Chapter 100: The Early Bird Catches the Worm (2)

The airship continued its journey without incident after leaving the Continent of Fall.

Even an hour later, the twins were still pressed against the window, gazing out at the view.

Is it really that fascinating?

Although Louis hadn’t traveled overseas in his previous life, he had flown to Jeju Island by plane before. As such, flying through the sky didn’t particularly impress him. However, this seemed like a novel experience for the twins.

“We’re high!”

“Look how incredibly high we’re flying!”

For dragons, their wings were always considered vulnerable spots—especially the membrane itself. That was why hatchlings weren’t allowed to fly too high until their wing muscles fully developed. The concern was that any sudden mishap could damage the delicate membrane. Apart from when they’d been carried past Earth’s atmosphere on their fathers’ backs while heading towards Silver Flower Castle, this marked the first time they’d reached such lofty heights.

It was truly amazing, but Louis had his mind on something else at that moment.

On the spacious bed lay several items scattered about—this was actually why Louis insisted on having separate quarters from Page so she wouldn’t see these things:

The unsealed Dragon Slayer Sword; samples of Mind Conversion Material obtained after leaving the academic festival; and Hero King’s Forbidden Magic acquired during their near-death experience in the Winter Continent.

Among them, the Dragon Slayer Sword and Hero King’s Forbidden Magic held particular significance for Louis.

With these two artifacts, I now possess everything needed to become Sword Saint Kendrick.

Whether by chance or destiny, he found himself holding all the tools necessary to forge a future sword saint.

If Louis sealed away the Dragon Slayer Sword, Sword Saint would never come into existence. However, he had no intention of doing so.

Why waste something this powerful?

Although it wasn’t yet time for Hidden Piece to reveal itself and unseal the dragon sword, Hero King’s Forbidden Magic was a different matter altogether.

I should start honing this skill too.

Louis hadn’t been able to dedicate much time to training due to various circumstances over the past two years—planning their route across continents, taking care of his overly enthusiastic twin cousin, and dealing with unexpected situations as they arose. Despite these challenges, his efforts allowed them to make significant progress towards home.

Now that we’ve crossed half the continent during autumn, I think there’ll be plenty of time left to reach our destination. From now on, perhaps we can afford to move at a slightly more leisurely pace.

Of course, this leisure time would be devoted to self-improvement.

First, I’ll gradually master the Hero King’s forbidden magic. The remaining time will be…

Louis’s gaze shifted towards the mind conversion material.

In some ways, the mind conversion material might have been more valuable to Louis than either the Hero King’s forbidden magic or the Dragon Slayer Sword.

“A product of miraculous coincidences…”

The mages of Watt of Radiant Glory had initially devised the mind conversion material. However, even they didn’t understand the underlying principles behind its creation. They had simply stumbled upon a formula by mixing various substances until it produced the desired effect.

When Louis first learned of this, he was both incredulous and excited, seeing it as an opportunity.

This is revolutionary!

It could completely overturn the established system of sacred scriptures.

If I can just figure out how attributes interact and substitute for each other…

His discovery would propel his sacred scripture to a new level—no, even higher than that.

Louis’s heart raced at the thought as he carefully stored away those three precious items.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Pablo and Page appeared almost instantly after Louis gave permission.

They gathered in the middle of the room.

Louis turned to Page. “What’s our plan?”

“We need to find where they’re hiding the loot first.”

“You don’t suspect anything yet?”

“I’m sure there’s some secret compartment hidden within the airship…but we haven’t been able to locate it so far. We must pinpoint its exact location. Finding out where the item is will determine eighty percent of whether or not our theft succeeds. Pablo and I will go search together.”

The plan was set for the last day of our journey: to intercept the stolen goods mid-flight. We couldn’t risk anyone discovering their disappearance along the way. The scheme called for both cargo and thieves to vanish once the voyage ended.

Our trip would take two weeks total—a long time if you’re bored stiff, but short when you’ve got a deadline hanging over your head. As long as no foul weather cropped up, we’d reach the Summer Continent in fourteen days. That meant I had to find where they were hiding the loot within that timeframe.

Louis grinned widely at me. “Don’t worry too much. Knowing how this might go down, I sent out my best search team.”

“Search team?”

Only then did Page notice Kai’s absence from the room.

“Kai?”

Somewhere on this airship lay a secret hideaway. When it came to searching every nook and cranny without being caught, there was no one better than Kai. After all, she’d helped her like this many times before.

However, Louis shook his head.

“I told you already. It’s a ‘team.’”

“…?” Page looked perplexed as Louis gave her a meaningful smile.

Meanwhile, at that moment…

Scritch-scratch.

“Let’s go, Whitey!”

Keekee!

Kai and Fin were moving along the ceiling pipes of the airship. Having received special orders from Louis, they began thoroughly searching every corner of it. Their combination proved remarkably efficient, justifying Louis’s choice of them as the best search team on board.

About a week later, the search party led by Louis achieved its first success.

“Sir Louis! I found something!” Fin exclaimed excitedly.

Louis had been gazing out the window at the dark night sky, but upon hearing Fin’s voice, he lit up immediately.

“Oh! Where? Show me!”

The airship continued its journey without incident. After a safe voyage of about a week, it landed on an island.

“Hurry up!”

“We’re leaving soon!”

This was an island where the crew replenished supplies like food and fuel during their travels. They would transfer large quantities of goods via sea before loading them onto the airship mid-flight.

With the ship temporarily docked, around 150 passengers and crew members began quickly unloading supplies. The process took roughly three hours, with countless boxes neatly stacked in the vast warehouse.

“Take off!”

Once everything was ready, the airship rose back into the sky, continuing its journey.

Time passed…

Creak.

A man entered as the storage room door opened. He was the storekeeper. Without turning on any lights, he spoke into the darkness:

“There’s no one here.”

No sooner had he spoken than something strange occurred within the warehouse.

Fwump.

The tightly packed large box began to rattle.

Shunk!

A black figure abruptly shot out from within it.

Similar phenomena occurred throughout the warehouse, numbering dozens in total.

In the darkness, a single bright white eye observed the storehouse keeper.

“Good work.”

“It’s nothing. However, one problem has arisen.”

“A problem?”

“The prepared poison can no longer be used. It broke when I collided with some brat… And due to our imminent departure time, there was no chance to obtain more. It seems our plan will be…”

“That doesn’t matter. Whether they die by poison or by sword, their fate is sealed either way. Proceed as planned.”

”…Understood. Then I’ll inform you when the time comes. Leave the handling of the warehouse entrance to me; feel free to rest comfortably.”

“I see.”

Nod.

The brief flash of the white eye disappeared back into the shadows.

“Um… aren’t you comfortable?”

Page found herself sharing a room with Pablo. Having spent 20 years underground and weathering all sorts of hardships, she didn’t feel much burden about sharing space with someone of the opposite sex.

But it seemed her companion felt otherwise.

“I-I-I’m perfectly fine like this!”

“You don’t look even slightly comfortable though.”

“N-no, I assure you! I’m very content right now!”

Pablo sat bolt upright on the bed, his posture rigid as if he’d been carved from stone. He had maintained this position for an entire week now, leaving Page feeling more uncomfortable just looking at him than anything else.

She gazed at Pablo with fresh eyes.

He looks like he could be up to no good, but his actions are utterly innocent.

She had been wary of him taking advantage while she slept, but even then, he maintained his distance. She was genuinely curious when he managed to rest.

Whenever they pretended to be a couple and walked arm in arm, slight touches of their chests would make Pablo blush furiously, turning his rugged face bright red.

Hmm… Is that what it feels like?

Page gazed at Pablo with slightly narrowed eyes before approaching him with a mischievous grin. She carefully positioned herself next to him on the bed, subtly inching closer as if testing her boundaries.

Pablo flinched in surprise. “U-um, this is my side of the bed?”

“So what? We’re sharing the room anyway! It’s all the same whether I sit here or there.” As Page spoke, she continued to edge closer to Pablo, barely perceptibly encroaching on his personal space.

Though Kai teased her about being a thirty-nine-year-old spinster, Page was confident that during her prime, she had made countless men fall for her charms. Seducing this naive man would be child’s play.

With a coy smile, Page asked, “So… tell me…”

“Why, why do you ask?” Pablo stammered, his face so red it seemed ready to burst like an overripe tomato. It was as if steam might rise from him if he put down the teapot.

Enjoying his reaction, Page posed the question she’d been curious about: “What exactly is your relationship with that old hag?”

”…Pardon?”

“That monstrous creature… Who on earth is he?”

At Page’s question, Pablo’s flushed face gradually returned to its normal color. He looked at her with a slightly hardened expression.

Pablo had seemed on the verge of blurting out everything at any moment. But his reaction was unexpected.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Huh? Oh, no reason… I just can’t help but think that kid isn’t an ordinary child.”

In my travels around the world, I’ve met many people and occasionally encountered prodigies with extraordinary talents. But never had I seen a child like this who could so easily manipulate others.

What a monstrous brat!

This child was a monster who could effortlessly control me using sacred scriptures. To deal with him properly, I needed to uncover his true identity somehow. So, I decided to coax it out of the naive man he’d ensnared:

“I’m afraid I cannot reveal that information,” Pablo replied firmly.

His determination was so absolute that one might suspect he wasn’t the same person whose face had been flushed just moments ago.

Page stared at him in bewilderment.

Pablo gazed back with calm yet profound eyes as he warned her:

“Don’t try to understand it deeply. The moment you do… you’ll be drawn further into the abyss.”

”…”

“I only hope such a thing doesn’t happen,” Pablo continued softly.

A chill ran down Page’s spine at his words.

It was because she saw the despair reflected in Pablo’s eyes.

Seriously… who is this kid?!

With that, their conversation came to an abrupt end.

Suddenly…

Bam! Bam!

The door was violently pounded upon.

Overwhelmed by the awkward atmosphere, both Page and Pablo rushed towards the door simultaneously.

As they both reached for the doorknob at once, their hands brushed ever so slightly.

Click.

”…”

Both flinched back, withdrawing their hands as if burned.

An awkward silence settled over them once again.

Bam! Bam!

The impatient knocking grew louder, breaking the tension.

Pablo finally opened the door.

There stood Louis, his face a thundercloud of anger.

“What were you doing taking so long to open the door?”

Caught off guard by that hostile glare, Pablo waved his hands defensively.

“N-no, nothing was wrong!”

Seeing Pablo’s ears flushed red only intensified Louis’s suspicion.

”…”

”…”

Pablo turned pale at Louis’s brutal warning and shook his head vigorously. It was a gesture of complete innocence, as if saying he hadn’t done anything wrong.

Just then, another voice came to Pablo’s rescue.

“What seems to be the problem?” Page asked.

Louis remembered why they were here. “I found it!” he exclaimed excitedly.

Page immediately understood what he meant. After all, she had been pretending to be married to Pablo for the past week for this very reason.

“Where is it?” she asked intently.

“In the bridge,” Louis replied quietly.