How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 63

How to Live as the Third Son of a Wasted Novel – Chapter 63

* * *

After that, until our departure, the group, including myself, decided to stay at an inn in Bashurno.

As it was the last rest before heading into the Great Forest, everyone spent their time freely.

Roos went to find a skilled blacksmith in Bashurno. Ilia was still swinging her sword behind the inn, lost in the sweetness of mana.

And me?

I strolled through the city with Rahelna.

“I thought I said I could go alone.”

“I’m too anxious to let you go alone.”

“Do you take me for a reckless child?”

“I was worried about the citizens of Bashurno.”

“Why is your tongue always laced with poison?”

“I think it’s better than being coated in honey.”

“That’s true. Slander is better than sweet talk.”

“By the way, one more person has joined us on this journey.”

“Is there anything I should keep in mind?”

“For now, yes.”

“That means they’re not ordinary.”

“It’s the eldest daughter of the Bashrun Duchy.”

“…….”

Rahelna’s face stiffened for a moment before returning to normal.

“You don’t want me to hide my abilities from that human, do you?”

“It shouldn’t matter if you show them. I’ve received a firm promise of secrecy.”

“I don’t like it.”

“It seems like a persistent connection.”

After the end of the Race Wars, the Great Forest was placed under the control of the Bashrun Duchy.

Naturally, the Duchy’s view of the different races was not favorable, as they had once taken each other’s lives.

So, it was only natural that conflicts arose when they came to control them. The victims were always the different races. Humans were, after all, the dominant power that had won the war.

Rahelna shook her head with a bitter expression, as if recalling those memories.

“It’s a matter forgotten in ancient history. We can’t hold the humans of this era accountable for that fault.”

“That’s the right choice.”

“But the karma associated with the name Bashrun will surely come back somehow.”

“They should bear it themselves. It’s the seed they sowed.”

At my answer, Rahelna turned her head and stared at me intently.

“You’re a bit strange.”

“With my looks, I’m quite handsome among humans.”

“I’m not talking about your features.”

“Well, it’s a joke. So, what’s so strange about me?”

“You always take a step back from everything and remain neutral, acting as if you’re an outsider.”

That stings.

“You can think of me as an extremely individualistic human.”

“I know you’re rotten inside without even looking.”

After that, Rahelna headed to a bookstore.

There, when she pointed at a book, I took it out and put it in my bag.

As one book after another piled up, the bag became noticeably heavy.

“Are you planning to open a bookstore?”

“The journey is boring.”

She already had a pile of her books stacked in the carriage.

“Tell me a story.”

“Pardon?”

“You didn’t just follow me because you were worried about me. There’s something you want to say, isn’t there?”

As expected, you can’t ignore the experience of a long life.

I glanced around. The gray-haired bookstore owner was dozing off, and other than that, it was just her and me.

“You have sorcery, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, it’s absurd to ask you to teach it to me.”

“You’re asking the obvious.”

“Then, don’t you do procedures or something?”

“Procedures?”

Rahelna, who was looking through a book, stopped.

Then, she turned her head and looked at me intently.

“What do you mean?”

“To be honest, I want to receive a sentence [a powerful, magically-infused phrase or incantation].”

“You’re telling an amazing story.”

Blue light leaked from her thinly opened eyes.

“How do you know that fact?”

“Am I not supposed to know?”

“That’s a fact that even Kerwyn doesn’t know. How do you know about that, which only Druids know as a secret technique?”

Yes, I saw it in the novel.

“I just happened to find out.”

“I’ll give you two choices.”

“Two choices?”

“Tell me the name of the person who told you that fact.”

“What happens if I tell you?”

“You will live, and that person will die.”

“If I don’t tell you?”

“You will die, and that person will live.”

I was just testing the waters, thinking I might be able to get it if I coaxed her well, but her attitude is more serious than I thought.

“It’s no use even if I tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because that person is not in this world.”

It’s not a lie. The author isn’t in this world either.

“Then, if I just kill you, it will be buried forever.”

“Oh, then that would be breaking the covenant.”

“It won’t be a problem after I finish Kerwyn’s mission.”

Is this the moment when my remaining lifespan is determined?

She’s more hostile than I thought. How do I appease her?

I scratched the back of my neck and pondered for a moment.

“Then, let’s make a deal.”

“It’s not something to be dealt with.”

“Even if I offer any conditions?”

“Anything.”

Really?

“In the future, I will provide an area that recognizes the autonomy of the Druids.”

How’s that? Is that tempting now?

Indeed, Rahelna’s hostile atmosphere subsided a bit.

“……Give up territory?”

“Yes. A place as vast and amazing as the Great Forest that the Elves have. That way, the Druids won’t have to live in the shadows anymore.”

“Only a very small number of our race remains. Don’t you know that even if we have territory, we don’t have the power to protect it?”

“I’ll make a protection agreement with a covenant. The enemy of the Druids will soon become the enemy of humans.”

For a moment, Rahelna’s eyes trembled slightly.

“This time, your tongue is coated with honey.”

“It’s not a lie.”

“Are you even the king of humans? How can you decide whether to make those promises as you please?”

“Well, after this war is over, I’ll probably have so much influence that I could even replace the king, so wouldn’t that be enough?”

“You’re arrogant.”

“I’m a hero who will save the kingdom, so can’t I do that much?”

“Even with vain delusions.”

“I don’t know, but a war will happen. And there will definitely be forces aiming for usurpation in that gap. After beheading them, there will be plenty of territory left over, so what’s impossible?”

Once the war is over, the aftermath is none of my business. I will definitely return to the real world.

“Where is the guarantee that you will lead that war to victory?”

“Then, why are you helping me with my work without that guarantee?”

“Because it’s the will of that person. And I made a covenant.”

“Conversely, isn’t it because Kerwyn saw my potential that he entrusted me with the work?”

“…….”

“Or what, do you think Kerwyn is old and senile?”

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Ignoring the vibrating Acheon [likely a magical communication device], I met Rahelna’s gaze.

Her eyes, which had been watching me for a long time, blinked.

“Your mind may change when the time comes. Breaking promises like flipping your hand is your human specialty, isn’t it?”

“You can twist my neck whenever you want, can’t you?”

“That’s true now.”

It could be different in the future.

I could almost hear her unspoken words.

Indeed, when she sparred with me before, she was greatly surprised when she learned that I had been holding a sword for less than a year.

“I feel good that you acknowledge my talent?”

“That’s why I’m considering pulling out your tongue right now before it’s too late.”

Tap- Tap- Tap-

A moment of silence passed, and Rahelna, with a nonchalant face, was once again engrossed in choosing books.

But she must have been having all sorts of worries in her head.

Tap-

Like a ritual, she looked through the books she had taken out and finally closed the book.

“What kind of sentence do you want?”

“Are you going to listen?”

“I’m just going to listen for now.”

Unlike intuitive magic, Druid sorcery was focused on supernatural phenomena.

Accordingly, humans who had opened their Mana Hearts could not handle sorcery. In the first place, they were different areas with different mechanisms.

But if you learn a sentence, things change. A sentence itself has power, like the Incarnation I’m using now, which is close to a divine language.

“The sentence of Hashnar.”

“…….”

“I want to get that.”

Once upon a time.

In the war between Elves and Druids in the Great Forest, there was a Druid who single-handedly slaughtered over a hundred Elves.

The Necromancer Hashnar.

His prowess had been praised in the novel, with several pages devoted to it.

Hashnar, the black wolf who appeared like a ghost from the shadows.

He was an extreme threat to the Elves, so much so that he was called the Hound of Hell.

“Not only do you know the existence of the sentence, but you even know Hashnar’s name. The more I hear, the more absurd it is.”

“Can’t I?”

“…….”

She sighed softly.

Perhaps because it was a series of surprises, she now seemed half resigned.

“I’ll see for now.”

“Pardon?”

“Helping you is a covenant with Kerwyn, so it’s okay for me to act on my own, but the sentence is a completely different story. It’s not something I can easily decide on my own.”

“So, you’re saying you’ll think about it anyway.”

“After watching you for a while longer, and once I’m sure, I’ll meet with other Druids and discuss it.”

“You’re saying you’ll test me.”

“Yes.”

“Can’t you give me a hint on what you’ll focus on?”

“Don’t say ridiculous things.”

Rahelna, who had handed me a pile of carefully selected books, paid the owner and went outside.

* * *

The night before the expedition.

Fleta, including the group, was gathered in the rented inn hall.

“Here are the things you asked for.”

Clatter-

Fleta grabbed the small bag she brought upside down and poured out the contents.

What came out were accessories. The amulets that could be hung around the neck looked extraordinary at a glance.

“They are enchanted with shield magic. You can think of it as preparing for an emergency.”

“How effective are they?”

Roos asked, fiddling with the amulet.

“It’s a product distributed to knights with siege warfare in mind. The duration is longer and the power is better than other items.”

As expected, is that what a magical family is? The way she readily offers items that cost a fortune represents the power of the Duchy.

“With this, I’ll be less worried. Besides, the Princess is also a mage.”

Roos nodded.

Fleta, who unintentionally joined us, was also a 4-circle mage [a mage of considerable power]. She was clearly a talented person who would be of great help.

“Then, let’s hear the story now.”

Fleta looked at me as if to say, tell me quickly.

“What?”

“You must have a plan for what to do there.”

“Ah. A plan?”

Well, I don’t have anything special.

“Probably the Elf scouts who find us will attack. Then we capture them and get them to guide us to the inside of the Great Forest.”

“…….”

“Simple, right?”

“Capture them? Them? In the Great Forest?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Well.”

“…….”

Two silences.

At the end of that, Fleta lit a fire in both eyes.

“You’re going to capture them! Are you saying that now?”

“Why can’t I say that?”

“To capture Elves in the Great Forest. How is that different from flying in the sky to catch a bird!”

“Oh, um, it’ll be difficult. But we can do it.”

“How?”

“Because we have a guide who is as good as the Elves.”

Fleta’s gaze started from me and passed through Roos and Ilia. Then, she finally turned to Rahelna.

“That person?”

“Yes.”

“…….”

Roos and Ilia also began to tense up.

“Who is she?”

“Rahelna Grantri. She is a Druid, a race of nature like the Elves.”

Roos and Ilia closed their eyes as if anticipating what was about to happen, and Rahelna leisurely tilted her teacup.

Thump!

And as expected, Fleta, with anger in her eyes, slammed the table with her clenched fist and jumped up.

“Third Young Master!”