Chapter 36: Chapter 36

After the princess finished speaking, a silence settled in, broken by nothing except the crackle of sparks from the fireplace.

Roden wanted to return to the moment before he had heard those exceedingly dangerous words.

That was how shocking the words the girl before his eyes had just spoken were.

‘An Era of Magic…’

He could guess that those words alone would drive the Old Faith believers, who made up half of Pendia’s religious world, into a fit.

If such an attempt were truly made, it was certain that this kingdom would split in two and erupt into a civil war.

No, perhaps even neighboring Old Faith nations like Libert and Ajun would send armies to intervene.

It would be the return of the Great Religious War of five hundred years ago, when the fall of the Arman Empire split the land into the New Faith and Old Faith as they slaughtered each other.

Just imagining that such a thing could happen made his mouth dry up.

“D-Does anyone else happen to know this story?”

“A few professors at the Magic Society who were consulted might know fragments of the research materials, but almost no one knows the full contents and the ultimate goal. The Society President, myself, my maternal uncle, Aran and Kagon here who handled all kinds of errands… and now you two as well.”

In short, she had abruptly confessed information that was practically top secret among top secrets, having never leaked anywhere.

Terrified inside, wishing she had kept it a secret from them as well, Roden carefully spoke up.

“I don’t know if this is something we are allowed to know.”

Clearly, Cheryn had wanted to maintain a loose alliance with Shan… or, as she put it, a relationship around the level of friends.

That was why even after knighting him, she had only given simple hints about this sort of thing.

Yet if she suddenly revealed an ambition that even brothers, let alone friends, would hesitate to share, there had to be a reason.

At this, Cheryn shook her head and spoke.

“There are already more than enough bad rumors about me in the court, so adding one more makes little difference. Conrad still believes I attempted to poison Father, saying that since I dabbled in wicked magic, I would naturally be capable of such a thing. Compared to that, a mere suspicion without even a shred of evidence is nothing.”

Indeed, compared to the suspicion of trying to poison her father, the King, something like an Era of Magic could easily be dismissed as a baseless rumor.

Rather, because the scale was so enormous, it simply felt entirely surreal.

“Besides, what I mentioned is strictly a matter of the distant future, meaning decades after I ascend the throne. I have no intention of recklessly pushing reforms to reign over the corpses of my people. The only reason I bring this up now is that the reward for this request is an item created using that technology.”

At the mention of receiving a magic tool, Shan’s eyes sparkled as he adjusted his posture.

Naturally, its functionality would be inferior to the ‘A Thousand Shapes’ he currently possessed, but since she would craft it directly, he would naturally be able to specify the desired form and effect.

Above all, a tool with mediocre performance was actually better for using openly.

“After this jousting tournament ends, I would like you to hunt the lord of Castaman Castle.”

“The lord of the castle?”

If it was the lord of a castle, that meant a noble, but was the expression ‘hunt’ usually used for such a person?

Seeing Shan’s puzzled expression, Cheryn added an explanation.

“That bastard is a vampire. And not a low-tier vampire scattered across the mountains and fields, but a high vampire who has lived for at least several hundred years.”

Vampires were usually nothing more than low-tier monsters that shrieked with emaciated bodies while craving human blood before being subjugated, but among them, there were occasionally individuals that succeeded in emerging into a higher form after craving human blood over a long period.

Such high vampires were menacing beings who had awakened outstanding physical capabilities and various innate magical abilities unique to high-tier monsters.

Above all, the fact that they possessed an intellectual capacity on par with humans was particularly terrifying.

“It’s a wonder such a creature hasn’t been subjugated until now.”

“Because he hid his identity quite well all this time. Supposedly, he bought the identity of a human noble and occupied a castle. But recently, intelligence came in that he planned to secretly cooperate with Elvin, which is how I found out. It seems he intends to push Elvin onto the throne and receive a small territory as a reward. A hunting ground for vampires, so to speak.”

Even if the monster possessed intelligence matching a human’s, cooperating with a monster was hardly something a prince of a nation should do.

Stunned by a story that grew increasingly outrageous the more he heard, Roden offered his own deduction.

“If it is a monster, it would certainly be much easier for it to explore the Demonic Realm than for humans. It seems he intends to receive help in searching for a magic tool to cure His Majesty the King.”

“Hmm?”

Cheryn, who wore a puzzled expression at Roden’s words, suddenly covered her mouth and burst into laughter.

“Ah, excuse me… Come to think of it, there was such a thing.”

‘There was such a thing’? Did she not care in the slightest about a situation where whoever cured the King would practically ascend to the next throne?

To the puzzled pair, Cheryn revealed the truth.

“Neither of my two older brothers has any intention of wasting energy searching the Demonic Realm for a magic tool to cure Father. They are merely frantic to eliminate each other in secret. That vampire will probably only be used as an assassin to get rid of the opposing side’s knights.”

“Pardon?”

“How could a powerful recovery magic tool that couldn’t be found for the past several hundred years suddenly pop out just because someone hurriedly searched the Demonic Realm a bit? Furthermore, even if they did find one, if Father makes a full recovery, they would have to spend several more years or decades as princes. If they’re unlucky, they might even die of old age first. Why would they ever want to find it?”

Hearing that, it made sense.

However, even so, hearing that while their father lay bedridden, his children had no thought of curing him and were filled only with intentions of killing each other sounded chilling.

He had heard that power was scary, but to think it was to this extent.

“Then, the fact that the two princes sent armies into the Demonic Realm is…”

“They are merely putting on a show since Father is still alive. It would be troublesome to draw open displeasure. In reality, they are gathering all skilled knights and assassins into the capital. You can tell just by looking at how Marquis Abel hasn’t left for the Demonic Realm.”

It meant that the plans of the knights who wished to win the jousting tournament, gain employment under the princes, and rise in the world were flawed from the very root.

If the princes employed them, it would probably be for the sake of killing one another.

“Well, let us set that story aside for now. In any case, it is not yet time for them to clash, and I am safe as long as those two are frantic to kill each other. So, will you accept this request?”

“Yes.”

After exchanging a subtle glance with Roden, Shan nodded to express his agreement.

It was not assassinating someone, and hunting a vampire was practically a knight’s duty, so there was no reason to refuse.

Of course, even among high vampires, combat strength varied greatly between individuals, and the powerful ones often devoured a knight or two with ease, but even so, they were several notches below a cockatrice.

Furthermore, Shan possessed a secret weapon that would work well against such creatures, making the monster a perfect sacrifice to add to his hunting record.

“That is fortunate. As for the reward, the magic tool, if you tell me what you want, I will craft it in advance. Testing it in actual combat is also one of my goals.”

Come to think of it, she had said her research had entered its final stages and only ultimate verification remained.

It seemed she intended to verify it by having Shan use it directly.

“Ah, and if you slay the creature alone, I would like to examine your body once more like before. Just in case.”

Even so, since knights who killed high vampires alone popped up occasionally, the princess softly added that he should not hold too high expectations.

A short while later, emerging from the princess’s villa, Shan and Roden walked down the dark street, lost in their own thoughts.

The first of the two to speak was Roden.

“Seriously… the more I learn, the more it’s a banquet of stories that leave the back of my head numbed.”

“Indeed.”

“Until last year, I never even imagined I would come to know a world like this, let alone get involved in it. My only life goal was just overcoming that damned illness and becoming a knight.”

As he became entangled with this small boy right beside him, his world had changed.

The sensation of the court’s darkness and all sorts of schemes striding closer step by step was utterly spine-chilling.

“Sorry.”

When Shan, interpreting it as a reproach, apologized in a somewhat sullen tone, Roden reached out and messily ruffled his black hair.

“What are you apologizing for, kid? Since things turned out this way, let’s climb up to that height no matter what. Hell, you only die once, right?”

Once riding a galloping horse, one could no longer dismount.

If so, all that remained was to grip tightly with his thighs and sprint forward to the very end.

Whether the end was a cliff or a paradise.

*

On the second day of the jousting tournament, the average skill level certainly felt slightly higher than the previous day.

That was likely because those who suffered three losses on the first day (those who had nothing going for them beyond their status as knights) had all been eliminated.

However, none among them possessed skill on par with Feonil.

Even now, when he closed his eyes, the trajectory of the lance Feonil had thrust came to mind terribly vividly.

An ideal thrust created as all the muscles of the body naturally coordinated, as if facing his own reflection beyond a mirror…

‘How would it go if we fought again now?’

It went without saying that Feonil had been careless to some extent back then.

After all, he had merely lightly thrust his lance to kill some vagrant boy who had suddenly been slaughtering his subordinates.

If his opponent were a fully armored knight holding a lance, he would naturally prepare far more thoroughly mentally.

Considering how great an impact mental factors had on a knight who wielded Fighting Spirit, one had to judge him as an enemy twice as dangerous as back then.

However, even so, Shan did not feel like he would lose.

For Shan’s armaments and techniques were also on a completely different level compared to then.

Of course, he would only know if an occasion arose for them to meet and fight directly.

Boom! As if severing his thoughts, a loud roar echoed from afar.

A knight was seen unseated from his horse helplessly, like a doll with its strings cut.

‘Still, there is at least one formidable warrior.’

“Woooah-!”

The knight who had just unseated his opponent raised his lance and roared loudly.

Standing well over two meters tall with a lanky build like a tree, his appearance stood out anywhere.

“Who are you watching so intently?”

“That tall knight over there.”

“Ah, that is Sir Lug the Lanky.”

Like a faithful squire, Roden, who had gathered various bits of information while Shan managed his state of mind, recited what he knew.

“I heard he’s a country knight who just arrived in the capital from southern Pendia. Supposedly, this is also his first time participating in a jousting tournament.”

“Seems like it.”

“His record on the first day was poor, but for some reason he seems to be flying today.”

Indeed, as Shan recalled, Lug had shown quite sloppy movements on the first day, so Shan had paid little attention; yet in just a single day, his technique had become quite crisp, and today he was recording three wins out of three.

More than anything else, that tall height and his overwhelmingly long arms even compared to his height provided a tremendous advantage.

Unless his swordsmanship was remarkably terrible, it would probably act quite favorably when wielding a sword as well.

“By the way, it looks like the one who just got slammed down was Sir Katra.”

“Ah, come to think of it…”

Sir Katra, having finally been eliminated after recording all losses on the second day, was seen sighing as he stood up from the ground.

Before departing, he approached Shan and spoke.

“Do your best. I leave my revenge to you.”

“I will try my best.”

Since the tournament would switch to a bracket format once sixteen participants remained, they would bump into each other if they advanced.

Of course, that was assuming that lanky fellow did not get defeated by another knight.

A short while later, when his turn arrived, Shan finished gearing up and stepped onto the arena grounds.

The face of the knight standing opposite him was hidden by his visor, but his tense demeanor was obvious.

As the crossed flags signaled the start, Shan lightly kicked the horse’s flanks and moved forward.

“Hyah!”

Whenever he rode a horse and galloped vigorously, he always felt great.

A feeling as if four legs had newly sprouted on him, running of their own accord.

In truth, the black horse Shan was riding was the creature he had purchased back in Obilos City when hunting trolls, and for a knight’s warhorse, it was hardly anything impressive.

He merely continued riding it to save unnecessary expenses, considering that a good horse might come into his hands before long.

What would it feel like to ride a horse better than this one?

Thinking such thoughts inwardly, Shan forcefully thrust his lance at the helmet exposed above the shield.

With his control of Fighting Spirit having gradually grown mature, his opponent immediately lost consciousness and collapsed.

“[Ah! Sir Shan Barendil records six wins out of six matches as expected!]”

Along with the commentator’s shout, cheers that were now quite familiar echoed from afar.

Shan, who was already felling every opponent he met in a single blow, was revered and considered the strongest candidate to win this tournament.

In the eyes of everyone except the Old Faith believers or a few Altoan-haters, a teenage boy who appeared like a comet and swept through the jousting tournament could not help but shine that brightly.

Thus, after everyone engaged in six fierce matches, the top sixteen competitors were finally filtered out based on their records.

Those who recorded the same wins and losses but were eliminated due to tiebreaker metrics vented their fury.

“Dammit! This is a scam! That bastard was definitely knocked out!”

“Either way, isn’t it one point if you don’t fall from your horse? Accept it.”

“Haa, I gave my word that I would definitely advance to the main bracket this time…”

Naturally, for Shan, who had advanced in overwhelming first place, this was a story of another world.

Looking at the finalized bracket a short while later, the person he had been keeping an eye on was on the complete opposite side.

Shan had wondered if he would be eliminated due to his poor record on the first day, but he seemed to have barely squeaked through.

“Dammit, I’m on the same side of the bracket as that Altoan bastard.”

“I’m his very first opponent! I finally made it to the main bracket, only for this tournament to be ruined.”

Laments burst out from the knights who received match placements connected to Shan.

*

The next day, Day 3, when the jousting tournament would draw to a close.

As expected by everyone, Shan crushed every opponent he faced in a single blow, continuing his streak of victories.

Since the chaff had all been filtered out by now, those remaining were formidable combatants.

They were individuals who had won tournaments several times in other cities, skilled knights whose names were known to some extent abroad, or scions of long-standing knightly families.

However, none of them were a match for Shan.

Accordingly, all kinds of nicknames… One-Hit Certain-Kill Shan, Glowing Eyes, Green Knight, Hope of the Altoans… spread through the marketplace.

Because the odds had dropped excessively, the servants instigated by Callion could no longer win any more money.

And finally, the long-awaited final match arrived.

Spectators clicked their tongues as they looked at the figures of Shan and Lug standing opposite each other.

“Wow, looking at it like this, the difference in physical build is absurd!”

“At this rate, it’s not even an adult and a kid… you could practically view it as a human and a goblin.”

Yet contrary to appearances, the odds were overwhelmingly in Shan’s favor.

For a record of knocking down opponents in a single blow across all six preliminary matches, the Round of 16, the Quarterfinals, and the Semifinals was a level hard to find even in Hasra’s historic jousting tournament.

Of course, despite being at such a disadvantage, there were still quite a few people cheering for Lug.

“Win, Lanky!”

“Don’t lose to a mere Altoan!”

Except for a few who abstained out of outrage over an Altoan sweeping the tournament, all the Old Faith believers supported Lug.

Shouting at the top of their lungs, they insisted that they had to stop the winner of this sacred jousting tournament from being an Altoan bastard.

A short while later, as the final match began, the two knights galloped their horses and advanced toward each other.

‘Wow…’

Looking at his opponent beyond his visor, Shan clicked his tongue in disbelief at the overwhelming difference in reach.

No matter how tall he was and how long his arms were, reaching nearly 50 centimeters further than his own side felt practically like cheating.

Furthermore, because Lug’s head was located so high up, aiming for it required lifting his lance almost diagonally, making the gap even wider.

If they had been of equal skill, Shan would have been utterly helpless and suffered a one-sided defeat.

Of course, within time stretched near to eternity, Shan was able to perfectly observe the tip of his opponent’s lance and its subtle tremors, raising his shield to block it.

The ratio of Fighting Spirit placed into his lance and shield was roughly three to seven, respectively.

Since his opponent’s armor was not particularly good, this amount was sure to allow him to execute his defense stably while knocking the man down.

The moment he approached with that thought.

‘Huh?’

Just before impact, his opponent suddenly released the lance from beneath his armpit and thrust his arm straight forward.

Even considering that the tournament lance was hollow and relatively light, it was astonishing raw strength.

Thanks to that, the difference in reach between the two widened to nearly a full meter.

Furthermore, the perfection of that movement was also tremendously high.

It was an ideal attack achieved through effort after carving away over countless hours, much like Feonil’s strike or the secret thrust Sir Darkal had displayed before.

The lance, which had already been thrusting down from a high position due to his tall height, now shifted to an angle that was practically plunging straight down, grazing past Shan’s shield.

At this, Shan immediately reacted and tried to parry the approaching lance from bottom to top, but unexpectedly, his opponent’s Fighting Spirit (determined to push through) was intense to the point of being hard to overcome.

It seemed he had not only abandoned defense to concentrate all his Fighting Spirit into attack, but had also poured out all his strength at once without pacing his stamina.

‘Ugh.’

Bang! Struck in the shoulder, Shan’s shaken lance thrust into his opponent’s exposed head half a beat slow.

As the two knights struck each other while crossing, the spectators cheered.

“Ooh! It’s the first time he failed to fell his opponent in a single blow?!”

“He even allowed an attack!”

“What happens in that case?”

“Neither fell from their horse, and they struck the body and head respectively, so Sir Shan gets two points and Sir Lug gets one point!”

Halting his galloping horse, Shan checked his shoulder area that had just been rammed by the lance.

Fortunately, most of the power had been exhausted in the process of pushing past the shield, and with the defensive magic placed on his armor, there was no great damage.

‘Wow, I didn’t expect this…’

Using an exquisite secret technique, and investing all Fighting Spirit into attack.

If it were either one, that might be one thing, but using both simultaneously meant he could not help but suffer an unexpected blow.

Of course, the price for taking such a gamble was far from light.

Lug, having taken a lance strike to his helmet, remained unconscious where he stood, barely regaining his senses only after the referee called him several times.

Had Shan’s lance not shaken slightly due to being hit first, Lug would have been unseated on the spot.

“Sir Lug, are you conscious?! If you do not answer, you will be disqualified!”

“Ah, ah! I’m fine! I am!”

“Confirmed. Please prepare for the charge again!”

However, a duel while exhausted from wringing out Fighting Spirit near its full strength, compounded by a head shaking from a concussion, had an obvious outcome.

In the second clash, Lug could not even properly hold his wobbling lance before being hit by Shan’s attack and tumbling to the ground.

At that sight, continuous groans erupted from the spectator stood.

“Ahhh…”

“Dammit, you still did well! You struck him once!”

“Give me back my money, you lanky lout! Losing to a kid not even half your size!”

“You’re the disgrace of Westerners!”

Afterward, as Shan rode a lap around holding his broken lance, the commentator shouted in the loudest voice he had used so far.

“[Announcing! The winner of this Hasra jousting tournament is… Sir Shan of House Barendil from Libert! May the Goddess bless the great conqueror!]”

“Hell yeah-!”

“Woooh-!”

As Shan lightly circled the arena grounds and waved his hand to respond to the thunderous cheers and jeers, he realized that the lanky knight who had just been defeated was approaching him.

Was it to share a word of goodwill, saying it had been a good match?

Or was it because he wanted to vent his resentment as a loser?

Unexpectedly, it was neither of the things he had anticipated.

“What on earth was that thrust just now? I clearly succeeded in striking first, so how on earth could you counterattack calmly without even swaying!?”

Taking off his helmet, Lug shouted in an excited tone as if he had seen something utterly unbelievable.

A young man who appeared to be in his early twenties around Roden’s age, he had a long horse-like face and a naive impression.

His large, round eyes shone not with hostility or lingering regret toward the opponent he had fought until moments ago, but with admiration and awe.

“Ah, yes… it’s because my armor is good.”

“It certainly looks good, but! That alone cannot explain such amazing skill! Father was right. He said Pendia has as many brave warriors as stars, so someone like me would be nothing once I went to the capital!”

At Lug’s words, Shan thought inwardly, ‘No, I don’t think it’s quite to that extent…’

Although Lug had lost to him, despite his colossal height, he had displayed outstanding athletic ability and technique, making him second only to Feonil among the knights Shan had met so far.

His physical condition was amazing and his age was young, so Shan even wondered if he might grow to become stronger than Feonil if he continued to develop.

“Sir Lug’s skill was also amazing. To the point where it’s strange that your record on the first day wasn’t very good.”

“Ah, on the first day I was so nervous that I made a few mistakes! Why, once I almost rode while holding my lance upside down!”

If he had been nervous because it was his first time at such an event, it was understandable to some degree.

Even Shan would have gone out excited in his first match had it not been for the advice of a certain knight whose name he did not remember well.

Even after that, Lug babbled on, saying he had almost cried in admiration seeing Shan’s skill from the first day, and that although he wanted to talk to him, he had only hovered around out of fear of being ignored as a foolish country bumpkin getting clingy.

Had the commentator not called out that the winner’s award ceremony was taking place, Lug would likely have held onto Shan and talked to him indefinitely.

*

The award ceremony that began a short while later was presided over by some marquis said to be the King’s cousin once removed.

Just looking at his scowling face and blunt tone, one could guess that he did not welcome Shan’s existence in the slightest.

“Er… yes, congratulations, victor. May the Goddess protect you. Though I don’t know if she would protect a mere Altoan.”

The latter words seemed to be muttered under his breath so as not to be heard, but because his behavior was so petty, it was rather laughable, to the point Shan could not even feel angry.

In fact, considering the championship prize he was about to receive, even that much was worth laughing off.

“Bring it forth!”

When the marquis gestured, a person who appeared to be an attendant led out a horse whose entire body gleamed with a metallic sheen.

Its mane was a light brown similar to human hair, and its four long, sturdy legs were elegant yet tightly muscled, exuding immense strength.

The most beautiful in the world, the strongest in the world, the fastest in the world, the most sturdy in the world…

The horse of all horses carrying every kind of modifier, the king of all horses.

The reason why knights from all across Pendia, as well as those visiting from foreign lands, risked their lives to crash into one another.

“A Mount Horais warhorse.”

The words of the marquis muttering that it was a terrible waste were not even heard.

For the first time in his life, Shan fell in love.