Chapter 53. The First Hero (47)
Count Thornjer could see other people's names and conditions.
He could even see what they were planning.
Anyone capable of thinking would naturally form thoughts when asked a question.
And lying to conceal a plan didn't work against Thornjer.
He could simply read the person's mind.
"A war should be raging outside right now. What brings you here?"
Thornjer gave Seongchan a friendly smile.
Seongchan remained expressionless.
Perhaps because Thornjer was the head of the Highs Merchant Company, his expression didn't change even when faced with Seongchan's terrifying appearance.
He looks like a goblin charging at me with a dagger. I almost took a step backward.
Despite his composed appearance, Thornjer was nervous.
Seongchan looked at the door behind Thornjer.
Mana circuits covered its surface, and several layers of mana barriers protected it.
"I happened to be walking around when I stumbled upon a staircase. Then I kept walking and happened to meet someone important."
Seongchan glanced toward the unconscious soldiers.
"They don't seem to be dead. I wonder what that means."
Thornjer hadn't spared the soldiers because he disliked killing.
Every unconscious soldier belonged to his own faction.
There aren't many soldiers who are genuinely loyal to Haiman and Serina.
That didn't necessarily mean there were many who were truly loyal to Thornjer either.
The soldiers simply wanted to survive.
They shifted their allegiance from one side to another depending on the circumstances.
Sometimes you have to follow whoever holds power if you want to stay alive.
During his earliest regressions, Seongchan had frequently been forced to make similar choices.
He'd done whatever was necessary to avoid being swallowed by forces far more powerful than himself.
But with every regression, he had accumulated more knowledge.
He'd strengthened his resolve and grown more powerful.
Count Thornjer, the head of the Highs Merchant Company, had once been one of those enormous forces that Seongchan couldn't overcome in his early regressions.
"I'm not particularly fond of killing."
Thornjer gestured toward the staircase.
"If you truly stumbled upon this place by accident, forget what you saw and return the way you came."
"How can I leave after seeing something so interesting?"
[Should I burn through all those mana barriers?]
[Should I break through them with a whirlpool?]
If and Ella were eager to break through the barriers.
They were curious about what lay inside.
They spoke as though Thornjer standing before them was completely irrelevant.
And that was only natural.
I wonder what's inside. I'll have to wait until Count Thornjer opens the door himself.
With his S-rank skill Emotional Sharing Master, Seongchan could reveal or conceal his thoughts whenever he wanted.
He could also control them freely.
Someone who had mastered Emotional Sharing possessed complete control over their own thoughts and emotions.
That was why Thornjer couldn't properly read Seongchan's mind.
"Is that really all there is to it?"
Thornjer studied him as he asked the question.
At the same time, doubts surfaced in his mind.
I can't believe that explanation.
After seeing what happened in Tolkan Village, there's no way he's this simple.
Is someone backing him? Who could it be? The Wicked Woman? The Madman?
Thornjer had witnessed the changes in Tolkan Village.
He'd seen the preparations, the enormous pit, and the former Village Chief's unusual behavior.
From those things, he'd concluded that Seongchan was someone skilled at manipulating people, earning their trust, and turning that trust into benefits.
But the Seongchan standing before him didn't match that image.
He's almost like a spirit himself.
Is that why he can simultaneously control two spirits without losing his mind?
Thornjer revised his assessment of Seongchan.
Then he deactivated See the Other's Plan.
He could no longer endure the flood of thoughts coming from Seongchan and his two spirits.
The spirits' bright determination to do their best bordered on an unhealthy obsession with pleasing their master.
And Seongchan seemed to become even happier whenever he received their enthusiasm.
Thornjer found it mysterious that anyone could tolerate such a relationship.
Apparently, controlling spirits that repeat the same thoughts endlessly requires responding to them with just as much enthusiasm.
I must never become a spirit user.
The moment Thornjer stopped using See the Other's Plan, Seongchan sent a thought to his spirits.
You two are getting too excited.
[But you're excited too, Master! I'm so curious about what's inside! Should I burn the door down?]
[We don't have to cook or carefully control water right now. All we have to do is look forward to what's going to happen! It's wonderful! I wonder what's inside. Why does Master want to remove those mana barriers?]
Good work.
If and Ella blinked.
Neither seemed to understand what they'd done well.
Seongchan began calming their excitement.
[Huh? Why do I suddenly feel so calm? Should we wait until Count Thornjer makes a move before I breathe fire?]
[I think If has the right idea. If we act first, we might put Master in a difficult position.]
That's what I think too.
If and Ella smiled just like Seongchan.
How a spirit behaved depended largely on its master.
Once Seongchan calmed their excitement and helped them examine the situation with clear minds, the spirits could make their own judgments.
They understood what Seongchan wanted and willingly cooperated.
Most other spirit users would punish them instead.
When spirits became unruly, ordinary spirit users generally sent them back to the Spirit Realm.
Some sharply reduced the mana supplied to their spirits until the spirits became cautious and obedient.
There were even spirit users who proudly claimed that lowering a spirit's self-esteem made it easier to control.
Not that I can't understand why they do it.
Controlling spirits wasn't easy.
Maintaining your own emotional balance in this world was difficult enough.
Having a spirit with its own personality and opinions constantly rummaging through your thoughts and demanding responses made everything even harder.
The proof was standing right in front of him.
Even Count Thornjer, the head of one of the greatest merchant companies in this world, had been forced to stop using his mind-reading skill because he couldn't endure the spirits' unrestrained thoughts.
Thornjer narrowed his eyes.
He was silently telling Seongchan not to keep him waiting.
Seongchan finally spoke.
"That's really all there is to it. I'm just curious about how you're going to open the door."
"Are you saying that after seeing what happened to those soldiers?"
Seongchan looked at Thornjer.
Thornjer pulled a sword from his highest-grade Rethion Subspace Pouch.
His expression made it clear that he wasn't joking.
BZZZZT!
The mana circuits on the silver blade began glowing.
Red light spread across the metal until the entire blade shone crimson.
"This is the Bloodglow Sword. It's a rare weapon that can produce the same power as an Aura Sword simply by supplying it with mana."
"Are you planning to knock me unconscious like those soldiers?"
"Kyarrr!"
