As the dawn rose in the morning.
I woke up to the sound of voices coming from the next room.
'Has she come to her senses already?'
I couldn’t sleep, so I was just lying in a daze on the bed, but it seemed that Asher had already woken up.
I didn’t know why the princess of Earth Hill said that she would look after Asher, but I really cared little for the reason, so I just left her in Asher’s room.
- So, after holding the fallen Sir Knight in his arms like this.
- Yes, yes?
...What nonsense were you talking about?
I opened the door and went outside, not expecting that the princess actually had that kind of personality.
I walked over to Asher’s room next door and knocked.
“Asher.”
There was a commotion inside for a while, and the lady-in-waiting immediately opened the door.
I saw Asher getting up from the bed and the princess sitting next to her. Both looked quite bewildered.
“Ah... Seventh Lord, she just woke up and...”
I looked at Asher and asked.
“Are you okay?”
The traumatic wounds were treated with potions, and looking at her body with [Super Sensory], her mana had already stabilized.
I asked that as I moved closer to the bed, Asher looked restless.
She avoided my gaze and couldn’t seem to know where to look, but in the end, she lowered her head and opened her mouth.
“...Sorry.”
The first thing she did was say an apology with a choked voice.
To be honest, this time it was clearly her fault, so I didn’t respond much. Of course, I fully understood how she must have felt. Still.
“Well then, I’ll just leave you to it.”
I nodded my head at the princess’ words.
“Yes. Thank you for looking after her.”
“No, my lord, it’s nothing.”
The princess nodded and went outside with the ladies-in-waiting.
I sat down in the chair she was sitting on.
“...”
Silence passed between the two of us for a while.
I had only come to check on her, and since I had confirmed that she was fine, I had nothing to say.
What should I say in the first place? Since she had leveled up, should I say congratulations on your progress?
But while I was thinking about it, she, who had been hesitant, opened her mouth again and spoke first.
“I’m sorry, Sir Ron.”
As expected, it was an apology again.
This time, I responded with a click of my tongue.
“Are you going to keep apologizing?”
“...”
“It’s true that you’re at fault this time, but I don’t really want to scold you for that, so stop let’s just stop talking about it.”
“But I caused too much trouble. Sir Ron even broke his oath because of me...”
...Oath?
I wondered what she was talking about for a moment, but then I realized what she meant.
She seemed to speak about how I promised the Spear Saint that I would not interfere with the duel before they concluded it.
I was a little taken aback because her expression looked so guilty.
Well, in this world, there was an idea that promises and oaths were sacred and equivalent to one’s honor.
Especially if it’s someone in the position of a Lord in Calderic.
She probably thought I had taken a great insult by breaking my oath.
'I don’t really mind.'
Of course, I didn’t feel any humiliation or shame.
Could I feel embarrassed about breaking a promise I didn’t intend to keep in the first place?
She’s probably worried that I would lose my prestige as a Lord. But that’s not something I cared about.
On the side of Santea, the hero was the only one who I needed to give importance. There was no reason to maintain a good relationship with the imperial family.
And more than anything else, I just wanted to mess with that Spear Saint bastard by breaking the oath and preventing him from doing what he planned to do.
I stared at Asher and said.
“Your life is no less important than my honor.”
At that, she flinched and raised her head.
The corner of her eyes were gradually turning red, so I changed the subject while panicking inwardly.
“You seem to have grown again in this duel. Even more than last time.”
“...Yes that’s right.”
Asher nodded, answering in a slightly choked voice.
I pondered for a moment, organized my words, and then opened my mouth.
“Behind the massacre of your clan, the emperor is behind it.”
Aside from the Spear Saint whom she had seen with her own two eyes, Asher probably wouldn’t know who was truly the mastermind. She probably would have guessed it roughly though.
When I pinpointed that fact, Asher’s expression changed.
But she didn’t seem to doubt how I knew about that or how I was sure of it. That meant she already trusted me that much.
I continued talking.
“The Emperor is a madman who only thinks of the prosperity of humans. The reason he ordered the slaughter of the White Moon tribe simply had to do with that.”
“...”
“Your vengeance against Santea is perfectly reasonable and justified. I can guarantee that. If that’s the reason for your hesitation in taking revenge, there’s no need to even remotely feel that.”
“...No, I--“
Asher shook her head in pain.
“I’m just afraid. If any of the members of my tribe survived, I must find them. I can’t just leave them alone just because my vengeance blinded me too much.”
I sighed and thought to myself.
Should I prioritize my plans, or respect Asher’s choice and prioritize it?
It was something I had been thinking about for a long time.
I said that her existence was indispensable only until I found all the mysteries I needed and could protect myself without her help. But honestly, I couldn’t give that excuse now.
From the beginning, my relationship with her was one that began with my deception.
Even though I knew the truth that no members of her tribe had survived the massacre, I told her I would help her look for them as an excuse to use her.
The deeper my relationship with her had become, the greater my guilt was.
I had been indebted to her so far.
If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have dared to search for mysteries while wandering around Calderic with a weak body that couldn’t even wield a sword.
In the end, after much deliberation, I finally decided what to do.
“Whatever it was, your choice was not wrong.”
I said that and got up from my seat.
Asher looked up at me with a bewildered face.
First, I have to take Asher to that place.
The place differed from other ruins and dungeons. It needed an item to enter.
An ancient magic stone.
This magic stone differed from the ones usually used to make magic items.
The limitation of magic stones was it could not be stored for a long period, no matter its purity.
That’s why there were always mages present at the teleportation point in the Overlord’s castle.
Although during the golden age of ancient magic, the magic stones produced and used by mages could store magic spells for a very long period.
That was why ruins and dungeons that remained and operated normally could exist.
However, in modern times, there was almost no similar magic stones left on the continent anymore.
This was because the materials necessary for crafting magic stones like this were no longer in existence.
It was also impossible to mine the remains of ruins and dungeons.
Of course, it didn’t mean that there were no remaining pure magic stones out there.
'I remember the Overlord possessed one.'
I didn’t go looking for her right away, but first I looked for the King of Earth Hill.
“Magic stone... Unfortunately, our royal family doesn’t have one, Seventh Lord.”
“I see.”
The King of Earth Hill said, looking apologetic.
I didn’t expect much anyway, so I wasn’t too disappointed.
In the first place, that kind of magic stone was a great treasure whose value could not be converted into money.
I let go of my lingering feelings and went straight to the Overlord.
“You need a magic stone the size of a fist?”
The Overlord snorted in response to my words.
“I have some, but I couldn’t just give it to you for free.”
“What do you want?”
“Well... there are two more times the Seventh Lord has to do my request. If you agree to increase it by one, I will it to you.”
At those words, I clicked my tongue inwardly. Couldn’t she just give it for free?
He was reluctant to increase the Overlord’s request by one more.
“Are there other Lords who have magic stones?”
The Overlord replied with a smile.
“First Lord, Second Lord, Fourth Lord, and Eight Lord. As for the others, I don’t know. They may have them, or they may not.”
“...”
“I’m sad that you’re being so coldhearted, Seventh Lord. Do you really hate following my order?”
I thought as I listened to her sly words.
Except for the Eight Lord...
Fortunately, I could ask the rest of the Lords who had magic stones.
Because the First and Fourth Lords owed me, while I had the weakness of the Second Lord.
I thought about whom to go to and soon decided.
Actually, there was nothing to really think hard about.
Rather than going to the First or Fourth Lord to pay off their debts and receive a magic stone, it was much more profitable to go to the Second Lord.
Because she couldn’t settle her debt cleanly just because she did a favor for me.
After all, I had made a vague promise to give her an important information as long as she helped me
Maybe if the conversation went well, I could get it for free.
In the morning, we slowly prepared to leave the castle.
There was no proper cage, so Ti-Yong was in a large space on the side of the castle. When it saw me, it fluttered and tangled with excitement.
“Thank you again for helping us, the Earth Hill Kingdom. Have safe travel.”
I rode on Ti-Yong’s top while being escorted by the King of Earth Hill, Teir, the princess, and first prince.
I made eye contact with Teir one last time.
Since the war has been stopped, there would be no more dark clouds in Earth Hill.
However, looking at the awkward atmosphere between them, the conflict between the royal family must not have been resolved yet.
Teir also looked back, hopefully, he would reconcile with his family and solve their misunderstandings.
“Let’s go.”
When I tapped Ti-Yong, it flew up with a loud roar.
***
When we came, the Overlord accompanied us, but we separated as we returned.
The Overlord headed for her castle and I headed for the Second Lord’s territory.
Because the speed of the wyvern was so frightening, I definitely saved a lot of time after I got Ti-Yong.
If it had been in the past, there wouldn’t be much time left until the next meeting of the Lords, so I wouldn’t have had time to do this.
It took an instant to get from Earth Hill to the capital of the Second Lord’s territory.
I immediately visited the castle and met the Second Lord, and I quickly brought out the business I came there for.
“...You mean, you need a magic stone?”
“Yes, roughly the size of a fist.”
“You came out of nowhere in the middle of the night to ask me to give you a magic stone?”
“Yes.”
I shamelessly nodded to answer the Thunder Lord sitting across from me.
Her expression distorted with astonishment.
I feel kinda sorry for the second lord lol
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