How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 172

It’s hazy.

I couldn’t tell when this hazy feeling started or how long it had been going on.

Memories swirled in my head like pieces of a shattered puzzle.

‘When will he wake up?’

‘The doctor said they couldn’t find a specific cause…’

Conversations between Ruth and someone else flickered like fragments of memory, continuing like a black and white film rolling on.

‘Are you really alright?’

‘If even Duke Bashrun doesn’t know, there’s no way we can know.’

‘It’s been days already!’

‘Sir Ilia, getting angry won’t solve anything…’

Ilia and Rihas’s conversation echoed as well.

‘Sleeping in this late is too much.’

‘This is a serious matter.’

The conversation between Marquis Irfe and Count Lindaier also echoed.

How long did the conversations of so many people echo like that?

Soon, my mind began to calm down. It felt as if I was sinking endlessly into deep water. It would be so comfortable to let go of everything as it is.

Then, someone’s voice reached my ears.

‘You incompetent fool, this is different from what you confidently promised, isn’t it?’

And with that one sentence, I was finally able to open my eyes.

“…”

The first thing I saw was the ceiling.

Following that, I felt the soft bed supporting my body. At the same time, my eyes began to sting.

Was it because of the sudden light? Tears streamed down unconsciously.

I struggled to lift my hand. My forearm, so emaciated that I could hardly believe it was my own, came into view.

Oh, why is my hand like this?

‘Could it be the Mana Heart [a magical organ that stores and regulates mana]?’

Instinctively worried, I checked my body first. Fortunately, the Mana Heart was intact.

However, perhaps because I hadn’t taken care of it since that battle, it was as parched as a drought-stricken rice paddy.

‘The next thing to check is…’

Instinctively, I lowered my hand and groped my lower body.

…Only after confirming that everything was properly attached did I feel a sense of relief.

Thud!

At that moment, I heard a sound from the side. Turning my head, I saw a figure sitting on a chair in the distance.

The sound I heard earlier seemed to be the sound of closing the book she was holding. Following the hand holding the book, I saw thin glasses, skin so white it was almost pale, and long black hair.

“Tsk, is that the first thing you check as soon as you wake up?”

The figure sitting in the chair was Rahenna Grantri.

I was puzzled by her displeased expression.

Why is that druid here? Isn’t this the Capital [the main city of the kingdom]?

Turning my head, I saw a familiar landscape through the swaying curtains. If my memory was correct, this was definitely the detached residence given to the Lindaier family.

“Rahenna?”

“Yes.”

Perhaps because it was the first time I had spoken in a while, my mouth felt dry and rough.

“How did you get here?”

“Your friends found me.”

“My friends, you say?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“They said you were just in a coma for no reason, with no cause found by medicine or magic. Ilia, was it? That child sought me out with a desperate heart.”

Hmm? I was in a coma?

Well, it did feel like I had a long dream. But has it been that long?

“How long have I been out?”

“Two months, they say.”

“…”

Two months?

Not just a few weeks, but two months?

I stared at Rahenna with wide eyes.

“How can that be possible?”

“You foolish fellow.”

Rahenna slowly took off her glasses, placed them on the book, and looked at me.

Her thinly opened eyes seemed to silently reproach me for my mistake, making my heart flinch.

“Didn’t Kalandart warn you? Not to use power beyond your limits.”

“I did hear it. But I didn’t think it would be to this extent…”

“Be grateful for the strength of your body and mind. If it had been a common person, even if I had helped, you would never have woken up.”

“…Did you help me?”

“That’s why it ended in two months.”

“How?”

“Fool, what could I do for you when your energy was dried up and twisted?”

“…”

Come to think of it, Rahenna’s face seemed worn out with fatigue. Her jade-like skin was rough, and there were dark circles under her eyes…

“Well, it’s partly my responsibility too.”

“Responsibility?”

“It was wrong to give a sharp sword to a fool who couldn’t tell right from wrong. Of course, I didn’t know you would ignore the warning like a reckless colt back then.”

Rahenna nodded, leaned back in her chair, and opened the book she had closed.

“I’ll give you a week.”

“Yes? A week for what?”

“I can’t take back the power you took, can I? Then the only remaining option is to properly teach you how to use that sword.”

“…”

“I’ll give you a week to sort things out. After that, let’s leave together.”

“…”

After being frozen for a moment, I thought for a long time before roughly understanding the situation I was in and nodding my head.

“Yes. A week. I understand.”

* * *

Kain Lindaier has awakened.

Marquis Irfe’s reaction upon hearing that fact was swift.

After confirming that there were no problems with my body, he immediately contacted me to arrange a meeting.

Following Marquis Irfe’s orders, all high-ranking officials in the Capital canceled all their schedules without exception.

The reason Marquis Irfe took such action was simple. He wanted to hold a hearing centered around me as soon as possible to wrap up the situation.

Well, it wasn’t like the hearing was meant to blame me in any way. It was probably to hear the story in detail from the most central figure in the situation.

As I was feeling a sense of unfamiliarity with the uniform I was wearing for the first time in a while, ahead of the upcoming hearing, the door suddenly opened without a knock, and several welcome faces appeared.

It was Ruth and Ilia.

Both of their faces were flushed red, and to make matters worse, Ilia’s eyes were glistening with tears.

“L, Lord.”

“Ruth, it’s been a while.”

“O, um, uh…”

After stuttering several times, Ruth finally took a deep breath and spoke again.

“Weren’t you sleeping in too late?”

“I just took a long nap for the first time in a while.”

On the other hand, I patted Ilia on the shoulder, who couldn’t even open her mouth because she was sobbing.

“I heard you called Rahenna? Good job. Thanks to you, I lived.”

“…I’m glad you woke up.”

“Yes. I’m glad too. By the way, is Sella okay? She hasn’t been affected, has she?”

I recalled Sella, who had remained in the palace before this incident, and checked on her safety first.

“If it’s Sella, didn’t she stay in the palace with Rihas that day? Since it was the palace, nothing happened. Since then, she has been staying in the palace under the protection of Marquis Irfe.”

“Is that so? How is she doing?”

“She seems confused, but she is still working hard on her duties. She doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about.”

“Okay. I can trust Marquis Irfe to take care of her. That’s a relief.”

“Whatever about other people, I’m most relieved that you’re safe, Lord. I really thought you wouldn’t wake up forever.”

It’s a relief indeed. In many ways, I was lucky, and I was able to survive thanks to my trustworthy colleagues.

But there is no guarantee that the same luck will come again. So, the same mistake must not be repeated twice.

It was a moment when I desperately felt that I needed more powerful strength to do so.

“Anyway, about that.”

At my call, the two who raised their heads looked at me.

“I felt a lot from this incident. I should say that I’ve been too complacent. If I was going to start something, I should have taken care of my safety properly beforehand.”

“We are just sorry that we couldn’t protect you more thoroughly.”

“No, what I’m saying is the same for you, including me.”

“What do you mean by including us…?”

“As I said before, you are the only people I can trust and entrust with work. I don’t want you to sacrifice yourselves instead of my life. That in itself is no different from a big failure for me. So, I think you should also develop your strength properly.”

“…”

“Let’s go with me in a week.”

“In a week? Where are you going?”

“I don’t know. I’m just following Rahenna.”

“Rahenna, you mean…?”

“She said she would train me to better control the power I have. Of course, you will be with me too. It will probably be an opportunity to train freely without worrying about other people’s eyes.”

At my words, Ruth clenched and unclenched his fists.

“Indeed, there have been so many prying eyes that I have never been able to unleash myself to my heart’s content. Ilia, it’s the same for you, isn’t it?”

“Yes. There was no suitable opponent to show off my strength…”

I nodded at their answers.

“It’s a good opportunity. Try to fight each other to the death and get a feel for it. Of course, I will participate in that too.”

That was what I desperately felt while competing with the black-haired man this time.

The ability of the Avatar was certainly a very powerful force. But the problem was that I had never had the opportunity to properly hone that power.

The reason, as I said before, was that there were too many prying eyes around, there was no one to fight with, and even if there was an opponent, it would consume all my strength once I used my ability, so a safe haven was essential.

The opportunity for all those conditions to be met has been very rare so far.

And this problem was not only for me but also for Ruth and Ilia, so the decision was not difficult.

“Okay. Then let’s decide on that and start sharing the story.”

“What do you mean by sharing the story?”

At Ruth’s question, I sat on the chair and pointed to my head.

“I’ve been asleep for two months. That means there’s a gap. So, shouldn’t we find out what’s been going on?”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Ruth nodded, pulled up a chair, sat opposite me, and began to tell the story.

The beginning was after the battle with the black-haired man.

According to Ruth, when Count Lindaier defeated and captured the black-haired man and returned to the palace, the ghoul situation that had been happening throughout the Capital miraculously subsided.

“Hmm, did the black mages notice and run away?”

“That may be the case.”

“Still, wouldn’t they have found at least a trace? If they had, they could have gotten some clue.”

“…Well.”

At Ruth’s lukewarm reaction, I narrowed my eyes and asked again.

“Warren, was it? There’s a knight I met. I told that knight to ask Duke Bashrun to look for the black mages scattered on the outskirts. Ah, maybe he couldn’t deliver the message because he was affected? If so, that could be the case.”

“No. Knight Warren carried out the mission you entrusted to him reliably.”

“Is that so? Then there’s no way Duke Bashrun wouldn’t have moved.”

“That’s right. Duke Bashrun listened to your story and led the mages of the Magic Tower to find the black mages.”

Listening to Ruth’s words, the question grew even bigger.

There was no way that someone as skilled as Duke Bashrun would have handled the work carelessly.

“But they couldn’t find them?”

“Yes.”

“Not even a trace?”

“Yes, not even a trace.”

What is it? Did I overestimate Duke Bashrun’s abilities too much?

No, that can’t be. In the first place, a 7-circle archmage is not a position that can be won by playing Hwatu [a Korean card game], and he is the best expert in the continent in that field, so how could that be?

Or am I missing something?

I was lost in thought for a moment, and then I felt like my strength was draining away.

“I see.”

I let out a hollow laugh in disbelief and opened my mouth weakly.

“There were no black mages in the first place.”

“Yes. There is no definite evidence, but Duke Bashrun has come to that conclusion.”

There were no black mages.

But the ghoul situation happened.

As a result, the Capital clearly suffered damage, and a big shot named the black-haired man also appeared.

When those scattered fragments gathered into one in my head, the conclusion was pointing to only one thing.

“What about that bastard?”

Perhaps sensing the anxiety in my question, Ruth took a deep breath.