Chapter 42

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 42

Chapter Title: Dawn's Dewdrop

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The old man muttered to himself in some incomprehensible ramble, as if he hadn't even heard the question.

"I know you once led the Shadeia tribe. Help me, and I'll restore your wiped-out clan."

Hmph. The old man let out a faint snort.

"You ask if there's a way? Of course there is. The primordial darkness is a nasty thing once it takes hold, but that doesn't mean there's no cure at all."

Cezare waited patiently. Until the answer he sought came from the old man's lips.

"To erase something primordial and corrupt, nothing is more perfect than the Dawn's Dewdrop. Heh."

Garo's heart felt like it was about to burst from his chest.

It existed! There really was a way to save his master!

All the years of scouring the continent on the barest whispers from passing priests—it felt like it had all been leading to this very moment.

In a striking reversal from moments before, Garo knelt carefully and respectfully before the old man.

"The Dawn's Dewdrop... What is that, elder?"

He had rifled through thousands of ancient tomes, yet this was a name he'd never encountered.

"When the goddess first descended, this continent was filled with chaos and darkness. Our merciful deity wept for the lives crushed beneath it, and those tears washed away every trace of shadow, forging the land we know today."

Cezare asked again.

"Where can it be found?"

The old man turned his head.

"Ahaha. Unfortunately, Black Star, it does not exist on your path."

"What do you mean by that, elder!"

Terence cried out, his face twisted in frustration.

"You... will never find it in the end. Fate itself... heh... denies it to you."

At that moment, the old man vomited blood.

"Oh dear, time... haa... already..."

Cezare caught the old man's collapsing shoulders.

"Terence."

Terence hurriedly examined the old man.

But it was already too late to push back the shadow of death that had deeply draped over him.

"But there is hope. Baldina's Golden Star... heh. It will save you..."

With every word the old man spoke, spurts of blood soaked Cezare's collar.

"Black Star, remember this: Baldina's... haa... Golden Star..."

"Enough. Save your strength."

The light in his faded eyes was dimming away.

With his last ounce of strength, the old man raised his arm and pointed to the sky.

"Ah... the stars have finally... gathered again... This time... haa... which path will it lead to..."

His body went rigid after one final, ragged breath.

The hand pointing at the sky dropped limply.

"E-elder? What? No way? No?"

Garo stammered.

"No, he's not dead! He can't be!"

He rushed over and shook the old man in Cezare's arms, but the body, now chillingly cold, refused to move again.

"Garo, stop. He's already gone."

Even Terence's remonstrations fell on deaf ears amid Garo's dazed stupor.

"No, no, this can't happen. We finally found him—we can't lose him like this!"

The cheerful young man who always wore a cheeky grin was nowhere to be found in his frenzied cries.

Terence had always found Garo's constant noisiness annoying, but this time, he couldn't bring himself to say a word.

Cezare wasn't simply their master.

He was the one and only liege they served, a comrade they could stand back-to-back with, a brother who would die on the same day if born on another.

So he understood Garo's despair.

If Garo was like this, what must Cezare himself—the very one at the center—be feeling?

With a heavy heart, Terence placed a hand on Cezare's shoulder.

"Cezare."

But contrary to his expectations, Terence spotted gleaming golden eyes.

"What is Baldina's Golden Star?"

Instead of crumbling like Garo, Cezare repeated the words the shaman had left behind at the end.

At the very least, the shaman hadn't declared it impossible. She'd merely attached a condition.

So it was far too early to give up or sink into despair.

"Baldina's Golden Star... heh. It will save you..."

The dying words of the Shadeia shaman, spoken in defiance of the heavens' taboo.

"Contact headquarters. Tell them we need to stay in Baldina longer."

"You really..."

Terence took a step back, eyeing Cezare with a mix of exasperation and disbelief.

"So be careful, Terence. Those kinds of people don't dodge obstacles—they smash right through them."

For some reason, his master's voice from long ago echoed in his ears once more.

Medea, Neril, and Saya finished their preparations to depart and boarded the carriage.

It was the streets of Asilum as the sun set. The carriage was passing through the woods that had grown quite dim.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Armed bandits blocked the carriage's path.

"We got no business with you, but you can't just take people like that without paying up."

Saya peeked out the window and gasped in horror.

She recognized the faces of the bandits harassing the coachman and cried out.

"It's Asilum's slave traders!"

The bandits spotted Saya too and snickered among themselves.

"Well, damn. She's skinnier than we heard."

"Still, they might give us two extra silvers. Covers our costs at least."

In her previous life, Saya must have been sold to this very trading ring today—and lost her life because of it.

That might explain why Theo had been so furious about his sister's death. They hadn't even been able to recover her body properly.

Neril leaned out and eyed the bandits surrounding the carriage. They'd been tailing them since Asilum.

"Your Highness, what should we do?"

Medea silently handed over a pouch of gold coins.

"Seems they followed the girl. I'll buy her off them."

Neril stepped down from the carriage and tossed the pouch at their feet.

"Whoa, ten gold coins. Your boss has deep pockets."

But even after taking the gold, they didn't back off.

They fully encircled the carriage, demanding even more money.

"Sun's setting—why not call it here?"

As the standoff dragged on, Medea finally revealed herself. Their eyes lit up.

"Hey, check it out. That's a noble lady if I've ever seen one."

The leader raked his greedy gaze over Medea, then shook the gold pouch with a sleazy grin.

"We could get five times this for a girl like her. You expect us to settle for just this?"

'Even trying to send them off nicely, and they won't listen.'

Medea let out a short sigh.

She patted Saya's hand gripping her skirt and stepped in front of Neril.

"Neril."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Neril had already drawn her sword, ready for battle.

"Talk about luck—a pumpkin rolling right to us on the vine. Today's our lucky day!"

The excited men leered as they drew their weapons.

A scrawny noble girl who looked like she couldn't catch a branch. And just one escort knight with her.

They swaggered with the confidence of seasoned blades-for-hire.

Neril charged in like the wind, and the fight began.

But they were no match for her.

"Wh-what the...!"

"Argh! My arm!"

"My leg, damn it!"

In the blink of an eye, four were down. The bandits clutched their arms and legs, screaming.

They were no small fry in these parts. And there were twelve of them against one opponent.

Yet despite their numerical advantage, the tide turned in an instant.

The leader backed away. This wasn't working.

He hurriedly scanned his surroundings.

His eyes landed on the young lady, the knight's charge.

'Take that bitch hostage, and the rampaging knight won't be able to do a damn thing.'

The leader flashed a vile smirk and turned toward Medea.