0. Traces of the Sun>“Thank you so much.”
“No… well… it’s not as if I went through any trouble……”
“Not at all! You were truly a great help. Now I can go every day to watch and learn.”
Feeling burdened by the boy gazing at him with sparkling eyes, Sian trailed off and passed the credit to Steel beside him.
Sian and Steel were currently going around with a boy from the Roland family named Decaron.
Though they had said it was unnecessary, the boy, insisting that he wanted to repay them, had asked all sorts of questions. When he learned that Sian had stopped by this place for sightseeing, he offered to personally introduce Renorba to them.
He said he was a native of the place, and since he had worked as a guide before when food had run short, he knew it well.
Thinking this much sincerity was acceptable to receive, Sian agreed, and the three of them were now touring Renorba’s famous sights.
“…
This place is called
At those words, Sian’s ears perked up.
“Then shall we eat here before we go? I’ll pay. Decaron, you should eat with us too.”
“Well… I don’t mind. Huhu.”
“I would be grateful, then.”
The three entered the restaurant and soon began to converse.
Perhaps because it was a restaurant outsiders did not know about, there were not many people, and the food was excellent as well, so the three continued their conversation in high spirits.
In the midst of their talk, Sian was able to learn a few more things about Decaron.
First, though he had already known it, Decaron’s family was truly poor and on the verge of collapse.
Second, Decaron was desperately working hard to rebuild that family.
If he was doing all sorts of odd jobs and maintaining their livelihood, he could not have had much time to train, yet to have come this far, enough to be blocked by the wall of Expert without even a proper teacher, meant he truly possessed considerable talent.
Unfortunately, however, Steel and Sian before him were owners of talents hundreds, thousands of times rarer than that, so they were not particularly impressed.
While the conversation was in full swing, the boy seemed to have something he wanted to say, but found it difficult to bring up, and he hesitated.
“Mm… Decaron? Is something the matter?”
At that, Decaron spoke with difficulty.
“May I ask how long you plan to stay here?”
“Mm… There seems to be a lot to see, so I’m thinking about a week. This city called Renorba is truly wonderful.”
Hearing that, Decaron brightened and asked again.
“Th-then, if it wouldn’t be rude… while you’re staying here, could you perhaps take a look at my swordsmanship?”
At those words, Sian made a troubled expression.
“Mm… Unfortunately, I think that would be a bit difficult.”
“Ah… I’m sorry for burdening you. It was an unreasonable request after all.”
Seeing Decaron’s dejected expression, Sian hurriedly added,
“Ah… It’s not that it’s an unreasonable request… it’s just impossible because… I’ve never learned from anyone, and I can’t teach anyone either.”
“Pardon?”
Seeing Decaron’s expression, which seemed to say that if he disliked it he should just say so, instead of making up such a ridiculous, petty excuse, Sian felt that further explanation was needed.
“…
It’s true. I tried to help my older brother a bit in the past, but it didn’t work.”
Even his older brother Rian had not understood a single thing he said. He did not think the child before him would possess greater talent than his brother.
“Huhuhuhu… Of course. Who could understand us?”
Beside him, Steel laughed with an amused expression.
The words and thoughts of those who had reached the level of a Ra-Vander were difficult for ordinary people to understand even before they reached the realm of Ra-Vander.
Because they were people born with talent bestowed by the heavens.
How, exactly, could one explain how to move one’s arm or how to breathe?
They simply did it because when they tried, it worked.
The Solar Sword had been like that, and Steel was like that as well. Sian went without saying.
That was why they shone all the more. Beings aloof and radiant, because they could not be made, nor could they pass on what was theirs.
“The Solar Sword left nothing behind in your family, did he? Swordsmanship or the like……”
“…
No.”
“That is because it would all be meaningless. If one did not possess talent on par with his own, one would not understand it, and if one did possess talent on par with his own, one would find one’s own path without needing such things.”
“Ah……”
Hearing those words, Decaron wore an expression of despair.
Then did that mean what their family had done for two hundred years had been in vain!
Even as the family fell into ruin, they had struggled to master the Solar Sword’s swordsmanship, but the people before him were denying it outright.
“Little one, that’s why I carved something on the wall so even someone of your level could learn it easily. You can look at that and learn from it.”
“Ah……!”
Hearing those words, Decaron’s face filled with hope, and Sian felt his heart ease.
It was not exactly pleasant to watch someone else’s hope crumble.
Decaron, who had been wearing a joyful expression, suddenly fell into anguish, then lifted his head and looked at Sian.
After agonizing for a moment, he opened his mouth.
“Um… There is something I didn’t tell you earlier… More than a hundred years ago, Ancestor Solar Sword did stop by our family and left something behind.”
“Mm?”
“That old man did?”
Sian and Steel looked intrigued. They found it curious that a Ra-Vander had returned to his family and involved himself again.
Finding traces of a Ra-Vander in an unexpected place, Sian became interested.
“But little one, you’re rather brave. What if we tried to take it from you?”
“…
I don’t think you would.”
Decaron had been quick-witted since he was young, so he could tell quickly.
From the way they had spoken about the Solar Sword earlier, he had felt that these two showed no reverence whatsoever toward the Solar Sword, his great ancestor.
He had no idea who they were or how strong they were, but he even felt as if they looked down on him instead.
Their reactions earlier were enough to tell.
Until now, he had hidden the fact that his house possessed a relic left behind by the Solar Sword.
If it became known that a powerless family had something like that, it would not have been strange for them to be massacred and robbed overnight.
But these two seemed unlikely to do that. That was why, after hesitating, he told them.
In any case, no one had been able to decipher it for over a hundred years. If so, rather than hoarding it uselessly in the house, it was better to show it to these two people on this occasion.
As expected—and very fortunately—the eyes of the two held only curiosity, not greed.
“If you’re curious, would you like to come take a look? Our house isn’t far from here.”
“Mm… If that is all right, I’d be grateful. I was curious.”
“Same here. I wonder what that sly old man Livias was thinking. Hahaha.”
After finishing their meal, the three rose from their seats and followed Decaron’s guidance toward the Roland family residence.
“This is it.”
The place they arrived at was a shabby house. To an extent that it was hard to believe this was the once-mighty Roland family of Livias.
The Roland family had fallen that completely.
But that was why they had been able to survive. Their decline over the course of two hundred years had proven that the Solar Sword had left them nothing.
To Sian or Steel, it did not really matter. A royal palace, a grand mansion, or this shabby house—one was much the same as another.
After entering the house, Decaron introduced his mother.
“Mother, these are the people who helped me yesterday.”
“I am Sian.”
“Steel.”
“Welcome to the Roland family. We do not have much to offer you, but… please rest comfortably before you go.”
Perhaps because she had weathered many hardships, Decaron’s mother looked listless.
“Go in and rest, Mother. You two, please come this way.”
Decaron led the two of them to the cleanest room they had, then went down to the basement, saying he would bring the item.
Before long, Decaron returned holding a small box in his hands.
It was such a shabby, unimpressive-looking box that no one would ever suspect it.
But when Decaron opened the box, something emerged from within that did not suit the box at all.
A small stone about the size of a thumbnail, emitting a dazzling radiance despite the passage of over a hundred years.
On the surface of the little stone, lines had been carved strangely, yet with great precision, all over it, and glittering particles flowed endlessly along those lines.
And inside the translucent stone, something was constantly in motion.
He could understand why the Roland family had hidden it.
At a glance it looked precious; if it had been discovered, the unfortunate situation of robbers breaking into this shabby house seven times a day would have occurred.
Sian picked up the stone and examined it carefully from various angles, then finally opened his mouth.
“This is……”
Decaron pricked up his ears as if determined not to miss a single word.
“I have absolutely no idea.”
“Pardon?”
“Are you sure this was left behind by the person called the Solar Sword?”
“Yes. The records clearly say that the Solar Sword had someone send it……”
“That’s strange……”
Sian murmured, and Steel agreed as well.
This was not the trace of a martial artist. There was no trace of a Vander or a “Path” at all.
Rather, with Exar constantly flowing within it, it resembled the trace of some Law Master.
Moreover, he could not even guess what was inside.
He could sense the flow, but since he was thoroughly ignorant when it came to laws, he could not tell what kind of effect it would produce.
There was about one thing he could tell.
“It seems to be for eating……”
“…
Eating?”For a hundred years, their ancestors had put their heads together and agonized over it, but from the beginning, there was no way a declining family would have the talent or information to understand such a thing.
“Mm… The way this was made is… if someone has a certain level of skill or talent, they will recognize it. It has been continuously sending a signal to eat it. Perhaps… I’m not certain, but it seems to be something like an elixir, used to increase one’s ability.”
At those words, Decaron also examined the stone closely.
Perhaps because he had gained a slight realization from looking at the wall earlier, when he focused his mind, he could faintly perceive that sensation.
Decaron wore an expression of deep emotion.
Ancestor Livias had not abandoned the family!
He did not know what it was or what purpose it served, but there was no way an item left behind by a great Ra-Vander would be ordinary, and there was a high possibility it was an extraordinary elixir.
Steel beside him, however, wore a subtle expression.‘Huh… He wasn’t that kind of old man…….’Having once joyfully tussled with Livias above the spring, in the Sky Mountains, Steel knew roughly what kind of personality Livias had, so she could not believe that he had kindly left behind something like an elixir for his descendants.
But since she did not completely know that old man’s thoughts, and it would be awkward to interfere needlessly, Steel decided to simply stand quietly at the side.
Besides, that was not an item that would be of much help at their level. To begin with, she did not even know what effect it had.
While they were talking about this and that, the sun set before they knew it, and Sian and Steel, having made an appointment to meet again tomorrow, returned to the lodging they had reserved.
After everyone had left and his mother had gone to sleep, Decaron, left alone in the room, gazed at the stone before him and sank into thought.
He also recalled what the person called Sian had told him earlier.‘I don’t know what it is… but it seems suspicious…… I’m not certain either, so I don’t think you should eat it recklessly.’But as he continued looking at the stone, he felt strangely drawn to it and could not endure it.
From within him, endless voices also rang out.[How long are you going to keep doing odd jobs while training… You need to revive your family.][It was left behind by your ancestor, so what could possibly happen?][The moment you eat it… you too can become a shining existence.]
After agonizing, Decaron reached out as if possessed by something, then soon put on a resolute expression and swallowed the tiny thumbnail-sized stone.☆ ☆ ☆An island in
On this island, not far from Renorba, there stood a mansion whose owner was unknown.
A man who had been lying in a chair in front of the island’s vacation mansion, enjoying the sunlight, had been dozing when he suddenly sprang upright.
“Hooh… So he’s finally eating it. That friend the Solar Sword must have had quite a hard time of it. To think there hadn’t been a child with this much talent among his descendants……”
The man looked west with an amused expression, and soon, as if some thought had occurred to him, he rose to his feet.
And the man vanished, leaving nothing but a small house sitting alone on an unnamed island in the Kiran Sea.☆ ☆ ☆When Decaron failed to appear at the promised place, Sian and Steel waited a bit longer, wondering if he had overslept, but he did not come.
But no matter how long they waited, Decaron did not show up.
Since he was not a child who would break a promise, Sian uttered with a bitter expression,
“It seems he ate it…….”
“Well… still, you did what you could, so don’t worry too much.”
The stone of unknown origins was exerting an effect that enticed those who had reached a certain level.
Beautiful mushrooms carry poison.
It was impossible to know for what purpose the stone had been made, but a stone that lured people could hardly have good intentions.
Therefore, Sian had subtly tampered with the stone to suppress its beguiling effects.
In that case, eating the stone had been Decaron’s own choice.
That was not something Sian needed to involve himself in.
“Well then… our guide is gone too, so let’s go around cozily, just the two of us. Hoho.”
“Urk…….”
Startled as Steel linked her arm through his, Sian quickly walked out.‘Hoo…….’Steel, watching him walk away, made a strange expression and her eyes sparkled.
“Then… our next destination… is the square where the Sun Sword’s weapon is embedded?”
“Hmm… the sword that man used… was it
As she spoke, Steel glanced at Sian’s wrist, seemingly unable to hide her regret.
“No.”
“Tch.”
Noticing her gaze, Sian drew a firm line, and Steel let out a complaint.
“Hmm… Granzod… if it’s enough for you to speak of it so highly, it must be quite the weapon.”
Sian put on an expression that said he wanted to see it soon.
The Sun Sword’s beloved blade, Granzod, was a weapon that had disappeared from sight two hundred and twenty years ago when the Sun Sword vanished without a trace in Rolanga.
It had no special abilities.
Its sole distinguishing feature was that it was made of
Therefore, even among Grang-
-banders, it could endure the enormous energy of Libias, who boasted exceptional Vander scores, and that was how it became famous.
Because of the nature of Ra-
-banders, who do not involve themselves in the secular world, everyone thought they would never see it again, but more than a hundred years ago, one day, there it was, stuck squarely in the middle of Renorba’s Grand Plaza.
Strangely enough, even though it was in the very center of the plaza, no one saw who had embedded it there.
But who else could have placed it? It was the Sun Sword’s beloved weapon, so of course it was the Sun Sword!
Not just Renorba, but all of Broshan was excited. They took it to mean that the great Libias was still watching over them, still protecting Broshan.
Of course, the Grang-
-banders knew it wasn’t like that, but they didn’t know the truth either, and it was good for morale, so they glossed over it.
And the Broshan royal family openly opened the plaza to the public and promoted it so that many people could see the sword, in order to boost the people’s morale.
There had even been thieves who tried to pull it out. Granzod was clearly a coveted treasure.
But everyone failed. No matter what tricks they used, they could not pull out the sword that was merely stuck in the plaza ground.
Even Taguron, Broshan’s Grang-
-bander who was confident in his strength, rushed in to pull it out but failed.
After this incident, the theory that the one who had left the sword embedded there was Libias became even clearer, and this place became a famous attraction in Renorba.
Recalling such information on their way to the plaza, Sian sensed a strange atmosphere.
Everyone near the plaza was buzzing with talk.
Steel noticed this too and perked up her ears, and soon she spoke to Sian as if amused.
“Haha! Sian, it seems Granzod has been stolen? They say it’s disappeared. What jobless fellow would take something like that.”
“Hah…….”
If that was the case, this clamor was understandable.
Sian was dumbfounded that everything he had come here to see had vanished entirely.
“Hoho. Don’t be too disappointed. I can tell you everything, about that man.”
“Ngn… I was still curious, though… It can’t be helped. We must continue our sightseeing, so let’s head to the next destination.”
Sian pulled out a map in Nichumatan and pointed to their next destination,
Steel made an expression that said she couldn’t understand at all.
“You could see everything in this city’s range if you just looked, so why go all the way to an observatory? It might be a bit hard for me, but not for you.”
“…I’m doing it for the mood, the mood. Why do you lack romance, Lady Steel?” ‘I was only testing the waters, but can she really do it?’ Unable to bring himself to say that he was hoping for a romantic encounter at Harangel’s Tower just like in a novel, Sian clicked his tongue and quickly picked up his pace.
And Steel, who had been dumbfounded by Sian’s answer, shrugged her shoulders as if wondering what he was thinking and followed after him.☆ ☆ ☆Having finished sightseeing and returned to the inn, Sian spoke to Steel, who was rolling around in his room despite having insisted on booking a separate room.
“What kind of person was this Libias?”
“Hmm… Do we really need to care about such a sly old man? He’s weaker than you, anyway.”
“How would I know if I’m stronger without even fighting him? He has lived an incredibly long time, hasn’t he?”
“He lost to me, too. Hoho. So of course he’s weaker than you, isn’t he?”
“Huh?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected answer, Sian was bewildered.
When the Sun Sword ascended to the ranks of Ra-
-banders, Lady Steel must have been young.
Because of that, even if Lady Steel had later become a Ra-
-bander, Sian had unconsciously thought that someone like Libias would be stronger.
Delighted by his bewildered reaction, Steel continued in high spirits.
“That’s right. About a hundred… no, no, we fought once. At the base of the Sky Mountain Range.”
At those words, Sian felt like he had read in a book about a meteor falling in the Sky Mountains of the Ragran region around 150 years ago, but he decided to feign ignorance and let it pass.
“Hmm? Why did you fight?”
“That old man coveted my precious spring. What could I do? I had no intention of giving it up, so we had to fight.”
“That’s quite… You could have just shared it. A spring has no owner.”
Sian spoke as if he had given up on persuading her.
“Hoho… I’ve never had something I coveted taken from me… by anyone…….”
Feeling an inexplicable chill at Steel’s gaze that swept up and down him as she finished speaking, Sian hurriedly changed the subject.
“Ahem… So, putting aside that you won. What happened to that Sun Sword person?”
“Who knows. He was being pushed back, but he managed to scoop up a ladleful of spring water and fled. I’m on the slower side among Ra-
-banders, so I couldn’t even chase him… so I gave up. Hmm… maybe he’s alive, maybe dead… if Ra-
-banders decide to hide, it’s hard for even each other to find them. Before I met you and those two strange fellows, I thought there were only two of us left on the continent. I think I heard that the Sun Sword man had died.”
“Hmm… I see.”
“Isn’t that obvious? No matter how strong we are, we can’t know about a battle until someone spreads word of it. We’re not gods; how could we know what happens across the entire continent?”
Indeed, that was true. No matter how colossal powers clashed, and no matter how keen the senses of Ra-
-banders were, transcendent beings were far too sparsely distributed.
Furthermore, they often clashed in remote areas devoid of ordinary people, or even if people witnessed it, they couldn’t believe it, so rumors did not spread easily.
“That makes sense.”
“Right. That’s why I was so glad to meet you. Be a little more affectionate toward me. As far as I know, our kind numbers exactly five now, on this vast Rasian continent.”
She was probably counting Sian himself, Lady Steel, the two in Ragran, and the one called Geuroin in the Great Northern Wall.
But…
“Well… isn’t that unknown? Who knows how many are hidden across the continent. You just said yourself that if we hide, we’re hard to find.”
“That may be so, but… hoho, not knowing is no different from not existing.”
Unable to be cold to Steel, who looked at him and grinned broadly, Sian let out a small sigh and asked another question.
“Well, still… what was that Sun Sword person’s ‘Path’ like?”
“That old man did have some talent in that regard… His compatibility with Granzod was good too. The amount of energy he possessed was tremendous. As for me… I only won because our compatibility gave me a slight advantage.”
“Oh… was he that impressive?”
“Hoho… it was so long ago. Besides, it was when I hadn’t long become a Ra-
-bander. The burns I received then still feel like they’re there… Want to see?”
“Urk!”
Sian jumped in surprise and scurried backward at the sight of Steel playfully smiling and making as if to lift her upper garment.
And looking at Steel giggling at him, he began to scold her.
Come to think of it, there was no way a scar could remain on a Ra-
-bander’s body. She had been playing a prank.
“Lady Steel! Ahem! What are you doing? Did you think I would fall for something like that?”
“Hohohoho… I know you’re disappointed… that I only pretended to undress. I felt you trying to peek with your Vander just now.”
“Hmph… Hmph… No. What do you take me for? I was raised in a distinguished family.”
“Yes, yes.”
Looking at Steel making an expression as if she understood, Sian somehow felt that the journey ahead would become arduous.☆ ☆ ☆“Phew… This is truly unpleasant. I feel like a complete idiot. And how many years have passed, anyway?”
Decaron de Rollan—no, the being that had now become something else—brushed the stone dust from his sword and trudged along the mountain path.
Muttering complaints incessantly.
“Sheesh… that guy. He stuck it in deep too. Not that anyone could steal it. The moment they pulled it out, they’d burn to death.”
He had poured so much of his power into it that anyone touching it should have burned to death instantly, but that man—who knows why—had sealed his own sword in the middle of the square.
Thanks to that, the fellows who tried to steal it all failed, but their lives were spared.‘By the way, this is unexpected… To think that damned brat Stantal is still alive… Grind!’Though his personality had changed, he retained the memories of the child called Decaron intact.
That was why he had been shocked to see Stantal appear before the child called Decaron. To think he was still alive.
He still remembered vividly how that pretty face in his memories had beaten him black and blue.
According to this boy’s memories, 220 years had passed since he disappeared from his household… so by simple calculation, that child Stantal should now be 230.
Well, becoming a Ra-
-bander greatly increases lifespan, so it’s not incomprehensible that he’s alive, but…….‘So that bastard didn’t come looking until then…….’Among the existing Ra-
-banders and transcendent beings, the whereabouts of that brat Stantal were relatively well known.
It was incomprehensible, but well, he was always unpredictable, so Libias couldn’t know what he was thinking either.
‘Cowardly bastard. So I was the only one he killed?’
Grumbling, Decaron drew his sword. And swung it long to the side.
In an instant, all the surrounding trees whooshed into flames and turned to ash, and from within, a man walked out.
“What are you hiding for so long. It’s me.”
“Haha! Long time no see, Libias. I rushed over because the seal broke, but you’ve grown so weak I was wondering if it was really you.”
“…I didn’t know my own bloodline had fallen this low. Damn… over a hundred years passed and not a single decent talent emerged. In the end, I had to resort to
He had definitely cast a charm so that only those with talent above a certain level could see it, but somehow that witless fellow ended up eating it.
Because of that, even with the power stored in his sword, he had yet to recover all the strength he had in life.
“Kehehe… Still, it was good that I took out an insurance policy, just like I said?”
“Tsk… That is true. Thanks. Thanks to that, I found the sword easily too.”
“Then it’s time to repay the debt.”
“…
Very well. Lead the way.”
The man, grinning from ear to ear, launched himself into the air, and Dekaron—no, Ribias, now reborn—followed him and vanished. ‘Ah, I left that behind… Well… I’m sure nothing will happen.’ After hesitating for a moment, the man shook it off and began moving forward again, leading Ribias onward.