Chapter 249 : Chapter 249
Side Story 8. The Rohan Brothers (1)
The black-haired superhuman who had saved the Raven Family.
Rumors about him spread rapidly.
As one rumor gave rise to another, a few fabrications were inevitably added along the way, but that was not necessarily a bad thing.
In the end, stories like these would instill both fear and awe toward the Raven Family.
“You know that black-haired man? I heard he is the commander of the Raven Family’s Shadow Knights.”
“Shadow Knights? The Raven Family had something like that?”
“There is a rumor that Johan Raven secretly raised the organization to protect his family!”
“Well, if it was Johan Raven, I can believe it!”
After following one rumor after another, everything ultimately led back to Johan Raven.
Considering that I really had been involved, it was not entirely wrong.
People’s imaginations, when one looked closely, often came surprisingly close to reality.
In any case, I stayed by Lucy’s side for several more days and continued guiding her in swordsmanship.
The changes in Lucy came astonishingly quickly.
It was not because her talent was exceptionally prodigious.
Advancement in swordsmanship was always sudden and dramatic, and what triggered such leaps was often the smallest, most accidental realization.
It seemed I had managed to prod precisely at the point where such a realization might occur.
‘Perhaps Lucy will become a Sword Master one day.’
It would not be easy, but it was not entirely impossible.
The Raven Family’s swordsmanship was the strongest on the continent, and Lucy possessed the finest bloodline.
“Do you really have to leave already?”
And now, the time had come to say goodbye.
“I have finished everything I came here to do.”
“My swordsmanship is still severely lacking! Surely there is still much more for me to learn?”
“I have taught you everything you need. What remains is up to you.”
At my firm response, Lucy bit her lip.
It was not as though I felt no reluctance to part with her.
Although we had different mothers, Lucy was the only sibling I had left.
And once I left this place, there was a chance I might never see her again.
“You are so cold. Just like Brother Johan.”
Seeing Lucy’s trembling shoulders as she said that weakened my resolve somewhat.
But I still had many things left to do.
There were people I had yet to meet and tasks I had to accomplish.
“I cannot help resembling him. I am his disciple.”
“Then I have to ask now. Is my brother truly never going to appear in the world again?”
It was probably a question she had forced herself to suppress countless times over the past few days.
“I am sorry. I know this is difficult for you to answer. But I want to know. If you leave today, I will never have another chance to ask!”
Lucy looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
In the end, I decided to answer.
So that she would not spend the rest of her life waiting with false hope.
“You will never meet him again. Not for the rest of your life.”
“...I see.”
“But he will be watching from afar. Watching you protect this family and keep it strong.”
Lucy drew a deep breath at my words, then nodded.
For a moment, I thought I could see the little girl she had once been.
Lucy had always been like that.
Whenever there was something she had to endure, she would put on a resolute expression and nod.
That image from the past overlapped with the woman before me, and before I realized it, I nearly reached out to stroke her head.
“Please do it.”
“...What?”
“Brother Johan stroked my head once. Just once. That was when I first realized he was not always as cold as he seemed.”
It was a moment from the past that I could not remember.
In any case, I supposed this would make it the second time.
***
The Duchy of Cromand.
That was my next destination.
In truth, it was such a remote nation that even during my days as Johan Raven, I had never visited it.
Neither its swordsmanship nor its magic was particularly remarkable, and it had never produced any especially outstanding figures.
If one had to name the most famous people to come from this place, it would be the Rohan brothers.
They had been my right and left hands in my previous life.
“We have arrived, young master.”
Reina guided me to one of Cheonra’s branches within the Duchy of Cromand.
I had never realized that Cheonra, despite being merely an intelligence organization, had branches spread across all of Kalia like an intricate web.
Thanks to that, my journey from here on would be considerably more comfortable.
In any case, I had two reasons for coming to the Duchy of Cromand.
The first was to meet the Rohan brothers, who had once been my most loyal retainers.
The second was to search for clues about Dragons.
“Welcome, young master. It is an honor to meet you!”
The attendant who came out to greet me bowed respectfully.
“Has word about me already reached this place?”
“Of course. Cheonra Headquarters sent information concerning you to every branch and instructed us to provide you with the highest level of hospitality.”
“And I suppose they also ordered you to gather as much information about me as possible.”
“Th-That is...!”
Caught off guard, the man began to stammer.
“Well, I do not care. An intelligence organization that failed to do even that would be neglecting its duty, would it not? Observe me as much as you like while I am here and compile whatever profile you want. You are forbidden from asking me questions directly, though.”
“I will keep that firmly in mind, young master!”
In truth, Reina had already been recording my every movement for Cheonra Headquarters.
Although she was a combat operative rather than an intelligence agent, she was still the one observing me from the closest distance.
I sat in the reception room drinking tea while waiting for the branch chief.
The branch chief who appeared a short while later was, unexpectedly, a young blonde woman.
“My name is Emily!”
“You are a mage.”
“You noticed immediately.”
“Mages have a distinctive way of breathing.”
“That is something even I did not know.”
“It exists.”
Because I had learned magic from Rosie, a Hatchling, I was somewhat different from ordinary mages.
“I will not ask, even though I am curious. I received explicit instructions not to.”
“You are clever. Then I will get straight to the point. I heard that traces of a Dragon’s Nest appearing and disappearing were found somewhere nearby. Can you take me directly there?”
“Of course! Though it is nothing but barren wasteland now. If you intend to go immediately, shall I assign you a guide?”
“No need. Just give me the coordinates.”
“Understood. I will prepare them immediately. However, even if you go there now, I doubt you will find anything unusual.”
“There are not even any residual traces of mana?”
“No. It vanished without leaving the slightest trace. Nothing unusual has been discovered within a radius of fifteen kali, either. Of course, we continue to monitor the surrounding area. There are old tales claiming that Dragon’s Nests often reappear in exactly the same location.”
For now, I would not be satisfied until I examined the place personally.
There might be something there that only I could recognize.
‘There probably is not anyone who knows more about Dragons than I do, either.’
That aside.
The whereabouts of the Rohan brothers were also important to me.
They were undoubtedly still blaming themselves for my disappearance.
I had heard that after the incident, the two brothers withdrew from society and returned to their homeland here.
I should be able to obtain more detailed information from the local branch.
“The Rohan brothers?”
“Yes. The twins who were Johan Raven’s closest retainers. Where are those two now, and what are they doing?”
“Well....”
“What is it? Surely there are not things even Cheonra does not know?”
“No. Actually, the answer is related to what you asked about first.”
What Emily told me next came as a surprise.
***
A barren wasteland.
Two men were tilling the harsh earth, which looked unsuitable for farming even at a glance.
The strength produced by their solidly built muscles was tremendous, and their technique was remarkably practiced.
Each time a hoe struck the ground, the hardened earth caved in as the topsoil and deeper soil mixed evenly together.
Neither man showed any sign of stopping.
Even beneath the blazing sun, they continued working for hours, gradually reclaiming the vast wasteland piece by piece.
‘Fools.’
In truth, their labor served no practical purpose.
They were not preparing the land for farming, nor were they being paid by its owner.
They were simply swinging their hoes to atone for their own failure.
It was a punishment they had imposed upon themselves.
Their crime was failing to properly serve and protect their lord.
They had probably sentenced themselves to an indefinite term, and seven years had already passed.
I was told that not long ago, the two had chosen a new place to carry out their punishment.
They had set up camp nearby and had not left the area unattended for even a moment.
Even when they needed water or food, they took turns leaving to obtain it.
Anyone who saw them might have mistaken them for sentries guarding this place.
Or perhaps for men protecting some enormous cache of gold buried somewhere beneath the wasteland.
‘So they know as well.’
They knew that a Dragon’s Nest had once appeared and disappeared in this area.
It was information most people in Kalia did not possess, yet even while carrying out their self-imposed punishment, these two had managed to track it down.
They might be stubborn fools, but their competence was exactly what I would expect from men who had once been my closest retainers.
Then again, finding me after my disappearance was probably the mission to which they had dedicated the rest of their lives.
Of course, these two men were the Rohan brothers.
I watched the twins from a distance as memories of the past washed over me.
Slowly, I walked toward them.
As I drew closer, I could see their faces soaked in sweat beneath the blazing sun and the deep wrinkles carved into them.
They must have noticed my approach already, yet they continued swinging their hoes without pause.
I gathered mana into one hand.
I intended to summon a breeze with magic and cool the sweat on their bodies.
At the same time, I used the power of Freezing to chill the air around them.
‘As expected.’
The Rohan brothers continued working.
Despite the foreign energy surrounding them, they ignored it without a care.
They did not raise their heads to look at me until only three steps remained between us.
“What would you have done if I were an assassin?”
Even to me, it sounded a little stiff for a reunion greeting.
In any case, Ash Rohan was the one who answered.
“Then you would be an assassin with far too much time on your hands. What would anyone gain from killing two laborers in the middle of nowhere?”
“You are hardly ordinary laborers.”
“Then who are we?”
Ash’s expression instantly turned cold.
Depending on my answer, the hoe in his hand might very well become a weapon aimed at my throat.
“The foolish twin boulders.”
The instant I finished speaking, the Rohan brothers’ eyes flashed.
Two pickaxes shot toward me.
Their blades were blunt and worn, but at their level, the type of weapon hardly mattered.
I smiled at the dense mana aura coating the pickaxes.
‘So they have not spent all this time merely tilling the earth.’
I could still feel the distinctive solidity that had always defined them.
BOOOOM!
The Holy Sword collided with the pickaxes, producing a deafening blast.
Even as the twins were forced several steps backward, they immediately began drawing up their mana once more.
“Who are you!”
Their furious shouts erupted at exactly the same time, befitting twins.
“Is calling you by an old nickname really enough to make you this angry?”
I asked with the faintest upward curl of my lips.
Though admittedly, I had been the only person who ever called them that.