CHAPTER 123. My mouth is the problem
“Rob them…? Rob who?”
At Parun’s question, I shrugged.
“Lortel or Deculan. Isn’t it one of the two?”
If I were being honest, I wanted to rob Deculan, not Lortel.
Compared to sword-wielders who hole up in their family estate and do nothing but hone their blade, the ones stuffing themselves with greed like greedy goblins would have fatter pockets.
“That’s a misleading way to put it. The one holding the Infinite Chain is Lortel. If you’re robbing anyone, isn’t it obviously Lortel you should rob?”
“Of course. We rob them on the way back after the deal’s finished.”
Of course—if we rob them at all.
There was just one thing that bothered me….
Right as I reached that thought, Parun finished thinking and tossed out a question.
“…Hmm. Will that work?”
“It’ll work.”
“It sounds like something’s bothering you.”
At Parun’s sharp point, I nodded.
“Something is bothering me. I suggested ‘rob Deculan after the deal is done,’ but I’m not recommending it. That’s just my wishful thinking.”
“Why?”
This was where the real problem started.
“You. Lortel and Deculan. How did you get the information about the deal?”
“…?”
Parun frowned, as if he didn’t understand why I was suddenly asking about the source of the information.
I calmly organized my thoughts.
‘If it were up to me, robbing Deculan sounds more fun.’
Setting aside the minor issue that, depending on how the deal is structured, we might turn Lortel into an enemy, my heart was leaning that way.
But thinking rationally—if you asked which side we should rob….
‘…It’s Lortel. No question.’
Why?
I looked at Parun and said,
“That deal between Lortel and Deculan. Do you think it makes sense for that information to reach you?”
“What are you—.”
“Deculan bastards are Deculan bastards. And you’re telling me they’d leak information all the way to some academy professor? Does that make sense to you?”
“That’s… hmm.”
At my words, Parun’s lips parted slightly.
Even he thought it was strange.
And of course it was.
‘No matter how capable Parun’s informant is… and no matter how closely he’s watching their movements….’
This conveniently? Information coming in, neatly and regularly, like it’s being shown off?
“Doesn’t it stink?”
“It’s a new scented candle.”
“…Idiot.”
That way of cutting the momentum left me dumbfounded.
“My apologies. But I understand what you mean. In other words, you’re saying….”
My voice and Parun’s overlapped as we spoke at the same time.
“A trap.”
“A trap, you say?”
“Yeah.”
I elaborated.
“For the record, when I say trap, I’m not saying the deal is fake. Probably… they’re thinking it’d be nice if they can draw us in, and if not, they’ll just pocket the Infinite Chain.”
Either way, Deculan loses nothing.
That was why—even if I wanted to rob Deculan—I had no choice but to pick Lortel.
The smell of a trap is wafting way too strongly.
It was right then that Parun stood up from his seat.
“Wait a moment.”
“…?”
Parun walked to the bookshelf and pulled one book out halfway.
Drrreuk—. One side of the shelf slid aside, revealing a secret safe.
Parun took out a stack of parchments and skimmed them quickly. From the letters visible at a glance, they looked like correspondence containing information on Deculan and Lortel.
“I thought it was strange.”
“…What was?”
“Do you remember Kalahen?”
I nodded.
Remember? Of course I remember. The Deputy Commander of Hongok (紅玉). Deculan’s fire demon (火魔). A mage who would have shone even more brilliantly in the future—yet I’d snapped that light with my own hands.
But why was he suddenly coming up?
“Then do you know who Hongok (紅玉)’s Commander is?”
“Hongok’s Commander….”
I dredged up an old memory.
‘Jeijin? No. He became Commander when I was still active.’
Then….
…No way.
Just as that name was about to flash through my mind, Parun opened his mouth.
“Hollend, the Scorching Mage.”
“…Hollend, damn it.”
At the answer that didn’t stray from my expectation, I raked a hand back through my hair.
“Not long ago, Hollend’s whereabouts became unclear. The last confirmed location was a slash-and-burn village near House Deculan’s territory. They say he burned an entire village by himself.”
“…And?”
Burning that village was a kind of example.
A warning to those who lived within Deculan’s domain yet refused to bow their heads, or tried to hide away.
“Despite the deal with Lortel approaching, there hasn’t been any movement from Deculan’s armed groups. Only Hollend has vanished off the map.”
“That means….”
“Perhaps it’s connected to this deal. I thought there was no way he’d go to a deal with Lortel alone—but if this really is a trap….”
“…There’s no better fit than Hollend.”
“Exactly. Of course, we’ll need to keep tracking Deculan’s personnel, but still.”
“…Tsk.”
I pressed my dry lips together.
“Trap or no trap, we end up having to hit Lortel.”
Hollend, the Scorching Mage.
Just his existence alone was more than enough reason to strike Lortel, not Deculan.
Hollend, the Scorching Mage.
The current Commander of Hongok (紅玉).
The first time I saw Hollend was not long after he had stepped down from the Commander position.
Back then, he was….
Seven Mage (Seven Mage)
Under Paharen, he occupied one seat among the seven mages who represented Deculan—the Seven Mage….
The pinnacle of all Deculan mages.
He was that, in and of himself.
If someone could read my thoughts, they might ask: isn’t that just the future?
A mage who would make a name for himself in the future, like Kalahen—just that level, right?
But Hollend was never that.
‘…This isn’t like Kalahen.’
The story of Hollend rising to the Seven Mage was so famous that there was practically no one in Deculan who didn’t know it.
A drinking gathering held to build camaraderie. It started because of a slip of the tongue from two Seven Mage.
- Hongok (紅玉)… I acknowledge their loyalty, but as far as I know, there are only two groups where loyalty is considered a virtue….
- Two? Hahaha. May we hear what they are?
- One is obviously those ignorant sword-swinging bastards. And the other is… you know.
- Ah, now that you put it that way, I see. Right—loyalty is the greatest virtue for the bastard dog you let loose and raise in your backyard.
Why they said such things was never made clear.
Some said it was because they were politically opposed to Hongok. Some said they had a grudge against Hollend.
But the reason behind the remark didn’t matter.
Only….
The disaster the remark dragged in with it.
- A dog you raise loose in your backyard…. Can the two Lords (公) take responsibility for those words?
“Lord (公)” was a title used to honor the Seven Mage.
At Hollend’s razor-sharp question, the two Seven Mage—faces flushed with drunkenness—answered back.
They shouldn’t have.
- Hahaha, it’s a joke. A common joke exchanged at a drinking table.
- Our Hongok aren’t backyard bastard dogs, are they? But wait—then are they swordsmen? Hmm, they’re not swordsmen. Heh heh! Shall we have you bark once? Then we’ll know—kheoeok!
- Better to be a bastard dog than a swordsman. Then from now on, this bastard dog will bark once.
Woof woof.
What a ridiculous spectacle.
They said Hollend actually made the sound—“woof woof”—just like those two Seven Mage said.
But no one there could laugh at the sight.
No—rather, they were horrified.
- Th-This… insane….
- L-Lord Hollend…!
Because Hollend, right there on the spot, tore the two Seven Mage apart.
The seven peaks representing Deculan—he butchered two of them in a single place.
Of course, those two Seven Mage were the ones sitting at the very bottom of that throne.
But still.
The fact that he tore apart two Seven Mage in one sitting was something no one could deny.
Hollend rose to the throne of the Seven Mage because of that incident.
Like this, Hollend is different in kind from Kalahen.
Unlike Kalahen, who only reached his prime later in the future, Hollend was already a completed mage, reigning in his prime.
As I reached that thought, Parun—having sat back down—opened his mouth.
“Striking Lortel… it’s not a bad choice. Hongok’s Commander is not an easy opponent.”
No. Hollend wasn’t “not easy” by any measure.
Not for Parun, who had honed himself after his close battle with Kalahen, and not for me at this point in time either.
But I didn’t bother correcting Parun.
However, Parun seemed to be thinking along a slightly different line.
“But… I oppose the idea of striking Lortel. The one coming out as their escort isn’t any less troublesome than him.”
“…Not less troublesome?”
“Yes. Lortel’s information is public. If that information is correct, then on Lortel’s side….”
Parun spoke.
And at that single line, I had no choice but to let out a deep sigh.
“The Ten Swords (十劍) will move.”
“…Damn it.”
If Deculan has the Seven Mage, then Lortel has the Ten Swords.
“Which number?”
“…Third.”
“What a fucking mess. Those bastards….”
From this moment on, no one is allowed to talk to me about “being stuck between a rock and a hard place.”
On one side, a future Seven Mage who will butcher two Seven Mage. On the other side, Lortel’s Third Sword.
A shitty situation where you can’t go forward or back.
Anyone who wants to talk to me about “rock and hard place” better be qualified for it. No one was qualified.
No, wait.
“Even if the sky collapses, there’s a hole to crawl out through, right?”
“…That’s true, but rather than that, it’d be better to hit Hollend—.”
“Do you want to get torn to pieces and die?”
“…?”
Yeah. Let’s not talk.
Leaving Parun staring in confusion behind, I continued.
“There’s one method.”
“A method?”
“Yeah.”
And that method was extremely simple.
“Let’s burn the thesis.”
“……”
“If you give up, it’s easier. Right? You and Henji are here—we can make the thesis again.”
Of course, I know it’s bullshit.
Even changing a single line of formulas alters the logic structure. And if it’s a co-authored work, reproducing the original results is close to impossible.
So obviously, saying we should burn the thesis was a joke.
It was a joke, but….
“Then I’ll send a letter to Henji.”
Parun stood up and walked to one side of the study, then—like he’d been planning it from the start—swept a pile of documents into a galvanized trash can.
And then….
Hwa-reuk!
A flame dropped into the metal can.
Parun’s actions didn’t hesitate even a little.
‘What the—!’
I lunged and slammed a cover over the trash can.
Flames fell onto my back.
“Ow—ow! Damn it!”
“…What are you doing?”
This isn’t a joke. I should’ve put up a barrier or something….
But regardless of the pain, I had to ask.
“…Tsk. What the hell are you doing?”
“I was going to burn it, like you said.”
“Are you insane?”
“Insane? I thought about it like you said. Certainly, the knowledge of Thousand Origin Art is in our heads. If it’s just me and Henji, it’s not like we can’t make it again.”
“……”
Yeah. My mouth is the problem.
My big mouth is the problem.
“Hoo. Burning it comes later. Let’s try first.”
“…Try?”
I nodded at Parun’s words.
But this bastard—he lit another flame.
Hwa-reureuk—. The flickering flame was cold, as if it were aiming straight at my heart.
Still, I didn’t back down and opened my mouth.
“That Third Sword… I was thinking earlier. Are you sure the one coming is the Third Sword?”
“Yes. It is.”
Lortel’s Third Sword was the same person in the future and at this point in time.
“Yeah. So that’s how it is….”
‘If the one coming out this time really is the Third Sword….’
Then maybe, just maybe, there was a way.
“Hey—close your eyes and let’s try once.”
“The willingness to bet your life is, as a partner, highly commendable… but do we really need—.”
“Ah, I’ve got a plan, okay?”
Of course, it wasn’t “no plan.”
This was the kind of situation where I really had to make a plan.
“A plan?”
“Want to hear it?”
“…Hmm. Fine. I’ll hear it.”
I beckoned Parun to come closer.
Parun brought his ear over, looking displeased, and I flicked him on the forehead.
Thunk.
“Wh—what the….”
“I got burned too, so call it even. Now shut up—I’ve got a real plan, so back up and listen.”
“……”
Parun’s eyes shone sharply, suspicious.
But it was fine.
Because I really did have a plan.
