Against the Dark (2)

It couldn’t be.

But it was. Even when he rubbed at his eyes and looked again, the message hadn’t changed. The string of golden letters floating above the filthy scavenger’s head revealed unbelievable information.

‘There are only four swordmasters in Albion! Arthur’s teacher is one of them?’

Kleio moved through his Memory at a speed that could set fire to his head. The only swordmasters mentioned in the last manuscript were Rosa, Pierce, and Duke Theo Tristein.

‘Tasserton is still level 7, as is Aslan. So one of them was really Mietsu?!’

“Kleio, what are you doing standing there?”

“Do you have a cramp?”

“No… Mister Mietsu, I wonder if your ether is a little unusual.”

“Oh, master’s ether isn’t visible. You must’ve been surprised.”

“Besides, the level seems to be quite high…?”

It was only then that Kleio glanced at the others. Was his ether level not detectable to them?

‘Everyone should have [Ether Detection], but why aren’t they surprised? Swordmasters aren’t so common.’

“It can be said that master’s swordsmanship has reached the level of God, but the level itself isn’t very special. Great teaching doesn’t come from level.”

“That’s right…”

Isiel wasn’t lying; she had no talent for it even if she tried. He once again felt a colorless, intangible ether manifesting intensely in Mietsu’s right hand. The boy’s cheeks turned pale, and not because of the cold.

‘This… It’s a unique skill.’

At the same moment, Promise spat out a message with blurred edges as if it were distorted.

[Unique skill: Concealment Veil

―It grants the ability to conceal the achievement of the body.

―Users can display their ether level lower than the actual level.

Currently displayed level: 5

User: Michislav Davrovsky]

When you reached a master’s level, one’s ether would gain its own unique color. Rosa’s was scarlet, and Pierce’s was grayish-brown.

‘His unique color is colorless and transparent. His title has something to do with being a recluse, too… What the hell are you doing?’

Kleio wanted to find a corner to lie down in at the emergence of this unexpectedly huge

.

.

.

Mietsu, who had washed up before the demon suppression team arrived, was seated in the parlor with a hot toddy prepared by Baku. He consumed it in one shot and wiped the alcohol out of his beard with the back of his hand.

“Ha, this taste is really exquisite.”

“Yes, master. It’s the best.”

“You’ve been eating these delicious things in this warm castle while I was eating jerky outside!”

“It’s too unfair to put it like that. We also wanted to participate in the hunt.”

“There wasn’t much to it. When the beasts started biting at their legs, they just kicked them! Really, putting ether into the spur-studded shoes and kicking it! I’ve heard that the wild animals around here were much more ferocious!”

Cel, who was listening silently, turned around with a fire in her eyes.

“Ether in shoes? Wow, what are you doing with them?”

“They are snow boots with iron you wear, so you don’t slip in the snow. They’re only worn in the north, but it’s made out of magic iron, so it’s useful for conducting ether! Anyway, I saw a lot of new technology.”

“Oh, that’s fine. I should also make a pair.”

“Is that the only thing that’s curious? Even ordinary soldiers who can’t use ether have the power to stop the animals that come down every winter.”

Arthur stuck out his lips like a child, a habit from his childhood brought out by seeing his teacher again.

“Ah, he’s trying to get rid of us again. Demons can only be caught by ether users.”

“Did we catch that beast alone? The supplies were moved by infantry!”

Tilting his glass of hot toddy, he thought about it.

‘Even now, Mietsu never seems like a mercenary; he’s got a commander’s mindset.’

However, the name Michislav Davrovsky couldn’t be found in the last manuscript or the directory of the Capital Defense Forces. Even the surname was unfamiliar. Kleio looked him over seriously as the two continued a friendly conversation.

“Looking at the beasts, we’ve only caught some little guys, level 2 at best. The stones that came out of them were too small to even be found.”

“But aren’t the civilians safe thanks to that? You did a great job.”

Isiel’s admiration embarrassed Mietsu, who scratched at his head. Even that gesture was similar to Arthur’s.

“The other mercenaries went straight to hunting wild beasts. The mountains of this estate are of a terrain that can’t be walked without a native guide, so it seems the locals are helping out. I came here to take off these furs after a while finally.”

“Because you need to prepare for old age, right?”

Arthur didn’t want to chide him, but he was clearly sad that his master had gone without him. Mietsu gently squeezed his neck.

“You nabbed that Pyton! I heard the news! You’re becoming a big shot in this town, leaving me nothing to do! After Pyton was killed, all the beasts calmed down a bit.”

“Haha, master. This time, the boss was stolen by your disciple! What can I do?”

“Only your smirk has increased!”

As Kleio listened to their conversation, he placed his cup down.

‘… There’s no way this case will end like this.’

The weather had been bad since they arrived, so the road to the village had been cut off. As a result, the newspapers weren’t coming in, and Rotan didn’t share information with the children, so what they heard from Mietsu was the latest information about the beasts.

‘The damage to Tristein Manor was rather large in the previous script… Seeing that this has been solved so easily, has it been corrected elsewhere? Aslan and Melchior and stronger than before, so it wouldn’t be odd to see beasts of level 3 or lower swarming out.’

Kleio felt a headache coming on as he couldn’t figure out how the difficulty had been adjusted.

‘It seems that Aslan and Melchior are helping the citizens’ well-being for some reason this go-around.’

“Even a few small mana stones would be a lot of money.”

“You say that with the onyx spit out by Pyton?”

“Oh, really! Master, I’ve left the onyx to this castle. It came out during practice.”

“You… are you such a stupid, noble prince? This teacher is disappointed.”

“What are you going to do with that disappointment?”

While Mietsu was reprimanding Arthur, the soldiers and knights that had bathed soon gathered in the parlor. Baku and his people brought out drinks, jerky, and dried nuts to warm them up. In the middle of it, all was Arthur and Mietsu. The two men, yelling at each other as they moved in similar ways, looked like father and son despite their differences in appearance. Even Isiel, who usually didn’t drink, had rosy cheeks after sipping at a few hot toddies. On that peaceful evening, Kleio continued to ponder.

‘He is also a swordmaster, even if he is Arthur’s teacher.’

A swordmaster, hiding his level at that. A knight who hid his identity as a retired mercenary, investigating the curse of the covenant and ancient demons. It was suspicious, but Mietsu didn’t feel like a man with evil intent. Even more to see that Tristein’s knights and soldiers, with their animalistic senses, accepted him in an instant.

‘One thing is clear: He cares about Arthur.’

Those who possessed the martial power to turn mountains into plains and lakes into land were the swordmasters. They had combat capabilities comparable to that of a tactical bomb, exhibiting physical strength that transcended humanity. Such a being was treating Arthur with a greater love than his biological father.

‘He came here because he heard of the Pyton. His vision is wide, he has a sense of justice, and he doesn’t care about money or honor. Where did such a talent come from?’

The second half of the manuscript would bring about an era of war.

‘If Mietsu was with Arthur at that time…’

He could be Arthur’s best trump card, carefully hidden away. When he thought about kicking around Aslan and Melchior, a smile came to Kleio’s lips.

“Now, knights! Soldiers! Everyone asleep this evening. Baku cooked the best blood sausage stew!”

The men gathered in the parlor shouted.

“You don’t know how much I looked forward to that!”

“I missed his stew more than my mother’s face!”

All of the warriors had gathered by the time they moved into the cafeteria. Instead of Rotan, who was caught in administrative processing in the castle, a young knight who led the subjugation team sang toasts with a glass of ale.

“Long live the demon subjugators! We are strong!”

“Strong!”

“For the duke!”

“The duke!”

“Wooahh!”

“Thank you, Mecht. Thanks to you, we were successful.”

“No, vice-captain. It was thanks to your support and the supplies you prepared. How could we have done it without you? Everyone hear that? Cheers to the vice-captain!”

“Cheers!”

The four giant wooden kegs were quickly emptied as the furnaces warmed the air.

“And our Mietsu here was braver than anyone else!”

“Ooh!”

“He cut down five beasts with a single stroke!”

“How?!”

“He was wild!”

“No, are you all crazy? Come on…”

“Huu, he’s embarrassed!”

“So, when Mecht asked you to join us, you hated that idea?”

“Ah, well, I’ve closed my mouth.”

“So, until it’s the end of winter, he’ll be joining us as a special guest knight!”

“Ooh!”

Regardless of whether Mietsu was excited or not, everyone clinked glasses with him and patted him on the back. Arthur and Cel were quick to pour more ale into his glass as well.