Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 481

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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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Near the Northern Coast of the Western Continent.
The Lake of Despair—a mysterious region located in that area.

“Human! It’s a bit cold!”

Summer had indeed passed and autumn arrived, evident from the way Raon flapped his wings and sniffled. With a sullen expression, I pulled a blanket from my spatial pocket and haphazardly wrapped it around Raon’s neck like a scarf.

Choi Han watched silently, and I faltered under his gaze before speaking with reluctance.

“…Do you want one too?”
“No.”

Choi Han shook his head very firmly.
Raon giggled secretly at the sight. Though I possessed body-temperature-maintenance magic, Raon preferred the blanket I provided.

“Weak human! You need to cast body-temperature-maintenance magic on yourself!”

Of course, Raon cast the spell on me. Only then did Choi Han nod and turn his attention away from me to survey the surroundings.

‘What’s this?’

I felt oddly displeased, but as the chill faded and warmth spread through me, I let it pass.
Then I gazed at the massive whirlwind swirling above the lake.
The snow storm raging across the frozen lake’s surface looked quite ominous.
That was when it happened.

“Hm?”

…It’s hot?
My back felt strangely hot.
I’d experienced a chill down my neck before, but never heat like this.

“Human!”

In that instant, I saw Raon’s front paw pushing me to the side. And immediately after, I felt my body being flung away by the force of that paw.
Thump.
I crashed face-first into the snow.

“…Damn it—”

Kale Heniatus’s face was contorting when—

“Fire!”

At Raon’s cry, Kale glanced down at the spot where he’d been standing.
A ball of flames hovered there, burning with an eerie glow.

‘I did feel heat on my back earlier.’

Kale checked if his back was singed, reaching into the inner pocket of his shirt.

Choi Han, witnessing this, furrowed his brow and drew his sword.
A ball of fire appearing suddenly in what could be called the coldest place on the Western Continent was inherently suspicious.
And since it had manifested directly behind Kale, heightened vigilance was unavoidable.
The fireball drifted closer to Kale with each passing moment.

“What the—”

Whoooosh—
Black aura bloomed from the tip of Choi Han’s blade.

‘Choi Han! I’m going to tell you something! You need to know anyway, so I’m telling you!’

Before arriving here, Raon had approached Choi Han, saying he would explain first.

‘Mom and the human said I could do as I pleased! Since I’m not Choi Han’s secret, I’ll tell you too!’

And so Choi Han learned the story of the Dragon Hybrid, Sherit, and Raon.
Intense hatred toward the White Star surged within him. Never before had he felt such a desire to despise and destroy someone.
From Harris Village onward, the White Star’s deeds had consumed Choi Han with rage.

‘Anyway, that’s how it is!’

Raon had spoken with forced brightness, then flew elsewhere before teleporting, saying he needed to tell Vicross, On, Hong, and Rak as well.
After Raon finished explaining everything, he and Kale had come here with Choi Han.

A low hum resonated—
A shimmering black aura pointed toward the ball of flame.
Choi Han was exceptionally tense right now. He had no intention of showing mercy to anything that threatened his family.

The ball of flame wavered, startled by the black aura, but it continued advancing toward Kale Heniatus.
Ultimately, Choi Han raised his sword, and the shimmering aura seemed poised to cleave the flame in two.

“Choi Han!”

But he had to stop his movement.
A golden spinning top. Kale Heniatus, who held it in his hand, opened his mouth.

“Choi Han, that’s a spirit—a spirit!”
“…A spirit?”

To Choi Han’s question, Kale Heniatus nodded vaguely, and the Wind Spirit’s urgent voice reached his ears.

‘Chaos! Destruction! Peace!’

The Wind Spirit, who always chanted those strange slogans, cried out with considerable urgency.

‘That’s the one! It’s the Baby Fire Spirit! Stop Choi Han! Don’t break it! Chaos! Destruction! Absolutely not!’

Kale Heniatus recalled the Fire Spirit he had learned about through the Wind Spirit’s introduction when he visited the Whale Tribe Island before.
He had heard it was just over a year old.

‘It must have been urgent! It even manifested upon seeing you! Peace! Peace! Put away your sword, Choi Han! Peace!’

He remembered hearing that the Wind Spirit, who chanted chaos, destruction, and peace, had practically raised the Fire Spirit.

“Choi Han, lower your sword. It’s one of us.”
“…Understood.”

As the sword lowered, the wavering ball of flame hurriedly flew toward Kale Heniatus and began circling around him.
The warmth radiating from it, like a heat pack, drew a smile across my face.

‘Well done! Peace, Kale!’

What was that supposed to mean?

‘This cold makes it extremely difficult for a Fire Spirit to manifest alone! Indeed, a powerful Fire Spirit inheriting the will of destruction!’

My face twisted subtly.
The Fire Spirit that approached me grew larger and burned more intensely. Seeing that flame, I recalled the Spirit Summoner connected to this Fire Spirit.

‘You said there was a human you wanted to contract with?’

That person was Solly, the grandson of the Innkeeper from the village near this lake where I had stayed before.
He was someone with quite exceptional Spirit Summoning abilities, capable of recognizing the form of the Fire Spirit that had seen me off.

I recalled what the Wind Spirit had once told me about the relationship between this Fire Spirit and Solly.

‘Human wanting contract keeps ignoring me. Treats me like ball of thread. I am great fire! Help with contract. I want to make sea of fire too! Destroy chaos, despair, darkness! Must destroy!’

The Fire Spirit had said that, apparently.
Also.

‘World Tree said I have high chance of burning lake, so waiting until grown. Cannot wait. Have home. Contractor’s home. Contractor keeps having nightmares.’

It had said such things too.
My expression became subtle. Then the Wind Spirit spoke in a hushed voice.

‘Fire Spirit says it has something to say! Will relay it!’

I could not hear the Fire Spirit’s voice flickering before my eyes, so the Wind Spirit spoke on its behalf.

‘Destructive Fire misses sea of fire. Sea of fire strengthening complete. To darkness, chaos, sea of fire. I am great fire capable of destruction. Respect Raon Mir greatly. Respect Destructive Fire very very much, my idol. Love.’

Despite the Fire Spirit’s unchanged words, I pondered this spirit.

‘You said it could definitely destroy Lion King Dorf’s darkness attribute?’

Unlike other Fire Spirits, this one had claimed it could destroy the darkness attribute of Lion King Dorf. It would certainly be helpful.
To my eyes, only the manifested flame was visible, but the red ball of thread wrapped around that flame circled around me lost in thought.

That was when.

“Ah.”

Kale Heniatus suddenly clapped his palms together as if something had occurred to him. When Raon and Choi Han, who had been quietly observing, reacted to his gesture, Kale opened his mouth.

“Fire Spirit, didn’t you say you couldn’t come here?”

The Fire Spirit had definitely said that last time.

‘The World Tree said there’s a high possibility I’ll burn the lake, so I can only come when I’m grown up. I can’t come now.’

Yet now the Fire Spirit was at the lakeside.
Was this even allowed?

‘Ahem, ahem. As long as we don’t get caught, it’s fine! Chaos, destruction… pretend we don’t know!’

Along with the Wind Spirit’s flustered voice, the ball of fire trembled.
That was when it happened.

“…G-good heavens!”

From the Lake of Despair, shrouded in a blizzard, came a cry that sounded almost like a scream. The voice was strangely familiar.
It was a voice I recognized.

“Ahhhhh! This can’t be!”

The screams grew closer. Kale turned his gaze toward the source of the sound.
Across the frozen surface of the lake, barely visible through the blizzard, I could see someone rushing toward us.

“Oh!”

Raon recognized who it was and flapped his wings in delight.
Since it had been quite a while, Kale pushed himself up from where he had been sitting in the snow. Choi Han, who approached beside him, drew a gentle smile.

“Elf Priestess, it’s been a long time!”

Raon greeted the approaching figure warmly.
The one rushing closer was Adite, the Elf Priestess who stayed beside the World Tree. Kale was quite pleased to welcome her as she ran toward him in her flowing priestess robes, just as before.

“H-how did you-!”

But Adite’s face was contorted with distress.
Kale froze at the sight of her ashen complexion. He glimpsed Tasha and several Dark Elves following behind her, but had no moment to greet them.
It was because of Adite.

“…Fire, a sea of fire—!”

Adite rushed forward with those words, then stopped short of approaching Kale and frantically rummaged through her sleeve pouch.
Jingle, jingle.
With the cheerful sound of coins clinking together, the Young Priestess withdrew a handful of coins from her pocket. Then she hurried toward Kale with rapid steps and spoke.

“Money, the money is here! Please! The sea of fire—!”

Her pupils trembled as if in panic.
Kale gazed at Adite calmly, then glanced to his side. His flank felt warm.
A ball of fire wavered there.

Kale shifted his gaze to observe those approaching over the Elf Priestess Adite’s shoulder.

Tasha and the Dark Elves regarded Kale with peculiar expressions.
Tasha’s eyes in particular held the look of someone asking what scam he’d pulled, what scheme he’d concocted. The other Dark Elves merely wore bewildered expressions, unable to comprehend.

After observing all of this, Kale opened his mouth to the Elf Priestess.

“…It’s a spirit.”
“Ah.”

A deep sigh escaped her.
Adite alternated her gaze between the ball of fire beside Kale and Kale himself, then carefully tucked the coins back into her sleeve.

“…That startled me. I won’t need to raid my emergency funds after all.”

Adite’s murmuring gaze turned toward the ball of fire.
She had rushed over in a panic upon seeing the flames beside Kale, too frantic to sense its aura properly. Now that she understood it was a spirit, Adite had rapidly calmed and gazed quietly at the ball of fire.

Then the ball of fire wavered, and Kale heard the voice of the Wind Spirit.

‘The World Tree instructed me not to approach nearby, but due to a contractual matter, I had no choice but to come meet you, Kale Heniatus. Please understand, Adite,’ the Baby Fire Spirit was saying.

…What? You’re having a perfectly normal conversation.
Kale Heniatus’s trust in the Fire Spirit and Wind Spirit plummeted. Regardless, Adite opened her mouth.

“Young Master must visit the World Tree. We can speak again later.”

The flickering flames gradually dimmed and vanished. The warmth that had been pressing against Kale’s side returned to normal.

‘Tell the Fire Spirit to wait until it comes back out of the lake later! Chaos! Despair! Destroy the White Star!’

Kale nodded vaguely at the Wind Spirit’s words and spoke to Adite.

“Can I see the World Tree right away?”
“It has been waiting for you all this time.”

With a gentle smile befitting a priestess, Adite guided them toward the World Tree.

* * *

“It’s been a while!”

Just as Raon said, I reached out my hand toward the World Tree, whom I hadn’t seen in ages.
This tree, still appearing ordinary, somehow seemed more vibrant than before. Its branches and leaves were lusher than they had been.

Whoosh.
I closed my eyes as my palm touched the rough surface of the bark.

-It has been a long time.

The moment I heard the World Tree’s voice, I opened my mouth.

“Indeed.”

When the World Tree and I first met, it had sacrificed its branches, saying it would tell me three things.

Find Raon’s parents.
Find the Judging Water.
And there are multiple other holders of Ancient Powers.

The information it had given me proved to be quite helpful when I looked back on it now.

“There is much I wish to ask.”
-And I have much I wish to know as well.
“It seems we will need to converse for quite some time.”

Rustle, rustle—
The leaves of the trees enveloping the World Tree trembled. The sight was so vivid that it seemed as though the World Tree itself was laughing heartily and nodding in agreement with my words.

“Ah.”

Before delving into serious matters, I suddenly recalled something I wished to ask.
Something I could not learn even from Lord Sherit or from searching through Choi Jung-gun’s memoirs.

“Is there perhaps an Ancient Power related to time?”

The White Star—who had discerned my and Choi Han’s true identities, and who had perceived the moment of the tree’s death.
I asked about that power.

-I do not know of Ancient Powers. However, I know quite well of powers related to time.

My eyebrows twitched slightly.
Perhaps I could finally learn the true nature of that power the White Star possessed.
That was when—

-And do you not possess one as well?
“…Pardon?”

I froze.
But then I quickly grasped my chest with my other hand.

-The pocket watch in your inner pocket. That one. I can still hear time flowing from it.

The pocket watch given to me by the God of Death.
It was a letter asking me to choose whether to return or remain here.
Even now, time was silently counting down within it.

Something no one else had discovered had just been exposed.

“Human, what troubles you? Does your heart ache?”

I heard Raon’s voice, and the World Tree spoke in turn.

-Death is a gift to the God of Death.

The World Tree immediately recognized that this letter in Kale Heniatus’s embrace belonged to the God of Death.

-The God of Death is skilled in transactions. The Oath of Death is a cruel bargain that benefits only the God of Death.
“…Benefits only the God of Death?”

I drew closer to the World Tree. My hand gripped the wooden surface more tightly as I pressed my ear against the trunk.
A voice echoed in my mind.

-Is it not obvious? When an oath is broken, someone suffers pain or curse and eventually dies, so it benefits the God of Death. Would a god simply lend power for nothing?

The World Tree laughed as if questioning why I would ask something so obvious.

-The God of Death cherishes heroes, but is one who sacrifices the few for the many.

A chill ran down the back of my neck.

-This time, it appears to be you.

The World Tree continued to laugh.

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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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