C822
"Thank you."
Raon gently stroked the head of the white falcon before untying the letter from its ankle.
'The white whale, huh...'
On the front of the letter, there was a drawing of a white whale, a symbol that only Ariel, the emperor of the white whale, could use. There was only one reason why Ariel would send him a letter now.
'The Soul Crystal.'
When Ariel arrived at Zieghart and left after being insulted, he had asked her for information about the Soul Crystal. It seemed that she had now sent it to him.
"Hmm."
Suppressing his expectations, as the content could state that they had not found the Soul Crystal, Raon carefully unfolded the neatly folded letter.
-What does it say?
Wrath also seemed curious, fluttering in the air and blinking rapidly.
'Does it mention seeing the sea?'
Raon frowned as he crinkled the edge of the paper.
-The sea? What sea suddenly?
'It seems the Soul Crystal is somewhere near the sea.'
The white whale not only deals with real information but also information obtained through divination. Since it wasn't precise content but merely stated that she could see the sea, it seemed she had performed the divination herself.
-Can you trust something like that?
Wrath squinted skeptically.
"Ariel's divinations are accurate. Not eight out of ten, but ten out of ten."
Raon shook his head as he lowered the letter.
-Is that so?
—Yes. Since it’s not actual information, it’s not very detailed, but there has never been an error in that regard. They even say she can read the flow of the heavens.
As far as he knew, the divinations of the emperor of Thespia had never been wrong. Of course, since she couldn't see her own future, it wasn't a good idea to trust it unconditionally.
«First, I must consider the possibility that this information is false».
If the Thespian Emperor had sided with the Five Demons instead of the Five Kings, she could be trying to lure him to the sea with false information.
'However...'
This possibility is extremely low. The large-scale war has not even started yet, so no one knows how strong the Five Kings and the Five Demons are. In a situation where no one can see a step ahead, it would be impossible for the Thespian Emperor to take sides, given her personality.
"In other words, this is real information."
Raon raised his head confidently.
«If it's the sea, I know people I can contact».
There was Alice, who led the Azure Wind pirate ship, of course, and he had also built relationships with the people of the coastal city of Aikar while hunting the dragon Kaivar. Lastly, there was Flumen, who lived in the rivers but could move freely in the sea, so it seemed he could obtain help in various ways.
-First, I should thank Ariel.
Even though it was a mutually beneficial relationship, it was only fair to maintain a minimum of courtesy. As he prepared to write a thank-you note and compensation for the information, he frowned.
'This...'
-What? What's wrong now?
'It says that an unknown force is also searching for the Soul Crystal...'
Raon swallowed dryly as he looked at the phrase written at the end of the letter.
-Could someone have spread rumors?
«It's possible, but it might not be. In reality, it's not surprising news».
Since he had revealed information about the Soul Crystal not only to the Five Kings but also to vassal families and neutral forces, it was not strange for external forces to get involved.
'The important thing is...'
Who they are. If they were searching for the Soul Crystal to sell it to Zieghart, it would be more than welcome. He could even pay a fortune. But if they were looking for the Soul Crystal to use it themselves, the situation did not seem likely to end well. Perhaps due to the ominous feeling, he felt goosebumps.
-This is really difficult.
'Indeed.'
Raon clicked his tongue briefly before writing a letter to the Thespian Emperor and tying it to the white falcon's leg.
"Deliver it well."
He stroked the falcon's wings and sent it back into the sky. The white falcon tilted its head arrogantly before soaring into the heavens. Watching it silently ascend, it seemed this creature was the most treasured spirit beast of the Thespian Emperor, Cheonying.
"I should report this."
Raon watched until Cheonying became a white dot and disappeared before heading to the Lord's Mansion.
* * *
Cheonying spread its long wings to return to its master as quickly as possible. As it soared toward the central continent, looking down at the world like the king of the sky it was called, a small sparrow flew up from behind. Cheonying normally did not hunt or eat during missions.
It was trying to suppress its predatory instincts and send the sparrow away, considering itself a spirit beast rather than an animal, when the sparrow reached it at an unimaginable speed.
"Hey."
The sparrow flapped its tiny wings after catching up.
"Stop there."
The frivolous voice of a human woman flowed from the sparrow's beak. Even Cheonying, a spirit beast, could only understand human language, so it let out an exasperated sigh. The emotion that followed the surprise was anger.
Cheonying was the king of the sky. It could easily crush not only eagles but most monsters, yet this bean-sized sparrow was trying to stop it. It was irritated.
Cheonying stared at the sparrow and twisted its beak. Although it could kill it with a single strike of its claws, it had a mission now. Returning to its master as quickly as possible was the priority, so it decided to suppress its anger and let the sparrow go.
"Is your head as white as your feathers? If you don't want to burst, lift your wings."
But the sparrow spat even harsher words, as if it didn't know it had barely survived. Cheonying finally couldn't hold back and turned to the right. Just as it was about to raise its claws to crush the sparrow's body in an instant, something happened.
A massive energy began to surge from the sparrow, which was not even half the size of its wing.
The advancing claws stopped on their own, and its whole body trembled. It felt as though it stood before a natural predator it had never seen in its life.
"Is this the right one?"
A pink current flowed alongside the sparrow. The voice of another woman flowed from the part that was fluffy like a cloud, and her presence was even more immense than that of its owner.
"That's why I told you to stop when I told you."
The sparrow moved closer and bumped Cheonying's head with its small wing. Its feathers trembled, feeling like it might be killed instead of killing.
"Hand it over."
The sparrow slightly frowned and moved its wings, asking for the paper tied to Cheonying's foot.
"Ah, today's children simply don't listen when you talk to them kindly."
The sparrow slightly stretched its wings and clicked its tongue.
"You know you're asking to be hit ten times instead of once, right?"
She stared at Cheonying while flapping her wings as if loosening her fists.
"Indeed. In my time, this was unimaginable."
The pink current also lowered its voice deeply, as if it were angry. Under the unsettling pressure of the two women, Cheonying's feathers began to fall off on their own.
"You should have done it from the start. We are not bad people."
The sparrow patted Cheonying's head and pulled out the letter. Cheonying lowered its head and trembled its beak. It felt like watching a child trapped by bullies in an alley.
"What does it say?"
The pink current approached the sparrow and asked.
"It says thank you. And that they will pay the price?"
The sparrow frowned as it looked at the letter.
"What price? And thank you? I have never heard those words; who would dare to..."
The pink current emitted an even more intense aura, as if it were angry.
"Really? I have heard it many times."
The sparrow mocked the pink current and flapped its wings.
Did you hear words of gratitude?
The pink current stared at the sparrow and emitted a chilling voice.
"Every day. I even heard it while we were stargazing together."
The sparrow sang mockingly and chuckled.
"You really can't save yourself. It's only right that you die here."
"That's my line!"
The sparrow and the pink current began to fight, causing intense shockwaves. Sparks like lightning erupted from both sides, even though mana was not visible.
Cheonying, the king of the sky, could neither flee nor retreat due to the letter caught on the sparrow's leg, and could only emit a cry of sadness.
* * *
Raon went to find Glenn and told him all the information he had obtained from the Thespian Emperor.
"Ariel's divinations are certainly reliable. But the sea..."
Glenn sighed briefly and said it seemed like too broad a range.
"Still, we must find it."
Raon lifted his head while folding the Thespian Emperor's letter in half.
"Please send the Light Wind division. I will find the Soul Crystal even if we have to search the entire coastline of the continent."
It was the best method to carry out the mission together since they couldn't leave the Light Wind division inactive any longer.
"Hmm..."
Glenn stared intently at Raon before shaking his head.
"It's dangerous with just the Light Wind division when we don't know who the forces searching for the Soul Crystal are."
He shook his head and said it was not the time to move immediately.
"But..."
"I'm not saying it's impossible. Just wait a moment. I’ve sent a message to someone."
"Who is that?"
"Alice."
Glenn lowered his hand, saying he had contacted Alice again and would move with her when the response arrived.
"Hmm..."
Raon closed his mouth.
«Actually, there’s nothing better than that».
Alice was not only strong but had also traveled the seas extensively by ship. If she helped, the search for the Soul Crystal would be much easier.
"I understand."
Raon said he would wait and bowed his waist.
"You are in a very critical moment. Until the mission arrives, focus solely on your training."
"I will keep that in mind."
Glenn's sincerity could be felt in his brief words. Nodding deeply, Raon left the audience chamber.
As he was about to return to the Fifth Training Field to train, he sensed a familiar presence behind the Lord's Mansion.
'This aura is...'
He squinted and climbed the wall of the exclusive training field for the head of the house. The person in the training area was Rimmer. He wielded his sword with his training clothes soaked in sweat, and in his green eyes, an unyielding conviction could be felt. It seemed he was engaged in a life-or-death battle with someone rather than just training.
'Did I think he was just playing?'
After finishing the concentration training, he had given Rimmer and the Game Monster a break. He thought they would go to the gambling den and play for a while, but he didn't expect to see him there with such desperate eyes perfecting his sword skill.
'Now that I think about it...'
The vice leader had also been steadily growing. Rimmer was originally a Grand Master, but his martial prowess had degraded to the level of Master due to an injury to his energy center, and through an artificial energy center and his own efforts, he had regained the Grand Master rank.
"That's not something that can be done easily."
No matter how talented Rimmer was, he wouldn't have been able to reach that position without effort. It seemed he had been training consistently but without showing it to anyone.
-The young man is getting airs.
Wrath wrinkled his nose. However, the fact that he didn't call him "pointy ears" showed that he was somewhat impressed.
-Indeed. It doesn't suit him.
Raon nodded slightly with a small smile. After observing Rimmer's training for a while, he quietly left the training ground.
"I can't fall behind either."
Although his current level was superior to Rimmer's, Rimmer was far ahead of him in terms of experience. It seemed he would have to keep striving not to be surpassed.
'Then, speaking of that...'
-No!
Wrath quickly furrowed his brows.
'I haven't said anything yet?'
-You were about to suggest eating Nadine bread again today, weren't you?
He shook his head and said that was absolutely not allowed.
'Your intuition has become sharper.'
Raon smiled at Wrath.
-Intuition? You call it intuition! As I told you before, you have no right to use the word intuition!
'It's not that bad...'
-It's that bad!
Wrath hit the back of Raon's neck, telling him to regain common sense.
-Let me tell you. Originally, humans through relationships with others...
Raon returned to the annex building while listening to Wrath's complaints about the intuition needed to live as a human.
* * *
At a tranquil dock, the waves driven by the wind gently rocked the pirate-flagged sailboat.
"Why won't it open?"
A middle-aged man with a clearly exposed forehead frowned as he looked at the pure white envelope placed on the deck.
"Only the owner can open that."
A woman with a red patch covering her eye shook her head.
"The owner?"
"Probably the captain."
She shook her head, saying that only the captain, Alice, could open the letter.
"And speaking of which, why is our captain taking so long? It seems like more than two months have passed..."
The middle-aged man frowned as he gazed at the bright sky. More than two months ago, Alice had heard information about the discovery of traces of her son and had entered that port with most of the crew, but she still had not returned.
Although she was someone who did things her own way, it was unusual for her to be out of contact for so long, so he was worried.
"I don't think we should worry."
The woman with the eye patch shook her head calmly.
—How can you not worry! It's already been two months! It's not normal for so much time to pass without contact.
"No, that's not what I mean..."
"What a cold person! Do you know how much the captain has done for you?"
The middle-aged man frowned and called her heartless.
"It doesn't matter how strong Alice and Lawaine are; they are not invincible! Dangerous situations could arise..."
Just as the middle-aged man was shaking his head, it happened.
"Ah, I'm dead tired!"
In a hoarse voice, Alice jumped onto the deck.
"Indeed. I didn't know it would be so difficult."
Lawaine sighed as he sat down next to her.
"Huh? Captain?"
The middle-aged man's jaw dropped when he saw Alice and Lawaine.
"When did you arrive?"
"When you said we weren't invincible!"
Alice frowned and smacked the middle-aged man's bald head with her palm.
"Ugh!"
The middle-aged man yelled, clutching his head where a handprint had appeared.
"I appreciate your concern, but I'm invincible."
Alice smiled and shook her head.
"Urgh..."
The middle-aged man bit his lip as he looked at the woman with the eye patch.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"That's why I said there was no need to worry."
"Ah..."
He let out a sigh as he finally remembered what the woman with the eye patch had said.
"How was your trip?"
The woman with the eye patch approached Alice, passing by the middle-aged man.
"Ah, we were deceived."
Alice wrinkled her nose and shook her head.
"Deceived?"
-Yes, there was not a trace of my son.
—Then why did it take so long?
"We entered a dungeon, but the time axis was different."
She chuckled and said they had come out of the dungeon after a week, but two months had passed.
"Was everything alright here?"
Alice tilted her head as she leaned against the deck.
"We were fine, but we received a message from Zieghart."
—Zieghart? Forget it. That old man is probably saying something strange again.
"It certainly was strange content. Something about searching for a Soul Crystal..."
"Soul Crystal?"
She tilted her head, seeming not to know anything about the Soul Crystal either.
"What is that..."
Just as Alice was about to ask, the white envelope that had fallen to the ground floated by itself and approached her eyes.
"Oh, it's a special delivery from the Black Market. My father seems to be in a hurry."
Alice smirked as she opened the envelope. After reading the content of the letter, she frowned.
"It’s asking if I know of a Soul Crystal that takes on a rainbow color when a lost soul inhabits the nearest object when the path in the heavens closes when the sun and moon approach."
She wrinkled her nose, as if she didn’t understand what it meant.
"Who would search for something like that?"
"T-That content was also in the letter we received initially."
The middle-aged man lowered his head and rubbed his bald and reddened head.
"I’ve traveled all over the continent, but I’ve never seen anything like that..."
"Rainbow colored?"
Lawaine blinked as he lifted his fake eye patch.
"I think I’ve seen that?"
"..."
-
More Ch4pters on KoreanPlayer
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
Thanks for the support
