NOVEL WEB Chapter 54 - Fake Knowledge, Fake Sage☆ (4)
After seeing me absorb the remnants of the blessing, Freya looked as if she was seeing something bizarre.
With a strange look in her eyes, she spoke rapidly:
“Fl-Flying like an arrow… T-Tearing apart armor with your head… T-Taking the enemy’s heart and devouring it… A-Are you a legendary barbarian? A barbarian from ancient times… that would only appear in the era of the [Three Heroes] is right before my eyes.”
“Aww―♪ How could you belittle my awesome performance like that☆”
I casually joked in response to her words. And in my mind, I recalled the keyword [Three Heroes].
‘[Three Heroes]… In the game setting it’s an important keyword linked to my juniors’ awakening, but the original work didn’t explain it in detail. Here it’s treated like an ancient myth, so few people know the actual history.’
The ancient [Three Heroes].
An ancient warrior party consisting of hero, rider, and mage.
The group that the [Golden Witch] worshipped by beastkin belonged to.
‘That’s about all that’s revealed…’
While I was thinking that to myself, Freya heard my leisurely response and fired back even faster. She seemed to be explaining how barbaric and nonsensical that was.
“Wh-What’s so awesome about that! Th-That was just pure barbarism…! Wh-Who absorbs remnants of blessings flowing out from outside dungeon gates like cotton?! D-Do you just pick up and eat anything off the ground…?! M-More importantly, how on earth…?! Do you even absorb such remnants…!”
“Hmm―☆”
Somehow her words got faster the more she spoke.
Freya unnaturally spilling TMI.
Seeing Freya like that, I felt she was somewhat cute.
‘Is she worrying about me in her own way? She doesn’t need to worry…’
But I was happy nonetheless.
True girls’ talk blooms in the midst of battle.
With that feeling, I spoke confidently:
“My, to think there was such a cute barbarian―☆ People in ancient times must have been so happy―♪”
“D-Don’t talk nonsense… H-How could an ancient barbarian who plunders ether be c-cute…”
Freya sighed deeply and continued speaking.
“Plundering the enemy’s ether or blessings like that… isn’t normal… D-Don’t do that… anymore.”
“…”
“It’s not just… a matter of it feeling bad… S-Something’s strange… It’s d-different from others… and s-special… Being special isn’t good… E-Even if it’s truly talent… It means going down a thorny path so harsh you can’t endure without it…”
“…”
“That idiot moron Frau who used ancient power is like that, and you’re like that too… Wh-Why do you abuse power that deviates from the natural order without fear… A-Aren’t you afraid of the power of fate…”
Drooping her purple cat ears.
Conveying intuition in a worried tone.
Hearing those words, I recalled the memory from just before.
‘This seems like the original Clara… Urd did something to allow me to absorb blessings.’
Urd’s innocently shining smile.
That smile that flashed through my mind for an instant didn’t feel like a coincidence to me. Remnants of blessings that should have scattered without being absorbed. They shone like dandelion seeds and were still being absorbed even now.
Faint blessings being absorbed from countless shattered fragments of automatic armor.
‘At this rate… even if I don’t brutally spray ether storms like before, I can fight reasonably well with just a weapon.’
Ether steadily filling up to about 30% now.
It’s enough if I use my new weapon aptitude.
It was truly help like a goddess’s blessing.
‘As Freya said… it’s miraculous help I shouldn’t be able to receive originally.’
But to Freya, it seemed to feel like the heaping meal given to fate’s slaves. Like the enormous meal given before hard labor.
“…”
Pat pat
I approached Freya and patted her shoulder. Freya twitched her ears and looked at me with dazed eyes.
‘So that’s why she showed behavior unfitting her power in the original work.’
Her own enormous [Fate] that received shining talent.
Feeling like shackles as heavy as the weight of that shining talent. Knowing the fear of that heaviness, Freya seemed to run away… and tell others to avoid it too.
I spoke to her like that:
“It’s okay☆ I won’t end in a place like this―☆”
“…What’s that supposed to mean.”
“Your fate’s end won’t end emptily there either♪”
“…What’s your basis?”
“I don’t have any☆ Let’s just both think that way―♪ It’s too wasteful to shrink back over things that haven’t even happened―☆”
“…Haah. It must be nice being a fool. A-Always so positive…”
Freya shook her head.
Watching that, I resolved inwardly again:
‘I will not fall.’
The end of the spiral points towards the heart.
Even if it takes some detours, it hasn’t lost its way or been cut off yet.
Whatever your and my [Fate] may be, I believe it won’t be an empty end.
‘Let’s just think that way for now.’
I patted Freya’s shoulder again and said:
“Anyway! Only good things have happened so far―☆ The Eastern Alliance is in disarray from the alley cat’s awesome magic♪ I very luckily absorbed blessings and am full of energy―☆ Yes☆ Awesome―♡”
“Ah… Y-Your way of speaking really drains my energy…”
Freya coldly smacked away my hand that kept patting her. But her ugly purple cat ears kept twitching, seeming agitated.
A moment of silence.
“…”
“…”
And Freya moved.
Stride stride
Perhaps as her own expression of dissatisfaction.
Freya quickly walked behind me and hopped on. And like a general mounting a horse, she nudged my side with her foot.
Poke!
“L-Let’s go. Ruffian. If y-you say you’re fine anyway… I guess I can use you more.”
“…”
“W-We’ve run wild enough, so the other team should have escaped the encirclement and reached where the transport is… Let’s go back to orange ears and… m-meet up. We’ll head straight to the golden street from here.”
“…Okaaay―☆”
“L-Let’s go… stop Frau and those idiot morons.”
“For the safety and peace of the academy city―☆”
“What?”
I raised one hand and steeled my resolve. But Freya looked at that with disgust and said:
“Th-This is… just a struggle for rights between
“…Okaaay―☆”
I chuckled again at that nonchalance.
‘Come to think of it, it could be seen that way… Maybe because I’m close with Hilde, I ended up empathizing with
Freya paid no mind and nudged my side with her foot again.
‘No, is she really treating me like a warhorse…’
She seemed to be the type to act rude to others once she got close to them.
“Departing now~☆ Hold on tight―♪”
“…And.”
“Yes?”
“Just one piece of advice. A-Advice even a fool can understand.”
“…”
“N-Never… define your reason for living in a single word… no matter when or where.”
“…?”
I turned back at those sudden words. But Freya had a very serious face while riding on my back.
“The moment you think… I will live for this… Th-That will become an [Fate] you can’t escape… I d-don’t know if you’ll listen even if I say it…”
“Okay―☆ I’ll keep it in mind―♪”
Freya fell silent after that and simply pointed the direction to go. And I ran forward again carrying her on my back.
“…”
Even as we gradually moved forward.
Somehow… I mulled over that concerning advice inwardly.
‘I’m not sure exactly what she means… but I’ll engrave it in my mind for now.’
Cannon fire and lights quickly passing by again.
Unlike the surrounding positions filled with silence due to our rampage. The hundreds of positions endlessly spread beyond the horizon were gauging [Purple Spinning Wheel]’s attack position through the attack she carried out.
We ran through dense dust between countless attacks splitting the air and flashing red lights.
Tap tap tap tap tap―!
The path back the way we came.
Tap tap tap tap tap―!
-Whoa?! What’s that!!
-It’s [Purple Spinning Wheel]!! Fire!!
-Damn, the one who’s carrying her is too fast to hit―!!
-Daaaamn―!!
Just as we had done until now.
I stepped on dark elf students’ shoulders like stepping stones or lightly dodged attacks. Moving quickly back and forth across the battlefield in straight lines like that seemed to have caused confusion in their judgment.
“Whaat―?”
A sharp voice rang out in the darkness.
A beastkin noble student shouting loudly from a position left alone could be heard. She had a communicator to her fox ear, listening to a report.
And she berated the reporter in a fierce voice:
“[Purple Spinning Wheel] moved 1 kilometer in 1 minute―?! Don’t say such nonsense! This is why ignorant masses are! Don’t say strange things, surround the last sighting location!! There’s no way a mage could run like that…!”
Tat―!
I created an ether foothold in the air and leapt up.
The fox-eared girl’s sharp voice could be heard clearly even from high up. I focused all my senses on that voice. Perhaps because some ether had recovered, it was much easier than before.
‘Are the kids in such a hurry that they omitted the important report that I’m carrying the alley cat around?’
But this was an opportunity. So I intended to charge towards this fox-eared noble faction girl who seemed to be the commander of this area… who still didn’t know the exact situation.
‘Curse your own ignorance, girl!! Like Cao Cao who was deceived by others’ words and chained his ships together at the Battle of Red Cliffs―!!’
The ether in my legs shall be the southeast wind blowing at Red Cliffs.
There is no mercy in the miraculous southeast wind that has begun to blow.
‘I shall make good use of the ether blessing you kindly sent, as this Zhuge Liang.’
Seeing my actions like that, as if anticipating something again…
I heard Freya sigh softly from behind me.
“This again…?”
“Yep☆ This again―☆”
“Pink wild horse…”
“Call me red wild horse instead―☆”
“I-Isn’t that [Crimson Trajectory]…?”
And she protected herself with purple ether.
Seeing that, I confidently stretched out my leg in the air.
Leg stretched out.
A flying kick with all my might.
Ether ripples slightly.
Whoosh―!
The trajectory of faint red ether being fired.
The opponent still wasn’t looking at the sky.
I unleashed a flying kick towards the fox-eared girl’s head from midair.
“Hiyah―♪”
“So! Such nonsense…! Huh?”
Twitch
The fox ear twitched.
The noble faction student looked this way.
“Huh…?!”
“Pink☆Love☆Kick―☆”
Her face turned to shock, but there was nothing she could do.
Thud―!
The noble faction student flying away with a shockwave.
Now there will be confusion in the command of this area.
‘But why is the security here completely empty?’
Just as I was about to leave.
The sound of the ether vehicle we were planning to steal according to plan was heard from far away.
Vroom―
Vroom―
Vrooooom―!!
A massive vehicle making heavy exhaust sounds.
A black vehicle that looked like it belonged to
The dark elves on bikes kept shouting. They were constantly banging on the vehicle’s driver’s side.
Bang bang bang!
-You!! What are you?! Why are you betraying us when you’re a beastkin―?!
-You bastard!! Get out of our vehicle?!
-Damn―! Get out now!! The car is our pride!! We can’t forgive even if you’re noble faction!!
A breathtaking chase scene unfolds for a moment.
Whirr―
Eventually the vehicle’s window opens, and a familiar voice chanting spells rings out. Those spells didn’t have the mechanical resonance the beastkin had been shouting until now, but sounded like a melody like a song.
[What good is bringing a dagger, don’t fight, just peel and eat an apple.]
[What good is drawing a longsword, it’s cold out, just use it as a poker.]
[What good is wielding a greatsword, your back’s not good, just use it as a mirror.]
A golden wand emerging from the vehicle window aims between the bikes. And ridiculous cat-patterned armaments poured out from there.
Rattle rattle―!
Red weapons pouring from the window. They were blunt and ridiculous like party items or squeaky hammers from a past life. But they appeared much faster than what other beastkin used.
Dozens of weapons scattered in an instant.
The bikes caught by them wobble precariously and fall over.
“Uwaaaack?!”
“What is thiiis―?!”
Screech―!
Boom―!
The fallen bikes disappeared into the darkness, and the unconscious dark elf students collapsed on the ground. And the black vehicle leisurely approached us.
We smiled seeing the driver visible through the window.
“Wow―♪”
“R-Really… Once we changed the spell chanting method… Sh-She adapted right away…”
“My child is quite smart☆”
Twitching orange cat ears, Rota was sitting in the driver’s seat holding the steering wheel with her small hands.
And playfully honking the horn, she boasted to us.
Beep!
Beep!
“Hehe, since the seniors ran wild so flashily. The security on this side was quite lax! So I blew them all away with the newly learned spells!”