Reincarnated as the Adopted Son of a Prestigious Swordsmanship Family

Chapter 56: Haryun Bahab (4)

I went to Mectera.

Before hearing that answer from the magician, Simurtr wanted to manifest an illusion. To hide their conversation and make others hear a different one.

In other words, to prevent information about Mectera from leaking to Bahab's ears. Because he didn't know what kind of conversation they would have.

‘I can’t.’

But he couldn't.

The fact that his illusions were more detailed and realistic than Degrate's was purely thanks to the Star-Breaking Style. Because the magic of Star Breaker was purer than any other magic.

‘This is all magic.’

Warp. He intended to go inside there.

He would rummage through the inside and, in the process, find Beden. He planned to confirm for himself what kind of force they were and what kind of scheme they were plotting.

For that, he needed to save his magic. Simurtr slightly rolled up his sleeve. Barely three lines of Pagna. If he had known this would happen, he would have gathered more diligently.

“Wow.”

Deban, who was watching, marveled.

He had already drawn his sword and was maintaining a stance ready to leap out at any moment, yet his mouth hung open.

‘What lies.’

How could he spout them so fluently without a single change in expression? A large part of it was due to the opponent's naivety, but if that too was a talent, then it was a talent.

He seized upon the opponent's immaturity and matched his level. While he himself was spouting falsehoods, he was extracting information from the magician. And in a very natural way.

‘The real work hasn’t even started yet.’

He had already found the mastermind.

Warp. The trace seen at the Sacred Mountain was left by that magician.

“We have to go now!”

The magician said.

How old was that guy? Simurtr suddenly wondered.

‘His way of speaking is like a brat’s. But he’s at a level where he can maintain a warp.’

Even if not a grand mage, he must be a quite skilled magician. That's probably why he came alone like this.

“I'm going. But can I ask a little more?”

“No!”

“Really? I wanted to talk more.”

“Then ask on the way.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yep! But aren’t you going to undo your disguise?”

“This is more comfortable. Why? Don't you like it?”

“No! As long as you follow, I like everything. Do that!”

The magician took a step towards the warp.

“Ah, what’s your name?”

“Me? Barote.”

“So it's Barote. Barote, but can I take that one too?”

Suddenly, Simurtr pointed to one side. It was in the direction of Deban, Jeremiah, and Haryun.

“That one? Or those ones?”

“That one. The one in the middle who looks like he wants to run over here.”

Deban put down his sword and pointed to his own face with his finger.

“That one?”

“Yeah, that one.”

“I can’t. I was told to bring only you.”

The magician scratched the bridge of his nose as if troubled.

“He’s my escort, you see. If I don't take him, Bahab will try to find me.”

“Can’t you just tell them not to look?”

“I want to do that too, but I can’t. They don’t listen to me very well.”

“Who?”

“My mom.”

“Akarr Bahab?”

“Yeah, her personality is a bit difficult.”

“Ah, I heard about that too!”

“Amazing. So, can I take him?”

“Hmm… I guess I have no choice!”

“Thanks.”

Simurtr smiled at Deban and gestured with his hand.

***

“Ah, wait a minute.”

“What now!”

“They’re my friends. I have to say goodbye before I go.”

“Ah, really? Come on, hurry.”

Simurtr, who was about to enter the warp, suddenly came out of the dueling arena. He approached Jeremiah, who was aiming his sword at Barote.

“Lady Haryun.”

Jeremiah said, looking at Simurtr.

With his large frame, he was hiding the real Haryun’s form. Unlike the dumbfounded Haryun, the experienced man had grasped the situation.

“It’s not for you.”

Simurtr also understood Jeremiah's intention. Without looking at Haryun, he spoke while looking at Jeremiah.

“He is a magician from the Black Land that I was chasing. I don’t know why he is looking for the lady, but for me, this is an opportunity.”

Would this be a sufficient explanation? After thinking, Simurtr looked into Jeremiah’s eyes and nodded.

Whether it was true or not, it was of no meaning to Jeremiah right now.

“Do not send word to Harkinwagen. I do not care if this incident is made public, but please exclude me and Harkinwagen from it. It will only interfere with dealing with the Black Land.”

I believe Sir Jeremiah would have understood.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jeremiah nodded his head.

“Hurry!”

Confirming this, Simurtr re-entered the dueling arena.

Following Barote who was gesturing for him to hurry, he disappeared into the warp.

***

After the warp disappeared.

And when the fragments of magic that had fallen to the floor evaporated.

It was around then that Haryun came to her senses.

“Sir Jeremiah, why did you do that?”

There was not a hint of change in her expression.

But Jeremiah knew she was angry.

“Whatever Sir Egna’s goal was, that magician was aiming for me. You should have helped him.”

“My duty is to protect you, my lady.”

Jeremiah had a favorable impression of Egna Harkinwagen.

His accomplishments were one thing, but his talent for the sword.

Those who trained in the sword could only either like him or be jealous of him.

“I did not have the leisure to get involved in a personal grudge.”

“Honestly.”

“…I apologize to Sir Egna, but it was the best I could do.”

Jeremiah was in the former camp, but a favorable impression was just that.

There was no catalyst yet to take it any further.

It might have been different if Egna had participated in the banquet as Haryun’s partner, but at this point, he was just a stranger.

“Even if you had ordered it, my lady, I would not have helped. I would have made the same choice.”

Jeremiah knew his own level.

A magician? If it had been just one, he would have helped, of course. Historically, Sword Masters were the natural enemies of magicians.

‘But it was a warp.’

There was someone else who cast the warp.

He had no certainty that the magician named Barote was the end of it.

What if the fight dragged on and a new enemy appeared through the warp? What if the grand mage who cast the warp entered?

‘It’s a certain defeat.’

The advantage of a counter-class loses its meaning as one goes up in level.

A Sword Master is not the natural enemy of a grand mage. Jeremiah had no confidence in defeating a grand mage.

“Is it because he was alone? If we had immediately requested support……”

“No. I would have made the same choice even then. My purpose is not to defeat the enemy.”

Jeremiah was Haryun’s escort.

Protection, not elimination. If he had joined Egna and the battle had escalated, an stray spark might have flown. The possibility of Haryun being endangered would arise.

“You said he was perfect for a partner.”

“That thought hasn’t changed, but I couldn’t help it.”

“…….”

“I was lacking and could not be of help to you, my lady. If it were Sir Egna, he might have been able to land a blow on Sir Hejel……”

“…It’s not that.”

Jeremiah looked at Haryun and gave a bitter smile.

Haryun had her hands clasped. Her smooth fingers repeatedly poked her palm, which had no lines.

“I understand. It couldn’t be helped.”

Haryun was accepting the current situation.

The disappeared Egna weighed on her mind. But she also understood Jeremiah’s position.

Jeremiah was burdened with the weight of Haryun Bahab.

Egna Harkinwagen had followed the magician because he did not want to cause harm to Bahab…….

“I’m sorry, it’s because of me. To Sir Egna too. He said it was someone he was chasing, but… it must have gotten more complicated because of me.”

“…The part about the magician he was chasing was probably a lie as well.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Sir Egna wanted this fact not to be known to Harkinwagen. It means it’s a matter unrelated to his family.”

“But why……”

“It must have been for you, my lady. He didn’t want to burden you unnecessarily.”

If he were truly a target, he would have needed someone to report to Harkinwagen on his behalf.

But Egna wanted to hide it. He wished for the news of him not to be delivered to Harkinwagen.

“It must have been his own decision. And an impromptu one at that.”

“…….”

Lacking.

Suddenly, Hejel Bahab’s words echoed in Haryun’s mind.

You, who can’t even follow in mother’s footsteps. With that paltry talent, you dare to try to stand on the same line as me? You should associate with things that suit you.

Throb. Her brain began to ache. The chronic headache that had developed due to the stress from Hejel tormented Haryun.

“…I need to find Sir Egna. In secret from the main family.”

I need to go to Harkinwagen.

Haryun Bahab made up her mind.

***

A rift.

A kind of authority possessed by high-ranking Doom Species.

A sort of passage connecting the dimension of the Doom Species and the continent.

Exa of his past life had never been to the dimension of the Doom Species, which the Magic Tower had named the Void, but he had experienced the passage itself quite a lot.

An endless, single path. Those who experienced the rift all began their impressions that way.

It was so long, it felt like walking on a path with no destination.

‘It’s similar to a warp.’

The Magic Gate was a modification of such a passage.

The reason they were able to develop and apply such a formula was probably because they were similar. He didn't know much about magic, but he could guess.

‘Is the principle the same?’

Simurtr thought as he walked through the passage created by the one called father and maintained by Barote.

He had felt it in his past life as well, but Basor’s warp and the Doom Species’ rift were not very different.

One might also recall Degrate’s mobility skill, but that was a mobility skill that imitated a warp in the first place.

It was said that one of the Phantasms had experienced a warp and came up with the idea to implement it. It was so useful that the method of implementation was passed down through generations.

“Haryun Bahab.”

Barote, who was walking ahead, turned back. Simurtr also instinctively looked back. Haryun was not there. Deban, whose eyes met his, pointed to himself with his chin and sent a telepathic message.

-He’s calling you, young master.

-Ah, it’s me.

Why? Simurtr asked, looking ahead.

“You said you had something to ask. What is it? But don’t talk secretly between the two of you. Let me join in too.”

Barote’s expression hardened.

He was naive, but not incompetent. Simurtr forced a smile and said.

“Sorry. My escort said he had to pee.”

“Ah, really? Just wait a little longer. We’re almost there!”

“He says thanks for letting him know.”

“Heehee.”

Barote regained his smile.

Confirming that his mood had improved, Simurtr asked.

“You said you went to Mectera too. Because of something your father ordered.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Did you come alone like this back then too?”

“No! I went with my brother.”

“Brother?”

“Ah, he told me not to call him brother anymore. Hmm.”

“I see. So, did you kill anyone when you went there? Like, changing their location, moving the body.”

“Whoa, what. How did you know? Yeah, that’s right, we did.”

“Did you kill them?”

“No, my brother did!”

Kelken was killed by a Phantasm.

Which meant the one called brother was that Phantasm.

‘Brothers? A Phantasm and a magician?’

Simurtr furrowed his brow.

What kind of nonsense was this? It must be referring to the organization’s hierarchy. There were plenty of groups where the stronger one became the big brother.

“Ah, not brother, but sir. Sir.”

“Sir?”

“Yeah, he was my brother, but I was told to call him sir from now on.”

“By whom?”

“My father.”

“Can I know your father’s name?”

“I don’t know either!”

“Idiot.”

Simurtr muttered.

Brother, sir, father. It was all strange. Barote was too strange to dig any deeper. It was good that he was spilling everything, but his mental age was too young. He couldn't dig deep.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I said it’s a shame.”

“Really? It didn’t sound like it.”

“Why would I lie? I’m following you like this.”

“That’s true.”

The Phantasm, the one who went from brother to sir.

Simurtr decided to focus on that for now. The one who killed Kelken. If that guy was at the end of the warp, he would start by killing him first.

‘Not an escape, but a kidnapping.’

Simurtr thought of Orde.

The wish he had might have been the truth.

‘Even if not Janya, then Beden.’

The reason for escaping with, no, kidnapping Janya must have been to prevent information from leaking. The rıghtful source is novel⁂fire.net

But Beden was different. These people were after Haryun Bahab. It must have been for the same reason they took Beden.

What that reason was, was a question he had to find out from now on…….

“We’re here!”

The figure of Barote in the lead disappeared.

It meant the warp's path had ended.

“Already?”

Rift, warp, Degrate's mobility skill that copied the warp.

The length of those passages with similar mechanisms was proportional to the distance. The shorter the time taken, the shorter the actual distance.

‘This fast?’

Simurtr thought as he exited the warp.

The Black Land. He hadn't mentioned that place for no reason.

Only Degrate or the Black Land would do such insidious things.

But Degrate had already proven its innocence, and it was a place where murder took precedence over kidnapping.

‘Plus, they’re on my side now. It would take longer if it were the Black Land.’

The Black Land was below the Empire.

The south, the entrance to the Black Sea. That goddamned region where the worship of Doom Species was still rampant.

Starting from Bahab, located in the north of the Empire, it would take a long time even if it was a warp.

‘The north, what’s there?’

A group, a force that engaged in kidnapping.

Simurtr began to recall those who had their base in the north.

‘Excluding the trivial ones.’

The first thing that came to mind was the Grand Duke of the North.

‘There’s no way he would do that.’

The Serepes Mountain Range where he had once picked up Semenu.

‘That wasn't a force, just a few Doom Species hiding there.’

The Kua Holy See, which was annihilated during the war under the pretext of fighting the Doom Species.

‘That place… only branches remain.’

“Welcome to my home, the Black Tower!”

…The Black Tower, which was based in the Black Land and then exiled by Basor.

The scenery changed completely. It was dark. The path of the warp had been dark on all sides, but this was even darker.

Simurtr sharpened his vision. His magic-infused eyes pierced through the darkness.

“The fuck?”

…A rotation, or a ring. A huge mural of all sorts of creatures, from humans to insects, biting their own tails with their mouths.

The symbol of the Holy See, which defines reincarnation according to karma as the truth, and seeks to escape from such truth.

“It’s the Kua Holy See.”

Deban said with bloodshot eyes.

“It’s both?”

A cult that believes in the reincarnation that the Ruo Holy See denies.

Basor, the Magic Tower, had embraced Kua.