Chapter 130
Although she was younger than me, Ruina was more experienced in dating, so she gave me some advice.
“What was that stupid ‘S-so…… wait for me’ ?”
“…”
I didn’t think I sounded that stupid.
Was I really like that?
“You should’ve confessed like a man! Hahhh, so frustrating.”
Wait, before that…
Was this really advice?
Wasn’t this just a one-sided pummeling?
“The timing was also perfect. Irene was even waiting for it.”
“Waiting for it?”
“Why do you think Irene came all the way down here to Ardell? Do you think she did it for me?”
“…”
I did know.
I could somewhat feel it.
No, I was sure of it.
But it was too sudden.
“Listen carefully to what I am about to say.”
The rose knightess that protects Ardell, and the master of dating.
Miss Ruina Ardell gave me her final piece of advice.
“Now, she’s going to be waiting for you every day until you go to her.”
“…”
“You’re a really bad guy.”
Ruina let out a hmph, then left the kitchen
Was this still advice?
Wasn’t it just a tantrum?
How could I put this?
After that day, I became more careful in my actions.
Irene and I didn’t particularly become awkward with each other or something.
Except…
“…What? What is it?”
“Uhm, nothing. I just want to put a little distance between us.”
“Why are you acting like this now?”
When Straang went to attach herself to me, I instinctively looked around my surroundings and started to become wary.
“What, are you actually getting embarrassed because of me?”
“No way.”
“Right? We’re so close that I’ve even seen your butt—”
“Hey! Don’t say things like that!”
“Kekek. Ok, fine.”
“…”
This damned perverted incarnation.
How was this a girl?
This sly mass was just like a predatory male that hadn’t had a relationship in 300 years.
“Straang, have you thought of going back to that teddy bear form from before?”
“Why would I? It’s so much better now.”
“I thought you were a bit cuter when you were a bear… and I didn’t have to worry about other people seeing you.”
“Hmm, nah. Right now is the best. I’m at Rank 10 right now, and I’m gonna live like this until Rank 20.”
“……”
So she was going to live like this forever.
Yeah.
There was no use blaming Straang. She was innocent.
This was all because of this stupid me who couldn’t say all that I wanted to.
“More than that, are you really doing this?”
“Doing what?”
“Heading off to find Draka’s Holy Relic fragments.”
The day that I decided to leave Ardell and explore the continent had come.
It hadn’t been that long since I had graduated, but for me to leave home again…
Looks like I really was born for adventure.
My destination had also already been decided.
“…I need to.”
Oyota.
Mythic Rank Quest
Legacy Fragment I of The Destroyer of Worlds, Draka
*The following quest requires at least 10,000 strength.
*You must gather the four fragments of Draka’s Legacy that scattered when the Destroyer of Worlds fell to ruin.
*When all four fragments are combined, Draka’s Legacy will be reborn.
I was planning on progressing with the quest there.
The ‘authority of a god’, having the power to bend even gravity to my will…
Just how could I give this up?
“…I told you it’s dangerous.”
Of course, Straang was wary of that strength till the end.
I didn’t know how long it would take to gather all four fragments of the Holy Relic, and there was a chance that I couldn’t get it even if I spent my entire life looking for them.
But there was no point in worrying about this before even trying it.
“Don’t worry. Humans aren’t that weak.”
“…Excuses.”
Translator – Jreaming
Proofreader – Artethrax
The one who were most saddened by my sudden leave was surprisingly Jason.
“Uwaaaaaah! Straaaaaang!”
“…What is it now?”
“Uwaak!”
Jason attempted to hug Straang after seeing an opening, but after she easily dodged to the side, he tripped and fell to the ground.
After wiping the dirt off his sleeve, he seemed a little embarrassed.
“Ahem… Have a good trip. Stay safe! Yeah. Don’t get into trouble, and keep going strong in your training.”
“Get into trouble…? Am I a kid?”
“You don’t get into trouble either, bro. And come back as soon as possible.”
Ruina’s gaze turned to Irene.
I also naturally turned toward Irene.
“…”
But although our eyes didn’t meet for that long, she quickly turned away.
What…?
What is this weird feeling…?
“You really are just a strong idiot.”
Ruina suddenly pulled my arm.
To be honest, it wasn’t like I would be dragged along by Ruina just because she pulled me.
But I went along with it.
Because of that, the distance between Irene and I had shortened.
I bit her farewell with an awkward smile on my face.
“Then, I’ll be going.”
But then, Irene let out a small laugh and replied,
“Yes. I’ll be waiting.”
“…Oh? What’s this? What’s this scene right now?”
Jason made a fuss about it, but my eyes were fixed on Irene.
She had only told me she would be waiting for me, so why was my heart fluttering like this?
Unlike me, Irene still had her playful smile on her…
How do I say this…
She radiated the aura of someone who knew how to date.
It felt as if I would get dragged along by her.
Even during all this, Jason tactlessly continued to talk.
“What, what, what? Why does it feel like I’m the only one not in the loop? What are you two doing? Is there something going on?”
“Stupid bro, just shut up. You really don’t know anything.”
“…Ruina. I fully remembered your name now. So can you forgive me?”
“I don’t want to.”
“…”
But it was cleanly taken care of by Ruina’s words.
He really got shut down.
I got on the horse with Straang.
In the far distance, atop a hill, I could see my father standing in the terrace of the Ardell mansion.
I waved goodbye for all of these people here.
“Then, I’ll be back soon.”
Oyota.
For us, it was commonly known as the sand kingdom.
As a people proud of their long history, they trained in the sword and body from a young age, and were at one point known as the strongest and toughest people on the continent.
However, if we were being precise, they weren’t a ‘kingdom’.
The Radian Kingdom was a monarchy with a king who ruled over them.
But the one who ruled Oyota wasn’t a king, but a ‘Great Emperor’.
Straang asked,
“Great Emperor? Does that mean Oyota is the land of an empire?”
“It was once an empire. Before the Raynac Empire took over the continent, there was a time when Oyota held the greatest power.”
“Then, technically, aren’t they not an emperor?”
“Although it seems like that to the outsiders, the citizens still call them Emperor. Maybe they don’t want to forget their past glory or something…”
The Oyota who had seized the continent with their outstanding martial arts had lost against the magical advancements of the Raynac Empire.
However, due to their special militaristic culture, they were very much like thorns.
In times of emergency, every person in Oyota became a soldier, whether they be young or old, man or woman.
“…Is it that, from the perspective of the Empire, since they’ll bite back when confronted, it isn’t worth telling them off or caring whether or not they call their leader the Great Emperor?”
“I don’t know the specific politics of it, but that’s the story I heard.”
As time passed, their cultural focus on martial arts had severely lessened, but their society still held their warlike beliefs.
You could tell just by looking at Seta Malkiri.
How much had he growled at me at first?
One of the main reasons they were still militaristic was probably because their lives were based in sand.
“It’s barren.”
Before my eyes, a wasteland extended out in every direction.
And at the end of this wasteland existed a glimmering, mirage-like view of a sandy desert.
Three days west of Ardell.
The national border was so close to home.
Although it was close, this was the first time I had personally went to the border like this.
After all, there were no reason for Ardell to have traffic with Oyota.
However, that would change in the future.
“Wait. Stop right there.”
The national checkpoint south of the Radian Kingdom and east of Oyota.
In this place, there were five soldiers of the Kingdom and five of Oyota that held the border between them.
I approached these people.
“Please provide your identification.”
I pulled out the card I received right after I graduated from the Academy.
“…So you were a magician. Where are you coming from?”
“Ardell.”
“Ruin Ardell… Yes. You may pass.”
The Radian soldiers checked that there was nothing wrong with my identification, and let me pass without a problem.
Next, it was the soldiers from Oyota.
A man with a scar over his eye walked up to me.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to Esperanaza.”
“Esperanaza… It’ll take about ten days.”
Esperanaza.
The land of hope. The land of abundance. It was built next to the largest oasis in Oyota, where water flowed plenty and the lands were fertile.
As such, it was the capital city of Oyota.
It was the place Seta Malkiri was staying in, and luckily, it was also my destination.
“It will be hard to travel by horse past this point. Go over there to the camel stable and leave your horse there in exchange for a camel.”
“Thank you.”
A camel?
Since it was my first time seeing one, it would be my first time riding one, too.
Noticing my excitement, the man with the scar continued to talk.
“It looks like this is your first visit to Oyota, so I’ll give you some advice.”
At the word ‘advice’, I remembered Ruina for a second, but I erased it from my head.
Since his advice would be real.
“Trust no one.”
Trust no one…
This was related to their warlike culture, and it also was a warning about the wildmen who lived off slaughtering the beasts of the barren desert.
“It’ll be wise not to ignore this. If you’re visiting us with the illusion of the bountifulness of your kingdom, then you will suffer like never before. It wasn’t just one tourist who had everyone around them slaughtered, all their money stolen, and survived just by the skin of their teeth.”
“Thank you for your advice.”
Oyota.
In this place, the ‘barbarism’ that was long gone from my kingdom was still rampant.
Just like the conditions Seta Malkiri grew up in, it was a world based in survival of the fittest.
And it was a crime-ridden world where losing focus for even a moment could mean the end.
Although they say the capital, Esperanaza, was a bit better, I needed to cross many more oases before I got there.
I left my horse at the camel stable, and got two camels.
Soon enough, my curiosity at seeing camels for the first time and my excitement at my first journey had all disappeared.
“…So we need to get through here.”
The vast desert that stretched before me made my head feel dizzy. It was blindingly intense.
“Let’s go, Straang.”
But that wasn’t enough to make me hesitate, and took my first steps into the harsh desert.
“Do you know where you’re going?”
In the desert, there was another horror, and that’s not mentioning the vast difference in temperature between night and day.
It was very easy to get lost if one was not careful.
But I just shrugged my shoulders.
“I have the minimap.”
Days until arrival: 10.
There was no time to rest.
——
