Chapter 814

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

It’s Time… to Say Goodbye. (1)

Ghislain lowered his head slightly.

“My name is Astion. Thank you so much for your help.”

Derk Nine gave a brief chuckle and sat down in the chair next to the bed.

“That’s what I should be saying. If you hadn’t pierced the Curtain in the end, the Saintess’s miracle wouldn’t have happened.”

“I was just lucky.”

Derk Nine stared at Ghislain for a moment, then asked,

“That’s strange. You should’ve recovered by now… Is there something wrong?”

As expected of a dragon. Derk Nine had immediately seen that something was off with Ghislain’s body.

Ghislain shrugged, as if it was nothing.

“I just overdid it a bit. It’s a side effect of the technique I’ve learned.”

“Hm…”

“By the way, are you alright, Derk Nine-nim? It seemed like the Adversary’s energy had gotten pretty deep inside you.”

Dragons were a proud race. Derk Nine frowned at Ghislain’s comment.

“What do you take me for? It was a tenacious energy, but I’ve already purged it completely.”

“That’s a relief. Then, may I ask you a few things?”

Ghislain smoothly changed the subject. Derk Nine chuckled again.

“You really are as glib as the Lord said. Go on, ask.”

“How did you know to come find us?”

“I didn’t.”

“Was it a coincidence?”

“Yes. I was on my way to find you two under the Lord’s orders. Then I sensed that darkness and stepped in immediately.”

Ghislain nodded. So it really was a coincidence.

A perfectly timed coincidence that just so happened to occur when the Adversary showed up.

“What were those orders?”

“One was to protect the Saintess.”

“From the Pope?”

“Yes. We were to help persuade him with you two, and if the Pope still insisted on killing her, we were to protect her.”

“I heard dragons couldn’t interfere in the Pope’s affairs because of the Pact. Would you have been able to protect her?”

Derk Nine answered with a blank expression.

“If he refused to yield, I was prepared to kill him right there.”

“…Then wouldn’t you have died too because of the Pact?”

“I knew that. The Lord sent me knowing that as well.”

“…Huh.”

“She’s worth it. We dragons will continue to risk our lives to protect the Saintess.”

At those words, Ghislain smiled.

A girl who had once been a humble country priestess had now become the most important person in the world.

Even Ghislain, who had been with her the whole way, felt proud.

“You said there were two orders. What was the other?”

In response, Derk Nine opened a subspace and pulled out a box.

“Take it.”

“What is this?”

“A Dragon Heart.”

Ghislain’s eyes widened.

He never imagined they would give him something like this.

Derk Nine spoke again, unable to hide his dissatisfaction.

“Consider it an honor to receive the heart of a great dragon. The Lord seems to want to make you even stronger.”

“Thank you.”

Ghislain smiled brightly. He had been a little worried about what Astion would have to endure after he left.

Astion was undoubtedly a gifted individual. By staying at Ghislain’s side, he had gained much knowledge and a strong body.

However, compared to the others, he lacked experience. He had never risked his life to break through a boundary.

Because of that, he was more prone to whining than anyone else and had a weak will. At this rate, his growth was bound to fall behind.

But with the Dragon Heart, things would be different.

He had already received the 9th-Circle Grimoire. Now all he had to do was take the time to master it.

The mana from the Dragon Heart would greatly accelerate that process.

Just as Ghislain reached to take the box, Derk Nine grabbed his wrist.

He looked at Ghislain with a profound gaze.

“No matter how I look at it… you won’t be able to use the Dragon Heart. Is there something wrong with your body?”

Even for dragons, detecting an imbalance between the soul and the body wasn’t easy.

It was a matter that went beyond their knowledge and experience.

Ghislain slowly pulled his hand back and placed the box into his subspace.

“There’s no problem at all. As I said before, it just takes a while to recover due to the nature of my technique.”

“If you stay like this, I’ll be taking the Dragon Heart back. I can’t give such a treasure to someone who can’t handle it.”

“There’s no need to worry. I will recover.”

At Ghislain’s serious expression, Derk Nine didn’t press further.

But if they were to meet again later and he was still in this state, he intended to reclaim the Dragon Heart.

Withdrawing his hand, Derk Nine asked,

“I’ve done everything I came to do. What will you two do now?”

“I heard they’re going to elect a new Pope.”

“That’s right. But he won’t have the same authority as before. Now humanity will rally around the Saintess.”

“As soon as that’s settled, I plan to reorganize the United Human Army and head for the Demonic Abyss.”

“You mustn’t take too long. Even now, countless battles are taking place near the Abyss.”

There were no kingdoms adjacent to the Demonic Abyss.

The Abyss was surrounded by vast wastelands.

One had to cross those wastelands for quite some distance to even reach the edges of the kingdoms.

Those kingdoms had deployed their entire forces to establish an extended defensive line across the wasteland.

At the front of that line, dragons were holding off the Riftspawn emerging from the Abyss.

No matter how powerful dragons were, there were simply too few of them.

Dragons alone couldn’t hold back all the Riftspawn pouring out from the Demonic Abyss.

The only reason they’d been able to stop the scattered Riftspawn so far was thanks to the nearby kingdoms that had established defensive lines.

Ghislain was well aware of that situation.

“I understand. I’ll make preparations as quickly as possible.”

The reason Derk Nine had spoken to Ghislain instead of the Imperial high command was simple.

He knew that it was Astion who had led the Saintess and the Julien Mercenary Corps all this time.

The Lord had also instructed him to discuss future matters with Astion.

With nothing more to do, Derk Nine stood up.

“I’ll be off, then. Make sure you recover quickly.”

With that, he left the Grand Temple.

Many high-ranking officials of the HolyEmpire flocked to request an audience with the dragon, but Derk Nine flatly refused them all without a second thought.

Flap!

He had already transformed into his dragon form and soared into the sky.

The citizens of the capital erupted in cheers once again at the sight.

They now had unwavering faith that dragons would protect them.

Derk Nine headed back toward the Demonic Abyss.

He needed to report everything that had happened here to the Lord as soon as possible.

“…Hm?”

He frowned slightly.

A sudden, sharp pain flickered through his head.

A dragon experiencing a headache was unthinkable.

But he dismissed it without much concern.

“I suppose I’ve become a bit sensitive after such a large battle.”

Brushing it off as a minor illusion, he unfurled his massive wings once again.

* * *

Every day, high-ranking officials of the Holy Empire came to visit Ghislain’s quarters.

They knew exactly who they needed to align with now.

But approaching the Saintess directly was still a daunting task.

Besides, it wasn’t as if the Saintess would accept bribes.

So instead, they clung to the Julien Mercenary Corps, who served directly at her side—in all but name, her personal guard.

And among them, the one known to actually lead the corps, Ghislain, was the one who attracted the most attention.

Due to his poor condition, Ghislain didn’t meet them indiscriminately.

He set a cap on the number of visitors each day and would show himself briefly.

There were several reasons why he pushed through his fatigue to do this.

The first was to build connections with the nobility so that the Julien Mercenary Corps could continue to operate smoothly even after his departure.

The second was… to secure funding(?) for the Julien Mercenary Corps.

“Hoho, this is a truly potent medicinal herb.”

“This is a masterpiece crafted by the Holy Empire’s finest artisan.”

“I’ve heard mages need a lot of runestones.”

Every noble who visited brought gifts large and small.

Ghislain refused none of them and accepted everything.

He even created a ledger, recording the names of those who gave gifts and the contents of those gifts. It was a thrifty and practical habit he had learned from Belinda.

Ghislain’s quarters were overflowing with an enormous pile of gifts.

Still, it wasn’t enough to satisfy him.

“Tch, the nobles of the Holy Empire sure are stingy.”

The Holy Empire was undoubtedly vast and powerful.

But being a theocratic state, its people were expected to live frugally.

Even nobles obsessed with wealth in private couldn’t flaunt their riches openly.

And ultimately, the things they brought were personal gifts.

They were expensive items, yes, but not enough to impress Ghislain.

He had once been the richest man on the continent.

Even after regressing, he was far from lacking in wealth.

He was still receiving income from the gold mines and estates of the Marquisate of Larks, after all.

Still, even these small contributions(?) could help bolster the treasury.

So Ghislain began increasing the number of visitors he allowed, enthusiastically accepting more gifts.

Then, one day, a somewhat special boy came to see him.

A maid who was tending to Ghislain whispered in his ear.

“This is Prince Lucien, the youngest son of Duke Stauffen.”

“Oh? Really now?”

Duke Stauffen, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army, was a man of immense power.

He had been a great help in the battle against the Adversary.

Ghislain couldn’t help but be curious now that such a man’s son had come to see him.

The maid quickly added a bit more about Lucien.

“He’s famous for his intelligence. It’s said every Magic Tower in the Holy Empire is eager to recruit him.

He was originally supposed to come with the Duke, but… due to circumstances, it seems he came ahead of him.”

“I see.”

As expected of a child from a prestigious family—he appeared to be quite talented.

Ghislain greeted Lucien warmly and asked,

“So, what gift did you bri— I mean, what brings you here to see me?”

Lucien hesitated for a moment, then clenched his fists as if he had made up his mind.

“I have… a request, Astion-nim.”

“What is it?”

“Please… take me as your disciple! I want to become a great mage, just like you!”

Lucien closed his eyes and declared it with strength.

His earnest expression was so adorable that a smile naturally formed on Ghislain’s lips.

‘A disciple, huh…’

He already had a disciple.

The one and only person to whom he had poured his heart and soul into passing down his techniques.

‘Arel.’

When Ghislain thought of Arel, his smile deepened.

‘I hope he’s doing well.’

Arel was the most upright person Ghislain had ever met in his life.

He always acted with integrity, and his attitude carried a brilliance that surpassed even raw talent.

Even when countless delinquents from the estate tried to lead him astray, Arel never wavered.

It was precisely because of that unwavering spirit that Ghislain had taken him as his disciple.

And aside from Arel, he had never taken on another.

One disciple to pass on everything to—that was enough.

With a gentle voice, Ghislain said,

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t. I already have a disciple.”

“C-Can’t I be your disciple too?”

“I only ever take one disciple.”

At that, Lucien’s face turned visibly downcast.

Though Ghislain felt sorry for him, he gave no room for hope.

Half-hearted pity would only give rise to false expectations.

Besides, he was a man with one foot already out the door.

He couldn’t take on a new disciple, nor could he teach magic anymore.

So there was no way he could accept Lucien.

Just then, the door opened, and Duke Stauffen entered with his attendants.

“Sorry about this. My son was so eager to see you that I let him go ahead.”

“It’s quite alright. What brings you here, Duke?”

“Hm? Didn’t you hear? My son should’ve told you.”

“Ah… about that…”

Before Ghislain could finish speaking, the duke’s attendants brought in large chests.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Five massive and heavy chests were placed before him.

Seeing Ghislain’s curious expression, Duke Stauffen gestured with his hand.

The attendants opened the chests, revealing piles of gemstones and gold coins.

Even Ghislain was a bit taken aback by the sheer volume.

“You’re… giving this to me?”

“Indeed. One must show proper respect to the one who will become my son’s master.

And besides, I personally owe you a debt of gratitude.”

Like any high-ranking noble of the Holy Empire, the duke was arrogant enough to believe there was no way Ghislain would refuse.

He simply intended to be bold and generous.

Even the Holy Empire’s culture of frugality meant nothing in the presence of the powerful.

Unfortunately for him, Ghislain had already firmly turned Lucien down.

Lucien looked crestfallen as he spoke to his father.

“Father… Astion-nim said he only takes one disciple. And he already has one…”

At that moment, Ghislain suddenly stood up and grabbed Lucien’s hand.

“You’re that one.”

“…”

As he looked at the stunned Lucien, Ghislain thought,

‘To hell with it. Astion can teach him from now on.’

And just like that, the successor of the Magic Tower of One-Man Transmission was decided.

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