Foreigner Volume 7, Chapter 133

Volume 7 Chapter 133, Magic Sword ~ 41

　The man was rocked by his weakened horse and looked curiously at the pillar of light floating in the middle of the road.

「What, is this?」

　The man, who does not have much of a soul but has a large store of knowledge, does not know what kind of sorcery this pillar of light is.

　But there is something else he does know. He knows that this circle must be extremely dangerous. This is evident from the fact that the plants and trees inside the circle are wilting at a furious rate. And there would be a battle inside. Another thing was that it was probably his father who had created this circle.

　The man's name is Edward Coogan. He is the father of Sheryl Maylander and Graham Coogan's only child.

　He had joined Baron Dantes' army and had survived.

　Some good fortune had kept him alive.

　He had escaped quickly, using the casualties of his allies as cover. The Holy Sword Clan happened to be among the forces he commanded, and Leia's attention was drawn to them. Leia had ordered Solor to let some of them go, and Solor had let him go. He had escaped without a plan and was not attacked by any beasts during the night camp.

　He had followed Satoru to this point, despite the horror he had felt, in order to fulfill the only plan he had come up with in the despair of the night camp.

　There is an obsession, and there is madness.

　His father would be right around the perimeter of this circle of light. Edward was right. Edward's heart was excited when he found the tent. After all, it must be some kind of revelation that he survived - or so he thinks.

　He was unaware, of course, that he was able to avoid the battle between Solor and the members of the Holy Sword Clan, that Zelphis and Sayasute were so focused on watching the battle and did not notice the intrusion, and that he was coming around from the opposite side of Rico ― several fortunate events befell this man.

　Seeing several horses tethered, Edward suppressed his impetuousness and spoke to the man tending the horses, who was probably his father's secretary.

「What's going on?」

　The secretary looked back in surprise when he was suddenly approached from the horse. He was dressed in a fine cloak and looked like an aristocrat, albeit in tatters.

「E-errr......who is it?」

　"I didn't hear anything about a nobleman coming here"―Expressing disbelief, the secretary asked the man on horseback. He secretly changed his posture so that he could draw his sword at any moment.

　Apparently, this secretary doesn't know who he is. That's convenient. Edward almost smiles at the unexpected dispensation of heaven, but he holds back and adopts a treated, serious, important attitude.

「High Mentor Graham Coogan's son, Edward Coogan.」

　The secretary was relieved to hear the man's name. It is true that there is a hint of resemblance between his face and that of the High Mentor. Although this secretary had never met him before, he knew that the High Mentor Graham Coogan had a son. He is probably the father of Sheryl, the leader of the watchdog task force who came to this area with the head of the Holy Sword Clan and brought this incident to light.

　The secretary officer casually approached him, saying that there was no need to conceal the fact that he was dealing with a child.

「We have just captured the enemy in a circle now. The High Mentor is concentrating on his art.」

「I see.....No, I was too concerned about my father's condition. As a son, I was worried.」

　The secretary nodded in agreement to Edward's words as he dismounted his horse. All the secretaries attached to the High Mentor know that he has been working on this matter with all his heart and soul since the mysterious explosion at the outer edge of the Dark Green Forest. He must have been worried by his father's despondent state and followed him. The secretary was impressed to see that although he is a little older, he still feels the same way about his parents.

「I see. But it's all right. If you are the High Mentor's son, you must know of your father's great magic power.」

　The secretary proudly assured him that everything would be fine, but Edward's expression remained clouded ― it was just an act.

「But still. I've heard rumors that you're dealing with a very outrageous opponent.」

「Yes,...... it seems that even after fighting together with the Holy Sword Clan, it's not over yet.」

　The secretary looked at the reversed magic circle that still glowed faintly. The other secretary was with the granddaughter of the High Mentor and the deputy head of the watchdog task force who had been keeping an eye on the target. The fact that the High Mentor's blood relative was here was, to tell the truth, reassuring to him as well.

　Edward stroked his horse's neck and looked back at the secretary.

「Can you do me a favor?」

「What do you need?」

「My horse. I had to push him very hard to come this far. He is very weak. If you could get the horse some water or something...」

　Indeed, the horse on which Edward had been riding was very weak, as you could see. I could tell that he had pushed himself too hard. If I may say so, the watering hole is a little far away, but if it is blood relations who remain here, there will be no problem...

　The secretary, who had no idea that he had disowned Edward, thought casually.

「Ahh, very well. I will take care of your horse.」

　Edward smiled thinly as he watched the secretary reverently take the reins of Edward's horse and then walk away to the water. It was a smile so cruel that it would have frightened anyone who saw it.

　Without hesitation, Edward entered the tent.

　There he saw his old father. Kneeling at the altar in the back, concentrating single-mindedly, his father's back looks smaller than usual.

「Father,...... are you concentrating on your art?」

　Edward said in a small voice to his father's back. The great sorcerer, who, despite his old age, could still serve as the High Mentor of the Academy of the Wise, is fully focused on maintaining the circle. His father concentrated more deeply than Edward had ever concentrated before.

　That is how difficult the art must be. He was dealing with a man who had destroyed 500 mercenaries assembled by Baron Dantes in the blink of an eye. It was only natural.

　――But still.

　From Edward's point of view, even with the soul of his father, who is the best in the world and the most difficult to beat, it is hard to believe that he could ever win against that monster. He knows this because he fought him up close. It is not something that can be handled by a human being.

　If we can't win, then we have to take it in. And to win, you need a souvenir. A half-baked souvenir is not enough. You must prepare a souvenir that will make the other side very happy.

　In accordance with the madness that welled up inside him, Edward pulled out the sword at his waist.

「For my sake, for Sheryl's sake, I will make my father useful!」

　A dull pain shot through High Mentor Graham Coogan. As quickly as his consciousness faded away, his concentration was broken and he was brought back to reality.

　―This is bad, I can't maintain the circle.

　There was an unpleasant thud. Graham Coogan realizes that his head hit the floor, and he sees something strange.

　What he sees is his own body, with a large amount of blood spurting from his neck. The body had no head. And then he saw another man.

(Edwar- ......)

　As Graham Coogan closes his life.

　The reversal magic circle disappeared without a sound.

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