The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 90

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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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The Strongest in Our Neighborhood (90)
Kairox felt cold sweat trickling down his back as he studied the figure he suspected to be a dragon.
‘I’ve always thought that when I finally met the dragon who sealed off the sea with sea mist, I’d have to kill it. Damn it all—with thousands of soldiers’ lives hanging in the balance, I can’t afford to fight. I’ll have to beg first, and if that fails, resort to a surprise attack.’
As Kairox stood there wrestling with these conflicting thoughts, the green-skinned man who had mended the mage Aleingde Mir’s arm spoke again.
“Old mage. I fixed your arm out of respect for old times, but why are you tattling to me about this human cutting off your arm and stealing your Pocket Dimension goods? Do you think I’m going to take revenge on your behalf?”
“Ah, well… that is… isn’t it reason enough to be angry that this man stole the Dragon Bone Knight that you entrusted me with?”
“When I handed over the Dragon Bone Knight to you, I said you only needed to repay me four thousand Gold later. I happen to have more than four thousand Gold here, so take that amount from this pile and we’re even, aren’t we? As for mending your arm, consider that a service.”
Once Noxkasarsis had taken four thousand Gold from the items he withdrew from his Pocket Dimension, Aleingde Mir’s mind grew troubled.
If he drew the line like this, there was no way for him to survive.
‘The dragon is cold-hearted. I’ll have to beg Marquis Jang Gain to live!’
“Marquis Jang Gain. I committed a terrible wrong last time. I’ll give you all the money I have left—please, spare my life.”
Jang Gain, who had been assessing the Commanding General Kairox with his eyes, tilted his head at Aleingde Mir’s sudden plea.
“Master Aleingde Mir seems to be in quite a rush. When you haggled down the price of my Dragon Bone Knight to a thousand Gold, you seemed far more confident.”
“I truly had no money then—that’s why I could only offer a thousand Gold.”
“Then you have plenty of money now? Did you repay Noxkasarsis’s debt?”
“Yes.”
“Yet this Chimera—looking familiar to my eye, I’d say everything here was withdrawn from your Pocket Dimension.”
“Yes. I did withdraw everything in my Pocket Dimension as Commanding General Kairox threatened, to save my disciple Laila, but I assure you it’s all mine.”
That was when Commanding General Kairox suddenly interjected.
“Mage Aleingde Mir, what are you talking about? Didn’t you swear an Oath sworn by Aura and Mana? That you would surrender everything in your Pocket Dimension in exchange for sparing you and your disciple?”
“I did force you to swear such an oath so that my disciple and I could live, but the condition itself was unjust, wasn’t it? You threatened to kill us if we didn’t hand over what was in the Pocket Dimension—how could anyone refuse?”
“Regardless of whether the condition was unjust, since you swore the oath by my Aura and your Mana, all of this now belongs to me.”
“You lunatic brigand! That was our only path to survival—how can you call that fair? Stop playing word games!”
“If you feel so wronged, then break the oath. But as a mage, you should know that breaking an oath sworn by Aura and Mana invites terrible backlash.”
“You—you dog of a brigand… Ugh! Master Noxkasarsis. Please, use your dragon’s power to nullify this unjust oath between this brigand and me. I am too aggrieved!”
“Why should I trouble myself with that? I’ve said it before—you and I are not close.”
Then Jang Gain tilted his head.
“Wait. What kind of backlash does breaking an oath sworn by Aura and Mana cause, that Master Aleingde Mir is so desperate?”
“Once you break an oath sworn by Aura and Mana, your Aura and Mana cease to obey their master’s will. That’s why oaths sworn by Mana must be taken with utmost care. And it’s best to avoid them altogether.”
“If they stop obeying their master’s will… does that mean Master Aleingde Mir wouldn’t be able to cast magic anymore?”
“Exactly. His body would still be brimming with Mana, so he could live long and healthy, but he’d never cast magic again.”
“Is that backlash effective even if it was an oath sworn under duress, with no choice?”
“Yes. An oath is effective no matter the circumstances in which it was sworn.”
“Then you’re capable of nullifying such oaths with your own power?”
“I am. So can Virus. But humans have a hard time with it. Of course, if a human’s magic reached the Archmage tier, it would become possible, but there’s no such master mage in this world, I’d say.”
“Ah, I see. But if you ask me, this rubs me the wrong way.”
“Hmm? What bothers you?”
“That Commanding General Kairox used his strength and power to force an Oath sworn by Aura and Mana, and then emptied Master Aleingde Mir’s Pocket Dimension. That’s what happened, right?”
“Well, that’s the result of it, yes.”
“Then could I do the same thing—use the same method to empty all of that man’s assets?”
“With your strength, there’s nothing stopping you. After all, that man already pillaged the old mage the same way.”
“Perfect, then. Listen, Commanding General Kairox.”
“Y-yes? What is it?”
Kairox addressed him respectfully because he believed Jang Gain to be a dragon.
“You heard what was just said? All the wealth you stole from Master Aleingde Mir—I’m planning to take it all. So what will you do? Should I force you to swear an Oath sworn by Aura and Mana and take it, or would you prefer to give it to me voluntarily?”
“I’ll give it to you voluntarily. Take it all.”
“Good, you’re quick on the uptake. So everything here now belongs to me, correct?”
“Yes.”
Once Jang Gain opened his Pocket Dimension and swept in all the Chimeras, the materials for making Chimeras, jewels, and Gold Coins, Aleingde Mir’s eyes went wide.
“Marquis Jang Gain’s Pocket Dimension shouldn’t be that large—how does all of this fit?”
“Ah, this one. When Noxkasarsis saw my Spatial Bag, he said it was crude and gave it some work.”
“The dragon himself modified your Spatial Bag? How much capacity does it have now?”
“He said he expanded the space you created by about five hundred times.”
“F-five hundred times? How is that even…! At that rate, you could fit dozens of carriages inside the bag.”
“It’s a dragon, after all.”
“Y-yes, of course. But Marquis Jang Gain, while I said I’d give you the money, I never said I’d give you the Chimeras and Chimera materials. Why did you put those in your Pocket Dimension as well?”
“The money is the price for saving you and Miss Laila. The rest is what I received from Commanding General Kairox.”
“What? But those were clearly mine?”
“They were yours, Master Aleingde Mir. But because you swore an Oath sworn by Aura and Mana, they became Commanding General Kairox’s. And I, having the strength to do so, took them from him the same way.”
“So it all comes down to the law of force. Sigh… I understand.”
“You’re sighing as though the ground itself is about to collapse.”
“What else am I supposed to do but sigh?”
“Depending on how Aleingde Mir treats me going forward, I might be able to return some of what I’ve taken. So please, don’t lose all hope.”
Aleingde Mir’s eyes widened in an instant.
“You mean to say you’d accept me back into the party?”
“At least while we’re escaping this place, shouldn’t you stay with us? It seems quite dangerous to leave you behind.”
“Ah! Understood. I’ll travel with you for now and serve the Duke Jang Gain loyally.”
“You don’t need to go that far. Just don’t short-change me or try to swindle me.”
“Of course not. I swear I’ll never do anything so foolish again. I’ll stake my Mana on this oath.”
“I’ve heard how dangerous an oath sworn by Mana can be, so please don’t make one to me.”
General Kairox, listening to the exchange between Jang Gain and Aleingde Mir, tilted his head in confusion.
“Wait, I thought I just heard you say ‘Duke Jang Gain’… Are you perhaps a nobleman from some kingdom who’s here for amusement?”
“Ah, I’m not a dragon. I’m human—a Duke of the Smed Kingdom.”
“How does a Duke of the Smed Kingdom come to be traveling with dragons?”
“Well, I ended up going around with them one way or another. It’s a long story.”
“Is that so?”
Though Jang Gain claimed to be human, General Kairox did not believe him.
Jang Gain continued.
“The two dragons came here to exchange prisoners from the Kram Empire with those from the Bermuda Allied Kingdom.”
“What? Suddenly, what are you saying? Exchange prisoners?”
“Before we arrived, I spoke with the Emperor of Kram, and he consented to a prisoner exchange. So I was hoping you would consent as well.”
“That’s a matter I must refer to our Commander-in-Chief, Druper Luxina. I can’t make such a decision on my own.”
“Is that so? Then where is King Druper Luxina?”
“His Majesty’s health has declined somewhat, so he returned to the Alpana Kingdom.”
“Even if he’s unwell, surely we can communicate, can’t we?”
“Yes, I’ll contact him through a Communication Device and ask for his opinion.”
“Then I’m counting on you.”
“Yes. But before that, what’s to become of our sleeping soldiers and knights? Surely they won’t remain asleep forever?”
“Depending on what King Druper Luxina decides, the soldiers and knights may either slip into eternal sleep or awaken at once.”
“You mean to say that if we don’t carry out the prisoner exchange, you’ll kill all the soldiers?”
“That does seem like a distinct possibility, doesn’t it?”
General Kairox clenched his teeth hard as he listened to Jang Gain’s words.
The words were delivered politely, but the content was a vicious threat.
“Then I suppose I must persuade His Majesty with all my might.”
“Precisely. If you want to keep the soldiers from falling into eternal sleep, you’ll need to truly do your very best.”
“Understood.”
Shortly after, the Communication Device connected, and King Druper Luxina appeared, his complexion clearly sickly.
“Your Majesty! This is Kairox Demen.”
-Hmm! General Kairox. What is the matter?
“A dragon put all of our soldiers to sleep with magic just now. And regarding the prisoners taken from the Kram Empire…”
As General Kairox explained the situation in detail and spoke of the prisoner exchange, King Druper Luxina’s face visibly twitched.
-Having created such a situation, is there anyone who could refuse a prisoner exchange?
“Indeed. So shall we proceed with the prisoner exchange with the Kram Empire?”
-We must. But ask them to promise that the sleeping soldiers will definitely be awakened.
“I’ll assure him that will be guaranteed.”
-Then proceed with the exchange.
“Understood.”
After the communication ended shortly thereafter, when General Kairox announced that approval for the prisoner exchange had been obtained, Jang Gain nodded.
“But King Druper Luxina’s complexion looked quite poor. Is it an illness the kingdom’s healers cannot cure?”
“The kingdom has many excellent healers, so they will surely cure it.”
“No, that’s an illness no healer in the world can cure.”
Then Virus suddenly spoke.
“What? An illness no healer in the world can cure? Does such a thing even exist?”
“Many illnesses in this world can’t be cured. And that one’s less an illness than a curse, so healers can’t fix it.”
“If it’s akin to a curse, then one should summon a witch, a shaman, or perhaps a fortune-teller.”
“No, they won’t be able to cure it either.”
“What kind of curse is it that even they cannot heal?”
“Someone cast it in exchange for selling their soul to a high-ranking Demon—or perhaps even a Demon King. In any case, they made a deal with such a being.”
“Sold their soul to a high-ranking Demon or a Demon King? That’s something that brings misery upon oneself as well. Who would do something so foolish?”
“Don’t know who. Anyway, the curse on the king is the Mirror Curse—it gives back to him exactly what he’s done to others. So the king must have first committed such vicious deeds to someone.”
“Wh-what? Well, that is to say—! In any case, who then can lift the Mirror Curse afflicting His Majesty?”
“Only a Priest with true Holy Power or an Ancient Dragon could break it. But even if an Ancient Dragon could, they wouldn’t deign to intervene. Finding a Priest capable of wielding genuine Holy Power would be faster.”
“Ah, what a relief! There are many Priests in our homeland, so we should be able to treat His Majesty’s condition quickly.”
General Kairox opened the Communication Device once more and informed the king of the curse, urging him to find a Priest.
“Look for a Priest who wields true Holy Power—not some charlatan mixing light into healing magic. Remember that!”

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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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