Illusion Sword Master

＜ The Path of Strengthening Has No End (1) ﹥

The western front was, as always, a terrible place.

I had to take on unexpected tasks for several months, and in the midst of it, I encountered two Named Orcs and barely escaped death.

Even with the uncertainty of when the enemy would attack again, I was caught between the high-ranking officials above me, such as the commander and the duke, and the fanatical followers below me who would give their lives for me.

When I returned to the capital, all I wanted was to rest.

I wanted to hide away quietly somewhere, without anyone bothering me, and sleep soundly while I still had time, and maybe even practice my swordsmanship a bit.

Didn’t I deserve that much?

But this was just a wish.

“Damn it, it’s happening again.”

I stood dazed in the grand banquet hall. The crowd surrounding me reacted to my every move, showing exaggerated reactions.

“Everyone thinks Inspector Eitan is only loyal to his younger brother, Dietrich, but in reality, we’re close friends, aren’t we, Eitan?”

The man standing next to me, dressed in luxurious attire, flaunted our friendship.

In fact, we didn’t have much of a friendship, and I didn’t particularly want to get closer to him, but I couldn’t help but nod along with his words.

“There’s no need to be humble. We’ll achieve greater things and repay the Emperor’s favor.”

I couldn’t afford to offend the esteemed Emperor Benedict.

“Ha ha ha. Indeed, Your Imperial Highness. You have exceptional insight to have recognized Inspector Eitan’s talents beforehand.”

“A true leader and a true vassal’s bond will surely bring great prosperity to the Empire.”

The Emperor nodded in satisfaction at the response from the nobles who followed him.

“You’re really something, calling a tired person to make them a monkey in a zoo, just to show off your connections?”

Of course, I wasn’t doing this because I wanted to.

Somehow, I knew that as soon as I arrived at the imperial capital, people sent by the emperor were waiting for me.

[Inspector Edan, His Majesty has ordered that you be brought before him.]

It was as if I had been kidnapped, and a grand celebration was prepared in my honor.

In this chaotic era, the empire needed a hero to reassure the people. And what better way to do that than to parade me around?

The emperor had embellished my reputation, making it even more burdensome, and dragged me to a banquet, as if to flaunt our friendship.

“This is enough. Can you just let me go?”

I had to play the role of the emperor’s trophy, with two medals pinned to my left chest.

One was the 4th-grade Military Merit Medal I received during my cadet days, and the other was the 3rd-grade Military Merit Medal I had just received at the celebration.

Even receiving the 4th grade was unprecedented at my age, and the 3rd grade was something that even veteran knights who had fought on the front lines for their entire lives struggled to achieve.

Naturally, I received countless requests for autographs.

“Ah, you’re the one who defeated the demonic cult leader Bushaku and the wizard Maktobre, and used your extraordinary abilities to boost the empire’s military power. You’re truly amazing. Hahaha.”

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“I’ve heard that your swordsmanship is unmatched, having cut down hundreds of enemies. Can I request a demonstration at our estate?”

“Ah, my daughter is also very beautiful, but unfortunately, her opponent is Lady Zephyr, so it’s a shame.”

It seemed that they had misunderstood my relationship with Sara, but at least they didn’t bother me with proposals like they used to, so that was a relief.

Yes, it’s all true.

I responded to the crowd’s admiration, but it seemed endless.

I recalled an old memory.

A memory from before I became Edan, from a very long time ago.

[It would be nice if no one knew me and I had a lot of money.]

Some famous person had said that.

“I don’t care if I have nothing, as long as no one knows me.”

It’s a painful life, being an idol.

#

When I finally got away from the emperor, it was already late at night, but my desire to rest was still far from being fulfilled.

I had to report my return to my direct superior, the Third Prince, and discuss some matters.

“Edan, you’ve worked hard. I express my gratitude for your efforts. The news of your achievements in the west has brought me great joy.”

Roland, seated beside him, added his words.

“To be honest, I expected as much. You always exceed expectations. Ha ha ha.”

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, we got down to business.

The current situation on the western front, the war situation, and future plans were already in the inspector’s report, so we quickly moved on to the most important agenda item.

“The Great Master…”

The Third Prince spoke in a heavy tone.

Orc wizard Maktobre was a Great Master who taught dark magic to the orcs in the west and helped them establish their kingdom.

“The changes that occurred in the orcs were clearly not natural phenomena. Even if someone was behind it, it wouldn’t be surprising.”

“The enemy’s dying words are still unclear, so we can’t confirm the truth.”

The Third Prince shook his head, his face clouded over, at my words.

“The one called ‘Dae-seung’ certainly exists. In fact, the probability of them being connected to not only the Western but also the Eastern and Southern regions is high. Roland, give Ethan that document.”

Roland handed over a document.

I quickly scanned through its contents.

“This is insane… Is the Empire really going to collapse?”

A village in the East had completely disappeared due to a ritual by dark magicians, and the villagers who were sacrificed had turned into ghosts that attacked people who came to the village.

A wedding ceremony in a family in the South was interrupted when the bride and groom transformed into werewolves.

New types of dark creatures had appeared on the front lines, and so on…

The document described how dark magicians were wreaking havoc and committing all sorts of bizarre and terrifying acts.

But that was not the end.

During the investigation by other Imperial inspectors under the Three Emperors, the name ‘Dae-seung’ came up multiple times.

“We don’t know if ‘Dae-seung’ refers to a specific individual or a certain rank. Unfortunately, we’re still very ignorant about our enemy.”

The atmosphere in the room became heavy with silence.

It was clearly a serious problem.

The existence of ‘Dae-seung’ implied that dark magicians who had been operating individually were now organized under their leadership.

Fear crept in. Instead of dealing with the chaos they would spread throughout the Empire, I would have to run around trying to stop them.

Roland, who had been deep in thought, slowly opened his mouth.

“It’s the duty of an inspector to uncover the truth. We’ll do whatever it takes.”

“Thank you, Roland.”

The Three Emperors smiled wryly and nodded.

Then, he looked at me.

His expression was unusual.

‘What is this guy going to say now?’

I waited for his next words while glancing around the window.

[If the Empire is in this state, rest is a luxury. He’ll give me the next mission right away.]

If the Three Emperors said something like that, I would have jumped out the window.

“As soon as you return from the front lines, I’ll give you a burden. You must be worried about the Empire and unable to rest easy, but take a break for now.”

Ah.

I let out a sigh of relief.

Finally, I was going to get a legitimate break, and I was leaving the Three Emperors’ estate.

“Ethan.”

Roland followed me out.

“…Yes, Roland. What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing much. I just need to ask you to spare some time. There’s a place I want you to visit.”

I felt a sense of unease.

Who was Roland, anyway?

The original idiot who had mistaken me for a loyal subject and was now trying to get me entangled in some mess?

Every time we met, he brought all sorts of trouble and incidents, like the protagonist of a detective comic.

I couldn’t help but be on guard.

“Is this not about asking for help with a mission? I’d be happy to help, of course, but the Emperor ordered me to take a break…”

Roland waved his hand in response to my words.

“No. It’s not like that. There’s no other mission now. It’s not like other places, but the current Imperial City is the most peaceful it’s been in years.”

“That’s good to hear. But, I have to go to a place, don’t I?”

“You already know, don’t you? It’s not fun if I tell you. I’ll just say you’ll really like it.”

Roland said with a bright smile.

“Hmm, I’m a bit worried.”

Roland is the kind of person who would enter the den of a dark wizard with a happy face.

“If there’s even a slight chance of danger, please let me know in advance. I need to prepare, don’t I?”

I was trying to come up with a decent reason to refuse.

“Don’t worry. There’s no danger at all. I’ll stake my reputation on it.”

He said, trying to convince me.

“Okay, I’ll believe you. I’ll come find you as soon as I take care of my urgent business.”

“Yeah, yeah. You have to come.”

#

The next day, as soon as the sun rose, I put on my hood and headed to the blacksmith’s shop.

My anxiousness made my footsteps quicken.

I only had one sword with me, and it wasn’t even a high-quality one made by a dwarf artisan, but a standardized sword mass-produced by the Empire.

In this harsh world, I only had one sword. I felt like I was walking around with only my underwear on.

“Edan! Friend of our dwarves!”

As I entered the dwarf blacksmith’s shop, the owner greeted me.

“Have you been doing well?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Look at this. It may be small compared to my hometown, but it’s not bad, right?”

In the meantime, the blacksmith’s shop had expanded significantly since I last saw it. The number of workers had increased, and there were about ten dwarves, including the owner.

“It’s all thanks to you. After you saved my granddaughter and other dwarves from those humans, they stopped bothering us.”

The old man pointed to one side of the wall.

“What’s that doing here?”

A “Wanted” poster of me issued by the 6th Legion was stuck there.

“I guess it’s effective if it has an effect.”

Dwarves, as a different species, didn’t receive protection under the Empire’s law.

As a result, they were subject to human trafficking and forced labor, but after I saved them, criminal organizations didn’t dare to bother them as much.

I’m a useful friend, after all. I receive the favor of the First and Third Princes, and I’m a seasoned Empire inspector who catches scoundrels.

“If they mess with us, they’ll get in trouble with you, so they don’t dare to, right? You’re our friend, aren’t you?”

I thought to myself, I’m a really useful friend.

Then, I can collect a bit of friendship fee, right?

“That’s right. I’m your friend. I’ll work hard to ensure your safety from now on. Don’t worry about it as a friend’s duty.”

“Hahaha, that’s very reassuring. If you need my help, come find me anytime. We dwarves don’t stingy with our friends.”

It was a pleasant thing to hear.

I smiled brightly at him.

“Can I get my friend’s help now?”

“Hahaha! Of course! What do you need? Is your sword blade dull?”

The dwarf old man’s face, which had been laughing boldly, gradually lost its smile.

“What’s going on, kid? Why are you empty-handed? Didn’t you take all the masterpieces from our smithy?”

As he said, I had taken all the high-quality weapons from the dwarf’s workshop before heading to the western front.

I had destroyed them in the battle against Bushaku.

“First, can you do something about this?”

I showed the old man the remains of Black Thunder (as it was).

“What did you do with the sword?”

“It was directly hit by the Zephyr Magic Squad’s bombardment.”

“What? How did that happen?”

“It’s a long story. How can I fix it?”

The old man rubbed his temples, looking like he had a headache.

“Fix it? You can’t. You have to melt it down and remake it. This is all useless. Sigh.”

Although he complained, it didn’t seem like he was unhappy.

“That’s right. Do you know what this is, sir?”

I took out a grayish-blue gemstone from my pocket.

It was a strange item that Maktobre had used in his ritual, absorbing the life force and magic of the black magician.

Through my own investigation, I found that the gemstone itself didn’t exhibit any magical phenomena, but it was stronger than any other item I had seen.

I expected the dwarf, who had seen all sorts of metals and gems, to know what it was, but the old man shook his head.

“I’ve never seen this before. Let me take a closer look.”

The old man took the gemstone from me and examined it carefully before letting out a cry of astonishment.

“Wow!”

“Do you know what it is?”

“No! I have no idea! What kind of components are mixed in? I can’t even guess. This is intriguing! Can I keep it here? Maybe someone else will know what it is.”

The old man’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Yes, go ahead.”

I didn’t think anyone would be able to figure it out even if I had it. I accepted his proposal without hesitation.

“But, sir…”

I looked at the dwarf-made master swords hanging inside the smithy, tempting me.

“That won’t work. Those are already promised to someone else. If I miss the delivery date, it’ll be a huge hassle…”

“Sir.”

I cut him off, smiling brightly.

“We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Yes, it’s all mine.

＜ The Road to Becoming Strong Has No End (1) ﹥ End