An Ode to Divorce - Chapter 92

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#92

 

“Then who are we sending to Ceryneia?”

 

“Looking at it, that coachman who came with you, Orphea, seems quite skilled, so naturally we should send our side’s coachman.”

 

Castor answered my question immediately. However, the actual person in question, the coachman himself, asked somewhat uncertainly with a reluctant expression.

 

“Me? I-I’m not that fast at running. I was the last one to arrive just now too…”

 

He looked full of anxiety, worried about what would happen if he arrived too late and the party was completely wiped out.

 

“Besides, there are injured people here. For me to leave the injured behind is a bit…”

 

Linos’ coachman said this while glancing at Castor. More precisely, he was watching Pollux, who was acting sensitive beside Castor.

 

“Even though I’m injured, it’s not like I’d run away leaving civilians behind. I have pride as an expedition member and a hero!”

 

Castor said this while thumping his chest. Pollux also seemed to agree with Castor’s words, nodding with a displeased expression and adding:

 

“Even if he was a hero aspirant, in the end he’s still a civilian, isn’t he? That monster can’t be dealt with by someone of that level. Even if we’re injured, our survival probability is much higher.”

 

Still seeming unable to feel at ease despite Pollux’s words, the coachman’s gaze turned toward me.

 

“Then instead of me, there’s the young lady and the master too…”

 

“We need to play music to calm that monster down.”

 

“I never said I would do it.”

 

As soon as I spoke, Linos grumbled. But seeing that he didn’t volunteer to go himself, it seemed like he was just complaining with his mouth while thinking of others as usual.

 

Everyone agreed that the coachman should go. Schneider muttered calmly as if he had expected this.

 

“It seems everyone agrees. Well, since you don’t have to run, being slow shouldn’t matter.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

While the coachman looked bewildered, Schneider whistled.

 

Wheeeet!

 

And before long, the sound of hoofbeats could be heard – clip-clop, clip-clop.

 

“Neighhh!”

 

Ivory-colored fur and mane. Our house’s horse that had pulled my carriage was running toward us!

 

I had left the carriage at a distance and let the horse graze on nearby grass, but with all the commotion that had happened, I thought it would have run away long ago…

 

I wasn’t the only one confused by this situation, as Linos also muttered in disbelief.

 

“With that monster rampaging, not only did it not run away, but it’s running toward this chaos?”

 

“Haha… All of Orphea-nim’s horses are trained by Gert-nim.”

 

“What? When? I didn’t know about this?”

 

I jumped in surprise at hearing this story for the first time.

 

But it seemed I was the only one who didn’t know, as Pollux, who had ridden in the carriage with me, had an expression that said ‘I thought so.’

 

“I wondered about that. It was strange that Orphea had such a good horse. That’s a Pegasus bloodline, right? I heard there are a few at Lübenhartz.”

 

“That’s correct.”

 

Schneider answered Pollux’s words while helping the coachman mount the horse. The coachman, who never imagined he would ride a horse of the famous Pegasus bloodline, stroked the horse’s mane with an ecstatic look even in this urgent situation.

 

“Here!”

 

I handed the coachman a circular pendant slightly smaller than my palm without delay. This was the real Artume’s emblem that would allow entry into Ceryneia Forest.

 

After confirming that the emblem was secured, Schneider gave his final instructions.

 

“We can’t hold out for very long.”

 

“I’ll be back quickly!”

 

The coachman immediately grasped the reins. Then he kicked the horse’s belly with his heels. As soon as the horse was stimulated, it shot forward. I widened my eyes at the speed, incomparable to when it was pulling the carriage.

 

“It’s really fast.”

 

After the coachman left like that, before long the dryads who had been buying them time fell one by one with screams.

 

Kyaaaaaaah!

 

Thud, thud!

 

“Hah…”

 

Now they really had to deal with it themselves. Though he had stepped forward confidently earlier, now tension seemed to be causing anxiety to surge, as Castor muttered uneasily.

 

“Can we really provoke that monster, some shadow of an ancient god or whatever? If attention accidentally turns toward Orphea…”

 

“We have the sacred artifacts of the Tindal Count’s family, so it should be fine.”

 

Schneider answered with a confident voice. Along with the Keraunos that Castor was holding, there was also Pollux’s Astrape.

 

Schneider’s gaze fell on the Keraunos in Castor’s hand. Schneider carefully asked while watching Castor’s reaction.

 

“If it wouldn’t be rude, could I borrow the Keraunos? I think that would be better.”

 

“…Are sacred artifacts the weakness of that monster or something? Hmph, are you worried I can’t attack properly just because I’m a bit injured? I have enough stamina to cut that thing’s throat.”

 

Castor snorted with a confident expression, as if telling him not to even dream of borrowing his weapon.

 

Schneider calmly shook his head despite Castor’s wariness.

 

“Sacred artifacts aren’t the weakness of ancient gods, but rather the complete opposite.”

 

“The opposite?”

 

“Yes. Ancient gods all go into a frenzy when they see traces of the current gods who cast them into the underworld. Just by holding this weapon, that thing will turn its attention away from Orphea-nim and Linos-nim.”

 

“Oh…”

 

Schneider knew more than I had thought. I quietly admired him.

 

‘No wonder Berta insisted that Schneider must be brought along…’

 

If it hadn’t been for Schneider, we wouldn’t have had any idea about that monster’s identity.

 

After hearing Schneider’s words, Castor stared intently at the Keraunos in his hand. Soon he quietly passed the Keraunos he was holding to Schneider.

 

“Come to think of it, I don’t think my stamina has recovered that much… Want to use this instead of me?”

 

***

 

Graaaaaaah!

 

“To the left!”

 

“Okay!”

 

Just as Schneider had said, the monster’s eyes went wild when it encountered the revealed Keraunos and Astrape. The monster showed incomparable violence compared to before as it attacked the two sacred artifacts.

 

Bang!

 

Crack!

 

Every time the monster swung its hands, tree trunks fell with thuds as if they were mere twigs being broken. Wherever Typhon passed, shoots were crushed, and as things that might have been tails or legs were swung around, trees were uprooted entirely.

 

The dense forest turned into a clearing in an instant.

 

Castor took advantage of the monster’s focus being concentrated on the two people to attempt attacks from blind spots.

 

But as Schneider had said, the monster showed no sign of paying attention to Castor at all.

 

While Castor could attack the monster comfortably, the situation for Pollux and Schneider wasn’t so easy.

 

Compared to the two ordinary humans, the monster was much taller and its arms were long even relative to its height.

 

Still, Keraunos could adjust the length of the weapon, and Astrape was a sacred artifact that returned when thrown. Fortunately, both weapons had abilities optimized for dealing with monsters, so the two could face the monster while maintaining distance.

 

I quietly admired Schneider as he handled the Keraunos as skillfully as if it were his own.

 

‘Sacred artifacts must be quite difficult to handle.’

 

During the expedition, all the heroes had shown interest in sacred artifacts at some point. Everyone had rushed forward saying they wanted to try using them, but only Gert could handle both weapons as well as the twins.

 

Gert swung both sacred artifacts a few times, then soon threw the weapons back to the twins with an indifferent attitude as if he had lost interest. The twins’ faces, who had been ready to tease Gert if he couldn’t handle them, contorted.

 

Seeing that scene made me curious about how difficult it was to handle sacred artifacts.

 

Since I couldn’t handle weapons, it was hard for me to understand what made them so difficult to use. So I had casually asked Zyla about it once.

 

“You’re called a divine archer and skillfully use spears and battle axes too. But even for you it’s difficult?”

 

“I could feel a strange repulsive force from the weapons. I heard that among sacred artifacts, there are some that won’t even let you touch them unless you worship a specific god. Even if it’s not to that extent, they seem quite picky about people.”

 

“But Gert handled them well.”

 

“Alkides, who received divine blessing, is an exception!”

 

Zyla cried out as if wronged. Then she clicked her tongue while watching Astrape slip out of other heroes’ grips and move on its own.

 

“To handle such a temperamental weapon well, you’d need to be of Tindal family bloodline, a devotee of Dike, or someone exceptionally skilled with weapons.”

 

‘…I don’t think Schneider was particularly a devotee of Dike.’

 

And he wouldn’t be a distant branch of the Tindarga family either, so the remaining answer was that Schneider’s skills were that exceptional.

 

‘What is his real identity?’

 

In any case, thanks to that I could breathe a sigh of relief. While the others bought time like that, Linos and I prepared to play together.

 

“It’s been a while since we’ve played together.”

 

“Indeed it has.”

 

“What song should we play?”

 

“For times like this, it’s gotta be Number 5.”

 

“Ugh.”

 

I shuddered slightly at Linos’s suggestion. Since we’d been forced to spend time together in various ways since childhood, we had quite a few duet pieces we’d practiced together.

 

When I was around six years old, Linos had lured me into being chased by the neighbor’s dog by promising to teach me difficult playing techniques if I helped him steal quinces from the neighbor’s garden.

 

While I was desperately running away, Linos himself secretly tried to climb over the fence to pick the quinces, but in the end, the dog that had switched targets completely tore apart the seat of Linos’s pants with its teeth.

 

After that incident, both Linos and I developed some kind of strange stubbornness and struggled to somehow get those quinces.

 

In our continued battle with the neighbor’s dog, we employed every possible means to calm that dog down.

 

Through several failures in that process, we finally completed what became this improperly titled ‘Number 5 Song.’

 

A duet piece meant to calm beasts that showed displeasure with everything in the world. This song could solve most problems with violent beasts.

 

‘Of course, it doesn’t work on opponents with a purpose, like the golden-horned deer trying to get back its lost child, but that monster doesn’t seem to have anything like that.’

 

If it was just violent, it was worth trying once.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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