Chapter 111: Every Moment I Breathe

The moment she first witnessed it, Mines instinctively knew that it was not human.

Of course, just by looking at its appearance, it was clearly different from a human.

The Stone Folk.

Or the Lizardmen.

Humans defined them as humans resembling lizards, but from the perspective of the Stone Folk—the Lizardmen—it was rather the humans who resembled them.

Their history was long.

There were even speculations that they might have shared a history with the dragons.

It was simply that they had not built up a civilization or history as concretely as modern humans; however, the fact that their history extended at least ten thousand years into the past had been historically proven by the dragons, so no one could deny it.

For instance, they were among those referred to as the primordial races.

Just like the Elves.

However, the being before her did not look like a simple Lizardman.

The shape of its face was longer than a lizard’s, making it look much closer to a dragon.

Though she had never seen a dragon in person, she had vague memories of seeing them in picture books or drawings.

It looked exactly like that.

Therefore, he was closer to a Dragonkin than a member of the Stone Folk.

And if one encountered a Dragonkin in a place like this, it would be one of two things.

Either a Dragonkin, one of the minority races living in the Valley of the Lake Dragon.

Or.

A Lake Dragon disguised as a Dragonkin.

“What brings an old man like you here?”

While Mines stood frozen, unsure of how to react, Ases stepped forward, placing a hand on Mines’ shoulder and acting as if she knew him.

“I simply moved my feet since I had come out to check on the children.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Ases replied nonchalantly.

“How is he?”

“Consistent as always.”

By ‘he,’ she was referring to Kariel.

“That young lady has improved a lot since she first arrived. Are your hands and feet no longer cold? Seeing as you don’t seem to feel the chill, it seems your self-control has increased as well.”

“…….”

It was an accurate insight.

Indeed, now that Mines could control her Divine Authority to some extent, she felt the cold less than before.

No, to be precise, the very concept of cold had long since lost its meaning to her.

Soon, he gestured toward Ases.

“Let us walk a bit.”

“You must have become sentimental as you’ve gotten older.”

Though her words were sarcastic and crooked, her body obediently followed beside him.

“Young lady, you as well.”

At his call, Mines reluctantly followed behind.

“As you may have guessed, I am the master of this area. It is strange for a perfectly fine piece of land to have a master, but obsession and possessiveness over territory is an instinct shared by everyone.”

“Let’s not talk nonsense, shall we? This place has been called the Valley of the Lake Dragon for hundreds of years, so what do you mean by that?”

Despite the crooked words coming out of Ases’ mouth, a natural attitude of respect seeped through.

“Exactly. In order to protect this place, I had no choice but to claim ownership. For some reason, greedy people never leave empty land alone.”

The Dragonkin explained leisurely.

“I, the Lake Dragon, the sentinel of the Millennial Sea of Trees, the master of the lake wider than the sky, and the guide of the pure white snowy mountains….”

“Lansrus. That’s this eccentric dragon’s name. If it’s hard to pronounce, you can call him Lans or Lantz, but whether you do or not depends on if you get permission from the old man.”

Ases abruptly cut him off by blurting out his name.

“How tasteless.”

The Dragonkin glared with his bright yellow eyes, appearing very dissatisfied.

It was quite peculiar how his blue skin became somewhat purplish, as if flushed.

“Your ears will rot if you listen to all of that.”

“Each title carries our years and history. What loss is there in listening?”

“I’m just not interested.”

The two continued their conversation—which was less of a chat and more of a war of nerves.

“So, how about you? Are you starting to get a feel for it?”

“I don’t know. I’m not particularly interested in things like enlightenment or inspiration.”

“…Talent and motivation are polar opposites; heaven is truly heartless. If you had been devoted, you would have been twice as strong as you are now.”

“The era is just strange. You said it yourself, didn’t you? That if I had been born just thirty years later, the continent would have been beneath my feet.”

“I did say that.”

“What about you?”

At those words, the Dragonkin, Lansrus, fell silent.

“Are you still unable to guarantee victory or defeat against that Sword Saint or whoever?”

“That is a subject outside the scope of discussion. Still, recently I have become able to hold a certain conviction. It’s just….”

“Just?”

“That man must have appeared somewhere in this world as well.”

“What does that mean?”

“Life is a cycle. He will be reborn and one day face my sword again. For the world did not wish to let him go yet.”

“Are you saying he reincarnated?”

“Perhaps.”

As he spoke, the Dragonkin seemed to harbor a sense of longing.

“Then shouldn’t you be happy and go find him?”

“Unfortunately, he is on the other side of our continent. He cannot be found here; it is a realm beyond our reach.”

“…Then what if he dies? A reunion becomes impossible. How will you settle the victory or defeat then?”

“That, too, would be fate.”

“How frustrating.”

Ases clicked her tongue loudly.

“Anyway, you didn’t call us here just to talk about that. What is it?”

“Ases. In your view, for what reason do you think he was able to undertake such training?”

“How should I know? Kariel isn’t a genius, but he was someone who was called a prodigy in these matters early on. So….”

“Why do you insist on saying things that deceive yourself?”

The bright yellow eyes cast a piercing gaze.

“In my eyes, that one has no talent. No, he may have had it, but not anymore.”

“What is the basis for such certainty?”

“Because I can see it. I am different from you. Among the Dragon Race roaming this Western Continent, no one possesses greater insight than I do regarding the limits of the sword, skill, and martial arts. With those eyes and insight, I declare that even if he once had prodigy-level talent, he no longer does. This itself must be a very special case.”

“He had it before? No, why and how does an existing talent disappear?”

“I do not know. That is why it is a special case.”

It was an ambiguous conclusion.

“But look now. That one has already crossed the line.”

“Grandeus was able to see the future. And looking at how things are flowing now, I believe he has inherited that arrangement.”

“So. Do you believe he became strong simply by receiving someone else’s power in an instant?”

“It’s not completely wrong, is it?”

“The majority of people in this world cannot even take what is given to them.”

The Lake Dragon, Lansrus, raised his index finger, claws sharp, and pointed toward the distance.

There stood the pure white snowy mountains, soaring high into the sky.

“Do you believe you could receive that if it were given to you?”

“…That would be impossible.”

“That is the case with him now.”

“You always make things so difficult to understand.”

Ases scratched her head vigorously.

“In the end, receiving is also an ability—is that what you mean?”

“It is not wrong, but it is incorrect. The fact that he received it in the first place is suspicious and strange.”

And the fact that he could handle it.

And the very situation of making it his own.

“There must be a guide. Unless there is a leader, that is not something one can receive even if they want to.”

“So, are you trying to say that Kariel didn’t achieve this alone, but that there is someone helping him?”

“Yes. Whether it be a teacher, a senior, or a guide. Because that exists, it means he can move forward without hesitation.”

“And?”

“…You have misheard my words.”

Ases immediately denied it.

“No, I understand your point. You’re interested in the method of teaching, regardless of who Kariel learned from, right?”

“Yes.”

“But I had no inkling of that until I heard it from you. Do you know what that means? It means that from what I’ve observed and felt, I cannot provide you with any inspiration or help.”

“…….”

In the end.

Lansrus was not asking about the secret of Kariel’s growth process and method.

Nor was he asking about Kariel’s attitude of facing it with high-intensity training and a devoted heart.

Lansrus was asking about the faith that allowed him to go this far, and the person who taught him that method.

“I may be part of the Order of Relief Knights or whatever, but realistically, Kariel is not a member of the Order. The Order is just unilaterally pestering him.”

“Did I mention this before?”

For a moment, Lansrus shifted the subject as if changing the topic.

“The Golden Beast did not invade us. Therefore, the truth known to the world is that this area was safe, correct?”

“Of course. Is it not?”

“Yes. Precisely the opposite.”

The Golden Beast had come to find me first.

And it.

“Gave me a teaching.”

“…What?”

“The reason I accepted you and gathered disciples was, in a way, a result influenced by its words.”

Do not live alone, shut away in your own world.

Because of that, you cannot defeat the Sword Saint.

“I could not fathom the intention behind those words, but nevertheless, I followed them to find a breakthrough.”

Of course, the condition was that as long as the Demon King’s Army did not invade his jurisdiction, he would not take arbitrary action.

Therefore, during that period, he only contributed to quietly protecting his own territory.

“And I can say with certainty that these past dozen years of raising you all led to greater growth than the hundred years I spent training alone. I only recently realized why this is so.”

“I’m curious. Since even a being like you speaks as if your enlightenment is still lacking.”

“No matter how high the mountain peak is, everything is beneath the sky.”

Then, Lansrus cleared his throat and spoke in a heavy voice, as if revealing a secret that wasn’t really a secret.

“A tree does not eat its own fruit.”

“Eh? What kind of vague talk is this?”

“Listen to the end.”

Lansrus glared at Ases for interrupting and continued.

“A flower does not spread its fragrance for itself.”

Neither the sun nor the moon emits light to illuminate themselves.

“And over there. That, too.”

Lansrus pointed toward the distance, as if cutting through the forest.

Mines quickly realized what was there and what he was pointing at.

“A lake does not fill itself with water to fill its own storehouse. It does not gather water to drink its own water.”

“……?”

Ases looked bewildered, not understanding the meaning.

But Mines understood immediately.

“Everything you just said… you mean it’s all for the sake of others, not oneself?”

“What do you mean?”

Why could the brilliant Ases not understand such simple words?

“That is correct. In the end, those who use the water of the filled lake are you and the animals and plants living around here. Those who eat the fruit from the tree are you and the surrounding animals.”

“What? So what? Are you telling us to go make something and birth it?”

“Ases. You said you wandered here and there and polished yourself to be of help to Kariel? And that you acted with a focus on goodness and justice, even if it was inefficient, for the sake of your future reputation?”

“Yes. For the sake of the future. Kariel told me the same, and I judged at the time that it was the right thing to do.”

“Exactly that.”

“……?”

What on earth was this old man trying to say?

“Though it is invisible, everything we do is being tallied. Actions, thoughts, will, consciousness. Even the results triggered by them.”

“…….”

Mines felt a chill run down her spine.

It was a story she heard constantly in religious doctrines.

Live virtuously. Then you shall receive blessings.

If you commit evil, you will surely pay a fitting price.

You reap what you sow.

What you sow.

You shall reap.

“I simply cannot understand how someone like the Demon King, who would plunge the world into ruin, understood this.”

“Do you get what he’s saying?”

When Ases asked Mines.

“Cause and Effect.”

“Huh?”

“It is something you brought upon yourself. It is no different from that. You wished for it. You demanded it.”

“Why are you suddenly acting like this too?”

“You receive exactly what you give.”

Lansrus nodded while looking at Mines.

The way his slit eyes curved into an arc was certainly not just a trick of the light.

“The ancient philosophers of Krik said that phenomena possess an objective causality independent of the will or consciousness of an intelligent being, right?”

What is the source?

Starting with this inquiry, various philosophical and Demonic Path schools diverged.

But the starting point and the fundamental were simple.

What is the source?

Those who sought or tried to implement this in the form of matter focused on natural objects.

At first, it was fire and water.

And they focused on their changes and all the phenomena and results derived from those changes.

“Some began to conclude that there is a fitting reason for everything that exists, and that the cause of all causes, the highest foundation, is God. The simple-minded logic of ‘if you don’t know, it’s because God did it’ originated from here.”

“Old man. You know very well that I hate philosophy and vague talk.”

“Where do you think the cause, the foundation, lies for Kariel to become like that?”

“I… I don’t know that either.”

“What I find strange is that Kariel reached this point and obtained such power while taking that as a premise.”

It could be packaged under the name of a trial.

“It means he was born with the qualification for it.”

However, having the qualification.

Achieving it is another matter entirely.

“Even if one has the qualification to learn the Dragon God Sword, if they do not reach this point, they will have no room to learn or master it. Until the moment they die. Rurik and Aristhétis also had the qualification, but what if Meier hadn’t brought them?”

“…They would have just lived satisfied with their lot? Or somehow managed even if they were dissatisfied?”

“Let’s move on to Kariel’s story. Assuming Kariel had the qualification, from his actions so far, to the point where he obtained the fruit and came here to organize it—who, in general, guided him here?”

“…….”

On the surface, it was Ases herself who had guided Kariel here.

However, applying the old man’s words slightly.

…In the end, was it the good deeds? The goodwill Kariel had shown in the past?

Because of that, the bond between her and Kariel was connected.

And in the end, that Cause and Effect? Anyway, because of that, she had ended up guiding Kariel here.

This was neither coincidence nor inevitability.

Yet, it was both a coincidence and an inevitability.

You receive what you give?

She now understood why Mines had said such a thing.

‘I see.’

In that sense.

Let’s think again.

Before he became connected to her, what occasion led Kariel to leave his own country and come to a foreign land?

And why did he make such a resolve?

Before that, where and from whom did he learn the Swordsmanship of Grandeus?

When thinking about it, it was a very simple problem.

…Why had she never seriously thought about this before?

She naturally assumed Kariel did it because he had some intention.

Because he was an amazing guy.

But who was the one who gave up thinking, using ‘being amazing’ as an excuse?

Let’s go back to the original starting point.

Kariel, you.

……Exactly how did you learn the Sword of Grandeus?

Furthermore, the Swordsmanship of Grandeus, which even the Order of Relief Knights does not know. How do you know its starting point and principles?

Exactly who told him that?

And.

Even now, how can he push forward so stubbornly with a training method that no one is teaching him, with such conviction?

“It really doesn’t make sense.”

Things she had taken for granted suddenly began to appear as realms of impossibility.

And the fact that she had accepted all of it so casually.

Now, for some reason, she began to feel goosebumps.

====

“…….”

Once again, I am placed here.

I know this place is the universe.

But it is not the real one.

To what extent is this a mental image.

Just a landscape created by someone.

“There is not much time left.”

And there.

Someone in a Dark Figure.

Was welcoming me once again.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

In his hand, something in a Dark Figure—a sword, yet not a sword—was held.

“What I know and what you know will likely become separate things from now on.”

“…….”

“Knowing the future is, in a way, a cruel thing.”

Because the natural order was defied, a corresponding price must be paid.

However, if that leads to a fitting fruit.

Even this is like a wave momentarily churning in the great flow of the natural order, like the foam created by that wave.

A momentary tremor. A variable. Something like the writhing of a dragon.

“But since I can neither bear nor create descendants, I had no choice but to promise the future in this manner.”

“Piece of trash.”

The Golden Girl, standing some distance away, snorted and sneered.

“My apologies.”

This was not a conversation.

It was a one-sided explanation, a sermon, a confession, and something akin to a complaint.

Yet, the dark figure reacted toward the Golden Girl, as if it had heard her.

“Still, I simply did what I had to do. I feel as though I’ve repeated these words hundreds of times already.”

“…….”

The Golden Girl waved her hand dismissively, as if it were all pathetic.

And Kariel, watching this.

“Then is this the last time for our sparring?”

“Yes.”

The dark figure answered straightforwardly.

“From now on, carve your own path.”

He raised his sword vertically.

Something so familiar, so familiar that it had become tiresome.

Yet, it had now become more natural than breathing, to the point where no sense of incongruity or hesitation remained.

Like closing and opening one’s eyes.

To the point where one cannot even consciously perceive the act of lifting the eyelid.

Something that had truly become second nature.

Before he knew it, he too had raised his sword in the exact same form as the other.

Opening Form.

Yes.

This was Parā.

The meaning was to prepare, or “be prepared.”

Was that what they said?

“…….”

It was a truly simple meaning.