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Chapter 272: Master Craftsman (2)

Cassius Dalton.

As a craftsman one could meet at the end of Legend of Heroes 2, Cassius was the best person in Pleiades’ background setting in terms of weapon crafting skills.

Not much was known about Cassius.

There was the fact that he was a man, and most likely an elf, and that he was obsessed with making the strongest sword just like the ancient dwarves of Sword Seeker.

“That’s a little wrong. Cassius is not necessarily obsessed with swords. He just wants to make the strongest weapon. In fact, even that seems to have a slightly different meaning.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Stop beating around the bush and just tell me.”

“So… Judging from our conversation with Cassius in the game, it’s true that Cassius is seeking to create a powerful weapon, but it’s not because he really wants to make the ultimate or the strongest… and not because he’s seeking enlightenment or something.”

The dwarves of Sword Seeker were craftsmen who sought the ultimate that they could never reach, but still wanted to reach.

But Cassius was different.

What he wanted was not the ultimate or the strongest, but a weapon with a certain level of power.

“It’s just that his standard of a certain level is too high.”

“Ah, I think I understand. I’ve read a manga like that. He just wants to be stronger than his father, but because his father is the strongest in the world, he decided to become the strongest in the world too.”

“Is there a manga like that?”

“Oh, there is. There was also a primitive man who slaughtered dinosaurs with his bare fists, and Miyamoto Musashi who was resurrected as a clone through voodoo magic.”

“O-okay.”

Jude had no idea what kind of manga she was talking about.

T/N: Cordelia is talking about ‘Baki the Grappler.’ Baki is the main character who wants to become stronger than his father. The primitive man is Pickle, and Miyamoto Musashi was indeed a clone in that series.

“Anyway, the important thing is that Cassius is such a person.”

A person who sought reality rather than the ideal.

But in the eyes of Jude, he was an exhausted person.

He had experienced failure several times, so he was exhausted, but he still kept moving forward towards his goal.

The reason why he wanted a powerful weapon, and what he intended to do with it, was not revealed in the game.

Because he appeared between the second and third episodes, the so-called ‘episode 2.5’ which could only be played in multi-player mode, but did not appear in the third episode.

‘It seems like he died or hid in a secluded place.’

His workshop which had been filled with numerous weapons until episode 2.5 was empty in the third episode.

“Didn’t he help fight Malekith in the game?”

“He did. He was interested in making a weapon using the parts of an Ancient Dragon.”

In fact, there was already a weapon that used an Ancient Dragon as a material.

Dragon Sword Ascalon.

A sword made from the body and soul of an Ancient Dragon who hated dragons, and possessed a formidable power.

“But Ascalon’s power can only be used against dragons.”

“That’s why Cassius stepped forward.”

Because he wanted a weapon that could unleash a powerful force against other opponents instead of a weapon like Ascalon that only revealed its power against dragons.

‘To begin with, it seems like the person Cassius is trying to defeat with a weapon is not a dragon.’

Jude briefly pondered about it, but soon gave up thinking.

Because it was something he couldn’t find an answer no matter how much he thought about it.

“Moving on, Cassius’ reaction will be different compared to the game since we have so many materials.”

“Yes, yes. That’s why I’m very excited.”

Cordelia smiled and hugged Jude’s waist a little tighter. It was a signal to speed up a bit.

Unfortunately, Jude and Cordelia could neither speed up nor go to meet Cassius now.

Just as they were about to leave Argon Port, there was a ‘call’ from the two counts, or to be exact, from Count Chase.

“Where are you going in such a poor condition?”

At the luxury inn.

Jude and Cordelia sat facing their fathers with a table in between them, and the two exchanged glances.

‘Jude, Jude. Is this an artifact with communication and tracking magic?’

‘Maybe? And you should know it better than me since you’re a wizard, right?’

‘Argh, is that what’s important now?’

Cordelia lightly pouted her lips and fiddled with the thin bracelet she was wearing on her wrist.

As soon as they met a few days ago, her father gave them a lot of things good for one’s health, but it seemed like the real purpose was this monitoring bracelet.

‘I hate my dad. How could he do this to his daughter?’

‘Well… we have a previous record, so it can’t be helped, right?’

A previous record.

Because Cordelia had already run away from home several times.

‘Hey, it’s only half. No, almost all of those was because of you, okay?’

‘That’s why I’m wearing it too.’

When Jude gently lifted his other hand, Cordelia pouted again.

“Cordelia, do you have any complaints?”

“Eh? N-no. I have no complaints, Dad.”

Cordelia answered in a barely audible voice, and Count Chase remained stern and solemn looking. Count Bayer who was next to him said with a gentle voice.

“There’s no reason for you to run away again. I mean, you’re still in the middle of your runaway. Isn’t that right, Jude?”

“That… yes, father.”

His words sounded gentle, but there was some sarcasm in it.

When Jude replied and bowed his head as if he was ashamed, Count Bayer smiled and continued.

“Anyway, Jude, where were you going?”

“Cordelia and I were just… thinking of strolling around the surrounding area.”

Like a night stroll.

‘Jude, Jude. Do we really need to lie about this?’

‘Now that I think of it, there’s no reason to do so.’

He hid it without realizing, but now that he thought of it, there was no need to hide it.

Perhaps if Scarlet and Kajsa had been present here, they would have accused him as a scammer.

“I see. Anyway, Jude and Cordelia. The reason we called you here was because of the rumors circulating the port.”

“Ru…mors?”

“Yes, you’re trying to relocate all the dwarven craftsmen, right?”

Count Bayer had a gentle look, and Count Chase had a pressuring look like always.

However, Jude answered without hesitation because he already had something in mind.

“Yes, Cordelia and I stopped by our fief for a while during our trip, and we found the ruins on an ancient dwarf city there.”

“What? A city ruin? Of ancient dwarves?”

Count Chase’s reaction was great since he was a wizard.

Jude smiled and continued.

“Yes, to be precise, it’s the city of the Black Horn Guild, one of the seven guilds of Sword Seeker. We plan to relocate the dwarves there to revive the functions of the ancient city.”

The facilities of ancient dwarves and the craftsmanship of the present dwarves.

And various rare materials from the Ancient Dragon and Adult Dragons were added to that.

“It seems like that business is going to be the foundation of your territory.”

Jude nodded at Count Bayer’s words.

It was clearly unlikely to be done as quickly as possible.

There were bound to be various minor issues as always in reality.

“It’s not very easy to bring a huge number of immigrants into the territory. It’s not something that can only be solved by manpower. Moreover, you must keep in mind that you have not properly inspected your territory yet. To the extent that the actual state of your fief may be different from what it appears… Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes, father. I’ll keep that in mind.”

As Jude replied politely, Count Bayer smiled and turned to Count Chase.

“If you have something to say, say it now.”

“Ahem, ahem. I have a lot to say.”

Count Chase cleared his throat before straightforwardly asking.

“What exactly are you planning to do with the corpses of the Ancient Dragon and the Adult Dragons? It’s not exactly a good situation since you’ve got some great spoils. Those spoils are something that even the royal family will want.”

Count Chase’s words were right.

And that was why Jude had already finished thinking about those worrisome things.

“We will rely on the Guardians of the Holy Cross for the transportation itself. And rather than selling the materials, I’m planning to have the dwarven craftsmen work with it in our territory.”

“A lot of people must have pressured you to sell it, right?”

“This may sound a bit arrogant, but… it’s times like these that we use our connections. Like we’re sending this and that to the royal family, so we don’t want to sell it lest they get disappointed.”

Jude’s current position was not low.

He was a count with a fief, and the power of his father and future father-in-law was not small too.

Jude himself would become one of the Ten Great Swordmasters in the future.

So if he strengthened their relationship with the royal family, they wouldn’t have a big problem.

Even a duke would not be able to easily pressure Jude.

“I see, you have a plan like always.”

“Because you always have one too, father.”

“Haha.”

Count Bayer and Jude exchanged some warm words, and Count Chase spoke again.

“Are you going to leave again in the next few days?”

“Yes, we intend to do that. Master, Kamael-nim, and Lena-nim will also go with us to our territory.”

“The heroes of Paragon?”

They could understand if it was Landius and Lena.

The two of them didn’t belong to any organization and would aimlessly wander around.

But it was quite surprising to hear that Ghostblade Kamael, a general of the Guardians of the Holy Cross, would also be joining them.

“Well… it’s been decided that I’ll be learning a bit from Kamael too.”

In order to use both Yin and Yang energies properly, it was necessary for him to grow his extreme Yin energy, so they needed Kamael’s martial arts for that.

The Supreme Sun Divine Art in contrast to the Twelve Snowflake Sword Art.

According to the current plan, they would return to their territory and focus on recuperation and training for at least three months.

“Hehe, the heroes of Paragon.”

Iron Man Landius and Ghostblade Kamael.

They did not belong to the Ten Great Swordmasters, but that was because they were not from the S?len Kingdom.

They were humanity’s strongest and incomparable existences.

Sword monsters whom only the Sword God in the empire could compare to.

‘Good, really good.’

Count Bayer had a bitter smile.

The fact that Jude was being taught directly by the heroes of Paragon delighted him, but as a swordsman, he was disappointed.

The Sword of Wind that was Count Bayer’s swordsmanship.

That was already too late for Jude.

Because Jude had already flown with his own wings.

‘It’s regrettable. But it can’t be helped.’

Moreover, Ga?l had already inherited the Sword of Wind.

His successor was one of the Ten Great Swordmasters known as the Sword of Gale, so he couldn’t exactly curse the heavens.

“Okay, then to summarize everything… You will return to your fief within the next few days, and will receive training from the heroes of Paragon. In addition, the dwarves will migrate to the ancient city, and the Ancient Dragon’s corpse will be transported by the Guardians of the Holy Cross. You will also give a certain amount of it to the royal family.”

“It is as you said.”

As Jude smiled, Count Chase grinned and continued.

“Then, let me and Count Bayer help you too. Jude, you are good at this sort of thing, but don’t forget that you’re still inexperienced.”

In other words, the two counts were willing to help with the management of their territory.

“I will keep that in mind, father-in-law.”

“Alright.”

Because it was a good situation from Jude’s perspective.

“Moving on… we have something to tell you this time.”

At Count Chase’s words, Cordelia blinked her eyes and raised her head.

Because she thought that her fathers had something to say regarding the trouble they had caused here and there.

“Adelia and Ga?l have decided to get married. It’s been originally planned, but they’ve now decided on a date.”

“Wow, really? When is it?”

Count Chase responded with a smile to Cordelia’s question.

“Four months later.”

“Wait a minute… Wow, it’ll be at springtime then?”

“Yes.”

Adelia, a spring bride.

Jude and Cordelia briefly imagined it and then brightly smiled.

“And then you’re next.”

“Eh, we’re… EH?”

“Because you’ll be 18 soon after your birthday in a little while. Moreover, you’re both nobles with a count rank.”

At Count Chase’s words, Cordelia blinked her eyes with a dazed face.

So, according to what my father just said…

“Of course, it’s not right now. Adelia and Ga?l will get married first… and after that, we’ll have to wait for a few months. But it’s not so far into the future.”

At least one year in the future.

The situation was sudden, but it was also something very natural.

Cordelia blinked several times again.

She took a slow and deep breath, and grabbed Jude’s sleeve out of habit.

And at this sight, Count Bayer grinned while Count Chase snorted and smiled.

“Anyway, that’s all for today. We’ll be going now.”

“Eh? Already?”

“What else are we going to do sitting here?”

Count Bayer said as he prodded Count Chase to stand up and sent the two a wink.

Jude tried to kept his composure as much as possible, but he was stiff for some reason, while Cordelia was blushing while holding Jude’s sleeve.

“We’ll be going.”

“Hmph.”

Count Chase looked like he had more to say, but Count Bayer was adamant.

After saying goodbye to Jude and Cordelia, they hurriedly left the room.

And one minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

“Hey, Jude.”

“Yes, Cordelia.”

Cordelia turned to Jude, and so did Jude.

They had seen each other’s faces every day.

But it was a little different now. The two had turned to each other at the same time.

“Ahem, ahem.”

“Ehem, ehem.”

Both of them coughed for no reason, but there was still something that did not change.

Like Cordelia’s hand gripping Jude’s sleeve.

“Jude.”

“Yes, Cordelia.”

“We’re next. So… w-we’ll be getting married next… right?”

Cordelia faced Jude again, and so did Jude.

Marriage.

What came after the engagement.

It was a natural sequence.

But the feeling was different when she said it out of her mouth.

When the two counts said it like that, their words came to the two differently.

Cordelia’s heart pounded.

So did Jude’s heart.

Their eyes gazing at each other began to moisten in several ways.

And a few seconds later.

The moment when their lips were about to touch each other so naturally.

“Sorry, why do I always have bad timing? It’s like someone’s doing it to me on purpose.”

At the familiar voice, Jude quickly frowned while Cordelia looked at the window in surprise.

“Scarlet!”

“Yes, it’s me. Pink Bomb.”

When Scarlet smiled and greeted her, Cordelia hurriedly got up and headed to her.

“What’s the matter?”

“I came to say goodbye.”

“What?”

Goodbye?

The shocked Cordelia reflexively grabbed Scarlet’s hand. As if she didn’t want to be separated from her.

“Calm down, Pink Bomb. It’s not like we’re saying goodbye forever.”

“Eh? What?”

“Yes, it will be just for a while. Around… several months, I guess?”

Scarlet giggled and Jude spoke in a calm tone as though he had expected it to some extent.

“You’re going back to the empire?”

“Yes, I’ve been thinking about it. There’s nothing much I can do if I stay here.”

Scarlet shrugged and Cordelia quickly pulled her hand, saying.

“What about our match? You decided to fight me.”

Their match for the Rogue Master position.

But Scarlet shook her head this time.

“Not now.”

“Now?”

“Yes, I’ll lose even if I tried, right?”

She had already known since her stay in the royal capital that she was simply behind in terms of power.

But this time in the fight against Malekith, she realized it painfully.

‘The world we live in is completely different.’

It was impossible for her to even stand shoulder to shoulder with them as she was now.

‘So I have to become strong.’

I have to be strong enough to stand by their side.

Scarlet could have collapsed and be frustrated by the huge gap, but she didn’t.

She continued as she pinched the cheek of Cordelia who was looking at her in hesitation.

“I will go to the empire and collect the remaining treasures of the Rogue Master. I’ll also improve my skills. So… the next time we meet, it’ll be a real fight, okay?”

“Yes, okay. I’ll look forward to it.”

“Yeah, be prepared as I’ll surprise you.”

Scarlet said with a big smile at the end before she pulled Cordelia’s other cheek and then kissed Cordelia’s forehead.

“See you later, Pink Bomb.”

“Yes, Scarlet-unnie.”

“You call me unnie only at times like this.”

Scarlet giggled and tightly hugged Cordelia.

And Jude, who was watching them, erased the numbers in his mind that he had been counting unconsciously.

“I really have to go now. See you next time.”

“Yes, unnie. See you next time. By all means.”

“Okay.”

Scarlet pressed her lips on Cordelia’s forehead again before pinching Cordelia’s cheek and then looking at Jude.

“Take care too, Black Cloak.”

“Yes, you too, Scarlet.”

Her farewell to Jude was short and straightforward.

Cordelia wiggled her fingers as if she wanted to hold on to Scarlet’s sleeve, but Scarlet patted her cheek before going out through the window.

“She’s gone.”

“She left.”

Cordelia suddenly became sad as she had become attached to Scarlet.

So Jude stood up and walked over to Cordelia.

“Don’t be sad since we’ll see her again in the empire. And isn’t it rather good? We’ll be going to the empire in a few months too.”

“Yes, that’s right. We’re going to the empire too.”

They would see Scarlet again in a few months.

When Cordelia had a big smile, Jude slightly pinched her cheek on purpose.

She was so cute that his hand had moved unconsciously.

‘Besides, she’s not even protesting these days.’

Have you gotten used to everyone pinching your cheeks that I originally started?

Or is it because I’m the one pinching it?

Jude didn’t think too much about it. He moved his hand that was pinching Cordelia’s cheek, and gently caressed it before his head naturally lowered towards her.

“Cordelia.”

Cordelia did not reply to his call. She simply stretched out her arms and wrapped them around Jude’s neck as she stood on tiptoe.

***

Early morning the next day.

Jude secured Cordelia’s position on his back before he kicked the ground.

Due to their schedule, they had to meet Cassius today.

“Dawn… merge… Judelia…”

The sleepy Cordelia murmured, and Jude fixed her position again.

Breathing in the cold dawn air, he flew like a gale towards the northwest where the master craftsman, Cassius, was hiding.