Chapter 67

In the languid afternoon sun, Najin strolled through the duke’s garden. The case had come to a resolution, and what followed was not his stage to perform on. By bringing Dieta here, he knew his role had ended.

What would follow was a battle of politics and justification.

And sifting through the complex imperial laws to stab opponents with a metaphorical dagger… It was a battle fought by politicians with their three-inch tongues and a few lines of text. Najin was ignorant of such matters and had no intention of getting involved.

“There are experts for that sort of thing, after all…”

The Snake that Swallows Gold, Dieta. Now back to her cold, merchant self, she was preparing a counterattack with the help of Duke Edelmar. She mentioned it wouldn’t take long to reclaim her trading company.

“Don’t worry. This is my stage.”

“I’ll definitely repay you when we return to Cambria.”

Not all battles required wielding weapons and shedding blood. Dieta had her own battlefield. To avoid disturbing the busy Dieta, Najin often walked around the duke’s estate.

With the medal given by the duke, he received warm hospitality wherever he went.

While sitting on a bench during his walk, Najin suddenly looked in front of him. There stood a tall tree. Although it wasn’t a thorn bush in front of him, looking at the tall tree reminded him of the battle a few days ago.

Griffin wielding the thorny sword aura.

He was a formidable opponent, one who repeatedly pushed Najin towards death. He was also the knight who had firmly imprinted what it meant to be a Sword Seeker. Sword Seeker, mental image, inner landscape. Najin mulled over these words.

Then, he blinked.

Najin closed his eyes. Focusing inward, he could sense the mental image that had barely sprouted during his battle with Griffin. It was a space no larger than a few steps.

The landscape of the Underground City Artman was set in a pitch-black space.

There, two stars were placed in the sky and on the ground, respectively, and a girl was sitting on a fence, gazing at the star in the sky. Najin walked through the landscape within him.

One step, then another.

The girl sitting on the fence and swinging her legs turned her head to look at Najin. Her hair flowed like a wave in shades of blue and white. Her eyes, calm like a still lake, curved as she met Najin’s gaze.

“What’s up, you came?”

The Wizard of the Lake, Merlin. The one within Najin’s inner self greeted him.

“It feels like it’s been a while.”

“Well, it does feel like it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other face to face. About four months? Or three?”

“It seems so.”

Merlin patted the space next to her with her palms. Najin climbed up the fence and sat next to Merlin, where the star hanging high in the sky could be best seen.

“Is it now possible to meet like this?”

“Not often, but it’s possible if you close your eyes and concentrate.”

Merlin replied.

“My consciousness resides in your mental image, and the clearer and more concrete your mental image becomes, the clearer I will appear. It’s still a bit blurry, isn’t it?”

She leaned towards Najin. Indeed, Merlin’s figure was still blurry, as if reflected on the water’s surface, different from when they had met in her star domain.

“Speaking of which…”

Merlin turned her head to look around. The inner landscape of Najin. She sighed briefly as she observed the most strongly imprinted scenery in Najin’s mind.

“It’s a desolate landscape.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. There’s no forest, no lake, no sunlight coming through. It’s dark and dreary. This must be the scenery of the underground city you lived in.”

“That’s right. Although, in reality, it’s a bit brighter.”

Najin smiled bitterly.

“In front of the tavern there, many lanterns made of sunset ore are hung. Every day, big sis Epoli comes out to clean the signboard and check the lanterns.”

With a blink, lanterns appeared around the tavern. A faint glow of dusk spread around it.

“That way leads to the counter. It seems it hasn’t been drawn beyond that path yet… Beyond that road is a bit more glamorous. It’s the brightest place in the underground city.”

The road stretching into the darkness. Light leaked from that path. He hadn’t fully realized it beyond there, but he could imagine the leaking light.

“Really?”

“Yes. And over there…”

“Is there such a thing?”

“People here long for the upper city. They probably wanted to draw a landscape that resembled the upper city, even a little. I’m not sure, though.”

As he talked with Merlin, Najin looked around the landscape. The city, once only dark, now had large and small lamps hung, transforming into a more intricate scenery.

Of course, if Najin lost focus even a little, all of it would disappear. These were not yet fully settled in his mental image. Najin felt a bittersweet and somewhat nostalgic emotion as he looked at the landscape within him.

“It feels strange.”

Najin murmured.

“I thought it was a shitty place, a place I didn’t even want to remember, but looking at it now, I feel a bit nostalgic.”

“That’s what hometowns are like.”

“Is that the same for you, Merlin?”

“Even though my hometown was a shitty place, after it was burned down by a witch and turned into ashes, I did miss it a bit.”

Merlin smiled bitterly.

“Anyway, it’s good to occasionally refine your mental image like this. If you don’t keep it in mind, the mental image will gradually erode and eventually crumble.”

She took a deep breath.

“What you should fear most is oblivion and wear. So cherish this landscape you’ve created for the first time.”

Merlin rested her chin on her hand and looked at the scenery of the Underground City Artman with distant eyes. Her eyes seemed to be recalling something, reminiscing.

“Once you lose it, you won’t even be able to regret it. Because you won’t remember.”

“I’m not that bad with memory.”

“What are you talking about? This is different from memory.”

Merlin laughed as if it was ridiculous.

“There are definitely those who want to corrupt your mental image. Bastards who mess up your memory, stirring your mind with their fingers. So, be careful.”

“It still feels like a distant story to me.”

“Who knows? It might be closer than you think.”

Well, Merlin jumped down from the fence. Walking the streets of the Underground City Artman, she said.

“Your landscape isn’t bad. It has a cozy feeling.”

Merlin looked back at Najin with her hands behind her back.

“It would be nice to have a lake too, if possible. Try to create one sometime.”

“I’ll try.”

Najin smiled faintly and blinked a couple of times. The landscape of the underground city disappeared, and the scenery of the duke’s garden came into view. After looking at the tall tree for a while, Najin moved on.

In Duke Edelmar’s office. The captain of the knights, Wolfhild, expressed his subjective opinion after reporting to his master.

“It’s close to that of a Sword Seeker.”

“…Is that true?”

“Yes, objectively speaking, Sir Griffin, the Knight Commander of the Arbenia ducal family, is a strong opponent. Wielding a sword aura over 5m long with the swordsmanship of ‘Arta Trigadian’, Sir Griffin is by no means an easy opponent.”

Wolfhild continued.

“If it’s a close-range battle, it would be my loss, and even from a distance, I cannot guarantee victory alone. It’s no coincidence that Sir Griffin is called the ducal family’s first sword.”

Griffin was a strong opponent. He was not a novice Sword Seeker who had just awakened his mental image, but an experienced swordsman who fully controlled his own.

“That young man countered the sword of such a strong opponent. He even managed to cut through the fragments of sword aura. It’s a feat impossible at the level of a Sword Expert.”

“That’s…”

“He must have approached the level of a Sword Seeker, or he has grasped a fragment of the mental image. It seems his physical abilities have already reached the realm of Seekers.”

Wolfhild had witnessed the confrontation between Griffin and Najin. He was a knight who wielded a great bow, an individual who had honed his observational and insight skills for decades.

The duke trusted his eyes.

Trusting him, Duke Edelmar couldn’t hide his astonishment. The duke sighed deeply.

“Remarkable. To reach such a level at that age?”

“Although his official age is 28…”

“Even at that age, he would be the youngest Sword Seeker. His talent is reminiscent of the Sword Saint, Sir Karan.”

Or perhaps surpassing Sir Karan. If the story became known, it would surely cause a significant uproar. For now, the young man’s tale was circulating only within Cambria…

“Before long, he will stand out. Even outside.”

He was not one to stay within Cambria. Soon, he would step onto a broader stage. A talent like his couldn’t be confined to one place for long. Duke Edelmar laughed incredulously.

“Where did such a talent spring from, I wonder.”

His origin, real name, actual age. All of it was concealed. Even digging around brought up no information. Could he be from a family whose records were erased? There’s no one else whose information has been so cleanly wiped.

“An unknown identity, a youth who values chivalry and possesses exceptional talent with the sword…”

Mulling over that information, the duke laughed inadvertently. Hearing his master laugh, Wolfhild tilted his head and asked.

“Why do you say that…?”

“Maybe I’ve been enjoying plays too much lately. A ridiculous thought occurred to me.”

Blinking, the duke laughed along with a sigh. It was a nonsensical fantasy, but pondering over it, it seemed somewhat plausible.

“Doesn’t that young man seem just like King Arthur?”

“Excuse me?”

“Unknown identity. A figure who suddenly appeared from nowhere. He values chivalry, honors, and pride heavily. He possesses exceptional talent with the sword and… is at a high level despite his young age.”

The characteristics of the young man.

“Moreover, the place where he started to stand out is none other than the City of Opportunities, Cambria. Starting his journey in this city… doesn’t it remind you of the Chronicles of King Arthur?”

Each characteristic, taken separately, is common, but when combined, they form a rare story.

“A young man resembling King Arthur appearing in the City of Opportunities after hundreds of years. Ah, what a thrilling tale this is?”

The duke looked at his knight with shining eyes.

“What do you think, Sir Wolfhild?”

“With all due respect, I believe you should reduce your play viewings.”

“Hmm. Is that so? Indeed, I have been frequenting the theater quite a bit lately. Perhaps I should cut back…”

“And maybe reduce the support for the theater as well…”

“Oh no. That’s not possible.”

The duke frowned.

“That’s a project I’m promoting. If the theater grows, it can boost tourism and elevate Trebache’s name, so it’s beneficial in the long run.”

Well, whatever the case. Muttering to himself, the duke looked at the documents on his table. Sent from the Central Guild of Cambria. At the top of the documents was written [Final Approval for Promotion].

Duke Edelmar silently scanned the contents of the examination.

The adventurer in question hadn’t been active for long, but each of his deeds was significant, and he scored nearly perfect in the promotion exam supervised by experts in various fields.

At this point, the promotion was as good as confirmed.

Especially since becoming a Red-rank adventurer meant being recognized as a skilled individual by Cambria, it was customary to receive formal permission from the foundation’s representative. The duke smiled as he looked at the name ‘Ivan’ on the document.

Unknown identity.

No known information.

Risk of identity fraud.

Ignoring the ‘risk factors’ section, the duke signed his name on the document. Then, he stamped it with the seal of the duke’s family.

It was the moment when Najin’s promotion to Red-rank was confirmed.

Days passed, and the incident was concluded.

Dieta, who had danced in the dirty political arena, filled with complexity, stickiness, and nitpicking, sprawled out on the bed, exhausted.

Yet, the incident was resolved.

Her return to the position of trading company leader was confirmed, and in a day or two, she would head to Cambria to return to her daily life. Of course, she would face opposition from the ducal family in the future, but that was a problem to be tackled later.

Lying on the bed and looking out the window, a brilliantly shining moon hung in the sky. Gazing at the bright yellow moon, Dieta smiled to herself.

The moon is beautiful.

The bright yellow moon she had seen while fleeing with Najin flashed through her mind. Involuntarily, the solid back of Najin came to mind, as did the arms that had lifted her, making Dieta twirl her hair around her fingers.

‘Come to think of it…’

Before leaving the territory, didn’t the duke say he would host a banquet? Dieta, who generally didn’t favor noble gatherings like banquets or festivals, always received nothing but contempt there.

But this banquet would be different. It was hosted by the duke, and she would attend as a guest along with Najin. No one would dare insult the duke’s guest in his presence.

‘A banquet, meaning… dance.’

Dieta swallowed nervously.

A banquet and a ball. And dancing.

Scenes often found in sweet romance novels. Couples dancing under dazzling lights. The climax of the banquet. Thinking of such scenes, the duke’s image, winking slyly, came to mind.

It seemed like he was shouting, “You know who you’ll be dancing with, right?” Fitting for the duke who loved theater, he had prepared a stage to conclude the moonlit escapade.

Although the intention was obvious, if asked whether she disliked it, the answer would be no. Feeling her face heat up, Dieta washed her face with dry hands.

“Dance, meaning… I…”

With that person?

Dieta’s heart raced. Burying her face in the bed, Dieta aimlessly kicked the bedpost.