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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Azure Wing's Farewell
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The next day at dawn.
I visited 'Elf's Breath' again, just as Karma had requested.
As I pushed open the rickety entrance door, on the verge of collapse as always, Karma was waiting for me with his eyes closed, having finished sorting all the pharmacy's materials.
For a place called a pharmacy, it was truly astonishing how little there was after tidying up.
"You're here."
"Are you leaving?"
In my previous life, he had awakened my power and then departed. It seemed the same this time. The only thing that had changed was Karma's hair—not a single strand more.
"Yes. I've awakened your power, so I have no more business in this territory. Another Black Lion might visit someday, but my connection to this land ends with you."
I didn't fully understand it, but it was a long-standing custom among the Black Lions for one to awaken a single Heterogenous Power in each region before moving on to the next.
Staying too long in one place wasn't just a security risk; it also meant they couldn't offer opportunities evenly across the continent.
In any case, following that tradition, I assumed Karma would leave this place too.
Karma then called my name in a solemn voice.
"Jerome von Carviot, bearer of the third Heterogenous Power I have awakened. Kneel before me."
I approached him as instructed and knelt politely on both knees.
This was the highest gesture of respect among Black Lions—a posture of reverence and homage toward the one who had awakened you.
"As the highest elder of the Black Lions and one of the Great Three Sages, I ask you: Do you pledge to use this power for righteous ends?"
"Yes."
"Do you pledge to avoid the narrow-mindedness of a single perspective?"
"Yes."
"If someday another with talent and character like yours appears, do you pledge to awaken their power unconditionally, as I have done, for the betterment of the world?"
"Yes."
"Very well. By the authority of the first of the Great Three Sages and the Azure Wing, I recognize you, Jerome von Carviot, as a Black Lion."
Karma spoke calmly, but hearing it, I could not remain calm.
...Azure Wing?!
Of all things. This old codger was the Black Lions' patriarch, the Azure Wing?
If the Great Three Sages symbolized the wisdom of the Black Lions, the Three Wings symbolized their power.
Two among the Black Lions sat upon the continent's thrones of jade: the White Wing of the Pure Stream and the Black Wing of the Turbid Stream.
The one who had raised those two as disciples and sat upon the throne above thrones was the Black Lion known as the Blue Wing. He had transcended the Eleven Thrones of the Continent, his abilities hailed as reaching the demigod realm.
To think the pharmacy geezer who awakened my power was such an ultra heavyweight.
Moreover, he said I was the third person whose power he had personally awakened. That meant I was the successor to the Black Wing and White Wing.
In other words, I was a peer at the pinnacle of the Black Lions.
No wonder. In my previous life, even as a dimwit, I grew strong so quickly.
The pieces that couldn't be explained by just the Shield Family bloodline finally fell into place. The one who awakened me had simultaneously claimed the thrones symbolizing the Black Lions' wisdom and power. Even though it took me so long to come to my senses, that was how I could rise to lead the resistance.
Seeing a glimpse of the unsolved mystery from my previous life, I bowed my head and clenched my fist.
Whatever I was thinking, Karma slowly rose after declaring me a member of the Black Lions and picked up his bag.
"Farewell, fledgling. I hope you use that power meaningfully. For some reason, I feel we'll meet again before long. Heh heh."
Watching him grin and prepare to leave filled me with complex emotions.
This man who was no different from my master.
Though late, he had changed the trash I was in my previous life.
I'd agonized over it since yesterday, but in the end, there was only one thing I could do for him.
"I humbly speak to Karma, Azure Wing and Great Sage among the Black Lions."
Perhaps anticipating I wanted him to stay, Karma shook his head preemptively.
"Heh heh, don't try to hold me back. It's tradition for Black Lions to cheer each other on from afar..."
But that wasn't what I meant to say. If my advice yesterday was to protect his heart(?), what I would say today was literally for his personal safety.
"It won't be easy, I know, but please remember my words. Beware the Black Wing, Veras. He is dangerous."
Karma merely gave a wry smile at my words.
"...I'll be off now. It was a pleasure to see someone with real talent after so long."
I could only watch as Karma slowly departed beyond the city gates.
I didn't know how much of my advice he took to heart. But even if he recalled it just once someday, it would help greatly.
Azure Wing, Karma.
In my previous life, he had died by the Black Wing's hand.
***
Time flows relatively, depending on how one spends it.
For those living a trashy life like my previous self—blaming a lack of talent day by day while drowning in booze and gambling—time drags on boringly and slowly.
But for those striving diligently toward their goals, splitting each day into fragments still leaves them short.
In that sense, I could say I was living each day diligently now.
It had been fully two weeks and two days since Karma left. During that time, I devoted myself to reclaiming the Heterogenous Power I had mastered before.
Those who gained Heterogenous Powers naturally knew the realms they could reach on their path. It made sense—A Heterogenous Power was fundamentally awakening one's latent inner strength.
The same held for me. The power I had achieved, Steel, was divided into five stages.
Stage 1: Iron Fist.
Stage 2: Iron Body.
Stage 3: Iron Organ.
Stage 4: Another Ore.
Stage 5: Unbreakable.
In my previous life, I had reached Stage 3, Iron Organ—literally turning my body's internals to steel.
As my case showed, unlike knights wielding auras, mages, or priests using divine power, those awakened to Heterogenous Powers could forge their own paths without a master.
This cheat-like efficacy had led rulers, spearheaded by the Holy Empire, to fiercely guard against and suppress the Black Lions who wielded these powers.
But every advantage has its drawback.
They knew the realms they could attain but not how to reach them.
In simple terms, a swordsman might know he could become a Grand Master but had to pioneer the path himself. Thus, most Black Lions died without awakening even half their potential.
In my previous life, after Karma opened my eyes to it, I had spent over half a year staring at my right hand obsessively. Only after that grueling effort could I barely use Stage 1.
Typically, those gaining Heterogenous Powers began awakening them after about three months.
Compared to that, Karma's assessment—that 'with hard work, one can at least reap minimal results'—was spot on.
But even a total idiot gets familiar after twenty years of practice.
For me, who had clung to this power for nearly twenty years through life and death, retracing a path I'd walked long ago was effortless.
I reclaimed the Stage 1 realm, which had taken two years in my previous life, in a mere three weeks.
Putting everything else aside for those three weeks helped, but more than that, retreading a familiar path was far easier than expected.
Stage 1, Iron Fist—conveniently named for the fist but actually allowing any body part to turn to steel.
Once mastered, it became as natural as breathing. Just recently, what I'd shown Karma by transforming my right hand was Stage 1.
I won't aim for Stage 5. It's theoretical anyway.
Considering my level when harassing the Holy Empire as a resistance fighter, mastering up to Stage 3 before the great war would suffice.
I could suppress my eldest brother and sister sufficiently even at Stage 2.
No—even now, having mastered Stage 1 far faster than before, perhaps training just Earth and Pankration would let me overpower them.
From there, I could adapt as situations arose. For now, the priority was building strength. To reshape my family, kingdom, and even the continent's balance, half-baked power wouldn't cut it.
First, recover my past strength as quickly as possible...
As I pondered how to alter the wheels of my past fate—
Bang.
Without even asking permission to enter, Bori flung open my room door. On her back was an enormous bundle so massive I wondered if she could carry it, and she huffed indignantly.
"...?"
As I stared in bewilderment, unsure what was going on, Bori glared at me with what seemed resentment—or perhaps half-resigned defiance.
"You sure have it good."
"Huh?"
"Haa... Whatever. What was I expecting from you, Third Young Master? Look, I'm quitting, so at least give me my severance pay."
"What? You were working fine yesterday. What's this all of a sudden? Bad breakfast?"
"As if I could keep breakfast down right now! You're turning me into an unemployed bum! If I leave on my own terms before getting fired, at least I'll get severance!"
Growing more heated, Bori yelled back at me. Now I saw—the massive bundle was her personal belongings she'd brought to use in our family estate.
Realizing her resolve was no joke, I straightened my expression and soothed her.
"Whoa, whoa, Bori. Calm down. Tell me the whole story start to finish so I can understand. Why would you lose your job because of me? I have zero intention of firing you."
"Third Young Master, do you know what day it is four days from now?"
Four days from now?
"Uh... Is it some special day?"
"Look at this."
Bori sighed deeply, as if she'd expected as much.
"Third Young Master, even if you're scatterbrained... How could you forget a day that might decide your life...?"
Ah.
I mentally ran the calculations.
One day at the casino.
Two days meeting Karma.
Three weeks since Karma left...
"It's the day we agreed to wrap up [Theory of Territory Management]?"
"Heavens, should I be relieved you remember now? Now do you get why I'm quitting?"
I answered Bori confidently.
"No, I don't."
Bori's face said she was beyond exasperation.
"Third Young Master, you do know what 'heir disqualification' means in our family, right?"
Of course.
In the Carviot Count family, being stripped of heir candidate status wasn't like other houses—declaring no interest in lordship and living carefree.
Facing our heavy responsibility on the Holy Empire's western front, no family member could be excused for freeloading.
Those who failed to become heirs traditionally honed their martial skills to serve the family.
This was why the Carviot Count family had prospered without decline throughout kingdom history.
Of course, in my previous life, with two outstanding heirs, no successor was decided until the end, plus an internal traitor, leading to our downfall in one blow.
In such a family, heir disqualification meant exactly what it said.
'This one is trash unworthy of heir status—treat him no longer as family.'
Once disqualified, the status was never regained.
Thus, in my previous life, even after gaining Heterogenous Power, I was already disqualified, leaving me voiceless in family matters.
Naturally, no attendant was assigned. So I understood Bori's reaction—feeling like a candle in the wind or a frog before a snake.
Of course, Bori hadn't been fired in my previous life. She was diligent and capable, just reassigned.
But no need to mention that.
"Bori, you misunderstood me. I understand heir disqualification perfectly. I just don't get why you'd quit—because I'm not getting disqualified."
"Aigoo, Third Young Master... Ignoring reality doesn't solve everything..."
"Ah, ah. Can't hear you, can't hear. Even if you get fired, I'll give severance, so wait a few more days. If you heard that, put the bundle back and prepare a horse."
As she carefully set down the bundle upon hearing about severance, Bori asked back.
"Pardon? Why a horse?"
"Need it to prepare for [Theory of Territory Management]. Hurry up. You don't want to quit either, right?"
"...Yes. Understood..."
Even at my assured words, Bori muttered something like 'Why a horse now... Feels like a trap...' as she picked up the bundle and left the room.
That woman, really?
Irked by Bori's cheek, but only briefly.
Four days ahead.
I picked up my pen and began plotting routes and schedules for riding around over those four days.
If I have to take the evaluation anyway, I won't just exceed expectations—I'll submit something utterly unforeseen.
Alright.
Let's give it a shot.