Kill the Emperor

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 106 : Treasure Hunt

Bubble bubble-

I, Hein Reichart, scooped up a little of the stew that had started to boil to check the viscosity and seasoning.

‘The seasoning is fine at this level.’

I added a little more wine to adjust the stew's viscosity and placed a pan on the bonfire I had lit in advance.

And when the pan was sufficiently heated, I greased it and took out the rabbit meatball to prepare.

Plop. Plop.

When I dipped the meatball into the water where the mountain bird egg was released and stirred it, a yellow light resembling an egg covered the meatball fully.

Sizzle-

The sound of the yellow-dyed meatball ripening appetizingly resonated in the forest where darkness was casting its shadow.

Putting the meatball directly into the stew isn't bad, but if you grill it in oil and put it in, the taste and flavor of the stew become much better.

The taste of oil enters to make it more savory, and the texture of the meatball becomes better too.

Nom.

The dinner menu I prepared today was rabbit meatball stew, bread, salad, and pickled olives.

Nom nom.

If it proceeded smoothly according to my plan, tonight would be quite a plentiful gathering for something eaten in the forest.

Nom nom nom.

However, things do not always go according to plan.

Eventually, unable to endure it, I threw out a word.

“If you don't stop around here, today's dinner menu won't be meatball stew but just vegetable stew.”

“Ugh…… Sorry. Because it looked so delicious.”

Sherazade, who was squatting next to me and putting meatballs into her mouth as soon as they were made, flinched and stopped her hand.

“If you have nothing to do, go wash those fruits over there.”

“Yeah.”

As Sherazade nodded and snapped her finger, the Spirit Soul Magic Armor hanging around my neck emitted light.

Spla-ash-!

And suddenly, a stream of water soared from nothing in the empty air and swept over the surface of the fruits contained in the basket.

A truly cleanly washed surface.

“Is that kind of thing possible even though the spirits haven't woken up from their sleep yet?”

“This much is nothing. I look forward to it. Because once the babies open their eyes, they will show you something much more tremendous.”

While diligently flipping the ripening meatballs, I once again recalled the sight I witnessed a moment ago.

It was not the magic dominated by the principle of Equivalent Exchange, which was extremely familiar to me-

But a pure miracle borrowing the power of spirits that could be called Great Nature itself.

“You know that you have to mind people's gazes when using the power of spirits, right?”

“Yeah. Don't worry. I only show this kind of thing to the Master. And I can't do it if I'm far away from that necklace anyway.”

While we shared a conversation, dinner preparation was finished, and I set the table for two with meticulous yet agile hand movements.

And Sherazade, who put the stew I boiled entirely by myself from start to finish into her mouth, burst into admiration.

“Wow! It's delicious! Master is better at cooking than I thought.”

“…….”

“You're good at cooking too, looking at it now, Master is the number one husband material. You'll be loved by your wife later, won't you?”

“Did you learn that saying from Jenny and Matilda too?”

“Yeah.”

“…….”

Resolving to change the work schedule of the Grand Duke's residence maids as soon as I returned, I slowly brought the spoon to my mouth.

“Ah! I ate well. I'm full!”

Perhaps thanks to having a companion with an extraordinary appetite, it didn't take that long for the meal to end.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I was wondering where all that went.”

Among the stew that filled the pot, what I ate was at most about one-fifth.

I asked as I looked at Sherazade, who was crunching on dessert fruit despite saying she was full just a moment ago.

“Well. Really, where does it all go? I ate this much, but why do I get hungry when morning comes?”

Sherazade shook her head while patting her slender waist that didn't match that great appetite at all.

“What do you think, Master?”

“You shouldn't ask me that.”

I shook my head slightly, poured whiskey, and held out the glass to Sherazade.

Snap!

As Sherazade snapped her finger, water appeared in the empty air and froze coldly.

The ice fell into the glass with a plop.

“Is that delicious?”

Sherazade, who was watching the whiskey on the rocks I was drinking, asked.

“No.”

“Then why do you drink it?”

“Because it's better than doing nothing.”

“Kyah! What's that!”

Sherazade, who burst into laughter once, crept into the blanket she had warmed up warmly.

Tap tap.

Like that, she stared blankly at my profile as I threw dry twigs into the bonfire to keep the embers alive for a while, then asked.

“Master, you said you came here to find a sword, right?”

“A secret sword technique as well.”

“But if it's a sword, you already have one, don't you?”

“It's not for me to use. Neither the sword nor the secret art.”

The sword and swordsmanship manual, which could be called the goals of this journey, were gifts for Redin and the Haken Knight Order, not myself.

It was time to attach sharper fangs to the Wolves of Reichart supporting my back.

For me, who was training magic and the sword simultaneously, nothing suited me better than the secret sword technique of ‘Herar Reichart’ that I was currently mastering.

‘Immortal.’

Perhaps because I had been to the Empire, thoughts about Immortal came to my mind frequently these days.

‘Knights of Death who are prepared to go even to hell if it is Gillian's command.’

In order to turn the loyal wolves who believed in and followed me into hell hounds capable of biting off even the napes of undying beings, a gift to give them was absolutely necessary.

That was why I came here to find the relic left behind by the ‘Falber Knight Order’.

The period of chaos that continued constantly after the mythic age ended in the past.

A legendary knight order that appeared suddenly in the northern part of the continent and achieved numerous accomplishments.

After finishing all the tasks they had to do, they gathered in one place at the point where the legend of the Falber Knight Order began and rejoiced that they had finished the tasks that had been weighing them down.

And fearing that the secret sword technique that made them so strong would be rashly passed on to the world and cause harm, they created a labyrinth and sealed the famous sword used by the commander of the knight order and the secret sword technique there.

As a distant amount of time flowed after that, the legend was forgotten.

Their glory and legacy seemed to be buried and erased by the flow of time just like that.

‘Thinking about it, it was luck that was close to a coincidence. I read the record regarding the Falber Knight Order.’

In the past, Alexar was able to read a record containing the legend of the Falber Knight Order by chance during the Unification War, and I came here tracing the memories of that time.

‘The swordsmanship in the Reichart Secret Art Repository is entirely for individuals. It doesn't suit Haken, who mainly engages in group battles. But if it's something from the Falber Knight Order…….’

Also, it was self-evident that the famous sword of the Falber Knight Order commander would be extremely useful.

If it weren't for the record Alexar discovered by chance during the Unification War in the past, perhaps it would have remained lost in this life as well.

‘With this, the tempering is sufficiently finished, and I should slowly start the work of sharpening the edge. Because the famous sword of Zodiac still has much work left to do.’

If it was a famous sword left as a legend, it was clear that it would become a good stimulant to ignite Redin's dormant martial soul.

“You're intending to open the door of the labyrinth where that sword is sealed at dawn tomorrow, right?”

At Sherazade's question, I nodded instead of answering.

The entrance to the hidden labyrinth could only be opened at dawn, so we had to wait.

“You'll have to get up early tomorrow. So it's better to sleep now.”

“But I can't sleep well.”

Sherazade just rolled around with the hem of the blanket wrapped around her body, perhaps excited, and couldn't fall asleep easily.

“Is there no way to see the sleeping spirits in advance?”

I, who was watching her rolling around, asked a question.

Since sleeping early was out of the question anyway, I intended to satisfy my personal curiosity at this opportunity.

“Are you curious? Do you want to see?”

“A little.”

Perhaps glad of the interest I showed, Sherazade sprang up.

“Hm. Wait a moment. Since it still needs a little more time for the Master to see them personally, I'll draw them myself and show you.”

When I asked the other day, she said it was a secret and whatnot.

Did her mind change in the meantime?

Anyway, Sherazade turned her back to me and started squirming diligently.

A short while later, in the empty air above the palm of the girl who turned around, drawings that seemed to be drawn very diligently were depicted.

“Hm, the spirit babies all look like this. Detailed parts might be different and there might be differences in the clothes or accessories they are wearing depending on the attribute, but it won't be very different.”

Drawing pictures in the empty air using mana was a task that required detailed mana control, so it wasn't an easy task.

However, the picture Sherazade drew had quite a lively appearance, and-

‘What…… is this?’

-because of that, I couldn't help but be even more disappointed.

“They look…… like this?”

“Yeah!”

At Sherazade's definite answer, I examined her drawing carefully once more.

But no matter where or how I looked…….

“…….”

Spirits are great existences harboring the power of Great Nature.

-Since that was the established theory in academia, I actually had considerable expectations.

I thought they would have a majestic and overbearing appearance befitting the alias of Apostles of Great Nature.

Inwardly, I was imagining a strange bird breathing fire, or a gigantic turtle overturning the ocean, and so on.

But…….

‘At this rate, they're just little runts, aren't they?’

Big heads and short limbs,

Round faces and chubby hands and feet.

Even large hats dyed in various colors and cute appearances matching them.

An appearance where the title of color-coordinated ‘colorful little runts’ would suit better than ‘Apostles of Great Nature’.

“Master, are you perhaps disappointed?”

“A little.”

At the question Sherazade threw cautiously, I unwittingly showed a subtle expression.

“Whoa, I heard everything. When the babies wake up from their sleep, I will unconditionally tell them. That Master teased them saying they were ugly!”

“Forget it. That's enough, so just sleep.”

I quietly went into the blanket and closed my eyes.

However, even after that, I had to suffer from Sherazade's chatter for quite a long time.

***

Click.

Three steps forward, then one.

Click.

After going to the right, two.

Click.

After moving seven steps backward again, seven.

I placed the magic stones in the determined positions, placed both hands on the ground, and injected mana.

Wooooong-

Then, the magic stone powder I had scattered in advance began to emit light.

Cr-crack-!

Soon, cracks formed on the ground, and a magic circle that would guide me and Sherazade to the labyrinth revealed its form.

Confirming that there were no abnormalities in the formula forming the magic circle, I stood up from the spot and formed a hand seal by crossing both hands.

Flas-sh-!

Soon, a dazzling light wrapped around the forest as if dawn had broken.

What appeared in the spot where the light disappeared was a stone gateway wrapped in a hazy fog.

On the pillars of the stone gateway, a black griffon and ancient rune characters were engraved.

‘Good. It's exactly as left in the records.’

Confirming that the entire process was smooth, I moistened my dry throat and nodded.

“Master, where on earth did you learn something like this?”

“Here and there.”

Was my appearance of easily accomplishing a miracle-like task that she couldn't imitate surprising?

Sherazade chased after me and threw questions, but as always, instead of a detailed explanation, I just quietly did what I had to do.

“We're going straight inside. You've finished your preparations, right?”

“Yes! Preparation complete. Captain!”

I checked the staff held in Sherazade's hand and the cloak she was wearing, then nodded.

“You'll have to hold on tight and follow. Because we don't know what might be inside.”

“Yeah!”

As soon as her answer ended, Sherazade extended both arms and wrapped them tightly around my waist.

“…….”

“Why are you looking like that? You said to hold on tight and follow, Master?”

“It was a metaphorical expression. So move away a little.”

“What! And I thought.”

Sherazade uncoiled the arms wrapped around my waist with a dissatisfied expression, and I let out a light sigh.

“This time we're really going.”

“Yeah! Departure!”

The figures of the two people disappeared beyond the gateway.

Rumble-

A short while later.

In the forest where both the gateway and the magic circle disappeared, a silence like fog settled down.