Chapter 89

Chapter 89: Chapter 89

It was a chilly night, cold enough to make the tip of one’s nose sting. Deep in the hills near Rubensheim, a campfire burned.

Wrapped in his cloak, Rickart stood gazing at Rubensheim, which glimmered like faint starlight in the darkness. That city was home to the headquarters of the Rubens Guild.

Rickart and his three friends were daringly camping nearby.

"Ricky."

Marie ’s voice came from behind him. Then the scent of agarwood brushed past the tip of his nose, which had grown slightly numb from the cold.

Rickart turned around and saw his friends.

Boribori and Ice were maintaining their weapons, lending each other tools, while Marie burned agarwood at the end of a short, slender, grooved stick.

Rickart sat beside Marie and inhaled the agarwood smoke from the stick she held beneath his nose. Boribori and Ice looked up and stared at him.

It was probably because the sight of him inhaling the smoke was rather unsightly—or perhaps comical and slightly strange.

"Hmm... This is surprisingly addictive."

Rickart did not care what his friends thought of him and enjoyed the agarwood. The incense itself was not addictive, but its fragrance was so pleasant that after smelling it every morning and evening, he had begun enjoying it for more than just its medicinal benefits.

"It does smell nice. It feels calming."

Boribori spoke.

"But isn’t that expensive? How much do you have left?"

Ice asked.

"He has to inhale it every morning and evening, so I think there’s enough left for more than a month."

Marie answered.

Without even using his own hands, Rickart inhaled the smoke from the stick Marie held beneath his nose and frowned slightly.

"You guys should stay alert. We’re right in the middle of enemy territory. You’ve all gotten too lax."

"You’re the one who said we should camp here, Ricky."

Boribori stared at him incredulously.

"I know. I’m just saying you should stay alert."

"Are we going into the city to kill them, though? Aren’t we not supposed to fight inside a city?"

"They crossed the line first. If we’re the only ones who keep playing by the rules, we’ll be choosing to fight at a disadvantage. I wouldn’t normally do it, but for now, I’m going to wait and see how they react."

"Do you think they’ll accept the negotiation? I feel like mentioning the antidote was a mistake. It feels like we’ve given them leverage over us."

Marie asked while holding the short stick beneath Rickart’s nose.

"I never intended to negotiate with them in the first place. That was just bait. I threw it out there to see how their guild master would react."

Rickart had presented three terms for negotiation: either the guild master would die alone as their representative, the guild would suffer damage bordering on total annihilation, or they would hand over the antidote.

In truth, none of those terms meant anything.

"I don’t really understand. You still need the antidote, don’t you?"

"I do, but I don’t need one from him. And if you become fixated on something you need, they’ll lead you around by the nose. I’d actually be grateful if they thought like you. If they believe I’m desperate for the antidote and try to stall for time, that gives us more time to crush their people at our leisure."

"Oh... Ricky may not study, but he really is smart."

Boribori exclaimed admiringly. Marie , however, could not simply be impressed.

"This isn’t an ’oh,’ Bori. I think he’s being too careless. How do we know what will happen if he isn’t treated in time? What he just said means he doesn’t care about his own life. I don’t understand why he needs to take his strategy that far."

"What can we do if that’s what he wants? I’m not Ricky’s fiancée, so I wouldn’t know."

"...You’re starting to sound more and more like Ricky."

"Me? Is that an insult or what?"

Boribori was two years older than Rickart. He was already an adult and had learned a great deal, so he was no longer as unconditionally innocent as he had once been.

And as Marie had pointed out, he had spent so much time with Rickart that Rickart had influenced him in many ways without him even realizing it.

"That’s enough. What are you two saying right in front of the person involved? Marie , don’t become too fixated on the antidote. Even if it takes time, we’ll find some way to cure me. Trust me. What matters right now is creating a situation that favors us."

"Nooo... But still..."

Marie whined, evidently still displeased. Boribori and Ice stared at the two of them in bewilderment. They had become insufferable while those two weren’t looking. They had both once been so admirable.

Still, Rickart had enough awareness to clear his throat awkwardly. To escape the embarrassing situation, he focused on discussing their work.

"Let’s say the Rubens Guild has around a hundred members. If they scrape together every last student from their affiliated academy, that would bring them to about a hundred and fifty. But if all those people gather in one place, they’ll do nothing but consume supplies. If we leave them alone, they’ll suffer enormous losses all by themselves. Their guild master can’t be an idiot, though. What would you do in his position?"

"I don’t know. Just tell us."

Ice replied indifferently.

Rickart began wondering whether teaching through questions and answers was not actually a very effective method. In any case, they were merely friends, not teacher and students.

"If the guild master is a coward, he’ll panic and summon every available member to one place. If he has guts, he’ll let the adventurers continue working at their respective posts. The most sensible response would be to form a small group and send them after us. From what I saw today, there weren’t any people gathering in Rubensheim. That means he has some nerve and intends to handle this using only his closest associates. In truth, that’s his only choice if he wants to keep his position from becoming unstable."

The Rubens Guild had already been struggling for some time. It displayed all the typical signs of a declining organization, and its recent, nearly desperate attempts to gather money were proof of that.

When an organization was in trouble, the greatest danger was the loss of cohesion and the departure of its members. That was how an organization fell apart.

That was what every leader of every group feared most, regardless of status or class.

And that was precisely what Rickart intended to exploit. A man who had survived as an adventurer for so long would not fear death. So Rickart intended to drive him toward what he truly feared.

Ruin.

Piece by piece, methodically severing every limb.

Whether the man ended up cornered and begging through tears and snot or tried to wage one final decisive battle, he would be broken all the same.

"Tomorrow, let’s visit a place called Hetz. If we wipe out the men there, they’ll have trouble securing food. Let’s see how long they can hold out."

Once the agarwood had completely burned away and he was finished inhaling the smoke, Rickart wrinkled his nose.

His sense of smell seemed numb, but it soon returned. He could smell the burning campfire. He could also smell the fragrance of Marie ’s hair beside him.

Come to think of it, even though Rickart had told them to stay alert, the three of them seemed utterly unconcerned. But that was not because they had lowered their guard.

It was because they had now accumulated a great deal of real combat experience.

Looking back, he had gone through many things with Boribori, Ice, and Marie . Examining each event individually, it seemed as though they had barely survived every time and only just managed to overcome each ordeal.

As a result, their bonds had deepened. They understood one another better and could now respond calmly to any crisis within reason.

Had they grown?

Were they becoming adults?

What did it mean to be an adult?

Those questions suddenly crossed Rickart’s mind, but there was one thing that had been bothering him.

"Ice."

"Have you ever heard of the Sisters of Prophecy?"

Rickart told him what he had heard from Daisy’s mother, whom he had encountered by chance in Nibelungen. Since it concerned the Order, he spoke somewhat cautiously.

Ice, however, did not appear particularly bothered. He stared into the campfire and took a moment to organize his thoughts before speaking.

"The Order has been continuously researching the Codex for a very long time. I heard that their research includes secrets to longevity, things resembling magic, and secret arts related to prophecy. My training was part of the process of becoming a Sword Master, and my mission was to steal techniques from the Imperial Family. I never saw the Sisters of Prophecy myself. I only heard that they foresee the day God will be resurrected. They’re also supposedly preparing to continue His sacred bloodline once He returns. They purify themselves through daily baths, pray, and do things like that."

"So when will He be resurrected?"

"I don’t know either. Apparently, even the Sisters of Prophecy can see only fragments. That’s why several of them train together and try to infer the date by cross-checking their visions. The incident in Nibelungen not long ago was probably a sacrificial ritual. They believe that if the Imperial Family and the nobles persecute the Order, God will rise again on the Promised Day and wipe them all out."

To Rickart, it sounded as though they had devised an elaborate plan founded upon an absurd premise. What good was an elaborate plan if the premise itself was absurd? He truly could not understand it.

Well, they presumably did it because they genuinely believed it was true rather than absurd.

"But what if He really is resurrected?"

Boribori asked.

"We have Ice, so He’ll probably spare us."

When Rickart replied with a lighthearted joke, Ice finally smiled.

"Sorry, but I’m an apostate. I’ve committed a greater sin than an atheist."

"That’s harsh. After all the work you put in, He should at least repay you for it. Even if He is a god."

"That isn’t how it works, Ricky."

Ice let out a chuckle at Rickart’s profound ignorance of religion.

"But what was that place called? The Holy Sanctuary? Is its headquarters really on the Heiden Plains?"

"Yeah. The members of the Order there are different from those outside. The Holy Sanctuary is guarded by holy knights who have ’closed their eyes’ for the Promised Day. They protect the Holy Sword."

"The Holy Sword?"

"Yes. The sword the God of Judgment used to punish sinners. From the sinners’ perspective, I suppose it would be a Demonic Sword."

"..."

It sounded like the sword Ricky had used in his previous life.

That thing still existed?

"The holy knights who have ’closed their eyes’ are all Sword Masters. That was ultimately what I was training to become as well. It doesn’t matter anymore, though. Who cares about becoming a Sword Master?"

"About how many holy knights are there?"

"At least thirty."

"Thirty!?"

"How is that even possible!?"

Boribori and Marie ’s eyes widened in shock.

"Several hundred times that number of children must have died in the process. I almost became one of them."

The world was not perfect. It had many problems. But the Order of Judgment was by no means normal either.

It seemed as though monsters created by the world were trying to exact revenge upon it through even crueler methods.

Just like Ricky in his previous life.

The mood grew somber as they thought about all the children who had died so that Sword Masters could be created.

"Why can’t everyone just live while respecting one another?"

Boribori spoke. No matter how he thought about it, it seemed so simple. It should not have been difficult.

Perhaps that was precisely why it was so difficult.

Because something so simple could never seem to be done.

Everyone silently agreed with Boribori.

"How are you doing? Are you all right?"

Rickart asked Ice.

"Me? I’m... To be honest, there’s still a small part of me that feels anxious. The difference from before is that the anxiety no longer controls me, but I don’t think I can eliminate it entirely. I only made it this far thanks to you and Armant, Ricky. Thank you."

"What are you anxious about?"

Boribori asked. Surprisingly, the two were quite close whenever Rickart was not around. Their personalities seemed to mesh well.

"I keep wondering what I’ll do if what they told me was true. What if God really is resurrected? What should I do then? What about my younger sibling? Those are the things that make me anxious."

"Why don’t you try dating a woman? Love changes everything, Student Ice."

Marie abruptly hugged Rickart as she spoke. Ice shook his head with a conflicted expression.

"I find it difficult to trust women. They all say they like me even though I haven’t done anything."

"Wow..."

Boribori stared at him in astonishment, impressed by a statement no ordinary man could ever make.

Ice smiled awkwardly.

"I’m not trying to brag. That’s genuinely how it is. I don’t even understand how I’m supposed to be handsome."

"Woooow..."

This time, Rickart, Boribori, and Marie all exclaimed simultaneously in disbelief. Ice shook his head as though there was no point in saying anything else.

They did not know what would become of the world, so the four focused on the task before them.

Following Rickart’s plan, they went to a place called Hetz and killed every Rubens Guild adventurer there.

Afterward, they traveled from one vulnerable location to another, killing every adventurer they encountered.

Their enemies were no match for them, so Rickart’s party openly wandered about at their leisure. Sometimes Marie stepped forward, sometimes Ice did, and sometimes they fought together.

Rickart was the only one having an easy time of it.

His bad lungs almost seemed like an excuse.

From the Rubens Guild’s perspective, doing nothing would allow their losses to accumulate. But gathering their forces raised the question of whether that was truly the correct response against just four people.

This was not a war between guilds, so Rickart’s party could simply flee to Beringen if necessary.

Rickart clearly held the initiative. He could do one thing or the other as he pleased.

It felt as though he were repeatedly jabbing them with a spear while asking, Are you still going to sit there and do nothing? What are you going to do about it?

The master of the Rubens Guild could think of no solution, as he doubted they stood any chance even in a direct confrontation. It felt as though an inescapable death were circling around him.

They were even more vicious than the Ernberg Five.

As time passed, he lost the trust of his people, and adventurers began to leave. Their communication network collapsed until he could no longer even determine how much fighting strength remained under his command.

Yet even he had one final resort.

Rickart and his friends were wandering near a village called Kogtz. It was a small village with a flowing irrigation ditch and a mill.

Brown frogs hopped through the grass beside the ditch. It was nearly time for them to begin hibernating.

Rickart craned his neck and moved his head from side to side as though searching for something while surveying the village. Then someone approached along the path beside the ditch.

"Huh? Isn’t that Dunkel?"

Boribori spotted him first. Rickart turned his head and watched the approaching man from afar.

Unusually, Dunkel was wearing his work clothes.

By "work clothes," they meant the clothes he wore for assassination or combat.

He wore a tight-fitting dark-brown leather vest covered in numerous pockets. There was no telling what kinds of concealed weapons were hidden inside them.

A machete hung from his waist, and he carried a large cloth bundle in one hand.

Dunkel approached Rickart and smiled faintly.

"It’s been a while. What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here, Dunkel? This is Rubens Guild territory. Is the master of the Beringen Guild allowed to come here?"

"Wait, didn’t Sally say she killed Dunkel?"

"Hey, you actually believed that?"

Sally had a tendency to speak rather violently, and it seemed Boribori had believed her when she said she had killed Dunkel.

"Ricky."

Dunkel took a deep breath, exhaled, and called his name.

"What?"

"It’s time to stop. The Rubens Guild has surrendered."

"To whom?"

"A guild should naturally surrender to another guild. That’s how it ought to be."

"Uh... But this is a personal grudge."

"You’ve already killed around forty adventurers. Isn’t that enough to settle your grudge?"

"I don’t know. That isn’t for you to decide, is it? Shouldn’t they at least apologize to me? I nearly died."

It was undeniably true that if Rickart had ingested even slightly more of the poison, his life would have been in danger.

"There is no antidote. Apparently, they purchased the poison from a Mage of the Wasteland."

A Mage of the Wasteland referred to a Salaman mage. They had not sold the poison because they held some deep resentment toward Rickart. They had merely sold a product.

"So you’re telling me to end it here?"

"Yes."

"Because I’m ordering you to."

"Hmm... But I belong to the Ernberg branch, don’t I? There’s a chain of command to follow. Can the guild master directly issue orders to an adventurer belonging to an ordinary clan?"

"Ricky."

Dunkel had been smiling, but his expression turned serious as he called Rickart’s name again.

"What?"

"I kept the secret concerning your handsome friend. I hope I can continue keeping it."

Dunkel had known for a long time that Ice had belonged to the Order of Judgment. He had also been the one to warn Rickart to stay away from Ice.

"Hey, talk to me."

Ice, who had been listening beside them, stepped forward with a frown. Rickart extended an arm and stopped him.

"That was a threat just now, wasn’t it?"

"Ricky, are you going to behave however you please, just like the Ernberg Five? Especially when the situation is already this bad? Were forty deaths not enough?"

"Why do you get to judge that and make the decision? I’m the one who nearly died."

It might have sounded as though Rickart was being petulant, but he was right. Why should the guild have any say in how he handled a personal grudge?

Dunkel turned and gazed at the tranquil village before releasing a deep sigh. He then looked back at Rickart.

"The Imperial Family currently has no forces to spare. As early as next spring, the adventurers will be deployed in a campaign to subjugate the Order of Judgment. If you keep slaughtering adventurers here, you’re wasting perfectly good troops. Do you understand what I’m saying?"

"Do we have to obey if the Imperial Family gives us an order?"

"Why do you think the Adventurers’ Guild was created? The Elder planned everything—the creation of the guild and its growth—a long time ago. It was all meant to cultivate the ultimate swordsman. In any case, if our connection to the Imperial Family is severed, adventurers will literally be nothing more than swords for hire. I’m not using that term disparagingly. We would genuinely become nothing more than a collection of hired blades. Is that what you want?"

Dunkel even revealed top-secret information in an attempt to persuade Rickart.

Rickart thought silently for a moment before nodding.

"All right."

"Return to Ernberg. I’ll guarantee your handsome friend’s identity and safety. I’ll also give you the treasure Rubens surrendered to us. You’ve truly done all you can, and Rubens has paid more than enough of a price."

Dunkel placed the bundle on the ground and departed once more. He entered the village, walked around the temple, and disappeared from sight.

Rickart suddenly remembered something Volka had once told him.

That Rickart would never last long serving under anyone.

"In the end, the Order’s followers and us are both nothing more than puppets."

Boribori spoke.

It was an undeniable truth.

However, Rickart had ultimately accepted Dunkel’s order because he believed everything would have to be settled on the Heiden Plains.

He had no choice but to seek his answer in the place where everything had begun.

End of Chapter 18: Where Destiny Points