EPISODE 30: Return to Kaigan (Part 2)

Inside the VIP room of the Silver Swan Inn, the atmosphere was warm and comfortable. The aroma of Zenoda's braised meat still lingered pleasantly in the air. Karham — the broad-framed young man of the God Wings party — had just offered to share the story of their past in Kaigan Village with the three clownish nobles: Cedric, Valerius, and Agru.

"Would you all like to hear about our small village, Kaigan?" Karham offered with a friendly smile.

Cedric, Valerius, and Agru, who had been finishing the last of their warm tea, sat up straight immediately. All three looked at Karham with brightly anticipating eyes.

"Ehhhh? Um, yes please!" Cedric answered quickly, his curiosity about Zenoda's origins at its peak. Valerius and Agru nodded with enthusiasm.

But before Karham could draw breath to begin, the sound of footsteps came from the third-floor corridor.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A very rhythmic knock broke their concentration.

Linaya, who was clearing the table, glanced toward the door. "Annesia, could you get that?"

"Sure," Annesia called, hopping from her chair and trotting toward the door.

The moment the teak door swung open, Annesia's eyes went slightly wide. At the threshold stood Master Vivaldi Ascroft, the inn's proprietor. But what surprised Annesia was the figure standing behind the merchant — a girl in a warm yet extraordinarily luxurious evening dress, with hair as white as snow.

"Oh... Master Vivaldi. And... Ehh, Princess Elara?!" Annesia blurted in surprise, immediately lowering her head in respect.

Elara gave a thin smile and stepped inside, ignoring the collective look of shock from everyone in the room.

In the corner, Zenoda — who had been leaning back in his chair — exhaled a long breath. "Oh. Your Highness. What business brings you sneaking out of the palace at this hour?"

Elara crossed her arms and arranged her face into a serious expression. "I didn't sneak. I came with a secret escort. I'm here because I want additional details from Ziryal the Shadow regarding the Purple Snake operation he gathered this afternoon. I need him to write it out thoroughly for my father's reporting."

Ziryal, who had been sitting with his legs crossed, nodded in immediate compliance. "No problem at all, Your Highness."

The young assassin rose, produced a parchment roll, an ink bottle, and a quill from his bag, and began writing down the underground network intelligence he knew in the corner of the table.

While waiting for Ziryal to finish writing, Elara walked toward the main table where Karham and the others were gathered. The Princess pulled out a chair and sat down without the slightest awkwardness.

"What were you all talking about just now?" Elara asked. "I'd like to hear about your village too."

Annesia glanced at Zenoda with a teasing expression. "Strangely, Instructor isn't trying to stop this? Usually he strongly dislikes having his past talked about."

Zenoda propped his chin on his hand, eyes closed, his expression one of resigned surrender. "Let it be this once. Besides, you've already told part of it in the royal carriage when we first met the King. Might as well let these pampered nobles get the full picture."

"Ohhhhhh," Annesia grinned mischievously, nudging Linaya with her elbow. "Instructor is trying to be open but acting embarrassed about it!"

"Apparently so," Zenoda replied without argument — which made Elara's face color very slightly at hearing it.

Karham cleared his throat, pulling everyone's attention back to him. "Alright. Let's begin the story."

[Story Mode — Flashback]

(As told by Karham)

"This story begins when I first came to Kaigan Village with my companions here — roughly one to two years ago.

I made the journey to Kaigan after hearing a rumor from a regional Guild outpost. The story went that somewhere near the border of the Wrathwood, a legendary adventurer was training beginners. But the wilder part of the rumor was this: there was also a local young genius whose power was said to be equal to — or perhaps greater than — the Legend himself.

I was starving for strength and challenge at the time. I convinced Ziryal, Linaya, and a few other adventurers to make the trip to this place called Kaigan.

But getting there wasn't smooth at all. When our caravan began passing through the Wrathwood land route, we were ambushed by several starving wild monsters. Our formation fell apart completely. We came very close to dying.

But in the middle of that despair, a village youth suddenly came streaking out of the undergrowth. He wiped out the monsters so quickly that we couldn't even track his movements clearly. What I can recall is that the young man used nothing but an ordinary garden woodcutting axe and a short dagger to destroy monsters that ranked at Class B.

But that mysterious person disappeared back into the forest immediately after helping us. Shortly afterward, the village guards came to collect us.

A few days after that incident, once our wounds had improved, we went to the Guild training grounds, which was not far from the village blacksmith's workshop. But we received bad news. The Legend — none other than Garrick Anderstone — was occupied with village guard administrative duties and couldn't take on foreign adventurers for training.

In his place, Uncle Garrick told us that 'the Genius' — the local prodigy — would take over training duties for the day. We were very excited! We waited at the edge of the training grounds. And after a short while, the Genius came walking from the direction of the hills, moving at a thoroughly unhurried pace, and he was..."

Hiss... Karham's story paused for a beat.

Elara's eyes went very wide, her body leaning forward over the table. "ZENODAAAA?!" the Princess exclaimed, immediately guessing.

"INSTRUCTOR Zenoda?!" Annesia cried out — she herself hadn't heard this version of the story from Karham's perspective before.

In the corner of the room, Zenoda opened one eye and directed a sharp, deadly look at both Elara and Annesia for being extremely loud.

Feeling that aura of intimidation land on them, Elara and Annesia immediately went still, pressing their hands over their mouths.

"Ok. Continuing," Karham whispered, returning to storytelling mode.

[Story Continues]

"Yes — the young genius appointed as instructor that day was Instructor Zenoda! The exact same boy who had saved us in the forest using a woodcutting axe.

At the time, Zenoda was only fifteen years old and dressed very simply. The adult adventurers from outside the village — a group called Iron Fang — thoroughly disliked him from the start. They felt humiliated at being told to learn from a young kid.

Instructor Zenoda tried his best at first to guide them patiently and properly. But the arrogant adventurers grew angry and surrounded Instructor Zenoda with drawn blades. They intended to teach him a bloody lesson.

But what happened? Instructor Zenoda was completely unintimidated. Using only a dagger still in its sheath, Instructor Zenoda dismantled and defeated all five of them in a matter of seconds. Without a trace of magic.

After that, Instructor Zenoda intended to drive them out of the village. But the Legend — Uncle Garrick Anderstone — intervened and stopped him. Uncle Garrick pleaded that the troublemakers be given a second chance.

Feeling disappointed by Uncle Garrick's decision, Instructor Zenoda initially refused to train anyone anymore. He even considered going home. But Annesia — who was a childhood friend of his — together with the rest of us pleading sincerely, finally managed to persuade Instructor Zenoda to train her and the three of us.

From that day forward, our personal hell began.

Instructor Zenoda's training was... disciplined and physically punishing in a way that is very difficult to put into words. For a full year, we were pushed without mercy. Carrying boulders, running while avoiding spells without being allowed to counter, and maintaining mana flow while sleeping.

Until finally, we were given a final exam — a direct challenge fight against him. Although we still lost decisively in the end because the Instructor was far too strong... after that exam, Instructor acknowledged our growth. And ultimately, we decided to follow him on his journey to the city of Koreson, swearing to become his sword and his shield."

[Story Mode Ends]

Karham exhaled a long breath, smiling with quiet pride as he recalled their journey from nothing to achieving Rank B in the capital.

At the dining table, Cedric, Valerius, and Agru had listened to the story with their mouths slightly open. They finally understood why the God Wings party's loyalty to Zenoda was so absolute. Their bond had been forged through shared sweat and deeply felt respect.

Elara propped her chin on her hand, eyes on the Zenoda who was pretending to be asleep.

"Hmm... Zenoda is quite a strict teacher, isn't he," Elara murmured. A smile of admiration settled on her face. Then she continued in a slightly teasing tone. "Sometimes I still find it hard to believe... that the laziest male student in my class — who deliberately earned a D on the magic exam and always dodged during sparring practice — turned out to be an iron-fisted instructor who produced an adventuring party as powerful as God Wings."

Annesia smiled with unmistakable pride. "In the Academy's eyes, he might seem like a slacker. But in ours, the Instructor is and always will be the greatest."

Not long after, Ziryal rose from his corner and carried the parchment he had just finished writing over to the table. He walked toward Elara and bowed.

"Here is the report, Your Highness," Ziryal said politely. "All the details of the Krait group's movements, their distribution network, and their black market codes are in there."

"Well done, Ziryal the Shadow. Thank you," Elara received the roll with care.

Ziryal nodded. The young assassin then turned back toward Elara and added one more thing, reflecting on what Karham had just shared.

"Instructor always chooses the path he believes is right and peaceful for himself, Your Highness," Ziryal said quietly, his eyes resting on Zenoda's figure with deep respect. "He has never acted for his own worldly gain, nor to satisfy anyone else's expectations, or the demands of any title or rank. Instructor is a free person. He lives happily on his own terms. And that is what makes us respect him so completely."

Hearing that philosophy of freedom, something small and sharp pricked at Elara's heart. She — who had been bound since birth by the expectations of the throne — felt a quiet envy for the freedom of Zenoda's spirit.

"Hmm, you all really do worship him, don't you," Elara said with a soft, wry laugh. She rose from her chair and straightened her gown. "Well then — since it is very late, I'll be staying in one of Master Vivaldi's VIP rooms after this rather than going back. My father would certainly have me executed if he found out I came home at this hour."

Zenoda opened one eye, could only shake his head slowly in baffled resignation at the Princess's spontaneous decision-making. A member of the royal family choosing to stay at a commoner's inn? The stubbornness of this girl was genuinely beyond saving.

On the other side of the room, Linaya — who had been in the kitchen the entire time — finally appeared carrying a large pot. "Second course is ready, everyone!"

The aroma of corn soup and toasted bread filled the room again. All of them — including Elara — ate with real appetite, savoring the warm, companionable evening before the storm of royal duty came sweeping in.

Time moved very quickly. Today was the day of departure for Zenoda and his companions, heading toward the port of Kaigan Village.

As planned, they would board a royal naval vessel from Kaigan's coastline to cross the brutal open ocean toward the Southern Continent — the land where Kenjutsu masters gathered and where the source of the demonic mutation drug, Demon's Ash, had been traced.

Very early in the morning, before the sun had fully risen, Zenoda was already awake. Before beginning this long journey, he went directly to the Dwarf blacksmith's workshop in the commercial district to collect his combat equipment that he had left for maintenance.

When he arrived at the workshop — still trailing wisps of smoke from the previous night's forge fire — Zenoda stepped inside.

"Good morning, Master Blacksmith," Zenoda greeted. "I've come to collect my belongings."

The Dwarf blacksmith, who had been polishing an iron blade, immediately set his work down. He smiled broadly and turned toward the magical storage room behind the display counter.

A short while later, the dwarf returned carrying Zenoda's gold-tribal white coat, pressed and immaculate, along with the ebony-sheathed katana, whose blade now gleamed with a flawless, spotless polish. The blacksmith handed both items to Zenoda directly.

"Here are your things, young Master," the blacksmith said in a tone of considerable reverence. His eyes lingered on the katana. "Hmm... your sword is truly remarkable, Master. The metal refuses all forms of rust or contamination. Even the maintenance required only a small amount of pure oil polishing. I have never seen an ore this strong or this pure in my entire life."

The blacksmith then gestured toward Zenoda's white coat. "And this coat... my wife was moved to tears while cleaning it. The fabric is rich with a tremendously dense weave of mana threads. The energy within it is extremely pure. Oh — I heard from Master Vivaldi that you'll be beginning a long cross-continental journey today?"

Zenoda nodded, re-fastening his katana at his hip and returning the coat to the resonance storage within his soul. "Yes."

"In that case... wait just a moment. We have a small parting gift for you."

The blacksmith reached into the pocket of his leather apron and tossed a small glass vial toward Zenoda. Zenoda caught it without effort. Inside was a single round pill in a deep brown color, roughly the size of a chocolate candy a child might eat.

"A parting gift?" Zenoda furrowed his brow.

The blacksmith nodded. "That's a medicine my wife made. Take it only when you find yourself in a situation of extreme physical distress. Think of it as a good-luck charm from the two of us."

Zenoda didn't fully understand the pill's function, but he appreciated the sincerity behind it. "Oh, alright. Thank you very much, Master."

After exchanging farewell greetings, Zenoda turned and immediately sprinted toward Koreson Academy to attend the diplomatic send-off ceremony.

The moment Zenoda vanished from sight, the blacksmith's wife — the beautiful golden-haired Elf — appeared from behind the workshop's wooden door and stepped quietly to her husband's side.

"You gave him the medicine?" the Elf wife asked in her gentle voice.

"Yes, I gave it to him," her husband confirmed. The Dwarf then turned, looking at his wife with a curious expression. "By the way, Honey — why did you go to the trouble of making such an expensive medicine for that young man? And what exactly is in that brown pill?"

The Elf crossed her arms, her eyes drifting to the workshop's exit with a quietly sorrowful gaze.

"That medicine is an ancient remedy — a recipe passed down from the Elven ancestors," the Elf wife explained. "Its purpose is specifically to address a condition in someone who holds an enormous reserve of mana or energy within their soul, yet whose physical body is too fragile or insufficiently capable of withstanding the pressure of a large mana surge from within."

The Elf lowered her head, remembering the fabric of Zenoda's coat. "I decided to make it when I was cleaning his coat. The moment I touched it, I could see that the young man carries an extraordinarily massive golden mana reservoir... far too large for a mortal human being. As though that mana has been deliberately sealed and stored within the resonance of the coat itself, to prevent it from detonating his own body from within."

Hearing his wife's explanation, the blacksmith's eyes went wide with alarm. "G-goodness... Carrying power like a monster's inside a fragile human vessel. And yet he looks so at peace, living normally like anyone else."

The Elf wife smiled with a sad, restrained expression. "A painful fate. That young man is extraordinarily powerful, yet restraining that power must be a constant torment. His situation... reminds me strongly of someone from the past, for reasons I can't entirely explain."

The blacksmith nodded slowly, stroking his greying beard. "You mean... the First Hero of Koreson? Hah... that's an old and sorrowful memory."

(Who is this First Hero of Koreson that the blacksmith and his wife are referring to? A new mystery has begun to stir beneath the shadows of the past.)

Elsewhere, in the wide courtyard of Koreson Academy, the atmosphere was lively yet solemn.

Zenoda arrived exactly on time. In front of the Academy's main hall, Elara Rosecold, intelligence operative Faizura, Agru Droman, Cedric Thundra, and Valerius Hinno were already standing neatly in line, waiting for his arrival. They had all changed into their diplomatic travel uniforms bearing the Academy emblem.

Once Zenoda joined the formation, they all walked together toward the Academy's main ceremony grounds.

Before long, their six names were called out clearly by the Head of the Academy through a magical amplifier. They stepped up onto the marble stage, standing before thousands of gathered students who had packed in tightly to witness this historic diplomatic send-off ceremony.

At the highest podium, King Ronan Rosecold stood upright in his royal robes.

After a brief explanation from the Head of the Academy about the "cultural and magical arts exchange" serving as the cover for their mission to the Southern Continent, King Ronan stepped forward to the magical microphone. The King delivered a deeply inspiring farewell address about peace, inter-continental cooperation, and the courage of Koreson's young generation.

But midway through his speech, King Ronan's eyes met Zenoda's directly. Through that gaze alone, the King entrusted the fate of his kingdom, his daughter, and his continent to the shoulders of that young man.

The speech concluded to thunderous applause from every student in the Academy.

After the send-off ceremony ended, Zenoda, Elara, Faizura, Cedric, Valerius, and Agru descended from the stage. They were led toward a row of specially modified long-distance travel carriages, where Master Vivaldi Ascroft and the God Wings party — Karham, Ziryal, Annesia, and Linaya — were already waiting as their official escort.

Zenoda drew a long, slow breath, taking in the air of the city of Koreson for what would be the last time in the near future.

"Is everyone ready?" Master Vivaldi asked from the driver's seat of the lead carriage.

"Ready!" they all answered together.

Without further conversation, everyone boarded their respective carriages. The carriage doors were pulled closed. At the signal from the knight escort formation, the wooden wheels began to turn. The royal carriage procession moved forward, cutting through the city gates and beginning its long and epic overland journey toward Kaigan Village — from where they would board the naval vessel that would carry them across the brutal open ocean to the mysterious Southern Continent.

The true adventure of Zenoda Blanco in the mortal world... had only just begun.

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