Chapter 131

Snap-pop-crackle!

The imperial princess was looking at the burning forest, sitting on a chair with arms crossed, her expression rapturous.

A corner of her mouth was raised, and her face was shining in the light of the rising fire.

Step.

A knight came to her side and reported the situation with a bow.

"All the escape routes have been blocked."

"How many were there?"

"Twenty-three."

"Hmm."

The forest was too wide for them to easily block every possible escape route.

But Grand Princess Lavian knew.

How proud they were of their place in this Voitra Forest.

Although this wasn't their original homeland, it still had a no less sacred position in their hearts.

A long time ago -

The story went, that a dragon, said to be their ancestor, had died in this place, and became the Voitra Forest.

'Since I've now burned that same forest down -'

Would they retreat quietly with their tails between their legs?

Impossible.

They weren't that meek. Had they been so obedient, they would've surrendered to the empire a long time ago, to beg for their own lives, even if they had to become slaves.

Once this forest burned, they had only one path they could take.

"Soon, they'll stiffen their resolve and come running."

An individual might have his own thoughts, but a tribe was a different matter. As a collective, a tribe would have things it held sacred, close to its heart.

It was natural for sapient beings to cherish their roots.

Just as it was natural to serve one's ancestors in order to value one's own existence, and to be valued by the future generations in turn.

So they had to choose now.

Would they keep crawling on this mud as lizards, or blaze a path glory as the last descendants of the dragons?

"Grand Princess, isn't this fire too strong? We might take damage too."

"Stop yapping. If this much fire is enough to hurt you, get out and join the scouts."

The flames raging everywhere didn't cause her fear but excitement. A fierce battle was coming.

Harsh screams, and the ringing of spears clashing. Splashings of blood. The princess was awaiting them all with bated breath.

Tap, tap.

The princess was tapping her legs as she sat, but she suddenly stopped.

And immediately got up from her seat.

Her expression, which had been filled with joy, suddenly subsided.

The flames everywhere were trembling.

A purple curtain of bewitching energy was fluttering over the flames, covering the whole forest.

"Ah... Fuck."

Rooooooooaaaaaaaar!

The flames burning the forest swirled.

The pillars of flame that extended high into the sky twisted to form a single shape.

A giant form that was like an incarnation of fire itself.

Like a heaven-sent disaster.

"Uh, uh... ugh!"

The forms of the soldiers who were setting fires everywhere were engulfed in the blazing flames in an instant.

- Humans keep repeating their mistakes. Again and again.

A great voice resonated through the world.

The fire giant looked at the princess, standing in the middle of the Imperial Army, with burning eyes.

The princess' body trembled.

"P-, Princess! Move..."

"Is that a fairy?"

"Probably!"

Just as the knight was about to repeat that she should move away from the open -

The giant's mouth opened.

"Damn it! Protect the princess!"

"That fire's coming!"

Rooooooooooooaaarrrrrrr!!

An inferno of flames engulfed the entire area.

"As expected, you were right."

"Wasn't it obvious? If there're more fairies around than normal, there's bound to be someone who protects them."

And, usually -

Those who had something to protect were all the fiercer for it.

"Even mere rats reveal their teeth when they are cornered, what about fairies? You think they'll let you go if you burn their home down?"

"As you say..."

Ignoring Serena's eyes full of fear, Callius looked at the burning forest and the fire giant.

The imperial princess had made two obvious mistakes.

The first was burning the forest.

The second was fearlessly advancing to the centre of the forest.

'But this alone doesn't mean that the princess will die here.'

The imperial princess -

Lavian, was a Named.

Even as various large and small events shook the continent, she would hop to one position after another; her life line was extremely sturdy.

She was an eminent survivalist with the vitality of a cockroach.

In the future, she might even attain the title of Immortal.

So Callius didn't want to get entangled with her, as much as possible.

He didn't want to draw her attention.

Because the depths of her obsession couldn't be underestimated.

"We should go too."

"They're busy fighting. Now is the right time. Our only opportunity to relieve our resentment is now..."

Most of the dragonkin people were muttering as if they agreed.

They weren't alone.

This forest -

Their ancestral forest, was watching over them!

Their thoughts were full of gratitude and excitement.

Unfortunately, Callius had to pour cold water on them.

"The fairies' wrath doesn't discriminate."

Callius raised his hand to point at the scene.

The fire giant he was pointing at, was still in the midst of its rampage.

"If you want to go, I won't stop you."

Pillars of flame that the initial forest fire couldn't hold a candle to were rising everywhere, and each step of the giant made the earth quake so violently that the people gathered here, so far away, could feel them clearly.

"..."

"..."

If hell were real, this was how it'd look like.

The dragonkin people shut their mouths and gulped. They were once again reminded of their place.

The power of the fairies lay in the spirit of nature.

It was expressed like a natural disaster, so there was no easy way to deal with it.

'With that level of power, it must be a high-level fairy.'

Callius had been thinking about getting close to it, but he couldn't decide.

Since the fairy was already in a state of rampage, and Callius wasn't sure how well [Bewitching Scent] would work on a high-level fairy, he had to calm down and not take any reckless action.

'There'll be a better chance next time.'

This wasn't the only place where fairies could be found.

And fairies didn't give up their homes easily.

If he came back here later, he might have get another chance to meet that fairy.

- Burn to death, with your own fire!

Rooooooaaaaaaarrrrrrr!

Flames surged in all directions with each stomp of the giant's feet.

The power was truly to be admired.

'By the way, the princess is stronger than I thought.'

She was holding up better than Callius had expected.

Against that giant, she was blocking the flames with the various artefacts she had equipped, and was swinging her spear again and again to open a way.

The strength of her spear was great enough that escape shouldn't have been an issue, but her aggressiveness was holding her back.

Princess Lavian was a woman with a fiery passion.

Unlike her own temperament, however, her spear was rather calm.

Sizzzzzllllle!!

The power the spear splashed against the flames, silencing them and covering them with smoke.

'That's the Aquarius Spear[1].'

The aqueous energy erupting from the princess could calm the raging flames. It was one of the few multi-attribute spears in the empire, with the power of water and the stars both.

The grand princess was set on her future path, so this fight wouldn't be the end of her. She'd learn from this crisis and use it as a stepping stone for further growth.

'I might be able to kill her if I take some risks, but...'

She was the princess of an empire.

Born of the bloodline of the emperor, her own abilities and potential made her a formidable opponent.

Although she hadn't fully bloomed yet.

Taking advantage of the current situation, with the power Callius had, defeating her was a possibility.

However -

'Ther's no need.'

It was still too early.

The princess wasn't here in secret, after all.

Not only might she have hidden trump cards -

An imperial princess should naturally have a strong escort.

The possibility that a powerhouse was lurking nearby to escort her out in case of an emergency, couldn't be ruled out.

'The possible gains aren't sufficient.'

So there was no need to work so hard.

In the first place -

"It's better that she lives."

It'd help the kingdom.

The power struggle between the royal siblings would devastate the empire.

Her nature would make the people around her weary, and damage her own nation.

In the modern sense, she could be called a 'troll'.

Leaving her alone was more beneficial to the kingdom.

So what should Callius do?

'Let's just leave.'

There was no reason to fight in the first place.

The quest he'd received wasn't about fighting.

『The Retreat of the Dragonkin』

• Take the final remnants of the dragonkin and escape. Their blood calls for battle, but there is no chance of winning. If they continue fighting, they will only perish.

<Reward>「Goblin Gold Coin」

"Master. Please hurry..."

"Call me Callis."

"Understood."

The elders of the dragonkin tribe had already been persuaded.

Now was the time to retreat.

No need to spend any further effort.

'It's still too early to explore the Voitra Forest.'

As his first goal -

Callius was aiming for the Saharan Holy Land.

That was enough for him right now.

The moment he put his hood back on and grabbed the reins of his horse, about to follow the dragonkin -

"Planning to leave?"

A muffled voice tickled his ears.

"...!!"

Step! Callius, startled, reflexively widened the distance.

'How did she avoid my senses?'

The newcomer held a mace in her hand. But that wasn't what was setting off the alarms of Callius' intuition.

"..."

"I'm quite curious."

The face was quite familiar.

Her form was slowly emerging from the burning forest.

Although she was wearing light armour, her alluring figure and innate dignity couldn't be covered up by it.

A subtle smile adorned those beautiful purple lips.

Callius naturally recognized who she was.

'The woman who made me into a pervert.'

A woman he'd rescued from a kidnapping, who then went and turned him into a criminal.

"So you were from the principality."

The power emanating from the mace in her hand was unusual.

Her other hand held a chain.

'I saved her without thinking. I should've been on my guard.'

Even though she wasn't a noble of the empire, she'd managed to put out an imperial wanted order.

From that alone, Callius could guess her identity.

Because there was only one woman in the principality who was a comrade of the imperial princess.

'Princess Rebecca.'

With that realization came a sigh.

If the grand princess was a crazy bitch who should be avoided at all costs, then this woman was ten times worse.

"It's been a long time since we met. Could you please take off your hood? I can't see your face."

She spoke with a bright smile, but her eyes were wild like that of a beast.

Callius was feeling freaked out.

"I've been looking for you for so long. How on earth did you manage to hide so well? I heard how all those soldiers swarmed you, but couldn't even touch a hair on your head. What kind of magic are you using? Do you serve the whip?"

Step by step. Seeing her approach, Callius took a step back. She kept asking questions without waiting for him to answer, as if she was immensely enjoying the monologue.

"But I don't think it's the whip. I remember the calluses on your hands from when you rescued me. They don't match the whip. What then? What're you the pilgrim of? Which pilgrim can be so handsome? Whew, I've been thinking and thinking. It was fun! Chasing someone while thinking about them all the way."

Callius' eyes narrowed.

'I mustn't take out the sword.'

His gut said so.

If you thought about it logically -

The opponent was a princess of the principality. As soon as he pulled out a sword, his true identity would be revealed.

There was no way that his true name and appearance, as someone who'd achieved the feat of killing a Master, weren't a matter of record.

She was merely a little interested in him now, but it wouldn't stop there if his identity was revealed.

Callius wasn't interested in an early death.

After a beat of thought, Callius took out a spear from subspace, as if he was pulling it out from inside his robes.

An ordinary spear that'd reached life grade.

"Were you an imperial? Surely not?"

"I'm just a pilgrim."

"But why take out your spear? I'm not evil enough to harm the benefactor who saved me. I just want to repay you."

Rebecca, speaking with a blank expression on her face, reflexively hid the mace in her hand behind her back.

But her antics didn't find any forgiveness in Callius' cold eyes.

"Honestly, I'm am trying to use it or anything. It's just for self-defence."

"Do you carry something specialized for pulping people's head, just for self-defence?"

She already carried a mace at her waist. What she held in her hand was different, a mace with a knobbly head covered in spikes.

It looked difficult to even lift, why was she openly carrying it around?

"It's because you keep running away...! You didn't even answer my opened heart!"

"I obviously rejected you."

"But I rejected your rejection!"

Rebecca was still approaching him with a friendly smile.

"Okay, I'll put this down. Honestly, it's too heavy. I don't know how a lady is supposed to carry such a heinous thing."

Boom!

She'd been pretending that it was heavy, but the reality seemed to be even more exaggerated.

The enormous weight carved deep into the earth and lifted the thick layer of ashes from the forest fire into a cloud around it.

"Oh."

"..."

Callius' vigilance grew stronger.

"This is a dangerous place. There's this princess running around who's crazy about fighting, so it's better to run away quickly. Come on."

Callius pointed his spear at Rebecca who was reaching out her hand.

"You can't use a spear."

Her statement held a tone of almost certainty.

Under the hood, a sullen smile appeared on the corners of Callius' lips.

"You're not wrong."

Whoosh.

Suddenly, the tip of the spear shone, and a purple glow appeared.

"The Three Beliefs - Venerating Treasure: Discipline."

Rebecca hurriedly pulled out the mace from her waist and slashed at the spear.

Snaaaappppppp!

Chains emerged from the spear.

Twelve chains aimed at Rebecca from all directions as if they were alive.

Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-!

"Wow, that's a surprise. You could do such a cute thing."

She was smiling like she really was surprised.

Rebecca's mace quickly and accurately smashed through each of the chains.

'They're heavier than I thought.'

This wasn't an average divine art.

Her arms were trembling slightly from the countershock.

But it was nothing to be worried much about.

"Come on. If you keep struggling for no reason, I'll have no choice but to crush an arm or a leg! I won't like that either."

Step!

Rebecca rushed in.

Her lips were curved up, full of joy.

Rebecca's hand was just about to touch Callius' hood, when -

His lips twitched, as if forming words, as she watched.

'Vi... vi?'

At that moment -

A black shadow fell over Rebecca's head.

"!"

A huge wolf was rushing at her.

"Vivi, hit hard."

Inside the wolf's maw, strangely -

'Sword?'

A gleaming sword was held in its teeth.

Grrrooowwwwwlllll!!

In a corner of the forest that was now covered with fire -

An intense azure thunderbolt struck down.

Editor's Notes:

[1] 수성 (lit. Mercury, aqueous nature, etc.), here the usage refers to both meanings. Hence replacing the name with Aquarius, which preserves the connotations.