192: the ashen wolf [1]

    “young knight, what is your name?”

    hair as beautiful as if obsidian had been melted and reforged swayed softly.

    a voice dropped before paracelsus.

    it had a strangely enchanting charm to bewitch people, but at this moment, he couldn’t allow himself to be captivated by it.

    the woman before his eyes was his enemy.

    chaeeng!

    paracelsus deflected the sword that came at him along with ulysses’ question and replied.

    “i am paracelsus.”

    “interesting.”

    ulysses spoke as though she genuinely found it amusing.

    however, the knights and students present found it peculiar. it was odd for someone at the level of a sword emperor to speak of finding enjoyment in the swordsmanship of a mere fledgling.

    in truth, ulysses wasn’t particularly impressed by paracelsus’ swordsmanship. though it was quite exceptional for his age, it was nowhere near enough to rival someone of ulysses’ caliber, nor was it refined. his technique was riddled with openings, marred by unrestrained anger.

    however...

    what truly intrigued ulysses lay elsewhere.

    “paracelsus... paracelsus, huh... how amusing. does that mean you possess talent worthy of being bestowed a name by him? a talent that surpasses even his? that obstinate man proclaimed it so to someone like you, a mere fledgling?”

    a name.

    yes, that was it.

    ulysses was now pondering the name paracelsus.

    the name originally belonged to celsus.

    the name paracelsus had been derived from him.

    ——————————————

    the [conqueror of the east] and the [ashen wolf].

    among the many nicknames attributed to paracelsus, the two most famous were these.

    of course, there were also criticisms regarding these presumptuous nicknames.

    most of the reasons were. he was too young to bear the name of conqueror, and no matter how talented he was, there was no way such a monstrous individual could be wasting away in this eastern remote place.

    occasionally, just as great talents emerge from nowhere, a remarkable, prodigious knight would suddenly appear, but... they argued that the time for such occurrences had long passed.

    naturally.

    it was a given that the young men of the continent would dream of becoming knights of their nation, serving their lords, and earning recognition for their loyalty, perhaps even gaining a noble title.

    but such grand dreams were relegated to the era of the once-prosperous catalyu kingdom.

    what were knights of recent times like?

    they were often scions of distinguished families, taught by exceptional swordmasters, wielding weapons crafted by master craftsmen. they sparred with each other, debating who was stronger...... or who had connections to more prestigious families.

    therefore, the knights and mages gathered in taverns or guilds.

    or common folk that look over them couldn’t believe it.

    that a genius had arisen who could overturn all these inequities and ignite a flame that might consume the entire eastern region.

    paracelsus.

    he was a genius.

    from birth, he possessed overwhelming talent, laden with innate skills. these abilities were honed and awakened by none other than celsus.

    the creator of the ancient swordsmanship [the living sword], and a legendary healer.

    through a chance encounter, the untamed paracelsus crossed paths with celsus, and they formed a master-disciple relationship.

    two years ago,

    the beginning of this relationship was when paracelsus was just beginning to make a name for himself.

    ——————————————

    [side story – the origin of the name]

    i wanted to become a doctor.

    though i never met him, my father was said to be a kind military doctor who treated the poor.

    my mother, admiring him, married him and bore a child.

    i, paracelsus was born.

    but i cursed the fruit of their love for my entire life.

    the war of the five nations.

    a war that broke out in the vast eastern continent plunged me into an unprecedented era of chaos.

    it was all sparked by a mythical object, the ‘philosopher’s stone’, also known as the “elixir.”

    both my father and mother died.

    i was the only survivor.

    along with the helpless children of the orphanage.

    so... i had no choice but to pick up the sword.

    ——————————————

    at first, i had no name.

    a year passed.

    as anyone knows, a year is a long time.

    it’s especially long when you’re constantly replenishing thousands of supplies and exploring underground dungeons. even the finest knights grew exhausted.

    it was no surprise that the arrogant count, grew increasingly desperate as his illness worsened. in the end, he was forced to halt the search for the philosopher’s stone.

    he must have concluded that he could no longer endure. after all, there was no guarantee it even existed, and seeking such a legendary object with such slim odds of success was far from an easy task.

    finally, when the rage of others culminated in the start of a coup.

    i simply thought, what do i care? and returned to this place once again.

    salvator orphanage.

    but why?

    when i returned, there was nothing left but an empty ruin.

    it was strange.

    “...by now, aeloi should be pestering me as usual...”

    no complaints about why i just came now, no answers at all. even after knocking on the door aeloi and dozens of the other girls used to share, only a layer of pilled dust fell, and no response came.

    a sense of unease spread slowly through my body like poison. it was a kind of knightly intuition, akin to a reflex.

    “this is strange.”

    that was when i heard it.

    outside the orphanage, the voices of great number of people shouting in unison.

    i quickly ran outside, grabbed hold of a man who looked easy to handle, and asked him.

    “what’s going on here?”

    “let me go!”

    this, so you’re not going to answer nicely.

    i immediately grabbed him by the collar, putting force into my grip, and asked again politely.

    “shut up and tell me.”

    “ugh... the count... that bastard tricked us! he took mercenaries, saying he’d give us food supplies, but instead, he didn’t distribute anything! worse, he captured everyone from the orphanage and took them as slaves!”

    at that moment, my brow furrowed slightly.

    “took them? what happens now?”

    i genuinely asked.

    honestly, i didn’t care what happened.

    whether they were sold as slaves or taken as concubines, what could i do?

    this was wartime, and i wasn’t a noble.

    as a commoner, wasn’t i taught in the orphanage that this sort of discrimination was inevitable?

    at the time, i wasn’t thinking much of it, or rather, i was trying hard not to think about it. that’s probably a more accurate way to put it.

    “you... aren’t you that ashen?”

    “and if i am, what about it?”

    “then, you’ll find this even sadder...”

    “what are you talking about?”

    i tilted my head, confused by the incomprehensible words.

    why would i feel sad?

    but as the man continued, i started to sense something was wrong.

    “aeloi... that girl... she was taken as a concubine for count kses! by force.”

    “...hm.”

    i thought for a moment before speaking.

    “isn’t that a good thing?”

    but for some reason, a faint sense of confusion rose in my chest. in fact, wasn’t this natural?

    for a girl in this orphanage, the happiest fate was becoming a concubine to a noble family.

    that’s why i tried to dismiss it as no big deal.

    even when i heard it was by force, i believed aeloi life would improve. after all, what other choices did i have? aeloi’s life could only get better from here.

    in truth, she was the most beautiful girl in the orphanage, and her nature was kind and gentle. i didn’t want to admit it, but it was also aeloi who treated me every time i came back wounded.

    but why?

    this overwhelming weight in my chest, like a lump of lead—this suffocating sense of loss. where did it come from? why was it tormenting me? i kept reflecting on it, but no clear answer came to mind.

    it was then.

    “shouldn’t you go?”

    at that moment, i realized i’d been gripping the man’s collar for far longer than i should have.

    and it was then that i finally understood how wrong i was.

    because of what the man, i came to a realization.

    if it wasn’t aeloi’s own will, no one had the right to decide her life for her. and that i needed to save her immediately.

    “so, where is the count kses estate?”