Chapter 79 : Chapter 79
Chapter 79: Bahab (6)
“Exa Baperr, you are stronger than me.”
“You’re just admitting that now?”
“The position of Grand General is not wasted on you. Though you are lowly.”
“So what.”
“You, of lowly birth, would not know how usefully the power you possess can be used. I will help you.”
“What are you talking about? Have all your shields disappeared? I see. Your adjutant is not here.”
“Come to Bahab. I will dilute your origins. I will give your children and future generations a background.”
“I’m not going.”
“There is no reason to refuse. If you wish, I will allow your unit to be incorporated as well. I promise to use them valuable. It is an act that defiles Bahab, but you are worth that much.”
“Get lost.”
***
Star-Breaking Style.
He had shown its characteristic white color.
He didn't care. Even that Aran had not been able to deduce his identity simply from the color of his magic.
The reason Aran had been able to see through Simurtr eventually was due to his love for the Young Master.
‘How would that bastard recognize me?’
Unless I spoke first.
There was no way Akarr or the other traitors could recognize him. This succession competition couldn’t even put a scratch on Bahab’s authority.
As long as Akarr made it clear, no matter what Hejel and Haryun did, Akarr wouldn’t even snort.
‘It didn’t matter who won.’
Hejel’s defeat? No, it was right to see this as Haryun’s victory. At least, that was what Akarr would be thinking.
In any case, there was no loss for Bahab. Hejel lost? That was none of Simurtr’s business.
‘No matter how the succession structure changes.’
Perhaps they would think they had found a fine tool in Mectera. Simurtr was an adopted son.
Perhaps Akarr would get greedy.
Because a truly noble person must have subordinates with fitting backgrounds or skills.
It was no different from his past life. Since Exa had become the Grand General, Akarr had not hidden his greed. That was the reason he had constantly interfered with Exa’s unit.
‘As long as I do my part, it’s over.’
In the end, it meant the problem returned to its origin.
As long as he didn't show it first, no matter what he did, there was absolutely no way Akarr would feel anything suspicious.
“But. You met a Harkinwagen?”
She had met the young lady of Harkinwagen.
Earlier, Haryun had said so. That she had met her in person and asked about Egna’s well-being.
“Pardon? Ah, yes. That’s right, yes. Harkinwagen is also in the banquet castle. On the 3rd floor.”
Haryun, who had been staring blankly at Simurtr, said hastily.
“My mother probably doesn’t know. I didn’t show it, nor did I investigate…”
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s the same for Harkinwagen. They don’t know that you impersonated a Harkinwagen.
I did ask Lady Ruina about you, but… it ended as a misunderstanding.”
“Then, well. That’s a relief.”
Simurtr had promised victory, and in the end, he had won. Though Haryun was still resentful of Simurtr, as long as he had promised, it was right to resolve the accumulated feelings.
And Egna, Simurtr, was fine. The worry, the safety of the benefactor who had been kidnapped in Haryun’s place.
That was why she had craved news of Egna and had asked Ruina Harkinwagen directly.
Haryun recalled her original purpose.
‘A resentful benefactor.’
Yes, Simurtr had now become that.
Because the fact that he had dealt a blow to Hejel was so exhilarating.
‘One who is loved by the sword.’
The guard knight Jeremiah had described Egna, Simurtr, that way.
One who is born with a talent for magic and its operation can become a Sword Master.
One who is born with only a talent for the sword cannot become a Sword Master.
‘But.’
The former would one day, surely, come to envy the latter.
The higher one’s level becomes, the more those who practice the sword are bound to realize the talent for the sword.
He himself was the same. Jeremiah had said. Those who dream of the level of the sword covet the love of the sword the most. And the moment of envying the one who is loved will surely come.
Simurtr received that love.
On top of that, he was also born with a talent for magic and its operation. A talent that was bound to become a true Sword Master one day. Jeremiah had sincerely envied Simurtr.
‘Still, this easily?’
Hejel Bahab.
The genius of Bahab, who had reached the peak of the expert level and was being called the next-generation Sword Master.
‘It’s not that Hejel is weak.’
Haryun believed in the discernment of her mother, who had been a hero of the Doom War.
She had placed Hejel’s talent above Haryun’s.
‘Mother must have seen it too.’
Even though Hejel was trying his best, using the Swelling Flame lavishly.
Simurtr had not attempted a single attack on Hejel.
He had just received his sword as if dealing with a child, and had ended the duel with a single sword wind.
And in that process, the proud Swelling Flame of Bahab had not even been able to show its light.
‘It ended before it could even detonate.’
That ferocious sword wind. Simurtr had completely severed all the magic connection points to the Swelling Flame that Hejel had connected.
‘And in a single blow.’
He had interfered with the Swelling Flame that was just about to explode, cut off the connection, and then brought it to an end.
Jeremiah had highly praised Simurtr’s talent for the sword.
But Simurtr had defeated Hejel not with swordsmanship, but simply with magic operation…….
‘Is this Mectera?’
The expansion of the Swelling Flame that Hejel had shown.
Its speed was faster than what Haryun could produce.
Hejel’s proficiency with the Swelling Flame was clearly higher than Haryun’s.
‘Is he really only eighteen?’
Simurtr had defeated such a Hejel with great ease. That was why Haryun had been staring blankly at Simurtr until now.
While climbing the stairs after the duel ended.
Haryun had substituted herself for Hejel and had pictured a virtual duel.
“You.”
…In her imagination, Haryun had been defeated before she could even operate the expansion.
Hejel had at least managed to expand the Swelling Flame.
“Why.”
“Are you really eighteen? You’re not, are you?”
“What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?”
“You lied about your name and origin, what reason is there that you couldn’t have lied about your age?”
“I told you it’s true. What else is there to lie about when I’ve been found out?”
“A lie. You promised to keep the Egna matter a secret. So you can be honest with me. How old are you? Twenty?”
“I told you I’m eighteen.”
***
“Introduce me.”
“No.”
“I’m not leaving until you agree.”
“To the reception room? Do you think your mom will allow it?”
“You shouldn’t call my mother so casually.”
“There’s no one else here but you.”
“I am a Bahab.”
“Go and tattle, then.”
“…I’ll let it slide just this once.”
“You should. We’re partners, after all.”
Simurtr managed to shake off the strangely clingy Haryun with difficulty.
‘Right. Still, Mectera is worth drooling over.’
Though they were the lowest seat of the Hero Families, conversely, it meant that no other family was as valuable unless they were a Hero Family.
Managing connections was quite important in a succession competition. Though the prestige of a Hero Family was great, it belonged to Akarr.
Hejel and Haryun had to prove their abilities at every moment to become the master of that prestige.
‘Though Hejel failed.’
I didn't know if it would have a big impact or not.
Because Simurtr knew nothing of Bahab’s structure.
It would be just one failure for Hejel, and it would depend on what Haryun did.
But he could easily feel that the atmosphere of the banquet castle was unusual. From the 1st floor to the 5th. As he climbed the stairs with open sides, Simurtr felt countless gazes.
“And yet, they say it’s still Mectera.”
The attendees had seen that young Mectera, walking weakly, crush Hejel Bahab.
“As expected, a sword demon is a sword demon. To do such a thing in Bahab’s banquet castle.”
In the banquet castle of the Hero Family Bahab.
That young sword demon had defeated the eldest son of Bahab, and the symbol of Bahab, the Swelling Flame.
From admiration to astonishment, from displeasure to anger. The emotions piercing his skin were all diverse, but the latter were overwhelmingly more.
‘Because it’s Mectera.’
There were few nobles who disliked the Hero Families.
It was the same for Mectera. The holy land of the sword, the idol of those who held a sword.
But the majority of the empire’s nobles held something other than a sword.
What resonated more closely with them was not Mectera, who only respected swordsmen, but Bahab, who followed authority and bloodline.
“Let them look all they want.”
Simurtr sneered at the piercing yet fear-laced gazes and looked forward to the upcoming reception.
***
I had been worried I might miss it because of the duel with Hejel.
Fortunately, the reception had not yet taken place.
“It was suspended because of you. Everyone was curious about the result.”
“It was a regrettable duel. I wanted to see more, but it ended too quickly.”
He found Orde and the siblings on the 5th floor.
Orde smiled awkwardly, and the siblings chattered away.
Simurtr tried his best to avoid Aran’s intense gaze. If Orde hadn't been next to him, he would have snapped at him right away.
“I ended it quickly because I was worried I’d miss the reception. If there’s a chance next time, I’ll make it last longer.”
“Can I participate too?”
At Jahar’s subtle request, Ael snorted.
“Aren’t you worried, older brother?”
“About what?”
“The sparks might fly to Simyun.”
“That won’t happen.”
“What do you mean, that won’t happen? He beat their successor. And now we have to go to the reception too. We don’t know what will happen…”
“He is the hero who ended the Doom War, younger sister. I understand your concern, but I don’t think Bahab is that narrow-minded.”
“……”
“Besides, if that’s true, shouldn’t we be more composed? One way or another, Simyun is our younger brother.”
For a moment, Ael was at a loss for words.
“And, younger sister.”
“What.”
“The main castle is also a Hero Family. A hero who is by no means inferior to Bahab was also with us.”
“Ah…”
“The opponent was the successor? Simyun is the most outstanding Mectera in the main castle. It is only right that he be called the de facto successor.”
I had never expected Jahar to hit the nail on the head.
She had never lost a verbal argument, but she had been excited because of the place.
“That’s right. Older brother is right.”
“Yes.”
“Then we should find out everything we need to know first, right?”
“Hmm?”
“The duel. Why did you suddenly do that?”
“Hmm, we need to know that. Excellent, younger sister.”
Ael frowned.
Jahar’s way of speaking. It had been bothering her recently. It wasn't his past polite way of speaking. It was subtly different. It had definitely changed.
“Why hasn’t older brother gotten over it? I even did a mission with Senior Swordsman Kehellan.”
“We did.”
“Then why don’t you resemble me or Senior Swordsman Kehellan? Why does the influence of Formal Swordsman Moit still remain?”
Moit? Simurtr mulled over the name for a moment.
The first mission. When he was in Huit with Deban, Juyce, and Ael, Jahar had left on a mission with Moit of the 3rd Sword Order.
“Hmm. There was much to learn from Formal Swordsman Moit. And I have perfectly embodied them.”
“I think it would be better if you could discard them. From what I see, they’re not helpful in the least.”
“There was much to learn from Formal Swordsman Moit.”
“I know. I get it. But of all things, the points older brother learned are all useless.”
“Younger sister, your voice is raised. This is not the main castle. We came as guests.”
“Ha… This sh… No, never mind. Yes, let’s talk again later. At home. Yes. I’ll fix it for you, no matter what I have to do.”
“I am not ill. There is nothing to fix.”
Ael decided to ignore her older brother for the time being. Since they were blood relatives, it would be impossible forever, but at least in the banquet castle.
“…Simyun, so why did you duel?”
Ael turned her back completely and looked at Simurtr. It would be nice if he helped a little.
He was trying to hold back his laughter.
“It just happened?”
Simurtr managed to wipe the smile off his face and answered.
The siblings’ argument was amusing, but the fact that Bahab was supposedly broad-minded was unbearable from the start.
“…Does it have something to do with the woman you were with?”
“Who.”
“In the dueling arena. There was one person outside.”
“You could see that far?”
“I saw a glimpse.”
“Excellent.”
Simurtr was inwardly impressed.
As expected. Quick-wittedness and sharp eyes were proportional.
“Tsk.”
“It’s Haryun Bahab. The second child here.”
“But why was she with you?”
“Is that not allowed?”
“No, it’s strange.”
“Why, am I embarrassing?”
“Ah, what are you talking about? Why are you becoming like my older brother?”
***
In fact, not all questions had been answered.
She didn't know the circumstances under which Simurtr, whom she had met for the first time today, had become Haryun Bahab’s partner.
The logic that the older brother had to personally test his younger sister’s partner was also strange.
And she couldn't understand why that test was a duel.
‘Everything is strange… but the one I understand the least is Simyun.’
Ael remembered the moment Akarr and Hejel Bahab had appeared.
The era of peace was the same as the era of praise, and Ael was no exception. She admired heroes.
And at the same time, she was curious about Simurtr’s appearance. An unprecedented genius. What would Simurtr think upon seeing a hero?
‘…It gives me the creeps.’
Ael inadvertently stroked her forearm.
She remembered Simurtr’s eyes when he had seen Akarr. The bloodshot smile was by no means admiration. It was not an emotion the era desired.
Ael did not know what that emotion was. But she knew something else. He was sweating profusely. He was fidgeting like a puppy that needed to pee.
Yes, Simurtr had been nervous.
‘That composed kid.’
…It was a sight Ael could never have imagined from the Simurtr she had seen so far.
The days they had spent together were not long, but their intensity was unparalleled.
Threatening his grandfather and father.
Killing the knights of Jabad and Juyce without hesitation.
At the banquet table, rolling those severed heads onto the table, and in front of Janya at that.
Listing Simurtr’s deeds like this made it feel like listening to the growth diary of some tyrant.
‘That Simyun? Was that nervous?’
Akarr Bahab.
One of the five heroes who had ended the brutal and harsh Doom War.
At first, she had thought he was nervous because it was time to meet her.
“How do you feel?”
“About what.”
“You’re about to have a reception with a hero.”
“It’s just so-so.”
“…Is that all?”
“What more is there? It’s just seeing one person.”
“Not just a person, a war hero.”
“If you cut them open, we’re all the same person.”
But now, it was completely different.
Ael ignored Jahar, who was muttering that it was a mindset to be emulated, and thought.
Simurtr still seemed nervous, but it was distinctly different from before.
There was no commoner who did not know the emperor and the five heroes.
The fame of the five heroes could be heard anywhere on the continent. But Simurtr, even after seeing such a hero, was evaluating him as just another person.
‘He wasn’t nervous because he respected him.’
Ael was certain that it was not just a guess but the truth.
If so, he wouldn’t have defeated Hejel so humiliatingly.
To look good by winning the duel overwhelmingly?
‘He’s not an idiot.’
Ael shook her head vigorously.
Simurtr’s mental age was not that low.
If he had wanted such an image, he would have feigned a close call and won, or refused the duel.
‘Simyun does not respect the hero Akarr. The nervousness is for another reason.’
He does not respect the five heroes.
As Ael thought, there were only two types of people who could have such a thought.
‘Doom Species. And victims.’
The emperor and the five heroes.
Among them, Akarr Bahab was the only hero about whom an ominous public sentiment had flowed.
Because on the battlefields where she had stood, there had been an unusually high number of casualties. Because all those corpses had turned to ash.
‘But that can’t be.’
Ael recalled Simurtr’s biological mother.
And his biological father as well. But, the timeline didn't match. Simurtr was born after the war ended. An age where a connection could not be formed.
The resentment of his parents was passed down? Simurtr had never seen his biological father. His third mother had died shortly after Simurtr was born.
‘Just one person.’
It was a remark that not only lacked respect for the hero but also disregarded him.
But Ael, who knew Simurtr’s talent and effort, could not deny his sentiment.
‘Because Simyun is different from us.’
The youngest Sword Master in the history of the continent. That record was achieved by the hero Exa Mectera at the age of 19.
Even that was a matter of controversy. But Simyun was three years faster than that.
’…His personality is strange, though.’
Anyway, she didn’t want to belittle Simurtr.
Because the talent he possessed and his desire for training were genuine. Once, the siblings had spied on Simurtr’s personal training.
Eating five meals a day.
And investing all his time in sword and magic training, except for his breaks. Once, in the Huit territory, Simurtr had given Ael a piece of his mind.
Ael had agreed, but to confirm it for herself, she had taken Jahar and secretly visited the annex.
‘He’s crazy.’
A crazy person.
Even that polite older brother had inadvertently said so.
Because his real-life routine was exactly the same as he had said, without a single discrepancy. That crazy youngest really swung his sword all day and trained his magic at night.
And yet his sleeping time was shorter than the siblings’.
…Instead, his bathing time was overwhelmingly long, but still.
‘There’s another reason. There must be a separate reason why Simyun was nervous. Related to Bahab, or the hero Akarr.’
Ael thought slowly.
It was a time when neither Aran, Orde, Jahar, nor Simurtr opened their mouths. Ael saw Aran’s anxiety as he constantly scanned Simurtr.
‘Come to think of it, the 6th Head of the Sword suddenly started speaking formally.’
Aran did not easily drop his formalities.
He had called Simurtr ‘Young Master,’ but he had not spoken formally.
But at some point. When the siblings returned after completing their mission, Aran was speaking respectfully to Simurtr. And very politely at that.
‘I’m sure of it.’
She couldn’t have misread it.
There was no noise from other attendees either. The waiting room for the reception was a space solely for Mectera.
It was a perfect place to concentrate, and Aran’s constant gaze would surely be a clue…….
“Duke Akarr is waiting.”
To have an audience with a hero!
The fact that she would soon have a reception with the hero she admired wiped her complicated mind white.
It wasn't like seeing him from a distance like before. The reception room. There, she would face the hero of the Swelling Flame, Akarr, alone.
Her head wasn’t working properly. No, she had even forgotten what she had been thinking in the first place.
Ael realized that her heart was pounding more than ever before.
The thoughts of the still-young her could not go against the times.