For Asahisan, thank you so much for the ko-fis! ♡
<Episode 102>
Gavroche slowly opened his eyes.
The reason was simple. The silver-haired swordsman, who had been standing silently all along, showed signs of movement.
The swordsman briefly glanced towards the wall before slowly approaching Gavroche.
There was a small smirk on his pale cheek, but that was all. Gavroche couldn’t inflict any more than minor scratches on the silver-haired swordsman.
His opponent was a swordsman of a level slightly below or equal to Duke Berkeley-Gratten.
When he recalled the level of the Calepa whom he’d met at the Astrosa Palace, Gavroche could be certain this man was a Calepa too.
Gavroche composed himself and replayed the situation from a few minutes ago in his mind.
“Not bad. Do you have any intention of joining Rogue?”
When he spat instead of answering, the man wiped his face with his gloved hand with a face that looked like he didn’t care at all.
“A rather rough refusal. However, I feel like you could be the key to fulfilling my wish. If you change your mind, feel free to come find me anytime.”
It seemed like everyone was telling him to come find them these days.
Regardless, Gavroche suffered considerable injuries during his clash with the man and his sword.
But just as his vision blurred and his body began to collapse,
The man’s attacks stopped as if he had been waiting.
As if waiting, the man’s attack came to a halt.
Since then, nearly half an hour had passed without a single exchange of words. Thanks to that, Gavroche was able to use his healing abilities to stop the urgent bleeding.
“He will soon come to meet you. Prepare yourself accordingly.”
After being as quiet as a mouse, the man suddenly spoke. It felt like he had been observing Gavroche all along.
Gavroche glared at the man who was moving away. Around the time he was closing his eyes, imagining how good it would be plunge his sword into the man’s back.
Just as he was about to open his eyes, eyes as bright and golden as the sun appeared before him.
It was the mad wizard with blue hair.
“…Hm. he’s not that type of guy, but he seems to have raised quite a commotion. Did you touch a nerve?”
Gavroche muttered a curse under his breath and answered intermittently, enduring the pain.
“Hmph. I spat on his smug face a bit.”
“Spit? Well, you certainly resemble each other in the interesting aspect.”
Whom did he resemble? He couldn’t ask.
There was no room for such a retort.
As the wizard, who had been kneeling in front of him, stood up, the intense pain that had been in his abdomen subsided.
Although no one had told Gavroche about him, he was certain that this mad wizard possessed incredible power.
“…Is that magic?”
“As payment for it, I used six months of your lifespan.”
What?
“You lunatic, you’re supposed to get permission before using such bizarre magic!”
“That’s right.”
The magician, who didn’t even bother to listen to his complaints, asked with a cold gaze mixed with disdain.
“You followed Daisy all the way to the sanctuary. I suppose you felt you needed me?”
Instead of answering, he chose to let out a breath.
Necessity.
Yes, the only reason Gavorche had come all the way to the distant northern continent and sneaked into the sanctuary of Rogue was for one thing.
To meet this mad wizard.
He could only recall the events of about ten days ago. The night when that crazy sword-demon named Daisy crossed the second barrier.
Those who could cross the second barrier were rare. Moreover, it was the first time Gavroche had witnessed someone crossing it, so he held his breath and focused on her.
But something was off about the sword-demon.
Crossing the barrier essentially meant that the soul and body becomes even stronger.
Especially in terms of the body, it would evolve into the most perfect form that a human could possess, with flawless skin, skeletal structure, and everything else.
“Ugh.”
Nevertheless, the demon vomited blood.
It wasn’t a process of reconstructing the body. There was no trace of changing or getting rid of a foul aura. All there was was the crimson blood oozing out of her, resembling a midsummer fruit.
“Internal injury.”
Gavroche recognized it at a glance. The sword-demon’s body was resisting evolution.
“Why?”
At that moment, a large robe unfolded from the air, covering the entire body of the demon. It seemed like it was intended to protect her from Gavroche’s sight.
The mad wizard, with only his pants on, stared at Gavroche.
Just as his brows twisted in a strange discomfort,
“Now I see, there’s a nail stuck in your mind.”
With that short remark, lightning struck through his mind.
“Ugh.”
Garoche instinctively tried to grasp his sword. However, his body couldn’t move as if paralyzed by poison. In that moment, unable to withstand the rising nausea, he slammed his head into the ground.
The sword-demon’s dark and dirty blood stained the earth, incomparable to anything Gavroche had seen before. The grass touched by the blood withered away.
“Let me ask you one thing. Have you ever had your memories manipulated?”
“Manipulated…?”
“Some of your memories are sealed by a specific magic. I’m asking if it’s magic that was injected with your consent.”
Memory seal? What nonsense…
He swallowed the reflexive curse that was about to come out.
A fleeting moment from the past that vaguely came to his mind.
Four years ago, during a time when the major allied nations, including the Penrota Empire, were suffering from post-war trauma.
Gavroche was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, similar to that of soldiers. The main symptom was nightmares.
Every day, he was tormented by the same dream.
He didn’t know the location, time, or identity.
Yet, the content was always the same. Meteors falling from the sky burned his face, and rising water beneath his feet suffocated his breathing.
As his mind became hazy, a voice always called out to him from beyond the pitch-black abyss.
[…Wait for me…]
[…I will come to find you, so wait…]
The stress caused by these nightmares grew worse with each passing day, and eventually, sleep itself became impossible.
Then, one day.
The swordmaster suggested a certain treatment to him.
“It’s not a dangerous treatment. It’s magic developed for soldiers suffering from post-war trauma from the magic war. It uses a modified mental trap to selectively identify and eliminate or seal the memories that cause the disorder. It might be able to help you overcome your nightmares.”
He accepted the proposal without much expectation.
However, the effect was remarkable. Since that day, he no longer had nightmares.
‘Was he referring to that magic as the nail?’
To comprehend the magic through mere observation. It was hard to believe.
“I noticed something.”
“….”
“There are two nails in your head. I just destroyed one, and the other one is still there.”
Two nails?
It was a remark that seemed highly uncredible.
The swordmaster had mentioned only one mental magic. So there could only be one nail.
‘…But what if.’
What if he was right?
If there were indeed two nails?
“If you want to break the remaining one as well, come find me in Rogue.”
“Why should I believe a crazy bastard like you?”
“You’re free to believe it or not. I’m not doing this bothersome thing for your sake.”
With those words, the insane magician disappeared along with the mad sword-demon.
That evening.
Gavroche began to be haunted by the nightmares he had forgotten for the past four years.
A face burning from a meteor, water rising rapidly, and a voice coming from beyond the darkness like a specter…
“Ugh, gasp.”
Drenched in cold sweat, he woke up and regulated his breathing.
The nightmare had come back to life.
‘Is this the aftermath of that mad wizard pulling out the nail?’
If that’s the case, then what about the one that was left?
What role did that nail play?
‘…The Swordmaster set a trap for me.’
Unbeknownst to him, an additional unsanctioned magic had been planted in his mind. And it was none other than the swordmaster who did it.
“Shit.”
Things had become troublesome.
There was a possibility that the swordmaster was using him in a way that he didn’t quite like the sound of.
Suspecting people was mentally exhausting, especially if the person in question was his own mentor and benefactor, Jurian Berkeley-Gratten.
After contemplating all morning, as soon as noon passed, Gavroche quickly went to find the swordmaster and roughly explained the events of the previous night.
There was only one thing he didn’t mention. The ‘Nails.’
“You want some time off?”
“Yes.”
“This is quite sudden. You surprisingly failed your mission and now you’re asking for a leave of 10 days?”
“Yes.”
“You knew how important last night’s plan was, right?”
“Yes.”
“You must have also known that the mission I entrusted to you was equally crucial, Gavroche.”
“I apologize.”
The swordmaster remained silent for a while.
He scrutinized Gavroche with sharp eyes. The thought crossed his mind that the swordmaster might have noticed something, but all he let out was a faint sigh.
“What will you do if I say you can’t go?”
“I apologize, Your Excellency, but I’ll sneak out and then return.”
“You disrespectful fellow. That’s a response so like you.”
“….”
“And it’s not like you to act this way. …Fine, Gavroche. I will give you the ten days you requested. However, since it’s an unplanned absence, you will have to pay the corresponding price.”
“What should I do?”
“I will let you know when you return. If you’re leaving, leave right away.”
They truly are siblings. Both are equally disrespectful.
Also swordmaster why are you always up in everything???
This man is the embodiment of the word sus like sirr
Thank you for the chapter!
Few lines were written twice and agreed. Swordmaster is definitely up to something. Was looking forward to more of Daisy’s shenanigans though.
Sorry, I want to kms for missing that. This chapter was translated a while ago, it’s fixed now!!
I’m so glad I finally get to know what Rue and Andert talked about before with Daisy lying unconscious.
That sword master is sketchy as heck
Now that I think about it, maybe Duke swordmaster has Mephisto’s remains and now that it was revealed that Dian’s relics can revive the dead maybe he’s trying to revive Mephisto.