Chapter 199: An Old Friend (15)

We departed in the carriage that the lord of Grassmere provided as a gesture of goodwill. It prioritized durability and ride comfort over flashiness.

Clop-clop! Clop-clop!

Despite being pulled by two healthy, well-kept horses, the carriage was narrow enough to traverse side roads with ease. Inside the cramped carriage, the distance between Rubia and me naturally closed.

Rattle.

It felt like we rolled over a large rock. The carriage jolted for a moment, interrupting the smooth ride.

Isaac, who had been perched atop the carriage, suddenly flapped his wings and shot upward.

Rubia, sitting beside me, pointed to the roof. "

Ah

... I think he got startled."

Well... when the carriage shook, we slightly brushed against each other, but she didn't seem inclined to move away. I didn't bother pointing it out. If she felt uncomfortable, she'd naturally pull away.

"He,

um,

started flapping really hard like this—

flap flap

!"

Was she trying to steer the conversation far away while sitting so close?

Fortunately, Isaac's voice cut through the awkward air inside the carriage. "I can hear everything."

"And what if you do?"

"You insolent wretches...!" Isaac trembled with rage.

I wasn't particularly bothered. At first, I'd been worried that Isaac would try to possess Rubia again and harm her. However, those concerns had eased after hearing the story she told me. I recalled the conversation with Rubia.

***

"I'm actually worried about him."

"Isaac? Why?"

"The basics of necromancy say,

A wandering soul is like water in a vessel. The more it moves, the more it diminishes.

That's straight from the standard textbook."

"Isaac, is that true?"

"

Hmph

. You'd do well not to lump me in with those bound by such simplistic rules."

***

In the end, a law was still a law, and even the so-called grand sorcerer like Isaac would struggle to override it. Even if the sword was just a ruse to win my trust, the crow in the hall had to be a prepared vessel, since it was an optimal host for temporary possession. Just because I annoyed him a bit didn't mean he'd recklessly abandon it.

Flap. Flap-flap!

Isaac flapped around the carriage in circles, clearly annoyed. I glanced out the window. The middle-aged coachman, who hadn't batted an eye at any of this, struck me as quite the remarkable man.

He had only asked one question, "Is the crow also part of your party?"

When I said yes, he merely nodded and asked nothing more.

Flap! Flap-flap! Flap-flap-flap!

If a seasoned coachman needed a thick skin, this man was set. I recalled he said he'd been driving for thirty years. The carriage continued westward. We still had a long way to go before reaching the Order.

Drawing back the curtain, I peered outside. The spacious emptiness of winter mountains felt soothing. Ever so slowly, the slopes were dyed brown by the sun. Snow lingered in patches atop rocks, melting drip by drip. Rubia leaned gently against me as she looked outside. A thin sheet of ice on the stream cracked under the sleepy sunlight. That was how winter flowers bloomed.

After darting around restlessly for so long, sitting quietly on a moving carriage and admiring the scenery made me seriously wonder if I should just abandon everything and become a traveler.

Of course, even if I ran from it all, a carefree future wouldn't come. A war was scheduled to break out in a year. Once blood stench filled the air, the Demon King would descend. No matter where I fled, I wouldn't escape the world's gaze. Those venom-tipped blades would target Rubia.

Clatter.

I lightly shook my head. When fate drew near, facing it head-on was the only choice.

Rustle.

I opened the book Yube had obtained for me. I had ignored it for a while, but ultimately, the first step to confronting life was to start reading Ashton's book again.

"Can I read with you?" Rubia leaned toward me.

Since we were on a wintery mountain road, warmth wasn't something I disliked. Reading together like this reminded me of the Succubus. What kind of being had she really been? Even if I tried to dismiss Isaac's words, vague doubts continued to creep in like shadows.

"I—I'm not trying to force you! I just like being nearby."

"No, let's read together."

Maybe I startled her. She looked a bit worried, but also slightly excited. Was she really this thrilled just by the idea of reading? The more I saw her, the more fascinating she became.

The Doll That Imitates Humans

by Kevin Ashton

I turned the first page. On the blank white sheet, a line of incomprehensible squiggles had been scrawled. It wasn't in the imperial common language, and clearly wasn't Eastern either.

Rubia looked at the text and mumbled, "A corrupted soul and a pure body... What does that mean?"

I looked at her in surprise. "You can read that?"

"Yes. It's in runes." Rubia shrank back a little at my strong reaction. She rubbed her cheeks as she said, "There were a few books in the library written in ancient and runic languages..."

"A dictionary, then?"

"No, not really... I just kept looking and rereading them, and I eventually understood."

I was stunned. She could comprehend texts written in languages she'd never formally studied, just by reading them over and over? How talented in languages did one have to be for that?

"Is that even possible...?"

"You're embarrassing me. I only told my father. He didn't believe me at first either... And he told me never to tell anyone I could read runes and ancient script."

"Why?"

"Because only mages are allowed to teach those. They're considered forbidden languages."

"

Ho...

"

Her explanation piqued my curiosity, but I'd have time to ask more later. For now, I focused on Ashton's book. Fortunately, aside from that first line, the rest of the book was written in common language.

When we were kids, my friend once brought home a headless, naked doll. He said he wanted to insert his own neck into it.

"That's quite a creepy story..."

As with many of Kevin Ashton's works, the opening pages were filled with prose that seemed unrelated to any practical use.

I thought, why bother finding a headless doll just to insert your own neck into it? All you need is a perfect doll and a way to extract your soul to put inside. Then we'd possess pure bodies.

[Assimilation Rate has decreased.]

[72.14%...]

A wave of nausea rose in my gut.

"Are you all right?" Rubia's worried voice cut through.

It was almost absurd how she looked at me with such deep concern, like I was a child left unattended near a riverbank. She had no idea I was a battle-worn, blood-soaked skeleton.

"Do you get motion sickness?"

That couldn't be because the ride went without a hitch. The coachman was experienced, and the carriage was smooth, so it had to be the book. Regardless, I had to read it.

"Let's keep going."

"You seem tired... I'll turn the pages for you!"

"..."

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Although it was an unnecessary kindness, there was no need to curb her excitement. Sitting quietly beside Rubia, I began reading one page at a time with her.

As we reached the latter parts of the book, more practical content began to appear. Still, much of it was hard to understand. Runes, was it? There were still sections with those unreadable, squiggly letters.

"You put on the leg parts first, then the breastplate... and finally the arms," Rubia said, pointing to the footnotes and illustrations.

They were descriptions of the iron men used by the Confederation. As we kept reading, my initial vague image of them started to shift. I had imagined people riding atop large steel machines, but these were more like suits to be worn than vehicles to be mounted.

Rubia's eyes sparkled as she stared at the book. "Wow..."

Maybe she had some sort of passive reading skill. Her reading speed was impressive, and her comprehension even more so. She kindly explained even the unfamiliar parts to me.

"Amazing..." She looked between me and the book. "It says you insert the fuel into the back. The power doesn't come from your own strength but from the iron man itself."

The massive four-meter battle suits were piloted by the Confederation's pilots. While I didn't know their exact power output, I knew they'd suffered complete, utter defeat to the Empire. They were likely weaker than swordmasters or top-tier mages like the Tower Lords. Honestly, I didn't find them that compelling.

Still, would Rubia become stronger if she wore one? Strong enough to survive the chaos of battle on her own?

I asked her, "So it runs on fuel? Then it doesn't depend on your original strength?"

She gently shook her head. "Not exactly. Wearing and using the equipment itself demands considerable physical ability. But..."

"But?"

Rustle.

Rubia turned the next page with her pale, slender fingers. My eyes followed automatically.

"For some types, like the titan-class iron men, it says they have a will of their own. If cooperation resonance occurs, they'll lend you their strength."

"Cooperation resonance..."

"There's no definition here, though. Maybe it's explained elsewhere? Just a second."

She started flipping through the pages, searching.

Isaac's voice came from above.

"Ahem."

It seemed he'd been eavesdropping from the roof of the carriage and had been waiting for a moment to cut in. Honestly, it was kind of pathetic.

“You know something?" I addressed him.

"Titanic cooperation is a matter of resonance."

"Resonance?"

"Soul resonance. Even if you're powerful, the titan can reject you, and you won't be able to ride it." Isaac explained, "On the flip side, even a scrawny child who can't swat a fly can ride one as long as the titan permits it. Two hundred years ago, a fifteen-year-old weakling from the slums was chosen by a transcendent-class titan named Janmeral."

The phrase transcendent-class Titan made Isaac puff up a bit. His excited tone hinted at its prestige. This was clearly far beyond the level of simply protecting oneself in battle.

"So Rubia could do it too?"

"

Heh...

Titans choosing someone happens maybe once every few centuries."

"Every few centuries?"

"Yeah. They have far more developed egos than most humans. You could've met all their demands and still not be allowed to ride. It happens most—if not all—of the time. For one to voluntarily help you? Forget it."

"

Hmm...

"

"The girl at your side won't be one of them. But what about you? Ever think of riding one?"

"They're not even in the Empire, are they?"

"You never know. Maybe in the Confederation. But first, let's get to the Order. Talk later."

Just like that, Isaac cut off the conversation, even though he was the one who started it.

***

Tap.

We finally closed the book, after discussing it bit by bit.

Ding!

The translucent system window appeared.

[Servant System]

[You read a book together with your master.]

[Wisdom has increased by 3.]

[Acquired skill: Magitech Lv. 0.]

[Gained a small amount of experience points.]

That much? It was unexpected.

Unlike reading Kevin Ashton's other books, this time, my Wisdom didn't just rise by one, but jumped significantly. And I'd even acquired a new skill: Magitech, albeit at level zero. In other words, I'd need this skill to understand those iron men from the Confederation.

Jinney Yube... Where had he managed to obtain such a book in just one day?

I shook my head. The book was important, sure, but the real difference had come from the servant system and Rubia's presence. The book had runes scattered all across its pages. Hadn't she explained each part so patiently, I could never have understood this deeply. Even if Isaac had explained it, the servant system wouldn't have activated. The urge to keep Rubia close only grew stronger.

Clop-clop! Clop-clop!

The terrain was starting to get rough.