Academy’s Genius Swordsman

< 55. Baidian Mountains (4) >

#55

Ronan’s eyes widened. The woman must have been talking about the temple of Sarante. Suddenly, a wedge-shaped remark came from between her chapped lips.

“Sa, Sarante… take me to him…”

“Do you know Sarante?”

Instead of answering, the woman lowered her head. I shook my shoulder, but I couldn’t open my eyes except for breathing. It seemed that he had lost consciousness again, not even seeing mana.

“Damn it, I’m not feeling well.”

“I’ll come and take you.”

“My feet are the fastest. I’ll be back soon, so join Asel and wait.”

Ronan spit out a swear word and looked at the woman. I don’t know why a noble race like the elves crawled to such a place and died, but I couldn’t leave it alone. He said looking back at Marya and Braum.

“Don’t get hurt by talking nonsense.”

Ronan left those words and started running. Even with a single person on it, it climbed the mountain as fast as a squirrel. Braum looked back at him and grinned.

“You’re such a good junior.”

“yes. It’s because your mouth is dirty and dull.”

“We cannot stand still. Come on, let’s go.”

read from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲

Marya nodded and looked up at the sky. Asher’s bombing was still ongoing.

“Awesome, sweetheart.”

Perhaps it was because of the influence of the Ley Maek, a much stronger telekinesis stood out. Rather, the orcs swept away by the river felt better. The two men carrying great swords moved forward.

****

“Sarante!”

“It’s a surprise. Ronan?”

Ronan arrived at the temple less than thirty minutes later. Sarante, who was wiping Seniel’s image, turned her head in surprise. His eyes widened as he saw the bound elf woman.

“He, that person…?”

“I was wallowing around the orc village like this. He called your name right before he passed out, so I brought him here.”

“Did you find me? What else are you talking about in the orc village…”

“Damn it, let’s take a look. You look really bad.”

Ronan carefully laid the woman down on the long chair. Fortunately, he was still breathing. Sarante looked at the woman’s face and cried out in shock.

“Oh my God, Brigia-sama…!”

“Do you know anyone?”

“yes. One of the pilgrims. The last time I saw you about two hundred years ago, how did something like this happen…!”

Sarante explained that she, like herself, is a believer in Seniel. Pilgrims periodically go on a pilgrimage in search of the image of Seniel.

“Now is not the time. Wait.”

Sarante did not speak and ran to the inside of the temple in a hurry. When he returned, he had a small jar in his hand.

The jar contained a thick liquid like honey, and when she ate it, the woman’s complexion improved markedly. Sarante muttered as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“Huh… it’s been an hour.”

“Damn it, what happened? Potions didn’t work well, are you okay?”

“I don’t know either. However, based on the symptoms, I felt like I was poisoned, so I gave him a neutralizer.”

“Is it poison?”

“yes. It seems to be a type of poison that permeates into mana, but I don’t know where I got such a powerful poison.”

“Then what is this rope? Damn it, even if I cut it like a saw, it wouldn’t cut it.”

“This is… obviously…”

Sarante looked at the rope. He couldn’t find the usual gentleness in his distorted expression. Then Sarante, who put her hand on the rope, muttered something.

“Eh?”

The rope, which had not been broken even by La Mancha, began to unravel on its own like a snake that had finished mating. Ronan’s eyes widened.

“What, how did you do it?”

“Fortunately, this order was correct. This is a very old magic tool. It was a natural thing to not be able to cut.”

Sarante, who explained that, took Brygia and laid her on the bed in her room. He breathed a sigh of relief after placing the wet towel on Phrygia’s forehead.

“Whoa, I did everything I could for now. You did a great job.”

“What happened to that woman?”

“Like I said, I don’t know. I guess I’ll just have to wait until you wake up.”

“Everything is going on.”

Sarante said that he could not possibly guess how Brygia, who had lived a similar time to herself, came to be like that. After barely breathing, he asked Ronan.

“Then why did you come to the orc village?”

“yes?”

“Thank you so much for saving Brigia-sama. I just want to hear this. Was there any reason to approach that dangerous place? What would you have done if you were wrong?”

For a moment, I was speechless. Even if I purposely discovered it around the village, not inside the village, I would be criticized. It was probably the feeling of scolding his great-grandson who was playing by the water.

“that is···.”

“that is?”

Ronan drew the tail. If I had told the truth, I would have been treated like a madman. How would you say that you went to annihilate the orcs and ogres that are likely to destroy your temple in the near future? Ronan, who was quickly shaking his head, opened his mouth.

“I was just looking around and my footsteps arrived. I’ll be careful.”

“Are you behind? Are you looking for something?”

“Ummm…do you know of a monster called Curse Eye?”

Ronan explained that an acquaintance was under a curse and came to catch the Curse Eye to break the curse. Sarante, who was listening to the story, nodded.

“okay. Curse.”

“yes. Actually, I was going to ask from the beginning, but somehow I missed the timing.”

“Certainly, this Baidian is a good place for Kess Eye to live. I don’t know where it is… but why are you trying to do such a dangerous thing?”

“Yes?”

“It is true that using the Curse Eye can be easily healed, but it is bound to place a considerable burden on the cursed person. It’s not about going through a formal harm process, it’s about forcing the curse to come out. There’s a reason it’s used on rhodolan or for interrogation.”

This was also the first information I had come across. Sarante added that in extreme cases, the cursed person could go insane or permanently disabled.

Come to think of it, I remembered that my eyes were itchy all the time since I was sucked by the Curse Eye. At the time, I thought it was only a harbinger of mana becoming visible, but it could have been a harbinger of blindness.

“I almost got fucked….”

“yes?”

“no. Then I’ll be back, Sarante.”

“Are you going? You’re not going to the Orc Village this time, are you?”

“It can’t be.”

Ronan turned his back. I didn’t know that I would be in such a state of affairs again.

Now there was little time left. I had to leave the temple at least today to get back to Phileon by Wednesday night.

****

“Because . . . waiting patiently.”

When Ronan returned, an additional village had already been destroyed. Asher, Marya, and Braum were gathered in the middle of a village where there were no more moving orcs.

“ha ha ha! You can’t suffer alone!”

Braum chuckled as he placed his hand on his waist. At his feet were scattered the corpses of five or six orcs. Marya swung her great sword broadly, wiping the blood off the blade.

Red drops of blood were like dew on her golden hair. Ronan asked, shrugging his eyebrows.

“Did you think it was worth doing more than you thought?”

“Well, hunting monsters is something I have to do someday.”

“I have a good attitude. This dwarf is still far away.”

“Hey, don’t do that…”

Ronan shook Asher’s head back and forth, lightly pressing her hand on her head. A dark shadow was cast around Asher’s eyes, which consumed too much mana.

“Really, what about Sita?”

“I am dealing with the orcs that survived being swept away by the river. Ronan, wasn’t that what you did?”

read from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲

Marya tilted her head. Ronan chuckled. Seeing them do things they weren’t even told to do now, I thought that I might be able to talk to people sooner or later.

“Anyway, everyone was struggling. We don’t have much time, so let’s finish it quickly.”

The group quickly moved to the next place. The slaughter done in the state of being already victorious was systematic and certain. The more they went through a village, the more the group’s skills improved markedly.

“Hey, Invisible Hand!”

“Chwiik! I am flying!”

Asher killed the orcs by killing them. The reason was that he was not yet mentally prepared to shoot and kill a projectile. It was ridiculous to put it up high enough that you couldn’t see it well and say something like that on the subject of releasing telekinesis.

“Then let’s go to the place where our Archmage smashed it this time.”

“Hey profit…!”

There was little to do in the two villages that were bombed by Asher. Rocks the size of a house and giant trees fall over the heads of buildings and orcs, creating ruins that are difficult to even call a village.

“Good luck Asher. It is your work.”

It was also telekinesis magic. clap clap. Ronan applauded as he saw the corpses and buildings of the orcs completely crushed. Asher covered her mouth with both hands and muttered softly.

“…I’m going to hell.”

They scoured the village and found everything they could afford. Still, there were quite a few loot that had been collected, whether it was a village that had existed for a long time. There were no survivors other than Brygia.

After the village tour, the party returned to the temple. Apart from the overcast sky, the steps were light.

‘This eliminates the biggest threat.’

It was most likely the orcs that destroyed Sarante’s temple. Because it was their habit to loot and destroy.

After reducing the population by more than 70% and completely destroying the villages that would become their bases, the surviving Orcs would leave Baidian and scatter.

With this, that idiot will be able to mine herbs more comfortably. Only one question ran through Ronan’s mind.

‘It’s strange. Although ogres are rare, they are not monsters that are so invisible.’

In fact, when I burst the river, I thought that one or two would appear. There was a possibility that it was the monster that destroyed the temple, so Ronan worked hard to find the ogre, but in the end couldn’t find one.

‘I’m sorry.’

Ronan, who remembered the enemy of the past for a moment, lost his appetite. A twin-headed ogre who could not win a match for three days and three nights, and probably reigned as the supreme king of Baidian. I wanted to make a final decision even now, but it was a pity.

I did everything I could. Even orcs and ogres. Of the three candidates for natural disaster, only one was dealt with, but as long as the orcs were removed, nothing would happen.

As I entered the temple, I saw Sarante meditating. Ronan said hello.

“Sarante, we are here.”

“You have come. You wouldn’t have approached the orc village, did you?”

“Sure. Who is that woman?”

“… he hasn’t woken up yet. The poison is stronger than I thought.”

Brygia said she was still suffering from the ailments. Ronan licked his lips.

“Damn, I’m just worried. Can you call me if you wake up?”

“Sure. I will definitely tell you.”

Ronan wrote the address of the dormitory on a note and handed it to him. Sarante raised the corners of her lips laboriously and continued.

“Do not worry. Probably nothing will happen. If it weren’t for you, Brigia-sama would have suffered a catastrophe. I almost lost the few remaining Seniel believers in the world.”

“I’ve been curious from the first day, what the hell is that Seniel?”

“Strictly speaking, he is not a god, but a great soul. Timeless and indwelling the great will . . .”

Sarante, who was rubbing her chin, murmured as if she missed her. His gaze was fixed on the image of Seniel.

“It brings back old memories. I picked up that rock and carried it all to Konya myself.”

“Damn, did you carry that thing? Are you all ko?”

“yes. It is a holy place for those who believe in Seniel.”

Ronan shrugged his eyebrows. Sarante talked about the holy land of Da Konya, a place far away from the Imperial Territory.

“It’s always raining and windy. Once in a thousand years we bring a thousand gigantic rocks into the heart of the Holy Land. And leave it alone for a thousand years. Even after a thousand years have passed, the remaining rocks become the image of Seniel.”

“Then if there are a hundred rocks left, does it all turn into Seniel?”

“It is correct.”

“I’m sorry to say this, but it’s a really strange religion. How can you call it a god?”

Sarante continued to speak with her hand on the statue.

“Because Seniel is a soul, not a god. It’s like pride, belief, or love doesn’t have a clear form. We are not a stone, but respecting the will that has been enshrined here for a thousand years and making it the image of Seniel.”

“It’s difficult. It’s kind of cool, but…”

thousand years. It was something that could not even be imagined unless it was a race that set foot in eternity. At best, maybe an elf or a dragon? After hearing information about Seniel, Ronan really prepared to go back.

The group’s luggage was several times larger than when they arrived. It was questionable whether the ghost horse could run properly. But that wasn’t the end. Just as she was about to open the temple, Sarante held out a few more sacks.

“Take it. I have prepared it for you.”

“What are you giving me all this for? I have already had enough.”

“Anyway, these are things I don’t need. Think of it as a case of saving Brigia-sama, and please accept it.”

The sack was full of medicinal herbs and manastones that he had given so far. Despite Ronan’s refusal, Sarante insisted on accepting the Hansako sack.

“This is so…”

I couldn’t refuse an old man who was at least ten centuries older than me, so low-key. Ronan took the sack. Sarante then waved goodbye with a generous smile.

“Go with caution. It was the most enjoyable two days in nearly a thousand years. May Seniel bless your future.”

“I will come sometime. take care.”

Ronan smiled and shook hands. Sarante waved her hand until the group disappeared behind the tree. A thunderbolt growled over the dark clouds, as if it was going to rain soon. Sarante, who was looking at the hand shaking hands, whispered a little.

“Ronan.”

Sarante stood outside for a while before returning to the temple. Lonely silence reigned again in the temple where the guests had left.

He passed the statue of Seniel, standing firm, and entered his room. The figure of Phrygia, who had just been lying there, was nowhere to be seen.

Sarante quietly took the teapot and left the room. And, as usual, after having a cup of tea, he started to wipe himself with a dry cloth.

Everywhere without missing a place. Sarante, who had wiped all the statues, opened her mouth without turning her head.

“A lot has changed since I haven’t seen it. Brigia.”