I Pulled Out the Excalibur - Chapter 397

WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ I Pulled Out Excalibur

Chapter 397

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Interlude, Question (3)

The world's perception of Najin falls into three broad categories.

First, there is the view of common people, ordinary folk. To the general public, Najin is the defining hero of the age, a guardian who saved the continent from the demon threat. He has no attachment to power or wealth. Despite rising to a lofty position at a young age, he never looks down on others. He throws himself into the most brutal battles while proclaiming honor and pride. He is, in short, exactly the kind of figure who steps straight out of an epic tale.

That is how the public sees Najin.

Next is how the Empire's powerful see him.

To the senior officials of the Empire, the Dawn Horn is a terrifyingly dreadful existence. Where does that dread come from? His raw strength certainly plays a part, but it is his symbolic weight and his connections that make them tremble.

Officially, Najin and Gerd are from the same lineage. Both served under the same master, and in this vast world, only two people have ever been taught the Triumph technique. No official in the Empire was unaware that the First Horn of the Empire cherished the Dawn Horn to an almost frightening degree.

On top of that, he maintains both public and private ties with the Duke of the Amber Eye Pillar, who controls the continent's flow of gold. The continent's foremost trading house backs him without reservation.

Remarkably, that is not even the end of it.

The Sword Saint of the Sword Order, the executioner of the Sacred Blood Church, the Atanga Knights, countless knights across the continent, various noble houses, the connections Dieta holds, and even the Emperor's personal support.

'And then there is his symbolic standing.'

Excalibur. The sword once held by the Empire's founding ancestor. That alone gives him more than enough symbolism and justification. Add to that a personal strength capable of standing alone against the entire continent, and the picture becomes very clear.

'If he ever set his mind to it, he could overturn the Empire.'

He could topple a thousand years of imperial history and seat himself on the throne, and beyond that, forge a single vast nation uniting the whole continent. He was exactly that kind of person.

The fact that someone of that caliber had no interest in power was something the officials gave quiet thanks for, deep in their hearts.

'The day you fall out of the Dawn Horn's favor, your political standing is finished on the spot!'

Not just political standing, whether you could go on living within the Empire at all would become questionable. So the officials had to strain themselves to avoid irritating Najin, even as Najin himself gave none of it a single thought.

That is how the powerful see him.

Last is how others like Najin see him, the Transcendents, the Constellations. In their case, it can be summed up in one sentence, or rather, one word.

'A lunatic.'

For better or worse, the word was lunatic. At only twenty-two years old, he had gathered ten stars, and the official count of stars he had stripped from others easily cleared triple digits.

Early on, there had been Constellations who thought something along the lines of: "Sure, but the kid hasn't even lived a hundred years yet, has he?" But after watching a few Transcendents who strutted around boasting their centuries of experience get their stars cut away in a single stroke from the Dawning Star, a person's thinking tended to shift.

"What did you say?"

"You know that Transcendent Yurik from next door? Word is he lost about two stars just the other day."

"Yurik? Out of nowhere? Did he get into some star-staking war, or did some Constellation with a grudge jump him? Then again, the way he carried himself was always a bit rotten."

"No. He ran his mouth at the Dawning Star."

"Ah."

The Dawning Star is a lunatic.

By now, the Dawning Star passing by and dropping one or two stars is not even worth a column in an imperial newspaper. It is simply routine for him.

...And so.

A hero to the public, a source of dread to the powerful, a lunatic to fellow Transcendents.

"......"

The Star Incarnation, who was both a person of power and a Transcendent, sat with that individual right in front of her, and she was trembling. Even now, closing her eyes brought it back, the memory of that lunatic wrapping a rope around her own body and hurling her into a sky whale.

"You trash!"

"You traaaaaash!"

It was true that thanks to Dieta, whom Najin had introduced her to, she was living a pleasant life. But that was beside the point. She had no wish to come face to face with Najin.

Gulp.

The Star Incarnation swallowed hard and managed to open her mouth.

"Wh-what brings you to see me? Or rather... to see me?"

She glanced at the young man seated across from her. Neatly bound gray hair, a crisply pressed Free Knight's dress uniform, and a striking face that naturally drew goodwill from most people who looked at it.

Not from her, naturally.

She knew there was a lunatic living inside that presentable exterior. Keeping her guard up, the Star Incarnation watched Najin carefully.

"Nothing major," he said.

The Star Incarnation felt unease settle in.

When someone says "nothing major," nine times out of ten it is very much major. She prayed desperately that this would be the one time in ten it actually was not.

"Come with me to the Outland for a bit. A short trip, maybe ten days or so?"

It was the nine.

It was definitely major.

The Star Incarnation's mind raced.

"I refuse. Very politely, I refuse. As Star Incarnation, I have a duty to guard the order's holy grounds and tend to the young lambs who come here seeking guidance."

A lie.

She just wanted to rest.

"No matter how great a pillar of the Empire you may be, a request this sudden puts me in a difficult position. I have my own role and responsibilities. If you wish to request my company, you would need to go through the proper channels and approach the order's High Priest......"

The words came out smoothly. This was the conversational technique she had questioned having to learn every single time, asking herself why it was ever necessary, and here it was, proving its worth in exactly this kind of situation. The High Priest really does know best. Listening to that old man never led to any loss.

"Ah. About that."

Najin, who had been listening, pointed behind him. The High Priest had somehow slipped into the room at some point and was standing there. The old man smiled at the Star Incarnation with gentle warmth.

"Please go on ahead, Star Incarnation-nim."

High Priest. Not you too.

The Star Incarnation's world collapsed.

"This is the location of the Old Holy Site. We have been sending ascetics periodically to maintain the path, but I cannot say for certain whether the trail is still passable."

Leaving the Star Incarnation grumbling her way into the carriage behind him, Najin spoke briefly with the High Priest alone. He studied the old man in silence.

Framan, High Priest of the Sacred Body Church.

A white-haired elder. He had served the order since the era of the previous Star Incarnation and had been entrusted with the current Star Incarnation's education, her teacher and, in effect, something like a foster father.

"You had no questions," Najin said.

Framan looked back at him.

"Questions about what?"

"I arrived without warning, requested the Star Incarnation's company, and asked about the roots of the Star Body, and yet you gave me the answer before I had even explained my reasons."

"The roots of the Star Body lie in the Old Holy Site. Go there and you will find the answers you seek."

The old man had answered directly, without a moment's hesitation. Framan had raised no objections and had even been kind enough to tell him the location of the Old Holy Site.

"There must be a grand purpose behind it all, one this old man could never comprehend. When a great person acts, the doubts of a small person like myself only become an obstacle. A pointless thing."

He paused, then smiled.

"That is what I would like to say."

Framan glanced briefly behind him.

He looked over the buildings of the Sacred Body Church and spoke.

"There is a saying passed down through each successive High Priest of the Sacred Body Church. It is also the final words left by the first."

"May I ask what it says?"

"Of course, honored one."

The old man opened his mouth.

"When the descendant of the greatest appears and asks about the roots of the Star Body, reveal the path to the Old Holy Site. Have the Star Incarnation of that age accompany and guide them."

"What is there?"

"The roots of the Star Body, they say. I myself do not know the specifics. The High Priest before me said the same, as did the one before that."

Only, said Framan.

"Following the testament of those who came before, we have sent ascetics at regular intervals to clear and maintain the path. It is also the most important duty assigned to the Star Incarnation."

"......"

"Honored one, for the Sacred Body Church, the Star Body is an Idol and an object of Worship. One must not question the origins of the Idol, nor what it is made of. The mystique grows thinner the more you take it apart and examine it."

Framan smiled with gentle warmth.

"Even if you come to learn the truth, you need not share it with me. But......"

He bowed his head.

"I would ask that you share it with the Star Incarnation-nim."

"Why is that?"

"Because she has the right to know herself. It is something that has always been forbidden, but I am ashamed to admit that having spent so long at her side, I have come to feel this way."

Framan raised his head and looked at the Star Incarnation sitting in the carriage. She had her lips pushed out in a pout and her face turned away from him. The childlike sight made Framan smile, though it was a sad one.

"Is it not a sorrowful thing, to live without even a name to call your own?"

The old man's eyes were distant. After those words, he said nothing more and simply bowed his head.

"What is the most perfect and ideal being?"

Far in the past.

Some day more than a thousand years ago.

"I define it thus."

Arthur gathered the many ascetics, pilgrims, and priests scattered across the continent and spoke.

"The body must be clean. It must be formed of pure and flawless starlight, and it must be able to shine on its own without borrowing strength from anything else."

Star Body.

"Blood runs red. Even a perfect being should bleed the same red when it bleeds. Only then will it understand the pain of others, feel that pain alongside them, and be able to punish those who cause pain by making their blood flow in turn."

Star Blood.

"There must be a star to lead the many. A light to shine for those who are lost in the darkness, so that they may know which way to go, and sometimes, to guide them, it must shine."

Star Light.

"The three aspects need not become one. If any one of the three can be achieved, it is worthy of praise. So walk your own path."

Many orders rose and disappeared. Each went their own way in search of their own path. Then one day, an aged priest came to Arthur.

"Great one."

The elder looked at Arthur and said, "Please look at this child."

Before Arthur stood a young child. It was less a human being than something close to a doll. The body was perfect, but the inside was empty.

They had sculpted an Idol with their own hands.

But no soul had come to dwell within the Idol.

Creating life was a divine miracle. Mere humans cannot perform miracles. Arthur looked at the empty doll for a time, then smiled as though a good idea had come to her. She reached out toward it.

The Star of Idol that she possessed.

She drew off some starlight and placed it into the doll. And so starlight filled the empty shell.

"One day."

A doll that resembled her, and would come to resemble her further.

Arthur pressed her forehead to the doll's and closed her eyes.

"Far in the future, some day when ages have passed, you will meet him. When that day comes, pass along these words."

Arthur said something, only for the doll to hear. The doll remembered. The aged priest who had watched the whole exchange spoke to Arthur.

"I will forget."

"What do you mean?"

"Everything I have witnessed here, I will forget. It is a story that a small existence like myself should not dare to know."

"I would be grateful for that."

Before withdrawing, the old man turned back to Arthur.