Chapter 35. The Wondrous Woman
2023.10.05.
"My Lady."
Along with a knock, Lina's voice was heard. Blair closed the book she was reading.
"Come in."
As soon as Blair gave permission, Lina entered the study. Approaching with a grave expression like someone bearing a heavy mission, Lina handed a letter to Blair.
"It's a letter from the guild."
It was the news she had been waiting for.
Blair placed the book she was holding back in its spot and unfolded the letter.
In case it was intercepted by someone else along the way, the letter omitted any information about the sender and recipient, containing only a brief message.
[I have found the origin of the crest you ordered me to investigate last time. That crest is...]
Blair's eyes began to tremble uncontrollably as she read down the letter.
* * *
"It's coming!"
The knight's voice echoed through the quiet winter forest. At the same time, the ground in the distance cracked and split as something approached.
There was something massive beneath the earth.
In the path of its charge, Herdin stood.
Herdin watched it approach with cold eyes, then drove the sword he was holding into the ground.
A magic circle of blue light spread out centered on the sword. He had changed the direction of the freezing magic from the ground to beneath the earth.
Below the magic circle, sharp ice that burrowed into the ground stabbed the approaching thing hiding beneath the surface. Then, a giant worm-shaped magic beast popped out of the ground.
"Now!"
The knights waiting in ambush in the forest heard the Knight Commander's order and fired their crossbows simultaneously.
Dozens of crossbow bolts attached to wires made of twisted thin, hard iron wire buried themselves in the magic beast's body.
The magic beast twisted its massive body to shake them off and hide back underground, flinging a few knights away, but it was impossible to shake off all dozens of men.
The knights gritted their teeth to withstand the magic beast's strength.
"Ugh!"
One of them failed to withstand the beast's power and was flung back. The magic beast's mouth opened wide, attempting to swallow that knight.
The moment the knight froze in fear.
Herdin, who had approached in the blink of an eye, snatched the knight first and threw him toward the forest.
And he quickly created the next magic circle, stepping on it to move. Reaching the magic beast's head in an instant, he swiftly sliced off the worm's head. There was no wasted movement.
The bisected magic beast writhed as its head began to regenerate its body, and its body began to regenerate its head.
At that moment, the shape of a sword made of light appeared in the air. The swords of light rained down on the magic beast's body like a heavy downpour.
The knights watched him fight with renewed admiration, even though they had seen it countless times before.
Because magic required a high degree of concentration, it was difficult to use while moving. For the same reason, one could not use more than one magic at a time.
However, not only did Herdin's movements remain uninterrupted while using magic, but he even used them consecutively.
Seeing that, anyone had no choice but to acknowledge it. That he possessed a power that truly surpassed humanity.
Landing lightly, Herdin drove his sword into the fallen head of the magic beast. When the magic beast's heart embedded in its center shattered, both the body and the head stopped moving.
Seeing this, the knights let out a sigh of relief. It was the end of the battle.
Herdin sheathed his sword and looked down at his palm. He could feel the mana inherent in his body moving.
'There's been nothing unusual since the New Year's Festival.'
Ever since the issue with mana manipulation during the New Year's Festival, he had been checking his condition periodically, but there was nothing unusual.
Even after scouring magic books, he couldn't find a case where mana temporarily evaporated and then returned.
He couldn't reveal his unstable state to anyone. His weakness would immediately become Delmark's weakness, so he had no choice but to keep a close watch and grasp his condition himself.
'There have been a lot of annoying things lately.'
Both the abnormal state of his mana and the hallucinations he saw with his eyes open.
"Your Grace."
A squire approached the contemplative Herdin and handed him a towel.
Herdin wiped away the magic beast's ichor on his body.
Meanwhile, the squires began to collect the magic beast's corpse.
Catching magic beasts came with immense danger, but the corpses were worth money, so arrogant magic beast hunters entered their territory for the reward.
And sometimes, they ended up dragging the magic beast all the way to the village like today.
"We actually caught most of that magic beast. We're the ones who inflicted the damage, so it's only right we get this much."
Herdin looked with pathetic eyes at the culprits of this incident, who had just been begging for their lives a moment ago, but now stepped forward to claim their share after the magic beast was dealt with.
'They should have just taken responsibility and become the magic beast's prey.'
But there was no need for him to step in. The Knight Commander, who was already sick and tired of the northern magic beast hunters, would take care of it.
After returning the towel to the squire, Herdin stared blankly at the magic beast's corpse being collected by the squires.
After taking a life, he felt filthy. Whether it was an enemy or a magic beast.
He had lived taking countless lives for over ten years, so he thought he was used to it by now. He wondered why he suddenly felt so unsettled.
Savoring the reason, Herdin suddenly thought of Blair.
The woman held in his arms was warm. The skin that touched his was soft, and the heart beneath her chest beat small but strong, resembling its owner.
Living was that wondrous.
The fact he had naturally known struck him anew. That was likely why the death he dealt with his own hands felt so unsettling all over again.
He wanted to go back quickly. To the mansion where the woman with that wondrous life awaited.
As Herdin turned toward his tied horse, he saw Ruth approaching. And behind him, faces he wasn't very pleased to see.
It was the Imperial Knight Order.
At their center was the Vice Knight Commander who led the Imperial Knight Order.
"Oh my, in the time it took us to stop by the temple and bring the priest... You've already taken down that big guy? As expected of the Delmark Knight Order, the natural enemy of magic beasts!"
He made an exaggeratedly surprised expression and praised the Delmark Knight Order. No, that's how it seemed at first glance.
Herdin looked at him with nonchalant eyes. He knew the Imperial Knight Order had intentionally arrived late. It was like this every time.
If it weren't for the fact that civilian lives were at stake, he would have ignored whatever happened to the Imperial Knight Order.
"Indeed, it would have been a big problem if I had finished it just a little later. I almost saw the Imperial crest you're wearing come out of that worm's rear end."
At Herdin's obviously sarcastic remark, the atmosphere turned sharply cold.
The Vice Knight Commander, who had stiffened his expression for a moment, soon gathered himself and retorted with a hearty laugh.
"Haha, our knight order isn't that incompetent. We are the Imperial Knight Order in name."
"Ah, I am well aware of how competent you are. Don't you always bring the priests at an unbelievably perfect timing?"
"......."
"Hurry up and transport the injured to the village. That's another thing you're good at, isn't it."
It was a remark treating the Imperial knights like squires cleaning up after them.
Unable to hide his displeased expression any longer, the Vice Knight Commander turned away from Herdin and gave orders to the Imperial Knights.
Ruth, standing next to Herdin, clicked his tongue as he watched the Imperial Knight Order walk away.
"Anyway, what a waste of tax money on those guys."
Watching the Delmark knights receive treatment, Herdin reached out his hand to Ruth.
"What about our casualties?"
Immediately understanding the meaning of his hand, Ruth cut a cigar and presented it to Herdin. Then he lit it and replied.
"Five in total, but they're minor injuries, so it's nothing to worry about."
"What's the schedule for today?"
"There's no particular schedule, but Sir Kaligo's party was supposed to arrive around today. Do you remember?"
Kaligo was one of the knights who had fought alongside Herdin on the battlefield, a skilled and loyal subordinate.
Originally, he was stationed at the Delmark main castle under Herdin's orders, but he was currently coming down to the capital.
"I know."
Actually, he had only just found out, but there was no need to say that.
While Herdin was casually nodding and inhaling the cigar smoke, he sensed someone's presence behind him.
"Um..."
Herdin and Ruth turned around at the same time.
"Ah, it really was Your Grace! I saw you at the temple before, do you happen to remember?"
A silver-haired woman beamed with joy at Herdin.
As Herdin exhaled smoke and looked at the woman with an indifferent face, Blair's voice, which he had heard sometime ago, came to mind.
'That priest from earlier, she's the woman you will fall in love with.'
The voice and eyes that were as calm as if talking about someone else.
Recalling that memory, Herdin's eyes sank coldly.
He didn't know her name, but he remembered that face. It was a face he couldn't forget, regardless of whether he wanted to remember it or not.
"I remember. Priestess."
Actually, even if he didn't remember, he could have guessed she was a priestess by her attire.
However, Miela smiled brightly as if she was happy just by him saying so. She was a woman whose emotions were fully displayed on her face.
"I'm so glad to see you again like this. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No."
Miela felt embarrassed by his concise, immediate answer, but she struggled to find something to say.
"How is the place where you were treated then? May I ask about your condition?"
"I'm fine. Your healing magic was nothing short of perfect."
Contrary to his words of praise, Herdin's eyes as he puffed his cigar were full of boredom. It meant there was no problem, so he would be on his way, but Miela seemed unable to grasp that meaning and blushed.
"Thank goodness. It was an internal injury, and I was very nervous at the time, so I was worried I might not have treated it properly..."
"......."
"Ah. How is the Duchess? She also seemed very shocked at that time."
When the familiar title slipped from Miela's lips, his expression, which had been bored all this time, changed.