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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Cyno
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The Akus River, which ran through the Divine Sanctuary, flowed through the territory of the Yosrahim Empire and extended all the way to the Great Lake at the far eastern edge of the continent.
At the junction where the Akus River met the Great Lake, in the thick darkness, a massive tree with its roots severed drifted downstream. The leaves on its branches were still lush and green, suggesting it hadn’t been long since the tree was cut down.
Strangely, however, tiny bubbles kept rising around the stems of water plants protruding from the surface nearby. It was because I had been submerged underwater, holding my breath.
After a moment, I lifted my head above the water and scanned my surroundings. Nothing but the vast expanse of the Great Lake stretched before me—no one else was around. Relieved, I finally emerged and climbed onto the floating tree.
“I’ve come this far. That damn fly won’t be able to find me now, right?”
The distance from the Divine Sanctuary to here was over 90 kilometers. No matter how sharp a Valkyrie’s mana sensitivity was, tracking me down would be impossible.
I glanced at Yojo sheathed at my waist and flicked its guard with my finger.
“Hey, what was that about going the other way? This is betrayal.”
Yojo remained silent.
“Well, you did use some strange magic to help me escape danger, so I’ll let it slide for now. But be careful next time.”
After muttering to myself, I drew Yojo and ran my fingers along its blade. I had thought Yojo was just a sturdy artifact with no magical abilities, but surprisingly, it had decent magic potential. When it crushed Cartrienne with overwhelming weight earlier, I wondered if it had been possessed by something.
‘Ah, but how did I activate it? It definitely wasn’t by infusing mana like other artifacts…’
At the time, I had withdrawn all the mana I was channeling into Yojo and redirected it into my body. So mana infusion clearly wasn’t the trigger. That meant there was another activation method, but I couldn’t quite grasp it—probably because the magic had manifested in such a chaotic moment.
Still, I’d figure it out eventually. If it activated once, it could activate again.
‘Right. I shouldn’t forget the sensation. There was definitely something there.’
Humming to myself, I used Yojo as an oar to row. I was free now. The moment I broke through Cartrienne’s pursuit and escaped, no one could catch me.
“Hey-ho~ Let’s row away~”
My destination was the nearby riverbank. I could’ve gone farther, but I was waiting for someone—Shura.
When I had briefly shaken off Cartrienne’s pursuit, I also discarded the pendant with the tracking spell. Keeping it would’ve risked exposing my escape due to its internal mana resonance. But I didn’t just throw it away. I left a small clue on the back of the pendant so Shura could follow me.
‘But will she make it? If not, I’ll just leave her behind.’
It sounded cruel, but if Shura couldn’t come, I’d abandon her. I had warned her before—that I’d leave her behind.
Besides, even while being chased by Cartrienne, I went out of my way to leave hints. If she couldn’t meet those expectations, it was better to part ways here.
It’d mean she wasn’t sharp enough. Carrying dead weight would only slow me down.
“Even if she doesn’t come, she has all the luggage and money pouches. She’ll manage on her own.”
After starting a fire, I began grilling the fish I’d caught while drifting downstream. They were small, but I’d caught enough for two.
Just as the fish were turning golden, I sensed a presence rapidly approaching along the riverbank. Fast—definitely someone trained in assassin techniques or professional tracking.
I smirked. I had taught Shura an assassin’s movement skill not long ago.
“Master!”
Soon, a woman’s desperate cry reached me. It was Shura. As she neared the campfire, she trembled and threw herself into my arms.
I patted her back.
“Hey, you made it?”
“I knew you were alive!”
Shura held out my pendant. On its back were two ancient runes symbolizing water and flow—meaning that following the water’s path would eventually lead to me.
The Divine Sanctuary’s underground waterways were labyrinthine, but water always flowed downward. Following it would eventually lead to the Akus River, and from there, downstream to this place.
“Of course. Did you really think a Valkyrie could kill me?”
Shura gave me a puzzled look.
“Aren’t you Idron’s master?”
“Idron’s master is the Valkyrie of Flames. Be careful if you meet her later—she’s got a nasty temper.”
“Ah.”
Shura’s face paled.
“What?”
“This morning, I heard you’d died and was about to go get revenge.”
“Really? But you didn’t go?”
“No. I went to retrieve your pendant first to recover your body.”
I handed her a grilled fish.
“Good job. Here, eat. You must be starving after running all day.”
Shura hastily stepped back and knelt respectfully.
“Master!”
“Why the sudden formality?”
“Master, I’ve become the wielder of Dalahan, the Moonlight Blade of the Sun and Moon God.”
As Shura recalled the moment she became Dalahan’s master, she was overcome with joy.
Late last night, she had entered the Hall of Divinity with Orter, the High Priest of Darkness. At the time, she had planned to select a Tier-2 artifact and manipulate the process as I’d advised, but Orter’s watchful gaze made her nervous. However, diverting his attention was easy—he had been too busy marveling at Dalahan floating in the air, radiating both holy light and dark energy, to notice her.
Just as she was about to proceed with her plan, Dalahan flew into her arms, choosing her as its master.
After that, she was revered by the Dark Paladins and Holy Soldiers, then personally guided by the Dark Pontiff. There, she even received heartfelt congratulations from an elven archbishop, who praised the daughter of the Moon Elves for accomplishing such a great feat.
The moment had been awkward, but overall, it was a profoundly moving experience for her.
“Ah, so that Dalahan…?”
“Yes.”
She drew the sword, revealing a blade sharply divided between darkness and radiant silver light. It was unmistakably Dalahan.
In my past life, Dalahan hadn’t appeared even during the Age of Ruin—yet now, it rested in Shura’s hands.
‘Damn it!’
I didn’t know how to react. While Shura becoming Dalahan’s master was cause for celebration, it spelled trouble for me.
Shura was my partner, the one who shared my bed. And as husband and wife, we were one. With her now wielding Dalahan, I had effectively become a strong contender for the Yosrahim Empire’s throne.
Some might dismiss it as a stretch, but that only made it worse. The fiercest power struggles arose from ambiguous claims.
The reason there was no power struggle between me and my half-brother Josef was that I was the undisputed heir to the powerful Karl Ducal House—something even our father couldn’t challenge. If our positions had been ambiguous, blood would’ve been spilled.
Josef himself had said so, and he wasn’t one to lie about such things.
“This is insane.”
“Huh?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I forced my expression under control and waved my hand. Honestly, this wasn’t Shura’s fault—it was mine for not warning her to avoid Dalahan.
Besides, the throne was for those who wanted it. Since I was presumed dead, as long as I didn’t return to the Empire, it wouldn’t be an issue.
“Right. You got a scripture from the Church for Dalahan, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I have it.”
“Show me.”
Shura handed me a parchment scroll. After skimming it, I looked at her with a knowing gaze.
“Are you going to learn it?”
“Yes.”
“Are you really going to learn it?”
“Yes.”
“Fine. It’s your choice, so do as you please.”
As I handed the scripture back with a conflicted expression, Shura hesitated.
“Am I making a mistake?”
“Not exactly. It’s just… you’re making such a critical decision so casually.”
“A critical decision? What do you mean?”
Scratching my nose, I chose my words carefully.
“What do you think will happen if you learn Dalahan’s magic?”
“I’ll become stronger.”
“Right, you will. But will you be the strong one—or will it be Dalahan? And from now on, will the path you walk be your path as a swordswoman, or will it be Dalahan’s?”
“That’s…”
Shura fell silent.
“You choose. Your path is a worthy one, and Dalahan’s isn’t bad either. Just don’t get lost hesitating between the two. That’ll only keep you stuck in place.”
“Yes.”
“Alright, let’s eat. We’ve got a long way to go.”
“Yes.”
As I handed her the grilled fish, Shura accepted it and sat quietly beside me. Throughout the meal, her eyes never left me, while mine stayed fixed on the distant night sky.
I had abandoned everything to come here, but I didn’t feel lost. I had enough skills to make a living, and beside me was a beautiful elf who only had eyes for me.
All things considered, I’d say my life from here on out wouldn’t be too bad.
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