Chapter 246: One Day (1)
One day in the lives of certain people.
Their day filled with memories and laughter.
A trivial story that could happen anywhere.
This is their story, a story that will not end, a story that has not ended.
October 14th, Year 10 of the Herduke Imperial Calendar.
“A joyous occasion on one side, and a mourning on the other. Together, it’s a celebration and a funeral. Still, it’s a good death, so that’s a relief.”
Kersilla Creon, the Imperial Mage of the Herduke Empire, spoke while drinking a bowl full of Takju. As he put down the empty bowl, his wife, Len, quietly lifted the kettle and filled the bowl with a translucent, milky-white liquid.
He had a somewhat bitter expression on his face after attending the funeral of Summeor, the Regent of Grenoian and the leader of the ‘Guard,’ the inhabitants of Grenoian.
Len quietly smiled and filled the bowl as she watched her husband empty it repeatedly. She said,
“We consider funerals to be celebrations as well. While we understand the Nockerman mourning the sorrow of the deceased, we don’t understand them being so depressed.”
“I know. But that grandmother was also quite hasty. There was no need to go so soon. She already saw her great-grandchildren, but she could have seen one more before leaving. Tsk.”
“It’s alright. Even though she’s passed away, she’ll surely be happy.”
The funerals of the Guard are quite different from the funerals of the outside world of Grenoian.
They humbly accept death as a natural event to be faced at the end of life, and celebrate those who have escaped the shackles of life. Their funerals are no different from festivals to others.
Even now, around the place where Kersilla, commonly known as Lucy, the mage, is drinking, many people are boisterously laughing and exchanging drinks.
Lucy, who personally knew Summeor, did not understand such behavior, but he thought this was quite alright. It wouldn’t be bad if the deceased could leave amidst laughter.
He put down his bowl. He thought it wouldn’t be good for his body to drink any more. Len, as if reading her husband’s mind, put down the kettle. Lucy asked,
“Where’s Risel?”
“He’s meeting with the Texilla…… I mean, the elders. They need to select the next ruler and Regent.”
“Hmm. Risel only came to pay his respects to his grandmother, but perhaps the Emperor personally coming and bestowing the position of Regent here will become a tradition of this place.”
The Risel that Lucy is referring to is Arisein Pireum Herduke, the Emperor of the Herduke Empire. As everyone in the Empire knows well, Lucy is a close friend of Arisein, who led the ‘3-Year War’ to victory.
People believe traditions are inherited because they have quite deep meanings or noble intentions, but many traditions that have spread throughout the world are often done now because they have been done in the past.
Len smiled at his words. She thought that perhaps, even after hundreds of years, if the Herduke Empire still existed, it might become as he said.
“Where are Baius and Al?”
“They’re over there.”
In the direction Len pointed, there was an elderly man and a middle-aged man having a drinking contest with a table of drinks between them. And behind them, young people were kneeling, watching the contest with nervous expressions.
“Those people never have a day where they don’t fight.”
Lucy shook his head.
Baius Extoria and Neral Tines.
They were two of the strong individuals called the Eight Strongest of the Continent. One had the title of Fighting King, and the other had the title of Tuwang (Fighting King), and each is said to have a special relationship with the Spear King.
It is said that they now reside in Grenoian and are devoted to teaching their disciples, but the two have a strong sense of rivalry towards each other that others cannot understand.
If that were the case, it would be normal for their disciples and their families to ignore each other, but since they fight during the day and drink together until they collapse in the evening, their families and disciples feel a strange sense of camaraderie.
Al, called the Tuwang, looked at Baius while holding his bowl. Baius, the Fighting King, who had already entered old age, looked at Al with a flushed face.
Without anyone saying anything first, the same words popped out of both of their mouths.
“Give up.”
“You give up.”
As those words came out, two women from each side (?) sighed simultaneously. One was Baius’ adopted daughter, and the other was Al’s wife.
The two stood at a point about halfway between Al and Baius, looking at their pathetic adoptive father and pathetic husband.
“Unni, as always, don’t you want to stop cleaning up after those people?”
“Sigh, but what can we do? Those people will probably be like that until they die.”
“Why are they so desperate to not lose even once? And the rumors going around too. Whenever I hear the rumor that father impulsively adopted me because Uncle Al got married and started a family, I feel empty sometimes.”
“If you think about it that way, what about the children behind those two? They frantically increased the number of their disciples, but you and I stopped them at twelve. The competition between the children wouldn’t be this childish.”
“Ah, right. I have a worry these days.”
“What is it?”
Al’s wife turned her head to Baius’ daughter, who hadn’t yet lost her girlishness. The girl, who had set down a halberd that didn’t match her physique, said with a deeply worried expression,
“Auntie, you’ll be having a baby soon, right? Then, father might impulsively make me a younger sibling because we’ll be outnumbered in family members. Or he might say he’ll take in a son-in-law.”
“That might happen.”
“Sigh……”
“Sigh……”
It was when the two were sighing with great concern about their pathetic guardians. With the sound of a sack falling over, Baius and Al smashed their faces onto the table.
“Master—!”
“Master—!”
Although they knew this would happen, the two’s disciples hurriedly lifted up their masters who had passed out from drinking. They would probably wake up around noon tomorrow with a hangover.
Watching the scene, Lucy sighed.
“They should have just quietly drank like Old Man Sylvan. Don’t you think so, old man? By the way, when are you going to die?”
“Shut up.”
Next to Lucy, there was an old man wrapped in a dark robe and a boy fidgeting and serving him. The boy was a Grenoian boy with awkward black robes, as if he was clumsily imitating the old man’s attire.
Lucy shrugged at Sylvan’s voice, which was much clearer than before, and asked the boy who was quietly serving him,
“Tun, are you learning Shadow Manipulation well?”
“Yes? Ah, yes. Master is teaching me well.”
“Oh, is that so? How much have you learned?”
“Ah, well……”
The boy with blonde hair and brown eyes, called Tun, hesitated a bit. Then Sylvan opened his mouth.
“He’s learned about 50%. He’ll be able to learn it all before I die. Heh heh. This land is a good land, you see.”
“D, die, you say! Please don’t say such things, Master!”
“Everyone dies when their time comes. That old woman Summeor died too. My old colleagues lived a long time, but in the end, they all died. So learn everything I teach you before then, Tun.”
“N, no! Master dying! I, I, I, I can’t even imagine it!”
Tun, who was only thirteen years old, shook his head with an expression that looked like he was about to cry. Seeing that, Sylvan smiled without anyone noticing. He was a young child, but his kindness was truly heartwarming. However, that smile didn’t last long.
“Whew! What a touching display of love between master and disciple! I’m so jealous of those without disciples! Whew!”
“Are you planning on doing a Salpuri dance after all this time?”
“Uh, no. That’s not it, I’m just envious…… Hey! Get rid of the shadows!”
Sylvan clicked his tongue and retracted the shadow tentacles he had pulled up around his body.
Sylvan Harcian is currently one of the Eight Strongest of the Continent, known as the Shadow King. His specialty is a type of magic called Shadow Manipulation, which allows him to freely control shadows.
Although he is now secluded in this place, raising a disciple, his skills are not to be underestimated. After all, he is one of the few who can threaten Lucy, the ‘Space Ruler,’ who is also one of the Eight Strongest.
“Tsk. How is it that even with a prestigious title, I’m always the one being bullied……”
“Perhaps you should reflect on your usual behavior, my dear husband.”
Len was smiling. But somehow, a blazing fire seemed to be overlapping with her back. Lucy flinched and lowered his head. Any wife would dislike their husband’s pathetic behavior.
At that moment, a young man approached the place where they were. A slightly thin physique, but with a well-built body, he seemed to be a strong-willed young man.
“You were here.”
“L, Lea, welcome! Len, please make room for Lea.”
“Sigh, alright.”
Lea looked at Lucy, who flinched when Len sighed, with an amused expression. Somehow, he seemed to be overlapping with other people he knew.
“You’re living an interesting life. Heh. It’s like watching my old master and senior brother.”
“I wish it were. At least Risel had the upper hand.”
“Outwardly, Sister Len hands over the reins. She readily agrees when asked. She’s the perfect wife for Brother. Only a strong-willed woman who can take control at any moment can allow Brother Lucy to live a stable life.”
“That’s enough, Master of the Hall of Martial Arts.”
The young man, one of the Eight Strongest of the Continent, who inherited the title of Sword King from his master, awkwardly scratched his head.
The Hall of Martial Arts is a group of martial artists who do not belong to any country. It is a place that carries on a long tradition and imparts high-level martial arts, and Lea recently became the master of the hall through a groundbreaking personnel appointment.
The young man with an innocent face, unbefitting of a martial artist, scratched his head and said,
“Well, it’s a measure taken by the higher-ups to quickly secure the Sword King because of Master’s case. In fact, Master never returned to the Hall after leaving and getting married. And now he’s the Empress and devoted to childcare. Among the martial artists, they say Senior Brother is a truly terrible person.”
“Indeed. Risel, that guy, is a bad guy. He quickly swept away a woman ten years older than him with a physique that doesn’t age easily. How can Lady Ibi be the same age as me? She just looks like Len’s older sister by a year.”
“And what about you, Brother? What’s the age difference between you and Sister Len? I hear rumors that you raised her to eat her up.”
“Ugh. That hits close to home.”
People have a vague, almost deified image of the Eight Strongest of the Continent. In reality, they are people who act silly and exchange jokes like this, but the strength they possess seems to make people unaware of those aspects.
“But where are the two people who were the topic of conversation just now?”
“Risel is talking with the elders, and I’m not sure about Lady Ibi. It’s a time when she should be careful, but she went on a trip again. Do those people have a destiny to travel when they have a child?”
“Ah, are you talking about the ‘secret patrol’?”
“It’s a case that proves how scary the Information Bureau’s manipulation of public opinion is.”
Lea chuckled.
A fact known to everyone on the Continent, that is, after Risel became Emperor, he hid his identity for about four months and went on a trip to assess the situation of the newly established Empire.
At that time, the newly crowned Emperor Risel said that he had to see with his own eyes how the people were living to properly rule, and left on a trip with his Empress, Levidian, the day after becoming Emperor.
This incident, which caused the Emperor’s popularity to skyrocket, is only known by a small number of people.
In fact, Risel had no intention of becoming Emperor, but after being forced into the position by his father and brother, he ran away.
Then, there’s the backstory of how Levidian became pregnant with their daughter, Sermaila, nicknamed Aila, and he had to return.
The fact that the examination revealed she was already pregnant when they started running away was enough to shock those around them.
Lucy grumbled and threw a peanut into his mouth.
“They go on a trip without even knowing they’re having a child, and after finally having a second child, they come on a trip to such a far place again. Do they even realize they need to rest? Sometimes I wonder if they’re in their right minds.”
“Um, Brother, please refrain from speaking too harshly……”
“Why? It’s the truth. If they act thoughtlessly, it’s the people around them who worry. Can’t they make decisions with a little more seriousness?”
Lea just scratched his head. Lucy didn’t notice, but he had already spotted a person casting a shadow behind him.
The shadow coldly criticized.
“Oh my, to hear such words from Lucy. That’s unexpected.”
“Eek?! Your Majesty the Empress!”
Lucy jumped up and turned around. There stood Empress Levidian, along with a number of maidservants equivalent to a division. Lucy thought it was already too late.
Leave a Reply