CH 61

Chapter 61: The Desert (3)

Although Laman’s subordinates dreaded the thought of returning without him, they had no choice but to do so. Before they left, they straightened out their stories about what had happened here.

During their covert pursuit, Eugene Lionheart had attempted to enter the Kazani Desert, forcing them to try and stop him. However, it had been impossible for them to stand firm in the face of the stubbornness from this young master from the Lionheart clan, and they had also failed to persuade him.

As such, their captain, Laman, had decided to accompany Eugene alone. For now, they allowed Eugene to enter the Kazani Desert as long as he promised to turn back at the first sign of danger or trouble.

None of them could be sure that Tairi Al-Mandani, the Emir of Kajitan, would accept such a story. The wounds that they had received from Eugene had been treated somehow with potions and healing magic, but…. in the end, their master’s orders had been to prevent Eugene from entering Kazani, not to act as an escort and go with him if they weren’t able to deter him.

Thanks to this, Laman was so unsettled that he couldn’t help but stay up all night long. After admitting to himself that even if his subordinates hadn’t spoken up for him, he wouldn’t have been able to stand the fear and pain that Eugene had brought him for much longer, Laman felt greatly ashamed of himself.

Owing your loyalty to your master and having tight lips were important virtues for a warrior. But Laman had betrayed his master. His lips, which should have been as tight as a lock,[1] had flapped freely. He was also concerned about how his subordinates, who had been left with no choice but to return, would be treated….

However, this was for the best. Although dying at Eugene’s hands was certainly a scary thought, Laman was more afraid that both his and his master’s honor would be tarnished because of this failure of his.

He tried to comfort himself with the thought that he was protecting their honor by following Eugene, but Laman’s heart still couldn’t rest easy. On top of that, Laman couldn’t sleep because of all the slices and bruises that Eugene had inflicted upon his body, especially his face, which had been repeatedly smashed into the sand.

On the other hand, Eugene was having a good night’s sleep. While Laman was tortured throughout the night with pain in both his body and heart, Eugene was sleeping like a baby some distance away, wrapped up in his Cloak of Darkness.

Laman looked over to Eugene and clicked his tongue in dumb-founded shock.

Although he had been beaten up, Laman’s limbs were still intact. His hands and feet hadn’t been tied up, and neither had Laman had his weapons taken from him. If he could only muster up the confidence, Laman could have attacked Eugene whenever he pleased.

‘Is he just that arrogant…. No, it can’t be,’ Laman rejected such an idea.

Eugene wasn’t tossing and turning, nor was he snoring. He seemed to be deep asleep, breathing slowly with a calm look on his face. Even so, Laman still didn’t dare to get close to him. In that short time, the violence his body had been subjected to had broken Laman’s will to resist.

Also, Laman still couldn’t see any openings in Eugene.

Eugene was definitely asleep. Whether it was his breathing or his pulse, all the signs indicated that he was in slumber. Could he be faking his sleep? But what reasons would Eugene have for doing so?

Laman’s defeat was by no means accidental. He had been thoroughly defeated by that nineteen-year-old boy from the Lionheart clan. It wasn’t just a lucky shot. Laman’s defeat was the natural result of the overwhelming gap in skill between him and Eugene.

‘...Could it just be a habit?’ Laman speculated.

Laman guessed that Eugene was so accustomed to danger that he could fall asleep deeply even when he didn’t know where the danger was coming from or what form it might take. While his mind might be fast asleep, his body was ready to respond to any threat. Laman wondered if he should try and test his guess, but then he recalled that he lacked the skills to do so.

With a snort of derision, Laman just continued covering his body in bandages. In the first place, calling it a mere test would be ridiculous when he was risking getting his throat cut.

It was pointless to get anywhere near Eugene.

“Shall we get moving?” Eugene suggested.

Mornings came early in the desert. Eugene had immediately gotten up as soon as the rays of dawn began spreading across the sky. Even though he had just woken up, his eyes were unbelievably clear and bright.

“...Alright,” Laman reluctantly agreed.

In the end, Laman hadn’t been able to get even a wink of sleep. Even so, he didn’t show any fatigue. Laman was also accustomed to harsh conditions. As a warrior who could skillfully control his mana, he could recover from his fatigue with a handful of mana even if he went without any sleep.

“Could it be that you’re in a bad mood because I treated you so rudely?” Eugene questioned him.

“Not at all,” Laman denied.

Eugene continued prodding, “Then are you upset because I trampled all over your honor?”

“...Not at all,” came Laman’s delayed reply.

“Your first reply was quick, but the one just now was slightly slower. Ah, it’s fine if you are upset. I said what I did because I wanted to upset you, and that’s why I beat you up as well,” Eugene admitted as he started walking ahead, patting the sand off his cloak. “But that was yesterday’s business. Since the night has passed and the sun has risen on a new morning, let’s just start the new day with a new frame of mind.”

Laman wasn’t sure what this bastard intended by saying such things.

Eugene changed the subject, “Are there any Sand Shamans in the Kazani Desert?”

Amid Laman’s confusion, another question had arrived. Laman couldn’t think of a reply immediately and just stared silently at Eugene’s back.

“Don’t act like you don’t know,” warned Eugene.

“I-I truly don’t know,” Laman stammered.

Eugene threatened him, “Do you really want to spend some more time in hell at my hands?”

“No way—! I really, truly don’t know. I’ll swear this on everything that I have,” Laman insisted.

Laman was being sincere. And why was Eugene asking if there were any Sand Shamans in the Kazani desert? Why would the Sand Shamans, who had sworn sole loyalty to the royal family of Nahama, be in the Kazani desert, which was so far away from the capital?

“What’s your rank?” Eugene suddenly asked.

“...Huh?” Laman sounded confused.

“You said that your master is the Emir of Kajitan. Since you even had subordinates with you, you must have some kind of military rank,” Eugene clarified.

“I’m… the commander of the Second Division of the Red Sand Warriors, a unit under the direct command of my master,” Laman revealed.

A unit under the Emir’s direct command. This was no different from a knightly order serving under a noble. This meant that being the captain of the Second Division had to be a fairly prestigious position. With the skills that Laman had shown yesterday, the position of captain wasn’t wasted on him.

Eugene turned his head around to scan Laman’s face. What he saw there was just shame and fear. It didn’t feel like Laman was lying to him. Eugene now knew why someone like Laman, who had already reached the rank of captain, had been sent on a mission like this.

Laman was both honest and loyal. However, loyalty could never be an absolute guarantee. Meanwhile, ignorance could always be relied upon. No matter how much you terrified, intimidated, and tortured someone, they couldn’t blab about what they didn’t know. In that respect, Laman was the perfect patsy.

Eugene sighed, “Are you an idiot, old man?”

“...Huh…?” Laman was perplexed by the sudden insult.

“The Kazani Desert. It used to be the territory of the Kingdom of Turas, right?” Eugene prompted.

“Why on earth would you bring up something so ancient…. It’s true that it was the territory of Turas around a hundred years ago,” Laman played along with Eugene.

“That’s right. But a sandstorm appeared out of nowhere and turned all the fine land and forests into a desert. Since the rest of their border with Nahama also turned into a desert, Turas had no choice but to cede this territory to Nahama.”

Although Eugene called it a cession, it was basically extortion. While claiming that the spread of the desert had been mandated by heaven, the Sultan of Nahama stationed his warriors in the desert and began conducting military exercises. As a small country, Turas definitely couldn’t risk a dispute with Nahama; and no righteous country on this continent would shed the blood of its soldiers just because it felt pity for such a small country.

“The desertification is still gradually progressing even now, isn’t that right? Since your guys can’t pull off such rubbish against the Kiehl empire, you just keep beating down on the pushovers in Turas,” there was a clear tone of accusation in Eugene’s voice.

“...Don’t you dare spread such nonsense,” Laman warned Eugene.

“Unlike your appearance, it seems that you’re rather naive, old man. Or could you just be pretending to be naive?” Eugene asked.

In an uncertain tone, Laman argued, “Even if what you say is true… there’s no way our master could be involved in such despicable actions….”

“Weren’t your orders to conceal your identities and follow me around rather despicable?”

“Th-that's…. He was just worried that you might run into danger in such a treacherous desert….”

“It looks like you really don’t know anything. Well, that’s fine. Since it’s not like it’s important whether or not you’re aware of the truth,” Eugene shook his head as he said this and turned to face forward. “But you should get one thing straight. I have no intention of coming all this way to a foreign country just to get mixed up in a conflict that I can’t handle, got it? I can roughly guess why your master wouldn’t want me to head into the desert. If a foreigner wanders into the base of the Sand Shamans, and if that foreigner happens to be the young master of the Lionheart clan, wouldn’t that just be a pain in the ass for everyone involved?”

If Eugene was just some guy, then they could get rid of him without any concern. It wasn’t uncommon for travelers to go missing in this vast desert. However, the disappearance of the Lionheart clan’s young master would hold much different weight. If Eugene were to go missing in the desert, Gilead, the Patriarch of the clan, would never just let this issue rest.

“...I believe that I understand what you’re trying to say,” Laman replied as he lowered his gaze. “If there really are… Sand Shamans in there like you speculated… then before they can harm you, I will step in to protect you, my lord. Even if the Sand Shamans are directly under the sultan's command, they should at least show some respect for my master, the Emir of Kajitan.”

“It would be nice if that were the case,” Eugene said without any confidence.

“...But my lord… why do you want to go to the Kazani desert?” Laman hesitantly asked. “There really is nothing to be found there….”

“That’s something I’ll need to confirm with my own eyes,” Eugene stated firmly.

Eugene wasn’t sure if he could really find Hamel’s grave in the desert. To a certain extent, this was all just supposition. It could be that there was nothing to be found there after all. But that said, he still felt the need to check it.

Without saying anything more, Eugene started running across the desert.

‘He’s so fast,’ Laman exclaimed to himself as he immediately began following Eugene.

Although Laman had been beaten black-and-blue last night, fortunately, none of his bones had been broken. Thanks to him circulating his mana instead of sleeping, Laman wouldn’t have any problems keeping up, even if they were running.

Though that should have been the case, it still proved difficult for Laman. While it didn’t seem like Eugene was running particularly vigorously, with each step he took, his body was sent flying across the sand.

Laman still had time to wonder to himself. ‘...Could the sandstorms really… be the work of the Sand Shamans?’

As a warrior, Laman didn’t consider invading other countries to be an evil deed. After all, there was nothing wrong with the strong taking from the weak. This wasn’t just a law of the desert; everything in this world ran on the survival of the fittest.

But to use a sandstorm as their means of invasion… wasn’t something like that truly despicable?

Laman felt that if there was going to be war, then it was only right that it should be a ‘real’ war, where warriors shed their own blood for victory. But what if the great sultan was just showing that he valued and cherished the blood of his warriors? If he was indeed saving their blood from being shed until the day of their great war for conquest by doing this, then his soldiers should just prepare for the war with feelings of both joy and gratitude.

This was all that a warrior could wish for.

But it looked like Laman Schulhov wasn’t truly a warrior, as he could feel a treasonous emotion beginning to wriggle in the depths of his heart.

Laman tried to ignore this feeling.

* * *

“...An oasis…?” Laman gasped.

A day had passed since Laman had started accompanying Eugene, and they had entered the Kazani Desert. Just as Laman and his lieutenant had said, the desert was barren and completely empty. It was a desert where nothing could survive. But that seemed to be all there was to it, as they hadn’t encountered any particular dangers during the half a day they had spent in this desert. Then they had abruptly spotted an oasis.

Laman stared at the distant oasis with a look of disbelief.

The Kazani Desert had no oases. That was why nothing could survive there, and Laman couldn’t be more familiar with these facts. But for them to have discovered an oasis… Could a terrible sandstorm have churned up the ground, freeing the water below? Or had the rain fallen here unnoticed and collected on the ground? Either way, Laman felt that the oasis they had spotted in the distance had to be a miracle of the desert.

“It’s fake,” while Laman was looking at the oasis with ecstatic eyes, Eugene spat out these words in a cold tone.

Laman was bemused, “...Huh?”

“I said that it’s fake,” Eugene repeated himself.

“Are you saying that it’s a mirage?” Laman asked.

“If you see a mirage of an oasis, it means there must be a real oasis somewhere in the distance. But not in this case. That’s a magical illusion.”

Eugene was certain of this. He had gotten the feeling that from that point onwards, the density of mana was different from the surrounding area. But Laman hadn’t been able to identify this as illusion magic like Eugene had. This was because his sensitivity towards mana was far lower than Eugene’s, and he didn’t have the same deep understanding of magic that Eugene did.

“So that’s how they do it,” Eugene nodded with a laugh. “By showing us a mirage, they’re trying to make us think that we’re heading in the wrong direction, thus discouraging us from getting closer. But that just makes it even more suspicious.”

Laman was slow to react, “You’re saying that’s a spell…. That’s impossible.”

“Hey, Laman. Try to keep your attempts to escape reality inside your own head. Don’t piss me off by pointlessly spouting your weak attempts at denial,” Eugene warned him.

Laman bit his lip in silence, “....”

“It’s admirable that you’re showing loyalty to your master, but it’s not like your master is my master as well, right?”

“...Please don’t insult my master.”

“When did I ever accuse your master of being a son of a bitch? What do you mean by saying that I insulted him? Why are people so sensitive to such things nowadays? They keep making up insults from nothing.”

What was with Eugene saying ‘things nowadays?’ Setting that thought aside, Laman forcefully relaxed his shoulders and lowered his gaze.

“...If that’s really illusion magic, what should we do now? It would be dangerous for us to try and detour around it, so…. Since they’ve gone so far as to cast such a spell to deter us, why don’t we just go back the way we came…?” Laman weakly suggested.

“I’ll need to take a closer look before deciding what to do,” saying this with a grin, Eugene started walking towards the distant oasis.

Laman protested, “Didn’t you just say it’s an illusion? So why do we have to go there?”

“To see if they really are trying to send people to a safe place by making them turn back the way they came.”

“...Huh?”

“For travelers in the desert, an oasis is an extremely precious site. To the extent where they would feel the need to make a stop there once they’ve seen it.”

“...It can’t be. Do you think that they might have an ambush lying in wait?”

“Shouldn’t that probably be the case? If it were me, that’s what I would do. Rather than deter an intruder who might still come barging in from who knows where, it’s overwhelmingly more convenient and efficient to slit their throats after reeling them in.”

Laman looked at Eugene with shaking eyes. Although logically speaking, Eugene’s words were correct, it was hard to believe that such a judgment had come from a nineteen-year-old boy.

Laman hesitated, “...If that really is the case… then why even risk the danger…?”

“Isn’t it better to confirm your suspicions?” as he replied, Eugene pulled out his map from his cloak.

If Eugene wanted to head directly to where his hometown used to be three hundred years ago, he needed to pass straight through that oasis.

However, was it possible that someone might have left a trap here knowing that was the case?

Three hundred years ago, Hamel had been the type of person who would just go ahead and check it out himself if he suspected a trap was in front of him. Hamel hadn’t considered such actions to be reckless. Since he was sure he could handle whatever it threw at him, why not risk triggering the trap. So what if there really was a trap? He could just smash right through it. And if there wasn’t a trap? Then he could just head on through with a more relaxed mindset than before.

Eugene would actually prefer it if the oasis was a trap. He hoped that someone really was there waiting to ambush them. If that was the case, that would make it a little easier for him to plan for future situations.

It could also confirm that his grave was somewhere in this desert.

Currently, the presence of Nahama’s Sand Shamans was just a suspicion on his part. But the fact that the oasis in front of him was an illusion cast by magic titled Eugene’s suspicions over to certainty.

If that really was a trap meant to bury any travelers in this desert and not guide them back to a safer location….

‘Then that just confirms it.’

And if it wasn’t, then he would just have to make another decision at that time. Whether to just continue exploring all by himself to find the unknown location of his grave or if he should properly seek permission for a full expedition.

‘The Emir of Kajitan and Laman Schulhov, the commander of the Second Division of the Emir’s personal guard. With those two behind me, that’s at least a little insurance… and if that doesn’t work, I can also use the Lionheart name as additional insurance,’ Eugene planned.

If his attackers just chose to ignore all of that, that just meant that there was something over there important enough to risk turning the Lionheart clan into an enemy.

‘So what could it be?’

His thoughts turned to the rumors that there would soon be a war.

‘But is that really something that Nahama itself has decided on?’

Amelia Merwin was based in Nahama. A black wizard who had signed a personal contract with the Demon King of Incarceration. It was a well-known fact that she represented a huge proportion of Nahama’s military strength. If Nahama truly was preparing for a war… was that because the war was what Helmuth had decided upon? Or was Nahama just concealing a growing ambition beneath Helmuth’s gaze?

This was a question that he couldn’t answer. However, Eugene couldn’t just ignore his suspicion that the Demon Kings and Helmuth might be involved in all of this.

He couldn’t risk ignoring the possibility.

Eugene cursed, “Fucking hell, why is it so difficult just to find a grave.”

“...A grave? Are you here because you wanted to visit the grave of a family member?” Laman asked.

“Mhm,” Eugene grunted in acknowledgment.

“How could that—why didn’t you just tell me this earlier?” Laman asked exasperatedly.

Eugene returned his question, “And what would you have done if I did?”

“There’s an area allocated separately as a cemetery in Kazani,” Laman explained. “I could have just led you right there—.”

“It’s not in a cemetery. The grave I’m looking for should be all on its own.”

“Then I’m not sure what kind of grave you’re looking for, but there must be hundreds of thousands of corpses buried in this vast desert.”

“That’s probably true. Are you a native of Kazani?” Eugene suddenly spat out this question without turning to look back at Laman.

For a moment, Laman didn’t know what to say and just pursed his lips.

Eugene listed his observations, “There’s the way your eyes lit up when you looked at that oasis earlier. There’s also the fact that you keep flinching during the regular sandstorms. Also, your mood shifted when I told you about the Sand Shamans.”

“...That’s…,” Laman appeared reluctant to speak.

But Eugene didn’t need him to say anything, “Were you part of the group who tried to settle in the desert? So you were lucky enough to survive the disastrous sandstorm and somehow managed to reach Kajitan…. Was it your master who allowed you in? So that’s why you don’t want to believe that your master is connected to the sandstorms, but I’m sure you’re starting to have some doubts about it….”

“...,” Laman’s silence confirmed Eugene’s conclusion.

“Hey, Laman. Let me give you a piece of advice,” Eugene offered. “With the way that the world works, most of the things that we don’t want to believe are true turn out to be correct. And among those, it’s especially the suspicions of someone secretly being an absolute shithead that turns out to have been the truth.”

Laman ground his teeth.

Eugene continued, “Although you might indeed owe a great debt of gratitude to your master, it should also be true that your master knows about the origin of the sandstorms. What Tairi Al-Madani never expected was the fact that I was strong enough to beat both you and your subordinates with ease. He also didn’t know I would be stubborn enough to head into Kazani anyway, ignoring all the threats and warnings.”

“...There’s no way that’s the case,” Laman couldn’t stay silent any longer.

“Didn’t I tell you to keep your attempts at escapism inside your head? Well, do whatever you want. It’s up to you to decide what you want to believe,” saying this with a snicker, Eugene continued to walk forward.

At that moment, Laman’s expression suddenly changed. He kicked off the ground and charged at Eugene’s back.

“It’s dangerous!”

Laman wasn’t attacking Eugene. With a fearful cry, Laman pushed Eugene’s back as a dark blade erupted from the sand beneath Eugene’s feet. But Laman’s hands weren’t able to move Eugene’s firm back.

Then Eugene jumped straight up and spun around in midair.

“Do you really think I would miss something that you had noticed?” As Eugene grumbled, he summoned some wind spirits.

Boom!

The sand covering the ground was blown away by a strong force of the wind.

1. The Korean version of this idiom is ‘lips as heavy as a rock’ which means someone is able to keep a secret. ☜

Openbookworm's Thoughts

OBW: Fun fact, Eugene shared a piece of dangerous misinformation in this chapter. If you see a mirage in the desert, that doesn’t mean an oasis is actually nearby. A mirage is caused by a heat haze bending the light to make it appear like water, there doesn’t need to be any actual water nearby.