Chapter 101
The reason she became one of the Five Stars was none other than the ability of her sword.
Only those possessing the rank of Master, whose five senses had transcended the human realm, could block her surprise attacks through shadows.
The general consensus was that unless one was a Master, there was almost no one who could block her strike surging from the shadows.
'Even without her one-hit-kill surprise attacks, her abilities themselves are outstanding to begin with.'
Shadows and snakes.
There were few knights who could counter her elusive techniques of moving while manipulating shadows like her own limbs.
Even Callias would prefer to avoid fighting Helena if at all possible.
It wasn't particularly surprising that she finished off the Sword of Lament in a single strike.
"Why are you here?"
More than that, I was curious about why Helena had come all the way here.
"Someone asked me to. They said to hold it back a bit, but it was already moving around without a head so I just cut it off. It seems to be because of this—do you want it? It's creepy."
Helena threw Gid's arm, still gripping the sword, onto the ground as if it were disgusting.
Somewhat startled by that sight, Callias discreetly surveyed the surroundings.
The knights and paladins who had vividly witnessed the sword's power right before their eyes revealed their greed despite knowing the danger.
'Someone's going to die.'
Callias tried to grab the Sword of Lament thrown on the floor before anyone else could, but frowned at the sudden wailing ghostly cries he heard.
'Just in case.'
Instead of grabbing the sword, he pretended to tuck Gid's arm, still holding it, into his cloak—and shoved it straight into his spatial inventory.
Only then did a quest completion window appear along with the reward.
After briefly checking it, he decided to survey the surroundings first.
"Allow me to express my gratitude. The number of soldiers and knights who fell victim to that thing is great. It kept moving even after I cut off its head, and I was so flustered I nearly missed—then you appeared right on time."
"The timing was quite good. It's been a while, Golden Lion."
"It's been a while for you as well, Gold Snake."
Helena and the Golden Lion conversed quite amicably, apparently acquainted with each other.
Well, they both belonged to the Five Stars, so they must have exchanged conversations here and there.
And Helena was secretly quite sociable to begin with.
"My lord, was Lady Helena a member of the Five Stars?"
"Is he alive?"
"Yes sir! Though he's a bit bruised and has some scratches on his back, he's perfectly fine!"
Just scratches in all that chaos.
Considering this guy's abilities, I'm not sure if he's incredibly lucky or just resourceful.
"Pointlessly sturdy. How do you survive every day with those skills of yours?"
"It's because I have a long lifeline, hehe!"
What a bizarre fellow.
"Is the Sixth Squad alright?"
"Yes, they're fine. A few have frostbite and need treatment, but with some good rest, there shouldn't be any major issues."
"That's a relief."
The frostbite didn't seem too severe; except for a few, everyone was reportedly fine.
It was fortunate there were no casualties.
It seemed only the soldiers and knights of the Count's territory had suffered damage.
'It ended better than expected.'
With Count Valentine's death, the head of those opposing me was gone.
Of course, the Archbishop might be behind the scenes, but he couldn't step out openly, so the noble faction would shrink significantly.
They wouldn't even be able to denounce Count Valentine's death either.
Not only had he hidden the Slaughter Fortress Lord Gid, but he had also boiled 99 knights alive—and he himself died at the hands of a madman.
This was different from executing someone for their sins with the Judgment Sword. The Count was a trash of the century, and I would become the hero who saved the County from ruin.
[Kingdom Quest]
[Empire's Spy]
◆ Kill the Empire's spies and save the Kingdom that has stepped onto the path of ruin.
◆ Number of spies killed: 11/?
The number of eliminated spies had increased from eight to eleven.
Moreover, since I had also completed the sub-quest for the Sword of Lament, it was time to check the reward.
[Rare Constitution Gacha Ticket]
For a knight, constitution was quite an important element. The factor that determined the quality of one's bones and muscles was precisely one's constitution.
It was impossible not to be excited.
It was disappointing that it was a gacha ticket rather than a selection ticket, but there was nothing I could do about it.
That wasn't something I could control.
'If I could at least pull Sacred Bones, it'd be a jackpot.'
If I obtained Sacred Bones, where divine power itself resided in the bones, I would be able to manipulate holy power more smoothly than now and store several times more holy power in my dantian even while spending the same amount of time.
Of course, something like that wouldn't come from a rare gacha.
Thinking about what came from the last rare trait gacha made it easy to understand.
'It was Pheromone.'
Didn't a completely useless Pheromone come out?
It didn't help in combat at all; it just made me smell a bit nice normally.
Just that and nothing more.
But with constitution, even if trash came out, at least something like [Strong Bones] would appear, so it would be helpful in combat.
'Please, something a little better than Strong Bones.'
I hoped for something better than Strong Bones.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah!"
I was startled by Helena's face suddenly popping up.
Thanks to that, I ended up pressing the gacha.
With the sound of a spinning roulette, the constitution gacha combined various letters before forming a single word.
"Ah..."
I wasn't even mentally prepared yet.
Along with a strange sound effect, the name and effect of the drawn constitution were listed.
[Fusion Bones (融骨)] Grade - Rare
◆ A constitution that has fully inherited the pharmaceutical characteristics of the ancient Lianta tribe.
[Medicinal Properties]
- Accepts and absorbs any medicine with 3 times or more efficiency.
[Medicinal Absorption]
- Allows the properties of absorbed medicine to permeate the body, changing the constitution.
"Huh?"
[There is already medicinal property permeating your body. Immediately converting your body to Fusion Bones and accepting the medicinal properties.]
[Accepting and absorbing the properties of slight divine power and poison.]
[The medicinal energy is weak, so only 70% is absorbed.]
[30% of the medicinal properties permeate.]
[Overall physical abilities increase slightly.]
"Mmm..."
A pleasant pain struck my entire body.
With the change to the rare constitution called Fusion Bones, my bones transformed, and accordingly, my muscles and nerves also underwent a change.
The divine power and poison of the medicinal properties remaining in my body were probably from the holy stone and holy water I had consumed before.
I had consumed a lot of holy water, so it was natural for some to remain, and since I ate the holy stone—which wasn't meant to be eaten in the first place—I knew I hadn't properly digested it.
'It's not Sacred Bones, but.'
Still, a pretty good constitution was drawn.
I usually had no luck with gacha, but for some reason, I was quite lucky this time.
'After pulling a weird trait like Pheromone last time, I didn't have high expectations.'
I was in the mindset of accepting it even if the lowest grade Strong Bones came out.
But Fusion Bones!
I had finally changed the constitution of my trash-like body.
The pathways of holy blood were further cleared, achieving smoother circulation.
My condition was better than before.
Seeing my muscles overflowing with strength, it felt like I had obtained an entirely new body.
"What is it? Something seems to have changed?"
She's a woman with quick wits.
"It must be your imagination."
"No, no? Something's different? Look at me properly. It's changed, right! Did you perhaps have some enlightenment?"
"Hmm..."
When I nodded helplessly, her eyes sparkled as if envious.
The Golden Lion was the same.
"I heard you achieved a breakthrough just a few hours ago, and already another... That talent is terrifying."
'Talent, my foot.'
If I had such a thing, I would have become much stronger much more easily than now.
It wasn't for nothing that I risked my life learning this and that from Bernard.
[Callias von Zervan]
[Occupation] - Pilgrim
[Holy Power] - 3rd Class
[Divine Power] - 13332/16531 ▶ 13332/16934
[Talents] - 【Bard's Blessing】【Instinctive Intuition】
[Characteristics] - [Grace] [Noble's Duty] [Count Family's Prodigal] [Death Time Yesterday Non (死時昨非)] [Order's Prodigal Son] [Glutton] [Three-Colored Eyes] [Pheromone]
[Constitution] - 『Fusion Bones (融骨)』
[Stats]
Strength - 81 (30) ▶ 87 (30)
Agility - 55 (30) ▶ 60 (30)
Technique - 16 ▶ 17
Health - 53 (30) ▶ 61 (30)
Faith - 83 ▶ 95
'Physical abilities slightly increased... and the amount of divine power also increased.'
I was very satisfied.
Recently, no quests that could be obtained through Grace had appeared, so opportunities to increase my physical abilities were virtually nonexistent, yet here they increased so easily across the board.
Even if I had gotten a different constitution, it would have increased a little, but I wouldn't have been able to gather and absorb the energy of the holy stone and holy water that I held in my body.
If it had been Strong Bones, it would have stopped at just a slight increase in health and strength.
"What, what. You look really happy, right? Right, Brans?"
Brans cleared his throat with an "Ahem!" and nodded.
"That's right. It's been about 13 years since I've served by your lordship's side. It's been a long time since I've seen the lord's face so joyful! Except for when you won the great war in the north, it's been quite rare..."
I needed to somewhat correct Brans's noisy rambling.
"When have you served me for 13 years?"
"In my heart, it feels that way. Hehehehe! Why make a fuss about it."
Brans looked around nervously, unable to settle down.
It seemed he wanted to boastfully claim there was something deep between him and me.
Then and now, he's a guy who's sincere about useless things.
'Come to think of it, it's been almost a year since I've been with Brans.'
From Trista to the north.
From the beginning to the end of the northern war, and now to here.
It's been roughly close to a year.
During that year, I had changed quite a lot, but this guy hadn't changed much.
'It's not easy to be this way, but he's consistently pathetic.'
Still, I've grown somewhat fond of him, so it's hard to kick him out. It would be more comfortable for him to just hole up in the villa alone, but his dedication in insistently following me around was somewhat commendable.
They say even annoying affection is still affection; if Brans disappeared, it would be a bit boring.
"Let's leave things about me for later and focus on the aftermath first. Many people died, so we need to sort things out, don't we?"
"You're right."
"Yeah. Well."
The Golden Lion and Helena agreed and surveyed the surroundings. Chunks of ice were scattered everywhere, and the disheveled corpses of soldiers lay spread about chaotically.
It was not a pleasant sight.
"There is no one in the Valentine County with a higher rank than me, so I will take temporary command. Anyone with objections, speak now."
I looked at the young man who was still standing in a daze. He was Trala de Valentine.
Trala, the son of Count Valentine.
Even with all the knights' gazes upon him, he couldn't seem to come to his senses, apparently unable to escape the shock easily.
Seeing slaughter illuminated by a single sword at such a young age—the shock must be immense. Inevitably, cleaning up the situation was the adults' responsibility.
"Then, let's start with recovering the bodies."
Opening the vault to match the bodies of the dead so they could return to their families' embrace.
If they had no family, they would be cremated, and those who had signed the remains pledge would be made into sacred remains and transferred to the Order or subordinated to the County.
The chaotic situation was swiftly handled according to my orders.
The situation began to be resolved quickly and cleanly.
* * *
A few days later.
With the situation somewhat sorted out, we had a meal together.
At the meal were Helena and the Golden Lion.
And Trala was there as well.
"Do you really have to cut even bread with a knife and fork to feel satisfied?"
"Shut up."
"Hahaha! Isn't it stylish. Gold Snake, why don't you try to endure it a bit?"
"Don't call me by that weird name, call me Helena. I don't really like that."
"Yes, I'll do that."
As I was ignoring them and eating, Trala put down his utensils and looked at me.
He seemed to have something to say.
"If you have something to say, say it."
"This incident happened because of the sword."
"Have you given up on your dream of becoming a Master Smith?"
"No, I haven't."
"And the reason?"
"Because there are many people who are crazy about swords. I want to make a great sword instead."
At the puzzling answer, Helena asked.
"What's the reason?"
"If I can make a great sword, I could make even those who aren't in their right minds shut up, couldn't I? I saw a single sword slaughter knights. I saw one with a will of its own. I know that it could be used for something a little better."
Why is he saying this while looking at me.
I haven't particularly done any good deeds.
But here, I should fulfill the role of an adult. I've gained quite a lot, after all.
I wiped my mouth with a napkin, stood up, and patted Trala's shoulder.
"A man truly begins to shine when he has something to bear on his shoulders."
"Yes."
"Count Valentine. I hope you achieve what you desire."
Trala was now the Count.
Count Valentine.
A young family head bearing the family name, and a youth aiming to become a Master Smith.
All I could offer was encouragement, but the youth who hadn't fully grown would finally become an adult.
Having made my resolution, it was about time.
"Are you leaving?"
"I've done what I needed to do. I have to go."
"Until next time. I hope to see you again. Count Zervan."
And next time.
"Please call me Tral."
I let out a small laugh.
Bursting into laughter, I nodded.
"I hope it won't be a crying face next time. Tral."
"Yes!"
Now it was time to return to the Holy City.