Chapter 167: Summer is Blue (3)
“Airian is a pioneering country by nature, a country of knights, so there aren’t many unreasonable fights.”
Edmund began to walk around Cain, not letting go of his short sword.
It was a comfortable walk, as if he were taking a stroll, but everyone watching knew.
He was aiming for an opening in the exhausted Cain’s defenses.
“But, the continent is different.”
“I know the continent better than Father……”
Cain glared, forcing his rough breath into his lungs.
‘I almost died just now.’
It was truly a surprise attack.
Cain looked at Edmund, who seemed like a typical, steadfast knight, but whose insides writhed with the cunning of a hundred serpents.
It was probably a trap from the moment he showed up with Abel.
He purposely used the ridiculous thing called a diversion and the situation with Oleciren to divert attention and avoid suspicion.
He also naturally made it known that he was putting Abel forward, not himself, so that Cain wouldn’t suspect a thing.
‘This isn’t a knight, it’s a special-grade assassin.’
At Edmund’s terribly human tactic, Cain smiled bitterly and gripped his sword tighter.
“Then do you know the difference in toilets?”
“……Yes?”
“One of the biggest things that the magic and commercial revolution that began in the Free City Alliance brought about was the separation of water supply and sewage.”
A system was created to separate the pipes that carry clean water and the pipes that drain dirty water, and life has changed quite a bit.
Of course, such a thing was unimaginable for Cain, who was from the Great Wall or Ethelred.
Nod━.
Oleciren nodded.
No matter how remote and backward Airian was compared to the continent, the royal palace would have had to implement a water supply and sewage system.
“With the creation of sewers, the waste that humans discharge went far away from the toilet.”
“Why are you talking about that now……”
“But before that, it was in the same place. At least in high places or on ships, you could drop it, but on ordinary ground, you dig a hole and take care of it.”
Tap, tap━.
And Edmund tapped his buttocks with his short sword.
“People can’t help but relieve themselves, so they have to use such places, right?”
Cain’s eyes narrowed.
He realized what Edmund was trying to say.
“There could be a sword in such a place.”
The dirtiest place that people visit when they are in the most urgent need.
But just because it’s dirty doesn’t mean there are no swords. It’s a space where you can somehow endure it and stab the target to death from below if they come while you’re vulnerable.
Edmund smiled broadly.
“Yes. That’s why you have to look around when you go to the bathroom.”
Oleciren shook her head in disgust and muttered.
“You don’t have to go that far……”
Edmund cut her off and replied.
“You have to go that far. Because that’s where we’ll be.”
Edmund was resolute.
“Be suspicious of food that others give you. Of the bumpkins who first set foot in a city on the continent, less than half see the light of day after three days.”
“They usually approach under the guise of kindness and then rob them.”
Cain nodded with a bitter smile.
He had only heard a few rumors about swords in toilets, but he had experienced the bumpkin story himself in his previous life.
Fortunately, the opponents were clumsy gangsters, so he was able to escape, but if it had been a proper underworld, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.
“And unlike in the past, travel has become quite active these days, but you still have to be careful of children, women, and the elderly traveling alone.”
“Because they have something that allows them to travel alone.”
“Yes. There may be many clumsy newcomers, but it’s better to be careful.”
Chuck━.
Abel, who had been listening, raised his hand.
As soon as Edmund’s gaze fell on him, he asked.
“What about men?”
“Men are fine because they are careful from the beginning.”
“So you’re saying I should be suspicious of everyone……”
Abel’s shoulders drooped.
Cain quickly grasped Abel’s true feelings.
“I heard you’ve been reading a lot of books lately. Were you thinking about traveling?”
“Yes…… but the more I hear, the less I want to travel.”
At Abel’s appearance, the other three looked a little perplexed.
Oleciren coughed and said carefully.
“Well…… you’ll be fine.”
“Me?”
“Other people should be careful of you.”
“Yes?”
Abel tilted his head, completely clueless.
He had no idea that he was the child that Edmund was warning them to be wary of.
“There are almost no knights stronger than you in Airian.”
Cain said, ruffling Abel’s hair. Abel shook his head and looked back and forth between Cain and Edmund.
“I’m still far behind you, brother, or Father.”
“The ones you’re comparing yourself to are a bit……”
Oleciren scratched her cheek and looked up at the clear sky.
Abel was indeed strong.
But one of the people here was the strongest sword in Airian, and the other was someone who killed an enemy at the age of seventeen who had been around since the founding of Airian.
She wondered if it was right for him to compare himself to a living legend and a myth, but.
“Then work harder.”
Cain said casually, patting Abel on the shoulder.
“Yes!”
Abel’s eyes sparkled as he agreed.
At the sight, Oleciren clicked her tongue and shook her head before bursting into laughter.
Warmth.
Heat.
Trust.
She loved the feeling of the fluffy and warm feelings that had been lacking in her life seeping deep into her heart.
At that moment.
Whizz━.
Cain turned his head to look at her.
Clank━ Clank━ Clank━.
The sound of gears grinding, which she heard every time Oleciren used her witch’s power, suddenly rang out.
It was an unpleasant noise even at the best of times, but just now it was a bizarre sound, as if a devil was laughing at her.
“Huh?”
Oleciren asked back, not knowing what was going on, and Cain shook his head.
‘Something…… is happening.’
‘Winter’, who had been with him even as he crossed world lines, was gone.
And a strange intuition.
Cain’s intuition, honed from decades of fighting with only a sword to rely on, began to scream.
Something was wrong.
Something was dangerous.
Cain clenched and unclenched the sword in his hand, trying to shake off the ominous feeling.
At the same time, Edmund’s eyes glinted.
Ardvark.
True Final Form.
Ard Rí.
A vicious thrust that stretched out from an ordinary and warm situation with no warning!
Cain, who had been lost in thought, was a beat slow, but.
White Starlight Step.
He instantly generated a brilliant white pressure to slow down Edmund’s sword slightly before stepping back.
Thud━.
The step he took.
The short sword that was deflected in the other direction,
Dark Sky.
Original Style.
Kyrie.
Shuuuuuuush━!
There was no aura.
Only the most perfect trajectory of the sword exploded from the correct posture!
Clang━.
But Edmund was Edmund.
He pulled the short sword, which he thought would never return, with such force that the ligaments in his arm were about to snap, blocking Cain’s blade.
Snap, snap━.
To be precise, both their short sword and longsword couldn’t withstand the force and broke.
Edmund looked at Cain’s broken sword and said.
“And another weakness. You rely too much on your weapon. It feels like you’re wielding a sword that will never break.”
“Hmm……”
Cain had nothing to say to Edmund’s words.
The magic sword, ‘Winter’, was one of the 〈Sacred Treasures of the Four Seasons〉 that wouldn’t even get a scratch, let alone break, and the Sword of Despair, ‘Agweska’, at his waist was also.
━When your heart breaks, so will this sword.
The unreachable Witch of the Horizon, the sword created by the agent of despair, Primundi, by weaving her own life into it.
Both were far from breaking, and it was a habit that had naturally taken hold in Cain.
Edmund brushed his hair back from the moist sea breeze blowing from afar.
“There are no absolutes in the world.”
His eyes were fixed on the sizzling horizon where rain was falling as if water were boiling.
“One-hit kill, short-term engagement, high weapon dependence, and a few careless mistakes. These are all big weaknesses, but there is one biggest weakness.”
“What is it?”
“Yourself.”
“……?”
Edmund looked at Cain.
As a senior who had walked the path of the sword first.
And as a father looking at his son, who had left his hand and grown up so much, he cautiously opened his mouth.
“Your sword contains your life. But you are not there.”
“My life is me.”
“Life is only your past.”
“……!”
Cain’s eyes widened.
Edmund began to slowly show the Ardvark he had learned at the edge of the cliff.
Amidst the pouring rain like a storm.
The sword he showed on the white cliff where the moonlight was bluish was lonely. As if imitating Cain’s sword.
“Your past is here. And at the destination where you extend your sword is your present.”
“……”
“But I don’t know. Why do you go so far for a future? You’ve always burned yourself as if you had no future.”
A lonely and brilliant sword.
Cain.
At Edmund’s point, both Oleciren and Abel nodded in agreement at the same time.
At first, it was flashy and cool, but the more they looked at it, the more they felt a strange loneliness and desolation in Cain’s sword.
“It’s a little late for me to be acting like a father, but, Cain. I hope you live your future.”
Cain looked out at the sea.
In the meantime, Oleciren was looking at him with her black eyes sparkling, and in the distance was the stormy sea.
After staring at it for a long time, Cain cautiously opened his mouth.
“……I understand.”
Thump━.
And at that moment, Oleciren’s heart skipped a beat at Cain’s appearance.
It was the first time she had ever wanted to be a part of Cain’s future.
It was the moment the timer for the end was pressed.
🔹🔹🔹
[This is the fish tank. Please report the location of the tuna.]
A small space.
A cold voice echoed in a narrow place where only three people could lie down and breathe.
The man at the very front checked the various figures displayed on the dashboard and replied.
“This is Tuna. Currently maintaining a distance of 2km from the coast of Ethelred. Requesting permission to land.”
[Negative. The weather in that area is currently too clear. Even though it is an area with few people, there is a risk of being discovered.]
At that moment, the three people in the small submarine floating in the sea looked at each other in bewilderment.
Tick━.
Outside the sea, which seemed to be magic.
Rumble━!
Rain was pouring down like crazy, and lightning was flashing.
“Requesting confirmation. According to current observations, a storm is raging.”
[……Confirmation complete. Although the weather is still clear, permission to land is granted at the discretion of the field.]
“For the summer of the Empire.”
[For summer.]
The communication stopped, and the three dispatched from the Empire slowly headed towards the coast of Ethelred.
🔹🔹🔹
Rumble━.
The rain still hadn’t stopped.
It was time for the sun to rise, but the dark clouds made it impossible to see the sunrise.
Cain was looking out the window of his room, a sight he was getting used to now.
His young face reflected in the window was surprisingly new.
Squeak━.
There was not a speck of dust on the window he touched with his finger.
At that moment, without any warning, a quest window appeared.
+
『Annihilator of Destruction Ⅲ++』
Current World Line Fixation: 25%
Clear Conditions: Survival.
Success: Increased World Line Fixation, Peace in Airian, Survival, Employment.
Failure: Return canceled.
+
Cain blinked.
He couldn’t understand why the word “employment” appeared when this wasn’t even the Empire.
Come to think of it, now that he had some free time, there was one thing that stood out.
‘The name of the quest is in the same format as the Four Seasons’ message window.’
Unlike ‘Winter’ or ‘Summer’s messages, 『Four Seasons』’s message had a slightly different style.
He chuckled as he noticed that the style was exactly the same as the title of the quest.
Knock, knock━.
There was a knock on the door.
“Cain.”
Oleciren’s voice could be heard.
At that moment, the quest window disappeared like smoke.
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