Chapter 426

It didn’t take long to clean up the mess. All of the high and mighty were lying on the floor like assholes.
Moans of agony, desperate pleas for life, were coming from his feet.
“Ooohhhhhhhh.”
“Sa, help me. Please—!”
I never drew my sword. I couldn’t feed Rin the blood of these scum, even if I felt sorry for her.
Not one of Nimburton’s famous vigilantes (laughs) has withstood my punches more than once.
“They’re lucky, because in the old days, I would have killed them the moment I pointed a knife at them.”
“Ouch, cow, my wrist is—!”
The ones who weren’t stunned were wringing their hands like rice.
It wasn’t too much to ask, as their wrist bones were completely crushed. I knocked them all out with a single punch, then stomped on every hand that dared to wield a knife.
“Tch… Ughhh…”
“Don’t squeeze me, assholes, I don’t want to hear it, but since we’ve all lost the use of our hands, we can suck each other off while we can, and maybe after a year of rehabilitation we’ll be able to button them.”
“Black—breathe!”
The scared scumbags shut up. I’m not kidding, they got really lucky.
Normally, I would have killed half of them and sold them to slavers out of concern for my sister, but now that I know her power, I don’t need to.
‘If she’s the original–and frankly, the blood I’ve received is clear broth.
A daughter of the stars, with the thickest of her father’s blood.
Seriously, 10,000 of these bastards couldn’t draw a drop of blood from my sister. Still, I didn’t want her to breathe the same air as them.
I snarled, putting my paw on the head of Hans, the most pitiful of the lot here, his ears cut off and wrists broken.
“Listen, Hans. If you don’t leave Nimburton by tonight, I’ll break your ankles. Find a cave somewhere, or build yourself a cabin in the mountains.”
“Grrr… Alright… I’m coming.”
“Okay, now get lost. That dwarf has nothing to do with you anymore, and don’t come looking for him again.”
I extended my index finger and pointed at Asel. He was the only vigilante without a broken wrist. He crouched on the ground, watching the carnage.
“Ah, ahhh—.”
Her eyelashes, longer and darker than most women’s, fluttered. I turned my back on the trash and approached Asel. I crouched down in front of him, and his eyes narrowed as if I were going to kill him.
“So, Asel. Let’s talk.”
“Lo, lo, Ronan–I did it, I did it wrong.”
“I know.”
“Lord, please don’t kill me. Please—! I won’t do this again.”
Asel crouched down and covered her wrists. Tears were trickling down his pretty face. I could tell he was terrified by his breathing, which had quickened to match his pulse.
If you freak me out here, I’ll pee myself.
Honestly, I kind of wanted to see that, but I swallowed hard and sighed.
“Whoa—you burn, why would I kill you?”
“——?”
“I’m sorry. I’m not going to kill you or beat you up, so stop looking up.”
“Me, sorry—?”
Asel slowly raised his face, pale as a sheet, only his eyes were red.
I said, holding out my hand.
“Yeah. In fact, I’m sure your other half hasn’t seen me in years, and when I popped out of nowhere, he was like, “What the fuck is this guy doing?” I must have freaked him out.”
I apologize for jumping the gun, but Asel’s fall was just as shocking.
I half-forced him to his feet. Asel wobbled on his legs, but somehow managed to hold on to my body and stand.
“Meh, sorry, I didn’t catch it on purpose—”
“I don’t care as long as you don’t have shit on your hands, did you?”
“—I didn’t ask.”
“Then just relax, how did you end up hanging out with those assholes?”
“That, that’s—.”
Asel trailed off. It was as if there was something he couldn’t say.
After a few seconds of waiting, I shook my head.
“Never mind. Just tell me later when you’re free, but for now, let’s go to my place.”
“Ro, at Ronan’s?”
“Ugh. I’ll write you a letter and you can leave it on the doorstep. I don’t want my sister to find out.”
“Huh?”
Asel grunted. I found some decent paper and pencil in town and wrote a letter. It was a simple letter. I reviewed the letter and smiled bitterly.
[Sorry I left the house without telling you, I’ll be right back].
In this world, I would meet her later. Meeting her here would take time, and I wasn’t the brother she was looking for. Asel did as I told him and left the letter on our doorstep.
“Whoa—! You almost got caught. No, I forgot it, Ronan.”
“Thank you. How’s your sister?”
“Yes. He’s healthy. Still bright, but—every time he sees me, he asks if I’ve heard from Ronan. Wouldn’t it be nice to meet him in person and say hello?”
“I’d love to, but not right now. Let’s call it a day for now.”
Asel’s eyes narrowed at the unintelligible words.
I felt sorry for her, but I had no choice. A half-hearted reunion would have been better served by tracking down Akasha and finding Ronan3, my parallel self, and sending him back.
When I was done worrying about my sister, I looked down at Asel.
“Then, Asher. Take one for the team.”
“—Huh?”
“You’ll get what you deserve. You pathetic bastard.”
“Off!”
With a snap, Asel clutched his crown.
I did my best to control the force, but I was probably dizzy enough to think I had a cracked skull.
I squatted down again and continued my admonishment.
“No matter how many assholes try to seduce you, you can’t use magic on them?”
“My, my head—! My head!”
“You’re not going to die, so shut up. Your sins are washed away, so let’s go.”
“Ugh—let’s go, where?”
“Where is it? The Phileon Academy, where I’ll turn your life around and make you a real archmage.”
“Blood, blood, blood, Phileon Academy?!”
Asel’s eyes widened as if they were going to pop out. I explained to him in moderation. That your talent is no ordinary thing, and that it will not rot in a backwater like this.
Mix in other miscellaneous information to spice up your persuasion.
“Go ahead, say that out of the blue—.”
“Just listen, man. Consider yourself lucky to have been struck by lightning in a bottle. You want another one?”
“Hee hee! Oh, no, no—! I hear you!”
Asel covered his head with both hands. The doctor’s opinion didn’t matter, because I was going to take him anyway, even if he didn’t want to. When I was done, I tapped him on the shoulder.
“Shall we go then? Oh, and before we go, Asel, I’d like to say hello to your parents. I almost forgot.”
“Moo, I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about—you don’t have to say goodbye. Let’s just go.”
“That’s a disloyal thing to say, man. How distressed you would be if your crooked, but still only son disappeared without a word. Go and say hello to him.”
I lifted Asel’s body and turned him toward the village. But he didn’t move, as if I’d driven a nail into his instep, and I was about to bash his head in again, wondering why he’d be the same.
“—— is missing.”
“What? What does that mean?”
“They died two years ago, my mom from an illness and my dad because he tripped on a cliff while gathering herbs for her—so you can just go.”
Asel smiled bitterly. For a moment, his mind went blank. His words echoed in my ears, telling me I could leave. My fists clenched as I replayed his words.
“—Bullshit, I thought I was going too far.
Asel was basically a good guy. You always knew there had to be a reason for his deviation, but you didn’t expect him to have lost his parents. In the original world, they were both alive and well, and all that misery seemed to have been wiped away when Asel entered Pileon, earning tons of money from adventures and scholarships.
Goosebumps suddenly crawled up my arms, and I realized that if I kept feeding him honey chestnuts, he would become an irreparable waste. I pursed my lips and took the cigarette from my inside pocket.
I inhaled and exhaled, and white smoke dispersed into the sunset.
“That’s right.”
I sighed. My home was a mess, but this was worse. As an only child, Asel had no older siblings to love on behalf of his parents. He was literally alone in the world.
Of course, that lack would not stop Asel from becoming an archmage. This kid’s talent is overwhelming, and he’s a genius who would definitely be a protagonist, or at least a member of the protagonist’s crew, if a book were to be written about his life over the next hundred years.
But I knew I wasn’t going to be a happy warlock at this rate. In many ways, it was time to hurry, but I couldn’t ignore my best friend’s misfortune, not when I had already seen it.
I was wondering if there was a better way to do it.
“Yes, there was.”
A memory from a long, long time ago swept through my mind like the wind.
“Hey. Let’s go to Acalusia first before we go to Pileon.”
“—Acalusia?”
Asel looked up at me. His violet eyes were filled with tears as he remembered his parents.
“You don’t mean the great house of Acalusia, do you?”
“Right. I think you should try to get in there before Pileon. There’s a really nice guy there, one of my friends. I have to pee, too.”
It’s a distant memory now. I had been invited by Erzebet de Acalucia to join the family after I had triumphantly completed the entrance exams at Pileon.
Acalusia, the master house that bisects Granthia and the Empire, takes in talented gemstones as foster children.
‘In the original world, I used to receive and not go. I completely forgot about it.’
If they showed they could do it, they would be the perfect backup for the clueless Asell.
And it wasn’t just for Asel’s sake.
Long before then, I had heard rumors of House Acalusia’s trials and treasure trove from the High Lord.
“Good, that’s good, I’ll see if I can find something there to chase Akasha down.
Now that the Bloodline Needle was useless, I had to find another way to track them down. A treasure trove the size of Acalusia’s was bound to have a useful item or two.
With a goal in mind, I didn’t have to think twice. After a moment’s consideration of the route, I took the lead.
“Then let’s get going, Asel.”
“Huh? The road leading to the city is in the opposite direction—why are you going there?”
“It’s faster and easier this way. Once we blend in with the mainstream, we can get to the Acalusian estate in no time.”
“Huh? Mainstream?”
Asel snickered. I didn’t answer, but instead sprinted up the hill. As I crossed the peak, I could see the river winding its way through the village. The nameless stream was glowing the same color as the sunset.
“There you go.”
My gaze stopped as I scanned the riverbank. A small, dilapidated raft was tied to a stake, paddling in place. I jumped onto the raft like a kid who’s just met a new friend.
“Kiya, this is it. I miss you.”
“Come on, you can’t be—!”
Asel’s face paled. He had guessed his future. The raft I was on was the one the neighborhood snorkelers used to catch mullets and play in the water.
“Ro, Ronan—or not?”
He sucked in a sharp breath and smiled awkwardly.
It’s understandable. Traveling to Akalusian territory on such a small piece of wood was not supposed to be possible. The main stream, the lifeblood of the empire, the Taimen River, was long and wide enough to be called a long sea.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a good breeze.
If we gathered a group of people and told them we were going to sail down the Timen River on this raft, most of them would give us a pittance. They’d spend it on their way to the other side.
Of course, that was none of my business, so I motioned to Asel as I cut the rope tied to the stake.
“What are you doing? I’m not getting in.”
“Ah.”