Chapter 12. Sina Solbein(3)

Editor: Chazathan777

Juan smirked as he waved his hands.

“Basically I’m saying no.”

“Give it another thought.” I’m not offering with any ill intent. Right now, yes you are talented, but you also have glaring weaknesses. Join our order to fix those issues. With a little training, you will improve dramatically. No.. maybe you’ll even….”

Sina spoke in a serious tone.

“If everything goes right, you could become a Paladin and have grace bestowed upon you. That is, if you aren’t black haired by that time.”

“Grace?”

“Yes. Although grace is permitted only to those related to the church, our Majesty the Emperor is generous. I was stripped of my paladin status, yet there’s still grace left in me. If it’s you, I believe in the near future, we’ll be welcoming the new strongest person in the empire. Despite the fact that you’re black haired, there are exceptions. Just like Vares Valte nim is of half human descent.”

“What is grace?”

“…… So you’re competent with Valte swordsmanship, have the same name as the emperor, yet you don’t know anything about the emperor’s grace? Your teacher didn’t mention this?”

“I’ve already told you that I am self taught.”

“Your attempts to protect your teacher with excuses are admirable. I don’t really care about that, so just answer me with a bit more caution now… Grace is power that our divine, holy Emperor permits to those who follow his volition. Through that power, a glimpse of the Emperor’s strength is demonstrated.”

“I still don’t understand what this ‘grace’ is, but looking at how it affects you, I figure it’s not really all that helpful.”

The corners of Juan’s mouth rose as he smirked.

“Maybe your ‘Emperor’ isn’t who you imagine him to be?”

“Even though I’ve warned you to watch your mouth….”

Sina got up with a stern expression.

“Stand up. You’re only ridiculing the Emperor because you’re an outsider that’s never been in his majesty’s presence before. Little do you know, I’ve never once used grace during our fights.”

“Are you one of those folks who likes to make an excuse like, ‘I’m actually right handed’ when you’ve lost? Time to time, I’ve encountered those kinds of people.”

“I don’t let someone else’s ignorance affect what I say or do. But you would do well to be attentive, if you’re thinking about heading central. Because I want to raise you by any possible means, I will have to show force. Think of this as a lesson on the emperor’s solemnity.”

“Are you perhaps thinking, you’ll look impressive when speaking in wordy sentences?”

“Shut it!”

Sina’s face started to redden. She tilted her blade sideways and grabbed it with her left hand.

Juan had an interested expression on his face. While slightly different, it was a posture that he recognised.

Sina crouched then sped forwards as she swiftly let out a strike.

In a flash, an explosive light filled the entire practice hall.

Juan couldn’t help but be surprised at the sudden light.

Mana condensated on Sina’s sword and the energy was shot out with every strike she made.

Jjuckk! A sound echoed throughout.

The scarecrows placed around the field tumbled to the ground as they were cut in half.

Only Scarecrows placed 10m outside the field survived. The rest towards the right had all fallen.

“Did you see? This is the power of the emperor’s grace. And it’s only a small part of it. Grace can vary, and be used in different ways. This is the power that might be granted if you follow me.”

Sina didn’t look one bit tired even after displaying such a feat.

Her face had a look of victory. Having seen Juan’s surprised expression, she assumed he would feel intimidated.

But Juan was flustered for another reason.

‘This is…my mana?’

The light that came out from Sina was his own mana.

No, to be precise it was his mana when he was emperor.

Mana always had a person’s unique scent. The mana that Sina displayed had his scent all over it.Combining what Sina referred to as ‘grace’ and how most of his mana had disappeared when he resurrected, he guessed only one possible outcome could explain this.

His own mana was still left somewhere and was being used by others.

While it was being called grace, it was nothing but just simple magic.

The casting required mana, everything about this ‘grace’ was a by-product of stealing strength from the emperor.

The use of magic through prayer. That was the truth behind what Sina and the church were calling ’grace’.

And it was only permitted for the use of minority groups like priests and paladins.

Normally when one died, their mana naturally dissipated.

Yet somehow, it seemed like it was possible to stop it from dissipating. And on top of that, they named this ‘grace’ when finding that his mana could be distributed to one’s liking.

“You seem surprised. What do you think?”

“If you’re asking which side, I’ll tell you honestly that I find it interesting.”

He wanted to know the face of those who were using his stolen mana.

But Juan still had no thoughts of accepting her offer.

“But that’s all. I still don’t plan to join your order.”

“What? Why…”

Even a lowly being could quickly rise up in ranks, once they became a paladin.

The number of paladins were strictly limited as there were many people aiming for the position. Even to become a knight student, one had to be immensely talented.

“I’ve told you. I don’t have a teacher so I can’t tell you. No intentions of serving one now either.”

Technically, he did have one, but it was a magic teacher not a swordsmanship teacher.

So he felt like he didn’t lie saying that.

Sina bit her lip. If Juan wasn’t willing to cooperate then she had no way to persuade Daaron.

If Juan revealed his teacher then said he wanted to become Sina’s student, then she could save him by offering Daaron with something of equal value.

However, the way Juan was acting, evidently showed heresy.

Although Sina didn’t want to owe something to Daaron, she didn’t want to lose Juan here.

‘Rather, it would’ve been better if force worked against him.’

But Juan wasn’t an easy opponent. She also noticed Daaron’s soldiers were surveying them.

Sina let out a sigh.

“Words don’t get through to you huh.”

After dwelling for a while, Sina pulled out her ring from her finger and held it out to Juan.

A ring made for females yet Juan’s finger was even thinner than Sina’s.

Sina placed the ring on Juan’s thumb.

“It was passed down from my mother. With this you’ll be able to survive at least one more day.”

A silver ring with many exquisite minerals detailed on it. It looked like time had corroded part of it and treatment was done to preserve its beauty.

Juan felt a vigorous energy enter his body when the ring was placed.

The mana that flowed out from the ring was circulating inside his body and at the same time improving his physical attributes.

Without using any of his own mana, Juan felt he now had the strength of a young adult male.

Juans physical strength was already lacking quite a bit so the gap felt even bigger.

To a normal adult male, they would have felt their strength increase about 30%.

Juan asked while looking at the ring.

“Did your mother serve for the royal guard?”

“What? How did you…. Have you seen this ring before?”

Juan immediately thought ‘that’s because it’s the ring that I gave out to the royal guards’, but didn’t say anything. Sina would again be telling him to watch what comes out of his tongue.

Little by little, Juan was getting tired of Sina telling him off.

“I’ve heard about it before. But isn’t this something royal guards strictly pass down to their heirs?”

“You don’t know about the emperor’s grace, yet you know about this small detail…. Well okay. At least you have an idea of it’s worth. What the ring symbolises is more important than the magic inside it.”Sina’s mother had given it to her with hope that she would also become a royal guard.

But Sina had been sent to the empire’s outskirts after failing her duty to show faith during her time at the empire’s center.

It was highly unlikely Sina would ever become a royal guard.

“Usually, people would keep it with them until they come across a youth with potential to become their heir. Once you become a royal guard, the strength the ring provides becomes evermore essential. Of course not all people become a royal guard when given a ring, as there are plenty of cases where rings have gone missing. Once there were 300, yet I’ve heard less than 100 exist now.”

“Saying that, are you sure you can give this to me?”

“You are…..”

Sina looked at Juan who was behaving tactlessly.

“Live. What I’m asking you to do is to live on and come to the empire’s center.”

“Oh, so that’s what you meant.”

Juan clapped his hands as he smiled.

“Even if you didn’t give this to me, I was intending to go.”

Sina’s expression brightened as she heard Juan’s words.

Juan didn’t really say that to make Sina happy. It was far from the truth.

At the empire’s center, a guy was selling Juan’s name and forcing blood rituals in a far away settlement like Taltere?

On top of that, paladins? Church? Grace? It was getting out of hand.

Someone who killed gods in the past was being worshipped as a god. It was preposterous.

Juan’s chest started beating with a gloomy feeling. He needed to see with his own eyes, what sort of ridiculous work was being conducted in the empire’s center.

First kill Taltere, then after that, focus on the center of the empire.

When he goes, he’ll clearly show them how a god is killed.

They will pay the price for making the empire that he left behind a mess.

He will dye the empire’s center with their blood. Just like the arena inside the colosseum.

Sina faltered upon looking at Juan’s creepy smile. She felt as if she made a mistake.

As if she had awoken something that must not have been disturbed.

“Oh, didn’t you say this owner guy has a talent in show business?”

Juan asked while looking up at Sina.

“What? I guess he does, but….”

“Good. Then I’ll need to compromise with him somewhat.”

Before he returned, he first needed to take care of the God of Madness.

*****

Juan returned with soldiers guiding him back.

However, Sina stayed back and simply stared at the empty spot that Juan had left.

Her meeting with this boy had left a strange feeling.

“Sina nim.”

Ausrey who was hiding behind a wall came out.

“It’s going to be alright.”

“Are you sure? There’s a lot of suspicious things about him. It might cause problems down the line.”

“Just leave him be. He ain’t a bad person. I’ll take care of him.”

Like Ausrey said, there were many things that were suspicious about Juan.

Yet from him, Sina felt something even more than a familiarity with him.

This feeling was afflicting her fundamentals.

‘Just like when I saw the emperor’s flesh and blood.’

Sina quickly shook her thoughts away. Her foolish thoughts were an act of heresy.

To change her thoughts, she fired a question at Ausrey.

“Did you find any evidence about Taltere, God of Madness?”

“Ah, yes. Thanks to Sina nim distracting everyone’s attention away, we found some clues. Although it’s not certain, a blueprint that matches the one you showed before was found. From the blueprint design, the real intentions behind the colosseum was for it to be a giant device.

“Device?”

“Yes. Although we still need to check…..according to the blueprint design, deep in the colosseum’s dungeon, there is a large triangular pyramid shaped room. While it was made for a purpose similar to an underground water tank, we haven’t found out the real intentions behind it and its function. But if Daaron is using that space and knows what its function is, then it’s likely the clue we have been looking for.”

“Alright. There’s going to be a festival tomorrow so something is bound to happen. Till then, keep looking.”