The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 114

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 114
The group followed Karl down the path. Thanks to his intimate knowledge of these grounds, they navigated without losing their way.
“But why were you tumbling about when you came in?”
Olivier pointed sharply at the scrapes covering Karl’s body. Karl, looking sheepish, covered the wound on his forearm with his hand.
“I come this way all the time, but I wasn’t careful and ended up stumbling over myself······.”
Karl’s voice came thin and small. Thanks to Tiel’s soft light illuminating the surroundings, they could see the tips of his ears burning red.
Tiel’s fish circled around the group, as if objecting to their direction—opposite from the one it had been shown.
“I have something I need to do. Once this is finished, I’ll go where you’re leading us. Understood? So stop being upset, little, good-hearted fish.”
As Tiel soothed the creature gently, the fish soon ceased its circling and moved forward again, illuminating the path.
As they proceeded behind Karl, the knights occasionally showed signs of worry, but they said nothing more.
Beast-people living in this land—creatures that until now had seemed like beings from myth. They were certainly alive, but no one had ever truly observed how they lived, so they remained perpetually shrouded in mystery.
Yet these very creatures were now in danger······ Before being a bodyguard knight, he couldn’t simply abandon his own kind.
As they walked forward, half curious and half anxious, something that resembled firelight appeared in the distance. Tiel’s eyes widened.
“Firelight?”
“Luminous Stones. I’ve never seen so many collected in one place······.”
Iandros replied. Luminous Stones were extraordinarily rare—a mineral presented only to the imperial court. Even Iandros had seen only a handful.
Yet in the distant village, Luminous Stones lay piled upon one another. The children marveled at the sight as they moved forward.
The dimly visible luminescence of the Luminous Stones. Karl gazed at the faintly glimmering light and murmured low.
“But this too is the last······.”
“Why?”
“No more Luminous Stones have been mined. It coincides with the time when the beast-people began to die.”
Ferdi, sensing something amiss, narrowed his eyes and asked.
“Luminous Stones don’t lose their light unless they’re broken or shattered, do they?”
“But the darkness here can’t be overcome by ordinary light. The Luminous Stones begin to lose their light from the moment they’re extracted, and eventually······ they become mere stones, completely dark······.”
“······Karl?”
Just then, an unfamiliar voice called out to the boy. Karl stopped mid-sentence and turned sharply toward the source of the sound.
Tiel instinctively shone her light in that direction. There stood an adult man—a man who appeared older than Cassius.
“What is this······ Ugh!”
“Please, take away the light!”
Karl asked quickly. Tiel realized her mistake then. Before this, Karl had told her that ‘the beast-people living here are sensitive even to small amounts of light.’ She’d simply forgotten momentarily.
Tiel quickly withdrew her Ability. Darkness swallowed the space in an instant. Because of this, no one could see Tiel’s face turn deathly pale with remorse.
“Karl, what—what is all this? Who are these people? And what I just saw······.”
“Uncle Eren!”
Karl threw himself into Eren’s arms. Eren instinctively lifted the small boy up and held him close. Karl wrapped both arms tightly around Eren’s neck and cried out with delight.
“Everything is going to be okay now! The Light Ability has appeared, the Light Ability has appeared! Haha!”
Eren, still looking befuddled, patted Karl’s back and murmured.
“······The Light Ability, you say?”
Eren turned his head to look at the children. The children and the knights could not see Karl’s and Eren’s faces once the light went out, but Eren and Karl were different—they had lived their entire lives in this darkness and were accustomed to it. They could see the children’s faces clearly without any light at all.
After a moment’s thought, Eren carefully set Karl down. Then, he turned toward Tiel and asked carefully.
“If I may ask, could you show me the Light Ability once more?”
Eren’s eyes were perfectly calm, his voice utterly grave. Tiel, who had been listening intently to voices coming from the darkness, slowly nodded.
“Yes, of course. It’s no trouble at all.”
Tiel carefully used her Ability. She held only the faintest glimmer of light in her palm, making sure it wouldn’t reach Karl and Eren standing at a distance.
The light trembling within her hand, as though it might spill over at any moment, soon settled and grew still.
Upon witnessing this miracle, Eren’s expression hardened further. He stroked Karl’s head and asked.
“I know this boy couldn’t have left these lands. Noble ones, what brings you to this place?”
Only Karl noticed that Eren’s expression had become even more rigid after confirming the Light Ability.
‘Why is Uncle like this?’
According to legend passed down through generations, the Light Ability was the miraculous power that could break the curse of this land and bring forth morning. They should all have been overjoyed—that they would no longer have to live in darkness. And yet······.
Eren’s expression looked as though he found their visit troublesome. Karl, unable to comprehend the situation, looked back and forth between Eren’s and Tiel’s faces.
Then, Iandros, who had been observing quietly all this while, stepped forward.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Crown Prince Iandros Crasion of the Crasion Empire.”
“······The Crown Prince, Your Highness?”
Eren’s eyes widened in disbelief.
This land was subordinate to Crasion, but it had long since fallen outside the empire’s direct rule. Naturally so—the Imperial Palace lacked the means to tend to such a cursed place.
Yet suddenly, the Crown Prince himself had walked to this very place. For Eren, it was certainly a cause for alarm. Only then did he grasp the gravity of the situation, and he bowed his head respectfully.
“First, allow me to escort you to the village.”
***
“So······.”
Illum looked toward Eren. Eren nodded.
“These people are truly the heirs of the great houses······ is that right?”
He murmured in disbelief. Understandably so. Why would the heirs of the empire’s most prominent houses come to such a place?
Yet he could not help but believe it. For they had each demonstrated their Abilities to prove they were indeed heirs to their respective houses.
Ferdi Asterian and Ludian Asterian displayed Flame.
Olivier Wolfgang displayed Wind.
Clemens Arne displayed Greenwood.
And finally······ Tiel Asterian displayed the Light Ability.
Crown Prince Iandros did not demonstrate his Ability, but there was no need. Since those accompanying him had proven their identities, the fact that Iandros was the Crown Prince of the empire required no further proof.
Furthermore, the imperial seal was embroidered on the knights’ uniforms. Illum had never once in his lifetime imagined he would receive ‘knights sent from the Imperial Palace,’ and so he was bewildered.
“We have no time for lengthy explanations. We must confirm the situation and depart quickly. Karl told us that the beast-people here are dying from an Unknown Disease.”
“······Yes, that is correct.”
“The imperial physician will examine their condition and provide appropriate treatment to alleviate it. Guide the physician to where they are.”
At Iandros’s words, Illum gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
“They are afflicted with a disease where their flesh rots if exposed to light. If the imperial physician were to shine light while examining them, their condition would only worsen.”
Upon hearing Illum’s words, Iandros’s brow furrowed. He hadn’t known the situation was dire enough that they couldn’t bear light even for the brief duration of an examination.
“Then I must respectfully decline.”
“Are you the one in charge of this land?”
“Yes, I am. Forgive my late introduction—I am Illum Lainerus.”
Illum bowed his head respectfully. Iandros nodded reluctantly. He couldn’t compel people to be examined if examination itself might worsen their condition—the situation admitted no other course.
After all, they need only accomplish the purpose for which they’ve come. Just as Iandros was about to speak to Illum about their objective, it happened.
“Uh, well, Illum.”
Tiel spoke up carefully. Every person in the room turned to look at her. The small girl ran forward and seized Karl’s hand.
“This boy kept receiving my light just now, but he was fine.”

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