Chapter 132 : Chapter 132

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 132 – The Border (2)

The sword in my hand was no longer the same.

The blade had changed—its surface gleamed with an inky sheen, as though it had been dipped in black paint and pulled out again.

Before I could make sense of it, Audrey leaned in to inspect it.

“It’s got the power of the Earth Spirit King, Gaia, bound into it.”

“…What?”

“Your weird power did it. Gaia’s manifested body was made of pure elemental essence. When your flame unmade it, part of that essence couldn’t return to the Spirit Realm. It got trapped here—inside your sword.”

Part of a Spirit King sealed into my blade?

I blinked, trying to process that. “And… that’s a good thing?”

“Are you kidding? You could stack mountains of gold and still never buy a weapon blessed by a spirit. They hate blades. But your sword just got the blessing of the Spirit King himself. It’s priceless.”

A weapon carrying a Spirit King’s blessing— it sounded good. But worry gnawed at me.

Audrey caught my expression. “Why the face? Your sword just became a relic. A blade touched by the earth’s guardian is beyond price. Its durability alone will be insane—probably the hardest weapon on the continent. And if Gaia’s fragment really settled in it, there are bound to be special effects—”

“I get that it’s good,” I interrupted. “But…”

“But what?”

I sighed. “Is it safe?”

Her brow furrowed.

“I mean, I just killed one of the highest elemental beings and stole part of its power. Isn’t that… theft? Won’t there be cosmic-level payback coming my way?”

“Oh, come on, that’s—”

“Really? You of all people know my luck.”

“……”

She went silent. Because she knew I was right.

My luck was legendarily bad.

“…Okay, fine,” she muttered. “It is a little scary.”

“Should I throw it away, then?”

A blessed relic? A miracle weapon? Those things never came free for me. Whenever I found good fortune, it always came paired with disaster. If this was the reward, the punishment would be monstrous. For a moment, I truly wanted to chuck the thing into the nearest river.

But then—

「Don’t discard it.」

Liam’s calm voice cut in.

「There will be no consequences.」

He smiled faintly.

「Didn’t I tell you? Matters of the spirit world are settled in the spirit world.」

“……”

「Trust your great master.」

There was something dangerous in that smile.

「I’ll handle it myself—peacefully and wisely.」

“…Those are definitely the first words that come to mind when I think of you, Master.”

「Aren’t they just?」

***

The Spirit Realm

The elemental world, origin of all creation, is divided into five great domains. And within the one known as the First Land—the endless realm of soil where the earth spirits dwell—chaos reigned.

Because their queen was throwing a fit.

【I DEMAND punishment—now!】

【My Queen, please calm down!】

【How can I calm down?! My soul was stolen! A mortal struck me down! A mortal! He didn’t even show proper respect—no bow, no praise, nothing! He pointed a sword at me, ME!】

The earth spirits groaned beneath the telepathic roar of her tantrum. Her psychic fury alone was enough to make them wince.

【That human must never set foot upon soil again! Send orders to my children in the mortal world—let the ground itself reject him! Crush him!】

【My Queen, that’s impossible! You know the Pact with the gods—no direct interference in the Middle Realm!】

【Damn the Pact! I will not let this insult stand!】

【Please, Your Majesty! If you violate the Law, our kin won’t be able to form contracts with spirit mages for centuries! Even the elves might shun us! They’ll turn to fire or water instead!】

【Hmph! Let them!】

【Queen, please…】

Among the Five Spirit Kings, Gaia was infamous for her pride and temper. Her subjects had long since grown tired of her moods.

One of the smaller earth spirits, trembling, dared to speak up.

【Majesty, the wound he gave you… it’s minor, isn’t it? For a mortal it would be like a paper cut. The bit of essence you lost—barely a drop of blood! You’ll regenerate in fifty years, surely—】

【……】

【……】

【Who brought that idiot here?】

【Read the room, you fool!】

Fact bombs were forbidden when the Queen was furious.

Silence hung heavy—until Gaia hissed,

【You’re right. It’s nothing… nothing but insult! My pride was wounded. That’s worse than any scar. I’ll have my revenge. I’ll make even the elves help me!】

The spirits groaned. This was going to be one of those centuries.

And then—

【M–My Queen!】

【What now?!】

【A visitor has arrived!】

【A visitor? Here, in the First Land? Is it Fire? Water? Which of those smug bastards—】

【N–No, it’s…】

The words froze as something slammed into the ground before her.

A sword. A long, crude blade drove itself point-first into the soil. It stood upright like a gravestone. At once, every spirit in the realm screamed and fled— even abandoning their queen.

A deep, rumbling voice filled the air.

「It’s been a long time.」

More blades fell from the heavens, stabbing into the First Land one after another. The entire realm is filled with swords. Gaia, for once, said nothing.

There wasn’t a being among the transcendent who didn’t recognize what this meant.

「I heard an amusing story, you see.」

The land was no longer hers. It had become a Land of Swords.

Several of those swords split apart, floating up to form a throne.

The Throne of Swords. And seated upon it—an old man.

No being of power failed to know his name.

「You gave my distant descendant a gift, didn’t you?」

Liam Karavan.

***

I didn’t throw away the sword that held Gaia’s fragment. It still felt unsettling, but if my life had taught me anything, it was that bad luck would find me whether I kept it or not. Might as well face whatever comes with a good weapon in hand.

‘Nothing happened…’

Indeed, nothing at all. No curses, no lightning bolts, no angry earth elementals.

Which meant my master’s peaceful and wise solution must’ve worked. Assuming nobody had to die for it, that counted as peaceful.

I studied the blade again.

‘Incredible. Light as a feather, hard as a mountain.’

I hadn’t figured out how to tap into any “blessings of earth” yet, but the base qualities alone were astonishing—utterly weightless, unbreakable.

In hindsight, Cherville had given me quite a lot. I’d gained Lord Vermartin’s favor, learned from the Land of the Small Sword, awakened as a true Sword Runner, and now—this blade.

‘I hope Lord Vermartin survived that mess. That elf caused quite a scene…’

Rumors of Nadin’s attack spread fast. Traveling alongside a merchant caravan on the Iron Kingdom–Sky Empire trade road, I overheard plenty. They whispered, trying to be discreet—but not discreet enough.

“An ancient elf appeared. They say only soldiers died—civilians all reappeared later near lakes and forests.”

“Elves, bold as ever. To tear down the wall and attack the Iron Capital itself?”

“They can afford to be. The Sky Empire backs them, and they supply half the continent’s fruit and grain. They know they’re untouchable.”

“That elf accused our king, said Ian Cherville, is the source of the continent’s chaos. Some nations even agreed.”

“And what of it? The world’s always been survival of the fittest. His Majesty’s making us strong—what’s wrong with that?”

“Exactly. He took the Free Cities—so what? The Rhapsody line abandoned their posts. It was their fault.”

“And now their resources are ours. The markets are flooded with their goods. About time they shared.”

“Frankly, I hope war breaks out for real. The Free Cities, the elves—they’ve hoarded wealth and beauty for centuries. Time for it to spread.”

“Plenty feel the same. Who cares about the truth? The winners write history.”

“At least some knights gained honor. The Yellow Elephant Order—Vermartin’s men—evacuated citizens to the end. True knights, the lot of them.”

It was interesting, hearing the public’s take.

Lord Vermartin was alive and even celebrated now. But more than that, the tone of the merchants revealed something deeper—something Liam had warned me of.

「The world is always like that.」

“What do you mean?”

「Even in the old wars, peace could’ve come many times. But they kept fighting—for justification. Everyone knew the truth, but hid it, to keep their wars going.」

“Why?”

「Because they wanted more. More gold. More fame. More land.」

“……”

「The more one has, the more they hide their greed behind words like ‘law’ and ‘order.’ Those are just masks for desire.」

Yes. Every king and noble schooled in rule would soon see through Ian Cherville’s so-called “whirlpool.” It was nothing but an excuse—a grand pretext for breaking the long peace. Some would condemn it, but others would use it. They’d claim noble causes while grasping for spoils.

Sooner or later, those false justifications would tangle into one great storm. And Ian Cherville would keep feeding it.

「And then, war becomes unstoppable. Once you cross the line, you can’t turn back. Until only one is left, everyone kills everyone, no one remembering why they fight.」

“……”

「That young king’s plan… it’s closer to a demon’s design.」

I glanced at my master.

“Can it be stopped?”

He smiled.

「I stopped it once.」

“…How?”

His kind smile carried countless shadows.

「When the time comes, I’ll tell you.」

“Don’t say that, just—”

「For now, handle what’s in front of you.」

What’s in front of me?

I turned my head—and saw merchants shouting at each other, Audrey in the middle, exasperated.

She walked over.

“Steel heir. We may need to change routes.”

I asked why. She explained.

“The road we planned skirts both the Great Forest and the Sky Mountains. Dangerous, but it’s the safest way into the Sky Empire. The problem is, if either of those two regions acts up, the path becomes impossible.”

“And one of them has?”

“The forest.”

She sighed.

“That damned old elf again. Nadin’s summoning of the World Tree stirred the Great Forest into fury. The woods are singing their anger. Anyone not elf or beastfolk who passes through now would be signing their death warrant. We’ll have to wait it out.”

“How long?”

“At least a week.”

A week. Too long.

“No other way?”

“There is one. No one takes it.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s insane.”

She swallowed.

“There’s a route from the small border town Cloud Garden straight into the Sky Empire. Locals call it the Cloud Bridge. You’d reach the Empire in two hours.”

“Sounds perfect.”

“It sounds perfect because you don’t know who uses it.”

Audrey looked at me seriously.

“Dragons. It’s their skyway.”

Dragons. Just hearing the word sent a thrill through me.

I grinned.

“…Let’s go.”

“Go? You’re serious?”

“Yes.”

Of course.

“That’s what I came here for, isn’t it? To see dragons.”

I’d come all this way for that.

“Let’s go say hello.”