Chapter 164
"Ugh..."
Rick woke up and regained consciousness.
He blinked, sat up abruptly, and looked around.
The cave was neatly organized, and his party members were all lying asleep in the campsite.
'W-what about the spirit?'
It felt like the events before he fainted were a dream.
But the pain remaining in his shoulder told him it was definitely not a dream.
"Ugh..."
A painful groan came from somewhere. Rick looked around again and found an old man tied up in a corner of the cave, groaning in pain.
'Who is that?'
He got up and approached the bound Dusk.
Then, Zeke's voice was heard.
"It's better not to touch that old hag."
Rick turned around and saw Zeke standing nearby, holding snow he had brought in.
He put the pot with snow on the fire and approached Rick.
Passing by him, Zeke approached Dusk and kicked him in the stomach.
"Ugh!"
Dusk writhed as if in pain.
Rick asked Zeke in confusion,
"Z-Zeke, what happened? And who is that old man?"
"That's him. The warlock who controlled the spirit."
"Really? Oh my god. You caught the warlock, Sir Zeke!"
"Yes. Luckily, the Flame Giant's Deep Breath I had as a last resort worked."
Rick fully believed Zeke's words, seeing the scorch marks from the flames all over the cave.
They weren't traces that could be left by Arin's fire magic.
And if it was the Flame Giant's Deep Breath, the flames wouldn't have gone out until the tree spirit was burned, so it was an item powerful enough to turn the situation around in an instant.
By the time Zeke finished preparing the food, the other party members also woke up.
Although they were all suffering from headaches due to the strange curse of the evil tree spirit, their expressions were bright because they had safely overcome the situation.
While eating warm soup and bread, Jason said,
"We actually saved time by not having to go to the dungeon."
"We were lucky. If the warlock had set a trap and waited in the dungeon, we might have missed him."
Rick was startled by Zeke's words. He couldn't help but feel a chill thinking about what happened last night.
Rick said to Zeke,
"Now that we've caught the warlock, how about we go to Phantas and then to the Graham clan, Sir Zeke?"
Zeke nodded.
"Alright. We should be able to catch a carriage from Gorka village to Barcal. I heard that taking the direct train from Barcal to Phantas is the fastest way."
After the meal, the party took Dusk and headed towards the nearest village, Gorka, as Zeke suggested.
Luckily, they were able to catch a regular carriage to Barcal right away.
Jason was wary that the evil warlock might cast a curse and escape, but Dusk, who had been interrogated by Zeke all night, was demoralized.
He had already experienced that he couldn't escape from Zeke's grasp, no matter how much he tried.
***
"Whew! There are so many people."
Barcal was quite a large city among the Free City Alliance of the Northern Continent.
It was a mining city that developed around the gold mines of the Ice Mountains, but recently, it became famous for its metal manufacturing industry, including steel.
Perhaps because of that, dwarves were the most common race here.
And as expected of a place with many dwarves, most people in the city were drinking beer like water, even though it was still daytime.
Rick headed to the Adventurers' Guild branch in Barcal with his party.
Although not as large as the headquarters in Argos, the Barcal branch was also quite large.
"Everyone, wait in the waiting room. I'll go with Sir Zeke to complete the procedure."
Zeke and Rick headed to the reception desk with Dusk.
The procedure was completed after Rick filled out a simple form and showed the request form he received from the Graham clan.
He received a special compartment ticket for the direct train to Phantas, which was for transporting criminals, and returned to Zeke.
"I got the earliest one available. It's the train departing tonight."
"Okay. It would be good to put this guy in the branch jail and wash up and get some sleep."
Since Dusk's abilities were completely sealed with the Soul Sealing Technique, it didn't matter if they put him in jail.
After taking care of Dusk, Zeke decided to look around Barcal while Rick and his party rested at the inn.
Zeke walked around Barcal, lost in thought.
This was because Barcal was the city where he had stayed the longest in his previous life, besides Himonas.
'It's not much different from back then.'
The alley where he drank with his unit members after finishing missions as part of the Northern Alliance, the place where he ordered equipment, the places that remained in Zeke's memories were still there.
Although they were now memories only Zeke could remember.
Zeke entered a restaurant he used to frequent and skillfully placed an order.
Zeke keenly felt that he had returned to the past in the situation where the restaurant owner, whom he used to greet every day, didn't recognize him.
Northern food was rough, but it was full of sincerity.
Tasting the food here after so many years, Zeke felt like he had returned home.
'To think I'd feel homesick here when I couldn't feel it in the Drake clan.'
As Zeke savored the food after a long time, he overheard a conversation from the next table.
"The Duke's situation is getting worse."
It was a table where a dwarf, a human, and a Naga were sitting together.
The Naga, a snake beastman, gracefully cut and ate a boiled duck egg with its characteristically flexible movements and said,
"I told you. At this rate, Himonas will be split into several pieces."
The dwarf chugged his beer, then slammed the mug on the table.
"Again! Again! Are you going to keep saying such unlucky things, you snake bastard!"
Then, the human, who seemed to be a mage, said with an awkward expression,
"You can't keep making such discriminatory remarks. You'll definitely make a slip of the tongue in a formal setting someday."
The dwarf, with an annoyed expression, ordered another beer.
The Naga, who had finished all the boiled duck eggs, flicked its tongue and said,
"Anyway, if Himonas splits, it will affect us too. The Duke is intelligent and capable, but she's still young and inexperienced. If there's no one to firmly support her, she won't last a few years."
The human also nodded at the Naga's words.
"I agree with that. The rough, wolf-like northern lords are baring their teeth and waiting for an opportunity..."
Then, the dwarf snorted and said,
"You guys are saying that because you don't know the Himonas Knights properly! No matter how much those northern lords make a fuss, the only one who can mobilize the Knights is the Duke!"
The snake beastman licked the ice cream that came out as dessert and said,
"Who doesn't know that? I told you, the Himonas Knights are like an ultimate magic that can't be used. The moment you use it, the situation is over. It's mutual destruction."
Zeke, listening to their conversation, realized that the situation in Himonas was getting worse.
One of the reasons was that the Empire and Draker were rummaging through the Ice Mountains, and the Thistle Knights, a major force in the Himonas Knights, were dispatched there, causing a disruption in their forces.
'That Naga is right. The moment the Himonas Knights are used, the north will enter a war, and the fragile blood alliance of Himonas will shatter.'
The three, after talking about the situation in Himonas for a while, got up from the restaurant, saying they were going to drink.
Zeke also finished his meal and returned to the inn where Rick and his party were staying.
Although he was concerned about the situation with the Northern Duke and Himonas, it wasn't something he could directly intervene in.
'This is something she has to overcome herself. If I intervene carelessly, it will only harm both sides.'
Zeke suppressed his urge to run to Himonas right away.
As soon as he met with Rick and his party, they went to the branch together, took Dusk, and headed to Barcal Station.
The special compartment Rick reserved had a cage installed to confine criminals, and Zeke put Dusk inside before taking a seat.
Jason stretched and said,
"Ugh! It'll take fifteen hours to get there, so let's take turns sleeping. I couldn't sleep properly at the inn."
Then, Claire next to him retorted,
"You could have rested if you hadn't spent time trying to pick up girls at the inn's restaurant. Why don't you learn from Rick, who only has eyes for Arin?"
Jason chuckled and retorted,
"If I had to choose between a virgin boy and a playboy, I'd choose the latter."
Soon, Jason started snoring and fell asleep on the seat, and Arin and Claire also fell asleep, leaning against each other.
Rick approached Zeke and said,
"I'll keep watch, so please get some rest, Sir Zeke."
Instead of answering, Zeke asked Rick,
"How did you learn the Five Lights Swordsmanship?"
Rick's eyes wavered intensely.
He looked at Zeke and slowly opened his mouth.
"You knew."
"I didn't think an ordinary adventurer would know the secret swordsmanship of the Thebes Royal Guards. Actually, I'm also curious about Jason's background. The skills of the other party members are also unusual."
"Everyone has their own circumstances... In my case, it's a family matter."
"Family matter."
Rick hesitated, then slowly opened his mouth.
"I can't hide anything from you, Sir Zeke, my lifesaver. Actually, my real name isn't Rick."
"It was an alias?"
"Yes, my real name is Jefrick Solma."
'Huh?'
The name Jefrick wasn't unfamiliar. Zeke soon realized who he was.
'Jefrick Solma, one of the Five Star Knights, the Knight of the Dancing Blade.'
He was one of the future Five Star Knights whom Zeke wanted to meet in Valhalla but couldn't because he was away on a field training mission for graduating students.
Jefrick, seeing Zeke's reaction, asked,
"Do you know about the Solma clan?"
"I only know that they're an old prestigious clan of Thebes."
"A prestigious clan. Yes, that's how they're known to the outside world."
He continued slowly,
"Actually, I was practically abandoned by the Solma clan."
"Abandoned? What do you mean?"
"The Solma clan forces its members into fierce competition to maintain their reputation as a prestigious clan. I couldn't adapt to the clan's atmosphere due to my personality, so I always fell behind in the competition."
Something came to Zeke's mind as he listened to Jefrick's words.
'Ah, come to think of it, there was that person in the Solma clan. Jonathan Solma.'
Jonathan was Jefrick's older brother and one of the knights who was known as a genius from a young age.
He was promoted to Blue Knight before turning thirty and was one of the main figures in the Western Resistance Army that fought against the Imperial Army until the end when the Continental War broke out.
In Zeke's memory, he died in a duel against Abel Draker, the Mad Knight.
'Is it because of an inferiority complex towards his outstanding brother?'
Jefrick sighed again and continued,
"I entered Valhalla to try and change my personality, but I dropped out just before graduation."
"Valhalla is a famous knight school, isn't it? Why did you drop out?"
"I was so worried about whether the path I chose was right that I couldn't focus on the graduation exam. In the end, I couldn't finish it properly and am now wandering the continent as an adventurer."
Zeke inwardly clicked his tongue as he listened to Jefrick's words.
'He overthinks too much.'
A cautious personality could be an advantage, but sometimes it could also be a disadvantage that prevented one from making big decisions.
Jefrick was exactly that case.
He looked at Zeke and said,
"Sir Zeke, what should I do to become strong like you? I... want to break through this wall."
Having been unable to break through the wall for a long time and only getting lost in his thoughts, he seemed to be completely lost and wandering.
Zeke, looking at Jefrick, said bluntly,
"Well, I think Rick is currently indulging in his own lost self."
Jefrick had a bewildered expression at Zeke's unexpected answer.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Zeke grinned at Jefrick.
"Rick, have you really pushed yourself to your limits?"
