Wortenia Senki (LN) - Volume 17 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

The glass window pane rattled as the wind and rain beat it. Today was one of the few days in the year when a great downpour washed over the land.

The curtains were closed, so the room was quite dim despite it being the middle of the day. Normally, one would light a candle or a lamp, but the room’s owner didn’t mind the gloom. After all, light would be of little use to him since he’d spent many years lying in bed.

The sound of intense coughing filled the room. Feeling another seizure overtake him, Akimitsu Kuze opened his eyes. He groped at his bedside, picked up a cloth, and pressed it to his lips. The taste of rust flooded his mouth.

The seizures are getting more frequent, but I can’t afford to die just yet.

That thought kept Kuze’s soul tethered to his fatally ill flesh.

Once the coughing died down, Kuze slowly got to his feet and threw the cloth he used to clean his mouth into a wastebasket at the foot of his bed. He then reached for a pitcher full of water on the bedside table, so as to wash the taste of blood off his tongue.

It was then that someone who shouldn’t have been in the room spoke.

“I see you’re not in the best of health today, Mr. Kuze.”

Standing in the corner was a man. Just when had he walked into the room? It was dim, so visibility was poor, and the voice’s owner was five to six meters away from Kuze. Nevertheless, he didn’t blame this insolent figure for his uninvited intrusion. Instead, he calmly greeted the suspicious man.

“I suppose I just showed you something unpleasant,” Kuze said. “My apologies. I’m usually bedridden, so I rarely light the lamps. I’ll light them now. Give me a moment.”

Kuze raised his body and made to get out of bed, intent on lighting a lamp. Going to such lengths didn’t fit a man like Kuze—one of the leaders of the powerful Organization that hid in the shadows of this continent. Kuze didn’t seem to mind, but thankfully, the intruder wasn’t cruel enough to let an elderly, infirm man go to such trouble.

“Please, stay put. I’ll light them,” the man said. He walked to the shelf on the wall, took a bottle of oil and a flint, and used them to light the lamp on the table.

Kuze, who was sitting on his bed, apologized. “I’m sorry for troubling you, Lord Sudou.”

Akitake Sudou responded to Kuze’s apology with his usual pleasant smile. He then picked up the pitcher and the glass from the bedside table.

“Oh, don’t let that bother you. Our relationship is one of give-and-take, after all,” Sudou said, pouring water into the glass and presenting it to Kuze. “Here you are. Drink. You were going to take your medicine, yes?”

“Yes, thank you. Then if you’ll excuse me...”

At Sudou’s prodding, Kuze put a medicine capsule he’d prepared ahead of time into his mouth and washed it down with the water. He then took a deep breath and apologized earnestly again.

“My apologies for not being able to properly greet you.”

Kuze was acting as if he were a subordinate bowing his head to his superior. Sudou didn’t seem to find this at all unusual, because he took a chair by the wall without permission and placed it next to Kuze’s bed.

“Now then,” Sudou said, sitting on the chair. “May I ask why you called me here? While I can certainly use the ley lines to travel near instantaneously in and out of Rhoadseria, I am getting along in years, so I can’t use that technique so frequently.”

Sudou lightly tapped his own shoulders. Kuze replied with a sarcastic smile.

The ley lines were flows of energy circulating through Rearth’s land, not unlike blood vessels. Sudou could assimilate with the ley lines, which allowed him to travel vast distances in the blink of an eye. No normal verbal thaumaturgist could do that.

Needless to say, this was a hidden art that not everyone could invoke. If a lesser man were to try this technique, they would meet but one fate: they would be washed away by the vast amounts of energy flowing through the ley lines, which would then tear their mind and body to shreds.

In a world where the only methods of travel were by foot or on horseback, Sudou’s access to these ley lines gave him an overwhelming advantage. That was why he was able to work for the Organization while also commanding an intelligence unit for the O’ltromea Empire.

He’s the same as ever. I thought my urgent summons might have annoyed him, but it seems his mood isn’t that bad—for now.

Kuze was one of the Organization’s leaders and was ranked among its top three most accomplished members. Even so, he was careful with how he interacted with Sudou, who was currently regarding Kuze with a pleasant grin.

Akitake Sudou was a powerful man. He was so exceptional that even if one searched this entire world over, they would be hard-pressed to find a man who could match him.

An ascendant—a monster who has broken through the boundaries of being human. 

The human body contained seven chakras. Being able to activate the seventh chakra—the Sahasrara Chakra, which was also known as the crown chakra—allowed a human to rise above the boundaries of their race. Those who could do that were known as transcendents. But Akitake Sudou had reached the level even beyond that of a transcendent, and he was a very fickle man.

Kuze knew from many years of acquaintance that just a single verbal slipup was all it took to spoil Sudou’s mood, so Kuze replied honestly. “I’m sorry. But it is absolutely necessary that we speak in person.”

“Oh, you needed to speak to me? Very well, then,” Sudou said, still smiling. “Since I took the time to come here, I suppose I’ll answer your questions to the best of my ability.”

Sudou’s attitude told Kuze all he needed to know.

He’s already predicted what I’m going to ask. In that case...

This wasn’t good news for Kuze, but that didn’t change what he had to do. Either way, he needed to hear the truth from Sudou’s lips.

“Then let me ask, Lord Sudou, why are you conspiring against Koichiro’s grandson? If possible, I’d like to hear what your intentions are for him.”

That was the one question Kuze needed an answer to.

Convincing Helena Steiner to turn against him, having a sniper shoot him... Why is he so obsessed with Ryoma Mikoshiba?

That doubt bound Kuze’s heart like a chain. The Organization operated behind the scenes, so it couldn’t openly support Ryoma, but it could have used the guild as an intermediary to send Organization members to Rhoadseria as mercenaries and adventurers to help him. Or it could have used one of the firms under its umbrella to offer him financial support. Of course, Ryoma had proved to be talented enough to grow stronger even without the Organization’s support.

So this raises the question: what is Sudou doing?

No one within the Organization was above Kuze. The only ones who matched his authority were the other Elders, who equaled him in rank. Still, even if another elder had given those orders, Kuze had enough influence to countermand them.

Akitake Sudou was above his influence, yet Kuze asked this while realizing he might be buying Sudou’s ire. He also knew that depending on what Sudou said, he could very well be forfeiting his life for asking that question.

That’s all I can do for a sworn friend’s grandchild...

It was this emotion that spurred Kuze to act. Sudou, however, gave Kuze a teasing smile and replied with an answer that Kuze couldn’t have ever anticipated.

♱

After his talk with Sudou, Kuze turned off the lamp and sank back into his bed, but even with his eyes closed and his body wrapped in the bedsheets, Kuze’s mind refused to rest.

“For a better tomorrow, eh?”

This idea had been passed down in the Organization uninterrupted ever since its conception. It was a wish made centuries ago, when a single man who’d been summoned to this hellish world banded together with his comrades and fellow otherworlders.

That was Sudou’s answer. On the surface, his words sounded like an oath reaffirming his allegiance to the Organization. Any Organization member unaware of Sudou’s true nature and his past misdeeds would be deeply impressed with Sudou for saying that, but Kuze knew who Sudou really was, and he couldn’t accept Sudou’s answer at face value.

This includes all the subterfuge Sudou has conducted in Rhoadseria as of late too.

Indeed, Sudou likely wasn’t lying, and he’d done these things in the Organization’s name, but the fact that he didn’t seem to care if his plans succeeded or failed changed everything considerably. With that insight, Kuze was able to guess at Sudou’s actual intentions.

That man... He relishes in the danger.

That thought lingered in Kuze’s mind. The way Sudou’s eyes seemed to occasionally glint with madness made Kuze freeze in fear.

But what can I do to stop him?

Kuze himself was a transcendent, capable of activating the Sahasrara Chakra. He still drew breath, despite the debilitating illness, thanks to the vast amounts of prana circulating through his body. But what could Kuze do to stop Sudou in his current state? He might be able to fight while consuming his vast prana reserves, but that would only last about ten seconds and that would be it. Ten seconds of combat would deplete his prana, at which point Kuze would die. But this wasn’t the only reason Kuze couldn’t stop Sudou.

Me, stop him? No. I can’t do that. His actions are always meant to further the Organization and its interests. I know that...

Kuze did respect Akitake Sudou, and he was loyal to the older man, but only because Sudou was the founder and the true ruler of the Organization. Kuze felt that Sudou’s scheming and conspiring was questionable at times, but he would never consider opposing Sudou. If nothing else, Kuze would continue to respect Sudou, at least until the day his actions posed a threat to the Organization. Nonetheless, Kuze realized that even if he did resist, it would be meaningless.

Koichiro... How I wish I could see you. To meet you and tell you everything. Until that happens, I cannot afford to die. 

The friend Kuze once lost to fate’s whimsy had returned to this world, but with the way things were now, he couldn’t so much as speak to him freely.

Kuze decided to once again drift away into sleep—to dream of the day when he could entrust his wish with another. Kuze was just a man, though, and he had no way of knowing that on that day, an army of several thousand men, carrying a banner with the emblem of scales, arrived at the city of Galatia, near Rhoadseria’s southern border. He had no way of knowing that a new war was on the verge of starting.