Chapter 87: Kristina Rogeris (5)
After pouring a potion onto his hand, Eugene wrapped a bandage around it. If he wanted to return to the castle, he needed to climb back up the steep cliff with his hand like this, but that didn’t prove too difficult for Eugene.
After climbing up the cliff, as he headed towards the castle, he ran into Ciel on the way there.
“What’s with your hand?!” Ciel yelped with an alarmed expression and ran over to Eugene.
She took Eugene’s hand that was wrapped in bandages and gently touched the back of his hand.
“Did you get into a fight with someone?” Ciel asked.
Eugene raised an eyebrow, “Who would I fight with?”
“...With my father?” Ciel hesitantly proposed.
“Do you think I’m crazy?” Eugene let out a snort and tried to pull his hand free, but Ciel refused to let go.
With a look of incredulity on her face, she glanced down at the bloodstained bandages and asked, “Then, did you get into a fight with the Council Head?”
Eugene sighed. “Do I really need to have gotten into a fight if my hand is bleeding?”
“...Then why are you bleeding?”
“It just happened somehow.”
The truth was that he had clenched his fist too tightly, and then he had smashed it into a tree in a fit of rage. So he definitely couldn’t tell her why he was really bleeding.
With Eugene refusing to say anything, Ciel also stopped asking about it.
Taking a deep breath, Ciel unwrapped the bandages around Eugene’s hand. Thanks to the potion, blood had stopped flowing from the wounds, and it was already starting to heal. To Eugene, this meant that it was but a scratch.
However, Ciel’s reaction was different. Seeing the wounds that were left on his hands, she made a guess as to how they had appeared. She spotted the nail marks deeply embedded in the palm of his hand, as well as his split-open knuckles.
“...Why did you get so angry?” Ciel asked after she put the clues together.
“Do I really have to answer that?” Eugene dodged the question.
“If you don’t want to answer, then you don’t have to. And even if I do beg you, when have you ever said something that you didn’t want to say?” Ciel complained.
Eugene laughed instead of replying. Ciel glanced up at Eugene with an annoyed look in her eyes, and then took out a small first-aid kit from a pocket.
“Just leave it. It’ll be fine by tomorrow,” Eugene told her.
“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Ciel reluctantly acknowledged. “Ever since we were young, you’ve always been strangely quick to recover. Did you know? There was a time when my brother and I seriously suspected that you might be half troll.”
“I don’t really mind, but don’t you think that you were being too rude to my father?”
From what Eugene could recall, his mother had been a perfectly normal human being. She had passed away before Eugene could even take his first steps, so he had no memories of her, but she definitely wasn’t a troll.
“Well, we were at a young age, so it’s not surprising that we came up with one or two nonsensical ideas,” Ciel admitted as she squeezed a generous amount of ointment onto her fingertip and began rubbing it into Eugene’s wounds. “...In any case, aren’t you going to tell me what happened?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, and it’s not something that I can reveal to you without getting permission,” Eugene confessed.
“Then it can’t be helped.” Ciel easily conceded.
Anything related to their ancestor’s tomb had to be kept a secret. Whatever had happened there, Ciel didn’t have the authority to hear about it. After Ciel was done smearing ointment onto his hand, Eugene pulled his hand free.
It was Eugene’s turn to question Ciel. “It’s already so late at night, so what are you doing here?”
“Just taking a walk,” Ciel answered blithely.
“Alright, you can continue your walk. I’m heading in and getting some sleep.”
Ciel’s lips stuck out in a pout. Naturally, the walk was just an excuse. Since Kristina had dragged Eugene out somewhere, she was just wandering around outside the castle, trying to find out what was going on.
Normally, she would have clamped down doggedly and stuck to him until she got an answer, but now Ciel didn’t dare to do so. For some reason, she felt like tonight’s Eugene was a lot taller than he usually was.
As such, Ciel smiled softly and waved Eugene away with a “Good night.”
Eugene smirked at her disingenuous consideration and walked past Ciel.
He was soon met with another interrogation. “Where are you just getting back from?”
Cyan, who had woken up from his nap, was out in the gymnasium. Seeing how he was sweating profusely, it looked like Cyan was training diligently, following the instructions in the book that Eugene had given him. Ordinarily, Eugene would have been pleased to see this and might have given him some advice, but tonight he just patted Cyan on the shoulder a couple of times and walked past.
“...What’s with that bastard?” Cyan cursed with a disgusted expression on his face, but just like Ciel, he didn’t persist in looking for an answer.
Instead he just tilted his head and stared at Eugene’s back with concerned eyes as the latter entered the castle.
Without even washing up, Eugene returned to his room. After casually tossing the Cloak of Darkness aside, he sat down on his bed and lost himself in thought for a few moments.
‘Not just yet,’ he reminded himself.
The Devildom in the North, otherwise known as Helmuth. Tempest wanted him to conquer it. That was what Eugene wanted as well.
However, no matter how ardently the wind blew in support, impossible things were still impossible. Even if Eugene gave it his all, as he was right now, it was still impossible for him to even kill Amelia Merwin. Setting aside his pride and other such, Eugene was sure of this fact.
‘That said, it’s also impossible for me to creep into Helmuth and slowly try to increase my strength that way. Because there’s more than one or two bastards currently eyeing me.’
Balzac Ludbeth had given him a warning. There were far too many demonfolk in Helmuth, and the Demon King of Incarceration wasn’t the only Demon King lurking there. There was still the Demon King of Destruction to be wary of. And even the Demon King of Incarceration couldn’t be completely confident in controlling all those who served him.
But that wasn’t all, was it? There were plenty of other high-ranking demons in Helmuth who wanted to rise to the throne of Demon King. For them, a Lionheart clan’s stray lion cub was sure to be attractive prey.
He was confident that he would be able to protect himself from most dangers. However, the dangers that he might face in Helmuth would be far beyond the bounds of ordinary danger. Even back then, three hundred years ago, it had still been such a terrible place.
‘Even as Hamel.’
Eugene raised his hand that had been smeared all over with ointment.
‘I need to surpass my old self.’
Three hundred years was a very long period of time. While Hamel was considered dead, the demonfolk of Helmuth were sure to have gotten even stronger.
‘But I can’t do it alone.’
He needed Sienna.
Eugene took out the leaves of the world tree that he kept in one of his pockets.
* * *
The next morning, Eugene draped his cloak over his shoulders.
He was feeling pretty refreshed. He hadn’t had any dreams, and had slept soundly.
Now, he was just hungry.
“Looks like it’s all better,” Eugene said with a smirk as he glanced down at his unmarked hand. He roughly groomed his stray bed-hair and then left his bedroom.
A servant was waiting outside for him, “Young Master Eugene. Breakfast is—”
“Don’t need it.” Eugene interrupted the man.
Without stopping, Eugene walked down the hallway, only for the servant to keep following him.
“...There are guests waiting for you on the lower floor,” the servant informed him.
“I know,” Eugene replied with a laugh.
He headed down to the first floor and kicked open the door to the drawing room.
Someone asked him as soon as he entered, “Did you sleep well?”
Like he had expected. One of the guests was Kristina Rogeris. Gilead and Doynes were also waiting inside the drawing room with her. After Eugene bowed his head towards them, he sat down opposite Kristina.
“Didn’t I already tell you that I wouldn’t become something like a hero?” Eugene reminded her.
“The divine revelation has entrusted me with this mission to support you,” Kristina insisted, picking up her teacup with a soft smile. “As such, it doesn’t matter what your plans might be, Sir Eugene. As the Saint, I must accompany you.”
“Aren’t there any other options?” Eugene asked, tilting his head to the side. “I prefer items of material value over empty things like recognition. Doesn’t the Holy Empire have anything that they can give me?”
“Isn’t the Holy Sword enough already?”
“That already belongs to the Lionheart clan in the first place.”
“Strictly speaking, the sword still belongs to the Holy Empire, and is only being kept in the Lionheart clan’s treasure vault for safety. However, since the God of Light has approved of you, you should be able to be recognized as the master of the Holy Sword.” After taking another sip from her teacup, Kristina set her teacup down. “Just like the Great Vermouth.”
“Like I said, I’m asking if there’s anything else apart from the Holy Sword?” Eugene persisted.
“...I already told you this yesterday, but while the Holy Empire does recognize Sir Eugene as the next hero, for your own safety, they cannot announce it to the world just yet,” Kristina reminded him.
This was only understandable. Even three hundred years ago, after Vermouth had been proclaimed as the hero, he had to face a whole lot of troublesome issues once he had become the master of the Holy Sword.
“However, if Sir Eugene comes with me to the Holy Empire, I’m sure that the Pope, as the representative of God, will grant you whatever you desire,” Kristina promised.
“Fine then,” Eugene said as he reached out and grabbed one of the cookies that had been set there as refreshment. “I don’t need anything else. But Lady Kristina, can you tell me how useful you are?”
“...Huh?” Kristina made a questioning noise.
“I’m asking if you’re useful,” Eugene repeated himself, “As a Saint candidate, seeing as you were even able to become an Auxiliary Bishop, you should at least be considered an exceptional priest, right? So how good are you at using Holy magic?”
“...Although I’m not sure what type of level Sir Eugene is expecting of me, I’ll give it a shot,” Kristina accepted his challenge and lifted a finger. Eugene’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at the cookie he had been holding. At some point, the cookie that Eugene had been holding in his hands had turned into a loaf of bread.
“As a Saint, I should be able to accomplish miracles of such a level,” Kristina boasted proudly.
“Something like this is plain useless.” Eugene harshly criticized her.
“...I can also turn water into wine,” Kristina argued with lessened confidence.
“But you can’t really make true alcohol, can you? Just like this bread, in the end, all you’ve done is change its appearance slightly. It won’t fill you up as much as real bread.”
Anise had also been able to easily pull off miracles like these. Without Anise’s miracles, they wouldn’t have been able to catch and eat the demonic beasts in Helmuth, and they wouldn’t have been able to drink the contaminated water that was found there.
However, like what Eugene had said, these miracles weren’t truly life-changing. If you didn’t have any cookies in the first place, you couldn’t make them into bread. And Anise, who had drunk alcohol while claiming it to be Holy Water, did not drink the wine she herself had made because it couldn’t really get her drunk.
Eugene continued his interrogation, “Are you able to reattach severed limbs?”
Kristina hesitated. “...That’s….”
Eugene continued. “Can you regenerate the blood lost from a wound?”
“...” Kristina was left dumbstruck by these absurd demands.
“Can you reform a pulped eyeball?”
“That is impossible.”
The smile had disappeared from Kristina’s face. What Eugene had described were things that could be considered true miracles. In the entire history of the Holy Empire, the only one capable of performing such miracles was the Faithful Anise, who had accompanied Vermouth on his journey.
“...Currently, it’s impossible for me to perform a miracle on the same level as Lady Anise. However, I too have been appointed as the Saint. Some day, I will be able to perform miracles just as amazing as those of Lady Anise,” Kristina claimed, regaining her confidence.
“Is that so?” Eugene asked doubtfully.
Anise had truly been special. So while this was disappointing, for Eugene, who wasn’t able to use Healing magic, being accompanied by Kristina wasn’t such a bad thing. At the very least, he would have an extra hand in dealing with injuries.
“Lord Patriarch,” Eugene said, finally turning his head towards Gilead and Doynes.
Since they had chosen to come in without even knocking, Eugene had responded by just treating them as part of the scenery while he had been addressing Kristina.
However, the two of them didn’t seem to be annoyed by this. Although they could have scolded Eugene for being rude, neither of them seemed to want to blow this matter up into a big deal. At least, that was what Gilead was thinking. Eugene had always been a free-spirited kid ever since he was young. However, now that a Saint had come looking for him in order to declare him a hero, it was only natural that his emotions might be a little high-strung.
Eugene immediately requested, “About the Holy Sword in the treasure vault, would it be alright for me to borrow it for a while?”
“...Hm,” Gilead polished his teacup as he considered this for a few moments.
He was still a bit uncertain as to how he should deal with this whole issue in the first place.
First, there was the fact that his ancestor’s remains hadn’t been found in the Great Vermouth’s tomb. Gilead and Doynes had been discussing this until late this morning. The only ones who knew about this in the entire Lionheart clan were Eugene, Gilead and Doynes. For now, they definitely could not share this issue with the other elders.
Although it was impossible to be certain about all the facts, they could at least be sure of some things. The state funeral was all a lie. Their ancestor had faked his death and disappeared somewhere…. It was impossible for his descendants to guess his reasons for this now that three hundred years had already passed.
However, ever since his supposed death, their ancestor’s figure had never appeared in the eyes of the world. For the Lionheart clan, this was both comforting and disquieting.
And now, for the first time in three hundred years, the Holy Empire had recognized the next ‘hero’ following the Great Vermouth. The Lionheart clan’s Holy Sword originally belonged to the Holy Empire. Although the Lionheart clan might have been using the sword as their personal symbol, no one had been able to become a true master of the Holy Sword ever since the time of their great ancestor. Only the Patriarch was able to ‘draw’ the Holy Sword, but even then, it was impossible for them to get their sword to emit a brilliant light like it did in the legends.
“...You dislike the thought of being the hero, but you still want the Holy Sword?” Doynes asked with a grin.
Just because the treasures in the vault belonged to the main family, that didn’t mean the Patriarch was allowed to do whatever he liked with them. Especially for those items of significance like the Holy Sword, the Patriarch still needed to seek the consent of the Council.
“I’d rather die than accept that title, but since the Saint over there is already calling me a hero whenever she sees me, what else can I do? Also, just because they call me a hero, doesn’t mean that I need to do something heroic right away, like what our ancestor did,” Eugene replied with a shrug. “Ah, of course. Even if the Saint tries to force me into doing something heroic, I definitely won’t just go along with it. I’m not sure if the Council Head has already heard about this, but I’m the only one who gets to decide what I’m going to do.”
“Even if it goes against what the family wants you to do?” Doynes asked.
“Yes,” Eugene replied, not backing down in the slightest. “I won’t do anything disgraceful. And I won’t try anything that will diminish the family’s prestige. Isn’t that good enough for you?”
“I am not a believer in the God of Light,” Doynes said with a nod of his head. “However, I cannot doubt a god’s vision. If the god says that you are a hero, then there must be a good reason for saying so. As the Head of the Council, I will respect your will. As long as you… remain faithful to the Lionheart name. So long as you don’t bring shame to us as you follow in your ancestor’s footsteps, the clan will support you.”
While this was a declaration of support, it was also a blatant warning. Doynes was making it clear that they would have no choice but to intervene if he started behaving excessively arrogant.
“Yes.” Eugene accepted the warning with a chuckle.
Doynes looked at Eugene, who was not at all intimidated, with a strange gaze, but eventually nodded.
“Under usual circumstances, this would have been discussed with the other elders. But it seems that we can’t do that with this issue. As such, Patriarch, our council will just have to keep our eyes closed during this next month,” Doynes dropped a heavy hint.
“By those words, do you mean…. Okay, I’ve got it.” Gilead turned to look at Eugene with a smirk. “If you need anything else, just tell me. As the Patriarch, I will gladly open the door to the treasure vault and allow you to take the Holy Sword.”
“Is it okay if I take some other things as well?” Eugene asked, not wanting to miss this opportunity. “Since I'm just going to borrow them, I would also like to take some of the other weapons that our ancestor used.”
“...Haha!” Doynes burst into laughter, unable to hold it in any longer. He stared at Eugene as he pounded his knee in amusement. “Kid, you really are greedy.”
“Well, it’s not like they get many chances to be seen outside the treasure vault in the first place, do they?” Eugene argued.
“All the treasures in the vault belong to the main family. Although they might not be in use because there isn’t currently a need for them, there’s no guarantee that a need for them won’t arise in the future,” Doynes argued back.
“But I’m not saying that I want to take everything, I just want to take — no, borrow the weapons used by our ancestor. In any case, don’t they all get to choose their rightful owner?” Eugene shot back.
The Demonic Spear Luentos was currently with Doynes, Dominic had the Annihilation Hammer, and even Gilead had a sword that had been used by Vermouth.
“...Patriarch, what do you think?” After Doynes silently stared at Eugene for a few moments, he turned to speak to Gilead.
Although the question was sudden, Gilead wasn’t panicked by it, and he rubbed his chin for a few moments as he thought about it.
He was considering his other children. Eward couldn’t claim anything, but… once they had become adults, Cyan and Ciel would also be given the chance to enter the treasure vault and pick a weapon.
“...The Phantom Rain Sword should go to Ciel. And I think that Gedon’s Shield would be a good fit for Cyan,” Gilead proposed.
“If that’s the case, then I’ll take the Holy Sword, the Devouring Sword Azphel, the Thunderbolt Pernoa, and the Dragon Spear Karbos. This way, I’m only borrowing four of the weapons.” Eugene readily accepted the deal.
Even Eugene agreed the Phantom Rain Sword matched well with Ciel. It would take a long time for her to get used to it, but as long as she could get a good handle on it, it would be a good fit for Ciel’s swordsmanship.
‘Though Gedon’s shield is a bit unexpected for Cyan.’
Whenever they sparred, Cyan didn’t use a shield. Of course, this didn’t mean that Cyan was unfamiliar with how to use a shield.
This was largely Eugene’s influence. The image of Eugene skillfully wielding a sword and shield as he tore a minotaur into pieces had been indelibly engraved within Cyan’s mind.
Eugene felt like it would be quite a viable fighting style if Cyan had Gedon’s shield on his left arm. Once he got good at parrying, Cyan’s defense would be impervious to just about any attack.
‘I’m not sure about anything else, but I need Azphel at the very least.’
The Moonlight Sword was the Moonlight Sword, but if he wanted to be able to summon Tempest properly, then he needed to save enormous amounts of mana. If he used Azphel along with the Ring Flame Formula, he would be less likely to suffer from mana depletion.
“...Those three weapons are extremely difficult to use, which is why they aren’t often seen outside the treasure vault,” Doynes advised Gilead.
“If it’s Eugene, then I’m sure that he’ll be able to handle Azphel well. He’s also good at wielding various different weapons, so he’ll be sure to wield the Thunderbolt and the Dragon Spear most skillfully.” Gilead confidently stated his support for Eugene.
“Hm…,” Doynes rubbed his chin for a few seconds as he pondered his concerns. “...If that’s what the Patriarch wills, then I too will give my approval for it. However, those are all valuable weapons, so he needs to take the appropriate care when handling them.”
“Of course I will,” Eugene said, nodding and smiling brightly. “Can I go and pick them up immediately?”
“...You mean right away?” Doynes asked doubtfully.
“The Coming-of-Age Ceremony is over. Is there any other reason why I should stay at the Black Lion Castle for any longer?” Eugene asked.
“...That might be the case, but….” Doynes turned to look at Gilead with a hesitant expression on his face. “...In order to open the door to the treasure vault, the Patriarch must be accompanying you. However there are still many things for the Patriarch to discuss before he can leave.”
“If that’s the case, then it can’t be helped,” Eugene easily acquiesced.
“Also, the test may be over, but the Coming-of-Age Ceremony isn’t done yet,” Doynes corrected him. “The Coming-of-Age Ceremony itself will be held in the Grand Hall tomorrow, so if you want to leave as soon as possible, you still need to wait for at least two days.”
“Is there anything else that I need to do to prepare for the ceremony?” Eugene checked.
“...Perhaps take a bath?” Doynes suggested.
“That’s something I do every day.” Eugene smiled warningly, proudly baring all of his teeth.
Doynes smiled once more, amused by Eugene’s cheekiness.
“Once you leave the castle, will you be staying at the main estate?” Doynes asked.
“Nope,” Eugene immediately replied.
At that moment, Kristina was still staring at the bread that Eugene had set down.
Eugene glanced at her before continuing, “Since the Saint has declared that she will be accompanying me, I would like to go on a short trip.”
Doynes repeated, “A trip? Where to?”
“To the Samar Forest.”
“Hah…,” Kristina gasped, and turned to Eugene with an alarmed expression. “I’ve also heard the rumors that Lady Sienna may have gone into seclusion there. Could it be… Are you really going looking for Lady Sienna, Sir Eugene?”
“Well, I also happen to be Lady Sienna’s disciple, so why not?” Eugene replied with a nod. “Hasn’t the God of Light sent you any revelations concerning Lady Sienna?”
“...I haven’t received any such revelations,” Kristina reluctantly admitted.
“Have you asked him about Lady Anise?”
“The former saints and the priests have all been hoping to receive a revelation about Lady Anise’s whereabouts, but they have never heard anything.”
“Was there any reply to the greeting that I sent him yesterday?”
“Your words really are outrageous,” Kristina scolded him, her cheeks twitching as she tried to keep up her smile.
“I was just curious.” Eugene laughed mischievously as he sipped his tea.