[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 45
"The Sacred Guardian Stone? You mean the one left by Terakan Draker?"
Zeke was surprised by the unexpected item as he looked at the bracelet.
Why was an item left by Terakan Draker stuck in a corner of the treasury?
He checked the information on the bracelet.
―Bracelet Information―
Description: A bracelet with a guardian stone that can summon a guardian beast.
Inherent Ability: Summons a guardian beast that matches the user's soul.
Special Note: The guardian stone is imbued with the blessing of the Fairy King.
"The blessing of the Fairy King."
The King Kaisir, was known to be a descendant of the Fairy King.
So, Zeke had once asked Kaisir about the Fairy King when he was learning swordsmanship from him at the King's resting place.
However, Kaisir seemed reluctant to mention the Fairy King or fairies.
'Fairies are beings that exist outside of the phenomenal world. They only intervene in the phenomenal world in very special cases, and even that's not a good thing. Whenever they do, something big always happens in this world.'
In stories, the Fairy King always had a deep connection with heroes.
And heroes aren't just made.
They appear when something big is about to happen.
Zeke thought that the fact that Terakan Draker, the Dragon Slayer, had a guardian stone blessed by the Fairy King might be in a similar context.
"That aside, anything left by Terakan Draker should be good, right?"
Zeke decided to activate the guardian stone immediately.
"But how do I activate this?"
He examined the bracelet closely.
Even when he asked the system, it didn't tell him how to activate it.
After struggling with the bracelet for a while, Zeke thoughtlessly activated his mana and touched the guardian stone.
Woooong!
The guardian stone reacted to Zeke's mana.
"It works with mana..."
To handle mana, one needs to open their ether hall.
However, humans generally cannot open their ether hall.
Zeke himself had barely managed to obtain this power after almost dying.
So, this meant that it wasn't an item humans could handle in the first place.
Zeke understood why Terakan Draker's legacy had been left in a corner.
Since no one could even confirm what the item did, it seemed to have been tossed around before ending up in a storage box.
Zeke wore the bracelet and poured more mana into it.
A brilliant light emanated from the guardian stone.
[The Sacred Guardian Stone is activated.]
[The Fairy King's blessing extends the matching range to spirit beasts, beings of a higher rank than guardian beasts.]
[Matching a spirit beast compatible with the user's soul.]
The light emanating from the guardian stone enveloped Zeke.
At the same time, the light transformed into a haze.
The haze, carrying an auspicious aura, began to draw a strange shape on the floor.
Tsssss!
Light leaked from the haze.
At the same time, a faint shadow appeared within.
The brilliant light spread around as if exploding.
[Spirit beast summoning successful.]
Zeke looked at the spirit beast emerging from the haze.
"This is?"
[You have summoned the spirit beast, Dragon Horse.]
A horse with an extraordinary appearance approached Zeke.
It had antlers like a deer, its body was 1.5 times larger than an ordinary horse, and its mane-covered neck had scales like a dragon.
The Dragon Horse, with its sleek, bluish-gray fur, approached Zeke with an elegant gait.
Then, as if acknowledging him as its master, it lowered its stance and bowed its head.
[If you give the spirit beast a name, you can summon it anytime through the guardian stone.]
"Give it a name?"
Zeke looked into the Dragon Horse's eyes and pondered.
After a moment, he slowly opened his mouth.
"Bucephalus."
He named it after Bucephalus, the beloved horse of the King Kaisir from the past.
As he gave it the name, information about Bucephalus appeared.
―Bucephalus Information―
Description: A Dragon Horse with an auspicious aura.
Inherent Ability: Can summon the power of thunder from its two horns.
Special Note: King of the Dragon Horses, a high-ranking spirit beast.
"King of the Dragon Horses?"
He didn't know what being a king meant among spirit beasts, but he had a feeling that it would be more powerful than an ordinary Dragon Horse.
Bucephalus seemed pleased with the name Zeke had given it, affectionately rubbing its face against his cheek.
Zeke also liked Bucephalus.
He seemed to understand what it meant to be a match for his soul.
"Bucephalus. I look forward to working with you."
As if it understood human speech, Bucephalus nodded.
Zeke tentatively climbed onto Bucephalus' back.
The Dragon Horse was so large that he wondered if he could ride it properly, but once he was seated, he felt quite stable.
As Zeke mounted, Bucephalus began to run around the treasury.
But the surprising thing was that there was no sound at all, even when it ran.
The surprises didn't end there. Bucephalus ran vertically up the treasury walls and even freely roamed and ran across the ceiling.
"Oh my god! It's a spirit beast for a reason!"
Although it looked like a horse, it was a spirit beast, a being of a higher rank than even a monster , so it possessed auspicious powers.
When Bucephalus returned to its original spot, Zeke dismounted with a satisfied expression.
"Bucephalus. Next time I summon you, let's run freely in a wide-open space."
Bucephalus snorted, seemingly in a good mood.
When Zeke canceled the summon, the Dragon Horse returned to the spirit world where it belonged.
"I've received a wonderful unexpected gift."
He decided to leave with the bracelet without looking any further.
He could have hidden it and taken it out using his inventory, but he decided not to, as the treasury was clearly managed systematically.
When Zeke, who emerged from the treasury, reported that he would take a bracelet with no special functions, the person in charge tilted his head in confusion.
In most cases, others would come out with a sword or armor.
However, since it was up to the person who entered to choose what they wanted, the person in charge processed the release without saying anything.
Zeke sensed his puzzlement, but he was simply proud to have obtained the bracelet that could summon the Dragon Horse, Bucephalus.
The fatigue from being tormented by the party for days seemed to vanish at once.
***
Zeke had intended to see Cali while he was at the Four Seasons Castle, but he couldn't meet her because her business trip was extended.
Duke and Andrei decided to stay at the Four Seasons Castle a little longer, so Zeke returned to the mansion first by carriage.
As soon as he arrived at the mansion, Decker saw him and said,
"Young Master. A guest has come to see you."
"A guest?"
He immediately went to the reception room and found someone unexpected sitting there.
"Cliff?"
Cliff Reinhardt, the owner of the Reinhardt Company, was waiting for him at the mansion.
He greeted Zeke politely.
"Sir Zeke, congratulations on becoming an official knight of Draker."
Zeke looked at Cliff and said,
"I'm a bit flustered by your sudden formality."
"It's only natural for me to address you with respect, as you are the continent's youngest promoted knight and an official knight of Draker."
"Well, that's fine, but why are you here? I received everything you sent regarding my first request."
"I came here because I have something to tell you, Sir Zeke."
"I'm listening, so go ahead."
"Would it be possible for you to dismiss the others?"
Zeke chuckled as he looked at Cliff.
"You have a lot of requests. You can just say it, as the servants can't enter here anyway."
Cliff nodded.
Just then, someone emerged from the back of the reception room.
It was a woman with her face hidden under the hood of her cape, but somehow she seemed familiar.
'Could it be?'
The woman pushed back her hood, revealing her face.
"It's nice to see you again, Sir Zeke."
Zeke looked at her and said,
"Your Highness, Princess Melissa."
Cliff stood up and escorted Princess Melissa with a polite gesture.
Princess Melissa sat across from Zeke.
Zeke looked alternately at Princess Melissa and Cliff, trying to grasp the situation.
"So the real owner of the Reinhardt Company is Your Highness."
Melissa smiled elegantly and looked at Zeke.
"Sir Zeke is certainly different from other knights."
Zeke finally understood why Cliff had recklessly sought a cure for the Red Flower Disease.
It was an act of loyalty to save the life of the person he served.
Zeke looked at Melissa and said,
"What brings Your Highness here?"
"It seems Sir Zeke isn't very happy that I came."
"That's not true."
Actually, it was.
He needed to quickly master the True Dragon Sword Skill to complete the quest, so he wasn't happy about having his time taken away for other matters.
Melissa chuckled at the obvious lie and said to Zeke,
"I came to thank you for saving my life with the cure you gave me."
"It was a fair trade, so there's no need for separate thanks."
"You made an interesting condition in exchange for the cure."
Zeke said with a serious expression,
"Let me be clear, canceling the contract or anything like that is not acceptable."
"Don't worry, that won't happen. However, I have some questions, so I came here despite the intrusion."
"What is it that you're curious about?"
At Melissa's gesture, Cliff took out a report and placed it in front of Zeke.
"What's this?"
"Take a look."
Zeke unfolded the document Cliff handed him.
His face hardened after briefly examining it.
The document Melissa Alencia brought was a kind of analysis report.
'There's a possibility that the Red Flower Disease isn't a normal disease, but a synthetic disease artificially created through magic?'
Melissa slowly began to speak.
"To treat the pathogen, I had Reinhardt Company place a request with Nirvana. We considered the worst-case scenario that it might not be an ordinary pathogen. I hoped it wouldn't be, but that assumption turned out to be correct. That report arrived a little late, I received it just recently. Fortunately, I was already completely cured by the treatment you gave me, Sir Zeke."
Zeke looked at Melissa and said,
"Do you suspect that I created and spread this pathogen?"
"If you had, you wouldn't have infected me with it in the first place. It would be a loss to synthesize and infect someone with a special pathogen, and then cure them, just to obtain three requests."
Even Zeke didn't know that the Red Flower Disease, which he had thought was an ordinary infectious disease, was actually an artificial pathogen created through magic synthesis.
'Come to think of it, the areas where the Red Flower Disease was prevalent at that time were mainly in Alencia. It also spread to the neighboring Duchy of Troy and some cities in Midland.'
She took out another report and handed it to Zeke.
"What's this?"
"It's an analysis report on the increasing trend of Red Flower Disease patients."
Zeke took the report and examined it as Melissa spoke.
The number of Red Flower Disease patients was steadily increasing, centered around the border area of Alencia.
"Why are you showing me this?"
"Don't you find it strange?"
Zeke carefully examined the report.
Then he understood what Melissa was talking about.
"It's an infectious disease that originated in the border area, but there are no cases in the Empire."
Melissa nodded.
"The spread is accelerating inwards from the border area, towards the center of Alencia."
Zeke tilted his head.
As far as he knew, there were still a few years left before the Red Flower Disease became a major epidemic.
'Why has the timing been accelerated? Did something change because of my return?'
Princess Melissa looked at Zeke and said,
"I often consider the worst-case scenario. It's not a good habit, but it's the only way to prevent the worst possible outcome."
She took a breath and continued,
"What do you think if I said that the Empire is creating and spreading the pathogen of this Red Flower Disease?"
Zeke couldn't readily answer Princess Melissa's question.
If that were true, it would mean that the Empire had attempted to assassinate a princess of a kingdom using a bio-magic weapon.
Just then, Princess Melissa said to Zeke,
"Sir Zeke, please assure me of one thing."
"What is it?"
Princess Melissa said in a trembling voice,
"That you are not on the Empire's side."
Zeke looked at Melissa and said,
"Even if I said that, would Your Highness be convinced?"
"Sir Zeke, if there's one advantage I have besides my position as a princess, it's my ability to judge people."
She pointed to Cliff behind her and said,
"Cliff assured me, and I repaid him with trust. And the Reinhardt Company continues to grow, and it will continue to grow in the future."
As Melissa said, the Reinhardt Company would grow to become one of the top ten companies on the continent.
Zeke looked at Melissa, lost in thought.
'Would joining forces with the princess benefit me?'
Just then, Melissa took something out and presented it to Zeke, who was deep in thought.
"If you assure me, Sir Zeke, I will give you this."
What Melissa took out was another document.
Zeke was surprised to see the contents of the document.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]