Volume 7 Chapter 31 The Aftertaste Of Victory Is Short-Lived
As I swayed on the carriage that was pulling Coin, I took off my prosthetic right arm, Durandal, and was doing some experiments.
What I was trying was not healing, but modifying my body to restore my right arm. It wasn't about getting back what I lost, but creating something new.
I took a deep breath. With the help of my second brain, Sahasrara Chakra, I imagined it. And with my second heart, Anahata Chakra, I grew my right arm in one go.
"――――!"
And indeed, my right arm grew at an incredible speed. I clenched my fist tightly, waved it around, and checked the sensation in my arm.
"Wow! Wade-kun, did you break the healing obstruction Geas of 'Oath'?"
"...No, it's no good. My right arm's sensation is fine, but it seems I still need healing."
I showed my right arm to Roman. "It looks like a perfect arm with no wounds," Roman said, tilting his head.
I shook my head.
"It's not good if there are no wounds. I mean, it's not a wound, but a magic seal."
"Ah...I see. So it's not that you lost your arm that hurts, but that you lost the magic seal that hurts, right?"
The magic seal of gravity magic. The one that was engraved on my right arm didn't exist on this new arm. I let out a sigh.
That's when Roman said,
"But can't you just engrave the magic seal itself? You already have many engraved magic seals, and I think it's no problem for you, Wade-kun."
"No, it's probably no good. Whether it's okay to engrave it or not depends on the will of the gods. And the Geas of the gods' contract is what's obstructing my healing. If I go against the contract, I'll go against their will."
"Then..."
"Yeah. If I ignore the Geas and engrave the magic seal, I'll be punished by the gods, just like before, for being too similar to the god of gravity magic."
It seems I have no choice but to break the healing Geas of 'Oath'. I can't try it without risk. It's better not to make a judgment that might bring divine punishment until I'm in a desperate situation.
Karditsa was also destroyed, a region that was cursed by God. It sank into Toxy's poisonous sea.
I, having only a flesh arm, couldn't do anything, so I melted my new arm and replaced it with Durandal's prosthetic hand.
"I'm sorry, I'm not good at Transformation Magic, and I'm saying something rude..."
"No need to apologize, it's not a problem. During the 3 consecutive battles with Coin's use of the staff, I was able to do as I pleased."
As I said that, I looked at Coin, who was bound by chains, unable to open his mouth, and had a dejected expression.
Coin had become like a discarded person, showing no reaction whatsoever. He had been silent since being taken away on the horse-drawn carriage.
―――It was Coin who had said he would do anything to save his life, so I had to consider it carefully. If I didn't move, I would have to think about it for a while.
After gazing at Coin with a cold expression for a while, I asked Roman, "Should we report to Lord Birk for now?"
"That's right. If Coin is willing to listen, Lord Birk should be the one to take the lead in constructing the 'Bloodline Curse'. He's a genius when it comes to politics and economics, after all."
"Lord Birk's movements after the lord's mansion collapsed were incredibly fast, weren't they?"
"'A lord's job is to make people happy without causing trouble, and to live a peaceful life.' I was impressed by those words."
With only the minimum amount of guards, just enough to drive away Windy, he had finished his speech, saying "My lord's life is safe," and had stopped all the unnecessary work. He was quick and efficient, that's for sure.
"And then there's the hostage... what was it, Princess Cecilia? He's gotten close to her, too."
"I saw them having a tea party together yesterday. When I asked if they would join the Roman Empire after getting married, he said, 'No, I'll take down the Akasia clan.'."
So, as it turned out, Lord Birk was incredibly capable, even if he wasn't good at fighting.
When it came to taking down the Karditsa territory, war was necessary, but with Birk territory, it was enough to just make the lord betray. That's probably how it is. If Lord Birk said so, the people would follow.
Lord Karditsa was capable, but he couldn't beat Lord Birk. After all, he's a curse master, or so they say. Alex even called him a "genius" ―― that's the kind of person he is.
The carriage stopped. We were talking, and before we knew it, we had already returned to our base.
First, Roman got down, and then I pulled Coin down with me. As we entered the base's entrance hall, we saw Lord Birk and Gold Sylvia sibling sitting in the chairs.
"I'm back. It was a great victory. I had a blast."
"Welcome back, Wade. It's only natural that you'd think fighting against a gold-ranked opponent was fun, isn't it?"
Sylvia greeted us. When I asked, "What about Moruru and Ridge?" she replied, "They're out. Windy-san is with them." So, it's probably not a problem.
Then, Lord Birk stood up and approached us. He came closer to me and bowed his head.
"Thank you, Wade-san, for fulfilling my request. ...And this person is Coin-san, isn't it?"
"Yes. That's Coin-san. Sorry, I think I might have intimidated him a bit too much, and he's been like this since we got off the carriage."
At this point, there's no way to escape, so I released the restraints on Coin. Coin remained standing still, not moving at all, looking either clever or desperate.
"No, no. And from now on, this is my true ability, so please don't worry about it. You must be tired. From here on, please leave it to me."
I exchanged a glance with Roman and took a step back, assuming a respectful posture. Lord Birk smiled lightly at our attitude and turned to Coin.
Lord Birk first knelt down, aligning his gaze with Coin's. Oh, I thought, impressed by Lord Birk's ability to take this posture smoothly, despite being a noble with high pride.
"―――I don't know how to put it, but, Coin-san, I welcome you. Please, lend me your power."
"..."
Coin remained silent, but slightly reacted. He was bewildered. In that moment, Birk-kun gave me a wink.
This is... I see, the carrot and the stick, the north wind and the sun.
I approached Coin, grasped his hair, and brought my face close.
"Hey, Coin. From now on, you'll do as Birk-kun says. If you don't, I'll kill you. Got it?"
"Ah, ah, ah, ah, i...!"
"Wade-san, please don't threaten him like that. Coin-san, I'm well aware that you have abilities. I'd like to borrow your power."
"...Yes. Please, take care of me."
"Don't use such stiff language. We're going to be comrades from now on. As long as you're under me, Wade-san won't lay a hand on you."
This is quite a transformation. Since he know he won't get hurt by this much, I can confidently play the villain without any hesitation.
Coin also looked at Birk-kun, then glanced at me. Behind him, Birk-kun gave a proper wink. I also played along, enjoying the villainous role, and muttered, "Tch! If this didn't work, I would've killed him."
"G-got it. Please, take care of me, Lord-sama. And, anyway, let's talk about it later, okay? Is that okay?"
"Yes, that's fine. Ah, and I'll introduce 2 more people. Gold-san, Sylvia-san."
With Coin as the main, Birk-kun led Gold and Sylvia up the stairs. After seeing them off, Roman teased me, saying, "That was a great performance!"
"No way, Birk-kun is a scary person. He took Gold and Sylvia with him because those 2 are blacksmiths and under Coin's jurisdiction, right? Indeed, controlling people's hearts is Birk-kun's specialty."
"That means Ridge-chan heard that 'the curse master will keep his distance and remain neutral.' If you don't approach him with caution, you'll become a puppet under his control."
Anyway, let's put the 'Bloodline Curse' matter on hold for now. Next is 'Oath', but for now, we can't figure out what's going on with that guy.
At that moment,
The entrance door behind us burst open with incredible force. We turned around in surprise, and there was Moruru, holding a battered Windy and crying.
"――― What's wrong, Moruru? What happened? Where's Ridge?"
I knelt down and asked Moruru, who started wailing "Papa...!"
"Ridge, Ridge was... kidnapped...!"
When I heard that, I exchanged a glance with Roman, covered my face with my hand, and let out a deep sigh.
"...If it's a political struggle with kidnappings running rampant, then of course Ridge would be a target too..."
Ridge, who was kidnapped because of Moruru in the past, has become a repeat offender in kidnapping plots. It's a real pain, but we can't just leave her be.
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