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Chapter 78: The Black Lion Castle (3)
Eugene wasn’t able to give a reply to her casual greeting. Although he had blocked it with his sword, Carmen’s foot was incredibly heavy, sending Eugene’s body plummeting downward.
‘As expected,’ Eugene hummed in thought.
He wasn’t panicked by this. This was Carmen Lionheart after all, the Captain of the Third Division of the Knights of the Black Lion. She was Gilead’s aunt, and one of the oldest knights that Eugene had ever met. Since Carmen had been born to the direct line, she had to have learned the White Flame Formula, so if Carmen hadn’t been as strong as she had just shown herself to be, Eugene would have instead felt disappointed.
Bang!
The wind whirling around Eugene spooled out in a wide circle, arresting his fall. As Eugene gently landed on the ground, he glanced down at his stiff arms.
‘My strength falls below hers by quite a bit,’ he noted.
A stone that Carmen had just picked up casually and thrown at him had almost pierced right through his Cloak of Darkness. Even the Death Knight that he had met in Nahama hadn’t been as strong as Carmen.
This fact slightly touched on Eugene’s self-esteem. Of course, the Death Knight he had met there was just a poor example of a Death Knight. Next to the Death Knights that Eugene had seen in his previous life, especially those controlled by Belial, otherwise known as the Demon King of Incarceration’s Staff, Amelia Merwin’s Death Knight was so crudely constructed that it couldn’t even stand in comparison.
Eugene darkly thought to himself, ‘To think that she fucked up the Death Knight made from my corpse to that extent….’
Making a Death Knight from his corpse was already more than enough to make him tremble in rage, but the fact that his Death Knight had been so weak only further annoyed Eugene and made him even angrier. Eugene tried not to think about it as much as he could help it, but recalling those unpleasant memories in such a situation made him grind his teeth in anger.
“...Was my greeting too harsh?” Carmen asked as she slowly fell towards him, having spotted how twisted Eugene’s expression had become.
While straightening the coat flapping around her shoulders, Carmen eyed Eugene.
“It seems to have made you very angry,” she commented.
“I wasn’t angered because of you, Lady Carmen,” Eugene replied, as he calmed himself by releasing his rage in an exhale.
Above, the knights on their wyverns were still flying over. It wasn’t just in the sky either. The knights who had been spread throughout the forest were also gathering at this location.
“Aren’t you focussing a bit too much effort on encircling me?” Eugene asked as he saw this happen.
“It’s because you’re a lot more capable than we had expected. After all, Cyan still hasn’t been able to shake off the illusion of his fears,” Carmen replied with an aloof expression on her face.
She waved at the approaching knights to keep their distance, then she pulled out a pocket watch from inside her vest.
“Don’t think too badly of us,” she requested. “This just shows that we’re paying you the attention that you deserve, and since I’ve even taken action personally, your test will be over quickly.”
“What do you mean by that?” Eugene asked curiously.
“Three minutes.”
Click.
Carmen flipped open her pocket watch.
“If you can withstand my assault for three minutes, I’ll take you straight to the Black Lion Castle,” Carmene offered her challenge.
“...Three minuuutes…?” Eugene drew out inquiringly.
“Because if you’re capable of that, then there’s no point in continuing this test any longer. What? Not confident enough? If you think that’s too long, then I can reduce it to one minute.”
“...Haha….”
Her confidence was only natural. He could understand why that would be the case. That said, Eugene couldn’t help but let out a snort of derision. To think that he would really be reduced to hearing such words….
‘Well, fine…. Things like this happen. To that granny over there, I’m just her many-years-younger grand-nephew.’
Although he might have understood this, Eugene still unconsciously showed his annoyance by referring to Carmen as that ‘granny’.
“That’s fine with me, since I’m young and full of spirit, but at great-aunt’s age, won’t it be too rough for you to move your body so vigorously for three whole minutes?”
His unconscious impudence didn’t just stop with his thoughts. As Eugene blatantly asked such a rude question, Carmen’s hand that was holding the pocket watch started to tremble in anger. Even the faces of the knights surrounding them paled as they stared at Eugene in horror. The air itself seemed to be pervaded by a frosty chill.
Carmen impatiently threw her still-open pocket watch at her lieutenant, Naishon.
“One minute,” Carmen spat out as she widened her stance. “That should be more than enough time for this.”
As if to lend credence to her words, the pure white flames of the White Flame Formula engulfed Carmen. The mana flames clung tightly to Carmen’s body, showing no signs of wastage, as sparks scattered from her like a lion’s mane.
‘Whoa…,’ Eugene thought as he honestly admired Carmen’s skillful application of her mana.
It was difficult to grasp the full capacity of Carmen’s mana, because she was deliberately expelling the bare minimum, but Eugene could tell from how she condensed her mana that she possessed great strength.
Carmen didn’t concede the chance to make the first attack. She disappeared from in front of Eugene’s sight. Though that’s what his eyes were telling him, Eugene didn’t miss Carmen’s movements.
Clang!
Eugene’s body staggered sideways as one of Carmen’s boots knocked Wynnyd’s blade aside. Instead of righting his unbalanced body, Eugene twisted himself around fully. His sword slipped past Carmen’s boot and thrust at her waist.
A hand clad in a leather glove met the sword’s trajectory. With one hand, Carmen diverted the sword strike, and with the other hand, she struck at Eugene.
“Huh,” Carmen grunted.
Her rage at those words that should not have been said faded away into surprise.
Eugene had parried Carmen’s fist with another sword that he had pulled out without her noticing and was able to stand his ground after having been pushed a few steps back.
‘I was intending to break one of his ribs with that,’ Carmen thought in surprise.
She had swung her fist with that intention, but she hadn’t been able to properly land a blow onto Eugene’s body. Carmen dropped her serious expression and smiled brightly.
Then, her offensive grew even more intense. As Eugene had realized upon seeing her, Carmen didn’t use any weapons. Even among the rest of the Lionhearts, she was quite the unusual character. Ever since a young age, without holding any weapons, she had gotten into fights with just her bare body.
After decades of fighting like this, her flying fists had become faster than spears, and a swing of her leg was sharper than any sword. Facing Carmen’s skills, Eugene couldn't help but feel sincere admiration. With such a level of skill, she would have been able to make a name for herself even during those terrible times three hundred years ago.
That’s why Eugene couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
Eugene thought, ‘I’d like to fight with her seriously, but….’
He wanted to fight with her without having to limit their strength so that they didn’t kill each other — to fight her without thinking of the consequences. Although that was what Eugnee truly desired, there was no way that they could really do that. After all, there was no reason for either of them to do so.
‘But currently, it feels like I would be the one to lose,’ Eugene admitted to himself.
Even if he tried to use Ignition, he still wouldn’t be able to win. The current Eugene wasn’t yet able to fully demonstrate this skill from his past life. Of course, he couldn’t be sure of that until he tried it, but Eugene didn’t feel the need to test that just yet.
Eugene observed as he fought, ‘If I compare them in terms of how much pressure they give off, she’s on par with Amelia Merwin… No, I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. After all, Amelia Merwin was truly determined to kill me.’
Through this battle with Carmen, he was able to roughly estimate the skill levels of the rest of the Knights of the Black Lion.
If the six Captains were all around the same level of strength as Carmen, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to claim that the Knights of the Black Lion were the strongest of all the knightly orders that Eugene had ever met. At the very least, according to Eugene’s memories from three hundred years ago, there was no knightly order that sported a similar concentration of such skilled individuals.
‘Had we had such a knightly order with us three hundred years ago, we wouldn’t have been as exhausted as we were,’ Eugene speculated regretfully.
It had to be taken into account that a lot of time had passed since then. In such a long time, everything was sure to have developed to some level. Wasn’t magic alone evidence enough for this? Although the wizards from three hundred years ago had certainly been exceptional, the wizards of the current era were learning magic far more advanced than what had been taught in the past.
It might be possible for combat techniques to undergo remarkable advances during a war, but that didn’t mean that these techniques would have just stagnated or even degraded during the three hundred years of peace.
‘Even so, I’m actually quite happy with this state of affairs.’
Enduring the onslaught of attacks, Eugene concentrated his focus even as he felt pain erupt all over his body.
‘After all, I’m not some kind of old-fashioned has-been.’
In fact, Eugene’s ‘ancient technique’ was still able to hold up even with Carmen as his opponent. Although Eugene himself might not feel like his skills were adequately polished, he still had the free time to look for an opening as he parried each of Carmen’s attacks.
However, Carmen didn’t show him any weakness that he could take advantage of. If only he had enough strength, then Eugene could have forced an opening somehow, and he might have been able to induce an opening by daring to mix in a few faints, but Eugene didn’t feel the need to do that.
“About those three minutes—,” Eugene gasped.
Bambambam!
As he parried Carmen’s fists one final time, Eugene quickly retreated backwards. Wynnyd was fine, but the black blade in his left hand was so chipped and cracked that it was now unusable.
“Haven’t they passed already?” Eugene finished asking as he placed the broken sword back inside his cloak.
Carmen furrowed her brows as she looked at Eugene, but she didn’t continue her attacks.
‘I couldn’t get in a solid hit,’ Carmen thought with regret as she glanced down at her own hands.
The leather on her gloves had been roughened, and several tiny tears could be seen. Certainly, she had done her best to hold back her strength, but… The fact of the matter was that Carmen still hadn’t been able to overwhelm a boy who was so much younger than she was.
“...Isn’t there still a minute left?” Carmen argued.
“Left? As if. I’m telling you that the time is up,” Eugene insisted.
“There’s no way.”
“I was counting the seconds inside my head.”
“You were counting the seconds even as you fought with me?”
“Well, that’s just thanks to the fact that Lady Carmen kept things in hand.”
Not only did Eugene not want to provoke Carmen any further, it was also the truth that time was up.
But Eugene had also stopped because he had noticed an opponent that he couldn’t help but be interested in, even more than Carmen.
His perfectly healthy body had suddenly started throbbing in agony as it felt like it was being crushed into pieces. As Eugene felt this false sense of pain, he turned to look around. It wasn’t obvious what was emitting this ominous sensation, but Eugene’s acute senses were still able to confirm the source of this ‘force’.
‘...The Annihilation Hammer Jigollath.’
Among the knights who were spectating his battle with Carmen, Eugene spotted a particularly tall fellow. Although this was the first time seeing him in person, Eugene immediately knew who this was.
The current master of the Annihilation Hammer Jigollath, Captain of the First Division, Dominic Lionheart. He locked eyes with Eugene for a few moments before blinking and showing a faint smile.
“Impressive,” Dominic spoke up.
He pushed his way to the front of the knights and approached both Eugene and Carmen.
“It’s difficult to believe that a nineteen-year-old is able to show such movements. Eugene Lionheart, word of how exceptional you are has been constantly ringing in my ears for a while now, but… to be honest I thought that, as rumors, they were bound to be exaggerated. Now that I’ve seen you myself, instead it seems like the rumors have failed to properly encapsulate you,” Dominic said flatteringly.
“...That’s an exaggeration,” Eugene respectfully denied the flattery with a deep bow of his head.
The hammer that Dominic wore at his waist had a black handle that was covered in uneven bumps, making it look like blood vessels had sprouted all over it. This appearance made it obvious that it was far from an ordinary hammer.
“Sir Carmen, do we need to continue the test?” Dominic asked.
“...No,” Carmen replied with a shake of her head as she smoothed out her furrowed brows. “I don’t believe that there is any need for further testing. But perhaps you feel otherwise?”
“I don’t believe that there is a need to expand this test to include my involvement. Though I’m not sure how any of the others might feel,” as he said this, Dominic turned to look around them.
“If there are no objections, then let’s head to the castle immediately,” Carmen said, and she was the first to walk away from the scene.
The knights of the Third Division, which was led by Carmen, immediately followed after her.
Eugene looked around at the remaining knights before tilting his head to the side and asking, “...Is Sir Gion not here today?”
“He’s currently acting as the lieutenant of the Fifth Division, who are stationed elsewhere,” Dominic replied. “Just based on his skills, Gion is already good enough to be promoted to a captain’s position. Since the Captain of the Fifth Division will be retiring soon, he was transferred over to the Fifth Division in order to ensure a smooth handover of power.”
Dominic patted Eugene on the shoulder as he passed by.
Then, he continued, “Since young master Cyan’s test hasn’t ended yet, you won’t be able to meet with him immediately, but you should be able to see him again in three days’ time at the very latest, once he reaches the Black Lion Castle.”
Eugene unconsciously laughed at the words, ‘three days.’ In other words, it was assumed that this surprise test would take up three days at the very most. Eugene was resistant to mental attacks, so he hadn’t been forced to wander the forest, but Cyan would be lost in the forest for the next few days, battling both ghosts and monsters.
‘After that, he still needs to break through the encirclement of the Black Lion Knights,’ Eugene realized in amusement.
After sending his condolences to Cyan, who was still letting out screams somewhere in the forest, Eugene began following the knights.
Just as he was about to leave the spot, he heard a loud shout.
“You evil bastard!”
It was Ciel. She was panting for breath on the back of her wyvern, whose chin he had shattered, her arms swinging in circles as she threw a tantrum[1].
“How could you just leave me like that?!” Ciel demanded.
“Well, it looks like he found his way back to you, so no harm done. It seems that wyvern of yours is quite clever. It even knows to go looking for his master when left on its own,” Eugene praised.
This was a lucky turn of events for him. In order to get to the Black Lion Castle that was near the peak of the mountain, Eugene would have had to ride a wyvern, but it was much better to ride a wyvern together with Ciel than with some unfamiliar knight.
“...You want to ride together?” Ciel confirmed hesitantly.
Eugene asked,“What, do you not want to?”
“...It’s not like I don’t want to,” Ciel shyly admitted. “But wouldn’t it be better for you to ride in the front?”
“It’s your wyvern, so why should I ride in the front? Stop with the complaints and just shift over so that I can ride behind you,” Eugene ordered her.
“It’s fine as it is. What are you waiting for? Just get behind me already,” as if she hadn’t even been angry in the first place, Ceil grinned and patted the saddle right behind her. “You should hang on tightly. Otherwise, you might fall from the sky.”
“I won’t die even if I do fall,” Eugene defended himself half-heartedly.
Ciel remained cheerful, “It’s just because I care about you. Get a bit closer… and where do you think you’re putting your hands? Don’t grab onto Draggy’s scales, you’ll hurt him, you know.”
“If it feels pain from someone lightly touching its scales, can you really call it a wyvern? That would make it just a knock-off lizard bastard.”
“Draggy might be a wyvern, but he’s still sensitive.”
The other knights had already gotten onto their wyverns and were flying off, but Eugene and Ciel were still stuck quarreling on the ground. Eventually, Eugene found that he couldn’t win against Ciel’s stubbornness, and he placed both hands around her waist.
“Why are you holding onto me so awkwardly? Just hug me tightly already,” Ciel demanded.
“Hah,” Eugene sighed.
What a nuisance. As he silently grumbled to himself, he wrapped his arms tightly around Ciel’s waist.
“Kagh!” Ciel grunted.
This was different from what she had imagined. It felt like her intestines were about to pop out of her throat.
Ciel gasped and twisted her body, “A-a little gentler….”
“What am I supposed to do if I fall off after holding onto you gently?” Eugene asked with false concern.
“Just… just grab onto my waist. That should be fine…,” Ciel finally conceded.
How demanding of her. Eugene grinned and relaxed his arms, gently placing his hands on Ciel’s waist. Ciel panted as she caught her breath and turned to glare at Eugene. However, there was nothing that she could accuse him of, so she eventually just kept her mouth shut and climbed into the sky.
Like this, they continued to fly through the sky for a while, the Black Lion Castle at the peak of the mountain didn’t seem to draw any closer than at the beginning of their flight. Compared to the other knights, the flight speed of Ciel’s wyvern seemed particularly slow. And on top of that, instead of heading directly for the castle, the direction that they were flying in seemed to be drifting slowly.
“What are you doing?” Eugene demanded.
“Since you’re here, wouldn’t it be nice for us to go on a bit of a walk,” Ciel suggested.
Eugene insisted, “Rather than a walk, I feel like it would be a lot more refreshing to just go to the castle, get something to eat, and then take a bath.”
“I’m just letting you know that, if you go there, you’re in for a lecture,” Ciel informed him with a pout as she turned to look at Eugene.
“Why would there be a lecture when I haven’t done anything wrong? I have a clear conscience. You should stop pointlessly worrying about it and just quickly head there already,” Eugene persuaded her.
“...Carefree idiot,” Ciel said with a sniff.
Even though she was just showing her concern for him. Ciel grumbled to herself as she turned her head back around. As he watched her cheeks swell with indignation, Eugene pinched her side.
“Thanks,” he said sincerely.
“...Don’t pinch me,” Ciel eventually responded.
“What, it’s not like you have anything there to pinch.”
“You still pinched my skin, didn’t you?”
Although she was still grumbling, Ciel’s cheeks weren’t puffed up any longer.
* * *
The Black Lion Castle.
Eugene hadn’t been expecting a welcome party, and there really wasn’t one waiting for him. As soon as they arrived at the castle, Carmen took Eugene away, heading together with him to the tallest tower in the castle.
“The Black Lion Knights are lacking in manpower,” Carmen revealed on their way to the tower. She continued speaking, “The great Lionheart clan has a history that spans back three hundred years. Yet, there are still too few knights to protect the clan. Don’t you agree?”
Although the question was sudden, Eugene didn’t get flustered by it. While recalling the knights that he had met in the forest, he shrugged his shoulders.
“Isn’t that something that can’t be helped?” Eugene argued. “Because unlike the main estate’s Knights of the White Lion, the Knights of the Black Lion are strictly people from the Lionheart clan.”
The inheritance of the Lionheart clan could only be passed down the direct line. Any siblings who weren’t able to become the Patriarch split off to form their own branches, and as this continued, the number of collateral branches kept rising.
Thanks to this, the Lionheart clan had been able to expand widely, but it was impossible for all of these descendants to possess exceptional talent. Thus, it was only natural for the Knights of the Black Lion, who drew solely upon those related by the Lionheart blood, to have fallen into a manpower shortage.
“That’s something that can’t be helped. The Knights of the Black Lion are forced to deal with the Lionheart clan’s dirty issues, as well as their other duties.” Muttering this, Carmen turned to glance at Eugene. “Like your brother. As with Eward’s issue, the Knights of the Black Lion are charged with intervening in the various problems faced by the Lionheart clan. Most of these are problems concerning the clan’s prestige.”
There were far too many collateral branches. This was the result of the seeds sown by Vermouth and his family traditions.
Carmen continued, “There are those whose blood has thinned out so much that, by all rights, they should no longer claim to be a Lionheart. However, they still have the right to bear the Lionheart name. The problem is… when they use that thin blood of theirs to tarnish the family’s name.”
Eugene didn’t find it difficult to understand what she meant by those words. The Knights of the Black Lion had a duty to actively intervene in the clan’s problems. If they saw that the family’s name was being tarnished, the Knights of the Black Lion were the ones who would enforce the corresponding punishment, based on their own judgment.
“And there’s no way we can allow strangers to have a say in solving such problems,” Carmen concluded.
“Is there something that you want to say to me?” Eugene asked.
Carmen replied, “The same words that I said to you the last time we met.”
In this tower that seemed to touch the sky, there was an elevator just like the one that Eugene had used in Akron.
Carmen continued speaking as she walked through the wide-open elevator doors, “I want you to join the Knights of the Black Lion.”
“Didn’t I turn down that offer already?” Eugene pointed out.
“At that time, I hadn’t properly seen how skilled you were. I only got a thorough look at you today. The position of the squire for the Captain of the Second Division remains open if you want it.”
“What has he been doing for the past two years instead of looking for a squire?”
“He has tried to recruit a few, but his personality is so harsh that they couldn’t endure it.”
Eugene demanded, “So why should I have to take up such a difficult position?”
“Because your techniques resemble those of Genos, the Captain of the Second Division.” As she said this, Carmen blatantly eyed Eugene. “So much so that you could even be suspected of being Genos’s disciple.”
“But this is the first time that I’ve even heard his name,” Eugene protested.
Carmen changed the subject, “If you do become his squire, I think that you two would really hit it off[2]. Also, with a position in the Knights of the Black Lion, you can contribute greatly to the glory of the clan.”
“Although I care about the clan’s glory, I’d like to prioritize my own glory first,” Eugene confessed.
There were quite a lot of places here and there that he wanted to visit.
‘If I was forced to become a squire, I would rather go back to Aroth instead.’
The Crown Prince of Aroth had promised Eugene the position of Commander of the Court Wizards. Eugene might hold a bit of interest in the Knights of the Black Lion, but no matter how you looked at it, there was no way that he could be both a member of the Knights of the Black Lion and the Commander of Aroth’s Court Wizards at the same time.
If he placed the two of them on a scale, Eugene’s heart would, of course, lean towards Aroth’s offer.
“Setting that aside…. Why, after calling me all the way to this remote location, are they summoning me now?” Eugene asked.
“Why do you think?” Carmen returned his question.
“I don’t think it’s just because they want to tell me that I’ve done a good job,” admitted Eugene.
“If you promise to become a member of the Knights of the Black Lion, I can tell you,” tempted Carmen.
Not falling for her ploy, Eugene said, “Even if Lady Carmen doesn’t tell me anything, I’ll find out soon enough.”
“It’s regarding your whereabouts,” Carmen easily revealed as she pulled a cigar case out of her vest. “They want to know why you went to Nahama, and what you might have gotten into there.”
“They can’t really be suspecting that I have conspired with the sand rats in Nahama, can they?” Eugene asked in disbelief.
“Although the chances of that are very low, they still need to be considered. Who would have imagined that Eward Lionheart would really attempt to be initiated into black magic?” Carmen said as she glanced at Eugene. “Especially since you’re in a good position to receive various kinds of offers. You’re exceptionally skilled, but because you’re from a collateral line, there seems to be a limit to how far you can rise. What if someone offered to give you their support and guarantee that you would take the seat of the Patriarch?”
“I don’t even want to be the Patriarch,” Eugene denied.
“If that’s the case, then we just need to think about it from another direction. If it was someone of your skills, then you’re sure to have been met with offers of recruitment wherever you went,” Carmen stated confidently. “Could the Sultan of Nahama have promised you wealth and honor?”
“I’ve never even met the sultan. Are you interrogating me right now?”
“That’s right.”
When Carmen gave an honest reply, Eugene laughed as if he had been expecting it.
“If that’s the case, then it seems like I can’t answer Lady Carmen’s questions,” Eugene stated calmly.
The elevator doors opened. Eugene and Carmen walked through them, heading to the room at the end of a corridor.
Carmen shrugged, “Even if you don’t answer me right now, won’t you have to give the same explanation to the elders in that room anyway?”
Before Eugene could even reach his hand out, the door opened, revealing the inside of the room.
Eugene stared at the elders sitting around a round table. Even Gilead, the Patriarch, was sitting there; behind the elders stood Dominic Lionheart, who had arrived before them, and another man who gave off a cold impression just by standing there. It looked like this man was Genos Lionheart, the Captain of the Second Division.
“Good day to you all,” Eguene greeted them with a bow of his head as he entered the room.
“Although this might seem sudden—” As he said this, Eugene raised his head and unfurled his cloak.
His actions were abrupt, but none of the elders moved to restrain Eugene. That was because they all possessed more than enough skill to defend themselves, and because they detected not a single trace of hostility from Eugene’s sudden actions.
“—please take a look at this.”
Without any hesitation, Eugene pulled something out of his cloak.
A large statue and a memorial stone were left standing in front of Eugene.
penguin’s thoughts: Eugene and Ciel are heading in the right direction, and it’s not the Black Lion Castle
1. Couldn't find an accurate description of it, but it's a trope you sometimes see in anime where girls swing their arms in circles while going into a tantrum. https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1846978-anime-manga ☜
2. The Korean version of this phrase is ‘the porridge you two would make would taste just right’. Think of the Goldilocks story, where one person’s porridge is too hot, the other person’s porridge is too cold, but by mixing them together, they each get a bowl of perfect porridge ☜