◈ Episode 406. Four Days (1)

I scolded the little chick.

“Don’t be so arrogant, Frostnax.”

“On the word of Dark Dragon, I’ll forgive you today. Human.”

“Commander-in-Chief, who is that chick?”

As I said with my beak, it was the Ice Dragon, Frostnax.

‘For the first time in a while, I feel the power of this snout.’

Frostnax manifested a polymorph, changed his appearance to that of a little chick, and tore through dimensions to chase after me. The reason is obvious.

‘Well, I’m good at worrying about other people, anyway.’

Swallowing a sigh, I turned to Harkon.

“I succeeded because of your sacrifice.”

“When you say it’s my sacrifice……. No way!”

“Yes, the evil fruit has been purified.”

I didn’t know the process by which Frostnax was purified, or what the situation was on the Arcana Continent, since I had died on the Arcana Continent after manifesting the ultimate in healing magic.

So.

-“Dark Dragon!”

Frostnax tore through the air, revealing his newborn chick appearance.

I was more relieved than surprised, relieved that he wasn’t dead. Plus, I thought I might be able to hear what exactly had happened.

And then.

A litle chick tilting its head.

-“I’m sorry, I was in a hurry to catch up.”

Indeed, it was an emotional Hatchetling……!

‘I suppose I’ll have to ask Hiel.’

A moment of anguish.

Harkon had knocked on the office door.

This is Harkon, trained in the Grandfell style of speaking.

He quickly recognized the meaning of my words.

“It seems that after Eunaxus, an evil dragon appeared on the Arcana continent. It is the Ice Dragon Frostnax…….. However, may I ask why it has the appearance of a chick?”

To that, Frostnax replied.

“As long as polymorphs exist, appearance is meaningless to dragons. You want me to be a little chick, so I am merely following orders, don’t you agree, Dark Dragon?”

‘I don’t think newborn chick means a real newborn chick.’

It’s a hatchetling, so you don’t understand the metaphor.

Still, it was a good chick.

‘The fur is flying, though.’

Above all, try to return to the office as a massive Ice Dragon. Aside from being a mess, the luxurious golden palace might collapse.

Harkon nods in disbelief.

“It was your influence, indeed.”

I look at Harkon in admiration.

‘You can’t hide your emotions completely, can you, Harkon.’

Harkon was a veteran warrior.

He had seen countless battles and suffered severe trials, including the loss of both his legs at the end of one of them, so he was used to not showing much emotion. But there was an expectant look on Harkon’s face.

‘I feel even more sorry to tell you this.’

The emperor made a questionable choice.

A blockade declared on Antonium.

Claudi’s prodigal son, Pride, may have had something to do with it.

No matter how I look at it, it wasn’t my fault.

I, Lee Hoyeol.

It was not easy for me to speak out because I was so perceptive.

But how could Grandfell, which hides nothing, allow silence?

Eventually, I opened my mouth.

“There’s a blockade on Antonium, Harkon.”

” ……I’ve heard the rumors, and they’re true.”

“And that blockade involves a Great Evil.”

“By Great Evil, I assume you mean the Seven Deadly Sins.”

“That’s right. The last of the Seven Deadly Sins, Pride.”

I continued.

“And Claudi, who happens to have the same silver hair as me.”

“……!”

Harkon’s pupils flutter.

I can’t help but feel embarrassed.

But I don’t know the full story yet.

The first time I encountered him was with [Curse, Understanding Darkness].

It was just a flash in the memory of ‘that day’.

I don’t even know the exact nature of our relationship.

But there’s no need to worry.

Emilio, King of the Scavengers.

Now that I’m connected to him.

I have access to Antonium’s inner workings through the sewers.

At the mention of Emilio’s name, Harkon nodded.

“A ravaged continent must be a breeding ground for Scavengers, and to unite them means he’s no ordinary man……. That you would embrace even one of them is, after all, you, Commander-in-Chief.”

……I wouldn’t say I embraced them, but it was more of a butterfly effect.

I was silent on that one, because even though I was trying to answer, I could see the concern on Harkon’s face. I cut to the chase.

“I am authorizing the Knights of the Lionheart to enter the Arcana continent. The purpose is to learn more about the situation in Antonium. And…”

Harkon’s eyes light up at the next words.

“It’s a face to face with the emperor.”

“!”

Pride, he must have something up his sleeve.

He wants me, and no one else, to set foot in Antonium. In the past, I might have gone straight into Antonium. But as I said, it’s not like I’m a lone wolf.

Commander-in-Chief of the Holy War Alliance, for all its weight.

I have countless allies.

I had to command them and be responsible for them.

cheog.

Soon, Harkon lowers his head with a solemn expression.

“Lionheart will follow the Commander-in-Chief’s orders.”

Harkon retreats to make final preparations for departure, leaving me and Frostnax alone in the Oval Office. So let’s get down to business, shall we? I asked, turning to the chick.

And so.

“What happened to the evil fruit you swallowed, Frostnax?”

*

Time on the Arcana Continent was passing four times faster than in reality.

Magic exhausted.

Bellier’s eyelids twitched as she collapsed in the aftermath.

“……?”

An unfamiliar ceiling.

A small family home.

A blond-haired man stepped into view.

“This is…….”

“Senior Bellier, is everything okay?!”

“Senior Bensch……?”

“I’m fine. Really!”

An adept mage in a Magic Tower must decide on a major magic.

Unless they are exceptionally talented and found a new school of thought, like Hoyeol, Marcelo, or Matisse, this means that from the time they become an Adept, they will only practice the magic of their choice.

“I’m so relieved. Good job, brother.”

“Hehe. You’re too kind, brother.”

However, Nash William was a mage of the caliber of a adept mage, even though he did not belong to the Magic Tower.

Among the spells he had learned from the quality grimoires left behind in the Imperial Library was healing magic, so his level was comparable to that of an Adept of the Healing School.

Recognizing his efforts, Bellier offered his thanks.

“Thank you, Sir Nash.”

“Oh, no!”

Nash’s face flushed.

Bensch’s eyebrows quirked in amusement.

There was no time for jokes.

Bellier asked immediately.

“Where is Chief Lee Hoyeol?”

She recalled her last memory.

A way to purify the evil fruit the dragon had swallowed.

It was to manifest the ultimate in healing magic, to infuse the evil fruit with powerful life force. More precisely, giving one’s life to germinate the seeds of the World Tree within it.

‘And.’

Obviously, Chief Lee has taken on that role for himself.

Bensch and Nash.

The brothers’ faces hardened.

“Regrettably, neither I nor my brother Nash were able to witness his final moments, Senior Bellier. However, one thing is clear: he was a great man……….”

Shhh.

Bensch’s finger points out the window.

“That Senior Bellier’s research was not wrong.”

“……?”

Bellier jumped out of bed, as if mesmerized by something.

And there it was.

Northern Antonium, a sprout from the seed of a great World Tree.

“I thought it was some kind of rock at first, but……. The adventurers quickly realized that it was a World Tree seed. Perhaps Chief Lee has shown it to the adventurers before.”

That’s right.

It was Hoyeol who had already sprouted the seeds of the World Tree through Hiel’s {blessing} once in [Secret Garden of the World Tree]. But Bellier knew.

“……No, not like then.”

But the seed was the seed of the World Tree, untainted by evil. It would take more than the blessing of Hiel for the seed of the World Tree to sprout from the evil fruit of the Tree of Evil.

As said before, a powerful life force.

The ultimate in healing magic.

Sacrifice.

Bensch responded to Bellier’s firm words.

“Then why don’t you ask them yourself?”

Bensch’s gaze fell on the adventurers gazing at the sprout of the World Tree. They had come to the Healing School’s private chambers as patients. Nam Taemin, Hisagi, and Leonie.

Bellier approached them.

‘If it’s them.’

They had fought against Frostnax as they had against Eunaxus. They would know the whereabouts of Chief Lee. As Bellier approached, all three turned as if they were being recognized.

“……!”

But Bellier didn’t ask right away.

She may be a great healer.

The human heart cannot be healed.

Their wounds were plainly visible on their faces.

Hisagi opened his mouth to speak.

“Frostnax has disappeared with the Commander-in-Chief, who has become a ray of light, and where the ray of light has disappeared, there is……. the sprouted seed of the World Tree.”

Hisagi asked.

” ……Did your plan succeed, Senior Bellier?”

Leras Till.

If she crouched down and became a sphere of light, did our steadfast chief become a ray of light, even in the midst of excruciating pain? Bellier nodded as she thought about it.

Leonie gritted her teeth.

“Is this your plan, this insanity?”

She looked at Bellier and spoke clearly.

“You’re crazy, and so is Lee Hoyeol. Do you understand?! If throwing your life away is the only way, then you should know how to give up. Why are you pushing yourself into such a corner, into a cliff?!”

……Ugh, don’t you let this go?!

Nam Taemin clamped his big hand over Leonie’s mouth, but Leonie had already said everything she wanted to say. It was rude to break the formalities. Bellier only smiled bitterly.

“You guys are no different, right?”

Put yourself in a corner.

Heading to the cliffs was no different for the Holy War Alliance.

Bellier was the greatest healer in existence.

She could heal any injury, even the most serious.

These were three people who hung around for about a week to heal.

Especially this one.

“Ms. Leonie, what about the pain in your left arm?”

Berserker.

“What?”

Leonie, always covered in blood and injuries. Leonie’s left arm is merely attached. Not unlike the two legs of the Harkon that had to be amputated.

Nam Taemin was stunned by Bellier’s words.

“You, by the way, where did you sell that one?”

“……You just keep your mouth shut.”

Leonie, who had been wielding the twin swords freely, lost her left arm.

It was safe to say that her power had been halved.

Still, she charged at Frostnax, who was more dangerous than Eunaxus.

Risking her life.

When Leonie was quiet, Bellier spoke.

“Just like us, Chief Lee was prepared.”

She didn’t want to admit it, but that was the end.

Bellier gazed at the glorious sprout of the World Tree.

Was this sprout really worth Hoyeol’s life?

Chief Lee, I am…….

It was a moment when Bellier held back her emotions.

Hisagi parted her dry lips.

“What do you intend to do from now on?”

“I don’t know.”

Bellier looked at the village and the people of the empire.

For now, healing them would have to be her top priority.

Before she could answer, Hisagi spoke up.

“We’re going to wait.”

“Wait for what…….?”

“Four days.”

“……?”

“Because he said he’d be back in four days.”

Four days.

At the word.

Blurry memories come back due to exhaustion of magic power.

-“I’ll see you in four days.”

“……!”

Hoyeol’s words.

“Chief Lee left me a similar message.”

“……?”

“Wait, four days.”

The wise man of longing.

Hisagi’s head spins busily.

He searches for a hidden meaning in Grandfell style of speech.

“I’ve come up with a possibility …….”

“Possibility? What is it? Don’t pause!”

“Perhaps, Commander-in-Chief, at this very moment, he is in reality.”

“What, what?!”

For a moment, even Bellier’s green pupils widened.

pajijig─!

Suddenly, the void began to split open.

Bellier, the mage.

And the William brothers who were away were the first to notice.

That’s no ordinary portal.

A portal between dimensions.

It was a portal of anomaly, a manifestation from reality.

Eventually, a figure appeared from the portal.

The shape appears.

But it was small.

No, it was insignificant.

“…… That?”

Not worthy of the grandiose scene.

It was just a tiny, tiny little chick.

But the voice was anything but light.

“Pay attention, humans.”

“……What is that, It’s a chick, isn’t it?”

“Ice Dragon.”

“Yeah, anyone can see chick……. but what, an Ice Dragon?!”

And so it went.

Flap-flap.

Adorable flapping of tiny wings.

“This body, Frostnax, has returned from the realm of reality with orders from our great Dark Dragon, the Commander-in-Chief of your Holy War Alliance!!!”

“!!!”

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tl/n: I wanted to be sad about Harkon but Bingryong (Ice Dragon) really made me laugh