Volume 5: Dragon Knight

Chapter 67: Young Lucius

In the forest at midday.

It’s summer. The chorus of insects drowns out every sound in the forest.

Several people are hiding in the bushes.

“Lucius, are you sure about this?” 

Lucius’ father, Robert, who is right next to him, asks with a serious expression. Sweat is beading on his forehead.

“No problem, Dad.”

Lucius replies lightly and stands up straight. His upper body emerges from the bushes.

Lucius is 14 years old.

It’s been about six months since the skirmish with the Empire in the east.

Though it’s only been half a year, he’s in his growth period.

He’s grown quite a bit taller, with two more years until adulthood.

There are bushes scattered around, but most of the forest is dimly lit with no undergrowth.

Blue leaves flutter down sparsely onto the forest floor covered with fallen leaves.

—They’re coming.

Suddenly, with a sharp screeching sound, a four-legged bird falls from the trees.

It’s large enough to carry a person.

A bird made of giant bronze claws swings down towards Lucius’ head.

“Too easy.”

Lucius charges magic into his left hand.

Then, a shield appears out of thin air.

It’s a weapon made of magic.

One of the spells Lucius possesses.

He calmly holds up the shield.

The bronze claws and the shield clash, creating a loud metallic sound as metal meets metal.

Literally, the monster grabs onto the shield made to ward off magic, and both forces clash.

“Lucius!!”

Robert couldn’t bear it and leaped out of the bushes. There’s a look of urgency on his face.

And understandably so. The giant bird Lucius is facing is a Grade 3 monster, Aethos.

Normally, it’s a class that requires multiple people to deal with, even for seasoned veterans.

When the shield tilts slightly, Lucius swiftly moves his empty right arm around his waist and draws his treasure sword.

As soon as he unsheathes the blade, it’s already glowing with magic light.

He pulls out the blade, and immediately thrusts it towards the bird’s neck.

“This is not where you belong. Return to the depths of the forest.”

The bird raises a cry of resistance and begins to flap its wings vigorously.

It seems like it’s trying to soar into the sky with Lucius still on it.

“It’s useless.”

As Lucius leaks out a bit of his magic, a black sphere appears beneath the bird.

Darkness.

A mass of gravity begins to suck in the surrounding air all at once.

At the same time, the giant bird’s body is also being drawn in. Instead of rising, it’s being pulled towards the ground where the black sphere is.

“This is your last chance. Return to the depths of the forest.”

Words filled with intimidation and killing intent.

He can’t afford to hold back forever. His hometown is nearby.

When the bird stops its intimidation and releases its claws from the shield, the hostility it had shown moments ago disappears, replaced instead by fear.

—That’s a relief.

As soon as he disperses the darkness, the air, which had been compressed like a balloon, scatters.

In the stifling heat, a pleasant breeze blows through.

Riding the gust of wind, the giant bird soars into the sky. It’s heading back to the depths of Silverwood, its rightful habitat.

It’s going back to where it belongs.

“That was amazing…”

“As expected, you’re still impressive.”

“No, it’s actually quite astonishing.”

Coming out of the bushes one by one are the residents of Silverheart Village.

Robert, who had already jumped out first, approaches scratching his head.

“If you can drive away a Grade 3 monster Aethos without even manifesting your spell, and with such dedication, then Silverheart Territory is secure.”

Robert laughs heartily, showing all his teeth.

“By the time you’re an adult, you’ll need to learn all of Dad’s work.”

Dealing with monsters is something he volunteers for, actively taking part in it. Learning the job is one aspect of it, but the main reason is to negotiate something with his Father, Robert.

Lucius was thinking about the future of Silverheart Territory.

― Let’s start this year.

Is there any way to develop the village where he was born and raised? That is Lucius’s current concern.

“Hey, Lucius.”

It was Paul, his childhood friend and one of the twin brothers who called out to him. The boy who once cried alone in a carriage has grown up both vertically and horizontally. To be honest, he’s a bit on the chubby side.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Can I let them know we’re okay now?”

The group had gone on a business trip to deal with a powerful monster that had appeared in a shallow part of the forest.

“Yeah, sure, Paul. Aethos was seen near the village, so they couldn’t let the cows out of the barn, and everyone must have been in trouble.”

“Got it.”

Paul nodded, and particles of light flew from his left hand. The released light gathered around his shoulder. A sheep covered in thick wool all over its body appeared.

“Cloud Sheep. Could you let Aloy-san in the village know that the bird monster has returned to the depths of the forest?”

When Paul conveyed the message, the floating sheep began to emit static electricity. Everyone’s gaze focused on the sheep.

After a few seconds of silence, the wool of the sheep began to emit electricity again.

“Robert-san, Aloy-san has sent a reply. He says he’ll inform the cowherds.”

Robert’s face showed relief.

“I see. We’ll make it in time for the afternoon grazing. Keel, can you help Aloy?”

“Yes, sir.”

The one who responded was Keel, the older twin brother. He has the same face as his brother, with the same freckles, but he’s noticeably thinner.

Particles flew out of Keel’s left hand just like his brother’s, and a black male deer with wings appeared. It was Keel’s spell, Perython.

With practiced ease, Keel grabbed the horns of the deer and leaped onto its back.

“Lord, Lucius. Please take care of my brother. He might cause trouble again if you take your eyes off him.”

“Got it.”

As Lucius replied, Robert nodded with a wry smile.

“Keel! I won’t do anything bad, I promise!”

“Paul, that’s not the problem. You have to think about what might happen and act. Didn’t you just ruin Madeline’s bread the other day?”

“B-but…”

Unable to argue, Paul began to fidget, and above his head, the Cloud Sheep of his spell began to sleep, its belly turned toward the sky.

“I’ll be off then.”

Without waiting for his brother’s reply, Keel rubbed the head of the Perython. Immediately, his figure disappeared as if falling into the shadow at his feet.

A spellcaster with the teleportation spell, Perython, can run through the village in an instant.

“Well, shall we go home too?”

As they watched Keel disappear, Robert, Lucius’ father, started walking. Lucius and the villagers followed suit.

Within an hour, the group arrived at the village. When they reached the village, the villagers dispersed one by one, leaving only Robert and Lucius in the center of the village.

Robert knocked on the gate of the mansion in the center of the village.

“Yes?”

As soon as he knocked, an answer came back promptly. It was Matilda, the maid.

“Welcome back, Robert-sama, Lucius-dono. You’re back early.”

Matilda greeted them with a slight bow and ushered in the master of the mansion and his son.

“Dealing with the monsters seems to have ended quite easily this time too, thanks to Lucius.”

“I’ve just returned. Matilda-san.”

The season is summer.

Without coats, the two of them enter the lord’s mansion in slightly dirty shirts.

Shortly after, a small figure rushes through the entrance hall.

Following closely behind is Emily’s voice.

“Iris, wait!”

In front of Emily’s gaze is a girl who is about to turn three.

She has the same red hair as Lucius and the same red eyes as her father.

“Kyahaha, fun!”

It’s Lucius’ younger sister, Iris.

“Iris, Daddy’s back!”

Robert raises his voice in a nauseatingly sweet tone and spreads his arms wide.

“Daddy!”

Iris’ eyes sparkle as she sees her father.

Running straight towards him, just as he expected.

“Ah! Onii-chan!”

Just before Iris jumps into Robert’s arms, she suddenly changes direction and leaps towards Lucius. There’s a pitiful sight of the father, overwhelmed with affection that has nowhere to go, beside Lucius.

――Dad, it’s okay.

Lucius still held his little sister in his arms.

Iris, being carried by Lucius, laughed innocently.

“Onii-chan! Onii-chan!”

Just after Lucius left for the eastern region, his sister Iris was born and safely passed the magic baptism ceremony.

During the six months since returning to the north, Iris had become completely attached to Lucius, her adorable brother.

“[How are you feeling?]”

Lucius spoke to his sister in Japanese.

However, Iris could only look at him strangely.

――Could it be that she’s not a reincarnated person after all?

Lucius regularly spoke to her in Japanese.

There was a possibility that a reincarnated person’s native language might not be Japanese, but judging from her reaction, she seemed just like an ordinary infant.

He considered the possibility that his sister, born in the same house, might also be a reincarnated person, but there was no sign of that at all.

“Is it that spell again?”

Lucius’s mother Emily stood beside him.

“It’s nothing, Mom. I’m back.”

After the greeting, he turned his gaze back to his sister.

“Iris, make sure to perform the [Increase Magic Core] properly. Nobles are swords and shields for the people.”

If she understood his words, he wanted to tell his sister how to increase the magic core. However, it was impossible to subject an infant who had not yet developed awareness to painful training. Moreover, since Lucius was not at home shortly after Iris was born, there was nothing he could do.

He just hoped that Iris could raise the level of her magic core.

――Huh, what’s this?

Looking closely, Iris was holding something in her hand. It was a letter.

As Lucius put Iris down on the floor to take the paper, someone else picked it up.

“Welcome back, Lucius-san.”

“Hey, Lauren.”

It was a girl named Lauren, with long black hair and shining purple eyes. Since Lucius brought her back from the eastern region, she had been living in the mansion and had already become a member of the family.

Lauren handed the retrieved paper to Mother Emily.

“Emily-sama, is this the paper that Iris-san took?”

“Yes, that’s it. Thank you, Lauren. She takes anything away as soon as you take your eyes off her.”

Emily put her hand on her cheek, wearing a troubled expression.

“Madam, it’s quite common for young children to want to touch various things.”

Matilda, the maid who had locked the door to the entrance hall, joined the conversation.

“Is it? It never happened with Lucius…”

Lucius chuckled.

Lucius was a reincarnated person. He awakened with the knowledge of his previous life at the age of one month, so it was natural in a sense. Even though his mind was dragged into his body, he had no hobby of running around with just a piece of paper.

“Lucius-san is not ordinary. Various things happened in the eastern region.” 

“Indeed, as Lauren-sama says. When he chased after Olivia-sama and entered the forest alone…”

Lauren and Matilda nodded deeply and began to talk about past events.

If left alone, they would continue talking about themselves for a long time.

“M-Mom! What’s that letter about?”

To change the subject, he pointed to the paper she had taken backfrom Iris.

“Ah! Right! Robert, Lucius, come quickly.”

Remembering the matter, Emily hurried to the dining room adjacent to the entrance hall.

“Huh? What is it?”

Father Robert followed Emily into the dining room.

And Lucius followed his father through the door.

Seated at the large dining table where the family usually sat was a young man.

He appeared to be in his mid-twenties.

He wore round glasses and had unblemished white skin without a tan.

The young man stood up from his chair nervously.

“I-I’m pleased to meet you for the first time! My name is Crane Orleans!”

As he bowed, his heavily undulating hair fell forward.

Robert stepped forward confidently.

“I am Robert Norris Dragon. What business does a member of the Orleans family have?”

Emily promptly handed the letter she had taken to Robert.

It seemed they would read the letter before talking.

Robert, sensing something, began to read immediately.

In this country, all nobles form contracts with monsters and make them their familiars.

While humans possess magic power, they do not possess the rituals to manifest it in the mortal world.

By borrowing the rituals of familiars, humans can wield the power of the supernatural.

From public security to military matters and even all industries, magic power and the power of familiars are utilized.

The Orleans family is obligated by the country to research and record these rituals.

Their status is high within the country, incomparable to the lords of remote villages.

There was silence in the dining room for a while.

Suddenly, Robert exclaimed in astonishment.

“What’s this?”

“What’s wrong, Dad?”

“Lucius… it’s about you.”

“Me?”

“You’ve been searching for a magic sword, right?”

A magic sword is a weapon with rituals incorporated into it.

The manufacturing method is kept secret and it is rarely circulated within the country, making it extremely valuable.

The one in the country was bestowed upon Lucius by the current king and is now hanging from Lucius’s waist.

And this magic sword is the condition for his own ritual, Chiyou.

The covenant made with Chiyou at the time of the contract was to obtain four magic swords or similar weapons with rituals.

The covenant made based on the contract with monsters is so heavy that it is considered equivalent to the lives of humans and monstewras.

“It seems they’ve found it, the magic sword.”

“Finally…”

Ever since obtaining Chiyou after subduing the evil dragon and using it for his ritual, Lucius had been searching for magic swords.

Even when he quelled the unrest in the east and prevented the invasion of the neighboring empire, his reward was a magic sword.

Both the current king and Lord Liintz, the lord of the east, promised to find one for him.

But there had been no good news until today.

The Orleans family member Crane spoke to Lucius, who still couldn’t believe it.

“Yes, that’s correct. In light of this, Lucius-sama, we would like you to come to our Orleans family’s territory, and we have come to welcome you. Former Lord Gufell has sent me to convey this message to you.”

“The Orleans family’s territory… starting now?”

Normally, if someone came to welcome a noble, they would send a letter in advance. This was a remote village, after all. Sending a letter and coming in person didn’t make much difference.

It was common in Silverheart Village.

“Yes, that’s right. Because of the location, we will also pay our respects to Lord Strauss, the lord of the north.”

――Because of the location? What does that mean?

He felt a doubt, but there were more pressing questions he wanted to ask now.

“Um, Crane-san?”

“What is it?”

“It’s almost time for me to obtain the ritual. What will happen to the appraisal of the village children?”

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that. We will send someone in your place.”

Lucius’s face clouded.

――That’s a problem

Starting this year, he wanted to do something for the village children. He couldn’t do anything if he left on a journey now.

“Can’t you, Crane-san, perform the appraisal?”

“Of course, but… it’s just that… time…”

Implicitly, he was saying that he would be moving to obtain the ritual.

To obtain the ritual, one must encounter a familiar with good compatibility. In some cases, it could take months to obtain the ritual.

Even though it was a sudden invitation, asking him to wait for several months before leaving would be quite rude.

“But… I won’t take much time.”

Lucius looked at his father Robert.

“Dad! Just for one day, please let me lead the search for the ritual!”

It is the lord’s responsibility to give ceremonies to his people.

Even though Lucius was promised the future lord, he couldn’t just give him the ceremony.

“You want to lead?”

Robert looked puzzled.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. Please!”

Right now, the village is in the middle of wheat harvest season. Given that they had been busy dealing with monsters today, Robert had a lot of work piled up. In any case, he couldn’t lead the search.

“I’ve been feeling fired up lately. If you’re going to say that much, then try it for just one day.”

“Thank you!”

With relief and determination, Lucius clenched his fist tightly.

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