TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 11
After shattering the Wooden Sky Giant with a single sword strike, Kraush stood still at the spot.
To be precise, all he could do at that moment was stand still.
One Sword is a technique that reaches the realm of Sword and Spirit Fusion with a single strike.
And that one strike required him to pour his entire heart and soul into it.
Thus, Kraush had poured all his inherent aura, mental strength, and physical strength into that one strike.
Without doing so, he couldn’t even use One Sword.
As a result, Kraush felt as if he would lose consciousness if he closed his eyes even for a moment.
Aniks couldn’t move because Kraush was glaring at him, but in reality, Kraush couldn’t even blink.
‘I made a mistake.’
He had intended to set the stage to steal the skill.
With no way to even move his lips, there was nothing he could do.
“Mr. Kraush.”
At that moment, Bianca’s voice suddenly rang out.
She was peeking out from behind Kraush.
Then she looked him over from head to toe.
“Can’t you move?”
Kraush didn’t even have the leisure to respond.
Seeing the bead of sweat rolling down his forehead, Bianca made her own judgment.
Then, without warning, Bianca wrapped her arms around Kraush’s waist and lifted him up.
“Ugh!”
That action caused Kraush such excruciating pain that it felt like his bones were breaking, and he finally lost consciousness.
In fact, it was Bianca who brought Kraush down.
She tried to move the limp Kraush with much effort.
However, it was beyond Bianca’s capacity, given her smaller stature compared to Kraush.
“Kid, I’ll help you.”
At that moment, Darling appeared out of nowhere and approached.
As she immediately tried to support Kraush, Bianca, seemingly exhausted, quickly handed Kraush over to Darling.
Darling blinked once as she watched.
Wasn’t this child supposed to be Kraush’s fiancée?
Even if she was young, to hand over Kraush to her without any jealousy was unexpected.
Darling, laughing in disbelief for a moment, carried him on her back and started walking.
At that, the nobles who had gathered on the terrace turned their attention to them all at once.
‘When this kid wakes up, he’ll be quite famous.’
Was it boldness or just acting without thinking?
‘Will the rumors about the Half-Penny win out, or will the latest rumors about the Half-Penny hatching from its egg win out?’
Whichever it was, Darling laughed, thinking it would lead to an interesting outcome, and caught a glimpse of Aniks.
Aniks, staring blankly at Kraush being carried away, looked like he would cause trouble later.
“You can’t die before helping with my research, can you? Kid.”
Darling continued walking, muttering words that Kraush couldn’t hear.
* * *
After the incident at the Holy Land of Stars.
Kraush opened his eyes the next day inside a carriage.
Having been unconscious for a full day, Kraush found it hard to even open his eyes due to the pain throughout his body.
One Sword is a finishing move.
He was aware of this, but he hadn’t expected the aftermath to be this severe.
‘If I use it consecutively, I’ll end up killing myself.’
However, the look on Aniks’s face in the last moment was satisfying.
The only regret was that he couldn’t lower the value of the skill Aniks possessed in that situation.
Kraush was considering two methods to steal the skill.
One was the conventional route of unlocking the dial that appears when using the Black Hood.
The other was to induce the opponent to undervalue their own skill.
If the opponent thinks their skill is of low value, it becomes easier to steal, just like with Arthur.
And the value of the skill is at its lowest when one is defeated helplessly.
‘It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing I can do about it.’
It seems the timing wasn’t right yet.
But at least, he had become a dangerous presence in Aniks’s mind.
That alone was enough to cause a ripple within him.
Now, all that’s left is to gradually lower the value of the skill within him.
‘And at the end of it, Recovery will be in my hands.’
Just as Kraush was organizing his thoughts and about to open his eyes.
Feeling something oddly soft yet firm behind his head, he opened his eyes.
He saw white hair and a cute face right in front of his nose.
One peculiar thing was that her eyes were gently closed.
After staring blankly at the face for a moment, Kraush belatedly realized that it belonged to Bianca.
“Bianca?”
Huh!
When Kraush called out, Bianca reacted a beat late.
She seemed to have dozed off, wiping her mouth before turning to greet Kraush.
“Did you sleep well?”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m taking care of you.”
Is taking care of someone the same as using your lap as a pillow?
Despite claiming to take care of him, she had fallen asleep and nearly headbutted him.
“We’re on our way back to Balheim.”
“I can see that. What happened at the Holy Land of Stars?”
Though he was displeased with being used as a lap pillow, his body hadn’t fully recovered yet.
So, without getting up, Kraush asked, and Bianca, playing with his hair as if it were soft, answered.
“I don’t know. I didn’t pay attention.”
He thought as much.
Bianca, who generally had little interest in people, wouldn’t have cared much if she wasn’t his fiancée.
Even without Bianca’s explanation, Kraush knew that the Holy Land of Stars must have been turned upside down.
‘This is beyond my realm of knowledge.’
All he could do was hope that things would turn out well.
“Got it. Wake me when we get back. I need to sleep some more.”
At that moment, Bianca flinched.
Kraush opened his eyes slightly.
“Are your legs numb?”
“No, they’re not.”
“Then why did you make me lie on your lap when there’s a cushion?”
“Because Mr. Kraush did it for me last time.”
With that said, there was nothing more to argue, but Kraush tried to turn his body as much as possible.
“Give me the cushion pillow.”
Bianca quickly brought the cushion and placed it under Kraush’s head instead of her lap.
Her swift action suggested that her legs were indeed numb.
Finally feeling comfortable, Kraush closed his eyes and soon drifted off to sleep.
As he slept, Kraush dreamt of himself as a crow and Bianca as a white chick, a strange dream.
Strangely enough, the dream didn’t feel too bad.
* * *
A week had passed since the incident at the Holy Land of Stars.
With his 14th birthday approaching, Kraush, having finally recovered from the effects of One Sword, resumed his training in earnest.
There was almost a year left until the time to go to Rahelrn Academy.
Within this time, he had to become strong enough to surpass the geniuses of Rahelrn Academy.
“So, I want to train every day.”
Kraush wiped the sweat off his brow.
Then he turned to look at Aliod.
The news Aliod brought was about his third brother.
The person in question was standing in front of the Green Pine Mansion.
And he was fuming.
“Aliod, how many times have I sent back my brother’s messages?”
“It’s the 22nd time.”
It was about time he got angry.
From his third brother’s perspective, it must have been humiliating to come in person, so he must have held back as much as possible.
But it seemed he had reached his limit.
Understanding this, Kraush shook the sweat from his hair and turned to Aliod.
“Tell him to come in.”
“Will that be alright?”
Though Kraush knew what Aliod was worried about, he nodded.
Aliod, following Kraush’s order, returned to the entrance of the Green Pine Mansion.
As Kraush moved towards the bench, a water jug was smoothly extended beside him.
Kraush took the water jug and opened the lid.
As he gulped down the water, Bianca, who had given him the jug, sat down at a distance.
“You smell of sweat.”
“That’s something that could hurt someone’s feelings if said carelessly.”
“I don’t think Mr. Kraush would mind.”
Compared to the stench from World Erosion, the smell of sweat was nothing.
So, he was pretty much numb to odors.
‘To what extent.’
When he lifted his shirt to smell it, he definitely detected a faint stench.
Well, he was constantly expelling waste from his body while handling aura every day.
It was unavoidable after training.
“Are you going to wash up?”
Seeing Kraush about to move, Bianca closed her book, and Kraush hesitated for a moment.
Then he shook his head.
“No, I’ll probably be moving again anyway.”
“Then don’t come near me.”
Upon hearing that, Kraush immediately stood up from the bench.
As he took a step towards Bianca, she jumped up, her hair standing on end like a cat’s.
“I warned you.”
“Oh, my fiancée is warning me now? Do you think a girl who reads books all day can outrun me?”
“Mr. Kraush, books hurt when you get hit with them.”
Seeing Bianca casually wielding a book like a weapon, Kraush nodded in understanding before stepping forward.
At that, Bianca immediately turned and started running away.
Watching her, Kraush took a few steps, then stopped and chuckled.
Maybe it was because she felt like a little sister, but Kraush often showed a playful side around Bianca.
To those who only knew his stubborn side before, this would have seemed like the behavior of a madman.
As he laughed, Kraush’s face suddenly stiffened.
‘Has my mind grown accustomed to peace in such a short time?’
The world was still at a level where it could sufficiently fend off World Erosion on its own.
Perhaps that’s why Kraush had been exposed to and affected by that peace.
‘Arthur, did you feel this way too?’
Arthur Gramalte, who always kept his tension high and maintained a stern demeanor even at the Academy.
Though he lost his composure in the final moments, Arthur was always in a state of tension.
Having experienced regression, he couldn’t feel at ease in this illusory peace.
Kraush disliked Arthur, but he didn’t belittle the path he had taken.
After all, Arthur had been at the forefront until the world’s destruction.
What might that guy be doing now?
The Arthur he knew was no longer in this world.
“Playing around with your fiancée, quite a peaceful sight.”
At that moment, Kraush turned his head at the sound of a mocking voice.
There stood a boy who had just passed puberty, with the same hair color as him, but about two heads taller.
The only difference was that, unlike Kraush’s fierce eye shape, his eyes looked normal when not frowning.
This was probably because they were both illegitimate children.
His name was Belorkin Balheim.
He was the third son of the Balheim direct line.
“A person can’t be serious all the time.”
When Kraush spoke nonchalantly, Belorkin’s eyebrows twitched.
And from that brief exchange, Belorkin sensed something different about Kraush from before.
He seemed relaxed.
Unlike how Kraush used to avert his eyes in fear whenever he saw him, today he was looking straight at him.
‘Is the rumor true?’
That fact made Belorkin’s frown deepen even more.