Chapter 1 – Sorcerer Hunting Order
Chapter 1 – Sorcerer Hunting Order
“Brother, you’re finally awake!”
An extremely joyful but tearful voice broke into Rennes’ ears, pulling him, whose awareness was in a bit of a daze, into reality.
Rays of light slowly forced themselves into his eyes, animating the environment containing the sobbing voice.
It was a slightly moist stone house.
On the wall, there were some small cracks. Within the cracks, one could see threads of torn spider webs.
He closed his eyes, and after three repet.i.tions of controlled deep breathing, he opened his eyes again.
The scenery before his eyes didn’t change; it was the exact same as before.
A dark little face filled of tears and snot appeared in front of him. A pair of innocent and clear eyes looked at him from above for two seconds.
“Big Brother!”
As her dry lips opened and shut, she let out words that made Rennes feel both foreign yet natural—he could also understand them.
“Brother, your brain isn’t damaged, right?”
The eyes on the face’s owner brought forth some panic.
Cough . . .
Just when he widened his mouth, he released a burst of violent coughing.
The dirty little girl quickly helped Rennes up, and patted his back fl.u.s.teredly.
Several minutes later, Rennes felt his body improve quite a bit.
He was leaning on the icy cold wooden bed that carried a bit of humidity. He carefully examined his unfamiliar environment and the girl in front of his eyes.
The room was made out of rock, and other than the bed there was a wardrobe and a pitch-black wooden desk. On the desk, there was a lit old oil lamp; the flame swayed to and fro in front of the window.
Beneath the flickering flame were several books made out of beastskin.
On the wall, there was a thing similar to a clock, clicking as it moved.
The girl in front of his eyes looked to be roughly thirteen years old. She was a thin as matches, and her golden hair was in a mess, like a pile of withered flowers.
No matter this place’s decoration, or the girl in front of his eyes, they made Rennes realized this wasn’t the world he was familiar with.
This seemed like medieval Europe.
However, this language was clearly very different from the various languages in Europe, and the oddest thing of them all was he could actually understand it.
His eyes conveyed a bit of confusion.
A sharp pain suddenly struck him.
Fragments of past occurrences in addition to some bits of occurrences emerged into his head.
As a mixed-blood that grew in China, his experience could truly be said to be extremely pitiful.
His father was a French swindler who went to China to try and hit it rich. Because of his white skin, he charmed his mother, someone who admired everything from overseas. They then broke up on bad terms.
He, already nine months, was forced to be born by that woman. At a young age, he was raised by his grandmother, and in school, he was subjected to disdain and bullying . . .
That led to his reclusive and depressed character. Most of his time was put into dangerous experiments he liked, and in the end, he died due to an explosion.
A blossoming tree.
That was the scene he saw clearly amidst the flames of explosion. It was engraved in his head, unable to be forgotten.
. . .
Within his memories, there were some broken scenes mixed it.
A young man called Rennes Quine, n.o.bility, was practising swordsmanship in front of his father’s strict berating.
He was severely scolded by his father again and again, but didn’t put it in mind. He was daydreaming a display of his skills in his land after lessons.
When the kingdom started recruitment, his father leapt into the military. However, half a year later, his news of death came. The young n.o.bleman felt as though he were struck by lightning as tears fell down like rain.
He pulled himself together for a while, but was still unable to change his lazy habits.
A young man, who knew nothing about literature nor martial abilities, was encouraged under the influence of alcohol to accept the Church’s Sorcerer Hunting Order. In a night, his guards and servants all fled, and as they tried to stop him, he fell from a horse, and thus died.
From those disjointed memories, a sinister countenance that howled with bitterness faced directly against Rennes.
I’ll continue on the glory of the Quine family—Rennes thought. The illusory face struggled for an instant before melding like ice and snow.
Rennes once again opened his eyes.
The oil lamp had been extinguished.
The window was opened, and sunlight shone in a slant, diluting the stench in the room.
Recollecting the terrible experience of this body’s master, he felt a burst of helplessness.
What use was there in possessing vigor but lacking perseverance?
The funniest thing was because of several words of persuasion from others, his head was rushed with temporary emotions and he thus made a bet with another, taking on the Sorcerer Hunting Order.
Sorcerer Hunting!
Recalling that phrase, Rennes’ expression turned grave.
These memories relayed an accurate thought to him: this world was absolutely not any part of Earth.
Because in this place, there was the existence of supernatural power!
The Luminous Church representing righteousness, and wicked Sorcerers!
The memories remaining on this boy clearly told him no matter the Priests from the Church, or the evil Sorcerers, they both had the power to easily destroy a hundred-man army!
. . .
“Brother, here, eat.” Little Heidi carried a murky bowl of soup up to Rennes.
Heidi was an illegitimate daughter Old Quine brought from the outside. She had never received any favour from Rennes.
Her position in the family was even lower than the servants who only knew how to flirt.
Rennes accepted the bowl.
The taste of the unknown soup was a bit insipid, and from it there was even a faint stench.
Forcibly enduring disgust, he drank half of it. Seeing Heidi’s shaking throat, Rennes stopped. “What are you eating?”
From his dirty robe’s pocket he took out a small dark bun. “I’m eating bread.”
Seeing the interspersed close teeth marks, Rennes knew she had licked and bit this bun no few number of times.
Very possibly, she was reluctant to eat it.
After all, her superior only gave her ten pieces of these black buns every month. It wasn’t enough for even a single meal to those with larger appet.i.tes.
“You can drink the rest of the soup.” Rennes put the bowl on the table.
A hint of liveliness burst from Heidi’s eyes. However, she restrained herself and shook her head. “I can’t. This meat soup is for Brother.”
“I’m ordering you to drink it.” Rennes’ tone slowly became fierce.
She was a little lady, so how could she bear such temptation?
Heidi finished the half-bowl foul-smelling soup, like a gale sweeping away a cloud. Her smooth little tongue licked the bowl until the very end. It simply made the bowl even cleaner than before.
There was an unspeakable feeling in Rennes’ heart.
“Everyone’s gone. Why haven’t you left yet?” Rennes asked.
Heidi pitifully lowered her head. “Not everyone left yet. Uncle Casi who manages the stables, Big Brother Andrew who guards, and Aunt Kate who cooks haven’t left yet.
“Moreover, you’re my big brother.”
Rennes was speechless from disappointment and irritation.
He had Heidi call the others.
After a short moment, the other three had entered that stone room.
Casi was a middle-aged man who only had a single leg. His large face due to rosacea was flushed as he carefully examining his surroundings.
Andrew’s body was robust, and he stood upright. However, as he looked at Rennes, there was unavoidably some disdain.
Kate was a fat middle-aged woman. She was rubbing her hands on her ap.r.o.n, and said without end, “Lord Baron, there are still bones cooking in the pot! I cannot leave . . .”
There was a feeling of unspeakable sorrow.
No matter what, he was still a baron who looked over a population of over two thousand, yet at such a crucial moment, there were only these few who were of use.
He helplessly sighed. He knew before dealing with that Sorcerer, he could not go around and recruit others.
And, since he accepted the Sorcerer Hunting Order, it meant he could only deal with the Sorcerer. Otherwise, he would receive the wrath of the Church.
In the Hillman Kingdom, the position of the Luminous Church was even n.o.bler than royalty.
This was also the reason he was persuaded to accept the Sorcerer Hunting Order—if he were to succeed, he would receive the position of knight from the church.
However, Rennes had idiotically wrongly estimated the fear normal people borne towards Sorcerers. At least, when they heard him recklessly accept the Sorcerer Hunting Order, his subordinates all turned their back on him and fled.
This matter was now burdened on Rennes, who was from Earth. Although he still felt enormous pressure, it was not a helpless situation.
After all, he had the Golden Fingers.
Recollecting slightly, he discovered many things here surprisingly overlapped with Earth.
“Niter, sulfur, charcoal.” Rennes looked at the several people in front of him, and said to Casi, “Uncle Casi, help me buy these things in town. Buy as much as possible.
“Aunt Kate, please, next time you cook soup, don’t put b.l.o.o.d.y meat in. Clean it a bit, okay?” Rennes looked at Kate who was still talking endlessly.
“Heidi, there’s a bas.e.m.e.nt in the back. Help me tidy it up.
“That’s right. Take this gold coin and exchange it for clean clothes. You are my sister, not a beggar!”
As he looked at their bewilderment, he waved his hand. “Okay, you may leave now. Andrew, stay behind.”