Chapter 223: The Great Warrior Part 6

When the boy was still young,

The situation of the beastkin was so miserable that it couldn’t even be compared to now.

“Boy, let’s make a deal. I’ll teach you how to read. So why don’t you share a bit of the fish you just caught?”

“Get lost.”

The boy scoffed at the absurd offer from someone who was clearly a high-ranking noble.

 Back then, teaching a beastkin to read was no different from trying to communicate with a mute animal.

If a beastkin wanted to live within human civilization, they had to be born into it in the first place.

Unless they were half-human, learning to read was impossible.

Roaming the frozen plains every day just to secure a single meal—

That was the ordinary life of a beastkin.

So the noble’s proposal only felt like he was making fun of an ignorant child.

“I see. Well, that can’t be helped. I was certain you’d want to learn how to read, Odin.”

“……”

The boy froze in place.

The man spoke of an impossible wish as if he had always known it.

 And on top of that, he knew his name.

As if he had come looking for him on purpose.

The boy Odin slowly turned his head.

“Huh?”

The noble had collapsed.

“…Must’ve been my imagination.”

With a look of exasperation, the boy Odin stared down at the fallen noble.

***

“Thank you, boy. I knew you’d save me.”

“…If I let you die, this entire place would’ve been in trouble.”

The beastkin were already persecuted.

 If word spread that an imperial noble had died on beastkin land,

 The entire region would surely be razed to the ground.

“I see. Very thoughtful. To think you’d consider things that far ahead.”

“…Who are you?”

Odin couldn’t help but ask.

Knowing his name, knowing what he was thinking—

 The way he acted as though she understood everything about him left a sour feeling in his chest.

Why would someone from the Empire know anything about him?

 Whatever the reason, he could only think of unpleasant possibilities.

“More importantly, if you know my name, you should at least call me properly. And I’m not a boy.”

“Sorry, but under Imperial law, a twelve-year-old brat is still considered a boy.”

“Even so, you’re the last person I want to hear that from.”

“Hmm, you do have a point. I’m not exactly that old myself.”

“……”

Until now, his thick hood had made it hard to see clearly,

But the so-called high noble of the Empire was surprisingly young.

It was a blonde girl.

 She might even be a member of the imperial family who had snuck out of the palace.

“Well then, shall we start with introductions? You may call me Oracle for convenience.”

“…Oracle?”

“Judging from your reaction, you’ve heard of me at least in rumors? Yes, I am that Oracle.”

Odin did know of the Oracle.

He wasn’t sure if it was a rumor or a legend,

But she appeared in the fairy tale his parents with faces he could no longer remember used to read to him.

It was because of those memories that he wanted to learn letters.

 He wanted to read the book his parents had left behind.

 But that and the girl’s identity were two separate matters.

He was supposed to believe this girl was a character from a fairy tale?

“Oh, I see. So what’s a great Oracle doing all the way out here, on the verge of starving to death? Can’t you predict your own future?”

As if he’d believe her.

 She was obviously trying to trick a gullible kid.

“You don’t believe me. That’s fine. Being blindly believed is more annoying anyway. But if I’m to defend myself, I can see my own future. I even know when I’ll die. I know I don’t have much time left… and that’s why I came to meet you.”

“…Why me? And stop calling me boy.”

“But the name Odin doesn’t suit you.”

“It’s the name my parents gave me.”

“Of course, I’m sure it’s a fine name. I even know what meaning they had in mind.”

Odin clicked his tongue at how casually the Oracle threw around remarks that bordered on insults without the slightest hesitation.

 Truly a noble of the Empire. Arrogance must have been part of their basic upbringing.

He decided to just let it slide.

“Do you know what the name Odin means? It symbolizes rage and war. Considering what your future looks like… well, it’s not a bad fit.”

“My future?”

It seemed she intended to stick to this “Oracle” nonsense to the very end.

 Odin let out a long sigh but still listened.

After all, the girl’s knowledge was useful.

 He hadn’t even known the meaning of his own name until now.

“Yes, you will become a Great Warrior. The overwhelming strongest, unmatched by anyone.”

“……”

“I know you dream of becoming a scholar. But unfortunately, that’s not the fate waiting for you.”

“Ah, right.”

As expected.

 The offer to teach him letters had probably just been a ploy to mock him.

The boy Odin clicked his tongue.

“That’s why the name doesn’t suit you. A fate where you burn yourself in endless fury, only to be devoured by a monster in the end… isn’t that miserable?”

“So what exactly are you trying to say?”

“As your teacher, I shall give you a new name!”

“…What?”

“From this day forward, your name is Vidar.”

“Haaah…”

The boy who would now be called Vidar let out a deep sigh.

He had already realized this girl was not someone reason could reach.

 And it wasn’t like anyone ever called him by name anyway—

 His sickly younger sibling only ever called him “big brother”.

 So he wasn’t used to hearing his name spoken aloud.

In the end—

“Do whatever you want.”

He really didn’t care.

“Well then, since I’ve received a meal, I’ll keep my promise and teach you how to read. Come outside.”

“Outside?”

“How else am I supposed to teach you anything without a pen or paper?”

“…Ah.”

Vidar followed the Oracle outside.

The Oracle picked up a fallen twig from the ground and struck a pose, as if she were holding a teacher’s pointer.

“Ahem. First, we begin with a proper greeting.”

“……”

“Boy, that’s hardly the attitude of someone who intends to learn. Can’t even manage a simple greeting? Or do you not know how to greet someone?”

“I do know, okay?”

Vidar lifted his hand and gave a little wave.

“…I see. You really don’t know. No sense of respect toward your teacher at all. Save that kind of behavior for your friends.”

“What?”

“You don’t even realize what it is you don’t know. Before I teach you letters, I’ll have to teach you manners.”

“That’s not what we agreed—!”

“Now, now! Instead of being grateful for the chance to learn, you raise your voice?!”

***

It took quite a bit of trouble, but in the end, Vidar managed to learn various things from the Oracle.

“Ah, Master.”

The first thing he learned was how to greet someone.

Vidar straightened his posture and gave a polite bow.

Before long, greeting others had become natural to him. His speech gained refinement, and his rough behavior softened.

“Mhmm. Good.”

Vidar’s teacher, the Oracle, didn’t visit often.

Since she spent most of her time acting as an officer of the Imperial Army, she always looked exhausted whenever she stepped into the snowy hut.

“Greetings are important, you know.”

“……”

“Remember this, Vidar. Greet everyone with respect. That is how you show regard for others.”

“What if they’re not worth respecting?”

“Who did you fight with?”

“…There was a bit of a territory dispute. Do I really have to greet guys like that politely too?”

“If they’re an enemy, then no, you don’t have to. But if you want to keep your options open whether to treat someone as an ally or an enemy, it’s best to be polite even when you don’t want to be.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. I hate it too, but every time I see that Emperor bastard, I still give him at least a bow. That son of a bitch.”

“……”

Vidar held his tongue.

 By now, he understood he shouldn’t speak carelessly about the Emperor.

“Vidar. Your education has come along quite well, hasn’t it?”

“Well, I suppose so, Master.”

“You’re a bright child. Honestly, I’m not particularly gifted at teaching, but you followed along well.”

“…Are you about to die or something, Master?”

He narrowed his eyes, trying to read the Oracle’s true intent.

 She wasn’t one to say things like this for no reason, and Vidar worried she might be planning another one of her bizarre stunts.

“I am about to die. A month from now, there’s going to be a battle and I’m scheduled to die there.”

“……”

“Oh, right. In case you forgot, I’m an oracle.”

“Right… you were.”

Vidar had completely forgotten.

 Since he’d assumed she was simply a strange person, he’d grown used to brushing off whatever she said.

“But if you know when you’re going to die, why accept it? Why not just avoid the battle that’s coming in a month?”

“If I don’t fight, the Empire will suffer a devastating blow. The Emperor will probably recover from it somehow. But the ones who’ll suffer in the meantime are the innocent people.”

Like it or not, the Empire was the center of the world.

 If it faltered, the shockwaves would ripple downward to everyone.

And so, for the sake of the world and its people, the Oracle chose to go to the front lines, even knowing she would die there.

“I don’t live for the Empire. I live for people. The Empire and the Emperor are just the means I chose to protect them.”

“But the Emperor persecutes us.”

“That’s true. But the Emperor is human, too.”

And that was precisely why she had to choose.

Admitting that they had no ability to embrace everyone, the Empire chose to reject other races for the sake of its own people.

“If saving your own kind is what you want, I won’t stop you. Even if I tried, you’d do it anyway.”

“Is that the future you saw for me, Master?”

“Yes. You will become the great warrior who leads the barbarians, and in the end, after surrendering your body to Varg, you’ll become one of the greatest threats to the world.”

“Varg…”

Vidar murmured the name as if rolling its weight on his tongue.

 For him, it was a name far heavier than for anyone else.

“Will my little brother survive?”

“Do you want to hear it?”

An Orcale who sees the future stood before him.

 There was no avoiding the thought of his brother’s future—

 The future of a boy suffering every day from Varg’s curse.

But Vidar couldn’t nod easily when she asked if he wanted to know.

 He feared the future.

 He feared being told there was no hope.

As if sensing Vidar’s hesitation, the Oracle fell silent for a moment, then continued speaking on her own.

“Everyone’s ending is already determined. I’ll be dead on the battlefield in a month, and yet here I am teaching you.”

“That’s because you don’t have any friends…”

“Think of it as consideration, you ungrateful brat.”

The Oracle flicked Vidar on the head for running his mouth needlessly.

Then, with a faintly bitter expression, she answered his question.

“At least in the future I saw, there was no cure for Varg’s curse. It’s incurable.”

“……”

“But someone will overcome Varg’s curse eventually. Still, even if a result exists, that doesn’t make it an ‘answer’. That’s why we must value the process, not the outcome.”

Vidar couldn’t help but sink into gloom at her words.

 His brother wouldn’t survive—

 That was already a fixed truth.

“But you can still kindle your determination under the name of ‘precedent’.”

The Oracle, as if trying to comfort the despondent Vidar, added softly.

“Vidar, one day you’ll be swallowed by a monster and surrender your body to it. You’ll become a new threat to this world.”

“……”

“Why do you think I sought you out, knowing that?”

“If I think about it logically, I’d assume it was to eliminate the threat in advance.”

“That’s right.”

“…But, Master, you taught me how to read and passed on your knowledge. If your intention was to kill me, there was no need for any of that.”

“You’re right.”

The Oracle stared into the air, her blue eyes growing unfocused, as if peering far into the future.

“I believe we can twist the fate we’ve been given. That’s why I gave you a name.”

“A name…”

“Vidar, do you know what your name means?”

“I heard it means ‘the one who expands’.”

“Yes, I gave it to you so you would broaden your horizons. And also…”

The future will not change.

 The beastkin boy before her will inevitably become the greatest threat.

 Even so, the Oracle believes.

“I gave you that name so you would one day tear apart the jaws of the monster that tries to consume you.”

Someone, someday, will break free from their destined path and carve out a new world.