Chapter 89
Amid a crowd bidding their farewells, Caron finally made his way beyond the city limits. It seemed as if he was going to be alone at first, but that wasn't the case.
"...What are you two doing here?" Caron asked, noticing two figures beside him.
One of them was Utula, the giant. He proclaimed, "My training is far from over! Caron Leston, you are a great warrior, and I shall learn a warrior's pride at your side!"
The other figure was Adina, the beastfolk woman. She said, "I just happened to come out with him. I'll be heading east from here."
Both of them were the ones Caron had saved from Marquis Leandro.
Adina looked at Caron steadily before suddenly bowing low.
"Hey, hey, what's with this?" Caron exclaimed, caught off guard by the gesture.
"It's our tradition to bow down to a benefactor," Adina explained casually.
"...Now that I think about it, I heard that Marquis Leandro's corpse was damaged..." Caron mentioned.
"Of course, that was me. The bastard is trash. He doesn't deserve to rest in peace," Adina replied with satisfaction.
"I see you're... sticking to tradition," Caron remarked.
"Honoring beastfolk traditions is part of who we are, Caron Leston," Adina replied.
Adina was one of the key reasons the operation had wrapped up so swiftly, and Revelio had even suggested she stay for the hefty reward they'd arranged. And yet here she was, at the edge of the city, leaving it behind.
"Thank you, Caron Leston. Without you... I would've led a life unworthy of even ending on my own terms," Adina said, straightening up with a soft smile. She then pulled out a small hornpipe and handed it to him.
"It took me some effort to find this. Those fools stashed this sacred hornpipe in a warehouse. This represents our pact, Caron. Someday, if you come to the great eastern forest and blow it, my people will find you to repay the grace you have shown," Adina continued.
"You said this was a sacred hornpipe. Is it alright to give something like that to me?" Caron asked.
Adina nodded with a bright smile and said, "For a benefactor, I'd loan anything. You helped me, so I'll help you. Since we'll see each other again... let's keep the farewell short. I'm off now."
"Take care," Caron replied.
Another connection had been forged. The priest had no doubt treated her wounds well, seeing as in a flash, she was sprinting off into the distance. Caron could swear he glimpsed tiger-like stripes in her fur as she ran. He watched until she was out of sight, then turned to Utula.
"So, you're following along with me?" Caron asked.
Utula pounded his chest twice and replied, "Unlike Adina, I have nothing to offer you! So, I shall aid you in your mission. Following you will make me grow stronger. I am certain of it! Great battles await us, Caron Leston."
"...But I might not want you to," Caron said.
"A warrior is stronger with allies. Together, we can conquer more battles," Utula insisted.
It felt as if Caron had just picked up an unexpected tag-along. Caron wondered if all giants were this insistent. He exhaled and gave Utula a skeptical look, then asked, "Are all your kind so... I mean, are they all so, well, upright?"
Utula shook his head with an air of certainty and replied, "Of course not! I am just especially warrior-like."
"...Right. If everyone in your tribe were like you, things wouldn't run properly," Caron muttered.
"Hmm? I do not quite understand what you mean," Utula said.
"Never mind," Caron said. He thought that it was clear Utula was an odd one, even in the giant tribe. Caron wondered if bringing him along would really help the mission; after all, Utula's massive presence could draw too much attention.
So in a subtle voice, he said to Utula, "By the way, if you're planning to head south with me, you'll need a mercenary ID. I'm only getting in by hiding my real status." Caron pulled out a bronze-colored medallion from his cloak.
There's no way a giant has a mercenary ID— Caron's thought didn't last long.
"Oh! I have already been issued one!" Utula exclaimed, fishing out his own medallion. "For any giant stepping into the world, a mercenary badge is essential!"
To Caron's disbelief, Utula held up a silver badge, a second-class mercenary badge. Meanwhile, Caron's own bronze badge marked him as a third-class mercenary.
Utula looked between the two badges, scratching his head. He said, "Hmm, Caron, it seems yours is a different color. Is it given only to the most distinguished warriors?"
"Where did you even get that issued?" Caron questioned.
"Occasionally, the mercenary guild comes to our village to issue them," Utula replied proudly.
"Wow, those guild guys sure know how to work the system," Caron muttered under his breath.
"Would this be enough to qualify?" Utula asked.
Caron had failed to use status as an excuse to shake him off. So he took a moment to reconsider Utula joining him.
In terms of skill, there was no question. The sheer power that came from that massive body was no joke.
Then, he thought about the downsides...
"...There are none," Caron eventually concluded.
It seemed Utula would listen to him well and wasn't dim-witted, just naturally... upfront. So Caron decided, Might as well take him.
Caron wouldn't lose anything from bringing Utula along. After all, it wasn't as if he had to share the details of the mission itself. He slowly nodded, though he tried to appear reluctant to maintain a sense of authority.
"Alright. You can come with me for now—" Caron began. But before he could finish, Utula lunged forward, wrapping Caron in a bear hug and lifting him clean off the ground.
"Thank you! You are my first companion! Caron Leston, I am honored to stand beside a warrior as great as you! When I return home one day, I will be able to tell stories of you with pride!" Utula exclaimed.
"Ugh... P-Put... me... down," Caron gasped.
"What was that? I can't hear you!" Utula asked.
"L-Let... me... go..." Caron barely managed.
He felt his vision going blurry, but it was done. Utula of the giant tribe had officially joined as a part of Caron's group.
***
In his office at Azureocean Castle, Halo was reading through a report brought to him by Fayle.
"...It states that Marquis Leandro ordered an attack on the Imperial Prince, and in response, Caron executed him on the spot. A vortex erupted at the scene, and even knights with mana cores in overdrive couldn't hold Caron back..." Halo read the report.
The report, personally sent by Revelio, was packed with shocking accounts. The summary execution of a marquis in charge of a border city was bound to create intense political fallout, but Halo didn't seem particularly concerned.
"The man oppressed the empire's people and stuffed his own pockets with the wealth of those fleeing for their lives. He deserved to die," Halo said.
"Countless people witnessed Prince Revelio under attack," Fayle added.
"And the one truly responsible for the attack?" Halo asked.
"...Regrettably, they were unable to capture the culprit," Fayle answered.
"Suspicious, once again," Halo said.
With the madman of the Imperial Palace and the madman of House Leston, it would have been surprising if things had ended quietly. Halo tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, his interest piqued not by the death of vermin like Marquis Leandro, but by the fact that Caron had sliced through the knights while summoning whirlpools.
The creation of whirlpools with the Oceanwolf Sword Arts was only achievable through Form 6: Maelstrom.
I've never seen him train in Form 6, Halo thought.
Halo was aware that Caron's Ocean Dominance Arts had reached 6-Star, but swordsmanship was a different matter. Maelstrom was a difficult technique to master. It demanded precise control over mana, and even the slightest instability often led to failure. Many knights struggled to master even a single vortex with Form 6, and yet the report stated that Caron had summoned six.
"...Has he already mastered Form 6?" Halo mused.
With the mana of a 6-Star knight, summoning six vortexes was the upper limit. Most who first trained in Maelstrom couldn't even manage one vortex. But Halo's grandson appeared to have achieved six, as if mocking others' efforts.
"This is utterly beyond reason," Halo muttered.
At Halo's comment, Fayle bowed his head and apologized. "...To think my son would cause such trouble yet again. I offer my apologies in his place, Duke Leston."
"There's no need for you to apologize, nor do I intend to hold Caron responsible for this. My only issue is with his judgment involving the Zion Kingdom. It was too dangerous a gamble," Halo said.
Though it could look as though the Ducal Family of Leston had sought foreign intervention, Halo wasn't worried. No one would find proof that they'd mobilized the Zion Kingdom. In the end, Caron had once again produced a good outcome.
"The process does matter, but once the sword is drawn, the outcome takes precedence," Halo explained as he rose slowly from his seat, looking over at Fayle. He then asked, "So, have you spoken with Caron?"
Fayle's expression grew slightly troubled and he answered, "...I attempted to, but he had already left Reben by the time I reached out."
"Clearly, he didn't want to hear his father's nagging," Halo commented.
"It would seem that way," Fayle replied.
"Haha." Halo let a rare smile across his face.
Caron didn't listen to his father, and caused trouble on a whim. He truly had the spirit of a troublemaker.
"That boy doesn't seem to pass through any place without leaving a mark," Halo said.
This incident would send waves through the empire once again. While the public had started forgetting the chaos Caron had stirred in the Imperial Palace four years ago, now his name would be brought up once again.
"Cleaning up after one's child is always a parent's burden, Fayle. You'll have to handle the fallout for now," Halo said.
"Yes, Duke Leston," Fayle replied.
"And prepare a plan to bring Reben more securely under our influence," Halo instructed.
"Understood; I will keep that in mind," Fayle answered.
"Good. You may go now," Halo said.
With a respectful bow, Fayle turned and exited the office in silence. When the door creaked shut, Halo slowly walked over to the sofa and took a seat. After sipping a glass of water, he let out a light sigh. This latest incident would likely lead to a swift purge of the empire's underground slave trade.
Halo poured a glass of liquor, setting it across from him as if for an absent guest. Filling his own glass, he murmured, "Be satisfied with this, Cain. My grandson has done enough."
He took a sip, reflecting on the state of the southern kingdoms where Caron was now headed. Those war-torn plains were filled with the fallen and the desperate, overrun by the soulless; upon them, screams and chaos were unending. Through this mission, Caron would witness the full truth of war. He would be forced to absorb it all, every dreadful sight and sound. Those chosen by Guillotine were destined for the battlefield, and this fate was something Caron alone would have to carry.
Halo drank as his mind drifted to the powerful figure Caron would inevitably meet in the south: Kerra Acht. A devoted subordinate of Cain, Kerra would be the mission's ultimate encounter.
It'll be a good experience for you, Caron, Halo mused.
The last time he'd seen Kerra had been ten years earlier, near the great southern forests, where Kerra had already reached the level of an 8-Star knight. A master on his level wouldn't have succumbed to age or illness. Though Kerra was no longer in the Leston House's circle, Halo doubted he'd strayed down any dark path, because he knew that Kerra wasn't foolish enough to do so.
Kerra... Ironically, Caron reminds me of Cain in certain ways, Halo thought. The indescribable aura that Caron possessed had an uncanny resemblance to Cain's. Halo wondered what Kerra would think upon seeing that similarity.
"...This will be interesting," Halo muttered.
For now, all he could do was wait quietly from here, just as he always had—patiently and in silence.