In my previous life, I investigated the destruction of the North whenever I had time between commissions there.
No matter how poor the territory’s condition had been, I couldn’t understand how the walls had been breached merely because monsters attacked.
As a result, I managed to uncover several clues.
There were mercenaries who had contributed to the North’s destruction, spies hidden within the kingdom, and schemes by foreign nations.
However, after digging too deeply and nearly being killed by a 6th Circle mage, I had no choice but to flee.
At the time, merely keeping myself alive by drinking elixirs was difficult enough, and after Loa died, I no longer even had a place to stay.
Revenge?
Forget it.
I survived like a cockroach and fled all the way to the South.
Plenty happened during that long journey as well, but now wasn’t the time to think about it.
My recollection ended when Yulian opened the door and entered.
“......This situation is.”
His gaze moved back and forth between the woman lying on the floor and me.
I had brought her here claiming I would treat her, only for her to end up dead.
Naturally, he would find it strange.
But Yulian said something unexpected.
“......Well, I thought this might happen.”
“You did?”
“This woman was the one who did that to the village, right?”
“You catch on quickly.”
“Your eyes changed the moment we found her, Lord Lumio. Arisa probably noticed too. Normally, she would have followed us because she wanted to watch you treat her.”
I chuckled.
“I didn’t kill her. I tried to get information out of her, but there was magic placed on her, and she died because of it.”
“Magic like that exists? That’s frightening.”
“Magic creates something from nothing. Even an ordinary contract becomes something you have no choice but to obey once magic is involved.”
I looked at Yulian’s sword and added,“If magic changes the world through theory and principles, a sword cuts through the result with force. Follow me. The Magic Forge just opened, so I’ll sharpen that blade for you.”
“Yes. Before that, should we bury this person?”
At his words, I snapped my fingers.
The woman’s corpse burst into flames and turned to ash in an instant.
“Done.”
“......You really have no mercy.”
“She destroyed an entire village. She isn’t worth pitying.”
Yulian nodded and followed me.
I heard him mutter in a slightly lonely voice,“Still, it doesn’t suit you, Lord Lumio.”
***
The third floor of the Magic Tower.
Unlike the second floor, which looked like an ordinary laboratory, this place contained an enormous furnace and a pitch-black anvil.
“You use magic and swordsmanship, and now you’re forging things yourself too? You aren’t going to start cooking and building houses later, are you?”
“How did you know?”
“You’re serious?”
The Magic Tower did have functions like that.
I didn’t bother answering and struck the Northern Sword’s blade with a hammer.
CLANG.
The pleasant metallic ring echoed throughout the Magic Tower.
‘I had no idea this was such a remarkable sword.’
I had once read a book about famous swords in the southern Magic Tower’s Library.
The Northern Sword was good enough to be recorded there.
‘Apparently, it was wielded by a Grand Duke of the North in the distant past.’
“It hasn’t been used properly for so long that its abilities are sealed.”
A famous sword gradually concealed its original power if it wasn’t wielded by someone worthy of it.
I repeatedly struck it with a hammer imbued with magical power, loosening the rusted circuits within.
“Still, I didn’t expect a forge to suddenly appear.”
Yulian looked around.
The intense heat flushed his cheeks red.
“Is it really all right to leave the Black Magic Sword inside that lava?”
“That furnace may look ordinary, but it burns away curses.”
“Interesting. Can it remove curses placed on people too?”
“Theoretically, yes. If you can survive being inside it.”
“......Then I suppose not. It’s this hot just looking at it. I’m surprised the sword itself isn’t melting.”
Like the Northern Sword, the Black Magic Sword was also listed among the famous swords.
“That sword isn’t ordinary either.”
As I spoke, I delivered the final hammer strike to the Northern Sword.
Sparks flew, and the Northern Sword began shining like a star.
“Done―!”
Dense spell formulas now covered the Northern Sword’s blade.
“Once deciphered, it says sword aura can alter the length of the blade, and enemies touched by the sword will suffer frostbite. Finally, if the user’s life force falls below half, ■■■ Armor will be created.”
I couldn’t decipher the name of the armor.
“Try it.”
Yulian handled the sword like a child who had just received a new toy.
Then sword aura manifested, and the Northern Sword’s blade grew to nearly twice its original length.
“Wow...... The sword aura turned into the blade itself, and it’s incredibly stable.”
When I touched the blade with my hand, my fingers froze and became difficult to move.
“The frostbite slows down your opponent’s movements like this.”
As I thawed my hand with healing magic, Yulian asked in a bewildered voice,“Is it really all right for me to accept something like this?”
“You aren’t going to betray me, are you?”
“Of course not―”
“Use it for our territory. That’s enough.”
Was there any gift more valuable to a knight than a sword?
Father had recognized Yulian’s talent as well, which was why he had entrusted this sword to him.
Yulian’s eyes trembled slightly.
Then his expression hardened with resolve.
“Even if it costs me my life, I will obey that command.”
“......If you think you’re going to die, leave it to me and run.”
I wasn’t going to watch that happen again in this life.
The next day, I summoned Arisa to the Magic Tower.
That morning, I had purchased a thick tree trunk and gold through the Dwarves.
“A wand made only from wood won’t be durable enough, so weaving gold through it should solve that.”
It couldn’t break at a critical moment like the last one.
I carefully layered molten gold over the wooden branch.
At the tip, I created a removable mount where a magic stone could be inserted.
Arisa arrived just as I finished.
“Wow......”
Arisa couldn’t close her mouth when I handed her the Magic Wand.
She stared at it with eyes so delighted they practically dripped honey.
“It’s several times prettier than the one you made before. Thank you...... But how much did this cost?”
Arisa rummaged through her clothes and pulled out a pouch.
“I don’t think even everything in here would be enough...... I’ll definitely pay back the rest later.”
“Take this much for now,” she said, holding out the pouch.
“Forget it.”
“B-But after everything with the village too, I keep receiving things from you......”
This was repayment for the life she had risked to save me in my previous life.
Back then, I had only ever received from her.
Now I was finally paying her back.
“Think of it as a gift to celebrate becoming my disciple. If accepting it for free bothers you that much, you can keep following me around and helping me.”
“I will!”
Arisa immediately answered, gripping the Magic Wand tightly with both hands.
Her gaze moved toward the end of the wand.
“What’s this part?”
“You can attach a magic stone there. You don’t need one right now, but use it if you ever end up in danger.”
“How much did magic stones cost again? If I’m buying one, I should get something good enough to match the Magic Wand.”
I pointed at the necklace Arisa had said was a keepsake from her mother.
“The jewel on that necklace is a magic stone too. It can be attached and removed, so try it.”
Apparently, she hadn’t known.
“This is?”
She brought the necklace toward the Magic Wand.
The magic stone immediately emitted a brilliant white light.
“I should tell Mom I’ll put it to good use too.”
I didn’t know what memories Arisa was recalling.
But one thing was certain.
That wistful gaze of hers was far stronger than it had been in my previous life.
After finishing her Magic Wand, I began removing the seal from the Black Magic Sword now that its curse removal was complete.
If possible, I wanted to strengthen every weapon used by the Northern Knight Order and sell enchanted weapons to other territories at a high price as well.
But it took too much time, and I could already imagine what it would do to my shoulders, so I gave up.
Once I had Golems, I would make them do it.
Another two days passed.
“......Finally.”
Removing an already activated seal really wasn’t easy.
It was only possible because I had the Magic Forge.
Without it, even I couldn’t have done it.
I slowly read through the spell formulas embedded within the Black Magic Sword.
“It can absorb the mana of anyone struck by the blade, and techniques used through this sword consume twice as much mana in exchange for being infused with black flame.”
‘That’s good.’
I added another spell formula to the blade with my hand.
I was opening a channel so the sword could be used like a Magic Wand.
That took another half day of work.
My entire body was soaked with sweat.
My eyes were bloodshot.
At last, I extended the completed Black Magic Sword and cast a spell.
“Wind Cutter.”
Black flame wrapped around the blade-like wind before it slammed into the Magic Tower’s wall.
BOOM!
“Holy shit......”
Red flames blazed fiercely.
Unlike ordinary fire, they carried the power of black magic, making them difficult to extinguish.
I might have created a sword even more monstrous than I expected.
“I want to try it out...... Should I go on a subjugation tomorrow?”
The instant I muttered that—
A vivid blue window blocked my vision.
【Intruder detected near the southern gate.】
When the Magic Tower referred to an intruder, it meant a human who had entered the territory without using a gate.
“Who the hell is sneaking around at this hour?”
I grabbed the Black Magic Sword and headed toward the location indicated by the Magic Tower.
***
“Fuck. Security was tighter than I expected. Took me forever.”
Rex cursed as he climbed onto the wall and looked down over the territory.
“Something’s strange. Last time, all you had to do was pretend to be a merchant and they let you right in.”
This time, they had driven him away, saying he needed trade rights.
They told him those had to be issued during the period designated by the lord and ordered him to return a month later.
“Pain in the ass.”
At first, he had considered simply killing everyone at night and walking in.
He had even deliberately provoked the gatekeepers to gauge their strength.
“They were stronger than I expected...... Had a decent amount of magical power too.”
Five or six knights were also patrolling atop the wall.
One-on-one was one thing, but even Rex would have difficulty fighting several at once.
All of his techniques were specialized for single combat in the first place.
That was why he had taken longer than planned to find a blind spot.
The reason Rex had never failed an assassination was precisely because of this thoroughness.
Even when hunting a rabbit, he gave it everything he had.
There would be plenty of time to toy with his prey after catching it.
“After all this fucking trouble, I’m going to make him die painfully.”
“Who are you going to kill?”
A sword suddenly approached Rex’s neck along with the unexpected voice.
He reflexively raised a dagger to block.
CRASH―!
Overpowered by the impact, Rex was launched straight off the wall he had worked so hard to climb.
He landed among the withered trees beside the road and rolled across the ground two or three times.
Merely crossing blades once told him that his opponent was anything but ordinary.
“The Knight Captain?”
“That snake tattoo means you’re with the Viper Mercenary Corps, right? Don’t tell me Nasda sent you.”
Rex swallowed and raised daggers in both hands.
“They didn’t do anything like this in the past...... I suppose when the past changes, the future changes too. I’ll have to pay attention to more things.”
The moonlight gradually revealed the face of the man muttering incomprehensible words.
Rex knew that face.
“Lumio?”
Lumio didn’t answer.
He snapped his fingers.
Magical power spread outward in every direction with Lumio at the center.
“What are you doing?”
“I put up a barrier because I don’t want to make too much noise while everyone’s sleeping.”
“A barrier?”
Rex picked up a stone from the ground and threw it outward.
It failed to pass through and bounced back as though it had struck a wall.
“Are you fucking insane?”
A barrier trapped its caster inside as well.
And dispelling one took time.
The corners of Rex’s mouth rose.
“You must be desperate to die.”
“If you’re that eager to become a test subject like your subordinate, I have no reason to refuse.”
Lumio extended his pitch-black sword.
“This will hurt more than last time.”