Episode 310
The Iron-Blooded Lord, Delac C. Badniker, was the man hailed as humanity's hope, the strongest in the empire and the most powerful man on the continent. In my past life and this one, my father was undefeated, indomitable, and invincible.
Now. such a person was inexplicably in critical condition?
"I didn't know you had a knack for jokes," I said.
Kayan replied, "You are right. I don't like joking at all."
"Then what? Your words just now were true?"
"Unfortunately, that is correct."
I stared at Kayan for a moment.
In an instant, many possibilities passed through my mind. Could Kayan be lying, or was it a test from the Iron-Blooded Lord? Or perhaps someone imitating Kayan was trying to deceive me.
The above thoughts quickly subsided the moment they came to mind. Only one question popped out of my mouth.
"How? He is someone who wouldn't bleed a single drop if pricked with a needle. How could he end up in critical condition?"
"It is due to the mission he was assigned this time."
"Mission?"
"That is all I know. Only a small number of elders, including Mr. Assad, know the details."
Based on the mention of a mission, the last conversation I had with the Iron-Blooded Lord flashed through my mind.
"It will probably be difficult to see me for the time being."
"Where are you going?"
"To do what needs to be done."
A man of the Iron-Blooded Lord's caliber had said it would be hard to see him for the time being. He wouldn't have said such a thing even if a priest was his opponent. In short, even the demon legion commander who brought us endless despair during this mission wouldn't have been a big threat if the Iron-Blooded Lord had been present.
"Master Luan. As you know, this information is top secret. It should never be leaked to the outside world," Kayan said.
If this was true, then it made sense. If news spread that the Iron-Blooded Lord was severely injured, the church members' actions would probably be five times worse than they were now.
Naturally, the more the church rampaged, the more the crime rate in various regions would skyrocket. The security of the empire would soon become a mess. Even I couldn't easily predict how far the turmoil would spread.
Some people would ask why it would be a disaster if only one person was injured. However, it was hard to dismiss it as mere nonsense if that one person was none other than the Iron-Blooded Lord. He was a symbolic figure who was a deterrent to the church members, their supporters, and criminals just by existing.
Yet even in the midst of all of this, I couldn't help wondering if the Iron-Blooded Lord would do something like this to test me. Kayan didn't seem like the type to lie, so he could have received false information from the beginning. In other words, he could think the Iron-Blooded Lord was seriously injured even if that actually wasn't the case.
"What will you do, Master Luan?"
I stopped thinking. I glanced at Kayan's wrinkled face and replied, "I will go home."
No matter whether it was true or false, It was a clear fact that the main house had summoned me. If the Iron-Blooded Lord was truly fighting for his life, it was only right that I pay him a visit as his son. That was especially true since I had gained the position of future head of the family, even though I no longer held any true feelings toward the Badniker family.
Apart from that, I had to know what happened to the Iron-Blooded Lord. Depending on his condition, I'd potentially have to revise my plans for the future.
"How long do I have before leaving?" I asked.
"The sooner you go back, the better, of course. You will probably be the last one to arrive. It took me quite a long time to get here since it is the north," Kayan answered.
"When did you arrive here?"
"Yesterday. I slept for one night. I was planning to go to Snowville, where you were located, around this afternoon."
"Mm."
If there had been a mistake, we would've missed each other. I didn't know if it was good luck or bad luck that I'd met Kayan by chance here.
I nodded and said, "I still have some things to do. Give me one day."
"I understand."
"By the way, how did you get here? Did you come in a carriage?"
"It was like that when I came, but we can return much faster. I received a scroll from Assad."
"A scroll? Do you mean a teleportation scroll?"
"That's right. It is only for two people."
I was a bit confused. Magic scrolls were priceless relics. Even someone with no magic aptitude could tear one open and use the stored magic inside.
Among them, spatial movement scrolls were the most expensive kind. I'd heard that a single scroll could cost at least five hundred gold. Depending on the distance and number of people transported, that could multiply by several or even dozens of times.
Five hundred gold was a fortune large enough for a whole family to live comfortably, so very few people would waste it just for teleportation. At most, it was only eccentrics, lunatics, or extremely wealthy people who would do that.
It seems that includes the Badnikers.
I sighed deeply. According to Kayan, I didn't have to worry about riding in a carriage for a few weeks. I told him, "I'll be back before the sun goes down."
"Yes. I'll be waiting here."
"By the way, did you tell Chief Dorman about the situation?"
"No. I am somewhat acquainted with Dorman, so I asked him to relay a message in case we managed to miss each other."
"How amazing. You are acquainted with the giants?"
"I am embarrassed to call it an acquaintance. I have just met them a few times in the course of my work."
Business between the giants and the Badnikers? I couldn't imagine it, so I tilted my head.
Then Kayan continued speaking. "From the beginning, Dorman has had a fairly close relationship with the Badnikers. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent his daughter to the Badnikers' training camp.
"Ah."
It was true. Mir had been recommended by her father to participate in the training camp. Thinking about it, in addition to Mir, there had been various different races participating in the training camp such as beastmen and dwarves. I couldn't help thinking that the influence of the Badnikers was really vast.
"I'll be back soon," I said.
"Please be careful."
I left Dorman's house.
***
First, I headed to the Hero Society's temporary residence in the north of the village. This was an enormous village, but the residence was surprisingly easy to find since it was the only building sized for humans in the midst of all the giant structures.
Of course, when I saw it up close, the temporary residence was hardly worthy of being called a building. It was more like a collection of shacks that barely shielded the residents from wind and rain. Still, the center had a structure built well enough to be called a building.
"Oh! Luan! You are right on time!"
Then I met Mir again. She was effortlessly carrying a load several times her size. I couldn't help thinking that her strength seemed to be growing.
Mir asked, "Is the conversation already over?"
"It is. However, things have become a bit troublesome."
"What do you mean?"
I briefly explained my situation to Mir. Of course, I didn't say that the Iron-Blooded Lord was injured. I just told her that I had to go home due to something urgent. It wasn't that I didn't trust Mir; it was just that, with her simple nature, she could accidentally say something she shouldn't.
Mir looked gloomy after hearing everything. She said, "Umm, if it is a family matter, it can't be helped. Will it take a long time?"
"I will have to go there to make sure, but I still have things to do in the north. I'll be back as soon as possible."
"I see! Don't worry! I will protect the north!" Mir declared, pounding her chest. "Leave the errands of the seniors to me! The caterpillar technique and a hammer, right?"
"Honey wine and a hand axe."
"Aha..."
"By the way, where is Sister Razbet?"
"Huh? She was here just now?" Mir looked around and tilted her head. Then she pointed at the building in the center. "If she isn't here, she is probably at the temporary headquarters."
"I understand. Then, I'll see you later, Mir."
"Yes! Be well!"
I passed by Mir, who clenched her fists in support, and entered the building that was called the temporary headquarters. Certainly, this building had the most heroes. I recognized a few faces. They were heroes I'd briefly seen when fighting the legion commander.
"Don't tell me that this boy..."
"Luan Badniker?"
"Right. That's right. With that brilliant platinum hair and that face, it must be the Golden Fairy who fought the legion commander head-on."
They also murmured and looked at each other like they recognized me.
What?
I felt a bit flustered since their eyes were filled with admiration and awe. It was the first time in my life I'd received such a look, so I didn't know how to act.
"Golden Fairy?"
Just then, I heard a familiar voice. It was Zach, the leader of Frostel. I replied, "Oh, it's you."
"It has been a while."
I said, "Yes. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine. There is a lot of work to do, so my head hurts a bit."
That made sense. Zach was probably in charge of taking care of the aftermath of this mission. Besides dealing with the remnants of the church and cleansing the dark qi, he also had to recover the bodies and deliver the death news. Handling all of that in one month would be impossible. In fact, Zach was quite pale compared to the last time I saw him.
I told him, "You have been working hard."
"That is probably the price to pay for staying alive. You've been quite busy as well, right?"
"That's right, but it was mostly dealing with monsters."
"Near Snowville, right? I know that area is quite large. It must've been difficult for Corrupted to handle it alone."
I wondered if he'd always been like this. It seemed he had matured a lot compared to when we first met. Of course, he was older than me to begin with.
"By the way, why are you here?" Zach wondered.
"Mm. I am here to check the situation and take some clan members. Is Razbet here?"
"If you're looking for Sister Razbet, she was here just now..." Zach looked around before tilting his head. "I don't see her all of a sudden. She is quite busy, so she probably went to do something else."
"Something else?"
"Sister Razbet is probably the busiest person in the village. She is in charge of most of the funeral procedures as well as handling the corpses."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
There were a lot of casualties from the Hero Society alone, while the corpses the church prepared as sacrifices numbered at least in the hundreds. If Verita was handling all of the funeral procedures alone, even ten clones of her wouldn't be enough.
Zach nodded. "Fortunately, there are almost no followers of the Seventy-Two Churches among the giants. Still, it is definitely an overwhelming workload. I'm sorry. We have been busy ourselves, so we couldn't pay attention to it."
"It isn't something you need to apologize for."
"I suppose. In any case, the cemetery is near the frozen lake. If she isn't here, she is probably holding funeral rites over there."
"I understand." I bowed briefly and thanked him.
I was about to leave the temporary headquarters when Zach said to me, "The next time we meet, we might be at the same rank."
"What do you mean?"
"It seems that your performance this time has impressed headquarters. Maybe you will soon get news of a promotion."
I was currently B-class, so I would be A-class sooner or later if a promotion was in order.
I asked in a bewildered voice, "Don't I need to go through a promotion trial?"
"Every organization has exceptions. From what I see, you are more than capable of carrying on your father's great name."
The word "father" reminded me of the Iron-Blooded Lord's condition, but I didn't show it and just smiled. I replied, "I am embarrassed, so let's just keep things how they are."
"How things are?"
"What was it... You said that the world runs on invisible rules, right? Destroying one's reputation is the start of a downfall, and someone like me wouldn't understand that." I referenced our first meeting, when Zach had come with a whole group of heroes to challenge me.
That made Zach clear his throat awkwardly and say, "I didn't say it quite that strongly."
Looking at his face, I was reminded of what I said to Zach in the past: that he was tarnishing the meaning of the word "hero."
I looked at Zach and said, "Senior Zach."
"Huh?"
"You have worked hard."
Zach blinked and responded, "Why all of a sudden? It is so cheesy."
"Right?" I laughed softly and said, "Let's just endure it a bit longer."
As Zach said, this was the responsibility of the living.
***
I left the village and walked along the ice lake again. I soon saw a place that looked like a cemetery. It was a place with a gentle hill and offered a breathtaking, panoramic view of the lake, the snow-capped mountains beyond it, and even the remains of Frost Giant Ymir.
I had no intention of dying, but I thought it wouldn't be bad to be buried in a place like this when I died. It somehow felt like there were more things to see here than in a dense forest or a secluded shrine.
"Wow! You are the Golden Fairy, right?"
I met a hero at the cemetery. Surprisingly, she was even younger than me. Her name was Annie and she was a D-class hero—in other words, an apprentice.
"Wow! Wow! I heard that you were the number one contributor in this mission! It is an honor to meet you. Can I call you Senior?" she asked excitedly.
"Use whatever is comfortable for you," I replied.
"Yes!"
"By the way, is Sister Razbet here?"
"Sister Razbet? Yes! She is changing the sacred scripture over there... Huh?" Annie's head tilted as she looked behind her. "That's strange. She was here just now."
I fell silent.
"Wait a minute! I'll look again and tell you—" Annie began.
"No need. Forget it. You don't have to do that," I cut her off.
I looked around at the empty cemetery. I had already found it strange. Verita had sharp and wide senses and could clearly feel my presence. If she were here, she would've noticed my presence before I even set foot in Frostwolf Village. It wouldn't be strange if she came out to greet me.
Instead of meeting her, however, I kept missing Verita by a hair's breadth every time I tried to go to where she was.
It couldn't possibly be a coincidence. The situation meant only one thing.
Verita, the Colorless believer—one who normally showed excessive obsession with me, a Colorless priest—was now avoiding me.