Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 346

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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 Inn of Hope and Adventure.
A newly rising establishment in the free city of Ribensi, boasting pleasant accommodations, reliable staff, and cuisine that would put even upscale restaurants to shame.

The third floor of that inn was now filled with silence.

‘Then I should just go and come back.’

This silence had followed the statement of Kale Heniatus, a twenty-year-old from the Heniatus Territory.

“Uh… well….”

The Mercenary King Burd Illis looked at Kale, who appeared to be smiling calmly, opened his mouth as if to speak, then glanced at the faces of those around him before casually pulling a bottle of alcohol from his pocket.

‘The information from the Eastern Continent is accurate.’

According to what he had heard from an information broker on the Eastern Continent, Kale Heniatus possessed such exceptional self-sacrifice and virtue that one could scarcely find another person so genuinely good and heroic.
Apparently, if you asked children in the Roan Kingdom about their future aspirations these days, most would shout “Shield Prince,” while a few would cry out “Sword Master” or “Necromancer.”

The Mercenary King Burd Illis took a sip of his drink and casually tossed out his words.

“Our friend here is quite virtuous.”

And Burd paused.

“Virtuous? Who? Me?”

Kale’s face twisted in bewilderment.

“I’m on the wicked side, aren’t I?”

Burd watched the expressions of Kale’s companions contort further, and without thinking, he blurted out his true thoughts.

“Are you drunk? Drinking heavily in the morning isn’t good for you.”

What nonsense.
Kale thought that this fellow must be the one who had been drinking since morning, spouting such drivel.
Then a voice echoed in his mind.

-Are you trying to sacrifice yourself?

Why is Jjangdol acting like this again?

-Human!

Raon’s resonant voice rang out.

-Human! I’m spinning like the Crown Prince right now! I’m on my fourth rotation in mid-air! I might be spinning more than the White Star!

What is he talking about?
I felt a cool breeze above my head, but then I realized it was all because Raon was spinning in circles up there.

Tap. Tap.
I lowered my head at the sound of tapping on the ground.
On was tapping the floor with her cat paws.

Meow.
Hong clung to my calf. As I glanced at the rest of the group, I quickly averted my gaze, unable to meet the eyes of Ron and Vicross, whose expressions had turned fierce.
Those two seemed to grow more menacing as time went on.
More terrifying than the White Star.

I looked at Choi Han.
He was composed.

‘As expected.’

Yes, that calm demeanor was so like Choi Han.
I was about to glance at Erhafen last, but stopped myself. For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to look at the Ancient Dragon right now.
At that moment, the Ancient Dragon’s voice reached my ears.

“…Wind Island, you say.”

Bewilderment crossed my face.
There was something in Erhafen’s voice beyond the sorrow of having to send me there for his own lifespan.

My mouth opened.

“Why Wind Island?”

Upon hearing that the Thief, who possessed the Voice of Wind, had another power, I found myself thinking that visiting that island might not be as difficult as I’d initially assumed.
For some reason, it felt as though the place would welcome me.

However, Erhafen’s expression grew grave.
This aligned with why Ron and Vicross’s expressions were more serious than the rest of our group.

“The Western Continent has five Mysterious Regions.”

The Dark Forest of the Heniatus Territory, the Land of Death of the Caro Kingdom—the Western Continent indeed possessed five such Mysterious Regions.

“And while the Eastern Continent has no Mysterious Regions, it possesses three Forbidden Lands.”

This was why the faces of Ron and his father had hardened.
Three Forbidden Lands.
Places where living beings were forbidden from treading carelessly.

The Mercenary King Burd Illis opened his mouth.

“Children born and raised on the Eastern Continent grow up hearing countless warnings about the three Forbidden Lands from childhood. They’re dangerous places. You go there, you die. And the manner of death has been passed down through generations.”

Three Forbidden Lands.
Those who set foot on that ground died in different ways.
Among them, the tale of Wind Island.

“‘In the wake of the wind, there exist only corpses slashed by countless blades.'”

The Mercenary King regarded me through his spectacles, his tone probing and deliberate.

“Can you go there? Even the Dragon calls it forbidden?”

Ha!
The Mercenary King saw me laughing as if I found it absurd. I glanced at my companions before answering Burd’s question.

“Yes.”

Why couldn’t I go?

-My spinning top and the relic I stole are there. Not divine artifacts, but items from a temple built by those who worshipped a god.

As The Thief’s husky voice grew increasingly heated, I responded lightly.

“Burd, my friend. Do you think I can’t go where you’ve gone?”

“What?”

I gestured toward the Mercenary King’s cheeks, flushed slightly from alcohol.

“Sober up and show us the way, you drunken fool.”
“Puhahahaha!”

Burd Illis laughed and extended his palm toward his fellow mage.

“Hey, lend me some magic scrolls.”
“You left them with me?”

The survivor of the Puff Family spoke curtly and withdrew a bundle of magic scrolls from his robes. They were all teleportation scrolls.

“I don’t need to sober up!”

Burd handed the teleportation scrolls to my group with a beaming smile.
And he said,

“I’m always perfectly fine!”
“Drop dead.”

The mage’s voice was drowned out by Burd’s laughter.

A sigh.
In that moment, I heard Erhafen’s sigh, but I pretended not to notice. I could see the Ancient Dragon’s lips moving as if wanting to say something, but I whispered softly to him beside me.

“A promise must be kept.”

I promised to let him live long, so I must keep it. Isn’t that right?
I spoke to my companions.

“Even if we can’t reach the island, those who will go with us—”

I caught myself with a slight cough as I noticed Ron, my servant, smiling benevolently.

“Ron, take care of the arrangements.”
“Understood, Young Master.”

I turned away from Ron’s kind face and asked Burd Illis.

“Burd, where are we going? We can’t go directly to the island, can we?”

The Mercenary King answered my question with a sly grin.

“Wind Island has a twin island, you see. An identical island of the same form right beside it.”

Hmm.
Vicross let out a low whistle.
The moment my gaze turned toward Vicross.

“…Alcohol Island.”

Vicross uttered a single word.
At that, an inexplicable chill ran down the back of my neck, and I hastily looked at Burd. He took another sip of alcohol and spoke.

“My homeland island!”

The Puff Family Mage continued matter-of-factly.

“The twin island of Wind Island. An island that forms the largest and finest distillery on the Eastern Continent.”

He spoke with such composure that it almost seemed blunt.

“A paradise for drunkards.”

A paradise for whom?
Such a place exists next to the Three Forbidden Lands?

“A place where kind islanders will fill your bucket with alcohol all day long if you carry one. A place where alcohol is easier to find than water.”

…What is that?

“A truly magnificent homeland of mine! My proud homeland! A place that has always been like paradise to me! A paradise for drunkards!”

The Mercenary King Burd Illis’s face grew increasingly flushed. It was an expression of excitement. He harbored tremendous pride in his homeland island.

“Kale! As my drinking companion, you’ll definitely love it! That place, that place—!”

Burd Illis spoke with overwhelming emotion.

“It’s truly paradise!”
“A drinking den, more like.”

The Puff Family Mage interjected with a click of his tongue.

-Human! The Mercenary King is strange! He’s genuinely intelligent, yet something about him is off!

Raon’s voice rang out, having ceased his spinning.
The Mercenary King approached Kale steadily and tapped his shoulder as he spoke.

“Shall we make a drinking wager?”

Hah.
Kale let out a dry chuckle, utterly taken aback. But his expression shifted almost immediately. I caught the cold glint in the Mercenary King’s eyes. Burd Illis’s light yet unmistakably serious mouth opened.

“Later, I want to establish a Mercenary Guild on the Western Continent. If I win, you’ll help me with that. What do you say?”

Now that’s something.
Kale couldn’t suppress the laughter that escaped him.
Burd Illis had proposed a drinking wager to Kale while planning a future far beyond the White Star problem. Kale readily agreed to participate in what might well be his wordplay.

When Burd Illis let out a dry laugh, I unconsciously swallowed hard at the cool glint in Kale’s eyes, and then Kale placed his hand on Burd’s shoulder and spoke.

“Then if I win, that is.”

What would be good?
If Kale won the drinking wager, what should I receive?
Kale spoke lightly to Burd Illis.

“You’ll be my cov— no, wait.”

Oh no.
I almost slipped and called it a detector.
Burd Illis’s special ability. It would be necessary in the fight against the White Star.

“You’re my secretary and servant.”
“…What?”

Burd Illis, the Mercenary King, stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.
Secretary? Servant? Me?

“The duration is about six months.”

Regardless of his reaction, I stated it matter-of-factly.

“Why do you think you’ll lose?”

The Mercenary King answered without thinking.

“No.”
“Then we’re good.”

The corners of my eyes curved with a languid smile.

“The bet is on.”

For some reason, unease welled up inside Burd Illis. The Mercenary King had never lost a drinking contest to anyone. His old friend whispered inside his head.

-You’re going to lose. Kale Heniatus, fighting.

The Puff Family Mage, Burd’s old friend, had accurate judgment.
Burd’s pupils trembled. In the meantime, I opened my mouth.

“Shall we go?”

I moved toward Wind Island.

* * *

“Weren’t you supposed to head directly to your hometown island?”

I stared straight ahead.
A sea filled with mist came into view.

A ship of modest size rocked upon waves that were quite high.
On that rocking vessel sailed Kale’s party, the Mercenary King, and his close friend.

“My homeland island doesn’t reveal its teleportation coordinates when bringing outsiders. It’s unavoidable, so I hope you understand.”

I nodded lightly.
Though we couldn’t travel directly to Burd’s homeland island, once we moved to a nearby island, we could reach his homeland in about an hour.

“Still, our mage friend is accelerating our speed right now, so we’ll arrive quickly.”

The Puff Family Mage was using magic to steer the ship forward at high speed.
Burd pointed to his close friend and opened his mouth.

“Stay on my homeland island for a few days and observe Wind Island. You’ll see it right away. And once you’re ready, I’ll be prepared to start immediately.”
“…Prepared?”

Burd nodded at my question.

“Yeah, prepared. You’ll need to understand the flow of the wind, right?”

A place where blade-like winds assault from all directions.
Burd judged that even with wind-attribute power, one would need to become familiar with the patterns and flows.

The Mercenary King could see Kale responding calmly to him. Speaking while gazing at the sea with an indifferent expression.

“It’s fine. My Ancient Power will show me the way.”
“…What?”
“…What?”

Burd Illis found himself repeating the question.
Our gazes collided. The Mercenary King’s expression stiffened slightly as he spoke.

“Kale, no matter how powerful your wind Ancient Power is, you can’t rely on that power alone.”

I answered calmly to Burd, who seemed to have misunderstood. After all, wasn’t I working alongside another Ancient Power owner for the first time, excluding the White Star?

“No, my Ancient Power Owner has a connection to this island, so he told me everything.”
“…What?”

Burd Illis asked again.
Kale Heniatus paused for a moment. Burd’s reaction was strange.

“…Kale, why does your Ancient Power Owner speak to you?”
“…What?”

This time, Kale Heniatus was flustered.
Why does the Ancient Power Owner speak?

“Don’t Ancient Power Owners normally speak to you?”
“What?”

The two of them simply exchanged “what?” while staring at each other. Burd Illis spoke with an expression of complete bewilderment.

“What are you talking about? You can hear the voice of an Ancient Power Owner? How is that even possible?”

What?
Kale Heniatus was truly flustered.
At that moment, the subdued voice of the Ancient Dragon Erhafen echoed in my mind.

“Kale, what do you mean? You can hear the voices of Ancient Power Owners?”

…You can hear them, right?
I had been hearing the voices of the Ancient Power Owners in my head from time to time, as if it were the most natural thing.
Wasn’t that how it was supposed to be?

At that moment, the voices of the Ancient Power Owners reached me.

-Oh, you didn’t know.

Cale’s Power and Destructive Fire spoke.

-Seems you didn’t realize this was strange.

Next was the Glutton Goddess of the Unbreakable Shield.

-Whoa, that’s insane.
-It’s possible you didn’t know.

Next came Sky-Devouring Water with her crystalline voice, followed by The Thief.
Finally, Cale’s Power spoke with grave solemnity.

-Ancient Powers are forces inscribed upon a single person’s body and soul.

Ancient Powers derived from humanity, or from nature itself.

-That’s why the White Star left behind the Ancient Power inscribed in his own body to his successors. That became a half-formed new Ancient Power.

The Dragon Slayer power that I and the fake Dragon Slayer Sirem possessed was an Ancient Power inscribed upon the White Star’s body.

-And the White Star continuously confined the powerful Dragon Slayer Ancient Power inscribed in his soul within his own spirit, carrying it with him through each successive life. As time passed, that power grew stronger and more complete.

It was said that if a single person obtained an Ancient Power even once in their lifetime, it was divine fortune.
The White Star, in addition to the Dragon Slayer power he possessed, accumulated Ancient Powers one by one over a thousand years.
Of course, one might wonder if such a task truly required a thousand years, but there must be circumstances known only to the White Star.

I recalled what the White Star had said to me.

‘Right. Kale, you don’t even know how to properly use Ancient Powers.’

And at that time, Cale’s Power had said I still needed more—much more—before I could stand against the White Star.
Cale’s Power continued speaking.

-Do you wish to defeat the White Star?

Of course I wanted to win.

-I shall tell you the easiest way.

A chill crept down my spine.
In that instant, Wind, Water, Fire, Earth, and Wood all spoke simultaneously.

-Destroy us.

A power that dwells within a single soul.
Therefore, the Ancient Powers could only become complete when they fully belonged to that soul. Yet within Kale now remained the wills of their previous masters.
That was not true possession of power.

The Unbreakable Shield—the Glutton Goddess spoke.

-Devour us.

She, who had always spoken of her hunger, whispered calmly to Kale.

-Consume our existence. With each of our voices that fades away.

Each time you erase the wills of the Ancient Powers’ previous masters and make their existence vanish.
Cale’s Power, Jjangdol, Meokbo, The Thief, Sky-Devouring Water. Each time they disappear.

-You grow stronger.

Kale was engulfed by an indescribable feeling.
Erase them and grow stronger?
The conversations Kale had shared with the Ancient Power Owners flashed through his mind.

‘I’m hungry.’
‘Will you sacrifice?’

The various words spoken by the Ancient Power Owners remained vivid in Kale’s mind. He was someone who remembered precisely the things he wished to remember.

At that moment, Jjangdol spoke.

-But there’s an easier way too.

Kale’s expression changed.
A way to defeat the White Star more easily than destroying the Ancient Powers.
That method flooded Kale’s mind through Jjangdol.

-There exists a human who possesses a vessel comparable to the White Star.

In that instant, Kale’s hand gripped the ship’s railing tightly.

-Turn that human into a weapon.

A weapon.
A weapon capable of eliminating the colossal enemy known as the White Star.

-Find the Ancient Powers and hand them all to that man, organized by attribute.

Turn one person into a weapon.

-And make him fight the White Star in your stead.

Thud.
I felt the weight settle across both my shoulders.

“…Lord Kale?”
-Human! Are you getting seasick?

Choi Han’s hand and Raon’s front paw came to rest on either side of my shoulders. My gaze shifted toward Choi Han rather than toward where the now-transparent Raon stood.

Choi Han—who should have been the protagonist of “The Birth of a Hero.”
Which meant he was also the one destined to fight the White Star.
A reincarnator, and a dimensional traveler.

I saw Choi Han looking at me with concern. Simultaneously, Jjangdol’s voice reached my ears.

-That’s right. The man you’re looking at right now possesses a vessel comparable to the White Star.

Turn one person into a weapon and make him fight the enemy known as the White Star.

The ship swayed with the rhythm of the waves.
My mouth opened.

“Damn it.”

The easy path and the easiest path.
For a moment, seasickness threatened to overwhelm me.

-Will you sacrifice him?

Cale’s Power asked.
And Kale Heniatus answered.
Of course.

“I’ll take the hard path.”

It was Kale Heniatus, who had never lived an easy life even once.

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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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