North x Northwest
Chapter 114

Edgar’s Chapter 2: The book of inferiority

But his questions continued to pour in.

‘How did you learn about providence? Has anyone else deciphered the ancient language besides me? What’s the natural law? Where did you obtain that information? Have you come across any other types of ruins I’m unaware of?’

It didn’t take long for Edgar to realise he was suffering from a terrible form of inferiority complex. His sudden realisation was due to inferiority being an emotion most distant from him. He was always one step ahead of everyone. There was no shade called the shadow of another person in his field of vision. Edgar was a pioneer without fail, even when he was studying medicine, briefly staying in Lebrun, beginning archaeology on the Western Continent, and returning to Lebrun to finish his naval training.

Of the correspondence piled up in Edgar’s office, half were full of praise, the other half full of curses and accusations. Scholars at the Imperial Clairaut have made no headway in deciphering the archaic language Goe. The same was true in the medical field. Some sought out Edgar, who had gained unparalleled medicinal knowledge directly from the jungle, and they constantly asked him questions. Some, on the other hand, sent messages filled with envy and malice.

‘Am I no better than them now?To decipher Goe, one just has to endure the voyage of half a year and step on the land of the Western Continent. If one wants to discover new medicine, he has to go through the jungle…´

People say he was born a genius, but when he thought about himself, the only thing that made him different from others was his tenacity.

‘In what area do I fall short of her?’

Only then did Edgar realise why he was reluctant to face Liloa, she was the only human who made him feel so shabby. He couldn’t stand himself being in a position of inferiority, possessing nothing but pitiful inadequacy. He didn’t want to stand in front of her because she was captivating, far too captivating. Even though Edgar sometimes had the urge to meet Liloa face-to-face, he naturally avoided her presence whenever he thought about how insignificant he would look compared to her…

– – – – – – – – end of flashback – – – – – – – –

‘Liloa was such a person.’

Because of that, Edgar was astounded beyond comprehension to learn from her obituary that before her death she made the decision to resign from her commission. And after giving up her appointment, Liloa moved from the court to the Mireille duchy. Edgar couldn’t say he knew her very well, but he admittedly endured days of mysterious disappointment.

‘It’s a pity… such a pity… I was so envious of her.’

As time passed, Edgar still couldn’t understand why Liloa gave up. He held others to high standards just as he was strict with himself. Like a country’s sage, he was the most strict with himself but he had not yet developed the habit of being lenient with others.

‘If someone has a situation to endure, in addition to enduring it, one has to overcome it. Otherwise, it would have been all in vain. Giving up halfway equates to not having achieved anything at all. Such will shouldn’t have been interrupted because that’s what makes a human’s will so great. It can intervene and change the course of history.’

The will he felt that resides within Liloa was by no means usual.

‘But in the end, she cut it off… She gave in.’

As he approached his library, Edgar looked at a mural he passed.

‘The first humans to appear after the fall of the ancient world. The river from the mountain that mankind crossed. Its will oozing from the decaying barriers, producing a seed that dyed the continent golden…’

Edgar stood in the centre of the library and looked around. As he was standing as the man he was today, his determination about Liloa remained unwavering. He came this far carrying a sense of inferiority, a sense of shame, and expectations.

‘So, Liloa shouldn’t have thrown away the truth so easily. Knowing how precious it is… I thought she knew better than that. Even though she already understood what I had obtained thus far, she shouldn’t have thrown away the will she has been desperately harbouring as if it was nothing.’

Edgar glared at Mireille’s letter that he had crumpled in his hand. The forgotten sense of betrayal and anger seeped into his mind. He was certain that if Liloa found out about this, she would laugh at him and mock him for being angry at a person whom he shouldn’t even care about, as though she did something extraordinary by speaking about the truth and providence.

Edgar opened the torn letter again.

‘It makes no difference what Mireille’s intentions are. I’ll go even though Liloa had nothing to do with me. I need to know why Liloa had given up her will and gone to Mireille. And for her to have made such a terrible choice, what sense of purpose and happiness she’s gained by doing so…’

End of side story 2 – Edgar’s Chapter 2: The book of inferiority

***

Captain Long pushed the admiral’s door with his body and stormed inside. Almost rolling in, he shouted at the hidden Sagastar.

“Commodore! A ship has been spotted at the east-southeast, about 2,000 morts!”

While trying to quickly emerge from under the table, Sagastar hit his head on the edge. He was down there looking for possible clues on Edgar’s whereabouts. The commodore rubbed his head and cursed.

“…Report.”

The captain spoke to the still invisible navy beneath the table.

“A signal has been raised at the rear of the 1st Provisional Squadron. It’s an old galleon.”

Sagastar was finally able to lift his head above the desk before grabbing the chair and stumbled to his feet. Meanwhile, the captain double-checked that Sagastar was wearing his hat properly before allowing the group outside to enter.

The officers who came in one by one removed their hats and gathered around the conference table. On their crimson uniforms, various golden epaulettes and insignias proclaimed their rank. Before sitting down, they saluted respectfully. Sagastar unknowingly returned their stares with a serious face but gestured lightly. They were sparsely seated, taking out their handkerchiefs and wiping the sweat from their brows. The southern climate was bound to be too hot for them, especially with their multiple-layered uniforms.

The miniature-shaped model ships on the map were reorganised by someone’s hand, and the navigation officer next to him began performing detailed calculations. In the midst of all of this, the signals changed every few seconds, so an officer interpreting the signal from each ship came and went from the admiral’s room. On the other side, a communications officer was deciphering the Mandus officer’s code while holding a short-range communication tool. Sagastar sat quietly alone in the middle of each busy scene as he received the report.

“Major Conan’s Justorin is now approaching them for inspection.”

“They´re approaching from the wind. The wind’s in their favour.”

“If the ship departed from Marchand, it is most likely to be the ‘Towny Lelden’.”

“We cannot rule out the possibility that it is the Herotot or the Canchis other than the Towny Lelden. According to Legardon’s records, the Canchis departed around the same time as the fleet, so the 3rd Provisional Squadron will circle around and search the area.”

“No, the 2nd and 3rd squadrons of the 1st Provisional Battalion have been instructed to change course and support the Justorin. Operation Total Combat Deployment. They’re approaching from three directions: northwest, north, and southwest.”

The mood in the office was generally calm except for the fact that the officers had to constantly wipe the sweat off their brows. It wasn’t a large-scale naval battle, it was just one ship, and the vice admiral’s ship, the Visha, was in the centre of the battle line. Major Conan, who was in charge of the vanguard, had discretion, and at least eight ships followed him as support. The only concern was Edgar’s reported abduction.

‘If this sailboat is the ship we’re looking for, a hostage situation could occur. There’s been no engagement thus far, but this is due to the fact that the people we encountered were all innocent. There’s no guarantee that the next ship we’d inspect would be just as innocent…’

Sagastar hoped it wasn’t the case.

‘If a person is taken alive, it can lead to one of the two scenarios. That person is either turned into a slave or, in the case of the Navy, executed. The former is the better option, but the latter means we’re wasting every second.

The latter is, of course, a characteristic of western pirates. Although the western pirates were wiped out, this only means that the ‘active’ pirates are gone, remnants can still be found elsewhere. It’s also not uncommon to hear news about the surviving ones becoming bandits… The Southern League, a rapidly rising pirate organisation, appears to be an appealing stronghold for such activities. However, it’s not expected that the Southern League, which has previously been benign, would suddenly touch the Navy. Rather, the remnants of the Western Pirates are more credible.’

Besides, it was Sergeant Sorola, that clumsy non-commissioned officer who tried to assist Sir Edgar while dressed in his uniform. Knowing that, it must have been easy to confirm Sir Edgar´s identity and he would have been discovered right away. Furthermore, he has a tattoo, so denying his Navy affiliation would have been pointless. If that’s the case, it’s only a matter of time before he’s executed…’

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