The Monster of the Northernmost Territory?Wealth and Military Strength of A Country that Begins in Debt Trap? - Chapter 6

Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter

The tip of the spear, roughly 1 lom (2 meters) long, was polished meticulously with a whetstone. Once that was done, he affixed a cover to the spear tip and slipped on his leather armor. With a deep exhale and a slap on the face, Rodney exited the room carrying the spear.

“Thanks for waiting.”

At the front of the room, waiting for him was Yulin. From now on, the two of them would enter the labyrinth together. Yulin was wearing armor comprised primarily of metal, and it was evident that her defense capabilities were superior to Rodney’s leather armor.

When they left the house together, his sister Emilia, who was wearing leather armor, was standing firm with her feet set apart.

“Emilia. What are you doing dressing like that?”

“I’m tagging along with you.”

“…”

“You’re not going out.” Rodney frowned. “Stay at home and be mature.”

“I don’t want to! I don’t want to lose another of my family members again! So I am coming with you!”

“Having you with me will only hinder me.”

“I’m stronger than you.”

“Ugh…”

In contrast to Rodney, who lacked talent with a sword, Emilia’s talent was remarkable to the point that Rodmer and the others were tongue-tied. 

Therefore, Rodney can’t retort.

Emilia’s presence was welcomed by Yulin, who nodded her head in agreement. Rodney realized that apparently Yulin was aware of this. But he wasn’t fond of the idea of taking his adorable little sister to a perilous place like the Labyrinth.

“Even so, it’s risky.”

“You’re the one in danger, big brother.”

Neither of them backed away and quarreled in front of the house. Hearing the commotion, a person emerged from the house. It was Rodney and Emilia’s mother, Charme.

Charme had been a recluse for a while after her husband Beck was lost in war, but recently she seemed to have made a change of heart and was leaving her room more often.

“Emilia.”

Rodney thought she would stop Emilia, so a feeling of relief washed over him.

“Go get yourself stronger!”

“Yes, Mother!”

“…Wait, Mother! Why aren’t you stopping her!”

“Your father perished in the battle. It was due to his vulnerability. That is why you two must become more powerful. You must become strong enough that no one can bring you any harm,” Charme said to the speechless Rodney, pointing a finger at him with a snap. “Emilia, be strong enough to protect Rodney. And Rodney, you must develop the capacity to assume leadership of others!”

“Leave it to me, Mother!”

Rodney thought to himself, “This is a poor idea.” Simultaneously, he understood that the decision to bring Emilia with him had been finalized.

“Yulin. Please take care of Emilia too…”

“Of course. Besides, she’s much more worthy of training than Master Rodney.”

“Ugh… don’t say that.”

Emilia possessed a much greater sense of combat than Rodney. When it came to training, Emilia was the one that produce immediate results.

“Now that we have settled the matter, I’m looking forward to your company. Big brother, Yulin.”

“Yes, it’s my pleasure to be with you, Lady Emilia.”

“Huh… Mother, I feel like your personality has undergone a change…”

“Isn’t that good? I feel like I’m over it.”

Charme was once a carefree person, having been brought up as the daughter of a merchant without any obstacles. It was better than brooding, but she had changed drastically, Rodney mused.

The three of them, Rodney, Yulin, and Emilia, set off for the entrance to the labyrinth on the seashore.

There was a gaping hole in a boulder. That hole marked the entrance to the labyrinth. Before the entrance, a simple hut was erected, and it was occupied by territorial soldiers.

Since the labyrinth was a necessary site for collecting life-glow stones, every territory has its own lord maintaining the labyrinth. The Forbus household was no exception to this rule, and the labyrinth was crowded with soldiers to manage it.

When the soldiers saw Yulin’s face, they straightened their backs and saluted her. It was a rather surreal sight to see them saluting a squire rather than a lord. Rodney, Yulin, and Emilia ventured into the labyrinth after being granted permission to do so.

It was as though they were on the ground as they descended the stairs. From the stairs, a path led to a sparse number of houses. These houses were all abandoned, and some of them had collapsed.

The name of this labyrinth was “Labyrinth of Dilapidated Houses”. Needless to say, that was the perfect term used to represent this scene.

“There is sky and sun?”

Rodney closed his eyes in dazzlement as he gazed up at the sky, which was bathed in light. The abnormal aspect of the labyrinth was that even though they were in a hole, there was sun and sky.

They made their way through the labyrinth, which was sparsely laid out with deserted dwellings.

“Big brother, there’s a person over there… huh? A person?”

What Rodney spotted at the sound of Emilia’s voice was a humanoid Selvanui. Even from a distance, he could distinguish its long, ape-like arms and pale skin.

“That is Godlis, Selvanui. You must watch out for its long arm attacks.”

Even though Yulin shared information about the Godlis, Selvanui, Rodney also had some knowledge about them from books. Several kinds of Selvanui can be found in the first level of the labyrinth of derelict houses. Godlis was the most prevalent Selvanui among them.

“I’ll be the first to make a move.”

“Hey, will that be okay?”

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it!”

Emilia drew her fine sword and readied it. It was a unique stance in the Merrillis style of fine swordsmanship.

The Merrillis style of fine swordsmanship, recognized for its speed and thrust, was something Emilia had learned from one of his squires. At the moment, that squire was also recuperating from war injuries, but it looked like he would be able to return to the field shortly.

“Haaaaah!”

Emilia closed the gap at once and thrust her fine sword into Godlis’ throat. That move left Godlis completely unresponsive, and Emilia drew her sword to the side, splitting its neck.

“How strong…”

The fallen Godlis disappeared in a cloud of dust as Rodney marveled at Emilia’s might. All that remained in its wake was a transparent life-glow stone with a narrow center like an hourglass.

“Big brother, this is the life-glow stone, right?”

With a smile on her face, Emilia took up the life-glow stone and ran to him. She showed no signs of being disturbed by the fact that she had just slain a Godlis.

“Are you alright?”

“About what?”

“You just killed a creature, a Selvanui.”

“If I let that bother me, I’d never be able to defeat the Selvanui.”

She was an extremely optimistic younger sister. It was a concern for Rodney as he wondered if he could be as open-minded as his sister. But no matter what it took, he had to be strong. Because he didn’t want to die in the war.

“I see. Then, I’ll be the next to go.”

He was confident that he could accomplish it, and his spear-wielding hand was brimming with strength. Then a Godlis came out of the abandoned house.

“I’ll cover you.”

As Rodney held up his spear, Yulin pulled out a large sword from her back. It was a heavy-looking sword, making him wonder where her frail frame could support such a weight.

The Kirisamu style of swordsmanship, which Yulin practiced, employed such a large sword. If Emilia’s Merrillis style of fine swordsmanship was all about speed and sharpness, the Kirisamu style was all about strength and the ability to obliterate anything in its path.

Despite the fact that Rodney could not master the art of both swordsmanship, the two of them were on the path to mastery.

When the Godlis saw the three of them, it came charging towards them, its long arms swinging. At the sight of Godlis, whose eyes were all white and bloodshot, Rodney gulped and cleared his throat.

“Gahhhh!”

Rodney’s motions were rigid from fear of the Godlis that leaped at him. He was on the verge of being hit by a claw attack from its long arm, but Yulin slashed his arm away, keeping him from being attacked.

“Master Rodney. You are not moving smoothly.”

“O-Oh…”

“Good luck, big brother.”

It’s so pathetic of me that my body can’t move because I’m scared to death of something as small as a Godlis.

Godlis, who had been writhing in anguish, rose up and cast an enraged glance at Rodney.

“Eh, me? Why not Yulin?”

“What are you talking about, Master Rodney?”

“Ah, no, nothing.”

Defeating Godlis, whose movements had been sluggish, was not difficult. Rodney thrust out his spear, which penetrated Godlis’ chest. It seemed as if it just happened to lunge it out on his own, but Godlis disappeared in a cloud of dust. And it left behind a life-glow stone.

“Oh, I did it.”

“Congratulations, Master Rodney.”

“Congratulations, big brother.”

“Thank you.”

As a brother, that’s a delicate state of mind…

It was a dreary first combat, but he managed to overcome Godlis in the end.

The life-glow stone he picked up was simply a transparent stone, but it seemed to emit some kind of beautiful radiance.

“Master Rodney, the next Godlis is coming.”

No time for sentimentality, huh?

Rodney was able to vanquish the next Godlis with the aid of Yulin and Emilia. He can’t overcome them one-on-one like Emilia, but he can manage with their support. For Rodney, this was a shameful story.

After all that big talk, this is what I end up doing? I guess I’m not cut out for fighting. No, sword and spear are not the only way to fight. I should search for and pursue what makes me capable.

His sword and spear abilities were mediocre at best. Nonetheless, there must be something Rodney can do, and he vowed to seek out that.

The three of them had gotten 28 life-glow stones later that day, and Rodney recommended splitting them into three equal shares, but Yulin rejected.

“I already have root power from the life-glow stones, so I don’t need them.”

“Then I’ll buy Yulin’s share at a market price.”

“There is no need for that. Please use it, Master Rodney.”

Yulin was insistent, but he couldn’t let it happen, so he bought it.

“Emilia and I will take fourteen each.”

“I’ll take one-third of the share. Since you purchased Yulin’s, I believe big brother should use it.”

“Even you are saying things like that…”

“I’ll take nine, and the rest goes to you.”

Emilia handed nineteen to Rodney and held onto nine.

The life-glow stone will grant root power to the one who breaks the narrow part in the middle. However, the chances of this happening were slim, and obtaining a root power might take hundred times.

“Now, it’s time for the fun!”

Emilia snapped the life-glow stone as she said this. The stone of life-glow disintegrated into particles and vanished.

“Well, I guess that was no good.”

With no hesitation at all, she snapped the life-glow stone. In the end, Emilia could not obtain the root power. Rodney’s gaze was fixated on Emilia, who did not appear to be upset in the least.

“Big brother, it’s your turn.”

“O-Oh.”

Emilia hurried him to break the first stone of life-glow. He didn’t acquire any root power since he didn’t feel anything.

“Keep snapping one after the other.”

Emilia handed him another, which he snapped off. There was no sensation. Even though he snapped all 19 pieces, there was still nothing.

“Nothing happened for you too, big brother. What a pity.” 

“They say it’s not so easy to get the root power, so I suppose this is what it’s like.”

Emilia was disappointed like she was doing it for Rodney’s sake. Thanks to that, Rodney did not feel any regret.