Emily doubted her own eyes.
No, rather, she simply couldn’t believe what she’d seen.
‘It’s crazy…’
What kind of swordsmanship did the biggest trash in Jervain’s history show her? The swordsmanship of the legendary Saint Stella, of whom songs were still sung.
The art called the Silver Flower Wave Sword.
Petals danced in the air, and he painted colourful flowers in the wind with his sword.
Petals hovered all around him, moving with his sword according to his desire.
Gradually condensing and gathering their strength, a wave of petals attacked the enemy like a surging tide.
The power it boasted at that moment was like a raging storm.
As if it was the north wind itself.
The ground was filled with scars from those petals, a memento of that sword’s passing. How could such a phenomenon be caused by only a sword?
Emily couldn’t believe it when she saw it.
Especially since the one who caused it was Jervain’s scapegrace.
Especially since it was Callius von Jervain!
“Ha, ha… ha, ha…”
But even that was now over.
Callius’ breathing became heavy.
His spirit power, which had burned with such resplendent divinity, was also scattering. It was because he had poured most of his energy into that single sword.
“The Great Warrior…”
The form of the Great Warrior was nowhere to be found.
Seeing that Bernard was sheathing his sword, unfortunately, he seemed to have run away.
But even that was a great achievement. Fighting and defeating a Great Orc Warrior, one strong enough to lead an entire corps!!
Tuk.
The sword dropped from his grip, and his body followed, helplessly falling down. Blood began again pouring out again from his chest.
Emily’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.
“Nia! Bruns!”
Emily rushed forward.
If you just leave him like that, Callius will surely die. No matter even if he swallowed a sacred stone, he’d shed far too much blood.
Drip, drip.
His blood pooled on the barren ground.
Emily’s face contorted.
“Oh, master!!”
“Uh, what should we do?”
I don’t know.
I need to heal the wound somehow, but I can’t.
He’s already bled too much.
He may not survive even if the wound heals, and there is no medicine on hand to heal it.
“Grandfather!”
“Let me see.”
There was one answer, but Bernard had no way to achieve it.
It could be done if they could reach Jevarsch, but this place was too far.
Judging from his condition, Callius would most like pass away on the way.
Bernard, who had experienced such a scene many times in his old age, knew that.
The wrinkles on his forehead deepened.
“There is no choice but to pray to God.”
O great God, Valtherus.
Your son is in danger. The sword art he showed has the potential to one day fulfil your wish, so please don’t throw him away.
As everyone prayed –
“Hey, I have a way!”
It was Bruns.
He rummaged through his bag like a man possessed, and pulled out a vial with trembling hands.
“What is this?”
“Ma-, master, made this medicine. He gave me one of these and told me to use it in case he lost consciousness, or if I thought he was going to die…”
Emily snatched it away before he could even finish speaking.
“How… how do I apply it!?”
“You just pour it on the wound, or feed it.”
Emily immediately opened the stopper of the vial, poured half its contents over the wound, and the rest into Callius’ mouth. Then she hugged him and wept.
“Don’t die! You can’t die now! We only just met, so why are you trying to die already!”
Bernard stroked Emily’s back with pitying eyes, and ordered the Knights gathered around him.
“You lot depart for Jevarsch. He’s at the crossroads between life and death, so we’ll have to hide in the forest nearby and see how it goes.”
Callius was in critical condition, so they could not move him hastily, but there is no need for a large group of people to remain here.
“We will stay together.”
But the Knights shook their heads.
Earlier, they had not run away, but accepted their death.
And yet they lived, because of Callius, so they had no desire to run away again and preserve their own lives.
“That’s right. Heh heh.”
Seeing them following Callius despite the circumstances, Bernard felt his mood improve.
But seeing Callius’ bloodless appearance again, it didn’t last long.
“Then let’s change the place.”
Soon after, the party moved to avoid the next wave of the Orcs.
Tick, tick.
I woke up to the pleasant sound of a bonfire. The ceiling looked like that of a cabin made of dark wood.
Kkig. As I tossed and turned, the bed groaned.
“Uhm…”
Emily was sleeping on her stomach by the bed. On the other side, a red-lit fireplace illuminated the lodge.
As I was about to get up, I saw Emily still sleeping, so I lay back down.
I pondered over what had happened.
There was no memory loss.
Fortunately, I remembered everything.
Still lying down on the bed, I stretched my hand upwards.
‘Cut.’
With this hand. That swordsmanship had been almost unconscious, but I remembered the sensation of having cut.
But I don’t know just where I cut.
I had been conscious, and the memory remained clear, but I hadn’t been sane or rational at that moment.
But I got him, for sure.
So he ran away.
‘I feel bad.’
If I’d bagged the Great Warrior, the quest reward, as well as the rank of the Carcass made of his remains, would’ve been something to behold.
There was the bitter taste of regret on my tongue, but then I laughed it off.
I who was about to die, came back to life.
Desiring even more on top of that is pure avarice.
Just surviving the Great Warrior was enough for lifetime bragging rights, when it came to the other Knights.
‘Hmm… Did Bruns use the Holy Water?’
The wound that ran from the shoulder down to the side was healing smoothly.
It was a pretty deep wound, so it hadn’t fully healed yet, but it was safe to say that the rest was just a matter of time.
It wasn’t a wound that could be healed so neatly without using Holy Water, so it seemed that the one prepared beforehand had been used.
‘Then I now have four left.’
I’d kept all the Holy Water in [Eldora’s Cloth Bag], except for the one vial I gave Bruns just in case. After all, shouldn’t you consider all the possibilities and prepare contingencies?
Otherwise, if I ever fell unconscious and almost died, there’d be no way to use the Holy Water hidden in the stigma.
‘When Bruns comes, I must praise him.’
This time, he really deserved praise.
“But I don’t know why this kid is doing this.”
Emily.
Seeing her sleeping so soundly, I felt pity for some reason.
‘She can’t be Elburton’s daughter.’
There was no route that would have allowed Elburton to have such a young daughter.
If so, then she had to be adopted… Was there any reason for Elburton to adopt a child whose divine blood was blocked?
I didn’t think so.
So, how and why did Emily become Elburton’s adopted daughter?
There was no way to know which Jervain’s blood she inherited.
“Is she my daughter?”
No way.
Emily was twelve and Callius twenty-six, so he would have needed to have a child when he was just fourteen…
“Well….”
If it’s Callius we’re talking about, it’s not impossible.
‘I never set something like that up.’
However you think about it, there’s no answer.
Why is Bernard taking care of this child?
That was then.
Kkiiiig.
“Are you awake?”
The door opened, and a man with cropped and frail gray hair entered through it.
A Paladin, with a physique that belied his years.
It was Bernard.
“Yes.”
I wasn’t too surprised because I already knew it was him.
If I widened my aura sense a little further, I could even feel the presence of many Knights, stationed near this mountain hut.
“How long have I been asleep?”
“About four days.”
Does that mean the moment has already passed?
I’ve delayed too long.
In four days, the orcs must have already arrived near Jevarsch.
I don’t have time to laze around like this.
I carefully got up from the bed, grabbing the leather armour and gear neatly organized nearby.
“Didn’t you just wake up? There’s no rush, so rest now.”
“There’s no time for that. My wounds are already healing, and above all else, is this the time to rest?”
Bernard shut his mouth at my words.
A deep sigh ripped out of him, filled with anguish.
“What’s the situation now?”
“I don’t know all the details. But I do know that the Orcs have reached the castle.”
“Did they start?”
“No, not yet.”
It seemed like the war hadn’t yet started properly.
Thank God.
It was not yet too late.
We had to leave right now.
“Callius.”
“What?”
After lightly responding to Bernard, I strapped Loas and Lucen to my waist. Every time I moved, my wounds throbbed, but it was tolerable.
The power of the Holy Water still remained inside me, and it slowly healed me even if I moved around.
Cheok.
Callius, wearing the Cloak of Twilight, looked at Bernard, and then at the sleeping form of Emily.
Bernard’s expression was unusual.
“What’s going on? You look as nervous as a dog about to shit[1].”
“Is that how you talk…”
Grumbling about how Callius was one rotten bastard, Bernard glared at Emily and asked quietly.
“This war will be fiercer than you think, and it will be a battlefield that no one can surely survive. Of course, there will be many moments where your life is at risk, and the same for me as well.”
What is this old man babbling about?
I crouched, folded my arms, and listened quietly to what Bernard had to say.
“So, you stay here.”
“Why is that?”
“I saw you fighting the Great Warrior. I thought you were honing something strange, but I didn’t expect it to be Stella’s swordsmanship.”
“… Then, shouldn’t that be a reason for me to participate in the war even more?”
“No, that’s why you shouldn’t step into this battlefield anymore.”
“What’s the problem?”
“I don’t know how you learned the Silver Flower Wave Sword, but as long as you can master that sword… Then you are no longer a simple Pilgrim, nor are you the scapegrace of Jervain.”
To summarize, Bernard told me –
“Callius. Go to the Church. Go and show them your sword.”
To publicize the Silver Flower Wave Sword art.
“Didn’t you suffer because you were kicked out of your family during that time? There were many times when you almost died. Even now, you came back from the very precipice of death. You don’t have to suffer like this.”
“Hmm…”
I knew what Bernard meant.
You don’t have to go through any trouble.
There is no need to risk dying.
Just by spreading the swordsmanship, Carpe and Valtherus can become stronger.
That was to say –
By doing so, the Church will recognize Callius, and Carpe, as well as Jervain, will also recognize him.
‘Are you serious?’
Bernard’s eyes were serious.
He was being sincere.
He said these words only thinking of myself.
But what do you know?
He had no idea.
‘What is my purpose.’
What are the risks looming ahead.
“I refuse.”
It’s not worth hearing him out any further.
“The reason?”
There are many.
Beasts. Magicborn[2]. Empire. Pagans. Krasion. Demons. There are countless dangers in my path.
To survive such things, I have to raise my own power.
You can’t achieve anything if you just hide under the skirt of the Church or the state.
Even if you can, it’s only temporary.
On the Pilgrim’s Path, the only way Callius could survive was to pick up a sword.
The only path.
“I am…”
Bernard waited patiently for my answer.
As I pondered what to do, I spat out the obvious.
“I am a Pilgrim.”
A Pilgrim in search of his sword till the end of his life.
Yes.
Before being a noble.
Before even being a disciple of Bernard.
He was a Pilgrim.
“That’s right. That’s right… isn’t it.”
Bernard smiled bitterly, apologizing as if he had made a mistake.
“Forget it. I forgot that you were a Pilgrim for a while. Yes, a Pilgrim’s duty is to find his sword…”
His beloved sword.
He caressed Rakan’s handle and smirked.
“Then where is your sword?”
[Fatalite’s Wheel]