The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 176

139. Removing the Mask

Dugun- Dugun- Dugun……!!!!

“You.”

“……!!!”

“What is it? Are you not feeling well?”

Kwell McGovern shook his head at Belin Valentiun’s words from behind the Emperor.

“This is before His Majesty. Be mindful.”

“I apologize.”

“I don’t know what your relationship is, but you’ve been keeping a strange one close.”

Belin said with a displeased expression.

However, Ruon’s opinion was not important in the first place.

Rather, thanks to Carryl’s appearance, Ruon’s position had become even more difficult.

But what was important now was not that.

Gulp-

Kwell had a myriad of thoughts in this short moment.

Should he rush out and stop him?

He was worried that doing so would only cause trouble for Prince Oliver, further worsening the situation now that the Lyeo Knights Order, one of his support bases, had disappeared.

Between his adopted son and the prince he served.

He couldn’t make a decision.

“What are you doing!! His Majesty has given you an order!!”

“How rude!!”

Several of the ministers shouted.

“I don’t mind removing the mask. However, I am concerned that you might be surprised by my face.”

“What do you take me for? I am the Emperor of the Empire, as the ministers have said. Do you think this position is so easily shaken?”

“Of course not, Your Majesty.”

Click-

Carryl unfastened the buckle of the mask he was wearing.

Everyone held their breath and paid attention to his every move.

The face hidden behind the mask was slowly revealed.

“……!!!”

The moment they saw his face,

Everyone there couldn’t help but be surprised.

“The color of his eyes…….”

“Your eyes…….”

Everyone stared at him with a dazed expression, uttering the same words.

But among them, there were two people who were shocked to see Carryl’s face.

One was his father, Kwell McGovern, and the other was the First Prince, Ruon Stean.

Everyone was speechless at the sight of Carryl’s eyes, but those two were surprised in a completely different way from the others.

‘……They’re not black?!’

“They’re not brown?!”

One couldn’t bring himself to say the question out loud, and the other shouted in surprise.

A fiery red color.

Eyes that seemed to contain ash and seething lava, emitting a brilliant red light within the dark eyes, were looking at the two of them.

“I’ve never seen eyes like that before…….”

“Hehe…….”

“What on earth…….”

The ministers muttered to themselves, seemingly surprised by Carryl’s eyes. Disregarding their useless words, Carryl looked at Ruon, who had just shouted, and nodded as if he had been waiting for those words.

“Your Majesty, do you remember? That I went to the Fire Dragon’s Lair, the lair of the Flame Dragon Liselria, by your order.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t forget an order I gave. Hehe……. If I were that senile, I shouldn’t be sitting in this position.”

“In fact, I gained a power there along with Your Majesty’s medicine.”

“Hmm?”

“However, I am sorry to say that I could not control that power properly, so I apologize for not informing you in advance.”

“Power……. You’re saying that’s related to your eyes.”

“That’s right.”

“What is that power?”

Hwareuk……!!

Hwareureureuk……!!!

It was then.

Red flames spiraled around Carryl as if they were rising.

The knights drew their swords at the sudden flames, and the ministers stepped back in surprise.

“You……!!”

“What are you doing now!!”

At the knights’ shouts, Carryl said in a calm voice.

“Please forgive my rudeness. I just thought it would be better to show you with my eyes than to explain it with words.”

“Hmm.”

Unlike the surprised ministers, the Emperor, befitting his name, showed no surprise even after seeing Carryl’s flames.

“I don’t know much about magic. But that level of flame would consume a considerable amount of mana [magical energy]. But why don’t I feel any mana from you?”

At the Emperor’s question, Kwell looked at Carryl with trembling eyes. Surprisingly, in this shocking situation, only the Emperor and Carryl had relaxed expressions, as if they were having a conversation in the garden.

“As expected, you have discerning eyes, Your Majesty. As an imperial citizen, one should naturally be able to sense mana. However, the reason why mana is not felt from this power is because it is not magic.”

“Not magic? Then what is it?”

“Spirit.”

At Carryl’s words, the hall stirred once again.

“The power of the Blazing Flame King Laminue, one of the Five Great Spirit Kings.”

“……!!”

At his words, the ministers couldn’t hide their shock.

The words of the young boy who had suddenly appeared were truly a series of surprises.

“Th-the Spirit King?”

“Is that even possible?”

“Isn’t it known that spirits have almost disappeared now?”

The ministers began to stir at Carryl’s shocking words, as if they had forgotten that they were in front of the Emperor.

Ironically, at the same time as Carryl’s power was revealed, the gazes that had considered him an obstacle changed in an instant.

‘Not just a spirit, but the Spirit King……. Isn’t this an unprecedented event?’

‘It’s no exaggeration to say that he’s the only one of his kind on the continent.’

‘To think he’s Kwell’s son…….’

‘There’s a possibility. He’s helping His Majesty, isn’t he? Maybe he’ll walk a different path.’

‘By any means…… we have to bring him to our side…….’

The Emperor and Carryl seemed to anticipate the meaning of their gazes, and they both wore cold smiles.

“Sir Kadin, I would like to hear the Duke’s opinion.”

At the Emperor’s words, everyone looked at the court magician, Kadin Luer.

“Certainly……. I feel a different, foreign power from him, not mana. That power is so intense and powerful that it seems to be obscuring the mana.”

“Hmm, is that so? Then does that mean we can’t confirm Carryl’s mana?”

“I am sorry. The mana measuring device can measure the amount of mana, but it seems difficult to confirm what his attribute is due to the strong fire energy.”

“I see. If that’s what you say, then that must be the case.”

No one could refute the opinion of Kadin, the Empire’s Archmage, regarding magic.

But it was still a little lacking.

The decisive wedge.

“Your Majesty, to prove that I am not lying…….”

Carryl turned his head.

Then he smiled at someone.

“…….”

But the person whose gaze met his turned pale as if he had seen the smile of a grim reaper.

“That person will be the witness.”

“I…… I…….”

“Isn’t that right, Sir Yurin Hyugar?”

At Carryl’s words, everyone looked at him at the same time.

“That’s right. Sir Yurin specially went to the Fire Dragon’s Lair with you for me.”

The Emperor looked at Yurin with curious eyes at his words. As a member of the Order, he was not yet affiliated with the Empire, so he was the only one the Emperor treated with respect in front of the ministers.

“The priests of the Order who serve Yula will never lie and will only speak the truth.”

Yurin Hyugar looked at Carryl with fearful eyes.

In fact,

Whether he obtained Laminue’s power in the Flame Dragon’s Lair was not that important.

There was a bigger problem than that.

He had confidently reported to the Emperor that he had dealt with the Water King and the Sea King, but if that turned out to be a lie, and if the Emperor found out that Carryl was involved, it would be a big problem.

Because the First Prince had suffered a crushing defeat at Twin Armor because of the two monsters.

“……!!!”

At that moment,

Yurin realized that Carryl’s lips were moving slightly towards him.

He didn’t make a sound, but he knew what he was saying to him just by the shape of his lips.

Just one word, King (王) [referring to the Water King and Sea King].

‘Damn it……. That bastard……!! He knew everything!!’

As if reading his thoughts, Carryl raised his finger to his lips, as if to say that he would keep silent about the Water King and the Sea King.

“Th-that’s true, Your Majesty. I gained an unknown fire power before, but I couldn’t control it, so we couldn’t come to the Empire together, and we returned first to report.”

Yurin said, biting his lip.

“I report that the color of Carryl’s…… Sir’s eyes changed due to the accident that occurred at that time. However, I think it is understandable that he wore a mask because the color of his eyes is different from that of the imperial citizens.”

Certainly, he was quick-witted, and he added details to the parts that Carryl had not mentioned and told the Emperor.

Carryl nodded in satisfaction, as if it was the way he had expected.

“Sir Kwell.”

“……Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Isn’t the McGovern family’s inherited attribute fire?”

“That is correct.”

The Emperor looked at Carryl’s flames and said to Kwell.

“This is……. It doesn’t suit a day like today, but it’s a good thing for you. An child who has received the power of the Blazing Flame King, who can be said to be the flame of flames…….”

The Emperor continued.

“Kwell, all of your family members are outstanding, but that child is by far the best. This is definitely Yula [a deity in this world] blessing your family, regardless of bloodline.”

“I am honored, Your Majesty.”

Then he looked at Carryl again.

“However. There are still many things I need to ask you. Apart from that power, as soon as Cromen’s funeral is over, I will conduct an investigation into what happened at Twin Armor.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Until then, be careful and wait.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Cromen’s death caused a stir in the imperial palace.

But Carryl’s appearance caused an even greater stir, so much so that it could not be compared to his death.

“…….”

Carryl took a deep breath once again, just as he had when he entered the imperial palace.

His eyes shone.

It wasn’t over until the waves became a storm and swept over them.

* * *

[You managed to succeed.]

Carryl lay down on the bed, looking tired.

He smiled in satisfaction, just by being given a place in the imperial palace’s detached room instead of a prison.

‘You better be careful. This place is where someone who has reached the rank of Archmage is. They’re probably watching us right now.’

Carryl answered at Laminue’s voice.

It was funny that the only being he could talk to comfortably in the imperial palace, where there were dozens or hundreds of people, was not a person but a spirit.

[Hmph……. No matter how great a magician is, they can’t hear my voice without spirit power. No, even if they have spirit power, those who I, the Spirit King, have not allowed will not know.]

Laminue continued, as if interested.

[Black eyes, the proof of a foreign race. It can’t be changed with external magic, but you, who have gained mana by eating the Dragon’s Heart, can change it. Until now, you’ve been changing the color of your eyes and hair with transformation magic…….]

In the imperial palace, there is Kadin Luer, the court magician and Archmage of the 7th class.

If it was him, he would be able to recognize Carryl’s magic at once, even though he was only at the 5th class.

That’s why the method he came up with was to borrow Laminue’s power.

[And I will cover your mana blood with my spirit power to hide your mana.]

‘That’s right. And it’s fortunate. It’s because the foundation of my mana, the Arcane Power, is made up of the power of light and darkness, not the common five attributes of magic.’

Even if it was Kadin Luer, it would not be easy to detect Carryl’s mana in that place where Laminue’s scent was thickly laid.

Moreover, since Carryl’s Dragon Mana itself has no attributes, the two powers could easily merge without any sense of incongruity even in Laminue’s flames.

[No matter how great a human magician is, they won’t know that you have Dragon Mana. The only race on the continent that can recognize your mana right now is…….]

Carryl slowly got up.

Then he went to the window and pulled away the covered curtains.

Outside the castle, the funeral preparations for Cromen were in full swing.

‘Who is it?’

Carryl asked quietly.

At his question, Laminue answered in a whisper.

[Dragon.]