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Volume 1 Chapter 1 Part 6

「And where is your hometown? 」

「It is a small village in the western part of Sistina. 」

「I see…… 」

Sistina is an island that is located across the strait from Ismeia, which is adjacent to the south of Elam. Just as Theo said, the Chaos concentration on the entire island is high, and Siluca heard that monsters and disasters are constant occurences there nowadays.

Currently, the island is ruled by Viscount Rossini, who belongs to the Fantasy Union. However, the viscount only governs the capital city of Laxia and its surroundings, where the concentration of Chaos is relatively low, and seems to have abandoned the rule of other regions of the island entirely.

However, it is also said that he regularly sends troops to deal with the threats and that the taxes he demands to be paid are quite small.

「Once I get a title that allows me to become a knight, I plan to return to my home village and become its Lord. I want to quell the Chaos there, defeat monsters that threaten people, and prevent disasters from happening with the power of my Crest. 」

「I think it’s a splendid ambition to have. However, Viscount Rossini owns the entire land of Sistina, so that means there should be a nominal Lord in your village as well. Is it Viscount Rossini himself, or is it his subordinate Lord… 」

「Eh? 」
Theo seemed surprised when he heard Siluca say that

「Then, does that mean that even if I become a knight…? 」

「Yes, even if you become a knight, you will not be able to become the Lord of the village where you were born. 」

「No, that cannot be… 」

Theo was at a loss for words.

「You could always swear allegiance to Viscount Rossini and have him make you the subordinate Lord, but… 」

「There’s no way he will ever allow it, and I don’t want to serve him to begin with. 」

Theo spoke those words almost as if he was spitting them out of his mouth.

「I see… 」

Siluca nodded in satisfaction.

「In that case, it would seem that the only choice you have left is to take Viscount Rossini’s title and become the Lord of Sistina yourself. 」

「But I am but a lowly squire. There is no way I can do something like that, is there? 」

「Then, will you just give up on your dreams? Is that really the extent of your ambition? 」

Siluca stared at Theo and asked him.

「T-That’s not true! 」

Theo violently shook his head in protest.

「The Great War is about to begin. If it really comes to pass, then that might be just the opportunity that I am looking for. 」

「And are you really prepared to do that? 」

「O-Of course. Even if it takes decades…! 」

「Yes, of course… 」

Siluca laughed to herself.
「Very well. I will help you with your ambition. 」

「You will? 」

Theo frowns openly.

「But I still don’t have high enough rank to make a contract with a Mage. Besides, you are going to make a contract with the Earl of Artuk, right? 」

「I said that I haven’t done it yet! And the trank that you are missing is… 」

Siluca stopped there and held her hands up high while holding her magic wand in the right hand.

「This world is filled with Chaos. Order is lost, and the laws of nature are disturbed. Therefore, the improbable phenomena can occur. One of them is the appearance of monsters living in other worlds. The boundaries of the realm are distorted, casting a shadow over this world… 」

Siluca spoke with a singing intonation as she wielded her magic, sometimes singing louder and sometimes singing more quietly. Along with that movement, a small shadowy sphere emerged in front of her eyes. A black mist drifted around it and swirled as it was being sucked into the sphere.

As Siluca envisioned a certain monster in her mind, she transmuted the Chaos before her, and…

「Show yourself! Orthros from Tartaros! 」

Siluca wielded her wand in a particularly flashy way and then stopped it.

At that moment, a black sphere popped like a bubble, and then a two-headed dog with black hair appeared out of it. The dog was about the size of a cow.

It is a monster that inhabits the hell of Tartaros, and its name is Orthros.

「Oh my, who would have thought that there would be a monster born from Chaos in a place like this? 」

Siluca tried to sound surprised, but she obviously sounded as if she was reading a script from a book.

「But… but you were the one that called it, right? 」

Theo gave me her a cold stare.

「Do not sweat the small details. 」

Siluca replied calmly.

「The important thing is that if you leave that monster alone, it’s going to be dangerous for the surrounding area… 」

「Once again, are you not the one controlling it?」

At Theo’s flustered question, Siluca silently shrugged her shoulders.

「Oh, oi! 」

Theo drew out his sword in a hurry and distanced himself from the two-headed dog. His Crest glowed in the air again as it was sucked into his sword and chest respectively.

「I’m sure you can do it. Defeat Orthrus and incorporate its Chaos Core into your Crest. If you do that, you should be able to get a rank that is just enough to be awarded a knighthood. 」

Siluca folded her hands in front of her chest and made her eyes look all teary. It was a neat little trick that she learned when bargaining at the market in Elam.

「If I die, I’ll curse you to death! 」

After Theo said a these few words, he went on to challenge Orthros.

「He’s really going to do it… 」

Siluca gave him a look of surprise, then narrowed her eyes happily.

「That’s not going to happen. 」
Challenging the monster head-on, Theo put up his shield. The huge two-headed dog lowered its body for a moment and then took a big leap, aiming to attack from above Theo’s head.

Theo rolled forward past Orthros, holding his shield over his head. And when he got up, he turned around and slashed his sword on his side.

It was at the same time that Orthros landed on the ground and flipped its body that Theo’s sword cut through one of the two heads. A sharp blade entered just below his ear, knocked out both of his eyes, and went through the other ear. For a normal dog, that alone would have been a fatal.

However, although two heads roared loudly, Orthros did not fall. It was a sign that it was going to take a few steps back and measure its opponent’s strength again.

However, Theo did not stop attacking. He took quick steps back and forth while holding up his shield, unleashing his sword while trying to get between the demon dog’s heads, so Orthros caught the point of Theo’s blade with its jaw.

Now that it caught the blade in its fangs, it was not going to let it go, but instead tried to crush it. With the power of this otherworldly jaw and fangs, that would have been possible.

However, Theo’s sword was strengthened by the power of his Crest.

Orthrus’ mouth was cut and there are bubbles of blood, but it still held the sword firmly. It shot its neck left and right in an attempt to wrest the sword out of Theo’s hand.
Theo threw down his shield and held the sword in his two hands, matching the strength of the demon dog’s. However, the next moment, the head whose eyes were crushed opened its mouth and spewed fire forward from it.

It seemed that the flames were quite hot, and part of Theo’s clothes caught fire.

Seeing that, Siluca’s complexion changed and she prepared herself to use her magic again to take control of Orthros and order it to stop attacking Theo.

「Ooh! 」
When Theo raised a surprisingly loud voice, he threw his body to the side, ignoring the burning breath of the beast. Succumbing to the momentum, Orthros finally pulled the blade out of its mouth.

Theo was now lying on the ground, and Orthros leaned over Theo and tried to bite off his head. However, Theo quickly thrusted his sword at the giant that was heading towards him.

Theo’s blade pierced the dog’s chest. And with the weight and momentum of the demonic dog itself, the blade only sunk deeper and deeper.

The demon dog still stretched its neck toward Theo, but finally run out of strength and fell to its side.