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He had only thought of them as enemies, but now that things had come to this, perhaps it was possible to pull other foes from his past lives to his side?

He was momentarily enticed by the thought, but soon realized it was impractical. For one, the hero Alex and the saint Ellin were either not yet born or merely infants at this age. That left only Teslon, Cyrus, and the light magician Jade, but since his current body belonged to the Martial King Teslon, Teslon was automatically out of the equation.

‘Jade, that guy is too sly to even consider having around.’

He might put up with Tassid, but he didn’t want to be on the same side as the man who killed Siris! It might lack logic, but emotions do play a part, right? Besides, although Jade was called a light magician, he was known to be quite cunning. According to the information he had gathered in his previous life, despite his title, Jade did not hesitate to engage in all sorts of dirty deeds behind the scenes.

While Repenhardt was lost in these thoughts, Russ looked at him with worried eyes.

‘Did he take offense to my pledge of loyalty only until the completion of the sword?’

Thinking about it, that statement could also be interpreted as saying he’d turn his back on him the moment he took everything he could from him. But as long as he didn’t abandon the Tenes family, he couldn’t serve him as his lord. This was the best choice he could make.

As Russ’s gaze wavered, Repenhardt reached out his hand.

“Well, I’m not exactly talking about loyalty. If it’s just about being comrades and traveling together, I’m fine with that.”

Russ’s face brightened as he stood up. With this, he was accepted by that powerful aura wielder! From now on, he would follow him and absorb everything about him. And then, he would return to his family as a proud aura user, a true superhuman!

Grasping Repenhardt’s hand, Russ asked with emotion, “May I call you ‘hyung’?”

In an instant, Repenhardt’s expression twisted oddly.

“By the way… how old are you now?”

“I’ve turned twenty-seven this year.”

Watching Russ answer confidently, Repenhardt clicked his tongue. Russ was puzzled by his reaction, but then Repenhardt suddenly changed the topic and murmured quietly,

“…I’m only twenty-three.”

“Whaaat!”

Russ looked at Repenhardt in shock. With that physique, that face, only twenty-three? But upon closer inspection, his face indeed looked youthful. His robust body had distracted from it, but focusing solely on his face, he undeniably appeared to be a young man in his twenties. If he had only seen his face, concealed by a robe, he wouldn’t have been mistaken.

‘Why didn’t I notice until now?’

Repenhardt touched his chin with a somewhat dissatisfied look on his face.

“Do I look that old?”

“It’s more about the vibe… You somehow feel like an older person…”

As Russ stammered, Repenhardt clicked his tongue again. Well, considering he had the mindset of someone in their fifties, it made sense he might give off that impression. He had thought his way of thinking had become more youthful since regressing to this time, but it seemed others didn’t view him that way.

Russ, looking embarrassed, asked,

“Then, should I address you as Lord Repenhardt?”

“That sounds a bit strange, doesn’t it?”

Even though Russ had pledged his loyalty, that didn’t make him Repenhardt’s servant. Given he would return to his family eventually, such a title was indeed burdensome.

“How about ‘Master’? ‘Teacher’?”

“That’s even stranger, man.”

Both of them looked at each other, perplexed. Repenhardt hadn’t thought about it before, but this was the reason Cyrus was known throughout the continent as the youngest aura wielder in his previous life.

In fact, in the Gym Unbreakable lineage, it was common to awaken one’s aura in the late teens to early twenties. So, naturally, Teslon or Gerard should have been recognized as the youngest aura wielders.

However, no one ever considered them to be their actual age given their towering heights over two meters. Moreover, the successive inheritors of the Gym Unbreakable title never bothered to correct this fact. After all, being looked down upon for being young is a common occurrence in the world of men.

After a moment of thought, Russ spoke up with a serious expression.

“Regardless of age, I will call you ‘hyung.’ I don’t find it awkward to refer to a senior martial artist who leads the way as ‘hyung.’”

Considering both their apparent and mental ages, it wasn’t really awkward. Scratching his head vigorously, Repenhardt, somewhat annoyed, waved his hand dismissively.

“Do as you like, then.”

“Yes, hyung.”

With Russ’s decision to join, the others introduced themselves as well.

“Ah, I’m Sillan. A priest serving Philanence.”

“Nice to meet you, Sillan.”

“I’m Siris.”

“And I’m Tilla.”

“Hm, both of you are hyung’s slaves?”

“We’re both his companions. Not some slaves!”

“…Eh?”

Russ tilted his head in confusion. It wasn’t something Repenhardt felt needed explaining right away, so he let it slide.

The carriage began to roll again. Although Sillan suggested riding the carriage due to his unhealed injuries, Russ decided it was better to move around to aid his recovery, so he started walking beside Repenhardt. Siris and Tilla were put in the carriage, and they resumed their journey northward.

While walking, Repenhardt suddenly asked.

“Ah, Russ. I’m curious about something…”

“Yes?”

“Where did you all get the information about the Elucion ruins?”

“Well, I was just a low-ranking knight, so I’m not really sure…”

* * *

In the capital of the Graim Kingdom, Templerad.

This city, the largest in the western part of the continent with a population of a hundred thousand, was abuzz with a single rumor. The renowned Golden Knight had succeeded in exploring the ruins of the Silver Age, Elucion, after overcoming various hardships and adversities.

The ancient relics they had acquired were said to be worth enough to fill ten carriages if converted into gold and silver. The nobility envied the wealth acquired by the Count of Tenes, and the common folk were green with envy. In taverns and on the streets, minstrels recited tales of their adventures, and in every alley, children played with swords painted yellow, shouting, “Take the Golden Knight’s sword!”

Of course, the events that occurred at Kelberen Castle, Eusus’s defeat, and Russ’s ambush on him were kept strictly secret. Although it was no secret among the nobility, the general populace knew nothing of it; they merely continued to praise and extol the Golden Knights of Graim.

Thanks to this, the internal appraisal of Eusus within his family remained unchanged. Even his defeat to Repenhardt did not tarnish his reputation. The enormous income had bolstered the family’s wealth significantly, pleasing the family elders. Considering his opponent was the disciple of Grandmaster Gerard, his defeat wasn’t taken to heart. How could a warrior expect to win every battle? They simply took this defeat as a lesson for him to strive for greater improvement.

Russ’s case was also smoothly glossed over. While there was some regret that the Tenes family missed the opportunity to produce an aura user, no one doubted Eusus’s word. Everyone cursed the gods for bestowing such a talent on such a wild creature and comforted Eusus. The head of the family, Count Tenes, simply sighed upon hearing Russ’s story and then turned his back.

In all respects, Eusus was currently treated as a hero of the capital. But the actual “Hero of the Capital” was now in his bedroom, kneeling and sweating profusely.

“…This is disappointing.”

A soft yet chillingly cold voice pierced his ears. Eusus bowed his head even more apologetically. With his head bowed, he saw the translucent outline of two feet.

“I am sorry, Silver Sage. It is due to my incompetence that I failed to follow your command.”

Before Eusus stood the projection of a handsome young man with black hair, looking down at him. It was the very youth who had informed Eusus about the Elucion ruins a month ago.

“…It is all my fault. Please punish only me and spare my family…”

Eusus was sweating coldly. The place he was prostrating himself was none other than his own bedroom, a place even more strictly guarded than a training ground. The fact that the Silver Sage could project his image here freely only increased Eusus’s admiration and fear for the sage’s powers.

Even the most powerful of mages could not transcend space. At present, magic was limited to viewing each other’s images and hearing voices through enchanted crystals, and even that required the presence of court-level magicians on both sides. The Silver Sage was undoubtedly using a powerful artifact from the Silver Age, an advanced artifact that even Eusus, seasoned in ruin exploration, had never encountered.

The mere presence of this projection instilled awe for the Silver Sage. Eusus bowed his head even lower. The youth’s projection rebuked him with a frosty voice.

“The lack of information was not the issue. Nor did I demand much. Did I assign you an unreasonable task?”

“I am sorry…”

“Or is it that the Golden Knights of Graim are merely this inept?”

With each sneer, Eusus’s brow furrowed more deeply. Despite the other party being a Silver Sage, Eusus was also a renowned knight. It was not his place to be so arrogantly belittled.

But he dared not express anger. After all, the entity before him was one who could easily trample the Count of Tenes’s household.

“The future of the Tenes family does not seem bright if things continue this way.”

“Please, I beg for your forgiveness!”

A sighing sound came from the youth’s projection.

“Tsk, tsk…”

After displaying his arrogance, the projection disappeared. Eusus couldn’t lift his head for a long time afterward, overwhelmed by a terrible anxiety.

He gritted his teeth.

“Damn it!”

In a dark room, devoid of any windows, with all sides closed off, stood a young man. It was the very same black-haired youth who had appeared as a projection before Eusus. The youth frowned and picked up a large crystal from the floor. This was the Phantom Illusionity, one of the artifacts from the Silver Age that allowed one to project their appearance to any designated location at will.

“Ugh!”

The young man, irritated, tucked the crystal into his chest. He clicked his tongue and murmured,

“To think that all that effort ended in failure.”

Eusus might have been astonished by the young man’s ability to appear and disappear so mysteriously, but in reality, it wasn’t that the youth had managed everything so easily. Even if Phantom Illusionity was an artifact of the Silver Age, it couldn’t project illusions just anywhere. The caster needed to have visited the location at least once to send a projection there.

Well, if it was a place in one’s memory, the projection could be sent anywhere, which was indeed a miraculous power. But why would the young man, who wasn’t Eusus’s wife, have any business going into his bedroom? As a result, he had to sneak into the bedroom at night and climb over the wall just to memorize the place. Appearing in the training ground was also a show; in reality, he had entered three hours early and hid there, only pretending to appear just then.

“Pretending to be mysterious is truly a challenging task…”

To appear enigmatic, one must put in a lot of unseen effort. Isn’t there a saying about how, though a swan looks graceful on the surface, it’s furiously paddling away beneath? The young man felt he could relate to that swan’s situation.

“I should never have trusted a half-baked magic swordsman. No wonder the Golden Knight was overshadowed by the Sword Saint and eventually forgotten.”

Muttering to himself, the young man left the room. As a Silver Sage, striving to maintain an appearance had led him to this frustration, especially since all his efforts didn’t yield the desired outcome.

Moreover, the young man was well aware of the identity of the mysterious figure who had stolen the voice from Elucion. The successor to Grandmaster Gerard, a man with a sturdy physique, brown hair, and eyes, and an impressively muscular body.

The young man’s expression twisted even more.

“Repenhardt, the Demon King!”

Outside the room was a luxurious noble’s mansion. It was a grand estate with three floors and dozens of rooms, befitting at least a duke or marquess. As the young man walked down the hallway, a maid saw him and bowed politely.

“Lord Teslon, Duke Iranad is looking for you.”

After managing his expression, the young man offered a gentle smile.

“Please tell him I’ll be there shortly.”