What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 750

Noctiluca (1)

Having departed from Lasso Territory, we settled down near the foot of the Memphis Mountains at dusk.

-Neigh

“Good girl, Ara is so kind. Thank you. Let’s rest here for today.”

We prepared our lodging in the bushes not far from the carriage road, and carefully concealed the horses and carriages with layers of camouflage.

The carriage provided to the party by Duke Leopold Lasso was actually two vehicles.

Sant, Isabel, His Majesty Hanan, and Lynn rode in the lead carriage.

Two of Leopold’s trusted, long-time servants accompanied them as coachmen.

In the carriage following behind, I rode with Ms. Gain, Cedric, Jibril Diop, and the troublemakers, with Sir Johan kindly taking the reins as the coachman.

We planned to travel together in these carriages to the middle of the mountain range, and then proceed on foot to the royal capital from around the peaks.

Being discovered by the Holy Kingdom Army or the Sneider rebels would certainly lead to trouble.

Sant and his group planned to continue along the road to the Earl of Rosehard’s territory.

-Whoosh…!

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

-Crackle, crack, crack…

It was hard to tell how many times we had done this, but a bonfire was lit, and everyone busily began preparing the campsite.

Sir Johan, as always, silently patrolled the surroundings.

Sant and Ms. Gain poured clean water into a pot and began to cook the chunks of meat they had received from the territory.

I was also setting up a meal in a leaf bowl made by Demi when Cedric took something out of his pocket and handed it to me.

I widened my eyes and gratefully accepted my item back.

“Thank you for this as well.”

It was the beautiful crystal bell that he had given as Prince Ye’s birthday gift.

Thanks to entrusting it to him before entering the monster-infested territory, I was able to prevent the accident of the bell ringing wherever I went.

I packed the bell into my bag and glanced up at the Crown Prince.

Because it was a forest where the sun set quickly, the darkness that fell over his sharp nose felt even more intense.

“Is the staff useful?”

“……”

“Um, is it perhaps a little short? Well, you do have large hands…”

“No.”

He raised an eyebrow and answered curtly.

“……It’s adequate. The elasticity of the osmanthus [a type of flowering tree] and the mana responsiveness aren’t bad either.”

“That’s good.”

I smiled slightly and cut cheese into everyone’s bowls.

The man remained silent for quite some time, and only spoke again when I called Diop over to ask him to play hunting games with Ropi.

“The ring you gave to the Grand Master.”

“Yes?”

Huh?

“……What abilities does it have?”

-Squeak

He sat down next to me and turned to look at me.

Perry quickly climbed onto his lap.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t explained it to my friends, had I? I had told Sir Johan in detail separately.

I laughed briefly because of Leah, who was sticking close to me with her chubby body—she had clearly learned from Ropi—and then gave Cedric a mischievous look.

“It’s a secret.”

“What?”

The man immediately frowned.

Ms. Gain, who was tasting the broth, also looked at me with goblin fires in her eyes.

But I had no intention of changing my mind.

“Even though you received Leopold’s forgiveness, you shouldn’t believe that everything will go your way after destroying someone else’s house like that. It’s a secret that only Sir Johan and I know… No.”

-Flap flap flap!

Ropi, who was playing lightning hunting games with Diop, caught my eye.

The small cat spirit beast had its butt raised high, aiming for the end of the man’s staff, wriggling.

Seeing the darkly dilated pupils of the creature, a funny thought suddenly occurred to me.

I quickly launched a diversionary tactic.

“To be exact, it’s a secret that only Sir Johan, I, and Young Master Diop know. The Young Master helped me choose the gift.”

“Hey, why are you dragging me, who was minding my own business, into this?”

“Huh? Does the swallow know all that? It’s absurd since you’re not even a paladin. I’ll squeeze it out of you and find out within three days.”

“How many times do I have to say I don’t want to get caught in the crossfire of paladins’ fights?”

“Hahaha.”

-Flap flap flap!

‘Myaa!’ Taking advantage of the Young Master’s distraction, Ropi finally snatched the lightning.

Zap! Its front paws must have been stinging, but it didn’t back down, pressing down on the lightning’s neck (?) and biting its fur (?).

I showered praise on Ropi, who was lying on its back—“As expected, the best beast on the continent. You’ve brought order to a mountain range today. Hooray, hooray.”—and secretly winked at Diop.

“I’m sorry, Young Master. I thought these restrictions might be necessary to correct my friends’ attitudes.”

“……”

“Please let it slide just this once.”

‘Hmph.’ Then he snorted and waved his staff.

Ropi stood up as if it had never been lying down and hunted the second lightning.

For a while, my companions were eager to know about the teacher’s ring, but they quickly shut their mouths when Sir Johan returned to the campsite.

A small, round gem was set in the center of the simple platinum ring on his left middle finger, and it suited him very well because it resembled the color of his eyes.

Ms. Gain and Cedric glared at his hand with narrowed eyes, but they happily accepted the sea bream that I placed on their plates. They really seem like siblings at times like this.

“There were no monsters nearby.”

“Meat.”

“Is that so? That’s a relief.”

“It looks like a luxury item at first glance. Feels like Van Cleef [a high-end jewelry brand].”

Sir Johan gave Lynn the meat in the stew as he spoke, and I fed Ether orbs to Tea as I replied.

Ms. Gain looked like she was really about to bite her teacher’s hand. I quickly placed an Ether orb on her plate as well. Please calm down.

“I was able to discern the paths of the monsters that escaped from Lasso Territory through traces on the bark and the dirt. Most of them hid in the deep forest.”

“I guess they were scared. Even if they are monsters, they must have been tortured like that for a long time…”

“Yes. They won’t approach places that smell of humans for the time being.”

The ring emitted a beautiful light every time Sir Johan moved his hand.

My friends’ gazes followed it exactly.

Isabel poured drinks for the coachmen and elegantly added.

“We have high-grade monster tranquilizers obtained from Lasso Territory, so there won’t be any problems even if an unexpected situation arises.”

“Besides, His Majesty Hanan is here. You will all be safe at all times.”

I quickly echoed her words.

Then, the cloth doll, who was quietly warming himself in front of the fire, turned to look at me.

That gaze felt somehow heavy and solemn.

And a couple of hours later, I was summoned separately by His Majesty.

-Come here.

“Yes, yes.”

Between the dark bushes about thirty steps away from the bonfire, the doll and I stood facing each other.

The hands holding the staff trembled slightly for no reason.

The troublemakers, who had promised to behave and followed along, sat curled up on one side, watching us.

-The eye color has fully returned to normal.

“I’m relieved. Thank you.”

-But after entering the royal capital, you must never forget your glasses. Your eyes may incite someone’s faith and cause them to harbor twisted desires.

“I will keep that in mind.”

-Don’t smile easily at the petty paladins.

“……Yes.”

I don’t know what the atmosphere of the royal capital is like—perhaps even His Majesty doesn’t know very well right now—but anyway, I immediately accepted what the elder said.

Soon, the doll stood upright with its hands behind its back.

-Open it.

“Hoo. Yes.”

-Whoa…!

I closed my eyes and immediately deployed a small sanctuary.

It was the first time I was formally receiving teachings about Ether from His Majesty.

The last time I tried to learn, our plans were completely derailed when we ended up rescuing a dying cardinal from an enemy country.

But if I could spare even one night, I definitely wanted to receive advice from the elder.

I felt my heart beating healthily and opened my eyes wide.

-Rustle, rustle, rustle…!

The scene before my eyes was entirely filled with golden light, and the nighttime trees and rocks covered in Ether reflected a splendid light as if they were gilded.

The Ether, drawing the patterns of the sanctuary with overflowing energy, soared like a fountain, drawing parabolas here and there.

It had been a long time since I had used my power without worry like this, so I smiled brightly and drew in the air with my fingers.

Splash…! Three or four small Ether stingrays fluttered up and plunged into one side of the sanctuary.

-…Truly a great and magnificent power.

The doll’s button eyes shone brightly.

This was not the first time this person had experienced my Ether, but the illusion of the Temple of Boundary that I had created in Lasso Territory some time ago seemed to have particularly remained in their mind.

I felt a little embarrassed, and the tip of my nose tickled.

“I often trained separately to create these shapes. Starting with simple shapes and animals, I gradually concretized difficult shapes…”

Hoo, take a deep breath—

-Bang!

-Rustle…!

No sooner had the end of the long crescent staff struck the ground than a golden ripple arose in the middle of the sanctuary, and the figure of a small boy emerged.

Probably the subject I’ve practiced the most.

-….

“Hoo……”

-Charr, charrr……

It was the illusion of the lovely Herrit, which I had occasionally shown only to Sir Johan.

His Majesty was just watching it quietly for a while.

The child smiled brightly at something, perhaps chased the butterflies in the Juliette Palace garden, and then returned to the sanctuary again, took someone’s hand, and shook their arm.

The lesser pandas, who had been sitting obediently, wagged their tails when they saw Herrit.

I carefully added an explanation.

“The name of this technique is Noctiluca. Sir Johan gave it to me.”

-Indeed… A moon that illuminates the night, surely the light of the Lord God.

“……”

-I have nothing else to teach you.

“Yes?”

I almost dropped the staff from my hand.

His Majesty turned to me and let out a low laugh.

It was a voice filled with more pleasure than frustration.

-Your vessel does not belong to the continent, and your Ether is also the anointing of the Lord God, so how can a mere paladin guide it?

“Yes? No, Your Majesty. How can you call the strongest warrior of the era a mere paladin? I am still very lacking……”

-Your bloodline flows from outside the heavens. Surely the Emperor’s consort also recognized his own limitations as a teacher.

“……”

I was momentarily at a loss for words.

Her Highness Aurelia’s kind smile seemed to float up under the golden light.

I always missed her.

-Just go forward without doubting yourself. Break even fate, as you have done so far.

“……”

-And one piece of technical advice…

“Yes.”

His Majesty raised his right cotton ball. I focused intently and pricked up my ears.

-It would be more efficient to imagine the shape you want to create after unleashing your power, rather than imagining it first and then unleashing your power.

“Ah, change the order? So, explode the Ether first…”

-Yes.

That was something I had never thought of before.

My head felt numb as if I had been hit in the back of the head with a toy hammer.

-If imagination comes first, the Ether naturally suppresses itself to fit that framework. The energy that could become stronger becomes cautious in advance. It has long been said that the first virtue of paladins is imagination…

-But the virtue that must come first was the triggering of power.

-Your Ether will grow stronger day by day. Do not suppress it.

“……”

Unleash the power first.

I nodded diligently.