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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Awakened Ability
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Chapter 17 - Return
Please take good care of me.
The planned Unicorn Rhino hunt was canceled.
A Unicorn Rhino was a magic beast that a single knight could hunt without much difficulty, but it wasn't an opponent so negligible that one could attempt it while severely injured.
The three remaining knights consisted of one with a broken arm or leg, a child, or someone who had lost too much blood, so they couldn't even dream of attempting it.
After resting for a full day, they returned to the bandits' lair and searched the interior of the cave, but they couldn't find Lenoc's armor—only the corpses of the asphyxiated bandits for company.
There were quite a few valuable items worth taking, but with so few members left in the expedition, they lacked the manpower, so they only grabbed a few of the most precious ones before leaving.
Afterward, the expedition stayed at the fortress for about ten days to recover from their injuries before returning to the territory.
The procession of the expedition returning to the territory from the fortress was a pitiful sight.
One knight had died, more than half the squires were dead, and only three soldiers remained.
In the end, they had to hide more than half of the remaining food, water, wagons, and camping gear in the basement of the castle lord's residence.
The fortunate part was that the smaller group allowed them to move faster and encounter fewer magic beasts.
As Arsen rode along on Jin, he tossed a pebble upward.
The pebble rose slowly, as if a balloon had been thrown, before sinking back down.
It wasn't just the pebble slowing down.
The people walking nearby, the swaying leaves—everything was moving in slow motion.
As he caught the pebble and released his focus, the flow of time returned to normal.
Zenovia, who had been watching from the side, asked,
"Practicing again?"
"Yes. It's fascinating, and... I think I need to do it often to get used to it."
"Well, I was eavesdropping everywhere at first too. I wish my ability had been something like that. Then, during the fight with the Ma-in last time... Sigh. I know it's pointless to say it, but it's a shame."
After numerous tests and analyses, the ability Arsen had awakened was one that maximized his thought speed.
The moment he concentrated extremely, or when he was startled or sensed a crisis, he perceived time as slowing down.
It was a fairly rare type—one that was tremendously useful in combat.
"There are plenty of knights without abilities, Lady Zenovia. What does that make them if you say that?"
"Well, that's true, but..."
Palato mildly reproved Zenovia before offering Arsen some gentle advice.
"I trust you won't, but don't get so enamored with your new ability that you neglect your training. In the end, the fundamentals are a honed body and skills."
"Yes, Sir Palato. I'll be careful."
Palato smiled at Arsen, who nodded politely, then turned his head.
"We've finally arrived."
Below the hill stretched brown earth, straight-standing trees, and wheat fields in the midst of harvest season, all the way to the distant village.
Sighs filled with relief and exhaustion burst from everyone in the expedition.
It was a return after twenty-one days.
* * *
Naturally, the Belluan estate was thrown into an uproar upon the expedition's return.
The loss of more than half the squires and soldiers was a significant blow, but the death of one knight out of the scant dozen in the territory was an even greater loss.
The silver lining—if it could be called that—was that they had fully recovered the weapons, armor, and Jin.
The expedition disbanded in front of the estate lord's residence, and Arsen went with the other knights to report to the estate lord.
The estate lord's office, which he was visiting after quite some time, was unchanged from before.
The difference was that Palato and Zenovia, who had previously guarded the estate lord, now stood beside Arsen, while the other two knights guarded the estate lord.
"So... Sir Lenoc is almost certainly dead, and now Sir Entir has left us as well."
Nut, the estate lord of Belluan, felt a throbbing headache and rubbed his temples with his thumbs.
He had foreseen the presence of a Ma-in since Lenoc had failed to hold the fortress and, as it was rare but possible, wondered if there might be two, so he dispatched three knights.
With numerous recent issues requiring knights, sending three to Krata Fortress had been a major investment, one guaranteed to some extent by the territory's security.
To think it would end in such sacrifice.
"Still, it's a relief that the equipment was recovered without issue. Have Luden melt down Sir Entir's axe and armor into ingots. As for Sir Lenoc's greatsword... The principle is for the territory to recover a knight's equipment, but since it's Sir Arsen's trophy—and your father's possession besides—inheriting it would be the right thing."
"Thank you for your consideration, my lord."
"Sir Arsen, go and rest now. You've done more than enough for someone so young. I'll hear the details from Sir Palato and Lady Zenovia."
With the report concluded, Arsen gained some free time and headed to the mage's tower on crutches.
He knocked on the door, and Luden's voice came from inside.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Arsen."
The door opened, revealing Luden's bandit-like beard, which stood out more prominently than he remembered.
Having been outside so long, even that face felt endearing.
Seeing Arsen leaning on crutches, Luden frowned and asked,
"Why is your leg in that state?"
"It broke during the fight. This is actually on the faster side of healing. It's just a bit uncomfortable to stand on—may I come in?"
"Come on in for now."
Arsen limped into the tower, his leg not yet fully mended.
Perhaps thanks to his youth, sharp pains still shot through it with every step, but this was an incredibly swift recovery compared to the duration of the injury.
Especially when compared to Sir Palato, who still struggled to move his broken arm properly.
Luden sighed as he watched Arsen sit in a chair.
"I wonder if Eloise will burst into tears seeing you like this."
"Is the young lady not here?"
"She's training in magic downstairs. Ever since you left, she's been diligent with both magic and smithing. Must be nice having such a devoted fiancée."
"Fiancée?"
"Then you won't marry Eloise? She'll never marry a man her whole life if it's not you. A man shouldn't do that. You ought to take her in, even if it means adding ten concubines."
"That feels like the worse offense."
Ignoring Luden's absurd words, Arsen slipped his hand into his pocket and fiddled with the broken statue.
He had planned to ask Eloise about this in detail, but with only Luden here, he was at a loss.
He couldn't very well pull out a secretly exchanged gift and inquire openly.
"More importantly, where did you toss the gift from Eloise?"
"Did the young lady tell you?"
"She tell me? I can sense whether you're carrying an item enchanted with powerful magic. When I pressed you on where you'd left it, you hemmed and hawed, so I interrogated you. You confessed soon enough."
Luden spoke with an exasperated, incredulous expression.
"Anyway, that girl Eloise—if she weren't a mage, she'd have been fleeced clean by some man later on with that personality. I told her over and over to always carry something that important."
"What exactly was its effect?"
"It's enchanted with magic that blocks a fatal attack on the owner once. The last remaining one of the three my master made in his lifetime."
At Luden's words, Arsen felt awkward and let out a dry cough.
He had to admit he'd shattered it now, and learning just how precious it was only made it worse.
"Here it is."
Arsen placed the shattered remnants of the statue on the desk.
The original wave patterns were barely discernible amid the wreckage.
Luden swept a hand over the debris and said,
"It blocked a pretty powerful attack. A knight's strike, perhaps?"
"Something like that. It was a Ma-in wielding a knight's sword."
"You're lucky. Without this, you'd be dead for sure."
With a hmph, Luden placed both hands over the broken statue and narrowed his eyes.
A faint blue light flowed from his hands, seeping into the statue, and the pieces began to reassemble bit by bit.
Just as it seemed the statue would fully reform, it let out a sharp crack and split in two once more.
"Damn. I had a feeling, but no dice."
Luden tossed the bisected statue into a corner, as if he'd completely lost interest.
"It can't be repaired?"
"Afraid not. I'm no inferior mage to my master, but this is a matter of lineage, not skill. Maybe Eloise can fix it someday."
Luden yawned widely and rolled his foot against the floor a few times.
Moments later, a door opened in the floor, and Eloise climbed up a ladder.
"Why'd you call? Lu... Arsen?!"
Eloise let go of the ladder and leaped back downstairs, then spun her body upside down to quickly shake the dust from her hair.
She hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the soot from her face, dusted off her clothes, and only then climbed back up.
Eloise asked in an exaggeratedly cheerful voice,
"Welcome! Want something to drink?"
"Tch, what a performance. Well, since the husband willing to give up his liver and gall has arrived."
At the gruff grumbling, Eloise flinched and glanced cautiously at Luden.
It seemed she'd been scolded more harshly than expected over handing over the statue.
After glaring at Eloise for a moment, Luden said to Arsen,
"Well, seems we've covered what needed saying, so I'll go finish that nap I started upstairs. Have fun and head out whenever."
With those nonchalant words, Luden zipped up to the second floor.
Now alone with her, Eloise's earlier cheerfulness vanished. She shyly brushed back her hair and spoke up.
"How was it out there? Wasn't too dangerous, right?"
"Hmm... It'd be a lie to say it wasn't. It was dangerous. We took heavy losses."
Arsen hesitated for a moment about lying that he was fine but ended up confessing honestly.
It was news that would spread widely enough that even Eloise, isolated in her tower, couldn't avoid hearing it.
To reassure her worried expression, Arsen smiled as gently as he could and expressed his gratitude.
"But thanks to the statue you gave me, I saved my life. Thank you so much, young lady."
At Arsen's words, Eloise suddenly covered her face with her hands and bowed her head deeply.
"What's wrong?"
"...No, it's nothing."
A brief silence followed, awkwardness filling the room.
"I heard you've been studying magic and metallurgy diligently lately."
"Yeah. I'm studying hard so I can make you an amazing suit of armor that keeps you from ever getting hurt."
"Isn't it tough?"
"It's fine. It's something I want to do."
Unlike before, Eloise's hands were covered in calluses.
Impressed by her genuine effort, Arsen gently stroked her palm.
Eloise blushed with embarrassment.
"My hands aren't weird, are they?"
"No. There's nothing more beautiful than calluses earned from what you want and need to do. My hands aren't delicate either."
"Luden says I've got talent. If I work hard, I can become a better mage than him. I'm really going to give it my all."
"I'll cheer you on. I hope you become a wonderful mage, young lady."
Upon hearing that, Eloise suddenly clamped her mouth shut and took several deep breaths.
She hesitated, lips moving a few times, before finally whispering in a tiny voice,
"Eli."
"Yes?"
"Uh, from now on... call me Eli instead of young lady. You said close friends use nicknames."
Eloise fiddled with her flushed ears as she said it.
Seeing that, Arsen couldn't help but burst into laughter.
He had no intention of mocking a ten-year-old girl's innocent feelings, but her appearance was just too adorable to hold back.
"Don't laugh!"
'It feels like this has happened before.'
Seeing her face turn beet red with embarrassment, Arsen quickly nodded.
He didn't want to wound the heart of a girl at such a sensitive age.
"Ah, sorry. I wasn't teasing—it was just so cute I laughed for a second. Got it. Eli. Better?"
"Sp-speak casually too."
"Gotcha, Eli."
Hearing that reply, Eloise whipped her head around and whispered under her breath, "Yes! Success!"
She must have thought he wouldn't hear, but of course, the words reached Arsen's ears loud and clear.
They spent some more time chatting after that—mostly Arsen listening as Eloise chattered about the magic and techniques she'd been learning.
Then, in the distance, the evening bell tolled.
Eloise jumped in surprise as Arsen grabbed his crutches and stood, insisting on helping him, but he waved her off and left the tower.