NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9
Chapter
Bator, a member of the covert operations unit under the Labelion Kingdom’s intelligence agency.
He couldn’t hide his surprise at the reckless boy before him.
‘Did he just sense my presence?’
Although his physical prowess wasn’t exceptional, Bator was well-versed in stealth. Under the right conditions, even a Master-ranked strong person might not detect his presence.
Naturally, it was normal for him to go undetected. It was just that Enok, who had an unusually developed Ki Sense from trying to sense Rionne all the time, was the odd one out.
[Thunderous rumble!]
With the sound of thunder, Bator’s surroundings lit up in a blinding flash.
Out of that brilliant purple lightning leaped a ferocious beast.
Normally, a violent confrontation shouldn’t occur, but…
“Tch, let’s subdue it for now…”
Bator swiftly drew his dagger and sprang into action.
With a light stamp on the ground—[Thud!]—his nimble body vanished.
He bounced off the alley wall once, then leaped over the scattering debris to target Enok from behind.
[What?!]
The spirit, whose eye met his, clicked its tongue.
[Why are you fighting so poorly!?]
In the midst of chaos, the ground flared up.
A surprised gaze snapped downward.
A magic circle. In the split second of judgment, Bator leaped.
[Flash──!]
A bolt of lightning shot towards the sky, scorching one of his feet.
“Ugh…!”
Bator grit his teeth and stared ahead.
The boy charged at him.
The lightning in his hand was undoubtedly a type of Hand Technique.
Bator hastily infused his dagger with Sword Energy.
Sword Energy and Hand Technique.
This was a type of technique that increased destructive power using mana.
And it served as a kind of symbol.
The rank of Expert, regarded as the pinnacle among knights, was the symbol for those standing at the threshold of superhuman strength.
‘An Expert at that age, and he’s using magic too?’
Setting aside the technique, it was a familiar method.
The kingdom’s judgment might have been correct after all.
Bator cursed his own ignorance for dismissing that judgment as absurd.
“Ugh…!”
With gritted teeth, Bator desperately swung his dagger.
Enok easily countered.
With a swift motion—
Two fingers hooked onto the dagger, drawing it in.
His other hand gathered a terrifying amount of lightning, glowing brightly.
“Wait, sto—!”
Just as Bator tried to shout out urgently,
“Enok.”
The murderous intent vanished from Enok’s eyes.
In the end, Enok, with his round and adorable eyes, trotted over and jumped into the arms of the voice’s owner.
“Rionne?”
“What’s going on?”
“That person was following me!”
Enok pointed at Bator.
Bator, stabilizing his trembling body, barely lowered his head.
“W-Wait! This is a misunderstanding!”
The Swordmaster was generally moderate for a superhuman.
If necessary, there was an order to reveal his identity.
Taking a deep breath, Bator continued.
“I am Bator from the kingdom’s intelligence agency. I received information that the Swordmaster has taken a human disciple and I…”
Rionne cut him off.
“Report it to the king.”
“…Yes.”
“If you touch Enok, it’s war.”
The Swordmaster had descended from a noble family.
It was a bold claim to say he would face the kingdom alone, but Bator couldn’t bring himself to speak.
Setting aside the fact that the Swordmaster was indeed that powerful, he couldn’t physically move.
It felt like every bit of air around him had turned into swords pointing at him.
Only after the Swordmaster released the pressure could Bator finally speak.
“…Yes.”
“Get lost.”
Bator complied without hesitation.
As the man disappeared, Undine began to smack Rionne’s arm in the chaotic alleyway.
[Rionne! Rionne!]
“What’s wrong? I already have a headache…”
[That’s not the point right now! What the heck did you teach Enok!?]
Rionne furrowed her brows.
What did I teach him?
She had watched everything from the side; what kind of nonsense was that?
[Do you know what he said!?]
The spirit spilled every detail of what she had heard.
How this insolent brat had spewed out discriminatory remarks as if he was breathing…!
Upon hearing that, Rionne was left in utter disbelief.
“Enok…!?”
Enok realized too.
That this wasn’t something to be praised for.
So, he stammered an excuse.
“N-No… That’s not true. Humans are inferior.”
“Enok…!!??!”
Rionne was literally on the verge of fainting.
The precious child she raised was making such discriminatory remarks…!
And didn’t Enok himself belong to the human race!?
“Enok…! Discrimination is wrong.”
“…It’s true that Elves are far superior to humans.”
“No! Humans are amazing too! Just look at the land— humans occupy the largest territory on the continent!”
Even if that was an achievement of a single person and not of the human race.
Nonetheless, it was true that humans held the most vast territory at least.
And it was Rionne who had taught Enok that.
“That’s thanks to the Emperor being exceptional, not because humans are amazing.”
“Ah….”
“The affinity for mana and spirits is much higher for Elves.”
“Ugh….”
“They are physically superior as well.”
“Ugh…!”
“Their appearance is also far better. They are the race of beauty.”
Had Enok been this eloquent…?
In a panic, Rionne found herself at a loss for words.
No, this wasn’t the time for that.
She had to get through to Enok.
“B-But Enok! You yourself are human and far superior to other Elves! I couldn’t do anything at your age!”
“That’s because I’m exceptional, not because I’m human.”
“Ugh….”
That was true, but…
Rionne’s eyes began to lose focus, trembling.
There was nothing she could say…!
And that soon became an opportunity.
Enok, acutely aware of the situation, delivered the finishing blow.
“Besides, humans live for less than a hundred years. Elves, Beastmen, Dragons, and even those tiny Dwarves live for hundreds of years.”
“…What? The puppy we used to raise lived for at least a hundred years….”
Ah, no!
She shouldn’t be swayed.
“B-But Enok! We are all sentient beings. It’s not good to discriminate against each other!”
“Humans keep kidnapping Elves, so the relationship isn’t great.”
“……”
What on earth have I taught him…?
Thinking about it, most of the knowledge Enok had came from Rionne.
Rionne realized there was a significant problem with her teaching methods.
“Wait…? Did you say humans live for less than a hundred years?”
She never taught him that before!
In fact, Rionne herself didn’t even know that.
It wasn’t a well-kept secret, but Rionne hadn’t cared much about humans, so she hadn’t learned up till now.
She didn’t even know how long the honey badgers living in the forest lasted, so how could she know about human lifespans?
“Oh.”
Enok also realized his mistake and closed his mouth.
“Ugh…”
Rionne held her head in frustration.
Anyways, what mattered now was Enok’s education.
“Enok, you mustn’t discriminate based on such things. Would you ignore and discriminate against me if I suddenly became so weak that I couldn’t do anything?”
“No…”
“And in fact, Elves aren’t that exceptional of a race. Just look at the Dragons.”
The truth was Dragons usually do look down on other races.
“Anyways… This is a bit of a problem.”
Rionne regretted past remarks she had made about dwarves.
Since Elves and Dwarves had a historically poor relationship, it was a comment she had blurted out reflexively.
She hadn’t even thought that this might have influenced Enok’s thoughts.
“Enok, follow me.”
Rionne made up her mind.
She would buy books on racial discrimination from the bookstore, study them, and guide Enok’s thinking correctly.
However, Enok, who had kept his mouth shut, had other resolutions.
Dragons superior to Elves?
That could not be tolerated.
Making Elves great.
If Dragons were superior to Elves, he could flip that notion upside down.
Then, wouldn’t it be alright to look down on other races without them being considered discriminated against?
[…What’s all this noise about?]
Sigh…
The spirit, watching from the side, sighed heavily at the world’s absurdity.
*
Rionne returned to the forest and postponed all her teachings.
What was most important now was character education!
If Enok continued down this strange path, he might become a continental embarrassment!
She began to study knowledge about racial discrimination along with human studies, gaining new insights.
‘Ah, humans are considered adults by age 20?’
Elves didn’t have such a fixed age.
It was more of a, “once you’ve come of age, you’re an adult” or “if you don’t have an official ceremony, you’re still close enough,” sort of vibe.
Usually, one might have a coming-of-age ceremony around 80 at the earliest, or usually by 150.
Therefore, anything above 150 could generally be considered an adult.
There wasn’t anything particularly special about coming of age; it was simply a ceremony conducted before marriage, and that mindset was widespread among Elves.
‘Moreover, most humans don’t even realize their mana… Is this really true?’
Rionne tilted her head.
The ladies from the village she lived in wielded knives dressed in Sword Energy and occasionally with Sword Techniques, yet it just didn’t click with her.
That Elf over there is an Expert, and that Elf over there is a Master.
Wasn’t that common sense?
As she continued reading in that manner, unexpectedly, it turned out to be quite entertaining, and Rionne found herself staying up late that night.
And the next day.
“Uh…! Perhaps there might be some truth to Elves being greater than humans…?”
[Hey! You insane brat!]
*
“Cough, cough. Anyway, Enok. People shouldn’t judge value like that. Of course, there can be priorities according to power or national systems, but everyone’s life is precious.”
“Uh-huh….”
It seemed Enok didn’t quite understand, but Rionne wasn’t overly worried.
After all, there was still over a hundred years to go….
“Uh…!?”
This was a problem.
Enok was now 13 years old.
Humans are considered adults at 20.
That means Rionne only had 7 years left to teach Enok…!