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[Translator - Jjescus]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 22: The Wizard’s Advice
‘Is the sword properly secured to my belt?’
Ram didn’t move; he only thought to himself.
Had he removed the sword while walking here?
Did he perhaps set it down by mistake while eating?
His hands didn’t budge.
‘Could the wizard dodge my sword? Could he cast some kind of magic faster than I can draw it to stop me?’
Given his line of work, he had always practiced drawing his sword quickly.
Drawing and slashing, or stabbing the moment it was drawn—he had honed these moves to a level where they were nearly invisible to the opponent.
He had considered whether he could draw it even faster but had never actually trained further.
There was no need.
After all, for Ram, it was enough to approach his target unnoticed and stab them silently.
There was no reason to practice drawing faster.
Time spent on such practice was better invested in perfecting silent movement.
But now, this was precisely a moment when drawing quickly was necessary.
Even so, he didn’t bother resting his hand on the sword hilt.
It would only heighten the other party’s vigilance.
His expression remained steady, his breathing unchanged.
Minimal movement.
Nothing to alarm his opponent.
“You don’t need to be so wary, young one.”
The young wizard spoke.
“I’ve only come to offer you advice. It won’t be too late to act after hearing me out.”
“What do you mean by ‘it won’t be too late’?”
“Whether you go to General Terdin to report, or you stab me right now, it won’t be too late either way.”
“You wizards were the ones who said that once a spell is cast, it can’t be stopped.”
“We don’t cast magic through mere words.”
“Then how do you cast it?”
“There are many methods. But casting magic on someone as alert as you is nearly impossible.”
“One doesn’t tell their victim how easily they could kill them.”
Giving up on persuading Ram, the wizard said:
“What I’m about to tell you could save your life. You’d do well to listen.”
“If your next words sound suspicious, I’ll have no choice but to stab you.”
Ram truly intended to do so.
At the very least, he planned to shove his sword into the wizard’s mouth to prevent those “next words.”
The wizard had mentioned “various methods,” but magic ultimately required incantations, didn’t it?
He’d never seen magic being used firsthand, but…
The young wizard smiled.
“Shall we start by exchanging names?”
“I have no name. I’m just a shadow.”
“Then may I at least tell you my name? I want you to see me not as some nameless, formless entity, but as a living being with flesh and blood.”
“Hearing a name won’t change my view.”
“My name is Kura. The other wizard who was with me, the one who probably seemed elderly to you, is called Kaimule.”
“Get back to your point, Kura.”
“Soon, the king will summon you. He’ll give you a mission to assassinate General Terdin.”
Ram felt the weight of the word “assassinate” and the name “Terdin” pressing heavily on his shoulders.
“Why?”
“The king has more than enough reasons to kill General Terdin. And just as many reasons to keep him alive. But it seems the king has decided to choose death this time.”
“And he plans to assign me that role?”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t know the king. I’ve never met him, nor do I have any reason to. The king has no reason to meet me either.”
“Oh, he has a reason.”
“What reason?”
“Because you killed Mantum.”
Ram had to think carefully.
He wasn’t used to thinking like this, and it left him feeling confused, but he had no choice now.
“You were the ones who said it, didn’t you? The general asked you not to tell anyone, but you broke that promise. Am I right?”
“Hm, so it’s true that you killed Mantum.”
“What?”
“You just confessed, didn’t you? That you killed Mantum.”
“Well….”
Ram’s thoughts grew increasingly muddled.
The young wizard spoke gently, as if to calm him.
“Think back to our conversation. The general never told us outright that you killed Mantum. I merely inferred it from the context of our dialogue. And someone close to the king has likely made a similar inference. Look at yourself now.”
The young wizard extended a hand, gesturing toward Ram.
Even that small motion felt like a spell being cast, making Ram tense up.
“You’re someone whose inner thoughts are easily read, easily swayed, and easily manipulated.”
Ram knew this about himself.
But hearing someone state it so bluntly terrified him.
The young wizard’s voice softened even further.
“Seeing you now, it’s clear General Terdin made a grave mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“He kept you close. If he truly wanted to hide you, he should never have let you surface. But I understand the general’s reasoning—your talent is far too precious to leave unused.”
“I’m just a slave.”
“On the battlefield, origins don’t matter. Talent like yours is a one-in-a-million rarity. No, in all my years, I’ve never seen anyone with your level of skill. If you’d been born a noble, you’d already be at the pinnacle of the world. If you’d been born a warrior of the Geron tribe, it wouldn’t have been Mantum who died in this war—it would’ve been General Terdin. No one in the entire Triton army could stop you.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Wizard.”
“The king will discover through other channels that you’re an assassin. And he’ll want to make your talent his own.”
“Who told the king? Lieutenant Aedun?”
It wasn’t like Aedun to do something behind Terdin’s back, but if the king commanded it, he’d have no choice but to reveal the truth.
Or he might have accidentally let it slip.
“Or was it one of the soldiers who saw me after I killed Mantum? Could they have told him?”
“Both are possible. But the person I suspect most is ‘Rill.’”
“Who is Rill?”
“Rill Vadio.”
Kura didn’t use any honorifics for Vadio.
In fact, he didn’t use titles like “king” or “bishop” either, addressing them as if they were mere names.
To Ram, it was a strange and uncomfortable way of speaking.
“That person….”
Ram trailed off, but he had an inkling.
Not long ago, he’d been grabbed by the collar and scolded by Rill for no apparent reason, a memory still vivid in his mind.
Before Ram could finish his sentence, Kura continued:
“Rill wanted the position of corps commander from the very beginning of this war. The king had considered giving it to him, but Bishop Aikob strongly supported Terdin instead.”
“Is the general close to the bishop?”
Ram recalled Terdin’s advice to always use the title “Archbishop,” but here he was, unconsciously following Kura’s lead in omitting it.
“Quite the opposite. The bishop wants Terdin dead. At the very least, he doesn’t want him to win the war, intending to use it as an excuse to weaken his influence.”
“Is that why supply lines have been so unreliable?”
“You’ve only been with Terdin for a few days, but you’ve noticed quite a bit.”
It wasn’t much of a feat—Lieutenant Aedun constantly grumbled about it.
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[Translator - Jjescus]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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“So is the assassination of General Terdin part of Count Vadio’s plan to seize his position?”
“I can’t say for sure.”
"Are you saying I should kill General Terdin?"
"The king is going to give you that mission."
"Are you telling me to accept it?"
"Whether you accept it or not is up to you."
"Then there's no need to ask. I will not kill him, no matter whose orders they are."
"Then tell His Majesty that yourself."
Ram fell into deep thought again.
But there was no time to ponder for long.
"Then why are you telling me this now?"
If Kura hadn't come, Ram would have been surprised by the king's orders but would have made the same decision.
Kura's visit to share this in advance was appreciated.
However, the decision remained unchanged.
Kura hadn’t suggested changing his decision, so there was no reason to visit.
Ram had to figure out what Kura’s real intentions were.
"If my decision doesn't matter, why did you come to me, Kura?"
"I came to help you make your choice. Today, our Senelot sent a message."
The word "Senelot" barely registered in Ram's memory.
"What kind of message?"
"Do you know a slave girl named Ran?"
Ram closed his mouth.
Unintentionally, he drew his sword.
Hearing an utterly unexpected name in such a tense state triggered the reflex he had prepared for—drawing his weapon.
Kura flinched, raising both hands and leaning back.
It was a mistake to draw the sword, but once it was drawn, Ram didn't sheathe it.
He didn’t even notice his quickened breathing or trembling hands.
Never before had his hand trembled before a target.
"I didn’t think that name would shock you like this."
Kura swallowed nervously, his voice slightly different, as if he were speaking from his throat rather than whispering.
"Senelon—or, Senelot—how does that wizard know that name?"
Ram stammered.
The young wizard's voice softened again.
"I don’t know that much. The message I received was a prophecy: if you accept His Majesty’s mission to assassinate Terdin, you’ll become a noble and meet a woman named Ran in the capital. If you refuse, you’ll never meet her."
Ram didn’t believe it.
"Prophecies are for people more noble than me. I was a slave. Ran was a slave, too. And who is Senelot again? Ah, now I remember—you said the wisest of wizards. Then surely someone important."
"Not necessarily..."
Ram ignored Kura's reply.
Nobles pretending to be humble about their rank seemed as ridiculous to slaves as mountains arguing over their height above the clouds.
"Such a person wouldn’t predict the future of a slave like me—or whether a slave girl I barely knew would meet me or not. How does he know her name? Even Baron Selken wouldn’t remember that name. How do you know it?"
"I don’t know. I’m only conveying Senelot’s foresight. I was as surprised as you that this ‘mere’ matter was the message conveyed over such a distance. But this is important. And frankly, I have no idea who Ran is. I only just learned she was a slave from you."
Kura coughed, a sound like the final breath of a dying old man.
Ram had seen many elderly men cough like that and die within days.
Of course, none of those old men had lived over 130 years like this young wizard.
Kura stopped coughing and spoke with difficulty.
"Figure it out yourself. You’re becoming the most important person in this battlefield, even if you don’t realize it."
"That’s impossible. It won’t happen."
"I told you—you’re unaware. In this battlefield, you..."
"The war is over!"
"It is. But the chaos has grown worse. You must sense it, even vaguely. Unpredictable fragments of the unknown are swirling. At the war’s bloody start, when hundreds died, I felt a strange peace. People would die, others would win, and someone would claim the land—that’s how I saw it, as an observer. But now that the war is over, the strings of fate are violently shaking."
Kura pointed at Ram with his index finger.
Once again, Ram felt that finger like a magical attack and was filled with dread.
"You were the beginning. When the great chief of Garon stayed here, the tremors grew. And today, with His Majesty’s arrival, it’s become a muddy chaos I can no longer see through."
Kura coughed again.
Ram wanted to tell him to stop talking and rest but couldn’t interrupt—he was too curious about what would be said next.
"Without Senelot’s foresight, I can still tell you this: you are the center. You will either destroy everything in this storm or stop it."
At that moment, Ram swiftly held out his hand to Kura and raised a finger to his lips.
Someone was approaching.
Though Kura’s voice was so soft it wouldn’t carry outside, Ram’s might.
Soon, a loud shout echoed from outside.
"Stuga!"
Ram immediately stuck his head out of the tent, half his body exiting while the other half stayed inside.
He hid his sword behind his back.
Outside stood an unfamiliar knight, wearing silver armor adorned with the golden lion crest and a pristine white cape untouched by dirt.
A royal knight.
"Are you the soldier called Stuga?"
"Yes, I am."
"Your name sounds barbaric. His Majesty summons you. Follow me."
"May I report to General Terdin first? I’m under his command and must report before leaving..."
"This is His Majesty’s order. There’s no need to report to anyone else!"
The knight spoke harshly, and Ram had no choice but to obey.
"Do I have to leave now?"
"Immediately."
Ram turned back toward the tent.
There was no one inside.
Either Kura had left without a trace or was still hiding in the darkness within.
Even his coughing was gone.
‘Kura, just as you said... Is everything going to keep happening like this?’
Ram followed the royal knight.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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