The whirlpool was dissipating. A sword revealing a pure white blade, and the man gripping it.
The man, with hair resembling a field of golden wheat, let it float in the breeze before it slowly settled down. His blue eyes were fixed on the sword.
As the holy sword’s white light reflected in his blue eyes, it was as if a flash of lightning illuminated the sky.
This was the reason Reytan was the most praised among the four Grand Masters.
Even those who were intimidated by his cold appearance couldn’t help but revere Aubawth’s divine presence when they saw him wielding the holy sword.
With his pristine sword in hand, he looked like a messenger of the gods.
“…It’s over…”
One of the priests mumbled, collapsing in place.
The holy sword’s rampage had ceased. Wyndis had accepted Reytan as its master.
Only then did the priests let out a sigh of relief. The Grand Priest, regaining his composure, spoke to Theon with satisfaction.
“Do you see it? Your teacher has once again been chosen by the holy sword.”
“………”
Theon gave no response to the Grand Priest’s words. His gaze remained fixed on Reytan.
When one focuses too intently, they tend to miss the conversations around them.
The Grand Priest didn’t mind. He began leading the priests to walk toward Reytan, intending to congratulate the Grand Master’s return.
Theon was left alone.
‘Who is it?’
The reason Theon hadn’t responded wasn’t because of what the Grand Priest assumed. It wasn’t due to intense concentration.
Since entering this room, he had been distracted by sounds buzzing around his ears.
Whirring, whirring.
‘Stop it.’
The sound was too strange to be just insects fluttering their wings. It sounded like mischievous laughter, too.
There was definitely something there. Something invisible, conversing in a language he couldn’t understand.
Theon and Reytan’s eyes met.
“Master Reitan, welcome back.”
Reytan responded to the Grand Priest’s congratulatory greeting with gratitude.
“I think I need to see my disciple for a moment.”
After excusing himself, he fastened Wyndis to his waist and walked over to Theon.
Reytan placed his hand on Theon’s head.
A pleasant breeze blew, and all the noisy sounds vanished instantly.
“…Teacher?”
Theon looked up in surprise. Though Reytan’s palm covered his view, he could still see Reytan’s faintly smiling mouth.
“Is it noisy?”
“Uh…?”
“The wind is a chatterbox.”
At Reytan’s words, Theon pondered for a moment, moving his lips before finally asking a question hesitantly.
“I could hear the sound of insects flapping their wings. But there was nothing in sight… Is that the wind?”
Instead of answering, Reytan gently shook Theon’s head.
“If you’re truly my disciple, you’ll understand without me explaining.”
It was too early to give him more information. Knowledge often leads to preconceptions. The rest was something Theon needed to realize as he grew as a swordsman.
That was all Reytan said before inviting Theon to go find Berry.
‘As expected, he can hear the voices of lower entities.’
As Reytan left the room, he sank into thought.
There was always an aura surrounding Theon. Entities empowered by proximity to the gods would occasionally try to communicate with him.
Aubawth was the god of life.
Even forces of nature, like the wind, held life. Since ancient times, some races had called these entities ‘spirits,’ though very few could actually sense them.
Reytan was one of those few. One who could see and hear the wind.
And Wyndis was the holy sword of the wind.
[You said it would only take a year! You liar!]
It feels like my ears are bleeding.
Reytan briefly regretted reclaiming the holy sword.
***
The place we pursued Aqum to was a hill above a waterfall. The area was wider than expected, so the plaza below the waterfall was out of sight.
The tremors had stopped, likely because Dad had managed to control Wyndis’s rampage.
‘Looks like Dad handled it! As expected of my dad!’
That part was reassuring.
But now, I felt as though I was being put to the test.
[Little Quartz! Show it!]
Aqum, who was perched on my shoulder, wagged its tail excitedly.
‘Uh… why is this here?’
The task I had put off due to lack of confidence was now staring me in the face.
The ground rose to about my knee height, and above it, at waist level, ancient script floated in mid-air.
[The ancient text has risen so high that the earth can’t hold it down. This has been here for quite some time, I’d say. There’s even a sign of a spring nearby. It seems it was connected to an underground stream here.]
As Aqum mentioned, there was a depression in the ground beside the ancient text. Dry, crumbly soil blew away in the wind.
“Isn’t this only supposed to be in Travel? Didn’t you say you’re manage the underground streams there, Aqum?”
[What I meant was, I manage the streams in Travel. Using ancient script to create underground streams is a method of the forest spirits. I was wondering why there’s so much energy here, and it turns out there’s an underground stream here!]
“You don’t know what Aubawth looks like, yet you know all this stuff.”
[How should I know how humans depict gods? This is my area of expertise, so of course I know!]
Trying to buy time by asking questions proved futile as Aqum quickly urged me to read the ancient text.
The characters themselves were simple, just the word ‘water’ and some coordinates.
But what if I read it and the underground stream didn’t revive?
“Should I go ahead?”
[Do it!]
Despite my nervousness, I read the text.
“‘Water. 8573. 324.’”
Nothing happened.
[Say ‘Waterrr’!]
“‘Waterrr. Eight-five-seven-three…’”
Nothing again.
[Maybe it has to be quick? Water!]
“‘Water! Eight-fi…’”
Nothing…
[Try ‘Wa-water’!]
“‘Wa-water!’”
Still nothing. Sigh.
Disappointment clouded Aqum’s once gleaming eyes.
After reading the ancient text in various ways about five times, Aqum finally spoke up.
[Maybe you’re too little, Little Quartz.]
Aqum’s tail drooped.
“Could it be because we’re not in Travel?”
I couldn’t afford to lose my partner’s trust, so I suggested this plausible theory.
[Could be? After all, this is my first time outside Travel too, so I’m not sure. I never heard anything about it from Quartz either.]
Thankfully, Aqum seemed convinced by my words.
It was taking precautions, uncertain about the effect of using its power outside of Travel.
‘I might get through this time, but I need a solution.’
Anxiety filled my chest. I tried to recall any useful information stored in my memory.
Ancient script, ancient script…
As with appraising gems or solving math problems in the past, over time, more knowledge, experiences, and memories from my other self gradually integrated into my mind.
I wasn’t exactly a walking encyclopedia, but if I pondered enough, things would come to mind.
And one faint memory surfaced.
A recollection of reading a book in the Crown Prince’s library.
– Wow. You’ve seen all this? I didn’t expect His Highness to be studying the ancient language.
– Likewise. Can you read and write it?
– Of course. Shall I give it a try? ‘Year eight-six-five.’ … Why are you laughing?
– You can’t read those numbers like that. For someone so confident, that’s quite a slip. Are you self-taught?
I muttered inwardly, It must be nice to have someone to teach you.
Crown Prince Theon was indeed a Crown Prince, while my other self was just a mere noble. Boundaries had to be respected.
In truth, there were multiple perspectives on how to vocalize ancient language. Being a language that had been passed down only in written form, one had to guess the correct pronunciation.
The way my other self read it wasn’t exactly wrong, but…
‘What if I read the numbers differently…?’
I stole a glance at Aqum.
Aqum only managed the ancient text within the territory of Travel.
If creating underground streams was the spirits’ way, each spirit might have read the ancient language in a unique manner.
“Hey, Aqum.”
[What a pity. If it were this old, there might have been gold coins.]
“Gold coins?”
My ears perked up.
[Water is associated with wealth, so when creating an underground stream, they’d often bury some gold to secure the location. Once the underground stream is established, the gold becomes unnecessary, so it gets released when the ancient text is activated.]
“…Even this one?”
[There’s a good chance! With it floating this high in the air, it means no one has been maintaining it. It’s ancient text left unattended.]
“Oh-ho.”
[But then again, it seems like Little Quartz can’t handle it. Guess we’ll have to leave.]
Aqum slumped onto my shoulder, sighing in disappointment.
My heart pounded like I’d stumbled upon a four-leaf clover.
The Hayshal Empire was a society built on capitalism and social class.
While nobles and commoners were separated by social rank, a commoner with immense wealth could often enjoy more respect than a noble with very little money.
The Travel Count’s family was affluent, but I wouldn’t receive my allowance for maintaining my dignity until I turned sixteen.
Until then, my only income was the pocket money Dad gave me. I dreamed of a secret stash of my own, yet the odds of achieving it were slim.
Money was a broad-ranging and highly effective tool.
In this society, money was essential. Even more so for someone like me, trying to save Dad.
And what I saw before my eyes was…
‘A precious income source…!’
Without a moment’s hesitation, I moved my lips.
“‘Water! Eight-five-seven-three, three-two-four!’”
[Huh?!]
A bright light shone upon my face.
