The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 24

22. The 3-Year Gap He Doesn’t Know

“Hmm.”

Caryl took out a pouch from his pocket.

He needed funds to move around. The pouch contained the treasures of Kaiye Essir, obtained from Einherjar.

However, he put it back and took out another small pouch.

He had taken it when he left the mansion.

Caryl wore a faint smile.

Clink-

When he opened it, there were gold coins inside.

But they were subtly different from the gold coins in the pouch from Einherjar.

The old empire’s gold coins from the era when Kaiye Essir lived were valuable in themselves, but to use them, he had to sell them to a jeweler.

He was told to use them as much as he wanted, but Caryl found it restrictive.

It wouldn’t be appropriate for a 12-year-old to trade such items at a store.

“I’m glad Elliot hasn’t changed where he hides his emergency funds.”

Perhaps it was because he was the son of a fallen merchant.

Elliot, the third child, had a fiery temper and an obsession with money that went beyond mere attachment.

Whenever Cwell gave the children pocket money, Elliot always put it in a small safe without spending it.

“The dream of starting a trading company will be impossible after the war breaks out anyway… I can’t use this money. But I will definitely repay the borrowed money.”

Caryl first bought a horse in a village not far from the mansion.

Although they were the people who cheered for him, no one recognized him because he was wearing a mask during the goblin subjugation.

The moment he left the mansion, he had already set his goal.

‘My final destination is Tatur, but there’s a place I need to stop by to get there.’

The port city, Piasta.

It was about a fifteen-day journey by horse from the mansion, so Caryl was looking around the village to buy enough food and supplies.

“Come on, new leather just arrived!”

“Have a taste!”

The village belonging to Cwell Territory, filled with merchants selling fruits and various shops, was not large but quite lively.

‘I’m glad the goblins were cleaned up neatly. Otherwise, this place would have been swept away by them.’

In his previous life, this place was a ruin.

Those who are smiling brightly would have become corpses.

Caryl wore a satisfied expression, as if pleased with the result he had created since his regression.

Crunch-

Then, he lightly bit into an apple from a stand and looked around.

‘When was the last time I traveled the empire so freely? Maybe it’s the first time.’

Caryl was once again feeling the greatness of magic.

It was then.

“Everyone, get out of the way!! Clear the road quickly!!!”

A man ran from the entrance of the village, panting and shouting from the path.

The merchants and villagers were bewildered, not knowing what was going on. Caryl swallowed the last bite of apple and looked in the direction the man had come from.

In that instant, his eyes flashed.

Then, as if Caryl’s vision had zoomed in, he saw a group of people running from afar.

The people were just murmuring, confused and not knowing what was happening.

Dudududu……!

Soon, the sound of hooves echoed loudly.

As soon as they saw the emblem on the leading flag, people hurriedly cleared the area.

‘That’s definitely…….’

Caryl’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Hiiiing—!!

Pulling the reins, the horse stopped, raising its two front feet.

“Excuse me, can I get some water?”

“Yes, yes. Of course.”

The knight at the front took off his helmet and wiped away sweat. The merchant took out the best utensils from the attic but seemed hesitant.

“It doesn’t matter. As long as I can drink water.”

The young knight smiled lightly.

Caryl glared at him.

‘It’s the Lye Knight Order, one of the empire’s seven knight orders? Are they belatedly going to the mansion? Well… with Father’s personality, he would have reported the spy’s death using magic tools first.’

But it was strange.

It had only been a day since Baker, the spy from the Lurein Principality, had died.

‘They are the knight order in charge of the eastern border… Even if they received a report, there’s no way they could have come this quickly.’

Caryl searched his memories.

But in his previous life, the Lye Knight Order had never visited the mansion.

‘If they had, I would definitely remember it.’

He stared at the knight who was nonchalantly drinking from the water dipper the merchant had handed him.

Despite being a man, his smooth features exuded beauty and elegance.

His face showed so much kindness that he could have been a clergyman.

And as much as his appearance, he was one of the few nobles who mingled with the people despite being a noble.

Narle, the baron who rose to the position of vice-commander of the Lye Knight Order at a young age.

‘His personality is as handsome as his appearance, so he was very popular with the young ladies.’

Because of that personality, after the Divine Decree [a formal order from a divine authority] was issued.

He treated Caryl, who was a foreigner at the time of being summoned to the Imperial Palace, without hesitation.

‘I wonder if those women know that he turns into a demon on the battlefield with such a pure face. Well, his skills are outstanding, and he’ll soon become the commander.’

Recalling the first Divine Decree War, Caryl chuckled without realizing it.

As if to prove Caryl’s thoughts, a large battle-axe, unfitting for his appearance, was firmly strapped to his back.

‘But why are they going so urgently?’

The empire’s seven knight orders are naturally divided into the First Prince faction and the Second Prince faction.

The fact that Cwell, the commander of the Blue Knight Order, sided with Olivon was the catalyst for their rapid division.

‘Although they are still neutral, the Lye Knight Order is also on Olivon’s side. Perhaps there was another plan I don’t know about.’

Caryl licked his lips slightly, looking at Narle, who was riding his horse again.

‘Should I follow them?’

He was curious, but soon shook his head.

‘No. There’s little I can do right now. It’s not good to cause problems by interfering unnecessarily.’

If the Lye Knight Order’s movements had greatly influenced the history of the continent, it would have remained in Caryl’s memory.

Besides, considering that he met him later, Narle would not die or get hurt.

‘Well, it’s nice to see him even in this way.’

Then, he stared at his departing back for a moment.

Caryl didn’t think much of it.

Only a little of his future had changed.

No one knew what kind of butterfly effect it would bring.

* * *

Piasta.

The busy port city, frequented by people, was bustling.

“Hoo.”

Having finally arrived after riding his horse for a long time, he visited a place before even relieving his fatigue.

Caryl looked around with a face full of emotion.

The lively appearance of the people and the atmosphere of the city were good, but Caryl’s mood was as if cold water had been poured on it.

“No way. Absolutely not.”

“…….”

Creak- Creak-

Like Caryl’s hardened face, the sign of the store swayed indifferently in the blowing wind.

He looked at the name of the sign once again.

Located where the Ponaine River, which runs through the continent, meets the sea, Piasta was small in size, but due to its strategic location, it was no exaggeration to say that most of the merchants on the continent visited this place.

The only reason Caryl came here was one.

The Merchant Guild, where over forty wagons were lined up in a spectacular sight, was in name and reality the information hub where all the information of the continent was concentrated.

“The trading company won’t leave. Sounds like you’re not planning to work.”

“Sir, every road is different.”

A man wearing a flashy leather tunic waved his hand and said to Caryl.

Slicking back his short-cut hair, he glanced at Caryl and turned his head.

As if he didn’t have time to pay attention to a child, he began to organize the luggage on the shelves.

“Isn’t there a Lavat Guild here?”

Caryl frowned slightly at his attitude and asked again.

“I’ve been based in this port for 15 years. As I said before, there is no such guild.”

“…….”

“There is no other merchant guild here. No merchant goes to the route you mentioned. No, no one will go if you ask anywhere else in the city besides us.”

The man started carrying the stacked boxes as if he had nothing more to say.

‘That’s strange…….’

At that moment.

Caryl retraced his timeline.

‘Is it not the right time yet?’

He had come here several years earlier than in his previous life.

‘This is awkward.’

The place he wanted to go was neither a dangerous dungeon nor a forest. Nevertheless, no one went there.

A canal visible when traveling by boat along the great Ponaine River from here.

‘Behind it is the Free City.’

Tatur.

That was Caryl’s first destination after setting foot on the continent.

“No one with ten lives would try to dock at an outlaw port.”

The man said with a confident voice.

Then, the other merchants around him nodded with low groans, as if not denying it.

Tatur, located at the end of the Ponaine River, is different from any other kingdom on the continent.

No.

It cannot be called a kingdom.

‘It is the only city on the continent without a king. Therefore, it is called a free city, but freedom means that there is no law or order.’

There were two reasons why Caryl was trying to go to such a lawless place.

‘Information and a base.’

Tatur, located in the middle of the Ponaine River that runs through the continent, is a barren land now, but when the sea route opens, it will become a place where all the news of the continent moves along with all kinds of goods.

Everything he needed was there.

“I don’t know what your story is, but give up. Unless you want to die young at a young age.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

“Cross that? That’s nonsense.”

Despite the merchants’ low laughter, Caryl did not easily take a step, as if he was worried.

The reason was simple.

Tatur cannot be reached by land.

It can only be reached by going up the Ponaine River or down the canal behind it.

In other words, it meant that he had to move by boat no matter what.

And the only port that can enter the free city there.

The Outlaw Port.

There is no king in Tatur, but the owner of the port exists.

Kuran, called the Golden Lion of Ponaine.

Therefore, people practically thought of him as the owner of Tatur.

But the reason why merchants were afraid was not because Kuran, the owner of the Outlaw Port, was a pirate.

‘If you offer tribute, anyone will be accepted.’

Even if it is a traitor who has committed a great crime in a country, or even a foreign race chased by the Inquisition [a powerful organization that hunts down heretics].

‘Well… I don’t have any tribute to give to such a guy.’

But that’s what happens when you arrive.

The real problem before that was whether or not he could arrive in Tatur.

‘The monsters stationed in the river.’

Among them, the giant serpent called the Water King was a nuisance that even the empire could not handle.

But this is not it either.

Even if.

Even if he meets the Water King, there is a way to avoid it.

‘Judging from the fact that the sea route has not been developed, only the Golden Lion guy is monopolizing this method.’

That must be the reason why he was able to become the owner of the Outlaw Port.

Then what is the real problem?

‘The rapids leading from the Ponaine River to Tatur.’

The Ponaine, which is too large to be called a river, has currents as strong as the sea.

‘If only the two blood vessels flowing to the legs were opened, I could use Fly magic…….’

He had great magical power, but he regretted the situation where he could not use it properly.

Thanks to the Bracelet of Greed, his magic power was stabilized, but he still could not use magic properly because his blood vessels were not opened.

‘Lavat Guild Master, Suan Hazar.’

The reason Caryl visited the Merchant Guild was because of him.

He was the first person to analyze the currents of the Ponaine and develop the waterway to Tatur.

His magic-like steering skills and seemingly reckless intuition were superior to any navigator Caryl had seen in his life so far.

‘Besides, he was excellent in combat, whether on land or at sea. Frankly, he was too good to remain a merchant. His subordinates were better than most armies.’

His fleet, like a raging wave, and his trading company, as fast as the wind, carried out rapid surprise attacks along routes known only to them.

After the Divine Decree was issued.

There were few major and minor events that occurred on the continent that could be considered without him.

For that reason, Olivon even tried to award him the title of Count.

‘But for some reason, he refused to the end. He seemed to shudder whenever he talked about the military.’

Caryl first met him when he was 15 years old.

That was three years from now.

‘He was the guild master at that time, so even if it’s early and he’s not the master, I thought at least the Lavat Guild would exist…….’

In his previous life.

He had spent most of his time in the mansion until he was 15 years old. In a way, he had a three-year gap.

It was unexpected.

When he met him, the Lavat Guild was so large that its name was known even in the Imperial Capital [the empire’s center of power and governance].

That such a guild……. Would be a newly emerging guild that grew in just three years.

Caryl frowned.

‘Where did Olivon find him?’

Unfortunately, I don’t know.

‘I didn’t expect to be held back by something unexpected.’

He bit his lip.

‘Should I negotiate with the Golden Lion guy even if I have to?’

But soon shook his head.

“Hmm?”

It was then.

‘……What?’

The street was noisy.