Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 123.  Flow (2)

A brief, awkward silence.

Irida and Anagin, who had emerged from between the trees, stared at each other without a word.

Just as the awkward air slowly began to tighten around them, Irida opened her mouth.

“I’m pretty confident in my stealth....... Since when did you notice?”

“From the start.”

Anagin spoke as if boasting. But it was true.

Just as Irida had learned stealth from a young age for hunting, Anagin had also spent his time tracking down hidden beasts to beat them for ruining the fields.

“Doesn’t look like you’re here for hunting, so… do you need something from me?”

“I was just curious what you were doing alone in the forest.... It was cute, those piglets.”

Irida said, as if she had seen Anagin’s familiar.

“They might have hidden abilities.”

Without realizing it, Anagin repeated what Sphinx had once said.

If all it did was summon a few piglets, that would honestly be infuriating.

“I think so too.”

“Oh, really?”

Anagin brightened when Irida agreed.

Deep down, he had been worried that summoning a few piglets was all there was to it.

“You took down Hippomenes, so there’s no way that’s all, right? Even if he wasn’t an actual bishop, he was practically at that level. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise.”

“Damn, I didn’t expect us to agree. That’s a bit surprising.”

“Hey, even when I say something nice....... Anyway, thanks.”

Irida looked momentarily dumbfounded at Anagin’s contrarian tone, but then suddenly expressed her thanks.

Caught off guard, Anagin asked what she meant.

“Out of nowhere?”

“That advice you gave before going to take down Hippomenes. Thinking about it now, I don’t think I properly thanked you.”

‘If there’s something you truly care about, move. If you don’t do anything, you’ll regret it.’

Anagin recalled the words he had said in the past.

“Hm....... I was just annoyed watching you and said whatever came to mind, so you don’t have to thank me.”

“I don’t care what your intentions were. I don’t even want to know. What matters is the result. The result that I was helped....... Or is there some reason you can’t just accept a thank-you sincerely?”

Her words carried a sharp edge, and after a brief pause, Anagin answered.

“......No, not really. Then I’ll accept your thanks properly. You’re not just trying to brush it off with words, right?”

“If that’s what you’re worried about, don’t be. I’ll compensate you. It’s just that my sister is busy, so we can’t go into details yet.”

“Oh, right. She’s still busy?”

Anagin  wore an exhausted expression. He had seen firsthand just how busy Atalanta was.

For the past five days, Atalanta hadn’t had a single moment of rest and had been working nonstop.

With massive incidents happening one after another—the destruction of the royal palace, the king being beheaded, and 80 percent of the Groom Tournament participants dead—the officials were in shock. She had to comfort them while tirelessly handling the aftermath without rest.

Thanks to that, the damage had somewhat settled down, but.......

Honestly, it was impressive. To a degree he couldn’t even imitate.

“That part is admirable.”

“.......”

“What?”

“No, it’s just surprising. Hearing you say something admirable.”

“What’s with that? I can acknowledge things when they deserve it. I don’t think I could handle something that tedious. Does it sound like a lie?”

“No. It sounds true. That’s why it’s even more surprising.”

Irida said she believed him. It almost sounded sarcastic, but it didn’t seem to be.

“My sister really is amazing.”

“Must be a shame. Watching your sister, she’d probably make a good king, but everyone’s saying otherwise.”

As Atalanta worked desperately to stabilize the chaotic political situation, talk of the next king began to surface. Of course, Atalanta was never mentioned as a candidate.

The throne of Hellas could only be occupied by a man.

And Atalanta was a woman.

People said Anagin was rude, but from his perspective, the people here were a hundred times more disrespectful.

The one doing all the hard work was someone else, yet they were already discussing things like that.

“It can’t be helped. That’s the law. And honestly, it’s not a bad thing for my sister either.”

“Really?”

“She’s not particularly interested in being king anyway. What she’s doing now is just responsibility, nothing more, nothing less.”

Fair enough. Atalanta certainly didn’t look like she’d be happy ruling as king.

Maybe this situation was the best possible outcome for her.

Hippomenes’s rampage had caused great damage and killed her father, but because of it, the Groom Tournament had ended in a vague cancellation, and no one remained to force her into marriage.

Once a new king was appointed, Atalanta would truly be free.

In that sense, Isos might as well have died at the perfect time.

Of course, Anagin didn’t say that out loud.

No matter what, you don’t say something like that to the daughter herself—unless the situation really calls for it.

“So who’s becoming the new king?”

“My mother will decide.”

Klymene, the Queen of the Kingdom of Arcadia and mother of Atalanta and Irida.

Fortunately, unlike her husband, she survived without meeting a tragic end.

So officials visited her almost daily, urging her to take a new husband as soon as possible.

It felt a bit absurd, but Anagin decided not to dig too deeply into someone else’s family matters.

“That must be tough for you, too.”

“It can’t be helped. Well, my sister and I are already old enough to handle it.”

“That’s admirable. Is that all you wanted to say?”

“No, there’s more. Here.”

Irida pulled out a folded bundle of paper from her waist and tossed it to Anagin.

It was the Talaria Weekly.

“Take a look.”

Anagin unfolded the newspaper. He didn’t need to search for what she meant.

As soon as he opened it, there was an article on the front page.

「The Detailed Inside Story of the Barbaroi Cult Invasion of the Kingdom of Arcadia. The Practitioner Protector Who Defeated Them.」

.

.

.

-Junior Reporter Klephthys-

“Ponytailed bastard, you son of a—”

* * *

As expected, the Talaria Weekly had published an article about the incident in the Kingdom of Arcadia.

Naturally, the one who wrote the article was Ponytail, who had been at the scene.

Maybe because of that, the level of detail in the article was different.

Normally, they would only write the broad outline, gloss over the finer details, and add them later, but this one already covered things in detail.

For example, instead of vaguely lumping everything together as the Barbaroi Cult, it specifically identified them as the Hog Cult, one of the Barbaroi Cults. It even revealed that the one who carried out the act was Hippomenes.

‘So the religion that worships pig bastards is called the Hog Cult.......’

The article didn’t just stop at naming Hippomenes as the culprit; it even described the background behind his actions.

It speculated that Hippomenes, a practitioner who had loved Atalanta, fell into corruption and joined the Barbaroi Cult because he couldn’t win her love due to his own incompetence.

After that, it realistically described the damage and danger caused by Hippomenes, and concluded with the story of how Anagin took the lead in defeating him.

「......Anagin, known as the Practitioner Killer, took the lead in bringing down Hippomenes......」

To be honest, there wasn’t really a problem with the article itself.

There were speculative parts, like the reason Hippomenes joined the Barbaroi Cult, but aside from that, it mostly stuck to facts with a bit of embellishment.

And yet, the reason Anagin cursed was because it made him stand out too much.

It was so blatant that it almost felt like he was being set up.

Of course, it was true that he had taken the lead, but he also knew he couldn’t have defeated Hippomenes on his own.

Confidence and arrogance were two different things.

‘But why show me this? Does she have a problem with what’s written in the paper?’

As if his question showed on his face, Irida spoke first.

“It’s not that I have any complaints about you. There are parts of the article I don’t like, but everyone knows how hard you worked. And I more or less expected that Ponytail would write something like this.”

“Really?”

Anagin reacted like that because he hadn’t expected it.

Last time, too, there had been an article praising him, but he thought that was just to screw over Chiron Tower.

Somehow, it felt like that Ponytail bastard would mess with Chiron Tower for no reason at all. His personality was a bit.......

Anyway, the point was that Ponytail had now written consecutive articles with Anagin as the protagonist.

“Still, it’s strange. That you’re the main figure two times in a row. Are you two close or something?”

“Not at all. Then there must be some kind of scheme.”

“No, I don’t think so. It’s true that you performed well, and this isn’t the first time they’ve tried to boost newspaper sales by creating a new hero.”

“What are you trying to say?”

The conversation felt like it was circling around the point without quite landing on it, so Anagin asked directly.

Irida showed a slightly troubled expression.

“Um....... What I’m trying to say is, would you consider joining the New Argonaut Expedition Team?”

“No.”

As always, Anagin refused without the slightest hesitation.

A response that conveyed his intent more clearly than any elaborate phrasing ever could.

Irida had expected it, but still looked disappointed.

Normally, he would’ve ignored it, but this time, a strange curiosity stirred in him.

“Why make that kind of offer all of a sudden?”

“Can I be honest?”

“What’s with that all of a sudden....... Go ahead.”

Right before answering, Irida glanced at Sphinx, who had been listening nearby.

For some reason, she seemed slightly uncomfortable.

With a glance, Anagin signaled Sphinx to step away for a moment, and Sphinx complied without complaint.

A brief, awkward silence passed while Sphinx left, but only for a moment.

Irida spoke again.

“I think it’ll be safer for you.”

“Safer?”

“Fame is important for a practitioner, but at the same time, it can also bring danger.”

Anagin wasn’t sure what she meant, but he listened. After all, Irida had more experience as a practitioner.

“Well-known practitioners often become targets for monsters or villains. I don’t need to explain why, right?”

“Yeah.”

“......And sometimes, even other practitioners can be dangerous. One way to raise your reputation is by defeating someone who’s already famous.”

He understood what she meant.

Even in his own case, his reputation had risen because he survived Erysichthon and defeated Hippomenes. Though there was one thing that bothered him.

“Can you just attack someone famous out of nowhere?”

“Not exactly, but you know? Reasons can always be made up.”

“You mean frame me for something?”

“That’s one way. What’s certain is that the more alone someone is—and the more enemies they have—the easier it is to try and frame them.”

“I don’t have that many ene—”

Anagin trailed off mid-sentence. Thinking about it, he might actually have quite a few enemies.

For starters, most of the practitioner families in the middle lands of Anapik probably disliked him, and the people from Chiron Tower didn’t like him either.

He briefly wondered if he should’ve held himself back more, but quickly dismissed the thought. If he had, he probably would’ve died from bottled-up frustration.

“It’s not just practitioners, either. You’re still in danger. The Forest Brotherhood and the Barbaroi Cult both hold grudges against you.”

“So if I join the New Argonaut Expedition Team, I’ll be safer?”

“Not completely, but you’ll be safer to some extent.”

Irida nodded confidently.

It wasn’t just because they were a group. The members themselves were certainly reliable, but more than that, the New Argonaut Expedition Team had a solid backing.

Chiron.

A Great Master who raised countless heroes under the will of the gods.

He tended to be quite hands-off, but there was a huge difference between having him and not having him.

Even now, just hearing that Chiron Tower would help had reassured many people, and in reality, their assistance had greatly contributed to the current stabilization.

“So if you join the New Argonaut Expedition Team, you’ll be safer. And I’ll help you too.”

“Oh, how kind.”

“Because we’re friends.”

Irida answered in the most serious tone she had used so far.

“Friends?”

“You said we were friends. Was that a lie?”

“......No. I might spout bullshit, but I don’t lie. So I’ll give you a serious answer as a friend. No.”

Irida fell silent for a moment before replying.

“......Aren’t ‘bullshit’ and ‘lying’ the same thing...?”

“The intent’s different.”