Kays Translations

Chapter 33: Eastern Rites

In front of Lucius stood a large beast.

The man who had aimed the bow moments ago was no longer there.

It was a bipedal beast with sheep-like horns, its entire body covered in fur.

Its hands had sharp, beast-like claws, and its face resembled that of a beast, with only its eyes having the same color as the man from before.

Its stature easily surpassed that of an adult.

The same voice as the man before resonated from the mouth of the beast.

"You dared to challenge a knight head-on. If you lick the ground in apology, I might spare your dominant arm."

-So, this is the Eastern Rites...

It was a different form of Rites compared to the ones in the northern region that focused on mounted combat.

As a self-proclaimed knight, he would have most likely been conferred with a knightly title.

Therefore, he should be expected to behave as a noble on par with others.

And among the panicked townspeople, the voices of men could be heard.

"That's right! Go for it, Blucen!"

"Not just one arm, take both arms and both legs!"

"Kill him! Show the strength of the Honogura Territory Knights, No. 2!"

All the men wore clothing similar to the man with the sheep horns and had smiles reminiscent of jeering in a tavern's gambling den.

It seemed that the members of the knight order had mixed in with the commoners from the beginning.

They probably had no intention of adhering to the one-on-one rules of the duel.

A woman's voice was heard from behind Lucius.

It was the female knight who had been dueling.

"Blucen, you've gone too far. He's a noble from another province."

Blucen, the man with the sheep horns, grumbled in frustration.

"I'm just teaching this brat who doesn't know real war a lesson."

Lucius had heard from the father and daughter earlier that many of the knights in this region had returned from conflicts.

But dueling and war were different things, with different objectives.

Duels were meant for the sake of restoring honor.

That's why honorable conduct was expected.

"I refuse. Your behavior is not befitting a noble."

Lucius replied firmly and assumed a stance with his sword.

"Barbarian!"

Blucen closed in on Lucius in an instant.

-He's fast!

With the agility of a beast, he closed the distance between them.

With his sharp claws, he swiped at Lucius.

Lucius narrowly dodged the claw attack, and the beast's claws gouged the ground.

Agility and strength.

Neither of them was human.

The beast retracted the deeply embedded claws and swung them at Lucius again.

However, Lucius parried the claws with his sword and spun his body.

In mid-air, he landed on the furry shoulder, putting his full weight on it.

With a swing of his arm and the added weight, Blucen, the man with the sheep horns, fell backward.

The match was decided in an instant.

With the sword pointed at the fallen man's neck, Lucius spoke.

"If you admit your wrongdoing in drawing the bow and promise to mend your ways, I won't do anything further."

Blucen seemed bewildered, unable to understand what had just happened, his mouth gaping open.

After a moment, it seemed he grasped the situation.

"What the hell are you!?!"

"I introduced myself earlier. I am Lucius Norris Dragon, son of a baron from the northern region. Although you didn't introduce yourself."

Lucius himself held the title of a baron.

However, he didn't bring it up.

He didn't want to flaunt his title and force his way through.

It was a matter of principle, irrelevant to titles.

Even if the man with the sheep horns had a higher title than a baron, Lucius would have done the same thing.

"You brat, don't you dare underestimate me!"

The man forcefully deflected Lucius' sword with his hand.

Though blood gushed from his palm where he grabbed the blade, the man with the sheep horns distanced himself.

Then, he pulled out a bow and arrow from seemingly nowhere again and drew the bowstring with all his strength.

There was a faint flow of magic in his movements.

-Is it a formula for generating weapons?

The weapon, much larger than the bow Lucius had used when he was human, surpassed a great bow without question.

Most likely, the next arrow would exceed the speed at which it could be cut with a sword.

-Can I dodge it?

Lucius briefly glanced behind him and saw people still running in panic.

If he dodged the arrow, it might hit one of the townspeople.

"If you release the arrow, it will hit the townspeople."

"I don't care!"

Lucius slowly raised his left hand.

Flames ignited in the palm of his hand.

"This is the last chance. Put away your weapons immediately. I'll try to minimize the force, but this fire is not something you should be aiming at people."

"Shut up! Die!"

Blucen, the man with the sheep horns, screamed as he forcefully drew the bowstring, veins bulging out visibly even through his fur, and released an arrow with all his might.

In an instant, Lucius made up his mind.

-Dragon's Blaze!!

A powerful flame shot straight toward Blucen from Lucius' left hand.

A column of fire reminiscent of a dragon's breath crawled along the ground.

The crimson flames instantly turned the arrow into ashes, far surpassing its cutting speed, and assaulted Blucen, the man with the sheep horns.

In an instant, the man was engulfed in flames.

Flames rose from all over his body, burning his flesh and bones to ashes in a moment.

Even Lucius, who activated the spell, was momentarily overwhelmed by the intense heat, his face contorted in pain.

"Gyaaaaahhhh!!!"

The man's screams and the nauseating smell of burning flesh filled the air.

The Dragon's Blaze was not just a simple fire-breathing spell.

The flames of the Dragon's Blaze didn't gradually transfer heat from the surface but instantly permeated the target with fiery heat.

As a result, even a high-speed arrow would be reduced to ashes in an instant, and if it hit a person, their skin and bones would be burned simultaneously.

Silence enveloped the surroundings.

When Lucius stopped supplying magic to the spell, the flames on the man with the sheep horns quickly subsided.

Only the heat haze gently swayed around.

What remained was something charred black.

As that black object came into view, an uncomfortable lump swelled up in Lucius' chest.

-It's a human...

As soon as he realized it, the feeling of nausea broke free, and he vomited onto the ground.

"Ugh..."

Breaking the silence, the townspeople screamed even louder and ran around in confusion.

Even the knights surrounding the area hurriedly followed suit, as if they wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

Once people disappeared from the surroundings, the tiger woman shrank back, and the man with gray hair appeared.

"I thank you. It seems there are honorable nobles in the northern region."

In the first place, Lucius had saved the man who had been targeted by an arrow from behind.

Considering the swordsmanship he had witnessed earlier, he didn't think the man had been defeated so easily.

"Oh, well... I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Lucius Norris Dragon."

"Yu. You must be hungry. Let me treat you as thanks. Follow me."

Glancing at the remnants of Lucius' vomit for a moment, Yu started walking without waiting for a reply.

"Oh, no..."

Before Lucius could decline, Yu began walking ahead, and Lucius reluctantly followed him.

They entered a restaurant on the outskirts of the town.

On the table were smoked river fish, pickled vegetables, soup, and bread, which were common dishes among commoners.

There was also something resembling sausages, but Lucius had never seen that dish before.

"I saw the Eastern Rites for the first time. I was surprised. Suddenly, people transform into beasts."

"In the Eastern Rites, there are many who can assimilate. But, Lucius, why did you come to the East?"

"I came here to contract with a Rite."

"A Rite? You've already used a formula, right? I've never seen such powerful fire magic before."

"I intend to bestow a Rite that can counter the White Eye Magic Core."

Yu's expression became stern.

"...Are you planning to perform a Chorus?"

A Chorus referred to those who possessed multiple magic cores, a term widely recognized because of the Seirens who emitted their voices in that manner.

"Yes, that's the plan."

Yu's anger surged.

"Damn you, people of the Savage North! What do you think life is?!"

He clenched his fist in anger, as if his nails would dig into his palm.

"...Branched North, huh? What do you think of it?"

Lucius looked at Yu with deep orange eyes, his anger momentarily swallowed.

"Yu-san?"

"It must have been tough, Lucius. You don't have to return to the North anymore; I can introduce you to some contacts. You can live in the East," said Yu, his eyes serious.

"No, I want to succeed my father's legacy and become a respectable baron..." Lucius replied.

"Even with multiple magic cores implanted, you still want to maintain your pride as a noble? You may be a talented mage, but that's why I can't forgive your parents. Even as a baron, there are things you shouldn't do as a person," Yu said, his anger evident.

"Yes..." Lucius reluctantly agreed.

"The North has been strange lately. I hear that people are attempting forbidden Chorus, which is supposed to be forbidden. Moreover, it seems that even demonic dragons have appeared in the North recently, and they have been considered as children of the Quadrille," Yu continued.

"Yes, about that..." Lucius was about to explain, but Yu trembled with anger again.

"It's inhumane for people to implant multiple magic cores in children. And to make the miraculously surviving children confront demonic dragons is an atrocious act. If I had a parent like that in front of me, I would tear out their intestines!" Yu's eyes were filled with intense fury.

"...Yes," Lucius swallowed his words. He didn't think his father, Robert, would be targeted by someone he had never met.

"Nobles were once warriors who protected the people. They fought for the sake of the people. But now, they are consumed by politics and have become people who use their children as tools for power struggles. Especially in the North, it's said to be terrible," Yu said.

"Indeed, there might be families like that," Lucius replied, although he didn't know the reality of the Gaeten Viscount family.

The uncomfortable atmosphere around Lucius seemed to be noticed by Yu, and his expression calmed down.

"No, I don't blame you, Lucius. It's all because of the conflicts," Yu said.

"Conflicts?" Lucius asked.

"For the past two years, there has been a deadlock, but the East has been invaded by neighboring countries, and conflicts occur periodically. Mages from other states are sent to the front lines in the East, but geographically, the North has the highest number of mages," Yu explained.

It was probably about the conflict two years ago when Olivia lost her brother. If there was a slight difference, it would be that geography alone wasn't the problem. The southern and western states, which didn't actively send troops, were suffering the consequences as a result of their actions.

"There are various reasons, I suppose," Lucius remarked.

"That's right. As people become chaotic, so do the monsters. With the incident involving the evil dragon, it seems that this world is becoming strange," Yu said, quoting the saying of the Noah's Baptism Church, which Lucius vaguely knew.

Realizing that the conversation could worsen, Lucius forcibly changed the topic.

"Yu, can I ask you something?" Lucius inquired.

"What is it?" Yu replied.

"Are you a noble in this area?" Lucius asked.

"I'm not a noble. I used to be granted the title of knight, but I renounced it. I live in the neighboring territory," Yu answered.

"A renounced title? Is it for reconnaissance?" Lucius asked.

"Yeah, Lord O'Malley, the lord of this Honyura territory, which I originally resided in, wasn't a well-liked person, but he has become increasingly unreasonable recently," Yu explained.

Lucius remembered the father and son he met during the day. It was an unbelievable story that they were imposing oppression to build a mausoleum.

"Is it true that heavy taxes are imposed to build a mausoleum?" Lucius asked.

"Yes, that's right. Even though the souls of mages are supposed to return to the forests and mountains with the Rite, I can't understand what they're thinking. Moreover, there are persistent suspicious rumors," Yu confirmed.

"Rumors?" Lucius asked.

"Yeah, in the O'Malley territory, there are a few people who claim to have seen a new weapon. I came to confirm the facts, but I couldn't get any solid evidence. Instead, I received challenges for duels," Yu said.

In large cities, information tends to gather. In this world without the internet, coming to the city is still the mainstream method to obtain fresh information.

And it led to a duel.

"What is the reason for the duel?" Lucius asked.

"...I don't really know, but it seems that Lord O'Malley finds me troublesome," Yu replied.

As Lucius pondered about the governance of this territory, Yu continued.

"More importantly, where do you plan to obtain the Rite? Do you have any contacts?" Yu asked.

"I'm planning to head to the foothills of Mount Kuron after this. I just stopped by this city for a relay," Lucius explained.

Yu smiled faintly. "I see."

Huh? What's wrong?

As the conversation with Yu continued, they enjoyed their meal. Lucius noticed that Yu's gaze caught the sausages on his plate.

"Lucius, want to try it? It's delicious when eaten with salt," Yu offered.

"Yes, thank you," Lucius replied and took a bite. A unique sourness and strong flavor spread in his mouth, causing him to cough unintentionally.

Yu also laughed as he ate his portion.

"Fermented meat has a distinct taste, but it's my favorite," Yu said.

"It's a bit strong," Lucius replied, drinking some water.

"When you become an adult, you'll understand the taste," Yu said.

He couldn't imagine the day when he would find that taste delicious.

"...Do you think so?" Lucius asked.

"Of course. By the way..." Their conversation mostly ended up being one-sided, but Lucius didn't mind. Yu seemed to be a sincere person at heart. Even though they didn't exchange words much, Lucius didn't dislike the conversation with Yu. On the contrary, he found the stories about the nobles and the cultural differences in the East exhilarating.

It's been a while since I had a meal with someone.

That day, they ended up talking about the East until late at night.

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