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After running for a while, he soon saw the shadows of three people through a small forest by the riverbank. It was Siris, Sillan, and Tilla.

“Ah, Repenhardt! You’ve returned safely!”

Upon seeing him, Tilla waved her hand in joy. Repenhardt immediately leaped towards them. Once he approached, he noticed that both Siris and Sillan had somewhat sullen expressions.

It was a natural reaction, considering the situation. They had been through troubles because he had insisted on attempting to steal, only to fail miserably.

Repenhardt, feeling awkward, scratched his head.

“I’m glad everyone is safe…”

Suddenly, Sillan laughed brightly, shrugging his shoulders.

“Really, thanks to Mr. Repen, we had quite the unusual experience.”

His voice was cheerful, but the content was anything but. Sillan continued to giggle as he spoke.

“I’ve heard that setting out as a pilgrim would lead to all sorts of experiences, but I never imagined that, having become a clergyman, I’d be treated as a thief and get to see the inside of a jail. Ah! So, this is why they say the world is full of surprises!”

From Repenhardt’s perspective, there was nothing he could say in response.

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

However, it seemed they weren’t too angry. Both of them relaxed their expressions immediately. It seemed more like they just wanted to complain rather than being truly upset.

“Anyway, it’s a relief that everyone is safe.”

Sillan clicked his tongue.

“It wasn’t much, but it was quite dangerous, actually. I mean, it’s one thing for me, but Siris is an elf, and a young lady at that. Didn’t you think she could have been in real danger if something went wrong?”

At this, Repenhardt’s complexion changed dramatically. He hadn’t thought of that. Even humans, especially young women, could face unknown fates if imprisoned, let alone a beautiful elf who could have ended up as a slave. The horrific scenarios were unspeakable.

Repenhardt grabbed Siris’s shoulder, shaking it frantically.

“Are, are you okay, Siris? They didn’t do anything to you, did they?”

Siris grimaced slightly, as if in pain from her shoulder. Startled, Repenhardt withdrew his hand as Sillan waved him off.

“There was nothing serious. Besides, the knights of Eusus are renowned figures; they were all quite gentlemanly. No foul play happened.”

The reputation of a knightly order does not necessarily mean its members are gentlemen. Their fame stems from their valor, not their virtue. If anything, the knights of Eusus did not harass Siris more likely influenced by Eusus’s own disdain for debauchery.

‘It was indeed a stroke of luck.’

Repenhardt sighed in relief, feeling a chill down his spine at the thought of what might have happened to Siris.

‘I must be more cautious in the future.’

There was also the precedent in the Principality of Chatan. Repenhardt resolved to move more carefully from now on. Siris then looked straight at him and asked.

“So, did you get what you wanted, Lord Repenhardt?”

“Uh? Yes, yes.”

Repenhardt took out the Voice of Elucion from his pocket. Everyone looked on with curiosity. It appeared as nothing more than a rectangular black box, leading Sillan to tilt his head and ask.

“What’s this for, exactly? It doesn’t seem like something you’d use for martial arts training.”

‘Of course, it’s not. It’s a relic from the Silver Age, completely unrelated to martial arts.’

But admitting it was a lie after causing such a fuss was unthinkable. Repenhardt vaguely brushed it off.

“I don’t know. My master just told me to fetch it.”

It was a smooth answer, and everyone seemed to accept it. Repenhardt then urged the group to move on, putting the Voice of Elucion back into his pocket.

“Let’s get out of this domain.”

After the commotion they caused, staying in Viscount Kelberen’s territory was out of the question. Everyone began to follow Repenhardt’s lead.

* * *

The red sunset draped softly over the castle walls. As evening approached, Kelberen Castle buzzed with activity. Servants were busy tending to the wounded and clearing the debris of destruction scattered about.

Among the crowd, knights of the Tenes order, bandaged here and there, also lent their hands. Despite a rather miserable defeat, surprisingly, no one had lost their life to the ‘aura ability thief’. Those severely injured were few, thanks in part to the healers of Aerius, who had used their healing magic. Most had awakened within half a day, able to move their bodies reasonably well. Of course, the magicians were still groaning, clutching their uniformly broken legs.

One might expect the knights to be filled with gloom over their woeful defeat, but surprisingly, their faces did not reflect such darkness. Though they were certainly concerned about the tarnished honor of the Tenes order, their eyes shone with something beyond that—hope.

“…Is that really true, Evron?”

“I saw it with my own eyes, Knight Baras.”

The humiliation from the defeat of the Golden Knight was forgotten in the face of new glory. Everyone was abuzz about the new sword of Tenes, the true realm of the sword, Cyrus who had awakened his aura.

Even though they were loyal followers of Eusus, they had ears too. They were aware of how other houses judged their commander, who flaunted his power with the help of magical artifacts.

While Eusus himself argued that the skill to use magical artifacts was a merit of one’s own, they were still regarded as half-knights at best, dishonorably leveraging the power of tools rather than their own skill.

But now, things had changed!

An aura ability wielder was respected anywhere on the continent. There was not a warrior who wouldn’t revere the brilliant light of that ultimate realm contained within the sword.

“Finally… the Tenes order has a true aura ability wielder…”

Baras murmured with emotion.

From the balcony window of a bedroom on the third floor, overlooking the inner courtyard, Eusus von Tenes gazed outside.

He didn’t need to see to know.

He didn’t need to hear to understand.

The focus of all the knights was no longer on him.

“…Everyone is talking about Russ.”

After waking up, he had been briefed on the situation by Knight Lot. He had learned what had happened. The realization that he had lost the Voice of Elucion, and the concern that he had failed the mission given by the Silver Sage, no longer existed.

“Aura… The power of aura has been obtained…”

He, too, had once dreamt of such power. He had harbored delusions that perhaps, with enough hard work, even a mere sliver of that great light would be granted to him.

But he had come to accept reality and given up without regret. He acknowledged that there was no path towards Aura within his family and chose the path of a magic swordsman, wielding the magic sword Eldran. And he did not regret that choice. At least, not until now…

‘How could such power be in the hands of that wretched whore’s offspring…’

It was unbelievable. At first, he doubted his own ears.

Had they not said the path to Aura was lost? That there was no other way, and so he must wield Eldran!

Yet now, all his loyal subordinates, who had followed him without a hint of doubt, were calling Russ’s name. Those who had despised and ignored Russ were now acting as if a savior had appeared for the family, just because a light had appeared in his sword!

“Ugh!”

His grip tightened. A faint trace of blood seeped from the fingertips clutching the window frame. His fingernail had cracked.

His mind was in turmoil. He had no idea what to do next.

The path he had believed to be so bright, all his future, felt enveloped in darkness.

The damned father who openly adored Russ.

The elders of the family who praised Eusus publicly but still lamented the lack of an Aura wielder in private.

Now, the Tenes Count family had an Aura user. Just one was enough to elevate the family’s status by several levels, a supreme martial artist had emerged.

‘What about me?’

What becomes of him, who has thrown himself into training for the family’s sake? Afraid of becoming a burden, always cautious in his conduct, elevating the name of the Golden Knight, believing that even without Aura, he could still be a noble knight, wielding his sword to this day!

“Ugh!”

Eusus’s expression twisted severely. Suddenly, he turned his head. In a corner of the bedroom lay the golden armor, shattered and cracked. The magic armor Eldrad, barely gathering its fragments for self-repair, seemed to mirror his current state.

In its center was the magic sword, Eldran, towards which Eusus walked as if in a trance.

“This is the sword of Tenes…”

His trembling hand reached out and grasped Eldran.

Swoosh.

Eldran was drawn. Eusus muttered once more.

“I am the sword of Tenes…”

* * *

Russ stood atop a cliff overlooking the Yaham River, gazing at the setting sun.

Despite everyone else being busy with cleanup, no tasks were assigned to Russ. Of course, he was in no condition to move around much. Even after receiving healing, his broken ribs hadn’t fully mended, and he couldn’t walk without a cane due to his leg injury.

However, Russ’s exclusion from work wasn’t solely due to his injuries. The knights’ attitudes towards him had completely changed after he manifested his aura.

Contempt turned into awe.

Neglect turned into praise.

All he did was awaken his aura, yet the world around him had completely changed.

“Ha, hahaha…”

He knew the truth. Despite Russ becoming an aura user, Eusus still had greater martial prowess.

Eldrad’s power could overwhelm most aura users, and Eusus had already reached the pinnacle of mastery over Eldrad. Russ would have to undergo a difficult journey to catch up to Eusus’s martial prowess, despite having awakened his aura.

Yet, people were already treating Russ as if he had become the new sword of Tenes. It was laughable but also pleasing.

And deep down, Russ accepted this fact.

“I’m still lacking…”

He smiled, clenching his fist.

“But soon. I can catch up soon.”

It was just the beginning. Soon, he would truly become the sword of Tenes.

Feeling exhilarated, Russ burst into laughter.

“Haahaha!”

That’s when it happened.

“What’s there to be so happy about, after being defeated together?”

Startled, Russ turned around to find Eusus standing atop the cliff. Normally, he would have found it odd that Eusus hadn’t been detected by his aura user senses.

But Russ was too surprised to even consider this, having not expected Eusus to initiate a conversation. Especially since Eusus always treated him as if he didn’t exist. Hearing Eusus’s words made him slightly embarrassed; he had been so preoccupied with being an aura user that he hadn’t even reflected on his defeat.

However, Russ quickly dismissed that thought. He wasn’t the type to reflect on defeat. If he were, he wouldn’t have disregarded orders and charged in recklessly, only to be blown away.

Eusus approached and spoke.

“I heard you awakened your aura.”

His voice was gentle, a completely unexpected tone, causing Russ to awkwardly nod.

“Ah, yes. Yes…”

“Will you show me?”

After swallowing, Russ drew his sword from his waist.

Whoom whoom whoom!

A low hum sounded as a brilliant blue blade aura softly climbed the long sword’s blade. Gazing at the radiant light, Eusus murmured in a dazed voice.

“Beautiful…”

Russ’s expression brightened.

Finally, he had received recognition. His brother, his family, acknowledged his sword.

‘I’ve been recognized as the sword of Tenes!’

Suddenly, he felt a dull pain in his abdomen.

“Huh?”

Blood seeped out. Red blood flowed down the golden blade, and that blade was deeply piercing through his abdomen…