Chapter 79

I Married the Dragon I Killed

Chapter 79: Short and Intense

Five minutes before the incident,
Vernel backstage.
— Huu, huu…
He was breathing heavily.
How many times had he left his house to stand on a stage like this?
And had he ever dared to hold the hope of achieving something like this?
“I have been on a stage before.”
But did he truly anticipate that a day like this would actually come?
Others might not know, but Vernel never imagined it.
Being ignored at every step, on the verge of having his organs harvested by loan sharks… that had been his life.
Everything changed when Ferda intervened, but even so, he never envisioned this moment.
Vernel carefully lifted the curtain and looked outside.
The vast seating area of the opera house entered his field of vision.
His heart leaped with excitement.
However, greater than that were the pressure and fear.
— Vernel-gun, do you think that can truly be realized?
The words of Director Bernard echoed in his ears, amplifying that emotion.
It happened when he was an academy cadet in Escolleia, during the Q&A session at the Academic Conference.
— Anyone can propose such absurd ideals. But what will happen if you get trapped in something like that?
— Do not think you can break all existing laws. You might be smart, but you will never be that kind of genius.
Bernard tried to break Vernel’s will.
Yet Vernel did not give up.
Nonetheless, from that day on, people had become a source of discomfort for him.
Especially when standing on a main stage like this.
Would they mock him again?
Would they confuse him with unfounded criticism?
Would he disappoint the people who believed in him?
Those questions turned into hands choking Vernel’s throat.
“Even so, I have to do this.”
For the regent who believed in him, Ferda.
To rub it in Bernard’s face for refusing to acknowledge his success and insulting him instead.
And for himself, who had dedicated everything to this.
— Huuu!! Why on earth is this relaxing tea so ineffective…?
Even after drinking several cups of the tea intended to relieve tension, the scattered thoughts in his head would not settle.
He clutched his hands tightly and prayed.
That something would unexpectedly go wrong and cancel this.
— Kyaaaaaak!!
As if responding to his small wish, a scream rang out.
Vernel snapped to full alertness at the sudden shriek.
— What? What happened?
The staff running the event began to flee en masse.
Instead of following them, Vernel decided to assess the situation.
— Heok…!
A rift opened.
In Halim, of all places, inside the opera house… a rift spewing monsters.
“Is that even possible?”
There were portals where monsters appeared within cities, but such cases were extremely rare.
With so many people gathered, while presenting the monster appearance prediction device, it manifests right now.
The timing is far too suspicious.
“Should I run?”
Just as Vernel attempted to turn around, his ankles froze.
Ferda entered his field of vision.
Ferda was standing right there.
As if the option of fleeing had never existed in the first place, he faced the rift with cold, calm eyes.
Noblesse oblige.
Ferda was fulfilling the duty of a noble.
Vernel felt encouraged by that gaze.
“I need to do something too.”
Even if I cannot risk my life like back then, I must be useful.
He jerked his head around sharply.
There lay the magic rifle he had prepared.
Vernel grabbed the rifle and activated it.
Adjusting the amount of mana, heating it sufficiently, aligning the control lever, adjusting the output to match the displayed calibration values…
“Why are there so many steps?”
More than 20 operational steps were required.
Originally there were over 100.
Because Malcolm couldn’t use it, Vernel had continuously simplified it to reduce the steps.
“They are still too many.”
Vernel had thought this even before the presentation.
But wasn’t it usable enough?
People can operate and use something at this level, right?
“That wasn’t the case.”
Simple enough for Malcolm to use meant that it had to be usable anytime, anywhere.
Being this complicated, it cannot be used in a moment of urgency like this.
Casualties pile up even while holding out.
“Damn it.”
Stupid bastard.
Just as the director said, I am a stupid bastard.
The result of clinging solely to a 1% improvement without imagining what was truly needed.
Even while spitting out such regret, Vernel did not stop moving.
Right now, in this moment, he decided to do whatever was within his power.
Upon finally finishing the charge, he pulled the bolt.
— Wuuung!
The object acceleration magic circle activated, vibrating inside the barrel.
Vernel stepped onto the stage with the rifle in hand.
The situation was already nearing its resolution.
Two remaining wolf monsters were lunging toward Ferda.
“Incredibly fast!”
Vernel had only one chance.
He had to land a direct hit with that single shot.
Yet just holding the rifle was difficult enough; he had no confidence in tracking that movement and firing.
— Pajijik!
A single burst of lightning erupted from Ferda’s hand.
It managed to stop one, but the other did not share the same fate.
It lunged past Jed and charged straight at Ferda.
And attempted to tear his throat out.
“No!”
Vernel hesitated no longer.
He pulled the trigger.
The mana formula manifested, and a single sphere of mana formed in the glass tube.
The sphere flowed into the long barrel and then shot out like a flash of light.
— Pang!
It pierced the chest of the monster aiming for Ferda.
Straight to the heart.
As the pure mana bullet lodged into its heart, the wolf monster groaned and thrash, then went completely stiff.
A single shot.
The monster fell with a single strike.
Even Vernel, who had fired the rifle, wore an expression of astonishment.
He had set the power higher than usual, but he never expected it to drop in one blow.
He thought that, at best, he would only buy some time.
However, regardless of his intention, that did not matter.
The roar that shook the ground and the death of the last monster.
All of it drew everyone’s attention toward Vernel.
They stared at him with their mouths agape like fools.
— What on earth is that?
— Does it look like magic was shot out from there?
— So is it a staff? Did he use magic?
— A staff wouldn’t look like that, right?
They barely speculated about the object Vernel was holding.
After all, the main focus of the briefing session was the mana stone; the magic rifle was only meant to be introduced as a mere applied product.
— Eum…
He had to say something.
Vernel felt the pressure to speak and opened his mouth.
— This is the item I brought this time, the magic… rifle?
That was all.
He couldn’t articulate any more words.
Yet, at the same time, it was enough.
That single introduction was intense enough to be burned into everyone’s minds.
— —
While the briefing hall was in chaos, there were people watching from a distance.
The situation had concluded, and the cleanup was visible.
— Seven wolf monsters.
Murmured a man with his arms crossed.
— How many deaths were you expecting from those seven wolf-type monsters?
The man standing beside him replied.
— At least 300 should have died. Including the director of Escolleia.
— But there was not a single casualty. Bernard didn’t die either.
— The bastard who planned this will not escape responsibility.
This was not a mere miscalculation or exceeding expectations; it was a failure difficult to dismiss.
— What do you think caused the failure?
— Do you need an answer?
— Just checking if we think alike.
The cause of defeat could be defined in a single word.
— Ferda Valdrova.
— That bastard, huh?
Both shared the same thought.
Ferda Valdrova.
Until recently, that name did not stop echoing among the demons.
Things began to go wrong from the moment he intervened.
— I heard he even raided a research facility utilizing the power of demons. Did we end up like this for overlooking him?
— We did not overlook him. If anything, we overestimated him excessively.
That overestimation came from the testimony of Director Linne.
The demons thought Linne’s testimony was merely a repertoire she used to excuse her defeats.
— But even that overestimation is being surpassed.
Ferda was beyond imagination.
— He knows how to neutralize monsters using 1st and 2nd circle magic that cannot even be used in combat.
— His mastery and deployment of forces was perfect. He pushed a bit, but that also seems calculated.
— Cold bastard. How is he so skilled in combat?
— He is only 18 years old, how is this possible?
— Perhaps he has been on battlefields?
— Look at that body. No muscles, that scrawny build… what could he do?
— Then… is it innate?
— For an innate talent, there is no sense of improvisation. The level is different.
There were many conjectures about Ferda, but no answers: an absolute mystery.
— The intertwining factors might give us the answer.
— What do you mean?
— I say we widen our vision. Let us look for factors in other things.
He gestured with his chin toward the brown-haired man.
— That guy, Jed, is also strange. Can someone move like that just with Haste?
— Normal humans cannot. To move like that, it would have to be someone who has lived at that speed.
— I thought it was strange for a guy who did swallow tricks to be a knight, but there was a reason he was selected.
The man nodded as if understanding.
— That guy, Malcolm…
— Just an idiot. Even now that everything is over, he is busy kidnapping magicians, isn’t he?
— …Indeed.
Meanwhile, the other man replied, lost in thought.
— We need to change the threat classification. At least to the Alberdo grade.
— Ferda Valdrova? That is premature. I think he is still within projections.
The man shook his head at those words.
— I am talking about that bastard.
He pointed his chin toward the blue-haired man on the stage.
The man who killed a wolf monster in a single shot with an object akin to a work of art.
It was Vernel Marquis.
— The influence of that bastard will undoubtedly surpass that of Ferda Valdrova.
— —
With the death of the seven wolf monsters, the situation in the briefing hall concluded.
There were many injured, but the battle ending without a single fatality held great significance.
Normally, even a single monster means at least three dead as a baseline, and as the numbers increase, casualties skyrocket geometrically.
Yet, despite seven storming in, not a single person died.
Everything was resolved before Halim’s reinforcements arrived.
It was imposing to the point where the word “impressive” fell short.
The one who led that imposing situation was Ferda.
— Thank you for saving our lives, Regent.
— We are truly awed and revere your dazzling nobility, Regent. Thank you.
Not only those who fought by his side, but even those who fled returned to fawn over Ferda.
Ferda’s refusal to retreat from the front line and his struggle were the very embodiment of noblesse oblige.
Of course, praise was not reserved solely for Ferda.
There was another who left an equally powerful impression.
— Do you know who that person is?
— They say it’s Vernel Marquis. He participated in this briefing session.
It was Vernel.
He appeared at the end of the monster invasion and put the finishing touch on it, naturally becoming the topic of conversation.
— Ah, I remember. Director Bernard pushed for him single-handedly, so he must be someone extraordinary.
— Is that the item?
— It doesn’t look like it. If it were a mana stone, doesn’t the name not fit? A mana stone should be a stone, right?
— Then what on earth is that?
Without the concept of magic engineering, they couldn’t know precisely what the object was.
However, there was no need to explain the concept in tedious detail.
Magic engineering is technology that can kill monsters in a single shot.
That alone was enough to pique interest.
Vernel felt the gazes directed at him shift and quietly approached Ferda.
— Uh, Regent… there is something I need to tell you…
— Speak.
— I did kill the monster… but originally it shouldn’t have died.
Ferda turned his head.
— What do you mean?
— Well, I was thinking about it. Considering the force measured during the rifle demonstration, the muscle density of the wolf monster, and the projectile’s trajectory, the bullet should never have reached the heart.
— Did you not shoot to kill?
— I only thought I would buy time. So I only superficially confirmed it was dead…
— I understand.
— The spot where I shot… its muscle was slightly parted, and the bullet passed right through the exact gap between muscles with almost no loss of power, reached the heart, and exploded there.
Ferda summarized Vernel’s explanation.
— So you’re saying it was all an overlapping coincidence of chances?
— Yes, that’s right.
Ferda stared intently at Vernel’s face.
— Does telling us that benefit us in any way?
— Uh… no?
— Then don’t ruin the moment and enjoy it.
Ferda patted Vernel on the shoulder and walked past.
As soon as Ferda passed, numerous scholars and merchants approached Vernel.
They introduced themselves and paid their respects.
Vernel looked at them and laughed awkwardly.
Not bad after all.
Whatever anyone said, this was an opportunity created by what he had crafted.
Meanwhile, Penelope grabbed Jed and jumped for joy.
— Hehe, hehe! Look over there, look! Look at the eyes of those females!
— …
— My goodness. I feel like my belly is already swelling. Can I, can I cry?
— …Shut up, abomination.
He pushed Penelope’s head away as she kicked up a fuss.
Jed quietly slipped away with a complicated expression, and Penelope chased after him like a child.
— What’s wrong? A “complicated man” concept? That’s not bad either! Just don’t make the concept too dense! Today I am going to have a feast!!
While everyone enjoyed the fervent attention, only Malcolm could not.
— Are you insane?! You threw me into the middle of a battlefield?!
— I’m sorry! I thought you were a witch…!
— What the hell is wrong with this insane bastard?! Do I look like a witch, huh?!
— Ah, I didn’t mean that! I genuinely thought you were someone who could use magic!
Even 5 minutes after the situation concluded, Malcolm—who had been busy kidnapping magicians—was receiving thunder and lightning from a noblewoman.
He had mistaken a wrinkled noblewoman for a witch and kidnapped her, earning himself a baptism of saliva and insults.
Within a minute, his parents and his crotch had disappeared from the curses, and even more things kept disappearing.
Unable to keep watching, Ferda stepped in front of the noblewoman himself.
The situation calmed down in 10 seconds.
Malcolm bowed his head, dripping with cold sweat.
— I am sorry, Regent. I made a mistake.
— No, raise your head. Did you commit a sin?
— You told me to bring magicians, but I brought a noblewoman and caused trouble…
— That was inevitable. You did your job. As a knight of the Grand Duchy, you carried out my order and did an excellent job.
Ferda was genuinely grateful to him.
What would have happened if Malcolm had tried to persuade them instead of kidnapping the magicians?
No one would have gone.
Who would willingly walk into a deathtrap?
If he hadn’t kidnapped them directly, the plan would have suffered a setback.
This operation went smoothly because Malcolm did what Malcolm could do.
— Thank you very much, keueuk!!
Malcolm held back tears of gratitude.
Just as things were settling down, someone approached Ferda.
The fact that no one stood in the path he walked confirmed that he was of high rank.
— Greetings to the Great Power of Fire, the spouse of Valdrova. I am Ahmad, lord of Halim, this land of pleasure.
It was the lord of Halim.
Before Ferda could respond, Ahmad knelt down.
— In the name of Halim, I sincerely thank you for resolving this crisis.
Everyone was shocked by Ahmad’s action.
— My god… the lord of Halim kneeling…
— A man who kept his back straight even before the Emperor…
Not kneeling lightly before a king is the trait of the southern lords.
The fact that Ahmad knelt before others elevated the regard for Ferda even further.
It was not a bad outcome.
— I merely fulfilled my duty as a noble.
— Who would risk their life to clean up another’s land? Let us not stand here; come to the castle. We will tend to your wounds and talk further.
Only then did Ferda remember his pierced throat.
The bleeding had stopped, but it throbbed with pain.
“It will definitely look ugly.”
He needed conversation topics for Valdrova, but he didn’t want to start with a scar like this.
— Can you heal it completely?
— Of course. I will bring the finest so not a single scar remains.
Ferda headed to the lord’s castle along with Ahmad.