Chapter 124

"Prince Chloe."

An inescapable madness -

A demonic force that eroded one's very personality -

Either one of the two would leave one's sanity in question, but even after suffering from both, Grand Prince Chloe was still himself.

He'd woken up.

Was it because how long he'd borne the Light Dragon Sword?

Even a half-baked Light Dragon was still the Light Dragon.

He was a man who had the power of a dragon, even if it was just a remnant trace of that original transcendent power.

His resilience was so great that he'd made a liar out of the physicians who'd predicted that he would never recover.

Although he could not yet move his body freely according to his will, he knew who he was and what he'd done.

And -

Who had been his salvation.

"You - no. Your Majesty... you've suffered a lot."

The queen tried not to cry.

She tried really hard.

But she couldn't stop the tears that overflowed from her eyes.

With tears running down her cheeks, she took Chloe's hand in her trembling hands.

Now there was only one other person left in her bloodline.

She was simply grateful that he was still alive.

"Prince. No - Brother. You..."

"No."

Chloe seemed to know what Clara was going to say.

So he shook his head.

"I don't deserve it."

"Brother..."

"Your Majesty the Queen... no, Clara. It's true that I'm still alive. But I don't even dare call myself the eldest son of Bright - not after how I fell for a ruse like that. Our ancestors would laugh at me if I did. No matter how much they deceived me, in the end it was my choice, and I caused this disaster[1]. The kingdom is in shambles because of me, and I don't know how many royal knights and citizens I've killed. How can I of all people rule Carpe?"

Prince Chloe bowed his head.

"I've placed a heavy burden upon you. I know you'll resent this poor brother of yours for the rest of your life."

"..."

"But at the same time, I'm happy."

"What do you mean?"

Seeing Clara grumble, old memories welled up in Chloe's thoughts.

A clumsy child.

His one and only sister who always looked for him with tears in her eyes.

But now she was a queen ruling a country.

"There aren't many countries that can claim they've survived the empire's invasion, but since you have weathered such a thing, you're more than qualified to rule."

Chloe got up from his bed.

"Don't move, you're still..."

Clara swallowed the rest of her words.

Chloe staggered, almost about to fall, and his skin was quickly covered in a sheen of cold sweat, yet none of that could stop him.

It felt as if she could already tell what he was going to do. So she couldn't stop him.

Grand Prince Chloe finally managed to stand tall in front of Clara, and then slowly knelt down.

Kneeling on one knee, he brought his right hand to his chest, performing a martial salute.

"I am honoured to be in your presence, Queen Clara."

Plop.

As she clutched her skirt, tears fell down from Clara's pure white eyes.

She could see how hard Chloe was shivering. It must've been difficult for him to move. Yet he was determined to do this, for her and for his country.

Giving up on his own claim as the eldest scion of the royal lineage -

He was recognizing her as the rightful queen.

Chloe's silver hair fluttered in the soft breeze coming in from the open window.

Clara raised her head.

She willed herself to stop crying.

But tears still flowed.

So she wiped them off with her hand, and nodded.

"Well met, Prince Chloe."

She'd indeed been under too heavy a burden for a long time.

Since her brother had woken up, she thought she could finally be free of it.

But now she realized that that was a fool's dream.

Her will once again became firm as Chloe continued.

"For the queen who saved my life. For Carpe, and also for Jervain. I will dedicate this life of mine."

Jervain.

A flash of longing passed through Clara's eyes as she remembered the count.

"I wanted to meet him. Where is he headed now?"

"Well. I don't know where he's going exactly, but the count's sword never wavers; so he'll probably accomplish something great by the time he comes back."

Whinny.

A man was crossing the plains on horseback. The horse was white, matching the man's garb.

The man wore a pure white robe.

A group of soldiers were gathered around the man, blocking his path.

"Stop!"

Numbering well over thirty.

Wielding a mix of armaments consisting of spears and maces.

One of the soldiers shouted.

"There's been a recent report that a lecher is running around bewitching women. He rides a white horse and wears a white robe. If you're innocent, take off your hood!"

"..."

"Come on, take off your hood and show your face!"

"They say the horny bastard's face looks like it's been carved by God. He's so handsome you can just identify him on sight!"

"Hahaha!"

This was the border region between the Empire of the Spear and the Principality of the Mace.

The man sighed deeply.

"You bastard! If you won't take your hood off, then I will!!"

A soldier roared.

But as soon as the hood was forcibly removed, the faces of the chattering soldiers changed dramatically.

"Wait, that face..."

"Beautiful..."

"I almost fell for him just now."

An appearance striking enough that even a man would admit its beauty.

While everyone was staring in rapture, the commander came to his senses and grabbed his spear.

"Ugh! What're you all doing! See that face? He's definitely that pervert in the rumours!"

Black hair and gray pupils.

The man was a pilgrim who'd left Carpe on a pilgrimage. It was Callius von Jervain.

As the soldiers finally woke up enough to react, Callius sighed deeply.

'I was an idiot.'

It'd been a mistake to act on impulse at a place where he'd merely been staying for a while after leaving the kingdom.

'I got involved with that crazy woman for no reason.'

The truth behind the incident was nothing noteworthy.

A girl had been kidnapped in front of him, so he'd saved her. However, it turned out that she was the young lady of a noble imperial house.

There was nothing good about getting involved with the empire, so he'd tried to continue on his way, but the young lady had suddenly confessed her feelings to him, and wouldn't let him go.

Apparently it was love at first sight or whatever.

Callius had had no choice but to reject her feelings, but it was then that things began to go awry.

'I never imagined they'd report me as some kind of scoundrel. '

She was a young girl from a reputable family, so a wanted order was issued immediately.

Callius was dumbfounded at this sequence of events.

'God gives trials to pilgrims...'

Clearly, the ordeal was one such.

But it was a little bit different from what he'd expected.

As if the beginning of the sacred pilgrimage had been tainted somehow.

What was even more disturbing was the thought that this might not be the last time this happened.

But Callius couldn't help his own divine appearance and mysterious atmosphere.

The characteristics [Prodigal Son] and [Pheromone] were added to that, so who could be blamed for this?

'It's my fault for being so handsome.'

All the women who met him briefly or even had a small conversation with him, had no choice but to be enthralled.

It was a natural result.

Why? Because he was handsome, damn it!

"Hey, you bastard! I'm talking to you!"

Looking at the man who only sighed without moving an inch, a soldier clutched his spear and threatened.

And that was then.

- Grooooowwwwl!!

"Ugh!"

Suddenly, a huge wolf breached the treeline of the nearby forest, accompanied by a thundering sound, and bit the soldier to death.

"D-! Demon beast!"

"How could a demon beast be here...!"

The wolf-shaped demonic beast looked unusual.

Electricity flowed from its two horns, dragon scales sprouted all over the legs and the body, and the fur that looked like clouds made it look like it'd sprung out straight from the frame of some antique masterpiece painting.

A beast with both wolfish and draconic traits.

- Grooooowwwwwwwwwlll!!

The thunder wolf dragon spewed out lightning.

"Aaaaah!"

"R-, run away!!"

It was Vivi.

I looked at the soldiers who'd been reduced to charcoal by Vivi's thunderbolts.

Above thirty in number.

They were professional soldiers, but Vivi had annihilated them with ease.

'They're imperial soldiers anyway, so it doesn't matter.'

The spears in their hands proved that.

Had they been innocents I would've felt a little sad, but since they would've been falling over themselves to kill me if they'd known my true identity, I didn't even consider sparing them.

"Well done, Vivi."

Vivi was dipping his head as if fishing for praise.

He still had a cute side that didn't fit his rather large size.

Indeed.

Vivi had had a sudden burst of growth.

He slept for a while, and then had an explosive growth spurt.

Now he was taller than me, big enough to ride on.

The size was only slightly smaller than his mother, the original thunder wolf dragon.

I'd wondered if such fast growth was inherent to his species, but I rather doubted that.

Vivi was a big eater, and the dragon blood and troll blood he'd ingested on top of that must've had an effect.

'All the food he's eaten might be enough to rival the Sixth Squad as a whole.'

In any case, Vivi now had quite a striking size.

But he still listened to me very obediently.

To be honest, I didn't even know that Vivi was following me when I just left Carpe.

By the time I'd noticed, we'd already crossed the border, so I had no choice but keep him with me.

After showering Vivi with a lot of praise, I'd told him to hide nearby.

It couldn't be helped. Vivi's very presence always made my horse scared stiff, making travel impossible.

'I guess I'll leave the scene as it is.'

The corpses of the soldiers strewn around everywhere were a little unsightly, but there was no lack of wild animals nearby, so I didn't need to care about the clean-up.

It was a hassle to deal with, and it wouldn't stop somebody from chasing me if they were determined enough.

This was the border between the empire and the principality. A beast attack taking out a few soldiers wouldn't make knights flock in droves.

And even if knights truly came -

"It doesn't matter."

They wouldn't be a big threat to me.

No matter how close the relations between the empire and the principality were, this was a frontier area.

There were few men here strong enough to threaten me.

That was why I could be so relaxed despite my newfound reputation as a scoundrel.

Besides, there was a silver lining to this situation, wasn't there?

Verse of Grace might appear if I kept taking down more and more people.

"Before I reach the Holy Land, I need to build up my strength as much as possible."

The Holy Land, 'Sahara'.

It was a holy place where saints and knights gathered from all over, regardless of nationality.

This was the place I'd decided as my final destination on this journey.

The reason was clear.

'The strong gather in the Holy Land.'

Powerful people from all over the continent flocked there. For a simple reason.

It was a holy place where traces of the Gods remained, and at the same time, it was a place where pilgrims exchanged skills and treasures with each other.

Of course -

Apart from networking and building friendships, there were also Named I wanted to kill and get rid of.

Most of them were strong, but that was why I had to go there.

'There, I'll be able to get my hands on the 『King of Steel』.'

That was my first goal.

And since Sahara was located beyond the empire and the principality, I had no choice but to cross through here, even if it was a bit dangerous.

"It's not my favorite sword."

Still, that sword -

- Its power to control a great steel army made was no different from having the fighting power of a country in my hand.

There was no disadvantage to having it.

'With that, it should be relatively easy to get some other sword that I want.'

A carcass sword's strength scaled with the potential and influence of the one who'd donated his cadaver. It was safe to say that the strength of the body and the integrity of the soul determined a carcass' rank.

So in order to have a strong sword, I had to defeat a stronger enemy.

And to do that, I needed a stronger sword.

The next three years -

I'd have to work really hard.

But that didn't scare me.

The arduousness of my path would be a holy baptism.

"Oh?"

Pit-a-pat-pit-a-pat!!

While I'd stood still in thought, soldiers and knights had gathered around me.

"Be careful! He uses demon magic!"

"The lecher wields the devil's power!!"

"It's a minion of the devils!"

"It's a devilish pervert!"

"..."

Oh God, hath thou forsaken me?

Why was my ordeal like this?

Was this truly how the sacred ordeal of a pilgrimage was supposed to be like?

"God, you son of a bitch."

I let out a sigh, as Vivi growled and spewed out lightning.

Craaaaaackkkkkkle!

"Ugh!"

"Kgh...!"

"This bastard is looking down on us!!"

No matter how many ordinary soldiers gathered, they couldn't hold a candle to Vivi, who moved like lightning.

I sat quietly on my horse and watched the slaughter unfold.

"He isn't human! This sex maniac-!!"

"He's the Devil of Lust!!"

I'd been promoted from a scoundrel to a sex maniac.

Had the rumours about me grown out of control?

Well, there was nothing I could do about it.

'I can only deal with things as they come.'

This pilgrimage promised to be full of ups-and-downs. But in a different sense from my last one.