Chapter 246 : Chapter 246
Side Story 5. Raven (2)
Lucy Raven.
She was my half-sister and the only family I had left in Kalia.
Even counting from the point of my reincarnation, it had been more than five years since I had last seen her....
‘She must be in her mid-twenties by now.’
There was nearly a thirty-year age gap between us, so judging by age alone, she was closer to being my daughter than my younger sister.
The Lucy I remembered was a tiny little lady.
She had short blond hair, loved wearing lace-trimmed skirts, and was a doll-like child who was always smiling brightly.
After that, I had only heard that she was growing up well, so if I happened to pass Lucy on the street now, I might not even recognize her.
In truth, back when I was Johan Raven, Lucy and I had never been particularly close.
My sole interest had been pursuing the ultimate heights of the sword, and my family had never possessed much of a familial atmosphere to begin with.
Moreover, Lucy and I shared only the same father, making us half-siblings, so I had never shown her any particular affection.
However, there had been one incident when I felt the fierce blood of an elder brother boiling within me, something even I had never realized was there.
I remembered the night when Lucy, still a child, suddenly suffered an unexplained seizure and hovered between life and death.
I had gone to the Imperial Palace in the middle of the night to obtain a precious Elixir myself.
Fortunately, the Emperor possessed an Elixir, and through persuasion that bordered on intimidation, I had managed to take it from him.
And I still remembered what the Emperor had told me that night.
For the sake of his dignity, he had asked that what happened that day remain an absolute secret.
‘Gladly, Your Majesty.’
In any case, Lucy did not die that night, and afterward, she began following me everywhere.
I thought that was when it started.
When I finally came to accept Lucy as my younger sister.
Even after being reincarnated on Earth, Lucy had remained the person I worried about most.
“A declaration of war against the Raven Family? Who dares?”
At Yaren’s words, anger surged through me before I even realized it.
More than any attachment I had to the family itself, I was worried about Lucy.
I wanted to protect her.
Just as I had that night.
“It is House Calstein. There are also rumors that House Elmer intends to support Calstein.”
“Calstein? Who is the current Family Head?”
“Count Oliver Calstein.”
“Oliver? That bastard.”
This was precisely what people meant by repaying kindness with betrayal.
I had saved his family from ruin, and this was how he behaved just because I was gone?
“What justification are they using to start a war?”
“It is rather complicated to explain, but do you happen to know about the treaty that was mutually signed between the Raven Family and House Calstein?”
I nodded.
After all, I had essentially been the one who arranged that treaty.
“Calstein declared the treaty between the two families null and void. They then demanded the return of all the tribute they had paid under the treaty. When the Raven Family refused, it seems they decided to use that refusal as a pretext for war.”
Yaren’s subsequent explanation only made my anger rise further.
“They have lost their minds.”
The circumstances behind the treaty between the two families were as follows.
House Calstein’s territory lay near the coast and possessed a fairly large and fertile grain-producing region. The problem was that the area had long served as a base for pirate raids.
Naturally, Calstein had suffered greatly because of those pirates.
However, even the Empire had been unable to resolve the problem.
The pirates were simply too powerful.
In particular, Cortua, the Pirate King who had conquered the northwestern seas, had also been the first pirate to become a Sword Master.
In the end, House Calstein searched for solutions from every possible direction, and asking our family for help had been one of them.
At the time, I had been young and had only just entered the realm of Sword Master. Partly to test my swordsmanship, our family decided to accept the hand Calstein had extended to us.
The result was the death of the Pirate King Cortua and the extermination of the nearby pirates.
It was also the incident that spread my name throughout Kalia.
And at that time, a treaty had been made between our family and House Calstein.
In exchange for me taking Cortua’s head, House Calstein was required to pay the Raven Family a fixed amount of tribute for thirty years.
While I was still alive, that treaty had been upheld without any particular issue.
After all, House Calstein had always regarded me as their benefactor.
“And now Calstein is claiming that the treaty is invalid?”
“That is correct!”
Apparently, the reason was my absence—Johan Raven’s disappearance.
Their benefactor had vanished from the world, so they claimed the treaty was no longer valid. Furthermore, they insisted that the Raven Family should return all the tribute Calstein had continued to pay even after my disappearance.
“That is absurd.”
“Absurd or not, a war still requires a justification.”
“I suppose I will have to visit the Raven Family.”
“If that person, your master, were to appear in person, I believe the matter would be resolved immediately.”
After casually raising the subject, Yaren watched my expression.
Whether Johan Raven was still alive was undoubtedly his greatest concern.
“Stop scheming. Keep using your head like that and someone might crack it open.”
“Y-You misunderstand!”
“Misunderstand, my ass. I am leaving immediately, so I need Cheonra to assign one guide to me. I intend to continue making use of Cheonra’s branches throughout Kalia.”
When I gave him a cold look, Yaren hurriedly summoned someone.
“She is a swordswoman named Reina. As it happens, she is acquainted with the Raven Family, and her swordsmanship is quite formidable!”
“Well, I would not call her swordsmanship formidable, but it was decent enough.”
She was one of the Sword Experts who had caused a commotion with me a short while ago.
More than her swordsmanship, what stood out about the female swordsman was her red hair.
***
The Raven Family’s territory was located in Plod Province, at the northernmost edge of the continent.
Returning here caused memories of the past to rise one after another.
Back then, I used to train my swordsmanship in this forest outside the outer castle while dreaming of becoming Kalia’s greatest swordsman.
This forest had been my playground, my training ground, and my hunting ground.
“Have you been here before, young master?”
“No. This is my first time.”
“I see. It is just that you seem to know the way remarkably well.”
Reina followed me with a puzzled look.
“Reina.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Have you noticed?”
“...Noticed what?”
“Judging from that response, I suppose you have not noticed at all.”
There was a figure hiding his presence near the outer castle beyond this forest.
I did not know who it was yet, but I could tell that whoever it was had been lurking around with malicious intentions.
A scout sent by Calstein?
Perhaps even an assassin.
In any case, judging from the presence I sensed through my qi sense, he was a highly skilled swordsman.
“He is in that direction. Go capture him.”
“To be frank, I cannot sense anything. Could it perhaps be a wild animal roaming nearby?”
“You certainly talk a lot.”
She somehow felt like a female version of Choi Ho-joong.
She had talked far too much throughout the entire journey here.
“Understood. I will go and check!”
“You know not to kill him, right?”
“Of course!”
Still looking doubtful, Reina moved in the direction I had pointed.
At least her ability to approach while completely suppressing her presence was worthy of praise.
Before long, Reina vanished from my sight. Some time later, I felt mana colliding in that direction, so it seemed she had found him successfully.
It was not a fight that should have lasted long anyway.
After all, Sword Experts were rare even in Kalia.
‘It is already over.’
I continued walking in that direction and soon saw Reina coming toward me.
A man dressed in black martial clothes lay unconscious over her shoulder.
“Amazing! How did you sense this man’s presence from such a great distance, young master?”
“I did not send you there so you could admire me. Why did you knock him unconscious? Now we have to wait for him to wake up before we can question him.”
“I was afraid he might suddenly resist. My apologies!”
“Forget it. What is the situation around the outer castle?”
“The security is extremely tight! It seems the Raven Family has also realized that war is imminent!”
“It will not be easy for an outsider to enter.”
“I will go to the guard post at the outer castle first and inform them of your visit.”
“And how are you planning to introduce me?”
“As that person’s disciple...”
“Would you believe that if you were them?”
At my question, Reina stared blankly as though her thoughts had come to a complete halt.
In truth, even Reina herself might not fully believe it.
After all, she had probably never heard anywhere that Johan Raven had taken a disciple.
“B-But if you demonstrate your swordsmanship yourself, young master, would they not believe you?”
“Stop talking and just follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“To a place where we can enter the castle.”
There was a secret passage known only to me.
“...What?”
“First, I should put this on you.”
I fastened Stupeo around Reina’s wrist.
It was an item capable of disrupting the senses to an extreme degree.
The secret passage was a place no one would have reason to use without me, but even so, I had no desire to expose it to another person.
“Aaagh!”
She suddenly began retching and struggled desperately not to drop the man slung over her shoulder.
“Your senses should be running wild right now. The whole world probably feels like it is spinning, and you cannot see anything. You should still be able to hear my voice, though, so follow it carefully.”
“W-Why are you suddenly doing this...?”
“Just keep your mouth shut and follow me.”
“Y-Young master! I feel like I am dying!”
“You will not die.”
Still, a Sword Expert was an Expert for good reason.
Relying solely on the sounds I sent her, she successfully reached the entrance to the passage.
Compared to Choi Ho-joong and Shin Ah-yeon during their first training sessions, she adapted remarkably well.
When I deactivated Stupeo, she immediately began retching again, tears and mucus streaming down her face.
“Y-Young master!”
“I know. I know what you want to say. I just happen to have quite a few interesting items.”
Reina finally managed to open her eyes and continued.
“Cough! Cough! Y-Young master. But where are we?”
“A passage connected to the Family Head’s office.”
“What?”
I smiled and started walking ahead.
The luminous pearls embedded throughout the secret passage had been gifts from Sylvia, an old companion of mine.
As befitted objects created by an Archmage, they were mysterious items capable of emitting light almost indefinitely.
In truth, I had largely been able to build this secret passage thanks to her help.
It would be troublesome if an intruder other than me managed to pass through here, so magical devices had been installed throughout the passage to prevent that.
The iron door blocking our way midway through the passage was one such device.
“Want to try striking it with your sword?”
“Understood.”
Without hesitation, Reina thrust her sword toward the center of the door.
Surging mana concentrated at the tip of her sword, and an enormous force erupted through a single point.
BOOOOM!!
However, Reina screamed and lost her grip on her sword.
“Aaagh!”
“I forgot to mention that the recoil is quite strong.”
The iron door was made from a mithril alloy and would not budge even against a Sword Master’s Sword Qi. If a force greater than that were applied, the entire secret passage would simply collapse.
“Y-Young master! I think this is mithril!”
“That is right. I suppose a member of Cheonra would recognize it immediately.”
“Do you mean to say you can open this door, young master?”
“It is not difficult.”
I placed my palm against the iron door and infused mana into it.
The magical device built into the door began analyzing my mana to verify my identity.
Every person’s mana possessed a unique mana trace, much like a fingerprint.
Although I now inhabited Seo Ji-han’s body, the fundamental nature of how I manipulated mana had not changed.
If this magical device had been made properly, it would undoubtedly recognize me.
If it failed to identify me, Sylvia deserved to have the title of Archmage stripped from her.
“Y-Young master!”
Reina cried out, her eyes widening in astonishment.
The iron door that had blocked our path slowly began to move, opening the passage before us.