Chapter 52: Tale of the Prairie (1)

The orcs’ sporadic attacks continued, delaying the alliance army’s advance. Ragnar summoned the commanders. They had to pick up the pace at all costs.

“We can’t afford to lose any more time.”

He looked at the banner of his nation hanging in his tent. Thirteen emblems were gathered on it.

Some of them represented duchies or even city-states. Outside the Empire, the nations with real power were Briol, the Holy Kingdom, Brusen, and Liberta.

Ragnar made a decision.

“I must inform you of something. We’ve received reports that Okua might be involved with black magic.”

Everyone except Yuri showed a strange expression. Black magic was a forgotten technique.

It existed, yes, but it didn’t possess the overwhelming power it was once believed to have. Like the difference between a dragon and a komododrake, black magic was merely a lesser branch of common magic.

That was the general belief.

“Are you serious, Your Highness?”

“Yes.”

“Even if he’s meddling in black magic, as long as we maintain a constant Dispel…”

“You think I summoned you here because I didn’t know that?”

When Ragnar answered seriously, Jonathan of Brusen asked,

“Then could you tell us exactly what concerns you?”

Ragnar appreciated his straightforwardness. He placed his hand on the chalkboard behind him and wrote a few words.

『Black Magic』

Just two words.

But the handwriting was completely uneven. Yuri lowered his head to avoid laughing. Ragnar’s penmanship was as bad as a child’s.

The other commanders also pressed their lips together to stifle their laughter.

Unfazed, Ragnar spoke solemnly.

“Black magic exists. But it must be redefined. The one you know and the one I’m worried about are different. To distinguish them more easily, we’ll call it True Black Magic.”

“True Black Magic…!”

He even added a rather ridiculous name. Yuri lowered his head again, and the others suppressed their reactions.

Ragnar wrote another name.

『Gert』

The atmosphere turned grim. That name carried significant weight.

“You know him, don’t you? That man is a product of black magic.”

Yuri narrowed his eyes. Not even he, who had returned from the future, knew that fact.

Gert of Adelvine.

A death knight who came back from the dead. One of the Ten Greats.

“It’s not a legend. It’s real.”

He circled Gert’s name.

“I’m no mage, so I don’t fully understand. But they say he doesn’t use mana—he sacrifices something else. Don’t you have any idea what that could be, just by looking at Gert?”

“Who brought Gert back?”

“I don’t know.”

The tent fell into a heavy silence. Gert was a feared name.

A knight who had returned from the dead and destroyed a kingdom.

Adelvine had been reduced to ruins. Even now, Gert roamed those lands, attacking any living human.

That once-prosperous kingdom had become a land of death no one dared to visit.

“And the most valuable sacrifice for this black magic is human life.”

Ragnar shared the information he had received from Moyongchan. The orcs were gathering humans for sacrificial rituals, and Okua had already claimed many lives.

The commanders’ faces hardened with fury. But Yuri felt relief.

In the past life, they had never had that information. It was never known that Okua used black magic or that Moyongchan pursued him for that reason.

The tangled threads of history were finally being properly unraveled.

This alliance was different.

“If Okua really is using black magic, his power will grow over time. That’s why they’re stalling us. I know you’re all exhausted, but I ask that you endure it.”

“Yes, sir!”

“This time, we will wipe out the orcs completely. If we don’t, their next target will be our homeland.”

Ragnar slammed his fist against the board. The wooden panel behind it splintered and broke.

Blood ran down the back of his hand.

“You’ve all seen with your own eyes what the orcs are.”

Ragnar looked at each of the commanders around him.

“We won’t end this ambiguously like last time. This time, we’ll exterminate them without leaving a trace.”

Ragnar possessed the dignity of a noble and the ferocity of a warrior. That combination inspired determination in his troops.

“Understood?”

“Yes!”

“From now on, we move faster. Yuri, I’ll form a new reconnaissance unit like before. Can you handle it?”

“Of course.”

“The orcs are constantly prowling near the supply lines. Burn every nearby settlement to eliminate their gathering points. Then we’ll head straight to Okua.”

And Ragnar added,

“As you know, one of the Ten Greats, the Outsider, has joined us. This time, the alliance will not lose. We’ll toast over Okua’s corpse.”

Ragnar smiled.

Everyone applauded.

There was no other noble who cared so little about appearances. According to Yuri, even the emperor’s most distant relatives acted like they were of a superior race.

But Ragnar was a warrior like them. That’s why they admired him—and why the emperor hated him.

Yuri hoped with all his might that he would never have to face him one day.

Ragnar, still smiling, asked him,

“Has the Outsider adapted well?”

“Yes. Seems he’s taken a liking to Briol’s food.”

“Well, well…”

He knew Yuri ate the same food as the soldiers. When he first heard that, Ragnar had laughed so hard he nearly knocked down his tent.

“I’ll have to try it someday. I’m curious about that famous Briol cuisine.”

“You’re always welcome.”

And so the meeting ended. As always, with a single conclusion:

Everyone desired the complete eradication of the orcs.

***

Cory had been learning magic under Hernando’s tutelage.

He couldn’t be called a kind teacher.

If Cory had been an ordinary human, he might have suspected that Hernando used teaching merely as an excuse to mock him.

“Cory. Today, look at the meadow.”

The alliance army had just repelled a surprise orc attack, and the cavalry had been dispatched to finish off the stragglers. As a result, the entire field was littered with human and orc corpses.

It was not a pleasant sight.

“Do you want to change it?”

“Change it?”

“For example, remove those corpses… or plant a magnificent tree in the middle of the meadow.”

“Hm…”

Cory imagined the scene he wanted.

To remove the unsightly corpses and plant a great tree full of flowers. Then, that death-covered field would become beautiful. And if white birds flew in the sky as well…

At that moment, the scene became reality. But only for an instant.

The image, like a fleeting painting, was pushed away by reality and faded.

“Was that magic, Master?”

“Yes. That was magic.”

“Magic…”

“Fulfilling what you wish.”

If a knight used manamesis to change himself, a mage projected mana outward to change reality.

That difference made magic easier to counter and less efficient. But when properly used, it could change the course of the world.

“Over time, it became more theoretical and harder to access, but its essence hasn’t changed.”

“So you just have to wish really hard?”

“No. But it’s something like that. If the desire is weak, it doesn’t work—but if it’s too strong, it doesn’t either.”

“That’s complicated.”

Magic had many ambiguous aspects. Each person developed their own approach.

“No rush. Take it slow.”

Hernando generated mana. Cory imitated him, raising the small amount of mana he had. Then, a small invisible sphere floated before him.

“Like I did, try to change the meadow.”

With that, Hernando stood up and walked away. Cory remained alone in the meadow, manipulating the mana.

But it wasn’t easy. He tried visualizing the mana to hide the corpses, but that wasn’t what Hernando had asked of him.

“This is hard…”

Cory collapsed to the ground. Could someone like him, a mere half-orc, really learn magic?

He doubted his potential, but that small mass of energy moving in his fingers was undoubtedly mana.

Prince Yuri had told him to absorb everything he could from Hernando, to squeeze him dry like a cunning disciple. Maybe it was a joke, but Cory wanted to live up to Yuri’s expectations.

“The heart…”

Even a civilian possessed a small amount of mana. Knights even more. But that didn’t mean they could use magic. Having mana didn’t guarantee a desire would turn into magic.

So what kind of desire was accepted by the world?

“I don’t know.”

Cory lay on his back, looking at the sky.

“Uuh…”

He only wished the war would end well. That the alliance would win, that the orcs would die, and that he could go to Briol and live among people.

It was too vague a desire to be fulfilled with magic, but Cory expressed it to the blue sky.

“Please, world…”

That’s why he was startled when someone tripped over him. Someone running had fallen on top of Cory.

Ignoring the pain in his side, he jumped up, thinking it might be an orc scout.

But it was a person.

“Huh…”

It was a woman dressed in a tight black leather suit. She had fallen on her back, her long hair messy.

“Excuse me…”

She sprang to her feet in an instant, like a defensive cat, and stared at him intently.

“You…”

She looked at him as if she recognized him. Cory felt relieved that at least she wasn’t an orc and asked,

“Are you alright?”

“I’m f…”

She looked at her ankle.

“Did you twist it?”

“…”

She didn’t speak much. She seemed very wary.

Cory knew his appearance wasn’t exactly appealing to humans, so he softened his voice to calm her.

“Sorry. I was lying down and made you trip. If you’ll allow me, I can heal you.”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine. You can barely walk…”

“I want to ask you something.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“How did you hide your presence…?”

She scanned him from head to toe.

“Of course not…”

She seemed to convince herself.

She tried to turn, but fell again. Apparently, she had twisted her ankle badly.

“Argh…”

“I… I’ll go get someone. It’s dangerous here.”

Just as he was about to leave, Cory frowned. He didn’t know how a woman had ended up alone this far out in the meadow.

But he couldn’t keep thinking. The woman extended her hand and said,

“Tell Prince Yuri to come.”

***

Asana closed her eyes under Yuri’s incredulous gaze.

Because she was incredulous too.

“You tripped over Cory?”

“Yes.”

“Well…”

Yuri shrugged.

“I didn’t know that boy had that kind of skill.”

“I let my guard down for a moment.”

Asana was an excellent assassin and tracker. Her perception never missed another living being.

But she had overlooked Cory. Maybe from wandering so much in the meadow, she was more tired than she thought.

“Setting that aside… why were you heading in that direction?”

At Yuri’s question, Asana fell silent for a moment. After the alliance had captured the Kurui settlement, Asana had scouted the surroundings and sent Yuri a report by letter.

They hadn’t met in person because—

She planned to infiltrate the land where Okua was. And she knew Yuri wouldn’t approve.

“You were going to Okua?”

Her employer was quick-witted. He had already figured it out and looked at her reproachfully.

“Yes.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“That guy uses black magic. You don’t need to take that risk.”

She thought that was exactly why she should infiltrate, but she didn’t say it. He’d shake his head anyway.

“Does your ankle hurt badly?”

“No.”

“Seems like it does.”

“It actually does hurt.”

“Hernando will be here soon. Just wait a little.”

Since Asana’s existence was confidential, they waited for Hernando, whom Yuri trusted.

“Here, right?”

Yuri lifted the hem of her pants and touched her swollen ankle.

“Prince, that…”

“Hold still.”

The prince himself was giving her a massage.

Asana blushed.

“T-this…”

“Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed?”

“It’s not that…”

“Then what is it?”

“If you massage a sprain, it can make the injury worse…”

“Oh, really?”

“It hurts a lot.”

“Sorry.”

Embarrassed, Yuri lightly tapped her ankle.

“Ay!”