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The discovery of an undigested anti-mana stone from a holy knight’s stomach caused a huge aftermath. Mana stones were by-products of malice offered to humans by demons to entice them. But refined mana stones, which were purified from mana stones, were considered to be the grace of God bestowed to the faithful humans. In the first place, that was the reason why the church took responsibility for all matters related to the purification of the mana stones. But it was revealed that a holy knight, the sword of the church, had consumed a strictly forbidden drug in the form of an anti-mana stone. In addition, it had been during the finals of the swordsmanship competition held by one of the great nobles of the kingdom.
Boooooooooo!
“You cowards!”
“And you call yourselves knights?”
“Get lost! This isn’t a place for dishonorable scum like you to be!”
“You guys are the heretics! You have no faith and no honor!”
Loud shouts of disapproval and hate poured out on Dircht and the aides. The situation was quite chaotic.
Count Winslon turned to his soldiers and gave his orders, realizing that the eruption of a riot was entirely possible.
“Guide the holy knight and the others to the castle.” Dozens of soldiers surrounded Dircht and the aides at Count Winslon’s orders. They hurried forward while escorting the group. None of them were able to raise their heads as they left the stadium listening to all kinds of insults and demeaning words.
The gazes of Eugene and Dircht met just before the holy knight left the stadium.
Anyone else would have found Eugene’s appearance to be alluring and charming, but Dircht’s expression became completely distorted when he saw the smile hanging around Eugene’s lips.
‘The enemy! He is an enemy of the church!’
Dircht’s anger burned even fiercer. But there was nothing he could do right now. He was stuck in a predicament, and he would be lucky to escape the anger of the crowd unscathed. In the end, Dircht had no choice but to quickly leave the area under the escort of the soldiers like a sinner.
Bwooooooo!
A long, loud note of the horn trumpet resounded, and the agitation of the crowd slowly subsided. Count Winslon raised his pure gold baton and shouted solemnly. “What a shame for such a disgraceful thing to have occurred during the competition! However! There is a knight who has proved his bravery and honor through this tribulation! He stands with me!”
Woaaaah!
“As such! I give the order as the master of Winslon! Write an ode to celebrate the champion, who was more honorable than anyone else! Give your praise and raise your voice! For the hero who proved himself! For the twin crown!” Count Winslon shouted.
Woaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!
Enormous cheers rang high in the sky. Thus, Eugene won the twin crown for the first time in 16 years, becoming champion in both the jousting competition and the swordsmanship competition.
***
Count Winslon generously opened his pockets. Food was transported from the village inns and pubs to the stadium for all to enjoy. The crowd ate and drank, celebrating and praising the champion for winning the competitions and the benevolent count. However, the protagonists of the event, Eugene and Count Winslon, only attended the festival for about thirty minutes before retiring to the castle. There were simply too many people, including the nobles, knights, and commoners who wanted to see Eugene up close, and it could have led to an accident.
Even the distinguished guests and the direct descendants of the county were eager to share even one more word with Eugene. However, Count Winslon sent them away and met with Eugene alone.
“Will you smoke?” Count Winslon asked.
“Sure,” Eugene responded, before lighting a cigarette rolled by Count Winslon. Although he had no interest in smoking, he assumed it would be rude to refuse a great noble. The count gave a satisfied, warm smile. It was an expression he rarely displayed when others were present.
“It contains mana powder,” Count Winslon said.
“I see.” Eugene nodded. He recalled Romari’s words. Before going through the purification process, mana stones were no different from poison to all living creatures except monsters. However, as the saying went, even poison could be medicine if used accordingly. The debris from the purification process of mana stones wasn’t harmful but provided a rather special effect.
It provided the user with hallucinations. It was also one of the reasons why mana stones were so expensive. The raw material of drugs capable of creating hallucinations was bound to be traded at high prices regardless of the times and location.
The symptoms of addiction caused by mana powder could be neutralized by consuming a refined mana stone. As such, wealthy nobles, who were capable of wasting away refined mana stones, enjoyed inhaling mana powder or mixing it with tea and tobacco.
“I will give you a refined mana stone once you are finished.” Count Winslon stated.
“This much will be fine,” Eugene responded. It might be harmful to humans, but such a meager amount of mana stone debris would have no effect on him.
“I like that you are so straightforward. Anyways, today’s unfortunate incident. Was it intended, just like yesterday?” Count Winslon asked in a straightforward manner.
Eugene had already expected such a question. He nodded without hesitation. “Naturally. Since it will be of greater help in tomorrow’s mock battle.”
“Hahaha. This just makes me like you even more, sir. Although we’ve barely met, you are already scratching my itch so well.” Count Winslon was sincerely pleased. When the holy knights declared their intent to participate in the competition, he became worried. Like other nobles, Count Winslon wasn’t on very good terms with the royal family, and like other lords, his relationship with the church was average at best.
On the other hand, the church maintained a tight relationship with the royal family. In fact, the godfather of the current king was a cardinal of the church.
With such a strange relationship in place, the church acted as a bridge between the royal family and the various lords. With such a situation, the county couldn’t openly refuse the demands of the holy knights to suddenly participate in the knight competition. But the holy knights would obviously best any ordinary knights and either win the competitions or achieve great results. Such a result was unacceptable to the count due to his pride since holy knights acted as the hands and feet of the cardinal, who was the godfather of the current king.
In the end, if he were to allow the holy knights to participate in the competition, it was a necessity for the members of the Golden Moon Knights to participate in the competition as a method of suppression. However, such a reaction would cause another problem.
Both the holy knights and the Golden Moon Knights were famous knight organizations in the kingdom. Regardless of who won between the two groups, the losing side would suffer great damage to their honor and pride. Since Count Winslon wanted to protect his pride while also avoiding worsening his relationship with the church, he had been faced with a dilemma.
This was why he had been desperately hoping for a knight unrelated to either side to have the highest achievements in the competition, and as if God had heard his wish, the black knight in front of him had magically appeared to solve all of his problems. In addition, Count Winslon never had any interactions or a relationship with the knight Eugene, the current owner of Wolfslaughter. As such, it was only natural that Count Winslon felt extremely favorable toward Eugene. It was to the degree that his son-in-law, whom he had never liked very much, suddenly felt like a saint. Count Winslon had a sudden urge to see his son-in-law after a long time.
“The knights who are staying in the castle have been greatly shaken by your actions, sir. All of the knights who were smashed apart by you during today’s matches were those staying in the castle. Unless they are fools, they should know what you are after by now,” Count Winslon said.
“That’s good,” Eugene responded.
“Their reactions weren’t that great. There were a few sirs who had openly declared their intent to crush you personally, Sir Eugene,” Count Winslon continued.
It was to be expected since knights were usually arrogant and hot-tempered. Moreover, the knights who resided in the castle were high-ranking nobles or those with titles. They would naturally attempt to restore their honors in the mock battle.
“I would rather have that,” Eugene replied.
“Hooh? And why is that?” Count Winslon asked with an intrigued expression.
Eugene responded calmly. “There are a few things I learned during the various subjugations I participated in. One of them is that agitated monsters are easier to kill compared to sneaky monsters. You must know this fact already, Your Excellency. I have heard that you like to hunt.”
“Hahaha! That is true. Your words are completely accurate, sir!” Count Winslon voiced his agreement while laughing and even clapping. “But, it is also true that a cornered prey can act in unexpected ways. What do you think about that?”
“That would be even better for me. You will find out why in tomorrow's battle,” Eugene declared.
Count Winslon’s eyes became filled with surprise. The young champion wasn’t even contemplating the idea of defeat in tomorrow’s mock battle.
“In many ways, you have a talent for making me curious, sir. Good, good.” Count WInslon said with a grin before continuing. “Since that’s the case, I will also let you know the reward I will be giving you tomorrow, sir. You can look forward to it since an appropriate reward is only natural for the champion who won the twin crown for the first time in 16 years.” Count Winslon said before lightly clapping twice.
The door opened, and servants carefully stepped into the room. Eugene’s eyes glistened when he saw the large wooden box decorated with gold, and the count spoke with a voice full of pride and expectation. “Open it. It is an item that is suitable for the twin crown champion.”
Eugene bowed lightly to the count before opening the box.
Click.
“This is…” Eugene spoke with surprise. Seeing Eugene react in such a way, especially when he had always maintained his composure thus far, caused the count’s smile to deepen with satisfaction. “Her name is Madarazika. It’s the language of the dwarves who live in the far north. In our language, it is called the Ogre Slayer.” Count Winslon explained.
“Madarazika…” Eugene muttered while stretching his hand towards the object. It felt as if he had been enchanted by the weapon.
“With your strength, I’m certain that you could… Huh?” The count stopped himself and gasped with a shocked expression.
Eugene had raised the weapon with one hand.
It was a spear that exuded a dark luster.
“It should easily weigh fifty kilograms. How is it that you can lift it so easily with a single hand?” Count Winslon asked.
“As I mentioned before, I have the blood of the elves flowing in my veins,” Eugene explained.
“Huh? But even Sir Drak barely managed to hold it with both his hands…” The count expressed his astonishment. But he did not doubt Eugene’s explanation. The fact that Eugene was able to take the twin crown for the first time in 16 years proved that his skill was far beyond any ordinary knight. But that wasn’t the end of it...
Wooong!
The spear trembled and emitted a strange cry.
“Huh! Haha!” The count could not help but burst into vain laughter.
‘Numerous knights weren’t able to even hold the spear properly until now! As expected, this knight…’
All doubts and suspicions were completely wiped from Count Winslon’s thoughts. He stroked his beard with a satisfied look. “Every precious treasure is said to have a rightful master. It seems Madarazika has met her true master today.”
“You flatter me,” Eugene responded.
But contrary to his words, Eugene was just as pleased as the count. Upon grabbing the spear, he instantly recognized that it wasn’t an ordinary object, and the count’s explanation only solidified Eugene’s conviction.
“Now, spill a little bit of your blood on Madarazika.”
“My… blood?” Eugene asked.
“That’s right. That will decide whether you will become Madarazika’s true master or not.” Count Winslon continued.
Eugene contemplated for a very short time. Afterward, he quickly took off his gloves, removed Black Scales, and drew his dagger across his palm before grabbing onto the spear.
“...!”
Eugene became greatly surprised. The spear was absorbing his blood like a piece of cotton pressed against water.
‘Is it enchanted with magic?’
“Hooh! Madarazika has recognized Sir Eugene as its true owner. How astonishing,” Count Winslon remarked. Seeing that the count was genuinely surprised, Eugene assumed that Count Winslon would have taken the spear back if it had not absorbed Eugene’s blood. On second thought, it was only natural. Since the count was known to be crazy about gallantry and skill, he wouldn’t allow a precious, magical object to belong to anyone other than its true master.
“Sir, try throwing Madarazika,” Count Winslon said.
“Right here?” Eugene asked.
“It’s fine, so try it,” the count responded. Eugene felt a little strange after hearing the excitement in the count’s voice, but he did as he was told.
Shuack!
When he threw the weapon with moderate force, it became embedded into the wall with a shockwave.
“Try calling it,” Count Winslon said.
“What?” Eugene asked.
“Try to call Madarazika with your will as if you were calling your subordinates. Imbue your words with your… Heuk!” Count Winslon gasped.
Craack! Shuack!
The spear was pulled out from the wall before returning to Eugene’s hand as if it was connected to him with an invisible thread.
“Hahahaha! I knew I wasn’t wrong. Sir Eugene, you are the true owner of Madarazika!” Count Winslon exclaimed.
“This is… surprising,” Eugene stated.
Although he wasn’t as excited as the count, he was still shaken. A spear that could be retrieved with just his will! This wasn’t simply a matter of never losing his spear. Just like other knights, Eugene always carried several javelins with him at all times. Although using the javelin meant sacrificing range and accuracy, it was incomparably stronger than bows and arrows, especially when dealing with medium-sized and large monsters. The only problem with javelins was that it could be difficult to retrieve them after they were thrown. But Madarazika had completely solved such a problem.
It was several times heavier than a typical javelin which meant that it was a lot stronger than the latter. To summarize, it was an awesome weapon.
And if he won tomorrow’s mock battle, another prize would be waiting for him.
“Can I look forward to tomorrow, Sir Eugene?” Count Winslon asked.
“Naturally. I will bring you victory. I swear it on my honor,” Eugene declared.
“Kieeeek?! S-sir Eugene is emitting a similar aura as me!?” Mirian shrieked.
At this moment, Eugene became the Origin of Desire.