faint blue aura began to gather around Alkas’s dagger.


    Kaylen, who had been watching indifferently, spoke up.


    “The aura on the left is wavering.”


    “…What?”


    “Let me see it.”


    Kaylen, lying in bed, reached out his hand.


    Then, the dagger Alkas had been holding tightly…


    “Eh? Eh?”


    As if possessed by a ghost, it flew andnded in Kaylen’s hand.


    “When releasing sword aura, it’s important to build the foundation from the beginning.”


    Whoooosh.


    Kaylen, holding the sword, began to demonstrate kindly.


    Once again, sword aura began to gather around the dagger.


    It was a brilliant golden aura,pletely different from Alkas’s blue one.


    Alkas thought he was seeing things.


    A mage releasing sword energy?


    But as time passed, his eyes grew wider and wider.


    Just as he was about to say something…


    “Hmm...?”


    Alkas noticed that the aura emanating from the dagger was different from his own.


    His aura had only faintly surrounded the de, as if it had beenyered on.


    But Kaylen’s aura seemed like it was a part of the sword itself, as if the sword and aura were one.


    “This can’t be…”


    “When the foundation is properlyid, sword aura bes even moreplete.”


    “Feel it. You’ll realize that the amount of mana contained in the sword is not much different from yours.”


    Alkas nodded absently at his words.


    The amount of mana was the same, but the results were on apletely different level.


    And Alkas instinctively realized.


    ‘It’s not a matter of quantity… I… I can’t break through that golden aura.’


    It was a matter of rank.


    But Alkas was mistaken about one thing.


    The difference in rank was just beginning.


    “If you can fully control sword aura like this…”


    Kiiing—


    Golden sparks flew from the dagger as a new aura took form.


    That shape was…


    A new sword, disguised as a dagger.


    “Woah… An aura sword…”


    An aura sword.


    A sword formed from refined aura, a symbol of a sword master.


    The ultimate manifestation of power.


    Alkas had only heard of it in legends, but having seen the golden sword, he knew immediately what it was.


    “This can’t be… The sword master who disappeared 300 years ago…”


    Alkas muttered nkly.


    ‘Disappeared 300 years ago?’


    A sword master had vanished?


    Kaylen, though surprised by the remark, didn’t let it show.


    “Alkas.”


    “Yes…”


    “You have a talent for the sword.”


    Alkas nodded at his words.


    He knew that he had talent.


    Compared to hisrades, he had learned swordsmanship and gathered aura much faster.


    That’s why, even though he was ofmoner origin, he had graduated at the top of the Knight Academy.


    “But, it seems you aren’t receiving the treatment you deserve for your talent. A noble knight like you holding a dagger…”


    ***


    “Follow me.”


    “To you, my lord…?”


    “Yes. Be my knight. If you do, I’ll forgo part of thepensation I was to receive from them, and I’ll ask for you instead.”


    Step. Step.


    Alkas knelt.


    The family he belonged to, the Florence family, had intended to use him as a disposable pawn.


    But Kaylen, who had narrowly escaped assassination, was embracing him instead.


    “Are you… sure about this? I don’t have the talent of a meister. I can’t even wear a mana suit.”


    Meister.


    Mana suit.


    These were terms that did not exist in Ernstine’s world.


    Kaylen’s memories were also iplete, so he didn’t know about them.


    “It’s fine.”


    But what did that matter?


    If he could gain the talent of a sword master, that was all that mattered.


    “That’s nothing. Be my knight, and be a sword master. I’ll make it happen for you.”


    “Sword master…”


    Just a few days ago, those words would have seemed insane.


    But after seeing the aura sword with his own eyes, Alkas began to believe him.


    Thud. Thud.


    When he first entered, he had prepared for death. But now, he saw true light.


    Though it was a light he could never reach.


    “…I want to be Sir Kaylen’s knight. But I’m bound to the Florence family.”


    “It doesn’t matter.”


    “Eh…?”


    “You’ll understand why soon. For now…”


    Kaylen tossed the dagger to the floor and reached out his hand to Alkas.


    “Go out for a while with the people on the other side of the door.”


    Whoooosh.


    A gust of wind swirled around Kaylen’s hand.


    “Wind.”


    First-circle magic, Wind.


    It was a spell considered useless inbat by most mages, as its power was too weak.


    But the wind created by Kaylen’s hand was different.


    The force was overwhelming. Thud!


    “Sir Kaylen, are you okay…?”


    At the exact moment, the door opened suddenly. On the other side stood Jane, the princess’s maid, along with several knights.


    Whoooosh!


    A powerful gust of wind rushed toward them.


    “Eh...!”


    Whoosh.


    The knights were thrown into the air by the wind, unable to withstand its force.


    Alkas was also swept away by the wind.


    The door was torn off its hinges, and even the walls of the infirmary shook.


    The only one who managed to hold their ground was Jane, the maid.


    But even she couldn’t withstand the powerful wind and stumbled back, retreating behind the wall.


    “I thought he might have gotten stronger…”


    The mana circle, now unified, had grownrger, surrounding the torso rather than the heart, which increased the magic’s potency. Kaylen had expected this.


    So he had decided not to use all his strength, intending only to send the knights flying without causing too much damage.


    “It''s stronger than I thought.”


    To think that first-circle magic could have this much power.


    This... this is Wind?!


    From behind the shaking wall, Jane, the princess’s maid, barely managed topose herself.


    If she were just a normal maid, she would have been tossed around like the others.


    Thud. Thud.


    When the knights, who had been thrown far away, crashed into the wall and tumbled to the ground, Jane felt a chill run down her spine.


    ‘They aren’t the highest-level knights, but they’re still wearing heavy armor...’


    Violet, the princess, had ordered Jane to protect Kaylen, as Florence might try to harm him.


    If the knights were removed from the equation, it would leave no witnesses to pressure the Florence family, thus silencing any evidence.


    But Jane, going a step further, thought that if she saved Kaylen in this life-threatening situation, he wouldn’t be able to resist her, like yesterday.


    However...


    ‘I didn’t hear any sound.’


    Even after Alkas had entered, there had been no sounds for a long while.


    Worried, Jane had rushed in with the knights, nning to break in, but this situation waspletely unexpected.


    “Jane.”


    Kaylen’s voice came from beyond the wall.


    “I didn’t expect you to be on the other side of the door.”


    His confident voice.


    Until yesterday, Jane had thought he was just boasting, but hearing his voice now, after witnessing the wind magic, it seemed grounded in real confidence.


    “First of all, I must apologize to yourpanions.”


    “It’s alright. It’s our fault.”


    “Thank you for understanding. Since you''re here, though... Alkas, could you bind yourself for me? There’s been an unfortunate incident.”


    “…Understood.”


    At the mention of “unfortunate incident,” Jane’s eyes lit up.


    Though Kaylen had lost some face, it seemed that the assassination attempt was as the princess had predicted.


    ‘Well, at least this means the negotiations with the Florence family will be over.’


    At that moment, Jane remained optimistic, thinking the Florence family would no longer attempt to negotiate.


    [Trantor - Kiteretsu]


    [Proofreader - Kyros]