Chapter 21 : The Jester and the Geniuses (2)
Chapter 21: The Jester and the Geniuses (2)
Four people sat around the table.
In front of each of them, food was placed.
Du’ar had noticed Moritz couldn’t finish her meal because of him, so he had a new tray prepared for her as well.
“Jester Mans. He is the Seolyandan’s guest‑eater.”
After the meal, unusually, she spoke up first.
“Watching him fight, I think I understand why he got that nickname. Is he someone you know well?”
“I know he has a personal acquaintance with the Snowy King, but I don’t know the details. Today was the first time I actually sparred with him. He seems a few steps above me … ”
Moritz, unusually uncertain in speech, stared intently at Ubol.
Everyone could understand the meaning in her gaze.
“What are you staring at like that. Of course he’s strong, so he won.”
“Since the topic came up, let’s spar again.”
When Ubol spoke cockily, Hindir explained in detail.
“He has only now awakened the Ice‑Blood Qi. He can’t handle it properly yet, but it’s more than enough to land a blow on an unguarded opponent.”
“No, just say he’s strong. As long as it doesn’t interfere with killing people, that’s fine, right?”
“Do you have any guesses why the Snowy King didn’t come himself and sent a guest‑eater instead?”
Hindir asked, ignoring Ubol’s protest.
“No.”
“How about you, Ubol?”
“Not at all. If he were that brash, I surely wouldn’t forget him.”
They had already lost the three generals who formed the core strength of the Seolyandan.
Still, the Snowy King didn’t go himself but sent a guest‑eater. How should that be interpreted?
And it was only one person.
He must surely know that doing this over and over would be a costly war of attrition.
“Does that matter? Let’s just kill everyone who comes.”
With renewed confidence, Ubol’s words made Hindir nod.
“That’s correct. The question is whether you can actually do that.”
“Damn it. Did he get annoyed because I attacked as soon as I came to my senses? Damn, I’m the one who got beaten!”
“Ubol. You have only just begun to be able to wield the power. It cannot yet be said to be fully yours.”
“If I use it, it’s mine. Whose would it be?”
“You must be able to perfectly control the power. If not, the same thing will repeat itself at any time.”
“What? You told me once I achieved this everything would be resolved. Why are you changing what you say now?”
“It only meant you wouldn’t die. To become whole, you must develop your own Mana Technique or eventually learn the family’s Technique.”
“If… if not, there is also the option to use no power and live the rest of one’s life in peace. But you don’t like that, do you?”
“Damn it. I’ve come this far, right? Of course I don’t like that.”
“Right. If you want to go further, you’ll have to find a method. Until you gain a clue, I recommend using the Ice‑Blood Qi only as an aid. Like pulling threads, handle the power very subtly and understand it little by little.”
“This time is it for real? There isn’t something else after this, is there?”
“That depends on how far your ambition reaches.”
“Heh heh … I’m going mad.”
“Honestly, complaining aloud is useless. You’ve already been discovered by the Parno family.”
“… Wait a moment. What does that mean?”
“Before you regained consciousness, an old man called Parno’s Wolf visited.”
Hearing that, Ubol’s face went pale.
“Damn … damn!”
He grabbed his head and cursed several more times.
“Is that true? You’re not kidding, are you?”
“Think whatever you like.”
“…No. There’s no reason to lie about that.”
Ubol let out a deep sigh and then spoke as if puzzled.
“But why did you survive? Why wasn’t I taken?”
If that person was who he imagined, it was very strange he just returned obediently.
“He was reasonable in speech. He was a person fitting of Parno.”
“I don’t know what you mean by ‘fitting of Parno’, but you should consider yourself filthy lucky. You don’t know how tyrannical and vicious that old man is.”
“Is that so? What kind of person is he?”
“He is a trainer who gathers half‑breeds like me and turns them into Parno’s Wolves. The wolves are workers who handle the family’s darkest deeds, and he is their leader. Though he himself is a half‑breed, he is a pitiful man who calls himself the most faithful slave.”
Hindir’s impression of the old man differed slightly, but in any case, that was how he was seen within the family.
“But even thinking it over, it’s inexplicable. He really just left? No doubt you must have babbled nonsense to that man … ”
“Well now, you might be stronger than elder brother.”
At Du’ar’s remark, Ubol shook his head resolutely.
“That old man is a monster. Rumor says he’s second only to the Family Head.”
Even that didn’t sound trustworthy.
If that level was really second in Parno’s family, it would be deeply disappointing.
Unless he was the fourth or fifth strongest.
The strongest of the era might fall far short of his expectations, Hindir felt troubled at the thought.
“Anyway, what did you say to that man that he left quietly?”
“You said you would return of your own will and destroy the family.”
“…He’s truly a crazy bastard.”
Even though those words were unspoken, they weren’t exactly wrong.
“Ubol.”
“Why.”
“That old man told me that if he went back, another person would come.”
“……”
“From now on, you must handle any person the family sends directly yourself.
You will learn from them, take from them, and prove yourself.”
Ubol felt as if fire had landed on the top of his foot.
“Damn it. Why is surviving so difficult?”
“Survival is always the hardest.”
Hindir spoke as he thought of days long past.
Perhaps because Ubol felt something in his own way, or because his blood truly had begun to boil, he, following Hindir’s counsel, began training immediately.
And Hindir became Ubol’s Ice‑Blood Qi training partner.
Because Hindir had some resistance to cold, and the cold created by Ubol might, like that of the wolf old man, help his heart Core Formation.
But the cold created by Ubol was nowhere near enough.
Because of it, he learned that just because opponent mana penetrates the body doesn’t mean it will be automatically absorbed.
Only when it can break through the native mana resistance of the Charun can the heart Core Formation respond.
“If your body can respond, it means your Ice‑Blood Qi has become usable.
So until that happens, continue to handle it using only small amounts of mana, just like now.”
“I’m not sure what you mean, but you want me to make it feel like I’d freeze to death, right?”
Hindir nodded in agreement.
Having roughly experienced the wolf old man’s power, he could compare the difference to some degree.
“But Parno traditionally uses swords, don’t they? Why do you use a blade?”
“Huh? I simply don’t like using swords. I like the way it feels swinging the blade crisp and satisfying.”
“Haven’t you taken any lessons?”
“In the family I learned a bit of swordsmanship. I slightly modified it for my blade.”
Hindir looked at Ubol with surprise.
The only time he had seen Ubol’s blade technique was when fighting Moritz, and honestly it wasn’t particularly good.
But if that wasn’t properly learned as a systematized blade technique, it was quite impressive.
He would have to observe longer, but he might have been born with a sense for handling weapons.
‘Indeed. From the moment he suppressed the rampaging Ice‑Blood Qi on his own, he must be considered a genius.’
He wouldn’t tell Ubol that…
Ordinary family heads or lesser branch heads were often called geniuses.
There were certainly real prodigies, but even becoming a gifted person could be elevated to genius status by the family.
In contrast, Ubol had received no support at all from the family.
If he had remained, he might have become one of the finest wolves.
But eventually he would have been blocked by an invisible wall and driven to despair.
Once a pure‑blood wall appeared, it becomes impossible to view one’s potential accurately.
Although Parno cherished the bloodline, that didn’t mean they only protected it.
One had to prove one bore Parno’s blood through harsh training and even risk one’s life many times.
But the current Parno made not themselves risk life but created those who would bleed in their place, which was lamentable.
“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me so foully all of a sudden?”
Honestly… that wild mouth moving on its own reminds me more of a lesser branch head five hundred years ago.
“From today, go see Moritz every day and request sparring.
Exclude mana, and fight using only pure blade technique.”
“Huh? Why that woman all of a sudden?”
“She must be very interested in you.”
“What? You’re aware of those subtleties? Well, I did become a bit more attractive….”
But Ubol quietly stopped speaking.
He read the look in Hindir’s eyes that seemed to be judging him poorly.
“Ahem.”
“Moritz simply has little interest in others, so don’t get any other idea.”
“I was joking too.
…But how do you know? I’ve never seen a private conversation between you.”
“Moritz is someone born to be a warrior.”
“Huh?”
“Though I don’t know the underlying motive, her pure passion toward strength is among the few I’ve seen in my life.”
Ubol frowned as if hearing nonsense.
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he nodded and said:
“To sum up, you’re saying she felt hurt that I dealt with that madwoman too easily, right?”
“…Yes. In any case, be careful.”
“But aren’t you better than Moritz? Her skill with weapons is better than mine, but the gap isn’t big enough to sit under her instruction.”
“It’s not about skill but about enlightenment.
If you both fight using only pure swordsmanship, you will come to understand.”
“Isn’t it just because you can’t handle weapons and are flailing it around?”
Hindir shrugged in answer.
He anticipated just how great a shock the confidently full Ubol would soon face.
Late at night, Du’ar had prepared some snacks for Hindir to go with his drink.
“I’ll eat well.”
“Heh heh, no problem.
Do you know?
You’re the only one who says thank you for my cooking, big brother.
There are truly no people more ungrateful.”
“You’re the oldest here, so I can only bear it.”
Upon hearing that, Du’ar couldn’t help but glance at Hindir’s face.
In fact, apart from his body, Hindir looked the youngest…
“Ahem.
By the way, what’s with that person Ubol all of a sudden?”
At dinner, Ubol had seemed half absent-minded.
Even though Du’ar spoke nonsense, he didn’t curse, so the atmosphere had been quite serious.
“Didn’t you see during the day?”
“You mean when he fought the general?
Just because of that?”
Du’ar had indeed seen Ubol clashing blades with Moritz all during the day.
But they only appeared to exchange blows in turn, and Ubol’s expression grew darker until eventually he lost it like that.
“He only now came to face the bitter fact of how poor his own level is.”
“No, didn’t he not feel that way in their first match?”
That meant Ubol’s perspective had opened more than before.
Honestly, Hindir thought Ubol realized faster than expected.
He thought it would take at least two more days.
“Oh… I really don’t suit swords.
Giving up nostalgia and stepping a little away makes me feel like I can’t live like that.”
“Good thinking.”
Even while saying that, that he was still here was a little strange.
But since Du’ar had chosen it himself, Hindir did not comment further.
And Du’ar’s cooking skill was quite good anyway…
No matter how unfastidious Hindir’s appetite, better to eat something delicious if possible.
These drunken snacks were only a bit of herb and meat mixed, but they were quite excellent.
“In any case, I’ll go now.
Then rest well, big brother.”
“All right.
You rest too.
I’ll enjoy the food well.”
Once Du’ar left, the world turned quiet.
“……”
He felt suddenly strange at how well he had adapted to a world five hundred years later.
No, in truth he had felt awkward all along.
Though he liked alcohol, he hadn’t thought he would drink this fiercely until now, perhaps because of that.
There is a place he wants to return to, but he can no longer go.
Does Kartan truly exist?
If it does, would the people from five hundred years ago be waiting there?
Because there are loud and strange fellows, the daytime is okay, but at night suppressed memories drift up.
Thus Hindir quietly drank with Du’ar’s cooking for a long time.
And only when he detected a presence from afar that shattered that silence did he return to the present.
“It seems someone is slowly waking up.”
Gathering food and drink, Hindir quietly headed outside the Choranchai.