✦ Chapter 30 – I Will Teach You What Fear Is (4) ✦
They finally arrived at Ruiple.
A man stepped out of the carriage. With his white hair and impeccably controlled cold aura, he had an appearance that might remind one of a frost dragon or snow spirit at first glance.
Hoo―
He exhaled a long plume of sunweed smoke.
“Inspector?”
The one who spoke was none other than the knight. Valken, Hedera’s escort knight, asked Ezekiel, “How are you feeling?”
“My joints are aching.”
“Well… I won’t say much more.” Valken continued while polishing his sword, “How confident are you about this wager?”
Confidence, huh.
It had been a long time since his entire being was filled with it.
Always, already, now. That’s how his life had always been.
So.
“Even I can’t know such a thing.”
The question of ‘how much,’ he just could not answer.
~~••~~••~~
Ruiple.
A place where safety could never be guaranteed. Ruiple was known to the world as such a region, and it was true.
Merchants who had to pass through this area always traveled in groups. It was to increase their chances of survival, however slightly, when fiends and monsters appeared.
And today was no different.
“It feels especially ominous today. What if monsters show up?”
“Keep quiet. Your words might come true.”
“I regret it. I shouldn’t have passed through Ruiple…”
“There’s no choice, isn’t this the fastest way? I have to sell everything to feed my child. I can only pray that no monsters will appear today…”
But why would fiends and monsters care about human circumstances?
“M-Monsters!”
“Run!”
Starting with someone’s scream, shadowy figures with human forms rushed towards the merchants.
“Aaargh!”
“Help! Help me…!”
Everyone was desperately scrambling to survive. If only their opponent was a robber, they might have tried to negotiate, but the monsters and fiends were only interested in human lives.
Just as hell seemed to unfold in an instant—
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a massive greatsword cleaved through a fiend’s body. Or rather, it was closer to simply crushing it with sheer force.
“How dare… Who are you…”
The mid-level fiend muttered contemptuously, but—
Crash!
Its head was pulverized by a single downward strike. This feat was accomplished by just one woman. Under the sunlight pouring down like a spotlight, a woman stood with a greatsword resting on her shoulder.
“Huh?”
The tables turned in an instant, and the merchants blinked in confusion. To shatter a mid-level fiend with just one strike—this was an incredibly powerful individual.
“Deal with them.”
The woman muttered softly.
Her companions immediately pursued the fleeing monsters. In less than ten minutes, not a single living fiend remained in the vicinity.
As the merchants could only dart their eyes around—
One of the companions climbed atop a wagon.
“Everyone, attention!”
Who would dare disobey a call for attention from their savior? In an instant, all eyes turned to the wagon.
“Once again, the righteous Tirbi has protected the imperial citizens of Ruiple! We’ve settled here to guard you all, so you can cast aside your worries!”
“…………!”
The merchants’ eyes widened.
After all, anyone who knew the Ruiple region would naturally know the name Tirby.
“Come to think of it, that iconic greatsword!”
“Tirbi? The righteous one who’s been working on clearing fiends from the Ruiple region for years? I can’t believe she actually exists!”
“She must be an envoy sent by the Sun God!”
The faces that were once full of question marks soon turned to expressions of joy and the commotion gradually drew more people. Of course, the imperial court didn’t entirely neglect the Ruiple region, but what was really frightening the residents was the possibility of the exterminated fiends reappearing.
The moment the imperial figures left, the disaster would repeat itself. So, if there was someone who would stay and work hard to exterminate the fiends and the monsters, their support would be sky-high.
In addition, the gathered residents cheered.
“We’re safe again today thanks to Tirbi…!”
“Tirbi! Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“How can someone so beautiful possess such incredible strength?”
Tirbi’s appearance, with the greatsword resting on her shoulder, was as sublime as if she had descended from the heavens. Perhaps because of her charm, even when she just stood there and smiled, the cheers grew even louder.
Tirbi parted her lips, “There will be a festival in Ruiple starting today. If you’d like, merchants, please stay and enjoy it for a while.”
“A festival? Is such a thing possible in Ruiple?”
“Of course. Because I, Tirbi, am here.”
“My goodness!”
The merchants’ eyes widened. As if to confirm it wasn’t a lie, Tirbi’s companions chimed in.
“Since it’s been mentioned, let’s move to the location right away. Please leave this area if possible! It’s dangerous with so many fiends and monster corpses! We kindly ask again!”
An envoy sent by the Sun God, truly an envoy from the Sun God.
People praised in unison as they retreated.
.
.
.
.
”Haha… Hahahaha!”
Tirbi burst into laughter after the residents led the merchants away. Her expression was utterly vile.
Moreover, the whites of her eyes had a purple tinge. It was a sign of immense mana, typically associated with high-level fiends.
“Human emotions are so simple and easy to manipulate.”
With just a few acts, she had won over the hearts of Ruiple’s people.
Anyone who set foot in Ruiple would worship Tirbi like a god. They would also cling to her desperately. That was the purpose of this charade.
She swept her greatsword over the monster corpses.
Whoosh—
And the monsters and fiends transformed into dark mana and were sucked into the greatsword. Tirbi then caressed the sword.
“Delicious, isn’t it? Hmm? How’s this fear?”
Growl—
The greatsword made a beastly sound.
A demonic sword that feeds on fear, a fiend that feeds on fear — that was Tirbi. She consistently gathered fear by absorbing it after collecting it through artificially summoned fiend and monsters.
One of her fiend companions approached cautiously, “Lady Tirbi, when should we create the next batch of monsters?”
“At least a week later. The key is to give them time to get somewhat accustomed to safety. That’s how we can extract more fear.”
“As expected of you, Lady Tirbi.”
“Good… In just a few more years, things will get really interesting.”
Tirbi was essentially operating the entire Ruiple region as a fear factory. At this rate, she might be able to target even the monstrous First Princess in a few years.
Just then, another of her fiend companion came running breathlessly.
“Lady Tirbi!”
“Hmm?”
“The Empire has dispatched people to Ruiple!”
She quietly examined the paper handed to her; the information written was extremely simple.
“Three from the magic tower, three imperial knights… Is that all?”
Tirbi’s face showed no sign of concern. Instead, a smile of contempt appeared.
“Perfect. I can feed my greatsword a special meal.”
Growl—
The greatsword resonated as if in anticipation. Meanwhile, the fiend who reported seemed somewhat worried.
“I’m concerned that there’s no information about the Inspector. What if someone extraordinary comes? Like Seolgwi…”
“Nonsense.”
She quickly cut off her companion’s words.
“You fool. Seolgwi doesn’t actually exist.”
Seolgwi and the Sleet he supposedly led.
Of course, those were just names the demons whimsically attributed.
A human by birth, yet undefeated against any fiend under any circumstance. Tirbi had only heard of him through old tales, stories passed down as legends.
But there’s a reason legends remain legends.
…Yes, legends never truly exist.
Something as overwhelmingly powerful as Seolgwi couldn’t possibly be real.
“He is just a fictional character created to lessen the shame when the demon realm failed to conquer the human world. Understand?”
“I see. Well… I suppose you’re right.”
“There’s only one thing you need to do now.”
Tirbi tenderly stroked her greatsword, “Watch closely with your own eyes just how ridiculous they look when they’re completely gripped by fear.”
The woman’s smile could not have been more vile.
~~••~~••~~
Around the time Ezekiel would likely be arriving in Ruiple.
Hedera, the Second Princess of the Empire and possessor of the Dragon Blood.
“………..”
She was still at the departure point.
Ezekiel’s reaction to her Dragon Speech still held her in place.
‘Did my Dragon Speech… work?’
Hedera recalled a distant memory from the past.
— Master! Don’t go!
— Play with me more!
In her childish years, she had tried to keep Ezekiel with her using Dragon Speech for even trivial matters.
— I’ll see you tomorrow.
However, the results were always a failure.
The reason, of course, was that Ezekiel could perfectly defend against Dragon Speech, to the point where one could say he was immune.
That’s how remarkable Ezekiel was.
Of course, Hedera’s Dragon Speech might have grown stronger since then. She had never neglected her training.
However, there was one possibility that couldn’t be ignored.
‘Could there be a serious health issue?’
— Master didn’t smoke sunweed in the past, did he?
Suddenly, Solana’s words flashed through her mind.
Chewing on a whole sunweed stalk was not just a little strange. It meant that even though he might look normal on the outside, there was something wrong on the inside.
If that hypothesis was correct, the questions only deepened the mystery.
If he was not healthy, why did he take on the role of Inspector?
“…Happiness?”
Could it be that Ezekiel truly prioritized Hedera’s happiness over his own health? Just imagining it gave her a strange feeling, and her questions kept piling up.
But right at that moment.
“Hmm hmm~”
Someone hummed a tune and passed Hedera. But it was a very familiar face.
Recognizing Hedera, the other person greeted her first.
“Oh my, Second Princess? What brings you here?”
“Solana.”
The other person was the third princess of the empire, Solana.
“I don’t understand why you’re wandering around here.”
“Ah, I’m planning to go to Ruiple now.”
“Ruiple?”
“Yes. I heard that the erosion is getting serious there, so isn’t it my duty to investigate such a place? I need to be able to take the lead in spreading the Sun God’s grace.”
“…………”
Hedera looked at Solana as if dumbfounded.
She was carrying a lunch box and dressed as if she were going on an outing. Her intentions were clear; then she suddenly remembered the worries she had been having until just now.
“Solana.”
Hedera called out the third princess’s name.
“Yes? I’m listening?”
“Tell me everything you know about the Inspector’s health condition.”
“…………..”
But Solana was silent for a moment.
“Hmmm…” Then she smiled kindly as usual, “Let’s talk about that later, shall we?”
Just as Solana was about to board the carriage.
Right at the moment she opened the door.
“Stop.”
Hedera’s Dragon Speech burst forth.
Solana was fine, but the horses that were supposed to pull the carriage were all frozen in place. It was indeed a formidable power.
Hedera added a word in a calm tone.
“Well, you’ll only be able to leave if you tell me now.”
“…………..”
Solana slowly.
Very slowly.
Very, very slowly turned her head towards Hedera.
“…………”
The sun-like eyes.
They had turned completely white.