《Running Away From The Hero! (Remake)》 Chapter 0 - Prologue. Prologue. Humans. Compared to other species, humans were extremely weak. If one were to set this species as the standard, one would immediately realize that there weren¡¯t a lot of species that were weaker than humans. After all, humans didn¡¯t have the strength akin to that of orcs, nor did they have the talent for magic that elves had, nor did they have a dwarf¡¯s crafting skills. But strangely enough, the world revolved around humans. Disregarding the demon continent that was ruled by the demon race, around 70% of the world was ruled by humans. Even when you take into ount the fact that other races weren¡¯t greedy and only focused on living by themselves, one simply has to question why humans own so muchnd. Well, this line of thought would be normal for most, but this wasn¡¯t what I thought at all. You see, I happen to think that humans were beings specifically made for battle. Not many species ever get into conflict with each other frequently. The most infighting you¡¯d see is in their imperial courts. But humans are different. Why was strategy created in the first ce? To fight species stronger than humans? To defend themselves against the ¡°demon season¡±, an event where the demon king revives? No, all wrong. It was to fight humans. The infighting within the imperial pces around the world was a regr event that takes ce every year. And every ten years, some two countries would enter a war against each other. Unlike other species, who fight a hundred vs. hundred at most, humans fight with massive numbers. There are even times when an army of million would fight an army of simr numbers as well. But this isn¡¯t the only reason why I¡¯m saying that humans are the species born for battle. ¡°This is the end!¡± ¡°Kuoooo!¡± A ck dragon roared in pain in front of me. Dragon. The strongest specie that existed in this world. Even high demons hesitated fighting it, and even the demonkind that lived on the other continent trembled before its power. It was a being that lived for thousands of years, and was even titled the master of magic. And currently, this master of magic was being brutally beat up. By the hands of a human. It wasn¡¯t as if the dragon was young, either. A thousand years. The time it takes for an empire to rise and fall. Only after this time would a dragon be an adult. In human standards, a dragon less than a thousand years is pretty much like a preschool child who isn¡¯t worth talking about anything with. Compared to that, the ck dragon was an infamous high dragon. In other words, it was a dragon that lived for at least ten thousand years that got recognized for its power by other dragons. Compared to that, the one who was beating up the dragon was a human. Young, too. Twenty five at best. Seeing how the cutoff for high dragons was an age of twenty thousand years, the dragon was getting floored by someone eight hundred times weaker than it. Indeed, it is as you think, reader. Inside humansy! A piece of DNA that allowed humans to fight beings like dragons and demon kings, just like the piece of DNA that allowed saiyans to turn into super saiyans! In other words, humans had the potential to be heroes! ¡°Sir hero¡­¡± There even was a princess from a neighboring country faithfully fulfilling her role as the extra¡­ I, who too was spectating the battle between the dragon and the hero like the sobbing princess, felt liquid pour out not out of my eyes, but my back. As I felt the sweat collect, I prayed. ¡®Fight hard, dragon!¡¯ I was nning on running away after sticking the hero in some hospital of some sorts! Just why do you think I brought the hero all the way out here?! ¡°To think¡­ to think I, Arketai, would die in the hands of a human!¡± But unfortunately¡­ the dragon ended up dying. And the hero, who achieved this enormous feat, took out the sword from the dead dragon and bowed towards me. ¡°It was as you said, teacher.¡± ¡°No, this was all done thanks to your efforts.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re wr- urgh?!¡± ¡°Sir hero!¡± The hero¡¯s words of denial was interrupted by the stereotypical hug from the princess. As I watched the hero be flustered, I felt more sweat run down my back than ever. ¡°Damn it¡­¡± Mn? Why am I sweating so hard when the hero won, you ask? Why is it a problem that the hero is my disciple? Well, you see, my dear reader, this is all very simple when you think about it. It¡¯s because I¡¯m a viin. Chapter 1 Chapter 1. I didn¡¯t know back then (1) Normally, when you look into a fantasy light novel, The main character would either get a special weapon, a special skill, or in some cases, the main character would even drag a goddess with him (doesn¡¯t seem all that useful, though). Or in sometimes, the main character already happened to be learning magic, and would get transported into a world that had a very primitive form of magic. In some other cases, the main character would actually reincarnate as a monster like a slime or a goblin, and still manage to wreck shit. But, my dear readers, this is all fiction! It ain¡¯t real! It works quite a lot like fiction in kdramas. You don¡¯t meet rich-ass sons of bitches just by bumping shoulders with them on the street. We all know this is all just bull. No way these rich kids would be eating shit oden in a random food cart, or eat out at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Nope, that kind of stuff never happens in real life. I don¡¯t know specifically what kind of steak they eat, and in which 5-star hotel they eat it at, but I know for sure that these people don¡¯t go around food carts eating cheap food. Ah well, I suppose the part of the dramas that¡¯s actually fictional is the main heroine being some sort of a legendary creature that was an orphaned beauty who went through all kinds of hardships in life. Well, whatever. Back to our talk about the bs in fantasy stories. Take a look at this load of bull. In a lot of light novels, main characters are able to understand thenguages of the world they reincarnate in. Hell, even in our world, there are hundreds of differentnguages that get spoken in one continent. Why would the people in a different dimension of all things all universally speak Korean? Well, in reality, they don¡¯t. Because of this, I had to spend five years of my life learning how to speak. Normally in this world, kids would speak by the age of three, and learn how to write by the age of five. I became able to write properly by the age of ten. My parents almost decided that I was hopelessly stupid by that time. Thankfully, I managed to change their minds with my math skills. But this was a world that recognized kids as a math whiz as long as they could add and subtract pretty well. People in my vige almost thought I was a genius at math because I was able to multiply and divide. And as for the knowledge I had other than math¡­ all useless. There were noputers, so my knowledge inputers were all gone to shit. I spent half of my life in a ce called school, but in the end, the only thing that became useful was knowing how to add and subtract¡­ Truly, the Korean education system was total trash. And once again, I was reminded that fiction, in the end, was fiction. Yeah, modern knowledge. It¡¯s pretty useful. But so what? Knowing what a chair looks like, and knowing how to make a chair are two totally different things. The specialized tools to make a chair are nigh impossible to recreate in this world. If making just a chair is this hard, how much effort do you think goes into making a gun? Even if you know what guns look like, how would you create the parts of the guns? If you don¡¯t have the skills, all you have are dreams. Even if you know about something that already exists, it just ends up bing a part of your imagination! In the end, I decided to inherit my parent¡¯s farm. The knowledge I umted in school was useless, but the skills I umted in the military weren¡¯t! As expected of Korea¡¯s brutal military training! Korea¡¯s most advanced form of weaponry, the shovel, applied in just about any situation! My skills in using the shovel almost made my father say ¡°you truly were a child born to shovel!¡± Really, all my talentsy in farming! ¡­I used to have those moments in life. When I was thirteen, my parents passed away. The reason? An evil wizard¡¯s experiment! ¡­that wasn¡¯t it. The whims of a corrupt noble! ¡­that wasn¡¯t it either. The demons that wrecked havoc during the demon season! ¡­Nope. Their true cause of death was electrocution. An evil wizard blocked a magic spell from the hero, and the remnants of it happened to bounce off to my parents. Just like the innocent cars that randomly hit each other and explode in action movies during a car chase, my parents died while trying to pay taxes and sell their crops in the city. To think I¡¯d be this unlucky¡­ I wondered for a bit how I should lead my life as the new family head, but in the end, I decided to farm. After all, the country still paid me some reparations for the damages, right? I still havend and crops to back me up! ¡­There was a time when I thought that, too. ¡°Hohoho.¡± I could onlyugh as I watched my crops burn. It¡¯s been a year since my parents died. It¡¯s been only a year, and our feudal lord just decided to give me a big fuck you¡­ rather, he gave the country a big fuck you. A gold mine was found on the borders between our nation and some other nation, and that ce happened to be close to our fief. Our lord, after getting several suggestions from his subordinates, decided to conquer the mines. He defeated the troops stationed there by a fief lord from a different country. Right. So far, this seems to be all good. But the fief lord became overexcited by taking over the gold mines, and charged into the country across the border! The fact of the matter was, that country across the border happened to be the empire, the strongest nation in the continent. Our fief lord, who had believed that his army had been blessed by the gods, got got pathetically killed by the enemy. At the same time, the empire took this as a deration of war, and attacked the nation the very next day. They managed to topple the capital in two months. Ah, by the way, the sea of mes in front of me was caused by the empire, who decided to make an example out of those who acted out against the empire. They set fire to thends of our fief, and mynd happened to be in it. That¡¯s right. Farming just went to shit! Fall was still quite far away, but I couldn¡¯t farm using just ashes! ¡°Kuh!¡± That¡¯s why, that¡¯s why the reason why I became a gangster was because of the world! I wanted peace, but the world didn¡¯t let me have it! Ah, and by the way, I¡¯m not one of those loan sharks or anything. I just mug people. I have no idea if this is really a good thing or not, but the nation I lived in ended up getting split into seven pieces. Originally, the empire took only a fourth of the nation, but the king ended up getting into aa from shock, and the princes ended up fighting for the throne. A count even managed to join the battle for power at some point. In any case, at a time like this, a lot of people decided to either turn into bandits or thieves. I had pretty decent sword skills, so I decided to earn cash from that. I was thinking of going to the empire once I had enough cash. I teamed up with one or two people, and sometimes coborated with other groups I shared info with to raid some viges. Sometimes I got together with some old bandits and a noble to beat up some nobles as well. Once I earned enough money like this, and began searching for a smuggler to get me into the empire, someone came to meet me. ¡°How is it?¡± I was being scouted. Hoho, I remember working myself to the bone, close to the point where I actually died in the past. Even then, I wasn¡¯t scouted because I had no talent at what I did. I do some bad things, and whazam, someonees to get me in a red carpet. From the biggest evil organization in the empire at that. ¡°The pay is pretty good.¡± ¡°Incentives are nice as well.¡± ¡°Seems pretty dangerous.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s simr to what you¡¯re doing now.¡± ¡°Do I have to kill myself if they tell me to do so?¡± ¡°Yes. You just need to be careful, though.¡± I need to really put my life on the line. But unlike my previous life in hellish Korea, the pay was actually good. Enough to make me want to risk my life. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Like this, I, a to-be fifteen year old, joined an evil organization. Chapter 1. I didn¡¯t know back then. (2) With this, my age became forty. I spent twenty five years of my life dedicated to the organization. I took a pretty safe job of an instructor. I currently have a job of a senior instructor, training young trainees in the way of evil. Ah, this is the life. No risk of dying, good pay, really good incentives to boot. Evil organizations are the best, everybody! ¡°I¡¯ll go with the format from before. I¡¯ll take one through fifty, and nine hundred fifty to a thousand.¡± The other instructors all shut their mouths when I said this. ¡°You¡¯re taking the top ones as well?¡± ¡°That and the lowest ones¡­ can¡¯t you just take the children in the middle ranks?¡± The other instructors voiced their dissent. But I had made my decision already. ¡°One through fifty, and nine hundred fifty to a thousand.¡± There are a few people like me who gets scouted to the organization, but most of the members of the organization who get in begin as either orphans or ves. We train these kids for about two years. We feed them and beat them until they be fit enough to be proper members of the organization. That is our job as instructors. Among all these thousand kids, the ones I like best are the first fifty, and thest fifty! The kids at the very front are the cream of the crop. The worst among them are still good enough to pass as a middle-ss member of the organization. Sometimes, you¡¯ll even find geniuses among them. The incentive for training them is low, though. That¡¯s why I fill that gap with thest fifty of the group to cancel out the disadvantages of training the geniuses. A lot of the kids from thest fifty are useless, but sometimes you end up getting one of them to the top, and the incentive you get from that is immense. As a result, my rank as an instructor goes up, and the number of zeros in the incentive I get increases by one! That¡¯s why I always pick the first fifty and thest fifty. The ones who are tenacious among all these kids always survive anyway. And my method of education allows kids to always survive as long as they can endure. Other instructors manage to kill tens of kids every time they pick trainees, but I managed to be a model instructor with zero casualties under my belt. There¡¯s a reason why I¡¯m a senior instructor! ¡°They say there are quite a lot of talented kids in this group, so¡­ I expect about five would survive?¡± ¡°The quality of this group¡¯s pretty damn high, so I¡¯m thinking about ten.¡± ¡°Thest group was said to be the best in the history of the organization, and only seven survived.¡± ¡°Well, Naruan¡¯s training is quite infamous for being brutal, after all.¡± ¡°But the kids in this group probably have their pride, don¡¯t you think? If everyone other than five or seven gets knocked out again, they¡¯d bepletely useless. I¡¯m betting on their tenaciousness. Thirty thousand gold on having ten survive.¡± ¡°Hoho, going strong, aren¡¯t you? Forty thousand on five.¡± ¡°Twenty thousand on seven.¡± ¡°Thirty thousand on five as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try¡­ thirty thousand onplete annihtion.¡± But it seemed that the other instructors didn¡¯t really have the mindset of a model instructor like me. Just look, to think they¡¯d be betting on how many of the kids I pick would survive¡­ ¡°How many do you think would survive, senior instructor?¡± One of the instructors asked the question towards me. How many would survive? ¡°As long as they¡¯re tenacious, they¡¯ll survive.¡± ¡°¡­Tenacious, is it.¡± I don¡¯t push people until they die. The ones that don¡¯tst are the strange ones. Right. I¡¯m not the strange one here, the ones who don¡¯t survive are strange! ¡°Yes. As long as one is tenacious, one will get strong.¡± That¡¯s right. After all, I, a person without mana, survived this long in a world of magic where elves and orcs thrive. Seriously, if you don¡¯t manage to survive even when you have mana, you¡¯re just strange. I¡¯ve lived thirty years in my past life, and lived forty in this life. I¡¯ve managed to survive seventy years just by working my ass off. #1 Their Story: A Certain Trainee This is crazy. Absolutely crazy. Maddening, almost. ¡°Hohoho, they did mention that you were one of the best groups in history. I suppose they were right, seeing how well you kids are doing.¡± Magic was raining down from the skies. Only five days after the start of the higher ss training, 30 people survived. On the midnight of the first day, the sudden magic bombing on our sleeping quarters knocked out half of the group. The length of time we¡¯ve survived for during this five days was still quite long, I¡¯ve heard, but even then, we were reaching the limit. ¡°Hmm, I have high expectations for this batch.¡± I could see instructor Naruan, who was talking to themunication wizard to direct the bombings every once in a while with an emotionless face. I had heard that he was the one who shaped most of the powerhouses in the current organization by himself. I had heard that I might get the chance to be one of those people. But whenever I heard those words, the other instructors all smirked and said this: [Even so, it¡¯s usually about one in twenty who make it to the top. Sometimes, it¡¯s one out of fifty.] Most of theme back next year to be trained again. When I heard those words, I thought that I¡¯d be one of those seeding people. I had cast away my war-torn vige to step into the path of darkness. My resolve was different from the kids who hade here because they had no choice. In fact, this resolve of mine allowed me to rank twenty-seven out of a thousand other children. But still¡­ Isn¡¯t this really too much? I went to sleep, excited about what I was to learn the very next day. And the moment I closed my eyes, a siren went off and our living quarters were destroyed within a minute. Ie out confused and lost, and I¡¯m told that if I don¡¯t make it to a specific location within a set time, I¡¯m out. The thing I¡¯ve heard when I arrived at that location was perhaps the most ridiculous thing I¡¯ve ever heard. ¡°Ooh. I¡¯ve heard forty nine had survived the first attack, but to think forty nine would be here as well¡­ As an instructor, I am exceedingly happy! I am so, so, soooo happy, in fact, it feels like I might as well be crying tears of joy right now!¡± His delighted voice didn¡¯t fit his cold expression at all. His chilly eyes and trembling lips almost suggested that he was restraining hisughter. ¡°Ahh, it is said that the teachings of a teacher is akin to the heavens itself, but to think you¡¯d make me cry¡­ The gods above must be crying in joy with me as well.¡± Naruan looked up as if he was waiting for something, then looked down at us again. ¡°Right. It seems that the tears of the heavens would be falling upon us soon, so prepare your umbres.¡± The first thing I had in my mind was: was he crazy? There were not a single clouds in the sky. There didn¡¯t seem to be any sign of rain. Plus, the ¡°umbre¡± that was provided for us was more like a wooden branch. It was incapable of blocking a single drop of water. ¡°¡­Hold on, this is?¡± The one who rid me of my confusion was a high-pitched voice. When I turned around, I could see a girl ranked ten ranks higher than me, trainee number seventeen. ¡°Oho. So there¡¯s already someone who can recognize the umbre. Things¡¯ll be simple, then.¡± Snap. The moment Naruan snapped his fingers, someone appeared next to him. ¡°Please make it rain here.¡± At the same time, silver rain began to fall upon us. Chapter 2
Chapter 2
1. I didn¡¯t know then (2) #1 Their Story: A Certain Trainee This is crazy. Absolutely crazy. Maddening, almost. ¡°Hohoho, they did mention that you were one of the best groups in history. I suppose they were right, seeing how well you kids are doing.¡± Magic was raining down from the skies. Only five days had passed since the start of the higher ss training, and 30 people had survived. On the midnight of the first day, the sudden magic bombing on our sleeping quarters knocked out half of the group. The length of time we¡¯ve survived for during this five days was still quite long, I¡¯ve heard, but even then, we were reaching the limit. ¡°Hmm, I have high expectations for this batch.¡± I could see instructor Naruan, who was talking to themunication wizard to direct the bombings every once in a while with an emotionless face. I had heard that he was the one who shaped most of the powerhouses in the current organization by himself. I had heard that I might get the chance to be one of those people. But whenever I heard those words, the other instructors all smirked and said this: [Even so, it¡¯s usually about one in twenty who make it to the top. Sometimes, it¡¯s one out of fifty.] Most of theme back next year to be trained again. When I heard those words, I thought that I¡¯d be one of those seeding people. I had cast away my war-torn vige to step into the path of darkness. My resolve was different from the kids who hade here because they had no choice. In fact, this resolve of mine allowed me to rank twenty-seven out of a thousand other children. But still¡­ Isn¡¯t this really too much? I went to sleep, excited about what I was to learn the very next day. And the moment I closed my eyes, a siren went off and our living quarters were destroyed within a minute. Ie out confused and lost, and I¡¯m told that if I don¡¯t make it to a specific location within a set time, I¡¯m out. The thing I¡¯ve heard when I arrived at that location was perhaps the most ridiculous thing I¡¯ve ever heard. ¡°Ooh. I¡¯ve heard forty nine had survived the first attack, but to think forty nine would be here as well¡­ As an instructor, I am exceedingly happy! I am so, so, soooo happy, in fact, it feels like I might as well be crying tears of joy right now!¡± His delighted voice didn¡¯t fit his cold expression at all. His chilly eyes and trembling lips almost suggested that he was restraining hisughter. ¡°Ahh, it is said that the teachings of a teacher is akin to the heavens itself, but to think you¡¯d make me cry¡­ The gods above must be crying in joy with me as well.¡± Naruan looked up as if he was waiting for something, then looked down at us again. ¡°Right. It seems that the tears of the heavens would be falling upon us soon, so prepare your umbres.¡± The first thing I had in my mind was: was he crazy? There were not a single clouds in the sky. There didn¡¯t seem to be any sign of rain. Plus, the ¡°umbre¡± that was provided for us was more like a wooden branch. It was incapable of blocking a single drop of water. ¡°¡­Hold on, this is?¡± The one who rid me of my confusion was a high-pitched voice. When I turned around, I could see a girl ranked ten ranks higher than me, trainee number seventeen. ¡°Oho. So there¡¯s already someone who can recognize the umbre. This¡¯ll be simple, then.¡± Snap. The moment Naruan snapped his fingers, someone appeared next to him. ¡°Make it rain.¡± At the same time, silver rain began to fall upon us. From /2017/05/07/rerath-chapter-1-part-2/> (TN: ¡ü was mostly Ensj¡¯s trantions back in the day, I just tweaked a few lines.) *** Ahhh, it¡¯s as nervewracking as ever. When a new semester starts, did my old principal feel like this when he made the same speech he always did? But to think he could still continue with such boring words despite that, as I thought, the job of principal isn¡¯t something just anyone can do. You¡¯d probably need at least a mithril-grade thick face to be a principal. Although all I did was walk up to the pedestal, a hundred pairs of eyes all came to focus on me. There are some excited ones, nervous ones, and somepletely emotionless ones. Well, not that it matters. Grow like weeds and be my incentive! Is just about all I feel from that. ¡°Now, my fresh hatchlings with eggshell still stuck on your feathers, wee. I am the one in charge of Squad 1, Instructor Naruan.¡± I could see some of them looking discontent at being called hatchlings. Those¡¯re probably the ones who had their heads high from their pretty high prelim ranks. But it¡¯s rare that top in primary school ends up being top in high school. Of course, it¡¯s not like the skills from having your nose buried in your desk since primary school would have gone anywhere. That¡¯s not how talent works. Starting suddenly and overturning the standards of normality. That is the realm of genius. It doesn¡¯t seem like there are any geniuses among this lot, but there will definitely be someone who will rise to their talents and overturn the previous order. ¡°Other instructors start training from today, but Just. For. Today. I¡¯ll be giving you kids the day off. If I talk any more my mouth will hurt and you¡¯ll all only get pissed off. Go to your assigned dorms and for today, enjoy your day off.¡± After a moment of silence, the kids walked away happily as I watched over them and gently smirked. As expected of an evil organization. They didn¡¯t even give those kids a proper break. But I¡¯m different! I let them rest the moment they came! Where else are you going to find an instructor like me! ¡°¡­¡­ Is this the infamousst supper?¡± But even while looking at my kindly smile, the organization¡¯s personnel who hade to help with tomorrow¡¯s training, for some reason or another, all had their faces turning pale. What was it? Was there something wrong with lunch? ¡°It¡¯s not theirst. I haven¡¯t had anyone die on me in my training course yet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. They won¡¯t die.¡± Although her words left a sour taste in my mouth I¡¯m not going to ask any further. Normally in an evil organization there¡¯s no real sense of camaraderie between colleagues. Evil organizations that pointlessly insist on that tend to have all their members drawn in like sausages if so much as one of them get caught, so long-running evil organizations always live with the determination to abandon each other at any moment. Because of that even when you need the cooperation with other branches, any of them could equally be enemies looking for an opportunity to stick their knives in your backs, and to prevent that you need to be pretty social even in an evil organization. And in front of my eyes is one of the great peaks of the ¡®must be friends¡¯ list! The famous magician brigade! The moment you get on the bad side of either the mage corps that can st away the enemy with urate and heavy firepower, or any of the Treasury staff that guarantee your sry and operating overheads you might as well half kiss your organization life goodbye already. When you desperately raised your budget but the Treasury worker that you were on bad terms with shed your budget by half, or when the mage corps that promised to help out say they couldn¡¯te because they were busy, of course it would have a massive impact on your job! ¡°Let¡¯s get ready, shall we.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Even so, ording to the organization¡¯s official hierarchy I¡¯m quite high up. As the magician nodded in response to my words and vanished, I checked the time. ¡°Current time 1400 hours.¡± There¡¯s ten hours left till the day ends. I definitely said that you kids could rest Just. For. Today. you know? #2. Their story: A certain mage¡¯s story. ¡°Boss, is this really training for kids?¡± As a mage of Howling, a ce far removed from justice and light, and far closer to darkness and evil, I¡¯ve done plenty of things that shouldn¡¯t have been done. If I was assigned a target then I would spare no means or effort to do the job, and if needed I¡¯d even casually annihted a vige or two. With scores of experience in killing yesterday¡¯s ally turned traitor, but this was weird, even for myself who had done all those things. ¡°If it¡¯s the Empire-style carpet bombing, then not even the organization¡¯s special forces can block that.¡± The very first day of the timetable and it¡¯s already absolutely insane. The tactic that the Mad Witch of the Empire had devised during thest great war. The theory behind it was simple. A mage would head up to 5000m above sea level and create ice by freezing water vapour with ice magic, then drop it, simple as that, but the results were anything but. A thirty thousand strong force of the Merdeia kingdom which was at odds with the Empire was annihted with this simple tactic and five thousand of them died. The magic barrier of the mages and archmages were torn to shreds by the simple concepts of mass and velocity, and even before Merdeia¡¯s soldiers could send out their mages to hunt ours, the troops led by the Mad Witch attacked the capital in chaos. The battle where just ten thousand of that Mad Witch¡¯s forces more or less massacred thirty thousand of the military kingdom Merdeia¡¯s forces is already scheduled to be immortalised in the empire¡¯s history books. But that, is going to be fired on these kids who¡¯ve barely passed their preliminary training. ¡°You¡¯ll have to control it well.¡± ¡°Boss! Even a pebble will break skulls if they¡¯re dropped from 5000m above sea level.¡± ¡°Indeed. So the kids will need have the mindset that they need to dodge well.¡± ¡°If they can¡¯t dodge they¡¯ll die!¡± Even if the turnover rate is only slightly lower than the empire¡¯s during their ughter-happy moments, I can¡¯t see this wastage of human resources like this. My conscience hadn¡¯t run so dry to send these innocent kids to a dog¡¯s death. But even in the face of my pleas the boss¡¯s answer was unchanging. ¡°They¡¯re not going to die.¡± No. To be precise, his eyes were dead and lilfeless. ¡°¡­Is it an order from the top?¡± ¡°It is, and one from Instructor Naruan¡¯s direct disciples.¡± Instructor Naruan¡¯s direct disciple. The empire, no, the continent¡¯s evil organisations training facilities each had their own specific quirks, but what they all had inmon was that each batch would have a hundred people in them. Of course, not all of the hundred were trained perfectly. Some ces fifty, some ces seventy, some ces thirty. Depending on the training there were a lot of trainees that died, and there were also some training schools where more died than graduated. But even in amongst all those, Instructor Naruan¡¯s trainees were regarded as iparable. The reason being, very simply, that each time, no more than a single digit number of trainees everpleted the full course. Organization or no, an instructor like that should be fired, but there was a reason why he could still hold his position as an instructor. That was because all the trainees who survived his training took the top positions of the organization with overwhelming strength and speed. Especially the ss just before the one regarded as the greatest ever, currently all the disciples from that squad broke record after record and all of them took vital roles in the organization¡¯s military, diplomacy, internal affairs, treasury and so on. And even so, each and every of them were so talented that blew away all their subordinates¡¯ doubts. ¡°This is what the Intelligence Vice-Director says. They will feel like dying, but they won¡¯t die. They won¡¯t die, but they¡¯ll at least be able to tour heaven. While being a tourist in heaven is possible, where you will end up is hell.¡± ¡°Is it just me that I¡¯m even more worried after hearing that?¡± ¡°Even if we say anything the higher-ups won¡¯t listen. Since it went without a hitchst year, all we can do is just do as we¡¯re told.¡± Looking at my boss¡¯s sighing back, I sighed as well. He was still one of the organization¡¯s greats as the boss of the battlemages, but even so, he was just a sried viin. ¡°The start time is 0000 hours. The codeword is ¡®make it rain.¡¯ we just have to be ready to fire tomorrow at 0100 hours.¡± ¡°We can only hope and pray they don¡¯t die.¡± It leaves a bitter taste in our mouths but what can we do. If we were going to argue about those things then we should be working for the empire, not an evil organization. ¡°Please¡­ We can only hope that no one dies.¡± ¡°Is that really the case¡­ There are times when death can be a more peaceful rest.¡± Looking at the boss¡¯s oddly bitter smile, all I could do was pray for the trainees who would fall into despair in a few short hours. Chapter 3 RATH Chapter 3 TL: Eevee 1. I didn¡¯t know then. (3) Silver rain falling from the sky. The moonlight flickered off the small fragments as they fell down to where everyone was, and the sight of objects being crushed under their fall was truly spectacr. ¡°Th, the rock just broke to bits!¡± ¡°Help me!¡± Total chaos. Traditionally, for any member of an evil organization, silence is life. That¡¯s exactly why these chicks won¡¯t cut it. Even if a dragon is snoozing right in front of your eyes you should be thinking about silencing your breath and fleeing. The ones who panic this noisily are the Viin 1, Viin 2 set menus you somonly see getting ughtered by a charging hero. ¡°If you move you die!¡± Ohh. Looks like there are still ones that stand out even in this chaos. The first one who correctly identified the ¡®umbre¡¯ and the one who¡¯s just staring up the sky at the silver rain like someone watching a meteor shower. The former is one that knows about magic, while thetter is either a lunatic or just simply that insanely skilled. Either way is fine. Those ones survive quite well. Especially thetter. Whether they¡¯re insane or insanely skilled, the fact that they can afford to act like that in this situation means that it¡¯s worth expecting things from them. Up till now there¡¯ve been a few of that type. If nothing else they¡¯re fiendishly good at staying alive, you know?¡± ¡°Umbre, use the umbre!¡± The kid who first recognised the magic held up the umbre I gave them and shouted. ¡°You crazy bitch how the hell is that an umbre!¡± A dumb one picks a fight in the middle of it. If you don¡¯t have the eyes to see you need to be able to trust people. No, if someone without the eyes to see blindly trusts people doesn¡¯t that make them a pushover? ¡°A crazy bitch is better than a retard. You, the one with pure water instead of brain fluid in that sparkling clean cranium of yours. Listen up. If this is rain, then humanity, no, life as we know ispletely screwed during the rainy season. Like that other guy said, this is the Empire-style bombardment developed during thest great war. And this is very much an umbre, a protective staff with engraved with magic defense spells.¡± That was it. When it rains, one opens up their umbre. It¡¯s a special staff made specifically to block that silver rain of death. To be honest, it¡¯s simply because they didn¡¯t think of it, but that magic bombardment isn¡¯t something just anyone can use. Naturally once the Empire used it, all the horrified world powers immediately copied it, and same for the Merdeia kingdom that waspletely totaled by the bombardment. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, everyone started using this strat, and on the contrary, the majority of the mage divisions were annihted. What¡¯s there to hide! My favorite phrase is ¡®to be cut in the foot by a trusted axe.¡¯ And responding to that faith, what my previous workce¡¯s bosses and I came up with was this defensive strategy! Under the line of thinking that this magic bombardment strategy would almost certainly be used by the enemy sooner orter, we just simply thought our hardest for ways to give our enemies a giant middle finger, the result of which is that defensive magic staff. +1 point to the kid who identified it first. For the record, at 10 points you get to graduate early. ¡°But only the Empire¡¯s soldiers know how to use it!¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t know how to use this, we¡¯re dead. Find how.¡± This batch seems quite usable? It¡¯s not like there were ones who didn¡¯t recognise what that staff was in my previous cohort, but then there were idiots who just ran off with the staff after hearing those words, that moment was when I nearly recorded my first casualty in my entire time as an instructor. My previous boss and I weren¡¯t morons so taking into ount the possibilities that they could be stolen on the battlefield, leaked by spies in our allies or troops, or like me, who stole the finished product and secretly sold it off to the enemy nation for a massive price, so with those considerations in mind we made it so that you couldn¡¯t block the bombardment with the staff alone. To begin with, the bombardment method is carried out by a two mage per team group, not using ice magic, but directly freezing the moisture in the stratosphere and dropping it, so even if they block ice magic with magic barriers, it¡¯s a simple chunk of ice with nothing but mass and a very high velocity so the magic barrier goes st, and as a bonus people also go st! As a result, the method of activating that staff is different to activating all other conventional staves. And it¡¯s ss 1 imperial ssified information. But so the saying goes. Catch not fish for a man, but teach a man how to fish. So let¡¯s not catch fish for them and teach them how to go about catching fish instead. ¡°Let¡¯s narrow it in a bit.¡± ¡°Narrowing in.¡± Don¡¯t they say people perform the most spectacr feats right when they¡¯re on death¡¯s door? Seeing as how these kids still can¡¯t find a solution, I decided to kindly give them a solution instead. The solution being that if they couldn¡¯t find a solution then they would die. ¡°It¡¯s getting closer!¡± ¡°Those of you at the edges, run to the center!¡± ¡°Damn it! They¡¯re seriously gonna kill all of us!¡± Sounds of the truly desperate. When humans are on the verge of death, their abilities skyrocket. Right now their brains are turning over very very quickly. So let¡¯s oil their brains a bit to help them turn over even quicker. ¡°Mix in a few big ones.¡± ¡°¡­Are you serious about not killing them?¡± ¡°It¡¯s for show anyway. Fire them quite far off.¡± At my words, themunication mage hesitated a bit before contacting the mages in the air, and shortly afterwards human-size blocks of ice started to form pits as they fell. Thud! The grand finale right over there. As a block that seemed roughly 50 metres in diameter left a crater in the ground, an odd quietness fell on the trainees. ¡°Ah, fuck. That¡¯s straight up unblockable.¡± Everyone was silent. As the kid that was the most proficient in magic, the one that had been coolly taking charge swore, the ones that had only barely calmed down started panicking again. ¡°Aahhh, looking good.¡± ¡°This is?!¡± It was ament to myself, but it seems to have been overheard. It¡¯s probably just me in thinking that themunications mage that was standing beside me took a step back while looking at me as if I was a devil or something. Right? ¡°Isn¡¯t it? A helpless crisis. A crisis that won¡¯t ever be resolved no matter how much fight with despair and frustration. Normally the beings called heroes are ones who actively ovee those.¡± In any event, the beings called dragons are creatures you face while staking the survival of a small country on. But in old hero tales, dragons and demon kings are defeated as par for the course. ¡°This is not a ce where we train heroes.¡± ¡°Indeed. It is not. Theplete opposite. However. When those beings called braves or heroes did appear, every time our organization has suffered tremendous losses.¡± Even if we look like this we¡¯re still the Empire¡¯srgest evil organisation. Even though we cull off hundreds of brats that proim themselves a hero every year, the number of times we get seriously unlucky and get fucked over by a genuine hero is at least a two-digit number every year. ¡°And because of this we need heroes of the viins.¡± Looking at the sector in turmoil, I smiled slightly. Ahh. Grow. Grow big and strong my incentives! But back then I didn¡¯t realise. That the creature called a genuine hero would actually be born from this ce. #3 Their Story: The Future Hero¡¯s Story Raina Rel Swin. Even if I look like this I¡¯m from the Raina ducal family, one of the military pirs of the Karuan Empire, the strongest empire in the continent. The strongest nation in the continent, and among those one of the greatest nobles which had imperial blood running through its veins. It sounds good when you hear about it. But because of that I¡¯m 37th in line to the throne. Being in the line to the throne is great. It¡¯s a chance to be the greatest power, the Emperor himself! But that, you need to be ranked high for it to be worth anything. 37th isn¡¯t even worth ranking. Rather, a perfect condition to get myself killed off quietly in a ditch somewhere. Plus, the session problem is already half ¨C no, pretty muchpletely over. Two princes and a princess were in a three-way war, but one day the princess pushed all her backing onto one of the princes. Even now, it¡¯s said that if the princess had been a boy, this entire session fight would never have happened. The other two princes had been half-cooperatively wary of her, but since all her might went behind a single person, game over. Because of this, my brothers quickly gave up their ns for the throne and aimed for the duke¡¯s position instead. That¡¯s right. It¡¯s good. Session rights. To a dukedom! The next best seat after an emperor! A man must have big dreams! But you know, I don¡¯t really give a crap. I just wanted to eat and have fun in the territory! But to keep that me in check, while spouting the biggest damn bullshit such as ¡®for the empire!¡¯ or ¡®for His Imperial Majesty!¡¯ they gave me a secret mission as a duke¡¯s son. You call it a secret mission. Oi. To infiltrate the evil organization Howling, that¡¯s pretty much been around since the start of the empire. You all fucking mad? If you¡¯re that devoted to empire and emperor then you go! But due to my upbringing as a military family, actually no, a n that existed purely to fight from birth, under my training as a Raina child I recorded great results in my days in the lower barracks. I received the highest designation of 1, and entered hell. ¡°Now my fresh hatchlings with eggshell still stuck on your feathers, wee. I am the one in charge of Squad 1, Instructor Naruan.¡± The man speaking to us from the pedestal was Instructor Naruan, a name which we heard of even the lower barracks and had been frequently brought up by the instructors themselves as well. Apparently, a man cursed by the gods. Because of that, he couldn¡¯t feel mana, nor could he use it. Apparently, a man with the mark of the devil. Because of that, the moment the devil¡¯s magic weapon in his hands sound out, even gods could only grovel under his feet. Apparently, the greatest career pathway course in the entire organization. Simply enough, as long as you could safely survive the training course, vice-captain was a given, you could even be one of the ten people at the absolute top of the organisation, the greatest course to sess. Allegedly, the organization¡¯s greatest recycler. Trash would be separated out from humans by his hand. But my first impressions of him were simple. ¡®That¡¯s not a man. That¡¯s a devil!¡¯ The instructor looked down at us with a cold expression. But I saw. The faint, but definite smile of a child whose parents just bought them a new toy! ¡°Other instructors start training from today, but Just. For. Today. I¡¯ll be giving you kids the day off. If I talk any more my mouth will hurt and you¡¯ll only get pissed. Go to your assigned dorms and for today, enjoy your day off.¡± From around me I could hear the sounds of idiots being happy. Ahh, you morons! Did none of you get it? His meaning when he said he would rest us ¡®just for today!¡¯ And training really did begin the moment today turned to tomorrow. -WOOOOOOOOooooooooWOOOOOOOOOOooooo~ -Rise and shine, soldiers! ¡°Shit.¡± They said that there would be an early start. They said it would be hard from the word go. So they said rest up and grow fast. So the majority slept at around 2200 hours. Even the onester to bed slept at around 2300 hours. Butpared to them who were sleeping peacefully, filled with an anxious unease I didn¡¯t sleep, but prepared. Dawn at the earliest. But rising at midnight on the dot! And add to that I could even see the precursors to bombardment magic outside the window! ¡°What the hell!¡± ¡°Wake up you nutcases!¡± Four to a room. I kicked aside the ones who were still sleeping and jumped out the window. I chose the first floor which wasparatively safer to escape from than a higher floor, the results were sessful. And what I could see in the sky were countless magic formations. The sight really was impressive, but thinking how their targets were the rooms that I had been in just now sent shivers down my spine. ¡°Oh ho. That¡¯s one up and ready.¡± And looking at the lodgings being half-turned to dust as if he was amused by the sight, was Instructor Naruan as he turned to me. O gods! What crimes did Imit in my past life, to let alone be sent to an evil organization, but to be fated to be sent off to this devil of an instructor?! Shortly after I was lost in my frustration and despair, I heard Instructor Naruan¡¯s satisfied voice. ¡°49 people sessfully awake.¡± What kind of training has half its cohort drop out when it hasn¡¯t even started! ¡°It seems that the primary training was quite tough for you. I am not an evil instructor. For your peers that needed sleep, I will give them plenty of time to get it.¡± The 51 that couldn¡¯t wake up is probably headed for an eternal sleep. From what I heard, they¡¯re being sent back for primary training again. The ones whose skills are okay will probably go back for higher training, but the rest of them will probably made into high-quality meat shields? ¡°Now then, the first training.¡± The instructor tossed me a sheet of parchment as I was standing in front. ¡°Hm current time 00:34. Hmm¡­ Alright, leisurely make your way over to the ce marked on the map by 0300 hours. Listening to his words, I stared nkly at the ce marked on the map. If my orientation skills I learned in primary training weren¡¯t different to here, the ce marked on the map is at least a two hour run at full sprint. The ¡®leisure¡¯ time the instructor spoke of was barely 20 minutes. And also, it takes OVER two hours at a dead sprint. If people run at their highest effort then they need to rest, and walk slowly. Namely, an impossible condition. ¡°Oh, if you feel like you can¡¯t make it to the destination then feel free to give up. You can juste back and sleep together with the rest of your peers.¡± He said as if to reassure us, but looking at Instructor Naruan¡¯s quaint smile, I, no, everyone standing here thought the exact same thing. ¨C If you fall behind you die. And I saw the limits of humanity. TOTAL SURVIVAL. It was a moment where we could see just how much fear could drive us onwards, just what humans were capable of. But hell hadn¡¯t even begun yet. ¡°Ooh. I¡¯ve heard forty nine had survived the first attack, but to think forty nine would be here as well¡­ As an instructor, I am exceedingly happy! Really, I am so proud of you who were called the most promising cohort in recent history! I am so, so, soooo happy, in fact, it feels like I might as well be crying tears of joy right now.¡± Frivolous words. But his face was as cold and expressionless as ever. That made it even more frightening. ¡°Ahh, it is said that the teachings of a teacher is akin to the heavens itself, but to think you¡¯d make me cry¡­ The gods above must be crying in joy with me as well.¡± His eyes turned slightly to the skies as his words carried a hint of mania to them as well. Because he did, my own eyes naturally turned upwards as well. Clear sky. Sparkling stars. Weather which seemed like it would never, ever rain with this cloudless sky. Because of that, I shivered. I¡¯d heard of it before. The imperial soldiers, and in particr, the units under direct imperial control used the word ¡®rain¡¯ in their ng. ¡°Right, the tears of the heavens. It seems like the ground will get wet from the tears that turn into rain, and it would be a problem if my dear disciples caught a cold from the rain. So use your umbre.¡± ¡°Wait, this?¡± The staff that someone tossed to us at the instructor¡¯s words. And another trainee let out a horrified shout. What the fuck! I was screaming internally yet it felt as if the words were caught in my throat. That was the special magic bombardment defense tool that was developed by the imperial forces. Why was a ss 2 defense tool which was strictly monitored by the imperial family themselves doing here of all ces! ¡°Oho. So there¡¯s already someone who can recognize the umbre. This¡¯ll be simple, then.¡± Grand magic defense staff. The special forces of the empire call it an ¡®umbre.¡¯ in that case, the rain that we had been hearing of all this time could mean only one thing. ¡°Make it rain.¡± And with those words, silver rain nketed the sky. Chapter 4 RATH Chapter 4 TL: Eevee 1. I didn¡¯t know then. (4) As the circle of bombardment gradually closed in, everyone started gathering in the middle. If this was a real war I¡¯d let loose a big one bam! in the middle right there, but since this is kids¡¯ training I¡¯ll keep it at about the right level where they can see the ground gouged out right in front of their eyes and leave it at that. Where else will you find such a kind instructor! Back in my day a trainee or two was a month was a given, and once on a real crappy day ten of them went to the next world at the same time. That was pretty dangerous. We went to beat up some goblins under the name of practical training but an orc came out. But really, the others were being ridiculous. I was 19 then, in my past life you could¡¯ve gotten your resident ID card around about that age, so at the very least they should¡¯ve been able to take an orc or two without breaking a sweat. No matter whether you¡¯re specialised to fight humans or not, to think they¡¯d be surprised and routed by what are essentially just humanified pigs. Because of that I thought I was gonna die as I worked my ass off killing ten on my own. Compared to that, my course, where you won¡¯t die and are given challenging opportunities, I as an instructor am a generous instructor. But as you¡¯d think, the kids aren¡¯t seeing that way. ¡°We¡¯re all gonna die!¡± ¡°This devil of an instructor!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll curse you if I die!¡± To think they¡¯d be so rude when I was out of sight¡­ That one¡¯s number 960, that¡¯s no. 72, oh ho, it looks like 25 and 40 cursed me as well. Minus marks, minus marks. Initial impression failure. If they pass this let¡¯s take them around where the real devil lives. Well, even if they don¡¯t survive, when they eventually get sent back to the primary training centers, I can just put in some words and have them sent to the Kanaria facility which has the highest mortality rate. But time kept on passing, and although some of the group seemed like they were teetering between life and death, there was still no response. ¡°Around about now should be a good time for a couple of them to start passing¡­¡± It would be troublesome if all of them failed. Since the final evaluation report consisted of the other instructor¡¯s trained kids vs my trained kids, I just need at least one of them to survive. To put it bluntly, if other instructors send out 100 then I just need to send one man to match a hundred. Having said that, if no one passes, then evaluation bes impossible. Rip my incentive and my sry drops. My evaluation report could have a line like [No results achieved due to impossible overwork.] written on it. In that case, after retiring from my instructor duties, I could be running around on the front lines or sent to some dangerous ce where my head could be sent flying at any moment like myst workce. The wages are only worth going for when you¡¯re young and can earn it, now I want to just earn a little less and work in the back. ¡°Should we reduce the output?¡± Themunication mage carefully asked me. Even if they look like this, the people that use can magic in the evil organisation are all highly valuable resources. The mages that can operate in both the front and back lines are always in shortage no matter where in the world you go. I specifically asked my ex-disciple to be lent them for a week, but this too will show up on their assignment historyter on, and if they achieve a record of 0% sess rate in their first instructor outing then it¡¯ll be hard for them to find rear-line support work as well. But. ¡°The ones who can dodge, will.¡± It¡¯s pointless. The sight of the rocks in the ground breaking, the earth forming craters right in front of them will all have made them imagine those things as their heads at least once already. The ones who are already scared won¡¯t cross with the umbre just because it¡¯s raining a little lighter. ¡°If just one of them passes, the rest will follow suit.¡± Every now and then you can see at traffic lights where if one person goes jaywalking, other people automatically follow them thinking the lights have changed. Once I saw the ridiculous sight where when one person went, the entire crowd crossed on a red light en masse. Well, that¡¯s a slightly different story to this, but when you¡¯re going to die either way, when one person passes then others thinking ¡®maybe me too?¡¯ will definitelye crawling out of the woodwork. The problem being that you need that one person. And that one person appeared. ¡°What the hell?¡± A crazy bitch even to my eyes. #4 Their story: Mirua¡¯s story. Mirua. My name and thest thing I have left from the people called my parents. Since I was born, my country had been involved in a war. A really big war called the Great War. Even now I don¡¯t understand what it means. All I knew that people dying was part of daily life, and the only really big problem was that there wasn¡¯t enough to eat. Because of that, I was alone since I was six. When I was three with really faded memories, the person called my Dad was already non-existent, and the day I turned six, Mom went to the military camp for something to eat, but was swept up in an enemy ambush and didn¡¯te back. Well, thinking on it now, there was the possibility that she could have run away, but that¡¯s what I want to believe. So Mom vanished, and after that I moved around here and there to scavenge for food. Public order was in crisis. Because there was no one selling any goods, there was nothing you could steal, and in the nearby mountains where every green leaves were hard to find, the animals went extinct and you could hardly see so much as a de of grass. Thanks to this I fought battles with cats for trashcans, hung around the army camps for stale food and lived life that way. Ah. Once when I slept by the walls of the army camp, there was a night assault by the enemy and even looking back on it now I still don¡¯t know how I survived that. And so wandering around here and there looking for things to eat, one day I met an angel. ¡°I will give you food. Will youe with me?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Mom used to worry that I didn¡¯t show much emotion, but I was so excited I surprised myself. I followed the angel in ck for maybe a few days? I reached heaven. ¡°Fwaa¡­¡± And for the first time in my life, I could eat the food called meat. Up till now I thought the brown fragments in the army gruel was meat and I stuffed it in my mouth fearing someone would steal it. Ahh, looking at its beautiful sulent light, I had to take a moment to reflect on my ignorance. But reflections are reflections. Put in in my mouth first. It melted on my tongue. ¡°I can die happy now¡­¡± I went to the ce where a lot of people like wearing ck clothes, and I got a set of the ck clothes they wore. I got the name No. 875, held a sword like they told me to, and learned how to swing a sword. Stab the dummy, slice the dummy, eat. Stab and slice the dummy again, eat again. I didn¡¯t like the long-distance running they made us do because it made me hungry quicker, but since they fed us again it was alright. The instructor said I had no talent. They said my skills weren¡¯t improving, but since they fed us I didn¡¯t really care. Later on I was called No. 1000, and when I heard that we had to leave this ce I was sad thinking that we couldn¡¯t eat this ce¡¯s food anymore, but the food at the ce where we arrived was even tastier so it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡± Although I didn¡¯t really like it very much when they woke us up to sirens and bombardment like when I used to sleep by the army base, but right now didn¡¯t seem so bad. Clear night sky. The ice fragments that shined silver in the moonlight like shooting stars. Why didn¡¯t I notice this beautiful sight earlier? It was something I saw often when the base was invaded, but back then all I felt was the fear that I wouldn¡¯t be able to eat breakfast tomorrow. When I just looked at it peacefully, it was a really beautiful sight. ¡°We¡¯re all gonna die!¡± ¡°This devil of an instructor!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll curse you if I die!¡± The yells and curses from my surroundings are familiar. But the target is weird. To think they¡¯d curse the instructor who gave us really tasty food and showed us this wonderful sight. Compared to the primary instructors who only made us yell and cut and stab and run and make us hungry, isn¡¯t he a good instructor? ¡°Ah¡­¡± While I was staring at our instructor who was the target for all these unwarranted curses, a big mushroom came into my field of vision. I don¡¯t know its name, but it¡¯s a tasty mushroom. I first tasted it when I was roaming around during the war, but when I did it was so delicious I nearly fainted. Oddly enough, all the other nts around it had been taken to be eaten, but that mushroom alone was left alone. Even when I was in the primary training barracks, when we had drills up in the mountains, I picked a few of them and roasted them secretly. It was around then where I made an effort for the first time and learned fire magic. ¡®Is it okay to take it?¡¯ For some reason everyone else was huddling together, but they did that often in the primary barracks as well. They huddled around the strong or popr kids. I think they¡¯re doing that now as well. Since I did my business alone anyway, it wouldn¡¯t really matter if I went there and back by myself. It feels good to think I¡¯ll be able to eat that mushroom again for the first time in a while. My footsteps lighten. The silver ice fragments are falling beside me, but they couldn¡¯t stop by happy feet. I¡¯m gonna die if I get hit by that. Instinct told me that it was dangerous. No, even if it wasn¡¯t instinct, I saw people being hit by that and turned into red paste really often. And so I¡¯m used to it. I can go thinking ¡®I can just move that way.¡¯ Nothing weird about that. And as I moved forward with my light footsteps, the ice fragments started falling behind me as well. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of them!¡± My mood brightened a bit. No, it brightened a little lot so I got excited. If there¡®s this much, I can eat my fill tonight and still have some left over for tomorrow. Ahhh, today is a really happy day. *** Past life, current life,bined 70 years. During that time, in the school, army, workcebined I have seen many a lunatic, and since arriving at the organisation I have encountered many more with multiple screws loose and I thought I¡¯d seen them all. But now I realised how little I actually knew. Even if this wasn¡¯t designed to kill, it¡¯s still a magic bombardment. In thest Great War, this was the technique that made all the kingdoms realise just who was in charge. Wait, to begin, wasn¡¯t this meant as a skill for massacre, as in get hit and you¡¯re screwed. And that kid is dodging it. So naturally, as if he¡¯s dancing. If dodging this was possible, all the countries¡¯ strategists and elite families¡¯ specialists wouldn¡¯t be clutching their heads to find a solution. But I can understand that much. But what he was doing, walking through that insane barrage with beautiful dance-like steps was picking mushrooms. Not caring one bit about the others looking stupidly at him, he was happily humming away as he pulled out his dagger and diligently harvested mushrooms into his pockets. Wait, aren¡¯t those shock shrooms? They do have an official name, but the mushrooms that are usually called Shock Shrooms, are poisonous mushrooms that when eaten, your body would tingle like you¡¯ve been electrocuted, followed by paralysis with a high chance of death by cardiac arrest. It was a poisonous mushroom that even four year olds knew about, but he¡¯s collecting them while smiling? Is he trying to kill by slipping them into my food? Let¡¯s avoid food with mushrooms for the next few weeks. Rumours say that it tastes like you could see heaven, but since the possibility of getting a one-way ticket to heaven is higher, there are no morons that would actually eat it. Let¡¯s sneak a peek at his files. Huh, No. 1000. The one deemed least talented out of all the trainees. The majority of the detailed reports said no talent with the sword,zy, vacant stares into space and so on. There aren¡¯t any good appraisals. Then let me add a line. -Crazy b*tch. Handle with caution. Looking back, this appraisal is simr to the only girl of the crew fromst year. Although she¡¯s a genius that worked her way to the position of deputy director of the Intelligence corps, she was a crazy b*tch even looking at her objectively. The way she looked at me in particr resembled a viper waiting for prey to the extent that I had to live as if waiting to be ambushed at any moment. There actually were two cases where she invaded my bedroom. ¡°Can you bring that child over?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Note the current danger level as ¡®high.¡¯ But since nothing¡¯s for sure, I thought that I should see him from up close before making a decision, but the exact moment I tell themunications magician beside me, No. 1000 turns to me instantly. Magic is awesome! Who needs cellphones! But I can¡¯t use it! Suppressing my tiny bit of despair and envy, I face the person in front of me. She¡¯s small. Her hair is short, but I think it¡¯s almost definitely a girl. Unlike the other trainees, she had two more daggers on her belt, one on either side, and her pockets that I used to call a biscuit pouch in my past life, were currently filled with freshly harvested Shock Shrooms. ¡°Did you call for me?¡± A slightly dull voice. +1 danger level. ¡°Why do you have those mushrooms.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± For a moment she was lost for words and looked at me warily. +1 danger again. ¡°W, would you like to try them?¡± With a shaking hand she took out a mushroom from her pocket and offered it to me. Mm. No. Do I look like I¡¯ve lost it? I don¡¯t want to die yet. ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± ¡°It, it¡¯s tasty.¡± Contrary to her words, she put the mushroom back in her pocket with a relieved expression. She really did pick those to eat¡­ Yep. Danger -20. But if the enemy, no, some reincarnated kind-hearted hero was her enemy, she would most likely turn coat if she was baited with food, so raise the danger level back again. I¡¯ll just leave the final danger evaluation as ¡®high.¡¯ ¡°Eat these while you wait.¡± ¡°Thank you very much!¡± Wow, look at this kid. Just a few strips of jerky and her voice hits the high octaves. For aplete evaluation I immediately added another line to her notes. -If she is not fed she has a high risk of sticking her knife in one¡¯s back, so at the very least feed her well no matter what. ¡°No way!¡± As I diligently recorded my trainee¡¯s evaluations as an instructor, themunications magician beside me gasped in horror again. What was it? Did the kids get hit by the shrapnel from the barrage? I thought as I turned my head. ¡°What the hell.¡± Another crazy bitch, no, this time a crazy bastard was added to the mix. Chapter 5 RATH Chapter 5 TL: Eevee 1. I didn¡¯t know then. (5) #5 Their Story: The future hero¡¯s story Silver rain in the night sky. But that was only due to the moonlight reflecting off it. In reality, they were chunks of ice being dropped from extreme heights. Destructive enough to annihte anything on the ground, the devil¡¯s strategy that sent two armies to hell in the Great War. But right now, it was merely a backdrop for a beautiful dance. Weaving through the rain of destruction with light footsteps. And following behind those footsteps are indiscriminate destruction. But the destruction never reached that small frame. One step, and another. The slightest deviation from the path meant being turned into unrecognisable meat paste. But the girl in front of us was walking that path while smiling. Everyone held their breath. The screams of despair were gone now. All that could be heard was the sound of the silver rain¡¯s destruction. How much more time passed since then? ¡°What the hell.¡± Someone¡¯s curse seemed to mark the end of her passage through the silver rain of nightmares. And I, seeing the girl rummage on the ground after slipping through the violence oh-so-easily clenched my fist as I stared at her back. I knew perfectly well who she was. My exact counterpart. If I was No. 1, the foremost, then she was No. 1000 or the veryst. Up till now I didn¡¯t put much meaning into the No. 1 title. No, I had actually thought it was natural. Although I had been sent here as a sacrifice of a hierarchy struggle, I had been trained in the style of one of the pirs of the Empire: the Raina Dukedom. Moreover, I had learned from the best knights since the age of 5. I trained myself following my father¡¯s words that I had to be the best, and I never thought I would lose to my peers. But now, I was so ashamed and embarrassed at myself. As someone that served the empire I knew full well what that silver rain was. The six year war where seven nations including the empire had fought among each other leading their vassal and allied states. In the battle that began the year I was born, the Empire was victorious, and that tactic had been instrumental in securing victory. That was why I feared it. I had thought that the evil organisation had simply mimicked the technique that only the empire was able to use. But that was a fake. That was not the strategy the empire used. Just an imitation. Not the empire¡¯s high-ss skill, but a simple trick. Because of that, I didn¡¯t realise. Simply because of fear. As soon as I realised that I picked up my sword and ran. ¡°Do have a death wish?!¡± A sharp scream. It probably belonged to the kid that had been keeping all the kids in line since earlier. The girl with sharp eyes that could recognise the umbre. But unfortunately her sharp eyes meant that she couldn¡¯t recognise something either. One step, then another. Behind my footsteps, the sound of rattling earth. The slightest nick wouldpletely shatter my body, but I couldn¡¯t stop my feet. How much more time passed. The longest time, but also at the same time the shortest of instances passed and somehow I managed to arrive where No. 1000 and the instructor was waiting. No. 1000 was sitting on a small rock munching away at something. As I walked in front of No. 1000 who had the same apathetic expression at both the sound of destruction behind my back and me in front of her, she looked up at me with those apathetic eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lose anymore.¡± I said strongly to my opponent, no, to myself. No. 1 and No. 1000 are irrelevant. The numbers from primary training should end at primary training. Humans are beings that only ever move forwards. So I will acknowledge it. The being in front of me is currently the first existence that had ever surpassed me, and was my rival. And on this day, I first developed my indomitable mind that instilled me to never give up, no matter what. ¡­Ah, with one exception. #6 Their Story: Ria El Nermia ¡°That, is that possible?¡± ¡°I heard about it through the rumours, but is it really all up to its reputation?¡± Goddamn it¡­ Listening to the whispers around me I could only sigh. Just why was I suffering so much in this ce? Even like this, I was part of the strongest nation on the continent: the Karuan Empire. And within the Karuan Empire, if you were to ask who were the strongest n of magicians, nine out of ten would say the family of the Nermia Earldom; and I was their second daughter. There was only one reason I came to this organisation named Howling. In Howling, there was the possibility that the second half of the n¡¯s swordsmanship manual and the family¡¯s seal was here in this ce. One day, my grandfather, the previous head of the family; currently having given up his right to lead the family and living life as a member of the Magic Tower visited home for the first time in three years. And as Father was working on documents, Grandfather snatched away the seal he was using with a horrified look on his face. It was then the family realised that that seal was not real, but an extremely well-crafted fake, and after that, multiple investigations were conducted through which we found that the second half of the n¡¯s swordsmanship manual had also been stolen. The Nermia Family was a founding family of the Empire and a prestigious n that produced many mages and sages. To Nermia, swordsmanship was simply a self-defence technique for mages, and so that itself wasn¡¯t much of a problem. No, at the time, the magical physical strengthening being developed by the royal family was even more effective, so you could say that swordsmanship was essentially all but pointless. To be honest, it didn¡¯t matter too much if it was gone. But the seal was different. All the family¡¯s affairs were ultimately the responsibility of the family head, and the object that represented the family head was none other than the seal. The seal was the family¡¯s diplomatic symbol and arguably the symbol of the family itself, and if it became known that the seal that had been used since time immemorial was possibly a fake, then this wouldn¡¯t end simply as just a stain on the family¡¯s honour. If this became known elsewhere, if they really pushed and desired so, all the contracts that used the seal up till now could be rendered null and void. Because of this, the family¡¯s children who knew the truth unofficially searched thend to look for the seal. My choice was to infiltrate as a member of the evil organisation Howling, which had the most possibility of having it. There was opposition from the family saying that it was too dangerous, but if I¡¯d stayed as I was, I would not have been strange for me to be married off to some high-ranking family¡¯s son or worse, sent off to some old high-ranking noble¡¯s bedchambers. To raise my status within the family I chose to stake my life. Through my family¡¯s informationwork, I was sold off to a ve merchant that had frequent dealings with Howling, safely infiltrated the organisation, and there were little problems in primary training. On the contrary, due to my basic training till then, I was able to achieve the high rank of No. 17. But. ¡®I should have just married some high-ranking family¡¯s son¡­¡¯ As I stared at the silver rain in front of me I cursed my past self that had rebelled against my lot. Just what was that? Let alone the Nermia Family, the strongest magician family in the Empire, no, all the Wizards¡¯ Towers in the continent, the worst magic that everyone with even a fleeting interest in magic desperately researched, the extreme altitude bombardment magic! What was more, the umbre that was tossed to us, the more I looked at it the more I was certain that it was authentic imperial craftsmanship that the family had been researching. It increased the efficiency at which one could cast barriers, added physical defence to said barrier, and also the ability to reduce the speed of an object so that it could be stopped by the barrier, a specialised defence staff developed specifically to counter the high-altitude bombardment. But just because it existed, it didn¡¯t mean that a bunch of kids who had only learned the absolute basics of magic that the Nermia family taught their children at the age of four, could use it properly at all. Thankfully at least it seemed like the instructor had no real intention to kill us, becausepared to what we were taught at home, this bombardment was nothing short of sloppy. The most likely solution to this problem was for half of us to use our mana casting the barrier spell, and the other half attacking the projectiles slowed by the barrier. Just when I was thinking to myself of how to approach this n to the others. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ One person steps forward into the barrage. No matter how sloppy the spellcasting was, it could and would still kill you in a single hit. Whether to make us despair or to make us cooperate, what was certain was that we most certainly weren¡¯t meant to walk straight in like that. ¡®What?¡¯ But there was nothing stopping her light footsteps as she breezily walked out of the bombardment. It wasn¡¯t that the mages in the sky were deliberately avoiding her. The single weakness of this spell was that it was impossible to focus on a specific target. It was a simple spell that simply fired an object from the sky to fall to the ground at insanely fast speeds. If someone could control that fire then it would be more realistic to call them a dragon than a human. But was she dodging them on sight? That makes even less sense. No, every now and then she dodges by spinning and turning as if she was dancing, but other than that she was moving in a straight line. Her line of sight was facing only forwards, never to the sky. This was the realm of foresight. If she was a stepte at any moment she would be swept away by the barrage. But she didn¡¯t. The projectiles missed her by the absolute skin of her teeth, but none of them could so much as leave a scratch on the small girl. We could only stare nkly. As we stared, at some point, we noticed the girl¡¯s figure was standing outside the range of fire. ¡®Is that possible?¡¯ It¡®s possible. I saw it with my own eyes. That was an undeniable truth. ¡®Can I do it?¡¯ Impossible. It wasn¡¯t that my own physical capabilities were bad, but that was long beyond the realm of simple physical ability. I was not an idiot pinning her hopes on some futile possibility. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Could you just pass right through it?¡± I can hear the voices of my peers around me. To be honest, even I wondered for a second there whether the bombardment was just illusion magic. I even wondered whether it was illusion magic that incited fear in us as well. But the conclusion was [this was not an illusion.] It was then. ¡°Do you have a death wish?!¡± When everyone was stunned, someone ran forward. Familiar blond hair. No. 1, who had overwhelmingly imed the number 1 spot during primary training time and time again. But even if he was, mimicking those movement was nothing short of¡­ ¡°It¡¯s possible?¡± It wasn¡¯t the same. If the former had the light steps of a girl out on a walk, thetter was like a lion charging to his objective. But the results were the same. In the face of the overwhelming charge, it came close several times but the bombardment couldn¡¯t touch him. And the current reality was that seeing No. 1 and No. 1000 who had reached the other side, people could hear theirrades¡¯ voices. One might be a miracle, but since two had made it across, it seemed like they were thinking they could make it as well. Ahh, goddammit! I worked so hard on my teamposition and n! Leaving No. 1000 aside, I had No. 1 as a key role in my ns, but now I have to leave them both out. And even the idiots who were slowly moving to try it themselves! Although I wanted to let them just give death a shot, pointless loss of war potential was a loss to me as well. So let¡¯s teach them something. ¡°You insane imbeciles. Look closely.¡± Making everyone else pay attention to me with a more-than-slightly annoyed voice, I lifted a rtively heavy rock with magic. Its size was slightly less than twice that of my head. ¡°This is your skulls.¡± It was a bit heavy, but I put some force into it and threw it to where the bombardment was still falling. Thankfully, it flew far enough to reach its destination. Thump! A soft but weighty sound. Bang! As I pointed to what remained of its fragments after it was hit by the bombardment, I said. ¡°Now, anyone with a skull thicker than that rock. Get out there and take a shot.¡± Havinge to terms with reality, the kids closed their mouths. It¡¯s better than them being noisy. ¡°Now unless you¡¯re some sort of rock head master than can pour magic power into your head, listen up.¡± After everyone¡¯s attention turned to me, I lifted the staff in my hands. ¡°The idiots who don¡¯t want to go back to primary training needs to put up their umbres, and avoid the rain, no?¡± Now then. Although not quite like those two idiots, but let¡¯s put my life on the line. Chapter 6 RATH Chapter 6 TL: Eevee 1. I didn¡¯t know then. (6) ¡°There we go.¡± Aside from just over ten people, the rest of them got together and began to move. The trainee who had noticed the umbre¡¯s identity first coolly took the lead in creating a barrier magic with her at the centre. The rest started to move forward at a quick pace as they defended against the bombardment. To be honest I had considered calling this session off due to a certain pair of lunatics. No, even if it was only one that jumped in then you could safely assume that they were a lunatic, but the fact that the next one also seeded created doubt, and because of that you could have all sorts of moths jumping straight into the fire. Especially those who haven¡¯t experienced the Great War and heard only through rumours, and only the brief mentions in primary training, there will be kids who will be wondering if those rumours were true or exaggerated. If it¡¯s the kids who haven¡¯t experienced first-hand the numbers that were fucked over by this bombardment then you can literally see as a number. Hearing of hundreds of casualties is a hell of a lot different to seeing said hundreds of casualties in person. If it were the ones who were on the front lines they could understand the numbers but it would be foolish to expect the same understanding from these kids. That is the limits of these kids with no practical experience. They could understand just how big several hundreds are if they get surrounded by that amount of enemy forces on an assignment, but that sort of training is impossible here. It¡¯s an evil organization, but we don¡¯t recklessly kill young kids during training. As a primary trainee, even at the risk of reeducation safety first is how we do things, and even once they be an advanced trainee, with the exception of practical experience, the core doctrine is to minimize casualties. No matter that it¡¯s been easier to get fresh bodies due to the fact that the Great War has caused the number of orphans have risen greatly in these past few years, in an evil organization where the vast majority of the work we do is illegal, we need to be aware of the risk that we could die at any time. Because of this, the ces called evil organizations are always in abour shortage. To solve this, we educate children from a young age and continue to bolster our numbers, but the cost involved in this is no joke either. Before the Great War brought down the cost to a pittance, on average it cost twenty silver, fifteentely due to the drop in prices, to bring in a child, but when you multiply that by hundreds, thousands, then it¡¯s not a cost you can wave off. Plus the cost of feeding them, clothing them, training costs and so on, when you put them all together you wonder it might be just more cost-effective to hire an adult, but there are way too many spies from other organizations and countries, so for the most part we can only use young orphans or ves. Because of this, I don¡¯t kill anyone. Perhaps even in my employee evaluation I might be appraised as a skilled instructor with no casualties, all the while fostering a high sense of fiscal responsibility! Since I bring results, it¡¯s not that my education in wrong, but the ones who couldn¡¯t handle it are too weak! Is the final evaluation! ¡°Thirty-seven.¡± It¡¯s a respectable result. The twelve remaining over there will be sent back to primary training with the fifty-one other kids sprawled in their beds, but that¡¯s none of my concern. The kids that failed are already out of my hands, but are in the hands of the primary training instructors instead. ¡°Time to go back now.¡± No. 1000 who was on her third strip of jerky, and No. 1 who was staring at her with a feverish gaze. Did he fall for her? Did he fall? Oh, a love story rare in this evil organization! ¡­Yeah, right. It¡¯s been a long time since I discarded those delusions you might find in a rofan(1) novel. I just have to hope and pray that No. 1 doesn¡¯t backstab No. 1000 during a mission out of a jealousy. No matter where you go, the majority of the beings called No. 1 are the ones that can¡¯t stand the presence of someone above them. When I turned my head, while weak, I could see the resolve of the trainees that were now veterans of the Empire-style magic bombardment. They all looked tired, but they still had resolve. Yep, that¡¯s how it should be. If they lost resolve from just this then it would be very hard to educate them. I preferfortable and simple training methods. Of course, notfortable and simple for the trainees, butfortable and simple for myself. ¡°Congrattions for surviving the infamous Empire bombardment.¡± First raise their spirits a bit, then sign to themunications mage beside me. ¡°¡­Are we really doing this?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Maybe it was just my imagination but the mutterings ¡°Oh, gods, why¡­¡± were probably just my imagination. The training we¡¯re going to do from now on is much simpler to dodge than the Empire-style magic bombardment, no? Plus even if you¡¯re hit by it you¡¯re not going to die? Over the heads of the trainees that had their attentions trained on me, a faint magic circle shimmered. I could have all signs of it removed altogether, but that¡¯s for thest day. Since I am not that much of an evil instructor I will give them time to get used to it. Didn¡¯t they always say humans were animals of adaptability? They can simply adapt to this as well. ¡°Since you survived that highly-infamous bombardment, a normal one should be easy?¡± As a few of them stared horrified at the sky, this time, not silver, but a multicoloured rain began to fall. ¡°Now, splendid trainees that survived the Empire¡¯s magic bombardment, this time it¡¯s the organization¡¯s favourite magic bombardment. Ah, we are controlling it so you won¡¯t die if you get hit, but you could still die if you keep getting hit, so be careful!¡± Perhaps they didn¡¯t all hear me, they were very busy running away. Scanning and forgetting, no, in one ear and out the other? As an instructor this saddens me. ¡°Now, then. Shall we y for just a week?¡± For the kids who might have my retirement on the line, I shall feed them experience like a high-end restaurant chef. To start, the first menu is a premium set of all the magic bombardments they could face on the battlefield. #7 Their story: A certain organization¡¯s HR manager¡¯s struggle. ¡°Ahhhh¡­¡± I read the reports from the organization¡¯s mages. A simple summary would be a devil¡¯s training that was impossible to survive. Evaluated as something that they wouldn¡¯t be able to survive at that age, no, not even in the present day. If it was any other department, and if the person responsible for that training was anyone other than Instructor Naruan, you could be very much justify swearing at them for weaklings. But even in an evil organization mages are special. Perhaps if they were magicians who holed up their rooms researching or stayed in the backlines spending all their mana for a single st. But they¡¯re mages. In both the front and back lines as a given, infiltration, bombardment, assassination and all sorts of other missions, to think that a veteran special ops mage corps would provide this evaluation! And even the results only recorded three surviving out of a hundred! Starting from the Empire-style magic bombardment, for a continuous week of magic bombardments without any time for rest. No matter that they were given an Empire-style defense staff that was effective for defending against magic, the fact that three people actually survived as their bodies wore down over the week makes them the monsters. It wasn¡¯t that the trainees were weak, either. A whopping thirty survived for five days. Only thirty-seven survived after the Empire-style bombing, but thirty survived after that! They independently dug holes, searched for cover, created bases and temporary shelters, and setting aside that these were all these kids¡¯ death struggles, it¡¯s proof that these kids have extremely good survival skills when you consider their age. Maybe rumours already spread, but the various special ops forces are already requesting even the dropouts. Heck, even he¡¯d want them. Especially the five that dropped out on the final day, wasn¡¯t due to magic bombing but the organization¡¯s specialty mid-range silent sniping. This was a skill we used a lot even during assignments, hard to block even if you knew it wasing, outright impossible to block if you didn¡¯t. The mages rated these five highly as ¡®humans,¡¯ and the three that survived the mages didn¡¯t even think of as human, calling them monsters and such with ambiguous words that were hard to tell whether they werepliments or insults. -Final Evaluation- No. 1 ¨C Lunatic. Very skilled with a sword but doesn¡¯t seem to be in his right state of mind. Seems to have the potential for magic but may be dangerous if taught. Giving dangerous nces to No. 1000. Treat with caution. No. 17 ¨C Superior magical talent. Potential as both a magician and a sage. Has a habit of using herrades as chess pieces. While her magic use is splendid, her use of people is even better. Confirmed reports of her sending herrades to the expected snipe location. Shows extremely good talent as a viin. No. 1000. Lunatic. Survival king. Doesn¡¯t feel like she¡¯ll die no matter where you send her. There is the risk of betrayal if there is a skilled chef with the enemy, hence a fitting individual for missions in deserts or wastnds. As I summed up the mages¡¯ evaluations I could feel the beginnings of a headacheing on. A newbie might see this as the trollings of the mages, but I already knew from thest batch of Instructor Naruan¡¯s graduates two years ago that their final evaluations were very simr to the current crop. Especially, one person in particr was a special crazy bitch. ¡°Heeh, are these my juniors?¡± ¡°Eh, ehhhh?¡± My heart stopped for a bit at the sudden voice behind me. Why is this insane bitch here at this timing! ¡°Why are you so surprised?¡± ¡°N, nothing, vice-director.¡± Harnel Sia. The youngest-ever vice-director of one of the cores of the organisation, the Intelligence Agency. The person that that picky Intelligence Director had evaluated as someone who could be relied on to take over at any time, one of Instructor Naruan¡¯s former disciples. Once, when I wascking in belief, I took this joke-like evaluation and stormed off to take the writer to task, and after I met with the examiner in question, was told to go check it out for myself and when I first went to Instructor Naruan, she was the first disciple I met, and the one who made me understand that very evaluation. The fears from then were engraved into my body to this day. -Heeeh. I see. You¡¯re the man from HR. -Is there a post where I can be together with Master? -No? Really? Reaaaaally? With. Your. Life. On. The. Line? All that from a girl who¡¯d probably lived not even half of his age. No matter that I was a support worker, one that dealtrgely with paperwork, but back when I was young I¡¯d run around on many a battlefield, and the bloodthirst that she let off that I¡¯d never experienced on any battlefield made me understand that evaluation. ¡°Don¡¯t be so scared. It¡¯s all thanks to Mister Manager that I could rise to the seat of vice-director?¡± The vice-director¡¯s beauty was stunning to the point that rumours had circted suggesting that she got the post by selling her body. If this was a social gathering in the Empire¡¯s capital, there¡¯d be no shortage of young noble boys that would have gathered to see that gentle smile. But I know that smile. When I felt the greatest risk to my life, when I said that the closest ce she could watch Instructor Naruan from was the Intelligence Agency, that was the sort of smile she made. ¡°Heeh~ This group, over half of them are women?¡± She quietly eximed, but my arms were already ridden with goosebumps. Ahhh¡­ The trainees who survived that training from hell! Those devilish talents, perhaps even actual devils, two of them will die! ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not it.¡± Her bloodthirst vanished. Although my back was soaked in a cold sweat I did my best to not let it show with aposed face. If I wanted to live¡­ ¡°Thest five dropouts from Master¡¯s training, I¡¯m here to take them on the orders of the Intelligence Director. Please make the arrangements.¡± I looked at the hand-written document from the Intelligence Director and nodded. Perhaps the winner of the power game this time was the Intelligence Agency. As Ipleted the simple paperwork, handed over the requisite files and watched her leave with a tense heart. My ursed ears picked up her small murmurings. ¡°Ahh. My cute little juniors. Shall I pay them a visit?¡± Ahhh, gods. Save the young devils from the ws of the devil. Chapter 7 ¡°Is it that tasty?¡± As I said that watching the three kids scarf down a simple bread and soup, No. 1000 nodded as if she had no time to waste talking, No. 17 blushed slightly and No. 1 said brazenly. ¡°The food is not tasty, we are hungry.¡± But unlike his attitude he quickly pped away No. 1000¡¯s hands away from his bread. It¡¯s not like I couldn¡¯t understand them. It¡¯s probably because it¡¯s been a while since they ate food fit for humans. After serving them a seven-day full course of every type of bombardment the organization had to offer, they were given a pouch of jerky and moved immediately to the mountains. Just as they got over altitude sickness, a raft in the middle of the ocean. And after hearing that they were sick and tired of water, they had magic-sealing cuffs normally used for mage prisoners shacked onto their arms and thrown into the middle of the desert. Even then, No. 1000¡¯s survival ability was magnificent. An appetite that would even let her eat poison mushrooms for the taste. Maybe she has some Poison Immunity MAX that you¡¯d only find in novels, but even if she eats poisonous mushrooms she shows no signs or symptoms of poisoning. I thought for a bit whether it was some type of mushroom I didn¡¯t know about, but then No. 1 tried copying her and immediately rolled his eyes back frothing at his mouth, I even had to use an emergency antidote to barely save him. On the ocean, they caught a lot of fish, but her skills at cooking fish just right with basic magic were particrly praiseworthy. Even No. 17 who¡¯s a magic prodigy asionally burns hers, but No. 1000¡¯s skill where she didn¡¯t burn her fish, not even once, was close to miraculous. Her final actions in particr, in the desert, had even me horrified. Without even a hint of hesitation, as soon as their drinking water ran out, she immediately bottled her own piss in her water canteen! The other two were horrified at No. 1000¡¯s actions, and continued looking for an oasis, but there was no way I¡¯d be that easy on them. Since I had brought them all to a ce where I had already determined there was no oasis, it was fun watching them gradually drying out. Especially when No. 17, who had held out till the end finally drank her own urine, just when the shame and humiliation started to fade away from her face, when she asked me how to gather water, as I showed her how to use leather to gather morning dew and cacti as a water source, her soulless dead face was absolutely priceless. And roughly two months of training passed by like that, and now we were back at our beloved barracks. After a simple meal, I decided to give them a rest day today. Although I was being quite benevolent, I don¡¯t think my disciples appreciate their teacher¡¯s kindness. ¡°Today¡­ Then what¡¯s happening tomorrow?¡± ¡°¡­Again?¡± Although their three horrified stares stung a bit, I need to endure. Yes, the heart of a teacher must be as high as the sky and deep as the sea! ¡°You may rest until the sun rises tomorrow morning.¡± But their suspicious looks still haven¡¯t disappeared. Ahhh. In that case. ¡°Or should we start now?¡± ¡°We¡¯re okay!¡± ¡°Thanks for the break!¡± ¡°I¡¯lle out when it¡¯s dinnertime.¡± As I looked at them hurriedly turn around and head to the dorms, I sighed. Why do all my disciples have such little faith in their instructor? As I walked out pondering this, an exmation just naturally sprang to my mouth. Look at those dorms! Perfectly restored! Even if it looks like that it¡¯s a specially made dormitory. It was made so that the higher you go, the less risk there is of someone dying from the building copsing. Since the building copses at least two, three times a year, it was made easy to destroy, easy to fix, light and cheap. Perhaps the only downsides were that the roof blew off during a storm every now and then, and the building was sometimes cut in half when the kids were fighting? Well even so, if you make theme out and start surviving, then emergency weather activity trainingplete! No matter that this is a fantasy neighborhood where magic is life, the power of mother nature is fearsome even here. You need to ovee those environments in order to be tenacious enough to not die wherever you go. Oh, thinking about it, trapping them in a cave-in like the dormitories seems like a good training n. Survival where there isn¡¯t the faintest speck of light! Should I try drawing up a n? I thought as I entered my office. ¡°Oh, Master, wee¡­¡± m! Something weird is inside. Mm. why is she here? It¡¯s been ages since she graduated, why is she here? I opened the door again. ¡°Master! Why did you shut¡­¡± m! I shut the door again. Yep. It¡¯s her. It¡¯smon sense to avoid the local mad dog when she¡¯s around. Plus, if it has rabies, it is highly rmended that you run away as fast as possible. If you get bitten while fighting it¡¯s only your loss. ¡°Master? Master? If the door doesn¡¯t lock from the outside, then Master is holding onto it, right? Is it alright when your ex-disciple is here and not letting her in¡­ Wait, no, not letting her out?¡± This is the problem. The heavily shaking doorknob. I¡¯m holding onto it as hard as I can, but the moment I let go, I¡¯m caught. ¡°Master? Are you listening? Can I think of this as confinement y? To think Master had these kind of preferences¡­¡± She¡¯s bullshitting something, but I ignore it. The door handle is shaking more violently but it feels like it¡¯s going to break at any moment. ¡°What are you doing, Instructor?¡± But salvation came at the most perfect timing. ¡°What is the problem, No. 1.¡± ¡°Ah, I came to rece the equipment damaged in the desert.¡± ¡°Alright then, hold onto this door for a minute.¡± With a quiet voice, I call No. 1 over and have him hold onto the door, and put some effort into it. Even though he looked confused, No. 1 held on to the door with all his strength, and I turned around and gapped it as fast as I could. Let¡¯s run first. The others are problematic in their own right, but that one is particrly troublesome. She¡¯s oddly simr to my previous workce¡¯s boss, and her crazy bitch personality is also simr and hence even more ufortable. It¡¯s dangerous to be bare-handed. In that case I should prepare at least the minimal weapon for self-defence. The training¡¯s going to progress to the next stage soon enough anyway, so I might as well grab it early. #8 Their story: The future hero¡¯s troubles My heart that was fired up against No. 1000 cooled quickly. After surviving the Empire-style magic bombardment, then the other assorted magic bombardment that followed shortly afterwards. At the very least it was easier to endure. If my body was normal that is¡­ My entire body was screaming at me as I pushed it beyond its limits. Most of the others had their mana strained to the limit and were in simr conditions to me. Only No. 1000 maintained her easygoing slowness like normal, but it didn¡¯t seem like she was going to lend a helping hand anytime soon. One person, then two people fell. Each person squeezed out their non-existent mana to dig a trench, hid behind natural obstacles to get out of the line of fire, and when they barely intercepted an attack, someone shouted. ¡°There¡¯s something there. Sniper!¡± We couldn¡¯t understand what they meant immediately. We¡¯d already been holding out for five days under heavy fire, people dropping out wasn¡¯t out of the ordinary. It was a coincidence that we found out what that actually meant. When No. 17 abandoned the temporary shelter that was all but obliterated by enemy fire, and was about to head elsewhere. She sent the person that was with her in another direction. To an area that looked like a perfect ce to get sniped. ¡°Kuwuk?!¡± I saw it. The figure of the person copsing as if he¡¯d been hit out of nowhere. But still! To think that it was a magic shot that left no traces of magic! To make matters worse, in the middle of heavy bombardment, and now with stealth magic! How the hell are you supposed to block that! ¡°They¡¯re blocking it well.¡± But No. 17 and No. 1000 are blocking it with ease. Generally the shot came the moment the bombardments destroyed the obstacles people were hiding in, but surprisingly enough they blocked it well, and dodged it well. Did that mean there was a separate way to block it? I had to take two hits before I realised. The first shot in particr hit me in a very poor ce, I could only barely defend against it by pouring all my magic into it. Ah, where exactly that ce was is dangerous in many ways, so I¡¯ll leave out that exnation. The solution is quite simple. While on standby, spread ayer of mana out extremely thinly, and act like a sensor. While mana is being used at a very high rate, the moment I started to use that I found I could deal with it. Now, I can take whatever you throw at me! Aaand the moment I thought that, training over. After telling us good job and tossing us a bag of jerky, he threw us into the mountains. It was there where I came to learn of altitude sickness for the first time. I didn¡¯t even know this illness existed. The Empire doesn¡¯t have too many mountainous regions to begin with, and even the mountains it had weren¡¯t that high above sea level. Because of that I couldn¡¯t eat properly, but No. 1000 was happy that there was less mouths that ate. Because of that the moment I felt well enough to eat properly I stole one of the mushrooms No. 1000 was roasting, and thanks to that I saw my deceased mother¡¯s face that I¡¯d only ever seen in paintings. She sent me back saying it wasn¡¯t my time yet, if I¡¯d followed her I¡¯d have died then and there. And we hunted beasts in the mountains, roasted them, this wasn¡¯t so bad¡­ Just as we thought that, training over. It was annoying that training ended just as we were getting used to it, but now for some rest¡­ There was a time where I thought such things. I rxed and closed my eyes, and when I woke up we were on a raft in the middle of the ocean. All we had was a single fishing rod and a small bowl, one oar. End. Of course even though we could ke our thirst through water magic, there was no food. Just then, we realised just how good the environment was up in the mountains. We could hunt animals to eat, and if there were no animals we could eat grass and roots! But we couldn¡¯t even do that in the sea. The only thing we could very asionally catch on a line without bait was seaweed. In the end we dove in to catch fish, but that wasn¡¯t easy, either. In addition, cooking the fish we caught. The sight of our hard-caught fish turning to charcoal right in front of our eyes was something we couldn¡¯t bear to watch without crying. As I looked at where sky met ocean far away in the distance, the inside of my head was also dyed in blue. As our instructor rode in an extravagant cruise ship that waspletely unbefitting of an evil organization that symbolised stealth, he looked at us that were half-insane and shamelessly asked. ¡°Where do you want to go next?¡± No. 17 and I said we didn¡¯t want to see water any more, we said anywhere as long as there was no water. And that was the worst choice we could have made. ¡°When does this end?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know. Don¡¯t talk to me, I¡¯m thirsty.¡± As I said that, sprawled out on a sand dune in a dying voice, No. 17 replied with a very annoyed voice. The sea was heaven. I didn¡¯t know just how valuable water was. I red balefully at the magic suppressing tool that was shackled to my right wrist like a chain, but it didn¡¯t seem like it woulde off anytime soon. The saliva had already long dried from our throats. In this environment where we swallowed more sand than saliva, the sandstorms were like hell. Furthermore, despite how hot the days were, the nights were disgustingly cold. Even if we tried to dig a hold to make a shelter, because the ground was sand, a single gust undid all our efforts. In the end we were all getting sick of surviving with a campfire on a rock. ¡°I got food.¡± ¡°¡­Scorpions again.¡± And the worst thing is that there is nothing to eat. The mountains were heaven in terms of food. The sea had a lot to eat as well once you got used to it. But the desert had nothing. Scorpions. Lizards. Except just once. Whether it was abandoned or lost, a camel came passing by and No. 1000 quickly caught it, aside from that time we had nothing remotely resembling meat. Back then, we took ten big steps back as we looked at No. 1000 who drank the camel¡¯s blood instead of water, but thinking on it now, we should have drank up when we had the chance, and I still regret that to this day. And so we struggled and training was finally over, and we were told to rest up for tomorrow, but where did it go wrong? Was it that I had checked my equipment for early thinking that training would resume tomorrow? And was the problem that there were faults a couple of items of gear? Or was it that I held onto the door that the instructor said the devil lived inside? Maybe, all of them were the problem. The door I was holding shut opened, or more urately, destroyed, and from the inside a beautiful woman came out. That woman looked at me, smiled and said. ¡°So. Yourst words?¡± And I was hit with that opening. It was a mysterious beating. It was a refreshing beating. I was hit, it hurts, and it doesn¡¯t hurt. ¡°Kuhuk?¡± My gaze that had been looking forwards was now facing the ceiling. ¡°Hm¡­ Seeing as how there are marks left, it isn¡¯t perfect.¡± As I barely managed to turn my head, I saw a metal stick around a metre long. Was I hit by that? ¡°Hm¡­ If I seed then world conquest might not be impossible, but it¡¯s so hard.¡± ¡°Kuk kahaat?¡± It¡¯s odd. It hurts. It hurts so much. But it feels good. What is this? ¡°I raised the pleasure output, but at this rate it¡¯s just a masochist production tool.¡± With light hand movements, the metal stick struck my body. What I felt was definitely pain, but when it came to my head it wasn¡¯t pain, but pleasure. ¡°Hu¡­ Huwuut?¡± ¡°Ah. Damn it. This is a failure.¡± A disappointed tone. With those words the hand that was holding onto the metal stick stopped. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave the punishment for interrupting me meeting Master at that.¡± As I quivered and shook on the ground, the woman who vited me brought her face to my ear and whispered. ¡°Also, some advice from your upperssman. When you see something like this, run away immediately.¡± She lifted her head and waved around the metal stick in front of my eyes, and unlike her voice up to now, she said with a serious voice. ¡°Once you see it, you can no longer die.¡± The meaning of those words, I didn¡¯t know then. Chapter 8 RATH 8 TL: Eevee 2. What is this. Scary. (1) They say the three greatest necessities of man are food, clothing and shelter. And if I were to choose, I would choose food. If you do not have a house you can sleep rough, if you do not have clothes then you can roughly cover up, but if people do not have food, they die. ¨C From a certain hero¡¯s memoires I nkly stared at the training scene ying out in front of me. ¡°Die!¡± ¡°This time for sure!¡± ¡°You, suit defeat.¡± Would the twilight of the gods, Ragnarok, have looked something like this. -These, damn brats! ¡°Ice Buster¡± -Kuaaaaaaagh! No, if you look at the fire giant that was said to have been at its forefront getting the crap beaten out of him, it¡¯s more than possible to think that way. If we look back a couple of months ago when this all started. ¡°From today onwards, we will begin a simple fitness training program.¡± Although they were only three little squirts, even if you threw them out to work as a mercenary they¡¯d be more than usable. Although theyck experience to be an A rank, they¡¯d be a B, B- at the very least. Because if they weren¡¯t then they wouldn¡¯t be standing here right now. And teaching those kinds of kids is very exhausting. The realm of genius, that realm is one where if you teach them something they¡¯ll get at least one thing out of it. Put another way, geniuses are the type that can learn ten, even twenty things. And the moment I y out all my cards against those types, I be a useless instructor, and an instructor with no fear or respect is easy prey from that moment onwards. Actually, the previous cohort started rebelling the moment they started getting used to the method keeping them in line. So I moved onto the next step, but I need to assume there¡¯s no way of knowing when that will stop being effective as well. Although in all honesty I don¡¯t think it ever will. Because of this, for the times when I need an effective method that uses none of my cards. ¡°The training is simple. Just run for five kilometres.¡± A simple run. But. When thest conditions are added on it bes different. ¡°It matters not what methods or means you use. You just have to not kill anyone. However. The person who arrivesst, does not get to eat.¡± No.1000¡¯s nk eyes ignited. Oddly enough that child always put her life on the line when it came to food. To be honest her appearance in the desert as she chewed a scorpion¡¯s tail which was known to have poison was a wee bit too much even for me. When she saw a desert fox that normal kids that age, no, even older people would normally think is cute, her bright smiling face that said she had found something to eat even appears in my dreams sometimes. To that kid, no, that bitch, not feeding her is the worst punishment. But it seems like No.1 and No.17 haven¡¯t realised the severity of the situation. #1 Their story: The future hero¡¯s hunger The sky is white. I¡¯m hungry¡­ Anything¡¯s fine I just want to eat something¡­ ¡°It¡¯s tasty!¡± ¡°It is.¡± The instructor is a devil. Not being allowed to eat aside, but why do I have to stay at the dining table with them! Right beside me, No.1000 is happily wolfing down her food and No.17 is nibbling away with a satisfied look on her face, and I realised what was holding me back. To be honest, as a potential sessor to a duchy I had my pride. Just for food! I still had my pride to focus on something as petty as that! It was on the third day when I realised I needed to throw that pride to the dogs. But still as a man, I couldn¡¯t let girls starve for something as simple as food but on the third day, I was at my limits. The direct descendant of a duke. Looking at it differently, it meant that as a direct descendant of a duke, starvation was unthinkable. Sometimes in protest of my father¡¯s ns, his advisors went on a hunger strike, and now that I think about it they were very admirable people. How did theyst a week, a month. Thinking about that when I did my best to run for lunch, a dagger flew in front of my face. ¡°Hey, wait!¡± I hurriedly pulled out my sword and parried the dagger. I nearly died zoning out. If I die here then only my damn brothers will be happy about that. Maybe No.1000 felt she couldn¡¯t rx with the gap that opened up, but after throwing the dagger she started to run like her life depended on it. And closely behind her, No.17 ran with a slightly faster speed. ¡°Oi, at least give me one meal at least!¡± I¡¯m hungry! As I put strength into my legs while yelling that in my mind, all of a sudden I could see the sky. As I shakily stood, I looked at the ground to see that it was covered in ice. While the heat is passing by, it¡¯s not even autumn yet. But ice! ¡°These little¡­¡± Grind. I grit my teeth and started running as fast as I could. Sure, circumstances being what they are, but still. Theirrade is this hungry! The instructor did say to not care about means nor methods, but she really tried to kill me! I swung my sword, used magic and ran like hell. I narrowly caught up, I was attacked, I fell behind, then I realised. ¡®I can¡¯t use my full strength because I¡¯m hungry!¡¯ They say a healthy body is a healthy mind. To put it literally, in a hungry body, a hungry mind sets in and you can¡¯t bring out your full strength. I should have noticed this. The opposition are in perfect condition. Compared to them I¡¯m simply a golem running low on mana. When a golem runs out of mana, they be a simple rock statue. But it took me too long to notice! A day, two passed and oh my gods it¡¯s already been a week since I ate anything! The skies looked truly white and the rocks looked like fruit. Now, when I truly am down to myst resort. Dinner time, a light run before mealtime. But as I no longer had any strength left I copsed on the starting line. Aah, even though I felt like I was going to die the instructor still didn¡¯t give me anything to eat. On the contrary, he¡¯s watching me closely to see if I¡¯m sneaking anything to eat. To think I¡¯d die of starvation like this! Not even my brothers that threw me into this mess would have predicted this! ¡°¡­Hey, are you alright?¡± Ah, she¡¯s here. It¡¯s No.17. I never really expected anything from No.1000 to begin with. No.1000 is something thatcks a human conscience. I don¡¯t know what it is, but it¡¯s not human. I confirmed that in the mountains, the sea, the desert. That bitch is someone who¡¯d shave off and eat the ice from a cier in the tundra. Compared to her, thankfully, No.17 still had traces of humanity left. ¡°¡­ uh¡­ma.¡± ¡°Hm? What was that.¡± While she used herrades to confirm the enemy snipers during training, it seemed that she still felt pity for someone that copsed from hunger. She still had the conscience to ask the instructor if I was allowed a single bite as I stared at her, drooling. ¡°uuu¡­. Uhh¡­¡± ¡°Haa. Speak slowly and clearly.¡± At my faint and cracking voice, she sighed and brought her ear close to my mouth. Ah, sorry. But it¡¯s your fault for not noticing. The instructor didn¡¯t let me eat, it wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t let me drink. There¡¯s no way that my water-filled belly would ever lead to my voice cracking. Although my conscience stings a bit, my hunger takes priority. I whisper in the ear that came close to my mouth. ¡°Magic seal, magic chains.¡± ¡°Eh? Eh?¡± Her flustered eyes look back at me. Sorry. But I¡¯m hungry. I¡¯d covered the pre-drawn magic circle with my body. There¡¯s only one way to hold down the best magician out of all of us with magic. An ambush with a pre-prepared spell. If I were to use magic at the same speed as No.17 I would never beat her. Of course, even if I tie her up first, she¡¯ll break it with time. So. Ka-chink. Ka-chink. ¡°Oi, wait! What the hell! Release me!¡± I shacked the cuffs and bindings I¡¯d prepared earlier on her while and slim wrists and ankles. In the gear storage that the instructor had said was freely avable to us for training use, there were also handcuffs. When he saw me taking these, the instructor looked at me passing by with a quaint smile, but that didn¡¯t matter right now. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°You little shit!¡± I could hear all sorts of curses from behind me, but I installed additional sealing magic circles and soundproofing magic circles beside her. Ah, just in case, I also put the remaining handcuffs on her as well. To be honest, it would have been great if we had the magic-sealing shackles we¡¯d had on in the desert, but unfortunately they weren¡¯t in the storage. Well, these will tie up No.17 for long enough. And that day, I could eat food in second ce. It was truly delicious. *** Training went even better than my predictions. I never actually thought things would proceed this far. The ones that had the best rtionship between their peers, the second cohort that I was in charge of chose the order in advance and logically sorted out their eating schedules. Even the previous cohort that were at each other¡¯s throats ended things simply as testing each other¡¯s skills, not with their lives on the line. ¡°Move!¡± But this cohort is insane. Over food at that. ¡°Die!¡± The earth shook, knives flew. As if the idea that it was a shame for a swordsman to let their swords leave their hands was bullshit, he simply tossed his favourite sword at attacks he felt he couldn¡¯t block. The iing magic collided with the sword and exploded. He pushed through the space where the poor sword met its end and charged forward. ¡°All of you. Get lost.¡± And a blue light shed in front of No.1¡¯s face. Sword ki at that age. Even named swordsmanship ns¡¯ sessors don¡¯t have many cases of sword ki users at that age. Meaning that those geniuses are rare even in families where kids get a toy wooden sword at the age of three and hold their first actual sword at seven. And a trainee at an evil organization, and one that hasn¡¯t been learning the sword for a few years using sword ki is nothing short of insanity. And the process was even crazier. Once, just once. No.1000 camest. Maybe she let her guard down, or she took a coordinated attack by the other two, I don¡¯t know. Because it¡¯s not like I keep an eye on them running all the time. However in a corner of my mind I thought that it was natural that No.1000 would be in the top ranks, and it was like that every day, but that day there was an unexpected incident. And the scene where she cried tears the size of chicken gizzard while watching No.1 and No.17 eat is still in my head to this day. And after mealtime ended, as she swung her sword as if she was furious, sword ki formed at the end of her de. What kind of bullshit is this. If you made her fast for a month then she¡¯d be a swordmaster. Or stick a sword in my stomach before that. The training sessions that became even more fired up, the brats that improved on their own. And so I decided to add some more fuel to the fire. ¡°If youe in first ce I will give you a special meal.¡± At those words, the kids that thought it was okay if they weren¡¯tst, started to fight even harder to im top spot. In all honesty I wasn¡¯t going to go this far either, just experiment with it for 2-3 months, but since their skills naturally improve just with a single person not getting to eat, I can¡¯t give it up. After that, No.1000¡¯s overwhelming victories continued. The differences in sword ki grew. Cutting magic, cutting swords. To fight against that you need simr sword ki or even stronger magic. And so No.1 awakened sword ki as well. All to block and dodge the sword ki aimed at his face. Like an animal adapting to survive to its natural environment, No.1 awaked to sword ki in the face of No.1000¡¯s attacks all by himself! And as the second round began to y out, No.17 came to me. ¡°I want to get stronger. Stronger than anyone else.¡± With a very powerful rage and determination. Chapter 9 RATH 9 TL: Eevee 1. What is this. Scary. (2) Rage. That was the only thing that could exin the emotion burning within those eyes. ¡°It will be difficult.¡± In all seriousness, as someone who uses magic as her primary focus this training is disadvantageous for her. Magic requires a lot of preparation. If you want to strengthen magic you need a catalyst or a magic formtion, ranged rather than closebat is easier, and if a swordsmanes into close quarters then all you can do is run like your life depends on it. There¡¯s a reason why magic users are split between magicians and mages even though both use magic. The specialties between magicians who focus on a single massive shotpared to mages who utilize fine mana management for prolonged fights ispletely different. No.17¡¯s base is as a magician. Perhaps the primary training centers are skilled at teaching magictely, but she¡¯s the best magician I¡¯ve seen from them to date. But magicians always perform at their peak when there is someone protecting them. In the current 1:1:1 format, especially when the both the other opponents focus on using a sword, she can¡¯t help but fall behind. In that case there are two methods. Using assorted tools and a focus on close quarterbat to switch to a mage-type, or contracting with a summoned spirit and supplementing your fighting potential. And the quickest method is naturally, thetter. To begin with, mages need to suffer for at least a year on the battlefield before they can be epted as mages. And even then as newbies or brats. If they can¡¯t ept this process then rather than a mage, they¡¯re treated as a flying maggot or a meat shield. In reality, a mage is a crappy job where no more than three out of ten survive after being deployed to the battlefield, with no guarantee that you¡¯d survive after that either. When the enemies¡¯ number 1 priority targets convenientlye down to the front lines it¡¯s even easier to hit them, and the world¡¯s advanced in leaps and boundstely, special arrows that tear through magic barriers like paper have been developed, so this is an era where if you have the funds, you can snipe off skilled magicians and mages from a long way away. Because of this, rather than bothering to teach them those things for ages, it¡¯s much better to bring out a big, meaty summon to take a hit and train as a magician raining down overwhelming firepower from afar. The disadvantage is that the mana consumption is massive, but normally a rearguard magician is never thirsty. Because they have a mana potion at their mouths pretty much 24/7. The downside being that they have to go to the toilet frequently. In the past where I was cursed enough to have to participate in the great war I developed special diapers and made the magicians piss in their pants. My, did I get a lot of resentment then. But it¡¯s not like I wanted to do that either? It was hard enough that if the magic artillery had to be stopped because one asshole had to go the bathroom the enemy¡¯s main force would swamp us immediately. Those magicians didn¡¯t understand my efforts in developing a diaper that wouldn¡¯t stink even when they pissed themselves. And so let¡¯s get a good ¡­ I mean summon. There was something I wanted to experiment as well. First, draw a summon circle on pre-prepared ground. ¡°This¡­ isn¡¯t this a summoning circle for devils?¡± Oh ho. The primary training centers, it seems they¡¯re teaching them really welltely. To think she¡¯d understand what type of magic formation just by looking at it. As the representative of the tertiary training instructors, I should send them a word of praiseter. Words don¡¯t cost money. ¡°So you know.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t contracts with devils banned under the Empire¡¯sws?¡± I sighed seeing No.17¡¯s slightly surprised face. What is this moron saying. ¡°Long before wemitted the crime of making a contract with devils, we¡¯re already members of an evil organization and hence perfect criminals.¡± ¡°Ah¡­.¡± As No.17 made a stunned expression I continued drawing the formation. Ah, now that I think of it, they don¡¯t teach them this in primary training. As a splendid instructor I might as well tell her. ¡°And if you look closely at the Empire¡¯sws, making a contract with a devil isn¡¯t strictly ouwed either.¡± ¡°Eh? What on earth is that¡­¡± Even though I look like this at one point, I¡¯d spent a number of years in the imperial court that stank of blood over the right of session. I diligently learned thews because I didn¡¯t know when my head would be sent flying if I didn¡¯t. Simply in terms of the Empire and internationalws, I can go toe to toe with one of the Empire¡¯s judges! ¡°Contracting with a devil is not a crime. Making a contract with your soul as the price is.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same thing?¡± No you moron. ¡°Normally all summons are restricted by their ss.¡± Spirits and beasts are a given, you can even summon gods from other worlds here. You even get cases where you get familiar names like Zeus, Odin and so on. In addition, the major league of the 72 demons in the Lesser Key of Solomon, the Qliphoth, the mythologies of Greece, Northern Europe, the Orient and their demon kings and so on can all be summoned. But among those, the devils¡¯ destructive powers are unmatched. The reason being is the price of their summon, a soul. ¡°Only devils make a contract with souls as the price.¡± They¡¯re scammers among scammers. Like loan sharks lending one million won and tearing back ten. ¡°Souls are the realm of things not even gods can interfere with, that only the creator gods who created the world and tasked the gods with looking after it can touch. A scam contract that tears that realm out under its name. because of this, those that make contracts with devils can use their souls as a price to obtain great strength.¡± The running costs are too high. If you were given a catalogue you¡¯d never ever choose them, but unfortunately there are few specialist texts on summoning, and the ones that are on the market are so patheticpared to what I know there¡¯s no point even looking at them. ¡°And that¡¯s why contracts are prohibited. Because devils are beings that infringe on the invible territory called the soul.¡± ¡°Then isn¡¯t it right that we shouldn¡¯t do it?¡± No.17 said, tilting her head after a short moment to think. Her appearance that actually matches her age is quite cute. ¡°Think differently. If devils are assholes that scam people using souls as the price.¡± Thak! The magic formation drawn with chalk wasplete. Hm. This should work. If it doesn¡¯t then No.17 bes a criminal, but since she¡¯s a member of an evil organization she¡¯s already a budding criminal. Well, the important thing is. While a soul might get forked over to a devil, it¡¯s not my soul so that¡¯s not a problem. Even if I did try myself, I have absolutely no mana so it¡¯s impossible for me to summon. Even when I tried to contract a summon that someone else summoned I was refused. Really, to hear from a devil that my soul was rotten, just what kind of bullshit is that? And so, this will be my sacrifice for this experiment. The experiment name is. ¡°We can scam devils too.¡± Will it be on the level of a certain demon¡¯s contract?(1) #2 Their story: the archdevil¡¯s master¡¯s story. ¡°We can scam devils too.¡± What kind of revolutionary bullshit is this? I said I wanted to get stronger, but I never wanted to be a criminal. But, after listening to the instructor¡¯s words, I¡¯m already a future criminal. If I get caught by the Empire¡¯s soldiers, killing myself before I brought shame to my family was the right way to go. ¡®Real seal or no. Should I just give up and get married?¡¯ The more that I thought, the more shame I felt thinking whether this was what I came to an evil organization for. The reason I was getting stronger was over food? I, the daughter of the Nermia earldom, one of the great families even among the many in the empire?! ¡®No, this¡­ this is all that damn No.1¡¯s fault.¡¯ To think he¡¯d use someoneing to help him. Worse, he¡¯d put six cuffs on my wrists, seven on my ankles. Clusters of cuffs on these frail wrists! Even in the Empire which gave zero rights to criminals they didn¡¯t even treat the death row inmates like this, and he did this to me, a weak little girl! To think he¡¯d use all sorts of magic formtions and cuffs on someone who was trying to help, I felt to the bone why the phrase biting the hand that fed you existed. And after that, as if his desire he¡¯d been suppressing burst after that one meal, No.1 started running like a man possessed, and after that the number of meals I had were getting less and less. To be honest, after the first few months of hell that the instructor put us through, the training itself wasn¡¯t that difficult. On the contrary, they were amazingly normal and effective, and I was actually somewhat satisfied by the theories that I¡¯d never heard of even in my family. But that all changed after No.1000 failed to eat once, just once. To the point that if I could go back to the past, I would run at myself of that time and stop me. ¡°Now that I think about it, No.1000 never missed a meal?¡± All of a sudden the unfairness of the situation came to words, and No.1 agreed, and as a result of us cooperating we stopped No.1000 from iming first ce. Her attacks that seemed like they were really going to kill us had our nerves on end, and I started to regret why did I put myself through this misery, but being faced with No.1000¡¯s sorrowful expression at mealtime filled me with a quaint satisfaction. It went without saying I was on edge at that meal. I ate only using my fork. Because No.1000 could have charged in at any moment, the knife in my left hand had to be on standby at any moment. But No.1000 only cried and watched, she didn¡¯t lunge for the food. After the food was gone, when I finally rxed, the instructor said this to me. ¡°No.1000 knows thew of the strong feeding on the weak more than anyone else. That¡¯s why she feels resentful.¡± I replied instinctively at those words. ¡°That she was attacked by two people?¡± ¡°No, that she couldn¡¯t hold out against Just. Two. People. And her weakness that prevented her from eating what should rightfully have been hers.¡± Words that were difficult to understand. But unlike normal, the instructor smiled, a smile that sent a shiver down my spine, and disappeared after saying one more thing. ¡°You kids, may have awakened something that should have best been left sleeping.¡± It was when I could no longer see the instructor¡¯s back, that I realised that my back was soaked in a cold sweat The next day, No.1000 used sword ki. The week afterwards, No.1000 started awakening to magic by herself. And after some more time passed, we could no longer beat No.1000 even with ourbined assault, so naturally the alliance dissolved. And when I realised it, I was the weakest among the three. When it was easier, I could have made a contract with No.1 and just took turns eating and solved it peacefully like that, but even if I said that now it was far toote. After a day, then two passed, the sense of danger was at my throat. And my hatred for No.1 rose up again. Although this is partially my fault, I don¡¯t want to admit it! ¡°I offer my name and mana, and call your name.¡± I¡¯m reading the lines like I¡¯ve been told to, but this feels weird. The lethargy thates with all my body¡¯s mana draining from me. Not all devils are equal. Low ranking devils can be contracted even without your soul if you¡¯re skilled enough, but high ranking beings, if handled wrongly can lead to a small kingdom¡¯s downfall. The dangers of those have been documented far and wide. Summon chants might be found in hidden old ruins of an era long gone, and as cases of idental summons came to light, parts of the summon chant were made public, and the Summoners¡¯ Association made an announcement that any summoning chants with that part present should not be carried out. And as a House of magicians, the Nermia family made frequent use of summons and had all sorts of knowledge on chants, and knowledge on devils as well, but this was the first time I¡¯d encountered a chant like this. ¡°Thy, gatekeeper of Muspelheim, the great giant that set a world aze.¡± Ah, my head is screaming at me to shut my mouth, but this mouth of mine doesn¡¯t show any signs of shutting. What, set a world aze? Forget high-ranking demons, if it¡¯s like this it wouldn¡¯t be weird to expect an archdevil, or even a demon king. ¡°The one whopletes the twilight of the gods, I call your name.¡± Ahh, twilight of the gods. It even sounds dangerous! ¡°The great giant of fire Surtr, descend to this realm, appear before my eyes!¡± Ahh, it¡¯s toote. I have crossed the river of no return. With the fatigue of magic draining from my body, I felt my heart hammering. Ahh. This. Yep. Fear. This is because of fear. ¡°Are you that pleased?¡± ¡°Wh, what do you mean!¡± As I looked at the sparkling magic formation, I snapped at the instructor¡¯s voice behind me. Ahh, I can¡¯t afford to be hated¡­ ¡°Then. What¡¯s that smile?¡± Smile? I¡¯m smiling? What kind of monstrous usation is that? Here, my heart is hammering with fear, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d be smiling? Haha. Really. Damn it. I stared wordlessly at the instructor who¡¯d brought a hand mirror out from somewhere and was reflecting my face. Damn it. Talk about prepared. Alright. I admit it. In the mirror there was a crazy bitch that was giggling like a maniac. With my face. Alright. My heart is beating a bit, no, wildly fast. The strongest nation in the continent, the Karuan Empire. And one of the great magician families that you¡¯d rate on one hand within that Empire was the Nermia family. Even I, who¡¯d read almost all the books in the family, had never heard about this giant called Surtr. But, I can tell just by the chant. This is an archdevil that would only be named in myths! As a magician family, as a magician. There is no way I could pass on learning something that no one else knows. Judging by the instructor¡¯s words, I could make a contract even without using my soul, but there was no guarantee of sess. A dangerous gamble, with my soul on the line. If you weren¡¯t excited here you weren¡¯t a magician, no? How much time passed? When the brightness of the magic formation reached its peak, a giant with a body red as fire appeared emanating an intense heat. Bang! ¡°Are you the ones who brought forth Surtr, the master of Muspelheim!¡± The giant of fire appeared by mming his hand onto the ground. The moment my body filled with delight in the spirit. ¡°The price of your contract is naught but¡­ Eh?¡± The giant of fire who had been indomitably speaking made a very shocked expression before looking at the ground he¡¯d mmed down on. ¡°Yep, naught. Zero. Nothing.¡± The instructor¡¯s fiendish voice echoed in my ears. Chapter 10 RATH 10 TL: Eevee 2. What is this. Scary. (3) #3 Their story: A certain pushover ve¡¯s story The final giant who once burned down an age of mythology. The greatest archdevil who ruled over fire. He was of another level above ordinary devils, the master of the giants, the lord of Musphelheim that even the gods feared. That existence was I, archdevil Surtr. And such a personage. Was. ¡°Bored.¡± It¡¯s boring. Too boring! Just how long do I have to sit on this throne for? My waist is starting to hurt from how long I¡¯ve been sitting here for. I¡¯m actually training daily to create a strong first impression as an archdevil, but so what? No one ever calls for me. Well, I do understand. History is made when I move. From what I heard from the kids under me, a couple of years ago something called the great war happened and the humans fought furiously tooth and nail and all, the moment I step forward I could turn even the great war into a children¡¯s scrap. Because the one who once set an entire world aze, one of the highest among top-ss devils, is me. And because of that, I always ponder. As I am such an existence, could a human summon me? I¡¯ve been spreading and scattering the method to summon me since what the humans called the Dark Ages, but humans, especially the ones who believe in gods, diligently collect them up and burn them. They say to protect the world from devils that would threaten the world, you should stop the summoning from happening to begin with or something like that? Thanks to that, it¡¯s about as hard as plucking the stars from the sky for devils like me to go out to the human world. Of the ones humans call archdevils, how many of them are currently contracted out again? Only twoe to the top of my head. Even if I include any potential contracts by devils that I don¡¯t know of, I could probably count them on one hand. What kind of contract rate is this pathetic? Isn¡¯t this way unreasonable! At this rate being a high-ss devil is probably better. Because while we make a single contract, they make fifty. Because they¡¯re somewhat strong and yet also somewhat weak, they¡¯re easily contracted. What kind of injustice is this situation? At least before Ragnarok I did my job as the gatekeeper of Muspelheim, but I was free after that! And because of that it¡¯s been 5000 years since Ist went down to the human world. Sure, you say 5000 years, but since I don¡¯t know when I have to make a contract, I spend most of the day sitting on this throne! You try sitting on a chair for the majority of 5000 years, it¡¯s boring as hell! ¡°If it¡¯s now I could give them a great bargain with a contact for only half their soul¡­¡± A grand service that not even high devils won¡¯t do! And this Lord Surtr is offering this bargain sale! Why are there no customers to make a contract! I¡¯m bored enough that if another 1000 years go by like this, I could even give them a free contract! ¡°Eh?¡± Was my fervent wish answered? An unfamiliar ripple formed in the air around the throne. It¡¯s, it¡¯s a summon! To think that there was still a human left that knew how to summon me! I check my body. Very good. The best condition. I could fight the gods right here right now. Clear my voice. Ahem! Good. Deep and powerful. I need to leave a strong first impression to make it easier to get a contract. Even if you say that it¡¯s a contract with a human, you can¡¯t take it lightly. The first contract in a whopping 5000 years. If the human decides to not contract thinking I¡¯m useless then it¡¯s only my loss. So I need to make the best preparations. I just need to get the contract first. Once I make the contract, I can take everything from the contractor and burn thend in the best state. Now, I¡¯m off to the contractor, three seconds remaining. Cover my body in white mes to leave an even stronger impression on my contractor. Two seconds left. I must not show on the outside that I was looking forward to this contract. One second. Finally, taking my signature pose, I lift my hand high. Zero. Bang! ¡°Are you the ones who brought forth Surtr, the master of Muspelheim!¡± Appearing in a bright light and mming the earth! The stone fragments that scattered in the surroundings were very satisfactory. It was a spectacr summon. The summoner was probably surprised as well. Because they wouldn¡¯t know they¡¯d summon an amazing archdevil like me! Now, what kind of summoner is the one that called me?! Although I don¡¯t show it on the outside, I gather my excitement and look at my summoner. Youthful. No, young. But to my eyes, an archdevil¡¯s, I saw overwhelming potential. This is, what they call a genius. Human yet far removed from humanity. Undeniably, a figure that would leave her name in the history books. Very good. Let¡¯s engrave may name with hers. So that no one will fail to know her name and mine, in the name of fear and despair, I will engrave it in history! But the contract takes priority! ¡°The price of your contract is naught but¡­ Eh?¡± Eh? What? My hand is hot? As the giant who ruled over fire, it is very odd for me to feel heat. My eyes naturally turn downwards. Looking at the ground, the floor is shining. While it goes without saying that a summoning circle should shine, the colour is weird. I infused mana into my vision and looked down, and under the summoning circle, something was shining. ¡°Yep naught. Zero. Nothing.¡± As I stared at the ground in confusion, a man¡¯s voice came into my ear. Naught? Zero? What kind of bullshit is this? And words became visible in my field of vision. [Contract between devil Surtr and [Ria el Nermia] ¨C Geass Roll -] The master of the burningnd Musphelheim, archdevil Surtr recognizes contractor [Ria el Nermia] as his master. Pledging obedience to her and all of hermands, and not acting independently without word from the contractor, he swears to the world to lend his unlimited strength and talents with No. Compensation. Whatsoever. Fuck. What the hell is this. *** Ahhh, it¡¯s a sess. What are you, my fearsome brain! Was I actually a genius! It¡¯s a pity that I¡¯m wasting it in service to an evil organization, but toote for that. Ahh. Shit. God damn it all! If only my parents didn¡¯t pass away in the fight between the hero and viins. No, even if that stupid lord didn¡¯t make the first gamble in his life and was fucked over by the Empire! If then I could have be a grand figure like an isekai novel¡¯s protagonist! Whoa now, calm down. That¡¯s all just a daydream, isn¡¯t it? When I was alive the trending genre was where the protag basically suffered a lot. Let¡¯s be satisfied with my big fat paycheck. As I went through happy memories at full speed, I saw a very flustered mister lord archdevil. ¡°Wh, what is this!¡± He probably saw the Geass Roll. It cost quite a penny, but it¡¯s nothing less but a contract with the world as witness. A contract not even gods can do anything about, a contract with the creators¡¯ authorities inscribed into it. There are only three ces in the entire continent where these are made on a small-scale only, where let alone other races, even the oil and water races that are humans and demons keep the peace, I bought a few of these while I was there, now is the time to use them. Of course, the expenses will be passed onto ountingter. ¡°This, this is a scam!¡± Yep. It¡¯s a scam. I took the basis of this scam from a particr devil. There was a mid-tier demon that the organization contracted with frequently, whenever he was summoned, he always appeared in green smoke with his arms crossed haughtily. And when I had the chance, I asked the devil. -Why is there always green smoke whenever you¡¯re summoned? And the devil answered. -Because this is how I respond to summons! Hearing him out a bit more, apparently other demons were appeared in their own distinctive ways when they were summoned. To get the precise details, I cooperated with one of my disciples and summoned a low-rank demon, when I politely asked him, he answered us. In the case of the giant wolf in Northern Europe mythology, Fenrir, he howled for around a minute into the skies, the major league vampire Count Drac appears by hundreds of batsbining into one. There were three that seemed like they¡¯d fall for the bait, and one of them was this Muspelheim¡¯s master Surtr. He actually appears as he ms his hand into the ground. Could you say his destructive summon is really appropriate for someone that destroyed a world? From what I heard, once he appeared in an old cave system like that and buried his summoner in a cave-in. Anyways, the contracts between humans and devils, no, the majority of the contracts between humans and devils are verbal contracts. While in my past life they were theoretically binding but seemed of absolutely no benefit to me, here you can even give away souls with oral contracts. In that case, what if you make a written contract? With the person¡¯s thumbprint? I prepared a stone te, and ced the Geass roll onto it. With No.17¡¯s thumbprint fiiirmly stamped. Stage 1 preparationsplete. And now, ce that stone te underneath the prepared floor, and on top, a specifically prepared ink te, and on the very top, a normal looking floor! And this stupid giant appeared with I am Surtr! And mmed! his hand down, the actually very thin ground broke under the impact, and firmly pressed his fingerprint down on the deepestyer. ¡°This, this kind of contract!¡± Surtr started smashing the stone te his thumbprint was on, but since the contract was already made ording to the Geass Roll, since the contents are already engraved onto No.17 and Surtr¡¯s souls, it doesn¡¯t matter what he does to that stone te. Heck I wasn¡¯t even sure if such a ridiculous method would work. But would you believe it everyone it actually worked! ¡°Obedience? I can¡¯t even act independently? And with nopensation?¡± Kuaaaaa! The giant that set a world aze roared! Surtr was seriously strong. He was strong enough to chew up Northern Europe¡¯sst hope Frey and burn down the world! But so what. Now he¡¯s a ve devil under a ve contract. ¡°No.17, tell him to shut up.¡± ¡°Please shut up.¡± I looked at Surtr silently opening and shutting his mouth with oddly aggrieved eyes and nodded to No.17. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s gone well.¡± Well of course, due to the scam contract the amount of power he can exert onto this world is decreased. No, even before that, if it was that ve contract an archdevil this proud wouldn¡¯t even want to show off his full strength. But it¡¯s an archdevil? He¡¯s fucked over an entire mythology? Even if the key forces Odin and Thor were screwed over by monsters during the Northern European mythology¡¯s war Ragnarok he¡¯s still a devil that set the world on fire? If someone like that roams around then what kind of weak civilian, no, small-time criminal like me, without any mana, supposed to survive. If the world burns, then there¡¯s nowhere for me to spend the money I spent half my life in an evil organization to earn? And therefore a seal. On the contrary, having been weakened is better. Naturally. No.17 could more than backstab me sometime in the future. In this ce, even if she is my disciple, on the contrary because she¡¯s my disciple that she could knife me in the stomach. And that ce is called an evil organization! And thus, I¡¯ve be a hero that saved both my peace, and while I¡¯m at it the world¡¯s peace! ¡­ Mother, Father, I¡¯ve be a hero that saved the world! #4 Their story: the story of the actual hero who would save the world. That day was just another day where we all fought with our lives to eat. ¡°Block it all Surtr!¡± But unlike normal, at No.17¡¯smands, a giant d in mes appeared. And the giant said. ¡°I am the archdevil Surtr, Muspelheim¡¯s master! I will protect this ce on my master¡¯smand, if you wish to proceed, you must defeat me!¡± ¡­My departed mother. They¡¯re saying if I want breakfast, I need to beat an archdevil. This disgusting world. Chapter 11 RATH 11 TL: Eevee TN: Ensj = Cia, me = Sia. Also,ments are delicious. 2. What is this. Scary. (4) Lately I¡¯ve been sincerely considering retirement. Evil organizations were always the type of things where you coulde as you pleased, but not necessarily the same if you tried to leave, but thanks to my various hard-crafted escape routes and false identities I think I could manage if I ran. The reason why I was thinking like sotely. It¡¯s because of No.1000 who, with her eyes closed, refining her mana right in front of me . Seriously, what the heck did I say for you to get enlightenment? Maybe if I¡¯d taught her the specifics of swordsmanship, but if only I rated No.1000¡¯s survival abilities highly I taught her single-strike kill assassination techniques. They don¡¯t even have a name. I¡¯m just teaching her a few of the techniques we use in the organization described with a bit of extra sauce. But, she¡¯s getting enlightenment from that. I¡¯m just telling her how to stab and cut an enemy¡¯s critical points, what the hell is there to gain enlightenment from that! All there is to learn is the human body¡¯s weak points! Plus the point she gained enlightenment at was ¡°the most important thing of the single-strike kill is to kill your enemy in a single attack.¡± Seriously, the name itself is a single-strike kill, no? but here she goes ¡°ah¡­¡± like some wuxia protagonist gaining enlightenment and I¡¯m afraid that if I really do teach her all my hidden cards then she¡¯ll transcend humanity entirely. Alright. Leave No.1000 at that. For a kid barely in her teens, let alone fear on seeing the archdevil Surtr, she just cut him down and moved on because he was in between her and her food. The danger is that if I make her starve without reason then she might make a giant hole in my stomach, but she can be tamed well enough if you feed her so there¡¯s that. But, what¡¯s No.17? Since I can¡¯t use magic myself, all I know about magic is theory. No, even what I call theory is just what I read about in the fantasy novels in my past life and pretending I developed them myself, but now this kid¡¯s getting enlightenment from that as well. And she brings out what was only in novels and uses them in real life! Was fiction not actually fiction! Did all the fantasy authors in my past life go to some fantasy world and write an autobiography or something?! And No.1 too, fell behind briefly before he caught back up at an amazing speed. He¡¯s especially taking up my swordsmanship at an incredible rate. No.1000 gained enlightenment, why wasn¡¯t I teaching him anything or so heined and when I bullshat something from some martial arts novels I read and then he went on to attain enlightenment as well. No, seriously, not even the previous cohort was this good, but these kids are growing so fast I have no idea what they¡¯re going to be when they do grow up. -Kuuooooooooo! The great fire giant roared. ¡°¡±Ice Buster.¡±¡± -Kuooooooak! The great fire giant roared in pain. ¡°Earth¡¯s Judgement¡± Meanwhile, thepleted magic caused the ground to shake and stone pirs shot up. I¡¯ve been in the great war that swept through the entire world, but to be honest, just this, whenever I look at this scene I get the shivers. To think this scene is being yed out by some kids that aren¡¯t even fifteen yet. And just why the hell can¡¯t the organization conquer the world when these kids are born! Just how strong are you, the world! ¡°Run rampant, Surtr!¡± The designer-name sandbag Surtr charged in with his body d in mes but No.1000 easily weaved through his swipes and overtook him just like that. ¡°Damn it!¡± But between dodging No.1000¡¯s hidden dagger, having been unable to dodge it immediately No.1 faced off with Surtr, and because of that it seems like No.1 isst again. Just as I thought that. ¡°Sky sh!¡± -Kuaaaaaaagkh! An overwhelming mana erupted from his sword. Single strike. No matter that restrictions on restrictions were piled on Surtr, his defences should still have been beyond your normal imagination, but he was desummoned in a single strike. But that wasn¡¯t the most important thing. ¡°I just read that in a manga¡­¡± To save my own cards I just bullshat something I¡¯d read in a manga for him, but he actually used it. And I only taught him this yesterday! Even the previous cohort kids took a year to use it and this kid uses it immediately! That skill is a cute weak girl¡¯s signature skill!(1) Kurrgh! Now what am I meant to do? Although I have the option of letting them graduate early, I need to train them for at least a year. Otherwise it¡¯s marked down as a result of the kids¡¯ skills and not the instructor¡¯s teaching. In that case, let alone myfy job, I can say byebye to my bonuses as well. The dwarf uncles were nagging me when I was going to pay up my overdue fees as well, if my bonuses go flying then I be a debtor. ¡°The kids look lively.¡± As I seriously wondered whether I did have to show them my trump cards, I heard a familiar voice, yet one I didn¡¯t want to be familiar with from behind my back. ¡°Sia, weren¡¯t you like that at their age?¡± ¡°Fufufu. It was quite fun then. I don¡¯t know how the others are doing right now.¡± Bull to the shit. Although they were like cats and dogs normally, when it mattered they were oddly well coordinated. They probably kept in touch with each other for ¡®just in case¡¯ scenarios. And should they get together, they could probably bury me six feet under. Heck even I¡¯d go ahead and secretly bury an instructor like me. It¡¯s only because I¡¯m an instructor. Why else would I be petty enough to make them fight over food. ¡°Anyways, why are you here.¡± ¡°Ah, really. A beauty¡¯se in person to see you, how col¡­ Ah, wait a minute please. Put that away.¡± The moment she started thering on unnecessarily, I pulled out a club and she took a horrified step back. ¡°Not master but instructor.¡± ¡°No diffe¡­ Yes yes. Instructor. So please put that away first!¡± There¡¯s only one reason why she¡¯s so horrified seeing the wooden bat. She was hit a lot by this. For the record, schoolchildren need to grow up with beatings. Then they listen. And if you¡¯re talking about punishment, of course the wooden bat is the best! After my first temporary instructor assignment, I took precisely two disciples the first time I became a permanent instructor, but I felt something missing then. That was punishment! Punishment is truly difficult to manage. If you don¡¯t punish disobedient children then they don¡¯t listen, if it¡¯s too harsh and they get injured, then that¡¯s a problem in training. Because of this, even while I was working in the imperial pce I diligently worked on the Bat Project, and in conjunction with the connections I made in the pce and my preexisting non-human connections I was able to inscribe all sorts of magic and arts into a branch of the World Tree. The result was this wooden bat! It looks nothing like a baseball bat but it¡¯s called a bat! If you were to speak of this bat, with 24 spells as a base, split between 10 curses and 14 blessings, and another 12 ancient charms and incantations on top, resulting in no injuries no matter how much you were hit by this, and also causing massive pain even with a weak strike, I managed to craft a punishment tool that can be called the textbook of punishment tools. This effectiveness came to present themselves from the second batch of disciples, and after that my disciples became very, very obedient little children! As I fidgeted with the bat while reminiscing on happy memories, Sia took another step backwards. ¡°I thought you no longer felt pain from this anymore?¡± ¡°Nope. Not at all. It still hurts. Getting used to it, and not feeling pain from it are two different things entirely, instructor.¡± Wow, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen her face this rigid. ¡°Either way. I¡¯ll ask this again. Why are you here?¡± ¡°Aww, of course it¡¯s because¡­ Yes, I¡¯ll talk, I¡¯ll talk, please put it away! It¡¯s the trainee screening, same as ever. I¡¯m here to test and watch for their potential dangers.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t need toe in person.¡± ¡°Our instructor really does need to reevaluate himself. Do you seriously not know just how highly the higher-ups rate the trainees you teach?¡± ¡°If they rated them that highly I¡¯d like them to raise my wages that highly as well.¡± ¡°¡­Considering how much you take from the organization to begin with.¡± She shakes her head but insufficient is insufficient. Even if I empty out the pockets I made during my jobs, I still don¡¯t have enough for a satisfying retired life. Since I keep researching things for the future, I¡¯m always leaking an unimaginable sum of money. ¡°Are you going to start right away?¡± ¡°Yes. Well, I¡¯m busy too.¡± Sia shrugged her shoulders and said to me with a bright smile. ¡°And so, let me borrow my juniors for a bit.¡± #5. Their story: the story of the spies in the evil organization. (1) ¡°Then No.17.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Slightly different from the normal routine, where I could lose my life at any time. And the beautiful woman in charge of that daily routine is none other than one of the core departments of the organization, the Intelligence Agency¡¯s vice-director. ¡°I shall begin the questioning.¡± Just what will happen if it¡¯s discovered that I¡¯m the daughter of the Nermia family? I could be a tool for the organization using brainwashing magic, a hostage or even outright executed as an example. And so. Using everything I have, I need to pass this test. The moment I made my resolve, the gentle smile immediately turned to a frigid gaze, and a truly unexpected question drove in. ¡°Is your preference an older man, or younger.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± My mind nked out for a moment but I immediately snapped to attention. Just what on earth would an evil organization need to ask this question for? Wait, this question is designed to make the opponent let their guard down! They¡¯d probably get the information out of me while I hesitate and waffle. In that case I should answer normally. ¡°I prefer older men.¡± Chill. I felt bloodthirst all of a sudden. Was it something I said? But, younger than fourteen is a literal child. Although my age is one where it wouldn¡¯t be odd for me to be treated as a child, but even younger than that, that¡¯s an age where you have to wonder if they even understand the concept of dating. ¡°Really now. Minus marks.¡± ¡°Wait! On what grounds?!¡± She¡¯s writing something down with a serious expression. Is this also to bait us?! ¡°Very well. I shall ask you additional questions on the previous. How much older do you feel is eptable to you?¡± But even as she moved onto the next question her eyes were still dead serious. ¡°If it¡¯s older¡­ Around five years or so?¡± That should be alright. If it¡¯s too much then it¡¯s weird. She nodded as if my answer this time was satisfactory, and undid my minus marks. It¡¯s surely just my imagination that I thought I heard ¡°thank goodness I don¡¯t have to kill you,¡± in a small voice right? Right? ¡°Now then, tell me why.¡± ¡°Mmm¡­ To be honest, younger than me at my age is too young, and too old is a bit awkward, or a poor match¡­¡± Even as I wonder why I¡¯m being asked these questions I keep answering. I have no idea what¡¯s in her mind. As expected of the Empire¡¯s worst evil organization, is it still too difficult to handle with my skills! ¡°Is that so. Very good. Excellent.¡± As I diligently exined my preferences for slightly older men, the woman in front of me nodded with a very satisfied expression. To be honest, I seriously wondered whether I¡¯d been overthinking this way too much and she actually was just questioning me on my preferences. ¡°And, it¡¯s a bit meh if you¡¯re talking about middle-aged men.¡± ¡°And what¡¯s wrong with middle-aged men?¡± Why the heck am I feeling bloodthirst from this?! What the heck did I do wrong this time?! It¡¯s scary! Too scary! ¡°Eh? Th, that, the age difference¡­¡± What was it? Where did I go wrong? This is normal, isn¡¯t it? Liking middle aged men at the age of fourteen is something only for abnormal kids with a fatherplex or something, right? ¡°The passion of twenties¡¯ is bravado. That is, men¡¯s bravado to risk their lives for even a slightly cuter girl. They are creatures that believe that women will flock to them if they show off looking a little bit better. Compared to that, middle age is different. They have seen the world and experienced many things and trained themselves. Of course, there are trash that have never moved on and are still lusting after women, but will aged. Yes, that¡¯s a good expression. Aged. You don¡¯t called a cheap wine aged simply because you leave it alone for a long time. Fine wine, and its process of being made better. That is aging.¡± This woman, she¡¯s monologuing and answering herself. As if she liked the aging metaphor, her nodding head and satisfied expression made me unable to believe that this woman was the supposed genius who took the seat of the vice-director of the Intelligence Agency, one of the cornerstones of the organization, at such a young age. ¡°A handsome middle-aged man¡¯s wrinkles are like a the rings of a tree that leaves marks on the body with age, and a handsome middle-aged man¡¯s white hairs, are a sign of years of oveing difficulties and struggles.¡± At her words which were veering more to simple praising of middle-aged men, I can¡¯t tell whether this is simply her personal preference or an actual ruse to let my guard down. My instinct is screaming it¡¯s the former, while my head is saying it¡¯s thetter. ¡°Now that you put it like that, I think middle-aged men have their own charms.¡± An affirmative response that I tossed out without thinking from myplicated head. But it was a poor choice. ¡°Do you want to die?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Is this a deration of war? Just what are you implying by saying that you are feeling the charm of middle age right to my face?¡± ¡°Eh? That¡¯s not¡­ I was just saying that middle aged men have their own charms after listening to vice-director¡­¡± ¡°Yes, that goes without saying. But, you should not approach feeling those charms.¡± What does she want from me?! And even to not approach even if I feel the charms of middle aged men, all my training is done internally so the only one around me is¡­ Eh¡­? Surely? ¡°By any chance, do you like the instructor?¡± At that moment, I said the hypothesis that struck my head hard. ¡°Yes. I do?¡± She answered immediately?! This woman, she¡¯s serious! Then does that mean that it wasn¡¯t just my imagination that she said she¡¯d kill me?! Then! ¡°On the gods and my soul, even if I ever aim for middle-aged men, the person of my affections will never be the instructor.¡± ¡°Then sign here.¡± As I finished speaking the words that instinctively came out of my mouth to preserve my life, she pushed something over as if she was waiting for it. It¡¯s a piece of paper, but it¡¯s shining. Plus in the same colour of the stone te that the instructor used to scam the archdevil¡­ That¡¯s can¡¯t be a- ¡°A Geass Roll?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you could swear by the gods?¡± Her smiling face as she pushed the contract in front of me, seemed like death awaited me if I didn¡¯t. Seriously, although I respect him as a magician, but as a romance target, the instructor is an out. ¡°Where do I sign?¡± The moment I signed with a smile marked the end of my questioning. Mm. This organization. Even if the Empire doesn¡¯t take a crack at it it¡¯ll probably fall soon enough. Chapter 12 RATH 12 TL: Eevee 2. What is this. Scary. (5) #7 Their story: the story of the spies in the evil organization. (2) Gulp. The saliva that¡¯s gathered in my throat goes down automatically. At present I actually am a spy. I can¡¯t get caught here, but the opponent is the woman who hit me with that weird objectst time. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, mister No.1.¡± She¡¯s smiling brightly, but my heart¡¯s shrinking back on itself. She made that exact same smile when she hit mest time¡­ ¡°Th, th Senior, you don¡¯t have to be polite with me¡­¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s alright. Because this is official work. Master said that if I speak with you too easily like a casual setting then it isn¡¯t work.¡± Ahh, does that mean she¡¯s going to beat me up in an official setting! If she¡¯d hit me with that stick, let alone my own identity I¡¯m almost certain I¡¯d spill the beans on all the ducal family¡¯s secrets as well. Feeling pleasure even though it hurts! It was the devil¡¯s weapon that made me ashamed of myself. ¡°Now then, it¡¯s shorter for men so I¡¯ll end it quickly.¡± ¡°Ye, yes!¡± When I thought about it at ater date I wondered why it was shorter for men but at the time I didn¡¯t have the leisure to care about that. ¡°Are you a spy?¡± ¡°No, ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°Alright. We¡¯re done.¡± ¡­ Wut? This organization, how is it still running? #7 Their story: the story of the actual future member of the evil organization. ¡°No.1000?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I shall begin the questioning now. Is your preference for older, or younger men?¡± Preference? What¡¯s that? ¡°What you like.¡± Mmm¡­ What I like. Then of course. ¡°Meat?¡± ¡°Preferences in people.¡± ¡°Someone who cooks good food?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ This is a first¡­¡± The pretty big sis is frowning. Did I do something wrong? ¡°Someone who cooks good food¡­ Then what about the instructor?¡± The instructor? The instructor makes delicious food. The desert fox steak he made for us before in training was really tasty. The instructor is amazing. There¡¯s nothing he can¡¯t cook. Animals, fish, bugs, tree bark. The moment he said there¡¯s nothing in this world you can¡¯t eat I realised I stillckedprehension of the world. ¡°The instructor is really good at cooking!¡± ¡°¡­This is quite the conundrum¡­¡± After we talked a bit the pretty big sis scowled harshly and walked out. Mm¡­ did I do something wrong? #8 Their story: A certain organization¡¯s evaluation No.1: Ordinary overall. No.17: Great belief in the organization. A trustworthy asset No.1000: Cannot tell her thoughts at all. Caution advised. The trainee evaluation ended. It was unexpected that No.1000 had a cautionarybel, but since words don¡¯t really get through to her something like that could happen or so I thought. Anyways, that¡¯s a relief. That girl Sia, considering her own history I half wondered whether she would fail them or not. Luckily they all passed. If there were any spies among my disciples then there would be a massive red line across my CV, that has to be avoided at all costs. Therefore. Let¡¯s teach them some ideals. Well, I¡¯m not making them a socialist or any other weird doctrines. If your colours are too bright then you stand out. That¡¯s thew of nature. It¡¯s aw of nature that weak animals have camouge. If my disciples had a queer ideology, and they said I was their teacher? I would also be seen as someone with dangerous ideals. Therefore, my disciples need to be a lovely shade of grey. So that they don¡¯t stand out to those without talent, and so those with talent will fight over them. Normally the more they¡¯re wanted from both sides, their price goes up, and as their teacher a little something finds its way into my back pocket to put in a good word. But unlike the training done so far which is half-automatic by this point, it is very hard to nt ideas into people. Ideals are a total of everything that they have been exposed to in the world. Therefore changing that is as much of a shock as saying their entire life is a lie. In that case, how would I give these kids that shock? ¡°This time is realbat.¡± Naturally, by beating them. I can¡¯t remember who said it, but someone did. That there¡¯s nothing easier than persuading someone that¡¯s mentally defenseless. There¡¯s a reason why they do their best in torturing and mind breaking captives, after all. And someone else said this. A healthy mind in a healthy body! Therefore, if the body is invincible, so is the mind! First up is our No.1. Hm. He¡¯ll make a good example. His pretentions of kindness are oddly annoying. Of course there was that time where he tied up No.17, butpared to the others he¡¯s oddly morally uptight. Since No.17 already made a contract with an archdevil she¡¯s going to go down in history as an archviin, and No.1000 is easier to persuade by giving her tasty food. This is all for No.1¡¯s sake. No viin dies quicker than one that holds onto their morals. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± He takes up a stance with his sword, eyes peeled open. Now, time for a choice. 1. Tackle 2. Sand-Attack 3. Hit 4. Run Very well, this time¡¯s choice is! ¡°Huwaah?¡± The choice is number 2 sand attack! It was super effective! No.1¡¯s uracy harshly fell! ¡°What the hell is, huuuak?!¡± And immediately following up with a number 3, hitbo. Since this was using the bat, as a passive he also has the pain increase and damage reduction attached! The magic weapon where no matter how much you¡¯re hit your HP will never drop! ¡°This cheap way of uugh¡­¡± He tried to dodge even as groans came out of his mouth instead of words, but even if I look like this I¡¯ve spent most of my life making a living with my sword. As someone who taught someone to hack away with a sword even in my past life, you have mister at-least-50-years-of-experience Naruan. ¡°Cheap, you say. I said this was realbat, you know?¡± My mouth moves but my hand never stops. Normally when the viin exins their story or their technique it¡¯s a matter of human nature that the hero uses that time to restore their stamina, prepare magic and the moment the viin finishes ¡°thanks for the story! This is my gratitude!¡± and firing off their finisher. ¡°Have you never heard this? ording to the mercenaries¡¯ manual, if your forces are ten times the enemy, surround them and make them surrender. If five times, attack, two times, split the enemy with strategy, if even fight head on, and if your forces are less then avoid fighting and bait them. And if the situation is not ideal to fight your enemy, pull out and retreat immediately. If a weak force does not avoid the enemy and resist they be the enemy¡¯s captives, and be deadweight to their allies.¡± ¡°Th, I¡¯ve heard that¡­ are you still going to hit me while you¡¯re talking! Kuhuk!¡± Yep. I¡¯m not the one getting beat up. ¡°So can you not understand? You just need the advantage of numbers. And if your numbers are less, then run away. Is that fairness?¡± ¡°Th, kurk¡­ is that battle!¡± ¡°Yes. That is battle. And there is nothing fair about fighting. In an arena where you either kill or are killed, there¡¯s nothing more useless than fairness. How much you deceive the enemy, make them fall in despair, winning even with cowardly methods. The person who said the words I said earlier, won in war using very bullshit and cheap methods.¡± ¡°He, he was an honourable general of the Empire! No one denies that.¡± Oh, he¡¯s dodged and offered a rebuttal. But honourable my ass. All he did was go around smacking the enemy upside their heads, but there are so many morons in the Empire that can¡¯t even do that so he¡¯s called a great general. ¡°The one who brought an early end to the previous great war! He was fairer than anyone else. There was no way he would have meant what he said! Kuhk!¡± Mm. This kid is oddly weak to stabs. I¡¯ll keep on stabbing him. Since his defense of his sides is weak I¡¯ll just keep aiming there. But this brat, he¡¯s beenpletely brainwashed by that imperial princess¡¯s campaign. Who the hell is fair? It was all the princess¡¯s show of grabbing achievements from somewhere and deliberately reporting them under my name. I need achievements so that less people object when she marries me? And so I diligently gave out achievements to all my subordinates and somewhere down the line she started trumpeting the line I was some harbinger of fairness or something. Heck, I just randomly bullshat something from Sun Tzu¡¯s Art of War and Wu Qi¡¯s Wuzi and she went and put them in the Empire¡¯s officer training manual. Thank goodness I ran away early. I bailed out two months ahead of schedule, if I¡¯d followed the original n I would¡¯ve certainly been caught. Thankfully the organization understood me somewhat. To be honest, more than understanding, the great war just turned everything into a giant clusterfuck. ¡°Kuhuk!¡± Thump, thump, thump! ¡°Kahuk!¡± He¡¯s doing his best to block but since I keep aiming for his sides he keeps focusing on them. In that case a shot on the shoulders, once on the thigh, oh my his legs are shaking? Another hit to encourage him to do his best. ¡°Fair? Even the heroes who always scream about a minority being persecuted by an evil noble, when a demon kinges out they take ten, hundreds, thousands of heroes to subjugate a single demon king. And yet they still harp on about fairness. But that is called justification. They are absolute good, the enemy is absolute evil. Therefore even if they care absolutely not about their means and methods, they are still fair.¡± I hit the kid who¡¯s about to fall unconscious and wake him up again. Since he¡¯s waking up it means he¡¯s still lively. ¡°Also, taking hostages is cowardly? When someone breaks the Empire¡¯s militaryws, the first thing they do round up the criminal¡¯s close friends of family. While there is the intention of preventing them from helping out the criminal, in reality they¡¯re hostages. When the criminal gets away, the very first thing they do is give them sound amplification magic tools and have them persuade the crim.¡± Oh, for the record this was used in the great war as well. Usually by me. When I captured an enemy vige as prisoners and broadcast their fear live, the enemy troops¡¯ morale took a nosedive. Mm. Well, thanks to that we caught a lot of live prisoners, and my, it only seems like yesterday I was giggling with the imperial princess as we listened to them yell do you bleed and cry you so-called great general of the Empire, are you lot even human, not even devils would do this! And so on and so forth. That was quite fun. ¡°Why, why are you exining all the way there! I was just ming you for throwing sand in my face!¡± ¡°Same with sand. I said this was realbat, not a training spar. If you wanted a fair fight like you¡¯re thinking of then you should have gone to a knight order, not the organization. But do you really think the knights are any different?¡± Honourable knights, fair knights! Very well. When hero stories started to die down, those kinds of knight tales started to rise in poprity as well. But, reality is different. ¡°Even knight orders are already decided by connections. If your father is a knight captain, even if your skills arecking then you¡¯ll end up in the knight order eventually. On the contrary, even if you have skill, if you¡¯re amoner it¡¯s hard to even be a squire.¡± Well sure, that¡¯s what I say. But those famed knight houses as a given, almost all houses famous for martial arts would rather teach their kids how to swing a sword instead ofmon sense. They don¡¯t call them muscle brains for nothing. The difference betweenmoners who find it hard to put food on the table and the ones whose sword is their life is overwhelming. But that in itself isn¡¯t fair either. To begin with the starting points are unequal, the fact that other things beyond that are even more unfair is life¡¯s logic. And to realize that logic, ¡°S, stop!¡± You need to beat them. It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright. If you get hit by this your body gets better. Although your legs are shaking and it hurts like you¡¯re going to die, but when you wake up you can do it feeling nice and refreshed. Moreover, if it¡¯s to the point where it¡¯s not okay, then you¡¯d probably faint first. And so, I¡¯m hitting him. And the biggest reason is. ¡°To begin with, I can¡¯t use magic. For the majority of my life I¡¯ve swung a sword, but for this simple reason I am pushed back by simple sword ki users.¡± Whether it¡¯s natural strength, superior technique, if your magic power is stronger than you win. Simple as that. Between swordsmasters, it¡¯s more a matter of who has the bigger and sharper sword aura, or even output what they call an aurora better. Of course, experience and skill is important. But if you have a fuckoff big aura de you can chew up anyone experience and skill and all. In a straight fight, that is. ¡°And so, if I¡¯m going to beat you kids who can use sword ki, then it¡¯s natural I prevent you from using it.¡± ¡°Th, that is!¡± Oh, his mouth can still move. I shall name you Sandbag the Second. For the record, the First was one of your seniors from a previous cohort. Since he was a demihuman famous for their sturdiness he got beat up a lot. ¡°Even in the martial houses that spout on about training with the sword prioritize sword ki. They need to be able to use sword ki, and further on be able to use sword auras to be treated better, and because of that swordsmanship alone doesn¡¯t cut it.¡± Of course, this is bullshit as well. They¡¯re not a famous family for nothing. Famous sword styles have that much value. But since I can¡¯t tell them all that let¡¯s just lump them all as fraudsters. ¡°To begin with, what is fairness. Is it good? Is it justice? In that case why the hell are you in this organization that the Empire calls evil?¡± To be honest it¡¯s not just called evil, it actually is evil. But this organization has quite the historical background. It was founded by the royal families that lost their kingdoms to the Empire, and are actually half independence fighters! Because of that, my utopia n which is simr to the two-faced peace strategy was usable in the organization as well. Hello, this kid is sleeping when people are discussing important things. It seems a touch dangerous since I can see nothing but the whites of his eyes, but a little drubbing and he gets right back up. Since he looks like he¡¯s going to hit his limits, let¡¯s get onto the main point. ¡°There is no such thing as evil in this world. Only people living with their own ideals.¡± Chapter 13 RATH 13 TL: Eevee TN: The NU bot is working properly for releases now! Hurrah! 2. What is this. Scary. (6) #9 Their story: the future hero¡¯s story. ¡°There is no such thing as evil in this world. Only people living with their own ideals.¡± The reason this stuck in my head was because the beating was lighter at the time. Ahh, just how foolish was I. Even when I¡¯d been hit that much by that senior before, and even when she warned me! To think I let my guard down just because it was a wooden stick! Moreover just what in the world is that weapon? Even if I block it with my sword the pain just crawls up my wrist and into the rest of my body. Evasion is the only way out, but the instructor¡¯s swordsmanship is incredible. Dodging was impossible when blocking was hard enough. In the end all I could do was get hit. ¡°There is no one in this world without a story. People are merely doing what they think is right, to those on the other end they have had to suffer an injustice.¡± I think the unjust thing here is that I¡¯m still being beaten but if I open my mouth I feel I¡¯ll get the crap beaten out of me even more so I¡¯ll keep shut. ¡°Imagine someone killed a woman right in front of your eyes. What would you do then?¡± ¡°Kuk!¡± How would I know. I need to survive first. ¡°What do you think, No.17.¡± Since I wasn¡¯t saying anything, he asked No.17 instead. Now that I think about it she¡¯s here as well. Mmm. Then stop him! ¡°I believe I need to listen to their story.¡± ¡°No.1000?¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ I¡¯m not the hero or anything, ignore it and done?¡± ¡­And look at No.1000¡¯s personality. As I thought I can¡¯t rely on her. ¡°The most logical thing is to listen to them like No.17 said. However humans naturally remember things to their own convenience. They could frame the woman as an enemy spy, or an evil demon in disguise. What is certain, is that it will be very difficult for you lot to identify the truth.¡± No, what¡¯s certain is that I¡¯m still whimpering getting beaten. That weapon is still hitting me even now! Now I¡¯m almost crawling on the ground and no one¡¯s looking my way. Ahh, damn it! ¡°Unless you are gods, you cannot always choose the correct path. In that case, it¡¯s best to not get involved to begin with. If someone tries to start a great revolution, just watch. A revolution is also someone else¡¯s rebellion. Even this empire that¡¯s the greatest in the continent, began with a revolution caused by an ordinary civilian, who went on to be the first emperor. But when he founded the empire there were a series of three different plots.¡± Well, so what? Stop hitting me! ¡°All three of those plots were nned by the empire¡¯s founding families. Although they were recorded as rebelster, at the beginning they were heroes fighting for the same cause as the emperor. But in the power struggles that followed they lost to the emperor and became rebels. Power is always the victor¡¯s version of history. In that case, the method to live long and prosper is to be neither a winner or a loser.¡± ¡°The method to live long and prosper?¡± ¡°Indeed. Most of the reasons peoplee to this organization are all pretty simr. Especially since the great war.¡± Uh nope? My brothers sent me because I was in the way of their squabbles? And because of my damn father who sees this as perfectly normal so I can¡¯t even go home?! So stop hitting me! Ah, wait, why am I not fainting? Is my body this sturdy? No, is it just my imagination that just the pain is intensifying? ¡°You can¡¯t live doing only what you want. But, that¡¯s no reason to live only doing things you don¡¯t. just pray to the gods. For the resilience to be able to ept the things you can¡¯t change. The courage to change the things you can. The patience to wait to see the results of that change. And the strength to wake up in the morning to live the day.¡± Ahh. Great goddess of light Sermir. Please so that I don¡¯t get beaten up. Please that damn instructor doesn¡¯t hit me. Please that I can go home and beat the crap out of my asshat brothers. And if possible, please let me eat breakfast tomorrow! ¡°Iii, Inst¡­.ructor. S,stop¡­.¡± But She did not listen to my pleas. Indeed, the old philosopher¡¯s words that said you determine your own fate is truly correct! At this moment I wanted to cry ~God is dead~ at the top of my voice, but more importantly I needed to stop that hand moving on autopilot. ¡°Save me¡­¡± Uh¡­ I¡¯m sleepy. Mm. I think I can see my departed mother waving her hands over there? Maybe it¡¯s because because she died giving birth to me but I don¡¯t think voice chat is supported. But it¡¯s probably her. It¡¯s almost identical to the portrait at home. But I can¡¯t hear her that well. Mother what are you saying? I shouldn¡¯t cross over? *** ¡°Oh, he¡¯s dead.¡± At No.1000¡¯s words, the hand that had been clutching my ankle quivered and dropped. Since I was talking with the others I forgot about No.1. Sorry. But look at these automatic hand movements. Practically macro level. Is this what they call the stance of an experienced instructor? ¡°Take No.1 with you. Today¡¯s lesson is over.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he dead?¡± His eyes havepletely turned so you can only see his whites, and his mouth is foaming with his tongue hanging limp, but he¡¯s not dead. Because this weapon is special. ¡°This is not ck enough to kill him with just that.¡± Out of the weapons that ck Anvil, one of the greatest dwarven ns, had ever produced, one of the weapons they would all universally rate in their top ten would be this bat. When the ck Anvil n were wallowing in their guilt that their weapons were being used to take lives, how happy they were when they heard of this bizarre proposition! After it waspleted and tested, for some reason or other I had to cancel the mass production ns, but considering how they gave it a seat on their list of ten greatest weapons, itspletion level is no less than perfection. Let¡¯s deduce the reason why this couldn¡¯t go into mass production being due to the necessity of the cooperation of the elves, whom they were normally at odds with. ¡°He¡¯ll probably be better after a night¡¯s sleep.¡± No.1000 nodded and dragged off No.1¡¯s body. She¡¯s grabbing his legs and dragging them at waist height, and his head keeps bumping into things. Well, he should be alright. It¡¯s epted fact that the dumb kids are the one with sturdy skulls. To be honest I really don¡¯t agree with giving instructors paperwork as well. Especially on days like this when I personally moved my own body for my disciples! Maybe if the organization had a shortage of people that could handle paperwork, but it¡¯s not even like they¡¯recking manpower. Doing the typical things an evil organization does, naturally there are a lot of people that get injured, and the organization uses the ones that don¡¯t have much hope of returning to the field in the office, and those numbers are considerable. Could you say that the social security is unexpectedly good unlike what you¡¯d expect from an evil organization? Normally if people be useless they¡¯re disposed of in other evil organizations, but perhaps it¡¯s because this one has independence fighters as its backbone, or is it to raise the loyalty of the workers? Either way it¡¯s irrelevant, but there are plenty of people that can handle paperwork, and I, an instructor responsible for the future of the organization has to do paperwork! Damn office workers. You do my job then! I was diligently stamping letters ofmand to do with training which didn¡¯t really have much to do with me personally and making a tower of papers, when I felt a presence in front of my door. ¡°Enter.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The one who entered the room was surprisingly enough, No.1000. What was this? Had shee charging in because of her superior survival instincts telling her of the danger of the bat already?! If it¡¯s this girl that might actually be possible? Khk, I¡¯d been wearing a metal te on my stomach just in case but if it¡¯s this girl¡¯s sword ki then it¡¯ll just make a hole. In the past I¡¯d made it out of expensive metal, nowadays due to ack of funds I had to melt that down and make other things with it, and now I¡¯m using a in ordinary steel te! Is my life in crisis?! ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Pretending to casually look over my documents, I slipped my left hand under my desk. Hmph. If the te over my stomach is thin, then what I need to do is alpha strike before my stomach gets knifed! This is already my space, a few buttons under my desk can activate all kinds of hidden weapons and traps! ¡°The one who survives the longest is the winner.¡± ¡°Do you have questions about our discussion before?¡± Or, to kill me to survive the longest? ¡°I want to be a winner.¡± Pit pat. Small footsteps that fit that small body gradually get closer to me. What was in No.1000¡¯s face that faced me was an unexpected fervor. To think this kid could make this kind of face for something other than eating. I had been looking over her often enough, and it truly was out of the ordinary for her to make this sort of expression. ¡°Do you know what you need to survive the longest.¡± ¡°Food.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± If you can¡¯t eat you die. ¡°Strength.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± Whether it¡¯s in fighting, knowledge, factions, if you¡¯re not strong then you can be dominated and stolen from by the strong whenever they feel like it. ¡°Luck.¡± ¡°An essential part.¡± And life is a giant shitty RNG game! If you¡¯re lucky then everything falls into yourp even if you do nothing. ¡°And¡­¡± ¡°Can you not think of anything else?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As No.1000 nodded I slowly brought my left hand back to the top of the desk. Hm. To think she¡¯d request extra training. If it was No.1 then thepensation wouldn¡¯t match the price, but No.1000 is different. I¡¯ve said this before, but this No.1000 is the number given during primary training. When the timees for this kid to graduate, even if she fits into just the top ten of all the cohorts I¡¯ve trained so far, the fact that the bonus payout will be several times my sry was proven with the previous cohort. ¡°And teaching you that should be my role as an instructor.¡± As an instructor, teaching my disciples is my job. But no one ever said that that job should ever be done myself? #10 Their story: Mirua¡¯s story. -The path to live long and prosper- When was it. That surviving was my objective in life. From my earliest memories, leaving with mom¡¯s hand in hand was daily life, and even fragments of bread were hard toe by and I had to loiter around here and there. The middle of the battlefield. And as a citizen of an enemy country of the Empire every day was busy running away, and that was daily life. Food was my life¡¯s objective. But now that I think about it, that was just because I was struggling to survive. Why do I want to live? Why do we struggle in order to survive? I don¡¯t understand even when I think about it. But still. I want to know. I will survive. And to do that¡­ ¡°Hm? Aren¡¯t you heading back?¡± After I threw No.1 on his bed, as I hesitated to open the door to my room with my hand on the handle, No.17 saw me and tilted her head quizzically. Even if we¡¯re all trainees there¡¯s only three of us so we¡¯re all pretty much neighbours. ¡°A bitter.¡± No.17 made an expression that something was wrong, but she didn¡¯t seem to care much further and went into her room. I let go of the door handle. Yes. In order to survive. That method would be the best. I turned my footsteps back around, past the training grounds to where the instructor lived and knocked on the door to his quarters, but there was no one there. Maybe, he¡¯s still working¡­ ¡°Come in.¡± Outside the instructor¡¯s office. I put down the hand that had been about to knock on the door. I hadn¡¯t even knocked yet but had he already realised I was here. ¡°Yes.¡± Is he working? He¡¯s writing something on paper and not even looking my way. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°The one who survives the longest is the winner.¡± ¡°Do you have questions about our discussion before?¡± The instructor said coolly. But, after listening to this today, there was something I realised. ¡°I want to be a winner.¡± I want to be a winner. I want to live long and prosper. I don¡¯t want to die. The majority of life in my memories were in death¡¯s shadow. I was always so hungry I felt like I¡¯d die. I was always so scared I felt like I¡¯d die. It always hurt so much I felt like I¡¯d die. Many, many times I thought that it¡¯d be easier for me to give up and die, but I don¡¯t know why but death was even scarier. And so I always ran away from the thing called death. Yes, I had always been running. I ran away from the adults that looked at me dangerously. I ran away when I that heard the Empire¡¯s battlemages, the death gods of the battlefield were approaching. Even when I fought among the orphans for something to eat I would run away if I realised I was outmatched. Like that, always, I would run away. Grit. I bit down on my lips. The iron taste of blood filled my lips. I don¡¯t want to have to run away any more. One step, another, I walk closer to the instructor. ¡°Do you know what you need to survive the longest.¡± Finally, the instructor looked at me and said with a slight smile. What you need to survive? Of course I know that. ¡°Food.¡± If you are hungry then you have no strength. Every step feels like agony. Sometimes the world will turn white in front of your eyes. Especially when you can¡¯t drink any water as well, then it¡¯s truly hell. ¡°Correct.¡± See. Even the instructor acknowledges it. ¡°Strength.¡± If you are not strong then things are taken from you. The feelings of having food you fought so hard for being stolen from you is something only those who have experienced it would know. And in order to reim it you need to be strong. If you are not strong, you get taken from and die. ¡°Correct.¡± See. Even the instructor acknowledges it. ¡°Luck.¡± If you¡¯re unlucky then you can be hit by a stray spell. If you are lucky then you can survive even in under magic artillery fire. Life and death is always separated by the thickness of a single sheet of paper. And that single sheet of paper is luck. ¡°An essential part.¡± See. Even the instructor acknowledges it. ¡°And¡­¡± I can¡¯t think of any more. There¡¯s definitely more. I know what it is. But I just don¡¯t have a way to exin it. ¡°Can you not think of anything else?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± In that case that is not something that I know. Just something that I feel. To be precise, something that I don¡¯t know. And that¡¯s why I came to the instructor. And as if he was pleased, he said. ¡°And teaching you that should be my job.¡± After he said that, the instructor took me somewhere. In thesest few months I thought that I¡¯d seen everything this facility had to offer, but we opened an old door I thought was a storage shed and went down a flight of stairs, a small cave appeared. ¡°I thought you would need this after a bit more time, but seeing your desires I¡¯ll open it up early.¡± ¡°Is what I want inside here?¡± ¡°Yes. There is. But, only if you can survive.¡± If I can survive? That means¡­ ¡°I could die in here¡­¡± ¡°Yes, you could die. But like I¡¯ve said earlier, the one that survives is the winner. Meaning that death awaits the defeated. Life and death is always together. Survive. And prove it.¡± With that, the instructor left without any more words. There was nomand for me to turn back either. He didn¡¯t even ask me for my opinion. He believed in me, and led me here. ¡°Life and death is always together.¡± Muttering those words I opened the door. Fik! ¡°Uht?!¡± I barely dodged something that grazed my cheek. The instructor was always right. If I listened to the instructor, everything went well. Although he said some difficult things from time to time, when we didn¡¯t understand, he made us understand with actions. And maybe this time as well, if I can get through this dangerous ce like the instructor said, I could attain my goals. So I understand you, instructor. I understand you, instructor¡­ But an arrow flying towards my head the moment I open the door is too much¡­ Sob. AN: Hands up who remembers Sermir Chapter 14 RATH 14 TL: Eevee 2. What is this. Scary. (7) The Twelve Labours. Heracles got 12bours, didn¡¯t he? With that in mind I constructed a training cave with twelve rooms. If you had to ask why a cave it¡¯s because it felt like they would have done this in a wuxia novel! Was the kind of feeling I had in mind when I made this training area. Of course, the contents aren¡¯t crudely made either. I made this carefully with my experiences from both my past and present lives. Starting from the first room of arrows, the first five rooms were designed to recreate situations that one could encounter on the battlefield, and the next five rooms are made to trial the upants by numbing the senses. I tested it myself, and the ninth room where all five senses are nullified should be particrly difficult. Since you can¡¯t feel anything in a room where you can¡¯t see anything, it feels like you¡¯ve died and be a ghost. Since I made it so that even I, who can¡¯t even be affected by curse magic, let alone regr illusions can be affected by it, so it¡¯s not the sort of thing that you can push through with magic power alone. Because knowing that the kids would block it with magic, I used all sorts of paralysis and hallucinating poisons without holding back! Of course since every level is hard mode the kids¡¯ll get tired as well. And their motivation¡¯ll drop too. And because of that, to show them the face of a well-respected instructor, the eleventh room is a room of rest in preparation for the twelfth. Why? Because the twelfth room is seriously dangerous. To be honest, I didn¡¯t make that room. The twelfth room is the handiwork of my previous cohorts of graduates. My initial heartwarming intentions of ¡®take care of your future juniors!¡¯ that I initiated from my very first cohort was twisted by my damn disciples, bing a room with feelings of ¡®why don¡¯t you try getting f***ed over!¡¯ and other assorted malice. Because of this, even when they swear and curse as they fall to it, the vicious cycle never stops. Well, that was the second generation. After the third generation, that is now, they cleared away all of the routes they used to clear it, installing new traps and other modifications. Especially the previous cohort, two of them actually came back to add a summoning circle with their first paycheck. These lunatics. Among the trainees, no, even if you include the training regimes of the soldiers or the knights, let alone the organization, the Empire, no, the entire continent, the only ce you can face off against a devil is here! And because of that I¡¯d nned to start this sometime mid-next year at the earliest¡­ But since No.1000 wants to get stronger, I opened it for her specially so she could. Well, it¡¯s not like I did it just because I waszy. ¡­Really! Ah, that reminds me. Once tomorrowes I should get the other two in here as well. Good things are meant to be shared, right? Their peer is suffering, I can¡¯t just leave the other two alone. Hm¡­ Good. It¡¯s actually really good? At the very least it¡¯ll take a year minimum for them to clear it, and I won¡¯t have the risk of having all my secrets cleared out until then. This is perfect?! Even the previous cohort which was said to be the strongest in the organization¡¯s history took nearly a year to beat it, and their numbers were more than double the current cohort but it still took them that long. There¡¯s no way they can ovee the trials that I made with just three people! Uwahahahahaha! I am the guardian of my own stock! Come, brats! I shall show you the hell that is royalty fees! ¡­There was a time where I was happy like that too. Damn it! #11 Their story: The secret future hero¡¯s vitality. The day after I screamed in pain a new trial awaited us. ¡°This ce?¡± I was beat up that much, I was suffering that much but my body was perfectly fine. No, beyond fine, when I woke up I actually felt refreshed. Because of that I couldn¡¯t even skip out on training and had toe with everyone else. And the new training ground we arrived at was an old shed I didn¡¯t know even existed, and beyond the suspicious-looking old door was a cave which screamed bad tidings no matter how you looked at it. ¡°That reminds me, you said you came here on your own yesterday.¡± When No.17 asked No.1000 that No.1000 nodded her small head affirmatively. ¡°What kind of ce is it?¡± No.1000¡¯s head tilted a bit. Then she seemed to struggle with her thoughts for a bit before she smiled brightly and said. ¡°No.1, try opening the door.¡± ¡°Eh? The door?¡± As No.1000 nodded I sighed and followed No.1000¡¯s instructions and pushed op¡­ Fik! ¡°Kuk!¡± What the hell! A surprise attack from the very beginning! No, before that! ¡°Oi, No.1000. You knew about this, didn¡¯t you?!¡± ¡°Yep. It¡¯s this kind of ce.¡± What the hell are you saying with a smugly proud look! One of your peers nearly got killed by an arrow! After listening to you, too! ¡°Hey, wait, that¡¯s uncalled for! Why the hell did you make me open it? No.17 asked was the one that asked, did I ask you anything?¡± ¡°¡­Because you¡¯re a man?¡± Damn it! Because I¡¯m a man she says! What kind of age is this! It¡¯s an age where one of strongest existences of the sword, the Sword Star is a woman! Ah, but I can¡¯t really say anything back. Going and outright making a woman lead from the front is something my pride as a duke¡¯s son and a man won¡¯t let me swallow¡­ ¡°Kuk¡­ alright. I¡¯ll lead. But still, even if it¡¯s this ce, there¡¯s going to be plenty of dangerous sections and whatnot.¡± Pride didn¡¯t feed me, rather it had taken away many of my meals, but I still had my pride. I needed to abandon it as quickly as possible, but it¡¯s not working out very well. ¡°Yep. Once you take a step forward after opening the door.¡± Hm? One step. Meaning the one step I¡¯m taking now? ¡°Silent arrows are fired from underneath.¡± Tak. ¡°This crazy?!¡± The moment my foot hit the ground I immediately fell backwards and dodged the arrows. I was seriously about to die from that! ¡°Why the hell is there no sound when arrows are being fired?! And you should speak up faster! I nearly died back theaaeree?!¡± I immediately ducked my head to dodge No.1000¡¯s sword flying towards my face. This crazy bitch! Are you just outright gunning to kill me now! What did I do wrong! Damn it was it food? Are you eliminating thepetition now! Tang! Tang! Tang! But after I heard something colliding against her sword, something dropped onto my head. Hm. This. Is an arrow. If I¡¯d stayed like that I¡¯d have a hole in my head. But silent again? It¡¯s only one step in from the entrance. But isn¡¯t silence way overdoing it from the beginning? Surely the first arrow when I opened the door can¡¯t be the only arrow that makes noise right? ¡°Oi, No.1000 answer me. Just how far did you get inst night.¡± ¡°Around¡­ ten metres?¡± Ah, this crazy. Just what does the instructor do for a living to make all this. No, was it made by the organization? Surely, right? Even if it¡¯s the instructor, as long as he was human he wouldn¡¯t have made it this difficult from the very beginning, right? And this is why evil organizations should never exist! Even if it was a degraded version, how the hell is he expecting us to pass this when girl who could make a joke out of the Empire-style magic bombardment was stopped at just ten metres?! ¡­was what I had thought. ¡°Only three doors left¡­¡± Three monthster, only three doors had yet to be cleared. Damn it. It actually is possible. Why is it doable. In the darkness where I couldn¡¯t see an inch in front of me, I leaned against the wall and thought about the time that had passed so far, but I still didn¡¯t get it. We spent nearly a month in the first room of arrows. The room that was almost a hundred metres long felt like hell. Arrows came from everywhere. Let alone from the front we also had arrows aimed at us from above our heads, under our feet, even diagonally aimed arrows, it felt like we¡¯d been hit everywhere at least once except for the vitals. No, it probably wasn¡¯t just our feelings. The more amazing thing is that even if we¡¯re hit by the arrows they don¡¯t pierce through us. When you think about how the arrows are traveling at speeds that even No.1000 found it hard to dodge you¡¯d think they¡¯d pierce clean through our bodies, but once we got hit only the very short arrowhead part stuck into our skin as if by pinpoint precision, and once we dug the arrows out all that happened was that we bled for a bit. Having said that we couldn¡¯t look down on them because each and every arrow was coated with various poisons. That was truly fearful, and it also let us understand exactly who was the creator of this cave. Even in the primary training facilities I was trained like you¡¯d expect from an evil organization, but this evil could only be from that devil of an instructor. As to what that meant, the poisons used were truly diverse. If they were just yourmon paralysis and other dangerous poisons then I wouldn¡¯t even bother bringing them up. But¡­ poisons that induced vomiting, diarrhoea! This isn¡¯t the work of a human! Not even devils would do such a thing. This was a trap full of malice designed by that devil, no worse than a devil instructor! If she shut her mouth and I saw her not here but on the outside, No.17 would be a unique beauty, and even No.1000 would pass on the cute side as long as she kept her mouth closed, but even so. No matter how beautiful the woman, when she¡¯s chucking up or squatting while shivering in the corner, those thoughts are a bit, no,pletely shattered! No even before that I¡¯m in danger too! And in a lot of it! At least No.17 summons that big archdevil and deal with matters like that, but in my case all that I can do is hone my nerves to the limits and retreat! I honestly nearly pissed my pants. To think a son of a duke would piss his pants! To the point where we even thought it would have been better if the poisons were the quick, painless and lethal ones! If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that the traps didn¡¯t activate when we retreated, I would honestly have reported the instructor to the Empire as the incarnate of the evil god that was only spoken of in legends. And unlike me and No.17 who was practically dying from poison, No.1000 was immune to practically all the poisons. And did that bringcency. Just before the door leading to the second door, No.1000 was nicked by an arrow before her face suddenly turned pale and she started to vomit. As No.1000 looked on her regurgitated breakfast with an aggrieved expression, No.17 and I felt keenly aware of the risk to our lives, no, the fear that we could possibly lose something we desperately had to protect as humans. To think there was a poison that even worked on that No.1000, so potent that it could break, no, obliterate all our dignity as humans. I want to run away! But that devil of an instructor will almost certainly refuse to let us. In that case there is only one thing we can do. Surpass your own limits and break through the gate. As a result, we could surpass our limits. At thest when almost a hundred arrows all came flying at us at the same time it made us wonder ¡°is this the end?¡± To make matters worse up till now where all the arrows had been silent, in addition to audible arrows being fired at us from our surroundings there were also silent arrows being shot at us from our blind spots. Had we gotten used to the silent arrows by then, when we heard the sound of arrows flying at us all our attentions were taken up by those and we were nearly done in by the silent ones. The moment we noticed the silent arrows, it felt like time had stopped, and I felt instinctively with all the mana in the surroundings. And I realised. This¡­ was showing off your money! What kind of ridiculous mana density that we could feel in this room. Countless magic stones were being used in the apparatus used to fire arrows at us. The reason why the arrows were silent, and the reason why the speed of the arrows were regted so they would stab into us but not kill us, the moment we felt the mana in that space, we realised that that was a ridiculous space were pointlessly countless magic stones were being used. And that was just the first trial! What kind of hell is this ce! But when we passed through the second and third trials, the difficulty of the trials were lower than we thought. Although the difficultypared to the first gate, the room of arrows was higher, the biggest difficulty of the first room were the poisons that stripped away your dignity as human beings, after that those poisons weren¡¯t used and it actually became possible to just charge through them. And so it took us less than a month to pass through the trial of steel, the trial of earth, the trial of traps and the trial of magic. Compared to the month we spent clearing the trial of arrows, we cleared the other trials at extremely fast speeds. Thest door, the trial of magic in particr was one where we almost didn¡¯t see the point of including when we considered the previous magic bombardments we were subjected to. But we realized the moment we entered the sixth trial. As we thought. It was that instructor, to think we were careless! ¡°I can¡¯t condense mana that well.¡± No.17 said beside me with an extremely irritated voice and the sound of something grinding. A stream of blood was trickling down her oddly noticeable lips. Since the first door, she¡¯d developed a habit of biting her lip whenever she was stressed out. ¡°And¡­ I can¡¯t see.¡± No.1000 was looking around almost excessively. Up till now we had been relying on her instinct a lot to get us through the trials. The sixth sense over the other five. The fact that she who could sense out danger by pure instinct was looking around meant that there was something that was triggering her sixth sense. But all I could see was a space filled with a fog where I could just see the girls in front of me. With my technique I acquired in the first trial in used my mana to scout out the surroundings but it¡¯s being blocked out by the ck fog. That ck fog was an artificial one made by magic. The magic power simply couldn¡¯t break through the fog and was being cut off. Worse, like No.17 said earlier, mana can barely be used in the room itself. You need to purely use your own mana, but we¡¯d used up significant amounts of mana in the previous trial of magic and we were all short on mana. Although the trial of magic was easierpared to our previous experiences, it was insanely effective in having us exhaust our mana. It felt like we¡¯d hit another wall. Just how the heck did the instructor expect us to clear this room?! ¡°Can¡¯t we just go out and recover our mana?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re right?¡± That day, ten minutester. The trial of fog was cleared. Chapter 15 RATH 15 TL: Eevee 2. What is this. Scary. (8) #12 Their story: The secret of the future hero¡¯s vitality (2) None of the trials reactivated once we cleared them. Because of that, all we had to do was turn around back to the room that had held the trial of magic. Actually, out of all the doors, the trial of magic¡¯s room was abundant in mana so it was pretty much the best ce we could as for to recover mana. After we recovered, it took us just 10 minutes to clear the trial of fog, and the trial after that was just a few extra traps on top of the fog from the previous trial, so we cleared that room even faster. But the problem was from the next one. The ck fog from the eighth trial sealed off two out of our five senses, the even thicker fogpletely removed our sight, and the one after that. ¡°¡­Tastes nd.¡± It took away our sense of taste. Really, as long as it didn¡¯t drain us we basically camped in the trial rooms. Thankfully unlike the time we first entered, once we cleared a room it didn¡¯t reactivate, and because of that we had no choice but to sleep in the trial rooms. No matter that our skills had increased and it was easier to clear, but we all instinctively didn¡¯t want to have to clear the first trial again! Because of that, with the exceptions of major injuries or exhaustion we camped in the trial rooms, and naturally our meals were solved with simple rations. These simple jerkies were like heavenpared to the war we fought daily for meals, but from the seventh trial onwards it deprived us of our sense of taste so that we could literally taste nothing! And once No.1000 realised that she immediately broke through the seventh trial. By grabbing No.17 and my hands and running where we couldn¡¯t even see anything! ¡°He, hey hold on! ¡°If a trap activates then we¡¯re all screwed!¡± ¡°There are no traps.¡± Like No.1000 said there were no traps. It seemed that getting used to sensory deprivation was the purpose of these trails. It was the same for the next trial, but in the trial proceeding that one, all five of my senses, no I couldn¡¯t feel the perception of ¡°myself.¡± ¡°Are you in front of me?¡± ¡°Say something.¡± ¡°Hello?¡± No matter how much I talked I couldn¡¯t hear any response so I gave up. And I tried to get a grip of my current situation. Whether I was sitting, standing, lying down, I couldn¡¯t feel anything. This went way beyond simply being unable to see anything, I could feel nothing at all. I thought I¡¯d reached out with my hand, but since I can¡¯t see or feel my hand I couldn¡¯t even tell whether I had or not. And I realised. Damn it. Then I can¡¯t turn back either? Do I need to receive No.1000¡¯s help likest time? But even if I did, could I feel it? The moment I turned back to the previous room the other senses would return so it was possible, but the problem was whether No.1000 would want to return to the room with no sense of taste. The traps don¡¯t activate but the fog itself remains in the room From the sixth trial onwards this fog was the difficulty of the trials. The other traps simply made them slightly harder, but in the previous trial there weren¡¯t even any traps. Because of this there was the choice of returning to the seventh trial if we needed to, but would No.1000 make such a choice? Wouldn¡¯t she charge forward? But what if the next trial is simr to this one? Would I be stuck struggling in the next trail and always have to rely on No.1000? ¡°Now that¡¯s not going to happen.¡± Didn¡¯t I think of No.1000 as a rival. Looking pathetically at her back once is more than enough. I can¡¯t be that pathetic any more. I checked my back by spreading out my mana. Due to this fog that stuck to my body, surprisingly enough I could definitely confirm the outline of my body. The moment I tried to use mana to sense my surroundings this ck fog stuck to me and prevented it. Just what how did that sted instructor expect us to get out from this bloody space! I wanted to yell, but knowing the instructor there was definitely a way to escape. How much more time passed. Since I was in a space without any sensation whatsoever I don¡¯t even have a sense of time. Did one minute pass. Did ten. An hour. As I circted mana throughout my entire body, a thought came to me. ¡®No sensations whatsoever, if I had to pee¡­¡¯ This was a thought that would never havee to me under normal circumstances. When I¡¯m trying to hold it in, am I tensing my dder, or is my brain sending signals to hold it in, I don¡¯t know. But what was certain was. ¡®At this rate it will leak.¡¯ Big one, small one, without any sensation whatsoever, it will leak. I felt goosebumps on my skin that could feel no sensations. The damned asshole instructor. Why does this motherfucker keep pushing the limits of human dignity. Is that asshole actually human? I poured out all my body¡¯s mana. The longer I take the more dangerous it is. Not just me, but there are two others as well. Just as I don¡¯t want to leak and make things awkward between us, I don¡¯t want them to leak and cause things to get awkward between us as well. In this situation, someone has to take the lead and solve it. But how? How? Just how? ¡°Ah.¡± A sudden exmation came out of my mouth. A moment of rity. The ck mana in the air right now is artificially made. And because of that, it rejects my mana. But, since this wasn¡¯t made by a person but tools, No.17 had been very surprised as we had cleared the trials so far. ¡°Each and every one is practically a pinnacle of magical engineering, even in the Empire. They¡¯re using the surrounding magic to operate with minimal magic output.¡± Although she keeps saying things that make me suspicious of her identity, I didn¡¯t say anything because I was honestly wasn¡¯t one to talk, but what was certain was that No.17 had extremely high talent and knowledge about magic. And using the craftsmanship that she so admired as the base, if this is a magic that uses the surrounding magic power you can say it is an artificial, and yet natural magic at the same time. In that case, where did the magic power in my bodye from. All creatures are born with magic power when they are born. But as they grow up, they store the world¡¯s mana in their bodies, grow and get stronger. Let alone humans, but all living creatures, and the same with the demons that the creators said were different. In that case, can¡¯t this magic power be used as well? I tried to inject my magic power into this sticky mana. Of course it rejects it. But as time goes on, the rejection became lesser. As if it were the same as me, my magic power became gradually more simr to the surrounding magic power. And so once I became attuned to the surrounding magic power, I became more aware of the surroundings and I became able to recognize and identify everything in the room. ¡°Did I lose again.¡± No.1000 who was nkly staring at me was almost certainly registering me. No.17 who was emitting mana in a corner with her eyes closed seemed to be finding her own method to solve her problem ¡°Was this a doorless room.¡± Afterwards, having looked around the surroundings, I noticed a rtivelyrge hole in a corner of the room and felt the instructor¡¯s evil intentions once again. Had there not even been the option of identally opening the door to get out. -What are you doing, let¡¯s go. As I was reflecting on what we¡¯d done so far and what coulde out in future, at some point No.17 hade up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. Although naturally I couldn¡¯t feel anything, but the voice that echoed in my head was definitely No.17¡¯s. ¡°How are you speaking?¡± -Just can. Try carrying your will into mana and transmitting it to me. I struggled and tried a few times, but it didn¡¯t work out. This is quite hard. It felt like the connection was getting cut even before the intentions were being sent to her. -What are you doing, I said let¡¯s go? If the next trial is simr we can just go back to the seventh. Unfortunately, No.17 is right. Although I don¡¯t know how much time has passed, I¡¯m considerably exhausted. We need to have a look at the next trial to decide whether to rest or press on. In the end, No.1000 jumped into the hole first, followed by No.17, then me. Amazingly, once we jumped into the hole, the ck fog, no, the lump of ck mana didn¡¯t follow us. But how would you put it, the moment the surrounding left us it felt like something had drained away from our bodies. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like we¡¯ll have to head back to the seventh trial.¡± Although the hole was small, it was plenty for us to make a temporary base. ¡°Should we make camp first before we enter? I want to rest a bit.¡± ¡°What about just unloading our gear and going for a look? If there¡¯s a fog then we can just shut the door and rest.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s not a bad idea either.¡± Ignoring No.1000 who was busy nomming on jerky, No.17 and I shared our opinions. Hm. What would the tenth trial be. When I opened the door with curiosity. ¡°Hello, my juniors?¡± m! ¡°Let¡¯s rest.¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± No.17 and I mmed the door shut and trudged back to set up camp for the night. What I had seen was a wide room and seven people each holding very distinct poses leering at us. And among them, the one in the very centre with a beautiful smile was smaller than we remembered, but was definitely the Intelligence Agency¡¯s vice-director. We didn¡¯t know what the next trial was but no matter what it was, it was definitely our hardest trial yet. As we ate andy down in our sleeping bags, we fell asleep thinking about what tomorrow would bring. Ah, but a prayer before I sleep. ¡°Our Lady Sermir who watches over us. Please, let there be a curse on the instructor.¡± With the faith that if Sermir truly was a goddess that looked out for those who did good, then she would definitely fulfill that prayer. *** ¡°Quite incredible.¡± What the hell was going on. Just four months. It took them just four months to get through to the tenth trial. The ones judged the strongest era of the organization, to me, the worst generation, the previous cohort took eight whole months to get there. And that was horrifying enough at the time a few years back, and they chunked even that time down to a half! And to boot the previous cohort had seven people and these kids are three! Half the bodies, yet also half the time taken. Logically it doesn¡¯t make any sense? To think they passed the ninth gate like that. That was trial made to just eliminate all the body¡¯s sensations and just randomly roll around till they dropped into the exit. I made it thinking ¡®I say don¡¯t be flustered under any situation but this is a situation where you will have no choice but to panic!¡¯ but they more or less just brute-forced it. ¡°These kids are my best work.¡± ¡°Your work is as amazing as ever.¡± But openly expressing it is only for the small-fry. I can¡¯t openly show my shocked appearance in front of the one beside me casually observing the monsters named trainees with a magic tool. ¡°The tenth trial¡­ we had a hard time ourselves. And doesn¡¯t this cohort have a disadvantage in numbers as well?¡± ¡°They¡¯re the ones who shortened your eight-month record to four. They could get through it easier than you might think.¡± The cocky little brat that smiled at my words is, like Sia, none other than my ex-disciple, and theparatively most normal one of them all, Hawell Rein. Right now he¡¯s under Sia¡¯s wing as part of the Intelligence Agency in a very special ce. As for where that special ce is¡­ ¡°Naturally. Compared to an idiot who became a host and had to flee because of women, these kids are much more useful.¡± ¡°Ha, haha¡­ I have nothing to say.¡± It was a club. Out of the many minor organizations, the ce with the best treatment and surprisingly, the ce that got the best intelligence. And this kid in particr is currently in the middle of an explosion of poprity in the Empire¡¯s most prosperous club with the noble madams, saying absolutely nothing of his poprity with the young nobledies as well! And this riajuu-like moron is too popr that he got swept up in faction wars and is currently hiding out here. It¡¯s quite possible that the youngdies are shaking around his acquaintances at by theirpels looking for him at the club he used to work at, but that¡¯s not my problem. ¡°And why did it have to be you¡­¡± ¡°The organization doesn¡¯t feed their workers to y around. That¡¯s what instructor always told us every time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± And because of that I requested for any one of my ex-disciples from the previous cohort but it had to be this one. Actually in terms of pure fighting abilities, he¡¯s not one to go around getting a hiding either. Even if he looks like this he was seventh overall among all the trainees from all instructors in the previous cohort, showing off his one-digit ranked skills they call single numbers, and he got multiple love calls from various fighting groups, but due to his face he was dragged off by the Intelligence Agency. But on the contrary, that means that among those seven disciples of mine this kid is the weakest. And he¡¯s also the furthest removed from the front lines. Compared to him, the current cohort is growing at an immeasurable speed, if I asked him to educate his juniors as a senior, on the contrary I can only imagine HIM being the one educated instead. ¡°But they are strong. At the very least I needed Rood or Ragnum.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve grown quite a lot as well.¡± He seems to have red up a bit, but how the hell does a host grow. Did he learn some techniques from some incredible big sisters like a certain number one host I read in a book once?(1) No, wait, that protagonist. He was weak even though he learnt swordsmanship that could cut straight through steel, wasn¡¯t he? I never actually saw him win himself. The protagonist that shows off the power of connections. I think he got stronger after he darkened up, but since this kid still hasn¡¯t gotten darker he¡¯s still going to be weak. ¡°You have grown. But do you really think you could beat these kids with just that?¡± ¡°To be honest it is quite fearful. No matter that they¡¯re restricted, they a representation of us just before we graduated.¡± The tenth trial. A type of fake clone created by a fusion of doppelgangers, a unique species of devil, and homunculi, a product of alchemy. But since thebat skills and specialties were all extracted from the people in question themselves just before graduation, their fighting power is significant. As for their weaknesses, could you say that they could only exert 50% of the strength of the originals, and due to their high cost they had to be reused so their internals are weak. Because of that, when the door is opened, they are set to appear making a JoXX pose. Because XXJo poses are the pinnacle of pressure and intimidation! ¡°As if to prove that you are the weakest, your doppelganger is getting beat up the most.¡± ¡°Ah, wait! I, I never got creamed like that¡± And when we turned back to the magic tool his doppelganger was getting the living daylights beaten out of by No.1000. As expected of No.1000. She bit down on the weakest first. ¡°But to think you would get caught by kids who haven¡¯t even trained for a full year. You were always weak.¡± ¡°Kuk¡­ That, that was because the others were just too monstrous! And there wasn¡¯t that much difference between me and Maren either!¡± ¡°Yeah, sure, there might not be much difference between you and Maren who said the office was heaven and went straight behind a desk, but even a moron who couldn¡¯t beat that Maren would still be better than a bunch of brats who haven¡¯t even trained for a full year yet.¡± ¡°Haa¡­. You¡¯re still the same as ever, instructor.¡± The guy who seemed to quiver for a bit before he sighed, stood up with a burning resolve in his eyes. He¡¯s still as weak to taunts as he was back then. Like the one who always surpasses one¡¯s expectations when you scratch them a bit, but always the first to get beaten down like the weakest of the demon king¡¯s Four Heavenly Kings. ¡°My skills, I will show them to you.¡± Looking at his face filled with determination, I can only pray he doesn¡¯t get annihted. Chapter 16 RATH 16 TL: Eevee 2. What is this. Scary. (9) #13 Their story: A certain host¡¯s story The first conversation with the instructor in a while. But his ability to piss people off is the same as ever. But, the instructor does not know. The surprisingly fearful world of a host! It is because he does not understand. What it means for I, the Empire¡¯s best host to have to temporarily retire from a ce connected to the organization simply because of women¡¯s power struggles. The organization had determined the faction wars that had been urring there were dangerous, and they were right. Because the ones fighting were none other than the youngdies of ducal houses, of which there were only three of in the entire Empire. Those girls are fighting over me. And not even with words or power but with actual physical fisticuffs! And the extent of their skills were such that I couldn¡¯t even look out for myself if I was caught in the middle! To think a disciple who had undergone the training from hell would struggle to block some youngdies¡¯ faction wars! And the truth that one who so easily restrains them every time with just two bottles of beer is a regr clubber who keeps getting rejected every time he tries, and this fact depresses me. But I heard a lot of things in that ce and I could train myself. The women there all had quite the backstory behind them. Having to close off their hearts in social circles with a fake smile stered on their faces, used for arranged marriages to strengthen their families¡¯ standings, being discriminated against despite their superior skills and talents just because they were women, each and every one of them had simr wounds on their hearts and the majority of them were brought to this club by others with simr scars. And they said they couldn¡¯t express how happy they were that they could heal their hearts in this club. To be honest it was something that pricked quite a bit at my conscience. I wanted to go into a paramilitary force like Rood or Ragnum, but to think I¡¯d end up in the Intelligence Agency, which the instructor said could cut you off like a lizard¡¯s tail at any moment and working as a club host! And backstabbing these kinds of women as well! Me, the one who was nicknamed the conscience of Instructor Naruan¡¯s third cohort! And so I did my best to respond to them sincerely, and I didn¡¯t even try to fish for information from them. This was my conscience¡¯sst struggle against my circumstances. But on the contrary the results were a great sess. Did my honest feelings get through, the number of requests for me rose and I took the position of the club¡¯s ace within just two years, and my skills improved ordingly as I met countless women. Sometimes I would consult with a youngdy of a martial house at a bottleneck and help her with a breakthrough, and at other times I would discuss new magic theories over wine with ady from the magic tower. And very asionally I would be requested for an expensive on-site callout and even acted as a swordsmanship sparring partner. Thanks to all these there were my own skills improved as well. I said these was all the bare foundations of training, but the primary training centers were the entirety of my basic training! Since immediately after that the difficulty shot up from easy mode to hell, no, evil god mode, and because it was the type of training where we all struggled and crawled to not fall off the cliffs into hell, our basics were unexpectedly quite poor. And the most important thing was, mm. That¡¯s it. Practical experience. And with my life and chastity on the line. Our club is an adult entertainment facility but it is no brothel. It¡¯s actually quite a clean club where even youngdies who¡¯ve just made their social debuts seek us out. Plus the patrons are all either nobles, or incredibly rich! The moment I rub them the wrong way, the survival game begins where death is the only ending. Sia told me that either to catch themon host who daredy his hands on their daughter(s) from the noble families, or the possibility of falling in love and blindsiding the organization as a future traitor, both oues meant that I was now number one in terms of likelihood to get a knife through my viscera. Although her odd smile gave me massive cause for concern, but since that instructor-lover swore it on the instructor¡¯s name, it¡¯s probably true. But because I was too good at my job, there actually were noble girls that tried to physically push me down, and because I had to avoid hurting their feelings and push them away at the same time it really was a period where my crisis management skills were honed and hardened. That kind of person, namely me, wouldn¡¯t be looked down on by my juniors with just around a year of training! I speedily pushed through the trials. Since I¡¯d already been through them once before it was easy. The most difficult ninth trial is easy as well if you know where the hole to the next room is. Open the door and make a straight path with ice magic, do a sliding jump onto it into the hole, done. Although it erases all your senses, it¡¯s not like all your senses actually disappear so it¡¯s easy to pass like that. Tak! ¡°Uh¡­¡± I can see the three of them surprised at my cool appearance. Are you looking, sir instructor? Now I will show you my skills. The growth of my skills! ¡°Do not be rmed. I am your¡­¡± Senior that came to test you! Was what I wanted to say but I never got a chance to finish. Because. ¡°Kill it Surtr.¡± The zing heat I felt behind my back even before I finished talking and. ¡°Now I will definitely finish you off!¡± ¡°Die.¡± And the other two diving at me. Wait, do you even know who you¡¯re trying to kill? Then I realised. These kids, were my juniors. And also the instructor¡¯s disciples¡­ ¡®Please sir instructor. Sia too but please include some character building in your training regiiiiimmeeeeee!¡¯ I screamed internally as I pulled out my sword. *** ¡°They need urgent character development!¡± The moment he came back after fending off the kids first strike, valiantly fighting and eventuallying out victorious this is the first thing he says. My. What bullshit. Why? ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be looking for character in an evil organization.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± A well-natured evil organization, that¡¯s like saying a demon king would set up a democracy. ¡°But, but¡­ an immediate attack the moment they see their senior! Isn¡¯t that way too overboard?¡± ¡°They probably attacked because they thought you were a doppelganger. Plus considering your cohort I don¡¯t think your personalities would anywhere near behind theirs.¡± ¡°That, that¡¯s just around four of us starting from Sia!¡± ¡°Out of seven, at least four. You¡¯ve already passed the majority.¡± Then again they immediately started counterattacking against me the moment they got used to the bat. Thank goodness I¡¯d prepared the metal bat early. Metal always hurts more than wood. After I diligently beat the crap out of them they became a lot quieter and so I had no more cases of them rebelling until their graduation. ¡°Th, then what about putting exnations on the trial doors? When I listened to the kids talking I heard they thought that their bored workless seniors came to beat them up themselves.¡± ¡°Life is a real fight. To kindly exin what trial it is, do you think it¡¯s some hero growth dungeon from some storybook?¡± Life is always a matter of practical experience. No matter how much you look up cooking recipes on the inte it¡¯s a whole different story if you actually try it. ¡°The difference between knowing an arrow ising or not is significant. Same with the vanishing five senses, same with the fights against the doppelgangers. And even in the final trial¡¯s exnation, there is a significant difference between knowing everything and only a part.¡± ¡°But doesn¡¯t the final trial actually need an exnation? They might die.¡± ¡°You did it as well.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t participate in that! What, to remove the weaknesses in that hellgate as well! We literally nearly died when we did that stage. Starting from magic attacks from the ceiling, arrows from the left, knives from the right, a giant rock from in front of us and the floor splitting open from under us, and you only gave us two seconds between each stage!¡± ¡°For the record, your cohort added summoning circles that summons two devils from behind one¡¯s back as well.¡± ¡°Devils?! No wait, those kind of things weren¡¯t there when we graduated?!¡± ¡°Rood and Sia used their first pay packet to bring in the organization¡¯s magicians to engrave them in with happy hearts.¡± ¡°They really were devils¡­¡± Rein despaired, smacking his face into the table. Mm, to be honest I¡¯ll agree with you there. The only trap I made myself was the ceiling, you know? But then as time went on it turned into one of those ssic bullet hell games. I dodged this so my future juniors should at least be able to survive this right? And the juniors who dodged that would think I dodged this so my future juniors should be able to dodge at least this! And as a result it became a difficulty where you¡¯d have to use a grand spirit or some SaXXan skills to dodge those. Well you could say that these kids¡¯ conscience was that they actually did give them two seconds to prepare? And this boy is forgetting the key point. ¡°When these kids dodge them, the difficulty will only get harder.¡± ¡°Do we all have to die to bring world peace or something¡­¡± Hoho, you won¡¯t die. Because the ck Anvil n that cooperates with me are the specialists in non-lethal weaponry! The Bat Series know-how I developed with them is incorporated in these traps as well! It hurts and it¡¯s painful, but they won¡¯t kill you. Even if finishing them off would be more merciful it won¡¯t kill them! Thebination of Made in ck Anvil and the elven race¡¯s opposition to needless killings is the world¡¯s greatest! Even if you bring in the greatest engineers from a monster manga where the human PK is more OP than the monsters we will never lose out!(1) ¡°They won¡¯t die.¡± ¡°Not killing them doesn¡¯t solve everything¡­¡± Although he says that with a really tired face it can¡¯t be helped. My incentive is on the line! Plus all the resentment falls squarely on their seniors! My disciples don¡¯t even develop bad practices like giving privileges for former office. Although I don¡¯t know about previous sen(pai) alpha strikes! Because to my disciples, their seniors aren¡¯t respectable people who learned from me before them, but the worst viin that made them eat their middle fingers! ¡°Anyway I¡¯m, going to head back now.¡± Oho, and just where is this cohort¡¯s living sacrifice going now! ¡°A personal order came down for you from the organization. They¡¯re saying you¡¯re in charge of training them for the time being.¡± ¡°Those lunatics?¡± I showed him the written orders,plete with official seal and all. Well I¡¯m an instructor but there are times when as an active agent I need to put off my instructor duties and deal with some short-term missions. Even when I was a new instructor, I was a used as a temp hire, but my results were good enough for a permanent ce. But to think they¡¯d use a high-spec personnel like me, what could the job possibly be? Even if I look like this I have a 97%pletion rate for my assignments. Especially it involves great magic, magicbyrinths then I¡¯m a specialist. Perhaps out of bnce patching interests, even those beings called gods didn¡¯t give me any magic power or even the chance for buffs, but in return they gave me a body where I can¡¯t be cursed by magic or can just steamroll through traps that activate by detecting magic! To be honest why couldn¡¯t they just give me magic! ¡°It is a quick job but the organization trusts your skills.¡± Mmm. To be honest it¡¯s just that aside from Sia who brought me the orders, there¡¯s no one that I¡¯d really want to hand over my disciples, but let¡¯s let him mistake it as a good thing. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just because you don¡¯t want to have to deal with these kids so you¡¯re pushing it on me?¡± Sharp kid. ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s still scary.¡± ¡°You seemed to be drubbing them quite well earlier.¡± To be honest he beat them with a more overwhelming difference in skill than I expected. Well they say an old eagle¡¯s better than a young crow after all. Really how cowardly considering he beat them to the point it reminded me of the old phrase even worms can wriggle. ¡°No, even when the doppelgangers had exhausted them, and from their point of view I¡¯d all but ambushed them, but they didn¡¯t hesitate and tried to kill me instantly. Furthermore even when I tried exining to them they just looked at me with expressions saying ¡°cool story, so what.¡± What kind of kids are they to all have personalities that could put Sia to shame.¡± Hm¡­. That their personalities were trash the moment they started a war over breakfast, I knew that much. Since the evaluations from the most normal out of my disciples is like this I¡¯ll ease it a bit from the next cohort. I¡¯ll give them breakfast at least. ¡°Do you hate it that much.¡± ¡°Yep. They seem like the type to bury a knife in my back the moment I turn around.¡± That¡¯s true, but from what I see this kid¡¯s face readings he¡¯s a type to take a knife in the back someday. Most likely by a noble girl with a high yan disposition. ¡°In that case¡­¡± I took out the thing I prepared in advance at the faster-than-expected trial clear speed. Thisd who just flinched back in shock should know it better than anyone else. Since it beat the crap out of him for the better part of a year he shouldn¡¯t be able to forget. ¡°Can you say you are still not confident even if I left you this.¡± ¡°If, if I have that¡­¡± Would a lesser demon receiving orders from a heavenly demon in those old wuxia novels act like this? Or a cultist fanatic dreaming of the revival of the evil god! Eyes dyed in lunacy which didn¡¯t suit the most normal of my disciples. And the letters spelling greed written all over those eyes told me of his true thoughts. ¡°They have not experienced this yet except for No.1.¡± ¡°My evaluations were wrong. To think I feared these little children.¡± Even his evaluation was overturned. Starting from today with Rein¡¯s burning bloodthirst, no, his passion for education I¡¯ll start the process of teaching him to take over my duties. If he has this much motivation then he should learn quickly enough. But I didn¡¯t realize then. That this assignment would be myst in an evil organization. #14 Their story: a certain organization¡¯s story. Loud voices and curses went flying back and forth like some local market. Ahh, it¡¯s so pointless. I want to see Master. I curse my fate that I need to stick with these moronic old men. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. We are not in a position where we can take the Empire head-on yet.¡± At our secretive boss¡¯s words the entire meeting hall goes silent. Since our boss was so secretive even when all the higher-ups of the organization met up we still couldn¡¯t see his face. To be honest it¡¯s because he pulls things like this that rumours go around the capital that the boss of this organization is actually the emperor or something. Everyone sighed at the boss¡¯s words. To be honest, the organization¡¯s leaders¡¯ evaluation of master were a lot more special than what he himself thought. Starting from the Utopia n where we managed to earn a base of operations the size of a city, and the Other Race Familiarization n where we sacked other organizations¡¯ ve markets and freed ves of other races, in addition to reducing the funding of other evil organizations it also had the effect of having non-human races look favourably on us. There¡¯s a reason why there¡¯s a saying that goes ¡®Howling over the Empire!¡¯ among the non-humans. He also was responsible for teaching countless¡­ no, a small number of elite disciples including myself, well although there were a few that ran away, but our skills alone are rated in the single digits of the organization. And even outside of that among the high ss personnel with over 90% assignment sess rates, he¡¯s one of the aces with a sess rate over 95%. Especially, the imperial court infiltration mission during thest great war remained a legend that even I¡¯d heard many examples of during my primary training, although I never heard specific names. ¡°Do you believe that the imperial princess will keep her promises?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the witch that spread her infamy across the empire!¡± But there¡¯s only one reason they¡¯re giving up that Master. Because starting from all of the organization¡¯s bases, all of their personnel was identified by the princess as well. Even the special ops forces that not even the Intelligence Agency knew about. And a hostage exchange with them on the line. In return for staying quiet about that information, she¡¯s spouting bullshit about handing over Master in exchange. Haa. She was famous for being a crazy bitch. She dares to try and buy Master with just that kind of information? Master isn¡¯t anywhere near as cheap an existence as that! Even if this entire organization was sold a hundred times over it still wouldn¡¯t be enough gold, and she only offered information. Either this princess doesn¡¯t understand the market prices, or she¡¯s a corrupt merchant that doesn¡¯t even bother thinking of others¡¯ circumstances. But likewise, the organization who knows nothing of the market is trying to sell off Master for that dirt-cheap price. ¡°She even sent over a Geass Roll.¡± ¡°That much can be trusted then.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t there the chance that it might be fake?¡± ¡°As a result of inspections by specialists of magic, sorcery, and magecraft they were all determined to be the genuine article. On the contrary it was such a simple contract there couldn¡¯t possibly be any hidden traps inside the contents. Listening to the noisy uncles talk on I sighed quietly again. Haa, I want to see Master¡­ Master Master Master Master~ ¡°But Master, this might be a bit difficult.¡± A moment of silence for Master who¡¯s going to have to work really hard again. But if it¡¯s Master then he¡¯ll be able to get over just this level of hardship. In that case for the sake of our future, I should get moving as well? Chapter 17 RATH 17 TL: Eevee Mildly urgent assistance needed: See bottom TL notes for details. 3. And so the story begins. (1) #1 Their story: The future hero¡¯s struggles. Hell returned at the tenth trial. ¡°Uwahahaha, is this the limits of your strength! If you¡¯re my juniors you should get stronger!¡± ¡°Fufu, to think you could only amount to this much at just 50% of our power.¡± ¡°To think that there¡¯s such a pathetic brat like you among the instructor¡¯s disciples, shame on you!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, look at this No.1000. A perfect specimen of the instructor¡¯s disciples! A great example of the biological truth that bitches beget bitches!¡± Because of the instructor¡¯s ex-disciple rushing in all of a sudden I heard and understood that these are a fusion of doppelgangers and homunculi, and were more or less golems that imitated our previous generation¡¯s seniors. Even that their strength was at least 50% weaker than the originals, and that only the memories were copied so that we couldn¡¯t suddenly expect a jump in skills. But. They were still strong. And the most important thing was. ¡°Do you have no shame fighting three on seven?!¡± ¡°Hahaha, if future viins would be ashamed of just that, then that would be something to be ashamed about!¡± ¡°Did you not hear from the instructor? The first strike is crucial. Tunnels are truth. If you¡¯d been learning for at least two years in then you¡¯d understand this.¡± ¡°If you are angry, resent your cohorts¡¯ talents that only three of you passed.¡± We¡¯re too short on numbers. We are three. Compared to us, they have seven. Their skills are tough enough to begin with, but we¡¯re short on numbers as well. The archdevil that No.17 summoned was sealed and left crying in a corner in just two seconds. That giant body was nothing more than a sandbag that breathed fire and got beaten. I always wondered why those evil and strong devils couldn¡¯t conquer the world that humans like us were the main strength of, but he was an bodily example of just why that was. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t know since we haven¡¯t even been a year!¡± Signature move, Sky sh! The single strike that came with focusing all my mana onto a single point, the instructor told me that whenplete, although he didn¡¯t know about the sky, it could definitely split clouds. Although I don¡¯t really know if it¡¯s true, it¡¯s currently my strongest move that could even dice an archdevil. ¡°Sky sh? He really is a just first year.¡± ¡°It is if he doesn¡¯t know there¡¯s a counter for that. Heaven¡¯s Return(»ØÌì)¡± And it was returned so easily. ¡°H, how?!¡± ¡°Moron. Did you think that that instructor would teach someone a technique without a counter?¡± ¡°Plus your sword path is too linear, too upright. Did you actually expect us to get hit by that?¡± ¡°He¡¯s still a first year. We took us two years to learn this. Idiot. Ah, now that I think about it these kids are dangerous. We weren¡¯t even here in our first year.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. They are dangerous.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±So let¡¯s step on them here.¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Damnnn¡­ iiit!¡± ¡°No.1, you bbermouth!¡± With two people¡¯s shouts the intensity of the attacks rose. Is this really just 50% power? I feel like it¡¯s a lie but considering the power of the two seniors we¡¯ve seen in person the conclusion is that it¡¯s not a lie. Although one used a weird weapon, she made me unable to even resist, and the other took down the three of us handily. And before that they all have issues with their personalities. If they were normal, they should help teach their juniors to help them grow, not crush them because they were better! ¡°What, you¡¯re just trying to kill us now, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. You won¡¯t die. Hm¡­ probably.¡± ¡°What the heck¡¯s the probably!¡± The swords, spears, magic, all followed different paths than they did previously. Meaning each and every one of their strikes were being aimed at my critical points. Especially. ¡°Do you have no shame as a woman!¡± ¡°The instructor told me that this ce was the most critical so it doesn¡¯t matter!¡± That Intelligence vice-director! This person was a devil even in the old days! Unlike the others she only aims at one ce. And only! Me! ¡°Why are you only targeting me!¡± ¡°Ha, what an obvious question? It¡¯s because only men have those bits!¡± ¡°S, stop! Kuk?¡± The moment I blocked the twelve magic shots aimed at my genitals, someone else struck my side. ¡°Hm, until you give up on that area, your defeat is certain.¡± ¡°You crazy bastard, Sia that lunatic bitch is aiming for only that area, do you think you could?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t. Mm. To be honest aiming for that ce even though the instructor is a man, same as us, is he even human?¡± ¡°Ha, this little shit. You¡¯re asking formon sense. Does he look like a person to you? Not even devils could stand up to the instructor?¡± Really, it looks like these assholes have truly absorbed the instructor¡¯s teachings. How is it that like master like disciple, neither stop to talk when they¡¯re beating someone up? Wasn¡¯t it agreed on that no one touched the hero or the demon king during a conversation? When you look at the stories not even when they have the world on the line they don¡¯t hit each other when they¡¯re talking, but these assholes hit people really damn well. ¡°That thingy. That thingy. That thingy.¡± ¡°Stop it you crazy bitch!¡± ¡°Oi kid, be grateful. Normally she charges in with peOOO, it took us a lot of struggles and hardship to get her to change it.¡± ¡°Yeah. She used toe running at us muttering that to the point where we had to wonder is this sexual harassment? Is this a mental attack? It was awful. To be honest it was shameful as hell.¡± ¡°The instructor probably taught her that knowing all this. To the point that even we were shocked despite the fact we went through all sorts of shit under the instructor. But it was effective, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Shut up and stop hitting me!¡± My whole body hurts. It hurts. But it¡¯s even harder mentally. Did they use ghosts that died because they couldn¡¯t talk or something, they keep on chattering away. It can¡¯t end like this. I need to either retreat or see this through to the end. And I chose thetter. ¡°Take this for si¡­ kuuk!¡± ¡°that thiinngyyyyyyyyyyyyy!¡± ¡°¡­God of hell Helena, many children are headed for your embrace, please send them to a better ce.¡± ¡°Great goddess of light Sermir, may your brilliance give hope to these poor souls.¡± In my whitening vision, I saw the male figures making a holy sign and praying, and that marked the end of my memories of the first attempt at the tenth trial. And after we reyed this scene a few more times afterwards. We improved. ¡°Thingy!¡± ¡°Th, this evil god¡¯s apostle!¡± ¡°Kurk, as expected of the instructor¡¯s disciple!¡± Pathetic screames echoed. In a month. We learned a lot of things. Like No.1000 who learned to target just the enemies genitals. ¡°Selfdestruct, Surtr.¡± ¡°This damn owwnneeeeeeerrr!¡± No.17, who strapped all sorts of explosives to the archdevil who annihted a world as a reusable suicide bomber. ¡°You crazy bitch, snap out of it!¡± ¡°You crazy bitch, where the hell are you aiming friendly fire at!¡± ¡°Die for me!¡± Or me who sneaked into the instructor¡¯s room and made a deal with the Intelligence vice-director with the instructor¡¯s clothes that I snuck out and turned that 7:3 fight to a 6:4. ¡°You little shit!¡± ¡°What a splendidplement, thank you, senior.¡± To be honest I deserved to be acknowledged for that. I nearly died twice just trying to get clothes from his room. The instructor¡¯s room was filled with a simr number of traps as there were in here. Open the drawers and a hidden dagger fired from the ceiling, poisoned tacks on the wardrobe handle, and you could hear something calling ¡°open the door¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m bored¡­¡± from the safe in the corner. The instructor¡¯s room was filled with so many traps to the extent that I wondered if I was actually in a trial room under illusion magic. When a ck notebook suddenly caught fire when I opened the drawer I wondered what would happen if the instructor found out, but to ovee the current trial I stole away a few of the instructor¡¯s clothes. ¡°Kughh¡­ To think we would be defeated¡­¡± ¡°But we¡­ Are instructor Naruan¡¯s worst disciples!¡± ¡°Even stronger disciples than us will be waiting¡­¡± ¡°Not, you morons. It¡¯s embarrassing enough we got creamed by our juniors, what kind of retarded four heavenly king y are you acting out now.¡± And just over a month we passed through the tenth gate, we came face to face with a new hardship. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Yeah, a rest stop.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Like hell that would be a thing.¡±¡±¡± We imagined all sorts of different things. Maybe that well that was apparently safe to drink was actuallyced with poison, that soft bed was filled not with cotton but poisonous insects, that heater was actually made with dangerous materials to set the entire room on fire the moment it was turned on. A weekter, after checking everything we were certain. ¡°You fooled us, instructor!¡± ¡°¡­It was a trap.¡± ¡°He was trying to interfere with us resting peacefully.¡± There was nothing. Like it said on the sigh, it was a room of rest. Damn it! I can imagine the instructor¡¯s faceughing at our preparations for anything that could happen, even as far as setting up night watches! And so, after a short rest, we went and came across an absolutely ridiculous trial. ¡°Die for me! Surtr!¡± -Issue a propermand for once you dumbass bitch owner! ¡°How the hell are we supposed to dodge this!¡± ¡°We might die?¡± Starting from the magic bombing form the sky, the arrows and spears flying at us from all sides! And in front of us a rock that was even bigger than Surtr was rolling our way! ¡°Magic formation behind us!¡± ¡°Damn it, aren¡¯t there any more ves to be our shields?¡± ¡°We do!¡± -Kuhahaha. I am hell¡¯s devil Baron¡­ Uwuk! No.1000 instantly grabbed the white-clothed devil that emerged from the magic formation behind us and tossed him above us. -These, these puny humaaaaannnnnns And the nameless devil baron that was sent flying was hit by countless magic shots and was desummoned. -S, Sir Pekel?! Kuhuk! ¡°Nice No.1000!¡± And I grabbed the devil that revealed the name of the baron devil as Sir Pekel, yet would be unable to reveal his own name, into the space where daggers were flying out of. -Kuweeeek! I think we¡¯ve got the hang of this. -You ursed assholes! Kuhuk! -Oh demon god, on these creatures more stubborn than angels and more evil than devils, curse theeeeemmm! -Shut up! At least you guys are done here, I still have moreaaaaeaeaaaa! And faster than we expected, in slightly less than a month, thanks to the devils and archdevil(lol) we used as shields, we could safely pass the twelfth trial. ¡°¡­That¡¯s the end.¡± ¡°Will it?¡± ¡°Knowing the instructor I said there were twelve doors but there¡¯s actually a thirteenth. Would be something he could say.¡± ¡°¡±¡±That¡¯s more than possible.¡±¡±¡± At the final door which marked the end of the twelfth trial, we swallowed and stopped our hands that were about to push the door open. No.1000 was right. He¡¯d said this was the twelfth trial, he didn¡¯t say that there would only be twelve trials. ¡°But still¡­ we can only go forward.¡± ¡°We can go back though?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± We hesitated for around an hour. Finally, we opened the door and went out. And what greeted us was bright sunlight and. ¡°That was quick. Congrattions, my juniors.¡± The senior that had greeted us with an incredible vigor, the human called Rein. And unlike the easygoingugh that I saw on him previously, the smile he wore now had a fearsome air emanating about it. ¡°And, bye bye.¡± ¡°Dodge!¡± Golden hair scattered in the wind, and the brightly smiling face was one that was handsome even if a man looked at it. But with one hand he was waving at us and with the other he held the thing called the bat. Pang! ¡°Kuhut?!¡± At my sudden shout No.1000 dodged, but No.17 couldn¡¯t exhibit the same reflexes as we could. No, before that she probably reflexively set up a magic barrier. But the moment the bat hit the magic barrier, the magic barrier vanished as if it had never existed in that space. ¡°Haaht? Urk? Wai, wait! It hurts!¡± And began the bat attack. The bat began tond everywhere on No.17¡¯s body, and after she let the first strike through, all No.17 could do was whimper. ¡°Uht? Sa, save¡­ Hnnn?¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re not going to die so rest assured!¡± No.17 who was looking at me and No.1000 with desperate eyes and the ex-senpai who smirked down on No.17. Alright, in that case. ¡°Run!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Hauuht? Kuk? Uut? He, help m..Aaah!¡± Sorry. But you didn¡¯t stop the instructor when he was hitting me either. No, on the contrary when the instructor was hitting me on autopilot you weren¡¯t even looking at me as I fainted. This is all youreuppance! But I¡¯ll remember your sacrifice! ¡°Did you really think you could run?¡± I ran like hell towards the light of the cave entrance, but between me and No.1000 and the sparkling light, the ex-senior person appeared. ¡°This is already my realm!¡± ¡°Damn it, he predrew the magic formation!¡± Kang! ¡°Uuht? Why. Why does it hurt!¡± Even at my shouts all he did was lift the bat to attack again. In response to the bat being swung her way No.1000 instantly brought out two daggers to counterattack but the moment the knives and bat met, No.1000¡¯s condition began to deteriorate very quickly. ¡°Uuht? What? It hurth? Why?¡± No.1000 who had barely managed to stay standing on shaking legs had no choice but to let her knees drop to the ground. ¡°It hurts? No! Urrk? S, stop!¡± It was the first time I heard No.1000¡¯s voice this weak and frail, not even when she failed to eat breakfast was her state this bad. ¡°Right, now you¡¯re thest one.¡± ¡°Urk?!¡± In the end I pulled out my sword and poured in as much mana as possible. But not even No.1000¡¯s sharp sword ki could so much as scratch the bat. Could I actually win? ¡°Were you thinking you could actually win by any chance?¡± ¡°Urk?!¡± ¡°Hahaha,e at me, brat!¡± In in exactly four strikes I started screaming on the ground, and like this, we could only scream and howl in pain with a feeling of utter helplessness that none of the twelve trials could inflict on us. Chapter 18 RATH 18 TL: Eevee 3. And so the story begins. (2) #2 Their story: Ria el Nermia¡¯s story ¡°Kuhk!¡± A light strike. But the intense pain that couldn¡¯t possibly havee from that light strike left me unable to breathe for a moment. ¡°Damn it!¡± ¡°Die!¡± ¡°Hoho, how weak.¡± The leisurely movements of the hand and the bat. But at those slow movements, No.1 and No.1000¡¯s strikes which were already faster than most families¡¯ normal knights were easily blocked. ¡°Speed beats weight, weight beats change and change beats speed. The instructor always used to tell us this when he was discussing swordsmanship. No matter how strong you are it will never hit if you fall behind in speed, no matter how fast an attack it will never matter against a changing, adapting sword, and no matter how unpredictable and variable you are, you will fall with a single heavy strike. And.¡± A smirk and a simultaneous slow stretch of the hand holding the bat. I dodged immediately, but my body had already been struck. ¡°Kuhhh¡­ how!¡± ¡°Haha, brats. I will teach you the instructor¡¯s ultimate truth. If like I said before that there are different styles of swordsmanship, but in the end the strongest one wins! And the winner is justice! If a heavy blow is defeated by a fast one then use a strong and fast strike! If a fast attack is broken by unpredictability then a fast and unpredictable attack! If unpredictability is beaten down by a strength then use an unpredictable and overpowered single strike! If you are fast and strong and unpredictable then you can just t out beat anyone!¡± ¡°Kyaaah!¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± Looking at No.1000 who copsed with a scream, No.1 charged in with a shaking hand but the results were pitiful. The hand that seemed to move slowly seemed to divide into eight and struck all over No.1¡¯s body. ¡°Kuhuk, uhuk, aaargh! Wait, a, aaaaaaaaaargghh!¡± ¡°Foolish child, brat that has not yet felt the pain of the bat! I shall show thee the truth of life!¡± Our senior, who waspletely unlike when we first met him now seemed like a demon that worshipped the demon god. No, something even scarier, his eyes were like a fanatic that worshipped the evil god as he screamed. ¡°Endure! Endure this paltry amount of pain! If you want to see the limits of life endure this pain and see what lies beyond!¡± ¡°Kuk, kuwuk, aaagghh! You crazy asshole! You enduraaaaaaghh!¡± ¡°We did. We endured. But beyond, the moment we saw the sh of silver, we were defeated. Those who fall under just the wooden bat have no right to be called our juniors!¡± In the fear that momentarily darkened those lunatic eyes, No.1000 and I instinctively took a step back. ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­ it can¡¯t possibly be!¡± ¡°There¡¯s something even higher than that crazy thing?¡± ¡°Kuk, li, lies!¡± Words that made even the face of No.1, who was getting hit with twelve attacks a second, turn pale. But our senior, no the monster who had been turned by something nodded. ¡°That is the reason why you are mere brats.¡± We wanted to deny it. But, some kind of vigour, and the determined resolve right in front of our eyes, made all of us keep our mouths shut. ¡°Do you kids know. Of the pain. The despair. The humiliation!¡± ¡°Kuhuk!¡± A strong strike. No.1 who let that strike hit home in his belly flew back towards us and caught his ragged breath. Looking at No.1 look up at him with a twisted face, it seemed the monster felt a lot better. ¡°Does it hurt? Not for me. So get hit. ¡°Do you think you will never win? I did too once. But humans are creatures that can adapt as they get hit. ¡°Among my cohort, I was the weakest. Like the instructor said, I¡¯m an idiot that even lost to an office worker. ¡°And what should I call you kids that lost to that idiot? Trash? Parasites? Maggots? Now choose. I will call you whatever you want with by big heart! ¡°Hahaha, Wahahahahahaha!¡± Ahh, that person¡¯s already a goner. A devil has already taken over his heart. As I thought that bat was a cursed weapon. The worst magic weapon that made those hit by it scream in pain and possess the mind of its user! To make that kind of weapon, just what the hell does the instructor do for a living. Is this why they call an evil organization an evil organization? Is this organization full of these kinds of people? Is this the reason why the Empire has failed all this time to destroy this organization! ¡°Bat style, Allegretto movement.(1) Dumdumdumdaboom.¡± ¡°Block it, Surtr!¡± ¡°Anything, anything but that!¡± Along with words that I had no idea of their meaning, an attack came. I resummoned Surtr as soon as he was unsummoned. Even if very had been abolished from the Empire, this is a summon. Although it¡¯s spirit abuse to the point where I¡¯d possibly get a letter of expulsion from the Summoner¡¯s Association, since I¡¯m not a member of the Association yet it doesn¡¯t matter. -Kuuwuuuuuk! Consecutive attacks rained down on Surtr¡¯s giant body. But thanks to Surtr¡¯s sacrifice I found the attack pattern! The ¡®dum¡¯ referred to a simultaneous attack with the bat in the right hand and the left fist, the ¡®da¡¯ was the bat in the right hand, and the ¡®boom¡¯ was a left uppercut. It was the attack pattern that Surtr¡¯s precious sacrifice found out. ¡°Then block this. Andante movement, dumdumdaboomda!¡± ¡°I have already read through you!¡± My predictions were right! Dodge the attack from the left, then left, right, then left again! ¡°Not bad for a magician, then try this!¡± ¡°I said your pattern has already been seen through!¡± ¡°Hahaha, the reason I showed you the pattern was for this! Now take this, Larghetto movement, dum¡­¡± A dual handed attack to begin. Next was¡­ ¡°Kiduk boomdehruhruhruhbom kidukboomdehruhruhruh!¡± ¡°Wha, what? Kyaaaaah!¡± Bat and fist assault my entire body. What the hell is dehruhruhruh! To suddenly use that sort of attack! ¡°Not bad movements for a magician, but stupid, unlike one! Who the hell would attack telling the enemy their attack patterns? The reason I revealed my attack pattern, was so that I could change it!¡± ¡°C, coward!¡± ¡°Did you not learn? To be called cowardly is a word used when you have been hit with an unexpected attack or weakness. Before you use that word realize the truth that you couldn¡¯t even imagine the enemy¡¯s attack. Despair that you have had your weakness seized by the enemy. And although I hear this a lot as well, this is an evil organization that specialises in rearing viins. Cowardice is one of our virtues, you know?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± The swing of the bat with a smile struck me square on the chin and my vision swam. Along with No.1000¡¯s faint screams in the distance my vision gradually turned whiter and whi¡­ ¡°Now the fun can¡¯t end just here.¡± Just before it dyed in white the bat struck my thighs and forced my consciousness back to reality. ¡°De, devil¡­¡± ¡°Hoho, I¡¯m telling you the real devil exists elsewhere.¡± At the monster¡¯s smiling face, for the first time in my life I felt the emotion called despair, and this despair continued until the evil organization was destroyed #3 Their story: A certain empire¡¯s story. In the current era of the continent, if you asked what country was the strongest, then ten out of ten, a hundred out of hundred, you would only get one answer. The Karuan Empire. Currently the strongest superpower on the entire continent. For five years, this empire went through a bitter five-year war against thirteen big and small nations. And the result was Karuan Empire¡¯s and its allies¡¯ overwhelming victory. Among the neighbouring nations, the only country that could keep them in check, the Merdeia kingdom had lost over half their military might and in reality there was no longer any kingdom that could possibly pose a threat to the empire¡¯s borders. And the person who won the most power during that great war, the one who everyone said would take up the right to seed the throne, but handed everything to her younger brother and was officially retired from court life, the First Imperial Princess, and in her room two people were gathered. ¡°Howling has epted the deal, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Reia. I¡¯ve nned over ten years for this. That should be perfectly natural.¡± The princess elegantly raised the teacup to her lips, and with a smile that would have thrown the pce into a state of emergency and evacuation orders issued had anyone else seen it, said. ¡°Ten years. It¡¯s been ten years since I had everything taken from me, stolen from me, and beaten pathetically as I cried.¡± ¡°Uh, your Highness. There were many causes for misunderstandings in what you just said if anyone else heard that.¡± ¡°Cause for misunderstandings? I simply stated what was done to me. The simple truth that had no intent to be misunderstood.¡± ¡°Your Highness, Sir Ast simply acting in your best interests.¡± ¡°No, that man said he didn¡¯t save me. He said that I was simply saved as I wanted it to be.¡± ¡°Even if Sir Ast said it like that¡­¡± ¡°No, that man doesn¡¯t lie. That was the truth. He simply acted on his own interests, and by his actions I just seemed to be saved from an outsider¡¯s perspective. And because of that I¡¯m not acknowledging it. I wasn¡¯t saved. Rather, he was the one that took everything from me.¡± ¡°Your Highness¡­¡± ¡°So I need to find him. And he needs to pay the price for what he stole. And if he can¡¯t return it, then he needs to pay it in ways that he can.¡± As the gossip mill went, an overlord of blood and iron, the ice-blooded witch. While others were sharing pleasantries and smiling in social circles, the current expression that the current embodiment of the imperial family that was said to have enjoyed blood and despair in the middle of the great war had on her face was much too anxious, and so the woman named Reia couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly. ¡°You¡¯re overforcing it.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Sir Ast will vehemently reject it.¡± ¡°I know. I¡¯ve suffered a lot too.¡± ¡°And even if it seeds the imperial court will flip out.¡± ¡°I know. But it¡¯s already done. From that day onwards, father had already acknowledged him, and I¡¯ve already finished talking with my more useful little brother with the agreement of handing him the throne. Should my little brother not have been useful but an idiot, I can just give the throne over to the next useful pawn and rece him.¡± ¡°Um, noonim?(2) I came because you called but it is really scary if I hear those things?¡± With the quiet sound of the door opening, a handsome youth came through the door saying so with a bitter smile. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. I said it for you to hear anyway.¡± ¡°Wow, just how could I live with such a scary elder sister.¡± He flippantly said as he approached but there was no change in his expression. Even though he¡¯d taken the seat of Crown Prince thanks to her backing, at one point, he was one of three who had split court along with his brother nicknamed the King of the North and his sister, the Witch of the Imperial Family. To the thought that he, who had unofficially taken authority second only to the emperor would be pushed around by his sister would totally ¡°Do you want me to kill you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡­totally thinkable. Overwhelmingly so. ¡°I¡¯ve said it before, but there¡¯s only one reason I picked you. Simply, I liked you better.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. I heard loud and clear. Especially when you gave elder brother minus marks because you didn¡¯t like his face, I know even better. The exnations that if big brother ever found out he¡¯d either copse clutching his neck or regroup and raise up another rebellion, I still remember fresh as if it was yesterday!¡± ¡°Good. At least you know.¡± cing down her empty cup of tea, the princess smiled again. On seeing that smile the Crown Prince took two big steps backwards but the princess didn¡¯t care, all she did was wait for Reia to refill her teacup before raising it back to her lips. After a short silence, the princess said. ¡°So do your job well.¡± ¡°Hnng¡­ You gave me a really hard task, big sis.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just crushing some cockroaches, no?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a skilled cockroach that¡¯s been around since the beginning of the Empire.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to be the greatest in the Empire then you should at least have the skill for that. Give it all up if you don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Ah, did I be Crown Prince for this¡­ to be ashamed and suffer¡­¡± The Crown Prince rubbed his eyes with an expression that screamed of tiredness but the princess didn¡¯t even bother to turn his way and simply admired the aroma of the tea. ¡°Didn¡¯t you make a bargain with Howling, noonim?¡± ¡°I did. About keeping the information secret, that is. I never handed over the information, nor did I attack Howling using others as a proxy. However, nowhere in the Geass Roll did it say I wouldn¡¯t end the organization with my own hands.¡± ¡°Did you need to destroy them? When all¡¯s said and done, they¡¯ll revive under another name after the dust settles anyway.¡± ¡°But, we can destroy that person¡¯s nest.¡± Looking at the princess who had a smile that could bewitch almost any man on her face, the Crown Prince had backed all the way to the wall. ¡°Ah, noonim, it¡¯s scary so could you please stop smiling like that? It¡¯s really bad for my heart so please!!¡± ¡°Oh my, there¡¯s no need to be so scared. I¡¯m feeling very good right now?¡± ¡°Ha? Can you really say that considering your direct subordinate Sir Reia is shivering in the corner over there? Sir Reia¡¯s trauma¡¯s been triggered again!¡± ncing at Reia who had buried her face between her knees in the corner murmuring something iprehensible, the princess stopped smiling. ¡°What, did I ever do wrong.¡± ¡°It was at the level where you¡¯d brought out your personal forces, battlemage brigade and advisory staff and ready to go to war at any moment? Everyone who knows something knows of the smile before the massacre during the great war.¡± ¡°Eeii, killing people during a war is a one-sided thing, right? You can¡¯t call it a massacre.¡± ¡°You meant to say normal, right? It¡¯s totally just my imagination that the reason I heard it as one-sided was that the pronunciations are simr, right?¡±(3) ¡°Hm? What? I can¡¯t hear the sounds of a crown prince that got smashed three times by the Merdeia¡¯s Kingdom¡¯s army?¡± ¡°Yes, I will keep my mouth shut in front of the great war¡¯s undefeated noonim.¡± As if the Crown Prince¡¯s crumpled face pleased her, her hand reached for her teacup again, but it was empty. Since Reia who would pour tea for her was currently broken and neglected in a corner of the room, thinking it couldn¡¯t be helped, she stood up and stretched. ¡°Haa~ Listen up, little brother. You can think that what he took as half of the Empire.¡± ¡°I know that. The origins of the Empire¡¯s founding. But that is a curse.¡± ¡°Yes. And when he dies, it coulde back to us.¡± ¡°Because that¡¯s how the contract was written.¡± ¡°And because of that we need to protect him.¡± ¡°For the Empire?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a lie? No matter how I see it it¡¯s a personal greed.¡± ¡°Really. At least 1% of it is for the Empire¡¯s good.¡± ¡°99% is for your own interests? At the very least as royalty couldn¡¯t you raise it to two digits noonim?¡± ¡°No.¡± Having felt a strong sincerity in that final word the Crown Prince shut his mouth. ¡°1% is a lot as well. To be honest be grateful that I¡¯ve done that much for my role as an imperial princess. It¡¯s been ten years. Because I was weak. Because I was powerless. Because I had no backing. I couldn¡¯t get anywhere near him for ten whole years. If I approached carelessly he would flee. Considering how he¡¯s fearless in the weirdest ces he¡¯s also very cowardly in others. He makes two, three, no, ten, twenty getaway holes to escape with. That¡¯s why. So he can¡¯t run away. I¡¯ll break them all. Aside from thedder that is me, I¡¯ll break all otherdders. To make him realise on his own that I am his safestdder. So that he can never run away again.¡± ¡°What you know about him might not be everything. His name was different as well, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Irrelevant. Whether his name is Ast, or Naruan, or something else. The fact that he stole my fate, my future, my everything and ran away from me doesn¡¯t change. Even if what I know about him isn¡¯t everything, what I already know is plenty. So¡­¡± After a moment¡¯s silence, she turned to the Crown Prince that had been ever-so-slowly approaching her and smiled brightly. ¡°If you fail, really. I might have to kill you.¡± ¡®I¡¯m really going to die.¡¯ At seeing that smile, the Crown Prince realised that if he didn¡¯t smash Howling to bits, then odds were that he would be the one to be smashed into pieces instead. Was pondering between Sir or Dame for Reia, considering she¡¯s a woman knight. Chose Sir just because it suits better. (1) The original used a term which specifically denoted a specific style of drumming used in traditional KR percussion instruments, but I¡¯m like ¡®I ain¡¯t trying to trante something with no trantion¡¯ and subbed it in for a music tempo which is roughly simr speed. Same with the other music tempo lingo further down. (2) Noonim = very formal way to address an older sister. (Although I use it sarcastically with mine :P) JP equivalent would be aneue. (3) Normal = ???, One-sided = ???. Pronounced very simr, too. Okay, reader opinion time. Do you want me to directly localise the titles for Korean siblings into western terms (which as far as I know are more or less limited to big/little sister/brother) or do what JP TLs do and retain it as oppa, hyung, noona, unni etc. which are far more versatile and express a lot more than their duller English counterparts. Also, how many of you guys are here from the original and how many are virgins to this insanity? Countdown+0??m3+@1bat: 2 Chapter 19 3. And so the story begins. (3) It¡¯s weird. It¡¯s weird. It¡¯s weird. What is this? It¡¯s easy. Way too easy. An easy job like this might as well be given to new agents that just graduated from the training centers. No, even easier. It¡¯s about as easy as the trainees¡¯ graduation exam. But¡­ they¡¯re paying me this much? Does the organization have that much money lying around? No, even if it was, they shouldn¡¯t be giving me a job this easy when I¡¯m busy with instructor work. It reeks of something awful. ¡°The problem is which side¡­¡± Is it the organization? What¡¯s the problem? Did they find out about my embezzlement of some of the Utopia Project funds? Or when I made deals with the non-humans, did they find out I did a deal with them to sneak some of the cash into my own back pocket? Or did one of my bloody disciples finally decide he or she wanted payback for all that time? No, I can¡¯t rule out the possibility of the Empire. It¡¯s normally an irrelevant ce, but that insane imperial princess could have dug a trap by removing all the key information. Like a master fisherman throwing out a baited line waiting in anticipation for the big catch to bite. But knowing my life so far, if I ran away thinking with that logic, it could just as easily turn out it actually was just a in easy job, and I got scared for nothing and ended up getting chased by the organization! Is the sort of story that could happen. So do the job and infiltrate for the time being. If I get caught by the organization then I can use my connections I¡¯ve made till now to do something, if I get caught by the princess, then I need to bide my time and run away. Unless I end up waking up without arms or legs and a ¡°I still love you even this way!¡± type yandere is around, hm¡­. Uhh¡­ now that I think about it that could be more than possible. Normally reality is a lot worse than fiction. But I just imagined it. Damn it. ¡°I¡¯ll give it a shot.¡± Just a barony. And one far out in the countryside to boot. So I infiltrated in to collect information. I¡¯d hoped the information I¡¯d find was something along the lines of an evil god cult¡¯s hidden hideout, or some anti-empire resistance organization, those kinds of uneasy expectations! Wow, isn¡¯t this way overdoing it? No matter that this is the literal middle of nowhere of the empire, they¡¯re all but openly stating that they¡¯re an anti-empire rebel(AER) army. A month since I was hired as a gardener, today as well I received orders that I couldn¡¯t tell whether they were gutsy or just in stupid. ¡°Now, do it like this.¡± ¡°Yes, boss.¡± I took a pair of gardening shears and trimmed a bush in the garden to form a shape, this is a perfect AER symbol. The emblem engraved on the statue far away over there was the AER symbol along with the house¡¯s symbol. There were already so many AER symbols everywhere that if this was the capital, the entire family would already have been arrested to be served the full torture course. No, right now I¡¯m so damn anxious at this point I¡¯d actually prefer it if some AER members showed up, isn¡¯t this apprehensive feeling because of some different reason entirely? If they¡¯re outright stering the symbol everywhere the empire¡¯s army could just charge in at any moment and take us all in! Is this a trap, or is this the Empire¡¯s trap! At this rate surely it won¡¯t end up with me in the imperial prisons shouting ¡°I¡¯m innocent!¡± and either my former subordinates or the princess herself showing up and making me choose between marriage or death, right? ¡°Ohh, you¡¯ve got good skills.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve done this since I was young. If I couldn¡¯t I¡¯d have starved to death.¡± I push away my unease for now and show off my shearing skills. Hmm. Although I¡¯d learned this on the fly but this is still an imperial gardener-level skill! It would be hard to see this level of skill in a rural barony. The princess as a kid was filthily hard to please so since most people assigned close to Her Highnesssted three months tops, 1 month at the shortest and so I had to pick up the ck and learn the other employees¡¯ skills. Well because of this her half-imprisoned knight order all became multitalented. Because they couldn¡¯t even run away. ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Ohh, perfect. Good work, Kisen. I¡¯ll put in a good word for you to my lord and have you as a permanent gardener for the family.¡± ¡°Thank you, boss.¡± Although I say that with my mouth please don¡¯t. I don¡¯t want to go into the AER. To be honest they¡¯re all just ying on the Emperor¡¯s hands, every time something big happens in the Empire he just grabs a few of them and executes them as a distraction, I have no wish to get tangled up with them any time soon. As for the personality of our emperor, you could say it¡¯s trash among trash. Even our boss who¡¯s the head of an evil among evil organizations would be a saintpared to him. Considering the purges in the imperial court were worse than the purges at the organization, I think that exins it all. What kind of imperial court has more purges than an evil organization. Because it¡¯s the strongest? Is there that many talented people! ¡°But I still have a really bad feeling about this.¡± As it stands I¡¯ve already gone and made three more AER symbols where they¡¯re already overflowing. Although to them it¡¯s a symbol of secrecy, to think they¡¯d go and stamp this pushover-confirming symbol which is known to just about everyone among the empire¡¯s agents and personnel alike. And the organization ordered me to collect information. If I had around another month then I could grab everything I need to, but there¡¯s no guarantee that the imperial army won¡¯t charge in first. So¡­ ¡°You are already surrounded!¡± ¡°D, damn it! Shit! Destroy all the important information, meet up at the promised ce!¡± Let¡¯s go and take some relevant-looking documents and report it to the imperial troops. At the organization I can just say that the AER got caught by the empire¡¯s troops and I snuck out in the confusion. Hmm. Although it¡¯s a bit of a pity that my creations are going up in mes,pared to my life they¡¯re not worth anything at all. Just in case, I¡¯m observing them with a dwarven telescope after hiding myself. At my rough estimates it seems that they¡¯re freshly trained new recruits. Thankfully it doesn¡¯t seem like the imperial family¡¯s involved in this case. If there were, then someone would be tapping me on my shoulder, and when I turn around I¡¯d see either the princess or her direct subordinates, with one of the princess¡¯s personal battlemage corps priming a magic artillery circle above my head, telling me to surrender or die. But I can¡¯t rx with just this. Let say for example, an arrowes flying out from that brush. Fhit! Fhit! Fhit! Hmm, or a bunch of people wearing ck clothes show up. Shuk! Shuk! Shuk! And spout lines sayinge peacefully or get hurt. ¡°Instructor Naruan! This is the organization¡¯s orders. I strongly urge you toe peacefully.¡± Wow, what are these kids that¡¯re all third-rate viins from their appearance and their lines. It¡¯s exactly our organization¡¯s style. And it actually is our organization. This is why I like our organization. It doesn¡¯t stand out too much and get sacked by the empire. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± Depending on the situation it might be better to just go along with them. Seriously, just how much have I done for them till now! And how much in the way of bribes have I fed them! It was all in preparation for this moment! I even had dinner with your department¡¯s manager, and you! It¡¯s not bad trying those kinds of lines. ¡°Instructor.¡± Uh, hang on, this isn¡¯t good. ¡°Rood, what brings you all the way here.¡± Aruen Rood. A beastkin half-blood, a disciple of my third cohorts along with Sia and Rein. And the one standing as captain of the most unique paramilitary group among all our paramilitary groups. When the other kids were vice-director or vice-captain at best, there was only one reason why this kid was the captain. Because only his unit, the Darksword, could change their captain with brute force. With the aim of eliminating internal enemies, the Darksword is a group that only acts on the boss¡¯s direct orders. And that means¡­ ¡°Can I take it as you do not mean to leave me alive?¡± They¡¯re a group used purely for assassination. Ah, or could it just be he¡¯s here to give me one for? If any of them were to give it a crack I¡¯d thought he¡¯d be the one most likely to. ¡°It is not.¡± ¡°The Darksword has mobilised, yet you¡¯re leaving me alive? Sounds a bit hard to believe.¡± Ah, or is it that the boss found out about my embezzlement, but he¡¯s sent my disciple to take it easy on me? Alright, considering what I¡¯ve done for him so far he could let me off easily. In that case I could pretend to just go along and be captured¡­ ¡°The imperial princess has made a deal.¡± Or bullshit. What the hell! I need to run like my life depends on it. Just what the hell did she do, that a group of the boss¡¯s direct subordinates is out to get me? His mind was like my past life¡¯s Freedond(1) which said it would never make a deal with the Empire! That boss made a deal! ¡°It seems the imperial family took quite a liking to you, instructor. To the point that the princess herself slowly drew the noose around the organization¡¯s neck.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that much.¡± It¡¯s really not. Yep. It¡¯s not. Although I did make quite the achievements during the great war, but I rolled my subordinates how stupidly hard! I rolled them about as much as you would in a ck soul game. I made them roll and roll and roll even more to the point that they said ¡°ah, what. War is easier than training?¡± whileughing, that was how hard I rolled them on a daily basis. Although my own disciples rolled as if their lives were still attached to their bodies but those kids were pretty disposable so I basically rolled them to the point it wouldn¡¯t matter if they died. And because of that the princess¡¯s direct troops = bunch of fellows that would stick their swords in my backs at any moment, and you want me to go back? And the imperial princess is there too. The princess who¡¯s so perpetually lively that I¡¯d prefer the one with dead soulless eyes that I first met. She¡¯s so damn lively that in the past it was just to the point that I would just get fired if I annoyed her, but now she¡¯s lively enough to tear me from limb to limb if I piss her off. I will be forcibly married! To hell with it, I was being an annoying little shit because I wanted to be fired, what¡¯s this bullshit. The emperor¡¯s got his head screwed on wrong as well. You can¡¯t get it more screwed than that. Even if it had the official approval of the imperial family, i.e. the princess, but she¡¯s saying she¡¯s marrying amoner whose background is unknown, so what the hell was he sending me a message of congrattions for? The normal thing to do would be to threaten me discreetly, or if he¡¯de with arge sack of money to tell me to take it and piss off, I¡¯d have more than happily taken it and run. But even when a person is worrying this much the surrounding people are still preparing with clinking sounds. I¡¯d preferred it if they¡¯d let their guard down a bit. ¡°Then will youe quietly with me?¡± ¡°Hell no.¡± If I go I¡¯m dead. No, dying is the easy way out. To think I¡¯d go back with my own two feet to a ce that starts purges out of boredom, a political fight when they¡¯re bored that makes me struggle with my brain. And under the premise of marriage to royalty, and among them, that imperial princess. There is absolutely no reason for me to voluntarily return that insanity among insane worlds. ¡°Then, I, your disciple will escort you personally.¡± Very unlike his normal behaviour he formally bows his head and pulls out a greatsword, and as he did the others pulled out their weapon as well and pointed them towards me. Ha. Seriously. Damn he¡¯s brought a lot of them. Just the ones in my field of vision alone number around at least fifty, and considering he¡¯s also brought others like the ones with the bows surrounding me as well, he¡¯s probably brought at least a hundred fighters? Did he bring everyone in the Darksword or something? ¡°Do you really think you can take me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve grown a lot since then.¡± ¡°Rein said the exact same thing not so long ago and he wasn¡¯t much.¡± ¡°He was always the weakest among us.¡± ¡°You¡¯re that confident, and yet you bring the entirety of the Darksword on me?¡± ¡°I was taught to prepare for the worst even if the probability of victory was over 90%.¡± I never taught you to use that on me. Wow, look at those sparkles. Sword ki is a given, there¡¯s a few that looks like they¡¯re going to hit sword aura soon as well. Ah, this is dangerous. Should I just run away and yell to the imperial army it¡¯s an evil organization! No, since the princess started all this they could yell you evil cur! And blindside me instead. In that case I need to finish it here. Damn it, I need to sneak back to the organization to pack what I need and run away again¡­ To start with I¡¯ll send a help call with the voice of my soul. -Don¡¯t wanna. An immediate answer came. Says no. -Haaang, you¡¯ve done neglect y with me all this time and you¡¯re calling for me as soon as you disciple shows up to stick something pointy in you? Do I look that easy to you? That¡­ alright, let¡¯s try this. -If I die I¡¯ll tell my disciples the password to my safe! -Wazzat for? To let me have fun under a new owner? -No, because I¡¯m certain that the kids¡¯ll melt you down the moment they see you. -¡­ Wut. What¡¯s with that weirdly convincing argument¡­ Eh, it worked. To be honest from Rood or any of the others of Sia¡¯s cohort¡¯s point of view this kid was nothing less than the demon king of the end of the century. -Hmm¡­ don¡¯t really like it cause it feels like I¡¯m losing out¡­ but if owner dies that¡¯s that too¡­ -I¡¯ll take you around from now on. The organization¡¯s already fubar. It made a deal with the imperial princess. -Hmm¡­ hmmmmmmmm¡­. Ah, dunno. If you lock me away one more time then I really dunno what¡¯s gonna happen then. And the thing connected to my soul, is speaking to me. To call its name. To open the gate, and let ite to me. The feeling of summoning a contracted spirit that I¡¯d read in a book. Maybe, this would be simr to that as well. This was a miracle made due to a ritual of a different type of contract. Because it was the only object that I, without any mana whatsoever, that every other summon rejected, could sessfully contract with. ¡°Magic?¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t we told Instructor Naruan couldn¡¯t use magic?!¡± ¡°Do not be rmed and attack!¡± The men that were shocked by the silver light in my right hand charged in. But, the face of their captain Rood was the only one to pale at the sight. ¡°C, could it be¡­¡± ¡°Come¡­¡± And that ¡®could¡¯ is right. Yep. It¡¯s exactly what you¡¯re thinking of. ¡°Arcadia.¡± A sh of silver light lit up the night sky. Chapter 20 3. And so the story begins. (4) #4 Their story: Aruen Rood¡¯s story Ahhhh. I don¡¯t want to work. I really really don¡¯t want to. But reality is cruel. ¡°The objective is Instructor Naruan.¡± Ah, I don¡¯t want to have anything to do with that human anymore. To think I have to crawl back to the man who beat the crap out of me so much in primary training. And worse, he¡¯s an enemy this time. Knowing the instructor there¡¯s no way he¡¯de peacefully, and if I harmed so much as a hair on his head then that girl Sia would definitely drive a few knives into my stomach without hesitation. Actually, I don¡¯t know what the male Sia in Internal Affairs, Maren would do either. The Intelligence Agency is scary but Internal Affairs isn¡¯t a lightweight either. If they cut down on the budget for arrows just a tiny bit then we¡¯d have only five arrows instead of ten. I¡¯m scared. The fanatics are scary, the person himself is scary. If he¡¯s carrying around just one of those damned magic weapons then all my will to fight vanishes instantly. ¡°How much of our troops are we bringing along?¡± The damn vice-captain keeps asking me. Even if we look like this we¡¯d at least be more than a match for your average knight order. All members are capable of using sword ki. If the squad leaders were given the time then some of them could even hit the swordsmaster level, they¡¯re that skilled. Well, ording to the instructor only the ones that can do it would do it. You could say that they could die always at the precipice of bing a swordsmaster, but if it¡¯s that level ofbat potential then that¡¯s already gone beyond the fighting power of a powerful kingdom¡¯s knight order. A small number of elites. The organization¡¯s ckened knives. Boss¡¯s swords that exist only to cull the traitors among our allies. And the leader of that group is me. But still, I hate what I hate. And so. ¡°Get everyone ready.¡± ¡°Everyone?¡± The instructor said this. There¡¯s nothing as powerful in a fight as force of numbers. No matter how useless they are they can still be used as a meat shield so use them if you can. It¡¯s a time-honoured tradition that humans can be used just about anywhere as long as they listen to instructions, and unless there¡¯s a moron with a pointlessly high title present, take as many people as your logistics team allows. And so, for a fight against the instructor the right thing to do is to take everyone. ¡°The enemy is Instructor Naruan.¡± ¡°I heard the rumours, but I also heard that he has no mana.¡± ¡°But we could never defeat that person that had no mana, not even once.¡± ¡°¡­ Not even captain?¡± ¡°Yes. Let alone 1:1, even when all seven of us rushed him together we never earned a single victory.¡± To be honest I can¡¯t even beat him with pure swordy alone either, but that gap can be made up with magic. But the instructor¡¯s magic weapon surpasses all imagination. To begin with, if you get hit then that¡¯s one out already. Just as we got used to that another one showed up. And if you get hit by that then that¡¯s not just a simple out. My body was definitely swimming in the River Styx but my soul remained in thend of the living and epting the torment. It doesn¡¯t even make sense. The body says it¡¯s going to die and so it¡¯s going to go die but the soul and consciousness stays in thend of the living and keeps feeling the beating! It¡¯s not something anyone could possibly imagine without experiencing it. To add insult to injury even after being hit by that pain your body wakes up the next morning feeling almost refreshed! I guarantee it. If you wouldpare it to the demons where the demon god¡¯s apostles are chosen to be the next demon king, not even the demon god¡¯s blessing where a hundred out of a hundred die screaming in pain would get anywhere near the pain of that magic weapon. At least that thing has the decency to kill you? This thing won¡¯t even let you die. And so, using all the surveince options I had avable, I confirmed whether the instructor had the bat on him. The result, in the case of the bat, Rein¡¯s currently in possession of it and is diligently beating the crap out of our juniors. Hmm. I kinda envy him. And as for the most important metal bat, the instructor said he left it in his office. Considering he said it¡¯s an educational tool, he doesn¡¯t seem to take it out on assignments. Just in case I checked another 25 times. This is important after all. ¡°Going over the mission again. Our job is to capture the instructor alive, and take him to the promised location. Since there is the possibility that the Empire¡¯s forces could attack us after we hand the instructor over, take caution.¡± That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying, but I still fear the instructor. I suppose the same went for the rest of our cohort. Our fear of the metal bat in particr even created the miracle of our entire cohort graduating a year early after all. Was there ever a time in my life where I felt as powerless, despairing, shivering in fear as I desired death? Even the instructor-fanatics Sia and Maren, when the metal bat came out, both of them were dead serious in front of the instructor. No, from the name itself, just what is a bat.(1) No matter how thoroughly I searched through the organization¡¯s informationwork there was nothing that led me to the word¡¯s origins. Since I went as far back as the ancient texts, this was a word the instructor invented. Bat¡­ just hearing the name alone strongly reeks of a powerful curse. As I chewed over my past¡¯s painful memories we¡¯d already arrived in three days. Ahh, damn it. Time went by filthily quickly. We headed to the promised barony in advance to surround him¡­ ¡°You are already surrounded!¡± ¡°D, damn it! Shit! Destroy all the important information, meet up at the promised ce!¡± Uh, fuck. It¡¯s burning. It¡¯s burning really well even from as far away as we are. ording to n we¡¯d infiltrate and capture the instructor secretly, at this rate we¡¯ll be the ones getting captured fighting the empire¡¯s forces. A direct fight with the empire isn¡¯t possible. It¡¯s not like we¡¯d lose, but their organizational power is so good when you¡¯re beating one of them up five more spring up to take a crack at you. And once you beat those five then another multiple of those spring up and you beat them up and you get tired and eventually sumb to sheer numbers. ¡°Has he been captured by the empire?¡± ¡°No. The instructor has no reason to be captured by just those forces. Look around at ces that are absent of people, and once you find him, do not approach, but get in contact.¡± Please, if things don¡¯t go ording to n I can just say he got away, but if he is found then I need to go capture him¡­ But these damn subordinates seem to be useful. He said he discovered the instructor hiding in the bushes on a hill while watching the house burn through a telescope. His eyes were always pretty good and he found hidden things quite well as a result, but now he went and found the instructor as well. Damn it. I swore to myself that when we got back I¡¯d do my damnest to drop his eyesight. All the men assembled, and fired arrows from far away as a warning shot. In return for having no mana he was very sensitive to bloodthirst and presence so arrows were fired so he couldn¡¯t get anywhere far, and just in case I sent forward some weak guys as meat shields to start a conversation. ¡°Instructor Naruan! This is the organization¡¯s orders. I strongly urge you toe peacefully.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± Wow that¡¯s totally a third-rate viin line even to my ears. The instructor¡¯s talking with a look on his face that says he really can¡¯t be bothered with all this. It¡¯s not going to work. Let¡¯s try the peaceful route first. ¡°Instructor.¡± ¡°Rood, what brings you all the way here.¡± Ah, mm. He¡¯s scowling. Then again if I was a member of the organization and the Darksword came for me I¡¯d probably get annoyed as well. ¡°Can I take it as you do not mean to leave me alive?¡± ¡°It is not.¡± ¡°The Darksword has mobilised, yet you¡¯re leaving me alive? Sounds a bit hard to believe.¡± Even though we specialize in taking care of our own organization agents, it¡¯s not like we kill all of them. We dispose of roughly nine out of then, the other one is usually sent off to the torture rooms. But the objective here is none other than the deal with the princess. Because of that we need to take him alive. If I can¡¯t, then I might as well run away as well. ¡°It seems the imperial family took quite a liking to you, instructor. To the point that the princess herself slowly drew the noose around the organization¡¯s neck.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that much.¡± Yeah, right. Right now all the brains of the organization are in panic mode. Let alone all our hideouts, all our secret branches, even our list of secret agents were all looted. Especially that punk Rein in particr, although he might not know it himself, if the princess leaked his information it wouldn¡¯t be odd for his head to be sent flying. To think the man all his girls knew was actually an evil organization¡¯s spy and the voice that whispered love into their ears was actually just a ruse to get information from them! That can¡¯t be anything less than a perfect scenario to die with a sword through you. ¡°Then will youe quietly with me?¡± Quietly, but with all my heartfelt pleas. Please, for the sake of all of us I wished for that, but as I thought the instructor didn¡¯t desire our happiness. ¡°Hell no.¡± ¡°Then, I, your disciple will escort you personally.¡± After very politely, very slowly lowering my head, I slowly unsheathed my greatsword. Very slowly, every action slowly. Because then my subordinates will step out first. I have no good memories of engaging that man in a close-quarters fight. Of course the guys attacking him from the rear were beaten first because they were annoying. And I was beaten because I was sturdy. In the end all my memories are of getting hit, but who knows? There¡¯re at least fifty people just here, he could get tired from hitting them all, right? ¡°Do you really think you can take me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve grown a lot since then.¡± ¡°Rein said the exact same thing not so long ago and he wasn¡¯t much.¡± ¡°He was always the weakest among us.¡± ¡°You¡¯re that confident, and yet you bring the entirety of the Darksword on me?¡± ¡°I was taught to prepare for the worst even if the probability of victory was over 90%.¡± Even as I talked I signaled to my subordinates. Although I didn¡¯t move, my subordinates started drawing their swords, lifting their spears, each of them pulled out their weapon and crept closer to him. Very good. If anything happens then they¡¯d be the first to suffer. Just then, a silver light started radiating out from the instructor¡¯s right hand. ¡°Magic?¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t we told Instructor Naruan couldn¡¯t use magic?!¡± ¡°Do not be rmed and attack!¡± My surprised subordinates started to run in, but unlike them, I was stepping backwards. No. The instructor couldn¡¯t possibly use magic. But, could it be. that¡­ ¡°C, could it be¡­¡± ¡°Come¡­ Arcadia.¡± This is a trap! This has to be the instructor¡¯s trap! But the silver club in his hands is definitely the thing I know. Definitely, the instructor pulled it out of thin air as if he had used magic. Was it a lie that he couldn¡¯t use magic until now? Wait, before that did that mean that thing was not an illusion but the real deal? ¡°Kuaaaaaaaaaaaghhh!!!¡± ¡°Kuooooooooooook!¡± ¡°Uuuk¡­ uwwaaaaa¡­¡± But the moment the first swords collided with that magic weapon I realised that was the real thing. The absolute magic weapon where evasion was the only way to survive, the thing that sword ki wouldn¡¯t even leave a scratch on, and on the contrary, the magic weapon that would cause one to scream in an unknown realm of pain as it rode down through the end of the weapon and into your body, there was only one weapon in the world that could do that. Not even the demon god¡¯s arms that the demon king is said to use would be that awful. Only the magic weapon of the evil god who threatened the downfall of the world would be able topare to it. ¡®No, perhaps iparable even to that!¡¯ ¡°Dodge, dodge! You may not even make contact with that magic weapon!¡± I shout amand, but it¡¯s not as easy as it sounds. The instructor¡¯s closebat skills are legendary within the organization. Even if he was slightly older than the average new trainee, during their first practical training expedition as a tertiary trainee, his cohort came across a group of ten orcs, whereupon they all fell into a panic. The tale that he whipped them into formation and cut down all ten orcs then and there are still whispered among the trainees like a legend. Even though it hadn¡¯t been more than a few years since he started learning the sword, and not even normal orcs, but ten Orc Warriors! Isn¡¯t that like some tale of a swordsmaster¡¯s past that you¡¯d only ever find in story books! That instructor has the unblockable invincible magic weapon in his hand. We¡¯re already screwed. Running away is the answer. -All archers are to fire at will, cover the retreat of the injured! ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you couldn¡¯t use magic?¡± Let¡¯s buy time with words. Thirty of us are down already. Let¡¯s save my life with my mouth as I run away. ¡°That¡¯s right. But that can be solved if I¡¯m not the one using magic.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± ¡°No, it can. What if this thing was an Ego Weapon?¡± ¡°Lies!¡± But the one who was shocked was me. What disgusting magic weapon like that had an ego! What is an ego! A living miracle of a soul being infused into a weapon. Is it not a weapon where even the dwarves might make one once a millennium or so? All that remained were rumours that they might be in a dragon¡¯sir or one of the imperial treasures was one, in thest 1000 years, aside from the sword the legendary hero used there was not a single case of an ego weapon appearing. No, none of that¡¯s important, but why did have to be that devil¡¯s weapon, no, the evil god¡¯s weapon that had to have an Ego! ¡°Then first, you need a beating.¡± ¡°N, no way!¡± I dodged the first strike by throwing my sword which was said to be a warrior¡¯s life, and turning back on my fallenrades I started to escape. ¡°Yes way.¡± And that escape ended in the very next strike. Chapter 21 RATH 21 TL: Eevee TLN: Let the chaos begin. 3. And so the story begins. (5) ¡°In, Instructor! Please!¡± Yep. Not happening. This is your punishment for trying to blindside your benevolent instructor. Repent as you scream in pain! ¡°Kuaaaaaaaagh!¡± ¡°He, help me!¡± ¡°No, no just kill me!¡± I bat away his hand that was reaching for his sword as he crawled towards it. ¡°I will not permit you to die.¡± ¡°No, noooo!¡± -Yes! Ahhh, that¡¯s the feeling¡­ I wanted to feel this so much¡­ It feels like my mind¡¯s getting polluted by the metal bat¡¯s ecstatic moans. At this rate I¡¯ll be a sadist. This is why I didn¡¯t want to use this thing. But it can¡¯t be helped now. ¡°Ple, please¡­ kill me¡­¡± ¡°Kuaaaaaaah, no, nooooo!¡± I mainly focus on beating the ones who are crawling around drooling on the ground. Since the ones who have already been hit enough are the ones going ¡°uuuuuhhhhhh¡± while stered to the ground like a wad of chewed gum all I have to do is hit the ones that are still moving. Ah especially, I need to give my disciple a special extra beating. Since he¡¯s a beastkin as well as being sturdy as hell he holds on well. ¡°Kuaaaaaak! Stop, please stop!¡± -Haaang, it¡¯s been a while oppa.(1) I see you still have that nice meaty texture you did back in the day! Since a brat¡¯s shouts of joy and a brat¡¯s shouts of pain are both ringing in my ears it¡¯s giving me a headache. In that case I should reduce the sources of noise by one at least. ¡°Kuaaaaaaak!¡± -A perfect 17 consecutive hits! Owner¡¯sbo is perfect! One by one I reduce the numbers. I did consider finishing them off, but I¡¯ll leave them here to tie up the empire¡¯s forces. -Owner? Why aren¡¯t you hitting them more? Hurry, hurry! Aru is, feeling really good right now, so now¡¯s the best time to hit them! Ahh, this goddamn sadist. Its voice ringing in my head is making my head hurt but I still have work to do. Since it seems like the organization¡¯s washed their hands of me, I scattered the AER evidence that I didn¡¯t need any more and fired a signal re that I¡¯d secretly pocketed. -Owner, owner! If you y with fire at night then you¡¯ll piss your pants! Is this thing serious. But if I get caught by the princess then I¡¯ll piss even more so it doesn¡¯t matter! Due to all my weird-ass experiments the fact that this thing has an ego was a stroke of fortune but the personality that got in it is the worst. It¡¯s said the sword the emperor uses is silent and stoic, and it¡¯s also knowledgeable of a thousand styles, so even if you¡¯re just wielding it then it¡¯ll even act as a swordsmanship teacher, but this thing goes haakhaak and tries to turn its wielder to the path of the sadist. -Eh? Owner, did you just diss me? You¡¯re telling me that I¡¯m worse the empire¡¯s sword? This cute and beautiful goddess Arcadia, is worse than that old sword?! And our minds are linked disgustingly well it reads my mind every now and then, so it¡¯s annoying as hell. Even though I want to craft another one, the dwarves are refusing to, plus this is the only sess among countless failures, the general consensus among the craftsmen that made it is that its creation might as well be a miracle. And since I need to find a new workce too¡­ Even if I try to make another one with the gold I pinched from the empire and pinched from the organization the cost is a problem. I chucked in all sorts of legendary metals to the point that mithril was the cheapest metal present, and the alloy produced underwent painstaking engraving work to link together hundreds of sorcery and magic formations, to create an ego sword, no an ego bat with 108 curses and 256 blessings, the production costs involved in that was massive enough to be able topare it with the imperial budget. Thankfully since I was on pretty good terms with other races so even if they dropped the price to the manufacturing cost, the price was still astronomical! Thankfully during the great war I pawned off all the other expensive things the nobility of other kingdoms had on hand and so I barely became free of debt. Although it didn¡¯t take too long for me to fall into debt again. ¡°No, you¡¯re the best.¡± -Haang, of course. Now, since it¡¯s about time for the empire¡¯s soldiers to arrive let¡¯s get away. Even if the Darksword is caught, whatever happens, happens. The princess could kill them for letting me get away, or she could just lock them in the dungeons because she never trusted them in the first ce. Or she could take them in secretly and use them as hunting dogs to track me. Hm. Should I have just killed them right here right now? But the signal re¡¯s already been shot. So no matter what happens, That¡¯s also musubi.(1) #5 Their story: A certain empire¡¯s story. ¡°Your Majesty, please enlighten your lowly subjects.¡± ¡°Please enlighten your lowly subjects.¡± ¡°Ah, even the local market would be quieter than this.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, being discreet with your words in these meetings would be¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t already cast silence spells around us anyway.¡± ¡°Ahh, your little shit. If you know then shut up before I have to use it.¡± ¡°Hoho, look at this buddy. I¡¯m the emperor?¡± ¡°Then do I just need to start a revolution?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Seeing the emperor who had his head bowed and looking absolutely not like an emperor at all, his head of security and long-time friend Arten sighed. ¡°So why did you poke Howling which was sitting nice and fine. We left that ce alone because it was too annoying to bring down.¡± ¡°My scary daughter said she was going to destroy it just to kidnap a single man.¡± ¡°Like father like daughter. Why the heck are both of your scales of imagination so damn massive. To think she¡¯d destroy the empire¡¯s biggest organization all because she wanted to kidnap a man.¡± ¡°Dunno. I don¡¯t know about the other kids, but since it¡¯s Atia I need to listen.¡± ¡°Mmnn¡­ to think she¡¯d still be alive.¡± ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d survive either. Although my heart hurts as a dad it can¡¯t be helped as an emperor.¡± ¡°Do you even bother taking care of your kids? In that case you might as well sort out that damn sessor problem already.¡± ¡°The empire¡¯s right to the throne has always been a bloodbath with plenty of history and tradition behind it. I beat the crap out of all my brothers for this seat. But unlike my time I still minimized the number of massacres, you know?¡± ¡°Yes yes, no need to be so humble.¡± ¡°I was always a pretty talented guy.¡± For a moment Arten was tempted to throw a punch but barely held onto the limits of his patience. ¡°It¡¯s the emperor. The one in front of you is the emperor. No matter how trash he is, and he¡¯s a wretch that deserves to be thrown out in the burnable trash, but he¡¯s still the emperor,¡± he muttered as he clenched onto his staff tightly. ¡°Alright then you talented asshole. So your talented daughter threw a fit to get rid of Howling, and the morons that got nice and fat off Howling are crying for an exnation so what are you going to do.¡± ¡°What else. Leave them. My boy has already listened to his sister and taken the army out. So what.¡± ¡°The fuck you just say you retard?¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m the emperor?¡± Arten¡¯s face suddenly contorted in fury that even took the emperor aback. ¡°Oi, does it make any sense at all that the Crown Prince left and I didn¡¯t know about it? I¡¯m the chief of security for the imperial family. My subordinates are guarding this ce like a fortress and the damn Crown Prince of all things can slip by without even a word in my ear? And where the hell did he get those soldiers from?¡± ¡°Ah, if you mean that, that¡¯s easily solved if he takes the soldiers that guard the imperial pce. They can leave without you none the wiser, highly experienced and usable without anyone knowing anything!¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s it.¡± Listening to those words Arten made an expression that said ¡®Ah, I didn¡¯t think of that!¡¯ And he said to the emperor who looked very proud of himself. ¡°So, that yourst will and testament?¡± ¡°Oi, hold on?¡± Looking at Arten who was steadfastly ignoring the shocked emperor and continued to cast his incantation, the emperor hurriedly grabbed onto Arten¡¯s legs and begged. ¡°Um, Lord Arten? Um, could you please listen to me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re interrupting my cast. Go sit down in that corner over there and wait for afortable death.¡± ¡°Excuse me? This is treason?¡± ¡°Hm? So what. So today¡¯s the day that I get to tick treason off my bucket list!¡± ¡°Kuaaak! To think there was a viin so close that aimed for the emperor¡¯s throne!¡± The moment the emperor stood up and shouted, the incantation wasplete. ¡°Now, burn, Death¡¯s Hellfire.¡± ¡°Eh, wait up, this is no joke!¡± Kang! The emperor shouted while instantly drawing his sword and slicing the white me into two, but all Arten did was click his tongue and mutter ¡°tch, it failed.¡± under his breath. ¡°Oi, even though we¡¯re friends this is still treason?¡± ¡°From a very long time ago, they said the whip was the cure for stupidity.¡± ¡°Oi, even if I used your subordinates willfully, they¡¯re still my subordinates in the end as well?¡± ¡°And if you take away all the pce guards before that, who¡¯s going to stop a potential actual treasonous plot.¡± ¡°You and me?¡± ¡°You think that¡¯s possible?!¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t?¡± For a moment Arten¡¯s mouth closed. Now that he thought about it it actually did seem possible. He was a archmagician who was one of the best in the continent, and aside from assorted lords of Magic Towers of a significantlyrge scale there were few that could match him. And the emperor in front of him wasn¡¯t just some moron that seemed like a crazy punk, he actually was a crazy little fuck, and back when he was still the Crown Prince he was known with one of the five greatest titles of swordsmanship in the continent, the Sword King. In terms of pure skill, he was stronger than the most famous of them all, the Sword Star. ¡°We could?¡± ¡°See?¡± Seeing Arten nod his head and lower his staff, the emperor rxed and sheathed his sword. The friend in front of him was a very excellent talent. Disregarding his title as the strongest magician in the imperial pce he also dealt with all sorts of the imperial family¡¯s problems big and small, a splendid talent that could even do the emperor¡¯s work for him! So from now and in the future, he would need to work hard for him-no, the empire. If only for the sake of his free time! ¡°Haa¡­ since you¡¯ve already gone and done it, it can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°There we go, that¡¯s my buddy.¡± ¡°Your friend¡¯s specialties are giving up quickly and sorting out messes.¡± ¡°Alright then. Now. The demonstrations.¡± ¡°Do we need to just call it a riot and beat them down again?¡± Looking at Arten who sighed as he lifted up his staff, and the emperor who brushed the sheath of his sword, there was only one other person that was beside the emperor who had been listening in on the entire conversation. As the substitute for the imperial family¡¯s personal knight order¡¯s captain who was currently on duty protecting the Crown Prince, the vice-captain of the imperial knight order who was there for the first time thought. ¡®Is the empire really going to be alright like this!¡¯ As a loyal subject of the empire, he began to sincerely worry about the empire¡¯s future. *** ¡°The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime!¡± -Owner, owner. Even if no one¡¯s around don¡¯t make it obvious that owner¡¯s crazy. I¡¯m blushy blushy. ¡°Even I wouldn¡¯t want to hear I¡¯m crazy from you.¡± I lightly retort back to the metal bat as I stuffed magic stones into a bag with dimensional storage magic. If you wondered where we were, then answering would be human nature! The cave where I chucked those trainees into! Retrieve all the magic stones from here first, then move back to my office and destroy the important documents. From there I can collect the important gear and items and either gap it from the empire, or operation dark under thentern, I need to think which one I¡¯ll be using. Ah that reminds me. I haven¡¯t done something important. ¡°Hello, juniors?¡± ¡°Wanna get hit?¡± ¡°No sir!¡± When I lifted the metal bat in front of the homunculi that were still holding JoXX poses as always they immediately bowed down. As expected of existences that had the memories of my former disciples. ¡°The promised contract is over. Ah, except you.¡± With those words the figures turned wavy and vanished into the silver. -Damn it, it¡¯s finally over. -I did this seeing the sted payment and I thought I was gonna die of irritation. -We can say goodbye to those monsters. -Haha, goodbye, hell! -Wait, we¡¯re going back to hell though? -That¡¯s our home so that¡¯s okay. ¡°Ah, wait! Take, take me too!¡± I heard a grumbling from a doppelganger that was contracted at the same time but I ignored it and collected up the metal. Even if they look like this they¡¯re oddities that were created in the process of making the metal bat. Although I can see quite significant damage and cracks on them, with a bit of repairs they should be reusable. ¡°Shut up and for now, turn back to your normal form. Your job¡¯s nearly over anyway.¡± ¡°Really? Really?¡± ¡°Really.¡± I packed away the other one that faded wavily back to its normal form, and once I opened the hidden passage that led to my office, hm? Hello? ¡°Was there still some bastards left?¡± Kang! A sword¡¯s flying my way? Chapter 22 RATH 22 TL: Eevee 3. And so the story begins. (6) #6 Their story: the story of the hero(air) that gets pretty much no more screentime until he gets called a hero. ¡°Kuaaak!¡± ¡°No, no¡­¡± ¡°Hiik!¡± Pathetic sounds of despair areing from our mouths. Even that No.1000¡¯s taking horrified steps backwards. As that hand rose ever so slightly No.17 screamed and used the Blink magic she learned purely for evasion to use me as a shield. ¡°Damn it!¡± Ahhh. Instructor, instructor! I was foolish. The instructor was not a devil but an angel! When are youing back?! ¡°Hoho, if you¡¯re going to stay so defensive then you¡¯ll have a hard time? And although I¡¯m saying this again, even if this thing is barely guardable against, the moment you meet the metal bat even guarding is impossible, you know?¡± We couldn¡¯t run from the devil that approached us with a smile. Even if he says that, that bat alone is a struggle to block. The moment it makes contact my sword ki is disrupted and an unrejectable paines riding up my sword into my body. If that devil is right and there¡¯s a higher level weapon above that thing then how the hell are you supposed to block that?! ¡°Kuurk, everyone dodge!¡± ¡°Damn it Surtr, block it!¡± The one that was resummoned every time the cooldown time on the summon ran out, the one that was once an archdevil but was now a simple meat shield, Surtr, came out. ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯te! Don¡¯te near me you evil god¡¯s apostle!¡± Even Surtr with his giant crimson body was shaking in fear. Even his face is paling white. To think it would even force an archdevil from hell into submission! This thing has already long surpassed the devil¡¯s weapon. ¡°Hoho, mister archdevil. Why are you acting like that, you¡¯re cramping your style.¡± -Kuaaaaaaaghh! Ahh¡­ Surtr was desummoned while screaming in pain. Even if we treat him like the local runt he¡¯s still one of the famous archdevils of hell. And that being was desummoned in a single hit! ¡°What a weak meat shield. In our era we threw our nearbyrades, because of that I got hit a lot since I was the weakest.¡± ¡°Hiik!¡± ¡°Da, damn it!¡± The devil smiled as he lightly swung the bat around. But No.1000, why are you looking at us like that. You¡¯re not thinking of throwing us at him all of a sudden right? Gulp. I swallow dryly as my body quivered in fear. True, there¡¯s no way that all three of us can survive. Someone needs to take a beating so the other two can survive. And the most important thing is¡­ that said one person just needn¡¯t be me¡­ ¡°Coordinate Transfer?¡± Eh? ¡°So you¡¯re the sacrifice?¡± ¡°Number Seventteeeeeeeeennn!¡± ¡°I still haven¡¯t forgotten about that day! So make it up with your body!¡± Damn it, what problem was she doing this to me for? Is it that? The time at the very beginning where I chained her up because I wanted to eat? Was she still remembering that? ¡°Justice served.¡± ¡°Uiiiiiiik!¡± Seeing the hand rise up I lifted my sword. But even if I block that the shock is sent straight through into me, and the moment my legs give out in pain, game over. A desperate situation. To I who was waiting for the hour of pain toe again, a ray of light came to me. -Psheww. Bang! ¡°Eh? If it¡¯s red then that¡¯s a 1st ss emergency.¡± Seeing the red lights light up the sky the devil¡¯s face hardened. He put his hand down and said. ¡°Training cancelled. We¡¯re all running away to the instructor¡¯s office.¡± Run? No, before that¡­ ¡°Is the instructor¡¯s office a ce to run away to?¡± Normally you¡¯d think the normal ce to run to would be something like an escape path or a hidden tunnel, but to the instructor¡¯s office? ¡°I guarantee it. The instructor¡¯s office is the safest.¡± The devil said in response to my question, and also added the exnation that it was ¡°the unknownnd which not even Sia has managed to venture into.¡± Although the other two don¡¯t seem to know who Sia is, but remembering that that name belonged to the Intelligence Agency¡¯s vice-director I nodded. Ah,e to think of it I¡¯ve broken into the instructor¡¯s personal quarters once, haven¡¯t I? ¡°Are there simr instations to what are in the instructor¡¯s room?¡± ¡°Ah, so you¡¯ve been into the instructor¡¯s room? Then that makes it simpler. The instructor spends more time in his office than in his room, so the defenses in his office are stronger.¡± Wow. His room was bad enough but his office is worse. Just what the heck did the instructor do in his office? With those questions in mind, when we went into the office the devil started fiddling around the office. With a few movements that carried the ease of long practice, starting from metal shuttersing down over the windows, and I heard something click and lock with a screech. ¡°Now, this ce is probably the safer than the room of the boss of the organization.¡± ¡°Have the functions been activated?¡± ¡°Indeed. And this space is filled with special dwarven-made traps. Now all we have to do is look for the escape route that the instructor made somewhere around here.¡± ¡°Dwarven-made?! You mean that contraptions that might be used in the imperial pce are installed here?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s just because the instructor is an honorary elder among the dwarves so that¡¯s nothing to be surprised about.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing we should be the most surprised about?!¡± As No.17 said horrified, I was horrified too. What kind of race are the dwarves! The emperor¡¯s throne is dwarven made, the Sword Star¡¯s sword is dwarven made, and rumour is that some noble ns to gift a dwarven weapon for the duke¡¯s birthday to suck up to him! Dwarves, the targets of many a rumour! But the majority of them are lies! Meeting a dwarf is hard enough, meaning to get a weapon from them is even exponentially harder! And somehow the instructor is a honorary elder. What does it mean to be an Elder of the dwarves? Even the dwarven king is selected by these elders, and consisting of no more than 36 even when all 12 tribes are gathered together, it¡¯s the highest title among the dwarven race. And throughout history there has been no one from another race that had the title of honorary elder, and a human of all things is one! And that kind of talent was hiding in an evil organization! Just what the heck did the instructor used to do?! But it seemed that our horror was of no cause for concern to the devil and No.1000. Pretending to listen to us the devil searched the bookshelves, pushing the buttons beneath the desk, and sometimes jumping up and down on the floor, No.17 broke out of her shock and asked. ¡°Dev¡­ no, temporary instructor, what do you think has happened?¡± ¡°Uwaak!¡± ¡°Oh, sorry. For the record, some traps could activate so be sure to dodge them.¡± No.17¡¯s immediately ducked down away from the arrows that were shot at her without warning, and at the same time the floor underneath me vanished. ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡± ¡°I said that something had happened earlier, didn¡¯t I? The signal re we saw was a code red, if it¡¯s code red then that means the empire¡¯s army has invaded. If we don¡¯t run away as soon as possible then our lives are in danger.¡± For a moment I wanted to tell him to stop because my life wasn¡¯t in danger, but if I did I¡¯d probably die to the bat first. No, I¡¯d want to die instead. ¡°Don¡¯t we have to fight if the empire¡¯s armyes at us?¡± ¡°Are you stupid. If we fight head on against the empire then no matter how much we¡¯re the empire¡¯s strongest evil organization then even we¡¯repletely screwed as well. Especially if theye charging in without warning then we¡¯re even worse off.¡± ¡°Howe?¡± ¡°Would you leave the useful kids to y guard dog or send them out on missions to earn money? There¡¯s no way that a coward that would hide their strongest weapons at home would be the empire¡¯s strongest evil organization. If you¡¯re the strongest weapon then you should roll a lot like a strongest weapon and earn some money so the organization keeps rolling.¡± Seeing the empty space where I used to be and the countless spears that were under it, the devil clicked his teeth and continued. ¡°Well if you¡¯re truly loyal to the organization no one¡¯s going to stop you going out to fight, but since I was just sold here as a ve, I¡¯m just working for the fat paycheck. To be honest it did prick at my conscience enough to make me consider running away, but if the organization chases after me, especially the instructor holding this thing here in my hand then I¡¯d have no chance which is why I¡¯m staying here, you know? So if the organization goes down them I¡¯m good. Well if it¡¯s the information you¡¯re worried about then right now our peers will be doing their best to burn it all.¡± As I imagined the instructor chasing after me with the bat in hand I immediately understood how he felt. ¡°Did the devil have a conscience?¡± As I internally agreed with No.17¡¯s words which she muttered so that I could only barely hear them, I continued talking. ¡°Then isn¡¯t running away better? If we waste time here and can¡¯t find the escape tunnel isn¡¯t it the end?¡± ¡°No, looking for the escape route is safer.¡± No matter what happens, it¡¯s not the end for me so I don¡¯t care. Or rather hurrah for the empire¡¯s troops charging in! I¡¯m so damn happy that this hell of a lifestyle is finally over! ¡®Hm, but wasn¡¯t this a secret mission?¡¯ All of a sudden I had a bad feeling about this. Surely my damn brothers wouldn¡¯t send in a spy to kill me discreetly ande stab me yelling die foul viin! Right? As I started thinking one, two unhappy thoughts at a time came flowing in. And my unhappy predictions were way more urate than happy ones, weren¡¯t they? ¡°No.17, No.1000 let¡¯s hurry and search!¡± ¡°Ye, yes?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I followed the devil and started poking around here and there. As for why daggerse flying from the ceiling when I open the drawers and why magic is fired at me when I open a book, let¡¯s not care about that. It¡¯s that instructor that made all this anyway, and in that case these things would be all the more natural. The moment I thought that I heard a boom and very anxiety-inducing sounding from under our feet. Kugugugudoom~ ¡°What¡¯s that sound?¡± ¡°Is it the empire¡¯s army already?¡± ¡°No, even if it was the empire they can¡¯t break through the dwarven-made magic coating on the room that easily.¡± But unlike the devil¡¯s words, the thumping sound started getting closer and closer to us. In the end at the sound that were only seconds apart from each other we had no choice but to draw our weapons. Kang! ¡°Ah damn it, is this the hidden boss¡¯s safe house or something? Why is it so damn hard to get through?¡± In a tense state we looked at the person that entered. The person that came in in a grump was a beauty that seemed slightly older than us. But I knew perfectly well who this woman with green hair and slim face looking like she was in her mid-twenties better than anyone else. Moreover, that age and slim personality that didn¡¯t match at all with that slender face of hers! ¡°Sword Star?!¡± ¡°Host club regr?!¡±(1) At the same time I yelled out the name I knew the devil beside me said a different name. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Regr?¡± For a moment the devil¡¯s and my eyes met. Host regr? The Sword Star? At that moment. ¡°Eh? That was a secret.¡± Chill. The bloodthirst that tightened in the air in an instant. In the center of it all was the Sword Star. ¡°Do. I. Have. To. Kill. You?¡± What the hell for?! Because I said she was the Sword Star? Or the host regr?! Or both? In my horrified state I calcted my chances of victory. None. I had no way to defeat that filthy personality with a cute face only. Damn it! Am I going to die here?! ¡°Wa, wait!¡± How did I survive this long! I survive in all sorts of magic bombardments, in the mountains, the seas, the desert! Plus I threw away my pride as a son of a duke for food, only barely retained my dignity as a human! And I even endured against the bat¡¯s pain! But at thest I¡¯m going to be silenced to hide the fact that the Sword Star is a host regr! Is there a more bullshit death than that! I need to survive even if I have to reveal my identity! ¡°I¡¯m, the Raina¡­¡± Drrrrrrrrr. The moment I was about to beg for my life using my family¡¯s name, the bookshelf beside the desk started making a weird noise. What was that? ¡°Was there still some remaining?¡± As she said that sword aura started forming on the Sword Star¡¯s sword as if it was perfectly natural. ¡®Ah, as expected of the Sword Star?¡¯ One of the strongest swordsmen in history. The one called the star of the sword. Even if it¡¯s the instructor there¡¯s no way he could win against that. And that¡¯s what I¡¯d thought¡­ With the drrr sound the bookshelf swung open and the instructor. ¡°Hwaaaaaa?¡± Is just casually beating up the Sword Star? Chapter 23 RATH 23 TL: Eevee 3. And so the story begins. (7) Kang! -Hwahaha! It¡¯s a really rare feewing!feeling A heavy impact that echoed through my hand the moment I blocked. For a second I thought that I¡¯d picked the wrong opponent, but it was the same for the opponent. ¡°Hwwaat?¡± -Hak, I didn¡¯t even hit her and such a good scream! That¡¯s exactwy my type! Ownerowner! Hit her again! Neither I or its creators know how, but somehow the bat series had an ¡®impossible to block¡¯ attribute imbued into it. Swords, spears, shields, no matter what weapon or armour you¡¯re holding, when you¡¯re hit by the bat series then even if you block the pain still goes up your weapon into you. Although I wouldn¡¯t know because I don¡¯t know what it feels like. Ah, for the record it might seem like something obvious, but the pration damage of the metal bat is higher than the regr bat. ¡°Wha, what the hell is this?¡± The woman whose sword I blocked had a stupefied expression on her face. She probably doesn¡¯t understand what happened to her. Sorry but since I don¡¯t understand either I can¡¯t exin it to you. Hoho, but if you look at her appearance alone anyone would think she¡¯s a beauty. Although most men can¡¯t keep themselves in control in front of a pretty woman, I¡¯m different. Because I¡¯ve seen a lot of beauties in my time. And by andrge every single one of them were crazy bitches. Even with just cases close to me you have the princess and the high elf, and among my disciples you have Sia, No.17 and No.1000. If the¡¯s widened a bit further, you have the noble girls fighting over Rein as well. And therefore beauty = high likelihood of a crazy bitch as the majority. This is definite fact! Don¡¯t believe me? Then look! There¡¯s no way that a girl swinging her sword around that well smack in the middle of an evil organization would ever be normal! ¡°Hwaaah? Wh, what is this? Why am I hurting when I¡¯m the one attacking?¡± I block each and every heavy strike with the metal bat. The more attacks I block the lighter the attackse. The first strike almost made me drop the metal bat, but now it¡¯s about the level where it¡¯s not too hard to defend against. And in particr the important part of the body for swordsmen, the legs are also definitely shaking as they¡¯re near-failing to keep her body upright. Normally I would switch to attacking from here and end it, but at the sword ki that¡¯s getting brighter and brighter on her sword I kept my defensive stance. -Hak. Owner. I hurt too. It hurts but it feels good. Is, is this how it felt for the others I beat up? It¡¯s a new feewing. Owner, what do I do? At this rate I¡¯m gonna be a maso! -Please just, shut up. But, I don¡¯t think I can hold out with this defensive stance forever. Damn it. If in the worst sadist also bes a masochist then the mental pollution has a very high likelihood of having a very critical negative influence on my mentality. A tiny blessing here would be that it¡¯s voice setting is a little girl¡¯s, if it was panting with the voice of a mature noonim(2) then it would have been dangerous as hell. In many ways. -Hwaah! Hit, and be hit! Give and receive pain! This is the realm of gods! A perfect union where I can¡¯t tell whether I the hitting side was the M, or I the one getting hit was the M! The pleasure is only getting better! -Please shut up! -Hauuu! More, abuse me more! Ah damn it. Were the settings misset or something. The sounds that would 100% summon Podori(1) for sure if they weren¡¯t only audible in my head echoed in my brain. This emergency situation where the ultimate S was bing the ultimate M was slowly tightening the noose around my neck! But thankfully, whether due to the umtion of shock or otherwise, the enemy¡¯s concentration is dropping by the second. Now¡¯s about the time she¡¯d start up a big skill. ¡°Uuuu¡­. Please, die!¡± ¡°No.17 push the desk behind you, Rein you hit the wall beside you!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The sword ki became a sword aura. The enemy is a swordsmaster that even a peasant would instantly be promoted to at least baron for! Thinking that I would die if I rxed even for a bit, Imanded my disciples that were staring dumbly at me and Rein who was between them. ¡°Toote!¡± ¡°You are the one that¡¯s toote.¡± ¡°What?¡± A strong attack is headed my way but this is my home ground! Even the local mongrel keeps half his bowl in his own kennel, in my own office I will im no less than double! With a ping the floor the Sword Star was standing on shot up. Bed is a science, and the life of a bed is springs! The specially crafted springs that the dwarven craftsmen crafted for me are the world¡¯s greatest! As the floor sprang unexpectedly upwards the enemy¡¯s sword aura missed my by far. But, as expected of a swordsmaster! Even in that situation she regained her bnce and engaged with a follow up. Fhit! ¡°What kind of room is thiiiiiiiiiss?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s dwarven-made.¡± But the enemy¡¯s sword was held down by the daggers flying at her from the sides, and arrows flying at her from the front and behind. As expected of Made in ck Anvil! The greatest service with guaranteed customer satisfaction. But the enemy was skilled as well. She immediately retracted her strike in mid-air, and the caliber of her defensive work was nothing short of magnificent. And therefore since I can get fucked over, the moment I mmed the metal bat into her side a distinctly different scream from the others I¡¯ve heard so far entered my ears. ¡°Fuweeeeet?¡± -Owner, owner! Now¡¯s the chance! -I know too. ¡°Fu, hwaaaah! Wha, what are you doing?! Stop, stop!¡± ¡°Tha, that¡¯s!¡± I smacked her wrist that was about to hold up a sword and knocked away her sword, otherwise known as a swordsman¡¯s life far far away. And as I gripped the metal bat¡¯s grip with my right hand and the head with my left, Rein started, appalled and began shivering in fear. -Twin Baton Style! The metal bat that turned hazy for a moment, amazingly separated into two identical batons that were slightly thinner than normal. -My name is Aru! -My name is Cardia! -Andbined, we¡¯re the goddess Arcadiaaaaaaaaa! -Shut up! But the noisiness too was double! Of course there wasn¡¯t the worse-case development where its consciousness actually split into two, but if I keep separating it, it can also bullshit twice as much so I can¡¯t split it that often. ¡°Now, then.¡± ¡°No, no!¡± ¡°You need a beating.¡± ¡°Hwaaaah, no, no! Save, save me! Please! No, it hurts¡­ waaaaaaaa!¡± -Heheehee these¡¯re good cries! -Haang! Where d¡¯ya think you¡¯re running Girl~(3) you can¡¯t run away from this unni! Starting from the first hit, her resistance seemed to vanish and how she was iling around pathetically crawling around on the floor to not get hit. Not that she could get away anyway. ¡°Why did youe to the organization? And why are you here?¡± ¡°Fuwaaang¡­ no, no¡­ stop¡­¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t talk I¡¯ll keep hitting you.¡± ¡°Hiiik! Old, old man Nermia said he¡¯d give me a magic sword so he told me toe pick up his granddaughter! I, I talked so don¡¯t hit meeeeee!¡± I turned my head as I diligently tenderised her with the metal bat, when my line of sight and No.17¡¯s met she flinched before shuffling two steps back. If it¡¯s Nermia then it¡¯s that ce. The ce I went to in the past that was the most famous family in the Empire for magic. As you¡¯d expect from a prestigious magic family, their magic defenses were very very solid, but I just ignored them all and very very easily emptied them out and left, and she¡¯s their granddaughter? ¡°No.17, exin.¡± ¡°Ye, yes! I am the Nermia house¡¯s daughter sent to retrieve the family¡¯s seal that was stolen from us, Ria el Nermia!¡± Perhaps it¡¯s because she¡¯s a smart girl, she understood very well what I wanted from her. But she¡¯s revealing it a bit too quickly¡­ ¡°Rein, exin.¡± ¡°Yes, the empire¡¯s army is currently invading our headquarters and the organization is at the brink of total destruction. So we were nning to run away, but the Sword Star appeared all of a sudden, but you arrived and subdued her.¡± As expected of my ex-disciple. He understands me very well. But, Sword Star? What kind of bullshit is this. ¡°Sword Star, this?¡± ¡°Hwaaaah! You, you said you¡¯d stop hitting me!¡± As I pointed at the woman who was crying with every strike and frantically trying to guard her head with both hands with the metal bat, Rein nodded. Meaning that this woman is the Sword Star? Then that means No.17¡¯s very simply confessed while the Sword Star was getting the crap beaten out of her. But she¡¯s the real Sword Star. In that case. ¡°Wha, why!¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re the Sword Star.¡± I need to hit her. It¡¯s the Sword Star. („¦ÐÇ) Meaning the one who shines the brightest of the swordsmen of the age, so Sword Star. Normally in novels they use the character for saint after sword, but in this ce they use the character for star instead. As the one that receives the most attention of the five swordsmen that represent the strongest in the continent, these five always fight over rank 1, 2 among swordsmen. Well since Sword Heaven was the one who understood the sword the best, the Sword Elder („¦×ð) who represents head of the strongest military organization, and the Magic Sword(ħ„¦) is too far removed from from normal swordsmanship so the only other one that could contest the title is the Sword King („¦µÛ) Even so, the name of the title implies that the holder is has the brightest skill among all swordsmen in the continent, and since the sword-happy folk that always live and die by their pride keep picking fights with the current Sword Star for this title, and the current holder¡¯s retained this title fifteen long years and¡­ -Haakhaak¡­ how¡¯s unni¡¯s hands? -You¡¯re cute when you cry! This is a good chance. There¡¯s an opportunity to shut these noisy brats up! -This girl, forties. -E, uweeh? -Tha, that can¡¯t be true! Our cutie¡¯s in her forties! You, you¡¯re lying owner? -It¡¯s the truth. -Hwaaaaah! My, return my purity! -This, this can¡¯t be! Ignoring the despairing metal bat I keep beating up the Sword Star. I heard cries of [I, I don¡¯t want old aunties!], [Ow, owner, I like the tears of cute little girls, I don¡¯t want the tears of forty-year old spinsters!], but since if I let her go there¡¯s no telling whether she¡¯d cleave me and the building into two so I can¡¯t just let go a danger like that. From the rumours I also heard that she had the most overwhelming amount of mana among all Sword Stars to date. I¡¯ve heard rumours of that too. The legend that during the great war, she sliced an entire castle wall with a ten-metre long sword aura and immediately got an unconditional surrender. ¡°Huht. Why, stop hittimg me¡­ it hurths!¡± ¡°Do you have any more information?¡± But I need to get information first. Should I get it and kill her straight afterwards? But since this kid is a 1st ss living weapon of the imperial family, if I kill her then the imperial family wille chasing after me. But since the princess is chasing me anyway does it matter then? ¡°I, I know him, too!¡± As soon as the Sword Star¡¯s shaking eyes made contact with No.1 she barely lifted her shaking hand and pointed at No.1. ¡°I am Raina rel Swin, the direct line of the Raina ducal line. Unlike No.17, I was forced here by my brothers with bullshit logic saying it was for the emperor, but in reality since they just didn¡¯t want to finish me off with their own hands they sent me to Howling as a death sentence. In other words, unlike No.17 I have absolutely no objective whatsoever!¡± ¡°Oi, oi!¡± ¡°Why are you dragging me into this!¡± ¡°Such a pity. There¡¯s no more information worth hearing from you.¡± ¡°No, noooooo!¡± -I don¡¯t wanna toooooo! -Saaaaaaaaaameee! No.17 rushed over to No.1 who very quickly exined himself and started shaking him by hispels but I ignored them, and to do my job I started drumming the Sword Star, but both the Sword Star and the metal bat are screaming. But moreover. The hell? All my damn disciples are the empire¡¯s spies. What kind of bullshit is this. Then perhaps. ¡°No.1000. exin.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Looking at No.1000 tilt her head I realised that No.1000 really was nothing special. If this girl was a spy of the empire then that would have meant that the empire was at the verge of ruin. A spy that seemed like she¡¯d spill all if you fed her. There¡¯s no way that kind of thing would exist? ¡°Hwaa¡­ no, please¡­ Stop¡­¡± It seems the Sword Star¡¯s body is hitting her limits. I call that state where you can only shiver while repeating the same thing over and over again the nk te state. That phenomenon can be observed when the metal bat¡¯s blessing have reached their limits in the body and the blessings no longer affect them so only the pain is registered, and so their mind goes nk. Hm, this should be fine. ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°Hiiik!¡± As I turned my head No.1 and No.17¡¯s heads turned sheet white. Normally I would dispose of traitors, but the organization¡¯s already abandoned me, no? I can¡¯t afford to make more enemies for nothing. From here I need to press a favourable image, and use these kids as bait. ¡°No.1, you have no objective, and No.17 your goal is the Nermia family¡¯s seal. Correct?¡± ¡°I, I don¡¯t need it! Tha, that seal we can just recarve it!¡± ¡°Ye, yes!¡± Looking at the convulsing mess of the Sword Star in the corner the only thing left in these two kids¡¯ eyes is fear. Very good. They should listen to me well then. But having said that, the Nermia family¡¯s seal. -Owner, didn¡¯t ya melt it down to make me? -No, I looted the Nermia family after you were made. So I probably haven¡¯t melted it down. Since most of the time the seals of high-ranking houses are made with precious metals I normally switched them out during missions and melted them down for other projects, but I haven¡¯t made anything special after looting the Nermia family. I probably, still have it? Not like it matters if I don¡¯t. She said they could carve out another one after all. Not like it¡¯s my fault either. ¡°The organization has already abandoned us.¡± More urately just me, but master and disciple always share the same fate. ¡°And thus we are escaping the organization. Rein, you take these kids and escape early.¡± ¡°What do we do with that?¡± ¡®That¡¯ which he pointed with his finger, I thought a bit while looking at the Sword Star that had started drooling, but it can¡¯t be helped. ¡°Take her for now.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she dangerous?¡± ¡°If she seems suspicious then clobber her with that.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± This kid, how long has it been since I gave him the bat and he¡¯s already showing such a strong faith in it. But since it¡¯s the Sword Star it might get dicey with just the wooden bat but I didn¡¯t say anything. Although it might be tough to tank a sword aura, it¡¯llst against sword ki at least. ¡°I, will go looking for this kid¡¯s seal.¡± ¡°In, instructor!¡± For a moment No.17 makes a face as if she was deeply moved. Sorry, I stole that. So don¡¯t make that kind of face. You¡¯re hurting my conscience. -Master with a conscience? Sounds like the World Tree would fall before that! -In that case it¡¯s already fallen though. -Haang, it got dirtied! That¡¯s right! My little sister was made with the world tree! My little sister got dirtied! As I said while pointing towards the bat, the metal bat started and began shouting. Although if you¡¯re really going to do the math, the bat¡¯s date of birth is before the metal bat, but this kid always argues that she¡¯s the elder sister. ¡°Now, get moving.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I told Rein the escape route and went to find the seal. Ah, before that. ¡°I need to destroy the organization.¡± Fair¡¯s fair after all. Since you lot betrayed me first it¡¯s not my fault? Chapter 24 RATH 24 TL: Eevee 3. And so the story begins. (8) ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s burning well.¡± -Owner, owner! I know that you¡¯re evil enough that if I called you a son of a bitch then I¡¯d probably be offending all other four-legged dogs out there, but isn¡¯t this a bit too far? ¡°The organization was the one that betrayed me first.¡± -No, I know that. But why do the neighbouring buildings explode when owner pushes a few buttons in ya room? Did you make these because the organization betrayed ya too? Did owner have the ability to turn a building into a bomb in an hour or something? Hey hey, how noisy you are! For moments like this you have. Boop Boom! -¡­ Wow, if I¡¯m right, isn¡¯t that the ce where all the organization¡¯s big shots¡¯re at? Weren¡¯t owner¡¯s past disciples in that building as well? ¡°You know one but not the other.¡± -What¡¯s this serious tone all of a sudden. So whazza thing that I don¡¯t know then? ¡°There¡¯s no way that my disciples wouldn¡¯t bail from the organization when it¡¯s about to fall!¡± -Hang, big achievement! ¡°Because I raised my disciples to be strong!¡± -What¡¯s that got to do with this? ¡°Defecting always makes you stronger!¡± Just why does that one with the reaaally great personality, the Hidden Leaf Vige¡¯s Ixxchi so strong! Because he was a defector ninja! Defection always makes people stronger. To begin with, defection means to leave an organization, and always if someone defects then the organization in question sends out agents to capture the defector. Meaning that to defect also means to be pursued, and to survive you need to get stronger! No, when you defect in the first ce, you need to be strong enough to shake off the ones holding you down and run away to be able to defect to begin with! Either way,tter or former, one who defects is also one who is strong and since I raised my disciples to be strong, they will naturally have defected. Any rascal that¡¯s loyal to the organization has not the qualifications to be called my disciple! -Ownerowner. Enough with the bullshit. We need to run too. ¡°Yes, we just need to open thest safe anyway.¡± -The safe I was in? It was so cramped in there so it was awful. As I continued to ignore the metal bat¡¯s mutterings that it didn¡¯t smell that great either, the air cirction was poor, if there was air cirction in a safe then that¡¯s the problem. The fact that you can get airflow means that there¡¯s a hole present, no? A safe just needs to protect items well. ¡°Lily. Lily. Hm. That¡¯s also a lily, this is a lily.¡± -And my preference is also for lily!(1) ¡°Shut up.¡± -Hwiiiing, respect my preferences! I don¡¯t know where it learned that bullshit, but I ignored the noisy metal bat and kept looking for an insignia with a lily, but problem was I found eight lilies alone. ¡°There¡¯s a bloody lot of them.¡± -It¡¯s because owner stole a bloodyrge amount of seals! Whassis? It looks like there¡¯s at least 50 of them? Are there that many nobles in the empire? ¡°There¡¯s a bloody lot of them, too.¡± Although there¡¯s a fixed number of dukes and marquis, the number of counts are a fair bit. Of course there aren¡¯t that many counts that are recognised as true high nobility, but the number of counts have increased along with the empire¡¯snd. And there¡¯s a disgustinglyrge number of viscounts and barons. Especially in the cases of barons in particr, most of them don¡¯t hold anynd and are just some slightly promoted merchants, and the majority of the knights hold a baron title. Although there are some nations that give tax immunity to their nobility, that Karuan Empire¡¯s nobles pay more tax the higher rank they are, so they often half-force on a baron title to rip off anyone who might be the tiniest bit rich. If you don¡¯t take it? Then you get taken away for treason for ignoring the emperor¡¯s orders. And all your wealth is confiscated as well. So you have no choice but to take it. As expected of that princess¡¯s father. That bloodline has something sleeping it that just can¡¯t be ignored. Perhaps it¡¯s because it¡¯s a dragon¡¯s bloodline. They¡¯ve all got an innate talent for ripping people off. But because of that my ie is good. The higher ranked nobles use rare metals or engravings of magic spells in their seals, but those who can¡¯t get those, the majority of the viscounts and lower just unt extravagance to show off how rich they are. I have no idea why on earth you would use expensive jewels on a stamp, but thanks to that my funds are plentiful so I guess I have to be thankful for that. Well, pick up the lilies, put the rest in another pocket. Since most of my work here is done, I¡¯ve arrived at my escape route number 11, and what I need to do here is obviously! ¡°Now then, I need to blow that up too.¡± -My owner¡¯s a terrorist! A terrorist that even blows up his own house! That¡¯s right, my name is Naruan! A former agent of the organization, the one whomands explosives! Signature move, exp¡­. Boop.(2) Boom! ¡°Farewell, my home, my workce.¡± -Jobless. My owner is jobless! Unemployment in middle age, how are we going to eat now sobsob¡­ ¡°For a chunk of metal what do you care about eating?¡± The explosion I could hear from above my head was satisfactory. Normally burning all the important and private information is the normal thing to do but I¡¯m busy so I can¡¯t take the time to do that. As they say, explosion is art!(3) Now all I have to do is use Rein as bait and escape! #7 Their story: A certain former host¡¯s story. It¡¯s the end. ¡°Hm? Rein? Where¡¯s Master?¡± The oneing from far away over there with a smile, is the craziest bitch I¡¯ve ever met in my short life, that Sia, right? And she¡¯s smiling that brightly? The only times I¡¯ve seen her smile like that were when she hadpletely lost it with anger, when she¡¯d lost it with a beating by the metal bat, or when she¡¯d lost it after staring at the instructor for too long. Well at the end of the day they were all times that she¡¯d lost it, but look at the evidence. Her direct subordinates were all two, three steps away from her. ¡°Why are you¡­¡± ¡°Oh my, there¡¯s no way that I wouldn¡¯t be present where Master is?¡± At her smile that became brighter than before, I, my juniors, and the Intelligence Agency officers all unconsciously took a step backwards. No wait, while the organization is in the middle of its downfall, how the hell did you predict the instructor woulde this way? ¡°The instructor isn¡¯t here?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll probablye soon, right?¡± ¡°May, maybe.¡± ¡°Oh my, my lovable dear ssmate, why are you shaking like that¡­ huh?¡± As Sia came up to me my feet were naturally moving backwards. Th, the crazy bitch ising closer! And her eyes are on the bat! ¡°Wow, it¡¯s been a while, that.¡± ¡°Ye, yeah, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, it hurt because we were hit by it a lot, but it didn¡¯t hurt. It was like Master. Although he looked angry from the front, from behind he was kind where no one could see.¡± ¡°Re, really?¡± To be I just thought that he¡¯d implemented the hardest level out of all the instructors, no out of every agent and personnel in the organization, but no doubt that¡¯s not what it was like in this girl¡¯s eyes. Those were the eyes of a lunatic in love that I saw often at the club! I even knew some hosts that were kidnapped by noble girls who made those very eyes! They¡¯re dangerous like nothing else! What else from my peer and the instructor¡¯s disciple! ¡°Hmm~ did Master give you that? He did? He did right?¡± ¡°No, because the instructor was away on an assignment, I was assigned to teach these kids temporarily. So I only borrowed it from him. Yep. Only borrowed!¡± It¡¯s pressuring. Talking with my peer is so damn pressuring! Although my cohorts are all weird one way or another, no one is as pressuring as this girl! ¡°Ah, those empire spies?¡± ¡°¡±Hiik!¡±¡± Although the moment her gaze turned their way the kids instinctively took a step back, sorry. I¡¯m weak so I can¡¯t get in her way. To be honest I¡¯m happier that her attention¡¯s turned your way. ¡°Hmm~ the Nermia family and the Raina family. Hm~¡± ¡°Si, Sia? But since the empire¡¯s troops are charging, there¡¯s nothing to be gained from touching these kids, right? Maybe use them as hostages or something, please? The instructor requested me as well¡­¡± But since I had to save the kids so I stepped forward, but Sia revealed a shocking truth to me. The level of the revtions were roughly, the grade of a legendary empire-wide bestseller that a duke¡¯s daughter once rmended to me! It was about as shocking as realising that the child of the enemy household turned your lover was actually your sibling separated at birth! ¡°Hm? No, I don¡¯t care? Well, I wasn¡¯t one at first, but now I¡¯m definitely ying for the imperial family.¡± ¡°Wha?¡± ¡°Ah, you probably didn¡¯t know? But, among the instructor¡¯s disciples there¡¯s an oddly high proportion of spies. Since there¡¯s six of us from us and the previous cohort. It¡¯s over the majority, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Then you¡¯re saying the instructor is also an imperial spy?!¡± ¡°Nono, although he does have ties with the empire, those were all made after he got sent out on a mission for the organization. Well, thanks to that there were people who I thought I could trust to Master, but Master himself is not a spy.¡± Instructor, just what kind of kids did you raise? Even if I have no love for the organization, considering my and the previous cohort that¡¯s 11 people! 6 out of 11? Wait then if you include this cohort as well then 8 out of 14 are spies! ¡°So, it really doesn¡¯t matter.¡± What Sia was muttering under her breath as she answered herself I unfortunately heard loud and clear. ¡°As long as they don¡¯t touch Master¡­¡± was what she said! This girl, empire or whatever, in reality she¡¯s just aiming for the instructor! Is this alright, Empire?! ¡°So, you said you¡¯ll meet up with Master outside, right? Then wait here.¡± But whether she knew of my concerns or not, Sia smiled as brightly as she did before, no, even brighter, and hummed as if she was extremely excited. ¡°Because I. Will escort him myself~¡± Instructor, I pray that we will meet each other in one piece again. *** -Ownerowner. Something feels weird. ¡°True. Something does feel really off.¡± -It feels like a ghost¡¯s gonna pop out. Scawy! ¡°I think even ghosts would fear you.¡± Although I don¡¯t know if it would work on ghosts but if it does then mere ghosts! But it might be ineffective so don¡¯t! ¡°Here was right after all?¡± ¡­Sorry. Please bring out the ghosts instead. ¡°Eh? Master. What¡¯s wrong. What¡¯s with that expression as if you¡¯ve seen a ghost when all you¡¯ve done is see your lovable disciple in front of you?¡± No, if I¡¯d just seen a ghost I¡¯d be making a lot easier expression than this. ¡°What are you doing here.¡± But I a veteran poker face master quickly restored my expression and asked coldly. Just what could it be? Is she finally here to stick a sword in my stomach? Or is she nning to sell me off to the princess and hope for sess on both sides? Or! ¡°Of course is a lovers¡¯ escape with Master.!¡± Are you fucking serious?! -Heyhey. This girl¡¯s obsessiveness is OP as hell. Dangewus!¡± -I know that as well! Wow, I knew from long ago that this was being oddly clingy towards me, but I didn¡¯t expect this much! But, are the kids behind you following that crazy bitch? Are you all part of some familia that believes in the goddess of beauty or something?!(4) ¡°The organization is not ruined yet. Is that not dangerous?¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, Master wouldn¡¯t know. The organization is currentlypletely broken apart. By the hands of Master¡¯s disciples.¡± -Whazzis now? -I have no idea either?! ¡°Ah, Master didn¡¯t know. Actually over half of Master¡¯s disciples were actually people sent by the empire! There were some that the emperor sent to watch you, some that the princess sent to watch you, some that were just sent to keep an eye on the organization, and there were some that just coincidentally went under your umbre, but in the end, most of Master¡¯s disciples are actually spies from the empire! Because of that, Zeral and Maren weren¡¯t originally spies but the princess secretly got in contact with them and they betrayed the organization? Plus your other disciples all ran away the moment the empire came in! Meaning, right now there are none of Master¡¯s disciples left in the organization right now!¡± Hoho, these lunatics. All the higher ups of the organization either ran or were the empire¡¯s spies, and since there¡¯re spies from not only my disciples, the organization is already all but over. -And owner made the remaining bigwigs go boom! So it¡¯s really screwed nao! -It was fated to fall anyway. -I think it¡¯s all owner¡¯s fault? -No, this isn¡¯t my fault! The organization, the organization was the problem! Just handing over all the spies to me, what were they thinking? ¡°Ah, that reminds me the reason why the empire attacked the organization was because the princess wanted to take you in so she was erasing it?¡± -Naiiiiled daooooon! Because of owner the prestigious and historic evil organization Howling was wuined! Hoho. Crazy. My former boss decided to ruin my currentpany because she wanted her subordinate back. No, even before that the only reason I went to my past workce was because this ce sent me there! This ce was always my associate workce! -Owner. There¡¯s way too many nutcases around owner. The imperial princess and your disciples too. If owner gets a girlfriendter then she¡¯s totes gonna die stabbed by these kids? Ah, I will admit that. Including the one who said that, the metal bat, I have no idea why I have so many crazy bastards around me. What these kids think is love ispletely different from what normal people think is love. No. the princess and Sia! No matter how I do the math I can only see the nice boat ending!(5) Those sorts of things are suitable for Rein, they are not suitable for me! ¡°Well because of that the organization thought that Master was a spy so they all went nuts. Since the Crown Prince leading the empire¡¯s troops is also due to the princess¡¯ request and they went even crazier looking for Master. So, Master has no choice left but a lovers¡¯ escape with me~ if youe now then oh my, a beauty like me as a service! A chance like this doesn¡¯te every day, Master!¡± -Wow this is a pretty unni, but she called herself a beauty! Even though she is a beauty! But it¡¯s still embawwassing! ¡°Good terms, but I never thought of you as anything but a disciple.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Because as much as Master doesn¡¯t love me, I love Master even more. If you¡¯re with me, you¡¯lle to love me in the end!¡± Even if the other doesn¡¯t love you, you can fill up that gap with your own love, what kind of logic is that! -What logic. It¡¯s the logic of these kids who¡¯ll stab another woman if she so much as looks at you. Master can kiss your dreams of marriage goodbye! As if there¡¯s anyone else who would ept owner who¡¯s marked by a crazy bitch like¡­ there is. Wut, that¡¯s weird! It¡¯s normal that there shouldn¡¯t, but there is! And they¡¯re all girls like her! And there isn¡¯t just one of them either! Even as the invincible metal bat was horrified Sia kept drawing ever nearer to me. ¡°Now, it¡¯s finally time for just the two of us alone. Now we leave together far far away with me! Then the princess or whatever won¡¯te looking for us! I¡¯ve already finished talking with the emperor too! So all you have to do now is leave together with me!¡± Even if you say it so confidently, I¡¯m not going! Chapter 25 RATH 25 TL: Eevee 3. And so the story begins. (9) Madness. Just what the heck did she do to get the emperor to acknowledge an elopement with me? But aside from the moments when she was getting hit with the bat and metal bat I don¡¯t recall her every lying to me? Let¡¯s check first. ¡°If you lie, you get hit.¡± ¡°How do you have that cursed magic weapon!¡± ¡°I used it when that rascal Rood came.¡± ¡°I lost arade.¡± ¡°He isn¡¯t dead.¡± ¡°Sometimes people find more sce in death. Getting hit by that magic weapon is one of those moments. Rood would also have preferred you to finish him off cleanly with a sword if for the sake of nothing but old rtionships.¡± Sia said with a hateful look at the metal bat. ¡°Now, Master! Throw away that useless thing ande with me!¡± ¡°I refuse.¡± -Wow owner! Slightly touched! ¡°Then you can bring that too¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t necessarily refuse just because of this.¡± -Ahhhhht! Return my emotions! A life with Sia, I will have to refuse. The organization¡¯s gone under as well. I might as well aim for the farming king life I gave up in the past. ¡°Will I simply give up like that?¡± ¡°Probably not.¡± ¡°Yes, Master. I will take you with me no matter what.¡± Click. The moment she snapped her fingers, the mood changed. ¡°To face Master, I thought for a long time. And my answer was numbers and ranged attacks.¡± At the same time she said that, torches started to light up the cave one, two at a time. The final count being at least a hundred. ¡°I brought special poisons that can paralyze even an ogre with so much as a scratch. And the numbers I brought were the most I could muster. Now, Master.¡± Why is it that whenever my disciplese to fight me, they always bring a mob with them? ¡°If you sleep for just a bit, once you wake up all that¡¯s left is to live happily in the home I have prepared for us.¡± As Sia slowly drew away with a bright smile, I could hear the sound of hundreds of arrows flying towards me. But there¡¯s way too many? Is this a death route? She knows perfectly well that I can¡¯t block that if I don¡¯t have mana? -Wow, prep work OP. She¡¯s owner¡¯s disciple alright! Plus she even said she had a house ready, since owner doesn¡¯t have a home right how in¡¯t that a chance? -But you¡¯d probably be melted down. -No, no way! This rascal still doesn¡¯t know what it¡¯s done. Sure I was the oneying out the beatings but the tool was this metal bat. I guarantee it, if it¡¯s Sia then she¡¯ll do something like the movie based off the legendary novel and create a Fellowship of the Bat to throw it in Stioris Volcano that was even said to have melted an archdevil, just to get rid of this rascal from the world somehow. No matter how much suffering and sacrifices they had to make, if it¡¯s Sia then she¡¯ll endure it all to melt down the metal bat. -And so. The moment I fall is also the moment you die! -Owner and I share the same fate! We¡¯re bonded by the strong bond of our souls! And so that this thing and I can both survive, those arrows need to be blocked! ¡°Not even Master could parry away all these arrows.¡± She said loudly from all the way over there. Sure, normally you wouldn¡¯t be able to block these numbers. You¡¯d just get pincushioned and die, right? But Siaaa? Did you realise your voice was shaking as you said that? She still has that shard of uncertainty somewhere in her heart. Well, from an objective point of view, Sia¡¯s evaluation of me is correct. To normal swordsmen with high mana, long-distance attacks are poorly effective. Unless the opponent is a bowmaster or something that can pour in mana into arrows, normal archers have a hard time prating through the sword ki of a swordsman with mana. Putting mana into a sword and maintaining it takes massive amounts of effort by itself, so how much harder would it to maintain that mana in an arrow that¡¯s flying away from you? So the role of an archer is, to just beat the crap out of ordinary soldiers, and they don¡¯t even work that well against heavy armour either. But to me without mana, there isn¡¯t a weapon deadlier than an arrow. And because of that, I made very thorough preparations against archers. ¡°Block it, metal bat!¡± -You¡¯re making a weak frail girl like me block that scawy thing! Owner is a bad man! If the product of one of best dwarven ns the ck Anvil, the thing that¡¯s suspected to be tougher than a Dragon Lord¡¯s scales, is weak and frail, then a normal dragon is a tutorial-level monster. In that case the tutorial is too hard. What is that level which sounds like you¡¯d identally go into hell level difficulty and diligently hurt yourself to raise resistances with? (1) ¡°What!¡± Hoho, why are you surprised. There¡¯s no such thing as impossible for this metal bat with transform skills that would put a D**to to shame!(2) The bat wavers and bes a thin shield in my hand. Even if it¡¯s this thin it¡¯s still an invincible shield that tanked the hammer strikes of dwarven swordsmaster-ss warriors. And now all that¡¯s left is the finisher! The romance of men! -Fusion! -Uwah! O, owner and my bodies are bing oneeeeeee! The original purpose in the creation of this thing was as a higher rank weapon than the bat as well as to defend against my weaknesses. The original goal was to make separate weapons and armour, but due to mary and material shortages I couldn¡¯t do it. Although it looks like a lump of iron on the outside, it¡¯s actually the sole item in existence made of the metal that only appears in dwarven legends, Mithteil. (3) Mithteil is only made when a mithril mine is hit by a Meteo or a simr impact to be pressurized at insane temperatures. If I didn¡¯t sneak it out together with the princess then I¡¯d never have been able to make this. And so, since I¡¯m making it anyway, I made it so that it could be used for attacking and defending! -Ultimate fusion, Arcanaruan! -What¡¯s that childish name. -Haang, what do you mean childish. This goddess Arcadia even gave it four letters of her name! All that happened was the metal bat covered my body in a very thinyer like armour from the middle ages, but because of that my defenses have skyrocketed. And if I use a regr attack in this state then there is a massive bonus damage added on top of that! Although sure, there¡¯s no actual damage that goes through, but since it can render them unable to attack, an armour where offense and defense are one, is this not the perfect armour! ¡°Were you prepared for this?¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone aside from Master who would imagine something like that.¡± Seeing as the arrows just bounced off with no effect, Sia sighed heavily but drew her sword and said. ¡°Even so, this chance¡­ I can¡¯t give it up.¡± With a serious expression, an overwhelming amount of mana flowed into her sword. A thicker and stronger magic power than sword ki. -Ohhh! Izza a swordsmaster! A swordsmaster! Even the kingdom next door doesn¡¯t have more than ten of them! -Ah, I killed a lot of themst time so there¡¯s only three left. And even then two of them only awoke at thest second. Swordsmaster. I did see her on the verge of breaking through at the end of training, but to think she could so perfectly master it. As a teacher I am so happy¡­ my ass. A swordsmaster¡¯s chasing after me so if I¡¯m happy about that then I¡¯m a pervert! ¡°All units, cleared for close quarterbat. As long as you don¡¯t kill him you are free to use any means and method avable!¡± Sword ki and sword auras began to form on everyone¡¯s swords. If sword ki is pouring mana into the sword, what they call aura is adding even more energy andpressing it. To a beginner they might look like the same thing, but in reality it¡¯s the difference between heaven and earth if you face it. -But neither of those does anything to this boddyyyyy! But it can¡¯t leave the tiniest scratch on the metal bat¡¯s armour. ¡°You, you mean that not even sword aura works on that thing?!¡± -Take this, Aru-chan finisher, tentacle attack! ¡°Hiiik!¡± Sure even if it¡¯s the metal bat, even if I¡¯ve thrown in legendary metals like they were scraps you do leave scratches if it keeps getting hit by sword aura. It might even get cut if it¡¯s hit often enough. But, like I¡¯ve said before, this metal bat can change shape freely like a D**to. That means, whether it¡¯s scratched, or cut, it can be put back together! And automatically! And on top of that as a passive it reflects the enemy¡¯s attacks! And like it¡¯s perverted personality, the long wavy tentacle attack thates from the left arm is a freebie! ¡°Ma, Master? I think something perverted came out of your arm!¡± ¡°That¡¯s something the metal bat made on its own so I can¡¯t help with that.¡± ¡°This, this cursed magic weapon!¡± ¡°Kuaaaaak!¡± -Haang, where do you think you¡¯re going pretty unni? Wiiiin? What¡¯s this dirty man! I wouldn¡¯t know if you were a cute boy, but since it¡¯s a promised loss if I take off that mask so for the sake of my sanity I¡¯ll just abandon you! The people that had been chasing after Sia were all defeated by the metal bat¡¯s tentacle attack and were pathetically thrown aside. ¡°Do, don¡¯t run away!¡± ¡°But, but how do we!¡± ¡°Kurk! I, I can¡¯t dodge!¡± -Hiya! Ayap! I don¡¯t need men! Unless you¡¯re a pretty boy then git lost! My goal is that tasty-looking unni! This unni will dote on unni a lot! -So just who¡¯s supposed to be the unni again¡­ To do some work as well, I formed a sword in my right hand, but the left hand¡¯s tentacle defeats the enemy before they evene near. Autoattacking even as I¡¯m standing still. It is convenient but¡­ -How much mana do you have? -Haang, I don¡¯t worry about afterwards! That¡¯s this Arcadia¡¯s cweed! -I do have to worry about afterwards though? Even though the metal bat recharges by itself, it has its limits. And what if, that mana ran out? The defenses of metal bat is done, at the same time I¡¯m also done for. The only things left are a nice boat or imprisonment end, just those two. -Then, for owner! Ultimate Hundred Tentacle Vitor attaaaack! ¡°Ku, kuaaak!¡±¡±Block it!¡± ¡°Kuaaak, the damagees through even if we block iiiiiiiiiittt!¡± ¡°Dodge! I, I¡¯m done for¡­¡± ¡°Master! Just what the heck did Master create!¡± What was in my field of vision was seriously around a hundred or so tentacles sprouting from my left hand and people getting vited by those left and right. And Sia who was horrified at the sight. Sorry, I don¡¯t know what I made either. Nor do I want to know. -Haang, what owner made is of course the beautiful goddess, Arcadia! You don¡¯t have to be embawassed! If you¡¯re embarrassed then you lose owner! -Then I will be a loser today! After losing I will gain the freedom to be embarrassed! -Haang, owner can¡¯t be honest. Now the faceless masked assassins are mostly down for the count. Facing me was Sia who was ring at me while biting down on her red lips. ¡°Do you really hate me that much? To bring out that monstrosity!¡± -Monstrosity! This unni¡¯s been treating me really awfully for a while now? ¡°Hate¡­ I don¡¯t hate you. But I don¡¯t like you either. Just a cute disciple overflowing with personality. That¡¯s what I think of you.¡± -You¡¯re the student, I¡¯m the teacher! And I¡¯m the punishment tool in between! The three of us are tied by the schoolyard string of fate! So don¡¯t hate meee, pretty unni! Ignoring the deration that casually pushed everyone¡¯s school years into hell, Sia was shaking with her head bowed down at my words. Just what is she feeling I wonder? Shame? Embarrassment? If she was a normal woman she¡¯d be crying having had her passionate proposal rejected¡­ -Embarrassed because she was rejected? -Like my disciples would ever be like that. Her subordinates are all down, closebat is impossible. If there was anything she could do then¡­ ¡°After I parted from Master, the contract I managed to make, great goddess of hell, Styx. Master.¡± -Owner, owner? Those eyes are dangerous! Really dangerous you know? Eyes are all spinny spinny? It looks like she¡¯ll run at us to die together? The contracted goddess is the goddess of hell! ¡°Master. No matter what Master says I can¡¯t give up on you. So¡­¡± Yep. I think I know what¡¯sing. ¡°Together with me.¡± -ording to the will of my contractor. God. Existences that can bepared among hell¡¯s archdevils among summons. Another world¡¯s absolute beings¡­ ¡°On you go.¡± -Die¡­ Kuaaaaaaaaaht?! Kang! -Haang, this world¡¯s only goddess is me, the one and only Arcadia! ¡°¡­Eh?¡± Was blown away with a crisp sound. ¡°Desummoned? A god? In one hit? Urrk.¡± Whether she received a critical mental hit, I hit Sia¡¯s stomach while she was stunned. ¡°Bad¡­ man¡­¡± ¡°Once you wake up you will already be at your house.¡± ¡°..ster¡¯s¡­. Not wi¡­¡± She was muttering something but she couldn¡¯t take the following strike and passed out. -Owner, what¡¯re you going to do? Kill¡¯em all? -I don¡¯t kill my disicples. -Ho? Was owner a kind of person someone who cared about that? -I am that kind of person. -Owner is a person! I thought you were a devil at least! Although to save this noisy child¡¯s mana I want to undo the transformation, but just in case of a final strike, there could be agents lying in ambush so I should go out like this for now. Because just when I exit I could have the princess waiting for me with thousands of soldiers saying ¡°I was waiting for you!¡± or the organization¡¯s boss that I¡¯ve never seen before with bloodshot eyes yelling ¡°Because of you, our thousand-year history of Howling is!¡± could be waiting for me. -Weiiing? Someone¡¯s there! Look here! Is there not already something on the metal bat¡¯s radar! I¡¯m already everyone¡¯s enemy! So before I get hit first I will be the one to get the first strike! -Go, batmon, tentacle attack! -Aru aru! ¡°Kuaaaaaht?!¡± Eh, wait, this sounds familiar¡­ -Ahn, it¡¯s a disciple. Sorry. Chapter 26 RATH 26 TL: Eevee 3. And so the story begins. (10) #8 Their story: The future legendary host¡¯s story. ¡°Tha¡­ that was uncalled for¡­¡± My entire body¡¯s screaming. Ahh. This feeling. It¡¯s been a while. I didn¡¯t want to feel it but it was already toote. ¡°I apologise.¡± In this case is it the instructor¡¯s fault for always insisting on the alpha strike, or is it Sia¡¯s fault who created this situation where he had no choice but to do it? Or, is it my fault for getting hit? Well, thest option definitely isn¡¯t it. ¡°We survived somehow.¡± ¡°You really somehow managed to get away.¡± ¡°Sia didn¡¯t bother taking us as hostages.¡± The instructor nodded sagely to me who was currently sprawled out against the ground. I don¡¯t know what that nod is supposed to mean so I¡¯ll just ignore it. But. ¡°What happened to Sia?¡± ¡°She¡¯s currently sleeping after a beating with the metal bat.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t kill her.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t kill my disciples.¡± At the all-too-calm answer I couldn¡¯t help but sigh. No, even if he didn¡¯t kill them. ¡°There are times when death is the more peaceful option.¡± ¡°Sia said the exact same thing when I told her what happened to Rood.¡± ¡°Rood was there as well?¡± ¡°No, I met him before I came back to the organization. He said he came to take me to the princess.¡± Just what the heck did this instructor do, that ¡®that imperial princess¡¯ is also chasing after him? I¡¯d heard a lot of rumours about that princess. ¡®The most beautiful, but also the one with most thorns.¡¯ The count¡¯s daughter who sought me often at the club told me that. For the record, this person¡¯s nickname in social circles was ¡®thornbush.¡¯ If a person who got that nickname by mercilessly rejecting the noble men that came after her, gave the princess that evaluation then just what kind of person would she be? But rumours from others were also different. ¡®I met Her Highness a while ago, she said she was raising ck roses as a hobby. She said she was raising them to give to someone, and I thought that the princess had a unexpectedly girlish side to her. Ah, Rein, do you know what a ck rose means in thenguage of flowers?¡¯ I was reminded of the duke¡¯s daughter who gave me a ck rose she¡¯d obtained. That was quite troublesome at the time. In thenguage of flowers, a ck rose meant ¡®you¡¯re mine.¡¯ Unlike her girlish appearance as that duke¡¯s daughter shyly gave me the flower, she was actually on the cusp of breaking through to the swordsmaster realm, as well as the vice-captain of the princess¡¯s personal knight order. Meaning, an administrator who directly serves the princess! The words of an admin always has persuasive power. Because of that I thought that the rumours from the social circles were all exaggerated. The rumours from the outside weren¡¯t great and most of them were from the Great War. How she had be terror incarnate in the hearts of enemy soldiers meant she was that skilled, and even when they discussed who was the most talented person among the imperial family, the princess¡¯s name always came up. I thought that the other nobledies had just spread rumours out of jealousy of her beauty and talent. But, at this moment, from what I heard from Sia and the instructor the truth was revealed! As an active club worker, as someone who served women of nobility, thenguage of flowers was a tool we used frequently, and to me who could recite thenguage of flowers off by heart, the meaning of a ck rose meant ¡®you¡¯re mine.¡¯ Because the other meanings were too dark and miserable! The noble girls don¡¯t want to hear about that! But considering what I heard from the instructor and Sia, and the obsession that could bepared to Sia and the meaning of ¡®you¡¯re mine¡¯, then other meanings are naturally added on. Resentment and hatred. Wow, that fits really well. I hate you and I resent you but you are still mine! The image of the princess tending to a bed of ck roses while chucking ¡®fufufu,¡¯ sends a shiver down my spine! What the hell! There¡¯s someone worse off than I am! The imperial princess and Sia! Compared to that, I, who had to flee back to the organization just because of a scrap between duke¡¯s daughters am a joke! If it¡¯s thatbination then any number of lives isn¡¯t enough! You need to be able to flee officially or unofficially, but in this case you can¡¯t run either in the light or the dark! And the even more horrifying thing is that even the in the midst of all this the instructor is still running away perfectly fine! What the hell, it¡¯s scary! And physically the metal bat! It¡¯s so scary! And as I shook in fear the instructor said a shocking story, no amand. ¡°Pretend to be me and flee the organization.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± If I get caught I¡¯m dead. Not just dead, after I get the full imperial torture course to reveal the instructor¡¯s location and have all my limbs cut off, they¡¯re going to drop acid on my neck one drop at a time to kill me. No, maybe even worse than that! ¡°In, instructor. I just want to die normally.¡± ¡°With this?¡± ¡°Hiiiik!¡± But the instructor in front of me has the metal bat! To imagine a choice between one where I die cruelly in pain and where I can¡¯t die cruelly in pain! Why is my future so bleak?! ¡°Instructor, save me¡­¡± ¡°Just what is the princess to you that you¡¯re doing this¡­¡± ¡°A Sia on a bigger scale?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t refute that.¡± He didn¡¯t deny it. Yep. I¡¯m dead. No matter where I go the only path that awaits me is pain. I wanted to walk a path of flowers as a club host, but reality is a path of thorns no matter where I walk. ¡°Now, if you don¡¯t leave soon you¡¯ll have Sia to deal with as well as the princess.¡± ¡°Where are you going to go instructor¡­¡± ¡°Through another route, across the border where I¡¯m going to live my days as a farmer in a kingdom at the end of the world.¡± The moment I bait the princess I¡¯m already dead right? ¡°So use these to convince the kids.¡± ¡°What are they?¡± ¡°The seals of their families. The Nermia county¡¯s former head is a current head of a Magic Tower. If you can get help from them, not even the princess can easilyy her hands on them. Same with the other seals, all are part of families that can¡¯t easily be ignored.¡± It sounds logical enough, but would they really go as far as making an enemy out of the princess to help me? I think they¡¯d just take the seals and wipe their hands immediately? ¡°And you also have that.¡± ¡°Although I think that it¡¯s just going to be a hindrance as we¡¯re escaping but¡­ as a hostage it should be fine.¡± The woman trussed up in a sack is a beauty on the outside, the reality is a spinster host club regr Sword Star. Even if she looks like that she¡¯s the little sister of the current Marquis Aserid, and a countess in her own right! But! ¡°If I use her as a hostage I think I¡¯ll be the one that¡¯s a hostage instead?!¡± Right now she¡¯s out and drooling but she¡¯s the Sword Star! The most illustrious with the sword! At the same time the most thuggish with the sword! Out of all the fighters that pick scraps for fun, she¡¯s the number one fighter! And because of that, I¡¯ve got no shot of¡­ ¡°And for that reason, I¡¯ll give you that.¡± ¡°Re, really¡­ are you really giving me this?!¡± It¡¯s here! Could it be! If that thing is permanently mine¡­ I could possibly tread the path where death is a real possibility. ¡°Now, I¡¯m fooling you anyway. The princess already knows this. Even if she¡¯ll want information from you, she probably won¡¯t torture or kill you. She was oddly obsessed about the people in my immediate surroundings. Although she might try to win you over to be her subordinate, she won¡¯t kill you. ¡°Kurrrghh¡­¡± Along with my sword, I can feel the weight of the bat. It¡¯s light. But at the same time it¡¯s heavy. If the weak has a treasure then it is stolen by the strong. Can I protect it? ¡°Now, choose.¡± ¡°I, I¡¯ll do it!¡± But there is no choice! If you were a disciple of the instructor, who could refuse this seduction! Not even Sia could forget the trauma from our trainee days and went to try to forge one herself, but all she made were failures! And even those failures were bought by the others of our cohort as they saved up their wages for them! But I, I can have the original! It¡¯s not the metal bat, but it¡¯s still the chance for me to have the wooden bat! ¡°Now, this is your doppelganger. Use this to fool the empire¡¯s troops.¡± Pat pat. As if telling me to do my best, the instructor patted me on the shoulder. I was filled with devotion as I yelled in a confident voice. ¡°I¡¯ll defeat any enemy thates!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t necessarily have to defeat them. Well, good luck.¡± ¡°Good luck, instructor!¡± Looking at the instructor walk away I was saturated in delight. Finally, the bat is in my hands! ¡°Now, No.17. Or should I call you by name from now on?¡± ¡°It, it¡¯s okay.¡± Although the kids are looking at me with somewhat repulsed expressions, I don¡¯t care right now. ¡°Now, check if your family¡¯s seal is in here somewhere.¡± ¡°Uh, yes!¡± ¡°Is the instructor noting with us?¡± ¡°The instructor is going his own way. We just need to avoid the empire¡¯s troops for a while, then get caught.¡± ¡°Bait?¡± No.1000¡¯s tilted her head as she asked me. Hm. Well, it¡¯s right, right? ¡°You could say that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s here! I found it!¡± ¡°Why do we have to?¡± ¡°Is the instructor not running away?¡± No.1 who was staring at me with discontent, No.17 who was happy at having found the seal. And No.1000 who seemed a bit sad. All unique children just as expected of the instructor¡¯s disciples. And they¡¯re also kids that need to run around with me for a while for the instructor¡¯s sake. So. Let¡¯s give them some motivation. ¡°Anyints?¡± ¡°¡±¡±None, sir!¡±¡±¡± As I slightly raised the bat, everyone¡¯s motivation maxed out. Hmm. As always the bat is all-purpose. ¡°Over there! There¡¯s a person over there!¡± ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s His Highness¡¯s orders! Find the one called Naruan!¡± ¡°The enemy has already faced off against over 200 of our elites. They are tired!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t kill them, but disarm them!¡± Sounds came far away from beyond the cave. And these voices that are getting closer are the empire¡¯s soldiers as I expected. To think the empire¡¯s army would get this close already. I need to hurry up and escape¡­ ¡°Temporary instructor!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you call me Rei-uup?!¡± ¡°You dare¡­ You¡­¡­¡­ dare!¡± But a greater danger than the empire¡¯s army came from a lot closer. Somewhere down the line the Sword Star had gotten free from the sack she was in and was ring at us with eyes filled with rage. Although there was nothing was in her hand, but to one of the greatest swordsmen of all time, and especially the one judged as having the greatest magic power, it seemed that the matter of actually having a sword or not was irrelevant to her. ¡°Mana sword?¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding me, right? That kind of magic power is possible?¡± What was in her hand was a blue sword. That was sword ki, no,pressed mana, a sword where sword aura itself waspressed into a sword! Sharper than any legendary de, and more destructive than any magic, that thing gradually grew in shape and form. It¡¯s dangerous. It¡¯s toote to run. In that case. Only. One. Way. Out. Bat style, hidden moves! ¡°Star Destr¡­ pathetic!¡± Bat throw! Thud! The bat was thrown square in the face of the Sword Star who had been stupidly amassing mana in both hands. As you¡¯d expect from the Sword Star who had enough talent to fight for the title of the Magic Sword, she blocked it with a magic barrier but that was her mistake! This bat is a legendary item said to have been made from a branch of the World Tree! Just it¡¯s existence alone was enough to shred through magic barriers like paper, hit the Sword Star square in the face and the sound of the bat rolling against the ground was the only thing that filled the air. And. ¡°Over there! The Sword Star is there too!¡± ¡°The enemy has engaged the Sword Star!¡± ¡°Wait, wait! Something¡¯s wrong!¡± ¡°The, the Sword Star!¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be!¡± Shock and fear, surprise and disbelief were written on the empire¡¯s soldiers¡¯ faces, and sure why wouldn¡¯t they. Thud! The Sword Star¡¯s knees hit the ground. Her hands that she¡¯d raised to her head dropped. Of course the Mana Sword had already vanished. Her face hit the earth of the cave and she copsed just like that. As a result of having blessed to the max by the metal bat, she took in the pure pain from the wooden bat. And because of that result I. ¡°The enemy has defeated the Sword Star!¡± ¡°Reinforcements! Call for reinforcements!¡± ¡°The enemy is powerful!¡± Became the one who had defeated the Sword Star. *** -Hurkhurk¡­ good bye, little sister! You¡¯re being sold off because of my bad owner, but we¡¯ll meet again one day! Leaving behind Rein who emitted the exact aura as a Sect Disciple receiving orders from a Sect Head in one of those old xianxia novels, while listening to the metal bat y out a third-rate soap opera I moved through another escape route I¡¯d dug out. But if you¡¯re going to shoot a third-rate soap opera then do it properly, not even hukhuk but hurkhurk, if you weren¡¯t listening properly you¡¯d think it wasughing. -Hiing, owner doesn¡¯t know the pain of farewells! Pouring cold water all over a dramatic separation with my little sister! -I¡¯ve said this before and I¡¯ll say it again but that thing was born first. -Hmph, we¡¯re tied together with a much thicker fate than just some worldly ties! Since I am living a said worldly life, no more need be said. Right now for a worldly satisfying life it¡¯s time to run away! -So where¡¯re we gonna go, are we really going to run away to the ends of the world and start farming? ¡°No, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d actually do what I told Rein.¡± Very much unlike what you¡¯d expect from my disciples, Rein actually has a loyal streak. He takes care of his cohorts, and acknowledges his seniors as his seniors. Perhaps to teach myst cohort properly he diligently beat them with the bat as well. Unlike the others who uses theirrades as meat shields, alpha strikes their seniors and sincerely beats the crap out of their juniors Rein is oddly normal. And therefore, the most abnormal of all my disciples. Because of that, odds are if the princess just brings out a few of his acquaintances from his host days, he¡¯ll probably spill everything. She¡¯d just have to bring out one of the duke¡¯s daughters that were fighting over him, get them to spill some tears crying, ¡®Rein¡­ was it¡­ all a lie?¡¯ Then game over. Most likely he¡¯ll spill everything to prove his sincerity. Since surprisingly enough, Sia took care of him, the organization didn¡¯t notice his personality, and Rein didn¡¯t make any mistakes either, but since the organization¡¯s already done for then Rein¡¯s mouth right now is nothing less than an open door. So of course, a life as a farmer is unfortunately on hold for now. But I will do it one day! Farming life! That¡¯s a legendary lifestyle that only appears in legends! Dream of a perfect farmer¡¯s life! Not a farmer that beats up a demon king, not a viger that¡¯s stronger than a hero,(1) but one that just grows fruits and vegetables, and sells them for a living! -Thank goodness. I was scared for a second there that owner would transform me into a farming tool to plow the fields or something. ¡°¡­Genius?¡± And I already have a farming tool! And moreover, a farmer¡¯s god¡¯s tool that automatically blesses thend every time it¡¯s plows the earth?! No, would thend die in pain? ¡°I need to experiment.¡± -Hiiiik, nyoooo! This goddess Arcadia would be used to plownd! Nooo! ¡°Just transform to your human form and poke the ground with your finger. Then we¡¯d know.¡± -Wiihn? Owner didn¡¯t you not like it when I transformed into my human form because it used a lot of mana. ¡°You need to be in human form for a while anyway so it¡¯s alright.¡± -Where¡¯re we goin¡¯? Since it¡¯s been a while since she was allowed in human form, the metal bat¡¯s words were filled with anticipation. Yes, a ce to lie low from the princess for a while. It¡¯s a ce not even the princess who personally moved to capture me would think of. -Hurry hurry! Where¡¯s the ce where this goddess descends? Where¡¯s the ce of my freedom! Hurry and tell me! ¡°Near the imperial capital.¡± -Hiiik? You nuts? You¡¯re moving right next to the princess¡¯s ce? ¡°Yes, to be precise.¡± One of the empire¡¯s greatest academies. The school that was the closes to the royal pce that the imperial family went to and from. ¡°The summoner¡¯s school, Yugrasia.¡± Chapter 27 RATH 27 TL: Eevee 4. The others¡¯ stories (1) #1 Their story: the story of the one who defeated the Sword Star. ¡°The enemy has defeated the Sword Star!¡± ¡°Kuaak, this, thisaaaaarrrrghh!¡± ¡°Damn it, tighten the encirclement! We cannot let him escape!¡± ¡°Ah, damn it. Why am I running away.¡± ¡°To not get hit.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Magic that changed thendscape, and arrows that could paralyze with a scratch all flew over my head. Ahh. Damn it. I¡¯m tired as hell, and ording to my original estimations we should have been captured a long time ago. ¡°Stop! You are already surrounded. It¡¯s toote for you to run now!¡± The knight chasing after me is the problem! What¡¯s there to hide, that¡¯s the duke¡¯s daughter I¡¯ve constantly been referring to all this time! And now that reminded me, the princess herself was part of this operation! In that case it wasn¡¯t weird for the princess¡¯s knight order to mobilise, meaning that it was possible to meet up with said daughter, but to think we¡¯d meet up right in front of each other! If she saw me right in front of her eyes, how would she act? Would she try to kill me for ying her? Or would she cry with tears streaming down her face? Either way I¡¯d prefer not to deal with. Especially thetter. ¡°Now, isn¡¯t it about time for us to get caught?¡± ¡°Since you defeated the Sword Star some really dangerous things are flying at us now too!¡± ¡°No.17, duck.¡± ¡°Hiik! Hu, hurry with the warnings!¡± No.17 of the Nermia family yelled at me as she just ducked under the arrow. At this rate it seems like it¡¯ll be hard to get support from the Nermia family as well. Hm. Yep. Let¡¯s just¡­ ¡°Should we just die?¡± ¡°What bullshit is that!¡± ¡°Save the sleep talk for when you¡¯re actually asleep!¡± ¡°I think we really are going to die.¡± Arge-scale magic dropped in front of us and left a crater. It seems that the mage brigade have shown up in the air as well. I think they¡¯re still mistaking me for the instructor at this point, I was wondering if I should mix in a counter or not but. ¡°That¡¯s dropping right this way?¡± ¡°What the hell, that¡¯s a bombardment! And a direct line of fire!¡± ¡°Dodge!¡± That¡¯s an attack that even left No.1000 terrified, who the instructor said dodged the Empire-style bombardment like a joke. Ah, now that I think about it, the instructor could have thought ¡®if it¡¯s this human, they probably won¡¯t die from just this.¡¯ and just poured on the attacks. If I go forward, it¡¯s dangerous, if I stop the noble girl is waiting. Options, options¡­. ¡®There is one!¡¯ Yes, there was a way. Although it really did a number on my conscience, it¡¯s better than me meeting directly with the girl. ¡°Doppelganger, if youplete this sessfully then you¡¯re free.¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready for anything.¡± As I saw the doppelganger nod, I had the doppelganger take off its hood and run in a different direction from ours. And the bait was sessful. ¡°Re, Rein?!¡± Although my heart hurts to see the nobledy¡¯s wide eyes on seeing the doppelganger but it can¡¯t be helped! -Run, as far as possible! -Alright. I said the contract would beplete once it was caught. But instead, getting caught deliberately was forbidden. It just had to run as far and fast as possible to divert attention. ¡°Kasen! You lead the squad and continue pursuit. I will chase after the stray.¡± ¡°Eh? Vice-captain, what?!¡± Thankfully the nobledy took five subordinates and started chasing the doppelganger. After separating from us the doppelganger would be lucky tost ten minutes. If a person uses magic then they could exert speeds even faster than a horse, but there¡¯s a limit. Because of this we¡¯ve been using many tools the instructor had given us to stop the horses¡¯ movements and increase the distance between us, but we were running out of tools, and I didn¡¯t want to feel any guiltier seeing the nobledy nearly fall off her horse several times chasing after us. And now, since she¡¯s not here¡­ ¡°Surrender now?¡± ¡°Is it finally over?¡± ¡°End?¡± The moment we stopped the bombardment stopped like a lie, and the kids breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± ¡°Iiiit?¡± ¡°Hold, hold on?!¡± But very quickly, I brought a dagger up to No.1¡¯s neck. He¡¯s still a duke¡¯s son, therefore he has plenty of use as a hostage! ¡°We need to buy more time.¡± ¡°Wait, but why am I the hostage?¡± ¡°Your house is the best off.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Looking at is, our pursuers made baffled expressions. Yes, organization members were running away together, and if they suddenly start up a hostage scenario then anyone would find it weird! ¡°Ahhh~ I¡¯m Duke Raina¡¯s son Raina rel Swin! I was undercover in the evil organization as a spy, but I got caught! Save me.¡± ¡°Oi, that¡¯s way too awkward, can¡¯t you act properly.¡± ¡°This much should be fine?¡± With those words it seemed there was amotion among the knights before another knight came forward after sending the others back. ¡°I am Her Highness¡¯s Third Knight Order¡¯s First Squadron Captain, Kasen! If there¡¯s anything you want then begin negotiations!¡± Wow, it seems like the name of the knight order really is the Third Knight Order. While others use family names, flowers, animals and such, the rumours that princess said she couldn¡¯t be bothered and just named them by their ordinal numbers was true! Wait, before that. What kind of deal do I have to make so that I don¡¯t show myself getting caught to the nobledy. She¡¯s going toe back anyway once she realises the doppelganger is a fake, so if I¡¯m caught now the end result is the same anyway. Should I ask for my face to be hidden? Or, should I ask to be carried away by the mage corps instead of the knights? ¡°Tell us your demands. Right now thanks to the mages, only you and I can hear each other! So tell me what you want!¡± ¡°We had no warning?!¡± ¡°They¡¯re serious¡­ is this the skill of the empire¡¯s strongest mage corps?¡± To my horror and No.17¡¯sment. The surroundings were already surrounded with a thick magic barrier. That meant that we were already trapped, and the barrier could not only absorb sound, but also act as a formation to keep us trapped, and also a method to kill us. And to think they could trap us like this without any of us getting the slightest warning! Is this the skill of the imperial princess¡¯s mage corps, that are called the empire¡¯s strongest! ¡°Then¡­ I surrender on the condition that my identity is not revealed!¡± ¡°What kind of conditions are those?¡± ¡°Adults have adult¡¯s problems. If my face is revealed right now then I¡¯m in big trouble¡­¡± ¡°Wait, wasn¡¯t this to stall for time for the instructor?¡± ¡°Just for old times¡¯ sake, just because the princess was chasing after the instructor, that was why I was running away with you?! But this was just for your own problems?¡± Wow, these kids eyes¡¯ are getting icy. If I drag this any longer I thought I might be blindsided by these kids first¡­ ¡°The reason is¡­ is it because of the other women you met. Or¡­¡± But there was someone else that blindsided me first. ¡°Is it because of me, Rein?¡± ¡°Mdy?!¡± ¡°Rein, did you really think I wouldn¡¯t recognise you?¡± This is a trap! I¡¯m currently under the influence of illusion magic by these skilled empire mages. There, there¡¯s no way that person can be the real deal! ¡°Hm, by the looks of that expression it seems you believe that I¡¯m an illusion brought on by magic.¡± ¡°Ha, how?!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s obvious on Rein¡¯s face.¡± Those blue eyes look into mine and curved into gentle crescents. Is that really an illusion? As if he could tell my insecurity, No.1 who was caught as a hostage muttered. ¡°Um, could you please not hold the knife so close to my neck? You¡¯re shivering a lot right now? Because of that the de¡¯s brushing my neck a lot, at this rate it really seems like I¡¯ll see blood? Wait, hold on! You¡¯re shaking even more! Dan, dangerous!¡± ¡°Now Rein, leave that thing behind, ande to me. Even Her Highness permitted it as well.¡± ¡°That thing? Did she just call me ¡®that thing?¡¯¡± ¡°No.1, I don¡¯t think now¡¯s a time for us to interrupt.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Hey, do you think those words woulde if you were in my shoes?!¡± No.1¡¯s yelling something, but since the nobledy in front of me took up more of my attention I ignored him. ¡°When did you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯d be lying if I said from the beginning. Just. Out of curiosity. I asked Her Highness, and she told me.¡± ¡°Then, why¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s. because I like you.¡± Those were lines that should definitely be giving me a touching feeling, but all of a sudden, for some reason I understood the instructor¡¯s sentiments. Such as Sia or the princess, just why he went around running away from beautiful women. ¡°I know. That you were working for the organization. That you handed over the information you got from us over to them. But, you never once told them any of our secrets, and you never lied to us, not even once. And¡­ Rein is too kind so you can¡¯t abandon people.¡± The sword at her waist slowly rose higher and higher. But the direction it was pointing at was the opposite direction to its normal use. ¡°Now, this is a hostage, Rein. If you don¡¯te to me, this sword will stab the human named Iris.¡± ¡°Holding yourself as hostage, are you insane?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. For all you know, this is an illusion, like you imagined. But Rein, I¡¯ve told you before. I.¡± -Rein. If it¡¯s for you, then I could even die for you. ¡°Rein, if it¡¯s for you, then I could even die for you.¡± The moment the girl wearing a beautiful dress and the knight in armour ovepped in my imagination, a red line of blood started to trickle down her throat. ¡°Mdy!¡± ¡°Heheh, I¡¯ve got you.¡± If this is an illusion then I don¡¯t have a choice but to be captured¡­ ¡°Wow, they¡¯re ignoring us and filming a love story¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m getting goosebumps. I hate those kinds of things.¡± ¡°I only had one meal today.¡± Although it¡¯s a heavy love that these kids can¡¯t understand, but I still can¡¯t abandon her. The warm blood that I touched as I brought my hand up to her neck only served to tell me that this was reality. ¡°Really, did you have to¡­ eh?¡± Click. ¡°I¡¯ve really, caught you.¡± But, as I was wiping the blood off thedy¡¯s neck, at that moment I felt something fasten and lock around my own. During my tertiary trainee days, the words that the instructor had said to me then shed through my head. -Ahh, I nearly died back then. In the pandemonium called the imperial court, I was working under that princess to boot. Plus, the. Princess. Always. Picked. People. Si. Mi. Lar. To. Her. As. Her. Own. People. So. Even. Her. Sub. Ord. In. Ates. Were. All. Si. Mi. Lar. To. Her. So everyone close to the princess were all essentially miniature versions of her. And not too long ago, what I¡¯d said when we parted from the instructor. -Just what is the princess to you that you¡¯re doing this¡­ -A Sia on a bigger scale? -I can¡¯t refute that. And, the story of the ck rose I¡¯d talked with this girl previously. -I met Her Highness a while ago, she said she was raising ck roses as a hobby. She said she was raising them to give to someone, and I thought that the princess had a unexpectedly girlish side to her. Ah, Rein, do you know what a ck rose means in thenguage of flowers? And thest thought was, when I told the instructor that I was working as a club host under the Intelligence Agency, he had said this. -Let me make a prediction. I¡¯ll put one gold on you either getting enved or stabbed to death by a girl you meet there. Ah, instructor. Thements you threw so casually so often became reality, but was that not a joke?! At least you should have put more money on it to make me more careful! But was that it? Before I worried about the instructor, did I have to watch out for myself first! ¡°No.17. Hold on. Something¡¯s weird?¡± ¡°Moron, we didn¡¯t see anything. Didn¡¯t you learn this in the organization?¡± ¡°Where from?¡± ¡°The Intelligence Agency vice-director.¡± ¡°I think I get it.¡± Right now I wanted to turn my head to those kids and yell at them to save me, but thedy¡¯s hand that had put something around my neck held my face tight and stopped me from so much as turning my head. ¡°This is a special cor that Her Highness gave to me to put on the person called Ast. It¡¯s a special dwarven cor that has no key hole, and once it¡¯s locked the only person that can undo it is the mana flow of the person of the original user. As a matter of course, it can track the wearer¡¯s location, and it can also paralyze or knock out the wearer. So Rein.¡± As her red lips came closer to me and kissed my cheek, she whispered quietly into my ear. ¡°Now¡­ you can¡¯t, run away.¡± Chapter 28 RATH 28 TL: Eevee 4. The others¡¯ stories #2 Their story: the empire soldier¡¯s story. ¡°Now the person called Ast that ran away with Rein¡¯s appearance is also going to get caught, so all we have to do is wait here and meet him.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Listening to the noble girl who had put a leash on him and was humming, Rein realised that something had gone wrong. ¡°Ah, you didn¡¯t know? The reason why the number of people that chased after you was so few was partly because to fool you Rein, but also to fool the person named Ast. Everyone that¡¯s worked long enough with the princess is wary of the person named Ast. Except for the personnel that¡¯s here that I stationed in case of emergencies, everyone else¡¯s gone to chase him. No matter how incredible that person is, he won¡¯t be able to do anything by himself.¡± Hearing this, Rein was certain. He fell for the trap, but equally so did this woman. And if he didn¡¯t tell her the truth now, then the responsibility of all that might fall square onto him. ¡°Uh, uh, mdy¡­¡± ¡°Rein, although you said it was the club¡¯s rules in the past that stopped you from calling my name, but that¡¯s not the case now, isn¡¯t it? Rather than ¡®mdy,¡¯ ¡®Iris.¡¯ Ah, it might be even better if you called me Irie like my family.¡± ¡°No, mdy, that¡¯s not¡­¡± ¡°Iris!¡± ¡°Tha¡­ I¡­ Yes, Miss Iris,¡­ that¡¯s not the important thing right now¡­¡± ¡°It is! Hm, because you¡¯re not used to it yet, you can call me ¡®miss¡¯ for now, but in the future, I want you to leave the ¡®miss¡¯ out as well.¡± ¡°Ah, I understand. But, I¡¯m saying this again, there¡¯s something important..¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Surely there¡¯s no reason why you should be stammering like that between us?¡± Rein wondered whether he could say this, but having made the judgement that the instructor had gotten a long way away by now, he said the truth. ¡°Miss Iris, actually¡­ the thing that ran away with my appearance wasn¡¯t the instructor but a contracted doppelganger.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± In that instant, the noble girl¡¯s smile that had been lovingly looking down on Rein froze instantly. ¡°The instructor has already fled through another route, and he said he¡¯d live life in a vige far away at the end of the world as a farmer¡­¡± The nobledy didn¡¯t reply to Rein. But her expression told him everything. Her whiter and whiter face. Her ttering teeth. And the shivering of her hands that he could even feel through his cor. Shortly afterwards, after shaking for a while she quietly murmured. ¡°I¡¯m screwed¡­¡± #3 Their story: The empire soldier¡¯s story .(2) ¡®It¡¯s finally over!¡¯ Unless one was on the level of being able to be called an archdevil, it was pie in the sky to receive a soul as the price for your assistance. Normal devils made provisional contracts with treasures or othermodities aspensation, and I too, did the same. And I saw hell. I had definitely contracted with what humans called an evil organization, filled with people that would make good partners for devils, but what I¡¯d faced would put trainee heroes to shame. Their skills improving was all perfectly natural, but as if they couldn¡¯t feel any pain, these kids would charge in injuries and all as if they didn¡¯t know what a limit was, both I and the other doppelgangers it was tasked with were all horrified. At ater date, when I had gone to consult with another doppelganger that had met a hero recorded in history, or more urately had been a stepping stone for said hero, he said this. -What, that¡¯s scary. Not even the hero went that far¡­ It was seriously like hell. Just once I¡¯d gotten so pissed I¡¯d breached the terms of the contract just a bit to pull out my true strength to give the kids pain. Even disregarding my own skills as a doppelganger, I had turned the enemy into a pain-sensitive state where even the slightest brush would give them unspeakable pain. But in that state they were burnt, sliced and tore their skin, yet they were smiling. ¡®How, how are you lot enduring this pain!¡¯ ¡°Kuahahaha! If youpare this pain to the metal bat then it¡¯s nothing more than child¡¯s y!¡¯ Just what is the bat? And worse, the next generation¡¯s brats called disciples were even worse. -Lord Surtr why are you¡­ -I was scammed into a contract. As the doppelgangers looked on at the ve life of the great giant that burned down a world the doppelgangers all realized that they needed to get out of this ce as soon as they could. And not long afterwards all of them got the freedom they wanted. Except for himself! ¡°We finally, finally caught you!¡± ¡°Give up, Sir Ast!¡± ¡°You¡¯re going back to the princess!¡± Out of fear I¡¯d be recontracted because I half-assed this job I ran away like I¡¯d set my soul on fire. But even that was its limit, if I¡¯m caught, the contract is finally over. ¡®I¡¯m nevering out into the human world again!¡¯ I made a firm resolve to nevere out again even if thepensation was a soul. ¡®Humans, scary¡­; That ce called Howling was a ce that opposed the empire. And the people in front of me are imperial soldiers. To think the empire¡¯s soldiers were this monstrous, then that organization Howling also raised at least this level of monsters! Who called humans the weakest race! Are they not a race that are stronger than devils and even have more numbers than us! ¡°I can¡¯t see the bat!¡± ¡°It really does seem like he handed it over to Rein to fool us.¡± ¡°We have reports that there¡¯s a higher level of weapon than that so be cautious!¡± I¡¯m saying this again, but the humans in front of us were all difficult to defeat even if I¡¯d used all my true strength. And these humans feared the thing called a bat! Is this bat some kind of-destroying weapon or something? But thanks to that, he could buy more time so the doppelganger was thankful for that. And around forty minutester. ¡°Ah, the contract¡¯s over.¡± ¡°Wh, what?!¡± ¡°Thi, this is a doppelganger?¡± ¡°Does that mean vice-captain Iris¡¯ side was the real one?!¡± ¡°C, contact with vice-captain Iris. The person she caught was the one named Rein, and Sir Ast has escaped! I repeat, Sir Ast has escaped! He said he¡¯d go live in a vige at the end of the world and live as a farmer there!¡± As his spirit became fainter and fainter, at the appearances of the human falling into shock and despair seeing the living metal that was his body gradually lose its form, the doppelganger shouted. -Hahaha, it¡¯s the best! Freedom and despair, I get both of them as I go! But, even as it did the doppelganger thought. ¡®Just what is it exactly that this level of humans fear¡­¡¯ #4 Their story: Atia nel Karuan¡¯s story. ¡°So, you failed?¡± ¡°I, I¡¯m sorry, noonim!¡± The strongest nation in the continent, Karuan. And the future emperor of that Karuan was currently begging me on his knees. Hm, well. That doesn¡¯t matter. ¡°You¡¯re going to die anyway¡­¡± ¡°Hiiik!¡± ¡°Your Highness? Even so that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± As I told her with a bright smile Reia immediately copsed into her corner. Now, where were we? ¡°So, my little brother, how far in were we? Yourst will and testament.¡± ¡°You were still listening to my story, noonim! Not my will!¡± ¡°That is your will.¡± I¡¯d waited ten years for this. For this day, I¡¯d personally dispatched people to the organization named Howling, I¡¯d negotiated and cooperated with people sent there indirectly, and I also managed to turn his disciples. And naturally, the organization named Howling was destroyed. But. ¡°My little brother, as Crown Prince you did a great job. The organization is destroyed, we¡¯ve gotten a considerable amount of results and research material that the evil organization had been working on, we¡¯ve confiscated a considerable amount of resources so that we¡¯ll be able to invest quite a bit of money into next year¡¯s budget, and we¡¯ve even got a list of names of those that were cooperating with Howling so the imperial court¡¯s going to reek of blood once again. Since we had to clean out the trash anyway, a perfect job! And since you managed to capture the organization¡¯s head alive, His Majesty will be very pleased as well.¡± The capital¡¯s citizens were already in full festivities praising my little brother and Father. Hm. That¡¯s good. That¡¯s a good thing. My little brother was indeed useful. But. ¡°But if that Crown Prince was found as a corpse the next day, that would be really amusing, no?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, noonim! Just my life?!¡± As I kicked my little brother¡¯s chin who was all but ready to dive for my legs he flew all the way back to Reia. But, my little brother crawled back again to cling to my legs. Ast said this in the past. There¡¯s a small fraction of perverts that love being the crap beaten out of by women, was my little brother one of them? Well, so what. He¡¯s dead soon anyway. ¡°But, why was the task I assigned you the only thing that wasn¡¯tpleted? How strange?¡± ¡°We, we¡¯re still in pursuit.¡± Pursuit¡­ You¡¯re chasing him? Ast? Do you really think that¡¯s Ast?¡± ¡°ording to the reports from the chasing group, he defeated the Sword Star in a single hit and is on the run. Aside from Ast, there¡¯s no person in the organization with that skill.¡± ¡°really?¡± The Sword Star that old man Nermia negotiated with lost. The Sword Star¡¯s skills are already well-known far and wide. Moreover, that seemingly endless magic power, if she had chosen not the sword but magic, she could have been the strongest magician in history. If it¡¯s that Sword Star¡¯s defeat then of course it could only be Ast. Since the daughter of the Nermia family was one of his disciples he¡¯d sent her along, but an unexpected result. ¡°Right now, your direct subordinates as well as all of mine that I can mobilize are moving right now and narrowing the encirclement, so please wait, noonim. Perhaps he¡¯d realised my anger had abated slightly, my little brother slowly approached. Alright, so I¡¯ll put killing my little brother on hold for now. ¡°Tell me why you failed, first.¡± ording to predictions, there was no way he could have escaped from the organization. But he escaped. So I need to find out why. One time is enough for mistakes. I can¡¯t lose him again to another one. ¡°Approaching the main base was harder than we expected. There were so many civilians near the main base we couldn¡¯t even tell who was an organization agent and who was a civilian.¡± ¡°Civilian? Civilians were living next to an evil organization?¡± ¡°Yes, more urately they were being domesticated. They gavend and money to refugees and ves, and helped them out until they could be self-sufficient. Plus since the city¡¯s lord was also an organization member he also took less taxes from the local civilians. Because of that praises were sung far and wide about how good the city was to live in, even the soldiers were surprised.¡± Ahh, I didn¡¯t see it myself but I can clearly see how it unfolded. Since ves that didn¡¯t know when they¡¯d die, or refugees who had abandoned their homes because of despot lords and taxes, were given a ce that they¡¯d only ever dreamed of and were allowed to live there by someone unknown, of course their heads would be filled with flowers. ¡°The name was called the Utopia n. There were also apparently dozens of cases where heroes or braves came along, thought they were mistaken and just left. Because of that, there was fierce resistance when we moved to subdue Howling. Thanks to that, we made all of them sleep by either knocking them out or with sleep magic, and thanks to that it was a bit dangerous, but perhaps there was a terrorist on the inside or something, the majority of the important buildings were on fire. Perhaps it was noonim who ordered that?¡± ¡°Hm¡­ I don¡¯t know. I did have people on the inside, but I never said anything other than to get Ast?¡± Well, although someone could have started to cause an internal confusion. But the Utopia n. Even the name sounds amusing. Well, he was always doing weird things and was very good at spinning them the right way. Utopia¡­ a nice-sounding yet a perfectly dystopic n. But since the people themselves don¡¯t realize they were domesticated, could you call it a utopia? ¡°Could I use this?¡± ¡°Eh? Noonim?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just a passing thought.¡± Humans must be free. That is how their individual personalities are expressed, and their true worth is shown. That¡¯s what he said. And since he¡¯s never been wrong up till now, I need to respect that. Of course he¡¯s an exception. Since there¡¯s no personality that stands out more than him, nor is there a person of more worth. That¡¯s why, it¡¯s alright even if he doesn¡¯t have his freedom. ¡°Reia, tea.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Reia hurriedly ran from her corner and poured me tea. Very well, not yet. There are still chances remaining. It¡¯s too early to give up. If it¡¯s ten years I¡¯ve waited long enough. I don¡¯t need any more patience. For this moment I gathered uppetent subordinates, made contact with countless nobles. This was the moment to trust in those ten years of effort. But just as I thought that, I remembered an old conversation with that person. ¡®Your Highness, there¡¯s a favourite saying of mine.¡¯ ¡®What is it?¡¯ ¡®To get your foot cut by your trusted axe.''(1) ¡®¡­ You really are weird.¡¯ ¡®Your Highness, I wish you would take this to heart. My words right now are the truth. When the thing Your Highness trusted the most,es back to stab you in the back at the decisive moment coulde in any situation.¡¯ Why is his quaint smile as he said those wordsing to mind right now? ¡°Milord Crown Prince! Emergency report!¡± And the answer came quicker than I expected. ¡°The person suspected to be Sir Ast that defeated the Sword Star was a different individual! We currently have no leads on the whereabouts of Sir Ast¡¯s location!¡± ¡°Wai, wait! If you say that now then?!¡± Ah. Yes. That¡¯s right. Ast. Your words were always correct at the most exquisite moments? I prepared for ten years. I believed. And this is how I get my feet cut open. Shatter! ¡°Hiik! You, Your Highness! Y, your hand?!¡± ¡°Reia. I think this knight is tired because of his run here. Lead him away to rest up.¡± ¡°Wai, wait a second! Sir Reia! Don¡¯t leave me alone!¡± ¡°I ept Your Highness¡¯smand!¡± ¡°Sir Reia? Sir Reia? Sir, Sir Reiaaaa!¡±(2) As expected from my long-time bodyguard, Reia quickly led the knight outside. She has good sense in shutting the door behind her. Now, then. ¡°Noo, noonim? Th, that could get dangerous so treating your hand should be¡­¡± My dear little brother¡¯s eyes are shaking. Ah, I unconsciously broke my teacup with my hand. It¡¯s dripping blood. Well¡­ does it matter? Even if I clean it up it¡¯s going to get blood on it anyway. ¡°Noonim? Noonim? I, I say there! Is there anyone there! The, the Crown Prince is about to die! He, help me!¡± Ahh, looking at my dear little brother like that, another memory with that person is surfacing. -Your Highness, it¡¯s not good for you if you always make an angry expression. -Smile. Smile even when nothing is happening, and when you¡¯re angry, then smile, smile even brighter. Sometimes, smiling can be a more effective way to convey Your Highness¡¯s anger then simple rage. -Yes, like that. See there. Isn¡¯t Sir Reia shaking in the corner over there? Ah. Right. That¡¯s right, wasn¡¯t it? Then now. In this moment. Let¡¯s make the biggest smile in my life. Chapter 29 RATH 29 TL: Eevee TN: Important news about the future of this project: see Release Notes for details. 4. The others¡¯ stories (3) #5 Their story: Sia nel Karuan¡¯s story. ¡°Can you hear me?¡± ¡°Ah¡­.¡± What I saw as I opened my eyes to my familiar subordinate¡¯s voice was a ck ceiling. That¡¯s right. I came. I came¡­ That thought kept circting around my head. -Once you wake up you will already be at your house. He¡¯s still as bad as ever. To think he¡¯d say that to me, an orphan without a home or a ce to go back to. There¡¯s only one ce I want to go back to. ¡°By any chance, he wasn¡¯t caught by the princess, was he?¡± ¡°Indeed. The person that defeated the Sword Star was deduced as Sir Ast¡­ I mean Instructor Naruan and was pursued, but was revealed as captain¡¯s peer Rein.¡± ¡°Ha? Rein beat the Sword Saint? He was the weakest of all of us?¡± ¡°That was what was reported to us.¡± Since they¡¯d already gotten that far, Master will already have defeated the Sword Star. Since she was unconscious enough for even Rein to carry the Sword Star probably wasn¡¯t in her most optimal condition. But she¡¯s still the Sword Star. Since the Sword Star¡¯s an opponent that would be impossible for Rein to beat if she as awake. In that case¡­ ¡°He must have handed over the bat.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It exists. Humanity¡¯s strongest weapon.¡± Then that makes sense. He could probably neutralise the Sword Saint in one strike with that. I had the help of my own secretly trained forces and the emperor¡¯s direct shadows, as well as the princess¡¯s help. The numbers were over 200. I even had them hide their bodies in the dark and used less torches to have him underestimate our numbers. But master was always one step ahead of me. And the unfortunate truth was that he was one step ahead of me in the critical moment as well. To be honest I was uneasy. Our Master who wasn¡¯t more outstanding than anyone, became the most outstanding for that reason, and our Master that was careless, became more careful than anyone because of that. He would use any method to erase his weaknesses, and always develop new strengths. Master always did the things that sounded easy, yet hard to actually realize. Because of that, in all honesty this operation made me uneasy, and in some aspects it went as expected. ¡°Casualties?¡± ¡°Amazingly, none. Even our allies that were hit by friendly fire in the confusion were treated. To be honest¡­ I still don¡¯t know what it was that we fought against.¡± ¡°Then again, that sounds about right.¡± Firstly, it hurts when you¡¯re hit. Even I who endured during all sorts of training couldn¡¯t avoid that pain. But funnily enough that was also treatment. Once, just once when Maren suffered a critical wound during training, Master brought out the metal bat. Ah, now that I think about it that was also the first time I saw the metal bat. -In, instructor! Even so that¡¯s too far! -Sending him offfortably would be¡­ huh? -Is he hurting him because he didn¡¯t finish training¡­ eh? We all had to look at that scene with both our eyes wide open. He was screaming and despairing as he hystericallyughed in pain as his sides were torn and his guts were spilling out, but we were stupefied as we saw the injury miraculously heal itself in front of our eyes as it was hit. -Kill, kill me¡­ just, kill me¡­ -Now, my disciples. You can get injured. There¡¯s even a way to heal you. So rest assured. Master¡¯s smile then made even me who loved Master more than anyone else unconsciously take a step back, and the impact of the metal bat I felt not long after that even momentarily turned my loving heart into a murderous one. And Maren who was crawling on the ground after suffering treatment from the metal bat survived. Much too perfectly fine. To the extent that he woke up fresher than us the next morning. For the record, because of the trauma from this incident, he rejected countless love calls from paramilitary groups, and strongly pushed for a desk job and so went into Internal Affairs. He had be afraid of getting injured. ¡°Fu¡­ fuhu¡­. Huhuhu¡­. Yes, hm. You wouldn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Miss Sia?¡± As I looked at the ceiling I ignored myughter that leaked through my lips. Although it might seem somewhat unbing of a woman tough like that, for some reason I just want to keepughing like this. ¡°Yes, Master is¡­ an enigma.¡± ¡°An enigma?¡± ¡°Yes, Master is the unknown itself! He¡¯s someone we simply cannot understand.¡± I couldn¡¯t understand with anymon logic. No matter how long I¡¯d been looking at him I still couldn¡¯t understand. Whether Master¡¯s name was Naruan, Ast, Herman, Esedna. Or maybe even something else I didn¡¯t know about. No one knew. The territory that Master used to live in had already long been burnt to the ground by the Empire, and Master¡¯s traces that I tracked him by differed with every lead. What was more, when I stole records of someone else¡¯s observations of Master andpared them to my own, all our records were different. Sometimes, I despaired that I knew nothing about Master. Sometimes, I feared that I meant nothing to Master. Sometimes, I felt an emptiness wondering if the Master I knew and loved really existed. So I was embarrassed, but went to ask Master himself. -Master, Master! -Instructor. -Yes, instructor. I wanted to ask you something. -Your training is already more or lessplete, but very well. What is it. -What is love? Does love exist? Then why does love change? -Whew¡­ and you suddenly came to me for this. As if he couldn¡¯t be bothered, or perhaps thought it ridiculous, but, he answered my question seriously. -One¡¯s first love is always special. Something new, something fun, something different. They fall in love with these. But most of the time people don¡¯t care whether it¡¯s real or fake. Do you know why? -Answering a question with a question. Unfair. -Easily learned knowledge is just as easily forgotten. I thought over it. Why did I like Master. Sure, at first, I cursed him. -This little shit! Just why that motherfucker survive the great war and pull all this bullshit on us?! A veteran among veterans of the Great War he was sent off to for an assignment, one of the instructor¡¯s greatest legends among many. But if you had the only recently-developed empire-style magic bombardment thrown at you not long after you began training then you couldn¡¯t not swear. What was next. Hm. As I thought, more curses. -Kuaaaaaaghh! What, is that! Really! Is that little shit really human?! Well that couldn¡¯t be helped either. The first time you¡¯re hit by the bat, you can¡¯t help but yell like that. Eh, now that I think of it just why did Ie to love Master? -Know? What? Just what do you know about me instructor! I don¡¯t even know who I am! What the hell do you know about me! Do you have any proof that you know anything about me? Ah, it was then. Now that I think back on it was an embarrassing time, it couldn¡¯t be helped since I was in puberty. And one day when I thought that it couldn¡¯t be helped. And since the magical woman¡¯s day also came to me, andbined with my naturally filthy personality I was very, very moody, it was the day that still haunts my dreams and makes me throw off my bedsheets. -I don¡¯t know. To the extent that it seemed very heartlessly, very careless. But, his answer that buried itself deep in my heart. -I can¡¯t say I know you either. No, to begin with in an evil organization there¡¯s no need for an exchange of emotions between instructor and disciple. The only thing I have to do, is teach you, and all you have to do is learn and grow. And to begin with, truth isn¡¯t a thing that is visible to the eye. And so, I cannot show you visible proof. Wow. Now that I think about it, he didn¡¯t understand my existence at all. Just where did I fall for him. Ah, I remember. -So I don¡¯t know you, and you don¡¯t know me. We¡¯re the same. It¡¯s funny. Nothing else, but ¡®the same.¡¯ At the words that we were the same, those words were like salvation to me. Andter, when I happened toe across something as I investigated Master, the secret of my own birth that was not at all funny. When I realised the existence of my father that was absent since my birth. And the things that happened after that were all unimaginable. But I felt that I understood myself better after that. But, I still don¡¯t understand Master. -Do you not know? What broke my thoughts were the instructor¡¯s rxed voice. I scrambled to answer. -Because, because I wasn¡¯t used to it? To be honest, I didn¡¯t fall because he said that. To be honest my love for master then was the same, but I couldn¡¯t understand back then. But Master nodded. -Yes, it¡¯s because you are not used to it. People want love that¡¯s sh, elegant, that kind of love. And so they try to gain young and beautiful people in their hands, or try to make brilliant people theirs no matter their means or methods to do so. To raise your own value is the same as loving yourself. And that¡¯s why you get quickly bored, or think your partner doesn¡¯t fit with you, or find someone else then you naturally go your separate ways. -Then¡­ is it different if you get used to love? To my question, amazingly enough the instructor smiled gently and stroked my head. -Indeed. Rather than getting used to it, maturing. When a person matures, they see depth in what they originally thought was simple or in, and love what they didn¡¯t spare a nce for in the past. Even if there is no shiness or elegance, they find the best worth in people in their own way. -It¡¯s hard. -Ho, and now who was the one that asked me that difficult question? -Ma, Master? -Instructor. And Master who ruffled my hair was different to normal Master. Later when I surveyed people that worked together with Master on missions, they said his personality on missions werepletely different. And although the Master I knew then was attractive, this Master was attractive in his own way. And so I heard many stories from Master, the me back then didn¡¯t fully understand what he was saying. Just, I really like this person as I talk with him. Aside from realising that. Ah, just one, these words I always kept to heart. -Love is allowed. You are allowed to be selfish for the sake of love. ¡°Urgent report! Instructor Naruan¡¯s goal is a farmer¡¯s life in a vige at the end of the continent. And it seems that Her Highness herself has moved personally on this matter.¡± Ahh, for once in a long time. I was remembering fond memories, but, that princess has begun to make her move. A person who has led a lifepletely different to mine, but with the same end goal. ¡°It seems like she, too, has decided to move herself.¡± But the instructor, a farmer. What is this feeling that it doesn¡¯t suit him yet suits him at the same time? ¡°What will we do?¡± ¡°Aside from the princess¡¯s forces, each of us are to act on our own. The princess¡¯s forces are to return, tell His Majesty that I¡¯m going on holiday.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have holidays.¡± ¡°Hm? I have lot of spare holidays saved up. The empire¡¯s a ce with really good social security.¡± ¡°We¡¯re unofficial.¡± ¡°Pfft. Then again. You guys don¡¯t officially exist after all. Alright. Then let me do the talking.¡± They were the imperial family¡¯s shadows yet their jobs were all unofficial. I smiled brightly as I thought such things. ¡°Your first holiday is a continent tour. The goal is the vige at the end of the world.¡± ¡°I think our holidays will be tougher than our work.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my problem.¡± You just gotta do what you gotta do. That was why His Majesty gave you guys to me. My loving Master said this. Love is allowed. You are allowed to be selfish for the sake of love. So then let me be a bit selfish as well. ¡°If you think you can run, then try to run.¡± Because I, in my selfishness, will capture Master. Chapter 30 RATH 30 TL: Eevee 4. The others¡¯ stories (4) #6 Their story: No.1000¡¯s story. Unlike No.1 and No.17, No.1000 didn¡¯t have a ce to return to. Meaning, she had to go back to the life where she couldn¡¯t eat every day. Once she realised that, No.1000 despaired. ¡°Kukuung!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to make sound effects with your mouth.¡± ¡°It¡¯s bad.¡± ¡°Re, really?¡± When No.1000 started thinking with a dead serious expression, No.17 was going to ask whether she¡¯d be interested ining back to her house with her, but the one who stopped No.17 was Iris whose face was still sheet-white from shock. ¡°Hey, you. The princess said she¡¯d be taking you. She refuses your refusals.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°The other kids might have their own families, but she told me to bring you back especially. Here.¡± She brought out a small box specifically ordered from the imperial pce, and when she opened the box there was a fresh, steaming steak inside. ¡°Ca, can I eat it?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± No.1000 gulped, and the moment when she put a bite-sized steak into her mouth. ¡°¡­!!!!!!!!!!¡± In that instant, No.1000¡¯s face turned bright red, and her eyes opened widely. Her hands were iling around in their air as if she didn¡¯t know what to do with them. ¡°If youe with us, then this quality of meals will be your everyday¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯lle! I¡¯lle! I¡¯lle!¡± And that was how No.1000 became the princess¡¯s right-hand woman. #7 Their story: No.17¡¯s story. ¡°You did it!¡± ¡°Wee back.¡± At the warm gazes my family sent me, my heart felt¡­ it should feel warm. How should I put it. Why does it feel like I¡¯m about to break out in goosebumps? -Give up owner. Owner¡¯s already, be ustomed to that ce. -No, no! It can¡¯t be! -Owner. Don¡¯t deny it. Owner is already, one that this archdevil Surtr has acknowledged, a soul that is eviler and cruller than a devil. -No! I¡¯m a pure¡­ I suddenly shut up. That something, inside me is blocking it. No. it can¡¯t be. But! -Now, owner. Pure¡­ so. What? -I¡¯m still pu¡­ krrrgghh¡­ it, it can¡¯t be. But, but! What is this, the world¡¯s will? Or is it the remnants of my conscience! Something is blocking from saying what I want to say. -Urgh¡­ I¡­ am¡­ not pure. I was dirtied. I was dirtied! Only before I went to Howling there was a time where I simply enjoyed learning magic! This is all the evil organization¡¯s fault! ¡°I believed in you. Because among all my daughters you had the most talent to adjust to Howling.¡± ¡°Unni believed in you too. If it was you who lived less like a noble girl¡¯s life than a boor¡­ I mean free-spirited life you¡¯d act like a scumb¡­ I mean adjust and survive there. -Owner. I think your family knew owner¡¯s talents very well. -No! Tha, that¡¯s just unni lying! She¡¯s just jealous that I¡¯vee back afterpleting a big job! -Her eyes are way too pure for that. -It, it can¡¯t be¡­ lies¡­ But the more I heard my family¡¯spliments the more I heard that they believed that I¡¯d adapt well to an evil organization. Moreover, Mother, the only one who didn¡¯t say something along those lines. ¡°Now all you need to do now is get married.¡± Went and said something like that! What was the reason I went to Howling in the first ce?! It was to get out of an arranged marriage! But to be married off as soon as I got back! ¡°Mother, I am stillcking in knowledge.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Bridal lessons are something I can teach you quickly.¡± ¡°N, not that kind of knowledge, but I want to learn more magic.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I barely convinced Mother who was looking at me with a slightly regrettable face and faced Father, the family head and announced loudly. ¡°I, will go to the academy for learning!¡± I was someone who survived while feeling true pain. A bunch of brats who simply yed around in the fields going hahahoho would be no match for me! But I didn¡¯t know then. That there would be existences whose academy lives were filled with even greater pain than mine. #8 Their story: No.1¡¯s story. After returning home, and a bit of praise from Father I thought I¡¯d be forgotten. Well, of course. Since mother passed away I have no backers, and I¡¯m not the oldest, and I¡¯m not famous either? And so naturally like a rat in a hole, I thought I¡¯d have to live quietly, and since my brothers seemed to feel sorry for sending a kid that wasn¡¯t even much of a threat to Howling, plus they had other threats to take care of so they couldn¡¯t be bothered dealing with me, and so it seemed like they were going to leave me alone. But¡­ ¡°Ha, so you¡¯re saying you blocked my way for just this?¡± When a visiting noble tried to destroy a food stall because it was in the way of his carriage, my thread of reason snapping was the problem. ¡°Pl, please stop!¡± ¡°Shut up! Just? Just this?¡± Ahh, I wasn¡¯t this kind of bastard. I wasn¡¯t someone who¡¯d step forward like this, I was someone who thought I could always fill my belly, but! ¡°The clothes you wear, the food you eat! Just where do you think theye from? You motherfucking leech, you dare cause trouble in a dining hall?! Do you have any idea how much it hurts when you¡¯re starving!¡± That was all I could remember. From what I heard I cursed the noble and his entire n with all the insults and curses I knew, and I beat down all his knights that tried to stop me by force and lectured him for about an hour on the importance of food. And because of that, I became the most famous out of my brothers in the territory! ¡°His Excellence¡¯s son Swin really thinks of us?¡± ¡°Yeah, apparently he understands our hunger well.¡± ¡°I heard he made huge achievements in the recent Howling incident as well, he¡¯s quite the person.¡± Whenever three or more people of our territory gather they start praising me. The rumours became twisted and started to turn to something along the lines of me destroying the evil organization Howling that existed since the founding of the empire all by myself. Because of this there were nobles that started to take note of me as well, and when it seemed that my brothers too, felt they couldn¡¯t afford to leave me alone anymore. ¡°Let¡¯s gap it.¡± I decided to run away from home. #9 Their story: the host turned prisoner(ve)¡¯s story. The three kids were all taken away by their respective caretakers, and I was waiting on standby in Iris¡¯s tent. But¡­ ¡°How, how, how¡­¡± The always noble, beautiful. Thedy Iris who had always seemed like an unreachable flower on an unclimbable precipice was broken. All thedy did was gnaw on her thumbnail, repeat the same words over and over again as she circled around me holding my leash. Just what kind of person is this princess to induce this kind of fear in this woman! ¡°Mi, mdy?¡± ¡°Iris!¡± But she¡¯s still not forgetting that part. ¡°Miss Iris, it seems someone is here.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Knock knock knock. The temporary cloth entrance made of cloth, someone was knocking on a wooden nk to let us know they were there. ¡°I¡¯m the mage captain Legas. We¡¯re going to be holding a meeting with Her Highness soon throughmunication tools, meet up in ten minutes. Bring that man Rein too.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Although she said she was calm, the noble girl¡¯s voice is still shaking. But as if this problem wasn¡¯t this girl¡¯s alone, the voice of the mage captain Legas also had the same fear embedded in it. Just what kind of archdevil is the instructor being chased by? If a knight order¡¯s vice-captain, and the strongest nation¡¯s overwhelmingly strongest mage corps¡¯ captain is dyed in that much fear, that means that so are their subordinates! Just as I was seriously thinking that the instructor would have to be caught by the princess for the sake of world peace, the girl took a deep breath and shouted with a dignified expression. ¡°Alright, the answer is suicide!¡± The method isn¡¯t at all dignified?! ¡°Mi, mdy? Suicide, why would you¡­¡± ¡°Rein. Rein might not know, but there are times when a clean quiet death is preferable to life.¡± ¡­I know. I know since I was hit a lot! Every time I was hit by the metal bat I honestly wished that we¡¯d get casualties like other instructors¡¯ trainees! ¡°So, Rein¡­ you can¡­e with me, right?¡± Eh? Where? ¡°If, it¡¯s together with Rein¡­ I¡¯m not scared¡­¡± ¡°Muh, Mdy? ¡®Scuse me, Mdy? Calm down. Right now Mdy is thinking something very radical and very dangerous!¡± ¡°Yep. It¡¯s radical. But¡­ I did all sorts of things while telling Her Highness I¡¯d catch him¡­ but I failed. I can¡¯t. I¡¯m done for.¡± Ah, she¡¯s out. Her eyes are spinning. Am, am I going to die here? -Crackle. It was then. That therge crystal ball in the corner of the room began to make noise. -krrck, krrrckrr, rkrkcrrrrk¡­. Ah, crkckkk, ah, ah¡­ ckrkcrrrk¡­ ah, ah. Hm. Is it working?¡± ¡°Y, Your Highness?!¡± In the crystal ball was a beautiful, brightly smiling, silver-haired, red eyed woman that reminded me of Sia. -Ah, Iris. Vice-captain of my most trusted Third Knight Order. ¡°Ye, yes!¡± Unlike the princess who was smiling as if she was very pleased, Lady Iris was stiff like she¡¯d been affected by a witch¡¯s petrification spell that you only heard of in folk tales. -Yes, Iris. My most trusted Iris. And my trusted Iris went and cut my foot?¡± ¡°Hiiik!¡± The princess was smiling even more brightly, but thatugh was, yes, the savagery of that smile made me think that was the sort of smile that the king of hell, King Yumra(1) would make when he sentenced sinners to hell. -Our Iris got the person named Rein that she wanted, but I didn¡¯t get my Ast that I waited ten years for? Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯ve failed before when I tried to catch Ast previously. The princess smiled even more brightly as she looked at the quivering nobledy like a lion staring down a rabbit. But unlike that smile the chill that spread throughout my body only increased. -So, if it¡¯s the Iris I know, I thought you would die together with that kid Rein for a peaceful death. Surely that¡¯s just my imagination, right? Shake shake shake shake. That moment my leash started shaking like it had a vibrating function added to it. Of course, that was thedy¡¯s shakes that were being transmitted through the leash in her hand! ¡°N, n¡­ No¡­¡± -Indeed. That¡¯s right. Surely. To think you¡¯d diefortably after losing him. There¡¯s. No. Way. I. Would. Allow. That. Right?¡± Shakeshakeshakeshakeshakeshakeshakeshake. My body started to shake along with my cor. Ah, of course it¡¯s also because the nobledy¡¯s shivers had reached fever pitch, but I started to shake myself! Seriously what, it feels like she¡¯d revive us with ck magic even if we killed ourselves! -You guys are mine. It is also my right to allow you to die. You do not have that choice. ¡°Yeyeyeyeyeyes ma¡¯am!¡± -Very good. Now since we need to start the meeting. Bring that boy Rein and get over here. ¡°Un, understood!¡± The ce where the nobledy hurriedly dragged me by the leash was a ce where hundreds, no, thousands of people were waiting. Since all of their gazes are focused on me it feels ufortable as hell. I¡¯m not going to get publicly executed, right? ¡°Th, that¡¯s?!¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be!¡± And on the way to thedy¡¯s seat, everyone¡¯s eyes turned to me. More urately, the thing on my belt¡­ ¡°That bat¡­ Did you get it from Ast, no Naruan!¡± Yes, to the bat. Hm. But it seems like that bat is quite famous. To think even the empire¡¯s army would know of it. ¡°Indeed I did?¡± The moment I said that scores of people in my vicinity immediately took a knee, bowed their heads and shouted. ¡°Greetings to the sessor of the bat!¡± And -Greetings to the sessor of the bat! Aside from thedy and a few others, everyone on the wide in, thousands of people immediately took a knee and shouted. ¡°¡­Rein? What¡¯s a bat?¡± To thedy who had a face that couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing, I couldn¡¯t reply either. I thought I knew it well but I now I don¡¯t know¡­ Instructor, just what the hell did you do with the bat in the empire? #10 Their story: a certain academy¡¯s story. ¡°Is this person reallying into our academy?¡± ¡°But the conditions are just as shocking.¡± At one point, it used topete for the number 1, 2 position among the empire¡¯s Four Great Academies, but currently it was the lowest, no there were even calls to remove Yugrasia from the four academies altogether and call it the Three Great Academies instead, that was how low the summoner¡¯s school Yugrasia had fallen. And the old man that was that Yugrasia¡¯s current principal looked over a sheet of paper and nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll take him in.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± But the dilemma didn¡¯tst long. That was how bad Yugrasia¡¯s current situation was, and this person¡¯s fame was significant enough to be able to chart a path through these troubled times. ¡°The legendary summoner, Nicerwin. We will put our trust in him.¡± And thus was the beginning of a new age in Yugrasia¡¯s history. Chapter 30.1 - Side Story 1 RATH Side Story 1 TL: Eevee Side Story ¨C A certain princess¡¯s memories (1) To me, the world. Everything was grey. It was not a metaphor. Just that everything aside from me Seemed to be in ck and white. ck and white. And their mixture, A grey-coloured world. Then one day. When I¡¯d thought that all this was normal. In my grey-coloured world. In came another existence d in colours other than grey. #1 Their story: a certain viin¡¯s story ¡°This is the 17th Garden that the 9th Prince visits frequently, and thanks to that we can often see the 9th Prince. The 9th Prince¡¯s mother¡­¡± As I listened to the exnation I could only think one thing. ¡®Just how big is this bloody imperial pce?¡¯ ording to the exnation the garden I saw just now was the seventeenth. For the record, there are 51 gardens in the imperial pce. We haven¡¯t even gone through half of them, yet half the day¡¯s already gone by! As for why I¡¯m looking at the gardens of the imperial pce, of course it¡¯s because I¡¯m here on an assignment for the organization. Normally I should be working hard as an instructor and rolling the kids and sucking on the sweet honey, but my first cohort of disciples had nothing but monsters. Damn it. Because of that for the first time in the organization¡¯s history they passed the tertiary training in just over a year. Since most other instructors take just over 4 years to raise their cohorts I have three years leftpared to them. And our organization which is always has abour shortage will never tell me ¡®good job¡¯ and let me y for three years! Even so, to think they¡¯d throw me into the field straight away, and into the infamous house of hell that¡¯s the imperial pce! If you were to talk about the imperial pce, legend has it that it¡¯s the ce where more organization members were killed because they had the wrong backer, instead of actually being outed as a spy! Plus it¡¯s the infamous worst possible working environment in the organization, that no matter how well you did your job, if you were just shit out of luck then you were dead just like that! No, but why is the organization sending a high-spec agent like me to this ce! ¡°Because of this the nobles that are close to the 9th Prince often visit this ce. These nobles are¡­¡± Well, the silver lining is, that at least I had pretty good luck in seniors? I¡¯d heard that there were a lot of people that just half-assed the exnation and said get out if you can¡¯t take it, but my senior is exining in great detail about the nobles thate often, as well as those nobles¡¯ factions and how influential they were. Moreover, he was also telling me about which nobles to watch out for. Although thanks to that, like I said earlier we still haven¡¯t gotten round to even half the pce grounds¡­ Of course I¡¯m not doing a pce garden tour as a servant. To be urate it¡¯s a pce tour. But if we haven¡¯t even seen half the gardens, just how much more ces are there to cover? I still need to see the knight orders, the ces where the magicians are staying, the mages, magicians¡¯ workrooms that are ssified secrets¡­ this damn empire is so big I think it¡¯ll take at least a week to get round all of it. Although thankfully it seems there are quite a few ces that need to be kept secret? Of course not all of them are ssified areas, there could be a few fakes scattered around, but if I don¡¯t need to go there then that¡¯s good for me. On the battlefield even if I¡¯d been awake for three days and nights I still hadn¡¯t hurt, but maybe it was because I was wearing tight shoes, or whether I¡¯d just been listening to boring stories all this time, but my feet were hurting more than they had on the battlefield. It hurt and it hurt like hell! ¡°And¡­ Ah, greetings, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Greetings, Your Highness.¡± After exining everything about the 17th Garden and while we were moving to where the 7th Knight Order were located, I saw a cute little girl with silver hair and red eyes. For the record, the presence of imperial blood here showed itself as silver hair and red eyes. They say that they carried the bloodline of Silver Dragons, but it¡¯s unsure whether it¡¯s true or not. There¡¯s just too many stories of royal bloodlines with dragon blood in them after all. But even if she¡¯s just a kid, she¡¯s royalty! A being that could easily order my head lopped off anytime! Because of that I quickly bowed my head, but even as time passed, even as I felt that now should be about the time for permission to raise our heads toe along, the princess was still silent. ¡°Y, Your Highness?¡± Her female bodyguard beside her called for her as if she was shocked, but there¡¯s still no order to raise our heads! Damn it! Was this senior one on the princess¡¯s bad side?! ¡°Hirett¡­ Was it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an honour that you remember me.¡± ¡°No, I just don¡¯t forget things I heard. But who¡¯s that behind you?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a new hire that just came in.¡± ¡°New hire¡­ alright, where¡¯s his dispatch?¡± ¡°That¡¯s still yet to be confirmed.¡± ¡°Really?¡± The conversation felt weird. If I was under that senior¡¯s wing, right now there¡¯d be all sorts of suffering and prosecution! This is truly a fearful ce, imperial pce! From the very beginning I chose the wrong line! So the princess went past, the day ended with me being unable to see even 1/5 of the pce, and the next day. ¡°Congrattions. I¡¯ve never seen something this drastic in ten years of working in the imperial pce.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I tilt my head. That¡¯s odd. That¡¯s odd? Wasn¡¯t I here as with a rmendation from some random baron with ties to the organization to be hired asmon servant? Or am I dreaming right now? ¡°Haha, it seems you¡¯re surprised at working directly under the princess as well. But good luck.¡± But the feeling of my senior¡¯s hand patting my shoulder reminded me that this was reality. It wasn¡¯t my senior but me? I haven¡¯t been discovered, have I?! *** ¡°Your Highness? Personal butler all of a sudden? Do you know him?¡± ¡°No? There¡¯s no way that I would know amoner that came in only yesterday when I don¡¯t even go out of the pce?¡± ¡°But why¡­¡± ¡°Secret.¡± My Reia had been my bodyguard from a young age, but she still has a tendency of being surprised. Of course, in terms of her bodyguarding skills I have noints. Her skills being a matter of course, her bodyguard abilities rank in the top tier among those her age, no, the entire knight order. But, her downside is that she seems tock a tiny bit of something for day to day living. ¡°Reia, if you keep doing that then you won¡¯t be able to get married?¡± ¡°Wha, what! You know how many marriage talks areing to me! They¡¯re all¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie. They¡¯re marriage talks going to your family, considering you always get rejected when you meet face to face, just where do you think you¡¯re pretending to be unable to get married because of me?¡± ¡°Kurgh¡­¡± Although Reia is sniffling, I need her to face reality. It¡¯s all for Reia¡¯s sake. There are two big reasons why Reia always gets rejected. One is that she¡¯s not feminine. Well, although there are men that don¡¯t seem to care about that, but the next reason is probably why she keeps getting rejected. ¡°It¡¯s too much, Your Highness! Everything was for your sake!¡± ¡°Ahh¡­ that¡¯s the problem.¡± She started toin to me with freely dripping waterworks from her eyes. Reia¡¯s mental strength is too weak. She can¡¯t control her emotions, so she prioritizes her emotions over the situation. If it wasn¡¯t Reia but some other maid or guard then I¡¯d have thrown her out already, her emotional control is that bad. Because a person that rages when angry, cries when sad,ughs when happy, does not fit at all with this imperial pce where you must always hide your emotions. But she¡¯s a famous prodigy even in her family which is renowned for its swordsmanship, didn¡¯t they say swordsmen were supposed to keep calm? They say a sword that has lost its calm can¡¯t demonstrate its full strength, but even like this Reia¡¯s still strong. Really, isn¡¯t the most important quality of a swordsman just strength? Knock knock. ¡°Your Highness, mister Ast is here.¡± ¡°Tell him toe in.¡± The grey-coloured door opened, and a man d in myriad colours entered. He seemed to be in histe 20s, perhaps early 30s, but since there were said to be many cases wheremoners lived harsh lives and looked older than they were, is he more likely to be in his twenties. ¡°You, what are you?¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°What are you.¡± What are you, that only you have colour? Are you the same as me? But in that case you shouldn¡¯t be alive. Just, what on earth are you? ¡°Your Highness! I was so happy my workload would reduce because you brought in a person for the first time in a long time, but you¡¯re like this to him he¡¯ll quit straight away!¡± ¡°No, he can¡¯t quit. It¡¯s an imperial order.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Until I say so, he cannot resign.¡± Since the day my fate was decided, he was the first man bearing colour. I haven¡¯t found out how or the reason, so I can¡¯t let him quit. Before I know the reason why, I need to put him by my side and observe him. ¡°If you understood, then answer me. What are you?¡± ¡°I¡­ am named Ast.¡± ¡°I know your name.¡± ¡°Then could you please tell me what it is you are asking me?¡± ¡°Are you an idiot? I asked what are you.¡± ¡°So I said my name is Ast.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking for your name.¡± ¡°Then what else should I represent myself by? If I cannot represent myself by my name or person, then just what should I introduce myself as to Your Highness?¡± He was tilted his head as if he didn¡¯t know, but his lips held a queer smile. It was an expression that said I know what you want, but I¡¯m not going to tell you so easily. So, that¡¯s how you¡¯re going to y? Then I should respond in kind. If it was my other siblings I would threaten them with my title, but that¡¯s not my style. ¡°What difficult things are you talking about? I just asked you what you were. But you¡¯re replying with suchplicated words, do you even know what your role is?¡± Now, these are a pure and innocent child¡¯s eyes. Of course I am a child, but on the inside I¡¯m nothing less than an adult. Yes, ordinary people would probably call me a genius. But even so, I¡¯m nine years old. It wouldn¡¯t be weird if I were to say such things. ¡°You are also responsible for my education. So, I¡¯m asking you. Because I don¡¯t know. What are you? Exin in a way that¡¯s easy for me to understand.¡± ¡°Your Highness, are you really doing that again. This is why all your servants quit.¡± As if she was getting a headache, Reia grumbled but Reia was never someone I had to be concerned with. Now then, Ast. What will be your answer? #2. Their story: A certain viin¡¯s story. ¡°You, what are you?¡± ¡°What are you.¡± Now, the first thing that this princess says when she meets me for the first time is this. Hm, what¡¯s. This. How should I respond? ¡°Your Highness! I was so happy my workload would reduce because you brought in a person for the first time in a long time, but you¡¯re like this to him he¡¯ll quit straight away!¡± ¡°No, he can¡¯t quit. It¡¯s an imperial order.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Until I say so, he cannot resign.¡± Plus, she even says she¡¯s using an imperialmand preventing me from quitting. Hoho, damn it. But at least I can ascertain something out of this. The princess definitely wants something from me. If I can understand what that is then I could probably direct this conversation to my favour¡­ ¡°If you understood, then answer me. What are you?¡± That kid¡¯s getting snippy, but since she¡¯s the princess I¡¯m the one that should crawl. ¡°I¡­ am named Ast.¡± I give her my name. Names are important. There¡¯s a reason why the question your name is. exists. Of course it¡¯s an alibi though. But even though I thought I answered rather well. ¡°I know your name.¡± ¡°Are you an idiot? I asked what are you.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking for your name.¡± The replies thate back are all arguments. No? wasn¡¯t? So what? Why is this not even ten-year old kid I¡¯m seeing for the first time, wait, since I saw her yesterday it isn¡¯t our first meeting. But still, if you asked someone about a philosophical question the first time you met them, then how would you answer. ¡°Then what else should I represent myself by? If I cannot represent myself by my name or person, then just what should I introduce myself as to Your Highness?¡± I don¡¯t know. To begin with I wasn¡¯t exactly good with philosophy, and it¡¯s not like I can yell ¡®I think! Therefore I am!¡¯ like Descartes. So I decided on a honest straight ball instead. But¡­ ¡°What difficult things are you talking about? I just asked you what you were. But you¡¯re replying with suchplicated words, do you even know what your role is?¡± She tilted her head and asked like an innocent little kid. No, I actually don¡¯t understand what my job is?! I woke up and was dispatched as a personal butler, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d know what I¡¯m doing! It¡¯s not like there was a handover process either! I just came because they ran over, said go this way. But the moment I arrive she asks who are you, and when I say I don¡¯t understand, whatplicated things are you saying. Hoho, not even an evil organization rushes work like this, would you say as expected of the empire, as expected of the imperial pce! ¡°You are also responsible for my education. So, I¡¯m asking you. Because I don¡¯t know. What are you? Exin in a way that¡¯s easy for me to understand.¡± Ah, so that was the case. I¡¯m also in charge of the princess¡¯s education. If that workload is included then it felt like there would be massive amounts of other workloads included in the package as well but this was the priority right now. Hm. Do I need to say something wise or something. No. since she doesn¡¯t know then easily so she can understand. Easily¡­ Alright then let¡¯s do it this way. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Ah dunno! Sue me! Chapter 30.2 - Side Story 2 RATH Side Story 2 TL: Eevee Side Story ¨C A certain princess¡¯s memories (2) #3 Their story: a certain viin¡¯s story ¡°Ha?¡± After a moment of silence, the princess¡¯s stupefied exmation echoed through the room. Although I didn¡¯t hear what my duties were, about this kid princess herself at least, my senior Hirett told me about her immediately after we met yesterday. To summarize a thirty minute exnation, she¡¯s the First Imperial Princess of the empire and the greatest genius of the imperial family. And she¡¯s an asshole. Plus she apparently had the favour of the emperor so she did pretty much whatever she wanted. Rather than half-assing something to an opponent like that, it¡¯s better to pretend I know nothing at all. Alright then, let¡¯s show her my uselessness here, and get fired. Then the organization can¡¯t do anything about that either. The princess that¡¯s loved oh so much by the emperor told me to piss off home, what else can I do? Of course I could get a sry cut because of that, but considering the alternative is living in the imperial pce where ten lives aren¡¯t anywhere near enough to survive, it¡¯s better to just take a pay cut and go back to the organization as an instructor. ¡°My name is Ast. I was born in the old Harken Kingdom as a farmer¡¯s son, but I was forced to abandon my farm altogether due to war, when I came over to the empire and did odd jobs to survive, I found myself here. My age is 25, my hobby is reading. I have a special constitution that refused to allow me umte mana since the day I was born, so no matter how much I practice my swordy my skills are alwayscking, and I cannot use magic either.¡± ¡°What, you could exin it.¡± ¡°But was that exnation what Your Highness wanted?¡± ¡°¡­No.¡± And why should it. Although I don¡¯t know what she wants from me, I know her purpose. She¡¯s just trying to screw me over. Considering what the knight named Reia said earlier, this was probably how she made many of her servants quit. ¡°Since Your Highness ordered me to exin simply, I shall exin simply. Your Highness. Does a person¡¯s essence lie in their physical body?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Indeed, it does not. A person dies and leaves behind their body. But that is simply a corpse that soon rots away, it is not that person. In that case Sir Reia, what do you believe is the essence of a person.¡± ¡°Huh? M, me?¡± The startled female knight stared at me with wide eyes. Very good. This is good prey. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Th, the soul?¡± She struggled in that surprised state for a while before answering with a question. She doesn¡¯t seem like an imperial knight which supposedly needs both strength and intelligence. She appears to be the princess¡¯s bodyguard, so no doubt her martial skills will be very, very superior to make up for her intellectual shortfalls. Or maybe she¡¯s beside the princess because she¡¯s an idiot. Ah, on the other hand, the princess could just be keeping her as a fun toy to y with. ¡°In that case, Sir Reia. If your soul was swapped with mine, and Sir Reia¡¯s soul and mind were in this body, would you still be Sir Reia?¡± ¡°Mmm¡­ is it? No, isn¡¯t it? Mmm¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bully Reia. She¡¯s not in charge of my education.¡± ¡°Your, Your Highness¡­¡± The princess said to me as she looked at Sir Reia whimpering. I think Sir Reia was actually quite moved by that. ¡°My head is far too good to be taught by an idiot.¡± ¡°Your Highness!¡± Although I think that ended immediately. ¡°Your Highness. No matter whether that you think she may be an idiot, if a person by Your Highness¡¯s side is deficient in knowledge that is not good.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. There¡¯s no one in the pce that doesn¡¯t know that Reia¡¯s an idiot. But her martial skills are excellent so it¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Wait, Your Highness! I¡¯m not an¡­¡± ¡°No matter how splendid her martial arts may be, she should have the talent to identify what is good or bad for her mistress. If not then she would only be harmful to her owner.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true, but it¡¯s alright. I¡¯m not so ipetent to be harmed simply because of Reia.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Your Highness, and you both going way too far?! Especially you! It is the height of rudeness to say someone needs intelligence on their first meeting!¡± I turned to Sir Reia who was shouting with a scarlet face. Normally it wouldn¡¯t be weird for her to draw her sword yelling ¡°You dare show such disrespect? Pay the price with your head!¡± or such lines. ¡°Then Sir Reia. Could you please give me an answer to my previous question?¡± ¡°Urk! Th, that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Reia, you don¡¯t need to push yourself.¡± ¡°No, Your Highness! I can do this!¡± Ohh! So she was the hot blooded loyal type after all! After struggling hard for a bit Sir Reia said firmly as if she made up her mind. ¡°My answer, is no.¡± ¡°Why so?¡± ¡°No matter if my body and soul was in Sir Ast¡¯s body, from other people¡¯s perspective I would be Sir Ast, not myself.¡± Well you could think that, you could think not. Especially reincarnators, well, I¡¯m included in this category as well, but after death, living in another body is quite a profound feeling. If you were to ssify this world into a genre, it would be fantasy in particr. In a world where souls exist, I very curious as to what happened to the original soul of the body. If I stole the original soul¡¯s rightful ce, then where did that soul go. Might it not inhabit some other medium ande back for revenge. Of course these thoughts were only limited to when I was very young, when I had nothing to do. Because normalmoners, in particr farmers had a hard enough time putting food on their tes, so they were busy farming. Plus since when I was alive, the current trend of the fantasy genre was reincarnating in things other than humans, or reincarnating without any reincarnator bonuses, no, sometimes they were even debuffed as hell for a miserable life. In novels you had a spider or a slime, heck even a sword had a great time after they reincarnated! At the very least it would¡¯ve been great if I had a masked devil that would make my past life¡¯s items from my exnations and sell them to let me pocket a royalty.(1) Because in my past life and present, I had it hard because I wascking talent. ¡°In that case, who is that person?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Sir Reia¡¯s memories and soul came into my body but that is not Sir Reia. Then is it me?¡± ¡°Uh, th¡­ that¡¯s not it either.¡± ¡°Then if I were to enter Sir Reia¡¯s body then would that mean that that was not me either? In that case where did I go, and who is the one that came into my body?¡± ¡°Huh? Hm? That?¡± Sir Reia who returned to her whimpering state was kind of cute. To the point where you really wanted to bully her. Really, teasing idiots has a satisfyingly fun feeling. Since she¡¯s the princess¡¯s personal bodyguard she¡¯d be of a rtively famous noble family¡¯s daugther but she¡¯s not arrogant, and she¡¯s pure. That¡¯s the perfect type to bully. But since this ce isn¡¯t my actual workce, more urately quitting is in my best interests so I need to unfortunately give up on that. ¡°In one way, Sir Reia¡¯s answer is correct. But in another, it is not. Everything is interpretable in many ways. Things are not divided into good and bad things from their existence. Good. Bad. Helpful. Hindrance. Splendid. Horrifying. Everything is up to one¡¯s own interpretation. Your Highness will no doubt have already interpreted myself however you saw fit. And Your Highness will reinterpret what I have said just now with your own standards and viewpoints. ¡°In other words, don¡¯t ask?¡± Those eyes that pretended to be pure turned indifferent again. Really, her bright eyes earlier really didn¡¯t suit the princess. How would you put it, like a shonen manga was drawn with a shoujo artstyle? It had an awkwardness like a hot blooded battle action manga where all of a sudden it wouldn¡¯t have felt odd that the protag and the male rival would suddenly fall into a dangerous swamp beginning with B. And it also seems like she¡¯s slightly annoyed. Good. Now just like this, I need to keep annoying her that I keep my head while getting fired! ¡°That was not my intention. I simply know myself. But, the me that Your Highness was questioning me about is something Your Highness would know, not me. And so, I wish for Your Highness to watch me, and evaluate me ordingly. ording to the formal manners I learned I bowed my head. Now, what will be your next move! Unless it¡¯s the gallows¡¯ morning dew ending(2) I have the courage to ept it all! Even better if you fire me! Tap. Tap. The princess¡¯s short fingers started drumming the table. When I snuck a nce upwards, both the princess and Sir Reia had their eyes closed and seemed to be thinking of something. But Sir Reia? Should the princess¡¯s bodyguard have her eyes closed like that? Can the bodyguard of royaltymit such gross negligence of duties like that? ¡°Alright. This question, I¡¯ll ept it as you having answered it.¡± Just as I began to seriously think that Howling could probably take the imperial pce, the princess said with an expression that seemed like she was pleased with something. Uhh, it¡¯s not good if you¡¯re happy¡­ It¡¯d be so much greater if you said I don¡¯t need an ipetentmoner like you so get lost! And fire me? ¡°Aha! I finally found it! Everything can be solved if the truth that mister Ast and my bodies were swapped is revealed!¡± ¡°¡­ah, and since my education is unnecessary, educate that idiot.¡± ¡°Haa¡­ you gave me a task that is too difficult.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t both of you being way too unreasonable to me?¡± Seeing Sir Reia squawk in protest I swore to myself. Alright then, I probably wasn¡¯t going to get fired straight away anyway. In that case I¡¯ll bully Sir Reia and make Her Highness get sick of me, and get fired! And one yearter, I still couldn¡¯t get myself fired. *** He was very quick-witted, his memory is excellent in pointless things, and is very skilled in sophistry. That would be a simplified version of my assessment of him. Firstly, his wits are very, very good. Too good. So good that it annoys me. And so until I find what it is I want from him I will never let him quit, just when I started to start being more grant while maintaining a line. ¡°Your Highness. Eating carrots is good for your eyesight. It is also good for your joints, good for your teeth, and since it has heating properties it is also very effective for people with cool bodies.¡± ¡°¡­If my eyesight deteriorates I can always wear sses, and there are no problems with my joints. My teeth are sturdy too.¡± ¡°Even so you need to eat. The imperial chefs worked hard to make these.¡± ¡°Hey, Ast? I definitely remember telling that chef to not put carrots in. Was the chef changed while I wasn¡¯t aware?¡± ¡°No. There¡¯s no way that there would be that manypetent chefs, would there? Of course it is because I requested him to add carrots. Picky eating is not good for you. Ah, for the record Sir Reia, carrots are also good for constipation and balding.¡± ¡°Why is it that in the middle of talking to Her Highness, that you suddenly tell me those things mister Ast!¡± I¡¯m going to live a short and bright life anyway, it¡¯s alright for me to be a picky eater, no? Although my mouth is twitching I cannot speak. Those that know the story number no more than five including Reia. No matter how unusual he is, I cannot tell him that! ¡°I¡¯m not eating!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a child.¡± ¡°I am a child?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re a child then you need to even more nutrients for your growth. Nutritional deficiencies cause imbnces in the body¡¯s growth. Isn¡¯t that right, Sir Reia?¡± ¡°Why, why are you scanning my body up and down like that? Are you picking a fight? Even if you are Her Highness¡¯s personal butler insulting nobility is a crime!¡± ¡°See, Your Highness. If you don¡¯t eat carrots then you may also end upcking confidence in your body like Sir Reia.¡± ¡°Kuaaaaak! I¡¯m going to kill you, I¡¯m gonna kill you!¡± Ast¡¯s eyes flickered over to Reia¡¯s nearly twenty-year old breasts. They¡¯re t. I know perfectly well that a woman¡¯s breast size can bring male affection. But I don¡¯t particrly have any wishes of being looked at by men, and even if I did, I am 100% dead before that time evenes. But, why is my hand so naturally reaching for the carrots? ¡°Your Highness?! Those carrots that you hate, where on me did you look that you made up your mind to eat them! If that ce was my breasts then I feel like I¡¯ll have to question my loyalty to Your Highness!¡± ¡°Reia, picky eating is not good for you.¡± ¡°I am not a picky eater! Before that I actually like carrots!¡± ¡°Ha, Ast. I found a big error in your logic. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need carrots.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Are the two of you really going to do this to me?!¡± Reia who¡¯s yelling with her face all red is cute. Although she¡¯s older than me, cute things are cute. To Reia who¡¯s grumbling ¡°I¡¯m still growing!¡± or ¡°I, I still have hope¡­¡± in tears, I should show Reia¡¯s mother, elder sister and her rtives as examples to show her the truth that she has no hope. ¡°Huuuk¡­ Her Highness has changed¡­ it¡¯s all mister Ast¡¯s fault!¡± The result, she ran out of the room in tears. Ahh, so cute, Reia. ¡°You made her cry.¡± ¡°You already half-brought her there.¡± ¡°The one who finished her off was Your Highness.¡± ¡°Of course. Making Reia cry is one of my few joys in life.¡± My hand naturally moved to the tea on the table. Although I wondered why people drank such bitter water to begin with, I fell for Ast¡¯s taunts and so I eventually came to the habit of drinking it. Now it¡¯se to the point where I can enjoy the taste and fragrance of it. ¡°It tastes good.¡± ¡°It was harvested this morning. Since it was grown in the pce gardens it tastes even better.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s odd. As far as I know this herb isn¡¯t one that I know is cultivated in the pce.¡± ¡°Ah, when requested it with Your Highness¡¯s name, they made it for me. As expected of Your Highness. I didn¡¯t think that they could build a herb garden in just three days.¡± ¡°What?¡± What the hell is this brat spouting now. Although it¡¯s only every once in a while, this man does some truly ridiculous things without even blinking. ¡°Hey. Ast. This tea is your favourite, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Ah, it is. It¡¯s also a tea that Your Highness drinks quite frequently.¡± ¡°And what is the reason that I drink this tea so often?¡± ¡°Of course isn¡¯t it because I brew it for you so often?¡± ¡°Alright, in the first ce I didn¡¯t drink tea at all! And suddenly the pce has its own herb garden? And one that produces your favourite variety, Ast? Do you think this is coincidence?¡± ¡°I do not believe it is coincidence.¡± ¡°That means that you¡¯re acknowledging that you used my name to order the creation of a herb garden for your own purposes?¡± ¡°No. Your Highness. I just simply told the pce maids that you enjoyed this tea.¡± Is he mad? Even if Ast is my personal butler, he¡¯s someone who¡¯s been here for barely a year, you could still get to him more quickly by counting from the bottom.(3) And this fellow used my name to make a tea ntation for himself. Of course there would be no evidence. Because all he did was simply telling the maids. But telling the pce maids is nothing less than spreading the rumour through the entire pce. Moreover there¡¯s no way that this man wouldn¡¯t realise the presence of the maidwork which is especially easy to spread and twist rumours through. Even among the insane there is probably no bastard more insane than him. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°No.¡± Well, it¡¯s not like I have either proof or justification. Well, it¡¯s also true that I do enjoy this tea now. And more than anything else, I like this type of crazy bastard very very much. Chapter 30.3 - Side Story 3 RATH Side Story 3 TL: Eevee Side Story ¨C A certain princess¡¯s memories (3) #4 Their story: A certain viin¡¯s story ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t.¡± Why? Why was there no problems? I¡¯d done something that might have been a bit dangerous but then she went and said oh-so-casually that there weren¡¯t any problems. Seriously, for personal profit I fooled the pce office workers and sold out the name of a member of the imperial family to make a herb field? Starting from the finance department, I chose locations, made a farm to raise herbs in, and even had personnel assigned to look after it, and all that was actually done just so I could drink my favourite tea! And there¡¯s no problems! If this was a democracy it wouldn¡¯t be weird for me to get impeached! ¡°Either way, Reia¡¯s back yet. Go and soothe her a bit.¡± ¡°Your Highness, people are beings that cry more when someone tries to get them to stop. Sir Reia¡¯s a simple person so if we wait she¡¯ll calm down on her own ande back.¡± So I say, but if I¡¯m seen next to a crying Sir Reia and misunderstood, that¡¯s a big problem. Seriously, I thought she was just some barony or earl¡¯s daughter, or a countess or baroness as the princess¡¯s personal bodyguard. But oh my god! It turns out she¡¯s a daughter of one of the famous Ten Great Families of the empire, a daughter of the Areista Marquisate! And the most famous up anding prospect of that family at that! She was one who held overwhelming authority within her family that even the next marquis had to show deference to her! And if word got out I made her cry? The Areista family could just off me without anyone the wiser. No, before that I could get stabbed by the female knights that all respect Sir Reia. So let¡¯s leave the teasing Sir Reia to within the princess¡¯s rooms. Of course I¡¯m not going to stop. That¡¯s my only joy in this pce life and I can¡¯t give that up, too! After a moment of silence, whether she didn¡¯t like that moment of quiet the princess said with a dry voice. ¡°I¡¯m bored.¡± She could be. ¡°Since Your Highness is free most of the time it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Other members of the imperial family have personal tutors, and experience assorted duties, but our princess is doing nothing. ¡°If you know then do something fun.¡± ¡°How do you wish for me to do something fun?¡± At my question the princess thought for a bit before she said with a smile. ¡°Strategy and tactics, are you good with those?¡± Well, a bit of Sta**raft back in the day¡­(1) #5 Their story: a certain bodyguard¡¯s story. ¡°Sniff. But I¡¯m still Her Highness¡¯s bodyguard.¡± ¡°Yes. Sir Reia is a splendid knight!¡± ¡°You can do it!¡± ¡°We believe in you, Sir Reia! If we don¡¯t believe in you, who else can we believe in!¡± As I rubbed my reddened eyes, I came out from the nearby maids¡¯ room and headed to Her Highness¡¯s room. Her Highness was being much too meantely. Since mister Ast came along, Her Highness¡¯s teasing has only gotten worse. She keeps making fun of me as if to say she wouldn¡¯t lost to Ast, but I would really, really like it if they wouldn¡¯t y games with me. ¡°And¡­¡± If nothing else, I still have the chance for growth! The maids said. The size of a girl¡¯s breasts do have to do with genes, but they can also be grown with effort. And among the 208 secret techniques of the imperial pce there were also techniques to make your breasts bigger. ¡°Three massages a day, drink milk with blended strawberries.¡± I looked at what I¡¯d written and nodded with resolve. Yes, it¡¯s not over yet. I¡¯m still neen! My growth period might not have ended! ¡°¡­Right?¡± But tears spring to my eyes again. Although my father¡¯s a unique exception in our family as one of the advisors in the pce, but whether it was a specialty in our predominantlybat-orientated family, most of the women in my house had small breasts. I think my youngest sister has the beginnings of sprouts, but they¡¯re about as big as mine¡­ ¡°It¡¯s over¡­¡± The fire of hope died once again. When I think that I¡¯m the same size as my twelve year-old sister, I think I¡¯m done for. If I head back to Her Highness¡¯s room I think either she or Ast would tease me how my breasts are as big as a twelve year-old¡¯s. Yep. I don¡¯t wanna go back. Should I run away¡­ ¡°Sob¡­ no, I need to go.¡± But I still need to protect Her Highness. Compared to her my br¡­ my breasts aren¡¯t much¡­ of a problem. Yep. Compared to Her Highness¡¯s fate my breasts wouldn¡¯t even be worthparing to. ¡°Your Highness, sorry I¡¯mte¡­ huh?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s impossible! Never! Even if you¡¯re being pushed back isn¡¯t your argument seriously impossible?¡± ¡°I believe that Your Highness is the one that should be admitting that yourmanding forces are destroyed.¡± But inside the room that I¡¯d steeled myself to enter were Her Highness and mister Ast engaged in a fiery debate. Considering the assorted types of pieces on the table, I think they were holding a mock war game. It seemed that it was because they were at odds over a particr opinion. And¡­ I have a bad feeling about this. Really! ¡°Reia!¡± ¡°Sir Reia!¡± In the middle of their argument the two of them turned to me and shouted. Yep. As I thought. I¡¯d had a bad feeling about this. They were probably going to ask me, weren¡¯t they? ¡°Do you think this is possible? This rascal, no matter how much he hates losing he¡¯s arguing something impossible.¡± ¡°I am simply arguing that what can be done can be done. Sir Reia, I understand Her Highness¡¯s desire for victory, but she also needs to know when to acknowledge defeat.¡± Seeing Her Highness and mister Ast run towards me I tried to run away but even before I could open the already-closed door, all I could do was turn my back t against the door, unable to retreat any further. ¡°Reia!¡± ¡°Sir Reia!¡± Hiiik! Scary! Her Highness is scary, mister Ast is scary too! Logically I would listen to both sides and choose one, but in that case the other would tear into me. Her Highness is scary like Her Highness, and mister Ast is picky like Ast is. Uwaah. I don¡¯t wanna¡­ I just got myself sorted! I¡¯m about to cry again! But mister Ast always said that even if the sky were to fall, there was always a hole to escape through. And now is the time to find that hole in the sky! ¡°Ca, can¡¯t you just prove it?¡± ¡°Prove?¡± ¡°Yes! Try it out in real life and if it doesn¡¯t work then mister Ast is the loser, and if it does it would be mister Ast¡¯s victory, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± At the perfect answer that would bring even a famous judge to tears Her Highness and Ast drew back from me. I clutched my shocked chest and sighed¡­ ¡®Hic, they¡¯re small¡­¡¯ As I calmed my shocked chest another wound opened up and I had to calm myself again. But I didn¡¯t know then. That this one line, would mark a turning point in history. #6 Their story: a certain empire army(soldier)¡¯s story (sky episode) ¡°It¡¯s cold.¡± ¡°It is.¡± ¡°No matter how I see this I don¡¯t think this is right¡­¡± Even as I shivered in the clouds 4000 metres above sea level I continued to cast magic. But it¡¯s cold. Even if I do wear warm clothes when I¡¯m out flying, if I was called up suddenly for something like this then of course I¡¯d be underprepared. And it just had to be ice magic at that. Damn it, I¡¯m freezing here, and I have to make ice! ¡°Ast, was he? Damn him. For an asshole that sits warm and dry in an office he makes people pointlessly suffer. I will remember this.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. He¡¯s ¡®that imperial princess¡¯s¡¯ personal retinue, you know? Look at Sir Reia. She¡¯s always suffering there.¡± ¡°No, from what I heard from a reliable source, I heard he tears into Sir Reia with Her Highness as well? And apparently he¡¯s pretty skilled at it too.¡± ¡°Ha? You sure of your source? Someone in their right mind would bully Areista¡¯s Sword Princess? Is that even possible unless you¡¯re a lunatic? Is it?¡± ¡°Yeah, to think an ordinarymoner would tease a swordsmaster. That¡¯s actually scary itself.¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s dropping. Don¡¯t let it fall!¡± Although we were all talking like this was part of our daily routine, this task was something that demanded oddly specific requirements. Firstly, we needed to suppress our magic output to the point that the soldiers that Her Highness led couldn¡¯t detect us, and we weren¡¯t casting ice magic like we normally did, but drew in the water vapour in the air and froze it just like that. It took longer to do this than you¡¯d think, and since we¡¯re producing normal ice it doesn¡¯t even float in the air like normal magic, so we needed to keep a normal chunk of ice floating in mid-air and hence the mana drain was intense. To the extent that because of this, we had three experienced mages on a team for this job. ¡°What was next?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see. Cast protection magic and a magic barrier, eleration magic, gravity magic, as much of these as possible?¡± ¡°It might have been harder if it was ice magic, but since it¡¯s a chunk of ice this shouldn¡¯t be too bad. It might be fun to draw a magic formation after using all those support spells?¡± ¡°But was there anyone who said that this was possible?¡± ¡°There wasn¡¯t. it¡¯s been nearly a thousand years since battlemages were first used, you guys all know just how much development¡¯s gone into anti-magic bombardment spells since then, right? Unless that enemy is either a retard or under conditions of a perfect ambush the likelihood of sess isn¡¯t very high.¡± I answered my subordinate¡¯s question who was still diligently casting magic. Now that I think about it, isn¡¯t this, actually quite a serious problem? Although I thought it made absolutely no sense at first, but once we actually tried it the preparation steps were sessful. And if this actually worked, then the use of mages would change forever¡­ ¡°Right, let¡¯s drop it.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Once all the magics have been cast, thepleted lump of ice was dropped. The method was simple. We just had to undo the levitation magic we¡¯d been maintaining and it would just fall on its own. The gravity magic and eleration magic let it hit the ground instantly. ¡°So then. What happens if this works?¡± As I watched the block of ice fall to the ground at a high speed, my subordinate asked me. If this works? Well then. ¡°All hell breaks loose.¡± #7 Their story: a certain empire army(soldier)¡¯s story (ground episode) ¡°Why am I the target¡­¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like Her Highness can do it herself¡­¡± Who would believe that the beauty who¡¯s making a teary face beside me, is actually said to be the most likely swordswoman to seed the current Sword Star, the Sword Princess famous throughout the empire. If the many female knights that dreamed of her knew this truth, they¡¯d all be running to kill that man named Ast. Although of course they¡¯d fail because of Her Highness. ¡°Even so, there¡¯s zero possibility that this would work. It makes absolutely no sense. And in a state where we know a magic bombardment ising it can never seed.¡± What is the flower of war? It¡¯s magic. The power of a magician brigade¡¯srge-formation spells that could overturn the results of a war thought to have been set in stone was known by every soldier out there. And the methods to block this damage were diligently researched even in the age of peace where war was absent. And because of that, the mages¡¯ bombardments which used to be the number one danger on the battlefield, were faced with defensive tactics and skills where they only worked in an ambush, no, maybe not even an ambush any more. ¡°Now, see, Sir Reia. No matter how much you hide the presence of your mana, since magic spells need to be fired off with magic power anyway, the mana reactions will be detected no matter what.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± I showed the mana detector device that was blinking red to Sir Reia, who nodded as she looked at it with curiosity. No matter if there was a specialist mage that interfered with our ability to detect magic use, the limits to that were very, very fixed. Meaning that even if you couldn¡¯t detect a mage¡¯s mana output from a distance not visible to the naked eye, once they fired it off the magic would be detected as it came to our location, and so the moment we noticed it, we could set up a magic barrier at any time. ¡°Now, look. They¡¯re probably going to fire off a spell while hidden in the clouds, but if we carefully raise a magic barrier then we can easily defend against it.¡± My subordinates were already castingyers uponyers of magic barriers up to as high as their spellcasting could reach. Now, look. Using these magic barriers we will stop that magic bombardme¡­ Shatter! Iznt wurking? Chapter 30.4 - Side Story 4 RATH Side Story 4 TL: Eevee Side Story ¨C A certain princess¡¯s memories (4) #8 Their story: The sword princess¡¯s story ¡°Now, my soldiers, you will be divided into my and Ast¡¯s troops and we will be conducting a war game!¡± The tiny princess shouted in a loud authoritative voice that didn¡¯t suit her small frame. Her Highness¡¯s personal mage corps. Only Her Highness has this much power as her bodyguard forces among all the members of the imperial family. That¡¯s how important Her Highness is in the imperial pce. But His Majesty didn¡¯t give her a battlemage brigade for this! Although more urately it¡¯s because of what I said! I¡¯m sorry, sir mages! ¡°Now then, Reia. Lead my army.¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do it myself.¡± ¡°But, but still¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. If it¡¯s Reia I can trust you with them.¡± ¡°Your Highness¡­¡± Her Highness was trusting me. Yes, Her Highness trusted me enough to lead her army in her stead¡­ ¡°If Ast is right, this is a technique that will obliterate my base, if it¡¯s Reia you can survive, right?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Ah, so it was that kind of faith. I held back the tears that were about to leak out. Yes, Her Highness trusted me. As a good shield. But I still spent five years with her, but she only trusts me that little! ¡°Very good. If Sir Reia¡¯s the target, then it won¡¯t matter if I fire everything without holding back.¡± ¡°Wait, Your Highness? Mister Ast said a target just now? Does that mean I¡¯m the target?¡± ¡°Hm? Of course. What we were discussing earlier was Ast using his hidden mage corps to annihte the enemy base with a magic bombardment while taking out all the enemy leaders with it. So of course the leader Reia would be the target.¡± ¡°Understood, Your Highness. Then mister Ast? What exactly do you mean by firing without holding back?¡± ¡°Exactly what I said. If it¡¯s Her Highness then I need to scale back the firepower, but if it¡¯s Sir Reia you can defend against any attack no matter how powerful, no? You¡¯re the famous ¡®Sword Princess¡¯ after all.¡± ¡°Uwaaaaaah!¡± It¡¯s embarrassing. What Sword Princess! Who the heck came up with that name? After mister Ast heard that name he teased me for a week, to think he¡¯d still make fun of me for it even after a year! ¡°A princess in front of the imperial princess, how cool Reia.¡± ¡°Y, Your Highness¡­¡± ¡°As expected of a nickname I came up with. It suits her, right Ast?¡± ¡°Indeed. I can only apud Your Highness¡¯s naming sense!¡± ¡°Her Highness was the culprit!¡± Kukoom! By body quivered at the feeling of betrayal by the princess that I¡¯d believed in. The culprit was Her Highness! Well of course because of that I became the subject of admiration by all the female knights! Aside from how older unnise up to me with this gaze that really gives me the shivers asking me ¡°can I call you unni?¡±(1) I was still somewhat acknowledged by my family! But it¡¯s still embarrassing! The culprit was Her Highness! ¡°Just what am I to Your Highness?¡± ¡°My sole pleasure in life?¡± ¡°You, you thought of me like¡­¡± ¡°So you see her as a toy.¡± ¡°Mister Ast! Don¡¯t destroy my feelings! The rtionship between Her Highness and I is something that mister Ast would never¡­¡± ¡°Yep, my toy and the sole pleasure in my life.¡± ¡°Just how low is Your Highness going to drop my loyalty!¡± Uuwuuu, Her Highness has been extremely mean to metely. Before she would just indirectly tease me a lot buttely she¡¯s just been doing it directly. It¡¯s too much. Is it all because of mister Ast? Or was Her Highness always like that. ¡°Why am I the target¡­¡± ¡°Well, Her Highness can¡¯t do it herself¡­¡± As I grumbled along holding back my tears, a mister soldier beside me answered. Ah, I know that. It just feels kinda unfair¡­ just something like that. ¡°Even so, there¡¯s zero possibility that this would work. It makes absolutely no sense. And in a state where we know a magic bombardment ising, it can never seed.¡± The person who said this with confidence, was a Sergeant of this mage brigade. Considering he was a veteran of the war with the former Harken Kingdom, he should be trustworthy. ¡°Now, see, Sir Reia. No matter how much you hide the presence of your mana, since magic spells need to be fired off with magic power anyway, the mana reactions will be detected no matter what.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± I nodded as I saw the magic power detection device glowing red. Wow. This is quite interesting. Even though I can¡¯t see anything with my eyes, there¡¯s a red light shining from it. Her Highness was right! Since Her Highness said she was going to scold mister Ast big-time for this, this is going to be a good show! And I¡¯ll secretly ask Her Highness to give him a big punishment as revenge for everything till now! ¡°Now, look. They¡¯re probably going to fire off a spell while hidden in the clouds, but if we carefully raise a magic barrier then we can easily defend against it.¡± Now to the point where we could see with our naked eyes, the mages began casting barrier spells to defend against the ice magic falling at high speeds. That ice made with magic would never get through the barri¡­ Shatter! ¡°It can?¡± Very easily, the first barrier was destroyed, and scores of barriers began to tear apart like paper afterwards. Hm. What¡¯s. That. ¡°Um, mister mage? What are we going to do when it¡¯s falling like that?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s an emergency! Bail!¡± ¡°Ehhht?!¡± The mister mage whose face turned sheet white yelled to the mages nearby and as expected of a veteran mage, they quickly cast teleportation magic and escaped¡­ Wait a second! ¡°Wh, what about me?¡± The target was definitely me. Meaning that those things were all falling towards me, which meant¡­ ¡°Hiiiik?!¡± Hey, mister Ast? Even so, I¡¯m the target, you¡¯ve totally listened to your conscience and attacked lightly, right? It won¡¯t matter even if I get hit, right? And as I thought that, Ast in my imaginationughed and said. ¡®If Sir Reia¡¯s the target, then it won¡¯t matter if I fire everything without holding back.¡¯ ¡°Ah, this is dangerous¡­¡± At the danger to my life that was getting nearer by the second, I had no choice but to draw my sword.¡± *** ¡°¡­It¡¯s an emergency! Bail! The mages under mymand escaped from the area with long-practiced skill. The falling silver rain. The crimson sword aura that cut through that. What, was that meant to be? The history of the Karuan Empire now stretched for a thousand years. And during those thousand years there were thousands of small skirmishes, and in those skirmishes heroes appeared, and vanished. And more than the number of heroes, there were countless more soldiers whose names were never recorded in the history books. Countless deaths. The basic strategies that were formed as a result of those deaths. But those basic strategies are always changing. They say that some of them developed an unblockable attack method that changed the history of warfare, while others developed ways to counter against attacks and changed the history of warfare. And the defense strategies against the modern-day magic bombardments were refined to perfection. They had been. Until now. ¡°It actually broke through?¡± ¡°I told you it would work.¡± As he watched the silver rain fall, Ast made the smile of a victor. Yes, it¡¯s my loss. Although thest time I made a bet with someone else was far back enough I couldn¡¯t even remember it, but is this not my first loss in my life? Well, still, if it¡¯s for this sort of technique, I think it¡¯ll be alright to lose. ¡°Sir Reia. She really is strong.¡± Ast said as he looked on at Reia. ¡°Haa. Of course. She¡¯s my only personal bodyguard.¡± Although I¡¯ve watched over Reia from a very young age myself, but Reia is someone who changes so dramatically when she holds a sword that even I have a hard time keeping up with her. I didn¡¯t give her the nickname Sword Princess for nothing, and there¡¯s a reason that no one in the pce dares to refute a name as over-the-top as that. ¡°Reia¡¯s the youngest swordsmaster in the history of the Empire.¡± Officially, the empire¡¯s youngest-ever swordsmaster, someone who shaved off the previous Sword Star¡¯s record by two years, someone that could be called the future Sword Star. Perhaps after I die, she might even go into the imperial knight order as a Captain of the knight order. As I watched Reia slice through thest shot and re at Ast with eyes filled with rage, I had an amusing thought. ¡°Ah, that reminds me. I lost this time. Sorry I didn¡¯t believe you. So, I¡¯ll give you a suitable reward.¡± Since I lost I should give him a suitable reward inpensation. In addition, the tactic that he showed me just now is a bombardment strategy that could change the face of modern warfare. If I told His fight-loving Majesty this, he would undoubtedly be pleased. So pleased that he could go out and attack a neighbouring country right away. In that case, I think he could get an even greater reward than whatever I could give him personally. Me leading an army with the weirdly unique Ast, with Reia as the vanguard. That¡¯s quite an amusing line up. Although it might be hard for me to ever see it happen. #9 Their story: a certain viin¡¯s story ¡°It actually broke through?¡± ¡°I told you it would work.¡± As I watched the magic barriers break apart like a couque d¡¯asse(2) I smiled victoriously. There are many different kinds of magic with many uses and power that if you thought of it in modern terms, they would range between smoke grenades to nuclear missiles. And thanks to that the methods of magical defense was a long-standing area of research for the people in this world. And because of that counters against magic bombardments made them all but irrelevant. But why is magic called magic! It¡¯s because they use magic power. Because of this, most magic waspromised of mana, and if you created a magic barrier with more mana than the attack then the spell would naturally dissipate against it. Namely, magic bombardments are basically meaningless against overwhelming force. Of course unless an individual had like a dragon¡¯s worth of mana or something. But what was falling now was not lumps of mana, but pure ice made by the condensation and freezing of water vapour in the clouds. Of course magic was added to that. A higher velocity increases the destructive force of matter. And the elerated ice keeps getting faster and faster even as the support spells casted on it faded away, the only way to stop that was either blowing it apart with magic, or simple physical brute force. But if it¡¯s at that speed you¡¯d need at least a thick wall of steel to block it, and the tents made of fabric and cloth in war would be very, very easily destroyed. But¡­ ¡°Sir Reia. She really is strong.¡± ¡°Haa. Of course. She¡¯s my only personal bodyguard.¡± And she¡¯s blocking it all by herself. Seriously, once you were abandoned by the mages beside you should have gapped it instantly. Why she was swinging her sword over there I would never understand, but if it¡¯s that skill then she really could just stand there and block it all like that. ¡°Reia¡¯s the youngest swordsmaster in the history of the Empire.¡± ¡°It looks like her nickname of Sword Princess wasn¡¯t just for show.¡± Really, even when I called her Sword Princess(lol) I thought it was just a joke. Even more once I found out the person who came up with it was Her Highness. But as she was right now, she more than deserved that name of Sword Princess. Just how many swordsmen existed that could slice those scores and scores of ice chunks at least 4-5 metres wide, some as big as 10 metres, all falling on top of you at once, with just a sword? And, just how many beings exist that have that extravagant crimson sword aura, as well as the mana needed to maintain that? The crimson sword aura so naturally, elegantly, swelled up to slice the blocks of ice many times her own height, and that appearance even looked very beautiful, living up to her nickname as the Sword Princess. ¡°Reia is already, probably the Areista family¡¯s strongest swordsman.¡± When Reia cut through thest block of ice, and red at me resentfully and ran towards me, for a second I felt a cold sweat break out down my back. Mm. scary. Even that simpleton¡¯s a monster. As expected of the imperial pce! I need to run away as soon as possible! My life is in danger! ¡°Ah, that reminds me. I lost this time. Sorry I didn¡¯t believe you. So, I¡¯ll give you a suitable reward.¡± But, Her Imperial Highness thatughed like that, had a letter from the knight order sent to me three dayster. -As His Majesty was also deeply moved by this official¡¯s(3) stratagems, the First Imperial Princess Atia nel Karuan¡¯s personal butler Ast will be bestowed an honorary knighthood as well as the surname Lc. Ho ho, to my departed parents. I¡¯ve finally be a noble! Hurrah! I¡¯m a noble! Hurrah! Iyaaah, I¡¯m so happy! Even His eminent Imperial Majesty was deeply moved! God damn it all! Now it¡¯s even harder for me to get fired! -The organization is very pleased with your current operative sesses. Hoho, now even the organization¡¯s happy as well? Just when can I go back to the organization? Can I even go back?! Chapter 31 RATH 31 TL: Eevee 5. Wee to the summoners¡¯ school. If you were to ask who was the greatest superpower on the continent, everyone would say it would be the Karuan Empire. After the great war, all of Karuan¡¯s associate nations, kingdoms, alliances all vanished, and having two duchies that each had the military might of a kingdom on their own, the Karuan Empire was the world¡¯s undeniable sole superpower. And near the capital of that empire, there are four academies steeped in history and tradition that were responsible for the Empire¡¯s future. The swordsmanship school Arucia, which was currently rated as the greatest. When you took into ount that among the empire¡¯s knights, over half, meaning a majority of their members were products of this school, it meant that this school was a ce where countless prodigies of famous martial families gathered. Let alone the empire, in the entire continent, there was a saying among those who dreamed of the bing the strongest sword, namely ¡®Arucia or the Keshar family, pick one,¡¯ showing just how much of a holynd for swordsmen this school was. In addition, both of the empire¡¯s current archdukes were Arucia alumni, and so the academy boasted even greater fame. And chasing closely behind after Arucia¡¯s title of the greatest academy was the school of magic, Marcis. It¡¯s difference between the other academies was that even more than their officially hired teachers, there were even more teachers that had been dispatched from the Magic Towers. Having long surpassed a simple student-teacher rtionship, from students that had been taught by the same teachers since their days learning at the Magic Towers, and even some senior/junior rtionships existed. It was a ce where the empire and the Magic Towers engaged in all sorts of contests and guiles to secure the best sorcerers, magicians and sages after graduation. The third was the gateway formoners, Mercaria. As a ce that mass-produced the empire¡¯s office workers, the cheaper tuition feespared to the other schools, and the fact that a job was guaranteed one way or another as long as you graduated meant that countlessmoners applied to enter every year. If they had a weakness, it was that they were alwaysst in sports and culture festivals. But as their graduates became giants of the empire and made their presence known, their current position was still a lot better than it was in the past. And finally, Yugrasia. At one point, it used to be a the summoners¡¯ school thatpeted with Arucia and Marcis for the ce of the greatest of the Four Great Academies, but was currently unable to stand up against even Mercaria, pushing it to the position of the worst of the Four Great Academies. It was a very strange school that had simrities to Arucia, and also to Marcis depending on the summon. There was only one reason for that. The sheer diversity of summons. The diversity and range of summons are very wide indeed. Starting from spirits and divine beasts, to weapons and armour, angels and demons, and finally even the gods of other worlds! But summoning is an art that forms a contract with beings from another dimension and hence putting restrictions on their power, and so often what you see is the summoned being used as a support. Especially the weapon and armour-type summons, nket-termed the equipment-types, their summoners could use weapons and armour suited for any given situation and hence were used frequently by the army, but on the contrary, that meant that they were summons that had no use aside from providing weapons and armour. Meaning, these were summons where the user¡¯s physical specs needed to be outstanding to be useful! Summoners that contract these types of summons are better off enrolling into Arucia and honing their martial arts skills and learning the uses of weapons, since they had nothing to gain from enrolling in Yugrasia, the majority of equipment-type summoners went to Arucia. And of course, simrly for summoners whose summons had high fighting power. If the summon¡¯s abilities are outstanding then it¡¯s better to go to Marcis to learn magic to support the summon. Because of that, the majority of those with strong abilities as summoners are, either strong knights that are summoners, or strong magicians with a summoned beast! It¡¯s not like that there are no strong people as summoners in their own right, but those are limited to those who could turn the tides of war personally, those who made contracts with either gods or mythology-ss devils, and opportunities to make contracts with them were nothing short of a miracle. Because of that, all the good talents are headed to other schools, and only the trash and leftovers are left in Yugrasia. Now, what would happen then? ¡°I didn¡¯t hear that this school was in danger of closing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± -Owner owner. Just what star were you born under? Closing as soon as you get here? To think that your workce wuz shutting down the moment you got here! -Shut it. I felt guilty that the old man that looked at least 20 years older than me was bowing his head towards me. Of course mentally I¡¯m much older than he is, but that¡¯s irrelevant in a fantasy world. If you look older then done! You¡¯re older! ¡°You brought your frail body and came to our academy, we¡¯re truly sorry that we had to bring you this news the moment you arrived.¡± -¡­ Owner sick? -It¡¯s a concept. -Hul(1) concept? Owner¡¯s running a weak and sick character concept? If a middle aged man like owner uses the weak infirm character concept¡­ it¡¯s fresh? Nicerwin Ain. He was a legendary figure known as a renowned schr and even an honorary professor title from the continent¡¯s Summoner Association, but due to his inherent weak body he spent most of his time in the elven forests. -And that¡¯s owner? -Exactly! What¡¯s there to hide, that is also another of my aliases! To be honest before I joined an evil organization, if I¡¯d lived with this I could have lived a pretty retirement, but the knowledge I had from when I was young was limited. Who knew that the basic information on mythologies that anyone could look up on Wi**pedia in my previous world was actually top quality information! In the art of summoning, it is important that the summoner knows about their summon. For example, if you were to light a fire while trying to make a contract with Poseidon, or held the ritual in a pitch-ck room while contracting a god of light, would the summon bother to appear? But I know the majority of what summons like or dislike! Amazingly enough, many of this world¡¯s summons are monsters and heroes, gods and demons from my previous life¡¯s mythologies! Thanks to that, I just applied a bit ofmon sense and what I remembered reading in novels, and oh my. I became a legendary summoner schr! And how much did I despair after getting the title of honorary professor! If I¡¯d been born as a child of a slightly well-off family with all this information, I¡¯d currently be living it up in the Summoner¡¯s Association! -The organization¡¯s dead. Then can¡¯t you live like that now? -A person that highly recognized by the association would definitely get called up by the imperial pce at least once. -Isn¡¯t it the same now? -It¡¯s a rule of thumb that lecturers always stay in the academy barring exceptional circumstances. And that is the biggest reason why I decided on n ¡®Darkest Under the Lantern.¡¯ The princess is the highest priority protection target in the imperial family. Thanks to that, the great war was the first andst time that she left the capital. No, even before that, there were practically no asions where she even left the imperial pce. And the pce itself was bloody big too. -Won¡¯t they call for you in the holidays? -In the holidays I can just im I need to go back to the elves¡¯ forest because of my illness. -We really gonna to the elves¡¯ forest? I sewiously wanna see some elves! I heard there were lotsa beauties there! -There¡¯s also a lot of crazy ones too! -Hakhak owner¡¯s crazy kids are always pretty! I wanna go even more! No seriously, the only elves I know, would be the erofus(2) you might see on Hi**mi(3) that you¡¯d want to tell them to watch out for orcs, or for someone that¡¯s supposedly the guardian of the woods, a crazy High Elf that when I asked if they had any leftover branches of the World Tree in storage, without any hesitation whatsoever she immediately cut off a fresh branch of the divine tree, the World Tree, and sent it by fast mail. ¡°So this is the current state of the academy.¡± ¡°It is.¡± As the dean that looked like a thinner Dum**edore wiped his eyes after he finished talking, he looked to me expectantly. ¡°And because of that, even if we had to permit Professor Nicerwin¡¯s conditions, we decided to change the academy.¡± ¡°It must have been a hard decision.¡± Well, although I wasn¡¯t listening to it properly, I got the general gist of it. Summoning was a process where the summoner and the summonmuned with each other to bring each other to greater heights. But, if you¡¯re strong then everything¡¯s OK! If you¡¯re like me who spent their entire life honing their swordy, and struggled to deal with a single person with sword ki and crap skills, or even if you studied your ass off about summoning while your own summoning skills were substandard due to poor talent, if the summoner him or herself could just beat the crap out of the enemy summon and the summoner, that renders a pure summoner useless. Meaning, using yourself as the main force, while using the summon as a support. And if using your own strength rather than a summon was the faster way to get stronger, of course young kids these days would train yourself rather than a summon. And the results naturally showed themselves in the empire¡¯s festival. ¡°Our equipment summoners were beaten by Arucia in closebat. The summoners who used elementals or spirits were beaten by Marcis¡¯ students. And since many high-ranking nobles have a significant number of summoned spirits¡­¡± The dean tailed off, unable to say any more. Well, I get the gist of it. Yugrasia is a summoner¡¯s school. And because of that, you learn about summons, and you learn about the use and emotions of the summon. And for this to show an effect, unless you¡¯re a genius like the imperial princess or a few of my disciples, this takes a very long time. To begin with, considering the majority of summons are at least a few hundred, average a few thousand years old, there¡¯s no way thatmunication between them and a bunch of brats who haven¡¯t even lived half their lives would ever be simple. And because of that in situations like the empire¡¯s festival which focuses on livebat, it makes sense that kids that have been learning about summoning would have no chance against kids who learn magic and swordsmanship on a daily basis And on top of that, if the enemy also uses a summon as well? Even if they have nothing to do with summoning at all, if you bring out a summon and beat the crap out of the opponent with a sword, then the winner looks like the better summoner. And the parents that watched the empire¡¯s festival would obviously send their children to a ce other than Yugrasia even if their child ispetent at summoning. Even I wouldn¡¯t send my kids to Yugrasia. These morons with no sense of business morals. ¡°Is there no way to prevent this?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. If you¡¯re talking about high-ranking nobles, then no matter how low-tier the summon is, they see making a contract with a summon almost as a tradition, and it¡¯s not like we do not teach magic or swordsmanship either.¡± Normally, summons protect their contracted master until their death. Because of that, there are many cases where children make contracts with low-ranking spirits for self-defense. On top of that, although our main fighting force is summoning, it¡¯s impossible to win without using magic or swordsmanship. -Then wat nao? I don¡¯t wanna get screwed the moment we¡¯re free! I too, have no wish to have to wonder where to go because my destination shut down the moment I arrived. ¡°Is there no support from the Summoner¡¯s Association?¡± ¡°Since the rtionship between the Summoner¡¯s Association and the Magic Tower is a long one, they are more closely aligned with Marcis than us.¡± ¡°So there¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± -Owner, he¡¯s still an old man! Don¡¯t make him bow down so much! If I knew my owner was a bad boy¡­ Huh? Bad boy? Mm? something bout that sounds pretty good. -Could you please shut up for a minute? You talk an awful amount. Does that mouth of yours ever get tired? While reciting the lyrics from one of the songs I heard a lot word for word, I summed up the current situation. If the school cannot produce results at the next empire festival, it could close down and be reced by another school. Includingst year, for thest ten years they were always third in the empire festival, fourth in the cultural festival. While the current student council around the current student council president were splendid talents, there were no sessors for them. And at this rate, prodigies and talents will nevere to Yugrasia, and then to not fall into ruin this situation needs to be changed. -Is there a way? -Yes, there is. -Wiin? Whazzit? What do you have to do to revive this school that¡¯s got flies buzzing around it? -We need to bring in hell. -Hell? Are you summoning another devil? Devil? Well, even though devils are strong, what Yugrasia needs right now are summoners. More urately, the students¡¯ desparation. And even among hells, there is a hell that drives people to the brink. -I will bring to this ce, the entrance exam hell. This world¡¯s brats spend more time ying even though they¡¯re students. Of course they would have been brought up with strict household tuition from an early age. But, even still! Their school life is way too easy! And to these brats who have had afortable, easy school life all this time, it is time to show them the majesty of Hell Joseon.(4) Chapter 32 RATH 32 TL: Eevee TN: Uweeek. So much dialogue and monologues¡­. 5. Wee to the summoners¡¯ school. (2) ¡°Are we really going to move forward ording to this n?¡± ¡°The number of lecturers that have quit are only increasing.¡± ¡°Do you really think that this is possible?¡± Including the dean and I, we were in a meeting with the lecturers that represented each year. But the air in the room was significantly bleak. -Owner, innit gonna fail at this rate? Owner release some more of the n? There¡¯s so little bait that no one¡¯s biting in! -If I scatter too much then they¡¯ll all flock in. You only need just enough bait. Experienced master fishermen do not use a lot of bait. They just simply toss out a bit at a time, and the fish bite in and are reeled in on a line. If you throw out too much bait then you also attract the useless small fry. ¡°Let the ones who wish to leave, leave.¡± ¡°Are you serious!¡± ¡°Even if Professor Nicerwin is outstanding as a summoner, isn¡¯t it your first time as a lecturer?¡± ¡°At this rate, we won¡¯t have enough lecturers to teach the students!¡± ¡°Then we simply need to reduce the numbers.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± All sorts of shoutse and go. Ho ho, were you very surprised when the number of teachers dropped? But, this academy had too many useless teachers. No seriously, the ones that had contracts with high-rank summons aside, how the heck did summoners with just a few low-rank summons get ces as lecturers here? After I inspected them it turned out that it wasn¡¯t that they were particrly skilled, it wasn¡¯t that they were good at teaching, but they were just idiots with a good bloodline! ¡°We are already at risk of closing due to our declining number of students!¡± ¡°What is that supposed to mean? It¡¯s not that we¡¯recking in students, the enrollment numbers at our academy is simr to the other schools. The problem is the perception.¡± They should say it properly. The number of students at Yugrasia aren¡¯t all that different to its glory days. Why? Because since it¡¯s the easiest school the dropouts from the other academies all end up here. Especially among the low-ranking nobles, rather than paying big money to contract with a summon for self-protection, they can get their child to contract a summon for a much cheaper price by enrolling their child at Yugrasia, so some even deliberately do that instead. Since it¡¯s still one of the Four Great Academies its name still has some value to it, and since there are some ex-Yugrasia students from its glory days on the front lines, sometimes you get kids sent here to make connections with the military. But, these children do note to Yugrasia out of a genuine wish to learn the summoning arts. ¡°The numbers aren¡¯t important. No, rather, a small number can prove their value.¡± There were always a lot of nobles in the empire. Way too many of them. But there are a lot less of the ones that are Earls and higher, and that¡¯s why they¡¯re called high-rank nobles. ¡°Do you know why the dukes and margraves of the Ten Great Families are called as such? It¡¯s because their numbers are limited. They have that much authority and might, and it¡¯s not like the rest don¡¯t have long family histories either, but it¡¯s because that those titles are only allowed to a few that they are called the Ten Great Families.¡± In the history of the empire, there are almost no families that rose to the rank of marquis. Even in the previous great war only one family earned the title of margrave. And as for the title of duke, only one of them were given out in the entire 1000 years of the empire¡¯s history. ¡°So what is it that you are trying to say?¡± ¡°If Yugrasia is to have that much value, epting only a small number of elites is much more meaningful. Hence, there is no need to stop those that are walking out. We have already finished discussions with summoners much greater than them. Summoners that would be a better long-term investment even if we gave them the wages of all the outgoing lecturersbined.¡± Even if I look like this I still have a few connections with the army and other races. Of course, excepting those who know of Naruan or Ast. If it goes wrong then Operation Dark Under the Lantern! bes Very Close Under the Lantern instead. If it¡¯s that miss Imperial Princess, I wouldn¡¯t put it past her to close off all the city walls and gates to trap me. Even if I was armed with the metal bat, a one-man reverse-siege to get through the continent¡¯s strongest capital city is impossible. As long as the escape route that Imissioned the dwarves is iplete I cannot leave a single trace. ¡°Is that possible?¡± ¡°It is.¡± Everyone shut their mouth at my conviction. Now, let¡¯s look at our Hell Joseon. Even when you go to university, everything you learned in primary intermediate high school bes absolutely useless, why do they try so hard to stay in Seoul? Because they¡¯re rare! Especially Seo** University! If you go there then all their dogs and cows are all top of their schools? That¡¯s why people recognize you if said you were a graduate. If it really was a ce where all your dogs and cattle could enter, no one would want to go to Seo** Uni. Because just going to a uni near your house would be so much simpler. In that case, like my past life¡¯s old hometown that wanted to go to Seo** Uni, I just have to change the environment in Yugrasia into that! ¡°The current students include many where they couldn¡¯t even progress to the next year at other schools and came to Yugrasia even though they had no aptitude for summoning just because it was one of the Four Greats. In that case just how many new students would we get that actually wanted to learn about summoning properly? And the students that had to learn with them, would those that did have the aptitude for summoning have the desire to learn properly, either?¡± When a regr friend wants to go to a PC caf¨¦, then even the studious kids have an internal struggle. It¡¯s not like the surroundings have nothing to do with studying. Mengzi¡¯s(1) mother didn¡¯t move house three times for her son for nothing. ¡°There is no reason to take in those students. If we take those who have no belief or affection for our academy, then they can only be a harm to the other students who do have those traits. And from the beginning, all education is most effective with a small number of students. ¡°But, the fees to keep the academy running will¡­¡± Indeed. Although the academy gets some money from the empire to get it running, magic and summoning always have a lot of ces to spend money. If the numbers of students decrease then the tuition fee intake will naturally drop. In that case. ¡°Then we simply need to raise the tuition fees.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± If there aren¡¯t enough fees then you can simply raise them, no? Parents of students don¡¯t care how much it costs as long as their kids are taught well. And it¡¯s also the reason why people do all sorts of shit to get their kids into those expensive private schools. ¡°Then, then what about excellent students that can¡¯t afford the tuition!¡± ¡°We give them schrships.¡± And the rare dragons from small streams(2) can be taken in with the tuition money earned that way. Andter on once they be big, an interview saying ¡°it was because of Yugrasia that I became who I am now¡± would also be good publicity. ¡°Do, do you really believe that is possible?¡± ¡°Yes, it is. Why do you believe that the fees for Mercaria are the cheapest. Is it because they have the mostmoners? Or was it an institution designed formoners like the school¡¯s creed? No it is not. Out of their graduates, the vast majority of them will bear little difference to the graduates of other nations¡¯ academies. It is because one lecturer teaches hundreds of students.¡± To be precise, it¡¯s more like an inte lecture. If the lecture keeps on talking, then they need to absorb it like that. Of course if there are any outstanding students then they can guide them separately, but in the middle of over a hundred students in a ss, they can¡¯t stop a ss for the sake of helping a single student. ¡°And, what do you think is the reason for Marcis having the highest tuition fees among all the academies? It is because like it¡¯s nickname of the ¡®education magic tower,¡¯ a small number of students are taught by many magicians and sorcerers.¡± Furthermore, a professor at Marcis isn¡¯t in charge of more than five students, tops. It¡¯s pretty much a 1:1 session there. A disciple gets stuck at a wall? Then direct help to get said disciple through that wall is Marcis¡¯ style. That¡¯s why there¡¯s such a sturdy rtionship between teacher and student even after graduation, and because of that both the empire¡¯s army and the Magic Tower are eager to send personnel to be lecturers. Because once a teacher takes a student in under their wing, then said student naturally moves to join whatever organization their teacher is in. In that case, we can also use that method, and guarantee them a job after graduation, there¡¯s no reason that we can¡¯t be like Marcis as well. ¡°If we look after our students even better than Marcis, there will be no opposition to our high fees.¡± ¡°But with our current teaching quality¡­¡± ¡°Which is why, drastic changes are needed.¡± ¡°Th, this is?!¡± ¡°Is this really possible?!¡± The lecturers that all stared at my proposal with wide eyes. Even the dean that believed in me looked surprised. -Owner, owner? Ya nuts? Whaddaya have against those kids? Wazzis? This hell or something? -I said I would bring in the entrance exam hell. -What¡¯s an entrance exam hell? I heard of the 8 Hells, but was there actually nine? Why is the kids only free time when they sleep? Hang on, I can¡¯t even see any time to sleep? The timetable I put forward was simple. To exin. 1. After school study time 2. Night time study time 3. Weekend study time 4. Holiday study time That should be enough for an exnation. ¡°Now, if we educate them like this, there will be no parents that will oppose this.¡± ¡°But, but can the students actually endure this¡­¡± ¡°They can.¡± The citizens of Hell Joseon can all survive this, there¡¯s no way that these lively mana-doped lively kids can¡¯t endure it, no? This isn¡¯t even the Go3(3) version either. The Go3 version is a special regime designed to be used from a month out from the empire festival. Even middle schoolers can handle this much. These kids will be fine too. ¡°Te, ten hours of education a day!¡± Ho ho, why are they so surprised? The study race of H3 students that can bepared to thebat race Sa*yans(4) would be more than easily studying double digit hours. If it¡¯s just ten hours, isn¡¯t it about the same as the time they¡¯re in school? Even if you take out the night study then they¡¯d be in school for roughly that long. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t they opposeing to school on weekends?¡± ¡°Even if they do, the ones paying the tuition are the parents.¡± ¡°This, this is vition of the students¡¯ rights!¡± ¡°A student¡¯s role is to study. Our role is to help them study voluntarily.¡± ¡°Can this be called voluntary?¡± ¡°Our role is to make them study, since the students decide what type of study they do, yes it is voluntary.¡± ¡°That is a ridiculous argument!¡± ¡°And the necessity of that ridiculous argument, is the state that our academy is in now.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s.¡± The teacher that had been heatedly arguing against me shut his mouth. Yes, that¡¯s it. We were in a position where we had to do anything to survive. Of course it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t understand that lecturer. To think he would think of the students, he is a kind teacher. But those were only sentiments for if I was a student. Since I am in the position of a teacher, only the brats who can study well, meaning here the ones who can create strong summoners are good teachers! That was what they normally did, and is the academy not on the brink of ruin! The academy needs to survive to allow the students to survive. So now¡¯s not the time to care about hell or high water. I went easy on them as well? It¡¯s just ten hours. Well, although there is extra time added on. Plus on the weekends it¡¯s just six hours. It¡¯s only ten hours on paper, I even allocated proper break times within those ten hours as well, you know? What is this heaven? If this was my high school life then this would be heaven? But it seemed that the instructors seemed to have little faith. ¡°Then, I will ask you sincerely.¡± Hoho, it¡¯s a magic lie detector. Where did he bring that out from? Ah, if there was one of those in the ssroom it would make life a lot easier. ¡°Do you sincerely believe, that the students can endure this timetable?¡± ¡°Yes. In a country I know of, students there begin their day at seven-thirty in the morning study until ten at night, and there were many that received separate private tuition afterwards.¡± ¡°Li, lies!¡± ¡°No, the magic detector isn¡¯t reacting!¡± ¡°Th, the truth? Are you telling me that¡¯s the truth!¡± Sorry but since I have no mana whatsoever the magic tool won¡¯t react at all? Well, thanks to that it¡¯s very convenient when I¡¯m questioned at castle gates. No matter what I say it never rings. Well, what I¡¯m talking about is another dimension¡¯s country. -You, you serious that a hell like that exists? What kinda country¡¯s school is that! -There is a fearful ce called Hell Joseon. -He, hell in the name¡­ the country¡¯s name is hell¡­ scawy¡­ Oh, it even made that metal bat quiver in fear. Kahh~ as expected of Hell Joseon¡¯s majesty! ¡°Is that a demon nation.¡± ¡°What kind of horrific things do they¡­¡± ¡°Ah, and the special traits of study race called Go3s in that country sleep for as little as four hours a day to study.¡± ¡°Fearful. How fearful, Go3!¡± Hoho, these lecturers. Although they seem to be having a culture shock, very soon they will be praising that education. Because let alone simple study fever, my final goal is to bring the nobles of this empire private study fever as well! The sort of private study fever that says ¡®A former Yugrasia teacher is teaching at this academy!¡¯ would make all the noble parents swarm in like bees with application forms! If I retire early then a small private ss sounds like a great way to bring in some cash! ¡°Now, we need to change our way of thinking. This is not a change for the students alone. Of course, we, the teachers will also be embarking on this road of change with the students. We need to unify our strength, and guide these students to not deviate from their paths. We need to be the first to make sacrifices, the first to be passionate in order for our students to believe in us and follow us, and only then will our academy restore its former glory.¡± I keep emphasising the word ¡®we.¡¯ A group mentality has a habit of rotting everyone once it sets in, but as long as the mood control is done well then under the banner of ¡®we¡¯ we can always raise our solidarity. Majority rules isn¡¯t the best rule for nothing. If we can get a few people directing the flow the way I want it to then we can achieve our purpose quickly! -Wha¡¯d the students ever do to you? -What do you mean? I simply taught them the study methods I personally experienced. -Owner said you¡¯re amoner! You said you were amoner from the country beside the empire! Dun lie! There¡¯s no way that country could ever exist! -But you already know! That my words have no lies in them! Between us who are connected by our souls, there can be no lie between us! -Nyoo! It¡¯s just owner blocking off a few key thoughts like normal! Othe, otherwise there¡¯s no way that there could be an academy filled with those demons! -Fufufu, that¡¯s what you say, but I already know of your fear! I could feel the metal bat¡¯s fear through our souls¡¯ connection. Hahaha, I finally made this pervert shake in fear! And I should spread this emotion throughout the students as well! ¡°Then I understand that we will all follow Professor Nicerwin¡¯s directives.¡± There were a few scrunched faces at the dean¡¯s words, but everyone assented. -Now, only the most important thing is left. -Wh, what¡¯s that? You summoning a few of Hell Joseon¡¯s devils or sumfing? -No, but¡­ -But? -School modifications. -Just what are you gonna do¡­ Just what am I going to do. Of course I need to make sure they can¡¯t run away. To students, night study is there to wag? Perhaps if I was a student, but now that I¡¯m a teacher now, I should prevent that from happening, no? (1) Mengzi/Mencius, one of the great philosophers of China, often rated second only to Confucius. His mother is held up as an exemry female figure in East Asia in reference to the legend that she moved house three times before finally settling next to a school, where Mengzi began to study imitating the schrs and students. Also a parable to describe the importance of the environment in raising children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mencius (2) Idiom used to describe cases of geniuses/excellent people from humble/poor backgrounds you wouldn¡¯t expect them to be from (3) An (Korean) abbreviation for Korean Third Year High School students, thest year of high school for Korean students, after which they take the infamous National University Entrance exams which determines which university they can/¡¯t get into and is also the single sole reason for their thirteen years of formal education. Best summarized as the epitome/final boss version of the Asian student. (4) Saiyan race, from Dragonball/Z and beyond Chapter 33 RATH 33 TL: Eevee 5. Wee to the summoners¡¯ school. (3) #1 Their story: The student council president¡¯s story. ¡°Ah right.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I left something in the student council meeting room.¡± As I was packing my bags to prepare to head home for the holidays, I remembered that I had left behind some things in the stuco meeting room. Well, since they¡¯re personal things there¡¯s no reason why anyone would take them, but since I might as well take them back while I was returning home anyway, I said that to my roommate and went back to the academy for the first time since final exams¡­ ¡°Why is it under construction?¡± Even if I look like this I¡¯m still the student council president. If there was a construction scheduled I would have been notified, but I¡¯d never heard that there would be construction work done during the holidays. ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­¡± I heard that the academy could close down any day, but did that be reality?! We wouldn¡¯t be seeing a new dean shouting ¡°Yugrasia is dead! It¡¯s not here anymore! But not as a school of summoning, but the school of 000, we will live on as 00 Academy!¡±(1) as soon as next semester starts? ¡°Oi, are you a student?¡± ¡°Huh, uh, yes I am.¡± Just as I was wondering what new subject the academy would teach, I felt someone tap my side and I turned around, but no one was there! Thankfully it wasn¡¯t a ghost, but I met something that was even harder to meet than ghosts. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Ah, I left something in the stuco room¡­¡± ¡°What, so you¡¯re a member of the student council? You¡¯re acting about as rude as you look?¡± When I looked a bit further down, I saw a head at around my waist-height. Ah, of course it isn¡¯t a child. This person¡¯s probably at least a few decades older than me. With a slight exaggeration, arms that were as thick as my waist, a brown beard that came from his chin all the way down his chest. And a height that barely came to my waist. Anyone would think of a particr race when they saw this. Indeed. The people fixing the academy were none other than dwarves! To think the dwarves that were hard to see even on imperial projects were doing construction work on our academy! ¡°What are you looking at? First time seeing a dwarf?¡± ¡°Ah, yes it is¡­¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± The dwarf was slightly taken aback at my answer for a second before heughed uproariously and thumped my side. ¡°Hahahaha, well true, you do see the majority of our race are stuck in their workshops instead of out and about. Now now, your academy, it¡¯s transforming into something beautiful, so you can have great hopes for it.¡± ¡°Re, really?¡± After listening to the dwarf, it seemed that the one who hired the dwarves was indeed Yugrasia. Thank goodness. It seems that nothing¡¯s changing, next year at least. Surely we won¡¯t be learning something else with just the name kept as Yugrasia, right? Just as I thought that another thought came to me. Just why were dwarves working on our school? ¡°Is a member of the imperial family transferring in?¡± Wondering if the legendary imperial princess wasing or something, I picked up what I was looking for and went back to the dorms. But due to the unexpected meeting with the dwarves I didn¡¯t pay enough attention to my surroundings at the time. If I¡¯d looked closely, I might have suspected something. When they were renovating the academy, just why was the majority of the work focused on the windows and exits. And why were the dwarves moving countless steel pirs while working on those areas. But by the time I realised, it was already toote. *** -Owner? Isn¡¯t the one who started something meant to be the busiest? Owner¡¯s way too free? -I¡¯m not free. It means that work is proceeding well. The one in charge of a project does not move himself! It¡¯s definitely not like I¡¯m just ying around or something! Even if I look like this I invited several lecturers, made contact with the dwarves to renovate the school, filed away paperwork with the dean even in this very room. Although of course all I did was stamp the final seal of approval. ¡°So next week is the beginning of enrollments?¡± ¡°Yes, Professor Nicerwin.¡± When I asked the dean about the enrollment period that made up the majority of the documents we were stamping, he answered in the affirmative as he also stamped documents beside me. Enrollment period. A month before the opening of the empire¡¯s holynds of education that were the Four Great Academies, for a period of one week the schools were opened up to the public. To put it simply, test even a stone bridge before you cross? It was a time period where the parents really looked around with lit eyes to see just what ce the school they would be sending their children to for the next four years, what kind of teachers and students were there at the ce they would be sending their kids off to. ¡°The ce we need to beware of the most is Marcis.¡± ¡°Very true. They have a lot of parts that ovep with us¡­¡± Summoning and magic have many parts that ovep with each other. No, if you look at the big picture one could argue that summoning is actually a subset of magic. Especially since there are a lot of cases where the rearguard pure firepower magicians that focus purely on output have contracted summons to protect themselves. And because of that, our greatest enemy is Marcis! ¡°The important thing is how many outstanding talents we can obtain. Since we¡¯re only taking in 1/4 of our normal enrollment. We need that people with that kind of spectacr talents.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. This year¡­¡± -The tuition fees are five times, would talents show up? Heck isn¡¯t that just a scam? Why are the number of students decreased fourfold, but the fees by quint? -If they¡¯re nobles even if it was ten times higher the ones who woulde wille. And thetter because a lot of money¡¯s been spent. The Made in ck Anvil that I always relied on was always outstanding, but the problem is that they are seriously expensive. Because of that the school funds are already at their limits. And to make up those funds we need to raise fees. -And,ter on owner secretly goes yum yum? -Of course. It¡¯s hard right now because we really are on the verge of bankruptcy, but once things get better I can ask the dwarves for a discount, and I can secretly sneak away the difference in price myself. Since as long as talks are done with the higher ups the dwarves that are actually on the project know nothing either. And so, a beautiful world unfolds where even when no one is disadvantaged money still flows into my coffers! ¡°Having said that, the currently active summoners of the imperial army aside, I didn¡¯t know that that Sirs Muam and Harian woulde either. I heard even the Association found it hard to call for them.¡± ¡°I have some contacts with the elves, I saw some benefits from that.¡± ¡°And their exploits are renowned. And even the two members of the army that are joining us, they are even Sergeants of the Summoner Corps, perhaps they might know some of the other army-rted summoners as well.¡± ¡°Yes, I talked with the two of them, and I asked them to meet up with summoners that retired from the army that stressed the same importance of education and told them to bring them as well.¡± ¡°Hoho, indeed, Professor Nicerwin is always a quick on the mark.¡± As we diligently pushed down our stamps the dean and I started to unify our opinions. Hm, as I thought, all ording to n!(2) Now all that I have left to do is see how prepared am I to hook in some students, or more urately their parents. But what kind of people am I! Am I not from a people where wherever there was a church¡¯s cross, during primary school, I experienced summer bible school for the sake of a single choco-pie! And it was there I learned the word of Jesus. -Be the fishers of men!- -Dat education fervor. A few dayster, the enrollment period where here were nobles, there were nobles came along. ¡°But I never thought that the Duke and the Minister of Treasury woulde in person.¡± ¡°Ah, both of them are ex-honour graduates of Arucia and Mercadia. Even though they can¡¯te every year, they try to whenever they can. And they take with them a lot of the graduates as well.¡± Oho, the fact that they take in a lot of talent means that they also probably fork out a lot of schrship money to us as well. Early support makes them easier to take along as well. Then let¡¯s see. ¡°Our academy¡¯s students¡­¡± ¡°¡­Huk.¡± Eh? -Wiin? He cried! Owner made gramps cry! Our amazing owner that doesn¡¯t hesitate to attack the elderly! Uh, no it wasn¡¯t like I knew it when I said it? And I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d cry straight away either! No, to be precise he isn¡¯t crying yet! He¡¯s just sniffling! ¡°Huuk¡­ there weren¡¯t. there were no students that the Dukes offered any schrship money to our academy¡¯s students!¡± -Now he really is gonna cry? A tear just fell! -N, not yet! Still no count! After he said that there were none in the past five years, when I so brazenly said that ¡°next year will be different!¡± to the dean who was about to fully turn on the waterworks he looked at me with a look of respect that actually weighed on me a fair bit. I get it so please, stop¡­ -Wiin? If it¡¯s that big then aren¡¯t the imperial family gonna show up? Princess could be here too? Get locked up right here? -No, the princess isn¡¯t in the capital right now. During the process of securing the summoners from the army I actually heard some news of the imperial pce. That shut-in, no, the imperial shut-in that was the imperial princess moved herself to capture me. It honestly gave me the shivers when I first heard of that, but right now it¡¯s good. The further she gets away from me I am perfectly OK! -The kids don¡¯t look happy. -This is always a pain in the ass for the students. The people were gathering for the speeches, but the students were making faces like they were bored out of their minds. Of course, so did I. No seriously, this was actually painful. ¡°We at Marcis have the backing of the all the Magic Towers of the Empire, and so we get materials for all practical courses at less than cost price. In addition, the Lords of Magic Towers over there will be sending around their best disciples of the Magic Towers to guide your children, and we swear that your children will be learning right alongside them of everything about magic! Magic is the school that leads to greatness. We need those with the greatest passion and willpower, those that do not hesitate to take the challenge!¡± Now, this is the third speech we heard, this time Marcis¡¯s. Of course Marcis didn¡¯t make the same speech three times, but in the case of the first, Arucis, if you changed magic to swordsmanship, and Magic Tower and disciples to their rough equivalents, rest was more or less the same. Same for Mercaria, they all made the same damn speeches as if they¡¯d all had them edited by the samepany or something. Worse¡­ ¡°We at Yugrasia have the backing of all the Summoners¡¯ Associations of the Empire, and so we get materials for all practical courses at less than cost price. In addition, our senior summoners will helping to guide your children, and we swear that your children will be learning right alongside them of everything about summoning! Summoning is the school that explores the great path of nature. We need those with the greatest passion and willpower, those that will not hesitate to take the challenge!¡±(3) -He betrayed us! The dean grandpa betrayed us! We trusted him! The man that¡¯s always crying for the academy, has the exact same mindframe as every other academy! Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if they could all just pick a representative to shout our Four Great Academies! To say nothing of the students, even some of the parents were starting to dose off, that¡¯s how boring and repetitive the speeches were. The only parts that the students even remotely responded to were the respective student councils¡¯ presidents in between. Amazingly enough our stuco president was quite popr. Does that mean our academy has hope as well? ¡°Next is Yugrasia¡¯s Professor Nicerwin Ain¡¯s speech.¡± And so a long dull time passed, and the final speaker that the dean had barely managed to scrape out, more urately my speech time came along. -Owner, owner¡¯s famous too? -I¡¯m quite famous. -Totes. So famous that the imperial princess even destroyed the organization. -That person, and Nicerwin is different! -Wut, another me? Owner multiple personalities is dangerous! As the metal bat and I exchanged the usual banter I moved up to the stage. Thousands of people are staring at nothing but me. Ho, I only ever had kids looking at me before, now that there are adults mixed it it feels quite quaint. Something¡¯s beating quite fast! If I say the wrong things here then everything until now goes down the gutter! ¡°I¡¯ll be honest. Up to now Yugrasia, has had no meritspared to the other academies.¡± So let¡¯s start by pulling in some aggro. Chapter 34 RATH 34 TL: Eevee TN: I swear to god, every time I try to type ¡®teacher¡¯ or ¡®lecturer,¡¯ my fingers automatically hit i-n-s for ¡®instructor¡¯¡­ 5. Wee to the summoners¡¯ school. (4) ¡°Ah, but first, I wish to express my apologies to the teachers of Yugrasia.¡± Although my mouth is repenting my hands¡¯ actions are theplete opposite. Rip! Riiip! ¡°You all worked so hard to write this for me, but with these nd titudes it is difficult to describe the changes that Yugrasia has undergone.¡± -Owner amazing! To rip such a thick pile in one go! -Not going to lie, I was a bit worried. As I tore the speech script that everyone wrote up together, I internally sighed in relief. Since it would have been a case of public humiliation if it didn¡¯t tear because it was too thick, I think I unconsciously put more strength into it. Thank you my hand! -But to tear apart everyone¡¯s efforts! Too mean, too mean! -Copy paste is the worst! Doing your homework by copypasting off the N*ver encyclopedia(1) should end in middle school. There¡¯s no way that I¡¯d simply repeat what all the other teachers had said, no? Themon perception that Yugrasia was the worst of the Empire¡¯s Four Great Academies was already hammered in. The only thing they have left to trust is the brand associated to the alias Nicerwin, if I simply say what others have said then they will think ¡®oh, so he¡¯s just the same as the others.¡¯ Right now, I need to sell Nicerwin as a special for entering Yugrasia! It¡¯s an innate instinct that when you buy things, you go for the one with freebies, even if it¡¯s slightly more expensive! Now I¡¯ve pulled in all the aggro too. ¡°To be honest, summoning, it¡¯s something anyone can learn. As long as you pay up enough money then anyone can make a contract with a low-rank summon. Because of that,st time Yugrasia couldn¡¯t even fill up its student quota. Why? It¡¯s obvious. The equipment summoners learning swordsmanship in Arucis, the magic summoners learning magic in Marcis is much more efficient than learning summoning in Yugrasia. First, you need to admit your wrongs. If one tries to deny the events up to this point, it simply looks like excuses. Getting held down because of the past is enough with the imperial princess alone. ¡°But this year is different. All the useless teachers have been removed. And to take their ce I have brought in an active officer from the empire¡¯s army, a contractor of an elemental king from the elven forest, and a contractor of a god. The murmuring became louder. If nothing else, contractors of spirit kings and gods are rare throughout the continent. And especially from a military perspective, one of their peculiarities is that one of them alone are treated the same as an entire battalion. ¡°But those numbers will be limited?¡± ¡°Yes, of course there are limits to just how many excellent teachers we can secure. Since there are less than half the number of teachers in Yugrasia right now than there werest year.¡± ¡°But won¡¯t that affect the quality of education?¡± As I spoke while opening the floor for questions, a number of parents began to ask a few. Yes, this is how a speech should be. If you just copy paste one-sidedly like everyone else then people can¡¯t even be bothered to ask questions. ¡°And so, we will reduce the number of students that we will enrol this year.¡± For a moment, a silence nketed the hall. It could have many meanings, but right now, it seemed as if they couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°While the number of teachers are halved, the number of students we will take in will be half of half of our normal intake, meaning just one hundred students. This way, although the number of teachers have decreased, the quality of education will be of a much higher quality thanst year.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t a hundred too few?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think a school can run with just that number!¡± Hoho, these are all questions the other teachers asked. Therefore, I¡¯ll end it in one shot. ¡°It is alright. We have raised the tuition fees.¡± -Owner, everyone¡¯s looking at owner like a madman¡­ -It¡¯s alright. Innovators are normally not understood. No other choice but for me to walk over the thorns myself. -Way I see it owner¡¯s plenty nuts. What, if anyone else, I don¡¯t want to hear that from this brat. ¡°I will confirm it. We will be more expensive than even Marcis, which is currently the most expensive school. But, we will invest that much more time into our students. Even outside of teaching time, if the students wish it, the teachers will always be ready to help them out. Already, all of the teachers of Yugrasia have agreed to live in on-site dormitories, and so even on holidays, we will not stray from the path of education. Because of that, we do not need any additional personnel. Only those who have the talent to be a summoner, those who have the passion for summoning, we will take only a hundred of those students.¡± -Owner, the teachers are looking surprised, did they really make that promise? -Ah, just the new ones. More urately I just had a set of dorms built for the teachers who had nowhere to stay, but it¡¯s not like there are any teachers dumb enough to shout ¡°lies!¡± at this timing? Is there? And so, you all should participate as well! -Owner, the parents¡¯ eyes are sparkling, but the kids eyes are dying. Isn¡¯t that just an adverse effect? -Kids go to whatever school their parents tell them to anyway. While the students are undoubtedly thinking ¡°we¡¯re dead if we go there¡± and ¡°I¡¯m never going to that school,¡± the parents are getting more and more fired up. Fufu, even when picking the Minister of Education, the students have no right, only people with civil identification have the right to vote! Education was always a territory to appeal to the parents! The students just need to be forcibly awakened to such splendid education! And just when the time came for the final blow! ¡°Wait, are you really the person who is said to be the most knowledgeable about summons, the Summoner Association¡¯s greatest researcher, Nicerwin Ain?¡± -Owner, something smells. That¡¯s one of your shills, isn¡¯t it? -Tch. Sharp one. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Since the metal bat¡¯s already smelled the birch burning, why hide it! On the way back from requesting the dwarves, I specifically requested the continent¡¯s best detective agency to call in a specialist! And like the specialist he is his timing is absolutely perfect! ¡°Does the book that is said to contain everything you know about summons, the Book of Summons truly exist! Does that legendary book that is said to have recorded information on even mythological and legendary summons, does that Book of Summons truly exist!¡± There¡¯s only one reason why I became a big-shot in the Summoners Association. It¡¯s because the beings I knew in myths are treated as summons over here. And because of that, the legend that there was a book that included information on those summons, was floating around while I was unaware. -Since when? -Since I came to Yugrasia. -Haang, my owner. You¡¯re my owner but you¡¯re so evil! Eii, I still need to save the academy. Until I can find a ce to permanently hide, it¡¯s going to be my workce after all. ¡°If you want it, then the knowledge is yours to learn. But you have to find it first. Everything I know about the world¡¯s summons, are recorded in that book!¡± As if I have no attachments to it, very coolly. As I shouted like a certain pirate facing execution,(2) I turned by back on the cheering parents and imposingly made my way back to my seat. -But, owner. That really exist? -Now I need to make it. Well since I¡¯ve lifted the mood¡­ should I write it and hide it in the library? #2 Their story: an archdevil¡¯s master¡¯s story. ¡°We at Arucia have the backing of all the martial families of the Empire, and so we get weapons for at less than cost price. In addition, our senior knights will be helping to guide your children, and we swear that your children will be learning right alongside them for everything about swordsmanship! Swordsmanship is not simply the skill to fight, but a school that leads to greatness. We need those with the greatest passion and willpower, those that will not hesitate to take the challenge!¡± From the beginning of one of Arucia¡¯s teachers who you couldn¡¯t mistake for anything but a knight, not with that big frame, the other schools started to repeat more or less the same things. -Is this a form of mental torture? Among the devils that affected the mind, there were a couple of lunatics that got a sessful contract from summoners they liked by saying the same thing over and over again 24/7, are the beings called teachers simr here, owner? -Don¡¯t know. I wasn¡¯t even listening. Beside my uncle, here as my father¡¯s substitute, who was lost in his memories, I flicked over the page of my book. Although I did try to listen to them at the beginning, there¡¯s no need to listen to them say the same thing over and over again. Since I¡¯m the type of human that only needs to hear something once to remember it. ¡°Ria, are the speeches not to your liking?¡± ¡°Yes, Uncle. They keep saying the same thing repeatedly.¡± ¡°¡­ True, now that I think of it I believe they said much the same thing back when I went to school.¡± Moreover, even Uncle who was lost in his memories admitted the fact. As I thought, not listening was the answer. Starting from those healthy-looking teachers, teachers that wore robes, a teacher that wore spectacles, and after the teachers from Yugrasia and theirck of particr traits finished their speeches. Although they were all pointless speeches. Aside from themoners, the kids from noble families are all fated to go to the schools that fit them the best. In my case, Marcis, the Magic Tower¡¯s head¡¯s granddaughter enrolling in Marcis which is heavily backed by the Magic Tower is a given. It¡¯s called the educational Magic Tower, the unified Magic Tower Marcis. The connections I make there will be a great help to meter as a full-fledged magician, so no harm in that. Well, even if I say this, the majority of the people I saw at our family¡¯s parties will end up in Marcis. -But, owner. Owner is a summoner that contracted me, the archdevil Surtr. Isn¡¯t Yugrasia a pretty decent ce to go to as well? -Hm? What did you say? As a magician that uses the great meat shield Surtr I should go to Marcis, no? -Owner, so that¡¯s how you¡¯reing out! I just acknowledged you! -Then please, be useful. Coming from someone who can¡¯t even defend against a wooden stick, and gets desummoned. -Would owner have held out? -Oh, sorry. That was kind of uncalled for. As if my body briefly remembered the pain from back then, my body shivered. It seemed that my uncle beside me was quite surprised, but I told him that I felt a sudden chill and could calm myself down. ¡°Next are some words from Yugrasia¡¯s Professor Nicerwin Ain.¡± It was then. As I was beginning to forget the fear from those times, the instructor¡¯s face appeared in front of me. -Wha, why is that little shit! -In, instructor?! Nicerwin Ain. The greatest authority in the study of summons, said to live in the elves¡¯ forest. The greatest researcher in the Summoners¡¯ Association, the legendary figure who was said to have single-handedly lifted the study of summoning to new heights. The presence that was said to have been unable to leave the elven forests due to a crippling childhood disease, or that Nicerwin Ain was the name that a group of great sages around the continent used to publish their findings under, or that he was a great prophet here tomunicate the teachings of another world¡¯s god. But, that face was one that was very familiar to me. But. -Ah, it¡¯s not him. I was surprised. -What are you on, owner! Are you out of your mind? Does he not look identical no matter how you look! -No, the aura, the voice, speech are all different. That man, is not someone who can make that gentle smile so naturally. Even if. I had been in an evil organization. Even if. He had shown us a hell that even surprised an archdevil. Even if. I had spent less than two years under his wing. Even if. I really, really! wanted to get stronger and pulverise him someday! Even so, I learned very many things under his tutge, and the fact that he found my family¡¯s seal for me at thest does not change. And there was no way that someone who said he would run away to the ends of the continent woulde to the imperial capital with his own two feet after just a few short months. -Re, really? -Yeah, look. That goodly smile. There¡¯s no reason that the organization¡¯s archviin, no, archdevil could smile like that. That¡¯s a genuine smile that¡¯s only seen fields of peaceful flowers living among elves. There was no reason that a person who knew how to use mana would shake that much to tear just a speech written with the other Yugrasia teachers. He was probably just feeling guilty towards the other teachers. If it was the instructor I knew he¡¯d probably just set it on fire and toss it out saying ¡°and you expect me to read this pointless trash?¡± And if it was the instructor, he wouldn¡¯t shout so heatedly about passion and talent for summoning. He¡¯d just find some easy demon somewhere and make another ve contract. Plus he wouldn¡¯t take just a hundred students. He¡¯d probably gift all four hundred new entrants their personal devil ve,mand them to sweep the empire festival and victory would be guaranteed Yugrasia¡¯s. And finally, rather than teaching someone, the instructor is the type to make someone break through their limits. A person that would draw up someone¡¯s talents to the limits, and just when they became used to that, drag them up to greater limits saying that they would wait and help students with their learning. If it really was the instructor, there¡¯s no way he¡¯d say things like that, right? And if, just if. If, that person was the same person as the instructor. ¡°I see that you have great potential as a summoner. Have you considereding to Yugrasia?¡± ¡°M, me?¡± In the middle of being chased by the imperial princess, there¡¯s no way that he¡¯d say that while holding onto my hand, would he? Chapter 35 RATH 35 TL: Eevee 5. Wee to the summoners¡¯ school. (5) ¡°I see that you have great potential as a summoner. Have you considereding to Yugrasia?¡± ¡°M, me?¡± -Ow, owner you nuts? This kid¡¯s your ex-disciple! At the very minimum all owner¡¯s disciples are either future murderers or future perverts that¡¯d either knife you in the stomach or put a chain around your neck and let alone running away, you¡¯re approaching them first! Owner was a pervert all along! As I weaved and dodged people sticking to me here and there, I spotted a familiar face so I grabbed her into a conversation and as I thought! Unlike thosemon novel protagonists, I had no problem recognizing people. But were you quite surprised miss metal bat? Although what it¡¯s saying in an excited voice unlike normal was a bit frightening, but since it was pretty much true let¡¯s just let that slide. ¡°Uh? Ah, really?¡± And No. 17 who was caught by me also had a surprised expression on her face. Yes, if a human who looked identical to the one who ran her into the ground in the past appeared right in front of her of course she¡¯d be surprised! -But, if this kid goes to an academy then it is destined that we meet! No, she was probably watching the speeches as well. In that case,nding the first strike to make it hard for her to suspect something is also a way! -Haaang? Suure you would. I bet my little sister that one day you¡¯ll lose first strike, and get hit with a counter first strike! -Huh? If you mean the wooden bat it¡¯s already gone over to Rein. -Uwiiit! She did! My poor little sister! She got sold to a sparrow because of owner! But what the heck is a counter first strike. Does this rascal also know the great proverb that if you cannotnd the first strike it¡¯s not a first strike? -Owner smiling all happy is disgusting. As I thought, since you made my voice a loli, owner¡¯s preferences were also for loli? Although it¡¯s quite iffy to call her a loli, but you were aiming for a girl that¡¯s not even 20?! -Mm, well although she has gotten a lot prettier in thesest few months, she¡¯s still not my preference. Perhaps because it was because I¡¯d always seen No. 17 wearing ragged clothes, unable to wash properly during training, she¡¯d always seemed grimy and sullen, but now her appearance that was half-way between a girl and a young woman was fresh, but by no means was it my preference. It was just, what do you call it. Clothes give you wings? ¡°Excuse me, do you really feel the aptitude for a summoner from me?¡± No, how the hell does a person who can¡¯t even sense mana feel something like that. It¡¯s just because I know you¡¯ve contracted Surtr that I¡¯m throwing it out there first. But if I said that as is then that¡¯s a direct express line to the shackles empire life. ¡°Yes, I can feel a strong force of fire. It seems that you have contracted with a highest-rank fire elemental or stronger.¡± ¡°Indeed, Master Nicerwin¡¯s fame was not for nothing after all!¡± As if he were greatly surprised, the middle-aged man standing beside her made a shocked expression. Hm, it doesn¡¯t seem like this man¡¯s her dad, so would he be a cousin or a branch family member. ¡°Ah, excuse me. I am this child¡¯s uncle, Viscount Helleid.¡± ¡°Ah, the younger brother of the famous Lord Nermia. Even in the elven woods I heard a lot about the five Nermia brothers.¡± ¡°Hahaha, no, it is we that have heard a lot of the legends of Master Nicerwin.¡± Even as we exchanged greetings No.17¡¯s eyes sparkled. Ho, would you look at this rookie move. It¡¯s good to be able to use see-through magic instantly, but making it obvious like that is a bad habit. If she¡¯d learned for just another year, she would have learned the specialized angles where the sparkles aren¡¯t visible. But it¡¯s a good move. Although there¡¯s no stic surgery, this is a world filled with what can smack aside stic surgery, no, something that can do a triple flip into an aerial leap off the shoulders of the opposition into a triple crit stab exists, named disguise magic. In a ce where there¡¯s reason that makeup does not develop, if you don¡¯t want to be baited by someone¡¯s face then see-through magic that can see through disguise magic is a necessity. But, I am not using disguise magic. I just made a few wrinkles to make me look a bit older, dyed my hair white and used natural elven-made hairs to nt a beard. Of course, the key is to copy the famous elven flower garden smile full of hopes and dreams! This flowery smile is something that only those who have not yet set foot in the human world, only pure and kind elves can make! Although oddly enough all the elves I know can¡¯t make this smile! -The kid¡¯s falling for owner¡¯s concept! -This is the famous archsage cosy! Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t get my hands on an owl. Normally, great sages always go around with a white dove or a giant owl on their shoulders. ¡°Really, are my talents that impressive?¡± ¡°Hoho, indeed. But unlike your talent, it seems that you cannot handle your summon that effectively. It seems to be because that you have made a contract with a very high-ranked being.¡± ¡°As I imagined! Exactly that!¡± Oooh, thatst one was from the person whose reactions were so heated that I thought for a moment he was one of my paid shills, what was his name, hmm. Viscount Hellwhatever! At his reactions the surrounding gazes are gradually beginning to center on us. -Promotion and bringing in talents! How good a method is this! -Although if they were normal, they wouldn¡¯t go to owner. Indeed. Naturally. Of course, not because of me. This girl was a child of the Nermia family after all. Of course she¡¯d go to Marcis? But to stop that from happening, like aputer repair shop owner greeted by a tech illiterate, I opted to use the method of convincing the customer that a problem that could be solved with a simple part recement was actually a serious problem that warranted buying a newputer. ¡°She contracted with a high-ranking contract at too young of an age. Because of that the powerful aura of fire is leaking out so much that even I can feel it. Summons that don¡¯t fit with the contractor¡¯s soul often have drawbacks on the summoner. Summoning is a promise between souls. But if one soul is too big or small, the other will find it difficult to use their strength correctly. No, there is even the risk of the user facing a bacsh because of their summons.¡± ¡°Re, really?¡± Ah, of course not. It would if it was a normal case, but she ve-contracted the archdevil Surtr. Because of the nature of the contract, the power that Surtr can exert in practice is very small. And there¡¯s no way that Surtr and his ve contract-shredded pride would allow him to unconditionally obey No.17¡¯s orders. Because of that, No.17 is actually very safe. The case I exined just now, were only cases were small-minded summoners tried to contract high-rank summons by giving them the position of master and themselves as the servant. To the absolute master No.17, there¡¯s no way that Surtr could do anything to her. ¡°Then what can we do about it!¡± -Sshy sshy! It¡¯s a big one, owner! The Viscount whashisname made a shocked face and charged into me seeming like if I told him that everything could be solved with a hundred thousand gold, he¡¯d pay up on the spot. Very well. Those rough thoughts and your uneasy eyes. I who have been watching it all will solve it for you! ¡°If it¡¯s this child, I feel like I could pass down my everything to her. I suppose her capabilities as a magician would also be very high. But, if she were to learn summoning at Yugrasia now, and learn magic at the Nermia household in the future, this child could be a summoner and magician that could leave her name in history.¡± In a state where I¡¯ve already tossed out my bait on summons I stressed the words ¡®leave her my everything.¡¯ If it¡¯s this kid she¡¯s already a genius that could make a name for herself with just what I know, with that, she¡¯s more than capable asbat potential that could wipe out at least ten enemies in the empire festival! -Now, do it now! -Ya really? Really? Finally fweedom! Very naturally, the metal bat that had been taking the form of a bracelet on my wrist shine brightly before she turned into the shape of a little girl. ¡°Uwuuu~ can¡¯t you listen to my master?¡± When she tilted her head slightly, her long hair that seemed to reach her feet shimmered. Her sparkling silver eyes were rimmed with wetness. At the appearance of a girl not much older than ten, a little girl that you didn¡¯t even have to be a lolicon to find cute, you could hear small gasps and cheers from the surroundings. Of course, the contents weren¡¯t a pure spirit, but the evil metal bat! But the people around us don¡¯t know that! ¡°A spirit came out on her own to help her master!¡± ¡°No less from Nicerwin. Incredible.¡± It is very rare that a spirites out to without a chant, or amand. Because if they, who are bound by a contract, appear on their own initiative, there could be severe penalties applied onto them. But in rare cases such as their summoner¡¯s life being endangered, or when the feelings of both master and summon were aligned into one, there were cases when the summon moved on their own initiative, and that phenomenon meant that the summoner capable of achieving that was a very high-ss. Of course, this kid is different. ¡°How does it sound?¡± ¡°Hoho, if you put it like that¡­¡± The viscount looked at No.17 with a face agonised with indecision. But it seems that No.17¡¯s already made her mind up? Come, you must. If it¡¯s this muching is the normal thing to do. You can learn magic at home, right? All the knowledge of summoning in the world is waiting for you! ¡°Hm, although I am quite interested, but I think I need to talk with Father at home, Uncle.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s true.¡± But No.17 bowed her head apologetically and dragged away her uncle Viscount whatever by the sleeves. Hmph. Your family will also choose Yugrasia! I believe that! And shortly afterwards. -Owner, owner¡¯s favourite saying. I think it fits here. Get your foot cut by your trusted axe? The metal bat¡¯s words emanating with smugness! Damn it, damn it all! No.17 you bastard, you meet me and immediately hand in your enrolment application into Marcis? I will make you regret noting here! *** ¡°There¡¯s a lot.¡± ¡°There is a lot.¡± ¡°There¡¯s so many.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think there would be this much¡­¡± -I think owner works too well as always. What we could see was a mountain of documents. We said that we were epting less applicants than normal, and also hiked the tuition fees, but they say that there¡¯s more than double the normal number of applications for Yugrasia. We need to check all this and choose the shortlist the first round of sessful applicants, then we need to interview the chosen applicants in person to choose the final enrollments. -Owner, what¡¯s owner¡¯s standards? -That¡¯s obvious. What I normally said. -Kids good at summoning? -Now how would I know that? -Then there are no standards! -Of course there are! Family backing! -Uwiiit! That¡¯s my owner! So superficial! Even in the organization named Howling, I knew perfectly well how fearful those things called geniuses were. Of course it would be nice if those things were among this batch as well, but there¡¯s no way I would know that. In that case, I need faces to be the stars of our promotion efforts. -Securing those from famous noble families, or famous nobles themselves so we can say, ¡°even these nobles came!¡± and promoting ourselves like that. And once that happens people that want to be able to say ¡®I went to school with these kinds of people!¡¯ wille flocking in, and after reading the mood and state of the school, if we gradually raise the tuition then the school finances are full! My own finances are full! -Owner? Owner¡¯s finances are getting full from your increased sry, right? You¡¯re not going to fill them up with embezzlement, right? Do you even have to ask. Of course my savings be plentiful with my increased wages, and I can sneak away some more to make them even more plentiful. Of course that¡¯s not all. -And among themoners and low-ranking nobles, if we pick up some truly desperate kids to fill up the roll then that would be perfect. -Why the desperate ones? -Because they can¡¯t say anything even if they get the crap beaten out of them. Two methods I picked up in my instructor days to very quickly raise talents. First, if you hit them with the bat then they get strong. They get stronger by themselves in order to survive. With Rein and Sia¡¯s cohort, the moment the metal bat came out their skills all drastically increased so they graduated early and left. There¡¯s now saying that these students won¡¯t do the same. -Uwaan! ¡®zat mean I can attack them myself? -Yes, run free and rampant! -Owner, awesome! Sho awesome! Her lisping voice echoed through my head. It seemed that she was really excited. Of course to maintain her mana I need to have her discreetly eat the magic stones used for summoning. If I say I failed three times and seeded on the first try then I can pocket two magic stones. Well others barely seed once every ten attempts, if I seed once every three attempts then it¡¯s a profit for the academy too! Everyone, this isn¡¯t fraud! It¡¯s a way for everyone to be happy together! -That¡¯s my owner! The master of self-justification! So cool! With the cheers of the metal bat, we began our war against the mountain of documents. Chapter 36 RATH 36 TL: Eevee 5. Wee to the summoner¡¯s school. (6) There¡¯s so many of them. There¡¯s just too many documents. ¡°Currently, people are watching over our academy to the extent that they are heralding a new age of summoning.¡± That¡¯s One **ece(1) for you. Just because I used a slightly-edited version of the speech it started a new wave of piracy, no, summoning fervor. Now if we had a protagonist character shout ¡°I¡¯m going to be the summoner king!¡± then that would be the perfect scenario! Well, still. ¡°First, it will probably be good to filter out those with insufficient magic power first.¡± Whether there really was a new storm or not, but along with those with the talent, too many kids without any talent also applied. Since even kids who would have submitted their applications to Mercaria sent them into usplete with perfect office worker formatting, that should say it all. With a base of a contract with a summon, and using the abilities of the summon,paratively speaking, summoning uses less mana than magicians or battlemages, but just because you¡¯re using less doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s okay if you have little mana. Even though the summoner can control the automatic supply of mana if needed, when summoning the summon itself, that process takes up a significant amount of mana. And from there if you want to bring out the power of the summon then you need mana again. As an example take No.17¡¯s Surtr who normally acts as a sandbag, when he¡¯s manipting fire then No.17 supplies mana to Surtr, and Surtr uses that mana to create fire. Maybe if my goal was to contract low-ranking summons, but to achieve my goals of making contracts with high-ranking summons then I don¡¯t really need as much mana as my old disciples in Howling, but at the very least I need kids on the level of your average magician. ¡°Mmm¡­ how about this one?¡± ¡°Hm. His magic power seems slightlycking, but his experience seems to be decent. Pass him through the first round for now, it would probably be better to pass him on to Maroon or Professor Aruhan.¡± -Wiing? Discrimination? -Kids good at closebat are exceptions. The applicant that the other lecturer had brought was amoner, but he had qualifications as a C rank mercenary. If you were C rank at 18 years old then that means you¡¯re at least better than normal. Of course since his mana seems to becking it seems like he¡¯ll have a hard time forming sword ki, but bing a C rank despite being amoner means he¡¯s probably seen his fair share of mayhem. If we hand him over to the army lecturers, and link him up to the imperial armory then he should be useful fighting potential. -But, owner? Those armory contractors, aren¡¯t they all forced conscripts? -Not forced. Since the condition of a contract is enlisting. Enlist first, contractter. The imperial armory. Filled with all sorts of famous weapons and armour for the course, it¡¯s a ce with many magically enchanted weapons and armour, the empire seeded in tying these equipment with their soldiers as summoner and summon. Thanks to that, a bunch of soldiers who could use all sorts of weapons and armour in battle were born! And if you were to talk about a peculiarity, this wasn¡¯t a contract between a summon and a summoner, but a summoner and the empire, and so the summoner is automatically enrolled into the army. And after this, they are trained and work as imperial army officers. Meaning, a summon that guaranteed enlistment! Thanks to that, even though they get all sorts of perks, that¡¯s why not many people follow the summoner¡¯s path. -So this is why owner brought in the mister army men! -The empire¡¯s military is a great workce with a 100% employment rate after all! Among the four great academies, no one ever asks about the employment rate after graduation. Conversely, that means if we do it right, we can appeal with employment rates! If we get anyone hired into the imperial pce we can say, [000 of Yugrasia ss of 000, employed by the imperial pce! Employment rate 100%!] is the overall n. And the best way to realize that n was to have No.17e to us¡­ -¡®Course not. I¡¯m saying it because you¡¯re my owner, but if owner wasn¡¯t my owner then even I wouldn¡¯t stick around. Even tho¡¯ the kid doesn¡¯t know that owner¡¯s owner, but since you look simr ¡¯nuff, running away would be natural. Although nothing she says feels at all serious with that short tongue of hers, but reality is reality. Although we¡¯ve already gone through over 600 applications, No.17 is nowhere to be seen. Hoho, this cute kid. If she¡¯de I would have given her rtively preferential treatment and had her on the student council this year, student council president next year on the top-speed elite course I had prepared for her. And to think she¡¯d run with her family as an excuse. -I will use her as the sacrifice to reveal the splendour of Yugrasia¡¯s progress. -Uwii, so petty. My owner¡¯s so petty! No, you dolt! They say that a wise man¡¯s revenge is notte even after ten years, but since I am not a wise man I take it immediately! ¡°Ohh! The Letia family¡¯s Miss Aris!¡± ¡°Pass, a hundred percent pass!¡± But in the hopes of ¡®maybe, just maybe,¡¯ I kept searching through the documents for No.17¡¯s name when I heard shouts from a corner. If it¡¯s the Letia family, then it¡¯s one of the empire¡¯s famous Ten Great Families. And the girl called Miss Aris is that family¡¯s oldest daughter. Meaning. -Owner¡¯s baiting finally hauled in a big one! Poor kid! -It¡¯s all fine if we give her a splendid summon! I¡¯d looked through roughly 300 applications but there was no one on that level. The highest was a Count. And even then the majority of those kids fell short of standards, and to think an eldest daughter of a Ten Great Family came! -I¡¯ll contract her with the best summon so we can use it for promotion! -So cool! My owner that doesn¡¯t think of the students first, but prioritises profits is so cool! Even other than that I found a few noteworthy individuals that might be of use. We seeded culling the second round of applicants to 300, then 100 truly outstanding students out of those. And now, around a monthter. ¡°My peers, do you want freedom!¡± -Freedom! ¡°Then, follow me!¡± -Uwooooooo! With the student council at the head, this world¡¯s first-ever student rebellion began. #3 Their Story: A certain student council president¡¯s story. ¡°You are a child loved by the spirits.¡± The person who said so smiled as she stroked my head. An elf, who was said to have been loved by nature from their creation, said that to me. Since I was little, something was always beside me. Sometimes it was warm, sometimes it was cold, sometimes it wasforting. And when I was small, when I went with my dad on family business, the elf I happened to meet there told me that they were spirits, and she told me that I would be a brilliant summoner in the future. And believing that, I enrolled in Yugrasia, and believing the words of the elf who was said to only speak the truth, I showed the qualities of a brilliant summoner, and of them, an elementalist, I rose to the title of student council president. But, the evaluation of the Yugrasia I went to was the lowest. The school that was once called one of the Four Great Academies had been slowly declining even before I enrolled, and once I became stuco president I tried my best to reverse it, but it still couldn¡¯t be done. But. ¡°Do you mean, the Book of Summons that is said to contain all my knowledge? If you want it then I will give it to you. Look for it. Everything I know about the world¡¯s summons, are recorded in that book!¡± At the pre-enrollment speeches where, if you included the year before I enrolled, I¡¯d watched over for four straight years and still had no idea why they just kept repeating what was essentially the same speech four times, the legendary summoner Professor Nicerwin Ain¡¯s speech was the beginning of a new chapter in Yugrasia¡¯s history. With one of the Ten Great Families, the famous Letia Family¡¯s Lady Aris as the beginning, many ranking houses sent their children to Yugrasia. And from there, instructors from the military that the lecturers and even nobles with links to the military alike would be surprised to see, an elf that was so hard to see, and even a gnome that supposedly hated being involved in the human world were among the new teachers. During the student council meetings, we used to half-jokingly debate about how long it would take for Yugrasia to close down, but such discussions had long since disappeared. Really, just one person changed Yugrasia so drastically. ¡­Was what I had thought. Without realizing just what it was that had undergone the most drastic changes. The day I realised that was the third day into the new semester. It was a normal day as the school began to settle into the first proper lessons. ¡°Wow, did you hear Professor Muam¡¯s lecture earlier? Wow, seriously, as a contractor of a Spirit King, he¡¯s totally on another league with the teachers we¡¯ve had so far! Totally!¡± Spirit Kings, which had fixed numbers. And the summoner of the Spirit King of Water who was a major deal among those showed us a new world of Spirit Arts, and before the final bell, we were all discussing our amazement at the lessons today as we waited for our homeroom teacher toe in. -Ahh, this is a school-wide announcement. Could everyone please take their seats. I repeat. This is a school-wide announcement. Could everyone please take their seats, and listen to the announcement. The school-wide inte that was rarely used in the past echoed out. The people that had gone to the bathrooms began to return and sit down, and around three minutester, we heard a voice that we hadn¡¯t heard to many times, yet was unforgettable despite that. -Greetings, students. My name is Nicerwin Ain, a lecturer that will teach you from this year along with the other teachers. At that moment, we heard people go ¡°ooohhh!¡± from let alone our ssroom, we could hear them from down the corridor as well. It was that Nicerwin Ain. The legend of the Summoner¡¯s Association, the person who was said to have overhauled the academy personally! The students¡¯ admiration of him was indescribable! But it would take just ten minutes for that admiration to be smashed to smithereens. -Now, the homeroom teachers of each ssroom, please enter. At those words, the door opened and our homeroom teacher came in. Holding a thick pile of paper. -Now, I believe by now all the homeroom teachers will have entered. Lecturers, could you please distribute the handouts. At those words, our homeroom teacher silently handed out the thick white stacks of paper to us. [The Basics and Concepts of Summoning] What is this, this book title that sounds like a textbook. As if he could tell what we were thinking Professor Nicerwin answered us immediately. -The handouts that everyone just received, was something to help everyone with their self-directed study. In addition, the people who cannot solve all the problems, cannot leave the school before 2200 hours. In that moment silence spread through the ssroom, no, the entire school. We understood what was being said, but our heads couldn¡¯t take it in. Including me, the majority of the students turned their heads to the clock on the ssroom wall. Current time, 5 PM. Until 2200 hours, meaning 10 PM, there were still five hours left. -Ah, of course we guarantee your right to club activities. From 6 ¡®o clock we will even provide dinner. The true self-directed nighttime study, or night study for short, will begin in earnest from 7 PM onwards. No, that part wasn¡¯t what we were surprised about¡­ -As I promised to your parents, I will deliver the education that everyone wanted. What bullshit is this. Is there a single student that would ever want this. -I understand. That everyone is too embarrassed to speak out, that everyone has a strong passion for learning. Although I am enthusiastic about learning that is more than enough with normal sses. I don¡¯t want to be locked up for a simr length of time in school. -But, I am aware that there are always troublemakers anywhere you go. And so. Drrrrrrrrrrrr ¡°Ea, earthquake?¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on!¡± The moment the professor stopped speaking, the school began to shake. And at the same time. m! m! m! m! We heard a weird noise from somewhere. ng! ng! ng! ng! And with loud ms from right beside us, thick ck lines began to appear on the windows beside us. -I am aware that there are some students that may not wish to attend the self-directed night study. And so, since we guarantee our students rights and freedoms, we will allow it, if you can leave school by your own self-direction. Those words and actions were different. The kids with the window seats had already told us that the ck lines that had appeared were actually thick metal bars. In the middle of the corridor there was even an extra wall that had appeared. This, was a feeling that they would never let us leave school! -Ah, and of course, we teachers will also give the students that don¡¯t wish to participate in self-directed study an opportunity to learn. We will provide theory in the question booklets we distribute in the beginning of every night study ss. And for those students who don¡¯t wish to attend the night study sses, practical. application. It felt like he was emphasising the practical application part a bit, or was it just me? -The methods to not attend the night study sessions are simple. Using any and every method at your disposal, break through the teachers and exit the school. Once you leave the school building, no teacher will even touch you, and even if you return the next day, you will suffer no penalties. Like I have said, you are free to leave school whenever you wish. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The current number of teachers at Yugrasia are small, but not even Yugrasia at its peak would have had the standard of teachers as we do now. And we¡¯re supposed to break through these teachers? And even before that, in this famous school with a long history and tradition, would there ever be someone in Yugrasia that would give up the opportunity to learn and run away? Of course not. If they are a student proud to be in Yugrasia! And the next day. ¡°We have the first runner! Damn it, it¡¯s the stuco president Nerkia!¡± ¡°Do not lower your guard, Nerkia is a highly skilled elementalist!¡± ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll let you get away, Nerkiaaaaa!¡± Of all the students in the school, I was the first to run away. Chapter 37 RATH 37 TL: Eevee TN: I see now. I¡¯ve gone back to some of my earlier chapters, I suspect arge chunk of my grammatical errors lie in the fact that I tried to retain the emphasis of the specific parts that the original Korean emphasised, and I¡¯m not skilled enough to fully convert it. The second being that when I edit, usually in terms of wording, sometimes I go full dyslexia and identally leave in what I really should have taken out during the editing process. Derp. Wee to the summoner¡¯s school. (7) #4 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story. Now, if I were to exin. I like practical experience. Although I am in the top ranks of the academy in my theory marks, I am someone on the boundary of the middle and higher-tier grades overall. Of course, I do my best to study in my own way, but should I say I¡¯m not the type to get theory all that well? To be honest I couldn¡¯t understand a single thing in the handouts Professor Nicerwin gave us. ¡­was all just an excuse! My soul is crying out! To run away from this damn so-called self-directed night study! And wasn¡¯t this the day I promised to meet up with my lover? Because of that I chose to run. But the moment I began my escape, I was stopped by a wall. First, pretend to be going to the bathroom, then the moment I tried to run. The so-called wall in the corridor that barely came up to my ankles suddenly shot up to the ceiling. ¡°Wha, what?¡± Anyone would be surprised if a wall shot up all of a sudden. And at that moment, all the teachers in the ssrooms poked their heads out. ¡°Nerkia is running away!¡± ¡°Get him!¡± ¡°If we lose him our sry vanishes!¡± The teachers ran out instantly. I suspected the situations of the teachers on the other side of the wall weren¡¯t going to be too different either. -Just get caught here, and study, Nerkia. You¡¯re the stuco pres, aren¡¯t you? You should set an example as the president. The angel in my mind said. -No, run. Just run. You want to run. And this is what Professor Nicerwin officially said. This is practical training. As the stuco pres what you¡¯re doing now is the showing the other students an example of it. And the devil in my mind said that. -So it is? -See? And the angel agreed with the devil. Alright then. First off. ¡°Run.¡± The moment I made my mind up I started chanting. The target was the wall. The summoned spirit was a mid-ss earth elemental. ¡°Break it!¡± The wall broke easily under the attack of the earth elemental. But, the remains of the broken wall disappeared into the ground with the magic circle. Perhaps in return for being weak, it was set up to be easily repaired. Meaning that that wall will be soon be repaired. I started to hurry. Raise movement speed with the blessings of the wind elemental on my shoes. And use the walls from the earth elemental to widen a gap with the teachers. Well, that was the n but¡­ ¡°Why, are there arrows flying around in the academy?¡± In an instant, the low-rank wind elemental was hit by an arrow and was desummoned. Not from someone¡¯s snipe, but from the lights in the corridor! It seemed that the walls weren¡¯t the only traps in the academy. ¡°We¡¯ve got you, Nerkia!¡± ¡°The student council president of all people!¡± The moment I hesitated, the teachers rounded the corner. Having summoned their summoned beasts too, no less! ¡°Wait, using your summons against a student, are you serious?!¡± ¡°Every time you run away, all the teachers¡¯ sries vanish by a number you could never imagine! If you resist, we can only get rough with you!¡± Ah, they¡¯re serious. Those eyes are dead serious! I didn¡¯t know that the teachers that I went to school with for three years were this desperate for money! But those, are the teachers¡¯ problems! I have my own problems to deal with! ¡°I, will leave to meet my lover!¡± ¡°Is that so. I respect your will. But¡­ we have our own families to protect!¡± And, the fight between people who each had their own things to protect began and ended, and I was beaten down and dragged to the remedial room in four minutes. And there, I could meet the cause of this incident, Professor Nicerwin. ¡°Why did you make these things!¡± At my sincere outburst, he justughed and said. ¡°I wish for your skills to improve. And for that, between theory and practical experience, either one of them needs to get better. Now, president, between theory and practicals, which do you think I prefer?¡± ¡°Practical?¡± At my answer he nodded as if satisfied, and said. ¡°Indeed. And so, it¡¯s okay if you run away. No, to be honest, I wish for you to run away. And you as the student council president, provided a splendid first-hand example of what I wanted.¡± Ahh, this man was a devil. He just needed an excuse. The thing called the self-directed night study, was simply an excuse for us to run away, and if we ran away the teachers could legally suppress us by force. But, just because I knew his purpose, would I be able to give up escaping! The next day, and the next day. I kept attempting to run away, but I kept getting caught without even being able to escape the ssroom¡¯s floor. And just as I was about to give up out of despair. ¡°I have seen your resolve!¡± ¡°President, let¡¯s fight together!¡± ¡°Together, we can beat the teachers as well!¡± The student council that had simply been watching on took a stand! Each and every one of them were aces of Yugrasia¡¯s summoners! With this much fighting power we could push through! And so, we memories the patterns of the traps, found out the weaknesses of the instructors. Preparing for everything we¡¯d seen thus far, just as we thought we¡¯d beaten the teachers! ¡°Alright then, so is the 8th floor down?¡± ¡°But, we are still here.¡± We realised. The floor we were on was the highest floor, the 8th floor! Meaning, we needed to go down seven more times to leave the academy! ¡°Now,e, student council!¡± All that time, people that had gathered to defeat the 8th floor were defeated by the 7th floor¡¯s fresh teachers and their summonjs. And a week of thister. We realised. ¡°This is a fight of numbers.¡± ¡°We need more students.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not enough with just the student council.¡± To begin with, there were 20 members of the student council. But the number of teachers number over 200. Of course, the number of specialist teachers are lower than this. But even with the specialist teachers alone, there are still more of them than us. And since we need to get through the traps in the academy, we fall short in stamina as well. After some top-secret number crunching, we calcted that we needed at least twice as many students than teachers for us to all be able to escape the academy without any left behind, and began gathering members. And what began from that, was the third and fourth years¡¯ school escape movement. And perhaps there were those who were enlightened to something at seeing our desperate resistance, one by one, the second years, and even some of the first years began to run away from the night study as well. And moreover. ¡°Student Liberation Army?¡± ¡°Yes, it is.¡± Short red hair and a tidy appearance. The girl standing in front of me, whose red eyes seemed like they could burst into mes at any moment, was the new first year, the new student that was the center of attention of the entire academy. The Letia Marquisate¡¯s Lady Aris. Because of the person I was listening to, even as I listened to this absurd nonsense I chose not to get angry but asked her again. ¡°The Student Liberation Army¡­ Are you serious?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true.¡± As Miss Aris nodded while saying that, even as her cheeks turned slightly red as if she was somewhat embarrassed, I turned speechless. Of all the bullshit in the world there could be no bigger bullshit than this! What kind of club name is the Student Liberation Army? Worse, the club focus was ¡®escaping self-directed night study!¡¯ Alright, even if I understand that much, the teacher that oversees the club is none other than the person that started this all, Professor Nicerwin? And he was the one who suggested the name as well! Just how far is he going to torment us, this human! ¡°A club with the purpose of escaping night study, and that Professor Nicerwin, the person who¡¯s essentially the leader of all the teachers, that Professor Nicerwin actually made this club for your?¡± ¡°Yes. Saying that this was exactly what he wanted as well, he said that the school would even support the club¡¯s activities as well.¡± If you entered this club, THAT Professor Nicerwin would help you contract a summon personally. Even though we were just epting one hundred new students, why would a high-ranking noble like Lady Arise to the failing academy Yugrasia? Isn¡¯t it because of Professor Nicerwin? And he¡¯s helping you to contract a summon personally? Naturally, the Student Liberation Army expanded day by day. 345 registered members. As a club with all of the first years, and all of the second and third years not already affiliated with another club, it was Yugrasia¡¯srgest student club. There were even cases where people began to leave the clubs they were already in, to the extent that even the academy created a special exception to be allowed to join the Student Liberation Army while already in a club! And the club activities of the Student Liberation Army were simple. Escaping night study. Meaning. ¡°Fifth floor, suppressionplete! I repeat, fifth floor, suppressionplete!¡± ¡°Seventh floor suppressionplete!¡± ¡°We can manage the eighth floor on our own! We¡¯re going to start heading out as well, so fifth and seventh floor members, head to the 6th floor and secure a midway point! Meaning that the entire school began attempting to run away from night study! As the strategists, we gave directions to the others from the 8th floor, and once an escape route was established we would meet up with the rest and head down in a giant group. ¡°The fifth to eighth floors are all clear?¡± ¡°Yep. The third floor led by Lady Aris is nearly done as well. They¡¯re having some trouble on the fourth floor, but if our numbers swarm the fourth floor then that should handle itself quickly enough.¡± On the second and first floors were probably not the established teachers, but the new special lecturers. And Professor Nicerwin, too. All of the enemy are giants among giants of the summoning world. None of them are pushovers. But we can¡¯t give up! How many months have gone by since night study began! Every time I meet my lover on the weekends it starts with me getting an earful from her. It¡¯s gotten to the point that she¡¯s having misunderstandings that I¡¯m seeing other girls. I¡¯d rather avoid any more misunderstandings, so now is the time to end the night study! ¡°President!¡± ¡°Is the third floor isplete as well, Lady Aris?¡± ¡°Yes, we cleared it sessfully.¡± As you¡¯d expect from the military family that was the Letia House, she was holding onto a beautiful spear as she caught her breath, then she turned to me and smiled. Considering how the first years were all soaked with sweat and leaning against the walls, it seemed that the fights were quite a struggle, but now they could see victory at hand. As I returned her smile of victory with one of my own, I looked at the crowd of people on the second floor, no, that stretched all the way back to the third floor, that I couldn¡¯t see, and shouted. ¡°How long has it been since the night study began! How much freedom have we lost since then! But now, we have freedom right in front of our eyes. Myrades, do you want freedom!¡± -Freedom! In that moment, in those shouts that seemed like they would shake the buildings, and in that roar-like shout I felt a thrill as I continued. ¡°Then, follow me!¡± -Uwoooooo! ¡°Let¡¯s go, for freedom!¡± With myself, the student council, Lady Aris and the other heavy hitters taking the lead, the entire student body charged towards the second floor. And what was waiting there for us was. ¡°Splendid, splendid. For a second there I thought we had Her Imperial Highness¡¯s legendary general, or some Imperial general here on the premises.¡± ¡°Hahaha, what other school could have the student council guide the students this well. As I thought, the future of Yugrasia is bright.¡± ¡°Professor Maroon, Professor Aruhan¡­¡± As we expected, there were two professors smiling as they saw using. Maroon Harcen. And Aruhan Ekhed. Both of them learned summoning asmoners, and were both extremely skilled meritocrats that had risen to be officers of the empire¡¯s summoning corps. They were veterans among veterans that had even experienced the great war. And following them were 30 army summoners. 32 total. But when they were together, their fighting power was almost certainly not just 32 people. Compared to them we numbered 1300, but the numbers that could actually fight were limited. ¡°Since it¡¯s the whole school is there roughly 1300 of them?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be alright if we just get 40 per person.¡± ¡°Eyy, that¡¯s a bit hard even for us. If we get around half of them or so Professor Muam or Professor Harian can get them for us.¡± ¡°Haha, but still. Since we came on the request of Professor Nicerwin, it might be a tiny bit pathetic if we fall too soon.¡± ¡°Hm, that¡¯s true.¡± Speaking so casually while outnumbered forty to one, was it because they simply didn¡¯t think of their defeat, or was it that they could afford to be rxed on the backs of their countless experiences? ¡°Ah, that reminds me, we had another win condition.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Hahaha, since it¡¯s currently 2000 hours right now, we just need to hold on another two hours.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Then the night study¡¯s over anyway so it¡¯s our win. We won¡¯t have to get our sry cut either. The military is way better than this.¡± ¡°Cutting the sries of fellow teachers, really, Professor Nicerwin is a devil, you know?¡± As the two lecturers smirked and took positions in response to our preparations to charge, they looked as us and smiled maliciously. ¡°Now, students. This is the defensive formation that the empire¡¯s summoning corps is so proud of.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going be a bit difficult.¡± And as they smiled, we failed to break through that day. Chapter 38 RATH 38 TL: Eevee 5. Wee to the summoner¡¯s school. (8) ¡°Now, let¡¯s begin the summoning ritual.¡± ¡°Yes¡­. Urgh.¡± The one ring at me as if I killed her parents is the famous lone daughter of the Letia House, Aris. But, why is she ring at me like that. -Isn¡¯t it ¡¯cause owner saw her panties? All dokidoki embarrassed as a woman? -I don¡¯t think so but¡­ maybe? To be honest, I couldn¡¯t have predicted that one either. That the first to run in the entire school would be the student council president. And, the first to try to run among the first years would be that famous daughter of the Letia house. In addition. -Who would¡¯ve thought she¡¯d fall for such a simple trap? -Owner¡¯s already probs immortal from all the curses from the students. Ahh, not even I could have expected that the first time I would see the famous daughter of the Letia Family since her interview would be with her dangling in the air, yelling and pushing her skirt down. At the time, her res at the male students that came into the corridor wondering what was going on as she shouted at them to get lost were good enough to appear in a horror movie. But still, ck panties are currently spreading around the first year boys like a legend. ¡°Are you not going to begin?¡± ¡°The summoning circle has already been drawn.¡± As I said while wagging my piece of chalk at her she ground her teeth hard enough to make me worry about her teeth. Don¡¯t they hurt? ¡°Come to me, be my strength¡­¡± Aris quelled her anger and calmly began reciting the incantation. The goal is, a goddess. We¡¯ve used suitable things as a sacrifice and even used good quality magic stones as well. If a contract can be made, that should be good enough for promotional use. ¡°Summon!¡± We watched expectantly. When Aris¡¯s chant ended, the magic formation shined, and a summon with a white body, long white ears, and red eyes appe¡­. ¡°Make a contract with me and¡­¡± ng! ¡°Wh, what are you doing?!¡± -Wut was that? That felt nasty! In an instant, I quickly transformed the metal bat back into bat mode, and smacked the creature high into the sky. That is a monster that cannot be allowed to exist in this world! I will desummon that instantly! ¡°That was a dangerous devil, if you see it, get rid of it at once. Do not ever make a contract with it.¡± There¡¯s no Madokami in this world either. Dangerous that was, dangerous. ¡°I, I understand.¡± Aris nodded as if she understood, and poured in mana again as she chanted. And. ¡°Are you my ma¡­¡± ng! ¡°Why, why this time?¡± ¡°That was also dangerous.¡± While that was a famous hero, the lines and the fact that it was a woman was dangerous. That one was dangerous enough that it could cause the mobilisation of the weapon that could potentially destroy this entire world, the copyright. And. ¡°It¡¯s fine now. Why? Bec¡­¡± ng! ¡°To be Hoka¡­¡± ng! ¡°Don¡¯t you tru¡­¡± ng! ¡°The world could always use¡­¡± ng! ¡°I am Opti¡­¡± ng! ¡°Huk, huk¡­¡± -Owner, I¡¯m tired too¡­ ¡°Why are you blowing away all of my summons!¡± Considering she¡¯s the criminal, why is she the one getting angry! Only summoning beings that are all dangerous in different ways, is she the apostle of the evil god that threatened to destroy the world or something! Damn it, I¡¯m so damn exhausted I can¡¯t do this shit anymore. If her dad wasn¡¯t a marquis I¡¯d have already given this up already! ¡°Summon!¡± Although we¡¯re all exhausted, we kept summoning. Please let this one be a normal summon¡­ ng! ¡°Kueeek?¡± -Owner, it feels different this time! -Yes, because it was correctly summoned this time. -So why¡¯d ya hit it? -¡­Instinctively? This is why habits are scary. Since I kept on knocking them away before they were properly summoned, I knocked this one away as well as soon as it was summoned. -Whazzat? And moreover¡­ -A god. A god. #5 Their story: Aris lil Letia¡¯s story. The world doesn¡¯t always go as I want it to. I knew that very well. Even for me, as the oldest daughter of one of the most powerful families in the empire, the Letia Marquisate. I had no reason to deny that. But, was it really too much for me to ask for the same academy life that others get? It was alright up to the enrollment interview. The teachers all looked on me favourably, and the feeling surrounding the academy was okay as well. That was all okay until three days after school started. But it was different after that. A sudden announcement was made, and we couldn¡¯t leave until 10 PM. Steel bars appeared on the windows, and barriers were set up in the hallways. ¡­Is this seriously what you¡¯d call academy life? Who the heck could ever logically think that a school like this could exist?! But still, for a fulfilling school life I endured. Starting from the topmost floor, I heard that the student council began to attempt escaping, but they always failed. But as time went on, as our knowledge increased. We came to the realisation that leaving by solving the entire handout waspletely and utterly impossible. For a start, the contents themselves made absolutely no sense. These questions that seemed to ask basic questions like the beginnings of summoning, understandings of summons, the basics of summoning and so on, were all insanely difficult. So difficult that no one could actually solve them! What was more, when we asked the teachers, some of them couldn¡¯t answer straight away, and some questions even had the teachers saying that not even the Summoners¡¯ Association wouldn¡¯t be able to answer these! Was this supposed to make any sense at all! Then I realised. Even after this year, I still had three years left of my school life. Meaning that the vast majority of my teenage years would be spent in this thing called self-directed night study! At that moment, I jumped out of my seat and bolted for the door. And with a whirring noise, a rope wrapped around my ankle and whisked me into the air. Of course it wasn¡¯t because of a simple mistake on my part. Even if I look like this, I¡¯ve still undergone relentless training in the Letia House. But even if I had, I could never have imagine the bulwarks in the corridor suddenly shooting up to the ceiling. Because of that, I missed the timing to jump off the bulwark and failed thending, and the arrow that suddenly flew out in that timing interfered. But I used my training up till now to change directions mid-air. And the moment I managed tond on the ground, my ankle immediately got snared and dragged me into the air. I screamed as I became suddenly airborne, and because of that, my underwear became exposed to everyone that my screams attracted. As well as the cause of all this, Professor Nicerwin! I was embarrassed and ashamed. And angry! I immediately went to take Professor Naruan to ount over it but the result was my loss. On the contrary, I returned after getting a faceful of taunts and mockery. And on the contrary, he made an odd suggestion to me. ¡°How about making a club? It is a club that Miss Aris would seem to enjoy.¡± ¡°¡­What club would that be?¡± ¡°The Student Liberation Army.¡± Although the name of that club felt like something that shouldn¡¯t exist in a school, but considering the current state of the academy, it wasn¡¯t a name that felt that unusual. The objective was escaping the self-directed night study. And Professor Nicerwin would provide support as the supervisory teacher of the club. And whose fault is this to begin with?! But I had no choice but to ept. From the beginning, I had no rtionship at all with summoning. I hadn¡¯t even made the contract with a low-ranking summon for self-defence that all high-ranked nobles made when they were children, due to my family¡¯s pride that one needed to get stronger on their own. But since I could not guarantee that I could break through the barricade of teachers that were said to surpass even Yugrasia¡¯s golden age, in the end I made the ridiculous club that Professor Nicerwin suggested. Gathering members was simple. All I had to say was that that Professor Nicerwin would personally help them contract a summon. This was probably done with the majority of the first years in mind. Because one way or another, the vast majority of the first years in this academy, myself included, hade here believing in the name Nicerwin Ain. But even after numerous summons, Professor Nicerwin hit them all away saying that they were all dangerous somehow. In the end, just as I hit the limits of my magic power, I drew my absolutely final reserves of mana and conducted the summoning ritual but. ng! He knocked it away again. But unlike the previous summons that disappeared immediately, this one whimpered, but was not desummoned. And looking at it closely¡­ it seemed familiar. It was definitely a woman that I had seen for the first time, but it was oddly familiar. A beautiful appearance that could be called a goddess. Her head was covered by a helmet and her body was covered by armour, but her blue hair that flowed from the helmet shone like the ocean, and her bodyline that was hidden by the armour was beautiful, even from a woman¡¯s point of view. In one hand, a long spear. In the other hand, a shield with a woman with snakes for hair engraved into it. I had never seen her before, but this familiar feeling¡­ ¡®I¡¯m pretty sure that there was a summon with these characteristics among the summons that Professor Nicerwin told me about¡­¡¯ And the one among those that was supposedly the most suitable for me¡­ ¡°Professor Nicerwin, is that¡­¡± The goddess Athena. The goddess of war and wisdom. And even outside those domains, a multi-talented goddess that was skilled in cooking, pottery, literature and so on, and she was also said to be so beautiful that she evenpeted with the goddess of beauty over looks. And that goddess, was currently copsed in a corner, drooling. ¡®He hit the goddess of war!¡¯ Even if she was another world¡¯s god which was only rarely summoned throughout history, but as long as you were part of a military family, you would remember all the gods rted to war, strategy and victory. And among those, the goddess Athena¡¯s wisdom alone created numerous famous generals, cementing her ce as the representative of all the goddesses of war! And to think he beat that goddess, this contract is ruined! ¡°Miss, prepare for the contract.¡± ¡°Eh? It¡¯s possible?¡± But after saying those words, Professor Nicerwin immediately leapt forward and charged at the goddess, with the silver weapon that had sent all the other summons flying in his hand. ¡°You, you dare disrespect¡­ kuahn?¡± And he promptly started beating the goddess Athena that had just started toe around. ¡°Wa, wait? Kuuht? Uwah? Thi, thishurrk? What, what sph¡­ stop¡­ it.¡± And amazingly enough the goddess that took those attacks was whimpering as she swayed from side to side! Although all beings of another world have restrictions on their power as they moved to a different world, a god is a god. Among the devils, there were cases where they threatened their summoner into a contract, and there were other summons that killed their summoner because they didn¡¯t like their appearance. And to think that this man would begin beating up a god of all things, the greatest existence among summons! At this rate this would be a problem if I were to receive the god¡¯s fury as well! ¡°Urrk¡­ die! Aegis!¡± ¡°Miss Aris, if you look at that shield you will be petrified.¡± ¡°H, how?!¡± When the goddess Athena¡¯s shield began to emanate a bright light, I immediately closed my eyes ording to Professor Nicerwin¡¯s words. ¡°Huuht? Wha, how do you¡­knooo?¡± And the whines and screams that began the moment I closed my eyes. ¡°Kyaahk? No, no? stooop!¡± ¡°I refuse!¡± ¡°Uuuuuuuhht?!¡± And how much longer did the whimpers and screams go on for, when my anger towards Professor Nicerwin had long since vanished, as my body shook as I listened to the goddess¡¯s screams, I felt someone pat my shoulder. ¡°I think you can get up now.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ how?¡± I could hear Professor Nicerwin¡¯s voice from right beside me. But the goddess¡¯s screams of pain were continuing even now. In the end, unable to resist my curiosity, I turned my head around and what I saw there was. ¡°Hyap! Iyaap! Tushitushi! Yapyap!¡± ¡°Huuk? Uht? Uuuuhhrt? Nuuohh¡­¡± A small silver creature had mounted the goddess¡¯s body and was punching away with its two fists. Chapter 39 RATH 39 TL: Eevee Wee to the summoner¡¯s school. (9) #6 Their Story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. ¡°Tushitushi.¡± ¡°Hwuu, hwooht?¡± ¡°This sounds aren¡¯ting fwom my mouth, they¡¯re fwom my arms!¡± ¡°I, I can hear them from your mouth¡­ Kuiiit?¡± ¡°Ang? Did ya still have enough left to talk? Then that¡¯s good for me, pretty unni!¡± Tushitushi. The current situation was the silver creature making noises with its mouth and iming them to be from its hands when realistically arms couldn¡¯t make that sound, and one-sidedly beating the living daylights out of the goddess of war. ¡­Just how should I exin this situation? The majestic appearance that the goddess had for that very brief moment when she was first summoned was no more. The goddess¡¯s beautiful face was currently a mess of snot and tears, the beautiful helmet she had on her head was gone, and in its ce was hair that was still emanating a clear light like the ocean, but even that was a mess. ¡°Pr, professor! She¡¯s still the goddess of war! Even if she¡¯s from another world, she could bear a grudge for this and contract with an enemy nation!¡± As I was nkly staring onwards, the sounds the goddess was making turned from shouts of ¡°huuht?¡± or ¡°kuahh!¡± to nonsensical ¡°kueeeeehk!¡± or ¡°huoooohhh¡± and those noises brought be round. Of all the summons avable, why do they rate gods, spirit kings, and archdevils as the greatest? Other spirits exist where just as long as you use them correctly, they could output just as much power. But these beings had other abilities other than just pure strength. Half-aligned to another dimension, but also half-aligned to this world, beings that could control nature, those were the Spirit Kings. The god¡¯s weapons that they used. Drawing on divine power, those able to lend their summoners the authority of the contracted god, those were the gods of the other worlds. And those with the power and weapons to oppose those gods, the archdevils. Just the presence of even one of these beings could change the history of wars, that was why summoners that contracted them were all feared. And actually, the records where a contractor of a Spirit King of water became victorious in a naval battle where they were outnumbered by over ten to one,(1) or an individual that received the power of the god of storms single-handedly defeated 222 enemy battlemages in aerialbat(2) have still yet to be broken, even now after countless battles over the history of warfare. But, out of all the gods that existed, to think that he would be mercilessly thrashing the Goddess of War and goddess of many other aspects besides. And a god that I summoned to boot! Isn¡¯t this just the perfect condition for her to hold a grudge against me as well? ¡°Keep watching, Miss Aris. Hit her more, more!¡± ¡°Hihwiin. Ya don¡¯t have ta tell me twice!¡± ¡°N, nyoooohh!¡± ¡°Yeth!¡± ¡°Kuek?¡± ¡°Heehee! Hey unni, hitting you feels awesome!¡± But on the contrary, Professor Nicerwin instructed the silver lifeform to keep punching, and ording to his words the silver lifeform¡¯s hands began to move again. And how many more tushitushis echoed through the room after that? In the end, the goddess even went as far as to resort to grabbing onto the silver lifeform and begging for it to end. ¡°Sa, save me!¡± ¡°Ahn? Pretty unni? I dun kill people. Aru is pure and weak, and dislikes violence so she can¡¯t kill people! Actually, I¡¯m a kind summon that treats unni¡¯s hurts!¡± ¡°N, no! Just kill me!¡± The crying goddess begged but the silver lifeform refused her pleas. No, on the contrary, since she said that she couldn¡¯t even die, that brought the goddess even more despair. And at that moment, as if had been waiting for it, Professor Nicerwin approached the goddess¡¯s side. ¡°Goddess, I know of a way to escape this ce.¡± ¡°Wha, whadisit! I¡¯ll even sell my soul to a devil so please!¡± The goddess who had been so thoroughly ruined that you would never believe that she had oncepeted with the goddess of beauty over appearances rushed over to Professor Nicerwin as if she was begging. ¡°Don¡¯t go clinging to my owner! If you do then the scary unnis will get angry!¡± ¡°Kuehk!¡± Although she was shut down in a single hit. ¡°Now, if you make a contract with this child, then you can escape safely.¡± At that moment, the goddess looked at me with pleading eyes. Contract? With me? Of course it¡¯s true that I did summon her to make a contract. But, is it alright to make a contract like this? What would happen ifter on, she came back to her senses and decided to break the contract on her own in a bout of rage, regardless of the consequences? In that case, the fallout falls squarely onto me. It could lead to the worst case scenario that I would have to bear it all on my own. But as if Professor Nicerwin had known about that as well, with movements that bore the look of long practice he brought out a sheet of paper from somewhere and pushed it in front of the goddess. ¡°Now now, press your signature here and you will have freedom from this pain.¡± ¡°Free, freedom¡­¡± At the word freedom, as the goddess stared at the sheet of paper, her eyes were filled with hope that she could be freed from this pain. ¡°Wiin? Ownerowner! This pretty unni, she feels so delicious to beat up, can¡¯t I hit her a bit more?¡± ¡°Hiiik! Hurry, hurry and make a contract! Child! If you make a contract with me now then I will do my best to teach you all my knowledge and power! So hurry! Uwaht! Why, why are you hitting me!¡± ¡°Because I can¡¯t hit you after you make a contract so I need to hit you while I can!¡± After saying that, the word ¡®tushitushi¡¯ could be heard again, and as the same proceedings that had urred till now repeated themselves once again, even as she screamed in pain the goddess looked at me scorchingly and said. ¡°N, nao! Hurwy! Contrakk! Naao!¡± The goddess who was gradually losing her ability to speech was pitiable. And I began to fear as to what that silver spirit of Professor Nicerwin¡¯s was. ¡°A, alright. I¡¯ll make a contract.¡± ¡°Right, all you need to do is print your thumb onto this inkpad and thumb the contract. Yes, there. Now, Aru, stop hitting her for a bit.¡± ¡°Wiiin, pitypity.¡± In the fear that she could end up in tears at those hands once again, the goddess didn¡¯t even read the contract, and hurriedly stamped her thumb on the contract. ¡°Miss Aris, whether you sign, or stamp here, either is eptable.¡± But I couldn¡¯t do that. Moreover, this was a Geass Roll. An absolute contract that let alone gods of other worlds, not even gods of this world could interfere with. If you were to contract poorly with a Geass Roll then your entire life as you knew it could be over. So I peeked at the contract but¡­ ¡®Isn¡¯t this totally a scam contract?!¡± Of course, there¡¯s no harm to me. No, it¡¯s profitable to the point that I thought ¡®are these conditions even possible?¡¯ But to the goddess Athena that was making a contract with me, there could be no more one-sided contract than this. To think that this was a contract that would let me use a god¡¯s power when and however much I wished without any conditions attached! ¡®Oh my, I must have this!¡¯ It¡¯s a goddess of war. From a military family¡¯s point of view, making this contract would be a done deal no matter how many millions we needed to spend, but to think that we could make a contract this full of nothing but benefits! ¡°Hu, hurry!¡± While I was reading the contract, the silver summon couldn¡¯t wait any longer and started beating up the goddess again with another round of ¡®tushitushi¡¯s. The goddess that was getting beaten up again looked at me pleadingly. ¡®I did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong!¡¯ Yes, this is what the goddess wanted. I just listened to what she said. I have no responsibility for any of this! This is all Professor Nicerwin¡¯s fault. ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡± At the goddess¡¯s cries I quickly stamped my thumb on the inkpad and then the Geass Roll. ¡°Nah, naoh that it¡¯s dunn¡­¡± As soon as the contract between the goddess and I was forged, the sounds of ¡®tushitushi¡¯ could no longer be heard. ¡°Hiing¡­ Aww¡­ Felt so good on my hands too¡­¡± ¡°Hiiik!¡± The goddess scrambling back as the silver lifeform looked at her with what seemed like genuine regret was another minor incident. ¡°Now then, Miss Aris, now.¡± ¡°Ye, yes!¡± To me who was watching this happen, Professor Nicerwin said to me. ¡°Desummon her.¡± ¡°Desummon?¡± The goddess¡¯s momentarily pupil-less eyes blinked a couple of times, before life finally came back to her. And lowering her head for a moment, she stood back up on shaky feet and shouted. ¡°Th, this is a scam!¡± ¡°It is already toote.¡± The goddess red at Professor Nicerwin with a face that said she¡¯d been had, while Professor Nicerwin was making a very evil expression, as if everything had gone ording to his n. ¡°Now, Miss Aris. Once you desummon her, that is the end of the process.¡± ¡°Sc, scam! This is a scam!¡± Desummoning. An action wherein the summoner returned the summon back to its original world. Meaning, I would return my contracted summon the goddess, back to her original world. But even if I didn¡¯t do such a thing, the goddess could desummon herself. Rather, because of the contract, she couldn¡¯t desummon herself freely. It was a moment where her title as the goddess of wisdom became worthless, but the one that had made this happen was that silver creature over there. ¡°It¡¯s a scaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmm!¡± As the goddess disappeared with a scream of despair, I stared at Professor Nicerwin. ¡°Are all contracts like this?¡± No matter how little my family had to do with summoning, what I had heard from nobles who my family were either associates or quite close with, this was not what I had heard from them. They said that this supposed to be a far more solemn, ceremonial asion, where you would find a partner you would spend the rest of your life with. But just what had happened while I was making my contract! Violence and threats, and a ve contract! No matter how ignorant I was about summoning this was definitely not your everyday normal summoning process! It felt like my life had kept on taking turns for the weirder ever since I had enrolled into this school. ¡°You have be a summoner of a god. In the end, are the results not for the better for everyone involved?¡± But even to my words, Professor Nicerwin calmly said as if absolutely nothing was out of the ordinary. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, youngdy. It so happens that the basics of negotiations involve pressing forward when your opponent is not in a state to make rational decisions.¡± Although it felt like I hadn¡¯t learned the basics of negotiations, but the basics of threatening, but since I could make a contract with the great goddess Athena I decided to keep my mouth shut. The next day. As I was walking to school first thing in the morning. In front of the school gates was a giant card that read [Congrattions! Lady Aris ril Letia! The new summoner of Athena, Goddess of War!] *** Although I hadn¡¯t anticipated it, thanks to the metal bat we could very easily form a contract with the goddess of war. Thanks to that the school¡¯s evaluation was on the up! Although there had been many gazes of suspicion and doubt from the parents, this incident caused them to all but vanish. It¡¯s a god. And the goddess of war no less! And moreover, the contractor was someone from the famous Ten Great Families, the daughter of the Letia Marquisate that was front and center of the empire¡¯s military, Aris! The stories had already started spreading throughout the empire, and rumours had it that the families who hadn¡¯t sent enrollment forms to Yugrasia were now very envious. As I expected, the best promotion for Yugrasia! At this rate, even if I don¡¯t make a speech next year the students wille flowing in! -But, at this rate then we¡¯ll probs get other rumours going round as well? -Of course. But at the moment, the only god-level contractor is the Letia girl. Although contractors of gods are an extremely rare minority, but that doesn¡¯t mean they don¡¯t exist. Even before I arrived, one of the student council had already made a contract with the god Loki, after all. Most likely there would be those who would not want Yugrasia¡¯s poprity to continue any further. Especially those attending the other Four Great Academies, or their parents, would want to see Yugrasia cut down down to size. And so they would probably spread the rumour that Aris already had the capabilities to make a contract with a god. Because if it¡¯s the Letia marquisate that¡¯s more than usible after all. So. -Then, we just need to make contracts with some more gods. Although I realised this when the metal bat returned the goddess of hell that Sia had summoned, the metal bat works on gods of other worlds as well. -Haang, the sole goddess, Lady Arcadia would never lose to some gods of other worlds! -Yes, you¡¯re the best! As I replied in the positive to the smug metal bat, I tried to think of some other usable first years. Since there¡¯s already a tried and true method of making contracts, there¡¯s no reason for me to not use it, right? -I am the great, kuaaaagh! -I rule over fiyaaaaahgh! -Kuaaaghgk! -Hu, human! Stop, stop iiiht! And so, around a monthter. Yugrasia gained five new god-ss summoners. Chapter 40 RATH 40 TL: Eevee 6. Hell is just beginning. (1) #1 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story. One day sometime after school began, on a day where we could count down the days to the holidays. We still couldn¡¯t break through the defense of the teachers from the army. ¡°There¡¯s just not enough space.¡± ¡°What happened with the n to get rid of the bars on the windows?¡± ¡°We failed. It¡¯s insane. It¡¯s perfectly fine even though we attacked it for an hour straight. Even the temperature contrast n using fire and ice elementals failed.¡± ¡°What about exiting through the rooftop?¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t open that either. The difficulty of the traps there are high to begin with, but the things blocking the rooftop ess is about as hard as the window bars so they won¡¯t break either.¡± At the beginning, we could defeat the teachers on each of the floors due to our advantage of numbers, but we couldn¡¯t defeat the personnel on the second floor. To begin with, the biggest fighting potential were the students on the lowest third floor and the highest eighth floor, so we could quickly suppress the teachers andunch a two-pronged attack from the top and bottom. But on the second floor, the only things that were there were key facilities, but no ssrooms. And since 1300 people needed to all get through the second floor, even though we had over 40 times more people than they did, we still couldn¡¯t get through the 32 teachers, including Professors Maroon and Aruhan, and were beaten down there. ¡°So in the end, do we need to wear them down with numbers first and then break through with our core fighting potential?¡± ¡°But shortening the time it takes to beat each floor is difficult. We tried to push through with numbers, but now the teachers have actually gotten used to it and are defending easier than they used to.¡± ¡°Then what about sending Lady Aris as the vanguard? We¡¯ll push down from the eighth floor, and send Lady Aris not as support for the higher floors, but sending her down to the second floor immediately after subjugating the third floor.¡± ¡°True, since the number of people we can send are limited, you¡¯re saying that we should just send the closest people as the first wave of attack?¡± ¡°Yes. If the people on the third floor can just beat ten people for us, especially if they manage to get Professor Maroon, then we have a chance.¡± The leader of the army teachers on the second floor was without a doubt, Professor Maroon. Maroon used three high-ranking spirits to defend his formations, if he could be eliminated, then the defensive formation could be prated. ¡°But Lady Aris alone can¡¯t get through Professor Aruhan.¡± ¡°Even if she does have the god¡¯s spear, the Empire¡¯s armoury is just as impressive. And of course there¡¯s the gap in experience.¡± If the core of the defensive formation on the second floor is Professor Maroon, their single greatest offensive firepower belonged to Professor Aruhan. The various weapons that spilled out of the Empire¡¯s armoury were so effective as to make one wonder if they had any weaknesses. And his own skills were so great that not even Lady Aris, the one thought to be Yugrasia¡¯s strongest, could inflict damage to him properly. ¡°Neither breaking through the windows or the roof are working out¡­¡± ¡°At this rate the holidays will begin.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s ourplete defeat.¡± It was then. Where regret and despair were filling the air, a third party came in. ¡°You lot, I¡¯m not going tell you to focus, but shut up!¡± ¡°Hiik! It¡¯s a teacher! Our n¡¯s been leaked! It¡¯s a spy, it¡¯s a spy!¡± This was a disaster! The teachers had finally sent in a spy to scout our strategies¡­ ¡°Oi you crazy student council brats, ss is in session right now!¡± After that, having thoroughly angered our teacher, the entirety of the student council had to write lines in the remedial room. ¡­ We¡¯re sorry. #2 Their story: The teachers¡¯ stories. The legendary giant of the summoning world Nicerwin Ain, somehow or other he managed to make contact with the military and had army forces sent over to Yugrasia, and so we obeyed the higher ups and worked as teachers in Yugrasia. At one time, we were summoners that used to be called one-man armies, but at some point in time we began to have no outstanding new juniors. Because of that, the current state of the summoners¡¯ corps was just a ce where unlucky kids suffered being the youngest for 3-4 years. Even though we were declining, I do admit I was somewhat hopeful about teaching our future juniors at Yugrasia, the famous school of summoning. But. ¡°I¡¯m tired¡­¡± When we retired to the staffroom shortly after 10 PM, tiredness washed over us with a sigh as we flopped on our chairs. ¡°Have we gotten old?¡± ¡°Aruhan, don¡¯t lump me in with you as the elderly. The kids are just young.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s probably both.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± It¡¯s exhausting. Really exhausting. It feels like I¡¯ve just returned from the battlefield. ¡°The kids are getting more and more organised.¡± ¡°What about asking either Professor Muam or Professor Harian to provide backup?¡± ¡°No, Professor Nicerwin said not to. The current formations are designed for the students education. Otherwise we would have already just joined the teachers on the third floor and sealed off the stairs down to the second floor.¡± The reinforcement teachers each had their own designated floors to attend to when the students began to run, along with the teachers on their own respective floors. And among those, we served as the first of the final three lines of defense. ording to Professor Nicerwin¡¯s instructions, we engaged in a pure war of attrition to shut out the students, and we¡¯d sessfully held out for two months so far but we were slowly hitting our limits. ¡°The two professors behind us. And thest is¡­¡± ¡°I did wonder just what that was. Could it be that Professor Nicerwin is intending to block them all by himself?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. While there¡¯s probably no one that doesn¡¯t know that Professor Nicerwin is an excellent summoner, but we haven¡¯t heard anyone say that he¡¯s a strong summoner.¡± Our defeat is imminent. In the past, sometimes we had engaged in battles where we felt we could not return victorious, and right now we had that exact same feeling. Next week at thetest. More likely, this week would be the end. And after us, the students would be facing Professors Muam and Harian, both of whom hadpletely different patternspared to us. And after that was something that we were unsure of as well; Professor Nicerwin there was something the students would never be able to get past no matter how hard they tried. Just what on earth would be this thing that the students, who were growing this quickly, would be unable to get past? And a few dayster, that curiosity was solved surprisingly quickly. ¡°Diieee, Hectopascal Kick!¡± ¡°Kuooohhhhk?!¡± With my own body, no less. #3 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story ¡°Eighth floor, cleared in ten minutes!¡± ¡°It¡¯s our fastest time yet. We¡¯ll get through for sure today!¡± ¡°Fifth floor, all clear. What do we do now? They¡¯re having trouble on the sixth floor, do we send them in as support?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ll head down ourselves! Send the fifth floor to push through the fourth floor and charge the second floor!¡± The Dean of the fourth years was currently on sick leave with a cold, perhaps from being soaked with water during yesterday¡¯s battle, but either way, the strongest guardian of the eighth floor was out of action for today. To put it in simple terms, the Dean of the fourth years was the strongest teacher on the eighth floor as well as the central pir that led the defense. He was the core of the eighth floor, simr to Professors Maroon and Aruhan on the second floor, and his absence led to us clearing the eighth floor, a task that normally took us over thirty minutes, in just ten. ¡°The vice-president has broken through the seventh floor!¡± ¡°The kids who went with the vice-pres on the seventh floor, take your time recovering ande down with the rearguard! Everyone else that hasn¡¯t fought yet,e with me to break through the sixth floor!¡± I epted the blessings of the wind elemental and raised my speed. Around me, earth elementals broke the walls that shot up, blocked the arrows and disabled the traps. ¡°Stairs to the fifth floor! I repeat, stairs to the fifth floor!¡± ¡°Each man is to watch out for the traps on his own and move quickly!¡± The stairs had more traps than any other structure in the school. To reduce the number of traps by even one, the student councilid aint regarding what the school would do if someone got seriously injured or killed as a result of setting traps on the most hazardous structure, the stairs. And to ourints, Professor Nicerwinughed, turned his back to the stairs, and threw his body backwards. The result, just before Professor Nicerwin¡¯s head was about to hit the stairs, something shot out of the stairs like the walls in the corridors, and Professor Nicerwin¡¯s body fell onto it and bounced a couple of times before he stood up none the worse for it. What did he say, he implemented earth magic simr to the ramparts to create a sponge effect? When we asked just how on earth was that kind of technique possible, Professor Nicerwin raised a thumb and said. ¡°Made in, ck Anvil.¡± We didn¡¯t know what that meant, but that answer was filled with so much confidence that it gave us an odd feeling of wanting to go out and buy a product with the name ck Anvil stamped on it. But even so, we couldn¡¯t let our guards down. The stairs are dangerous. Although we won¡¯t get hurt if we fall, the stairs are dangerous. We don¡¯t know where the arrows will fly from, the next step of the stairs could suddenly change height. The ceiling could shoot god knows what sort of magic at us, and if we stepped down wrongly our legs could be trapped like we were caught in a swamp. And if we were ever to fall¡­ ¡°Uwaahhhk!¡± ¡°Damn it! One person retired!¡± ¡°Give up for today! Abandon him and go!¡± ¡°He, help me! Ahh! No! Not, not in there!¡± A boy that looked like a third year fell while trying to dodge the arrows on the stairs. And after that was a softnding that Professor Nicerwin had shown us in the past. But if there was something different, it would be that the soft wall that helped us tond, instantly transformed into legs of the legendary ocean beast, a kraken¡¯s legs, and wrapped around his entire body. Thanks to that, the morale of the female students who saw something they should not have seen plummeted. And the fear that that could happen to them next dropped morale even further. But, just for today! ¡°Hold on everyone, we¡¯re nearly at the second floor!¡± An even faster advance than yesterday where we defeated everyone except Professor Maroon and Aruhan. A strategy only possible today, when the fourth years¡¯ Dean was absent due to a cold. ¡°President!¡± ¡°You did it, Lady Aris!¡± The scene in front of me. Many students had fallen, but seven of the teachers had also been defeated. ¡°Damn it, I didn¡¯t think you kids would do this.¡± Professor Aruhan¡¯s face was rigid as he faced off against a number of students, isted on his own. Normally Lady Aris would have held off Professor Aruhan, while the others tried to break through but today was different! ¡°Thy blessings to the president!¡± ¡°Will of steel, lend myrade your power!¡± All of the strategies so far were for this one move. For this moment, when all the buff spells were casted on me, I kicked off the walls and raced towards the path my allies before me had carved out. ¡°Risen, I¡¯m counting on you!¡± ¡°Leave it to me!¡± That moment, I felt a speed that a wind elemental simply couldn¡¯tpare to. Loki¡¯s shoes. The god¡¯s equipment that Risen was so proud of, the sole god¡¯s contractor before Professor Nicerwin arrived. The shoes that could run on the oceans and the skies granted the user speed that could rival teleportation. ¡°Fire, water, wind, earth. Gather the almighty power of nature in this ce!¡± With my chant, I called on spirits from each element. The strongest high-ss elementals from each element that I could call out. While imbued with the powers of elementals, elerate onwards with Loki¡¯s shoes! ¡°No!¡± ¡°Stop him!¡± The target was Professor Maroon. If I could deal with the professor who stood as the backbone of the teachers¡¯ defensive line, the other students could defeat the other teachers! ¡°Very well,e! I will show you my full strength!¡± That moment, the two high-ss spirits fused into one. And what appeared was a giant of earth that couldn¡¯t even stand up straight in the corridor. ¡°Now, this is my full power! Can you get through this!¡± I knew that he had at least three contracts with high-ss spirits, but I could never have imagined that he¡¯d made a contract with a highest-ss spirit. Just below the Spirit Kings, highest-ss spirits were beings were actually stronger than the sessors of the Spirit Kings in terms of strength alone. Officially, there were five people in the Empire¡¯s army that were contracted with highest-ss spirits. But, if what was in front of me was not a lie, then the Empire¡¯s army was probably much stronger than we all thought. ¡°But, I, no we! Cannot looosseeee!¡± I guarded my head with both my arms and charged forward. It¡¯s alright if both my arms shattered. Since Professor Nicerwin created the self-directed night study just for this purpose anyway, he had also brought in highly talented medical professionals just to deal with the aftermath. If he hadn¡¯t. The teachers that had to fight with thousands of students daily would have all copsed long ago. Believing in my friends¡¯ magic and Professor Nicerwin¡¯s efforts to work us to the bone tomorrow as well, I will fire off my strongest magic right here! ¡°Haaaaaaahhhhhhhh!¡± Max speed. The realm where my body couldn¡¯t even make sense of the surroundings. The eleration close to teleportation that only the god Loki could use, wasbined with the power of my elementals. Kuuwaanng! ¡°Kuuuuhhgh!¡± ¡°Guhhh!¡± While everyone else was keeping the other teachers in check, my strike which aimed for a single opportunity broke through the highest-rank spirit and directly struck Professor Maroon! ¡°Not¡­ bad¡­¡± Looking at Professor Maroon that had copsed with blood trickling out of his mouth, I made a satisfied smile where Iy,pletely spent. Even though both my arms were broken, and one of my legs were suspect. We could finally, finally break through the second floor! Back then, I had truly believed that. Until I beheld the silver devil. Chapter 41 RATH 41 TL: Eevee 6. Hell is just beginning. (2) #4 Their story: The student council president¡¯s story [Subtitle: I saw the devil 1] The breakthrough of the second floor was all butplete. Of course, we didn¡¯t think that we could exit the academy today. On the first floor was still the academy¡¯s strongest, Professors Muam and Harian that hadn¡¯t appeared once yet to stop us leaving. One of the strongest spirit summoners, even among the elves;bined with the gnome race¡¯s strongest spirit summoner. It will probably be an even more brutal battle than what happened just now. No,e tomorrow, the fourth year¡¯s dean might have shaken off his cold and we might be stopped here again. But, the experience of having broken through at least once is valuable. Alhough it was designed as a one-time use only move, my strategy worked. Even if someone other than me used this attack, in an ambush attack this move could deal a surprisinglyrge amount of damage. No, perhaps if it¡¯s Professor Muam and Professor Harian who spend most of their time by themselves on the first floor, it¡¯s possible they might not hear of this tactic from the other teachers. ¡°Kwahahaha. Wahahahaha!¡± It was then. That we heard a chilling, madughter. ¡°Kwuuugh!¡± ¡°Aaaaaghh!¡± ¡°Kyaah!¡± And four people went flying at the same time. ¡°I won the bet, Maroon! Since you were the first to be defeated the next staff outing is on you! I¡¯ll empty out all your professor¡¯s sry! Professor Aruhan was grinning like a lunatic as he saw Maroon copsed in front of me. As if, everything he¡¯d done now was a joke, and his appearance right now, emanating fighting will while holding his spear, was that of an undeniable monster. ¡°Although I have treated you all as students all this time, but now it will be different. Very well. I, Aruhan Ekhed, will face you all as warriors.¡± At that moment, a gust of mana began to rampage around the corridor. The source was Professor Aruhan. With him at the center, space was bending around him! ¡°My summon, or perhaps not quite my summon, is the Key to the Imperial Armoury. Do you know what that signifies?¡± Of course we did. Swords, daggers, spears, axes and all sorts of other weapons. And starting from the thick steel armour that normal knights wore, all the way to armour said to have been made from a dragon¡¯s scales! Retrieving the best weapon for the situation at hand, and being able to retrieve the best armour for the situation at hand! The armoury that borrowed the name of a summon, that existed purely for strong warriors! ¡°But as strong as it is, there is an equally ring weakness! That one cannot take weapons out immediately!¡± That was the case. While you could summon all sorts of different kinds of equipment, you had to know of the weapon in question. Moreover, the Key to the Imperial Armoury wasn¡¯t a contract between one on one, but between a person and the empire. Because of that, there are many people who have made a contract with the armoury, not just one. Sometimes there are even cases where someone else was using the gear you wanted to use. And at moments like those, summoning said equipment was impossible! While there are some duplicates of some of the weapons in there, there was only one of each of the more outstanding equipment, so the user must be able to choose another immediately. ¡°But, at the end of my efforts I found a way to ovee that!¡± The ceiling began to disappear. No, it was widening! Not limited by the space of the corridor, a crimsonnd appeared with Professor Aruhan in the middle of it. ¡°Now, behold. This is the formation thatbines the Imperial Armoury and my space magic, a formation that only I can wield in the entire empire!¡± Countless weapons were embedded into the floor! ¡°I don¡¯t need to take time to summon other weapons. Without any dy whatsoever, I can use every weapon at mymand!¡± Finally, the ceiling vanished, and we could see the crimson sky! Professor Aruhan looked down on us as he shouted. ¡°This is my, Aruhan¡¯s!¡± More urately, he tried to shout. ¡°Unlimited¡­¡± ¡°Diieee, Hectopascal Kick!(1)¡± ¡°Kuooohhhhk?!¡± Until he got kicked in the side and blown away by a silver girl that flew in out of nowhere. ¡°Eiit. I was supposed ta¡¯ be the final boss, but this mister was about to pull something weird so owner shent me up early.¡± Even as she grumbled she kept lightly tapping at Professor Aruhan with those short legs of hers. At those light footsteps, Professor Aruhan, who hadughed while tanking all our attacks, started uttering ¡°kuueeehhk!¡± ¡°kwuuhhkkk?¡± noises from his mouth, that were too bizarre to even be called screams. ¡°Well, even though my turn is a still a bit far off.¡± As if her anger had cooled, the silver girl that had been poking Professor Aruhan turned to us, and smiled cutely. And that day, we received a grim reminder. ¡°¡®Specially f¡¯ today, let¡¯s y with unni?¡± The disgrace of being unable to leave school, ¡°Heheet, tushitushi! Yap! Hiyap! Yah!¡± ¡°Kuuuuuughh!¡± ¡°Noooooooooo!¡± The fear of the silver devil.(2) #5 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story [Subtitle: I saw the devil 2] ¡°Kaargh!¡± ¡°Wh, what the hell!¡± ¡°Block it Ariscia!¡± ¡°Silver Fang, beat it!¡± ¡°What the heck? The attacking summons are the ones falling!¡± ¡°Kuaaaarggh! Help, help me!¡± The absence of the fourth year dean. Thanks to that coincidence, we had an opportunity where we could barely clear the second floor. We defeated Professor Maroon that stumped us time and time again, and now only Professor Aruhan was left. We thought that with thebined assaults of the student council and I, we would be more than enough to defeat Professor Aruhan. That was, until the moment Professor Aruhan was about to reveal his hidden card, and we saw the silver lifeform appear and brutally kick away Professor Aruhan¡¯s side. The moment the being that even plunged the goddess into despair appeared, that was the end for us. In all honesty, I hadn¡¯t believed that we would be able to leave school today. Because there were still the strongest forces of the teachers, a Spirit King summoner and a God-ss summoner, as well as Professor Nicerwin whose strength we still didn¡¯t know of. Even if we knew we couldn¡¯t escape, what we wanted was confidence. It was an attack where we would get through the second floor at least once, and revive the embers of hope that had been dying away because of our repeated failures. But, the embers of hope vanished. ¡°Heehee, kids these days have some pretty good meat on them? Feels great to hit ya!¡± ¡°Sa, save me¡­¡± ¡°Uu, uwaaahhhk!¡± Along with the screams of students piled under the silver devil. ¡°Lady Aris! We need to break through! Help us!¡± One of my student council seniors charged forward with a ck lion -Gyaaaaaaaaa! ¡°Take this, Lion ws!¡± That senior was the youngest in the student council, but he was one of the top five among the second years. Unlike your average knight family, he was the oldest son of a knight family started as a baron that had retained that rank even today. Said to have developed Lion-style swordsmanship after observing the form of a lion; in conjunction with his summon, a ck lion, he obtained the title of Lion Sword atst year¡¯s empire festival, and was one of Yugrasia¡¯s most promising prospects! ¡°Beat it, Rosen!¡± ¡°You can do it!¡± And the timing was perfect for an sneak ambush. He aimed perfectly at the back of the silver devil who was grabbing a female student by thepels with her small hands and beating her up. And the result! -Gyagyagyagyagyagyagyagyagyagyagyagyagya?! ¡°Guooohhht?!¡± My senior and his summoned beast who inflicted a perfect attack, screamed with their eyes rolling back in their sockets. ¡°Heehee, attacking the back of a frail girl like me! Dat¡¯s divine punishment!¡± While my upperssman was desperately trying not to copse, she simply kicked his ankles with her short legs and immediately proceeded into a mount position. Making shiik, shiik noises with her mouth she immediately started to punch my senior¡¯s face just like that. ¡°Kuuht? Uk? Uwuuhh? Ha, how?¡± Shock and horror. To my upperssman¡¯s question, who had a face that said he couldn¡¯t belive what was happening, the silver devil smiled and said. ¡°Wiin? Innit obvious? Me¡¯s a being designed to give you kids pain! And hitting things hurts ¡®cuz of the impact between two different things. But think about it. If oppa punches a wall, that hurts, don¡¯t it? So oppa was going to punch someone, but they dodged and you punched a wall instead? So who¡¯s gonna be the one that hurts then?¡± ¡°M, me?¡± ¡°Wiin, correct, oppa! And so oppa will hurt if you hit and hurt if you get hit, masochist confirmed!¡± ¡°Wh, what the hell is thgueeeeek?¡± ¡°And as for me, even if I hit people they¡¯re the one that hurts, and even if I get hit they¡¯re the one that hurts anyway! Sadist incarnate, call me Your Queen!¡± As the silver demon shouted while posing with her index finger confidently outstretched, the rest of us were at loss for words. ¡°How quiet. Might as well keep hitting.¡± ¡°Kwuuuughh!¡± -Let¡¯s run. And looking at the sight, the goddess Athena that I was contracted with whispered to me with a voicepletely dyed in fear. -That is not something that can be defeated. Hurts if you attack, hurts if you get attacked. That kind of existence isn¡¯t something that can exist, no, shouldn¡¯t exist in this world! Fighting something like that is a foolish decision! -B, but¡­ -Hurry, run! In that moment, the goddess and I conversed between each other alone. But as if she had overheard our conversation between souls, when the goddess shouted, the silver devil¡¯s eyes curved into elegant half-moons as she looked my way. ¡°Iz¡¯ the unni who made a contract with that goddess with a great texture?¡± And at that moment, as if to prove that we were summoner and summon linked by our souls, we shouted at the same time. -Run! -Run away! My body moved before my thoughts and I immediately leapt back. At the same time, the silver devil¡¯s fist fell just where I had been standing. ¡°You dodged?¡± But as if that riled her up more, the half-moons waned to crescents and she smiled even more brightly. ¡°I think unni¡­ will make it pretty fun for me.¡± ¡°C,e! Almighty goddess¡¯s spear, the absolute shield that stops all!¡± The moment I saw that smile, cold sweat started pouring down my back. Even my father¡¯s sincere battle-hungry spirit in the past couldn¡¯t make me feel like this, to think I would feel this much fear from a single smile! ¡°Dieee!¡± Closebat is impossible. If I got hit while approaching then I would just pathetically copse like the others behind me, and if I closed the distance and attacked then I would just end up copsing pathetically like the student council upperssman in front of me. ¡®No matter what I do the only end is with me copsing pathetically!¡¯ In that case my only options are long-range attacks. But, the goddess Athena¡¯s attacks are a spear and shield! My only option left was spear throwing! -I¡¯m sorry I only have a spear! If I¡¯d known this would happen I¡¯d have borrowed a bow from Artemis! -It¡¯s already toote, please hurry the next spear! With a bang! the first spear was thrown at the silver devil, but the devil had easily dodged it! ¡°Uwee, dis is a good spear?¡± Grabbing the spear embedded in the wall, she started retreating. Perhaps as you¡¯d expect from a summon, her appearance barely looks like a ten-year old, but the spear in her hand was beginning to bend as if it would break at any moment. -The follow up! -Dodge, dodge! It¡¯s dangerous! At the same time as the goddess¡¯s shout, a booming noise was made. At the same time, the silver devil used the counterforce from the spear to send herself flying towards me! ¡°The reason I stepped back, was to gain momentum!(3)¡± ¡°Aegis!¡± Evasion is impossible. Then defence is my only option! I used the goddess Athena¡¯s greatest weapon that could even defend against a god¡¯s lightning bolts, a shield that could both attack and defend. If it is this then it can surely defend against the silver devil¡¯s attack! Bang! ¡°Uwiit?¡± ¡°Wha, what?¡± I swallowed back the scream that had threatened to burst out. To think not even the goddess¡¯s shield could fully absorb the impact of that attack, just what kind of attack was that? -No, that wasn¡¯t an attack that can be absorbed! It just broke straight through Aegis and attacked the true body! The shock just spread through the shield and carried down into you! -Wha, what the heck is that! Then is this pain caused by some sort of curse? -Aegis is a shield made by the god of cksmithing Hephaestus. Because of that, all sorts of divine power is embedded into it so it can protect against all sorts of curses too. -Then that doesn¡¯t make any¡­ -Unless, it was a curse with greater power than the shield. A curse that could even pierce the divine power of the shield crafted by the god of cksmithing? What kind of lifeform has that kind of power? Devil? Was it actually a devil all along? ¡°Wiin? You blocked it?¡± As I looked at the silver devil who gazed at me with an amused expression, I thought. ¡®Will I survive this?¡¯ Chapter 42 RATH 42 TL: Eevee 6. Hell is just beginning. (3) #6 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story [Subtitle: I saw the devil 3] The silver devil looked as her right hand as if amazed, and then smiled as if she was amused as she lifted up her left hand. ¡°Hey unni, try ta block this too!¡± Wham! ¡°Hwuh?!¡± It really was a devil! This thing was definitely a devil! The fearsome pain that broke through the shield drew a whine from my tightly clenched lips. Impossible. Blocking that pain as a human is absolutely impossible! -Y, you can do it Aris! Although the goddess is cheering me on, it¡¯s toote. My legs have already all but given out, and my mouth is still doing its utmost to hold back my groans from the pain that traveled down the shield. And my two hands that were holding onto my only hope, the shield, were already at their limits. They¡¯re shaking furiously and could drop the shield at any moment. And dodge two attacks in this state? Impossible. Absolutely impossible! Then my remaining fate would be getting beaten up by the silver creature. ¡°No! Never!¡± This was the impact even when I blocked it with a god¡¯s shield. And if it took those attacks head on? It¡¯s fearful. Much, much too fearful. Even when I was born into a martial family, even when I overcame countless trials and tribtions to befit my status as a daughter of one of the Ten Great Families, and I had never felt fear back then. But, I would never have imagined that I would feel fear in the academy! ¡®There is only one solution!¡¯ But I still had one remaining option. One that the others couldn¡¯t use, a high-ranking skill that only contractors of gods could use. A skill that only the five god-ss summoners of Yugrasia¡¯s first years could use! -O Goddess, grant me, your contractor a powerful mind and body. I started reciting the spell that Professor Nicerwin taught me. Although he was the culprit that began this nightmare, Professor Nicerwin was one of the greatest summoners on the continent. -W, wait! You can¡¯t use that! Although the goddess began screaming, it couldn¡¯t be helped. -Your wisdom, your strength. -N, no! S, stop! If you use Descension then the shock hits me too! Divine Descension Art (½µÉñÐg). A technique that could pull a god¡¯s soul into a human body. A method only usable by a summoner that had contracted a god, a method that could harness the most power from a god, that could not enter this world freely due to their overwhelming strength. It was a technique wherein the soul of the god itself would fill up the summoner¡¯s body for the god to control. -My spirit and yours are one, descend your soul into my weak body and lend me your strength! -I hate you! I hate you! I¡¯m sorry, goddess! But I need to survive as well! ¡°Meanie, you meanie!¡± The goddess¡¯s whines left my mouth. Meaning that the descension wasplete. ¡°Uwiit? The tasty unni¡¯s entered the pretty unni? Two for the price of one if I hit ya?¡± But the devil noticed instantly. For that matter, even though a god had just descended onto the earth, what the heck is with that delighted face! -Doooodgee! Whatever you do, dodge! ¡°That¡¯s my n tooo!¡± The goddess ducked underneath a fist as she said those words. And befitting her nickname as the goddess of war, the goddess skillfully manipted a spear in one hand and her shield in the other, as she raised her shield and shouted. ¡°Turn into stone, Aegis!¡± The goddess smoothly activated the curse on the shield! It might have been different when I used it, but the goddess herself could use the power of the shield much more effectively! And if we got lucky, even that devil would be turned to stone! That¡¯s our goddess! Our goddess is the best! Do your best, our goddess! ¡°Uwiik? Sparkle sparkle, my eyes hurt!¡± ¡°What?!¡± But it had no effect on the silver devil. On the contrary, it opened a chance for a counterattack. ¡°As I thought, was that really a god of curses of another world!¡± ¡°Haang? What kinda bullshit izzat. I¡¯m this world¡¯s sole goddess, Lady Arcadia!¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of a goddess by that name before!¡± ¡°¡®Course, that¡¯s cause I made it up myself!¡± Short arms cut through the air. The self-proimed goddess, that was actually a devil no matter how you looked at her swung her hands around. Those fists looked cute but my instincts were screaming. If I allowed even a single one of those light hits then it would all be over for me! ¡°Uwiing? Ya dodgin¡¯ better than I thought? Then dodge this.¡± But had it gotten bored of the goddess¡¯s and my struggles? After outstretching its short arms the devil looked at the goddess, that was to say, my body, and shouted. ¡°Take this, tentarcardia attack!¡± ¡°Wha, what?! Wait, these disgusting movements! You said you were a goddess! Is a goddess allowed to something this disgusting?!¡± ¡°Haang, look at this silver shine! This all-natural sparkles! Iz pretty, innit? So I doesn¡¯t matter! Just has ta be beautiful!¡± ¡°Beautiful, just what about that is supposed to be beautifuuaaaaallll!¡± The mass of silver tentacles wriggled its way towards me! Scores of tentacles raced in aiming for my head shoulders, thighs and so on. -Dodge, please dodge! At my moment of true danger, the goddess said to me, very seriously. ¡°Aris¡­ Undo the descent.¡± -G, goddess?! Even at my shocked the words the goddess continued speaking solemnly, no, shortly afterwards shouted tearfully. ¡°D, die on your own! I got hitst time too! Do you know how much that hurt! It¡¯s scary! I don¡¯t wanna! And it¡¯s disgusting! So please undo ittt!¡± -We, we¡¯re soul partners, bonded together by our souls! You can do it! ¡°No! That was a scam contract! We¡¯re contracted because I got hit by that thing! So hurry up and undo it!¡± As the goddess said half-throwing a tantrum, I also began to whine as if I couldn¡¯t lose. -No! if you don¡¯t want to get hit then dodge! You¡¯re the goddess of war! You¡¯re the goddess of wisdom! Show me the majesty of a god! ¡°You can¡¯t do anything to that even as a god!¡± As the silver tentacles crept closer the space where we could dodge in began to get smaller and smaller. Even if the students around me tried to help they were out in one hit. If they tried to break through sneakily they were out, if they tried to run they were out. In the end, there was no one left to help me. -Is, is this the end? ¡°N, no! Aris! Hurry and undo it! I¡¯ll be really good to you from now on, mm? So please hurry! -N, no! if I die then that¡¯s all meaningless! At the future that was not visible, I shouted to the goddess with all my soul but the goddess¡¯s words were cold. ¡°That thing doesn¡¯t kill anyone! You won¡¯t die! I¡¯ll guarantee it! So please! Please undo it, it¡¯s getting really hard to dodge now!¡± But as soon as the goddess finished screaming, a silver tentacle appeared in front of our eyes. ¡®Is this¡­ the end?¡± So is all that is left is my fate to fall to those tentacles with my eyes rolling back, drooling everywhere while whimpering in pain. Why must they, summoner and summon alike, both humiliate me so? What did I do to them in my past life? No, even if I didmit wrongs in my past life, isn¡¯t inflicting this kind of ridiculous pain just too much? ¡°Stop¡­ it.¡± And just as I was mulling over my fate, my saviour appeared. -Pr, president? Even if his entire body was in tatters. Even though he seemed like he would copse at any moment. At this moment, his figure that pped away the silver tentacle as he stood in front of me looked more dashing than anything. ¡°Wiin? It¡¯s the stuco pres?¡± ¡°N, now! Use this opportunity to run away!¡± And the goddess thought immediately of running away the moment the tentacle missed its mark. -If, if it¡¯s with the president then we might be able to stop it! I thought differently. ¡°Eeek! That¡¯s not something that can be blocked!¡± -But if it¡¯s the president¡¯s long-ranged attacks then we might be able to do something! The president was a person loved by so many spirits it wouldn¡¯t be incorrect to call him an army of spirits. Even if he went purely by the number of spirits he had contracted alone, he was someone who could leave his name in history. And so! -This is the only chance we have of turning this around. ¡°Iiiik! Then undo the descent and you fight instead!¡± I retrieved my body¡¯s ownership from the goddess who no longer had any will to fight. The devil was still focused on the president. There was still a chance! I would desummon Aegis as well and stake everything on my single spear! ¡°President! Distract it! I¡¯ll deal the critical¡­ huh?¡± ¡°Heeheet.¡± But as I moved beside the president I heard no response from him. Rather, he couldn¡¯t respond. ¡°He fainted¡­ standing on his feet?¡± ¡°Unni, I said earlier, din¡¯t I? I give pain when I hit things, and I give pain when you try to hit me?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± That was it. Just then, the president had knocked aside this devil¡¯s tentacles to try save me. Without any protection on his arm that knocked it aside. ¡°Normally it would be normal to hurt but if the body hits its limits for pain then it faints. But the president was already at his limits!¡± Indeed. The president had put his body on the line to defeat Professor Maroon. To break through an earth elemental specialised in defense, and a highest-rank elemental no less, he had drawn on the powers of high-rank elementals from all four elements to his limits and charged just like that. In that case, being able to move in the first ce was abnormal. ¡°Our pres was alweady done for the moment he showed up.¡± ¡°But, but why¡­¡± At that moment, a shiver ran down my spine as something tapped my back. It was a very light tap but a pain that ground on every single nerve in my body began to spread out. ¡°Hmm? Why¡¯d I pretend ta be serious when I saw the pres?¡± ¡°Hiik.¡± -I told you Aris. We should have made a run for it. Perhaps because she was no longer feeling any more pain, the goddess said so with a relieved voice but I couldn¡¯t listen to her properly. ¡°Hnng? Urrg?!¡± Tap. Tap. Tap. Something kept tapping my shoulder. Very lightly, very delicately. But even those fine touches sent pain travelling up my throat and out of my mouth. ¡°Uuu, urrrggg¡­¡± Even though I knew what it was. Even though I was scared. Even though the devil was in front of me! But me head automatically turned backwards and saw the thing that was poking me. ¡°Hiiiiiik!¡± And what I saw, were scores and scores of silver tentacles wriggling along the ground. When my head turned back to its normal ce, the silver devil smiled and said. ¡°The pres had fainted, so why was I so serious? Well that¡¯s cause¡­ of course it¡¯s ta catch unni who¡¯s tryin¡¯ ta run away, innit?¡± That was it. I¡¯d been had. No, I¡¯d made a very, very poor error of judgment. This was the result of the mistaken thinking that I could challenge this silver devil! But so, but so! ¡°N, nooooooooooooo!¡± ¡°Dear unni, cry cutely for me!¡± ¡°Hwaahh? N, no! S, stop!¡± ¡°Uhihihi! I¡¯ll turn ya so ya can¡¯t recognise yaself!¡± And so, I was baited by the silver tentacles and experienced humiliation that I would never be able to forget for the rest of my life. And so. For the first time in my life, very shamefully as a daughter of the Letia family, I used myst resort. *** Since I wasn¡¯t exactly a good downloader in my past life, I did my best in this life to respect copyright. ¡°How do you do?¡± ¡°Save the formalities.¡± Oi you little shits. How old are you lot that you went telling on me to your mum and dad? Chapter 43 RATH 43 TL: Eevee Strict, solemn, serious. If you were to ask me who it was that was looking at me looking like the Triple S incarnate, of course it would be human of me to answer! There are only a very limited number of dukes and margraves within the empire. And those that operate purely within the borders of empire, unaffiliated with the border margraves or the archduke number just ten. Their authority is such like an imprable fortress that they¡¯re called the Ten Great Families by the other nobles, and the Triple S incarnate in front of me is the head of one of those Ten Great Families, an extremely important noble in charge of an entire division of the army! It was none other than Aris¡¯s father, the current head of the Letia family. ¡°How may I be of assistance.¡± But right now, he¡¯s just a parent of one of my students. There¡¯s no need to be flustered. -Owner? You¡¯re totes flustered right now? Legs shaky shaky? Might get caught if you shake a bit more? -Zip it. ¡­ How the hell would I not be rmed! He¡¯s a marquess. It¡¯s one of the Ten Great Families! Even though they say that the influence of the military families is weaker during peacetime, that¡¯spared to the other Ten Great Families! He¡¯s a freakingmander of an army! In past life terms, a three star!(1) The realm of stars that could move mountains with just a single word! That kind of person came in, there¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t be flustered! ¡°I came in at my daughter¡¯s request.¡± Marquess Letia said as he sipped the tea that the Dean poured him. Like me, the Dean was also nervous, but unlike me, he was visibly showing it on his face. -She tattled. The kid that contracted the delicious goddess tattled. -You really should have hit her in moderation¡­ -Haang? You want me to hit that tasty, moreover two for the price of one kid in moderation! That¡¯s somethin¡¯ my pride won¡¯t allow, dat! -We have a marquesse see us because of that, so what the hell are you being so brazen about! -All humans are equal in front of the goddess Aru-nim! So human titles don¡¯t matter ta meh! -It matters a lot to me! Damn it, words aren¡¯t getting through to her. I honestly want to chuck her back into a safe and seal her again, but considering the organization¡¯s fallen and I¡¯m on the run from the princess I can¡¯t do that. ¡°I do not believe I raised my child to be weak.¡± ¡°Indeed?¡± ¡°Indeed. And Aris, that child followed through the family¡¯s training regime without one word ofint.¡± ¡°How splendid.¡± ¡°Indeed. But that child, contacted my wife with a magic videomunication tool, and told her this while crying. That school life was too difficult. My wife was quite shocked, saying she had never seen her cry since she was five.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Although my face gave nothing away, I felt a cold sweat trickle down my back. Damn it, she even went as far as crying to her mother. Even in the army, a hundred questionnaires can¡¯t ever hope to do more than a call to a parent! And moreover, a kid who¡¯s never let her parents see her cry went and cried to her parents! If this marquess¡¯s personality was reversed then right now he¡¯d be shaking me by mypels. ¡°And so I ask. Is my daughter being bullied at school?¡± ¡°She is not.¡± Logically speaking, a marquess¡¯ family isn¡¯t one to be bullied, but one to be doing the bullying. If you were to pick on a marquess¡¯s daughter, you¡¯d have to be at least direct imperial family or an archduke, and be named as the sessor to have the status to pull it off. And a brat that¡¯s not even a sessor or heir picks on a high-ranking noble first? That¡¯s basically asking to get offed with none the wiser during the sessor debate. ¡°Then are any of the teachers tormenting my daughter?¡± ¡°No, they are not.¡± Well, something does prickle a little, but it¡¯s all for the sake of education, education! I eat and sleep at the academy for the sake of developing my students¡¯ abilities, and I think and worry again and again for the sake of my students! -Wasn¡¯t owner eating and sleeping at the academy just ta save ya retirement money? Ya did it just cause it was free if ya just made an escape route using the academy modifications as an excuse, instead of building your own house and digging another escape tunnel anyway! And lookee how you¡¯re spinning your efforts to make the kids struggle! -It¡¯s alright since it¡¯s half true! -Then that means half of it¡¯s just a scam! Well that¡¯s just how the world works. I was doing all this with the best intentions in mind! ¡°Then what you are saying is that Aris, my child was crying simply because the academy¡¯s training was that difficult?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± More urately, getting hit by the metal bat would have been the difficult experience but I didn¡¯t say that out loud. The problem was that I¡¯d spent the majority of my social life in an evil organization. No matter how much you beat the crap out of kids there no one ever said anything. On the contrary, I even got incentives for not killing anyone and obtaining brilliant results! But the academy is different. Going crying to their parents after a single encounter with the metal bat, just how weak are the children of noble society! -¡­ Owner, owner? It feels weird to be the one saying it myself, but owner can only say that because owner doesn¡¯t hurt even if you get hit by me, if you hurt like other people then you wouldn¡¯t be able to say that? -But as you said that is an ¡®if!¡¯ Since I don¡¯t hurt even if I get hit by you that is not my problem. -That¡¯s my owner! Itza face of orichalcum! Not even the people with iron faces can¡¯t hold up ta owner! Hoho, well that goes without saying. If you are a viin, you need to surpass iron faces to mithril, or an orichalcum face at least. If I didn¡¯t have the face and the guts to scam someone at any moment then there would have never have survived half my life in an evil organization. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Behold! In the face of my steadfast attitude, the marquess has started to seriously think this through! Life is all about timing. And as a salesman, the best timing is when someone is hesitating like so! If I lose this timing, I will be unable to secure the marquess¡¯s backing, and in the worst case scenario the greatest promotional figurehead of the academy named Aris could leave entirely. I can¡¯t lose Aris like I did No.17! ¡°May I ask you something, milord marquess?¡± ¡°Speak.¡± I looked at the marquess nodding and smiled. ¡°Did milord, truly not raise Miss Aris to be weak?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°In that case, from my perspective, the training of House Letia is much too weak.¡± -Wiing? Owner? Ya taunting him? Ya were quivering in fear cause he¡¯s a marquess just now, you go nuts with fear or something? This is a proper challenge oi? -Wait. I¡¯m scattering the bait right now so don¡¯t ruin it. ¡°That is to say, you are looking down on the training of the Letia family?¡± ¡°That is so.¡± ¡°P, Professor Nicerwin!¡± The dean that was ying the part of the tea shuttle was aghast. Well if you¡¯re going to aim for an opportunity, you need to take on some risk with it! Perhaps if the opposition was some hot-headed musclebrain, but if it¡¯s this kind ofposed type then this much of a taunt is alright. ¡°¡­I¡¯m listening.¡± Look here, although his words have turned icy, he said he¡¯d listen, did he not! Of course these types tend to hold very long and nasty grudgespared to the hotheads so it can be very dangerous if it fails, but it¡¯s alright if it seeds. ¡°Milord, The Letia house, no, most of the families that hold the ranks of marquess or higher are all families with a long illustrious history spanning back from the beginning of the empire.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°The history of the empire already spans a thousand years. And the history of the Letia family has also seen those same one thousand years with it.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ so is what you wish to tell me that our family¡¯s training methods are outdated?¡± ¡°If you wish to put it so bluntly, yes.¡± These types are great because they¡¯re easy to work with. If it was someone like Sir Reia then I would have had to exin it through to the end, but to think he would interrupt me to say exactly what I wanted to say. But as if his mood turned for the worse the marquess¡¯s eyes began to glint dangerously. ¡°The house has never ceased to improve itself over the years.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°And yet it is stillcking?¡± ¡°It is.¡± ¡°And what would be the reason?¡± ¡°It is because the empire is the continent¡¯s most powerful nation.¡± ¡°Meaning thatpared to the title of the strongest, our family¡¯s training standards are too low?¡± ¡°They are.¡± Even if I don¡¯t exin in detail he understands with short simple answers. The fact that people like him are armymanders are the reason why the future of the empire is bright. ¡°In that case, I can take it to mean that you believe that your education passes the mark?¡± ¡°I have not experienced the Great War myself. While countless lives on the continent were fighting and dying, I was holding onto life receiving the elves¡¯ treatment due to my weak and infirm body. Because of that, I do not know the thing called war.¡± -Weak? Weeeeeaaaaaaaaaaak? Coming from the person who kicked up a shitstorm with the imperial princess during said Great War? Did all the infirm people in the world just die of their weak bodies then? Izzat why the bullshit that owner¡¯s weak¡¯sing from owner¡¯s mouth then? -It¡¯s a concept, a concept! Nicerwin Ain is a weak infirm patient concept! -Haang? You think any of the students in this school will buy that? And because of the rumour that owner has a simr personality to elves the students are thinking of elves as this evil race that are worse than the demon race? -Weren¡¯t elves always a naturally evil race? -¡­ I don¡¯t think making retorts were supposed to my role, but this feeling that I should make a retort! Whatever the metal bat felt, the conversation continued. ¡°But as I did not know of war and only saw it from a distance, I could see something instead.¡± ¡°And what would that be?¡± ¡°The empire is the strongest nation on the continent. That is something that every country on the continent acknowledges. And because of that, the empire is a symbol of fear.¡± ¡°And what does that have to do with anything?¡± ¡°Do you know why the human race fears the demon season?¡± Demon season. The time when the evil god¡¯s apostle, the demon king appeared. Humans fear this monster that only seeks destruction. ¡°The demon king is of a realm that can simply not be reached with the power of humanity, no, the other races as well. That is the case. The empire is simply too strong.¡± To humans, the demon king is a monster that is very difficult to deal with. Only three demon kings had appeared in the world since its creation, but humans feared the demon king¡¯s strength and named and feared the period the demon king appeared as ¡®demon season.¡¯ And that was the case for the empire at present. Having forced its powerful neighbouring nations to their knees with brute strength, to the other nations, the empire was no less than the demon king. ¡°But, that is not an excuse as to why my child cried.¡± Tch he¡¯s not falling for it. Is he the type that¡¯s easy to talk to but hard to convince? ¡°There was a time, when Yugrasia was known as one of the best educational institutions in the empire.¡± ¡°Are you trying to change the subject?¡± ¡°But, at present it is an academy where it could vanish at any moment. And what do you think the reason for that was? The deteriorating quality of the teachers? The poor quality of the students? No. It was because theycked urgency. It was because they held the steadfast belief that Yugrasia would be the best academy, always and forever.¡± ¡°And just what is it that you are trying to say?¡± ¡°There is only one reason why I came to this academy. As a summoner, I wish to reform this school named Yugrasia as the greatest. My educational philosophy is simple. You forget what you hear, you remember what you see, and you understand what you try for yourself. The best way for students to understand their own skills is to experience it for themselves. And among those methods, practical experience is the greatest.¡± After listening to my words the marquess seemed to be lost in thought. To be honest I would have said something else if I wanted to be more persuasive, but then I would look too much like a yer of the game. Nicerwin Ain was a schr who knew nothing of the world and dedicated himself to the study of summoning within the elven woods! But when the famed school of summoning, Yugrasia was at risk of closing, Nicerwin Ain was a passionate man who came to this school for his passion for summoning! Was the type of concept I had to match even as it felt somewhat awkward. The opposition is a direct subordinate of the imperial pce who has faced all sorts of trials and tribtions. Moreover, amander who led an army. Of the other heads of the Ten Great Families, I had the opportunity to meet four of them in the past, but even within their varying personalities, all of them had at least a hundred shadows hidden away. There was one who acted the fool, one who pretended to be airheaded all the while scrutinizing everything down to their finest detail, so in that case, would this man who was foreboding from the word go have his own shadows hidden away! Of course not. There¡¯s no way that kind of person would survive the house of hell that was the imperial court. ¡°Can you prove it?¡± He¡¯s hooked! The moment he said that, the game was already over. ¡°They said that rather than telling something a hundred times, it is better to show something once.¡± As I stood up with a smile, I moved over to the pre-prepared room. I knew this would happen! -Metal bat, you have a mission! -Wazzat? Bashing in the back of the marquess¡¯s skull in the waiting room? -Am I insane? Go tell Professor Muam this. -Wiing? That kiddie gramps? Whazzat? -n B. Today¡¯s night study is n B. -n B? What¡¯s n B? n B. It was a night study designed for the scenario that the students were better than I expected, for the scenario that the students here might be on the level of my old disciples in the organization, a night study even more difficult than now! -¡­ Those kids¡¯re gonna die. -They started this. They dare call in their parents? While I¡¯m showing the marquess the increased difficulty, I will let you know just how happy you have all been until now! Chapter 44 RATH 44 TL: Eevee 6. Hell is just beginning. (5). #7 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. In my sixteen years of life so far, I can proudly say that I have lived proudly as the eldest daughter of House Letia. Although I was born in one of the empire¡¯s Ten Great Families, one of the most influential in the empire, unlike the other nobles I did not use my title as a daughter of a marquess. Until now¡­ ¡°Mother, it¡¯s so hard.¡± -A, Aris? My mother looked shocked. It seemed that my mother was shocked to see my tears that I had never cried even during the house¡¯s brutal training regime. I was kind of surprised to see my normally elegant looking mother look so taken aback, but I couldn¡¯t give up now. If only to avoid that devil! ¡°As the Letia family¡¯s oldest daughter, it¡¯s kind of pathetic for me to cry because school is hard, but¡­ it¡¯s still so hard.¡± Showing a weak appearance unlike my normal self. It seemed that my mother was very shocked to see my weak, timid and fearful appearance. But I couldn¡¯t give up now. ¡°Sniff¡­ mother¡­¡± -Aris, did something happen at the academy? As I pretended to wipe my eyes, I looked slightly further beyond to the magic videomunication device. 1. Cry. 2. Don¡¯t say anything first. 3. If she tries talking to me first then pretend to start talking before crying sorrowfully. 4. Sniffle and keep repeating that school is too hard. 5. End the night study. Looking at number five on the list, I harden my resolve. I saw my roommate wave her hand in encouragement as she held up the paper with the five points written on it. Thest resort nned out by the student council, and executed by me. That was to borrow the help of my parents, use the power of my family to end this disgusting night study once and for all! We had endured until now but after we got beaten up by the silver creature we could endure no longer. Because that was impossible for humans to stand against! ¡°No, there was¡­ sob¡­ nothing that happened at the academy¡­ I just wasn¡¯t good enough¡­ to follow the curriculum. Sniffle¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± -Yes, Aris! Cry like that! More! Harder! Wring out your tears! If it will help get rid of that disgusting thing called night study, I¡¯ll do everything in my power as a god to help you! Thanks to the goddess¡¯s strong will, even more sorrowful tears came flowing out. And the day after my performance with all my heart and soul poured into it. It was that time came once again. 7 PM. The time that to us, the hell named self-directed night study began. ¡°Move out like we always do! Sort out¡­¡± ¡°Aaaaaarghh!¡± The same time as normal. But different screams from normal. ¡°Wha, what?¡± ¡°P, Professor?¡± There was only a single reason for that. ¡°Ahh, sorry about that. Professor Nicerwin gave me different instructionspared to normal.¡± ¡°So don¡¯t hate us too much.¡± Unlike normal, the two teachers had taken up positions at the front and rear doors of the ssroom! -It, it can¡¯t be! -What is it, Lady Athena? -Those teachers¡­ have finally begun to use the terrain. -Terrain¡­ ah! -Yes, there was only one reason why you could defeat the teachers that were far more skilled than you! Because each teacher had to fight against more than ten students on their own. -But right now¡­ -Yes, all they have to do is defend against the small number of people that can fit through that door¡­ We had fought against the teachers in corridors much wider than other schools as if it was perfectly natural, and we had gotten far too used to that. And because of that we let our guards down, and had the ssroom doors taken from us. And since these were supposedly the orders of Professor Nicerwin, odds were that our ssroom wasn¡¯t the only one in this situation. -For now, we need to get through one side to allow people to attack the other door from the rear. -Can it be done? -It¡¯s possible as long as it¡¯s not the soldiers on the second floor or the silver devil. Getting through the first line is the hard part, as long as a single ssroom can break through, the situation will be the same as normal! Borrowing the strength of the goddess I summoned a spear. I didn¡¯t need a shield. What we needed right now was a swift breakthrough! ¡°A few of you exit through the windows!¡± We need to divide the teachers¡¯ attention. Although the windows leading outside are blocked by ck metal bars that can¡¯t be destroyed by any summon, but the windows between the ssroom and the corridor are normal. Even if they are narrow, they¡¯re big enough that students can fit through them. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it!¡± ¡°Kurgh, that little?!¡± ¡°Jumping through windows is a breach of school regtions!¡± And perhaps we¡¯d done something genuinely unexpected, on seeing the shocked teachers, one of the male students leaped through the window at full speed. ¡°Professor Nicerwin definitely said this to us! Use any and everything at hand in order to escape¡­ uwaaaaghh!¡± But unlike his heroic jump, his body became stuck in the window. That student was a normal student, but he was smaller than average. Yet he became stuck in the window. The reason was¡­ ¡°Even the ssroom walls¡­¡± We realised that even the school itself was our enemy. No, we¡¯d realised that it was a hindrance long ago. The walls that would spring up from underneath our feet, and when we jumped to avoid the walls arrows and magic would fly towards us. And the stairs with all sorts of heinous traps as well. We knew perfectly well that even if it was normally an ordinary school, the moment that the so-called self-directed night study time came around it would turn into hell. But¡­ to think even our final bastion of peace, the ssroom would also be our enemy! Watching the walls chew on my ssmate like it was alive filled me with a bizarre sense of fear! ¡°Well, it wasn¡¯t very good to see you kids dive in the moment we acted a bit surprised.¡± ¡°Even after getting fooled so often, seriously, you kids have a lot to learn, don¡¯t you?¡± We couldn¡¯t bring out anyrge summons inside that narrow doorway. Only small summons, such as equipment-based summoners could break through those teachers, and only after that could the summoners withrge summons move freely. -We¡¯ll end it in a one attack. -Alright, if we drag it out then we¡¯re the ones at a disadvantage here! I moved to the end of the ssroom and gripped my spear in both hands. My legs were spread out wide despite wearing a skirt, but since I was wearing gym shorts underneath it didn¡¯t matter. Since we began night study, wearing gym clothes was already second nature to all of us! ¡°Professor Magirek, Miss Aris is headed your way!¡± ¡°I know!¡± ¡°Letia-style, cavalry spear arts.¡±(1) The Letia family was more famous for swordsmanship rather than spears to begin with. Because of that the only spear arts we knew were for cavalry, but the firepower alone is first-rate! ¡°Single Fang(Ò»ÑÀ)¡± Normally I would only have used the bare minimum mana, but today was not a normal situation. So I gathered more than half my mana into the tip of my spear, and charged forward. ¡°Follow right behind me once I break through!¡± Even if I was right at the end of the ssroom, it was a distance that wasn¡¯t even thirty metres. The moment my mana-strengthened legs hit the ground, a summoned beast with the appearance of a small wolf was already waiting in front of the ssroom door. ¡°Block it, Raypit!¡± ¡°That is not enough to defend against the Letia House¡¯s fangs!¡± The wolf is the symbol of the Letia House! I knocked away the teeth of the wolf in front of me with my own fangs(spear). The first exchange was a draw, but a wolf¡¯s weapons are not limited to its fangs alone! ¡°Letia style, Twin ws (¶þצ)¡± Using the rebound momentum, I spun around and gouged out the summoned beast¡¯s nk. It is far easier to make use of centripetal force with a spear than it is with a sword. Although I couldn¡¯t swing it very widely due to the narrow space, but as if the strike was effective, the wolf whimpered, and I didn¡¯t miss the moment the wolf stumbled and immediately ran forward. ¡°Alright, now we¡­ huh?¡± The moment I broke through the front door to target the other teacher¡¯s back, waiting beside me was someone who should not have been there. ¡°Why¡­?¡± ¡°As in, why am I here, Miss Aris?¡± Watching me with a smile, was Professor Aruhan that had constantly stomped us on the second floor. ¡°It seems that you are quite surprised. Well, as a teacher it should be my role to exin a student¡¯s curiosities, no?¡± Without any change in his expression, Professor Aruhan pulled out a spear simr to mine from thin air as he began talking. ¡°Although a few students seem to be misunderstanding this, the reason why the teachers acted in the same way every single night study time was not because we were stupid, but because we moved ording to Professor Nicerwin¡¯s instructions for the night study.¡± He revealed an extremely shocking truth as he leisurely spun his summoned spear around in circles. ¡°To give you an exnation, the current night study system that the students had been receiving was n C. Each teacher would be in charge of the students of their year level. The teachers without a dedicated year level like ours or assigned to paperwork, were on standby on the second or ground floor. But from today onwards is n B.¡± ¡°What is different in n B?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple. The floor restrictions for each of the teachers have been lifted. Meaning, the teachers are as free to move around as the students are. Because of that, we can send down our elite forces to pick off the more dangerous individuals as well.¡± Professor Aruhan stopped twirling his spear, took a stance and pointed his spear at me with a smile full of fighting spirit. ¡°Because of that, the one responsible for you was unanimously voted to be me by the other teachers, so I do hope you won¡¯t reject me because I am amoner.¡± ¡°Although I desperately wish to reject this, but if this is what Professor wills for us.¡± This is very bad. If the hardest matchup for me, Professor Aruhan was here, odds were that other teachers had been sent over to the other key individuals among the students. But before all that, from n C to n B! -Is the feeling that there is also a n A and other nefarious schemes just my, a goddess¡¯s false suspicions? -No, I think those could exist too! If it¡¯s that Professor Nicerwin then there definitely will be something more! This feeling that something else would pop out even if we beat this n B! -Aris, even though your talent is outstanding, you are still too young! In contrast your opponent is an ordinary but highly experienced veteran! It¡¯ll be difficult to face him one on one! -I know that! -So attack the teacher facing the ssroom and allow the students to break free outside the ssroom. The fact that this man is here means that there is no one on the second floor! Use the other students as bait and escape! -You, you mean to abandon everyone else and escape? I would be lying if that I said that didn¡¯t tempt me. But everyone¡¯s pulled together, gathered their strength to escape school together, to think I would run away alone! I couldn¡¯t do such a thing! -Who was the one who went crying to her parents because she hated night study? I felt like I could! -C, can I actually do that? -What¡¯s the problem. It¡¯s fine as long as you get away. If n B is having the teachers mobilise then that means the silver devil could appear somewhere as well. -You¡¯re right! That was it. The living must live. Thankfully my ssroom was on the third floor. It was the easiest to escape from among the floors with ssrooms. ng! Spear met spear and made a dull noise, different from swords. ¡°Not just the tip, but you could even imbue mana into your spear¡¯s shaft. Really, you would think, no less of the princess of the Letia House?¡± ¡°If Professor is here, then that means the other teachers on the second floor have also moved elsewhere? Then since you can¡¯t use the normal defensive formation, doesn¡¯t that present another opportunity for us?¡± Spear and spear shed again. I tried to aim for the professor still guarding the other door behind me, but Professor Aruhan didn¡¯t give me the opportunity. ¡°That¡¯s true. There is no one on the second floor. Nor is there anyone on the ground floor. Because all the teachers have gone to the eighth floor.¡± ¡°What?!¡± If it was the eighth floor, that was where most of the student council members, the strongest students in the school were. No wait, even before that! ¡°If the first floor is empty as well, then even Professors Muam and Harian?!¡± ¡°Indeed. So, if you cannot defeat me then there will be no hope for you, Miss Aris!¡± Our spears shed again. But unlikest time, I poured all my mana into it but the results didn¡¯t change. -This man¡­ was he always this strong? -I¡¯m sorry, goddess, I can¡¯t do anything about it! -It¡¯s fine, let¡¯s just ditch everyone else, and run, just the two of us! -O Goddess, grant me, your contractor a powerful mind and body. As I swung my spear I chanted in my head. Descension, epting the soul of a god into your body, the strongest technique a god¡¯s contractor could wield! Although it didn¡¯t work against the devil, if it was against a human, there was no way it wouldn¡¯t have an effect! ¡°My, my, is it the goddess?¡± ¡°Indeed, you seem to be quite powerful, would you mind entertaining me?¡± ¡°If I may do you a service, it would be my honour.¡± Although I didn¡¯t know it at first, when a god descends into your body apparently a part of your body changes. In my case, my characteristic red eyes turn blue. Professor Aruhan who noticed this sighed wearily before his took a stance. -Do your best, Miss Goddess! -Trust me! -Despite the fact that my physical capabilities remained the same the goddess held her spear with just a single hand. Even though she had been showing some unsightly forms recently against the silver devil, our goddess was the goddess of war! ¡°Come human!¡± To the goddess¡¯s booming shout, Professor Aruhan replied. ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°What?!¡± But it was not Professor Aruhan¡¯s voice that replied, but a different professor¡¯s. ¡°A pity, Lady Goddess, but it seems that you were so beautiful that you seem to have attracted some flies.¡± ¡°Da, damn it¡­¡± When the professor turned his head to the source of the voice, in my vision that was being shared with the goddess, I saw countless professors starting to stream down to the third floor. ¡°God damn it¡­¡± And ten minutester. Despite the goddess¡¯s descension into my body, in theplete opposite manner to my fights with the teachers until now, I became a wreck due to fights with multiple teachers at once. -Aris¡­ let¡¯s just quietly do the night study in the ssroom¡­ -Kurrrghhh¡­ Just as I was sitting back against the wall with no strength to move, and seriously considering doing the night study. ¡°Do you educate your students like this every day?¡± ¡°Indeed, we do.¡± ¡°Fa, father?¡± I don¡¯t know when he¡¯d arrived, but the person that was approaching very naturally with Professor Nicerwin was my father and the current head of the Letia family. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡± ¡°Fa, father¡­¡± As my father that had been cold to me all this time stroked my head and praised me, I unconsciously began to start tearing up. Maybe, if he¡¯d seen just how much his daughter had struggled! Father might! ¡°And do your best from now on, too.¡± ¡­Eh? I felt like my tears that had been about to fall had crawled right back around into my eyes. Father? What did you say just now? ¡°I have felt many things as I observed Yugrasia¡¯s teaching methods.¡± ¡°It is an honour, my lord.¡± Father? Why are you looking at that devil of an instructor with such serious eyes? ¡°There is glory at the end of the grueling path of pain. I, who call myself amander of the empire¡¯s army forgot words of the empire¡¯s hero of the Great War. As the family head and themander of the army I have spent far too long immersed in peace.¡± Father? Excuse me, father? Your daughter is sprawled out in a wreck beside you, are you seriously saying that? ¡°So work even harder from now on.¡± Fatheerrrrrrr?! ¡°Yugrasia, will more than live up to milord¡¯s expectations.¡± And from this day onwards, the number of students that tried to escape the night study dwindled, and the period that future students would call the age of despair began. Chapter 45 RATH 45 TL: Eevee 6. Hell is just beginning. (6) ¡°Did I push them too far¡­¡± -You went way overboard owner! The kids motivation is zero! Aside from the student council and the third and fourth years the overwhelming mood in the school is to just sit through the night study! When I initiated n B when Marquis Letia visited, all the students were defeated in just under an hour. Well, that goes without saying. So as long as they didn¡¯t deliberately act like NPCs and moved ording to a fixed scenario, the teachers would never lose to a bunch of kids not even in their twenties no matter how many of them there were. If you likened it to a game of chess, then it would be like ying against them without knights or bishops, or if ying Go, letting them have a few more stones on the board in advance, simply because they were students. -Owner, whatcha gonna do! You promised me! Ya said I could go wild and have fun! But I only got to do it once! I heard the metal bat whining but it can¡¯t be helped. Just sit tight in your normal form and recharge your mana. -Uwiiiiit! Owner, you fraudster! I can¡¯t do anything either! Did I go a bit too overboard in how much I used an evil organization as the baseline? Does the hunger between those who can¡¯t run and those who do have a ce to run to differ that much? Or do theyck discipline because they¡¯re nobles! -Owner. Ya had heaps ¡®a spies among your disciples. There were craptons of nobles there so don¡¯t ya remember how they were all reaaaaally far out from the idea of discipline? -That¡¯s true. Now that I think about it, the kid of the Raina archduchy house that¡¯s said to eat up the Ten Great Families for breakfast chained up the wrists and ankles of someone that was trying to help him. Meaning that, these kids simplyck the willpower! ¡°And therefore none of this is my fault!¡± -That¡¯s my owner! Lookit ya rationalizing! But the holidays will be over soon and soon after that will be the imperial festival. As it stands, the scale of the imperial festival¡¯s been getting bigger every year since the Great War. If you were topare the festival before and after the war you could say that it¡¯s nearly five times bigger than it was back then. And that¡¯s five times just in words. Even before the war, the empire was the most powerful nation on the continent, and the imperial festival that celebrates the day the empire was founded was the biggest event on the imperial calendar. And the fact that said event¡¯s increased in scale by five times, means that the money that¡¯s gone into it¡¯s also increased astronomically! And the type of people that areing will also represent that increase! ¡°In a situation where we must achieve nothing but total victory, the number of people in night study is decreasing¡­¡± This isn¡¯t good. If the current situation where the students just sit down and study continues to hold, they will be theorists with no practical experience. Because theory is always so different to reality! Things might be different if the imperial festival was some Olympiad where they just sat and solved questions, but the kids are just studying in a situation where they have to show off their skills? That¡¯s a guaranteed loss. ¡°Should I just keep them until ten o¡¯clock in the holidays as well¡­¡± -Owner, you said during the holidays you¡¯d at least let them out in the afternoon¡­ ¡°Since the situation is what it is, it can¡¯t be helped. Even if I lower it back down to n C it still doesn¡¯t seem like these kids are going toe back out anyway.¡± Considering these kids have already lost their desire, they won¡¯t move just because it¡¯s n C. After all, they couldn¡¯t get past the second floor even on n C. And in that situation, would the kids really move knowing there¡¯s another n waiting for them afterwards? ¡°I need bait.¡± -Especially something big enough that the kid contracted to that tasty goddess will bite. Indeed. The biggest reason for the current situation was that Aris announced herself that she would be participating in the night study. As if the shock of her father abandoning her was that huge, she was currently quietly doing the night study in the ssroom, and thanks to that the entire ss seemed to feel like quietly attending the night study. Unlike the other year levels, there were only 20 students in a single ss, but there were only 100 first years to begin with. And as one ss started to do the night study, the mood in the other ssrooms also turned to one to sit quietly and do the night study, and so all of the first years ended up doing the night study. And this was also spreading to the second years on the next floor up. I need to move Aris if I¡¯m to stop this! -It¡¯s because you kept hitting her that she has no will for this! -Th, that¡¯s not my fault! Lately she was looking at me with quite the dead eyes, although not as much as the imperial princess back in the day. Those eyes had already given up on life. ¡°If it¡¯s bait that will move that kind of person¡­¡± There¡¯s only one thing. #8 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. ¡°What is it, Professor?¡± A dry, t voice. People who knew what I used to be like might be surprised at this change, but the majority of people that went to Yugrasia are currently in this state so it isn¡¯t anything abnormal by any means. And the culprit who turned the academy to this state, Professor Nicerwin looked at me in that state with a saintly smile. ¡°It seems that school life has been quite difficulttely, Miss Aris.¡± I barely managed to hold back something erupting out from inside me. Quite difficult? And whose fault was it again?! ¡°Learning is always a difficult process.¡± But I held it in. Professor Nicerwin¡¯s already got my father under this thumb. Thanks to that, all the other ns to bring the others¡¯ parents in to either stop the night study or negotiate its terms were all defeated, and on the contrary the only result it had was bringing the difficulty of the night study even higher. Thanks to that, all we had was the daily consecutive grind of study. It was alright at first. Right, didn¡¯t they say that the upation of a student was studying? Learning the necessary knowledge by working hard wasn¡¯t that bad either. But even that has its limits! A day, two, a week, a month! To think we¡¯d be in the situation where we had toe into school on the weekends! We had all long since memorized the textbook cover to cover. Even so, the question booklet that Professor Nicerwin gave us was too difficult to solve. Even if we tried to ask questions about it, the normal teachers didn¡¯t know how to solve it either and so couldn¡¯t help us. We had to solve those questions only with what we learned from Professor Nicerwin¡¯s sses that came once a week, but the contents that came out in the night study were on another level of difficulty that we suspected that we would have to be second years, or even third years to be able to solve them. Thanks to that, we¡¯vee to the point where we literally have nothing to do in the night study. ¡°It makes me pleased to see that the students haven¡¯t been trying to run away from the night study as ofte.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Very funny. Even if that¡¯s what you¡¯re saying, why is your expression so regretful? You actually want us to run away, don¡¯t you? But I will never run away from the night study. I tried everything. I even used methods that looking back, were incredibly shameful. But the result was my total defeat. Alright, I admit my loss. I lost. And so, as my final resistance, I swore that I would never do what Professor Nicerwin wanted of me! ¡°It makes me pleased to hear that Professor is happy about it as well.¡± All the first years were attending night study. Although a few of them were attending out of despair of the status quo, the majority of the students were in agreement with me that attending the night study was a form of protest. Yes, that much we wouldn¡¯t give up! No matter what sugar-coated bait you threw out to me, our resolve is! ¡°I will remove the night study.¡± ¡°Re, really?¡± I totally could give up! Screw resolve or whatever!!! ¡°Indeed, I will.¡± Gulp. I swallowed dryly without even being aware of it. Although I couldn¡¯t see my own face, I was shaken to the point where I didn¡¯t even need to see it. And I ended up showing it to the one person I should never reveal it to, Professor Nicerwin. But I can¡¯t help it! I can¡¯t help but be shaken up by the news that he would remove the night study of all things! ¡°I will even remove the requirement ofing to school on the weekends.¡± ¡°Wha, whwhwhwhat are the conditions, Professor Nicerwin?¡± Even when I was fifteen and greeted the Crown Prince as well as the Imperial Princess during mying of age ceremony I didn¡¯t so much as twitch, but to think I¡¯d shake this much with the one line of removing the night study! ¡°It seems that talking to Miss Aris was the right answer after all. Catching on this quickly. As expected of the daughter of milord marquis.¡± I don¡¯t need thatpliment, hurry, hurry and tell me what¡¯s next! What will be required to get rid of the night study? World conquest? Demon king assassination? Continental unification? -No matter what it is, I will help you out! It seemed that the goddess was as worked up as I was. Perhaps anyone who¡¯s experienced the night study in this academy would feel the same way as I was. Now, speak, Professor Nicerwin! For right now, I could do absolutely anything you would tell me to do! ¡°You have to be victorious in the imperial festival.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying that we just have to win the imperial festival to end the night study?¡± ¡°Is the imperial festival something you can ¡®just¡¯ win?¡± Professor Nicerwin said with a very surprised expression. Was that really something to be surprised about? When you considered the things we had done so far then victory in the imperial festival was much too good a condition. -You mean if we just eliminate a few brats, we can get rid of that thing called night study? See, victory in the imperial festival was such a simple condition that even the goddess of war and wisdom Athena was surprised. ¡°Yes, on the contrary the condition of getting rid of the night study being the absurdly simple victory in the imperial festival, that is what I am more suspicious about right now?¡± I actually think that this could be a trap. If you were to think of the events in the imperial festival, our enemies are Arucia and Marcis. Could those kids that are barely pretending to y academy possibly beat us? Beat us, who have something that all of us are willing toy down our lives for? I guarantee it. Those brats will never be able to stop us. ¡°The winner of the imperial festival has already been decided.¡± ¡°That is good confidence to have.¡± Confidence? No. This is predetermined fate. To ovee the trial named self-directed night study, and to escape from the hell named school! #9 Their story: Ria El Nermia¡¯s story. ¡°Can we just tantly go spy on them like this?¡± ¡°We are simply delivering the student council¡¯s opinions to Yugrasia¡¯s student council.¡± I entered the front gates of Yugrasia with a few others from school while holding documents. The Four Great Academies were close not just in reputation, but also distance, so we barely needed to walk the distance of the next vige over to reach Yugrasia. There was only one reason for me toe here despite knowing that the suspicious Professor Nicerwin was here. While the student council was nning for the imperial festival, we realised we had no information about Yugrasia. -ording to what that guy called the student council president was saying, there¡¯s no point in gathering information on Yugrasia, owner. -I know. And because of that there was that massive reform of that ce this year, too. The thing called history sometimes changes so drastically so simply. Like a goddess falling to an evil god in the myths. Like the time that the Merdeia kingdom, the nation that could face off against the empire on equal grounds fell within a single short year. Or like the time just three years ago, when an archdevil that was feared by all became my ve. -¡­I¡¯d rather you not think of thest example, owner. Well, ignoring the words of the ve. Just like that, history can be made and changed in an instant. For all we know, Yugrasia, who boasted the worst results in the imperial festival for thest ten years could suddenly be the best in just a single year. I won¡¯t allow that. As long as I¡¯m here, Marcis must be victorious. ¡°What is it?¡± As we passed by therge garden that was simr to the one we had at Marcis and got closer to the main building of the academy, someone who looked like a guard stopped us. As I thought, it was a bit doubtful that a student from another academy was here at this time of year, right? ¡°My name is Ria el Nermia, a member of Marcis¡¯s student council.¡± ¡°Ah, you were from the Nermia family?¡± The opposing person¡¯s wariness dimmed a bit at my words. Let¡¯s push through here. ¡°I have some documents to deliver to Yugrasia¡¯s student council regarding the imperial festival. Could you please guide me to the student council room?¡± Either way the goal was to observe the opposition. The current Yugrasia¡¯s key forces were the student council. And perhaps the daughter of the Letia family and a few of her associates. If I could see them with my own eyes, I could see for myself how good they were. And to do that, I went with the guard in the hopes of putting their guard down, but the guard looked at me with a flustered face and said. ¡°Ah, if it¡¯s the student council you¡¯re after, they¡¯re currently giving the student faculty a speech about the imperial festival¡­¡± ¡°A speech?¡± They¡¯re preparing for the festival already? It should be a matter of course for the student council but it¡¯s a bit far off for ordinary students? ¡°We don¡¯t really have much time either so¡­ I¡¯m sorry, but could I go to the auditorium and give it to them myself?¡± My instincts were screaming at me of some strangeness. Something was happening in that auditorium. I had to see for myself what it was! ¡°Ah, yes, I understand.¡± The guard looked at me with a dazed expression but guided the others and I to Yugrasia¡¯s auditorium. And we saw. ¡°What is defeat to us?¡± -NON-EXISTENT! The screams of delight. ¡°To our enemies!¡± -THE JUDGEMENT OF DEATH! The murderous aura that seemed like it would actually kill us. ¡°Those who don¡¯t know of the silver devil?¡± -BRATS THAT HAVE NO RIGHT TO CHOOSE LIFE OR DEATH! And the madness that felt like they really would give up their lives! -Owner, I don¡¯t think we can beat this? I couldn¡¯t offer a single response to those words. Chapter 46 RATH 46 TL: Eevee 6. Hell is just beginning. (7) #10 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story ¡°We¡¯re done for. We couldn¡¯t even break through our own floor this week.¡± ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s unfair that we have a Spirit King as our opponent.¡± ¡°Oi, Nerkia. Isn¡¯t it about time for you to power up like some novel protagonist and summon a Spirit King or something? Your nickname is ¡®the elemental army,¡¯ you gotta have amander somewhere in there.¡± ¡°Say something sane for once, you lunatics.¡± After ss, student council meeting room. Time 5:30 PM. Just this timest year, the majority of us would have left school, met our girlfriends or hung out with our friends, but now we were meeting in the student council room. The student council meetings that were held around once a month because we couldn¡¯t be bothered with it became part of daily life since Professor Nicerwin came to the academy. Because the students without a club had something called after school study awaiting them! They¡¯re already forcing us to study under the name of night study as it was, and they¡¯re filling up the time between ss and night study as a freaking after school activity! Are they thinking of making us into studying machines! ¡°Alright, under the excuse of observing club activities, we¡¯re going to check out the outdoor clubs and run away from there.¡± ¡°Moron, do you think the outdoor club kids wouldn¡¯t have tried that? After five o¡¯clock the silver devil is on standby in front of the school gates. When I went to seest week, there were a whole pile of corpses that got done in sprawled out across the field.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s jump the gates. We don¡¯t have to go through the main entrance when we can just jump over the gates!¡± ¡°We already have people who tried that. The walls themselves are fortified to at least the level the academy itself is, so let alone direct charges, it can even snipe down summons that can fly in the air.¡± ¡°Wait seriously, what kind of academy is a fortress? I reckon even if the castle walls were broken through you could probably hold out in the academy?¡± ¡°The problem is that we¡¯re trapped in that fortress.¡± We call it a student council meeting, but in reality what we were doing was nning how to run from the night study. But with the mass forfeit of the first and second years, any realistic hopes of running from the night study were pretty much nonexistent. So we tried to anything and everything at our disposal including some dubious means, but none of them worked. ¡°Damn it, so do we have to break through the bars in the windows after all?¡± ¡°What the heck is that even made of if even a high ranking fire spirit can¡¯t melt it? Heck, when wee back the next day even the scratches we put on it are gone, is someone changing them overnight or something?¡± ¡°Damn it, those evil dwarves, making something like that in the academy.¡± ¡°The ck Anvil n? They sound pretty reliable though. If they¡¯re a n that can make something like that, their weapons seem like they¡¯d be pretty good.¡± Bang! A massive thud cut through the idle chatter of the student council room. ¡°Risen?¡± The source of the sound, the one who mmed down on the table and stood up was none other than the student council¡¯s male vice-president Risen. The man they called the Trickster, who until just this year had been the only god-ss summoner in Yugrasia! And that man shouted in a brazen face befitting a god-ss summoner. ¡°Can¡¯t we just destroy the academy and run?!¡± And all of us thought. -Is he insane? Destroy the academy? What sort of lunacy was that meant to be? No matter how much we hated the night study, but destroying the academy and running? In that case then there would be no academy for us to learn from tomorrow, then we can¡¯t attend ss, then we can¡¯te to school. ¡­Then we don¡¯t have to do the night study! -G, genius! Everyone¡¯s thoughts came into alignment. That¡¯s the Trickster for you! Now all we have to do is destroy the acad¡­ ¡°Wait a second! That¡¯s not right!¡± In the absolutest moment, my remaining fragments of reason barely managed to calm my inner demon. ¡°Then, just breaking through the floor would work.¡± ¡°Eh, that might actually be possible¡­¡± But our reliable trickster immediately gave us another idea to work with! ¡°Alright, then today¡¯s n is to break through the floor as soon as we start and going all the way to the first floor!¡± ¡°Or as an alternative, what about breaking the ceiling and heading out through the rooftop?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea too!¡± As we nned new strategies, and made preparations for the uing night study for our great holy war, it was then. m! ¡°We don¡¯t need any of thaaaat!¡± ¡°Lady Aris?¡± As Lady Aris appeared by mming the door open as if to break it, she told us something that shocked us ¨C no, would shock all of Yugrasia. ¡°Professor Nicerwin said he would remove the night study!¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Is, is that true, Lady Aris?¡± ¡°Conditions? There¡¯s no way that man wouldn¡¯t set out conditions for that!¡± ¡°Demon king? Do we need to take the head of the demon king in the demon continent to get rid of the night study?!¡± ¡°No, it could be world conquest. Alright, so do we need to start the second continental war today?¡± Although it was pure nonsense, I was thinking that although world conquest might be difficult, assassinating the demon king might be doable. Was I the lunatic, or was the night study the lunatic! ¡°He said he would remove it if we became victorious in the imperial festival. And he asked me to call for the student council president to discuss the matter with him.¡± Of course, winning the imperial festival is difficult. Thepetition between the empire¡¯s Four Great Academies, also known as the Academy Festival, are at such high levels you wouldn¡¯t think that the participants were students. And that is why they call them the four academies that represent the empire, and is another reason why it is so popr among the manypetitions in the imperial festival. Last year, Yugrasia suffered total defeat in the imperial festival, and that¡¯s already been the case for thest ten years. The reality was that only a minority among the student council barely eked out a few individual wins. ¡°¡­Just that?¡± But this is different. Our enemies are merely a bunch of brats ying school. A bunch of children that aren¡¯t even at school for half the time we are, that barely know of the letter ¡®s¡¯ in study! Lose? Us, to mere students? We, who challenge the teachers every day?! ¡°I¡¯ll go and make the contract right away!¡± Defeat is non-existent. Because of that I boldly sought out Professor Nicerwin and obtained confirmation that we would be freed from night study if we won the imperial festival. This is a contract with the devil. In the future my name undoubtedly go down as someone who sold my soul. But it can¡¯t be helped. If I can get rid of the night study in my life, I can sell my soul however many times I have to! And so the next day, at 5PM on the dot. Normally this would be when school finished for the day, but now it¡¯s be the time marking the beginning of night study. And right now, every student that attended Yugrasia was currently assembled in the school¡¯s auditorium. ¡°I believe that many of you will be unaware as to why we have gathered here.¡± I said so without a word of exnation to the assembled students the moment I stepped up on the podium. Thanks to that a smallmotion rumbled through the hall, but I had to finish what I had to say. Things would get quiet soon enough. ¡°Soon, the imperial festival will begin. And so I asked the teachers to gather all the students here to tell you this.¡± Normally, students would begin preparing for the imperial festival after the summer holidays, when the second semester begins. The only people who prepared for it before summer were the teachers and the student council who decided on some important bnce measures between schools. But, this time is different. ¡°I have obtained a document from Professor Nicerwin proiming that should we be victorious in the imperial festival, he will remove the night study. As I expected, silence fell over the auditorium. There were students who had frozen with their mouths hanging open, students who couldn¡¯t hide their horror, and students that looked as if they couldn¡¯t believe what they had just heard. True, it wasn¡¯t like I couldn¡¯t me them. ¡°This is the proof, a Geass Roll.¡± Professor Nicerwin was meticulous. To think he would forge a contract with the famous Geass Roll! ¡°L, lies¡­¡± It was not a very loud voice, but the silence of the auditorium allowed us to catch it. Everyone was probably thinking the same thing. Because even I was the same when I first heard it from Lady Aris. But the truth of the matter is that a contract on the Geass Roll has been made that would end the night study if we won the imperial festival. ¡°It is not a lie.¡± -W, woooooaaaaaahhh! The silence broke and cheers rose up through the hall. There were people rejoicing. There were people crying. There were people who had embraced each other and fallen to the ground just like that. But among the all students. None were thinking that Yugrasia could possibly lose! ¡°Arucia is strong. It is a ce that has fostered many imperial knights, and is a holynd for swordsmenparable to the strongest martial families in the empire.¡± Arucia is strong. There is no doubting that. No one will think that they are weak when they have won nearly every imperial festival so far. ¡°Marcis is also strong. They have connections with the Magic Towers, and the majority of their students are people who have connections with them from an early age.¡± Marcis is also strong. The years that Arucia didn¡¯t win were also the years that Marcis won. The only ce that could consistently beat Arucia was Marcis. ¡°One can say Mercaria is also strong as well.¡± In terms of brute strength they are weak. However what they honed was not their martial abilities but their knowledge. It was not unheard of for them to, very asionally, win a match or two with nothing but pure strategy alone. Meaning in the end, none of the three academies that we are up against are weak. ¡°Well, that¡¯s that. So what?¡± -Uwooooooooo! There was no reply. Only roars. But that was more than enough. ¡°The enemy is strong, but even so, they are but ordinary students.¡± If it wasst year, we would think of this as an impossible task. If we did not know of the night study, we would still think it impossible. But now it is different. ¡°Can you call those kids students, that are in school for a mere 4-5 hours a day?¡± It was said that the upation of a student was studying. And through that study we came to know just what a true student was. ¡°Arucia? How would those brats that barely sh swords with their teachers a few times ever know their teachers¡¯ full strength? Marcis? What would those children who only moved their childhood activities to school ever know of studying? Mercaria? Are you saying that they can even learn anything when they go to school long after the sun is high in the sky, and leave school before it even sets?¡± After-ss activities. Night study. Then morning lessons. The time we left school turned from five o¡¯clock to ten. The time we arrived at school turned from ten in the morning to eight. We have to stay at school for fourteen hours a day. The reality is that in order for them to beat our study times, the other three schools would need tobine theirs. ¡°Now just in case, just in case, I will ask you all.¡± -Do you think that there are any morons who will lose to those. kinds. of. immature. brats? -Of course we don¡¯t have any idiots like thaaaaaaaaattt! This was the roar of a beast. Those who challenged, and despaired. Crushed pathetically by the silver devil. We even used ourst resort, only to make things worse. But even so, there were those who kept on trying with hope in their hearts. There were those who fell by the wayside in despair. But, that was because we faced the strongest forces among the teachers. It was because of the unhurtable, untouchable silver devil. But this time is different. ¡°We just have to stomp a few weaklings to end our night study. I¡¯m telling you now, I was surprised? I thought we¡¯d have to conquer the world or kill the demon king, but we just have to ughter a few brats ying school to end the night study!¡± We only have to trample a few brats to end the night study, will an opportunity as good as this evere again in the future? ¡°Now, let us hear your resolve. What is defeat to us?¡± -NON-EXISTENT! ¡°To our enemies!¡± -THE JUDGEMENT OF DEATH! ¡°Those who don¡¯t know of the silver devil?¡± -BRATS THAT HAVE NO RIGHT TO CHOOSE LIFE OR DEATH! ¡°Then the winners of the imperial festival?¡± -OF COURSE IT¡¯S NO ONE BUT YUGRASIIAAAAA! -UWWOOOOOOOO! Fwup! Each of the student council members behind me raised the g that symbolised Yugrasia. They numbered thirty in total. And thirty was also number ofpetitions that the four academies would face off against each other during the imperial festival. ¡°Simply winning is much too simple. Our objective is total victory. We will hoist this g over every single event.¡± We don¡¯t want to just win. We needpensation for all our hardships. And in order to do that. ¡°We will all, escape the night study!¡± We can only hone our skills in livebat and morebat. Chapter 47 RATH 47 TL: Eevee TN: Thanks to those thatmented yesterday on corrections! 6. Hell is just beginning. (8) #11 Their story: A certain academy¡¯s teachers¡¯ stories (1) ¡°Uwooo!¡± ¡°Keep pushing forward!¡± ¡°Even if someone falls in front of you, step on them and keep advancing!¡± I have fought countless battles. I have fought countless battles to be amander, and even fought in the Great War that left its mark in imperial history. Even after the Great War, even if war was no longer a part of our lives, there remained still magic beasts and monsters, and as we were soldiers that protected the people we could only continue to fight. Even when I had been sent to Yugrasia as a result of their negotiations with the army, I thought that it was a brief respite. I had thought all I had to do wasfortably teach students and pass down my know-how to those who had not had the chance to fight on the frontlines! ¡°Why, why do you go to such lengths!¡± ¡°To get rid of the night study of course!¡± ¡°For victory in the imperial festival!¡± The number of high ranking spirits I had officially contracted was four. But I was actually contracted with a highest-rank spirit and six high-ranking spirits, and I had never unleashed them all except during the Great War. But right here, right now, I had to use my full power against just students! ¡°Break through!¡± ¡°Kill off the water spirits first! Don¡¯t let them heal!¡± ¡°Just stall out the earth spirits! Get the fire, water and wind spirits first and then go for the earth spirits! The earth spirits deal barely any damage!¡± ¡°Six people per highest-rank earth spirit! Get people with water-rted summons onto them!¡± ¡°Magician brigade, desummon your summons and switch to magic barrages! There¡¯s not enough room to have all our summons out anyway!¡± Even before, the students had tried their best to escape from the self-directed night study, also shortened to ¡®night study.¡¯ But that resolve broke due to Professor Nicerwin¡¯s summon they called the silver devil and the switch of strategies to n B. But, now it is different. Once a way to get rid of night study altogether appeared, the students all changed. They were not fighting to escape from the night study, they were fighting to practice for the moment they would end the night study. They were using us and the other teachers for that purpose! ¡°¡­Very well. Then I, too, shall give it my all!¡± Summoners must manage their magic power reserves even more precisely than magicians. Unless of course, you were an equipment-type summoner like myself where there was no further mana expenditure after the initial summon. But among summoners, most notably among those that tamed spirits, when the spirit uses magic, it would use your own magic power as well as the contracted spirit¡¯s. That was the reason why even if someone had contracted many spirits, they would only ever use a few as their core fighting power. But the enemy in front of me is powerful. There was no way that people who had decided to fight for their future could ever be weak! Hold back against enemies like this? That was impossible! ¡°Come, for I am Maroon Harcen!¡± I poured in all my mana and summoned all six high-ranked spirits. Three earth spirits formed a sturdy rampart, while wind spirits protected the back. And after desummoning the spirits that were on the verge of being overwhelmed, summon in front of me! ¡°If I can¡¯t take down at least a hundred of you with me then I will be ashamed to give anyone my name!¡± I resummoned the four most famous spirits and gathered their strength. They were contradicting energies, but a skilled summoner knows how to control it. ¡°Take my strike!¡± Two earth spirits werepletely destroyed and were desummoned. And the remaining one probably wouldn¡¯tst much longer either. The moment the wind spirit supporting it falls, the earth spirit would almost certainly follow suit. But the time that they bought was more than enough. As long as I could take down at least all the students on this floor with me! Just so as long as I could suppress the seventh floor, where the major fighting strength of the student body were! -Elemental Roar! The four spirits of each of the great elements cried out. The attack thatbined fire, water, wind and earth into one could ignoremon sense and obliterate the enemy! ¡°As we practiced!¡± ¡°Deploy! Deploy!¡± ¡°Everyone defend!¡± But the students¡¯ far surpassed my anticipations. As if they had already known, they fell back to the ends of the corridor and prepared to defend in a single line. ¡°Do you think that can stop¡­ what!¡± It was impossible to stop that attack. Or so I had thought. Until I saw a single person out of the many standing there, the only person standing right in the middle. ¡°Nerkiaaa!¡± -Elemental Roar! The spirits of fire, water, wind and earth cried out. But it was different from my own. ¡°Elemental army, is it?¡± Fire, water, wind and earth. They numbered eight in total. It was an attack that used twice as many high-rank spirits as my own. As I watched Nerkia¡¯s Elemental Roar shatter my own to rush towards me, I could only smile bitterly. ¡°Is it my loss?¡± I didn¡¯t have enough mana left to block that. They were enemies that I did not have the leisure to hold back against to do so. How long had it been since I had been this cleanly defeated? Who knew that a handful of students could do what no one had since the Great War. ¡°But, as a teacher of Yugrasia, I should at least struggle to the end!¡± I have already lost. But I am a teacher who needs to set an example for the students! I pulled on my overdrawn mana reserves once more, to their very limits and summoned a highest-rank earth spirit once more. ¡°Now,e at me!¡± Because the long night of the night study was not over yet. #12 Their story: A certain academy¡¯s teachers¡¯ stories (2) ¡°Heheh, Wahahahaha!¡± ¡°Y, young miss?¡± ¡°Good, very good! More, more!¡± As I saw Miss Arisugh as she wiped blood off her mouth, for a moment I couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. The crimson hair that could be said to symbolise the Letia family was damp as if soaked in blood, and the red eyes that could also be said to exemplify the Letia family were likewise dyed in madness. Although I swear that was their original colour, why does this supposedly blood-soaked hair and feeling as if she¡¯d used a berserker spell make her feel stronger than normal? ¡°Be a sacrifice to end the night study!¡± Is it the night study? Is it because of the night study? I thought as I deflected the iing spear. I¡¯d already long since given up on fighting her with a spear. My own signature weapon was the sword. Even among the army personnel I was skilled with the spear, so I used the spear whenever I fought against Miss Letia, but I abandoned that thinking yesterday. ¡°Twin ws(¶þצ), Shatterwolf.(ÆÆÀÇ)¡± ¡°de Attack!¡± ¡°Kurgh?!¡± I parried away the spear with my sword. But as if it was expected, a counterattack came in using the rotation. I barely blocked that when a third attack came in! Although her stance crumbled during the attack, a bird of fire struck my side before I could aim for that opening. A charge that didn¡¯t think of the summoned beast. That kind of attack normally lost the trust of the summon, but right now, the summons were responding to their summoner¡¯s heartfelt wishes and giving it their all to charge. After the fire bird, I knocked aside another beast-type summon. This was why I didn¡¯t use the spear. The biggest advantage of a spear is its long reach. But conversely, if an enemy gets inside of that reach, it is very difficult to defend against. Especially so against enemies that are more than willing toy down their lives! ¡°Letia style, Fangs of the Starved Wolf (ðIÀÇÑÀ)¡± ¡°Spear aura?!¡± Spear ki umted on the end of her spear before bursting into a crimson light. ¡°Kuuht?¡± But as a veteran soldier I cannot stay shocked here! I instantly took out my sword specialised for defence and faced off with my own sword ki! Although I received arge impact, thankfully I managed to defend against it. ¡°Damn it, a mid-master ss¡­¡± It was not the full aura of a master. But she had taken a significant step towards that realm. Sword aura came to be when you gathered the mana used in sword ki,pressed it, and resharpened it once again like sword ki. Right now, Miss Aris had seeded inpressing sword ki, the first step in the process. ¡°How fearsome¡­¡± Just seventeen years of age. Of course there were those who never proceeded any further than this stage, but when you considered her Letia bloodline, at this rate she could very well break that ¡®Sword Princess¡¯s¡¯ record as the empire¡¯s youngest swordmaster. ¡°My my¡­¡± The saying went that if you were not especially blessed by the god of magic and the god of war, you could not walk the path of a master. Even if your talent butcked the magic power, or had the magic power ofcked the talent, then one could not rise to the realm of masters. And I was also one of those who never made it. Although I had been in countless battles I could never ascend to the realm of masters. But this little girl who hadn¡¯t even lived half my age had caught up to me already! ¡°My my, really now. I should get serious.¡± I stowed away my sword imbued with defence magic. What I pulled out in exchange was a sword of mes and a sword of ice. These were weapons I used only for offense, when I abandoned defense entirely and focused solely on attacking! I had only one goal! ¡°Now, then. Not as your teacher, but as a fighter, I will put everything on the line!¡± Stake everything on the line as a fighter, and fight for victory. *** ¡°Hiiing, looks fun.¡± I tightly grabbed the head of the metal bat, that was sitting cross-legged and biting her thumb while watching a magic video tool. ¡°You can¡¯t go.¡± ¡°I knoww¡­ So it sucks even moreee¡­¡± During the grand battle on the seventh floor, the student council defeated most of the key fighting power including Professor Maroon. Although the student council president copsed after burning through all this mana the teamwork and coordination between the other student council members were much better than I had expected, and they made it all the way to the fifth floor. The third floor was also in the middle of a giant fight. The students were running their summons ragged to the point I suspected they might destroy their contracts, but even the summons charged at the teachers as they felt nothing in madness. The summon and the summoner are beings contracted to each other by their souls. Since their emotions were somewhat linked to each other, the emotions of the summoner could also affect the summon, just how powerful were the emotions of the students so that even their summons put everything on the line to end the night study. ¡°Hwiiing¡­ Owner¡­ Can I pwease go? Just one floor. I just need one floor.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve barely managed to get the kids motivation up, how am I supposed to light it up again if you kill it.¡± ¡°Uwiiing¡­ I can¡¯t go out because I¡¯m too perfect¡­ This is my sin¡­ the sin of being way way too perfect!¡± As I ignored the metal bat that pretended to sniffle, she started grumbling as she turned her attention back to the magic video device ¡°Wiing, I thought I could go out again if that old man used that whatevs of whatever. But he¡¯s not using it¡­¡± ¡°Because I banned it.¡± Just in case, I asked if he knew how to use Gxte of xxbylon but he said he hadn¡¯t even thought of such an attack. The fact that he thanked me and tried to use it right then and there, and the metal bat kicked Professor Aruhan¡¯s side was just a minor incident. ¡°Hmm¡­ thinking of the bnce, I dispatched Professor Muam and Harian to the first floor, but I think this will be alright for now.¡± ¡°Wiin? Then let¡¯s start n S where Ie out right naoaaaaaaa¡± ¡°Not yet, I said.¡± I pushed down with my hand that was still gripping the metal bat¡¯s head. Was it because she was made to hit people, but she wants to hit people way too much. And here the ck Anvil n, the elves and I made her with love and peace in mind. ¡°Love? Peace? Owner that¡¯s being chased by some really scary unnis? The owner that started a shitstorm in the middle of a war?¡± ¡°Shut it.¡± ¡°Uwiiiiiik!¡± Now which mouth it is that¡¯s giving me smack? Is it the mouth attached to this head? Now take this squeeeze and be quiet! The metal bat that had been making uwu noises quietened down. Well, it was getting hard for me to think of ns as well. If we went through to the holidays as it were, it feels like there is a veryrge chance that the teachers¡¯ blockade would be broken. Once, Professors Maroon and Harian that had been tanking all the students¡¯ attacks actually were broken through. And in this case especially, the student council and Aris herself yed critical roles. Right now they¡¯re receiving the help of other students, but at this rate, it felt like they could 1v1 and beat ordinary teachers without too much trouble before the holidays. And although he was hard to evaluate, but the Trickster that was the male vice-president was getting sharper and more urate with his hit and run attacks. The one toy out the path for Aris and the stuco president to attack the key forces, the one thaty down the path for that was none other than the Trickster and the rest of the student council. And although they¡¯re stillcking quite a bit, the other four people that became God-ss summoners along with Aris are slowly but surely improving. And I haven¡¯t been able to confirm yet whether the students could take n S and the metal bat. Which left only one thing. ¡°Do I have to initiate n A already?¡± There was only n A, thest resort still within the realms of humanity. Chapter 48 RATH 48 TL: Eevee 6. Hell is just beginning. (9) #13 Their story: The story of someone still secret. ¡°¡­Really?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± A darkened room. Two people were talking with each other in the middle of an atmosphere that screamed ¡°this is a suspicious situation!¡± ¡°Victory in this year¡¯s imperial festival is all but certain. In that case, is it not better to look after your own profits?¡± ¡°But myrades¡­¡± ¡°Some of yourrades have already decided to side with us.¡± ¡°Kurrgh¡­¡± Myrades had already sold out! Only recently we had vowed to aim for the same goal together. But for this, just for this! ¡®Or maybe it¡¯s not something you can call ¡®just¡¯ this¡­¡¯ The opposition¡¯s conditions were very tempting. They had that much value. I was a fourth year this year, and soon to leave the academy. And because of that, the opposition¡¯s conditions were even more tempting. And just like a devil the opposition aimed perfectly for that group of people. I could understand just how myrades were bought out. Because I wanted to make the leap so badly as well! ¡°Now, what will you do.¡± ¡°Krrrrk¡­ wha, what if I don¡¯t agree to these conditions¡­¡± ¡°Well, you will not be penalised. I just hope you would keep it a secret.¡± ¡°Why so?¡± I couldn¡¯t understand. This strategy worked the best if it was kept secret. And if I was to reveal it? ¡®¡­He¡¯s a devil!¡¯ Even if I spoke out it wouldn¡¯t change anything. No, if I did then everyone would fall into doubt hell where everyone suspected each other. I don¡¯t know about anyone else, but if it¡¯s this person, this person that was more demonic than demons who came up with this n then there was no doubt that this was what he¡¯d aimed for right at the beginning when he first made this offer. It could even be the case that I was the only one to be offered this in order to use me to spread distrust around the entire school. No, it could even me a plot to make me think of all this in order to keep my mouth shut. ¡°Now, this is your final chance. Your choice?¡± ¡°Kuuuu¡­ I¡¯ll do it!¡± And so I only had one choice. To be another traitor, and to at least make my own profit from this! And so, another traitor was born. #14 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story. ¡°Yesterday¡¯s strategy was good. We finally managed to beat Professors Maroon and Aruhan.¡± ¡°The other kids¡¯ resolves have changed, after all. At this rate, we might even be able to find ways to beat Professor Muam or Professor Harian before the holidays.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s so much more they can use since they¡¯ve got a Spirit King of water and the God of wind.¡± ¡°Yes. They have more aspects under their realms of authority and hence are a lot freer in their capabilitiespared to our god-ss summoners.¡± ¡°Risen and Miss Aris¡¯s gods are too specialised, and unaffiliated with nature, after all. And aside from Lady Aris, the fact that the other first-year god-ss summoners can¡¯t use their powers very effectively is also arge factor.¡± ¡°Hey, it can¡¯t be helped. Even with spirits the difficulty of controlling them as you get higher up the ranks is like the difference between heaven and earth, these are gods you¡¯re talking about here. Even spirits that don¡¯t express their opinions all that much are that finicky, asking for someone to control a god and their stubborn personalities within just half a year is asking for the impossible.¡± ¡°True, that¡¯s pretty much impossible unless you¡¯ve contracted a god that perfectly matches your personality like Risen did.¡± ¡°Hey, now that you mention him, where is Risen?¡± ¡°Ah, he got called to the disciplinary room earlier. Probably did something stupid again¡­¡± ¡°Again? Does he have some disease that makes him do dumb things at least once a month or something?¡± ¡°Let him be. He probably got caught peeking in the girls¡¯ changing rooms again.¡± ¡°Damn, talk about convincing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it, you lunatics!¡± Risen mmed the door open as he entered the room. The student council vice-president and the Trickster! Born as the youngest son of a baron, but once hailed as Yugrasia¡¯s greatest hope after having the talent to make a contract with the god Loki! Although now he¡¯s the greatest enemy of the girls of Yugrasia! ¡°Risen, why were you called to the disciplinary officest month again?¡± ¡°Because I peeked on the girls¡¯ changing rooms.¡± ¡°And the reason you got called up two months, and three months ago?¡± ¡°Of course, it was because I peekd on the girls changing rooms¡­¡± ¡°Die, enemy of women!¡± At Risen¡¯s shameless words, Karen, the female vice-president finally exploded and her fists swung through the air. ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t peek the month before that!¡± ¡°Ha? You think this is the first time I¡¯ve fallen for your bullshit? The month before that was the holidays, you asshat!¡± ¡°Tch, this is why I hate sharp kids¡­¡± Like myself, both of them were fourth years of Yugrasia as well as the same age as me. But the ce where Risen¡¯s eyes addressed as a ¡®kid¡¯ was her very t chest. And at the familiar gaze, Karen¡¯s face turned red as she quivered in anger. ¡°Die!¡± Boom! The ws of the giant dragon she summoned blew away Risen along with the door to the student council room. ¡°Here we go again.¡± ¡°Pres, where do we send the bill to this time? Risen¡¯s family or Karen¡¯s?¡± ¡°How have we split them so far again?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ 7 times where we dealt with it as a student council expense, Risen¡¯s ce 27 times, Karen¡¯s ce 20 times, and 5 times where they split it half-half.¡± The treasurer pulled out the records and flicked through the pages with long-practiced movements before reading from a particr page. Now that I¡¯ve heard everything, I should deliberate as the student council president. We even have a regr craftsman we go to for this thanks to the two vice-presidents, but even so, the teachers had warned us previously about using the student council funds for this so most of the time we decided it with a single vote by the student council. In the first phase we would decide on the cause, and vote in the second. ¡°One vote to Karen this time.¡± ¡°I vote Risen.¡± ¡°Hm, although Risen¡¯s words were the problem, Karen said Risen peeked at the girls¡¯ changing rooms, so does that count as providing the cause?¡± ¡°Well, but Risen does that normally. Maybe if this was his first time, but since he gets dragged to the disciplinary room so often¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about the first years, but aren¡¯t the other years taking turns to change with half of them changing and the other half protecting the changing rooms from Risen?¡± ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that dangerous? Then shouldn¡¯t we tell the first years¡­¡± ¡°If it¡¯s this year¡¯s first years, there¡¯s Lady Aris so would Risen really dare to peek?¡± ¡°But it¡¯s Risen. He might actually think ¡®when else would I peek on a daughter of a marquis!¡¯ and go charging in. Then we¡¯re all screwed.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s the single biggest piece of bullshit I¡¯ve heard all year aside from the night study, but since it¡¯s Risen it actually sounds really convincing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true now that you mention it. Then I vote Risen.¡± ¡°But since both people contributed to the cause I vote half and half.¡± One vote, and another. The end result was Risen¡¯s loss again. I wasn¡¯t sure whether to praise our treasurer for handing over a quote for damages as if he had expected it, or me the two vice-presidents for making things this way. Thanks to that, I became used to this as well and processed the invoice quickly. If I handed it over to school security before night study began then the even the broken walls should be fixed by lunch tomorrow. As the treasurer flicked through the invoices for the destruction the vice-presidents had wrought, he shut the ledger and said to me. ¡°President, why not just ask Professor Nicerwin to convert these walls to the ones that repair themselves?¡± ¡°Great thinking! Then we don¡¯t have to keep billing these guys every time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good idea?¡± Of course I had thought of that. Was it because it was on the tenth floor, where there were no ssrooms and hence a nonbat area, but the walls surrounding the student council room does not repair itself. Although in the past it might have been different, the walls that are destroyed due to battle daily don¡¯t apply to this area only, oddly enough. However! ¡°Then the ck Anvil n woulde.¡± ¡°What do you¡­ ah!¡± One of the student council made a noise of understanding. Yes, that ck Anvil n! The culprits that conspired with Professor Nicerwin to personally remodel the academy into a monster! The ones responsible for the rumour that during the empire¡¯s darkest hour, the academy would transform into a giant golem and protect the empire! ording to those rumours the tenth floor was the golem¡¯s head and so could not be modified. But should they reappear at the academy? Knowing the devil Nicerwin he would probably have the dwarves upgrade the academy¡¯s traps while they were here. Therefore the ck Anvil n are a big no. Dwarves are a forbidden word to the extent that we asked the school security team to report any sightings of dwarves at this academy to the student council first. ¡°Do you guys understand? The enemy is Made in ck Anvil(1). Even though those words feel oddly trustworthy, although we don¡¯t know what it means, since it¡¯s Professor Nicerwin that said that it probably means the devil¡¯s servant or something along those lines.¡± The treasurer bowed his head as if he understood. Alright then, now should be about a good time to calm down the two vice-presid¡­ ¡°Uhihihi, bad children will get a spanking from this unni!¡± ¡°Hiiiiiiht!¡± ¡°Help me!¡± ¡­Or maybe not. ¡°P¨¦t¨¦, Contal Shield.¡± ¡°Makena, Wall!¡± ¡°Block it, Mikedna.¡± At the sudden sounds of the silver devil and two vice-presidents from down the corridor, the experienced student council members blocked up the broken walls without leaving a single gap. ¡°Tr, traitor!¡± ¡°Kyaaaak! Save me!¡± The gaps were quickly filled with earth, wind and ice and from the other side we could hear the screams of a boy and a girl. ¡°How unfortunate.¡± ¡°The rooftop is blocked, after all. If they jumped off at least they could die cleanly.¡± ¡°But we still need to wake them before the night study. When the devil goes away, someone go pick up the two corpses outside and wake them up.¡± As we heard ¡°tushitushi¡± noises from the other side of the corridor that anyone would know was made with a mouth, we began to make ns for tonight¡¯s uing night study. ¡°The overall n is the same as yesterday. But once we beat Professors Maroon and Aruhan we¡¯re going to send down the four god-ss first years as well as the key forces of the second years.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ you¡¯re going to train them up already?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®already.¡¯ Lady Aris and the rest of us already have the eyes of people outside the academy on us. We need to raise up fighting power outside of that.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ but Pres, the other four first years are also God-ss summoners, aren¡¯t they being watched as well?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, but because of that those watchers should know. That they are stillparatively weak because it hasn¡¯t been long since they made their contracts. But even so, since there¡¯s no telling what a God-ss summoner might pull off, so on the contrary, they¡¯lle charging in at them to eliminate them as quickly as possible.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ so what you¡¯re saying is to turn the tables onto them so they will be the ones held down?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the n. At the very least, they should be able to take down their enemies with them.¡± A few other people nodded their heads to my words. Normally, gods from another world don¡¯t make contracts with those that don¡¯t fit their own personalities. Because of that, the majority of people that are contracted to gods are like Risen who get along very well together. But it¡¯s different for these newly-contracted first years. Although I didn¡¯t get to see the contracting process myself, ording to the people in question they were a matter of one-sided violence. The silver devil actually beat the crap out of gods of another world and forcibly made them form a contract. When we first heard that story we all went ¡°what the hell, that¡¯s¡­ scary,¡± but after getting hit by it ourselves we realised. Gods or whatever, nothing can face off against that. Because of that, even though they¡¯re god-ss summoners that ignore things like summoner-summonpatibility, the majority of the first years cannot use that strength properly. Therefore, what they need the most is experience. The only option we had was make them keep fighting again and again to be acknowledged by their gods and to fight until their god would lend them their power. ¡°Right, then ording to today¡¯s n, let¡¯s¡­ hey, the tushitushi¡¯s over. Someone go out and bring in the bodies.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll grab the vice presidents.¡± Two second years went out to drag in the half-corpse bodies of the vice-presidents, and so today was a normal day as ever. But even then we didn¡¯t know. Professor Nicerwin¡¯s n B had already advanced to the next stage. The fact that n A was already in effect! And so the price was far too dear. ¡°Kuuugh.. How¡­ how could you!¡± ording to the n, if things had just gone ording to n then the defeat of Professors Maroon and Aruhan were inevitable, and we would be fighting Professors Muam and Harian by now, but the majority of the fourth year student council members still couldn¡¯t break free of the eighth floor. ¡°Sorry, but I couldn¡¯t help it. This was way too good of a deal to pass up.¡± The person who had attacked us from behind as if nothing was wrong was none other than one of the most reliable members of the student council. ¡°Professor Nicerwin¡¯s n A. ording to him, it¡¯s one of the most frequently used strategies in history, for the simple reason that we are human.¡± That person was none other than. ¡°Divide and conquer.¡±(2) The student council¡¯s vice president, Risen. Chapter 49 RATH 49 TL: Eevee 7. Is your backside safe? (1) #1 Their story: Risen De Roa¡¯s story. ¡°¡­Now then.¡± It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen the inside of the disciplinary room¡­ or not. I wondered just what it was for that I¡¯d been pulled up to the ever-familiar disciplinary room that I had visited only as recently asst week. Had I been caught selling the magic video recordings I¡¯d taken using Loki¡¯s shoes? But the odds of that are low. My customers are very loyal after all. Let alone boys, I¡¯ve got girls buying them as well, and I was even nning a limited edition sale next week! So there was no way they¡¯d betray me now! In that case, had they found out I had been secretly using student council funds for my own use? But I¡¯d split those expenses up into enough separate ces that not even that eagle-eyed treasurer could find out? Or had I actually been caught peeping on the girls¡¯ changing rooms again? As I was pondering over various things, a teacher came into the disciplinary room said something shocking. ¡°Ah, not here. Go to Professor Nicerwin¡¯s personal office.¡± ¡°Save me!¡± ¡°Wha, what!¡± In the peril to my life I felt just then I clung to the teacher¡¯s legs. Whatever I had been caught for, it was bad. Just what had I done? At least I thought I hadn¡¯t done anything bad enough to warrant seeing Professor Nicerwin! ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I will definitely realise what I have done wrong and reflect on it! So please¡­ please not Professor Nicerwin!¡± ¡°Just how the heck did Professor Nicerwin manage turn even that Risen into..¡± As I looked up at the teacher who was looking down at me with wariness of all things, I couldn¡¯t help but be even more panicked. ¡°Professor, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ve done wrong, but killing me for it is too much!¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just telling you to go to Professor Nicerwin¡¯s office¡­¡± ¡°Is, isn¡¯t that the same thing as telling me to die!¡± Why would a student be called to the teacher¡¯s office? A teacher¡¯s errand? Possible. Guidance for future careers? Possible. Especially for fourth years nearing graduation. Something to tell the student council? Also possible. I¡¯m the vice-president after all. But if that teacher happened to be Professor Nicerwin? Now that¡¯s a different story. Professor Nicerwin¡¯s official roles in the school are near-total authority over the curriculum and teaching methods, as well as being second only to the headmaster himself in terms of management of the academy. And that person calls me up? If it¡¯s about education then he can call Lady Aris or the president, and if it¡¯s about the running of the school then he can call in the President, Treasurer, Secretary or anyone else in the student council that manages internal affairs. Heck, the person to whom the title of vice-president is but a mere decoration, the one that never actually does anything is none other than me! Which only leaves one! That I¡¯m getting called up to be disciplined by the teacher! Even I would admit the number one in the school in that regard would be none other than me! Meaning that the only thing left for me in Professor Nicerwin¡¯s office where the silver devil lives is nothing other than death! ¡°I¡¯ll be good! I¡¯ll live a pure clean life from now on! So please don¡¯t send me to Professor Nicerwin¡­¡± ¡°No, that mindset is all very well and good, but it¡¯s not something that I can do to change¡­¡± No matter how much I begged the teacher while hugging his legs the result didn¡¯t change. And. ¡°Wiing? Oppa? Owner¡¯s calling, whatcha doing here?¡± As I turned my neck with an audibly creaking noise what I saw was a little girl with silver hair. As if he¡¯d expected this from the very beginning, Nicerwin had sent over the silver devil personally to fetch me! ¡°Professor, if I die then please cremate my bones and scatter them over my family¡¯s rear garden,¡± ¡°Ya want unni ta kill you right here, oppa?¡± ¡°Coming right away!¡± Let¡¯s not concern myself over why she calls me oppa when she calls herself an unni. Because I saw with my own eyes the person that dared to say that she was making tushitushi noises with her mouth getting a concentrated beating from her. Frozen in fear I arrived at Professor Nicerwin¡¯s office. The m! of the door shutting behind me seemed to mark the end of my own life. All that was present in this room that the school had especially remodeled for Professor Nicerwin, the room that had once belonged to the deputy headmaster of the school in its heyday, were countless bookshelves packed with papers and books, a small desk, and a single expensive-looking sofa that seemed to be the only artifact worth any value in the room. ¡°You¡¯rete.¡± And in the middle of the room, Professor Nicerwin sat at his desk with his chin propped on his sped hands as he said to me with a stony face.(2) ¡°Owner, he tried ta run. He was all bawling his eyes out hugging the other teacher¡¯s leg?¡± ¡°Hiiik!¡± She said it. She said it! Damn it, do I have to run? But can I? It seemed like it would be possible with Loki¡¯s shoes butst time the silver devil caught me all so easily! Then there¡¯s only one way left, Descension! -Don¡¯t bullshit. I heard everything from Athena. I¡¯m not going to die with you. But Loki rejected it the moment I thought of it. Damn it, the rumours had spread to the gods¡¯ world already! -It¡¯s not just one or two gods that¡¯ve been beaten up. A whopping five gods had been desummoned having been turned into corpses, did you think word wouldn¡¯t get around in the gods¡¯ world. Damn it, there¡¯s no way out. Am I going to die here? Your contractor is about to die, you should at least try! -Yeah right, I told you I already know everything? It doesn¡¯t kill you. You¡¯d be happier if you were killed cleanly, but you don¡¯t actually die so it¡¯ll be alright. It¡¯s over. There¡¯s no hope. Even if I want to just bite my tongue and die cleanly here, the moment that devil hits me even the river of death would probably run away, so for now, beg. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± ¡°Wiing, owner. This oppa, I think his pride ran away.¡± Because my life is much more important than my pride. So please, please put that fist down, miss devil! ¡°I will not scold you for being just thiste. I called you in simply because I had something to discuss with you, so please take a seat.¡± Professor Nicerwin said, gesturing to the chair facing him but I couldn¡¯t get up right¡­ ¡°Wanna get hit and sit?¡± Or then again I should jump to it. Uwaaa¡­ it¡¯s the seat right in front of Professor Nicerwin. Even in the Professor Nicerwin¡¯s once-weekly sses no one wants the stressful seat right in front of him, but this is even closer than in ss! But these thoughts vanished instantly at Professor Nicerwin¡¯s next words. ¡°Well, I won¡¯t keep you here for long. I¡¯ll exempt you from tomorrow¡¯s night study.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± My head turned nk. Just what was it we fought so hard for? Why was it that we worked so hard to be victorious in the imperial festival? Why was it that we suffered so much when we met the silver devil? The answer to all these was the same. To escape from this disgusting night study! But, he¡¯s exempting me from it. And only me at that? ¡°It, it definitely won¡¯t be for free. What do I have to do?¡± ¡°As expected, vice-president. You catch on quickly.¡± As I saw Professor Nicerwin nod with a satisfied expression on his face, I thought my predictions were right on the money. To Professor Nicerwin, nothing is free in the world. You give something for an appropriate price, but nothing is ever free. And even more so if it¡¯s rted to night study! ¡°All you have to do is side with the teachers during tonight¡¯s night study.¡± Now what is this supposed to mean. In a word, he¡¯s telling me tomit betrayal? Why? ¡°There have been countless wars throughout human history. The race that has the most history rted to warfarepared to every other race are humans. No, even in the wars of other races whetherrge or small, the majority of them had humans in them somewhere.¡± Looking at my expression, Professor Nicerwin smiled and said to me in a sagely voice as if he was retelling an old tale. ¡°And because of that, humans, despite having the one of the poorest base capabilities, have developed countless strategies and tactics.¡± ¡°Wh, what does that have to do with my betraying the other students¡­¡± ¡°Divide and conquer.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Divide and conquer. Out of the countless strategies developed by humans throughout history, this is one of the most effective strategies in the history of human warfare. Honeytrap the enemymander, sow discord between king and loyal follower so the king kills his follower with his own hands, a very simple yet very effective tactic.¡± No, I know what divide and conquer means. But why at an academy, and to the student council vice-president of all people does he want me to pull this off? ¡°It seems that you still don¡¯t quite fully understand. What if, hypothetically, there happened to be spies from other academies in this school?¡± Now what sort of bullshit is this? Even if wepete with each other in the imperial festival and other events under the banners of the four great academies, I wouldn¡¯t think it¡¯s anything worth deliberately sending spies in for. ¡°A what if. Just a what if.¡± ¡°That would be problematic then.¡± ¡°Indeed, it would. Because the betrayal of an allies always causes great chaos. Even more if said ally¡¯s position is a high one.¡± Despite the fact that I just said whatever came to mind, Professor Nicerwin nodded as if satisfied. ¡°And, to prepare for that scenario, I wish for you, Risen, to side with the teachers.¡± ¡°¡­And that¡¯s the condition that you will exempt me from tomorrow¡¯s night study for?¡± ¡°Yes, it is.¡± What should I say. Should I say something as to why a school¡¯s curriculum includes this sort of material? I¡¯m the normal one for thinking this, right? No matter how much people say that I¡¯m the weird one, I¡¯m the normal one here, right? -Yes you are. As someone called the maverick among the gods, I can guarantee you that this academy is absolutely insane! There we have it, a god¡¯s seal of approval. Damn it, why did the academy have to go to cuckond in my final year! And worse, he¡¯s telling me to betray, yet why does it sound so good? It¡¯s seriously tempting? He¡¯s saying that he¡¯ll exempt me from tomorrow¡¯s night study of all things! ¡°Ah, of course I will also exempt you from the after-school club activities and the study sessions as well. Same with attending school. Although it¡¯s limited to tomorrow only, since there are no morning sses tomorrow you will be able toe to school at ten and leave at five.¡± What, what are these things that were a part of daily life we took for grantedst year, but feels like such a distant dream now. ¡°¡­Really?¡± Swoosh! At my question, the silver devil got up and closed the curtains behind Professor Nicerwin. The room darkened instantly, and Professor Nicerwin¡¯s expression turned solemn with it. ¡°Indeed.¡± The single word that came with the change in speech. What is this short yet trustworthy answer?! ¡°Victory in this year¡¯s imperial festival is all but certain. In that case, is it not better to look after your own profits?¡± Urk, yes it is! I can¡¯t ever imagine Yugrasia right now losing at the imperial festival! But! ¡°But myrades¡­¡± I think of the President that pretends to be stern yet does dumb things with me anyway. I thought of the vice-president who I always fight with but sometimes think of. And the Treasurer that sometimes chases me with an invoice whenever I sneak away some of the student council funds, or his tearful face whenever I offload my work to him. And the countlessrades-in-arms(students) that I fought with on countless battlefields(night study)! ¡°Some of yourrades have already decided to side with us.¡± Kuurgh, they¡¯ve betrayed us? Already? Were there already traitors before me! Even though we swore together to escape the night study together, and just for this! ¡®Or maybe it¡¯s not something you can call ¡®just¡¯ this¡­¡¯ Damn it, for the fourth years these conditions were just simply too good. I can¡¯t help it. But I! ¡°Now, now. This is also a good learning experience for the other students. It¡¯s hard to experience betrayal on the battlefield outside of real life-and-death war. Having experienced this in advance, even if they are betrayed in the future, they will have ample knowledge of how to deal with this situation.¡± But Professor Nicerwin began to cut off my escape routes. ¡°Moreover, who knows what may happen in the imperial festival. It will be good to experience a situation where you have lost a few key members in advance.¡± ¡°Kurrghh¡­ th, then¡­¡± ¡°Now, what will you do.¡± Ahhh, It just can¡¯t be helped. I can¡¯t do anything about this! But, but even so! ¡°Krrrrk¡­ wha, what if I don¡¯t agree to these conditions¡­¡± ¡°Well, you will not be penalised. I just hope you would keep it a secret.¡± Damn it, it¡¯s done. Everything¡¯s been set up, I have already fallen for his trap. Then it simply cannot be helped! ***(3) ¡°Why?¡± I looked down at the student council member that was looking at me with wide eyes, unable to understand what was happening. The back lines, where the weakest yet the most important forces of the student council were. I ambushed the summoners that were capable of healing and knocked them all out. Now there is no one on the eighth floor capable of healing. Although I can feel the pricks of guilt it¡¯s already toote! ¡°Isn¡¯t this too far for a joke, Risen?¡± I felt the guild weigh down on my shoulders as I saw the vice-president with uncharacteristic tears in her eyes, but I couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°Kurrgh¡­ how¡­ how could you!¡± And finally, I felt like another dagger of guilt stab into me as I watched the president copse, shaking in betrayal. It hurts. It really hurts. But! ¡°Yee~ yahoo!¡± That pain was perfectly treated by skipping the following day¡¯s night study. Chapter 50 RATH 50 TL: Eevee TLN: Happy Chapter 50 guys! 7. Is your backside safe? (2) #2 Their story: Aris Ril Letia¡¯s story. ¡°Why?¡± The same night study time as normal. It¡¯s time for night study, but in a situation where escape, not study, was the primary objective we were still fighting as hard as we always did. But how did things turn out like this today? ¡°I apologise, Miss Aris.¡± And the person that was in charge of marking me especially, Professor Aruhan, smiled wryly as he answered my question. ¡°n A begins today.¡± ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t this seriously too much against students?¡± -That¡¯s right, this is strange! What kind of academy is this meant to be! Even the goddess of contests wasining of inequality. n A? This was? ¡°Students betraying each other was n A!¡± I still fall far short of Professor Aruhan in a straight 1v1. Because of that, the supporting backline pours on all sorts of beneficial magic onto me, and curses onto Professor Aruhan. But today, that support was absent and on the contrary, I was the one being cursed instead. As I turned around to see what was going on I saw a few key members of the first years attacking the other students. Is this what we¡¯re supposed to be learning at school? How to attack each other! ¡°ording to Professor Nicerwin, giving students the experience of going up against ¡®divide and conquer¡¯ strategies is a part of the curriculum¡­¡± Professor Aruhan muttered, not looking me in the eyes as if he was also embarrassed to say it as well. Divide and conquer? Just what the hell were you going to achieve by teaching students how to deal with that? ¡°What, just what did he threaten you with!¡± ¡°There were no threats.¡± ¡°S, Shir?¡± My ssmate, and a fellow first-year god-ss summoner. Even so, the cold expression that Shir, my childhood friend was making towards me was shocking. ¡°Wh, why¡­ why, Shir! Why did you betray us even though you weren¡¯t threatened!¡± One of my few friends that had no rtions to my family, but simply between one person and another, had betrayed me. Even if you put the circumstances of the school into ount, this shocked me even more than I could ever imagine. ¡°Not just me.¡± ¡°Just what¡­ what is this¡­¡± As I saw people walk out amongst the other fallen first years, my face turned sheet white. There were only six people walking towards me. But when you considered that there were only 100 first years, that meant seven, including Shir. A whopping seven percent of the students betrayed us and sided with the teachers! And four of them were the other first years¡¯ god-ss summoners! Even while my thoughts were in turmoil, they said something to shock me even further. ¡°Professor Nicerwin said to us. He¡¯ll exempt us from tomorrow¡¯s night study, so side with the teachers tonight.¡± H, how could it be¡­ The only thought that ran through my head when I heard that was. ¡®Why, why not me?!¡± I was the best fighter among the entirety of the first years! If the deal was exemption from night study I could wipe out half the first years by myself! So why the hell did he leave me out and make a deal with these posers instead! -A, Aris? You weren¡¯t this kind of character, right? -Who cares about character right naaaoo! Every day, school ends only when the clock is past ten at night. We call it dormitories, but as a noble, as a woman, after we finish this and that the time is midnight. It¡¯s already the next day. And when we wake up, it¡¯s time to go to school. Other schools start at 10AM, moreover, Marcis actually starts at eleven! Why, are we the only ones to go to school two-three hours earlier? And it¡¯s not like there¡¯s even ss on at that time! And school on the weekends as well! It¡¯s the weekend, we need to stay til two in the afternoon! I mean at least they could let us have our Sundays off, right? Even if the people close to me since childhood all came to Yugrasia with me, this year Yugrasia selected the fewest number of enrollments in history. Because of that, the people that couldn¡¯t make the cut for this school, or went to another school due to family circumstances are living their school lives in other schools that aren¡¯t this one. And the times I can meet up with them are very limited. Weekend afternoons. And the school life I¡¯m hearing from them is seriously just like a dream, something that we could never imagine here in Yugrasia! -A, Aris? I get it so you can stop now. -No, not yet, I still have more to sayy! What treatment was I getting whenever we met up in the weekends to talk about what we did at school? Everyone looked at me like I was lying, looked at me with eyes of pity, do you know how embarrassing that was! Even if I can¡¯t meet up with boys from other schools on weekdays, I want to meet up with friends from other academies and go shopping, go to cafes, and other things like a normal student would in a normal school life! But, but! Why was I left out and a deal made with those mid-tier god-ss summoners with those conditions! ¡°I¡­ can never forgive you.¡± ¡°We had no intention of begging for forgiveness.¡± ¡°We already resolved ourselves when we betrayed the other students.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t regret it! I¡­ We! We just wanted to spend at least a day like normal students!¡± I feel like an unforgivable reason was conveyed quite differently, but there¡¯s no need for me to tell them. They dare, to leave me out and y normal student by themselves! ng! ¡°Excuse me, Miss Aris. I would feel sad if you ignored me.¡± But the sword that suddenly flew towards my back prevented me from achieving what I wanted. ¡°Professor¡­ Stay out of this!¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯m responsible for you, and these kids are on our side, you see.¡± I bit my lip but there was no other option. All I could do was fight my hardest! And that day, aside from the day that the silver devil descended. The students recorded their most disastrous defeat in the history of the night study. *** ¡°Owner, owner! That guy getting ragdolled, innt that the male vice-pres?¡± ¡°It is.¡± The first day after initiating n A. After I finished the ss for fourth years, I noticed students getting stomped on by other students in the hallways. If it was my past life, this would be the time to call 117, no area code(1), but this situation is somewhat different. The vice-president of the student council, the man they called the Trickster, Risen was currently rolling on the ground while making a euphoric face. And the ones who were stomping on him were the other student council members who got backstabbedst night. ¡°To think he¡¯d be this happy when all he did wase to school two hourster.¡± ¡°But he gets ta go home five hours earlier, don¡¯t he? That¡¯s something to be happy about.¡± Ahahaha! Even as he happilyughed while getting stomped on, his happiness was on the verge of tipping over into insanity. And the fellow vice-president Karen in particr whose face was several times more enraged than the others was aiming specifically for his family jewels, yet he¡¯s stillughing? Risen, was he impotent or something? Bursting is normal when those are stomped that hard! ¡°But still ownerr. Doesn¡¯t that mean n A is useless now? Finally my time to shine?¡± The metal bat looked up at me with a look of expectation. Hoho, this little brat! ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen, so give up.¡± ¡°Uwiing¡­ really?¡± What the heck is uwiing. ¡°Yes. n A just began, why would it be ineffective?¡± ¡°The kids that sold out are already out, aren¡¯t they? Looked like they were holding public executions in every ssroom.¡± It¡¯s not ¡®looked like,¡¯ you could hear screamsing from everywhere you went in the fourth years¡¯ ssrooms, where the majority of the traitors were from. And the scariest thing was, the people that were making those screams were alsoughing hysterically. How should I put this, it feels like the time when I raised those kids in the organization a couple of years ago, when all I did was not feed them and they awoke to using sword ki all on their own? Night study was a part and parcel of your average Hell Joseon¡¯s student, but here the students are looking like they¡¯re dying. They haven¡¯t even reached the gates of hell, you know? I still haven¡¯t gotten to say the line [hey, that¡¯s hell you¡¯re walking into,](2) but you¡¯re giving me problems if this is how you¡¯re all going to work? ¡°Owner¡¯th way too hardcore.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡± And that afternoon, as I expected, the effect of n A was spectacr. I didn¡¯t choose the most important people as the traitors, but the stronger mid-tier students. When I chose the students that linked the strategies that tied the operations between the middle floors and the higher floors together as the traitors, their movements were markedly slower than before. Thanks to that, the teachers had an easier time of defeating the students as well. Have the traitors backstab on one day, and then weaken the students¡¯ fighting power even further by their absence the next day. Kaaahhh~ look at this perfect strategy! And the next day. ¡°I¡¯ll do it! Pick me!¡± ¡°M, Miss Aris?¡± The person who mmed open the door to my office, Aris, shouted at me with a very aggrieved yet very jealous expression. ¡°What is it that you were going to do?¡± ¡°Betray! I¡¯ll be tonight¡¯s night study¡¯s traitor!¡± And starting from Aris, the student council, and even the ordinary students came to me demanding to be traitors. -¡­Is it the kids¡¯ fault that they¡¯reing to you to be traitors, or is it owner¡¯s fault for making it that way? Since I¡¯ve done nothing wrong, this is all the students¡¯ fault! -As I thought, this is owner¡¯s fault! Was the answer already set for you or something? No but seriously, no matter how you look at this isn¡¯t this 100% the students¡¯ fault? None of them have any sort of camaraderie, so that simply exempting them from the night study is enough for them to backstab each other! These disloyal kids! Back in my day when we ran from night study, when the teacher didn¡¯t know of one person that ran with us, the rest of us all told on him and we were all yelled at together! That was true camaraderie where we all got yelled at together and looked after one another! -I can¡¯t read owner¡¯s mind right now but I get the feeling that you¡¯re spouting the bullshit of the ages¡­ -Shut up and gather more mana. You¡¯ll probably have to use it once the holidays start. -Wiing wiing! It¡¯s finawwy time for this goddess Arcadia to take center stage! Thanks to that teacher named Teruteru¡¯s demonic suggestion, I¡¯ve finallye up with a way to use the metal bat. Raise their fear yet not their despair, on the contrary, a method to make them struggle even harder to run away from night study! -Dat teacher¡¯s a devil too. -Although it¡¯s because of that you cane out. -He¡¯s an angel! He¡¯s totes gotta be an angel following the goddess Aru! Look at that stance change. That aside, where previously I haven¡¯t had more than twenty studentse to my office since school started, over two hundred students have been to my office today alone. Seriously, not for anything else, but two hundred kids alling to request to be a traitor? Weren¡¯t there around 1300 students at this school? But 200 already? So the traitor hopefuls kept oning, and thinking well of their enthusiasm I continued with n A. ¡°Karen, how could you!¡± ¡°Risen, this was exactly what you did to me.¡± The female vice-president icily looking down onto the Trickster. ¡°N, not Lady Aris!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do this to us!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help it either. I also want to experience the thing called freedom.¡± Or Miss Aris, skilled enough to go toe to toe with Professor Aruhan on a daily basis, now fighting inbination with him to annihte the entirety of the first years. ¡°Hang on a second! Isn¡¯t the student council president betraying us just ain¡¯t right?¡± ¡°Shut up! The student council president also has the right to freedom! How dare a traitor that¡¯s already experienced a day off night study dare talk back? Are you going to take responsibility if Professor Nicerwin doesn¡¯t choose me as a traitor because of you?¡± Driving back the students with the power of eight high-ranked spirits, even the student council president Nerkia! Let alone the ordinary students, but also the student council. And since even the student council president, who can be said to be the representative of the students all became traitors, it became a situation where everyone fervently wished to be a traitor. Thanks to that, when they weren¡¯t the traitor themselves, all the students were wary as to who might blindside them and so took their distance from the other students even while fighting the teachers. Although their teamwork fell as a result, their gains as individuals skyrocketed! The traitors have practically set the school aze! And at times like this, of course the thing you should do is pour oil onto the mes! -This is Professor Nicerwin. From today onwards, we will be offering a special present for those participating in the self-directed night study. Five PM. I halted the students that were moving towards their clubs or other activities in order to avoid doing the after-school sses. -People have beenining how the traitors have been receiving far too many benefits. Of course, not now. Because currently everyone wants to be a traitor. -We will be answering that question. From today onwards, a special rule will be applied. The rule is simple. From now on, we will be giving out a ¡®Traitor¡¯s Mark¡¯ to students who have been assigned the traitor role. There are many people who want to be traitors. But if there are too many traitors, then wouldn¡¯t that be a separate force rather than traitors? That was n X. Thest resort for if the students became overwhelmingly stronger than the teachers. We would divide the students half and half into two teams, and only let the winning team escape, but then over half the school doesn¡¯t participate in the night study. Then what we need to do is find a method to make everyone happy with the least number of people. That method was! -Those who manage to escape with a Traitor¡¯s Mark, or manage to hold onto it until the end of night study can enjoy the privileges of a traitor. The reaction was explosive. ¡°It¡¯s here! A ticket! This guy was a traitor! Now I¡­ kuhhk?¡± ¡°Moron. As long as you have a ticket you¡¯re also a traitor.¡± There were people who specifically hunted traitors to collect tickets. ¡°Wh, why¡­ between fellow traitors¡­¡± ¡°Actually, I wasn¡¯t a traitor.¡± There were people who collected tickets by fooling traitors into a traitor¡¯s alliance, taking them out and collecting their tickets. ¡°Now now, fifty meal tokens. Fifty meal tokens and a ticket is all yours!¡± There were even people who traded material goods for tickets. And the student council, who was supposed to be guiding them were. ¡°Now, there¡¯s almost certainly a traitor among us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like there can possibly be anyone stupid enough to just stand up and shout ¡®I¡¯m a traitor!¡¯ here, is there?¡± ¡°And even if the traitor was caught, they¡¯d still have to fight the others.¡± ¡°Yep, so.¡± ¡°Thest man standing takes all!¡± The student council members were holding survival deathmatches between themselves. -Itza shitstorm. -That it is. -How long¡¯re ya gonna do this for? -Until you show up, of course. Meaning, until the holidays started. The days of students backstabbing fellow students continued. Chapter 51 RATH 51 TL: Eevee 7. Is your backside safe? (3) -Owner. I¡¯ve been thinking, I reckon that if owner was a devil then you¡¯da probably been born the king of devils and seeded in world domination. The metal bat said as she watched the magic video tool during the night study. Wait, I haven¡¯t done anything? I simply modified the rules to what the students wanted, the ones that started fighting were those kids, you know? And therefore I¡¯ve done nothing wrong! -And dat¡¯s exactly a devil¡¯s mind! My owner¡¯s a splendid archviin! Well, true. I used to be part of an evil organization that boasted a long history and traditions after all! -¡®Though that got screwed cuz¡¯ of that really obsessive princess! This rascal, its retorting skills are getting better by the day. -All thanks ta who now. I wouldn¡¯t know. Whether it was because the teachers were getting more and more bewildered, or they simply had no ce to get involved, but they were simply watching the students¡¯ survival games. -But owner. There¡¯s a lotta individual events in the imperial festival but aren¡¯t there also a lot of team events as well? If they keep ying by themselves like that then their co-op skills are gonna drop. ¡°And to fix that, that¡¯s where youe in.¡± It¡¯s soon going to be the holidays anyway¡­ but having said that, these kids areing into school either way. Of course, even I have no thoughts to keep them in school from dawn to dusk in the holidays. On the contrary, I¡¯m going to let them out at around lunch. But not that simply, of course. -Fufufu¡­ so I just gotta wait ¡¯til then? Yes, so save up lots and lots of mana! #3 Their story: A certain group of students¡¯ end of term ceremony (1) ¡°And everyone has grown so much so far, and in addition to Professor Nicerwin, many teachers havee to our school¡­¡± ¡°Is there any point to this.¡± ¡°I know right. End of term ceremony, sure. That¡¯s fine, but we have toe to school tomorrow? Is this even a holiday?¡± ¡°Dunno. My family betrayed me. When I told my mum, she said to listen to Professor Nicerwin and study harder. Seriously I nearly cursed my mother out for the first time in my life right there.¡± ¡°Wow, your mum¡¯s just awful. She wants you to study even harder here? Does she want you to die or something?¡± ¡°You know what my little sister said? She took mum¡¯s side saying that considering I don¡¯t even study most of the time, I should at least study in school?¡± ¡°Wow¡­ like seriously. Is she actually your blood rted sister?¡± ¡°So I told my parents when it¡¯s time for her to enroll in school two years from now, to send her to Yugrasia.¡± ¡°¡­We have a devil here!¡± Holiday. That meant to rest from study for a fixed period of time. It described a break from study, typically during summer and winter where either the heat or cold were at its extremes deeming it unsuitable for effective study. During that time, the majority of students undergo self-improvement, go on trips to relieve their stresses of studying, or enjoy their own personal time. But this year¡¯s Yugrasia has no holidays. Of course we still have the end of term ceremony to mark the beginning of the holidays, and until school reopens we are certainly in a state of holiday. But why is a holiday a holiday? It¡¯s because the school is closed and we don¡¯t study! If in the holidays, you were to go to school and attend ss, can you call that a holiday? That was what the entire student body of Yugrasia were thinking, but it was already toote. With the exception of a few students that managed to sessfully grill their parents, or escape due to family circumstances, the rest were forcibly kept at school. Thanks to that, the ceremony that no one was focusing on to begin with was nothing more than disorder at its finest! ¡°Next we will have some words from Professor Nicerwin.¡± Although order was instantly restored the moment the speaker changed. As the students looked at Professor Nicerwin and the little silver girl that came up with him, everyone could only swallow dryly. ¡®We¡¯re gonna get hit if we¡¯re noisy right?¡¯ ¡®Even if Professor Nicerwin doesn¡¯t care the silver devil wille out to hit us, won¡¯t she?¡¯ ¡®No. I don¡¯t want to get hit anymore.¡¯ Whether he knew the students¡¯ thoughts or not, Professor Nicerwin smiled, a smile that a stranger would think gentle, but a smile that instilled fear into the students of Yugrasia. ¡°Are you tired?¡± And the moment Professor Nicerwin opened his mouth, the entire student body shouted as one internally. ¡®Are you one to be saying thaaaaat!¡¯ As an oppressive silence began to rece the quietness, Professor Nicerwin made a satisfied expression as he continued. ¡°You would be tired. No, you will probably be even more tired from here on out.¡± The students wanted to shout just how the hell were they going to be even more tired than they already were, but they kept silent fearing that if they asked, he would tell them in great detail. ¡°To the students who work their hardest in the academics, and to the teachers who do their best in guiding them, I offer my words of thanks, and encourage all of you to work even harder from here on out.¡± ¡®Meaning he¡¯s going to screw us over even harder so prepare yourself?¡¯ ¡®Now that I think of it, are the teachers all staying in school as well?¡¯ ¡®Wow¡­ at least we¡¯re out in four years, but the teachers can¡¯t even escape.¡¯ For a brief moment, the students felt sorry for the their own futures, as well as the teachers who would have to remain at this academy. ¡°Once the holidays begin, n A will cease operation. There will be a special set of rules in ce for the holidays.¡± Although that ended instantly at Professor Nicerwin¡¯s words. -Just what the hell did you make this time you evil god¡¯s apostlleeeeeee! Just how much did we fight among each other due to that bloody n A? We fought with our lives over a single ticket with our friends who we had only recently beenughing with and discussing our futures with. Yesterday¡¯s traitor could be today¡¯s ally, and yesterday¡¯s ally became today¡¯s traitor. The daily life where we could trust no one continued, and we learned the truth that you couldn¡¯t trust anyone in the world. But n A was over and now a new set of rules is in effect? Had we ever been better off when those damn rules changed? We could guarantee it. Every time the n changed, we would realise that beyond this hell, was another harder hell awaiting us! ¡°And it¡¯s a holiday-exclusive rule as well.¡± ¡°Whazzat, that¡¯s scary.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be something like you have to remain at school if you can¡¯t pass or something, right?¡± ¡°Surely¡­ but they announced that sses would end at 12:30. ¡°Yeah. They said there¡¯d be no self-directed night study either.¡± ¡°Wait, then isn¡¯t what¡¯s ending just the night study? Then mightn¡¯t they have just changed the name to self-directed afternoon study or something?¡± ¡°Hang on a sec, I just got major chills.¡± In light of the unimaginable events that were to happen in the future, the students began to shiver in fear. And whether he knew of the students¡¯ fear or not, Professor Nicerwin said his final statement, and stepped down from the podium. ¡°I hope you have an enjoyable holiday, everyone.¡± Wishing us a holiday that felt like it would be not at all enjoyable. #4 Their story: A certain group of students¡¯ end of term ceremony (2) ¡°And this marks the end of Marcis¡¯ end of term ceremony.¡± The boring teachers¡¯ speeches that were at every event finally ended. And the students started cheering at the student council president¡¯s final words. ¡°Are you going home to visit your family, Lady Nermia?¡± ¡°I heard that there was a seminar on magic running at the imperial pce, how does it sound?¡± ¡°No, Miss. I heard that there was a special seminar being run by the Magic Tower¡­¡± And the way back home. Since it was the holidays now, and the standards of what they taught us at school were so far below what the instructor taught me I¡¯d even thought of going out and practicing on my own. But the pests are already sticking to me. The reason that Marcis, no, all the four great academies were constructed were to gather and raise talents that could be the empire¡¯s strength. Because of that, aside from Yugrasia, the other academies each reside in a certain sphere of influence of specific authorities. In Arucis¡¯s case, they¡¯re influenced by the knight orders, and Mercaria has the imperial domestic officials looking over them. But Marcis is different. In addition to the imperial family, Marcis is also influenced by the Magic Tower. In reality, the Magic Tower has greater influence over the school. Why else would it be nicknamed the ¡®education tower?¡¯ Thanks to that both the imperial family and the Magic Tower are trying to gain more influence over Marcis, and especially in their efforts to bring in neutral individuals to their faction. And the greatest of the neutral individuals this year is none other than me! Grandfather belongs to the Magic Tower as its head, and Father is associated with the imperial family as the head of House Nermia. Because of that, I boast the two highest affiliations in both factions but my own affiliation is neutral! Because of that, starting from the student council, to the ssroom, in clubs. Everyone and their dog kept trying to pull me into their faction, and it seemed like that would continue even as the holidays began. Although I honestly want nothing more to be able to tell them all to just piss off, this is not the evil organization, but high society. As a child of the esteemed Nermia family, it¡¯s unfortunate that I cannot lower my family¡¯s standing. ¡°I n to stay in my family¡¯s residence in the capital. I will try to visit if the opportunity arises.¡± As I gently smiled with a smile radiant in elegance everyone regretfully backed off. -Uweek. Although it felt like a ve started to dry retch somewhere, I ignored that. I hurriedly left the academy with light steps before I attracted any other unnecessary pests. -Owner. The holidays have started, what are you going to do now? -You saw all that, I have to train. In all honesty, I felt that I, who had trained in an evil organization who didn¡¯t see people as people, would ever lose to these kids at school. But even as I did, I remembered what I saw at Yugrasia. The despair that reminded me of the times where No.1, No.1000 and I screamed under the bat¡¯s beatings. Their expressions dyed in fear I saw on their faces, the ones that looked the ones like we had when we ran to escape the bat. When I thought of their faces that reminded me of the time that I was trained under the instructor, I couldn¡¯t let my guard down just because they were only kids studying at school. Because of that, I have no ns to simply do nothing like the other students at Marcis! -You¡¯re a student so can¡¯t you just enjoy yourself owner? -My goal isn¡¯t to just be your average student. If being an ordinary student was my goal, I wouldn¡¯t have gone into the evil organization to suffer. I would have just been married off to someone befitting the Nermia family¡¯s status, and spent my daysughing haha hoho in high society. But my childhood dream was an archmage like grandfather. But after I entered the evil organization not even that satisfied me, and I chose to be the greatest magician in my family¡¯s history, no, the empire¡¯s history. One whose name would be remembered in a hundred, no a thousand years in the future! Someone with goals like that can¡¯t dare to lose in something as small as a school! -Alright, having big dreams is all very well and good. But owner, rather than just training by yourself, isn¡¯t training with others like that kiddo said an eptable option as well? -Even if they said it¡¯s for study, it¡¯s obvious. What kind of student studies during the holidays? It¡¯s probably just a social gathering under the pretext of education. There can¡¯t possibly be people that study properly during the holidays. That¡¯smon sense, no? #5 Their story: A certain students¡¯ holidays. Just what, just what crimes did Imit in my past life? In my present life I could throw around my weight as a marquis family, but I didn¡¯t, and really worked very hard. I didn¡¯t whip my people for beingmoners or executing them for bumping into me like some corrupt viiness noble like you¡¯d see in old novels. Let alone ridiculous things like that, I can say with pride that I hadn¡¯t even done any insignificant wrongs either. Thanks to that, I¡¯m pretty loved by the people on ournds, you know? When I patrol our territory, the children follow behind me saying ¡®it¡¯s Lady Aris¡¯ you know? And so, if the gods aren¡¯t dead. If it wasn¡¯t a lie that the gods watched over man! Unless Imitted some insane sin that to destroy a few nations, this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! ¡°What.¡­ what kind of holiday is thiiisss!¡± I yelled as I poured out my mana. A short while ago. sses ended at 12:30, and after we were told we could leave after a short announcement. With familiar m! m! m! Noises, Professor Nicerwin¡¯s voice began broadcasting over the inte. -I will now exin the special holiday rules. Break through the teachers and escape. Unlike normal, around half the teachers are absent due to their various circumstances or on leave. That sounds doable. If there are only half the number of teachers it seems more than doable¡­ then can¡¯t he just send us on our way nicely? But we couldn¡¯t do anything. I even brought my father in but failed. Afterwards I even talked with my mother again, but she told me that he¡¯d even started to alter the training regimes of the family¡¯s troops after being inspired by Yugrasia¡¯s methods. Then the only option was to break through and leave school as fast as possible! And so we broke through the third floor, and were fighting against the teachers on the second floor when we heard a weird announcement. -For the students who have not yet left school, we will now be entering the special holiday n for fast exit. As I was fighting Professor Aruhan at the time, back then I didn¡¯t pay much attention to this announcement. But shortly afterwards. When I saw a mass of students charging down with a rumbling noise, just when I thought all the other floors were cleared and we could finally leave school. ¡°RUUUUUUUUUNNNNN!¡± As I saw the student council president and the other student council members at the front, faces dyed white and screaming, and I was beginning to think something was wrong. ¡°Heeheehiit, you kids still haven¡¯t left school yet, bad children!¡± At the sounds of the deviling from behind them, I immediately ignored Professor Aruhan and put everything into running as I screamed. ¡°What.¡­ what kind of holiday is thiiisss!!!¡± And so, the holidays with our lives on the line began. Chapter 52 RATH 52 TL: Eevee 7. Is your backside safe? (4) #6 Their story: a certain student council president¡¯s story ¡°Are they not even letting us go home normally¡­¡± ¡°Well, we expected this.¡± ¡°But since the number of teachers are half what they normally are, at least we¡¯ll be able to go home.¡± ¡°We¡¯re probably the weird ones for feeling confident with that, right?¡± We all sighed as we stood up. Well, Lady Aris will clean up the third floor and below well on her own. Regardless of the fact that Yugrasia was constructed knowing that summoned beasts would pass through its corridors, there is only limited space in the hallways. Because of that, even if the number of teachers has been reduced, the number of teachers that we¡¯ll actually fight are probably simr to before. Although one advantage is that there won¡¯t be another teacher immediatelying in as soon as we defeat one. Moreover, the fact that the god-ss elementalist Professor Harian also returned to the elven forest is also a significant boost for us. If the god-ss summoners and the student council all charge while rtively fresh, not even Professor Muam could hope to stop us all. ¡°Right, as we nned!¡± ¡°To go home!¡± And while we all fought and cleared the seventh floor, and were fighting on the sixth. At a time approximated to be around 1PM, the apocalypse came. -For the students who have not yet left school, we will now be entering the special holiday n for fast exit. ¡°What bullshit is that?¡± Everyone on the sixth floor agreed heartily with Risen¡¯s words. We went to school even though we didn¡¯t want to. We went to school even though it was the holidays! Does he actually not know how much we want to go home? We¡¯re doing our best to leave school, and the one that¡¯s stopping us is the school? But a special n for students who haven¡¯t left school yet! Step. Step. But at the footsteps of someoneing down from the seventh floor, where we had juste down from ourselves, our rage instantly evaporated. ¡°Ahh¡­ ahhhh..¡± Step. Step. It began with the despairing gasps of the student that was standing at the rearmost end. And the moment that the students that heard it turned back, that thing smiled brightly and said. ¡°We¡¯ve got sum bad kids who haven¡¯t gone home yet?¡± Bang! She tilted her head slightly, with an appearance that a stranger might find cute. But for us it was a smile of fear and despair, and with that the silver devil kicked off the stairs and charged in. ¡°Ru, run away!¡± ¡°Kyaahhgh!¡± ¡°Uheehiit! Finally, finawy Aru time! I¡¯ve been waiting for dis!¡± ¡°Guaahhgh!¡± In this situation where chaos, fear, screams and tushitushis ran rampant. ¡°Run!¡± Risen, the first person who realised the situation, summoned Loki¡¯s shoes and started running away at lightspeed. ¡°Run!¡± ¡°Oho, you think we¡¯ll¡­ kuk?!¡± Even though we¡¯d been struggling against them mere seconds ago, but perhaps it was because the harbinger of death was approaching? One student surpassed perceptible speeds to knock the teacher out and started running. ¡°Help meee!¡± ¡°Leave him, leave him! All units only focus on pushing forward!¡± ¡°Use all the strength you have except what you need to run!¡± ¡°Kuwaahh! Sa, save me, Pres!¡± ¡°Sorry, buy us time on the stairs!¡± ¡°Abandon the ones that fell to the trap stairs and keep going!¡± Was it because of the chaos, there were arge number of casualties that were caught on the staircase¡¯s traps that few people normally fell to. No, to the point that I thought it would be a relief if the silver devil took longer to get down while she was dealing with them. But unlike before, the silver devil¡¯s goal was not to enjoy herself in hitting us. ¡°Uwheeheehiit! My goal is to beat all ya kids!¡± Just one hit. Sometimes the more resilient ones would take two. The speed of the silver devil that wasing down while only hitting enough to knock people out was straight up insane! Because the students fell unconscious after so much as getting grazed by her, since we still had to fight the teachers on our way down, one student, then another were sacrificed to the silver devil. But, but! ¡°It¡¯s the second floor!¡± And as expected, or should we say thankfully. Because the third floor was already clear, we could run without suffering any more casualties. And as we ran down to the second floor, we saw Lady Aris fighting Professor Aruhan in front of us. ¡°Kwuuuuuhhhht!¡± ¡°Dammit, she caught up again!¡± But the silver devil caught our backs at the same time! ¡°RUUUUUUUUUNNNNN!¡± Exnations? Ain¡¯t nobody got time for that. We don¡¯t even have room to breathe properly, exnations my ass! ¡°Heeheehiit, you kids still haven¡¯t left school yet, bad children!¡± And as if she read my intentions, or heard the devil behind our backs. Lady Aris¡¯s face nched as she weaved her way through Professor¡¯s Aruhan¡¯s strikes with movements that could be described as miraculous. ¡°What.¡­ what kind of holiday is thisss!!!¡± Yelling something we all heartily agreed with! ¡°What the heck is¡­¡± Professor Aruhan, who was here instead of Professor Maroon who was on holiday, sighed as he raised his sword and shouted. ¡°Do you think you can get past¡­ eh?¡± In a single moment, Risen slipped past Professor Aruhan leaving nothing but an afterimage. That footwork was due to the descension of Loki. Risen wlessly controlled Loki¡¯s shoes, seemingly teleporting as he showed his control skills that seemed to surpass human limits. ¡°Urgh¡­ but, but the rest of you!¡± A shocked Professor Aruhan shouted as he turned back to us. ¡°DIIIIEEEEEE!¡± ¡°Ha, hang on? You little?!¡± Yeah that, who gives a shit. All sorts of summons came out and rushed Professor Aruhan in a giant dogpile. Strategy? Tactics? We don¡¯t need any of that. Even if we ran the risk of hitting our allies, all we did was charge and charge again. But it can¡¯t be helped. Because if we fall behind we die! ¡°Kwuagh!¡± ¡°Damn it, faster! More power!¡± At that moment, one of the first years that joined us on the second floor summoned a silver hammer. He was one of the first years¡¯ god-ss summoners. The contractor of Thor, the god of thunder! As a god who for whatever reason held a grudge against Risen¡¯s contract Loki, ording to Risen his firepower was among the strongest of an entire mythology! And for the record, the silver devil who beat down said highest-ss god with nothing but violence, and forcibly made him contract that first year was right on our asses! Perhaps it was due to the fear, but the first year who could only let off weak thunderbolts with his god¡¯s power summoned his god¡¯s weapon and struck Professor Aruhan¡¯s side. ¡°Kwuuuuk!¡± And it was sessful! Perhaps because the hammer had a powerful electric charge, but Professor Aruhan¡¯s body quivered before he copsed. ¡°Nice work, Hirto!¡± ¡°We knew you could do it, Hirto!¡± The first years near Thor¡¯s contractor started to praise him. These, these fools! ¡°Praise himter and run!¡± There¡¯s no time to talk. The silver devil was already getting closer by the second. The first years finally realised as I brushed past them while screaming, before they began to flee as well. But. ¡°Da, damn it!¡± ¡°Shit, there was Professor Muam!¡± First floor. The door that would allow us to escape was right in front of us, yet the person blocking our way was the Spirit King of Water and his summoner Professor Muam. ¡°Mooooveee!¡± A speartip imbued with magic power so dark red it could be mistaken for spear aura mmed into the water barrier, but it held firm. ¡°Damn it!¡± And in the corner of the wall, we could see Risen suspended inside the wall with only his head sticking out. ¡°Break through, no matter what, break through!¡± I summoned three high-ranking fire spirits. Although fire spirits are weak against water, as long as the firepower is strong enough the water could be evaporated outright. But the enemy was a spirit king. Someone I could never beat by myself. But, this time is different! ¡°Burn!¡± ¡°Charge, charge!¡± ¡°The devil is right behind us!¡± Because I am with the students who have lost their reason at the ever-nearer tushitushi sounds! All sorts of fire spirits charged at the water. A charge of fire spirits, fire giants, fire birds and other assorted spirits and beasts. As if they felt their summoner¡¯s resolve, despite facing off against the highest ranked water creature, a spirit king, they charged in fearlessly! ¡°It¡¯s vanishing! The water is vanishing!¡± ¡°Just a bit more!¡± ¡°Once a hole¡¯s made then break through with other summons!¡± And so the wall of water that was slowly, slowly disappearing was. ¡°Just what have you been learning in my sses.¡± Repaired instantly at a snap of Professor Muam¡¯s fingers. ¡°Water is not only that of the rivers and oceans. The clouds in the sky, the fog in the morning. Even in the air you are breathing. Even inside your bodies. Water is everywhere. Meaning that water exists everywhere within this world. As we stared at the restored water with stupefied faces, Professor Muam smiled bitterly as he looked at us. ¡°You kids are the first ones to ever attack a Spirit King of Water with fire. Well, it was a refreshing challenge.¡± With those words, Professor Muam waved his small hand with a regretful expression. ¡°In a fight, you will be defeated the moment you lose your reason. Engrave that into your hearts.¡± And the moment those words registered in my ears, the tushitushi noises had arrived right next to me. ¡®¡­¡­what¡¯ ¡°¡­.resi¡­¡± ¡°Pres¡­ wa¡­¡± ¡°Ge¡­.: ¡®Shut up¡­¡¯ I started to hear sounds from somewhere. It¡¯s noisy. I want to sleep. I want to forget everything and just fall to sleep. ¡°uhhh¡­ th¡­¡± ¡°my¡­ eh¡­¡± ¡°The silver devil ising.¡± But at Risen¡¯s words I automatically bolted upright. ¡°N, no!¡± Risen smirked as he looked at me immediately summon a high-ranked elemental and look around my surroundings, and said. ¡°See, he woke up, right?¡± And when I looked around, I could see the other students. ¡°How?¡± And the majority of them were lying on the ground. A few of the students that had already woken up were moving around waking the others. And the ce we were at was none other than¡­ ¡°Why were we sleeping in the auditorium?¡± Indeed. In that very auditorium where we swore to be victorious in the imperial festival not long ago. The majority of the students were out cold lying on the ground! ¡°Because we were hit of course.¡± ¡°Kuugh¡­¡± At Risen¡¯s words, I slowly began to recall things like an amnesiac whose memories were returning. -Kuwuuughhh! -No, save me! -Heeheehiit, since you¡¯re thest kids, unni¡¯ll y with ya more! -Stop, stop! -Kuk! Please, no more¡­ ¡°Urgghh¡­¡± And what I remembered were things I¡¯d much rather forget. The moments where nothing but pain existed began to stir around in my brain once again. ¡°Oh, and Pres. This is pretty important.¡± And looking at me, Risen had an extremely rare self-mocking smile on his face as he told me the catastrophic truth. ¡°Right now, it¡¯s 6PM.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s six in the afternoon.¡± What the hell was this? 6PM? That can¡¯t be? ¡°I understand how much you want to deny reality.¡± ¡°This, this can¡¯t be!¡± What had I done? All I did was get hit by the silver devil and wake up, so what kind of bullshit are you saying when you¡¯re telling me that five whole hours have passed! ¡°Lies!¡± Even as I staggered I forced strength into my legs as I opened the auditorium¡¯s doors. What I saw, was the slowly but surely setting sun. Perhaps because it was summer, the sun was still in the sky but it was definitely setting lower and lower. ¡°You mean.. You mean it seriously 6 o¡¯clock?¡± Maybe if it was just one person. If it was one ssroom I could stand it. If it was an entire year level I could think as long as it¡¯s not me! But, but! ¡°He made the entire school stay at school til 6PM!¡± Even on a normal day, the majority of the other academies would have already closed already! And worse, this was the first day of the holidays! Fwump. ¡°This, this can¡¯t be.¡± My two knees dropped to the floor in despair. As my arms barely held by body off the ground, hunched over as if it couldn¡¯t take it anymore, I began to cry out the resentment inside my heart. ¡°Damn it¡­. Daaaaaaaaaaamnnnnnn iiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttt!¡± It¡¯s the holidays! The freaking holidays! And it¡¯s six in the afternoon! And this will be part of our daily lives from now on! Why, just why did this pain have toe in our final year! But then someone began to pat my shoulder. ¡°M, mdy?¡± If it wasn¡¯t Risen, I thought another member of the student council would be the one to be patting my shoulder. But against my expectations, the one who was patting my shoulder was Lady Aris. And with a benevolent smile, Lady Aris said to me. ¡°Sunbae(1), you graduate this year.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± At that moment, I realised just what mistake I had made. That expression, was not a benevolent smile. It was the smile of one who had forsaken everything, a saintess who had achieved enlightenment! ¡°But, this is my first year.¡± As I saw that smile, I felt my knees rise by themselves. It¡¯s true. I am a fourth year. But, at this academy there are still third years that still have a year left, and second years that have two. And. ¡°I still have three more years to goooooooooooo!¡± The fact that the ones that should be despairing isn¡¯t me, but the first years that have three more years left in this academy! ¡°What have I done wrong!¡± For Lady Aris, who was howling sorrowfully in a manner unbefitting for a daughter of a marquis. I could do naught but watch over her. Chapter 53 RATH 53 TL: Eevee 7. Is your backside safe? (5) #7 Their story: A certain student council¡¯s story ¡°The time the devil appears is 1:30 on the dot.¡± ¡°Damn it, does that mean the devil¡¯sing after us if we don¡¯t clear the academy in thirty minutes?¡± ¡°Professor Muam alone¡¯s probably gonna take over thirty minutes.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. No matter what we do, we need to beat them within 30 minutes.¡± ¡°Damn it, I actually preferred the night study to this.¡± ¡°Are these the holidays? Are these actually the holidays?¡± The day afterwards that only had regret and despair. The moment we arrived at school we put our heads together to n for today¡¯s after-school attempt. But we had no solution. ¡°The problem is that each floor needs to beat the teachers on their own in five minutes, and we need to beat Professor Muam in twenty-five and escape the academy.¡± ¡°Is that possible? Is it?¡± ¡°We need to make it possible.¡± It¡¯s an impossible mission no matter how we look at it but we have no choice. Because if we don¡¯t solve it then the devil¡¯s going toe for us. Of course it wasn¡¯t just peaceful solutions that were discussed. ¡°If the entire student body riots, then even the teachers can¡¯t do anything about it?¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve got our lives on the line here, right? We can all fight together!¡± But. ¡°But if the silver deviles to put the riot down then isn¡¯t it just the same thing in the end?¡± We tried everything we used during the night study. But nothing changed. And it seems like nothing will change just because it is the holidays. ¡°Are you seriously¡­ seriously saying that we have no other options than to escape the academy in thirty minutes?¡± ¡°We¡¯re being taught there¡¯s nothing but giving up!¡± Anger and despair. This probably isn¡¯t limited to just the student council. Perhaps- no, definitely, the people who experienced the fear at school yesterday would be feeling like us right now. Because the image of Lady Aris howling in despair at the setting sun was still firmly imprinted in all our minds! ¡°Does that mean we have to put up with this until the imperial festival¡­¡± ¡°Too far¡­ there¡¯s still three months left!¡± ¡°Three¡­ months? You mean we can¡¯t escape this hell for another three months? Are you serious?¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s gotta be a way somehow. There has to! If god exists, there¡¯s no way the world would be this absurd!¡± It hadn¡¯t even been long since the meeting started, yet one by one people were beginning to deny reality. ¡°Not yet, have hope! Professor Muam could go on holiday as well.¡± ¡°But then wouldn¡¯t Professor Hariane back?¡± ¡°But I reckon it¡¯ll be easier than the spirit king of water.¡± ¡°No, but we have to go against the god of wind instead. That could actually be harder.¡± We did our best to try to revive the dying embers of hope, but a counter came straight back in. No matter how we think of it, neither a god of wind nor a spirit king of water are easy matchups. And just as my own hopes and morale began to plummet as well. ¡°Why do we go home from school.¡± Risen, who along with Lady Aris had made the face of an enlightened saint, muttered seriously. ¡°Because school ended, of course.¡± ¡°In that case, why does school end?¡± ¡°Because all the sses are over?¡± We all looked at Risen who was only asking weird questions with a look of pity. We finally had someone who went off the deep end with despair. And as if to mock us and our thinking, Risen shouted with a face of realisation. ¡°No, there¡¯s only one reason why we go home from school! That¡¯s because we went to school to begin with!¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s obvious.¡± ¡°So if we don¡¯t go to school, then that means we don¡¯t have to leave school either!¡± ¡°Does that even make any sense¡­¡± ¡°Then does our going to school during the holidays make any sense either?¡± ¡°¡­Holy shit!¡± That was it! It¡¯s the holidays! The school told us toe in, and our families allowed that but it¡¯s still the holidays! ¡°So all we have to do is note to school!¡± ¡°Ohhhhhh!¡± This kid had to be a genius. School grades? Doesn¡¯t matter. If our parents came in to school? Irrelevant. Because our lives were the most important thing of all! And so the very next day, the entire student council were absent from school. *** ¡°Wow, I seriously didn¡¯t see this oneing.¡± ¡°I totes think the stuco are all genius, owner. They all show us sumfin¡¯ that not even owner can predict!¡± After first period, one teacher came to me and said that one second year student didn¡¯te to school. Well, since humans aren¡¯t always perfectly healthy I could understand that. Especially people that go to school, academies and the army all sore and in pain everywhere. Although oddly enough whenever I went I was never injured so I always drew the short straw. And so I was lost in my old memories, but the another teacher came in and told me something simr. When the teacher in charge of the fourth year ss that had ten members of the student council in it reported that all ten of them didn¡¯te to school, that was all but confirmed. And as expected, the people that didn¡¯te to school, were all members of the student council. ¡°Group truancy.¡± Truancy is dangerous. At this rate these kids will realise that staying home is much morefortable thaning to school. ¡°Innt dat obvious?¡± ¡°But these kids hadn¡¯t tried the obvious.¡± As they don¡¯te to school for one day, then two, my important students will be hikikomoris. ¡°That will be a big problem.¡± Being popr even if you¡¯re a hikikomori is only possible in stories. At this rate if they don¡¯te to school and stay all day in their rooms then they¡¯ll eventuallye to shun all interpersonal rtionships. Then they¡¯ll be unable to debut in society, and if they be old unmarried men and women and the shame of their families, how sad would their parents be! ¡°So whatcha gonna do about it. Whenever owner rambled on for a long time, it¡¯s never ended well for the kids.¡± ¡°I am simply taking responsibility as a teacher.¡± As a teacher, I cannot bear to watch my students be social outcasts. And so! ¡°An¡¯ sho?¡± ¡°I will use what I learned in an evil organization, and rescue the students!¡± At my words, the metal bat frowned and tilted her head. ¡°Ya learned something to save the kids in an evil organization?¡± ¡°Ahh, of course.¡± ¡°Wazzat?¡± Skills that an evil organization would teach that could save children from bing hikikomoris? ¡°Infiltration, kidnapping.¡± ¡°Dat¡¯s my owner! Totes my bad for getting my hopes up!¡± Now then. Shall we go save some students? #8 Their story: Karen Rel Regrena¡¯s story. ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Was it because I slept too long. Our dorm¡¯s soft beds were starting to feel hard. But I don¡¯t want to get up. Right now I¡¯m sleepy because yesterday I had fun for the first time in far too long. Of course as the vice-president of the student council, it did embarrass me a bit that I was truant from school, moreover following Risen¡¯s suggestion. But this honestly couldn¡¯t be helped. Daily life where I had to wake up at dawn every morning. Unlike the boys, girls had a lot more to prepare before going anywhere, but the academy¡¯s attendance time was 8 o¡¯clock sharp. The days where sometimes I couldn¡¯t even eat breakfast before going to school continued, and that wore down at my mind. Not even that, to fight the teachers to even go home? And with the rule that if we couldn¡¯t beat them within half an hour, we were all screwed?! And so I had no choice. As the oldest daughter of a viscount, which doesn¡¯t even have that much power, I knew very well that there were a lot of hopes on me from my family when I became vice-president at Yugrasia, one of the Four Great Academies. In knew that! But doesn¡¯t peoplee first? Was the answer I came to. And so the first holiday-like day I had was delicious. I met my friends from other academies that hadn¡¯t yet left the capital and drank tea with them in a caf¨¦. I bought summer-season cosmetics. And when the sun was about to set, I returned back to the dorms with the songs of the bards in my ears! This was something I took for granted this timest year, but I realised for the first time that this could make someone this happy. I realised just why the wise words ¡®those who have not experienced an abnormal life cannot understand the importance of daily life,¡¯ were considered wise words Thanks to that, the remaining guilt in the corner of my mind that I had about being truant had vanished. As I thought¡­ as I thought! Risen was not an idiot, he was a genius! ¡°Mmm¡­¡± And just was I closed my eyes in happiness. ¡®Eh?¡¯ That groan¡­ did thate from my mouth? That¡¯s weird. I had no feeling of that. And moreover¡­ I I forced open my heavy eyelids and saw in front of me. ¡°Hi, hiiik!¡± What I saw was, a mess of a face. The face was slightly swollen, and the grey hair was sticking out every which way. But I couldn¡¯t forget that face. Because it was the face of someone I fought with daily at the student council, my counterpart vice-president Risen. ¡°Mnya¡­¡± ¡°Is this a dream?¡± Did I like this boy that much? Enough that I¡¯d see him in my dreams? I thought as I asked myself. -Nope? And my inner self replied very cleanly. Then, is this a nightmare? ¡°Mmmm¡­¡± ¡°What, what the¡­¡± But at the sounds behind my back, I could recognise that this was reality. ¡°Hey, what the hell are you all doing in my room!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ wha¡­ huh?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s making such a racket¡­ hang on?¡± And the people that began to wake up one at a time at my screech was none other than the other student council members. Let alone the key members, the secretaries, support members began to wake up one after another. And as the first to wake up, I was the first to realise. ¡°My room isn¡¯t big enough to fit all these people¡­¡± This is definitely not my room. I definitely went to sleep in my room, my bed but I was in another ce when I woke up. ¡°Kyaaaak! Wha, what the hell! Pervert!¡± ¡°Uwaah? Why, why are you all in my room!¡± I started to hear the screams of the other members of the student council that still hadn¡¯t pieced together the situation. And as the people that woke up from my screams woke up other people with their screams. -crrk¡­ crackle¡­ crack! We heard the video magic tool in the corner of the room crackle to life. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± As the nearest person approached it, the video magic tool began to show us a grayscale screen. And soon afterwards. -crackle¡­ Greetings,dies and gentlemen. A man wearing a clown face appeared on the greyscale screen.(1) ¡°That¡¯s Professor Nicerwin¡¯s voice¡­¡± Professor Nicerwin, who hadn¡¯t even bothered to change his voice, and appeared only wearing a clown mask. -You are all students who refused toe to school as a group. Because of this, there are many teachers whose hearts are hurting. -Oh dear, our students are not treating the ability toe to school preciously! This is all our fault as teachers! -Being able toe to school is a blessing, yet you do not know it -To you children who do not know the wonders of being able toe to school,(2) I have prepared something for you to realise just how blessed you are to be able toe to school. Perhaps because the recording was alreadyplete, but as Professor Nicerwin¡¯s words cut off at an awkward time with a crackling noise, we were all uniformly lost for words. Why is it that every single word thates out of this teacher¡¯s mouth nothing but bullshit that we can¡¯t understand? Just why was it that we didn¡¯t want toe to school? Was it not because leaving school was so terrifying that we didn¡¯t want toe to begin with? -Now then, let the game begin.(1) Escape from here. With those words, the magic tool turned itself off. ¡°Is what he says, and when we open the door, the hallway will be full of teachers, won¡¯t it?¡± As we sat there staring nkly at the turned-off magic video tool, Risen jumped to his feet and shouted at us. ¡°And so, I will escape differently!¡± Risen summoned the Clown¡¯s Scythe, broke down the wall and jumped down. ¡°Y, you don¡¯t know what floor this is!¡± ¡°I have Loki¡¯s shoooeeeaaaaarrgh!¡± Unlike his confident first words, was his final scream because he stuffed thending? I was slightly worried, but my instincts were telling me to not look outside. And. Drrrk. ¡°Heave ho.¡± ¡°Hiiik!¡± Was this also a ce made by ck Anvil? As we watched the wall slowly return to its original shape, the only door opened with a drrrk noise as someone came in. The creature that came in while holding Risen¡¯s legs under its arms. The silver devil threw Risen to us and said. ¡°No cheating, now?¡± ¡°Ye, yes!¡± And so, we lost the right to go to school. Chapter 54 RATH 54 TL: Eevee 7. Is your backside safe? (6) #9 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story ¡°Where¡­ is this ce?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It looks like a ssroom, but it¡¯s my first time seeing it.¡± ¡°Risen¡¯s seen what it looks like outside. Wake him up and ask him.¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s a goner. Risen¡­ might not wake up again.¡± Karen had been poking Risen, who was sprawled out with his tongue dangling out of his mouth, but when she got no response she shook her head. And at that response, all the rest of us could do was sigh. ¡°Does that mean we have to break through this ourselves?¡± ¡°Probably. At least I think this is still somewhere on school grounds. Because he definitely said that he was going to teach us that being able to go to school was a blessing.¡± ¡°Going to school a blessing¡­¡± But even so, who would have thought he¡¯d imprison the students. This is no longer a problem between nobility. This is a problem as a student, no, as a human! Just what the hell have we done wrong for him to do pull off something this ridiculous! Because we didn¡¯t go to school? Was not going to school during the holidays really that grave a sin? Fine, let¡¯s say it is a sin. But even if it is, the silver devil appears if you don¡¯t escape the academy in time? At the very least if that thing didn¡¯t show up then we wouldn¡¯t have tried to run away like this! In that case our fate is to either escape from here. ¡°They¡¯re not really going to keep us here until the start of the new term?¡± ¡°Hiik!¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t!¡± Professor Nicerwin said that he would teach us just how much of a blessing ¡®going to school¡¯ was. To pick his words apart, we became unable to go to school. He would teach someone already at school, the blessing of being able to go to school? ¡°Re, really?¡± Although I personally had my doubts, the majority of the people here were thinking ¡°surely they wouldn¡¯t?¡± But the enemy was Professor Nicerwin. Every time we thought ¡°but even so, would that ever happen?¡± the person who made that a reality was Professor Nicerwin. If anyone else to say it, it would be bullshit but if Professor Nicerwin says it then it bes reality! Who would ever have thought we¡¯d end up doing morning pre-reading, afternoon after-school sses, night time self-directed night study, and special holiday study during the holidays? But this academy, no, Professor Nicerwin actually went forward and implemented these absolutely ridiculous ideas, and let alone the teachers, not even the parents are uttering so much as a squeak ofint. And then ourselves? If he had imprisoned us on grounds of yet another new special study programme? ¡°We need to search this ce now!¡± As I hurriedly jumped up and opened the sole door in the room, the one the silver devil hade in through, outside was a hallway that was slightly narrower than normal. The mood, colours, and overall outward appearance was very much a familiar Yugrasia hallway. ¡°Damn it¡­¡± But even as I took in the sight I couldn¡¯t help but spit out a curse. Because. ¡°Where, where the heck is this¡­¡± Indeed. Minimum two years. And at most we¡¯ve been in this school for three years, would there be anywhere in the school that we, the student council might be unfamiliar with? The fact that we, the ones who do all the odd jobs in the school don¡¯t know this ce, means that no one knows where this ce is. ¡°Pres, where is this? Is this actually inside the academy?¡± ¡°Judging by the looks of this, we are still in the academy. But, not somece we know.¡± ¡°Damn it, to think there¡¯s a ce in the school that not even the student council knows about. You guys think that this might actually be a different academy? If it¡¯s another school then we wouldn¡¯t be familiar with it.¡± As one after another began to scream externally or whimper softly in despair, one student offered his opinion. ¡°That might be possible.¡± To begin with, the Four Great Academies were built in the same ce at the same time. So if it¡¯s another school, it wouldn¡¯t be weird for there to be a ce we were familiar with, yet didn¡¯t know. But. ¡°That¡¯s probably not going to be it. Professor Nicerwin¡¯s final goal is victory in the imperial festival. There¡¯s nothing to be gained by leaking out information about us.¡± He said he would make us victorious in the imperial festival to raise Yugrasia¡¯s glory days once again. And would such a person really reveal our abilities to a third party so easily? He could possibly do this to advertise Yugrasia to the popce, or to prospective parents. But right now it was the holidays, very close to the imperial festival. When the second semester begins, we¡¯re all going straight into imperial festival preparations, so would he really reveal our abilities to the enemy? ¡°That¡¯s true, Pres.¡± ¡°No, if it¡¯s that human then once this is over then he might go [Your weaknesses have already been revealed so find a solution to them!] and say something as careless as that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s also a definite possibility.¡± Even I unconsciously nodded at that opinion. But either way, this was an unfamiliar ce. And moreover, what we were wearing were not our uniforms which were iid with all sorts of defensive spells, but our very thin pajamas. Even if only a very small number of teachers were guarding this ce, it seemed like escaping from here was going to be difficult. But for the sake of our holidays, we need to get through this crisis. ¡°Well then, same as always, Risen¡­ is dead. Then Karen and I will split the ss into two and search for a way out. ¡°Can we escape?¡± ¡°Professor Nicerwin always gives us a way to escape before he tells us to escape on our own. But avoidbat as much as possible. If the silver devil in particr happens to show up again, run away at all costs and spread word around you.¡± ¡°Understood!¡± At the mention of the silver devil, everyone became tense. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t let your guards down. Our objective is solely escape. If there is anyone who falls behind, it¡¯s unfortunate but we¡¯ll have to leave them!¡± You could think of us as heartless. But we, who had been trained by the night study all knew. Just how many sacrifices were needed to save a singlerade! After we realised this, even if we were abandoned, even if we had to abandon someone, we were all able to keep a level head. This is the progress of the students of Yugrasia, honed by the night study! ¡°Pres¡¯s group check the right side, and the vice-pres¡¯s group should check out the ssrooms on the left hand side.¡± ¡°The important thing is to discover ways to escape, and find out where this ce is.¡± As we nodded, we split up into groups of four and the odd group of five as we began to search the rooms. ¡°It looks like a ssroom¡­¡± ¡°But it¡¯s not a ce we know.¡± Even if the academy had changed a lot due to Professor Nicerwin¡¯s modifications, the overall architecture remained. But despite looking like a ssroom of Yugrasia, this was an unknown ssroom that none of us had ever seen before. Was this made with escapes in mind? There weren¡¯t even any windows on the ssroom walls so everything was dark. ¡°Let¡¯s look for clues.¡± As we searched the desks and tables, even the furniture. ¡°Identified something that appears to be a textbook from a desk!¡± ¡°I found a weird card in the locker!¡± ¡°Only chalk on the ckboard!¡± There were three things we found on the ssroom walls. A ck card, a mysterious textbook. And a piece of chalk. ¡°Let¡¯s check out this textbook first.¡± And once we flipped open the cover, there was! ¡°nk?¡± No matter how many pages we looked at, unlike the vibrant cover, there was nothing inside but nk pages. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this ssroom a bust?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Was it really? The opponent was Professor Nicerwin. Would the person who thinks of nothing but how to make his students suffer, really craft such a simple trap? In my opinion, never. Knowing that human, he¡¯d probably fill up the entire textbook with random letters. And once we decoded it, we¡¯d probably get something like [Ehhh gotcha!] or [Too bad! Better luck next time!]. Now, bearing this in mind. That type of person left a hint on this nk page. In that case? ¡°We need to use the tools in our surroundings.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°Look closely.¡± I crushed the chalk to a powder, and sprinkled it onto the nk page. And when I scraped off the excess with the card¡­ ¡°Ohhhhhh!¡± ¡°I can see letters!¡± ¡°Amazing, pres!¡± This is my skill, the student council president of Yugrasia! We will no longer be one-sidedly bullied any longer, Professor Nicerwin! Soon, we could see visible letters in front of us. And through this we will be able to find a way to escape from here! And that way is! [Too bad. Better luck next time.] *** -Graaaaaaaagghhhhhh! God damn it all! I watched the stuco pres screaming as he clutched his head. You thought you used your heads, but I am standing above you all! ¡°Uwee, the pres got baited! Fwappyfwappy baited!¡± ¡°They¡¯ve still got a long way to go.¡± Although it seemed like the others still hadn¡¯t found any clues yet, the stuco pres alone found a way. But there¡¯s no way I¡¯d give out hints as easy as that, now would I? Naturally the majority of them are fails. The probability of a real hint is 3%. ¡°But owner? Are ya really not gonna let the kids go back?¡± ¡°Since that is what I said I will need to hold to that.¡± ¡°Whaddabout food?¡± ¡°That wille if they seed their missions.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ of course enough for everyone ta eat, right?¡± ¡°Of course not enough for everyone.¡± ¡°Owner¡¯s totes a devil!¡± I simply copied a fewedy programs from my past life. If there was a devil then it would be the producers of thoseedy shows. ¡°It¡¯s getting close to time, so prepare to head out.¡± ¡°Wiing? Party time alweady?¡± I showed a clock to the girl who was saying pointless things. The time was 1PM. Meaning, the time that the students¡¯ time attack began. ¡°Ah, but owner! The kids¡¯re strugglingtely cause the student council isn¡¯t there with ¡¯em, izzit still alwight for me to beat ¡¯em up?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. The majority of the student council are on the eight floor anyway. The kids on the third floor can do it if they try hard enough.¡± Moreover those kids aren¡¯t even trying either. It¡¯s just because that vice-president Risen just openly goes around breaking walls and shit, but the area where this magic tool can actually observe is limited. To begin with, this thing was constructed small, with a tiny mana footprint to be undetectable by students so it has its limits for surveince, let alone close observation! And in all honesty, if arge number of students all charge through the first floor, spread out and break through the walls then there would be a limit to the number of students that would be caught. Although of course if they did that then the metal bat would immediately be dispatched to the main gates, but the ones with summons capable of flight would still be able to escape. But the majority of these kids have either given up, or lost reason and repeatedly charge at Professor Muam. No seriously, charging in headfirst against a spirit king of water, are they even thinking? ¡°So don¡¯t hold back.¡± ¡°Wiing, of courth! Imma fair goddess that doesn¡¯t hold back against anyone!¡± I have no idea when she¡¯ll give up on that goddess concept. Well, judging by that confident face of hers it seems like Miss Aris will have quite the hard time today, but this is all for victory at the imperial festival! If you went by the mood in the school alone then we¡¯ve already all but won the imperial festival, but who knows what could happen in between. You could have a demon king proposing to the hero, or when you¡¯ve finally be a civil servant in the empire, your childhood friend became a hero and you end up going on an adventure with her.(1) That makes no sense? That nonsense exists somewhere in this wide world. Even in my case, you¡¯ve got the imperial princess of the most powerful nation on the continent chasing me to marry her? And moreover, not asking me to marry her, but to marry her. This is a very important difference. Because my own opinion doesn¡¯t even matter here! In all reality does any of this make any sense? It¡¯s a title where if you felt like it, your descendants could potentially aim for the title of emperor. And said princess with that position is aiming for a man with an unknown background, no, at this point confirmed as a member of an evil organization! That¡¯s the kind of man his daughter wants to marry, and the emperor¡¯s reaction was something like ¡°Hm. Uh? Congrattions?¡± I know fully well that it¡¯s weirder for this country to not have fallen already, but isn¡¯t this seriously way overboard? ¡°Owner, owner. ¡®Nuff whining ¡¯bout ya circumstances, I¡¯ma go now, kay?¡± As if my exasperations bored her, the metal bat patted my shoulders as she moved out with light footsteps. Our current location was my office¡­ or not, but instead the hidden office on the tenth floor! The reason the metal bat always appears from above is because of this. This office that not even the majority of the staff know about that was prepared especially for the students¡¯ growth. Bang! Bang! Bang! ¡°Has it started already?¡± As I heard the ms from upstairs, I turned my attention back to the magic video tool. There¡¯s no better entertainment than watching a fight, you know? Chapter 55 RATH 55 TL: Eevee 7. Is your backside safe? (7) #10 Their story: the story of the imprisoned ¡°What is it this time?¡± ¡°Hm¡­ there¡¯s no traces on the surface. Should I try adding magic power?¡± ¡°Try it. After that try fire, then water.¡± We found nk pages throughout the ssrooms. There were ones that looked like textbooks, ones that were just nk pages, and some that were even some that were in what looked like love letters. And the majority of them were. -Too bad! Better luck next time! -A prizeworthy attempt, but no prize this time! -Congrattions, you¡­ didn¡¯t win anything! Duds were the overwhelming majority! And moreover, every time we found an actual hint, there were around 20 failures. ¡°Found ooooooooonnnnneee!¡± ¡°The letters this time are ¡®cei,¡¯ ¡®cei!¡¯¡± ¡°So the hints we have so far are ¡®rou,¡¯ ¡®is,¡¯ ¡®on,¡¯ and now ¡®cei?¡¯ That¡¯s four in total, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, and the fails are nearing a hundred.¡± ¡°Are we just shit out of luck, or are there that many duds?¡± ¡°Probably both?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. If we were lucky then we wouldn¡¯t even have enrolled into Yugrasia, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, or we¡¯d have graduated before Professor Nicerwin came.¡± As everyone heatedly nodded in agreement to that opinion, we checked the papers we had so far. There were four types discovered so far. The one I had found first was the type that revealed itself when you rubbed powder or dirt into the gaps. Another type was one where letters revealed themselves if you poured in magic power. There was also the type where letters revealed themselves if you soaked the paper in water. And finally the type where letters revealed themselves if you heated it over fire. If there are just these four types, we can identify all the clues on the nk pages! ¡°New type discovered! It¡¯s a paper that doesn¡¯t correspond to any of the methods we¡¯ve found so far!¡± Or we could until now! ¡°Damn it! Is there another method we can use?¡± ¡°Dunno, I dunno¡­¡± The vice president Karen murmured while thumping her head against the desk. The day had already gone by. There were no windows in this room, but thanks to someone who was wearing a watch, we could tell the current time. ¡°Current time 7PM¡­¡± ¡°Even if we had night study it¡¯d probably be over by now.¡± ¡°Because after we woke up after getting knocked out it¡¯d be dinner time.¡± ¡°¡­Hang on?¡± As we were talking the mention of dinner came out, and thanks to that I realised something off. ¡°Hey, has anyone seen something resembling a cafeteria?¡± This was a ce that although small, had everything resembling the features of the academy. It had ssrooms, it had teachers¡¯ offices, it even had special ssrooms for experiments. But. ¡°We haven¡¯t seen anything like that?¡± ¡°Neither have we.¡± ¡°Our side was all ssrooms.¡± ¡°Then, how are we going to eat anything here?¡± ¡°Tha, that¡­¡± After a short silence, Karen¡¯s startled voice rang out. ¡°Hang on! Has seen any bathrooms here?¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t any?!¡± ¡°There was even an infirmary, there has to be bathrooms somewhere.¡± ¡°But, we haven¡¯t seen it yet.¡± ¡°There has to be. Even if we haven¡¯t seen it yet either.¡± ¡°Yeah, even if it¡¯s Professor Nicerwin¡­ even though we haven¡¯t seen them yet either¡­¡± After those words, an even grimmer silence greeted us. It was said that for humans to live, the essentials are food, clothing and shelter. But here? There¡¯s nothing. There¡¯s no shelter? No, this is a prison, not afortable lodging. Food? Do you think there¡¯s any food here? There¡¯s no cafeteria here? And finally, clothing. We¡¯re all wearing clothes. They might be pajamas, and although everyone was embarrassed at first, now they¡¯re pajamas that everyone¡¯s perfectly okay with! But why do we wear clothes? Is it not to hide our bodies? Then why do we hide our bodies? Is it not to show others our embarrassing parts! And there aren¡¯t any bathrooms! Out of all the shames he could have chosen to inflict on us! ¡°Pres! We found the bathroom! There are bathrooms!¡± ¡°Ah, thank goodness.¡± But thankfully, it seemed Professor Nicerwin hadn¡¯tpletely veered away from humanity yet. Although that didn¡¯t change the fact that it was him who¡¯d imprisoned us all to begin with! ¡°Alright then, getting back on track. What do we do for food?¡± ¡°Out of the guys who¡¯d rechecked again, no one¡¯s found anything resembling a cafeteria, right?¡± ¡°Yes, there was nothing like that.¡± Just what is Professor Nicerwin¡¯s objective? Does he think we can escape before that? Or he might actually be nning to starve us. What was certainly true was that Professor Nicerwin most definitely knew how to torment people. Before the holidays I¡¯d actually thought that Professor Nicerwin might have been a member of the evil organization Howling that was only destroyed justst year. The timing was roughly simr as well, right? This was simply a logical suspicion. No, considering the shit he was pulling now that suspicion still hadn¡¯t vanished! ¡°Search for clues with the knowledge we don¡¯t have any food. Don¡¯t search just the ssrooms, but also the bathroom toilet paper.¡± ¡°Can we escape by tomorrow?¡± ¡°It seems like it¡¯ll be hard, but it¡¯s not like we¡¯ve ever had it easy this entire year, right?¡± ¡°True¡­¡± ¡°Hey Pres, but those words¡¯re just cutting at our drive, you know?¡± ¡°I know right, we¡¯ve had it hard but we¡¯ve never seeded.¡± ¡°Damn it, the imperial festival. If we win the imperial festival then this hell is over too!¡± I had a quaint feeling seeing the third years clench their teeth in rage and vowing victory in the imperial festival, but it can¡¯t be helped. ¡°Imperial festival or whatever, we need to get out of here first to do it. So let¡¯s all try hard for just a bit longer.¡± After that, the number of duds were a lot less than we anticipated. Who knew? That there would actually be a clue on the bathroom toilet paper? And so after we found hints on the toilet paper, the ssroom motto and timetable, as well as in the documents in the teachers¡¯ office and handkerchiefs, and after we put them all together. ¨C The escape route is on the ceiling of 1. Was the sentence we got. ¡°I think we¡¯re missing some letters?¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t say which exact ceiling it was.¡± ¡°1? Do should we look through ssrooms 1 and 10?¡± ¡°Might it be the first floor?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it. When Risen was falling earlier, his screams were from a long way down. It¡¯s definitely not the first floor.¡± ¡°Then half of us look for ceilings in ces with 1 in them, while the rest of us look for other clues.¡± While the sentence was nearlyplete, we didn¡¯t really expect for it to tell us where the escape route was so easily. No, on the contrary, considering how easily it was telling us where to escape, the method to escape was undoubtedly even harder! And after we scoured through all the ssrooms with 1 in them, and every other room in this building. ¡°There¡¯s nowhere to escape in the ceilings.¡± We still couldn¡¯t find the way to escape. #11 Their story: Risen de Roa¡¯s story. -Is he still not awake? -Isn¡¯t he actually dead? -Leave the corpse! Find clues first! -Damn it, another dud! I could hear voices within my faint consciousness. These were familiar voices. As if¡­ yes. The voices of the shocked student council after we woke up after betting beaten by the silver devil during night study¡­ ¡®Eh? Why am I hearing this?¡¯ I was definitely on holiday. Then wouldn¡¯t it be normal to not hear these? So why can I hear these sounds? -Oi, contractor? Enough avoiding reality now, and wake up? Loki¡¯s voice started to echo through my head. Avoiding reality? What on earth was that supposed to mean? -The fact that you fainted when you tried to escape and got beaten up by the silver devil for it. Ugghhh¡­ I felt memories that shouldn¡¯t be reviveding back up. Yes. That was it. When I woke up the vice-pres¡¯s face was suddenly in front of me, and the other student council members around me. A magic video of Professor Nicerwin wearing a weird mask came on and said let¡¯s y a game. -Is what he says, and when we open the door, the hallway will be full of teachers, won¡¯t it? Yes, so I said and as I broke down the wall and jumped out¡­ -This, this is! -Bad childwen! When ya y a game ya need ta stick to th¡¯ rules! -N, no! Yes, when I saw where we were as I fell to the ground and was surprised as a result, the devil came. -For the bad boy who doesn¡¯t stick to the rules, the trial of justice! Justice tushitushi! -What kinda bullshit is thaaat! And like that, I was beaten up by the silver devil¡­ and I fainted? -If you know then stop grumbling, and get up. ¡°Kuughhh¡­¡± By entire body¡¯s sore but I still get up while clutching my head. If the people I see in front of me are students, then what I am also seeing is the ssroom I see every day. But the difference was that the students inside said ssroom were not wearing uniforms, but pajamas instead, and were frantically running around with their faces sheet white instead. The fact that they were running around so frantically, probably meant that whatever game Professor Nicerwin mentioned wasn¡¯t going very well. And the fact that their faces were so pale meant that there was something pretty desperateing soon¡­. Was the deviling? ¡°Vice-pres, you awake?¡± ¡°Risen¡¯s up!¡± ¡°Someone get Pres!¡± When they saw me wake up, some of the stuco members hurriedly ran off somewhere, and shortly afterwards the pres and vice-pres came for me. ¡°Risen, you good?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, a bit. But Pres, the game Professor Nicerwin was talking about, have you made any progress?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve found nearly all the clues, but we can¡¯t find the escape route.¡± It was weird that Pres was shaking his head with a scowl. ¡°What¡¯s the rush? Does the silver devile after us if we¡¯rete for this too?¡± ¡°No, not that but¡­¡± ¡°We have no food.¡± The vice-pres answers instead of the hesitating president. ¡°Food?¡± ¡°Mm. We¡¯ve searched everywhere but there¡¯s nothing to eat.¡± ¡°No food¡­¡± The fact that there¡¯s no food means that it will be very difficult to hold out for a long time. Does Professor Nicerwin simply want to punish us for noting to school over a short period of time? I¡¯d say no. If he was just going to punish us, there is no reason for him to kidnap the entire student council to a ssroom without anyone the wiser for no apparent reason. It is weird that he¡¯d do something this bothersome where he has so many alternative ways of going about things. Then that must mean he has some other purpose in mind¡­ -Loki, why would he deliberately deny us food when he says he wants to y a game? -Wiing? Well¡­ he¡¯s probably using food as a tool for the game. -Tool? -Yeah, a tool. He¡¯s using food in order to progress the game. For example, being able to purchase it, or giving us food when we do something. Tha, that kind of method! But since we can¡¯t buy anything here we can imply that the most likely thing was that he would give us food in response to specific actions. ¡°Pres, I think he¡¯s going to use food to make us do something.¡± ¡°That¡¯s possible.¡± Pres too, nodded in agreement. Then there¡¯s only one thing we have to do. Escape from here, before Professor Nicerwin gives us something ridiculous to do as a mission! ¡°What have we found so far?¡± ¡°The escape route is on the ceiling of 1. It feels like there¡¯s something else at the end, but this is all we have so far.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve searched every ceiling we could call a ceiling but we¡¯ve found nothing.¡± Their expressions are serious. But unlike the other two, I understood something. There¡¯s an escape route in the ceiling? So they searched the ceiling but they found nothing? That¡¯s a matter of course. Because in this ceiling, there¡¯s nothing. ¡°Pres, you know where this is?¡± ¡°No, I know this is a ssroom simr to Yugrasia¡¯s, but this isn¡¯t Yugrasia.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong.¡± For once in a very long time, I deny the president¡¯s words with a serious face. This is definitely Yugrasia. And the fact that we don¡¯t know where this is despite that, is because this is a ce that even the student council have been banned from since Professor Nicerwin arrived. ¡°Pres, this is Yugrasia. The rooftop.¡± The sights that I saw as I jumped down. The familiar sights of the school named Yugrasia! Indeed! This ce was made in none other than the Yugrasia¡¯s rooftop! ¡°Probably, what we¡¯d get if we got all the clues is ¡®the escape route is on the ceiling of the 10th floor.¡¯ Meaning, there¡¯s an escape route in the floor somewhere.¡± And thirty minutester. In the floor of a certain ssroom, we discovered a hidden staircase leading to the lower floor. Chapter 56 RATH 56 TL: Eevee #11 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story ¡°We¡¯re out of time!¡± ¡°Damn it, breaaaaakkk!¡± As if this moment was thest in my life. I focused andpressed my spread-out mana into a single point. ¡°This kid¡¯s getting scarier.¡± Professor Muam scowled as he looked at me. But it can¡¯t be helped. Why? Because from now the silver devil is getting closer! ¡°Diiiiieeeee!¡± ¡°Hold up, isn¡¯t ¡®die¡¯ still a bit too much to your teacher¡­?¡± As Professor Muam scowled and put his hand forward, water gathered and made a blue shape. -Kagagagagagagk! As the red beam and the blue mass collided the sound screeched throughout the first floor hallway. ¡°Nkiuuagh!¡± ¡°Nhoooooo!¡± At the same time, I could hear screams of pain as well as the tushitushi sound from the other end of the hallway. ¡°Why is it impossible to get used to that!¡± ¡°Damn it, if you¡¯ve got time to talk, break through this thing!¡± The words ¡®tushitushi¡¯ began toe nearer and nearer. ¡°Please, can¡¯t you let us off just this once? The student council isn¡¯t here either!¡± ¡°Ahh, true. If the student council kids were here then even I would be having trouble.¡± Unlike my frantic self, Professor Muam was calm. Damn it, someone who hadn¡¯t even been hit by that thing would never know our pain! ¡°Pleeeeaaaaaasse!¡± -Do your best, Aris! -Help me out, goddess! -Don¡¯t wanna! I got beaten up with youst time I did! I asked for help from the goddess that was only cheering me on from the sidelines as always, but I was instantly refused. It seemed like the time when I didn¡¯t desummon her and got beaten up by the silver devil together had quite arge effect on her. ¡°I, have no other choice as well!¡± I gave my everything to the spear. Not just the mana that had dispersed to the surroundings, but my all, a single strike imbued with my soul! ¡°The kids in this academy really are weird¡­¡± If he¡¯d been hit just once, he¡¯d understand why. But not knowing that, Professor Muam simply did his job to the best of his abilities. ¡°Daaaaaammmnn iiit aalllllllll!¡± Ourrgest fighting force, the student council all vanished overniht. At first I thought they¡¯d run away, but ording to Professor Nicerwin the entirety of the student council are at school. And moreover, they¡¯re eating and sleeping at school as they focus on academia! The moment I heard that. I realised that the student council had gone and caused something, and Professor Nicerwin solved that problem. They were probably imprisoned somewhere in this academy right now. And because of that our chances of victory plummeted! ¡°Hyaaaaaahp!¡± The devil had alreadye down, any further attacks are irrelevant. And because of that I threw my everything into a single attack , and the result¡­ ¡°N, no way!¡± ¡°Uraaaaaaahhhh!¡± As I saw the blue mass slowly but surely split apart I felt an electrifying euphoria run through my body. ¡°I did it!¡± ¡°¡­is whatcha think!¡± And that euphoria quickly vanished, reced by a fear that pierced through by body. ¡°Sa, save me¡­¡± ¡°Told ya unni doesn¡¯t kill?¡± The silver devil raised her hands high with a bright smile, but I had already attacked with all my strength. There¡¯s no way I can run away, right? ¡°Then please, hit me as little as possible.¡± And so the only thing I can do is beg like this. ¡°Wiing? I¡¯m the type t¡¯ eat the tastiest thingsst¡­¡± I looked around. Nothing. There was no one left but me. ¡°I, I don¡¯t taste good.¡± ¡°Nope, you and the goddess ya contracted with are the tastiest to my hands in this entire academy. Dat¡¯s somefin¡¯ this goddess Arcadia can guawantee!¡± I got guaranteed something I never wanted confirmed. To put it simply, that means since I¡¯m the best to hit, she¡¯s going to hit me for a long time, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Noooooooooo!¡± ¡°Yes, scream and struggle like that! That¡¯s even tastier!¡± I had no strength in my legs to allow me to stand up, so I tried to escape by crawling along the floor, but I couldn¡¯t proceed forward. All I could do was wait for the devil¡¯s mercy, that was watching my struggles with an evil grin. It was then. ¡°Uwaaaa!¡± ¡°Run! Whatever you do, keep running!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the devil, the devil dead ahead!¡± A group d in pyjamas came screaming down from the second floor. But even from afar, any student of Yugrasia would recognise them as the student council. ¡°Wiing? Here alweady?¡± As I saw the devil¡¯s two eyes sparkle, I realised. Ahhh¡­ I have been saved. I, am no longer thest to be eaten! ¡°What a shame¡­¡± As I looked at the silver devil licking her chops, I was certain that I had been saved. ¡°Hmm¡­ then unni, let¡¯s y with me some moreter?¡± I don¡¯t want to. Even if the world was to end, I will not y with you. As I saw the tiny fiste closer as I made that resolve, I could fall into a peaceful rest with just one punch. The next day. I heard the story of what had happened to my knights on a white horse¡­ or rather sandbags in pyjamas that were the student council from Professor Nicerwin. And¡­ I decided to be thankful of the fact, that I could go to school. #12 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story ¡°Alright, advance scouts, lead the way.¡± Using a simple light magic, we began descending the dark stairs. This academy was seriously screwed in all sorts of ways to the point where I was wondering whether I was going to the academy or exploring an ancient ruin. What if we never realised that this was the school¡¯s rooftop from Risen¡¯s brave leap of faith? How much longer would we have searched the ceiling for the escape route? No hang on, even before that. Just what was Professor Nicerwin thinking to remodel the academy¡¯s rooftop like this? Was he anticipating that we would be truant? Then in that case, couldn¡¯t he have treated us all a tiny bit more humanely so we wouldn¡¯t have to do this to begin with? But what could we do. The enemy was the master of the silver devil, the sessor of the evil god. And because of that all we can do is run away. Like Lady Aris said, let¡¯s be satisfied that we graduate in a year, no, half a year from now. ¡°Pres, over there¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a door that looks like a trap no matter how you look at it.¡± Was it there because this was the rooftop. A tantly suspicious wooden door was embedded into the floor. ¡°But since it¡¯s the first door we¡¯ve seen so far, we need to open it right?¡± ¡°True. We need to escape.¡± ¡°But pres, that door looks way to suspicious.¡± ¡°Also true.¡± It looked like a door that led outdoors, but was that truly the door that would let us leave? Might it instead be a door that leads to hell, or even heaven? ¡°We have no choice. We have to open it.¡± But we can¡¯t give up on our only lead so far. What Professor Nicerwin had always done was set out bait that we would have to approach no matter how much we knew we would be hooked. ¡°Who¡¯s opening it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll open it. If anything happens to me, ditch me and run.¡± With a solemn face, one of the student council members approached the wooden door and gripped the handle. And with a solemn face he said to us. ¡°It¡¯s not opening?¡± ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s not a push door?¡± ¡°No, I pushed and pulled. It¡¯s not opening?¡± I pushed and pulled on the door myself but the door showed no sign of moving. ¡°Is it just a decoration?¡± ¡°It might have a special mechanism like the nk pages. Try adding magic power to it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no response no matter how much we put in!¡± ¡°Is it actually just a decoration?¡± Was a very ssy looking door, but it didn¡¯t open. ¡°Hang on a minute, everyone think like Professor Nicerwin would.¡± ¡°Throw away your feelings as a human?¡± ¡°Yes, abandon all your feelings as a human, think only with a heart full of evil.¡± We even thought from Professor Nicerwin¡¯s point of view as we red at the door. ¡°There¡¯s a door just outright sitting here. But it doesn¡¯t open. If you were Professor Nicerwin, what kind of contraption would he have installed in here to screw us all over?¡± ¡°Might it actually be Professor Nicerwin¡¯s will for us to just sit here and put our heads together?¡± ¡°No, would the devil be satisfied with just that? I honestly think it¡¯s more likely that this door is actually a real one?¡± ¡°Same here. There¡¯s probably another way for us to open this door.¡± ¡°Sunbaes, do you reckon that Professor Nicerwin anticipated all this and just carved out the shape of a door in the floor, and stuck a handle to it?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t leave that option out either.¡± ¡°Think of all the ways that we might smack the ground in rageter.¡± ¡°When we realised it a bit further out, we were all under Professor Nicerwin¡¯s spell and we¡¯re all dreaming.¡± ¡°And when we came to we were all in bed sleeping the exact same dream? What the hell. That¡¯s scary but if it¡¯s Professor Nicerwin I think it actually might be possible?¡± There honestly can¡¯t be any bullshittier bullshit than this. But the thought that if it was linked to Professor Nicerwin, it might actually be possible had us all in goosebumps. ¡°Uuu¡­ should we pinch ourselves?¡± ¡°No, if it¡¯s Professor Nicerwin I think he could make it hurt even if we pinched ourselves in our dreams.¡± ¡°Yeah, or developed a device with ck Anvil to do something like that.¡± ¡°Honestly when you talk about dreams you¡¯d think of that legendary demon, the subus, but it sounds oddly convincing when you mention the ck Anvil.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem anything is impossible for Made in ck Anvil, after all.¡± What can I say, although our delusions of the ck Anvil seemed to be getting more and more out of proportion, but. It can¡¯t be helped? The space we were currently in was more likely than not built by the ck Anvil n as well. ¡°Any other opinions?¡± I looked around, but it didn¡¯t seem like there were any other opinions. Was it because the ¡®it was all just a dream!¡¯ theory just too strong? ¡°I just thought of something else.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± The secretary who normally had no presence, and had no particr features to speak of other than his spectacles raised his hand. ¡°This is the space between the rooftop and the tenth floor, and when we consider that door is the exit, that door would probably be the ceiling of the tenth floor, right?¡± ¡°It would.¡± ¡°Even if we haven¡¯t been on the rooftop this entire semester, we still used a lot of the ssrooms on the tenth floor.¡± Now that I thought about it, it was true. Even if the rooftop was off-limits, the tenth floor was where the special ssrooms that were used for a lot of different sses were located. ¡°In that case, wouldn¡¯t a simple push or pull be too simple of a method to open it?¡± ¡°But it¡¯s the ck Anvil?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± But another stuco member shut down the secretary when he was about to say something. ck Anvil. Those were magic words. The secretary who¡¯d taken a critical hit with that magic seemed to struggle a bit with his mouth closed, before nodding as if he had epted it. ¡°Should I just stop talking?¡± ¡°No, say what you were going to say.¡± Although it seemed like his confidence had dropped because of ck Anvil, but since his words were the most realistic we¡¯d heard so far I decided to hear him out to the end. ¡°Then might this door just be a simple push door as well?¡± ¡°We tried pushing it earlier but it didn¡¯t work?¡± ¡°Not like that, to the side.¡± At his reasonable words, people immediately jumped up and pulled the door sideways. Click. ¡°Huh? Wasn¡¯t there a noise?¡± ¡°Is this for real? Was it seriously to the side!¡± ¡°You did it, secretary sunbae! To be honest you had no presence beside the treasurer sunbae!¡± ¡°Yeah, at least we saw the treasurer sunbae a lot because of finance stuff, but since we never had to see the secretary at all, you had even less presence, but you finally did it!¡± ¡°Shut up, you morons! I have no presence because I¡¯m always cleaning up after those idiots we call vice-presidents whenever they do something stupid!¡± As we pulled the door handle with grunts, the gap widened as we could see a faint light through the crack. ¡°We can finally escape!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let your guards down! We still don¡¯t know what mighte out!¡± Finally, there was enough room for one person to fit through. And as I, the representative and the leader went through the gap first. ¡°You arrived quicker than I expected.¡± Sitting at the table with a smile that looked sagacious only on the outside, was Professor Nicerwin waiting for me! ¡°Oi, close it! Ditch the pres and shut the door!¡± And the other student council members immediately abandoned abandoned me and shut the door the moment they saw Professor Nicerwin! ¡°Don¡¯t close it! Don¡¯t close it and get your butts down here you assholes!¡± And after a twenty minute fight began between those who sought to open the door and those who sought to close it. And in the end, I literally kicked the other traitor student council members¡¯ asses and pushed them in front of Professor Nicerwin. Chapter 57 RATH 57 TL: Eevee 7. Is your backside safe? (9) ¡°As expected of the student council.¡± ¡°No, we were simply lucky.¡± The stuco pres nodded affirmatively with a few others following suit. No seriously, there¡¯s no need to be so stiff here? Their bodies were all rigid exactly like people lining up for a job interview. Anyone would think I was about to eat you kids. Loosen up a bit! ¡°Are the others noting yet?¡± ¡°Yes, we were going to be the first scouts, followed by everyone else but¡­¡± What¡¯s with the ¡®but¡¯? Surely you weren¡¯t going to say that the reason that the others aren¡¯ting down isn¡¯t me, were you? I put in looooooootts of effort to personally look after the students who were ying hooky as a group! So what¡¯s with this treatment? Isn¡¯t this too much? When this happens the majority of the teachers would simply ignore it. But I personally moved to bring the students to school, and teach the importance of being able toe to school. Where else would you find a teacher like me? Although of course I didn¡¯t say that out loud. Because I didn¡¯t want to get stabbed! ¡°In that case, it would be better to get everyone together as quickly as possible.¡± ¡°Eh? Could you please tell us why?¡± Although I didn¡¯t mean anything much when I said that, just what are the student council thinking of me when they tense up like that. No, even before that, the other members that are taking upbat positions are looking at me like I¡¯m some arch-demon king of the century¡¯s end? Seriously, how cruel. ¡°Because the time is past 1PM right now.¡± I need to endure it as I am a kind person. As my gaze turns to the grandfather clock in the corner of the room, the faces of everyone else present in the room follow it. Current time 1:02 PM. Even if I¡¯ve been telling the metal bat to walk more slowlytely for the sake of the students¡¯ motivation, she should still have gotten to the seventh floor by now, easy. ¡°1PM? Why¡­ hang on!¡± The stuco president mulled over my words for a bit before his eyes shot wide open in horror. ¡°P, pres?¡± ¡°What is it!¡± The others who hadn¡¯t yet caught on grabbed onto the pres, who was visibly shaking either in horror or range, but the pres did not answer. ¡°Is what I¡¯m thinking¡­ correct?¡± As he asked me with the face of someone who was just told of the end of the world, I smiled back. ¡°Yes, it is.¡± ¡°Run!¡± ¡°What the hell¡¯s that supposed to mean, pres?¡± ¡°Exin, pres!¡± ¡°Morons! What else is there at 1PM? We need to meet up with the other students and run before we get beaten by the silver devil!¡± Indeed. I took the ¡®right to go to school¡¯ from these kids. And so if they want to go to school again? They need to leave school first. If the moment when they heard my video say [let the game begin] was the prologue, the room escape part wouldn¡¯t even be a 100 pages out of a 300 page novel! If they want to see the epilogue of safely returning to their dorms, they need to break through the metal bat and escape from the academy! ¡°Wha, what about everyone still up there?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have time for that right now! Now¡¯s our chance! If we give up now we might never be able to go back!¡± Although some people tried to take care of the people still in the rooftop as well, one by one they also began to agree with the president, and the moment he barged out the door, everyone else followed behind. ¡°Just why does one of the long-esteemed Four Great Academies carry the scent of the evil organization to it.¡± If the metal bat was here she¡¯d probably yell ¡°cuz it¡¯s all owner¡¯s fault!¡± Of course there¡¯s nothing for me to feel guilty about. Since it¡¯s an evil organization with a long and distinguished history, perhaps things with deep histories share simrities with each other. I wondered if I should close the open ceiling, but since the others had toe down anyway I decided to leave it alone. And exactly 1 hourter. ¡°Re, really?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± The one who poked her head through the gap in the door was the female vice-president, Karen, as her face twisted in betrayal. ¡°Idiot, think for a second.¡± The one who calmed her down was her fellow vice-president, and the one who came up with the moronically insane idea of ying truant. Risen smiled brightly as he consoled her. ¡°Those idiots, I think they¡¯re flustered enough that they forgot something.¡± ¡°Mm?¡± ¡°Even with thirty minutes in advance, even with every avable man backing them we still couldn¡¯t beat the silver devil, and yet they¡¯re trying to run eventer than her? Do you think that¡¯s possible?¡± ¡°Th, that¡¯s true?¡± ¡°Yep. So all we need to do now is wait for the corpses of the idiot pres and hisckeys toe back and kick them once they¡¯re back.¡± As far as I knew, this kid was the first one to break through the walls and run away by himself, but since that was a matter to be discussed with the student council I decided to overlook it for now. And shortly afterwards. As Risen had predicted, the other teachers and their smaller summons came in with the pres and the other runners over their shoulders, dumped them in front of us and left wordlessly. ¡°Well, since more or less all the relevant people have all gathered, I will now tell you the escape conditions.¡± ¡°This wasn¡¯t the escape?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. If you wish to go to school, you must leave school first.¡± At my words Karen made a tantly despairing expression, and Risen bowed his head. He might actually charge and try to knife me or¡­ ¡°Fu¡­ fufufu¡­¡± Yep he¡¯s insane. I need to prepare to call the metal bat¡­ ¡°Wahahahaha! We were already anticipating that much!¡± Eh? ¡°If you¡¯d told us to just go on our way, I would have been so anxious I wouldn¡¯t even be able to sleep properly, but since this was exactly what I expected, we can just escape with an easy mind!¡± ¡°Wh, what the¡­ Risen, are you mad?¡± On the contrary, a surprised Karen was the one grabbing onto Risen. ¡°Mad, no I¡¯m perfectly normal! The mad one is this world, not me!¡± ¡°Wiing, it¡¯s the reality denial that owner¡¯s so good at!¡± At some point the metal bat had returned and nodded her head at Risen. Me? That? ¡°Yep. Owner doezzat a lot. Ya pretend to be all serious and solemn and whatnot when there are other people around, when no one¡¯s here, or just with me ya be a lunatic like dat.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t.¡± Even if I do lose myself more than normal when I¡¯m alone, surely I wouldn¡¯t look as insane as that. ¡°See, denying reality already. I¡¯m telling ya owner¡¯s simr ta him, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°Kwahahahahahaha!¡± ¡°Ri, Risen! Hey you guys,e help and get this lunatic under control!¡± Karen restrained his arms and requested help from the other members but they did not approach. Their faces were saying it was useless to approach a rabid dog. I do have a lot of people around me, you know? I don¡¯t go that far? -And those peeps around ya are that princess or ya disciples? -Wait, what the heck is this oddly convincing feeling! Ah, now that disciples were mentioned I remembered. One of those monstrous disciples was currently at Marcis. The opponent was the master of the archdevil Surtr, a daughter of the Nermia family, one of the esteemed magician ns. Normally one of Marcis¡¯ weaknesses would be that their talents are caught in between the faction wars of the imperial family and the Magic Tower. Her family is a giant among giants in the imperial court. Her grandfather is one of the current heads of the Magic Tower. She is in a position where she simply cannot be touched, where no one in Marcis could dare to pull rank on her. And so she¡¯d probably get a ridiculous amount of resources as well. Unlike us at Yugrasia who had to all in on pretty much non-existent funds! Could the strongest of the current members, the stuco president and vice-president, be able to defeat her in a one on one? -Alright, time to raise the difficulty! -Tho¡¯ dat¡¯s the devil talking, if it means I get more time ta shine I¡¯m A-OK with that! So whatcha gonna do? To fight against someone who has been trained in an evil organization, we just need to throw them into identical conditions. -We just have to do exactly what we did in the evil organization! -Ta think an evil organization would be so useful for school life! Sho amazing! The effectiveness of an evil organization that even the metal bat approves of! Everyone, as long as an evil organization doesn¡¯t fall, it¡¯s really great! ¡°It makes me pleased to see how positively you are epting this.¡± ¡°Uwuuuu¡­ uwahhh¡­¡± Karen, who had been trying to pacify Risen made a resentful face as her mouth twitched but let¡¯s ignore that. We¡¯re going old school version. Back to the evil organization style! ¡°In that case, as a suitable reward I will give you a hint.¡± ¡°Hint?¡± ¡°Yes, a hint. Everyone here needs to leave school. And right now, it¡¯s the holidays.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that¡­¡± ¡°It means that there is no particr set time where you can leave school.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± As if she understood, Karen¡¯s eyes opened widely before they went back to normal. Now, with this I even allowed night escapes. With this much this should be a splendid carrot! And naturally, the stick must follow the carrot! And, that stick would be a very effective stick that gave me extremely brilliant results back in the evil organization. ¡°However, regarding meals. Only ten people will receive food per meal.¡± ¡°Huh? What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± For the record, although humans are very responsive to the sound of carrots, they are very bad at listening for the whip. There¡¯s a reason why the army is the ce where you hear the words ¡°I couldn¡¯t quite hear that?¡± Because since it¡¯s the ce with the most whippings, of course you¡¯d pretend to not have heard it! ¡°It is as I have said. Since the student cafeteria does not operate during the holidays, supplies can only be limited.¡± ¡°W, wait a second Professor! Supplies? Not even meals but supplies?!¡± Ohh, as you¡¯d expect from the student council¡¯s vice-president, she¡¯s quick to catch on. Yes, I said supplies, not meals. Because this is war! This is a crusade for Yugrasia to regain its superiority as the greatest of the Four Great Academies of the empire! And in order to strengthen the soldiers for the holy war, I will be giving out supplies, not meals! ¡°That is because I have no reason to provide food for everyone.¡± ¡°Professor!¡± ¡°Every day at 7AM, 1PM, and 5:30PM various supply drops will appear throughout the academy. Your task is to find them and dispose of them.¡± ¡°Uuuughhhh¡­¡± As I ignored her desperate pleas and finished what I had to say, all Karen could do was bite down on her lips and re at me, shivering. -And with this, dat¡¯s another person what might slit owner¡¯s throat while ya sleep! Meh, big deal. Since I don¡¯t think adding one or two more at this point won¡¯t make that big a difference to the safety of my neck, proceed the n as is. ¡°Wait, Professor!¡± ¡°Is there something you wish to say, Risen?¡± The boy who had only just beenughing like a maniac made a serious face all of a sudden. And, that boy understood the key point perfectly. ¡°So. All. We. Have. To. Do. Is. Find. Them. And. Dispose. Of. Them?¡± ¡°Yes. Find. Them. And. Dispose. Of. Them.¡± To the boy who said that with short, sharp words I replied likewise. ¡°I understand.¡± At Risen¡¯s words, in my mind¡¯s eye his image ovepped with No.1000¡¯s for a second. -Owner, ya putting on some real airs talking t¡¯ him, whazzup? -Not much. Like I said, if hees into the supplies on his own he can dispose of them as he likes. -Whazzat mean? -Now, think. There are ten prepared supply caches. Inparison, the number of students is 20. Now, what would be the most effective way to distribute these? -Eat ¡¯em together? -Indeed. The n was to put in slightly more than 1 person¡¯s worth. Even if you were hungry, there is always people that eat less than others. -So whazzat got ta do with what ya said to him? -He more or less asked me outright if he could eat them by himself. Those who will survive will survive. To think he¡¯d piece together the hints I¡¯d simply tossed out toe up with that conclusion. Their battle from here on out will be an endurance game. In that case, the most important thing could very well be those lunchboxes. You can only starve for a couple of days at most, if that were to eat away at your stamina over a prolonged period of time then that could have a very big effect on your ability to escape. -Ta think th¡¯ most effective training method at th¡¯ evil organization was not feeding ¡¯em¡­ I think a lotta masters in this world¡¯d deny dat tho? -The best training methods are the most effective ones after all. No seriously, I had a pretty well-bnced training regime written up myself, but the moment I didn¡¯t feed them these kids just fought among themselves and got stronger. Then there¡¯s no need for me to use any other training methods is there? Even now I simply tossed the idea out, and someone¡¯s responding to it already. And so, it can¡¯t be helped. ¡°Ah, and there¡¯s something else I forgot to mention. Every time someone escapes, the number of supply caches will decrease by one with it.¡± -Owner¡¯z a devil! Yes, for the sake of Yugrasia¡¯s victory, I will be a devil! That day, the ultimate training method of the (former) greatest evil organization in the empire, was initiated in one of the empire¡¯s greatest academies. Chapter 58 RATH 58 TL: Eevee 7. Is your backside safe? (10) #13 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story ¡°Of course we need to eat it all together.¡± After we charged in, and realised once again that we were no match for the silver devil. As if we¡¯d been hit by the legendary space-time magic, when we woke up we were on the rooftop again, and were punished once more by the other student council members. Vice-president Karen had been stomping one of the other stuco members when almost as an afterthought, she told us what happened with Professor Nicerwin. And the contents of which, that we would have supplies prepared for us. But there was no way that that devil of an instructor would ever just give it to us, and as I expected, while there were twenty of us, there would only be ten peoples¡¯ worth of supplies. And moreover. ¡°Isn¡¯t 1PM around the time where all the students are busy escaping?¡± To think he¡¯d make us scavenge for food in the middle of that intense struggle! ¡°It is. And it¡¯s also the time that the silver devil shows up.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that just asking for her to beat us up as runaways?¡± ¡°No, but we have to escape, after all.¡± ¡°But, we have to think of the possibility of failure and get food as well.¡± ¡°Our final boss is the silver devil after all.¡± ¡°Damn it, I¡¯d honestly rather fight the demon king. At least you actually can die against that.¡± ¡°The old heroes had it easy. At least they got to die if they lost?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t even die.¡± Not even the soldiers that fought in the Great War that was said to have overturned the continent would have had to face our current dilemma. They who went out to fight for their country, to defend their families were truly honourable, but just what the hell do we have to face this deathly fear for? Learning? Was the upation of a student always this dangerous and fearful? The other academies aren¡¯t like this! ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. This is just our fate.¡± Did one of the great generals of the Great War not say this to his conscripted troops? [As long as you don¡¯t die this will be but a passing memory!] ¡°Just three more months. Once the imperial festival ends, we¡¯ll be free.¡± ¡°Though I don¡¯t think our sanities¡¯llst that long, Pres?¡± ¡°I totally agree with you on that, but it can¡¯t be helped. Firstly, including Risen, five people good with speed should form a team to secure food supplies.¡± I put forward a motion to split into teams to find food, but a rebuttal came immediately. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to give up on lunch? Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to focus on breaking through?¡± We never broke through the front gates even with all our forces. Although we¡¯d never actually gotten beyond the first floor to begin with. ¡°No, who knows whether Professor Nicerwin¡¯s idea of a single person¡¯s portion might actually be a logical single portion or not.¡± ¡°For example, a baby¡¯s portion, or an elf¡¯s portion.¡± ¡°Yes, so it¡¯s better to get as many supplies as possible. Plus, he said that he¡¯d provide ten portions throughout the academy, he never said he¡¯d give us ten portions.¡± But our enemy is the man who annihtesmon sense, Professor Nicerwin. Against a person that might do literally anything and everything, obtaining food for the long game is a must. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go hunt for dinner!¡± Two hourster after I shouted so confidently. ¡°Is, is there any to begin with?¡± We couldn¡¯t even find a trace of anything that remotely resembled food. ¡°Is there really nothing?¡± ¡°Nothing. I even had a canine-type summon try to smell it out, but there¡¯s no ce with food in it outside the night-watch rooms.¡± ¡°Have you considered invisibility magic, or some other magic interference?¡± ¡°At least in the rooms we¡¯ve searched so far, we¡¯ve gone over it with every method we know, but still nothing.¡± Did it mean that food was only avable from tomorrow? But if it was, then he would have¡­ surely not? ¡°Hang on, I need to go check something.¡± ¡°Want us toe with you?¡± ¡°No, I think it might be better if I go alone first.¡± Since it was an absolutely utterly ridiculous thought, I went alone to confirm first. If it wasst year, this would be an unimaginable idea, but this year is different. ¡°It¡¯s the student council president Nerkia.¡± ¡°Hm? Ah, c¡¯mon in.¡± When I knocked lightly on the door and revealed my identity, I got permission from the other side to enter. The time right now was almost 10PM. Right now in this dark academy, neither students nor teachers remained. But even so there were still people at school, and they were us on the school¡¯s rooftop. ¡°What brings you here at this time of night?¡± And the teachers on night duty in the night-watch rooms! Just in case of emergency, there were always a number of teachers on standby in the academy, and they would guard the school until the other teachers arrived the next day. ¡°Professor, by any chance did you hear anything about Professor Nicerwin since today?¡± And it was also currently the only ce in the school where food had been discovered. ¡°Hm? Professor Nicerwin?¡± The teacher tilted his head to the side as he thought, and said. ¡°Nothing special. Just that since you kids are living in the roof, don¡¯t pay them too much notice as long as they don¡¯t try running away, and aside from that there was nothing that you kids would have to worry about.¡± For a start, I obtained intel that the night-watch teachers would try to capture us if we tried to flee. But since we¡¯d expected that to begin with, that wasn¡¯t that big a deal. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to do with us. Just anything out of the ordinary.¡± ¡°Hm? Out of the ordinary outside of¡­ ah! That was it. For some reason he told us to bring two packed meals. And to always eat after 7:30 as well. It¡¯s a weird ask, but since it¡¯s on the orders of Professor Nicerwin, the man who¡¯s pretty much the top dog of the academy I pretty much have to listen. But well, so I brought one for dinner, and one as a snack.¡± Ahh¡­ my delusions were slowly bing reality. ¡°Professor, as far as I know, there are a total of five teachers on night watch, did he say that to all the teachers on night duty?¡± ¡°Probably? Since it came as an announcement to all the night staff. If you¡¯re working the night shift then that applies to all of us.¡± Five teachers on night duty. Two lunches each. Exactly ten packed meals in total. And moreover, they were told only to eat past 7:30. In this situation where my absolutely nonsensical imaginations was turning to reality, my brain began whirring into gear. ¡°So that has nothing to do with us.¡± ¡°Well, true. It would be weirder if it did.¡± My poker face was absolutely wless to the point that I thought I might try my hand at acting if I ever had nothing to do in the future. Thankfully, the people who were guarding our food supplies were also unaware that what they were holding was our meals. Or, should we be considering ourselves unfortunate that five of the food supplies had already disappeared. No, what was certain here was that the man who came up with all this, Professor Nicerwin, was definitely not human. And so after exchanging some few more minutes of idle chatter to prevent him from bing suspicious, I left and immediately headed back up to the rooftop. ¡°Now, listen up. Our food supplies are the teachers¡¯ packed meals.¡± Just what would the reactions be if I¡¯d said this in any other academy? The majority of them would think that I¡¯d gone mad. But this is Yugrasia. In this already insane academy, the students who had turned insane epted this story calmly. ¡°So we just need to invade the night watch room?¡± ¡°Easy. We¡¯ve been fighting the teachers for how long now.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s the teachers¡¯ lunchboxes then there some of them might already be eaten?¡± ¡°Damn it, we need to loot them quicker from now on.¡± Looking at my trustworthyrades who epted the need to steal the teachers dinners as if it was obvious without a word of opposition, I exined a strategy. And. ¡°Excuse me, Professor?¡± ¡°Hm? What is it, Karen?¡± ¡°I discovered something odd, could you pleasee with me?¡± ¡°Huh? In the academy?¡± As expected from a Yugrasia student, that was some brilliant acting. I honestly think that our acting skills which we honed by ying dead with our lives under threat from the silver devil had already hit the levels of a master. ¡°Charge.¡± Very simply, the moment we saw Karen lead away the teacher from the night watch room we immediately ran in and began searching for food. ¡°Here, found a lunchbox!¡± ¡°One here too! But this one¡¯s already empty.¡± ¡°So one to start? What are its contents?¡± ¡°Urk¡­ a lunchbox with some fruit and vegetables. There¡¯s¡­ no meat.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t grumble. That¡¯s still our important food supplies.¡± ¡°Report from the fifth floor! Fifth floor is empty! All the lunchboxes on the fifth floor are empty!¡± ¡°Third floor reporting in! A lunchbox with arge quantity of meat discovered!¡± ¡°Seventh floor reporting in! The contents of the seventh floor lunchbox is bread!¡± ¡°Alright, now we just need the first floor to seed¡­¡± After the quick raid, I nodded my head satisfied at the reports of the people in charge ofmunications. When we put the menu together, it seemed like we would be able to put together a simple sandwich at least. Now the important thing was the first floor. Since we could escape from the first floor, the moment we approached it, no, even the second floor, the responses of the teachers would be different. ¡°First floor, food discovered! The contents are meat simr to smoked chicken and some vegetables!¡± ¡°Very good, brilliant! Did the teachers not suspect anything?¡± ¡°They say they just outright begged for them. The teachers just gave them their lunchboxes when they said they came to beg for food because they were too hungry.¡± ¡°Very good. If you bother to concern yourself with something like pride then it¡¯s hard to survive in Yugrasia. But we can¡¯t use that again, can we?¡± ¡°Most likely so. There¡¯s no way Professor Nicerwin would permit them to hand over their lunchboxes so easily.¡± ¡°Everyone return to the rooftop with your spoils!¡± Our first sortie had a 50% sess rate. Because of that, each person¡¯s share was only a 1/4 portion of bread, meat and vegetables. But as I ate these meager rations a tear dripped out the corner of my right eye. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Were these tears for how tasty these rations were. Or, even if I wasn¡¯t some major noble, were these tears for my situation that I was in despite being a child of nobility. If not that, are these tears of my having lost something as a human. ¡°Pres, why¡¯re you crying?¡± ¡°You¡¯re crying too?¡± ¡°Hurk¡­ it tastes so good! This bread, it tastes so good!¡± ¡°The meat, the meat¡¯s just melting in my mouth!¡± ¡°It¡¯s delicious. It¡¯s so delicious that I¡¯m actually crying over it!¡± Perhaps because we all felt the same way, but it wasn¡¯t just me, but everyone else was crying as they ate their designated rations. ¡°Hey, doesn¡¯t it feel a lot like camping now that we¡¯re all like this? We¡¯ve even got the mood going too.¡± ¡°Enough bullshit, is this camping?¡± ¡°At least speak properly.¡± ¡°Ohe on, at least pretend to feel something! Don¡¯te back to reality the moment I say something!¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s at least pretend to be happy. Who knows how many opportunities we¡¯ll have for that in this academy?¡± ¡°Till we escape from here.¡± ¡°Please, let¡¯s at least pretend to get a decent mood going?¡± As the rest of us watched the arguments between those who tried to lift the mood and those who tried to ground us in reality, one by one we began to break out inughter. Was it because we wererades who were suffering together. Right now, each and every one of these memories seemed like they¡¯d be the most horrific yet memorable moments in the future. -There was a time we thought that. For exactly a week. No, more urately¡­ ¡°It seems that none of you seem to be aware of this, so I came down to tell you myself.¡± ¡°Wh, what is it?¡± Before Professor Nicerwin suddenly appeared, and said something to shock us all. ¡°Student council vice-president Risen, safely escaped from the academy this morning and has earned the ¡®right¡¯ to go to school from today onwards.¡± Professor Nicerwin left after saying his part, and the one who broke us out of the stupor was. ¡°Again? Risen again? Is it you again!¡± Karen¡¯s scream of rage. ¡°What kind of bullshit is this!¡± ¡°Escape? That¡¯s possible?¡± ¡°We said we¡¯d all escape together! But why alone!¡± ¡°Did you forget what happened before the holidays! n A¡¯s first traitor was Risen!¡± ¡°Damn it, does that mean that once a traitor, forever a traitor!¡± To begin with, each and every person in this room had turned traitor at least once. No, let¡¯s forget the fact that they¡¯d gone even beyond that and all but begged to be traitors. Because right now, we needed to unify in solidarity, to escape from this hell-like ce, and gather our strength together! ¡°Alright, abandon our lunch supplies and carry out the n!¡± The n we would set forward in motion even while abandoning our precious meals. And that n was! ¡°Escaping from the academy or whatever, right now we will capture Risen and execute him!¡± Bloody retribution against the traitor. Chapter 59 RATH 59 TL: Eevee 7. Is your backside safe? (11) #13 Their story: Risen de Roa¡¯s story. As we woke up early in the morning, Pres said cheerfully to us. ¡°Right, let¡¯s go hunting for today¡¯s meals!¡± And the others who had also gotten ustomed to this lifestyle replied energetically in kind, and so we began searching for our morning food supplies. Perhaps thankfully, stealing the teachers¡¯ lunchboxes was limited only to dinner,pared to that, breakfast was very easy to acquire. Although of course the lunchboxes themselves were enchanted and stacked with all sorts of magics and spells to the point where we wondered if it was really necessary to create an advanced artifact like this just for the sake of pulling this shit, butpared to lunch when the silver devil roamed, or dinner where we had to fight the teachers, it was much more peaceful. ¡°Right, then¡­¡± I searched for lunchboxes where I expected them to be. The rule for the other students was that they were to find them before school began, and if they found one they were to immediately take it to Professor Nicerwin. And the discoverer would receive a weird ticket called an After School HighPass, and if you had one you could just leave school without having to fight the teachers. Because of this, the day after it was announced, the other students would arrive to school a whole hour early just to find our supplies. At this overheated frenzy of excitement, Professor Nicerwin limited the time you coulde to school to after 7:30, but the fact remained that we now had a time limit to find our food. ¡°And that¡¯s another today.¡± As I looked around, I discovered a lunchbox nestled in the bookshelves of the library. I immediately opened the lid and checked the contents. ¡°A sandwich.¡± A good menu. Abination of bread, meat and vegetables, it is a very beautiful meal that couldbine all sorts of nutrients as well as taste. ¡°Thanks for the meal.¡± And I ate it immediately. It tastes good. It tastes so good. After the texture of the soft bread, the crunchy vegetables dance around in my mouth. After that, the crispy fried chicken and spicy saucee rushing at my tastebuds, and a small happiness creeps into my heart. It¡¯s good. It tastes so damn good. And so after I tasted the small happiness of my abnormal life I immediately hid away the lunchbox. Time to carry out the perfect crime. And so when I came back onto the roof I asked my fellow vice-pres with a dark expression. ¡°How many did you find today?¡± ¡°Three so far. Today doesn¡¯t seem like a good day for us. Risen?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± I shook my head with a sigh. I¡¯d already long since removed the traces and scent of any food. Just in case I¡¯d even gone to the bathroom to check whether I had anything stuck in my teeth. ¡°Really?¡± As I watched the vice-pres sigh as well I knew that my acting was perfect. If my fellow vice-president, and the one who I fought with the most didn¡¯t notice then there was no way that any of the others would either. Perhaps maybe if the situation was normal, but in this critical situation, where everyone is ustomed to the bizarre, to this girl, I am one of her very preciousrades. Not only her, but the others aren¡¯t suspecting each other either. Using this situation, I was searching for my route to survive. I can¡¯t say that I¡¯m in the right here, but you guys are in the wrong as well, you know? Just what did we learn in night study before the holidays began? To think you forgot what you learned, your revision skills arecking! As a friend andrade, giving them an unforgettable experience is my role as a friend. And so that was how I reassured my prickling conscience, and waited for the others to return. ¡°Found one, pres?¡± ¡°One in the one of the second years¡¯ ssrooms. It would have been really bad if we¡¯d been just slightlyter.¡± ¡°Menu? What¡¯s the menu?¡± ¡°What, Risen? Is the kid who didn¡¯t even find anything the first one to check the menu?¡± ¡°Again? Howe Risen can¡¯t even find anything, not even once?¡± ¡°I know right, the fastest out of all of us have the least results?¡± ¡°Ah I¡¯m hungry damn it! I¡¯ll put some grunt into it so increase my share or something!¡± Actually I was nearly full right now but I shouted in mock anger for the perfect act. As if it was funny, smiles crept on a couple of faces. Right,ugh while you can. At least my conscience will be a bit clearer. But someone has to do this. Look at us. We¡¯re still in pyjamas. How many days have we been wearing these clothes now? Fine, since there are cases of uniforms being worn for multiple days that¡¯s that. But what about underwear? Especially Karen and the other female members? On the first day at least they pretended to care, being girls and all, but now they¡¯ve just given up. I heard that female soldiers or mercenaries that were out in the field for extended periods of time tended to do that, but these girls are still students? And still in school to boot? Although we can¡¯t leave said school right now, but that¡¯s just not normal, is it? And so, I will escape. I will escape and teach them the importance of daily life. -No seriously, just how long are you going to go with your self-justification? -Until I escape? -Really¡­ I think I made one hell of a great choice with my summoner? I ignored Loki who was giggling hard enough to annoy me. I needed to decide a date. The date I would escape! I had already learned theyout of the academy inside and out. And I was now more or less aware of the patterns of the night-watch teachers. Knowing that their guards were the ckest at 3-5AM, I pretended to go to the bathroomte and night and checked. All for this I suggested that only the girls use the bathroom on the rooftop (although why a bathroom was installed on the rooftop I would never understand). Although expressions on the others that said ¡®you¡¯ve finally grown up¡¯ were a bit iffy to me, it couldn¡¯t be helped. Because this is all for the sake of my n! And so our life-and-death mission for lunch ended, and as always we were beaten up by the devil and when we came to it was evening. The teachers, having more or less figured out the rules, no longer gave us our food nicely and so in order to eat, we had to engage in another bitter struggle, and we fell asleep while talking about our hopes to escape tomorrow. Of course, I didn¡¯t sleep. Because today is D-day! The target time is 4AM. When the teachers are most exhausted and when everyone¡¯s half in dreand. I sneakily woke up and moved to the tenth floor bathroom. My escape method is simple. As a student of the summoner¡¯s school, I escape using a summon! True masters always hide their true strength! And so I have never used all of Loki¡¯s powers in any fight I have been in. -At least speak properly. You¡¯ve never used my full power for anything aside from peeking, have you? -Loki, there are things that must be done as a man. -You mean when you peeked in the girls¡¯ changing rooms or took hidden cams after getting paid to do so, and when you run away from the academy after doing that? -Of course! -In all my divine life so far, I have honestly never seen someone like you¡­ -What, so you don¡¯t like that? -Hell no! You¡¯re the best, summoner! As Loki and I snickered in sync, I used Loki¡¯s power. Loki is a very rare god whose appearances can be counted on one hand. And that power has never been used fully in this world. Because of that, everyone thinks that Loki¡¯s power is summoning rare items, but in reality, that¡¯s not all there is to Loki¡¯s powers! ¡°Let¡¯s go, Loki!¡± -Alright then, this should be a fun experience! After a light shed in the bathroom, I was no longer standing there. ¡°Meow~¡± Only a little kitten! This is one of the Trickster, Loki¡¯s many great powers! The power that allowed me to take a great many pictures in secret that my customers wanted (although I never crossed the line!) without ever getting caught. The ability to transform! A whole different levelpared to illusion and transformation magics, you could even fool gods with this ability. Moreover, all of Loki¡¯s previous summoners wanted a power suitable for warfare or seizing power, so he never showed or gave this ability to anyone else. Only, simply and purely! The almighty magic that Loki bestowed to me after being moved by my never-ending dedication and effort to slip through the airtight guard of the (then) third year student council vice-president Karen and peek inside the third-year girls¡¯ changing rooms! With this, my escape is assured! And so I became a lost kitten, and meandered down floor by floor. As expected of the magic of a god, the god who fools gods, the Trickster Loki¡¯s ultimate magic! Just like that I wandered down to the first floor, and nudged the tightly-shut door open a crack with magic. The teachers would probably know by now that the door was opened, but all that they would see on their surveince magic tools would be a small kitten. But naturally, the teachers would never notice Loki¡¯s power, that not even gods would catch on to! Such things are definitely natural! ¡°Uwah, itza cute widdle kitty?¡± What the hell is this lifeform that¡¯s not asleep and roaming around even at the crack of dawn. Is she actually a devil? Does she not sleep because she¡¯s actually the devil?! -Even devils sleep. With a guarantee from Loki, who was said to hang out with devils a lot, I found out that even devils sleep. Alright then, then that leaves only one viable theory. The theory that she was the evil god¡¯s apostle was the most likely, and it was right all along! What was the hotline for reporting evil god worshippers to the imperial soldiers again! ¡°You¡¯re tho cute I just wanna pat ya all over.¡± Every time she raised her hand my body flinched instinctively. And she was looking my actions as if she found it all very, very amusing¡­ -This little shit, she saw through my transformation magic?! -You said there was no way this¡¯d get caught! -Hell no! Let alone humans, not even animals, demons or even gods have ever seen through my transformation magic! -Then what the hell is that! -¡­The evil god¡¯s apostle you kids keep bringing up? The evil god¡¯s apostle recognized by a god, albeit one from another world, started poking around the ground with her fingers as if thinking over how to y around with me. -Will she spare us if we beg? -Oi contractor, do you still not understand even after getting beaten up that much? Right now she¡¯s just waiting for you to undo the transformation! -Why? -Well I didn¡¯t realise that the kitten was actually a student running away? Is what she¡¯d say and then beat the crap out of us! -Damn that¡¯s convincing! Indeed, is the reason she is looking at me with such a pure expression simply to say that she didn¡¯t know I¡¯d transformed? But what do I do? If I run away here then she¡¯ll beat me up on the pretext of being cute, and if I undo my transformation then she¡¯ll beat me up because I tried to run away. ¡°Kitty, d¡¯ya wanna y a fun game with unni? It¡¯s called¡­¡± She whispered gently right into my ear, and it was impossible for me to not flinch with every single word she said. -Fool her, contractor! If I were to tell you of some of my old stories, that stupidly swoled called Thor once managed to fool the giants that he was a girl despite cross-dressing with nothing but his words! And folk like yourself and I can tread the line between life and death with nothing but our glib tongues! And to Loki who shouted so confidently, I asked him. -Hey, Loki? Just how would a kitten go about using said glib tongue? -Kahh, I¡¯d forgotten about that! Damn it, this god¡¯s screwed. I¡¯d known for a long time that he was a screwed up god, but to think he was this crooked in the head! ¡°What I learned from owner¡¯za called a fingerflick game, it¡¯za game where I bend my fingers and go smack! like this.¡± The silver devil kept flicking her middle finger right in front of my eyes. Is, isn¡¯t this animal abuse? Is there truly no one there to save this poor kitten from the devil¡¯s hands! -There isn¡¯t. Even heroes sleep at 4AM. -N, nooooo! Smack! Smack! As the sound of the flicking finger came ever nearer, as despair reared its head right in front of my eyes. Just then, I heard a voice of salvation. ¡°What are you doing so early?¡± ¡°Ah, owner! There was a cute widdle kitten here so I was ying wif it!¡± As to just why Professor Nicerwin was appearing from the depths of the academy at 4AM in the morning I had no idea, but his words were definitely bringing me salvation. ¡°There¡¯s a lot to do tomorrow, stop ying with it and let¡¯s head back now.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I pway just a wiiiddle more with the kitty?¡± Gulp. I swallowed reflexively. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Hiiiiing~¡± Saved. I¡¯m saved. That devil seemed to have no interest in telling Professor Nicerwin of my identity, and so I could survive and escape from this ce. And so as I left through the door that Professor Nicerwin pushed open for me, just as I reached the main gates and breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Meow¡­¡± Ahhh¡­ I went and saw it. Along with the silver devil, the other devil that also had a satisfied smile on his face. That was it. I was simply being used. Miracle or whatever, Professor Nicerwin already knew of my identity. No, the one who told the silver devil my identity could have been Professor Nicerwin to begin with. But I¡¯d already left the academy. There was no turning back now. And so as I firmed my resolve in my heart once again, I escaped the academy. Chapter 60 RATH 60 TL: Eevee 7. Is your backside safe? (12) #14 Their story: Karen rel Regrena¡¯s story. ¡°I¡¯m gonna kill him, I¡¯m gonna kill him. This time I¡¯m definitely gonna kill him.¡± There were things you should do as a person, and things you shouldn¡¯t. And Risen always, kept on doing the things you shouldn¡¯t. Despite this, as an old friend of his I always left it at the line of leaving him alive. But this time, even if he overstepped the line, he took it much too far. Escape? Escape alone? And moreover, he¡¯d been eating the food supplies alone to bolster his own strength? When Professor Nicerwin came and told us of Risen¡¯s escape stories, for a moment, no one could say anything. Because none of us had even thought of the possibility that our camaraderie was so shallow to betray each other like that. And that trust was shattered. Even if this year¡¯s academy had turned into a ce where no one could trust anyone, where yesterday¡¯s ally could be today¡¯s enemy, and yesterday¡¯s enemy could be today¡¯s ally. To think he¡¯d betray us even in this situation. Because of that, our total food supplies decreased by one. Even if that difference was irrelevant due to the disappearance of one who always ate a lunchbox by himself unbeknown to the rest of us. Even so, that doesn¡¯t erase this feeling of betrayal. After everyone finished their breakfast of anger, we all hardened our resolves. There was no way someone with the ¡®right¡¯ toe to school would wag school to end up here again. And so of course he would take sses, and of course there would be a war to go homel. That was our opportunity. We were feeling slightly apologetic to the other students, because no one would deny that Risen was a highly important piece in our strategies. But, to quell our anger, it demanded Risen¡¯s blood. ¡°It¡¯s time!¡± ¡°Eighth floor, everyone to the eighth floor now!¡± ¡°Faster than Risen! If anyone finds him then hold tight onto him, don¡¯t anyone dare let him get away!¡± ¡°Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. ¡± Everyone was energetic. Risen would know fully well of our state right now so he¡¯d most certainly run for his life. No, he might instead use some cheap trick to dig another trap for us. But contrary to my expectations, Risen was sitting at his seat in the ssroom, in a perfectly normal way. ¡°Huh, vice-pres?¡± Just who the hell was that boy waving his hand cheerfully at me from his seat? Did he forget that he betrayed us yesterday? Or was our shock so big that we didn¡¯t realise how many months had passed by? Right? That had to be it, right? Otherwise him approaching with a smile as if nothing was wrong would be weird, right? ¡°Mm, Risen.¡± ¡°Iyahh, thank goodness the first person I met was vice-pres.¡± As he came to me with an actually d expression I didn¡¯t even think of bringing out my summon. Because I was too shocked? Or lost for words? No. My summon is a drake, said to be a descendant of dragons. If he smashed Risen with his forelegs, Risen will die. Of course Risen dying isn¡¯t what I¡¯m worried about. Risen¡¯s going to die anyway. But, killing him in one hit is much too peaceful, no? And besides, rather than my drake, I want to kill him with my own two hands. But since I should at least hear out hisst words, I will talk with him. As he came up to right in front of me he smiled and said. ¡°Sniff sniff. Yep, you smell like I thought.¡± The words that would hasten his death. ¡°Mm. yep, now then. Die.¡± shing a smile of my own that wouldn¡¯t lose to Risen¡¯s, I raised a hand. I never formally learned how to fight barehanded, but at this moment, I could throw a stronger punch than anyone. Like I sent my mana to my summon, I imbued magic power into my fists. Although concentrating mana into a single part of my body was quite hard, perhaps due to be powerful desire to beat the crap out of Risen, just as my two fists began to ze with the blue light of mana. ¡°And so, tada?¡± ¡°And so what, exactly?¡± He took something out of his dimensional pouch. And that something was unfamiliar, yet at the same time very familiar to me. Well of course. It was something I used to see every day, but hadn¡¯t seen since I lost the ¡®right to go to school.¡¯ It was my uniform. ¡°Why do you have that?¡± ¡°Because, I got it from your room!¡± Now just what manner of bullshit does this little shit keep barking at me? Considering how he¡¯d been acting like a dog on a daily basis, had he finally learned to bark like a dog with human speech? ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the dormitories, especially the girls¡¯ dormitories should be under heavy security?¡± ¡°When I opened my eyes after I cracked it it was the academy after all? It was actually pretty easy when I tried.¡± At Risen¡¯s gestures the skirt on my uniform began to make pping noises. Alright then. As I thought, this little shit must die. This is unrecyble trash that shouldn¡¯t exist in society. ¡°Die.¡± ¡°W, wait a second!¡± With a ¡®shwik!¡¯ noise the silver devil would bring up much too often, my fists cleaved through the air after Risen but he dodged easily. ¡°Very good, very good. There¡¯s no way you would get hit that easily. This¡¯ll be fun?¡± ¡°Hang on, vice-pres wasn¡¯t that type of character? I understand you were hot-tempered, but making that evil smile was my character trait?¡± ¡°The student council already erased all records of your existence. Your character, I¡¯ll make good use of it.¡± Although it was a bit ufortable in pyjamas, but I warmed up my body with light steps of footwork. Although I didn¡¯t learn unarmedbat, I did learn self-defence fencing at home. Let¡¯s use the footwork I learned then together with this. ¡°Wait, can you still say that after seeing this?¡± Tok. Tok. As he saw me start lightly jumping on the spot, he hurriedly took something else out of his pouch. Two small pieces of cloth. Coloured ck, and again very familiar items. ¡°Now, take a¡­ kuuhk?¡± ¡°Alright, today we settle this.¡± I smashed my fist into the sr plexus of the asshole who casually took out my underwear. ¡°Tch.¡± Because he very quickly backstepped, the attack didn¡¯t connect properly. At the light impact I revved up with the intention to kill him for sure this time, and just then. ¡°You really stink, you know? Be honest. How long have you worn that uniform? It¡¯s been a week since we¡¯d all been trapped in there, are you even changing your underwear?¡± ¡°Yeah, and so what.¡± I smell? I know that. Even if there are showers at the academy I don¡¯t have a change of clothes. Even if I want to wash them I only have the one set of clothes so I can¡¯t even wash them. Although put in aint to Professor Nicerwin, all we got was the inhuman answer to escape faster, and so due to all the subsequent fights in our attempts to escape our pyjamas were in tatters. ¡°Hang on a sec, I don¡¯t think you get it, but I¡¯m telling you that your uniform and underwear is in here?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that¡­ eh?¡± Just as I was about to ask what that had to do with me, my rage against Risen evaporated and reason reced it. Inside there was a fresh pair of underwear to change into. And as a bonus there was also a fresh uniform to change into. I can get rid of these filthy pyjamas, and wear a clean set of underwear and uniform. As my nk stare turned to the clothes in Risen¡¯s hands, he made a relieved face. ¡°Now, now, think about it? The pleasure of washing with warm water and having a clean set of clothes to change into afterwards. If you put your fist down, you can say bye bye to your dusty and sweaty pyjamas.¡± The moment my attack stopped, the devil¡¯s whispers came instead. My body was telling me to hurry up and kill that little shit, but my head was already imagining something different. The pleasure of taking off these pyjamas, taking a hot shower, and changing into that clean uniform. ¡°Y, you think I¡¯d fall for th¡­¡± But my anger was still stronger, and just when I was about to¡­ ¡°Tahdah! Take a look at this!¡± Refuse¡­ ¡°It¡¯s your favourite, best in the empire, no best in the continent, the 100-a-day limited strawberry cake from your favourite cake store!¡± The other thing he took out from his pouch. The 100-a-day limited cake. Talking about its rarity would make one¡¯s mouth hurt, and noble, grand merchant or whatever your status was, the only way you could get it was purely by firste first served, it¡¯s a mirage of a cake you could never get otherwise no matter how much extra you paid. That cake was an such an incredible item that when it was being sold, there were even reports of thieves attacking people specifically to steal those cakes. Because of that, there were even rumours that the imperial court attempted to stop the sale of the cake because of the adverse effect it was having on public order, but it was overturned due to sheer number of people opposing the proposal. The cake of mirages that I had only ever managed to eat three times was right here¡­ ¡°Th, that¡¯s a lie, isn¡¯t it? There¡¯s no way you could ever have managed to get your hands on one of those!¡± Thinking logically, the kid who¡¯d half-ass most aspects of life aside from the times where¡¯d do something pointless would never have something like that in his hands. Risen, the one who¡¯d prefer to eat at a nearby stall with no lines rather than a tasty restaurant, would never buy something that you¡¯d ordinarily have to wait at least four hours for just the chance to get one, wouldn¡¯t he? ¡°Really? Do you really think that, vice-pres? Don¡¯t you see this seal on the packaging?¡± ¡°Kuukh¡­ there¡¯s, there¡¯s no way.¡± But the seal that shined into my eyes even from far away was indeed, that legendary seal inscribed only on the packaging of the cake that I dreamed of daily, yet could only have on my birthday, and only very rarely at that. ¡°Now, vice-pres should know more than anyone else that this is the real deal. Think about it. You can wash off in hot water, change into a clean uniform, and then eat the best cake afterwards.¡± ¡°Ahhh¡­¡± Is the devil¡¯s disciple also a devil. Right now, Risen was pouring out the sweet honeyed words that not even Professor Nicerwin could beat. ¡°And what if in addition to the cake¡­ this was added on top?¡± ¡°Ahhhh!¡± And what he skilfully pulled out from his pouch was a packet of tea leaves from the greatest teapany in the empire, one where in our family, we would only serve to very esteemed guests. ¡°Now if you put that cake together with this tea¡­¡± I can¡¯t win. As a woman, no, anyone who liked desserts, this was the devil¡¯sbination that no one could defeat. As my anger cooled and the seed that the devil¡¯s whispers nted in its ce spread quickly, dying my entire heart in its colours. ¡°I want to give this to someone, you see, but her fists are just too scary.¡± ¡°M, hmm?¡± And as if to worm its way through the gap in my heart, Risen¡¯s grumbling voice apanied his hand which enveloped my own, that had unconsciously risen up. ¡°Ri, Risen? You know¡­¡± ¡°Really, I honestly had all of you in mind when I ran away with my life on the line. To fetch clothes for all of you, food to feed you with, I didn¡¯t even sleep at the crack of dawn, encountered the silver devil and ran away risking my life, I don¡¯t think you guys understand me.¡± What he said as he cut me off could be heard as nothing but lies no matter who was listening. I wanted to yell at him to cut the bullshit, but my mouth was saying something else entirely. ¡°Re, really?¡± Why was I doing this? Why was my heart that had been consumed by bloodlust only seconds ago, now filled with a different type of greed? ¡°Mm, even now I want to hand these over to vice-pres.¡± I wanted to yell at him to hand over the goods right this instant, but my mouth refused to move. ¡°Vice-pres is on my side, right?¡± ¡°M, mm. y, yes. We¡¯re both vice-presidents, aren¡¯t we?¡± In his gently wiggling hands, I also saw the cake wiggling from side to side in time with his movements. ¡°Yes, I was believing in vice-pres, and vice-pres was also believing in me too? I¡¯m so happy.¡± ¡°Yeah, who else would believe in you if not me?¡± Although the majority of the time I believe in him with very bad implications, there was no reason for me to say that now, was there? ¡°Really, there¡¯s no one else for me but the vice-pres, right?¡± It¡¯s getting closer. My clothes and cake are getting closer. One step, and another. And just as Risen came close enough that I could touch them if I reached my hand out, he stopped as if realising something and said wide-eyed, ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right!¡± ¡°What!¡± An irritated noise instinctively burst out from my mouth. ¡°Ah, are you angry, right now? Scary.¡± I wanted to kill Risen who was acting scared and taking a step back so badly right now, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°There¡¯s, there¡¯s no reason for me to be mad at you, right? I¡¯ve just been locked up for way too long in the academy.¡± I pushed down on my anger, and said to Risen with a smile. ¡°Risen? Why are you so far away between us?¡± ¡°Mm? Because Karen¡¯s too scary.¡± With an expression that did not look at all scared, using my name that he almost never normally used, I faced him while forcing down my anger. ¡°No, I¡¯m not scary.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to hit me?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to say that you¡¯re not going to hit me but kill me instead or something like that, right?¡± ¡°Nah, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d do something like that to my beloved Risen, right?¡± ¡°Really?¡± With a satisfied smile Risen came and handed over the goods in his hands. ¡°Ah, and I also brought over some of the toiletries and towels that you had in your room. Ah, and these looked like makeup, so I brought a few of them as well. They are makeup, right?¡± ¡°Sob¡­ you¡¯re right¡­¡± The familiar yet unnoticed, but the items I had missed the most when I had to live without them appeared one after another in front of my eyes. ¡°Sob¡­ I love you, Risen.¡± The anger that had piled and piled within me melted down in an instant. And so despite myself, I pulled Risen into an embrace and said so¡­ ck. ¡°Uh¡­ um¡­ sorry for interfering.¡± At that moment the ssroom door opened and another member of the student council saw the two of us, said that and quickly closed the door again. Interfering? With what? And as if to answer my question, the voice of the person who just shut the door echoed throughout the corridor. ¡°Vice-president Karen just confessed to vice-president Riseeeeeennn!¡± ¡­Eh? Chapter 61 RATH 61 TL: Eevee 7. Is your backside safe? (13) ¡°Hooo?¡± After the vice-president Risen escaped, the student council were surprisingly quieter than I had expected them to be so I undertook an investigation, and the results were amusing to say the least. ¡°His bootlicking skills are pretty good.¡± Like the metal bat beside me said, the vice-president Risen¡¯s ability to suck up to people was nothing short of exemry. Using his shared experiences as a baseline, he used items that were essential to the other students as bait and made allies one by one. Moreover, he provided food and other daily necessities and appealed of himself as a necessity, and the results were sessful. ¡°That¡¯s no fun.¡± ¡°Owner? Dint¡¯ya say that this was to remind the students how importanting to school was? But fun? Fuu~uun~?¡± ¡°They say even geniuses can¡¯t defeat people that enjoy something.¡± ¡°That¡¯s their problem. Owner¡¯s got nuffin¡¯ ta do with thaat?!¡± Lately this kid¡¯s been retorting back at me a fair bit. Did something happen that I wasn¡¯t aware of, why¡¯s she caring so much for the students? ¡°That¡¯s cause, the students¡¯re obvs way to pitiful, dat¡¯s why!¡± This kid, now what the heck is she saying. ¡°If you didn¡¯t go around hitting everyone, I could guarantee that the students would have absolutely noints left anymore whatsoever?¡± ¡°Uwiit? That ain¡¯t rite!¡± Just why are the students risking everything to escape from school? The answer to a majority of them would be to avoid this kid¡¯s tushitushis. ¡°In that case, no more action for you from now on.¡± ¡°Owner, owner said it rite? It¡¯s youth ¡®cuz it hurts! So these kids in the prime of their youths need me!¡± What a clean stance change. If she¡¯d been a tiny bit quicker she could even pass for a politician back in my previous world. ¡°Cuz it¡¯s meh! The textbook example of stance changing!¡± And the unique thing is that said textbook example was all for the sake of hitting people. ¡°So owner, whatcha gonna do? You gonna tell th¡¯ vice-pres to stop, or penalise the other stuco members on the rooftop?¡± Now what kind of dreary suggestion is that. ¡°I¡¯m not going to do anything?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way my owner would do that?¡± Now just what kind of human does this thing take me for. ¡°Course that¡¯d be an evil human more demonic than a demon, exactly like the evil god¡¯s apostle!¡± ¡°What evil god¡¯s apostle. You say that carelessly and I¡¯m going to get hauled off.¡± ¡°Wiing, the evil god¡¯s apostle¡¯s denying the evil god, awuu!¡± Since she kept on harping on about the evil god¡¯s apostle I delivered a chop to her head and she bit her tongue. Perhaps even metal hurts when it bites its tongue, no, to begin with I¡¯d have to research to see what part of the bat corresponds to the tongue anyway, but this amusing research topic would have to be put off tillter. ¡°Since it¡¯s about time for them to get out on their own anyway, it shouldn¡¯t matter if there¡¯s a bit of assistance.¡± ¡°About time to get out? I reckon that¡¯s probs a long way off.¡± The person on the scene knows of the situation on the scene the best. The metal bat¡¯s opinion who was guiding (viting) the students on the site in person would probably be correct. And even in reality, they have still yet to break through Professor Muam on the first floor. ¡°But they¡¯ll escape all the faster because of that!¡± ¡°Owner¡¯s words¡¯re always so fu bullshit I can¡¯t understand it!¡± Hmph, this creature knows much too little about the organisms named students. ¡°Hmph, owner¡¯s being mean cause I can¡¯t even go to th¡¯ academy cuzza you, it¡¯s unfair!¡± ¡°Eh, you¡¯re not old enough to attend the academy?¡± ¡°Wiing? Yer rite?¡± I nodded after I simply told her the simple truth of it. ¡°And for the record students, are creatures that study.¡± ¡°That¡¯s obvious innit? Even I know dat?¡± Indeed, the duty of a student is to study. ¡°And for the record, if you tell someone that¡¯s crying to not cry, they want to cry even harder.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Judging by her tilted head it seems she doesn¡¯t get it. In that case let¡¯s give her a personal example. ¡°If Aris came begging to you to not hit her, and begging while crying as well, what would you do?¡± ¡°Haak? Our absolutely delicious Aris begging in tears¡­ U, unni can¡¯t wait any longer! Hak! It¡¯s, it¡¯s this feeling!¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s that feeling.¡± Actually I think it¡¯s a bit, no, a lot different but since she understands I¡¯ll let it slide for now. ¡°And the specifics of that kind of people, if you keep telling them to study, the less they actually want to do it.¡± ¡°Even if they don¡¯t wanna what can they do? Owner¡¯s locking them up and making ¡¯em.¡± ¡°Normally if they don¡¯t want to they run away, and the ones that run away you lock up and make them study.¡± And if you lock them up they run away again, and the one who is teaching them does their best to stop that. The endless M?bius strip(1) of education is the same in any world. ¡°So what¡¯s that got to do with the students escaping now?¡± ¡°Simple logic. They want to go, yet we are holding them back. But in front of them is a giant wall. A giant wall that they cannot escape without climbing over, but is too big for them to.¡± ¡°So they can¡¯t?¡± ¡°But these kids are going to face an even greater ordeal very soon.¡± ¡°Dat me?¡± ¡°No, the start of the new semester.¡± ¡°Wiing?¡± The metal bat¡¯s eyes widened to saucers. Yes, she wouldn¡¯t have thought of that. The reason the kids are running to leave school was to get away from her, but their first and foremost priority was to enjoy their holidays. But if the holidays were ending? If their normal academy life returned? Without ever having experienced the joys of the holidays. ¡°There¡¯s less than a month till the end of the holidays. And moreover since the student council have to prepare for the imperial festival, they need to mobilise during the holidays as well.¡± ¡°P, poor them¡­¡± ¡°And so they need to try even harder to enjoy their holidays.¡± Especially the first years, who couldn¡¯t possibly waste the first holidays of their lives like this! #15 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. ¡°Kuaaaaahhhghhh!¡± As the daughter of a marquis, no a nobledy I shouldn¡¯t scream like this, and I knew it. But, sometimes there are situations where you just have to scream. ¡°What is it, Aris?¡± ¡°Mdy, did something happen?¡± ¡°Did a devil appear?¡± As I clutched my head in a stress-induced headache the other students began to gather, but it seemed they didn¡¯t know why I was like this. The reason I was despairing, was simply because I checked today¡¯s date. And the meaning of that was. ¡°There¡¯s, exactly one month left.¡± ¡°Till the imperial festival? No, there¡¯s at least two months left til the imperial festival though?¡± ¡°A month? What¡¯s there in a month?¡± Yes, everyone else didn¡¯t get it. Yes, that was very well possible. Because it is simply unimaginable. ¡°Lady Aris, just what do we have a month left of?¡± To my very pure ssmate, I told them the shocking truth I had juste to terms with. ¡°We only have a month left of the holidays.¡± ¡°¡­Come again?¡± For a moment, there was silence in the surroundings. Yes, indeed. We¡¯ve never had a break, but there¡¯s only a month left of the holidays. Other people are all back home with their families and resting up, or going on adventures with friends. Or if not, just staying at their dorms to go sightseeing in the capital would be what you¡¯d expect from a normal holiday life. But we¡¯ve never enjoyed any of that despite the holidaysing to a close. ¡°Kyaaaaaahhhhk!¡± ¡°Nooooooooooo!¡± After a long silence, screams and shouts began to burst out from around the ssroom. In an academy where the majority of the students are nobles, normally you¡¯d never see this happen, but only in Yugrasia are these things frequent urrences. ¡°It looks like you all get it. It just one month¡¯s time, we have to do the night study again.¡± ¡°L, lies?¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be! Why is it that even though the holidays have started, I don¡¯t have any memories of the holidays!¡± ¡°The only memory I have of the holidays are getting knocked out by the silver devil!¡± Themotion that began with my scream didn¡¯t settle down until a teacher came into begin the lesson. ¡°As I thought this¡­ this is the only way!¡± And the conclusion I came to. To find an answer to this ridiculous holiday life. ¡°What do we have to do to break through!¡± ¡°Hm¡­ and you came to me to ask that question?¡± The person that looked at me, taken aback was a teacher of short stature. Asking Professor Muam, the final boss himself, was my direct approach. ¡°Yes!¡± At my forthright words Professor Muam seemed to think for a bit before he sighed and said with a bitter smile. ¡°Be a swordsmaster.¡± ¡°Is there no other way?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± My expression probably turned to something simr to Professor Muam¡¯s. Swordsmaster. The pinnacle of dreams known as the beginning and end of the sword that every swordsman dreamed of. If there were people who approached the wall of a swordsmaster at a young age, yet never broke through until they died, there are also people who broke through to be a swordsmaster in their old age. The realm that was said to be administered solely by the gods of war and magic. And I had to enter that realm purely to enjoy my holidays. ¡°¡­Does that make any sense to you?¡± Even the person acimed throughout the empire and throughout the continent, the daughter of the Aresta marquisate, Sir Reia whom they called the Sword Princess couldn¡¯t be a swordsmaster at my age. And you¡¯re telling me to do that? ¡°No, even if there are many humans overflowing with potential, the only ones that are that monstrous are the heroes.¡± Professor Muam¡¯s nodded and his reply was straight and direct. ¡°Indeed, but on the contrary it would be obvious, would it not Miss Aris?¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°No, even if I look like this I¡¯m the strongest elementalist of the gnomes, the contractor of the Spirit King of Water whose appearances are all recorded in the history books, wouldn¡¯t it be weirder for students to be able to defeat me no matter how talented they are?¡± ¡°Th, that¡¯s¡­¡± When he put it like that, he was right. The opponent was the contractor of the Spirit King of Water, the most famous of the four elemental spirit kings. And I need to defeat him, and the other teachers in under 30 minutes. ¡­Professor Nicerwin had given us an impossible mission to begin with! ¡°At the very least you must be a swordsmaster to break the barrier of a Spirit King, and if you were to take advantage of the gap that formed then you might find a way to escape, but that would be impossible as long as youcked a swordsmaster, no?¡± ¡°It would.¡± After I heard the answer I stood nkly outside Professor Muam¡¯s office for a long time, until the bell went off for the next ss when I hurriedly rushed back to the ssroom. And the next break period. ¡°Isn¡¯t it impossible?¡± I couldn¡¯t focus on studying, and after brooding on it I ended uping to Professor Nicerwin toin. But. ¡°Don¡¯t you just have to be a swordsmaster?¡± The opponent was Professor Nicerwin! To me who wasining about the impossible difficulty where it was impossible to defeat unless you were a swordsmaster, he replied with an answer implying that it was our fault we didn¡¯t have a swordsmaster. ¡°No, do you seriously believe it¡¯s possible to be a swordsmaster?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s impossible.¡± Words just aren¡¯t getting through to him. No seriously, he¡¯s saying as if it was the most obvious thing. ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking you to be a Grand Swordsmaster of legend or anything, what¡¯s so impossible about that? Moreover, Miss Aris, you¡¯re on the precipice of that very threshold.¡± This man, although he knows nearly everything about summons, it seems he knows almost nothing about swordsmanship. ¡°Many, many swordsmen dedicate their entire lives to step over that threshold.¡± ¡°Life is always an uncertain thing. You always miss what¡¯s right in front of you, after all.¡± ¡°In that case, do you know how to be a swordsmaster, Professor?¡± At his statement that belittled the entirety of swordsmen, I said in a mild outburst of anger as a swordsman and not a student, but the Professor¡¯s answer waspletely unexpected. ¡°I know the theory.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Now just what the hell did this human just say. ¡°Hm¡­ could you please call over Professor Muam for a minute.¡± At his all-too deadpan words. I didn¡¯t believe for an instant that he was telling the truth, but my body was already moving to call over Professor Muam. ¡°What is it Professor Nicerwin? Miss Aris said that you were looking for me.¡± ¡°I have something to tell Miss Aris, and I need your help for that.¡± ¡°Hm? Really?¡± At Professor Nicerwin¡¯s words, Professor Muam nodded before doing what Professor Nicerwin instructed him to do. ¡°Is this alright?¡± And what Professor Muam created shortly afterwards was pure white snow. As fresh snow you could only see in winter piled on top of Professor Nicerwin¡¯s desk, Professor Nicerwin rolled some up into a snowball and showed it to me, saying. ¡°Now, do you see this?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The moment I nodded, he smiled and said. As he threw the snowball in my face. Smack! ¡°Then, did it hurt?¡± ¡­Teacher or no, is he looking for a fucking fight? Chapter 62 RATH 62 TL: Eevee Change in subtitle which means guess what? Time for the beginning of a new arc! 8. If you do it, it works. (1) #1 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story With a meaty smack the snowball flew into my face and disintegrated, falling to the ground. ¡°What¡­ did you just do?¡± It was not a question about him throwing snow in my face. The things that the human named Professor Nicerwin couldn¡¯t be understood more often than not, but they usually had a purpose behind them. And what I was asking about right now was the strangeness of my body. As the daughter of an elite martial family, I learned to fight with and among countless knights and swordsmen. And as a result I would never be hit by an ordinary snowball without even any mana imbued into it that cleanly. ¡°I simply used the flow of your blood to halt your body for a moment.¡± And the one who gave me the answer was Professor Muam. ¡°Is that possible?¡± ¡°Yes, when you think about it blood is also a form of water. ¡°So why didn¡¯t you use it on us?¡± It was a technique that could cause the enemy to freeze without any kind of warning whatsoever. And what if he had used that technique on us? Just when I had been brooding over that serious matter. Smack! ¡°¡­Professor!¡± The serious mood was shattered by another snowball flying into my face. ¡°I have said this before, but the teachers are holding back in their own way.¡± The words of Professor Nicerwin who was rolling up the snow piled on his desk into a snowball were very heavy, but his actions were all too light and causal. ¡°In that case, what is the reason you are freezing me, and throwing snowballs at me?¡± ¡°I said it, didn¡¯t I, Miss Aris. I know the theory at least.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with¡­¡± Smaackk! Again. Again! And if you could call the previous snowballs ones that ones that annoyed you but didn¡¯t hurt, now they were annoying and they hurt. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± ¡°Are you absolutely freaking serious!¡± I cannot stand for this any longer. Even if it is imperialw that students must respect their teachers even if they weremoners, this crossed the line. ¡°It hurts! Now I will not¡­¡± Stand for this any longer! But before I could finish what I was going to say, Professor Nicerwin cut in and said. ¡°And that¡¯s the trick to it.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t theter ones hurt more than the previous ones? That is the difference between those who lie on the boundary of swordsmasters and the ones who have crossed them.¡± Professor Nicerwin looked at my expression and sighed. ¡°Now, imagine this is the sword ki that ordinary swordsmen use.¡± He rolled around a small snowball on his desk until was about the size of his fist and ced in on one corner of his desk. ¡°And this is a swordsmaster¡¯s sword aura.¡± He made another snowball, but this time he squashed it down as hard as he could and put it on the other side of the desk. ¡°Which of these two snowballs will hurt more?¡± ¡°Well of course the one you squashed together¡­¡± Smack! ¡°Correct.¡± Hang on, there was no need to throw the snowball even as you¡¯re saying it was a correct answer, right? ¡°Uwuuu¡­¡± Although perhaps because Professor Muam didn¡¯t use his technique, thankfully I could dodge this time. ¡°Aren¡¯t you treating people too much like a toy?!¡± But you had to take a stand on things you needed to take a stand on! ¡°I did it because it was effective.¡± ¡°There are times when Professor needs to consider the students before effectiveness!¡± ¡°Hm¡­ I need to consider the students more¡­¡± As Professor Nicerwin closed his eyes in thought, I was feeling proud of myself, but. ¡°Uh, excuse me, Miss Aris?¡± Professor Muam had gotten closer to me with a serious expression on his face and revealed a shocking truth. ¡°You know, Professor Nicerwin. When the members of the student council began to y truant, he was the one who said this would be a big problem, and personally kidnapped and imprisoned the entirety of the student council over a single night?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°What did he say? If the students don¡¯te to school, and stay at home all day they¡¯ll develop anthropophobia(1) and something along those lines, and immediately carried it out. In my opinion if he thinks of the students any more than he is currently it¡¯ll be a big problem, even in my eyes as a teacher¡­¡± Although I have no idea why kidnapping, imprisonment is the first thing thates to mind when dealing with students but I understood what Professor Muam was saying very well. That is, if Professor Nicerwin thinks of the students any more then we¡¯re all in grave danger. ¡°Uh, uh excuse me, Professor Nicerwin?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Ah, this is bad. That human is thinking seriously. Any other teacher looking at their students like that while in deep thought would be seen as a kindly and wise teacher, yet if Professor Nicerwin¡¯s the one making that expression then that is the face of an archdevil wondering how to plunge the students into an even deeper pit of hell. ¡°Professor? I think I said something I shouldn¡¯t have. I mustn¡¯t have been quite right in the head when I said that to a teacher who cares for his students as much as you¡­¡± I threw out as manypliments and words of praise I could think of but he isn¡¯t listening. If the difficulty of the academy spikes because of me then marquis family or whatever, I could actually be lynched by the entire school! ¡°Miss Aris¡¯ words are indeed correct. It seems that I have been neglecting the students too muchtely.¡± Don¡¯t do that! ¡°Indeed. From now on, no matter what trials and tribtions there may be, for the sake of my students I will not fall back!¡± ¡°No, you can fall back a bit! None of the students want Professor to be troubled, not at all!¡± -Aris, you lunatic! What the hell are you doing by giving that madman motivation! Even the goddess started ming me. The expression that Professor Nicerwin had on his face was as full passion for education, but equally as much of finding ways to screw us all over. ¡°No, there were numerous initiatives that I had thought about but neglected to implement due to the resistance it might face from parents, but I will have them implemented even if I have to convince the parents as well.¡± Ah, no¡­ I brought disaster upon us with my own mouth! ¡°No no, it¡¯s okay. There¡¯s no need for Professor to work so hard for us students.¡± ¡°Of course I must, as someone who has taken up the role of a teacher as a profession, I must sacrifice myself for my students.¡± The students do not want your sacrifice! Was what I wanted to shout, but if I did I had the suspicion that I would create another incident. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Professor, it¡¯s alright!¡± I clutched onto Professor Nicerwin¡¯s legs as he began to rise and barely managed to stop him while begging in tears. With this I managed to keep the peace of the academy. -Although you couldn¡¯t keep your own personal peace. I could only confirm the insane difficulty of the academy Yugrasia once again, I couldn¡¯t find our holidays. Sure, saying it¡¯s easy, to be a swordsmaster just by getting hit with a few snowballs. ¡°There¡¯s no way it can be that easy, right? As I looked on at the blue wall in front of me, I sighed. In around 10 minutes time, the silver devil wille down again, and the vicious cycle of getting knocked out and waking up in the evening would repeat once more. ¡°At least I have to try.¡± I put some distance between myself and the wall, and focused all my mana into the spear¡¯s tip. My own spear style, designed purely to break through that wall, eliminating every other unnecessary movement. And focusing my mana there, I brought up that image again. Ipressed my mana like Professor Nicerwin squshed the snowball. The image of Professor Nicerwinpressing the snowball was also apanied by an image of him throwing the snowball in my face as soon as it was made, but ignoring that. Compress, andpress it again. ¡®Compress andp¡­ eh? Huh?¡± Perhaps it was just me, but my mana was actually beingpressed like the snowball. As my red mana became darker and darker, shining with the clear crimson light of sword aura¡­ ¡°What the?¡± Those words impulsively came out of me. It works? Did I really just be a swordsmaster just by getting hit with a snowball a couple of times? Seriously? I don¡¯t know. I still don¡¯t know whether this is all just a mirage or simply mana with a colour simr to sword aura or whatever. ¡°It¡¯s worth a shot.¡± Tak. I kicked off the ground and charged. The basis of all magic spear arts lies in the charge. Even in the Letia-style spearmanship that brought forth the greatest charging force of a fully armed knight, this had all other unnecessary movements removed, all but the movements required to break through that wall of water, Letia alternate-style spear arts, Pierce!(2) The tip of my spear hit the water. The wall of water separated for an brief instant. Up to here was the same as normal. But if this truly is sword aura then! ¡°Explode!¡± In the middle of the reforming wall, I squeezed out all my mana and twisted my spear. At the same time, magic power that seemed like sword aura burst out from it! ¡°It worked!¡± At that moment, the wall of water began to shatter due to the destructive force of my magic. That meant! ¡°You, you mean you actually did it?¡± Professor Muam¡¯s expression, jaw dropped wide open in surprise, all but confirmed it. I went and actually, just by getting hit with a couple of snowballs, reced the empire¡¯s, no, the continent¡¯s record as the youngest swordsmaster, and reached the peak of swordsmanship as a swordsmaster! But before that! ¡°Everyone ruuuuunnnnn!¡± I shouted as hard as I could to the other students who were stunned, staring at the shattered wall of water. ¡°Nice, goddess Aris! From now on! Every breakfast, lunch, dinner! We will make a statue of goddess Aris and pray to you every day!¡± As I shouted, someone grabbed me around the waist as I copsed as an aftereffect of using all my mana, and we broke through the front door on the first floor. And behind me, the students of Yugrasia began to run for the main gates. And so, we put an end to our long history of suffering. And finally marked the beginning of the holidays. *** ¡°Sh, she actually broke it?¡± ¡°Wiinng¡­¡± At the metal bat¡¯s whine who was sobbing with a depressed face, unlike her normal acting, this time she really was crying, and I was left stunned. No seriously, does any of this make any sense? Of course it was impossible for Aris to be a swordsmaster. I simply gave her an approximate physical ount based off what I heard from Sir Reia back in the imperial court to get her off my back. If I recall, she¡¯d said something along the lines of it was snowing on a winter¡¯s day and she was ying with her little sibling, and if shepressed her mana like a snowball then it would work? And so shepressed it and there you have it, sword auraplete! Sir Reia¡¯s story of how she became a swordsmaster that was like the exnation like that old picture-drawing mister¡¯s ¡®easy, right?''(3) actually went and caused an incident here of all ces! You¡¯re telling me that this is actually the secret to bing a swordsmaster! ¡°Owner, owner, what¡¯re we gonna do? Now all the student council have run away, and if Aris is going to break through everything from now on then what do I have to live for?¡± Amazingly, the metal bat didn¡¯t even bother to keep up her lisp as she asked me with a serious face. But, is this something to get all that serious about? What the heck is this thing saying, just because she can¡¯t hit students anymore she¡¯s got nothing to live for! ¡°Well, that¡¯s not something I need to care about.¡± ¡°Hwiiing¡­. Don¡¯t be like that, be like normal owner and use all of your evil ns to make an incredible n that not even a swordsmaster can break through!¡± A n that not even a swordsmaster can break through. Wait, what. That¡¯s scary? A swordsmaster is considered an ultimate weapon in small nations? In the case of the Sword Star there¡¯s even stories about how she cleaved a thick steel castle door in two with just a single strike with her sword aura? I think it¡¯s weird to initiate a n that an individual of that caliber can¡¯t break through in a school of all ces. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that¡­¡± ¡°Just how badly do you want to hit the students¡­¡± ¡°Wiing, I don¡¯t want to just hit the students! I just wanna give ¡¯em the motivation to learn!¡± ¡°I think the students have already learned everything they can.¡± ¡°N, nyooohh¡­¡± It¡¯s an education n that even created the empire¡¯s youngest swordsmaster. Any further education is impossible. The empire¡¯s already the continent¡¯s strongest nation, if it can mass-produce swordsmasters then it can even conquer the world. In that case the princess wille after me citing needs of national security, won¡¯t she? Unfortunately, the metal bat¡¯s time attack education will have to end with its monstrous results. ¡°The final goal is victory anyways. As long as we have a swordsmaster, our win is guaranteed!¡± A god-ss summoner, and a swordsmaster! Chapter 63 RATH 63 TL: Eevee 8. If you do it, it works. (2) #2 Their story: A certain teacher¡¯s story ¡°Uwuuuuu~ I¡¯m sleepy~¡± I gave myself a good stretch as my body bounced along with the carriage¡¯s movements. It was the first time I¡¯d gone back home in a long time but all I got was nagging. Really, even though I¡¯m considered quite the problem child among the elves, I¡¯m nothingpared to our princess. I heard that the princess had been looking for someone since long ago, but to think Professor Nicerwin knew where that person was¡­ Thanks to that the princess gave me an earful whether I¡¯d found any information or not and shook me down by mypels. And just before I got on the carriage to return to the academy, she told me to get that information no matter what. Not caring about how I went about doing it, she ordered me to get that intel even if I had to kidnap Professor Nicerwin for it and shook me by mypels again. Because of that, my clothes that I only wore when I went out, my precious, precious robe¡¯s neckline was stretched out and that saddened me, but that sadness disappeared instantly when I saw the gold in the pouch the princess had slipped into my pocket as an ¡®appreciation fee.¡¯ That¡¯s our princess for you. Her ability to handle people as a leader is pure art. After I tipped the driver thanks to my now-generously full purse I dropped my bags off in my room and looked over my workce that I had returned to. Mm, even though the school¡¯s technically on holiday it doesn¡¯t seem like much had changed. Because in Yugrasia, students had to go to ss even in the holidays! Iya, I could honestly never have imagined it. Since elves didn¡¯t study in institutionalised academies like this, at first I thought that all humans studied like this. That there was a reason why humans could get stronger in such short periods of time after all! Was what I¡¯d thought, but as I saw other students on my way to the Elven Forest I realised that Yugrasia was a special case. To the point that when I asked those other students whether they had ss during the holidays, their faces that looked like they¡¯d just heard a hrious joke still remained in my memory! The fact that theirughing faces briefly ovepped with the students of Yugrasia that were distraught and despairing was a secret that wasn¡¯t much of a secret. And as I was about to open the door to the academy. ¡°Oh, Professor Harian. Have you returned?¡± ¡°Mm? Y, yes?¡± The door suddenly opened first before I could open it myself. And the person who had opened the door was the student council president! Why was he out here at this time? Did Professor Nicerwin finally grow a conscience and let the students out without any strings attached? Or did a parentin like Miss Aris¡¯s father had a while back? ¡°Miss Harian, we¡¯re kind of in a hurry right now, so can we go first?¡± ¡°Ah, mhmm.¡± At a mysterious pressure I automatically nodded. And as I moved aside from the door a bit, shortly afterwards countless students started running out and made a beeline for the main gates. ¡°Wh, what the?¡± They had hurried footsteps, but at the same time, their footsteps were spirited. What the heck, why would I feel spirit from people running away? Was that possible? As I nkly stared at the students leaving the academy leaving as if nothing was wrong, I went inside. And what I saw was. ¡°L, lil¡¯ Muam?¡± ¡°I, I told you not to call me that¡­¡± There was a corpse on the floor. No, since it was alive it wouldn¡¯t be right to call it a corpse, but Muam was spreadeagled all over the floor as if he might as well have been a corpse. ¡°Wh, what happened?¡± The strongest elementalist of the gnomes. I was taken aback at the sight of Muam copsed on the ground, very unlike the man who was the contractor of the Spirit King of Water, but the man himself said as if nothing was wrong. ¡°What do you mean, what happened. I simply did my duty as expected of my line of work.¡± His appearance as he stood up with groan, clutching his hip, did not fit his appearance that seemed younger than the students of this academy had he been human. Although it did match his actual age. Although he was younger than me he was still approaching his 50s, as I watched him stand up groaning ¡°ow my hips¡­¡± No, but before that. ¡°My duty? As expected of my line of work?¡± He did his job as he was expected to? Our duties didn¡¯t even match our job specifications as teachers to begin with, but never mind that, this man looked like he¡¯d beenpletely and utterly thrashed? ¡°Urk, yes. That¡¯s what it was.¡± Muam¡¯s actions as he stretchedining how his body was sore all over were simply far too natural. ¡°What happened with the students?¡± ¡°The same daily routine as always. The students did their best to leave school, and we stopped them for the sake of learning.¡± ¡°So what lil¡¯ Muam¡¯s saying, you got beaten by the students?¡± ¡°Yes, and please stop calling me lil¡¯ Muam.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you go too easy on them no matter how pitiful they were?¡± I asked sincerely as lil¡¯ Muam grumbled. Even I thought that keeping students in the academy to study (aka to fight) was far too depressing. But all the new teachers in the academy were all here for something, and the person who had that something in his hands was Professor Nicerwin. And what Professor Nicerwin wanted from us was for the students to be able to break through our defence while we were holding nothing back. Refusing that meant it would be very difficult for each of the parties to get what they wanted. But perhaps because Muam was weak-hearted, he failed to achieve that. If he wasn¡¯t, the contractor of the Spirit King of Water, and the strongest summoner of an entire race would never be beaten by students. At least if Aris and the other god-ss summoners became second years, or even third years and became experienced god-ss summoners. Or unless a swordsmaster appeared out of nowhere or something, it was impossible to break through that water barrier. Not even the veteran soldiers Professors Maroon and Aruhan could break through lil¡¯ Muam¡¯s wall. ¡°Well, I suppose thinking like that would be natural, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± But lil¡¯ Muam brushed off my seriousness much too casually. Wow seriously. An elf is worrying for you, you know! ¡°Your sry¡¯s going to get cut?¡± ¡°Hm¡­ well,e tomorrow, I suspect that you¡¯ll understand what I¡¯ve said, Professor Harian.¡± Even though I spun it for him, lil¡¯ Muam ignored me! And he went back to his office just like that! ¡°Hmph, what do I have to understand.¡± As I grumbled and went into my office for the first time in a while, I started to prepare for the holiday lessons for tomorrow. And after I ate dinner, finished up some light chores, caught up on some important notices from lil¡¯ Muam who was on holiday starting tomorrow. Before the castle walls closed, as I waved to lil¡¯ Muam who was leaving, he shouted. ¡°You¡¯ll really have to do your best tomorrow!¡± Hmph, I¡¯m not going to go easy on them! I need to do my best until I hear the information on the person that the princess wants from Professor Nicerwin after all! Because our princess is a great princess who makes sure to look after our wallets! And the next day. ¡°Uwiing?¡± -Contractor, as I thought, this academy is insane. My contracted god, the God of the North Wind, Boreas, said something I heartily agreed with. The sight in front of me. I understand that the students are charging to break through our defence. But the red aura surrounding Aris¡¯s sword at the front probably isn¡¯t sword ki? Isn¡¯t it a bit too brightpared to before the holidays when she was just shy of a swordsmaster? And what happens if a person that¡¯s just short of bing a swordsmaster steps forward to that peak? Isn¡¯t the step after ¡®just before swordsmaster¡¯ just a swordsmaster? Aris, did you be a hero of legend or something?! ¡°W, wait a second, kids?¡± Although I tried to attempt dialogue in my bewilderment. ¡°We¡¯ve got 20 minutes left, but since we don¡¯t know what might happen I¡¯ll make it quick!¡± ¡°Uwiit! Wait, don¡¯t talk while swinging that thing! Let¡¯s talk, talk!¡± The crimson sword aura shredded through Boreas¡¯s wall of wind. Way too simply and easily! ¡°Boreas, put some power into it! If we can¡¯tst as long as Muam then that¡¯s an embarrassment!¡± -Urrrrgh! I do not wish to be a god that loses to some Spirit King either! Although Boreas was going hard at it with the wind, the moment his wind touched Aris¡¯s sword it was all shredded instantly. And the other students were charging through those shredded gaps with extremely practiced motions! Uwiiit! Lil¡¯ Muam! You should have told me that Aris had be a swordsmaster! Whaddaya mean just see for yourself! ¡°I cannot lose as soon as I retuuuurrrnnnn!¡± ¡°We can¡¯t wait until the silver devil gets heeeeerrrree!¡± Among his brothers that were all gods of wind, Boreas was the wildest and most violent of them all. As he started tomit his full power, a freezing blizzard appeared to obstruct Aris¡¯s path. Swordsmaster, yes that swordsmaster! A swordsmaster that not even our vige has that many of, and not even the Princess has many of around her is in this academy! But I cannot lose! And three minutester. ¡°Thank you very much!¡± The student that was at the very back bowed his head to me before frantically running outside for the main gates. Even though I was in the prime of my life as an elf, my body hurts all over. But anyways¡­ how was I supposed to stop those students from now on? I just got back from vacation, right? ¡°When are the holidays going to end¡­¡± And so, my short yet long holidays began. *** ¡°Uyuuuuwuu¡­¡± My desk which could boast a lot of space even with countless documents piled on top of them was currently upied with the metal bat that was lying sprawed on her belly, making a weird noise. ¡°Speak properly.¡± ¡°Uwauhhhhhhuhhhuuwuu¡­¡± She became worse after I bothered to say something. ¡°You¡¯ve had enough fun so far.¡± ¡°But stiiiiiillll~¡± Perhaps it was because her head was pointed towards the floor, her voice seemed like it would reach into the ground. ¡°If you keep doing that I¡¯ll roll you off.¡± As if this worked, she turned her body around and made her head face the sky. And ¡°Uwehuhhhahiieuuieieuwuwuuuu.¡± That¡¯s still the same! ¡°Roll out!¡± ¡°Uwiit, what¡¯re ya doing owner! I nearly fell off!¡± In an instant, I grabbed her body and flipped her off the desk, but she demonstrated her incredible reflexes that allowed her to beat up the students without missing a single one of them, by grabbing the edge of the desk to hold on. ¡°I told you I was going to roll you off?¡± ¡°A weak goddess dat¡¯s in a state of dejection¡¯s gotta right to uwuhahuhahwu!¡± I have no idea just what the right to uwuhahuhahwu is supposed be a right for. ¡°I have the right to do my work at my desk. And this room is my room! Therefore, I have the right to deny your right to uwuhahuhahwu!¡± ¡°Owner and I share one body! And therefore owner¡¯s room is my room! And therefore I have the right to aahuhhuuahuhahaha!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a different right to what you said before?¡± ¡°Itz alwight, cuz¡¯ it means the same as a groan of despair!¡± ¡°At least you can talk.¡± ¡°Uwiit, I haveta be good at talking at least! Cuz I¡¯m now I¡¯m a NEET without any work!¡± Looking at this thing going waaahhh! And iling around everywhere reminds me of an anime I saw back when I was young. At the time I saw that pink lifeform and had a sincere fear of having children. Well, it wasn¡¯t tillter I realised that fear wasn¡¯t one I would ever have to worry about. Either way, to me who was trained under that pink lifeform, this level of a tantrum is nothing. At the very least you need to yell ¡°Uwaaaaahhhhhn! It¡¯s Dan**¡¯s! ***bi¡¯s!¡± while yelling and screaming in that godawful voice!(1) Holy shit, just thinking about it¡¯s pissing me off! ¡°¡­Owner, owner? I¡¯m the one who¡¯s throwing a tantrum in front of ya right now, if ya think of some other weird kid and getting annoyed by yaself then I honestly have no idea how I¡¯m supposed ta react.¡± The metal bat grumbled and turned her head away slightly as if she was embarrassed to be throwing a tantrum by herself. ¡°It¡¯s your fault for only throwing a tantrum of that level.¡± ¡°Uwiit, any further tantrum and muh face as a goddess doesn¡¯t stand!¡± A goddess that throws a tantrum, I doubt there¡¯s any except for a certain goddess of water.(2) ¡°F¡¯ some reason owner¡¯s real well acquainted with those weird gods.¡± This is the power of subculture. ¡°Oh thy who worries about thy fate as a NEET, I shall share with you a way to escape from the NEET.¡± ¡°Reawwy? Ya serious? The world that the kids¡¯re all escaping freely¡¯s here, but I can weally do sumfin?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°How? Hurry up and tell me! I need it naaoo!¡± I feel like I should hurry up and offer up a bowl of noodles with this uproar. ¡°It¡¯s simple. The students¡¯ standards are too high so you can¡¯t give them punishment.¡± ¡°Annd?¡± Then it¡¯s simple. ¡°You just have to create an environment where they must be punished.¡± ¡°Now dat¡¯s a cweative idea!¡± Perhaps because it¡¯s the academy of a fantasy world, but Yugrasia has quite a high level of freedom! But inside there are things called rules, and they were all written in the student handbook they got on their first day of school, but what student ever reads those! It is a fact of my past life that inte terms and conditions are something you just click ¡®I Agree¡¯ and get on with! Even if the world is different people remain the same! ¡°And so, from today onwards, we¡¯re getting strict with the rules!¡± ¡°So cool, owner¡¯s keeping the school¡¯s morals strict is so cool!¡± Even though I know they¡¯re emptypliments it still feels good. Apologies to the students, but to make my work easier, you kids will have to keep this child upied. Chapter 64 RATH 64 TL: Eevee 8. If you do it, it works. (3) #3 Their story: A certain student¡¯s story. ¡°Hwaaaahm¡­¡± A yawning second year student of Yugrasia dragged her feet from the dormitories. Thinking it was probably due to her partying with her friends from other academies until the crack of dawn, she headed to school nursing her weak but persistent hangover. Despite there being in a state ofpetition between the four academies, that was only really relevant within the empire. Excluding Mercaria and a fewmoner students, the majority of the students of the four academies had all met each other at social events at least once. Although there were cases of friendships being broken off due to fighting between academies, even so, the majority of the students also thought of life after school and tried to remain on good terms with each other! Especially since Yugrasia had taken a nosedive for the bizarre this year, the number of times she met with her friends from other schools had definitely diminished. But that was all a thing of the past! With the appearance of a whopping swordsmaster of all things, she and the others could finally leave school freely during the holidays. At this rate, they could all hope for even greater things after the holidays ended! Just how much did her mouth twitch when her friend from Arucia boasted of having sparred with the strongest swordsman in their school! A rising star touted to be the empire¡¯s next swordsmaster? Our academy has an outright swordsmaster! How she wanted to shout that out at the top of her lungs, but wanting to keep that information until the imperial festival, she said nothing. And so after they talked all night long over a bit of wine. Perhaps due to the alcohol, even if it was weak, she waste. Well, even so, the students from other schools were probably in dreand right now, either that or they¡¯d just gotten up. ¡°Hnng¡­ I¡¯m gonna bete.¡± Although sses began at nine, they were expected to arrive by eight. Since she was going to bete no matter how hard she ran right now she decided to just take it easy. But this student didn¡¯t know. That from today, the state of the academy had changed. And the moment she came to realise it, she would curse her sluggish self of this moment. To be urate, it was five minutester. ¡°Huh?¡± The front gates that were normally wide open were tightly shut, and only the small door that let the night watch teachers in and out was open. Despite seeing this, this student did not think anything was out of the ordinary. And the price for that came the moment she went in through the small door. ¡°Uwiiit, it¡¯s a tardy kiddie!¡± ¡°Uwaaaaahkk!¡± At that moment, the student lost all strength in her legs and fell down hard on her butt. Because the one who was greeting her so enthusiastically was none other than the silver devil! ¡°Wha, what happens to be the problem¡­¡± An overwhelming presence. A pressure that forced one to speak formally! That fear was so great that the students of Yugrasia would curse their teachers outside school, but they would never, ever say a word against the silver devil. And the one with that presence, the silver devil looked at the student that looked at her with eyes full of fear and smiled. ¡°Well, course that¡¯s cuz ya wuste?¡± A smile that booked a ticket for the express train to hell. #4 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story ¡°Guuuwwuhhhk!¡± ¡°Sa, saved¡­¡± I heard screaminging from behind my back. If I¡¯d been just a hairter that would also have been my fate. The moment I realised that, rivulets of cold sweat ran down my back. Good job, me of the past! To be exact, me of ten minutes ago, that started to run to not bete! No wonder I had a bad feeling when it seemed I was going to bete this morning! What if, I¡¯d felt that it would be alright to be a tiny bitte just like it had always been? -Aw¡­ what a pity¡­ what a pity¡­ How horrified had I been to see the silver devil muttering that, while watching the clock outside the door! Even then I hadn¡¯t realised what that pity had been! When 8 o¡¯clock came exactly one minuteter and the main gates started to close, I realised the instant I saw the silver devil break out into a grin! If I¡¯d beente, I would have been killed on the spot! -Aris, from tomorrow, I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to wake you up. -Yes, please wake me up! No matter what you do! You can Descend into my body whenever you want! Normally the ones who say this are the people who have contracted with particrly strong high-ranked summons. And among them, it was something that those that had contracted the strongest summons of them all, the god-ss summons, should never ever say. Allowing a being with a powerful will to enter your body and act as it wanted whenever it liked was very dangerous. But getting hit by that devil was even more dangerous. Although there¡¯s no danger to my life, that¡¯s dangerous to my sanity. Because every now and then when I got hit by that thing, I started to seriously wonder just how easy it would be if I could just die. And so, to avoid that silver devil I could hand over control of my body anytime. ¡°Kuwuuuhhghhh!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head in.¡± As the screams of pain echoed out once again I hurried my footsteps. But. ¡°Arrrrrghhhh!¡± ¡°Again?¡± When break was about to end, a familiar scream rang out from a corner of the corridor. Of course people can scream if they¡¯re in pain. But this scream that sounded like someone¡¯s soul was being dragged out of their body was only reserved for when one was hit by that devil. Meaning. ¡°Why is the devil moving on our break?¡± Although I was fearful, my feet automatically moved themselves to the source of the screams. Knowledge is power. And to survive in Yugrasia where that devil lived, there was a need to know the standards the devil would hit us by. ¡°Guwuhhhg¡­¡± ¡°No wunnin¡¯ in th¡¯ hallways?¡± The devil wagged her finger at the first year student who was dribbling drool and tears everywhere. Did that mean that that student got beaten because he was running in the hallways? And so after a day, then two passed. As casualties grew by the day, a student in my ss came running towards me with a notebook in her hand. ¡°M, mdy!¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re all the same year students in the academy, just call me Aris.¡± ¡°Lady Aris! It¡¯s this!¡± A small notebook. ¡®Student Handbook¡¯ was written on the cover, and Yugrasia¡¯s emblem was stamped on it. ¡°Student handbook?¡± ¡°Yes, the student handbook we got during our enrolment ceremony! And¡­¡± The section that she hurriedly showed me. That section was the school rules. ¡°All the victims of the silver devil were listed here, mdy!¡± ¡°What the¡­¡± One page, then the next. The student handbook that I¡¯d chucked away the moment I received it, that was probably lying around somewhere in my dorm. I stared at the contents named the school rules. Hm. So it is. The people that were done in by the devil had all broken these rules. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go back and find my student handbook the moment I get home today!¡± Thank goodness I kept my mouth shut against the silver devil¡¯s actions. If I had said something carelessly I might have been sanctioned as well for being a bad student in not adhering to the rules of the academy. It¡¯s not bad to just stick to the rules and live a chill life. Yes, keeping to the rules is very important. Becausews are there to be obeyed! -Aris, you¡¯re brainwashing yourself right now! -I don¡¯t have a choice in order to survive! Even if I deny reality nothing will change! So I need to change myself! -Aris¡­ sob¡­ The goddess is weeping. Am I really that pitiful? No. I am not pitiful. At the very least if I obey the school rules, I have no reason to be hit by that devil! -Your self-brainwashing is way too natural now! And so, after searching my room I thankfully found my student handbook, and I flicked back and forth through the pages to see if there were any rules that might catch me out. ¡°Skirt length? There were rules around skirt lengths as well?¡± ¡°Hang on, there¡¯s also rules around hair length as well? Ah, I¡¯ve got short hair so I¡¯m alright.¡± I controlled everything I could so that I could not be med for anything. The person that feels delicious to hit, guaranteed by the silver devil herself, was none other than me. The moment I let my guard down I will get hit. I even became a swordsmaster in order to not get hit by that thing! I can¡¯t get hit now just because I didn¡¯t follow the school rules! -Aris, now that you¡¯ve be a swordsmaster, haven¡¯t you thought of taking a crack at that devil? -But I¡¯m screwed if I lose! -That¡¯s my contractor! How wise! Even after I became a swordsmaster I still had zero thoughts about fighting the devil. No, on the contrary if I attacked she¡¯d smile and say ¡°swordsmasters are sturdier, right?¡± and beat the crap out of me? I¡¯d have to be something like a legendary grand swordsmaster to be ready to fight against that. And so after I did my best to follow all the rules. ¡°How could it be so perfect¡­ not even a well-disciplined army would be able to maintain such order¡­¡± For some reason or another, Father looked at the scene with surprise. ¡°Father?¡± ¡°You have a splendid teacher.¡± As I looked at my father who had a look on his face that said he was truly satisfied, I wanted to scream that this was all the results of indiscriminate violence, but as I saw the silver devil beside Professor Nicerwin grin widely, I kept my mouth shut. And so, our parents¡¯ belief in Yugrasia¡¯s system and trust in Professor Nicerwin grew ever greater. *** ¡°Now I never saw thising¡­¡± At Marquis Letia¡¯s surprise visit I was a bit, no, very surprised but I gained better results than I could have hoped for. When I changed the school rules with the new timetable, I simply added in a few school rules I remembered from middle and high school. And as the metal bat went to punish the ones who didn¡¯t adhere to those rules those rules that I¡¯d just half-assed were kept absolutely perfectly. And Marquis Letia who saw the results of that returned to his territory very pleased with what he saw, and praise for Yugrasia would echo through high society once again. ¡°This is all the venerable me¡¯s power!¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re the best!¡± ¡°Hahhn, more, praise me more! Build an Arcadia statue in the middle a¡¯ th¡¯ academy!¡± If the students heard what she said they¡¯d turn back and run even before theye into school. ¡°Eat up the magic stones.¡± ¡°Hiing, these taste bad.¡± As if her desire to have fun outweighed her tears, she crunched on the magic stones I¡¯d secretly snuck out from ss. If you were to simply listen to her you¡¯d think she was munching on beef cartge, but they were actually just rocks filled with magic power! So of course they¡¯d taste bad! ¡°Uwiiht, ya feed me these disgusting rocks even though you know they taste bad! At least give me some sauce!¡± ¡°Sauce for rocks? Want some butter and honey then?¡± There was a time in the past where honey butter was trending, what would you call a rock with honey butter added to it? Honey Butter Stone? Wait a second, that actually sounds quite catchy? I feel like I actually could sell it right now! ¡°Tho¡¯ that sounds like it might be a pretty sweet rock. Don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be all that tasty tho.¡± She¡¯s talking pretty well despite crunching away. ¡°If I keep chewing on it it kinda tastes like walnuts.¡± So she¡¯s feeling the savoury taste of walnuts while chewing on rocks. ¡°I said it feels like I¡¯m chewing on walnuts, I never said it had the crisp taste of ¡¯em. But that reminds me owner, dontcha have to prep for the imperial festival since the letter¡¯s arrived and all?¡± ¡°I do.¡± The letter I got this morning was for the representatives of the Four Great Academies to gather for a preparatory meeting. For Yugrasia¡¯s representative I can just send the stuco pres Nerkia as the students¡¯ representative¡­ ¡°Owner going as th¡¯ teacher¡¯s rep?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the problem.¡± So I wanted to avoid going outside the academy as much as possible but¡­ ¡°It¡¯d be alright to trust the stuco pres, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°What was my favourite phrase again?¡± ¡°Cut in ya foot by ya trusted axe! But owner doesn¡¯t trust the stuco pres, don¡¯t ya? So it doesn¡¯t matter even if ya do get cut!¡± Not even not getting cut, but doesn¡¯t matter if you get cut or not¡­ ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll trust him this time.¡± And indeed our student council president Nerkia, responded very well to our faith. ¡°So cool! That¡¯s our stuco pres for ya! He went and dered victory over all the other academies! So awesome!¡± My faith that my trusted axe would cut deep, deep into my foot. Chapter 65 RATH 65 TL: Eevee 8. If you do it, it works. (4) #5 Their story: A certain judiciary¡¯s story. The history of the schools titled the Four Great Academies appearing at the imperial festival is a very old one. At the time they weren¡¯t even called the Four Great Academies, it was just that they were invited to the imperial festival simply because they were located close to the imperial capital. But perhaps it was because they consistently appeared on one of the greatest stages in the empire? The four academies began to grow incredibly quickly, andter on they would be called the empire¡¯s Four Great Academies. Thanks to that, it became regarded as the best ce formoners to try to turn their lives around, and for nobles, a chance to create connections, and that reputation remained true even today. Because of that, one of the empire¡¯s judges would participate in the academies¡¯ preparatory meeting as a symbolic gesture that all schools would engage in a clean and fair contest. But unlike the nice intentions, right now I was pretty much just a decoration. ¡°No, this time we need to increase the number of individual events to demonstrate individual skills!¡± ¡°No, we need more team events that fit better with the spirit of teamwork within academies!¡± Arucis, the academy called the greatest, and Marcis that was hot on their tails. The two student council presidents from these two schools were arguing back and forth that their opinions were right. Even if they taught the usage of spears, maces and all sorts of various weapons, the weapon that the majority of students used in Arucis was the sword. And naturally their individual skills will be better, and are overwhelmingly superior in individual events where they were not surrounded by enemies. And with that specialty in mind, of course Arucis would be the beneficiary of an increased number of individual events. On the other hand, in Marcis¡¯ and Yugrasia¡¯s cases, they were the schools of magic and summoning respectively so they were better at team events. Because of this, every year there is a giant fight between Arucis who wants more individual events, and the other academies that wanted more team events. And since the teachers that were there for advice and supervision were of the same mind as the students, of course they wouldn¡¯t stop them. Because of that, we the judges have the bloody annoying task of mediating all this! Although Arucis was always slightly on the back foot due to majority opinion, the heated arguments between students that were all here to secure favourable conditions for themselves was always annoying to deal with. And once everything is over, we¡¯re always the ones to me for everything! If it¡¯s the majority opinion, Arucia alwaysins that we always rule against them! And if we listen to Arucia then the other schoolsin that the judge in attendance is biased in favour of Arucis! Since we getints no matter who we side with, there can¡¯t be anything more annoying than this! But at my seniors¡¯ words that someone had to continue with this tradition someone had to be a sacrifice, and this year¡¯s sacrifice was me! Damn it, just next year and my name would be closer to the top of the list than the bottom and I wouldn¡¯t have had to do this shit! I just had to survive this year, why the hell did I get pulled up in myst year! As I whined about my life I looked at the two student council presidents that were staring daggers at each other. ¡­Hang on? Two? ¡°Does the representative of Yugrasia have no opinion to put forward?¡± I realised that something was strange. Yugrasia, the academy that was called the weakest of the current Four Great Academies. Thanks to that, I heard that their student council president was ordered to gain more advantageous games even more than the other schools. But even while Arucia and Marcis was fighting, he was yawning as if to say he had nothing to do with all this? ¡®Hmm. Has he given up?¡¯ Yugrasia¡¯s position in the imperial festival was perennially third. If we considered the fact that Mercaria, a school that had nothing to do with fighting was also included in those rankings that meant that Yugrasia was basically alwaysst. And as if my predictions were on the mark, Yugrasia¡¯s student president yawned and nodded to me. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what kind of events are on.¡± Aplete deration of surrender. Summoners were considered to be even weaker than magicians before the brought out their summons. And so Yugrasia¡¯s strategy so far was to aim for team events, and in particr the ones that went on for extended periods of time. Giving up on those was the same as giving up on the imperial festival. ¡°What, Nerkia. I heard that Yugrasia got an overhaul this year, did nothing happen even after you guys changed things?¡± As if I wasn¡¯t the only one thinking that, Arucia¡¯s student president said to Yugrasia¡¯s student president in a mocking tone. Looking at his expression, it was filled with expectations of having more events that were advantageous to Arucia this year. ¡°Really? Are you giving up just like that?¡± In contrast, Marcis¡¯s student council president looked nervous. Marcis and Yugrasia¡¯sbat methods were simr, and so between the two of them they usually managed to earn more long-duration, or team events. But right now Yugrasia had given up! Marcis had already been losing the title of the strongest academy to Arucia by the skin of their teeth, but let alone closing the gap, it could grow even further at this rate! Unlike in previous years, this time there was an interesting situation This moment could decide the future of the Four Great Academies, a turning point in history! And as I expected, this ce was an important moment in the history of the Four Great Academies. Although it wasn¡¯t Arucia or Marcis at the center of it! And the voice that told us all of that was that of the indifferent Yugrasia student council president. ¡°Well, we¡¯re going to win either way, so what does it matter what events are on? Just decide on whatever you guys want to do.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Did I just hear right?¡± For a moment there, it felt like the entire room froze over. Even Mercaria¡¯s student council president, that up til now had been quietly watching everything unfold, stared at the Yugrasia student council president as if he couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. That was a natural reaction. A deration of victory of all things. Not even Yugrasia at its peak had ever made a deration like this. And moreover right now was the time considered Yugrasia¡¯s darkest age, and a deration of victory at this time! ¡°Nerkia, as far as I know, I thought you weren¡¯t one to make empty boasts.¡± Everyone nodded at the Arucia student council president¡¯s words. No matter what, right now Yugrasia was at its weakest. But the reason why that the other academies couldn¡¯t look down on Yugrasia despite this was because of their student council. From the president nicknamed the elemental army, the Trickster, the vice-president named the Queen of the Skies! And even the others, the secretary, the treasurer were all people that couldn¡¯t simply be ignored, and even the people doing the grunt work were all named individuals, Yugrasia¡¯s student council was that strong. And the one who was judged to have superior situational awareness and leadership among them, the one rated even higher than the presidents of other schools, the Yugrasia student council president made such a deration? ¡°Empty boast? I simply said the truth?¡± But the expression on the face of the Yugrasia student council president was all too indifferent. As we stared at his face, which seemed to ask why were we asking such an obvious thing, it made us wonder if we had asked something that obvious as well. ¡°Do you believe that Yugrasia¡¯s victory makes any sense, Nerkia?¡± ¡°The perennial losers Yugrasia?¡± ¡°Yep, so?¡± His yawn screamed that he couldn¡¯t be bothered with all this. He¡¯d propped his chin on the table and on a piece of paper he¡¯d written [to think we¡¯d waste our precious after school time on this¡­] ¡®What?¡¯ Not even precious holidays, but precious after school time? All of the empire¡¯s academies were in the middle of the holidays right now? ¡°Are you overestimating Yugrasia, or are you underestimating us?¡± ¡°Neither over or under. I¡¯m just simply saying the truth as is.¡± ¡°Do you want to say that¡¯s how much Yugrasia has changed?¡± ¡°Yugrasia has changed¡­ well, if wanted to call it change then change would probably be right? But, Kiir. We saw hell, more than anything you could ever have imagined.¡± ¡°Hell?¡± ¡°Yes, a hell that none of you will ever be able to imagine. We saw a hell so deep and treacherous, simply winning it is all but certain.¡± All of a sudden the Yugrasia student council president started giggling as if he was enjoying it, and the Arucia student council president that had been standing up took a step backwards. That is not normal. As someone who has judged countless criminals in the empire, I can attest to that. The Yugrasia student council president was not crazy, but thoroughly insane! ¡°Uuhuhuhu, Kiir, I really want to show you. The academy life filled with fun and exciting things that will go above and beyond anything you could ever have expected.¡± ¡°Hey, oi? Nerkia?¡± The Yugrasia student council president¡¯s expression was so bad I seriously began to think whether I should call for a mental health doctor at the nearby army hospital. When the Arucia student council president named Kiir shook his head, as if he was regretful Nerkia turned to invite Marcis¡¯s student council president and as far as I saw, that man did not look like one that was in a fit state of mind. ¡°Al, alright I get it. I get it!¡± Nerkia looked at the fearfully retreating Marcis student council president and clicked his tongue as if he was truly regretful. ¡°Th, then Yugrasia, Mercaria have noment, Arucia proposes to add more individual events, and Marcis proposes to add more team events.¡± All of a sudden it felt like allowing the Yugrasia student council president to say anything more would result in a very bad ending. I thought that the Marcis team would make an objection, but perhaps because of the Yugrasia student council president, surprisingly enough no objection came. ¡°Then, for the fine details of the events in question, including the currentpulsory events¡­¡± Although there was some objection from Marcis, they were pretty much the same thing that Arucia normally said for simr reasons. When arguments that Marcis had used up until now came from the mouth of the Arucis student council president almost word for word, the Marcis student council president scowled and reluctantly took a step back. ¡°Then, do the student council presidents of Yugrasia and Mercaria have no further opinions on the matter?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Yes, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Marcis¡¯ student council president made a slightly regretful face at that answer, but the Yugrasia student council president didn¡¯t care one whit for that. If one were to look at him scribbling let¡¯s go home already onto a piece of paper as if he was bored, it really seemed as if Yugrasia would be victorious at this year¡¯s imperial festival. ¡®Should I take a bet on it¡­¡± When you looked at the odds forst year, if you excluded Mercaria that wasn¡¯t even included in the betting odds, the odds for Arucia was 1.2 times, 1.4 for Marcis, and a whopping 4.2 times for Yugrasia! And legend had it that the people who were baited by those odds and bet Yugrasia werepletely ruined! But for some reason, they seem oddly trustable this year. Because no academy had ever shown that kind of confidence in the history of the imperial festival! And as I pondered, the Yugrasia student council president said something even ballsier with an equally deadpan face. ¡°Nerkia, even so, wouldn¡¯t it be good to add in some events that¡¯s favoured for Yugrasia in case things go south?¡± ¡°Hm? Our aim is total victory anyway, so who needs advantages?¡± ¡°What?¡± The Marcis student council president had said that to increase the number of team events even by one, but what came back in return was a deration of total victory. Depending on the day, the events in the imperial festival had a different number of points of them, which led to the possibility of a situation where aeback was possible at any time. But there was one way to prevent the differences in points from ever mattering. Total victory. If you were to win in every single event, then no matter how wildly the points changed per event, you were sure to win. But that was very much a ¡®what if¡¯ situation, there was no one who thought had ever thought that was possible. No matter how many powerful individuals you had, they only had one body. And since multiple events were held at the same time, the maximum number of events a single person could take part in a day was two. And even then that was only when the first event ended very quickly, that you could barely make it in time for thest event of the day. Moreover, no matter how strong you were, you could end up using all your strength in the first event and end up losing pathetically in the next one. And since the other academies could specifically send in counter matchups against that person, mind games were essential! Win the events that you absolutely had to win, and steal away the events your opponents had to. By calcting upon even more calctions, one had to choose your events to win and cut your losses wisely. That was how the academies had won in the imperial festivals thus far. But total victory! No academy so far had ever managed to aplish that feat. And, the one to do that would be Yugrasia, the school judged to be the weakest? If I bet on that then odds of at least a hundred to one would be guaranteed! ¡°D, do you think that¡¯s possible?¡± The Arucia student council president said in a shocked voice, but the Yugrasia student council president simply nodded his head. ¡°Yep.¡± Everyone in the room was rendered speechless. Just where was that baseless confidenceing from? And that silence stretched on until the person who created the silence in the first ce asked just when this meeting was going to be over. And so the meeting ended. [Betting ticket Yugrasia total victory odds 128:1] In the end, I bought one of these. Chapter 66 RATH 66 TL: Eevee TN: This is probably my favourite chapter of this arc. 8. If you do it, it works. #6 Their story: A certain teachers¡¯ story. ¡°Muaaaaaaaaahhhmm!¡± ¡°Let go of me, Professor Harian!¡± ¡°Muam, Muaahhm! This noona, is so exhausted! The kids¡¯re scary! I honestly want to quit this job!¡± ¡°Right now I want to quit you so please move!¡± Muam¡¯s turned cold. Was it because he was contracted to the spirit king of water? Of course not. In that case since I contracted with the god of wind I¡¯d have to be a temptress! -That wind and this wind are two different things!(1) You dare make me, a great god of the wind into someone like Zeus! To think he can¡¯t appreciate this great sense of humour. ¡°Lil¡¯ Muam, the holidays are ending soon so we need tobine our strength!¡± ¡°So didn¡¯t I tell you to be careful.¡± ¡°Then at least you should¡¯ve told me about the swordsmaster! Is Aris going to be a hero of legend or something? And I¡¯ll be the master of the hero that will y the demon king!¡± ¡°Hahahahaha.¡± As Muamughed like he was enjoying this, I grabbed him by thepels and shook him back and forth. Although he didn¡¯t stopughing. ¡°It was hard, it was so hard!¡± The holidays were too difficult. At first I¡¯d thought that the students would have a hard time, but after experiencing it firsthand I realised that we were the one who were going to have it hard. We were not stopping the students from leaving the academy. We were stopping warriors who overcame despair and tribtions, all for the sake of marching to their Avalon (outside the academy)! The difference in resolve is a massive difference no matter what race you were! And moreover, for the sake of avoiding Professor Nicerwin¡¯s summon, aka the silver devil, they would do anything and everything. Last time when I was holding Aris off with all I had, Professor Nicerwin¡¯s summon appeared at the end of the first floor corridor, and the student council president pushed me down. No other meanings, he literally pushed me down with his body. But I¡¯m still their teacher! I¡¯m a woman! Even if I am the problem child of the elves I¡¯m still one of the race that symbolized purity, an elf! Isn¡¯t it normal that something like this shouldn¡¯t happen in more ways than one? But that actually happened! To think the first time in my life that I¡¯d be pushed down by a man would be by my own student! E, electrifying! ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking but I¡¯d appreciate it if you wouldn¡¯t embrace me while thinking of something obscene!¡± In the end, Muam went as far as summoning his Spirit King to push me away myints also had to end there. ¡°And that stuco pres also went and said to the other academies that they¡¯d get total victory in the imperial festival? My junior at Marcis was asking me if we had some secret weapon or something!¡± ¡°Yes yes, if you were to ask for a secret method then we have one of those. One that none of the other academies could dare to follow.¡± ¡°Professor Nicerwin is really a weird person? When I heard of the stories of him back in the Elven Forest I never imagined he¡¯d be someone like this.¡± ¡°What did you hear of him?¡± ¡°Hm? How did it go now¡­ he was a gentle, kindly person?¡± ¡°What lies, that¡¯s the elves for you.¡± ¡°I get it that they¡¯re lies, but what do you mean when you say that that¡¯s elves for you, Muaaam?¡± Muam was looking at me as if to say don¡¯t you know already. Wh, what? Elves don¡¯t lie! ¡­ th, the majority of us! ¡°Since you look like you know already, I won¡¯t say anymore.¡± ¡°Hiing¡­ Lil¡¯ Muam¡¯s gotten cold! Like a contractor of the Spirit King of Water, he¡¯s gotten cold like water!¡± ¡°There¡¯s hot water too.¡± ¡°And his sense of humour¡¯s gotten cold as well!¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t specifically trying to make a joke?¡± ¡°But you have to admit it that it was freezing! That was way too cold!¡± And as I was about to scold Muam for not acknowledging his frosty sense of humour! ¡°How were your holidays?¡± ¡°Professor Nicerwin!¡± ¡°Yes, although it was the home I¡¯d lived in for my entire life, there was quite a lot that had happened in the few months I¡¯d been absent.¡± The person that came in was none other than the mutual enemy of the students and the enemy of the teachers, Professor Nicerwin! ¡°Why is Professor Nicerwining to lil¡¯ Muam¡¯s office!¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s to discuss things with teachers that returned from the holidays. But having said that, Professor Nicerwin, would you know why Professor Harian is so irritated right now?¡± Well of course that¡¯s because! ¡°I believe it was because I refused her when she suggested to simply let the students go home.¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s cause he refused to just let the students go home!¡± For the sake of improving the students¡¯ skills? Fine. Because I don¡¯t want the students I teach to be weak either! But are the students of Yugrasia right now weak? No. if a school with a student that was a god-ss summoner and a swordsmaster was weak, then the humans would have already conquered the world. The only race that could call swordsmasters weak were dragons. No! Not even dragons could just ignore a swordsmaster unlesss you could be called an ancient dragon! And even if you excluded Aris there are still five other god-ss summoners! What the hell is this fighting force? Even among the elves that were more attuned to summoning than humans we barely have a two digit number of god-ss summoners, and there are six in a single academy? And putting aside the vice-president, the other five made their contracts after Professor Nicerwin came. If Professor Nicerwin kept on increasing the number of god-ss summoners like this, by the time Aris was a fourth year, just how many god-ss summoners would there be at this academy? The Karuan Empire¡¯s already the strongest nation on the continent! Was he going to lead an invasion of the demon country and go for world domination or something? They¡¯re already incredibly powerful, just how much stronger are you going to make them! ¡°¡­was what she said, as she shook me by mypels.¡± ¡°Hm? Wait, what, I said that out loud?¡± ¡°You said that out loud, Professor Harian. But I agree with her opinion, Professor Nicerwin. Right now, the students have already surpassed the other academies.¡± Surpass? That¡¯s not just ¡®surpassed.¡¯ Not even the army teachers who had fought in the Great War could hold off Aris by herself. No,tely Aris didn¡¯t even need to fight them, the ordinary students were doing just fine against them. The reason why they¡¯re holding out at all is because Professors Maroon and Aruhan were tying down the student council. Otherwise it would be a big problem! Lately Aris was getting so good that even a 1:1 was hard as hell. And if you added in the student council? I¡¯d be like Muam I saw at the end of my break, beaten to a pulp on the floor. No matter how much of a weirdo the other elves saw me as, that didn¡¯t mean I was a pervert that liked getting hit. And therefore there was no further need for the students skills to grow any further like Muam said! If they were then I¡¯m the one that can¡¯t hold out! ¡°I agree, agree and agree big time with what Muam said~! Fighting against the students alone is getting stupidly hard now as well!¡± If they grew any further? I don¡¯t think I could hold them off even with Muam. ¡°But if we end the night study before the beginning of the imperial festival, the students may lose motivation.¡± ¡°They¡¯re still not going to lose? There¡¯s no way a swordsmaster could lose just because they lose a bit of motivation!¡± Perhaps because the majority of his work was in handling documents, this human knew nothing about the standards of the students right now. Right now, even if the other three academies came at thembined, Yugrasia¡¯s students could defeat them all without breaking a sweat. ¡°Professor Nicerwin doesn¡¯t know just because you haven¡¯t taken part, you try to stop them by yourself! See if you can still say that afterwards!¡± But I didn¡¯t know then. Just because of this one statement I said in a fit of emotion, how much the students woulde to hate me. Just what went wrong. Was it because I said something I shouldn¡¯t have? ¡°So do I just have to participate?¡± ¡°Huh, huhh?¡± I¡¯d just thrown it out there, so was it Professor Nicerwin¡¯s fault for taking it seriously? ¡°Y, you¡¯re really going to take part?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a fellow teacher¡¯s request, so I will take part this time.¡± Or was it that I didn¡¯t refuse him when I should have. In that case. ¡°Guaaaahhk!¡± ¡°Run, whatever you can, run away!¡± ¡°What the hell, why is that human here!¡± Might I not have heard the despairing screams of the students that had resolved themselves on thest day of the holidays? ¡°Why are you running? As long as you do not get past me, you should know that it is impossible to leave school!¡± ¡°Say something that makes sense, how the hell are we supposed to get through when both the pres and the swordsmaster¡¯s fallen!¡± Just what was the silver stick in his hand. That a swordsmaster was defeated in a single strike, and the student council president copse with the next? ¡°Now,e. If you want to enjoy thest day of your holidays!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t want to! We won¡¯t enjoy it! So just let us stay in the academy!¡± Just what was it. That the students who were working so hard to leave the academy, were fervently wishing to remain at school? Just what was that stick? #7 Their story: a certain student council president¡¯s story. Thest day of the holidays. Well, it wasn¡¯t much of a holiday to begin with, but we were happy enough that school was ending earlier than normal. And that small reprieve would end today as well. Because of that, we tried our hardest to break through as fast as we could and enjoy thest day of the holidays. ¡°Kwuuht?¡± Just what was that silver stick? When Professor Nicerwin appeared out of nowhere and smacked Lady Aris¡¯s side with the stick. Lady Aris copsed with a whimper right then and there. A swordsmaster in a single strike? Does that make any sense at all? ¡­Was it because it was silver? Was silver the colour of the devil? Was silver not normally a sacred colour that repelled devils! No. Rather, devils hated silver because not even they wanted to be associated with that colour! ¡°Are you paying attention, student council president?¡± ¡°Guooohhhk!¡± I immediately summoned a mid-rank earth elemental, but that was also desummoned in a single strike with the metal stick. What¡¯s more, the elemental that was said to speak only a few times in their entire lives was desummoned screaming in pain! ¡°What is that silver this time?!¡± ¡°The thing you are all familiar with.¡± ¡°You mean!¡± Was that silver stick the silver devil transformed? ¡°Just what kind of summon is Professor Nicerwin¡¯s summon?¡± ¡°A metal elemen¡­.tal?¡± ¡°Why do you have no confidence in your answer? Isn¡¯t it your contracted summon!¡± And a metal elemental! Sure that thing looks like metal on the surface, but what kind of metal exists that hurts that much when you¡¯re hit by it! ¡°Yep, it¡¯s a metal elemental. Probably.¡± ¡°So why is the probably stuck on at the¡­ uwuhh?¡± I tried to buy time by talking, but Professor Nicerwin never stopped attacking even while talking. As a man of reason, what I wanted was to resolve this with dialogue but if I couldn¡¯t! ¡°I¡¯m serious now!¡± I drew up all my mana and summoned all the elementals I could manage right now. ¡°Are you serious now?¡± ¡°Yes, this is my greatest!¡± Leaving only a trickle of mana left, I squeezed out all my magic power and exploded the elementals¡¯ power! Named, my ultimate! ¡°Elemental great escape!¡± ¡°So you were running away at max power was it!¡± I heard Professor Nicerwin shout behind me, but that didn¡¯t matter. Fight head on with the silver devil? That was the same thing as doing your best to kill yourself. There was nothing as stupid as picking a fight you had no hope of even contesting. And if you can¡¯t win then you have to escape. To begin with, even Lady Aris, who had defeated the contractors of a Spirit King and a god in Professors Muam and Harian respectively was defeated in a single strike. There was no way in hell a small-time elementalist like me could win! ¡°¡­Was whatcha wuz thinking!¡± ¡°H, how!¡± But as if I was simply amusing, the silver devil appeared in front of me. ¡°Haang, owner said this. If it¡¯s the stuco pres then ya¡¯d totes try to run! And so like this~¡± The devil¡¯s right hand turned liquid like a slime and began to dribble along the ground. ¡°Like this!¡± ¡°T, teleportation?¡± And the silver liquid slid across the ground in front of me at a high speed, and all of a sudden the silver devil was in front of me again. ¡°Hm? Course it¡¯s not teleportation! I just sent over a part of my body first and moved the rest a¡¯ me there afterwards!¡± ¡°Where the hell did thate from!¡± ¡°Here!¡± As if this bloody elemental was exactly the same as its master, it kept swinging her fists at me even while talking. ¡°This much is¡­ kuhhk!¡± ¡°My punch was a fake! The real attack was down low!¡± All she did was kick me in the shin, but an indescribable pain flooded over me. ¡°Finisher!¡± ¡°N¡­¡± The silver devil¡¯s fist struck my face before I could even finish. And thest thing I saw in my fading vision. Walking amidst the copsing summons, was Professor Nicerwin striding between them like the demon king of the end of the century.(2) Chapter 67 RATH Chapter 67 TL: Eevee 8. If you do it, it works. (6) ¡°It feels pretty refreshing to move for the first time in a while?¡± ¡°Dat¡¯s it! That¡¯s my owner! Ya got a simr personality ta me!¡± Although the metal bat keeps saying only things that I want to deny, but since I¡¯m in a good mood right now I¡¯ll let it slide. I¡¯d used my body to train my disciples in the evil organization up til now, but since I¡¯d only been doing sses and paperwork since bing a teacher my body had rusted a fair amount. I¡¯d been aiming for the sickly cute boy¡­ or not. The sickly handsome middle aged¡­ or not. To hold to my sickly middle-aged man concept I couldn¡¯t even train or practice my swordsmanship I¡¯d always done daily in the evil organization. But Professor Harian gave me a reason to let loose for the first time in a while. But perhaps age took its toll on me. It feels like my skills have died quite a bitpared to a year ago. ¡°No, owner. Owner¡¯s not dead yet! Ya still got dem skills ya drubbed all ya old disciples with!¡± Perhaps because she hadn¡¯t gotten to move around as much as she used to after Aris became a swordsmaster, but the metal bat seemed to be in a good mood today too. ¡°Mm, mm! it¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve had this electrifying feeling!¡± ¡°But the holidays end tomorrow, and so does your job!¡± ¡°Waah! No fair! No fair!¡± Even if it is unfair there¡¯s no other choice. There¡¯s not that long till the imperial festival either, and I need to take care of the kids¡¯ physical¡­ or rather mental health. Even back in the evil organization when I trained my disciples, I always let them rest the day before important events like ranking matches. Since I only ever raised a small number of elites even a single injury would be a significant setback for me! And as if they understood what I wanted, they also stayed quiet on those important days. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it just cuz ya healed them by beating them up with me?¡± ¡°That was also a factor. But back then I did it because it couldn¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Whaddaya mean it couldn¡¯t be helped! Ya think I wouldn¡¯t know that the organization always sent ya healers on a daily basis just cause all owner¡¯s trainings all had some ridiculous stuff in it!¡± ¡°Tch, quick on the mark.¡± ¡°Haang, owner and I can¡¯t be separated even if we try! I know almost everything that owner knows!¡± If you were to look at only the appearance of her smugly puffing out her t chest she almost looks cute. ¡°I¡¯m a goddess that¡¯s cute on the inside too!¡± ¡°Did I say anything.¡± Both me, and this one. All we enjoyed was a single day out of our routine but it feels like we¡¯d wiped out all our stress we¡¯d umted so far. ¡°Owner, owner! Before the imperial festival ends, can we have fun like this once, just once, pwease?¡± ¡°Hm¡­ I might have to think about that.¡± Since that was good stress relief for me, and stress relief for this kid so that she won¡¯tin for the foreseeable future, even if it might not be possible to do it regrly, every now and then might be doable. ¡°Aris is a swordsmaster so it¡¯s dangerous.¡± How many of my former disciples want to stick a sword in my belly? It¡¯d be five at the very least. And using that as a precedent, there is almost no doubt that among the students there might be some brats that want to shank my guts for inventing night study and all sorts of other assorted annoying crap. And among them, the most dangerous one is obviously Aris the swordsmaster. ¡°But owner? Didn¡¯t ya already beat the Sword Star, and thrashed ya he clingy disciple? Aren¡¯t ya being a bit too careful considering you¡¯ve already beaten swordsmasters twice now?¡± Well, that¡¯s as far as my record goes. ¡°But it¡¯s still a swordsmaster.¡± They say the realm of swordsmasters is the beginning and the end of swordsmanship. Meaning, to most swordsmen it seems like the end of swordsmanship, but you realise only when you actually be a swordsmaster. That you¡¯ve only started to understand the sword. Of course seeing as the one who so seriously said these lines were the imperial court¡¯s official pushover Sword Princess so the reliability of that statement drops a bit, but she was still once the empire¡¯s youngest swordsmaster. No, since Aris hasn¡¯t been officially announced as a swordsmaster, she still is the youngest ever swordsmaster. Either way, that¡¯s what our Sword Princess said. Meaning, Aris is currently piling up even more experience on another nepared to all of us! Even if I got the jump on her today, next time she might start throwing sword auras at me the moment she even sees me. ¡°And so our only chance is when we can blindside Aris unawares!¡± ¡°But ya still ain¡¯t saying we¡¯re not doing it owner! That¡¯s my owner! The incarnate of desire!¡± Kghh¡­ but I¡¯ve found this delightful pleasure, it¡¯s hard to give it up now. ¡°Th¡¯ things ya startte are always funner! Owner¡¯s lucky. A hitting specialist like me¡¯s owner¡¯s partner!¡± ¡°You make me realise I really have been living my life wrongly after all!¡± Something that¡¯s good at hitting people is my life partner! Is it not even more useless than the master of bottom dealing, the ancient pharaoh¡¯s soul! ¡°Isn¡¯t a pharaoh a king? A king¡¯s he useful!¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s an idiot that bet his life on a card game. And in the end he lost to himself.¡±(1) And in this fantasy world, there¡¯s nothing that you can do by being good at card games. Actually since he was the master of bottom dealing he might have earned some cash by gambling? But unlike that ce where you fought with card games, you fight with brute force here so if you lose all your money in the gambling ring without any money then you¡¯re going to get screwed over by the organization running the ring. Because gambling rings are a good source of ie for evil organizations! ¡°So ya saying I¡¯m really useless then? Then ima not gonna help ya out even if those really scary unnise chasing after ya?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°A fast apology, I like it!¡± It might look pathetic but it can¡¯t be helped. When I meet those scary people that are chasing me, if I didn¡¯t have this thing? Each and every one of them have at least one swordsmaster attached to them. Wait, hang on. Just what kind of life have I been leading? ¡°Owner? Din¡¯t ya say before that only countries with a decent military had swordsmasters?¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°Then are ya pretty much being chased by an entire country¡¯s worth a¡¯ army or something?¡± ¡°Since the world¡¯s strongest empire¡¯s after me, an ordinary country is a funny joke.¡± ¡°And owner who¡¯s surviving perfectly fine smack in the middle of said strongest empire¡¯s also funny!¡± True, it¡¯s funny even when I think of it. ¡°If ya know then obey this great goddess Arcadia!¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Normally I would have just brushed her off, but I feel good enough to humour this kid for a bit. There¡¯s nothing quite as good as exercise to blow off some steam, you know? Good body, good mind! Everyone, let¡¯s all exercise¡­ or would the microparticle pollution be too much of an issue for that? #8 Their story: A certain teacher¡¯s story. ¡®Professor Nicerwin is the probleeeemmm!¡¯ My back was stinging but I couldn¡¯t look back. Because I knew perfectly well why my back was prickling! ¡°Now, th, then¡­ umm¡­¡± ¡°Professor, we would appreciate it if you spoke up properly.¡± ¡°Yes, yes! Understood! Today¡¯s lesson is about!¡± The moment I stuttered one student immediately cut in. While it might seem extremely rude to a teacher, since I was the one who made this situation with my own mouth I couldn¡¯t even say something about it. Of course! Although the secondary, and tertiary causes was all Professor Nicerwin! So all I can do is yell at Professor Nicerwin in my mind! ¡°Professor, the ss has stopped.¡± ¡°I¡¯m soyy!¡± On thest day of the holidays¡­ if you put it like that that seems like it was as long time ago, but if you put it another way, just yesterday. After Professor Nicerwin appeared andpletely swept the students away, he made a face as if he waspletely refreshed. Fine, it was alright up to there. ¡®Why¡­ why did Professor Nicerwin appear all of a sudden?¡¯ ¡®It was Professor Harian¡¯s request. She suggested that I participate for once as well¡­¡¯ Professor Nicerwin needlessly answered a dying student¡¯s final words. And that student etched those words in his heart before he died¡­ The moment he revived he spread the word to everyone else, that I was the culprit who summoned the demon named Nicerwin. Rather than resenting Professor Nicerwin himself they went for the easier(?) to resent target, me. And because of that I was getting a lot of prickling gazes from all the students! Even for me this a bit, no, really painful! ¡°Professor, I cannot read what you wrote with that handwriting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorreehh! I¡¯ll do my best to write neatly!¡± My handwriting shook a bit due to my shaking hand, but the students cut in immediately. Scary. The students are too scary! ¡°And in the cases of high-ranking summons like this, the mana needed¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already covered that section.¡± ¡°Sorrrrryyyy!¡¯ This is all Professor Nicerwin¡¯s faaauuullt! The kids¡¯ eyes are so frigid it¡¯s impossible for me to carry on with the lesson. And if the lesson doesn¡¯t continue then the kids get even icier. And I get flustered and stuff up the lesson again, and the kids get colder in turn¡­ How would I break this petrifying cycle! A number of sses went and ended like that, and as I felt people¡¯s gazes on me even as I was walking through the corridor I hurriedly escaped to my office and sighed in relief a few times. ¡°Ah, I really don¡¯t want to do this¡­¡± The time for night study came once again. ¡°Hahaha, did you not like it before?¡± ¡°Muamy, if you¡¯re gonna be like this as well then I¡¯m gonna cry, you know? The kids weren¡¯t this scary back then!¡± ¡°Bully them when they¡¯re not scary, running away when they are scary. As a teacher you should not do that.¡± ¡°Muamy doesn¡¯t know! How hard today was!¡± ¡°So you really should have been taking care of what you said.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know Professor Nicerwin would do that either!¡± If I knew that was what would have happened then I wouldn¡¯t have said that kind of bullshit either! But it was already toote. The reality was the students¡¯ icy looks and pressure. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna die today, right?¡± If looks could kill me then I would already be dead ten times over today, but they¡¯re not going to actually kill me. Surely students wouldn¡¯t try to actually kill their teacher, right? ¡°¡­Was the answer I wanted to hear, but why are you staying silent? Did I do something wrong to you? Lil¡¯ Muam?¡± ¡°It is not that. Just that Professor Harian¡¯s words were much too realistic¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that! Why are you making such a serious face right now!¡± ¡°Do I really have to say¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say it!¡± Since Muamy was serious it¡¯s even scarier. Since the eternally deadpan Muam¡¯s making a serious expression it¡¯s even scarier. And that fear eventually became reality. ¡°There she is!¡± ¡°There¡¯s Professor Harian!¡± ¡°Kill her!¡± ¡°Hiiiiik!¡± As the students came down to the first floor unbelievably quickly, they immediately charged towards me. Having said that, whaddaya mean, ¡°kill her!¡± I¡¯m still a teacher! Even if the rtionship between teacher and student is strange in this academy, but I¡¯m still your heaven-like teacher! They say to not even step on your teacher¡¯s shadow, but these little brats are trying to get past by stomping right on their teacher! ¡°Lil¡¯ Muam, help m¡­ Muam? What are you doing?¡± I pitifully looked backwards in the face of this savage pressure, but what I saw was. ¡°Boreas, that Professor Harian contracted with has poorpatibility with my Spirit King of Water.¡± ¡°So I¡¯m really wondering what does that have to do with Muamy putting up a water barrier behind me?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a strategy since long ago?¡± What, this feeling that I perfectly know what he¡¯s going to say. ¡°Is what Muamy¡¯s thinking right now what I¡¯m thinking right now?¡± ¡°Yes, like you¡¯re thinking right now, you¡¯re fighting with your back to the water.¡±(2) ¡°Muaaaahhhhhmm!¡± I hurriedly banged on the water barrier, but Muamy¡¯s face didn¡¯t change at all and his expression was like a judge condemning a prisoner to execution. ¡°As the old sages said, you must undo the knot you make yourself.¡± ¡°This rage is all because of Professor Nicerwin, it¡¯s not mine!¡± ¡°Even so, the beginning was definitely Professor Harian¡¯s words.¡± ¡°I¡¯m reflecting! I¡¯m really, really reflecting!¡± ¡°The people that should ept that apology is not me, but those students.¡± At some point all the students hade down from the second floor and began to charge at me as if they were all under berserker magic. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, kids! I¡¯m really really sorry!¡± I defended against countless summons that charged at me, deflected countless des. Even so my mouth kept on with the apologies, but the students would only ept my apology a long, long time in the future. Chapter 68 RATH 68 TL: Eevee 8. If you do it, it works. (7) ¡°Today was such a pity.¡± ¡°Ya said that yesterday as well tho?¡± ¡°Because yesterday was such a waste too.¡± Although this is a world without TV, there are magic tools that can act like a TV. Although of course since there¡¯s no one making fun content for it it¡¯s useless! Once, I thought about doing business with this, but since I knew nothing about broadcasting I gave up on it. It could have been the continent¡¯s greatest venture, but it had an equally high result to simply go bust. And if you thought of the veteran actors of this world, it would be either the theater actors or the nobles that were skilled in faction wars, but there was no way nobles would act. Although their acting skills alone send chills down my spine. If you saw them happily smiling at someone they were cursing out mere seconds ago then you¡¯d think my previous world¡¯s actors would have to learn a thing or two from them But right now, if I could capture Yugrasia¡¯s night study and broadcast it, I could even think about starting up the broadcasting business that I¡¯d given up on! And the army teachers, who had been struggling since Aris became a swordsmaster, their revival tonight could easily be counted as the best highlight minute of tonight. -Very well. We have lost. But as your teachers we cannot give up here! -Even if we lose, and lose, and lose again. So that we can emerge victorious tomorrow. This is what we must do as soldiers of the empire! ¡°Kahh~ the misters are so cool! Even though they¡¯re being pushed back they don¡¯t give up to the end, and they look so cool holding on like that!¡± ¡°And the way the held on for quite a long time was memorable.¡± ¡°At this rate won¡¯t the weapon summoning mister be a swordsmaster as well?¡± ¡°Professor Aruhan¡­ well, that might be possible.¡± They said that the door to bing a swordsmaster is does not open for just anyone, yet is open for everyone. There¡¯s honestly no bigger bullshit than this, but all swordsmen agree with this statement. To be honest I, who has literally no mana can¡¯t understand heads or tails of it but I can get a rough idea of what it¡¯s all about. The biggest factor in bing a swordsmaster. ¡°It¡¯s basically luck after all.¡± You need to be lucky. Even if your sword smashed through every obstacle in your path, you simply cannot break through the path of a swordsmaster in one go. But Aris became a swordsmaster after just getting hit with a few snowballs. But this has nothing to do with snowballs. If it was possible to be a swordsmaster just be getting hit with a couple of snowballs, the princess¡¯s personal knight order would all be having snowball fights in the icynds in the southernmost tip of the empire. The fact that Aris became a swordsmaster after getting hit with a snowballs is literally the product of a miracle. In short, it¡¯s all down to luck. ¡°So ya saying it¡¯s possible, or nah?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Swordsmasters are just luck.¡± Well, I might understand if I did some proper research, but seeing as I had a probability of precisely 0% to be a swordsmaster, I felt no need for me to look those things up just for my disciples. ¡°Ya did good. If there were just a couple ¡®a more swordsmasters outta owner¡¯s disciples then owner¡¯s belly¡¯d already be gutted out!¡± ¡°True.¡± The odds of failing was high, but what if I actually found a method to be a swordsmaster? I¡¯d use a bit of my past life¡¯s experiences to found a martial family, and develop it into a great name that would mass-produce swordsmasters¡­ or the princess¡¯s swordsmaster brigade would capture me and I¡¯d have that done to me. ¡°Have what done to ya?¡± ¡°Hm¡­ [Censored]?¡± ¡°I gotta feeling that something incredible woulda happen!¡± Ah, the magic word, censored. Despite being usable in a G-rated setting, it was enough to get the metal bat to understand instantly. ¡°If the mister can be a swordsmaster, can the teachers win? Dontcha think we have to bring back the traitor initative again?¡± ¡°No, that might be difficult now as well?¡± Traitors only appear when one¡¯s chances of victory were either nonexistent or very slim. Since it was hard for everyone to win, they might as well win by themselves. But conversely, turning traitor when you were about to win anyway makes zero sense. And to turn traitor when right now they can already beat Professor Harian and areing agonizingly close to beating Professor Muam as well? ¡°It¡¯smon sense that they would never do that.¡± But the metal bat countered in a way I would never have anticipated. ¡°Owner? Since when were owner¡¯s school¡¯s kids ever adhere tomon sense?¡± ¡°Drat!¡± Now that I think of it, all these kids are all abnormal! Let alone theirbat power, not even their personalities could be judged as normal. Normally, no matter how much you¡¯d make them do the night study, there was no way that the entire school would run from night study without a single person left behind. And normally they should hesitate at attacking a teacher, but for the sake of escaping night study, they don¡¯t hesitate tounch a direct attack at the teachers. This isn¡¯t a card game? They¡¯re actually attacking? And yet these kids have absolutely no hesitation?! ¡°At th¡¯ least, owner shouldn¡¯t be thinking like dat! Coming from the man who used me and mercilessly thrashed all the students!¡± ¡°Mine are the beatings of love.¡± Everything was designed in mind for a teacher to look over his students¡¯ safe growth. For that purpose, I even went as far as creating the safe but effective bat series after all. ¡°The kid that¡¯re getting hit probs aren¡¯t thinking like dat tho?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame.¡± The difference in perspectives is this fearful. ¡°If owner¡¯s the beating of love, then the students¡¯re struggles to survive.¡± ¡°And so I have to have the teachers understand the students¡¯ rough rebellions.¡± ¡°Lately I think the teachers¡¯ve all been struggling to survive as well tho?¡± ¡°Because their lives(sry) are on the line as well.¡± ¡°Still calm even knowing dat! As I thought, owner¡¯s the best viin!¡± ¡°Even my background is a member of the empire¡¯s (former) strongest evil organization after all.¡± I am a self-assured viin. For the record, third-rates me their birth, or say they have their own uncontroble circumstances but the people that will live within thew will do so anyway. I became a viin just to make my life easier, and yet I can¡¯t even say that out loud! ¡°Yes~ yes~ mister self-assured viin owner. So whatcha gonna do? Ya gonna bring back the traitors again?¡± ¡°Hm¡­ although that does sound fun¡­¡± If I throw in a few extra bonuses then the teachers will have it easier, and the students will find the night study more enjoyable too. ¡°Won¡¯t it be better to end that bloody night study for everyone¡¯s happy ending?¡± ¡°No, then our fun disappears.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t have that! As expected of my owner that prioritises yaself over others, you¡¯re the best!¡± Hasn¡¯t it always been us over them, me over you? If you help others without taking care of yourself then you¡¯re not a saint, just an easy pushover. I have to look out for myself first, why would I give up what¡¯s mine for others. I honestly wonder just what was in the heads of those old heroes that sacrificed their lovers for the world. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s start getting to work as well.¡± ¡°Wiing? Wasn¡¯t I a NEET after the holidays ended? Ya said that the students¡¯ mental health¡¯d crash?¡± ¡°Now that I think about it, it¡¯s fine as long as you don¡¯t attack the students.¡± For the sake of the students¡¯ minds I hadn¡¯t brought her out since the holidays ended, but now I just thought of a new way to use her. ¡°Where¡¯s it? Where is the ce this goddess needs to descend!¡± As if the feel of her beating up the students still remained on her hands she was responding extremely positively, so let¡¯s tell her the new highly imaginative n. ¡°The ce where you¡¯ll make your stage is Yugrasia, of course.¡± ¡°Mm, mm!¡± ¡°And this n Alpha is!¡± ¡°Alpha is!¡± To the bat who looked at me with sparkling eyes, I told her the contents of this n. ¡°Hit the teachers!¡± #9 Their story: A certain teachers¡¯ story. ¡°Kwuugh!¡± ¡°Da, damn it!¡± ¡°Professor Matel is down! Fall back to the next line of defence!¡± Night study started today as well. Unlike the beginning of the year, the students were on a different level and it was now difficult enough just to stop their quick charge. ¡°Damn it, the students attacks have gotten way too strongtely.¡± ¡°Kuugh¡­ if only we could heal like the students¡­¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s too unfair. To be honest it¡¯s incredible that the students have gotten this far as it is¡­¡± ¡°Who knows. If the students be able to escape the night study, then might we be allowed recovery options as well?¡± ¡°We might be able to recover but our wallets won¡¯t.¡± Unlike the very first night study there weren¡¯t as many restrictions on us, but Professor Nicerwin still ced a number of restrictions on the teachers. And the most fatal one was the banning of healing magic or healing type summons. Because of that, unlike the students who could repeatedly charge after being healed, the teachers couldn¡¯t move as aggressively to conserve their stamina, and the students didn¡¯t miss that gap, they¡¯d bitten in and they had yet to let go. ¡°It¡¯s tough, it¡¯s tough.¡± It was then. The thing called the self-directed night study, the thing that gave students tribtions and fear. The thing that gave the teachers tribtions and fear. ¡°For th¡¯ teachers that have it hard, owner¡¯s grand special service!¡± ¡°Wh, what?¡± ¡°Professor Nicerwin¡¯s summon?¡± What suddenly appeared was Professor Nicerwin¡¯s summon and the symbol of fear known as the silver devil among the students. Said symbol looked up at us and grinned. ¡°Now th¡¯ teachers can heal too!¡± Her sparkling silver eyes narrowed in mirth, and the devil smiled brightly. ¡°Tho¡¯ of course, ya can only heal through me!¡± ¡°Wh, what¡¯s that¡­¡± ¡°Actions over words!¡± She passed in front of the teachers who were still working their hardest to stop the students. There were screams from those who saw Professor Nicerwin¡¯s summon, but the devil said ¡°not you kids today!¡± as she walked forward with light steps. Where her footsteps stopped was in front of the teacher copsed in the corner. ¡°The students¡¯re doing their best so the teachers can¡¯t sleep now!¡± In front of the fallen teacher, Professor Nicerwin¡¯s summon lifted her cute small hands and punched the teacher. ¡°Kuaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhgh!¡± The teacher that had fainted against the wall bolted up instantly. ¡°Get up, and fight!¡± ¡°Kwahhhhgh!¡± Professor Nicerwin¡¯s summon prodded the leg of the teacher who couldn¡¯t understand what was going on because of the sudden pain, as he started to hop around while screaming. ¡°M, my summon has already been defeated so I can¡¯t do anything more!¡± As if he was flustered, he used formalnguage against a summon and that wasn¡¯t normal for a teacher, but what he was saying was correct. The biggest difference between magicians and summoners was the length of time they could operate for. Unlike magicians who could only draw from their own mana reserves, both the summoners and the summon shared their stamina and magic power together with each other, and so summoners could fight for longer. But unlike magicians who can recover using mana potions and such, for summoners, even if they could heal themselves up, if their summons were still disabled then they couldn¡¯t do anything. That was why the students could afford to neglect the teachers that had fallen over in the nonbat zone. Because even if they got up they still couldn¡¯t fight! ¡°Call ¡¯em out.¡± ¡°N, no that¡¯s impossib¡­ kwuuhgh!¡± ¡°Bring ¡®im.¡± ¡°Th, that¡¯s not posiblleaaaaagh!¡± ¡°Bring ¡®im.¡± But Professor Nicerwin¡¯s¡­ no, the silver devil didn¡¯t listen to him, and kept hitting him every time he refused. ¡°S, summon!¡± ¡°Khhhnnnh!¡± Perhaps it was due to the summoner¡¯s fervent wish. Looking at the grey wolf that responded to the summon despite its injuries, the silver devil smiled brightly. ¡°Iyyam!¡± ¡°Kyaaaaaooooooooo!¡± And seeing the wolf the devilunched her fists again. ¡°Wh, what!¡± The summon screamed in pain at the silver devil¡¯s fists despite being several times bigger than her! But the summon was not desummoned like all of the other students¡¯ summons had so far. No, on the contrary. ¡°It¡¯s healing!¡± The rivulets of blood that streaked through its fur began to disappear. ¡°Kwuun, kwuuuuhhh! Kwuuuhhhuuuuuung!¡± Although the wolf¡¯s screams got louder and louder! ¡°Now, fite! Don¡¯t worry ¡¯bout getting hurt. I¡¯ll take responsibility and heal ya!¡± ¡°U, understood.¡± ¡°Whimper!¡± The teacher nodded, and his summon the grey wolf had an expression on its face as if to say it never wanted to get injured again. ¡°Now, I gotta focus on healing, the rest of ya teachers all go ahead and fite!¡± With those words, she went on to revive all the other fallen teachers with her two fists, one by one, and as we saw this happen, all of us teachers thought as one. -If we fall we¡¯re dead. And on that day. The legend of the silver devil began to spread not only between the students, but among the teachers as well. Chapter 69 RATH 69 TL: Eevee 8. If you do it, it works. (8) #10 A certain student council president¡¯s story. The teachers became stronger. ¡°Die!¡± The ones who said that used to mostly be students. But now the teachers were saying that as well. Moreover. ¡°P, professor?¡± ¡°Sorry, but die!¡± A student that was dragging a teacher to the deadzone screamed as she fell. Even if they lost, the teachers normally disyed a clean fight. But after that day¡­ Even their fighting methods became troublesome¡­ no, it would be best to say that they started fighting dirty. But it couldn¡¯t be helped. The students, who had already experienced it, simply could not criticize the teachers. Because¡­ ¡°Itz a-okay! If ya lose I¡¯ll heal ya! So fight as much as ya want!¡± The being that excitedly waved her hand at us as she watched us fight was none other than the silver devil. And said devil was threatening the teachers with her fearsome fists high in the air. The devil¡¯s method of healing was, as you¡¯d expect from a devil, to beat up the opposition. It shows an incredible healing power, but in contrast, it grants the healed an incredible pain. To the point where that dying would be easier! ¡°Even so, we can¡¯t give up!¡± The other students yelled as they charged in, but the teachers evaded and dodged as they fought to minimise the damage to their own bodies. ¡°Isn¡¯t that too unfair?¡± ¡°Our own lives are on the line as well.¡± The teachers engaged in hit and run tactics that whittled down the student forces while minimising their own damage. This fighting style where they avoidedrge teamfights altogether was theplete opposite of how the teachers of Yugrasia had fought until now. Because of that, we were still stuck on the eighth floor when we¡¯d normally be on the second floor right now. ¡°How are the other floors doing?¡± ¡°Same as we are, pres.¡± ¡°What about just brute forcing our way through?¡± ¡°Would it work? The enemy already has their backs to the water, no, their backs to the devil.¡± ¡°We were like that during the holidays.¡± ¡°Actually, in some respects it¡¯s worse for them. We¡¯re done once we fall, but they get hit every time they fall.¡± ¡°Why is that the devil knows how to heal.¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s to heal them and hit them again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the devil of devils for you, no, the evil god¡¯s apostle!¡± Unlike the grumbling students, the teachers were stone-faced. As if the situations of the teachers and students before the holidays had been reversed. The teachers¡¯ expressions were that serious, no, rigid. ¡°Those eyes look like they¡¯re prepared to face death.¡± ¡°Is it just me feeling a real sense of kinship with them?¡± ¡°No, because we also have those exact same eyes.¡± ¡°Professor Nicerwin isn¡¯t human. Just how could he do this to his fellow teachers¡­¡± Just what the hell was victory at the imperial festival even worth. The students that were participating it aside, he even pushed the teachers who weren¡¯t going to be in it straight into hell. ¡°But, our objective is fighting against the teachers anyway.¡± Lately it felt like it would be possible to break through the academy, no, even our results were showing that if we managed to beat Professor Muam then we were guaranteed victory. But the more we did so the more anxious we got. Because it didn¡¯t seem like Professor Nicerwin would let us off before the imperial festival no matter what! Just what trick would he y to destroy our teamwork, or put fear into us. Or that he would start some absolutely ridiculous tribtion. But thankfully he put pressure on us by putting the teachers into hell. We felt sorry for the teachers, but considering how they had pretended to ignore our plight so far we got a bit of schadenfreude out of it! ¡°We just have to be thankful that it was the teachers and not us he pushed.¡± ¡°True, if he set the silver devil on us like that¡­¡± ¡°I honestly think I would have killed myself.¡± ¡°Is it possible for us to kill ourselves?¡± ¡°Dunno. But the important thing is that, we can fight the teachers going at their full power, no, when they are surpassing their own limits.¡± Our current location was the middle of the eighth floor. Our clear speed had almost dropped to what it was at the beginning of the year, but we equally had as much to learn. ¡°Normally we¡¯d be at the second floor by now¡­ but this is our turn to make a difference.¡± ¡°Will it be okay?¡± ¡°If we can¡¯t get through here we can¡¯t get down to the second floor anyway. And if we beat this as well, who knows what Professor Nicerwin mighte up with.¡± ¡°True.¡± Let alone the students, our enemy even drives the teachers into hell. He was the monster who turned the academy named Yugrasia into hell. Perhaps it might have been different if it had been a monster we could fight, but Professor Nicerwin managed to turn our parents, and even Lady Aris¡¯s farther, Marquis Letia, over to his side. And so avoiding him was for the best for the sake of our physical and mental well-being. ¡°When the devil¡¯s attention is on the teachers, we have to do our best to raise our skills even more.¡± Our objective is victory at the imperial festival. If we can win there, we can finally be free of this hell. ¡°Do our best, and finish everything! In order to do that, we will do anything and everything!¡± With those words, the student council began to fight against the teachers, and soon afterwards. ¡°Kuaaagh!¡± ¡°Nerkiiaaaaa!¡± The teacher¡¯s screams. ¡°Heeheehiit! That¡¯s a good pres! Fight harder! Ah! There¡¯s another injury over there!¡± And the devil¡¯s brightughter filled the halls of Yugrasia. #11 Their story: A certain teacher¡¯s story. ¡°Lil¡¯ Muam, the student¡¯s haven¡¯t really beening our waytely?¡± As I tilted my head and looked down at Muamy, he sighed and said. ¡°You seem excited.¡± I seem excited? ¡°Ooooof course I am!¡± This is great! Really really great! At the beginning of the semester I honestly thought about quitting this job even if it meant getting killed by Her Highness. Seriously, I dragged Professor Nicerwin into the night study just one time, and because of that I suffered mass istion, and a group assault as well. And the most important thing was that it was all legal! This academy was so insane, exchanging attacks during night study was seen as a form of conversation. I¡¯ll admit that I put in a lot of effort as well, but seriously, a group attack is way too much! But perhaps the other teachers powered up, the students aren¡¯ting down to the first floor where Muamy and I are. ¡­The imperial festival is in just a few more weeks! Once the imperial festival gets underway in just under a month¡¯s time, this initiative called night study which drove the entire academy insane will disappear. Because the students of Yugrasia have long surpassed the standards of students! ¡°If the kids win in the imperial festival like we expect, the kids don¡¯t have to do night study so they¡¯re happy, I have information to pass to the princess so I¡¯m happy, and I can earn myself a big fat bonus so that¡¯s even better!¡¯ ¡°You seem to be certain of our victory.¡± ¡°Of course. If the kids in this academy can¡¯t win, then the humans would have conquered the world already.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t deny that.¡± Even Muamy who¡¯d constantly made snippy remarks at whatever I said nodded. ¡°But I do wonder how the other teachers have been holding out against the students. Shall we go watch them? Watch? Waaaaaaatchh~?(1) ¡°Of course I refuse!¡± After the holidays ended, Professor Nicerwin undid all the restrictions up to n B so there was no problem if we went up to the other floors. Problem was that there was nothing good woulde of us by going to another floor. No, there were only bad things. ¡°Lately the teachers¡¯ eyes have changed to what the students were like before the promise of the imperial festival came along? That¡¯s proof that there¡¯s nothing good for us even if we go.¡± ¡°But aren¡¯t you curious?¡± ¡°Lil¡¯ Muam, there¡¯s an elvish saying. Curiosity enves the elf!¡± They were wise words from our ancestors. The stories of elves who only lived in the forests being fooled by ve merchants or scammers to be ves for humans have been passed down since ancient times. And just how many elves have fallen for the stupid trick of being convinced to try on a cool looking choker that was actually a ve subordination cor! Curiosity kills the elf. And as a weak and frail elf, I should think of my own safety rather than satisfying my curiosity. ¡°You¡¯ve changed a lot since the first time I met you, Professor Harian.¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve¡­ grown while I was here.¡± ¡°Although the process was hardly ideal, it seems like the results alone were good.¡± Just when I was about to say something to Muamy who said something that nearly made me cry. ck. ¡°Ahh¡­¡± When my naturally good hearing picked up the sound of shoes in the hallway, I couldn¡¯t help but close my mouth again. ¡°¡­Just what happened in the upper floors until now, Professor Harian.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ no, I know one thing at least.¡± As I heard the sounds of footsteps increase one after another, I saw the students of Yugrasiae down the stairs with the student council in the lead. But their appearance was a far cry from when Ist saw them. Previously they had suppressed the other teachers with ease, and looked perfectly fresh as they came down to curbstomp me, but right now they almost looked like defeated soldiers. Despite being made of good quality material and enchanted with numerous spells, their uniform was in tatters, and there were others, even girls, marching resolutely down uncaring of the blood streaming down their faces. ¡°Just what kind of academy am I teaching in¡­¡± Rather than students, they looked like warriors. The uniforms that proved their status as students carried the air of uniforms of well-trained elite troops, and the students¡¯ footsteps carried the sounds of an undefeated army. ¡°Professor Harian, I think we honestly do need to prepare ourselves.¡± Apletely different pressurepared to the berserker mode they ran in with before. As if he felt it too, even Muamy¡¯s voice quavered a bit. Tak. Tak. Stomp. And just ten metres out from where we were standing, the person furthest at the front, the student council president Nerkia, halted and raised his hand. ¡°Charge.¡± And hismand truly was like a generalmanding his army. At his words, the speed-buffed summons that came running at us felt like a cavalry brigade running at full tilt. ¡°The kids¡¯re weird, the kids¡¯re weird!¡± ¡°Oh great king, stop our enemies!¡± As I screamed I had Boreas create severalyers of wind barriers, while Muamy also prepared water shields to face off the students. ¡°Marksmen, ready.¡± As we picked off the charging summons one by one while maintaining our barriers, the president gestured to the students with a rxed expression. When he did, from further away, a number of summons began to form magics or objects with numerous different attributes. ¡°Hang on, prezzie? You¡¯re not an army? You¡¯re all students?¡± I yelled to the students that reeked of professionalism, but the students ignored me and fired at us. ¡°Listen when an elf is talking to yoooouuu!¡± The magics mmed into my wind barrier with a loud sh. Although I didn¡¯t think they would break Boreas, the god of wind¡¯s barrier anytime soon. ¡°I can¡¯t see!¡± As numerous bright lights began to blur my vision, I started to have a really bad feeling about this. And if this was the case¡­ then almost certainly¡­ ¡°Hello, Professor.¡± ¡°I knew ittt!¡± As I expected, Aris emerged from the light and sliced through my wind barrier. ¡°Take it easy on me Aris!¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to revive soon anyway.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean!¡± I screamed as Aris unleashed even more savage shes than before but Aris kept attacking, and in the end I was defeated. ¡°Ya fell down?¡± And it began. ¡°Kuaaaaaaaagh?!¡± What I felt was a pain that simply could not be described into words. ¡°Professor Harian has revived!¡± ¡°Phase 1! Beat her again when she¡¯s still fuzzy!¡± I hadn¡¯t even gotten my shredded wits back together again, but all sorts of magic came flying into my face. -Get a grip on yourself, contractor! And I fainted again. ¡°Gyaaaahh!¡± And I woke up again from another incredible pain! ¡°N, noooo!¡± ¡°Phase two, denial!¡± ¡°Attack again!¡± After I was knocked out and woken up by pain a few more times after that I finally realised what was happening. If I fainted, Professor Nicerwin¡¯s summon would hit me awake, and the students would attack me again. And I would fall again, get attacked again, fall again¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me I¡¯m not even allowed to fall daaaaaaaownn!¡± ¡°Final phase, final phase!¡± ¡°Everyone be careful!¡± Seriously, these little shits. ¡°So is that how it¡¯s going to be, you brats! Do I look like a pushover to you!¡± ¡°Professor Harian¡¯s already gone into berserker mode!¡± ¡°Lady Aris, please keep Professor Muam busy!¡± As I faced down the students that were looking at me as if I was the demon king, I let my mana run rampant. ¡°Boreas, kill them all!¡± And that day, along with the rest of the teachers. I became a true resident of the hell named Yugrasia. Chapter 70 RATH 70 TL: Eevee 8. If you do it, it works. (9) -Dieeeeeee! -We cannot diiiiiieee! The teachers¡¯ screams echoed throughout the magic video tool. The new n Alpha which used the metal bat on the teachers instead of the students. It was extremely effective. Up until now, the teachers had gone on the offensive while relying on healing magic, but after the introduction of the metal bat, they switched to defensive and evasive tactics. And so they very skillfully and urately took apart the students, and in response the students also organize their resistive efforts. If one improved, the other would also improve in order to survive. The teacher would develop the disciple, and in turn the developed disciple would develop the teachers as well. To think I created the ultimate education method like this, was I simply born to teach? Since the metal bat that would normally retort to me at this moment was healing(hitting) the teachers happily, the office was quiet as well. ¡°That¡¯s weird.¡± I murmured due to the unfamiliarity of this quaint quietness, but once again, no response came back. Was I getting lonely in my old age¡­ was what I was thinking and I nearly cried a bit when I realised the metal bat was the only one by my side. Now that I think about it, I wasn¡¯t forever alone in my former life, but I am in this one. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m unpopr in this life either, but none of the people gesturing (seducing) to me to escape the solo life were normal women by any stretch of the imagination Just what did I do wrong, in myst life or this one? ¡°I should work.¡± Since it felt like I actually would cry if I kept thinking I took out some documents and began strategizing. I don¡¯t think my monster-ss students would lose in the imperial festival, but who knows what could happen! I also have to think of the worst case scenario where all three of the other academies all form an alliance against us. And so, I looked over the events that had been in the imperial festivals so far and nned strategies for them. -Dieeeeee! -I have already predicted all of Professor Harian¡¯s attack patterns! -That was my fake! -I predicted that fake as well! As I looked at the events on the first floor that seemed a lot like a hero and viin fighting in an old fantasy novel as I vaguely recalled the academies in the novels of my past life. ¡°There were a lot of events like this one in high school novels¡­¡± In my past life I read a number of novels when I was on standby during work, but there were a number of events simr to the one I was looking at. ¡°This was already used, this was banned because it was deemed to be cheating¡­¡± Although it wasn¡¯t like I remembered all of them, as I recalled the ones that stuck in my head I wrote down the methods to be victorious in them. Even if normally there would be strategies the main character or their friends came up with that only worked due to the main character buff, aren¡¯t these kids right now already at the level of main characters? Especially the pres, or the vice pres. And in Aris¡¯s case she actually does have protagonist-ss specs! And so even in the strategy itself isn¡¯t all that great, they can still win in the imperial festival due to their individual specs. Well, the reason why I¡¯ming up with ns is because other teachers are doing their best to teach their students, it feels like I¡¯m the only one that¡¯s got nothing to do. I¡¯m not being a leech. This is my role. The role of the headmaster, which doesn¡¯t participate in the night study, and I are to act as representatives of the academy and deal with duties rted to the imperial festival, or fighting against a mountain of paperwork daily! It¡¯s a perfect division ofbour where the headmaster deals with external matters, and I deal with internal issues. -Dieeeeeee! -I can¡¯t even diiiiiieee! Internal matters, meaning aiding the students to improve themselves as well as the overall grand n. As I looked at the students improving themselves on their own, I sorted through the imperial festival strategies with a smile. Because the winner of the imperial festival was already guaranteed to be Yugrasia! #12 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. ¡°Now, Aris!¡± Eyes that were familiar to all Yugrasia students. That familiarity wasn¡¯t simply because that the person who those eyes belonged to was one of our teachers. If you were a student of this academy, everyone would have those eyes at least once, no, they would have those eyes everyday! ¡°Let¡¯s die.¡± A freezing wind swept through the area. This was the true strength of a god-ss summoner. Professor Harian¡¯s full power, which she used not as a student and teacher, but purely as an enemy with her life on the line. My normal actions were instantly swept down by the icy wind she sent flying everywhere, and the pressure was as if I was facing god incarnate himself. ¡°We cannot give up either.¡± ¡°Really now? As a teacher, I should praise you for your undying attitude, but I shall pass on the offer of getting hit by that thing.¡± Right beside me, the stuco pres and Professor Muam were also having a very serious exchange. Tomorrow was finally the day of ourst hope, the beginning of the imperial festival. Because of this, we students wanted to escape this disgusting thing called self-directed night study just this once. But the enemy was Yugrasia¡¯s greatest summoners, Professors Muam and Harian. And behind the strongest summoners, on standby for healing¡­ or with that lie as an excuse, was the silver devil watching the two of them. When Professor Muam or Harian fell, the silver devil quickly appeared and beat up the two teachers, and the two teachers got up with a scream and started to fight us again. Because of that, the two teachers realised the horrendous pain known as defeat, and from then onwards they fought us as if they were fighting a deathmatch against their mortal enemy. The proof of that was the fact that they had changed the way they summoned. Up to now, Professor Muam had umted the moisture in the air to use the power of his Spirit King, but he abandoned that approach in favour of summoning the Spirit King directly. Likewise, Professor Harian¡¯s green hair was now dyed blue. At first nce it seemed like the Descension technique I often used, but this was the next level above that, Incarnation(»¯Éñ). Bypassing the step of calling a god into your body, it was a technique wherein you literally became a god incarnate. It was impossible for the previous Professor Harian, but she developed that technique and ascended to supreme heights as a summoner, all for the sake of surviving against the silver devil. Because of that, we still couldn¡¯t get through the defence of those two, and were still being stopped on the first floor. But today was different. ¡°I, no, we will defeat you and march onwards today!¡± Our determination was the greatest it had ever been. Even the heavily injured students refused treatment and limped their way down to the first floor. For tomorrow¡¯s imperial festival, we came here today to resolve ourselves! ¡°Here I go!¡± ¡°Come!¡± I manifested spear aura into my speartip from the very start. The crimson spear aura that was honed through countless battles with the teachers began to ze on my spear tip. ¡°Fang of the Starving Wolf! (ðIÀÇÑÀ)¡± My most powerful attack from the first move! ¡°Weak!¡± But Professor Harianpressed the raging tempest around the spear and easily blocked it. ¡°Now, my cute Aris.¡± As she unsheathed a sword with a hiss, a blue aura began to form around its de. ¡°You know that I¡¯m quite handy with the sword as well, yes?¡± ¡°I know that!¡± The first time Professor Harian pulled out a sword I was so surprised I ended up losing that fight, and the second time I lost because I was startled because of that blue aura. But ording to Professor Harian, all elves learned swordsmanship and archery when they were young. After that, depending on your talents you would go on to learn magic, summoning or some other different career, and considering that she¡¯d learnt her swordsmanship as a child, it was extremely skillful. ¡°Awaken¡­ Boreas!¡± And that blue aura. At first it looked like sword aura, and in reality it had enough power to fight against sword aura, but that was not sword aura. It waspressed wind, that only a god could produce. The concentrated strength of Boreas, the god of the North Wind was powerful enough to even put sword aura under strain. Normally she started swinging after calling ¡°Awaken, Tempest!¡±,(1) but all of a sudden the silver devil showed up and smacked her side saying ¡°owner said not ta say that!¡± and so she changed it to ¡°Awaken Boreas.¡± Rumours had it thatter an extremely annoyed Professor Harian would go to Professor Nicerwin toin, but instead he grumbled ¡°a dangerous new release¡­¡± and other nonsensicalments and on the contrary Professor Harian was scolded instead. ¡°Diee!¡± ¡°We cannot do that!¡± I could have parried away the powerful sh away with my spear but then that would have cost a considerable amount of mana. A brute force battle of magic power against an elf, who had a much greater mana reserves was impossible. And so I too, used my power as a summoner. ¡°Goddess!¡± -I know! I requested my goddess and used her strength. What I summoned was the shield that even the goddess said was the strongest shield, Aegis. ¡°Tch, an annoying thing again!¡± I blocked Professor Harian¡¯s sword with a shield. -Take this! Petrifying Light! At the same time the goddess used the shield to shine a bright light. The monster Medusa which was said to turn her enemies into stone just by meeting eye contact. And the hero who slew that Medusa was said to have offered her head to Athena as a sacrifice. And afterwards, that head became one with the shield Aegis, and thanks to that the goddess¡¯s shield became the strongest weapon, capable of both offence and defense! ¡°Muamm! Switch!¡± ¡°Is it the god¡¯s shield already?¡± ¡°Yep! So hurry and switch!¡± I stabbed my short spear that I used with my shield forward but Professor Harian dodged my attack with her eyes closed. ¡°It¡¯s not easy over here either!¡± ¡°I know that! There¡¯s no easy student in our academy!¡± Professor Harian instantly took distance from me and at the same time blocked the attacks of numerous students that surrounded her. With the natural swiftness inherent to elves as well as the god of wind¡¯s buff, Professor Harian skillfully dodged the students and made her way to where Professor Muam was. ¡°Professor¡¯s opponent is me!¡± ¡°Clingy kids aren¡¯t popr, Aris! And besides I prefer men!¡± This teacher, she just said something to incriminate someone with weird preferences! ¡°I like men too!¡± I red up as well, but it was a mistake to say it out loud. ¡°Oh my my my, the daughter of a marquisate yelled that she likes men at that age! As a teacher I have a duty to prevent inappropriate rtionships between students!¡± ¡°Professor!¡± I desummoned Aegis and gripped my auraden spear with both hands. ¡°Letia-style, Lone Fang(Ò»ÑÀ)!¡± I threw my spear with all my strength. Using your spear as a javelin wasn¡¯t rmended very much even within my family. In a situation where you couldn¡¯t freely use your weapon meant that throwing your spear was ast resort. ¡°Iiiiiet!¡± But the fang of the Letia house, of not just the tip, but the entire spear saturated with mana, the fang of the wolf guaranteed incredible firepower. ¡°I¡­ cannot looooosseeeee!¡± Professor Harian abandoned her sword and held up both hands to gather up the blue aura imbued in the sword, and when the spear was about to hit her, she pushed out the aura she held in her hands. ¡°Kyaaaaah!¡± ¡°Dodge it!¡± When the spear imbued with spear ki and the power of the god of wind collided, the resulting explosion blew some of the other students away. ¡°Kggghhh!¡± ¡°H, hang on a sec! Isn¡¯t this going too far?¡± ¡°I actually might die?¡± The opponent being what she was, I¡¯d put all my strength into that spear throw. Even if she was the contractor of a god, she would be hard-pressed to block it. But. ¡°Muaaaaaaaahhhmmmmm!¡± I didn¡¯t have just one enemy. And in some aspects, an enemy even more troublesome than a god. The lord of all water. ¡°Seriously, it¡¯s hard for me as well.¡± Even as Professor Muam grumbled, he was defending against the stuco pres¡¯s attacks as hemanded a giant made of water, while he summoned a body of water beside Professor Harian. ¡°When the power of the god of the wind, and the spirit king of watere together, we are invincible!¡± My spear that was piercing through Professor Harian¡¯s wind began to lose momentum as Professor Muam¡¯s water joined in to stop it. That attack took a lot out of me as well, if that didn¡¯t work then the tables would be cleanly turned. In that case, what I had to use now was my body¡¯s innate abilities! ¡°If you are invincible, could you also block the silver devil behind you?¡± ¡°Hm, hmm?¡± For the record, there was something we learned from Professor Nicerwin in this academy. That at times, more than physical attacks, a mental attack with words was even more effective! And those teachings were indeed useful. To the point that for a second Professor Harian lost control of her wind! ¡°Arrriiissss!¡± With a massive sound of impact, I heard Professor Harian¡¯s screams. I couldn¡¯t confirm due to the dust cloud raised by the destroyed corridors, but with this, Professor Harian was probably out as well. ording to Professor Nicerwin¡¯s teachings, in cases like this, if anyone said ¡°is it over?¡± then there was a high probability that the enemy would revive, so watch over the situation a bit further¡­ ¡°Is it over?¡± ¡°Hang on?¡± Was what I was going to do, but even before the smoke cleared, one student said those forbidden words. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ no way that it¡¯s over!¡± As Professor Nicerwin said, Professor Harian was a mess, but appeared in front of us still battle-ready. ¡°Now, it¡¯s my turn is it, Aris?¡± ¡°No, it would be our turn.¡± As Professor Muam joined her, our final battle with the teachers proceeded to phase two. Chapter 71 RATH 71 TL: Eevee 8. If you do it, it works. (10) #13 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story. What is an academy? When faced with that question, most people would think of it as a ce where children that were not quite yet adults gathered to learn. But this ce is different. ¡°Kuaaaaghh!¡± ¡°Damn it, break through!¡± The academy named Yugrasia was a battlefield where you learned how to fight with everything on the line. Unlike normal battlefields, you didn¡¯t die here, but our academy was the ce where you learned firsthand that sometimes, death was the much more preferable option. And to remove the hell that was the battlefield, for our the sake of our peace, we must be victorious in the imperial festival that begins tomorrow. And because of that, we wanted to be able to clear the night study just this once¡­ ¡°It¡¯s quite tiring.¡± Even as I wiped the sweat off my brows, the person who was experienced enough to not leave a single opening for us to exploit was our teacher, a professor of this school and the strongest elementalist of the gnomes, Professor Muam. After the contractor of the Spirit King of Water, Professor Muam was beat¡­ healed by the silver devil, he began to directly summon the Spirit King, and that was the same for today as well. ¡°It¡¯s even more tiring for us, Professor.¡± ¡°Hohoho¡­ since you¡¯ve felt it as well you should know, student council president. That there is a reason why we cannot fall.¡± ¡°We know that as well, but today is the day where we cannot give up.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Although our rtionship was that of student and teacher, we had inmon the knowledge of the pain of the silver devil. Both of us knew far too well of the circumstances of the other. There couldn¡¯t possibly such a bizarre student-teacher rtionship anywhere else, but unfortunately we had no choice but to fight each other with our lives at stake due to the apostle of the evil god that was Professor Nicerwin. -Children, defend if you can. The words of the blue giant, the Spirit King of Water, began to twist the nearby space. The power of the Spirit King of Water, lord of all water. The power tomand space with thebination of magic power and the water vapour in the air. All summons in this space were weakened, and people who used water elementals in particr couldn¡¯t bring them out altogether. No one could move freely. ¡°Roar, thunder!¡± And there was only one person who could run in like that in this state, and that was one of the god-ss summoners of the first years, Hirto, the contractor of Thor, the god of thunder! After the fear of the silver devil spurred on his development, he became able to use the god Thor¡¯s strongest weapon as he wished. He became able to use Mj?lnir, the weapon thatmanded lightning, and thanks to that he became a key yer in fighting against Professor Muam. ¡°I¡¯ll lead the way!¡± Swinging the lightning-coated hammer, he was slowly but surely driving back the Spirit King¡¯s area of control. ¡°Lightning really is annoying.¡± As Mj?lnir¡¯s lightning began to encroach into Professor Muam¡¯s water barrier, he skillfully cut off the electrocuted areas and sent it elsewhere. Even if Hirto¡¯s power was superior in rank and elementalpatibility to Professor Muam, Hirto was the eldest son of a swordsmanship family. The only reason why a Hirto, someone who hadn¡¯t even studied summoning for a year could use an unfamiliar weapon, a hammer, to fight as he was now was purely because he was a god-ss summoner. ¡°Damn it, if I¡¯d known this would happen I would have asked for a lightning elemental¡­¡± I was outright unable to summon any water elementals, and other elementals were greatly weakened. It was the worst possible situation for me where I couldn¡¯t even summon any elementals unless they were at least a high-rank. If I¡¯d made a contract with a lightning elemental, the effective matchup against water elementals, I would have been more useful here. ¡°Muaahm! Switch!¡± I heard Professor Harian¡¯s shout from further away. Right now, the strategy to deal with the two teachers was to fight against Professor Harian with Lady Aris as the core fighter, and Hirto and I were the key figures in fighting against Professor Muam. ¡°Is it the god¡¯s shield already?¡± The reason was Lady Aris¡¯s shield, Aegis. Unlike Professor Muam, Professor Harian¡¯s attacks specialised in defeating many foes at once, and so using that shield made it easier to defend against her attacks. ¡°Yep! So hurry up and switch!¡± Professor Harian¡¯s voice was hurried. The shield¡¯s powers were that great, but Professor Muam had many ways to nullify the shield. Whether it was by redirecting Aegis¡¯s strongest attack, the petrifying curse by bending the light rays away with water, or the free maniption of water whose attacks even Lady Aris who could consistently defend against Professor Harian¡¯s near-invisible wind attacks had a hard time against, making it Lady Aris¡¯s natural enemy. We had already failed to defeat them numerous times when they joined together. As such, the rest of use tensed up and held our positions. ¡°Karen, block that with a few other summons nearby.¡± ¡°Got it, pres!¡± Karen and a number of other people contracted torger summons created a living wall. They didn¡¯t suit the current situation where multiple people were attacking one in a limited space like this, but they could at least block the path. ¡°It¡¯s not easy over here either!¡± Even as Professor Muam yelled, he was still looking for gaps in our defence. ¡°I know that! There¡¯s no easy student in our academy!¡± How should I put it¡­ although we were acknowledged by the strongest gnome and one of the most powerful elven summoners, but we weren¡¯t happy about that. Because if we thought about how we went about to be acknowledged by the teachers then our tears would blur up my vision! ¡°Mister student council president. Making ady wait is not befitting of a gentleman, could you help me to be a gentleman?¡± ¡°Who would doubt that Professor Muam is a gentleman? But bad boys are popr nowadays. What about following the trends?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a bit old-fashioned, after all. I don¡¯t particrly suit the bad boy archetype.¡± ¡°Really now?¡± Extracting himself under the watch of countless students was a difficult thing to do. Even for someone of Professor Muam¡¯s caliber. But as always, exceptions existed. ¡°I¡­ cannot looooosseeeee!¡± With a piercing scream, a giant shockwave struck our backs. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Kyaaaahh!¡± ¡°Get down!¡± The shockwave was strong enough that some of the students were knocked down. ¡°Hang on! Our summons are falling!¡± ¡°Desummon! Hurry and desummon them!¡± I felt the impact even from where I was, far away from the epicenter. In that case, the giant summons that took the brunt of the st fell over due to the sudden shockwave, and to reduce the casualties from that, Karen and a number of others were forced to desummon them. ¡°Muaaaaahhmmmm!¡± And Professor Muam didn¡¯t lose that opportunity. ¡°Don¡¯t desummon them! Just have the people move around them!¡± ¡°Even if pres says that!¡± ¡°Or, hurry up and stop him!¡± Even as we shouted we attacked with wind and earth elementals, but Professor Muam easily deflected them and marched onwards. ¡°Seriously, it¡¯s hard for me as well.¡± ¡°When the power of the god of the wind, and the spirit king of watere together, we are invincible!¡± Thanks to the quick actions of the other students we could stop him from getting to Professor Harian¡¯s side, but we couldn¡¯t stop him from summoning the mass of water beside her. ¡°Attack him so he can¡¯t focus!¡± ¡°Ohhoho, how rude.¡± Professor Muamughed bitterly at the countless summons and spells being thrown at him from all directions, but none of them did any real damage. As I thought, nothing was effective unless you were at least a god-ss summoner, as the only attacks that had any effect were Hirto¡¯s. But as Hirto was outright being prevented from approaching Professor Muam, there was no one that could help Hirto close the distance. ¡°Arrriiissss!¡± It was then. With arge explosion, a thick smoke filled the corridor. ¡°Everyone focus, we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on there! Especially!¡± This was one of 100 situations that Professor Nicerwin, who was always urate in his predictions of misery, had taught us about. The nonsensical logic that if an enemy that fell off a cliff with wounds that should be lethal, they would eventuallye back but even stronger, or in a situation where a kill was unconfirmed, if you said ¡°is it dead?¡± or ¡°is it over?¡± then the enemy would revive. ¡°If anyone dares to say is she dead, or is it over!¡± ¡°Is it over?¡± ¡°Who said that!¡± But it seemed like there were still people who were not very learned. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ no way that it¡¯s over!¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± As the smoke cleared, Professor Harian appeared with a yell. Although it looked like she had a lot of wounds, the way her blue hair still whipped around relentlessly indicated that her Incarnation still hadn¡¯t worn off yet. In contrast, although she had no injuries to speak of, but looking at Lady Aris¡¯s crimson hair, already soaked through with sweat, and her bitter expression, it didn¡¯t seem like that she¡¯d be any good as fighting potential for a while. ¡°Now, it¡¯s my turn is it, Aris?¡± ¡°No, it would be our turn.¡± ¡°What?¡± And moreover, beside the evil-faced Professor Harian, Professor Muam had joined her! When our strongest forces had to rest for a while, our enemy had all gathered together. ¡°Now, lil¡¯ Muam!¡± ¡°How many times have I told you not to call me that.¡± ¡°Hahahaa! Now I can attack as much as I want!¡± As her hair¡¯s blue aura began to surround Professor Harian, the temperature of the room began to drop. The cold and powerful god of the North Wind. The god in charge of the most powerful wind out of the brothers that were in charge of the winds! ¡°No, diiiiieee!¡± Was it because she was drunk on power, or was it because the stresses she¡¯d umted in many different ways finally exploded? As she yelled something that should nevere out of a teacher¡¯s mouth, Professor Harian waved her hand and the blue wind started to sweep over us. ¡°Use therger summons as a wall, and bring Lady Aris back to the rear!¡± The best option we had right now was to let Lady Aris rest up as much as possible and let her back onto the battlefieldter. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re taking my pretty Aris! If shees back then that¡¯s hard for meter!¡± But Professor Harian knew that as well, and she began to focus her attacks in the directions of Lady Aris. ¡°Risen!¡± ¡°I know!¡± Risen was on standby for this very situation, and with his nimble movements he just managed to spirit away Lady Aris back to the rear lines. ¡°Tch, no wonder I couldn¡¯t see the vice-president, so this was why you were hiding him?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± I answered Professor Harian as she grumbled at me, but we were in a bad situation. In the presence of a Spirit King, other elementals and spirits couldn¡¯t use their full power. And defending against Professor Harian¡¯s attacks in this situation was borderline impossible for other elementalists. And if Hirto, the only person capable of effective attacks against Professor Muam iss also shut down by Professor Harian then that¡¯s it. ¡°The imperial festival is tomorrow¡­ we can¡¯t give up today as well!¡± ¡°Ohe on, just give up! Today¡¯s thest day so please just give in! You kids can already win the imperial festival!¡± ¡°No, we can¡¯t give in precisely because it¡¯s thest day!¡± If we were going to give up we would not have gathered here in this ce. We would be quietly studying in our ssrooms right now. But we did not give up, and that was why we stood in this ce today. ¡°Prezzie. Do you think¡­ you can beat us right now?¡± ¡°I imagine there¡¯s a big difference between losing inbat, and simply forfeiting.¡± Hirto alone can¡¯t break through Professor Muam¡¯s defence. But as Lady Aris wasn¡¯t here, there was no one who had the firepower to back Hirto up. And just when I was thinking that our only way was to protect Hirto until Lady Aris recovered. -Forced on the defence with that kind of resolve, how pathetic. -What manner of being would you be? An insanely powerful presence talked to me, a being on a different dimension to what I¡¯d experienced so far! -I¡­ Hmm¡­ This would be the best way to exin it. I am a being capable of making you victorious in this fight. -I¡¯ll make the contract. -Hmm? A familiar yet powerful presence If I could make a contract with this elemental that was a high-rank at the very least, I could find a way to ovee this situation. -I know it¡¯s weird considering I¡¯m the one that suggested the contract, but there are many other beings that create scam contracts like this. -To ovee this situation, I could even contract a devil. -I don¡¯t see that as a good attitude to have. -No, ording to our academy¡¯s teachings, if a devil tries to make a scam contract, it is a good opportunity to scam the devil instead. -What kind of academy is this? I wanted to say it was an academy that trained summoners, but since that was an iffy answer I stayed silent. -Something feels weird, but very well. Since it¡¯s the first time in a while since I¡¯ve met someone who I liked. And I can y with El over there too. Will you make the contract? -I will make the contract. ¡°Hmm? Hang on, that looks like something dangerous to us over there?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­?¡± I heard Professor Harian¡¯s startled voice as well as seeing Professor Muam¡¯s scowl. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is but protect the pres!¡± At the same time, Risen was the quickest to catch on as he moved beside me andmanded the students that were as equally stunned as the teachers. ¡°We have to stop it, Professor Harian!¡± ¡°Nn? Ye, yes? But isn¡¯t he contracting with something, Muam? A student¡¯s improving, shouldn¡¯t we leave him alone?¡± ¡°The moment he makes a contract with that, we¡¯re definitely going to lose!¡± ¡°Re, really?!¡± As even Professor Muam who was on the defence began to attack, but thanks to the other students who literally put their bodies on the line for me, I seeded in contracting that being. -Kahahahaha, Ellie, I¡¯m here! -Damn it, why are you! -There were a lot of kings that wanted to contract with this kiddo here. But thanks to you, I became the one he wanted to contract the most. A being that could appear even when he wasn¡¯t asked to. A giant body that didn¡¯t lose to the Spirit King of Water. And the powerful lightning that ran down along his body! -It¡¯s my first time out in a thousand years, El! You¡¯re going to make it fun for me, right? -Damn it, the one with few contractors, the Spirit King of Lightning, Lionel! This will be apletely a different fight up to now! -Kahaha! Contractor! What is your first request! My first request? That was already a given. ¡°O lord of lightning, defeat our enemies, and grant us victory. It was the moment that an event sparse even throughout the history of the continent, a battle between Spirit Kings unfolded in Yugrasia. Chapter 72 RATH 72 TL: Eevee 9. The others¡¯ stories (1) #1 Their story: A certain students¡¯ final battle this year ¡°Thank you very much.¡± As a student bowed his head towards her, Professor Harian smiled. ¡°Fine¡­ we lost¡­¡± ¡°You really were strong, Professors.¡± ¡°Fufu¡­ I don¡¯t think I should be hearing that from the students who beat the daylights out of said professor?¡± ¡°Thanks for everything up till now.¡± ¡°Yes, I feel like I have done a lot up til now. So go on and win so we can end all this.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± As she smirked and turned her head, beside her was Muam floating like a corpse in water that he¡¯d summoned himself, and beside him was the metal bat yelling ¡°revive, revive!¡± as she beat him up. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would contract a spirit king right at the death.¡± ¡°If I couldn¡¯t contract him, we probably would have lost.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine since you made the contract, no?¡± As we listened to the ¡°kuweeek!¡± noisesing from the normally taciturn Professor Muam¡¯s mouth, Professor Harian raised her hand and waved at Nerkia. ¡°Congrattions on your first escape. And this should be yourst as well, right?¡± ¡°Yes, we will do everything to ensure that this is thest time we ever have to escape.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Well then, move along now. Even if it¡¯s me, I don¡¯t want show people what¡¯s going to happen to me quite soon.¡± As Professor Harian nced at the silver devil muttering ¡°he a goner?¡± she turned back and smiled gently to the students. ¡°I understand.¡± As she looked at the backs of the students that had bowed their heads again, she thought. ¡®This really is the end, right?¡¯ Neither her body nor her mind could take it any longer. And besides, she could feel the fear creeping up on her from what the small lifeform warming up her hands in front of her would do to her! ¡°I, you know¡­ all the students are going already, wouldn¡¯t it be alright to just end it here?¡± ¡°Heehee, ya know unni, owner said ¡®giving up''(1) should only be used to count cabbages. Not all the students¡¯ve left the academy yet, rite?¡± Crack. Crack. As if the small sounds from those knuckles signalled the end of the world, Professor Harian¡¯s face nched as she yelled. ¡°I, I¡­ I¡¯m really at my limits? Look at Muamy over there!¡± Where Professor Harian¡¯s fingers were pointing to was Professor Muam, sprawled out with both eyes and his mouth wide open droning ¡°heeeehh~¡± continually. The nk page state where the body couldn¡¯t take in any more of all the blessings embedded in Arcadia! And if someone that knew Professor Muam were to see him in that state, no one would think that he was the same person! ¡°Nup! Unni can do it!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do it, I can¡¯t! Khaaaaaaaaaaagh!¡± As we listened to the desperate screams echoing throughout the first floor of Yugrasia, the students moved onwards wiping something flowing from their eyes. ¡°You know¡­¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t look back. Don¡¯t let the teachers sacrifices have been in vain.¡± ¡°But¡­ it¡¯s too cruel!¡± At one female student¡¯s tears, the others fell silent. A moment of silence. And the tushitushi noises that could be clearly heard through that silence. As the fear that was engrained into everyone¡¯s bodies began to make them shiver, the student council president Nerkia shouted. ¡°We have trodden over many corpses to reach where we are! And without a single man left behind, we have managed to reach our Avalon with our own hands!¡± As Nerkia shouted, pointing to Avalon (the school¡¯s main gates), everyone¡¯s gazes turned to Avalon. ¡°How much have we worked, to get to that ce? How much have we suffered? With the reward in front of our eyes, what must we do?¡± All of the other students closed their mouths. ¡°That is¡­ to move forward.¡± The person that broke the long string of tushitushis and screams was none other than Aris. Even as Aris bit her lip, she said to Nerkia with a clear, ringing voice. ¡°No matter how pitiful they are, no matter how much we know their pain, they were our teachers, and our enemies.¡± ¡°Yes, if they are our enemies, then there is no need for us to show mercy. Even more so if they are our teachers. Because what we need to do is improve even more upon their sacrifices.¡± The majority of people nodded their heads at Nerkia and Aris¡¯s resolute faces, but there were also people that didn¡¯t agree. ¡°But still, even still¡­¡± ¡°In that case, do you want to fight that devil?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, to our Avalon!¡± But at the student council president¡¯s follow up words, the female student shook her head, made a bright expression and began walking towards the main gates. ¡°Now, see for yourself! Feel for yourself! And walk down the path to victory! This is the results of what we have worked for, a road we have paved with our own efforts! Through this, starting tomorrow, we will im victory at the imperial festival!¡± ¡°Uwoooooooooohh!¡± As the students marched towards the front gates like a well-trained elite force, they shouted as one. ¡°We, are, victorious!¡± ¡°Uwwoooooooohh!¡±¡® #2 Their story: Ria el Nermia¡¯s story. The holidays began. Although there were countless temptations, the unease I felt for Yugrasia made me continue to train even in our family home, and I became as strong as I trained. Of course I didn¡¯t grow as much as I did in the evil organization, but if you went by normal standards and not the organization¡¯s, the speed of my growth would definitely not be that of a girl my age. And every time I went out to the academy as a member of the student council, in order to make preparations for the imperial festival, that belief only solidified further. ¡®Nothing¡¯s changed¡­¡¯ As I looked at the student council that were supposedly the elites of this academy, I sighed to myself. The holidays ran for approximately three months in the majority of the academies in the empire. That¡¯s three months on paper, when you included the summer and winter holidays that was six months in total. When you considered that a year was 12 months that meant that nearly half of the year was spent on vacation. Meaning that out of the four years a student would study here, realistically they would only study for two years in total. And even out of those two years, if you took out the other misceneous time not spent on studying, just how much time was actually spent learning anything? Was there any meaning to this kind of academy lifestyle? Could I learn even half of what I learned in my four years at the evil organization, including my three years in the low-ss barracks? No, the one year I spent with the instructor probably taught me more than four years¡¯ worth of learning in this academy. ¡­Although of course if you asked me if I wanted to go back to those times, I¡¯d refuse. Anyways, after a whopping three months that were the summer holidays, there was absolutely no change in the supposed greatest talents of the school that were the student council. Perhaps if any of them had an even greater potential than I did, but they were all far below me. No, if the instructor saw them, he¡¯d treat them as trash and actually dispose of them into the burnable trash, and despite them being at that measly level, nothing¡¯s changed in three months. Are they truly the future of the empire? I thought this at the organization as well, but is the empire truly alright? It¡¯s not like I was overflowing with patriotism or anything, but as a citizen of the empire I was actually worried because of this. ¡°Is there a problem, Lady Nermia?¡± ¡°Y-, no.¡± For a second I was about to yell your abilities are the problem you dipshits! but thankfully I was able to control myself. Damn it, how does this kid who feels like he¡¯s barely survived in the low-rank barracks the student council president in the greatest magic academy of the empire? Was it just that the organization, which I sincerely wondered why it didn¡¯t just fall to ruin, and as if to answer my curiosities actually did fall to ruin for an incredibly ridiculous reason, have standards that were a lot higher than I¡¯d anticipated? -Wasn¡¯t it just because that human was living at that organization, owner? -True¡­ this ce would be different as well if the instructor was here, wouldn¡¯t it? Just what would happen if the instructor hade to this ce? Would he have led the school to glory by giving us ess to unprecedented theories? Or, would he continued the training from hell and made even these people into usable talents? What was certain that if the instructor was here, Marcis would never be considered a rival to Arucis. It would rule over all four academies as the greatest among the four, no, the greatest in the entire continent. And if he was. ¡°And because of this, this year is the year that we will crush Arucis and prove Marcis as the greatest academy!¡± He wouldn¡¯t be spouting bullshit about how Marcis could be the greatest just because I was here! What kind of meeting would just revolve around the lines of me going out and stomping everyone else? Considering this academy has great interest in the politics between the empire and the magic towers, do they have no interest in actually improving their skills? They should be saying how they would improve even the slightest bit to make Marcis the greatest! ¡°Now, since tomorrow¡¯s the imperial festival we¡¯ll finish it here.¡± ¡°Good work, everyone.¡± ¡°Good work, pres!¡± Just what the hell did they actually do to end things here? And what the hell did the others actually do to say good work to the president? And moreover, the magic tower faction all gravitated to the president, a fellow magic tower faction member. Whereas the empire faction all gathered around the fellow empire faction member the vice-president, and that was all just pathetic. Because¡­ ¡°Um, Lady Nermia, if it¡¯s alright then would you be free to consult with me about tomorrow¡¯s imperial festival¡­¡± ¡°No, I will be the one to escort Miss Ria, Ferrell.¡± ¡°Kireil¡­¡± Ahh, this is bloody annoying. These god damned small fry, instead of improving themselves they¡¯re ying politics. Just as the student council president was farewelling the other magic tower faction students with an obviously fake smile, he came to me to annoy me and. The vice-president quickly takes up a position on my other side. ¡°Ah, I still have training left to do today.¡± But both of them are sons of high-ranking marquis families. I wanted nothing more to just blow them all away and yell at them to piss off and don¡¯t bother me, but unfortunately this was not the evil organization Howling. It was heavenpared to when I had to fight tooth and nail with my fellows over a single meal, but it was incredibly annoying that I couldn¡¯t just send them flying as I wanted to. Because of that I was just glossing over them with noble-like smiles andughs, but it seemed like these annoying things just weren¡¯t going to drop off me today. ¡°Tomorrow is the imperial festival. I am very aware that mdy is making endless efforts towards the study of magic, but what about resting just for today?¡± ¡°While I dislike the idea of making the same opinion as him, for once I agree. Miss Ria is our Marcis¡¯s hidden card and our strongest one.¡± ¡°Thank you for evaluating me so highly, even when our seniors are here.¡± As I expressed etiquette by lifting the hems of my skirt ever so slightly, everyone else wasted no time shaking their heads and fawning over me. Damn it, I want to wear pants. Men just need to nod their heads a bit! ¡°No, that is an undeniable truth, after all.¡± ¡°To ceaselessly pursue academia even during the holidays, you are an exemry student of Marcis.¡± That¡¯s not an exemr but obvious fact. Just why are they so confident in their abilities? Can they even sleep soundly with that level of skill? When I thought of the Yugrasia that I saw there¡¯d be no way they could ever hope to beat them. -Aren¡¯t they just believing in owner? -Then they¡¯re insane. Our instructor told us. No matter what strategy or strategem you employed, there was nothing better than force of numbers. In a battle between groups, there was a limit to what a single individual could do. No matter how powerful I was, if I ran out of stamina, if I ran out of mana then I would lose. Even if I was healed up at the end of a match, my mental state was hard to recover. But since there isn¡¯t even a decent support among the student council¡­ And so as I held my false smile while wondering if they seriously couldn¡¯t hear me internally yelling at them to piss off before I killed them. I barely managed to shake off those two leeches, and by the time I finished warming up in the academy¡¯s training grounds, the sky had already begun to darken. ¡®I should head back.¡¯ As I wandered home wondering whether I should shower off the sweat running down my back, or take a long rxing bath for the first time in a while. ¡°We, are, victorious!¡± ¡°Uwwoooooooohh!¡± ¡°Wh, what?¡± I heard shouts filled with madness. I realised instantly that something had happened, and also realised where that something was. ¡°Yugrasia, again?¡± The Four Great Academies were always geographically close to each other, and Marcis and Yugrasia in particr was close enough that only a single wall separated the two schools, and Yugrasia was closer to the city center than all the other academies as well. Meaning, if I went home, then naturally I would pass by Yugrasia. Because of that, the moment I realised that the source of the sound was Yugrasia, I immediately used magic to run as fast as I could to the source of the sound and what I saw there were countless warriors. Theplete opposite of the people who used their titles as students as an entitlement for sloth I¡¯d been with not long ago! Just what had they done so that their uniforms that were enchanted with defence magic and cleaning spells were in tatters like that? No, even before that, just what would make all those students voluntarily stay at the academy for so long? Could I¡­ could I fight all of them? I didn¡¯t know why, but as I saw the students crying as they left through the gates of their academy, I couldn¡¯t help but stare at them, unaware of my own gulps of nervousness. Chapter 73 RATH 73 TL: Eevee 9. The others¡¯ stories (2) #3 Their story: A certain other¡¯s reminiscence. ¡°I, I¡¯m sorry!¡± In the middle of a dark alleyway. An ordinary looking middle-aged man was being shaken down by a bunch of men in ck clothes. ¡°Shit, that¡¯s another fail.¡± ¡°Ah damn it, piss off!¡± ¡°Y, yes sir!¡± As one of the ck-robed men roughly let go of the man¡¯spels, the captured middle-aged man began to flee from the scene. ¡°Damn it, captain. Did he really run to a vige at the ends of the world?¡± ¡°Who knows. For all we know he could be living fine in the middle of the imperial capital.¡± ¡°But still, that imperial princess is looking for him, could he really be in the imperial capital?¡± ¡°No matter how big his balls are that¡¯s probably impossible.¡± As his squad joked as they each lit a cigarette, the captain sighed. ¡°Anyways, if we don¡¯t find him soon then our lord really could die on us so we need to hurry.¡± ¡°Boss. To be honest I don¡¯t really get it.¡± Their youngest and newest voiced his doubts as the captain just lit up his own cigarette. ¡°Our master is the empire¡¯s sole Crown Prince. Even if it is Her Highness, isn¡¯t it over the top to say that she could just kill or spare our lord?¡± And looking at the newbie, the captain¡¯s eyes narrowed as he thought. ¡®What the hell is this crazy idiot?¡¯ ¡°Even if you are the newbie, haven¡¯t you been here for two years now? Who the hell was your instructor?¡± ¡°I, I¡¯m sorry!¡± Looking at the subordinate who hurriedly dropped his cigarette to the ground and bowed his head, the man they called the captain stroked his head. ¡°Look after our newbie. We¡¯re overlooking this because this is a small kingdom a long way away from the empire, but if you say that like an idiot in the middle of the imperial centers then I¡¯ll kill you on the spot.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, captain!¡± Aside from the newbie who couldn¡¯t adjust to the abrupt change in mood, everyone else bowed their heads. ¡°Fucking newbie, listen up.¡± And seeing that, the captain threw away his cigarette butt and continued with a fresh one in his mouth. ¡°Listen very well how the hierarchy in the imperial court works. Number one in the imperial court is Her Highness the imperial princess, number two is Marquis Arten, and His Imperial Majesty is only at a paltry number three.¡± ¡°Captain! Your statement just now is lese majeste!¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯re still the newbie, moron. Because what I just said was from none other than His Imperial Majesty himself so therefore it is not lese majeste.¡± ¡°Huh, huh?¡± To think that the emperor himself would say that there were other people above him in the pecking order. The man they called the newbie simply couldn¡¯t keep up with the conversation. ¡°Well, officially it¡¯s true that His Imperial Majesty is at the top. But our emperor does not like working.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how it is, newbie. And so the majority of the work in the imperial court is done by Marquis Arten, who¡¯s in charge of security of the imperial court.¡± ¡°I understand Marquis Arten, but why is Her Highness number one?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know why either. But it¡¯s something even our lord the Crown Prince understands.¡± ¡°No, on the contrary he¡¯s be even more scared of Her Highness after he became the heir to the throne.¡± Looking at his seniors shake his head, the newbie couldn¡¯t get his head around it. ¡°We simply need to obey the orders of our lord. So don¡¯t think of unnecessary things and find the person named Ast. That¡¯s our orders.¡± Looking at the newbie nod his head, the captain sighed. Judging by his expression he still didn¡¯t get it. But having worked with the Crown Prince for a long time, the captain still remembered that day. As the scales of victory were tipping ever towards the empire during the Great War. In the middle of the fight for session that was of course running even in the middle of the war, a spy handed in a report to the Crown Prince. A report that apparently that a man named Ast, a key member of the imperial princess¡¯s faction vanished overnight. The man named Ast was one of the greatest figures in the princess¡¯s faction. Although he began as an ordinary servant, the princess saw his potential and made full use of him. The honour of being the fastest to be promoted to a high-ranking noble in imperial history. The most trustworthy general to his allies, but the greatest nightmare to his foes. That type of person vanished overnight? The only person that could make that possible was the princess that was leading the troops. That meant that for one reason or another, she had disposed of the person named Ast. The reason was probably a power struggle. There was probably an incident between Ast, who was trusted by the troops, and the princess, over authority over the troops. And three dayster this conclusion, was shattered to smithereens. ¡°Dear little brother, do you want to be emperor?¡± From the eerily silent princess faction, the princess herself came to see him. Even if she had Sir Reia, who was called the Sword Princess by her side, it was far too weak of a guard detail for someoneing to the heart of the enemy faction of a session war. ¡°Are you surrendering, big sister?¡± Because of that, let alone his lord, everyone else was thinking the exact same thing. After the core of the army, Ast was taken out, her army became dysfunctional. She could correct the situation if she had time, but the majority of the continent was swept up in the Great War. There was no way that other people would lose the opportunity of a weakening in military might, and the princess called the greatest genius of the imperial court realised that and came to surrender. That¡¯s what everyone thought, but the person herself gave apletely different answer. ¡°Surrender? Who?¡± The appearance of the princess tilting her head was cute as you¡¯d expect from a girl her age, but one shouldn¡¯t be fooled by appearances. Even his lord, a genius that was leading an army at the tender age of thirteen said this about this sister. ¡°Compared to elder sister, I¡¯m still an idiot.¡± The person that his monster of a master called a monster was the imperial princess right in front of him. And because of that he didn¡¯t let his guard down. Indeed. He didn¡¯t let his guard down. But¡­ ¡°Ah, was that it? Was that the misunderstanding you were under?¡± When her guard Sir Reia conveyed her correct predictions of our thoughts to the princess, she blinked and made a surprised face. ¡°That¡¯s true. You could think like that. That¡¯s ridiculous from my point of view, but other people could see it like that. Alright, in that case¡­ I should let you understand what you¡¯re dealing with?¡± And the moment the imperial princess smiled brightly. ¡°Kuugh!¡± ¡°Khhhgh?¡± ¡°What are you doing, elder sister!¡± Along with the feeling of something crushing my heart, I couldn¡¯t breathe. And that wasn¡¯t just me, but everyone except for the princess and Sir Reia! ¡°Little brother, little brother. Did you really think I was fighting for the throne all for big brother or my cute little brother?¡± As the princess made her way to our lord with elegant steps, we could only watch her go. No matter how much we struggled to move our bodies, none of us could move a finger. ¡°The only reason why I fought in the session war, was simply, because I needed a reason to y with Ast, my little brother.¡± Even when the princess¡¯s fingers were close enough to touch our lord¡¯s cheeks, none of us could move at all. ¡°Th, then¡­ what is it that you want, elder sister.¡± At milord¡¯s words, the princess smiled so brightly that one could not see her gleaming red eyes. ¡°Ast. That¡¯s all I need.¡± With that one sentence, everyone in the room immediately realised that something was wrong. If the princess¡¯s words were true, then Ast was not disposed of by the princess¡¯s hands, but he had vanished overnight for a different reason. ¡°The man named Ast¡­ is he not urrgghh¡­ is he not the man that disappeared three days ago?¡± ¡°Mm, although to be urate, he ran away.¡± ¡°Ran.. Away?¡± Ran away? The man who created achievements that were near-unprecedented in imperial history? ¡°Lately, whenever I saw Ast I felt strange. Something felt ticklish inside me.¡± ¡°Huh, huh?¡± Our lord was surprised at the sudden sigh andint, but the princess didn¡¯t care. ¡°And so from a long time ago, whenever he did something bad, I said that if he kept doing that I¡¯d marry him, you know.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what was that?¡± There was a lot of things that our lord wanted to take the princess to task for, but like us, our lord couldn¡¯t move a finger either. ¡°Hm? Oh, that was just because whenever I said that Ast was horrified and ran away. I found that amusing. Well, either way, around a week ago I actually did it for real. But he ran away.¡± Now what manner of bullshit was this. ¡°Actually did it for real? Did what for real?¡± ¡°I told you, little brother. Marriage, of course.¡± Marriage of a member of the imperial family involves all sorts of political maneuvering. Especially of those that were very close in line to the throne, and among them the three people closest to it, their marriage was a national-level problem. Even if Ast was one of the great heroes of this war, there would be an outcry of opposition from other nobles. No, even before that. ¡°And so he ran away? That Ast did?¡± Running away during war was an very, very serious crime where no one would say anything if you were cut down on the spot for it. And a general that led over an entire army ran away, and what was more, over pressure of marriage from his superior! The war wasn¡¯t even over yet! ¡°Seriously, a beauty like myself is offering to marry him. Ast really is a strange man.¡± As we looked at Her Highness make a face as if she couldn¡¯t understand, we all had faces that said we understood even less than that. Right now, all we could do was barely nod our heads a bit, our lord was the only one who could speak at all. Right now the imperial princess could take all our lives on a whim, but having created that serious situation, the princess was saying all sorts of ridiculous things. ¡°So the only thing elder sister wants is Ast, just him? Do you not even need the throne?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying, little brother?¡± As the princess said so with a pure face, our lord shut his mouth. And seemingly after thinking for a bit, he said with a serious expression. ¡°And why do you want this man so much that you¡¯d go to such lengths?¡± ¡°Because I like him.¡± ¡°What?¡± Although that serious expression was broken in just over five seconds. ¡°It was just a joke at first. To be honest I had no thoughts of really marrying him at all. But when he actually ran away my head just nked out. And after I thought on it for three days I realised that I actually liked him.¡± For a teenage girl talking about her love life, the imperial princess recounted it all too bluntly. But at those words, our lord didn¡¯t say anything at all, but started whimpering to himself. ¡°Yes, sister. So I understand that what elder sister wants is just that one man named Ast.¡± After whimpering for about two minutes, our lord sighed and began talking. ¡°But even if I do understand, my followers won¡¯t. So if you really don¡¯t have any designs for the thr¡­¡± ¡°Here.¡± ¡°I was trying to put on some airs¡­¡± Although he started talking with a majestic face, he was cut off in the middle but even as he grumbled, our lord took the document the princess handed over. ¡°A Geass Roll and the price is military assistance¡­ just what are you nning to do, sister?¡± ¡°I need to capture Ast that¡¯s run away but this war is too annoying. I just want to get it over with.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± She was called a genius among geniuses in the empire, and I never doubted that. But right now, I started to doubt my own brain. What the hell did she just say. The princess that said she would end the war, and our lord who didn¡¯t deny it? Even if they¡¯re geniuses blessed by the heavens, an adult like myself couldn¡¯t follow the conversations of those who had barely lived more than ten years! ¡°I will think about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you ¡¯til tomorrow. If you don¡¯t want it I can always go to big brother Ignal.¡± As the princess got up from her seat, the rest of us could finally move our bodies a bit. ¡°Then see you tomorrow, little brother.¡± As the princess and Sir Reia left without a single look back, none of us could move for a long time even after they left. ¡°What are you going to do, milord?¡± When I asked to see if he really was going to take up the imperial princess¡¯s offer, our lord smiled bitterly. ¡°If I refuse, it¡¯s over?¡± With that one sentence as his answer, our lord went to see the imperial princess the next morning with the Geass Roll in hand. ¡°Very good, little brother. Now should we end this war in about three years?¡± And after she made that oundish deration, the war ended in just three short months. Chapter 74 RATH 74 TL: Eevee 9. The others¡¯ stories (3) #4 Their story: A certain Crown Prince¡¯s story. ¡°Your Highness, the people you sent to the north have returned.¡± ¡°Re, really?!¡± I threw away the documents that my father the emperor tossed over to me saying ¡®if you¡¯re going to be crown prince then you should be able to handle this much¡¯ and hurried over to where the room where my subordinates were waiting. ¡°Did you find him? You found him right? Or else I¡¯m gonna die? Really!¡± ¡°M, milord¡­¡± I pulled up the captain that was trying to kneel back to his feet and hurriedly asked him. I seriously have no time left now. Because what¡¯s for certain is that the moment elder sisteres back, I won¡¯t belong to this world anymore! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, milord. We couldn¡¯t find any traces of the man named Ast in the north.¡± ¡°I see.¡± As I looked at my subordinates that were nodding with truly apologetic expressions, I pulled out a letter I had been busy writing sincest week. ¡°What¡¯s that, milord?¡± ¡°This? A will.¡± ¡°M, milord?¡± Since I have no chance of living anymore, I shouldplete my will. ¡°Damn it, if I knew it was going to be like this I would have married early, and tried this and that.¡± ¡°Milord? What¡¯s with that vulgarnguage all of a sudden?¡± What do you mean, vulgar. [Censored] is a sacred act that begets new life. When a person is born, creating descendants is a natural thing, and it is a duty for me as a member of the imperial family. ¡°Well, although that has nothing to do with me.¡± If I think of it positively, then when I die the session war would begin again, and participating in that the moment you¡¯re born is a sure way to die. I suppose I should be d that I didn¡¯t create a poor child that was destined to be killed the moment it was born. ¡°I¡¯m the only one that needs to die, after all.¡± ¡°Milord could you please listen to us!¡± Do I have any need to listen¡­ ¡°You said you couldn¡¯t find him.¡± ¡°Y, yes. But milord is the Crown Prince that will seed the throne! Even if it is Her Highness, she can¡¯t just do as she likes with milord¡­¡± Mm, I understand what you¡¯re saying. That¡¯s what it would be like, normally. Normally, that is. ¡°I¡¯m like this because she can.¡± Elder sister is a monster. She¡¯s not human. Even when I was young I thought elder sister was a monster to the point I believed she wouldn¡¯t bleed even if I stabbed her. There was nothing she couldn¡¯t do, and nothing I could beat her in. Perhaps if I had been an ordinary person, but I was an overwhelming geniuspared to my surrounding peers, but I couldn¡¯t hold a candle to elder sister. But the moment I became Crown Prince, I thought that I might finally be able to beat elder sister. Of course, it didn¡¯t mean that I would try to harm my sister who was the greatest factor in my bing Crown Prince. I just didn¡¯t want to be pushed around by her any longer. But¡­ ¡°¡­and that is the history of the empire.¡± After I became Crown Prince, my father the emperor took me to a secret room in the imperial chambers. What Father told me, after telling me that the entirety of the history of the empire was inside this room was nothing short of terrifying. ¡°Is, is this true?¡± ¡°Yep, so don¡¯t piss off Atia. You¡¯ll ruin the empire.¡± When I heard elder sister¡¯s secret, I understood instantly why even my father, one of the most chaotic personalities in the history of the empire quietly kept his mouth shut whenever elder sister said something. And since that day, I never ever pissed off elder sister and lived quietly. To be honest, it was actually quite convenient for me that the only thing elder sister wanted was the man named Ast. But then I found out that man was actually part of the organization named Howling, whose history shared the empire¡¯s own. Well, that was alright. I nted my spies, and also got in touch with families that had their own spies in the organization. And at elder sister¡¯s pressure to get rid of Howling as fast as possible, I created an situation that even a mouse couldn¡¯t escape from and even made the grand achievement of exterminating Howling. Thanks to that my standing at court rose, and the entire empire is praising my name. Except just one. The single critical mistake of letting Ast escape would cost me my life¡­ ¡°There¡¯s nothing to say to Father. Mother was happy that I¡¯d be Crown Prince, I suppose I should apologise to her.¡± ¡°Milord, we¡¯ll hurry and find Ast for you. So please!¡± ¡°The imperial festival is about to begin soon. The Crown Prince cannot kill himself just before the anniversary of the empire¡¯s founding!¡± ¡°That cannot happen!¡± What do you mean, can¡¯t happen. Elder sister is strong. Her faction, personality and background is all strong, but the woman herself is also powerful. Judging by what I heard from Father, even the power that elder sister showed us when the man named Ast first ran away was basically just a joke to her. Even Father, who was once called the Sword Disaster said that it was physically impossible to defeat elder sister inbat. There¡¯s no way that I, who just became a swordsmaster could win? I have no confidence of being able to handle elder sister¡¯s anger. It¡¯d be much easier to just kill myself before she arrives. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s die.¡± ¡°Milord!¡± ¡°You cannot!¡± ¡°We, we¡¯ll work harder!¡± Hahaha. Even if youds say you¡¯ll work harder it still doesn¡¯t seem like you¡¯ll be able to find the man named Ast. You¡¯d have found him already if you could, right? No, even before that, I wouldn¡¯t have lost him in that perfect scenario, right? ¡°So, let¡¯s just die.¡± ¡°Milllloooooooorrrrd!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do this, milord!¡± ¡°Let me go, damn you all! I need to die now if I want to die cleanly! The moment elder sister returns is the moment I understand that death is happiness!¡± At the actions of the fellows who stole away my will while grabbing onto my trousers, today as well I failed to write up my will. Alright, let¡¯s believe in my trusty subordinates a little more. Because if I can just give elder sister the human named Ast as a present, I can be the emperor without any problems! Then I¡¯m happy, sis is happy, and peace arrives to the imperial court as well, so it¡¯s a happy ending for everyone! ¡­So please, Sir Ast. Before elder sister returns please¡­ please get caught. I¡¯ll be really good to you once I be emperor, so save me! Please! #5 Their story: A certain pursuer¡¯s story. ¡°It seems that he¡¯s not there either, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Hmm~ I thought that the southern ins would be the best region to start a farm in.¡± All Her Highness did was droop her head a bit with a slightly regretful expression. ¡­But as one who has served Her Highness for a long time, I know. Her gnawing her lip like that while her face is saying nothing is wrong is a sign that she is extremely angry right now! If I rubbed Her Highness the wrong way right now then I would have to put up with a very hard life for the forseeable future, so at times like this I need to stay still and not annoy her. Didn¡¯t Sir Ast say it as well? Even if you just sit still you¡¯ll make it halfway already. ¡°Very well, it¡¯s already been over a year, yet we cannot even find any traces. The empire is truly ipetent.¡± If I back her up here then Her Highness will torment her subordinates, and that resentment wille back to me. And if I defend the empire right now then she¡¯ll say why couldn¡¯t we find Sir Ast yet. That¡¯s right. This is all Sir Ast¡¯s fault. Her Highness wants him bad enough that she¡¯d even destroy an evil organization that boasted a thousand year history! Why can¡¯t he just surrender quietly ande over! Of course even I would be scared enough to run away. But if people are suffering this much then isn¡¯t it a matter of courtesy to just let yourself get caught? Especially since His Highness the Crown Prince¡¯s head is on the line! ¡°Hmm¡­ should I kill my sweet little brother first before I keep looking¡­¡± Behold! Even today our Crown Prince¡¯s life is under threat. ¡°Your Highness. The imperial festival is going to begin soon. It¡¯s still the anniversary of the founding of the empire, shouldn¡¯t His Highness still be present?¡± And today as well, I worked hard to prevent the empire falling into chaos! This is the very definition of what a knight should be, in service to her country. As if she understood my feelings, Her Highness smiled brightly at me. Mm. Yep. Brightly. ¡°Is that my problem, Reia?¡± ¡°It iiss!¡± I¡¯m sorry, milord Crown Prince. I don¡¯t think I can protect you any longer. To me who was just shivering, head bowed low to the ground, I don¡¯t think I have the power to protect you anymore. Unless a miracle happens, His Highness is as good as dead. And miracles are miracles, because they don¡¯t happen¡­ ¡°We found Sir Ast!¡± ¡°It¡¯s here, a miraalleeee!¡± ¡°Re, Sir Reia?¡± ¡°Reia does that every now and then, ignore her and tell me.¡± My shout startled the information officer who made a shocked expression, but at Her Highness¡¯s words he began to calmly speak. Anyway, they said that the emperor was chosen by the heavens, His Highness was a truly blessed by the heavens! To think we¡¯d find Sir Ast at this timing, he was seriously about to die! ¡°Mph, pfft¡­ ahahahahaha!¡± ¡°Y, Your Highness?¡± I was thinking to myself, when all of a sudden Her Highness startedughing in tears. ¡°Emergency, it¡¯s an emergency!¡± ¡°What happened!¡± ¡°Her highness isughing so hard she¡¯s crying!¡± ¡°Damn it, emergency alert!¡± Because of that the room Her Highness was in was on red alert! ¡°Y, Your Highness? What¡¯s the matter? Are you going to kill the Crown Prince right away? Or are you going to begin a second world war when not even ten years have passed since thest one?¡± This is bad. Even I¡¯ve only seen the princessugh like this only three times in my entire life. For the record, the first time was when she and Sir Ast carried out a n that decimated the neighbouring country that was once considered a military superpower, and the other two times where when Sir Ast escaped from the imperial court and Howling respectively. Her Highness¡¯sugh is that dangerous. If you only talked about the results, the first time was when the neighbouring military superpower was pushed to the brink of ruin, the second marked the beginning of the end of the Great War, and the third the end of the thousand-year history of the evil organization. Not even I could predict what Her Highness¡¯s fourthughter might bring about. ¡°Reia, you know Ast. There was a lot he knew how to do, but he always made other people do it instead. Not even caring about how my stomach was churning around, Her Highness was saying somethingpletely unrted. But who am I! A veteran who¡¯s served Her Highness for almost twenty years! At times like this my job is to find the answer she wants me to say myself! ¡°Sir Ast extremely disliked working, after all.¡± He was the man that said making other people do the work they could do instead of you was the best. And as if to prove his own words, Sir Ast would always push his duties onto me as if I was in charge of them¡­ ¡°And I know this from what happened at Howling as well, but Ast has a habit of digging his escape routes in advance.¡± ¡°Yes, and that¡¯s why we¡¯re suffering so much¡­¡± ¡°Then Reia. If you put these two facts together, there¡¯s something fun you can find.¡± ¡°If you put these two together?¡± If you put his leaving his work to other people, and a habit of digging out his escape routes in advance then what would¡­ ¡°Ah! You mean!¡± ¡°Indeed, Reia. It¡¯s simple. The man named Ast even gets other people to dig his escape routes for him.¡± At Her Highness¡¯s satisfied smile I immediately offered a rebuttal. ¡°But Sir Ast always said that one was always liable to have their foot cut by their trusted axe, would he really leave the building of his escape routes to other people?¡± Sir Ast¡¯s distrust of people was extreme. Even during the Great War he was the first to discover the enemy traps and spies. Although he would say weird things like ¡°of course it would be this clich¨¦ here!¡± or ¡°don¡¯t you even think about using the same old tropes!¡± but he was still someone who enjoyed blindsiding his enemies with their own traps. And because of that, he was someone who always trusted that even his subordinates could betray him at any time, and so Ast was a somewhat untrustworthy superior to his subordinates. ¡°Yes, people, that is. But Ast is very well acquainted with a race that never betrays yet is the best at creating escape routes, is he not?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± That was it. Ast didn¡¯t trust people. But Ast had very close rtions with other races that weren¡¯t people! Especially dwarves! Ast could just call over the dwarves that not even the emperor could see easily whenever he wanted! If it was the dwarves that disliked meeting humans and yet hated breaking promises more than death, even Sir Ast could trust them. ¡°And so I set people on all the races that Ast had rtions with. And so I find that there¡¯s a ce where the ck Anvil n, elves, and even a gnome is all gathered in?¡± ¡°Wh, where is that?¡± The ck Anvil n that were extremely closed-off even by dwarven standards, and the elves whose beauty made them susceptible to the evils of humanity. And when you also had a gnome who rarely met up even among their own race, this was not normal by any stretch of the imagination. ¡°Hahaha, Ast really is an amusing man. I didn¡¯t even imagine it.¡± At my question, Her Highness the imperial princess smiled widely and said. ¡°To think he would hide in Yugrasia, right in the heart of the empire. Not even I could have imagined it, you know?¡± It had been a year since we began roaming around the empire in search for Sir Ast. We made our preparations to return back to the imperial court for the first time in a year. Chapter 75 RATH 75 TL: Eevee 9. The others¡¯ stories (4) #6 Their story: the anti-empire forces¡¯ story. When a country is founded or ruined, it is a matter of truth that great bloodshed is had in the process. And even among those, the history of the Karuan empire is particrly harsh. A famine the likes of which were unheralded in history. Where even the weeds were stripped bare from the earth in search of food, the corruption of the nobles grew by the day. Normally, it would not have been unreasonable for a rebellion to have broken out. But the nightmare that was the famine that spread through the entire continent denied the peasants even the strength to try. It was then. A hero appeared. A youth that described himself as the descendant of dragons. That youth took care of themoners with a miraculous power, and miracles appeared wherever that youth walked. And so he took his followers, and dered war on the kingdom. Up to here was amon story of how many kingdoms were founded. But the difference between the stories of other kingdoms and this one, was that this story did not end once he prevailed and became king. When he took the throne, this was what he allegedly said in his first public speech. ¡°Behold, there are still many people suffering in the continent! There are still many rotten countries that bleed their people dry!¡± And so the moment he established his kingdom, he immediately dered war on his neighbouring nations, and in just three years, he annexed another six countries and founded an empire. A result that could only have been said to be a miracle of the famine that reduced both poptions and war capabilities. The end result was that the Karuan Empire began its first steps as an empire, and right now it has be the center of the continent as a superpower nation. But, because of that the Karuan Empire had many enemies. ¡°If we wait any longer, then there will be no more opportunities.¡± ¡°I agree. Right now, when we are the strongest is the greatest opportunity. We need to strike when they have let their guards down.¡± ¡°Now is the chance!¡± And among those many foes, the sole organization that acted within the empire. Once they used to cooperate with the evil organization Howling, but after it was destroyed at the hands of the current Crown Prince, it became the sole organization hidden in the empire. It was the secret hideout of the anti-empire forces, established by the descendants of the royal families that had fallen to the empire! In that secret hideout, scores of people were strongly pushing their opinions onto a single person. ¡°Howling has fallen. In an extremely short period of time. At most three days, no, in reality, it fell in just a couple of days.¡± ¡°And in the Great War, the imperial army suffered very few losses as they ended the war.¡± ¡°Yes,pared to the other victorious kingdoms that suffered significant setbacks to their military might despite their victory, the empire suffered almost no losses aside from losing their great general Ertea due to the ambush of the Merdeia kingdom¡¯s army.¡± ¡°Because of that they could concentrate on destroying Howling which was hiding inside their territory. And that is the same for us.¡± Normally everyone here would be suggesting opposite opinions, but today, each and every one of them were offering the same conclusion. ¡°Indeed, I believe that it is harder for us to go on any further as well.¡± At the mutterings of the old man who stood at the head of the table, everyone else looked at the old man with nervous faces. ¡°The empire is strong. Yes, even if it is strong, it is too strong.¡± No one objected to the old man¡¯s words. Because like the old man said, the empire was the strongest nation that no one could touch. ¡°Because of that, this is ourst chance¡­ indeed, it is a good chance. But there is something that you are all mistaken on.¡± ¡°Wh, what is it?¡± Looking at the follower that had been with him for a long time, he smiled sagaciously and said. ¡°We are too old.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°It is exactly as I say. We are too old. A thousand years. We existed for that long purely for the sake of revenge against the empire.¡± ¡°Exactly, it¡¯s because of that!¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s the weird thing. Out of the nations that fell when the empire was founded, the oldest of them had a history of five hundred years. But it has been over a thousand since that country fell. To think we would hone our des of revenge for twice as long as our countries existed¡­¡± With a bitter smile, the old man looked over his followers who were looking at him with stunned faces. Revenge for the fallen nations. Very good, it was a good ideal. Working to revive your fallen nation. That was also certainly a good ambition. But if that time had already passed over a thousand years then that was another story altogether. For the sake of a thousand years of history, many descendants lost their lives for a thousand years. Was this truly the right thing to do? And was it right to pass that burden on to our sessors? ¡°We have honed our des for too long. Our des are sharp, but sharped so thinly we can no longer see our own des.¡± ¡°Then, does that mean we are giving up on this opportunity as well?¡± An education that bordered on brainwashing. From the moment they were born they were taught why to destroy the empire, and were taught how to fight against it. Howling¡¯s first beginnings was as an anti-imperial rebel army, but it became an evil organization and turned their hands to other work, but this organization did not, and remained purely as the enemy of the empire. Enemy of the empire, do not forget it was what our ancestors had in mind as they named our organization the anti-empire army. The history that was seeded from those ancestors, this old man was now trying to end it. ¡°I believe that all of you are mistaken. I am not suggesting to avoid fighting the empire. As he looked at the faces of his followers that were shocked once again, the old man. The head of the anti-imperial army gave a powerful smile as he dered. ¡°The reason why I say that you fellows are wrong is because you are leaving behind a path of retreat. Retreat? Contingency ns? We don¡¯t need those. Our only objective is to end this war. And for that, we will devote everything to this imperial festival. ¡°Everything?¡± ¡°Yes, the empire is strong. And they will only get stronger. Because of that, we do not have much time. We need to put everything on this one chance and run with it. This long and boring fight that has stretched on for a thousand years. Even if we burn everything to ashes, should we not finish it here?¡± At the old man¡¯s maniacal grin, the others could not respond. But they all knew. At the end of this imperial festival, between them and the empire, one of them would disappear. And the probability that the ones disappearing would be them was extremely high. ¡°Yes, it has. It has been too long.¡± ¡°A thousand years, we¡¯re bored of it. It¡¯s time to end this.¡± The empire of tomorrow was stronger than yesterday¡¯s. Any country would fall to ruin in time, but for the empire, that time was not now. No, that time would note until much, much longer. The anti-empire army was much too exhausted to wait for that moment. So much that if a little bit more time passed, they would exhaust themselves and disappear on their own. ¡°Hahaha, it seems that myrades have all understood me.¡± In that case, before we go out with a whimper, let¡¯s go out with in a ze of glory. To the sted imperials who had forgotten their ancestors that they had driven to ruin, that we were still alive and kicking! That was what the old man said, and there was no one here who did not understand that. ¡°We will end the empire, on their imperial festival which marks their beginnings!¡± And so, the anti-empire army began the fight where they put everything on the line. #7 Their story: A certain tavern¡¯s story. What if. Could there be any words that were more fun than these. What if I was ~? What if A and B fought? Countless people thought of these what ifs, and would fight to prove their own opinion. And there were those who bet money on those what ifs. ¡°This time is Marcis! They even have that daughter from the Nermia family! That famous Nermia!¡± ¡°Yeah, and I heard that thedy of the Nermia house this time is a summoner of an archdevil that not even anyone from the summoner¡¯s academy has!¡± ¡°Kahh~ if the archdevil leads the vanguard for the Nermia specialty magic barrage, who could beat that!¡± In arge tavern that was somewhat rickety for itsrge size, everyone that was drinking here were all gamblers. For these gamblers, the events before the imperial festival were the main event to the imperial festival itself. Because that was where they would begin their gambles for their luck and security. ¡°Ha? Arucia has the empire¡¯s strongest prospective swordsman, you know?¡± ¡°Yeah, even when you take his work inst year¡¯s imperial festival into ount, he¡¯s still the frontrunner to be the next swordsmaster.¡± ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, there¡¯s rumours that he¡¯s already a swordsmaster, but the imperial army¡¯s keeping that under wraps.¡± These gamblers will bet on anything. From how many coins are in the other person¡¯s hand, or how many drinks that person over in the corner could handle before passing out. And in the imperial festival, which academy woulde out on top! ¡°What about Yugrasia? I heard there were a couple of god-ss summoners in Yugrasia.¡± ¡°The odds are¡­ holy shit, twelve times. Even if you bet a single gold on it that would increase to twelve.¡±¡± ¡°But there¡¯s a reason for that.¡± But even among these people, no one bet on Yugrasia. ¡°Even if Professor Nicerwin came, it¡¯s just half a year. No one would hope for anything in that half year.¡± Aside from a few geniuses, the people that performed the greatest feats during the imperial festival were the third and fourth years. Skill-wise, there was little difference between a first year and a fourth year, but the difference in experience was immense. And the difference of experience made a huge difference in real matches like the imperial festival. A real match was where even a single mistake could have you losing to an inferior opponent. Just how much practical experience one had could lead to huge upsets. ¡°Maybe if it was next year, but imperial festival isn¡¯t as low as to create upsets like that with just half a year.¡± ¡°that¡¯s true even if Nicerwin, one of the legendary summoners became a teacher there.¡± ¡°You can see just by the fact the odds are 12:1 as well.¡± ¡°What were the odds for Arucia and Marcis again?¡± ¡°Arucis is 1.2:1, Marcis is 1.3:1? How cheap.¡± ¡°Mercadia is 49:1¡­ shouldn¡¯t they honestly make some events for Mercaria as well?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know? There were during the first imperial festivals but after the emperor said they were too boring and removed by imperial edict, they haven¡¯t returned since.¡± Out of the people who were knocking back the booze, no one predicted a victory for Yugrasia. Just a few individuals betting some petty change on the off chance of a windfall. It was then. Wham! ¡°Ordah up!¡± ¡°Wh, what the?¡± There were many customers who kicked in the door. This tavern-cum-gambling den was home to people who all had improper personalities after all. But if the person in question was a little girl that barely seemed ten years old, that was a different story. ¡°Hey, little girl. This isn¡¯t a ce for kids.¡± ¡°What the hell, which dumbass moron told their daughter this ce? Even so, don¡¯t bring your daughter here!¡± ¡°Yeah, for people like us with fuck-all lives, pure little children are way too scary.¡± ¡°Oioi, chase her out, chase her out!¡± Even as countless people, especially those with one hell of a mug and scowl all red at her, the little girl still shamelessly moved her short legs forward. ¡°Kiddo, this isn¡¯t a ce toe at your age.¡± ¡°Yep yep. Good children shouldn¡¯t be in this ce.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a cute little kid, isn¡¯t it? Want a drink with oppa here?¡± ¡°Wait a second, who was thest one? Report him to the imperial soldiers.¡± Looking at the men that were approaching one by one, the little girl finally began to scowl. And to the first sacrifice who tried to put his hand on her. ¡°Aruspecial, lolicon destruction punch¡î¡± ¡°Kweeeeeekk!¡± She clocked his chin with a perfect shoryuken, and at this clean strike the man¡¯s eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground. ¡°Wh, what?¡± ¡°Did he just go down with a single hit from a kid?¡± ¡°Hang on! Isn¡¯t that the high-ranking mercenary Pellet! He can go toe to toe with knights as well, can¡¯t he?¡± Even as they murmured amongst themselves, the girl thought it was a pity that no more of them approached her. ¡®Hiing¡­ at times like this they need to go all how dare you to myrades! And all rush me so I can have even more fun!¡¯ But she was here for something else today. If she just did this job right, then her owner said that he could create an even more exciting and fun academy life for her next year. And so regathering herself, the girl pulled a barstool in front of the tavern¡¯s owner who was cleaning sses and sat herself onto it with lithe movements. ¡°No matter how screwed over our establishment is, I still have no intentions of selling booze to minors?¡± ¡°Haang, I was never gunna drink in th¡¯ first ce! And since when did we care f¡¯ things like dat? Ya sirrius?¡± As she said that, the little girl pulled out a jingling pouch from her pocket and tossed it the owner¡¯s way with a smile. ¡°Five thousand gold on Yugrasia. Piss off if ya gonna wimp out.¡± Betting odds of 12:1. In this gamble that all the veteran gamblers said was impossible to win. Only the master of this silver girl, guaranteed victory. Chapter 75.1 - Side Story 5 RATH Side Story 5 TL: Eevee Side Story ¨C A certain princess¡¯s memories (5) ¡°I won, I won! I won! I won!¡± Looking at Reia bounce around the room excitedly, I gave her a disapproving look. ¡°Uuuut¡­ Your Highness¡­¡± ¡°Yes, Reia. This victory isn¡¯t yours.¡± Although I was going to tell her what was correct, Reia acted slightly differently to what I expected. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so angry at losing to me, Your Highness!¡± ¡°As! I! Was! Saying! Why Reia, are you the one so full of yourself! For someone that was just moving the pieces for Ast who can¡¯t use magic!¡± After the first strategy game we yed, after I saw Ast use that amusing bombardment I immediately sent for a set of strategy chess that was even used in the imperialmand rooms. Strategy chess was a game where you chose from a set type and number of soldiers avable to you, and used your magic power to give them orders to make them move after a set period of time. For example, if you added magic power to a knight piece and set its actions to move, attack, and defence then the piece would move automatically. And because of that, unlike normal chess, the chess pieces move immediately after your turn ends. Meaning, it wasn¡¯t a game where you moved your pieces after seeing how the opponent moved theirs, but you had to predict how your opponent was going to move before you moved your pieces. If you were attacked while moving, you would receive significant damage, and if you defended an attack then you could minimise your damage. Moreover, there were specific affinities between different unit types, if you attacked a defending enemy unit with an affinity disadvantage, then on the contrary it there was even a chance of a counterattack. And then there were charges of the cavalry brigades, magic attacks from the magician unit, ambushes by battlemages, there were many different factors that had to be taken into ount and hence it was a game where you had to use your brain a lot. Meaning, Reia is bad at this game. She¡¯s not just bad, she¡¯s extremely bad. Once, a knight captain that had an eye on her swordsmanship skills tried to train her skills as a strategist by introducing her to strategy chess. And, the results were simply unspeakable. 129 matches, 0 wins, 0 draws, 129 losses. They kept lowering the standards, and in the end she yed against a newly-enrolled Mercardia student and she still lost. Worse, that student was born as the son of a farmer, a student that enrolled to be a merchant that had never studied anything to do with warfare in his entire life. She fought the match of her life and lost by the skin of her teeth to a student like that. And I just heard from that Reia to not get upset because I lost. That wasn¡¯t just an insult to me, but the entire imperial family, and hence the empire itself. ¡°Ast, y again.¡± So to shut that mouth of hers the best thing to do is y again. Even my win rate was such that I would win 7-8 times out of ten. It was just that sometimes Ast would use some strategy that I¡¯d never thought of, my basic skills were vastly superior to his. ¡°Your Highness, it is soon time for lunch.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we need to y now, Ast.¡± Ast argued that it was soon lunchtime, but on the contrary, that was exactly why I requested a rematch. ¡°Because a very happy Reia will be boasting to the maids all the while we eat.¡± Normal people don¡¯t boast about beating me, a member of the imperial family. No, on the contrary it would be normal if they kept their mouths shut and said nothing. But in Reia¡¯s case, much like the knight order evaluated her swordsmanship as abnormal for her age, her head was also evaluated as somewhat abnormal by me. Meaning, Reia is a being where both her body and mind are far removed frommon sense. ¡°Haa, I understand.¡± And then there was another abnormal being in front of my eyes. An member of the imperial family wasmanding him directly and yet Ast dared to sigh and grumble ¡°but today¡¯s lunch was supposedly the chef¡¯s finest work¡­¡± right in front of my face. Really, to think that my sole bodyguard and my sole steward were both abnormal people. ¡°Then Reia, Ast, begin the game. To speed things up, we¡¯ll limit the game scale to a single regiment.¡± It¡¯s the best. That something that feltcking with just Reia alone was being filled up thanks to Ast. To think I had something else to turn to other than teasing Reia. This would have been unimaginable just a few months ago. ¡°Your Highness, we¡¯re going to win again this time!¡± ¡°Er, Sir Reia, isn¡¯t Sir Reia simply moving the pieces as I¡¯m telling you to?¡± ¡°Ieeet! The most important role here is mine, Sir Ast! If I¡¯m not here then the pieces won¡¯t even move!¡± ¡°It would hardly make a difference even if I asked a passing maid to do it¡­ well, if we don¡¯t use Sir Reia even at times like these then it would be a waste of Sir Reia¡¯s wages after all.¡± ¡°Hang on a second, Sir Ast? Isn¡¯t that the same as saying that I do nothing here!¡± ¡°Your Highness, this strategy chess, it seems like a very good thing. To think it could even make Sir Reia think¡­¡± ¡°Sir Ast!¡± Unlike a normal chessboard, on the giant game board where all sorts of obstacles were strewn across it, as magic power was injected into it, the board glowed and the surroundings darkened. It wasn¡¯t that this effect was being applied to the actual space around it, but illusion magic was being applied to the yers to make it look like that was happening. ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± Although let alone the empire, you would be hard-pressed to see the ocean in the kingdom where Ast used to live, but for some reason he was very good at naval and aerial warfare. Although it wasn¡¯t like he was ipetent at regrnd-based warfare either, there was a significant difference in the way he operated those armiespared to his handling of aerial and naval warfare. Starting from the way he previously used his battlemages to create an aerial ambush, to using his battlemages as a transport vehicle for his magicians tounch a massive hit and run attack to defeat me. Then should I use an aerial unit from my side? ¡°Since it¡¯s only a single regiment, if I focus on aerial warfare then I won¡¯t have enough ground troops.¡± In strategy chess, magicians and battlemages are both units that take a significant amount of resources per unit to deploy. But unlike the magicians that could annihte and-based army with their superior firepower, battlemages simply did not have that raw power. If it was the bombardment that Ast created, and the battlemages under mymand that were working to be able to consistently use it, then they could provide a significant amount of firepower, but those things were not yet implemented in strategy chess. And because of that, when you yed with a single regiment, just a ten-man squad of battlemages were sufficient. ¡°But could he be thinking of that and also use battlemages?¡± I overdid it slightly but chose 40 battlemages in the end. Thanks to that Icked knights, but I could make up for it with cheaper conscripts and good infantry to create something resembling a decent army. This strategy was also one I learned from Ast, as Ast sometimes enjoyed using very cheap units to attack with sheer numbers. [The battle will begin.] [The battlefield terrain is a in.] [The scale is a single regiment] [Atia vs Reia] [The match will begin.] ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be getting lunch until I win.¡± To shut Reia¡¯s mouth I swore I¡¯d get an overwhelming victory. ¡°Battlemage corps, two squads of ten, suppress your magic reactions and proceed to the marked point. Ground troops, defend.¡± Although their movement speed dropped, I had the battlemage squads suppress their magic reactions to pull off an ambush, and a few turnster. ¡°Huh?¡± Ast¡¯s knight brigade sacked my base, and game over. And on that day, we did not eat lunch. #10 Their story: A certain viin¡¯s story ¡°Sir Ast, let¡¯s do our best!¡± ¡°Yes yes, Sir Reia.¡± I smiled at Sir Reia who as looking excited despite doing nothing. Fine, the beings called protagonists always had stand-ins. And then they acted as stand-ins for said stand-ins and that was how they improved themselves. Take one of the legends of stand-in matches, the master of bottom dealing, the people that only those who saw that pharaoh¡¯s bloodstained board game knew about, the ghost that was in some respects better suited for summer ghost specials, all their stand-ins got stronger on their own. One of them beat the pharaoh that he was standing in for, and another got creamed in thend of his past life, but he still got pretty strong.(1) ¡°We can win this time as well, right?¡± Although of course I knew hoping for that kind of growth from Sir Reia was pointless! ¡°Yes, Sir Reia. If we work together, we can fight any enemy.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s begin!¡± Her Highness and Sir Reia stared each other down from opposite ends of the strategy chess board. Although I couldn¡¯t experience it for myself, if you injected magic power, then you would not be able to see one another¡¯s units, and the units would move like in augmented reality. Put simply, it was basically AR St**Craft!(2) ¡°Sir Ast, how are we going to organize our units?¡± Sir Reia looked straight ahead and whimpered as she asked me. Normally I would think about it a bit, but right now I¡¯m hungry. And so I want to end this as quickly as possible and go eat. ¡°Set all avable units as knights.¡± ¡°Eh? All knights against Her Highness, that¡¯s impossible.¡± Looking at a shocked Sir Reia, I said imposingly. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I have a n.¡± That n being to have all my units charge in and get annihted as quickly as possible so we can hurry up and go eat the chef¡¯s greatest masterpiece yet! ¡°Really? I trust you, Sir Ast.¡± Oi, if you trust me that easily then you¡¯ll leave a mark on the thing called my conscience, miss knight. ¡°We¡¯ve started. Commands.¡± ¡°All units charge in the shortest route possible. Continuously.¡± ¡°Sir Ast?¡± I could clearly see Sir Reia¡¯s surprised face. Attack is the greatest defence! Is what you¡¯d expect Her Highness to say but she surprisingly likes to use defensive tactics quite often. And she¡¯s especially the type to prepare against these sorts of tant baits. Against Her Highness, who prefers to y the long game and slowly choke her enemies out, a direct charge of the knights is nothing short of suicide. ¡°it¡¯s alright. Everything is part of my n. Like you said earlier, all you have to do is trust me.¡± ¡°I trust you, Sir Ast.¡± It feels like I can already see the image of Sir Reia charging at me once the game is over already. But my hunger takes priority right now. ¡°Charge, charge, charge, charge!¡± ¡°I understand!¡± Despite my ordering to continue charging, Sir Reia doesn¡¯t doubt me a bit and continues ordering her units to charge. Around about now my knight units and Her Highness¡¯s should have met up and getting ughtered. ¡°Hm?¡± But something¡¯s not right. Although I, who wasn¡¯t affected at all by the magic couldn¡¯t hear Her Highness, but I could see her face. I named it half map-hack mode. With this there were a few times where I made some key decisions by looking at Her Highness¡¯s expressions¡­ But¡­ why is her face not looking so good. ¡°Could it be, we¡¯re actually winning?¡± I turned my head slightly to look at Sir Reia and boy did she look excited. I did nothing but charge with my knight brigade, but to think we¡¯d actually win! ¡°We won, that¡¯s Sir Ast for you!¡± And a short whileter, Reia looked at me with such sparkling eyes it was almost awkward, and Her Highness was biting down on her lower lip as she red at me. ¡°So that¡¯s how you¡¯re going to y?¡± Your Highness? All I did was charge in like an idiot. And what do you mean that¡¯s how I¡¯m going to y? All I wanted was to eat lunch! ¡°Again.¡± ¡°Your Highness, we really should be heading off to eat lunch¡­¡± ¡°Quiet. This time, start with a division.¡± ¡°The scale has gotten bigger too?!¡± ¡°Alright, Your Highness! I¡¯ll take that challenge!¡± ¡°The one who¡¯s actually ying is me, why is Sir Reia the one shouting so confidently?¡± ¡°Alright then, begin!¡± ¡°Your Highness, too?¡± Reia who shouted so confidently and as if she got fired up over it, Her Highness was making a serious face. This isn¡¯t good. It seems like she¡¯ll keep on ying until she wins. With the thought that I might not be able to eat lunch, my already hungry stomachined even harder. ¡°Another all-in with knights, all units charge!¡± ¡°Yes, since it¡¯s Sir Ast saying it I¡¯ll trust you!¡± The exact same charge of the knight brigade as before. There¡¯s no way that Her Highness would fall for the same trick twice! ¡°Uggghhh¡­ Again!¡± And my faith activated a trap card! Looking at her annihted base, Her Highness even gnawed on her lip as she red at me and shouted that. ¡°Charge, charge! All units charge, idiot!¡± ¡°Yep! Understood, Sir Ast!¡± And another knight brigade charge in the next game as well! If she even loses to this then, then Her Highness will have gotten triple bunker rushed(3) to be Kong¡­(4) er, Her Highness will have suffered three consecutive losses. Surely Her Highness the imperial princess that is famous for being talented as hell wouldn¡¯t lose to the same build, and to the same bullshit cheese strat! ¡°Gggghhh¡­ So you¡¯re going to keep on doing this, Ast?¡± And just as the elders said, that ¡®surely¡¯ ended up biting me in the ass. Sir Reia was taunting Her Highness looking as happy as she oculd be, and epting those taunts and ring at me, was Her Highness. In that case, I need to stop using the charge strat, and use a different n instead! ¡°Again, again, again!¡± And so the games went on until my 30% win rate rose to nearly 50%. And so, I shed some tears because I could not eat lunch, and the chef that created his life¡¯s work and was waiting for us to taste it also ended up shedding tears as well. Chapter 75.2 - Side Story 6 RATH Side Story 6 TL: Eevee TLN: Special thanks to anon, Rando and GDF for fixing my atrocious editingst chapter. Side Story ¨C A certain princess¡¯s memories (6) ¡°Your Highness.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Your Highness.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Your Highness¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± I bit down hard on my lips as I refused to look at Ast who was calling for me. Yesterday I was thoroughly toyed with. In a game of strategy and tactics, Ast deceived me, and I fell for his traps and continued to lose to him. To think he would order a direct charge with only knights, how much more could you look down on me? And three times at that! ¡°Your Highness.¡± Because of that, throughout the rest of yesterday¡¯s games, the possibility that he would use that bizzare knight charge strategy again kept weighing down on me. But after that, Ast didn¡¯t use that strategy a single time. And because of that Reia has her nose sky high in the air and extremely pleased with herself. ¡°Your Highness, Your Highness. Even if you lost a whopping twelve times to yesterday, you shouldn¡¯t be ignoring Sir Ast like that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Eyy, you are.¡± Really, I could never have imagined Reia like this before Ast came along. As I thought, Ast was the problem all along. ¡°Ast.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± Just how could I make that emotionless face of his twist around. What did I have to do to nt the seeds of fear into Ast, the man who would even face off against me, the imperial princess, withplete shamelessness. ¡°What do you fear?¡± ¡°What do I fear?¡± As I nodded, Ast was momentarily lost in thought. ¡°Sir Ast, what about the evil god? The evil god that nearly destroyed the world!¡± ¡°Since I don¡¯t know whether it really did nearly destroy the world or not, it¡¯s not that very scary to me.¡± ¡°Information about the evil god is held by all the major temples, Sir Ast. Saying things like that could lead to disciplinary action from the temples!¡± ¡°There¡¯s not even anyone from the temples here so what does it matter. They say that they even insult His Imperial Majesty where he is not present, so who would listen in if you cursed a god where no one was looking?¡± Is Ast really amoner? As far as I was aware, the emperor and the temples were objects of fear and worship tomoners. And yet this man was asking what did it matter if you insulted my father right inside the imperial court! ¡°Although I don¡¯t know about His Majesty, the gods know everything that happens in the world! They¡¯re listening!¡± Was Reia also influenced by Ast. Or did Reia simply act like she normally did, saying out of ignorance. Did she even realise that she said even though you couldn¡¯t curse god, you could curse my father? ¡°Then¡­ mmm¡­ hmmm~¡± After a lot of thinking, she yelled at Ast with her eyes wide open. ¡°What about your family continually telling you to get married? That at this rate you¡¯re going to be a spinster, or you¡¯ve already lost your opportunity for marriage!¡± Ah, Reia¡­ that¡¯s¡­ ¡°So was that the case, Sir Reia?¡± ¡°Cough.¡± As if she realised her own mistake, Reia clutched her non-existent breasts and copsed. Although in this case would you say that you clutched your heart and copsed? ¡°So that was how it was. You were being pressured to hurry up and get married.¡± ¡°S, Sir Ast.¡± At Ast¡¯s pitying eyes, Reia began to backpedal while still sprawled out on the ground. ¡°They¡¯re calling you a spinster.¡± ¡°Stop, stop¡­. Please stop¡­¡± You could see the corners of her eyes moisten with tears. But even so, Ast ignored Reia¡¯s appearance and hammered home the finisher. ¡°You¡¯ve passed your marriageable age.¡± ¡°Uwaaahhhhhhh!¡± Tears dripped down, big fat droplets. As Ast looked at Reia scream with his fingers in his ears, he smiled brightly. ¡°Ending up like Sir Reia truly is a bit scary.¡± ¡°You¡¯re mean, you¡¯re mean, you¡¯re mean!¡± To think that a swordsmaster would be in tears just over marriage problems. The only ce you could see this in the empire, no, the entire continent would probably be here. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Reia. If you still can¡¯t get married then tell His Majesty. I¡¯ll make sure you get an imperial edict that lets you get married.¡± ¡°Sob¡­ Your Highness, you don¡¯t need to go that far! No, to begin with, isn¡¯t that saying that it¡¯s impossible for me to get married without an imperial edict?!¡± Reia rubbed her presumably reddened eyes and pouted, lower lip sticking out, and she was as cute as a rabbit. ¡®Ah, this isn¡¯t it.¡¯ Reia is too dangerous. She keeps emanating this aura that makes me want to tease her, and throwing my mind into chaos. ¡®Something that Ast fears.¡¯ Although I didn¡¯t expect it to begin with, of course he didn¡¯t say anything with his own mouth. Aside from Reia, there wouldn¡¯t be any idiots that would reveal their own weaknesses by themselves in the imperial court. In that case, I need to find out what Ast fears on my own. Being snippy even to me the imperial princess with that iron face of his, the one who sold out my name to raise his favourite tea in the pce gardens¡­ ¡°Ast.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± As Ast bowed his head with perfect etiquette I rarely ever saw from him, I smiled brightly at him. ¡°Looking at Reia, I think I¡¯m afraid of ending up like that as well.¡± ¡°Y, Your Highness!¡± ¡°Yes, any person would be afraid of ending up in that horrifying state.¡± ¡°Sir Ast! Horrifying! You two are talking about me right now right? Right?¡± As I looked at tearful Reia and Ast who had his head bowed and shoulders quivering from trying to hold in hisughter, I said to Ast those ultimate words that I had thought of. ¡°So, Ast. Marry me.¡± ¡°Your Highness?!¡± ¡°Your Highness?¡± Grit. He mped his lips tightly shut, and ground his teeth. That was it, that was the expression I wanted to see from Ast. Ast¡¯s two eyes were dyed in horror, and his expression was contorted as if someone had told him the world was ending. And shortly afterwards, his expression changed to someone wondering whether I was insane. ¡°Even if it¡¯s me, that kind of face does hurt a bit, Ast.¡± ¡°Then before you have the capacity to think such things, would it not be better for Your Highness to consider your bu¡­ I mean your statement you just said?¡± No matter how wild Ast ran rampant, perhaps even he didn¡¯t have the courage to choose the word bullshit right to my face as he hurriedly changed words. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. That makes absolutely no sense, Your Highness! Please reconsider! No, before that, was my appearance that dangerous to you?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Cough.¡± I ignored Reia copsing while clutching her diminutive chest again and continued on the offensive against Ast. ¡°To think Reia would copse grabbing a chest with nothing to hold on to, she might as well grab onto a nearby man and marry him instead.¡± ¡°Ugghhh¡­¡± As Reia groped her small chest and muttered she still had hope, literally holding onto hope, she red at Ast. ¡°Your Highness. There are two things that Your Highness is mistaking. The first is that Sir Reia does not have small breasts.¡± ¡°S, Sir Ast?¡± Reia stopped her groping and looked at Ast with expectant eyes. Reia really is an idiot. ¡°Sir Reia¡¯s breasts are not small, but absent. Therefore, Sir Reia does not own small breasts, but no breasts! Although she has reached the peak of martial ability as a swordsmaster, her breasts are non-existent! Your Highness has just dered that something existed where in reality it did not!¡± ¡°Awawawa¡­¡± And betrayed as deeply as she believed, Reia stood nkly with her mouth agape as she burned out to ashes. ¡°Then the second?¡± ¡°That she should grab onto a nearby man, that is, me. Are there not many men around Your Highness?¡± That¡¯s, I get what he¡¯s saying but the phrasing is a bit out there. ¡°You do realise you¡¯re saying something very weird, Ast? You¡¯re saying that as if I, a girl barely ten years old is actively hunting for men?¡± ¡°I simply said the truth. There are numerous men guarding Your Highness¡¯s vicinity. Am I the only man around you?¡± ¡°Hm~ the romance between a personal steward and a princess, don¡¯t you think that would sell quite well as a novel or a bad?¡± ¡°It seems Your Highness has not kept up with the trends. Lately the love between an emperor or crown prince and their maid, or a queen or princess and her knight is what has been popr.¡± ¡°Really, now?¡± As I looked at Ast with my head tilted crookedly, Ast made a face as if he had enough of this. ¡°Your Highness, I will ask you directly. You just said that in order to annoy me, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yep, I did.¡± As he looked at me breaking out intoughter, Ast sighed deeply. ¡°What would you have done if someone else heard that, I have no wish to die.¡± ¡°Why, you think that one of the pathetic nobles that keep sending me engagement letters will dispose of you?¡± Even if I looked like this, you could count my position to the throne on a single hand¡¯s worth of five fingers. Meaning, if one could get engaged with me, then they would earn the right to aim for the emperor¡¯s throne. Because of that, I had imbeciles blinded by ambition, and the idiots also throwing their hats into the ring to stop the imbeciles¡¯ families. Then there was also those trying out because why not like the Ten Great Families. Perhaps not for the families with power like the Ten Great Families, but there are some smaller marquis houses who actually could move to dispose of Ast just over rumours. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. At the very least, I don¡¯t like people touching my things.¡± ¡°Although I¡¯m fine as long as Your Highness isn¡¯t the one poking me around.¡± As I burst out intoughter again, Ast sighed deeply as if to sink into the earth. ¡°Your Highness, my case aside, I think Sir Reia¡¯s damage is quite significant so I believe it would be for the best to stop here.¡± ¡°Eh, Reia?¡± I took a look over at Reia who would normally have recovered on her own and be sulking in a corner. ¡°¡­This time really is pretty bad.¡± Looking at Reia who was staring nkly at the ceiling with a dropped mouth and unfocused eyes, I actually was kind of surprised. Was I too harsh this time? No, hang on a second. ¡°Wait, wasn¡¯t that because you called her breasts non-existent, Ast?¡± I at least had stuck to the very thin line of calling her breasts small. Since this was true, not even Reia could say a word otherwise. Because considering she¡¯s nine full years older than me, my breasts have already caught up with hers. So what turned Reia like that was definitely Ast¡¯s no breasts deration. ¡°You were too harsh, Ast. Even Reia doesn¡¯t have no breasts. Even men have them if you¡¯re human.¡± ¡°Your Highness knows perfectly well that was not what I was talking about. You can easily find ordinary men that have breasts bigger than Sir Reia¡¯s. In that case it would not be incorrect to say she has no breasts.¡± ¡°Mmmm¡­ that¡¯s true.¡± To think she would lose to men, Reia really does have it bad. ¡°And therefore Your Highness, I have done nothing wrong. I simply said the truth.¡± Well if he puts it like that then I don¡¯t have anything to say either. Even if Ast was in the wrong by calling her ¡®no breasts¡¯ but Reia was the problem for not even being able to argue if she was called that. ¡°But Reia¡¯s no fun if she¡¯s like that. Since it¡¯s Ast¡¯s fault that Reia turned into that, return her back. If you don¡¯t then there really will be a beautiful story of a princess and her steward floating around the imperial court.¡± ¡°Does Your Highness really wish to see me dead?¡± As I shrugged while hiding a grin, Ast made a face as if he was done with this as he whispered something into Reia¡¯s ear. This, is working better than I expected? Although I felt a bit miffed that Ast rejected me like that, but Asts¡¯s face of torment was more amusing than I¡¯d expected. I watched on as whatever magic words Ast was whispering into Reia¡¯s ears brought her dying eyes back sparkling with life. ¡°Done.¡± ¡°Already? Reia¡¯s condition this time was pretty serious, what did you say to her?¡± ¡°Well, it was simple. Since she became like that because she couldn¡¯t get married, I said I would introduce her to a few men I was acquainted with.¡± ¡°Ast, you had things such as acquaintances?¡± ¡°There were a few people who tried to use my connection to Your Highness.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re introducing those kinds of people to Reia?¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible for Sir Reia anyway, isn¡¯t it? Anyways she¡¯ll feel happy for a while as long as I say I¡¯ll introduce someone to her so it¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°You never know? There might be some insects that are really aiming for Reia¡¯s position and endure really well. And if it¡¯s Reia right now, then she could even marry those insects.¡± The higher rank of a noble you were, the moremon arranged marriages were. And in Reia¡¯s case, her family as one of the Ten Greats was an awfully big one. Moreover Reia¡¯s only alright because of the fact she¡¯s my bodyguard and a swordsmaster, aside from the students that attend the Four Great Academies near the capital, the majority of noble children marry at around seventeen years of age. And even if they weren¡¯t, most of them would be engaged. When you considered Reia¡¯s background, neen wasn¡¯t too bad, but when you considered all of her meetings have failed so far it might be dangerous. But to my slight worries, Ast made a face as if nothing was wrong. ¡°Isn¡¯t it alright?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you winging it too much just because it¡¯s not your life?¡± ¡°No, it really is alright, isn¡¯t it. Either way both Sir Reia and I are Your Highness¡¯s toys, are we not.¡± ¡°Hearing someone call themselves a toy with their own mouth, it feels quite quaint.¡± ¡°And yet you do not deny it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true after all.¡± At my words, the corner of Ast¡¯s mouth curled up as he said. ¡°Then the moment insects try to approach Sir Reia, would Your Highness not be the one to dispose of them?¡± ¡°Even if Reia would be very disappointed?¡± ¡°Since when was Your Highness the type of person to care about that.¡± Although he said it like it was nothing, just how manymoners exist that would say these things to a member of the imperial family? As I thought, this man, was thoroughly insane just the way I liked it. Chapter 75.3 - Side Story 7 RATH Side Story 7 TL: Eevee Side Story ¨C A certain princess¡¯s memories (7) Thisd, no,ss was thoroughly insane. ¡°If you keep doing this then I¡¯ll really seriously send in a request to my father to marry you?¡± Was it because of my slip upst time where I showed her my shocked expression. This little brat, every time she¡¯s at a disadvantage she always pulls out marriage. ¡°Your Highness, even so, you cannot do what you cannot do.¡± ¡°Really? Reaally? Is that so? Alright then. Then I¡¯ll go and tell Father I¡¯m going to marry you.¡± ¡°Although thews of the empire do not yet permit Your Highness¡¯s marriage.¡± ¡°Heeh~ so you¡¯ve been in and out of the imperial librarytely whenever you had some spare time, so you were learning the imperialw?¡± This little squirt, before she used to taunt me with an expressionless face, but goodness knows where she learned it from,tely she¡¯s been pressuring me while wearing this evil look. ¡°Yes, you never know when you might need something you¡¯ve learned, after all.¡± ¡°Alright, then you should also know that ording to imperialw, although marriage is impossible, engagements are very well within thew, right?¡± And why wouldn¡¯t I. There were cases where families that would engage their children together even though they hadn¡¯t even been born yet. An engagement at ten years old was quite an eptable age to get engaged at. But the condition for that was very strange. ¡°Your Highness. For an issue of the imperial family, and moreover, an issue that affects the empire itself, isn¡¯t the reason why a member of the imperial family seeks engagement too wed?¡± There was a reason why the princess who normally teased me just enough for me to be troubled before pulling back was saying this. And that was¡­ ¡°Are you not being too petty over threatening me with engagement just because you do not want to eat carrots and cucumber.¡± ¡°Ast. I don¡¯t like what I don¡¯t like.¡± Indeed. The reason why Her Highness was going as far as to use her own engagement to threaten me was because she didn¡¯t want to eat her vegetables, carrots and cucumbers. Her Highness that was throwing a tantrum with a giant scowl looked exactly like her age, but to me who knew exactly what was inside that appearance, it was all but a disgusting act! And so I need to push strongly here. ¡°Even if Your Highness threatens me, as a personal steward that must also look after your health I cannot acquiesce to Your Highness¡¯s request.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no problem to my health just because I don¡¯t eat carrots and cucumbers?¡± Although of course since she¡¯s being fed all sorts of things good for the body in the imperial pce of course her health wouldn¡¯t deteriorate even if she didn¡¯t eat cucumber or carrot. But, the only time where I can openly get revenge on Her Highness that keeps on giving me annoying work on a daily basis is this very mealtime. I can¡¯t miss out on this! ¡°Your Highness. Among the duties of a personal steward is the duty to ensure Your Highness grows up well. And so in order to fix Your Highness¡¯s eating habits¡­¡± I was going to convince(fool) Her Highness with a somewhat logical reason but beside me, Sir Reia bit into a sandwich she was eating as a light snack before lunch and she shouted. ¡°Ahh! Hang on a second, Sir Ast! When you don¡¯t have cucumbers in your own sandwich, your argument to Her Highness has no merit behind it!¡± Tch, I got found out. ¡°But why is Sir Reia eating my sandwich?¡± ¡°I finished all of mine.¡± ¡°And so is it right for ady to eat someone else¡¯s food whenever they want?¡± ¡°Oh my, since when was I ever treated like ady here.¡± Sir Reia who was eating my sandwich with an expression that nothing was wrong had definitely gotten stronger. Not physically. She was already a swordsmaster when I first met her, so her martial skills were already strong. But her mental growth over just this single month was so bright it was almost blinding. Was this, the mental power she gained after getting rejected by all 15 men I introduced to her! ¡°Ast, it¡¯s nice that you¡¯re ying with Reia, but don¡¯t you have something to say to me before that?¡± While I was enraptured by Sir Reia¡¯s growth, Her Highness was looking at me with the same look I so often looked at her with. What look, you ask? The gaze of someone looking down on unsalvageable trash? ¡°Your Highness. Cucumber is an ingredient that simply cannot be saved. Cooking is an art where youbine each ingredient to bring out the best in the others, and the thing called cucumber is a very poor ingredient that infects other ingredients with its smell and taste.¡± ¡°Mm. I think so too Ast, but why are you putting cucumbers in my food, and not in yours?¡± That? Well that¡¯s obvious. ¡°Your Highness, I am an adult. Children may not be fussy eaters for the sake of their growth, but I am an adult that has already finished growing up and therefore I do not have to eat cucumber.¡± ¡°What sort of bullshit is that?¡± ¡°Meaning, Your Highness is still in your growth period so you cannot be a fussy eater, but I have already finished growing up so I am allowed to be a fussy eater.¡± ¡°Do you realise just what kind of bullshit you¡¯ve been spouting out for a while now, Ast?¡± Of course it sounds like bullshit even to my own ears, but the moment I admit that I¡¯m liable to be eaten whole by that monster with a girl¡¯s appearance. Damn it, other kids that¡¯re treated like this in other worlds are usually orphans and soldiers so if their superior tells them to jump, they have to ask how high. But our monstrous Imperial Highness is a princess so she has no superior to tell her to shut up. ¡°Your Highness. I lost my parents at a young age, and shortly afterwards my country was also destroyed because of our territory lord¡¯s stupidity.¡± ¡°So, want me to say I¡¯m sorry?¡± This stubborn princess. Although of course if she treated me with pity then that would send shivers down my spine in its own right. ¡°No, I do not wish to me my poor luck on other people. It¡¯s just that, since that was how I passed my childhood I could not be a fussy eater when I was young.¡± ¡°Sir Ast¡­¡± Sir Reia was looking at me with very sad eyes. But, isn¡¯t that sandwich in her hands mine? I only ate one, so half of my lunch has already vanished? ¡°And?¡± ¡°Since I was not a fussy eater when I was young, I could grow up as I have done. And so Your Highness may not be picky about your food.¡± ¡°Really, now?¡± And as if she understood me, Her Highness nodded, smiled brightly at me and said. ¡°So enough of your bullshit, and swap your sandwich with mine, Ast.¡± And at the same time the hand that reached forward to steal my sandwich was none other than Her Highness¡¯s! Whack! ¡°I refuse.¡± And I reached my own hand out to knock away Her Highnesses to protect my sandwich. ¡°Are you mad? pping the hand of the imperial family?¡± ¡°Your Highness. In thews of the empire, there are uses that state for people that take care of young members of the imperial family, such as stewards like me or wet nurses. As well as teachers brought in for education all have the right to apply mild discipline as we see fit.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve memorised all those annoying things. But was there a use that included picky eating among those necessities for discipline?¡± ¡°Your Highness, picky eating can be included under education rted to daily life.¡± Her Highness leered at me, or more urately my sandwich with narrowed eyes, before her gaze turned to Sir Reia. ¡°Reia, were there carrots in Sir Ast¡¯s sandwich?¡± ¡°Munch¡­ ye, yes? Ah, Sir Ast¡¯s sandwich?¡± At Her Highness¡¯s sudden question, Sir Reia hurriedly gulped down the sandwich she¡¯d been chewing on before she nodded. ¡°Yes, there were.¡± Well, I didn¡¯t like cucumbers, but since I didn¡¯t mind carrots I left the carrots in. ¡°Alright then, Ast. I will try to fix my dislike of carrots at this opportunity. They always say that small steps are always the beginning, right? So change your sandwich with mine.¡± Ohh, to think that she would try to fix her pickiness against carrots that failedst time because of Sir Reia! ¡°To think you would try to fix your eating habits yourself, I¡¯m proud of you, Your Highness.¡± ¡°I know right? So¡­¡± Her Highness was saying with a slightly aggrieved look. And I cut Her Highness¡¯s words off, and continued talking. ¡°But I refuse!¡± ¡°Why?!¡± Why? Well of course that¡¯s because! ¡°Because I do not like cucumber, Your Highness!¡± ¡°¡­ggghhht.¡±(1) At my words Her Highness made a stunned face briefly beforemanding Sir Reia. ¡°Reia, Imand you as your lord. Bring me Ast¡¯s sandwich.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± Mm? Hang on. ¡°Sir Reia?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir Ast. But it is mydy¡¯s orders.¡± At the words that it was amand, Sir Reia¡¯s whole aura changed. Although I had seen many sides of Sir Reia during this not-all-that-short time, there was only one time I had seen this before. It was the time where she cut down the magic barrage that Her Highness and I had tested and brought to reality. And another difference was that this time her appearance from back then was right in front of me now! ¡°Sir Reia. This is an important aspect to support Her Highness¡¯s growth¡­¡± ¡°Yes, I am aware. But Her Highness¡¯smands are more important than that.¡± Wow, to think a person could change this much. Normally she would have just gone ¡°re, really?¡± and glossed it over with just words. ¡°Must it be this way?¡± ¡°My sword was dedicated to Her Highness. And even if His Majesty the emperor was tomand me, I must prioritise Her Highness¡¯s orders.¡± Now that it had gone to this I started to think. Could I fight with Sir Reia as she was now and win? Impossible. Could I protect my sandwich from Sir Reia in her current state? Also impossible. Then that left me with only one thing I could do. ¡°Sir Reia, if that is how Sir is going to going to do it, then I must also be serious.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Ast. I heard that you also train your swordsmanship daily, Sir Ast.¡± Yes, the epitome of fantasy. If I, who can¡¯t use neither magic nor summoning were to survive in this fantasy world then at least I need to know how to swing a sword. I was living the life I was because at least my previous life and this one weren¡¯t too different in that respect. I had to at least swing a familiar sword. And because of that, I had never ever lost my touch with a de. To the point where even the organization acknowledged my swordsmanship, as far as I remembered my sword had always been in my hand my entire life. Shhhing. Sir Reia drew her sword from her sheath and looked at me with enough fighting spirit to send shivers down my entire body. ¡°Although I¡¯d rather have it been under different circumstances, but I always wondered what Sir Ast¡¯s swordsmanship was like.¡± I too took distance from her. And reached my hand out. Towards my sandwich. ¡°Mm?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Both Sir Reia who was facing me seriously, and Her Highness the imperial princess that had been happily watching over the two of us watched my foodie show with dumbfounded eyes. ¡°Wa, wait, Sir Ast! Wasn¡¯t this moving to something on the lines of you and I meeting swords?¡± Meet swords? With the Sword Princess? To be honest when it came to pure swordsmanship alone I was confident that I wouldn¡¯t lose to Sir Reia. No matter how much of a genius Sir Reia was, when you added my past life and my present life, I had over 40 years of experience in swinging a sword. But it wasn¡¯t like I had the balls to fight serious mode Sir Reia. Why would the Sword Heaven receive the most respect out of the five Sword titles? Because it belonged to the strongest among those that practiced swordsmanship. And yet even so, they say that the Sword Heaven is the weakest among the five titled Swords. Because the majority of the people that be the Sword Heaven are people who use their swordsmanship to ovee their deficiencies in magic power. Sword ki uses magic power. And sword auras are thepressed version of that sword ki, and therefore use disgusting amounts of mana. Because of that, even if you overcame the hurdle of a swordsmaster, if youcked in magic power then you couldn¡¯t even use sword aura all that much. And even in reality, among the Sword Heavens in history, there were even people that were said to only have enough magic power to be able to use sword aura just once per fight. Because of that, in order to be judged purely on their swrodsmanship, they say that Sword Heavens do not use magic where their titles are on the line. But reality doesn¡¯t care for any of that. In reality, magic is the best. Even when you looked at wuxia novels the protagonist always beat down their enemies with inner ki, when was thest time you ever saw them be invincible with martial prowess? No matter how good your martial arts were, you would be decimated with a single swipe of sword aura, such was how the murim worked. Meaning if I¡¯m the master of martial arts and the sword, Sir Reia is the master of inner ki and the sword. No matter how much I swung my sword and got stronger, I would get snipped in two with a single sword aura-imbued swipe from Sir Reia, sword and all. But this fight is not between myself and Sir Reia. ¡°Thanks for the meal.¡± And the finisher was my stuffing the few sandwiches that were spared by Sir Reia into my mouth and swallowing it all with a gulp. The cause of this fight was Her Highness ordering Sir Reia to bring her my sandwich. ¡°Now then, Sir Reia. There¡¯s no more need to fight anymore, is there?¡± And therefore if I make it so that said sandwiches can never reach Her Highness¡¯s hands, it¡¯s my victory! I can just eat them all and not even fight! ¡°S, Sir Ast¡­ do you have any pride as a swordsman?¡± ¡°Before I am an honourary knight, I am Her Highness¡¯s personal steward. Fixing Her Highness¡¯s eating habits are a greater priority for me than my pride.¡± Although to be honest this was all to give Her Highness a giant middle finger, I at least need to package it like this so I get lessing back at me. ¡°And on the contrary, shouldn¡¯t the one whose pride should be suffering yourself, Sir Reia?¡± ¡°Urk.¡± At my words, Sir Reia¡¯s faced stiffened. ¡°Since you could not carry out Her Highness¡¯smand, after all.¡± And as I looked at that Sir Reia, I gave her a sadistic smile that a certain note¡¯s shinigami once wore.(2) ¡°I, I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness.¡± At my words, she bowed her head to Her Highness even as her eyebrows shivered. ¡°No, it¡¯s alright.¡± Crunch. ¡°Both of you did it for my sake.¡± Stuff, crunch. ¡®S, should I have just given it to her?¡± As Her Highness red at me while angrily toothbrushing, no, angry sandwich eating I started to feel cold sweat running down my back. ¡°Mm, that¡¯s how it is. It was all for me. So I should be understanding.¡± The look in Her Highness¡¯s eye as she ignored all rules of imperial etiquette and gnawed away at the sandwich in her hands seemed so very far removed from the thing called understanding. Chapter 75.4 - Side Story 8 RATH Side Story 8 TL: Eevee TLN: Check Release Notes regarding immediate future of this trantion. Side Story ¨C A certain princess¡¯s memories (8) ¡°Yes, arrange for it to be done.¡± ¡°Understood, Your Highness.¡± As Reia looked at the maid bow and leave the room she asked. ¡°Your Highness, must you escte things like this?¡± ¡°Ast started it.¡± ¡°We, well, but still.¡± I mean, members of the imperial family can be picky eaters, why not. And it wasn¡¯t like I was an especially picky eater, I only hated cucumbers and carrots and yet despite knowing this Ast finally ended up making me put both those things in my mouth. The foul texture of carrot and the disgusting taste of cucumber that lingered in my mouth. There were many other ingredients aside from those two, but due to the invasion of the cucumber that had a very high moisture content, everything else was infected with the taste and scent of cucumber as it vited my mouth. And this was what I heardter from a maid, but my sandwich was one that Ast requested especially from the imperial kitchens, a sandwich absolutely chock-full of cucumber and carrot. This was a challenge against me. ¡°Your Highness, there¡¯s no need to go a far as calling in that person, wouldn¡¯t be sufficient if I came forward?¡± And because of that I came up with this n, but it seemed that Reia was against calling in that old man. ¡°You¡¯ve already lost to Ast, Reia.¡± ¡°Th, that wasn¡¯t me losing with my sword! I didn¡¯t know that Sir Ast woulde out like that either!¡± When I gave her a directmand, and Reia was about to seriously steal Ast¡¯s sandwich. Ast stuffed it all into his own mouth and swallowed it just like that. Because of that, after pulling her sword out seriously for the first time in a while, Reia ended up losing without even being able to take a swing. ¡°But a loss is a loss. You could not carry out mymand, Reia.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± As Reia bowed her head looking like she could cry at any time, I sighed. I honestly wanted to spread the news of this, but then Ast could get killed by the female knights that admired Reia. I still haven¡¯t found out his secret yet, I can¡¯t let him die now. No, before that, he¡¯s toyed with me this much, so if he¡¯s going to die then I need to kill him with my own hands for me to be satisfied. ¡°And you said it as well, Reia. Ast seems like someone who knows his way around a sword.¡± ¡°Yes. I had a chance to see him training briefly, it was a clean swordsmanship that didn¡¯t fit Sir Ast.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Reia once said that if you saw someone¡¯s swordsmanship you could also see their true personality. And so. ¡°Reia, between taking back your statement that someone¡¯s swordsmanship reflects their personality, or admitting that you are a poor judge of character, which one will you choose?¡± ¡°Y, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Because ording to your words then Ast¡¯s true personality is clean.¡± ¡°Ugghhh¡­¡± I pressured Reia who was struggling with herself. To think that Ast who was the fusion of all filthiness would have a clean personality. There¡¯s no bigger bullshit than that. ¡°I, I think I¡¯m a poor judge of character. I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness.¡± As Reia bowed her head and apologised I pat her on her back. ¡°There there, it¡¯s alright if you know it.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness. But¡­ there is no need to actually call in that person. If it¡¯s the sword then I have the confidence to not lose to Sir Ast.¡± ¡°Of course. Reia is strong after all. But in order for Ast to admit defeat then you can¡¯t step forward, Reia. Ast has almost no magic power after all.¡± Evenmoners have enough magic power to y one or two games of strategy chess, but Ast doesn¡¯t even have that. If you were to ask how bad it was, Ast has so little magic power that at I thought he could be undergoing a pilgrimage after being chosen as a god¡¯s apostle. To be a god¡¯s apostle, he could possibly be a pilgrim who was deliberately emptying out his magic power to receive the power of a god, that¡¯s how empty Ast¡¯s magic power reserves were. And if that Ast, fought against Reia, who while not quite at the level of the Sword Star was still among the top of the female knights in terms of her magic power, Ast will never simply admit his loss. And so the person that was needed was one with pure overwhelming swordsmanship, and yet had little mana so Ast couldn¡¯t use that as an excuse. I had to find someone like that to beat Ast and make him admit his defeat, and then after that I can im that hecks skill as my personal steward and have him go train in the army or with the knights! Because a personal steward has the duty to protect his master! And when that happens, I have a very legal way to make him suffer as much as I want. And this perfect n. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Lies!¡± With Ast holding out using his sword as a cane to barely stay standing, and the old man that had fallen down in front of him. As the thing that could never, ever happen actually happened. Failed with the unexpected result, that Ast would be victorious. #11 Their story: A certain viin¡¯s story. ¡°Learning the sword?¡± ¡°Mm, I need it for self-defence.¡± As Her Highness nodded, I turned to Sir Reia. ¡°What do you think, Sir Reia? Do you believe that Her Highness needs to learn swordsmanship?¡± ¡°Yes, I do.¡± And the answer that came back was unexpected. I would have thought that she would say that as long as she was there Her Highness would be safe so she had no need to learn swordsmanship even for self-defence. ¡°I¡­ am a useless guard, that lost to Sir Ast and couldn¡¯t even obey my liege¡¯smands, after all. Sob.¡± ¡°H, huh?¡± But the following words were ones of total self-denial. Was this because of me? ¡°But Sir Reia, Sir Reia didn¡¯t lose to me in swordsmanship, so you should have more confidence in¡­¡± ¡°No, no! I lost! I let my guard down, and I was taken aback at when something I never could have expected happened!¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s no need to go that far¡­¡± ¡°It is. Back then if I had thought to perfectly carry out Her Highness¡¯s orders, I should have cut off Sir Ast¡¯s hand the moment it moved for the sandwich!¡± Hey, don¡¯t cut off people¡¯s hands just over cucumbers and carrots! ¡°But I did not do such a thing. Rather, I couldn¡¯t even think to do such a thing.¡± Whether she knew my thoughts or not, Sir Reia stared at me with her eyes wide open as she said. ¡°And therefore, I have no rights to say anything against Her Highness.¡± ¡°Yes, is that so.¡± Since it felt like if I said the wrong thing here I really could destroy her personality so I decided to leave her for now. Because between Her insane Highness, and the imperial court where I could be offed at any minute for some political reason or another, teasing Sir Reia is my only joy. I can¡¯t lose my only fun in life like that. ¡°So are you nning on learning swordsmanship from Sir Reia?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m going to learn from a proper teacher. Reia, is too much of a genius.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it quicker to learn from a genius?¡± As I tilted my head at the unexpected answer, Her Highness turned to Sir Reia. ¡°Reia, how did you be a swordsmaster again?¡± ¡°Ah? I was enlightened when I watched the snow in winter.¡± ¡°When you were watching the snow during winter?¡± I was curious as to just what enlightenment she came to while watching the snow, and the answer that came back was simply absurd. ¡°Yes, Sir Ast. That day, there was a lot of snow so we were making a snowman.¡± I heard that she became a swordsmaster at 18, so did that mean at the age of 18 she was making a snowman while guarding the princess. As I imagined Her Highness rolling around a snowball in order to make a snowman, the image sent shivers down my spine as I nced at Her Highness. ¡°Ah, I wasn¡¯t there, by the way. I had something to do with His Majesty so Reia didn¡¯te with me.¡± ¡°Yes, I was having apetition with my little sibling as to who could make a bigger snowman at our family home.¡± As if she read my mind, Her Highness denied what I was thinking. ¡°And so after I squished up my snowball, and kept on rolling it, I wondered if I could squish my mana like this as well. So I did it and my sword ki became sword aura.¡± As if she was satisfied with her story, Sir Reia nodded while I stared at her. I waited, and waited some more but no more came. ¡°Sir Reia, is that it?¡± ¡°Yes, that is it?¡± As I stared at Sir Reia nkly, she tilted her head with a face as if something was wrong. ¡°You see, that¡¯s what Reia¡¯s exnations are like. I can¡¯t learn from that.¡± At Her Highness¡¯s words, I nodded with her. You can¡¯t teach someone with those Mister Bob(1) exnations. If you drew it all and said ¡®easy right?¡¯ then what the hell were you supposed to do as a student! ¡°So I decided to learn swordsmanship from someone good at teaching. So, Ast.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Fight him.¡± Why me again? ¡°You Highness, is there a reason? If it¡¯s something like that then I personally believe that Sir Reia is more suitable.¡± ¡°No, that person¡¯s not quite like you Ast, but for a swordsman his magic power¡¯s more on thecking side. So of course Reia would win if she fought him.¡± ¡°Then what about learning from him without fighting him.¡± ¡°No, his rumours could be exaggerated, after all. So Ast, you check him out for me.¡± Although she was making a face like a duelist who¡¯d set a face-down trap card and was just waiting to activate it, but my poor life was one where if she ordered, I couldn¡¯t refuse. And so a few days passed, and the man who was supposedly Her Highness¡¯s swordsmanship tutor arrived. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Your Highness. You¡¯ve gotten more beautiful since thest time I saw you.¡± ¡°Mm. it¡¯s been a while, gramps.¡± Judging from the way they talk they seem quite intimate with each other. Could normal people meet Her Highness and still leave in a good mood? I heard that most people don¡¯tst more than a month before they run? Meaning that, unlike his sagacious appearance, that old man either had a trash personality, or he was a lunatic. Because there are no normal people other than me around Her Highness! ¡°Ah, so would you be my opponent Ast?¡± ¡°Yes, my name is Ast de Lc.¡± He seems close to Her Highness, and speaks down on me despite knowing who I was, so he seemed a man in a very high ce. At times like this I need to know to crawl on my own. ¡°A good match, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± I grasped his outstretched hand and shook it. A bumpy, hardened hand. Perhaps it was because he was to be Her Highness¡¯s swordsmanship instructor, but those hands were ones that had spent a long time handling a sword. ¡°Now, I¡¯ve prepared the location, so let¡¯s head over.¡± I was tense because the opponent seemed like he would be quite troublesome to handle, and all of a sudden Her Highness got close beside us as she led us to her own personal garden. ¡°Now, I¡¯ve already had the guards and battlemages on standby to prevent anyone else from approaching this ce, so fight as much as you want. Even if you lose an arm we can put it back on, as long as you don¡¯t die.¡± A ten year old wants a bloodbath of a fight! ¡°Then, here Ie.¡± ¡°Please take care of me.¡± I nced at Sir Reia with a look of help, but Sir Reia avoided my gaze. In the end I took my sword out to face the enemy, as long as he didn¡¯t use magic as he promised, I had the confidence to not lose. Kang! That was, until I took his first strike. ¡°What the?¡± ¡°Hoh?¡± The strike of a man who looked in his fifties on the outside, but since there were people who could dy the ageing of their bodies with magic, he could even have been in his sixties, yet his attack was so heavy. ¡°Your Highness really does have a way of finding interesting people.¡± But it seemed that the old man in front of me was as shocked as I was. ¡°I think it might be fun even if I go a bit harder.¡± No, should I say his true colours came out as you¡¯d expect from an acquaintance of Her Highness? His expression was a simple child¡¯s enjoyment, yet his fighting aura his body was emitting felt like it would really kill me. ¡°Noww, how about this?¡± I tried to parry away his de that made a straight line towards me, but the old man¡¯s sword never touched mine, and instead slithered around like a snake to reach me. ¡°Damn it.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± To dodge the de that came driving into my heart in an instant, I immediately dropped my sword and stepped back. ¡°A swordsman dropped his de, can I take that as your loss?¡± As the old man scowled at the sword lying on the ground, I lifted my left hand. ¡°If it¡¯s a sword then I¡¯ve got one here.¡± What I held in my left hand was a small dagger. To fight against the man who¡¯d already managed to get into a space where I would have an awkward time fending everything off, a dagger would be better than a longsword so I made the choice to boldly abandon my sword. ¡°Good choice. A dagger would be better at that close range. But right now the distance between us has widened again. ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°So what are you going to do?¡± In a situation where there is distance between us, the ranges of our weapons are important. Just why were rank and file soldiers given spears? Was it not to stab the enemy before they could get in and start shing away? Of course between a short and a longsword, the longsword is superior. And Sir Reia and Her Highness both seemed quite disappointed. But there was no way I would havee empty-handed to a ce riddled with trap cards after all? ¡°This.¡± I lifted up my left hand, and threw my dagger at him. ¡°What the?!¡± The old man was infuriated with the action that would never happen in a clean fight, but I ignored him and unsheathed another hidden dagger and went in for my second attack. This was Her Highness¡¯s mistake. She told me to fight my opponent, she never told me to fight fairly. And moreover, she even gave me a situation where no one was looking? Did that not mean I didn¡¯t have to care about what other people would think either? And so, I threw my second dagger at him and engaged in a battle style I was very, very good at. It was the moment a degenerate, filthy dogfight between the old man and I began. Chapter 76 RATH 76 TL: Eevee 10. We came, we saw, we won (1) Yugrasia¡¯s main auditorium. Inside, Nerkia was passionately shouting. ¡°Everyone aside from the first years should know. The day the imperial festival begins, the headmaster and the other teachers would encourage us.¡± Sure it was called encouragement, but in reality it was just a boring ceremony which dragged down students¡¯ morale with torturously boring speeches. ¡°But this year, the teachers have chosen me to convey their words for them.¡± And thus, Nerkiapressed all the teachers words as thus. ¡°Before the imperial festival begins, what the teachers want to say is this. We are all thinking of how to congratte you all, so wait just a bit longer!¡± Not even the teachers believed that the students of Yugrasia would ever lose to the other academies¡¯ students. Would the students that even defeated them, the teachers, ever have a chance of losing to their fellow students. To the teachers, there would be no greater disgrace than that. ¡°And so I told them, if you think for too long, then you might not be able to congratte us when we win!¡± People in the positions of a leader all have their own unique talents. People who lead from the front, who lead the way for others to follow behind them naturally. People who managed to control everyone despite seemingly never doing anything. Or people who hid in the shadows, pushing others in front so the person themselves might not be revealed. And then there were those who grasped the hearts of people with overwhelming charisma. But Nerkia¡¯s leadership adhered to none of these types. He was the first to run from night study despite being the student council president, when the offer of exemption of night study came he desperately requested to be a traitor despite being student council president, and when the other students came to school during the holidays, he was the one who came up with the truancy n despite being the student council president, that was the existence named Nerkia. Meaning, this boy was the type of leader that was extremely gifted at dragging on all the aggro onto himself. And he also had a tongue that could deceive people even amidst all the heat on him. ¡°Now with that, both the teachers and I have said everything we need to say. Need I say more? Ah, but just in case, I¡¯ll ask anyway.¡± Nerkia made a disgustingly irritating face that you might see on one of those old variety programmes as he said. ¡°If there is still anyone who believes we cannot win, raise your hand and ask. Whether it is possible for us to win or not.¡± At those words, a deathly silence fell around the auditorium. Nerkia looked down at the silence with a satisfied smile, before he nodded and continued. ¡°Alright, it doesn¡¯t look like there are any idiots here who¡¯s thinking that. Then, let¡¯s go.¡± With those words, Nerkia strode over to the auditorium¡¯s main doors with light steps, opened them, and moved onwards. And following behind him were standard-bearers holding the g of Yugrasia. And behind them, followed the rest of Yugrasia¡¯s students. ¡°That actually looks quite impressive.¡± ¡°Owner? Don¡¯t ya have ta go?¡± ¡°I need to leavest. If I meet someone I know in the middle of the streets of the capital then I¡¯m getting dragged away then and there.¡± Even if the princess has left the empire, if one of her subordinates remained in the capital then they could recognise me. Although of course my face is a highlymon type in the continent, but better safe than sorry. The enemy is the Karuan Empire. Unlike most countries which began as a revolution from a single nation, even from their very beginning they swept up their surrounding nations and began as an empire, it was a nation that was different from its very roots! A fighting race almost akin to the Super Sai*ans(1), they had never lost in a war since their founding! And especially that bloodline where beginning with the emperor, not a single normal or rational person were to be found in that insane imperial family, a veritable den of monsters! And if I get caught then I forcibly be one of those monsters. What the heck, no matter what I choose it ends in a freaky dead end route? ¡°Owner, owner, ya shiverin¡¯? The floor¡¯s all shaking?¡± ¡°Mm. I need to calm down.¡± Just imagining the horrifying ending made my foot shiver without me knowing. Rx, rx. Calm down. I¡¯ll be alright just as long as I survive this year. People are only ever suspicious at first. Even if they could suspect me this year,e next year, or the year after, all they will think of me is as a teacher of Yugrasia. As long as I manage to hold out until then, n Darkest Under the Lamppost is a sess! And since the princess wasn¡¯t even around, these were the greatest conditions. ¡°Now let¡¯s get ready for us to head out as well.¡± ¡°Us, I dun even have anyfin¡¯ to pack?¡± ¡°Take your lunchbox then.¡± ¡°Uwit? Even if you talk about my lunch, there¡¯s nuffin in it aside from magic stone fragments? I wanna eat tasty things too!¡± ¡°Shut up, and keep gathering mana.¡± Even now, her magic power was starting to run low because I¡¯ve used her this way and that since the beginning of the school year. Even if I told her to go back to her bat form and recharge, she¡¯s telling me to not break her promise of letting her stay in that form and is still burning mana. At this rate, if enemiese in with ranged attacks or a human-wave tactics like that time with Sia then that¡¯s it for me. ¡°You need to eat magic stones every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Since I¡¯m not a devil I¡¯ll allow you to eat magic stones as a snack.¡± ¡°Owner, I look like an idiot ta ya? Whatcha pretending to be nice, and telling me to eat more magic stones? Owner doesn¡¯t know how awful magic stones taste like!¡± ¡°Well, of course! I don¡¯t eat magic stones after all!¡± ¡°Uwiiiiiiiit! If it wasn¡¯t for next year I¡¯d just throw it all away, but I have ta store plenty of mana so I can y for next year!¡± She¡¯s saying ¡°hmph this isn¡¯t for owner, but for me!¡± like some standard tsundere, but she doesn¡¯t look at all like a tsundere. ¡°Professor Nicerwin, it¡¯s Professor Aruhan.¡± ¡°Ah, yes,e in.¡± ¡°Mmm¡­ good work, Professor Nicerwin. With Professor Muam at the lead, half of the teachers have already left.¡± Professor Aruhan momentarily flinched on seeing the metal bat swinging her legs around as she grumbled, but he soon came to me with a sheepish look on his face and gave me the list of teachers that had left in advance. ¡°Will you be the one leading the teachers that leave this afternoon, Professor Nicerwin?¡± Hell no, do I look crazy to you. All that was on today in terms of the imperial festival was the deration of the opening of the imperial festival, and then the party that only the teachers, the students and their parents attend in the afternoon. And if you were to talk about the parents of the students of the Four Great Academies, then that would mean that they were all important people within the empire, which in turn meant that it was a party that the people high up in the imperial court would attend, that is to say, a party that would be just right for me to get caught in. So why would I go? ¡°No, I still have some duties left over, so I will be leaving tomorrow at dawn. I will leave you in charge of leading the teachers this afternoon, Professor Aruhan.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Thanks to Professor Aruhan who just bowed his head and made his way out of my office, I got to skip out on this afternoon¡¯s party. And so one of the most dangerous days, the first day was done! Now if I just leave first on thest day then there¡¯s no more risk to me! #1 Their story: A certain crown prince¡¯s story. ¡°There¡¯s too many risk factors to this.¡± I clutched my aching head and diligently flipped through the reports that wereing in. But, there was still no hope. ¡°Risk factors, are there any problems with the guard detail in the uing imperial festival?¡± My right hand man that had been with me for a long time asked, but I don¡¯t think he quite understood what I meant. ¡°No, even if the imperial festival is the best environment for a terrorist attack, there¡¯s no way His Imperial Majesty would be harmed?¡± Even if all his bodyguards disappeared, His Majesty could beat up as many ordinary assassins as he wanted on his own. But right now, I had to focus more on my life rather than petty things like that. ¡°I got a letter from big sister. She says she¡¯sing back before the imperial festival ends. We still haven¡¯t found Ast, have we?¡± At my words, as if to prove the long years we spent together, my retainer¡¯s eyes widened as he nodded. ¡°So that was it¡­ Your Highness, no, milord whom I have dedicated my service to¡­ where should I mark your grave?¡± And as expected of my right-hand man that had served me long enough to know exactly what elder sister was like, he confirmed my death. ¡°That¡¯s it, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m gonna die?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s confirmed. Might the reason she¡¯s arriving before the end of the imperial festival just to match the timing?¡± ¡°Timing? What timing?¡± ¡°She¡¯d dere that Your Highness has died during the closing ceremony of the imperial festival. If it¡¯s Her Highness, she could easily im Your Highness¡¯s death was due to the remnants of Howling or the anti-empire forces.¡± ¡°No, if it¡¯s my elder sister, she might not even bother to bring up leftover Howling or the anti-empire forces.¡± To begin with, due to the wless encirclement, Howling didn¡¯t even have any leftover forces anymore. Because everyone was caught in it aside from the one person who that perfect n was initiated for! ¡°It won¡¯t be so. As you know, the amount of internal documents that pass through Her Highness¡¯s hands is almost as great as that handled by Marquis Arten. If Your Highness died the moment she returned, then Her Highness would find it difficult to immediately leave to search for the man named Ast.¡± That¡¯s true. ¡°And, if she cited revenge for Your Highness¡¯s death she could would have justification to roam around the empire, and if needed even seek permission to search other nations.¡± ¡°True, since there are traces that they had fled to another nation, cooperate with the search¡­¡± ¡°And she could even involve other countries in the search for Ast.¡± ¡°And the foundation for all this would be my death.¡± ¡°Yes, that is the case.¡± As I looked at my retainer nodding his head as if it was obvious I wondered whether he really was my right-hand man, but soon I came to realise that if I was a third party in this then I could havee up with the exact same conclusion as he would. Meaning, my death was already set in¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t wanna dieeeeee!¡± ¡°It¡¯s already toote.¡± ¡°Oi, I spent all my life trying to be Crown Prince, how long has it been since I became Crown Prince, that I¡¯m already gonna die?¡± ¡°At least you fulfilled your dream. I still haven¡¯t realised my childhood dream.¡± ¡°What was it?¡± ¡°To be a dragon yer.¡± ¡°I reckon you could call yourself that if you fought elder sister and won.¡± ¡°Nahh, I¡¯d rather go fight an actual dragon, would I fight Her Highness?¡± That¡¯s true. Even I¡¯d rather choose to fight a dragon. No, I¡¯m not joking. Fighting elder sister is exactly the same as fighting a dragon. ¡°What about throwing away your position as Crown Prince and running away?¡± ¡°I thought about that, but when I checked I found elder sister had people watching me.¡± ¡°How skilled were they?¡± ¡°Dunno, I felt them out but you know what? I heard that elder sister had a swordsmaster brigade, that might actually be true.¡± ¡°Ah, that rumour from the Great War? To be honest, if Her Highness¡¯s name is attached to the rumours then it honestly so much like the truth that it¡¯s no longer scary.¡± ¡°I know right? Even elder sister has more swordsmasters officially under hermand after all.¡± ¡°Yes, even though we did our best to spread rumours during the Great War about the number of swordsmasters under ourmand, but the numbers themselves are on a different scale altogether.¡± True. We spread lies that we had one more swordsmaster, but elder sister had rumours that she had an entire swordsmaster brigade. Although it seemed like wild exaggerations at the time, when you thought of the situation back then during the Great War, even those bizarre statements sound oddly convincing. Even if it was an army trained by one of empire¡¯s greatest generals, elder sister took an army that whose morale was shattered by his death and retreating on all fronts with defeat after defeat, and took that army as well as her own to go undefeated during the Great War. And especially, the way she led the elite forces of the Merdeia kingdom whose military was on par with the empire¡¯s, andpletely and utterly annihted them despite a tenfold numerical inferiority went unexined by the imperial tacticians to this day! And that was against Merdeia¡¯s supreme general that even forced elder sister into retreat a number of times. ¡°Can¡¯t you sneak me out at night and run away?¡± Therefore, I couldn¡¯t ignore the rumours that elder sister had a swordsmaster brigade. Because if I really did have a swordsmaster watching me, the moment I tried to run would be the moment I would be dragged in front of elder sister¡¯s feet in chains. ¡°Your Highness, I do not wish to die yet.¡± ¡°You said your sword was dedicated to me.¡± ¡°Even so, I would rather die cleanly on my own sword rather than make enemies of Her Highness.¡± ¡°Oi, so you¡¯re just dying happily on your own? What about me?¡± ¡°Your Highness, ept your fate. Even if you kill yourself, knowing Her Highness she¡¯ll just revive you with some forbidden ritual and keep you going with some sort of arcane art until Ast is found.¡± ¡°Hey, hey, don¡¯t say things like that. Elder sister¡¯s actually studied ritual magic, you know?!¡± No kidding, she actually did learn ancient ritual spells for fun, just because she was bored. Ah, and she¡¯s also good with a sword, and good at magic too, elder sister is. ¡°So, I¡¯m¡¯ going to die?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness. It¡¯s time to face reality. Your Highness that¡¯s already fated to death, will have gone over whether will you die or not die for around ten pages if we go by page count.¡±(1) ¡°Damn it, what¡¯s that disgustingly concrete number of pages!¡± And as I continued arguing with my right-hand man that I wondered if he really was my right-hand man, the beginning of the imperial festival had already drawn near. ¡°Damn it, the imperial festival¡¯s started, elder sister said she¡¯d return before the imperial festival ended, it¡¯s starting already!¡± ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s time to give up and just go. His Majesty the Emperor¡¯s congrattory speech is about to begin!¡± I didn¡¯t know then. That my sole hope for living was right here. Despite the fact that the students that the man named Ast had raised, over a thousand of them were right in front of my eyes. Chapter 77 RATH 77 TL: Eevee 10. We came, we saw, we won (2) #2 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story. In a giant hall several times the size of Yugrasia¡¯s main auditorium. The insides were decorated with extravagant decorations and the food was luxurious and plentiful. ¡°Mm. it¡¯s tasty.¡± ¡°It is, the wine¡¯s high ss as well.¡± And we, the main characters for today were looking around here and there for food. ¡°Hey, but why does all this delicious meat, taste worse than those sandwiches we desperately searched for during the holidays?¡± ¡°Oi, Risen. Are you really the one to be saying that? You found and ate them on your own so of course it¡¯d taste good!¡± ¡°Yeah, it would have. Ah, but wasn¡¯t the one bite we each shared around pretty good as well?¡± ¡°I know right. I remembered them every now and then and went to the sandwich shop to buy a few, but they just didn¡¯t taste the same.¡± And yet none of all these decorations and furniture, the food. Nor the VIPs that came here to meet us satisfied our hearts. ¡°Damn it, I¡¯m bored.¡± ¡°I know, they should just start the damn festival already. They do this on thest day as well, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°It¡¯s actually even bigger on that day. With the mind that since it¡¯s thest day they¡¯re using everything they have left.¡± ¡°Hear, hear. I¡¯m honestly not in the mood for all this.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Until we are victorious.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± That¡¯s how it was. Our objective was victory in the imperial festival. And on the side, we were aiming for an extremely overwhelming, total victory that would leave its mark on imperial history. Because otherwise, hell awaited us. ¡°Hm, it¡¯s been a while, Nerkia.¡± As we wet our throats with low-alcohol wine and I wished for tomorrow toe as quickly as possible, someone came looking for me. ¡°Milord Duke Zearr.¡± The twin pirs of the empire. The Raina Archduchy, and the one that led the Archducal House of Zearr. But the important thing here was that this Archduke Zearr was a member of Arucia during its golden age, and the one in charge of this year¡¯s imperial festival. Meaning in some aspects, he was our enemy! ¡°I feel something quaint from the students of Yugrasia this year.¡± As I ept his outstretched hand and shook it, he immediately took a wary shot at us. Hmph, that¡¯s a former Arucia for you. He probably set the events up that Arucia would be ever so slightly favoured as well. But Professor Nicerwin said this to us. Luck is also skill. And if luck is a skill, then of course schooling, contacts and bloodline must also count as skill! And his teaching that since the world revolves around it all even if they don¡¯t count, then get promoted and set up your own faction, is still ingrained in my head! Indeed, don¡¯t get angry that Arucia has the favour of an archduke, but win a perfect victory at this year¡¯s festival so that we have an archduke¡¯s children enroll at Yugrasia next year! This hell, it¡¯s unfair if I¡¯m the only one to¡­ I mean, it¡¯s a great loss for the empire if I¡¯m the only one that receives such excellent education! ¡°There were many changes in Yugrasia this year. Thanks to that the students¡¯ skills have improved.¡± As I thought of the days gone by at school, my mana flow wavered momentarily. Huh? Did my hand break out in a cold sweat, the archduke¡¯s hand was damp as he withdrew. Damn it, it¡¯s my mistake. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, as I was thinking of what happened at school, I just¡­¡± ¡°W, was it so trying for you?¡± Trying? Did thate anywhere near what it was actually like? We¡¯d all have rather fought the kings of hell! ¡°Don¡¯t they always say that students grow through adversities?¡± Although of course we didn¡¯t want those adversities. They say that one must ovee trials and tribtions to be a hero and earn your happy ending. But as we struggled through our trials and tribtions, we realised. You¡¯re perfectly happy if there are no trials or tribtions to begin with, right? Through great sacrifice, we realised that doing nothing and gaining nothing made us much happier than sacrificing something and enduring all sorts of trials and tribtions to obtain something at the end of it all. If we could meet ourselves of the past, we would want to yell at them that we don¡¯t need anything like Yugrasia rising up again so don¡¯t ever bring Professor Nicerwin, but it was already much toote. ¡°It seems you have had it hard.¡± ¡°No, milord. How would we turn back time that has already psed? We simply wish for anyone wanting to enroll at Yugrasia next year to note.¡± But humanity¡¯s greed is endless, and they endlessly repeat the same mistakes. Those who could not abandon their greed in the face of Yugrasia¡¯s victory will end up in Yugrasia one way or another. I have no reason to care about those moths charging into the mes! ¡°Really now¡­¡± I waited for milord archduke who was lost in thought. But he¡¯s thinking for too long? What is it? Ah! Might this not be some strategic action? It wasn¡¯t out of ce for someone managing the festival, and one of the highest representatives, an archduke toe meet the student council presidents, but meeting an archduke which was like the difference between heaven and earth for most students, even if they are nobles, would put them under extremely heavy pressure. Although it was nothing to me that had already faced the fear of death multiple times, but if it was me fromst year, then no doubt I would have been shivering and quivering all over hoping I didn¡¯t make some mistake. In that case, he was definitely aiming for that and pretending to think over something. That¡¯s a former Arucis for you! I need to assume that the battlefield is already all but enemy territory already. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I have kept you for too long.¡± ¡°No, milord.¡± Did he realise I had caught onto his machinations. Even as I bowed my head to Archduke Zearr as he moved away with a slightly sheepish expression, in my mind I had different thoughts entirely. ¡®Yes, struggle all you want! Victory is already ours!¡¯ Of our certain victory. #3 Their story: A certain management¡¯s story. If you were to ask what the most popr event in the imperial festival was, then it would undoubtedly be the swordsmanship tournament and the contest between the Four Great Academies. And so as the one in charge of this year¡¯s imperial festival, I attended the pre-festival party where all students were in attendance, and was going around greeting all the student council presidents. Encouragement for my sessors at Arucia, courage for Marcis that challenged Arucia. And for Mercaria that didn¡¯t suit the imperial festival, yet did their best anyway, I gave them some special words. And finally, when I went to meet the Yugrasia student council president¡­ ¡®Wh, what the?¡¯ Before I was an archduke, as a proud swordsmaster of the empire, I led from the front in countless battles. And yet this space was filled with an aura that made even me halt my feet momentarily. With a few very friendly exceptions, the students that fought each other at the imperial festival often stayed with their peers from the same school. Meaning, the students standing here were almost certainly Yugrasia students, but this mood does not suit the Yugrasia of the rumours I had heard. The aura emanating from these students was one of bloodlust and iron willpower that you would only expect from an army that had fought in countless battlefields, and would have to fight in many more in the future. Was this the mood of Yugrasia, a school that could be dropped from the Four Great Academies at any minute? Although rumours said that there were drastic changes in educational policy driven by the legendary summoner Professor Nicerwin, but the ones leading the students in practice were still the student council, with their president at the head. ¡°Hm, it¡¯s been a while, Nerkia.¡± And my predictions were exact on the mark. ¡°Milord Archduke Zearr.¡± The Yugrasia student council president that was present atst year¡¯s opening ceremony led by that Archduke Raina looked like apletely different personpared to the one in front of me now. His figure as he led Yugrasia, the ones considered weaklings, unexpectedly wellpared to the powerhouses of Arucia and Marcis left a deep impression on my mind, but that was nothingpared to him right now. ¡°I feel something quaint from the students of Yugrasia this year.¡± Firstly, the way he unhesitatingly reached out for a handshake. That was not the reaction of your average low-ranking noble. Even when the child of a high-ranking noble, Arucia¡¯s student council president took my hand, just how much did he shake? But this Yugrasian student council president, he simply kept hisposure and smiled without so much as a twitch. ¡°There were many changes in Yugrasia this year. Thanks to that the students¡¯ skills have improved.¡± The smile was befitting his answer, but his force was not. The flow of mana he unleashed for but a moment was simr to that of His Majesty¡¯s aura of pure annihtion. And the force that a mere student emanated cause my hands to soak through with sweat. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, as I was thinking of what happened at school, I just¡­¡± Was it to pretend he didn¡¯t notice my mistake? The Yugrasia student council president calmly apologised to me. ¡°W, was it so trying for you?¡± So flustered was I that I uncharacteristically stuttered, but he seemed to not care. ¡°Don¡¯t they always say that students grow through adversities?¡± Instantly, the atmosphere of the room shifted. At just one word from the Yugrasia student council president, the mana of all the students in the area was oppressively pressing down on this space! This was not simply a matter of showing off. When a soldier freshly returned from war, spoke of an enemy country or mortal enemy that stole something important from them, they would unconsciously unleash bloodlust, and this pressure was the exact same feeling I got from that! As the parents around us looked around in shock, the boy himself was surprised as he calmed down his mana. ¡°It seems you have had it hard.¡± ¡°No, Your Grace. How would we turn back time that has already psed? We simply wish for anyone wanting to enrol at Yugrasia next year to note.¡± Yugrasia already had the lowest enrolment rates out of the Four Great Academies. Even if the Letia House and a few other influential families sent their children to Yugrasia with expectations of Professor Nicerwin, if they don¡¯t have a good showing at this year¡¯s imperial festival then that could really be it for them. To think that he would not want students toe to his school even under those circumstances. Although he graduates next year, those words should simply not be said as Yugrasia¡¯s student council president. ¡°Really now¡­¡± Was Yugrasia in such dire straits that even their student council president would say such things? One could assume that from the rumours, but the force emanating from this Yugrasia did not match them. Then, was it possible for students to be standing with this much strength in just half a year? No matter what, I could never train soldiers like these in just half a year. Moreover, to make students like this, not even soldiers, the only person that could make this happen in the entire empire would be Her Imperial Highness the Imperial Princess. ¡®Hang on¡­ no, it can¡¯t be!¡¯ A shiver ran down the length of my spine. To think I would see vestiges of the Imperial Princess, a person untouchable in the imperial court in these students! ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I have kept you for too long.¡± Once I realised that I also realised that I had kept a single student for too long. ¡°No, Your Grace.¡± Normally in situations like this even a noble hardened in high society would be nervous, but none of it applied to this student council president. And after my final farewells and well-wishes, where my feet took me was in front of a single noble. ¡°It has been a while, Archduke Zearr.¡± ¡°No, Marquis Letia.¡± Marquis Letia, the father of Young Lady Letia, the person that might be most closely rted to the changes in Yugrasia, as well as the leader of a division of the imperial army. He who protected the inside of the empire, and I who protected the far reaches of the empire often talked together, and were quite personally close to one another so I got straight to the point. ¡°I heard your daughter enrolled in Yugrasia.¡± ¡°She did.¡± ¡°I also heard that it was Yugrasia¡¯s education that allowed her to be a god-ss summoner. And I also heard that the army contributed a fair amount to Yugrasia as well.¡± ¡°They did. I heard that some members of the summoning corps became teachers at Yugrasia.¡± ¡°Yes, there were some that went to Yugrasia after retiring, but it was quite an amusing topic when some active soldiers were also sent over.¡± Looking at Marquis Letia nod his head, it seemed that there was not much information regarding Yugrasia. ¡°So, your daughter went to Yugrasia, was there anything else she got out of it aside from bing a god-ss summoner?¡± But since it had to do with his eldest daughter, he would still know more than I did. And the answer I got back was an unexpected one. ¡°Something she got out of it¡­ yes, there was. Aside from when she was young, I saw the tears of my daughter that had grown up so quickly.¡± ¡°Lady Aris¡¯s tears?¡± Young Lady Letia was nicknamed the female general in high society. The tears of Lady Aris, that everyone around her wished her on to be a splendid female knight? ¡°And my daughter, learned how to ovee death in Yugrasia.¡± Wait, hang on? ¡°How to ovee death?¡± ¡°It¡¯s as I have said. I am very grateful to Professor Nicerwin for allowing what can only be learned on the battlefield to be taught in a safe environment.¡± Marquis Letia, the man who I thought was reasonable kept on saying things that I simply couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°Yugrasia is that kind of ce.¡± In the end, the only other thing I got out of him was that he was currently in the process or restructuring his army with the enlightenment he gained from Yugrasia, I couldn¡¯t hear what I wanted to know. ¡°I can¡¯t understand what you are saying.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll understand once you see Yugrasia¡¯s first matchese tomorrow morning.¡± Now even more curious, I stayed with Marquis Letia for a while longer and asked him a few more questions, but in the end I could not get what I wanted. Chapter 78 RATH 78 TL: Eevee 10. We came, we saw, we won (3) #4 Their story: A certain participant¡¯s story. ¡°It, it can¡¯t be.¡± The numbers that were recorded on the scoreboard in front of me couldn¡¯t possibly be real. But not matter how many times I rubbed my eyes, the numbers on the scoreboard didn¡¯t change. [Arucia: 0pt] [Marcis: 0pt] [Yugrasia: 5pt] [Mercaria: 0pt] Over the week that the four academiespeted against each other during the imperial festival, there were a total of 30 events. Depending on the event, there are some that can take the entire day, whereas others could end in just under an hour. And the majority of the events on the first day were of the type that ended quickly, and likewise, the number of points they offered were not very high, either. And today¡¯s event in particr, were all individual events that were worth the least amount of points, so each victory was worth only 1 point. Because the events leading into the final days were worth 5 points, sometimes up to ten, you couldn¡¯t afford to becent, so it was always a tight contest all the way to the end. It was too early to give up yet. But, even so. On the other hand, if someone began winning overwhelmingly from the beginning, then even if you won on the final day, you still couldn¡¯t win. Because even if you took 10 points from 0 by winning on the final day, if the opponents already had 11 points then everything was already over. And let me repeat this, but there were five events today. And they were individual events worth the fewest amount of points. ¡°Is this illusion magic?¡± But no matter how many more times I blinked the [Yugrasia 5pt] did not change. Very well. I must admit it. Today, in all five events, Yugrasia, the school deemed the weakest, won everything. And overwhelmingly so! ¡°Pres¡­ it¡¯s okay! 5 points today, that¡¯s nothing, right?¡± Even as the other members of the student council tried to cheer me and my bbergasted face up, I still couldn¡¯t say anything. ¡°We¡¯re Arucia, right?¡± ¡°Yeah! Arucia! The strongest of the Four Great Academies!¡± Although the female members said with bright expressions. ¡°But¡­ Rail, the strongest of all of us got destroyed that easily?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Everyone else fell into silence. We wouldn¡¯t be so troubled if this was a team event that was unfavourable to Arucia. We might even have had excuses if we had a draw filled with nothing but the strongest fighters to defeat to proceed. But, none of these applied to today¡¯s matches. No, on the contrary, you could say that we were actually quite lucky. An event that was the most favourable to Arucia, a 1:1 duel in a narrow arena. And even with our tournament draw, aside from one match, no one else could be thought of as a worthy opponent until we won. But. ¡°Reil was defeated in Round 1, and no one elsested past Round 3.¡± ¡°Plus, three of the semifinalists were¡­¡± Each academy sent out a total of ten people. Even Mercaria sent out people that could fight reasonably well, and I heard the standard of the matches were higher thanst year as well. But, the whole story changed when you looked at the draw for the semifinals. ¡°Three Yugrasia, one Marcis.¡± And even that one Marcis student was defeated in his semifinal, and in the end the finals were fought out between two Yugrasia students. ¡°Admit it, we were routed.¡± These were the results even with our favourite event. And what about the other events? All of them could be said to be a one-sided whitewash, no, a ughter by Yugrasia. ¡°But, but Lady Aris didn¡¯t use summoning, and she only used her spear!¡± ¡°Yeah, Lady Aris who was already talented simply went over to Yugrasia.¡± ¡°If only Lady Aris hade to Arucis!¡± Do these idiots have any idea what they¡¯re saying. No, seeing the majority of them were second years in their first time on the student council, they wouldn¡¯t understand. ¡°Are you all a bunch of idiots? Are you missing your heads?¡± The moment I was about to tell them the truth, the one who said something before me was the vice-president Arietta. ¡°Is losing to a summoner with a spear something to be proud of? And the furthest we managed to get to was just Round 3. But Yugrasia alone sent 3 people to the semifinal, and they fought the final between each other.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°If you were an ordinary student, I won¡¯t care if that¡¯s what you think. I wouldn¡¯t care if that was what you would have thoughtst year! But right now, you are members of Arucia¡¯s student council. We need to understand why we lost, and make it so that our students can win instead. ¡°Arietta¡­¡± The person that would want to beat Yugrasia the most out of all of us would be Arietta herself. Did that asshole Nerkia even know just what she was fighting for this imperial festival. Even though we normally fought each other quite often, when you considered Arietta¡¯s situation that pissed me off even more against Nerkia. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Mm¡­ For now.¡± At Arietta¡¯s shout, the new members of the student council immediately turned their gazes downwards, and the fourth year members who were familiar with this by now began to console the other students. ¡°You¡¯re still ying the viin as always.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s what I¡¯ve always been doing after all. It¡¯s a role I¡¯ve inherited from my sunbae after all.¡± ¡°What about just telling Nerkia? It¡¯s not a bad deal for him either. He¡¯s the one that¡¯s got the most to gain from all this as well, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°No¡­ the promise I made with father wasn¡¯t something like that.¡± She¡¯s still as stubborn as ever. And I suppose that was the exact reason why she was a figure of respect for countless Arucis girls, as well as one of fear. ¡°And besides¡­ Nerkia¡¯s also doing his best to win in the imperial festival. I can¡¯t make him give up just like that.¡± Damn it, herpletely different appearance to her normal cool personality was so damn cute. To the point I just didn¡¯t understand why, why the hell was she lovers with someone like Nerkia! ¡°Nerkia is incredible. Even when he first enrolled, he could have gone to Marcis, but not for the school he was going to attend, but purely for his own education, he chose to go to Yugrasia, and he even created a miracle like this!¡± Was this what you called a maiden in love. I couldn¡¯t see any trace of her normal self as she fervently heaped on the praise, as she showed me a side of her I¡¯d never seen once in the two years we¡¯d been on the student council together. Although the fact the reason why she was showing me this was because of the Yugrasia student council president Nerkia, was so, so much of a waste. ¡°Haa¡­ seriously, you girls are really living it the hard way.¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re all doing this because we want it. So, it¡¯s alright.¡± As I looked at Arietta smile happily I thought of another girl that made that very same smile. Someone who could in future aim for the title of president, or vice-president. A girl whose personality was theplete opposite of Arietta¡¯s, a girl who could not earn respect, but was loved instead. ¡°Alright then¡­ tomorrow, we¡¯ll definitely make aeback.¡± Although the thought of an asshole who monopolised the love of girls like them having a happy end did make me resentful, right now as the student council president of Arucis, I had a duty to ensure that Arucia won the imperial festival. ¡°Yep, I believe in you, Pres!¡± And the next day. [Arucia: 0pt] [Marcis: 0pt] [Yugrasia: 12pt] [Mercaria: 0pt] The gap only widened. #5 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. [Ahhhhh! Unbelievable! To think these two contestants would meet in the first round!] [Lady Aris, this has be an incredibly troublesome situation for her!] ¡°How noisy.¡± The first day of the imperial festival, the duel arena of the 1v1 matches, one of five events to be yed out today. Since it was only Day 1, we would only get one point even if we won, but even so we couldn¡¯t give it up. Because our goal, was a total victory with not a single defeat. [Lady Aris, one of the best swordsmen from even the famous family, the Letia Marquisate!] [Yes indeed, even from an early age we heard that Young Lady Letia was touted as a future female knight that would eventually be the sessor of Sir Reia.] [But her luck was just simply too pitiful with her opponent. This might as well be the final on our hands right here!] And so, Pres sent out me, who was our best chance at winning this event. [Lady Aris¡¯s opponent is the strongest of Arucia, the empire¡¯s academy of the sword!] [The talent said to be the closest to bing a swordsmaster in the empire, no, the entire continent!] [Yes indeed, Lady Aris¡¯s opponent is none other than that Mereldra rel Rail!] [The key to this match is just how Lady Aris will deal with this formidable opponent!] There were numerous watchable shows in the imperial festival other than just us, and so because of that, the analyst casters had a tendency to overexaggerate things to earn their keep. Just like this. [Incredible. To think we could watch such a high level contest from the very first match!] [Not just here, Rail is a swordsman who could even aim for the top positions of the swordsmanship contest that many of the greatest swordsmen in the empirepete at.] [But his enemy is the Letia House¡¯s ck She-wolf! If you make light of her ws, even Rail can get quite a bloody nose!] The annoying, and seemingly endlessly repetitive analysis kept on going and going. And having said that, a she-wolf, just what the hell are they saying. Are they alreadying up with a nickname for me? In that case I will very bluntly reject that. What the hell is a she-wolf, a she-wolf. I just want to hurry up with this match, and stop listening to the endless drivel from those mouths but there¡¯s still some time to the match. As I unsatisfyingly swung my feet back and forth, I heard the goddess¡¯s voice. -Hey Aris, is that boy over there actually the strongest they have in Arucia, the academy they call the best in the empire? -Yes, apparently he is. His force that I could see from all the way over there, was definitely iparable to normal students. -Those kinds of kids, we¡¯ve got them everywhere in our academy, don¡¯t we? Is that actually their strongest? The goddess was sincere in asking me that question. Well, of course. Because that boy supposedly the strongest in Arucia, was about the level of an average student in our academy! -We¡­ we¡­ just to fight ag¡­ainst a school that runs on and on that¡­ something like that¡¯s their strongest¡­. Sob¡­ just¡­ against just that¡­ sniffle¡­ And in the end, our goddess burst out in sorrowful tears. -Goddess¡­ Nicerwin that fu¡­ I mean, Professor even thought of the possibility that the other schools would form an alliance against us. -Sob¡­ but still, even still! Sob¡­ there was no reason for us to feel that much pain! -That¡¯s¡­ true. That, just that, is their strongest. Even if all of Arucia¡¯s students were at that level, even our first years could probably beat them all if they tried their hardest. Because no matter how close they were to bing a swordsmaster, they were still not an actual swordsmaster. No matter how close it may seem, the thing you might never attain ¡¯til the day you die, is the peak that is a swordsmaster. As to who was the closest to that realm, only the gods in charge of that realm would know. [And here we go!] [Finally, this event¡¯s greatest match is about to begin!] [We make a cautious prediction, that this match might take a bit of time!] [If anyone needs to go to the bathroom, hurry now!] ¡°Lady Letia, it is an honour to be able to fight you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± To my opponent who greeted me first through the noise of the casters, I bowed my head slightly in greetings. ¡°Lady Aris. Do you know that there are more upsets in this event than the imperial swordsmanship contest?¡± ¡°Yes. Unlike the swordsmanship contest which runs for the entire length of the imperial festival, and allows for proper rest, all of this event¡¯s matches end in a single day.¡± ¡°That is the case. Even though it is possible to recover, a full recovery is impossible. And so, you must fight saving your strength for the opponent you will fight next.¡± Before I stepped onto the battlefield for this event, Professor Nicerwin had said. ¡®You do not have to be concerned with injuries, Miss Aris.¡¯ And the following words were from the creature right beside him. ¡®Yep yup! I can totes heal ya easy peasy, so don¡¯t worry!¡¯ The silver devil had said, raising her two fists into the air. Meaning, injuries, meant death. ¡°But, seeing as Lady Aris is my opponent, I will fight with you with everything I have as a swordsman!¡± ¡°Imperial festival 1v1 duel, Match 1, Aris ril Letia vs Mereldra rel Rail, match begin.¡± With those words, the match started. ¡°My goal is to fight strong opponents, and be a swordsmaster. I hope you will do your best to help me attain that goal!¡± As he said so, what gathered around his de was a blue-coloured sword ki. And seeing that, I summoned the goddess¡¯s spear. ¡°Spear?¡± And my opponent looked at my spear with bewildered eyes. ¡°Yes, it is the weapon of my contracted goddess, Athena.¡± ¡°A divine weapon¡­ is it?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just a spear.¡± The goddess¡¯s divine weapon was a shield. Although the spear was sturdy, it didn¡¯t have any special powers to be worth calling a divine weapon. ¡°Wasn¡¯t Lady Aris¡¯s signature weapon a sword?¡± ¡°I have begun using a spear since I enrolled into Yugrasia.¡± It had been half a year since I began using a spear, that I could summon anytime I needed, and fight against the silver devil from range. Even if my skills were somewhatckingpared to my main weapon, the sword, using a spear was still better in order to avoid that pain. ¡°Are you, looking down on me?¡± But it seemed that my opponent was getting angry at my words. Why?¡± ¡°I am not.¡± ¡°Lady Aris is a swordsman! And a master of twin swords at that!¡± I was. ¡°Have you given up already? Having enrolled in the perpetual third ce Yugrasia, have you given up as well, Lady Aris?¡± Oh my, now what nonsense is this. ¡°Then you¡¯re, actually disa¡­ppoint¡­?¡± It seemed that the nonsense, no, the bullshit would keep oning. Night study, ¡®ns¡¯, I¡¯ve already heard enough bullshit in the academy over the past half year, I can¡¯t listen to any more of it in the imperial festival, too. And so, I will have him shut his mouth. ¡°Spear aura?¡± The thing that shone as if it burned on the tip of my spear was most definitely spear aura. As I spun around my spear that shone red and took a stance, I smiled at my opponent. ¡°Get hit by a snowball. If you want to be a swordsmaster.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± To my opponent who couldn¡¯t understand, I very kindly gave him another answer. ¡°Or, enroll into Yugrasia.¡± And with those words, five strikes. That was all it took for Arucia¡¯s strongest to fall to my spear. Chapter 79 RATH 79 TL: Eevee 10. We came, we saw, we won (4) #6 Their story: A certain student¡¯s story. ¡°I have a bad feeling about this¡­¡± A student of Mercaria muttered to himself as he navigated through a dark cave. The event he was in was a ssic staple of the imperial festival, the Labyrinth. The rules of the game were simple. After being teleported into the Labyrinth, the first to escape the maze was the winner. And since the map of the maze was shown to the contestants beforehand, as long as you recognised key features on the map, you could know where you were in the maze. ¡°I just have to avoid the other schools¡¯ students¡­¡± But the twist was that there were a whopping 400 students in the Labyrinth. Even if it was a giant maze, it was not easy to avoid fighting when there were a hundred students per school inside. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± This was actually an event that the weak Mercaria had an advantage in. The time one year that the students with monstrous memorization abilities outright remembered the entire map to win just like that, was still a legend in the history of the imperial festival. Therefore this student was motivated to help his school get the win in this event. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ where was this statue on the map¡­ Hhff!¡± ck¡­. ck¡­ As the student pieced together his current location based off the importantndmark that was the statue, he heard the sounds of shoes echoing from far away. ¡°Damn it, there¡¯s nowhere to hide¡­¡± The only ce where he could hide was behind the statue. But this statue, one of many that were slightly different from the others scattered around the Labyrinth, was important in determining your location in the maze. Therefore, being near certain that this enemy would alsoe to this statue to confirm their location, the student was in a dilemma. ¡®What do I do? Do I beg them to spare me? But this could be livestreaming on the magic broadcast tools¡­¡¯ No matter how powerful of a nation the empire was, it couldn¡¯t be recording so many people with magic video tools at the same time. As there were countless other events going on right now in the imperial capital, the probability that one of them would be recording him was close to a miracle. ¡®There were a number of famous people in the student council that entered this event, and there are other famous people from the other academies in this event as well, so the odds of me being filmed is low¡­¡¯ But this student thought that it would be his rotten luck that he might be caught out by those atrocious odds. No, he couldn¡¯t discount the possibility that the enemy was someone famous, and a magic video tool might be following him or her. ¡®Alright, even if I lose¡­ I¡¯m gonna lose with style.¡¯ Hiding behind the giant statue, he pulled out a dagger. Aiming for the moment the enemy would let their guard down to observe the statue, he would ambush them. It wasn¡¯t like he had to worry about dying. Among the many events of the imperial festival, the Labyrinth was an event that was a favourite of assassins during session wars, and it was a game where the no killing rule was frequently broken. And because of that, this event was banned multiple times. But after new magic devices were installed, ones that automatically teleported you once you took a set amount of damage or injuries, this event became a safe one with no risk of danger to one¡¯s life. And so, if you aimed for the body, and not the neck, you could take out a foe in a single strike without getting disqualified. ¡®Please, don¡¯t find me¡­ please just keep on going¡­¡¯ But the student knew himself that he was weak. And that his ambush would be easily fended off. Because even Marcis, the physically weakest school, were still physically stronger than Mercaria! ck¡­ ck¡­ As the footsteps that were slower than he had anticipated came ever closer to where he was hiding, he tightly closed his lips shut, and peeked out in the direction of the sound of the shoes. ¡°Hmhmhmmm~¡± Going by the uniform, the student in front of him was a Yugrasia student, and she was humming as she leisurely made her way around. ¡°What?¡± The Yugrasia student was strolling around daintily in a way that he thought was simply too abnormal for the Labyrinth. And so, as he watched on despite knowing that he could get caught, the student managed to notice something out of ce. ¡°The walls are moving!¡± His soft whisper was filled with horror. In the long history of the Labyrinth event, aside from Mercaria¡¯s horrific tactic known as ¡®memorise the map,¡¯ there were other oundish victories such as the time when one of Arucia¡¯s swordsmen smashed through all the walls with sword ki, or one of Marcis¡¯s magicians literally flew over the walls. Because of that, the event with the most obstacles and rule amendements was the Labyrinth. Even the ceiling that glowed faintly, the moment you damaged it, you would be treated as a casualty and eliminated. ¡°Move the walls? Is it possible? A summon shaped like a wall? Or is she modifying the walls with an earth elemental? The Yugrasia student came right up close to the statue where the student was hiding, but the Yugrasia student didn¡¯t give the statue a nce and walked past it with the same leisurely movements she came in with. ¡°What is that?¡± As the Yugrasia student walked past without even ncing at the statue, one of the most important aspects of this event, the student watched her go, he realised that there were some new walls in front of him that he hadn¡¯t noticed previously. Knock. Knock. ¡°What kind of wall is this?¡± Although he didn¡¯t notice from far away, when he looked at them up close, they were noticably different from the Labyrinth¡¯s walls. Damp even though they were the colour of dirt, and unlike the walls of the Labyrinth which had magic forms engraved into them, these walls were made with just in dirt. The student thought that if his memory served him right, these walls definitely weren¡¯t supposed to be here. Knock¡­ knock. And the student that was lost in thought while looking at the wall. ¡°Buahk?¡± Was eliminated about ten minutester as something burst out of the dirt walls. #7 Their story: Risen de Roa¡¯s story. ¡°Alright, everyone move ording to the n!¡± Professor Nicerwin, whom for some reason we hadn¡¯t seen for the whole of yesterday, arrived at dawn today. Although in all honesty Professor Nicerwin was the number one figure that the students didn¡¯t want to see, (for the record, the silver devil wasn¡¯t a person and therefore wasn¡¯t included in the rankings.) but since we knew with our own bodies just what could happen if Professor Nicerwin¡¯s evil hands reached out towards the other academies, he was our greatest ally here. And as we expected, Professor Nicerwin indeed brought out an absolutely monstrous strategy, and we moved out to see it through. For the n out of the hundred students, a whopping ny of them were elementalists. And my role was to stop the other schools¡¯ students from approaching them in order for us to carry out the n. ¡°Kuuuhhgh?¡± ¡°Risen de Roa? Was this guy always this strong?¡± ¡°Kggh¡­ avoid him, the enemy is the Trickster! We need to find everyone else and attack together while the rest of us buy time!¡± And so as I used Loki¡¯s shoes to quickly eliminate the enemies, I met up with some other students carrying out the n to issue coordinates to where we would meet upter. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s forty.¡± ¡°Kuuhk!¡± In team events, it seemed that there were a lot of students involved that weren¡¯t that strong individually, but I do think that I have gotten stronger. Without a single effective counterattack inflicted on me, having disposed of forty students from other schools, I was on a roll to be the MVP of this event. -So are you happy? That the effects of that thing called night study are showing up? -No, I¡¯d rather pass up on it and the night study. But I lost so many things in the process of getting stronger. Namely countless things involving time and freedom! ¡°Uwoooooooh!¡± ¡°Impossible, he¡¯s getting even stronger!¡± ¡°Are there no limits to the Trickster!¡± As I knocked down the Arucia students that fell shouting extremely cheesy lines, as I cleanly confirmed the kills as Professor Nicerwin taught me to, I left the area. The great thing about this event was that if you knocked them down and kept hitting them until they were summoned as a casualty, you could confirm kills quite easily. For the record, I was already a pro at getting hit, so I knew perfectly well how hard you had to hit a person in order to knock them out, so my kills were usually confirmed with just a single hit. -So, are you happy? -No! I snapped at Loki who kept poking where it hurt just as I was about to forget about them, but Loki only snickered and enjoyed it. Damn it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to say these things if he got hit by the silver devil. Look at Athena. She keeps getting hit with Lady Aris, so they get along very well together. And the other first year god-ss summoners also got very good at using the powers of their gods. Since they all felt a strong sense of camaraderie with each other after going through countless pains together¡­ ¡°Oh, vice-pres!¡± And as I wondered how I would subject Loki to the devil¡¯s tushitushi, I heard a voice calling for me from further away. ¡°Ah, you were a second year, right? Have you encountered the other schools yet?¡± ¡°I met someone from Marcis, but he tried to use magic so I sent him off in one shot.¡± The smiling female student¡¯s face was slick with sweat. This entire strategy involved using everyone¡¯s entire mana pool and yet she still defeated a Marcis student in that state. ¡°You beat the enemy, while using spirits?¡± ¡°Yes, since he was a man I kicked him in that ce, and he immediately started foaming and was summoned out.¡± Hm? ¡°That ce?¡± ¡°Yes, that ce. Penis.¡± ¡°Ah, re, really?¡± Her saying penis with such a cute face makes me think of a vegetable instead,(1) but she said it was attached to a man. Ah, and she said she ended him in one shot, too. ¡°O Lady Sermir, may the enemy¡¯s descendants be in a better ce¡­¡± ¡°Vice-pres?¡± As a fellow man, I prayed for them to be born in the next world. ¡°But still, if you kicked him there out of nowhere, that¡¯s a bit dangerous¡­¡± ¡°But that¡¯s what Professor Nicerwin told us to do¡­¡± ¡°D, did he?¡± Professor Nicerwin is, as we thought, a devil. To think he¡¯d tell them to do that as a fellow man¡­ wait, hold up! ¡°He didn¡¯t only teach it to you, did he?¡± ¡°Huh? Ah, no, out of the people that participated in this event, he told all the female students¡­¡± ¡°Go thaaat-a-way!¡± I pointed her in the direction of our rendezvous point and hurriedly activated Loki¡¯s shoes. In this event, the number of male and female participants from Yugrasia were simr to each other. Although I didn¡¯t bother counting urately, if there were roughly 50 of them, and if even half of them were following Professor Nicerwin¡¯s advice, then that meant that there were 25 of them. Meaning, 25 female students of Yugrasia that were being controlled by the devil were¡­ ¡°Kuaaaahhhhgh!¡± ¡°You, you girls are all evil!¡± ¡°There it is!¡± At the desperate screams of a man from a direction far away, I immediately elerated to my max speed and arrived to where I heard the sounding from. ¡°Ghhh¡­ I¡¯m toote.¡± There was a male student in Mercaria¡¯s uniform, copsed and foaming at his mouth. And there was one of our academy¡¯s female students, who was facing off against another Mercaria student who was looking back with horrified eyes, while clutching his p¡­ I mean, cupping his groin and shivering in fear. ¡°Risen sunbae?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll defeat them ording to the n, so head over that way.¡± ¡°Yes, sunbae!¡± As the female student casually followed the wall and out of our sight, I bowed my head slightly to the Mercaria student. ¡°Sorry, I came toote¡­¡± ¡°Ggghhh¡­ you¡­ you¡¯ve done something you should never have done no matter how badly you needed to win!¡± To the student who looked at me with eyes full of resentment, I had nothing to say. ¡°So that no more casualties emerge¡­ I¡¯ll make it quick.¡± And so having lost one man and brought another salvation, I ran my hardest so as to lose as few of the empire¡¯s futures as possible. To thest stage of the n. #8 Their story: A certain Marcis student¡¯s story. ¡°Alright, the foundations for our win are set!¡± ¡°Keep your distance!¡± ¡°Even if one of us goes down, just heal them immediately!¡± ¡°Everything ording to the n!¡± At my words, the seniors started to issuemands to their juniors. No matter what anyone said, the strongest school in a group was Marcis. Therefore, we prioritised our first steps in this event in gathering as many people together as possible. And thus, with the assistance of numerous spells, 20 people had managed to gather in one ce. Although it seemed that it took longer to get together than I had anticipated, 20 people getting together in this convolutedbyrinth was an alright result. ¡°Now, move out!¡± With people skilled at barrier and defense magics at the rear, healers in the middle, as well as people capable of decent firepower. And I was a future battlemage prospect myself, one that could even go toe to toe against Arucia students in closebat! And with this, our victory was¡­ ¡°Huh? Huh? Huh?!¡± ¡°H, hang on! What the heck is that?!¡± All washed away by the giant tidal wave surging from the depths of thebyrinth. #9 Their story: A certain organization¡¯s story. The Labyrinth was an event marked by countless assassinations in the history of the imperial festival! Although it was near impossible now due to various safety measures, but we, the anti-empire army who were trained solely to assassinate the emperor! ¡°Buuaaaaghhghgk¡± Were all washed away as a giant tidal wave swept in. Chapter 80 RATH 80 TL: Eevee 10. We came, we saw, we won (5) #10 Their story: A certain healer tent¡¯s story. ¡°This is bad¡­¡± ¡°This is awful¡­¡± ¡°Kids these days are really scary.¡± One of the healer tents of the imperial festival. As casualties came out from the special magic formation, the healing magicians and the healers from the temple all paled as they began their treatments. ¡°Guuuhhgk!¡± ¡°S, stay strong! Your descendants can still live!¡± ¡°Yeah! They¡¯re not broken yet! They¡¯re not broken!¡± As they looked at the ten or so students who were clutching their crotches, as fellow men, the healers felt a sense of sympathy as they used their magic to heal the students¡¯ descendants as effectively as possible. ¡°Ah, there¡¯s more¡­ huh?¡± ¡°Did someone go on a rampage? We¡¯ve got students popping out left right and center?¡± ¡°No, they¡¯re all unconscious¡­ and they¡¯re all soaked!¡± ¡°Some go grab some towels! That¡¯s five¡­ no, seven, ten? They just keep oning? Grab all the towels we have!¡± As the magic formation kept on shining and spitting out more and more people, the bewildered healers eventually brought over people from other healer tents too as they healed the casualties. ¡°Hm? Wait a second, there are people wearing ck clothes as well as the students?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right? And they¡¯re looking really awful, too. Did the spell not work properly?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯ve got the casualty teleport tool on them?¡± And as the healers examined the ck-clothed people. ¡°Hang on, these are anti-empire army marks?¡± ¡°Huh? Here, too!¡± ¡°This guy¡¯s got it as well! All these people are all anti-empire army people!¡± ¡°Someone get a guard! Ah, and a knight if you can find one!¡± ¡°Yeah boi! 30 gold per anti-empire member! This¡¯ll be an even bigger profit than what I bet on the imperial festival!¡± ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t you say you quit gambling?¡± ¡°Ah, keep it a secret from the missus?¡± They all picked up some nice fat bounties! #11 Their story: A certain student¡¯s story. ¡°Now just what could this be¡­¡± ¡°What do you mean what, it¡¯s a wave!¡± My junior beside me shouted at my mutterings. A swiftly moving current. The screams of students as they were carried along by the water. I don¡¯t know why there¡¯s water all of a sudden in the maze, but I do know one thing. ¡°We¡¯re screwed.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give up, and do something about this!¡± He¡¯s shouting nice and lively considering he¡¯s getting swept away by this current as well. ¡°They say that a married couple¡¯s fight is like cutting water with a sword.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to be for all of a sudden, sunbae!¡± ¡°It means that a married couple¡¯s fight is pointless. And that is expressed as trying to cut water with a sword.¡± ¡°Well I know¡­ that!¡± New kids these days are quite something. He¡¯s opening his mouth so widely despite all the water flowing into it. He¡¯s either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. ¡°Meaning, whether it¡¯s Marcis, Yugrasia or Mercadia, whoever pulled this on us, as a sword swinger I can do absolutely nothing!¡± ¡°Damn it, this sunbae¡¯s screwed!¡± Hahaha! I¡¯m trying to teach this young¡¯un the truth that it¡¯s easy if you give up, but as you¡¯d expect, my lively junior doesn¡¯t seem to get it. ¡°For the sake of Arucia¡¯s victory I will not give¡­ uuuhhk?!¡± ¡°Ah, sorry!¡± But that determined voice could no longer be heard after a girl in Yugrasia uniform appeared at high speed and ran him over with her shark mount. ¡°Junior? Junior? You dead?¡± But my underssman, sent flying far away, never resurfaced. Well, since casualties were automatically teleported out he probably wasn¡¯t dead. ¡°I want to hurry up and get summoned out as well¡­¡± As time went on, the current and the water level did continue to drop, but it still didn¡¯t seem like I could do anything about it. ¡°Ahhh~ I can see the pres going nuts already.¡± As I saw a turtle swim by with another Yugrasia student on its¡¯ back, it became clear to me just which school was the one to pull off this insanity. That is, this event, was winner Yugrasia. Who knows what sort of fit that the pres, who once had a crush on the vice-pres would throw at me if we lost to Yugrasia again¡­ But in the end, I heard nothing from the president. Because that day, Yugrasia won every single event. *** [What is going on?] [They¡¯ve brought out an incredible tactic!] The wall shattered, and the water flowed out. A massive amount of water produced by 90 students doing their best to wring out their mana to produce as much water as they could. As the water that waspressed to its limits was released, a giant tidal wave swept through thebyrinth. ¡°Really¡­ such an absolutely insane tactic¡­ incredible, Professor Nicerwin.¡± ¡°Well, the students have a very good understanding of water thanks to Professor Muam, after all.¡± You could say that this was all thanks to Professor Muam. After fighting again and again against none other than the Spirit King of Water, the students even went as far as to learn how to use magic to swim in the prison of water the Spirit King conjured up. The kids that could even swim in hell¡¯s river, the River Styx,(1) they were our Yugrasia students! We needed to use their advantages, but there were no water-based events in the imperial festival. Damn it all, if you looked at normal light novels, there¡¯s always a swimsuit scene to bait in male readers! A god hand illustrator¡¯s illustration! In full colour! And a two-page double spread to boot! But there¡¯s nothing like that in real life! Of course there wouldn¡¯t be any events that would have nobles stripping! So let¡¯s pull a Battle of Salsu(2) and wipe them all out with water! Was what I had in mind as I made it, and the results were more than satisfactory. [Ahhh! Someone has already cleared thebyrinth! And of course first ce is Yugrasia!] [Second ce is in, and it¡¯s another Yugrasia student!] [Hang on, are there any students alive in there aside from Yugrasia students?] [ording to the Labyrinth event administrators, they are all being treated in the healing tents.] Riding on the giant sh flood that 90 students created, a minority of the students with summons that could move quickly in water, followed the water flow out towards the exit. A very simple yet highly effective way to im first ce! ¡°And with this, the winners of all five events today have been decided.¡± ¡°Yes, although they were all from our school.¡± They say that it¡¯s not over til it¡¯s over, and if we won every single event on Day 1 they could afford to be happy, but the teachers¡¯ reactions were muted. No, some teachers were actually disappointed! ¡°It seems the kids are taking their opponents too lightly.¡± ¡°Although in reality the majority of them are easy pickings, but to think they¡¯d fight that poorly¡­¡± ¡°How disappointing.¡± There were limits to how many events a single student could participate in in a day. And because of that, sending your aces out when you had to im victory was obvious. Even if it was just the first day, with few points on the line, in order to push for the initiative in morale, each academy sent out their strongest students, and thus a few of our weaker students lost to other schools. But that didn¡¯t mean that our academy¡¯s students did poorly. Just that the enemies were stronger. ¡°This isn¡¯t good¡­ Hey Muamy, you reckon we should tell the kids that if they¡¯re gonna perform this badly then we¡¯re keeping the night study even if they win the imperial festival?¡± ¡°So do you want to make good on that threat, and have the students make good on your life, Professor Harian?¡± I¡¯d just made them do night study for half a year, I have no idea what she expects of them. -Whaddaya mean you dunno? This is all th¡¯ academy environment that owner set up! Since the surroundings are all insane, of course the teachers¡¯re gonna all go nuts, ya? -Hm? I have no clue what you¡¯re talking about. Just where else would you find a teacher that cared for his students as much as I did, is this thing just insulting me. -Insulting? This is fact! The kids that lost today are probs getting yelled at rite now? Owner know how hardcore the kids got cuz a¡¯ you! -Naahh, surely not¡­ There was a kid that made an unbelievableeback, and another that mped onto his opponent that was way stronger than he was, and drained him out of all his stamina. It was obvious that they all did their very best in this event, would they actually yell at them just for losing? And just as I exited the teachers¡¯ marquee and headed over to the students¡¯ one. ¡°You all wanna die?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±We¡¯re sorry!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± -Ya see? As I opened the entrance p, I saw tens of students with their heads bowed into the ground and a weight on each of their backs. ¡°Ah, Professor Nicerwin.¡± And with a face as if nothing was wrong despite a scene of school violence being caught red-handed by a teacher, the one that greeted me was Karen, one of the vice-presidents. ¡°What, is this, Miss Karen?¡± ¡°We were just disciplining the losing trash¡­ I mean, the students a bit.¡± It doesn¡¯t seem at all like discipline to me¡­ not even the army does it this way nowadays? ¡°And so¡­ please let it end on our end. There are events tomorrow as well, it would be too much for them if Professor Nicerwin punished them as well.¡± Eh, no, I just came to praise you for doing a good job, why do they think I¡¯m here to punish them? -Well ¡®course that¡¯s cuz a¡¯ owner¡¯s normal antics! -What the heck did I do! -Lookit where all those poor students¡¯re lookin¡¯ at with their heads in the ground! They¡¯re all staring at ya, owner! -It, it can¡¯t be! But those nervous gazes as if the kids were thinking exactly what Karen had said brought an extreme sense of nervousness to me. What, wuzzis? What should I do? -Th, these kids aren¡¯t looking at me, they¡¯re looking at you! Y, yes, that it! There¡¯s no way that they¡¯d be that scared of me! -Yeah, right. If I¡¯m the devil, owner¡¯s practically the evil god¡¯s avatar, yanno? No matter how ya spin it, owner¡¯s a higher tier viin than I am! -I¡¯m not going to deny that I¡¯m a viin, but this was all the result of me doing my best as a teacher! -And th¡¯ end result a¡¯ dat was that the kids studied in a hellgate! This goddess Arcadia can guarantee! Owner¡¯s scarier to the kids than the evil god! To think that I would hear those words from this thing! ¡°You can stop now.¡± ¡°No, we are all loser trash! We need to be punished more!¡± It seemed that they were looking at me as if they feared something, now just why are they doing this to me. Weren¡¯t they exactly like my old disciples back in the evil organization when I told them training was over for the day? What on earth would make them so nervous and scared? ¡°That¡¯s what they¡¯re saying, so I will punish them with due diligence.¡± Mmm. Even though Karen said so, it¡¯s still not a good look even if she is the vice-president. No, on the contrary it¡¯s worse because she is the vice-president. If the teachers were the ones to punish them, it could be seen as the whip of love to make them work harder, but being punished by student peers inside the academy can appear as an irrationality inside the inner workings of the school. This is the middle of the capital where a parent coulde charging in without notice. Even though they¡¯re the ones that want to be punished, there¡¯s no way in hell the parents would believe it. No, if they did believe it, then that would mean that their children were full of the M attribute, so they wouldn¡¯t want to believe it. This leaves me with no choice. For only the future of the academy, I need to revert these perverts that seek punishment on their own. -Go, batmon! -It¡¯s Aru time~(3) ¡°Weawwy? Dat¡¯s a good mindset to have. Den can I punish ya?¡± ¡°Now that we think of it, we think we fought quite well.¡± ¡°Yes, we did! Yes!¡± The bat waved her hand at the students as they immediately lifted their heads and filed out in quick time. ¡°If ya lose tomorrow as well then imma really punish ya kids? Ya know I¡¯ve got weally good memory, rite? I memorised all ya faces!¡± ¡°Wuoooooooooohh!¡± ¡°Train, train!¡± ¡°No matter whether we live or die tomorrow, we will win! We must win!¡± Today¡¯s losers left emanating a killing aura. And the next day. They brought back a truly overwhelming victory for Yugrasia. Chapter 81 RATH 81 TL: Eevee 10. We came, we saw, we won (6) #12 Their story: Ria el Nermia¡¯s story. I actually was worried about the threat of Yugrasia. But the perpetual third ce, and if you excluded Mercaria which had no fighting power to speak of, Yugrasia was in all honesty deadst among thebat-orientated schools, and their reputation was worse than I had ever imagined. I did my hardest to exin the threat of Yugrasia to the student council and told them to prepare against them, but if you took it positively I was simply thorough, or in other words, an annoying first year, whose words fell on deaf ears. And the result of that, was Yugrasia sweeping through every single one of the imperial festival¡¯s events right from Day 1. ¡°But still, that they¡¯d bring out the empire¡¯s youngest ever swordsmaster in the imperial festival¡­¡± The being called a swordsmaster was just a single person, but you could never treat one as just that. They were monsters that could destroy your average brigade all by themselves. Unlike magicians or battlemages, whose fighting abilities dropped noticeably when they ran out of mana, swordsmasters could keep on moving even if they ran out of mana, as long as they had a sword in their hands. They were the symbol of victory for an ally, and fear for enemies. And that being was our enemy. ¡°If it¡¯s the Letia House¡¯s Lady Aris¡­ Since she¡¯s 17 now, that¡¯s almost an entire year faster than the Areista House¡¯s Sword Princess.¡± The Four Great Academies of the empire were open to anyone under the age of 20. They were famous schools, and since there were also many rejected applicants, people even made multiple attempts to attend one of them. Even so, the majority of nobles enrolled at age 16, 17, and it wasn¡¯t like there weren¡¯t people like me who enrolled early at 15 years of age. Even if one was younger, if you had the talent to be epted, then you had the right to attend, that was the kind of ce the Four Great Academies were. But still, even so. With a single exception, Archduke Heein Run Zearr from the Sword Academy, Arucia, never had a swordmaster emerged among any student still studying at the academies. And even that Archduke Zearr achieved that peak at the age of 23, as a fourth year on the verge of graduation. A first year student, a teenager at that, bing a swordsmaster is unprecedented in the history of the entire continent. The only simr case, was the former youngest swordsmaster, the Sword Princess. But even the Sword Princess did not create that result with the status of a student, but as the Imperial Princess¡¯s personal bodyguard, while receiving all sorts of benefits. How was it that a student, and from the summoner¡¯s school of all things, ended up bing a swordsmaster? And a god-ss summoner at that? I have to fight three more, no four more years against a swordsmaster? ¡°This is actually¡­¡± -Are you having fun, owner? ¡°Of course.¡± To be honest, I was far, far too disappointed. No matter that I hade to the academy to avoid Mother¡¯s pressure on me to get married, but I had high expectations for the four schools called the pirs of the empire, or the empire¡¯s future. But the reality was, a pathetic level of education that couldn¡¯t evenpare to the empire¡¯s enemy that was an evil organization. When I looked at the children of nobility creating and scrapping over political factions instead of actually learning anything, I started to seriously wonder just why Howling couldn¡¯t beat the empire. Although of course those worries vanished instantly when I thought of the instructor¡¯s disciples. And so as I lived day after day in disappointment without any stimtion, people who could excite me finally appeared, how could I not be happy about that! -Owner, I¡¯m asking you seriously but are you a pervert? You¡¯re enjoying suffering hardship? ¡°They say that you can¡¯t move forward without trials and tribtions, didn¡¯t the instructor tell us that?¡± -So. When owner had the trial and tribtion called the bat, did you move forward? ¡°Sometimes you have to retreat backwards in order to advance forwards!¡± -Though you wouldn¡¯t be saying that if you didn¡¯t use me as a sacrifice for said retreat! How noisy. Sometimes a small sacrifice is needed for the greater good. He was simply the throwaw- I mean, emotional sacrifice to help his allies retreat. Although, I was actually kind of sorry for doing that to him as well. Because the thing called the bat, was that sort of thing. ¡°Yes, it was the bat. I grew up while getting hit by the bat. Even if the enemy is a swordsmaster, the fear of death we experienced is different!¡± But, the next day. Apletely different turn of events unfoldedpared to what I had expected. ¡°Kaaaahhhhhhgh! Did you think! This was all it would take to stop me!¡± ¡°Kahahahahaha! Was this all that Marcis¡¯ greatest genius had to offer!¡± ¡°Wha, what the?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but show a shocked expression, unlike my normal self. The n was, that over the week-long period of the imperial festival, I would start making an appearance in the events from Day 3 onwards. Even if we had healers, they couldn¡¯t alleviate the mental stress. For the first two days where each event was only worth 1 point, Marcis would use them mostly to scout out the enemy, and save my strength for future matches. But on Day 1, we lost so overwhelmingly, I had to start participating a full day earlier than we expected, and that event was Capture the g. Six people made up a single group to knock over the enemy¡¯s g. Out of the six events on Day 2, this was the only event worth 2 points. To earn those 2 points I also participated, and we destroyed teams from Mercaria and Arucia. And in the quarterfinals I ended up meeting a team from Yugrasia for the first time. But the opponents were allmon no-names. And as you¡¯d expect from non-famous students, all they did was summon their summoned beasts and charge in, and I easily knocked them down. Afterwards I froze their hands and feet with ice magic, and just as I reached my hand out to grab their g! There was a boom! apanied by a dreadful cackling. And as I saw the gleams in the eyes of the two people who had somehow managed totch onto my ankles, a frigid shiver ran down my spine. ¡°They, they attacked their own hands and feet?!¡± I heard it was amon thing on the battlefield. When all the healers were dead, people that were bleeding out cauterized their own wounds with fire magic. Or when their bodies were imprisoned with ice magic, they would burn their own bodies with fire magic. But that was a battlefield with lives on the line. Losing a part of your body or some pain was a worthwhile trade for your life. But, this was the imperial festival. Even if each respective academy¡¯s futures and profits were on the line, a student sacrificing a body part to escape was simply unfathomable. ¡°Wait no, why isn¡¯t the return magic responding? If it¡¯s that much damage that should be way more than enough for them to be called back?!¡± The magic tool, that once the wearer suffered a certain degree of pain or danger, would automatically teleport them to the healing tents! If you blew up your own hand, then surely that would be enough pain to teleport you to the healers? ¡°Fufufu, no matter how much of a genius you are, as I thought, you¡¯re still a brat.¡± ¡°Did you think that we, the students of Yugrasia, that fought against the silver devil! Would withdraw with just this tiny bit of pain!¡± ¡°Pain? Did something hurt? I thought a mosquito bit my arm?¡± ¡°Same here. The mosquitoes are making my arm itch.¡± ¡°They¡¯re insane¡­¡± It was an explosion big enough to tear off parts of their uniform, which had exceptionally good defense enchantments on them. Their arms were burnt enough that if you listened carefully, you could still hear the sizzling of burnt flesh. If there was someone in that state who could say that it was but a mosquito bite, you could not call them normal by any means. They¡¯re mad. These humans are all well and thoroughly insane. ¡°We actually went and lost yesterday.¡± ¡°If we lose today as well, all we have left is to face off against the devil.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather sell my soul to another devil and win instead, I can¡¯t fight against the silver devil!¡± ¡°Uuuhg?¡± As I looked at those desperate shouts and deranged eyes. I felt that emotion for the first time since I left the organization. ¡®S, scary¡­¡¯ The emotion named fear! ¡®I need to dodge!¡¯ The enemy is not strong. They are definitely weaker than I am. But I never thought, even once, that I could beat them. This was a human¡¯s instinct. Far beyond logic and emotion, pure, simple instinct was screaming at me to get away from here as far as possible. As my instincts decreed, I made haste to backstep as quickly as I could, but the two people that each had their hands on my ankles seemed to be having none of it. ¡°Where¡­ do you think¡­ you¡¯re going.¡± ¡°You need to fall here for us.¡± My ankles were gripped so tightly it actually hurt. This was the first time I¡¯d seen someone this tenacious since No.1000¡¯s desire to eat. ¡°Hiik! I, I¡¯ll just be on my way¡­¡± ¡°Heheheh! So it¡¯s finally our turn to use this line!¡± ¡°Although it was always bullshit whenever Professor Nicerwin said it, but this situation actually reminds me of it!¡± ¡°Ugh? You¡¯re actually freezing your hands to my ankles?!¡± Their magics activated as they said some weird things. The cold air that emanated from their hands bound my ankles and their arms together with ice. ¡°¡±You cane in whenever you want, but not when you leave!¡±¡± With those words, the two people¡¯s arms and my ankles became linked. ¡°Kill them, Surtr!¡± Killing was strictly prohibited in the imperial festival. But right now, I might as well have lost half my reasoning. ¡°Calm down, owner. Even if they were to bind owner, they froze their own arms in the process! They froze a part of their own bodies as well, of course they would have made it weak! If it¡¯s my fire¡­ it, it¡¯s not melting?¡± Due to our unequal contract, Surtr couldn¡¯t harm me, his master, and so he tried to use his mes to melt the ice around my ankles, but the ice didn¡¯t melt. ¡°Freeze, freeze, and freeze ever more!¡± ¡°Even if my hands may fracture and shatter, may the ice melt never again!¡± ¡°These crazy motherfuckers?!¡± ¡°Just kill them all already!¡± It¡¯s cold. I¡¯m losing sensation in my legs from my ankles downwards. But if it were these situations, I¡¯d experienced these a number of times with the instructor¡¯s training from hell. But, the only other time where I¡¯d felt this degree of fanaticism was when Sia, my sunbae in the organization, talked about the instructor. ¡®In, incredible, instructor!¡± How did the instructor, no, Sir Instructor manage to endure this degree of fanatic attachment? As opposed to my respect for the instructor which was climbing ever higher, I was losing more and more feeling in my ankles. ¡°I don¡¯t know! I seriously don¡¯t know!¡± At this point I¡¯d much rather take some giant attack and get teleported back to the healers, but I did not want to spend a moment longer in thepany of these people who were grinning like madmen while attached to my ankles. ¡°Burn, burn, burn and burn again!¡± They are weak. But, they are more fearsome than any other. If I didn¡¯t kill them first, they could kill me! So I had to kill them first. ¡°Burn, burn even more! Burn everything!¡± ¡°Owner, it¡¯s too dangerous!¡± I closed my eyes, and what I brought up in my mind¡¯s eye was the giant¡¯s sword that burned down an entire world. ¡°And so, burn, burn, burn, cleanse the entire world!¡± The small ember that lit up in my hand, began to take a cohesive form. ¡°L?vateinn!¡± And the form the mes took was that of a giant sword. Surtr¡¯s strongest weapon, the de that ended an era of mythology! ¡°Oooh! Pretty impressive?¡± ¡°So what, it won¡¯t have any effect on the silver devil anyway.¡± ¡°Well, true.¡± This isn¡¯t the true L?vateinn. My contract with Surtr isn¡¯t fair enough for me to bring out the true L?vateinn. Even so, this is still a demonic weapon that borrowed L?vateinn¡¯s power. Despite the fact that I brought out a weapon that could rival a divine weapon, my two opponents were far too calm. ¡°This is yourst chance. If you undo your magic now, your hands will stay attached to your wrists.¡± It wasn¡¯t that Surtr couldn¡¯t melt the ice with his power. No matter how weakened he was, the reason that an archdevil Surtr couldn¡¯t destroy this ice was due to his contract that he couldn¡¯t damage my body. But, that didn¡¯t matter if I used this weapon personally. ¡°How frightening. But.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it toote?¡± ¡°Wh¡­ at?¡± What I fleetingly felt then was undoubtedly killing intent. Even if we were foes, there was only one ce in this entire student festival that emanated killing intent! ¡°Diiiiiieeeeee!¡± ¡°Finish it!¡± What came charging in were a giant grey wolf, and a mid-rank wind elemental. ¡°Damn it!¡± I instantly cut the grey wolf with L?vateinn, and burned the wind elemental with fire. ¡°Damn it¡­¡± This is bad. Including me, all of the Marcis students in this round were all rated the greatest among the current crop of Marcis students. In contrast, our enemies were a no-name team without a single famous name in sight. We were careless because of that. If I was reduced to this state because of just two people. The other Marcis students that might as well be flowers blooming in greenhouses won¡¯t stand a chance against these madmen! ¡°Fufufu. I lost yesterday, so now if I lose to another academy, my life is no longer mine to forfeit.¡± ¡°Hahaha. Same here. Well, to be urate, our entire team is.¡± Each and every one of the Yugrasia students that appeared were in tatters. But, out of the six original members of their team, not a single person had dropped out. Meaning. ¡°So, if we beat you¡­¡± ¡°The next round is against Yugrasia so we don¡¯t need to meet the silver devil!¡± ¡°So that we can live, die!¡± ¡°Block it, Surtr!¡± Not a single one of them could be described as normal in any shape or form. Like an ancient warrior, where before battles they would be fed a drug that turned them all into berserkers. Unrelenting attacks that cared not for their allies. In the middle of the melee where it would not have been odd for my enemies to be teleported to the healers due to L?vateinn¡¯s mes, in the end, I was defeated. Chapter 82 RATH 82 TL: Eevee 10. We came, we saw, we won (7) From inside the light of the magic, I heard a voice that seemingly couldn¡¯t understand. [Just¡­ why?] ¡°Waaahh¡­ they actuawwy won.¡± ¡°I think they really are insane.¡± What was shown to us on the live broadcast, was something not even I could ever have imagined. [Lady Nermia is ouutt!] [Marcis¡¯s secret weapon, the genius of the Nermia family, Lady Ria has been defeated!] [And with that, Semi-final A has been confirmed as Yugrasia vs Yugrasia!] [And we have the unbelievable situation where even the B semi-final is a Yugrasia vs Yugrasia matchup!] That No.17, which was deemed a monster in Howling, the evil organization, lost. And not even against Nerkia or Aris, or even Risen or any of the student council members, but to ordinary students. ¡°Dey absolutely nuts¡­ ta be honest with ya, when they froze their hands along with her ankles even I flinched as well!¡± ¡°To think they¡¯d do something even evil organizations don¡¯t do nowadays¡­¡± Sacrificing yourself to kill the enemy, or to otherwise render them incapable of furtherbat. These mutually assured destruction tactics were once used very frequently by viins against heroes or their ilk in the past, but it is hard to see nowadays from modern viins who are very sensitive to their own interests. Heck, you can even tell by modern manga. In the past, 5ku(1) who sacrificed himself and got shot by a Li*** of Death(2) along with his brother and died for the sake of the world, but as time went on and he evolved into 6ku and used the Earth as the stake to fight against gxy-destroying people, it¡¯s a very urate reflection of how a pure human loses oneself to one¡¯s desires. And so, oh supreme leader F***za-sama,(3) please kill 6ku. ASAP! ¡°Owner, I got no idea whacha thinking of, but ya not gonna check the other event results?¡± ¡°No point, there¡¯s nothing we could possibly lose in other than this event.¡± The events in the first half of the imperial festival are small-scale events suitable for showing off individual prowess. Even the numbers participating per event are small, five to seven, tops. Compared to the siege-type events on thest day where every single student participates, it¡¯s easy to urately analyse the enemy¡¯s power levels. Meaning, I didn¡¯t even need to bother looking at how the other events went. With the remainder¡¯s abilities, there¡¯s no way they could stop Yugrasia¡¯s victory. ¡°But can¡¯t there be sum weal plot twist thatpletely tilts owner¡¯s mental off the ends of the earth?¡± ¡°And on the flipside, do you think anyone from other schools could fight like our kids just now?¡± ¡°Nup.¡± No matter how much I thought about it, Marcis¡¯s lineup was overwhelmingly stacked in thisst match. My former disciple, four members of the student council, and thest member was also a nicknamed famous student. Compared to them, our team was simply a gathering of yesterday¡¯s losers. Going by pure firepower alone, it wouldn¡¯t be odd for my ex-disciple to just summon Surtr and go on a 1v6 massacre. But she made three critical errors. Firstly, she didn¡¯t finish them off with her first attack. Even when her legs were tied down, if she¡¯d continued attacking she would have been able to win before she was summoned out. Secondly, she was too flustered when her ankles were caught. I¡¯m sure I told her that you can¡¯t just reveal your emotions like that in life. To be honest the looks on our students¡¯ faces were kinda ¡®ehhh¡¯ even from my point of view, but even so, you can¡¯t lose yourposure that openly. And finally, she didn¡¯t attack immediately even after summoning L?vateinn. This, if only this I drilled into them over and over again in the organization! If you have the time to kindly exin then just do it! Act first, reportter! Isn¡¯t that the basics ofbat! Don¡¯t they say that the ability to listen is more important than the ability to talk? When a protagonist is surprised by a viin¡¯s new attack and says ¡°how?¡± then I can guarantee out of the ones that reply ¡°since you¡¯re going to die anyway, I will tell you as a parting gift!¡± I have never seen any of them survive. ¡°But we won cuz ¡®a that. Innt that good?¡± ¡°That it is. But, seeing my ex-disciple do something that stupid, I¡¯m disappointed. Would you say that looking back, I was too weak on them?¡± ¡°Owner, I¡¯m being serious here, if you run the kids¡¯ education any harder than this, they¡¯re going to kill themselves?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Whenever they feel like suicide I can just send you out.¡± ¡°Just whaddaya think I am, owner?!¡± ¡°An all-purpose stick that can solve every problem under the sun.¡± ¡°And ya dam rite! The one that can do anything and everything, that is this goddess Arcadia¡¯s powah!¡± Although the stick turned into a goddess somewhere down the line, it¡¯s true that after this thing waspleted, I did solve all my problems with it. ¡°Yep! Well, leave it ta me! This Lady Aru will treat all the bad kiddies who¡¯ve lost the will to live!¡± Very good, you sound as reliable as Racoon man, hero of justice.(4) ¡°Now, the moment the students lose, I have a reason to raise the difficulty of the academy even higher!¡± #13 Their story: Ria el Nermia¡¯s story. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a white ceiling. ¡°I lost¡­¡± As I stared nkly at the ceiling, I listened to the background sounds of my surroundings. This was the treatment center for the imperial festival. I was here because I lost to the Yugrasia students. ¡°I lost. And to students whose names weren¡¯t even well-known. I lost.¡± -Owner. Those were not students. They are lunatics. You don¡¯t need to beat yourself up over it. ¡°No, I need to. I didn¡¯t even lose to people stronger than me, they were weaker than me. And even before we started fighting, I lost to their pressure, and was scared.¡± I prided myself on having been trained beyond human limits in the organization. I experienced the imperial magic bombardment from the very beginning, and the moment I escaped I was put through all sorts of different training regimes without a moment¡¯s rest. Even when it was just No.1, No.1000 and I left, we were trained to survive at high altitudes, the middle of the ocean, a desert, all sorts of different biomes you¡¯d be hard-pressed to encounter in the empire. And as for the maze that the instructor created, to survive while getting the living daylights beaten out of us by the bat-wielding ex-disciple of the instructor, no, to avoid getting beaten by the bat, we tried our hardest to survive. When youpared my life now to what it was back then, right now is the much better environment. From my bed being wherever I put my head down, to the luxurious bed I was lying in now. From an environment where I fought tooth and nail against my cohorts just to eat, to where I could eat anything I wanted, whenever I wanted. From an environment where I wasn¡¯t even treated like a human, to a life where I was respected by all as a daughter of a prestigious noble family. ¡°I¡­ have gotten weak.¡± This wasn¡¯t a matter of skill. In such an overwhelmingly good environment, my mental fortitude had gotten far, far too weak. ¡°If it was me from two years ago, I could definitely have beaten them.¡± If it was the me from two years ago. When the two of them had fallen, clutching onto my ankles, I would have ended them right then and there. I hit them with an attack an ordinary person wouldn¡¯t have gotten back up from, but an unordinary person could. What if my enemy had been No.1? What if my enemy had been No.1000, whose food was on the line? I would definitely have broken both their legs, both their arms, and even that wouldn¡¯t reassure me enough so I¡¯d shackle them with magic-restraining cuffs, and put down a magic formation over them as well. But I didn¡¯t do any of that. In a corner of my heart, the feeling that this ce was different from what I had experienced made me weak. No, to be urate, it made me conceited. ¡°Yugrasia is different from the other people on the outside that I knew. Those people, are the same as me. They were all people that had something they feared worse than death.¡± -Although I don¡¯t want to believe that¡­ As the wooden bat was to me, something simr also resided in Yugrasia. When I thought over it, they did not fear losing in itself. They feared that after they lost, they would meet with this so-called silver devil. ¡°In that case, I will also return to what I used to be!¡± I¡¯d already shown off enough of my pathetic side. If the instructor could see me now, he¡¯d probably be thinking that his education methods up till now had been too lenient, and was deliberating over it. And he would have shown me some other hell I had yet to experience. Once again, I will revert to myself of the past. Myself of the days back when I would struggle and il purely to survive. Myself of the days back when I fought with my life on the line, all for the sake of a single meal! And the next day. Three days into the imperial festival, for the first time, I managed to steal away a victory from Yugrasia. #14 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story. ¡°Damn it¡­¡± Day 3 of the imperial festival. Our goal of a total victory was shattered. And moreover, with the loss of our most trustworthy card, Lady Aris! [This, Young Lady Nermiaaaa!] [Incredible, simply incredible! We knew that she was a daughter of the Nermia family, a long-established family of magicians, but who knew how splendid her swordsmanship was!] [And she¡¯s also the master of the archdevil Surtr, a summon that won¡¯t fall behind to Lady Aris¡¯s!] [And with this, three days into the imperial festival, the undefeated Yugrasia have finally recorded their first loss!] [Who knew she¡¯d move into closebat against a swordsmaster?!] [With closebat skills better than most battlemages, top-ss firepower even amongst magicians, and a splendid ability to be able to utilise both skillsets! Who could possibly think of Young Lady Nermia as just a fifteen year-old girl?] I honestly didn¡¯t think of defeat. Just yesterday, the youngdy of the Nermia family had lost to a bunch of third-year Yugrasia students, students that were considered some of the weakest among their cohort. Rumours had it that she was Marcis¡¯s secret weapon, but after yesterday¡¯s victory, we saw her as just another immature brat. Why had we forgotten? That she was someone who Professor Nicerwin personally approached to scout to Yugrasia on the grounds that he saw apititude for summoning in her! She, Young Lady Nermia,pletely changed in a signle day. No, to be urate, you could say that she showed her true colours. The moment we saw her fight, we realised. She was the same as us. Only those who had experienced hell, and struggled with their all, would have those eyes and actions. Compared to men, women were at a disadvantage in the imperial festival which was broadcasted around the entire empire. Becausepared to men, women have fewer freedoms in terms of their marriage. And especially among Marcis and (old)Yugrasia, where many noble girls enrolled, there were multiple cases where they forfeit winnable events to preserve their image. Not even a man of Arucia who trained in the sword, would roll around in the dirt to avoid enemy des out of their sense of pride, and yet she did it. Moreover, the areas on her uniform where Lady Aris¡¯s de had nicked her showed her wounds and soft white inner skin, yet she cared not one bit about any of it and charged right in. That was the appearance of a warrior who had ovee death, which was for some reason, familiar. Lady Aris was shocked momentarily by this revtion, and was immediately sucked into the Young Lady Nermia¡¯s pace, and eventually lost to her. ¡°That was amazing. Who knew that a magician would deliberately throw herself into a swordsmaster¡¯s range and duke it out with swords.¡± ¡°What¡¯s more amazing is her change overnight. She brought out Surtr¡¯s sword L?vateinn yesterday as well, but she didn¡¯t use it properly then, did she?¡± ¡°Yep, even if it was fake, it¡¯d still drawn upon the power of the original. You could die if something went wrong.¡± ¡°But this time, there was no sign of those weaknesses.¡± ¡°Was it because her opponent was Lady Aris? That she won¡¯t die because she¡¯s a swordsmaster?¡± ¡°You idiot, can¡¯t you read the mood? She¡¯spletely different from yesterday. She¡¯s definitely like us.¡± ¡°It is¡­ but how? That¡¯s impossible in Marcis which only has brats?¡± ¡°Does that mean that House Nermia trains them it feels like what we¡¯d gone through?¡± ¡°Her grandfather¡¯s one of the Lords of the Magic Tower so it could be on that side, too.¡± ¡°Damn it, that¡¯s the empire¡¯s high-ranking nobles for you! That¡¯s exactly what you¡¯d expect from the highest family among the Counts!¡± ¡°We truly were just frogs in the well. The outside world is full of monsters like the silver devil!¡± As I looked at the other students shiver in fear, I couldn¡¯t say anything. Because in all honesty I was scared too! ¡°Excuse me, pres¡­¡± ¡°Ah, Lady Siir.¡± As I felt the fear of the world, Lady Siir, who always apanied Lady Aris, approached me. ¡°President, I wish to visit Aris in the healer¡¯s tent, will it be alright?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, I¡¯lle with you.¡± Lady Aris had been hit point-nk by her enemy¡¯s lightning magic, and was sent to the healers. Checking on the injuries of one of our most powerful members was a matter of course for me as the student council president. And so after a few more student council members decided toe along and we approached the location where Lady Aris was. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave now.¡± Lady Siir, who, at the front, had been the first to open the door and enter, turned around and started running without looking back. ¡°Si, Siir? Siir!¡± Followed by Lady Aris¡¯s desperate pleas. m! ¡°You know what it was, right?¡± ¡°Yep, I do.¡± ¡°At least her healing¡¯s guaranteed.¡± The moment I heard that voice, I didn¡¯t even bother looking inside, and mmed the door shut immediately. ¡°Heeheehiit! Unni-ya! Now let¡¯s spend some sweet quality time, just the two of us!¡± ¡°N, Nooooooaoaoooooooo!¡± As we had expected, that person- no, devil had arrived before us and did exactly what we expected her to do, as she made it so that we could hear the screams that we heard so often in Yugrasia, at the healer¡¯s tents of the imperial festival as well. Chapter 83 RATH 83 TL: Eevee For those who missed the April Fool¡¯s chapter, have a read of it here.Do remember to leavements for that as well, NU nuked that joke chapter pretty quick. 10. We came, we saw, we won (8) #15 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s. story. The sword ki that zed like mes shed against a sword that was literally a me in and of itself. Although her swordsmanship skills are so unbelievably good you wouldn¡¯t imagine she was a magician, her basic stances are wrong. The way she moves her sword, is definitely that of someone who knows how to fight. It seemed that she¡¯d been taught by a very skilled swordsman, but apparently not for long. A year at least, five years at most. My enemy¡¯s movements were ones that knew the key elements of swordsmanship, but her body couldn¡¯t follow that knowledge through. ¡°Pierce, Lightning(À×¹â)¡± But none of that mattered. The enemy was a magician. A person who used magic, not a sword. You could say that it was bizarre that she was capable of a level of swordsmanship this high to begin with. ¡°Burn, freeze, ravage, judgement!¡± And after an exchange with her amazing sword skills, she quickly casted spells as if to prove that she was a magician. And moreover, the magics she were all casting consecutively were all of different elements. One would normally use the same element of magic to be able to retain a constant image in your mind in order to bring forth that element, yet despite casting different elements in session, she was not making a single mistake. ¡°Kuugh?¡± I dodged the fireball, tanked away the ice with my spear arm and cut down the wind de, but I couldn¡¯t avoid the final electric shock that was sent through the ground. -This child, she¡¯s fighting while predicting everything. Be careful, Aris! This isn¡¯t an ordinary enemy! -I know! The first thing she had done in the match was to freeze the ground. At first I thought she had been aiming for the moment where I would slip due to the unstable terrain. Let alone swords, the fact that the lower body is important in the use of literally every weapon is something everyone knows. And restricting that to create an advantageous situation was something I¡¯d been subject to numerous times in Yugrasia! Learning from my multiple experiences so far, I thought I could deal with it, but my opponent added lightning magic on top of that, and turned the situation into somethingpletely new. She used the iced-up ground to constantly send a weak but stable electric current through my feet. ¡°I¡¯m using too much mana.¡± Sword auras use an unbelievable amount of manapared to simple sword ki. Even if I coated just the tip of your spear in sword aura, the amount of mana that I used was just simply massive! And when Ibined that expenditure with what I used to protect myself against my opponent¡¯s lightning attacks, even my massive mana pool started to run dry. -Wouldn¡¯t it be better to switch back to using spear ki and going for an extended fight? -No, I can¡¯t hold out against L?vateinn with just spear ki alone. Her magic was bad enough to deal with, but L?vateinn, which was even tanking spear aura-infused attacks was making this battle very difficult for me. Especially. ¡®Why isn¡¯t the floor ice melting when that thing¡¯s radiating that much heat!¡¯ Every time spear and sword met, even at a distance I could feel my sweat evaporate in the heat the sword emanated, and yet it couldn¡¯t melt the ice on the ground at all. -That¡¯s a demonic de that set a world on fire. That¡¯s a weapon on par with a divine weapon. Setting its attack targets ording to the wielder¡¯s will is a simple task for it. Aris, you don¡¯t turn to stone yourself when you use my shield, now do you? -That¡¯s not reassuring at all though?! The goddess¡¯s words that she said as if it was obvious, was not at all helpful. Is it just me in feeling that this goddess is a lot more useless than I thought she was? -Aris, I think I felt a very sphemous intent from you just now¡­ above you! ¡°Haap!¡± ¡°Kuaaaahhhhgh!¡± The fire giant screamed as he was cleaved into two parts at the waist, and was desummoned. But at the same time, a small wound was added to my own nk. ¡°Kgghh.¡± ¡°So close.¡± Thatst attack was seriously meant to kill me. If I hadn¡¯t twisted away to the side at thest second, I could have been the one to get cut into two halves! And the only reason why only my side was injured was because I dodged, but my opponent unleashed wind des at my arms, legs, even my neck. ¡°Isn¡¯t the neck a bit too dangerous?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a swordsmaster, aren¡¯t you? You won¡¯t die just from that?¡± She smirked as she said in a emotionless voice. She was definitely not like this during yesterday¡¯s match, but it felt like she was apletely different person entirely. ¡°Do you have no intention of maintaining etiquette as a noble?¡± I ranked higher than her in both age and title, and I rebuked her oh-so-cid words, but my opponent simply smiled. ¡°You talk too much. You think I don¡¯t know you¡¯re trying to heal up?¡± ¡°Tch!¡± And she immediately continued on her offensive! I tried to stall for time with conversation, but my opponent would not allow it. -I can smell the scent of Yugrasia from that child! -I don¡¯t know what that scent might smell like, but for some reason I think I understand! My opponent¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t befit someone who belonged to the Nermia family, one of the famous names in the empire in terms of magical prowess. Unlike the Nermia dogma which focused on a single overwhelming attack, her attacks focused on swift counter-strikes and closebat with L?vateinn. And her skillful use of her summon, archdevil Surtr, as a shield, or using him as a disposable tool in order tond a single effective attack felt like fighting a viin you might see in novels or old fairy tales. Moreover. ¡°Haap!¡± An unavoidable attack. And yet my opponent avoided it. ¡°What the¡­¡± Before I was a martial artist, before I was a noble, I was first a woman. And so, I have never rolled around on the ground to evade attacks except against the silver devil. Moreover, this was the imperial festival. This was being broadcasted across the entire empire, and highlight reels from key events were even saved. And in that imperial festival, in front of everyone, she showed herself rolling head-first on the ground to avoid my spear! ¡°Do you have no pride?¡± ¡°Can pride fill your belly?¡± She coldly spat out those words with a smile, without even bothering to dust off the dirt on her hair. ¡°What the?!¡± But my opponent didn¡¯t stop attacking even in the middle of a conversation. A frigid gust instantly swept through the battlefield. Even if, supposedly skilled magicians or battlemages could activate their magic regardless of what they actually said, and if even more skilled, could omit the chant entirely, and activate magic solely with their willpower! But what kind of keyword was [Can pride fill your belly?] for such arge-scale spell! ¡°Just this much¡­!¡± I barely cleared away the frosty winds, when I saw a sword of fire flying towards my face. ¡°Are you actually trying to kill me?¡± That wasn¡¯t a magic attack. That was the fire sword, L?vateinn she¡¯d been wielding this entire time, and she threw it at my face! ¡°Aegis!¡± ¡°Surtr!¡± The moment I quickly summoned the goddess¡¯s shield to block the L?vateinn toss, a giant shadow appeared above my head. ¡°You asshole owneeeerrrr!¡± Unlike his appearance, the giant that was falling with his entire body wreathed in fire gave me the impression of a moth diving into mes. ¡°Don¡¯t make meugh!¡± I clutched onto Aegis with my right hand, and threw my spear high into the sky with my left. ¡°Kuuwughh!¡± The fire giant screamed as he was pierced by a spear coated in spear aura. And at the same time, I could feel the power of L?vateinn weaken on the opposite side of my shield. ¡°This is the end!¡± No matter how fast she could resummon, the fire giant was out ofmission for the forseeable future. And since she¡¯d also throw L?vateinn, right now she was empty-handed! If I couldnd this attack then I could finish her off in a single¡­ ¡°Mm. this is the end.¡± ¡°Uhk!¡± But before that, a powerful electric shock spread through my entire body! ¡°Wh¡­ what?¡± With movements that made me doubt her status as a magician, she closed the distance between us and fired off lightning magic at point-nk range. ¡°And again.¡± ¡°Krrrghh!¡± -A, Aris! Rumours had it that apparently there were apparently battlemages trained and specializing in assassination, was this what it felt like to fight one of them. She threw L?vateinn to make me lift up my shield and cover my own line of sight, and summoned her fire giant to make me look upwards. While my attention was diverted, she moved into my blind spot and hit me with lightning magic at point nk range. And even after that she didn¡¯t let her guard down, and kept on using lightning magic again and again. ¡°Kghhh¡­¡± The mostmon reason to use lightning magic, was to induce paralysis! My entire body was electrocuted, making it hard for me to even swing my spear properly! ¡°How long can you hold out, I wonder?¡± ¡°Uuhhhht!¡± I can¡¯t lose. This is the final. For the sake of Yugrasia¡¯s total victory, I cannot lose here¡­ ¡°You¡¯ve held out pretty well, but this is the end.¡± ¡°Guaaaahhhhk!¡± A powerful electric shock crashed into my body, strong enough to even make me, who was familiar with pain, scream out loud. And. ¡°Uwuuu¡­¡± When I opened my closed eyes, what I saw was a white ceiling. ¡°I lost?¡± An indescribable emotion flooded through my entire body. -Aris¡­ it¡¯s okay. ¡°Hrk¡­¡± I wanted to cry. We all thought that Yugrasia¡¯s total victory was all but a given, but I was the one to create that stain on our records. And in the event worth the most points out of the first three days as well. That, was far, far too infuriating. ¡°I could have won. She was strongpared to anyone from any academy! But I still had no reason to lose!¡± -But it didn¡¯t mean that you could definitely win, either. ¡°Yes, I know. But that¡¯s what¡¯s making me angrier! I¡­ I worked so hard for half a year, I struggled and iled and screamed to survive! But I still lost!¡± How long, how hard did I work, to avoid the silver devil? But I still lost. ¡°It¡¯s not fair. It¡¯s infuriating. It¡¯s the first time that losing made me this angry! To the point where I understand¡­ what it means to want to win, even if you have to sell your soul to the devil!¡± I was angry, so, so angry. I¡­ said something I should never, ever have said. -A, Aris! You can¡¯t say such things! The goddess shouted in a panic, but it was already toote. ¡°Those words, I heard ¡¯em loud ¡®n clear!¡± ¡°N, no!¡± The voice that came into my ears was that of a certain unforgettable devil¡¯s. ¡°Ya don¡¯t have ta turn me down. Owner said that if I went rite about nao then unni¡¯d be saying things like that, and he was rite!¡± When I turned my head, what came into my view was the silver devil,ing closer to me one step at a time with a bright smile on her face. ¡°Aris, is your body feeli¡­ huh?¡± And behind me, the door opened and the person I saw, was my bestie! ¡°S, Siir¡­ help¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see myself out.¡± Siir¡¯s eyes met mine once, then the silver devil¡¯s eyes once, and then she speedily left the room.¡± ¡°S, Siir? Siir!¡± I desperately called for Siir, but no reply came back. No, on the contrary, someone closed the door quickly enough for it to m shut ¡°Hello? Is there anyone there? Siir? Siir! Please! Is there anyone out there? I saw you behind Siir! Is it you, pres? Or someone else from the student council? Please take me away from here!¡± ¡°Heeheehiih! Unni-ya, no matter how ya beg or pwead, no one¡¯th gonnae! Let¡¯s spend some swee~eet wuvin¡¯ time, just the two of us!¡± ¡°N, noooooooo!¡± ¡°Ya said ya wanted to win even if ya sold ya soul to tha¡¯ devil!¡± ¡°This, this wasn¡¯t what I wanteeeeeeddd!¡± And so, as I felt the touch of the silver devil¡¯s fists for the first time in a while. I could swear to myself again, that I would never, ever lose again. Although for apletely different reasonpared to the beginning! Chapter 84 RATH 84 TL: Eevee 10. We came, we saw, we won (9) #16 Their story: A certain student council president(2)¡¯s story. Yugrasia had gone insane. ¡°Die! Die, all of you!¡± ¡°Oi, you crazy little shit! You have your allies here as well!¡± ¡°How is that my problem! All of you can go die! Getting knocked out by you lot is probably better for them than being done in by me either way!¡± We were nowhere near an ocean, yet a giant tidal wave swept us all away, regardless of friend or foe. ¡°It¡¯s a trap, idiots!¡± When it seemed like they¡¯d finally go down, they¡¯d forcibly explode their remaining mana and take at least one other person with them. ¡°Die, die, die!¡± ¡°W, wait a second? We really are going to die?¡± ¡°Lady Aris? Lady Aris? Listen to people when they¡¯re talking to you!¡± Lady Aris swung her spear with emotionless eyes. But a solid spear aura had formed on the tip of her spear. If any of us were to get hit by that, we¡¯re dead. ¡°Wh, what the heck is this¡­ no¡­ stop it! Nooo!¡± ¡°Heheheh, now. Despair, despair, and despair even more! Even though it¡¯s nothingpared to what we have to suffer through!¡± The Trickster even used mental attacks by pulling out all sorts of bizarre shit and traumatising the female students. ¡°Just what the hell do they all take the imperial festival for!¡± No matter how important performance at the imperial festival was for the Four Great Academies, there were lines that you simply shouldn¡¯t cross as a human. And yet they were all crossing that line far too easily. What was even scarier, though, was that they were actually staying within the rules of the imperial festival, albeit barely! A judge had alreadye down to intervene several times, before eventually deciding that there had been no breaches of the rules. We all felt that was so unfair that webed through the rules of the imperial festival, but Yugrasia had never actually cheated. Although each and every one of their cases were treading an extremely thin, borderline non-existent line! ¡°The next event is¡­¡± Everyone looked away from me. The first round of the next event had us up against Yugrasia from the very beginning. Since none of them had any decent results against Yugrasia, no one wanted to go up against Yugrasia. ¡°Everyone has to go up against them in the team events tomorrow anyway.¡± ¡°I, I¡¯ll do it tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yep, tomorrow.¡± ¡°So for today, let¡¯s have someone else¡­ ah! Let¡¯s use the first years as a sacr¡­. I mean, the first years need experience, after all!¡± ¡°Yep! I¡¯m a fourth year, so I¡¯m gone next year! What about letting the first years get some experience since they have to participate next year as well, pres?¡± Was it because that there were very few first years on the student council. These assholes without a conscience were wanting to sacrifice the first years. ¡°Will it be possible to win with the first years? The true beginning of our imperial festival isn¡¯t too far off! If we get a lot of points on the final day, we could even win the whole thing!¡± Bang! I mmed my fist down onto the scoreboard in front of me, and everyone flinched at the sound. Day 4 of the imperial festival. But the number of points we had didn¡¯t change. [Arucia: 0pt] [Marcis: 7pt] [Yugrasia: 34pt] [Mercaria: 0pt] ¡°Do you lot still want to avoid fighting even with this ridiculous losing margin?¡± At my words, everyone said at the same time. ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Yep, I get you.¡± Even I participated from Day 3. And I lost to a nameless first year student. ¡°I don¡¯t know whether they¡¯ve all been doped up on something, their style of charging in without regard for their own safety is a problem, but their individual skills are just way better than us, President.¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯re all insane. Five god-ss summoners out of the first years alone? Does that even make any sense to you? ¡°God-ss summoners are hard toe by even in the imperial armies, but there are five of them among their first years!¡± Starting with the goddess of war, Athena, the god of thunder, Thor. The evil god Azi Dahaka, said to be able to use a thousand magics, the emissary of the gods, Hermes. And even the god of fire Apollo! What¡¯s certain is that this amount of power can¡¯t possibly be concentrated in just a single academy! ¡°They¡¯ve gotten way too strong in a single year. Just what the heck happened?¡± ¡°Did the Yugrasia students really get that much stronger with the addition of just a single teacher, Professor Nicerwin?¡± ¡°No, their skills aside, isn¡¯t it weird that their personalities all changed?¡± ¡°Yeah, Professor Nicerwin is someone even the elves, famous as they are for their noble-mindedness, took in. They¡¯re learning from a person like him, there¡¯s no way he could be the reason they all went insane.¡± ¡°True.¡± Did that mean that Professor Nicerwin taught them the skills, and their personalities were raised by someone else?¡± ¡°Ah! Now that I think about it, I heard that they had some veteran army summoners go in to teach at Yugrasia.¡± ¡°That it! Then everything makes perfect sense!¡± ¡°As expected of the military, they can make people throw away their humanity for the sake of victory!¡± One by one, the pieces of the puzzle wereing together. Their skills were thanks to Professor Nicerwin¡¯s knowledge of summoning, and their fighting strategies were taught by the veteran soldiers that even fought in the Great War. If it were the imperial army¡¯s soldiers, famous for being strong and merciless towards their enemies, the way they charged in as if their lives were on the line made sense. ¡°But, what¡¯s this about a silver devil?¡± ¡°Did one of them make a contract with a devil or something? But that many people can¡¯t all make a contract at once, can they?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the thing that the Yugrasia kids¡¯re scared of?¡± ¡°Yeah, even against me they all stuck to me saying that death was better than the silver devil.¡± ¡°I heard even Lady Aris murmuring it, too.¡± ¡°Even Lady Aris? Even someone from the Ten Great Families is fearing it as well?¡± It seemed that all the pieces were falling into ce, bar that final piece. We couldn¡¯t understand just what the final keyword, the silver devil, was supposed to be. ¡°Fine, but still¡­ we are Arucia! The first and foremost out of the Four Great Academies!¡± ¡°Although we¡¯re inst ce right now.¡± ¡°To be precise, 0 points. Tying with Mercaria, 7 points behind Marcis. And a whopping 34 points behind Yugrasia.¡± ¡°Wow, they¡¯re almost five times ahead of 2nd ce Marcis.¡± ¡°And even there it¡¯s basically Young Lady Nermia basically winning everything by herself.¡± As I looked at the other students lose motivation again, I sighed. Unlike the beginning of the festival, everyone had no motivation at all. But I am Arucia¡¯s student council president. It is my duty to lead the students to do our best in the imperial festival. ¡°Alright. I will take point in tomorrow¡¯s matches! Is there anyone brave enough to face Yugrasia together with me?¡± At my shout, the others students chose to reply with silence. ¡°No¡­ one?¡± Nod nod. Everyone nodded their heads. ¡°Really?¡± Nod nod. Their expressions questioned why I was even asking. ¡°Oh,e on you guys!¡± And in the end, in every match where Yugrasia was concerned, we chose the members by drawing straws. #17 Their story: A certain viin¡¯s story. ¡°Damn it¡­¡± ¡°I think the two of us are the only ones left.¡± Even if it was the empire, there were still plenty of back alleyways where petty thieves did their work. And in one of those alleyways, two men were breathing heavily as they talked, dressed in clothes that if a certain Yugrasia teacher saw them, would say ¡°that¡¯s definitely someone from an evil organization like Howling!¡± ¡°Damn it, it was a perfect n¡­¡± ¡°To think the academy called Yugrasia would pull off something that insane¡­¡± These two were members of the Anti-empire army, while not all that famous, still had a long and distinguished history behind them! But right now, they were simply fugitives on the run from the imperial. Who knew the signal that would announce the beginning of our cause would be the signal that announced the empire of our existence¡­ ¡°But thanks to that we got a useful piece of information.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°The Imperial Crown Prince is currently suffering from an unknown illness.¡± ¡°What?!¡± At one man¡¯s words, the other shouted loudly as if he had forgotten for a moment that he was a fugitive. ¡°My mistake. Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes, it is a highly credible rumour. Apparently when the Crown Prince found out about our existence, he jumped for joy saying that he would have morepanions with him on the path to the underworld.¡± ¡°Is that so. It isn¡¯t like that the Crown Prince of the empire could be killed off by someone, after all.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The men who knew nothing about the fact that the Crown Prince¡¯s life was held at the whims of his older sister ingrained the fact that the Crown Prince was suffering from an unknown illness firmly into their heads. ¡°Then should we change our priority target from the Crown Prince, who¡¯s going to die anyway, to the Ignel nel Karuan, Loser of the North?¡± ¡°It seems we will have to. But Ignel nel Karuan is currently away training his army in the north, so it seems that it will be hard for us to touch him right now.¡± ¡°Indeed. And since the one who wouldn¡¯t give an inch to either of them, Atia nel Karuan, isn¡¯t in the empire right now either¡­¡± ¡°It seems we will have to stick to our original target of assassinating the emperor.¡± The two of them nodded, not realising that they were making a massive misunderstanding. ¡°But to do that.¡± ¡°We need to escape the encirclement of the empire and contact headquarters.¡± ¡°We will split up here.¡± ¡°Yes, understood.¡± The two people nodded and ran in opposite directions to each other. ¡°Kaaaagh!¡± But one of them didn¡¯t get very far before he was caught by his pursuers. ¡°D, damn it. You imperial dog!¡± ¡°Dog? I¡¯m not a dog?¡± ¡°You devils that would do anything and everything for your empire!¡± ¡°Empire¡­? I¡¯m just earning my keep for tasty meals?¡± The man thought this petite pursuer was not in their right mind. Butpared to how insane his opponent was, they were far too powerful. ¡°Anti-empire army, I am Marcis¡¯s Haeel Reia. I¡¯m going to have to borrow you, for my snacks this week.¡± ¡°Kgghh¡­ do you think I¡¯ll go down so easily, imperial dog!¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you¡­ I¡¯m not a dog.¡± And thus, unbeknownst to anyone, a fight broke out in a back alleyway of the empire. #18 Their story: A certain terminal patient¡¯s story. ¡°You can lift your head.¡± ¡°No, elder sister. I always liked bowing my head down.¡± Elder sister suddenly returned. No, she¡¯d given advance warning so it wasn¡¯t really sudden, but my heart wasn¡¯t ready for it! ¡°Can I take it to mean that you don¡¯t want to look into my face?¡± ¡°No, elder sister. How would I dare to not face my heavenly elder sister¡¯s countenance?¡± ¡°Then raise your head.¡± I¡¯m scared. In all honesty I am in no situation to look elder sister face to face directly. ¡°Yes!¡± But it¡¯s elder sister¡¯s orders. If I don¡¯t obey, I die. But I think I¡¯m going to die even if I do. I really do have no hope left. ¡°So, my brilliant little brother. Have you found Ast?¡± What I saw when I lifted my head was elder sister smiling brightly, and Sir Reia turning her face slightly sideways as if she couldn¡¯t bear to watch any more. Ah, as I thought, I¡¯m going to die. ¡°I¡­ have not managed to find him yet.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡®Then die.¡¯ It felt like I could hear elder sister¡¯s next words echo in my head. ¡°I found him.¡± ¡°Ye, yes?!¡± Those words made me doubt my ears for a second. ¡°You found him?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Elder sister¡¯s expression was that of someone who was very happy, and also very angry at the same time. ¡°And he was in a ce where I¡¯d never expected to find him, either.¡± ¡°Wh, where is it?¡± Right now I had ample cause to mobilise all the soldiers under mymand. Right now, elder sister was like a dragon whose reverse scale had been touched. If there was a way to get that dragon to slumber peacefully once again, I have to do everything I can to achieve it. If I don¡¯t, I worked so hard to be Crown Prince, but I¡¯m going to die. ¡°There.¡± ¡°West?¡± In the direction where elder sister¡¯s finger was pointing towards, I thought of the cities within the empire and the nations beyond the empire¡¯s borders. ¡°Nope, a bit closer.¡± ¡°Is he inside the empire?¡± ¡°Mm, but even closer than that.¡± ¡°Wh, where is he?¡± Despite having an extremely bad premonition of what was about to happen, I asked anyway, and the answer I got back was outrageous. ¡°Yugrasia.¡± ¡°What the hell?¡± I heard many things about the man named Ast, and met him in person a few times as well, and he was a crazy motherfucker more of a lunatic than rumours could ever hope to describe. Not anyone else, but my elder sister of all people was chasing after him, and he chose to hide away in one of the Four Great Academies, right in the shadow of the imperial pce! And he still hadn¡¯t gotten caught, either! ¡°He was ying teacher. Under the name Nicerwin Ain.¡± ¡°Nicerwin Ain, is that man Ast!¡± I can¡¯t not be horrified at this. Nicerwin Ain is a giant in the field of summoning, famous throughout the empire. Even I¡¯d heard the news that that person had gone into Yugrasia! ¡°That kind of person came to Yugrasia, and yet you didn¡¯t bother to check?¡± ¡°I, I was kind of busy¡­¡± More urately, I was running circles everywhere looking for traces of Ast, the man himself, so all I did was send a messenger with a letter of thanks. ¡°As I thought, I can no longer trust my little brother.¡± ¡°Hiiik!¡± Am I really going to die here? Since I missed him right under my nose I¡¯m really going to die? For a moment all sorts of thoughts rushed through my head. My father His Imperial Majesty was said to have be the emperor eating and drinking and making merry, I have no idea why my life must be at risk even despite bing Crown Prince. And so, as I was contemting over my final regrets. ¡°So, I will deal with this myself.¡± ¡°Sister, are you going to spare me?¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± At her expression that seemed to be genuinely deliberating, in the end I begged and pleaded and eventually convinced her to spare me on the grounds of my role in preventing Ast from noticing something amiss happening. Hooray! I¡¯m saved¡­ I¡¯m saved! Chapter 85 RATH 85 TL: Eevee 10. We came, we saw, we won (10) For some reason it feels like I just got dunked in a mud pool. ¡°Innit cuz the students¡¯re cussing owner out?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s normal. My ears don¡¯t even itch anymore.¡± It can¡¯t be helped. To begin with, the teachers hated most by students were the ones that were always the ones that were most proactive for them. The best teachers as a student are the ones that don¡¯t care no matter what you¡¯re doing! The teachers that don¡¯t yell at you to cut your hair, or sleep during ss are never cursed at. But teachers like me who look after their students with love and diligence are always hated. Why the hell are you sticking your nose in my business, they say. These young students still don¡¯t appreciate that this is all part of a teacher¡¯s dedication and affection. But once they graduate those teachers are the ones thatst the longest in their minds. The ones that would hit them, yell at them, and despite all that, see them the most! ¡°Yeah, nup, nuh-uh. I guarantee ya once those kids graduate they won¡¯t even look anywhere near where owner is.¡± ¡°It ismon sense that disciples do not tread on even their master¡¯s shadows, nor may they look them in the eye!¡± ¡°Wait, that wunt what I meant¡­¡± I ignored the metal bat¡¯s face that reeked of some frustration of some sort, and checked Yugrasia¡¯s scoreboard again. [Arucia: 0pt] [Marcis: 7pt] [Yugrasia: 34pt] [Mercaria: 0pt] ¡°Kaah, beautiful.¡± ¡°But owner¡¯s ex-disciple still worky worky really hard and got 7 points?¡± ¡°She did¡­ I really wanted to bring her over, out of everyone else¡­¡± No.17 left a deep impression on everyone as she powered up like a protagonist, and struggled on her own to bring two victories to Marcis. But now she should be approaching her limits as well. ¡°There are nine events left. Since the final Siege eventsts the entire day, she needs to win the majority of the events in thesest two days in order for Marcis to even have a hope of overturning Yugrasia¡¯s lead. Even for No.17, that¡¯s impossible.¡± Unless thest day was worth 100 points like some of the old variety shows I watched, it¡¯s impossible for them to win. Because since most of the events took ce alongside each other, the most events someone could participate in a day was two at the absolute most! Even if she takes out two wins per day, there will be no way that could make aeback! ¡°¡­was what I¡¯d been thinking until just yesterday!¡± ¡°Owner, it¡¯s sumthin¡¯ ya say a lot. Cut ya foot on ya trusted axe. That¡¯s a really good phrase for this, ya know?¡± Perhaps the admins of the imperial festival were going crazy, but the match timetables we got at lunch were weird. [All of today¡¯s events are worth 10pt each.] The first day¡¯s events of the imperial festival were worth 1 point. Out of the 6 events of the second day, 1 was worth 2 points and the rest were worth 1 point. On the third day, there were 6 events, simr to the second day. But they were worth twice as many points at two points each, and the event that No.17 won was worth 4 points. And yesterday¡¯s events were worth 3 points each, with one being worth 6! But each event is worth 10 points from Day 5 onwards? If one were to win just two events, wouldn¡¯t that put them within range of aeback victory?! Where the hell did the ¡®equal for all¡¯ imperial festival go to! ¡°Owner, if that¡¯s whatcha gonnain about, then the Mercaria kids¡¯ll probably have more to say on that than you do?¡± ¡°They¡¯re just here to make up the numbers so they¡¯re not important! They¡¯re boring as well!¡± ¡°The imperial festival¡¯s gone boring cuz¡¯a Yugrasia as well. Ya know how boring an event that¡¯s already got a winner is? The gamblers especially are probs going nuts right now?¡± ¡°Although the people that bet on Yugrasia are probably kicking up more of a storm than them.¡± ¡°Like owner?¡± ¡°Yes, like me!¡± In the end, I bet 5000 gold on odds of 15 to 1 at a secret gambling den. Although of course it was unofficial! The official odds actually exceed a whopping 100 to 1, but the amount of gold you can bet is too small, and it also has the drawback that you need to go retrieve the money in person from the imperial Treasury offices. Rather than running the risk of getting caught, a ce where I wouldn¡¯t get caught, and was much more profitable despite the smaller odds was better for me. ¡°If I win, 75000 gold! If it¡¯s that much then at least I¡¯ll break even on my investment!¡± ¡°If owner gets rich then I¡¯ll get to eat all the tasty things I want too!¡± The metal bat beside me was just as excited as I was. But for a metal stick, just why the heck was it so fixated on finding things to eat? No, I¡¯ve asked this question several times before, but how is it even eating? ¡°That¡¯s, a secret!¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± I nodded my head and looked over today¡¯s event schedule. One individual event, and three team events. What was particrly noteworthy was that two of those team events were massive ones involving over a 100 people from each school. ¡°If it¡¯s a team event there¡¯ll be a couple of academies that think they might have a chance.¡± The most formidable opponent is as always, Marcis. No.17 and her winning streak in the events she appeared in from Day 3 onwards was of course a problem in itself, but if over 100 people all concentrated their firepower on us, then our side could expect significant casualties as well. ¡°If it¡¯s No.17 who¡¯s back to normal, then before all her teammates be useless, she¡¯d have them squeeze out all their mana andunching long-range bombardments.¡± ¡°Stuco pres¡¯ll probs be a necessity to stop that kinda barrage?¡± ¡°But we don¡¯t know which event she¡¯ll appear in.¡± Aris wanted a rematch against No.17, but she failed to get one yesterday. We thought she¡¯d show up in the 6 point match, but she showed up in the 3 point match and defeated the vice-president Karen to take three points. Moreover, since all the events today were worth 10 points, it was impossible to predict where No.17 would appear based on the point allocations alone. Well, things would hardly go a different way. Even a certain cheat rabbit took 8 volumes before he fought against the heroine again, after all.(1) ¡°Enough aya bullshite and wurk, owner!¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± The imperial festival was a match between academies, not between students. And thus the roles of the teachers weren¡¯t to say ¡®we¡¯ve taught you all up till now so get out there and fight!¡¯ and kick back and watch, but look through records of past events based off what events the students were going to be participating in, and look over what tactics and strategies had been used up til now. ¡°Although if ya look at owner that¡¯s just watching and munching on that thing ya call popcorn that¡¯s not at all what it feels like!¡± Of course not, dummy. Even if I look like this I¡¯m still the mastermind behind the Flood of Salsu.(2) Although of course I didn¡¯t do anything after that! All I did was watch the kids fight while munching on popcorn! ¡°Uwiit, can¡¯t ya at weast thinka where owner¡¯s ex-disciple¡¯s gonna show up?¡± As the metal bat started showing signs of annoyance, I made a questioning face. ¡°Why are you so enthusiastic all of a sudden?¡± ¡°It¡¯s cuz, owner¡¯s ex-disciple was raised by beating her up with my little sister, meaning my little sister¡¯s disciple! And on this side, I got th¡¯ students I raised by personally hitting them myself, and hence my disciples! I can¡¯t allow my tasty unni to lose to owner¡¯s ex-disciple that tasted the hands of my little sister!¡± ¡°What a personal reason.¡± So you¡¯re saying it¡¯s a match between No.17 who grew up getting hit with the wooden bat versus Yugrasia, who grew up getting hit by the metal bat. Although the one who was taught by me personally was No.17, there was only about a year¡¯s worth of difference between how long she was taught forpared to the Yugrasia kids. That kind of gap can be closed with the metal bat. ¡°Now that does seem quite an amusing prospect.¡± ¡°Hmph! This is my unavoidable fight with my little sis! As the big sis I can¡¯t lose to my little sis!¡± I know for a fact that this thing was produced 7-8 years after the wooden bat, yet she continues to im that she¡¯s the elder sister. Well, is it the difference between having an ego and not? In that case, the wooden bat has a chance of evolving into an ego weaponter on! ¡°So what, my little sis got sold to owner¡¯s disciple cuz¡¯a bad owner.¡± ¡°Now that I think about it, I wonder how Rein¡¯s doing¡­¡± When I considered No.17 running around perfectly fine, it did seem like he¡¯d handed them over safely, but who knew if he might have gotten caught by the imperial princess and getting tortured in some underground dungeon somewhere. ¡°Wait, owner? Ya said that wasn¡¯t gonna happen? Owner¡¯sst disciples are all from good households, so he could get away safely if he just handed them over!¡± ¡°So what, it¡¯s the imperial princess we¡¯re talking about. Even the emperor can¡¯t touch her, so you think any of the other nobles could?¡± ¡°Poor boy, I feel so sorry for him!¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s the worst-case scenario.¡± When I took Rein¡¯s face-reading, his fate was one to get stabbed over a love affair, not at the hands of the princess. ¡°I dunno what this face-reading thing is, but I bet owner¡¯s entire fortune that thetter fate is owner¡¯s fate! ¡°If I bet my entire fortune on a bet with myself then I don¡¯t win anything?¡± ¡°But, this is something owner already admitted would happen!¡± Well true, although that¡¯s only a story for if I get caught. And so, I will never, ever let myself get caught! #19 Their story: A certain former host¡¯s (current ve) story. He¡¯s definitely going to get caught. ¡°That¡¯s how it¡¯s going to happen.¡± In a certain giant room, that unlike what one might expect, had nothing in it aside from a giant bed. When I arrived here, I heard from Lady Iris about the instructor. Contrary to what he¡¯d said to me when he said he¡¯d go to some vige at the end of the world to farm thend, he was acting as a teacher in one of the key educational institutions of the empire, Yugrasia. But even so, the imperial princess discovered him. ¡°Rein, you need to stay right here. Because of what you said back then, let alone all of the intelligence agents in the empire, all of the key members of His Highness the Crown Prince¡¯s faction ended up searching all the viges in the middle of nowhere.¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± When I nodded my head, the youngdy nodded in turn and stroked my cheek with a wistful expression on her face. ¡°Our opponent being who he is, you did nothing wrong, Rein, but there might still be someone who wants to take their frustrations out on you after being made to roam the empire for a year. So Rein, rest up here until I get back.¡± Let me ask a question to the youngdy who¡¯s looking at me as if she¡¯s truly regretful she has to leave. ¡°Um, Lady Iris¡­¡± ¡°Iris! How much longer are you going to call me dy¡¯ between the two of us!¡± ¡°Hahaha, y, you know, Lady Iris.¡± ¡°Really, Rein¡­¡± As the youngdy made a disappointed expression, I raised my had slightly and pointed at something. ¡°This, could you please take it¡­¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°R, right?¡± As the youngdy instantly turned to me with dead eyes, I could do nothing but shut my mouth. Because if I said anything more here, it felt like something might happen. ¡°Mm, it¡¯s alright as long as you understand. Then¡­ you really need to stay quietly here, alright? If you need anything, ask the maids and they can get it for you.¡± When I nodded again, moisture welled up in her wide eyes as she pulled me into her embrace. ¡°When the imperial festival ends, I can take some time off as well. Then, let¡¯s do all sorts of things that we couldn¡¯t do because I was too busy.¡± ¡°Ye, yes.¡± I didn¡¯t dare ask what ¡®all sorts of things¡¯ were meant to be, and could only see the youngdy off. ¡°I have to escape.¡± After I sat around quietly for thirty minutes just in case, I made my resolve. I have to escape. That¡¯s what my instincts were telling me. I understood why the instructor continued to run away when the princess of the strongest nation in the world, and a beauty 20 years younger than him to boot, wanted to marry him. Although the fact that I was experiencing it with my own body, was most unfortunate for me! ¡°But how¡­¡± This is one of the ducal houses of which only three existed in the entire empire, and the only one who was active in the imperial pce itself, the Leonhart family, who was arguably the leader of the Ten Great Families, and I was at their main residence! And in said main residence, I was in a room on the highest fifth floor. ¡°I don¡¯t think I could run even if I wasn¡¯t cored¡­¡± I muttered as I touched the cor attached to my neck. This cor was actually a special one that the imperial princess herselfmissioned from the dwarves, all to catch the instructor! Without even a keyhole, the only way this cor could be opened by its original user, and if she so desired, the youngdy could paralyse my body, render me unconscious or know my location in real time. ¡°But still¡­ at least¡­¡± In the fear that I would lose something important when the youngdy came back after doing whatever it was she had to do, I opened the door a crack¡­ ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Did you need anything?¡± ¡°Ah, ahhaha! I was wondering where the bathroom was.¡± Eight pairs of eyes were trained on me as their owners smiled brightly. But, their dress aren¡¯t that of maids, but clearly and perfectly knights, mdy? Rather than maids, aren¡¯t they guards set to watch over me? ¡°The bathroom is inside the room.¡± ¡°Ah, thank you.¡± She was smiling, but the aura she exerted was yelling at me to shut up and get back in the room, so I nodded and went straight back inside. ¡°Now that I think about it, there isn¡¯t even a window.¡± How was it that there wasn¡¯t a single window in this giant room. Had she blocked them all up because I wasing here? As I entered the bathroom thinking that, as I thought, there were no windows in the bathroom, either. ¡°The smell¡¯s going to be a problem when I have to do a big one.¡± Although of course, it¡¯s a bathroom designed for my own personal use, but still. ¡°Yep, let¡¯s run.¡± It was a room that seemed impossible to escape from, but the more it felt like that, the desire to escape became stronger and stronger. ¡°But¡­ how do I escape?¡± Chapter 86 RATH 86 TL: Eevee #20 Their story: Ria el Nermia¡¯s story. A chaotic battlefield. Rallying allies that were gripped in fear and horror was an incredibly difficult ordeal. ¡°H, how are they moving? They shouldn¡¯t be able to move with that?¡± I saw a female student backpedal with a scream. Damn it, as I thought, she was wearing a Marcis uniform. ¡°Go, go away¡­¡± The moment I saw that student was wearing a Marcis uniform, I could no longer hold back the scowl from appearing on my face. She was a student whose skills were highly rated even among the students of the Magic Tower faction, yet she still lost her will to fight. ¡°Kahahahaha! Did you think, this was all it would take to stop us!¡± The girl in the Marcis uniform was perfectly fine. But the boy in the Yugrasia uniform that was approaching her could not be said to be the same. He looked bad enough that I wondered whether if this scene could actually be shown to the young children watching this over the broadcast right now. The uniforms that were designed to be extremely resistant to magic was torn to shreds to an extent that his upper half was essentially bare. And he was also bleeding through the gaps of his torn uniform. Very, very profusely at that! ¡°Do you call this pain? Did you think you could stop us with just this level of an attack!¡± Perhaps his injury to his lower body was quite critical, yet his appearance as he dragged one leg across the ground in his approach, to be honest even made me scared. ¡°Senior, fall back! His leg¡¯s wounded so he can¡¯t even approach properly! If you fall back and attack him again, you can beat him!¡± ¡°N, no¡­ that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been doing, but he just doesn¡¯t fall down.¡± Although the distance between us was a bit far, I used magic tomunicate my words to her, yet all my senior did was shake her head and cry. ¡°Kahahaha!¡± ¡°N, nooooooo!¡± In the end, entrapped in fear, my senior couldn¡¯t even flee and was done in just like that. ¡°Damn it all¡­¡± The problem was these urrences were happening everywhere on the battlefield. ¡°Damn it, we need to at least recover a bit until the final day, but it just feels like there¡¯s less and less hope.¡± This event was one where you had to protect a ¡®king¡¯ centered around a base of operations. As it was a simr event to the final day¡¯s event, which used castles as bases in a siege battle, I selected a hundred of Marcis¡¯s key personnel to get some practice in advance, but this was the result. -I¡¯m back owner. ¡°Coming from someone who just returned from a creaming, what are you all shameless for?¡± -Honestly, they are warriors. Before my status as an archdevil, as the leader of warriors, it is of no shame to be defeated by them. ¡°Damn it, that¡¯s not at all reassuring to me.¡± I felt a migraineing on as I watched my forces dwindle in front of my eyes. Although it went without saying, Marcis¡¯s king was me. As a king, I wanted tomand others instead of leading the charge myself, but not a single person could follow orders properly. ¡°I should have just left the main base to the president, and fought on the front lines myself.¡± -That¡¯s probably for the better. I cannot see anyone in owner¡¯s academy that is capable of stopping them. As I looked over the battlefield from afar, my evaluation of Yugrasia waspletely overturned. When you looked at them one by one, they each seemed like a zealot under the influence of a berserker spell, but when you looked at them as a group over a wide area, rather than zealots, they were closer to undead. The legendary evil existence born of the infusion of dark magic into corpses, that undead! -That¡¯s¡­ very true. Their appearance as they approach their opponents despite their injuries is the very picture of the undead! As I looked at the monsters that even an archdevil acknowledged, I could onlye to a single conclusion. ¡°They can¡¯t be beaten with Marcis¡¯s current education methods. We need to go back to the old style.¡± The current paradigm of magic was abat-style which could also deal with close-quartersbat. The magic swordsmen of the olden times, or the development ofbat mages which wouldtere to be called battlemages was actually older than the history of the empire. And following their footsteps, even magicians who used to focus entirely on their firepower, were trained to raise their individual capabilities in order to be able to fight against enemies in close range, and that educational dogma was what was taught at Marcis today. But the majority of today¡¯s Marcis students had their hearts shattered by the Yugrasia students. No, they were actually bing a trauma for them. And so, we need to return to the old methods, focusing purely on firepower from range. The old form of human artillery that rained down in the enemy from a range where they weren¡¯t even visible. ¡°But we need a vanguard in order for us to be able to do that.¡± Even if we could build around an actual castle as a defensive fortress for thest day¡¯s event, we couldn¡¯tpletely stop the enemy from approaching us. No, it wasn¡¯t an undoable prospect if we were slightly ahead in points, but right now, we were overwhelmingly behind. That gap was probably going to increase over the course of today, and the current situation was that we had to topple Yugrasia¡¯s castle for us to even stand a chance. ¡°Can we win this¡­¡± But this was the only thing I couldn¡¯t guarantee. Each and every one of the enemy force were formidable opponents, yet my allies were nothing more than disposables who could do nothing aside from long-ranged support. -Do you have to win this year owner? Can¡¯t you make your move next year? ¡°If I don¡¯t win this year, I think it¡¯ll be impossible.¡± I came to one of the Four Great Academies in order to be the strongest, but even my own heart was as broken as it ever could be. The school deemed the weakest of the four, Yugrasia, changedpletely over the course of just a single year. If it were just the student council or a few other students, or an improvement surrounding the fourth years as the core, I could aim for next year as well, but each and every one of Yugrasia¡¯s students have gotten stronger. Moreover, the swordsmaster and five god-ss summoners were all first years. I couldn¡¯t even imagine how much stronger they would get next year. ¡°Lady Nermia!¡± ¡°Haa, already¡­¡± And said strongest among the first years, no, the one evaluated as the strongest in Yugrasia as the festival went on, Aris of the Letia family was pointing her spear towards me. ¡°People that can stop her¡­ there¡¯s no one.¡± I barely defeated herst time using Laevateinn and Surtr¡¯s suicide attack, but that was a one-time thing. If I went up against her in closebat again, I would probably lose. ¡°Why the hell is she even using a spear despite being a swordsmaster¡­¡± And the most difficult thing for me was that he was using a spear instead of a sword. The range of a spear that was twice as long as a sword¡¯s was even more unfavourable for me, who was already at a disadvantage in close quarters. By the way, the reason she¡¯s called a swordsmaster despite using a spear was that anyone who could use the skill named ¡®aura¡¯ were all called swordsmasters with the exception of archers. Other martial artists raised aint that this discriminated against users of other weapons, but since the majority of martial artists used swords, they were ignored. -Uh, owner. Who¡¯re you talking to? -Dunno, it¡¯s the will of the world. Surtr asked me why I made such an exnation, but I don¡¯t know why either. ¡°And besides, the enemy in front of us is a higher priority.¡± I chanted a spell, summoned Laevateinn and prepared myself for closebat. In a pure 1v1, the magician is at an advantage at range. Indeed. In a pure 1v1. ¡°Uht?¡± I reflexively blocked the fire arrow aimed at my back with my own magic, but it was such a sudden attack that the magic power in my body shuddered. ¡°You didn¡¯t expect me to let you use magic so easily, did you?¡± ¡°What the heck, you¡¯re a warrior. And yet you¡¯re refusing a 1v1 with me? A swordsmaster is?¡± I said to Aris in a voice designed to rake at her pride. Warriors and martial artists were practically made of their pride and egos. If a magician, who they thought were weak, challenged them to a 1v1, they were the types that would never refuse. And especially if it was an opponent that had beaten them once, their pride would have their allies fall back and engage in a 1v1 duel. I made an expression that belittled my opponent, another one of the instructor¡¯s teachings back in the organization. It was perfect. Any person who doesn¡¯t fall for this definitely wasn¡¯t a warrior. ¡°Mm? What? This is the imperial festival¡¯s event? A team event, no?¡± And apparently my opponent wasn¡¯t a warrior. ¡°Wh, what about your pride as a warrior?¡± ¡°Mm? I¡¯m a weak summoner. Summoners are great at fighting in groups, aren¡¯t they?¡± At my opponent¡¯s shamelessness at calling herself a summoner despite her spear emanating with a crimson aura, I found myself lost for words. ¡°S, summoner?¡± Despite the fact that all she ever summoned was a spear and sometimes a defensive shield! I wanted to shout, but I couldn¡¯t as I suddenly found myself surrounded by Yugrasia students. Normally when someone talked, waiting was the polite thing to do, yet Yugrasia students saw that as an opportunity and attacked. In the time I had to talk, I had to get off at least one more chant. ¡°Cut, wind. Destroy, tempest. Burn, mes!¡± I used short words andpleted the spell I wanted in my mind. ¡°Hup!¡± I fended off Aris with wind des, and interfered with the other students with walls of wind and fire, and charged at Aris with Laevateinn in hand. ¡°Feeling fearless are you, wanting to get into another brawl with me?¡± ¡°Not like I have a choice!¡± Maybe not as a 1v1, but fighting a long-ranged war against numerous enemies capable of ranged attacks was futile. ¡°Really, you¡¯re way more suited for here than Marcis. If you did, the night study might¡¯ve been a bit easier!¡± ¡°And what¡¯s that supposed to mean?!¡± I red at my opponent, who smiled as if she found something amusing, and unlike before, was showing no signs of the formality typically reserved between nobles. As she spouted such nonsensical words such as ¡®night study,¡¯ her spear lunged towards me. ¡°Strike, lightning. Shatter, axe of thunder!¡± As I blocked the spear which had its entire shaft embued with spear aura instead of just the head with Laevateinn, I allowed the force of the impact to push me back as I flung the lightning gathered in my fingertips. ¡°Not bad!¡± Aris swung her spear and destroyed the lightning axe that was about the size of a human torso, but I took the opening that gave me to freeze the ground. ¡°Ice field.¡± ¡°Everyone, burn it all.¡± ¡°What the?!¡± But as expected, the enemy did not allow me to use the same tactic twice. Bymanding her allies to use fire magic on everything within a certain area, including herself! ¡°Kugh? Surtr!¡± At the rain of fire, I barely used magic to block the first wave, and summoned Surtr who had just be resummonable to barely block the rest. ¡°You¡¯re using your summon quite handily.¡± ¡°Our contract is different from yours.¡± The method of using a devil as a shield, one that only I, one that had contracted an archdevil with a ve contract could use! ¡°Really? Our contracts are quite different from normal ones too, I¡¯m quite curious what your methods over there are?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even think about trying to buy time!¡± ¡°Really, you¡¯re quick to catch on.¡± Thanks to the instructor¡¯s trials, I could already detect the flow of mana. There was no way I would miss the surrounding spirits preparing for another barrage. I quickly charged in and swung Laevateinn. Using Surtr like I didst time was impossible. Blocking the other Yugrasia students¡¯ attacks was hard enough as it was for Surtr. ¡®Should I just forfeit?¡¯ It was extremely difficult for me to im victory in this situation. I did have a few hidden cards. But I had to save them for the grand final. But if Yugrasia took ten points here as well, it would be difficult for me to guarantee victory even if we did win on the final day. Moreover, even if I put everything on the line to defeat the enemy in front of me, if she wasn¡¯t the king of this event, then that would result in the absolute worst-case scenario where I revealed my entire hand and lost for nothing. ¡°By any chance, are you worried that I might not be the king?¡± What she pulled out from a breast pocket was the proof of the king for this event. It was a clear-cut provocation towards me. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s y.¡± If I can defeat the enemy in front of me, the king, then that would be an instant reversal. Using a shortened chant, I would go in for an exchange and look for an opportunity. My ace in the hole was my swordmanship. Back in the organization, before I became a magician, I didn¡¯t ck off from my swordsmanship training in order to fight against No.1 and No.1000. ¡°Letia style.¡± ¡°Sky sh!¡± No.1¡¯s signature move he learned by fighting against the instructor, Sky sh! Sky sh was originally a move wherein you had to at least know how to use sword ki before you got any decent firepower out of it. Let alone sword aura, I couldn¡¯t even use sword ki, but if you looked at my mana capacity alone, my magic power was on another levelpared to No.1¡¯s. And the sword I was using right now was not an ordinary sword, but a magic sword brought out by summoning. With this magic sword Laevateinn, a sword purely made of mes, even if I couldn¡¯t use sword ki, as long as I put in enough magic power, I could manage at least enough firepower at that level. ¡°Kuugh!¡± Blood flowed from the waist apanied by a grunt of pain. But unexpectedly, the grunt came not from my enemy¡¯s lips, but my own. ¡°You coward, an ambush¡­¡± ¡°I said it, this is a team event.¡± For the first time in a long time, I reflexively bit my lips. As the distinct taste of blood spread through my mouth, I pulled myself together. ¡°Hello, Lady Nermia. I am the oldest daughter of the Reiara family, Siir ril Reiara. I am also the contractor of the messenger of the gods, Hermes.¡± As the girl in front of me said her greetings with a smile while hiding her dagger behind her back, old habits kicked in again as I bit down on my lip yet again. ¡°Damn it¡­¡± Yet another god-ss summoner had appeared as an enemy. Chapter 87 RATH 87 TL: Eevee 10. We came, we saw, we won (12) #21 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s(2) story ¡°N, no way¡­¡± ¡°How could this happen¡­¡± ¡°This is impossible!¡± Despairing voices came from the students copsed on the ground, who couldn¡¯t believe what was unfolding before their eyes. Day 5 of the imperial festival. Each event was worth 10 points, and three of those events were of a massive scale involving many participants. When we considered that the terrain of the event was a t in, we made the judgement that we had a chance even if we were to go up against Yugrasia. And when we received a godly draw that had us go up against Mercaria first, we thought our chances were better than ever. Unfortunately, Lady Nermia was absent from the Marcis team, who we thought would massively cut down the enemy¡¯s fighting capabilities, but even so, after defending against therge scale magic barrages, Yugrasia¡¯s magic power was considerably depleted. We didn¡¯t have to fight them all. If we could take out the five that represented their hundred, we had a good chance of winning this. Was what we were thinking, and so we all charged in, but the unthinkable happened. The beginning of the incident was when a single person came towards us from Yugrasia¡¯s side. ¡°Who is that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Yugrasia student council president! Nerkia, the Elemental Army!¡± The man who was approaching us could be called my arch-enemy and the enviable¡­ I mean, the casanova of the century, Nerkia. Arucia had less female studentspared to the other academies to begin with, and yet this man was the biggest motherf*cker of the era who had taken possession of two out of the five most beautiful flowers of the school. ¡°Well now, you hadn¡¯t shown up much this imperial festival, unlike before.¡± As I, who was somewhat familiar with him, went out to talk with him, Nerkia smiled and took something out from his pocket. ¡°Mm, I wanted to have a go yesterdays as well, but our devi¡­ I mean, Professor Nicerwin said don¡¯t fight unless it¡¯s an event Lady Nermia is in. So what do I call it, I¡¯m a bit backed up?¡± What he took out with a smirk, was the item that could determine victory in this event, his mark as the VIP. ¡°Do you want to go 1v1?¡± If that was the case, then I had a decent chance. Nerkia was a troublesome opponent, but he was one I fought with every year. Whether I fell first, or whether he would allow me to close the gap between us would determine victory. ¡°Hm? No, not that.¡± ¡°Are you running away?¡± The enemy was someone who had even defended against Marcis¡¯s magic bombardments. If those people fired barrages of magic against us, then our casualties would mount before we even got close. The Yugrasia students ofte had proven themselves very adept at closebat as well, and so they were a difficult enemy to fight against while injured. ¡°Not that either.¡± ¡°Then what is your objective?¡± Although I didn¡¯t see him much this year, justst year, after school or during the holidays, he woulde over and flirt disgustingly sweetly with Arietta right in front of our faces. But while his smile back then and right now looked identical, the mood he gave off now waspletely different. ¡°Objective? Well.¡± Each and every one of Arucia¡¯s one hundred students heard loudly and clearly. ¡°Not 1v1, but 1v100.¡± ¡°What?¡± For a second there I didn¡¯t understand what had just said. Not even swordsmasters, called a match for a hundred, actually tried to fight against a hundred people all on their lonesome. ¡°Are you mad?¡± ¡°Yep. Our academy¡¯s gone mad.¡± Whatever he found so amusing, Nerkia giggled to himself, and seeing him, even the students who were in fear of Yugrasia started to be angry. ¡°Even if Yugrasia¡¯s been doing welltely, don¡¯t you just reek of hubris?¡± ¡°You want to go up against all of us on your own? Even against Mercaria, no one would say something ridiculous like that?¡± ¡°Are you insane? Or do you simply want to show off after losing the spotlight to Lady Aris?¡± No one actually swore because the entire scene was being preserved by magic audiovisual tools, but that didn¡¯t change the savage tones of their voices. ¡°Are you serious, Nerkia?¡± ¡°Yep. It does feel kinda weird because it feels like I¡¯m showing off, but I¡¯m serious.¡± As he nodded to my words, he carefully looked over each and every one of the students standing before him. ¡°Thank goodness, it doesn¡¯t seem like Ari or Rena are here.¡± ¡°Arietta has entered a solo event, and Lady Rena is participating in a different team event.¡± ¡°Thank goodness. To be honest I didn¡¯t think of what I¡¯d do if I had to fight against those two.¡± When I saw his genuinely relieved expression, I realised. This boy was serious when he said he was going to fight all of us on his own. That meant. ¡°What are you scheming?¡± This is definitely a trap. While the rest of us focused on Nerkia, was Yugrasia going to snipe off our students that they thought might be our VIPs? Or, would he enrage all of our academy¡¯s students and pretend to fight, then retreat to where an ambush was lying in wait? But Nerkia denied everything I was thinking of. ¡°No, no schemes, no ns or anything like that. I just want to know.¡± Want to know? ¡°Know what?¡± At my question, Nerkia made a self-deprecating smile, one that didn¡¯t suit how he normally acted. ¡°To be honest with you, I thought I was a genius. Since I was little, an elf, one who people call a resident of the forest, said I had splendid potential to be a summoner.¡± All of a sudden, a blue aura started to surround Nerkia. ¡°Lowest-rank spirits¡­¡± Spirits that had only been recently born, that didn¡¯t even have wills of their own. They were the spirits weaker than low-rank spirits, an existence even harder to meet than a low-rank spirit. Because unlike low-rank spirits, who were weak but still had their own will, lowest-rank spirits moved purely on instinct. ¡°That didn¡¯t change even after I came to Yugrasia. At the end of the holidays of my first year, I was scouted to the student council, in my second year I was a senior member, and in my third year I became president as if it was natural. In all seriousness, when you looked at pure talent alone, none of the other students or even any of the teachers could outdo me.¡± A red aura began to mix in with the blue. And behind that, a green aura, and behind that, a brown aura flew towards him. ¡°President, is he trying to do something?¡± ¡°No¡­ lowest-rank spirits cannot attack.¡± Lowest-rank spirits were spirits, yet at the same time they were not. They were a collection of nature¡¯s elements that had formed to be a spirit. Because of that they could exist, but couldn¡¯t attack or defend. ¡°But, they are extremely sensitive to nature.¡± Low-rank spirits could detect Nerkia¡¯s potential and run to him to make a contract. Because he was a summoner that could allow them to get stronger. However, lowest-rank spirits don¡¯t even think, let alone take things like that into consideration. In other words, that meant that pure nature itself saw enough in Nerkia¡¯s potential to cling to him. ¡°But this year, after Professor Nicerwin came, I realised. I was simply a frog in the well, no, just a tadpole. When I was simply paddling in a small well that was reflecting the skies above, I thought I was soaring through those same skies.¡± ¡°Everyone, prepare to attack!¡± All of a sudden, the mana in the air shifted. We could feel something dominating the space itself. ¡°What are you doing, Nerkia!¡± ¡°Hm? I told you. I was going to fight you all. Now, where was i? that¡¯s right, had I said that the lessons I had experienced up till now weren¡¯t even lessons? Or that I learned the existence of a pain that made you realise that death is a relief?¡± ¡°Damn it, Group 1, go deal with him! Before he does anything else!¡± This magic power was not something to be taken lightly. A magic power that was strong enough to suppress the very atmosphere around it, there was no way Nerkia could emit this level of magic power so easily. ¡°Hmm¡­ I think I¡¯ve gone on for a bit too long. To sum it up, I¡¯ve gotten stronger. But since our academy¡¯s all gone to the dogs, I don¡¯t know how much stronger I¡¯ve gotten.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± ¡°Enough of your weird talk, you will fall here, Nerkia!¡± ¡°Haap!¡± The members of Group 1, the strongest out of the 100 gathered here, instantly closed the distance between themselves and Nerkia and swung their swords infused with sword ki. ¡°And so, let me fight against you guys, see what level I¡¯m at.¡± Even as the swords aimed at his arms, legs and torso, Nerkia didn¡¯t even blink as he said. ¡°O King.¡± And the moment the des were about to touch his body. ¡°Sweep them away.¡± ¡°Kuaaaagghhh!¡± ¡°Kuhk!¡± ¡°Kaaaaaaaaahhhhgh!¡± With a golden light and a crackling noise, a chorus of screams reached my ears. ¡°What the! Gaaahhgh!¡± ¡°Dodge, dooodge iiiit!¡± ¡°Aaaaaagh!¡± ¡°Save¡­ save me¡­¡± As the three who bared their des at Nerkia first disappeared in the glows of the magic circles, the other members of Group 1 behind them began to scream. ¡°What on¡­¡± Ten of Arucia¡¯s elite swordsmen had been instantly vaporised. As I stared at the sight, stunned, I heard other noises from around me. ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s pretty.¡± Behind Nerkia was something that resembled a golden pir, and surrounding it were lowest-rank spirits of many colours, creating a fantastical appearance. A number of female students were enraptured by the sight, but I could only stare at that giant golden pir. ¡°Spirit King?¡± Nerkia had definitely said ¡°O King.¡± A being that Nerkia, a summoner would call King, and possessed a golden light even so. Even I, who knew nothing about summoning, knew. ¡°Spirit King of Lightning¡­¡± ¡°I told you, Kiir. I want to fight against a hundred. Ah, would it just be ny left now?¡± Even the students that had been staring at the breathtaking sight realised. That the person in front of them all, was genuinely going to fight against all of them. And that¡­ that he could actually win! ¡°Damn it, we can¡¯t even step back now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I want.¡± If Arucia¡¯s core forces ran away from just a single person, that was no less than announcing the fall of Arucia. In other words, that meant there was no way to protect Arucia¡¯s honour except by defeating this man. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare run away!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that.¡± People took out their swords, spears, axes and charged at Nerkia. ¡°Strength of the earth.¡± ¡°Gaaaghhh!¡± ¡°Sword of water.¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± ¡°de of wind.¡± ¡°Khhahhgh!¡± ¡°Spear of fire.¡± ¡°Kyaahh!¡± ¡°O King.¡± ¡°Nerkiaaaaaaaaaaa!¡± But, not a single person managed to reach Nerkia. A total of eight elementals, of fire, water, wind and earth appeared at each of Nerkia¡¯s words. And standing in the middle was a single giant Spirit King of Lightning. ¡°What the heck, it really wasn¡¯t much after all.¡± And in that scene looked like it came straight from a myth, standing beneath them was a very unamused-looking Nerkia, who justst year was a foe I stood a decent chance against. ¡°Just, how¡­¡± In the end, I fell to the third attack from the Spirit King of Lightning, and could only look up at Nerkia from the ground where Iy, electrified and paralyzed. And to my words, Nerkia said with a expression that said ¡®it wasn¡¯t much.¡¯ ¡°Well, it¡¯s simply. All you have to do is study for 14 hours a day at school.¡± ¡°What?¡± My brain stopped working for a second. What sort of bullshit is that. ¡°You have to go to school at 8 and stay till 6 at night. Of course after resting a bit, you need to study voluntarily until 10pm. Of course, you can¡¯t get strong with just that. The most important thing is, you have to run away from that.¡± I could understand needing to study a lot. But weren¡¯t the words after that weird? They tell you to study and yet you have to run away from that? ¡°And once you flee enough, you can meet it. The silver devil.¡± ¡°Silver devil?¡± Nerkia¡¯s look as he appeared to reminisce in his memories didn¡¯t give me the impression that he was lying. That didn¡¯t mean that I could understand him. ¡°Yes, once you ovee death like that, you can be stronger. No, you automatically be stronger.¡± ¡°What¡­ what the hell are you saaaayyyyyyiiing!¡± As Nerkia kept spouting nonsense, I lifted my sword and charged at him once again. ¡°Really, can the other academies not understand.¡± Nerkia sighed as he looked at me, and waved his hands andmanded to his spirits. ¡°Sweep them away.¡± On that day, not a single one of us could get anywhere near Nerkia. Just like that, at the hands of just a single person, all of us were defeated. Chapter 88 RATH 88 TL: Eevee New chapter title, new arc! 11. Not a myth, but a legend (1) #1 Their story: a certainmentator¡¯s story. Once upon a time, I was a knight of the empire, when I lost my arm in the Great War and I was at a loss of what to do. Perhaps out of pity, my senior that was still active as a knight introduced me to a new upation. It was amentator. It was a role where I could analyzed the tens, no, hundreds of changes and mind games that proceeded over a split second that were invisible to the eyes ofmon folk, and help them understand what was happening. I was always a talkative person before I became a knight, and the same applied even when I was one too, so this job was quite suited to me and so five years on, I¡¯dmentated on many events since¡­ And for the first time in five years, I screwed up as amentator. [¡­¡­] But it seemed the same was true for my fellowmentator, the magician Merrell. What would you say was the most vital trait to have as amentator? It is the ability to keep talking without stopping The role of amentator in exining the events of a match is important. But just as important is filling in the odd gaps at the start of an event or any unexpected lulls in the middle of a match. Normally even a silence of a few seconds, a few tens of seconds would automatically draw criticism as a failure of amentator, but even though several minutes had passed, neither of us could speak. Normally one of the imperial festival¡¯s administrators would have barged into the broadcast room already and given us an earful. But the administrators were noting into the broadcast room. They were probably also staring stunned at the broadcast. [What, is that all?] A single student was standing alone all too peacefully. But his surroundings were the very picture of hell. The grounds in front of him were upturned and obliterated as if they¡¯d taken a magic bombardment, and dotted around thendscape were students that more resembled corpses. [Ner¡­. kia!] And standing before him, was the Arucia student council president, down on one knee, barely holding on while leaning onto his sword for support. I was a former Arucia student as well, so I knew very well how prestigious the seat of the Arucia student council president was. One of the Four Great Academies that held a name among names as one of the greatest schools of the empire. And the student council president of Arucia, the school rated as the strongest of those schools, needed to have splendid political acumen and trust of the students as a prerequisite, and also needed top-ss strength as befitting of the strongest swordsmanship academy, Arucia. No matter how talented you were, or how popr you were with the other students, if the teachers decide that you didn¡¯t have the swordsmanship talents to represent Arucia, you were automatically stripped from the seat of president. Even in reality, every year there were cases where potential candidates were from extremely powerful families, or popr among the students, but were stripped for the right to run for president because their swordsmanship skills werecking. That Arucia student council president, was currently on his knees and screaming his throat hoarse in front of the president of the school deemed the weakest, the Yugrasia student council president. It was a scenario where you couldn¡¯tprehend it in words. But it was even lessprehensible when you saw it with your own two eyes. [Wha, how did ite to this?] Merrell, my colleaguementator for this match finally broke the long silence and sent his voice out into the magic tool formentary. [Th, that¡¯s true.] I also pulled myself together and tried to say something¡­ but it seemed that it would take some time for me to offer any satisfactory answer. [So let¡¯s go back from the beginning. It seemed that Arucia tried to force a quick end to the match, right?] [Yes, it felt like they were trying to end it before Yugrasia managed to restore their magic power they¡¯d used during the Marcis battle.] [That¡¯s right. But, someone came out first as the vanguard from Yugrasia¡¯s end. Just a single person, their student council president Nerkia.] [Yes, and¡­ that single person¡­] [Defeated Arucia all by himself.] [¡­¡­] [¡­¡­] We really shouldn¡¯t be doing this, yet we fell silent once again. Just how were we supposed to exin this. There were many cases where the difference in abilities were all too clear in fights between students, whomcked the thing called experience. They say that out in the real world where it was actually easier to get stomped on, geniuses were the ones who suffered early deaths, but fights between students were not that cruel or lethal. And so, there were no reason for students to cross beyond the boundary of death and surpass their limits, things that one could only see on the battlefield. Because those experiences were ones you could only have when death truly loomed in front of your eyes, and you overcame and survived the experience. There was no way students could ever experience such things. That was why the difference in talent was so overwhelming. Moreover, the Yugrasia student council president, Nerkia, was an undeniable genius in the field of summoning. He was rated as a once-in-a-century figure in terms of his affinity with spirits, and even officially recognised as the person contracted to the greatest number of spirits in the continent by the Summoner¡¯s Association. That was the Nerkia, the Yugrasia student council president. And inst year¡¯s imperial festival he showed his true ss. By managing the monumental achievement of putting Yugrasia in second ce by Day 2, and even as far as first ce on Day 3. Even if the student council¡¯s physical and mental exhaustion caught up with them, causing them to lose all the team events and crash back down to third ce, there was nobody that med Nerkia, their president. On the contrary, people judged that if the average skill level of Yugrasia¡¯s students were up to par with Marcis and Arucia, the Yugrasia that Nerkia led could have gone on to win the whole thing, such highly rated was Nerkia. A genius summoner that the empire, no, the entire continent recognised. He was a genius who earned the title of ¡®Elemental Army¡¯ due to his skillful ability to use his various summons no matter what situation he found himself in. If you looked beyond schools and looked at him as an individual, he was rated even more highly than the presidents of the other three schools! Even if people said Yugrasia was weak, there was no one who said that their student council president, Nerkia was weak! Indeed. He was a genius. He was talented. And because of that, we were all the more surprised. Because he was a genius recognised by all, everyone was watching him that much more closely There were professors in the Summoner¡¯s Association who even submitted theses as to why he was loved so much by the spirits, and other schools would have no doubt done their analyses on his strengths and weaknesses. For the sake of providing qualitymentary, I, too, had watched his footage over and over, analyzed him, and had a rough estimation of his maximum and average abilities. But he had changed. Overwhelmingly so. In the span of just a single year, no less! [Just what happened at Yugrasia?] That was what I said after I gathered my thoughts. Just one year. Each and every one of their individual skills had improved so drastically in just a single year. Up till now, we¡¯d thought that Lady Aris had just been an overwhelming genius. Even from a young age, she was known as a female general among the empire¡¯s nobility. And although I wasn¡¯t really one to talk because I had never evene close to the realm of a swordsmaster even at my peak, because I was a knight, I knew that the beings called swordsmasters had something that surpassed mere talent. The same went for Yugrasia¡¯s other students. I had thought that the addition of the ex-military teachers had created enough hardship and critical situations for them to surpass their limits. Because in reality, the majority of them were of simr levels to the students of the other academies, and that all they did was simply defeat opponents stronger than they were through overwhelming grit and determination. Things that were only possible because they were still growing students. But all of us realised through the Yugrasia student council president that that was all a giant misconception. He had surpassed the limits of individual talent. By single-handedly defeating, no, overwhelming a hundred enemies by himself, he had proven to everyone watching that Yugrasia itself had changed at a fundamental level! And an even more shocking truth came from the Yugrasia student council president¡¯s mouth. [I, really did get strong.] [Are¡­ are you mocking us!] [No, I seriously didn¡¯t know. Because even with our entire academybined, we still couldn¡¯t beat Professor Nicerwin¡¯s single summon, we all thought we were he weak.] [What?!] Nerkia had just annihted a hundred of Arucia¡¯s students without even allowing them to get close. And moreover, Yugrasia even had a swordsmaster in Lady Aris. Those two alone could ughter an ordinary knight brigade by themselves Was that all they had? Their vice-presidents, Loki¡¯s contractor, the Trickster Risen, and the woman judged the strongest in aerial dominance in the entire imperial festival, the Empress of the Skies, Karen. Each and every one of their student council were powerhouses in their own rights. And among the first years, even excluding Lady Aris, there were still a whopping four other god-ss summoners. And even the ordinary students who had undergone tremendous growth, so much so that you couldn¡¯t even call them ordinary anymore! If it were them, they could probably face off against an entire division of the imperial army. And in contrast, just what was Professor Nicerwin¡¯s evaluation! An honorary professor of the Summoner¡¯s Association, and in theory alone, he had no equal. But due to his overwhelmingly weak constitution from the moment he was born, he was frail enough that rumours had it he lived in the elven forest to recuperate. And right now, Nerkia, the student council president of Yugrasia, was saying that that person could defeat a contractor of a Spirit King, a swordsmaster and numerous other summoners all by himself. [Hm? I¡¯m serious, Kiir. Why do you think we got so desperately stronger to survive? Of course, not that I think we could win no matter how much stronger we got.] [Just¡­ just what the hell is Professor Nicerwin¡¯s summon! Is it a god or archdevil as the rumours say? Or is it a Spirit King?!] Such rumours did exist. Due to his overwhelmingly superior knowledge of summons, rumours had it that he was contracted to a god of knowledge, or that he obtained that knowledge by offering his soul to an archdevil. That or that he¡¯d made a contract with the Akashic Records, an existence that recorded everything in the world. Beginning with rumours such as those, to rumours that he had personally contracted all of the summons he was knowledgeable about previously in the past! The Summoner¡¯s Association denied all those rumours due to how oundish they were, but when you heard that not even all of Yugrasia¡¯s student body together could defeat him, not having a secret like that made it all the more suspicious. [Idiot, think about it. I contracted a Spirit King, Lady Aris is a god-ss summoner. Risen¡¯s also a god-ss, and we¡¯ve also got four other god-ss summoners out of the first years. If it was an ordinary god, archdevil or Spirit King, do you think we couldn¡¯t have beaten it with sheer numbers?] [Then, just what is Professor Nicerwin¡¯s summon, that you can¡¯t defeat him even with your insane fighting abilities!] [That¡¯s¡­] [That¡¯s?] Let alone the Arucia student council president, Merrell and I also swallowed reflexively. That was probably something that everyone watching the broadcast right now would be doing. The summon that note even a Spirit King, swordsmaster, six god-ss summoners and a thousand other students all working together could defeat! There was no one that wouldn¡¯t be curious as to the identity of that summon! To the question that everyone wanted the answer to, after a brief moment of thought, the Yugrasia student council president, Nerkia, smiled brightly and¡­ [That¡¯s, a secret.] Didn¡¯t tell us! [Are you making fun of me?!] [No no, we don¡¯t exactly know either. She calls herself a metal elemental, but that¡¯s definitely not the case, she calls herself a goddess, but none of the other gods know a goddess by that name. But we do have a nickname for her.] [Being?] [If I say it I think I¡¯ll get hit. I don¡¯t wanna. I¡¯d rather kill myself instead, I don¡¯t wann get hit.] At those teasing words, the Arucia student council president scowled. [Are you¡­ are you still mocking us! With just¡­ just that kind of a threat¡­] [Just? Threat?] [Kugh!] But at the Arucia student council president¡¯s words, the Yugrasia student council president, Nerkia¡¯s face turned stone cold as he pressured his opponent. [Just, just! Do you know what we experienced ¡®just¡¯ because of that?] [Kuhuuk!] The Spirit King of Lightning exerted more power as if to match Nerkia¡¯s anger. [For someone who hasn¡¯t even experienced it himself, you dare call it ¡®just that?¡¯ Do you know what resolve we came into this imperial festival to avoid ¡®just¡¯ that? ¡®Just¡¯ because of that, Lady Aris became a swordsmaster, and I contracted a Spirit King. Because of ¡®just¡¯ that, we despaired, and because of ¡®just¡¯ that, we became stronger!] The bright sky began to darken. Those dark clouds were all thunderclouds. The shattered earth and heavens sparking lightning gave the impression of the end of the world, and standing in the middle of it, the Yugrasia student council president screamed. [If you haven¡¯t experienced ¡®just¡¯ that, don¡¯t even put those words to your mouth, you little brat!] With those words, not a single Arucia student was left on the field. Chapter 89 RATH 89 TL: Eevee 11. Not a myth, but a legend (2) I stared nkly at the broadcast. On the screen was Nerkia, emitting a massive fighting aura after annihting Arucia like some ssic fantasy novel protagonist. Shortly afterwards, the event was dered over, and thementators that had stayed silent the entire time begin praising Nerkia, eximing how incredible he was. No, he actually is incredible. He defeated a hundred Arucia students all by himself, after all. But one of thementators that had been heaping on the praise for Nerkia, soon raised a different topic. [But, what could that summon of Professor Nicerwin possibly be that not even that Nerkia eximed he could never defeat?] [I¡¯m curious of that as well. Something that not even a swordsmaster, god-ss summoners, a Spirit King and thousands of summons could defeat all together!] ¡°I¡¯m facked.¡± ¡°Yap, owner f*cked.¡± I¡¯d at least said it rtively cleanly, but the metal bat went and said what I wanted to say anyway. Yep, I¡¯m f*cked. ¡°Owner, want me ta call over the stuco pres?¡± ¡°No, should I just head over and stomp on him myself?¡± ¡°Wiing, ya really pissed off right now, owner?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I¡¯m saying it again, but this is the middle of the imperial capital. Normally, giant stadiums like these are built outside the inner walls, even if they¡¯re events sponsored by the imperial family, but one of the previous emperors constructed numerous giant stadiums near the imperial pce on the grounds that he couldn¡¯t be bothered moving very far, resulting in an insane situation where stadiums were built inside the inner walls. The story that when his advisors tried to convince him against the idea at the time, he said ¡°if there is a shortage of ces for people to live because of the stadiums, we can just make the capital bigger!¡± and so he increased the size of the capital by over double what it was previously, was a legend that wasn¡¯t actually a legend. As you¡¯d expect from the ancestor of the current emperor and the princess, he was well and truly insane. Either way, thanks to that lunatic, to escape from this ce, you need to get through a giant castle wall that hadn¡¯t ever been subject to enemy attack. And in a ce like that, thanks to that damn student council president, I have all the aggro well and truly locked down onto me. I¡¯d been doing well avoiding the spotlight so far, and after Aris became a swordsmaster she¡¯d been drawing all the attention onto her! And thanks to their heroics this time round, all the attention would have been firmly focused onto Aris and the stuco pres, but this little brat sold out the metal bat. That sounds he scary even to me. What, someone that can win against a swordsmaster and a god-ss summoner, a Spirit King and a thousand students all on their own? I sound bloody strong?! ¡°Not you, me! I¡¯m the weally stronk one here, not owner!¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re the strong one. You¡¯re the strongest that equally beats the crap out of both gods and devils! Problem being that title¡¯s stuck to the person carrying around said strongest, i.e. me!¡± Now all the nobles in the capital are going toe moring to see me. And among those people who want a look at me, there¡¯s definitely going to be someone who knew the person named Ast. No matter how wide the capital is, and how in I look, it¡¯s impossible that a noble living in the imperial court could ever forget a face that served by the side of the princess unless that noble happened to be Sir Reia. Of course, the majority of them would just think that they were very simr. Even as they think maybe, just maybe, they will think that they look simr. But the moment any of them think ¡®could it be?¡¯ and report to the princess, she will definitelye over to confirm the report. ¡°And the moment ya found out, owner¡¯s gonna get locky locky!¡± ¡°And therefore, I¡¯m bailing out for now!¡± I wondered whether I should stomp on that damn student council president before running away, but the moment I get caught by one person, an endless hell will begin. If I say greetings to one person, then when it¡¯s over another¡¯s going toe over and say their greetings, and once they¡¯re done another wille over¡­ Since I was already familiar with that to death from my time in the imperial court, I decided to punish the student council presidentter, and for now, pack my bags and get a disguise on ASAP! ¡°I wish to see Professor Nicerwin!¡± ¡°I am Viscount Rellius. I wish to meet Professor Nicerwin!¡± ¡°My master, Count Kete wishes to meet with Professor Nicerwin.¡± ¡°Is this Yugrasia where Professor Nicerwin is?!¡± At the voicesing from the teachers¡¯ tents some way away from where I was right now, I realised that the nobles moved a lot quicker than they used to in the past, and I too, quickly made my getaway. ¡°Bring, bring Professor Nicerwin!¡± ¡°Professor Nicerwin is not here, Professor Nicerwin is in a different tent from ours!¡± ¡°That way, that way, please keep order!¡± I felt sorry for the panicking teachers, but all this was Nerkia¡¯s fault! And while deeply resenting Nerkia, I did my best to run away. #2 Their story; Ria el Nermia¡¯s story. ¡°I am Arucia¡¯s student council president, Kiir de Reirase.¡± ¡°I am Marcis¡¯s Ria el Nermia.¡± The person that reached his hand out first in greetings was the Arucia student council president. Justst year, no, just before the beginning of this imperial festival even, Arucia had been screaming that Marcis was their bitter enemy, but right now, they were an embarrassment to their name, much like Marcis was. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it simple. Do you wish to make an alliance with us for the remainder of the tournament?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Both the Arucia student council president and I had already reached the point of no return. [Arucia: 0pt] [Marcis: 7pt] [Yugrasia: 74pt] [Mercaria: 0pt] In the end, I lost to Aris and the rest of Yugrasia¡¯s attack¡¯s, and Arucia¡¯s key forces were also decimated by Yugrasia¡¯s student council president alone. And by the time we came to, all of today¡¯s events were won by Yugrasia. The events of Day 5, worth 10 points each, were supposed to be the moment where we made aeback, but it only ended up creating an inclosable gap instead. Before we reached this point, we analyzed the battle between Arucia and Yugrasia¡¯s student council president. After watching the match, none of us thought we couldn¡¯t win against him. But that didn¡¯t mean that we thought we could. All the events from this point onwards were team events. With summoners like that backing up a vanguard like Aris, there was no way we could win against that. To be honest, I had trouble just fighting against Hermes¡¯s summoner that fought beside Aris today. ¡°On the most important final day, if Arucia and Marcis works together, even Yugrasia couldn¡¯t beat us both.¡± ¡°No, we must win.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± This is ourst resort. My opinions were representative of Marcis, and as for Arucia who couldn¡¯t even touch a single person in their defeat today, finally abandoned all vestiges of their pride and formed an alliance. If we happened to lose to Yugrasia even in this scenario, the two academies¡¯ reputations would hit rock bottom. ¡°And, another. I wish to form an alliance with Mercaria as well.¡± ¡°Mercaria?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Although their fighting abilities were the worst, in terms of numbers alone, they outnumbered all three of the other academies. ¡°That¡¯s true. But¡­¡± ¡°Yes, there must be a price to pay ordingly.¡± Even though they fought against us as one of the Four Great Academies, Mercaria¡¯s fighting potential is very low. Because the majority of their students weremoners, and they mostly studied topics rted to civil service for the empire, they had no need to fight. Because of that, they had given up on the imperial festival, but they hadn¡¯t given up on their profits. Using their matches, knowledge, and numbers as capital, they participated in the imperial festival for their own profits. ¡°It seems we¡¯ll make quite a loss.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. We¡¯re in a situation where we have no choice but to be victorious.¡± The number of points on offer in today¡¯s matches were extremely out of the ordinary. Normally 10 point events only appeared from Day 6 and onwards, but this time, 10 point events appeared from Day 5. This was probably a move by the organizers to give the other schools a chance of aeback. But that opportunity turned into a situation where it was became impossible to make aeback, and at this rate, the imperial festival could be decided with over a 100 point difference. A 100 point difference? That basically put Arucia and Marcis in the dust. If Marcis, that had been constantly fighting for the 1st, 2nd spots crashed like this at the time I arrived, no matter how little I had to do with it, my evaluation crashes as well. And even though I¡¯m a first year, I was a member of the student council under stupendously good conditions! I would be a vice-president next year at the very least! To think that the Marcis I would have to lead then would be dead in the water! I do not want to have to understand the sentiments of a captain of a sinking ship. ¡°It is better to take the losses now. If we keep losing to Yugrasia like this, Arucia and Marcis will be in the gutter for the next four years at least.¡± So, don¡¯t be stingy because you¡¯re graduating this year, and spend everything. Because I still have another 3 years ahead of me! ¡­which I didn¡¯t say as Marcis¡¯s representative and for the sake of my pride as a noble. ¡°Very well.¡± But perhaps my feelings weremunicated, the Arucia student council president nodded shortly afterwards. Thank goodness. Had he refused I would have applied all sorts of psychological pressure and threats I learned how to use from the instructor, but this saves me the bother. ¡°Because we will also negotiate with Mercaria, it will not be too great a price to pay.¡± ¡°That is true. Mercaria too, will not want Yugrasia¡¯s runaway victory to continue like this.¡± There must be a demand in order for a supply to be necessary. Mercaria too, will have the number of goods they can sell decrease if Yugrasia¡¯s overwhelming rampage continues, so they probably won¡¯t ask for too high a price. ¡°Then I will return and report to Arucia¡¯s high-ranking students.¡± ¡°I too, will report to the high-ranking noble students of Marcis.¡± What Mercaria wants is not money. What they want is their future. As the majority of them aremoners, what they want for their future is the backing of high-ranking nobles. A guaranteed backing,plete with contracts! ¡°I hope you will move on this matter as quickly as possible. I want to have their cooperation by tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± With those words, the Arucia student president quickly moved left his seat. There was nothing good toe of other people knowing that we had met each other. ¡°But having said that¡­ do we even have a chance tomorrow?¡± The fact that the student council president had moved, meant that Yugrasia¡¯s student council, who had by andrge kept themselves quiet up till now, had begun to make their move. Last year, even though Yugrasia¡¯s average skill level was far below the other schools, their student council at least didn¡¯t lose out to the other schools. If they began to make a move, being even stronger than they werest year, could I stop them? All by myself? ¡°Why is there absolutely no one usable in our academy¡­¡± Everyone was just so damn weak. If they didn¡¯t have the skills, they should at least have decent mental fortitude, but that student council president of ours fainted when he saw the massive points differential, and that so-called vice-president started inciting the other imperial faction students that this was all the president¡¯s fault, at a time where we didn¡¯t have enough power even if we all came together. ¡°I¡¯m sick of this¡­¡± I was sick of it. Far, far too sick of it all. Back when I was in Howling, never would I have thought I would ever miss that ce. But, why is it that when I experienced ordinary student life like other people, did my memories of that timee back to me? Ah, of course it didn¡¯t mean that I wanted to return. But at least¡­ I couldn¡¯t help but think that if I had just one person like No.1 or No.1000, things might have been a tiny bit easier for me. That was it. It was just a passing thought. There was no way that either of them could be here. Because them not being here was the normal thing to be! ¡°Did you¡­ arrive just now?¡± The student council president was saying something with a fearful expression for some reason, but I had no spare thoughts to spare for him. ¡°I am a Marcis student, Haeel Reia.¡± The person bowing her head in front of me was someone who I spent just over a year with together. Someone who I¡¯d been missing just a few seconds ago! ¡°N, number!¡± I was about to address her with a familiar name, but No.1000 cut in before I could finish. ¡°My name is Haeel Reia.¡± ¡°H, huh?¡± ¡°My. Name. Is. Haeel. Reia.¡± ¡°Hmm, Haeel Reia¡­ wait no! What the heck are you doing here?¡± ¡°¡­Haeel Reia is a Marcis student¡­ maybe?¡± ¡°What the heck is that supposed to mean!¡± No.1000 tilted her head slightly before sending the student council president outside, leaving just the two of us together in the room. And¡­ ¡°The reason I¡¯m here¡­¡± ¡°Reason¡­¡± It was a situation where I reflexively gulped in anticipation. I already knew that No.1000 was working for that person called the Imperial Princess. So the reason that No.1000 was here¡­ it couldn¡¯t be! ¡°For this month¡¯s, food bill?¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be rriiiiiiiiiiiiiggghhhhhthttt!¡± Even at my enraged words, No.1000 made an expression as if she couldn¡¯t understand just like she used to back then, and it wasn¡¯t for another two hours until I finally got the answer I wanted out of her. Chapter 90 RATH 90 TL: Eevee 11. Not a myth, but a legend (3) #3 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I bowed my head deeply, but the other person¡¯s anger didn¡¯t abate. ¡°What is this, revenge? Is this reeveeeeeennnnnggeee!¡± Professor Harian¡¯s shrill shrieks shook the fabric of the tent. The cause was my talking about Professor Nicerwin during my match with Arucia today. Because of me, Professor Nicerwin became a monster that could face off against gods, a Spirit King, and a thousand students all at once, and was currently at the center of attention of all the empire¡¯s nobles. But¡­ ¡°Didn¡¯t I just say the truth?¡± On the contrary, I actually underyed it. Because let alone the students, not even the teachers could do anything to him! Although it should be obvious, whenever the silver devil came went around hitting teachers in the name of treatment, every time, the teachers would scream and struggle and do their best to run away. Because the moment you get hit by it just once, the devil will be an object of fear. But no teacher, not even Professor Muam or Professor Harian managed to avoid the silver devil. The moment this story gets out, the empire¡¯s curiosity towards Professor Nicerwin will explode! ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether it¡¯s the truth or not! You idiot!¡± ¡°Kuhuk!¡± I thought that was a fairly perfect argument, but what came back was Professor Harian¡¯s fist! ¡°You moron, do you have any idea what¡¯s happening right now? Every single noble that can call themselves a noble have been charging in demanding we hand over Professor Nicerwin!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t, can¡¯t we just hand him over?¡± ¡°The problem is that said Professor Nicerwin¡¯s ran away with no one the wiser!¡± After a brief rundown of what happened, apparently the nobles hade charging in asking for Professor Nicerwin, but Professor Nicerwin had already fled. And no matter how hard we tried to exin it to them, the nobles weren¡¯t believing it! The teachers were even being questioned whether Yugrasia was deliberately hiding him in order to monopolise him. And the end result of all that. ¡°You¡¯re the one who started all this and I¡¯m here to take all my anger out on yoooouuuu!¡± ¡°Kugh!¡± An explosive punching power from that tiny frame! But unlikest time, having blocked it with a perfect guard, I turned on Professor Harian and¡­ ¡°Kuahhhhhahhaaaaaaaaaahgh!¡± ¡°Imma here too!¡± The strike to my side was a familiar one, yet one that I could never ever get used to. ¡°Owner told me to tell pres. Ya dead.¡± ¡°Kuuuooooghhh!¡± In the blink of an eye, five strikes rained down onto different parts of my body. My consciousness was getting hazy. My mind wanted to faint, but my body wasn¡¯t letting me. It hurts. It hurt, and yet my mind was only getting sharper. ¡°Kuhg, gughh? Haahh!¡± ¡°Fufufu. Howzat, feels good, ¡®mirite?¡± ¡°S, stop¡­ haaaak!¡± ¡°Pres, lookie here. That¡¯s what ya saying, but your body¡¯s feeling my touch. Now, howzzit!¡± ¡°This, this is a tent without any soundproofing! There are other nobles who aren¡¯t used to this around here, not just students!¡± Professor Harian tried to stop her in response to the bizzare moans that came out of my mouth. ¡°Wanna get hit with him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just the student council president, feel free to hit him as much as you want!¡± Although it wasn¡¯t much of a resistance. ¡°Prezzie, owner¡¯s really pissed. He told me things¡¯ve turned to a real pain in the ass for him cuzza you, he said it was alright if I ended you.¡± ¡°Sp, spare me¡­¡± ¡°You know! I¡¯m a kind goddess, that doesn¡¯t kill anyone!¡± ¡°Just kill me insteeeeaaaaadd!¡± ¡°Hahyahahahaha! That¡¯s never gonna happen! Pres still has lots of work to do for the remainder of the imperial festival!¡± ¡°Kwuuuuuugh!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll be off now. Do your best!¡± Professor Harian closed her eyes at my screams and left the tent, but the silver devil didn¡¯t care and kept on drumming my body. No matter how much I apologized, or begged for forgiveness, the devil¡¯s violence didn¡¯t stop. I¡¯d much rather just faint and let it end, but the silver devil didn¡¯t even permit me that. In the end, all I could do was curse past me and my mouth for bbing on because I felt good about being strong and fighting 100 Arucia students. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± When I opened my eyes, I could see the night sky. I was definitely in a tent, no, before that it felt like there was around a page¡¯s worth of needless nk space, that people might think was an editing error! ¡°No wait, what the heck am I saying¡­¡± ¡°What are you saying indeed, hasn¡¯t everything you¡¯ve been speaking oftely been nothing but bullshit?¡± ¡°Huk!¡± The voice I heard suddenly was one that I often heard normally. But both the way of speaking and the aura around it was so dramatically different I thought it was apletely different person. ¡°P, Professor Nicerwin¡­¡± ¡°Indeed, Nerkia. Isn¡¯t this a good day to die?¡± ¡°It, it¡¯s nighttime right now so I don¡¯t know what the weather is like!¡± Feeling a very real threat to my life, I hurriedly shouted but it didn¡¯t seem to have an effect. ¡°Indeed, that¡¯s how it is. Most humans don¡¯t know when they¡¯re going to die. It¡¯s a perfect day for you to die then, no?¡± ¡°If I die then our academy will!¡± ¡°Win. Do you honestly think that Yugrasia can¡¯t win without you?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± In all honesty, there was no way Yugrasia couldn¡¯t win just because I was missing. Because each and every student in the school was running for the sake of eliminating the night study! But I need to survive first before all else! ¡°P, please let me live¡­¡± ¡°Mm, alright. I¡¯ll keep you alive at least.¡± Pat. After patting my shoulder a couple of times, Professor Nicerwin sat down on a chair that I had no idea when or where it had appeared from, crossed one leg over the other and looked down at me. ¡°I won¡¯t kill you.¡± As Professor Nicerwin beckoned, out from the darkness came a ray of silver light¡­ ¡°Heehiithiit!¡± ¡°K, kill me instead!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not gonna happen!¡± ¡°You, you hit me before! Beating me twice in one day is too much!¡± ¡°I¡¯m a girl, a bad girl!(1) I¡¯m always so mean, I¡¯m so mean!(2)¡± ¡°Kaaaaagh!¡± A tiny foot smashed my sides. I could have sworn that impact was proportional to mass and speed, but why was this small and slow kick so painful? ¡°Whaddaya mean why, of course it¡¯s cuz I am the great goddess Arcadia!¡± ¡°How¡­ kwuuugh!¡± ¡°How did I know? ¡®cuz I am the great goddess Arcadia!¡± ¡°So it¡¯s the same thhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnggggggggggaaaaagghhh!¡± Suddenly I felt 18 different ces on my body erupt in pain. As her fingers stretched out like tentacles to drum around my entire body my mind teetered between hell and hell around three times or so. There was no such thing as heaven under the silver devil¡¯s attacks. ¡°Enough.¡± And as I experienced multiple hells, Professor Nicerwin finallymanded the devil to stop. ¡°Kill¡­ me¡­¡± I knew that this hell would end once the imperial festival ended, but it was too hard to endure this pain right now. I would much rather just die right now, but I could only fear this curse that wouldn¡¯t even let me die. ¡°No, the reason why I ordered her to stop was to hit you more. At this rate, even the me¡­ this girl has a limit.¡± ¡°Please¡­¡± ¡°This girl doesn¡¯t end in just pain. It only ends because the body simply cannot ept any more blessings due to all the blessings stacking. In that case, all I have to do is make your body be able to ept more blessings.¡± ¡°Urk?¡± ¡°By attacking you normally(3). Don¡¯t worry. When this child wasn¡¯t around, I swung a bat around myself, so I still remember how to hit people in order for it to hurt normally.¡± ¡°Urk. Urgh¡­ S, stop¡­¡± To be honest, Professor Nicerwin¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t hurt. Just being lightly massaged? After being hit with the devil, Yugrasia students¡¯ pain resistance surpassed the level of humanity, so we didn¡¯t feel pain to the majority of attacks. But, ording to what Professor Nicerwin said, because of these attacks, the silver devil¡¯s attack time would get longer. When I thought that I was being attacked to get hit by the silver devil longer, every hit drove more and more fear into me. ¡°Please! Stop! Why do I have to get hit even more whenever I get hit!¡± ¡°You have already crossed the point of no return.¡±(4) Professor Nicerwin said as if I had no more chances. But, who was I. I was a member of Yugrasia, who did everything humanely possible to survive the silver devil! I could survive if I could persuade Professor Nicerwin before the devil¡¯s attack started. In that case, why was Professor Nicerwin this angry with me? Professor Harian was angry because they got stuck doing troublesome work. Was Professor Nicerwin truly the same? Probably not. Knowing Professor Nicerwin¡¯s personality, he wouldn¡¯t be moving himself for the same reason. In that case, aside from that reason, was there another reason for him to be angry? Just why? On the contrary, I just raised Professor Nicerwin¡¯s value? A teacher that not even a thousand students together couldn¡¯t defeat, was that not an owner of unbelievable skill that you couldn¡¯t find in any other academy! My achievement was in naturally revealing Professor Nicerwin¡¯s own inherent talents that hadn¡¯t seen the light of daypared to his teaching talents! ¡®Hang on, is that it?¡¯ What if Professor Nicerwin was angry that his talents had been revealed? Why? There¡¯s no need to bother about that. If I asked him, I could be at risk of getting hit even more. So all I can do is use this fact to beg for my life. ¡°I, have an answer!¡± ¡°Yes, there is an answer. Your death.¡± This, this isn¡¯t right? ¡°I have a way to return everything back to the way it was. Someone just needs to attract all the attention that¡¯s focused on Professor Nicerwin right now!¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s a good idea.¡± I¡¯m saved! ¡°But, that¡¯s something you need to do anyway. And I need something to let my ire out on.¡± It wasn¡¯t it?! As if the other students¡¯ jokes that ¡®Professor Nicerwin is actually a viin from Howling!¡¯ were real, he was looking down at me with extremely cold eyes, although at some point his hands had stopped moving. ¡°Since you seem to be reflecting, I will forgive you.¡± ¡°Th, thank you very much!¡± In a state where I couldn¡¯t yet move my body properly because of the attacks of the silver devil, I just managed to bow my head and thank him for his forgiveness. ¡°But, since it¡¯d be a bit of a waste of me hitting you¡­ Aru, hit him to his limits.¡± ¡°N, No!¡± Like a criminal sentenced to execution, my face dyed white, I screamed¡­ ¡°Yeth way!¡± ¡°Gaaaaaaaahhhhgh!¡± If there was mercy, the devil was not it. ¡°Huk!¡± ¡°You¡¯re awake.¡± ¡°I thought that we¡¯d have to leave pres out of todays¡¯ match.¡± ¡°You¡¯re alive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s our academy¡¯s president for you, you have to respect his sturdiness.¡± And when I woke my eyes, it was the next morning. When I sat up in my bed, I could see the other members of the student council looking at me with disgust. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°What happened. The silver devil beat the crap out of you and brought you here.¡± ¡°Honestly you were going ¡®hehehe¡¯ with your mouth drooling and nothing visible of your eyes but your whites, when we asked the devil we got ¡®owner was pissed so I kept hitting him!¡¯¡± ¡°We even expected to have to fight thest day without you, pres, you know?¡± ¡°I get it¡­¡± Having a rough idea of what state I was when I¡¯d returned, I sighed, but my trials were not yet over. ¡°Are you good for today¡¯s event? You kicked up such a huge fuss yesterday, if you don¡¯t go out today, it¡¯ll look weird?¡± ¡°Aaaaaaagghhhhhhh!¡± Suddenly I clutched my head and screamed. ¡°Risen, how much longer to the event?¡± ¡°Why, are you not feeling up for it? An hour till the first event, an hour forty till thest, why?¡± I¡¯d said to Professor Nicerwin. That I¡¯d turn all the attention from Professor Nicerwin back to me today. But that was only something I¡¯d said so I could survive, I didn¡¯t actually have any idea how to go about doing that. Honestly, what else would be more eye-catching than someone that could defeat a gods, a Spirit King and a thousand students all on his own! ¡°Risen, this question might sound like the dumbest thing you¡¯ve ever heard in your life¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s with that question? You wanna go? Is that it?¡± ¡°No, my life is on the line.¡± ¡°Really? Bye then.¡± Risen shooing me away with his hand was just like normal. But I knew how to turn his heart around. ¡°By the silver devil.¡± ¡°Give me some time.¡± No matter how much of an asshole Risen was, he at least had the decency to help out if it was rted to the silver devil! ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it!¡± I nodded to Risen¡¯s suggestion. If it was that, I could definitely pull all the attention to myself. Because it was something sopletely and utterly insane only Risen coulde up with! And the day of the event, seeing that thankfully, my target was present, I boldly walked forwards. Ignoring the Arucia students who were on edge at my walking forward once again, but purely for a single intention! ¡°I, Nerkia ri Derilraff dere, right here!¡± I could see the tension on the Arucia students¡¯ faces. If the person who¡¯de out and single-handedly destroyed them all came out and spouted out something like that then of course that¡¯d be a cause for worry for them, but fear not! This is nothing like that! ¡°Arucia¡¯s¡­¡± This was dangerous. Very, very dangerous. But, in order to survive, I had to say these words. ¡°Vice-president, Arietta rul Meirae! I love you so much!¡± The enormous task, that was a public confession! Chapter 91 RATH 91 TL: Eevee 11. Not a myth, but a legend (4) [Arucia¡¯s¡­ vice-president, Arietta rul Meirae! I love you so much!] ¡°He¡¯s drawing attention alright.¡± ¡°Twue dat¡­¡± I was watching the imperial festival from a secret hideout using a magic video tool that I¡¯d hurriedly brought with me, and outes a public confession. It was something I saw every now and then in my past life, but this was the first time I saw it here. In the thing called high society, public confessions were things that never truly left the conversations of nobles, regardless of whether they seeded or not. Now what sort of brave hero would risk that embarrassment and make a public confession? ¡°Then ¡®zat mean pres¡¯s a hero in a way?¡± ¡°He is. An incredible hero with no sense of shame!¡± Or he could be a hero who submitted to the evil archdevil, the metal bat! ¡°Pres¡¯s so pitiful if he gets rejected like that¡­¡± ¡°True, but he probably will get rejected. Because it¡¯s none other than an Arucia student, which he destroyed himself. Plus he¡¯s confessing to their student council¡¯s vice-president. It¡¯s an impossible match.¡± But on the contrary, that was the reason why it would burn even brighter. Why was Romeo and Juliet so sad? Why was it that in so many Korean soap operas that the main love interest was actually the son or daughter of the main character¡¯s parents¡¯ arch nemesis! Because love was something that was even sweeter the more trials and tribtions there were to defeat! So it went without saying that it was all but certain that Nerkia would be rejected, but the stories that would spread from there would be that much more¡­ [Uwuuu¡­ Ne, Nerkia¡­ what are you saying out in the open like that¡­ it¡¯s embarrassing¡­] ¡°Wut?¡± ¡°What the?¡± But the person being confessed to, Arucia¡¯s vice-president, was red-faced and at a loss for what to do. But her expression was clearly that of a maiden in love. As I looked on at her, whose face was crimson with shyness and unable to even face the other person properly¡­ ¡°Damn it.¡± I found myself automatically looking for a bamboo spear. What is this, even? ¡°Owner, even if you¡¯re a loser who couldn¡¯t even get married, making an annoyed face like that just because one of your students has a girlfriend is pathetic.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t have a girlfriend! I was confessed to a few times as well!¡± ¡°Aru¡¯s question time! Does owner want to date said confessors?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not people who you could even think of dating to begin with?¡± ¡°And therefore it¡¯s owner¡¯s loss!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t deny that!¡± I despaired at this overwhelming feeling of defeat. Why was it that there were no normal girls that approached me in this life! ¡°There¡¯s no way that a normal person would get near a person who spent half his life in an evil organization. Even if she did, she¡¯d be lucky to not get backstabbed by owner on some assignment.¡± ¡°Was that the problem all along?!¡± Damn it, to think that Howling, the ce I thought was the best workce would actually be interfering with my love life. Now that I think about it, Sia, the princess, or that crazy High Elf. All three of them were women I met while working for Howling. This was all vice-adm¡­(1) I mean Howling¡¯s fault! This was all Howling¡¯s fault! Good riddance, Howling! ¡°I think owner keeps denying it¡¯s owner¡¯s fault Howling went bust.¡± ¡°An evil organization that ruins their workers¡¯ love lives, it¡¯s alright for them to go bust!¡± In a certain hero-hating manhwa(2) their evil organization¡¯s boss actively encouraged his subordinates to find love, but Howling was interfering with mine.Serves them right if they went down. ¡°I think Howling¡¯s boss¡¯lle find you from the dead out of anger f¡¯ that¡­¡± As I ignored the metal bat and kept looking at the screen, the salt-rubbing flirting between Nerkia and Arucia¡¯s student council vice-president were reaching unwatchable levels again. [Nerkia¡­ But we are enemies. We are destined to fight each other!] [Why¡­ why must this be our fates¡­] [It¡¯s alright, Nerkia. We¡¯re both people in charge of our respective academies¡­ so there¡¯s no other choice¡­ but if you dare go easy on us because of that¡­ I¡¯m going to get angry?] [Alright Ari. I¡¯ll¡­ kuhk] [For fucks sake, keep a lid on it you asshole!] And as if he couldn¡¯t take it anymore, the whole drama was brought to a close by Risen¡¯s attack. Good job, Risen! Next time you have reason to get hit by the metal bat I¡¯ll tell her to hit you three times less! [Kukk, what was that f¡­ kuhgh?] [Die, die, die!] [Where are you thinking of getting off to date the enemy?] [This isn¡¯t because I¡¯m jealous, it¡¯s to make our idiot president that can¡¯t tell between friend or foe get his head on straight!] Starting from Risen, the other male students took turns stomping on Nerkia in extravagant coordination with each other, and to me it almost seemed like they like an organization that would wear hoodsbelled FFF.(3) If there was a point of difference, would it be that the female students very quickly took action to hide the scene of violence? [Wa, wait! What are you doing to Nerkia!] [Arietta, that¡¯s another academy¡¯s affairs. That¡¯s not something we can do anything about.] [Right. Yugrasia has Yugrasia¡¯sws.] [Surely they wouldn¡¯t kill their own president?] Arucia¡¯s vice-president was shocked, and she tried to stop the other students that were stomping on Nerkia, but Arucia¡¯s other students shook her heads and convinced her to stop. But looking at their expressions, they seemed like they were satisfied by Nerkia getting stomped on, and so you could say that Arucia and Yugrasia made peace thanks to a single couple. As always, no matter where you went, the solo brigade would always exist! [Ri, Risen. This was your idea! You said this was the best n!] [Yeah, it was. Because exactly like my genius brain expected, this was the best way to get everyone¡¯s attention! But you should have just stuck to verse one, how far are you going to rub it in our faces!] And so Risen¡¯s kicks of anger continued until the end of the match. [Wi, Winner Yugrasia?!] Although unfortunately that didn¡¯t take very long! #4 Their story: Risen de Roa¡¯s story ¡°What?!¡± The Arucia student council president had been leisurely watching the other side¡¯s school violence through their human wall, when he suddenly made a shocked face . As I savoured his stupefied expression, in the middle of the Yugrasia students that were equally stunned, Iughed like a winner. ¡°Ahahahaha! You fools! This is the power of expert strategy! The moment this fool drew your attention, I had a student specialised in infiltration collect every single one of your gs!¡± This event was basically Day 2¡¯s Capture the g event on a much bigger scale. Well, although a couple of other rules were added in, the end win condition of capturing the g remained the same. And therefore, when the pres asked me this morning how to pull attention onto him for his survival, I immediately came up with this n. ¡°When all your eyes were drawn elsewhere thanks to our goddamned president¡¯s confession, the match had already begun! The referee had already entered, and the event had long since begun! But thanks to this retard, not a single person paid attention to our academy¡¯s movements!¡± The person I had move in secret was a god-ss summoner. Because people might have caught on if I¡¯d disappeared, I gave that role to the person I¡¯d earmarked as my sessor if her personality fit, Lady Aris¡¯s friend, Lady Siir ril Reia, and had her carry out a mission unknown to everyone else. ¡°This is the god Hermes¡¯s strength! You have already lost!¡± Loki had said that in terms of speed, Hermes was a god that wasparable to him. Like Loki¡¯s shoes, Hermes also owned a pair of shoes capable of flight, and the most important thing was that Hermes was also the god of thieves. What was this perfect sessor! Was what I had thought, but unfortunately, that person was an ordinary noble girl. Yugrasia had a one-man organization that boasted of a long and distinguished history. She still didn¡¯t have the abilities to be anointed as the sessor of the head of the meetings ofdies and gentlemen of culture. I wanted to bequeath my information and distributionwork of my easy mon- I mean, customers to her, but would a normal nobledy want to do such a thing? And so in order to do so I corrupted¡­ no, that¡¯s not it¡­ dyed her in darkness¡­ no, not it either¡­ did my best in guiding her as a good senior! And so my n to teach her the pleasure of blindsiding everyone¡­ er, no, I mean the pleasure of iming victory without anyone the wiser went absolutely perfectly! And although the original n ended here, thanks to that damn pres¡¯s salting flirting I came up with a new idea! ¡°Yes, everything was¡­ none other than the idea of our great president of Yugrasia, Nerkia! You were only used, Arucia¡¯s vice-president!¡± ¡°Wait-mbb!¡± I knew the pres¡¯d try to jump out the moment I said that. And so I pressed my foot down on his face, to be urate, right on the kisser. ¡®You guys get it?¡¯ ¡®Risen, you¡­¡¯ ¡®You fearsome bastard.¡¯ ¡®But, the pres overstepped his boundaries.¡¯ ¡®Yeah, let¡¯s take this opportunity¡­ to make the pres walk the path of solos like us!¡¯ All of the students that met eyes with me nodded. The power of Yugrasia students, who couldmunicate with each other with their eyes alone in crucial moments had activated right here. ¡°Gyahahahaha! There¡¯s no way he¡¯d publicly confess right here!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, this is all our president¡¯s strategy! He became the target of your aggression and fooled you all!¡± ¡°He will do anything for the sake of victory, this is the Yugrasia student council president, the worst of them all, Nerkia!¡± ¡°Is¡­ is¡­ that¡­ that really true?¡± Giant tears flowed freely from the eyes of the Arucia vice-president that had been openly flirting only seconds ago. ¡°Ah¡­ mmff¡­ you¡­ aaagh!¡± Although he couldn¡¯t see her, but Nerkia could hear her, and he tried to lift his head at her tearful voice, but we didn¡¯t let him. -Let¡¯s do this, Loki. -Wow, holy shit. I guarantee it. Out of all my contractors so far, you¡¯re the first to ever use my Descension to pull off shit like this. -But it¡¯s fun, isn¡¯t it? -Yes, yes! I hated watching that couple flirt salt into our wounds as well! So I will help you, contractor! I used Loki¡¯s Descension, a skill that I hadn¡¯t used for any of other the imperial festivals I¡¯d been involved in, purely for the sake of breaking up a couple. ¡°It was. This was all part of my n.¡± ¡°Sob¡­ but I¡­ I was so happy¡­ I was¡­ really happy!¡± ¡°Sorry, but I am Yugrasia¡¯s student council president. For victory¡­ I am Nerkia, a bad boy who can even toy with your heart!¡± I didn¡¯t open my mouth. But a voice came out anyway. And in a perfect rendition of Nerkia¡¯s voice! -This is the power that even swayed gods with a single tongue, my power, Loki¡¯s! -Absolutely wless, that¡¯s my summon! ¡°Nerkia¡­ where are you! Show me your face! If it¡¯s true¡­ then say it to my face!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, no matter how much of an evil man I am¡­ I can¡¯t show you my face right now.¡± Loki¡¯s and my tongue, no, to be precisely urate, Loki¡¯s tongue started talking as smooth as if it¡¯d been painted in grease. ¡°You asshole, this is all a¡­ kuhhk!¡± For a brief moment, the pres pushed off the students that had dogpiled on top of him with superhuman strength, before he fell once again to the attacks of the other students. The vice-president Karen, in particr, was very skilled at it due to all her practice in pinning me down. Her skill in instantly skewering a person into the ground was the peak of art. ¡®End. Him.¡¯ ¡®Yes ma¡¯am!¡¯ For a moment, my eyes met the vice-president¡¯s, which was filled with bloodthirst, as she drew her thumb over her neck. Now that I thought about it, the vice-pres was a solo as well. And a forever alone at that. Thanks to the pres¡¯s flirting AOE taunt, a normally formidable enemy had be a trustworthy ally, as I asked Loki to finish the job. ¡°Sorry, Arietta.¡± ¡°Nerkia? Show me your face! Right now! Or else¡­ we¡¯re done!¡± ¡°Mmfhhmm!¡± I could hear the pres¡¯s muffled screams in response to the girl¡¯s voice filled with anger and resentment, but a number of people beside the president immediately used silencing spells to stop any noise from getting out. ¡°Sorry¡­¡± A voice that had traces of lingering longing. It was definitelying from my throat, but it really felt like it was the pres that was saying it. ¡°It can¡¯t be.¡± Her appearance as she fell sobbing to her knees was a bit pitiful, but with this, a couple had disappeared, and two solos had appeared in its ce. That was what I¡¯d thought. But next day, I realised that my thinking was short-sighted. That he, was a student of Yugrasia¡­ and the person that could be said to be in the highest position among us students. And that person¡­ had fled from the night study even before me, and was the very first person to attempt to do so! Meaning, he acted like a normal person, but he was actually more insane than anyone else in Yugrasia! And on the final day of the imperial festival, we felt that fact keenly through our bones. ¡°Come at me, Yugrasia!¡± As we looked on at him, betraying Yugrasia despite being the student council president. Chapter 92 RATH 92 TL: Eevee 11. Not a myth, but a legend (5) #5 Their story: a certain traitor¡¯s story. ¡°Piss off, where the hell do you get off crawling your way into?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even think about getting near before you die.¡± ¡°That, that¡¯s not it¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s not it. That¡¯s riching from the one who publicly humiliated our vice-president.¡± ¡°Heartless asshole.¡± ¡°There are things you can do to win, and things you cannot.¡± I felt the eyes look down on me as if they were looking at trash, but I could do naught but keep my mouth tightly shut. Right now, I was trash incarnate. ¡°Just one¡­ please give me just one chance.¡± ¡°Get lost.¡± No matter how much I begged or pleaded, the Arucia students refused to allow me onto their grounds. To be honest even I wouldn¡¯t allow myself in. Because the only ones who knew the full story were those evil Yugrasia students that had also participated in that event. The majority of the Yugrasia students that hadn¡¯t participated in that event thought that I had actually said what Risen had said instead. The female students of my academy were looking at me as if I was trash, and some of the male students were looking at me with respect. To the girls, I was trash that abandoned his woman for a single victory, to the boys, I was a hero that even gave up his woman in order to win. And as for Risen, the cause of all this¡­ he was avoiding me as hard as he could using Loki¡¯s full power. I¡¯d summoned all my elementals and run at him with the resolve to actually kill him, but Risen was taking this just as seriously as I was and easily slipped through my elemental encirclement, dodging in and out and here and there disgustingly easily. In the end I couldn¡¯t exact the retribution of blood once again¡­ Even when I¡¯d showed up in the Arucia residence to beg for forgiveness, I was coldly turned away, and could only walk away with lifeless footsteps. ¡°Is this¡­ really the end?¡± I could still hear Ari¡¯s cry ringing in my ears. The cry that was filled with sorrow and despair¡­ and yet asked me onest time with that final hope. ¡°Should I just sneak in?¡± As Ari¡¯s cry rang through my head, I stopped walking and looked back at Arucia. Even if the majority of the students bar Mercaria were nobles, even if the equipment they had were the best canvases avable, a canvas was still a canvas. To me, who had experimented and invented all sorts of means and methods to escape from Yugrasia¡¯s night study, there was no way that a couple of magic tools would be able to stop me. As long as those tents weren¡¯t Made In ck Anvil! ¡°Alright, I¡¯m just going to gap it and look for Ari!¡± Just as I was looking around to determine the most optimal escape route, I heard a familiar voice from behind me. ¡°¡­Are you even going tomit a crime now, oppa?¡± ¡°Re, Renya?¡± Renya ti Silgran. A childhood friend from a very early age, and the first girl that confessed to me. She wasn¡¯t jealous of my other childhood friends that also liked me, and on the contrary, helped them to confess themselves. A girl who was that gentle-hearted was now looking up at me with teary eyes. ¡°Are¡­ are you really going to be a criminal as well now, oppa?¡± ¡°N, no¡­ I just wanted to meet Ari¡­ but I couldn¡¯t find a way to meet her, that¡¯s all it was!¡± ¡°¡­But trying to sneak in is still a crime.¡± ¡°Kghhh¡­¡± ¡°Oppa¡­ I saw today¡¯s match as well, but you weren¡¯t acting like normal. The oppa I knew would never have done something so filthy just to win!¡± Sorry, I¡¯ve fallen so low I actually can do as filthy things as I need to in order to win. It was just that I was making such a huge fuss about it because it was Ahri we were talking about, to be honest if it was someone else¡¯s problem I¡¯d actually be praising Risen right about now. Because that was the kind of ce Yugrasia was. Not even the jungle would be this savage! ¡°It wasn¡¯t me that said those things yesterday¡­¡± Although since I couldn¡¯t say that as is, first I looked away and said so with a regretful voice. ¡°Really?¡± And Renya looked at me with heartrending eyes in response to my much-too practiced acting skills! ¡°Yes. It was the vice-president Risen that said those things yesterday. You know the Trickster? He used Loki¡¯s ability to change his voice into mine.¡± ¡°Really? It really wasn¡¯t oppa that did it?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± This at least was no lie. Because of that, I could nod my head with no deceit and when I did, the tears that had gathered in the corners of Renya¡¯s eyes began to flow freely. ¡°Thank goodness¡­ thank goodness¡­ Unni had worked so hard to get her and oppa recognised by her dad¡­¡± It hurt my heart to see her cry so sorrowfully, but I heard something I couldn¡¯t just gloss over. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± At my words Renya¡¯s eyes widened, and her mouth opened slightly. ¡°Ah, th¡­ that¡­ ah, that¡¯s¡­ if unni does her best at the imperial festival¡­ that¡¯s, uh¡­. If she does her best¡­ then might unni¡¯s dad not see oppa in a better light?¡± Renya can¡¯t lie. She¡¯s so, so horrible at lying. To the point where I wondered if I might have to have her enrol in Yugrasia for a short one-month course. Although of course if she did, the moment Renya met the silver devil would undoubtedly be the moment she¡¯d break up with me so it wasn¡¯t like that would ever happen! As Renya told me what was definitely a lie, I used the practical acting skills I learned in Yugrasia. ¡°Renya.¡± ¡°M, mm.¡± I lowered my voice, and made my eyes look as sad as I could. Although it wasn¡¯t as good as our abilities to y dead in order to fool the silver devil, but our skills in looking as pitiful as possible to the teachers that stood in our way were good enough for us to be able to survive by begging, even if all our houses were to fall to ruin. ¡°Is that¡­ really it?¡± In aplete turn of events to just before, now I was the one looking at Renya with tears in my eyes. ¡°Ah¡­ th, that¡¯s¡­¡± Renya couldn¡¯t meet my eyes and turned her head around so I couldn¡¯t make eye contact. ¡°Renya¡­¡± But it wasn¡¯t like I would allow that. I moved in advance to where Renya would turn her head to, and made her keep looking into my tearful eyes. ¡°Uwuu¡­. Uw?¡± As my face came into her field of view no matter which direction she turned, in the end Renya ducked her head as she started twitching. Ducking her head to avoid my line of sight wasn¡¯t a bad move. Because if she does, then she can¡¯t see my face unless I duck down under her myself. And there was no way I could stick my head under in a sad(act) situation like this. And so her ducking her head down to avoid my face was not a bad move, not a bad move at all. That is, if my objective had been to show her my sad face! Fwoomf. ¡°O, oppa?!¡± I could hear Renya¡¯s startled voice from right in front of me. My attack of choice was a surprise embrace! Renya ducked her head down to avoid looking at my face. And of course let alone my face, she couldn¡¯t see the rest of me either. And when her vision was obstructed? Of course you¡¯d have to go for the sneak attack! ¡°Renya¡­ I want to know. What happened to Ari?¡± ¡°Fueee?¡± And if the opponent didn¡¯t go down with the first sneak attack, then follow up a second, a third time to finish them off. Professor Aruhan had told us that there was no point in a sneak attack if you couldn¡¯t finish off the enemy. ¡°Renya¡­ I¡¯m¡­ sad. I don¡¯t want to have to make you lie.¡± ¡°But¡­ but still¡­¡± As I whispered into her ears, Renya¡¯s face which had already turned red, started to heat up as if she would explode. ¡°Tell me, Renya¡­¡± ¡°Th, that¡¯s¡­. Uwuu¡­ Unni told me not to say it¡­¡± Now tearing up a bit, she twisted around this way and that to escape my attack, but the more she did, the deeper she dug herself into my arms. ¡°Uwuu¡­ wha, what the¡­¡± As she only get closer the more she tried to get away, Renya was starting to lose herself. ¡®This is the end.¡¯ ¡°Are you¡­ really not going to tell me?¡± ¡°Funyaaaaaaaahh!¡± As I whispered and lightly nipped her ear, Renya finally fell to myst attack, falling to the ground with tears in her eyes. ¡°O, oppa¡¯s¡­ sniff¡­ gotten lewd¡­¡± Although she came to a bit of a weird misunderstanding. And shortly afterwards. ¡°And that¡¯s what happened.¡± ¡°So that was it.¡± What Renya told me as we sat on the grass was a long story, but easily summarised as thus. Ari and I had known each other since a very young age, but the difference in ss between her family and mine was much too great. I was from an ordinary viscount¡¯s family. Inparison, although not necessarily famous, Ari¡¯s family was one that held the title of Count, one that could be called a high-ranking noble. Because of that, Ari¡¯s father very, very much disliked me hanging around Ari. There was already a difference in ss between us, and Ari¡¯s father was a person who treated his family¡¯s pedigree as one which started as a Baron as a knight, and eventually worked its way up to a Count. It was also said that he said he would only let his daughters marry someone who had learned the sword, and often enough to essentially be a habit of his. But I only learned summoning! And as a summoner that only learned how to utilise spirits, I waspletely ignorant in terms of swordy. In a situation like that, Ari and I became lovers thanks to Renya¡¯s help, and hating to hide that truth, Ari did her best to make her father acknowledge me. Perhaps Ari¡¯s efforts had paid off, her father had told her directly that if Arucia won this year¡¯s imperial festival thanks to her efforts, he would take a second look at our rtionship. So Ari worked herself down to the bone until the imperial festival began, and improved herself! And the end result of that was¡­ ¡®They gotpletely wrecked by Yugrasiaaaaaaaaaahh!¡¯ She worked that hard, and in the end, Arucia was still on 0 points with only 1 event left! Worse, the reason she lost thetest event was because her lover, the person she¡¯d worked so hard for had betrayed her!(even if it wasn¡¯t the truth!) ¡°Unni¡­ even after the event ended, she kept crying. When I went to see her before you came, she was still crying.¡± ¡°Urghh¡­¡± Even if I couldn¡¯t hear Renya¡¯s sorrowful voice, I could almost see Ari crying in front of me. ¡°And in that situation, even if you try to sneak in to see her, unni won¡¯t want to meet you.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± She tried her hardest, worked so hard all for the sake of getting her father to acknowledge our rtionship, but I was the one who had rejected her. Even though I wasn¡¯t the one who said those things, right now, that was the only way Ari could ept the current status quo. Would she really want to meet me in that state? Even if I snuck in, would Ari actually ept me? ¡°So oppa, please, just wait a little bit. Until unni can heal her heart¡­ can you please wait just a little bit?¡± It wasn¡¯t a bad idea to listen to Renya, who said she would mediate between Ari and I. Because stepping out right now could actually hurt Ari even more than she already was. But¡­ but! ¡°No, I¡¯m not going to wait for her.¡± ¡°N, no! Even so, sneaking in is a crime!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to sneak in, either.¡± ¡°Th, then how?!¡± As Renya was shocked by what I announced, I threw away the sad expression I¡¯d had on my face, and managed a forced but bright smile. ¡°A frontal breakthrough.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± As I looked at Renya¡¯s stunned expression, I stood up from where I¡¯d been sitting down. ¡°Renya, where¡¯s Ari¡¯s tent?¡± ¡°U, unni? Unni¡¯s over there¡­ ahh!¡± Renya pointed to a tent with her finger, before realising what she¡¯d done and quickly pulling her finger away, but the target had already been sighted! ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°O, oppa?!¡± Renya hurriedly reached her hand out but she couldn¡¯t catch me. ¡°Huhh?!¡± ¡°I told you to piss off¡­ what the?!¡± ¡°Get him, the Yugrasia student council president is trying to break in!¡± With the blessing of the wind spirit, I quickly ran forward. There was no way that the likes of Arucia students could hope to catch up to my evasion skills that had been tempered by the night study. ¡°Was it that one?¡± Bang! ¡°Ari!¡± I kicked down the entrance to her tent. ¡°Ne, Nerkia?¡± When I barged in, a shocked Ari lifted her up from her bed, and I saw her eyes were bloodshot and swollen. Her hair was also in ruins. There were still tears in the corners of her eyes, and although it might be a bit rude to say this, but she was even dribbling snot which I hadn¡¯t seen from her since we were kids. ¡°D, don¡¯te in!¡± Whether it was because she realised what she looked like right now, or simply because she hated me. She yelled shrilly as she covered her face with the pillow she was holding. ¡°No.¡± There was no way I would listen to those words. ¡°Go away, go away! Yugrasia¡¯s victory is more important to you than me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± ¡°Lies! You¡­ when I asked you to show me your face back then, you didn¡¯t evene out¡­¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who said that.¡± ¡°Lies! How am I supposed to believe that!¡± As Ari threw her pillow at me and pushed me away, i¡­ ¡°Believe me.¡± ¡°Hhhph?!¡± I stole her lips away. ¡°Wh, what are you doing!¡± ¡°What am I doing, of course I just kissed you because you¡¯re so cute?¡± ¡°Are you actually Nerkia? The Nerkia I know wasn¡¯t this type of persommff!¡± I immediately blocked up that bad mouth which kept on saying useless things. With what? With my own mouth of course! ¡°Puhaa¡­ Ne, Ner¡­ mmff! W, wait! Let, let me brea¡­ mmm!¡± And as I attacked her a second, third, fourth time, I whispered into Ari¡¯s ear just as I¡¯d done with Renya. ¡°I¡¯ll make you believe that you¡¯re more important to me than Yugrasia¡¯s victory, Ari¡­¡± ¡°Re¡­ ally?¡± As Ari looked away from me slightly with a brightly flushed face, I gently kissed her cheeks and whispered into her ear. ¡°Yes¡­¡± And the next day. ¡°Come at me, Yugrasia!¡± The moment the match began, I immediately dered war on Yugrasia. Chapter 93 RATH 93 TL: Eevee 11. Not a myth, but a legend (6) #6 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. The imperial festival was all but Yugrasia¡¯s to win. Although we failed in our initial objective of total victory, that was only due to the unexpected fortune for Marcis named Ria el Nermia. Coming into the final day, Yugrasia was in first ce at 114 points. Arucia, one of the strongest contenders to win was on 0 points, in joint third with Mercaria, also on 0 points. Realistically, none of the other schools could catch up to Yugrasia. Even if the final event was worth 80 points, the greatest number of points in imperial festival history, and even if, somehow, just somehow, we managed to lose that! Even if the school who won that event was Marcis, in second ce, Yugrasia would still have an overwhelming victory of 114 to 87. Yes, that¡¯s what it should normally be¡­ ¡°The maximum number of points¡­ 4000?¡± An unbelievably ridiculous rule was revealed to us on the morning of the event. [Each academy will be in charge of defending 10 castles. And every time one is stolen, 100 points to the taking school.] That meant that the maximum number of points a school could earn was 3000. Although of course this was on the assumption that all the other schools were defeated within the time limit, but in the worst case scenario where Yugrasia failed to capture a single castle with everyone getting out, then we could finish this imperial festival inst ce. The favouritism of the administrators had far overstepped their boundaries here. In order to lodge aint about this, officially, the student council, and the student council president, in particr, needed to make a move. And so I went to find our stuco president but¡­ ¡°Is that a problem?¡± The most important president was taking this catastrophe far too lightly. ¡°Is that a problem? This is an unprecedented situation in the history of the imperial festival! This is a rule made purely to target us!¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°What do you mean, so?! Our night study is on the line here! We can¡¯t get tied down because of a stupid rule like this!¡± I yelled at Pres hard enough for me to turn red, but Pres only smiled gently. ¡°Lady Aris. What was our objective?¡± ¡°Of course that was to end this hell-like night study!¡± ¡°Yes, but we also had a secondary objective. To show how much we grew in the depths of that hell¡­ the objective of total victory.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t going to deny that the total victory was one of our goalsing into the imperial festival. But two defeats had already made that an impossible goal. ¡°This is our opportunity. A chance for us who lost to those children who barely y for a few hours at their schools, to revive our pride!¡± As Pres looked at me with a determined face, he quietly, yet clearly said. ¡°By taking all of their castles, and not allowing a single one of ours to fall.¡± And thirty minutes after the start of the event. ¡°The f*ck?¡± I swore like you¡¯d expect from some third-rate back alley thug. [Come at me, Yugrasia!] What was happening, the man who just this morning, personally said that we would not lose a single castle in our victory to uphold our pride, was personally annihting one of Yugrasia¡¯s castles and dering war on us. If that had been all, then it could have ended as just a slip of the tongue on my part. ¡°Were we too harsh during yesterday¡¯s event?¡± ¡°That probably was a bit too far.¡± ¡°But you can¡¯t say that Nerkia is meless either, can you?¡± As the student council and a number of other students that had gathered to stop the invasion of the other schools said things as if they¡¯d known of the president¡¯s betrayal in advance. ¡°Haa, this stupid as hell academy.¡± If it were me from just a year ago, I would be in chaos if I were thrown into a scenario as ridiculous as this. But having been dyed in Yugrasia¡¯s colours, I could calmly make an assessment of the situation. ¡®Yesterday¡¯s match¡­ if I recall right, Pres used his lover the Arucia vice-president to secure victory¡­¡¯ When I looked back at the magic video tool again, the students standing behind Pres were definitely Arucia students. Seeing as the Arucia students would never trust our Pres that betrayed their vice-pres unless they¡¯d gone insane¡­ ¡®It was a misunderstanding.¡¯ A clear misunderstanding, and judging by what I could hear around me, this was a misunderstanding created by our allies. And to clear up that misunderstanding¡­ and to punish the Yugrasia students that created said misunderstanding to begin with, the Pres had betrayed Yugrasia. Mm. fine. I can totally. ¡°How the hell am I supposed to understannnd thiiiiiiiissss!¡± ¡°L, Lady Aris?¡± ¡°Mdy?¡± Ignoring the shocked looks of everyone else around me, I clutched my head and screamed. ¡°Just what the hell did you do to the Pres for him to do that?!¡± ¡°Hiik!¡± Everyone around me was doing their best to avoid meeting my livid re. Most of them are seniors¡­ but now¡¯s not the time to care about that. ¡°Just what manner of insanity did you guys do, that our Pres betrayed us and is fighting for the other side? Ahh? If you have mouths then could you speak?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Lady Aris? We¡¯re still your seniors¡­¡± ¡°Ahhnnn?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± After I red at and shut down one of my seniors who put up his hand with something to say, I started looking around at everyone else. ¡°Honestly, seriously, normally I¡¯d never say this sort of thing, but right now we can actually lose at thest minute? Although some people are going home next year, I have to stay here for another three years¡­ you want me to do this f***ing night study for another three years? Isn¡¯t this just humanely not right?¡± As I grit my teeth and red at everyone, one by one their gazes aligned to a single point. Very well, just what did I expect. The situation we found ourselves in being what it was, if that human wasn¡¯t around I might actually have missed him. And as everyone¡¯s eyes fell onto him, the person suspected of causing all this, the vice-president, Risen proudly puffed out his chest and said. ¡°That asshole was pissing us all off with his flirting so I simply made them break up?¡± ¡°What kind of retarded¡­¡± ¡°Understandable.¡± I tried to deny the cause of this nonsensical stupidity, but I heard a voice beside me actually ept that excuse. ¡°Siir?¡± Siir whose character had been slowly changingtely, and in a very bad direction as well, was looking at me with a serious expression. ¡°Lady Aris, no, Aris.¡± ¡°Mm?¡± Even when I¡¯d kept telling her to speak casually with me as friends, she¡¯d kept using politenguage again and again, and yet here she was speaking casually to me. ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped. No, on the contrary, the people who got I the way of the Pres¡¯s love affairs yesterday were brave enough that they could be called heroes.¡± ¡°Siir? Just what on earth are you saying?¡± I had no clue just why interfering with the Pres¡¯s love life was worth calling people a hero for, but Siir was serious. ¡°Think about it, Aris. Have you¡­ ever had a boyfriend?¡± ¡°N, no, I haven¡¯t?¡± I hesitated slightly at the unexpected question. There was no talk about an arranged marriage as of yet, and it wasn¡¯t like there was a boy I liked, either. ¡°Indeed, not even Lady Aris, daughter of the Letia marquisate had a lover, and yet just Pres dares to¡­¡± ¡°Siir? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a proper reason¡­¡± Siir really was being ruined. Lately I¡¯d heard that the vice-pres Risen had been making contact with Siir, and something finally blew up. Siir had always maintained a demure and elegant appearance as you¡¯d expect of someone from a Count household, and yet her eyes were darkened as she emitted an incredible aura of rage. ¡°And yet he¡¯s flirting so openly in public, and moreover turning traitor for Yugrasia¡¯s enemies¡­¡± ¡°Siir, you¡¯re weird right now. Really weird! You weren¡¯t this type of character!¡± ¡°Characters and whatnot are irrelevant right now, Aris! As a solo, I¡­ am burning with anger!¡± ¡°That¡¯s it, that¡¯s the attitude! That sort of attitude is perfect for my sessor!¡± Off to the side, I saw the vice-president nodding his head in satisfaction. So it was that human who ruined Siir after all. ¡°Just what the hell have you been bullshitting to our Siir, you damn vice-president?!¡± And sessor? That human¡¯s sessor? It wouldn¡¯t have been weird if Siir had cut ties with me after she followed me to Yugrasia to experience the silver devil. And if she became that weird vice-president¡¯s sessor, then I would be facing the resentment of the Reia family for the rest of my days. Anything but that! ¡°You¡¯re popr, Siir! If you want you can take anyone you want as your lover!¡± Siir is actually very popr. As the eldest daughter of a high-ranking noble, unlike me, she was quiet and elegant, the perfect ideal of men! ¡°¡­Aris. Is that im one confirmed by the boys?¡± ¡°N, no, but¡­¡± The problem was that all these conclusions were things that I¡¯d heard from other nobledies in the same faction¡­ None of us had much to do with male nobles after all. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it Aris. We were simplyforting each other¡­ Have any of us ever been confessed to since we enrolled into Yugrasia?¡± ¡°No, but¡­¡± Despite starting academy life where it was countless confessions were said to be exchanged, neither of us had been confessed to. ¡°But wasn¡¯t that because of the night study?¡± Even if there was none of the love letters in shoeboxes or desks, or boys waiting for you after school that we¡¯d only ever heard about from high society gatherings! But we had the night study. We trained and strategized purely for the sake of surviving against the silver devil, none of us even had the space of mind to confess to anyone! ¡°But what about Pres? Even while Pres was doing the night study¡­ he had a lover?¡± ¡°Th, that¡¯s¡­¡± But Siir¡¯s counterattack shut my mouth up once again. ¡°Aris, don¡¯t try to make excuses for him. Even in that chaos¡­ Pres had a lover. No matter how much he couldn¡¯t leave the academy, even if he couldn¡¯t so much as get a glimpse of her face during the holidays. Pres still had a lover!¡± ¡°Kghhh¡­¡± ¡°How do you feel right now, Aris? Annoyed? Do you feel something burning raw from deep within? Yes, that is what you should be feeling. We did our best purely for the academy, yet in that time the man we called out student council president wasted time on a rtionship, and moreover betrayed us at this crucial moment where our night study is on the line.¡± ¡°He did¡­¡± I could slowly feel something burning deep within me. ¡°Now, think about it. Right now, Pres betrayed us under the excuse of his lover. He fooled you, Aris, he fooled us¡­ he fooled the academy and he chose his lover.¡± ¡°Yes, Pres had fooled us all¡­¡± I nodded to Siir¡¯s words. It was true. Whatever the cause, the fact that Pres had betrayed us hadn¡¯t changed. ¡°Now, think about it, Aris. What is it that you have to do? Is it admonishing our allies that gave Pres an excuse to betray us, or execute the traitor that abandoned our trust, became the ve of a girl from a different academy and raised his de against us?¡± Well of course, it was. ¡°Execute the traitor!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, that¡¯s it, Aris!¡± Siir¡¯s expression brightened as she embraced me, and whispered into my ear. ¡°The only person that can punish the Pres that betrayed us¡­ the only one that can punish our student council president, the Elemental Army, is you, our swordsmaster, Aris.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ Something only I can do¡­¡± ¡°We need to end the night study, right? We¡¯ve got our second year, third year, fourth year ahead of us, right? You don¡¯t want to keep doing the night study, do you?¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to get hit anymore. I don¡¯t wanna fight the silver devil anymore¡­¡± I hated it. I wanted to just quit this academy and transfer to a different school but Father wasn¡¯t letting me. That meant I would have to attend Yugrasia until I graduated¡­ and I had to keep doing the night study the entire time? ¡°Yes, end it. With your own hands, Aris. The night study¡­ and the life of the traitor.¡± ¡°Mm. I¡¯ll end it. I will¡­ the night study¡­ and the Pres¡¯s life!¡± I realised afterwards that something had gone wrong, but that was only something that happened ¡®afterwards.¡¯ And muchter on, when the imperial festival had ended, when I looked back at this particr scene through the recordings of the magic video tools¡­ To be precise, when I saw Siir, exchanging thumbs up with the vice-president Risen with an evil grin on her face, even while she was embracing me, I realised. I¡­ had been ying perfectly into Siir¡¯s hands the entire time! Chapter 94 RATH 94 TL: Eevee 11. Not a myth, but a legend (7) #7 Their story: Ria el Nermia¡¯s story. ¡°Just what on earth do they do over at Yugrasia?¡± After we made an alliance with Arucia, we had each sent over a person in order to cooperate more effectively. Under those circumstances, I had joined up with the vanguard of Arucia, and muttered that as I watched the Yugrasia student council president sweep away the Yugrasia students. ¡°I know, right¡­¡± And the one of the other Marcis students that had been dispatched to Arucia along with me stared nkly at that scene and nodded. Thank goodness, for a second there I thought I was too ustomed to living in an evil organization that I couldn¡¯t adjust to normal society. ¡°Well, I suppose we can take it as a good thing?¡± Yugrasia¡¯s student council president was strong. He had previously summoned a Spirit King to render Arucia¡¯s best students powerless, and even now he was using high and mid-rank elementals to overwhelm the resisting Yugrasia students with brute force. ¡°Turning one of the enemy¡¯s most powerful forces to our side is supposedly twice as effective¡­¡± But what was this feeling of unease? ¡°He¡¯s not going to backstab us all of a sudden, right? He¡¯s already betrayed his lover once.¡± ¡°Ah, apparently that was a misunderstanding. And supposedly, he¡¯s doing this right now to solve that misunderstanding¡­¡± ¡°Really?¡± I nkly stared at him fighting. Despite being strong, he never once let his guard down. He freely switched between his elementals in order to have the advantageous matchup against his opponent, and he even finished them off to make sure they were sent back to the healers. Not bingcent no matter how much weaker your enemies were than you is a very difficult thing. Even in Howling, the instructor had always stressed that onto us time and time again, and yet I¡¯d been taken off-guard and defeated. To me, those kill-confirming executions were clean enough that even I felt like I could learn a thing or two from them. And especially, the way he brought along a few Arucia students to smack the downed Yugrasia students with their sheathed swords because there were too many of them to deal with himself, made me doubt whether he actually was the Yugrasia student council president in his perfect, textbook example methodology of making sure his opponents weren¡¯t going toe back. ¡°It¡¯s a bizarre school.¡± Even if he was doing this to resolve the misunderstanding with his lover, it wouldn¡¯t have been an easy decision to betray the students that believed in him. So why it all look so natural? ¡°Lady Ria, he just outright dered war on Yugrasia.¡± ¡°What is he nning? Is it some sort of strategy of our foes to confuse us? There¡¯s no reason he¡¯d do something that insane otherwise?¡± Even if I¡¯d experienced things beyond the realm ofmon sense numerous times, the sight in front of me, was one I simply couldn¡¯t get used to. ¡°That¡¯s probably not going to happen?¡± As No.1000, no, Haeel Reia tilted her head with a look on her face that seemed to know something, I sighed. ¡°You know, No¡­ I mean, Haeel Reia?¡± As No.1000¡¯s face instantly contorted into a scowl, I hurriedly changed the way I addressed her, and only then did her expression turn neutral again. ¡°It seems that you know something, could you please tell me what it is?¡± After we reunited, I grilled her as best as I can to get her confession that she was sent here on the Imperial Princess¡¯s orders, but she didn¡¯t tell me what her mission was. If she failed to keep the secret then she¡¯d lose three dishes from her menu¡­ I had no idea just what it was that Her Highness was feeding her, but because of that, No.1000¡¯s mouth had turned into an imprable safe, and in the end, I could only give up. I could only give up¡­ so in that case, could you quit it with that ¡®I know everything!¡¯ face?! You weren¡¯t a kid who made expressions like that, were you? Weren¡¯t you a kid with a nk emotionless face? Just what was it? ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°Did you just read my mind? Was that it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be absurd. Lady Nermia, people are beginning to give us odd looks.¡± ¡°Ughh.¡± When I turned around, the other Marcis students standing around awkwardly, looking at me. They were whispering that I seemed close with a student I¡¯d met for the first time, I seemed different to how I was normally, but you know, I can hear you. ¡°Now then, Lady Nermia. It seems that we should begin moving as well.¡± Was this the power of the imperial chefs, No.1000 who had previously never taken the initiative was taking charge of her own ord. How incredible you are, imperial chefs! ¡°Die, president!¡± ¡°Kaagh, Lady Aris?!¡± A distance away, a crimson sword aura collided with lightning. Although it was made quickly just for the imperial festival, an entire section of the stone castle walls disintegrated. ¡°Do¡­ I have to go?¡± As I saw that, my footsteps halted automatically. A bloody battle that surpassed the level of students began, one that even the students of Arucia could only blink and watch. Sword auras went flying, a Spirit King was rampaging, this scene waspletely the opposite of the imperial festival, which was still a festival! ¡°You still have to go. Don¡¯t you want to win the imperial festival?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really care anymore¡­¡± Yugrasia this year was a force that anyone would have lost to. To the point that I was the admirable one to go up against them to im two victories on my own. So to be honest, I don¡¯t need things like victory. Because I don¡¯t wanna get involved with the scene in front of me! ¡°That¡¯s no good.¡± But No.1000 who had already been bought by the imperial pce¡¯s cooking didn¡¯t forgive me. ¡°Do I have to fight in the middle of all that? Is that Her Highness¡¯s orders?¡± ¡°Not really, but someone would look very poorly on Young Lady Nermia showing off her weak side.¡± ¡°Her Highness?¡± ¡°No, the instructor?¡± ¡°Wh, what?!¡± I instinctively hunched over looked around us. I almost could hear the instructor yelling whether we were scared of a few mangy brats like them. Also included was the whirring noise of something presumed to be a wooden stick of some design slicing through the air, despite being my own auditory hallucination, it was an oddly realistic one. ¡°Did, did he get caught?¡± Last I heard, it was none other than that legendary Imperial Princess herself who was trying to capture the instructor. If a tenth of those rumours were true, then the instructor would already have long since captured and dragged off to the imperial pce. And as he looked at my defeatist attitudes from a VIP seat¡­ ¡®My teaching wascking. I shouldn¡¯t have left it to Rein¡­ very well, this is the true strength of the bat!¡¯ ¡­would be what he might say as he dragged me off to the imperial pce to train. I¡¯m scared. If it was the instructor, he could actually do it as well, and that scared me even more. ¡°He hasn¡¯t been caught. Yet.¡± But thankfully, my imaginations remained imaginary. To think he was still on the run from Her Highness¡¯s grasp, really, that was our instructor for¡­ ¡°Wait, yet? That¡¯s implying that he¡¯s likely to get caught very very soon?¡± ¡°Yeah, maybe.¡± ¡°And also, you¡¯re saying that as if he¡¯s watching over me right now?¡± ¡°Yeah, maybe.¡± ¡°Can you say anything else other than yeah, maybe?¡± ¡°Yeah, no.¡± No.1000 shook her head to my screams as she pointed towards the ground where five lightning bolts had torched the earth. ¡°Go fight.¡± ¡°Damn it¡­¡± Ahh. I don¡¯t wanna fight. But if the instructor was watching me from somewhere, then that was a different story. ¡°Then first.¡± -I don¡¯t think ¡®then first¡¯ is right at all? I think owner needs to treat me more kindly?! I summoned Surtr, who had already realised his fate, far away over onto the other side. ¡°Kaaaagh!¡± ¡°Three seconds¡­¡± As I watched the fire giant get hit by Aris of Yugrasia¡¯s sword aura and disappear in three seconds, I bit down on my lips as I gathered my mana. ¡°Just in case¡­ I¡¯m just going to pretend to fight.¡± My magic began to move in sync with my body. Tap. Tap. ¡°Faster, even faster.¡± As I made light jumps, I cast a spell on my legs. What I wanted was a speed faster than the wind. Against a sword aura that shredded through magic shields like paper, magic protection was unnecessary. The best way to fight sword auras was to avoid it. Because the mana expenditure of sword auras were so great, that there was even a saying that the mark of a good swordsmaster was in not having to use your sword aura. So my choice of evasion, where I would use little of my own magic topletely drain the enemy¡¯s, was anathema to a swordsmaster. I¡¯d already proven that with two battles, and I could also guarantee that there were few people who could catch up to my speed. Only the ones who borrowed the strengths of their gods, Loki and Hermes would have speed that surpassed me. ¡°Faster, even faster.¡± I elerated even more. In order for a magician to fight against a swordsmaster, you had to rely purely on your speed and reactions. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± I drew on as much magic as I could and raised my speed to the maximum I could react to. Now all I could trust were my skills and No.1000¡¯s. I could trust her because both of us had trained under the same instructor! ¡°Mm. Bye bye.¡± ¡°Wait, why are you waving your hand and sending me off? Aren¡¯t youing with me?¡± But even skills could only be used if you took action to actually do something! All No.1000, who had sent me off to a battlefield with nothing to gain, was doing was waving her hand at me from behind my back. ¡°Haeel Reia is weak.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not Haeel Reia¡­¡± ¡°Hello? My name is¡­ Haeel Reia?¡± ¡°Can you seriously not try to maintain a character that you¡¯re not even sure of yourself? You want me to go and fight in the middle of that all by myself?¡± The Yugrasia reinforcements had arrived, and were sting away any leftover Arucia students. No matter that the Yugrasia student council president was our ally, he¡¯d already destroyed an entire castle all by himself, so we were at a disadvantage the longer this went on. The sole and best path to victory was if I held off Aris, and No.1000 beat everyone else, but it seemed like No.1000 didn¡¯t want to abandon her Haeel Reia character. ¡°Haeel Reia is weak.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s how you¡¯re going toe at me¡­ I¡¯m not fighting either?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ then this.¡± After thinking for a bit at my words, No.1000 fished out something from my pocket and pushed it into my hands. ¡°What¡­¡± I scowled down at a small piece of white paper. My instincts were telling me. That nothing good woulde out of unfolding this piece of paper. As I looked between the paper that emanated a sinister aura, and No.1000 who stared nkly back at me, I had no choice but to unfold the piece of paper. [Do whatever shemands. This is an imperial order. The Imperial Princess] ¡°I knew I shouldn¡¯t have unfolded thhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!¡± Instead of the paper I wanted to crumped up, I clutched at my head as I copsed on the ground. Damnit, it¡¯s a tiny piece of paper, yet it has an imperialmand written in it. And beside the name of the sender, was the imperial seal. If I destroyed this, I could get hauled away instantly for lese majeste. ¡°Why, why is something like this in your pocket?¡± ¡°She said to use it when I needed to work? Want one?¡± Did No.1000 truly understand the value of this piece of paper. As I saw a few more copies of the same piece of papere out from the same pocket, I barely held back a curse as I tried to return the paper. ¡°Here¡­ take it back¡­¡± ¡°Hm? It¡¯s an imperial order? Are you refusing?¡± ¡°What¡¯s with that smug face of yours? Just what the heck happened to you over thest year, for you to change so much?¡± The No.1000 I knew wasn¡¯t like this! The No.1000 I knew was a nk, simple girl who lived to eat! ¡°Mmm¡­ because¡­ the imperial pce¡¯s meals?¡± ¡°Simply amazing, chefs of the imperial pce! You changed a person this drastically!¡± I normally didn¡¯t attend them because I couldn¡¯t be bothered to go, but that deration made me want to go to one of the imperial parties just to eat their cooking. ¡°So¡­ do your best~?¡± ¡°That¡¯s unnerving as hell so stop talking like that!¡± She even sent a heart at the end. The No.1000 that I knew no longer existed. ¡®Surely No.1 isn¡¯t like that, too?¡¯ I firmly resolved to kill No.1 if he was also like that, as I ran towards Aris who I had to eliminate as quickly as possible¡­ ¡°Of course I won¡¯t get there that easily, will I?¡± Just as I was about to support the Yugrasia student council president who was fighting against Aris, a small number of students wearing ck robes blocked my way¡­ ¡°Wait a second, who are you? I¡¯m pretty sure it was stated in the rules that all students need to be wearing the uniforms that mark their affiliation?¡± ¡°We¡­ are the apostles of justice, who seek to kill the traitor Nerkia purely for the sake of the justice of the world!¡± ¡°Mm, I see.¡± There were very few people who could catch up to my maximum speed in Yugrasia. And among them, only one would spout such ridiculous bullshit. ¡°Vice-president Risen¡­¡± ¡°To be able to identify me, really, as expected of the one who defeated Lady Aris, Marcis¡¯s greatest weapon.¡± As I looked at the giant scythe that appeared out of thin air and the other ck-robed figures that surrounded me, I could only sigh once again. ¡°This¡­ is going to be tough.¡± Because even if their brain, their student council president was missing¡­ Yugrasia was more than powerful enough. Chapter 95 RATH 95 TL: Eevee 11. Not a myth, but a legend (8) #8 Their story: The beginning of a legend. ¡°Although those that saw the magic video recording will know¡­ But just in case anyone doesn¡¯t. The pres betrayed Yugrasia for his lover in Arucia.¡± As Risen faced the twelve people in front of him, they in turn had a seriousness to them that differed from the norm. ¡°Yes, just for a woman¡­ just for his own selfish sake¡­ the pres, no, Nerkia betrayed our hopes and dreams of victory in the imperial festival!¡± Risen would always call anyone of importance by their titles, yet this time, instead of his title, he called out Nerkia not as the president, but by name. That meant that he no longer recognised Pres as the president. Moreover, since as the vice-president, Risen had the right to impeach the president, this was even more meaningful. ¡°The pres we know, is no more. He¡¯s dead! All that remains is Nerkia¡­ the traitor!¡± Although it was quite something considering it wasing from Risen, the one who could arguably be said to be the cause of all this, but in this situation where our president had betrayed us, there was nothing to be gained from dividing us even further, so I kept my mouth shut. ¡°So, what are we going to do?¡± In all honesty, if we were any other academy, the students would be in pandemonium right now. No, if it were Yugrasia from justst year, we probably would have given up. But Yugrasia right now had strong fighters that weren¡¯t the president, and thanks to Professor Nicerwin¡¯s teachings especially, we were all too familiar with betrayal. Although it was truly ridiculous¡­ Professor Nicerwin had been right all along! And so although we didn¡¯t fall into panic mode just because we lost our student council president¡­ But losing one of our key forces thatmanded a Spirit King and countless other elementals was a very big loss. And as an enemy, no less. ¡°Of course.¡± And having fully understood the situation, Risen. ¡°We kill him.¡± I take that back. I don¡¯t think he does. ¡°Uh, the imperial festival prohibits killing?¡± ¡°What does that matter. He betrayed us, he abandoned us¡­do you think we could just leave alone the pres that chose a woman over us?!¡± As Risen ground his teeth in anger, howling like a beast, I stared at him and asked. ¡°You jealous?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Risen nodded. And the number of people that nodded along with Risen was¡­ ten? That¡¯s everyone else except for me? Plus, Lady Aris is included among the twelve as well? ¡°Is, is that how it works?¡± As I looked at everyone who looked resentful of something, I started to wonder just why the heck was I even here. ¡°And so¡­ we will kill Nerkia! Judgement on the filthy couple!¡± ¡°Judgement!¡± ¡°Judgement!¡± ¡°Judgement!¡± The people that raised their weapons, shouting for judgement were filled with zealotry. But, uhh¡­ Why are you doing it as well, Lady Aris? You weren¡¯t that kind of person?! ¡°Very good, very good! I have heard your resolve. Now, take this cloak. This is the proof of us, the special unit, designed to infiltrate the enemy without being discovered!¡± ¡°¡­There¡¯s nothing on it?¡± ¡°Ah, of course. We need you to make it for us, Reedan.¡± ¡°So this is why you called me?¡± I finally realised why I was chosen to be one of the twelve. ¡°Here, will this do?¡± ¡°Great work, Reedan. It¡¯s a brilliant robe befitting the darkness of the student council!¡± ¡°I feel like I¡¯m the underbelly of the student council whenever you say that though¡­¡± It was a suspicious nickname, but the truth was far more mundane. That nickname stuck to me simply because I was contracted to a darkness elemental, an extremely rare type that not even Nerkia had contracted with. My abilities were limited to simply manipting darkness to make a robe specialised for stealth, or short-range instant transition between shadows. Since I hadn¡¯t made any contracts with any high-rank elementals, just medium-rank ones, I didn¡¯t offer much in the way of sheer power, so my roles was literally the support of the other student council members. ¡°Right, then let¡¯s hurry up and end this.¡± Because of that, after I understood my job, my work was done quickly. Because the robe made with the power of a darkness elemental, it would dissipate when it was a certain distance away from me. So I had to follow along, but there wasn¡¯t all that much I had to do. I simply had to transport them without the students from other schools noticing, dispose of the president, and return. Although I personally had no hard feelings against Pres¡­ no, rather, I was actually feeling sorry for him, but making an enemy of a contractor of a Spirit King in a team battle was a greater enemy than anyone else. I don¡¯t want to get hit by the silver devil any more. I would transport myself through the shadows, yet the silver devil would reach her hand into the shadows, drag me out by force and beat me up. The embodiment of all the injustice of the world. To not have to fight against the silver devil any more, we had to be victorious in the imperial festival, and in order to achieve that, we were prepared to defeat anyone we had to. ¡°Alright, then¡­ Lady Aris and Lady Siir will take on the president, Risen and everyone else, support Lady Aris and make sure the enemy can¡¯t approach them. I will keep watch over the situation from here and prepare for our escape.¡± Far away in the distance, I could see the castle that Pres had destroyed. I stealthed myself in the shade of a nearby tree, and to take Pres out in a single attack, prepared for a sneak¡­ ¡°Dieeeeeeee!¡± Attack that didn¡¯t exist! The first attack was the throwing of a spear embued with a massive amount of aura! Moreover, Lady Aris was dual-wielding a sword in each hand, that she hadn¡¯t even used in her fight with Mereldra ril Reil, Arucia¡¯s strongest student. ¡°Surely, they wouldn¡¯t actually kill him?¡± The spear blew the castle doors off their hinges, every time her twin des cut through the air, the three metre giant castle walls ¨C even if they had been a rush build just for the imperial festival ¨C were destroyed instantly. ¡°Charge, kill the traitor!¡± And running through the annihted castle walls, Risen and the other student council members charged in as if they were fully intent on killing Pres! ¡°Hopefully I don¡¯t end up as an essory to some murder n¡­¡± As I looked over the battlefield, I felt a faint sense of unease, and I used my natural trait of having little presence ¨C for the better or the worse ¨C in addition to the power of my darkness elemental as I carefully made my way over to the fighting. ¡°Die!¡± ¡°Wait, Lady Aris? I really will die?¡± As giant lightning bolts met crimson sword auras, I beheld a scene from legends in my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m fucked if I head over there.¡± I nodded and snuck away. I saw Risen¡¯s truly disgusting style of fighting as he cornered a female student. ¡°Die, die, dieee!¡± ¡°Hahaha, if you focus on other people then you will never get past me, Lady Nermia!¡± If you were to only hear about how he dodged the spells that were thrown at him like a tempest as he sessfully held down his opponent it would sound like a perfectly textbook fight, but his actions were the pinnacle of indecency. ¡°Hahaha, I saw them again!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll seriously kill you!¡± With a re not dissimr to the ones that our other vice-president Karen so often gave Risen, Marcis¡¯s greatest danger factor, Lady Nermia was raging at Risen. Well of course it would be obvious why. The moment she made a slightly exaggerated movement he¡¯d look under her skirt, there would be no female that wouldn¡¯t get pissed off by that. ¡°Alright, her movements have gotten duller! Attack her now and finish her!¡± ¡°Surtr, actually kill them all!¡± Lady Nermia¡¯s face was flushed bright red as she pushed her skirt firmly down with one hand as she summoned the fire giant. Alright, let¡¯s not go there either. If I was taken to be one of theirrades, it felt that my life which already had no lovers, would continue to stay like that for the rest of it. What I saw was the textbook example of why Risen, who as long as he kept his mouth shut was at least as good-looking as the president, still didn¡¯t have a girlfriend. And so as I was about to sneak out of the castle, something unbelievable came to register in my ears. ¡°I had no choice, Lady Aris. For their happiness¡­ for my happiness with them! I bet my everything!¡± ¡°That¡¯s pres¡¯s problem! Does that mean our promise to be victorious at the imperial festival and be free from the night study mean nothing to you then?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Nerkia faltered over his words with a pained expression, as someone said. ¡°Yes, that is not the important thing right now.¡± That someone being me. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Senior Reedan?¡± It seemed that both Pres and Lady Aris were surprised to see me appear all of a sudden. ¡°Oi, Nerkia. I think I heard something odd in your speech just now¡­ Just now, did you say ¡®their¡¯?¡± ¡°Y, yes?¡± Nerkia seemed quite shocked to see me for some reason, but undoubtedly not as shocked as I was. ¡°Everyone in the student council knows you have a lover. But ¡®their¡¯? How many is that?¡± ¡°Uh, um¡­ Senior Reedan? I don¡¯t think now¡¯s the time to¡­¡± ¡°Now is the time.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± Lady Aris took a step back at my reply. Odd. She looked like she¡¯d seen something that scared her. ¡°Oi, speak up, Nerkia. Including the Arucia vice-president, how many lovers do you have?¡± ¡°I, uh¡­ two at Arucia, one at Marcis¡­ one senior that¡¯s already graduated and another little sister(1) that hasn¡¯t yet enrolled in any of the academies¡­¡± ¡°And how old is said little sister that hasn¡¯t yet enrolled?¡± ¡°Fif¡­ teen¡­¡± For some reason, Pres was starting to take distance from me much like Lady Aris had. But right now, I wasn¡¯t in any situation to take notice of that. I looked at my tightly clenched left fist, and my right hand with all five fingers unfurled. My left hand represented the number of lovers I¡¯d had my entire life, and my right hand was the number of Nerkia¡¯s current lovers. ¡­that pissed me off a bit. And just then, although it would be a poor way to describe a voice¡­ I heard a dark, ck voice in my mind. -I understand you. A foreign voiced that seemed to whisper into my ear. But to me, it felt all too familiar. -Well of course. I am the same existence as the emotion running through you right now. Now, let me ask. Are you angry? Angry? Of course I was angry. The reason I was perfectly fine at the president¡¯s betrayal, even when Risen and the others were practically baying at the moon, wasn¡¯t because I didn¡¯t know how to get angry. My boiling point was simply higher than everyone else¡¯s. And so even when everyone else was enraged, I could remain calm. Because it took a lot, lot more than everyone else to make me angry. But that didn¡¯t mean that I wasn¡¯t angry. Just that the point where I visibly expressed my anger was higher than everyone else¡¯s¡­ and when it burned, it burned hotter and more fiercely than anyone else! -This rage¡­ this is the first time I¡¯m feeling the likes of it. It¡¯s so beautiful. It is no ordinary anger, quick to burn and quick to cool. An anger that burns slowly, yet burns more intensely than anyone else! This was the anger I wanted! The moment I felt the ecstasy within that voice (which seemed somewhat at odds with its dark nature) flow through me, I turned my eyes to Nerkia and said. ¡°I need power.¡± ¡°R, Reedan?¡± ¡°To execute that motherfucker.¡± Nerkia¡¯s face twisted as he recognised me as an enemy proper. -Very well. I will give you power. To thee who possesses pure and righteous rage. To my first ever contractor, since the creation of this world! -The price? -Ahh. The anger, that so bewitched me. That is more than enough. Rage, and rage even more! The price was simple. But its power was more than enough to turn the tables onto Nerkia. As a student of the summoner¡¯s academy, there was no reason for me to not make a contract with as good of an opportunity as this. ¡°Very well, on my name, Reedan Rekein, I will entrust my anger to you.¡± ¡°Damn it, what the hell did you just make a contract with, Reedan?¡± In response to my words, Nerkia summoned high-rank wind and water elementals in order to strike me down, but his attacks were all stopped by Lady Aris. And. -Kahahahaha! Indeed, this is my first contract since this world took form. Nice to meet you, master of anger! My name is Wrath. Wrath, the one who rules over Wrath of the Seven Deadly Sins! The ones most primordial and instinctive among the Spirit Kings. As one who rules over emotion, I am a Spirit King of Emotion! As Wrath spoke, the world became dyed in darkness. And thus, I¡­ became the true darkness of Yugrasia¡¯s student council. And for the first time ever, I found out that even outside of the materials and nature of the world, spirits also existed within emotions. Chapter 96 RATH 96 TL: Eevee 11. Not a myth, but a legend (9) #9 Their story: Ria el Nermia¡¯s story. A giant scythe parried away the sword of fire. I destroyed the elementals¡¯ attacks that came at me from five different direction with my own magic, and threw out two more attacks in retaliation, but they were torn apart by a summoned beast in the shape of a giant dog. ¡°How troublesome.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we want to say?¡± As I scowled and grumbled, the enemy also scowled and grumbled in a simr way. We¡¯d been exchanging attacks for over 10 minutes but neither of us could inflict a critical wound on the other. If a chance had presented itself, both of us would have taken the risk and gone on the offensive, but as both of us knew the extent of the other¡¯s skills, we couldn¡¯t move rashly. ¡°Do you know what my presence here entails?¡± ¡°Well, Arucia and Marcis made an alliance. We¡¯d all predicted something like that would happen before the imperial festival even started, so we don¡¯t really care?¡± The Trickster shrugged as if it wasn¡¯t anything much. Not only the Trickster, but when I looked at the other Yugrasia students in ck robes, it felt like that all of them had assumed that Arucia and Marcis would create an alliance. ¡°In that case, you should know that our students have gone over to fight against your swordsmaster?¡± It was a taunt to bait them into attacking, but it was also the truth. Starting with No.1000, the other Marcis students that came with me had left to support the Yugrasia student council president. Even if Aris was a swordsmaster, even she would crumble under the assault of a Spirit King, magical support as well as Arucia¡¯s swordsmen. ¡°Ha, there¡¯s no way we¡¯d send our strongest card all alone, now would we? Everyone else except the people here are probably dealing with the hindrances?¡± But the Trickster replied with a carefree expression as if he¡¯d predicted that as well, and as I looked at his face I bit my lip hard enough for it to creak. ¡°Damn it, so is that how it is?¡± ¡°Heheheh, as I thought, you¡¯re the same as one of us, no? Don¡¯t put on airs or use politenguage like a noble, ande at us properly.¡± As I saw the Trickster snicker at me, I inwardly assured myself of my victory. ¡®No matter what kind of weird concept of a character he¡¯s ying¡­ No.1000 said she¡¯de here to earn her feed!¡¯ There would not be that many people from Yugrasia sent to help Aris. In that case, I didn¡¯t think that they would be able to beat No.1000. Because as long as her meals were on the line, No.1000 was one of the strongest people I knew! Even if her opponent was a swordsmaster, she wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with No.1000 that easily! ¡°Alright then¡­ I suppose I should get serious now?¡± But if I revealed that to them, they could pull away people here and send them to support Aris, so I tried not to let it show. It was then. Shudder. ¡°What the¡­?¡± I felt something dark pass through my body. The moment that something went past, I felt a sense of irritation boil up from the recesses of my mind. ¡®A mental attack?¡¯ I instantly used the magic cirction method I learned back in Howling to check the flow of my mana. Something simr to mana, yet far more primeval was stuck to my body. ¡®What¡¯s this?¡¯ I tried to dislodge it with my magic, but it wouldn¡¯t fall off. ¡°An opening!¡± And taking the opportunity of my disturbed magic, the Trickster began to attack. ¡°Surtr!¡± Evasion was impossible. If I chose to defend, then it would make it extremely difficult to dislodge this ck thing, so my choice was to use my always-trustable and discardable, the greatest shield, Surtr! ¡°Come at me, children!¡± Swinging around his giant fire whip, Surtr forced the Trickster back. ¡°You know where you stand! I am¡­ Gaah?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s big so it¡¯s nice and easy to hit.¡± ¡°I saw this summon in a video before, it looks pretty awesome. It looked tanky enough that it couldst a couple of hits from the silver devil?¡± ¡°Kegh!¡± ¡°Even if it could, it¡¯d onlyst a couple of hits. Where the heck could you use something like that?¡± ¡°Cough¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s big, isn¡¯t it? The devil might say it feels good to hit and hit it a bit more slowly. Then it can help buy a tiny bit more time for us to run.¡± ¡°Th, these brats gukh¡­¡± ¡°That sounds like a n.¡± And as I predicted, Surtr went forward confidently and got the stuffing beaten out of him, while I managed to sessfully pull off the dark things that had adhered to my body. -Owner, weren¡¯t you going to help?! -There was something wrong with my body, so I brought you out to use as a shield? -Gaagh! Then should you not have told me in advance! -Sorry, sorry~ -Is what you always say but owner you never show me any sign of sincerity whatsoever! As I ignored Surtr¡¯s grumblings as I always did, I stared down my enemies. ¡®Why are they perfectly fine?¡¯ That dark something that had stuck to my body had all adhered to them as well. But, they didn¡¯t look any different than they had before. ¡°So it was controble to not affect allieaaagh?!¡± Snick. While I was focusing directly in front of me, a freezing chill ran down my spine, causing me to instinctively throw my body to the ground and dodge something. As if to say my choice wasn¡¯t wrong, I saw my brown hair fall to the ground as I felt a cold sweat run down my back. ¡°Why¡­ did you do that?¡± While thinking that if I hadn¡¯t dodged, it would have been my head rolling on the ground instead of just my hair, I turned back to the person who had just sliced off a part of my body. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± And, said person looked at me with dead eyes and said. ¡°Because you stole my food with No.1?¡± ¡°You tried to kill me for something that was how long agooooo!¡± I screeched as I dodged her follow up attacks. Since we were both taught by the same master, no, instructor, we both knew perfectly well. Whether you were the one talking or your opponent was the one talking, never stop attacking! ¡°Wait a second, you¡¯re strong, aren¡¯t you? You said Haeel Reia is weak!¡± ¡°Mirua is strong.¡± ¡°Why the heck are you throwing away the character you were trying to keep until now just to knife me?!¡± This was no joke. The sword ki that she was nonchntly throwing around felt scarier than Aris¡¯s sword aura. ¡°No.17¡­ stole¡­ my food¡­¡± ¡°And like I¡¯m saying, why the heck are you pulling up something from that long ago! And it was just one time!¡± ¡°It was an important one time for me¡­ sniffle.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to make sniveling noises with your mouth then at least pretend to cry!¡± As I continued to dodge the sword ki, I turned my attention to where the Yugrasia students were for a split second. ¡°As I thought, not there?¡± ¡°Where are you looking.¡± ¡°Uuugh?!¡± As I saw my brown hair being flung around again, I gnashed down on my lower lip as I red forward. ¡°Alright, since it seems like everything¡¯s gone to hell in a handbasket¡­ let¡¯s do this.¡± The fact that the Yugrasia students, including the Trickster had disappeared meant that they might as well all have gone off to attack their president. It was simply not possible for me to catch up to the Trickster in a contest of speed. Moveover, considering the state of No.1000, I found it unlikely that she¡¯d let me go anytime soon. ¡°We¡¯ve never actually fought properly against each other, without No.1 getting in our way, have we?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± As I saw No.1000 nod, clutching her sword, I swallowed dryly. The reason that No.1000 was like that, was most likely due to that ck something that was sticking to her body. If I just got rid of that, No.1000 woulde back to normal. Plus, as she was wielding a single longsword instead of her usual two short swords, her stance was slightly awkward. If it was now, then it was a fight worth taking! ng! ¡°And of course it wouldn¡¯t be easy, would it?¡± No.1000 snapped her sword in half, and clutched the broken de in her free left hand. Perhaps due to the glove covering her left hand, it didn¡¯t spill a single drop of blood. ¡°Then¡­ here I go?¡± ¡°You¡¯re alreadye!¡± As No.1000 drove into my blind spot, I defended against her attack and soundlessly screamed. ¡®Why the hell is nothing going the way I expected this imperial festival!¡¯ And so started my fight with No.1000, who I¡¯d thought would be my most trustworthy ally. #10 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story. I felt something spread through the space around me. But no matter how much I prepared to defend, I didn¡¯t feel the signs of anything happening. ¡°Just what on earth did you make a contract with?¡± I gulped as I faced off against Reedan, who normally had extremely little presence. Perhaps it was because he¡¯d contracted a darkness elemental, but the boy who¡¯d always liked being alone in dark ces was suddenly emitting a fearsome presence. The aura he was giving off was dark enough that he fit perfectly with the nickname Risen jokingly gave him, ¡®the darkness of the student council,¡¯ no, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising at this stage if it went even further beyond and got a new nickname called ¡®the underbelly of the empire.¡¯ -The one in front of you has contracted a Spirit King. And a Spirit King of emotion, at that! -What kind of spirit is that? A Spirit King of emotion, this was the first time I¡¯d ever heard that they existed. A spirit that not even Professor Nicerwin had told me anything about? -There are spirits in the world that live within emotions. As they appear wherever emotions of people are, even if they are the literal embodiment of emotion, they are few in number. And even high-ranking emotion spirits have an extremely low sense of self, simr to that of most lowest-ranking spirits¡­ -Are Spirit Kings different? -Indeed. Because they¡¯re called kings, of course they¡¯re different. They can surpass normal standards, and manipte emotion itself. -Manipte emotion¡­ could it be! -Yes, that ¡®could¡¯ is the reality. They can use the mental attacks that you all are aware of, albeit with limits. However, within those limits, they can use those mental attacks as much as they want. ¡°Stop it, Reedan!¡± ¡°Stop what. I¡¯m simply doing my best to help Yugrasia win, you traitor.¡± All I got from trying to stop him were frigid dismissals. But since he was right, I had nothing to say back. ¡°Senior¡­ just what did you do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple, Lady Aris. I simply used my newly contracted Spirit King of Wrath¡­ and spread wrath out into the surroundings.¡± ¡°Spread wrath out?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s simple. Just as I am morbidly pissed off, I am making everyone else in this area as enraged as I am. Waging mutiny against a senior that tormented them, backstabbing people they normally thought poorly of¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s such an evil!¡± ¡°Hm? Have you forgotten what we learned at the academy?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I found myself at a loss for words again. The truth of war we learned at the academy. Actions that are evil to your enemies are heroic to your allies. ¡°When at a numerical disadvantage, there is no better strategy than causing internal strife between your enemies. I have the ability to cause that at will, and I used it. What is the problem?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Shut up, traitor. Traitors have no right to speak.¡± He made me talk, and he told me to shut up immediately afterwards. This was too drastic of a sudden personality change. Just what on earth had turned that quiet Reedan into this? I just couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°But, spreading wrath into the surroundings. If you do that, Risen won¡¯t be unaffected, either?¡± ¡°Hooh, so you know Risen ising?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way he wouldn¡¯t be here for something as insane as this.¡± If there was one thing that hadn¡¯t changed before or after the appearance of Professor Nicerwin, it would be the existence named Risen. As the center of all things insane within Yugrasia, and upgraded even more with the arrival of Professor Nicerwin, knowing Risen, he would have run right here to kill me. No, considering the state of Lady Aris as she charged in to kill me, it was almost certain that Risen had a hand in it. ¡°Indeed, he was the one that led us here. But traitor. You know one, but not the other.¡± ¡°What?¡± As Reedan said with an evil expression, all of a sudden it felt like he was going to say something incredibly horrifying. ¡°What I¡¯m scattering is rage. And¡­ what is the target of that boy¡¯s rage?¡± ¡°You mean¡­ me?¡± As he looked at my rigid face, Reedan smirked diabolically as if he was the demon king himself. ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°Die, Nerkiaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!¡± And at the same time, from far away came Risen¡¯s bloodthirsty scream. Ssssheeew! Together with the god-killing spear! Chapter 97 RATH 97 TL: Eevee 11. Not a myth, but a legend (10) #11 Their story: Risen de Roa¡¯s story. All of a sudden I started getting really pissed off with something. And the cause of it, that damn Nerkia¡¯s face, started circling around inside my mind¡¯s eye. ¡®Hm? Sorry, I can¡¯t hear the sounds of a solo without a girlfriend?¡¯ ¡®Once the night study ends, I¡¯m going to have a lot of lovey-dovey fun with my lover~¡¯ ¡®Hm? Should I ask my girlfriend to introduce you to a girl? Well, of course it¡¯s not going to be any guarantee!¡¯ ¡®Hahahaha¡¯ I¡¯d never heard Nerkia say these things himself, but oddly enough I heard them in Nerkia¡¯s voice, distinctly enough so that I grit my teeth hard enough for me to be able to hear the grinding of my jaws, but right now I had to fight against the enemy in front of me. ¡°You tried to kill me for something that was how long agooooo!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to fight her?¡± I didn¡¯t know why, but a small girl wearing the Marcis uniform was swinging her de against the Young Lady of the Nermia family. It was the first time I¡¯d seen her, but her strikes were fast enough that Lady Nermia had to roll on the ground to dodge them. As I watched her swing her sword without using a single trace of magic despite being a Marcis student, I said what came to mind. ¡°Oi, for some reason I really want to kill Nerkia as fast as I can, and the distraction is getting knifed by her ally. Let¡¯s hurry and kill Nerkia and gap it.¡± And the others also nodded to my words in agreement. ¡°Mm, all of a sudden I wanted to kill Nerkia as well.¡± ¡°It seems that it wasn¡¯t me that really wanted to off Pres all of a sudden.¡± ¡°This is God¡¯s will. God has unified our hearts as one in order to bring divine justice down onto Nerkia.¡± ¡°Yes, this is God¡¯s decree. Because Nerkia is a traitor who rebelled against god! He deserves to die.¡± All of our opinions were in alignment. Judging by Lady Nermia¡¯s screeching as she dodged her enemy¡¯s sword, she wouldn¡¯t have room to care about us for a while. ¡°Then, let¡¯s go!¡± At my words, everyone brought out a summon and began running over to where Lady Aris was. Those who didn¡¯t have a summon suitable for transport was riding double with those that did. Now, what should I do once I meet Nerkia? -Of course I should kill him. Loki, do you have anything decent worth using? -Hmm¡­ from what I know, traditionally, a bamboo spear(1) is the tool of choice to use against a couple? Bamboo spear¡­ bamboo spear¡­ What is this echo that resonated through my soul. They say that all the old folks¡¯ words had a good reason behind them. And the thing called the bamboo spear was echoing through my soul. Alright, let¡¯s stab Nerkia with a bamboo spear! -There¡¯s no bamboo near here. Is there anything simr? -Hm? Simr¡­ ah, I do have something a bit like it¡­ -What is it? -Hmm¡­ to cut a long story short, a long time ago, out of my friend¡¯s sons, there was a really annoying kid among them. -What¡¯s with the backstory all of a sudden? -It¡¯s not that long so listen. Anyways, that kid¡¯s mom was boasting all about how she¡¯d gotten all the things in the world to vow not to harm him. -And? -It was annoying as hell so how would I make that annoying face into a crying one, I wondered, and what do you know, I got a juicy tidbit of information that there was a single nt she hadn¡¯t managed to get an oath from. The mistletoe. -And you killed him with that? -Yep, and I gave his little brother the nt to give to him, and it killed him. And so, by killing an unkible god, a small mistletoe branch came to obtain the power to kill gods. And that¡¯s how the Mystletainn, the God-Killing Spear was born! The moment I listened, I felt, ¡®this was it!¡¯ And a spear that even killed an unkible god! Kah, a stab for you, a stab for them, a stab for everyone! -That¡¯s it, give me that! -Yep, it¡¯s not bamboo, but it¡¯s made of wood, so it should be somewhat simr. As I clutched the Mystletainn that Loki summoned, I began running with all my power and soon caught sight of Nerkia. ¡°Die, Nerkiaaaaaaaaaa!¡± A throw with the greatest speed and the greatest power! -You idiot, didn¡¯t they teach you at school that ambushes were supposed to be acted on with your mouths shut? -Ah?! And my perfect throw, was forewarned by my scream of despair. And of course, Nerkia avoided my full-power throw of the bamboo spear. #12 Their story: a certain student council president¡¯s story. I saw the stick flying towards me at a fast speed. It looked kind of pointy, but it was so thin. To the point where I wondered if I would even get hurt by getting hit by a stick like that. But why? My instincts were screaming at me to dodge it. ¡°Well, since Risen was the one who threw it¡­.¡± Nothing harmed by being careful¡­ I thought as I dodged the stick. Boooooooooommmm! A building behind me was ¡®vaporised.¡¯ ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°What?¡± At the unrealistic sounding from the stick, Lady Aris, I and even Reedan who was emitting an aura of darkness¡¯s heads automatically turned around. ¡°You know, Lady Aris. I believe there was a building behind me?¡± ¡°There was.¡± ¡°There was.¡± ¡°There was, right? Where did it go¡­¡± As I looked at the ce where there were no longer any traces of a building, I saw a stick that had been flying towards me only seconds ago. A thin stick that looked as if it might snap from a single touch. Had Risen added in his mana to create an effect like that? That was obviously impossible. It was impossible that that stick could endure such a high density of mana added to it, and even if it could, even a swordsmaster or grand magician would find it impossible to control that power so cleanly only the building was destroyed. If the additional condition that the stick was undamaged in the process was added, it was doubtful if even dragons could pull it off! ¡°Meaning, that stick is one hell of an item¡­ are you seriously trying to kill me, Risen?!¡± ¡°Damn it, you survived after all. Why are you asking the obvious?¡± As Risen clicked his tongue, it was obvious on his face he was seriously regretting having missed the shot. ¡°Even if we¡¯re being protected by magic in the imperial festival it has a limit, you know? That right now was way beyond the limits?¡± ¡°Of course. Even if that¡¯s what it looks like, it¡¯s the god-killing spear that can even kill the unkible! It¡¯s a bamboo spear I brought out specifically for you!¡± ¡°Is that something to be proud of?!¡± Bamboo spear. For some reason that name gave me the chills. A feeling that for some reason, I¡¯d be done in by a single shot. No, I¡¯d already seen more than enough evidence of its firepower. If I got hit by that, I¡¯d be more than just dead, I¡¯d bepletely erased from this ne of existence. ¡°So obediently get hit and die!¡± ¡°Would you?!¡± He was serious. This little shit was seriously trying to kill me. An anger zing fiercely that I simply couldn¡¯t understand the cause of. And seeing that rage, Reedan smirked and added fuel to the fire. ¡°Risen, did you know? He said ¡®girls¡®.¡¯¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Girlfriend¡¯s¡®.¡± ¡°Yeah, so what.¡± ¡°Now, put your hand out. Yep, like that. Now spread out all the fingers on your hand. Yep. That¡¯s it.¡± As Risen made a face as if he couldn¡¯t understand his wide-open hand, Reedan smiled brightly and said. ¡°That¡¯s how many girlfriends Nerkia has.¡± ¡°Alright, you¡¯re fucking dead, Nerkia!¡± All of a sudden, the small stick was in Risen¡¯s hands again. When I whipped my head around, the stick that had destroyed an entire building had disappeared. ¡°Wait, I plead my defence!¡± ¡°Shut up, enemy of men! ept the judgement of justice!¡± ¡°Holy shit!¡± I threw my body away from the stick that came flying at me once again. When I looked at the ground where the sticknded this time, there was a hole, small in width but deep enough I couldn¡¯t see the bottom of it. Very well. Now I have no choice either. ¡°O King, kill him!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to step out for something like this but¡­ Oh dear, this is dangerous for me as well!¡± Even the Spirit King of Lightning nched as he dodged the flying stick. I instantly used a wind elemental to form a wind wall, and made a earth wall using an earth elemental but the stick flew through them both without the slightest hint of resistance! ¡°Urk?!¡± Just as I barely dodged it and attacked Risen through the Spirit King, Aris¡¯s sword aura came flying at me in the gap it created. ¡°Did you forget you were fighting against me, Pres!¡± ¡°I¡¯m kind of fighting for my life right now, can¡¯t you please forgive me?!¡± I rolled on the ground to avoid the sword aura. At the same time I used an earth elemental to alter the gradient of the earth to quickly lift myself up and take a stance. ¡°Very well, I forgive you for betraying the school as the student council president.¡± The sword aura began to fade away from Lady Aris¡¯s sword. ¡°Thank you, Ari¡­¡± ¡°But I cannot forgive you for having a lover by yourself, you enemy of women!¡± ¡°Damn it, you a solo as well, mdy?!¡± But along with the youngdy¡¯s enraged voice, the reduced sword aura red explosively back up. ¡°Letia-style, Fifth Movement. Army Destruction.¡± The twin swords in Lady Aris¡¯s hands began to flow in a seamless dance. Oneyer, twoyers. Threeyers. The ovepping sword auras began to sweep over me like a wave. ¡°Isn¡¯t this too much!¡± ¡°It¡¯s an attack designed to destroy armies with small numbers. Since you¡¯re the Elemental Army, it¡¯s alright to use an attack aimed to destroy an army!¡± Damn it, even Lady Aris had been Risened. Just at the beginning of the first semester she¡¯d been acting confidently and elegantly as befitting of one of the Ten Great Families¡­ Not a single trace of that remained anymore! Although I had to survive first! ¡°Earth!¡± Brute-force blocking sword ki with elementals is impossible unless it¡¯s a King-ss spirit at least. And right now, Lionel the Lightning Spirit King had his hands more than full just warding off Risen. Therefore, I had no other choice but to dodge that wave of sword ki! ¡®I¡­ can only believe in you guys!¡¯ Every time I created an earth wall, it was destroyed by the waves of sword aura. But right now, I wasn¡¯t simply creating earth walls alone. Using the power of elementals, I wasn¡¯t simply forming magic earth walls, but forming bulwarks by pushing up the earth. Meaning, I was pushing out the dirt from underneath my feet. ¡°Die!¡± Lady Aris¡¯s sharp shrills apanied the waves of sword ki that threatened to swamp me. But¡­ if I get hit by this I¡¯m actually going to die, is there nothing happening on the administrators¡¯ side? ¡°Hup!¡± As I slipped downwards, what I fell into was a fairly deep tunnel that had been dug out. Whbambabababababam! Explosions rang out from above me! If I¡¯d gotten hit by that then not even fragments of my body would have been left. The sword ki storm had subsided, but I didn¡¯t dare stick my head out. ¡°Is it over?¡± ¡°Damn it, that was the number one phrase that Professor Nicerwin told us not to say when we thought the enemy might be dead!¡± ¡°Ah shit, Nerkia got hit with the revival spell. He¡¯s not dead!¡± Judging by the cacophony up top, it seemed that Risen hade with more allies. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Using the power of an earth elemental, I made a dirt doll the shape and size of a human and tossed it out the hole. Thump. ¡°Damn it, is it a fake?¡± What fell back down with a light sound was the dirt doll¡¯s head. Was it due to the wrath that Reedan had spread out, or was it simply their pure anger? No, whatever it was, it didn¡¯t matter. Those things were trying to kill me for the sole reason that I had a girlfriend. ¡°I need to run.¡± This ce was already crawling with bloodthirsty murderers. The god-killing spear, Mystletainn. And in addition to that, a Spirit King of emotion as well as a horde of Yugrasia-trained summoners are all out for my blood. This wasn¡¯t a situation I could ovee just because I contracted a Spirit King! Unless I made contracts with the majority of the high-ranking elementals of the four base elements, there was no way for me to avoid thisnd of death! ¡°Tunnels. The only way out is tunnels.¡± I heard the voice of the Spirit Kinge back saying even dodging Risen¡¯s attacks was getting hard now. Once the Spirit King is desummoned, if I¡¯m not out of here while I still can¡¯t resummon him, I¡¯m dead. And just as I was digging a hole using earth elementals as fast as I could¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a hole! The pres is in the hole!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go in without thinking, it could be a trap.¡± ¡°Water, remember Day 1! Can anyone here use summon a water elemental?¡± ¡°Those damn lunatics!¡± The water was catching up to me faster than I could tunnel out. At first it was justpping at my pants but now my upper body was starting to get wet as well. ¡°Drowning after decapitation!¡± After a getaway with my life as the gamble, I managed to reach the location where the Arucia students were just before I fell into critical danger. ¡°Die!¡± ¡°So what if you¡¯re older?!¡± Although it was still pandemonium. Chapter 98 RATH 98 TL: Eevee 11. Not a myth, but a legend (11) #13 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story II ¡°Coming from someone from a shit household?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re getting cocky for a mere junior?¡± ¡°You, I always hated you, you know that!¡± ¡°So what if you¡¯re a senior?¡± Just why did ite to this¡­ All of a sudden, the other students began raising their hackles against each other, and when one person pulled their sword out, the others pulled out their respective weapons and started fighting each other. ¡°What the heck just happened¡­ aghhh¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know why. But all of a sudden I started to get angry as well. ¡°You damn small fry, can you not hear your student council president?!¡± Just as I was about to draw my own sword and show these louts the power of the president! ¡°Uwaaak?!¡± The floor disappeared. ¡°What the? What¡¯s going on?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I want to ask, damn it! Someone¡¯s about to die over here, so can¡¯t you get your ass moving?¡± Something shoved my butt upwards, and all of a sudden I found myself flying back up towards the surface. ¡°Aaaaaaaaah!¡± ¡°Haah, haah¡­¡± I flew through the air for a brief moment, but my body was one that had been honed in martial arts for years! Although I did scream, mynding at least was perfect, and when I turned around afternding, I saw, caked in dirt, was the Yugrasia student council president, Nerkia. ¡°Die.¡± ¡°You too?!¡± And the moment I saw him, for some reason the desire to kill him began to boil. At the very least this brat¡¯s death is just, to the point even the world wants him dead! And just as I was about to stab him in the name of justice. ¡°Kuhk?!¡± ¡°Shut up and listen for the time being.¡± All of a sudden my eyes met the floor. Before I even realised what had happened, Nerkia had mounted my back as I stared dumbly back up at him. Even if I wasn¡¯t in my right mind due to this unknown feeling, I was still Arucia¡¯s student council president! As the president of the holynd for all swordsmen, where the empire¡¯s, nay, the entire continent¡¯s finest bodies honed themselves, to think I would be pinned down by a summoner! This was inconceivable. This was all¡­ part of Nerkia¡¯s plot! ¡°Die, die, die, Nerkia!¡± ¡°No seriously, I get that rage has spread out everywhere, but why the heck is that every single person that sees me wants to kill me?¡± The gaze with which he looked down on me was nothing short of humiliating. As I thought, if I didn¡¯t kill him now¡­ ¡°Listen up, Kiir. Right now you¡¯ve been hit by a mental attack. You normally didn¡¯t have these feelings against me, right?¡± Mental attack? I didn¡¯t normally have these feelings? ¡°Not really, I¡¯ve been wanting to kill you for a long time now?¡± ¡°Does this world only have people that want to kill me?¡± As Nerkia screamed, that filled me even more with the conviction that he needed to be killed as quickly as possible. ¡°Anyways, it¡¯s the enemy that¡¯s making you say what you normally kept bottled in! He¡¯s using an spirit of wrath to control your emotions!¡± ¡°Wrath¡­ it doesn¡¯t sound like a bad idea to just give into the wrath and kill you?¡± ¡°It is bad! It¡¯s plenty bad! No, before that your own students are fighting each other as well, you know? At this rate, Arucia will be routed!¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ problematic¡­¡± I regained my reasoning at the word ¡®routed.¡¯ If we werepletely routed like this, we would lose pathetically to Yugrasia. Just what did we make an alliance with Marcis for, for what did we cooperate with Nerkia for! ¡°Your death¡­ will be suspended¡­ for now¡­ although it¡¯s a crying shame¡­¡± ¡°Hey, did you have to add that on at the end? Weren¡¯t we on the same team?¡± No. You are the enemy of men. I am leaving you alive for now because I need you, but you are an absolute evil that must be eliminated someday. ¡°Damn it, I thought only Yugrasia was abnormal, but everyone else except for me is abnormal!¡± No, if the entire world is abnormal and you are the only normal one, can you truly call the world abnormal? I think it¡¯s more correct to say you¡¯re the abnormal one in a normal world? ¡°Yes, yes.¡± But first, I needed to support this asshole with our strongest forces. Although it pissed me off, but for now¡­ for now! ¡°Then, what do we have to do?¡± ¡°We need to take people out of the Spirit King of Wrath¡¯s zone of influence. And to make the rage effect ineffective, it would be best to move individually.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± I nodded, then I embued mana into my voice and shouted. ¡°Retreat!¡± And to my retreatmand, Arucia¡¯s students replied. ¡°Who the hell are you to order us around!¡± ¡°So what if you¡¯re the pres?¡± ¡°Retreat my ass, you¡¯re just running away! Do you have any shame as a Arucia student! It¡¯s because this kind of idiot is our pres that our points are in shambles like this!¡± Hold it in. Those are the words of students who have lost their reason to mental attacks. There¡¯s no reason to pay heed to their words. It¡¯s obvious that they would normally respect and rely on their student council pres¡­ ¡°That¡¯s why he¡¯d lose his crush the vice-pres to the president of another school!¡± ¡°I thought it was suspicious, but he liked her after all!¡± ¡°No, from what I know, the Yugrasia pres and our vice-pres knew each other since they were little?¡± ¡°I heard as well. They said they¡¯d marry each other when they grew up when they were ten, right?¡± ¡°Really, now?¡± ¡°Then pres is¡­¡± ¡°Yep, he is. That. A pathetic loser who didn¡¯t read the mood and got in between another couple¡¯s rtionship, and lost without even managing to confess.¡± ¡°Gaaaaagh! Who was thatst asshole? Come out here. Come out like a knight and fight me to the death!¡± I take that back. They¡¯re all enemies as well. And unlike Nerkia who could die after being used, these were enemies I could kill right now! ¡°Come at me you little sh¡­ kuhk!¡± My vision turned blurry, and something smashed into my gut. ¡°I¡¯m tired, so enough of this already.¡± Nerkia¡¯s voice wasden with weariness. ¡°Take a nap and get your heads back on straight. I¡¯ll deal with them as well.¡± That was thest thing I heard before I lost consciousness, and when I came to, most of the Arucia students, including me, had returned back to our base. And that day, another legend was added to Arucia. Never piss off the Yugrasia student council president. #14 Their story: Risen de Roa¡¯s story. ¡°Damn it, did it fail?¡± After defeating the Spirit King of Lightning, I threw Mystletainn numerous times into the hole that Nerkia had supposedly dug himself into, but it didn¡¯t feel like Nerkia was dead. ¡°He¡¯s alive, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Survive at all costs. That is Yugrasia, after all.¡± ¡°If it werest year¡¯s Nerkia he would definitely be dead.¡± ¡°It¡¯s toote to regret it now. Damn it. I charged in thinking it would be like fighting the Water Spirit King, but since I got electrocuted every time I got into close range¡­¡± As I grumbled, I summoned the bamboo spear, no, Mystletainn and threw it into the ground again. ¡°Reedan, do we continue to give chase?¡± ¡°We should. Karen¡¯s fine leading the student council on her own anyway, so tying down the hands of the alliance¡¯s main forces should be helpful.¡± Indeed, the cause was important. Even if Karen, who was normally an enemy, acknowledged us this time, Nerkia is oddly popr, for some reason. There is no reason think that an alternative portrayal Nerkia¡¯s betrayal would not surface, a bittersweet one where the Yugrasia student council president and the Arucia student council vice-president were on opposing sides yet loved each other all the same. Love over friendship! Kah~ that¡¯s a cool story. It¡¯s cool¡­ But save looking cool for fiction. Don¡¯te out and pretend to be awesome in reality! ¡°Alright then, as the elite task force, let¡¯s take on the responsibility of taking out the enemy!¡± And so, we need a cause to rally around. We were not trying to kill Nerkia because we were jealous, but instead, we were a special ops unit with a mission to take Nerkia out, and eliminate a key element in the Arucia-Marcis alliance! ¡°So is that it?¡± As if the drug named zealotry had worn off, Lady Aris was standing there with an unimpressed expression on her face. Tch, this is why we should have finished Nerkia off here. ¡°Indeed, Lady Aris. We are moving for the sake of the academy. Mdy, think about it. You have to stay at the academy for another three years. Three years with the silver devil!¡± ¡°Hnn!¡± Lady Aris¡¯s face stiffened. Indeed, it would be traumatic. Even I would want to kill myself if I had to spend another three years in the same space as the silver devil. ¡°Yes, mdy. We need to win in this event. Then that¡¯s the end of the night study, the end of the devil!¡± ¡°End of the night study¡­ end of the devil¡­¡± ¡°Yes, our victory lies with your de, Lady Aris. Defeat those damned little brats, and win, in order to put an end to the night study.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s end the night study!¡± That was easy. ¡°And in order to do that, we need to get rid of the former president, Nerkia. He is an elementalist specialising in fighting against many. If Arucia and Marcis manage to use that power, victory draws further from our reach.¡± ¡°Very well, I will dispose of the pres¡­ no, the traitor!¡± Very good, this was the perfectbination. Reedan would sow chaos within the majority of the enemy¡¯s forces, and the others would eliminate the remaining elites. And while Lady Aris would use her sword aura to bring judgement down on Nerkia, I would finish him off with the bamboo spear. Now that we all know what we¡¯re doing, we need to finish it quickly before the enemy can get ready. ¡°We will now proceed to attack Arucia!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± And it was thus that the twelve brave heroes went on an adventure to sentence judgement. #15 Their story: Ria el Nermia¡¯s story. ¡°Haa¡­ haa¡­ haa¡­¡± My breath came in rough pants. But my mind at least was at ease. ¡°It¡¯s finally over.¡± No.1000¡¯s obsession with food was incredible indeed. To the point she¡¯d drive me into a corner over something that happened nearly two years ago! But barely, just barely, with countless sacrifices from Surtr I just barely managed to peel off that ck thing that had stuck to No.1000 to bring her back to her senses. ¡°Are you tired?¡± ¡°Are you¡­ really one to talk right now¡­¡± ¡°Probably?¡± As No.1000 blinked nkly back up at me from the ground, all of a sudden I felt a massive feeling of vilification surge from within me. Our current situation was the worst it could be. I felt my cheek sting as rivulets of blood ran down it, and my left hand which had been defending against her attacks was almostpletely numb. Moreover, I was limping from the pain of my right Achilles tendon having been kicked in to within an inch of its life, and both my eyes which had had dirt thrown in them seven, eight times were still tearing up. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re sorry¡­ then do your work properly!¡± ¡°But, Haeel Reia is¡­¡± ¡°The scene of you beating the crap out of me¡¯s probably already been broadcasted all over the empire? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone left that thinks Haeel Reia is weak?¡± ¡°Uwuuu¡­ my meals this week are in danger¡­¡± ¡°My life was in danger, you know?¡± While showing absolutely no sense of sorrow for being mind-controlled and driving me near death, she was extremely depressed at the threat to her meals. ¡°If you help Marcis win, I¡¯ll let you taste all the foods that the Nermia family have. So work hard.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I¡¯d just tossed it out there, but she actually bit! To be swayed this easily, are you really alright with this, the Imperial Family? Wasn¡¯t No.1000 a secret agent under the direct subordination of Her Highness the Imperial Princess?! ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do my best!¡± As No.1000 nodded with a slightly happy expression, I worried for the empire¡¯s future¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t actually have to worry, do I?¡± If it were justst year, I would have cause to worry, but from now on, the thing called Yugrasia existed in the empire. An absolutely unbelievable school that over the span of a single short year, produced a contractor of a Spirit King, a swordsmaster, and numerous other god-ss summoners. If they could just keep this up for another 10 years, let alone unifying the continent, they could also probably conquer the demon continent and the rest of the world. ¡°Yugrasia is a dangerous ce. So even No¡­ I mean, Haeel Reia has to be careful of them.¡± ¡°Mm, I know.¡± But it seemed that No.1000 didn¡¯t see Yugrasia as much of a threat. ¡°No, they¡¯re a lot more dangerous than you think.¡± At her emotionless response I scowled and warned her, but the answer she gave back was shocking. ¡°Mm, of course. They¡¯re the students of the academy being taught by the instructor, of course they won¡¯t be a pushover?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± What did I just hear. Instructor, did No.1000 meet a new instructor after being employed by the imperial family? Were there one of the imperial family¡¯s instructors among the teachers of Yugrasia at present?! -Owner, face reality! It was that motherfucker! His face wasn¡¯t just simr, it was the same person! -It, it can¡¯t be! -Humans, no, all living creatures have a limit! That¡¯s a matter of fact! And Yugrasia is full of lunatics that have all surpassed those limits! You know perfectly well what that means! -N, no¡­ it, it can¡¯t be¡­ All of a sudden I felt my lower lips re in pain as I tasted blood on my tongue. At the same time, I recalled the events of the past. ¡®I see that you have great potential as a summoner. Have you considereding to Yugrasia?¡¯ Ahh¡­ the instructor told me toe, yet I refused. No, I went beyond just refusing him¡­ I t-out ignored him, didn¡¯t I? ¡®I¡¯d rather sell my soul to another devil and win instead, I can¡¯t fight against the silver devil!¡¯ Now I finally understood the meaning of the words of the Yugrasia students. Yes, they had met it. No, experienced it. The one that had even forced the Sword Star to submit, the being that was still unknown territory to me, the metal bat! And after putting all the pieces of the puzzle together¡­ I realised one overwhelming truth. ¡°I¡¯m screwed¡­¡± The fearsome truth, that the instructor had been my enemy this entire time. Chapter 99 RATH 99 TL: Eevee 11. Not a myth, but a legend (12) I¡¯m screwed. I¡¯m screwed. I¡¯m screwed! ¡°Uwiit, why¡¯s owner¡¯s disciple here? Reunion?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s possible.¡± In the video, two students in Marcis uniforms were fighting. One is my ex-disciple from the Nermia family. And the other was her fellow cohort disciple and the one I acknowledged as the survival king! Sword ki went flying everywhere, Surtr died, magic was flung around everywhere, Surtr died in a flurry of exchanges, and No.17 won in the end but that wasn¡¯t the important thing. ¡°I have a bad feeling about this.¡± In all honesty, the one I worried the least for out of my ex-disciples was that No.1000. Her survivability that would let her live no matter where she was thrown into was one thing, but even her origins were that of a perfect orphan. And moreover, even I couldn¡¯t fathom the depths of her potential, to the point where if I starved her a few times she might actually break through to the realm of a swordsmaster, such was the girl named No.1000. There was no way in hell that the imperial princess would leave her alone. The other two were children of prestigious families that even Her Highness wouldn¡¯t find it worth bothering them for, but in the case of No.1000 who was a perfect orphan, there¡¯s no way that the princess, whose hobby was collecting talented people, would ever leave her alone? And she¡¯s the most cost-efficient talent that would swear undying loyalty just as long as you fed her, no less! Add to that a personality that was impossible to predict, No.1000 was exactly the imperial princess¡¯s type. That girl who I didn¡¯t worry about for those reasons, had suddenly shown up in the middle of the imperial festival. Would she have enrolled in Marcis because the imperial princess didn¡¯t hire her? Never. Firstly there¡¯s the fact that she didn¡¯t really show all that much potential for magic, but since Marcis requires all sorts of magic-rted tools for their sses, until justst year they had the highest tuition fees among all the schools. There was no way that No.1000 had the funds to pay that expensive tuition, and even if she did, she would be infinitely more likely to go on a foodie road trip. Then would Her Highness send No.1000 to Marcis to learn magic? That too, is outside the realm of possibility. The imperial princess sees the academies as a yground for children. Thanks to her innate talent which surpassed genius and reached the realm of monsters, the princess could exceed others in just about anything no matter how much she half-assed it, leaving her without much interest in education. Although she showed great interest in education on how to screw over other people. Anyways, there was no way that that imperial princess would send No.1000 to Marcis because she showed talent for magic. She¡¯d think something along the lines of ¡®she¡¯d make a pretty decent assassin as well,¡¯ and throw her into her personal battlemage brigade. Therefore, there was only one reason that No.1000 was participating in the imperial festival in a Marcis uniform. ¡°The imperial princess is nearby.¡± A shudder tore through the entire length of my body. In normal circumstances, the imperial princess present at the imperial festival should be perfectly normal. Because of course the First Imperial Princess would be present on the anniversary of the day the empire was founded! ¡°But th¡¯ fact that the imperial princess that went off to the edges of the continent to catch owner is here means that she came knowing owner¡¯s here?¡± ¡°And if I get caught it will be extremely dangerous for me!¡± ¡°So, owner¡­ we running again?¡± ¡°¡­Probably?¡± Of course, maybe No.1000 could have just enrolled into Marcis. Maybe the imperial princess might not have taken in No.1000 knowing that she could betray her if an enemy of the imperial princess found someone that could cook better than the pce chefs. So the Nermia family took No.1000 in as an oldpanion. Which would be why No.1000 enrolled in Marcis at a simr time to No.1000! ¡°But methinks that it¡¯s probably th¡¯ princess¡¯s n to locky locky owner up?¡± ¡°Of course it is, because there¡¯s no way my life would ever go that well!¡± But that situation is the absolute best case scenario. How many times has the best-case scenario ever urred in my life? I could count those on one hand, but in contrast, the worst-case scenarios were very, verymon. So for now, I would run. Even though all I¡¯ve done is invest without a single return so I¡¯d take massive losses if I ran away now¡­ But cutting your losses for the future instead of causing the downfall of the entire household is the path of the wise investor. ¡°That¡¯s what ya say owner, but ya body¡¯s honest! Your entire body¡¯s shivering?!¡± ¡°Ggghhh¡­ so close¡­ so close!¡± Just as I¡¯d paid off my debt to ck Anvil, I took on new debt to renovate the academy! The school¡¯s finances were so disgustingly shit, I still hadn¡¯t managed to embezzle a single copper! To think I¡¯d have to abandon the goose that would onlyy golden eggs from now on! ¡°Ee, owner. I wanna spend happy days of school violence with owner, but for now we gotta run!¡± ¡°Kgggghhh¡­ damn it!¡± For the first time in a while, I put on an inconspicuous brown robe, and put on my emergency wig. -Where ya going? Instead of her eye-catching metal bat form, I had her transform into two bracelets, one on each arm. ¡°Firstly, go around the castle gates¡­ and see what¡¯s happening.¡± Since I could be making a fuss over nothing and do something stupid like run away for nothing, I need to collect information. So I went out, and scouted¡­ ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Ah, they said that they were blocking all doors in the capital temporarily? The people that hade to watch the imperial festival wereining outside the castle walls.¡± ¡°But since it¡¯s an imperial order, it can¡¯t be helped.¡± -Don¡¯t think we need ta check? -Probably? Damn it, look how disgustingly this imperial princess works. She sealed off the exits from the beginning. There¡¯s no way this was a coincidence. -But even if she did, I already made an escape route! -That¡¯s an experienced runaway for ya! I slowly, and very casually walked in a way that wouldn¡¯t draw any attention. The first step to running away. Don¡¯t make it too obvious that you¡¯re trying to run away, and act like a normal citizen. If you¡¯re looking around here and there, looking unsettled, then anyone would think you¡¯re a suspicious person. Those idiots usually get hauled away thanks to the empire¡¯s civilians who have a heart for reporting suspicious activity asrge as the purses of the empire¡¯s bounty system. So I walk normally. I don¡¯t cover my face suspiciously with a robe, but just a few strands of a fake moustache and an aggressive scowl on my face. The reason for the scowl and the moustache is to give off a ¡®I¡¯m an asshole so don¡¯t get close to me!¡¯ aura. Because no one woulde ask someone with an ugly scowl for directions! And it didn¡¯t take very long for us to arrive to a location where we could see Yugrasia. -Someone¡¯s going to pop out if we enter through the front door, won¡¯t they? -Won¡¯t about ten swordsmasters show up? -As long as they don¡¯t summon every single swordsmaster in the empire, that¡¯s not going to happen¡­ right? -Nup, it¡¯s possible if it¡¯s owner. Believe in owner¡¯s crappy luck a little more! I didn¡¯t want to believe in it at all, but for some reason I felt it could very well be possible. ¡°And so, a hidden tunnel!¡± -Finally, the secret hole the students wanted ever so much to discover has been found! Among the outer walls of the academy, I snuck over to a ce I¡¯d marked in secret. Of course I didn¡¯t do something as stupid as making a hole in the wall. The students who were escaping with their lives on the line could very well have checked the wall out of desperation. ¡°The secret is in the ground.¡± And so I didn¡¯t make a hole in the wall. The hole was in the ground underneath. I changed the shape of one of bracelets that were the metal bat into a thin de, pushed it into the gap of the hidden tunnel and pulled. And with a creak, what appeared in front of our eyes was a hidden tunnel that passed through the outer wall! ¡°A hidden tunnel like this is a man¡¯s romance.¡± -I reckon it¡¯d be more ¡®a th¡¯ students¡¯ romance rather than a man¡¯s tho? Of course. If I told them, the moment ss ended each and every one of them would run here to try to escape. But since this is my escape route, I cannot share this with anyone! ¡°Pwuha¡­ it hasn¡¯t even been all that long, but it¡¯s so dusty already¡­¡± I covered my mouth with my sleeve and headed underground. Although I closed the door behind me, it would almost certainly leave traces. Since someone could open the door out of curiosity, I needed to move as quickly as possible. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ no one outside.¡± Although I call it a hidden tunnel, it¡¯s a hidden tunnel designed to pass through the outer walls. The tunnel wasn¡¯t even five metres long, so it didn¡¯t take long for me to infiltrate into Yugrasia, and at the exit, I cracked open the trapdoor a peek, checked whether there was anyone around, and hurriedly came up and swept away any traces with my foot. And with this, there was no longer any trace of the escape route on Yugrasia¡¯s side! Now all I had to do was enter the academy, and finally give up on everything to enjoy a normal farming life! Creak. ¡°Just a moment, please.¡± The moment I opened the door to the school¡¯s main building, I heard a familiar voice from behind me. I didn¡¯t dare to turn my head to face it, nor could I ignore it and keep walking. Because the owner of that voice, was the strongest female knight along with the Sword Star. No, a person whose name woulde up even when discussing the strongest swordsmen. ¡°My name is Reia, a knight serving the First Imperial Princess. I wish to ask you for directions, are you an administrator of Yugrasia?¡± She was the Sword Princess, one of my old workce colleagues. #16 Their story: A certain viins¡¯ story. ¡°Damn empire!¡± A man swore in the shadows of a dark alley. Once, just once. Having realised that the anti-empire army was active in the imperial festival by a stroke of dumb luck, the empire¡¯s response was much too swift. ¡°Damn it, they blocked off the exits already.¡± They were in the middle of the imperial festival, which could be said to be one of the biggest processions in the empire. Even if it was drawing to an end, there were still many merchants and nobles that sought to enter the capital. And yet they closed the doors on them without a single word of exnation, except that they couldn¡¯t tell them right now? If this had happened in any other kingdom, the bacsh from the merchants or the nobles would have been fierce, but this Karuan Empire was different. With just a single sentence that ¡®it was an imperial order,¡¯ everyone was reduced to sitting outside the city gates with their mouths mmed shut. ¡°Damn it¡­¡± He hadn¡¯t expected a tidal wave of all things in a match between students, and in thebyrinth at that, would lead to the current situation, but the anti-empire army¡¯s forces were still powerful. But even that mighty power could only be used in unison with each other. Right now, when everyone was getting picked off one by one, even that almighty strength was useless. ¡°Are there still no orders?¡± He¡¯d already been circling around for three hours, yet there were no signs of the anti-empire army¡¯s codes. ¡°Damn it, shit. At this rate¡­ this is?¡± In the eyes of the sighing man, he sighted a familiar scrawl. The anti-empire¡¯s code. It might be a simple scribble that could be found in anymon alley, but it was in reality a code that any member of the anti-empire army could read. ¡°Where everything became twisted, everything will be righted.¡± The man ruminated over those words. Where everything became twisted. That was almost certainly the imperial festival where the students had been. In that case, did that mean that everything would be righted there as well? What event were the students in the middle of right now? ¡°Siege¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t a bad choice. As long as we could secure the students as hostages, we could stage a hostage situation in the middle of the imperial capital behind castle walls, albeit weak and low ones. Although we couldn¡¯t run away, the exits had already been sealed anyway. No, even without taking that factor into ount, the anti-empire army had resolved themselves to end it here at this very imperial festival. And so they gathered. They infiltrated in secret, for the sake of capturing the students as hostages, to tell the emperor that only ever treated them like insects of their existence! That was how it should have, how it should have gone! ¡°Die, Nerkiaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!¡± ¡°Block it, block it!¡± The expensive magic shield that was supposed to be a precaution against the empire¡¯s magic bombardment was shredded like paper by a single small wooden branch. ¡°Kgghhh¡­ screw the anti-empire army! Damn it all, give me my life back!¡± ¡°Gaagh! You, you little!¡± Suddenly some of our allies screamed and began to attack each other. ¡°How¡­ how is this happening?¡± A scene yed itself in front of his eyes that failed toprehend what was happening. Even his head couldn¡¯t understand the events in front of him now. As he stood there nkly staring at what was happening before him, where the sword aura of a swordsmaster that not even the anti-empire army had was flying around every which way, and a giant of fire danced around the battlefield, the man couldn¡¯t help butugh dejectedly. ¡°What the heck just happened?¡± And the moment the man lifted his head. -Elemental Roar. A bombardment recreated from the age of myths fell squarely onto his head. Chapter 100 RATH 100 TL: Eevee Oh hey, chapter 100. 11. Not a myth, but a legend (13) #16 Their story: Karen rel Regrena¡¯s story. ¡°Karen, we¡¯ve got contact from Unit Five. They¡¯ve sessfully secured their target, Mercaria.¡± ¡°Vice-president, report from Unit Twelve! They¡¯ve sessfully taken down one of Mercaria¡¯s castles!¡± ¡°Very good, keep going like this!¡± As I listened to the reportsing in, I issued the next batch ofmands. Normally this would be the student council president Nerkia¡¯s job, but that idiot flipped out on how he¡¯d clear up the misunderstanding with his lover and went over to Arucia. Because of that, tens of our students and a castle was taken down. Was this the price for my own fit of anger yesterday¡­ I thought with a bitter smile. ¡°Senior, report from Unit Zero. They say they couldn¡¯t dispose of the pres, but they would continue to move as an elite unit to tie up Arucia and Marcis¡¯s key forces. And it has also been confirmed that Marcis and Arucia have formed an alliance as we had expected them to.¡± ¡°Really now? Tell them I got it.¡± The pres is dangerous. We, his schoolmates knew that better about the danger he posed than anyone else. Especially in team events like these, were moments were Pres was stronger than anyone. If Lady Aris, as a swordsmaster and god-ss summoner, was someone who could change the tides of battle, then Pres was someone who could dominate the battlefield itself. That was why I had left Risen alone to rampage to his heart¡¯s content. Risen had neither the power to cause a reversal in battle, nor did he have the power to dominate the battlefield., But he had a disgusting personality that let him backstab an ally without even a moment¡¯s hesitation, and in terms ofpletely f***ing a person over, there was no one that could evene close to Risen. Therefore, as Risen¡¯s target, the pres was f***ed. Risen would care not for whatever means or methods he used to dispose of the pres. If it were any other academy¡¯s student, then I wouldn¡¯t leave him alone to do what he wanted. Because if something went wrong, that could actually lead to us getting disqualified for cheating! But if it¡¯s the pres, one of our students, then underhand tactics are allowed to an extent. Because there were no provisions on fighting between allies in the rulebook for the imperial festival. Of course, the mere prospect of having to fight your allies is something that no one except Professor Nicerwin coulde up with. ¡°Once Mercaria is wrapped up, send five units that went to Mercaria and have them take a crack at Marcis. ording to Risen¡¯s reports, a number of their heavy hitters have headed over to Arucia.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Which meant that my role was to ensure we imed victory in the imperial festival so we could finally say goodbye to that damned night study. Beginning with the weakest, Mercaria, as long as we kept on making territory gains, victory was ours. In a fight where both sides were missing their powerhouses, the students of Yugrasia would never lose to the other schools. Because we didn¡¯t spend our year so leisurely, oh no. ¡°Let¡¯s do our best. This disgusting night study, we should end it, right?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Everyone around me nodded and replied in turn. Yes, this was finally the end. Once this imperial festival was over, we were free! Arucia, Marcis, Mercaria, all of them were sacrifices for our freedom! The only thing that could stop us, who were strengthened by the silver devil! ¡°Vice-pres, Pres¡¯s showed himself at Mercaria!¡± ¡°Damn it, retreat! Retreat!¡± Was our student council president, who had been strengthened by the same silver devil we had. #17 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story ¡°Wha, why?¡± A Mercaria student blinked at me with shocked eyes, after I¡¯d just taken down a Yugrasia student. ¡°I¡¯m on Arucia¡¯s side now.¡± ¡°Huh? Huhh? Huuhhhh?¡± Judging by how his face¡¯s saying he didn¡¯t understand, it seemed that the stories of how Mercaria students would be the future talents that would support the empire were all lies. They couldn¡¯t understand a simple betrayal even though it was exined this simply. If it had been a Yugrasia student, the moment I attacked them from behind they would have judged me a traitor and retaliated ordingly as a matter of fact. -Contractor, don¡¯t you think that believing that line of thought to be natural is the stranger one? The Spirit King of Lightning hadn¡¯t said much even after I contracted him, but this time he cut in unexpectedly. -There is no reason one would think something natural to be strange, O King. -Forget it¡­ It seemed that he had a lot he wanted to say. That was rare, for a Spirit King. Was it because he was a Spirit King? ¡°Kughh¡­ you trai¡­ kugh!¡± ¡°What, had you not gone back yet?¡± I¡¯d stopped attacking because the enemy had been glowing faintly, but it seemed that it was a feint. It seemed that he¡¯d been using light magic to pretend he was being sent to the healers. ¡°Kugh.. Kuk! Wa, wait! I¡¯m gonna die. I¡¯m going to die?!¡± ¡°Oi, yelling you feel like you¡¯re dying from just this as a Yugrasia student. Do you need more training?¡± With the power of the Spirit King, I unleashed multiple bolts of lightning magic. I could faintly smell burnt flesh along with a crackling noise, but a Yugrasia student could take it. ¡°Gwuuuuugh¡± And around a minuteter, this time with a proper sh of light that signified he had been forcibly removed from the battlefield, Nerkia watched to make sure he had actually retired, before he turned to the Mercaria students. ¡°Hiik!¡± ¡°D, don¡¯te closer!¡± ¡°Uaahhh¡­ Hnnnnnn¡­.¡± Two boys and three girls. As they all pulled each other in closely and shivered, I looked at them with a tilted head. ¡®Are they couples?¡¯ Judging by how you couldn¡¯t even fit your finger between their bodies, so close together they were as they faced me, it seemed that they needed to be aware there was a time and ce to be affectionate with each other. Because if had been Risen and not me, he might actually try to kill them! ¡°Then¡­ where¡¯s the Mercaria student council pres?¡± ¡°D, do you think I¡¯ll tell you where the pres is hid¡­ ing?¡± Perhaps misunderstanding something, one of the boys said so while shivering, but hisst words were so quiet I couldn¡¯t hear them. ¡°No, I¡¯m not your enemy, I¡¯m telling you?¡± ¡°Hiik!¡± ¡°Oi, oi, just tell him! Just tell him!¡± ¡°Or else he¡¯ll torture us by electrocution!¡± ¡°S, surely he wouldn¡¯t do that at the imperial festival¡­ right?¡± As I took a step closer to them, one of the girls flinched and backpedalled from where she sat. I couldn¡¯t make out what they were whispering between them but if I got a little closer¡­ ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°Yes! Th, the pres is¡­ where, where¡¯s the map?!¡± ¡°Desk! On the desk!¡± ¡°Ah, here it is. Ah, the pres is over here. He¡¯s in the room used as food storage.¡± Thanks to the truly detailed exnation, I found out where the Mercaria student council president was. I approached them to thank them for the information, but why were they running away? I¡¯m not a scary person? -I¡¯m starting to get the feeling I chose the wrong contractor¡­ And now for some reason the Spirit King is saying something weird as well, now what¡¯s with him. I¡¯m just doing my best to survive as well! ¡°Is it here?¡± It was the smallest of the castles that had been assigned to Mercaria, but it was also the furthest away from Yugrasia. Normally it wouldn¡¯t be used as the main base, but as Arucia, Marcis and Mercaria had all joined in an alliance, it seemed that they had chosen the location furthest from Yugrasia. ¡°Now, then.¡± If I went through the front door then of course they wouldn¡¯t believe me. Learning from experience, I used a wind elemental to fly into the castle. ¡°Intruder!¡± ¡°Enemy spotted in the air!¡± ¡°There¡¯s only one, get him!¡± Correction, I tried and was noticed. ¡°I knew it!¡± But I had also expected this! Since three days ago, when I had spoken out about Professor Nicerwin, nothing had gone right for me. I¡¯d been kidnapped by Professor Nicerwin and beaten up by the silver devil, I¡¯d fallen into Risen¡¯s devious trap and became an evil asshole who would even use his lover, and I was being chased my students who were trying to actually kill me because I¡¯d betrayed the academy. ¡°But just this!¡± I blocked 26 spells that were casted at me, deflected 82 more back to the ground and caused massive destruction, once Inded I used earth elementals to create 23 earth pirs to hoist up the 23 students that hade charging in at me to effectively imprison them 10m above the ground. ¡°P, please¡­ spare me¡­¡± And Iid a light hand on the Mercaria pres who had raged at me, not believing me, to the end. -Light? -Yes, that is light by Yugrasia standards, O King. -Yugrasia standards¡­ ¡°Kuhk¡­¡± ¡°Hey now, the student council president can¡¯t fall that easily. Who¡¯s gonna lead the students if their pres falls?¡± As the teleportation spell to the healers began to kick in, I hurriedly used a water elemental to heal him. Lately the equation [healing = increased time getting the living crap beaten out of you!] had formed in the night study so I wasn¡¯t as practiced at healing as I used to be, but it was good enough to stop him from being forcefully retired. ¡°Kugh.. Cruel¡­ bastard¡­¡± ¡°No I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m on your side. Even if I heal you you¡¯re stillining.¡± I even kind enough to wipe the blood off the corners of his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m just here because I have a message from the Arucia student council president, Kiir. ¡± ¡°No¡­ wait a second, why is the Yugrasia student council president the one carrying a message from the Arucia student council president?¡± Mercaria¡¯s vice-president said with a voice reeking of disbelief. Unlike Mercaria¡¯s president, their vice-president hadn¡¯t taken as much damage and as such his words were moreprehensible. ¡°I said it before, but I¡¯m on Arucia¡¯s side now?¡± ¡°No seriously, that¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to say! Why the hell is the Yugrasia student council president on Arucia¡¯s side!¡± He asked me to tell him so I told him, but he simply got angrier. He¡¯s weird. ¡°Hm¡­¡± But even so, right now we¡¯re on the same side. I need to exin it simply for him, what should I say¡­ ¡°That¡¯s it. Mm. Yep. Why I¡¯m at Arucia?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The power of love!¡± A leaden silence filled the room. As I thought, everyone was speechless at my wless exnation. ¡°That¡¯s how it is, so listen up. These are Kiir¡¯s orders. There¡¯s no point in defending Mercaria, so get everyone to pack up ande to the Arucia main base.¡± ¡°Everyone? You¡¯re telling us to just hand over 1000 points over to Yugrasia?¡± The other members of Mercaria¡¯s student council, who hadn¡¯t let out a peep so far, began to raise their heads one by one. Their eyes were filled with strong doubt and suspicion. ¡°It¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it? Besides¡­¡± Heated fire. Flexible wind. Cold water. Durable earth. ¡°I don¡¯t have a reason to lie to you. If I was lying, beating you all would be a simple job.¡± I summoned four highest-rank elementals of the four cardinal elements and smiled brightly. Perhaps it was due to contracting with the Spirit King of Lightning, buttely I could contract even more highest-rank spirits after I met Professor Nicerwin. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ true.¡± In the depths of a giant storeroom. As the giant highest-rank elementals glowed with a mysterious light, the Mercaria student council stared, gaping up at the figures before nodding. ¡°So, pack up and send everyone over?¡± The events from here were dealt with quickly enough. I looked at them quickly pack up their base, andmunicate through the magicmunication tools provided for this event to order all of their students not currently under attack to retreat from their castles. ¡°Right then, I¡¯ll head off in advance.¡± I waved and left the Mercaria students. Behind me I saw the Mercaria students sprinkle something like a white dust, what could it be? -It is better if you do not know. -Really? Well if a Spirit King is saying so then it should be alright to not care about it anymore. I had plenty of other things to care about anyway. Yes, like¡­ ¡°Hand over Nerkiaaaaaaaaa!¡± ¡°How many times do I have to tell you he¡¯s not here!¡± A giant sword of mes collided with Risen¡¯s god-killing stick, causing a giant explosion. ¡°Haap!¡± As Lady Aris grunted, scores of Arucia students flew through the air. Already, many Arucia students that looked no better than corpses were littering the area around them. ¡°Keheheheh¡­¡± And further away, was Reedanughing truly diabolically as he watched over the carnage. At a single wave of his hand, the Arucia students turned their des on each other. As if he was bored, every now and then he¡¯d wave his hand at the few Marcis students, who would dump a magic artillery barrage onto the Arucia students. ¡°Gruaaaaagh!¡± ¡°Awoooooooo!¡± On one side a bear was flipping people away, and behind it, a giant wolf was howling towards the sky. ¡°Yep, I¡¯ll hang around a bit before I go.¡± I snapped myself out of my nk stare and discreetly lowered my altitude tond silently on the ground. From there, I quietly watched over them until Risen retreated to resupply his team. Chapter 101 RATH 101 TL: Eevee 11. Not a myth, but a legend (14) #18 Their story: A certain viin¡¯s story I ¡°Start from here for now¡­¡± Because of the empire¡¯s pursuit of us, the majority of the anti-empire army¡¯s personnel were captured, but we were notpletely annihted. And the ce where we gathered was none other than Arucia¡¯s main base. We obtained extremely significant intel that three of the four academies had formed an alliance with each other, and were all gathering in Arucia¡¯s main base. It was here we decided to burn out the final moments of our lives. And my role was to forge these castle doors into a magical tool! I would bring these doors which opened with magic under my control, and once we captured this castle, it would prevent the students from escaping. Of course, the students holed up in here were Arucia students who could use sword ki, and Marcis students that were all capable of using highly destructive magic! Those kinds of students could smash open a simple castle wall, which was hastily made for the imperial festival, whenever they felt like it. So nearby me were other ¡®students¡¯ in Marcis uniforms that were strengthening the defences on the doors. ¡°We¡¯re done on this side.¡± ¡°Mine, too.¡± As the other members of the organization nodded, we began to wait for the moment we would strike. ¡°You have total authority over the castle walls, right?¡± ¡°Yes, and the strengthening on the walls are also perfect?¡± ¡°They are, I strengthened them so well, even a swordsmaster would take a few swings to break down these doors.¡± As he said so confidently, I nodded with him. If anything else, this man was famous within the organisation for his skills in strengthening and barrier magic. His enchantments weren¡¯t so weak as to break from attacks from mere students! ¡°Then, all we have to do is wait for Boss to appear¡­ huh?¡± I noticed something from far away flying towards our location. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a stick. Is it being blown here on the wind?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it a moving a bit too fast for that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a stick.¡± ¡°True.¡± The stick flew towards us at a fast pace. We simply watched ite. We didn¡¯t have anything else to do until Boss made his deration anyway. And so the stick flew towards the castle doors in a straight line, hit them and br¡­ Booooooooooooommmmm! ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± It hit with a boom instead of a snap¡­. And it vaporised the castle doors. ¡°Hey, was that stick enchanted with illusion magic or something?¡± ¡°Probably? The doors didn¡¯t even break, but werepletely annihted. That has to be illusion magic, right?¡± As we nkly stared at the doors that were our task, shortly afterwards a bloodthirsty scream echoed through the castle. ¡°Hand over Nerkiiiaaaaaa!¡± Slightly more than ten students in Yugrasia uniform came running in. And through the doors under an illusion spell¡­ or what we thought had been an illusion spell, they came running straight through and charged. ¡°¡±What the heck is this!¡±¡± The anti-empire army¡¯s counterattack, was screwed before it had even begun. #19 Their story: A certain viin¡¯s story II ¡°Hurry up and change! Don¡¯t forget to pin the insignia as well! You might be attacked because they think you are students!¡± The surviving members began to gather one by one. My job here was to gather Arucia, or Marcis uniforms for them so they could infiltrate into Arucia¡¯s main base. Our efforts in infiltrating and constructing a base before the festival even began were finally beginning to pay off. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough Arucia uniforms!¡± ¡°Damn it, put on Marcis uniforms for now then! There aren¡¯t many Marcis students here yet so don¡¯t send them out quite just yet! Ah, and tell the ones that are ready already that if anyone asks, they¡¯re first years!¡± Everyone else rushed to change at my angrymands, and received their individual orders. Even the empire wouldn¡¯t have been able to notice this. That there would be an anti-imperial army base right underneath the stadium of the imperial festival! ¡°This is the final charge of the organisation! We must create hope for the world that the empire can fall!¡± After the Great War, no one believed that the empire had a match in the world. The empire had be the undeniable superpower of the world. It was the only nation that had suffered no significant losses even among the victorious nations. But as powerful a nation as it was, it also had many nations that were antagonistic towards it. It was simply that the empire was so powerful they couldn¡¯t say anything. And what if, in that situation, we created an incident that rocked the world? If the students that were said to be the future of the empire were held hostage in the festival celebrating the very day the empire was born? The imprable fortress that was said to be untouched was shaken, then the other countries that had been suppressed or were holding themselves would be able to move. And if they moved, the other nations surrounding them would move to secure their own profits. If they simply caused a disturbance from the outside, then we would also have opportunities to move from within. Causing the downfall of the empire¡­ was no longer an impossible dream! ¡°Move faster, faster!¡± As time went on and more and more people gathered, I felt something burn up in a corner of my heart. We, who had been moving like timid mice in fear of the empire, were finally make a move in the open! It was then. ¡®What¡¯s this?¡¯ It felt like something had just passed through me. And this odd feeling of irritation that started to well from within¡­ what was it? ¡°What are you doing? Can¡¯t you move any faster?¡± In front of my eyes there was someone who was standing nkly holding a uniform. It seemed like this feeling was because he was just standing there doing nothing. So Imanded him to hurry up and change¡­ ¡°No. Who are you to order me to get changed?¡± ¡°Haah?¡± I stared at the man who threw down his uniform and stomped towards me. Did this little shit justmit insubordination? ¡°Do you want to die?¡± ¡°Want to die? Coming from you?¡± Words weren¡¯t enough to deal with this little shit. I drew my sword and pointed it at him. He too, drew his own de and aimed it at me. ¡°Says the one digging the ground like a mole!¡± ¡°Says the one who ranks lower than me!¡± ng! Sword met sword. Not just us, butmotions and fights began to break out in other parts of the organisation. I felt that something was wrong, but disciplining this impudent brat was far more important right now. ¡°Die!¡± ¡°You die!¡± And so, for no known reason whatsoever, the beginning of the end of the anti-empire army quietly began with internal strife. #20 Their story: Risen de Roa¡¯s story. ¡°Get lost!¡± ¡°Kaagh!¡± ¡°You get lost!¡± ¡°Kuhk!¡± ¡°Bring me Nerkia!¡± ¡°Cough¡­¡± After I eliminated the castle walls with Mystletainn, we charged in. I swept away two people who had been nkly staring at us just inside the castle doors, and ran in towards where I expected the leaders to be. I thought that Nerkia would show up if I did it this way, but he still hasn¡¯t. ¡°Then I¡¯ll beat you all until you show yourself!¡± ¡°Did you really think we¡¯d let you?!¡± aaanng! My scythe of darkness screeched as it grated against the fire sword. ¡°Damn it, go look for Lady Aris, you small-breasted kid!¡± ¡°Wait, what did you just say? Why do I feel like you¡¯re treating me worse and worse every time I encounter you?¡± Of course it¡¯s not just a feeling. Although I felt it every time we shed against each other, but this girl was an enemy. And a very powerful one, too. She adapted and got stronger at an unbelievable pace, you didn¡¯t think she¡¯d was a Marcis chump who had the shortest ss times of all four schools. This monstrous adaptability, felt like I was looking at a Yugrasia student! If this kid had enrolled into Yugrasia, then I suspected our first night study victory could havee a whole month sooner. But she was an enemy. Enemies must be defeated with any means or methods at full power. That was Yugrasia¡¯s way. The stronger the enemy was, the more preparations you had to make face them. ¡°Ah, my mistake. Imitted such a gross error towards the Young Miss of the Nermia family.¡± ¡°Indeed, that was too far even for a school as wild as Yugrasia¡­¡± A useful tactic for fighting against a strong enemy. Make them mad. [Rage robs rationality. It works even better against mages who rely on magic. by -Evil God¡¯s Apostle, Professor Nicerwin] ¡°I identally said ¡®small breasts¡¯ instead of ¡®no breasts¡¯. To think I¡¯d make the mistake of saying you had something that you never had to begin with. My apologies, Lady Nermia.¡± ¡°Alright, die.¡± As she growled, the fire sword began to burn hotter and hotter. As I watched the crimson the colour of the setting sun turn blue, and then a zing white, I wondered if it might be just a tad dangerous. ¡®Well, as long as it¡¯s not silver.¡¯ Satisfied that it wasn¡¯t silver, the scariest colour in the world, I raised the darkness scythe that was theplete opposite colour of the pure-white de. ¡°So where is Nerkia?¡± ¡°Go to hell, and ask King Yumra for that, you damn pervert!¡± Fwoosh! With a feeling as if the space itself around me was burning, she swung the white-med sword downwards. Even Loki¡¯s scythe would have a hard time taking this attack. ¡°Mystletainn!¡± ¡°Burn it down, Laevateinn!¡± The white-med sword collided with the god-killing branch. Kiiiiinnnnnn! ¡°Kuhk!¡± ¡°What¡­ cough!¡± As the two weapons collided, an extremely high-pitched screech echoed through the space. A sound that churned our brains inside out. To the point that the Arucia students nearby who only listened to the sound began to cough up blood! At the same time, the shockwave of the impact began to create cracks in the surrounding buildings. ¡°Kgh.¡± ¡°Urgh¡­¡± To the point where even my opponent and I were affected by the after-effects! -What¡¯s going on? Why¡¯s it making this sound? -It is the effects of two weapons of the same ss shing against each other. And from the same world, no less. -Same ss? You said it was the god-killing branch? A weapon that can even kill and immortal? But same ss? -That sword is one that once burned down the world I came from. if Mystletainn is a god-killing spear that can kill immortals, that is a weapon that brought upon the end of the world, a weapon which burned down a world to begin anew. -Iya, a god-killing spear and a world-ending sword, they really went all out this imperial festival, didn¡¯t they. Even as I grumbled at Loki¡¯s answer, I didn¡¯t take my eyes off the enemy. ¡°Impressive, Miss No-breasts.¡± ¡°¡­Likewise, Mister Pervert.¡± She looked perfectly fine despite having been closer to the center of the st than I was. On the contrary, her reason that had been lost to anger had returned. ¡°I apologise, Miss No-breasts. Even if I am a pervert, I am not a lolicon¡­ so my heart cannot be moved by such a deficient chest.¡± And so to piss her off I went even further with my insults. I might be penalised once this event was over, but that wasn¡¯t the issue right now. Because killing Nerkia ASAP was more important! But the enemy didn¡¯t move as I expected her to. ¡°Not a lolicon, at least you are a normal pervert among perverts. I personally believe all pedophiles should die¡­ I¡¯m only fifteen, you know? I only just entered my growth spurt?¡± Holy shit, only fifteen? I knew she was young, but the fact that she was a full year younger than Lady Aris was a great shock to me. ¡°An opening.¡± And not one to miss that opening, she attacked. ¡°Urgh¡­¡± She instantly casted five spells simultaneously, three spells activated in front of me and flew right into my face, while above me, a giant block of ice fell down where I was. ¡°Kgh.¡± And she also turned the ground beneath me into a swamp to restrict my movements! ¡°But Loki¡¯s shoes¡­ can move anywhere it desires!¡± But thanks to Loki¡¯s shoes, I could move freely even through the mud. I dodged all the spells thrown at me, and I even dodged the white-med sword shing at me as well. In response I swung Mystletainn and my darkness scythe. ¡°Tch.¡± She clicked her teeth as she retreated, and I faced off against her in turn, twirling my scythe in one hand. ¡°Things wouldn¡¯t be so tiring for all of us if you¡¯d just tell me where Nerkia is¡­¡± ¡°Your president isn¡¯t here¡­ but even if he was, we couldn¡¯t hand him over so easily. And besides¡­ there is only one school that can be victorious in the imperial festival. There¡¯s no reason for us to fight, either!¡± With those words, she charge towards me once more, and I sighed internally. At least before I dealt with this foe¡­ It would be hard for me to execute that asshole Nerkia. Chapter 102 RATH 102 TL: Eevee 11. Not a myth, but a legend (15) #21 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. I have to stay focused. For some reason, it felt like I was constantly getting carried away. ¡°Even we would have trouble against those numbers. We need reinforcements.¡± No matter what kind of hellish training we received in Yugrasia, I was just one person. Fighting against thousands with just thirteen of us was impossible. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°To be honest it was a far stretch¡­¡± Everyone else nodded in assent to my opinion. It was an opportunity to make our vice-president Risen who would always thoroughly corrupt our minds, see some sense and advance the discussion. ¡°Either we wait for reinforcements, or we retreat here.¡± At the very least, the vice-pres and I needed to take on the Pres and the Nermia girl 1 on 1. Pres was educated in the same Yugrasia we had, and even among us he was one of the strongest, and despite not attending Yugrasia, Nermia was about as powerful as he was. If we had still been the Yugrasia ofst year, without Professor Nicerwin, would we have been a match for her? She would probably have shown us all what a monster she was as she single-handedly fought against an entire enemy school on her own. If I had not been seduced by Professor Nicerwin¡¯s devil¡¯s tongue during the enrolment period, and went to Arucia as I¡¯d originally nned. Would I have been a match for Nermia at this time? Never. That was how strong she was, and that was how talented she was. ¡°Our objective is to secure our freedom from the night study by winning the imperial festival. Whether Pres lives or dies after that is irrelevant.¡± Right now, Arucia and Marcis had taken Pres in out of necessity. When the imperial festival ended, he would return to Yugrasia. We could leave the execution for then. -Aris¡­ so the fact that he needs to be executed hasn¡¯t changed. -M, My goddess. This was because he betrayed the school! There are no personal grudges behind this! -I, I suppose so. Our Aris is charming enough that you could make any man fall for you! -Goddess! It appeared that the goddess was making a giant misunderstanding. I couldn¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t have any of those feelings when I was talking with Siir, but now was different. I simply, wanted our school to win. Really! ¡°Kugh¡­ so it looks like everyone¡¯s here.¡± While we were discussing about what to do from here, our vice-president, who was so beaten up that ¡®tattered¡¯ would be the appropriate way to describe him, appeared. ¡°You¡¯rete.¡± ¡°Ahh, I took on Lady Nermia this time round. I was this close to losing, you know.¡± If you just listened to him grumble you wouldn¡¯t think anything was out of the ordinary, but if you looked at his uniform, the upper half being shredded so badly it no longer functioned as clothing, and his lower half which had been reduced to shorts, you could tell just how ferocious of a fight he¡¯d just been in. But the vice-president¡¯s next words werepletely unexpected. ¡°Seriously¡­ someone else at the same level as Lady Nermia showed up out of nowhere.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Same level?¡± ¡°Yep, same level. She was wearing a Marcis uniform, but oddly enough she wasn¡¯t using magic.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­¡± It was a shocking turn of events. No matter how wide the word was, the majority of the students at the imperial festival were teenagers. Even the oldest ones were only barely in their twenties. No matter how much of a difference in talent existed, depending on how they were taught, how they were trained, the differences between individual ability would always make itself known. And yet if a powerful person on Nermia¡¯s level appeared out of nowhere, that meant that Marcis¡¯s education, at least on a very small, very elite scale, was the same as ours! ¡°This is impossible!¡± It was infuriating to admit it, but Yugrasia¡¯s education methods let one surpass their limits as humans. To think that even Marcis could achieve that! It was probably not the same hell as our school was, however. Because if a second existence simr to the silver devil existed in the world, that was no less than a sign that the world woulde to ruin. ¡°But, her skills at least were the real thing, Lady Aris?¡± ¡°Urghh¡­¡± Said the vice-president with a serious face. It felt even more like the truth when a normally flippant person was serious. ¡°We have to acknowledge it. Didn¡¯t Professor Aruhan teach us that although we may overestimate an opponent, we cannot underestimate them?¡± ¡°Yes, it was my mistake.¡± Although such a possibility made absolutely no sense, nothing had less sense than the silver devil¡¯s very existence. So assuming that the aforementioned scenario was possible. Because it wasn¡¯t like there was zero precedent in the form of fairy tales, stories and myths. Even if you were to look at the founding history of the empire, although unofficial, the first emperor was said to have achieved the realm of swordsmaster at just fourteen years of age! -Hey Aris, if you¡¯d met that teacher at age 13, you probably could have beaten that unofficial record, too? -Don¡¯t even say such a thing! If I haven¡¯t caused the end of the world at least a dozen times in my past life! Goddess is sentencing hypothetical me to a fate worse than death! -S, sorry¡­ my bad¡­ I epted the goddess¡¯s quick apology. Meeting Professor Nicerwin before the age of 13, there couldn¡¯t be anyone in the world who could have ever experienced such a travesty. ¡°Uh¡­ Lady Aris?¡± ¡°Yesh?¡± Perhaps I¡¯d dwelled on such a horrifying thought for too long, but everyone was looking at me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. What were we saying?¡± ¡°N, nothing. We were discussing how we¡¯d already requested reinforcements on our way back.¡± Although my actions were hardly appropriate directly in front of my seniors, even if I was the progeny of a high-ranking noble house, but it wasn¡¯t that big of a problem because this was Yugrasia, the summoner¡¯s school. In cases where one was a contractor of a high-ranking summon capable ofmunication, such cases weremonce. ¡°Reinforcements¡­ how many did you call for, vice-president?¡± We defeated a hundred-something Arucia students in the earlier skirmish, but at least that many reinforcements of their own would arrive from Marcis. This would probably be the biggest battle in the entire event, so at the very least we needed at least an entire year group¡¯s worth of numbers in order to guarantee victory. ¡°A hundred.¡± ¡­Except for the number of first years! ¡°That¡¯s too few!¡± Even if they were spread out over multiple different sites, normally in siege battles, only the elites remained at headquarters. If the main headquarters were destroyed where all the key members and leaders were, then the other students in the other castles would lose theirmanders. Who would want that? So it was obvious that the main base would have the greatest numbers and the strongest fighters. And we were invading a base like that with just a hundred, no, a hundred and twelve people ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking right now, Lady Aris. But I have a method to obtain victory with those one hundred.¡± When I scowled slightly, the vice-pres confidently puffed out his chest. ¡°¡­Method?¡± We had to beat a thousand with just a hundred ¨C no, actually, since we attacked them just now they¡¯d also bring in reinforcements of their own, wouldn¡¯t they? So that meant we had to fight over a thousand of their students with just a hundred of ours, and there was a method to win despite those odds? ¡°We can¡¯t simply lose a hundred of our forces so easily. Tell me this method.¡± At my words, the vice-president hesitated slightly. ¡°I cannot tell you of the fine details of this n. Because the more people that know of it, the more likely it is to fail.¡± ¡°Am I included in those people?¡± ¡°Yes, Lady Aris is also included.¡± My trust in this n plummeted. ¡°Because this is a method that Professor Nicerwin saw fit to personally teach me, and only to me.¡± My trust in this n skyrocketed back. And at the same time, my feelings of pity for the students that would be my enemy also rose. What kind of merciless strategy that Professor Nicerwin, who was equally merciless with his allies, unleash upon them! ¡°Well, but if I were to briefly summarise it¡­¡± The vice-president made a face that seemed extremely evil even to me, who was on his side¡­ and said. ¡°Sedition and lies.¡± ¡­Eh? #22 Their story: A certain viin boss¡¯s story. ¡°Everything has been taken ount of.¡± ¡°Has it now¡­¡± Was it the empire¡¯s interference tactics. Or was it because of our nervousness for our final strike. There were no casualties in the spontaneous riot that had urred, but there were numerous injuries. ¡°Are we going to carry on like this?¡± ¡°We¡¯vee too far to stop now. Even if we stop here, all that¡¯s left for us is death at that cruel emperor¡¯s hands.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± We hade far, far beyond the point of no return. As we had mobilised all our troops, we had already been tracked down by the empire. There was no way to turn back. We could only advance forwards. ¡°Proceed as nned.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± As my subordinate nodded once and hurriedly moved out, I too, rose from my seat. A deration of war against the emperor. It was not what I had wanted, but as the leader of the anti-empire army whose history spanned over a thousand years, it was something I had to do. ¡°How much longer will it take for us to hijack the magic video tools?¡± ¡°In about five minutes time, we will have total ess to every magic video tool in the empire.¡± ¡°Very good. The castle walls have already been conquered¡­ are there any issues with the men assigned to the castle gates?¡± ¡°There were some injuries due to the earlier riot, but not to the point that they cannot keep the walls under control.¡± ¡°Tell them not to becent. If we look down on them simply because they are children, we will be countered. Never forget that they are the greatest future geniuses of the empire.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Although there were some setbacks, they were not unsurmountable ones. Although we couldn¡¯t see the events of this imperial festival due to our poor start getting us discovered by the empire, the level of the students are always simr every year. The only real outlier was Yugrasia which even had a swordsmaster. Why a swordsmaster appeared from the summoner¡¯s school Yugrasia and not the swordsmanship school Arucia was unknown, but the ce we were attempting to conquer was Arucia¡¯s main base. On the contrary, due to Yugrasia, both Marcis and Mercaria were sending their students over here, so we could create even better results. ¡°We have control over all the empire¡¯s magic video tools!¡± ¡°Very good, now is time for action!¡± I heard my subordinates roar. The time we would unleash our hatred of the empire, that we had only kept burning within our chests, was finally here! ¡°Aside from the injured, all units get to your stations!¡± I looked on as everyone filed out one by one. There was probably no more reasons for us to return to this dark underground hideout. Because no matter what happened here, we would prove that we existed! ¡°This is a good ce.¡± Once I came up to the surface, I found a ce with a good background and took out a magic video tool. All the magic video tools in the empire were already under our control. ¡°Let us begin.¡± I nodded and poured in magic power, and started a historic broadcast. ¡°My name is Prius run Magratina. I am a descendent of the royal family of the country of Magratina, which was destroyed by the empire long ago in the past, and the current leader of the anti-empire army!¡± The wise old man had long vanished. Right now, I was a descendant of kings, fighting against the empire! ¡°I, Prius run Magratina dere! At this moment!¡± ¡°Fuck you Nerkiaaaaaaaaaa!¡± ¡°Fuck you, Nerk¡­ wait, no!¡± Just then, a powerful voice roared from behind me. ¡°What?!¡± What my eyes beheld when I turned my head, was a ruin that once used to be a castle wall. And that was just the beginning. ¡°Send everyone there, and block that ce!¡± The students we¡¯d only just managed to lock up could escape through the destroyed walls. A person that seemed to be amander issued amand to blockade the broken walls¡­ ¡°You block it then.¡± ¡°Yeah, always ordering us around. It¡¯s not like you ever even do anything to begin with.¡± ¡°What the hell did you just say to me you little shit?¡± A sudden insubordination of the soldiers? At this time? ¡®Kghh¡­¡¯ I hurriedly urged my subordinate who was holding the magic video tool to focus back onto me. If that scene was broadcasted as is to the entire empire, then our value would drop to the ground. ¡°I dere once again, as the leader of the anti-empire army, I dere war on the Karuan!¡± It was then. That we could hear the sounds of singing. A beautiful chorus that could not be produced from the throats of man. But what was inside that song was not beauty, but a power more destructive than any other! ¡°What the¡­¡± I dumbly turned my eyes to the sky. Tens, no, hundreds of spirits and elementals were singing as they flew through the air. And the moment the song ended, every single elemental said in one unified voice. -Elemental Roar. #23 Their story: A certain viewer¡¯s story. The people who had been enjoying the imperial festival found themselves faced with chaos. Every single magic video tool in the capital had suddenly began to show the face of an old man. And the words that came from that old man were absolutely shocking! ¡°Wh, what¡¯s this?¡± ¡°¡­I know right?¡± ¡°Is it some sort of act?¡± And then the citizens of the empire would be shocked again, but in a totally different meaning. -Elemental Roar. As they saw the anti-empire army getpletely annihted by Yugrasia¡¯s attack, an attack targeted solely for a single traitor! And on that day, the fall of the anti-empire army was broadcasted live throughout the empire. Chapter 103 RATH 103 TL: Eevee The beginning of what¡¯s functionally thest part of the Yugrasia arc. After this is the epilogue of the Yugrasia arc before we get back to Ast¡¯s (mis)adventures with the princess. 12. It¡¯s not over til it¡¯s over (1) #1 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. ¡°Wee, all of you.¡± This was a ce off to the side of Yugrasia¡¯s main base. As I looked over the 100 people gathered there, the vice-president had a determined face, different from the usual. ¡°We have all had extremely challenging times up til now.¡± Very slowly, and making eye contact with each and every person, the vice-president spoke to the gathered hundred with a slow yet powerful voice. ¡°Now, what was our academy life like?¡± ¡°It was hell!¡± ¡°It was horrifying to just imagine that we have to stay next year as well!¡± ¡°We are pinning all our hopes on this one imperial festival.¡± The first condition the vice-pres had in his request for reinforcements. That they would still be at Yugrasia for at least one more year. And ideally, not just a single year, but preferably those who still had two, or three years left, that is, the first and second years. ¡°Yes, yes. However, Nerkia betrayed us! Yugrasia¡¯s president, the one who should have thought of the school¡¯s future more than any other student in this school, betrayed us just for his girlfriend!¡± ¡°That kind of asshole is our president!¡± ¡°We still have to do night study for another two years!¡± ¡°I have three years!¡± ¡°So he¡¯s saying he doesn¡¯t give a crap just because he doesn¡¯t even have a full year left?¡± The enmity against Pres piled on greater and greater. ¡°Yes, indeed. The one who abandoned us for his own benefit is none other than Nerkia! The very fact that that type of person is Yugrasia¡¯s student council president is an insult to us all!¡± ¡°Hear, hear!¡± ¡°We have no reason to call a traitor our president!¡± ¡°Asshole! He needs to be beaten by the silver devil for three days straight to see some sense!¡± A hundred people were spouting vitriol and curses. And the person who instigated all that, our vice-president, looked down at the people cursing the president with a satisfied expression on his face. ¡°And¡­ Nerkia has another unforgivable secret. He¡­ has a total of five lovers!¡± And the second condition that vice-pres had set for our reinforcements. All of them must be solos who had never known a lover. ¡°F, five¡­¡± ¡°Is that number even possible?¡± The hundred people that had been yelling curses instantly fell silent. For them who had never known a lover in their entire lives, the thought of having five lovers at once would be like a tale from a legend. ¡°Grrr¡­¡± ¡°Damn him¡­¡± But that shock soon turned to anger. ¡°Five all by himself?¡± ¡°That immoral asshole. He betrayed the academy, and he betrayed all men as well.¡± ¡°Four more solos were made just because of him, hasn¡¯t he?¡± Each and every one of the individuals assembled here had fit the vice-president¡¯s criteria. And the final condition of the vice-president that these people had to meet. ¡°You¡¯re all elementalists as well, do you not think that the difference is too great?¡± That they must all be elementalists. ¡°Kuhk¡­¡± ¡°Damn it, someone¡¯s copsed because he couldn¡¯t take the brutal truth!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help him¡­ I think I¡¯m going to fall as well¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s different between me and the president?¡± ¡°Your face.¡± ¡°Your skill.¡± ¡°Your face.¡± ¡°Your fame.¡± ¡°Your face.¡± ¡°The rank of elementals you control.¡± ¡°Your face.¡± ¡°Who the hell keeps bringing up my face? Then what about you? Are you more handsome than the president?!¡± The unity that had barely been brought about by anger was destroyed. ¡°Make them all angry, and surpass the strengths of an individual. Was that not the goal?¡± It was said that one of the strategies used in ancient times was the use of a berserker brigade by means of berserk spells. A spell that would make men lose their fear with their rationality, and bring forth a superhuman power beyond their limits! But just one use could cripple the person the spell was casted on, and if things went wrong, they berserkers would even attack their allies, so this tactic was no longer used in the modern day. So I thought that if it was Loki¡¯s contractor, the vice-president who had escaped all sorts of different dangers with nothing but a few words, he could create berserkers without even using any magic? Was this not what he meant by sedition and lies? ¡°Hm¡­ Lady Aris. I prepared this moment for the purpose of winning the imperial festival.¡± To win? Right now they¡¯re over there grabbing each other by thepels arguing who¡¯s uglier than who? ¡°Now, do you see, Lady Aris? This is my new ultimate move Professor Nicerwin taught me! Sedition and Lies!¡± It sounded nothing like a name of an ultimate one could be proud of, but I might as well listen on. ¡°Now, losers of life like myself! Shall I tell you an even more exciting truth! I will tell you all who are the girls that Nerkia is dating!¡± At that moment, each and every pair of eyes there were focused straight onto vice-pres. ¡°Well, you all know this from the public confession, but we have one of the greatest beauties in Arucia, Arietta rul Meirae!¡± ¡°Damn, I¡¯ve lost here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a ss of girl I could ever hope to meet in my life?¡± ¡°And her family¡¯s a higher rank than Pres as well. She¡¯s from a Count House, a god damn Count.¡± The students turned listless with just a single person. ¡°And another named beauty of Arucia! Renya ti Silgran!¡± ¡°The famous angel of Arucia?¡± ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s another Count family!¡± ¡°Damn it all! Are we going to get a Ducal house or something as well?¡± Names that even I¡¯d heard of wereing out. Renya ti Silgran. Arucia¡¯s Holy Maiden, who treated everyone kindly irrespective of ss or rank. ¡°Is, is the president really going out with her?¡± ¡°I told you, didn¡¯t I, Sedition¡­ and lies! Right now I can just say whatever the hell I need to!¡± It was a fake?! ¡°Yugrasia¡¯s student council president has already imed the greatest beauties of Arucia. Now will Nerkia¡¯s evil hands have stopped there?¡± ¡°Could, could it be¡­ even in other academies?¡± ¡°Yes, that ¡®could¡¯ was the truth! One of the Four Beauties of Marcis, Lady Julia, and the Queen of Mercaria, Lady Rudratian!¡± ¡°Is, is that even possible?¡± ¡°Pres¡­ what kind of man¡­¡± Names which we wouldn¡¯t be able to handle started to pop up now. The name of the eldest daughter of the Rudratian family was mentioned. Although her family only held the title of viscount, she was the granddaughter of the current Head of the Magic Tower, and her family was an important name in international diplomacy. ¡®This is being broadcasted live through the entire empire, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ Sedition aside, if you were going to lie, at least stick to what you can handle. How shocked would the families of the girls mentioned be if they saw this scene right now? Their daughters, were currently in a romantic affair with Yugrasia¡¯s student council president? ¡°Stop it, it¡¯s dangerous. Think about what will happen after the imperial festival!¡± High society of the wives of nobility were always thirsty for fresh gosisp. And a topic which was always a drought-breaking rain was the love affairs of our peers! Countless rumours enter that ce ande out grossly exaggerated. Even if they are nothing more than false rumours, those rumours that spread discreetly could be fatal weaknesses for women. Someone¡¯s lover, or fiancee was actually meeting another man. The moment those rumours began to circte, whether those rumours were true or not, the man cannot afford to not take notice of them. But¡­ to say those things at the greatest event in the imperial calender? And the president¡¯s closest confidant, the vice-president saying these things, taken without context? The validity of everything here is way too high! I could already imagine the noble wives discussing this scene amongst each other. ¡°Sometimes¡­ there are things a man must do even though he knows he may die in the process.¡± ¡°Sure that¡¯s a cool line, but if know what¡¯s being said then it isn¡¯t cool at all! And the fact that we can actually get killed here makes it even scarier!¡± If things went wrong here, the people mentioned just now might not be able to get engaged. Although all their families were extremely influential so it might not matter as much, but they liked another man, and all five of them liked the same man to boot. ¡­Wait a second? ¡°There¡¯s¡­ There¡¯s still one more!¡± ¡°Yes, there is. I have not said the names of all five!¡± Just who else is he bringing into this? All the famous beauties of Arucia, Marcis and Mercaria have alle out. Since we were students of the same school, the name of a Yugrasia student couldn¡¯te out. That meant that the only possibility was an external one¡­ ¡°And finally¡­ of the family that guards the borders of the empire, the youngest daughter of the Terecia family!¡± ¡°S, stop¡­¡± Ignoring my face which was turning whiter by the second, the vice-president went and crossed the line he should never have stepped beyond. ¡®We¡¯re done for¡­¡¯ He went and brought in a marquis family. And a margrave at that!(1) Why were the Ten Great Families called by that name? It was because even among the high-ranking nobles, they worked very close to the imperial family, and their political influence was extremely powerful. But not all of the noble families ranked marquis or higher were part of the Ten Great Families. On the borders of the empire, there not very many, but nor were just a few, Houses that held the rank of marquis or higher, and among them, the margraves were the ones that protected the border. Their political influence wasn¡¯t anywhere near as powerful as the Ten Great Families, but their military prowess was at least as strong as Father¡¯s, who was themander of an army in his own right. But Risen had gone and involved one of these families into this. And a margrave House whose territory was suspiciously close to Pres¡¯s own family! ¡°We¡¯re done for¡­¡± It felt like this imperial festival would be, for many different ways, a special moment in the history of the imperial festival. There would probably be a lot of changes to the rules. For example, regtions preventing tant lies. And something else I could guarantee. Before those rules were even written down, we Yugrasia werepletely and utterly doomed. Unless Yugrasia was secretly harbouring a bastard child of the imperial family, or the rumoured secret lover of the imperial princess, nothing could stop Yugrasia from closing its doors! -Aris, isn¡¯t that a good thing? -Huh? But one sentence from the goddess overturned everything. ¡®Hang on¡­?¡¯ To sum up the situation. [Vice-president¡¯s lies = margrave, head of the Magic Tower, Foreign Affairs, assorted heads of various Count Houses all angered = Yugrasia closed down = no more need to meet with the silver devil from now on = hooray!] -That¡¯s our goddess! There was a reason you were called the goddess of wisdom! -Ahem! Even if the night study disappeared, there was no guarantee that the silver devil wouldn¡¯t. He could use the school rules to threaten us like before. And therefore vice-pres¡¯s actions was the perfect way to thoroughly root out the root of all our evils! ¡°Very good, vice-president. Just like this, keep it up!¡± A still silence continued to hold. One hundred people looked up towards the sky with dead eyes. Anger, despair, anger, gloom, anger,ment, anger, regret, anger¡­ The fires of anger were swallowed up by the absurdity of what they had been told. But the embers of rage did not die. They simply hid themselves momentarily among different emotions. But vice-president, was a specialist in pouring oil onto those emotions. He was a talent that even Professor Nicerwin would keep a special eye on to teach him personally. ¡°You poor sops, who including me, have never got to meet a woman.¡± A dark space filled with naught but despair. They themselves may not know, but their nk faces were visibly dark and gloomy. Because senior Reedan¡¯s darkness elemental was casting darkness on the surroundings! ¡°Do you know why Nerkia betrayed us?¡± In the middle of that dark space. In a scene orchestrated by Reedan, our vice-president stood in the middle of a single beam of light with both arms raised high, and looked as he was receiving a divine oracle as he announced. ¡°If Arucia wins in this imperial festival, Nerkia will officially, with those five girls¡­ be engaged to them.¡± There was a lot one could retort to that announcement. Why the hell would one demand an Arucia victory from the Yugrasia student council president. Moreover, there were students from Marcis and Mercaria mixed in those ranks as well! ¡°Aah¡­¡± But the ones who were already in despair could not think of that, and could only blindly stare up at Risen like the faithful receiving their god¡¯s orders. ¡°I, do not want that to happen.¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t¡­ want¡­ that¡­ either¡­¡± ¡°Engagement with five beautiful girls¡­¡± ¡°And¡­ marriage?¡± One by one, reason began to restore itself to them. But that reason was but a false rationality swallowed up by the emotion named anger. ¡°If there are any that wish judgement upon the traitor Nerkia¡­ raise your hands and shout out loud!¡± ¡°Judgement!¡± ¡°Judgement upon the traitor!¡± ¡°May the curse of the silver devile down on Nerkia!¡± ¡°Sentence him to death!¡± I looked at the zealots howling to be the first to raise their hands in assent, and as I wondered whether or not I should deal with vice-pres for the future of the world, the vice-president took out a small book from his pocket. ¡°The way to sentence judgment down on Nerkia is written right here. And the that honourable role, is something only you can do! Only you can sentence judgement against Nerkia!¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Uwooooooooooooohh!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Everyone was fanatically howling. But I, standing beside the vice-president, was horrified at something else entirely. The words written on the battered old cover of that book. It was¡­ [The Book of Summoning, Volume 12. Author ¨C Nicerwin Ain] It was none other than the book that had sent shivers throughout the empire during our enrolment period, Professor Nicerwin¡¯s legendary book. Chapter 104 RATH 104 TL: Eevee RIP the saddest of pandas. The inte will mourn for you. 12. It¡¯s not over til it¡¯s over (2) #2 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. ¡ºA long long time ago. The world was created, and when not as much time had gone bypared to now. Something impure managed to get into this perfectly created world. But that impurity that had not been born for long before the other gods sealed it away, in a ce half-removed from this world. But one god, although we don¡¯t know why, broke that seal. And so, darkness fell across the world because of the Evil God Pandora¡¯s actions. They say it took a long time to break free of the era of darkness. Humans, dwarves, elves, even the dragons and the demons. Even the spirits, moreover, the King of spirits, could not avoid that era of darkness. Spirits dyed in evil were born under the influence of the evil god, and seeking to save them, the kindest Spirit King of them all set forward, only for him too, to be dyed in evil. That Spirit King was so strong, he destroyed four other Spirit Kings and the remaining Spirit Kings had tobine all their power, and were only just able to defeat him. This is the Elemental Roar. The product of a miracle created with the power of the Spirit Kingsbined, purely for the sake of defeating the Evil Spirit King. I pondered as to whether an elementalist could use this miracle or not. And the answer came to me fairly quickly. That it is [Nearly Impossible]. Having many people gather their power together for a single attack has always been a very different thing. As an example, when using what ismonly known as a Grand Magic, which one cannot use on their own, the magicians involved need to have trained with each other and trust one another for several years at least, decades at most. Each magician must control their own magic, as well as linking the connections between individual casters to form the spell. And yet despite all those preparations, cooperative spells can still fail. Elementals are embodiments of all nature. Since they are created purely from nature, they are purer than any other being, and have distinct personalities of their own. And therefore, it is rare to see elementals even of the same nature cooperate. And an elementalist controlling this process? That is close to impossible. Connections between people alone are impossible to get right with just a couple of years of practice, but let alone between people, there is also the necessity of connections between elementals. Although there are people that are contracted to multiple elementals or beasts, but that is simply a direct connection between them and another elemental. In order to make connections with other people¡¯s elementals, it is a necessity to go through said other person, and elementals that are more mental than physical, as well as gods, cannot ept this connection. The majority of summons have a very strong sense of possessiveness. To a summon, their summoner is the only exit they have to another world. But it is obvious that the more summons that summoner has, the less opportunities they have to leave through that exit. Even low-ranking elementals without even a proper sense of reason dislike their summoner contracting another summon, so would those gods and devils with their high sense of pride wish for such a thing? I once had the opportunity to meet a summoner contracted to both a god and a devil, and every time they got a chance, they would say -is it her, or me!- and badger their summoner to break his contract with the other. To put it in simpler terms, a single summoner being contracted to many summons is simr to a country¡¯s king mediating between nobles that dislike each other. Now, let¡¯s add on the necessity of connections with other people on top of this scenario. While cooperating with another country¡¯s king, at the same time they also need to get another country¡¯s nobles working in tandem with their own countries¡¯. We are talking about another nation¡¯s nobles, who barely even listen to their own king as it is! Is it possible? No, it is not. And that is why in the case of elementalists,mon sense is that forming connections are impossible. But I thought of a different approach. Let¡¯s change the situation a bit. From ¡®connections between elementalists are impossible¡¯ to ¡®convicing foreign nobles that don¡¯t even listen to their own king to cooperate.¡¯ Is it impossible? Yes, it is impossible. You cannot ever hope to convince them with ordinary means. But there are always ways to get around things in the mechanizations of people. And there are many very simple options in a situation like the one presented. Threats are good. Put a knife at their throat, and tell them to cooperate if they do not wish to die. Magic is also good. Cast an illusion spell and have them see an illusion, or brainwash them and make them into your puppet. You can buy them out. Say that if they were to vote in your favour, you will give them hundreds of thousands of gold coins. If they are a noble interested in money, they will cooperate. Already, we have three different solutions. Now let¡¯s return to the original question. Is cooperation between elementals impossible? I say that it is difficult. I did note to the conclusion that it is [almost impossible] for no reason. But, it is not impossible. It is almost impossible. Meaning, it is difficult, but very much possible. Out of all the different types of summon out there, elementals are the ones affected most by the state of their summoner. And so, if the summoners themselves show a unity close to brainwashing, the elementals too, will be able to achieve a state close to brainwashing. Of course you cannot actually brainwash them. Because summons are very sensitive to the state of their summoner, if there is an anomaly in the mind of the summoner, if the summon detects the presence of another person, they will not carry out the orders. So in order to use Elemental Roar, you need a powerful emotion that can bring together countless summoners to a single unified front. And the best emotion to bring everyone¡¯s hearts together is¡» ¡°Anger¡­ is it?¡± I had been reading the book that vice-pres had given me, as I looked up and stared nkly at the scene in front of me. One hundred people all emitting a dark aura. And in the middle of them all, for the sake of raising morale, Yugrasia¡¯s vice-president spouted off lie after lie as he elerated Yugrasia¡¯s imminent closure. But amazingly, despite there being no mind controlling magic of any shape or form whatsoever being used, all one hundred were all of the same mind. -Kill that motherfucker Nerkia. The anger directed at Pres was tying everyone¡¯s hearts in union. A pure state of heart without a single trace of any other thoughts! ¡°Summon your elementals! As many as you can!¡± Countless elementals appeared. And they were all, singing. ¡°Alright, it worked!¡± Vice-pres looked on with a proud look on his face as he used Loki¡¯s shoes to move to where I was in a single step. ¡°Lady Aris, tell them to aim this technique over there once it¡¯s ready. I¡­ I will head on over and give Nerkia a taste of my bamboo spear!¡± ¡°Eh? Wait, isn¡¯t it better if vice-pres is the one to takemand¡­ ah.¡± As vice-pres ran off at high speeds over to the Arucia base without even listening to me, I could only sigh. ¡°But, it was really possible?¡± The song of the elementals continued. A beautiful song, but a destructive song, one that could destroy anything, no matter what it was. ¡ºBut, this hypothesis is one that I cannot confirm for myself, as I am not an elementalist.¡» ¡°Professor, your students are proving your theory right in front of me right now?¡± And for an incredibly stupid reason at that. Low, mid, high-rank elementals. These elementals that differed in their sses, in their elements, were alling together as one as they sang. A fantastical scene that hundreds of elementals were creating. And in the middle of it all, a mass of light was growing bigger and bigger. And that mass was. -Elemental Roar. With the shouts of a hundred, it fell down onto Arucia¡¯s main base. ¡­They¡¯re not going to die, right? #3 Their story: A certain viin boss¡¯s story. I looked up into the sky. A ball of light had begun to drop on us. Grit. I found myself grinding my teeth without thinking. I had never expected the current emperor to be this decisive in his actions. How many students were here right now? There were at least a hundred. There could even be more than a thousand. And these were Arucia and Marcis students as well. It might have been a different story if this had been Mercaria¡¯s main abse. Because if it had been Mercaria¡¯s, the vast majority of whose students weremoners, they could use them as a sacrifice to annihte the anti-empire army. But Arucia and Marcis were schools where the students were mostly the scion of nobility. And yet, they abandoned them? ¡°Incredible.¡± His decisiveness was praiseworthy, even as an enemy. Even if defence and teleportation spells were casted throughout the imperial festival grounds, a st of that level would vaporise everyone before you could be transported out. Now how will the empire¡¯s emperor deal with the aftermath of this ludicrous stunt? Will he admit that he did it? Never. Massacring the children of nobles right in front of his people. Even the emperor of the Karuan Empire, with its absolute imperial rule, had his limits for what would or wouldn¡¯t stand. Then, as our doing? He could do that. The anti-empire army¡¯s suicide attack. And at the same time, keeping a tighter leash in his court. It would not be weird for him to take this opportunity to use the nobles that opposed him to be part of the anti-empire army and have them all executed. Or he could im that this was a deration of war by an enemy country that low-key opposed him. How cold-hearted he was! How cruel he was! How evil he was! Was this the emperor of the world¡¯s strongest superpower nation? To use his own people, these young students as a sacrifice, and eliminate his enemies! ¡°Kghh¡­ emperor! Do not take our power lightly!¡± I circted magic power through my entire body. Although I had no talent for the sword, I had plenty of talent for magic. And the talent to be an archmage at that. The anti-empire army was an organisation that were formed of the descendants of the royalty of the countries conquered by the empire. I, who had honed my skills with countless magic tomes smuggled away before the empire brought those nations down, was proud of my power that not even the Head of the Magic Tower would be able to match. ¡°O mana.¡± As I focused on the magic power within my body, the air began to shake. It was a sign that the magic in the atmosphere was submitting to me. But¡­ ¡°How strong.¡± Because I was dominating the magic in the air, I knew. I could not dominate the mana around that giant mass of light. No, there was no mana around it at all. That was a light of destruction that even vaporised the magic of its surroundings. This was impossible to do on my own. ¡°All magicians of the anti-empire army. Use all your power, and stop that magic!¡± I gathered magic power in my voice and spread it through the entire castle. One my one, I could feel the presence of other magicians. There were some that even deserved to be called archmages, and there were also others that would be called high-rank magicians no matter what kind of Magic Tower they entered. Our power was that of one of the top ten Magic Towers of the continent or greater. That was thebat power of the mages of the anti-empire army. ¡°O Great Magics! ept my will and protect me from my enemies!¡± This was not the empire-style magic bombardment created by the empire. Simply the pure, overwhelming force of magic brought on by the power of elementals. And so I also began to resist with magic. Stackyers andyers of magic barriers, as thick and strong as I could. Stack them again, and again, and again, and again. This was done not just by me, but all the other magicians of the anti-empire army. The transparent magic barrier was getting so thick we could almost see it with our naked eyes. And then, our barrier met the barrage of the imperial army. ¡°Kuhk!¡± ¡°My lord!¡± A massive shockwave rocked through my organs. It is impossible. It is inevitable. So give up here, was what the magic was saying. ¡°Kuhuk¡­ not¡­ not yet!¡± But I could not be defeated here. The grudge of the anti-empire army was far too deep to end right here, right now with just a single bombardment. ¡°O great¡­ power of magic!¡± I sent another magic barrier imbued with my will into the sky. My organs were already a mess. Blood kept on running up my throat and into my mouth, but the taste of blood sharpened my mind even further. ¡®Even if this is my end.¡¯ I could not let this be the end of the anti-empire army. ¡°This, is my full power, emperor!¡± I had prepared myself for death long ago. Oneyer, and then another. As the number of magic barriers shrank, so too, did the mass of light gradually get smaller. ¡°This is my victory¡­ emperor.¡± And the moment I let myself smile at the sight of the diminishing light. ¡°Damn you all, is this really all you idiots have? I didn¡¯t want to say this as well, but listen up, you fucking solos! That asshole Nerkia even went and seduced Lady Ariiiiiiiiiiiiiss!¡± From somewhere distant I heard a very angry voice. Judging by the names I just heard, one of the important members of the summoner¡¯s school Yugrasia, the daughter of the Letia family apparently liked the Yugrasia student council president. ¡®Why?¡¯ Just why was I hearing such a thing in the middle of that fiendish emperor¡¯s bombardment? And. -We¡¯re going to kill you, Nerkiaaaaaa! At the same time I heard a scream close to despair. ¡°What?!¡± Why was it that the dying mass of light started to getrger again? #4 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. ¡°Damn you all, is this really all you idiots have? I didn¡¯t want to say this as well, but listen up, you fucking solos! That asshole Nerkia even went and seduced Lady Ariiiiiiiiiiiiiss!¡± ..Now what manner of bullshit is this? Chapter 105 RATH 105 TL: Eevee 12. It¡¯s not over til it¡¯s over (3) #5 Their story: Risen de Roa¡¯s story. When the light in the sky began to die down, I said yet another lie. -You nuts? -I¡¯m probably not going to die peacefully anyway? I sold out Lady Aris. But the number of girls I had sacrificed to kill Nerkia wasn¡¯t just a few. I pulled in a margrave House, and a marquis at that. One of the Ten Great Families was no big deal. -Getting ripped apart limb from limb is already a given for me right now, so would I really survive if I got a few different bits torn off instead? -Kah, you were already the most insane of all my contractors to date, and yet you surpass that title and go even further beyond! I can only respect you for it! Wow, I got a god¡¯s respect. But seeing as I¡¯d gone this far. ¡°It¡¯s not going to fail, right?¡± As if to respond to me words, the mass of light got bigger again as it shattered the magic barriers and plunged to the ground. -But, how are you going to dodge? -It¡¯s alright, I set it up so that they at least wouldn¡¯t die even if they were hit. It was an attack that contained the power of all the elementals we had. An attackposed of every element, an attack that was superior to any other element. If we¡¯d wanted to we could have made that attack vaporise someone¡¯s very existence, but we could not let off Nerkia, the traitor of the academy and the enemy of men, that easily. So he was to be taken alive at all costs. And after we dragged him in, to pay for the sins of betraying the academy, we would turn him over to the silver devil. We would make him face the thing that we knew was more fearsome than death! -But controlling that move to be non-lethal won¡¯t be easy? -Well, of course it won¡¯t. Controlling magic power the way you want it to is a very difficult thing. Imagining killing someone is very simple. But imagining an attack that would decimate the someone yet leave them alive is very difficult. Unless you were a master torturer, how many people knew the exact limit of the human body? Moreover, that was a grand spell made by a hundred people. Common sense dictated that an organisation where all one hundred exactly knew the said limits shouldn¡¯t exist in the empire, no, the entire continent. -But we experienced it personally getting hit by the silver devil! -Kah, incredible, Yugrasia! Even that became education! Every day we tasted incredible pain. A pain to surpass death. But we did not die. On the contrary, our bodies were healed to the point where they felt lighter the next day. But, it hurts. It hurts so much it felt like we¡¯d die. And it was a very simple thing for one hundred people who had experienced that to imagine the sensation where people would just avoid death. Because all they had to do was remember what had been their daily life! ¡°Gaaaaahhhh!¡± ¡°Kyaaaah!¡± ¡°Run, run away!¡± ¡°Where? Where the hell are we supposed to run away from that!¡± I heard the screams of pain begin from down below. As the slowly descending Elemental Roar began to engulf the castle walls, casualties had begun to emerge. ¡°This¡­ is going to hurt.¡± But I had to endure. In order to catch that asshole Nerkia. -You not gonna put up a shield? -You can¡¯t defend against the silver devil. You can¡¯t dodge it, either. So that attack which was invoked in the image of the silver devil would be unblockable. Letting yourself get hit and waking up quicker would be the best case scenario. Thankfully, even outside of those hundred, twelve more people were waiting outside the st radius on standby. ¡°Well, they¡¯ll get the job done, right?¡± I closed my eyes and waited for a peaceful rest¡­ not, but the pain to hit. And an attack that felt far too weakpared to the siler devil¡¯s attack rattled my entire body. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± How much time had passed? I felt my consciousness returning. Was this still Arucia¡¯s main base? Or was this the healers¡¯ tents? ¡°You alright, vice-pres?¡± ¡°Ow¡­¡± I could faintly hear a female voice. ¡°Come on, get up.¡± Had the event still not ended yet. The hurried voice urged me on. I shall indeed, wake up. If the event hadn¡¯t ended, that meant that that asshole Nerkia still hadn¡¯t been caught! Light began to stream into my eyes as I slowly opened them. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re awake.¡± And the one in front of my eyes was Lady Aris, breathing a sigh of relief. ¡°Really, you had me worried there¡­¡± As she saw that I had regained consciousness, she smiled brightly. ¡°Did you know how much I wanted to kill you, vice-president?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Now that reminded me, I even dragged Lady Aris into this, hadn¡¯t I? ¡°DIE.¡± With a smile like you¡¯d see from the King of Hell, a giant sword aura tore through the air. #6 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story. ¡°Ugh¡­ are we alive?¡± A giant mass of elemental power dropped onto us from the sky. I took the people near me and had us shelter underground, and squeezed out all my magic power to form a magic barrier but I couldn¡¯t block itpletely. I honestly thought I was going to die. But thankfully, it seemed they¡¯d at retained a sense of decency by not killing us. ¡°First¡­ I need to wake them up.¡± Lying around everywhere were the corpse-like bodies of Arucia students. And as I shook them awake, I heard Risen¡¯s voice from far away. ¡­Had it begun already? ¡°L, Lady Aris! Just listen to me!¡± ¡°Shut up. Do you think I¡¯d let you freely wag that devil¡¯s tongue of yours?¡± Although thankfully it seemed that we had a bit of time thanks to Lady Aris. I had no idea what he¡¯d done but Lady Aris¡¯s anger was piercing the heavens. ¡°Oi, oi, Kiir? Wake up? At this rate we¡¯re all going to be eliminated?¡± As a start, I grabbed the Arucia student council president Kiir¡¯spels and started shaking him. As he started to make wuhhh~ and other weird noises I started to smack him around a bit. ¡°Kuhk! What!¡± ¡°You awake?¡± When he still wasn¡¯t waking up I punched his gut and he woke up, gasping for air. ¡°Wake the others up. Risen and Lady Aris are nearby.¡± ¡°Kuhk¡­ have we not been found?¡± ¡°Yep, thankfully Risen did something to Lady Aris and now the two of them are going at it.¡± As we heard the explosions and screamsing from outside, Kiir nodded as well. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s not just a trap?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Risen?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s probably real, then.¡± Even other schools knew of Risen¡¯s reputation! Indeed, not only in Yugrasia, Risen had caused numerous incidents in other schools as well. ¡°Now is the chance when they¡¯re infighting due to Risen¡¯s stupidity. Let¡¯s wake everyone up and gap it.¡± Risen and Lady Aris undeniably the strongest fighters in Yugrasia. The only ones that could fight the two of them individually were me and Lady Nermia. But judging by the scale of the previous bombardment, there were at least several hundred Yugrasia students here. We couldn¡¯t fight off the silver devil-trained Yugrasia students with just these people here. As time went on, Lady Nermia and I would only be more and more isted and all that would remain would be defeat. That would be very, very problematic. ¡°Damn it, I get it.¡± As if Kiir realised that we had no hoped as well, he clicked his tongue and started waking up the others students fainted on the ground. ¡°They¡¯re not waking up very easily.¡± ¡°Normally it wouldn¡¯t be weird for them to be dead after that attack. The shock was probably that big.¡± Not even ten people got up after five minutes of us trying to wake people up. If the Arucia students, famed for being sturdy were like this, then I could assume that the Marcis students didn¡¯t even have a chance. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to work. Kiir. Leave the people behind that can¡¯t move properly, and get everyone else that¡¯s awake out of here. You need to round up everyone outside that can move properly.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to join up with Lady Nermia and stop Yugrasia for as long as possible.¡± ¡°¡­Although this might sound awkwarding from me, but I leave it to you.¡± Kiir nodded, and I left him and peeked outside. The castle was in ruins. The marks that had been left behind by sword aura and not elemental¡¯s magic were very noticeable. ¡°Ah¡­¡± And where the marks of sword aura ended. On the top of the gpole which had the g that symbolised Arucia, a very ragged Risen had been tied up. [This man is a bullshitting liar.] ¡°Just what the heck did you do¡­¡± ¡°Do you want to know, president?¡± ¡°Kk?!¡± The moment I heard someone speak, a sword swept through the space where my neck had been moments ago. An ambush? Was that Risen fake as well? ¡°You seem surprised, president. But no, that isn¡¯t a fake. Simply the true fate of one bullshitting liar. Shhing. With one sword in her right hand already, with her left hand she drew a second sword from a scabbard on her back. ¡°Now then, I shall be disying the fate of a traitor right beside him, president!¡± ¡°O King!¡± Sword aura zed on her twin swords. Instead of the spear she normally used, she had brought out her original specialty, dual-wielding swords. There were two reasons why Lady Aris had used a spear instead of her favourite dual swords. The first was to distance herself from the silver devil as much as possible, and the second was to reduce her mana consumption as far as she could. Forming sword aura on the tip of a spear required far less magic power than forming it down the entire length of a sword. Lady Aris had originally trained for a drawn-out fight to defeat a god and a Spirit King after fighting through countless teachers. The fact that she had pulled out her dual swords meant that she was not going to be spending too much time on me. In that case, I also needed to use my full power to defeat her. ¡°Roar, thunder. Run rampant, tempest!¡± I added the power of a highest-rank wind elemental to the power of the Lightning Spirit King. The sheer power behind that move was beyond imagination. Officially, there were only five people in the Karuan Empire that had contracted a highest-rank elemental. Just having a contract with one meant that the Empire would give you the title of viscount. That was how much power a highest-rank elemental had. And the power of a King was added to that. This was a power that wouldn¡¯t lose to sword aura, on the contrary, it was even stronger than sword aura in dealing with multiple enemies. ¡°Haahhhhhh!¡± Although using it on a newly enrolled first year girl had an extremely poor sound to it from that description alone. ¡°Just, that much!¡± The enemy was a genius who had broken the record of the empire¡¯s youngest swordsmaster. And she even had the talent to generate sword aura on not just her main weapon of the sword, but a spear as well. If I took her as just a small girl, my defeat was all but certain. ¡°mes of the beginning. The origin of life, water. The eternally free wind. The earth that embraces all.¡± As the lightning and wind collided with the sword aura, I prepared my next spell. Fire, water, earth and wind. I drew on the power of what was called the four base elements, and fused them together. Combining the power of multiple different elements was something only I could do in Yugrasia, or for that matter, very few summoners could do at all. Because I could do it, I was called the Elemental Army. ¡°Elemental Burst.¡± As Lady Aris cut down the lightning-infused tempest and charged in, I fired my strongest attack of the power of four highest-rank elementals. ¡°Burn, mes of the apocalypse.¡± And a massive shockwave rocked the arena! The attack containing the power of four different elementals collided with a powerful burst of fire! ¡­Huh? Fire? ¡°What!¡± Lady Aris was a swordsmaster and a god-ss summoner. But her summon is the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena. She had nothing to do with fire. But a white fire had blocked my attack. It was a white me, one of the two mes that surpassed crimson and blue mes, white and ck. ¡°Why?¡± As the Elemental Burst and the white mes died down, what appeared was Lady Aris, and. ¡°Why is Lady Nermia over there?¡± Marcis¡¯s Lady Nermia, who I¡¯d thought was my strongest ally. ¡°The same as you, President of Yugrasia. Just like you¡­ I have a reason why Yugrasia must win.¡± Lady Nermia brandished her me sword at me with a serious expression. Beside her, Lady Aris pointed her dual des imbued with sword aura at me. And. ¡°Sinner, Nerkia.¡± Men draped in ck clothes suddenly appeared around me. ¡°Judgement has been passed. Your sentence is.¡± The surroundings of almost a hundred people draped in ck robes made by Reedan shed as they summoned their elementals. -Death. It seems, there¡¯s no way for me to live. Chapter 106 RATH 106 TL: Eevee 12. It¡¯s not over til it¡¯s over (4) #7 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. ¡°Kuhk!¡± I drove my fist into vice-president¡¯s stomach, and he fell down with a grunt. ¡°Tch, I messed up¡­¡± How unfortunate. I thought I¡¯d been controlling my strength rtively well, but he still went and fainted. ¡°Well, I still have to do what I have to do.¡± I picked up a nk of wood and started writing. I hung it over his neck and hauled him up onto a gpole. ¡°Ha¡­ I wasted too much mana.¡± Vice-pres was the fastest person in Yugrasia. Capturing someone like that when he was doing his best to run away was a very difficult feat. I only caught him by forming walls of sword aura to block off all his escape routes, pretending to want to talk to him, and only then could I attack to just sessfully capture him. I didn¡¯t know about anyone else but if I ran into Marcis¡¯s Lady Nermia right now then¡­ ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°Ah?!¡± Damn it, me and my big mouth. The voice that came from behind me was definitely that of Lady Nermia¡¯s. But¡­ ¡°What¡¯s¡­ the matter?¡± Differently from normal, she was walking like a zombie with her head right down. Even to me, her enemy, she looked downright pitiful. There was no trace of the woman that had fought tooth and nail against Yugrasia, swinging her fire sword with her archdevil Surtr. ¡°I, I¡¯m going over to Yugrasia.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I was surprised once at the words she said as she lifted her head, and surprised once again as I saw her emotionless dead eyes. ¡°Wh, what kind of tactic is this?¡± I said in a moment of shock, but it didn¡¯t seem like she¡¯de here for strategic purposes. Not even our acting skills which were honed in Yugrasia could hope to replicate her appearance right now. ¡°Tactic? Nothing of the sort.¡± As she lethargically shook her head, her hair flung itself side by side. As I nkly stared at her I wondered if I should draw my sword or not, but I thought that even if I fought her now, I¡¯d still lose due to mana exhaustion and so I opted not to. ¡°Then why?¡± It was a question loaded with many different meanings. Why? Just what happened for someone to be so thoroughly ruined like that? At my question, she bowed her head deeply once again and shuddered for an agonisingly long time. It scared me. It felt like she was either cursed, or something entered her body that shouldn¡¯t have. ¡°¡­structor.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°I made an enemy¡­ of the instructor.¡± ¡°Instructor?¡± I heard the faint murmurings that leaked out but I couldn¡¯t understand them. Instructor? Not even a professor or teacher, why was an instructor popping up all of a sudden? ¡°Tell me clearly.¡± And what I heard was a shocking truth. ¡°Nar¡­ no, Professor Nicerwin. I was taught by him in the past.¡± ¡°Mm¡­¡± It was a shock at first, but after I thought it over it a bit, it all made sense. No wonder she didn¡¯t feel like an outsider. To think she¡¯d actually learned from Professor Nicerwin! But there was another thing that was the true shocker. ¡°That thing you guys call¡­ the silver devil¡­ we got beaten by something that was probably simr to that when I was being taught?¡± ¡°Lies!¡± That was a lie. That had to be a lie! Something simr to the silver devil? There was no way something like that could exist! But she had mentioned that she had been beaten as she was taught. Even if we had mentioned the silver devil, even if we had said that it was a pain worse than death, none of us had ever actually said we had been directly beaten by it. But really? Seriously? There was another ursed object of the Evil God that was simr to the silver devil?!¡± ¡°What¡¯s¡­ that?¡± ¡°Bat¡­ it was a weapon named the wooden bat¡­¡± ¡°Weapon¡­¡± To think that there was also a weapon as well as a living creature, I should probably heed Professor Nicerwin¡¯s words better from now on. ¡°But¡­ why are you surrendering?¡± ¡°Think about it. I¡­ I directly refused that man and opposed him! He told me toe to Yugrasia, but I refused! He was going to make Yugrasia win the imperial festival, and I tried to stop him!¡± I tilted my head in puzzlement at her tearful voice. ¡°What¡¯s wrong about that?¡± Even if she was once taught by him. Lady Nermia is still a Marcis student. What was weird about her moving to secure Marcis¡¯s victory over Yugrasia¡¯s? ¡°Think about it! The opponent is Na¡­ I mean, Professor Nicerwin! Think¡­ think about it if you were in my shoes! Her fearful voice made me think over it briefly. Let¡¯s say that Professor Nicerwin taught me when I was young. And I went to Arucia, and opposed him. And if I stole away Yugrasia¡¯s victory¡­ then¡­ ¡®Is this your resolve as the student to surpass the master?¡¯ ¡®It is a good resolve.¡¯ ¡®Go, Arcadia.¡¯ ¡®Aru, aru!¡¯ ¡°Hiiik!¡± Many thoughts flickered through my head but all of them led to a single conclusion. The silver devil woulde find me. And she would hit me. It¡¯s scary. Really, really scary. Just the thought of Professor Nicerwin and the silver devil smirking as they approached me made my legs shiver in fear. ¡°Yugrasia has to win. It has to. Only then do I get to live.¡± ¡°Even if it means abandoning Marics?¡± ¡°You know as well, if you¡¯re that man¡¯s disciple. Things like that aren¡¯t important at all!¡± It didn¡¯t seem like a lie. That deration was definitely something that a disciple of Professor Nicerwin might say. ¡°Then¡­ wee aboard!¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± From the look of relief on her face, you wouldn¡¯t think that she was someone I¡¯d been fighting this entire time. So our strongest fighter the president had disappeared, but Marcis¡¯s strongest was ours now! That meant the only wild card left was the president! And that president. -Death. Was soon going to die. #8 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story. Killing intent began surrounding me from every angle. ¡°Sinner Nerkia. We will state your crimes, if you wish to plead then do so.¡± At Reedan¡¯s grave deration, a person d in ck robes making them unidentifiable stepped out and said. ¡°First sin. Betraying the academy.¡± Mm, yes, I did feel sorry for that. That was undoubtedly my fault without much to speak about. ¡°Second sin. Being lovers with Arucia¡¯s vice-president, Lady Arietta rul Meirae.¡± ¡°Wait, why is that a sin?¡± That made absolutely zero sense. Betraying the academy was definitely my fault. But dating Ari was also a crime? Ari and I are dating, it¡¯s like there was anything wrong with that? ¡°Third sin. Being lovers with Arucia¡¯s Renya ti Silgran.¡± ¡°How?¡± This time I was surprised for a different reason. At least in Ari¡¯s case everyone knew since I¡¯d confessed publicly, but only Kiir and a very small minority in Arucia knew about Renya?! Was there another traitor in Arucia like Lady Nermia? ¡°Fourth sin. Being lovers with Mercaria¡¯s Iiana mel Rudratian.¡± ¡°How did you know that!¡± That one was truly shocking. At least in Renya¡¯s case I met her a lot together with Ari up tost year at least, so I couldn¡¯t say with confidence we were never seen together. Because no matter how quietly we dated, Ari, Renya and I were all famous figures in our respective academies. So it would not be weird if we were found out. But big sis(1) Iiana never met me when she was still a student. Because she said she wanted to focus only on her studies while she was here. Because of that, when she went back home during the holidays she would even manage to push away Ari and Renya to monopolise me as if it was her reward¡­ How the hell did these people know of my meetings with big sis Iiana?! ¡°We have Risen, the great sage who knows everything.¡± ¡°Risen¡­¡± What a fearsome man. He had been furious when he found out I had a lover, and five of them at that. But that had all been an act. Risen had already known everything, and had already investigated everything! Having known everything already, the moment I chose to publicly reveal that I had a lover, he took that opportunity when everyone was angry to reveal everything. How meticulous was his n? Rather than get angry on his own, he held it in and gathered evidence, and only revealed it once everyone else¡¯s anger was at its peak. This was undoubtedly a n to ensure I would die! How fearsome, you fearsome man, Risen! ¡°Fifth sin. Being lovers with Aine ru Julia.¡± ¡°Sixth sin. Being lovers with Tinya hil Terecia.¡± I had nothing more to say. Risen¡­ you¡­ How did you know about Tinya as well? How the hell did you manage to investigate Tinya who wasn¡¯t even attending any of the academies yet! There was nothing to even suggest a link between us aside from the fact that my family¡¯s territory was close to the Terecias¡¯. And yet he managed to find out that Tinya was my lover. Just what were your limits, Risen! ¡°Now, criminal. We have named all your sins. If any of them are not true, raise your head and say so.¡± As Reedan solemnly dered so, my jaws clenched shut. I simply had to say no. If I lied and escaped here, I could survive. I did it many times in Yugrasia, as well, didn¡¯t I? I just had to refuse just this one time? The devil within me whispered. But, but! -Lies! How am I supposed to trust you! The image of Ari in tears came up in my mind¡¯s eye. Even though it wasn¡¯t me that said it. It was only yesterday that lies had made Ari cry. But. But, could I really make her cry again. No, including Ari, could I make all my lovers cry, who had all liked me since I was little? ¡°So are those my sins?¡± ¡°Indeed, sinner.¡± At my shameless expression, the killing intent directed at me thickened. But I simply raised my head with pride, puffed out my chest and stepped forward. ¡°If those are my sins¡­ if being the lover of those girls is a sin! Then the price for that sin, I will pay it, and dly!¡± I squeezed out all the mana I had. I had plenty of experience, no? I¡¯d done it a lot to survive against the silver devil, hadn¡¯t I? I couldn¡¯t lose to just over a hundred elementalists. I am the Elemental Army. If a hundred elementalists summoned a hundred elementals. ¡°I just have to summon a hundred on my own.¡± Beginning with the Spirit King of Lightning, then highest-rank elementals from each of the Four Elements. And afterwards, I summoned crowds of high-rank, mid-rank, and low-rank elementals. If I met my limits when I fought against Lady Aris. Now was the time to ovee them. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Every second that passed sapped my mana reserves drier and drier. I couldn¡¯t make a fool of myself here. Their parents could be watching me right now as well. My family¡¯s totalck of fame or significance had already caused its fair share of dirty looks thrown at us. Shouldn¡¯t I at least leave an impression in a moment like this, so I can score some points with my future inws at least? ¡°Come.¡± When I dered so, each of the hundred elementals summoned by the hundred elementalists started preparing to attack. ¡°Very well, I will kill you.¡± A quiet voice. But the owner of the voice that didn¡¯t prate my ear, but right through my skull, was one that I knew well. ¡°Risen¡­¡± Risen who had at some point managed to get down from the gpole he¡¯d been tied to, red at me and snarled. ¡°Nerkia!¡± Risen¡¯s body became wrapped in darkness. This wasn¡¯t Reedan¡¯s darkness elemental, but instead he ran at me cloaking his body with his own shadow. ¡°O King.¡± The power of a Spirit King of Lightning shed against the power of a god, and the shockwave from the impact was powerful enough to stagger everyone else in the area. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, you little bastard!¡± ¡°Show me your anger that you¡¯ve held in for so long!¡± I yelled back in response to Risen¡¯s furious cry. I don¡¯t know how long you¡¯ve investigated me for, but your anger. I¡¯ll face it head on with my power! ¡°Nerkiiiaaaaaa!¡± ¡°Riseeeeeeeenn!¡± And so we began the battle that wouldter be hailed as the greatest in the history of the imperial festival. Chapter 107 RATH 107 TL: Eevee 12. It¡¯s not over til it¡¯s over (5) #9 Their story: Risen de Roa¡¯s story. ¡°Mhmmf¡­¡± I felt myselfe back to the world of the living. It¡¯s cold. I can feel the wind blowing from somewhere. Where is this ce? -What do you mean, where is this ce. It¡¯s the top of a gpole. And right now, you¡¯re a g that can¡¯t even p in the wind. Ahh. That¡¯s right. I bullshat that Lady Aris had fallen for Nerkia and I got caught by a very angry Lady Aris, got beaten up and fainted, right? But still, Lady Aris. Did you have to tie me to a gpole! ¡°First sin. Betraying the academy.¡± Just then, I heard Reedan¡¯s voice nearby. ¡°Hm¡­¡± When I turned my head around, what I saw was were countless red, blue green and brown lights, and even some yellow and white lights added in the mix as well. ¡°Elementals.¡± That meant that the summoners that used Elemental Roar had alle inside the castle. ¡°And the sinner they¡¯re talking about.¡± There could only be one person. Nerkia. ¡°Heh heh, serves you right, Nerkia.¡± You dare have a whopping five girlfriends? There is no way this Risen de Roa would ever allow that, now is there? Just for you, I only picked out the names of some very important people as your so-called lovers? Even though the idea that they would be is absolutely ludicrous, but there¡¯s no way they¡¯d believe you even if you denied it here? And the trial that began¡­ Endedpletely outside my expectations. ¡°If those are my sins¡­ if being the lover of those girls is a sin! Then the price for that sin, I will pay it, and dly!¡± -Kahh. Hey, contractor. Do you have the gift of prophecy or something? I don¡¯t have an ability like that. By any chance, you haven¡¯t contracted some other god without telling me, have you? I heard Loki¡¯s amazedments. I heard him, but I did not understand. Nerkia, what manner of bullshit was he spouting now. All I did was name the most famous beauties of the Four Academies that I knew. Moreover I even pulled in the daughter of a margrave, that wasn¡¯t even attending any of the academies yet. And it was all true? All five of those girls were his lovers? ¡°Lies¡­¡± Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies.Lies Yeah, it had to be a lie. There was no way that could be true. He already had five lovers. But all of them were from good families, all of them were talented in their own right¡­ and they were all beautiful as well? You¡­ are you some legendary hero or something? Are you a harem novel protagonist! -Loki. -Wiing? What¡¯s up, contractor? ¡°Come.¡± I watched Nerkia brazenly dere war against a swordsmaster and a hundred elementalists. ¡­How unsightly. -You said you made that bamboo spear to kill that god that wouldn¡¯t die or whatever, right? -Hm? It¡¯s not a bamboo spear because it¡¯s not made out of bamboo¡­ but yeah, more or less. -I can totally understand your feelings as to why you did it¡­ so I want to kill that disgusting asshole too. -Ahaa~ but wouldn¡¯t it be a touch too impossible? I know for a fact because we had heroes in our world as well, and right now if you stuck him next to one of the folk we called heroes, he¡¯d fit right in? Really, now? -I heard that a lot of heroes died because they angered the gods? -They did. There were a lot of them that were children of gods themselves, and there were also those that were worshipped like a god. We had a lot of them mistake themselves as gods themselves. -Well, then¡­ doesn¡¯t that asshole deserve divine punishment as well, then? -Haa? But you¡¯re human, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re not asking me for help by any chance, right? Indeed, this is my anger. Not Loki¡¯s anger, but the anger of myself who had never had a lover in my entire life. -In that case¡­ I reject my humanity, Loki! -Urk? My power?! I drew upon Loki¡¯s power under my own will. Descension, a technique of epting a god into yourself to borrow their strength. This anger would not sate itself with just that. In that case, I simply need to be a god myself to unleash divine wrath. A way for humans to be gods. Although she wasn¡¯t exactly human, we had an elven teacher show us how, didn¡¯t we? As a student of Yugrasia. I simply had to use the technique we learned from the teachers, Ascension. (»¯Éñ) -A, are you mad? -I am mad! Do I look like I¡¯m sane to you? -I confess. In all my divine life, I have never, ever seen a madman to surpass you! Kahahahahaha! Loki had moved on from snickering to outright hystericalughter, and he said to me happily. -Alright then, do it! Use my power as much as you desire, and unleash your wrath! A dominating power began to flow into me. Not just Loki¡¯s power, but ones even beyond him! -What is this? -I¡¯m not all that strong among the gods. But¡­ my children are strong enough to defeat the strongest gods of them all. This is the power of my children. Contractor. Can you withstand it? I remembered hearing Professor Nicerwin¡¯s tales. Loki¡¯s children, Vanargand Fenrir. The World Snake J?rmungandr. And the Goddess of the Underworld, Hel(1). Each one of them were all monsters on the same level as an archdevil. Did Loki¡¯s Ascension mean I had to be able to take on their power as well? In that case. -Of course I can! I will take in that power. The aftermath? I felt like if I could execute that motherfucker Nerkia then I could even make a contract with the silver devil. And so, after a moment that felt like an eternity. -You mad, you actually epted it. I, became a god. ¡°Shadows.¡± I cut the ropes that bound me with shadows. Even after the ropes that stopped me from plummeting through the air was cut, I did not fall to the ground. I could use the shadows as a medium to draw on the power of Loki¡¯s children. ¡°Very well, I will kill you.¡± ¡°Risen¡­¡± My eyes met Nerkia¡¯s. ¡°Nerkia!¡± The moment they did, my thread of reason snapped. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, you little bastard!¡± ¡°Show me your anger that you¡¯ve held in for so long!¡± I transformed my shadow into Fenrir and swallowed the Spirit King¡¯s lightning bolts. ¡°Die. Die. Die. Die!¡± And as Fenrir¡¯s shadow was destroyed by lightning, numerous small wolves that were Fenrir¡¯s clones were summoned around it. As over ten wolves suddenly jumped onto Nerkia, he easily defended against them with his elementals. ¡°Death God¡¯s Scythe.¡± A higher rank scythe than Loki¡¯s. I drew on Hel¡¯s(2) power to borrow Hel¡¯s(3) scythe that reaped away souls with every swing. ¡°Kghh.¡± Nerkia, too, realised that the power imbued in the scythe was much greater than what he normally had to deal with, so he chose not to block, but dodged instead. ¡®His intuition¡¯s still as sharp as ever.¡¯ The person that was even harder to fool than Karen, with whom I¡¯d spent a long time together even before our Yugrasia days, was Nerkia. His intuition which let him avoid anything that could be to his detriment made him like a ghost with how slippery he was. And that intuition had saved him yet again. ¡°But¡­ if it is unavoidable, now that¡¯s another story!¡± Suddenly, the world was dyed in darkness. ¡°Are you going to kill us all?!¡± A giant shadow that even blotted out the setting sun. I unleashed the power of J?rmungandr, who could wrap itself around the world. ¡°Hup!¡± ¡°Hang on?!¡± The giant snake¡¯s tail struck Nerkia, and even sent Lady Aris flying through the air. ¡°You attacked your allies!¡± Lady Aris did a half-flip in the air andnded on her feet as she red at me, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. Sometimes you needed to make small sacrifices for the greater good! ¡°Die, Nerkia!¡± I tried to grab Nerkia by J?rmungandr¡¯s tail, but Nerkia was avoiding it by a sliver every time. But, J?rmungandr¡¯s abilities didn¡¯t lie solely in its size. ¡°Wait hold up, are you really trying to kill me? Why are you using poison! This is against the rules!¡± A lethal toxin that even once killed Thor, the god of thunder, the god that Hirto, one of the first years had contracted. This was J?rmungandr¡¯s true power! ¡°O power of water, purify me!¡± ¡°Did you think you could detoxify that with just an elemental?¡± He tried to cleanse the toxic smog that was spat out near the tail with a water elemental, but there was no way he would be able to purify it perfectly. It was a poison that even killed gods. And he was trying to purify it with an elemental? -If that¡¯s possible, he deserves the title of hero. Actually, no. Do you call them Braves in this world? And Nerkia. ¡°Haaaaaaaa!¡± ¡°Are you actually a hero, you little shit?!¡± He went and purified a god-killing poison with the power of an elemental! ¡°Everything¡¯s possible for an elemental!¡± ¡°Piss off! Maybe if it was a Spirit King of Water, but how the hell did you purify that poison with a highest-rank elemental!¡± Damn it, what the hell. This totally felt like I¡¯d be a viin fighting against a hero. How admirable, viins! Had you been fighting against these embodiments of injustice against the world the entire time? ¡°Then, I will chew you up physically!¡± I switched my shadow from J?rmungandr to Fenrir. Its size was only slightly smaller than J?rmungandr¡¯s. ¡°Swallow him up, Fenrir!¡± A power that swallowed heaven and earth, and even the king of the gods! ¡°Kgh!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Perhaps he had used too much strength into purifying J?rmungandr¡¯s poison, or he had been unable to adjust to the sudden switch to Fenrir. Nerkia could not respond to the giant wolf¡¯s fangs and was swallowed up. ¡°Finally, I finally killed Nerkia with my own hands!¡± -Not yet. With heroes, it¡¯s never over until it¡¯s over! Was what Loki said, but I didn¡¯t think Nerkia would ever be able to get out of that ce where not even the king of the gods was able to break out of. Was what I had thought. ¡°He came out?¡± A giant light almost erased the shadows entirely as a giant hole opened up in Fenrir¡¯s upper and lower jaws, and Nerkia jumped out of the hole. -Ah dammit, my eldest¡­ you¡¯ve opened up another hole in your mouth again¡­ Why the heck does everyone keep opening up holes in my boy¡¯s jaws?(4) ¡­It seemed that he¡¯d had holes punched through him previously. ¡°Come, owner of the god-killing branch.¡± But there was no doubt that Nerkia¡¯s stamina had bottomed out. The number of elementals he had wielded, which wouldn¡¯t have lost to a hundred elementalists, had dwindled to just ten. Most notable was the fact that there were no highest-rank elementals left, his strongest units aside from the Spirit King, as if they had run out of mana. All that was left was the Spirit King, two high-rank elementals, and the rest were all mid- and low-rank elementals. ¡°Pierce, Mystletainn.¡± ¡°Roar, lightning spear!¡± As if he had no strength to either block or dodge Mystletainn, Nerkia poured everything he had left into one final attack. ¡°He¡¯s going to block me.¡± Let¡¯s think rationally. I had to go with the assumption that nothing would go as I wanted it to. Nerkia had managed to purify a god-killing poison, and survived the jaws of the wolf that swallowed the king of the gods. In that case, he could certainly defend against the spear Mystletainn that could even kill immortals. ¡°It was my fault for trying to kill him with powers that killed gods.¡± Nerkia was human. I made the incorrect decision because I had be a god that had obtained Loki¡¯s power. Nerkia was human. I just had to kill him as a human would. ¡°Loki¡¯s shoes, Scythe of the Fool.¡± I took out my weapons that I was familiar with. The moment the smoke created by the collision of Mystletainn and the lightning spear dissipated, that was my moment. I simply had to slit Nerkia¡¯s throat at a speed not even he could react to. Even if he had the abilities of a hero, he would still die if his head was cut off! ¡°Now¡­ then¡­ kughh?¡± The smoke created by the explosion between Mystletainn and the lightning spear began to clear away. But even so, I could not run forward to kill Nerkia. All I could do was clutch my chest, and stand firm with my knees that threatened to fall to the ground at any moment. ¡°Kgh¡­¡± ¡°Damn it all¡­¡± Groans burst out from the lips of one hundred elementalists that had been watching my fight with Nerkia. Some of them had fallen onto their knees, and there were many others whose hands were only barely keeping them off the ground, too. Because Nerkia was¡­ Using a devastatingly cruel attack on us! ¡°Your wounds are awful! Are you really alright, oppa?¡± We saw Nerkia being supported up by a beautiful girl whose eyes were moist with tears. ¡°Kghh¡­¡± ¡°O, oppa?¡± I could hear the sounds of people copsing around me. I, too, wanted to cough up blood and fall. ¡°You don¡¯t need to fight for us anymore. Because it¡¯s our problem.¡± Because I could also see Arucia¡¯s vice-president bite down on her lower lip as she red at me. The very image of a filthy couple. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± But I was not confident I could continue watching the radiant light they were emitting. ¡°Oppa, since oppa fought for us¡­ I will fight too.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t do it¡­¡± They were saying lines that had me cringing, but for some reason, I felt like I was getting weaker. ¡°Me too¡­ for you¡­ I will fight.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say it¡­¡± I even came close to dropping my weapon, my hand was shaking so hard. ¡°Now, oppa¡­¡± ¡°Nerkia¡­¡± ¡°N, no¡­¡± But very mercilessly, those two went and said it. ¡°¡±I- no, we will protect you!¡±¡± The words to sink a hundred summoners, no, a hundred solos. Chapter 108 RATH 108 TL: Eevee 12. It¡¯s not over til it¡¯s over (6) #10 Their story: Karen ril Regrena¡¯s story. ¡°Whew¡­¡± I sighed and took a look around. The lights that had been blindingly bright only moments ago had disappeared, and the people that had been near it had all disappeared from sight. ¡°There¡¯s not much left now.¡± It had been two hours since we had conquered all of Mercaria¡¯s castles, and started taking down Marcis. No matter how weak the enemies were, taking down nine castles, against defenders holed up in a castle, no less, was no doubt an impressive feat. ¡°But¡­¡± All that was left was Marcis¡¯s main base. There were probably countless magic traps installed there, without a doubt. But I wasn¡¯t worried about something as trivial as the Marcis main base. ¡°They finished it properly¡­ right?¡± I had a bad feeling. I had an extremely bad feeling about Risen, who had taken with him a hundred summoners that fit a bizarre criteria. To be honest, even if we lost a hundred summoners, there was still no way we would lose. They were all splendid summoners. Especially Lady Aris, and although I didn¡¯t want to admit it, Risen, both had the ability to single-handedly turn the tide of the battle as Yugrasia¡¯s strongest forces. That was why he was the most reliable unit, but¡­ ¡°It¡¯s Risen, though¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy at the fact that the one leading them was Risen, who I had been involved with for the worse for a long period of time. ¡°Damn it, I was short-sighted.¡± I¡¯d sent Risen purely to f*** Pres over, but I didn¡¯t think of what might happen after he beat Pres. It¡¯s Risen. The Trickster Risen! He always had divine talent at fooling others. And that ability had only grown on another level after he contracted his god, Loki. That alone was the worst possiblebination, but then he met a senior at Yugrasia who taught him some techniques, he became able to use all sorts of weird skills. Such as infiltrating into the girls¡¯ changing rooms or picking almost every type of padlock with a single wire¡­ in other words, skills very useful to be used for crimes! And finally. ¡°And since he also met Professor Nicerwin as well¡­¡± The worst lifeform had been created. The world¡¯s worst lifeform, which I wondered whether or not I should eliminate it as fast as possible for the sake of the world¡¯s peace. ¡°He¡¯s not making contact either¡­¡± The sun was beginning to set. In 3-4 hours from now, the event would be over. Right now, Yugrasia had stolen back the castle Pres had taken from us, for a total of ten of our original castles. Add to that another ten castles that we conquered from Mercaria. And finally, if you included the nine castles which we stole from Marcis, excluding their main base, we were in possession of 29 castles. A total of 2900 points. Even if we were pushed back by sheer force of numbers in the remaining time, as long as we managed to hold onto half then Yugrasia would have no problem winning. ¡°Please, please don¡¯t betray us¡­¡± But there was one wildcard left. It was the prospect of Risen¡¯s betrayal. Justst year we would have wondered what manner of bullshit that thought would be, but the nominal head of the students, the student council president had already betrayed us. As for the possibilities of betrayal, although Risen had no reason to betray us, there was no reason for him to not betray us, either. What if Pres bribed him by saying he¡¯d introduce her to a cute girl? Could I guarantee that Risen wouldn¡¯t take the offer? ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± It¡¯s Risen. The number of times he had betrayed us back in Yugrasia one way or another was uncountable. Despite being vice-president, he would prioritise his own profits over the school and its students. He could give up on our victory this year, on the grounds that we would graduate at the end of the year anyway. ¡°At least¡­ we need to steal away about half of Arucia¡¯s castles.¡± But I could not give up. As a vice-president of the student council, I at least bore a sense of responsibility for the school¡¯s¡­ I mean, the students¡¯ futures! ¡°Strengthen the defences on the Arucia side. Just to be sure, tell the people over there that even if Risen does return, don¡¯t let their guards down around him.¡± ¡°Has the vice-president betrayed us again?¡± ¡°No, but he could.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± After I sent back the people who hade with me, I mapped out the remaining lines of engagement in my head. There was a massive discrepancy between the number of castles we had taken and the number of enemy students that had been in them. No matter how you looked at it, it was obvious that they were bunkering everyone down into Arucia¡¯s main base, and going for one all-or-nothing move against us. ¡°Have all of the beast-type summoners prepare to attack, and send the elementalists and other people with area of effect attack abilities to the castles near Arucia and prepare for a siege. ¡°Then will we have enough people left?¡± ¡°Yeah, Karen. Didn¡¯t we already leave people behind at the castles we took from Marcis?¡± ¡°If we reduce our numbers any further, even we can¡¯t conquer Marcis¡¯s main base.¡± ¡°Magicians that are ready are a pain to deal with.¡± Magicians have many weaknesses. They are weak at close quarters. They take a long time to prepare their magic. The moment they focused to use their magic, they were defenceless. Yet despite all this, magicians still existed. Magicians had so many weaknesses that the ss of battlemage, which in return for reduced magical firepower, had speed and was able to use martial techniques, was created just topensate for those weaknesses. There was a single reason why magicians were still used despite suffering these weaknesses. Because magicians possessed the greatest firepower. An attack from a prepared magician had enough power behind it that even a swordsmaster couldn¡¯t make light of it. What else need be said. Over a hundred Yugrasia students, honed by the silver devil, were defeated in the process of conquering just nine castles. But there was no other choice. Among the current student council¡¯s senior members, it seemed that I was the only one that wanted victory without any other ulterior motives. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with that.¡± Therefore, that was something I had to deal with. That was the repayment of the faith the other students had ced in me when they elected me to the vice-presidency. ¡°Vice-president¡­¡± ¡°Big sis, you¡¯re so cool¡­¡± ¡°Sob¡­ to think we actually had a sane person in our student council¡­¡± Everyone sent me looks of respect and admiration. Receiving those gazes, I stood up and brought out my summon. ¡°Seleid.¡± ¡°Kraaaahhh!¡± A giant drake, said to be the descendants of dragons, roared as he appeared in front of me. ¡°Are you still up for some work?¡± ¡°Kaahhhhh!¡± Seleid¡¯s body was covered in cuts and bruises from conquering two of Mercaria¡¯s castles and seven of Marcis¡¯s, but he made a noise of confidence as he bowed his head to me. ¡°Alright, once this is over¡­ we don¡¯t have to meet the silver devil ever again!¡± ¡°Kuwahhhhhhhhhhankuaaah!¡± Seleid turned his head skywards and roared. I hadn¡¯t had many opportunities to summon him on academy grounds due to his size, but Seleid had experience being hit by the silver devil as a living wall to block off corridors. Having realised that as long as we won, there would be no more reason for him to relive those nightmares again, Seleid roared triumphantly as the other students began to bring out their respective summons. ¡°I¡¯ll charge in through the air. Once they focus on attacking me, charge straight through the gates and wipe them out!¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes, ma¡¯am!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Over a hundred summoners began to move out on their respective summons. As I watched them move, I also mounted Seleis¡¯ back, lifted my spear and took off into the air. ¡°Now, go ahead and try to backstab us.¡± There were no more external forces that could turn the tables on us anymore. The winners of the imperial festival would be decided solely on internal forces, or how hard our allies would decide to knife us in the back. And we¡­ Thanks to Professor Nicerwin¡¯s teachings, we were confident that we would not be surprised or shocked no matter where or when our allies backstabbed us. As we faced the sun as it fell beyond the horizon, we rode onwards towards victory. #11 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. ¡°Kgh¡­ have you really¡­ gone mad?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but grunt as a powerful strike jarred my wrists. We¡¯d been all but victorious. Arucia¡¯s main base was already half-destroyed as a result of the elementalists¡¯ attack. Moreover, the vice-president¡¯s Loki¡¯s Ascension had all but defeated the president. All that was left was to wipe out the remaining small fry with the hundred elementalists that cane in and take down this castle. That was the n, so how had thingse to this. ¡°Power of the earth.¡± When had he had recovered, I had no idea, but Pres used an earth elemental to try and drag my foot into the ground. ¡°Haap.¡± ¡°Aghhh¡­ and we call these our president and vice-president!¡± A giant scythe snipped off a few of my hairs as it sliced the air. Indeed, my enemies were the president and the vice-president. Not Arucia¡¯s president and vice-president, but my allies the Yugrasia president and vice-president! ¡°I¡¯m telling you I can¡­ introduce you to a girl myself!¡± I shrieked as I let waves of sword aura flying with both my swords, but the response that came back was cold. ¡°A person with a lover is more believable than someone without one¡­¡± ¡°Kghhh¡­¡± I bit down on my lips as I wrenched my foot out from the ground. ¡°Oh my, how frightful.¡± A woman said with a startled face as my frigid re passed behind the two into her direction. ¡®Damn it all¡­¡¯ That woman was the cause of all this. Around 10 minutes ago. As the two swordswomen relentlessly swung their swords to protect the president, vice-pres was only dodging with a bewildered face. ¡°Ari, Renya. Stop. Look, he¡¯s flustered.¡± ¡°Unni?¡± ¡°Iiana unni!¡± The woman wearing a Mercaria uniform suddenly appeared with a bright smile and said. ¡°Greetings, Mister Risen de Roa. No, would it be more appropriate for me to call you the Trickster Risen?¡± Our vice-president nodded dumbly as she took the hems of her uniform skirt in hand and greeted him elegantly. ¡°My name is Iiana mel Rudratian of Mercaria.¡± The name she had just mentioned with a smile was that of one of the president¡¯s lovers, and also the name of the person called the Queen of Mercaria. ¡°Urrk¡­¡± Had she felt the re the vice-president directed towards Pres get harsher? ¡°Oh my oh my, please don¡¯t look at my lover so scarily like that.¡± With just a few steps she put herself in between Vice-pres¡¯s line of sight with Pres, and she looked at Pres affectionately. ¡°Big sis¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± She took a hand to Pres¡¯s head and gently stroked it as she looked back at Vice-pres. ¡°I am not trained in the sword like my little sisters here. I am not talented in magic like Aine, who isn¡¯t here right now. But, what I did learn.¡± All of a sudden I had a very bad feeling about this. What was this, this dirty feeling of foreboding. Thinking over it, I let out a quiet gasp internally. ¡®Ah!¡¯ This was the exact same uneasiness just before I got blindsided. The very same feeling I¡¯d felt in Yugrasia since Professor Nicerwin initiated a specific n out of his many others! ¡°What I did learn was the art of negotiation. And so, let me make an offer.¡± ¡°Vice-president, don¡¯t lis¡­¡± But, it was already toote. I shouted the moment she started speaking, but she had already said all she had to. ¡°I will help you find a lover. It doesn¡¯t matter if you fail. Until the day I graduate, I will introduce to you a new girl of Mercaria every weekend.¡± ¡°Re, really?¡± As I caught the glimmer in Vice-pres¡¯s eyes, I ground my teeth. ¡°Damn it, all units, blow up the Pres and Vice-pres!¡± I felt the aura of betrayal. So I grit my teeth and ordered the elementalists surrounding us, but. ¡°Ah¡­¡± The moment I turned around, I realised. The single emotion that permeated through each and every one of the elementalists¡¯ eyes. It was expectation. ¡°Of course¡­ that goes for all of you, too.¡± The moment her smiling eyes met mine, I felt a frigid chill run down my spine. ¡°Hey¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Me?¡± I quietly whispered to Lady Nermia beside me. Ironically enough, the only ally I could trust right now was this girl who shared a fear of Professor Nicerwin. ¡°Do you want to fight Pres and Vice-pres, or do you want to fight a hundred elementalists¡­¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± She tilted her head as if she didn¡¯t understand, and I looked at her, bit down hard on my lips, and growled quietly. ¡°What am I talking about¡­ I¡¯m saying that everyone around us is now an enemy.¡± At the same time I finished, as if she had been waiting, another voice entered my ears. ¡°There is only one condition. It is¡­¡± ¡°A hundred summoners, I¡¯ll leave them to you!¡± As I formed sword auras with both swords in my hands, under the mantra of ¡®first to strike wins¡¯ I immediately attacked the vice-president and at the same time, the devil¡¯s whisper began to spread throughout Yugrasia. ¡°For our victory¡­ defeat Lady Letia!¡± As the devil¡¯s whisper of betrayal began ringing and echoed outwards. Yugrasia¡¯s specialty, betrayal, showed itself in the imperial festival once again. Chapter 109 RATH 109 TL: Eevee 12. It¡¯s not over til it¡¯s over (7) ¡°Excuse me¡­ aren¡¯t you a staff member of Yugrasia?¡± I felt cold sweat trickle down my back. Iyah, it¡¯s Sir Reia. It¡¯s Sir Reia who I haven¡¯t seen in a really long time. I met a good friend~ not, rather an old colleague who if I met I was f***ed. ¡°Uh¡­ staff¡­ well if you ask me than then technically I am¡­¡± My voice was shaking. It was like this because I was in front of Sir Reia. Of course, this was an act. The opponent was a member of the Areis House, a marquisate, and in the running for the title of the greatest swordswoman alongside the Sword Star. On the contrary, being z¨¦ about it would be the more suspicious thing to do! ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so nervous. I¡¯m looking for someone that should be here, by any chance do you know where Professor Nicerwin is?¡± ¡°Ah, P, Professor Nicerwin?¡± I knew where he was. Because the man shivering with one hand on the door handle was Professor Nicerwin. That is, me! ¡°A, as far as I know Professor Nicerwin is currently watching the students¡¯ matches with the other teachers¡­¡­¡± I replied normally, faking a slightly shaky voice to return the most normal answer. But an absolute shocker came in out of nowhere. ¡°Oh by the way, I¡¯m getting married.¡± ¡°Lies!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± The entire area was swept in silence. It was quiet. Far, far too quiet. ¡°Griiittt.¡± And the sound that broke that silence, was that of someone grinding their teeth. As I ever so slightly lifted my head up to see the source of the sound. ¡°Why¡­ do you think¡­ grit¡­ I¡¯m lying¡­ gggriit¡­¡­¡± There was Sir Reia gnashing her teeth as she red at me. -Ow mai goodness, owner got baited! The metal bat¡¯s shock was conveyed to me, but I couldn¡¯t help it. It was Sir Reia, of all people. I heard that THAT Sir Reia was getting married without a single moment to prepare myself to hear it. There¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t be surprised, no would there? ¡°Grit¡­ really¡­ Her Highness said he¡¯d definitely fall for it if I said that¡­ but if he really did¡­¡± In her eyes right now, around 10% was joy that she could finallyplete Her Highness¡¯s mission, and 40% anger that I¡¯d actually fallen for this trap. And around 50% was her shame at her past self that thought that this trick would never work when Her Highness first suggested this n. ¡°On that matter¡­ I will listen at ater date. Get him!¡± The knights by Sir Reia didn¡¯t even bother to respond as they ran at me. ¡°Damn it!¡± At the same time I opened the slightly ajar door and blocked the knights¡¯ charge with the door Bang! ¡°What the?¡± ¡°Out of the way! I¡¯m cutting it down!¡± ng! ¡°Sword ki couldn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Hahaha, idiots! This is dwarven reinforced ss!¡± After stopping the knights¡¯ charge I locked the door. A sword enhanced with sword ki mmed down onto the door to try and break it, but this ss door would not break from that. Although it looked like translucent ss, it was actually special ck Anvil magic ss made of mithril. There was no way I could make the students¡¯ escape route weak. Out of the many facilities in this building, the ones that had been taken care of specially were the exits, the doors and windows. ¡°Move! And some of you, get in through the windows!¡± ¡°I should run.¡± I heard Sir Reia¡¯s voice as well as a heavy explosion. Although it wasn¡¯t broken in a single attack, the door wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out against a swordsmaster¡¯s strikes for long. ¡°Yap yap yap.¡± The ce I moved to was my office on the 1st floor. It was one of the ces where I could activate and control every trap in the academy. ¡°If it¡¯s this much then everyone except Sir Reia would have problems getting through¡­¡± These were the traps that had fended off over 1000 Yugrasia students. Even the imperial princess¡¯s knights would have a hard time getting through. And in that time, I would run away through my escape tunnels, it was the perfect n! -But owner, ya sure there¡¯s no one in the academy? -Of course. All the staff are out watching the imperial festival to cheer the Yugrasia students on. At most, the only people that might still be here would be the guards on the main gates. And a much fewer number than usual. There should be no one in the buildings themselves. -Then, wazzat I see?¡± -See what? -Turn ya head round. I turned my head slightly and looked at the ssroom beside me. Our current location was the third floor. It was where the ssrooms used by the first years were. And in those ssrooms. ¡°There are students?!¡± There were students in Yugrasia uniform sitting at the desks. And enough to fill all the seats! ¡°Attention!¡± One person suddenly stood up and looked towards me. The moment I saw, I could tell. No matter how much of a babyface one was, there were limits to how long you could pose as a student! ¡°This mad princess!¡± ¡°To the teacher¡­ attack!¡± ¡°Attack!¡± While I bolted without sparing a nce back, I could hear the students¡¯ very violent greetings. ¡°Aaaaargh!¡± As the ssroom door opened, the students¡­ no, knights came out one by one, and I started running upstairs as fast as I could. The 10th floor. If I made it to the 10th floor, I could survive. -But dere¡¯s totes gonna be kids like these upstairs as well! The moment the metal bat said that, some scary looking uncles in Yugrasia uniform also came running out from upstairs as well. ¡°Damn it, although I¡¯m a pacifist¡­ I have no choice this time!¡± -Pacifist? Who is?! Who is, of course it¡¯s the one seeded the man who changed maize to diamonds, GanD!(1) ¡°Get lost!¡± The metal bat revealed its original form. The moment my hand gripped a big beautiful silver bat, it struck a person who charged in with a drawn sword. ¡°Kuaaagh!¡± ¡°Wh, what is that!¡± The moment sword and metal bat met, the enemy screamed and fell down. But the ce he fell was a very unfortunate one. The stairs, and a trapped section to boot. As the other knights watched in horror as the bald student was vited by tentacles, I leaped onto the railings and began to head upstairs. ¡°Get him!¡± ¡°Keaagh! It¡¯s a trap!¡± ¡°Damn it, what kind of academy has stairs like these!¡± These were the fearsome stairs that even ate up veteran Yugrasia students the moment they ced a single step out of line. Even imperial knights would be unable to get up these stairs without casualties. ¡°Get him!¡± ¡°Damn this cosy army!¡± But the moment I ascended the stairs another bunch of knights that were wearing uniforms despite having the faces of mercenaries came into my vision. ¡°Go peacefully to Her Highness!¡± ¡°Would you?¡± I gave the first one toe at me a taste of the metal bat, kicked him away and stood my ground against the remainders. ¡°Tch, heartless bastards.¡± But as you¡¯d expect from the imperial princess¡¯s knights. They didn¡¯t catch their ally I kicked towards them, but they simply ignored him and ran in. ¡°He just needs to be alive!¡± ¡°Aim for his legs!¡± As two knights with unsheathed des approached me, the nearby knights shouted. -They said ya just have ta be alive¡­ these kids¡¯re scawy¡­ no, the pwincess is scawy! -Yes, she¡¯s scary! I just had to be alive. That meant that it didn¡¯t matter if I lost a limb or two. If that had been the orders of a normal member of royalty, that meant that they could just hire a magician or priest to heal it back, but if it¡¯s the imperial princess who knew magic had no effect on me, then that meant it really didn¡¯t matter for her if I lost my limbs. Just how dreadful of an obsession was this? But in this case, I simply had to use that obsession against them. ¡°Holy shit!¡± These were the imperial princess¡¯s knights, who were known as the strongest forces of the imperial court. Naturally, all of them could at least use sword ki, and that was the same for the two that were running at me. Like my ex-disciple Nermia once said, unless you were some sort of skull master, a sword in your head would kill you. Especially if it was a sword imbued with sword ki. Now why am I bringing this up. Because the action I took was to go ahead and stick my head in the direction those swords were moving in. ¡°Urrrgh!¡± I just had to be alive. In other words, they absolutely had to capture me in a living state. Therefore if I was at risk of dying, they would have to keep me alive no matter how they went about doing so. ¡°Kuwuhhhhhgh!¡± ¡°Kaaaaaaaaghh!¡± And I aimed for the opening it created. As they twisted their bodies around off-bnce to pull their attack back, I gave them both one fair bat strike each. I ignored their screams as they fell down the stairs and continued running upstairs. I cleared the 4th and 5th floors, and simrly, I held my own body hostage and cleared the 6th, 7th floors as well. And once I got through the 9th floor where they were still wearing uniforms despite there not being any ssrooms on that floor, I finally managed to reach the 10th floor. But¡­ ¡°Why is there nobody here?¡± Had they not expected me to be able to make it to the 10th floor? Even though they posted people all the way to the 9th? ¡°He can¡¯t run any higher!¡± ¡°Get him!¡± I felt extremely uneasy about this but I didn¡¯t have a choice. The knights were already hot on my tails behind me, and Sir Reia was outside the building. I could only believe in my preparations and hope that everything went ording to n! -Where ya going owner! -The rooftop, of course! Normally in movies you¡¯d see the protagonist get away in a waiting helicopter. Naturally this world didn¡¯t have helicopters. Instead you could summon wynerns or drakes instead, but I could not do those things. And so in an unexpected line of thinking, on the rooftop I, ¡°Made a secret passageway to the basement!¡± Normallymon sense dictated a route to the basement would be built on the first floor, but there was a risk that the students desperate to escape would be able to find it. And so I had a fireman¡¯s pole installed inside one of the pirs on the roof, and made it so that I could slide all the way down to basement with it. -Why not just make stairs? -The bigger it is, the easier it is to be discovered. Emergency exits are something only I should know about. Even in the organization I was nearly caught because Sia caught wind of my lifeline. There were no idiots that would fall for the same trick twice in a row after 20 years in an evil organization. Because the idiots that did were caught ages ago and were either executed or rotting away in an imperial jail cell! -Probably. If ya caught this time owner then ya weally gonna get dwagged off to the he obsessive imperial princess. This kid is saying something disgustingly foreboding. I put on a pair of gloves and used my tool of the trade (metal bat) and knocked in a pir in the corner of the ssroom where the student council had once lived in. Inside the destroyed pir was a metal pole. This was my secret move that would save my life! ¡°Now, time to escape!¡± -Tho you didn¡¯t even get ta make bank! My hands nearly slipped off the pole at the metal bat¡¯s words. Damn it. I really, really hadn¡¯t wanted to think about it! ¡°Don¡¯t chip in like that out of nowhere. Worst case scenario I actually will die.¡± Despite its appearance, it went down around 12-13 floors. Even if I wore safety gear and dwarven-made gloves, if things went wrong then I could die just like that. ¡°Careful, careful.¡± How much time had passed as I slid down. I could finally see a faint light, and the moment I jumped down into a perfectnding! Whack! ¡°Kuhk?¡± I felt something strike the back of my head. ¡°Ara? So it really doesn¡¯t work?¡± A surprised voice. The owner of that voice was my former workce boss and the worst person I could hope to meet at this moment in time. ¡°Why, is that¡­¡± And the object in her hand was something that I had once made frequent use of. ¡°Ah, this?¡± As the imperial princess held up the wooden bat whose aesthetics fit her title of princess not one whit, she smiled beautifully as she gave me an answer that did not suit that smile at all. ¡°I took it.¡± Rein, you little¡­ you had it taken from you! Chapter 110 RATH 110 TL: Eevee
12. It¡¯s not over til it¡¯s over (8) Her happy smiling appearance disturbed me immensely. She smiled at me, in a way that If this had been the imperial pce, the maids and butlers would be cowering in the corner and shivering in fear, and the soldiers and knights would be on full alert ready to mobilise at any time, ¡°It¡¯s really been a long time, hasn¡¯t it, Ast?¡± How should I respond here. Should I also say that it¡¯s been a long time? Or that it was nice to see her again? Or should I try saying that she¡¯d gotten the wrong person, and I wasn¡¯t Ast? Just what should I say so that I could deal with the aftermath of that choice? No, before that¡­¡­` ¡°How did you get in here?¡± She could not have investigated for a long period of time like Sia had. The escape routes at the organization were ones that I had spent over 10 years to borately craft out, but this was a new one that wasn¡¯t even a year old! How could she have discovered this piping fresh escape tunnel? ¡°I assigned people to the dwarves, no, just about every non-human that knew you. You do not trust humans, but you trust non-humans very well.¡± That¡¯s true. Humans are animals of betrayal, but elves, dwarves and the non-human races do not betray you. It was just that they had a long history of being betrayed by humans, but once you had their trust, as long as you retained it they would keep their word with you to their graves. And yet she managed to use that trust and put shadows onto them! ¡°Putting spies onto elves and dwarves without them realising, was that actually possible?¡± ¡°I had a bit of a hard time. It was an achievement created by mobilising all of the empire¡¯s intelligence agencies, after all.¡± Although she said it as if it were nothing, that basically meant she had every single secret agent in the empire mobilied all for the single purpose of capturing me. She wasted that much manpower just to try and catch me! A month¡¯s sry of a skilled agent costs more than the entire monthly earnings of a rural barony! Just how much had invested into this! ¡°Is that not a waste of manpower?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. The empire¡¯s paying their sries very well.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that sry the taxes of the imperial citizens?¡± ¡°Mm, nope. The empire¡¯s finances have been pretty goodtely. You know too, don¡¯t you? We beat up Howlingst year.¡± I knew. That was my old workce. And the ce the woman in front of me ordered the Crown Prince to blow to kingdome! ¡°It turned out Howling had quite a bit of money on them?¡± When she smiled brightly again, ten knights appeared at light speed and took up guard positions around her. ¡°Hm? You didn¡¯t have toe out yet?¡± The princess tilted her head on seeing their nched faces, and the knight that seemed to be their leader shivered and said. ¡°Y, you said you would give us the signal toe out¡­¡­¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t given you the signal yet?¡± ¡°That¡­ Your Highness smiled¡­ so we unconsciously¡­¡­¡± Ahh. It seemed the imperial court was still the same as ever. Well, no wonder. Whenever that princess who normally went around with either a deadpan or a scowl actually smiled, many incidents and crises erupted out. ¡°¡­Really, now?¡± The imperial princess made a dissatisfied scowl. ¡°Whew¡­¡± And her knights all collectively breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Really, what did I ever do.¡± What did you ever do. Consider how you caused a bloodbath every time youughed. ¡°Awhew, people have been treating me weirdly ever since you left me, Ast? At least people treated me like a normal person while you were here.¡± Wait, what¡¯s that supposed to mean? ¡°Your Highness? Did you just say that Your Highness was treated like a normal person thanks to me?¡± ¡°Why do you look so surprised when you¡¯re just stating the obvious?¡± Why? ¡°Your Highness! How could you say such a thing to thest normal person who served you!¡± ¡°Hm? What? The person officially named by the imperial court as the maddest dog in the entire empire was you?¡± This discussion is going on parallel lines. At moments like this the best way is confirmation by a third party. ¡°You over there, who is the right one?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I turned to the side slightly and asked the knight who had spoken to the princess just now. I¡¯d seen some of the others around her before, but this was the first time I¡¯d seen this particr knight. Well, ten years had passed since my time at the imperial pce, so it wouldn¡¯t be weird for there to have been a change of guard. ¡°I, I wasn¡¯t there at the time so¡­¡­¡± ¡°But you have heard the rumours about Ast. It wasn¡¯t just one or two incidents that this man caused.¡± When he avoided my gaze to refuse to answer, the princess pressured him. Faced directly by the princess, the knight nced over at me resentfully until he couldn¡¯t hold out against the imperial princess¡¯s pressure and bowed his head. ¡°From what I heard from my seniors, Sir Ast was the maddest dog in the entire empire.¡± This is a conspiracy! ¡°See?¡± This was definitely a conspiracy. The senior who told knight about me definitely had a bone to pick with me. For example, one whose achievements I stole¡­ or not. If anything, I gave them achievements, I never stole any of them. Then someone who was jealous of my closeness to the princess¡­ or not. Only those outside the imperial court would ever be jealous, anyone who¡¯d ever experienced life on the inside and knew everything worth knowing would never feel jealous. Then, what was it? What was the reason people were spreading such misinformation about me! ¡°Your Highness, that person is one of your knights. It is natural that your knight would side with Your Highness. Taking that person¡¯s word to validate Your Highness¡¯s argument is fundamentally wed.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the one with wed logic the one who brought up the question first and proims it invalid the moment their begins to fall apart? And¡­¡­¡± m! -Uwiiit! Izza fail, owner! ¡°Your tricks as you talk to buy time.¡± With a wave of the imperial princess¡¯s hand, a section of the wall was destroyed. And so was a part of the metal bat, stretched thinner than a thread! ¡°Do you think I¡¯m going to lose you again?¡± As she smiled radiantly, she swung her hands a few more times and the area the metal bat had been in just now was swamped by a storm of aura des. -Uwiiiit! I¡¯m gonna die! Dat¡¯s scawy! Owner stop her! There was no way this thing would die unless it waspletely melted down, but my escape attempt ended in failure. But on that note, what the hell was that letting off sword aura waves just by waving your hand? I knew she became a swordsmaster ages ago, but she wasn¡¯t on this level! -Uweeeee! I nearwy got my hair snipped off! Thank goodness I got it all! The metal bat whined as it returned to my hand. Damn it, I didn¡¯t expect my perfect tactic of a stealth ambush through the shape of a string to end this pathetically. ¡°Before that head of yours gets any new funny ideas¡­ should I cut off a leg to start?¡± From an objective point of view, her appearance as she delicately licked her full red lips was very seductive. But from my subjective point of view, that sight only instilled fear in me as I looked at it in reality. I¡¯ve seen that face before! To put it simply, in a manga with an axe-crazy girl who diligently wrote a diary that ended up recording future diaries as well.(1) If she just puts her hands on her cheeks then that¡¯s 100% the same picture! Mamotte ageru! Although the princess¡¯s lines aren¡¯t ¡®I¡¯ll protect you!¡¯ ¡°I believe humans need two legs to stand, Your Highness?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Ast. I won¡¯t abandon you just because you¡¯re missing a leg.¡± No please abandon me. Just abandon me now! ¡°I am not alright with that.¡± ¡°I am.¡± Cold sweat ran like a waterfall down my back. Indeed. Just when had this princess ever thought about the situations of others. But I could not have my leg cut off just like that. I will use the same method I used to escape from Sia! -Metal bat, fusion! Last time it was cut because it was the thickness of a thread, but in the form of armour, it could even withstand attacks from sword aura! And so I used myst resort. -Owner, sowwy. Ultimate transformation, Arcanaruan is impossible! -Why! -No mana¡­ I used the remainder I had left when I transformed, and I scwaped the bottom of th¡¯ bawwel when I got my cut fragments back. -Why are you out of mana now of all times! -innit obvious when I¡¯ve been splurging on magic power since we awwived at the academy? ¡°Hm? You¡¯re being very quiet unlike yourself, Ast. Is there a problem?¡± Unlike her gentle smile, the silver light of sword aura in her right hand only began to rerger and brighter. Would I really have a leg cut off and dragged back to the imperial pce here? Is there no hole for me to escape out through? No, I still have the metal bat. ¡°Hoo¡­ really¡­ can you really not just let me go?¡± I sighed and stretched myself out. ¡°Hm~ so you want to try beat me?¡± With sword aura in her right hand and the wooden bat in her left, the imperial princess looked at my with an expression as if she was highly, highly amused. ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re strong.¡± ¡°I am.¡± The creature in front of me was not a woman who was simply lucky to be born as an emperor¡¯s daughter. If she had been born amoner, she could have overturned a nation and founded a country in her own right. Having been born with an overwhelming talent and magic power that made you disbelieve she was human, and she had managed to achieve whatever she had wanted to. Facing the being whose strength could not be summarised simply by calling her ¡®strong,¡¯ I curled the edges of my lips upwards and smirked. ¡°But, can you stop me?¡± Yep. She can. Very easily. In all honesty there was only one way I could defeat a swordsmaster. The alpha strike! When fed a taste of the metal bat, even a swordsmaster would suffer a momentary dy as they rebooted their body, no, their minds. And once I got into that gap and continued to pile on the damage with the metal bat, even a swordsmaster could be defeated. But right now, I was the one in the ambush, and I was also surrounded by knights. I had to create a gap no matter what to get that first attack in. One hit. Just one hit. Everyone is equal in front of the metal bat. Since I¡¯d seen the princess hurt from the wooden bat in the past, of course the metal bat would hurt her! ¡°Hm¡­¡­ well I feel like I could stop you, but I can never let my guard down if Ast is the enemy.¡± Yes please don¡¯t let your guard down. Assume that I had something hidden away, and every single one of my actions had a hidden meaning behind it, that was the only way I had a chance of survival. ¡°Coming here with just ten knights¡­ did you use all your knights at the academy building to capture me? Or are there knights hidden behind somewhere I can¡¯t see? Or, are you looking down on me?¡± To be honest ten knights made my quiver in my boots, but I could not afford to show any weakness here. Right now, I had to make myself look much, much bigger than I actually was. A few knights seemed disconcerted at my words, but they didn¡¯t show it in front of the princess. Since there were a few who had experienced me directly, that was a reasonably valid threat. I had to make them remember the time I was called a ¡®great general of the empire¡¯ beating the crap out of the neighbouring country. ¡°As long as Sir Reia isn¡¯t here, there are no knights that can stop me.¡± I held up the metal bat and took a stance. In response, the knights also drew their swords as they took their stances as well. A powder keg of a situation. The moment the princess gave the order, they would alle to get me. I would drum the metal bat on the first one, and use him or her as a shield to approach the princess. Soe! Pleasee! Don¡¯t have the princesse at me herself! ¡°Hm, yes. Ten knights¡­ without even Sir Reia. You would be right in thinking that I might by looking down on you, Ast.¡± But the imperial princess¡¯s moved differently to my predictions. Normally she would have snapped her fingers and ordered them to get me. Had she finallye to understand the greatness of words with her age! Was it possible to solve this through dialogue! ¡°But Ast? I¡¯ve waited a very long time for you. I¡¯ve held myself back again, again, and again. Waiting for you.¡± I was slightly hopeful that I could get out of this with my tongue but I felt like if I listened to the princess any more then that would no longer be an option. ¡°I¡¯ve waited over ten years just thinking about you and waiting for you.¡± ¡­Hm. I¡¯m being confessed to by a beautiful woman and yet I am not at all happy about it. She was emanating such a frigid aura even the metal bat shouted ¡®Hiik! Scawy!¡¯ ¡°Every day I thought about you again and again. I pondered and brooded over just what I needed to do to capture you. Should I just try overwhelming you with sheer numbers? But your disciple already tried and failed that approach at Howling. Even though it was a strategy even I evaluated as having a low chance of failure.¡± She even knew of Sia¡¯s attempt? And she still only brought ten knights despite knowing this? Did she evaluate that these ten knights were more effective than all of Sia¡¯s personnel? That imperial princess did? ¡°You mean¡­¡± When adding up all the information I had, there was only one conclusion that joined all the dots. Where each individual was a match for a hundred. No, where each person was powerful enough to be worth a thousand soldiers. Then that meant these knights were¡­ ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, Ast!¡± As if she had expected something. As if she was happy for something. As if she was certain about something. With a face containing all sorts of different emotions, she smiled radiantly at me. ¡°Ast, I made it just for you! Just to capture you¡­ a swordsmaster knight order!¡± ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t need that kind of thing.¡± I bluntly said my feelings on the matter as I looked on at the radiant lights in front of me. Chapter 111 RATH 111 TL: Eevee 12. it¡¯s not over til it¡¯s over (9) #12 Their story: A certain female knight¡¯s story. ¡°Are the preparationsplete?¡± ¡°Yes, Lady Iris!¡± People that could arguably called the strongest from the most powerful empire in the continent were currently surrounding a small cave. Officially, the reason why they were surrounding this cave was in the name of training. But in reality, tens of thousands of people were all staring at this cave just to capture a single individual. But that was not something to be perplexed about. Just one year ago, the individual in question had fooled everyone here and evaded capture. And the person who had made the crucial error to allow him to get away was none other than myself. Because of that, I was currently sealing off all possible exits and gaps without a single gap in our guard. ¡°How much longer will it take to activate it?¡± ¡°Around ten to fifteen more minutes.¡± ¡°Very good. Recall the flying battlemages and send them to the rear lines, and have the magicians prepare their search and recon spells.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± I managed to obtain Rein through Her Highness¡¯s help, but because of me, Her Highness missed the person she had wanted for a very long time. And yet Her Highness still forgave me. Although of course¡­ there was a punishment so frightening I would rather she have just killed me instead. But thanks to that punishment I grew even stronger. I achieved the realm of swordsmaster, the realm all swordsmen aspired to be! Thanks to that I was moved from Her Highness¡¯s Third Knight Order to a different one but I had no regrets. Because the captain of that order was none other than Sir Reia, who I¡¯d admired since I was little. ¡®Although it would be great if she changed the name of the order¡­¡­¡¯ The sole w that was our knight order¡¯s name made me blush slightly, but today would be thest I would hear of that. Everything would be perfect after today. The name of the knight order would change, and I would no longer have to face Her Highness¡¯s grumbles every time I met her. And I would also be able to reunite with Rein, who I hadn¡¯t had the chance to meet for a long time because of my duties to look for that person. ¡°Then start it up.¡± At my words, the magicians near me got up and moved to their designated locations. With this, even that man Ast would be helpless. He had the incredible achievement of evading Her Highness¡¯s hands two times, but that was before we had this. If it was this which the imperial pce created with assistance from the elves and the dwarves, even the Sword Star wouldn¡¯t be able to escape it. ¡°I¡¯ll leave inmand of this ce.¡± ¡°Are you going?¡± I nodded to my junior who had be the new vice-captain of the Third Knight Order as my recement. The other knights in my team had already moved outside ording to the n. When Sir Reia and the other knights infiltrated into Yugrasia, officially I remained here to lead the others but my role was to move in order to capture him. That was. ¡°Something I have to do as part of the Capture Ast Knight Order.¡± Exactly as the name of our Order described, in order to capture Ast. Ipleted all my preparations and moved into the cave. *** I stared nkly at the red, blue, green and white glows of sword auras. Ten swordsmasters. If I was told that an entire country¡¯s worth of swordsmasters hade to capture me, I would believe it. ¡°Your Highness¡­ did you say¡­ made¡­ and not brought?¡± The scene in front of me was so ridiculous I simply couldn¡¯t get the words out of my mouth. How many swordsmasters were there in the empire? As far as I knew there were just over 50, but here I can see ten faces I hadn¡¯t seen before? ¡°Yep, I made it. This is my present for you. How is it, does it make you happy?¡± If one were to hear that line alone that could sound like a girl shyly giving Valentines¡¯ choctes to the man she likes. But if you were fully aware of the context behind it, it bes the greatest bullshit of the era. What the hell. Are swordsmasters some manufacturing line good or something? You can just make ten of them just because you want them? -Owner? Owner made a swordsmaster out of a student at school, dintya? In just half a year at that? Compared to that, would it really be weird if the hard-working uncles and unnis became a swordsmaster? No, I only made one because of the incredible motivator named the metal bat and the special method handed down by the Sword Princess of all people! They didn¡¯t have any of that! ¡°It was all thanks to this bat. I gathered up all the knights that seemed like they could be swordsmasters, gave Reia this bat and had her beat them with it until they became a swordsmaster, and out came people who became swordsmasters.¡± -Owner. That side also has an incredible motivator and the Sword Princess¡¯s special guidance too? -¡­Touch¨¦. The wooden bat created tame puppies out of my monstrous disciples even when I wielded it. And a swordsmaster, one of the strongest female knights in the continent in the form of the Sword Princess to boot was the one personally drumming them with the bat. You really might get a swordsmaster out of that after all. Who knew that the wooden bat I gave Rein would get that much work done¡­ ¡°I, I¡¯m disappointed in you, Your Highness. I didn¡¯t think you were the type of person to take other people¡¯s things from them.¡± I had to buy time. Everything about the previous n revolved around defeating a single swordsmaster. But now the number of swordsmasters I had to face was eleven. What is this? Unless I have one of those fabled Legendary Swordsmasters by my side I¡¯m looking like I don¡¯t have any hope? ¡°I didn¡¯t teach Your Highness this way back when I was your personal butler!¡± ¡°Well, although I have a lot I want to say in response to that, don¡¯t worry so much. I borrowed it by paying the owner an appropriate rental fee. Forcefully.¡± You just stole it then! ¡°Your Highness, even so¡­¡± ¡°Ha. Why is the tongue of the legendary Ast so long? If you¡¯re wimping out then just be mine.¡± I tried to change the subject, but she returned the line I used once in the past against me. Damn it. And when I said that to the envoy of the enemy nations she wasughing her ass off. So she¡¯s using it against me in the end. ¡°You look like you¡¯re trying to buy time, do you think I¡¯m an idiot? Did you really think I¡¯d just let you run away from me, Ast? I¡¯ll take all the time I need to listen to your story back in the imperial pce. So don¡¯t resist and let yourself get caught, Ast.¡± At the imperial princess¡¯s words, the knights began to approach closer and closer. There was no ce to retreat to. They weren¡¯t the type of people to just me climb back up to the upper floors, and even if I did, hundreds of knights were waiting for me. Then that meant the logical conclusion was the metal bat. ¡°Oi, you lot. You said you were trained getting beaten up by the bat? What do you think this object in my hand is?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t listen and get him!¡± Despite the princess¡¯s shout, the knights¡¯ eyes were all drawn to the metal bat. -Haakhaak, ev, everyone¡¯s looking at me! Embawwas embawwass! ¡°Ugh¡­¡­¡± One knight whimpered as their eyes traced the thick head, trailing down the curvature of the body to the point where it tapered at the base for the user¡¯s easy grip. ¡°This thing¡¯s name is the metal bat.¡± -Wiing! I hava name and it¡¯s the goddess Arcadia! Call me Miss Aru! ¡®Metal bat¡¯ is just cheesy! The metal batined vigorously against its name, but your name was always the metal bat from the moment you were born. And introducing you as the metal bat makes it a lot easier for them to understand, too! ¡°This is a higher rank weapon of the wooden bat that gave you so much pain.¡± ¡°L, lies!¡± Shaking eyes fixed themselves on the metal bat once again. I ignored the pervert who was happy about that once again, and I grinned evilly as I lifted the metal bat and shouted. ¡°You might want to believe it as a lie. But you all know, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I, I do not!¡± ¡°Really? But your body will. The pain of the bat!¡± Ten swordsmasters took a step back. As Rood and Sia had both done. Even if you became a swordsmaster, you could never forget the pain of the bat. I needed to awaken the fear that the bat held in their deep, no not very deep consciousness. ¡°Now, what¡¯re you all waiting for? Come at me,e at me! The first one that gets close to me will get the taste of the metal bat that makes the wooden bat like a child¡¯s prank!¡± My shout caused the swordsmasters to retreat another step backwards. Alright, then time use this momentum to¡­ ¡°Huwaaaahh!¡± But that momentum was cut short by a female knight who copsed with a scream like a moan. ¡°I told you not to listen, didn¡¯t I? Are you ignoring mymands?¡± ¡°N, no, Your Highness.¡± ¡°No indeed. Considering you even stepped backwards despite being my knights.¡± Shame rose on the faces of the knights at the princess¡¯s words. Ten swordsmasters had all retreated two entire steps against a single person without any mana. Even if they weren¡¯t swordsmasters, any knight could kill themselves over the shame it brought. ¡°If anyone else retreats any more from now on, I¡¯ll very kindly hit you with the bat myself. And they had plenty of motivation, too. -Those kids are pitiful too. The metal bat in front of them, the wooden bat behind them. Not even a river at their backs would be as pressuring as this. ¡°Hooh, does that mean you aren¡¯t afraid of the metal bat?¡± To be honest I was more scared of them, but I didn¡¯t show that on the surface. If I was caught, the very least that could happen was my engagement to the imperial princess. Even if it was by the will of Her Highness herself, the nobles would not exactly care to see amoner with an unknown background lording it over them. Bing a high-ranking imperial noble in this empire was already as hard as plucking the night sky¡¯s stars, so how much would their stomachs ache if they were to hear of this. The image of their stomachs hurting so much they send assassins after me daily, slipping poison in my food, or oops my hand slipped as they throw sword ki at me is all too clear to my eyes. -But I don¡¯t think that¡¯s scarier than the nine swordsmasters trying to catch owner in front of ya eyes? -Is that so? When faced with sword aura, the symbol of destruction that could cut all, the ideal of all swordsmen in front of my face, I felt myself weaken inside a bit. ¡°We are Her Highness¡¯s sword.¡± ¡°For Her Highness, we can even ept death.¡± They were words befitting noble knights. But I didn¡¯t miss the gap in their words. ¡°So why aren¡¯t youing, then?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°You know, don¡¯t you? When you die it¡¯s the end, but this doesn¡¯t?¡± When I waved the metal bat in my hand, nine pairs of nervous eyes shook with it. ¡°Haaaaaaahhh!¡± ¡°Go.¡± As the knights watched the princess¡¯s uncaring eyes as she swung the wooden bat at the fallen female knight, they approached me with sheet-white faces. ¡°Sir Ast, we respect you a lot.¡± ¡°Me, too. When the othermanders moved to secure achievements, your actions that you chose for the sake of your allies are truly what all knights look up to.¡± ¡°You are truly a man suitable for Her Highness!¡±(1) These folk that call themselves knights, and swordsmasters to boot, started to loosen their mouths, perhaps out of fear. ¡°Are you the captain?¡± When I asked the male knight who had stood forwards as their representative from the beginning, he shook his head and said. ¡°No, I am not. I am the vice-captain, the captain of this Order is Sir Reia.¡± Sir Reia whose sole duty is to guard the imperial princess is the captain of this unit. That¡¯s a lot of work they put in just to capture little ol¡¯ me. ¡°Alright, vice-captain. You lot are all pitiable, too. The metal bat in front of you, the wooden bat behind. Yes, your life¡¯s tough. But let me ask you something.¡± ¡°What¡­¡­¡± ¡°Now, think about it. You woke up from your sleep. You woke up in your nicefy bed and you rolled over a bit.¡± As the vice-captain tilted his head, I told him a story scarier than any ghost story. ¡°But lying beside you in the bed you just woke up in is Her Imperial Highness asking ¡®did you wake up?¡¯ with a bright, happy smile on her face.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± As I saw the vice-captain, no, the entire knight order freeze in ce, I smirked at them mockingly. ¡°Would you sign yourselves up for that?¡± All the knights shut their mouths Indeed. As long as you had the hearts of humans you couldn¡¯t bullshit that way any further. ¡°That¡¯s that¡­¡­¡± ¡°But we still have to follow our orders.¡± The knights who realised just what a horrifying thing they just said hardened their resolves and lifted their swords. You¡¯re still saying you need to offer me up? Seriously? I said in such an easy way for you to all understand, can you lot really call yourselves human! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir Ast!¡± ¡°We won¡¯t forget your sacrifice!¡± The vice-captain and the female knight beside him charged at me with sword aura radiating brilliantly on their swords. And. ¡°Kuaaahaaang!¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± The vice-captain who was the first to charge in disabled his sword aura, took a direct hit from the metal bat, and copsed with a scream. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Why, why is my magic power¡­¡± And the knights behind him also found the sword aura on their des fading away, too. ¡°Ast, what have you done!¡± Even the imperial princess turned to me with a shocked expression. Me? I haven¡¯t done anything? ¡°Your Highness!¡± It was then. The person to answer all our questions appeared. ¡°Iris?¡± ¡°Your Highness! All units except for the knight order have all arrived and surrounded the area. And I¡¯ve also perfectly activated the magic suppression device around this area! Now you¡­ have nowhere to run to!¡± As the female knight shouted proudly with her sword unsheathed, I smiled in unrestrained delight as I bowed my head to her. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Who told you to do that!¡± ¡°Your Highness?!¡± The female knight who received both my thanks and the imperial princess¡¯s anger made a shocked expression. ¡°Iris. Hurry up and turn off the magic suppression device!¡± ¡°Huwaahhhh!¡± At the same time the imperial princess¡¯s piercing shout reached the female knight¡¯s ears, a sound that you couldn¡¯t tell if it was a moan or a scream came from the mouth of the female knight that had run in with the vice-captain. ¡°Your Highness? It¡¯s just one person! Even if they have no magic there¡¯s no way that swordsmaster-level swordsmen would¡­¡­¡± ¡°Kaaaaaaaahhh!¡± ¡°Hwahhhh!¡± When the female knight made a shocked face at the speed the two knights were taken down, the imperial princess ran towards me as she shouted. ¡°Our opponent has defeated the Sword Heaven with nothing but pure swordsmanship alone. All of you. Fight as if your lives are on the line!¡± But by the time the imperial princess¡¯s words hade out. ¡°Kuuuughhh!¡± ¡°Five more.¡± Half of the swordsmasters had already been defeated. Chapter 112 RATH 112 TL: Eevee 12. It¡¯s not over til it¡¯s over (10) ¡°Fight him as if you were going to kill him!¡± With the princess¡¯s shout, the knights all swung their swords. Five swordsmasters, the beings that could be said to be the beginning and end of swordsmanship. With this number of swordsmasters, they had enough fighting potential to destroy the capital of a small kingdom with an ambush. But. ¡°Kuuuuuugh!¡± One knight was struck on the wrist, shoulder and ribs in that order and copsed with a scream. The reason why I feared swordsmasters despite wielding the self-proimed strongest and proimed by others as the worst weapon, the metal bat, was because of the sheer amount of mana they possessed that allowed them to wield sword aura. And they would use that man to further raise their physical capabilities. Sword aura? Honestly the metal bat could even take sword aura shes so I wasn¡¯t too scared of it. Since I didn¡¯t have any magic power anyway, whether I died to sword ki, sword aura or a simple unboosted stab, the resulting reality of my death wouldn¡¯t change. But I had no way to deal with the strengthening of the body that came with it. Themon perception is that the reason why swordsmasters are called superhumans that have transcended the limits of humanity is because they can use sword aura, but it is actually because they have physical abilities that transcend humanity. Even if without sword aura, they could cleave a rock into two. If they wanted to, they could move even faster than magic. And reactions speeds that allowed them to freely use that magic. Even if the metal bat is all-purpose, I, the one wielding it, am not. Swordsmasters possessed speed and reflexes to dodge every single one of my attacks, and power to make it feel like I would drop my weapon with every attack. Even if I was holding the metal bat, if the basic specs are different, even if I tried hitting them then everyone else dodges and I¡¯m the only one that gets hit. But if they have no magic power? ¡°Then of course everyone gets a fair metal batting. Fack it!¡± ¡°What the hell are saying in a situation like this!¡± What am I saying, it means that I can get all of you with the metal bat! ¡°Sloppy.¡± ¡°Kuwaaaghhh!¡± Sloppy. Let alone their sloppy postures, with their dulled movements as well it would be hard to believe that these people were swordsmasters, but they would hardly do anything about it, either. The beings called swordsmasters are ones that have achieved perfect unison between their mind, body and magic power, and right now, one of those three had disappeared. The mind orders it, and through the use of magic, the body carries it out. So what would happen if the magic power these people had normally been using so freely disappeared? Their bodies¡¯ specs have fallen but their mind still orders them to work like normal. But since they have no magic, their bodies cannot work the way their minds want to. Because they were at such a high peak, the moment a single deficiency appears, they cannot adjust to it and they copse like a house of cards. Compared to them. -But, your almighty me is an invincible goddess who don¡¯t care about no magic power! Hurry up and praise me, owner! Indeed, hurrah for the metal bat! This god¡¯s divine weapon that cannot be checked even with this device that freezes all the magic power in this area! Although if one were to ask which god it was the majority of the people around it would name it as the evil god¡¯s weapon! ¡°Haap!¡± ¡°Ohh!¡± The female knight that helped me so very much leaped through the air and chopped at me. Although it was probably a desperate, futile attempt because the moment she failed to capture me was the moment a bleak future at the hands of Her Highness awaited her. ¡°Futile things are futile!¡± The direct downward strike from the air is a powerful one, but there was no way I¡¯d be hit by that unless there was a major discrepancy in skill. Although of course her main objective was to probably give the two behind her an opening to attack. There¡¯s no way I¡¯d get caught out¡­ Shiik! ¡°What?¡± I predicted the approximate area andnding position of her attack, as well as the two knights¡¯ follow up, and just when I prepared to finish off another knight I instinctively felt something flying towards me. Having barely ovee the danger of my legs getting cut off, I could only stare bug-eyed at the imperial princess. Because¡­ ¡°Wasn¡¯t it impossible to use magic? Hyah-chah.¡± ¡°Hiik!¡± To the female knight who seemed to have sold her sense of chivalry somewhere to attack me from behind while I was talking to the imperial princess, I gave her another swing of the bat. ¡°It¡¯s the power of love.¡± On the sword of the demurely speaking princess was an iplete but definite sword ki. Was it even possible to use magic in a space where a magic-sealing device hadpletely frozen the movement of magic itself? Unless you were a dragon, the creatures called the race of magic power, it was impossible. But¡­¡­ ¡°How are you throwing out sword ki like it¡¯s perfectly normal?!¡± Following the path of the sword cutting through the air, waves of iplete sword ki flew at my ankles. ¡°Get him.¡± Her emotionless appearance as she threw around sword ki without a single care for the knights fallen around us made me fear that I¡¯d see it in a nightmare! ¡°Small fry can stay out of this!¡± I swung the metal bat at the knights who ran in at the princess¡¯smand, but they dodged it by the skin of their teeth. Damn it. It¡¯d only been a few minutes, yet their magic-less bodies had already adapted this much, one could say they weren¡¯t the imperial princess¡¯s subordinates for nothing. ¡°But I need to live as well?¡± Judging by the imperial princess¡¯s expression, the moment I was caught, I¡¯d lose at least my legs. Seeing as the sword ki flying towards me were mostly aimed at my lower body, if things went badly I could get hit in a very poor ce indeed. -Impotent? My owner¡¯s an impotent? -Not yet! ¡°Please¡­ get caught, Sir Ast!¡± As knight #1 pleaded and struck at the same time, I blocked the attack with the metal bat. ¡°Kuhk!¡± The moment the sword met the metal bat, he whimpered, and I didn¡¯t miss the opportunity and drummed him with the metal bat. ¡°Kraaaaaghhh!¡± ¡°Damn it, Peshell!¡± ¡°Abandon him and press the attack!¡± Two knights didn¡¯t even think of saving theirrade who was screaming from the metal bat¡¯s pain and ran at me. To these things not even have a sense of camaraderie. -Owner, did ya ever teach ya kids the meaning of camwadewie? -Your life is lived out by youself. -And ya still lookin¡¯ for camwadewie? Now that I think about it, the person who deleted that useless thing called camaraderie under Her Highness was none other than me. Under the motto [You fight alone, every man for himself!] I did my best to make them work but to think even the knights copied that! ¡°I offer my body, for Her Highness!¡± ¡°Are you some zealot!¡± Like a zealot that ran into a minefield shouting ¡°my life for Aiur,¡±(1) the final remaining knight who seemed to have lost his fear of the metal bat ran at me. ¡°Take this, my ultimate¡­ sword throw!¡± ¡°Hmph! Without magic power your swordsmanship is¡­ the hell? Do you have no pride as a knight!¡± I dodged the charging knight¡¯s ultimate in a state of shock. For a knight order made up entirely of swordsmasters each and every one of them were adept in zealotry. What kind of knight throws away his sword? In the end this lot managed to achieve the triple crown of knightly shame in attacking someone from behind, abandoning theirrades and letting go of their sword absolutely wlessly! ¡°A knight carries out his master¡¯s orders! I prioritise my master¡¯smands over my own pride!¡¯ ¡°You might as well say outright that Her Highness¡¯s grudge is scarier than your sense of pride!¡± Because I couldn¡¯t predict that this knight would throw his sword, as the price for dodging his sword and the princess¡¯s sword ki, I allowed the knight to get a grip on my ankle. ¡°Let go!¡± ¡°N, noooo!¡± Was it because of the fact that despite his body being perpetually boosted by magic, as a swordsman his body was still tempered as a given? Despite screaming at the metal bat¡¯s beating, he held onto my left ankle in a vice-grip. ¡°Kuaaaaaaagh!¡¯ ¡°Let go of me!¡± ¡°A chance!¡¯ Thanks to this meatshield which took one, two, three strikes, the princess found another opportunity to throw sword ki my way, and at the same time thest remaining female knight also aimed for my back. Iya. One of my legs are caught, and behind me is a sword, and in front of mees sword ki aiming for my legs. -Where ya gonna block? -I need to get rid of this leech first. ¡°Kuaaaaaagh!¡± I gave the knight clinging to my leg a finishing 7 hitbo of the metal bat who fell with an ear-piercing screech, and jumped into the air as high as I could. I barely evaded the sword ki, but there still remain the sword of the female knight running at my back. ¡°This is the end!¡± Dodging this attack while I was already in mid-air was impossible! So I stabbed down the metal bat as hard as I could, but the female knight dodged it with ease and swung her sword once again at the arm holding the metal bat. ¡°Really, you all have zero hesitation in cutting off other people¡¯s limbs!¡± As the sword came at me without a shred of hesitation, I too, unhesitatingly gripped the metal bat in my right hand as hard as I could. ¡°Hup.¡± Using the metal bat, which had already touched the ground, as my support, I turned my body around and headbutted the sword. ¡°Huh? Do you want to die!¡± ¡°It¡¯s cause I want to live!¡± Thankfully, because of her order to capture me alive, she tried to change the path of her sword but couldn¡¯t change it properly because of herck of mana, and. ¡°Kghhh.¡± -That wooks wike it hurt. My forehead struck the t of the de! I staggered momentarily at the impact that shook my brain, but thanks to the metal bat I managed to avoid the princess¡¯s follow-up attack. -This is exhausting¡­ -And scawy. That pwincess that¡¯s shut right up and been ring at owner the moment she couldn¡¯t use magic is weally, weally scawy! The princess, who was even now still forming sword ki and waiting for an opportunity, her eyes were like a lion on the verge of starvation. Her appearance as if she so desperately wanted something did not resemble the princess I knew at all. -That means she wants ya that much, owner! Say it honestly! Just what did owner of that time do to that unni while I wasn¡¯t thea! -Why is it confirmed that I did something to her?! -Well then, ya didn¡¯t do anything and dat unni¡¯s like that? Then I¡¯ll apologise. -Sorry. I actually did do something. The problem is that even I don¡¯t know what it is that I did. I only iled around to try and live, I only realised the next day when I consulted the emperor that ¡®ah, I went and did something~¡¯. -There there. This benevolent goddess can forgive all your sins. S¡¯cough up. Why that unni¡¯s got th¡¯ eyes of a falcon locked on its prey! Me be very curious! Differently from before, the metal bat pressed for me to confess as if she was some cop from a drama bringing in the beef bone soup I¡¯d requested. -Well¡­ -Well? -I don¡¯t know why. But apparently I stole something she valued like her life? -Wazzat? -If I knew I¡¯d have returned it to her would I be so insane to hold onto it? All I know is that it¡¯s something important to the empire. -¡­Hm. Let¡¯s see. Owner said it¡¯s been nearly ten years since ya bid bye bye to that unni¡­ and owner supposedly yed around in the imperial pce for a fair while¡­ how old ¡®zat unni? -Was she twenty-six now? -Alwite. So if I do the math¡­ when ya met that unni, that unni was about 10 years old? -She was nine when I first met her. -Hm¡­ ho¡­. Hmmm¡­¡­ As the metal bat hmmed and hummed over something, in the meanwhile the female knight dodged the metal bat 12 times and I dodged the imperial princess¡¯s sword ki around 7 or so times, the metal bat screeched loudly enough to nearly upturn my consciousness. -Kaaaaaaaaaaahhhh! My owner¡¯s a lolicon! He¡¯s a pedophile! He¡¯s a pervert among perverts, he¡¯s unsalvageable burnable trash! -What bullshit is that! -What bullshit, it¡¯s that owner¡¯s a downright asshole! Ah! Now that I think about it this is the reason that owner made my voice loliloli as well! Ya put ya own desires into this goddess! Some ridiculous misunderstanding had started up. Although there was no longer any threat from behind, now wasn¡¯t the time or ce for this when we still had that oddly fast female knight and the princess who was staring at me focusing really really hard! The moment the magic suppression tool is taken down, I¡¯m a pincushion! -So I will very concisely tl;dr it for you. I am not a lolicon! -Not a lolicon! You stole a girl¡¯s precious thing! A girl¡¯s purity¡­ you pervert! -And like I¡¯m saying, why is that her purity! -¡®Course. What else would be important to a 10 year old girl? That princess isn¡¯t doing this because you stole her teddy bear! The imperial princess in tears because someone stole her teddy bear. What, the. That¡¯s scary? ¡°Guaahhhhh!¡± While I was racking my brain to be victorious in this cold war with the metal bat, a sharp scream found its way into my ear, and as I focused back in front of me once again. ¡°N, no¡­¡­¡± ¡°Toote!¡± Unlike my mind, my body which had been on autopilot finally found its mark on the female knight, and the moment I noticed I immediately struck home with the metal bat. ¡°I, I¡¯m a woman!¡± ¡°Oho! A knight caring about genders. And it¡¯s alright. This doesn¡¯t leave any wounds.¡± ¡°Gaahh! Th, that¡¯s¡­ not haaah! Hwu!¡± One hit, two hits, three hits, four hits. I wondered how long she¡¯d keep twitching¡­ I mean how many hits of the metal bat she could take as I kept on swinging, and she endured a whopping 11 hits before she finally departed honourably. ¡°It¡¯s over, now¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s over, now¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± The only one left was the imperial princess. As I thought where even Sir Reia was absent, and there was no way I would lose to Her Imperial Highness with her barely coherent sword ki, someone else said the exact same thing I did. Of course the only people present in this ce were the knights that were lying like corpses, myself and the imperial princess, so my eyes automatically sought her out. ¡°Holy shit?¡± ¡°This is the end.¡± As she said so, the waves of silver that flew towards me were undoubtedly sword aura. A veritable torrent of sword aura shes that were created despite the presence of the magic-sealing device, rained torrentially down onto me. Chapter 113 12. It¡¯s not over til it¡¯s over (11) #13 Their story: Atia nel Karuan¡¯s story. I watched Iris and Ast battle it out. There would be no hope for sess if things went on like this. Iris was at her limits merely evading the silver-coloured cludgel. Simply surviving for that long against a tantly broken weapon that inflicted pain simply by making contact with your sword would be an incredible feat in itself. If it were any other time I would have praised her even if she lost, but not this time. It¡¯s Ast. For ten years I waited, for ten years I prepared. Yet the man whose face I never saw once through all ten of those years was right in front of me. I could almost touch him if I just reached out my hand. If I just reached out¡­ I was within capturing distance¡­¡­ but why did my hand never reach that ce? Ever since I was little, I had obtained everything I wanted. The Karuan Empire was a superpower on the continent, and even the head of that superpower, the emperor, my father, could not refuse my words. But, for the first time in my life, someone rejected my words. At first it was fascinating. All his actions were that of a petty lowlife¡¯s, but if I thought of the way he treated me, there was no man as bold as he was. He was not a genius. But neither was he an idiot or a simplemoner. Sometimes he looked like an idiot in the way he didn¡¯t know obvious things, but at others he created new methods that not even I had managed to think of. There was an old saying that the line between a genius and an idiot is a thin one, and watching Ast made me realise just what kind of person that idiom referred to. So I was happy. Because he and I could converse with each other on equal grounds, something that no one else had managed. He was different to those who simply bowed their heads in front of imperial title. Ast¡¯s eyes had no traces of fear or wariness. Instead, how would I say it. Looks of exasperated apathy and ones that questioned just what was I up to again were plentiful. Nor did he, like the ones who knew of my fate, look at as if I was a monster or send me looks of pity. Instead he gave me looks that said ¡®what kind of madwoman is this¡¯ or ¡®let¡¯s not give her any attention¡¯. ¡®¡­All of a sudden it feels like I was treated quite meanly but that¡¯s just me, right?¡¯ As augh threatened to escape my lips as I recalled past memories, I mped my mouth shut and barely managed to stop it. Ast was always like this. Unlike the others, he was close to me, much like Reia did, who knew everything. But the only came close, he kept some distance from me and always maintained it. A quaint distance that was neither too friendly, nor too distant. Was it because of that distance? I had always been thinking of death, and had thought I would die alone, but when death came for me, when I heard Ast¡¯s voice, and unlike my normal self, I entertained a sudden small thought. If I asked Ast to die with me, would he really die with his master? The moment I thought of that I immediately knew the answer. That he would never, ever do such a thing. And so I smiled faintly as I said. I¡¯m inside soe in. And I thought to myself. If it¡¯s together with you, at least the path to the underworld won¡¯t be boring. But because Ast came into my room that day, my fate was overturned. Ast took away the death that hade for me. The thing that all the people and resources of the empire couldn¡¯t solve, Ast went and solved it. I was surprised at my unexpected new life, but thinking that good things were good, I began to enjoy it. I spent the days with Ast and Reia, and that didn¡¯t change even after the Great War began. We bullied Reia as if to outdo each other, weughed along together at Ast¡¯s acts of lunacy, and after we yed together like that a few times the neighbouring country was conquered, and so we picked out a new target and started another war. But in the middle of all that, Ast vanished. At first I thought that Ast was insane enough to oversleep in the middle of a war. When he was not discovered in his chambers I wondered if he was preparing something weird somewhere else. And when the letter that said he would be leaving the imperial court was discovered, I worried whether he had been kidnapped by an enemy nation, in a manner quite unlike myself. When I found out that he was originally a spy for the organisation named Howling, I was the most furious that I had ever been in my life. That he had used me? No. It was anger at the fact that between Howling, a parasite leeching off the empire, and myself, a princess of the empire, he had chosen Howling. That I would lose to Howling of all things, there was no greater shame than this. ¡°Bring him to me, right now!¡± In the middle of a war, I brought together my subordinates and began to throw a tantrum. The empire¡¯s hidden darkness? Trash naturally umted itself when you cleaned it out, so we had simply left the trash that was easy to take care of. I could not stand the idea that my belonging was in the middle of that trash that could be dealt with at any time. But right now we were at war. No matter how much momentum we had behind us, in a situation where anything could happen, there was no way I would permit the creation of internal strife, and because of that, all I could do was endure and end the war as quickly as possible. And so as I tempered my anger, and drank tea made with Reia¡¯s amateur skills. ¡°Your Highness¡­ you really like Ast too much.¡± As Reia said so with a bitter smile, I dropped the teacup I was holding. Like? Me? Ast? I ignored a shocked Reia as I deeply thought over it. Why was I so angry. Why did it feel so stifling just because Ast wasn¡¯t here. Why did I so openly express my wish to see Ast. ¡°So it is.¡± I, liked Ast. It took two entire days for me toe to that conclusion. And the answer I found at the end of those two days made me happy. I never thought I would ever have the chance to love anyone, but thanks to Ast I had obtained yet another thing! So I ceased all activity rted to Ast¡¯s search. Ast had run away in disgust when I had simply threatened to marry him as a joke. And how horrifying were his escape skills? He had escaped without anyone the wiser in the middle of a warzone under maximum security. If I were to carelesslyy my hands on him then I would only give him the opportunity to escape. Therefore I had to set a perfect trap and create a situation where escape was impossible. To create that scenario, I suffered a bit to end the war. And I even lifted up my little brother so that he would be victorious in the fight for session. I created all sorts of excuses to liquidate the nobles that had ties with Howling, and I secretly had my spies infiltrate Howling. I also recruited his disciples that he had trained at Howling, and identified each and every one of the choices and decisions he could make. And when I believed everything to be perfect, I eliminated Howling. But¡­ I missed Ast. Everything was for the sake of capturing Ast, but the most important Ast escaped. How much had I regretted my choices back then. If I had taken action personally, the results could have been different. So despite the opposition of countless bureaucrats of the imperial court, I had taken action personally. I roamed many countries of the continent, sometimes I wheedled them, sometimes I threatened them. And let alone humans, I had even been searching through the kingdoms of other races for Ast as well, and how happy was I when I heard that he was actually in the capital! He was waiting for me in the best ce where I could eliminate as many outlying variables as I could, where I could stage my n the most effectively! It was the moment when the scenario that was so perfect I even imagined that Ast could actually be waiting for me to arrive. ¡®Although that¡¯s broken now¡­¡¯ How much time had passed by. The moments that shed before my eyes like a revolvingntern, as if all my past memories were reliving themselves was invigorating. I had previously said that looking forwards to the future was more efficient than looking back on the past, but only the past with Ast¡­ no, the things that might be better called memories returned to me often. ¡°This time for sure.¡± I will capture you. I will not lose you again. I am not an imbecile that would lose this opportunity right in front of my eyes. For some bizarre reason, Ast was very popr with some very troublesome women, so the fact that I had even withheld information on Ast to my allies to prevent any intelligence from being leaked to them had backfired, but I could deal with that much. Magic sealing device? All it did was interfere with the flow of magic power in a certain space to freeze it. Meaning, it wasn¡¯t that mana wouldn¡¯t move, but it moved irregrly so that it was hard to use. Just that. If I moved my magic power to match the new flow, then I could use magic again. It might be impossible for ordinary people, but was I an ordinary person? I am a woman of the Karuan Empire. Of those who inherited the blood of the Karuan Imperial Family, said to be the descendants of a union between man and dragon, I was the one that had most strongly received the legacy of the dragons. As a descendant of dragons, those called the masters of magic, lords of magic, it was inconceivable that I would be unable to manage that! ¡°It¡¯s over, now¡­¡­¡± And when Iris began to fall not far from where I stood. ¡°It¡¯s over, now¡­¡­¡± I, too, could almost perfectly understand this flow. I didn¡¯t even bother to imagine that the knights would be able to defeat Ast without mana. Disregarding how disgusting his methods had been, Ast had defeated the Sword Heaven with his sword. And even the Sword Heaven himself had admitted that Ast¡¯s raw skill was not below his own. So my knights¡¯ role was to hold out until I couldpletelyprehend the flow. Because of that, I didn¡¯t interrupt his disagreeable conversations, but onlyid out orders to prevent him from bing suspicious. And as a result, the silver re of sword aura zed on the sword in my hand once again. ¡°Hm?¡± As he looked for me who said the exact same words that he had, his eyes bulged as they focused on the sword aura glowing on my de. The fact that his openly shocked expression was¡­ quite cute was my little secret. ¡°Holy shit?¡± As always he said something that you wouldn¡¯t believe he was saying to royalty, words that he¡¯d have no rights to plead against were he to be executed for it, but it simply made me smile. ¡°This is the end.¡± The will of my sword turned my steps into a dance. And the martial art that arose from it was one of the imperial family¡¯s secret styles. A style that was said to have been created through imitation of an enraged blue dragon that lived in the ocean. The Dragon King¡¯s Sword, Chapter of Blue.(1) ¡°Countless Currents (ǧÀïÈf²¨)¡±(2) I watched silver waves gradually fill, then flood the small cave. In the middle of this unfamiliar flow of mana, avoiding the knights and only aiming for Ast¡¯s lower body is difficult. But oveing all these, my sword aura finally began to reach Ast¡¯s legs. ¡°Were you really going to cut me!¡± He deflected the first wave of sword aura with that silver weapon of his, but like its name, Countless Currents was an attack that created countless waves of sword aura crashing down on you. As I saw Ast scream at my attack, I didn¡¯t even think to wipe the sweat off my forehead as I shouted happily back to Ast. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Ast! I won¡¯t dislike you just because you¡¯re missing some legs!¡± My love for Ast wouldn¡¯t disappear with just a paltry disability like that. No, on the contrary, it is very good because then there wouldn¡¯t be any pests attracted to him, and Ast could not run away. ¡°That¡¯s not love but obsession!¡± Ast half-screamed as he jumped into the air. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter even if it is obsession.¡± I gripped the hilt of my sword as I controlled the movements of the sword aura. Manipting sword aura that had already left my control was a very difficult task. Moreover, doing so in a space under lockdown by a magic-sealing device made the task all but impossible, but right now I could surpass that impossibility. ¡°Hoo.¡± With a short breath, the wave of sword aura leaped upwards. And as he looked down at the sight, Ast bit his lips and, ¡°Do or die!¡±(3) ¡°What are you doing!¡± He adjusted his center of gravity mid-air, and ced his body in the path of the wave of sword aura. ¡°If you want my corpse, then take it!¡± That¡¯s a fake. Could the man who prioritised his own well-being over anything else really risk his life like that? Ast would never do such a thing. ¡®But¡­¡­¡± Did a way to evade my attack in that position mid-air exist? It is impossible without magic. But let alone using magic himself, he had a bizarre constitution where even spells casted onto him by other people simply vanished, so there was no way any such method existed for him. ¡°Damn¡­ it¡­ all!¡± In the end, the one with the most to lose was me. I wanted a live Ast, not his dead corpse. ¡°Haaaaaaaah!¡± If I were a secondte, then Ast could be diced into chunks of meat. With all the strength I could muster, I forcibly bent the direction of the magic off-course. Boom! ¡°Haah. Haa. Haah.¡± I managed to end it with my sword aura just skimming beside Ast and breaking the wall behind him. ¡°Ast, now it really is over¡­¡± ¡°An opening!¡± ¡°Even now!¡± Whose fault was it that I worked hard enough to drench my entire body with sweat, and he attacked in that moment! ¡®But.¡¯ Now it really was over. Ast¡¯s attack was to throw his only weapon, the metal bat. I couldn¡¯t guarantee what would happen to me if I got hit by that, but I was not exhausted enough to be unable to dodge that. And inversely, the moment I dodged, I won. Without the wooden bat or the metal bat, there was no way for Ast to defeat a swordsmaster. Having perfectly evaded the metal bat thrown at me, I smiled victoriously and looked up at Ast. ¡°Now it¡¯s truly over¡­¡± ¡®He¡¯s smiling?¡¯ But before I could even finish. The moment I saw Ast¡¯s quaint smile and realised that something had gone horribly wrong. ¡°Ultimate move, Aru Punch¡î¡± As I heard a voicee from behind me, the world whited out.
As always, feel free to leave any suggestions and corrections in thements. (1) Original was ???, ??? ?, and as I do not read wuxia (KR or CN) I have little knowledge of what ? trantes to in this usage. (2) I hate wuxia attack names. The literal trantion of this would be smth like ¡®(A) Thousand Leagues(2.5) (of) Torrential Currents¡± (2.5) Referring to the unit of distance, literal trantion would be li, same unit of distance as the Chinese one, which TIL has been standardised in the modern day to 500m (3) I was so tempted to localise it to ¡®leroy¡¯ instead Chapter 114 RATH 114 TL: Eevee
12. It¡¯s not over til it¡¯s over (12) ¡°Hauuu!¡± The metal bat¡¯s cute fist struck the princess¡¯s leg as she copsed with a whimper. ¡°Wha¡­. sat?¡± Looking down at the imperial princess who couldn¡¯t even form coherent words, I lifted my right hand to my neck, unfurled my thumb and said. ¡°Finish her.¡± Slit. The moment I gestured a throat-slit, the metal bat¡¯s two fists began to hit the princess¡¯s body. ¡°Huu! Wa, uuuht, eet!¡± The metal bat is equal to all except for me. Aka. Everyone else is bat.(1) Although I didn¡¯t feel like I could go up against some soleYu Ilhanbeing that would be the god of concealment, with the possible exception of a god, I¡¯m probably the only being in the world that is unaffected by the metal bat. Well, considering how it works against gods of other worlds as well, it¡¯d probably work against gods of this world too. ¡°Ahhh¡­ sttt!¡± Despite the tears in her eyes, the way she was looking at me instead of the metal bat gave me the shivers. Even Sia had focused on the hand with the metal bat instead of my face when she was hit by it. And yet despite her screaming and crawling on the ground, the imperial princess was looking only at me. Then again, she¡¯d done this before as well. Unlike her normal carefree way she carried herself, she¡¯d had a sense of desperation about her. Because of that, to get her to let her guard down I threw my only weapon, the metal bat. The n to then have the metal bat use its remaining mana to transform itself to its human form and finish her off was sessful. ¡°Uwuuuu¡­ why¡­ uuuht¡­ do you reject me¡­¡­¡± As I watched her eyes lose focus, I sighed. ¡°Because it¡¯s troublesome.¡± Would the fallen princess have heard my answer? Well, not like it would change even if she had. ¡°I weckon that unni¡¯d just thwow away her pwincess title or whatever and just follow owner?¡± ¡°So does that not make her a princess?¡± ¡°Innt she not if she quits?¡± ¡°No.¡± Even if she abandons her title to follow me, that does not stop her from being a princess. More urately, even if she isn¡¯t a princess, the problem is that she¡¯s a (former) princess. There¡¯s a reason why former heroes disappear with none the wiser. There are cases where heroes who became too famous and fled to live quiet lives, or those with a grudge from their active hero days tracked them down to give them even harder lives than when they were active. ¡°How does owner know that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s something we did frequently in the organization after all.¡± For the record, the majority of evil organisations pay back grudges immediately, but as the greatest evil organization in the empire, Howling¡¯s track record or paying back grudges was impressive indeed. If they¡¯d gotten done in by other organizations, they either burned the corpses or sold it to ces that researched ck magic. And if they were alive, they didn¡¯t skimp on resources to do their absolute best to kill them. The ones that weren¡¯t some posing fakers, but genuine active heroes, the majority of them had rtions with at least one royal family and countless other nobles as well. But if they quit being heroes? The majority of those rtionships disappeared, and only a few very close people were left. Since they no longer had anyrades theirbat power was reduced, and the country didn¡¯t kick up a fuss even if they died so the aftermath was easier to deal with as well. And normal civilians were more interested in the exploits of active heroes rather than the death of a former hero so they were more easily forgotten as well. So like the aformentioned examples, the princess forfeits her title of princess to marry me? Sure it¡¯s easier to make the rtionship work because she¡¯s no longer royalty, but would the nobility leave alone a former princess, with ties to the imperial family? Moreover, the moment she and I had children, that would be the creation of offspring with a bloodline thick enough to contest the throne, would the Crown Prince really just watch and let it happen? And the countless soldiers of enemy countries that were curbstomped by us? ¡°And th¡¯ most impowtant thing is that owner¡¯s the one caught in the middle?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± And there was me, caught in the middle. Kah, I could only imagine a bleaker future than a hero that diligently did hero things. To the point dealing with assassinations and poisons would be easier to deal with. ¡°Therefore, this is where our rtionship ends in this life.¡± Well, I had a scary feeling that if it¡¯s this princess she would kill herself and chase me again after she reincarnated, which was why I only said this when she was unconscious. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s run.¡± ¡°But can ya deal wif it? I gots a feewing that there¡¯s probabwy an army waiting outside for us?¡± ¡°But if we stay here, we either get reviving swordsmasters or Sir Reiaing down the same route I did which screws us over either way.¡± No one hade down the pole I used yet, but there were no guarantees that this state would continue. ¡°And if it¡¯s an escape route, I still have one left!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course. But¡­ how much mana do you have left?¡± I¡¯d only been told just now that although the armour transformation was impossible, the metal bat had enough mana left to transform into its human form, but I didn¡¯t know if it had any more mana left. For my escape it needs at least enough mana to change shape¡­¡­. ¡°Hm¡­ well¡­ around three more transformations worth.¡± ¡°Well, if it¡¯s that much¡­¡­¡± I picked up the sword the imperial princess dropped and started drawing on the ground. Using the floor as a canvas is a romance of cultured men. The metal bat looked at said romance and nodded that it could transform into that shape, and having confirmed that fact I prepared to escape this ce as soon as possible¡­ ¡°Wazzup?¡± ¡°Do I take that with me, or not?¡± While the princess¡¯s sword had fallen to the ground, the wooden bat she¡¯d been holding in her off hand was still firmly in her hand. ¡°Uwiit! My wil¡¯ sister!¡± If I tried to take it then the princess might wake up, but if I left it be then the princess would mass-manufacture swordsmasters like the knights on the ground over there. ¡°Hm¡­¡­ would ya really get more swordsmasters? If they¡¯re lucky ones? Even in the academy we didn¡¯t get any swordsmasters aside from Aris, didn¡¯t we?¡± ¡°We might have if we kept hitting them.¡± Moreover, as the world¡¯s biggest superpower their territory is the greatest in the world as well. Who knew just how many talented people they could pull in from the corners of thend, would they really be unable to produce swordsmasters that even an evil organisation could? ¡°Tho¡¯ the trap is that all the organization¡¯s swordsmasters¡¯re all owner¡¯s disciples.¡± ¡°There are people that weren¡¯t?¡± ¡°Three of the org¡¯s swordsmasters were owner¡¯s disciples, and one was the organization¡¯s?¡± This thing¡¯s beening at me with too many factstely. Attack with lies and fake news! ¡°Ewhew¡­ I just gotta stop talking. Let¡¯s huwwy up and wun!¡± As the metal bat trotted away, I sighed and decided not to retrieve the wooden bat. It¡¯s not like the princess was the type to lie or go back on her words, since she said she¡¯d leased it from Rein I might as well not take it back for his sake. He¡¯d already been caught by the imperial princess, who knew how he¡¯d survive even the bat was taken from him. ¡°Well, seeing how that¡¯s that, please give up on me and live happily in the imperial court, Your Highness.¡± As I smiled bitterly towards the princess whose only noises were quiet breaths as shey on the ground like a corpse, I said my final words to her, turned around and started chasing the metal bat without looking back. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not that way!¡± ¡°Uwiit!¡± So, Your Imperial Highness. I nearly got screwed because I met you, so let¡¯s not meet again! Please! #14 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. ¡°Haa¡­ haa¡­ ha¡­¡­¡± Our castle was bathed in a sea of mes. The g of Yugrasia that symbolised this castle¡¯s owner was already broken. Lighting rained down and eliminated Yugrasia¡¯s students, and the small wolves that leaped out from the shadows tore into the students that avoided the lightning. ¡°Did¡­ did it really have to be this way?¡± My left hand was already unusable. My right hand was also near-powerless with all the injuries it had umted, as I screamed despairingly. Indeed. In the end, on the veryst day of the imperial festival. Yugrasia had been driven to the point of defeat at the traitors¡¯ hands. ¡°Lady Aris.¡± ¡°Give up.¡± And the leaders of the traitors, the president and vice-president weremanding the battlefield with slow footsteps. ¡­Together with beautiful women! ¡°Because ady like you¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Already has something that suits you.¡± At their words apanied by tantly disgusting shows of affection, the silver devil appeared behind my back and whispered to me. ¡°Uhiihiit, let¡¯s y, unni!¡± ¡°NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡± ¡°Haa¡­ haa¡­ ha¡­¡­¡± I took in rough breaths as I looked around me. Thankfully the silver devil was nowhere to be seen. ¡°It was¡­ a dream.¡± Although the cold sweat that drenched my body felt displeasing on my body, the relief that the silver devil wasn¡¯t here was greater. As I got out of bed, I took a dry towel and wiped the sweat off my body, went outside, picked up a rock on the ground and threw it at my target. ¡°This is all your fault!¡± The rock I threw with decent power behind it hit one of the people tied to stakes outside Yugrasia¡¯s tents. But no cry of pain came back. They seemed to be unconscious after yesterday¡¯s trial and judgement. ¡°Ehew¡­¡­.¡± Looking at over a hundred stakes that reminded me of prisoners of war, I sighed. But it was still over. Yesterday, the final event of the imperial festival finished. There were some truly dangerous moments, but thanks to vice-president Karen who joined us after wiping out Marcis¡¯ remnant forces, we¡¯d just barely managed to defeat the president, vice-president, and the rest of the traitor elementalists. Though of course¡­ there were many moments that were dangerous enough to give me nightmares. ¡°But¡­¡­.¡± We won¡­¡­ we won! ¡°Eiyahoo!¡± A joyful shout that should never made itself known from a member of one of the Ten Great Familes, no, just any girl of noble birth came out automatically. There was no more night study. It was over. That nightmare would never revisit us ever again! ¡°It¡¯s over¡­ it¡¯s over¡­ mhmm¡­¡­¡± -Aris¡­¡­ I jumped around in joy, then when a single tear escaped my eye I sat back down on the ground. Sniff¡­ it¡¯s over¡­ it¡¯s all over now. The night study is over¡­ ¡°Aris¡­¡­¡± Siir, who¡¯d been my roommate, hugged me from behind. ¡°Siir¡­ no more night study now¡­¡­¡± ¡°Mm¡­¡­¡± ¡°Sniff¡­ now¡­ the devil¡­ won¡¯t hit me anymore too?¡± ¡°There, there. You worked hard.¡± The silver devil had done its best to be able to hit me especially. How many times had I gotten hit by it on the grounds that hitting me once had the same feeling as hitting someone else twice? ¡°Over¡­ hrgh¡­ waahhhhhh¡± In the end, as I burst into tears in Siir¡¯s embrace, I tasted true happiness. #15 Their story: the anti-empire army¡¯sst. ¡°Kgh¡­¡­¡± It felt like all the blood in my body was travelling the wrong way. Having been toyed with in the hands of that foul emperor, the majority of us had fallen trying to defend against that merciless attack. I had also fainted, but thanks to my loyal subordinates, I just managed to escape the empire¡¯s evil hands. ¡°Although it was futile¡­¡­¡± We lost. We hadpletely lost against that foul emperor. Whlie I was unconscious, the other executives moved the injured to our main base, but it had already been long taken by the imperial army. And that resulted in a massacre. Having already used the majority of ourbat power in blocking that bombardment, the majority of us either lost our lives or were captured by their indiscriminate des. ¡°Very well, I admit defeat.¡± Humiliatingly, after we hijacked the broadcast, they continued to broadcast the live coverage of the students¡¯ match. So that was how it was. The anti-empire army expended their all, yet the core of the n, the students, didn¡¯t even bother to evacuate the castle, and continued with the festival event. We admitted defeat. But, ignoring our final ember¡­ ignoring our veryst spark¡­ ¡°We will never allow that, emperor!¡± My magic power exploded outwards. The emperor was moving personally for the awards ceremony of the imperial festival. And as for that emperor¡­ ¡°Die!¡± At my words, every single remaining member of the anti-empire army all charged at the emperor. But. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± At a single swing of the indifferent emperor¡¯s de. ¡°What¡­ happ¡­¡­¡± At the same time I felt something brush past me, I felt my upper body fly into the air. ¡°I see.¡± And when my body hit the ground, I realised I was dead. #16 Their story: A certain emperor¡¯s story. ¡°The heck are these things?¡± When I muttered so as I sheathed my sword. ¡°Those things are the anti-empire army, Your Majesty.¡± My old friend and currently my bodyguard, who took care of my work in the imperial court so well that without him I would have no semnce of a private life, Arten, whispered as he bowed his head. ¡°Anti-empire army? Why? Is this some new form of suicide?¡± The moment I heard that my daughter had returned to the pce and that she had lost that man Ast again, I scrambled to get over here for the students¡¯ awards ceremony as quickly as possible. Normally this job would be my boy the Crown Prince¡¯s job, but judging by the atmosphere around my little girl I thought I should get out of the pce as fast as possible, so I sacrificed the Crown Prince to escape. I ditched the Crown Prince who was begging me to let him do his job and ran out. Eh, so what. Rank rules. If he has a problem, then he should resent that he¡¯s the Crown Prince and not the Emperor. ¡°Ah, now that I think about it¡­ there were numerous cases rted to the anti-empire army during the students¡¯ matches.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Well, the anti-empire army tends to pop up everywhere. Odds were that they went into the students¡¯ yground to do something, failed, and med me for it. ¡°They¡¯re still just small fry, aren¡¯t they?¡± It¡¯s a specialty of the anti-empire army that the important people don¡¯t show themselves. The branches move, but the roots hide and never show themselves. ¡°I suppose so.¡± As Arten nodded, I ordered someone toe clean this mess up and calm the civilians, and moved on to very slowly present the students with their awards. Slowly¡­ very slowly¡­ my daughter was scary today and I didn¡¯t want to go back to the pce, so Ipleted all my tasks as slowly as possible, ¡°Congrattions, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°You even eradicated the anti-empire army!¡± ¡°Uwiing?¡± Once I finished all my tasks and returned to the pce, I heard the news that the anti-empire army had beenpletely annihted. ¡­What¡¯s this? Chapter 115 - The others’ stories (1) 13. The others¡¯ stories (1) #1 Their story: A certain viin¡¯s story. -Owner, when we dun! I¡¯m tired! ¡°I¡¯m more tired!¡± I diligently rotated the silver drill in my hands. Back when I was little, a golden hammer was the symbol of the mecha genre, but as time went on, the drill became the new symbol.(1) Although of course once I was conscripted I realised that the shovel was the strongest. -If ya got time to say dumb things then turn th¡¯ dwill more! I listened to the metal bat¡¯s very snippy voice as I continued to turn the drill. If you were to ask where this was¡­ this was somewhere under the ground not even I knew the location of! To avoid the princess I abandoned all the existing escape routes, and was drilling my way through an unfinished tunnel that I¡¯d previously abandoned when it copsed. -Uwiit! It¡¯s wock again! Lez give up and dig somewhea else! It¡¯s too hard here! ¡°All the paths where the ground is soft is already linked to existing escape tunnels.¡± I don¡¯t know how many days have passed. I don¡¯t know how far the encirclement spreads to. So all I can do is do my best to move underground. -Impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible! ¡°Fool! Tunnels advance, beyond the tunnel it were a minute before. Little by little, it advances with each turn. That¡¯s how a drill works!(2) This drill is the drill that will pierce the earth with my tunnel!(3) This tunnel¡­ is my escape route from the princess!¡±(4) -No, no, that drill is me! Owner¡¯s cuwwently digging a hole wifa goddess¡¯s head! ¡°Hold on just a little longer. The dreams of those who flee and the hopes of those who escape. Those two sets of dreams weave together into a double helix, and drill a path towards freedom. This is tunnel escape, this is Gurren¡­ I mean, Naruan¡¯s escape!¡±(5) -Enuff wifa bullshieeeeet! Drrrrrrrrrrrrrr! A line that was very familiar to me and the metal bat¡¯s scream. As earth before me began to crumble, I continued to dig. #2 Their story: Ria el Nermia¡¯s story. The first day of school after the imperial festival. It was my first day back since I¡¯d sent the school a message that I¡¯d be taking some time off. ¡°What were you doing!¡± ¡°We could more than have been victorious!¡± Victorious? What nonsense is that supposed to be. They¡¯re trying to pin all the me of the failure of theeback that only came about because of Yugrasia¡¯s betrayal in the first ce back onto me. ¡°Just what reason did you have to betray us, Lady Nermia!¡± At the president¡¯s words, all the surrounding eyes were focused on me, but I ignored them all. ¡°Reason¡­ is it?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The president answered, and if a look alone could pierce through people, the look he was giving me now would have pierced me hundreds of times over. ¡°I was scared.¡± ¡°Scared? Of fighting against Yugrasia?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I was scared. Of the fact that I had dared to get in the way of the instructor. And the fact that I¡¯d gotten in the way of the instructor¡¯s bat¡­ no, the instructor when he was using the metal bat, the higher rank weapon of the wooden bat! How scared was I when heard the news from No.1000. I couldn¡¯t even sleep peacefully, as I feared that the instructor might suddenly show up with the metal bat in hand. ¡°How¡­ how was it that you, who worked the hardest out of anyone here for Marcis¡¯s victory!¡± Well, I¡¯d fought more for my own sake than Marcis¡¯s, but apparently the president didn¡¯t see it that way. Well, not that I needed to correct him. ¡°Why? You fought tooth and nail all alone for so long¡­ and yet you were scared despite being on the cusp of victory!¡± ¡°It is the difference between knowing the truth and not. ¡± Yugrasia¡¯s students? They were troublesome but I did not fear them. At least they had the bare minimum of standards. Unlike my fellow disciples who cuffed a person that came to help him to eat breakfast, or came running at me with sword ki aze because I stole her food, they were much, much more normal people. But once I realised that the one controlling them from the shadows was the instructor, I started fearing that everything might have been ying into the instructor¡¯s hands. He might even be reading my mind right this instant, so I should address him as Sir Instructor. -Wait, no, I don¡¯t think he can go that far¡­¡­ No. The instructor knows all. Even when I was fresh out of the organization, I didn¡¯t recognize the instructor despite the fact he was smiling right beside me. Even though his face was still the same! -If he disguised his face and hid¡­ would I be able to recognise him? -That¡¯s¡­ even I can¡¯t guarantee that, owner. See. So awake or asleep, beware of the instructor, double check the passersby, beware the instructor. ¡°Young Lady!¡± As the president admonished me noisily he started fuming again. ¡°Even if you are a member of House Nermia, as a Marcis student and a member of the student council, this incident cannot be overlooked! There will most certainly be a punishment¡­ eh?¡± To the noisy president, I handed him the paper which I¡¯d been preparing since the festival ended. The contents wereplicated, but the three words at the head of the document exined everything. [Notice of Withdrawal.] ¡°I¡¯m going to quit the academy?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m quitting.¡± ording to No.1000, the instructor managed to escape from Her Imperial Highness¡¯s hands and fled the empire, but one never knew. Justst time I thought he¡¯d done the exact same thing, too, and he ended up right beside us, no? He might even still be active as a hidden teacher of Yugrasia, and I did not have the courage to remain at Marcis as an enemy of that Yugrasia. ¡°I¡¯m transferring.¡± I bowed my head once, turned around and walked briskly out of the academy. I¡¯d finished all the relevant discussions with the school anyway, and I¡¯d onlye into school to hand him the withdrawal letter, so it was good that I found him quickly. ¡°Youngdy? Mdy? Mdy!¡± I started hearing sounds that almost seemed like screams, but I ignored them and kept going. -So where¡¯re you going now, owner? -Where¡­ of course it¡¯s¡­¡­ Yugrasia. #3 Their story: Aris ril Letia¡¯s story. ¡°This¡­ is peace.¡± ¡°Peace is good.¡± A loose smile spread across my face as I dug into the caf¨¦¡¯s cakes. It was tasty. And I was happy. ¡°We hadn¡¯t known the meaning of happiness all along.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Aris. These small things were happiness¡­ yet we lived without knowing that this was happiness all along¡­¡­ it makes me reflect on my past self.¡± I sipped on the warm tea as I looked outside the caf¨¦¡¯s window. It was light. The sun was still in the sky. It was a weekday. And the sun was still in the sky! And yet I wasn¡¯t in the academy, but having tea with Siir in a caf¨¦! ¡°Sniffle¡­ this is so good.¡± I think I¡¯ve be a bit too emotionaltely. Born into the Letia family, ever since I was little I never cried no matter how much it hurt. But tears threatened toe out simply because of the warm sunshine and a warm cup of tea. ¡°This is¡­¡­¡± ¡°School life without night study¡­¡­¡± This was the true school life where students lived like students. ¡°But still¡­ Professor Nicerwin isn¡¯ting back, right?¡± ¡°I hope so¡­¡± When Siir said so almost as an afterthought, I replied back with a slight scowl. The day after the end of the imperial festival. The entire student body was shocked at the news that Professor Nicerwin had vanished. ¡°What? He¡¯s gone?¡± ¡°Why? Why is he missing! Surely he¡¯s not going to say that since it was a promise with him, that promise is null if he¡¯s gone!¡± ¡°Holy shit, th, that can¡¯t be!¡± ¡°This is Nicerwin we¡¯re talking about! He can¡¯t have quit leaving only the devil behind, could he?¡± ¡°What for!¡± ¡°To torment us!¡± ¡°Aaaaarrrgh! This is Nicerwin¡­ Nicerwin¡¯s trap!¡± When we came back, chins high in the air at our victory and heard that Professor Nicerwin had vanished. Everyone was gripped by fear as our imaginations ran wild. And the one who brought us salvation was the one with little presence, but the highest rank in Yugrasia, one of only 36 elders of education in the entire empire, our Headmaster. ¡°I received news from the empire that they would be taking Professor Nicerwin. Although it is an unfortunate event for our academy¡­¡± Although our Headmaster said that as if it were an unfortunate thing with all the students gathered. ¡°Woohoo!¡± ¡°Freedom!¡± ¡°No¡­ no more night study!¡± The students let out jubnt cheers as they dered today the true day of liberation. That was just a few days ago. ¡°He might return and start night study again to celebrate his return¡­¡­¡± ¡°Since they¡¯re new teachers, they¡¯re going to start up night study again¡­¡­¡± Although each and every one of those theories werepletely oundish, the moment the name Professor Nicerwin attached itself to any of those theories, they sounded awfully usible. ¡°Hoo¡­ it¡¯s still probably not it, Aris. From what I heard from the vice-president, the empire¡¯s sending us new teachers in exchange for taking away Professor Nicerwin.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Mm, it¡¯s probably urate because I heard it from the student council.¡± Siir was currently receiving direct teachings of vice-presidency from the vice-president. Although I had a feeling that these direct teachings had very little to do with the actual running of the academy, but as we were dealing with Risen who none of us had any idea what he did, it couldn¡¯t be helped. I could only hope that Siir maintained her innocence and didn¡¯t end up like vice-president. ¡­Although I had a feeling it would only end as a hope. ¡°Aris? Aris?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°What, were you talking with your goddess again?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± For some reason Siir¡¯s wide smile seemed evil to me, but I didn¡¯t do the stupid thing of saying that out loud. ¡°Really, Aris is on really good terms with Athena. But have you given it another thought?¡± ¡°Oh, that?¡± Siir¡¯s words reminded me of the thing she had rmended. ¡°Presidential elections¡­¡­ would it be possible?¡± The student council president elections. Soon the new student council would form, and so would the training required for those positions. And Siir asked me to join the student council with her to make a better academy life. Although of course Siir hadn¡¯t been selected for the student council either¡­ but if it were the power of the vice-president¡¯s hidden customers¡­ I mean some shady powers that be, would her election be all but certain? ¡°Mm. Come on, Aris. Hm? We can¡¯t create another incident like the silver devil! I¡¯ve already made the campaign materials!¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡­¡± At Siir¡¯s continual requests as she sidled beside me, cake and teacup and all, in the end I allowed myself to be nominated for student council president. And. ¡°I¡­ got elected?¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you there¡¯s no one else other than you to be president, Aris?¡± I stared nkly at Siir beside me, who had also been elected as female vice-president. No matter how well-known I was, I would have thought that having two first years in important positions of the student council where there were already more than enough third years that could take the position was a bit¡­ ¡°It¡¯s alright, Aris. It might not have been okay at the old Yugrasia, but in today¡¯s Yugrasia, skill means everything!¡± ¡°S, Siir? I definitely thought that to myself just now? I definitely never said it out loud so how did you know!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the skill of the student council vice-president.¡± ¡°Just what kind of job is the student council vice-president!¡± And moreover she wasn¡¯t even the sessor of the proper leader Karen, but the traitor Risen! ¡°Fufu, even though he acts like that, senior Risen has a lot of good points to him, too?¡± ¡°Like that!¡± Siir who had gained an astounding power to read minds was scary. Although many people had changed since I arrived at this academy, the only person that had not been changed by Professor Nicerwin, but a different person, was Siir. ¡°Fufufu, I¡¯m the same Siir that Aris always knew?¡± ¡°That¡¯s scary so please stop!¡± And so after I felt the greatest fear this year since the silver devil. The second semester where the night study was gone, Professor Nicerwin was gone, and the silver devil was gone came and went, and on the day of the fourth years¡¯ graduation. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s this?¡± In a corner of the student council meeting room, which was now my office after the pres¡­ I mean, the (former) president handed over all executive power to me, I discovered a suspicious-looking safe. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time¡­¡­¡± The graduation ceremony would be starting soon. The only reason I was still here at all was to fix up my speech to the student body as much as I could in the little time I had. ¡°But what is this feeling of unease?¡± Like an apostle receiving a god¡¯s orders, some great will was telling me that I must open that vault. If I didn¡¯t open that, I would regret it. Right now! ¡°Goddess.¡± -Mm. I requested the goddess and brought out a spear. And sword aura formed on it naturally. Even if it were a steel safe, it would not be able to hold up to sword aura. ¡°Is this¡­ a document?¡± In the cleanly cut safe, there was a single piece of paper. ¡°¡­Huh?¡± A paper on which was written the (former) president¡¯s act of unspeakable atrocity. As always, feel free to leave any suggestions and corrections in thements. (1) No idea about this one unfortunately (2) We evolve, beyond the person that we were a minute before. Little by little, we advance with each turn. That¡¯s how a drill works! ¨C Simon, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (3) Your drill is the drill that will pierce the Heavens! ¨C Kamina, TTGL (4) This drill¡­ is my soul! ¨C Simon again, TTGL (5) The dreams of those who¡¯ve fallen! The hopes of those who¡¯ll follow! Those two sets of dreams weave together into a double helix! Drilling a path towards tomorrow! And that¡¯s Tengen Toppa! That¡¯s Gurren Lagann! ¨C Simon yet again, TTGL Chapter 116 - The others’ stories (2) Running Away From the Hero Chapter 116 13. The others¡¯ stories (2) #4 Their story: A certain (former) student council president¡¯s story. ¡°Ah¡­ so it¡¯s finally the end.¡± To think I¡¯d be feeling sad yet happy, mncholic yet ted, sorry to see it go yet feel like I had to run away from here as fast as possible. ¡°¡­Thest one is probably the right answer.¡± Professor Nicerwin was gone. The silver devil was gone. The night study¡­ was still gone. But I couldn¡¯t remain at a ce where Professor Nicerwin or the silver devil could return to at any time simply for the sake of past memories. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As Professor Muam approached me with a gentle smile, I nodded. As the former student council president and the representatives of the graduates, I had the role of speaking the closing words at Yugrasia¡¯s graduation ceremony. ¡°Alright, so since this is the veryst¡­ please don¡¯t do something stupid.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± As I looked into his quavering eyes which didn¡¯t match the gentle smile he had on his face, I apologetically held Professor Muam¡¯s hands tightly. On the final day of the imperial festival, Yugrasia made a name for itself by iming victory with the biggest points differential in the history of the imperial festival. An overwhelming scoreline of several thousand. But there was something that made Yugrasia even more famous than the points gap¡­ ¡°Team kill academy, Yugrasia¡­¡­ that shameful name needs to end at the end of this year.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡­¡± Team kill academy Yugrasia. Let alone the other school events, the final siege match of the imperial festival had recorded the highest number of viewers and spectators out of all the other events, including the adults¡¯ events and the events organised directly by the imperial pce itself, and that was the nickname that had stuck to Yugrasia after that final siege ended. The people who had been watching it from the beginning gave us that nickname after watching the Yugrasia students who had been fighting against their opponents tooth and nail mere seconds ago suddenly bing their opponents¡¯ allies. And the spectators who had tuned in in the middle of the match after hearing news about what was happening in our match saw a very high standard ofbat in what they were watching, and they gave us that nickname in shock that this match was a civil war between students of the same academy, saying how weak were the other schools if they were fighting each other as they praised Yugrasia. ¡°As a teacher of Yugrasia¡­ that nickname is embarrassing. So please, at least in front of the parents¡­¡± To Professor Muam and everyone else who knew the truth, it was such a humiliating nickname. ¡°Yessir.¡± Well, regardless of what happened, I was doing fine with my girlfriends. Risen had gotten rejected numerous times, but as big sis Iiana had promised, she was continually matching him up with new girls so even now, he was doing his best to prepare for a new date. Of course as the price for that he was treated like trash for a long time at the academy, but due to the countless incidents that he had created, the trash treatment was reserved for Risen alone. ¡°Then¡­ I¡¯m trusting you.¡± Professor Muam¡¯s expression said that he did not trust me at all, but I had alreadymitted an irredeemable crime towards the other students. I couldn¡¯t let this be thest impression I showed everyone before I left! ¡°And now, there will be a speech from the representative of the graduates.¡± As I came onto mild apuse, I looked at the countless people who hade to Yugrasia today. There were students, there were teachers, there were probably friends and family of students here, too. So what should I say to these people. ¡°It has been four years that I have attended Yugrasia. The majority of the students that graduate today will be the same. ¡°And if anyone were to ask them what was the most memorable thing out of those four years, all of them would give the same answer. ¡°The entrance ceremony where we first stepped foot into Yugrasia, filled with excitement and worry? Our overwhelming victories in the imperial festival? Or right this moment, our graduation, which marks the end of all those moments? No, none of them are.¡± My eyes scanned over the graduates, looking them all in the eyes. Risen sighed and shrugged. Karen made a faint scowl as if she¡¯d bitten into an unripe persimmon. Many other students had many other different expressions on their faces, but each and every one of them meant the same. ¡°Yes, what would remain as the most memorable for us is the be¡­ no, the night study.¡± For a moment I was about to say the beatings from the silver devil, but I remembered that there were parents in this hall and quickly changed my words. We already had the nickname of Team Kill Academy, to think was an academy where our most memorable moment was getting beaten but the devil. Now that would really be an image to look up to. ¡°That was a trial. A tribtion. It was an unknown realm that none of us had ever known or experienced. ¡°And so we surpassed it, and became victorious in the imperial festival. And that is the reason we are here to witness this moment. ¡°And that night study is no longer by our sides. It is over. We have¡­ ovee all those trials and tribtions.¡± -Woooooooooaaaaaaaahhh! A roar of delight erupted out of the gathered students. Not caring about the parents that were looking on at them with surprise, the students were cheering like a people liberated from colonialism. Now, as the former president, I need to quieten those cheers and finish off my speech. And like I expected, the cheers quietened. -Booooom! ¡°Nerkiiiaaaaaaaaahhh!¡± The problem was that the cause wasn¡¯t me the former president, but the current president, Lady Aris who made the ruckus. ¡°Wh, what?¡± ¡°Terrorists?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be!¡± ¡°Huh, that¡¯s Lady¡­ Letia?¡± The parents were surprised firstly at the sounds of the giant doors of the auditorium being smashed open, and were surprised a second time that the person who destroyed said doors was the youngdy of House Letia, one of the Ten Great Families, Lady Aris. And. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± They were surprised once again at the sheer bloodthirst she was releasing, as her crimson hair whipped around her and her spear emanated with the crimson glow of spear aura. ¡°A, Aris¡­ what¡¯s the matter?¡± The first person that tried to stop her was Professor Harian, closest to the door. ¡°Professor, I would like to make an announcement to the students. After today¡¯s graduation ceremony, the funeral of the former president will be proceeding immediately afterwards.¡± ¡°Hiiik¡­¡­¡± When Lady Aris turned to her with a bright smile, Professor Harian¡¯s face turned pale at the sight. ¡°Wh, what¡¯s the¡­ huh?¡± ¡®That¡¯s¡­¡­?¡¯ When Lady Aris took something out of her pocket, Professor Harian shut her mouth and began looking over it. ¡°This is¡­ what the hell?¡± And when she finished looking over that thing, Professor Harian began ring at me with a harsher look than she¡¯d given the piece of paper. ¡°What the hell is this supposed to be!¡± The thing that Lady Aris handed over to Professor Harian was a familiar piece of paper. To be precise, one from the beginning of the year. It was the Geass Roll that Professor Nicerwin and I had signed. ¡°ording to the contract, if we obtain victory in the imperial festival, the night study will end for this year? This year? This year~? Then¡­ what about next year!¡± The moment she said that, killing intent swept through the entire hall. ¡°What did I just hear?¡± ¡°The night study will end for this year?¡±¡±So you¡¯re saying¡­ those assholes only ended the night study until they left?¡± ¡°We have to do this all again next year?¡± Very angry and very murderous voices started appearing from all corners of the hall. At this rate I was dead meat. Whether their parents were here or not, they were going to run at me to kill me. Then there was only one thing I could do. ¡°This decision was made after consulting with the vice-presidents anding to a mutual agreement of the terms.¡± ¡°Hey, hold up!¡± Risen was flustered by my words and hurriedly summoned Loki¡¯s shoes. ¡°It, it can¡¯t be! There¡¯s no way that Karen, the old student council¡¯s only hope would have agreed to such a thing! S, senior Karen? Senior? You.. You can¡¯t have!¡± Lady Aris¡¯s wavering eyes turned towards Karen. More than anyone else, Aris had trusted and obeyed Karen¡¯s words more than anyoen else as the sole member of the student council that was true to their duties. Unlike Risen and I who gave her the ck taste of betrayal, at the betrayal of Karen who Aris had believed in and trusted, her body swayed in shock. And now was. ¡°A chance.¡± With the blessings of a wind elemental, I hurriedly threw myself towards a window. Shatter! Shards of ss scattered as I broke through the window. Shatter! And the sound another window breaking nearby. ¡°Oi, what the heck did you tell them that for!¡± ¡°I need to survive, too!¡± When I followed behind Risen who grumbled as he elerated ahead. ¡°Get them!¡± ¡°Kill them!¡± I heard the howls and curses of Lady Aris and the other students. And. ¡°And this marks the end of Yugrasia¡¯s graduation ceremony, and finally, as one of Yugrasia¡¯s showcases¡­¡­¡± Professor Muam¡¯s words wereden with a bitterness as he said. ¡°The school¡¯s team kill event will now begin.¡± At those words, together with the rage of the Spirit King of Water, my unforgettable school life came to a close. ¡°I¡¯m gonna kill yoooouuuuu!¡± Although if I slipped up my life could be over. #5 Their story: A certain knight¡¯s story. Their lives were over. ¡°Guwughhh!¡± As I gazed over the corpses pathetically sprawled across the floor, I handed over the magic weapon in my hand over to Her Highness. ¡°It is done, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Mm. Good job, Reia.¡± The ones on the ground were all swordsmasters that would normally be given at least a rank of Count and be treated as a pir of the nation in an ordinary country, but right now, there were simply failures who had been defeated by a single person. ¡°And.¡± ¡°Hiik!¡± When the others were being punished, the one that had been watching it all while shivering in fear, the person that could arguably be the cause of the failure of this operation, the moment her eyes met Her Highness¡¯s, she immediately copsed to the ground. ¡°Iris.¡± ¡°Ye, ye, yes, Your Highness¡­¡­¡± ¡°Well, I know your loyalty. You probably did that in order to make sure this n would be guaranteed to seed.¡± ¡°I, I did, Your Highness.¡± To be honest, her n was actually a very good one. An army of tens of thousands had been mobilised all to capture a single person, and yet they still failed. In that case, it would not be unreasonable to think that the person in question was a monster that had reached the peaks of swordsmaster, or an archmage. And considering Sir Ast¡¯s reputation, it wouldn¡¯t be weird to call him a monster. So her actions were not a bad one. If the person in that trap had been me, then I would have certainly be caught by Her Highness. Although of course in this instance, by installing the magic-suppression device against Ast, whose weakness was that he had no mana, all it did was to weaken our allies and cause the operation to fail. ¡°So I decided to give you a special punishment.¡± ¡°S, special punishment, Your Highness?¡± Her eyes began to cloud over in fear. Her Highness¡¯s special punishment. Just hearing it made me scared. ¡°Mm. it is¡­ to contact the others.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± At the answer that not even I, who had served by Her Highness for a very long time could understand, even the person being punished was confused. But at Her Highness¡¯s next words, her face turned sheet white. ¡°Yes, contact. To those that were looking for¡­ your precious Rein¡­ I told them his location.¡± ¡°Y, Your Highness!¡± ¡°Your punishment is to experience the same thing that I am. Although of course considering how faithfully you¡¯ve served me¡­ I won¡¯t take away what you have. But¡­ it will be hard to hold onto it. So work hard.¡± ¡°Ye, yes!¡± As she scurried off with Her Highness¡¯s wave of dismissal, I looked at her back as she went. ¡°Your Highness, could you please exin to me what just happened?¡± Almost automatically, I began pouring tea into Her Highness¡¯s empty cup. ¡°Well, it¡¯s simple. Perhaps it¡¯s because he¡¯s Ast¡¯s disciple, but that man Rein that Iris is holding onto is a very popr one.¡± ¡°Well, he is quite handsome¡­¡­¡± Unlike the very in Sir Ast, his disciple Rein was very handsome. As the daughter of one of the greatest Houses in the empire, I had seen countless men, but I did not doubt for a moment that very few could beat that man¡¯s face. ¡°What, are you interested in him too, Reia?¡± ¡°N, no¡­¡­¡± ¡°No, Reia, you need to slowly¡­ or not, hurry up and get married. Your age isn¡¯t really¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hhff!¡± At Her Highness¡¯s words which dug into a sore spot, I reflexively coughed a bit. It hurt. It really hurt¡­¡­ it hurt so much I could feel the tears out the corner of my eyes! ¡°Hm¡­ alright. Then¡­¡­¡± Even Her Highness looked away and changed the topic when she saw my expression. ¡°Do we have any news on Ast¡¯s location?¡± ¡°No, although we had a perfect encirclement of the surroundings, we couldn¡¯t discover any traces.¡± ¡°And there were no other exits?¡± ¡°No, there weren¡¯t.¡± Unusually for herself, Her Highness sighed deeply. ¡°Does that mean not even this much manpower is enough to capture him?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± Twelve swordsmasters and three archmages had been involved in this operation. Add to that thousands of knights, and hundreds of magicians and battlemages. In addition, tens of thousands of veteran soldiers had also participated as well. A force that could handily wipe a small nation off the map was insufficient? You could never say that this wasn¡¯t enough manpower to capture a single person, yet there had already been two failures. ¡°I need to add more people.¡± ¡°That¡­ seems like an impossibility.¡± Soldiers at the level Her Highness wanted were not easy toe by. Even these soldiers were only obtainable by absorbing the remnants of Howling. If we epted any average person, then all that would happen would be a ckening of the army¡¯s standards. ¡°No, there is a good ce.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± But Her Highness said with a confident voice. ¡°There is a ce with splendid talent that should not be used as ordinary soldiers, butmanders, or even the greatest hand to y.¡± ¡°Th, there is?¡± They were words that had my head tilt automatically. There was no way that Her Highness would leave such a ce alone. ¡°And they know.¡± ¡°Know what?¡± ¡°Ast¡¯s habits.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± At those words, I realised what the ce Her Highness was referring to was. The ce with splendidly talented people yet no one had touched until now. No, more urately, a ce that hadn¡¯t had any talented people until now. But¡­ a ce that thanks to the efforts of a single person and magic weapon, had showed off their full power and abilities! ¡°If just one swordsmaster brigade won¡¯t do, then two, three¡­ no, I¡¯ll even make ten of them for you, Ast!¡± At Her Highness¡¯s tenaciously obsessive shout, I could not offer a reply back. ¡°Send all these people to Yugrasia. And¡­ have them create usable people, and send them to me. This is the punishment I will be giving them.¡± And that was how a bunch of non-summoner teachers were sent en masse to the summoner¡¯s school. Chapter 117 - 13. The others’ stories (3) 13. The others¡¯ stories (3) #6 Their story: A certain new student¡¯s story. ¡°This, this ce is¡­¡­¡± I looked up at the giant academy with sparkling eyes. This was it. This was the famous, greatest school in the empire. ¡°Yugrasia!¡± Until recently, my dream had been to enroll into Marcis. Purely for that purpose I tried my hardest, andst spring, my household tutor finally said that I should be able to make it in. But as I watched the imperial festival that happened in autumn, my dreams changedpletely. Each and every one of Yugrasia¡¯s matches were magnificent. Those whose names were unknown defeated the other academies¡¯ rising stars, or even their strongest one by one, and their student council president, whose names were well known, dominated all their events single-handedly. And in the end, they even fought against each other as if their opponents weren¡¯t even worth fighting against! The people who were jealous of Yugrasia gave them the insulting name Team Kill Academy, but in my eyes, that school was the coolest out of all of them. So I worked even harder and harder and sent in my application to Yugrasia, and I was epted! So I happily sat through the entrance ceremony and followed the seniors scouting new students as new club members, and¡­ ¡°You want to die?¡± ¡°Hiiik!¡± I was being threatened. ¡°Ple, please don¡¯t¡­¡­¡± It took but a moment for the male senior student¡¯s saintly face to turn into a demon¡¯s. All the other first years had run away a long time ago. I also wanted to run away, but I was surrounded on all sides by older students with menacing faces, so I couldn¡¯t escape. ¡°You¡­ do you not want to survive in Yugrasia?¡± ¡°N, no¡­¡­ You don¡¯t know how much I wanted toe to Yugrasia!¡± ¡°Then¡­ then you dare!¡± ¡°Uwuuuuuuu¡­¡­¡± I felt my eyes water up. Just what had I done wrong? All I did was¡­ answering them when they asked what my name was! ¡°Hold it!¡± It was then. That a ray of light cut through the dark room. ¡°This is the student council president Aris. I heard a report from a student that there was a new student being bullied¡­¡­¡± It¡¯s Lady Aris. The empire¡¯s youngest swordsmaster, and the daughter of the Letia house, of the Ten Great Families! As she ran in with her crimson hair whipping around in the air, I felt the tears spill over and run freely. Every girl¡¯s probably imagined being rescued by a prince on a white horse at least once in their lives. And right this moment! Rescue at the hands of a prince, no princess on a white horse, was¡­ Noting for me. ¡°She says her name¡¯s Arcadia, Pres.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Her name¡¯s Arcadia.¡± m! ¡°Hiiiik!¡± Much like the gentle senior how had first asked my for my name, at his words, Lady Aris¡¯s face crumpled up like a demon¡¯s. And at the same time, a spear embued in the signature move of a swordsmaster, spear aura, smashed into the wall beside me. What had I ever done wrong for all of you to be like this to me! ¡°Change it.¡± ¡°Eh, eh?¡± As I shivered in fear and took in the sight of the spear embedded in the wall, unable to even wipe my tears away. Lady Aris said in an extremely chilling voice. ¡°Your name, change it.¡± ¡°M, my name?¡± At my words, everyone around me nodded. No wait, what was the problem with my name! ¡°Change it. If you want to stay in this academy, you¡¯ll have to change that cursed name.¡± ¡°C, cursed?¡± ¡°That name is¡­ kghhh¡­¡­¡± For a moment, Lady Aris¡¯s face twisted as she stepped backwards, and another senior supported her up. Even I could recognise the fear on Lady Aris¡¯s face. ¡®Just what¡­¡¯ Just what kind of cursed name was it that a swordsmaster was this scared? And why did it have to be my name! ¡°But, but I can¡¯t change the name my parents gave me!¡± I was scared but I bravely said what I had to. Although of course I turned my head away at the looks I got back in return, but even so, I couldn¡¯t give up my name. ¡°Alright¡­ that¡¯s fair enough¡­¡­¡± ¡°But to all the second years and above, your name inspires a fear that is greater than anything else.¡± ¡°Indeed. If you can¡¯t change your name¡­ use a fake one.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°A fake name. Or another childhood nickname or pet name is fine. Just never use the name Ar¡­ kghghh¡­ cardia¡­ or Aru¡­ Ever.¡± Making a face as if she¡¯d been cursed by some malicious ck mage, Lady Aris banned me from using my own name. ¡°I¡­ I really¡­ can¡¯t, can I.¡± As my seniors radiated enough bloodthirst to scare all the blood away from my face, on the very first day of school, I lost my name. #7 Their story: A certain student council president¡¯s story. ¡°Alright, think positive, positive.¡± As the bell went off for the end of the final lesson of the day, I brought myself out of the dream that wasst year¡¯s second semester. After the imperial festival ended¡­ the happy times where Professor Nicerwin, the silver devil, and the night study were all absent. But starting from today. One of Yugrasia¡¯s three almighty evils reared its head once again. ¡°That¡¯s right. We need to train up the new first years as well.¡± After the end ofst year¡¯s imperial festival, many idiots called ¡®talented people¡¯ applied and enrolled into Yugrasia. Foolish children who did not know that there was a price to pay as great as the power we wielded. But they were lucky. They were experiencing a halved night study without the apostle of the Evil God, Professor Nicerwin and his faithful familiar, the silver devil. No, the night study they got wouldn¡¯t even be half, but half of half of what we had. ¡°I suppose they have to at least experience the night study in order to get stronger.¡± No matter how talented other people praised them, to the existing Yugrasia students, they were all but unpolished children. The remnants of Professor Nicerwin¡¯s teachings remained, so only 100 students were epted this year as well. Because of that, the first and second yearsbined only made for a total of 200 students. There were over a hundred fewer studentspared to the Yugrasia ofst year. ¡°At least we have Ria in our first years, if that¡¯s any constion¡­¡­¡± The Nermia family¡¯s Ria, the only genuine opposition from Marcis we facedst year, enrolled into our academy this year. High society was in an uproar over the news that she had dropped out, and of course plunged the Magic Tower and the Empire¡¯s mages, who both had their eyes on her, into chaos in turn. When she then enrolled into Yugrasia as a first year, she shocked them yet again. ¡°With this much firepower, we¡¯ll have enough to fill in the gaps left by the departure ofst year¡¯s President and vice-presidents.¡± It was doable. The first years would go up against Professors Maroon and Aruhan in order to get some experience, and the older students would face off against Professors Muam and Harian. If everything went to n, as long as the silver devil wasn¡¯t here, then we could defeat the regr teachers with no problems and handily finish the night study! ¡°And so, today¡¯s student council meeting is to discuss thebat formations for tonight¡¯s night study!¡± Bang! I pped the desk and stood up, faced the new student council that had been formed around myself and the vice-presidents as the core and shouted. ¡°For our victory!¡± Each and every one of the people gathered here were veteran warriors of the hell that wasst year¡¯s night study. As they began to outline and exin their ideas and tactics for escape, I listened to them all andpiled an overarching n. And the n that came from those discussions were spread throughout the entire school to unify everyone into a single army. And when war broke out. ¡°Hah?¡± I faced off against the teacher in my way and tilted my head in puzzlement. ¡°You are one of the new teachers¡­ right?¡± ¡°Indeed, Miss Aris.¡± As the teacher swung his sword at me with a wide smile on his face, I, too struck back with my sword aura-covered spear. My spear covered in sword aura which could even cut through sword ki danced through the air and struck at the teacher, but nothing happened to his sword. Because. ¡°Why, how? How is the new teacher a swordsmaster?!¡± The teacher¡¯s sword was also covered in sword aura! ¡°It is Her Imperial Highness¡¯smand.¡± ¡°Well, I know about that as well but¡­¡­!¡± I definitely heard the news that twelve teachers wereing to Yugrasia to rece Professor Nicerwin. But why the heck was a swordsmaster among them! ¡°But¡­ a single swordsmaster can be defeated as long as I have reinforcements! All I have to do here is to buy time¡­¡­¡± Bam! ¡°Whew, these kids are stronger than I thought?¡± Right now, behind me there were 99 second years, including god-ss summoners, dealing with the teachers. So I trusted them to. But the voice I heard behind me was not one I was familiar with. It carried the airs of far too many years to be a student¡¯s voice. ¡°You¡¯rete.¡± ¡°Ahah, there were nearly a hundred powerful summoners with four god-ss summoners among them too, you know?¡± ¡°He¡¯s right, if we¡¯re having it this hard, the upper floors might have a pretty hard time?¡± And not just one of them. There were three voices conversing with the swordsmaster in front of me. -¡­Something¡¯s wrong, Aris. Just like the goddess said, I, too, could feel something in the air. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong. ¡°It can¡¯t¡­ be?¡± The teacher noticed my horror, shrugged his shoulders and gestured that it was alright for me to turn around. ¡°Ah¡­¡­¡± And I saw. That the three teachers behind my back all had their swords unsheathed. And that all three of their des glowed identically to my spear, that of sword aura, the hallmark of a swordsmaster. ¡°Ha, haha¡­ hahaha¡­¡­¡± As I beheld the sight before me I couldn¡¯t help butugh pathetically. In return for taking away Professor Nicerwin and the silver devil, she sent over at least four swordsmasters. Despite never having seen Professor Nicerwin or the silver devil, she knew their worth far too well! ¡°I have no choice.¡± I twirled my spear and focused on the teacher in front of me. ¡°Here I go.¡± ¡°The skills of the youngest ever swordsmaster that I¡¯d only heard the rumours of, I wanted to see them for myself.¡± At my serious words, the teacher too, gripped his sword with a steadfast look in his eye. ¡°Yugrasia-style, ultimate move.¡± ¡°Come!¡± As I saw my opponent¡¯s spear ze brightly blue, I used he ultimate I¡¯d honed and perfected sinceing to Yugrasia. ¡°Run away.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± At the same time I threw my weapon at him, I lowered my body and ran away as fast as I could. When he hesitated at my unexpected movements, I took that opening and ran straight through his guard and ran down the stairs airs as fast as I can! ¡°And, and you call yourself a knight!¡± -Do you take me for a madman to take on four swordmasters at once! -A wise choice, Aris! I ignored the shouts from behind me and ran down one floor and another as I ran downwards. ¡°Ria!¡± And when I finally met my trustworthy ally I called out her name and approached her. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Ah, ahhhh¡­¡­¡± Her face resembled that of someone who had lost the world and everything in it, and she was crying as she faced directly forward. ¡°Hm? There¡¯s another?¡± My eyes turned naturally towards the source of the voice. The owner of that voice was a very handsome man, one who you could arguably call beautiful. He was one of the new teachers, holding a wooden stick in his hand. ¡°Professor Rein?¡± His bright smile and gentle manner in the way he approached his students had captured many a heart of the female students already. But as if all that had been a lie, he was now wearing an oddly familiar evil smirk. ¡°Weren¡¯t you in charge of teaching elective courses, Professor Rein?¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± His smile just now looked simr to normal, but it felt different. And as if to prove it, the majority of the first years surrounding him were lying like corpses¡­ and in a way I felt I¡¯d seen many times before. ¡°P, President¡­ that, that¡¯s¡­..¡± In Ria¡¯s hands was Laevateinn, which could even hold up against sword aura, but I couldn¡¯t find any will to fight in her eyes. And at her following words. ¡°He is¡­ Naru¡­ I mean, Professor Nicerwin¡¯s direct disciple¡­¡­ and he even holds the wooden bat, the original version of the metal bat, what you call the silver devil, President!¡± I too, could feel the will to fight drain out of me. ¡°W, wooden bat?¡± What is that horrifying name that scared me even though it was my first time hearing it?! ¡°I heard that it is weakerpared to what you were hit by, Pres¡­ but as someone with firsthand experience of getting hit by that. If you get hit by that¡­ you¡¯d rather die. As Ria looked at the weapon in Professor Rein¡¯s hands with pure terror, I too could feel myself swallow dryly and a cold sweat run down my back. ¡°Damn it, what kind of stairs are these even!¡± And behind me were the sounds of explosions and voices, undoubtedly from the swordsmaster teachers I¡¯d left behind. ¡°Excuse me, Professor Rein?¡± ¡°Yes, Student Council President.¡± ¡°If I may ask you something. By any chance, are all the teachers that came to Yugrasia after Professor Nicerwin left¡­¡­¡± All monsters? But before I could even finish asking my question. ¡°Yes, all of them except for myself are swordsmasters, Miss Aris. One needs that much ability to replicate the instructor, I mean Professor Nicerwin¡¯s education style, after all.¡± With a gentle smile, Professor Rein handed down our death sentences. ¡°So you¡¯ll have to defeat me as fast as possible, won¡¯t you?¡± The appearance of Professor Rein lifting up the wooden stick with a charming wink made something boil up from deep inside me. And so our new night study. ¡°Why¡­ why¡­ can¡¯t I be hapyyyyyyyyyyaaahhh!¡± Together with my screams and eleven swordsmasters, ¡°Hwaahhhh! It, it hurts! D, don¡¯te any closer! N, noooo!¡± Returned to us once again with the brown nightmare, the wooden bat. Chapter 118 - 13. The others’ stories (4) 13. The others¡¯ stories (4) #8 Their story: A certain (former) student council president¡¯s story. [We will find you. And we will kill you. -Aris ril Letia] ¡°Hm? What letter was that?¡± When Ari asked, I folded up the letter and put it in my pocket. There is no need for me to show the pure girl a letter like this. ¡°Mm. it¡¯s a letter from Yugrasia. The school year¡¯s about to start after all.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right¡­¡­ you said that Yugrasia¡¯s teaching style was a hard one. Are they doing well?¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re the same as always.¡± Meaning that they were currently in a living hell but there was no need for me to tell her that. ¡°Ha¡­ really? Then it looks like Arucia¡¯ll have a hard time this year as well.¡± As Ari sighed and worried about her school¡¯s future prospects, I wanted to tell her that the imperial festival was basically just a very slightly harder version of what we did at school every day, but I decided against it. Life at Yugrasia was difficult to exin by calling it difficult, after all. ¡°They¡¯ll be alright.¡± ¡°Really, you¡¯re quite mean as well¡­¡­ even if you were Yugrasia¡¯s former student council president, Renya and Tinya are in Arucia this year as well. Aren¡¯t you worried?¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­¡­¡± When my other girlfriends¡¯ names were brought up Iughed awkwardly. Expecially in Tinya¡¯s case, despite her being the youngest, she was still part of a marquisate family, one that protected the borders of the empire. Just how much did I try to convince her again and again against her idea of enrolling at Yugrasia to get stronger! Even knowing that if Tinya wanted something, she would do her absolute hardest to make it happen, I worked just as hard to convince her otherwise, and just barely managed to get to change her mind and enroll in Arucia. I had to do some work afterwards to cheer up a sulking Tinya, but it was a bit sad that no one would appreciate my efforts. ¡°Ehew¡­¡­ Really, Nerkia, you never want to talk about Yugrasia whenever we bring it up.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a ce that can be exined with words, after all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you said in the imperial festival and got mad at everyone¡­¡­ and single-handedly smashed our entire school.¡± The way Ari pouted with her lower lip sticking out was cute. Just who the heck called this adorable woman the Iron Flower? It had to be that all of Arucia¡¯s students had something wrong with their eyes. Smooch. ¡°Ah, wa, wait a second! Wha, what are you doing!¡± ¡°Hm? Weren¡¯t you asking for a kiss with you pushing your lips out like that?¡± ¡°N, no!¡± As she blushed all a-fluster, I gave her another peck on the lips. This life of spending time leisurely at my family¡¯snds were slowlying to an end as well. The original n was to help Father out with the family work and learn the ins and outs of it that way, but everything changed with the arrival of a single letter. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time left here after all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡­¡± Drooping Ari was so cute in couldn¡¯t help but give her a hug. And not seeming to dislike it, she too, leaned into me and sighed. ¡°The imperial pce immediately after graduation. And on a direct summons from Her Imperial Highness. My boyfriend got promoted way too quickly¡­¡­¡± ¡°Well, thank to that your father acknowledged us after all.¡± ¡°Rather than acknowledgement¡­ I think there was something else behind that¡­¡­¡± With a massive scowl on his face and seeming like he had other things he wanted to say, in the end Ari¡¯s father eventually acknowledged and allowed our rtionship. And amazingly enough, I got simr announcements from the other families at around the same time. ¡°Was it because of the imperial festival?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ at least with me and¡­ Iiana unni it¡¯s basically an official announcement, but¡­¡­¡± ¡°Well, a good thing is a good thing.¡± Right now, they¡¯d gone as far as sending messengers to my family to acknowledge our rtionships. Now all I had to do was hone myself so I wouldn¡¯t embarrass them as their man! ¡°Unni¡¯s in the capital so go to her if you need any help.¡± ¡°Bis sis Iiana¡¯s more than trustworthy.¡± ¡°Me too¡­ I¡¯m definitely¡­ going to go to the capital as well¡­ so you have to wait for me?¡± ¡°Mm. Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°If you cheat¡­ we¡¯ll punish you?¡± ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m telling you that¡¯s never going to happen?¡± When I kissed her on her pouting forehead her face loosened up into smiles. What is this cute thing. ¡°Uwaaaa, as I thought I don¡¯t want to leave Ari alone and go the the capital!¡± ¡°Kyaa! Ne, Nerkia~¡± Even as she screamed she snuggled in deeper into my embrace, and as I felt her body wriggle against mine I wondered whether I should reject the job of serving Her Imperial Highness that everyone in the empire wanted. And approximately one monthter. I realised that I shouldn¡¯t have wondered and refused it as quickly as I could. ¡°¡­Is your objective.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± ¡°Your objective is what I¡¯ve just been telling you.¡± The person who said so to me with a bothersome expression in his face was none other than someone from the empire, no, the continent¡¯s strongest military unit, the captain of the imperial battlemage unit that were the first to use the infamous imperial bombardment. I was very surprised that such a person came for me on the very first day, but that was nothingpared to what came afterwards. ¡°So you¡¯re saying¡­ that Professor Nicerwin and the legendary Ast are the same person¡­ and you¡¯re telling me to capture Professor, no, the person named Ast?¡± ¡°Yep, that¡¯ right. Well, I¡¯m not even going to hope you can capture him alone. Who the heck could capture someone who defeated twelve swordsmasters all by himself with just the metal bat?¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± Beat twelve swordsmasters all by yourself? Was that even possible? Even if the Sword Disaster and the Sword Star, the two strongest swordsmen in the world joined forces it would probably still be impossible? ¡°Well, our objective is to strengthen our forces. Considering he¡¯s already evaded Her Highness¡¯s total mobilisations to capture him twice now¡­¡­¡± Her Imperial Highness¡¯s army is the single strongest standing army in the entire continent. You¡¯re telling me that a single individual managed to evade a full mobilisation of the army that was undefeated the continent-wide brawl that was the Great War? ¡®A, as expected of the apostle of the Evil God¡­..¡¯ As we thought, Professor Nicerwin wasn¡¯t human after al! ¡°Ca, can I just turn around and go back home now?¡± ¡°Do you think you can?¡± Something was wrong. I realised that, but I already knew too much. ¡°Here, Her Highness¡¯s letter.¡± [The moment you go home, treason.] A short and brutal note that was at odds with the beautiful handwriting it was written in. And underneath was an addendum even longer than the actual note itself¡­ [On that note, the one who pressured your lovers¡¯ families was me? You know what happens if you run, correct?] ¡°¡­Did Her Highness personally write this note?¡± ¡°She did. While there are cases where new hires with false impressions of Her Highness don¡¯t adjust very well¡­ I believe you will. Because.¡± He wiped off the bothersome expression on his face with an evil grin and said. ¡°Her Highness¡¯s personality is the most simr to Professor Nicerwin¡¯spared with anyone else in the world.¡± ¡°N, no way¡­¡­¡± ¡°Toote now.¡± ¡°Yep, way way toote.¡± Beside my despairing self I heard a pair of very familiar voices that onlyst year I¡¯d heard on a near-daily basis. ¡°Risen? Karen!¡± The two vice-presidents that had acted as my right and left arms had soulless eyes as they both made uncharacteristic evil smiles, grabbed my arms and said. ¡°¡±Wee to hell, president.¡± ¡°Noooooooooooooo!¡± One year after graduating from Yugrasia. Hell arrived for us once again. #9 Their story: The birth of a hero. ¡°Gaaahhgh!¡± ¡°Damn it, rearguard, attack while you fall back! Only then can the vanguard retreat!¡± Screams and cries broke out everywhere on the battlefield. We¡¯d only just fended off the orcs, but an ogre appeared all of a sudden! ¡°Hill, do you think you can heal them?¡± ¡°Kghhh¡­ there are so many wounded it will be difficult. And even more so because the people attacked by ogres are all critically wounded!¡± As I listened to Hill, a priest treating the injured in the rear lines, I bit my lips as I people around me began falling back. The only ones who could inflict any decent damage on the ogres right now were three knights from this territory and myself. The other knights couldn¡¯t even use sword ki so they had their hands full just trying to stay alive. ¡°Mister Swin, you can¡¯t possibly survive on your own!¡± ¡°But you, you can¡¯t use your left arm, can you?¡± ¡°Kgh¡­¡­¡± ¡°Help out the other knights.¡± At mymand, one of the knights that could use sword ki made a bitter expression as he retreated. ¡°Let¡¯s survive and meet each other again, Mister Swin.¡± ¡°Worry about your own neck first.¡± As I made a face to put him at ease, I sent back all the other knights that had run out of mana as well. ¡°Three ogres¡­¡­¡± To be honest, this was very difficult. I had already cut down a hundred orcs. Moreover, I¡¯d defeated three Orc Warriors, which were said to be hand-picked elites by an Orc Hero. Although they couldn¡¯t use sword ki like an Orc Hero, theirbat abilities alone were regarded as the greatest of warriors among the orcs who knew little other than fighting. Unlike regr orcs which were regarded as simple monsters, the power of an Orc Warrior was iparable. ¡°I¡¯d probably have a hard time even if I fought them while I was fresh, wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Bodies that even sword ki had difficulties cutting, and monstrous strength that could even cleanly lift an orc with one hand. It¡¯s impossible. When you looked at the knight who could no longer use his left arm after using sword ki to block an attack from an ogre in order to rescue his injuredrade, aren¡¯t the ogres perfectly fine? ¡°Impossible. It¡¯s impossible, but¡­¡± There was a ruckusing from behind me. The sounds of the knights and soldier that had not yet managed to flee, and the people who hade out to defend their homes and livelihoods were keeping my feet rooted in ce. -Foolish idiot. A voice seemed to echo in my ear. The voice of the instructor who a few years ago, gave me an unforgettable experience, and whose teachings and experiences, no matter how unwanted, had allowed me to stand where I was today. ¡°I am quite the idiot.¡± ording to what he taught me, the appropriate thing to do would be to abandon them and run away alone. But these were people who had given me hot meals and a ce to sleep when I had run out of the money I¡¯d earned from mercenary work. They had actually fed me. The kind people who had fed me¡­ I couldn¡¯t abandon them and run away on my own! ¡°Haap!¡± With a re of sword ki I cut open the ogre¡¯s hand. If that had been a regr orc it¡¯d have been cleaved into two, but a cut was all that I could manage against an ogre. ¡°Kuwoooooohhh!¡± The enraged ogre struck down where I stood, but I dodged and swung my sword again. ng! ¡°Why the heck is this thing so tough.¡± It was a sword wreathed in sword ki, but after a few strikes at the ogre, the de snapped into two. ¡°Does anyone have any swords left¡­ they wouldn¡¯t, would they?¡± I dodged another attack and nced behind me, but everyone was busy fighting orcs with their own weapons. The orcs, too, were advancing, trying to flee from the ogres. Right now where both orcs and humans were doing their best to salvage their lives, there was no one who had enough breathing room to throw me a spare sword. ¡°I might actually die?¡± Just when I started thinking whether or not I should start running away now. ¡°Ugh¡­ Mister Swin! Take this!¡± Together with Hill¡¯s shout, what came flying towards my direction was a white sword. ¡°Oi, Hill! You should have given this to me earlier if you had something like this!¡± I gripped the obviously very high-quality sword and unsheathed it. ¡°This is pretty good, now die!¡± ¡°That sword is the holy sword of our faith! I¡¯m sorry, but none aside from the hero can unsheathe that sword. Just use it for your¡­ protection?¡± I heard Hill shouting behind me but he got quieter and quieter so I couldn¡¯t hear him very well. That was something I could ask Hillter once I got out of here alive. ¡°Die, ogre!¡± ¡°Guooooo!¡± My sword ki which was shining brighter than normal for some reason cleanly sliced through the ogre¡¯s wrist. ¡°Gold?¡± Was it because of this golden sword ki? Iya, this is a good sword. It even gives you special effects to your sword ki. ¡°Now then¡­¡­¡± As long as I had an effective means of attack, fighting the ogres was no longer an impossible feat. And thirty minutester. ¡°Whew¡­ it¡¯s over.¡± As I cut off the head of thest ogre and wiped the sweat off my forehead, I pulled my weary body over to Hill and tried to give him back his sword¡­¡­ ¡°Sir Hero!¡± Hill was clinging to me with tears in his eyes. No, that aside. ¡°Sir Hero?¡± ¡°I finally, finally found you! Sir Hero! Sir Hero!¡± ¡°Ohhhhh! Sir Hero! Sir Hero!¡± ¡°Sir Hero!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the hero!¡± More and more people started surrounding me shouting [Sir Hero!] ¡°Oi, someone give me an exnation already!¡± As my desparate screams fell onto deaf ears, I became a hero. #10 Their story: A certain viin¡¯s story. ¡°It¡¯s cold¡­¡­¡± I scrambled through the mountains as rain pelted down on my body. Rain is a very good environment to run away in. The falling rain wipes away your footprints and the clouds restrict the vision of any would-be pursuers, even in daytime. But even during summer, rain makes you cold. And right now it was autumn, and this ce was in the middle of the mountains. ¡°Damn, this is cold¡­¡­¡± -This is still another countwy tho so can¡¯t ya take a break? Whabbout tryina find a cave? ¡°If will be dangerous if I foolishly stick my nose into a monster¡¯s den¡­ but it¡¯s freezing right now so it¡¯s worth the risk.¡± Dying of hypothermia on the run is dumber than getting caught. But¡­¡­ ¡°Why the hell are there no caves?!¡± I ran around everywhere in terrain that might house a cave, but I couldn¡¯t find a single one. Would I die here! -There, theah! Tha¡¯s a cave over theah! ¡°Ohh!¡± There was hope for me yet. I¡¯d like to have some dry firewood right now but since I bought some oil in the nearby vige it should be alright. ¡°Now, it¡¯s your turn, metal bat.¡± ¡°Owner¡¯s helpless wifout meh, after all!¡± I borrowed the power of the metal bat to pour some mana into a magicmp. As a dwarven-made tool, it was an emergency item I carried around regrly, but since it needed magic power to be switched on, I had to give it over to the metal bat every time. ¡°Now c¡¯mon, show ya gweatfulness f¡¯ the goddess¡¯s liaaaaaaaghhh! A ghost?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s obviously a corpse. Having said that, a goddess shouldn¡¯t be scared of a ghost.¡± The moment the metal bat turned the light on, we could see the figure of a child lying in a heap inside the cave. It seemed that he or she was unlucky enough to die here. ¡°Hiing~ poor little thing, dying in a ce like this¡­ it isn¡¯t dead?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± This is the middle of a mountain big enough to be called a mountain range. Even I, an adult had to walk two days from the nearest vige to get here, but a young child in this ce was still alive? ¡°It¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°The dangerous thing¡¯s ya, lolicon owner! Die, pervert!¡± I took the metal bat¡¯s attacks as I stripped away the child¡¯s clothes. ¡°Pervert! Owner weally was an unsalvagable pervert!¡± ¡°Shut up! And stop trying to push a lolicon title onto me.¡± ¡°Big wordsin¡¯ from th¡¯ one stripping a young¡­ little girl!¡± Hm¡­¡­ and this child is a girl. ¡°Now, there is a little girl here. What would the normal reason for this be?¡± ¡°Lost child?¡± ¡°Indeed. But never in my life has anything as ordinary as thate to pass. Which means that this little girl has an extremely high chance of being either a runaway noble, or a demon!¡± ¡°I dunno why but I feel like it¡¯s possible if it¡¯s owner!¡± Indeed. I wouldn¡¯t know about other children fallen in a cave, but there was zero chance that a child I would encounter would be ordinary in any shape or form. I touched the head. No horns. I touched the buttocks. There didn¡¯t seem to be a tail, either. I checked her belongings. There was no item with a seal, precious-looking items, or even a mysterious scrap of paper. Just in case there were any other hidden secrets I searched the fabric and hems of her clothing but there really was nothing. ¡°So she actually is just an ordinary little girl!¡± ¡°Uwuuuuu¡­¡­¡± At my horrified screams, the child whimpered faintly. ¡°Hm¡­¡­ since her body¡¯s burning up I need to start a fire¡­ her clothes aren¡¯t wet so they can be worn again as-is.¡± ¡°Whabbout the kid herself? She looks like she¡¯s hurting a lot¡­¡­¡± ¡°Well, what else can we do. We need to treat her.¡± ¡°Ya managed to pack medicine on the run, too?¡± ¡°Of course. A very effective one, too.¡± As she followed my finger to the location of the medicine, the metal bat nodded, approached the child and raised her fists high in the air. ¡°Aru hands are healing hands¡î¡± ¡°Kyaaaaaaahhhhhhh!¡± The screams of a little girl began to echo around the small cave. Chapter 118.1 - Side Story – A certain princess’s memories (9) Side Story ¨C A certain princess¡¯s memories (9) #12 Their story: A certain swordsman¡¯s story. ¡°Kugh!¡± I barely managed to dodge a dagger that nicked my thigh, but another dagger came flying at me in quick session. ¡°What kind of servant carries around so many daggers!¡± I¡¯d lost all intentions of respecting my opponent at the continual knife throws. What I¡¯d been asked to do was evaluate the skills of a swordsman in the imperial court, not an assassin. ¡°Oh, I reported all of these to the imperial pce so there¡¯s no problem with them?¡± ¡°Is that true, Your Highness?¡± This wasn¡¯t any ordinary ce, it was the imperial pce of the giant nation called the Karuan Empire. Possession of any weapons by an unauthorised individual was illegal. And they allowed the personal servant of the imperial princess, a member of the imperial family, to carry around this many weapons? ¡°Mm, he¡¯s probably right, gramps? He submitted an awful lot of documents when we authorised him to carry around weapons¡­¡­ to be honest I thought he was getting approval for his spares in advance.¡± ¡°But still¡­ wait, you¡¯re attacking while I¡¯m talking with Her Highness! Do you have no sense of etiquette towards your master!¡± ¡°Yep, gramps. Unfortunately Ast says he doesn¡¯t know anything like that.¡± To think a person who could make those wordse out of the emperor¡¯s favourite princess actually existed. I realised once again in my first visit in a while to the imperial pce that the world was wide and there were many lunatics. ¡°Then.¡± To this upstart who didn¡¯t respect his sword, this wouldn¡¯t be a bad opportunity to teach him about the sword as a representative for all swordsment. ¡°Now, then¡­ kuhk?¡± ¡°Ah, the drugs finally seem to be kicking in.¡± What did this little shit just say? ¡°Your Highness?¡± ¡°Sorry. I knew he was a lunatic but I didn¡¯t think he was this bad.¡± Even Her Imperial Highness couldn¡¯t face my eyes, and had turned away. Not a swordsman but a servant? Fine, that was understandable. And so therefore he relies on throwing his weapons as his primary method of attack? Fine, that was also understandable. But, but! ¡°To think you would use poison as a servant of the imperial pce!¡± It was not a very strong poison. It wasn¡¯t a poison designed to kill, but simply limit the movements of the body. But a poison is still a poison. That was not something that a person working in the imperial pce would ever use. ¡°I¡¯m sorry? As far as I¡¯m aware, there¡¯s no ce that utilises poisons more than the imperial pce¡­¡­¡± ¡°That, that¡¯s¡­¡­¡± When he answered back with a questioning look, I couldn¡¯t offer my own reply in turn. ¡°ording to the history of the imperial court, on average 2.8 people per month were killed by poison, and among members of the imperial family, those numbers rise further to four out of every ten deaths being attributed to poison.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡­¡± Poison was actually very usedmonly among nobility to assassinate their enemies. But what I wanted to say was as a servant of the empire, and a direct subject of a member of the imperial family, using poison was something to be ashamed of! ¡°Ah, well, I more or less understand what you want to say. What I suspect you meant was that as Her Highness¡¯s servant I should be ashamed of using poison and bringing shame to her name.¡± ¡°Y, yes, that¡¯s it!¡± I thought he had finally understood my intentions but that was a veryrge error on my part. ¡°That¡¯s something for Her Highness to be ashamed of, that¡¯s not particrly something I should be embarrassed about, now, is it?¡± ¡°What?¡± What the hell did this man say just now? ¡°An opening!¡± ¡°Kgh! Y, you¡­ do you understand what it is you are saying!¡± He¡¯s openly ndering a member of the impeiral family. And his own lord at that¡­ while she was watching him! ¡°Ast, no matter how generous I am, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re going too far?¡± ¡°If you have any problems with my conduct then please fire me, Your Highness. When I first came here all I wanted to do was work quietly and normally as one of the many servants in the pce.¡± ¡°Normal? You? You prepared this line to make meugh, didn¡¯t you? Is this the part where I¡¯m supposed tough?¡± A conversation flowed between the two of them that did not at all feel like one between master and servant. If there was a ce where it felt like it could have belonged, it was a cheap tavern. The sight of drunken tales being regaled and exaggerated over a mug of cheap wine was showing itself in the imperial pce. ¡°I¡¯m perfectly ordinary?¡± ¡°No, Ast. You understand yourself far too little. I can guarantee it. Among the many lunatics and deranged people I have seen, you are the most insane of all the lunatics in the imperial pce.¡± ¡°No, Your Highness. I believe that you¡­ cough cough. Never mind.¡± ¡°You were just about to say that I¡¯m crazier than you are, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Me? Of course not, Your Highness. How could I ever make such an offensive description of my master, Your Highness.¡± ¡°You could at least lick your lips before making such an obvious lie? One would think you¡¯re a truly loyal servant.¡± The servant who had a look of pure exasperation on his face and the master who found the whole thing incredibly hrious. And¡­ ¡°Your Highness, just why did you call me in?¡± So I said, finally putting down my sword, as the person caught in the middle and providing them with this line of conversation. ¡°Mm? Officially, it¡¯s to check gramps¡¯ skill as the person who¡¯s going to teach me swordsmanship.¡± ¡°And what¡¯s the real reason?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s because Ast was giving me what for so I wanted to give him a what for as well?¡± ¡°Your Highness¡­¡­¡± Her Highness¡¯s appearance as she cutely said so with her tongue sticking out slightly had the yfulness of a girl her age, but. ¡°I think I was the only one that was given all the what for¡­¡­¡± ¡°Sorry, gramps.¡± ¡°Haaa¡­¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t hold back a sigh. Imperial family or no, anyone would have long since stormed out if they were given this treatment. But the current emperor had saved my wife¡¯s life in the past. I could not cut off that rtionship just like that when his daughter had asked so pleadingly. ¡°Next time I would appreciate it if you were honest with me from the start, Your Highness. Moreover¡­ more so if it involves fighting with a man as ridiculous as this.¡± ¡°I understand, gramps. Honestly I was shocked as well? Who knew he¡¯d be so brazen about using poison in the imperial pce¡­ behind you!¡± ng! ¡°What are you doing!¡± I parried away the dagger thrown at my back and spun around. ¡°Me? Well of course I¡¯m attacking, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Has the match not already been decided!¡± ¡°No one has admitted their defeat, and was it not you that arbitrarily decided to lower your sword and talk with Her Highness?¡± ¡°Did you not also stop attacking at that moment?¡± ¡°Ah, I was running out of weapons so I was just taking the opportunity to restock again.¡± The many daggers that had been spread across the ground had disappeared. As I faced off again against my opponent who was once again holding the short sword he had thrown at the start of the match, I nced over at Her Highness. ¡°Your Highness, are you really going to continue employing this bastard as your personal servant?¡± ¡°To think he made you curse like that, gramps¡­¡­ I think I underestimated Ast¡¯s abilities.¡± Seeing her giggle at my curses in sheer mirth, she is very much hopeless. It seemed that this aspect was very much carried through their bloodline. ¡°Sir Reia, as Her Highness¡¯s bodyguard, are you going to continue to leave such a dangerous individual alone?¡± Then I needed to change targets to a different person. ¡°Sir Ast is saying he desperately wants to quit but the person who¡¯s refusing to let him go is Her Highness so there¡¯s nothing I can do about that, either.¡± ¡°She¡¯s right. I too, want to quit this personal servant role as soon as possible and clean the imperial bathrooms as an ordinary servant.¡± When my gaze fell on Sir Reia, she answered so in a fluster, but it didn¡¯t seem like she was of much help. ¡°Please admit your loss. Honestly, you already have paralyzing poison circting through your system and the situation isn¡¯t going to change very much either, so weren¡¯t you trying to end it quietly by talking with Her Highness?¡± Honestly, I did want to end this match. But that was only because I was speechless at the sheer absurdity of the situation. I was not so untrained as to lose to this petty person simply because of a petty paralyzing poison. ¡°Her Highness is not a person who turns back on her word, but in cases where there hasn¡¯t been a definite oue such as this shetches onto theck of a conclusion and creates more annoying incidents¡­¡­ so good things being good things, admitting your defeat here would be the most beneficial option for all parties¡­¡­¡± ¡°My defeat is not a good thing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Very seriously, for the first time in a very long time, I was serious as I held up my sword. ¡°It is not a good thing. Although I didn¡¯t want the title, I, as a representative for all swordsmen¡­¡­¡± ¡°Uh, Ast. I think gramps¡¯s gotten serious?¡± ¡°A, Sir Ast¡­¡­¡± ¡°What the heck, Your Highness! What¡¯s with that expression of yours that you¡¯re finding this so hrious! And why are you looking at me with such a look of pity, Sir Reia?¡± Having sensed something was odd, he continually threw dagger after dagger at me, but none of them even grazed my body. ¡°Even like this, I am the one called the Sword Heaven, the one whose swordy reaches the skies.¡± ¡°Ah, wait, hold on, Your Highness? Isn¡¯t this going too far?¡± ¡°What was too far was all your action until now. It¡¯s alright, Ast, you won¡¯t die. But you do need to be punished.¡± Together with Her Highness¡¯s barely-controlled giggles, that man¡¯s face also hardened. ¡°Sir Reia, would you please lend me your sword? You can just toss it to me if you wish.¡± ¡°Eh? My sword?¡± ¡°Yes, well, he¡¯s the Sword Heaven, the one deemed the skies by swordsmen¡­ can¡¯t I get serious?¡± ¡°Well, but borrowing my sword is a bit¡­¡­¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯d grant me a wish if I made you beat Her Highness thatst time? I¡¯m cashing that wish in now.¡± ¡°Wa, wait¡­¡­¡± Sir Reia hesitated briefly before handing him her sword, half in tears. ¡°It¡¯s a sword that His Majesty bestowed onto me himself, Sir Ast. So please don¡¯t throw it or anything¡­¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t just try your best¡­¡­ actually please don¡¯t do anything¡­¡­¡± As she looked at her sword with uneasy eyes and retreated, he turned to me and smiled as he said. ¡°Thank you for waiting for me.¡± ¡°Are you not scared?¡± ¡°Why would I be scared. As a swordsman, how many opportunities would I have to fight the Sword Heaven without my life on the line.¡± ¡°Did you not say that you weren¡¯t a swordsman only recently?¡± ¡°I¡¯m wielding two swords, isn¡¯t it a bit incorrect to say I¡¯m not?¡± ¡°Hooo¡­¡­¡± The force he was emanating waspletely different from before. His appearance as he held up a sword in each hand with dead seriousness was that of a first-ss swordsman if you went by appearances alone. ¡°So you really are someone trained in the sword.¡± ¡°Trained would be an overstatement. I simply learned it to survive with how harsh the world has been ofte.¡± ¡°I will be the one to evaluate that.¡± ¡°Although as far as I remember I¡¯m supposed to be the one doing the evaluation here!¡± Sword met sword. No further words were needed. Swordsmen were people who spoke through their swords. The moment des shed, there was no need for any more words. ¡®Unlike what I expected¡­¡­¡¯ His swordsmanship skills were exceptional. Unlike the majority of knights who had a poor grasp of basic skills behind shy techniques, this man who so often used poisons and plots had an extremely solid foundation of the basics? ¡°Where were you taught?¡± ¡°I did my best on my own!¡± Each strike was heavy. The technique of putting power and weight behind one¡¯s de was not something that could be acquired in a short space of time. ¡®He wastes very few movements as well.¡¯ He evaded attacks with a single, even half-step margins, and was always ready to counter attack. ¡°Were you a mercenary?¡± ¡°I did my best in order to survive.¡± And his movements as he lightly drew his steps across the ground were onesmonly used by mercenaries. Unlike sword ki which usually didn¡¯t fit the person using it, his skills were right for him. ¡®How confusing.¡¯ The majority of sword techniques were designed to fight against humans. But his movements seemed to have been designed to fight monsters rather than humans. Especially the techniques which were used by people who fought monsters on a regr basis, skills they used when fighting beasts greater in size than they were, yet despite this there were no traces of awkwardness in his technique when he fought against a human. ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still twenty-six!¡± ¡°Ho ho, how odd. How odd indeed.¡± Every now and then you get these people called geniuses. People who improved at speeds unimaginable to the ordinary person. But because they grew too quickly, the majority of the time, theycked experience. But this man is different. He is no genius. No, I was assured of that. This man is ordinary. But the years expressed in his sword carried countless experiences that belied his age. From this fellow who wasn¡¯t even half my age¡­ I felt as if he had experienced a simr number of years of life as I had. ¡°As expected of Her Highness¡¯s subject¡­ is it?¡± ¡°I thank you dly if it means something good!¡± ¡°It¡¯s praise, it¡¯s praise indeed!¡± How many people were there who had umted this much experience at such a young age? ¡°Then I won¡¯t hold back either!¡± ¡°Yes,e!¡± The paralysis poison pulsing through my body? His previous filthy attacks? His attitude that waspletely uncaring about his lord? None of that mattered. Right now, he was simply another swordsman fighting against me! A battle decided purely by skill with the de! ¡°Dwarven-style, ultimate move.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Dwarven style? Had he even learned the swordsmanship of the dwarves! Not even I had fought against a dwarf, so just how much experience had he gained in his life! But at his following words. ¡°Knife de, fire!¡± ¡°You son of a biiiiiiitchhhh!¡± As he shot a hidden de shot out of his shoe, I realised once again that this was no swordsman but simply an asshole.(1) Chapter 118.2 - Side Story – A certain princess’s memories (10) Side Story ¨C A certain princess¡¯s memories (10) #13 Their story: A certain viin¡¯s story. Let¡¯s be serious here. The opponent is the Sword Heaven. The pinnacle of swordsmanship, a grandmaster that all swordsmen admire. While it is unfortunate that there are many nutjobs who wish to fight such a person, I am not included among those lunatics. So I¡¯d judged that the best thing to do was pretend to be decently serious and decently lose, and leave a decent good impression on him. But that damn princess saw through my n absolutely perfectly. ¡®If you don¡¯t fight properly.¡¯ Why was it that I could perfectly understand what she was saying by the movements of her lips alone. ¡®If you lose¡­ you understand?¡¯ And the paper she was waving in her hand as she said so was a marriage certificate with my seal on it. Of course, it¡¯s not one I had made ormissioned myself, but one she had made instead, but it¡¯s recognized by the empire as an official seal of identity. I don¡¯t even have any seal that looks like the one she¡¯s holding out of the seals I own. A seal that I didn¡¯t even make is considered official. Moreover, this is a fake identity I¡¯m using now, isn¡¯t it? But what can I do, it¡¯s official! ¡®Damn it all.¡¯ I¡¯d already kicked up a storm ofints, but the person in charge said that orders hade directly from the imperial family so he didn¡¯t have a say. I¡¯d gone andined to the princess as well but all I got back was a satisfied smirk. Feeling good about being yelled at, it was the moment where I wondered whether the rumour that all nobles had degenerate personalities was true or not. Well, unless the emperor gets a gunshot to his face it¡¯s not like that document will actually have any effect, but the moment that it gets registered will be the moment I start receiving nightly visits from assassins. ¡°You son of a biiiiiiiitchhh!¡± And thanks to that, I managed to achieve the feat of getting the famous Sword Heaven, the model swordsman and renowned for keeping his cool, to call me a son of a bitch. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice either.¡± ¡°Lies!¡± No, I¡¯m serious. The cause of all this is that evil princess giggling away over there! To think that this evil child is only ten years old. One way or another, the future of the empire is going to be bright indeed. ¡°In my entire life¡­ never have I been so ridiculed as a swordsman!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never been ridiculed like this over a marriage certificate.¡± ¡°Why do you only say such foolish things!¡± My word, the poison that had been working its way through his body was quite an expensive one, notwithstanding the fact that I had been carrying it around Her Highness. Yet despite his age he was swinging his sword around much too freely. I didn¡¯t think that this old man that even had the title Sword Heaven would be sneakily using mana¡­¡­ Was it the organisation? Was there corruption within the organisation as well! Was the reason that even a high-rank paralysis poison was being so ineffective because of military corruption? Damn it, to think there would be military corruption here as well! ¡°Kgh!¡± Ah, that¡¯s probably not it. Judging by how his colour is looking progressively worse, theck of effect seems to thankfully be due to the Sword Heaven¡¯s resistance to poisons rather than military corruption within the organization. Then let¡¯s try stalling for more time. ¡°Are you really going to continue acting like such a coward? Did you not say you were a swordsman just now!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that I was a swordsman because I wielded a sword? I just simply meant that I was a man holding a sword.¡± ¡°You, you little!¡± ¡°Oh dear, it seems that you¡¯ve misunderstood something, why are you getting angry over your own misunderstanding?¡± I taunted him as I threw the daggers I¡¯d picked back up. I currently had 22 daggers left. The majority of them were to be used as hidden weapons so they couldn¡¯t deal any major damage, but they could stall for time. ¡°Oh really?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± If that Sword Heaven hadn¡¯t started using magic, that is. ¡°Excuse me, but as long as the opponent does not use magic, I shall not either. Are you not going against the principles of those who bore the name of Sword Heaven?¡± ¡°Indeed. But I am not fighting a swordsman right now, am I?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You said it yourself, did you not. You call yourself a swordsman because you wield a sword, but are not a swordsman as I understand. My horizons have been broadened thanks to you. Indeed. A mugger doesn¡¯t call himself a swordsman because he¡¯s holding a kitchen knife, now does he?¡± With an evil grin and snicker, a green aura started to escape the Sword Heaven¡¯s body. A technique using magic power to eliminate toxins circting the body through the skin. A technique that can only be used if one understands their body perfectly and can manipte mana perfectly as well. A technique that someone like me needs to get the hell away from the moment I see it! ¡°Your Highness? I surrender. I overstepped my boundaries!¡± ¡°Hm? The one who made gramps cross his own line is all you isnt it, Ast? It¡¯s alright. Gramps isn¡¯t a dangerous man. He won¡¯t kill you.¡± Those words just now. That¡¯s my own educational motto so I know perfectly well what that means? Not going to kill you also has the other meaning of doing literally everything else but killing? ¡°Indeed, young man. Do you think I¡¯d go and kill a youngling with a bright life ahead of him?¡± ¡°Could you please put away your killing aura first?¡± As if he¡¯d already cleared away all the poison in his body, now his sword glowing with the light of sword ki was aimed firmly at me. ¡°Would the Sword Heaven really cut down someone who surrendered?¡± ¡°I am hesitant to leave you alone because I have no idea what you could get up to even if you surrender.¡± Ha, just how much of me had this old man seen. That he knows that fact so damn well? ¡°I¡¯ll throw away my sword.¡± ¡°S, Sir Ast! Don¡¯t throw it! I¡¯ll take it myself! I¡¯ll take it back myself! Although I dunno about Sir Ast¡¯s sword!¡± No, my sword was also bestowed on me by the imperial family as well, and you aren¡¯t going to take that back too? So was only one¡¯s own sword important to a swordsman! ¡®Hang on.¡¯ All of a sudden I had the perfect scenario ying out in my head. ¡°Your Highness, can we really not end this here?¡± Unlike before, the Sword Heaven continued to attack me even during my conversation with Her Highness. With this I knew very well just how much my standing in his eyes had fallen. Wait¡­ standing, had it even existed at all? ¡°That¡¯s not very like you. You need to see it through to the end.¡± ¡°So I¡¯m going to act like myself, then, Your Highness?¡± I had three daggers left. I¡¯d used all the knives in my right shoe, and only had one remaining in my left. The sword bestowed on my by the imperial family was already rolling around in the snow. So, three daggers, one hidden de in my left shoe, and Sir Reia¡¯s sword in my hand were all the weapons I had. But with this, no, just one single weapon, I could overturn this scenario in an instant. ¡°Do you think anything will change even if you take a stance now!¡± Having sent all pretense of good first intentions flying away to the Andromeda gxy, I gripped the sword with both hands as the Sword Heaven came charging at me, but swordy was not my objective. ¡°Kyaaaaahhhhhh!¡± ¡°Mm?¡± At the same time the Sword Heaven deflected myst hidden de and dagger, Sir Reia let out an ear-piercing scream. What they saw was me holding what one would call a trashy stance. Raising the sword high into the air at face-level, and exaggeratedly sticking my tongue out were the key points of note. ¡°S, Sir Ast¡­ what are you doing. Seriously! What do you have against my sword!¡± Sir Reia looked at me with eyes full of resentment and tears as she tried to approach me, but the moment she stepped forward I very mboyantly flicked my tongue. Flick. ¡°Kyaahhhhhhh! Stop it, stop it!¡± ¡°What kind of perverted¡­¡­¡± Sir Reia frantically backpedalled and the Sword Heaven lookedpletely lost for words as he watched the two of us. And I looked at those two and said. ¡°Sir Reia! If you do not defeat the Sword Heaven, your favourite sword with be dirtied!¡± ¡°You really!¡± ¡°Now what kind of bullshit is this now¡­¡­¡± ¡°Haha¡­ ahahahaha!¡± ¡°Your Highness! Don¡¯t justugh and please stop him!¡± Two stupefied swordsmen and a ten-year old childughing so hard she was crying as she watched the scene in front of her. To someone out of the loop it could look like a very heartwarming scene, but if the people in question were the imperial family¡¯s greatest lunatic the First Imperial Princess, the empire¡¯s youngest swordsmaster, and the Sword Heaven acknowledged by the entire continent, that would be quite the problematic situation. ¡°Ast, you really are the best.¡± The imperial princess raised a thumbs up as she went back to cracking up. Seeing her, Sir Reia realised that no help wasing from that quarter, and red at me with the most bloodthirsty aura I had ever seen in my entire life so far at the imperial pce. ¡°Enough with the jokes and leave my sword alone. A swordsman¡¯s sword represents the swordsman himself. What Sir Ast is doing is nothing less than humiliating me directl¡­ I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! I was wrong, Sir Ast! So please, please anything but that!¡± Shff. When I loosened my belt slightly, pulled my pants forward and moved to put the sword down my pants, Sir Reia who had been emanating a bloodthirsty aura immediately withdrew in tears. ¡°N, no! How, how could you do such a cruel thing!¡± ¡°You really¡­¡­¡± ¡°Oh ho, now don¡¯t you be getting any closer to me, either. Unless you want to see a swordsman¡¯s favourite sword getting sullied.¡± ¡°Sir Sword Heaven!¡± ¡°Oh ho¡­ this¡­¡­¡± Even for the legendary Sword Heaven this would be a first. If the owner of this sword had been a man, the moment I put it in my pants would be the moment that ce of mine would have been cut off, but this sword was Sir Reia¡¯s. It was Sir Reia who was oddly simple and pure so that bullying her was so fun. As someone whopeted with Her Highness over who could bully Reia better, I could attest. The moment this sword was dirtied, Sir Reia might never pick up this sword ever again! ¡°What kind of bullshit scenario is this¡­¡­.¡± ¡°You seem to be hunting for bullshit quite a lot. Have you learned no curses other than bullshit?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯m assuming you know a great variety of curses.¡± Of course. I came from the country with the highest inte use in the world, in an era of new insults with an all-purposenguage? I am the person who could show the people of this world who knew no better insults than the ssics, an entirely new world when it came to curses. ¡°Indeed I do.¡± ¡°Your Highness, shouldn¡¯t you really fire that little shit? Just how in the world did he even get into the imperial pce before he was your personal servant? If he was a servant then he had toe by rmendation, so just which household was it that put his name forward!¡± Which household, it¡¯s the evil organisation. My specs of being as good as I am at swearing is a positive in an evil organization. ¡°Uuuw¡­ but¡­ haa¡­ he¡¯s funny.¡± At the words of the imperial princess who could no longerugh anymore due to it physically hurting, the Sword Heaven turned to the sky and screamed soundlessly. It seemed like he was shouting ¡®just how has the empiree to this!¡¯ or something along those lines. ¡°Excuse me, but I want to quit as well. I carry at least five resignation forms on my person every day as I work. And I frequently submit at least one of those, with thetest version of the form to the pce¡¯s HR department.¡± ¡°Why thetest?¡± ¡°Because a certain someone always shreds my resignation forms the moment I hand them in.¡± ¡°You brought it on yourself.¡± How mean. Just because it¡¯s someone else¡¯s problem. I want to hurry back to the organization and get on with the sweet job of instructor as soon as possible! Not in this imperial pce where I could lose my head at a moment¡¯s notice! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir Sword Heaven!¡± ¡°Ho, hoho¡­¡­¡± Sir Reia picked up a short sword out of the des fallen on the ground, and threatened the Sword Heaven as she emitted sword ki. ¡°Oh ho, aren¡¯t you going to fight properly?¡± ¡°No, this is already¡­ not embarrassing at all! So please not my White Night(°×Ò¹)! ¡°Fufufu. Now that is a very good sword. Protect the empire¡¯s sun. Be a white night so the dark nights nevere! How beautiful name fit for such a famous sword. But white things are always the easiest to dirty. Depending on your actions, Sir Reia, your White Night might not be white anymore.¡± ¡°Ughh.¡± The sword ki on the short sword slowly turned into sword aura. How dare a swordsmaster not use sword aura, and in front of the Sword Heaven to boot, one of the five titleholders of the sword! ¡°Sir Reia.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But White Night¡­ is an important part of me.¡± ¡°I know that, but¡­¡­¡± Reia was biting down on her lips and the Sword Heaven had an awkward air about him as the two faced each other. And soon enough. ¡°As I thought¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s been truly a long time since I¡¯ve had to use sword aura.¡± Sword aura began to form on the Sword Heaven¡¯s de as well. The Sword Heaven was one who was evaluated based on swordsmanship alone, and for that reason the people who had seeded the Sword Heaven title often had little magic power but were solely dedicated to their swords, but nothing said that those who inherited the Sword Heaven titlescked in magic power. But officially, the Sword Heaven was not a swordsmaster. This was a situation where the Sword Heaven had brought out his sword aura that he had deliberately hidden in order to fight the prized female knight of the empire, the Sword Princess! ¡°Damn it, I need to work on inventing popcorn.¡± Thankfully I did know how to make popcorn. As long as I had dried corn kernels, oil or butter, and a pinch of salt even I could make it rtively easily. Although unfortunately I couldn¡¯t make caramel or soft drinks, popcorn is still the best spectator snack. I should probably ask the chefs at some point whether there¡¯s a tea that could potentially go well with popcorn. Just as I thought that. ¡°Uh?¡± Feeling as if time had stopped for a moment, I realised. I had made an unbelievably huge mistake. Because I had no mana, what I had focused the most on was my dynamic vision. Those who could use magic could drastically strengthen their physical abilities, and swordsmasters, those at the peak of the path of the sword, could move at speeds that surpassed my limits. That was the first mistake. ¡°I got it!¡± The sword in my hand, White Night, vanished. It was unimaginable. It was basic trickery. Pretending to fight someone else, and make me put my guard down. It was a very basic skill, but the person who had used it was none other than Sir Reia. That was my second mistake. That I had never thought of the possibility that Sir Reia would use her brain to blindside me. That because of Her Highness¡¯s and my bullying, she too, had slowly been changing! ¡°Now then, you need a beating.¡± My third mistake was that no matter how much of an asshole I had been, the one titled Sword Heaven would actually outright attack me while I was unarmed! And my final mistake. ¡°Damn it.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± That I was forced to reveal all my hidden cards in front of that damn princess. Chapter 118.3 - Side Story – A certain princess’s memories (11) Side Story ¨C A certain princess¡¯s memories (11) #14 Their story: someone¡¯s story. Self-proimed universe¡¯s strongest. My master, called by others one of the strongest swordsmen in the world, said. ¡°You really are a he weirdd.¡± ¡°The middle is always the best.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re a man you should aim to be the strongest.¡± ¡°Once I aimed for the strongest profession, a government official.¡± ¡°Not much in that life, is there?¡± I nodded as my master snickered. There wasn¡¯t much. ¡°So you need to get stronger.¡± ¡°I believe that with this much I¡¯ve learned everything worth learning from the universe¡¯s strongest master.¡± ¡°Indeed. You¡¯ve learned everything worth learning. You¡¯vebined body, mind and my swordsmanship¡¯s form(ÐÎ) into oneplete whole. Out of all of my disciples, the only one that can perfectly use my swordsmanship is you alone.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ve aplished your objective. Completed swordsmanship form, strongest disciple. Since you¡¯re the strongest could you please leave me alone. There¡¯s still many novels I have to read.¡± ¡°Oi, if your master¡¯s talking to you¡­ hey, wait. Stop right there. I¡¯m still reading that.¡± Master hurriedly took away the novel I¡¯d been reading. Damn it, knowing Master¡¯s reading speed it¡¯ll take at least half a day before I can read that again. That¡¯s thetest volume so could you please read it as soon as possible. There¡¯s not much time before I have to return it.¡± ¡°Tch, I get it. You said this is thetest volume? When¡¯s the next oneing out?¡± ¡°Ask the publishers.¡± Starting with manga, my master had been gradually been falling more and more into the path of subculture, and I could only sigh as I watched on. We spent a lot of time on standby so I¡¯d brought a lot of material to read, and what started as Master curiously taking a look or two had turned into him forcibly stealing them away from me. ¡°Damn it, my Overg***ed Volume 549¡­¡± It was an important scene where the enemy princess was falling for the protagonist¡¯s VR grandson.(1) As I grumbled and moved to pick up another novel, Master pped my hand away. ¡°Oho, my teachings still haven¡¯t ended yet!¡± ¡°¡­Say that after you put down the thing you¡¯re holding in your hand.¡± ¡°Ehem.¡± Despite blushing a bit, he still didn¡¯t put down the book in his hand. Pity. I¡¯m pretty confident I could finish that in 30 minutes. ¡°Damn it, just why is it that the weakest of my disciples fear me the least.¡± ¡°What I don¡¯t understand is why the others fear Master?¡± ¡°Tch, if you were strong enough to experience my swordsmanship properly then you¡¯d know. Then you¡¯d start growing some respect from this great master¡­¡­¡± ¡°Pfft.¡± ¡°Oi, what¡¯s thatugh. Just what do take this master for¡­¡­¡± ¡°A nut-¡± ¡°Okay that¡¯s enough. For the sake of King Sejong the Great(2) in the underworld I won¡¯t listen to the rest. Swordsmen can speak with things other than words so we can talk without him knowing.¡± I sighted as Master tucked the book away into his clothes. ¡°Please don¡¯t soak it with sweat likest time. That¡¯s thetest volume as well so if it gets ruined I really will get banned from the book rental ce.¡± Rental stores are hard to find these days so if that happens I¡¯m in deep trouble. ¡°Then buy it.¡± ¡°You know my sry. Plus my house is so small I don¡¯t even have any room for books.¡± ¡°I heard that people read with e-books nowadays?¡± ¡°I¡¯m paying my regr dues to the yellow house(3) for that, but I can¡¯t give up on the feeling of paper books.¡± ¡°Really now? I¡¯ll be careful.¡± Looking at Master who despite saying so, neither took the book back out or put his sword down, I sighed again. It couldn¡¯t be helped. I just had to end this before Master started sweating. ¡°Now, this is my new technique. It¡¯s something I¡¯m trying on you before I show it to the others.¡± ¡°You call it teaching or whatever, but in the end I¡¯m a human test dummy again?¡± ¡°Ho ho! I¡¯m showing you my strongest move, so what¡¯s a test dummy, a test dummy!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not copying a move from manga likest time, are you?¡± Last time I showed him a ssic samurai manga where the main character carried around a single-edged sword for non-lethal attacks(4), I got hit by a Ry¨±tsuisen and nearly departed this world. Sure you call it a blunt edge, but look at it from a slightly different angle and there¡¯s no way someone wouldn¡¯t die from a master swordsman hitting you full power with a steel pipe. Indeed! All those lines about manga character cutting people with a blunt edge were all lies! ¡°Hmhm, that was just that one time.¡± ¡°And when you read that manhwa which you thought was about humans fighting monsters, but was actually about humans killing each other, you tried to use that Sky sh(5) and I nearly ended up going to heaven?¡± ¡°Ehhehem.¡± ¡°And the time before that when you said you were going to try use santoryu(6) and you dropped the sword in your mouth when you said your jaw hurt, and nearly ended up putting a hole in my foot?¡± ¡°Khmhmm! Forget all that happened in the past!¡± ¡°Sure, although my body and life were at risk but if my heaven-like master says so¡­¡­¡± ¡°Th, thank you.¡± His expression was not at all thankful but if Master exploded then I was the one in danger, so I needed to hold it. ¡°This is for you as well so learn it. It¡¯s pretty useful even if you learn the basic forms.¡± ¡°And once I finish learning it you¡¯ll throw me to the low-rank disciples to teach them?¡± ¡°I pay you, don¡¯t I?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to learn.¡± Master¡¯s wages are higher than what I get on the outside. Much higher. Which is why I¡¯m still here no matter how filthy it is. ¡°Now, look carefully. This is the style that proves your master is the strongest in the universe. The strongest sword that even destroyss, the Moon Sunder de! Master raised his sword. But before anything else, my mouth moved first. ¡°Master, if it¡¯s the Moon Sunder de¡­ you mean you¡¯re destroying the moon?¡± ¡°Mm? And?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it was a sword that destroyss, Master? The moon isn¡¯t a but a satellite?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Master froze while still holding his sword. And ten minutester. ¡°Ah screw it! I¡¯m not doing this!¡± To hide his embarrassment Master threw a fit and ran away, and just when I was about to go back to my books. ¡°Ah, my O***geared Volume 549¡­¡­¡± If Master gets mad he can easily sulk for three full days. And new books were only allowed on loan for two. Just as I imagined the rental bookstoredy¡¯s voice ringing vividly in my ears saying that if I brought it back overdue again then I would have to take full responsibility for whatever the consequences may be. ¡°Master!¡± I barely managed to catch up to Master¡¯s fleeing back, and barely managed to console him by saying that since Mercury and the moon were simr in size his name was basically the same thing. With this new style, while the strongest in the universe was up for debate, regarding the title ¡®one of the strongest swordsmen in the world,¡¯ he could take out the words ¡®one¡¯ and ¡®of.¡¯ #15 Their story: The Sword Princess¡¯s story. ¡°Damn it.¡± A curse escaped from Sir Ast¡¯s mouth. With this, justice has been perfectly served. Since I was little, I had heard many stories of the swordsman titled Sword Heaven, but never had I heard of him attacking an unarmed person. In a different way, Sir Ast was a very incredible person. ¡°Huh?¡± But Sir Ast was an even more incredible person than I had thought. ¡°Setting Moon(ÂäÔÂ).¡± A small dagger flicked into Ast¡¯s hand from his sleeve. That tiny knife which seemed it would be good for nothing but cutting fruit knocked away the Sword Heaven¡¯s de just like that. ¡°What is this technique?!¡± A master of swordy that the entire continent acknowledged. The movements of Sword Heaven¡¯s de, who in terms of pure swordsmanship would not be defeated by even the Sword Star or Sword Disaster, were being one-sidedly controlled by his opponent. ¡°Severed Moon(½~ÔÂ).¡± ¡°Kgh?¡± ¡°Again?¡± The Sword Heaven¡¯s down swung sword tried to move back up for another attack, but was stopped again by Sir Ast¡¯s de. Even without sword aura, no, to begin with the title of Sword Heaven was given to those with pure swordsmanship skills alone, without the use of magic power. Right now, that man was currently being pushed back not by the use of mana, not by brute force, but by pure swordy. ¡°Huh?¡± And that sight indeed bewildered Her Highness, who had been about to be the first member of the imperial family to die ofughter. ¡°Hey Reia. I¡¯m asking because I don¡¯t know all that much about swordsmanship¡­ but it¡¯s not just me that it looks like Ast¡¯s winning, right? Or have I been swindled by a fraudster who self-proimed himself to be the Sword heaven? Or a swordsman that resembled Ast jumped in the fight while I wasughing.¡± Wordspletely out of character for Her Highness wereing out of Her Highness¡¯s mouth. Scenes that Her Highness, who believed in what she saw more than anything else, disbelieved to the point where she said those things. Ast was pushing back the Sword Heaven with a knife that you would only barely call a dagger, and more resembled a hidden weapon designed for assassination. Who on the continent could imagine such a scene? Fwomf- ¡°Ah. It is Ast after all. So was it gramps that was the swindler that was so simr I was fooled?¡± ¡°Just why do you insist on such dirty tricks even with that swordsmanship!¡± But the sword dance that seemed like an illusion was broken like a sandcastle with the sand Sir Ast threw. ¡°Ah, why¡­¡­¡± I whined unintentionally. I was immersed in a realm of swordsmanship that I had still not reached as a swordsman. Just when I felt that if I had kept watching for a tiny bit longer¡­ I could have learned something as well! ¡°Moonlight Break, Shatter the Heavens(Ô¹âÆÆÌìËé)¡± ¡°Kgh!¡± But Sir Ast continued his movements as if nothing had happened. ¡°What are you!¡± ¡°And let me ask the man who is called the sky of the sword. What is a sword?¡± ¡°What new trickery is this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a simple question.¡± As he expressionlessly swung his sword, Sir Ast continued to question the Sword Heaven. ¡°What is the sword? Is it the sword that exists physically? In that case is it the sword in your hand? Or the one in Sir Reia¡¯s? or this tiny thing in my own?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all swords!¡± ¡°Exactly. Which means that the kitchen knife held by a mugger is also a sword.¡± ¡°Now what are you insisting on with that!¡± I heard the voices of the two men over the background music of sword meeting sword. ng! ¡°Haap!¡± No matter how superior one¡¯s swordsmanship skills were, there were differences in the des themselves. In the end, Sir Ast¡¯s tiny dagger which didn¡¯t carry any magic power broke against the Sword Heaven¡¯s sword. ¡°Tch. It¡¯s exactly as I said. A weapon to hurt people, that is the basic nature of a sword. An item designed to kill people from its creation.¡± But Sir Ast deftly brought out another knife from his sleeve. ¡°That is not what the sword is!¡± ¡°No, it is. Humans are animals who seek convenience. We sharpened rocks, cut down trees, and eventually melted rocks, melted iron ore and created the sword. In order to kill animals, monsters, enemies stronger than them.¡± ¡°It is not in order to kill. It is in order to not die.¡± ¡°Humans are the ones to decide that.¡± ¡°And swordsmanship is what teaches it!¡± The song of swords meeting rang out once again. ¡°It is not. The ones teaching that swordsmanship are ultimately humans. Unless some god of swords descended and taught us directly, in the end, swordsmanship is simply a byproduct of the sword that was created by human hands.¡± ¡°Very well. But what is wrong with that?¡± ¡°I never said there was anything wrong with it. I simply answered your original question as to what the sword means.¡± ¡°So what is it you want to say?¡± ¡°It is as I have said. Swords were created by humans, swordsmanship was also created by humans. Therefore, it must also be humans who decide on what the sword means. What is the sword to you?¡± ¡°My sword¡­¡­¡± As the Sword Heaven mulled over it seriously, I also spaced out and thought it over. What was the sword to me? ¡®My everything.¡¯ ¡°My sword is my everything.¡± The Sword Heaven, too, thought simrly to me. No, I imagine the majority of swordsmen would think that way. ¡°And your sword is¡­ in that time?!¡± The Sword Heaven no longer bothered to get shocked, but only gave Sir Ast a look of exasperation as I followed his line of sight to find a short sword in Sir Ast¡¯s hands. ¡°I had something I never obtained no matter how I tried. Even if I tried to obtain in, I never grasp it in my hands. So I naturally became good with the sword that I continued to practice with. To me, the sword is my life. But unlike you, I do not live for my sword, it is but a tool in my life.¡± ¡°So it is different?¡± ¡°Yes, it is different. I am different from swordsmen who stake their lives on their swords. To me, the sword is simply a tool to live with. Much like a beast uses its ws and fangs to live, I too, hold a sword in order to live.¡± ¡°Not a life dedicated to the sword, but a sword for the sake of life¡­¡­¡± ¡°Using poison, hidden weapons, throwing dirt, digging traps or using my surroundings are all part of my sword.¡± ¡°What a bizarre sword.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bizarre life.¡± ¡°It is a sword I will never understand.¡± ¡°I did not live a life that others could understand, after all.¡± A bizarre sword and a bizarre life. A life where sword and life were identical. ¡®Is that how I am living?¡¯ Could other people understand my life by watching my sword? ¡°I see, I understand. So that is why I could not understand your sword the entire time. Everything was the sword to you.¡± Even as he saw the Sword Heaven nod, Sir Ast simply made a disinterested face. ¡°It¡¯s nearly lunchtime so let¡¯s finish this quickly. If Her Highness iste to lunch again then the head chef will scold me.¡± ¡°So time has gone by this much already.¡± When he noticed how far the sun had set, the Sword Heaven nodded and raised his sword. ¡°This is my strongest technique, take it. This is the Fifth Movement of the Flowing Heaven¡­¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time to listen to your technique names! Null Moon(ŸoÔÂ)!¡± ¡°To the end?!¡± Sir Ast stayed true to himself all the way to the end as he thoroughly ruined his magnificent scene by his own hands, and thrust his sword two beats quicker than his opponent. ¡°What?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be!¡± And with that two beat difference. ¡°Kughh¡­¡­¡± Defying both Her Highness¡¯s and my expectations, Sir Ast defeated the Sword Heaven. Chapter 118.4 - Side Story 12
Side Story 12
RATH Side Story 12 TL: Eevee TN: If anyone with ess to the light novel(s) can send me a copy(ies) so I can put up illustrations, that would be much appreciated.
Side Story ¨C A certain princess¡¯s memories (12) #16 Their story: A certain viin¡¯s story. ¡°I¡¯m gonna die¡­¡­¡± My entire body aches. The fight with the Sword Heaven was alright, but the problem was Sir Reia who came running in with sparkling eyes afterwards. ¡°Or was it my mouth that was the problem?¡± Boy did my mouth work very hard yesterday. When I realised that this encounter with the Sword Heaven wouldn¡¯t end cleanly at this one meeting I mashed up some lines I remembered my fellow disciples saying, made up some reasonable-sounding line to fool the Sword Heaven that ¡®thus everything until now has been my sword!¡¯ Was the problem that I worked too hard. When Sir Reia asked ¡°what do you think of my life when you see my sword!¡± that mouth of mine automatically replied ¡°the life of a spinster.¡± ¡°Damn that was scary.¡± A seriously angry Sir Reia was scary. The sword I got from the imperial family was broken in a single strike, and from there all I could do from her second strike onwards was dodgerolling on the ground. Her Highness intervened just as I was about to actually die so I managed to survive, but all the muscles of my poor body which overworked itself dodging the attacks of a swordsmaster were screaming bloody murder. ¡°But at least it was a fairly decent conclusion.¡± I managed to make the skies of the sword, the man respected by all swordsmen of the continent, the Sword Heaven, call me a bastard little shit. Once that spreads, without even having to go very far at all, the knights of the imperial court wille chasing after me because I used cheap tricks against the Sword Heaven. ¡°Now the most important thing is¡­¡­¡± That the reason I had to fight against the monster that was the Sword Heaven was the princess¡¯s petty revenge for me making her eat sandwiches with cucumber and carrot! ¡­Yeah no that¡¯s bullshit. I need to get out of here as fast as I can. The imperial pce is truly a ce where no man can survive. Bringing in the Sword Heaven just to screw me over, the scale of this prank was just way too massive. What if the princess got salty again and brought out the Sword Disaster or Sword Star next time? Unlike the Sword Heaven who had the qualities of a gentleman, the Sword Star was famous as a trash, while the Sword Disaster was renowned as a battle lunatic and rabid dog. Neither would do something as needless as not using magic power until the very end and fight their opponents with pure swordsmanship like the Sword Heaven did! It is said that the monk should leave if they do not like their temple, and since I do not like the imperial court I should get out of here. ¡°Or do I need to leave the organization first?¡± And so having finally managed to take my sick leave cum holiday I went to report to the contact from Howling within the castle walls to tell them I wanted to quit this job, but the answer was negative. The reason being that I was the closest agent to the imperial family so I couldn¡¯t be removed. And. ¡°Damn it¡­ the organization knows me too well.¡± I wanted to run away immediately but I started thinking it over again once I saw the numbers on my paycheck. There are more 0s on itpared to when I was working as an instructor, which paid quite handsomely in its own right. And not just one, but two 0s. I checked again just to make sure Treasury wasn¡¯t duping me with units, or whether this was silver instead of gold, but it is gold. That¡¯s the organization that can call itself the strongest evil organization in the thousand-year history of the empire for you. They know how to handle people too damn well! ¡°With this much money¡­¡­¡± Combined with the separate sry I get from the imperial pce, I think I can continue paying for the money sink that is the bat project. ¡°Hmmm¡­ what is this feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu?¡± It reminds me of my past life where the next month after the god if impulse purchases descended, I¡¯d have to work my ass off to pay the credit card. I¡¯m in the situation where the dwarves are demanding massive amounts of money despite them saying they weren¡¯t even sure what they were making so I was honestly unsure of whether to call the project off or not! ¡°Kghh¡­¡­¡± The end of my dream project, the bat project, or escape from the imperial pce where my life was at risk. The former would let me live the futurefortably, thetter would let me live today at ease. Meaning. ¡°If both paths lead me to regretting something no matter what¡­¡­¡± Then. ¡°I need to pick the future.¡± The idea of those only living in today being strong only applies to protagonists. Thus people like me who is always unsure of when I¡¯d cork it must prepare for the future. Why else would I be digging secret escape tunnels andying traps at the evil organization! Isn¡¯t this all for the sake of surviving when everything gets f***ed over? ¡°Well, I guess¡­ I suppose I¡¯ll just have to endure by teasing Sir Reia.¡± I¡¯d only be in the imperial pce for 3-4 years anyway. Afterwards I¡¯ll return back to my instructor job and teach kids. And in order to do that. ¡°Any further promotion is dangerous.¡± If I got any closer to the imperial family the organization will order me to stay put in the imperial pce. So I need to stay as discreet as possible, like a dead mouse. ¡­Was what I was thinking. ¡°Congrattions, Ast. You¡¯re a real noble now.¡± Immediately after I came back from vacation, I got promoted to Baron. *** ¡°Ah¡­¡­ that was a thing too, wasn¡¯t it?¡± I scowled slightly as I read through the letter that had been presented before me. The maids already disposed of annoying tea party invitation letters and the like so I rarely got any letters, but sometimes I did get important letters like this one. [Save us, Your Highness.] The moment I opened the letter I was shown someone begging for their life with tear stains dotted throughout the page. ¡°What to do?¡± The cause stemmed from before Ast fought the Sword Heaven. It was during one of Ast and I¡¯s regr strategy games. ¡°Now, drop magic bombardment here.¡± Reia started panicking as she saw the special bombing fall on the designated point. ¡°Uh? De, defend!¡± ¡°Mm, nope.¡± The new special bombardment that Ast had sessfully added to the strategy chess could not be blocked by ordinary magic defenses. ¡°¡­Hm?¡± It can¡¯t be blocked. The first one to use it wins. Meaning. ¡°The moment it¡¯s stolen that¡¯s literally the end?¡± If this was used in an actual war, the enemy would undoubtedly incur significant casualties. And if the enemy had something called a brain then they wouldn¡¯t leave it alone considering said casualties. They would definitely analyze the attack they received and prepare against it. ¡°Hmmm¡­¡­¡± Honestly, the way this bombardment works is actually very simple. It¡¯s simply a matter of producing water, simply freezing it and dropping it from high altitudes. And the magic barriers that specialise in blocking magic projectiles can¡¯t deal with the ice¡¯s physical mass and break apart, it isn¡¯t that there are any other special magics or techniques involved in the process. Meaning, if the theory is known, then anyone can replicate it. ¡°Is the conclusion I¡¯vee to.¡± ¡°Very well, Your Highness.¡± And after sending off a curbstomped Reia to the corner, crying despite merely being a stand-in, I said my thoughts to Ast who was leisurely brewing tea. ¡°Is that all?¡± Having developed a taste for tea I reached for the teacup, only for Ast to pull it away with a puzzled look on his face. ¡°It is but¡­ would Your Highness like some as well?¡± ¡°That was yours?!¡± It should be a matter of course for him to offer it first to his master, as I scowled at Ast bringing his teacup to his own lips, he grumbled but started brewing another cup. ¡°Of course I¡¯m brewing it to drink myself. Of course it¡¯s mine.¡± ¡°What kind of butler drinks tea by himself right in front of his master?¡± ¡°This butler right here.¡± At the way he so matter-of-factually said so, even the great I waspletely lost for words. ¡°It¡¯s done, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Mm, good.¡± I took in the scent of the steaming tea and took a sip. Slowly. As I savoured the taste and smell of the tea that thawed out my body, I thought rationally. ¡°Hm¡­¡­ so you¡¯re really not in your right mind after all, Ast?¡± ¡°Of course not? Just how many people with perfectly sane minds as I have exist in the pce?¡± ¡°Go and apologise to all the animals in the pce first.¡± ¡°Less than human?!¡± I smiled lightly as Astined. ¡°Ah, I nearly forgot about it. What I asked you just now. Is that really all you have to say on the matter?¡± ¡°Of course, Your Highness. I created a new bombardment that not even the imperial army had thought of, is there really a need for me toe up with the answer to defend against it as well?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Ast¡¯s exact position within the imperial pce was an ambiguous one, but he was first and foremost my personal butler. His duties were my education, assistance with my duties, and basic bodyguard. Asking him a question for the military would not be right. ¡°So should I hand it over to the army?¡± ¡°The empire has many talented people so they¡¯ll find it sooner orter.¡± ¡°True.¡± And so our conversation ended easily like that. But the day afterwards, it seemed that the researchers in charge of devising strategies and tactics did not have an easy day as we had. [We can¡¯t even. It is unstoppable. Please save us, we received an imperial edict to find a method to defend against this magic bombardment, but our useless brains cannot find a way to do so.] ¡°¡­What do you think, Reia?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think these people are useless¡­¡­¡± When I gave Reia the letter, she made a troubled expression as she read through it. ¡°Is it that difficult to do?¡± ¡°it is unless your everyday knight is at least at my level.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± They¡¯re words from someone who experienced it personally. If a swordsmaster, and one as skilled as Reia was the one saying so, I understood how dangerous that bombardment was. ¡°Hm¡­¡­ they¡¯re requesting for Sir Ast, but would Sir Ast really go?¡± ¡°Never.¡± This letter finished by saying that they wanted to meet the creator of this bombardment. Whether it was simply to meet to solicit advice, or get revenge for the one who gave them such a hard time, but either way they were strongly requesting for Ast. ¡°This entire incident came about because Ast said it isn¡¯t his problem, after all.¡± ¡°Although strictly speaking, Sir Ast is right just this one time.¡± A politician in politics. A soldier in the military. A bureaucrat in bureaucracy. Each of the three divisions in the imperial court had their own role and should focus on their role. I had no intention to deny what Ast had said on that matter. ¡°But the cause is Ast.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡­¡± But the one who created all this in the first ce was Ast. He could have just stayed still, but to beat me he created this weird bombardment. Meaning, Ast was the first one to invade other people¡¯s scopes of work. ¡°Ast¡¯s holiday¡­ ends tomorrow, right?¡± ¡°It does.¡± ¡°Would he go if we sent him out tomorrow?¡± ¡°He¡¯d never do so?¡± ¡°Probably?¡± He would never move at just amand from me as his master. If I wanted to send him over, I¡¯d need an imperial edict at least. ¡°Then I just need to give him justification.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Even though I brought in gramps¡­ the Sword Heaven I still failed to get one back at Ast. Then¡­ let¡¯s take this opportunity and get revenge. ¡°If Ast has no reason to work as my personal butler, then I just need to give a reason to do so.¡± ¡°Is there a way?¡± ¡°Yep. All I need is a pen and paper.¡± I quickly wrote out a reply to the letter. At the same time, I wrote another letter to be sent to Father, the Emperor. ¡°This should be fine?¡± And finally, Ipleted another letter to be sent to Human Resources. ¡°Reia, tell the maids to deliver this letter. As fast as possible. It needs to bepleted by the end of today. I needed to finish everything by the end of the day. So I could make Ast start working the moment he returned tomorrow! ¡°Is this really all we need to do?¡± ¡°Yep. To be honest the title of butler is that kind of thing.¡± Despite being able to divide the people in the imperial court into one of three lines of work, politics, bureaucracy, and military, a butler is the exception as it can be put into any of the three. ¡°A butler¡¯s primary duty is serving his or her master. Depending on what the master does, the work of a butler can also change.¡± If the master belongs to the military, they need to know militaryw. If the master is a bureaucrat, they need to know how to deal with bureaucracy. Same if the master is a politician. Reducing the workload of the master and helping them out with their work is the role of the butler, after all. ¡°And so if I enter the military then Ast will naturallye along with me!¡± ¡°I, I¡¯m a knight, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Mm. I know the knight orders operate separately from the military. But Reia, you¡¯re my bodyguard! Therefore from tomorrow onwards, you too, are a member of the military!¡± ¡°Ehhhhh?!¡± I grabbed onto a shocked Reia and hurriedly finished writing up the documents. As officers in the military needed a title of nobility at the very minimum, I decided to take this opportunity to give Ast the title of Baron. Although I might field someints, this was something the people in the R&D department, arguably some of the most important people in the military, had desperately requested. Stopping this essentially meant that they were opposing the military faction. And that was how Ast¡¯s unprecedentedly fast promotion was decided on. ¡°Ast should have lessints with this much, right?¡± ¡°It is the dream of allmoners to be a noble, after all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. And it¡¯s a baron title, which is an official title of nobility, after all. Even if he doesn¡¯t have anynd, it¡¯s still a very good reward.¡± Just a single day. That was how long it took toplete the documents to make Ast an official noble. Although I did overdo it a bit, with this Ast shouldn¡¯t have any problems working in the military, either. ¡°Was what I stupidly thought at the time.¡± When I turned my head slightly, I could see Ast rolling and screeching all over the floor. ¡°I don¡¯t want it! What did I ever do! I just want to stay an honourary knight! Honourably! I don¡¯t want to be a baron!¡± As I watched Ast throw a tantrum like a child on his first day back, I couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Chapter 119 - 14. To the world of farming! 14. To the world of farming! #1 Their story: A certain daughter¡¯s story. ¡°Uwuuuu¡­¡­¡± The fabric covering the windows were cleared away and the bright sunlight attacked my face. ¡°It¡¯s time to get up.¡± And with it came Dad¡¯s voice. ¡°Five more minutes¡­¡­¡± And I said the same thing I always say whenever I hear that voice. And, ¡°How about no?¡± Whoosh! Dad decisively steals away my precious nket. ¡°N, nooo¡­¡­¡± nkets are important. They¡¯re warm. They¡¯re soft. If you duck underneath them you can block the attack of the sunlight, and defend against Dad¡¯s attacks that threaten to wake me up. ¡°Hnnnnghhh¡­¡­¡± But I couldn¡¯t regain the nkets again. No matter much I reached out for the nkets, as small as I was there would be no way I could grab the nkets that were in Dad¡¯s hands. ¡°Five more¡­ five more minutes¡­¡­¡± But just because I lost my nkets that didn¡¯t mean that my sleepiness would be going anywhere. Five minutes. Just five more minutes and this sleepiness would run away~ ¡°You said five more minutesst time and you didn¡¯t get up.¡± I did. The reason that sleepiness can be banished is because I can keep sleeping. Last time I overslept as well and missed breakfast. So I was scolded by Dad. ¡°I won¡¯t do it this time¡­¡­¡± Angry Dad is scary. He won¡¯t take my hand even if I hold it out for him. He won¡¯t pat my head. He won¡¯t wipe me down after we finish bathing either. He won¡¯t hug me even when I get close to him, and run far away. He says he doesn¡¯t like me at those times. That¡­ is really scary. So really, just five more minutes. I¡¯ll get up after just five more minutes of lying down. ¡°I¡¯ll bring in your big sister if you keep lying around like that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m up! Ellie¡¯s up! You don¡¯t have to call in big sis!¡± Big sis is scary. Normally she takes care of me really well but when she¡¯s scolding me she¡¯s even scarier than Dad. Big sis doesn¡¯t get angry like Dad does. She doesn¡¯t scold me, and she doesn¡¯t ignore me, either. She just lightly flicks my forehead. But it hurts. It really hurts. It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t endure pain because I¡¯m too young. It¡¯s just that¡­ big sis¡¯s flicks really hurt. Not just me, but the other naughty children of the vige, and the drunk vige mister. And the wild boars that sneakily ate our hard-reared crops. And although no one else knew, the orcs that were going to invade our vige couldn¡¯t even fight back against big sis¡¯s finger flick, and were all beaten. The only one that can stand up to big sis¡¯s finger flicks is Dad. ¡°Are you awake?¡± ¡°Mm, I¡¯m awake. I¡¯m awake¡­¡­¡± For a moment I cried a bit. She¡¯s a good big sister¡­ but she¡¯s scary. ¡°Alright, time for breakfast.¡± Dad pulled me into a hug, wiped my tears and stroked my head. Dad¡¯s hugs are as warm as a nket so I nearly dozed off again, but since I didn¡¯t know when big sis would running in I shook my head and chased away the sleepiness. ¡°Wiing? Ya here Ellis? Let¡¯s eat! Soup tastes the best when it¡¯s hot!¡± Big sis yelled, having arrived before us, and was sitting on the chair and swinging her legs. You have to be careful when big sis swings around her arms and legs like that. It hurts just getting hit by those legs. Really! ¡°Here you are.¡± ¡°Thanks, Dad!¡± ¡°There, there.¡± I got a bowl of warm soup, bread, and vegetables. Vegetables aren¡¯t tasty, but when you sprinkle Dad¡¯s homemade sauce over them they get unbelievably delicious. ¡°It¡¯s sho good!¡± ¡°It¡¯s sho good!¡± ¡°Ellis, I told you not to copy the way Aru talks¡­¡­¡± ¡°Awu!¡± Dad¡¯s finger flicknded cleanly on my forehead. It doesn¡¯t hurt like big sis¡¯s does, but my forehead turned a bit red. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡­¡± ¡°There, there.¡± Feeling Dad¡¯s hand pat my head, I ate my breakfast. Dad¡¯s good at cooking, too. No matter how awful the ingredients taste, the moment the go through Dad¡¯s hands, they change into a tasty meal. Dad¡¯s amazing. Our Dad¡¯s the best dad ever! *** ¡°Mm¡­ hmm¡­¡­¡± Ellis¡¯ small hand diligently moved her fork as she ate her sd. Cute. Little children are cute. -Dint ya say ya didn¡¯t like kids? -Those weren¡¯t people. The children I knew weren¡¯t children at all. The imperial princess who was two years younger than Ellis was already batshit insane, and the kids in the organization that were simr in age to her were also monsters that didn¡¯t deserve to be called people. But our Ellis is different! I warmly looked over Ellis who was soon turning twelve. ¡°Does it taste good?¡± ¡°Yes, Dad!¡± Her pure smile pierced my heart. Ahh, simple and pure children are cute. To the point that I was proud of the past me that debated whether to abandon her or not but brought her along in the end. -And who¡¯sa one that stopped owner that was seriously gonna abandon her? -Thank you, goddess. -Hmph, if you know then bring me more delicious food! ¡°Moar!¡± The metal bat stretched out a hand that held an empty bowl that had once contained soup. ¡°Sure, sure.¡± ¡°Ah, me, me too!¡± Ellis scarfed down the remnants of her soup and held her empty bowl out to me as well. ¡°You¡¯re eating especially well today.¡± ¡°It¡¯s meat! People havta eat meat!¡± No, you¡¯re not a person¡­¡­ I¡¯ve gotten used to it by now, but I have no idea where food goes in andes out the other end on that. ¡°Mm! Everything Dad makes is delicious but it¡¯s even more delicious if there¡¯s meat in it!¡± Of course. Meat is the truth. ¡°Alright, then.¡± Seeing as I was getting up anyway, I filled up three bowls of soup, one for myself as well. I wanted to add a bit of pepper but there was no way that such an expensive spice would be avable in this backwater vige. To make up for it as best as I could I sprinkled a bit of a herb I found nearby, tore up the non-hard bread and dipped it into the soup. Although I couldn¡¯t replicate the bread of my past life,pared to the hard ck bread ofmoners, my bread is soft and delicious. ¡°Dad¡­ are you going to go to the fields after breakfast today as well?¡± ¡°Yes. Why, do you want toe along?¡± ¡°Mm! I want toe, too!¡± I looked at my adorable daughter whose sparkling eyes indicated how she¡¯de to love farming already. ¡°Uweeeeek! Nyooooo! Ellis shade y wif meeee!¡± Her character concept was supposed to be the big sister, but the way she acted was exactly like a little sister pestering her big sister, and I sighed reflexively. ¡°I, I can¡¯t¡­¡­ I finally have my own field! I¡­ I finally have something of my own to protect as well!¡± ¡°T, traitor!¡± As the metal bat pouted and grumbled, just in case, I warned her. ¡°You know what happens if you mess with the fields¡­ right?¡± ¡°Tch.¡± If this thing hits the fields, then the crops are done for. I did hope a bitst time just in case the fields would receive a blessing, but how much did I weep and rage when I saw the crops helplessly dying the next day! I don¡¯t want to see something like that happening ever again. ¡°I¡¯m bored~¡± ¡°Ehey, go y on your own!¡± After she followed me a few times to the fields and caused numerous incidents, I eventually banned her from all farm work. This ce has good soil and water, a perfect ce for the retired life I¡¯d dreamed of since my past life, but on the flip side, it¡¯s a boring vige with no amusement for the metal bat. At most the wild beasts that threatened to ruin our crops were her outlet to vent. But not even the wild animalse down anymore in fear of the metal bat. Meaning, Ellis is the only one that will y with her. ¡°Then finish the shed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s even more boring¡­¡­¡± ¡°Tch.¡± As the metal bat drooped face-down on the table, I clicked my teeth in annoyance. Considering what happenedst time, I couldn¡¯t even call for the dwarves, and under the pretense of building a shed, was secretly building an escape tunnel, but it¡¯s hard as hell to do it on my own. Shovelling aside, I wasn¡¯t used to swinging a pickaxe so every time I struck down my hands hurt a lot. ¡°Ellis, let¡¯s y~ let¡¯s go up into the mountains and get some tasty meat~¡± ¡°M, meat?¡± Ellis¡¯s eyes shook at the mention of meat. The twelve-year old Ellis still prefers meat over vegetables. In that case¡­¡­ ¡°But, Ellis. Tonight¡¯s dinner¡­ was going to be fries?¡± ¡°F, fries!¡± ¡°Kgh?!¡± At my announcement Ellis¡¯s eyes widened even more than when she heard about meat. ¡°Ellis¡­ you liked potato fries, right?¡± ¡°Mm, potato fries are tasty! Outside is crunchy, inside is soft and moist!¡± ¡°And when Dad¡¯s special sauce is added to it?¡± ¡°I, invincible¡­¡­.¡± As if just imagining it made her happy, I cupped her cheeks that were threatening to loosen entirely.¡± ¡°But to make potato fries¡­ we need to dig up potatoes first, and Dad needs to take care of the other crops today¡­ should we just not have fries today?¡± Those words caused Ellis¡¯s face to darken. Due to using a lot of oil, fried foods were an even rarer special treat than meat was. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Ellis¡¯ll dig up the potatoes! So potato fries tonight!¡± ¡°Fried vegetables are also good.¡± ¡°Mm mm!¡± ¡°Should we fry some pumpkin tonight as well?¡± ¡°P, pumpkin is good!¡± ¡°Hm¡­ if we had some chicken we could make fried chicken as well¡­¡± ¡°Th, the almighty fried chicken¡­ too?¡± Havinge to the greatness of the almighty fried chicken at an early age thanks to my teachings, Ellie was looking up at me like an apostle seeking salvation from her god. ¡°But in order to make that then Dad needs someone to help out?¡± ¡°Me! Me! Me!¡± As Ellis jumped up and down, hand high in the air as if she¡¯de running into my arms at any moment, I smiled like a winner. -How¡¯s that, this is how you conduct negotiations! -Cheater! You used fried food! And fried chicken at that! -Who was the one who brought out meat in the first ce? -Roast rabbit is just about all there is in terms of mountain animals, of course there¡¯s no way I can win if you bring out the chicken! -Of course, our lord and saviour fried chicken is almighty. How dare youpare some gamey-stinking rabbit with our lord and saviour fried chicken. I ignored the metal bat¡¯s sharp re as I began cleaning up the utensils from breakfast. ¡°Now, Dad¡¯s going to clean up the table, so go change your clothes and get ready, Ellis.¡± ¡°Yep, I got it.¡± Her short legs hurried pitter-patter up the stairs to her room. ¡°Can Ie watch too?¡± ¡°And kill all the crops again?¡± ¡°Haang, it¡¯s not like I meant to do thatst time!¡± ¡°You just fell over and the almost the entire corn crop was destroyed.¡± ¡°The earth¡¯s just too weak to receive this goddess¡¯s blessings. Raise it toughaaaaaaa¡± ¡°And whose mouth is it that¡¯s saying such things? Hm? Just how much corn died back then! Apologise! Apologise to all the corn that couldn¡¯t go into our bellies because of you!¡± ¡°Im soeeehhhhaaa¡± When I started stretching her cheeks apart she started apologising. Her stretchiness is still as superior as ever. ¡°As punishment, you are sentenced to dig the tunnel under the basement!¡± ¡°Wait, that¡¯s too harsh!¡± So it wasn¡¯t enough after all? ¡°Hmph, owner¡¯s been neglecting me too muchtely! Ya need some unnis like th¡¯ imperial princess ta start chasing afta ya again to understand my importance!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say something scary like that.¡± Our fields were only just beginning to stabilise properly. Unlike the potatoes and corn that had been sessful since our first year, we¡¯d only just started to grow wheat and other different vegetables thanks to the assistance of the other vigers, and just when we were finally starting on the road to sess, the princess appears! Just what is the reason that we farm even though it is tough and tiring! Is it not to feel the satisfaction of harvest! ¡°Hmph, take this goddess¡¯s curse! Owner¡¯s fields¡¯ll burn to th¡¯ ground in the future!¡± ¡°Such a horrifying curse¡­¡­. And if that happens, your meals are also going to burn with them!¡± ¡°Uwiik! That¡¯s no good!¡± I ignored the metal bat as she was internally debating revenge against Ellis and I for not ying with her vs her meals, and continued to clean the morning dishes, and just as I finished up, Ellis came back downstairs, having transformed into a perfect image of a little farmer. ¡°I¡¯m ready, Dad!¡± ¡°Hm, perfect.¡± A straw hat to ward off the sun and sturdy clothes that would let anyone know from a miles away that the wearer was a farmer. And for the finishing touch, a white scarf around her neck! ¡°Yep,pletely perfect!¡± Our brightly smiling Ellis was no longer an ordinary 12 year old girl, but a perfect aspiring farmer with three years of experience already under her belt! ¡°Tools?¡± ¡°All ready!¡± In her skinny hands was a basket full with all sorts of tools. ¡°Alright, we are perfectly ready for battle.¡± ¡°Yes, captain!¡± I looked over Ellis¡¯s inexact but adorable salute with a smile. ¡°Today¡¯s weather!¡± ¡°Mister sunshine is bright and sunny! Perfect weather for farming!¡± ¡°Very good, today¡¯s objective!¡± ¡°Potatoes and other assorted vegetables! We¡¯re aiming for ingredients to fry tonight!¡± ¡°Yes we are, and if we finish up quickly today then I¡¯ll see about going into town for some chickens.¡± ¡°Yessir! I¡¯ll do my best!¡± Excellent, she¡¯s full of motivation. ¡°Then move out!¡± ¡°Move out!¡± ¡°Bye bye~¡± With the metal bat¡¯s half-assed farewells, we started heading towards our fields that weed the warm sunlight. Four years since escaping from Yugrasia. We were now full-fledged farmers. Chapter 120 Chapter 120 14. To the world of farming! (2) It ismonly said that autumn is the season to read. Not too hot, and not too cold. Is it because it¡¯s good to read outdoors in the cool autumn wind? But autumn is also known as the season of gluttony. Is it called that because there are many festivals in autumn that evenmoners can attend? Or does it signify gluttony as the reward for our hard work in the summer heat? I can answer that. Because of one simple reason. The reason why autumn is the season to read. The reason why autumn is the season of gluttony. It¡¯s because! ¡°Autumn is harvest season!¡± ¡°Sheeson!¡± At my words, Ellis who had been harvesting potatoes with dextrous flicks of her wrists suddenly jumped up and shouted with me. Although she was copying the metal bat, it¡¯s fine this time because she¡¯s cute! ¡°Yes, that¡¯s how it is. Everything that happens in autumn is because it is rted to this harvest.¡± ¡°Harvest time, best time!¡± Ellis made a noise of exertion as she stretched out her spine, and went back to her potatoes. Even though she¡¯s a child, Ellis is already a veteran farmer! The moment she tapped the potatoes with her hoe, they seemingly crawled out of the garden and into her hands on their own. ¡°And of you want to do something, you need to fill your belly first. In the spring you need to sow the seeds, and the summer you have to wage war on the weeds. So there is no time to read books or to eat!¡± ¡°I hate weeds¡­¡­¡± Ellis pouted as she channeled her resentment for weeds into her hoe. The speed which potatoes came out got faster. Weeds are powerful. To a beginner farmer, it looks like ordinary grass, but weeds stick their heads out from absolutely everywhere. Day, after day, after day, after day. Every time their heads were taken and uprooted whole, but the next day they would show themselves in a different area. There is no end to the war against weeds. They appear anywhere, and exist anywhere. The only time the war ever ends is during winter where nothing happens. And that¡¯s not even a permanent end either. It¡¯s simply a ceasefire until next year! ¡°Wait, that¡¯s not the point.¡± ¡°Dad, your hands are slow. It¡¯s fine to talk, but keep working!¡± I was being scolded by my daughter who had at some point dug up more potatoes than I had. ¡°You can only ever get things done on a full stomach.¡± ¡°Mm, being full is good.¡± ¡°Reading is only possible with food. They say books are food for the mind, but they do not fill the belly.¡± ¡°Books are boring. Farming is more fun!¡± Oho, how adorable as a farmer¡¯s daughter. ¡°But in order for it to be called the season of gluttony, there needs to be things to eat. If you¡¯re hungry, you are not being a glutton, but simply looking for something to eat.¡± ¡°And so autumn is the season of harvest! Is what you¡¯re saying, Dad?¡± ¡°Yes I am!¡± My little girl lifted her head up. In her eyes were traces of disdain. ¡°Then get to work.¡± My daughter pointed once at the potatoes she dug up, then once at the potatoes I had dug up. There was almost twice as many in her pilepared to mine. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°You said thatst time as well?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best!¡± She sighed like a farmer, acting unlike her age. ¡°Dad was the one who said that we needed to harvest at least half in order for there to be no problems with our ns.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The speed of the hoe in my hand intensified. ¡°We need to finished the potatoes within the week, and harvest the corn and wheat as well.¡± ¡°Ye, yes we do!¡± ¡°I worked hard even while I was talking with Dad so why did Dad not do any work while you talked?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best!¡± This is not me being scolded by my daughter. This is simply one farmer criticizing another. Digging up potatoes even while saying so, her talents as a farmer that already surpassed me almost made me fear for the future. ¡°Let¡¯s get on with it!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Thump! Thump! The sound of hoes hitting the ground echoed throughout the field with no more talking. Yes, this is the harvest season. But soon the winter, the season of cold will be upon us. Winter is cold. I don¡¯t wanna go out. In order to not go out one must prepare firewood and food in advance. Autumn is the harvest season, but there are so many things that need to be prepared it wouldn¡¯t be strange to call it the season of preparation. ¡°To think I¡¯d have to prepare for winter here, too.¡± I thought I¡¯d never have to prepare for winter after I was discharged from the military. ¡°It¡¯s hard for us if we don¡¯t prepare for winter. It was hard for usst year too because we didn¡¯t have enough firewood.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we didn¡¯t have enough firewood¡­¡­¡± ¡°No! We didn¡¯t have enough! We didn¡¯t have enough firewood just because we had roast potatoes and roast sweet potatoes(1) a few times! So this year we need to prepare enough firewood for the roast potatoes and sweet potatoes we¡¯re going to be cooking during winter, too!¡± My little sweeties was increasing my workload for a strong desire for food. Just where had she picked up these bad habits? -Winter firewood? The mountains¡¯re overflowing with th¡¯ stuff, wazzit matter if we take some! -That¡¯s my big sis! Of course there¡¯d only be one. There were no traces of anyone tracking us anyway, and the metal bat was extremely unhelpful in childcare to the point where I considered sealing it in the shed. ¡°Alright. Then in order to do that, we need to harvest all the potatoes by the end of today.¡± ¡°Mm!¡± When two experienced farmers put their minds to the harvest, it didn¡¯t take long for the wooden box to fill up with potatoes. ¡°There we go, that¡¯s today¡¯s quota done!¡± ¡°Owiewie done~¡± My little girl going ¡®owiewie¡¯ as she clutched her back and leaned backwards looked very dependable. ¡°Then the promise?¡± ¡°Alright, today¡­ is chicken!¡± ¡°Sniffle¡­¡­ I¡¯m d to be alive.¡± Ellis likes fried chicken very, very much, to the point where I wondered if she had any Korean blood in her.(2) I wanted to cook up a chicken a day for her, but for the sake of her future, it was still too early for Ellis because she was in her growth period. ¡°Alright, now should we go put our potatoes away in the shed and go out to the vige to buy chickens?¡± ¡°Mm! Big sis¡¯ll be happy we¡¯re done early, too!¡± Tch, I could have spent some quality time alone with my daughter for the first time in a while. It seemed that my sweet daughter wanted to bring that damn metal bat along with us as well. ¡°I suppose we should.¡± ¡°Mm! Big sis can¡¯t farm so she¡¯s looking after the house every day! Being alone is boring!¡± ¡°Ellis is a good girl.¡± ¡°Mm, Ellis is a good girl!¡± I unconsciously pat Ellis¡¯s head with my dirt-smeared hand. Normal girls would have gotten angry that their hair was dirtied, but as a brilliant farmer already, Ellis was at MAX affinity with the earth and simply giggled happily. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Mm!¡± After checking again that Ellis had her bum firmly on the card carrying our potatoes, I started pulling the cart in the direction of home. Three years since we had settled in a sleepy rural vige, and it was a very satisfying life. #2 Their story: A certain daughter¡¯s story. ¡°Oh my! Ellis! Have youe shopping with your Dad?¡± ¡°Yes! Big sis is with us today, too!¡± The auntie selling skewers in the market smiled as she saw using. ¡°Oh my, Aru¡¯s here too?¡± ¡°Mmhm, Aru¡¯s hea!¡± Big sis doesn¡¯t get the chance to get out very often. Dad¡¯s kind but very strict towards big sis and he doesn¡¯t like it when she goes out. He¡¯s stopping big sis from leaving the house while saying strange things like the world¡¯s peace would be endangered just by her going out. ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good. Auntie¡¯s feeling good seeing all of mister Mellen¡¯s little girls gathered together for the first time in a while. Now, here, a present.¡± ¡°Thank you very much!¡± ¡°Fank you very much!¡± When auntie held out two kebabs, big sis very quickly said thank you and took them. ¡°Hey, hey¡­¡­¡± Dad doesn¡¯t like receiving charity from other people. But kebabs are meat. They¡¯re tasty. I know that Dad cooks meat for us more often than other families but there¡¯s still never enough meat. ¡°How much is it?¡± ¡°Now, mister Mellen. I just gave them the reject parts that aren¡¯t worth selling. Think of it as a little service for all the times you buy from me.¡± ¡°But¡­¡­¡± ¡°Dearie, mister Mellen¡¯s so stubborn.¡± While Dad was chatting with auntie with his wallet open, the kebabs had all disappeared into our tummies. Dad could scold us for thister but the allure of meat is just too strong! ¡°She said itza fweebie. We got something we hafta get so let¡¯s hurry!¡± Big sis tugged on Dad¡¯s pants. Dad scowled slightly but sighed, said to auntie that he¡¯d buy lots of kebabs from her in the future and started walking through the market to buy chickens. ¡°Ellis. Don¡¯t copy your big sister just because she¡¯s doing something.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡­¡± Dad wordlessly stroked my head at my apology. ¡°Hehe~¡± Dad¡¯s hand is big and hard but it feels really good. ¡°We¡¯re here, the chicken store!¡± ¡°Oh my, it¡¯s Aru? It¡¯s been a while?¡± While I was indulging myself in the feeling of Dad¡¯s touch we reached the store of the auntie that sold chickens. ¡°Oh my, mister Mellen. You¡¯re here again? You do buy a lot of chickens from me. You must be good at chicken dishes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s more that I like them rather than being good at them, Mrs Rechell.¡± ¡°Dad¡¯s chicken is the strongest!¡± ¡°Mm, invincible chicken!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is, but it must be really good.¡± ¡°Mm mm!¡± I nodded strongly to the chicken auntie¡¯s words. Fried chicken is the strongest. It¡¯s invincible. It¡¯s the strongest food that nothing else in the world can beat. It¡¯s unimaginable crispiness can¡¯t even remotely bepared to ordinary roast chicken. And then, the moment I reach the chicken meat hidden underneath the fried coating, I¡¯m hit with an unimaginably powerful feeling. Even more than when I¡¯m harvesting the crops I worked so hard to grow! And then when Dad¡¯s special homemade sauce is added on top, I can no longer escape the magic food that is fried chicken. Dad¡¯s chicken is perfect. It¡¯s perfect as it is. But when Dad¡¯s sauce is added to that perfect food, it turns it to somethingpletely different. The fried chicken is already perfect as it is. But it¡¯s still perfect when the sauce does a 180¡ã twist on its taste. Meaning, a number of perfect dishes the same as the number of sauces can be created. Dad¡¯s fried chicken is a food that I will never get bored of, that will always stay delicious even if I eat it every day! Hooray for fried chicken! ¡°It, it must be really delicious.¡± ¡°Ellis, drool.¡± Big sis whispered into my ear as chicken auntie said so. ¡°Schlurrp.¡± The drool that had gathered in my mouth had started dripping out without me even noticing. Thankfully it seemed that Dad hadn¡¯t noticed because he was busy picking out what chickens to buy. ¡°Thanks, sis.¡± ¡°What, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Dad¡¯s kind but he¡¯s very very strict when he¡¯s scolding me. I know why he¡¯s scolding me but not being scolded is still the best. Angry dad is scary! ¡°This, this and this one should be good. Ah, this one, too.¡± ¡°Four in total.¡± ¡°Because chickens should always be!¡±¡±One chicken per person!¡± Big sis and I shouted naturally to auntie¡¯s words. Chicken should always be one chicken per person! Fried, roasted, boiled, everyone should have one chicken per person. Then fights won¡¯t break out. Everyone wants drumsticks, but no one wants the neck. But if you cook only one chicken, then someone gets the legs, and others get the neck or breast. Of course chicken breast is tasty, too. It¡¯s easy to eat because there¡¯s no bones, either. But there¡¯s a massive world of difference between it and the legs or wings. That¡¯s why fights break out. Chicken is that important of a food! But if it¡¯s one chicken per person, every problem can be solved. Everyone can peacefully enjoy their chicken. ¡°So that¡¯s why four!¡± ¡°So that one chicken per person can still happen even if the grandpa next door steals one!¡± The grandpa that lives next doores to our house quite often. And every time he does he steals away some of Dad¡¯s cooking, which is precious to us. Even if I know that Dad¡¯s cooking is so good it can¡¯t be helped, that doesn¡¯t stop us looking poorly at the always-kind grandpa. Ruining the one chicken per person is something we can¡¯t forgive even grandpa next door for. ¡°Aha, so does old man Steon also eat with you?¡± ¡°Grandpaes over like a ghost whenever Dad makes fried chicken for us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice, if even Steones over for it then I¡¯ll also have to give it a try some time.¡± Cockiooo! The chicken screamed as it was killed by the smiling auntie. There was no such thing as mercy in auntie¡¯s hands which cut off the chicken¡¯s head in a single strike. Her skills as she beheaded the chicken and plucked out its feathers was something I couldn¡¯t ever hope to replicate myself. If I dreamed of being a pro farmer, then auntie was already a pro chicken butcher¡­ no, even beyond the realm of a simple professional! ¡°Mister Mellen¡¯s children are as amazing as ever. Most children feel sorry for the chicken when they see it die¡­¡­¡± ¡°The children know the taste of chicken far too well for that.¡± ¡°Hohoho. Although that does make them very good customers for me selling chickens.¡± Dad seemed mildly embarrased, but Dad was the one who made me this way. So everything is Dad¡¯s fault! Dad was the angelic devil who introduced big sis and I to the magic of chicken! ¡°Here we are, four chickens, plucked and gutted.¡± ¡°Here you are.¡± Dad handed over the money to auntie. Auntie took the money and waved at us as we left. And now, that chicken was now ours. Our dinner, fried chicken! ¡°Tonight¡¯s dinner is fried chicken!¡± ¡°Uwoooooo!¡± ¡°Chicken, our lord and saviour fried chicken!¡± Big sis and I both let out shouts of joy at Dad¡¯s words. As our reward for working hard today, we obtained chicken for tonight¡¯s dinner! Right now¡­ I¡¯m extremely happy! Really! Chapter 121.1 121 Part 1 Running Away from the Hero Chapter 121 To the World of Farming! (3) We went straight home after buying chicken without looking at anything else. The simple double-story house was made of wood and located on the outskirts of the vige. The house¡¯s strength and weakness was that the old man next door was our only neighbor since the nearby area was used for farming except for a small cabin. Of course, I was thankful for that since I was being chased. ¡°We¡¯re home!¡± ¡°It¡¯s home!¡± I followed the two running kids to the house and opened the door. ¡°Oh, wee back. I have been waiting for you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s you again, old man?¡± I saw an old man sitting like it was his home right after I opened the door. I had been astonished to learn that this man lived next door. ¡°Grandpa!¡± ¡°Hello, Alice!¡± Alice ran to him and threw herself in his arms, and he also hugged her like he was in a good mood. -He¡¯s a nice person... -His body is not, right? -A lot. While his face had a kind expression, his body spoke otherwise. I had to ask him what his job was because his physique was so perfect. He was different from ordinary knights, who maintained their muscles through magic. His body was trained like mine was, but he was thirty years older than me, and I was nearing fifty. That meant he was maintaining that perfect body in his seventies! -I thought he was a trap set by the princess at first. -That girl would easily find someone like that. -Yes, I thought she must have sent a swordmaster or the previous Holy Swordsman. -She brought in a master of swordsmanship and the current Holy Swordsman to set you up. You might have hit the nail. -Yes. I had thought I needed to run, but it was now a thing of the past. While the old man seemed like a hidden swordmaster, but the only time I saw him hold a sword was when he cooked. That kind of a swordsman would need to use his sword. I trained every early morning despite thinking myself not a swordsman, and someone who seemed to have hidden secrets like him would not let his sword rust. ¡°Buying four chickens was the right choice.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I was scared of you ring at me every time I had a bite, Alice.¡± ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s Grandpa¡¯s fault since stealing chicken pieces is a bad thing!¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa¡¯s sorry.¡± The old man did not lose his kind smile while listening to Alice¡¯sints. ¡°I brought a few beers as a gift.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Chicken and beer! Since people mostly drank ale here, I felt nostalgic at this old man¡¯s rareger brew. ¡°Is itger?¡± ¡°I only have one bottle ofger.¡± ¡°There are only four chickens.¡± ¡°...Half is mine.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you a whole chicken.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± I reached an agreement with the old man, and now it was my turn. ¡°Assistant!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Alice was already attired in a battle uniform as she rushed to me from the old man¡¯s arms. She was wearing an apron and a bandana that would prevent her hair from getting in the food. ¡°We begin the battle.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Alice saluted and quickly washed her hands at my serious voice. She was a skilled farmer by day and an experienced assistant by night! How perfect my daughter was! ¡°I¡¯ll trim the chicken, and you grind the bread.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Alice began to grind the bread leftover from breakfast with practiced movements. ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± There are four chickens, and all were suitable for frying. ¡°Hmm...¡± While their feathers and intestines had already been taken care of, I needed to trim them a bit more to make fried chicken. I removed the unnecessary parts and cut them to appropriate pieces. I rubbed flour on the chicken morsels I had cut by wings, legs, and breasts. ¡°I finished, leader!¡± ¡°Nice job.¡± My daughter finished her battle with perfect timing and brought the well ground bread crumbs. ¡°They are perfect.¡± The bread crumbs were amazing to the extent I would have stroked her hair if I was not cooking. Her talent was amazing to make such well ground breadcrumbs without a mixer in this short period. ¡°All right, let¡¯s get the batter on them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s beautiful...¡± The chicken pieces wearing white skin were now dunked in eggs. I stared at my daughter¡¯s entranced gaze at the wet golden chicken pieces and covered them with bread crumbs again. ¡°How is the oil?¡± ¡°It¡¯s ready!¡± Fried chicken makes even a metal bat work. Was fried chicken that amazing a dish, or was the bat extraordinary to know the magic of fried chicken? ¡°The temperature seems good.¡± I threw in a bit of the batter to check the oil¡¯s temperature. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± The chicken pieces were dropped in oil, and I worried at my daughter shaking in ecstasy at the moment the chicken met oil. However, I turned my gaze to the chicken being fried with loud, seething noises. Temperature and timing decided the quality of fried foods. The insides might be raw, or the bread crumbs may burn just by the timing being a bit off. While I had not been able to make soy sauce and other sauces and failed in making kimchi, I had to seed in making fried chicken as ast shred of pride as a Korean. Chapter 121.2 121 Part 2 The chickens began to dance in the oil as I shook the handle with a shout. ¡°You¡¯re amazing...¡± While my daughter had to scold me while farming, I could not fail here. ¡°All right, the first time is done.¡± Two chickens were fried, but they were not cooked all the way through. I put the other two chicken in and sliced into the freshly fried chicken and put them in oil again after taking the chicken out. The perfect chicken now showed itself. ¡°Fried chickens are done.¡± ¡°Holy chicken...¡± I gave a whole chicken to Alice, who was drooling a bit, and the metal bat another one as it sat on the table with forks in its hands. ¡°Here you are.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I served one each for the old man and me and ced fried potatoes and the sauces I had prepared beforehand. Now, the perfect spread for a fried chicken party wasplete. ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s!¡± The two children who did not drink alcohol started to delve into the chicken. The old man and I stared at them with gentle eyes before pouring beer in our sses. ¡°Then, shall we also eat?¡± ¡°All right.¡± I gulped down a beer with the sound of wooden sses nking against each other. I had not liked alcohol but drank it from time to time. I had just been careful about having a ss of liquor because I did not know who would chase me when and where. However, things were different now since I guessed that no one woulde after me anymore. I had hidden that well and was being careful due to the time I had lost a lot of money at Eugrasia. While I had only grabbed the cash I had stashed the deepest, I had enough to livefortably farming. I had been greedy at that time when I could live adequately with just this amount. Also, now I had a cute daughter who seemed not to have a hidden past, not to mention a nostalgic ss of beer and chicken. ¡°I¡¯m happy.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Daddy, I want...¡± ¡°No!¡± I pped Alice¡¯s hand away as she tried to hold my beer ss, and she looked at me with sorrowful eyes. ¡°Liquor is!¡± ¡°For adults~¡± While her sad gaze stared at the ss, it was too early for her. It might taste like nothing or bitter for children, but Alice might be talented at drinking. I could handle my cute daughter drunk, but it really was too soon. ¡°Haha. Yes, Alice is too young to drink now.¡± ¡°Ali knows how to farm now...¡± ¡°They are different things.¡± The way Alice stuck her lips out was cute. I put in three fried potatoes inside her mouth, and she smiled brightly as she chewed on them. ¡°How does it taste?¡± ¡°Yummy!¡± The old man and Iughed loudly at Alice, chewing the potatoes as if she had never sulked, and we drank while eating chicken. ¡°I can always make more potatoes, so eat as much as you like.¡± ¡°All right!¡± I had harvested most of the potatoes, and I only needed to wash and fry them to make delicious fried potatoes since there were no pesticides here. ¡°The potatoes go well with the beer.¡± ¡°A potato can be used in all kinds of food.¡± ¡°I found myself questioning the way I had lived my life when I realized that through Alice.¡± The old man ate the fried potatoes with beer whileughing loudly. While we had already finished off theger, there was enough ale to get drunk on. ¡°It seems the taste had changed just by switching beers.¡± ¡°The taste changes just by a sauce.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The beer disappeared instantly after our sses met, and while it was not potent, I never had drunk aftering to this world. I had never been able to drink during missions, and I could not do so when I did not know how my students would betray me no matter how well I was protected. It had been the same next to the princess who had tried to hold one over me in the pce, and I only remembered sipping at a ss of wine or two in some banquets. Therefore, while I had been a drinker in my past life, I now became tipsy after a few beers. ¡°I¡¯m dizzy.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t drink much.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I bent my head a bit to apologize to the old man, who looked at me like he still wanted me to drink. My teacher, who had taught me how to use a sword, told me that nothing was more dissatisfying than when the one a person was drinking with became drunk. The teacher could drink all of his students down, and I felt my eyelids dropping. I might get a good night¡¯s sleep. ¡°Then, Alice will drink with Grandpa now!¡± I became wide awake at hearing Alice¡¯s voice as I fell. ¡°I¡¯ll scold you.¡± ¡°Daddy?¡± I spoke to the metal bat as I pointed at Alice, who remained rigid, trying to reach for my ss. ¡°Al, teach her a lesson.¡± ¡°Daddy? Anything but that!¡± While I faltered at Alice teared up, I had to be strong, since amodating her too much would ruin her habits. I needed the coldness I had as a drill sergeant before! ¡°I see my bad sister.¡± ¡°I made a mistake! I won¡¯t say I want alcohol until I be an adult!¡± ¡°Toote!¡± The metal bat began to follow Alice as she ran away, crying. I started to fall asleep again as I watched the metal bat chasing after Alice, keeping a manageable distance for its amusement. ¡°I¡¯ll catch you, catch you, catch you!¡± ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± ¡°Hahahaha!¡± While the table was filled with the smell of oil, I let my eyelids drop, hearing the children¡¯s screams and the old man¡¯sughs. It was a peaceful day again today. proofread by Rondo Chapter 122.1 122 Part 1 Running Away from the Hero 122 To the World of Farming! (4) #3 Other stories: An old man¡¯s story A pink-haired girl twisted her body to avoid a silver-haired girl¡¯s attack. ¡°Amazing!¡± While the evading movement was fluid enough for me to be surprised, the pink-haired girl seemed dissatisfied with it. ¡°Unnie! Unnie! Since Daddy is asleep, can¡¯t we rest now?¡± ¡°No! A bad child has to be scolded!¡± ¡°I hate you!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± I could not hide my smile, watching them running everywhere. I would have had cute granddaughters like them if I had not been immersed in my swordsmanship and instead married and had children. However, it was toote to regret anything, as we cannot turn back the past. I had spent my life for my sword and broke ties with my family to get stronger. I had believed that my prowess was everything for my swordsmanship. A year, a decade, and thirty years passed, and I started being called the Holy Sword rather than my name and was confident that I had been right until I lost the title. I had not imagined that I would lose to a female warrior in her twenties, my title! I remember my fight with the current Holy Sword now, and we had fought for a week. She had been strong as a swordsman and had powerful magic. However, I was stronger than her, since I had used my sword longer than her age, and that time gave me power as experience. However, she was stronger than me on one point, and I lost to her because of only that difference. It was a sword! No matter how good the sword¡¯s quality is, it is no use if the user does not have the skills. That was my belief, and I thought any sword would be suitable for a swordsman if he had the skill. Then, what is a sword? It is a weapon a person used for self-protection ording to human history. The individual picked up a sword because humans were weaker than beasts, monsters, and demons. We used tree branches first, and then fixed rocks onto it, which we sharpened by grinding. After humans learned magic, we endowed it onto the sword and used rare metals like mithril to earn more. We can see by going back in history that we used a wooden stick to protect ourselves. Therefore, I thought of a long branch I picked up during a walk as my sword. Something better would be a luxury. I believed I could maintain my title with a stick if I had enough skills! It actually had been realistic, since every challenger fell under my sword until the current Holy Sword came. However, my sword broke down during my fight with her, who had been the strongest challenger I had met. A stick was a mere stick, no matter how much I strengthened it with magic. No matter how much I was stronger than her, the tables turned on the moment my sword broke down. I still clearly remember what the current Holy Sword shouted after looking at my sword breaking down. She had said that a mithril sword was the best one could have. I lost just like that, and she took away my title as the Holy Sword. If only I had fallen because I used too much magic, or I was weaker then her. Even if I had lost to someone with a younger physique, I would not have let go of the sword I had kept with me my entire life. However, the only difference between my loss and her win was the weapon. I was stronger and knew about the sword more than her! I had lost my title, which had been my lifework, because of a weapon! While I had been wandering without contacting my family to relieve my anxiety, I kept failing to do so and could not pick up my sword even now. Twenty years passed since then. The previous Holy Sword was no more, and only Steon, who made liquor in a rural vige, was left. However, I remembered old memories with regret whenever I drank. It may be more urate to call it past regrets. Was skill more important for a swordsman, or was a weapon really the priority? Who could answer my question? Would Heaven¡¯s Sword, who was said to have reached the sky with his skills, know the answer? Or would the Noble Sword, the master of the Keshar family, called the greatest swordsman family name of thends, see the answer? ¡°It¡¯s empty.¡± While I tried to pour beer into an empty ss, the beer keg was already empty. The chicken and potato dishes that my next-door neighbor had made were all gone, and while I felt satisfied, I was still a bit hungry. ¡°Grandpa.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Sadly, I was staring at my drunken neighbor Merln lying down and the table with empty dishes when Alice came to me and tilted her head. ¡°You seeded in running away.¡± ¡°We agreed that I would y with her tomorrow! It¡¯s a secret from Daddy!¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± I stroked Alice¡¯s hair without realizing it. She was cute enough now to break a few hearts in the future and also had a lovely character, possibly from Merln¡¯s teachings. ¡°Yes, Alice, why did you call me?¡± ¡°Oh, yes! Do you have something on your mind?¡± ¡°Do I?¡± ¡°Yes, you looked just like you were thinking about a problem as you drank between sighs!¡± ¡°You caught me.¡± I was a bit embarrassed when I raised my head to see Alice stare at me with worried eyes. I had been sighing enough for a young child like her to notice, and I really felt like I had be an old man. ¡°Yes, I have something on my mind.¡± ¡°Then ask Daddy! He knows everything!¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, my father¡¯s amazing!¡± Iughed at Alice, pointing at her father while nodding. I felt a pang of envy at a daughter who had faith in her father and a father who could receive such trust. ¡°Would I get an answer if I ask Merln about it?¡± ¡°Yes! Daddy takes up all sorts of problems since he solves everything that I ask him!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him about thister on.¡± That would have been the opportunity. I understood that the weapon had been the important thing because of Alice¡¯s passing statement. *** ¡°Yes?¡± Was I still drunk, or was my hearing awry? ¡°I was the previous Holy Sword.¡± I thought I had heard wrong, but the old man repeated the same thing. ¡°You...were a Holy Sword?¡± Chapter 122.2 122 Part 2 I had heard many an old man in a rural vige like this say that he had been a famous adventurer when he was young. However, this time it was the Holy Sword. While I would have suspected that it was a lie, those perfect muscles that tried to burst out of his clothing were convincing evidence. ¡°You might not believe it, but it¡¯s true.¡± I remained silent while I wanted to say your muscles made me believe you. ¡°Are you drunk?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m lit up!¡± I shrank for an instant as he raised his hand, stinking of liquor. Was he saying the truth under the influence of the alcohol, or just saying nonsense as a drunk?! ¡°I was the Holy Sword, but I lost to the young current Holy Sword just because of a sword.¡± While that old maid was not young in any chance, if what he was saying was true, she would have been younger as I heard that she had be the Holy Sword in her twenties. ¡°I had believed that a swordsman just needed to use a weapon that fit his skills. However, I lost the title from the difference between weapons.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes. My Miniature Tree, which had been my sword, broke under a mithril de.¡± A miniature tree? ¡°Did you use a wooden sword?¡± ¡°No, it was a branch I picked up from somewhere.¡± I had heard that the previous Holy Sword had been a crazy guy who used a wooden stick as his sword...but did that mean what he was saying was true? Was my next-door neighbor the previous Holy Sword? Can a coincidence like this really happen? Was it the princess and her dastardly ns?! Would shee out and say that my peaceful life had been a hoax?! ¡°I had to use my bare hands since my sword broke down. I was a swordsman who had protected my title, but the opponent was stronger than others. I began to fall behind as the time passed, and I lost.¡± ¡°Was that so.¡± Under the assumption that this old man was really the Holy Sword, it was astounding that he had endured that monster¡¯s attack with his bare hands. ¡°I saw you swing your sword every morning, and your posture was decent.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too kind.¡± ¡°No, while I gave up on my sword, I can still recognize your hard work.¡± His eyes were warm like a senior looking over on his junior. Had he really been the Holy Sword? I began to believe that he had been, and at the same time, felt overwhelming anxiety. What was the probability that my next-door neighbor was the previous Holy Sword in this vastnd where millions lived? What star was I born under for a situation like this?! ¡°Alice told me that you could solve any problem that came to you.¡± ¡°Well...for a girl at her age, her father is the best in this world.¡± That was why I was raising my daughter sternly now since Alice might rebel against me when she became a teenager saying she hated me. I just wanted her not to be a delinquent like the metal bat. ¡°While I hesitate to say something like this...but I want to ask you as a swordsman. Which do you think is more important, A weapon or skills?¡± A choice between a weapon and sword skills? Normally, the obvious choice was skills since someone weak would lose no matter what weapon they held. However, this case was different. ¡°It¡¯s absolutely the weapon.¡± ¡°Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The old man looked surprised at my firm words. ¡°Aren¡¯t you embarrassed to depend on your weapon as a swordsman?¡± ¡°Yes. A weapon is part of one¡¯s skillset. Acquiring a high-ss weapon is hard work like training and learning new skills are.¡± ¡°However...¡± The old man seems not to have understood my meaning despite the fact he had said it all. ¡°You have said the reason why you called your wooden stick a sword. Human beings have made swords first out of wooden sticks, stones, copper, and then steel.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± His frown told me that he still had not understood. ¡°Why are you so adamant in going back in history? Did we go from wood to steel because we were stupid? We use them because they are more convenient and stronger.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true...¡± ¡°We worked hard to achieve that. It might be true that dwarfs had done it much earlier, but humans still managed to be the strongest race in thisnd despite how we still have not caught up to them through our efforts.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with a swordsman¡¯s weapon?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying that it¡¯s the same thing with a weapon. If you¡¯re going to use one, wouldn¡¯t it be better to use a stronger one?¡± ¡°As a swordsman...¡± This old man is getting tiring. ¡°Can we spar now?¡± ¡°With you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll solve your problem.¡± I left behind after the old man nodded and went to Alice¡¯s room. ¡°Daddy.¡± I stroked Alice¡¯s hair as she ran to me and reached out to the metal bat who was smiling strangely. ¡°I have to do something with your sister, so please wait.¡± ¡°Does it end soon?¡± ¡°Hmm...probably.¡± ¡°All right! Unnie, hurry!¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go after I finish up.¡± The metal bat smiled in satisfaction as she looked at Alice, waving at her with a bright smile. The door closed with a bang, and the metal bat started tough evilly. ¡°It has been so long since we had a party!¡± ¡°You know what we¡¯re about to do, right?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± I held the metal bat¡¯s hand with my right one, and she started to melt to form a handsome silver sword. -Is this form, all right? -It looks like a good sword. The emperor who built an empire once said that items never betrayed. -Is there really an empire like that? -There is, in a novel. I would follow in the emperor¡¯s footsteps and make the old man realize the importance of items. -Are you attacking an old man? -It¡¯s me respecting my elders. I¡¯m solving a problem he kept in his chest for this many years! I desperately hoped that he would leave this vige with that realization. I did not see anyone who was previously a named warrior and feared the chaos the previous Holy Sword would bring to my life! -I think you¡¯re the one who brings chaos... -That¡¯s not true! I was going to spend the rest of my life in peace in this quiet vige! I was going to teach a lesson to the old man as my first step. proofread by rondo Chapter 123.1 123 Part 1 Chapter 123 To the World of Farming! (5) #4 Other stories: An old man¡¯s story ¡°Have youe?¡± I saw Merlne out of the door holding an antique silver sword in his hand. ¡°Is that your answer?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I picked up the tree branch I had found nearby as he nodded. ¡°While it has been a long time since I held a sword, I don¡¯t think I will lose.¡± ¡°If you are the previous Holy Sword, you would usually be able to win against a nameless swordsman like me.¡± ¡°Usually?¡± I know that he was stronger than a nameless swordsman. However, his opponent was me, the previous Holy Sword. How can he be so confident? ¡°Do you not believe me?¡± Well, if the old man living next door told me, ¡°I was actually the previous Holy Sword...,¡± I would not believe him myself. ¡°No. I would not have prepared this meet if I did not believe you.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± If that¡¯s true... Is that man saying that he could beat me? ¡°This is a demonic weapon created by a dwarf family. They fear it, saying that this sword was their masterpiece.¡± ¡°A demonic weapon?¡± Dwarfs are a cksmith family. They are said to be born betting their lives on metal and fire, and each one of them is a skilled warrior and artisan. The swords they usually make are considered high-ss weapons, and the weapons made by a masterpiece with painstaking skill were called divine weapons because they are said to have been graced by God. A weapon called the demonic weapon that is feared by them. ¡°Is that a cursed item?¡± ¡°It can be said to be cursed. A curing curse.¡± ¡°A curing curse?¡± ¡°Yes, this sword cannot hurt people.¡± A sword that cannot hurt people? ¡°Do you mean that you cannot cut people with it?¡± ¡°I also cannot hurt anyone by hitting with this.¡± A sword that cannot cut or hurt people? ¡°Then why is it a demonic weapon?¡± A demonic weapon would ce a heavy burden on the user or curse the opponent. A sword that cannot cut would not be called a demonic weapon and instead be considered a failure. ¡°It has a strong curing effect.¡± ¡°It is all the more then, not a demonic weapon.¡± His exnation became even stranger. If there was a high healing effect, would it not be a healing item instead? The answer Merln gave me was something else. ¡°Instead, it gives extraordinary pain.¡± ¡°Pain?¡± That¡¯s the only reason the sword was a demonic weapon? ¡°It really, really, really, really hurts! So much that a person cannot endure it.¡± ¡°A swordsman should be able to endure that.¡± ¡°A swordsman who has reached the heights cannot endure this pain.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I nodded but could not understand that pain could make that sword a dwarf¡¯s demonic weapon. Some swords would track down an opponent until death, or swords that inflicted unheble wounds. However, to think that a sword that only gives pain would be called the worst demonic weapon that dwarves have made. Was not pain something that always followed a swordsman? ¡°I¡¯ll let you have first hit.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll not refuse.¡± Merln swung his sword after taking a position, and it was an ordinary low blow. However, the posture was first-ss, and I blocked the sword by lightly swinging my stick. ¡°You have thought me too easy...what?!¡± I felt an amazing shock! ¡°Thi, what is this!¡± I screamed in instinct, as I could not name this pain! ¡°Wa, wait? Ah!¡± I felt a sharp pain all over my body when my sword met his. I had lived with my sword for as long as I can remember. Even though I had not held a sword for a while, how could a pain like this exist! ¡°Stop!¡± This was the first time I let out screams like that. ¡°Not yet!¡± ¡°S, stop!¡± I realized why that silver sword was a demonic weapon as it flew at me, dissipating sword auras. Death was rest for warriors, but that demonic weapon did not give a warrior death. It meant endless pain. What kind of an evil weapon would give out ongoing pain of ungodly proportions?! ¡°Doesn¡¯t a swordsman need to finish after lifting a sword?¡± ¡°I stopped being a swordsman! So, you can stop now!¡± ¡°All right.¡± Merln let go of the sword as he nodded. ¡°What!¡± Arms and feet came out of the sword and started walking towards me as it hit the floor. ¡°It¡¯s a demonic weapon.¡± ¡°What does that mean?!¡± I got goosebumps all over my body. While it was crawling, it was fast enough to fly at me! ¡°Ahhhh!¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s a demonic weapon, it hits people until it¡¯s satisfied. Of course, you don¡¯t die.¡± ¡°Kill me instead.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a demonic weapon.¡± ¡°Arrgh!¡± The silver demonic weapon attacked me by swinging its limbs as Merln bowed his head. ¡°You¡¯re the owner!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a demonic weapon.¡± ¡°Why do you keep saying the same thing!¡± I gave up on his help as Merln only kept repeating the same sentence. A weapon is only a weapon! I can take on a weapon without its owner! ¡°Transient Sword Principle!¡± The reinforcing aura I had not been using for a long time gathered on my weapon. If the reinforcing aura covers something, even a stick can cut steel. And if I focused more! ¡°Only a demonic weapon!¡± I had not used the Master Art of the Transient Sword Principle, the Definite Sword, after facing the current Holy Sword, but now it appeared once more in my hands. And what was this? The demonic sword took on my most powerful attack and just charged me. ¡°Wait, what is this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a demonic weapon.¡± ¡°You only keep saying that!¡± The legs on the sword kicked my ankle and I let out a groan. The demonic sword climbed on me as Iy on the floor. I was scared. For a moment, after I first grabbed my sword when I was seven, I felt fear for the first time. A sword mounted me. While I would have met human eyes if it was a human being, I could only see a grotesque de with limbs of a demonic weapon. ¡°Wait, wait a minute, demonic weapon.¡± I had be a senile old man who spoke to objects, but the demonic weapon seemed to understand my words. Chapter 123.2 123 Part 2 ¡°I lost, so let¡¯s end hereeee!¡± The demonic weapon nodded. While only the de shook a little, I could feel it. Then, I could not find my senses from the two fists that pumped out of the sword. I wanted to die. I would felt a relieving rest if I could die! ¡°Arrrgh!¡± However, the pain became stronger with each hit. Dwarves had made many divine weapons and a simr number of demonic weapons. Only twelve dwarf families existed after the world came into being. I had to realize what it meant that one of them named this sword their worst demonic weapon. ¡°Stop, stop!¡± It had been a long time since I cried! I had not cried because I was beaten at thirteen, and it was because of anger and not pain. However, I was now crying because of pure pain! ¡°Weapons are the best, and demonic weapons are all the better! So, please stop!¡± However, the demonic weapon was ruthless, and it attacked my face and body with the two hands protruding from the de without stopping. The only thing I could do was block the attacks with my arms, but the pain was the same. I was then beaten by the demonic weapon until I could not feel anything, and I realized that weapons were the best when I could not even beat one of them. *** ¡°Ah, that was refreshing!¡± I fell deep into thought as the Metal Bat came running at me with a bright smile. While I had seen many old men who had said they had been strong once, no one had used the reinforcing aura. That was evidence of being a sword master. What was the possibility of an old man living next door being a sword master, who could not be found easily in the Empire? ¡°Isn¡¯t it easy to find a sword master? Manye out near you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Let¡¯s see, Lude and Sia had been sword masters, I had met the current Holy Sword, and Aris had also been one... ¡°The princess chasing you is one, and her twelve subordinates are all sword masters, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s really easy to find a sword master.¡± The possibility that my old neighbor being a sword master rose significantly. The era changed to an era of sword masters! A swordsman needed to be a master if he wanted to be recognized as one! ¡°Human beings may rule the world in this era.¡± ¡°I think you yed a significant role.¡± I had strengthened the human race too much, and I needed to bring them a notch down, especially those around me. ¡°The battle power of the human race increases every time you run away.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say that¡¯s wrong.¡± Damn, I had strengthened those around me to make my life easy, but now it was choking me in a butterfly effect. Those who were not sword masters had be one. ¡°Would this old man be the legendary grand sword master?¡± ¡°That¡¯s really a legend.¡± ¡°I had heard of the Sword Master Knights as a legend, but they had been real.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true!¡± Reality always exceeded fiction. While the story of those who did note out of the house being popr had been fiction, one had be President in reality. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°It happened.¡± Something amazing had happened, which the Metal Bat had not experienced. ¡°What are we going to do with that old man? Finish him off?¡± ¡°No! Attacking or killing people like them leads to hidden sessors, descendants who had been finding his traces, or if not being a student, a hero who he had taught some skillsing and searching!¡± ¡°There¡¯s too many.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we don¡¯t normally touch people like him in hiding.¡± I had not touched old men living quietly when I had been working at the syndicate. Retired entrics were not called by that title without reasons. Most of them sent assassins wearing masks away, saying they wanted to live in peace unless they were directly relevant people. I could not be an extra who was swept in the death of such a person. If I was polite enough to my senior, others did not act unless I had something to do with them directly. ¡°Therefore, we will escort the old man home. And then.¡± ¡°And then?¡± ¡°We run!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time.¡± ¡°Yes. Unfortunately, our stay hase to an end.¡± While I was sorry to let the unharvested corn go, I would be able to get some money for them if I tied them and sold them at a special price. ¡°It¡¯s sad since we have stayed here for a long while.¡± ¡°I feel the same, but it cannot be helped. To think that my next door neighbor is the previous Holy Sword.¡± Most of the sword masters I had seen were those who hade to capture me. The syndicate sent sword masters after me, and the imperial family and the princess also had done the same. I had made Aris one by throwing snowballs to catch No. 17. Therefore, this Holy Sword may try to capture me aftering into contact with a strange person. So, I had to run! ¡°No!¡± However, I had another person in tow than usual. ¡°I don¡¯t want to move when we have not even finished the harvest!¡± I saw Alice staring at me with teary eyes. ¡°We have an emergency.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s...¡± Our next-door neighbor is a sword master. I can only convince the Metal Bat, who has indirectly experienced my life and whose soul was connected with mine. ¡°Um...a scary person mighte chasing us.¡± ¡°A scary person? Who is that?¡± Innocent eyes stared at me. I had seen the eyes of a predator in front of prey, and who saw the seedlings of the Evil God, but I had no tolerance for eyes like this. ¡°Um...¡± ¡°Master, you have a lot. You can just name one of them.¡± The Metal Bat whispered in a small voice next to me as I thought things over. -It will make me look suspicious. -You just chose to flee in the middle of the night. How can you be more suspicious? That was true. ¡°You¡¯re lying! No! I like it here! I like thends I farmed with you!¡± ¡°Alice...¡± You make your father happy, but... ¡°You don¡¯t have to go somewhere else because of me when she¡¯s talking like that.¡± I heard a dying voice and saw an impressive physique while I was deep in thought. ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°I understand everything.¡± I decided to observe the situation staying here as I watched the old man smile with deep understanding. However, I regretted the choice in less than a year. Chapter 124.1 124 Part 1 Chapter 124 To the World of Farming! (6) #5 Other stories: An daughter¡¯s story A week has passed after Daddy told us that we would move. Grandpa next door convinced my father to stay here! I harvested the crop this week, using my happiness as power. I managed to finish harvesting potatoes, wheat, and other vegetables, and now we were going to harvest the cornfield, which was left for thest. Oh! ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re not working again!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Iined to Daddy, who stopped his hands. There are times he stopped working to think, and I would have to scold him quickly. Winter ising! ¡°Daddy, hurry!¡± ¡°All right, all right. Aren¡¯t you too hard on your daddy?¡± We have to harvest the corn and store them well quickly. Corn can be ruined easily than other products, and corn is not the only thing we seeded on the cornfield. There are beans and pumpkins here and there. Daddy said corn hurts the soil, and we have to protect the fields by nting beans and pumpkins. In contrast, I do not know why it will be true since Daddy had said it. ¡°Umm...¡± I reached out to an ear of corn nearby, but my arm was too short. I hated being short at times like this. I wanted to grow up faster so I could harvest the corn at the very top. ¡°It looks delicious...¡± I tried to reach the corn on tiptoe, but I only can smell the sweet corn. Corn is yummy when roasted or boiled like potatoes. While Daddy had not fried them, that also seems tasty. Also, corn can be made into a powder to make bread or pressed for oil. Chicken made from corn oil is the best. ¡®That may not be a corn dish.¡¯ I hesitated, but Daddy always said that a good thing was a good thing. Therefore, corn was good since we could use it to make chicken. ¡°Umm...¡± I jumped to harvest that ear of corn but failed. I was focusing on the beans in disappointment when someone tapped my back. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Meow!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± A cat I sometimes gave food to had poked my back. ¡°Big sister is busy.¡± I was not treated as an older sister in this vige, as I was the youngest since the fruit merchant¡¯s daughter was born a month earlier than me. Only babies who could not go outside were younger than me, and that was why I had to take in cats as my younger siblings. ¡°Meow!¡± ¡°No, no.¡± Were they dissatisfied because I had not been able to y with them because I had been busy with the harvest? The cat had listened to me in the past but was now hitting my back. ¡°No, really! I have to harvest all the beans!¡± Daddy had said that he would take care of the heavy pumpkins and the corn up high. Therefore, I was in charge of beans, which would make good oil. Chicken fried in bean oil is also tasty as chicken fried in corn oil. Fried chicken is always yummy! ¡°Meow!¡± ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up with you?¡± While there had been many cats, all of them were smart. They would wait for me when I was farming or harvesting. Had something happened? ¡°Daddy! Can I leave for a moment?¡± ¡°Did something happen?¡± I could not see where Daddy was since he seemed to be working hard. I only saw corn rustling. ¡°Cats are all over me! Something may have happened.¡± ¡°Cats? That cannot be helped. Go on now.¡± I had been worried that he might scold me since I had, but my father had arge heart. ¡°Meow!¡± ¡°All right, I¡¯ll hurry.¡± The cat started running the moment I stood up, and it seemed to be urgent! ¡°Meow! Meow! Meow!¡± ¡°Meow!¡± I heard cats meowing frantically as I soon neared the mountain. Something must have happened! ¡°Hey, you guys. What happened?!¡± The cats were usually quiet, and they shouting like that made me run faster. I saw red blood and screamed. A golden cat with shining fur had arge wound! ¡°I never saw this one before...you guys haven¡¯t done this, right?¡± These nice cats would never do such a thing since they began to rub against my body and meow as if to ask me to solve this situation. ¡°I have to go to Daddy!¡± Blood was still flowing, and what I could do was to report to Daddy as quickly as possible. That was the best method he had taught me. However, the injured cat wed at me with sharp eyes as I approached it to carry to my father. ¡°It hurts.¡± I grabbed the scratch marks on my palm, and red blood flooded down from it. It hurts. ¡°Grrrr!¡± The fallen cat staggered and then stood up to re at me, telling me toe near it. ¡°You¡¯re hurt!¡± ¡°Meow!¡± The cat shouted while supporting its body with shaking legs. However, I knew that the cat was only wary about thingsing near it because it did not want to get hurt anymore. I lived through that and had not been a good child to Daddy. However, he hugged me no matter how I resisted him! So, now was the time I had to buckle up! ¡°It¡¯s all right.¡± ¡°Meow!¡± I approached it carefully and put out my hand. I heard that cats did not like people touching their palm, belly, and tail. I had whined where I should touch them at first but now was different. ¡°Meooow!¡± ¡®Ah...¡± I grabbed the cat¡¯s body when its gaze stared at me. The cat wounded my arm with a scream, but more blood seemed to be flowing from the cat. ¡°It¡¯s all right. Don¡¯t worry. Daddy will take care of everything!¡± Chapter 124.2 124 Part 2 While the cat¡¯s nails bore into my flesh, now was the time to calm it down. I stroked its head with one hand like Daddy did and ran to where he was and shouted. ¡°Daddy!!¡± ¡°Alice?¡± ¡°This cat¡¯s hurt!¡± ¡°Wait, you are too!¡± ¡°The cat¡¯s more urgent!¡± Daddy rushed out of the cornfield at my urgent voice. He was surprised at my red arm but began to observe the cat I carried in my arms. ¡°Meow!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see!¡± The cat had be a bit quiet in my arms but showed its ws again when Daddy came near it. He grabbed its two legs and observed the bleeding wound. ¡°It¡¯s a knife wound...did it get wounded outside the vige?¡± No one in this vige would do such a thing. Children would not do this as a trick, as the unnie, who was the vige children¡¯s leader, would not forgive such an act. No child here can go against her, no matter how older,rger, or stronger he or she was. A punch from her, and everyone screamed and affirmed their wrongs. ¡°Ah...!¡± I began to remember the memories that I had forgotten when thinking of her. However, it was toote since Daddy was running to the house carrying the cat trying to escape. ¡°No, no!¡± The reason I had resisted Daddy was not only because of the wounds I had received from others. It was because of the pain I was still afraid of despite understanding the reason why! ¡°Cat, run!¡± While I started to run as I watched Daddy¡¯s back, I could not catch up to him with my speed. My breath began to grow rough, but now I began to see the house. While Daddy seemed to have entered the house as the door was open, I was not yette. Therefore, if I could only apply an ointment and bandage the wound! ¡°My hand will cure everything!¡± ¡°Ah...¡± However, I could hear unnie¡¯s pleased voice and now could guess what I was going to hear. ¡°Meoooow!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sorry cat...¡± I had been toote so you would feel that pain. Pain that made you wish that you were dead! ¡°Meoooow!¡± ¡°Stop resisting! Once more!¡± ¡°Grrrr!¡± ¡°You¡¯re hurt here, too.¡± ¡°Meoooow!¡± First it was a painful scream, and then an angered shout. The poor cat would then feel the pain that changed the wish to live to a desire to die. The only thing I could do was to cry and pray that the treatment would end soon as I heard it scream. *** ¡°Grrr...¡± I watched the cat that had be unconscious, with eyes rolled back. While she called them her younger siblings, Alice had be a maid for cats. She had run away saying that a cat was calling her, and brought this cat back. The cat would be the one that had wounded Alice. While I had been angry at my precious daughter¡¯s wounds on her palm, the Metal Bat would be the one to revenge me. I had asked the Metal Bat to treat the cat due to Alice¡¯s request and my revenge. Come to think of it... ¡°Look at Alice since she seems to be injured.¡± ¡°Oh? That can¡¯t be true! My lovely sister hurt?!¡± The Metal Bat ran out of the room, and I heard a scream. ¡°Unnie! I¡¯m not hurt that bad! I¡¯m all right...so! Ah!¡± ¡°The treatment will be soon over.¡± I would not be able to get an expensive ointment in this rural vige. So, while my heart hurt, I could not ignore my beautiful daughter have wounds. ¡°Anyway...¡± I saw that the cat had beautiful golden fur when looking at it closely, and who would be stupid enough to stab it? It was clearly a high-ss breed... ¡°Was the culprit an aristocrat?¡± Could a roughneck aristocrat traveling nearby get tired of his or her cat and throw it out after killing it? However, I was more suspicious nowadays after hearing that the old man next door was the previous Holy Sword. ¡°Normally, a beautiful blond cat like this in a novel would be...¡± Someone of the beast people, and more frequently a member of the royal family. If the genre is romance, a wounded cat will transform into a handsome man or a beautiful prickly girl. In a fantasy novel, the cat would appear as a beautiful warrior and would open her heart to the protagonist, who had treated her wound. She would then appear to save the protagonist in an emergency! ¡°That means my daughter would be a protagonist!¡± No, I could not allow my adorable daughter to be a protagonist and face the position¡¯s burdens! ¡°I¡¯m going too far.¡± I realized that my suspicions had reached a level that I seriously needed to find a psychologist. How could I think of the beast people I had never encountered from seeing a wounded cat! While Lude had been a half-blood, a few of the pure-blooded beast people could change between animal and human anytime they wanted. Since it was not magic but a unique ability of the race, I could not know whether the cat was a cat or one of the beast people. If he or she ran away, changing forms, other races will never be able to catch them. Since aristocrats of the beast people were another grade from those who resembled beasts or had beastly characteristics, I had no reason to meet one! ¡°It¡¯s true, right? You¡¯re not an aristocrat...or the crown prince of the beast people, right?¡± I probably looked forlorn as I asked the cat holding its two legs. #6 Other stories: ???¡¯s story The hell-like time ended, and my eyes closed. However, I was still faintly awake. I heard a man¡¯s voice, but could not understand what he was saying. I could not hear much, but I was just sleepy. I wanted to sleep. I was lowering my guard when he held my two arms and spoke to me. ¡°It¡¯s true, right? You¡¯re not an aristocrat...or the crown prince of the beast people, right?¡± How...? I could not resist the rest my body required and fell asleep. Chapter 125.1 125 Part 1 Chapter 125 To the World of Farming! (7) ¡°No!¡± My daughter started rebelling in a while. She had been such a lovely child who had never made her father feel troubled after two years! ¡°Alice.¡± While I only called her name, I made my tone strong. She did not step back this time even after flinching for a moment. ¡°Da, Daddy! Alice will take care of the cat! The treatment has just finished!¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right, Alice. Her treatment is reliable.¡± While Alice had frozen like time had stopped, she seemed not to want to give up on the cat. ¡°However, the cat will be hurt inside! The cat has to have some trauma after Unnie¡¯s treatment!¡± I could not say anything to that, and the Animal Protection Association had a right to drag me in. ¡°Sis! Aren¡¯t you mistreating me?¡± ¡°Your treatment is that too much!¡± ¡°Oh, my dear little sister...my sister told me off!¡± The Metal Bat was in despair to the extent I wanted to put up a sign above her saying [Boom!]. ¡°So please!¡± I wanted to say that you could raise any cat you want when seeing Alice¡¯s bright eyes staring up at me. I did, but... ¡®Can an ordinary cat have such an indifferent expression?¡¯ While I had seen people be willing servants to cats in my past life, I had never been one of them. I had never given a stray cat some canned food, a scene often seen in tv shows. I only had agonized over cute inte kitten images and read some relevant information. Therefore, all I knew about cats was from the inte, which amounted to basically nothing. However, that cat unnerved me for inexplicable reasons. That indifferent expression may be tranted to a cat¡¯s bored face, but I felt that the cat had a secret and was watching us without any interest. It was an impossible thought when taking reality as a factor. I had seen the princess, the most powerful figure in the empire, from morning to night every day, and had been almost ambushed by a high elf, who was said to note out from near the World Tree. However, I had never seen a pureblood of the beast people, let alone an aristocrat that could change to a perfect animal form. By coincidence! In this rural area! The possibility was lower than having bought three lottery tickets and winning first to the third prize with them. However, I had already experienced that the old man living next door was a Holy Sword, which would have simr rates. Therefore, that golden cat made me nervous, and whenever I felt anxiety, something would always ur. Consequently, I wanted to do something. ¡°Why this one?¡± ¡°I treated him too badly, so I have to take responsibility!¡± Alice was almost too cute as she held the cat and sobbed. However, what she was saying was problematic. If she is my daughter, she should not feel responsible for doing something a bit bad! -Yes, if you take responsibility for only the women you have done wrong, you will have the basic option of three wives and a selective option of four mistresses. -What do you mean by four mistresses! I had not done that much wrong...right? The Metal Bat looked at me like I was pathetic as I thought things over for a moment. ¡°Therefore, I¡¯ll raise this cat!¡± ¡°No!¡± While the cat started shouting in surprise, hanging from her arms, Alice ignored the movements and spoke as she showed the cat to me. ¡°He is cute!¡± ¡°There are cute cats abound in the vige! I¡¯ll allow you to raise one of them, but not this one!¡± I would sooner let her raise a ck cat, an ill omen, rather than this one with sure pedigree. ¡°I¡¯ll feed him well!¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Oh...I¡¯ll teach it to use the restroom! I¡¯ll clean up if he makes a mess in the house! Please!¡± ¡°Meow!¡± The cat seemed to respond differently and seemed to be saying that ¡®How dare you to think that I would do such a thing, human!¡¯ -You have a disease. -It may be true! If something may ur to me, there was a high possibility of it bing a reality. It was a surprise I had been able to live quietly for thest two years after those experiences. Of course, the crazy fact that my old neighbor next door is the Holy Sword had be true. -While it¡¯s pure nonsense, you saying it makes it probable. -Yes! The Metal Bat was slowly leaning over to my side, but my daughter did not know her father¡¯s ill luck. ¡°Oh!¡± Alice just puffed her cheeks and held the cat like he was dear to her. ¡°Daddy will be really angry...¡± ¡°That¡¯s cheating...¡± I lowered my tone and put on a sad expression. I did not have a child in my past life, so I wanted to avoid fighting with my first kid despite her not being of my blood. So, I had to act strongly. ¡°Do you think that Daddy will not let you raise the cat without any reasons? I¡¯m doing this with one.¡± ¡°What is it...?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°Daddy, that¡¯s cheating...¡± Alice looked down and stared at the cat after meeting my eyes. Her wavering eyes remained on the cat for a while, and they blinked before taking on a determined hue. ¡°Then...I¡¯ll go out with him!¡± ¡°Stop if you think that you¡¯ll stay at a friend¡¯s ce for a few days.¡± ¡°How did you know!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same pattern every time.¡± Alice ran away about twice aftering to this vige. The first time had been when I said she should sleep alone after turning ten, and the other time had been when I decided not to nt corns due to geographical concerns. Since I had used the Metal Bat to map her runaway route, I was confident that I could bring her back whenever she tried again. ¡°Well, there¡¯s a ce you don¡¯t know yet!¡± ¡°Grandpa next door?¡± Chapter 125.2 125 Part 2 ¡°Oh!¡± Alice took a couple of steps back after herst shelter had been discovered. ¡°Daddy, can you read my mind?¡± ¡°Yes, since Daddies know everything.¡± While it was a trick, I was not inexperienced enough to lose to an ordinary twelve-year-old kid in psychological warfare. ¡°What should we do, puss?¡± ¡°Meow.¡± The cat looked sleepy as my daughter looked serious. My experience tranted the cat¡¯s attitude as ¡®I have no wish to stay here, human, so leave me alone!¡¯ or something like that. -Meow has that much meaning? -It¡¯s instinct! -Well, if my master is that decided...then there¡¯s no other choice. The Metal Bat looked at our fight indifferently and now stood up to approach Alice with a swagger. ¡°Little Sis, I¡¯ll scold you if you don¡¯t listen to Daddy.¡± ¡°Unnie! Look at this cat! He¡¯s so cute!¡± ¡°However, Daddy owns this house, which means he decides if he¡¯ll raise this cat or not.¡± While Alice had been saying her argument with some determination, even as her face paled at the Metal Bat¡¯s words, she was being pushed back. ¡°I¡¯ll raise him in my room.¡± ¡°Daddy gave you that room.¡± ¡°Uh...why are you against me?¡± Alice shouted to the Metal Bat with teary eyes now. ¡°You¡¯re fighting with Daddy when I want to y with you, which makes me very bored.¡± The Metal Bat¡¯s answer was simple at Alice¡¯s shouted question, but my daughter¡¯s eyes brightened at her words. ¡°I¡¯ll y with you a lot! Let¡¯ y with the cat often!¡± ¡°All right! I¡¯ll agree then to raise the cat! -What? -You¡¯re enjoying farming with my cute little sister while I have to mind the house! I also want to y with her! -It¡¯s winter now, which means that we will be at home! -However, if that cat really has a secret as your instincts say... -If that cat...? -It¡¯s party time! -I¡¯m the one who has to take care of the problems! This metal bat was trying to drive me into a corner for her own desires. ¡°Alice!¡± ¡°Daddy!¡± Alice and my eyes met, and they both were determined. ¡°Why are you saying that I can¡¯t raise this cat! You¡¯re not telling me the reason, and thest time you just announced that we had to move and leave all our produce behind!¡± ¡°Had there been a time when listening to me led to bad things? That cat is wild, and raising him in our house is also unfair for him.¡± ¡°But...I want to take care of him!¡± ¡°Really...¡± I sighed as I watched my daughter suddenly turn into a cat lover. I knew that she was close to the stray cats in the vige, but why was she bringing that unnerving cat to this house?! I now could believe that Alice was being controlled by the world¡¯s will since her rebellion was that serious. -I sincerely believe that the world is wilfully against you. -Are you fanning a burning house? ¡°Please let me take care of this cat as my birthday present, Daddy.¡± Tears fell out of Alice¡¯s eyes, and the cat stared at her in surprise. ¡°You made her cry, Daddy!¡± ¡°Please...please.¡± Telling a crying person that she is crying will make her cry all the more, and that principle amplified Alice¡¯s sorrow. However, now was not the time to be lenient. Who was I? I was once the coldblooded drill instructor for the empire¡¯s biggest syndicate and had been the exclusive butler under the craziest princess of the empire! Then, I had been the harsh professor of the best academy of the empire, Eugrasia! Do you think that tears would work, daughter? ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re the best!¡± My lovely daughter shed tears of joy as she hugged me. ¡°You¡¯re a fool.¡± ¡°Be quiet.¡± I realized that my cold-blooded self had died that day, and our first pet came to our house. #7 Other Stories: A cat¡¯s story. Humans are strange. ¡°Puss, we are now family!¡± I saw a small girl with pink hair who hugged me in joy, and another small girl telling me to call her Unnie. I would be older...and since I was male and Unnie was only reserved for between sisters, it did not suit me. ¡°Meow.¡± However, I still had to be wary, as the man who realized my true identity was looking at me with suspicious eyes. That man knew who I was, and even one of the beast people, if they were of a different species, would not be able to know who I am in this animal form. Only another aristocrat would vaguely see through another species¡¯ beast form. That man instantly knew who I was. I thought I had been mistaken at the beginning. However, the man¡¯s eyes were saying that ¡®since I know who you are, stop acting like an infant!¡¯ as I acted like an ordinary cat. I imagined maybe he was another aristocrat of the beast people, but the man¡¯s smell was perfectly human. He did not smell like a beast, and I was already betrayed by someone I called my brother. I could not stay in a suspicious man¡¯s house I saw for the first time, and who knew my identity in a second. While I was sorry for this girl showing me affection, she would not remain unaffected if she maintained a rtionship with me. No matter how much I hated humans, I could not ignore her saving me even after I wounded her. While she would be disappointed, that was the only way I could repay her grace. While I could not fully give back what she gave me, I could not disrupt her ordinary life. Therefore, I had decided to live here tonight. I had... ¡°Where are you going, puss?¡± After leaving the pink-haired girl, I had jumped off the window, who slept with me in her arms. It was then I saw the other girl of this house looking at me with a smile like she had known I woulde down! ¡°My cute little sister had fought her beloved daddy to raise you...You¡¯re not trying to escape, right?¡± Had she also known my identity?! ¡°Meow...¡± However, she was only a little girl, so I acted in the way I believed an ordinary cat would act. ¡°Haha.¡± Only a knowingugh came back, as she said, ¡°A disobedient cat...should be punished, right?¡± I was an honorable aristocrat of the beast people, each and everyone warriors in their own right. Threatening me would not work! ¡®It shouldn¡¯t!¡± However, my legs were shaking as my body was stepping back in fear while my mind rallied. ¡°Do you need to be punished, or will you go in?¡± ¡°Meow.¡± My body turned around on instinct and entered the house again. This, this! ¡°I¡¯ll only pay back what I owe the girl!¡± I will stay here for only a little, a tiny bit while! I had thought like that, but it was some time in the future when I left this house. Chapter 126.1 126 Part 1 Chapter 126 To the World of Farming! (8) I watched Alice happily y with the golden cat, and it had been a month since we took him in as our pet. ¡°Nothing happened.¡± ¡°Yet.¡± A big emphasis on ¡®yet.¡¯ While it took over twenty years for the syndicate I belonged to crumble, Eugrasia took only a little over a year to follow suit. The intervals were bing shorter, so I had to observe that cat a little bit more. ¡°If we think it like that, we have been neighbors with the old man for over two years. Haven¡¯t we lived here for quite a long time?¡± ¡°That was when I did not know that grandpa had been a Holy Sword.¡± In other words, it has not been six months since I knew that the old man who still came to eat chicken sometimes nowadays had been a Holy Sword. Actually, since that was around when the cat came into our lives, it has been less than two months. Since even half a year had not passed, who knows what will happen in another six months? ¡°I told you that¡¯s a disease.¡± ¡°If being suspicious will let me live a long life, let it be a chronic one.¡± The Metal Bat shook her head like she gave up and ran to Alice and the cat. ¡°Let me join!¡± ¡°Unnie!¡± ¡°Meow!¡± The cat let out a screech when the metal bat ran to them, and Alice scowled at the sight. Since there was no work, everything was peaceful. The trying harvest ended yesterday, and now the warehouse was full of food! I did not have to worry much about rotting thanks to the underground caves I made when failing to open an escape route! I now can spend the winter eating snacks without anything happening. Since I had two kids who could at any moment roast potatoes and corn in secret, I had prepared an ample amount of firewood. This old body found it difficult to endure not being able to turn on the stove in the freezing cold likest winter. I was in my mid-forties and will soon be fifty, and I had only gained the attention of mad women and ways to escape. How drabby my life would have been if I had not gained a cute daughter near the end of my life. -You¡¯re talking about me, right? -What are you talking about? How could she beparing herself and my lovely Alice? It was true that the metal bat did not have any conscience. ¡°I will have to prepare for the market in the next vige since it¡¯sing up soon.¡± There were a few inconveniences since I hade to this rural mountain vige to escape, and not being able to purchasemp oil was one. While there were many others I could not get here, most of them were avable in the bigger vige neighboring us. Also, since merchants came to this vige at the end of spring and after harvest, I could get items not even avable at the neighboring vige, and the timing was about now. ¡°It¡¯s perfect to meet someone by coincidence.¡± The timing would be perfect for pretending coincidence and meeting in a novel. While I usually did not think of these things, strange things were happening recently. I was certain that they were omens. Even if the Metal Bat thought my suspicion was an illness, I trusted my instincts! And unfortunately, my hunch was proved correct, albeit in a different manner! #8 Other Stories: A daughter¡¯s story. ¡°Daddy...what are you doing?¡± Today was one of the two days we went on a trip to the next vige. It was not to y, and in spring, we went to buy seeds we would nt in the summer or high-quality farming tools, and in fall, we bought items we needed for the winter. However, since Daddy spent more money than usual during our trips, my sister and I can eat many treats. While Daddy¡¯s cooking is amazing, and chicken is the greatest food ever made, the dishes avable in the neighboring vige was a rare treat. I could not let this chance go by! Therefore, I woke up early for a long while and washed my face and hair. Since I had always sleptte after the harvest, it had taken some effort. However, I did so to go on the trip! ¡°You seem to have finished already, Alice.¡± I had to tilt my head to stare at Daddy, who had transformed to the extent that I would not have recognized him if I had not seen him preparing. ¡°Really, what are you doing, Daddy?¡± His ck hair turning white had wholly changed to brown, and I did not know how he did it, but one of his brown eyes was blue. He was wearing a white robe, which made him even more suspicious! ¡°Is there anything wrong? Are we...not going to the neighboring vige?¡± I could not say that I had been looking forward to it at Daddy¡¯s serious face. However, my face must have shown my disappointment, as Daddy bent his back a little to stroke my hair before speaking. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we have to go there, or winter will be difficult.¡± ¡°Then...why?¡± ¡°Um...to refresh my mood?¡± ¡°Is that it?¡± Daddy could be strange sometimes, and today seemed to be one of those days. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go out first!¡± ¡°Yes, be on the back of the carriage.¡± ¡°All right!¡± While I was sorry to feel Daddy¡¯s warm hand go, I went to the carriage at the front yard since he seemed to be busy. Daddy had borrowed the carriage from the vige foremanst night. While he usually borrowed a wheelbarrow, Daddy said he had rented a carriage for me and my sister¡¯s safety. While it was to carry items and not for travel, the carriage was the best our vige had with even a roof! I first ced Misha, who was sleeping, on the carriage. While I wanted to go up gracefully like knights riding their horses, it was impossible for now. Therefore, I stepped on the piece of wood Daddy had ced as a foothold and went over the carriage railing with some difficulty. After a fierce battle, I seeded and held Misha, who was still sleeping soundly. ¡°You can sleep a bit more, Misha.¡± ¡°Meow~¡± Chapter 126.2 126 Part 2 Misha seemed to have gotten used to my arms and found the right ce on myp, and rubbed a cheek on my stomach. I was relieved. Daddy wanted to name Misha Chosuke at first, and if I had been unable to stop him, I would have had to call Misha by that name. That...would have been a bit embarrassing. I almost had been unable to call Misha¡¯s name due to my father¡¯s strange antics, but my strong will enabled me to call this cat Misha. Misha seemed to have been grateful to me, by a lot! ¡°Yap!¡± ¡°Unnie!¡± She came flying in the carriage as I was stroking Misha¡¯s soft fur. My sister was so amazinging in the carriage at once while being about the same size as me. ¡°That was something, right?!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Misha woke up from sleep and started being wary of Unnie as she sat next to me. While I should stop Misha, it cannot be helped since I understood why Misha was acting like that after receiving Unnie¡¯s treatment. I could only stroke Misha¡¯s fur. ¡°What about Daddy?¡± ¡°He¡¯s bringing the horse he rented yesterday.¡± We did not raise cows and horses since we did not have stables. Therefore, when we went out of the vige, we moved by buying a horse in our vige¡¯s lone stable and selling it back on returning. While others had to hire the stable owner as a horseman since no one could handle a horse, my father could do everything. Yes, Daddy was a better horseman than the horseman owner, and he really was the best! We had been waiting for about twenty minutes when we heard horse hooves. The sun wasing up, and while the sun would have already risen in the busy summer, even the sun was sleeping in when winter wasing. ¡°Then, we¡¯re going now.¡± Had he tied the horse to the carriage? I had heard it was a difficult task, but Daddy did it in a minute and started the horse. The carriage¡¯s wheels started rolling with a ttering noise, and our house became smaller. While I had been out a few times, it was always interesting to see the bustling vige quiet. There was no one selling skewered meat, vegetables, and my precious chickens! ¡°There¡¯s no one.¡± ¡°Everyone gets upte now.¡± We are allowed to sleep in when the sun is also waking upte, which was only possible because our harvest had been sessful. If the harvest had been bad enough, we could notst the winter, and we would have had to nt other crops quickly. I learned that potatoes were useful for that purpose. Potatoes were amazing to be able to grow in this weather when it was delicious when baked or fried! ¡°We¡¯re already at the end of the vige.¡± I could not see our house anymore, and I knew from experience that we were passing the vige gates when the carriage stopped a moment. I heard Daddy¡¯s faint voice, who seemed to be speaking to the soldier protecting the gate. While we did not have knights like where the lord lived, but some soldiers protected our vige here. Their work was mostly to protect the gates, and while no monsters have been nearby, they were always protecting the vige in case of an ambush. ¡°Hey, you two, it¡¯s a treat to go to the next vige, eh?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Yes! Have a nice day!¡± ¡°Hahaha. Of course, have a safe trip.¡± We held a brief conversation with the soldier at the vige gate, slowly bing smaller as the carriage started again. I had been waving until I could not see the gatekeeper at the end of the carriage and came back to my seat to find that Misha had evacuated to a corner of the carriage. ¡°Be closer to Unnie.¡± ¡°Meow!¡± That meant Misha understood, right? I did not know the reason why I was thinking this, but it must have been my imagination that Misha had just told me that was impossible. ¡°Haha, this cat does need to be trained early.¡± ¡°Meooooooooow!¡± I could not hold back a sigh as I saw Misha on battle mode with an erect tail as my sisterughed evilly. It would take more time until Unnie and Misha became closer. I held Misha in my arms for rxation, and while there was some resistance, Misha remained still. As I stroked Misha¡¯s pretty fur, Unnie lost interest and sat on the carriage railing at the back to watch the view. While she might fall, I thought she would be all right even if she did. Of course, Unnie would never fall, and as I expected, she did not fall down from the railing no matter how the carriage rattled. She looked out the window even when I shook at the corner of the carriage, and I had been staring at her in admiration when the carriage stopped. ¡°Hey, we arrived!¡± ¡°Really?!¡± I stood up and moved to where my sister was, and I left Misha, who went to the farthest back corner, behind since I only needed to confirm. ¡°We really are!¡± I saw high walls that could not bepared to our vige, and they were about 10 feet and made of stone. The soldiers here wore shining armor, unlike our vige soldiers. ¡°Enter!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± I had been staring at the castle walls that were still high whenever I saw them outside the window and almost fell as the carriage started suddenly. ¡°Be careful.¡± ¡°Thank you, Unnie.¡± However, I managed not to since my sister held me. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be surprised at that since there are even higher castle walls everywhere in this world!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°My sister has not seen the world yet! I had even seen the castle walls in the capital of the Karuan Empire!¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± The Karuan Empire! If this vige¡¯s castle walls were this high, how daunting would be the castle walls of the strongest country in this world?! ¡°Do they make castle walls out of gold, or do magic spellse out automatically from them?!¡± ¡°Oh? No, they are just extremely high and thick. However, the outer walls of Eugrasia, an academy, shoot out magic to the inside.¡± ¡°To the inside?¡± I was surprised but tilted my head at Unnie¡¯s words. Why would magic shoot inwardly when outer walls were used to stop thieves and enemies from outside? Had they been made under the supposition of a breach? ¡°It¡¯s just because of someone who lives there.¡± Unnie looked at me with eyes that said that she understood everything. ¡°Unnie, a little bit more...¡± ¡°We arrived.¡± While I wanted to question her to satisfy my curiosity, she jumped out of the carriage at Daddy¡¯s words. ¡°Oh...¡± I really wanted to know why the castle walls shot out magic spells! ¡°I¡¯ll ask herter...let¡¯s go, Misha!¡± ¡°Meoow.¡± I can ask her on the way back, since enjoying ourselves is more important aftering here! Chapter 127.1 127 Part 1 Chapter 127 When it Rains, it Pours (1) ¡°Da, daddy?¡± I grabbed my surprised daughter¡¯s hand and did what I came here to do. Sorry kid, but my instincts are screaming for me to stay put recently. Even if I had camouged myself, it was difficult to believe that there were many people like No. 17 who could not recognize faces. Especially, those like Sia woulde up running say that she smelled me. I did not enjoy this vige. I hade in a long time and just quickly did my tasks. ¡°Daddy, money!¡± ¡°Here.¡± I gave the Metal Bat a pouch with an appropriate amount of gold, silver, and bronze coins. She would survive even if the legendary incarnation of evil, the Demon King, came out. Therefore, the Metal Bat would act solo, but she would only buy snacks with the money and share it with Alice. ¡°Is there something really wrong?¡± My conscience hurt a bit at my daughter¡¯s worried eyes. The vige we lived in was sequestered, and for a girl living there,ing here, one of the biggest viges around this area, would be a special treat indeed. It was an event that only happened twice a year! How could I tell her the truth when I was interfering with that just by my instincts?! ¡°It¡¯s because I had bad dreamsst night. I think we should quickly go back after finishing up here today.¡± ¡°Is that so? Well, what you say is right.¡± I was grateful for Alice following my words despite her disappointed expression. Where had this cute kide from?! ¡°However, just say what you want to have, and Daddy will buy it for you!¡± ¡°Really, Daddy?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± I promised myself I would buy Alice whatever she wanted as she beamed at my words. I could buy anything from my secret funds that came out of a vige like this! ¡°So, let¡¯s buy what we need first.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± We started purchasing items by darting here and there, holding hands. Since the merchants regrly came, buying things was easy since I only had to tell them the quantity and send them to the rooms we were staying in. Therefore, it only took an hour to buy all the necessary items, and I had been rushing things to go back to the rooms as fast as possible. Of course, I had to adjust my pace to Alice¡¯s and only could walk fast since running would make me more noticeable. ¡°Little sis, eat this too!¡± ¡°This is yummy!¡± ¡°This, too!¡± ¡°U, Unnie! I still haven¡¯t finished this yet!¡± I looked at Alice, and the cat that she had held in her other arm was now on her shoulders due to the Metal Bat, who continued to appear from nowhere. Her other hand that was not holding mine was full of skewers. ¡°You¡¯re slow! There are still many yummy dishes!¡± ¡°You¡¯re too fast!¡± Alice began to eat the skewers with a frown. She started with meat I did not recognize, corn, grain cakes, and meat again. ¡°Daddy, do you want one?¡± How could I resist when my cute daughter was asking for help? She smiled brightly as I took a grain cake out of her fingers, as I made the others easier to hold for her. ¡°Your hand is empty!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± However, another meat skewer immediately filled the space. ¡°Um...it¡¯s made of wheat.¡± I had hoped it was made of rice, but the cake was made of wheat, and the sauce was sweet honey instead of spicy red pepper paste. ¡°I was going to buy some if these were rice cakes...¡± I could get some rice if I really wanted to, but I would not grow them since I did not know how. I saw in other novels where characters made rice paddies where people ate wheat and produced more crops than othernds. However, how many people would know how to make rice paddies? Just digging and filling holes with water would not make one, or did it? I would know if I tried, but I would not bring in other peoples¡¯ negative attention by acting strangely. I had no need for double-cropping like protagonists in the novels. I only wanted to farm as much as I needed to, and I could buy food if the harvest fails. I had been short on funds because I had continuously given Moru requested items or research funds, not because I had been unable to earn money. I had enough to raise a cute daughter and feed her whatever she wanted to eat! ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right.¡± I watched Alice chew on her fourth skewer with a sad face after finishing off my own. ¡°Stop.¡± ¡°It¡¯s natural for a big sister to want to feed her little sister!¡± It was her fourth skewer, but Alice still had four left between her fingers. Since she had given Alice enough meat, now they were fruit and berries preserved in honey, and roasted vegetables cut into one-bite sizes. ¡°Since the inn we¡¯re staying in cooks well, we should leave some room for dinner.¡± ¡°Daddy!¡± Alice looked like a savedmb when I took two skewers from her hand, and her excessive faith almost scared me! ¡°Thank you, Daddy!¡± ¡°All right, all right.¡± I tasted the vor of a well-steamed sweet pumpkin and told Alice what I just had remembered. ¡°Have you found what you wanted for a present?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Alice looked around with shining eyes and pointed with a loud ¡°That!¡± to a vendor selling many kinds of eggs. ¡°Eggs?¡± ¡°Yes, I want to raise a chicken, Daddy!¡± I could not hide a small sigh as I watched Alice look at the eggs and lick her lips. Her faith towards chicken would be right below her faith towards me since she had realized too early how delicious the dish was. -You may lose. -Seriously? It was a secret that I thought maybe true. How could Ie in second when Alice loved me like that? -If you¡¯re confident, ask her to choose between you and chicken, saying that she would be unable to meet one for the rest of her life. She will cry for at least three days. Chapter 127.2 127 Part 2 -I know I will mean, but I cannot say that it would not take her three days to do so! I was not asking her because I might lose to chicken, and it was because I did not want Alice to agonize over the choice. Really! ¡°Are you confident you can raise them well?¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll raise them to big chickens!¡± Alice had not realized that small chickens make good fried chicken, and old ones are making stock since they were too tough to eat when fried. ¡°All right, which egg do you want?¡± ¡°Oh? I would need to see.¡± I slowly followed Alice, who went running with her short legs. The vendor looked like it did not belong to the merchant group, as there were no marks. ¡°What do you need?¡± There were no eggs simr in size and color. I saw a big one right in front of me, and small ones surrounded it. There were gray eggs, striped eggs, and those with ck dots. I saw eggs smaller than quail and those I could barely hold with both hands. The vendor looked like a peddler from all directions! ¡°I do not know.¡± ¡°So, as I expected.¡± I may have been right thinking that this vendor was a peddler. It was true that people from most other viges came here when the merchants came. While some came personally like me, and others came as representatives of their vige, it all led to the fact that business boomed here around this time. Therefore, some set up their spots, and others went around in secret, holding their wares in nkets. This pleasantly smiling young man that looked like he was in his early thirties selling eggs looked to be one of them. ¡°How much is the price?¡± ¡°The price goes ording to size, and the most expensive one is seven silvers.¡± ¡°It seems too expensive for a single egg...¡± ¡°Look at the size. Who knows? Maybe it¡¯s a rare animal.¡± ¡°The egg may be dead.¡± ¡°Even if I look like this now, I had worked at the bottom rung of the royal wyvern breeders and know if an egg is alive or dead.¡± Airbat was important in wars in this world too, and summoners who were able to summon beasts that could fly along with magicians could do so. One other group who could participate in airbat were knights who trained and used flying beasts. Knights had the most stamina, as the former two groups used magic while flying while knights were just riding their beasts. Since drakes could breathe fire if trained well, which meant they could be powerful in battle! Also, while not popr as drakes, wyverns were used often, along with manticores and griffons. A wyvern breeder did not belong here, no matter how low he had been in position. ¡°Ah, you seem to know the situation a bit.¡± The young man scratched his head at my suspicious gaze. ¡°I...had been caught selling wyverns to the ck market because I needed the money.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean a death sentence?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. However, I had been caught during a war and managed to survive because my country crumbled.¡± ¡°You had the pluck to smuggle wyvern eggs during a war.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just an owner of a chicken farm now!¡± I smiled back as he did so. ¡°Hahaha. All right, you¡¯re interesting. However...is that egg really seven silvers?¡± ¡°Well, give me five.¡± The young man clucked his tongue and scowled as I spoke with a cold face. Hey, I had worked at the worst syndicate of the empire at your age, and I saw people like you in truckloads! ¡°No, I¡¯m not going to buy it.¡± ¡°Then why did you ask?¡± ¡°My daughter may want it.¡± ¡°I picked the wrong guy to serve.¡± The young manined to me and approached my daughter with a bright smile as she moved from corner to corner. ¡°Princess, what egg are you looking for?¡± ¡°Oh, me? Um...I¡¯m looking for an egg that will hatch arge and delicious chicken!¡± ¡°Oh, is that so? You came to the right ce, as I¡¯m the owner of the best chicken farm in this vige, princess!¡± ¡°Really?!¡± I was grateful that that man was not someone who would destroy a child¡¯s dream of meeting Santa us by saying the man did not exist. I would have let the Metal Bat hit him three times if he had said that these eggs would not hatch chickens or that chicks, not chickens, came out of eggs. -Master, stop being overwhelming. Only people like you say those unnecessary things to little kids. -I would never do such a thing. I ignored the Metal Bat¡¯s nonsense and watched Alice and the egg seller. He was alluring her with words and showing her various eggs, and they were all big and looked a little expensive. The Metal Bat hade next to me and spoke after eating the noodles that she held in her hand. ¡°She¡¯s been caught.¡± ¡°I can buy her something a bit expensive if she would be satisfied.¡± The price would be seven silver at best, and while I did not know what woulde out of the egg, it had been sold by a peddler. Would not a lizardman¡¯s egg be the limit? ¡°Do lizardmen live around here?¡± ¡°No, but they may havee due to something.¡± ¡°How about drake eggs?¡± ¡°He would not be selling one.¡± Would not a wyvern breeder recognize a drake egg? ¡°That might be a lie.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but he probably sold eggs in the ck market.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°His smell is simr to mine.¡± He had not shown me his true colors without thought, as people of the same feather recognized one another. And we do not want to know about each other, but just see someone who one could make a deal with. I believed that he would recognize not only wyvern and drake eggs but also manticore and griffon eggs, too. He would have sold them to the ck market, as one continued to use such ces after knowing about them. ¡°That means those are eggs he decided he did not want, so buying them will not amount to much.¡± Maybe an innocent peddler would sell such eggs, but a swindler who smelled like me would not make a deal in which he would lose. Therefore, this ce is the best spot to buy an egg that would satisfy my daughter and not worry about hidden foreshadowing! ¡°Daddy, this one!¡± My daughter was beaming after picking out quite a big egg. ¡°Nice choice, princess! The price is seven silvers, customer!¡± The man had been rubbing his hands to Alice and now held his hand towards me with shining eyes, and while I felt tricked, I handed in seven silvers for my daughter. ¡°Do you like it?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I smiled at seeing Alice holding her egg dearly. ¡®I should just make an egg dish if nothing is hatched.¡¯ I had been thinking such nonsense when I did not even know what woulde out of it. Chapter 128.1 128 Part 1 Chapter 128 When it Rains, it Pours (2) [It was now the season when trash fell from the sky. Right, it was winter, and a lot of things happened until now. Many women came to make moves at me, and I had to protect this ce while avoiding them!] ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t voice a strange narration from behind.¡± ¡°I¡¯m bored.¡± I again smacked the Metal Bat¡¯s forehead as she grumbled. While she was right about snow being trash falling from the sky, but everything else was a lie. Peaceful days passed as they had for thest few years, despite the fact I met multiple crises in a day. ¡°Daddy~ I¡¯m hungry!¡± Another crisis came yet again. ¡°Oh...it¡¯s tiring.¡± I felt lethargic when I heard my daughter¡¯s quiet voice with a rumbling noise. Unlike the empire, we were near the north of thisnd, which was in the middle part. While this area had four seasons, winter was iparably colder than the empire. Therefore, all of the houses in this country had a firece! It was heaven near the firece, and one could stay forever afterying down a carpet and nkets to maintain warmness andfortableness. However, it was a firece and not a fan heater. No matter how warm the firece was, one became colder ording to the distance. Also, cooking required water, but the water was freezing. The cold water made me want to die when I washed the dishes. However, human beings lived to eat, and hell came three times a day. ¡°Uh...¡± I got some of the drawn water to prepare a soup and put in dried meat first before taking out vegetables. ¡°There¡¯s not enough...¡± However, the vegetables I had brought before were extinct, and that meant... ¡°Gods are telling us to starve!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a sign to get vegetables from the warehouse!¡± I heard the Metal Bat¡¯s sharp voice, and she was full of herself despite only showing her face from the nkets. ¡°Daddy~ Hurry~¡± While my daughter would work in the fields in spring, summer, and fall, but she went limp in winter. She remained even more still after buying that mysterious egg saying that she would raise a chicken and would only hug it. ¡°There¡¯s no one on my side...¡± The underground warehouse was cool enough to store vegetables and meat in the middle of summer, and how would the ce be during winter? ¡°It¡¯s a refrigerator.¡± My foggy breaths told me the temperature as I breathed. ¡°Potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and corns...I should also bring more meat in advance.¡± I quickly took the ingredients since it would not spoil much outside since it was winter, and moreover, I did not want toe here again. I closed the warehouse door with a bang. ¡°Oh...it¡¯s cold.¡± I came up and felt a faint warmness from the firece. It was brief happiness, but a utopia waited for me after I finished cooking. ¡°Let¡¯s end this quickly.¡± I washed the vegetables, peeled the skin, and trimmed them. I wanted toin about why a door with a cat drawing that would lead to a restaurant in a different world did not appear when I washed a vegetable. When I washed the second vegetable, I thought I would make a hit when I operated a food delivery service here. When I washed the third, I began to resent my past self for not preparing enough firewood to heat water. Only the tenacity that made me think I had to return to that utopia after finishing as soon as possible was left. ¡°It, it¡¯s done.¡± As my wet fingers began to freeze, I could finally make some warm soup and a simple sd. ¡°It¡¯s a meal!¡± My daughter shuddered as she crawled out of the nket. ¡°Daddy, it¡¯s dangerous toe out of the nkets...¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t agree with you more.¡± Alice had tied the egg to herself with a nket and sat after winning against the cold. ¡°Daddy, why can¡¯t we eat lying down?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll ruin the nkets if we spill food on them.¡± ¡°That should not happen.¡± I could finally understand why Japanese manga would bring out kotatsu when it was winter. Since we had to suffer this much toe outside to eat, I was seriously considering getting something simr next fall. ¡°Thank you~¡± ¡°Thank you~¡± ¡°Meow!¡± The Metal Bat and the cat spoke in a weak voice after arriving at the freezing hell behind my daughter. ¡°It¡¯s yummy...¡± ¡°But it¡¯s cold...¡± ¡°Meow~¡± Everyone shuddered after taking a spoonful of the steaming soup, and warm food was more delicious in a cold ce. ¡°Misha, it¡¯s delicious, right?¡± ¡°Meow.¡± My daughter lifted a spoon after she saw the cat licking the soup. While I had thought things over since I did not know what to give the cat other than cat food, since it ate everything well, we decided to give the cat what it ate. While I knew that giving a cat food for humans was bad for health, the Metal Bat could solve any problems. Therefore, eat up, cat. ¡°Meoooow!¡± ¡°Misha?¡± The cat raised its tail and wailed, and nervously looked around. ¡°I¡¯m finished!¡± The Metal Bat had finished her meal and quickly went back to the nket after cing her dishes and spoon, where we washed dishes. ¡°Hey! Unnie!¡± ¡°This spot is mine!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± The Metal Bat showed her face after diving into the nkets, and shey down the spot nearest to the firece, where it was the warmest.¡± ¡°Unnie! Coco has to stay in a warm ce!¡± Chapter 128.2 128 Part 2 My daughter shouted in surprise as she had taken that spot there. Coco was the egg¡¯s name, and she seemed already dreaming of a delicious chicken rather than a cute chick. ¡°Then I¡¯ll hold Coco.¡± ¡°Coco...should be held by her mother!¡± While she was eating the soup in earnest with blowing on each spoonful, the speed with which she ate did not increase. Since she was not a fast eater and was paying attention to the Metal Bat, her speed inevitably became slower. Even the cat was trying to go inside the nkets after finishing its meal. ¡°Even Misha...¡± My daughter fell into despair as she saw the cat choosing the warm firece over her, and she ate a spoonful of soup without even blowing on it. ¡°It¡¯s hot.¡± She let her tongue out and frowned. ¡°You spilled some.¡± ¡°Sorry, Daddy.¡± My daughter had a tongue more sensitive than a cat¡¯s, and she was trying to eat fast from an earthenware pot instead of a steel one, which I used due to the cold. ¡°You tried to eat too fast.¡± ¡°But~¡± Since she could not speak well with her tongue sticking out, the face she made as she pointed at the Metal Bat was that of a loyal subordinate who was counseling the king. ¡°It¡¯s not fair!¡± She looked like it. ¡°Eat some sd first.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I left Alice eating cabbage and took out a wooden bowl to portion some soup from her earthenware pot, and the soup began to quickly cool down. ¡°How can you eat hot fried chicken when you can¡¯t eat hot food?¡± ¡°Chicken is different.¡± My daughter¡¯s eyes changed a bit as she slowly drank the soup since her tongue seemed to be healing. It was not a good sign. ¡°Daddy, for dinner...¡± ¡°You can¡¯t have chicken for a while.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± As I expected, Alice had been trying to say let¡¯s have chicken for lunch at the word and was now seriously disappointed, but it could not be helped. ¡°While I want to make you fried chicken...¡± I raised my hand to point at the window. The world outside was white, and the snow had piled higher than Alice¡¯s height. That meant it had snowed more than a meter. ¡°I may not be able to return after getting the chicken to fry.¡± Without joking, I would have to shovel a path to the vige to buy a chicken. It will take me days if I do it alone, and it might snow again during that time. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t happen.¡± ¡°You think so too?¡± Alice¡¯s eyes showed strong will as she nodded with disappointed eyes. She was probably thinking that she may be able to eat chicken in a situation like this if she raised chickens independently. It was a cute child¡¯s thought. ¡®Of course, that egg won¡¯ty a chicken...¡¯ Even in a fantasy world, if a chick came out of that egg, which was fifty times bigger than a normal chicken egg, that was suspicious in itself. ¡°I finished!¡± Alice finished her soup and sd and quickly delved into the nkets. I probably had the same expression Alice had on before. ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped.¡± I would have to turn a blind eye to my daughter ying in winter since she would work the hardest in the other three seasons despite being a child. Even while other children would run away to y, she held a hoe in her hand and worked with me. ¡°I¡¯ll wash the dishes in this ice water since it¡¯s the least I can do for her.¡± I made a resolution and started the second battle of the day. My hands went numb in the water, and they worked quickly to get out of this hell, and I finished soon. ¡°It ended!¡± I had let my pride as a father fly in the cold, and I ran into the nkets in front of the firece to melt my frozen hands. ¡°It¡¯s heaven...¡± I thought it would not be so bad to die like this. ¡°Thank you~¡± A cute face appeared after the nkets wiggled, and her smile made my sufferings go away. ¡°However, there¡¯s still dinner, Daddy~¡± ¡°Damn...¡± I felt my body go weak at the Metal Bat¡¯s words, who was hoarding the warmest spot despite being made of metal instead of water. ¡°Why do human beings have to eat to live...aren¡¯t we too inefficient?¡± ¡°Daddy, but we can eat fried chicken because we¡¯re human.¡± My daughter smiled as I stroked her hair to see her peaceful face turn serious in an instant. I was at peace with the burning firece. [However, that peace did notst long.] ¡°I said, stop putting in weird narrations!¡± ¡°What?!¡± I avenged on the Metal Bat by pressing down with my toes since I did not want to move. However, my peace did notst. ¡°D, Daddy!¡± It ended with my daughter¡¯s urgent voice. #Other stories: Their story Men in ck robes weremon but were suspected by everyone. If four such men went about together, they might draw suspicion, but no one saw them nearby. ¡°Not here?¡± ¡°No response.¡± ¡°It¡¯s tiring. Not at the empire by any chance?¡± ¡°If so, it will be a chore even for us...¡± The four suspicious beings talked about their plights. ¡°To think that all four of us have to find a human.¡± ¡°Damn, I know that this is important...¡± ¡°It¡¯s too much.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. This is for the greater good, and our master has sent us his most trustworthy subordinates.¡± The others could not help but nod at the words. What they were doing was for the master¡¯s greater aim, as history would change when their attempt seeded. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Our role is to answer to our master¡¯s trust.¡± ¡°We have a duty to do our best as our master¡¯s greatest weapon.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s our purpose.¡± Thest one to speak felt that the others were in a better mood and took out a map from his bosom to show them. ¡°Our next goal is the Belselk Kingdom, which won¡¯t take long since it¡¯s smaller than here.¡± The northern kingdom marked on the map had a vige where a guy with the name Merln lived peacefully with his daughter. Chapter 129.1 129 Part 1 Chapter 129 When it Rains, it Pours (3) #2 Other stories: A daughter¡¯s Story I hate winter since I cannot farm. Of course, farming every day is hard work, but it is all right since dinnertime with Daddy is so much fun after a long day. The snacks Unnie gives me in intervals are joys that have to be noted. There are good things in winter since it is time for rest, as first I can be together with my sister, who has been forbidden to farm. Roasting corn or potatoes we sneaked in the firece is fun that can only be had in winter. Also, rolling out nkets in front of the firece is heavenly bliss that can only be felt in the cold weather. However, I do not like winter since snow negates all these joys. Since there is heavy snowfall in this vige, everyone does note out of their houses the moment it begins to snow. If they do note out, the market does not open. If the market is not opened, I cannot buy chickens, and if I cannot buy chickens, there is no fried chicken! However, snow is a natural phenomenon, and no matter how hard I pray or plead to Daddy, I cannot stop snow froming. Therefore, I nned to raise chicken in our house! I managed to get Daddy¡¯s approval to buy an egg to begin the process, and the chicken has to berge since the egg is so big. I named the unborn chick Coco and took special care not to break it since the chick was so valuable to me. Therefore, I managed to notice the small noise of the eggshell breaking in our sleep. ¡°Da, daddy!¡± The egg started to crack with noise, and it was a sign that the chick was about to be born. ¡°Daddy! Daddy!¡± I announced that I would raise a chicken but did not know any specific way to do so. Therefore, I urgently called Daddy, who knew everything and would solve this problem! ¡°Daddy~¡± ¡°Uh...what¡¯s up?¡± Daddy stared at me with a disheveled face in the nket next to mine with sleepy eyes. The sun had not risen yet, but I was wide awake since the chick was about to be born. ¡°Coco¡¯sing out!¡± I stared at Daddy at this urgent and happy moment, and how would he help the chick be born? ¡°Oh, congrattions.¡± However, unlike my expectations, Daddy congratted me in an indifferent voice and went back to his pillow again! ¡°Daddy!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sleepy...¡± ¡°Wake up! Coco is...!¡± Daddy covered his head with the nket at my voice, which means not to wake him up since he is sleepy! ¡°It¡¯s the moment when Coco will be born! Alice does not know anything, so you have to teach me!¡± More cracks were appearing on the egg, but Daddy is fast asleep! It is an emergency! ¡°Daddy~¡± I shook Daddy¡¯s arm that was hiding underneath the nkets. ¡°Dear daughter, your daddy is sleepy...¡± His voice turned to sleep talking, and while I felt some embarrassment, I had to do this for Coco. ¡°Daddy!¡± I took off his nket and pecked him on the cheek. ¡°Wake up as you promised!¡± I graduated from such shows of affection after I turned ten. While I had not known it before, I heard that you only kiss your father on the cheek until you were ten from the vige kids! I stopped afterward, no matter how Daddy had asked for a peck except for his birthday. Daddy had told me he would do anything if I would give him a kiss. While I had not used this card...now was the time! ¡°Uh...it seems a loss on my part since I¡¯m so sleepy...¡± Daddy sat while rubbing his eyes after seeming to have noticed what I had done. ¡°I¡¯ll do it once more!¡± Daddy smiled at my words. ¡°So, what about Coco?¡± ¡°Look at this!¡± I showed the cracked egg to Daddy, and the big egg that I barely managed to hold with two hands was full of cracks and vibrating enough that my hands shook. ¡°What should I do about the chick?¡± While the egg will break easily, but the shell was thick enough that a newborn animal may find it hard to get out. The chick would need my help, and I asked Daddy for the way! ¡°There¡¯s nothing you should do.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± His answer was that I should not do anything. ¡°Chickse out with their own strength.¡± ¡°Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes. Theye out by breaking the shell with their beaks.¡± Does that mean I cannot do anything for Coco? ¡°So, you just have to observe the egg up close.¡± ¡°I only need to watch and not do anything?¡± ¡°Yes. The chick has toe out by itself to grow strong.¡± Daddy stroked my hair as he spoke. ¡°Do I have to raise it strong?¡± ¡°If you help it too much, the chick will not be able to do anything once it is separated from its parents. Therefore, you have to do so.¡± He was also speaking to me. ¡°I¡¯m not going to be separated from you.¡± I moved without standing in front of Daddy and leaned against his chest. ¡°I¡¯m going to live with you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to run out saying that you¡¯re going to get married.¡± ¡°No, I...¡± I stopped speaking and thought things over. Could I promise that I would not marry? If I said so now, my words would be a promise to Daddy. If I rushed out and said so and did not keep my promise, that means I would be lying to him. ¡°Um...¡± Chapter 129.2 129 Part 2 Daddy¡¯s hand stopped moving. ¡°Daughter? While I may not be the one to say this, but how should I ept you being silent at this timing?¡± ¡°That I¡¯m serious?¡± ¡°Is that so...¡± Daddy let out augh and leaned his chin on the top of my head. ¡°Ow.¡± ¡°I will stay like this until you finish thinking.¡± Daddy¡¯s chin was pressing into my head, and he was asking me to choose quickly. ¡°It¡¯s all right since I will live with you even if I marry!¡± ¡°So, you will marry.¡± ¡°Ahh!¡± Daddy attacked the top of my head with his chin, and while I tried to escape, I was leaning against him and had to let him do so. ¡°It hurts...¡± ¡°I won¡¯t allow you to marry unless he¡¯s stronger than me!¡± ¡°There may be one if I search hard...¡± Daddy does not train his swordsmanship every day as he seemed to rest during the winter and when it rained. However, I did know that he trained every day when the weather was nice. Since Daddy worked hard, I thought my husband would also need training. ¡°Aren¡¯t you underestimating your father?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ll be older when I marry, won¡¯t you be weaker?¡± ¡°You are a realist...¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m your daughter.¡± Daddy was making a grimace as I looked up at him with a smile. Did he not like me marrying that much? ¡°All right, I will allow anyone that can beat your sister.¡± ¡°Daddy, just say that you don¡¯t want me to marry.¡± No matter how I grow up, I do not think I can beat my sister. She is strong, and I have no words to describe how much. I should think about living solo rather than finding a person that could beat her. ¡°Coco seems to be doing well.¡± ¡°So, he is.¡± While the sound was small, it was the loudest yet. The shell broke a bit near the biggest crack in the middle of the egg. ¡°Now, you should observe it up close, since animals tend to imprint on the first person they see. You don¡¯t want anyone else to be the chick¡¯s mother.¡± I nodded and moved forward. While I had not given birth to Coco, I had ced it near my stomach. I was still its mother. ¡°Coco.¡± The egg began to shake, and had Coco understood my words? The tremors increased like Coco wanted to see me. ¡°Push forward!¡± Since Coco may grow weak if I help it, ording to Daddy, I could only cheer on since Coco has to be a strong and healthy chicken for me to fry it! ¡°You can do it! Get out from the egg!¡± The fire burning in the firece also let out arge me with noise, and it meant that Coco would be born big and strong. ¡°Your mother is here! So, show yourself from the egg!¡± Coco strived on at my words as it began to knock harder from inside. ¡°You can do it!¡± The egg broke at once with a sound, and we finally could see each other. ¡°Coco...?¡± However, did not chicks have beaks? And also... ¡°Mama!¡± It seemed like Coco could talk. *** ¡°Wake up.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± I could see my daughter cheering the egg on with her hands fisted. While it was an egg, she had cared for it like a mother and felt somewhat like a parent towards it. ¡°She has a long way to go to give birth.¡± I was true since I would not remain still if some rascal even touched our cute Alice. I would allow marriage if she brought someone I would like. ¡°Wake up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sleepy.¡± The Metal Bat looked at me with unkempt hair that fell over her face. ¡°Why are you awake already?¡± It was a clich¨¦ that metal beings did not need sleep, but she slept the longest out of us even though she was somewhat like a golem. I heard Alice cheering as I thought that over, and the Metal Bat nodded at the sound. ¡°So, the egg is hatching.¡± ¡°We have to prepare.¡± The egg was not your usual egg at a nce, and I could not overlook the possibility that it may be an insect type monster, let alone a bird. Since some species would try to eat their parents, I had to prepare in advance to protect my precious daughter. ¡°Well, it¡¯s for my little sis.¡± The Metal Bat looked sleepy but raised herself up for Alice. ¡°Well, let¡¯s see what wille out of that egg!¡¯ The Metal Bat and I remained at a safe distance and looked at Alice and the egg. In the early morning, the shell broke, and something appeared... ¡°It¡¯s a reptile.¡± A reptile with red scales showed up, and it resembled a dragon... ¡°It¡¯s a drake...right?¡± What I was thinking could not be true. ¡°It¡¯s a drake, amazing.¡± It had to be a drake, as its face looked like a dragon, and its wings that fluttered as it walked were the characteristics of a drake... ¡°Coco...?¡± ¡°Mama!¡± ¡°Hey, can drakes talk?¡± The Metal Bat tilted her head at me, and I had to respond that they could not. Therefore, this situation... ¡°We heard things since we¡¯re so sleepy.¡± I pushed myself inside the nkets andid my head on the pillow. I had woken up too early and had not been awake yet. ¡°Daddy! Coco can talk! Coco is a genius!¡± ¡°No, sI¡¯m hearing things...¡± ¡°Daddy? Mama¡¯s daddy?¡± ¡°I think Coco is really smart.¡± Alice was shaking my body, and I let myself be shaken. ¡°Damn...¡± I tried hard for three days to ignore the reality that my daughter had be a dragon tamer. Chapter 130.1 When it Rains, it Pours (4) 130 part 1 Chapter 130 When it Rains, it Pours (4) I got a disease after Alice¡¯s Coco was born. ¡°It¡¯s snowing a lot. Is the God of Wintering to thesends?¡± ¡°No way.¡± ¡°It¡¯s cold...is the princess using ice magic around this vige so we would note out of the nkets?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°The shape where the snow fell is weird...there might be someone waiting to ambush us, and he or she would have to be at least a swordmaster.¡± ¡°Why are you dumping a swordmaster in the snow?!¡± The Metal Bat shouted after taking away my nket. ¡°It¡¯s cold since I¡¯m in front of a window...¡± I trembled at the wind, but the Metal Bat did not seem to care. ¡°Master, you seem crazy nowadays!¡± While the Metal Bat shouted at me sharply, I had to nod. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m suspicious of everything in this world.¡± ¡°You had a reason in the past, but now you¡¯re just cing reasons on everything now!¡± The Metal Bat was correct, and I was suspicious of everything in this world. ¡°However...¡± I saw my daughter roasting potatoes in the firece nearby when I turned my head. A suspicious-looking golden cat slept on my daughter¡¯sp as her pink hair glistened from the fire. ¡°Mama, is this yummy?¡± ¡°Yes, roasted potatoes are delicious!¡± I saw the highest species of the lizard family in this world with wings and intelligence watching the potatoes next to her. ¡°Just call it a dragon. Why are you taking so long?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t want to acknowledge it...¡± I could feel my body go limp as I watched the white snow. ¡°I mean...well, you can¡¯t really expect to see a dragon being born.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The Metal Bat had lost some of her sureness as she spoke, and it would also seem weird to her. While the vige next to us was big, it was onlypared to others around here. This kingdom was smallpared to others and was weaker than the empire. The only reason this kingdom was in peace was because of the weather, as the country was not valuable enough to invade, and there was a high chance of freezing in winter during an attack. As this country had those characteristics, it remained in peace despite not having a swordmaster past or present. ¡°Master, there is a swordmaster here.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± This kingdom developed magic to survive in the cold rather than swordsmanship, but a swordmaster was right next door. He was even the previous Holy Sword, the most famous of them all. ¡°Hey, my surroundings are going crazy, and not me.¡± My suspicions were based on reason. ¡°Think about it. The old man next door is the previous Holy Sword, and the egg sold in the vige market in this small viscounty in this tiny kingdom was a dragon egg! Then, my daughter buys the egg because she wanted to make fried chicken! What¡¯s the probability of all these things happening?!¡± ¡°Um...astronomical...¡± ¡°Therefore, the world is going crazy and not me.¡± ¡°I could not agree when you¡¯re your usual self, but the situation nowadays makes me lean...¡± It was not mere guesses, as the flow after discovering that my next-door neighbor was the previous Holy Sword was definitely unusual. ¡°There has to be a clich¨¦ that ties everything together, and I have to run away from that...¡± The previous Holy Sword, a cat that probably was one of the beast people, and even a dragon appeared. Now, this would be at least the main scenario in progress in a game. ¡°What wille out?¡± ¡°Um...is there a demon king sealed nearby?¡± It wasmon enough in novels that began with a kingdom in ruins after the demon king¡¯s attack, as it was amon scenario used in novels in this world and in my past life. ¡°Isn¡¯t that going too far all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t a dragon going too far?¡± The Metal Bat closed her lips at my question. It was ironic that a goddess somewhere got a chick when she wanted a dragon, and my daughter got a dragon when she wanted a chick. ¡°Wait...¡± I thought of a possibility, which had to be not true but very probable. ¡°Is Alice, the protagonist?¡± Everything started from her, from my next-door neighbor, that suspicious golden cat, choosing that dragon egg, and now bing the mother of the said dragon! ¡°It can¡¯t be true.¡± My daughter is the protagonist who always had something bothersome going on! ¡°I think you¡¯re going too far again...¡± ¡°No, my daughter has to be the protagonist!¡± Her carefree and innocent attitude spoke protagonist, and her adorable antics would make a prince of this country fall in love with her when she grew up. Even more, she had a suspicious cat and owned a dragon! If that cat was really an aristocrat of the beast people, she would soon possess power that would overwhelm this small country! ¡°What is this...¡± I had searched for signs when I first met her, but I did not realize that she would be like this afterward. ¡°She is the protagonist...¡± ¡°In your mind...¡± I should now wish that she was the protagonist of aparatively easy romance fantasy novel. She would live happily after taking care of a few rivals... ¡°No!¡± ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t it a good thing that Alice lives happily?¡± ¡°I cannot argue against the marriage if she is going to marry a prince!¡± ¡°It¡¯s decided that my sister is going to marry a prince in your head...¡± Chapter 130.2 130 Part 2 While the Metal Bat stared at me, I was serious. If Alice¡¯s husband was a prince, she would not be able to live with me so easily! ¡°Master, won¡¯t everything be solved if you marry the empire¡¯s princess? She will have the strongest country around here as her family.¡± ¡°No.¡± Considering how powerful the empire was now, I could bring a prince of this country as my son-inw in this house. ¡°However, Alice would die first because of the princess.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± I could not send my precious daughter there, and I was, for the most part, sincere even if I also cared for my own safety. ¡°You had run away saying you did not want to marry all this while, and if you bring a beautiful girl as your daughter and say that you will marry because of her, that princess may rip my sister apart.¡± ¡°Yes, our Alice is cute!¡± The Metal Bat seemed to have understood this scenario. Alice would be beautiful and steal the heart of an aristocrat or a prince despite being amoner. Then, an aristocratic girl would be Alice¡¯s antagonist, and the prince would take care of the situation and save Alice. Then, they would confirm their love for another... ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s it.¡± I realized one thing when thinking of romance fantasies. If God had given me trouble, I just needed to do the same! ¡°What?¡± I exined my n to the Metal Bat, who looked at me with confusion. ¡°Master is crazy...¡± ¡°No, the world is! That¡¯s why I have to be crazy!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s nice seeing you being your old crazy self again...¡± I saw my daughter peeling potatoes with a smile, and she was feeding the dragon roasted potatoes without realizing she had ashes on her face. While I had at first brought her as camouge, I now considered her my own child. I could not let her live a life filled with trouble and pain. Then... ¡°Then?¡± ¡°First, let¡¯s go back to the nkets!¡± I was freezing after thinking things over at the window. #3 Other Stories: A Daughter¡¯s Story Daddy spoke to me after doing the breakfast dishes as I crawled back to the nkets. ¡°I will be teaching you things from today.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± He held my hands with a serious face as I tilted my head. ¡°They will be important in your life, and you have to learn them!¡± ¡°I do?¡± I also nodded as Daddy nodded with some force. ¡°I will!¡± I began my education with Daddy afterward. ¡°Now, repeat what I have taught you. What do you do when a suspicious individual asks for your help?¡± ¡°You look like a criminal...how can I help you when I can¡¯t trust you? Consider it a favor that I don¡¯t call you out!¡± ¡°Yes, very nice! Then, now I will tell you when the individual is wearing worn clothes but is really handsome or has expensive belongings, or when he is with someone who looks strong.¡± ¡°All right!¡± Daddy was teaching me what to do about aristocrats hiding their identities or when I met suspicious strangers. ¡°Now, tell me when you meet someone who calls himself a prince!¡± ¡°Have you been deceiving me? I cannot believe it...we¡¯re over!¡± ¡°All right!¡± Daddy pped at my acting, and he prepared me fried potatoes that he usually did not prepare in the winter. While I missed fried chicken, I was still very happy. ¡°Do you like it?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I felt joy run through my body as I dipped the potato in red tomato sauce. ¡°Then, you can take the next lesson, right?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Tomatoes are hard to store and would rot when stored in the warehouse. Therefore, we stored them as a sauce, but since the quantity was tiny, we could only have it on rare asions, even if they were terrific with fried potatoes! That meant Daddy thought I excelled in my lessons! ¡°Now, we will begin our next lesson, which focuses on how to do matchmaking between the evil aristocratic girl and the prince!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best!¡± While I was curious about why I should help an evil girl marry a prince, I did not ask as Daddy was teaching me since he would not make me learn anything bad. ¡°Now, what should you do when the evil girl tells you that you¡¯re alluring the prince!¡± ¡°I know my position. How could I dare to allure a prince...?¡± ¡°No, those eyes may have the opposite effect!¡± ¡°Then...what should I do?¡± ¡°You should not look frail, but bright! Yes, those eyes! Speak with a look like that!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, and when that evil girl asks you why you¡¯re staring at her like that, tell her that you wanted to meet the most beautiful girl in the kingdom and that it had been your dream!¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°I have been respecting you the most in this kingdom...no in thesends, Unnie!¡± ¡°Yes, thatst improvisation was amazing!¡± I felt Daddy stroke my head, and when I focused on the role Daddy wanted to y, heplimented me with joy. ¡°Then, next!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I had been living only in the nkets in the cold winter until now, but now I had something fun to do with Daddy! #4 Other Stories: A Cat¡¯s Story ¡°Be more aggressive!¡± ¡°Do you know how burdensome you are to me?! No!¡± I stared at my savior shouting with a reddened face with the speaking lizard. ¡°Mama...what are you doing?¡± I let out a sigh as I watched the dragon look at her with a tilted head. These humans were... ¡®Crazy...¡¯ This was not a ce to live for a long time. Chapter 131.1 When it Rains, it Pours (5) 131 Part 1 Chapter 131 When it Rains, it Pours (5) My daughter¡¯s education wasing along nicely. ¡°All right, what do you do if you meet someone who is wearing unnaturally thick sses?¡± ¡°I stay away!¡± ¡°If you brushed against the person wearing them and the sses drop?¡± ¡°I apologize and run! Especially if the person became beautiful just by not wearing sses!¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right!¡± I stroked my smiling daughter¡¯s hair, as that was her favorite praise. ¡°You¡¯re doing well. All men who are handsome, seems to be rich, or suddenly approaches you are your enemies.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°And if you seedies who are jealous of you near such men?¡± ¡°Be close to the leader and inform them everything they want to know!¡± ¡°If they¡¯re hiding their social status?¡± ¡°Run away!¡± ¡°If they¡¯re hiding amazing talent?¡± ¡°Run away!¡± ¡°If they seem to be hiding something!¡± ¡°Just run!¡± ¡°Excellent!¡± My daughter is so smart. ¡°Master, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a praise.¡± ¡°What are you saying? Alice is the best!¡± The Metal Bat came and nagged me while my daughter went to the restroom after dinner. ¡°You don¡¯t realize that you¡¯re teaching her unpraiseworthy things...Alice doing what you¡¯re teaching her well is the problem! You¡¯re teaching her how to be an ident waiting to happen!¡± What was the Metal Bat talking about? Alice was perfectly performing how not to be a heroine. If this n seeds, the possibility of Alice bing a heroine sharply declines. That means she will not have to marry a prince and continue to live with me! ¡°...Master, you have changed too suddenly.¡± ¡°What did I do?¡± She spoke like everything I did was like a viin, and I wanted to say that I had not been this way from the first. I had wanted to be the best farmer in the vige at first, and I had kept that wish even when my parents died from the hero¡¯s fight. I got good results by testing farming methods from my past life despite a few failures, and I thought I would be happy if I died farming. I would have not joined Howling if my fields had not burned when the stupid lord of my vige had picked a fight with the empire. ¡°I mean...a young boy thinking that he would join a viin organization in that situation is weird...¡± I could not make her understand my past since I could not say anything about my past life, even to her. If I were not forced to cut some parts, she would understand why I started being a viin from fourteen and joined Howling at fifteen. I did it to eat! Really! I turned my head at a sudden sound, and my cute pink-haired daughter had opened the window to gaze in. ¡°Daddy! I¡¯ll bring potatoes to eat with Coco!¡± ¡°Corn for me!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Be careful.¡± ¡°It¡¯s right there!¡± Even in this cold weather, Alice hummed with flushed cheeks and closed the window. ¡°It¡¯s a problem that the bathroom¡¯s outside.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to use one. I don¡¯t want to go out every time either.¡± ¡°You¡¯re bingzy, Master.¡± I knew that since I had stopped training with my sword during winter now, unlike before. However, things have gotten strange enoughtely to make me begin again. ¡°My brain will stop and slobber if things go on like this.¡± I was bing the king ofziness, as I only trained at home when my daughter brought home a dragon egg. I would have made this house a fortress before, but now I was only making up scenarios where my daughter would refuse princes. I really was a bum, and since I was near the end of my prime physically, I would be truly caught if my skills became rusty. ¡°You should work harder! Will you give my sister a mother?¡± ¡°...That would normally be a good thing.¡± While I did want Alice to have a mother, the candidates were all bad influences for her. ¡°Even if they ept Alice as a daughter...¡± I would not even consider the empire¡¯s royal family and the high elf who broke a branch of the World Tree, who elves considered their mother, to give to me as a present. ¡°Oh, dear.¡± If Sia was the better option, this was a question of whether one would marry someone if they were thest two people left in the world. ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m back.¡± I felt Alice hug me, and while she was cold, my heart grew warm. ¡°I should also scratch out Sia.¡± If Alice became like her, I would have done something evil. ¡°Mom!¡± ¡°Hey, did Coco wait for me?¡± I should raise that dragon to protect my daughter, and he would be able to breathe fire at the very least. If not, I should just make fried dragon and feed my daughter, which had been the original intention. ¡°I know that chicken is delicious, but fried dragon...?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know until you try.¡± I should try to gather some items I could use and make some more ns so that my daughter will not be a heroine to protect our peaceful daily life. #5 Other stories: A cat¡¯s story Chapter 131.2 131 Part 2 This human is crazy. ¡°Now, say.¡± ¡°Meow...¡± The father of my benefactor, who held my front legs and was gazing into my eyes, was ordering a cat to speak all of a sudden. I did think he knew my identity, but... ¡°Now, speak, speak.¡± ¡°Meow!¡¯ However, this was too much! I would have ran away after scratching his hand, but my benefactor¡¯s sister was looking at me with amused eyes. ¡®That eye...¡¯ She was looking at me like a predator ying with their food, which said she would wait to see how much I wouldst. ¡°Meow!¡± Help me, benefactor! These humans are tormenting me! I desperately turned my head to the only hope in this house. ¡°Chicken...it¡¯s been a long time...how long...?¡± ¡°This is yummy!¡± She did not seem to hear me as she reverently ate something called a chicken with the lizard. Since she was crying happy tears, she really did seem happy, but... ¡®Look at me!¡¯ While I tried to move my front feet, a cat¡¯s power was limited when I had decided to stay in this form. ¡°Hey, you want a hit?¡± ¡°Can I?¡± ¡°Meow!!!¡± I managed to run away from the man¡¯s hands at the sister¡¯s words, but I was not safe yet. I used every ounce of my strength to run to my benefactor and sit in herp. ¡°Oh, Misha?¡± ¡°Meow...¡± My benefactor had been about to stroke me, but she realized her hands were oily from the chicken looked around for a tissue. ¡°Oh, me too!¡± The silver-haired sister came up running to sit across from my benefactor. ¡°Oh, unnie! The leg is mine!¡± ¡°You won¡¯t give me a leg? Hey, you already have one! How can you have two legs?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. Daddy said I could!¡± ¡°Your sister says that you can¡¯t! You have not realized why a chicken has two legs and two wings!¡± ¡°I feel sorry that you don¡¯t know that you can eat a whole chicken!¡± I could not fathom why the two girls were fighting for the leg with their forks and chopsticks. It was only a bird fried in oil. ¡°Misha, do you want a bite?¡± The lizard spoke with a piece in its hand. I meowed to say I did not want one. ¡°Misha, you¡¯ll eat?¡± My benefactor gave me a piece with happy eyes, and I thought I saw her eyes like that before. ¡°Here, Misha, it¡¯s yummy. I¡¯ll give you the tastiest part since this is your first time.¡± ¡°What part will you give the cat? How about this?¡± ¡°Not the neck! That¡¯s dangerous for Misha!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so...¡± ¡°Hey, you took the leg!¡± I remembered. I saw those eyes when the priests in my n spread their beliefs to others. ¡®I don¡¯t think it¡¯s safe here.¡¯ Crazy believers were the most dangerous since they could give their lives for their faith and justify everything under the name of God. While the benefactor was offering me food, it would be safer to avoid her offer. ¡°Meow?¡± ¡°Here, Misha. It¡¯s the wing. I took out the bone for you.¡± I felt my benefactor¡¯s hand holding my body the moment I tried to run. ¡°Meow?¡± While she was smiling, I was terrified when my benefactor¡¯s hand came to my mouth. ¡°Meow!¡± ¡°One bite, and you¡¯ll also love chicken like me!¡± ¡°Meoww!¡± Was my benefactor merely a member of this family? She looked at me with crazed eyes and started to feed me chicken. ¡°Hey, a new life waits for you in this meeting!¡± Even my family¡¯s crazy believers do not say such things?! Is she feeding me drugs?! ¡°Hey, here!¡± Somehow, she fed me chicken with mad mumbling. I spat it out since the morsel seemed too ominous. However, the room¡¯s temperature fell down by several degrees at that moment. ¡°You spat it out...?¡± I knew that it was due to a single person from that voice since my benefactor¡¯s words could freeze summer. ¡°You dare to spit chicken out...?¡± I found myself lowering my head. ¡°Misha, look at me.¡± My animal instincts told me that raising my head meant death, and I realized I was facing a crisis. ¡°Mi. Sha.¡± ¡°Mommy¡¯s scary...¡± While the lizard tried to run, it will not be able to run far. ¡°How could my sweet Misha...be such a bad cat.¡± Her voice would now freeze hellfire, and I only thought of one method since running away was not possible. I ate the chicken I spat out and felt idiotic doing so...but hey. ¡®This is tasty.¡¯ There was something mystically tasty about this chicken. ¡°Do you like it?¡± ¡°Meow.¡± My benefactor now hugged me and stroked my back. ¡°Don¡¯t do such a bad thing again.¡± ¡°Meow.¡± It was delicious enough to regret spitting it out, and I think my defenses are crumbling under her hands... Wait, I am the crown prince, and how could I...wait, that spot¡¯s soft! ¡°Meow.¡± ¡°Have another bite!¡± That day, I gave in to chicken and the hand rub given to me by a human. Chapter 132.1 When it Rains, it Pours (6) 132 Part 1 Chapter 132 When it Rains, it Pours (6) #6 Other stories: A daughter¡¯s story Winter wasing to an end around the time I ended my lessons with Daddy. The snow that seemed to cover the whole world was melting, and due to the vige peopleing out with shovels, we now could walk freely across the vige. Thanks to their efforts, we now can eat chicken again, but there are side effects. ¡°Alice.¡± Bright sunshine entered the window and attacked me with Daddy¡¯s voice. ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m going to melt in the sun...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember my daughter being a vampire...¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to melt.¡± ¡°She also wasn¡¯t a snowman.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m already finished...leave me behind...¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to let the fire die out in the firece if you keep doing that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cruel!¡± While I found it painful to let go of this warmth, I still had a trick up my sleeve yet. However, Daddy took away my nkets. The cold air and the warm fire were attacking me from both sides! ¡°No, the coldness is winning despite the fire¡¯s support...¡± ¡°Stop and wake up!¡± Daddy pulled the nket under me, and I found myself rolling on the cold wooden floor. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re too much in the morning...¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one difficult to wake. Everyone else is awake and preparing for breakfast.¡± I stuck out my tongue and made a cute face as Daddy began to organize the nkets with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Daddy!¡± ¡°I told you not to imitate your sister.¡± My father flicked his finger, and my forehead hurt a lot. I felt my eyes water, as Daddy would not scold my sister even if his expression was mixed when she made this face! ¡°Eat breakfast.¡± ¡°All right...¡± Morningeste in the mornings, but now it was about to be spring. We had to prepare things for the farming that wille with the season change. ¡°You¡¯re thest again!¡± ¡°Mommy!¡± ¡°Meow!¡± I saw my sister, Misha, and Coco eating breakfast. ¡°Sandwiches!¡± While I somehow came to the breakfast table, I was still sleepy. I did not have the strength to lift a spoon, but sandwiches were a different matter. ¡°Thank you!¡± The bread was hard, but Daddy¡¯s sauce, vegetables, and ham followed the bread to make it tasty. ¡°You already started eating.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Daddy had finished organizing the nkets, and he left a bowl of soup in front of me. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Eat up. We have work to do.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± We have to pick out the seeds that had been stored after harvest. While we had selected some good ones back then, all of them could not be used for farming. We had to choose the best and the most durable! This is a very important task, enough to decide the fate of a whole year! ¡°We may bete for stomping on the fields, so we have to hurry. Let¡¯s hope your sister does not bother us.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be ying with the dragon and the cat!¡± My sister wilted all nts that came near her, and therefore she had been excluded from farming. But now, she had ymates. ¡°You have to be careful to Coco! He¡¯s still a baby!¡± ¡°Of course! Your baby is my nephew! Don¡¯t you think I will treat them well?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a possibility.¡± ¡°Well...¡± My sister¡¯s treatment was extremely painful but had incredible healing abilities. She helped me and Misha heal in a day. ¡°You cannot hit them!¡± ¡°You think me too violent.¡± ¡°No flicking fingers!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± My guess had been right, as my sister clucked her tongue before eating her sd. ¡°Meow!¡± ¡°Treat Misha as you will Coco!¡± ¡°You really want to take away all of your sister¡¯s joys?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one who should be angry!¡± As Misha¡¯s caretaker and Coco¡¯s mother, I had a duty to protect them from my sister! ¡°Fight after eating, you two.¡± My father¡¯s finger hit both of our foreheads as we red at each other. ¡°Stop the violence!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one to say that?¡± My sister earned another hit, and I watched her while rubbing my forehead. I felt a swollen spot, and the reason that it was so fast.... ¡°I got hit on the same spot...¡± ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re the same as me!¡± ¡°I said be quiet.¡± ¡°Hey, not a third time!¡± My sister grimaced while holding her reddened forehead, and that made my heart lighter. ¡°Daddy, let¡¯s work hard today!¡± ¡°Yes, you seem to have woken up.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I nodded and finished my breakfast. ¡°Then, time to work!¡± ¡°My daughter is a different person before and after waking up.¡± I went upstairs when Daddy called me after ying with my sister a bit after breakfast. Chapter 132.2 132 Part 2 ¡°It¡¯s been a long time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s cold in winter.¡± While my room is on the second floor, I always lived in front of the firece on the first floor during winter, since I would be a corpse if I slept in my room. ¡°It really is cold.¡± While spring wasing, it was still winter in this northern country. I heard that the Winter Witch stayed the most here. ¡°We would need to clean since dust is everywhere.¡± ¡°Spring is too busy a season...¡± Farmers were busy all the time except for winter since we had to prepare tools, raise seeds to seedlings, and stomp on wheat and barley we had sowed during winter at spring. Also, we had to clean the house in spring to avoid the rain. We were also busy during winter, as we had to nt the seedlings in the field, sow seeds that did not need seedlings, and spread manure. Then, we had to prepare for sudden weather changes and fight with weeds, the farmer¡¯s nemesis. Weeds are strong and seemed to pop out wherever there was sunlight. Daddy told me that each weed had its unique characteristics and positive effects and that the world will be endangered if there are no weeds. However, the most essential point is that weeds are not good to eat and block edible nts from growing. Therefore, weeds had be the enemy. Fall is the harvest season, and we had to bring in the nts we had grown and prepare for winter. Winter is freezing here, and the snowfall this winter made it impossible for us to go out. Therefore, we had to prepare to live in the house, and surprisingly, fall is another season for sowing, as we nt wheat and barley during this period. While I heard southernnds harvested wheat during summer, we need to grow wheat until fall due to the cold. The conclusion was, as a farmer, we were always busy except for winter! So, let¡¯s work happily since I¡¯m always going to be busy! ¡°I¡¯m thinking positive thoughts.¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing well.¡± I feel like selecting seeds mechanically next to Daddy had be easier due to positive thinking. Daddy had said that one could control one¡¯s thoughts and actions and be at least happy even when facing adversities if one thought happy thoughts. It was working for me now! ¡°Seeds for sunlight done!¡± The process of raising seedlings is called germination, but farmers need to know that germination does not ur in the same conditions. Some seeds need sunlight, and others need darkness, and the first step in raising nts is to prepare them ording to their type. ¡°Seeds for darkness done!¡± I watched the sky while rubbing my sore neck, and the sun was already setting. ¡°I¡¯m tired...¡± I must have been doing this for at least ten hours after breakfast, and lunch had been a few sandwiches Daddy had brought from the kitchen. I felt my stomach grumble, and I was suddenly hungry. ¡°Eat as much as you want, since dinner is chicken stew.¡± ¡°Chicken stew!¡± Chickens are perfect animals, and other dishes were also yummy. I felt my tiredness run away at the thought. Farming with Daddy was not difficult...oh? My thoughts stopped when I realized that only the two of us would be farming. Usually, families in the vige worked in units of four to tens of people. While there were vigers who managed different stores, most of the vigers farmed as their livelihood. Others would raise livestock, and they also worked in simr numbers as farming. However, it was only the two of us, as my sister could not participate. That meant we were working doublepared to others, and insufficientbor was a problem that needed to be immediately solved since it posed great harm. Therefore, I asked Daddy in a confident voice. ¡°Daddy.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Daddy hesitated at my serious face while cleaning up the leftover seeds. They will not be thrown away, as good farmers managed all of their seeds! We will sell those of high quality to the vigers! ¡°Daughter? What is the matter?¡± My father seemed curious at my silence, and I spoke directly since I could not leave him hanging. ¡°Daddy, I want a Mommy!¡± ¡°What?¡± My father¡¯s surprised face was simr to my sister¡¯s. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, since I will get on well with my stepmother!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± ¡°I want a brother, too!¡± I stayed close to Daddy to tell him all since men are useful for farming! ¡°I need sisters, but as many brothers as possible!¡± I know that Daddy is rich, and he could cover as many siblings as needed, and if we had more manpower, we could go ahead with our n to raise chicken! More people to the farm meant we could do several things along with farming! ¡°So, Daddy, find a Mommy!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I heard that you are popr!¡± My sister had told me Daddy had several candidates for marriage who followed him, and he may not have been able to meet them due to me. Therefore, I would help him to find a new girlfriend! ¡°Daddy can¡¯t follow what you¡¯re saying!¡± ¡°Daddy!¡± However, Daddy went out of the room and avoided my words for all kinds of reasons. ¡°If he is going to be like that...¡± I would also n Daddy¡¯s marriage project! Wait...was he married before? Chapter 133.1 When it Rains, it Pours (7) 133 Part 1 Chapter 133 When it Rains, it Pours (7) People usually thought spring was the starting season for farming, but it really was winter. Since we had sowed barley and wheat right before winter, we needed to move from early March to stomp on them. The ground is hard during winter, making it difficult for barley and wheat to spread their roots. If left like that, they do not receive necessary nutrients during spring when they needed to grow, which meant no harvest. Therefore, in order to live, one needed to stomp on them, as there were other positive effects as well. My daughter was stomping with her pink hair hidden in a fur hat, and she was adorable jumping on them because of her light weight. However, I could only watch her from afar. ¡°Daddy, wait!¡± ¡°You¡¯re slow.¡± While my daughter furrowed her brow twenty meters from here, I only walked on while stomping on barley and wheat. Farming was nothing to mepared to time spent with my daughter since I had enough money to buy barley and wheat until I die. ¡°Daddy! Stepmother!¡± However, I was working hard because she was asking for a stepmother even during breaks. ¡°I told you, Alice. Daddy doesn¡¯t need a new mother.¡± I was already past the marrying age, as I had given up marrying on joining Howling since I had not seen any happy marriages there. Most of the time, people died after family being held hostage, or someone had married a spy and died in betrayal. Therefore, I am solo because of Howling, and there really was no other reason! Really! ¡°Daddy, we need more people to farm. However, there are only two girls and you in this house! We cannot cover for you when you grow old at this rate, and you don¡¯t want that.¡± My daughter did not stop nagging about marriage even at this time. ¡°A son will cure the problem, so Daddy! Let¡¯s have only three!¡± Daughter, your Daddy is richer than you think. I am rich now, will be rich on getting the money I had hid under different identities and will be even richer when I gain ess to the money I cannot take out due to the empire. Enduring life in an evil organization for ten years will give you that much. ¡°Is that so?¡± However, I cannot say that out loud. It would be difficult to answer where the money hade from if my daughter asked me, and being rich without farming much would be very bad in hiding my identity among the vigers. He lives idly but is rich in this mountain vige. Why? Everyone would think me strange, and therefore I needed to hide the fact that I was wealthy. ¡°Then, you agree with me, right? You don¡¯t need to worry about me, and Unnie will think the same! We are all right with you having a fresh start!¡± I found myself wanting to say it due to my daughter saying weird things. And what was this about a fresh start when I had never been married? Wasn¡¯t it too much? ¡°Unnie told me that there are amazing people who like you. How about it?¡± ¡°No.¡± I pressed the top of her head as she spoke to me with bright eyes, and while some dirt got on her hat, she came in closer without noticing. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy enough with my daughter.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good thing, but...¡± While I wanted to continue seeing my daughter¡¯s adorably flushed face, she will keep talking to me if I did not act now. ¡°Then, break time is over!¡± ¡°What?! You avoided the subject again!¡± My daughter came back to her senses, but the opportunity had gone away. ¡°We will talk againter, Daddy!¡± ¡°We need to go to the cksmith after this! Let¡¯s finish soon!¡± While she came stomping towards me, I was inevitably faster. ¡°Daddy, slow down!¡± ¡°You have a long way to go as a farmer, daughter!¡± I managed to avoid my daughter¡¯s nagging by quickly stomping away. #7 Other stories: An old man¡¯s story I was in a very awkward situation. ¡°Wow, one more drink!¡± ¡°Wow, one more for me too!¡± The two girls handed me their beer sses. Of course, I had given them fruit juice with a bit of honey, but I was still in an awkward situation. ¡°Don¡¯t you think Daddy is too much, Grandpa?¡± ¡°I think that the women that like him will think the same thing.¡± The children next door were grumbling about their current situation while drinking from beer sses. Merln had gone to check on the farming tools for this year at the cksmith, and it seemed that I was the only one remaining who would listen to them. ¡°Grandpa, Daddy marrying again at his age is not a bad thing, right?¡± While Alice was cute grumbling, she very much resembled a drunk person. ¡®Did I give them fruit liquor instead of drinks?¡¯ I tasted the drink I gave them, but it was ordinary fruit juice. Chapter 133.2 133 Part 2 ¡°You¡¯re right. He should just give up and live with the woman who likes him. She will make himfortable.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it? It will be easier to farm!¡± ¡°The problem is that the people who like him are not farmers or will do farming...¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because they have people who will farm for them.¡± I had given them beef jerky as I did not have any sweets on hand, and the children sighed as they drank and chewed on beef. ¡°Do the stepmother candidates see farming in a bad light?¡± ¡°Well, they won¡¯t oppose it if he agrees to marry.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡± I found their antics familiar and realized this was the reason people say that one should watch their actions in front of children. ¡°Do you want to join us, Grandpa?¡± I was acutely embarrassed for my past self at the girl handing me a ss and smiling. ¡°No, I¡¯m all right.¡± ¡°It¡¯s yummy.¡± They were exact copies of Merln and me, and I had given them beer sses because they were all I had. I needed to buy ordinary ones at the vige the moment these girls left my house. ¡°Grandpa, what would make Daddy want to marry?¡± Alice suddenly asked me a question as I thought about such trivial things. ¡°Umm...that¡¯s...¡± I had thrown away my family for my sword, and I had never thought about a wife. However, they were asking about remarriage to someone who had never married! ¡°Umm...I think they would need to want to marry each other...¡± Marriage was between two people, and as those that marry for other reasons than love tend to fail, I thought that love was necessary, but... ¡°Grandpa, that¡¯s too na?ve!¡± ¡°Is that so? My thoughts were crushed by a teenager. ¡°Love is important since families could break over time if there is no love!¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right...¡± ¡°However, that¡¯s not all! You need to consider other things when making a family, like how much one earns in a year! If the family farms, whether one could pay taxes and gain enough to eat! If the harvest is bad, how much food can be stored!¡± ¡°Is that so...¡± ¡°That response tells me that you think of marriage too lightly! You also have to consider how many children you have and allot inheritance after death!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I had been too shallow...¡± Alice continued on despite my apology. Her criticism was harsh enough for me topliment me on not marrying in a rush. ¡°Did you understand now that marriage is a serious affair?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Alice¡¯s sister handed me a ss after I received enough criticism to make me flinch. ¡°Old man, have a ss.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± It was a sweet fruit juice but bitter to my tongue. I chewed on beef jerky as I contemted on the bitterness of life. ¡°Grandpa is no help...¡± ¡°I am sorry.¡± My mouth spouted an apology at Alice¡¯s depressed voice despite not knowing what I was apologizing for. ¡°Everything will be happier when Daddy marries.¡± ¡°While I say this in a different meaning, I agree since it¡¯s a shortcut to world peace.¡± They grumbled and clicked their sses and drank heartily before asking for another to me. ¡°Have as much as you want.¡± The two girls began to talk again after I poured each of them another ss, and they were again nning on having Merln marry again. Since Alice did not find me of much help, I was only pouring them juice like a pub owner. ¡°I will somehow help Daddy marry!¡± ¡°What will you do if stepmother takes him away?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a problem...but I can do it! With your help!¡± ¡°Well, that depends on you.¡± ¡°Please have this trivial gift, Unnie.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t usually allow gifts like this...¡± ¡°I put in some extra.¡± ¡°Well, well.¡± I was at a loss for words as Alice handed some beef jerky to her sister and how they were received. ¡°You two? I cannot understand what you¡¯re doing, so will you teach me?¡± ¡°We often pretend to bribe and be bribed when we y!¡± I only thought I had a lot of things to tell Merln when he got back. ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Alice¡¯s eyes shone at her sister¡¯s words. ¡°You¡¯ll help, right?¡± ¡°Trust me! I¡¯ll solve any problem thates with a stepmother!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the best!¡± Come soon, Merln. I have a lot to say to you. ¡°Then, this is for Daddy¡¯s remarriage!¡± ¡°Cheers!¡± I could not hold back a sigh as the cute kids drank juice again and desperately wished that Merln woulde here now. Chapter 134 When it Rains, it Pours (8) Chapter 134 When it Rains, it Pours (8) I was at the vige¡¯s only cksmith and heard someone hammering steel at a regr rhythm, and I had ced my ultimate weapon here. ¡°Is it done?¡± ¡°Oh, Merln, is it you?¡± I opened the door, and the cksmith who knew me by my voice was a middle-aged man. He was a middle-aged man and not an old man, which was an important factor. ¡°Yours is in the right. Get it yourself.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I watched the cksmith hammer steel without looking at me, as he was busy with the overflowing work. It was actually rare for a vige like this one to have such a cksmith, as one who could hand steel was valued everywhere. Even if this country was not in war, lords did not easily give up on cksmiths, as they may pose to weaponize people for a riot. However, while this world had many bad lords, the one here was a rare exception, and he allowed retired technicians to return to their homnds. Thanks to that, the retired used their skills for their vige, and this was a rare grace for this vige, as our environment was harsh. ¡°Let¡¯s see, is this it?¡± I watched the cksmith¡¯s actions for a moment and took my secret weapon from a corner to look over it. ¡°Wow.¡± ¡°Your tools are unique, which makes them interesting to handle.¡± I heard the cksmith¡¯s indifferent voice, but I knew that he was surprised underneath. I had been extremely surprised to find out that this world did not have ho-mi, one of Korea¡¯s best farming tools. As the small tool enabled its user to dig, it had gained international fame, level the ground, removes weeds, and harvest potatoes. It was a multi-purpose tool, simple and suppliable while easy to use. It would enable us to work faster, and the best part was that my cute daughter will be able to use it easily and safely! ¡°Your quality is perfect as promised.¡± ¡°Yes, hard and not sharp. I worked harder since you told me it was for a girl.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You do not need to thank me, as this is my job.¡± The cksmith going back to his steel increased my trust in him, as he really was an artisan! ¡°How much is it?¡± ¡°Ten silver coins.¡± The price impressed me again, as ten silver coins may be a slight burden to the ordinary people, it was affordable and cheap when the price was for steel tools. While the steel was reused from old tools or misceneous items, most cksmiths were considered artisans, and considering his effort, ten silvers were cheap for having him make some customized farming tools! ¡°Use well.¡± The cksmith had not looked back once after I came in, and he did not even confirm the coins before sending me away. Well, no one who wanted to live here for long would go against him, but still. ¡°Here it is.¡± I ced the bag with the coins on the floor and shouldered the bag with the tools. While it was quite heavy, I trained for decades and could manage this weight. ¡®Oh?¡¯ However, I felt something was wrong after a few steps aftering out of the cksmith. ¡®What is this? Did I count wrong?¡¯ The number of farming tools I had was the same since the two of us would farm again, so the weight would be the same... ¡®It seems heavier.¡¯ I ced the bag on the ground, confirmed the tools, and found that the number and size were the same. The bag¡¯s weight was the same as usual, and that meant...! I wanted to say it was not true, but there was only one option remaining. While I had beenzy during winter, I had trained! I grabbed my arm muscles, and while they had been hard as steel before, they were a bit soft now. ¡®What about my abdomen?!¡¯ While my stomach was still not sticking out, my six-pack had disappeared. How can I think this weight heavy even if I had been a bitzy? ¡®It can¡¯t be true!¡¯ I lifted the bag with all my strength, and while I could manage to take it home, it would take much effort. That was the difference between my statest year and this year, which meant I had be weak. One¡¯s body bing weak was critical for a swordsman, especially those who used high-ss skills. Winning by power and strength was for low-ss fights, and fights between experts required experience and skills. While the former may seem to suffer more from a weakened body, it was actually thetter who had a bigger problem. Those who fought by power and strength meant that their actions became weaker, but it meant they could not do what they once could do for thetter. Most people who fought by skill used counter moves by using the opponent¡¯s strength against them, but when that calction fails, they may be the ones hurt. Death wille then to the skilled swordsmen when their body limits what they once could do. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die.¡± I could not die like this when I had such a cute daughter. The vige seemed peaceful, but when there was the previous Holy Sword, a dragon, and a strange cat with my daughter possibly being a heroine candidate, I could not ignore the possibilities. The answer to how to survive was actually simple. #8 Other stories: A daughter¡¯s story I felt like time had stopped, and while I had dropped my wooden cup in shock, I did not even notice it. ¡°What do you mean, Daddy?¡± While I raised my unbelieving eyes to Daddy, the fact he had said that there will be no fried chicken from today did not change. What happened? I had been asking him to fry the chicken he had brought with him, but he cut me off by saying he would not fry it. I could not understand this, because Daddy also liked chicken. Who does not like chicken? Everyone I knew did, and why was he doing this? ¡°It¡¯s fattening.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Chicken makes me fat.¡± What did he mean by that? ¡°You don¡¯t need to think that!¡± A little weight would not hurt. ¡°One cannot live a long life when fat.¡± ¡°I can trade my life to eat fried chicken!¡± The future me would agree and would want me to live happily eating chicken instead of living ten more years. Actually, the future me would die in regret thinking that I did not give up chicken to live a life like this. ¡°That¡¯s not a good thought.¡± ¡°Daddy, it¡¯s not true! What is important for a person in life?!¡± ¡°Health.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s important...but one needs food, clothes, and a house! That means food is more important than health!¡± It was perfect logic usingmon sense. I hoped this would stop Daddy from forbidding chicken. ¡°We will have meals with a healthy diet.¡± Daddy broke my logic with one sentence. ¡°We will have healthier food, and that means we will have both health and food!¡± ¡°This is wrong...¡± I could only roll my feet at Daddy¡¯s words since taste and fat went together. We would not be able to have chicken anymore. ¡®Unnie, help!¡¯ I sent a desperate gaze to Unnie, and she approached Daddy. ¡®Go!¡¯ I cheered her on since she would be able to do what I could not! ¡°Hey, how about chicken?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°All right!¡± My belief broke in an instant! ¡°Unnie!¡± ¡°Sorry, it cannot be helped.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too fast giving up!¡± ¡°He won¡¯t bend when he¡¯s like that. It¡¯s easier to give up!¡± ¡°No, no...¡± I could not give up chicken like this. ¡°Unnie, we have to talk sense into Daddy since he¡¯s wrong!¡± ¡°He¡¯s saying all the right things in essence.¡± ¡°Are you betraying me?!¡± It looked like my sister would not help, and had she been bought by Daddy? Was he taking revenge for me nagging him to marry again? He had told me that revenge using other methods than power could be more damaging at times. Was he doing it to me? ¡°I can¡¯t lose like this!¡± If I gave in now, Daddy would be able to hold fried chicken hostage all the time! A loss meant all losses, and I would bend to my father¡¯s attack. ¡°If Daddy will do that!¡± ¡°Mommy?¡± I hugged Coco and found the willpower not to give in to Daddy, if only for Coco! The war between Daddy and me was on! #9 Other Stories: A cat¡¯s story A strange silence filled the room, as breakfast was too quiet. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s all grass!¡± Except for the one weird person. ¡°Isn¡¯t this too much? Can¡¯t you put it to make soup? Hey, what do you think, little sis?¡± ¡°......¡± ¡°Little sis?¡± ¡°......¡± ¡°Do you want to be hit?¡± ¡°Unnie! I¡¯m stating my dissatisfaction to Daddy through silence! Don¡¯t interrupt me!¡± ¡°Oh, you did?¡± The silver-haired girl turned her gaze away at my benefactor¡¯s words to me. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll y with this cat!¡± ¡°Meo!¡± I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing but do it fast, or I¡¯ll die first! Chapter 135 When it Rains, it Pours (9) Chapter 135 When it Rains, it Pours (9) I let out the air I had been holding back. While most of the cold was gone, it was still early winter. Even if there were still cold gusts of air, I was not wearing a shirt. My teacher from my past life had taught me so, and while he had said that one needed to look closely to muscle movements and stop the cloth from sticking... He had removed shirts of handsome disciples and would watch with satisfied eyes at women who asked him to take them in despite the expensive ss fees. My guess was probably correct, as my teacher¡¯s dojo had been too drabby to bring in female disciples without any measures. Everyone had been happy, as men were happy to see women, and my pay as a basics teacher increased! However, I could not endure this cold that came after exercise. Having one¡¯s clothes wet from sweat was irritating when bathing was a luxury. Sweating itself was annoying, as a reason for not exercising in winter was to wear the same clothes for a few days. While I had removed my shirt for these reasons, it was still freezing cold! ¡°I wish a dwarf was here.¡± Howling had good facilities despite being an evil organization and even had a shower system. The royal pce had baths, and the academy, with its expensive fees, also had showers. However, only dwarves could make such facilities, and even if there were a few humans who could do so, they would note to this rural vige. So, an individual had to wash in ake, a brook, or a river. However, one would freeze to death. ¡°I should run.¡± Running reduced time despite the wind bing colder, and I had raced back home while feeling my sweat turn cold. I found a guest waiting for me since my daughter was too adorable. She did not want to speak to me after I forbade chicken, but she was waiting for me with a hot wet towel that was still steaming! The key point was that she just threw it at me and went away, and I felt like the dozens of men who will fall in love with her would suffer! The towel was warm, and I felt my heart also be warmer at thinking that my daughter had heated this towel when she was not a morning person. ¡°I had been a bit worried.¡± She is now thirteen and was about to be a teenager who would go through teen angst! I thought since my daughter was more mature than her peers, that period woulde early. But she was growing up so well! ¡°I should give a gift to such a daughter...¡± I could not ask her what she wanted the most since she would probably ask for fried chicken. While I could make her some after getting fit and maintaining it for a while, I could not now. I needed topletely avoid all allures since I knew that even if I made some with the intention for it to be for only my daughter, I would eat too. ¡°Wait for a little more.¡± Since summer was farming season, I would burn calories and get fit faster! I would make as much chicken as she wanted then. #10 Other Stories: A daughter¡¯s story It was a day a few years ago when it had not been long after I acknowledged Daddy as Daddy and still feared the night. I had been unable to sleep and had gone to Daddy¡¯s room while hugging a pillow. He had weed me with a smile and told me many tales until I fell asleep next to him. I remembered this story from back then. ¡°The god of summer and the god of winter had a bet a long time ago.¡± ¡°A bet?¡± ¡°Yes, they bet to prove who was the better out of the two, and the goal was to make a wanderer remove his coat.¡± I had thought that gods were strange since the wanderer would have been so surprised. ¡°The winter god tried with confidence, as he thought making the coat fly away with cold winds would be enough.¡± ¡°That seems really cold.¡± ¡°Yes, but the wanderer did not remove his coat. It¡¯s cold here in the northern parts, so you¡¯ll understand that the wanderer shrunk into his coat and walked on.¡± It was natural, as winter here had been colder than anywhere else just because we were up north. How cold would have been the winter god¡¯s winds? ¡°The winter god gave up, and now it was the summer god¡¯s turn. The summer god only showered warm sunshine. What do you think the wanderer would have thought?¡± ¡°The weather¡¯s crazy!¡± ¡°That...is also right.¡± Daddy¡¯s voice shook like he was surprised, and I was also surprised that he would not think it a natural answer. I was now worried about how much damage nearby farmers would have suffered due to the gods. ¡°Anyway, the wanderer opened his coat and took it off under the warmth.¡± ¡°It must have been hot.¡± It had been hot in the summer even here, so the summer god might have suffered under the zing sun that made him want to remove all of his clothing. How much would the farmers have suffered when sensitive nts were attacked by sudden cold winds and then hot sunshine? They would have been unable to sleep, thinking that it may happen again. ¡°Anyway, did you understand the important part of this story?¡± ¡°In your words, only the innocent wanderer suffered between gods!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s also true...¡± Daddy stroked my hair a few times and spoke after clearing his thought. ¡°The lesson in this story is that sometimes problems can be solved through wisdom rather than attack. It means sometimes being kind to those with who you¡¯re not friendly may be the right thing to do.¡± ¡°All right!¡± I had not forgotten Daddy¡¯s words, and since everything he says is correct, doing what he had told me would lead me to victory! ¡°I¡¯m doing well!¡± I instinctively felt that my victory hade nearer as I watched Daddy wash with a pleased face. In winter, Daddy had told me that one needed to see human rtionships on arge scale since a small mistake can bring two people closer or tear them apart! I remained silent near Daddy recently, and showing a sweet side like this was one of the training we had done during winter. While Daddy had warned me that men could be smitten when I did something like this, but this was for fried chicken. ¡°Now, for the next step...¡± I confirmed the ns I had prepared since going upfront in a war with Daddy was not something I could win at. I needed to prepare baby steps so Daddy would lose on his own and bring me chicken because I was too adorable. Until then, I needed to keep silent and act coldly. ¡°I need to wake up Misha and Coco.¡± It was nearly breakfast time, as we would be busy from morning nting precious vegetables. However, it was difficult to wake up at this hour, and my eyes watered from a yawn. Still, all this was for chicken, and I will seed even if I was not a morning person. #11 Other Stories: Someone¡¯s stories The four strange men wearing ck robes were looking down at the vige from the middle of a mountain. ¡°There are too few people living in that country.¡± ¡°The environment is very harsh.¡± ¡°Is the one we¡¯re looking for here?¡± ¡°It may be easier to hide in a ce like this.¡± One of them took out something from his breast, and it was a disc that looked like a small cosmetic mirror case. He stared at it and shook his head. ¡°Not in this vige.¡± ¡°Do we need to go further north?¡± ¡°While the size is small and few people live there, the viges are too far apart to make searching for a person easy.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think splitting up is a better idea?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± ¡°No, we only have one tool, and the master¡¯s orders were all of us to go there and bring the subject back in case something happens. Don¡¯t you all remember?¡± The two who had spoken clucked their tongues at the words. ¡°Yeah, we know.¡± The one who had stopped them sighed at their disappointed faces, as they all were ambitious as they were talented. The teamwork might have been better with rtively mundane subordinates, but secret was key in this mission. Everything ended when the enemy discovered what they were looking for, so that was why the master had chosen the best and the most loyal. He knew what the master was thinking. However... ¡°I just want to go on crashing things.¡± ¡°How about holding people hostage?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a good idea.¡± They all believed in their skills too much, and touring countries with them made the man want to give up. He stopped himself from sighing and spoke to the others. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Individual movements are forbidden, and we can only check this country as quickly as possible. Thankfully, it seems like it won¡¯t take long to check all of this ce. We do need to follow master¡¯s orders as fast as we can.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°All for the master.¡± ¡°We only follow his path.¡± Thankfully, they were all certainly loyal and did agree when the man emphasized the master¡¯s orders. ¡®I don¡¯t know how far this will rest.¡¯ They needed to find their target, and the ck-robed men moved up north to search. Chapter 136 When it Rains, it Pours (10) Chapter 136 When it Rains, it Pours (10) Spring came after a cold winter, and it would be called summer in other areas. However, as this country was in the north, summer was not here. We were growing corn now when other countries would be growing something else. I felt someone pull my sleeve and lowered my head to see my daughter with an indifferent face. ¡°Are you saying that I should work?¡± She nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± She went back to her ce to nt corn seedlings on the ground, and I sighed. The fried chicken was formidable, and while she treated me the same way, she still would not speak to me. I thought it wouldst only a week and a month at best. However, it had been three months! I was beginning to want to make some for her, but I wanted her toe and ask me first. The Metal Bat would think me weird but thinking of her pleading with me to make her chicken was cute. Her cuteness would shake thends if things went like this. ¡°All right! Don¡¯t throw dirt! It¡¯s dirty!¡± My daughter threw at me dirt still wet with manure, and I began nting corn in earnest. I arranged the seeds we had selected and others I had bought at the neighboring vige in case they could make popcorn. If there were no drastic climate changes, we would be able to eat well this year. So, now I needed to do one thing. ¡°What should I do about my daughter?¡± ¡°You can just give her fried chicken.¡± I had been wondering how to make her ask me after work, and the Metal Bat came in to grumble. ¡°Seeding once will make her do it again! She will think it her right then!¡± ¡°I think you may have heard it somewhere. This began with you bing fat and drag us in!¡± ¡°We are a family!¡± ¡°You¡¯re just a pitiful middle-aged man who is trying to make his daughter plead for chicken!¡± My frail consciousness started to itch at the Metal Bat¡¯s narrow eyes. ¡°Weak? Your consciousness is hard as metal.¡± The Metal Bat began criticizing me, as she was sensitive nowadays. ¡°Why, are you going through puberty? Why are you going first instead of Alice?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I can¡¯t even y with her when you¡¯re here! She won¡¯t even speak to me where you are!¡± ¡°You can y in her room.¡± Alice spent most of her time in her room after the weather became warm in case she might speak to me. So, the Metal Bat would be able to go there easily. ¡°Coco will act wildly if I go in, and the cat also bes aggressive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s your fault.¡± She had teased a dragon, even if the dragon was still a baby. Now, she had achieved beating up angels, demons, and dragons, the strongest races in this world. ¡°Now, you only need to beat up heroes, demon kings, and the emperor.¡± ¡°I think I can do it with you.¡± Please do not put me there even if I was the one who had said so in the first ce. ¡°What are you talking about? You gave me the chances to beat up dragons, demons, and angels.¡± ¡°Not dragons.¡± My daughter had brought the dragon with her. ¡°You brought the daughter.¡± ¡°While I know you want to pick a fight but wait a bit more. She will surrender on her own soon.¡± ¡°Just make her chicken for dinner today!¡± ording to the characteristics here, it was soon until my daughter would have to surrender. I decided to wait a bit in loneliness. #12 Other Stories: A Cat¡¯s Story My benefactor is an innocent and kind girl. She would always smile at the lizard and me despite being tired after work and differed from my n¡¯s teaching that all humans are evil. However, she would scream like now, and quite often. ¡°I want to speak with Daddy!!!¡± Her stuffing her face in a pillow and screaming made me sorry for her but did not make me want to help her. ¡°Daddy!!!!¡± I thought that human beings crumbled easily as she rolled her feet on her bed. ¡°Mommy!¡± ¡°Coco!¡± The lizard came to her and licked her cheek. The lizard grew bigger despite not being a year old and was now a bit bigger than me. ¡°Coco, Daddy doesn¡¯t seem to like me. He won¡¯t make me chicken despite me working so hard.¡± ¡°I also want chicken, Mommy!¡± ¡°Sorry, Coco. Your mother can¡¯t give you chicken...¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re a good Mommy!¡± ¡°Coco!¡± ¡°Mommy!¡± I felt a sighe out despite being a cat at her and the lizard hugging each other in tears. She could just give up fried chicken, as while I had felt it delicious, it did not warrant months of wailing, ¡°I haven¡¯t spoken with Daddy in a hundred days! He hasn¡¯t stroked my head for 27 days, and...¡± I thought her silly that she would not speak even if she was counting the days. ¡°Mommy, are you worn out?¡± ¡°Yes, but I¡¯ll win for you!¡± I began to feel sorry for her as she hugged the lizard and rolled on the bed with teary eyes. ¡°Having Grandpa here would have helped.¡± The old man next door went on a trip after winter ended, and she seems to be sad that her resting ce and someone who would hear her out was gone... ¡°He would have given my n more variety!¡± It was not that. She seemed to be a different person from who had rescued me nowadays! ¡°Daddy¡¯sing out stronger than I expected, and my sister is not helping.¡± ¡°She¡¯s scary...¡± ¡°Coco!¡± The lizard began to shake at her words, and I remembered that the silver-haired girl had socked the dragon, and it must have been a shock. It would be painful as hell. As someone who had also gone through the same experience, I could understand the lizard¡¯s fear. ¡°Yes, yes. You were scared.¡± ¡°Mother...¡± She also knew the pain. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. So...¡± Everything was due to her and that man¡¯s fight. If she gave up, the silver-haired girl would not need toe here. ¡°I will defeat Daddy!¡± Just give up! She could not hear me and began telling the lizard her future ns. There seemed to be no end. #13 Other Stories: An Old Man¡¯s Story After being beat by Merln, I began to think about swordsmanship again. I thought I would not do so again, but it seemed that I could not help it. I managed to find an answer at the end of winter, as the current Holy Sword who had taken my title had told me that her mithril sword was the best. Merln, who had given me the most excruciating pain in my life, had told me that his weapon was the reason he could do so. I realized that weapons were the best, and I concluded I needed a weapon made by dwarves. That was why I told everyone in the vige that I will be going on a trip and was on my road to get such a weapon. I had been thinking about such things watching my bonfire crackle with boar meat when I felt others¡¯ presence. ¡°Three...¡± All three seemed to be strong, and one seemed to be a powerful priest. ¡°They areing here.¡± While I thought things over at theying here, perhaps due to the smoke, I was only an old man on a trip now, and meeting new people would be fun. ¡°Hello?¡± The three came here, and the gold-haired handsome man who seemed to be the leader of the three spoke to me. ¡°Why do you call me?¡± ¡°We are travelers and ask if we may spend the night here.¡± ¡°It is because this spot is good terrain for spending the night. I am Heal, the priest of the Nature Order. He is a hero certified by us, and we may vouch for him.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± There are many called heroes and those who want to be one of them. However, orders certified only one per order, and those who had been approved and blessed by gods could be such a person. I saw the identification of the Nature Order, and they would not fake such a holy item. ¡°It¡¯s a surprise to meet such high people. Come here.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Even if I was polite, many would be arrogant at being a hero, but he only bowed his head at a young age. The Nature Order had chosen a good hero. ¡°Selena,e here!¡± ¡°To a stranger...you¡¯re too trusting.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Thest one in the party came out of the darkness at the hero¡¯s words. ¡°A hero, a priest, and an elf...why are all of you here?¡± She was a beautiful elf with sharp ears, and the bards would love this mix. ¡°Our god had given us an oracle to save the world at the northmost country.¡± ¡°Do you mean the Belselk Kingdom?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I frowned at their words, and they asked me if something was wrong. ¡°While I am now on a trip, I live there. I remember the children next door at such an ominous oracle. I thought of the cute girls next door, and while I trusted Merln to act ordingly, such words did make me worry. ¡°It¡¯s all right. I will finish everything before something happens to them.¡± The young hero was quite trustworthy as he smiled confidently. ¡°While I feel like I have to go back...you make me feel relieved.¡± ¡°Yes, trust me. Raina Lel Swin!¡± The young man told me his name with a bright smile. Chapter 137 When it Rains, it Pours (11) Chapter 137 When it Rains, it Pours (11) #14 Other Stories: A Daughter¡¯s Story I was born in a small vige. While it was bigger than here, it was still small. However, the vige was very peaceful and warm, and the harvest was good. However, only one person was alienated in that peaceful vige, and she was my mother. The vigers did note near her as they called her a witch. The distance was neither close nor far, and they stayed just far enough for their voices to be heard. The vigers called her someone who had devoured her husband and would bring catastrophe to the vige. The children would throw stones, and the adults would curse her while shuddering. However, she would always smile, which made me angry. I shouted at her why she had to be treated that way and that they were all lying. She would then speak the same words. ¡°Um...sorry. I did...perhaps devour your father.¡± I was in shock and would beg her to tell me the meaning. However, she would just scratch her cheek and would try to soothe me. ¡°You¡¯re too young, Alice. When you grow older...¡± I could not ept that she would not tell me the reason just because I was young. The vigers would treat me the same way as my mother. The vige children would not y with me, and if there was a child who woulde near me, their parents would lead them away, saying you should not y with such a thing. A thing. I was not treated as a child but as an object. I had been pointed at as a thing and not Alice. That was why I did not like my mother. She was a nice person and always smile and say sorry to me. However, I grew apart from her as she did so since I had to be criticized and cursed when I was with her. I was always awful to her until she died when I was seven years old. The vige, actually the country I lived in, faced a deep famine. The damage from the poor harvest crushed a small vige. Food became scarce, and we could not exchange goods with merchants anymore. They then stayed away as there was no profit, and after six months, the vige was no longer peaceful. When I was eight, the country met the second famine. Once was barely manageable, but the second year made everything impossible. We did not have enough to pay the lord¡¯s taxes and had nothing to eat afterst year. However, lords did not care about such things and took everything in the vige. Everyone felt like they would starve to death, and all were angry. However, they did not vent out anger to the lord, as he was very strong and had many soldiers and knights. So, their anger headed to who they had belittled and criticized and had felt a right to be angry at, which was my mother. ¡°Escape far, far away.¡± Those were my mother¡¯sst words, which she barely managed with a smile. I do not know what happened to her next, but I just saw ck smoke from where I had lived when I turned around while running. The smoke continued to rise up despite the thunderstorm, and I could only watch. That was why I did not like rain because even if it is a blessing to farmers, it reminded me of that day. That was why I was gloomy on rainy days. I would let Daddy hug me and not let me go when there was thunder and lightning, as I did not want those memories to surface. However, I woke up as the sky lighted outside. It was the worst. The sound of rain and thunder came from the window, and the shes of lightning reminded me of the past. ¡°No...¡± While I tried to hide my face with the nket and pillows, I could not stop the sounds froming. I wished I could have slept through the rain, but I would wake up from nightmares in weather like this. So, I was about to go to Daddy when I realized something. ¡°I¡¯m fighting with him...¡± I was battling for fried chicken for the past few months, and going to Daddy would be like acknowledging my loss. However, the thunder outside made me frown. ¡°Mommy?¡± ¡°Coco.¡± Coco came in zigzags at my movements and asked me if I was all right. ¡°I¡¯m all...¡± Lightning shed. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not all right!¡± I hugged Coco at the light, and Misha also came with its head tilted and licked my cheek. ¡°What should I do?¡± The rainstorm sounded like it wouldst a while, and I would need to ask at least my sister for help. ¡°No...¡± However, her door was open, and she was gone. ¡°What should I do?¡± I had to bite my lips at the sound of rain and asked myself whether I should give up. Then, why did I not talk with Daddy all that time? However, the dark and quiet night made the rainstorm stand out, and I would need to be more determined at a time like this... ¡°Daddy!!!¡¯ The loudest roar came out, and I gave up, thinking that this was a nned retreat. It really was! *** ¡°Daddy!!!¡± I smiled, and the Metal Bat looked at me with disdain. I heard footsteps run upstairs, and everything was going as nned. My daughter woulde to me first during the rainy season, and I prepared for all of us to sleep since she had woken up faster than I had expected. I gave the nket on the floor to the Metal Bat and lighted the firece with a bit of oil. ¡°Daddy!!!¡± ¡°Yes, daughter.¡± ¡°Daddy! Lightning! Thunder! Rain!¡± I lowered the torch and hugged my daughter, who was running towards me. ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡± ¡°Yes, you were. It¡¯s all right now.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She was shaking, and I felt some paternal warmth as the Metal Bat looked at me with disgust. -You had been waiting for a rainstorm so she would weaken. -I had to wait for her to speak to me. While not having the inte was very inconvenient, I began to appreciate that fact after raising a daughter. She was still an angel at thirteen, while most kids at her age had been devils in my past life. , ¡°Daddy, let¡¯s sleep together.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I could not refuse her raising her eyes at me with reddened eyes, and I took her to the alight firece where nkets were spread nearby. ¡°You¡¯re not scared now, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll talk to me now?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°You¡¯re a good kid.¡± I had not hugged her in a while, and I worried about her future at her cuteness. What if the crown prince came to her proposing marriage? -It¡¯s nice. The princess may alsoe looking for you. -Stop interrupting me. While the Metal Bat picked at me out of jealousy, I could not let her bother me in this precious moment. I would need to finish up here. ¡°So, how about fried chicken to my good daughter?¡± ¡°Really?¡± I had regained muscles, and one or two chickens would not hurt me. I only had waited so she would give up on fixating on the dish. Aliceing here and speaking to me out of her own volition meant that she had given up and if I gave her what she had wanted all along at this moment? ¡°Daddy, I love you!¡± The result was this, as she would be getting chicken out of my benevolence. ¡°You¡¯ll listen to me more?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Speak to me?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°You¡¯re a good kid.¡± Alice slept with a relieved expression under the same nket, and I felt myself healing. I could not give her up for anything, as she was the most adorable creature on earth. ¡°Go to sleep when she¡¯s sleeping.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just jealous.¡± I slept as the Metal Bat grumbled, and early next morning... ¡°Do I have to do this?¡± ¡°Look at yourself...¡± I started to seriously wonder whether I had to cut my daughter off. Chapter 138 When it Rains, it Pours (12) Chapter 138 When it Rains, it Pours (12) Let¡¯s go back in time a little. I had made up with my daughter, and she came into my bedroom because of the thunder. That had been around ten in the evening, and I had woken up four in the morning. It had be a habit since I had to train while farming and something had happened in those six hours. I felt something soft, which was strange because no one else hade in. My thoughts went wild, and I thought for a moment that the princess had broken into my house. I opened my eyes to see a woman with divine proportions in front of me. I had never seen her before, but her long pink hair was familiar. She did remind me of someone, but I tried not to believe it. ¡°Stop daydreaming.¡± I heard the Metal Bat¡¯s voice ring in my ears. ¡°We are one, and I know what you think!¡± ¡°No, that can¡¯t be true.¡± ¡°You already know the answer.¡± She had to be a stranger, as she could not be my daughter. I took off the nkets, and she was wearing the same pajamas she had wornst night. I had sewn her clothes often these days, but... ¡°Wait...¡± I first supposed that my daughter was a spy, but the Metal Bat corrected me on that. If she had taken on a child¡¯s form to loosen my guards, the Metal Bat¡¯s attack on our first meeting would have revealed who she was. If someone could, that would be a dragon. Only the aristocrats of the beast people and the dragons could transform into humans. However, the beast people could not change from a child to a dragon, and that meant my second supposition was that my daughter was a dragon. Maybe my skin, eyesight, and brain would be better! ¡°You will be in your fifties soon.¡± My chest ached at the Metal Bat¡¯s indifferentment. ¡°There will be those who will like you better young.¡± ¡°I think they have gone too far.¡± There probably had been a time when the princess liked me, but now it was an obsession. She was like the princes aiming for the throne. ¡°I think more than that.¡± Well, the Metal Bat may be right. ¡°How about that high elf?¡± ¡°That one is obsessed differently.¡± While she was calmer than the others, the elf was even scarier since her beliefs were too rigid. ¡°Well, we¡¯re straying too much. Do you see Alice as a dragon?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not impossible.¡± It was possible that I may have brought a wounded dragon with me. ¡°It¡¯s nonsense, but you could have done so.¡± ¡°You think so too, right?¡± We both nodded, as crazy things always happened to me. ¡°However, a dragon has no reason to grow up so suddenly and her current form...¡± ¡°Form?¡± ¡°Her form matches something I read about a race.¡± I saw that my daughter also had two horns on her head and a tailing out of her clothes. The Metal Bat spoke on. ¡°She seems to be a subus.¡± In this world, the subus was one of the demon species who yed with dreams and was the only demon race that was on the brink of extinction. ¡°Why is my daughter such a rare race?¡± I had read that they were nearly extinct, as the race did not have males. A subus had to marry a male outside of race, but the men tended to die after a night together. Therefore, even demons avoided them, and as subus could only control dreams and attract others, they were famous for nearly dying out. So, why was one here? ¡°It¡¯s because you are.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say such things! It really seems my fault!¡± I grabbed my head, thinking that this should have been an impossible situation. ¡°Wait, would this be possible if she is not a perfect subus?¡± I had heard that a subus became an adult in ten years, but this was the first time I had seen my daughter like this. ¡°Is she a half-subus?!¡± Did such a being exist? I had heard that the subus genes overruled other races, but Alice¡¯s father by blood may have been able to leave something behind. ¡°What are you going to about her?¡± ¡°Cut ties?¡± ¡°Look at you...¡± The Metal Bat¡¯s eyes grew cold like she was looking at trash. ¡°I¡¯m not strong enough to defeat the Demon King for her!¡± ¡°Hey, even though we¡¯re connected, don¡¯t say such nonsense out of the blue.¡± ¡°Listen. If a demon race suddenly bes a family member, there¡¯s a high possibility that the Demon King is involved.¡± ¡°What?¡± It was such an obvious clich¨¦, as there were cases when Alice would be the Demon King¡¯s daughter or actually a Queen. ¡°How many Demon Kings are there for my sister to be one?¡± However, the Metal Bat did not understand me, and I began to exin further. ¡°Think of our next-door neighbor.¡± ¡°He¡¯s...unique.¡± I pointed to the dragon sleeping next to my daughter. ¡°Is it easy to see a dragon?¡± ¡°...No?¡± ¡°Where did this onee from?¡± ¡°From the next vige with seven silver coins...¡± ¡°Is that possible?¡± ¡°No?¡± I then pointed to the grown Alice. ¡°Here¡¯s one of the rarest races in this world. Is the idea of a Demon King impossible?¡± ¡°No... Hey, what¡¯s going on with you?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know! I¡¯m scared, too!¡± I groaned at the Metal Bat¡¯s words, but I could not make loud noises in case I woke Alice up, who would be bbergasted at her changed form. ¡°What should I do?¡± If it had been my students, I would have run away instantly, but this was my cute daughter. ¡°Yet you thought for a moment you should cut ties with her.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ruin the mood.¡± ¡°Well, what are you going to do?¡± ¡°Umm...¡± I looked down on my daughter and worried that men would follow her in the future. ¡°It¡¯s nice. You take care of the women and Alice the men, and the world will be peaceful.¡± ¡°It will be easier to beat the world up with you.¡± I sighed at the Metal Bat¡¯s response. ¡°What should I really do with her?¡± I stroked her hair, and it felt the same as when she had been young. ¡°A hero won¡¯t suddenly appear, right?¡± It cannot be... #15 Other Stories: A Hero¡¯s Story ¡°Achoo!¡± I waved my hand at the healer, who worried at my cough. ¡°It¡¯s not a cold.¡± ¡°The weather¡¯s cold despite that it¡¯s summertime, so be careful.¡± ¡°All right.¡± I nodded at her worried face and wondered when the rain would stop. We had arrived at the Belselk Kingdom following the oracle, but the rain had stopped us. ¡°This was not all that bad.¡± It was better to travel withrades rather than being in an evil syndicate or fight with my brothers for being the family heir. However, I felt anxious for no reason as I watched the rainfall. Chapter 139 It’s Firing Up (1) Chapter 139 It¡¯s Firing Up (1) #1 Other Stories: A Daughter¡¯s Story Daddy is weird these days. ¡°Daddy! I finished weeding here!¡± ¡°Yes...¡± I had run up to Daddy to report, but he looked at me with a weak face. ¡°Are you ill?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m all right.¡± ¡°Ah...¡± He was doing it again as he stopped himself from stroking my hair again. ¡°You won¡¯t stroke my hair?¡± ¡°I have dirt on my hands.¡± While he smiled as he spoke, it was a lie. He had done so before and now was summer. It was natural to wash in the brook after farming during this season. He may have refrained in the winter, but summer was not a time to care about dirt. However, he had been making the same excuse for days! ¡°Are you angry?¡± I carefully opened my mouth and wondered whether I had been the only one to think we had made up. Was he still angry for me not talking to him? ¡°No.¡± ¡°Umm...¡± However, Daddy would just smile and shake his head. If not so, what was the reason? I returned to the field with trudging footsteps as I felt downcast. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be like this.¡± It was summertime when the farmers were the busiest! We had to remove as many weeds as possible for our nts to grow, and I could not stay weak. ¡°Daddy will return to his normal self soon.¡± I knew better than anyone else how much Daddy loved me, and he had to have a reason. However, I waited for a week. ¡°Unnie!!!¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± I went and hugged my sister with teary eyes. ¡°Daddy won¡¯t even look at me these days! Did I do something wrong? Do you know what it is?¡± ¡°Umm...¡± My sister looked in the air as she avoided my eyes. That meant...! ¡°You know the reason!¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a lie!¡± She had to know the reason why Daddy was avoiding me, as she kept avoiding my eyes and started whistling! ¡°What¡¯s the reason!¡± I shook her lightly in case she would strike back. ¡°He¡¯s not angry.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I was d to know that, but she escaped when I was feeling relieved. She was too fast for me, and while I managed to get an answer, I did not know the exact reason. It could not be helped, and I had to act fast! ¡°Daddy, can Ie in?¡± I decided to talk to Daddy when there was time, which had to be around bedtime due to farming. I saw him as he opened the bedroom door. ¡°You should sleep alone since you¡¯re all grown up.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You can do that, right?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Daddy closed the door again after saying good night, and the lighting out from the door disappeared. I felt lonely as I went back to my room. The sun was going down, and I had to go back there fast. I would sleep with Misha and Coco and wake up tomorrow to eat breakfast with Daddy and farm again. I stopped walking there, as I wanted to hold Daddy¡¯s hand when going out to work and be praised after removing weeds like usual. I did not want those things to stop! I did not know what I did wrong, and Daddy may not like me anymore! But I want things to be like they were before! I could not give it up, and I grabbed Daddy¡¯s bedroom doorknob again and shouted, ¡°Daddy!¡± *** ¡°Daddy!¡± I flinched at seeing my daughtere in after roughly opening the door. She was quite oppressive as she stood in front of me. ¡°Daddy, look me in the eyes.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I did what she asked as she red at me with folded arms. ¡°Daddy, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about...¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± Yes, I was. I had been avoiding her after knowing she was a demon. However, I remained silent as chaos would ensue if I spoke up! ¡°Say the truth. Did I do something wrong? Or...¡± My daughter was ring at me at first, but her eyes lowered to the floor, and I saw a tear fall on the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t you like me anymore?¡± I felt like someone pounded a nail on my heart, and my body began to shake out of remorse. ¡°I¡¯ll do better if that¡¯s the truth.¡± She did nothing wrong. It was just me not being able to ept reality. So, please do not cry. ¡°Why would I not like you? That can¡¯t happen.¡± I kneeled and reached out with my arms to hug my crying daughter. ¡°How can you think that I would not like my precious daughter?¡± ¡°Really?¡± She seemed to be pressing down on things she wanted to say. Alice was content that I was just looking at her, despite the fact she would have a lot to say. That made me sadder. ¡°Of course.¡± Everything was my fault, as I let the fact my daughter had demon blood put distance between us. ¡°You¡¯re my treasure.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I hugged her as she cried in my arms. My life was chaotic enough already, so one more thing would not matter. Let the Demon Kinge! I immediately hoped this was not an omen but pushed the thought back as my daughter cried. #Other Stories: A demon¡¯s story The Demon King was dead. While demons lived in tribes, the Demon King was politically and spiritually important, especially when the dead King had been a noble ruler. After the King died, the demon society drifted apart into three factions and could go into war instantly. The first faction was centered around General Agreart, who had served under the former King. They argued that the demon world should be unified first, and then the demons should invade the human world. They preferred war rather than politics, unlike the previous King. The second faction was centered around the previous King¡¯s daughter and argued for peace. They were those who believed meaningless fights between humans and demons should be stopped when the demons ruled a continent. The third faction believed in oracles and thought the Demon God would grant them a new King. They argued that a true King who will endure the blessings of the Demon God will be born soon. While the three factions fought in secret to gain control of the demon world, they were still in battle. There was only one reason for this chaos, as one could only be the Demon King by gaining the majority of the votes from the 101 tribes, excepting the blessing of the Demon God. The first and second factions had fifty votes each, and thest vote would decide the fate of the demon race. ¡°Weren¡¯t subus extinct?¡± The problem was that thest tribe did not exist in the demonnds. ¡°Princess.¡± The small girl called princess beat her head on the desk. ¡°You haven¡¯t found her yet, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Things areplicated in the human world, and there are restrictions.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The girl lowered her head at the lizardman¡¯s words. ¡°The oracle said that the subus race lived among humans now, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°And the number...¡± ¡°Is one. She is the leader byw and can vote as the subus race.¡± ¡°To think that her choice could change the history of the demon race...¡± Normally, tribe leaders had to gather the members¡¯ opinions before voting, but the sole survivor would represent her entire race. Having her meant that the girl would be the Demon King. She bit her lip and looked at the previous King¡¯s picture. ¡°Father, help me to retain peace.¡± ¡°Princess...¡± The girl was certain that if Agreart got hold of that subus, a war on an unforeseen scale would happen. She strongly believed that Agreart had something to do with her father¡¯s sudden death. ¡°If Agreart bes King, he will invade the human world. I have to prevent that.¡± ¡°We will do our best to make that happen.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± The only method left was to endure the Demon God¡¯s blessing to be Demon King if Agreart got hold of the subus. However, only three seeded in doing so, and most of the demons died in great pain on receiving the blessing. While the girl was not afraid of dying, she was terrified that no one would stop Agreart. ¡°Please...¡± The girl prayed that she would find the survivor first. However, she did not know that someone else other than the two would be the Demon King after receiving the Demon God¡¯s blessing at the time. Chapter 140 It’s Firing Up (2) Chapter 140 It¡¯s Firing Up (2) #3 Other Stories: A Cat¡¯s Story I would have screamed, ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± if I could. ¡°Here, kitty.¡± The owner of this house looked at me with serious eyes after grabbing my front legs with both hands. ¡°I really do not want to know what you are.¡± Yet, he trapped me and had the silver-haired girl next to him! She was practicing punches in the air and looked at me now and then. She scared me. ¡°However, my daughter saved your life. You agree to that, right?¡± I managed to stop myself from nodding, as she had truly saved me and ignoring that would degrade me to a beast. ¡°So, if my daughter is in danger, you have to do your best.¡± ¡°Meow.¡± I could trade my life for hers, as I would have been already dead if not for her. ¡°I think you understood.¡± ¡°Meow.¡± I did not nod, even though the man seemed to think I was more than a mere cat. I needed to act like one, just in case. ¡°That¡¯s a shame...¡± I ran away from the girl, who looked at me with dissatisfaction. She was quieter than usual today. ¡°Then, next.¡± ¡°Grandpa?¡± The lizard looked at the man, and I realized that she was waiting for the next victim. ¡°Hello, Coco?¡± ¡°Yes?!¡± While the lizard flinched after seeing the girl punching the air, it spoke with the man again. ¡°Coco, what will you do when your mother is in danger?¡± ¡°Mommy? Danger?¡± ¡°Yes, you would need to protect your mother if such a thing happens, right?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Yes, that means that you have to learn magic.¡± ¡°Magic?¡± ¡°Or use dragon breath.¡± ¡°Breath?¡± What is that man requesting to a lizard less than a year old?! ¡°Yes, dragon breath means you shoot mes out of your mouth.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Look, the lizard looks confused! ¡°Also, you can go outside and y with your mother if you learn it.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, learning Polymorph can make it happen.¡± ¡°I will!¡± I wanted to scream at the lizard that it was all nonsense. Even if that lizard was a baby dragon, it could not use magic and dragon breath during infancy. ¡°How can I learn it?¡± ¡°Hmm...by feeling magic and concentrating?¡± Also, the man knew nothing, and the lizard remained confused. ¡°It¡¯s all right. This one will teach you.¡± ¡°Hi!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± The man ced the silver-haired girl in front of the lizard. ¡°No!¡± Of course, since the girl made one¡¯s survival instinct run wild. However, the man only smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t want to protect mother?¡± ¡°I want to!¡± ¡°What can you do, Coco?¡± ¡°I can do things!¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t.¡± The man was goading the infant, and then he asked the silver-haired girl to bring in my benefactor. She came up running to the man. ¡°Daughter.¡± ¡°Yes, Daddy!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go outside with Coco and y?¡± ¡°I do!¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± I could feel something was going wrong for the lizard, but I could not do anything or speak. ¡°I need Coco¡¯s help to make that happen.¡± The lizard looked lost as my benefactor looked in its direction. ¡°Coco, let¡¯s try!¡± ¡°I will!¡± While Coco looked happy at her words, its eyes were downcast on seeing the silver-haired girl. I felt sorry for that infant. However, I was still in danger, as she also stared at me with a predator¡¯s smile. However, the man seemed to have a reason, and everything he said was to protect her. It meant that this had some meaning, and while the silver-haired girl could take care of everything, it was better to be prepared. ** All right, this was the end. I wanted the old man next door toe back, but this was the best I could do. While I wanted the cat to talk, using the Metal Bat on him may make him run away, but I could use her on the dragon. While I knew that it was an infant, the Metal Bat had worked wonders before. While I did feel sorry, the Metal Bat did not cause damage, only pain. ¡°Well, now¡¯s the time to get prepared.¡± I had woken up after my daughter¡¯s tears, as I had spent most of my life in strange conditions. Even if she were a demon, I could manage the situation if necessary. ¡°So, now...¡± I used a heavy pickaxe with both hands and knocked on the door, and the underground hole becamerger. When one wanted to escape, one started by making an escape route. #4 Other Stories: An old man¡¯s story It was not easy to find dwarves and even more difficult to ask them to create weapons. While I went to them with a lot of money, they were artisans. Most of the weapons they sold were failures or made for practice, and while they were adequate, I wanted the best sword there is. However, dwarves did not trust humans. ¡°You did not go yet?¡± The cksmith of the Red Hammer n looked and me as he spoke. ¡°I will not do so until I receive what I hade for.¡± ¡°Everyone says that, but no one had gotten our weapons until now. So waiting will not help.¡± He was saying the truth, as it had already been two months. I had been waiting like an object all that while when an elder came up to me. ¡°Why do you want such a weapon? Can¡¯t you just rely on your swordsmanship?¡± ¡°I just want a weapon that suits my skills.¡± ¡°You¡¯re skilled?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then why wait like this? Humans make a good one every once in a while.¡± I closed my eyes, as I did know that. However, I wanted an amazing weapon like Merln¡¯s andpare myself before and after. I told him what happened with Merln, and he asked me what the name of the weapon was in a shaking voice. ¡°I only know that it had been made by a dwarf.¡± ¡°How did you feel?¡± ¡°I wanted death, but it seemed to go farther away.¡± ¡°Was that weapon silver?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He then held both my hands with his shaking ones. ¡°We arerades.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°We have suffered from the same weapon!¡± He told me his story with tears. He told me that the Metal Bat had been made ten years ago by an opposing n who thought weapons were not for a war, unlike the Red Hammer n. ¡°However, everything changed after being hit with that weapon. What I had made were mere fakes. I thought I wanted to just die, and then realized that killing with a single blow was mercy.¡± He came back with a red longsword and held it in front of me. ¡°This is the best weapon our n has. Will you ept it?¡± I hade for this and was about to say yes... ¡°Will you go against that silver weapon?¡± I hesitated, and he understood me. ¡°Would that be difficult?¡± However, after much thinking, I came back with the sword after a week. Chapter 141 It’s Firing Up (3) Chapter 141 It¡¯s Firing Up (3) While everyday routines may be boring for kids, routines were the best for a middle-aged man like me. ¡°I think that your daughter being a subus and her pet a dragon means things are not normal. ¡°Shut up.¡± I still farmed with my daughter and weeded the fields. ¡°How about going to the nearby vige with her?¡± ¡°Umm...¡± It was now autumn, and we were already harvesting produce. It would take a month to finish. ¡°I do need to go there tost the winter.¡± Merchants wereing there now, and I had another reason to go. ¡°I need to punch that egg merchant.¡± I had heard that he had gone out of the vige in spring to search for eggs and had been waiting for fall toe since other vigers hinted that he woulde. If that merchant had not sold that dragon egg... ¡°Give up. One thing would not have made a difference.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dragon!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a country suffering from an evil dragon nearby.¡± ¡°What are other dragons doing? Don¡¯t they have their ownws?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an ancient dragon over 20,000 years old.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Dragons did have their ownws, and one of them being too influential in human society did bring consequences. However, ancient dragons were a different matter, as they were strong. So they just branded them as evil and left them for others to kill. ¡°Its name is Arketai, the ck Dragon.¡± The Metal Bat did not like that name as it sounded a bit like hers at the front. Moreover, she became irritated a bit since I teased her a bit. ¡°I won¡¯t go with you there if you keep up like that.¡± ¡°I did worry a bit.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Bringing my daughter seems dangerous, but leaving her also is the same.¡± ¡°Our final method is running. How about taking her alone?¡± While I did think about that, characters tended to get involved in strange situations when moving to other ces. ¡°However, she might be kidnapped while you¡¯re gone!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If you leave me behind, you may be kidnapped by one of the women!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The cat and dragon were not yet trustworthy, and my next-door neighbor was still gone. I sincerely hoped that he managed to get a weapon from dwarves, but that was such a difficult feat. ¡°Daddy, Grandpa is back!¡± ¡°Look at the timing.¡± I hugged my daughter, who hade into my room with a smile. This seemed like... ¡°It¡¯s like someone is trying to send you to the next vige.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± While my daughter seemed confused at our conversation, she smiled as she shouted. ¡°Let¡¯s have fried chicken since he¡¯s here!¡± ¡°That was your goal!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She was adorable, and my future son-inw would have to pass 122 steps before he could marry her. -The first was enduring a hit from me. Is that possible? -Since I can do it, of course! Well, she said she would live with me after marrying. -That did not mean she would not marry! I ignored the Metal Bat and asked my daughter to go meet my old neighbor. ¡°Yes!¡± I grabbed her hand, and we walked together, and I wanted to see how strong he had gotten. #5 Other Stories: An old man¡¯s story My heart began to beat faster, and I wondered whether I could grab my sword well due to the cold sweat. ¡°We¡¯re almost here.¡± ¡°I know.¡± I could feel my body shake, and I knew this was fear against the weapon waiting for me at my old vige. I now had to fight it with my sword given by the Red Hammer n since I had made that promise before leaving. This sword had to be one of the best there is, as it absorbed magic, and me danced over the de when I ced my aura over it. That meant I could use fire against things I could not cut, and I could control the mes so it would turn from red, blue, and white. However, I was scared against that weapon, more so as time passed. How could I go against a sword with arms and legs? While I did want to refuse, I had made that promise with the dwarves. Therefore, I had to go against Merln¡¯s weapon. ¡°Why do we need to keep that promise?¡± I had visited Merln¡¯s house in a long time and waited for Alice to bring him to the door. I exined to him what had happened and asked for a fight. However, he had refused. ¡°Dwarves leave afar. Just send a letter that you won.¡± ¡°It was a firm promise.¡± ¡°Things are rtive.¡± ¡°I did give my word as a swordsman.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± ¡°You know?¡± ¡°Yes, I understand that trust between two people is important. However, I had never made my promise to the dwarves or you.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Therefore, I had no reason to fight.¡± ¡°What?¡± I was deeply surprised at Merln being so indifferent. Of course, swordsmen tended to thirst for fights, and my experience was the evidence itself. But why? ¡°You don¡¯t seem to understand...Swordsmen would have gone against you for a single fight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°However, I am a farmer.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I farm as my job. I just use my sword to protect myself.¡± I had to nod at that, as he was a farmer. While his past was suspicious, he was holding farming equipment instead of a sword. However... ¡°Can¡¯t you fight me once?¡± I had pushed down fear all this way and could not break my promise. ¡°Yes, I cannot since I am busy.¡± Merln cut me off, and I had to protest. ¡°Just send a letter that you won. I give up.¡± ¡°I cannot let their efforts go by like that!¡± ¡°I admitted that I lost.¡± ¡°I want a true win!¡± ¡°Daddy.¡± ¡°I need to make chicken for my daughter. Will you have some?¡± ¡°Yes. But fight with me after that.¡± Merln stood up without listening to me to the end. ¡°I have to go to the nearby vige tomorrow, so I am busy. Just say I lost.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± He did not agree to fight with me as he made chicken, sharing it with me, and I sent him off the next day. #6 Other Stories: Someone¡¯s story ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, but we found her!¡± Chapter 142 It’s Firing Up (4) Chapter 142 It¡¯s Firing Up (4) #7 Other Stories: A Daughter¡¯s Story ¡°Then, listen to Grandpa well.¡± ¡°Right!¡± ¡°Be careful!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°And...¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying the same thing over and over again for thest ten minutes.¡± I frowned at Daddy looking at me with worried eyes. I did not want to look at him like that, but it seemed like he would repeat himself over and over again. ¡°Be careful and stay home.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the harvest season.¡± ¡°We can rest a day.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I nodded, as I could enjoy a day¡¯s rest if it was only for a day. ¡°Then, stay safe.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one you should say that!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going with your sister.¡± ¡°You will be safe!¡± My sister made me feel safe if she did not raise a hand towards me. ¡°How about that fight...¡± ¡°Please look after Alice.¡± While Grandpa had been asking for a fight since yesterday, but it was Daddy¡¯s rule not to fight. If one needed to fight, one asked another person. One should run first and fight as ast resort. Daddy would not fight Grandpa. ¡°I will take care of Alice.¡± He nodded at Daddy and told me to call him if anything came up. Even though he seemed severely disappointed, he sighed and patted my head after Daddy left before going back to his house. ¡°What should I do, everyone?¡± I asked Misha and Coco, who sat in front of the firece. Misha let out azy meow like always while Coco thought hard to answer. ¡°What do you usually do?¡± I regretted saying that, as they seemed to be ying with my sister while Daddy and I farmed. Only she would think that it was ying. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Coco.¡± ¡°I¡¯m scared of Auntie...!¡± Coco came running to me in tears, and I consoled him. ¡°She¡¯s not here today, and you¡¯re ying with me.¡± ¡°Yay!¡± I hugged Coco and told him that I would scold my sister. Coco was only one, and she had been too much for him! I had been speaking to Misha in front of the small fire when I heard a knock. ¡°Is it Grandpa?¡± I tilted my head at the sound, as we and Grandpa were the only ones leaving nearby. However, Grandpa had no reason toe here, and I felt nervous. However, the sound was getting louder. ¡°I should go, right?¡± Misha and Coco followed me as I stood up, and I raised my voice at the incessant knocks. ¡°Who is it?¡± Daddy said that one should answer when asked, but those knocking were impolite. They broke the door with an exmation, ¡°She¡¯s here!¡± #Other Stories: A Demon¡¯s story ¡°Find the subus¡¯s descendant and bring her here without anyone knowing.¡± That was the master¡¯s orders, as the demon world was pure chaos with three sanctions fighting one another. General Agreart, our master, had ordered us to find her to be the next King. ¡°I understand.¡± Her vote would decide all. Those that were on the moderate party¡¯s side remembered the previous King, who Agreart also admired. The previous King had made us prosperous but did not invade humans even when we had all the supplies and manpower. The Demon God had spoken that humans and demons could not live together under the same sky. So, Agreart had decided that he would be the invader who would attack all humans that disgraced the Demon God to raise the demon¡¯s name across thends. That made me go under him with my n, as I believed that he would be the King who would make the demons the greatest race of all. Therefore, I traveled with others to find the subus, and they were all hot-tempered as they were thirsty for fights. I had spent two years saying that fighting humans can be done after finding the subus. Now, I found her in a small vige in the north, and my heart beat at realizing that Agreart would now be King. I tried to calm down, as we were in the human world and in a small country. If the rumors of a demon appearing spread, the entire human race maye after us. That would be a problem, and why the search should be secret. I continued to stop others from killing all the humans to find the subus while narrowing the field and found two small houses a bit far away from the vige. ¡°Let¡¯s start from here.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we break them all?¡± Apir, the leader of the Canine Demons, growled. However, I wanted to be careful. ¡°Let¡¯s be careful until here since there is a house nearby.¡± ¡°...Well, once more won¡¯t hurt.¡± Apir¡¯s patience came only from his desire that our master is King. ¡°Why is there no answer?¡± ¡°Is no one home?¡± Apir knocked, but no one came out. ¡°I sense a presence.¡± ¡°...Wait.¡± I heard small footsteps, but the red orb I held glowing was bigger news. It only responded to demons, and when a small voice said, ¡°Who is it?¡± the red light shone on. It meant that we finally found her. Apir pulled the doorknob, as he had been quite patient. The door flew as a girl screamed. ¡°Who are you?!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Apir was still moving on despite her screams, and I had to calm him down. ¡°Careful, her death means an internal war.¡± I could not calcte how much damage that internal war would cause in the demon world. However, she would enable Agreart to be King byw. We could punish humans for their facies the moment he bes King. Therefore, at that moment, we ignored the small cat jumping up to us. We all knew that metal could not damage his skin. However, I saw Apir grab his severed right arm in another moment, and the cat¡¯s ws sh with a de aura. #9 Other Stories: A Cat¡¯s Story I knew that the four were strong just by their presence, and the only thing to do was to strike when they were careless by acting just like a cat. They really were careless. I saw a dog¡¯s head as the robe the creature was wearing slipped off, and he was a demon as I could see the horns on his head. I had another reason to fight. While we were not friendly with humans, we allied with them when fighting demons, as that was our god¡¯s will. ¡°Meow!¡± ¡°A mere cat?!¡± I went for the neck, using the skills I learned from young. The enemy started to step back when I gathered the aura on my ws. ¡®He¡¯s fast!¡¯ I would have lost to him even one-to-one, as he was able to think and move at the same time. I twisted my body to change the direction to at least nullify him if I could not kill him. I seeded in removing the right arm that had been reaching out to my benefactor. ¡°You damn cat!¡± The dog demon swung his left arm, and the pressure shook me as he let out magic with that movement. I could avoid it, but then she would be hurt. However, I could not block the attack with this body, so there was only one way. I yelled as I swirled magic on my body and felt it change. I had turned to a human in an instant to face the sharp attack and deviate the attack¡¯s path. ¡°Who are you?!¡± The dog demon looked at me with murderous eyes and heard my benefactor¡¯s voice hesitantly call me. However, I could not give her my attention, as I had to buy time. ¡°I am Misha...her brother!¡± It was that moment I saw the old mane up. ¡°Who are you?¡± Chapter 143 It’s Firing Up (5) Chapter 143 It¡¯s Firing Up (5) #10 Other Stories: An Old Man¡¯s Story ¡°Not this, not this, not that...¡± I threw the paper on which I had written the n to ask Merln for a fight, as there was no good way. Was this the way I should be treated since I retired? I thought it imusible, as I had been the strongest swordsman there was with only a stick. Merln was the weird one from the start. ¡°I¡¯m weird too.¡± Me asking an ordinary farmer for a fight was weird, but I could not give this up. I began to write down new things on a brand piece of paper. ¡°It¡¯s the season where the benevolent autumn goddess gives her blessing...no not this!¡± I threw the paper away, as I had been writing a letter to ask for a challenge! Merln has to want to fight me the moment he reads this! ¡°It¡¯s so difficult...¡± I had not realized that this was such a difficult task, and I regretted not having fought those who had written me letters. ¡°I am asking a farmer to fight me during the harvest season...¡± It was when I had been writing another letter when I sensed multiple murderous intents. ¡°Alice!¡± They were at the house with only a girl and her pets! I took the sword and ran out to see three robed men and one with his arm cut re at a blond young man. The blond stood to protect him, and I swung my sword the moment they turned around at seeing the man¡¯s face. ¡°How is a demon here?!¡± I saw the horns, and the man that I attacked moaned after my attack. It had been an ambush, but he blocked it, and the moan had been from the robe burning rather than the pain from my attack. ¡°You...make thingsplicated.¡± He threw away his robe, and he was a human-shaped lizard with red scales. He resembled a lizardman, but the man red at me as I said that. ¡°I am the leader of the Dragon Demons, Garsa, under Agreart, who will be the future Demon King!¡± I felt heat all over from him that nearly scorched. ¡°You were the one to stop us all the while...¡± ¡°It¡¯s unnecessary since we found the subus.¡± The other two also took off their robes. ¡°I am the Wolf Demon Leader, Lelkes.¡± ¡°I am the Snake Demon Leader, Selkarel.¡± They were nearly as strong as the lizard. ¡°I am Steon, that girl¡¯s next-door neighbor.¡± I focused my magic, as I had to fight fast or lose since I was outnumbered. ¡°Die!¡± The two demons rushed towards me as Garsa yelled at seeing the white me on my de. ¡°A thousand attacks!¡± I could attack that fast with this long de because of the light weight, and the two demons looked surprised. However, that did not deter them. The wolf blocked my attacks with his reinforced fists, and the snake let out a poisonous fog. ¡°The me dragon¡¯s breath.¡± Blue mes flew at me as I avoided the fog. ¡°Demons used their heads as weapons!¡± I charged while blocking the mes with my sword. ¡°Don¡¯t forget me.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even have an arm!¡± All four wereing at me, and things were not good. While I had fought humans, elves, and dwarves, I had never fought a demon. This was my first time. ¡°You¡¯re strong, and if you step back, I will save your life...!¡± I attacked first while the red demon spoke, as demons were enemies in any situation. I had to protect the girl, and Merln may fight me if I managed to seed! ¡°You cowardly human!¡± ¡°You speak a lot when you fight me four to one!¡± I spoke what Merln would have said, and that angered the demons enough to charge me. The dog and wolf demons attacked with their ws, the dragon demon used magic and mes while ordering others, and the snake used ck orbs that looked like poison and curses. I may lose. However, the one thing that helped me was that my weapon gave me a chance. The mes on my sword kept the wolf and dog demons at bay and burnt the snake head¡¯s fog. ¡°We don¡¯t have time! Rush even if we suffer damage!¡± However, the demons rushed at me, risking burns at the dragon demon¡¯s shout, while he ran to Alice. ¡°We only need this kid, so we don¡¯t need to fight you!¡± ¡°Misha!¡± The blond man flew in the air after trying to block the dragon demon¡¯s attack. The other demons wereing at me, and I had no time. I could not let her be taken away by evil demons. ¡°Move aside!¡± However, I could not stop them despite my weapon, and Merln¡¯s wheat fields started burning in a moment in a surprise twist. #11 Other Stories: A Daughter¡¯s Story A young guy appeared in a golden light, but I knew that it was Misha like he said. I did not agree that he was my brother. After a moment, Grandpa came to fight the monsters. ¡°We have to go, benefactor.¡± Misha looked at me seriously with golden eyes, and I nodded, got up with his help, and looked around. I saw the golden wheat field and the long cornfield first. ¡°Where do we go? Ah!¡± Daddy had told me to escape to the secret space underground if something happened. Daddy really knew all! ¡°Basement!¡± ¡°Basement?¡± ¡°Daddy told me to go there if I needed to escape.¡± ¡°Did that man really know something...?¡± Misha frowned, but he nodded. ¡°All right, let¡¯s go there.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, Coco.¡± ¡°Mommy...¡± Coco shook all over at the scary men. ¡°I will protect you!¡± ¡°No, Mommy. I will protect you!¡± Coco spread his wings like he wanted to protect me even when my knees were shaking. I was a happy mother! ¡°Yes. We will protect each other!¡± ¡°Right!¡± While I worried about Grandpa, he was actually holding his own against the men with mes. Daddy had told me that running away as quickly as possible was the most helpful thing to do in such a situation. Daddy was right, so I had to run since I could not help him. ¡°Let¡¯s go, all!¡± I hugged Coco in my arms and followed Misha. ¡°Where are you going!¡± However, the monsters started rushing at us, and Misha charged at one to stop him. ¡°You dare stop us?!¡± ¡°Misha!¡± However, Misha flew in the air at the monster¡¯s attack. ¡°Come here, child!¡± I closed my eyes at the monster¡¯s arm, but Coco shouted with both fear and courage. ¡°I will protect Mommy!¡± I flopped on the floor in despair. Chapter 144 It’s Firing Up (6) Chapter 144 It¡¯s Firing Up (6) #12 Other Stories: A Demon¡¯s Story I realized something was wrong when the cat cut Apir, the leader of the Dog Demon¡¯s arm, as he opened the door. A normal demon would not be harmed by a cat, and Apir was a demon who could not be wounded by normal swords. That meant that the cat was not normal, and it transformed into a human to block Apir¡¯s attack. The cat was one of the beast people, an aristocrat at that! Another one came out, and it was an old man. However, I could not underestimate him as the old man¡¯s body was that of the perfect warrior. He also held a sword emitting red light that could equal our master¡¯s Demonic Weapon. ¡®What is this ce?¡¯ What was the possibility of these two being in this small country near the subus we were looking for? I now understood that this was a trap made by evil humans who knew of our circumstances. However, the humans did not seem to realize that each of us was deemed the strongest in the demon world. It was understandable, as even if there was a traitor in our midst, only us and our master knew about the four of using here. However, the old man is difficult to handle, as his sword prowess and weapon quality were of the highest level. His mes even threatened me, an expert on mes! ¡®It would not be good to let this go on long.¡¯ A minute was enough for experts to know the opponent¡¯s strength, and my enemy was strong. People who used this kind of warrior as a trap would have ced other fighters nearby, and I estimated that we were surrounded by them. The only miscalction the enemy made was our fighting abilities and would bring in extra firepower after realizing that we were stronger than they expected. We four would be outnumbered, which meant that it was time for us to run. However, we needed to take away that subus¡¯s descendant. ¡°We don¡¯t have time! Rush even if we suffer damage!¡± The other members went in to stop the old man as I ran to the subus. I punched away the cat turned human, as he was not strong enough to hurt us unless by ambush. I had no time to lose. ¡°Come here, child!¡± I reached out to the subus and saw her close her eyes. The drake in her arms opened its eyes wide, and I realized that once I got her out, it would be our world. However, the drake¡¯s cheeks inted, and I thought that the small beast was trying to protect itself with its weak me. ¡®It is a beast without intellect. How can it hurt someone like me...¡¯ However, the drake spoke in a powerful voice. ¡°I will protect Mommy!¡± ...Could a drake speak...? #13 Other Stories: The Demons¡¯ Stories ¡°Damn!¡± The old man showed his veins, and his attacks became that much fierce. However, I couldugh as Garsa would capture the subus. We only needed to handle the old man until then and go back to the demon world with our loot. I was tired of enduring, and there was only a little more left until this world became ours. We only needed to stop the old man. ¡°It¡¯s no use, human!¡± ¡°Garsa is the...!¡± I felt heat behind my back, enough to make me turn. ¡°Strongest...?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Garsa?¡± He was not there, and I could only see a sea of mes. It was then the subus cried out. ¡°The fields!¡± #14 Other Stories: An Old Man¡¯s Story I could see clearly the red me Alice¡¯s pet let out, and the demon evaporated once by being hit with the me. ¡®What is that?¡¯ I saw the scene with my eyes, but my head did not understand the situation. Everything in the red me¡¯s path dissolved into nothing. The power was enough to have disintegrated us all if we had been in that path. All produce dried out and those still alive burned. ¡®That¡¯s not a drake.¡¯ Merln had told me he had gotten a drake egg, but that me was not that of a drake¡¯s. No drake was that powerful as a dragon¡¯s... ¡°What?¡± An ordinary farmer raising a drake was a crazy story, but I could expect that from Merln. However, the creature I was thinking of had never been raised by humans. It was definitely not a pet, and I remembered Alice calling the golden-haired man Misha. That meant she had been raising a nobleman of the beast people and a dragon as her pets. Alice would be able to destroy this kingdom with those two! ¡°What should I do?¡± The dog-headed demon spoke vacantly as he watched the burning fields with me. I knew what he should do. I shed the demon¡¯s back, and while I had aimed to kill, it managed to avoid my attack at thest second and kicked at me. I could avoid it. ¡°I will take care of this old man, so get that brat!¡± ¡°You think that will work again?¡± I attacked the other demons, as I could not let them get Alice. ¡°You dying old man!¡± While I blocked the wolf-headed demon¡¯s fist with my sword, blood was flowing from my side. My wound there was severer than I thought, and the fact that poison had seeped through it was my biggest mistake. I was going numb, and if it spread to my body, everything will be over. ¡°My Sword Strikes Where Nothing Remains.¡± I used my strongest attack, where I could attack with an unseeable de made of my aura. ¡°I cannot block him alone!¡± ¡°That old man!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother us!¡± All three came to block the attack I had thrown at them, and I used that time to run to an empty space. I saw the snake-headed demon, who still could not move due to my aura still attacking them. ¡°Can you move?¡± ¡°No, just let me be...¡± I started running while carrying Misha, and saw Alice, who had tears in her eyes. She would be scared... ¡°The fields are all burnt!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the reason...¡± While all of Merln¡¯s family were strange, now was not the time. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡®Yes...¡± I helped Alice stand up while Misha turned back to a cat. He seemed to have fainted and would need treatment soon. ¡°Hold tight.¡± I grabbed Alice like I had Misha, and she was holding her pets. I would not think the drake as a dragon yet to keep my sanity. I began to run despite the spreading poison, and the wolf-headed and the demon-headed demons all began to chase after me. However, they could not attack me as they wanted due to Alice. I would fall first, as my magic was running out. That would make the poison spread faster. ¡°At least them...¡± I had been with them for not a short while, and Alice had been like a granddaughter to me. ¡°I can¡¯t die yet!¡± I used the rest of my magic to increase my speed. I would try to fight the demons off after getting some distance from the demons. I saw someone running towards us from a hill as I ran across the mountain. I could now rx as I recognized the face. ¡°You¡¯rete.¡± ¡°I am sorry.¡± The man stared rigidly at the demons as he apologized to me. ¡°Who are you?!¡± ¡°I am the hero, you demon!¡± The hero Raina started to face off the wolf-headed demon that had approached us. ** ¡°What?¡± I tilted my face. That was where my house was and now... ¡°It¡¯s firing up.¡± Chapter 145 It’s Firing Up (7) Chapter 145 It¡¯s Firing Up (7) It had been a good day. I had expected an ambush while I was going to the neighboring vige, and I had nned my trip thinking of thieves and the princess as my possible enemies. I gave extra tips to have the things I bought sent so there would not be much trouble as I quickly bought everything I needed. I also managed to have my revenge against the egg seller who had sold my daughter a dragon egg. I could not tell the truth and just told him that a bug monster hade out and wounded my daughter. I hit him with the metal bat and refused his offer of giving me thirty eggs. I had a sudden image of thirty dragonsing out from them. While the Metal Bat did not believe me, the egg seller said that he had picked up the dragon egg in a mountain. He would be telling the truth as he was being beaten by the Metal Bat, and that meant there was a possibility of another dragon egging my way! I had yed with the egg seller for thirty minutes and then took care of my luggage to go back to my vige. I had not been ambushed once and thought that this would be another peaceful year as I approached the vige. ¡°Master, isn¡¯t that smoke?¡± I had ced the Metal Bat next to me in case of a sudden attack, and she now pointed to where the vige was. I saw ck smoke and wondered if someone was burning a field. People burned fields after harvests often to remove tied sprouts, bugs, and their eggs. ¡°However, people do that after the harvest with magicians.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± I did not know whether this method really worked and just watched others do so. I had seen magicians ourndowner had sent to stop the fire from spreading. As this kingdom was cold, people needed a lot of firewood. Landowners sent their magicians in order to prevent the possibility of losing this precious resource. That was thew here, and the punishment for not following these regtions was extremely severe. Therefore, field burnings were nned a week ahead, and I would have known if our vige would do it. ¡°That means that a fire broke in one of the houses, right?¡± ¡°Yes, but you live there, and that means...¡± ¡°Maybe our house is the one burning?¡± ¡°I think so too, Master! That¡¯s the most probable house!¡± I whipped the horse that was pulling my carriage and started to go faster. I saw the direction of the smoke and noticed that it was from our house. One of the few soldiers in this vige looked at me with surprise. ¡°Merln! There was a big explosion from your ce!¡± ¡°What happened to others?¡± ¡°They could not approach your house and actually have all evacuated.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right. Steon would have taken care of any big problems.¡± ¡°Thank you for saying that.¡± The soldier looked sincerely sorry as I nodded. ¡°I will be getting on.¡± ¡°I cannot stop you, but how about leaving your child with me?¡± The soldier was being kind, but he was about to take my most potent weapon. ¡°I¡¯m going to meet my sister, so it¡¯s all right!¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous, kid.¡± She could go against the evil god, but I could not say that. ¡°It¡¯s all right!¡± ¡°Merln.¡± ¡°It really is.¡± After a few more tries, the soldier wished me luck, and I rushed with the carriage right after he opened the gate. The streets were empty, which meant I could run faster. The horse whinnied as I whipped it. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a hill over there, Master?¡± ¡°There had been quite a big one.¡± I had to shake my head as I stared where the Metal Bat had pointed and thought I should just grab Alice and run. The hill hadpletely vanished, which was an ill omen. ¡°Master, your fields!¡± ¡°......¡± I could not say anything after I turned around due to the shock at seeing the golden wheat fields burning. ¡°My daughter and I worked so hard...¡± We toiled in heat and cold, but everything had disappeared. I also saw that there was nothing left of the potato field and remembered that Alice had hoped to eat them during the winter. ¡°The corn...¡± The long cornfields were also burning, and I had been hoping I could make popcorn this year. I almost cried. ¡°Master, are you crying?¡± ¡°What did I do wrong?¡± ¡°Too much.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because this world¡¯s a mess! I just wanted to farm in peace!¡± I had only joined that evil syndicate because my vige had burnt down due to that idiotndlord. I would have lived a peaceful life as a farmer if that had not happened. ¡°I cannot imagine that...¡± ¡°No, I would have been a happy farmer if no one had bothered me!¡± ¡°You know that you¡¯re not persuasive, right?¡± How did the Metal Bast see me? I remained silent. ¡°Do you really want me to say it out loud?¡± ¡°I did nothing wrong!¡± ¡°You know that if you keep this up, the horse will jump at the mes.¡± ¡°That means I will share the same fate as my precious produce!¡± ¡°You have gone crazy!¡± I could see someone sitting on the ground far away as I hurried the carriage. ¡°Someone¡¯s over there.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an enemy.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s not?¡± ¡°I will have to apologize!¡± ¡°You have no n!¡± However, no sane person would rest in someone¡¯s burning house, and that had to be an enemy. ¡°Let¡¯s ambush!¡± I had whipped the horse to the extent that it started to run out of control, and I threw myself with the Metal Bat from the carriage. ¡°Damn!¡± The carriage and the strange human shape shed, and the carriage splintered with a sh of light. -Poor horse! -Don¡¯t forget that we may have shared the same fate! ¡°Damn, humans still bothering me!¡± I heard a voice filled with anger next to me. ¡°What¡¯s a doghead talking about?¡± ¡°What?!¡± The dogheaded creature turned around as its eyes had been blocked by the carriage, but I had already started to beat it up. ¡°Horns? A demon! Why are you burning my house?¡± ¡°What? I...¡± ¡°You did? I know!¡± ¡°Wait...!¡± ¡°Why should I?¡± I saw that it was a demon from the horns, which meant that they were after my daughter. ¡°Why did youe here? Speak!¡± ¡°Give me a chance to, you human...!¡± ¡°How can I when I know that you will attack me?¡± ¡°Then, don¡¯t make me...!¡± I started to beat the demon up faster with the Metal Bat at its weakening voice. ¡°Let¡¯s see how long youst!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t...!¡± I attacked its mouth, and my anger was building like the still burning produce! I did not stop beating the demon as it fell down on the ground. ¡°I was going to stay in this vige aftering here four years ago...did you have to do this?¡± I had no words to express my anger more and started to beat it up again. ¡°No excuses. Just say what you know, and I¡¯ll send you in peace.¡± I hit it between its legs, which gave a new response. ¡°You devil, you¡¯ll be cursed by one and die...!¡± ¡°I found it ineffective.¡± I had received some in the pce without any harm. ¡°You evil god¡¯s seed!¡± ¡°I heard that once too often. Anything new?¡± Those beaten by the Metal Bat all gave the same response at the end. ¡°Please, kill me.¡± ¡°I will, so just tell me what you know! Where¡¯s my daughter, what happened to the old man, and what are yourrades¡¯ weaknesses?¡± The Metal Bat sat on the demon with a smile to beat him up. I took out some farming equipment and other necessary items to start operations next to its head. I stabbed it with a hoe, and the important thing was that the Metal Bat¡¯s attacks would inflict more pain to heal the wounds. ¡°I will say all!¡± ¡°Do!¡± ¡°Stop hitting me, then!¡± ¡°Nonsense.¡± It took me ten minutes for me to know everything the demon knew. Chapter 146 It’s Firing Up (8) Chapter 146 It¡¯s Firing Up (8) ¡°It¡¯s a job well done.¡± I wiped the sweat off my forehead while looking at the battered demon corpse. ¡°He was hard as hell.¡± With a severed arm and fatal wound, I was lucky he had fallen after a hit from the Metal Bat. He might have attacked back if he had not those wounds. ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± While I had used the Metal Bat to confirm his death, I wanted to make sure. The Metal Bat stared at me. ¡°Are you that angry?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not only that.¡± Many farmers in fiction and real life are oppressed by their evil lords. However, most of them do not fight back even when they are forced to starve out of fear. They only fight back when the lord burns their crop. The crop is hope for farmers, and burning fields will result in riots. I was feeling that anger now. ¡°There is the fact that he¡¯s a demon.¡± ¡°No patrons?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I had to think of the future even if I was livid. I would not have murdered the princess if she had set fire to my fields. I would have just hit her with the Metal Bat since I did not want to be an enemy of the state. Many would want to kill me if the princess did not hold them back. However, demons are different. While demons were strong, almost every race in this world was their enemy due to the numerous wars between them and demons. ¡°That means demons whoe to avenge this one will be stopped by countries and religious groups who hate them!¡± ¡°Humans are weird...¡± I poured oil on the corpse and started a fire with flintstones. ¡°The corpse is burning well.¡± ¡°So are your fields.¡± I listened to the Metal Bat as I picked up my luggage. ording to this demon, my daughter was thest subus in this world and could decide who would be the next demon king. ¡°Damn. Why 101 races and all this fuss? 100 is enough!¡± ¡°50 versus 50 would be meaningless.¡± ¡°Then they could fight each other to decide the winner! Why all this to get my daughter!¡± I would prefer demons to fight each other than something happening to my daughter. ¡°Then should we run since the horse is dead?¡± I grabbed the Metal Bat after she turned back to her original form and ran to the direction the dead demon told me the others had gone. -Run faster! -It¡¯s difficult! -You exercised! -It hasn¡¯t been even a year! I was in my forties and had no magic, and running this much was an amazing feat despite herints. -My sister! -The old man will not die easily. However, I was also worried, which meant I ran faster. That made it possible for me to go over the hills and crush the snake demon¡¯s head. #15 Other Stories: A Hero¡¯s Story ¡°Damn humans! This had been a trap!¡± ¡°You guys hade here first!¡± I blocked the livid demon¡¯s fist with my Holy Sword. It was one of the best in protecting its user since it was blessed by the God of Nature. ¡°Damn you!¡± ¡°Is that all you can say?¡± ¡°You...!¡± ¡°Stay calm!¡± It was the snake demon who said so as the wolf demon came at me again. Theirbination was good, and without the snake, I would have killed the wolf already. ¡°Die, human!¡± The strength in his ws would have killed any human, but I was a hero chosen by God. ¡°Exleon.¡± The Holy Sword lighted up as I spoke its name, and its golden light cut through the wolf demon¡¯s ws and waist. He looked at me in disbelief as I cut his head off. ¡°Our hero has...¡± ¡°Justplete the sentence and say that he has a temper.¡± ¡°I will be arrested for insolence...¡± ¡°Even if you tell the truth?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I ignored them and thought back to my syndicate days. My unforgettable instructor had told me to win at all costs and use everything I had. His words had served me well. -Eyes can distract enemies, and you can spit and provoke with your mouth. -Using parents works well. -It¡¯s a hard life outside. -Don¡¯t help too much, as people will use you. -Heroes are used most of all, as they have too much to do! The only thing they get is the Holy Sword, but there are no other benefits. You cannot even quit! Isn¡¯t that being a ve? He was correct on all ounts, especially thest one. I had picked up the sword to survive, but I found out that only a hero could have done so. I had been kidnapped by the order to be a hero, and while I had gotten stronger, I had to do things they asked me to, or Heal grabbed my leg and bawled. I had ignored her at first but found out she was too persistent for me. I could not even bathe for four days! Also, God gave me oracles all the time. Why could I not rest?! ¡°He¡¯s getting away!¡± The snake demon was running away when I had been checking over the wolf demon¡¯s corpse. ¡°Are all courageous demons dead?!¡± While I had heard that demons did not run, it seemed to have been all lies. The snake demon was like my instructor as he blocked my way with poisonous fog! I had to use Exleon to break through since the demon was first-ss at running away. ¡°A vige has to be nearby, ording to the old man...¡± A hero is praised only when he has saved everyone. If there are any casualties, especially by a demon I had allowed to escape, my reputation will be ruined. ¡°I can¡¯t let that happen!¡± A hero has to be popr to sleep for free and get discounts in a vige. I wanted a bed rather than sleeping outside, and therefore had been running to catch the snake demon. However, I saw another person running up to the demon. While I would have cut the demon¡¯s head off in an instant and save the man, I had to stop when seeing the silver thing in his hand. ¡°What?!¡± That was the snake demon¡¯sst words before screaming after being hit with a metal bat. I wished for the demon¡¯s instant death. ¡°Just let me...¡± ¡°No one died after being hit with this.¡± ¡°Ah...!¡± I had to turn my head at the demon¡¯s scream as I saw the familiar metal bat hit the demon¡¯s head. ¡°Do I run...?¡± My instructor had not recognized me, and this seemed to be my chance. ¡°Hey, did you catch the demon?¡± ¡°Quiet!¡± However, Heal hade to ruin my chances. ¡°You are...¡± Many thoughts ran through my head as I saw him recognize me while mercilessly beating the demon. However, I quickly decided to sheath my sword and bow politely. ¡°It has been a long time.¡± I presented myself as an average student showing respect for my teacher. Chapter 147 It’s Firing Up (9) Chapter 147 It¡¯s Firing Up (9) ¡°Die, die, die!¡± Now, it was time to hunt a snake. The demon could be called a lizardman if he did not have horns. Every time, only the horns distinguished the demon. ¡°Please, let me die...¡± ¡°I will. But where is my daughter? It seems that the old man had managed to do something since you were about to run.¡± I kept hitting the demon¡¯s head with the Metal Bat amid the moans. I quickened my pace as I thought of my burning fields. It was then I heard an unfamiliar voice. ¡°Hey, did you catch the demon?¡± I turned around to see a man with golden hair and a white Holy Sword. The strangest part was that the man was vaguely familiar. -Haven¡¯t we seen him before? -I agree with you, Master. -Yes, that handsome features, golden hair, blue eyes...He¡¯s familiar. -I have a bad feeling... I also shared her sentiments as I remembered him as the direct bloodline of the Karuan Empire. The Rainands were twice as big and more than five times richer than this country. Why is he here as a hero?! He had been my student from my syndicate days! I saw the handsome hero bow to me politely as I tried to stop him. ¡°It has been a long time, teacher.¡± Why is my former student here as a hero? I then saw a priestess looked at me with wide eyes. ¡°He is your teacher?¡± I then saw an elf next to the priestess, who came with my daughter and the old man. ¡°Daddy! I was so scared!¡± ¡°What about Misha and Coco?¡± ¡°They fainted, so Grandpa has them!¡± ¡°I see. You must have been terrified.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right now.¡± Alice teared up and came running in my arms. I patted her back with my left hand while using my arm to beat the snake demon! -Let me have a moment with my sister! -He¡¯s not dead yet! I was going to make sure the demon did not make unnecessary sounds in front of my daughter. I had my eyes only for her and the hero looking at my daughter with strange eyes. ¡°Daddy...our crop...¡± ¡°I...saw them.¡± ¡°Daddy!¡± My daughter started bawling again, and we together beat the demon up again. The priestess spoke to me in an awkward voice at our actions. ¡°Isn¡¯t that demon dead...?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I stabbed the demon on the side with a hoe and used the Metal Bat again to make the demon squeal. ¡°You can go if you have nothing to do.¡± ¡°Right.¡± The priestess looked at me with shaking hands behind the hero. I then spoke to my daughter. ¡°Should we go?¡± ¡°Yes...Where is Sis?¡± ¡°She is waiting nearby.¡± I patted her head and went to the young man standing next to my neighbor to point at the demon. ¡°Finish him.¡± ¡°Right.¡± I stood near the old man as the hero walked up to the demon and finished him with quick strokes. I was satisfied at sight and now looked at my neighbor. ¡°Thank you for everything.¡± ¡°I worked hard this time. Let me ask one thing. Did you estimate something like this would happen?¡± ¡°No, but I feared something may happen to Alice.¡± ¡°Give me a warning next time. Things had been dire.¡± ¡°I am sorry.¡± I saw that Misha and Coco had gone through a hard time as theyy limp in the old man¡¯s arms. ¡°Thank you, really.¡± ¡°Thank you, Grandpa.¡± Alice bowed low to the old man, who smiled and shook his head. ¡°No, if you¡¯re all right, it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°You¡¯re amazing, Grandpa!¡± Things were wrapping up well, and we could end with a smile... ¡°Teacher, can youe with me?¡± Of course, life was not easy. #15 Other Stories: A Hero¡¯s Story ¡°No.¡± ¡°What?¡± I wondered how I could part with my instructor without any suspicions after taking care of the demon. He was being pursued by her highness herself, and an acquaintance under her had told me something. -Tell me if you find our instructor wherever he is. You can find me anywhere under the Empire. If you don¡¯t, you will die. Her voice had been light, but I knew that she was dead serious. Therefore, I knew I should inform her as fast as I could. ¡°But...¡± ¡°It¡¯s an oracle!¡± The God of Nature had given me a damn oracle. ¡°We have to maintain their acquaintance and follow them!¡± ¡°No, why me all the time?¡± ¡°You are our only hero.¡± That was the reason why I was working so hard. However, I could not bear this time. ¡°No, definitely not.¡± ¡°You said he was your teacher! Won¡¯t hee with us if you ask?¡± ¡°He would not.¡± While I was surprised at the girl calling him Father, he did not travel with luggage. As a young girl, that girl hid something that age would not stamp on a demon like that out of anger. I knew she resembled her father in her temper, at least. Traveling with her and my teacher would be hell. ¡°I will not dive to hell that way.¡± ¡°What did he do to you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask.¡± My body shook at thinking of the past training. Throwing awayrades for victory, bing sick after eating poisonous mushrooms, fighting for death to get one meal... ¡°No, no.¡± My memories proved that my instructor was the devil, and avoiding him was the best thing I could do. ¡°I mean...oh.¡± ¡°What now!¡± I saw Heal grab her chest with a groan and saw her stigma shine. It meant that God was giving his priestess a direct oracle, which meant I would be toiling away again. ¡°Why should this happen to me!¡± ¡°It¡¯s another oracle, given to me by multiple gods.¡± ¡°Multiple?¡± Heal spoke in an awed voice, and I strained to hear what she was mumbling. ¡°If you do not travel with them...all gods, including the Demon God, will be your enemies...¡± ¡°What?¡± I knew that Gods were not all that friendly with each other, and to have been given an oracle by all of them... ¡°What is he to warrant this?¡± I knew he had a terrifying weapon and was chased by women. But was he really that important? ¡°Gods cannot see their path...¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°They are the first andst singrity in this world.¡± The next day, I was traveling with my teacher. Chapter 148 Other Stories (1) Chapter 148 Other Stories (1) #1 Their Stories: Ria El Nermia¡¯s Story I felt tears well up in my eyes, but I had a duty to finish. ¡°I will conclude Yuggrasia¡¯s graduation ceremony now!¡± The following shout was made by a hundred, but the sound was loud enough to ring around the country. ¡°President...¡± The next year¡¯s school president was looking at me with teary eyes. ¡°I am not the School President anymore.¡± ¡°Nooo!¡± ¡°You have only a year left.¡± I hugged her as she fell onto her knees on the tform. ¡°I will go.¡± ¡°Please, stay for another year.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± I had been about to end things pleasantly, but she was speaking nonsense. ¡°Will you stay if you were in my ce?¡± ¡°No, unless I was crazy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you asked me.¡± ¡°But, without you...¡± ¡°It would be the same. Just win the Empire Cup and try to make your life easier.¡± Yuggrasia, which I had entered because I had been afraid of my instructor, was hell. There were eleven Sword Masters, and Rain, my instructor¡¯s student, came as a professor. Alise and I had to spend a semester full of pain. However, that had not been the end. Girls shouting Rain¡¯s name had popped up to bring people of astounding abilities. Yuggrasia now had twenty Sword Masters, ten Great Mages, and twenty-five Great Summoners. The academy couldmit treason with these people. Instead, they worked us day and night. While thousands of students disappeared each year, the professors became stronger. In my third year, four hundred students had to fight against them, who only became stronger and increased in number. Alise and I had to go through hell, and after Alise graduated and became School Presidentst year, there was too much hardship. However, I was not a student anymore. I was free! This is the end! My summoned beast, Surut, also cried tears of joy. He had been at the forefront of all my strategies. ¡°President...¡± ¡°I¡¯m not anymore.¡± I consoled the new President, as I knew what she was feeling. I also felt the same when Alise and other summoners graduated. We could go easy for a semester if we won the Empire Cup, but most of our strongest forces had disappeared. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Yuggrasia is strong.¡± Yuggrasia had now won the Empire Cup five years in a row after my instructor had changed the ce in less than a year. ¡°The future is yours.¡± I spoke with a few remaining students beforeing out of the academy. ¡°I am now free!¡± However, it was at that time I saw a girl wearing Yuggrasia¡¯s uniform. She had in brown eyes and hair, and although she looked ordinary at a nce, I knew who she was. ¡°Number 1000?¡± I had worked with her all the time in my syndicate years. ¡°Congrattions on graduating.¡± ¡°Thank...you.¡± ¡°And congrattions on getting a job.¡± ¡°What?¡± She handed me a flower bouquet with a piece of paper that said... -Congrattions on working under her highness! ¡°No!¡± ¡°You have no choice.¡± She was trying to make me hold a notice that said I would be working under the princess. ¡°It¡¯s easier to give up.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to!¡± I had been a ve in Yuggrasia for four years because of those professors she had sent here! Now I had to work with them? ¡°Ria, you were here!¡± ¡°Alise?¡± It was then I saw Alise and other people who had graduated earlier than me. Also, my enemies Nerkia and Risen were here with weing faces. ¡°I have to talk with them, so...¡± I had been about to say goodbye to Number 1000, but she was still smiling. ¡°You don¡¯t need to say goodbye to me since I know them well.¡± ¡°You do? How?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because...¡± I felt unnerved at seeing her smiling and walked three steps back. ¡°What are you up to?!¡± ¡°Ria, you should not fight with friends.¡± Alice hugged my shoulder as she smiled at me and Number 1000. ¡°We will be working together now.¡± ¡°What?¡± My head turned white at hearing Alise¡¯s words. It did not seem to be my imagination that other Yuggrasia graduates were enclosing me in a circle. ¡°Alise?¡± I turned my head to see Alise¡¯s eyes and saw they had turned dark. Her eyes had been burning red, but while the color was the same, there were shadows in them now. ¡°Don¡¯t...¡± ¡°Alise, Alise, it¡¯s easier if you give up...¡± She repeating her name to herself did not seem normal, so I had been about to use my power when I felt something circle my neck. ¡°I do not want to make a fuss on this good day.¡± Alise was faster than me as she was a Sword Master, and I would not have been able to avoid the chocker on my neck. ¡°I caught her, Leader.¡± ¡°You did well, Agent Alise.¡± Leader? Agent? The magic on the chocker was weird. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to use your power much, Ria. Her highness¡¯s mages had made that.¡± ¡°Yes, her highness could nullify a Sword Master like me.¡± Alise lowered her voice to whisper in my ear. ¡°No one can see us Ria, this spot is being hidden by fairies.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible!¡± Such magic was almost impossible to cast. ¡°It¡¯s possible. Nerkia can do it.¡± Alise giggled, and she scared me more than when she had sliced trees with her sword with a bright smilest year. I was terrified of how a person can change in a year and that I may be like her! ¡°Let me go!¡± ¡°Sign the contract. Here is a pen.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t! What is this chocker!¡± I could not move and felt Alise¡¯s magic blocking me from using mine. ¡°Are you going to betray me?¡± ¡°I have to follow orders.¡± Alise had been broken in a year, and now my exrade was trying to take me to the same ce. ¡°This is illegal!¡± ¡°Who made a contract with a devil with illegal ways?¡± ¡°That was the instructor...¡± ¡°We¡¯re trying to find him.¡± ¡°What?!¡± I did not want to work under the princess even more, as he would resist. ¡°No!¡± ¡°Just rx and sign. You will now be an honorable mage under a highness.¡± ¡°Are you really going to do this to me?!¡± ¡°Call me your leader. Her highness said, you can work under me. Let¡¯s have fun like old times!¡± ¡°You were the only one who had fun!¡± ¡°Sign...¡± Her hand was on mine, and I had already written half of my name. If I wrote in full, I would be forced under the contract. I somehow summoned Surut to break apart the magic surrounding us using everything I had. ¡°My master¡¯sm-ah!¡± However, Surut disappeared after being attacked by four Sword Masters and a fairy King. -I am sorry, master. He could not havested, as I was surrounded by people who could take over the world. ¡°What are you nning to do?!¡± ¡°We¡¯re just trying to find a person.¡± I watched as my name was being written on the contract. It would be held by magic just when I had been about to be free. ¡°Congrattions, you now can work with us!¡± ¡°No!¡± I was now part of a group that was trying to kidnap my instructor. Chapter 149 Other Stories (2) Chapter 149 Other Stories (2) #2 Other Stories: A Demon King Candidate¡¯s Story The room was dirty, like it was showing off theziness of its owner. Filled to the brim with books and bookcases, one may guess that the room belonged to a schr. However, the demon sitting at the desk changed all those estimates, as his giant physique and horns showed who he was. The great general Agreart was the owner of this room. ¡°Speak again.¡± While Agreart was known for keeping his cool, his room was cold as a winter storm. ¡°We have lost contact with the four.¡± ¡°I had not heard wrong.¡± ¡°I apologize.¡± The bird-like demon bowed his head, but Agreart only shook his. ¡°You are only the messenger. Let¡¯s wait since they had only missed a regr report.¡± ¡°Right.¡± After his subordinate went out, however, Agreart thought that something had happened. They were all leaders of their tribes and would not be hindered from reporting unless there was a serious problem. ¡®It¡¯s the moderates¡¯ doing.¡¯ There was no way for humans to know who thest subus was, as even demons had thought them extinct. It was only through the Demon God¡¯s oracle after the vote hade to a draw that the demon world had known that a subus was still alive. Therefore, the moderates must have done something. Still, Agreart thought his best four subordinates would be able to manage the situation if it was so. ¡®They would be in a difficult situation, but not dead.¡¯ Agreart thought he had been too confident. He had guessed that the moderates, who acted for world peace, would not attack first. That was why he had not attacked, and also because he had thought that his enemies were humans, not his own race. However, they had acted first, and Agreart now thought about the former King¡¯s daughter, who acted as the leader of the moderates. Before working for peace between humans and demons, the former King had brought together 101 races with power and intellect. He had forgotten how powerful the former King had been and that Agreart was going against his daughter. ¡°It will be not easy.¡± Agreart began to move fast. He had not wanted a civil war, but would not back down from a fight. ¡°It will be war.¡± Thus, a war between demons now began. #3 Other Stories: A Spinster¡¯s Story I ¡°What does this mean?¡± Her highness showed me a letter, which made me sweat all over. However, I remembered that I was the knight who had served the longest under her, making it possible for me to smile in this situation. ¡°What is this?¡± It was a wedding invitation, but I could not say it. Her highness was the greatest of thisnd in her authority and beauty. She still looked like she was in her early twenties, and I heard that mountains of wedding proposals were showered on her. However, her highness only wanted one person, and that was Sir Ast. While I did not see what was so good about him, I knew he had saved her highness from death. However, she was not a person who would fall in love only because of that reason. I had to admit that Sir Ast had great abilities just by not being caught even though her highness was working so hard to chase him. ¡°Lea?¡± I tried topose myself, but the word wedding got at me, too. My oldest brother and the head of my family had given up on marrying me. While her highness was ripping the invitation from her cousin, all of mine had already married. A few yearster, their daughters... Why could not I marry out of love? Should I give up on a loving rtionship? ¡°Lea, are you crying?¡± ¡°No, I am just thinking about the hardships of life.¡± I blinked away my tears. I knew that there were rumors that being an excellent woman knight meant spinsterhood. It was true, as I had trained during the time I would have gone on dates. I had to be stronger than those who had gone on dates. I gave it a year or two before this rumor spread all around thends, and I hoped a hero would appear for me before it happened. ¡®Does this mean only a hero can solve my marriage problem?¡¯ I sighed as her highness looked at me with a strange expression like I had gone suddenly crazy. ¡°Your highness, what will you do?¡± Iposed myself as I did not want her to keep looking at me like that. ¡°What? Your marriage problem or this wedding invitation?¡± ¡°The invitation.¡± While she had wanted to tease me, I now could answer calmly. She did not push, as we had grown old. ¡°I will have to go.¡± While her highness had nodded indifferently, I sensed something within that gesture. ¡°Your highness, it is an imperial event. You have to maintain face.¡± ¡°Lea, does that mean you think I will act rashly in my cousin¡¯s wedding?¡± ¡°Exactly, your highness.¡± She frowned as I answered her. ¡°Did you really think I would do so?¡± ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± While I could be arrested for being insolent, I knew her. ¡°You are right! This is a challenge issued at me. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± She was not nice enough to let her cousin be in this situation. ¡°Why is she marrying at twenty? She still has much to learn as a member of the imperial family.¡± ¡°Your highness, while I understand your reasoning, this is an imperial event.¡± ¡°I know, but why send me an invitation? They should have gotten married on their own.¡± I knew what she felt, as I had felt the same when my youngest sister had married twenty years ago. Her son was now about to enter an academy, and I thought of sending him to Yggrasia... I now wished Sir Ast to be caught, as I realized that whatever feelings her highness held towards him were more vtile than mine. She may do anything then! #Other Stories: A Spinster¡¯s Story II A beautiful woman with silver hair was looking over a calendar with sad eyes. Men were her students in training all sighed inwardly. The year changed in a month, and that meant their teacher would have be a year older. She was older than the Empire¡¯s first princess, who had just be over thirty. Chapter 150 Other Stories (3) Chapter 150 Other Stories (3) #5 Other Stories: A Priestess¡¯s Story In our world, we call deities who have been ordained to manage this world by the two Creators Gods. They can maintain this world¡¯s bnce and sustain this world. For example, others from another world, such as Gods and demons who have been contracted by summoners, cannot use their power well because of them. While they seem to serve certain functions, they have their own characteristics. While the Spring and Summer Goddesses are sisters and are pleasant, they do not get along because they had been created by different Creators. It is said that Summer and Winter Gods stand between them to prevent chaos, thus the four seasons. I serve the Nature God, who is known for his benevolence and love of peace. I know better than anyone how much he loves us as I can his voice directly. However, he had given me an oracle that can be tranted as ¡®Damn it to hell. Follow them!¡¯ At first, I thought I had been cursed by demons. However... [You hear and know me. Listen! Follow them! You have to observe them with your own eyes! This is an oracle!] I had frozen in shock as the Nature God calmed down and apologized. That was when I had asked our hero to follow them. However, he had refused out t, and I heard the Nature God¡¯s voice again. [Why doesn¡¯t he listen to me?! This is serious!] After a few moments of silence, he came back again. [I have met with other Gods and have their consent. Tell my hero that if he does not follow them, he will be picking a fight with all the gods of this world!] I did not understand why the kind and benevolent Nature God was acting like this. [Gods know everything about this world, but there are exceptions. We call them singrities. That one is the worst of all singrities, but we cannot observe them directly. That¡¯s where you twoe in and think that this is for world peace.] If it was the Nature God preaching about world peace, I had no choice but to persuade the hero. While I had managed to make him change his mind for ten minutes with severe threats and entreaties, he still refused at the end. [What? Why did I choose him as my hero?! Make him change his mind before it¡¯s toote!] I must have heard God¡¯s voice more today than I had all year. ¡°Sir, what¡¯s the reason you cannot follow them?¡± ¡°The metal bat.¡± ¡°What?¡± Things had gone crazy today, as I could not understand what anyone was saying. ¡°Sir, are you refusing the oracle from all gods because of a metal bat?!¡± ¡°You treat it lightly, but you would know better if you had been beaten by it!¡± I was at a loss for words, as a hero who should ovee obstacles and achieve the impossible for this world was acting like a child. ¡°Sir, don¡¯t you understand that you¡¯re a hero?!¡± ¡°Heal, you¡¯re the one that doesn¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Sir!¡± I was growing angry at his irresponsibility when he spoke again. ¡°If I can¡¯t make you understand...if you manage tost five minutes against the metal bat, I will go along no matter the situation.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I sighed as I heard the Nature God cheer me, and I approached my hero¡¯s teacher to announce my intention. ¡°Hit me with the bat!¡± I regretted it a secondter. ¡°Please, God. Help me!¡± [This is for world peace!] ¡°I cannot bear this!¡± #6 Other Stories: An escapee¡¯s story Unlike my past life, here gods actually existed. Therefore, temples where priests nurtured their powers to crate miracles also existed. They healed patients, treated curses, and gave food to the poor. At least, those I had seen from the Imperial pce did. Priests could not be greedy or use their Gods¡¯ names in vain as they worked actively in this world by giving oracles oring down through a disciple¡¯s body. If a priest tried to do something bad, the individual would be deprived of their position. However, this high elf, the priest for elves, had given me quite a shock. She hade running at me to scream that I was her destiny. I still shuddered when I remembered her shouting at me that she would meet me again as elves dragged her to Yggdrasil. However, Yggdrasil was made by the Goddess of Affection and Sacrifice, who had given herself to stop an evil god. High elves prayed for the Goddess¡¯s revival to the Yggdrasil, and that meant that the tree would not know whether the priestess was unqualified or not! That meant high elves had more freedom than the woman in front of me. ¡°Hit me with the bat!¡± What was she saying? -Isn¡¯t she a masochist? The metal bat had decided that the priestess was a masochist. ¡°If Ist for five minutes, please travel with us.¡± So that was the reason. I assented as I knew that she would notst a minute. ¡°Then, we will begin.¡± I had to save my magic as I did not know what would happen to my daughter, and the healer seemed manageable. That meant one hit would probably make her give in. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± One hit, and the priestess¡¯s scream filled the air. I used my bat with a rhythm against her screams, but things did not go as I expected. ¡°How long has it been?¡± I turned my gaze to see the hero look at us with astonishment and the old man stare with respect. ¡°It has been... five minutes.¡± I had to be surprised, and the metal bat seemed astonished. -How did she do it? -Her belief seems to have been crazy enough. -What do we do? Do we travel with a hero, a crazy believer, and an unconfirmed elf?! I considered things for a moment. Traveling with a hero would be dangerous. -We¡¯re going to run! -That¡¯s the spirit! #7 Other Stories: A hero¡¯s story ¡°...He will probably act as I said and run.¡± ¡°You had been right.¡± We were riding a carriage in the middle of the night and hiding in the luggage space. The vibrations were fierce. ¡°Do we have to go like this?¡± ¡°Ask the Nature God, not me.¡± I had no choice. The only way to go with my teacher was to anticipate his escape route. Therefore, I was now after him to save the world. Chapter 151 Other Stories (4) Chapter 151 Other Stories (4) #8 Other Stories: An old man¡¯s story ¡°I have arrived sooner than expected.¡± I sighed as I looked at the small vige afar. I had asked Merln for a battle, had been refused, fought against the demons, and fell asleep due to my wounds and fatigue. However, everyone had gone when I woke up. They had somehow managed to slip by me, and I had to admit I had let Merln run away from me. I had walked destely to home, or to be more exact, a burnt site of where my home had been. The wheat fields had also gone to ck ash, and I felt empty at seeing everything gone in such a short time. I realized that I had to leave this ce also at that same moment. I went to the dwarf vige, and people were surprised to see mee back so quickly. ¡°I had toe back early due to certain situations.¡± The elder who had made me my sword weed me first. ¡°How was it?! Did you beat that weapon?¡± His eyes were expectant, but I had to admit that I had not kept my promise. However, as I had used my sword and Merln his bat in battle, I had to exin the difference between our weapons. I spoke in front of the three elders of the Red Hammer n, and they were good listeners. ¡°The weapon you made had been amazing.¡± ¡°Yes, but your skills were also impressive. However, Hectare with the silver weapon can fight too.¡± ¡°Who is Hectare?¡± ¡°We call your Merln Hectare. We gave him that name after he became an honorary elder of the Dwarf n. He made evil weapons, but that silver one had been the worst of all.¡± I had to think things over as the dwarf eldersughed among them. What kind of a life had Merln lived? ¡°What did he do to warrant that reputation?¡± ¡°He made the Metal Bat.¡± The dwarves did not say anything else. I decided that not knowing would be better for my mental health and remained silent. The elders talked among them. ¡°However, it was fun when he suggested knew weapons to us.¡± ¡°Yes, while he could not make weapons on his own, he had a good imagination.¡± ¡°Us dwarves are happy when making new things.¡± ¡°His weapons gave safety to other viges.¡± ¡°Yes, he had saved our friends from very. Rare for a human.¡± ¡°Yes, that Metal Bat...¡± ¡°......¡± The elders became silent at those words like magic. ¡°I will return this.¡± I handed them my sword in the quiet room and apologized for not keeping my promise. The elders only stared at me. ¡°Yes, you do not have the right to have this sword because you did not keep your promise. A dwarf¡¯s promise is sacred. We will take your sword.¡± While I was sorry to see it go, I did not regret the act as I had been the one who had broken the promise. ¡°All right, will you stay here for a while?¡± ¡°You seem to be thinking the same thing as me.¡± ¡°Hey, hey, I had been the first one to meet him.¡± The elders went out of the room with the sword, and it took them ten days toe back after that announcement. ¡°Have this.¡± ¡°This one, too.¡± ¡°Just because I am empty-handed, that does not mean I had not worked to make these swords.¡± Their faces looked tired but also satisfied. ¡°This sword is named Selflessness.¡± ¡°This one is called Heavenly Ascent.¡± ¡°Use them to go to a new level.¡± ¡°Elders...¡± I felt something fill up inside me with warmth. ¡°While we will take your old sword, you have to have these new ones!¡± ¡°Let the world know that we are better than anyone in making weapons!¡± ¡°However, can we beat that metal bat?¡± ¡°......¡± Iughed out loud at the silence that fell in the room after that magic word. #9 Other Stories: The Current Holy Sword¡¯s Story ¡°Thank you!¡± I nodded to a smiling young man and went outside the store. I walked a few blocks, checked that there was no one around me, and sighed deeply as I continued to move my legs. Howling, an evil syndicate had been crushed. While it had been the crown prince¡¯s great achievement with the emperor¡¯s backup, I had lost something in the aftermath. The host club I had gone to had closed down. It had been the best in the empire, and now only illegal ones remained. I did not care to go to those ces as they were seedy and unenjoyable. Why could not host clubs follow the gentrification methods that Howling had taken? Now was the time to step up! I had ced enough money to buy a few counties and fought exhibition matches to earn the funds as the current Holy Sword. I was not the only one to spend such money and had lost to a few who had spent more than me. I sighed again and left the vige to go to a nearby club that was said to be good. If this was a dud, I was serious enough to go to another country. ¡°What?¡± However, it was then I felt a chill. I had only felt this tinge when a sword master who had nearly mastered the craft was near. Bing a swordmaster was only the beginning, and one needed talent and severe training to be truly powerful. There would be less than ten in this country. ¡°Come on out.¡± I went to an empty lot and spoke. It seemed that the individual was challenging me because I was the most famous and easy to find. While I would expect to be paid, today I wanted to relieve my stress. ¡°Spoken like the current Holy Sword.¡± ¡°You are...¡± However, I recognized the old man with the warrior¡¯s physique as he came out. The two longswords hung behind his back were unfamiliar, though. ¡°Steon del Lebeiteon?¡± The previous Holy Sword, who I may have lost if he had not used a stick. ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Have youe back to take back the title?¡± ¡°No, I havee...to let the world know.¡± He took out two longswords from his back as I stared at him warily. ¡°These are Selflessness and To the Heavens. Dwarves made them.¡± ¡°What?!¡± He had walked about with a stick saying that swords were a luxury! He seemed very dangerous. ¡°Therefore, I want to fight with you to test these swords.¡± ¡°I would rather refuse...¡± He rushed at me before I could continue, and while I thought I had blocked his attack, I felt blood spurt from my cheek. I saw that one of his swords faded away from sight, and the other attack faster than the other. ¡°They are not normal swords!¡± ¡°They are magic weapons.¡± Steon spoke with a pleasant smile as I shouted while avoiding the attack. Chapter 151.1 Side Stories – A certain imperial princess’s reminiscence (13) < Running Away from the Hero! Side Stories ¨C A certain imperial princess¡¯s reminiscence (13) > #17 Their circumstances: The circumstances of the imperial court magicians. Those who used magic to fight weremonly referred to as magicians. They were ¡®flowers¡¯ of the battlefield who relied on their incredible magical power to unleash overwhelming destruction. Some even said that a single powerful magician was equal to a siege weapon, so yes, their firepower was indeed difficult to describe in mere words. Unfortunately, not everyone could be a magician. This thing called magic wasn¡¯t a type of discipline where your magical power automatically increased to keep up with your realm of knowledge. Even if your natural talent was excellent, having a pitiful magical energy reserve prevented you from unleashing the level of power you desired. Meaning, no matter how good your talent was, you¡¯d never be admitted to the magician corps with a small magic energy pool. That¡¯s because what¡¯s valued more on the battlefield wasn¡¯t your talent, but how big your magic energy pool was! That didn¡¯t mean one couldn¡¯t utilise their talents to their fullest, though. You see, this discipline called magic wasn¡¯t so worthless that it¡¯d mistreat unmistakable geniuses just because of theircking energy pool. An existence capable of systematically unlocking the truth of the world called magic... People called such existences as... ...The magicians! And the top representative of Karuan Empire¡¯s imperial court magicians, the one referred to as the genius of rotten luck, Count Relgrey was currently roaring out in anger. ¡°Kick that insane bastard out of here! Or else, I might kill him with my own two hands!¡± ¡°Please calm down, sir! That personage has been dispatched by the imperial court itself!¡± ¡°That knight is a direct subordinate of Her Highness the First Imperial Princess. Sir, you must hold it back!¡± ¡°F*ck, did you say I must hold it back?! I must hold myself back at this sh*t?! Especially after what that son of a b*tch said, too?!¡± Other magicians were groaning at length while staring at a certain man leisurely enjoying tea time. An order issued by the imperial court... not only that, a decree directly from the emperor himself! Unlike the ¡°regr¡± magic bombardment spell that required the magical energy to shoot, this new and utterly nonsensical bombing raid was created by gathering and freezing moisture found in the atmosphere first before dropping the resulting shards on the ground. Since no magical energy existed within these shards, magical barriers were not effective in stopping them. However, what if you cast barriers to defend against the falling mass? The magical energy required to stop the physical impact was so unimaginably great that it was simply not practical. Unless you were on the level of an archmage, the barrier would shatter from theck of energy and you¡¯d meet your doom. When they were first told to freeze water, they couldn¡¯t quite understand it. You could¡¯ve simply used ice magic, so why the need to freeze water? However, the more they researched, the more shocked they became at the potential of this bombardment. For one thing, a magic spell¡¯s firepower would decrease the further it needed to travel. Magic was an act of bringing one¡¯s imagination to reality through the medium called magic energy. Obviously, you¡¯d need more of that energy the longer the distance you need to cover, and the firepower was bound to suffer from it, too. That¡¯s simply because a human being could not control magical power that was out of their area of control. And this was also the reason why magicians and even sorcerers found it difficult to urately hit something when shelling a target in the distance. So, they covered up theck of uracy with brute firepower. This was basically the magic bombardment the magicians and sorcerers used in a nutshell. However, this new type of bombardment was different. Although not exactly ¡®pure¡¯, the ice was created naturally by freezing water. This was obviously inefficientpared to simply casting ice magic, but you didn¡¯t need to spend magic energy to fire the ice shards to the ground, either. The moment they were released, these shards would elerate all by themselves to increase their destructive power. This was revolutionary. The magicians¡¯ bombardment could cause fatal devastation on the battlefield, but why was the sorcerers¡¯ bombardment seen as a mere deterrent, instead? That¡¯s all thanks to firing the magic from such a high altitude that magic power detection couldn¡¯t spot them. Magic spells didn¡¯t naturally elerate. No, it¡¯d only cause wastage of magical energy, leading to a drop in power output instead. With this, though, that problem was solved. From now on, sorcerers would get to unleash a simr level of bombardment as the magicians! Not only that, without any warning, too! Obviously, the paradigm in warfare would transform, as well. And the imperial decree sent to them was to change the paradigm once more. The clearly illogical bombardment had to be turned back to something logical. And then, they had to defend against it. Thanks to the decree, the military¡¯s top brass had to hold their heads and rack their brains hard, going so far as to requesting assistance from the magicians. The magicians themselves also racked their brains, and the result of their brainstorming was... to request the presence of the one responsible for creating this bombardment in the first ce. But that person came as a set with the First Imperial Princess of the empire. They sure got flustered by the sudden entrance of an imperial, but, as expected of the folks of the imperial court, they quickly collected themselves. However, they ended up getting flustered once more at the words spoken by the man apanying Her Highness the First Imperial Princess. ¡°A way to defend against it... Can¡¯t you just erect a physical wall and call it a day?¡± ¡°Oh, hang on. You couldn¡¯t do that and that¡¯s why you called me over here? Huh, just because it¡¯s me, you thought I might have a solution?¡± ¡°Sorry? Are you asking me what insanity drove me to envision this sort of bombardment? Of course, it was to screw... Ahem, I mean, it just so happened while doing my best to entertain her highness.¡± ¡°Mm... What you¡¯re saying is, I¡¯m responsible foring up with this bombardment, so... I should be responsible for the solution, too? Uh-huh, I¡¯m merely a butler, sirs. A butler directly under Her Highness the First Imperial Princess, no less. Research and development of magic should be left to magicians, while military strategy and tactics are for the military!¡± ¡°Argh, I don¡¯t care anymore! Why don¡¯t ya just shoot me and be done with it!¡± And then... the magicians barely managed to hold back the rampaging Count Relgrey trying to pounce on the man to really shoot his ass. This was their situation so far. ¡°You son of a b*tch... You bastard was even awarded the title of baron so that you could freely waltz in here, yet you dare! I swear, I shall make sure you¡¯re stripped of your nobility even if that¡¯s thest thing I ever do!¡± Count Relgrey, hisplexion beet red from intense rage, kept roaring on like a man losing his mind. But then, Baron Ast quietly watching this scene abruptly put the teacup down and got up from the chair. ¡°Bravo.¡± p, p, p... He even began pping his hands. Not only that, with his expression containing this hint of queer satisfaction, too! ¡°Y-you insane son of a...!¡± Even the one and only Count Relgrey was left dumbstruck by this development. ¡°You, you think I can¡¯t do it?!¡± ¡°Oh, no. I know you can do it, Mister Chief Relgrey! I¡¯m rooting for you!¡± This insane bastard was now making a really expectant face. ¡°You dare to be so insolent because of her highness¡¯s backing?! I swear in my name, I shall have your nobility revoked, leaving you as amoner again!¡± ¡°Sob... Thank you so much, Mister Chief Relgrey. My gratitude knows no bounds, good sir.¡± And now, he was even shedding tears, too! ¡°Y-you insane bastard!¡± The one and only Count Relgrey stumbled back a couple of steps, looking clearly mortified. The imperial magic researchboratory was an organisation of true geniuses where only the cream of the magician crop existing in the empire gathered. And Relgrey was the head of such an organisation ¨C one of the top geniuses in the whole empire. The good Count was smart enough to break through any and all problems that blocked his path so far. Yet someone like that was beginning to think this while staring at the baron shedding tears of happiness. ¡®T-this motherf*cker... He¡¯s really insane, isn¡¯t he?!¡¯ The realm beyond his ability to understand? That fact suddenly dawned on Count Relgrey, causing him to shudder grandly on his feet. This man, Baron Ast de Lc... The First Imperial Princess, who was dearly beloved by the emperor himself, utilised a cheat shortcut to make this man into a baron in just one day. Even so, Count Relgrey still understood the reason why. The magical bombardment Ast de Lc hade up with was a revolutionary technique that not even one and only Relgrey had thought up of, after all! Relgrey could confidently im to be more passionate about magic research than anyone else out there. And that¡¯s why he was inwardly acknowledging the man named Ast, yet this...! ¡®This was the case of a madman cooking up an insane technique, that¡¯s all!¡¯ Baron Ast that Relgrey met today was insanity personified. Initially, he thought this was just a ruse. A prank. Relgrey believed that Ast had already thought up a solution and was simply making fun of the magicians right now. Even during his angry threats to strip the baron¡¯s noble title, he kept thinking that Ast was still getting a kick out of watching his reaction. The First Imperial Princess was backing him, after all. But, but! Take a look at that expression! His huge grin overflowing with happiness, his tears flooding down his cheeks nonstop! This bastard, he was just a loon. That¡¯s all. Relgrey briefly wondered if this was just an act. But then, he quickly concluded that only a madman would act like this in the first ce. ¡®Her Highness is currently on the inspection tour of the military, so... Does that mean I¡¯m stuck in the same space as this lunatic for the next several hours?!¡¯ Baron Ast sobbed and smiled happily and stared right back at Count Relgrey, but thetter hurriedly avoided meeting the gaze. ¡®Scary. Really scary!¡¯ For the first time since his first audience with the current emperor, Count Relgrey was shivering away in pure fright. #18 Their circumstances: the circumstance of a certain viin ¡°P-please get away from me.¡± ¡°Ahahaha. Good sir, one needs to be fullymitted to their jobs if they don¡¯t wish to get fired.¡± ¡°But, but! Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯re just a butler?!¡± ¡°Her highness ordered me to attend any meetings that might take ce in this organisation, unfortunately.¡± ¡°Urgh...¡± Chief Relgrey¡¯s figure began trembling visibly. At first, this dude was pouring out all sorts of insults in my way, but now, he suddenly was trying to put some distance between us. Hmm, is this one of those ¡®hard-to-get¡¯ ys? But my taste is pretty straight, so no matter how pretty you are, a dude is a still no for me, dog... And Mister Chief over here is a wrinkly old man, so that¡¯s a definite no, then. Too bad for you, Mister Chief. Ah well, I¡¯ll take note of your feelings and dly ept your stripping of my baron title! That¡¯s why, oh please, I beg thee, take away my baron title already! ¡°W-why don¡¯t we start our meeting, then?¡± Did he read the intense yearning in my eyes or something? Chief Relgrey fake-coughed a couple of times to clear his throat, then did his best to avoid meeting my gaze. As for the topic of the meeting itself, it could be condensed down to, [How do I defend myself when this magical bombardment rains down on top of my head?!]. ¡°Use fire magic to melt the ice down, sir! Everything will be solved if we turn the ice into the water before they hit the ground!¡± ¡°Getting hit in the head with a fist-sized ice shard results in your instant death. Meaning, you must melt the ice down in an instant, but tell me. Just how many people do you think are out there who can use such powerful magic without chanting?¡± ¡°Besides, this magic doesn¡¯t even give off magical reaction, too. So if the bombardment hits us out of nowhere, then we have to start chanting after we¡¯re dealt a blow already. At the very least, magicians need to activate their magic the moment they can discern the projectiles with their naked eyes.¡± ¡°What if we improve the magic detection spell to discover the sorcerers ahead of time?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget, the firepower of this bombardment increases the higher the altitude is. Regr magic bombardments are fired from just a little beyond the range of detection magic to maximise their destructive power. But there¡¯s no need to do that with this bombardment.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. No need to hover close to the target, meaning it¡¯s possible to activate the spell from somewhere much higher up.¡± ¡°All you have to do is to confirm the general coordinates through reconnaissance, isn¡¯t it.¡± They were chatting away among themselves, but I got the feeling that they couldn¡¯t find the solution yet. When I thought about it, even I could tell that the crap I started was something big. However, it was also not something I should deal with. Well, I¡¯m just a butler, aren¡¯t I?! A butler was never meant to deal with stuff like this! Still, I was a part of this meeting, so I should at least say something, no? ¡°Can¡¯t you just engrave forms that can automatically deploy physical barriers to magic staves?¡± ¡°You think that¡¯s even possible...?¡± ¡°Urgh...¡± All these magicians busy shouting at the top of their lungs abruptly mped their mouths shut while ncing at me. Hey, what¡¯s up with this treatment? Why have you all gone mute as soon as pping your eyes on me? ¡°...That¡¯s impossible, sir baron. A staff is nothing more than an assist tool. So, to suggest using such a tool to transform magical power is...¡± Oh, so it¡¯s not doable? Sounds like it can be done, though? ¡°But, it¡¯s possible with magic swords, no?¡± ¡°A magic sword and a staff are totally different, sir baron. A sword is a weapon, while a staff is just an assist tool. The way you use them is totally different, sir baron!¡± When you y an RPG, it¡¯d be only natural for you to store your swords and staves inside the same item window. But these idiots didn¡¯t even know such simple truths. Since I¡¯m a nice guy, I better exin this to them. ¡°Excuse me, dear Mister Magician, the one who replied to me just now?¡± ¡°Y-yes?¡± That magician dude visibly shrunk back when my gazended on him. I hadn¡¯t even done anything to them, so I couldn¡¯t figure out why they were treating me this way. ¡°Good sir, what do you think will happen if a sword hits you in the head?¡± ¡°I... will die?¡± ¡°Yes, correct. A weapon meant to kill, that¡¯s a sword.¡± I nodded to acknowledge his reply. Surely, no human out there would survive after a sword smacked them in the head. ¡°In that case, will you also die if a staff hits you in the head?¡± ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± The magician seemed flustered by my follow up question and began ncing at his colleagues. His social skills must¡¯ve been poor, though, since everyone avoided meeting his desperate gaze. ¡°I... won¡¯t die, sir?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s possible that you won¡¯t die. However, if you were struck with considerable force, you can die.¡± Traditionally, you don¡¯t use swords to crack open a skull, but a blunt weapon of some kind. You use des to cut people¡¯s throats, not skulls, after all. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, a staff can also serve as a weapon, am I wrong?¡± ¡°N-no, you¡¯re right.¡± The magician made a somewhat unconvinced face, but he still agreed with my assertion. Well, this made some sense, though. These people were not idiots, meaning they wouldn¡¯t have used staves only as a medium to transmit magical energy. The only reason why they used staves this way was probably because they tried everything and nothing else worked. However, I really wanted to end this meeting as soon as possible. I must quickly end this meeting, then patiently wait for our dear Mister Chief to strip my noble title away! That¡¯s why I better run my mouth off some more and spew some dogsh*t, to give them even more pretext to take my title away! If you can help it, please have me fired from the role of exclusive butler along with taking my title away, too! ¡°If you haven¡¯t tried it yet, shouldn¡¯t you at least have a go first?¡± While emphasizing the mentality of, ¡®If it¡¯s not possible, make it possible!¡¯, I managed to end the meeting. Talking was cheap, of course. And this talk sure made me die a little inside, too. Not just these fine folks, but even all the magicians affiliated with the imperial court must be swearing my head off by now. Here was someone who knew eff-all about magic, yet by needlessly butting in, I made them waste their valuable time. That¡¯s what they were probably saying behind my back. Well, that should only strengthen the position of our dear Mister Chief that was getting ready to strip my title away! Yes, that¡¯s what¡¯s supposed to happen, but then...! ¡°Congrattions, Ast. Here¡¯s the que of appreciation from the magicians of the military and imperial court,¡± said First Imperial Princess. Our simply too-excellent magicians went and really did it. Theypleted the staff I was talking about. Chapter 151.2 Side Stories – A certain imperial princess’s reminiscence (14) < Running Away from the Hero! Side Stories ¨C A certain imperial princess¡¯s reminiscence (14) > Side Story ¨C A certain Imperial Princess¡¯s reminiscence (14) The first emotion I felt after receiving the report was sheer dumbfoundedness. ¡°It¡¯s... already finished?!¡± ¡°Apparently so, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Already? Finished?! Seriously?¡± ¡°Y-yes. I heard that Sir Ast yed a significant role in it...¡± Even Reia was making a very, very, sour face during her report. If I¡¯m being honest, I didn¡¯t have high hopes of Ast taking care of this situation. All I did was handing him over to the military bigwigs and magicians as a sacrificialmb so that they could vent some stress. But to think that he actually resolved it... Could it be that the military¡¯s brass was ipetent? Or maybe Ast was just too capable? I couldn¡¯t figure this one out at all. ¡°What a conundrum.¡± ¡°Indeed it is, Your Highness. A conundrum.¡± Even Reia could tell that there were so many suspicious aspects to this situation. Despite the geniuses of the empire working together, they couldn¡¯te up with a solution to this problem. But Ast alone managed to deal with it during one single meeting? Honestly, it¡¯d be more convincing to say that this whole thing was staged, that everything unfolded ording to the n. Meaning, stories of Ast being a spy from another kingdom or even a viinous organisation would have sounded more convincing. But for that spy nonsense to be true, the worth of this new strategy was just too great. I mean, this strategy was so good that even the empire¡¯s magicians had to rack their brains toe up with a way to defend against it. So good, in fact, that the army even said the only way to prevent this attack was to patrol the airspace 24-hours a day with several Griffon, Drake, and Wyvern Knight Orders. In such a scenario, a knight order would have to be constantly deployed to one military base at a bare minimum to take into ount necessary breaks for the knights in question. However, these weren¡¯t some regr knights but the most valuablebat force of them all, the aerial knights! Unsurprisingly, the military had to shelve this idea since it was impossible to put to practice. Here was a problem that the empire¡¯s geniuses of magic theory and military operations couldn¡¯t deal with. Was there a reason for a ¡®spy¡¯ to find a solution to such a problem, then? ¡°Reia. Contact the military and tell them to reward Ast with a medal or que of appreciation at the very least.¡± Our opponent was Ast. Ast the crazed dog who was gradually spreading his infamy within the imperial court. That¡¯s why I decided that, instead of racking my brain agonising over this, it¡¯d be better to test Ast at least once. And the result of this test was... ¡°Kuwaaaaahk! Mister Chief Magician! How could you do this to me?!¡± ...I decided that he couldn¡¯t be a spy. ¡°Y-your Highness, Sir Ast seems to have gonepletely insane...? What should I do, ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Reia, Ast was already insane, to begin with. You know, don¡¯t you? His emotions have gone a little out of control right now. Leave him be for the time being.¡± The sight of Ast desperately hugging the que while shedding a flood of tears went beyond the realm of ¡®insanity¡¯ and straight into ¡®freakish¡¯. ¡°Soooob, waaaaah... Mister Chief... How could you stab me in the back like this... I trusted you!!!¡± What if this was all an act? In that case, it¡¯d be only polite for anyone to fall for it. I was born in the imperial court filled with nefarious schemes running amok. I had to bear witness to countless many instances of falsehoods and pretences as a result. The only person of the imperial court who didn¡¯t lie or put on a facade was probably Reia and nobody else. Ah, wait. In a way, Ast was qualified to be included in that category, too. Only he¡¯d be ballsy enough to behave like a lunatic in front of me without a single hint of worry, after all. Still, that did help me figure out instinctively who was putting on a facade and who was lying to me. When rookies lie, they often disy a noticeable tick. When mid-tiers lie, they often obsess over the idea of a perfect lie, which makes them easily noticeable, instead. But when masters lie, they lie to themselves first before spewing their lies. Since they believed it to be the truth, their lies would often go undetected. And Ast was currently disying a figure of a man who exceeded the level of regr emotions and let his actual soul wallow in despair. If a person could put on an act where their soul was wailing out in sorrow, then well, that person would surely im to be the greatest scammer in the entire world. ¡°Your Highness, this... This is verging on the realm of frightening. P-please, do something.¡± ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be a swordmaster, so stop getting scared of things like this, Reia.¡± We¡¯ve been watching this scene for around ten minutes already, but Ast disyed not one hint of stopping his sorrowful wailing any time soon. No, wait. His sobbing had gotten even worse instead, evolving into something frightening enough to scare a bona fide swordmaster. At this rate, another weird rumour might start within the imperial court. Before that happens, I better put a stop to his shenanigans. ¡°Ast, if you don¡¯t put a lid on it, I¡¯m going to upgrade your title to the viscount.¡± ¡°Do you wish to kill me that badly, Your Highness?!¡± A hollow chuckle leaked out of my mouth on its own after I saw how he jumped back up to his feet while freaking out. A normal person would¡¯ve been ready to put their life on the line for the sake of upgrading their title, yet this man... This fool started making a face of a dying man as soon as I threatened him with a better noble title. Still, it seemed that I¡¯ve stumbled onto another good threat besides the one about us getting engaged, so there¡¯s that. ¡°In any case, Ast? You¡¯ve done well to resolve that situation.¡± ¡°But, nothing¡¯s been resolved for me, Your Highness.¡± ¡°That¡¯s your problem.¡± I sipped my still-hot tea and stared at Ast. He started making a face with no hidden intentions while staring at me. ¡°And what¡¯s the meaning of that disgusted expression of yours, Ast?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so sorry, Your Highness. It seems that I couldn¡¯t control my expression at all just now.¡± ¡°...At least you didn¡¯t try to deny it.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to lie to Your Highness who¡¯s as great as the sky, after all.¡± Reia was quietly muttering, ¡®It¡¯d been better if he denied it, though...¡¯ right next to me. Honestly, I was in agreement with her, too. This fool, were his balls cast out of solid iron or some such? He didn¡¯t even hesitate to insult the imperial family member, yet he deeply hated the idea of being granted nobility? ¡°Our itinerary has gotten so much simpler, all thanks to you, Ast. We now have the luxury of free time on our hands,¡± I said. ¡°Wait, you couldn¡¯t possibly be saying that I should take responsibility for making you bored since I was the culprit in the first ce?¡± ¡°I am not that incorrigible, though?!¡± ¡°...Ah, is that so?¡± ¡°Ast looking at me like that is one thing, but Reia, why are you staring at me like that, too?!¡± When I furrowed my brow a little, Reia fake-coughed softly and hurriedly avoided meeting my gaze. As for Ast... ¡°Your Highness, Dame Reia¡¯s expression was seemingly saying, ¡®Ah, is that so? I had no idea, mydy¡¯, or somewhere there about...¡± ¡°Sir Ast?! There is absolutely no need for you to exin that to her highness!¡± Reia¡¯s scary re was oh-so nicely exining that to Ast. She tried to block Ast¡¯s mouth physically, but he nimbly dodged that and continued to exin how disappointed Reia was with my conduct. However, Ipletely ignored the two and shifted my attention over to the intel provided by the intelligence division. ¡°Hmm... Hoh-oh... Heh-eh?¡± I made Ast join this military division so he could do some ¡®work¡¯ for me there. Whatever the case might be, however, it was still acknowledged as a totally separate entity on its own right from the rest of the military. When considering his age or speciality, this certainly was a rather destructive job posting but well, that¡¯s how us the imperial family operated, anyway. This move allowed me to peek at the information from various sources collected by an independent entity that not even themander of the imperial forces could easily interfere with. The report contained information on military exercises of other kingdoms, border skirmishes of varying scales, as well as movements of monsters. But what grabbed my attention the most was a storying from two minor kingdoms located in the centre of the continent. ¡°Did something happen, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Ng. For the sake of peace, two minor kingdoms found near the centre of the continent were trying to form an alliance by marrying off their prince and princess, or so it says.¡± ¡°That sounds like wonderful news, Your Highness,¡± said Ast. ¡°Wow, you said something that doesn¡¯t suit you at all, Sir Ast,¡± Reia retorted. ¡°Uh-huh! Let me tell you something, you won¡¯t find a more peace-loving pacifist than me in this whole world! Dame Reia, do you even know what it feels like to watch your carefully cultivated fields going up in mes?! If it wasn¡¯t for that event, I would¡¯ve remained as a regr farmer and not having such a hard time like this!¡± ¡°M-my apologies.¡± Ast would¡¯ve usually smiled and brushed her remark aside ore up with a cheeky counter of his own. But at least this time, he was getting angry for real. Reia looked flustered by his reaction judging from how quickly she apologised, but it wasn¡¯t enough to quell Ast¡¯s rage. It seemed that the event of his farm burning down became his lifelong trauma. ¡°Do you know how it feels like to watch the crops you spent a whole dang year cultivating going up in mes?!¡± ¡°M-my apologies... I¡¯m sorry that I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like! I never farmed before, so I don¡¯t know!¡± At this rate, even Reia might develop a trauma or two. I should stop this nonsense right now. ¡°Excuse me, Viscount Ast?¡± ¡°...It¡¯s baron, Your Highness! Baron! No, wait! A baron who¡¯s about to be amoner!¡± On one side, Ast was ring at me while looking pale as a sheet. On the other side, Reia was gradually regaining her calm. ¡°Hah-ah... Why are none of my direct subordinates normal?¡± For some reason, I felt this stinging re on my skin, but I didn¡¯t spare much thought to that. ¡°Your Highness. When you were talking about the attempted alliance earlier, were you trying to imply that it didn¡¯t seed?¡± ¡°Ng, that¡¯s exactly it.¡± The one who couldn¡¯t endure the silence and asked me first was Ast. ¡°You really do have quick wits, Ast. Although the kingdom initially tried to hide it, the truth was that the princess was assassinated.¡± ¡°Oh my goodness!¡± Reia gasped. ¡°It must be pandemonium over there, then,¡± said Ast. ¡°Yup, it sure is.¡± Although Ast summarised that situation rather sinctly, ording to the intelligence division, the positions of the two kingdoms were veryplicated right now. While the prince was travelling from his kingdom for the engagement, the princess was assassinated. Not only that, all personnel who could¡¯ve served as witnesses were ughtered, as well. Except for the princess that died a clean death, others were left in such a gruesome state that their remains couldn¡¯t even be properly identified. Not a single clue about the assassins could be found. As this engagement was already a source of internal political strife, it¡¯d be safe to assume that the forces from the princess¡¯s kingdom that opposed the marriage were responsible for this act. ¡°And on top of that, even the prince himself got assassinatedter, too.¡± ¡°Wow...¡± p, p, p... Ast making a stunned face began pping his hands. ¡°That¡¯s like pouring oil into a raging inferno, then.¡± ¡°As a result, their situation worsened to the point where a war can break out at any second now.¡± The intelligence division¡¯s report stated that the royal courts of each kingdom had already lost control of their own incensed nobles by now. ¡°It seems that war is imminent, then. Ah, aaah... those poor peasants and farmers,¡± Ast sorrowfully muttered. ¡°You don¡¯t feel sorry for the dead prince and princess?¡± ¡°But, Your Highness, isn¡¯t that the fate of the royalty? If your political life works out, then you will be in thep of luxury for life. But if it doesn¡¯t, then you get banished in the blink of an eye or worse, lose your life.¡± ¡°S-Sir Ast?!¡± Reia gasped again. ¡°You actually said that straight to the face of an imperial, I see.¡± I was left almost speechless at how brazen he was. ¡°Alright, fine. Oh, dear Sir Ast who pities the poor farmers. Tell me, how do you think this situation will y out?¡± Even if the scale of the operation was small, the one who sent this info through to me was the head of an independent military division. Since that person allowed this info to reach me, a rather annoying task of giving my opinion on the matter would surely follow. Well, it wasn¡¯t like they would seriously consider my opinion on the matter just because I gave them one, but still. ¡°Hmm... This bit about minor kingdoms in the centre of the continent is bothering me, Your Highness. Can you tell me the names of the kingdoms in question?¡± ¡°One¡¯s the Madesen Kingdom, while the other one is Halkas.¡± ¡°Smack dab in the middle, is it... Not only that, two kingdoms known to be the weakest of them all, too.¡± ¡°Thanks to that, they got beaten up pretty good by the others around them rather often in the past.¡± ¡°Is there any advantage of two such kingdoms joining hands, Your Highness?¡± ¡°As they are two weak kingdoms, they generously spread around bribes in several ces to survive. Their military might is poor, so they chose diplomacy as a means to their continued existence.¡± When I told him the information I knew, Ast began making a rather serious face. ¡°Your Highness? This incident... might balloon into something a bit more troublesome.¡± ¡°Even though their military is so weak that a single division of ours can easily wipe them out?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s only those two kingdoms bickering, then yes, it¡¯d end after a little bit of back-and-forth. However... if not, this matter can potentially be something a bitrger.¡± ¡°Can you be more specific?¡± ¡°Well, how about a continent-wide war where the majority of this continent¡¯s kingdoms has to participate?¡± ¡°Haaah?¡± They were talking about two minor kingdoms in the centre of the continent here. Small, trifling nations with territories and armies so pitifully small that they could be overrun in a single day. But because of those two small kingdoms, a war spanning the entire continent might break out? ¡°It¡¯s just a maybe, Your Highness. But, if this war devolves into a fight of one¡¯s pride, then I¡¯d wager that all the friendly nations of those two kingdoms will join the war.¡± ¡°Will that really happen, though? If pride is enough to instigate a continental war, then well, it should¡¯ve started back when your old kingdom was destroyed.¡± ¡°That one didn¡¯t have a suitable pretext, Your Highness. A stupid feudal lord from my old kingdom invaded first, after all. But in this case, both sides can easily manufacture pretexts for their own convenience.¡± ¡°Indeed, since both the prince and princess lost their lives in very questionable circumstances, after all.¡± There was no tangible information on the assassins. All that¡¯s left behind in their wake were the cold corpses of a prince and a princess. ¡°Even so, a continent-wide war? The scale you speak of is just too big.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just my opinion on the matter, Your Highness. I mean, I¡¯m your butler and all, so shouldn¡¯t my thoughts match the grand-sounding job title?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your take on this, Reia?¡± ¡°Uh... mm... well...¡± I turned my head slightly and nced at Reia, only for her to start panicking and stare openly at Ast. She then said, ¡°I, I also think what Sir Ast is saying is correct, mydy!¡± ¡°And what was Ast talking about, then?¡± ¡°Uhm, a continent-wide war?¡± Ast chimed in. ¡°Let¡¯s be honest here, weren¡¯t you trying to ride my coattail since you couldn¡¯t think up of anything, Dame Reia?¡± ¡°Urgh...¡± Reia mped her mouth shut at Ast¡¯s teasing. The sight of her shooting daggers at him was rather adorable to see. ¡°Reia, this is your new homework. You must organise your thoughts logically and present me with your opinion tomorrow.¡± Since that¡¯s the case, let me make her even more adorable. ¡°B-but, Your Highness?!¡± ¡°Ast isn¡¯t my only direct subordinate, after all. Reia, you¡¯re also one. No, wait. You have a bigger say in this since this matter involves military affairs.¡± ¡°Y-your Highness, I...¡± The way she stared at me with just a hint of resentment was also rather adorable. ¡°I¡¯m going to submit your thoughts to the army¡¯s brass in your name, so you better not be sloppy with it, alright? If it¡¯s not up to snuff, they¡¯ll probably report it straight to Marquis Areis, too.¡± ¡°Y-yes, mydy...¡± Just as Reia began to sniffle away quietly, Ast next to her began running his mouth to rub it in. Like a man dumping salt on his enemy¡¯s wounds, his glib tongue digging mercilessly into her psychological wounds was something to behold, indeed. Reia¡¯s sniffles eventually turned into a full-on wail in the end. ¡°Alright, so. This... should do the trick, I guess?¡± I finished my report while listening to the background music of Ast¡¯s merciless taunting and Reia trying to fight back only to scream at his unexpected counter. As for the content of my report, I simply added a few additional aspects to what Ast told me just now. ¡°Well, it seems passable.¡± Our influence on the army was already negligible, to begin with. As such, even I failed to imagine the extent of devastating ripples that this little report, written without much care, would go on to cause. That¡¯s because... after half a year of warfare between Madesen and Helkas Kingdoms, a continent-wide war really did break out as predicted by this report. Chapter 151.3 Side Stories – A certain imperial princess’s reminiscence (15) < Running Away from the Hero! Side Stories ¨C A certain imperial princess¡¯s reminiscence (15) > #19 Their circumstances: A certain viin¡¯s circumstance. ¡°Urgh...¡± While staring at a piece of white paper, I couldn¡¯t help but groan at length. It might seem like an ordinary piece of paper to you but, in reality, it¡¯s a secret letter written in code sent by the organisation. While the first half was filled with praises for my actions, the second half was full of passionate writing about the consequences of my potential betrayal. If I was to summarise it, it¡¯d be something like, ¡®Don¡¯t even think that you can live in peace in this continent if you betray us¡¯. ¡°I¡¯m not a fan of this type of aggroing, though...¡± Some among the still active spies of the organisation definitely possessed noble titles. However, most of them had been a part of the organisation from the very beginning or had received its help to be noblester on. A case like mine, where someone was suddenly granted a peerage, was practically unheard of in the organisation¡¯s history. Obviously, receiving peerage indicated that you have performed meritorious service for the empire¡¯s cause. However, what was the ultimate goal of the viinous organisation, Howling? Wasn¡¯t it to topple the empire and regain the lost former glory? Even if it was for the purpose of infiltrating the imperial court, the organisation would never do something that directly aided the empire. But here¡¯s the little old me, doing something that massively helped the empire out! Even those oh-so-wonderful geniuses praised me for the incredible discovery that¡¯d go on to change the established paradigm of warfare, didn¡¯t they! Thankfully, my overzealous persuasion managed to keep the organisation¡¯s threats to only this much. I argued that my bbergast-inducing theory could only be brought to reality through the Imperial Princess¡¯s genius-level intellect. If I had failed to convince them, then I might have ended up assassinated by the organisation even though I was one of their assassins, to begin with! ¡°Gee whiz, I wanna quit this crap as soon as possible.¡± Some parts of the secret letter contained the evaluation of my first batch of disciples. And the results were quite eye-catching, alright. They said that my disciples were destined to be the greatest talents in the history of Howling! To think these kids trained for only one year were evaluated even better than the agents who had been active since the beginning! Good going, my disciples! Keep it up, and help to raise the evaluation of your teacher, me, to much greater heights! Only then will I be able to return and get my old job back as the instructor! You see, your dear teacher is currently being tortured in a den of evil even more treacherous than the viinous organisation, also known as the imperial court! -This is youreuppance, sir. -Even for the sake of your juniors, maybe you should spend the rest of your life in that ce...? ¡°...Mm?¡± It kinda felt like I heard the voices of my disciples just now. However, there was simply no way they¡¯d be here with me in this ce. I probably imagined hearing things since my conditiontely hadn¡¯t been so good. There was no way that my kind disciples would utter such cruel and evil-sounding things to me. ¡°Today was yet another fruitless waste of time, huh.¡± After setting the letter alight to destroy all evidence, I climbed into my bed to get some shut-eye. Being a direct subordinate of the Imperial Princess meant that every day was a pain in the neck. But my life here was made just a bit morefortable than regr butlers as I was given a private suite and a reallyfy bed. That was about it, though. If the first bed I used right after entering the imperial court was like coffee from a vending machine, then my current bed was like Star*ucks! Although, you shouldn¡¯t worry about the taste and justpare their pricing, which will make it easier for you to understand theparison. ¡°How would I have survived without this healing time for myself~.¡± This bed was slightly toorge for one person, but two people could¡¯ve squeezed in just fine. And rolling around on such a bed at the end of the day was my brief but important break time. That¡¯s why I will not forgive anyone who dares to interrupt my well-deserved rest! Knock, knock... ¡°Didn¡¯t I say I won¡¯t forgive you?!¡± The moment I finished saying that to myself, someone knocked on my damn door. To think that someone would knock on the door of a single man in the middle of the night! This is making me really nervous, you know? Isn¡¯t it like, they are looking for me because of some unsavoury incident or something has happened? ¡°Sir Ast... Are you in?¡± That slightly shaky voice sounded way too familiar for my liking. ¡°No, I¡¯m not in, Dame Reia.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. Apologies for bothering you... W-wait a minute, that¡¯s not it! You¡¯re in your room, aren¡¯t you?!¡± ¡°Tch.¡± I figured that it¡¯d be easy enough to fool Dame Reia since, well, it¡¯s her and all. Unfortunately for me, though, she seemed to have realised it was me after walking away for about three steps or so. ¡°S-sir Ast? Is it possible for you to spare me a few moments of your time?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°N-no hesitation whatsoever?! A-all I need is just a few moments, sir!¡± ¡°Snore...¡± ¡°Pretending to be asleep won¡¯t work, sir!¡± ¡°Zzzz...¡± ¡°I told you, it won¡¯t work! N-no, wait! Before that, if you¡¯re trying to pretend, at least do it more convincingly, will you!¡± ¡°Kyaaa~aahk! Help, an esteemed daughter of a noble house is trying to invade a room of an unmarried man!¡± ¡°Something about that sounds all wrong, but anyway, it¡¯s useless, sir! I knew Sir Ast might try something like this, so I already cast a soundproof barrier to ensure that no noise will leak outside!¡± ¡°You animal!¡± ¡°What do you even mean by that?!¡± ¡°You even cut off all sounds from leaking out?! What are you nning to do to this weak and vulnerable me, Dame Reia?!¡± ¡°E-even if I missed the right timing for my marriage, I, I still have opportunities left, I¡¯ll have you know! Besides, students educated in academies or currently serving knights do get married even past the age of 25, too! N-no, before all that! I¡¯d rather stay single for the rest of my life instead of preying on you, Sir Ast!¡± Dame Reia shouted back at me with a voice filled with such conviction. Excuse me?! If you say thest part with such conviction, that¡¯s gonna leave a scar in my heart, you know! To dere so confidently that you¡¯d never prey on me and all?! ¡°...Fine. What brings you here?¡± Since she managed to inflict a bit of a wound on me, I wanted to bully her back some more, so I opened the door a little and peeked my head outside. Bullying someone while staring at their face was the best, after all. ¡°Actually...¡± With a slightly awkward face, she pushed forward a piece of document-like paper. If you thought about it as this world¡¯s A4 paper, then it¡¯d be easy enough for you to understand its size and intended purpose. ¡°Is this supposed to be your report, ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Y-yes...¡± Seeing how Dame Reia was ever so sneakily avoiding my direct stare, I could more or less figure out whatpelled her to show up in front of my room. She must¡¯ve failed to solve the ¡®homework¡¯ our dear First Imperial Princess gave her earlier today and sought me out for my expertise. ¡°However, why does it have to be me, Dame Reia?!¡± ¡°H-Her Highness decreed that I must not receive the assistance of other people, and that¡¯s why...¡± ¡°In that case, why me?¡± ¡°Sir Ast is an exception.¡± What¡¯s this? Why was I an exception? Wait, could this be that sneaky Imperial Princess¡¯s trap?! A trap of that princess to make me work even more? Even if that¡¯s true, I gotta teach Dame Reia of all people?! ¡°Why am I an exception, ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Well, Her Highness doesn¡¯t treat you like a human being, that¡¯s why.¡± ¡°Cough!¡± I almost fainted right there and then from Dame Reia¡¯s unexpected precision strike. ¡°S-Sir Ast?!¡± What made it even more painful was that she wasn¡¯t even aiming to hurt me in the first ce. She was simply being honest! What¡¯s this? What¡¯s up with her pure, innocent eyes looking at me with such concern?! That¡¯s hurting me even more, so stop looking at me like that! ¡°...Do your best, Dame Reia.¡± ¡°N-no, wait a minute!¡± I bade her farewell and quickly tried to close the door. As expected of a swordmaster, however ¨C with a blindly-quick movement, she shoved her hand past the door¡¯s open gap and stopped me from closing the door. ¡°You might have cast a soundproof barrier to stop noises from leaking out, but people can still see you, can¡¯t they?! A grown-updy acting this way will not leave a good impression, ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°Well, in that case, there might soon be a huge rumour circting, then! Sir Ast and I, as a couple! When that happens, surely my older brother will be significantly interested in you, too. Sir Ast!¡± This wench! I did feel this back when she was fighting the heavenly sword, but seriously now, why am I still getting the feeling that she¡¯s growing leaps and bounds in thewrong direction?! ¡°As an aside, my family? Our house is a marquess household! I repeat, a marquess household!¡± ¡°Keu-heuk!¡± A marquess? Below the emperor was grand duke, then duke and right below that was marquess! Not only that, wasn¡¯t her family one of the Ten Absolute Families, an entity as mighty as the sky itself to people like me calling the imperial court their home?! ¡°If you obediently open this door and agree to consult me, then Sir Ast, I believe norge scale cmity will befall you.¡± ¡°N-norge scale cmity, you say...¡± ¡°My house might be a family of soldiers, but my father walks a different path from the previous heads of the family. Yes, it¡¯s as you have guessed it, he¡¯s the chancellor of this nation! One of the closest confidante of His Majesty, no less!¡± ¡°I-it can¡¯t be?!¡± ¡°The reason why I serve Her Highness is all because of my father¡¯s influence! Yes, that¡¯s right. Just one letter from my father, then never mind baron, Sir Ast, you might even be a viscount right away!¡± ¡°Keu-heuuuuk...¡± I was left with no choice but to admit my defeat. Just by being a measly little baron, I was already under the intense scrutiny of the imperial court and the organisation. So, how awful would the trials and tribtions besieging me be once I be a viscount? The threat of the organisation trying to assassinate me would surely go up, while the nobles of the imperial court would surely start whispering behind my back whenever they see my figure. Not only that, people who consider me their political opponent or a means to climb their careerdder would start buzzing around me even more than ever! As for that rumour circting within the maids and butlers, the one about ¡®Viscount Ast is actually an illegitimate child of a high-ranking noble¡¯? At this rate, it¡¯d gain a few new unsavoury aspects without a doubt. I dearly, truly did not want to deal with the aftermaths of such an event. ¡°...Please,e inside.¡± ¡°But, I¡¯m already inside, Sir Ast?¡± Dame Reia quickly closed the door shut before anyone could witness her, then scanned the interior of my room with a surprised face. ¡°Unexpectedly, it¡¯s a lot cleaner than I thought.¡± ¡°What do you mean, unexpectedly? Ma¡¯am, butlers have to be clean and neat at all times.¡± My job was to clean up the messes left behind Her Highness as well as this woman, Dame Reia. Other members of the imperial family had specific maids assigned to take care of their mess. However, the Imperial Princess terrified the pce¡¯s maids so much that they had to work in monthly rotational shifts. ¡°Alright, now... Which part has gotten you stuck, ma¡¯am?¡± I sighed softly after my only rest period had gone down the drain. The one responsible, Dame Reia, smiled sheepishly with an expression that said she was sorry. ¡°My apologies, Sir Ast. But this was so difficult and all...¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s you we¡¯re talking about, after all.¡± ¡°What... what is the meaning of your attitude, sir!¡± ¡°Dame Reia, I¡¯d wager that your initial suspicion of my attitude was right on the money all along.¡± She tutted unhappily at my retort, but the person in a tight spot right now was Reia, not me. She seemed to be well aware of this fact because she quickly got down to the main topic at hand. ¡°From the beginning, Sir Ast.¡± ¡°Huh, huhuh...¡± Regardless of what, she was acknowledged as the continent¡¯s youngest swordmaster, so wasn¡¯t that revtion just too irresponsible of her?! ¡°What do you mean, from the beginning?! Are you trying to tell me you can¡¯t think of anything? Not even one?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Why are you nodding your head as if it¡¯s only par for the course?!¡± A powerful migraine began assaulting my head just then. ¡°...I¡¯ve already told Her Highness my opinion on the matter.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m aware of that. I was there, too.¡± ¡°And I don¡¯t have any other opinion to offer besides that one, you see?¡± My opinion was based more or less on my impression of how the First World War began. Well, sure. The event in question was different from the Sarajevo incident where the culprit was apprehended right after the brazen assassinations of the royals. However, it did bless me with something to talk about, didn¡¯t it? ¡°D-don¡¯t you have any other opinion on the matter, Sir Ast?¡± ¡°Yes, I do not.¡± I might be a liberal arts graduate, but my former school didn¡¯t teach us world history. All I knew was some general knowledge-level stuff since I never dived in too deeply into this subject. ¡°If this matter reaches the ears of my father, I... I will be too ashamed to even speak to him, Sir Ast.¡± Oh, and you aren¡¯t too ashamed to speak to him now? Obviously, I couldn¡¯t say that out aloud. This was my room. Even I couldn¡¯t tell how low the imperial court¡¯s evaluation of me would fall if my bullying caused her to run out of my room in tears. No, hang on a second. Never mind falling evaluation, everydy knight of the imperial court might gang up and beat me half to death first. As such, the best course of action right now would be to just say whatever was necessary and make her get out of here, pronto! ¡°In that case, how about writing this and that?¡± ¡°This and that? Such as?¡± Dame Reia suddenly started staring at me with her eyes visibly sparkling away. Yup, as expected. She¡¯s a... good kid. There was a certain pleasure in stepping on the fresh pure-white snow falling in the middle of Winter that no one else had the chance to walk on just yet. All things pure and white in existence were meant to be dyed in darkness eventually, after all. ¡°Alright, so. Like this, this, this, and this. Aaand in here, this, this...¡± While feeling like a certain ten-year-old girl who was called a genius in Korean Chess, I repeated the word ¡®this¡¯ multiple times during my diligent guidance of Dame Reia. ¡°It¡¯s finished! But, uhm... wait, isn¡¯t this basically the same thing as what you already said, Sir Ast?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Fine, I say. Look, the wording is all different.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not fine at all! There¡¯s no way Her Highness wouldn¡¯t notice this!¡± ¡°Of course she will notice it.¡± I¡¯d have believed you if you told me that that little kid of Imperial Princess possessed the memories of her past life like me. The wording might have been changed a bit, but the contents were exactly the same, so that kid would obviously see through the report in a heartbeat. ¡°But Dame Reia, what¡¯s important to you right now is that this report will reach your family, isn¡¯t it? As long as it¡¯s good enough not to embarrass the prestige of your family, then it will be fine.¡± ¡°T-that is true, but still...¡± If I was being honest, I couldn¡¯t care any less even if I tried. Come tomorrow, I¡¯d have to re-navigate the life in the imperial court filled with more annoying matters. So, I simply couldn¡¯t afford to give up on my precious few healing time like this. As such, I relied on the time-worn technique of Talk-no-Jutsu to convince the unhappy-looking Dame Reia and made her retreat from my room. And I¡¯de to bitterly regret my decision a few monthster. #20 Their circumstances: A certain noble family¡¯s circumstance. ¡°This... my Reia wrote this?¡± ¡°Actually, she said that the exclusive butler working alongside her for Her Highness lent his aid inpiling this report, father.¡± Currently, two men were staring at a five-page report while racking their brains. ¡°You fool, that¡¯s not important right now! Reia... That child, Reia, she... Even if she received outside help, she actually went and wrote up a five-page report! Five pages!¡± ¡°Sniff... Yes, you¡¯re correct, father. Not just any report, but one written withmendable effort and content, too!¡± ¡°If something like this was possible, we wouldn¡¯t have been put through such a wringer in the first ce, correct?¡± ¡°Yes, father. You¡¯re correct.¡± Here were the head of the Areis family and his sessor, tearing up emotionally while staring at Reia¡¯s report. Not just any family, but one of the Ten Absolute Families that served the current emperor and his most beloved First Imperial Princess, no less! ¡°My Reia... Reia who is basically an idiot in everything else besides swordsmanship, she...¡± ¡°F-father...¡± The head of the Areis Family, who was sometimes referred to as the Iron-blooded Chancellor, started shedding thick drops of tears right there and then. ¡°Father, this is an opportunity.¡± ¡°What do you mean, son?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s use this opportunity to... get her hitched, father.¡± The one saying these words was Reia¡¯s older brother, the sessor of the Areis family. Regel lil Areis stared at his father with a very serious expression. ¡°Son, do you believe he will be a good match to Reia¡¯s status?¡± ¡°He started off as amoner. But in less than three years, his ability allowed him to reach the peerage of baron, father. And he¡¯s also the closest confidante of Her Highness the First Imperial Princess.¡± ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case...¡± ¡°He even made Reia use her head, father. May I remind you, no one in our household has managed to achieve that impossible feat, father!¡± ¡°Keuh-heuk...¡± ¡°And also... father, are you telling that you still hold hope for Reia¡¯s prospects?¡± ¡°Keuh-euuuuk...¡± ¡°This is a heaven-sent opportunity, father. Since they have spent so much time together, he must be well aware of what Reia¡¯s nature is really like. As such, he probably is under no grand delusion, meaning his... ¡®shock¡¯ would not be as drastic.¡± Regel continued to state his case. As the patriarch of the Areis Family and the caring father of Reia lil Areis, the family head had to carefully weigh his options over and over again. Eventually, he... ¡°Yes, let¡¯s get her engaged to that man.¡± ...He decided to trust the opinion of his sessor. Chapter 151.4 Side Stories – A certain imperial princess’s reminiscence (16) < Running Away from the Hero! Side Stories ¨C A certain imperial princess¡¯s reminiscence (16) > ¡°Ahahahaha, what is this? No, really. What is this?¡± Making Ast my exclusive butler was worth all the trouble. Before he became my underling, I probablyughed once or twice in a year. Maybe. But after he came under my wing, I now enjoyed opportunities tough out loud like this. ¡°This is the best morning ever! There has never been a more entertaining day in my life than today!¡± That¡¯s right, today had to be one of the most entertaining days in my entire life. ¡°First thing first, it seems that congrattions are in order, Reia. You¡¯re finally getting married.¡± ¡°Y-your Highness...¡± A peal ofughter burst out of my mouth as I stared at the crumpled expressions of Reia and Ast. I didn¡¯t even bother to hide my amusement. ¡°This is so entertaining regardless of how many times I read it! It says, ¡®We wish to press on ahead with the engagement of Your Highness¡¯s exclusive knight, Reia lil Areis, to Your Highness¡¯s exclusive butler, Ast du Lc¡¯. I have to say, Marquess Areis sure is something else, alright.¡± To think that a mere letter could amuse me to this degree! What an unexpected entertainment this was. ¡°Your Highness, we beg of you to reject this proposal.¡± ¡°I should? But why? Isn¡¯t this the ¡®problem¡¯ of the House Areis and the individual named Ast?¡± ¡°As long as you reject it, this matter will be dealt with in one fell swoop, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Sir Ast is correct, Your Highness!¡± Both of them were staring at me with such desperation on their faces. This is fun. So, so much fun! I simply cannot afford to miss this golden opportunity! ¡°Oh, ooooh! As expected of the couple of the century! Trying to pressure me in perfect sync!¡± I began apuding them whileughing my head off, causing their expressions to be truly wretched and pitiful. ¡°So, when is the engagement ceremony? Oh, wait. You will hold the marriage ceremony as well, won¡¯t you? You two must invite me to the asion, you hear me? Because I wish to offer my blessing and congrattions on your shared future.¡± ¡°Your Highness...¡± Reia would usually start tearing up by now, but at least for today, she was making a deadly serious face. ¡°Congrattions, Reia. It seems that your worries are about to be taken care of for good.¡± ¡°No, I do not want this, Your Highness. Instead of marrying Sir Ast, I¡¯ll rather stay single for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°Not sure what I did to deserve such an evaluation in the first ce, and I don¡¯t know why Dame Reia is the one making it, but regardless of what, I share her sentiment as well, Your Highness. Me, getting married to Dame Reia? Unless I¡¯m still single by the age of 78, such a thing will not pass. No. Utterly impossible!¡± ¡°What do you even mean by that?! And besides all that, what is up with the strange restriction of remaining single until 78?! Doesn¡¯t that mean you will have no choice but to marry me when you turn 78?¡± ¡°Correct, Dame Reia. That¡¯s why you should patiently wait until I¡¯m 78.¡± ¡°I will not be patient about anything!¡± ¡°Heeeek?! Does that mean you are going to jump on me before that?!¡± ¡°Are you really trying to fool around even in our current situation, Sir Ast?!¡± ¡°But, uh, I was being dead serious?¡± ¡°That makes it even worse, you know!!!¡± ¡°Ahahaha~!!!¡± Were these idiots trying to kill me by making meugh too hard? I was having trouble breathing from myughter spilling over. ¡°Ahahaha, this is the best! I¡¯m actually tearing up fromughing so hard, too! This has to be the first time that happened to me!¡± Just when was thest time I shed tears ofughter like this! ¡°Yes, sending Reia¡¯s report to the House Areis was the best decision I could¡¯ve made.¡± ¡°And trusting Sir Ast withpiling my report was the worst decision in my life, Your Highness!¡± ¡°It¡¯s all my fault, Your Highness. I had no idea that Dame Reia¡¯s family was this desperate to get her out of their hair by marrying her off...!¡± Ast and Reia started bickering again, and I quietly observed their heated arguments. On one side, we had Reia, who was proudly a klutz. On the other side was Ast, who was proud to be an evil bastard. If the two of them got together and had a child... who would that child resemble the most? Reia? Ast? Could that child be blessed with Reia¡¯s talent in swordsmanship but cursed with Ast¡¯s personality? A genuine powerhouse on the level of a swordmaster with Ast¡¯s personality, was it? ...Wasn¡¯t that, like, on the level of a cmity? ¡°I¡¯ll think about it just a little bit more, alright?¡± ¡°Your Highness, please! You must reject this proposal!¡± The continent¡¯s state of affairs was already unstable due to the war between the Madesen Kingdom and its neighbour, Helkas. Since I¡¯ve managed to enjoy myself thoroughly by now, I should at least try to prevent the birth of yet another cmity. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll just reject it with an appropriate-sounding excuse. However, you mustn¡¯te to regret this decisionter, Reia. Understand?¡± ¡°Not! In! A million years! Your Highness, that will never happen!¡± I felt deeply rueful at how firm Reia¡¯s resolve seemed to be, then began writing the letter of refusal to Marquess Areis containing my disappointment. ¡°But Reia, isn¡¯t it fine to wait another week or so beforeing to a hasty decision?¡± ¡°No, Your Highness!¡± Her visceral response meant that I had to let go of my disappointment and finish the letter. ¡°Tch. Fine.¡± Reia emitting this unexinable pressure made sure I finished the letter for real. A maidservant was called to deliver the finished letter. By tomorrow, Marquess Areis should receive my letter that details how disappointed I was in refusing this marriage proposal. That¡¯s what should have happened, but then... I had to ask Ast just to make sure. ¡°What did you say you received, again?!¡± ¡°A request for a duel, Your Highness.¡± ¡°L-lies! Are you telling us the truth, Sir Ast?! Did you really receive such a thing?!¡± Ast had to pop in the imperial court for official business post-lunch and returned with a request for a duel in tow. ¡°Sooo... a duel for Reia¡¯s hand in marriage, is it?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Your opponent is?¡± ¡°Unexpectedly, he¡¯s not a knight, Your Highness. It¡¯s Viscount Pereis from the Foreign Affairs.¡± ¡°Be more specific, Ast. Surely you must¡¯ve finished investigating him by now?¡± ¡°Of course. I proceeded to question not just maids anddies-in-waiting, but also several scions of esteemed noble families who were participating in social gatherings in the pce to acquire all the pertinent information, Your Highness. ¡°Viscount Pereis del Pyukhes. Age, twenty-three. Acknowledged by the Foreign Affairs for his excellent abilities. Even the evaluation of his peers is good. His only minus point, as far as I can tell, is his poor eyesight that made him pine for Dame Reia.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with me, you know?!¡± Reia¡¯s voice became several decibels louder, but I decided to ignore her altogether. That¡¯s not important right now, after all! ¡°Ast, hurry! Go and retrieve the letter I gave to the maid, right away!¡± ¡°No need for that, Your Highness!¡± Ast confidently replied. Something incredibly entertaining was about to happen here, so I could not afford to let it end with my ill-advised letter like this. ¡°I¡¯ve already retrieved it, you see.¡± ¡°S-Sir Ast?!¡± ¡°Nice work, Ast!¡± As expected of a man with quick wits and an even quicker response time! ¡°Very good. When will the duel take ce?¡± ¡°Later in the afternoon today, Your Majesty. We promised to meet after we are finished with our respective duties.¡± ¡°The location?¡± ¡°Although I couldn¡¯t ask for your permission, we¡¯ve chosen to borrow the very same spot as when we encountered the Heavenly Sword gramps.¡± ¡°Excellent decision, Ast. And now, we will get to spectate on this wonderful spectacle by ourselves only.¡± ¡°It seems so, Your Highness. Fufufu.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this perfect, Ast?¡± ¡°Y-Your Highness? Sir Ast?!¡± Ast and I were leisurely enjoying Reia¡¯s flustered expression. I spoke up first. ¡°Well, we don¡¯t have anything urgent to do, so why don¡¯t we quickly finish up and head to the promised duel location?¡± ¡°Agreed, Your Highness. As Dame Reia¡¯s fianc¨¦, I certainly cannot keep a potential challenger waiting!¡± Ast¡¯s bold deration caused Reia to yell in despair. ¡°Just who is whose fianc¨¦?!¡± #21 Their circumstances: A certain viin¡¯s circumstance. ¡°Hmhmhm, hmmhmm~~.¡± While we were headed to the duel location, Dame Reia continued to shoot me a deeply dissatisfied re. However, I paid no mind to her sharp re. That¡¯s because I was too preupied with recalling this morning¡¯s events. What a fresh experience that was. The action of taking off one¡¯s glove and tossing it at the face of your opponent! The knights¡¯ way of demanding a duel! Kyah~! Isn¡¯t that so cool? Of course, if that glove was meant for me, I¡¯d have never let that glove hit me. Indeed, I¡¯d have used everything in my arsenal to dodge it. Every single knight affiliated with the imperial court were among the very best within the whole empire. If I make one mistake and get hit by their sword strike, I¡¯d lose my life for sure. What insane reasons did I have to fight against such geniuses, I ask you! On top of this, the majority of the knights in this ce were geniuses who received a crap ton of magical energy correction and addition since their birth. None of them had reached the realm of the ¡®swordmaster¡¯ yet, but you didn¡¯t need to resort to sword aura to defeat someone like me. Whether it was sword aura or sword ki, dying from getting hit was a certainty, after all. But the moment I saw who the opponent was... no, more specifically, the moment I recognised the badge symbolising the Foreign Affairs attached to his clothing...! I boldly allowed myself to get hit by the flying glove. ¡°I request you for a duel, Baron Ast du Lc. Sir!¡± My heart began racing away. What could possibly be the reason for this man throwing a challenge in my face? Well, when thinking about it, there should be quite a lot of justifications. However, the most recent news that could have caused it...! ¡°If I emerge victorious from this duel, sir, I shall have you annul your engagement to Dame Reia!¡± Oh, oooooh! I had my fingers crossed, and my wish came true! This man was really challenging me for the right to Dame Reia¡¯s hand! ¡°Understood, sir.¡± ¡°You¡¯re different from the rumours I¡¯ve heard, Baron Ast...¡± The man¡¯s expression shifted a little at my respectful attitude. Of course I had no choice but to be respectful. Here was a man who could very well be thest ray of hope for my dear colleague, after all! ¡°I am Viscount Pereis del Pyukhes from the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Forgive me for my rudeness as I heard from the rumours that you were a disrespectful and dishonourable man, sir.¡± He bowed his head slightly in an elegant manner to apologise, but huh, his gesture made me feel like I was the one in the wrong for some reason. So, this is an agent from the Foreign Affairs, eh? No, wait a minute. Before all that, where did he hear all those baseless rumours from? Could it be the fault of the Imperial Princess? Just as I thought, was that little kid responsible for spreading all sorts of unsavoury rumours about me everywhere?! Without that exnation, it made no sense that someone like me, an upstandingw-abiding citizen, would suffer from such weird rumours! ¡°It¡¯s quite alright. I ept your apology, Sir Pereis.¡± With the sharp-as-lightning movement taught by the organisation, I bowed politely to ept the viscount¡¯s apology. After this exchange, we discussed things like the time and the location of the duel. Once he left, though, I quickly walked around here and there to gather information, then confiscated the Imperial Princess¡¯s letter entrusted to a maid for the delivery. That way, I should be able to prevent any unexpected idents. If the pretext of the engagement were to evaporate into thin air, that viscount or rather might just apologise to me and cancel the duel altogether, after all! ¡°Oh...¡± ¡°Hmm, Reia, he looks normal, outwardly at least.¡± ¡°H-he should also be normal inside as well, Your Highness...¡± Dame Reiained in a hushed tone of voice. The sunset dyed in the crimson glow slowly bathed us. And the one making his entrance with such a gorgeous sunset as his background was Viscount Pereis. The man I¡¯ve been waiting for. He had handsome facial features that gave off a favourable impression, while his brown hair gave off a crimson glow from the setting sun behind him. If we excluded the minus point of his yearning for Dame Reia, then he certainly came across as a charismatic individual. ¡°This one has requested for a duel with a direct subordinate serving you without prior notice, Your Highness. For this, I offer my sincerest apologies, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s all good.¡± The viscount went down on one knee to express courtesy to the best of his abilities but the Imperial Princess simply made an expression that more or less said, ¡®I get it already, so shut up and present me with something bloody exciting!¡¯ ¡°This servant is sincerely grateful for your leniency, Your Highness. And also... Dame Reia?¡± ¡°Y-yes?!¡± Even if she had the excuse of the crimson sunset casting its glow on her face, Dame Reia¡¯splexion was still noticeably flushed. She squirmed just a little while looking back at Viscount Pereis. ¡°I can only... apologise to you for revealing my intentions in this way, Dame Reia.¡± ¡°N-no, it¡¯s alright...¡± Sure, this was a pretty romantic sight, but hmm. Looking at Dame Reia¡¯s current expression, I couldn¡¯t help but get the urge to bully her some more. I had to pinch my thigh really hard to prevent myughter from jumping out of my mouth, but it was impossible to tell just how long I could hold on for. And seeing how the Imperial Princess¡¯s lips were quivering so faintly like that, she seemed to be holding back herughter, too. Once the duel¡¯s over, I better bully Dame Reia real good. ¡°And you, Sir Ast. My apologies, but Dame Reia... I shall have her back from you!¡± The Imperial Princess gasped out. ¡°Oh, ohhhh!¡± Trulymendable. To think that you could make that little princess react like this! Something like this is almost unheard of, you know! Weeeell, she did make a simr sound after hearing about the news of the House Areis forcibly engaging Dame Reia to me, but still! ¡°It¡¯s alright, sir.¡± If we left this man alone, he¡¯d keep apologising nonstop until the night came down on us. So, I slowly unsheathed my sword and addressed him. ¡°I¡¯ve already epted your challenge, so it¡¯s time for us to converse through our des.¡± ¡°Indeed, sir.¡± My opponent copied me and quietly drew his sword as well. Alright, so. From now on, my job was to fight back at a moderate level and act like a hot-blooded idiot that keeps telling the opponent to give up on Reia. And once the dear viscount counters with a deeply embarrassing remark or two, I¡¯d use that corny line to bully Dame Reia for the next month or so. I mean, really. Let¡¯s be serious here. This was the Foreign Affairs Ministry we¡¯re talking about. Unless he was a protagonist, there was no way our dear viscount was a powerful existence. Right? There shouldn¡¯t be unexpected events like a hidden swordmaster finally announcing himself or something crazy like that, right? ¡°Huh...¡± ...That¡¯s what I had been thinking, but after exchanging a few moves with him, I had to chuck my ns outside the window. Not because he suddenly unleashed the sword aura and pounced on me, though. Actually, just one swing of the sword from the viscount was all I needed to realise that... he was a novice who had never wielded a sword before in his life. Didn¡¯t the instructor from my previous life tell me this? Never mind people who take out and swing their swords only asionally, there were some folks who¡¯d got ¡®swung¡¯ around by their own weapons. The instructor told me never to ept people like that even if they wished to learn swordsmanship. If a person was getting thrown around by the weight of a regr-sized sword and not some massive greatsword, then that was a sure sign of that person¡¯s totalck of talents, you see! Bloody heck, with things like this, the prospects of coaxing a cool-looking scene or two were as good as non-existent now! In that case... ¡°Did you really think you¡¯d emerge victorious against me with only this level of skill, sir viscount?¡± ¡°Keu-heuk!¡± ¡°To throw yourself to a hopeless fight! How foolish of you!¡± ¡°Keu-euhk... But... but...!¡± While keeping my power in check so that the viscount wouldn¡¯t lose his grip on the sword, I began activating my trusty Talk-no-Jutsu once more. ¡°But this and but that, so what?¡± ¡°I... I cannot give up on Dame Reia!¡± ¡°Keu-euk?!¡± When our des collided ever so slightly, I acted as if the force managed to push me back. ¡°Really? You can¡¯t give up?¡± ¡°I... I respect Dame Reia too much!¡± I sneaked a nce in the direction of the Imperial Princess and Dame Reia. The little princess seemed to have cottoned onto what I was trying to pull here, while Dame Reia looked like she was praying from the way she held her hands so nervously like that. She probably was praying for me to lose. ¡°Respect? You dare to challenge me with something so pathetic?!¡± I proceeded to get on his nerves bit by bit. Not yet. Just ¡®respect¡¯ alone would not give us the result good enough to satisfy everyone involved! ¡°Respect... no, I, I am in love with Dame Reia!¡± The viscount roared that line out, then attacked me with his sword but, uh, that strike was sloppy and all over the ce. However, his deration sounded cool, so I should give him a passing mark, at least. ¡°Keu-heuk!¡± The moment our des collided again, I ever so slightly twisted my wrist and deliberately allowed my sword to go flying through the air. ¡°...It¡¯s my defeat, sir viscount.¡± ¡°Pant, huff... huff... wheeeeze...¡± Even though we hadn¡¯t been fighting for that long, Viscount Pereis was still sweating bullets while wheezing heavily away. Even so, I admitted my defeat to him. He was staring in pure disbelief at his own sword. No matter what, this seemed like an insurmountable challenge, after all. He didn¡¯t have any talent, to begin with. Still, you should stop staring so dazedly at your sword, you know? Especially while making a face that said, ¡°Since when did I have this level of talent in me?¡± I mean, I was going easy on you this whole time, so for you to not realise that? Now that takes some special talent, alright. ¡°My... victory... keu-euk...¡± The dear viscount tried to raise his sword and assume a gant-looking pose, but he seemed to have exhausted all of his stamina to pull something like that off. He couldn¡¯t even deal with the sword¡¯s weight and began staggering before toppling over. ¡°V-Viscount Pereis!¡± Seeing the panicking Reia rushing up to Pereis, I was cruelly reminded once more of the simple fact that being work colleagues meant nothing in this day and age. ¡°Ast, that acting you put your heart and soul into? That was magnificent.¡± ¡°Although it was tougher than it looked... with this, our Dame Reia now has hope for her future, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Indeed. You also think so?¡± It was faint, but I could definitely see some pinkish aura emanating from the couple over yonder. The Imperial Princess and I watched this scene y out with deeply proud expressions on our faces. Pereis del Pyukhes. Dame Reia¡¯s first lover and also herst, at least to my memories... And he was also the culprit responsible for dragging the empire into the theatre of the continent-wide war. Chapter 152 What did I even do? (1) < Running Away from the Hero! 152 #18. What did I even do? (1)> ¡°Why don¡¯t we take a break here?¡± We¡¯ve been running for one full day. Although we still hadn¡¯t crossed the border yet, no human should be able to catch up with our speed! Even if we were talking about THE hero here, there¡¯s no freaking way he could catch up when he also needed to worry about his twopanions! ¡°Alice, we¡¯re almost there!¡± Sure, I might be an expert at driving carriages, and I evenid some straw on the floor to make the journey a bit more bearable. Even so, there was not much I could do about the shaking of the carriage itself. My daughter¡¯s bum must be hurting by now, so we might as well take a short break here! ¡°Ah, we¡¯ve already arrived, instructor?¡± ...That¡¯s the reason why I stopped the carriage, but the person jumping out of the vehicle wasn¡¯t my dear daughter. -Why is the heroing out from there, master? -How should I know?! To make things worse, the hero smiling awkwardly wasn¡¯t the only one. An elf making a prim expression also leapt out of the carriage, then followed by the priest climbing off while cautiously grabbing the carriage¡¯s railing! -I, I actually worked for free as the hero party¡¯s coach driver?! -You know, I heard a ton of stories about the hero party, but it¡¯s the first I hear about a coach driver being counted as a member, master~! That¡¯s not it, you silly lump of metal. Historically speaking, what kind of a party was the hero party? To put it simply, it was a dangerous party that automatically became people¡¯s target of envy simply by walking past them. To all the attention whores out there, such a party would prove to be very useful. However, I had no desire whatsoever to join a party that every annoying Tom, Dick and Harry wanted to cling to while pleading to be saved. I was getting ever so closer to half a century in age, so no freaking way I¡¯d volunteer to ve away every day fighting monster threats. If the threat was around the level of orcs, fine. But things like ogres? No swords would prate their hides, you know? And it was the hero¡¯s destiny to fight the final boss in the form of either a dragon or a demon king. To amon man like me, that¡¯s basically the same as purchasing a one-way ticket to theherworld. I mean, my current life¡¯s parents also met their demise simply by being near a bloody hero, didn¡¯t they! -I get it, master, so deal with it already. How about smacking them in the head and quickly bouncing outta here? Now that suggestion was tempting, alright. However, I had to question whether or not that punk would even obediently get smacked around by the metal bat. Unlike the self-proimed heroes, the heroes summoned by the religious orders were the real deal. My uncertainty stemmed from the fact that most of these ¡®real¡¯ heroes received a bucket load of god¡¯s blessings to disy a gobsmacking level of growth. They would either be a swordmaster or archmage, while possibly mastering one or two other side professions to boot, too. That punk already disyed signs of incredible talent during his days in the evil organisation, so to receive the divine blessing on top, too? Yup, he¡¯s definitely the worst cmity imaginable for all the viins out there. -But master, you¡¯re the worst cmity to that worst cmity, aren¡¯t you? -That was intentional, you know. From a young age, my disciples grew up while getting beaten up by the bat. And that instilled the fear of the metal bat deep down into their souls. It was all thanks to that experience that the hero punk was stealing nces at the metal bat right now. As an added bonus, the priest staring at me while making the exact same face as the hero was in the same boat, too. Just like that, a weird little bout of silence drifted along between the hero party and me. ¡°Dad!¡± As we continued maintaining this ufortable silence, my daughter climbed out of the carriage and jumped into my arms. ¡°Oh, my dear girl. Was it okay for you in there?¡± ¡°Yup, I was sleeping all this time, you see!¡± ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s what happened.¡± When I patted her head, she began smiling innocently away. ¡°...What¡¯s up with your expression, though?¡± However, the brave hero stared at our heartwarming scene with an expression resembling a certain magical girl who cried out, ¡®If the Soul Gem gives birth to the witch, we¡¯ll all end up dying anyway!¡¯ before starting the ¡®team kill¡¯. What the heck? Why are you making that expression of no hopes and dreams of the future?! ¡°...It¡¯s nothing.¡± The hero replied while sneakily avoiding meeting my re. Still, I should behave like the great ocean and let it slide. ¡°Alright. It seems like everyone has disembarked from the carriage, so...¡± I lightly picked up my daughter by her armpits, trudged right back up to the carriage and ced her inside. ¡°Ng? Dad, we just got off the carriage so why are you putting me back inside?¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s a ce we need to stop by for a moment, you see. The horses might kick around a bit while we¡¯re on the move, so be a good girl and hold onto the corner over there, okay?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± After making sure that my daughter went over to the corner of the carriage with a cat and a dragon in tow, I oh-so naturally settled down on the carriage driver¡¯s seat. While the hero party members stared at us in stupefaction, I whipped the horses into action and left the trio behind. ¡°...Uh? Eeeeh?!¡± ¡°W-waaait!¡± ¡°I-instructor?!¡± Hey, who¡¯re you calling your dang instructor?! Well, sure. It¡¯s slightly true that Sir Chosen Hero did spend some time as a trainee back in the old evil organisation, but still! As such, let¡¯s pretend that we¡¯re all strangers, alright?! ¡°Giddy-up!¡± The horses, surprised by the whipping, broke into an explosive sprint. ...Actually, it did start running, but the carriage wasn¡¯t moving forward at all. I ended up muttering to myself, ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± ¡°H-hey, Hill! Hurry up and get on!¡± ¡°Crazy son of a...?!¡± The damn hero punk was holding onto the carriage, preventing it from moving from the spot. Seriously?! This carriage is being pulled by two horses, you know? Two horses, for crying out loud! So how can a single guy keeping it dead still make any sort of logical sense?! ¡°Should I go and smack him?¡± The metal bat sitting next to me tilted her head. Smack the hero, is it? One wrong move here could make things pretty dicey, but if we don¡¯t attack him now, then huh, a journey of fools apanied by the hero would be in store for us. No need to ponder my options for too long, then. ¡°Go get him.¡± ¡°Yup!¡± The metal bat lightly leapt off the carriage and waddled cutely up to the hero. ¡°Keu-euhk... Eh? Who are you...?¡± ¡°Aru pu~nch ¡ï!¡± ¡°Kuwaaaaahk!¡± The wretched scream heralded the carriage exploding forward. Although dangerous, I still leaned to the side and peeked behind the moving vehicle to catch the sight of the hero rolling around on the dirt. -I¡¯m on the carriage, master! -Nice work! It seemed that the metal bat managed to climb up on the carriage in the nick of time. ¡°Run, horses! If you give it everything you¡¯ve got, I¡¯ll give you tasty carrotster!¡± Sure, the carrots I¡¯m talking about might not be as tasty as the organic carrots my daughter and I cultivated with our hearts and soul. However, the carrots from my vige still tasted pretty good, I¡¯ll have you know! Maybe the horses heard me because they loudly neighed and continued to rush ahead. Or it could also be my whipping hurting them, instead. Who knows. -Master, something¡¯s chasing after us? -What? What is? -The elf! ¡°Hey, yooou! Stop right there!¡± ¡°What the fu...?!¡± I could see the elf running right next to the carriage now. The way turquoise-hued something d the elf¡¯s figure did look kind of impressive. The two horses had to pull along a carriage, but they were still running at full tilt. Yet this elf woman still caught up to us in the proverbial blink of an eye? As expected of the hero¡¯s party, then. This absurd ability befitting the member of the monsters¡¯ den! ¡°Sir Hero needs your strength, sir!¡± ¡°I only wish to lead a rxing life, miss.¡± I whipped the horses two more times, but there was no hint of our speed increasing any further. Meaning, we were already dashing forward at the top speed. It seemed that losing the elf would be difficult at this point. ¡°Hah-ah... Fine. Understood.¡± Even though I felt sorry for whipping the horses so much, I still brought the carriage to a halt as a rueful expression filled up my face. ¡°You made the right call, sir.¡± The elf sighed in relief while watching the carriagee to a stop. And just as the elf did that... ¡°Hey, sis? Older sis?¡± ¡°...Y-you?!¡± ¡°Aru pu~nch ¡ï!¡± ¡°Kkyaaaahk!¡± ...The metal bat smacked her down. ¡°But master, is it rea~lly okay to do this?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ve already smacked the hero, so his party members? Toote now.¡± ¡°Heehee, it¡¯s all good for me, tho! Hey, big sis? This sound isn¡¯ting from my mouth, you know~!¡± Currently, we were on a deserted mountain road. I briefly spectated on the sight of a fallen elf and the metal bat on top of her busy shouting ¡®toushi, toushi¡¯ with her own mouth. Now that¡¯s a nostalgic sight, alright. At first, the elf screamed and begged, but it didn¡¯t take her long to start cursing like a sailor. The metal bat cutely retorted. ¡°Oho~, so even the people of the forest know how to swear?¡± ¡°But it looks like you¡¯re the one making the elf swear, though?¡± ¡°Haaahng? And who was the one responsible for making me like this?!¡± The metal bat said something that might arouse some serious misunderstanding while climbing back up on the carriage. ¡°Well, it¡¯s dangerous in a spot like this, so...¡± If we were in arge nation that had established rtions with the elves, I wouldn¡¯t have been worried. But in small kingdoms like this one, elves and dwarves were still treated as ves. Having said that, these idiots enved folks from the same race as them, so nothing stopped them from enving different races, now did it? That¡¯s why I picked up the elf and ced her behind some thickets out of the way. You see? This is how kind I am, so I wish you could stop bothering me altogether. -But master, what if wild animals or monsters attack her? -If I start worrying about that too, then you better start calling me a saint, got that? I had no reason to go beyond what I had already done for a stranger. And so, I left behind the unconscious elf and dashed ahead on my carriage. I forced our pace a bit and continued to rush ahead for three days straight, stopping only for a brief rest here and there. And on the third day, we finally managed to cross the border. ¡°I¡¯m sure this is far enough.¡± For the sake of speed, I even had to change the horses twice during the mad dash. Even if that party was a collection of monsters capable of matching a carriage¡¯s speed, it should be impossible for them to run constantly for three days straight. That should¡¯ve been the case, so howe...? ¡°Why are you loting out of there?!¡± We stopped the carriage to set up camp for the night. But just as we got ready for supper, I ended up screaming at the top of my lungs after witnessing the hero and hispanions climb out of the carriage. #1 Their circumstances: a certain brave hero¡¯s circumstance. Seeing the flustered expression on the instructor¡¯s face brought a warm smile to my own face. ¡°We figured you might do something like this, so we installed a teleport gate inside the carriage.¡± I asked Selena ahead of time and, while hiding in the carriage earlier, we had her install the necessary magic circle. A teleport gate connected through Hill¡¯s holy magic! Its stability was iparably better than some teleport gates of your average magicians! Instructor asked us in disbelief. ¡°Are you seriously telling me that only you three managed to activate a teleport gate?¡± ¡°We have enough magical energy, you see.¡± Now normally, you¡¯d need many magic stones or lots of people to help you with activating the teleport spell. But each and every one of us in the party possessed a stupefying quantity of magical energy! Despite being famous for her abundant magical energy reserve, Selena was still the weakest among the party, as my own reserve and Hill¡¯s divine energy pool had already transcended the level of mortals by now. ¡°Well, instructor, shall we now...¡± ¡°Aru!¡± ¡°W-wait!¡± The moment he called out, a hand came flying in like a streak of light. And that hand belonged to the silver-hued girl who beat the living daylights out of me three days ago. ¡°Wuiiing? You dooodged!¡± ¡°W-wait, please listen to me first!¡± I had a revtion when she hit me back then. This girl, she... was the metal bat. There¡¯s no damn way that punches thrown around by some random little girl would hurt this much! In that case, this creature had to be the worst of the worst demonic soldier in the guise of a normal human being! As such, we had toe up with a n. The thing was, I¡¯ve been thinking about how to respond when confronting the metal bat, you see. ¡°Instructor, I had a chance meeting with No.1000 some time ago.¡± ¡°With... that kid, you say?¡± The way to confront the bat, the first and the only way... ¡°Yes. I¡¯m not sure if you know, but she¡¯s currently serving Her Imperial Highness.¡± ...And that¡¯s to never, ever, directly fight it! ¡°Is that a threat?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯d threaten someone I deeply respect, instructor.¡± As expected of the quick-witted instructor, he immediately figured out what I was getting at as soon as I said something. Time to add extra spice, then. ¡°Also, my colleague here, Saint Hill, received an oracle as well. If you don¡¯t apany us on this journey, you will be making enemies of every existing religious order, instructor.¡± I wasn¡¯t lying here. Although I conveniently omitted the part [I will be the one dering that], it was still technically true that the instructor would be dered as the enemy of all religious orders by choosing not to help us. ¡°Every religious order, you say?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡± I replied with a bright smile on my face, yet for some reason, both Hill and Selena were making flustered expressions instead. Hey, you two. Why are you staring at me like that? You only re at bad guys with those eyes, while you only scowl like that after someone scammed you, you know? Didn¡¯t you two get pummelled by the metal bat, too? Don¡¯t tell me, you still haven¡¯t woken up yet even after that ordeal? ¡°...That¡¯s why you must apany us, instructor.¡± ¡°Yes. Otherwise, the arrest warrant for you will be issued throughout the continent, sir.¡± This, too, wasn¡¯t a lie. If the Imperial Princess was indeed... as unique as what No.1000 told me, then she¡¯d definitely do it. No, hang on a minute, if it¡¯s the Miss Worst Tyrant in the Imperial Court, then she wouldn¡¯t even bat an eyelid. ¡°Urgh...¡± My instructor obviously understood this. No, hold on. Since he had worked with her before, surely his understanding of the Imperial Princess¡¯s quirks must be iparably greater than mine? ¡°And so, what will you do, instructor?¡± Honestly, I was scared. The silver-hued girl was still gauging the mood, waiting for her turn. But if she pounced on me again, I was quite confident of escaping from here if I gave my all. If this direct threat didn¡¯t work on the instructor, then forget about some oracle or whatever, I¡¯d rather escape from here and save my life first! ¡°Hah-ah... I don¡¯t have a choice now, do I?¡± The instructor sighed softly, then nodded slowly. ¡°I¡¯m Naruan, the former instructor of this idiot here. I¡¯ll be in your care from now on.¡± My dear ol¡¯ instructor who introduced himself this... ¡°...He escaped again?!¡± Just as we finished setting up camp and went to sleep, he abandoned the carriage and escaped into the night. Chapter 153 What did I even do? (2) < Running Away from the Hero! 153 #18. What did I even do? (2)> I¡¯ve learnt a couple of crucial professional techniques from the evil organisation. Namely, pursuit and escape! As an instructor, I obviously had mastered those two techniques quite thoroughly. It¡¯s my job to teach my disciples in the ways of those techniques, after all. Yes, I taught them how to n for all sorts of potential situations, prepare for variables and never panic no matter what. I made sure that my disciples could always stay calm during their pursuit or escape. And my teachings... ¡°So, this was where you were, instructor.¡± ...My disciple, who grew up into a truly excellent specimen, was using my teachings against me. ¡°But, how?¡± ¡°I merely put to practice what you taught me, instructor.¡± The sight of him huffing heavily away while sweeping his hair back kinda pissed me off, but there was no denying that he did look cool doing that. I bloody knew it, the gods of this world definitely included ¡®looks¡¯ when scoring potential heroes, don¡¯t they! -I don¡¯t think so, master? -No, no. I¡¯m right about this one. It has to be. I mean, a hero serves as their representative, a supermodel in other words! So their faces must count towards the hero scorecard! To think that even gods followed the doctrine of lookism! -I¡¯m telling you, master, it¡¯s just you... It sounded like the metal bat didn¡¯t want to acknowledge it, but I was dead sure about this. Hell, my first batch of disciples who betrayed the Organisation to be heroes were all good looking, weren¡¯t they! -Even though you¡¯re a viin, you still raised up three heroes, master. You must be chuffed with yourself, right? And you even became a member of the hero party, too! -What the hell?! I had no choice but to mp my mouth shut at the fact bomb hitting me without mercy. ¡°Dad... That strange uncle showed up again...¡± ¡°U-uncle?!¡± While I was dithering about, it seemed that the dear brave hero was dealt a fresh shock to his senses by what my daughter said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you an uncle...? Now that I think about it, dad taught me this. If a strange old man keeps following me around, I should shout out, ¡®There¡¯s a stalker here!¡¯, or something like that.¡± ¡°A-a stalker?!¡± ¡°If not, a lolicon?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not truuuue!¡± ¡°Kkyahk! A pervert is yelling at me!¡± My daughter cried out before quickly hiding behind me. Her actions prompted even the cat and Kkokko to leer at the hero with eyes full of suspicion. ¡°It, it¡¯s not true...¡± It seemed that the hero received even more profound damage when my daughter and the two animals red at him with so much contempt. Huh, to think that my adorable daughter oh-so easily subdued the hero like this! -So teaching her the art of silver tongue was all worth it, master~? -Yup. A person should know how to run their mouths off as a minimum standard, after all. Indeed, it¡¯s not for nothing that there was an old idiom of ¡®one word paying off a mountain of debt¡¯. Or some such. Besides, you¡¯d see scenes like this in mangas and animes all the time, right? All those protagonists using nothing but their silver tongues to turn yesterday¡¯s enemies into today¡¯s allies! My daughter was already equipped with a perfect silver tongue capable of turning yesterday¡¯s enemies into today¡¯s male lead candidates, though. ¡°Well done. My dear child, nice work. You remembered it so well.¡± ¡°Thanks, dad. And also, you taught me to call any nearby soldier uncles on patrol duty if uncles like this person keep following me around!¡± ¡°Listen, my disciple. If you wish to avoid beingbelled as a pervert hero, I advise you to distance yourself from my daughter.¡± ¡°I-instructor...¡± The hero alternated his gaze between my daughter and me while looking rather fed-up. ¡°Want to get beaten up, then?¡± ¡°No, sir!¡± I don¡¯t really care if you look at me that way, but you won¡¯t be forgiven if you dare to stare at my dear daughter like that. I warned him while sending the metal bat forward, and that prompted him to quickly avert his gaze altogether. -Master, how could you send such a frail little girl like me to the clutches of a despicable evil(?) hero like him! [1] -I guess every frail little girl in the world is dead or something, then? Let me remind you once more; the toughest-ever durability in existence, guaranteed. On top of that, automatic repair function, too. This punk boasted both of those characteristics so if such a thing could be called ¡®frail¡¯, then not many objects in this world would survive the abuse they were subjected to. ¡°I shall protect my little sisterrr!¡± ¡°Big sis, please hit that pervert hero three times for me!¡± ¡°Leave it to me!¡± ¡°H-hang on a minute! I haven¡¯t done anything, though?!¡± What do you mean, you haven¡¯t done a thing? Didn¡¯t you chase us all the way out here even though we tried our hardest to escape from you? ¡°S-sir Sage...¡± ¡°Mm?¡± While I stood there leisurely spectating on the cat-and-mouse chase between the metal bat and the hero, the priest shedding thick teardrops walked up to me. N-no, wait a minute. Before all that... ¡°...Who¡¯s Sir Sage?¡± ¡°You are, sir. I¡¯ve heard about you from Sir Hero. He said that you¡¯re a sage who rejects the notion of interfering in the mundane world...¡± As expected of my disciple. To think that he actually took an instructor from an evil organisation and turned him into a wise sage... I was getting really tempted to have a chat with the goddess of nature who selected such a guy as their champion. Maybe there weren¡¯t any better prospects for a hero these days? Picking a scammer like him as a hero and all! ¡°...I¡¯m not a sage.¡± ¡°Sir, you don¡¯t have to be so humble to me. The hero already informed me of your true abilities, so I¡¯m well aware of your capabilities.¡± Judging from how the priest was staring at me with sparkling eyes that even made me feel ufortable, it seemed that dang hero had pulled the wool over this priest real good. -As expected of master¡¯s disciple! -Hey, you. When you beat him up,nd three more hits for me. -Ng, acknowledged! I left the fleeing hero to the metal bat for the time being since I now needed to spit-roast this priest personally. ¡°I¡¯m not knowledgeable enough to deserve a title like sage. It¡¯ll be fine to just use my name.¡± ¡°Understood, Sir Naruan.¡± I seeded in changing my unofficial title, but the priest¡¯s burdensome stare meant for me didn¡¯t dissipate at all. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what that idiot told you about me, but it seems that an exnation is in... Mm?¡± Since this idiot was gullible enough to fall for the hero¡¯s scam, I figured it¡¯d be even easier for me to pull a fast one on the priest. However, the priest suddenly clutched his chest and began frowning deeply. ¡°An... oracle... from the goddess of nature...¡± ¡°Another one?¡± The elf standing a bit behind the priest began scowling unhappily. The priest began trembling like a wet dog, then, for the first time ever since our meeting, he actively avoided my gaze while conveying the divine oracle. ¡°It, it¡¯s the oracle. It¡¯s not my opinion, but the goddess of nature¡¯s will!¡± His behaviour was certainly unbing of a priest, but even then, he repeatedly emphasized that his opinion didn¡¯t match that of the goddess of nature. And then... ¡°The goddess said... you... cute... or else.¡± ¡°I¡¯m cute? What?¡± ¡°...Better ...be ...cute or else...¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you speak more clearly, please?¡± The priest was whispering so quietly that I couldn¡¯t help but request more rification. ¡°Keuk...¡± That prompted the priest to squeeze his eyes shut and yell out loudly. ¡°The goddess of nature said that you better stop being cute or else!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?!¡± ¡°Stop being cute or else! That¡¯s what the goddess said!¡± I stared dazedly at the priest. His face was all red, possibly from embarrassment, while muttering to himself, ¡®Oh god, why did you bestow upon me this sort of trial?¡¯ I then tried to ask something. ¡°Could it be that it¡¯s a fake religious order you¡¯re serv...¡± ¡°Of course not, sir.¡± Since the priest was making a face that said, ¡°I would¡¯ve preferred if that was true!¡± I couldn¡¯t bring myself to ask any further. -As expected of a goddess¡¯s power of insight, master! To think that she managed to see through master¡¯s underhanded schemes ahead of time! -Dang it! I should¡¯ve guessed it back when my disciple was selected as the hero. You sure are a piece of work, oh goddess of nature! ¡°ording to the divine revtion of the goddess herself... ¡®I¡¯ve won the bet, so you better stick to the promise¡¯, or so she said, sir.¡± ¡°Hmm...¡± Honestly speaking, I didn¡¯t expect anyone to remain standing even after a good beatdown by the metal bat. I made that promise thinking that it¡¯d be an easy victory, yet I ended up losing. Dang it, if that¡¯s the case... ¡°Since when did I promise anything?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± I stared at the flustered priest and tilted my head this way and that. ¡°Do you perhaps have proof of this promise?¡± What would be my reason for still holding onto five rolls of the uber-expensive geass rolls? Sure, I might have purchased them after cooking the books back in the organisation, but it was still a pretty dangerous thing to do, regardless! Even so, the whole reason why I tried so hard to acquire these geass rolls was...! Because the creator god crafted them to be the greatest contract documents in the world. Not even the current crop of still-surviving gods could go against the geass rolls. This document rendered every type of scam impossible to pull off. ...Of course, I was still spending like there¡¯s no tomorrow since it wasn¡¯t my money, but still! ¡°But sir, you definitely made a promise!¡± ¡°Uh-huh. I can¡¯t seem to recall anything.¡± ¡°L-lies?!¡± Verbal promises were effective in this world, but I didn¡¯t have to acknowledge anything, and that¡¯d be the end of it. Since there¡¯s no proof and all! ¡°Even though there¡¯s proof right here, sir!¡± ¡°Ehng?¡± I was dumbfounded by the small object the priest suddenly yanked out from his inner pocket. ¡°Is that a watch?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a magic tool, sir.¡± With an audible click, the watch began emitting light in the air. -If I manage to endure for five minutes... We¡¯d like you to apany us on our journey. -Very well. -It... has... been... five min... utes... ¡°Because of Sir Hero, I¡¯ve learned to always acquire the proof for everything!¡± I gotta ask, just what kind of an ordeal did the goddess of nature and the hero put this poor priest through until now? Just what kind of torture did he have to suffer through for a priest to carry around an image-capturing magic tool to secure proof just in case?! ¡°What in the name of...¡± ...Horsesh*t is this?! -Hey, have you captured the hero yet? -I¡¯m still in the middle of amemorative beatdown since it¡¯s been so long! -Finish him off. The sound of ¡®toushi, toushi¡¯ began ringing out from a corner over there apanied by a squealing pig noise. Dang it, I didn¡¯t expect to get captured by a hidden camera of a priest, of all people! I¡¯d never even imagined such a thing! ¡°We now have proof, sir. Will you finally apany us in our journey?¡± ¡°T-that, well...¡± That sudden counterattack left me speechless. The one and only me, me who lived half of my life through fast-talking...! To think that I would have to shut my mouth up after getting sucker-punched by the symbol of purity, a man of the cloth! Not even the Imperial Princess couldn¡¯t pull that feat off in theter years, you know! How on earth did the goddess, her hero, and even this priest manage to fluster me to this degree? You¡¯re truly strong, aren¡¯t you, the Order of Nature! ¡°My apologies, but...¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s no more need to listen to you, sir! The goddess of nature has already sent an oracle. Meaning, it¡¯s already been decided! And I¡¯m obliged to follow her oracle no matter what!¡± In that case, why the heck were you asking me all that crap earlier? ¡°That¡¯s why we shall set off on our journey properly now, Sir Naruan!¡± ¡°D-dad, that person is weird...¡± My daughter hiding behind me while holding onto the hem of my shirt began tugging at me. ¡°Yes, dear. That type of person is what we call a religious fanatic. When you happen to encounter people like that, you must flee as quickly as possible, okay?¡± I whispered to my daughter¡¯s ear, teaching her yet another valuable piece ofmon sense of the day. ¡°Ng, got it.¡± My daughter seemed to understand me because she readily nodded away. ¡°W-what are you two talking about...?¡± ¡°Oh, this. I was merely teaching my adorable daughter somemon sense.¡± ¡°O-oh, I see...¡± The priest heard me and made a somewhat unconvinced expression, but from the sound of it, he seemed to have decided to overlook it for now. ¡°And so, sir. I¡¯ll have you fulfil your promise.¡± ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to?¡± ¡°Then you shall be the enemy of every religious order out there.¡± The priest dered with a serious face but too bad for him, I was already stuck in a simr situation, so the revtion didn¡¯t leave much of an impression on me. I was on the run from the strongest nation on this continent, so would there be more problems just because some religious orders were added to the list of my pursuers? -But master, I¡¯m sure there will be more problems, though? -Don¡¯t say something so obvious, will ya. In my previous life, a lot of people believed in religions because of some stories found in their holy books. Hell, wars even broke out over religious tension, didn¡¯t they? Let¡¯s not forget that gods directly disyed their powers to intervene in this world. People might believe in different gods, but nobody here was what you¡¯d call an atheist. In other words, every single sentient being of this world ¨C whether they were humans, demi-humans or even demon kinds ¨C believed in one god or another. That prompted me to ask again. ¡°Just what is the real reason for this?¡± ¡°I cannot tell you that, sir.¡± Meaning, it¡¯s not personal but the will of the gods? ¡°In that case, it can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Thank you for understanding, sir.¡± This priest was also an unfortunate victim caught in the middle like me, helplessly getting smacked around this way and that by the tide of fate. So, I shouldn¡¯t go out of my way to torment him, then. ¡°Hey, Aru? Keep beating up the hero until we find out the real reason.¡± ¡°Ng!¡± ¡°Kuweeeehk! ¡°S-sir hero?!¡± That¡¯s why the best option right now was to keep pounding on the fool who should also know the truth. ¡°Kuwaaaaaahk!¡± ¡°Start talking already!¡± ¡°S-Sir Sage?! Aren¡¯t you going overboard with your own disciple?!¡± ¡°This is how our rtionship always has been.¡± If you were to point out the key differences in our dynamics now, then well, the former trainee of the evil organisation had morphed into the hero, while the wooden bat had be a metal bat, instead. But other than those two points, what¡¯s happening now didn¡¯t look any different from the past events. ¡°I, I¡¯ll tell you! Kuwahk! S-stop hitting me!¡± ¡°But if I let you talk, I won¡¯t get to satisfy my craving, you know~?¡± ¡°Y-you devil...¡± The hero uttered some things that would¡¯ve made the real devil sue him for defamation, before going on to exin the truth behind the dogged pursuit. ¡°You say I¡¯m unique?¡± ¡°Yes... that is... so...¡± The hero replied while still copsed on the ground. Rather unbing of his handsome face, he was drooling away like an invalid right now. The priest was hurriedly casting holy magic to heal the hero from the side, but too bad, you should save your breath. He¡¯s already 100% recovered by now. ¡°What¡¯s this? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the yer living on the sixtieth floor of the Hell difficulty, so why...¡± To summarise the situation, the omnipotent gods capable of spying on every living being in this world could not ¡®see¡¯ me. And that¡¯s why they wanted to stick their eyes and ears right next to me. Makes sense now why the priest couldn¡¯t readily tell me the truth, in that case. I mean, who in their right mind would say, ¡°Fantastic!¡± when some weirdos want to install hidden cameras right in front of your face?! ¡°I see. If that¡¯s your reason, I shall ept it.¡± ¡°Thank you so much, sir!¡± And so, here it was. -Master, are you a pervert~? -This is all for the sake of a bigger picture. If all the gods really were butting in to pile on top of that priest... If I didn¡¯t agree and tried to flee again, then there was a good possibility of the damn gods summoning other heroes from locations nearby. I¡¯ll be a goner for sure if that happens! That¡¯s why I needed to put these punks at ease for the time being, and then... -Then, we escape when they have let down their guards! -Oh, ooooh! It was a perfect n, alright. Except that... I failed to notice that I made a single error in my calction. The error of forgetting about how well my disciple knew of my quirks. [1]: the question mark is from the raw. Chapter 154 What did I even do? (3) < Running Away from the Hero! 154 #18. What did I even do? (3)> ¡°I¡¯m a clergyman of the Order of Nature, Hill Shuttle, sir.¡± ¡°Ooooh...¡± This goddess of nature, it seemed that she had a pretty good sense, after all. [1] ¡°You seem quite capable of casting powerful healing magic.¡± The hero butted in just then. ¡°The Order of Nature has dered Hill as a saint, instructor.¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s an embarrassing title, isn¡¯t it, sir.¡± Kyah~, this hero. As expected of the former trainee of the evil organisation! The ¡®saint¡¯ of nature had gotten tamed by the hero, and now, he had to carry around magic tools to acquire proof at all times. And his name was even Hill Shuttle, to boot! ¡°You are amazing, Sir Shuttle.¡± Keuh~! That sure rolls off the tongue, doesn¡¯t it. ¡°N-no, not at all.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that. You¡¯re indeed amazing. You have what it takes, Sir Shuttle!¡± It was rather funny to see the priest making a sheepish face in embarrassment. -Master, you¡¯re so full of evil. -But, his name is Shuttle, you know? -Ng? What about it? Huh, would you listen to this oblivious kid who¡¯s been living under a rock? She doesn¡¯t even know how the game of life is yed, it seems! I guess her life so far has been in vain, then. -I don¡¯t get what you¡¯re saying, master, but it¡¯s all good since I already have ¡®beaten up¡¯ my life¡¯s goal! -Oh, is that so. For future reference, the metal bat¡¯s number one best life ¡®beat up¡¯ was taken up by the esteemed daughter of Aris. Hmm, didn¡¯t the metal bat say the pleasure of killing two birds with one stone was unforgettable or something? The second spot went to the Imperial Princess, who had her mouth firmly shut throughout the beating to not appear weak to anyone. The metal bat also said that you wouldn¡¯t understand the pleasure of hearing the pained moan leak out of firmly shut mouths unless you actually start beating people up. ...Having said that, beating up on an imperial princess would be an impossible fairy tale formoners like me! Besides, I did not hit her! It¡¯s this punk that started hitting the princess all on its own! Aaand then, the hero idiot upied the third spot. The spots behind him were upied by Sia and my other disciples. The ones to get the worst evaluations were the dwarves. Apparently, their exterior was too tough, and the sensation of hitting them wasn¡¯t all that good. ¡°I¡¯m Selena.¡± The elf stared at the metal bat and me with eyes filled with dissatisfaction before bowing her head ever so slightly. ¡°They are all myrades, instructor!¡± Once their introductions were dealt with, the ¡®brave¡¯ hero tried to re-introduce himself. ¡°...Aren¡¯t you too far from us, Sir Hero?¡± ¡°...No, this here is perfect for me, thanks.¡± He introduced himself with a loud voice from about twenty metres away. ¡°Did I hit him too much...?¡± The hero visibly flinched every time the metal bat moved even slightly. ¡°To think that a grown-up man with the title of ¡®hero¡¯ is frightened silly by a little girl after she beat him up.¡± ¡°Dad! Even if it¡¯s you, dad, you shouldn¡¯t say that! You¡¯re at fault this time, you know!¡± ¡°My bad, my bad.¡± I quietly tutted while staring at the hero, but what I got in return was my dear daughter¡¯s stern admonishment. That made me a little sad, but her puffed-up cheeks looked so gosh darn cute, so I ended up gently patting her head and apologising. ¡°I¡¯m forgiving you only because you¡¯re my dad.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. I understand.¡± She grinned happily as her mood improved significantly, prompting me to keep patting her head. ¡°I¡¯m Naruan, who handed down a few techniques to that useless hero over there.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m his daughter, Aru!¡± ¡°I¡¯m Alice, everyone! These little ones are Misha and Kkokko!¡± After I introduced myself, the metal bat and my daughter followed suit and introduced themselves next. ¡°Nyah~.¡± ¡°Hi!¡± The cat seemed to be still wary of the hero party, but Kkokko seemed to be in a good mood because it greeted them with a wagging tail. ¡°A-ah, yes. Hello to you too... Eh?¡± ¡°What in the name of?!¡± The priest was making a good-natured smile while greeting my daughter, while the elf remained taciturn while just nodding away. However, their expressions gradually became dyed in pure shock and astonishment. ¡°The dragon... spoke?!¡± The elf gasped out in pure disbelief while staring agog at Kkokko, so I asked her in a tone that implied if there was a problem here. ¡°Is this your first time seeing a talking dragon, miss?¡± ¡°Yes, it is indeed my first time?!¡± ¡°It definitely is our first time!¡± The two of them were about to rush at me to start some kind of an argument, but they froze up after spotting the metal bat standing before me. Uh-huh, I see that theyck discipline, then. Since ancient times, your party could only be qualified as a real hero party if one of your members or the backers happens to be a dragon. Heck, you should have at least faced a dragon as an enemy or something! ¡°I-it¡¯s a real dragon?!¡± So, to think that these two were making faces of people who had never seen a dragon before! -But master, when was your first time seeing a real dragon? -Back when it hatched from the egg I bought for seven silvers in the market, obviously. -Aha. Can I ask where you got that thick adamantium coating on your face from, master? -Working for the evil organisation automatically levelled me up in that regard without me noticing it. Since I couldn¡¯t level up my magical powers, I might as well level up on things like this. ¡°A dragon this small... is it still a hatchling, sir?¡± ¡°Yes, it is.¡± I decided to graciously ept the metal bat¡¯s retorts and the freaked out hero party members. This would be good training for me, anyway. It is extremely challenging to have your mind and mouth do two different things simultaneously, after all. ¡°Could it be... that you actually hunted a dragon down?¡± Are you mad? You think I¡¯d be ballsy enough to have a showdown with a monster among monsters, a dragon? ¡°No, I did not.¡± ¡°In that case... did you steal the egg from a dragon?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not it, either.¡± After leaving the organisation, I stole nothing... Hmm... wait... I guess I did? Even then, after Yugrasia... well, there was that time I sneaked some alcohol out from the sk of the former Sword Star gramps and mixed it with some water... Mm... That¡¯s right, I haven¡¯t done any stealing after leaving the vige! -But master, it¡¯s not even a week since we left the vige, though? -It¡¯s still not a lie, isn¡¯t it! ¡°Then, just how did you...?¡± The elf muttered as her eyes trembled unsteadily. Unlike humans who tilled thend to live, elves usually lived in harmony with nature itself. That¡¯s why they often came in conflict with various dragons, or so I¡¯ve heard. ording to what the dwarf elders told me, the dragons were akin to neighbourhood thugs that ripped money off from the dwarves. However, to the elves, the overgrown lizards were like invaders that suddenly showed up out of nowhere to forcibly take away the elvennds. I guessed that the former was like bullies back in high school ripping you off for lunch money, while thetter was simr to getting your house demolished without your consent. Whatever the case might be, both elves and dwarves harboured everything from minor hostilities to massive fear of the dragons. As such, I better deal with this misunderstanding as soon as possible. ¡°I bought an egg for seven silvers in a market one day, and this dragon hatched from it.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± The most often-heard question back in the Korean military, ¡®Please say that again?!¡¯ could be spied on their expressions right now. It was getting annoying, but I should repeat myself one more time. ¡°I bought the egg for seven silvers in a market.¡± ¡°Uhm...¡± ¡°Lies!¡± The priest and the elf making the exact same faces until then reacted in apletely opposite manner next. The priest¡¯s jaw dropped as a dazed expression filled his face. Meanwhile, the elf exploded in rage and began yelling at the top of her lungs. ¡°Do you honestly expect us to believe in such nonsense?!¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± Even I wouldn¡¯t believe in such a tale. Unless you¡¯ve experienced it yourself, it¡¯d be no different from a stray mutt barking at a wall. Hell, if anyone could buy a dragon in a market for seven silvers, then humanity would¡¯ve conquered the world and have started a war with the gods already! ¡°Even though you know, you still...!¡± ¡°Yes. Even though I know that, I still said it. Don¡¯t you think I would have a good reason for doing that?¡± The clearly agitated elf suddenly mped her mouth shut at my counter-question. She must¡¯ve realised it by now ¨C realised how utterly unbelievable what I said was. Not even an idiot would fall for such a lie. Despite knowing that, I still said it out loud, so that could only mean... ¡°No way... it¡¯s true?¡± The elf¡¯s expression finally matched that of the priest next to her. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all true.¡± While making a wry face, I nced at Kkokko. Not sure what it was so happy about, but the dragon was looking back at me while making a simr smile as my daughter. ¡°Grandpa~!¡± Having said that, its manner of speech had this waft of the metal bat¡¯s stink, didn¡¯t it? I knew it, the strict upbringing yed a crucial role in its development, after all. -Haaahng? What¡¯s wrong with the feminine form this goddess deigns to use, master?! -A fool who hasn¡¯t even tried cafeteria food but still speaking in cool kids¡¯ ng should just shut up. [2] -Cafeteria food? What¡¯s that? Although, those weren¡¯t the cutting-edgetest ng but ones from a far more peaceful time back when I was a youngster eating cafeteria food... -The Cutting Edge? There¡¯s something like that, too?! For some reason, her voice seemed to be brimming full of anticipation. But if I exin it to her now, my headspace might get drowned out by her barrage of ng words, so... Yeah, let¡¯s not tell her. -Nooo, tell me! -Get lost. -You meanie! Hey, this isn¡¯t my first time being a meanie, right? Since time immemorial, being a meanie was a virtue of being a viin. Besides all that... ¡°And I still need to speak that idiot over there, too.¡± The idiot hero standing some distance away was craning his head while intently staring at us. He must¡¯ve been rather curious about the contents of our discussion. ¡°Come over here. Now.¡± I didn¡¯t speak too loudly, but my beckoning gesture must¡¯ve gotten through to him because the hero dide a bit closer. ¡°T-this is close enough, yes?¡± The distance of twenty metres had changed to... fifteen. ¡°If you want to die today, then sure.¡± While saying that, I pointed at the metal bat then drew a line below my chin. If he was dumb enough not to recognise the meaning of this gesture, then well, we¡¯d no choice but to physically teach him. ¡°Heeeek!¡± Thankfully for everyone here, the hero didn¡¯t seem to have forgotten about me, after all. ¡°Y-you called, instructor?¡± ¡°We¡¯re more or less finished with our introductions. So, what are we supposed to do now, hero?¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re a hero and all, surely you have a set itinerary to follow?¡± From the beginning of time itself, a hero was an existence that had to work nonstop for 24 hours a day. They had to do the stuff gods told them about. Nearby kingdoms requested them frequently for assistance. And if you even dared to take a small break, civilians showed up uninvited and got you involved in all sorts of idents and incidents. For a reference, just how many heroes showed up during my time in the organisation?! Destruction to the property beyond one¡¯s imagination, plus constant reporting from the concerned citizens! Just how hard did the organisation have to work to minimise all those losses! ¡°For now, we don¡¯t have any, instructor.¡± The thing was, though, the hero standing before me was my disciple. ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Something like this would¡¯ve been impossible for a ¡®normal¡¯ hero chosen by the religious orders. From what I hear, even those self-proimed hero wannabes would constantly be mired in an endless series of idents and incidents, yet this fool... He had nothing to do, apparently. I asked again. ¡°Does that mean we don¡¯t have a special destination we must get to, either?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°In that case, isn¡¯t it fine for me to just go on my own way?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like that more than anything else in this world, instructor. But...¡± The hero made a deeply-earnest face while saying that. That expression... it seemed that he really wanted to put some distance between him and me. I made a suggestion. ¡°...Let¡¯s just go on our separate ways, shall we?¡± ¡°But, uh, the b*tch of a goddess means I must...¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I teach you to be fearless even in the face of a potential divine punishment?¡± ¡°Instructor, at the end of the day, I¡¯m still a human being. Even for me, facing off against every religious order is impossible.¡± ¡°I did not raise you to be such a weakling!¡± From the very beginning, I raised him as the evil organisation¡¯s trusted member who¡¯d be strong enough to fight the world, so how dare he say that! But then, the hero yelled back. ¡°No one needs a fool who can¡¯t recognise when it is time o flee! Instructor, I¡¯m just doing as you taught me!¡± Ah, wait. I did say something like that once upon a time, didn¡¯t I? Thanks to my teachings, there had been a few... escapees among my disciples but no casualties to speak of. I retorted back. ¡°That was true back when your job description was different. From this moment on, it¡¯s fine to let go of your fears and act like the real hero that you are.¡± ¡°No, instructor. What I learned during my time as a hero was that... nothing is more valuable than what you taught me, instructor!¡± That seemed about right. The viins and the heroes shared a couple ofmon points, after all. One, they didn¡¯t know when and where they might die, and two, they had a fair number of enemies to worry about. ¡°Dear hero, you can now forget about my teachings.¡± ¡°Your teachings saved me every time I was in mortal danger, instructor. How can I forget something like that?¡± ¡°How about, like this?¡± Shuffle... ¡°Ahaha... I guess forgetting it might not be such a bad idea, instructor.¡± When the metal bat walked up in front of me with airy steps, the hero rapidly tried to change his tune. ¡°You learned well, hero.¡± The way he hurriedly stumbled back from the spot seemed rather urgent, though. But that moonwalk was so aplished that not even Brother Michael would¡¯ve bettered it had he descended to this world. [3] ¡°No need to learn anything, instructor. Getting hit once or twice is all that¡¯s needed for you to know!¡± The hero quickly backed off to the distance of about five metres, then began paying especially close attention to every little movement the metal bat and I made. ¡°Hah-ah, fine. This means that it¡¯s fine for us to decide where we should head next, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Y-yes, until we receive a new oracle.¡± I nced at the hero who was nodding away in the distance before entering into a deep pool of thoughts. For now, returning to the empire was beyond impossible. Even the viges of demi-humans,belled as extremely dangerous by the human kingdoms, were out of the question. And those nations allied to the empire were too much of a gamble, too... ¡°What¡¯s this? Why does it feel like I really have no ce left to go?¡± ¡°Master, it¡¯s not your feeling but karma for all your misdeeds until now~!¡± ¡°Dang it...¡± Wait. Now that I thought about it some more, wouldn¡¯t this hero idiot have unsavoury characters pursuing him, too? What if we find ourselves surrounded one morning after waking up? -Master, you¡¯ve been nning to flee anyway, so what gives? -That¡¯s true, but there¡¯s always that one in a million chance, right? Life was all about timing. Even if you have cooked up a perfect escape n, it¡¯d mean nothing if you got caught before you could actually do something. -Should I just deal with them now and leave? -Master being so meticulous is both your plus and minus point, master. The simplest and the best way was to kill everyone to leave no witnesses behind. But this party was made up of a hero and a saint dispatched by a religious order. Their eyes and ears were basically the goddess¡¯s eyes and ears. If I did kill the hero and the saint, then the gods would jump on this opportunity to issue a brand-new oracle. An oracle that went something like this! -Go and apprehend the despicable murderer who killed the Order of Nature¡¯s chosen hero and saint! If that happened, my veryst resort, the secret voyage to the demon continent, would be impossible to pull off. ¡°In that case... there is one ce we can go, so let us head there.¡± ¡°Where is this ce, instructor?¡± There was just one ce where the influence of the religious orders wasparatively weak. On top of that, not even that Imperial Princess would dare to perform any military-rted manoeuvres in that location unless she had gonepletely nuts. -But master, if it¡¯s that older sister, she might? -Hey, shut up before you jinx it! While inwardly shutting off the metal bat¡¯s loose lips, I told the hero of our next destination. ¡°Ruib City Alliance.¡± That was the name of the only city situated on the border to the demon race. [1]: ¡°Hill¡± is written and pronounced the same as ¡°heal¡± in Korean, and a shuttle is a Korean ng term denoting school kids who are forced to deliver things like bread to those who bully them, i.e. bread shuttle. So, the mc¡¯s referring to ¡®heal shuttle¡¯ in this case. [2]: ¡°cafeteria food¡± in Korean is ?? while the ¡®cool kids ng¡¯ is ???. As you can see, it¡¯s a y on words. So the metal bat misunderstood the ng as food. [3]: In case you didn¡¯t get it, Brother Michael is referring to Michael Jackson. Chapter 155 What did I even do? (4) < Running Away from the Hero! 155 #18. What did I even do? (4)> Once upon a time, a famous philosopher named Zhuang Zhou lived in China during the Warring States period. There¡¯s this famous story involving him. One day, Zhuang Zhou had a dream. He was a butterfly in that dream, flitting and fluttering around the flowers all happy and the like, but when he woke up, he had returned to his human self. Now normally, you¡¯d go, ¡®Oh, it¡¯s just that kind of a dream...¡¯ when something like that happens to you. But as expected of a philosopher, Mister Zhou began wondering, ¡®Did I be a butterfly in the dream, or did that butterfly dream of bing Zhuang Zhou? I cannot tell!¡¯ What followed after that was some hardcore-level philosophising stuff well beyond my pay grade so all I could remember from this tale was the old proverb of ¡®butterfly fantasy¡¯. Oh, there was another thing that I did remember. Wasn¡¯t the ¡®butterfly fantasy¡¯ thing used to express the attainment of unity in one¡¯s mind with nature? Or was it the inevitable futility of life itself? ¡°Dad, are you alright?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine, dear.¡± My daughter¡¯s voice brought me back from the pit of the philosophical abyss to the real world. She still looked unsettled, so I gently patted her head. Her anxiety-ridden eyes began to calm down a little. ¡°I¡¯m scared, dad.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be alright.¡± She buried her face in my chest, and not too long afterwards, I felt some wetness in my chest area. ¡°No need to worry, my child.¡± ¡°Ng...¡± There was a good reason why my daughter was crying, while I was thinking of some high-ss muttering like the ¡®butterfly dream¡¯, though. ¡°It¡¯s finished, everyone.¡± ¡°You worked hard, Sir Hero.¡± ¡°It was nothing, really.¡± The hero pulled his sword out of the corpse and bowed slightly in my direction before stepping back. His sword was stained with dark crimson blood. Of course, not just his sword but our surroundings were bathed in a pool of blood, too. ¡°Hah-ah... Orcs, is it.¡± Orcs. Monsters with pig faces that I often ¡®saw¡¯ online in the past. Although, most of those times were in the games published by Bl*zz*rd or, ehem, in those works of literature depicting lustful orcs kidnapping young female knights to ¡®break¡¯ them in some shady locations... Not just in fantasy literature, but also frequent extras in game-based web novels, orcs! But when you actually start ying some games, they don¡¯t even appear all that often for some reason! I¡¯m not exaggerating, though. I don¡¯t remember ever running into the likes of orcs while ying Ara*, Maple Leaf, and not even in Ma*nogi! [1] What stunned me even more, though, was that it was even harder to spot a single orc in this world where these piggy monsters existed for real. But that was understandable. It was all because orcs came equipped with stunningly below-average intelligence. You¡¯d find a few folks among the demon races that seemed to resemble orcs outwardly. However, the real orcs often designated as monsters were really stupid. That¡¯s the only reason separating the orc-like beings of the demon race from the orc monsters. The Orc Hero capable of using sword aura only came to acquire this power instinctively after surviving countless battles and not through some thoughtful training, so do I even need to say anything else now? Without any semnce of intelligence, you can¡¯t craft weapons. So the orcs used weapons taken from their human victims or clubs made out of nearby trees they had yanked out. But, we shouldn¡¯t forget that orcs were born with monstrous strength and sturdy physique that allowed them to exhibit excellentbat abilities. As such... it was rather difficult to find orcs out in the wild. Unlike goblins that were weaker than humans, orcs couldn¡¯t be killed by regr folks. Without exception, knights and soldiers had to be mobilised. The thing was, though, mobilising an army required a lot of time. You¡¯d need to confirm the scale of the enemy, then prepare for supplies and spare equipment for your men just in case, etc, etc. That was not applicable when subjugating orcs, though. Whether that was back one year ago, a decade ago, a century ago... or even a millennium ago! That¡¯s all thanks to orcs being stupid and didn¡¯t know how to advance their civilisation. It was fine to just check the orcs¡¯ numbers and the state of the army¡¯s equipment before engaging inbat. On top of this, orcs were great enemies to get some real-worldbat experience, too. Most des belonging to orcs were chipped or worn out, while their clubs wouldn¡¯t kill a well-armoured knight unless the blownded directly on the target¡¯s head somehow. That¡¯s how low the orcs¡¯ level was! But then, orcs¡¯ excellent instinctive movements made up for theirck of intelligence, making them tough enemies to handle for newbie knights. Low risk of death, but strong enough to make it a tough battle... There couldn¡¯t have been a more ideal opponent to practise your craft for newbie knights, then. So, whenever some orcs showed up near a remote, distant vige, every knight in that territory would trip over themselves to volunteer and go there! Ogres were too scary to fight unless an expert sword aura user was among your party members. Goblins were too weak to even serve as training opponents. Compared to those two, orcs were being hunted down so quickly that they might be dered as endangered species at this rate! But something even more shocking than that happened to us. During our journey with the hero party, we happened toe across such rare and endangered orcs three times. In a week! ¡°We are not getting ambushed as oftentely, instructor. Lady luck is smiling at us, it seems.¡± The hero wiped the blood off his holy sword with practised movements, discarded the bloodied handkerchief, then sheathed the weapon. ¡°Sure, if you say so...¡± While staring at the hero, I fell into another bout of deep contemtion. Mister Zhuang Zhou said he couldn¡¯t tell if he was a butterfly or Zhuang Zhou after waking up from that dream. But it seemed that I could modify that saying a bit and apply it to my current situation. ¡°Is it the case of monsters being attracted to us because of the hero, or the hero is simply heading to where monsters are...?¡± So far, we¡¯ve fought five orcs. But in between these encounters, we fought goblins seven times and even ran into an ogre, too. For reference, the number of times I saw monsters during my many years of stay in the previous vige was ten times. Ten goblins in total! In other words, I couldn¡¯t simply write what¡¯s happening to us as a coincidence at all! ¡°Dad? What are you mumbling about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing important, dear.¡± Honestly, I was beginning to earnestly ponder whether the true axis of evil in this world was the hero party or not. There was no need to exin that to my lovely daughter, though. ¡°Dad, is this normal for so many monsters to appear in the wild?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, dear.¡± I picked my daughter up with one arm, then used my other arm to shield her eyes from the bloody corpses littering the ground. Do your best, my arm. Even if I¡¯m getting on in ages, it¡¯s still uncool to say my thirteen-year-old daughter is too heavy to lift up, after all! ¡°Dad, I think the world is as scary as you told me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you must always remember and do what I told you, okay?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± I patted her head two times more, then picked up Kkokko and the cat following me ¨C or more correctly, my daughter ¨C and handed them over to her, too. Let¡¯s be honest here, if this world was truly teeming with monsters like this, then instead of my daughter, I¡¯d have encountered monsters back in the great mountains. Practically no one lived in the great mountain range. Even in such a remote location, most of the monsters were still regrly hunted down by the knights and the army, and sometimes even by the evil organisation, for ¡®training purposes¡¯. So, witnessing these many monsters roaming around a regr road had to be an abnormality of some kind, for sure. Simply thinking back to Yugrasia should be enough to tell you that any regr monsters could be ughtered rather easily by a single summon called out by a student. Yet, so many of such monsters showed up before us like this? Either some unknown dark magician was carrying out an evil scheme of theirs, or a demon king ranked 71st in the pecking order had to be in the middle of dungeon defence nearby. If it was none of the above, then there could be only one other exnation. It¡¯s all because of the damn hero right next to me! I bloody knew it, staying near an existence called a hero was a sure-fire way to shorten your lifespan. ¡°As I thought, we need to escape as soon as possible.¡± While reaffirming my resolve inwardly, I reorganised the carriage and waited for the returning hero party. #2 Their circumstances: a certain hero¡¯s circumstance Crackle, sizzle... Only the embers dancing out of the campfire illuminated the dark night sky. ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s about time he tries to escape from us...¡± While rummaging through the campfire, I sneaked a nce at the carriage. ¡°That can¡¯t be, hero...¡± Hill responded while wryly smiling back at me. ¡°Sir Naruan already agreed to join us in this journey, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Sure, he verbally agreed to it. But the instructor will definitely try to escape sooner orter.¡± This old instructor of mine even dared to flee from the empire. Obviously, someone like that would think that it¡¯ll be rather simple to lose two men and an elf watching over him. The instructor was only pretending to journey with us because of the young girl he calls his daughter, and a not-so-insignificant threat of all the religious orders working together to hunt him down. That¡¯s it. ¡°You must never think of my instructor as a normal human being, Hill. He¡¯s totally capable of easily running circles around devils, at the very least.¡± ¡°No way that¡¯s true.¡± No way, my ass. Even the high-ranking devil got scammed into a very contract the moment it descended, didn¡¯t it! ¡°You were also a victim, so can¡¯t you already tell?¡± ¡°W-well, that...¡± Hill stuttered while cold sweat trickled down his face, then he sneakily avoided meeting my gaze. Even the holy sword of a religious order was incapable of defending against the metal bat¡¯s strikes. Yet Hill managed to withstand those hits for five minutes straight, so he fully deserved my, and everyone¡¯s, respect. ¡°Just what on earth is that thing...¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a scary something, alright...¡± Hill and I began shuddering where we sat. If Selena was here with us instead of out scouting the area, then she¡¯d start shuddering in heebie-jeebies, too. Just where did the metal bat¡¯s limitsy, I wonder? In terms of pure damage alone, it¡¯d be around the same as the wooden bat. H-hold on. In terms of pure pain that you couldn¡¯t experience anywhere else in this world, they were on equal footing, weren¡¯t they? The thing was, I¡¯d have long cked out when the wooden bat was hitting me but with the metal bat, that didn¡¯t happen. My body was already well acquainted with the horrors of the wooden bat by now. But when that metal bat was hitting me, it was trying to tell me that... ¡®Oh, it seems like you¡¯ll need to get hit ten times worse if you wanna ck out this time, son¡¯. To make matters worse, not only did the metal bat speak, it even took on the outer appearance of a young girl, too! Hell, I was confused about what to do when some unknown little girl suddenly ran up to me, you know! A girl that looked frail and cute began hitting me while making ¡®toushi, toushi¡¯ noises, and the resulting pain couldn¡¯t have been from this ne of existence. Seriously now, I was getting curious about just what kind of a mindset you¡¯d need to cook up such abination. Well, we were talking about my instructor here, so it¡¯s kind of understandable, I guess! ¡°In any case. We need to have rotating guard duties for all three of us and keep an eye on the situation. However, don¡¯t check up on my instructor, but his daughter, Miss Alice. No exceptions. The moment she¡¯s gone will be the same as him being gone, too.¡± ¡°Do you believe so, Sir Hero?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± For now, we had to keep a wary eye on the instructor. At the very least, until I see No.1000 or another agent capable of subbing her joins us and start journeying alongside him! If No.1000 saw the instructor, she¡¯d rush up to me and start sneakily asking about what the heck was happening here. When that happened, all I needed to do was patiently exin everything to her, then lead the instructor around by his nose before handing him over to Her Highness! Oh, and make sure to escape afterwards, too! That¡¯s why we simply had to hold onto my instructor until we could dump him in the empire¡¯s hands and flee from the scene. Why flee, you ask? Because, if something goes wrong somewhere, even I could end up as a set meal with him and meet with misfortune! ¡°Sir Hero, just what did you learn from Sir Naruan?¡± ¡°Hill. Whatever you can imagine right now, stuff I learned from him easily exceeds them. Be honest with me, do I really look like a regr hero to you?¡± ¡°Well, uh...¡± Hill made the face of someone who had too many things to say at once. I chuckled back at him. ¡°It¡¯s a total no, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Correct, Sir Hero.¡± Hmm, answering so resolutely like that does make me feel a bit weird inside, you know. ¡°...In any case. There must be a reason why we¡¯re headed to Ruib City Alliance like this.¡± ¡°But Sir Hero, I thought it¡¯s because of Alice?¡± Alice was no ordinary human girl. So not ordinary that even us three, who had witnessed and experienced so many things as a hero party, got shocked when she transformed during her sleep. She was a mixed-blood child born between a human and a demon race. A child shunned by both the humans and demon races was being called ¡®my dear daughter¡¯ by the instructor. I have to say, that did surprise me a bit. However, the truth was... ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s the real reason.¡± That was that, and going to Ruib was something else. There were plenty of humans, especially among the members of the clergy that served various gods, who held the extreme opinion of killing anyone from the demon race as soon as seeing one. What a good thing it was that the Order of Nature ced utmost importance on achieving harmony with everything, and that it got along so well with the elves, too. Otherwise, Hill and the instructor would¡¯ve gotten into a massive fight right there and then. And that fight would have ended with us on the floor, writhing away as the metal bat pummelled us mercilessly. ¡°But Sir Hero. Sir Naruan¡¯s love for Alice is genuine.¡± ¡°Yup, and that¡¯s why I suspect something else is in y.¡± Sure, the instructor said something about Alice¡¯s parents potentially being in Ruib and that¡¯s why we needed to go there. However, that ce was established by warriors whose purpose was solely to stop the advance of the demon race. They were originally war heroes of the empire or some other kingdoms, or even aristocrats who had attained simr levels of military achievements. Despite their backgrounds, they continued to fight against the demon race in the frontlines until they decided to settle there for good. Simply put, people harbouring the most resentment and hatred against the demon race in the entire continent could be found in that city. Even if it involved the matter of Alice¡¯s parents, the instructor wouldn¡¯t dare to go to such a dangerous ce. ¡°How can you be so certain, Sir Hero?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve learned how to survive from him, that¡¯s why. If it¡¯s a ce I don¡¯t want to go, then my instructor will definitely avoid going there, no matter what.¡± I received all sorts of training for my continued survival. But no matter the type of training we received, what the instructor said remained broadly the same. ¡®Before you¡¯re forced to utilise this knowledge, stop getting into situations requiring them in the first ce. That is the best and the simplest evasion method.¡¯ ¡®There¡¯s nothing more idiotic than bravely meeting your demise in a losing battle. Just flee when you have the chance. Even if you fight until the veryst moment, it¡¯ll be for eff all when your enemies decide to erase all evidence.¡¯ ¡®Let me tell you, all the surviving members of our evil organisation have experienced fleeing at least once in their lifetime! Fleeing isn¡¯t something to be ashamed about, but the correct choice to preserve your life!¡¯ The instructor basically repeated those words to his disciples every single day. And we the disciples got to fully understand his important lessons after repeatedly experiencing some things that made us wish to escape from life itself. All at the hands of the bat, of course. That¡¯s why, without a shred of doubt, I knew that the instructor would flee if he spotted an opening. ¡°Even an army tens of thousand strong failed to capture my instructor. That is precisely why I¡¯m gonna use that point against him.¡± ¡°S-Sir Hero?¡± ¡°Kekekekeke.¡± ¡°Sir Hero, I told you not tough in such a sinister manner!¡± ¡°Ku-wahahahaha!¡± ¡°Sir Hero!¡± And so... myughter mixed in with Hill¡¯s desperate yelling continued to ring into the night sky until Selena returned to the camp. [1]: Ara*, as far as I can tell, refers to Arami Puzzventure, a mobile game developed by NCSoft. Maple Leaf seems to be referring to another Korean mobile game called Maple Leaf Cultivation. As for Ma*nogi, it refers to an MMORPG called Mabinogi developed by Nexon. Chapter 156 What did I even do? (5) < Running Away from the Hero! 156 #18. What did I even do? (5)> All the carefullyid ns had a tendency of going astray at some point. For instance, ns made at the end, or the beginning, of the year usually falls by the wayside eventually, don¡¯t they? You¡¯d cook up a n for the entire year, then buy one of those diaries that cost an arm and a leg despite nothing is written inside. On top of that, you¡¯d also buy the nner just in case. While feeling chuffed about yourself, you¡¯d start writing your resolutions for theing year in those diaries and nners, then tell yourself that you¡¯d definitely seed this time. As for the resolution itself, its contents wouldrgely be simr person-to-person. This year, I will study something-or-rather. This year, I will start that diet. This year, I will get a qualification for this-and-that. This year, I will read X number of books in a month! You tell yourself that, make all sorts of ns, then do your best to carry them out. ...Only up to the first quarter of the year, that is. By the time the heat of Summer arrives, the diary with only the first portion filled out would sit there covered in dust, its pages forever destined to be left nk. And this diary with only the events of January and February written on its pages would get discardede the end of the year when you go out to buy its recement. This cycle would continue to repeat itself forever. However, this act wasn¡¯tpletely meaningless. Well, at the very least, the employees of the diary manufacturer would get their monthly sries, so there¡¯s that. Besides, me not sticking to the resolution was because of my own whims changing over time, not due to someone else interfering with my life, anyway. Unfortunately, though... What¡¯s happening right now wasn¡¯t because of my mind changing, but other people butting in to ruin my ns. And this act of ruining my ns was totally irreversible, too. ¡°Sir Hero...!¡± ¡°It, it¡¯s Sir Hero!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Hero of Light, Sir Swinn!¡± A massive crowd of cheering people could be seen rushing up to us. Kkyah~, just how did they recognise this idiot¡¯s face from so far away? Man, your vision must be 20/20 or something. Are you all perhaps the descendants of the Mongols? What a scary vige this was, one that might conquer the entire world someday! -Master, master. I thought your disciple was the Hero from the Order of Nature? So why is he the Hero of Light now? -How should I know? The heroter told me that people gave him that title because of his blonde locks and his penchant for using a golden-hued sword aura. Hearing that exnation only made me more curious about why he wasn¡¯t called the Hero of Gold instead, though. However, I decided to not bother asking since even the hero himself didn¡¯t seem to know. Whatever the case might be, I still got the feeling that his ¡®title¡¯ would be rather helpful towards manipting information in my favour. ¡°Sir Hero, bandits raided our vige and kidnapped some of our womenfolk, sir!¡± ¡°Not only that, but orcs also raided us and robbed us of our food supply!¡± ¡°And on top of that, our evil feudal lord forcibly confiscated the meagre food remaining under the pretext of collecting tax...¡± ¡°And even goblins...¡± Vigers clung to the hero and began to whine about their plight. Damn, every single story they told him sounded pretty serious. As if they all received correction from the Hero Effect (passive). -Master, this world is so scary... -My sentiment exactly. Being a bandit in this world was a very challenging life choice to make. You see, there was a good chance of monsters roaming around in the mountains. A gang of bandits usually formed when people, who couldn¡¯t stand the tyrannical ways of their evil lords, chose to flee and gather as a group. Some were criminals that couldn¡¯t live normal lives among regr folks. It was safe to assume that most of these gangs didn¡¯t have anyone with professional military training under their belt. Which meant theirbat prowess wasn¡¯t all that better than most regr citizens. So, to say that such a gang of bandits could survive in the wild mountainside popted by monsters? Now that would be a tall order, indeed. Of course, it was moremon to find a mountain with no monsters living on it. But that would, in turn, imply that the security issue with that particr region was rather excellent. A safe ce, in other words. When monsters were too scarce to give the soldiers any practicalbat experience, it was not unusual to see their target shifting over to bandits, instead. It wasn¡¯t for nothing that there was an old saying of, ¡°Being a bandit is tougher than being a mercenary¡± in this world. But to my surprise, some bandits decided to raid this vige. Not only that, orcs, an evil feudal lord, and as an additional bonus, even goblins, too! Such aprehensive set list of gifts would be rather difficult to see in one¡¯s lifetime! And the damn hero...! ¡°It¡¯s quite alright, everyone. Something like that happens often in life, after all. I shall take care of them.¡± ...epted them all without even batting a single eyelid! -Master, he even said these things happen often, too. -I always figured it¡¯s only my surroundings that have lost their damn minds, but as it turns out, my life so far has been a blessed one. -Master, could it be that the vige we lived in happens to be the safest one in the entire world? -That¡¯s a good possibility, actually. The odds of running into such aprehensive gift set would surely be lower than the former Sword Star living next door to me under the guise of a kindly grandpa. I couldn¡¯t see any tall, imposing mountains forming great mountain ranges anywhere nearby. But to think that orcs and bandits were co-existing side by side in and of t hills like this! The empire¡¯s schrs must be mouring to get here as soon as possible, wanting to research and publish their findings right away! ¡°Well, instructor. You wille with us, yes?¡± ¡°...You want me to go there with Alice?¡± ¡°I believe it will be safer for her by apanying us.¡± I¡¯ve been feeling a bit of an urge to explore the vige, so my initial n was to sightsee and wait for the hero party¡¯s return. But it seemed that the hero wanted us to act together with his party. ¡°Is this because you¡¯re worried about me fleeing?¡± I asked him directly, hoping to probe him a little. Now normally, when being asked like that, you¡¯d answer no, but... ¡°Yes, instructor.¡± That should¡¯ve beenmon sense, but my conversation opponent happened to be my former disciple. ¡°What a straightforward reply that is, Sir Hero.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to your teachings, instructor.¡± The sight of him calmly nodding away came across as rather confident and bold. ¡°You want to take such a frail child to a dangerous ce like that?!¡± ¡°Instructor, there¡¯s no ce in this world that¡¯s safer than by your side.¡± This kid... Just because he¡¯s gotten a bit older, he doesn¡¯t want to give an inch, huh? ¡°And the safest option for us is to have Alice and I remain in the vige.¡± ¡°Which also happens to be the easiest way for you to escape from us, too.¡± ¡°Hah-ah... Very well. If we apany you, everything will be sorted, yes? However, do you distrust me that badly?¡± ¡°Yessir.¡± That unhesitant answer made me crave for the metal bat¡¯s disciplinary mode, but beating the hero up in this ce would only make me the enemy of every viger. As such, I needed to hold it in. -As soon as we put some distance from this vige, beat his ass up. -Aaahaaang, master you the best~. The metal bat had been suffering from the...ck of fulfilment ever since we left Yugrasia. My daughter stayed vignt to protect the cat and Kkokko, so even if the metal bat wanted to beat those two up a bit, it didn¡¯t enjoy much freedom to do so. However...! My daughter was the typical cold-hearted rural girl who was warm and friendly towards her family but uncaring towards strangers! And that was why the hero was fated to be the metal bat¡¯s meal as soon as we put this vige behind us. Completely oblivious of the cruel fate waiting for him, the hero was putting in his best effort again. So much so that you could start ying BGM of [The Hero~ dun dun~ is doing~ dun dun dun~ his best today~!] and it wouldn¡¯t be out of ce at all! The first thing to happen in our amended itinerary was... Utilising the infiltration technique I taught him, the hero sneaked inside the lord¡¯s castle, exposed all the corruption and unsavoury things the feudal lord was engaged in, and then, arrested him and every single one of his close cohorts. After aplishing all that, he then wrote a letter addressed to the royal court of this kingdom as the Hero chosen by the Order of Light. The royal court promptly took possession of this territory and executed the corrupt feudal lord. All this took about five days total. However, the letter took three days to reach its destination so, in reality, it was basically one day for the hero to deal with the matter, and then the extra day was for the executions. The very next day he finished dealing with the evil feudal lord, the hero didn¡¯t even bother to take a break and dashed straight towards the mountains. And like earlier, he fully utilised the pursuit and tracking technique I taught him to discover the hideout of the bandits and the orc nest in the wild. Finding bandits and orcs who didn¡¯t know any pro techniques was like taking candy from a baby for our Sir Hero. I mean, he even managed to track me, after all! Sure, I was in a hurry and could only do a rushed job of erasing my tracks, but he still did it, didn¡¯t he? The hero infiltrated the orc nest in the mountainside and then, without anyone¡¯s help, he systematically ughtered the orcs and recovered all the stolen food. As for the bandits, he set fire to the bandit leader¡¯s hideout, and after confirming that the elf and the priest safely rescued the kidnapped vigers, he turned the entirety of the mountainside into a sea of mes. ¡°Sir Hero, this...¡± ¡°Hill, we can¡¯t save everyone. You know this.¡± What we were witnessing was a hellish spectacle where living people were being burned to death. Hill the priest watched this horrifying scene and called out to the hero inmentation, but thetter resolutely brushed aside hispanion¡¯s concern. As expected of my disciple, then. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to save everyone. Those people only know how to survive by hurting others. If we let them be, sooner orter they will try to sacrifice someone else to keep surviving.¡± ¡°Do you not regret your choices, Sir Hero? There are other possibilities, after all.¡± ¡°No, I do not regret anything. I¡¯ve experienced it far too many times by now to do that.¡± The hero¡¯s words reminded me of a certain dude who, despite iming to be a magus himself, used guns to kill other magi. But the smirk stered on his face was more like that gun-toting magus¡¯s son, the crimson-robed archer. Good thing I realised that quickly, though. If not, I might have ended up bing a ¡®spirit¡¯ to hunt down the past you. Or something. ¡°I don¡¯t care about anything else, but do ensure that the forest does not catch on fire, Sir Hero.¡± ¡°I know, Selena. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± In the midst of this horrible scene, I even got an opportunity to confirm the elf archer¡¯s nature when she expressed her worries about the forest catching fire, not about people going up in mes. -I dearly hope that my daughter won¡¯t learn such a rotten personality from that woman. -Toote, master. She¡¯s already been homeschooled by you. And you have easily one of the worst personalities in the entire continent, too... My poor little sis, there¡¯s no hope for her nao... -What are you trying to say about my teaching method?! I mean, I¡¯ve been teaching her the bestest, mostprehensive homeschooling curriculum that you can¡¯t find anywhere else, you know! -Suuuure thing. No one in this world will teach you how to beat up a prince or methods to distinguish scions of high-ranking nobles. That is sooo true. -But that is the best way to stop the most dangerous events from happening in the first ce. Let¡¯s be real here, you can¡¯t learn something like that from anywhere! -That¡¯s because there¡¯s no need, master! Events like that don¡¯t happen to regr people, you know?! All this is happening because it¡¯s you, master! You¡¯re the problem! -Keuk... I so badly wanted to deny it but couldn¡¯t. That¡¯s because I had already encountered every conceivable type of cmity imaginable. Those events might not have been on the level of Hero-ss, but still! -Nope, not true! Even the hero doesn¡¯t have it as insane as you, master! You¡¯re marked by that Imperial Princess sister, marked by the elves, and now, even the gods have marked you, too! Wait a minute, what the heck? I didn¡¯t even include your disciples in that list, but it¡¯s already this ridiculous?! -N-no, hang on a bloody second! My trials still aren¡¯t on the level of Hero-ss yet! I¡¯m telling you! My heart began burning down to cinders just like the corpses of the bandits burning vigorously away. ¡°Dad? Why are you covered in a cold sweat like that?¡± My daughter, with the metal bat behind her covering her ears, lightly tugged at my sleeve while tilting her head. Since I didn¡¯t want my girl to listen to the screams of burning people, I picked up a branch from nearby and scribbled some words on the dirt below. [Well, all this ying around with fire is making me want to pee, you see.] ¡°Eiiiit, dad! You¡¯re such an idiot!¡± My daughter scolded me for ying around with fire even though I was a grown-up and all. Even so, I couldn¡¯t tell her the truth when she had always been scared of arge-scale fire. Not to forget, she had to witness the scene of our farnds going up in mes only a few days ago, too. [My bad, my bad.] I quickly scribbled my apology on the dirt, then told the metal bat to get somewhere as far away from here as possible. About ten minutester... Never mind the bandits, even their hideout had turned to piles of ashes by then. The hero flicked his hand once, prompting all the mes to go out instantly. I made ament at that. ¡°You havepletely tamed the flow of magical energy as your own, Sir Hero.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to your teachings, instructor.¡± This punk, he¡¯s still saying that it¡¯s all my fault and stuff? -But master, the problem with that is... it¡¯s all true, isn¡¯t it? -Hah, this damn talent of mine. It really... -It¡¯s your disciples¡¯ talents, not yours! Hey, it¡¯s all thanks to me that their talents had a chance to bloom in the first ce. No, hang on. Before all that, though. I couldn¡¯t help but notice that every action this hero punk had made so far was based on all the things I taught him in the past. -Heh, to think that the evil organisation was the best ce to train the hero! What a shocker, master. -I knew it. Every knowledge learned is useful in its own way, huh. That¡¯s why I prayed that those ¡®sundry¡¯ subjects I had to learn back in my middle and high school days woulde in handy sooner rather thanter. I mean, seriously now. Some other people became archmages or some kinda cheat magicians through their maths skills, you know! -Master, you still haven¡¯t let go of that impossible dream of bing a magician until now...? -Well, bing a magician is a man¡¯s romance, after all. Someone once told me that a man could be an archmage when he turns thirty. But, uh, did it not apply to me because my previous life was also included in the equation or something? ¡°It¡¯s finished now, instructor.¡± While I stood there thinking about any potential link between my previous life and this one, Sir Hero walked up to me and said something. He had already finished putting out the congration and even checked to see any embers were still remaining. ¡°You don¡¯t seem all that conflicted, Sir Hero.¡± ¡°I only did what had to be done, after all.¡± The hero shook his head while maintaining his usual expression. It was as if nothing of importance had happened here. ¡°Now then. Shall we make our way back down the mountain?¡± ¡°Yes, let us.¡± The hero disyed a rather mature, dignified air just then. Of course, plenty of heroes ended up being broken after persisting in this path. However, he was one of my former disciples, so surely he¡¯d take better care of himself without me worrying about him. Besides, my daughter is far more important than him, anyway! I held my daughter¡¯s hand and followed the hero from a bit of a distance away to climb down the mountainside. With this, we probably were finished dealing with the matters guing that vige. Ah, wait. There were the goblins too, weren¡¯t there? A viger informed us. ¡°The knights dispatched by this kingdom have already dealt with the goblins, Sir Hero.¡± Oh, oooh! It seemed that things were finally turning in our favour. This was noticeably different from a certain other world where knights didn¡¯t want to deal with goblins since those monsters were seen as weak mobs. ¡°And also... some important people from the kingdom are here and they wish to speak to you, Sir Hero.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± This kind of thing seemed to be a regr urrence because the hero simply nodded and headed to the vige chief¡¯s house without much fuss. And in that house... ¡°Please, Sir Hero! We beg of you to hunt the dragon down!¡± ¡°Please, save this kingdom!¡± ...We somehow got saddled with a dragon raid quest. Chapter 157 What did I even do? (6) < Running Away from the Hero! 157 #18. What did I even do? (6)> The ¡®dragon¡¯. The strongest lifeform in the world that didn¡¯t require any further exnation. Humans who call themselves the rulers of the continent, and even the self-proimed strongest race, the demon race, would all mp their mouths shut and hurriedly run away when a dragon shows up. And here was a bunch of shameless bastards busy pleading with their fellow human being to hunt down a dragon. Even if that human was Sir Hero...! ¡°We beg of you!¡± The problem right now was that the shameless bastards were deeply bowing their heads. And the one leading them was the prince of this kingdom, the first in line to inherit the throne, no less. In other words, a prince scheduled to be the next ruler of this nation was busy lowering his head in full view of his future subjects! -But master, if we¡¯re talking about social pecking order, isn¡¯t your disciple ced higher than the prince? -Nope. That punk is still officially amoner. In a normal circumstance, the hero¡¯s social standing would be higher than a prince from some small backwater kingdom like this one. First of all, the ducal household of Raina that ruled a duchy in the Karuan Empire exercised an even greater influence than this kingdom did. This kingdom was so small and weak that it couldn¡¯t even dare to invade its direct neighbour, the weakest nation on the continent Belseruk Kingdom. The thing was, though, our Sir Hero strictly hid his background as a scion of House Raina. Even his family didn¡¯t seem all that keen to have him back now that he became a renowned hero. Understandable, when the session row between the brothers there had already been decided by now. Thanks to that development, even the ducal family chose to strictly hide the true identity of Sir Hero! Which meant that he was known as just anothermoner for the time being! Even then, the prince before our eyes was bowing his head. ¡°We beg of you, Sir Hero.¡± Yup, we got sucker-punched real good this time. The hero party probably figured that nobles residing nearby wanted to offer their greetings to the hero and came to the vige. But who in their right minds would¡¯ve guessed that it was a prince of all people and that he¡¯d start bowing his head! ¡°Your Highness, please raise your head.¡± ¡°We know that this is a shameless request, Sir Hero. However... For the sake of my younger sibling...!¡± The hero was doing his best not to disy his fluster while requesting the prince to raise his head. But thetter roundly ignored that request. Heck, the prince was getting even more ardent with his pleading, going so far as to get ready to kneel! ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re putting me in a difficult spot.¡± ¡°I apologise for my unseemly conduct, Sir Hero. However, for our kingdom and my younger sibling, I...!¡± The prince had been repeating that for some time now. If this had been any other times, the hero would¡¯ve pretended reluctance while humouring the request. But our potential opponent this time was a dragon! -But master, if it¡¯s a dragon, we have Kkokko right here! -What the? You actually trying topare a hatchling less than a year old to an elder dragon? -Elder dragon? How do you know that, master? -I told you before that an evil dragon lives nearby here, didn¡¯t I? -Aaaaah... Right, that insolent overgrown lizard who dares to use two sybles of this wonderful goddess¡¯s name! Dragons usually never told others where they lived. But other races did their utmost best to figure out where dragons lived. Weeeell, mistakenly provoking a dragon could result in a small kingdom getting erased off the map, after all. And if the neighbouring nations raised a fuss about it, saying that you made the dragon angry for no reason, then they would definitely not ept your asylum applicationster. When all those things happened, you¡¯d have no choice but to let the dragon rob you of everything you have until other dragons showed up to calm their iratepatriot down. But that¡¯s not all! Those other dragons then would demandpensation for intervening, robbing you of even more of your hard-earned wealth. Even so, it was still better to get robbed of your wealth. That¡¯s because it would be other dragons showing up to mediate for you, even if the process itself might take a bit longer than you¡¯d like. But our problem was with the identity of the dragon living nearby. The evil dragon that even other dragons were reluctant to get involved with, Arcadia... N-no, wait. I meant Arketai! -...Master, why does it feel like something that will make me unhappy happened just now? -It¡¯s just that, your feeling. Nothing more. I got names mixed up and thought up of the wrong one this time. But the metal bat sniffed that out like a damn hound or something. ¡°Your Highness. Please raise your head for the time being and tell us the full story.¡± ¡°Ah, aaah... Thank you, Sir Hero.¡± What the heck. The hero simply asked about the backstory here, so why did the prince sound like we have already epted the dragon raid quest? This... isn¡¯t this almost on the level of that scummy insurance salesman phoning me that one time? I definitely rejected him in... a ¡¯roundabout¡¯ way, but he kept pestering me to take a quick gander at the contract first. And when I did, he suddenly said I consented to join the insurance scheme! How bbergasted I was back then... What was that? You also want to teach that insurance salesman what the old idiom of missing millstone handle means? [1] ¡°Allow me to be brief, Sir Hero.¡± What the heck? Even the prince¡¯s follow up is exactly the same as the insurance salesman! That man called me on the phone out of the blue, didn¡¯t even say what he wanted, then proceeded to ask me if we could speak since it wouldn¡¯t take long! But then, when I checked the time, thirty minutes flew by without me realising it! ¡°It happened about half a year ago, Sir Hero.¡± And as expected, the prince¡¯s story was not brief at all. No, hang on a sec. My painful memory from that day... That thirty-minute-long phone call with the salesman... And the prince¡¯s storytelling took twice longer than that! ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me rifying the events that happened so far, Your Highness... The Evil Dragon, Arketai, has heard about the world-renowned beauty of your princess and invaded your kingdom, demanding her to be handed over. Is that the gist of it, sir?¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Hero.¡± And our kind hero, hoping to help out other listeners, greatly simplified the prince¡¯s hour-long heartfelt tale. ¡°The Evil Dragon, Arketai...¡± As I have suspected, the dragon they wanted us to hunt down was one of the elder-est of elder dragons, the twenty thousand-year-old Arketai! -We better give up, then. No one in their right mind would want to challenge an elder dragon, after all. -You¡¯re right, master. No one in their right mind... But, uh, master? -What now? -He¡¯s your disciple, so is he really right of mind, I wonder? Right there and then, this deathly-cold chill overtook my senses. The moment I heard the metal bat¡¯s question, the faces of around ten people suddenly popped up in my head. It¡¯s like those faces were grinning brightly while waving their hands in my direction. ¡°We¡¯d like to tell you the details back in the royal castle, Sir Hero. My sincerest apologies, but would you mind apanying us back to the castle, sir?¡± ¡°Understood, Your Highness.¡± H-hey, dear Sir Hero? What horsesh*t did you just say?! Doesn¡¯t that sound like you are saying yes?! It was right at that moment that the smiling faces of my disciples inside my head all spoke up at the same time. -Have a good journey, instructor... Yes, I will. I will enjoy my journey... to freedom! ¡°Oh, and Your Highness? This gentleman is my dear instructor, my mentor. He is an important person and as such, I¡¯d like you to pay closer attention to his needs, please.¡± Why did the hero¡¯s request for more attention sound like they need to closely monitor me? Could it be because of my current mood? It has to be, right? Right? -Nope, master. I think he¡¯s been angling for this all along? -You think so, too? The hero was smiling away, but his eyes were definitely asking for ¡®assistance¡¯ right now. Dammit, you dumb kingdom! You should¡¯ve dealt with the problem before you could request the hero for help. Why did you have to cause a scene and drag me into it, too?! ¡°Oh, oooh! I see, so this gentleman is Sir Hero¡¯s teacher!¡± Blooming hell, the prince shifted his target from the hero over to me now! ¡°This one is called Naruan, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Sir, you¡¯re the teacher of the Hero of Light, Swinn! The sole hope of our kingdom who will save us from our darkest hour! As such, there is no need to be so formal with me, good sir.¡± The prince was talking as if we¡¯d save his kingdom for sure now. ¡°That¡¯s not true, Your Highness. I¡¯m simply apanying the hero for the time being as we¡¯re old acquaintances, that¡¯s all.¡± And let me tell you, I¡¯d love to put some distance between me and the hero right now. I wanted so badly to get away from the hero, and that desire had gotten intensified even further with the introduction of a dragon into the mix. -Master~? Even though there¡¯s a dragon here calling you its grandpa? -It¡¯s fine up until they are ten years old! I believe that a hero could definitely go against a dragon hatchling. If the threat was only that much, I wouldn¡¯t have minded quietly waiting back in the kingdom¡¯s capital. -Aha, so you never nned to go with the hero, master? -Well, fighting a dragon is insane no matter how you cut it, after all. Sure, winning against a dragon hatchling was amply doable so I could¡¯ve waited back in the kingdom, no problem. But that was now an impossible dream since we were dealing with a twenty-thousand-year-old elder dragon. If such a creature got pissed off, it¡¯d definitely invade the kingdom, that¡¯s for sure! And that¡¯s why I was nning to flee when the time was right, but then... ¡°Y-Your Highness! The Evil Dragon has invaded the kingdom!¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± ...The dang dragon seized the initiative first. #3 Their circumstances: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance While sitting inside the horse carriage making the rhythmic clunking noise, I... dazedly wondered to myself. Why am I sitting here? What is the purpose of my current actions?! It¡¯s to fight a dragon, that¡¯s what! ¡°Sir Hero. Do you think we can do it?¡± Hill sitting next to me worriedly looked at my face. Are you asking me if we can do it? ¡°We don¡¯t know yet, Hill.¡± Of course, it¡¯s utterly impossible. But I couldn¡¯t readily say that out aloud. That¡¯s because the prince was also riding in the same carriage with us! ¡°As expected of Sir Hero¡¯s teacher... What stunning coachmanship this is. Even though we¡¯re moving so fast, to think that the carriage remains so stable...¡± Maybe the prince wanted to lighten the dreary, stuffed atmosphere in the carriage because he began praising the instructor out of nowhere. Sure, that was indeed a stunning riding technique. The instructor learned the horse riding techniques from both the strongest nation on the continent, the Karuan Empire and the (former) top evil organisation, Howling, after all! ¡°Yes, Your Highness. He is an amazing person.¡± Right. Veeery amazing, indeed. So amazing that if I take him back to the empire, surely they would reward me with a very handsomepensation. Hang on, maybe it¡¯d exceed the level of ¡®handsome¡¯? Why am I getting the feeling that it could even rival the amount reserved for hunting a dragon down? ¡°...As such, my instructor will no doubt y a crucial role in this subjugation effort, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Is that so, Sir Hero?¡± This person who introduced himself as the prince sure has some colourful expressions, doesn¡¯t he? Which was one of the special traits of a scammer, ording to my instructor! Scammers that pretended to sympathise with your story all the while sneakily redirecting the conversation towards the destination they desired! The instructor taught me that such people were the most dangerous ones to look out for. That¡¯s why I better shift the attention over to my instructor, pronto. ¡°Yes, he is indeed an amazing person. He was my teacher before I became the hero, but even so, his teachings have saved my life over and over again no matter what the situation was.¡± I wasn¡¯t exaggerating at all here. Rather surprisingly, things I learned from the evil organisation helped me out a lot during my time as the hero, especially when it concerned infiltration and pursuit of targets. You could say those two techniques were an absolute must for any hero out there. Most folks requesting heroes for help weremoners while most of the time, their enemies would be the members of the nobility. Heroes acknowledged by the religious orders were also acknowledged as high-ranking aristocrats at the very least, regardless of which kingdom they went to. But it was just that, an acknowledgement and nothing more. The acknowledgement didn¡¯te with any perks. This meant that if you didn¡¯t have the evidence to back you up and the noble in question denied everything, you couldn¡¯t hold that noble responsible. The techniques I learned back in the viinous organisation came in handy in these kinds of situations! By infiltrating, acquiring all the evidence, and then using the nobles afterwards, the matter could be resolved as painless as possible. See? How wonderfully useful are those techniques, then? Thanks to that, it became possible for me to handle my quests far quicker than most other heroes. Sure, Hill would often nag me about how illegal my actions were, but whenever that happened, I¡¯d say this to him. How could some measlyws cooked up by humans be more important than the Great Cause of the hero chosen to carry out the goddess¡¯s will! It¡¯s all good, anyway. We still hadn¡¯t gotten any oracles telling me to stop. On top of that... I was about to have a showdown with a damn dragon, all thanks to my job as the ¡®hero¡¯! ¡°The strongest hero, and the strongest instructor who has trained the hero! With this, our Neidon Kingdom can breathe easy now.¡± No, wait! Don¡¯t start breathing easy already, damn it! Even if we bring together every hero in the continent, we still don¡¯t have any guarantees of defeating the elder dragon, you know! I was betting my everything on one thing right now. And that was the instructor¡¯s metal bat. If it¡¯s that thing, it might really be able to bring down a dragon! Even something as scary as a dragon was still a living creature, so it should howl in pain just like everyone else. So, once the metal bat manages tond a strike, the dragon should copse to the ground in pain, I¡¯m sure of it! That¡¯s why this fight was doable as long as I could borrow the powers of that metal bat for just one minute! ...That was what I had been thinking once upon a time, everyone. ¡°...How many days has it been since the dragon invaded, you say?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been ten minutes, Sir Hero.¡± ¡°Not ten days, but ten minutes?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I stared at the royal castle, my face filled with a hollow expression. That¡¯s because the castle had been wrecked. Even if the scale wasn¡¯tparable to that of the empire, these castle walls were still supposed to protect the royal family of this kingdom. Yet they had been half obliterated. ¡°Not broken down, but... it seems that the walls have been melted down.¡± I spent few minutes dazedly staring at the castle walls melted down by the ck dragon¡¯s venom. And then, I shifted my gaze over to the exterior of the castle itself that looked as if someone, or something, had ever so slightly gouged out one of its walls. ¡°Sir Hero, the report says that the dragon invaded the princess¡¯s quarters and snatched her away.¡± Huh, huhuh. Even if the dragon¡¯s size wasn¡¯t as big, to think that we now had to fight a princess-kidnapping dragon that could wreck a castle in less than ten minutes! Could we really win even if I managed to borrow the metal bat¡¯s powers? ¡°...Eh?¡± Just as my dazed eyes shifted away from the melted castle walls towards the metal bat... I looked to my right, left, front and even behind, but... no matter where I looked, the metal bat wasn¡¯t there. ¡°Hill, where is my instructor?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry? Sir Naruan... is not here?¡± Hill quickly looked in the direction of where the carriage should¡¯ve been, then began looking around in a fluster, too. ¡°It can¡¯t be...?¡± ¡°Again?!¡± Just as we began staring dazedly at the royal castle royally wrecked by the dragon, it seemed that my dear instructor hade to a swift decision. The decision to escape...! [1]: It¡¯s an old Korean saying. Imagine a scene where you¡¯re about to mill some grain using millstone but then, the handle is nowhere to be found. You feel bbergasted/stupefied. Hence the saying. Chapter 158 < Running Away from the Hero! 158 #18. What did I even do? (7)> Neiiigh-! ¡°Keep running, horsie!¡± My powerful whipping caused the horses to scream loudly. ¡°Dad, it¡¯s too fast!¡± My daughter¡¯s yell-like voice resounded out, but it couldn¡¯t be helped at the moment. A horse-drawn carriage was slow. Yes, it was quicker than a person, but that ce was the royal castle of a kingdom. My pursuers could easily procure an excellent breed of horses to catch up to us in no time at all. My opponent this time was the Order of Nature. No one knew when they would figure out I was gone, but, as sure as the rising sun, those driven bastards would definitelye after me. ¡°With this, other religious orders will alsoe after you now, master. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± The metal bat giggled in delight next to me. I nodded back at her. ¡°Probably. However, I¡¯m far more scared of an elder dragon.¡± Honestly speaking, I¡¯ve only heard about dragons in stories... Ahem, well, I have seen a live one after paying seven silvers, but in any case! This was my first time checking out the remnants of an elder dragon¡¯s battle. No, hang on a second. Did that even qualify as a battle? Judging from the extensive damage, it seemed more like a one-sided beatdown, didn¡¯t it? In times like this, fleeing is the best way. No, scratch that, fleeing without looking back is the only way! ¡°Master? There¡¯s something ahead of us?¡± ¡°On a mountainside like this?¡± I had utilised all sorts of shy skills to make our carriage travel through the mountain roads normally inessible to carriages. Here I was, taking on the risk of the carriage wheels breaking down to brave these roads, yet there was a person in the middle of nowhere like this? ¡°Hmm... Am I seeing it wrong... Looks like she¡¯s wearing some disgustingly expensive clothes...?¡± ¡°Nope, master isn¡¯t wrong~! And that¡¯s a really cool maid uniform, too!¡± Not even the maids of the Imperial Court wore clothing like that. The maids, charged with taking care of simpler chores, were allmoners, unlike thedies-in-waiting who mostly came from aristocratic backgrounds. No matter how much education the maids received, they would fundamentally find it hard to get used to working in such shy clothing. ¡°It¡¯ll be wiser to ignore that, right?¡± ¡°Well, if it¡¯s you, master... There¡¯s a gooood chance of you getting tangled up in some weird incident in situations like this, so yeah.¡± How unfortunate, but the metal bat¡¯s words were rather on-point. That was why we should ignore that maid and be on our way, but then... ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t that... magic...?¡± Blue lights suddenly shed, and then... a wall of ice was generated before us. ¡°Give me a break...¡± Surely there couldn¡¯t have been all that many people wearing shy maid uniforms capable of shooting magic like this. ¡°Please help us, sir. My name is Serel di Keinel, the exclusivedy-in-waiting serving Princess Vera.¡± Seeing how she greeted us while maintaining decorum in this kind of situation, she definitely was an aristocrat, alright. Well, she did say she was ady-in-waiting. Not just any, but the exclusivedy-in-waiting serving the princess, no less. Meaning, it¡¯d not be a shocker if she turns out to be a high-ranking noble, too! ¡°Her Highness Princess Vera has been kidnapped by the evil dragon, Aruketai, sir.¡± Ng, I know already. I was apanying the princess¡¯s older brother not too long ago, after all. ¡°Princess Vera was...¡± Even though I clearly was uninterested, Serel di Keinel was trying to tell me all the ups and downs of the situation. Hey, miss? The only ¡®Vera¡¯ I know is an ice creampany. And that¡¯s enough for me, thanks. [1] That¡¯s why I better make her get rid of that wall of ice, then knock her out with the metal bat to the back of her head... ¡°There they are!¡± ¡°The carriage is over there!¡± -We got discovered~? -Bloody hell! The maid reacted immediately at the voicesing from afar! ¡°Over here!¡± ¡°Lady Serel!¡± ¡°As expected of Sir Hero¡¯s teacher!¡± ¡°Indeed. Sir Hero told us that his instructor would already be on his way to chase down the dragon, and he was right!¡± What kind of a series of puppy barkings is this sh*t?! Me, chasing down a dragon? Me?! -Sounds like the hero got clever there, master? I mean, he kept raising your stock as his dear instructor, so to confess that you fled would be a bit, you know. -To think that that idiot has gotten this crafty! If the hero truthfully told everyone that I had run away, we might not have any pursuersing after us. Well, they would¡¯ve had to focus all their attention on the uing battle against the dragon, after all! But what if he said that I was chasing after the dragon, and that¡¯s why they must hurriedly follow after me? Surely the kingdom¡¯s whole dang army would be chasing me down with everything they¡¯ve got! ¡°Instructooor!¡± Just as I began to seriously contemte beating up everyone present and flee with my daughter in tow, the damn hero bastard rushed towards me while waving his hand. -Okay, master. It¡¯s time to choose! A kingdom¡¯s army and the hero party versus a twenty-thousand-year-old dragon! Aaand your answer is~? -How about neither, and I just flee to the other side of the continent with my little girl, instead? Over a hundredbatants were visible behind the hero. Judging from the state of their current equipment, they all seemed to be elite fighters. Hang on. Considering the ss of this kingdom, they must¡¯ve been the strongestbat force this nation had! ¡°Did you say they are the Hero Party?¡± ¡°Yes, Lady Serel. This gentleman here is the Hero of Light, Sir Swinn who will rescue Princess Vera!¡± The maid uniform-wearing woman began shedding thick drops of tears and began thanking us out of the blue. ¡°Thank you... Thank you so much, Sir Hero... And also Sir Hero¡¯s teacher, I¡¯m truly grateful, sir!¡± No, you don¡¯t have to thank me. Because I have no desire whatsoever to rescue your ice cream princess! That¡¯s why you should just let me go! ¡°Well now, instructor. We have plenty of eyewitnesses here today, so... I think it¡¯ll be better for you to also participate in the meeting that will take ce in the royal castle, in-s-truc-tor.¡± Mister Hero chewed out those words in a voice filled with seething emotion. -Master, he¡¯s pissed! The Hero is pissed because master ran! -What the hell, he¡¯s the hero, and that¡¯s why he got saddled with a dragon raid, so why take it out on me?! -Just venting, I guess? Hey, I should be the one venting in this situation! How dare he even think about taking his noble and lofty teacher to a dragon raid featuring a 100% mortality rate?! -Heh, master. Because you¡¯ve been such a lofty teacher, maybe the hero can¡¯t tell the difference? Like, since you¡¯re so lofty, he just wants to send you to somewhere lofty, too? Like heaven? Kyah... You know what, I didn¡¯t think of that. A teacher so noble and lofty that his disciple wishes to send him to somewhere noble and lofty, too! Like afterlife! ¡°Alice has agreed to go with us, so please, let¡¯s be on our way, instructor.¡± This son of a gun, did he just dare to use my daughter¡¯s name? -Threatening us with my little sister?! Master, let¡¯s just beat his sorry ass up here and run! Even the metal bat who fondly called my daughter her little sister seemed to have gotten angry at the hero¡¯s deration. Since all these idiots were destined to be KIA during the dragon raid, I might as well let the metal bat handle them now and then... ¡°...Very well. Let us head back to the royal court.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± The hero became much flustered at my quick reply. ¡°What are you all doing! The ice crea... no, I meant Princess Vera has been kidnapped by the despicable evil dragon, and we cannot afford to waste time like this!¡± ¡°Y-yes, of course...?¡± My rather forthright yelling seemed to have plunged the hero into an even deeper fluster. -You¡¯ve finally gone insane, master! To think that you¡¯d willingly go along with a dragon raid, of all things! -No, this is actually an opportunity, instead! I may get to bury that damn hero once and for all in this ce! -I-it can¡¯t be? -That¡¯s right... It¡¯s the ¡®Kill with a borrowed knife¡¯ strategy! I shall do my best to assist the hero so that he... can have a one-on-one showdown with the dragon! -A human fighting a dragon one on one? Is it even possible to survive that? -It¡¯s impossible, and that¡¯s why I¡¯m making him do it. Still, he¡¯s the hero of the Order of Nature, which is optimised towards ensuring one¡¯s survival. As long as things turn out in his favour, he might get to keep his life in the end. -Yeah, when it¡¯s in his favour. Like, reaaaally in his favour, master! The only oue waiting for him is to die, you know! Master, you¡¯re so despicable! You viin! -Nope, I¡¯m a former viin! At the very least, the battle against the dragon should buy me enough time to flee. If the hero dies, then oh well, that¡¯s not my responsibility at all. Wouldn¡¯t you agree, oh dear Goddess of Nature? ¡°We don¡¯t have much time! Our opponent is an evil dragon! You must think about Her Highness Princess Vera who must be shivering away in fear even as we speak!¡± ¡°Even though our enemy is a dragon, to think that he would prioritise her highness...!¡± ¡°As expected, now that¡¯s the kind of mindset befitting Sir Hero¡¯s teacher!¡± ¡°Sir Hero of Light must¡¯ve been able to achieve so much all because of such a great man¡¯s teachings!¡± -Uwaaaahk?! What are they even talking about! That¡¯s all dog poop nonsense that doesn¡¯t even suit you, master! H-hey, everyone? You¡¯re being fooled! I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯re all being scammed right now! The metal bat began screaming inwardly after listening to the derations of the nearby knights and soldiers. Around the same time, the hero punk was staring at me with an expression of a man who also wanted to scream. But he couldn¡¯t scream at all because of all the eyes watching him right now. Seeing how his lips were bobbing up and down like a goldfish, it seemed like he wanted to say, [Just what have you done, instructor?!] to me. Kid, you brought this upon yourself. That¡¯s why you should¡¯ve just let me go, nice and easy. ¡°Everyone, my disciple is saying that we need to hurry up with reorganising the personnel and return to the castle! As such, please hurry!¡± ¡°Sir Hero hasmanded us! You heard him, hurry up!¡± The princess¡¯sdy-in-waiting kitted out in the shy maid uniform would ride in our carriage. Meanwhile, the others began climbing up on their own horses. ¡°What are you doing, dear disciple? Didn¡¯t you say it earlier yourself? That we need to quickly return to the royal castle?¡± Before climbing back on the carriage, I sent a mocking grin in Sir Hero¡¯s way. He was still staring at me in a pure daze. ¡°Well, now. All these people are waiting for you and you alone, Sir Hero. Let us depart, then.¡± And the fate waiting for you is... A one-man dragon raid that would go down in history as a legend, regardless of how it turns out! #4 Their circumstances: a certain daughter¡¯s circumstance. The clunking carriage eventually stopped its advance. ¡°Euh-wuuph...¡± I quickly climbed out of the carriage and tried my best to calm my tumbling insides. ¡°Is it travel sickness? Should this big sis pat you on the back?¡± ¡°N-no thanks!¡± The big sis saw me and walked up to me while smiling radiantly. But her mouth was saying something very scary. ¡°Tsk.¡± ¡°What are you getting disappointed for, though?!¡± Even though the big sis tutted unhappily and backed off, I still vigntly kept my eyes on her while patting my chest down. It felt like we¡¯ve been constantly riding on the carriage recently. Sleeping inside the carriage, waking up in the carriage, climbing off only to get back in the carriage... After our home got burned down, it¡¯s like the carriage has be our new home. ¡°T-this is why dad said procuring a house for me is so important...¡± Honestly, I was so disappointed back when dad took away a portion of my pocket money. He said that he¡¯s depositing it for the sake of buying my own hometer on. But I didn¡¯t know that having a home was this important! Dad kept saying that only hardships waited when leaving one¡¯s home, and he was right all along! ¡°I need to listen to dad more.¡± Once my insides had calmed down a little, I tightly held Misha and Kkokko and ran up to my dad. ¡°Dad!¡± ¡°Alice!¡± Since I was holding Misha and Kkokko, I had to be extra careful when entering my dad¡¯s wide-open arms. It felt like I hadn¡¯t hugged my dad in such a long time, too. Even though I could hug him whenever I want until recently, like in the mornings, afternoons and in the evenings, you know! ¡°Dad, it¡¯s like you haven¡¯t been paying attention to metely.¡± I tried to whine a little while in my dad¡¯s arms. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my child. Unfortunately, an annoying hero hastched onto us, you see.¡± ¡°That hero is so despicable!¡± I thought that heroes were all cool and kind people, but to think that this hero was a bad guy who wrecked families! ¡°Dad, how long are we going to apany the hero?¡± After Sir Hero showed up, we¡¯ve been practically living out of the carriage, travelling everywhere. I know that he¡¯s my dad¡¯s former disciple and that he¡¯s doing his best for this world. But dad told me this before. Amoner should live like amoner! And my family was as normal (?) as you could get, a typical family ofmoners. That¡¯s why it¡¯s no good for us to hang around such an ignorant and uncouth hero! Dad said that, since ancient times... You should never, ever get close to the likes of imperial families or royal families, high-ranking nobles and their scions, plus... People who seem to have shady pasts and finally, even the heroes! But now, my dad who taught me that has to travel here and there with a hero in tow? And from what I could hear, it was all to fight a dragon, too. But don¡¯t they know how cute a dragon can be? Just looking at our adorable Kkokko should tell you how cute they are! Even if there was a bad dragon with a simr name to the big sis, Mister Dragon should understand where we¡¯reing from if we scold him harshly enough. But if that doesn¡¯t do the trick, we could always have the big sis discipline the dragon a little bit (?), and everything should work out fine. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my child. But soon enough, we should get to grow crops again, like how we used to.¡± ¡°Really, dad?¡± I looked up at my dad with sparkling eyes. Farming is so enjoyable, you see. Yes, it¡¯s really hard and so tiring, but farming with dad is still so much fun! And it feels great when the little guys we worked so hard to raise grow up so big and strong and eventually be our tasty food! That great feeling was something only the farmers who have cultivated thend would know. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s why, can you be a little more patient until then, my daughter?¡± ¡°Ng!¡± ¡°Thank you. You¡¯re such a good girl. Good girl.¡± I waited for my dad while eating delicious food in the royal castle. I even used my fingers to count each passing day, too. And around the time my ten fingers were about to run out, a rumour began spreading in the castle. That our brave hero was about to embark on a journey to hunt down the dragon! #5 Their circumstances: a certain hero¡¯s circumstance Where did it go wrong? ¡°Sir Hero, hooray!¡± ¡°Let the blessings of the gods be granted on the Hero of Light, Sir Swinn!¡± I was stepping forward under the shower of encouragementing from the cheering crowd. ¡°To think he¡¯d announce that he will deal with the evil dragon Aruketai all alone!¡± ¡°You will never find anyone more courageous than Sir Hero in this continent, no, in our recorded history!¡± ¡°Indeed, he¡¯s the role model for every hero out there!¡± After returning to the royal castle, I got swept up in one thing after another. And by the time I regained my wits, the rumour about me going solo to hunt the dragon down had already begun spreading throughout this kingdom. ¡°The great and noble hero, the Hero of Light Sir Swinn is bravely stepping forward!¡± ¡°His Majesty Our King, hooray! The Hero of Light, Sir Swinn! Hooray!¡± This kingdom¡¯s king dered loudly while politely bowing his head to me. And with that, I found myself travelling to the temporaryir of the evil dragon, Aruketai, for a one-on-one showdown. My party was apanying me. ...How the heck did the things end up like this?! [1]: The ¡®Vera¡¯ ice creampany MC mentions is actually Baskin Robbins, an American ice creampany that¡¯s rather popr in Korea. In Korean, it¡¯s ¡°??? ???¡±, and the Koreansbine the first two letters ¨C ? and ? ¨C to refer to it as ¡®??¡¯. However, our MC is mixing up ?? with ?? (Vera). Chapter 159 < Running Away from the Hero! 159 #18. What did I even do? (8)> ¡°Uwaaaaah!¡± ¡°Sir Hero, hooray!¡± ¡°Please defeat the evil dragon!¡± Every citizen living in the capital was cheering on our dear hero. Yes, spending all that money and diligently spreading the rumour was finally paying off. What I did after returning to the capital was simple enough ¨C creating a scenario of our dear hero going mano-a-mano with the dragon! Having too manybatants joining the expedition would only create too many witnesses. That¡¯s why I needed to make sure that only a small team of elites... no, scratch that, I needed to ensure that the hero would have no choice but to fight the dragon one on one. I worked my butt off to manufacture the public sentiment along that line of thinking. And my rumour had enhanced the hero¡¯s abilities to such a stratospheric level that... You¡¯d almost think he was the greatest hero in the history of mankind just from hearing the rumours now. Yes, that¡¯s how over the top the rumour had gotten. Oh, and I also ¡®invested¡¯ funds in various strategic points to ensure that my rumour would spread beyond the castle walls and to the rest of this kingdom. Thanks to my hard work, every citizen of this nation, including not just the royal family but even the nobles, no longer questioned the hero¡¯s abilities! Of course, there would always be those who dare to harbour suspicions but the thing was, this kingdom didn¡¯t have a single swordmaster and only one archmage. Which meant no one would dare to raise their voices of doubt regarding the hero. Through intense prep work and utilising just a tiny bit of political connections, I made sure no one would raise rational-sounding objections. And the end result of all my hard work was...! The dragon raid party was formed in less than ten days. ¡°Will this really be alright...?¡± A middle-aged man sitting next to me asked that. This kingdom¡¯s strongestbatant, Yulkelis the Archmage, was sighing softly in anxiety. I replied. ¡°Even if we bring a lot of people with us, one breath attack from the dragon would all melt them down, sir.¡± ¡°That is true...¡± Not only was he the archmage, but citizens also widely acknowledged him as the strongest in the kingdom. As someone charged with guarding the Neidon royal family, he probably witnessed the truth from the closest vantage point. ...The truth about the majestic power of Aruketai the Evil Dragon as it freely flew around the capital and toyed around the Neidon Kingdom¡¯s popce. ...The wretched sight of the castle walls that stood tall to protect the royal family for hundreds of years melting down from the dragon¡¯s single breath attack! That¡¯s why he must¡¯ve felt scared. Of course, getting scared would be the normal reaction. That¡¯s why I said this to him. ¡°Goddess of Nature has sent Sir Hero to save this kingdom, sir. Please believe in him.¡± ¡°It seems that I¡¯ve said something unnecessary. My apologies.¡± The archmage bowed his head slightly as a sign of reflecting on his actions. The enemy we were about to fight was difficult to kill even when our morale was at its peak. As such, it was totally uneptable to say something that could negatively affect the fighting spirit of his allies. Yulkelis could be considered amander of this expedition, yet he ended up doing that uneptable thing. Somewhat surprisingly for a noble, he didn¡¯t try to hide how remorseful he was. ¡°Over there. That¡¯s their of the evil dragon, Aruketai!¡± To discover its location, we got the kingdom¡¯s financial support to hire various people. Anyone could tell that the cavern ahead of us was artificially created. That... was the evil dragon, Aruketai¡¯sir! ¡°The dragon¡¯sir...¡± ¡°Gulp.¡± The one hundred or so members of the expedition began swallowing their saliva in nervousness. The dragon. The strongest lifeform in existence. So strong that they didn¡¯t require the assistance of the gods. The only race in this world that didn¡¯t believe in any gods other than the Creator! Although, dragons did acknowledge the Goddess of Benevolence and Devotion, who sacrificed herself to save the world from the evil god. A battle against one such dragon was just around the corner from them. Post-Great Continent War, most of the northern region was broken up by various minor kingdoms. Neidon was one such minor kingdom. The majority of our expeditioncked real-worldbat experience, so how much pressure would they be under from the prospect of fighting a dragon? ¡°Everyone, remember. All you have to do is follow the n. We should do our best to support and assist Sir Hero from the rear.¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± ¡°Understood, Sir Sage!¡± ¡°Keuh-hmmm!¡± The hero punk loudly cleared his throat, but let¡¯s just ignore him, shall we? The crucial thing right now was the morale of these soldiers who would work as the cogwheels of my n. To lighten the pressure on them, I shall freely sell the hero down the river! Besides, none of you would probably get to fight for real, anyway. Yes, the hero will take care of the fighting bit! -Even though they would probably need to fight tooth and nail when the hero gets crushed, master? -That¡¯s why I brought them here, after all. Sure, this was a trap where the odds of just dying instead of struggling tooth and nail were much higher. Regardless of what, though, they were still fated to fight one way or the other. The king did have the option of giving up on rescuing the princess for the sake of the greater good. But here¡¯s the thing ¨C the dragon might have kidnapped the princess who was rumoured to be very beautiful, but how long would thatst? The dragon would probably get tired of her looks soon enough and decide it wants something else. And naturally, it would demand that something else from the kingdom. That¡¯s why, instead of letting the dragon take away this and that until the kingdom was sucked dry, the king was betting on the lone thread of hope called Sir Hero! ¡°Well, then! Let us start our n, everyone!¡± ¡°We leave it in your hands, Sir Hero!¡± ¡°We believe in you!¡± ¡°U-understood.¡± ¡°Sir Hero...¡± Under the deluge of cheering from the gathered knights and soldiers, the hero could only nod while making a stiff expression. Only the saint dispatched by the same religious order, Hill Shuttle the King of Heal, was looking at the hero with eyes of pity. It¡¯s your fault for choosing a profession as annoying as the hero, you know! The hero professiones with a risk like this, you say? What a stupidest profession this was, one where you couldn¡¯t refuse a single thing as long as someone made a damn request! All the while thepensation you got in return was close to zero! Let¡¯s say the hero managed to defeat this evil dragon. In that case, the kingdom would no doubt swallow up the dragon carcass for itself. Not a single bit would end up in the hero¡¯s pockets, so to speak. At most, it¡¯d end up as a sizeable donation made to the Order of Nature, or somewhere thereabout. Sure, the hero could ask the Order for financial support. However, that money would being from the Order¡¯s branch offices and not the headquarters, so the amount would be pitiful at most. It¡¯d barely cover the meal and the inn rent fees for the hero party and preciously little else. So, let me ask you, where would you find an even stupider ve profession than this? When taking all these into ount, it sounded like the gods were far more viinous than the boss of the viinous organisation, Howling. -Master, I get the feeling that gods are feeling very aggrieved right about now. -But, they can¡¯t even tell what I¡¯m thinking about, right? So, who cares? There was a time in my life that I was too afraid to insult the gods. But things were different now. Now, I believe in neither the gods nor devils! More correctly, I¡¯vee to realise that none of those idiots could be of use to the current me! That¡¯s why, as long as I send that dang hero and his stupid gang somewhere far, far away from me, I should get to enjoy spending a peaceful life with my daughter again! ¡°We¡¯re ready!¡± ¡°Good! In that case...!¡± The moment I finished resolving myself, I heard the yells of thebatants, saying they were also ready to go. Well, then! It¡¯s time to announce the start of the dragon raid! ¡°I choose you, Metal Bat-a-mon!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Aru! Aru!¡± This was the moment of the metal bat entering their to beat up an elder dragon. The lethal bat that even enjoyed beating up gods and demons, and even a hatchling, too! #6 Their circumstances: a certain evil dragon¡¯s circumstance Day after day... Meaningless days passed by. These meaningless days continued to pass by nonstop until eventually turning us the dragons into a bunch of sloths. Of course, not all dragons becamezy bums. Some became obsessed with wealth. Some with gaining knowledge, while some others became lost in the idle pursuits. But all of those were nothing more than a temporary distraction. Even if a dragon didn¡¯t have any talent in making a sword, consider this. A year. A decade. A century, or even a millennium! By melting iron and pounding on metal for that long, you¡¯d eventually surpass the level of mastery achieved by the dwarves, who were acknowledged as the greatest cksmiths alive. And once you reach the peak of the craft that you¡¯ve been devoting your entire being into...? Even the dragons that managed to avoid beingzy would end up bing a sloth. I¡¯m an elder dragon, a veteran among the dragon kind. As a matter of fact, I¡¯m a creature that has lived for twenty thousand years. However, death did not want toe anywhere near me. When I close my eyes, I could easily recall the events that took ce in what humans called ancient history spanning a millennium. Yet, howe I was still alive and kicking? Do you have any idea how maddeningly boring this is? That¡¯s why I wished to die. So, I went against my race¡¯s rule to be an evil dragon, then began doing whatever I wanted. The thing was, the only race capable of ending my immortal-like existence was my fellow dragons! Honestly? I was looking forward to that day. I believed that my fellow dragons, also suffering from an extreme bout ofziness, would risk their lives toe together and stop my evil actions. Yes, I was looking forward to the grand battle against my own kin, a battle of life and death! But... my own kind left me alone. They chose to slumber away without a care. They chose to carry on with the meaningless existence of a dragon! Wasn¡¯t the dragon¡¯s life truly pointless? We were the strongest race that didn¡¯t even fear the gods, so what did we choose to do with such power? We chose to spend the majority of our lives sleeping away! As such, I decided to bet on humans toe and end my life. Humans were at the bottom-most rung in thedder of lifespan and the overall level of strength. But curiously enough, this race could also asionally give birth to the so-called heroes capable of ying dragons. Humans could be found in practically every corner of the world, bar the demon continent. A race of people possessing the most tenacious will to live that allowed them to survive in any environment! I thought that only they could deal with the extreme boredom guing me. However, humans were among the weakest of all races. More often than not, they would choose to submit in front of the gigantic power called dragons rather than fighting head-on. So, what could possibly make such humans choose to challenge me? I racked my brain over and over. Then I morphed into a human and began gathering information, eventually stumbling onto a certain rumour. A rumour regarding the beauty of Princess Vera rick Neidon hailing from the Neidon Kingdom! A stunning beauty with unblemished, pale-smooth skin as befitting a denizen of a kingdom located in the north! She was a bit frail of the constitution, but her forthright naturebined with her looks meant that it was not an exaggeration to call her the most beautiful woman in the north! The moment I heard that, several long-forgotten stories began rearing their heads inside my memories. Stories of humans choosing to fight dragons instead of submitting, that was. ¡®A kid from the Red Dragon Tribe was apparently killed by humans recently.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s surely a disgrace from their tribe¡¯s point of view.¡¯ ¡®A youngling only around 1,700 years old lost its life after colliding against fifty thousand humans, at least from what I hear.¡¯ ¡®What? Only 1,700 years old? Wait, did its tribe really abandon such a young kid to die?¡¯ ¡®It seems that that idiot kidnapped a human princess first. And they couldn¡¯t do anything as a result.¡¯ ¡®Hmm... So, he was the instigator, then... There¡¯s the pact among the tribes to consider, after all.¡¯ ¡®Right. If gods get involved, things will get mighty annoying for us, too.¡¯ ¡®Besides all that, though. Fifty thousand, you say? That¡¯s a fairly sizeable army, isn¡¯t it? I thought all the human nations possessed armies of simr scales to each other? Was there a kingdom capable of mobilising such a force?¡¯ ¡®Ah, no, it wasn¡¯t an army per se, but a temporary gathering of hiredbatants.¡¯ ¡®But, is such a thing even possible?¡¯ ¡®Apparently, the princess in question is very pretty. And her father, the king, put her up as the prize. The one to rescue her from the clutches of the evil dragon would get to earn her hand in marriage! That¡¯s what he said.¡¯ ¡®Kyah~, just her looks alone was enough to raise an army strong enough to hunt down a dragon? Now that¡¯s amazing.¡¯ That¡¯s right... the princess! Not just any, but a beautiful princess, too! The moment I kidnap such a princess, crazed humans woulde running at me like a swarm of bees! On one side, an evil dragon that kidnapped a beautiful princess, and on the other, brave warriors risking their lives to rescue her! Through countless life-or-death battles, these warriors would aplish great feats and be recognised as heroes! How many would jump at the chance to cut off my head? Just how many would taste defeat by my hands and die? And after going through so much death and destruction, which great hero would stand tall atop my corpse? Just imagining it kept me entertained. This could very well be the single greatest entertainment in this pointless existence as a dragon! I already had so much time on my hands, to begin with. My life wouldn¡¯t end just because time had passed me by, after all. Decades. Centuries. Millenniums! A span of a time long enough for humans to call it eternity, but they were not even remotely lengthy from my perspective. In any case... I informed the Neidon Kingdom ahead of time that I¡¯d being to kidnap their princess. I told them to seek out strong humans capable of even defeating me! But when I got there, the Neidon Kingdom proved to be far too powerless. Maybe they didn¡¯t take my warning seriously enough? In that case... To show that I was dead serious about this whole thing, I really went ahead and kidnapped the princess. Then, I left behind the princess¡¯sdy-in-waiting on a deserted mountain road. I took her along for the express purpose of delivering my intention to humans, after all. And so, if I wait for a little while, the desired rumour should spread all over the kingdom. The rumour that said, [Our beautiful princess has been kidnapped by the evil dragon!] And soon, the real heroes, and even the self-proimed heroes, should charge straight at me in order to save the beautiful princess. Until that dayes, I should wait while sleeping away. Oh, and I cast sleeping magic on the princess, too. I cast several magic spells in various spots of myir, so I should be instantly alerted to the presence of humans when theye inside the cavern. And so, I closed my eyes and began snoring away in my temporarily constructedir, but then... ¡°Kuwaaaaaaaaaaahng?!¡± An unbelievable pain suddenly shot through my whole body, one severe enough to wake me up from my hazy sleepiness. ¡°Kkuwaaaaahk!¡± A loud scream exploded out of my mouth. I was born as the strongest race in existence, a dragon, and had never screamed once in my life, yet this?! ¡°Kuwaaaaaahng!!!¡± Even a single drop of tear trickled out of the corner of my eyes. That flustered me so much. Me, crying? A tear that usuallyes out when I¡¯m yawning? Humans supposedly shed tears in pain, and that seemed to be true all alo... ¡°Kkuwaaaaaaahk!¡± It hurts. It hurts! It hurts, hurts, it hurts so much! I screamed and howled at the continuous explosion of pain. I, I must somehow end this damn pain! Just who?! Just who dares to inflict so much pain on me! ¡°...Over there?!¡± I sensed the ripples of magical energy for a moment there. Currently, the only other lifeform in this space was the princess. It seemed that the culprit who hurt me so much used a teleport spell to flee from here. ¡°I shall rip you to tiny pieces!¡± I¡¯d rather have chosen to die instead of this! To think that the bastard inflicted pain of such brutality on me! I shall personally rip the evil human into bloody pieces, find the kingdom that sent him, then burn that ce down until not even a rat can survive! ¡°Was it you?!¡± I chased after the teleport spell¡¯s trace and discovered a lone human standing at the arrival coordinates. I red at this small human with blonde hair and roared in pure rage. ¡°DIE!¡± The vile human listening to my roar made a face of a wrongly-used man and muttered this. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, though...¡± His expression really looked tearful at that moment. Chapter 160 < Running Away from the Hero! 160 #19. Life is a continuous escape (1)> -Master, the dragon smackdown mission, start! -Good work! ¡°And now, it¡¯s time.¡± I turned around after receiving the metal bat¡¯s report and loudly proimed to everyone. ¡°We leave it in your capable hands, Sir Hero!¡± ¡°Do your best!¡± ¡°S-sure thing...¡± The magicians participating in the expedition began injecting magical energy into the prepared magic circle. As for the otherbatants, they observed from the sidelines while raucously cheering for the hero. Of course, said hero making a very stiff face was an open secret, but anyways... ¡°No need to be so tense, Sir Hero.¡± ¡°Yes, you can do it if it¡¯s you!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t your teacher say it, Sir Hero? That dragon has a fatal weakness, doesn¡¯t it!¡± Yep, I did say something like that. Every dragon had a reverse scale on its body somewhere, so if the hero manages to hit that, he could achieve victory today. That¡¯s what I said. Too bad, talking was cheap in this case. We were talking about a dragon¡¯s reverse scale here, after all. Just one single scale among many scales of a dragon. A scale that has supposedly grown in the reverse direction to all the other scales! A spot that acts as both a weakness and a trigger that¡¯d set off even the most cid dragon in pure rage when touched! Yes, talking was very cheap in this case. Just how many scales did a dragon possess? It¡¯d be near impossible to find that one reverse scale in the dragon¡¯srge body, even if the dragon in question was kind enough to sit still. But here¡¯s the thing, which dragon would remain perfectly still when a human had shown up to kill it? Obviously, not a single one. And our current opponent was an evil dragon that totally disregarded themandments set by its fellow dragons! There¡¯s no freaking way it¡¯d graciously wait for a human to freely attack it! And that¡¯s why our dear hero must¡¯ve been feeling like a farm animal getting dragged into an abattoir right now. ¡°Sir Hero!¡± ¡°We pray that you best the insidious evil dragon!¡± ¡°The Order of Nature, hooray!¡± ¡°Sir Hero of Light, Sir Swinn, hooray!¡± Unfortunately for him, though, the atmosphere was such that he couldn¡¯t back out anymore. If he dared to chicken out now, not just him but even the Order of Nature would be subjected to a torrent of criticism. And if it¡¯s that Goddess of Nature, there¡¯s no way she¡¯d take that lying down! She¡¯d probably send down an oracle or something to prevent the hero from fleeing the scene. Well, if he still tries to flee, then I could also just flee from here while everyone¡¯s attention was razor-focused on him. -Master, I¡¯m almost done now~? -Very good. ¡°It¡¯s now, everyone!¡± ¡°N-no, hang on a sec...¡± The bright light shed briefly and the hero punk disappeared from our view. What happened was that he had been teleported to an open field not too far from this location. ¡°Is the preparationplete?¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Sage! No one is permitted to approach the battle location so that Sir Hero wouldn¡¯t have to worry about coteral damage!¡± ¡°Even the traps we prepared are not magic-based, but physical! We heeded your advice that even a dragon would find it hard to detect traps without magical power.¡± ¡°In that case, I shall go ahead and rescue the princess.¡± ¡°Will it be fine by yourself, sir?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I nodded bravely and got ready to rescue the princess. Thanks to the insidious hero¡¯s nefarious scheme, my daughter had to stay in the royal castle as a hostage, meaning I couldn¡¯t make a careless move here. But things should get simpler for me with the excuse of rescuing the princess and returning to the castle. Sure, invading a dragon¡¯sir for this purpose was an act of sheer insanity, but... ¡°It doesn¡¯t apply to me.¡± ¡°You here, master?¡± Dragons were creatures of magic. Fitting for a lifeform at the peak of all things magic, a dragon could do pretty much anything they wanted using magic! But just who am I? I was the pinnacle of anti-magic, with my whole body akin to something like the famous Imagine Breaker! I might not ¡®erase¡¯ magic like a certain fictional character, but it also doesn¡¯t work on me, either. That¡¯s just who I am! ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s see...¡± Long blue hair... Fairplexion and smooth skin even for a northerner... Seeing her breathe so shallowly and weakly, I couldn¡¯t help but think that this beautiful woman embodied the frailty itself. ¡°Well, she¡¯s the princess, alright.¡± ¡°The evil dragon didn¡¯t kidnap anyone else, so who else could it be, master~?¡± The princess was lying on a rather shy bed that didn¡¯t suit the ambience of this dark cave. After taking a look at her state, I got down to work. ¡°Now let¡¯s see, over here and over here...¡± ¡°Ah! Shouldn¡¯t that be a bit more to the side, master?¡± ¡°No, this is fine since the floor¡¯s a bit tilted to the side.¡± What I was installing at the moment was a one-time use teleportation gate. Although it was a bit of a waste of resources to build a single-use item like this, this gate was an absolute necessity if I wanted to rescue the princess safely. I could waltz right in without activating any of the dragon¡¯s magic traps but our princess would surely end up triggering them all without fail. If she got caught in one of those traps and died, then it¡¯d be game over for everyone involved. And that¡¯s why the sorcerers and magicians of the royal court had to manufacture a tool like this... After I hounded them like crazy, of course! Although, it kinda felt like they took a bit too long on a task that the imperial court magicians would¡¯ve finished in a jiffy! ¡°Instation,plete!¡± ¡°In that case, dear older sis? I¡¯ll see you a bitter, okie~?¡± After the metal bat finished waving her hand at the princess, I led her outside their. ¡°Sir Sage!¡± ¡°Did you seed, sir?¡± When I emerged from theirpletely unscathed, the Neidon Kingdom¡¯s archmage, Yulkelis gawked at me with eyes full of respect. -Master, your cheating ways are affecting even this innocent uncle now... -This is purely my ability, so I¡¯m not cheating! I acquired this... uh, ability, despite not being able to use any magic or the sword aura. It is an ability, am I right? Right? ¡°Yes, it¡¯s done.¡± This renewed surge of unfairness welled up inside me, but I wasn¡¯t some rookie who¡¯d show that on my face. ¡°Thank you so much, Sir Sage.¡± ¡°Ah, aaah... Her Highness...¡± While Yulkelis bowed slightly in my direction, Serel thedy-in-waiting was softly wiping away her tears of relief. Judging from how other soldiers were also looking greatly relieved, it seemed that the princess¡¯s daily conduct had been pretty exemry. -Master, what do you think would¡¯ve happened if it was that Imperial Princess sister who keeps chasing you around? -I guess everyone in the imperial court would start praying for the dragon¡¯s happiness in the next life? In all honesty, if it¡¯s that imperial princess... She would have soloed the dragon raid, returned home, and ordered her underlings to go and procure the dragon carcass. Then, she¡¯d order the dragon¡¯s meat and bones to be split up before selling them to the imperial court. -But master, does that mean her daily conduct was... pretty good? Is that it? -In a certain sense, sure... Only a precious few sovereigns were trusted so deeply by their retainers. A bond so profound that your underlings would willingly stay by your side even after all your wealth and power were gone? How many could im to have formed such a bond? Even among the many imperial princes and princesses, those able to im such a bond could be counted in one hand. -But master, didn¡¯t you flee from the imperial princess sister~? -I was working back then, that¡¯s why. I mean, don¡¯t you know how scared I was of the imperial court? It used to be great fun bullying Dame Reia but after my slip of the tongue regarding herst boyfriend, I couldn¡¯t even get to enjoy that pastime anymore. And the Imperial Princess would start harassing me over the most trivial things if something ticked her off. That¡¯s not all ¨C her harassment would go on to start a chain of events that culminated in me getting summoned before the imperial court to receive a peerage. I obviously tried to prevent my peerage from getting upgraded by sharing my achievements with my underlings, which in turn made them even more loyal to me... And when those uselessly capable underlings of mine ended up sweeping up all the achievements and caused my peerage to get upgraded, I... I had to ept the title of Count while shedding tears ofment, didn¡¯t I? All thanks to that, just how much envy and jealousy of the others did I have to suffer through? ¡°Your Highness!¡± While swimming in the reminiscence of the terrifying days I¡¯ve spent in the imperial court, the princess¡¯sdy-in-waiting, Serel¡¯s urgent cry exploded out from a spot not too far from me. It seemed that they had sessfully rescued the princess through the temporary teleportation gate. ¡°Is she unharmed?¡± ¡°Yes. Other than the sleep magic cast on her, it seems that she¡¯s not been harmed in any way.¡± Several magicians rushed in and began cancelling the dragon¡¯s magic. It seemed that the dragon wasn¡¯t serious about casting the sleep magic on the princess because she rtively quickly regained her consciousness after five magicians copsed out of exhaustion. ¡°Where... am I...¡± ¡°Your Highness!¡± ¡°Is it... you, Serel?¡± The princess¡¯s soft, frail-sounding voice caused Serel, ever her loyal servant, to break down in a flood of tears. The princess seemed a bit overwhelmed by her surroundings but still gently patted Serel on her back to calm her down. After thedy-in-waiting had calmed down, Yulkelis stepped up as the leader of the expedition and exined what happened so far, eventually rmending that the princess should evacuate back to the royal castle for her safety. But then... ¡°No, I must not. Our brave Sir Hero is battling against the evil dragon to save my life even as we speak. I simply cannot forsake such courage just to ensure my safety!¡± ...She bloody announced in a forthright attitude that she must spectate on the dragon versus hero death match! -You kidding me?! What about my perfect n?! -But master, I thought most of your so-called perfect ns end in abject failure...? -N-no way that¡¯s true! Hell no! Thanks to the princess¡¯s insistence, my perfect n of taking her back to the castle, then fleeing the capital along with my daughter, was in danger of going down the drain. ¡°No, Your Highness! It¡¯s too dangerous!¡± ¡°Your Highness, Sir Hero will definitely emerge victorious. That is why we rmend that...¡± ¡°Since his victory is already assured, I shall not back down from my position!¡± What the hell is up with this forthright attitude?! If you¡¯re really a royalty, shouldn¡¯t you be saying things like, ¡°Leave the lowly job of fighting to amoner hero and let us evacuate to the castle!¡± and then, order your unwilling retainers to retreat from here? Isn¡¯t that the usual course of action?! ¡°Your Highness, may I be permitted to speak?¡± ¡°Who are you, sir?¡± That¡¯s why she needed to be talked out of this. An average royalty would¡¯ve thrown a fit while saying, ¡°How dare a lowlymoner speak to me!¡± but she didn¡¯t seem like your average royalty at all. That¡¯s why I chose to address her without holding back. ¡°Your Highness, this gentleman is Sir Naruan, a Grand Sage and the teacher of the Hero of Light, Sir Swinn.¡± ¡°Everything that has happened so far has unfolded ording to Sir Grand Sage¡¯s meticulous nning, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Yes. And it was Sir Grand Sage who bravely ventured into the dragon¡¯sir to ensure your safe escape, Your Highness!¡± When the princess locked her gaze on me, her close aides began pouring out all sorts of praises reserved for me, starting from Yulkelis himself. -M-master, you just evolved from a sage to a grand sage... -Huh. To think that I¡¯d be a Grand Sage overnight just because I rescued a princess. Was it because I was referred to as the hero¡¯s teacher, or because others called me the Grand Sage? If not, then maybe, it might have something to do with the revtion that I had saved her. ¡°This one is Vera rick Neidon, hailing from the kingdom of Neidon, sir.¡± ¡°Please call me Naruan, Your Highness.¡± Judging from how courteously she bowed her head, yep, she was definitely an irregr, alright. ¡°The battle between my disciple, the Hero of the Light, and the evil dragon has been meticulously nned out, Your Highness. Introducing a variable at this stage could potentially endanger his life.¡± My conscience was pricked by the idea of simply throwing that idiot in front of the dragon, so I begrudgingly had some traps installed for him. As such... he should be able to look after himself, at the very least! ¡°That¡¯s why I strongly rmend that you patiently wait for my disciple¡¯s return back in the royal castle, Your Highness.¡± Yes, and with me, too! ¡°No, Sir Grand Sage. I believe it¡¯ll be fine. I cannot, in my good conscience, forsake the one who is risking his life for my sake.¡± ¡°Ah, aaaah... Your Highness, our princess...¡± ¡°As I thought, Her Highness is...¡± Hey, listen here, you dolts. It¡¯s all good and nice for you to be moved to tears by the princess. It¡¯s also eptable to sing praises of her, too. But there¡¯s no way our hero can win against a dragon, you know? Let¡¯s be realistic here! ¡°Your Highness, even if Sir Grand Sage hase up with a perfect n, a dragon is the strongest lifeform in existence. A creature that a lone person cannot hope to best.¡± As expected of a magician. As expected of the top dog of a profession filled with geniuses, the archmage! Sir Yulkelis, I knew you¡¯d see the reality as it is! ¡°That¡¯s why, I, Yulkelis, will... sacrifice my life if Sir Hero finds himself in danger and protect him!¡± That¡¯s not iiiiit! ¡°Sir Yulkelis!¡± ¡°I am of the same opinion! I cannot abandon the brave hero who is fighting the evil dragon for the sake of our sovereign, Her Highness!¡± ¡°Yes, me too!¡± That damn Yulkelis became the spark lighting up the fuse, prompting the number of suicidal idiots wanting to risk their lives to protect the hero to swell up in no time at all. ¡°Everyone...¡± And to make matters worse, the princess began tearing up emotionally at this scene, too! N-no! This can¡¯t be! I know that it¡¯s super fun to watch things burning down and people fighting each other, but this is different. You¡¯ll only be signing your death warrant by trying to spectate on the mortalbat between a hero and a dragon! ¡°The dragon is bound to notice arge gathering of people showing up, Your Highness. Which could negatively interfere with my disciple¡¯s fight as well. I understand all of your noble sentiments, but...¡± I must stop this. I must stop this madness at all cost! With how things are going, I¡¯ll definitely get dragged into the ranks of these suicidal idiots, too! ¡°That¡¯s why all of you must...¡± ¡°Yes, all of you must do as rmended and stay here. The Grand Sage, Sir Naruan will surely protect me while we are there.¡± What on earth is this dumb little girl even spewing here?! ¡°Yes, if it is Sir Naruan apanying you, we can rest easy!¡± ¡°Indeed, if it¡¯s the Grand Sage who broke through the dragon¡¯sir without any injuries!¡± ¡°We shall leave it in your capable hands, Sir Naruan!¡± I hadn¡¯t said a single thing yet, but these damn idiots went ahead and decided it all by themselves. ¡°Of course. You can leave it to me.¡± However, some said that with great riskse great rewards. Showing her the scene of our hero being wrecked by the dragon should make it easier for me to convince her to safely evacuate back to the royal castle. As for where we should stay and witness the fight, I figured that some distant hilly location with a full view of the hero¡¯s epic struggle against the dragon should suffice. ¡°Allow me to apany you!¡± ¡°Well, if it¡¯s one more person...¡± It¡¯d not be such a bad idea to have another person when convincing the princess. Especially more so if that another person happens to be the princess¡¯s closest confidante, herdy-in-waiting! And so, we arrived in a location with a good view of the hero versus dragon fight. But when we got there, I was struck by a certain realisation. ¡°...Ah.¡± That realisation was about the fatal w in my so-called perfect n. ¡°Ah, ah...!¡± ¡°Oh, Sir Hero...!¡± I nced at the princess and herdy-in-waiting as the duo¡¯s eyes sparkled so brightly, then turned my head to take in the spectacle of the hero¡¯s battle against the almighty dragon. -Diiiie, you evil dragon! -Kuwaaaaahk! ...Which happened to be the spectacle of the evil dragon screaming and falling down at the hero¡¯s sword strike! Yes, that¡¯s right! If the hero manages to defeat the dragon, then... Then my entire n would go down the drain, just like that! Chapter 161 < Running Away from the Hero! 161 #19. Life is a continuous escape (2)> #1 Their circumstances: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance. I felt my body float up just as my vision was dyed in pure whiteness. And what greeted me afterwards was... ¡°Was it you?!¡± ...A voice so enraged that even a deaf could tell how angry it was. ...And then, arge body covered in ck scales that even a blind could tell what kind of a monster this was! ¡°Die!¡± A dragon,monly referred to as the strongest in thend, was directing its anger in my way. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, though...¡± This was so unfair. No one knew what pissed the dragon off to this degree, but even then, I could hazard a guess that it must¡¯ve something to do with the instructor. I mean, really! Just how many people in this world would be capable of angering a dragon so badly in such a short time? Right, it had to be him, since he could even make that benevolent and kind Goddess of Nature to start swearing like a sailor. ¡°To think you¡¯d dare to hurt me so much!¡± Aha. So I was correct. Pain severe enough to even piss off a dragon? That¡¯s the handiwork of the metal bat, for sure. It wouldn¡¯t be strange for you to get angry after that ursed bat thing smacked you around for a bit smacked you. ¡°My problem right now is that the dragon¡¯s rage is targetting me...¡± Magic circles began engraving themselves in the empty air, then all sorts of magic spells began pouring out from them. None of them was impossible to dodge, though. Probably because the dragon¡¯s uracy got affected by its rage. Even so, it¡¯d be hard to deal with their aftermaths. What should I do now? The instructor said that I had a chance of defeating this dragon, but was he right? Even though the enemy was a dragon? That thing was strong enough to melt the terrain with just a single breath attack, so... ¡°...Eh?¡± Right at that moment, I realised that something was weird about this situation. My enemy was a dragon. The strongest lifeform in thend. A monster that I shouldn¡¯t be able to defeat even if I gave it my all! But... here I was, thinking about some random stuff like this? ¡°Let¡¯s see, then...¡± I yanked out the holy sword of the Order of Nature, Exerayon, and drove in my magical energy into it. The pure-white de was soon permeating with the golden hue of the powerful aura. This sword was personally blessed by the Goddess of Nature to protect its wielder, the hero. Of course, it came equipped with amazing attack power, too. In terms of its defensive capability alone, Hill once told me that this de should rank among the top five in the entire continent. Since Hill saw ¡®being humble¡¯ as a virtue, it should be safe to assume that this sword ranked in the top three, not five. No, hang on. Maybe it boasted the highest defensive capability in the world, instead. That¡¯s why I should believe in the sword¡¯s powers, and...! ¡°The de of Thorny Vines.¡± ...Activate the swordsmanship technique I learned in the Order of Nature. ¡°Kuwaaaaahk!¡± As its name implied, the powerful aura started pounding on the dragon¡¯s body like thorny vines! Rather than calling it a sword technique, it¡¯d be more correct to call this attack a whip technique using the materialised aura. An attack unique to the Order of Nature, modelled after mother nature at work! The attack optimised for the holy sword Exerayon proved to be super effective! ¡°Kuwaaaahang-aaark!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Actually, it was too effective...? ¡°...What¡¯s this?¡± p! ¡°Kkuwaaaahk!¡± ¡°Mmm?¡± p! ¡°Kuwaaaaaaaaaaahk!¡± What is going on here? Isn¡¯t this creature an elder among all elder dragons that has supposedly lived for twenty thousand years? Wait, could it be that its body had gotten frailer after living for so long? If not, was it because I had gotten way too strong? ¡°That can¡¯t be it, though?¡± Sure, I might be a swordmaster and a hero chosen by a goddess, but I was still a weakling who couldn¡¯t even win against a simple metal stick, you know? ¡°Oraa!¡± p! ¡°Kkuwuuuuuhak!¡± But I was definitely seeing a ck dragon¡¯s figure screaming and falling down every time Inded an attack on it. ¡°What is going on here?¡± ¡°You abominable human bastard!¡± ¡°Oopsie!¡± The dragon roared out in pure rage, then opened its maw super-wide! ¡°Die... Kuweeck?!¡± ¡°Who said I¡¯ll wait for you to finish?¡± Even a dummy could see that the dragon was about to unleash the symbol of all dragons, its mighty breath attack. Obviously, I had no reason to wait for it. ¡°How dare you, you insidious human!¡± ¡°Only a moron would wait until you¡¯re finished!¡± Just who was the dude that taught me all these things? My genuinely evil instructor used to keep the ¡®sses¡¯ going even during toilet breaks. That¡¯s the kind of a man who taught me. Seriously though, I wouldn¡¯t be grumbling here if the breaks had been simply dyed a bit back then. But noooo, that damn bastard sneak-attacked us even during the toilet breaks, telling us that this was also training for our own good. Since, you know, our enemies supposedly wouldn¡¯t wait until we took care of nature¡¯s calls. Such a man taught me, so even I¡¯m surprised by the level of humanity I managed to hold on to! My original personality must¡¯ve been so kind that it wouldn¡¯t have been strange to call me a saint. ¡°Die, die, die! Human!¡± Countless magic circles appeared to seemingly nket the heavens above, but for some reason, I wasn¡¯t scared at all. ¡°Why do I get the feeling that...¡± It felt like my confidence was growing more and more when staring at the holy sword glowing in the brilliant golden hue. ¡°...I can win this thing?¡± Just a single sword swing of mine split apart dozens of magic circles. The second swing split open the dragon¡¯s scales, and my third swing caused the dragon to vomit blood and wail in despair. ¡°How, how can this be! How can a measly human...!¡± Watching the dragon furiously roar automatically awakened all those things my instructor had instilled in me from their slumber inside my head. ¡°Ng? What did you say? It¡¯s kinda hard to hear a loser dragon when it¡¯s getting its arse kicked by a measly human, you see?¡± ¡°Kuwaaaahk!¡± As I thought, the instructor¡¯s provocation technique was top-notch. If there was a problem, then... maybe it was too good? The dragon, its entire figure now trembling from pure rage, gritted its teeth and roared out loudly. -Die, human! I didn¡¯t hear that voice with my ears, but my soul reverberated from it nheless. The nguage¡¯ referred to as the core of ancient magic or sorcery! The unique power only the one called the masters of magic, the dragons, could use! An attack of ¡®Draconic Word¡¯ rammed straight into me. ¡°...Eh?¡± ¡°What is the meaning of this?!¡± Although, it didn¡¯t even work on me! ¡°I don¡¯t get it, but anyway, let¡¯s continue, shall we!¡± ¡°T-this is impossi... Kkuwaaaak!¡± Just as the dragon fell into a bout of fluster, I began smacking it all over its body, causing the poor creature to scream tragically. ...Right until its dying moment, that was! #2 Their circumstances: Gods¡¯ circumstances. Two creator gods created this world. Then, to maintain the bnce of the world after they left, they also gave birth to other gods. These gods observed the world of the mortals from their own independent world called the ¡®Divine Realm¡¯. And when the bnce of the world was threatened, they would lend their powers to their apostles. And right now... It had been a while, but a situation where these gods had to lend their powers to a human hero had finallye. ¡°Hey, grant him more of your blessings, will ya?!¡± ¡°Hey, my own hero is doing a lot of worktely, so I gotta save up on my blessings, you know...¡± ¡°Nothing¡¯s more important than what¡¯s happening right now, though?!¡± ¡°Even so...¡± ¡°Shut your piehole, and just dump all of your usable blessings on that guy! Hurry!¡± When the Goddess of Nature, usually a calm and gentle figure, began yelling at the top of her voice, other gods mped their mouths shut and began pouring out all their blessings onto a single human hero. ¡°Still, aren¡¯t we going overboard with this?¡± ¡°Right. A lone human defeating a dragon is a bit too much, don¡¯t you think...?¡± ¡°And not just any dragon, but an elder dragon that lived for twenty thousand years, too...¡± Other gods grumbled softly, but the Goddess of Nature remained adamant. ¡°Listen here, it¡¯s because his opponent is an elder dragon that all of your blessings are needed to win today!¡± She began raising the decibel of her voice even higher while saying that her chosen hero needed to get as many blessings as possible. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to just dispatch other heroes to keep an eye on that man?¡± ¡°Well, there are a few heroes currently plying their trade in the north, so...¡± ¡°No, I think the Goddess of Nature is on the money this time. Think about it for a second. It¡¯s only because they are acquainted as an instructor and a disciple, the insanity has been kept down to a manageable degree. If that hadn¡¯t been it, that man would¡¯ve beaten up the hero and fled by now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. And the Hero of Nature is not too shabby himself, too. Since he¡¯s so knowledgable about his target, he always considers the threat of that man fleeing before making his moves.¡± ¡°Well, yeah... If it was my hero, he might have gotten scammed and get stabbed in the back, allowing that man to escape.¡± ¡°If you get it now, squeeze out more of your blessings and grant them to my hero already!¡± ¡°Dang it, I guess I won¡¯t have enough blessings to grant my own hero for a while.¡± ¡°Yeah, me too...¡± One by one, the grumbling gods activated their divine authority and began granting their blessings to the Hero of Nature. At the same time, they proceeded to steal away the dragon¡¯s strength bit by tiny bit so that Aruketai wouldn¡¯t notice. -Ng? What did you say? It¡¯s kinda hard to hear a loser dragon when it¡¯s getting its arse kicked by a measly human, you see? ¡°H-hey, Goddess of Nature! Regardless of what, isn¡¯t that provocation a bit too uncouth for a hero?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Look, the dragon¡¯s so pissed now that it¡¯s about to use the Draconic Word!¡± ¡°It¡¯s an insta-kill attack! Block it!¡± ¡°Bloomin¡¯ hell, isn¡¯t this like, cheating?¡± ¡°You think there are other ways to keep an eye out on those punks if my hero ends up dying?!¡± The gods suddenly went deathly quiet when the words ¡®those punks¡¯ entered their hearing. And then... they unleashed all the powers stored up inside them. ¡°Dang it, since the dragons don¡¯t believe in us... I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll work out somehow.¡± ¡°R-right. They are a disrespectful race who don¡¯t believe in any gods, so... Yes, this is a divine punishment!¡± ¡°Right, divine punishment... Let¡¯s call this that.¡± All thanks to the gods unleashing their powers, the Draconic Word was cancelled out. ¡°Very good. With this much, that dumb hero punk should figure out what is... Why the heck is he rushing up to the dragon?!¡± ¡°Dammit! Next time when you¡¯re selecting heroes, make sure to look at their personality, too!¡± ¡°Bloomin¡¯ hell. I also couldn¡¯t be bothered, so I sent an oracle saying that they should just pick anyone as a hero as long as the candidate has the aptitude and talent...¡± ¡°You better change that quickly, then. What will you do if your hero also turns out like that guy?¡± Gods continued to grumble away,ining about how annoying this was. But even they had to mp their mouths shut in shock when the hero asked the twenty-thousand-year-old dragon this: ¡°Are your parents still alive, punk?¡± ¡°Hey, Miss Goddess of Nature...?¡± ¡°Shut up... To defeat evil, you need people like that, too. Probably...¡± Yes, he¡¯s a necessary evil. A bloody necessary evil! While ncing at the Goddess of Nature yelling that out, other gods maintained their silence and continued to flood one human hero with their blessings. ...Until the elder dragon that had lived for twenty thousand years, Aruketai, was about to kick the bucket in the most hollow manner imaginable. *** ¡°Oii...¡± ¡°Sniffle... Dear Sir Hero...¡± The princess broke down in tears next to me. Seeing her sobbing away also made me want to cry, though. -Master, was your disciple always that strong? -No, of course not... Sure, I could ept that that idiot did possess a talent that transcended the level of an average human being. He looked a bit slow-wittedpared to his peers back in the days of being the evil organisation trainee. However, when considering the overall bnce, he was definitely the most excellent seed among them all. Even so, wasn¡¯t this way too over the top for him to raid a dragon solo? That¡¯s no longer on the level of transcending regr humans but straight into transcending a dragon among dragons, you know?! Um, excuse me, dear gods managing this world? There¡¯s a cheat yer here, you know? Even if his talents were too good, and that caused some issues with the character bncing, isn¡¯t this a bit too much?! ¡°Sir Hero... He¡¯s so wonderful...¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Your Highness.¡± From where I was, all I could see was a criminal destroying nature¡¯s food chain. No, a character out to wreck the bnce of this world, more like. But, it seemed that our hero came across as ¡®dashing and magnificent¡¯ to the eyes of the princess and her faithful servant. ¡°He¡¯s fighting an evil dragon all by himself just for my sake...¡± No, little miss. The hero had no choice but to fight after your older brother the prince made some behind-the-scenes political manoeuvring, which happened to align pretty nicely with my own schemes. I mean, the hero punk looked like he¡¯d be the first one to flee if given half a chance right up until the fight began, you know? ¡°Ah, aaaah... My dear hero...¡± Completely oblivious to any of these facts, the princess could only see the hero as a dashing prince riding on a white horse. Hell, I¡¯d have believed you if you told me that her irises were now in the shapes of a pink heart. Meanwhile, her mouth couldn¡¯t utter any proper words or sentences other than, ¡®Oh, my dear hero...¡¯ ...Hang on, isn¡¯t this a bit, you know, ¡®that¡¯? -Ng? What do you mean by ¡®that¡¯, master? -Her face right now... It¡¯s like I¡¯ve seen that expression quite a lot in the past, you see? -The princess¡¯s expression? Isn¡¯t that an expression of a maiden falling madly in love? -Well, it¡¯s kind of simr, but it¡¯s also heading in a bit of a concerning direction. -What do you mean? -Should I say that expression reminds me of how a few of my disciples used to look at me? -...! Hero, you gotta run! You created a creature far more dangerous than a dragon just now! The metal bat instantly understood what I was saying and hurriedly called out to the hero. But too bad, her voice couldn¡¯t reach the idiot in the distance who was getting carried away in the task of beating up a dragon. In the meantime, the princess¡¯s continuous muttering of ¡®My hero...¡¯ was now interspersed with ¡®Haaa-ah...¡¯ and ¡®So cool....¡¯ In fact, her worsening symptoms even prompted her loyaldy-in-waiting to gradually create some distance away from her! Around the time I could no longer tell whether the princess was muttering or moaning... -Kuwaaaahk! ¡°T-the evil dragon, it...!¡± My final hope, Aruketai the evil dragon, screamed desperately and began rampaging around. ¡°N-no, it can¡¯t be!¡± Anyone could tell that the boss mob, its health bar now in red, was throwing its final desperate struggle! The evil dragon, screaming tragically every time the golden sword light pped it around, looked so pitiful that I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if that was really a dragon. -Die, die, die!!! Why aren¡¯t you dying! -Just because you said I must die, you think I¡¯d roll over and die for real? Thedy-in-waiting next to me must¡¯ve been using magic because the hero¡¯s conversation with the dragon could be heard oh-so clearly. -Is that what your parents taught you?! -Kuwaaaaahk! Was it because of all the pain from getting hit by the sword light? Or was it rage directed at the hero who suddenly called upon the spirits of the dragon¡¯s parents, dead since at least thousands of years ago? A thunderous roar that could¡¯ve been either one of those exploded out to rock the surroundings. -How dare a little human...! -And how dare a measly dragon getting a one-sided smackdown from that little human! ¡°As expected of my hero... His words are so mesmerising...¡± Hi, little miss? Can I ask, what¡¯s so mesmerising about the hero¡¯s utterances full of one-sided insults about the dragon¡¯s deceased parents? I¡¯m actually starting to pity the dragon here, you know? -Master, this princess is far too gone now... -Right. It seems that our idiot hero has woken up a very strange girl who should¡¯ve been left alone... But before I could start worrying about the hero... I gotta contemte the best way to flee from this situation first. Chapter 162 < Running Away from the Hero! 162 #19. Life is a continuous escape (3)> Proofread by wFinder -I... To think that this mighty Aruketai would die at the hands of a measly little human! Ah, aaaah... He¡¯s gone now. Dear Sir is gone for good now. My hope of escape, the elder dragon Aruketai, got pummelled by the hero until it passed on from this world. Even though I ardently prayed that it would try a bit harder for a bit longer... Even though I prayed that it¡¯d fire one more breath attack, one that devastated the capital of a kingdom! But whenever the dragon sucked in a deep breath, that abominable hero focused all of his attacks on the creature¡¯s maw and throat, preventing the breath attack from being unleashed. -But didn¡¯t you teach the hero to do exactly that, master? -That I did. -What an insidious man! Only the fake viins would wait for their enemies¡¯ sure-kill attacks. Just look at the UXshiman, for instance. There sure were some bizarre morons in that show who would patiently wait for the human-sizedser beam toe down! [1] If only they destroyed theser before itspletion, the number of viins pointlessly dying could¡¯ve been greatly reduced, you know! Unless you were talking about a professional hero called the Caped Baldy, they all had a lengthy cooldown for their sure-kill final attack, you see! ¡°Ah, Sir Hero is looking at me!¡± While I was inwardly rooting for all the monsters and viins of this world, the princess suddenly began raising a flustered fuss. That kind of reminded me of fangirl losing her mind after a male idol winked in her general direction during a concert. No, before all that... I¡¯m really sorry about this, Miss Princess, but... I think that punk is looking for me, not you. -Ah, he found you, master. -Did he just shoot a re at me? Or am I imagining things? -Nope, definitely not your imagination~. Was he using a magic tool or some other kind of magic? I couldn¡¯t tell, but somehow the hero was actually flying in the air. He then changed the direction mid-air and flew towards where I was. -Should I just run? -Oh, and you think you can escape now? A disciple who used to be an easy prey once upon a time had be a powerhouse that could even beat up a dragon. I was told that humans continuously evolved all the time, but that guy¡¯s evolution seemed a bit over the top, didn¡¯t it? -Although, you can¡¯t exin that away with the excuse of evolution anymore. -Yep, he¡¯s way past being human now. As proof, the hero was already making his descent even though I had only exchanged a handful of words with the metal bat. ¡°You worked hard, Sir Hero.¡± That¡¯s why I decided to strike first. Since the princess was next to me, he wouldn¡¯t dare tomit the terrible sin of yanking out his sword and murdering his dear instructor right on this spot. ¡°Thank you. It all unfolded just as you said, instructor.¡± The hero punk sneaked a quick nce at the princess before courteously bowing his head. He seemed to have quickly read the situation. -At least, he doesn¡¯t seem to want to stab you, master? -I can¡¯t let my guard down just because he¡¯s sheathed his sword, you know! Even the dragon was unable to find the timing to unleash its breath attack. On top of that, that powerful aura whip attack taught to him by the Order of Nature...! -Master, I had no idea until now, but the Goddess of Nature and I might get along pretty well, after all! -You could be right on that one... In the past, I might have retorted that the metal bat wasmitting the worst of all known sacrileges by saying that. However, now that I¡¯ve run into the Order of Nature¡¯s right arm and the left arm, my opinion on the subject matter had to change significantly. The right arm was the hero while the left was the saint, of course. Now, I believed that the Goddess of Nature might be on the same level as the metal bat, for real! Grit. For a moment there, I heard someone gritting their teeth. It seemed that the Goddess of Nature was quite angry at me. ¡°Indeed, it unfolded just as you said, instructor.¡± However, the origin of the voice was the hero. As expected of my disciple, he maintained the perfect poker face. But even he couldn¡¯t do much about the ominous vibe oozing off of him. ¡°No, this was only possible through your own powers.¡± To the princess¡¯s ears, the hero seemed to be saying that the battle against the dragon unfolded exactly as his instructor had predicted. But you could also interpret his words as, ¡°Because of you, I was forced to have a deadly showdown with a damn dragon!¡± As an aside, you can interpret my reply as, ¡°Hey, you won. So it¡¯s all good, no?¡± The dragon was dead and the princess was rescued. With this event, the fame and renown of the Hero of Light, Swinn, would soar even higher. Even the Order of Nature would see their influences get stronger, too~. -And also, countless people will show up in the future and cling to him while saying, ¡®Sir Hero~, please help us¡¯! -Bingo, master! They said that practice makes perfect and that the right environment mattered the most. Having spent such a long time with me, it seemed that the metal bat was also gradually waking up to the truth of this world. ¡°No, that¡¯s not tru... Euk?!¡± Just as the hero tried to grit his teeth again, the princess waiting for the right timing rushed forward to jump into his arms. ¡°Sir Hero!¡± The scene of the princess shedding tears while sinking deep into the hero¡¯s open arms was straight out of some kind of a fairy tale. No matter how handsome or beautiful you were, the grim truth was that you couldn¡¯t wash yourself or manage your looks after getting kidnapped. You¡¯d get stressed out and as a result, you¡¯d look like a total mess. But the dragon must¡¯ve been looking out for her, or maybe it hadn¡¯t been that long since the kidnapping, because the princess still looked breathtakingly beautiful even now. Beautiful enough to utterly entrance the hero, too! -Look, master. Look! He¡¯s being all shy and stuff! -Traditionally speaking, most of the old-school heroes are like him. The protagonists that fit the traditional hero archetype usually came with a hidden title of ¡®virgin¡¯ or something simr. And our hero¡¯s face was reddening considerably right now, which was remarkably at odds with his uninhibited peers. He was probably trying to uphold the tradition, then. Looking at him helped my mind to gradually regain its calm... ...Like hell it would! Even now, my back was soaked by the flood of cold sweat. I¡¯ve cooked up five additional contingency ns in case the original one failed. However, all of those ns were made under the assumption that the dragon would emerge victorious in the end. That¡¯s because I had never even considered the possibility of the damn dragon losing. ¡°Son of a...¡± It didn¡¯t look like the princess would easily let go of the hero at the moment, which meant I could... However, my daughter was still in the royal castle. The moment I flee from this ce, the hero would no doubt hurry back to the castle. This punk was capable of fighting the dragon in the air, so even if I used the carriage to run back, he¡¯d most likely reach the castle before me. If it¡¯s not that, he could just gather the magicians among the expedition on standby nearby to protect their princess. With their help, it¡¯d be possible to teleport back to the castle. Dammit, is this the end, then? -Master, master! Take a look at the princess¡¯s hands! -I don¡¯t have the time to give a rat¡¯s ass about the princess right now! -You¡¯re gonna sing a different tune when you check her out, though? I couldn¡¯t win against the metal bat¡¯s temptation and shifted my gaze back to the princess and the hero still hugging each other. And almost instantly, I understood what the metal bat was trying to say. -I-isn¡¯t that...? I almost ended up voicing what was on my mind just then. But that¡¯s all because of the princess, you see. Even though she was tearing up inside the hero¡¯s embrace, her actions were the pr opposite of her expression! -While sneakily shoving her chest in our hero¡¯s face, who clearlycks resistance against pretty women... To think that she¡¯s crafty enough to fondle his entire body with her free hands! -Yup, she¡¯s carefully fondling every single one of his muscles as if he¡¯s a sexy statue or something, master. -That princess... Even though today is her first time meeting him, how could she! -But master, that High Elf you keep talking about? Didn¡¯t she say that fate has tied you and her together, too? And she even said that as soon as she saw your face, didn¡¯t she? -Mm... In that case, that princess is also another insane b*tch, then. Not just any insane b*tch, but a scary insane b*tch, no less. To think that she¡¯d choose such a bold strategy and march on so bravely when her opponent was a hero she had never met before until today! And right after he had pummeled a poor dragon to death, too! If she was making a calcted move here, then that was quite scary. But if she was moving instinctively, then hell, that was even scarier. In that case... -I better use that princess, then! -Ehem! Master, you better not forget that this is all thanks to my help! -Of course! I was so pleased that I was almost tempted to permit her to beat up around three idiots per day. ¡°Your Highness. Even if you and Sir Hero enjoy such a close rtionship, it is not advisable to disy this sort of behaviour in public.¡± The princess¡¯s hands quickly stopped fondling the hero right then. ¡°Oh, my. Oh, goodness me. I didn¡¯t even realise...¡± She coquettishly held her cheeks and retreated while looking embarrassed by her conduct. And seeing this scene helped me realise something crucial. This princess, she... she had calcted every one of her moves! Even as she sneakily backed off, to think that she¡¯d stand in the most optimal location and in the most arresting manner from the hero¡¯s view! Heh, dear brave hero? You are in deep trouble now. Although, this is great for me! ¡°For the time being, it¡¯ll be better for us to return to the royal castle.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Naruan.¡± ¡°As for your interrupted conversation with Sir Hero, perhaps you can resume it back in the castle... No, maybe it¡¯ll be better to continue during the carriage ride back. Just the... two, of, you, of course.¡± Before I said that, the hero was looking at me as if I had saved his life. Even though he was supposed to be the hero here. But after he heard me, his expression went rigid like stone. ¡°Oh, my~.¡± On the other hand, the princess¡¯s expression while she looked at me indicated that she was beginning to get a favourable impression of me. ¡°As I grow older, I¡¯ve begun realising that it¡¯s rather umon to see a handsome young man and a beautiful young womane together like this, you see.¡± ¡°But Sir Naruan. You are still young, good sir.¡± The princess replied in a friendly tone of voice. It seemed that she had quickly understood my ¡®intention¡¯ of fully supporting her burgeoning rtionship with the hero. Meanwhile, the hero in question was staring at us, having realised that something had gone terribly wrong for him. Unfortunately, it was toote for him by now. The moment the princess set her sights on you, you no longer had any choice left, you know? If you were still one of the potential heirs to the Raina Ducal Family, then sure. But as a hero acting on your own, there wasn¡¯t a whole lot you could do in the current situation. You could hunt a dragon down using brute force. But as far as politics were concerned, you were still just a dumb little rookie! ¡°Your Highness, soldiers should be waiting for our return nearby our current location. It is advisable to quickly go back so that they won¡¯t worry about us.¡± ¡°Yes... And the kingdom¡¯s subjects should also be trembling in fear of the evil dragon, so... We must hurry back and inform them of the vile dragon¡¯s defeat!¡± Was it because I already had prior experience serving someone simr to this princess? We were in perfect sync with each other. Even thedy-in-waiting didn¡¯t want to interrupt us, it seemed. She silently circled around the princess as if she wasn¡¯t even there to begin with. ¡°What are you doing, my disciple! Let us depart already!¡± Only the hero stood there looking like a victim of some petrification spell. He red at me, silently asking what kind of a crazy scheme I was getting into, but let us kindly ignore him for now, shall we? Let¡¯s be honest here, me ensuring your marriage to the princess just isn¡¯t all that romantic, wouldn¡¯t you agree? Since ancient times, romance yed a pivotal role in the hero marrying a princess, after all! #3 Their circumstances: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance ¡°Kkyaaahk! It¡¯s Sir Hero! It¡¯s Sir Heeeero!¡± ¡°Get out of the way already, I also want to look!¡± ¡°The Hero of the Light, Sir Swinn! Hooray!¡± ¡°The Dragon yer, Sir Swinn! Hooray!¡± ¡°The hero who saved our kingdom, Sir Swinn! Hooray!¡± Voices loudly cheering me on could be hearding from outside the carriage windows, but I couldn¡¯t worry about them at the moment. ¡°Is there something bothering you, Sir Hero?¡± But that¡¯s because of a bright smile belonging to a blue-haired beauty in front of me. Vera rick Neidon. She was the princess of this kingdom who got kidnapped by the evil dragon, Aruketai. ¡°No, Your Highness. Nothing at all.¡± ¡°But Sir Hero, your expression didn¡¯t seem settled at all just now. I was merely concerned for your wellbeing.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. It¡¯s just that the injuries I picked up during my battle against the dragon are acting up slightly...¡± If I was being honest, I was cramping up because of my instructor who was no doubt cooking up some other nefarious scheme right about now. But my mouth thoroughly trained by him automatically came up with a natural-sounding excuse on the fly. ¡°Oh my goodness!¡± Princess Vera looked genuinely worried after listening to my excuse, then carefully extended her hand towards me. ¡°Where does it hurt, sir?¡± ¡°I, uh, I¡¯ll be alright, Your Highness.¡± ¡°You were injured for my sake, yes? Then I won¡¯t be alright at all, sir.¡± I waved my hand as a sign of refusal, but the princess¡¯s hands didn¡¯t stop and began touching all over me to find the so-called injuries. ¡°I¡¯m really fine, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Please seek medical attention as soon as returning to the royal castle, Sir Hero.¡± It seemed like her resolute words contained this inexplicable power. ¡°...Your body isn¡¯t just for one person anymore, after all.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Even though she murmured in a quiet little voice, I didn¡¯t miss a thing she said. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, my Sir Hero~.¡± My body wasn¡¯t for one person anymore...? Could it be that she¡¯s thinking of using me to calm the popce? Since they might have gotten worried after their royal castle was half-destroyed? It seemed that I¡¯d have to go around here and there and act as a symbol of hope that defeated the evil dragon. ¡°Is that so, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Yes, it is!¡± The end of this conversation brought about a weird little silence inside the carriage, even though it remained quite noisy outside. Well, I had been feeling a bit ufortable travelling together with a woman, anyway. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. That¡¯s why I decided to focus oning up with various ns to restrain the instructor until we reached the royal castle. ¡°Ah, we¡¯ve arrived, Sir Hero!¡± Around the time I came up with the 26th scenario... The moment we reached the royal castle, the princess informed me of our arrival with a strangely excited expression on her face. ¡°Shall we get going, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The coachman opened the carriage¡¯s door. I offered my hand to the princess and deftly escorted her outside. ¡°Sir Hero, Sir Swinn is entering the royal castle!¡± The massive castle gate facing me and the princess opened up. Our party, including the instructor, all passed through it, and then... ¡°Eh?¡± About one monthter, I btedly realised that I couldn¡¯t leave the royal castle at all. [1]: The ¡°UXshiman¡±, as far as I can tell, refers to a 1983 Japanese manga/anime series, Mirai Keisatsu Urashiman. I could be wrong, though. What an obscure reference this is if I¡¯m right. [P1]: Caped Baldy gotta be one hit man, right?... Ok, there are other caped baldies I guess... like Majin Buu... Chapter 163 < Running Away from the Hero! 163 #19. Life is a continuous escape (4)> Proofread #4 Their circumstances: a certain hero¡¯s circumstance. I began realising that something was not quite right about a week after defeating the dragon. ¡°Hmm? Why haven¡¯t they called me yet?¡± Even today, I found myselfzily rolling around on afy bed. However, I still realised that no one hade to summon me or look for me ever since I had that one-time meeting with the king of this nation. ¡°This is so weird...¡± A dragon had been killed. Not just any dragon either, but an elder dragon that had lived for twenty thousand years. This must¡¯ve been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this kingdom. The normal course of action would¡¯ve been to travel to every corner of this kingdom with the rescued princess and wave my hands at the gathered masses a little to calm the uneasy public sentiment. That would be during the day, and during evenings, I¡¯d be summoned to all sorts of high-ss social gatherings to greet various aristocrats. That¡¯s what I did after killing twenty ogres in that kingdom to the west thest time. But even after killing a dragon, no one asked me to do something like that, so... ¡°...Could it be that the ruler of this kingdom is bad at doing political stuff?¡± This situation was making my head tilt sideways all on its own. In fact, my head tilted so much that it was now buried in thefy bed, but let¡¯s keep that as a secret between us, shall we? ¡°Well, this is good for me either way...¡± The profession called ¡®hero¡¯ came with pitifully little days off. After finishing one job, you hope to get a tiny little break, but then... Bam! An oracle hits you! Even the itinerary would be like, go to the far west from the eastern-most area you were in. Then, after you went west, they tell you to go back east, before being told to go to the west, again! Seriously now! Why can¡¯t you just, you know, hire lots of heroes so that I don¡¯t have to travel so much! Since we worked together with magic towers, we could potentially use their teleport magic circles. Unfortunately, magic towers didn¡¯t exist in every corner of the continent. On top of that, more than a few magic towers were located in remote areas with zero poption, so sometimes it was faster to just walk to our destination! Thanks to this, every hero out there had to get used to roughing it out in the wild. And that¡¯s why we simply couldn¡¯t win against the temptation of the highest ss luxury beds like this one. Anyone who wishes to treat heroes well? Prepare luxurious beds, then! All heroes secretly hanker for afy bed to sleep in, you see! As I rolled around this way and that on the bed... ¡°Sir Hero? Are you in?¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± The princess¡¯s voice came from beyond the door, so I quickly jumped up from the bed. ¡°May I be permitted to enter, sir?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± I got slightly nervous, causing my voice to get a bit high-pitched as a result, but she probably didn¡¯t notice it. ¡°You are also doing well today, Sir Hero.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. It¡¯s all thanks to the kingdom¡¯s kindness that I am enjoying afortable stay.¡± I wasn¡¯t just paying lip service here. They were really pampering me during my stay. Most of my days were spent doing nothing but rolling around on the bed. Meanwhile, the kingdom even prepared an empty training hall for my exclusive use, too. Hell, they even provided the service of bringing me food straight into my room when I¡¯m hungry! All I had to do was summon a servant waiting outside of the room. I knew it. If you¡¯re a hero, you gotta hunt a dragon at least once in your life. Thesest few days taught me that, indeed, your performance meant everything in this world! ¡°Sir Hero is the saviour of our kingdom, after all. Within the powers of the kingdom, we should do everything we can for you, Sir Hero.¡± The princess smiled in a rather beautiful way while looking right back at me. However, I felt this ominous chill run down my backside just then. ¡°I¡¯m grateful for your kindness, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Oh, no. It is unnecessary to thank us, Sir Hero.¡± Even so, only a third-rate would show that on his face. Thanks to a smile naturally breaking out on my face, it seemed that the princess failed to notice anything. Besides all that, though. Just what could¡¯ve caused that foreboding just now? Could it be that the instructor was trying to flee again? But I had already told Hill and Selena to intensify their monitoring of Alice just in case. Unlike me, those two seemed to have be rather close to the little girl, you see. ¡°In any case... Did something happen, Your Highness? Suddenly paying me a visit like this and all.¡± Was the kingdom-wide national tour about to finally begin or something? I mean, even if this kingdom¡¯s political system was broken, the nobles should¡¯ve still lodged various requests until now. ¡°No, not at all. But I¡¯m a little disappointed by that, Sir Hero. Yesterday, we promised to meet again today, didn¡¯t we?¡± But the replying back in my way was in the form of her adorablyining. She puffed up her cheeks slightly and frowned in mock anger. But even a dummy could tell that she was putting on an act. ¡°Oh. My apologies.¡± Even as I apologised, this odd feeling didn¡¯t want to leave me alone. When the dragon attacked this kingdom, did the creature¡¯s breath attacknd in a... not so good ce or something? Did that cause the massacre of all the nobles involved in politics?! By now, more than a few ces would¡¯ve called out to me, yet the only person I¡¯ve met until now was just the princess. ¡°Hmpf~. Sir Hero, what could possibly be on your mind even though I¡¯m right here beside you?¡± The princess slightly turned her gaze away at my apology and asked me while sounding a little peeved. And I ended up spitting out what¡¯s in my mind, which wasn¡¯t like my usual self. ¡°It¡¯s just that aristocrats wanting to meet me would show up by now, you see.¡± ¡°Ah! So that was your concern! The royal court has been blocking all of their attempts in consideration for you, Sir Hero. Because we¡¯ve prioritised Sir Hero¡¯sfortable stay in our kingdom.¡± ¡°...Ah.¡± I had to admonish myself a little just then. Repeatedly rejecting the requests of the nobles would¡¯ve ced the royal family at a great disadvantage, after all! They were doing all that for me, but here I was, thinking that the royal family of this kingdom was useless in politics! ¡°I can only express my gratitude at Neidon Kingdom¡¯s kindness once more.¡± ¡°But Sir Hero, we are not strangers anymore, yes? It¡¯s quite alright.¡± We were indeedplete strangers, but no need to point that out right now, methinks. Since I had nothing much to say, let¡¯s just smile and brush it aside. Just like yesterday, my chat with the princesssted for about one hour. The topics ranged from the tales within the kingdom to things more personal in nature. Most of the things we talked about were things like the royal family feeling troubled by the nobles continuously sending wedding invitations or my instructor helping them withing up with new types of snacks. A range of things about that wide. ¡°I had no idea that my instructor was talented in cooking, as well.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Desserts created ording to Sir Naruan¡¯s instructions are quite high-ss and, apparently, beloved by thedies-in-waiting and maidservants of the court.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± ¡°We have received help various times from Sir Naruan these past few days.¡± That made sense since my instructor was employed in the imperial court once upon a time, after all. The unofficial top dog in the imperial court, the Imperial Princess, was still obsessively chasing him even after all this time so yeah, one shouldn¡¯t doubt his skills being top-tier. ¡°I see. As his disciple, I feel proud that my instructor has been a great help to the kingdom.¡± Unfortunately for me, I still had no idea even at this moment. No idea what kind of help the princess was receiving from the instructor. No idea that all this was his underhanded scheme to escape from me! And about two weeks after that day... Right until I finally got to meet someone from the royal court who wasn¡¯t the princess... Like a na?ve idiot, I rxedly spent my days without realising that I had be a caged bird. *** ¡°Thank you, thank you so much! Sir Saint!¡± ¡°Ah, no. It was nothing at all.¡± Our dear Shuttle-gun was smiling gently at a woman tearfully thanking him. [1] ¡°Well, then. Next person, please!¡± The soldier dispatched by the royal court saw the tearful woman leave, then called out to the next person in line to step up. This time, it was an old man in his seventies. He received the healing magic from the saint and like the woman before him, shed tears of gratitude while walking away. And then, the soldier called for the next in line again... -Master, this whole thing totally sucks. -As expected of a shuttle... Watching the continuous repetition of the exact same event gradually sapped my, and the metal bat¡¯s, energy. ¡°Halt! It¡¯s time for a break!¡± ¡°Sir Saint needs a rest, everyone!¡± Our dear Shuttle-gun was a human, after all. His warm smile was still there, but his gradual exhaustion was getting more noticeable now. The soldiers dispatched by the royal court quickly moved to block the crowd and loudly announced a break in proceedings. Well, the patients needing urgent care were taken care of first, so I figured that the remaining citizens wouldn¡¯t raise the voice of discontentment anyway. -If they doin, then they are just a shameless bunch, master. -If kindness continues on, people start to think that it¡¯s their right. If it was your turn to get the treatment only for it to stop without warning, you will forget that this was a free service in the first ce and startining right away. In that sense, you could easily tell that the subjects of this kingdom trusted their royal family quite a lot. From the information I managed to collect while participating in the free treatment service, it seemed that the poprity of the royal family among the kingdom¡¯s subjects was quite sky-high. That included the prince, who showed up to inconvenience us rather greatly back then, as well as the Ice Cream Princess who got kidnapped by the dragon. Rather unfitting for royals, they would often appear before their subjects and regrly performed acts of charity. That¡¯s why, when the dragon came crashing in and kidnapped the princess, some citizens volunteered to join the expedition even though they were trembling in fear! And this was why my n was progressing along quite smoothly, too! I greeted the soldiers. ¡°Thank you for all your hard work, everyone.¡± ¡°Not at all, sir. It¡¯s all thanks to you, Sir Naruan, and Sir Swinn that our kingdom managed to survive the cmity.¡± ¡°Not only that, to think that Sir Hill Shuttle the Saint would personally treat our citizens...¡± ¡°As expected of the people from the Order of Nature overflowing with benevolence!¡± Hey, you¡¯re actively insulting me right now... Besides all that though, the Order of Nature is overflowing with benevolence, you say? One or two folks saying that would be nothing more than casual nonsense you could just dismiss out of hand. However, we¡¯ve been hearing that from basically everyone, so could it be that the goddess, the hero, and the saint over here were the only weird ones in the Order? ¡°Is it alright for me to chat to the citizens?¡± ¡°Of course, sir!¡± The hero punk stuck Mister Shuttle and the elf next to my daughter, but too bad, my purpose right now wasn¡¯t to flee. Even if I ran away now, they would no doubt capture me in no time at all. So, there was no need to do something unnecessary and make them even more suspicious of me! No, what I needed to do right now was to create unbreakable shackles that would hold the hero punk down in this ce! ¡°Well, then. Do you all remember where I stopped in my tale?¡± ¡°When the evil dragon kidnapped our princess!¡± ¡°Ah, I see. Thank you for that.¡± Words of gratitude didn¡¯t have enough of an impact, so I followed up with gifts of biscuits baked by the maids of the royal court, too. I could even guarantee the taste since I leaked the secret recipe given to me by the chefs of the imperial court. ¡°Thank you, Sir Sage!¡± These young kids seemed to know a fair bit of etiquette because they bowed their heads to me first before sharing the biscuits among their friends to eat. ¡°Well, now. Why don¡¯t I start my tale, then? Once Sir Hero found out about the princess¡¯s kidnapping...¡± Even if the princess wasn¡¯t beloved by the subjects, my stories would¡¯ve turned her into a superstar. But her poprity in this kingdom was already at its peak even before I began! As such, all I needed to do here was just add a little bit of spice, and that was enough for the kids to get utterly engrossed in my storytelling. The tale involved the kidnapped princess and the dashing hero rescuing her. The hero who also happens to be her lover! Sure, he was not originally her lover, but you still needed to add some spice if you wanted toplete a delectable tale for all ages. The kids were listening to my story with such great intrigue on their faces! Looking at them reminded me of my daughter¡¯s face. Reminding me that we haven¡¯t spent a lot of time together recently... Please wait a little bit more for me, my dear child... The moment I sessfully shackle that insidious hero, I swear to take you and bounce outta this damn kingdom! ¡°And so, the evil dragon was defeated. Her Highness the Princess and Sir Hero returned to the kingdom to live happily ever after.¡± ¡°Woaaaaah!¡± These kids were at the age where they would¡¯ve enjoyed these kinds of tales regardless of what. But then, they already knew that my story was based on actual events. How could they not know? A massive dragon flew right past their heads not too long ago, after all! How scared would they have been? A massive bundle of pure terror only heard in legends was flying right past their heads! But when the brave hero slew the dragon, that terror instantly transformed into respect and awe of him. To think that he bravely faced such a massive creature all by himself when humans were supposed to be too weak to do so! Not only that but to save his beloved (at least in my fake story) princess, too! ¡°Sir Hero is soooo cool!¡± ¡°As expected of Her Highness¡¯s boyfriend!¡± A few kids overflowing with empathy and emotion even broke down in tears from my tale. This much was a massive sess in my book. And it wasn¡¯t just some kids listening to my story right now. Unlike these kids, the adults listening in from the side knew who I was. And they¡¯d be under the impression that my tale was all true. Technically speaking, I wasn¡¯t lying here, of course. Excluding the setting of the two protagonists in love with each other, I was simply reporting on what I personally witnessed and experienced, wasn¡¯t I? The kids and adults leaving one by one began spreading the rumour quite enthusiastically. Some would talk about it while drinking with their buddies. Some would use it as a bedtime story for their own children, while some would present what they heard to bards at a suitable price, too! As a result, I heard that a revamped version of my tale, spiced up to be an even more heartwrenching love story, was doing its rounds near the royal capital as we speak. The originators of this particr version were various bards, of course! These folks, who lived or died ording to their gift of gab, turned my tale into an even more fantastic fairy tale before spreading it around. Even though my tale mostly consisted of dry facts, minus a few additions! As expected of folks who made a living through telling stories ¨C they could easily figure out what happened to be the most trending topic right now! And so, the bards throughout the kingdom began spreading the Hero of Light Sir Swinn¡¯s epic tale while maintaining its solemn and emotional core. ¡°Thank you for helping out today as well.¡± Our dear Shuttle-gun, who worked like a ve ant today, smiled at me and expressed his gratitude. Poor guy, failing to notice that my n was gradually progressing forward every time we came outside the royal castle. ¡°Ah, no, Sir Saint. My apologies for not being more helpful.¡± ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve been entertaining all those waiting to receive my treatment, sir. That alone has been a great help to us.¡± Seeing Shuttle-gun¡®s genuinely grateful expression caused a pang of guilt to stab me in the heart just a bit. But quitting just because of this would make me a failure of a former employee of an evil organisation! ¡°It¡¯s just a way to pass the time, Sir Saint.¡± I, too, smiled back at Shuttle-gun. Of course, I didn¡¯t forget to gently remind him that I¡¯d be in his ¡®care¡¯ for tomorrow, as well! And so, with every passing day, the hero punk¡¯s poprity soared higher and higher until it could pierce the heavens. But he never made a public appearance even then, further enhancing the air of mystery surrounding him. And around the time the fantasies involving the hero had reached a fever pitch... ¡°When should we start, Sir Sage?¡± ¡°Mm. I think now would be an ideal time to start working on the nobles, Your Highness.¡± The princess and I began winning over various nobles to our side, one at a time. [1]: ¡°gun¡± is basically the Korean version of ¡°kun¡± in Japanese. Pronounced as ¡°goon¡±, it¡¯s an affectionate honorific usually attached to a male friend of the same age or someone younger. Chapter 164 < Evade the Hero and Flee! 164 #19. Life is a continuous escape (5)> #5 Their circumstances: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance. While lifting up a winess to lightly clink it with other sses, I did my best to move my facial muscles to smile graciously. ¡°To think that I¡¯d get to share a drink with Sir Dragon yer. This will be an honour of a lifetime for me.¡± A man who looked like a military man said that to me before retreating back into the crowd. ¡°Oh, my! May I have this honour, sir?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Please.¡± Another person walked up to me almost right away and began introducing herself. Apparently, she was an esteemed daughter of some Count family or rather... ¡°Thank you for your time, sir. Now please excuse me.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you. It was nice talking to you, as well.¡± Honestly, it wasn¡¯t nice at all, but I still decided to maintain my business smile since the royal family had been allowing me to rx and have fun without expecting anything in return. About one month after defeating the dragon, they carefully asked me if I was willing to meet up with the kingdom¡¯s nobles. I said yes as I had been living in ap of luxury involving the most luxurious bed and the most scrumptious foods. Even though I killed a dragon for them, I still should pay the bill for eating all those good food. And the event held by the royal court was to celebrate the princess¡¯s safe return from the clutches of the evil dragon! You¡¯d usually try to hold such a celebration right after her return so it was kind of surprising to see them dying it for one whole month in consideration of me. That¡¯s why I was under a bit of pressure while participating in the event, but then... Even that dissipated into thin air about three hourster, the only remaining emotion in me being boredom... And how annoying all this was. ¡°Sir Hero, are you alright?¡± ¡°Well... I¡¯m not really good at things like this, so it¡¯s a little tough for me, yes.¡± I got found out by the princess while sneakily sighing in frustration. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, it seems. Rather than attending social gatherings like this, Sir Hero has been involved in a more active lifestyle, after all.¡± The princess smiled gently while talking to me, causing the surrounding gazes to focus on her. As expected of the most beautiful woman in the whole kingdom, the protagonist of today¡¯s event! I heard that she was beloved by themoners, and it seemed that she was also quite popr among the nobles. ¡°Ah, yes. I haven¡¯t had many opportunities to attend events like this so far, Your Highness.¡± I was originally a member of a family where social gatherings were amon sight. However, I must¡¯ve been an unlucky bastard ¨C or my older siblings suffered from a severeck of humanity or something ¨C since I had little to no chance to enjoy such asions. In my younger days spent in the evil organisation, my thoroughly evil instructor often used to beat me up with his bat. After surviving that ordeal, a few things happened in my life that made me somewhat famous. But that caused my siblings to shoot me displeased sideways res and in the end, I had to run away in the middle of the night to get away from them. In the past, I figured that my siblings¡¯ck of humanity was the underlying cause of my misfortune. Buttely, I¡¯ve been thinking that maybe, I was just in unlucky. Dammit. ¡°Hmm~, Sir Hero. Do you prefer attending social gatherings like this or share sses with yourrades in a pub somewhere, not worrying about anything else?¡± The princess asked me while sneakily presenting her own winess in my direction. I expertly clinked my ss with hers. ¡°Naturally, it¡¯ll be my honour to share a drink with a beauty like you, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Sir Hero, you really are incorrigible...¡± Huh? Why am I getting sudden chills? Hey, my mouth...? What did you say just now on your own...? Let¡¯s forget about the fact that my mouth said something oh-so cringe for a second. If I behaved in this manner in front of the princess, who was basically this kingdom¡¯s treasure, then people burning in jealousy would start popping out of the woodwork, you know? Even though I killed a dragon and all! ording to what my instructor taught me, the number of people who say, ¡°How dare a lowlymoner...!¡± while thinking of poisoning my winess will shoot up through the roof now! Look, look! Look at all these envious, jealous res! ¡°I knew it, Sir Hero is...¡± ¡°Ah, aaaah... To think that theyplement each other so well...¡± ¡°Indeed, if it¡¯s Sir Hero, he¡¯s a good match for our princess.¡± ...Hang on a sec? What¡¯s up with all these warm gazes? In a situation like this, it¡¯d be normal for jealousy at minimum, and at most, dense murderous intent wanting to rip me apart limb from limb to bombard me, you know? Some time ago, while staying in a kingdom slightly bigger than this one, I remarked how pretty an esteemed daughter of a Count family was. And that almost got me poisoned to death! Could it be that all northern kingdoms were like this? ¡°Sir Hero, you are making me blush a great deal, sir.¡± ¡°Ah, my apologies. I somehow blurted that out inadvertently...¡± ¡°Oh, my! Does that mean I should assume that dear Sir Hero addresses any pretty girls he meets in this manner?¡± ¡°No, that isn¡¯t so, Your Highness. I mean, it¡¯s just that Your Highness is very beautiful, and I inadvertently...¡± ¡°But you seem to be quite well versed judging from your own words...¡± The way she slightly narrowed her eyes while replying was quite mesmerising to behold. Staring at her abundant hair gleaming in blue, and her eyes sparkling in an even deeper shade of blue, it felt like I was slowly sinking deeper into an expansiveke. ¡°Sir Hero?¡± ¡°Y-yes?¡± Have I been staring at her a little too directly just now? I somehow ended upmitting a seriously rude act this time. Heree all thements from the nobles saying that I didn¡¯t know a lick of etiquette and that I was the perfect example of whymoners were no good! ¡°It seems that Sir Hero is deeply in love with Her Highness.¡± ¡°They suit each other so well, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°My daughter won¡¯t lose out to anyone, but even so, she¡¯s still a littleckingpared to Her Highness.¡± ¡°Fe, let¡¯s be honest, it¡¯s not just a little, is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s still better than your orcish daughter, though!¡± ¡°You son of a b*tch?!¡± Excuse me, dear aristocrats? I can only hear you so I can¡¯t tell much about you, but... Uhm, why are you arguing like that over there...? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be too busy grinding me down to fine pebbles or something right now? No, before all that, why does it feel like you¡¯re already used to associating me with the princess waaay before today? ¡°Here, Sir Hero. Would you like another ss?¡± ¡°A-ah, yes. Thank you.¡± This warm, gentle atmosphere that I never got to experience before in my life caused me to stutter inadvertently. This atmosphere, it... It was like they were approving of me and the princess¡¯s interaction. N-no, hang on. It¡¯s like, they have already approved it, isn¡¯t it?! Now that I think about it, lower-ranked nobles and even some higher ranked ones should be sending me marriage proposals by now, but... Nothing like that had happened so far. Even the esteemed daughters of noble houses just politely greeted me before going away! They should¡¯ve been intrigued by the situation at the very least and tried to approach me by now, you know! ¡°Here, Sir Hero.¡± The princess handed over my empty winess to a nearby servant, received a new one and pressed it in my hands. ¡°Should we knock our sses together tomemorate Sir Hero, the saviour of my life?¡± ¡°I will gratefully ept, Your Highness.¡± Our sses lightly clinked, causing a clear sound to ring around us. While listening to the pure, clean sound, I inwardly prayed for this weird atmosphere to dissipate as soon as possible. ...Without realising that it was far toote by then. #6 Their circumstances: A certain saint¡¯s circumstance. ¡°As for the matter of the dragon, we received the help from Neidon Kingdom¡¯s side and managed to deal with it.¡± ¡°Indeed. Thankfully, the empire has paid a handsome amount, allowing us to enjoy a good amount of benefits in the end.¡± ¡°The empire did? How surprising. With the firepower the empire possesses, hunting a dragon down wouldn¡¯t have been an impossibility...¡± ¡°No, I disagree. Even if it¡¯s the empire, it¡¯ll be asking for too much trouble by making enemies out of dragons, I believe.¡± ¡°Well, Sir Hero originally hails from the empire, so...¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. As expected, the empire...¡± I was listening silently to the discussion of the high-ranked priests while sipping on my tea. Normally, I¡¯d be working outside, granting the blessings of the Goddess of Nature to the citizens of this kingdom. But the high-ranked priests came to visit me, leaving me no choice but to attend the meeting as one of the representatives of the hero party. That¡¯s because Sir Hero was too busy dealing with the matters in the royal court while Selena, who was no doubt ourrade, wasn¡¯t a member of our religious order. ¡°Well, then. Can you please tell us what happened, Sir Saint?¡± The priests finally finished discussing the matter of the dragon¡¯s carcass and how to divide it along with the kingdom, then turned their attention in my direction. ¡°Of course. This is what has transpired so far. First of all...¡± I started the tale of how Sir Hero ended up catching up to his instructor from when I received an oracle to head north. The high-ranking priests were stunned to hear about the infiltration of the demon races to this part of the continent but expressed their relief after learning that we worked together with the former Sword Star to defeat the invaders in the end. And then... ¡°What in the name of...!¡± ¡°A unique aspect, you say... And not just any, but something that no one has ever heard about, too.¡± ¡°A human who has escaped from the will of the gods...¡± When I began exining the situation with Sir Hero¡¯s teacher, Sir Naruan, the priests began voicing their shocks and opinions even in the middle of my exnation. Which was rather emotional of them considering that they had been quietly mouthing things like, ¡°Hmm...¡± or ¡°How unfortunate...¡± when I talked about the appearance of the demon race. A priest asked a question. ¡°Could he be... you know, ¡®that¡¯?¡± ¡®That¡¯, he said. Even though no one dared to mouth the name, everyone present knew what ¡®that¡¯ was supposed to be. ¡°Gods have told us to monitor him, but there was nothing about eliminating him, everyone.¡± ¡°I see...¡± The ¡®name¡¯ that threatened the whole world... Since the creature was called the ¡®Demon King¡¯, many people simply assumed it to be the king of the demon race. But those upying the top seats of various religious orders should know the actual truth. ¡°If Sir Hero¡¯s teacher Naruan is the next Demon King, then gods wouldn¡¯t be staying their hands, that¡¯s for sure.¡± The Demon King. The ¡®vestige¡¯ of the evil god that threatened the world. This existence was not the same as the actual king of the demon race, nor was it a ruler chosen by the demon god. As a matter of fact, this incredibly dangerous existence coulde from just about any race. Just its birth alone would wipe out a single kingdom off the map. It then would give birth to demonic creatures far more dangerous than regr monsters. Despite possessing a functioning ego, it solely acted for the sake of destroying the world. As such, a Demon King posed a significant threat to not just humanity, but even to the demon race, as well. Although not widely known, ancient records showed that humans and demon races formed partnerships to defeat Demon Kings of their eras. That¡¯s how much of a threat a Demon King was. Its danger level was high enough to not just threaten individual races but the entire world itself. ¡°In that case, we have no choice but to patiently watch him ording to the will of the gods.¡± ¡°It seems that you¡¯ll have to work extra hard now, Sir Saint.¡± ¡°But if it¡¯s you, I have no doubt that you can pull it off, Sir Saint.¡± The high-ranked priests looked at me with eyes full of trust. I nodded slightly at them as a sign of my affirmation. ¡°And the events that happened afterwards...¡± As additional information, I told them about Sir Naruan¡¯s daughter being a half-blood offspring between a demon and a human being. I rified that we were heading to Ruibe the City Alliance to deal with the girl¡¯s matter. And that was when Neidon Kingdom¡¯s prince requested us for our aid, and that¡¯s how we came to battle the dragon. We then followed Sir Naruan¡¯s perfect n and prepared a stage so that Sir Hero could fight the dragon one versus one, which eventually earned him a much-deserved victory. That¡¯s where my report ended. ¡°Honestly speaking, I¡¯m truly stunned by this report, Sir Saint.¡± ¡°He was evaluated as the greatest talent in history, yes, but to think that our champion has be strong enough to defeat a dragon this quickly...¡± ¡°Among the current crop of heroes, the only one to achieve a feat of a simr level is Weref, the Hero affiliated with the Order of Perseverance. No one else besides him.¡± ¡°Unsurprising, considering that besides Sir Weref, no heroes among the current generation has managed to best a dragon yet...¡± ¡°Weref also battled an elder dragon, but don¡¯t forget that our hero defeated a dragon that¡¯s over five thousand years older!¡± ¡°Hold on, I don¡¯t see a reason to publicly boast that point...¡± The high-ranked priests began chatting among themselves with various side talks. I could only sigh softly at that and settle back down on the chair. That¡¯s because I knew that once they started, it¡¯d be another thirty minutes minimum before they stopped. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. While on our way here, we heard that Sir Hero is scheduled to get engaged to the princess of this kingdom.¡± ¡°I beg your pardon?!¡± However, I couldn¡¯t help but interject after hearing that sudden announcement. ¡°W-what do you mean by that, sirs? A marriage between our hero and Her Highness?!¡± ¡°But Sir Saint, the rumour regarding this matter is already widespread throughout the kingdom.¡± ¡°Ah, right. I heard about that story, too.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s even known in the neighbouring kingdoms, as well.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. There was that rumour, too. Did you hear that once he gets married, the hero will have to retire from active duty?¡± ¡°Uh-huh... I haven¡¯t thought about that. Most heroes usually fall in love with one of their party members so even if they did get married, there¡¯s no need for them to retire. But this situation is a little more unique, isn¡¯t it.¡± ¡°Indeed, it will be too dangerous to let a princess of a kingdom join the hero¡¯s party, so continuing on will be difficult.¡± ¡°Huh-uh... An excellent individual has be a hero but to lose him so soon...¡± Things I had not heard of before were jumping out of their mouths right now. That couldn¡¯t be true, though? Sir Hero and Her Highness the Princess were already enjoying such a rtionship? Wait, could it be that I was the only one who didn¡¯t notice it? Then again, Sir Hero was being summoned to various social gatherings recently, preventing us from sitting down and chatting at length. Even so... there were just too many suspicious points to this rumour. ¡°Sirs, can you tell me the details of this rumour?¡± ¡°Were you not aware?¡± The high-ranked priest who brought this story up first looked slightly surprised while saying that. ¡°Yes, regretfully...¡± ¡°I heard that both you and Sir Swinn are really busytely. I guess it¡¯s understandable in that case.¡± ¡°Even so, the two of you are the hero and the saint from the same order, aren¡¯t you? Please do try to pay more attention, Sir Saint.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t chide him too much, gentlemen. I¡¯m sure that his busy schedule was at fault here. In any case. From what I heard, two people brought together by the hands of fate were...¡± One priest after another... These high ranking members of the clergy began telling me the various love stories between our Sir Hero and the Princess that required much shedding of one¡¯s tears to get through. Listening to all the tales also required some considerable length of time but fortunately enough, I got to realise something important in the end. The originator of this story was someone with intimate knowledge of the events in question! Details of the love story between the hero and the princess, as described by various priests, differed slightly from each other but the part that came before that remained fundamentally the same. Even the regr citizens had some basic knowledge of the events with the kidnapping incident. So one could exin why the first half of the stories werergely simr. However, this went beyond that. The nitty-gritty of the first half was the same across all stories! Which could only mean that someone directly involved with the incident was behind spreading this story. But who could it be? A political manoeuvre by the royal family, hoping to tie down Sir Hero to their kingdom? If not, could it be that a soldier or a knight participating in the expedition had loose lips? Or... ¡°Could it be...?¡± One person¡¯s visage brushed past my mind at that moment, but he seemedpletely unrted to this incident. On the other hand, he also knew about this incident better than anyone else out there. If I was right about my suspicions, then... Then, all this was simply a part of that man¡¯s n! ¡°I shall go and confirm the truth directly with Sir Hero right now!¡± And without a doubt, that n was about him escaping from our watch. I quickly left the meeting while thinking that to myself. After reaching the royal castle, I directly headed to the suite where Sir Hero was staying, but... ¡°Ah...¡± It was toote by then, and... there was nothing I could do. Chapter 165 < Evade the Hero and Flee! 165 #19. Life is a continuous escape (6)> Proofread ¡°Hmm...¡± Spreading rumours around proved to be so simple. The princess was already called the most beautiful woman in the north, after all! And our dear hero had rescued her from the clutches of an evil dragon! This story was already burning vigorously without me doing anything to it. But not only did I pour extra fuel on it, I even fanned the mes too, so how could it not burn like crazy? And on top of that, I joined hands with said princess and began pressuring the nobles politically, too. We secretly uncovered their corrupted ways, made them shut their traps and turned them into our allies. This was the technique the Imperial Princess employed to periodically rob the imperial court clean, which was basically a den of devils as far as I was concerned. All those nobles, panicking grandly after failing to figure out how they were robbed! The technique of gradually stripping those nobles down to their undies was so stupendous that even the prince, helping us out at the Ice Cream Princess¡¯s request, was freaking out! She thanked me for teaching a high-level technique and even rewarded me with a rather fat bonus on top, as well. Once the high-ranked nobles got robbed blind one by one, causing them to shut their mouths, it didn¡¯t take the lower-ranked nobles that long to figure out that something was wrong, prompting them to shut their mouths as well. The princess, satisfied by the willing silence of the nobles, borrowed the mouth of the royal court and began to whisper certain things. -Touch my hero, and I shall kill you all. Uwaah. Damn scary... I had experienced simr things many times in the past but the Ice Cream Princess¡¯s threat was still powerful enough to make me shudder nheless. But her threat proved to be super-effective in the end! Nobles seemed to be shocked by another side to their previously gentle and reserved princess and nodded their heads in obedience. After capturing the minds ofmoners outside the castle walls and then manipting the nobles of the royal court to her whims, she began enticing the bards to her side next. Those bards added even more sweetness to the tale before spreading it around, and in the end, it even reached the ears of neighbouring kingdoms as well. Just as they were beginning to get epted as the north¡¯s official couple, the princess followed my n and coaxed the hero into entering the high society. In the meantime, I worked hard to create rumours and spread them around. One week passed by like that, then another week. By then, the rumours had morphed so much that they said the couple had ¡®already performed the engagement ceremony.¡¯ ¡°Well, then. Your Highness, it¡¯s time to gradually close the.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Naruan. I feel confident of our chances.¡± The princess nodded at my suggestion, a confident smile floating up on her face. ¡°As that boy¡¯s teacher, allow me to give you this advice. He¡¯s very adept at escaping, so you must cast a solid encirclement first before moving out to conquer him.¡± ¡°Although what we have in ce seems adequate enough... You are Sir Hero¡¯s teacher and the Great Sage, so I shall take what you said to my heart, Sir Naruan.¡± ¡°Why, thank you.¡± I was still not used to the nickname of ¡®Great Sage¡¯, but for the sake of my n, I was prepared to endure any other titles, including the likes of ¡®Great Warrior¡¯ or even ¡®Great Demon King¡¯. ¡°Well, then. I... shall head out, sir!¡± ¡°May the fortune in war be with you, Your Highness!¡± The princess left the meeting room looking a bit tense. While watching her leave, my heart began racing in anticipation, wondering how my n would pan out. I patiently waited, and then... ¡°Sir Naruan!¡± About three hourster... Seeing the princess rushing up to me while calling out in a high-pitched voice made me realise that my n was sessful. ¡°How did it go, Your Highness?¡± ¡°I did it, sir! I feigned falling over, and Sir Hero caught me on time. But I still fell to the floor and made it seem like Sir Hero had pounced on top of me. And ady-in-waiting ¡®co-in-cidentally¡¯ walked in on us at that very moment!¡± Although some of those words seemed a bit excessive whening from a princess of a kingdom, this was still all a part of my n. While nodding, I revealed how satisfied I was with this oue. ¡°Perfect, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Yes, it is perfect!¡± The rumours had spread within the kingdom in such a way that only the hero and his party members were oblivious of the situation. And after tossing in such a massive bait, various fish were bound to show up sooner rather thanter. Of course, we were talking about the informationwork of maids anddies-in-waiting here! Which was even faster than the empire¡¯s intelligence bureau when transmitting information! Apparently. Of course, this informationwork could be rather destructive, too. That¡¯s because, when a story gets passed from one person to another in thework, it¡¯d gain a new aspect, a new flesh. When the first witness starts the rumour by saying, ¡°So and so were holding hands~¡±, those words would eventually morph into, ¡°So and so were already married and even have a child together~¡± by the time it came around back to the first witness. That¡¯s how destructive thiswork was. But then again, you could say that relying on it was the best decision to make in our current situation! ¡°In that case, let us move on to the next stage of the n, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s!¡± The princess was already heavily relying on me thanks to my blinding achievements. That¡¯s why she paid close attention to my ¡®advice¡¯ and continued to carry out the n. And in the end... ¡°I¡¯m sorry? Instructor, what do you mean by engagement?¡± ¡°But, my disciple? The rumour has spread to all corners of the kingdom by now.¡± I stepped up personally tond the checkmate. ¡°What are you even talking about, instructor?!¡± ¡°Uh-huh... could it be that you¡¯re trying to back out of it?¡± I almostughed out loud at the flustered face of the hero, but my poker face with the proficiency level at MAX didn¡¯t allow that to happen. ¡°But instructor, I never stepped forward in the first ce, so how can I back out of whatever this is?!¡± Sure, you never stepped forward by yourself. It¡¯s more like you walkedpletely unawares into where the trap was, after all. But to think that you still haven¡¯t figured out that something was up by now! It wasn¡¯t the cold northerly winds that caused the lonely wanderer to remove their coat but the warmth of the sun¡¯s rays. And in that spirit, it wasn¡¯t the mighty strength that finished a hero off, but all the politicking behind the scenes of soothing peace! ¡°Answer ¡®yes¡¯ or ¡®no¡¯ from now on, my disciple.¡± ¡°What are you even...?¡± ¡°Have you ever pounced on the princess or not?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Is that a ¡®yes¡¯ I hear?¡± ¡°N-no, of course not! That¡¯s not it and what really happened was...¡± ¡°Answer only with a ¡®yes¡¯ or ¡®no¡¯.¡± The hero stared back at me with a frustrated expression but eventually turned his head slightly away and whispered, ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°Have you seen the princess¡¯s underwear?¡± ¡°T-that was only because she dropped her teacup, and it reflected some white clothes!¡± That sounded about right. I deliberately had the princess wear some type of see-through clothing, after all. ¡°Just answer with a yes or no, disciple. No, wait. You¡¯ve already answered with a yes in this case.¡± ¡°I-instructor!¡± Only the two of us in the same room could be rather dicey for him, so the hero had made sure to bring his party members and my daughter to the meeting, too. But now... ¡°Sir Hero...¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be. You...¡± Dear Shuttle-gun the Saint began staring at the hero with eyes of pity while Selena the Elf was looking at him with eyes reserved for ring at utter human trash. ¡°Dad, that uncle was a pervert after all?¡± ¡°It seems that way, my child!¡± ¡°N-no, I am not!¡± The hero reacted like a wrongly used man, but since both of those events did happen for real, he had no excuses to speak of. There had been many other events simr in nature to those two, after all. ¡°You¡¯ve done all these things, yet you don¡¯t wish to take responsibility?¡± ¡°But they were just coincidences, instructor!¡± ¡°A series of coincidences can only mean it¡¯s fate, right? Before all that, however. This matter has already been reported to the royal family, the nobles and even themoners of this kingdom. Trying to brush it all aside under the pretext of coincidence will cause much too great of a disturbance. Are you trying to prevent the still-young princess from ever getting married?¡± ¡°And so... are you trying to say that I should take responsibility and marry the princess, instructor?¡± ¡°As a man, yes, you should.¡± -Wow, I never expected my master to utter those words out in his life! -Shut up! My own marriage is veeery important, but this guy¡¯s marriage isn¡¯t! As long this idiot gets married, I¡¯ll be happy. And the princess will be, too! Everyone will be happy! -But master, I think world peace won¡¯t be a pipe dream anymore if you get married... -Don¡¯t you know that the world is supposed to grow up and mature through bloodshed? -Where¡¯s your humanity, master... Since ancient times, my motto always had been, ¡°Instead of us, let it be you; instead of you, let it be me.¡± As such... If sacrificing one annoying hero was enough to ensure my and my daughter¡¯s peaceful life, I wouldn¡¯t even hesitate to throw ten more heroes under the bus! ¡°But, but, shouldn¡¯t the princess also want for the marriage to happen?¡± The hero spoke up with an expression of a man clutching at the final lifeline, but then... ¡°Yes, I¡¯m happy with it.¡± ...But then, he realised that the lifeline had already rotted away to the core after seeing the princess entering the room at the perfect timing. ¡°Y-Your Highness?¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy with it, Sir Hero.¡± She repeated herself to shut down the hero trying to say something. She already expressed her consent twice, so saying something at this point would effectively constitute publicly rejecting her. ¡°Sir Hero, do you not find me agreeable?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry? N-no, of course not. But...¡± The princess began tearing up, causing the air in the room to get a little colder. The Elf and my daughter began whispering, ¡°Human trash...¡± and ¡°I knew it, he¡¯s a bad person...¡± while leering at the hero. ¡°In that case, isn¡¯t it fine, sir?¡± I was the one who came up with this n, but it was the princess who agreed to it and diligently carried it out in the first ce. But the hero had no idea about that. The moment he got drunk with the luxuriousfort on offer and startedzily rolling around on a bed...! It was the same as his defeat being written on stone! And he still hadn¡¯t figured that out yet. How disappointing, oh Sir Hero! ¡°It, it¡¯s just that, things are progressing too quickly...¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ve already spoken to my father that we should start with engagement first, Sir Hero.¡± ¡°T-to His Majesty the king, already?!¡± ¡°Well, it was my father who brought up the topic of marriage first, you see.¡± The hero kept saying this and that, trying to find a way out but, judging from the look on his face, it seemed that he finally recognised the noose gradually tightening around his neck. He mped his mouth shut, his eyes urgently darting around. He probably wanted to flee from this ce as soon as possible. -Too bad, only my master is capable of doing something like that, though! -Hmm. Well, I certainly am confident of escaping from a castle like this one! I had already prepared an escape route in case something unexpected happened. But unlike me, the hero wasn¡¯t used to situations like this and as a result, his response looked amateurish. Since time immemorial, a ¡®hero¡¯ as an existence could transform overnight. That¡¯s why I should eliminate one while his response still remained amateurish! ¡°As your teacher, I¡¯m quite gutted by the fact that you are acting so irresponsibly like this.¡± It was right at that moment that the hero shot me a re with an expression saying, ¡°What the f*ck are you saying, dude?! Morals! Where did you abandon your damn morals!¡± However, I chose to ignore him altogether. ¡°...Your Highness. Please give me some time to think it over.¡± ¡°I shall, Sir Hero.¡± In the end, the hero had to tuck his tail firmly between his legs, then begged the princess to give him time to think it over. The princess readily consented to his request. But that¡¯s because this hunting ground had beenid out perfectly. She knew that the hero would never escape from here. Oh, how foolish of you, Sir Hero! Don¡¯t you know that the longer you dither about, the worse it¡¯d get for you! That¡¯s what I was thinking while tasting the sweetness of victory. Just like a third-rate viin who... let his guard down against the hero still hiding a final triumph card! #7 Their circumstances: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance. ¡°Sir Hero, this...¡± ¡°Yes, I know. My instructor must¡¯ve had a hand in this. And his end goal is to...¡± Currently, everyone except Hill had left the room. He was trying to tell me his opinion regarding this matter, but I had already realised everything by now. ¡°...Flee from us.¡± ¡°I agree...¡± Never in a million years would I have imagined that the instructor could cook up a n like this one. To think that he¡¯d entangle me with the princess and prevent me from going after him! This was a marriage to a princess of a kingdom we were talking about. She should have received training in various disciples from a young age, so she might have some basicbat prowess. Even so, it¡¯d be a tall order for her to join the hero¡¯s adventures. As such, I¡¯d end up remaining in the Neidon Kingdom after marrying the princess like a son-inw living with his inws. That would definitely prevent me from travelling with the instructor. And he¡¯d utilise his particr set of techniques polished to perfection to make an utter fool of the recement hero and flee. I was confident about this. Confident that the only hero in this entire world equipped with the necessary tracking skills to locate the instructor was me and me alone. That only I could sessfully chase after my instructor and capture him! Without me, at least one-third of the world¡¯s religious organisations would havee together to monitor my instructor every single day. ¡°Sir Hero, should I try to change Her Highness¡¯s mind?¡± ¡°Nah. She¡¯s already on my instructor¡¯s side by now.¡± I couldn¡¯t be sure what the instructor said to convince the princess, but judging from her behaviour earlier, she would not be willing to give up on the marriage. Sure, she was beautiful enough to rank as one of the top beauties I have encountered so far, but... Whenever I was with her, it felt like... Should I say that an ominous chill ran down my skin as if I was a frog frozen before a poisonous snake? There was something about her that made me instinctively want to distance myself from her. ¡°A good way to... ovee this crisis...¡± I bit my lower lip so hard that blood began pooling inside my mouth. Wasn¡¯t this one of No.17¡¯s old habits...? ¡°...Ah!¡± The moment No.17¡¯s face floated up in my mind, I thought up a way to deal with this situation. ¡°Sir Hero, did you think of a way?¡± ¡°Yes, I did. All we gotta do is to run away.¡± ¡°But will that be as easy as it sounds?¡± ¡°Yes, if the most qualified expert in that field helps us!¡± My instructor was the master of escape. The most dominant nation on the continent, Karuan Empire, threw everything and then some to capture him, yet he still managed to outwit them. Someone like him would find it very easy to escape the encirclement of a small kingdom like this one. ¡°But will Sir Narual even help us?¡± ¡°Never. But we need to create a situation where he needs tobine forces with us to escape!¡± The instructor told me something this one time. He said that today¡¯s enemy could turn into tomorrow¡¯s ally and vice versa. In order to survive, one must know how to properly differentiate enemies from your allies. But one still shouldn¡¯t forget the possibilities of enemies bing your allies or vice versa, he said! ¡°Hill, can you deliver a letter tomorrow? Without anyone finding out, and as quickly as possible, too!¡± ¡°High-ranking priests of our order are still in town, so it should be possible, Sir Hero.¡± And so, I wrote up a letter and handed it over to Hill. [To: Mirua. I found him. I found the instructor. From: Your ssmate, No.1.] And just like that, I ended up ying my best hand against the instructor¡¯s best hand. Chapter 166 < Evade the Hero and Flee! 166 #19. Life is a continuous escape (7)> Proofread #8 Their circumstances: A certain pursuer¡¯s circumstance. ¡°Hah-eum...¡± [1] I savoured the taste of meat gently melting in my mouth. It was so good. As expected of a restaurant that received three stars from the continent¡¯s culinary guide. The meat¡¯s quality was already excellent, to begin with, and on top of that, the chef¡¯s control over the fire temperature was even better. The outside was so charred that you¡¯d think the whole meat was burnt to crisp, but hints of blood still remained inside. The inner part¡¯s sulent softness that contrasted its external appearance... Not only that, the charred part didn¡¯t taste burnt at all, but what you¡¯dmonly refer to as the taste of fire. That¡¯s what it tasted like. [Proofreader: Yes, Imonly refer to the taste of fire. Very fiery] I felt that not even the imperial court¡¯s chefs had mastered me control to this degree. That¡¯s how amazing the skill level of this restaurant¡¯s chef was! ¡°Two more servings!¡± ¡°You want to eat more...?¡± ¡°Of course. Hah-eum.¡± I smiled in happiness while shoving in anotherrge piece of cut meat. ¡°A-ah, I see. It¡¯s... of course...¡± My underling sitting before me sipped on a ss of wine, her expression stiff and weirded out. This ce offered tasty but small portions of food. Yet the subordinate wasining about how full she felt after eating just one small portion. We¡¯ve been staying together since a fairly young age, but as far as her eating habits went, I just couldn¡¯t understand her at all. ¡°Hah-eum...¡± ¡°Why does it feel like you¡¯re always eating...?¡± ¡°Nope, not true. I¡¯m working right now.¡± ¡°Oh, sure...¡± The subordinate groaned at length. I confidently stuck my chest out as a boss should. ¡°Just trust me!¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t...¡± This dumb subordinate of mine continued to groan away, but there was no helping it, was there? I mean, I was her boss, after all! ¡°The instructor told us this, didn¡¯t he? Those who keep the faith will be rewarded someday!¡± ¡°He also said something else, you know... Like, trust is the mother of all f*ck-ups.¡± ¡°Did he?¡± I was rendered speechless thanks to my ssmate¡¯s ability to recall useless memories. ¡°Even so, believe in me. Don¡¯t forget that I was the first one to locate the instructorst time!¡± ¡°Ah...¡± A mere subordinate was staring at me, her boss, with eyes filled with resentment. When interpreting the thought burning in those eyes, it seemed like she was saying to me, ¡°And that¡¯s the reason why I¡¯m stuck in this situation!¡± From where I was sitting, it looked like her fate would still be the same even without me meddling in her life, though. However, I knew. I knew that this kid merely was in denial of her own fate. That she needed an excuse to lie to herself! So, it couldn¡¯t be helped, then. I was a generous, kind person, so I should be more understanding of her plight. That was the role of a ssmate, her older sister, and certainly, as her boss, wasn¡¯t it! ¡°That¡¯s why, one more serving, please!¡± ¡°Again?!¡± My ssmate stared at me in pure shock, but all I had for her was a lengthy, soft sigh. What I bought earlier was meat. But this time, it¡¯d be sd and a bowl of soup. In cooking, achieving harmony was absolutely crucial. Therefore... Since I went ahead and ordered the main course, it was only obvious that I¡¯d order the side dishes, too. Yes, very obvious. ¡°I knew it. Ria needs to learn the proper way of enjoying food.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind others telling me that, but hearing it from you feels so wrong...¡± ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®you¡¯, but Madam Squad Leader.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Madam Squad Leader.¡± Sipping wine whileining was not a good look for a subordinate, but the members of our organisation only had to adhere to two rules, so I readily forgave her. One of those two rules was set by our superior officer, the Imperial Princess. The first rule... Capture the instructor, no matter what it takes. But that was probably the hardest of... ¡°Squad Leader!¡± I spotted one of my subordinates breathlessly rushing inside the restaurant. Even if magic was used to prevent noises from leaking out, that¡¯s not considerate behaviour to others, you know. This ce is a regr restaurant, after all! Therefore, it¡¯s uncool for one of us to run up to me looking all flustered. Especially when we ced so much importance on secrecy and stuff. ¡°Liechen, you are a team leader, so running uncouthly like that is not good... Ng?¡± I was about to issue a stern warning to Miss Liechen, but she shoved a piece of paper in my face as if to shut me up right there and then. And that piece of paper, which was actually a letter... ¡°It¡¯s from the Order of Nature?¡± It featured a really familiar emblem of a certain religious order. ¡°Yes, Squad Leader.¡± ¡°Good work.¡± Besides the subordinate having a meal with me at this very moment, I had one more ssmate left in this world... and he worked for the Order of Nature. And a while ago, I asked him for a small favour. That favour was... [To: Mirua. I found him. I found the instructor. From: Your ssmate, No.1.] ... Achieving the first goal of the organisation I was put in charge of. ¡°Found him.¡± ¡°Found who?¡± ¡°The instructor!¡± ¡°Huh-uph!¡± The subordinate¡¯s lips began bobbing up and down at the revtion of our instructor being found. But I ignored her for the time being and quickly pulled out a pen and paper. As I thought, love your country, love your ssmates, they said. I knew that my ssmate woulde through! ¡°Let¡¯s see...¡± Like I said earlier, our first rule was to catch the instructor no matter what it takes! And to achieve that goal, we must do everything in our power. That¡¯s why I should write a letter to Her Highness. [He¡¯s been found, Your Highness. Current location, Neidon Kingdom. The informant, the hero of the Order of Nature, Swinn lel Raina.] The information could turn out to be false, so I made sure to write down the informant¡¯s detail just in case. Exactly like how the instructor had taught me. If something did go wrong somewhere, then my dear ssmate should shoulder all the me. ¡°Alright, then!¡± ¡°Are we setting off to find the instructor now?¡± When I shot up from the chair, my subordinate stared at me with aplicated face full of anticipation, joy, confusion and concern. ¡°Not yet. We still have something to do before that.¡± ¡°Really? What?¡± I had to sigh again when my subordinate tilted her head this way and that. As a member of our squad, it was about time she had finished memorising the other rule but to think that she has not! That¡¯s a fail as a member, you know! Of course, I¡¯d never fire her or anything like that, though! ¡°Wrap them up.¡± As her trusted boss, I told my dear fellow squad member what needed to be done. ¡°Wrap them up? Wrap what up?¡± Unfortunately, it seemed that she still didn¡¯t understand such a simple exnation. Which meant I needed to exin in depth. ¡°My food is about toe out, so we gotta wrap them up for takeaway. Obviously.¡± I left behind the subordinate making a dumbfounded expression, found a waiter nearby and handed over some money while asking for my orders to be wrapped up for takeaway. The other rule in our Kidnap Ast Squad, the one beside the first rule Her Highness had set out for us... And that was the rule I made for everyone to follow ¨C one should eat first before getting down to business! *** The day after I had sessfully pulled off my n... I went to see my daughter while feeling utterly rxed. It sure had been a while, me feeling this way. ¡°Dad, you look happy.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m talking to you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy too, dad!¡± My daughter rushed into my embrace, and I enthusiastically petted her head. Ah, ahhh. I¡¯m being healed right now. How long has it been since thest healing session? As I thought, my dear daughter¡¯s existence alone was enough to heal me. ¡°Dad, are you finished with your work?¡± ¡°Almost, my child. Almost. Soon we should be able to stay together forever!¡± ¡°Woah!¡± Look at how overjoyed my daughter is! Look how happy she is right now! To think that bastard wanted to take away this tiny bit of happiness from my lovable daughter. I knew it, that hero bastard was definitely an evil creature. But my dear daughter, you don¡¯t need to worry anymore because that evil hero has been taken care of by the former viin, me! ¡°Sir Naruan. What happened to... Sir Hero?¡± ¡°After requesting some time to think it over from Her Highness Vera, he has quietly isted himself in his room until now. Miss Selena.¡± ¡°Is that so...?¡± Selena, the hero¡¯srade, avoided meeting my gaze. Her expression showed how conflicted she felt at the moment. She probably never imagined that a hero she¡¯d been journeying together with would cause such a massive incident. No, wait. Maybe she didn¡¯t want to believe it? Well, that¡¯s also a possibility. You¡¯d often hear about the heroes getting it on with their elvenpanions in various heroic legends, after all. So, our hero punk could also have... -Which means master is a bad guy who wrecked a nice couple¡¯s rtionship, no? -That¡¯s just a hypothesis. Besides, the bad guys are the hero party! Indeed, they were vile stalkers harassing someone who only wanted to live in peace while farming for the rest of his life. To think that these Peeper Goddess-worshipping fools wanted to mess with my and my dear daughter¡¯s idyllic, happy lifestyle! And you want to be a couple on top of that?! The Goddess might have forgiven you, but I sure as heck cannot! ¡°Did Sir Hero really...?¡± ¡°Yes. In the name of the Goddess, I have not lied.¡± -But master, you don¡¯t even believe in any religion... -Well, it¡¯s true that I haven¡¯t lied, right? -What happened to your morals, master? Aaahng?! What do you mean, what happened to my morals? It went up in mes alongside my farm back when I was still a youngster. That¡¯s what happened. Besides, I really haven¡¯t lied about this incident. It¡¯s just that the hero got caught in the trap the princess and I hadid out, that¡¯s all! ¡°Hah-ah...¡± ¡°Big Elf Sis? What¡¯s the matter?¡± They seemed to have grown fairly close during our stay here because my daughter worriedly looked at Selena when thetter began sighing non-stop. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing much.¡± The Elf seemed reluctant to exin to a child that she was concerned about the hero doing something bad to Princess Vera. Instead, Selena put on a fake smile and tried to assuage my daughter¡¯s worries. ¡°Yes, it... really isn¡¯t much.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, child.¡± Selena¡¯s hand gently stroking my daughter¡¯s head was filled with affection. My daughter Alice, who oozed bewitching charm that even rendered her former enemy, an Elf, utterly defenceless! I bloody knew it ¨C when shees of age, she will definitely entrance countless men with her charms! Of course, I was nning to not ept a single one of them! At the very least, the potential suitor must be skilled enough to survive living with me. Otherwise, it¡¯s a firm no! -Oh, so you are basically looking for a guy who can fight the empire and win, master... -Indeed. I can¡¯t win against a guy like that, after all. -My poor little sis... There doesn¡¯t seem much hope left for her now... -Ah, let¡¯s not forget that they also need to pass your test, too. -My little sis will never get married at this rate!!! -You don¡¯t know that. Maybe someone like our Shuttle might pop out of somewhere. A man with tough willpower that could endure against the metal bat¡¯s assault, and possessing enough power and influence to fight the Karuan Empire and still prevail... If someone like that showed up, then even I would have to give up. Obviously, my daughter would never abandon me just because she found herself a boyfriend. Which meant that as long as I looked out for any potential poisoning attempts, it¡¯d be fine for me to live alongside her. Of course, I didn¡¯t think there would be a male protagonist fitting that description, anyway. Unsurprising, really, since the opponent was the one and only Karuan Empire. That ce was filled with geniuses who could create things out of nothing if you dared them to do it. And on top of them sat a pair of the Emperor and the Imperial Princess who were experts at manipting and controlling people. All those ¡®famous words¡¯ the Imperial Princess said while making people do her bidding like ves! Her unwavering brazenness while dering, ¡°This is what having power is about!¡± after making people do unreasonable, crazy things for her! She quietly yielded the seat of the next emperor to her younger brother, the Crown Imperial Prince, but the truth was... She must¡¯ve done that to install a puppet leader and then dump all the annoying matters to him. The poor Crown Prince should know that he has no choice but to work his ass off while quietly shedding a tear or two. Didn¡¯t need to see it to know it. What a sad and pitiful life that was. -What about your life, then, master? Since you¡¯re being chased around by a scary older sister like that? -An already ruined one, I suppose? My life effectively ended back when I met the wrong feudal lord. To think that idiot would dare to invade the Karuan Empire of all the nations out there! If my fields hadn¡¯t burned down back then, I would¡¯ve remained an ordinary farmer living an ordinary life. -It doesn¡¯t feel like that would¡¯ve happened, though... -No! I¡¯m definitely ordinary! It¡¯s just that this world chose to forsake me, that¡¯s all! Didn¡¯t the gods even acknowledge it? Yes, my unique difference, the only one in this whole world! In other words, this world is actively rejecting me! I¡¯m not the one at fault here! Knock, knock... It was right then that someone began knocking on the door. Who could it be? That evil Shuttle who dared to monitor my daughter along with Selena? Or, maybe it was the princess seeking me out topletely conquer the hero? If it¡¯s none of the above... the heroing here to inform me that he has epted his destiny and decided to marry the princess? ¡°Can I enter, Selena?¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Hero.¡± The correct answer was the third option, the hero. Selena, the temporary master of the room, gave her consent and the hero, looking clearly worn-out and listless, trudged inside before standing next to me. ¡°Instructor. I¡¯ve made up my mind.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Good. You made the right decision. Now, forget about everything and be Princess Vera¡¯s husband to lead afortable life in this kingdom¡¯s royal court. I mean, this isn¡¯t such a bad deal for you, is it? The next-in-line for the throne has already been decided anyway. Only afortable, luxurious life with the princess as either a duke or grand duke awaits you from this moment on... ¡°Yes, I have. And that is to report you to the empire.¡± ¡°Son of a?!¡± What the f*ck did this as*hole just say? Could that ¡¯empire¡¯ be THAT empire? It can¡¯t be, right? Unless he¡¯s lost his marbles, there¡¯s just no freaking way, right? -But master, to my knowledge, there¡¯s only one nation in the continent that people refer to as the empire since thest great war. Am I wrong? The metal bat did her usual shtick and poured cold water on my reality denial mode. I nced at the hero, my eyes filled with anxiety. Since this punk was my disciple... A punk who received my teachings, so he would have...! ¡°You... have already reported me to the empire, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, I have.¡± And he was the act-before-the-enemy type, too. This punk ended up using a technique from my past life. Back in my military days, everyone talked about how important this technique was but, if you really went ahead and did it, everyone would g you off, instead! And the hero had created the worst possible situation, to boot! ¡°When?¡± ¡°Right after we finished talking to the princess!¡± Which meant it happened yesterday. No, wait. Since the hero didn¡¯t budge from his room, Shuttle must¡¯ve been the one to carry this n out. Dammit! To think that I didn¡¯t notice the 3cm Drop happening right next to me! [2] Shuttle must¡¯ve sent the word out this morning while treating themoners! In that case, my location should reach the Imperial Princess¡¯s ears byter today, tomorrow at thetest... And the fact that this punk chose to tell me this now... ¡°...You want us to flee together?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct, instructor.¡± His smile looked so refreshing, which perfectly suited his handsome exterior. But to me, this punk nodding away was making a smile that was easily the most insidious smile in mankind¡¯s history. [1]: That¡¯s the sound made when mouthing a big chunk of food. [2]: That¡¯s Starcraft reference. To all imperial unit users, it¡¯s ¡°one-inch drop¡±, but in metric. Chapter 167 < Evade the Hero and Flee! 167 #19. Life is a continuous escape (8)> Proofread By wFinder #9 Their circumstances: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance. ¡°...You want us to flee together?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct, instructor.¡± When my instructor asked while groaning deeply, I nodded as my reply. This might be the most dangerous hand to y but my current situation meant that I had toe up with a ¡®suggestion¡¯ he couldn¡¯t say no to. ording to Hill, the entire kingdom had already epted my ¡®love affair¡¯ with their princess as an indisputable fact. Trying to deny it at this point in time would only make me a shameless hero bastard that had toyed around with their precious princess. The only thing I could do in a situation like this was to run away. What I could do on my own was to run away using my brute strength, but that would make it impossible to deal with the aftermath. So the remaining option was to ¡®borrow¡¯ the strength of the professional escape artist! The one that not even the empire could apprehend! In other words, the expert in the art of running away, my instructor! And that man, he... ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± ...He tly rejected my offer. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?!¡± ¡°I said, not interested.¡± For a moment there, I almost nked out. Was he bluffing? Trying to scam me, something like that? But even I could see that there was not a single trace of hesitation or regret in the instructor¡¯s steps as he walked away from me towards Alice. ¡°But, howe?¡± My dazed mind somehow managed to ask a question, but no answer was forting. Could he have already given up? N-no, wait. Since I informed him just now, there should be some time left for the instructor to flee. Even if the empire¡¯s agents were to use their fastest means of travel, let¡¯s not forget that the high-ranking priests of the Order of Nature would¡¯ve only delivered the letter this morning. They probably thought my letter was an ordinary one, so they would have acted without much urgency. In that case, it¡¯d take one day at the shortest, or two days at most for the letter to reach Mirua. And by the time she reports this matter to the Imperial Princess, it¡¯d be already three days, at least. If taking into consideration the time needed for the empire¡¯s agents to act, you¡¯d have plenty of time to prepare your escape. But to think that he¡¯s given up? He¡¯s gotten fairly old now, so maybe he wants to settle down or something? N-no, if that was it, then he wouldn¡¯t have tried to evade us in the first ce. In that case, does he have another n in mind? But wouldn¡¯t fleeing with us make it easier for him, too? Why would he reject my offer in that case? Maybe he¡¯s looking at a bigger picture that I failed to notice? If that¡¯s not it, then maybe he was already anticipating an event like this? But, what was I supposed to do in that case? ¡°Dammit...¡± Countless thoughts swirling in my head made me cuss out softly. But that¡¯s because I now needed to cook up a new n under the assumption that my instructor wasn¡¯t going to help me. *** Seeing the hero stiffening up like that helped me realise that this idiot still had a long way to go. I couldn¡¯t tell whether this kid was smart or dumb. -But master, wouldn¡¯t it be better to run away together? -Not at all. This guy¡¯sbat prowess had already exceeded one¡¯s imagination. Hell, he even managed to beat up an elder dragon all by himself, didn¡¯t he! But such brute strength was basically useless when trying to escape. The most ideal escape scenario was, quite literally, the quickest escape! You¡¯d only need brute power when your escape attempt had failed, and you were about to get caught. I was currently in the kingdom of Neidon, not the Karuan Empire. Even if I ran away, the good folks of Neidon Kingdom would not waste their resources trying to capture me. But it¡¯d be a different story for the hero. He already got ¡®marked¡¯ by the princess oozing with the aura of a yandere. So, if he tried to bounce now, all the knights and soldiers in this entire kingdom would be mobilised to track him down. That¡¯s right. A nearby fist would always be scarier than the oneing from far away! As such, what I needed to be cautious about was the Neidon Kingdom, not the Karuan Empire some distance away. If the Imperial Princess was already near this kingdom¡¯s borders, then I might have required the hero¡¯s strength for real. But the message had been delivered only today, so I still had some time left until tomorrow. Meaning, the Imperial Princess would have a hard time chasing after me even if I take offter tonight. However, what might happen if I choose to flee with the hero? First of all, the Neidon Kingdom would no doubte after us. Even if we run away, they would surely catch onto our trail pretty quickly. Besides, this dang hero was just too eye-catching regardless of where he went. That would eventually lead to the Imperial Princess catching us all. This profession called the hero required you to work like a dog as long as your chosen god sent you an oracle. Indeed, being a hero did not suit the concept of fleeing, now did it! All in all, the prospect of escaping together with this punk was not appealing to me in the least. So with what confidence did he even suggest that we should run away together? -Master, that¡¯s because he¡¯s in a rush, right? And when you think about it for a second, most normal people would feel secure with an ally strong enough to beat up a dragon, you know? Unless those people are like my master and are not properly functioning in their heads, obviously. -No, that¡¯s the dumb way of looking at this. Imagine how much aggro you¡¯d attract with a dude capable of killing a dragon next to you! Bards yed a crucial role in spreading the tale of love between the hero and the princess. However, the tale of the hero killing the dragon had spread around just as quickly, too. The tale of the dragon yer must¡¯ve reached all corners of the continent by now. So can you imagine just how many people woulde out of the woodwork to seek out this fool¡¯s help? Hiring low-ranked mercenaries already cost an arm and a leg for mostmoners, but hey, here¡¯s a fool strong enough to kill a dragon offering you free service! Themoners of this continent with problems would no doubt want to ¡®speak¡¯ to our hero. Hell, never mind them, even the majority of low-ranked nobles with insufficient military strength would want to have a chat with the hero right now, too. Choosing to travel with this punk would be the same as turning every person on this continent into a surveince camera. -Besides, I¡¯m trying to get away from this idiot in the first ce. And it seems that now would be the perfect time to ditch him for good. Why did the hero have to fight the dragon, to begin with? I nned for it to happen this way so that I could run away while the hero was battling the dragon! If it weren¡¯t for that nonsensical sudden power boost phenomenon, my n would¡¯ve been a sess. My daughter and I would¡¯ve left this kingdom by now and settled down somewhere to start another farm once the winter was over. -Which means we¡¯ll be kicking the hero to the curb and fleeing from here. Right, master? -Obviously. There were instances of enemies finding themselves in the same boat and needing to work together to ovee a particrly tough situation. But it¡¯d be a different story if you were to get devoured the moment you climb off from that hypothetical boat. If we were to wave our hands at each other before going our separate ways after sessfully escaping, then sure. Why not. But even after the initial escape, I still had to escape again from the clutches of the evil hero capable of killing a dragon. This punk knew how to fly around in the air using magic to hunt a dragon down. Would I be able to escape from someone like that? Especially when he even learned the art of pursuit from me? It was absolutely impossible. That¡¯s why the hero punk simply had to get married in this ce. -Aaaah, so it¡¯s not marrying by choice, but ¡®have to get married¡¯, huh. -That¡¯s right. There was a big difference between marrying by choice and ¡®have to get married¡¯. Anyone unfortunate enough to experience that situation should know how big of a difference it actually was. -Sounds about right. Master, you also found yourself in several dangerous situations of being forced into marriage, after all. -That¡¯s why you should work even harder for my sake! -I sure met a bad master, didn¡¯t I~. Uh-huh. Without me, you wouldn¡¯t even have been born, don¡¯t you know that? Besides all that, just how many people in this world would be willing to use a weapon like you that¡¯s seen as a cursed torture device belonging to an evil god? I was an excellent individual, and that¡¯s why I could use this bat to this extent, you know. -Master, for some reason, my mood¡¯s getting worse... -That¡¯s my line, though? If it was some other people, fine. But my pride simply wouldn¡¯t let the metal bat give me a rubbish evaluation and get away with it. If it wasn¡¯t for me, you wouldn¡¯t even have been born into this world, you know! -That¡¯s right. As expected of my daddy! -Sorry about this, but... That gives me the heebie-jeebies, so never say that word again. When the metal bat¡¯s (wannabe) cute voice echoed within my soul, a nasty bout of goosebumps broke all over my body. Hey, I only have one daughter, and that¡¯s Alice! ¡°Dad!¡± As expected of my daughter. It seemed that we were telepathically connected somehow because she began running up to me. ¡°I want to go back to my room, dad.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do that.¡± I brushed her hair, and while holding her hand, we began heading back to the room she was staying in. ¡°Ah! May I apany you, Sir Naruan?¡± ¡°Yes, you may.¡± But when my daughter and I got ready to leave, Selena the Elf also got up from her seat. Therade of that insidious hero wanted to stalk my daughter, in other words! But the current me was simply too weak to stop her. Ah, aaah! Indeed, being weak was such amentable thing! This right here was the pain my forefathers felt when theck of strength led to our old nation bing a colony. The pain of our country getting divided, the pain of all of us getting forcibly dragged into military service! -What are you busy barking about, master? -You know, just. It¡¯s too unfair, I tell you. Especially back when I was still serving in the military. It was horribly unfair. Just how much do you need to embezzle from the military for its soldiers to be forced to use the exact same canteens that were at least several decades old despite the massive defence budget? The canteen I used was around eighty years old when I got it, which meant it was even older than the current me. And while being discharged, I had to hand it back, so someone was probably still using it even to this day. While making us suffer through all that nonsense, they kept saying bull crap like, ¡°If you¡¯re a man, defending your country is your duty!¡± or ¡°No one¡¯s been acknowledging you, but you¡¯ll be a cool dude after joining the army!¡± Ah, right. How unfortunate it was that I didn¡¯t get to learn the defence contract embezzlement technique back then. If only I took a little bit of a lesson in that technique... I could¡¯ve embezzled a bit more while living my life trapped in the imperial court. I was still a greenhorn back then, so it was easy for the Imperial Princess to discover a few of my schemes and confiscate my hard-fought earnings. And using that as a pretext, she even forced me into the frontline of her massive-scale embezzlement scheme, and as a result, I had to risk my life several times. It got so bad that I even feared for my life for real after the First Imperial Prince mobilised the treasury to investigate the scheme. Thankfully, I didn¡¯t leave any evidence behind, and thus my head remained attached to my neck, but if I hadn¡¯t done that, then... ¡°Keu-heuh...¡± That situation still gave me goosebumps whenever I thought about it. And it even made me groan almost automatically, too. ¡°Dad?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing to worry about, my child.¡± I ended up groaning while my daughter was opening the door to her room, so unsurprisingly, she reacted to it. I quickly waved my hand and reassured her that it was nothing. Alice tilted her head this way and that, but when the door was fully opened, she forgot all about it and quickly dashed inside. ¡°I¡¯m home, everyone!¡± ¡°Nyah~.¡± ¡°Kkeeruruk.¡± My daughter burst into a peal of joyousughter after seeing her pets, the cat and Coco. ¡°Big Elf Sis, would you like to y with us?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± Selena might have gotten close to my daughter but she still seemed ufortable around a dragon judging from how she shook her head at Coco. ¡°Really?¡± Alice looked a little disappointed by that. But her expression perked up again while running up to the cat and Coco with a burst ofughter. ¡°Would you like to have a seat, Miss Selena?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± I asked her just in case since I was fetching a chair for myself, but Selena said no and leaned against a wall nearby instead. ¡°Aru, go and y along with them, too.¡± ¡°Ng!¡± ¡°N-nyaa-aaahk?!¡± ¡°Aaaaht!¡± When the metal bat that stayed quiet until now ¨C outwardly at least ¨C was deployed into the situation, the cat and Coco urgently cried out in rm and began running away. ¡°B-big sis?!¡± ¡°y with me, too~!¡± ¡°Uwaaaahk?!¡± The sight of the metal bat jumping in with both of her hands up in the air frightened my daughter, prompting her to hurriedly run away. ¡°S-Sir Naruan, is it alright to do this?¡± ¡°Kids are supposed to y while running around, Miss Selena.¡± ¡°B-but, even if that¡¯s true...¡± Was it because she had prior experience of getting beaten up by the metal bat in the current appearance? Selena stared inplete astonishment at the metal bat running around in the room, but I chose not to intervene. Honestly speaking, Selena¡¯s attention being robbed by the metal bat¡¯s antics was an unexpected boon for me. ¡°Nyaaaah... Nyaaaaahttt!¡± I picked up the cat as it tried to escape from the metal bat¡¯s reach. The cat struggled and screeched unhappily after getting picked it up but soon calmed down after hearing what I had to say. ¡°Listen closely from now on. Soon, we shall leave this ce.¡± ¡°Nyah...¡± ¡°I have a job for you when the timees.¡± ¡°Nyah~.¡± While I quietly whispered to the cat, the creature began acting like any other regr cat by lightly wagging its tail around. ¡°I¡¯ll exin the n from now on.¡± Here was the one variable that the hero party members had no idea about. The impact from the revtion of a dragon being our pet might have obscured the truth, but the fact remained that this little cat was no ordinary animal, either! Indeed, it was a nobility among the therianthrope race! And although not to the extent of ¡®sword materialisation¡¯, this cat could still manifest the sword aura! ¡°And that¡¯s why I shall leave securing Alice¡¯s escape path to you.¡± ¡°Nyah~.¡± The way it opened its mouth wide and yawned was unquestionably that of a regr cat. But the light gleaming in its eyes was sharper than ever. Chapter 168 < Evade the Hero and Flee! 168 #19. Life is a continuous escape (9)> Proofread #10 Their circumstances: A certain Elf¡¯s circumstance. Late at night... ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Alice?¡± ¡°Big sis~.¡± Alice, who woke up just now, staggered towards me while rubbing her eyes. ¡°I feel heavy~.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you haven¡¯t woken up fully from your sleep yet.¡± The real reason was her body suddenly growing ¡®older¡¯, but I didn¡¯t have a reason to tell her that. ¡°Nng~.¡± Alice¡¯s eyes remained so narrow that I couldn¡¯t readily tell whether she was awake or not, but the girl still managed to reach where I was. ¡°I wanna go to the bathroom~.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± When the girl hugged me, her chest began pressing against me ¨C the chest that happened to be so much fuller than during the day. Even her pink hair had grown in length, too ¨C it used to go only slightly past her shoulders, but now it reached well below her waist. Anyone unprepared would¡¯ve been greatly shocked by such a drastic change. But I had already witnessed this transformation several times during our journey together. And I also heard about her background being the mixed blood of the demon race and a human being, so Alice¡¯s transformation no longer perturbed me. Other than... ¡°Squishy, squishy~.¡± I still got a nasty surprise at Alice¡¯s gentle but still somewhat weird fondling technique that targeted my chest! ¡°Y-you need to use the bathroom, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Nng~.¡± Letting Alice continue on could make things a bit too dangerous (?) for me, so I hurriedly helped her to get to the bathroom. But then... ¡°Nyah~.¡± ¡°Mm? Misha, you also want to use the bathroom?¡± ¡°Nyah~.¡± The golden-furred cat sauntered over to us, then began climbing up on Alice¡¯s figure. The creature only needed a blink of an eye to reach the top of Alice¡¯s head. ¡°Misha will go, too~.¡± Alice was still wobbling about while muttering that, so I resumed my job of helping her to the bathroom. ¡°Come outside when you¡¯re done, please.¡± ¡°Ng, big sis~.¡± I quietly waited in front of the bathroom door for Alice to finish her business. Initially, this job was about monitoring the girl as per Sir Hero¡¯s instructions. But now, it had morphed into something far closer to protecting her. Elves and dwarves had almost no contact with other races and as such, they didn¡¯t care much about who belonged to which race. Actually, there were more of us who hated humans and not the demon race. That¡¯s how weak our hatred towards the demon race was. But the majority of humans and several members of the clergy were the exact opposite. They acted like the demon race was their irreconcble enemies and tried to eradicate thetter group. All because the demons believed in a god that was hostile towards their chosen deities... What a good thing it was that both Sir Hero and Hill belonged to the Order of Nature valuing peace above all else. Imagine if they were from another Order ¨C things wouldn¡¯t have ended so amicably like this. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m still not sure if other heroes would¡¯ve been able to best that man...¡± Honestly speaking, I just couldn¡¯t figure out the exact depths of Naruan¡¯s strength, a man imed to be Sir Hero¡¯s teacher. A human who dragged around a dragon while calling it a lovable pet? Was he even a human, to begin with? And how do you even exin that silver girl¡¯s attacks? The one iming to be that man¡¯s daughter? That girl¡¯s attack was so horrifyingly strong that it defied all attempts to rationally exin it. It even felt like your soul was about to abandon you during her attacks, too! ¡°Euh, euh...¡± The moment I recalled that horrible event, goosebumps began breaking out all over my skin. So terrifying... That pain engraved deep into my flesh, etched into my memories and burned into my soul began to slowly rear its ugly head above the pool of my memories. ¡°No, stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about it, stop, stop!¡± I deliberately exhaled slowly, trying to stabilise my panicked breathing. My mind gradually calmed down, causing the terror from back then to slowly ebb and eventually dissipate. ¡°Fuu-hoo...¡± It took me quite some time to let go of my fear through thatst lengthy exhale. ¡°...Uh?¡± Indeed. It took quite a while. Meaning, it had been more than enough time for Alice to finish her business and step outside the bathroom. ¡°Alice?¡± Just in case, I lightly knocked on the bathroom door. Alice could¡¯ve fallen asleep in the bathroom since she was sleepy enough to not notice her transformed state. ¡°Alice? Are you not finished yet?¡± However, what could be the reason for this sudden bout of anxiety filling up my heart? ¡°Alice? I¡¯ming inside, alright?¡± When my continuous pounding on the door produced no response, I directly opened it and entered the bathroom. Alice must¡¯ve been so sleepy that she didn¡¯t even bother to lock the door behind her. But what greeted me as soon as opening the door wasn¡¯t the odour unique to all bathrooms but the cold wintry winds against my skin. ¡°The wall?! But who...?!¡± The cold wintry winds were blowing through therge hole in the wall, cleaved open quite cleanly as if a treasure sword had gone through it. ¡°Dammit...!¡± I rushed towards the empty bathroom¡¯s open wall to look outside but unsurprisingly, I couldn¡¯t spot any moving figures. ¡°Did Alice...? No, she couldn¡¯t have. Alice still doesn¡¯t have the necessary power to do this.¡± Alice did possess the demonic energy unique to all demon races but she was a descendent of a Subus, known to be below par inbat strengthpared to her peers. Even if she was a pure-blood Subus, it¡¯d still be too much for her to exercise this level of power at her young age. And even if she did have the strength, Alice still didn¡¯t know that she was a descendent of a Subus. Did that mean someone was already hiding and waiting inside the bathroom? Someone with enough ability to even fool my senses? ¡°I need to report this to Sir Hero... No, before that, where¡¯s the dragon?!¡± This sudden development and countless thoughts assaulting my head at once made it difficult to set my priorities. Even so, I was taught to deal with the matters closest to me when stuck in a situation like this! ¡°I knew it...¡± The one thing I could deal with first... I rushed back inside the room to check up on the dragon since it was staying together with Alice. But the only thing waiting for me back here was another cold wind blowing through the wide-open window. ¡°Dammit....!¡± This was a nned escape. I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d happen for real, but just like Sir Hero had predicted, the escape really did happen! ¡°Sir Hero!¡± I rushed to Sir Hero¡¯s room at my full speed. And the first thing I felt on my skin as soon as entering his room was... ¡°But, how?!¡± ...The cold wintry winds. Again. The winds were blowing through the open window with Sir Hero standing next to it, smiling brightly in my direction while saying the following words to me. ¡°Selena, you¡¯re finally here? Come on, let¡¯s bounce already!¡± #11 Their circumstances: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance. I fell into a prolonged bout of dilemma after the instructor rejected my offer to escape together. Why did he say he wasn¡¯t interested in running away together with me? Could it be that he had prepared a trap of some kind somewhere? Wait, could it be that he was thinking of letting the Imperial Princess finally catch him? After going through all sorts of dilemmas and worries, I finally came to a simple enough conclusion. I was already done for regardless of what, anyway. As such, I had to escape. And there was a very, veeeery, good chance of the instructor also escapingter today, too. Since that¡¯s the case, all I had to do was to secretly follow him! That¡¯s right! The instructor was free to run away alone while abandoning me here. But I was also free to follow after him in his escape route, too! Aftering to that conclusion, I utilised every trick in the book to monitor the instructor. If he really was thinking of escaping, then tonight would be the best time to do so. I still clearly remembered what the instructor used to tell the ss every chance he got. That ¡®I knew it¡¯ was usually made in the night! [1] And just as I had predicted, the instructor vanished into thin air without anyone noticing it. The moment I realised that, I quickly woke up Hill. Since he already knew about my n, he hurriedly finished getting ready to flee and rushed back to my room. As for Selena, she was in charge of monitoring Alice so I figured that she¡¯d show up pretty soon on her own. ¡°Sir Hero!¡± The moment I thought that, Selena burst through the doorway and entered my room. ¡°But, how?!¡± ¡°Selena, you¡¯re finally here? Come on, let¡¯s bounce already!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± She was making a bbergasted face, but we didn¡¯t have time to leisurely shoot the breeze here. Even if she was known as myrade, people would still find Selena running around the royal castle in the middle of the night rather suspicious. The royal family might determine that something had happened and dispatch people to find out what¡¯s what. ¡°Hurry up and follow me!¡± I jumped outside the window and used magic to erase even the sound of mynding. ¡°Hill!¡± ¡°I¡¯ming!¡± Afternding safely, I gestured with my hand and called for Hill. He lightly jumped out from the window next. ¡°Sir Hero, I never knew I¡¯d get to experience jumping through a window in my lifetime.¡± ¡°Things like this can happen in life, Hill.¡± ¡°It seems that this is not your first time?¡± ¡°Yup. It happened a lot in the past, you see.¡± Mostly when I was still under the tutge of the instructor, obviously. If you wanted to survive the magic bombing raid in the middle of the night while you were asleep, you simply had to learn how to jump through a window. Ah. Even though no one died back then, though. However, that was an even scarier prospect, alright. Should I say that I could sense the obsession of not wanting to grant us afortable death during the bombing raid? And it felt like that obsession had reached its zenith after the bat¡¯s entrance. ¡°Sir Hero!¡± While I was swimming in the reminiscence of the past, a shrill high-pitched voice came from the side to hit me in the face. ¡°Shh! We need to be quiet here.¡± ¡°I need an exnation, please!¡± Unless you, too, were an ex-employee of the evil organisation, you¡¯d definitely get flustered when a trustedrade asked you to jump out of a window without giving you a reason. That¡¯s why I chose to exin the situation in-depth to her. ¡°We gotta chase after my instructor.¡± ¡°Yes, I get that.¡± ¡°And while we¡¯re doing that, we also need to get out of this kingdom, too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I don¡¯t understand. Sir Hero, aren¡¯t you scheduled to tie the knot with this kingdom¡¯s princess?¡± ¡°Nope. I¡¯m not.¡± Selena seemed to have fallen further into confusion at my speedy denial but, too bad, we really didn¡¯t have enough time to chat like this. ¡°In any case, we need to hurry up and go after my instructor.¡± I quickly summoned a spirit to begin our pursuit. Although the instructor and the metal bat were outside the influence of the spirits¡¯ powers, that story didn¡¯t apply to Alice or the two pet creatures. Not only Alice, but even the two pets boasted even better potential than me, so it turned out to be rather easy to stick spirits to their sides. With this, it should be quite easy to catch up to my instructor... ¡°...Obviously, I never thought that way.¡± Indeed, my opponent was none other than my instructor. Mirua told me that Professor Nicerwin, a man who was thought to have reached the pinnacle of the summoning magic, and my instructor were one and the same person. And on top of that, he was a part of the best academy on the whole continent. Yugrasia was famed for helping you surpass your limits and be a powerful expert if you managed to get epted by them. And he was responsible for bringing great upheavals to such an institution! An institution that produced the youngest swordmaster, the youngest grand magician, the youngest god-level summoner, the youngest summoner of a great demon, and even the youngest summoner of the Spirit King in history! They all sounded like utter bollocks on the surface, but knowing that my instructor was behind those events... they sure sounded usible to me. Well, I, too, was subjected to a simr education regime under a simr environment, after all. My instructor was responsible for creating a monstrous academy like that, so would he really be unaware of the spirits¡¯ existence, a type of summoned creature? I¡¯d say, hell no. He probably had cottoned onto the fact that I had employed spirits and used them against me to dig a trap. Soooo, I better use that against him and determine his escape path but, with the instructor being who he was, he probably had predicted this turn of events, too... ¡°Urgh...¡± While worrying, predicting, and calcting, I found myself back to the starting point somehow. ¡°Hill, any oracles?¡± ¡°Nothing so far, Sir Hero.¡± The most urate thing to rely on was the powers of the gods, but my instructor was someone ¡®rejected¡¯ by the world itself, so not even the gods had any ways of tracking him down. ¡°Which means he¡¯s already met up with Alice...¡± ording to Hill, the influence of the gods didn¡¯t work in the vicinity of the individuals seen as the ¡®singrity.¡¯ The Goddess of Nature even said that she¡¯d need a medium belonging to her Order like the hero or the saint in order to exercise her powers in the surroundings of this singrity. And since the Goddess couldn¡¯t locate Alice anywhere, it could mean that the girl was not moving separately from my instructor. ¡°In that case, we need to go after them.¡± We followed the trail left behind by the power of the spirits stuck onto the other beings in my instructor¡¯s group, eventually reaching a remote corner of the castle walls. ¡°Wow. Even though he is my teacher, this is still seriously impressive.¡± ¡°I think I now understand why you say that, Sir Hero.¡± ¡°Judging by the traces left behind, this must¡¯ve been created not too long ago.¡± What made us, a group made up of the hero chosen by a goddess and hisrades, was none other than a doghole on the wall. The hole itself was so small that one person would barely fit. However, the impressiveness of this feat was on another scale when the hole itself had been burrowed in the wall protecting a kingdom¡¯s royal castle. Not only did the soldiers regrly patrol this area, but the walls themselves were reinforced with several different magic spells, too. So to think that he managed to dig out a hole like this...! And knowing that we hadn¡¯t been staying in this castle for that long, our collective shock became even bigger. ¡°Fine. Looks like we can also exit through this hole, then.¡± Well, the path was alreadyid out. And it was a far simpler method than jumping over the castle walls or slipping past the castle gates, too! ¡°Hill, you go first. Selena will go next. I¡¯ll keep an eye out for any pursuers, then be thest to escape.¡± To counter any potential emergency, I chose to remain behind and watch the surroundings. If I was the only one here, it¡¯d be simpler to use force to extricate myself from the worst potential situation. ¡°If something happens to me, return to the Order of Nature first without me. We¡¯ll meet up there at ater time.¡± ¡°But in that case, what should we do about your teacher, Sir Hero? Are we going to give up on the oracle?¡± ¡°We can only carry out the oracle when we are not under house arrest, wouldn¡¯t you agree? Besides, don¡¯t you think other Orders will make their moves sooner orter?¡± Of course, other religious orders would never catch up to my instructor even after mobilising all of their personnel. But right now, my escape took precedence above all else! Only after making a safe getaway could I go after my instructorter. ¡°The most ideal event is for us to escape from here unscathed and go after my instructor straight away!¡± Thankfully, no soldiers or knights charged into this spot while Hill and Selena were making their ungainly escape. A bitter, both of them managed to crawl through the doghole in the castle wall and emerge on the other side. And then... ¡°Wee back, Sir Hero!¡± ¡°H-huh?¡± The very first thing (or things) I saw after crawling outside was the awkward, cramped smiles etched on the faces of Hill and Selena. And the next person to enter my view was Princess Vera making a truly pleased smile which contrasted so much with the expressions of Hill and Selena. [1]: Although I tranted the line as ¡®I knew it¡¯, the word the author used there could also be tranted on the sly as ¡®history¡¯ as it¡¯s a regional Korean dialect. Or he could¡¯ve just made a typo, instead. Who knows... Chapter 169 < Evade the Hero and Flee! 169 #19. Life is a continuous escape (10)> Proofread ¡°You¡¯ve arrived.¡± ¡°Indeed...¡± A young man with radiant golden locks and a face that anyone would¡¯ve found handsome was princess-carrying a beauty with pink hair. There¡¯s nothing to see here, though! This man, who would have easily passed as a male lead in a movie, was none other than the damn cat that always wandered around my daughter. And the beauty in his embrace was none other than my dear daughter! Dammit! Only I am allowed to carry my daughter like that, you know! This damn cat bastard... I will overlook it this time due to the current situation being what it is but next time, I shall punish you with execution by the metal bat! ¡°Euh-euk...!¡± The cat punk started shuddering out of nowhere but that must¡¯ve been because my warning had gotten through to him. -Wuiiing? But master, you haven¡¯t said anything to him, tho? -The thing is, your instinct will be the first to pick up any whiff of misfortune about to hit you. -Hey, what are you implying about my metal bat state?! What do you mean, what I¡¯m implying? You¡¯re basically the worst imaginable cmity to every lifeform in existence, excluding me. ¡°Well, now. Shall we get going, then?¡± ¡°Hold on... Will it really be possible? To outwit a whole kingdom, I mean. Is such a thing really doable?¡± The cat punk made a cramped face as if he was feeling a bit worried. While looking at him, I made a confident expression and dered, ¡°It¡¯s just the securitywork of some backwater rural kingdom! Of course I can¡¯t break through it!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± The cat began tilting his head this way and that just then. He began frowning a little, his expression showing how confused he was. He must¡¯ve been wondering if his hearing yed a trick on him. ¡°Wait, you... Did you just say that you can¡¯t break through this country¡¯s security?¡± ¡°That I did.¡± Obviously. No matter how small, we were still talking about a kingdom here. Even a dog would eat half in front of its home before going back inside, so how much would a ruler of a kingdom eat before going back in? [1] Just one word from said ruler could bring out countlessbat personnel. Traps both physical and magical in nature were hidden everywhere, too. Yet you want me to break through them all? Well, if it was me alone, then yes, I could¡¯ve done it but, with my daughter and other sundry dead weight weighing me down, it¡¯d be almost impossible. ¡°What are you even talking about?! Didn¡¯t you say we will run away? But if you can¡¯t even break through their securitywork, how are we supposed to do that?!¡± The decibel of the cat¡¯s voice grew louder and louder. But he had toe down from his agitated state and lower his voice when my daughter, still being carried in his arms, murmured in her sleep and squirmed around a little. ¡°Were you trying to escape when you didn¡¯t have any means to do so?¡± ¡°Of course not. We¡¯re still escaping, alright. However, it¡¯s not against who you think.¡± ¡°Say what?¡± The cat now looked like he couldn¡¯t understand it at all. Uh-huh, would you look at this idiot? Since time immemorial, the most important thing to remember when trying to escape was... making sure to differentiate between the one you were trying to escape from, and the one you didn¡¯t have to worry about. Thinking that even those harmless folks were your enemies while trying to escape would only result in decreasing the range of your escape options! That¡¯s why you needed to strictly differentiate between your enemies and non-enemies. Non-enemies were important existences that could potentially turn into your allies, after all. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re fleeing from this ce, but we are not fleeing from this kingdom.¡± ¡°...Huh?¡± ¡°Indeed, the ones I¡¯m trying to get away from are the agents of the empire and also the hero punk, not this kingdom.¡± Seeing that dazed look on the cat¡¯s face, it seemed that he had not even considered the simple fact of this kingdom not being our enemy. ¡°Actually, this kingdom is our ally. Their goal is to capture and tie down the hero to them, after all.¡± I wanted to escape from the clutches of the evil hero. And this kingdom¡¯s princess wanted to make said evil hero as hers. Our end goals were different, but our rtionship was still what you¡¯d call symbiotic. That¡¯s because the hero getting captured by the princess was the best oue for both her and for me. ¡°In that case, why did you even escape in this manner?¡± ¡°It¡¯s to ensure that the hero punk doesn¡¯t suspect anything.¡± From what I had observed from the hero¡¯s behaviour until now, he seemed to be under the impression that I was trying to escape from this country, not him. That¡¯s why he could even yap about escaping together with him or something earlier. ¡°Rather than trying to evade him and flee, it¡¯ll be far better to create an environment where he can¡¯t escape himself.¡± Despite trying to run away several times, I had experienced getting caught every single time. Still, those experiences helped me realise something. This hero punk wasn¡¯t tracking me, but my daughter¡¯s location, instead! And after arriving in this kingdom, I watched him openly monitoring my daughter. That¡¯s when I had an epiphany that this punk was using her to keep an eye on me. That¡¯s why it was time to use that against him. ¡°Alright. All of you, use that hole to get to the other side.¡± I addressed the cat while pointing at the doghole dug out ahead of time. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I still have something to do.¡± The bait to lure the hero had been cast, so now was time to prepare a suitable rod to reel the fish in. ¡°You should run into some soldiers when you reach the other side. But don¡¯t panic and follow their instructions.¡± ¡°Say what?¡± ¡°Ah, wait. You will need this, too.¡± I pulled out a fur hat from my inner pocket and put it on my daughter¡¯s head. Her horns made noticeable protrusions on the hat, but I figured that no soldier would bother to point out the oddity in the current situation. ¡°Hurry on, now! There isn¡¯t much time. Hurry!¡± ¡°Got it...¡± The cat then lightly shook my still-sleeping daughter to wake her up. ¡°Well, then...¡± If the hero finds us in the middle of all this, all my ns would go down the drain. Therefore, I hid myself in the shadows and quickly travelled towards the royal castle¡¯s front gate. ¡°You¡¯ve arrived, Sir Naruan.¡± The princess had already finished mobilising the knights and magicians and had them on standby next to the gate by the time I got there. ¡°All preparations areplete, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Is that so... Even though I didn¡¯t want to believe it, it seems to have been true all along.¡± ¡°I can only apologise for my useless disciple, Your Highness.¡± ¡°No, please don¡¯t apologise, sir. Without you informing me ahead of time, I would¡¯ve been oblivious to it all, Sir Naruan.¡± A grieving beautiful woman was a sight for sore eyes, indeed. But the overwhelming majority of beauties I¡¯ve encountered so far turned out to be crazy b*tches, so this sight failed to sufficiently tickle my sensibility. Hang on a second. Even this princess was a crazy b*tch when judging by her actions, wasn¡¯t she? ¡°We don¡¯t have much time, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The princess nodded, then issued amand. Countless agents of the kingdom filed out of the front gate and headed to where the doghole was located in the wall. That hero punk always acted under the assumption of me trying to run away from him. He probably thought that covertly following me would be the best option for him in a situation like this one. That¡¯s why, in that very moment that I began nning my escape, the very first thing I did was to inform the princess that the hero was trying to run away from her. Then I promised to lend my aid to stop his escape attempt. And the result of that cooperation... was this! ¡°Huh?¡± Hill emerging from the doghole first stared at us, his brows shooting up high. All sorts of magic had been cast already to cut off any noises from leaking out of this space. On top of this, an illusion spell also ensured that we couldn¡¯t be seen until they had fully emerged from the doghole. All thanks to these factors, the first thing Hill saw when he raised his head was an army of at least several thousand men! Not getting shocked by this unbelievable spectacle would be strange, indeed! ¡°Pleasee this way.¡± Hill couldn¡¯t even resist when some knights grabbed his arm from the side. That¡¯s how he got caught first, then Selena the Elf was next. She disyed a simr reaction to Hill while getting dragged away by the knights. ¡°Your Highness. I shall now move on to the next phase of the n.¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you. Please toil a little bit longer for our sakes, Sir Naruan.¡± The princess added that she¡¯d definitely repay this kindness at ater stage, then slightly bowed her head before moving away. Of course, I had no desire whatsoever to wait around for that repayment. That¡¯s because I was not nning to return to this dang kingdom, no, the entire northern region for the rest of my life! I mean, look at that scene! This scene, that evokes a sense of deja vu in me! Years ago, it was me instead of the hero punk stuck inside a group simr to this one. And if I dally any longer, I would find myself in the exact same situation as him, too. As such... I better join up with my daughter, already safely evacuated to elsewhere, and flee from this ce! Have a nice life, oh my dear disciple! I wish you all the happiness in life with the Ice Cream princess by your side! #12 Their circumstances: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance. Ah, sh*t. I¡¯m screwed. The first thing I saw after crawling out of the doghole in the wall was the sight of the captured Hill and Selena. And on top of that, the smiling face of the princess, too?! ¡°Were you nning to go somewhere, Sir Hero?¡± ¡°A-ah, well, you see...¡± The princess¡¯s smile was truly, breathtakingly beautiful. Well, she was called the most beautiful woman in the north by all the nearby kingdoms, after all. Even the dragon tried to kidnap her based on her fame alone. That¡¯s how beautiful she was! I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what number of people who¡¯d love to see the smile of such a beauty. Must¡¯ve been super high. However, I was frozen stiff like a rock the moment I saw that smile. That¡¯s because... I¡¯vee to realise that, no matter how wonderful the smile of a beautiful woman was, it¡¯de across as spookily eerie when a heavily-armed army of thousands, nay, tens of thousands, was serving as the backdrop. ¡°I beg your pardon? Were you thinking of leaving and going somewhere, Sir Hero? All the while abandoning me?¡± Her blue hair and eyes seemed to sparkle under the moonlight within the darkness. This scene was also mesmerisingly beautiful, but even then, another instinctive realisation dawned on me. ...If I fail to escape from here, my life as I knew it would be over, in a variety of ways! ¡°W-well, I was... out strolling?¡± ¡°Oh, my! Is that so? What a coincidence, as I was also out strolling, Sir Hero. Would you like to apany me, then?¡± Strolling under the moonlight, with an army behind you? Did she really think I¡¯d believe her? H-hang on a minute. If that was true, then hell, wasn¡¯t that an even scarier prospect? ¡°A-ahahaha, although it¡¯d be my honour, I was already thinking of ending the stroll and retiring for the night, Your Highness. It¡¯s unfortunate, but how about I take a rain check on your offer?¡± ¡°Yes, indeed it is unfortunate. Since Sir Hero emerged from the hole I have created, I wanted to believe that you wished to see me. Was I wrong, Sir Hero?¡± ¡°Heop!¡± I thought the instructor was responsible for that hole since the traces of the spirit lingered around it, but to think that the princess was responsible for the hole¡¯s creation?! In that case... could it be?! ¡°Is my instructor nearby, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Sir Naruan? He needed to attend to another matter and has left already, at least for the time being, Sir Hero.¡± That meant he was here until not too long ago. Dammit! I never imagined that he¡¯d join forces with the princess even in the middle of his own escape attempt! It made sense, though, since the princess didn¡¯t know about the empire hotly pursuing the instructor even as we speak. It would¡¯ve been a simple matter to scam her in that respect. Dammit! How could I have failed to consider this possibility?! ¡°Unfortunately, it seems that we will have to dy our stroll to another day as you said, Sir Hero. Well, then. Shall we return to the castle?¡± The pair of blue eyes gleaming under the moonlight was staring straight at me. I was now basically a frog trapped in front of a snake. I desperately thought about, ¡®What should I do to escape from here?¡¯ but no useful solutions popped up in my head. ¡°The nights in the north can get very cold, so it¡¯s very inadvisable to stay outdoors for too long, Sir Hero. Especially more so when we¡¯re in the middle of winter. Yourrades are waiting for you, so shall we return now?¡± The princess smiled ¡®demurely¡¯ while extending her hand towards me, but my feet didn¡¯t want to budge an inch. My whole body had be paralysed from a pair of eyes even chillier than the cold winter winds of the north. ¡°Goodness me. Really now, Sir Hero. You¡¯re unexpectedly high maintenance, aren¡¯t you?¡± The princess ¡®demurely¡¯ raised her hand, prompting the knights surrounding us to slowly close in on me. Dammit! Do I need to abandon Hill and Selena and make my escape from here alone? But where should I even escape to? I could use my power to fight back but the bitter truth was, a hero fighting against a kingdom for no logical reason would never be epted by anyone. Wait! Wasn¡¯t this, like, a justifiable act of self-defence? N-no, that wouldn¡¯t work. Because of my instructor¡¯s scheme, the news of the princess marrying me has already spread to the rest of the continent as if it¡¯s an undeniable fact, hasn¡¯t it?! The current me basically looked like a hero trying to flee in the middle of the night after not wanting to take responsibility for his actions, after all! So, if I resort to violence here... I¡¯d be no different than a dead man walking, socially speaking. It¡¯s over. My life... it¡¯s over! But this happened right at that moment. ¡°You want my help?¡± ...A voice of salvation reaching my ears, that was. ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Want my help or not?¡± I couldn¡¯t see her yet, but that voice was still way too familiar to my ears nheless. ¡°Y-yeah!¡± ¡°Yeah what?¡± She replied in a displeased voice, prompting me to plead in a desperate cry. ¡°N-no, that¡¯s not it. Please help me, dear Lady Mirua!¡± ¡°Alright, then. However... you gotta help me track down the instructor, got that?¡± ¡°Yessir!¡± Right then, a ck shadow suddenly popped out between Hill and Selena and enveloped them in the blink of an eye. ¡°Uh? Huh?!¡± The soldiers next to them were getting flustered after their hostages were taken away. In the meantime, the shadow that had swallowed up Hill and Selena popped up right next to me before spitting both of them out. ¡°W-what was that?!¡± ¡°S-Sir Hero?¡± While Hill and Selena were panicking from how they suddenly ended up next to me, Mirua finally revealed herself in the open and stared straight at me. It was as if the army of thousands didn¡¯t even exist in her eyes. ¡°Where is the instructor?¡± ¡°Sir Hero, may I ask who that woman is?¡± Was she curious about the identity of Mirua who suddenly appearing out of nowhere? Or was she ¡®curious¡¯ about an unknown woman suddenly choosing to appear in front of me? Whatever it was, the princess in the distance spoke with a voice filled with skin-pricking coldness. ¡°Instructor, where?¡± ¡°Sir Hero!¡± The quiet little voiceing from right next to me, and the chilling voiceing from some distance away... Duuuude, both of them were so bloody scary! ¡°Mirua, it might be a better idea to get out of here first, don¡¯t you agree?¡± ¡°No, our instructor first.¡± ¡°He¡¯s already gone! And we need to hurry after him! That¡¯s why we gotta get out of here first and then talk!¡± ¡°Tch... That¡¯s why I came first, but... he¡¯s not here...¡± Mirua grumbled unhappily while pulling something small from her inner pocket. Then, she brought it close to her lips. ¡°Transfer.¡± That one word from her caused the surrounding space to distort and soon, the surrounding scenery also rapidly changed. That¡¯s how I got to sessfully escape from that deadly situation. p, ck. ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only until we catch the instructor. You will be working under me until then.¡± ...Even though I got caught by someone else right afterwards! [1]: This is an old Korean idiom, and it means that you¡¯d feel braver or have an upper hand while inside your home turf. Chapter 170 < Evade the Hero and Flee! 170 #19. Life is a continuous escape (11)> Proofread I could see a small hut in the distance. ording to my agreement with the princess, a horse-drawn carriage should be prepared in there. ¡°You¡¯re finally here!¡± The n seemed to be working out smoothly, judging from the cat patiently waiting for me there. It quickly rushed up to me. ¡°Where¡¯s my daughter?¡± ¡°My benefactor? She¡¯s sleeping inside the carriage.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± As expected of my dear daughter. I heard that all beautiful women were sleepyheads, so I couldn¡¯t help but wonder how much of a beauty she¡¯d be after growing up. Although, she was already overflowing with the... devilish charm to the point of being too explosive! At this rate, every able-bodied male in this continent might try to pounce on my daughter in the future. It sure was hard work raising a daughter as adorable, pretty, and lovely as her. I needed to turn half of the continent¡¯s popce to my enemies, after all! -Master, that¡¯s why you gotta do ya best to raise that dragon, you know? With a dragon hanging around, no matter how cute my little sister grows up to be, nobody in their right minds would carelessly approach her, right? -But it¡¯s still only one year old, though. We¡¯d need at least one thousand years before it¡¯s considered to be somewhat ¡®grown-up.¡¯ -But it knows how to fire the dragon breath already, right? Isn¡¯t that like, Mission: Education for Gifted Children, sess! Let¡¯s take this chance to create the youngest-ever Dragon Lord, too! -I¡¯m scared by the sound of it since it¡¯s you we¡¯re talking about. You might actually do it, after all. -But master, that¡¯s your job, no? Nope. Not interested. What would I even be trying to achieve by creating something that dangerous? No, hang on a minute. Even before I could create a monster like that, my life wille to an end first, you know! I wanted to spend the remainder of my life living in rtivefort while raising my daughter. As for Kkokko, its master¡¯s daughter would raise it well, and they should live together side-by-side in the future. If this dragon had even a lick of conscience, it¡¯d surely want to repay the kindness I¡¯ve shown by rescuing it from the fate of bing yet another fried egg. -If you want to talk about that, weeeell, didn¡¯t you almost turn a dragon egg into a fried egg? Aren¡¯t you, like, the mortal enemy of all dragons by doing that? -No one knows what happened beside you, so it¡¯ll be fine as long as you keep your trap shut. I messed up and nearly turned a dragon into a fried egg, but nobody knew that, so it didn¡¯t matter anymore. Being oblivious wasn¡¯t a crime, after all! [1] -I knew it. That¡¯s what every viin would say... Uh-huh! My current job is a farmer. Being a viin was my old job, kid. My old job! This carriage being pulled by two horses was originally meant to transport cargo, but its interior was still better than my expectation. Quite some amount of straw wasid out on the floor, making it feel rather plush. My daughter was sleeping in a rather... sensuous pose on top of the straw. And all that powerful devilish charm was currently flooding out of her without going through any filters. ¡°As expected of my dear daughter.¡± ¡°She might be my little sister, but this... is a bit dangerous.¡± ¡°You are the dangerous one here.¡± The dangerous one had already morphed into her human form and began panting dangerously while staring at my daughter. So I grabbed the punk and chucked her outside the carriage. ¡°Kku-aaahng?¡± ¡°Heeeeiiik?!¡± The cat screeched in horror at the iing flying metal bat, but his sacrifice was necessary for my daughter¡¯s safety. I was fairly certain that he¡¯d understand. ...Probably. ¡°Hmm...¡± ¡°Mommy...¡± I stared at my daughter holding Kkokko tightly under severalyers of nkets, then turned my head to look at the cat. ¡°Hurry up and get in, as I¡¯m nning to travel as much as possible during the night.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± The cat cautiously climbed into the carriage while ring daggers at the metal bat. His caution was understandable since the metal bat was smirking dangerously at him. I quietly fixed the carriage¡¯s ps and tied them securely so no chilly winter winds could get inside. My daughter¡¯s sleep was very important, after all. ¡°Well, then. Shall we get going, then?¡± After sitting down on the carriage¡¯s driver seat, I wrapped myself up with the remaining nkets and began whipping the horses to move. ¡°So cold...¡± Winter in the North was bitterly cold. It also arrived swiftly. Currently, the winter¡¯s reach hadpletely overtaken this area. The weather had gotten so cold that, if you fell asleep now, you¡¯d never wake up again. My daughter should be fine inside the carriage prepared by the royal court. And she was sharing body heat with Kkokko in her sleep, too. But my job was to drive this carriage, which meant I waspletely exposed to the cold winter winds! These winds couldn¡¯t havee from anything else other than the middle of winter. This nostalgic feeling I was getting... It was straight out of that dark time in my life when I was sitting right at the end of the 2.5-ton army truck¡¯s bed! ¡°Even though this is a royal court-provided carriage, it can¡¯t do anything about the winds, huh...¡± The driver¡¯s seat was somewhat warm to the touch, which meant that the magic active inside the carriage worked on this part, as well. But the winds hitting me in the face still felt cold. They should¡¯ve at least cast a magic spell to block winds from hitting the carriage driver or something. ¡°But master, is such a thing even possible?¡± ¡°Yeah, if it¡¯s the empire.¡± ¡°As expected of that cheat-y empire!¡± Anything the emperor and the imperial princess said woulde true in the empire. The empire that physically showed you that it was not ¡®You can do it!¡¯ but ¡®You will be forced to do it!¡¯ Right, I got to experience several surprising events of my nonsensical suggestions turning into reality back then, didn¡¯t I? All thanks to magicians, sorcerers, master craftsmen and career soldiers, etc., etc., working their butts off! If it was that ce, they probably could really install some kind of a mechanism to block the winds out. ¡°Master, the option to go back to the wonderful empire is still avable right this moment!¡± ¡°Stop your nonsense, will you.¡± ¡°Eeeng. If it¡¯s that imperial princess sister, she might even find criminals that need metal bat punishment for me every day, you know.¡± ¡°Huh...¡± Right, if it¡¯s that imperial princess, she could definitely make an offer like that to the metal bat as the reward for capturing me. I didn¡¯t think there wouldn¡¯t be all that many criminals due to the strictws but, uh, the empire was overflowing with evil organisations like Howling, so... ¡°Hey, you. You couldn¡¯t have...?¡± If this metal bat punk stabbed me in the back and facilitated my unwanted meeting with the imperial princess, then my life would be over. End of my life as we know it, to put it mildly! ¡°Master, do you really think I¡¯d throw you away, just like that?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°S-such a quick answer?!¡± The metal bat began staggering as if my reply devastated her. She even started making sobbing sounds, too. ¡°Don¡¯t you know how hard I worked for you, master?! And I did everything you told me to do, too! But all I get is this kinda treatment?! I¡¯m so sad... Sniff, sniffle...¡± ¡°Sniffle, sniffle my foot. You dare try to scam me...?¡± ¡°Eeeiiik! Master, how could you not trust me this much? It¡¯s too unfair, you know! And I¡¯m such a kind and caring creature, too!¡± The metal bat crying fake tears suddenly did a 180 and beganining unhappily when I saw through her poor acting. ¡°What happened to your conscience?¡± ¡°Never had one since my birth, master. Conscience? What is thaaat?¡± ¡°Huh... huhuh.¡± She brazenly dered her ¡®No Conscience¡¯ status, leaving me speechless. But that¡¯s because I knew that this thing¡¯s creation was my fault, to begin with. The metal bat pushed her chest forward proudly and retorted, leaving me unable to say or do anything but to concentrate on whipping the horses. Neeeeiiiigh-iing! ¡°Oh, you poor horsies, my master is taking out his anger on you, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°You¡¯re in no position to say that, though.¡± ¡°Bad! Bad master, taking out your anger on horses after getting punked by words!¡± Huh, huhuh. Would you look at her rhyming sense? [2] Such an excellent rhyming sense that she was eminently qualified to join our team, no less! ¡°What team are you talking about, master?¡± ¡°The escape team, obviously.¡± ¡°Uh-whew. I was the idiot for expecting something else.¡± Neeeiiggh-! This weird silence descended between us for a while. Wanting to break it, I began whipping the horses again. ¡°Eh, it¡¯s snowing, master.¡± ¡°Not the first snow of this year, but... Don¡¯t know why, but this snowfall is making me emotional.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it is, master. It¡¯s the first snow we¡¯re encountering this year while running away, after all.¡± ¡°You saying ¡®this year¡¯ is leaving me with a bit of a sour taste. Is it because of how I¡¯m feeling right now?¡± ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t think so? What you¡¯re thinking of right now, that¡¯s probably 100% right?¡± ¡°Are you trying to say we¡¯ll have to escape plenty more times in the future?¡± ¡°Well, the imperial princess sister now knows about your rough location, doesn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°The damn informant is now in the hands of the Ice Cream Princess, though.¡± ¡°But that hero is your disciple, master. A disciple of someone who¡¯s been sessfully evading the empire all these years. Wouldn¡¯t you say he is at least capable enough to escape a measly little kingdom like this one?¡± ¡°Hiiiya~. Hey, what is up with your power of persuasion?¡± It now felt like the hero punk would suddenly appear right in front of us very soon. That feeling was so strong that I began pulling the nket wrapped around me to ward off the cold even closer to cover my head, too! That meant my feet area was slightly robbed of the nket¡¯s protection, but I decided to trust my body¡¯s judgement and let them be sacrificed for a little while. ¡°Going faster makes it colder, but going slower makes it cold for longer...¡± ¡°And stopping now makes the hero catch up to us!¡± ¡°Keu-heuk...¡± ¡°It¡¯s toote now to regret your life choices, master. That¡¯s why you gotta focus now on making a perfect getaway.¡± ¡°Sagacious words, but the way you say it makes me think that it¡¯s some kind of a trap.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the fault of your emotions, master. Your emotions.¡± That might be a part of it, but something told me that there were many other factors besides. ¡°That¡¯s because you know so well what¡¯s about to happen to you, master.¡± ¡°Come, faster! Run faster than the winds!¡± Neeeiiiigggh-! I relentlessly whipped the two horses to go even faster. The snow piling up would result in the decreasing of the carriage¡¯s speed. But the worst potential situation could happen in the morning ¨C the morning sunlight melts the snow only for it to freeze back up again, forcing us to abandon the carriage altogether. That¡¯s why we needed to get as close as humanly possible to the Ruibe City Alliance, our destination. ¡°Master, I know that the City Alliance boasts a pretty strong military, but isn¡¯t the empire the biggest financial supporter of that ce?¡± The Ruibe City Alliance began with generals and aristocrats from various kingdomsing together to create a ¡®city¡¯. Thanks to this unique origin story, that ce possessed enough military prowess to rival one or two powerhouse nations on the continent. Maybe not the empire, though. They boasted an abnormallyrge militarypared to the territory they were given to protect, but on the flip side, they didn¡¯t have the resources or food supply to maintain such arge pool ofbat personnel. That¡¯s because they basically invest all manpower and resources into keeping up the military. It would¡¯ve been only normal to see people living in such a ce all die of starvation. But, with the support of several religious orders that hated the demon race, Ruibe strongly requested other nations to help it out in the task of protecting the border between the humans and demons. Those nations naturally agreed with that request and began sending a fixed amount of support to Ruibe. This helped Ruibe to be an independent alliance of cities despite receiving support from many kingdoms. In simpler terms, other kingdoms found it difficult to provoke Ruibe, but Ruibe itself couldn¡¯t just ignore diplomacy with other kingdoms, either! As Karuan Empire was the strongest nation on the continent, it also provided thergest support to the City Alliance. Which meant that even Ruibe couldn¡¯t help but be mindful of the empire¡¯s moods. Since the empire¡¯s goal was to capture an individual trying to flee from it, surely Ruibe would want to hand me over after only a little bit of negotiations. Especially more so when I was apanied by my daughter, whose veins were flowing with blood that¡¯s undeniably half-human, but the other half belonged to the demon race! ¡°Wait, master! Does that mean my little sis will be in danger, too?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Eiiik! To think that you¡¯d actually put my little sis in danger just for the sake of your escape!¡± The metal bat suddenly began kicking me in the shin. I¡¯ve mentioned this already, but the horrifying pain other people felt during the metal bat¡¯s assault didn¡¯t get transmitted to me. Even so, the pure physical impact still hurt. ¡°Hey, that hurts!¡± ¡°That was the point of hitting you! How can you even think about taking my little sis to somewhere that dangerous! You evil master!¡± ¡°What the heck. I only said we¡¯ll be heading to Ruibe, you know? I never said we¡¯d be living there!¡± ¡°Wuiing? What are you talking about?¡± I shoved back the metal bat¡¯s leg trying to kick me again, then openly told her the real reason why we were heading to Ruibe the City Alliance. ¡°Do you remember the special nature of Ruibe that I told you about?¡± ¡°An alliance of cities that operate on their independent rules. Has very strong military. Not even the empire can carelessly send their soldiers across the border.¡± It seemed that the metal bat was paying attention to my exnation back then. I nodded at her reply. ¡°Right. And what else?¡± ¡°There was something else?¡± The metal bat began tilting her head in confusion. I helped her with recalling the most important piece of information about that ce. ¡°Why did Ruibe form in the first ce?¡± ¡°That¡¯s obviously because the demon race is... Ng?¡± I made sure to block the metal bat¡¯s attempts to read my mind, so her curiosity had reached its peak by now. When she finally understood the intent behind my question, her silver-hued eyes grew incrediblyrge as she began shouting at me. ¡°Are you mad?!¡± ¡°Hahaha! One should be prepared to do something that drastic if one wishes to escape from the clutches of that crazy imperial princess!¡± ¡°I knew you were insane, master, but to think that it was this bad!¡± The metal bat rarely got flustered, but right now, she was genuinely freaking out. That sight brought a satisfied grin to my lips. ¡°Wha? Why are you smiling like that for?! Master, do you wish to kill yourself that much? Even I know that demons on the other side of the border hate humans as much as humans on this side hate them!¡± ¡°Uh-huh. Even if that¡¯s true, all kinds of creatures still live there. Demons have been living inside the human side of the continent, so who says humans can¡¯t live inside the demon¡¯s territory?¡± ¡°No one, obviously. Because no human or demon would ever think that someone is crazy enough to actually try that!¡± Uh-huh! Let me tell you a very cool legend I heard during my military service days. Although... It was only one of many cool legends there, but whatever. That ce I served in my military days held many legends, that¡¯s for sure. For instance, a sergeant deserting the base with incredible haste while kitted out in full attack gear. Or, no one realised that a guest from the brass hade until said guest started knocking on some doors... In the ce that held so many legends such as those, there was one other notable legend. It detailed a massive incident where a civilian working in the base somehow cut through the iron fence and managed to defect to North Korea! I was assigned near where the fencing had been cut through and used to think that the civilian was one amazing dude. To think that there would be someone crazy enough to choose to go North! And now, here I was, trying to put to practice what I realised back then. ¡°No matter how insane the imperial princess is, she¡¯d never, ever imagine that I¡¯m bold enough to escape to thend of the demons!¡± ¡°Yup. Even the imperial princess sister would never think that master has reached such a height of insanity!¡± ¡°Hahaha! However, I¡¯ve already made preparations, you see?¡± I pulled out my hidden trump card from my inner pocket, which had been prepared a long, long time ago for a rainy day like this. ¡°...What the heck is that, master?¡± ¡°What do you mean, what? It¡¯s a horn, obviously.¡± Not just any horn, but a horn of the demon race gleaming in the reddish-ck hue attached to a headband, no less! This wonderful tool was crafted by none other than dwarves, too! ¡°But will this thing really fool the demons, master?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been trusting the dwarven products until now, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s still worthy of our trust.¡± ¡°...What you¡¯re saying implies that dwarves made this when you went to see them, master. Just when did you have it made, anyway?¡± The metal bat narrowed her eyes and leered at me. I replied in a matter-of-fact voice. ¡°Obviously, when I was still working for the organisation.¡± ¡°I knew it, my master is the ¡®best¡¯! Totally nuts, to the point of making me dizzy and stuff, too! To think that you¡¯ve been nning to flee to the demon continent from that long ago!¡± The metal bat began shouting loudly while this somewhat strangely motivated expression floated up on her face. I nced at her before whipping the horses once more. White snow continued to fall during the night. And I was still doing my best to flee even today. [1]: Yes, I know it¡¯s ¡®ignorance isn¡¯t a crime¡¯, but that¡¯s what was written in the raw. Like, literally... [2]: In Korean, ¡®horse¡¯ and ¡®word¡¯ are spelt the same. Hence, ¡®rhyming¡¯. Chapter 171 < Evade the Hero and Flee! 171 #19. Life is a continuous escape (12)> Proofread #13 Their circumstances: a certain demon¡¯s circumstance. Screams. Despairing. Lamentations. Chaos. And then, screaming again. Scorching mes began burning down everything in the surroundings. At the same time, screams of despair and horror rang around everywhere. One by one... A life was being extinguished with every passing hour, minute, no, second. ¡°Aggreart...!¡± In this burning battlefield was a young girl with ck bob-cut hair. She was gritting her teeth while ring murderously at a man with a humongous physique. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, oh Princess Belegrea, that you failed to anticipate this oue?¡± ¡°No one could have guessed that you¡¯d make a move like this! Do you wish to wage war so badly that you are actually willing to start a civil war among the demons first?!¡± Unlike the man¡¯sid-back voice, the girl referred to as Belegrea roared out hoarsely like a beast¡¯s howling. ¡°But, you were the first one to make a move, so you shouldn¡¯t be saying that to me, right?¡± ¡°What? Are you talking about my search for the descendants of the Subus race? Did something so minor warrant this much bloodshed?! Do you really wish for a throne of blood built over the piles of corpses!?¡± Kaa-aaahng! An ultra-sharp sword aura shing out of the girl¡¯s hand tried to attack the man, but too bad, her opponent far too easily defended against that strike. ¡°Minor? Did you say minor?¡± ¡°...What?¡± The man momentarily tilted his head, and the girl didn¡¯t miss that. They both thought of simr things at the same time. ¡®Something is wrong here.¡¯ ¡®It was a misunderstanding!¡¯ That man was the leader of a powerful faction. In other words, he was not a moron who¡¯d fail to read the true intentions behind the words and actions of his opponent. And that¡¯s why he realised right away that the girl was merely searching for the Subus race. The culprit behind the attacks against his underlings was someone else, instead. The girl also realised that this man standing before her eyes was attacking her because of a tragic misunderstanding. But the consequence of his misunderstanding had already gone way past the point of sweeping it under the rug as just an unfortunate ident. There were three factions, and one of them had attacked another one. That¡¯s what had happened here. The moment the man realised his mistake and stopped the massacre, he¡¯d have to take responsibility for killing all these people until now. And even if he did stop, the girl still had to kill him as a price for all this bloodshed. Even if the man apologised at this stage, she¡¯d never ept it. No, wait... She would ept his apology, yes. An apology paid for with death! Not just his, but every single underling under him, too! ¡°Well, it seems I¡¯ve made a mistake, then.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not toote to stop now.¡± ¡°And that will lead to all of us to losing our lives.¡± ¡°You did something wrong, so it¡¯s only correct that you get punished, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Indeed. Certainly, we are at fault this time. Unfortunately...¡± An incredible amount of energy began gathering in the man¡¯s greatsword. The girl was reminded of the fact that the man before her eyes was not only the leader of the radical faction but also the strongest warrior among the demon race and the ruler of the entire demon army. He was none other than Aggreart, the great general of ¡®In-ma¡¯ race, and the entire demon race, too! [1] ¡°My apologies, Princess Belegrea, but for the sake of demon race¡¯s unification, I must take your life here today.¡± ¡°Someone like you bing the king of demons will cause countless more deaths! I cannot and will not ept it!¡± A lump of powerful magical energy began gathering in the sword gripped tightly in the girl¡¯s hands. The fabled sword light! The girl also possessed enough power befitting her status as the leader of the moderates, the strongest faction in the demon race! ¡°...Sever.¡± The first one to make a move was Aggreart¡¯s massive greatsword. A powerful strike that came down from above, a clean but unstoppable attack! Belegrea stood her ground and watched the iing attack until the end. Then she used the tip of her sword to deflect the greatsword¡¯s trajectory. ¡°...Keuk.¡± ¡°Hmm. As expected of a girl who has inherited the blood of the previous demon king. Amazing, indeed.¡± Aggreart¡¯s greatsword ended up swinging down in the empty space. Belegrea had seeded in altering the trajectory of his attack in the nick of time with her own sword. ¡°What a nonsensical level of power...!¡± Unfortunately for her, though, the tip of her sword broke apart as the price for her sess. She stared at her weapon, now missing about one-third of its de, and began biting her lower lip. She then tried to focus even more demonic energy on her sword butpared to Aggreart¡¯s truly ginormous greatsword, hers looked so shabby and inconsequential. ¡°Princess Belegrea, Imend you for fighting so well until now.¡± ¡°No, not yet!¡± Aggreart was the only one in the room with her. Princess Belegrea instinctively realised that this was her defeat, but that didn¡¯t mean she¡¯d give up so easily like this. ¡°Haaaaa-aaahph!¡± The demonic energy gushing out from her at that moment was so strong that it¡¯d not lose out to Aggreart¡¯s! ¡°Indeed, you are strong, Princess.¡± Even Aggreart had to nod his head in eptance at her incredible demonic energy output. ¡°However, you don¡¯t win wars simply by being strong.¡± ¡°Ah...¡± Unfortunately for her, Aggreart oh-so easily destroyed Belegrea¡¯s powerful gust of demonic energy as if it was nothing to him. ¡°Even a treasure sword would begin to rust if you don¡¯t polish it often. The reason why the moderates are losing to us the radicals is simple. You have individuals who can fight, but no one who has experienced the actual fight.¡± Aggreart had experienced waging war against humans and, to his eyes, Belegrea¡¯s attacks came across as far too simple and predictable. ¡°Princess, I hope that you don¡¯t resent me too much for this. Think about the demon race¡¯s impending domination of heaven and earth as you pass on from this life.¡± ¡°Is this... really over for me?¡± Belegrea watched the greatsword falling on top of her once more, and in these brief moments, she imagined her death while closing her eyes. But then...! ¡°The moderates don¡¯t only have demons with no experience in real wars. Wouldn¡¯t you say, Aggreart?¡± Right before Aggreart¡¯s greatsword could cleave Belegrea in half, a voice belonging to another individual suddenly rang out within the room where only two demons should have been in. ¡°Old man?¡± ¡°Mekel...¡± Aggreart nced at the barrier made out of demonic energy blocking his greatsword. While pulling back his weapon, he shifted his gaze over to the owner of the voice. ¡°If you wish to talk aboutbat experiences, then well, I also have some.¡± ¡°Indeed, Mekel. You were still around.¡± Aggreart didn¡¯t lower his guard despite staring at a lizardman full of injuries. This lizardman happened to be his colleague once upon a time, after all. A colleague that served the previous demon king alongside Aggreart to wage war against humans. In other words, a trustworthyrade in arms. Such an individual had be an enemy. And Aggreart was certainly no idiot to lower his guard against someone like that. ¡°You¡¯ve grown old, Mekel.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the abnormal one here, Aggreart. Because I¡¯m old now, you think I should act like an old age pensioner in a care home? Even if I¡¯m a bit older than you due to the difference in our races, that¡¯s a bit mean, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I¡¯m meant.¡± Aggreart¡¯s greatsword began moving once more, prompting Mekel to create yet another barrier of demonic energy in front of Belegrea. Shatter! ¡°Kkyaaahk!¡± However, unlike before, the demonic energy barrier ended up shattering so easily. ¡°Your Highness!¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine, old man! I did evade it!¡± Indeed, Belegrea had evaded the greatsword in the nick of time. But herplexion was poor, perhaps as a penalty for forcibly circting her demonic energy. ¡°Mekel, it seems that your abilities have be too dull with age. The past you would have easily blocked an attack of this level, after all. Is it because you¡¯ve been enjoying the time of peace for far too long?¡± ¡°Hah? You punk. You¡¯re only saying that since you summon your underlings to do all the dirty work for you while you sit back and rx. Meanwhile, I had to break through their ranks with force and get here to protect Her Highness. Between a tiredbatant and a punk with not a hair out of ce after not even lifting a finger, who do you think will fight better?¡± ¡°At least your glib tongue hasn¡¯t dulled, Mekel.¡± Aggreart smirked a little, but that only made Mekel frown deeply. ¡°Bloody hell, why couldn¡¯t you get a bit pissed off after that much provocation?¡± ¡°I should be celebrating that my oldrade in arms hasn¡¯t lost his edge yet. As such, Mekel... Do you have any thoughts of working together with me like the good old times?¡± ¡°None at all. So get lost.¡± Mekel replied without a shred of hesitation. Aggreart nodded in eptance. ¡°Indeed. We¡¯ve already grown too distant by now.¡± He then began swinging his greatsword in Mekel¡¯s direction in utter silence. Mekel, too, returned fire with various different magic spells while dodging Aggreart¡¯s attacks. A sword and magic. This was a battle between the two individuals who used to serve the previous demon king as his right and left hands. And such a battle... concluded far too easily. ¡°Keuh-heok!¡± ¡°Old man!¡± ...As a victory for Aggreart. ¡°Old man, are you alright?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m fine... Cough!¡± ¡°Oh, no! Old man!¡± Belegrea watched on as Mekel crashnded near her position, tears quickly filling up her eyes. The old lizardman was inflicted with grave injuries. Unless he got medical treatment right this instant, Mekel might die simply from all the blood loss. Mekel was someone who apanied her since she was a young child and spent more time with her than her own father, the previous demon king. The thought of such a person dying in front of her caused tears to automatically stream down Belegrea¡¯s face. ¡°It sure has been a long time since Ist saw you crying, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Mekel, now is not the time to care about that!¡± ¡°Ku-hahaha... The sight of our adorable princess crying... cough! ...is one of my life¡¯s pleasures, after all.¡± Belegrea couldn¡¯t rebuke Mekel after seeing thetter cough out a mouthful of blood. Aggreart butted in just then. ¡°You¡¯ve be too weak, Mekel. And the amount of demonic energy you¡¯ve been wasting during your casting is also too much. As I thought, peace has dulled your edge, Mekel.¡± ¡°And you... are the same as in the past.¡± Mekel smirked a little while staring right back at Aggreart looking down on him. ¡°That¡¯s right. Because I never allowed peace to stain my existence.¡± ¡°Right. It¡¯s as you say. You are exactly the same as back when our lives were still filled with conflicts. Nothing has changed for you. Your incredible strength, your cheaty techniques that are at odds with your strength, and then... Your tendency of being strangely lenient towards those who fought by your side!¡± Right at that moment, Aggreart¡¯s sword made a move. Rather than his reason, his instinct had told him to act first. If he doesn¡¯t kill them now, something unexpected might happen... that¡¯s what his instinct had realised first! ¡°Hahaha. It¡¯s toote, Aggreart.¡± ¡°O-old man?¡± It was also at that moment that Belegrea¡¯s body began emitting white light. ¡°...Teleportation magic?¡± ¡°I had it prepared a long time ago just in case. We were cutting it real close this time.¡± ¡°No, old man!¡± Belegrea¡¯s figure began disappearing in the flood of white light. Aggreart tried to strike with his greatsword, but Mekel threw himself forward to block the attack with his own body. The lizardman watched her teleport away and smiled warmly at her for thest time. ¡°Your Highness. You¡¯re a strong person.¡± ¡°Old man, what are you doing?!¡± ¡°Even though your inborn demonic energy pool is enormous, your heart is even greater, Your Highness. That¡¯s why I pray that you will survive this. As long as you survive, the Demon God will never forsake you, princess.¡± ¡°O-old man? Old man! Hurry and undo this spell! I said, undo it right now!¡± Belegrea couldn¡¯t do anything as she watched Mekel slowly die. She began cursing her powerlessness and continued to cry out to him. ¡°Mere trickery like this...!¡± ¡°Aggreart, these trickeries have kept me alive all these years. Our enemies back then must¡¯ve felt the same as you do now.¡± ¡°Dammit. I forgot that there are a lot more bastards who wanted you dead than me.¡± ¡°Ku-hahahaha! Despite what you said earlier, you seemed to have been stained by peace as well, Aggreart!¡± Mekel continued to mock Aggreart even as blood continued to gush out of his mouth. ¡°You think the tides will turn just because some little princess managed to escape from here? Maybe, if it was you who escaped to gather other forces to rise against me! Most of the moderates joined your faction because of you, not the princess. Meaning, the centre of the faction was you, Mekel, not Princess Belegrea!¡± ¡°That might have been true in the beginning. But things are different now. That¡¯s what our princess is like, after all. Her powerful demonic energy isn¡¯t everything about her. No, her heart and her beliefs are even stronger! That is her charm, her true strength. Now, behold. Witness with your own two eyes, Aggreart! This will be the moment where you have let slip your final chance!¡± CLANG! ¡°Tsk.¡± Aggreart swung his greatsword after listening to what Mekel said but his weapon couldn¡¯t chop down on Belegrea¡¯s figure, now almost transparent midst the flood of white light. ¡°Is this ancient sorcery?¡± ¡°Well, a little bit of that is mixed in, sure. Thanks to you, we have plenty of blood around here to use as sacrifice, too. As you can see, it¡¯s been very effective.¡± ¡°Old man...¡± Belegrea¡¯s figure had almost disappeared from the spot, only her face was somewhat still visible. She stared helplessly at Mekel, her expression belonging to someone who had given up on everything. ¡°Your highness. Remember that this fool can never be the next demon king as long as you don¡¯t give up. That¡¯s why you must hold on, princess. Your heart... your heart is the hope of all demon race.¡± ¡°Ng. Got it.¡± This would probably be Mekel¡¯sst words. Belegrea, not wanting to forget his dying words, kept nodding away. And the moment her figurepletely vanished from the room, Mekel finally copsed to the floor. All Aggreart could do then was just stand there in a daze, staring at where the princess used to be. ¡°My liege!¡± ¡°Princess has managed to escape. Find her, even if you have to search the entire demon continent!¡± Aggreart¡¯s underlings began showing up next to him one by one. They had finished subduing most of the moderates near the princess by now. He issued new orders to them in a calm, t voice. ¡°And make sure to keep this punk alive. No matter what. It¡¯s the only way to capture the princess.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Aggreart watched his underlings quickly carry out his orders, then began mulling on the things Mekel said towards the end. ¡°As long as the princess doesn¡¯t give up, I can never be the demon king, is it? In that case, I shall personally make her kneel before me and give up.¡± Aggreart, now only a single step away from iming the throne of the demon king for himself, swore to himself over and over again. *** Around the same time as the great general of the demon race, Aggreart, was pledging to himself to make the princess give up... The daughter of the previous demon king and the princess of the demon race, Belegrea, was thinking about what Mekel told her. Thinking about those words that must¡¯ve been his dying will. Those words from a loyal retainer who sacrificed himself to ensure her safe escape... Your highness. Remember that this fool can never be the next demon king as long as you don¡¯t give up. That¡¯s why you must hold on, princess. Your heart... your heart is the hope of all demon race. Belegrea closed her eyes while thinking about those words. She made a truly pitiful expression, then whispered at the image of Mekel smiling affectionately in her mind. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mekel. But I think it¡¯s toote for me now.¡± ¡°Whatcha talking about? Didn¡¯t I tell yah to just answer the questions, nah?!¡± ¡°Kkuwaaaaahk!¡± Belegrea gave up on everything as she stared at a silver-haired demon girl busy beating her up while making ¡®toushi-toushi¡¯ noises with her mouth. [1]: The author didn¡¯t provide the Hanja for ¡®In-ma¡¯, thus I can¡¯t be sure what he intended to say. Will leave it as is until I get rificationter. Chapter 172 < Evade the Hero and Flee! 172 #20. This World Doesn¡¯t Want to Leave Me Alone (1)> [: ¡°Whew... That sure took us a while.¡± We ran and ran some more, finally reaching Ruibe the City Alliance at a crazy speed. The war between humans and demonkind happened quite some time ago. Since this was the frontlines against the demons, the entry procedure and inspection was fairly strict. But, thanks to Princess Vera giving us the Neidon Kingdom¡¯s token, we could enter the city faster than other folks waiting in line. -To think that the guards dare to hold people up so annoyingly like this! This is all useless, isn¡¯t it? The demons still invaded your home and our ce, anyway! -Well, that¡¯s true. Not just the cat and the dragon, but I also threw in the metal bat inside the carriage since my daughter had the potential to be a big issue during the inspection. But the dang thing beganining for some reason. But then again, we still had to endure thirty minutes of inspection despite possessing a token issued by a kingdom and even handing over a letter urging the guards to let us through quickly. During the inspection, the soldiers obviously had to check out the inside of the carriage, so the metal bat had toe out. And herints were stemming from... -And I was this close to winning, too! -Sure, sure. It¡¯s unfair, I know. The soldiers investigating inside messed up the game of omok drawn on the floor, and that¡¯s what she wasining about! [1] -No, seriously, I was winning! They stopped me from disying the dignity as the older sister back then, you know! -What the?! Stop trying to disy the ¡®dignity¡¯ of an older sister that way, you dumbass! -Eeeiiil! Master, you have no idea! Five sets, the first to win three sets is the victor, and we won two matches each! And in that situation, I was about to get an exhratinge-from-behind win! The most exhrating thing in any best-of-five match that I could recall was... three straight losses in a row. Yup, nothing¡¯s more empty-feeling and ¡®exhrating¡¯ than such a memory, alright. -I could¡¯ve won... I could¡¯ve won for sure! -That¡¯s enough from you. Can¡¯t you have another match in our lodgingter? -B-but, if we restart the game, it kinda feels like I¡¯ll lose... The metal bat continued toin that such a thing would only lower the dignity of the older sister. What the hell. If losing in a game of omok was enough to lower your older sister dignity, then how low was it, to begin with? If winning in omok was enough to elevate your dignity, then you should just give up already! ¡°Well, then...¡± While lightly driving the carriage, I searched for lodging where we could stay for the night. The roads in the middle of the city were quite well constructed, allowing me to take it easy with controlling the horses while enjoying the surrounding scenery. -Wouldn¡¯t it be better to quickly bounce outta here, master? -Sure, I did tell the hero that we wereing here. However, he got the short end of the stick plenty of times before, so he must be suspecting that I have run off elsewhere. That¡¯s why we won¡¯t get caught even if we take our time resting our weary bones. -But what if we get caught while doing that? -You¡¯ll beat them up, and then we bounce. An army from another nation showing up in the vicinity of Ruibe City Alliance would be very eye-catching. Even if Neidon was a minor kingdom, it was still a kingdom. So to see its influence not even working a bit here... That just indicated that other kingdoms would also not exercise much authority in this ce. As such, the first set of people to make a move would be diplomatic in nature. And I predicted that right after the diplomacy would be a small number of elites covertly infiltrating the city! The truth was, I was weak against a numbers gamepared to a few elites. Having said that, I didn¡¯t think anyone could win against gang-up tactics! ¡°In any case. That¡¯s why I¡¯m pretty sure that we can take at least one day off and rx to our hearts¡¯ content!¡± As it turned out, my prediction was correct. You see, I found a slightly more expensive inn where our carriage could be stored so that our horses could rest and then... we spent not one, but two whole days of rxing rest in the inn! For the first time in a long while, I got to spend some healing time with my precious daughter buying and eating delicious things. We then bought emergency provisions and a few other items to fill up the carriage before departing from the first city. ¡°But master, you seemed to have bought a few expensive things? Will this really be okay?¡± ¡°The currency of human society is unusable among the demon races, so might as well.¡± The reward for ratting out the hero to the princess... Keu-hmm. What I meant to say was, I was the teacher of her lover about to go on a lengthy journey, so she gave me a handsome amount of travelling expenses. Besides that, I had been secretly withdrawing from our slush funds while living with my daughter. We still had quite a lot of change left over from that, too! However, it¡¯d be dangerously eye-catching to use human currency in the demon¡¯snds, so I decided to spend the majority of our money here. ¡°And besides, we still have the currency epted by every nation in the world, gold nuggets, anyway.¡± There were also some gemstones stored safely away. As I thought, nothing beat gold and gemstones as your emergency funds when trying to escape. They were the best types of travelling funds since they were worth a lot despite their small volume. So, it¡¯d be more beneficial for us to buy magic stones to operate this carriage and magical tools that could make our life on the road that much more bearable. Well, we did have magic power batteries in the form of the cat that could freely use magic any time he wanted and Kkokko, who possessed an enormous quantity of magic but didn¡¯t know how to use it yet. ¡°Well, you came up with this, master, so we won¡¯t be at a loss, I guess.¡± ¡°Of course, of course. Ng?¡± And so, as our carriage was crossing a pure-white snowy field... ¡°Ng? Master, isn¡¯t that a person? Why would anyone be loitering around here?¡± ¡°No one should be insane enough to be a bandit in Ruibe, so...¡± Let me exin this one more time ¨C monsters and bandits were excellent targets to experience realbat for soldiers and knights. Especially more so for Ruibe City Alliance, the frontline of the ongoing conflict against the demon race ¨C they would be seen as truly precious experience points! That¡¯s why the folks who¡¯d happily lead an army to conquer a bandit hideout or a monster vige nearby was none other than Ruibe City Alliance. Which could only mean... ¡°An armed robber, is it?¡± Things like bandits that gathered in one location and grew their power didn¡¯t exist in Ruibe. However, this was still a ce where people lived, so it was impossible to disregard the dangers humans posed. Even though the City Alliance boasted a very low crime rate thanks to its powerful army and stringentws, I shouldn¡¯t assume that this ce waspletely free of crimes. An idiot who couldn¡¯t win against the momentary greed and cause an incident would always appear wherever people lived, you see. ¡°Is it a woman...?¡± The various parts of her clothing were torn and worn down while her head was deeply lowered, making it impossible to confirm her face. Even so, her golden locks and voluminous dress made it a bit too difficult to see her as a man. ¡°Master, what now?¡± ¡°Well, isn¡¯t it obvious...?¡± In this bitterly cold winter, that woman kitted out in thin-looking clothes was abandoned in the middle of nowhere. Even at a casual nce, that dress looked high-ss, so she must¡¯ve been a noble or a daughter of a well-off merchant. That¡¯s why... ¡°We ignore her and keep going!¡± ¡°As I thought, master is human trash!¡± Worrying about something annoying like that? I mean, didn¡¯t it look like it¡¯d saddle me with a sudden scenario quest or something, no? Fleeing was my number one priority right now, not trying to level up through a dumb quest or such! That¡¯s why I¡¯d prefer you to hand over such a quest to a hero or two passing by, thereby buying viins like me extra time to flee. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯re not a viin anymore?¡± ¡°It now has a modifier of ¡®former¡¯ attached, but I still have my priors, you see.¡± ¡°To think that a man with a shady past is my master... Having said that, his present and future aren¡¯t all that great either, anyway.¡± A man with a terrible life! The metal bat muttered that, but I ignored her and elerated the carriage instead. ¡°Please help me!¡± She must¡¯ve heard the sound of the iing carriage because I could hear her fine voice shouting towards us. But while listening to her... ¡°Keep running, Brownie, ckie!¡± ...I mercilessly whipped the horses while loudly roaring out ¡®Giddy up!¡¯ Neeeeeiiiiigh! ¡°Uh? Huh?!¡± Getting hit was painful whether you were a person or an animal. The horses screamed and began galloping even faster. As for the woman in the distance getting flustered by this development, she... ¡°Stop them, wall of ice!¡± ...proceeded to create a massive cliff of ice right in front of the rushing carriage. ¡°Son of a gun?!¡± For an instant there, I was reminded of the incident during the dragon hunt not too long ago. ¡°But it¡¯s different now!¡± Back then was a rugged, dangerous mountain path that no regr person could ever hope to traverse. And now, despite all the snow, we were on a t piece ofnd! A measly wall of ice like this cannot stop me! ¡°This is the carriage technique of the former imperial court carriage driver!¡± Using brilliant hand movements to manipte the reins this way and that, I intricately controlled the carriage. That crazy bi*ch was capable of using a powerful magic spell like that without any trouble. Yet, she was standing all alone in the middle of a field in a tattered dress? Her backstory must¡¯ve been one hell of an epic tale. And to think, she dared to hinder my escape with such an annoying backstory! What an evil bi*ch she is! ¡°Just because someone interrupted his escape, master turned a poor girl into an evil bi*ch...¡± I could hear the metal bat¡¯s dismayed voiceing from my side, but I roundly ignored her. You say that woman is not a normal person since she could suddenly raise a wall of ice in front of our carriage? You say this is a dangerous situation where we could die if I fail to dodge that wall and crash straight into it? You say my expectation was on the money and that woman is not normal? ¡°...Huh?¡± I went around the wall of ice with a fantastic cornering manoeuvre, then looked behind at where that insane woman was. But by then, she had disappeared like a mirage. ¡°Where did she go?¡± ¡°Master, in front!¡± The metal bat¡¯s shout prompted me to turn my head back. That¡¯s when I saw a certain person standing on the back of Brownie, one of the horses pulling our carriage forward. ¡°It can¡¯t be... You?!¡± Because this figure was standing on top of a galloping horse, his long golden hair and helm of the dress were pping powerfully in the winds. A face that wouldn¡¯t have been strange to be mistaken for a beautiful girl... But still giving off that strangely familiar feeling! ¡°Yes, instructor. It¡¯s me.¡± Seeing that weirdly hollow smile on his face made me finally realise the true identity of the ¡®insane woman¡¯. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be a hero, so why were you standing there looking like that?!¡± ¡°This is all your fault, instructor!¡± His voice was sharp and angry, which didn¡¯t suit his hair whipping in the air or the voluptuous dress. And that voice made me flinch for a moment there. ¡°Could it be... the empire?¡± ¡°Yes. Your guess is correct.¡± Ah, we¡¯re screwed. To think that the empire would have extended its tendrils to this part of the world! ¡°I thought the princess had captured me, but then the leader of... No, wait, Mirua helped us to escape. Except that I was captured by a different entity afterwards.¡± He swiped the air with his hand, causing the carriage¡¯s speed to visibly slow down. That little momentary swipe of his hand was enough to precisely severe the connection between the carriage and the horses. Quite literally, swordsmanship verging on the level of superman! ¡°And that¡¯s why I ended up in drag and had to go around here and there while waiting for your arrival, instructor.¡± Now that the carriage had been separated from the horses, it was only inevitable the vehicle¡¯s speed would slow down. The hero leapt off from the back of the horse, and as the distance between us gradually closed up, the carriage¡¯s speed continued to fall. Hell, it even kind of felt like the carriage was creeping towards the hero right now! A superhuman level of swordsmanship and even high attainment in magic, too?! Just where was the limit for this punk¡¯s abilities? -But master, why are you so surprised when he¡¯s strong enough to hunt a dragon? No, well, back then... He was beating up the dragon like some kind of a caveman, and that¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t see it, but now? This kid¡¯s swordsmanship and magic casting turned out to be very sophisticated. urate and fast, with no wasted movement or energy; he was aplishing whatever he wanted with only the minimum expenditure. He wasn¡¯t merely born with a humongous magical power but even knew how to use it proficiently, too! ¡°Thanks to you, instructor... many things happened to me. Yes, indeed. A lot of things.¡± The carriage hade to aplete stop. The hero met my stare, then pulled down something attached around his throat. ¡°...A cor?¡± ¡°Yes. Mirua... No, No.1000 put this cor on me right after rescuing me from the princess¡¯s clutches. She said that it¡¯s a special item crafted in the empire. It¡¯s cursed with all sorts of restrictions and even a tracking beacon, too. But that¡¯s not all. Mine even has another unique function of...¡± Snap. The hero tore the cor apart before tossing it away at an empty space. ¡°In case I break it off, it even has a built-in function of automatically creating a summoning magic circle to capture me again.¡± ¡°Son of...?!¡± The moment that small cornded on the ground, rays of bluish light shed before a magic circle began materialising. ¡°It¡¯s toote now, instructor.¡± ¡°Dammit!¡± Just how much did the empire¡¯s technology advance?! To think that breaking off a little cor was enough to create a summoning magic circle! A summoning magic circle was a type of magic that forcibly summoned a designated individual! It didn¡¯t mean to summon some mythical creature but a person existing in this realm, so it was basically the same as teleport magic. Other than the ¡®forced¡¯ part, of course. That¡¯s right. The important thing to remember in this case was that this magic forcibly summoned the designated individual to this location. ¡°...Uh?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± And the person appearing before my eyes and the hero¡¯s after the wall of blue light subsided was... ¡°Nnnng?!¡± ...No.17 wearing ordinary-looking pyjamas and making a stupefied expression. ¡°W-what is the meaning of this?!¡± ¡°Hey, wait a second?! Why are you looking like that?!¡± ¡°I was working until earlier, so I thought about going to bed, and... Eh? Instructor?¡± It¡¯s unfortunate that they were in the middle of a conversation, but... ¡°...Time for a smackdown.¡± ¡°N-noooooo, I don¡¯t wanna!¡± ¡°Dammit?!¡± A hero in drag and a magician in her sleepwear! Before the hero, who drew possibly the shortest straw avable in this situation, could regain his wits, I grabbed the metal bat and leapt up in the air to beat up two of my former disciples. [1]: Omok is a traditional game yed on a Go board using Go pieces. The board¡¯s size is 15¡Á15. However, it can also be yed without the board, just using a pen and paper. Chapter 173 Evade the Hero and Flee! 173 #20. This World Doesn¡¯t Want to Leave Me Alone (2)> Partially Proofread #1 Their circumstances: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance ¡°What did you say?¡± For a moment there, I thought my ears were malfunctioning. But that¡¯s because what Mirua told me was utterly nonsensical. ¡°Dress up like a woman.¡± Unfortunately for me, though, the wordsing out of Mirua¡¯s mouth remained the same as a few seconds ago. ¡°But, why?¡± ¡°Only then will the instructor not notice you.¡± ¡°N-no, wait...¡± Our instructor managed to slip through our fingers. It was already very difficult to find his traces and go after him. However, openly making moves while chasing after him would only make it easier for this kingdom¡¯s princess to capture me. That¡¯s why... I got the reason why we needed to be covert, yes, but still... ¡°Why do I need to dress like a woman?!¡± But, that was not reason enough for me to put on a dress, now was it! ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m not a bad superior who one-sidedly demands stuff from my subordinates. So, if you have any objections to my order, then it¡¯s fine to say no.¡± Mirua replied as such, entered into deep thought at my continued refusal, and then asked me a question while nodding away. ¡°Why, you hate the idea?¡± ¡°Of course I hate the idea. A man dressing up as a woman...?¡± ¡°Dressing up as a woman is not manly?¡± ¡°Sure, you could say that.¡± Dressing up as a woman... This was an act where a man disguised himself as a woman, and most of the time, the end result was so terrible that it¡¯d be seen as a dark period in the man¡¯s history. Of course, looking good in drag would leave behind its own type of dark history, too! ¡°If that¡¯s your only reason, then I can¡¯t ept it. Dressing up as a woman is the manliest thing to do, after all.¡± But what Mirua replied withpletely rejected that very notion. ¡°What are you even talking about?¡± ¡°Dressing up as a woman can only be done by a man, you see.¡± ¡°Ng?¡± ¡°If a woman dresses up as a woman, that¡¯s just a regr disguise, not being in drag.¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± Those words made me recall our instructor out of the blue. Definitely bullsh*t, but somehow... also logical? Wasn¡¯t that what our instructor used to say often to us? ¡°Well, that might be true, but...¡± What Mirua said was technically correct. A man in drag was dressing up as a woman, wasn¡¯t it? If a woman put on a dress, that... couldn¡¯t technically be called in drag, after all. But that wasn¡¯t the only reason why I refused to be in drag, you know? ¡°There, you see? Let¡¯s be real, you dressing up as a woman is possibly the manliest thing a man can do, you know? You get it now, don¡¯t you? So, do it.¡± However, Mirua insisted that her opinion was the correct one and demanded that I put on a woman¡¯s dress. ¡°N-no, hold on! Aren¡¯t you being unreasonable here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already listened to everything you have to say about this. It¡¯s enough already.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not even close?!¡± ¡°Alright, fine. Exin why dressing up as a woman doesn¡¯t suit a man.¡± ¡°It just doesn¡¯t, okay!¡± I shouted at her, but Mirua simply extended her hand, stopped in mid-air, then began scanning me from top to bottom. ¡°Hmm~. But if it¡¯s you, I think you¡¯ll look good. Have more confidence in yourself, will you?¡± ¡°Wha?!¡± Mirua¡¯s eyesnded back on my head, then she began to slowly lower her gaze while seemingly appreciating various parts of my body. Eventually... ¡°Hnng~ It¡¯s gonna suit you even better than I expected. Guys~?¡± Snap! Mirua lightly snapped her fingers, prompting ten people to instantly appear out of nowhere to encircle me. ¡°H-hold on! I might look like this, but don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m a dragon yer!¡± Although I shouted that out, every single one of these people emitted quite powerful air. It felt like I wouldn¡¯t have an easy time beating them in one-on-onebat, yet there were ten of them showing up... Uh? ¡°Hang on a second?! Why are you among these people?!¡± One of the ten neers happened to be a familiar face sporting brown bob-cut hair and blue eyes. ¡°I also got captured, that¡¯s why.¡± Hehehe... No.17 cackled ominously while slightly raising her head. Around her throat was a rather simr cor as mine. ¡°Give up. Giving up makes things easier.¡± ¡°Haha, a ssmate of our team leader, is it? That means he¡¯ll get used to it pretty quickly.¡± ¡°Dressing up as a girl. In drag, is it... I mean, what¡¯s so wrong about something so measly like being in drag?¡± ¡°Leader is right. Only men can dress like a woman. The manliest hero will now be in the manliest drag ever!¡± ¡°Kyah~, look at that explosion of masculine beauty!¡± The people appearing alongside No.17 were all staring at me but their eyes were dead. That look on their faces... I¡¯ve seen that before. ¡°J-just what kind of a life did you have...¡± ¡°Hmm? You should know, right?¡± Right. I knew what No.17 meant by saying that. Probably better than anybody. That¡¯s because that look on their faces... I¡¯ve seen that every single morning in the mirror during my hellish trainee days under the instructor ten years ago! To be more specific, that was my face! ¡°I know, and that¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you. The instructor is not around, so what could have possibly happened to you?!¡± ¡°Ng, well, it¡¯s nothing much, really. It¡¯s just that, the imperial court... No, Her Imperial Highness¡¯s army functions like how our instructor used to train us.¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± Suddenly, I began hating my brain for oh-so quickly figuring it out. That¡¯s because... this damn brain of mine showed me the images of the future lying in wait for me. ¡°N-no, it can¡¯t be... Again?¡± ¡°Ah, hang on. What you¡¯re thinking about isn¡¯t happening there.¡± However, Mirua quickly denied my fears. ¡°Well, we don¡¯t have the metal bat nor our instructor¡¯s technique of torturing us but not up to the point of killing us, after all.¡± What a relief, then...? ¡°Except that we do have the wooden bat we all have experienced before and also, the constant fear we might really die at this rate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s even worse!¡± The instructor¡¯s training program might have been cheap and dirty, but it was also famous for producing zero casualties. But now, the imperial court¡¯s... No, more correctly, the imperial princess¡¯s army was in a training program where people might really die due to theck of technique. ¡°It¡¯s fine, though. We have various religious orders nearby and those infamously expensive recovery potions prepared by a bucket load, after all.¡± ¡°Ng. At the very least, no one has retired so far from grave bodily injuries.¡± The two of them ¨C No.17 and Mirua ¨C were yapping away while nodding sagely, but I was someone trained by the instructor. It was easy for me to discover something suspicious about what they were saying. ¡°No one retired from physical injuries? In that case, what about injuries not to the body?¡± ¡°Uh...¡± ¡°Mm...¡± The two of them mped their mouths shut, but I had already got my answer by then. ¡°Not from physical injuries, but from psychological problems, is that it?!¡± ¡°Capture him.¡± Mirua neither confirmed nor denied my usation and simply ordered her underlings. ¡°Dammit!¡± I yanked my sword out and smacked away an iing sword attack. ¡°...A sword light?!¡± The moment our des collided, I activated my own sword light to chop the opponent¡¯s weapon in half but, as it turned out, I was dealing with a swordmaster. No, to be more precise...! ¡°What the hell is this?!¡± Three of the ten underlings were swordmasters. ¡°What is up with this ratio?!¡± Three swordmasters should be the average number of swordmasters found in your regr small kingdoms. But some nations out there didn¡¯t have a single swordmaster, so three of them all moving at the same time was on the level of posing a national threat! Yet such a powerfulbat force was right here?! ¡°I¡¯ve only brought the ones that could be mobilised right away, you know. You have to be a swordmaster or something if you want to be my subordinate.¡± Unlike No.17, who would be considered a beauty by pretty much everyone, Mirua suited the description of ¡®adorable¡¯ than ¡®beautiful¡¯ a lot better. Even though her figure had grown up a lotpared to when she was still a little kid! So, uh... How should I describe this scene of her proudly boasting about herself while pushing forward her t chest? Should I say, that sight didn¡¯t really suit a team leader answering directly to the imperial princess, the one who was really driving this empire forward? The sense of incongruity was genuinely strong with this one. Mm... Aha, could it be that her old malicious self had be a lot softer now? If she was a super-sharp de in the past, then she felt a bit softer-edged these days? Something like that? ¡°You must be eating well these days, then.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just on the level of eating well, though.¡± No.17 sighed grandly while shaking her head. ¡°She¡¯s gorging herself.¡± ¡°Right, she still finishes her food even at the face of Her Imperial Highness¡¯smand, after all.¡± ¡°And when His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince came to visit, she ignored him because she was in the middle of her meal! Now that was incredible.¡± ¡°Heh, even His Imperial Highness was no pushover, either. After being told that she¡¯s having a meal, he said he¡¯d wait and sat directly in front of our leader, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Well, he also has the same bloodline as Her Imperial Highness, after all. He should be able to do that much, at least.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not right. From what I know, Her Imperial Highness is a special case even among the imperial family, you know?¡± ¡°Well, our leader was really amazing back then when she dared to ignore His Imperial Highness, the future ruler of the empire, even though he was sitting right in front of her and finished her meal first.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not merely on the level of amazing, though. She even ordered three extra servings as if to rub it in on His Imperial Highness¡¯s face, didn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°If it was me, I¡¯d have gotten indigestion and failed to finish the food.¡± ¡°But our team leader nonchntly eats in front of Her Imperial Highness, no? So, I mean, a mere Crown Imperial Prince is...¡± ¡°It¡¯s just having a meal, yet she¡¯s so scary...¡± ¡°Even so, she¡¯s also still amazing. We can¡¯t help but respect that about her.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so right...¡± Something was quite off about that conversation just then, but it still managed to scare me. Even though the world¡¯s strongest empire¡¯s sessor was waiting for her, she actually ordered extra food? Not only that but when he was literally right in front of her face?! Also, she continued to eat even when the imperial princess showed up?! I knew it, Mirua was someone far exceeding my imaginations. And it seemed that being herself earned her underlings¡¯ quite badly misced respect! ¡°Indeed, she deserves our respect.¡± ¡°She¡¯s always like that but exposes no openings whatsoever.¡± ¡°And even though she disys such an attitude, her ability is so good that not even Her Imperial Highness expresses dissatisfaction.¡± ¡°And also...¡± Shudder! In that instant, this deathly chill crept all over my skin. ¡°It¡¯s really impossible to figure out what¡¯s real and what¡¯s fake about her.¡± ¡°It looks like she¡¯s just being herself only for it to be nothing but an act, and sometimes, it looks like she¡¯s acting but it turns out to be her true self.¡± ¡°Even while being like that, she predicts everything and makes a move first, too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so right. She can be really scary, you know? It kinda feels like you¡¯re dancing on her palm or something?¡± After the initial round of attack, the underlings didn¡¯t show any intentions of attacking me again. They merely disyed their strength, then proceeded to yap among themselves. At first, I thought they were like this because they believed in their abilities and superior numbers. But now, I came to realise something else. I realised that this was just a trap. ...That they received an order to behave that way so that I¡¯d end up letting my guard down! And the one who ordered them in the first ce was... ¡°A dragon yer isn¡¯t all that much, now is it?¡± Mirua was already holding my right hand wielding the holy sword, while her other hand was pressing a thin needle against my throat! ¡°...Since when?¡± Although my question sounded random, Mirua seemed to have predicted that I¡¯d ask it anyway, judging from how quickly she replied to me. ¡°Mm... Since when we just about captured you?¡± ¡°What? But how?¡± ¡°Think about it this way. Instead of doing something as annoying as this, I could have used yourrades as hostages.¡± She was right. If Mirua used Hill or Selena as hostages and demanded that I dress up as a girl, then for sure, I would have put on the dress without much resistance. But Mirua said some crazy nonsense to provoke me, then called out her underlings to force me into a dress. No, wait a minute. The reason why I yanked my sword out wasn¡¯t some dang dress, but because I heard what kind of an army the imperial princess¡¯s army was...! ¡°Ng, you¡¯re right. I deliberately said some stuff that would¡¯ve made you want to escape.¡± ¡°H-hey, I was still in the middle of thinking that, you know?! I haven¡¯t even said anything yet!¡± Even before I could voice my thoughts, Mirua replied first as if she knew everything already. ¡°Mm... It¡¯s all written on your face, you know?¡± The sound of her faint little chuckleing from near my ear sent shivers down my spine. I dearly wanted to put some distance between her and me. But the needle pressing against my neck seemed like it¡¯d stab me if I moved a muscle, preventing me from acting rashly. ¡°Then, why did you even provoke me?¡± She already had enough methods at her disposal to deal with me, yet still made me struggle pitifully by mentioning things like getting in drag or my life being in danger. Why would she even do that? ¡°Our instructor told us, didn¡¯t he? When trying to control people, it¡¯s sometimes necessary to demonstrate the gap between the target and me.¡± Mirua said that then went ¡®Mm!¡¯ before clearing her throat to whisper the following in my ear. ¡°Kneel. This is the difference of greatness between you and me.¡± ¡°You... You only wanted to repeat what the instructor used to say to us, didn¡¯t you?!¡± Mirua repeated the line we¡¯ve all heard many times in the past under the instructor¡¯s tutge, then exploded in a peal ofughter as if she was just an ordinary girl. Stab. ¡°Uh?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, but me telling you to get into drag wasn¡¯t a lie.¡± Just before I could groan loudly at herughter... When my guard went down again, her thin needle stabbed me in the neck. Mirua then muttered in a slightly excited voice. ¡°I really wanted to see No.1 dressed like a girl, you see?¡± ¡°You, yoooou...¡± Just because of something that trivial, you actually stabbed another person in the neck with a deadly weapon?! That¡¯s what I wanted to shout out, but... Abababa...? I tried so hard to open my mouth, but I couldn¡¯t exert any strength on my chin. ¡°Well, then... Beautify him until he gets my approval.¡± ¡°Yes, team leader.¡± My whole body was so paralysed that I couldn¡¯t even close my eyes. All I could do was just stand there and watch them approach me one by one, then be subjected to the worst humiliation in my life. ¡°I knew it, you¡¯re so pretty!¡± ¡°Euh-huk...¡± When I heard Mirua¡¯s impressed voice, I almost started crying. This was so unfair. What did I do to deserve such treatment?! I mean, I¡¯m supposed to be a hero, right?! ¡°This is all because we¡¯re trying to catch our instructor. Even someone like him will never guess that you now look like this.¡± ¡°You, you...!¡± ¡°Give up, will you. Giving up will be better for your mental health. That girl has already be thepleted viin, the one our instructor used to tell us about.¡± I was about to say what¡¯s in my mind to Mirua bursting out into a peal of carefreeughter, but No.17 grabbed my shoulder just then. I saw her expression and promptly mped my mouth shut. Because... the despair in No.17¡¯s eyes was far deeper than mine. ¡°Well, now. Where should I ce the bait, then?¡± Mirua began humming to herself, but I couldn¡¯t even reply to her. All I could do from then on was do exactly as she told me to. Chapter 174 Evade the Hero and Flee! 174 #20. This World Doesn¡¯t Want to Leave Me Alone (3)> #2 Their circumstances: Ria el Nermia¡¯s circumstance ¡°So tired...¡± I was staring at the mirror. A fairly pretty face, but bob-cut brown hair with messy, split ends that didn¡¯t suit such a face... And then, a pair of clear blue eyes, but deep dark circles immediately below that definitely didn¡¯t suit those eyes... A beauty. The reflection in the mirror would¡¯ve been judged as a beauty by pretty much anyone but, several parts about that face didn¡¯t quite feel right for that evaluation. ¡°Just how did my life...¡± That beauty in the mirror, the person named Ria el Nermia ¨C me ¨C could only sigh under my breath. The way I looked at the situation made this story seem like a stranger¡¯s, but too bad, it was my tragedy, no one else¡¯s. ¡°Just where did it go wrong?¡± I must¡¯ve gone insane. I should¡¯ve just acted like an ordinary daughter of a noble family by getting married and quietly living out my life. But back when I was still young, I ended up crossing a river that could never be uncrossed, all thanks to my really immature bravado. No, hang on. I did have an opportunity to go back, didn¡¯t I? After meeting an unforgettable instructor named Naruan in the evil organisation, Howling, anding back home... If only I behaved myself and quietly received the bridal training from my mother then prepared for my engagement like a regr daughter of noble... If I had done that, my current life wouldn¡¯t have been all that bad since I was returning after recovering my family¡¯s seal. I probably would be living a fairly content life doing what I want with a husband of my own choosing, too. But back then, I made such a foolish, immature decision. Although, I couldn¡¯t have imagined what was in store for me back then, if I¡¯m honest. That was understandable since I was in the evilest organisation in the empire, Howling. And more than that, I even met the evilest instructor within that organisation, Naruan, so it shouldn¡¯te as a surprise. And... I even met that bat, too! Which meant that I had nothing to fear anymore! It wouldn¡¯t have been a stretch for me to think this way back then. I mean, all those top talents from the top four academies in the empire looked like little kids in my eyes and all. Ah, except for Yugrasia¡¯s students, of course. No one could¡¯ve imagined it, though. Who would have imagined that the instructor being chased by the empire chose to hide inside one of the four imperial academies? The ces that could legitimately be called the core of the empire¡¯s education, no less? And as the legendary summoner, Nicerwin Arwen, to boot! Even though I saw him up close, I couldn¡¯t see him as the instructor. Instructor Naruan¡¯s face, as cold as ice, and Nicerwin Arwen¡¯s face smiling warmly away were physically the same but, something about those two faces prevented me from connecting the dots somehow! T-that¡¯s right, it wasn¡¯t my fault. I¡¯m telling you, it was not my fault! -Get a hold of yourself, master! Your hysterical fit is about to take over again! Kuwaaaahk! Just as I began grabbing my head, Surtr hurriedly tried to talk me out of it. ¡°Ah, ahhh... Why... did it have to be...¡± The beautiful woman in the mirror was broken now. The brown hair visible through the streaming tears was all messed up, while the expression was distorted so horribly, too. Anyone witnessing my current condition would think that I¡¯ve lost my mind. Well, considering everything that I went through until now... Mirua looking all normal and the like was the abnormal one here. ¡°Hah-ah...¡± Let¡¯s just give up. Just give up, and pray for our instructor to get caught as soon as possible. After washing my face to get a hold of myself, I beganbing my hair only to remember that I was supposed to go to sleep anyway. So I stopped and lied down on the bed. I couldn¡¯t sleep properly for the past three days and nights as I was helping Mirua organise the group of agents that would arrive thereter. Surprisingly, Mirua was ¡®perfect¡¯ as the leader of an organisation. She nned everything beforehand, noted every little piece of information and opinions, then issued sensible orders based on them. She worked so diligently that she rarely slept at night, making her an ideal superior you¡¯d love to have! Of course, even though she didn¡¯t have enough time to sleep at night, she still made sure to have five meals a day and snacks in between without fail, too. Which gave me a serious case of goosebumps... for a different reason! Normally, there should¡¯ve been other agents helping us out but, I was the only one avable at the moment who could assist Mirua. She set off immediately with a handful of elites right after receiving the news of the instructor¡¯s location being discovered. And I was the only magician capable of sendingmunications among the party. ¡°Yaaaawn~...¡± Once Iy down on thefy bed, sleep began washing over me. I didn¡¯t have much to do, anyway. ¡®No, wait ¨C I do have one job that I need to do, don¡¯t I?¡¯ My role as a magician was to construct magic circles designed to summon other agents the moment our instructor was discovered. The n was for the agents to summon me, the only magician in the group, using the mediums on their persons, then said magician ¨C me ¨C would summon thebatants, including another magician, belonging to the main unit currently headed to this location. That magician would then summon another unit, and then another magician in the different unit would summon another unit... Using one magician to summon a near-endless number of units to capture the instructor ¨C that was Mirua¡¯s n. After she learned of the info that magic didn¡¯t work on the instructor, Mirua researched and came up with this strategy that efficiently utilised magicians while excluding them from actualbat. It was impossible for an individual to summon designated agents without prior preparations, but the empire¡¯s technological prowess made such a feat possible. No, hang on. Her Imperial Highness ruthlessly pressured the magicians, the core of said technological prowess, to invent this technology, so... Would it be more correct to say that this was more like her power at disy? Whatever the case might be, using nothing more than a small essory to set one¡¯s coordinates ahead of time was a truly revolutionary technology, indeed. Even so... ¡°All these things mean nothing if the instructor is not found, right?¡± We were talking about that instructor, after all. Just ten of us... No, since I wasn¡¯t involved, only nine agents were currently searching for our instructor right now. Worse still, agents had to be dispatched to every nearby kingdom, too, meaning that one agent had tob through an entire kingdom. As such, it should be difficult to locate even an ordinary person, never mind someone as slippery as our instructor. ¡°That¡¯s why it should be fine for me to get some sleep, right?¡± -Just rest already. Right now, you¡¯re just making excuses to yourself so that you can have a guilt-free sleep. Surtr urately pinpointed the essence of the issue at hand, making me tut softly. Then, I took off a bangle from my arm. It was a medium meant to summon another unit. As such, it was not some slender little bracelet but a heavy andrge bangle almost on the level of a small shield. It¡¯d be too cumbersome to keep wearing it while sleeping, that¡¯s for sure. ¡°Well, then. Wake me up at a suitable time, please.¡± -Do not use your summon as an rm clock, master! I could hear Surtr¡¯sints, but it didn¡¯t work on me after thefy bed and the pillow sessfully managed to seduce me. Sofy... And with the bangle that kept me tied up like some kind of a shackle gone from my arm, it felt even more like I was finally liberated. Yes, this feeling of liberation... These refreshingly cool winds must be the winds of liberation... ¡°...Nng?¡± This was no longer on the level of ¡®cool¡¯ anymore. Cold. So freaking cold! These winds were no longer cool and refreshing but bitterly-cold blizzards that wanted to rip my skin off. Only then did I finally realise it. I finally realised that I was not lying on a warm,fy bed but somewhere outdoors. ¡°W-what is the meaning of this?!¡± I opened my eyes while yelling out loudly at the sudden cold blizzard, and at the same time... ¡°Hey, wait a second?! Why are you looking like that?!¡± A woman was looking at me with a panicked expression on her face. No, hang on, that¡¯s not a real woman but my former ssmate, the hero in drag. It was Swinn, currently living a life of almost ve like me! ¡°I was working until earlier, so I thought about going to bed, and... Eh? Instructor?¡± I replied in a half-dazed state, then tried to figure out my current situation by turning my head a little. That¡¯s when I saw a very familiar face, and my mind snapped awake in an instant. T-t-this idiot hero...! Did he really manage to locate our instructor this soon?! B-but, why now! I had already finished washing up and changed my clothes, you know! I even took off my bangle, too! Why did it have to be at this exact time?! I mean, why couldn¡¯t you summon me while I was contemting whether to take the bangle off or not! ¡°...Time for a smackdown.¡± The moment my gaze met the instructor¡¯s, he said those words while raising his arm. There was no need to mention it, but well, his hand was unsurprisingly wielding that silver thing of... ¡°N-noooooo, I don¡¯t wanna!¡± ¡°Dammit?!¡± -C-calm down, master! Surtr tried to calm me down, but obviously, I couldn¡¯t do that. How could I calm down in this situation? That¡¯s the bat! And not just any bat, but the metal bat that¡¯s so much stronger than the wooden bat! ¡°Y-you hero bastard! Get beaten up alone, will you?! Why did you have to summon me here, too?!¡± ¡°N-no, wait! Hurry up and summon the others already!¡± But the bangle is on the bed! I left it beside the pillow! But before I could say that out loud...! ¡°...Surtr!¡± ¡°Kuwaaaaahk!¡± The metal bat heading in Swinn¡¯s direction suddenly changed course and went for my head. Summon. Our instructor heard that word and instantly changed his target... That¡¯s what happened! I roared out in anger. ¡°You did that deliberately, didn¡¯t you!¡± The hero yelled back. ¡°What are you on about!¡± I managed to barely buy myself time by sacrificing Surtr, then hurriedly tried to concentrate my magical energy into one spot. ¡°A short distance tele... Kkyaaaahk!¡± nk. For a moment there, the entire world went nk. ¡°Uh? H-hey!¡± Even before I couldplete my spell, the pain suddenly mmed into me, causing the gathered magical energy to scatter. No, wait. If it was merely scattering away, I could always regather the energy at any time. But the magical energy was gradually starting to circte backwards, transforming into a fatal poison to eat away at my insides. ¡°I-isn¡¯t... this...?¡± In any other times, this dangerous situation would¡¯ve turned me into a cripple. But the backwards-circting magical energy began dissipating almost instantly, only to be reced by this mysterious energy entering my body to heal all the internal injuries caused by the magical energy going out of control. ¡°I, I don¡¯t wanna...¡± My body was getting healed, but my emotions were falling off a steep cliff instead. That¡¯s because I realised what this ¡®healing¡¯ actually meant. Plop. ¡°What, or who, were you trying to summon without my permission?¡± In the end, I plopped down on my butt from the rush of this endless fear. In the meantime, our instructor walked right up to me! ¡°Ah, ah... It, it¡¯s not... No...¡± No, you¡¯re wrong. I was just trying to run away by myself, and I never even once thought about summoning anyone! I needed to say those words, but my mouth failed to say what I wanted to say after my eyes saw the instructor and the silver something gripped in his hand. ¡°W-what is that?! That¡¯s no longer a bat, isn¡¯t it?!¡± Swinn cried out from somewhere behind me. It was as he said. That silver something in the instructor¡¯s hand was truly monstrous-looking now. Without a doubt, the part he was holding looked like a handle of the metal bat, but above it was a whip... No, more like a tentacle that¡¯s wiggling back and forth! ¡°Ah-huk...!¡± And that tentacle had separated in many different strands, one of them wrapped around my ankle. I couldn¡¯t hold back my repressed tears anymore and cried out at this horrifying scene. ¡°P-please, spare my life...¡± Surtr¡¯s summoning had already been cancelled, and the demon wasn¡¯t responding to my calls. I could only guess what¡¯s happening to Swinn from his screaminging from behind me. Regardless of what, though, it seemed that I couldn¡¯t count on his assistance. Which meant that the only thing I could do right now was begging my former instructor to spare my life. ¡°Why are you yapping on like that, child? When did I ever try to take away your lives?¡± Right at that moment, a truly gentle smile filled up the instructor¡¯s face. That smile was so simr to the expression Nicerwin Arwen of the Yugrasia academy had shown me. ¡°Ah, aaaah...¡± Was there hope for me, then? Was he thinking of sparing me? I was genuinely thinking that to myself, but if Surtr was still around, it would have shouted at me the following words: -You stupid master! Even after everything you went through, have you still not learned your lesson yet! Haven¡¯t you realised by now what that bastard means when he says he¡¯ll not kill you?! Unfortunately for me, the metal bat had already incinerated the brave Surtr capable of telling me the truth. However, even if the demon was still around, my ankle was captured by a part of the metal bat. Not even it could¡¯ve saved my life in this situation, anyway. Oh, you want to know what I mean? ¡°Instead of dying, let me beat you up a little.¡± ¡°N-no, I don¡¯t wannaaaaaa!¡± It meant... this was a sorrowful situation where I¡¯d get beaten up regardless of what happened. *** ¡°Uhehehehe! Yes, my long-awaited feast!¡± Toushi-toushi... I left behind the metal bat saying some ambiguous things while beating up my former disciples, then walked up to the carriage with my daughter inside. ¡°Is it over?¡± ¡°More or less.¡± Inside the carriage was the cat, already transformed into his humanoid appearance, and Kkokko cautiously scanning the surroundings as if it was anxious about something. ¡°Gramps!¡± Bloody hell? Did the metal bat punk influence the dragon hatchling, too? From somewhere, a manner of speech that sounded oh-so-familiar and not exactly what I wanted to hear entered my ears. ¡°Is it over nao??¡± ¡°Yes, it is.¡± Evens so, Kkokko was hugging my daughter as if it wanted to protect her, so I figured that it¡¯d be okay to let the creature¡¯s manner of speech slide. Besides all that... ¡°My daughter sure is amazing.¡± This carriage was certainly one of the most advanced, luxurious vehicles with minimum shakes and rattles. And on top of that, Iid out a lot of straw to hide how luxurious the carriage was and disguise it into something more ordinary. My modifications would have lessened the shaking even more and made itfier to ride in. But, like how an earthquake would still damage your building no matter how well you¡¯ve engineered it, the hero¡¯s sneak attack this time was not an ordinary one at all. Even then, my daughter didn¡¯t wake up and continued to slumber away! Was she like, the sleeping princess in a forest or something?! Dammit, doesn¡¯t that mean some random prince would show up one day to steal the lips of my daughter?! ¡°No, my benefactor is still a human. It wouldn¡¯t make sense for her not to wake up in the current situation.¡± However, the cat was quick to dispel my daydreaming. ¡°At first, she was anxious, but after I exined to her the situation on the outside...¡± -My dad will take care of everything! So, it¡¯ll be alright! ¡°...That¡¯s what she said before going back to sleep.¡± Keu-huk... Something struck my heart hard just then. What¡¯s this? My daughter, isn¡¯t she way too adorable!? If it was for my daughter¡¯s sake, I thought I could even kick the living daylights out of a demon king. Even though I had no idea that my thoughts were foreshadowing what was about to happen in the near future! Chapter 175 ¡°So, No.1000 is already hotly pursuing me. Is that it?¡± ¡°Y-yes...¡± I nodded while staring at those eyes quaking in anxiety. ¡°You ain¡¯t lying to me, are you?¡± ¡°No! Definitely not! Never!¡± Those eyes, quaking at the magnitude of 3.0 until now, suddenly rumbled with the intensity of 9.0 next. It¡¯s not like I was in possession of the tool that restricted magic usage like in the past, so I made the metal bat stand between No.1 and 17 as a temporary measure to prevent them from escaping. Oh, and by the way, the reason No.17 was reacting like this was... Whenever I became suspicious of what she said, the metal bat would pointedly grab her shoulder, that¡¯s why! ¡°Hmm... You¡¯re not lying?¡± ¡°Yes, yessir!¡± And right next to her was a beautiful blonde babe... whose real identity was that of the Order of Nature¡¯s hero, the warrior responsible for beating up an elder dragon to death. Just like No.17, his eyes were quaking nonstop while he nodded away at my questions. Oh, and to note, the metal bat had her hand pressed on the hero punk¡¯s shoulder, too. ¡°I see...¡± All ¡®thanks¡¯ to the hero, one of the horses, ckie, was now missing. What a relief that I did find Brownie, making it possible to get the carriage moving again. But with this arrangement, our movement speed would drop, and there wasn¡¯t much I could do about it. To think that we¡¯d suffer a drop in mobility when we were in such a hurry! This was all the fault of this insidious hero. ¡°Should I just tie this punk up and send him off to the Neidon Kingdom...?¡± ¡°Yes, instructor. Please, I beg of you to do that.¡± If this was any other time, he¡¯d have freaked out and fiercely resisted my proposal, so howe? Was it because the metal bat was standing next to him? The hero actually said that he¡¯d prefer to be sent to the Neidon Kingdom. ¡°Y-y-you?! You want to escape alone?! You traitor!¡± ¡°This wouldn¡¯t have happened if only you did your freaking job!¡± ¡°Eeek?! If you hadn¡¯t called me, only you¡¯d have died, and that would¡¯ve been it!¡± The two of them began bickering once more, so I snapped my fingers at them. The metal bat chimed in. ¡°My little sis is ying outside right now, so... Big sis? Big bro? Can you shut your traps for a little bit?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Ah, yes...¡± If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll personally shut you up~ The metal bat standing between my two former disciples whispered that while wrapping her arms around their shoulders. Which was super effective in shutting their mouths up automatically. The metal bat finally got to... uh, satisfy her cravingst night. I threw the two former disciples copsed like corpses inside the carriage afterwards. Then, we somehow managed to recover Brownie to get the carriage going again ¨C that happened earlier in the dawn today. I had no idea who might show up behind us, so I drove the carriage at full tilt until I heard a pair of man and woman scream from inside the vehicle. Well, that would be more or less a normal reaction if you saw the metal bat¡¯s face the first thing in the morning. However, waking my sleepyhead daughter by doing so could not be condoned, so I made sure to warm them properly in my own way. ...Obviously utilising the services of the metal bat, of course. It worked wonders, and now, the two with their mouths firmly mped shut were made to sit in the far corner of the carriage. I asked my daughter to go outside for a bit with the cat and Kkokko and make a snowman or something together. I wasn¡¯t a terrible father who¡¯d make my precious daughter sit through an interrogation session, you see. The interrogation itself was trouble-free. My two former disciples were frightened by the entity called the ¡®bat¡¯. There were only two of these little ¡®girls¡¯ in this world, but the one we had right here was the top dog in the bat world, the metal bat. My disciples understood this very well, and that¡¯s why they confessed to everything they knew without holding back. Of course, there could be falsehoods hidden among their words. ording to their testimonies, these two were ultimately the Imperial Princess¡¯s underlings. Like some kind of a twisted collector, the Imperial Princess was collecting my former disciples one by one, sending a little bit of shiver down my spine. I even briefly felt sorry for my disciples somehow ending up working for that Imperial Princess despite the abundance in the variety of other avable jobs... Then again, I tossed that feeling of pity right out the window after remembering that all those punks were rushing here to capture me. Honestly, I had no idea that woman would swallow up Yugrasia whole. The students there must¡¯ve rejoiced that the night sses hade to an end. But how much of a gut punch would it have been for them when the night sses began again in the new year? And ording to No.17 Nermia, who got transferred to that academy, Rein was beating people up way too much using the wooden bat. If I was in their shoes, I¡¯d have abandoned being an aristocrat or upholding the family¡¯s honour or whatever and wandered the world as a Runaway Ninja. -Aren¡¯t you already doing that, though? -But of course. The Imperial Princess¡¯s personal army was seemingly getting more powerful with every passing day. Could she really be desiring the type ofbat strength that¡¯d allow her to establish a nation of her own and sessfully wage a war of conquest? From what No.17 told me, it seemed that Yugrasia had be even stronger than when I was in charge of it. Seriously now, what the heck... Even back when I was there, that academy had a god-tier summoner and a swordmaster, you know? But that ce is stronger now? Wasn¡¯t that, like, already on the level of a secret organisation hell-bent on world conquest? Right, that¡¯s no longer on the level of a mere academy anymore! -Master, just who was responsible for nting the seeds of that now? -...Me. Tsk. If I was still working there as a professor, I would¡¯ve been rolling around in the hills of amazing ¡®incentives¡¯ by now. The parents of the students who were oblivious of the academy¡¯s true situation ¨C no, probably totally disinterested in the first ce ¨C would havee visiting me with lots of bags of money, asking me to help their kids get into ¡®this amazing academy!¡¯ Thinking back to when I had to flee from there without even getting my initial investment back made my heart ache so much. -But you got to meet my little sis because of that, master. -Well, that is the only sce I got from that ordeal. If I hadn¡¯t encountered my daughter in that mountain, she could have really died back then. Such an adorable girl, a perfect daughter if there ever was one, not existing in this world anymore? That would have been a monumental loss to this universe... no, this entire dimension. So much so that all potential main character candidates existing on this continent should express their gratitude in my direction! ¡°So, what should I do with you two...?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± Even as I continued to swim within many different thoughts, my former disciples maintained their silence. That¡¯s because they knew full well that not saying a word right now would be better for their overall health. ¡°Should I abandon them here and leave?¡± Although faint, the emotion of ¡®hope¡¯ floated up in their eyes just then. ¡°Or should I just take them with me...?¡± Their eyes became gloomy in an instant. ¡°No, wait. It¡¯s all too annoying, so I could just kill them now to ensure their silence...¡± Their eyes were now... filled with hope, again? What the heck? It should be the turn of fear to cloud their eyes now, you know? Wait, could it be that death was more of a hopeful solution to them? Did they really hate the metal bat that much? -That is how incredible my ss is, master. -No, that¡¯s not exactly a good thing, and that¡¯s the problem for you. I groaned at length after noticing the light of hope gleaming within the eyes of my former disciples. Oh, you foolish disciples. Haven¡¯t I taught you to survive no matter what it takes? You poor idiots seem to have forgottenpletely about your dear instructor¡¯s teachings! Even if the metal bat was beating you up, living in this world is still far better, isn¡¯t it! -But that¡¯s because I don¡¯t work on you, master. I¡¯m pretty sure other people think differently from you. Of course you don¡¯t work on me, and that¡¯s how I could say stuff like this. You see, this man called me? I was pretty confident about myself that as soon as someone even picked up a torture device, I¡¯d sing like a canary and spit out all the info I knew. I was going to talk, anyway, so wouldn¡¯t it be smarter to talk while my body was still unhurt? -Even though that¡¯s your stance, you mercilessly drilled these kids with the idea that they must never divulge any secrets, didn¡¯t you? -That¡¯s what the organisation ordered me to do, after all. I merely did what the higher-ups told me to do. Just that, it was up to the individual to decide whether to abide by their orders or not! -But you ¡®taught¡¯ them while beating them with my first little sister, though! -Only by being strong enough to endure against such a hurdle would you be able to enjoy true freedom, you know? -In that case, let me ask you this, master. Has aaaanyone ever beat that wooden bat before? -Obviously, no one did. First of all, if you could endure that ¡®training¡¯, then you were fully immune from torture, and there would be no reason for me to go after you. Of course, you¡¯d still change your tune in front of the metal bat, though! ¡°Well, then. You now have two options.¡± I lowered my voice a lot, and for the first time in a long while, reverted to my instructor speech pattern. ¡°One. You apany me in my escape.¡± The way these two reacted to the word ¡®escape¡¯, it seemed that they desperately wanted to escape from under the shadow of the Imperial Princess. From what they told me, it seemed that they were half-coerced into... No, let me revise that, they were forced at gunpoint to join the Imperial Princess¡¯s organisation. -They are probably weighing their options between you and the Imperial Princess sister, master. And obviously, the Imperial Princess sis is overwhelmingly winning here. -Nonsense! Rather than staying next to a crazy b*tch like her, it¡¯ll be far better to apany a normal person like me! -Master... Where did you throw away your conscience~? My conscience? It¡¯s always been in my heart, obviously. And I shall prove that to you, right now! ¡°Two. You can go back under the condition that you never reveal my location to...¡± ¡°I will never divulge that info!¡± ¡°Yes, I swear on my life!¡± ¡°Fut...!¡± The metal bat watched the two disciples reply promptly and ended upughing out loud not in her mind, but in reality instead. ¡°Fuhahahahat!¡± ¡°¡°Hiiiieeek?!¡±¡± The two disciples trembled like leaves as if they were terrified by thatughter. But I had something else to worry about instead of them right now. -What, there¡¯s something else, master? -Yeah. My gut feeling. Huhuhu... Well, I did train these punks mercilessly enough for them to have nightmares about me. As such, even I couldn¡¯t really call myself a good instructor. Even so... Even if that¡¯s the case! -Compared to the Imperial Princess, I¡¯m the normal one here! To think that they actually chose her over me! What a pair of disappointing and infuriating disciples they were! -I knew it. It¡¯s the money, isn¡¯t it?! It must be the Imperial Court¡¯s enormous wages that even managed to seduce me! For the sake of those wages, they are willing to remain working for that woman! -Um, master...? These kids are nobles, remember...? Not just any, but high-ranking nobles, no less! One of them is the granddaughter of the magic tower¡¯s lord while the other guyes from a Grand Duke¡¯s family, which is riiight below the Imperial Family in terms of noble ranks! They are merely trying to survive this situation, you know? Which is what you taught them. -But, but! Realistically speaking, staying next to me instead of the Imperial Princess should be easier for them to survive, you know! -Judging from everything that happened so far around you, master, that¡¯splete lunacy, but for the sake of peace, let¡¯s say you¡¯re right. Even if they go with us, the Imperial Princess will still chase after you, right? So, rather than being chased around by what you refer to as ¡®cmity¡¯, wouldn¡¯t it be easier to live by quietly hiding somewhere within said cmity? When the metal bat countered with some words that sounded far too logical, I realised that it became a bit harder to make a smart-sounding reply. To think that her gift of gab was as good as the Dragon yer that had its ego awakened after stabbing a dragon in the heart! Could this be the proof of an ego weapon growing up, then?! -What the heck is up with such a detailed set-up, master?? -Well, there¡¯s a thing, a story about searching for the son of my father. [1] Then again, my metal bat wouldn¡¯t lose out to the Dragon yer in any aspect, though! [2] Just like that weapon, she could talk and even transform into a humanoid, too. However, don¡¯t forget that our metal bat could still use all the abilities contained within her weapon form in her humanoid form, too! -That¡¯s obvious! This goddess is invincible and unmatched under the heavens, after all! I agreed with that assessment. I managed to flee and live a rtively trouble-free life until now all thanks to the undefeatable metal bat, after all. That¡¯s why I should utilise her to the fullest of her abilities. I addressed the disciples. ¡°I see. I now understand your wishes.¡± Would you look at their hope-filled eyes now? Since ancient times, people grew hopeful when they could see a possibility of something. It was the same story in daily lives, too. For instance... like a cute doll right by the chute in the w machine, seemingly within easy reach. Or, after upping the scale a little bit... like buying a lotto ticket; buying the stocks that have been in an upward swing in the markets recently; or buying Bi*coins after you heard about its value going through the roof! I can get that doll, I can be a winner... The stock value can go up even more... People believed that and became hopeful. People believed in that, and that¡¯s why they challenged the odds. No one in their sane mind would insert their money into a w machine that anyone could tell was an utter waste of their money. No one in their right mind would purchase stocks of a ruinedpany worth nothing. And no one would buy imaginary coins with no real-world value that couldn¡¯t even be converted to real money. But humans had this tendency of not giving up when they see ¡®hope¡¯ in something. As long as I endure this, as long as I ovee this...! If I do that, then there¡¯s hope for me! If a God of Hope with a rotten personality really existed somewhere, that guy would¡¯ve been grinning ear to ear while looking at my two former disciples. Unfortunately for them, though, my personality was just too kind for their expectations. ¡°I¡¯ve considered your opinions and... You two shall now apany me in my journey!¡± -Um, master? Your nature what now? Fu-hahaha! Look at how wonderful my personality is! I was different from those bastards that tortured you with the glimmer of hope. I perfectly dropped my victims in the abyss of despair from the get-go so they wouldn¡¯t even see any hope in the first ce! Here was I, teaching them the truth of life that giving up would make it easy for you! Where would you find a better, more thorough teacher than me in this world! -As expected of my master... I can¡¯t find any semnce of kind personality anywhere in you! No, you¡¯re so terrible that it¡¯s verging on being really cool! Those two pairs of eyes, filled with hope only a second ago, suddenly became dazed like a dead fish¡¯s eyes. I had already drawn up my future ns on how to use these two when I announced my intention. Well, then. My dear disciples, let us head to a brighter future, shall weeee! [2]: ¡°Dragon yer¡± is the name of the ego sword wielded by the female lead (main character) of Searching for My Father¡¯s Son. Chapter 177

Chapter 177

Evade the Hero and Flee! 177 #20. This World Doesn¡¯t Want to Leave Me Alone (6)> #3 Their circumstances: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance Proofread I continued to fidget with my hair. Ha¡­ hahaha¡­ What could these things be, I wonder? A pair of dark red horns could be felt poking out from there. As soon as we stepped foot inside the demon continent, I was forced to put this headband on. Did the instructor think that a thing like this could really fool the demon race? No matter how well made they were, even I thought this would not work. ¡°Besides all that¡­¡± So, this was thend of the demons that I¡¯ve been hearing about, the demon continent? It¡¯s¡­ a lot more in than I thought, actually. Trees I¡¯ve seen plenty of times before, and the white snow nketing said trees¡­ And even the brown soil faintly visible in the tracks left behind by our carriage. Things I was seeing right now were not that much different from the part of the continent we had been living in, which didn¡¯t really match all the rumours I¡¯ve heard over the years. Mm¡­ Could it be because it hadn¡¯t been all that long since we left Burbelion? Sure, we had travelled quite a bit on the carriage, but if I wanted to, I should be able to return to Burbelion in no time at all. However¡­ ¡°Ng? You have a business with me~?¡± ¡°Nope. No business at all!¡± I turned my head just a little only to spot the dancing silver hair waving in front of my face. This thing looked simr in age to the little girl ying with a cat and a dragon over yonder, but one must never get fooled by its external appearance. This was the legendary ego weapon. A legendary weapon that not even me, a bloody hero, had witnessed! Unfortunately, I did not want to witness this bloody weapon. No, before all that. I did hear that the ego weapons could talk, but never in my life did I hear that they could morph into humanoid forms and move around of their own volition! Never mind that they could beat you up on their own whim, too! Why did I have to learn the secret that no one else knew until now? Should I me my brothers for sending me off to the evil organisation? Maybe I should have remained back home and gone on a blood purge of my siblings instead of bing the hero? Right. If I had done that, then I wouldn¡¯t even be in this ce, right?! Fine, I¡¯ve made up my mind. If I go home, it¡¯s rebellion time! How many still-active heroes¡­ No, how many heroes in history would have stepped foot in the demon continent? Probably not a single still-active one, I¡¯d wager. And, even after including every hero from every religious order found in history books, I should still be able to count them all in one hand! Compared to this insanity, rebelling against my family would be a kid¡¯s y. Yeah, that¡¯s it. That had to be it. And so, I continued to think about my future while looking outside through the carriage¡¯s window. But then¡­ ¡°¡­Mm?¡± It was right at that moment that ¡®something¡¯ shed brightly in the distant snowy field, and an object began materialising there. ¡­Which happened to be a demon with short ck hair and horns. ¡°What the¡­?¡± Did we get discovered already? But well, I did think something was strange in this ce. Unlike Burbelion, which was called the final city, we haven¡¯t seen a single artificial structure despite having ventured so deep into the demons¡¯ territory. This was the border, so¡­ at the very least, wouldn¡¯t it be normal to spot a watchtower or two around here? That¡¯s what I thought, but hell, an enemy actually used teleport to show up directly like this?! So, this was thend of the demons?! ¡°She¡¯s injured.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re right.¡± However, the demon fully revealing herself was definitely not in good shape. Her expression was aplicated mess of various emotions, while her body was filled with countless small torge wounds. ¡°Well, if it¡¯s our instructor¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯ll ignore her and carry on¡­ Ng?¡± As No.17¡­ No, I mean, Ria and I were chatting away, the carriage suddenly came to a halt. ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no freaking way, though?!¡± Anyone would¡¯ve thought this situation was suspicious. If that demon had appeared in the path of the carriage, our instructor was fully capable of simply driving the vehicle right over the poor girl, so why¡­? ¡°Come outside.¡± Just as I dazedly stared outside the stopped carriage, the instructor suddenly called the metal bat outside. ¡®Wait, could this be¡­?¡¯ ¡®An opportunity to escape?¡¯ For a moment there, Ria¡¯s gaze and mine met and, despite not exchanging a single word, we began growing in anticipation after sensing something inside us connect. ¡°Whatcha all doing? Hurry up and get off your butts already!¡± Of course, that anticipation flew out the window the moment the metal bat got up and demanded us to follow after her. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Ng.¡± While sensing the metal bat¡¯s hand patting me on my back, I lightly jumped off the carriage. How unfortunate this was. If only there was a bit of distance between the metal bat and me, I could¡¯ve fled from here. ¡°Instructor, what are you thinking of doing to that woman?¡± Our ¡®target¡¯ finally noticed us. Her eyes hurriedly darted around. As soon as she saw us, she expertly got into a defensive stance, making me think that she had some skill. However, it didn¡¯t seem like she had any intentions of attacking us. Unfortunately for her¡­ ¡°Obviously, beat her up.¡± Our evil instructor seemed to be filled with the thoughts of beating that demon girl into a pulp. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± ¡°But, howe?¡± We only just entered the demon continent, yes, but it was still the demon continent. To put it simply, nothing good would happen to us, a group of humans, if we got noticed in this part of the world. Our instructor should know this better than anyone, yet for him to even consider such an action? Never once during our time under the instructor¡¯s tutge had he ever done anything like this before. ¡°If it was a regr demon, then I wouldn¡¯t have even bothered. But that girl is the princess of the demon race.¡± But what the instructor said back to us caused a great deal of shock to both Ria and me. ¡°She¡¯s the princess of the demons?!¡± ¡°Wait, you also know about the demons, instructor?¡± Could it be that the evil organisation was cooperating with the demon race? However, I was pretty sure that I hadn¡¯t heard of such a thing before. In that case, this could only mean that our instructor¡¯s informationwork had even infiltrated the demon territory, too. I heard that he was acquainted with various races, including elves and dwarves, but to think that he even had connections within the demons, too! ¡°How do you know that, instructor?¡± Ria asked our instructor with a slightly trembling voice. She must¡¯ve been quite surprised by this development, too. But that would be an obvious reaction in this situation because it implied that our instructor had knowledge of the mysteriousnd only appearing in ancient literature! ¡°It¡¯s my intuition.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry?¡± But the instructor¡¯s reply to usnded a different type of blow to our minds. ¡°Now normally, that¡¯s how this kind of stories unfold, you see. That¡¯s the trope.¡± ¡°Wait, are you telling us that a demon suddenly appearing out of nowhere and turning out to be the demon king¡¯s daughter is the trope?!¡± The princess of the demon race meant that she was the daughter of the demon king, the ruler of the demon world. What were the odds of someone like that suddenly popping up in front of our eyes?! Not just anyone, but in front of a hero, no less! However, our instructor dered confidently as if he was 100% certain of it. ¡°Even if you¡¯re right, wouldn¡¯t this be way too dangerous if she really is the demon king¡¯s daughter?¡± That girl might be young and currently injured, but let¡¯s not forget that she was the child of a king overseeing the entire continent. In a certain sense, a king controlling the only kingdom possessing an army stronger than the Karuan Empire! Unlike humanity, many demon tribes rallied under the singlerge umbre called the ¡®demon race¡¯. That¡¯s why all the humanoids in the continent had tobine their strength to defend against the demons. ¡°No, it¡¯ll be alright.¡± Unfortunately for us, the instructor looked far too rxed right now. ¡°But, instructor! She might possess some kind of a holy relic like a sacred sword. And it¡¯s possible that she¡¯s hiding a magic tool or something.¡± The demon race also believed in a deity. Demons should also have holy relics such as holy swords, kinda like the Exereon I got from the Order of Nature. The demon king was referred to as the agent of the demon god, so the descendent of such a figure should definitely possess at least one or two such relics. No, hang on! That girl was the princess, so at the very least, she should be carrying an emergency magic tool on her! That¡¯s why it was possible for her to teleport this far by herself, too! ¡°None of that matters, Sir Hero.¡± ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t you underestimating that girl a bit too much?¡± Our instructor always had been super-careful and thorough while dealing with everything, yet this was unlike how he usually behaved. That made me anxious just a bit. However, it turned out that our instructor was still the same person. ¡°What do you think is the most important thing in a battlefield? Overwhelming strength? Or an excellent head on your shoulders that can even ovee that strength?¡± Since those two options came out of the instructor¡¯s mouth now, they couldn¡¯t be the correct answers. If it was only one person fighting, then the individual strength or smarts could have decided victory or defeat. But if the battle involved hundreds, thousands, no, tens of thousands, then¡­ ¡°The difference in themanders, and also¡­¡± ¡°¡­It must be information.¡± Once upon a time, the Merdea Kingdom possessed enough national strength to rival the empire¡¯s military might. But it got duped by the empire and ended up appointing the wrong individual as itsmander-in-chief, resulting in all of its resources going down the drain in only one battle. The ¡®wrong¡¯mander in charge and incorrect information pushed a kingdom to the brink of annihtion. The instructor replied to us. ¡°That¡¯s right. There are other factors, but for now, one of those two is the answer.¡± The demon girl before our eyes was alone. Since that¡¯s the case, it would be the difference in information. Which meant¡­! ¡°We know about our enemy, but she doesn¡¯t know anything about us.¡± ¡°Hah¡­¡± ¡°Euh-euk¡­¡± The moment we figured out what the instructor was saying here, I involuntarily groaned while Ria sucked in a deep breath. ¡°Older sis? Did something happen to you?¡± Even before I noticed it, the metal bat had trotted over to where the demon girl was while tilting her head. And then¡­ ¡°W-where is this ce? Is this where humanoid demons live? Could that Agg¡­¡± ¡°Shoryuken!¡± ¡°Kkyaaaaaaahk!¡± We watched the metal bat rise up in the air as soon as the demon girl opened her mouth, and¡­ Ria and I couldn¡¯t bring ourselves to keep watching the massacre unfold and turned our heads away, silently praying for that girl¡¯s happiness in the afterlife. #4 Their circumstance: Belegrea¡¯s circumstance The space changed in an instant. The previous space filled with the stench of blood and screams morphed into andscape of chilly winds and white snow. ¡°Mekel¡­¡± Even so, a figure of a certain lizardman still lingered on in my view. Mekel. My father¡¯s loyal retainer¡­ and also my loyal retainer. The individual who always protected me from my side since my father¡¯s passing. And someone I might never see again¡­ I quietly murmured his name. ¡°¡­No, I must live.¡± That¡¯s right, I must survive. I desperately wanted to go back, but there wasn¡¯t any way to do that right now. Since that¡¯s the case, I had to survive like Mekel told me to and make sure to stop Aggreahrt. Only after those thoughts entered my head did I begin to notice everything in my surroundings. Tree branches being whipped around in the cold winds, then footsteps from four pairs of feet walking across theyer of snow¡­ I turned my head towards the footsteps and discovered four humanoid demons approaching me, their eyes locked on me. ¡°Am I in the humanoid demons¡¯ territory?¡± Most of the humanoid demons followed me, but the leader of the rebels, Aggreahrt, was also a humanoid demon. I couldn¡¯t be certain that no humanoid demons followed his will, either. I quickly got back up to my feet, then picked up my sword. They could be regr civilians, so I couldn¡¯t just brandish my weapon carelessly at them, but I still assumed a stance to draw my sword at a moment¡¯s notice. If the opponents became hostile and attacked me, this stance should allow me to defend myself with the quick-draw technique that my father taught me. The fastest attack I learned from my father, the master of swordsmanship! Its speed was so fast that not even Aggreahrt dared to let his guard down. ¡°Older sis? Did something happen to you?¡± Unfortunately for me, I ended up rxing my guard for a moment there when a silver-haired child ran up to me first. It was certainly impossible to discern a demon¡¯s age from their appearance only. However, the quartet were humanoid demons. Plus, the silver-haired girl¡¯s trot and her innocent expression could only have belonged to a child. The young man and the woman behind the silver-haired girl must¡¯ve been a couple, and the middle-aged man in between the duo must¡¯ve been the girl¡¯s grandfather. In that case, did Mekel teleport me to a vige of definitely-normal humanoid demons? ¡°W-where is this ce? Is this where humanoid demons live? Could that Agg¡­¡± That conclusion entered my mind, causing me to lower my guardpletely, and then¡­ ¡°Shoryuken!¡± The silver girl didn¡¯t miss that opening and leapt up,nding a solid blow below my chin. ¡°Kkyaaaaaaahk!¡± Right at that moment, the whole world went nk in my view. What¡¯s this? What? What could it be? ¡°Uheeheeheehee!¡± Smack! ¡°Kkuuuhhhhhk!¡± Right at that moment, a scream that didn¡¯t sound like mine escaped from my mouth. It felt like my mind and body were acting separately. But, even in this situation, my mind remained clear, allowing me to analyse what was going on. I realised that this incredible physical pain was caused by the silver-haired girl grinning oh-so innocently in front of my eyes! ¡°Whoosh, whoosh! This sound is not being made by my mouth, okay?¡± ¡°N-no, but! Your mouth¡­ Kkuuuhk!¡± Smack! That girl¡¯s fist smacked my face. ¡°Toushi, toushi. This sound is not being made by my mouth, mmmkay?¡± But, but! Only a person¡¯s mouth can produce that kind of a sound, you know? Too bad for me, the courage required to say that out loud no longer existed in me. ¡°Are you¡­ going to hit me again?¡± The pain gradually taking over my soul made me forget that I was a princess, the daughter of the former demon king, and look up at the silver-haired girl on top of me with begging eyes. Did my actions get through to her? The silver-haired girl smiled brightly and nodded as if to answer my expectation. ¡°Yup!¡± Smack! And so, another punchnded on my face, signaling the start of the silver-haired girl¡¯s beatdown. An¡­ endless¡­ beatdown¡­ Chapter 178

Chapter 178

Evade the Hero and Flee! 178 #20. This World Doesn¡¯t Want to Leave Me Alone (7)> Proofread ¡°Uheeheeheeheeheeheet!¡± ¡°Kkyahk! S-stop! Kuk! W-wait! Why- kek¡­ What do you¡­ want from¡­ kuk!¡± Just one strike and that was it. The thing I requested from the dwarves during the designing process of the metal bat was demonstrating its effectiveness right now. -Master, should I hit her some more? -She¡¯s still talking, isn¡¯t she? Keep hitting her until she can only say yes, no, or uh. -Roger that! ¡°Uheeheeheet! Someone still wants to see you get hit some more~!¡± ¡°W-what an evil existence!¡± The metal bat¡¯s provocative words caused the demon king¡¯s daughter to cry out in shock, and my two disciples on either side of me began nodding rather energetically. ¡°That¡¯s right. The evilest person in this whole world wants me to beat you up, so let¡¯s get to it, older sis!¡± ¡°N-no, I don¡¯t wanna!¡± The terrified demon king¡¯s daughter tried to move her body but, by then, her mind was no longer capable of controlling her own body. All she could do was crawl on the ground, which made the metal bat go ¡°Uheeheehee!¡± loudly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether you want it or not, ya know!¡± ¡°Kkuuuueeeeehk!¡± The metal bat¡¯s assault resumed once more. When the demon race¡¯s princess began screaming loudly, my disciples on either side of me began trembling as if they were the ones being assaulted right now. And so, after about five minutester¡­ After that beautiful face became a slobbering mess of drool dripping down her chin, I slowly made my way towards her, squatted down, and stared deep into her eyes. -Master, what will you do if this girl turns out to not be the demon race princess~? -She probably won¡¯t ept my apology even if I make one, and judging from her appearance, she must have her own circumstances. -Wha, you wanna help her? -Nope. I¡¯ll eliminate her while leaving behind not one single piece of evidence. -As expected of the viin ss! Uh-huh! This would be an obvious thing to do here. Since time immemorial, humans and demons have been enemies! The heroes in the novels that good-naturedly ept the demon king/queen or the demon princess just because of their circumstances? Now those fes are the weird ones here! -But, what about Alice, master? -My daughter is an angel, so she doesn¡¯t count. -Discrimination! It was impossible to live without discriminating against something. Being nice to someone you despise was an act of lunacy. If there was something tasty, I should be giving it to my pretty little daughter, no? It¡¯d be stupid and crazy to give something like that to the metal bat that ate food despite being just a pile of metal. -Hey, master? Why does it feel like you swore at me just now? She could be so annoying with how observant she was in this sort of thing. ¡°¡­I¡¯m going to ask you a question. All you have to do is answer me yes or no.¡± ¡°What¡­ do you¡­¡± It¡¯d get doubly annoying if the metal bat got peeved here, so I promptly decided to change the topic. If this was any other ce, I wouldn¡¯t have cared, but this was the demon continent, and that made things dicey. ¡°You¡¯re the demon king¡¯s daughter, correct?¡± ¡°B-but, how¡­¡± bbuh-ggeum, bbuh-ggeum¡­ [1] Seeing her shocked expression and how her lips opened and closed like that, I was right about this punk being the demon king¡¯s daughter. ¡°Seriously?!¡± ¡°I-it has to be a lie¡­¡± Uh-huh?!Looks like these punks calling themselves my disciples didn¡¯t believe me! To think that theyck faith in their instructor to this degree! ¡°C-could it be¡­ You¡¯re Aggreahrt¡¯s¡­!¡± The princess¡¯s dazed eyes began regaining their focus. No, hang on. Those eyes were getting ready to burn even more fiercelypared to when she first showed up. -Beat her up. ¡°Kkwuek!¡± And then, those fierce mes were rapidly suppressed. ¡°Kuwaaaahk! You, you evil¡­ Kah-hak!¡± ¡°Sis, you sure know how to make pretty funny screams, don¡¯t cha! It¡¯s gonna be fun beating you up!¡± Yup, it was wise to kill the fire as soon as possible. A dying cigarette carelessly thrown away during Autumn could burn down several mountains, after all. ¡®Whether you¡¯re awake or asleep, you better watch out for fires! So, let¡¯s re-examine the dying person¡¯sst surge, shall we!¡¯ Since ancient times, main characters and viins would always get defeated after letting their guards down. ¡°Kku-uuuuhk¡­¡± ¡°Okay, so. After making a rough guess, there was a rebellion in the demon race, and you think I¡¯m one of the rebels. But here¡¯s the deal. You¡¯re wrong.¡± ¡°You¡­ lie¡­¡± She was looking up at me from the ground with a pair of empty eyes, but even so, she still looked like a piece of art. Her eyes, sparkling like jewels despite being pitch-ck; her hair, as soft as silk yet as ck as abyss trying to exin nothingness itself; and the horn in her head, a clear proof that she wasn¡¯t a human. Even then, her horns only added to her overall unexinable charm. That¡¯s right, this daughter of the demon king was a stunner even in my book, and I was already an old and cranky bastard! But my life experience had taught me this. ¡­That not a single beautiful woman I met in this world was sane in their head! ¡°Beat her up.¡± ¡°Yesss!¡± ¡°W-wai¡­ Kkuweck!¡± Since ancient times, it was incredibly difficult to trust someone you didn¡¯t believe in the first ce. Just think about all the religious people or con men from my past life, for instance! Waiting around for hours in the middle of some streets in Winter and stopping any passersby for no good reason, or climbing up five stories of an apartment building with no elevators just to buzz the bell and ask for a ss of water! But I wasn¡¯t even talking about that. No, take your time and think about that from a different perspective! There was no freaking way they would ask only you for a ss of water! They must¡¯ve stopped by on every floor, starting from the ground floor! Imagine how many countless houses they must¡¯ve gone around, climbing the stairs up and down and whatever! But that¡¯s not all! Now imagine around ten per cent of those houses would really offer sses of water. That would be a serious problem, wouldn¡¯t you say? If they went to one hundred houses, then with that odds, didn¡¯t it mean that they had to drink at least ten sses of water? Even they couldn¡¯t tell you how many hundreds of houses they would visit in a day. Just from that, you could probably suspect that the quantity of water they drink in a day must be enormous. So, if they plead with you to use your bathroom, then it might not be a mere trick to gain ess to your home but a case of a real emergency. That¡¯s why any kind-hearted people should pretend to not have any and not give them sses of water. That¡¯s was the best oue for those people, you see! Well, uh¡­ In any case, that¡¯s how difficult it was to trust someone. As such, I should order the metal bat to beat the demon race princess some more so that she could start trusting me. ¡°Master, this older sis is starting to drool nonstop from her mouth!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. To people, drooling like that is a natural thing.¡± ¡°¡­Master, you¡¯re looking away.¡± ¡°Well, eyes are spherical in shape, you see. And spheres are easy to roll around.¡± ¡°And now, you¡¯re saying iprehensible things, too?¡± ¡°I said, it¡¯s fine. A person can sometimes say weird or nonsensical stuff, you know.¡± ¡°Uh? She died.¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s fine. Since it¡¯s you, she won¡¯t die.¡± From either side of me, familiar voices were muttering things like ¡®He¡¯s the devil¡¯ and ¡®I don¡¯t wanna¡­ I don¡¯t wanna¡­¡¯ constantly, but I cleanly ignored them all. They weren¡¯t bad sounds to my ears, after all. I was preparing for the possibilities of these two either trying to escape or attack me since the metal bat was some distance away. But now, the hero and No.17 both lost any will to fight here, so it was all great news for me! ¡°Well, then. Let¡¯s see¡­¡± I unsheathed my sword, the de making a shwiiiing noise. As expected of a high-quality weapon upholding the reputation of Ruibe the City Alliance, the frontline against the demon threat! It cost a fair whack for a sword purchased from a regr cksmith, but considering its quality, I knew I had got myself a bargain. It was not for nothing that mercenaries often travelled all the way to Ruibe specifically to get weapons. ¡°Alright, time to wake up.¡± Poke, poke, poke¡­ The ultra-sharp edge of the de began inflicting flesh wounds on the demon race princess. Crimson blood trickled down her snow-white skin! -You¡¯re so cruel, master! -Doesn¡¯t matter, since you¡¯re going to heal her, anyway. Indeed, the princess looked even better than back when she first appeared here full of injuries. Since we healed to full health in such a short time, surely she¡¯d not get mad at me for cutting her up ever so slightly. ¡°Alright, now beat her up.¡± ¡°Ng!¡± p! ¡°Kkyaaaahk!¡± The flesh wounds might have been minor, but they were still stab and cut wounds inflicted by a de. Even so, the princess remained unconscious throughout the process. A single p from the metal batter, however, and she was right back up to her feet while screaming her head off. ¡°Sit down.¡± ¡°Kuh-huk¡­! It hurts¡­ it hurts so much¡­¡± The moment she got up, the metal bat¡¯s low kicknded splendidly on her, causing the princess to plop down on her butt again. ¡°Alright, then. Are you ready to listen to me now?¡± ¡°Y-yes, sir!¡± The demon race princess instantly went on her knees to sit straight. I stared at her in satisfaction. Yup, a stick was the best tool for education, indeed. It was not for nothing that the concept of ¡®tough love¡¯ existed, wouldn¡¯t you say! -Master, if you showed any more of your love, this whole world might get destroyed. -A teacher¡¯s grace is as high as the heavens and as deep as the oceans, you know. -She¡¯s not even your disciple, tho? -In the ancient past, a wise man once said that everyone he meets on a stroll can be his teacher. -¡­If we go by that logic, master, isn¡¯t this the same as you beating up the teacher the moment you ran into one? -Just say ¡®I see¡¯ and nod along, will ya! You¡¯ve gotten awfully talkativetely, haven¡¯t you?! Thanks to the metal bat that had gotten sassy with time, it felt like I couldn¡¯t even say everything I wanted to these days. ¡°I¡¯m not involved with this individual you called Aggre-whatever, princess.¡± ¡°Are you¡­ telling the truth?¡± The demon race princess¡¯s expression initially said she didn¡¯t believe me, but she quickly revised that to an ¡®I believe you!¡¯ face thanks to the metal bat standing next to her. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°But, how did you know I was the demon race¡¯s princess in that case?¡± ¡°Just my intuition.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I see¡­¡± Now her expression said I shouldn¡¯t lie to her face, but her lips were saying something else. This was good. She was talented in quickly assessing the situation. ¡°I¡¯m being truthful to you. As I said earlier, we have nothing to do with Aggre-whatever because¡­¡± ¡°¡­Heuph!¡± I slowly raised my hand and carefully caressed my hair, causing the horns stuck up there to fall off. ¡°¡­We¡¯re humans.¡± The horn headband came loose and dropped to the ground. This item was personally crafted by the dwarves that made the wearer look like demons and designed specifically not toe off that easily, as per my request! When those hornsnded on the ground, the demon race princess sucked in a deep breath, her disbelieving eyes glued to me now. ¡°R-really¡­ you¡¯re humans?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°H-how can humans be in this ce? C-could it be that I¡¯ve entered the human terri¡­ No, if that¡¯s the case, you wouldn¡¯t have been wearing the horns in the first ce!¡± Her utterly confused eyes hurriedly scanned me and the others surrounding her. ¡°J-just what is going on¡­ Hah-wuk?!¡± Pow! A small fistnded next to her face. ¡°¡­You talk too much, sis.¡± ¡°Yes. I was wrong. Sorry.¡± The moment that fist shook about, the demon race princess stared at the metal bat with nervous eyes while hurried nodding away, emphatically agreeing with what the ego weapon was saying. I knew it, this girl was quick on the uptake. ¡°Hmm. I think I can more or less figure out the situation here, but there might be some other aspects that I¡¯m not aware of. So, tell me the demon world¡¯s current affairs that you know of,¡± said I while picking up the horns from the ground to put them back on my head. I told the dwarves to make the headband stick religiously to the wearer¡¯s head no matter what, so they designed the dang thing to get entangled pretty tightly with the wearer¡¯s hair. That caused a bit of pain on my scalp, but I needed to wear the headband to keep my head attached to my shoulders. Still, this product demonstrated the ability to fool even the eyes of the demon king¡¯s daughter, so it passed with flying colours. As expected of the trusty dwarven products! ¡°W-well, that is¡­¡± The demon king¡¯s daughter, still deeply mindful of the metal bat¡¯s moods, eventually began telling us the current situation as she knew it. The demon king¡¯s sudden passing. The establishment of three factions soon afterwards. But, in reality, it was a battle between the moderates and the radicals. She also said that most of the moderates¡¯ executives were defeated during the radicals¡¯ sudden raid. ¡°Hold on. Are you telling me that you didn¡¯t expect the group called the radicals to attack you out of the blue?¡± ¡°Even though Aggreahrt and I differed in our ideals, we both still did our best for the sake of the demon race. That¡¯s why I never imagined someone like that starting a civil war.¡± What kind of dog sh*t was this girl saying here? You¡¯d be a fool to trust someone close to you in the imperial court where all sorts of insidious plots were afoot! I mean, folks in the imperial court would smile and shake hands amicably, only to start plotting your demise as soon as turning around to leave. That¡¯s what that ce was like! You¡¯d be signing your own death warrant by being that na?ve in the imperial court full of dastardly schemes and machinations, you know. But to think that the demon race could be this benevolent! ¡°And what happened afterwards was that¡­¡± She continued on with her story, revealing that the civil war started due to Aggreahrt¡¯s misunderstanding over her subordinates searching for the descendent of the Subus race, which led to¡­ ¡­Mm? ¡®Why does it feel like I¡¯ve heard this story before somewhere?¡¯ No, before all that. We did have the final remaining descendent of the Subus race with us, didn¡¯t we? ¡°If only that descendent was found¡­ The demon race wouldn¡¯t have to experience the civil war, and everything would have been settled peacefully. But we still haven¡¯t found the descendent in the human continent yet, and¡­¡± I wordlessly looked down at the demon race princess still yapping on and on about her circumstances. Obviously, you wouldn¡¯t find the Subus¡¯s descendent on the other side of the continent. That¡¯s because my daughter was the descendent you¡¯ve been searching for, and she had apanied me to the demon side of the continent, you see! No, hang on a minute here¡­ There was an old saying about a crisis bing an opportunity. And the demon side of the world was currently embroiled in a crisis called the civil war. And what do you know, the most important existence in this situation happened to be my daughter. In other words, my daughter had the power to choose who would be the next demon king between the demon race princess and this dude named Aggreahrt. Not only that but¡­ ¡°¡­You say that, as long as you can endure the demon god¡¯s blessing, you can be the demon king acknowledged even by the demon god itself?¡± ¡°Y-yes. However¡­¡± ¡­You would definitely die after receiving that blessing. In the history of the demon race, only five demons ever managed to survive the demon god¡¯s blessing. And all of those five individuals came from legends of the past, too. After the previous demon king passed away, several demons stepped forward to take up the challenge, but they all died during the process. Understandably, no one else felt brave enough to receive the blessing afterwards. However¡­ ¡°Who cares about your circumstances, anyway?¡± The thing was, my daughter, with the power to cast the swing vote, was with me right now. And the unique existence that even the gods had to publicly acknowledge was standing right here, too. Afterbining these two factors, creating the next demon king should be a cakewalk, no? That¡¯s why¡­ ¡°How about forming a contract with me and bing the next demon king, princess?¡± It¡¯s time to make some investments for the sake of peaceful demon world life. [1]: Apologies, but uh, I couldn¡¯t think of an appropriate onomatopoeia for a person¡¯s mouth silently opening and closing, and decided to go with the romanised version of the Korean SFX, ¡°????¡± Chapter 179

Chapter 179

Evade the Hero and Flee! 179 #20. This World Doesn¡¯t Want to Leave Me Alone (8)> Proofread #5 Their circumstance: a certain team leader¡¯s circumstances ¡°Uh-ra~?¡± Tilt, tilt. My head tilted this way and that. ¡°Hnnng~?¡± Even a hum came out of my mouth, too. ¡°Eh-heh~?¡± What could this mean, though? ¡°Are you sure this is the right ce?¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. It is.¡± No matter how much I tilted my head, there was no clear answer forting. That¡¯s why I asked a subordinate of mine standing next to me, but it sounded like he was thinking roughly the same as me. ¡°But, this is a dead-end, though?¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°But, we need to go even further, right?¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± Even as the subordinate diligently replied to me, the magic tool in his hand continued to emit faint light that floated towards the far-off distance. However, what stood tall in front of our eyes was a massive fortress wall. Which was called thest bulwark located in humanity¡¯s st city.¡¯ ¡°But, why is it called thest bulwark? Shouldn¡¯t this ce be the first?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s supposed to mean that, once this ce is overrun, that will be the end for us, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Hmm. But demons had broken through plenty of times before this thing was built, and we¡¯re still all alive, aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, saying stuff like that in this ce will get you stabbed in the back¡­¡± I could only groan while witnessing my subordinate scan our surroundings in panic. ¡°Of course I¡¯ve already soundproofed our spot.¡± ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Eh-whew! We¡¯ve been doing this for how many years now? It¡¯s only obvious that someone might overhear you during a field operation, you know? That¡¯s why it¡¯s the basic of all basics to cast soundproofing magic first, you know? ording to my instructor, birds would overhear you during the day but at night, birds and even rats would eavesdrop on you. He was trying to teach me that the more secretive your discussion was, the more people wouldbe listening in. Probably. That¡¯s why soundproofing was absolutely essential. On top of that, I kept talking to my subordinate in a natural manner to not rouse any suspicions, too. ¡°Eh-whew. To think that I need to catch my instructor with this kind of subordinates.¡± ¡°My apologies.¡± For a moment there, I recalled the infinite wordbo my instructor taught me in the past, but right now, I was too busy. It¡¯s too bad, but I didn¡¯t think I could use it at the moment. ¡°This development isn¡¯t good.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°What¡¯s our encirclement situation like?¡± ¡°With the Neidon Kingdom as the centre, we¡¯vepleted the encirclement epassing the surrounding kingdoms about three days ago.¡± ¡°However, we haven¡¯t found anyone yet, right?¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Thought so¡­¡± A team leader was supposed to quicklye to a decision. What were the odds of the instructor slipping through our and escaping from here? What about the odds of him crossing this fortress wall and entering the demon continent? ¡°Urgh¡­¡± Without a doubt, the odds were pretty low for both of those options. No, I¡¯d say that it¡¯spletely impossible. Even attempting to do either of the two was sheer insanity. But when I added the special modifier called ¡®our instructor¡¯ in front of the options, it kinda felt like they were doable, after all. ¡°For now, let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°¡­Going back, ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Then, what? You wanna cross this?¡± Sneak¡­ The subordinate sneaked a nce at the massive fortress wall. ¡°¡­No, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Oh, so you wanna wait for him here, then?¡± The subordinate¡¯s gaze shifted over to the magic tool in his hand next. The tool¡¯s blinking light was still slowly floating forward, further away from us bit by bit. ¡°Besides, you think you can deal with Her Highness¡¯s rage when the timees?¡± ¡°N-nope! Let¡¯s quickly return, ma¡¯am!¡± If only Ria was here. She would¡¯ve understood me instantly, you know. But my smart and capable adjutant had been kidnapped (?) for now, so I chose to bring with me whoever I could find, but he was below my expectations. ¡®Once this operation is over, I better speak to Her Highness and train the newbies a bit more.¡¯ ¡°In any case, let¡¯s hurry back home.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± This subordinate of mine might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he still was a talented individual. We leisurely left the city and headed to a location with little to no foot traffic. Then, we used magic to teleport to my unit, currently on standby in the nearest location possible without stirring up international trouble. Magic meant to transport people to different locations ate up a ton of magic energy, but we always received a ton of the highest grade magic stones from Her Highness, so teleporting around like this was not a problem for us. ¡°Team leader?¡± ¡°What happened, ma¡¯am?¡± Around twenty agents looked at me and began throwing several urgent questions. I softly smiled and did my best to take care of their curiosity. ¡°Well, we¡¯re all screwed.¡± ¡°¡­Ah.¡± It kinda felt like the atmosphere froze up instantly, but too bad, something else was far more urgent right now. ¡°Is the preparation for opening the portalplete? We need to return to the imperial court as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± The arduous path home began from that moment on. A series of short-range portal magic¡­ Continuously teleporting to the nearest unit until we reached one of therge cities in the empire was, honestly speaking, very tiring and taxing to one¡¯s body. Sustained exposure to a massive amount of magic energy would cause a severe magical power sickness, while the continuous spatial movement would induce motion (spatial) sickness, too. These two types of travel sickness rumbled on inside my body, but I was not about to throw up the 24 specialty dishes of the City Alliance I finally managed to eat. ¡°Ma¡¯am, are you¡­ feeling alright?¡± ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡± Myplexion must¡¯ve looked bad because the subordinates were worried about me. Too bad, we were in an emergency situation that could get us fired in the blink of an eye. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll let go of this fantastic job that allowed me to eat as much as I wanted! I did my utmost best not to lose this best-ever job in my life, and eventually, I managed to travel half of the continent in less than a day. ¡°Mm? Is that you, Team Leader Mirua?¡± ¡°Uncle¡­¡± ¡°H-hey, I told you I¡¯m not an uncle yet¡­¡± This magician uncle I was staring at was already thirty years old, but by relying on the flimsy excuse of him still being a bachelor, he kept arguing that he wasn¡¯t an uncle. ¡°¡­Thirty. Years. Old.¡± ¡°Kuh-huk!¡± Just as the uncle clutched at his chest and began coughing and wheezing away, I ignored him and searched for anyone that looked a bit more normal than him. ¡°¡­There¡¯s no one?¡± Everyone present here fell under thebel of ¡®old bachelor¡¯. Oh, well. I guess this situation couldn¡¯t be helped. Her Highness¡¯s army was indeed the best workce, and others were envious of us being the strongest, but it was also sadly unsuitable for marriages. That¡¯s because, the moment you choose to get married, Her Highness and Big Sister Reia would show up in the wedding venue to watch the proceedings from start to finish. As an aside, Her Highness would be all smiles as she stared at the newlyweds, while Big Sister Reia would re at them nonstop. The esteemed children of noble families copsing from the assault of those gazes continued to ur. Because of this, not many weddings were heldtely, which made me sad. I mean, the food found at weddings are all so tasty, you know¡­ ¡°No, wait. That¡¯s not it.¡± Never mind the wedding food, I might not even get to eat regr foods at this rate. ¡°Uncle, it¡¯s an emergency situation.¡± ¡°How big of an emergency are we talking about?¡± ¡°Mm¡­ How about, Her Highness will be in a constant state of rage for the next month or so?¡± ¡°You should¡¯ve said that from the beginning!¡± My surroundings instantly descended to utter pandemonium. Several people were urgently running around while a few others were calling various ces with themunication magic tools. Someone even tripped and fell on their face. Heck, someone was even saying, ¡°It¡¯ll be anotherte night today, then~¡±, too. Watching them doing their own things made me go¡­ ¡°Wuuu-uph¡­!¡± This feeling of nausea was rushing in. ¡°Hey, you! Stop! Don¡¯t puke in here!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look down on me, uncle. I¡¯ll never throw up all the food I¡­ Wuu-euph!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you see that it¡¯s already beyond your control?!¡± The uncle used the body strengthening magic on himself to easily pick me up, then hurriedly began running towards the nearest bathroom. However, a human body was meant to follow the human will! I barely managed to hold my vomit in. Then, while being carried on the uncle¡¯s back, I triumphantly returned to¡­ ¡­Bleeergh! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, uncle.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t puke on my clothes!!!¡± In the end, I had to leave behind the traces of my defeat on the uncle¡¯s robe, which he was still paying instalments for. It seemed that I needed to reimburse himter on through the upational hazard pay scheme. ¡°What happened on the field, Team Leader Mirua?¡± And so, the meeting went underway after my innards settled down somewhat through the brave sacrifice of the magician uncle. The seat of honour during the meeting was upied by Big Sis Reia. Every agent with the status of team leader or higher currently present in the imperial court also gathered for the meeting. I began briefing them. ¡°It seems that the instructor has fled to somewhere very far away.¡± ¡°Urgh¡­ Does that mean we lost him?¡± Big Sis Reia furrowed her brow deeply. Her Highness hadn¡¯t arrived yet, and once she heard about the news of the instructor slipping out of our grasp, she¡¯d no doubt be very sad. That¡¯s why Big Sis Reia was making such a face. However, that wasn¡¯t the real issue here. ¡°Although he managed to flee, a couple of agents still managed to stick onto him. However, their current location is¡­¡± ¡°Where are they?!¡± BANG! Big Sis Reia mmed her fist on the desk, hard. Her sudden burst of energy forced me to inadvertently blurt out the location right away. ¡°It¡¯s in the demon continent.¡± ¡°Ng?¡± ¡°The magic tool picked up the responseing from somewhere beyond the ce called the final city, ma¡¯am. Unfortunately, we were not able to confirm whether he did cross the border or not.¡± ¡°The demon¡­ continent, you say?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± When I nodded in affirmation, everyone began looking around as dazed expressions floated up on their faces. They were trying to make sure that they didn¡¯t hear me wrong just now. ¡°Is something like that even possible?¡± ¡°Who knows. The signal ising from the cor, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s possible that he had tied the cor on a bird or something then sent it flying that way.¡± ¡°Or, he could have sent that agent named Ria alone into the demon continent¡­¡± ¡°Hey, dude. That¡¯s not something a human being would do in good conscience, you know? You think he¡¯d force someone to enter the demon continent alone?¡± ¡°You moron! We¡¯re talking about Ast here. That Ast! If it¡¯s him, then yes, he¡¯spletely capable of doing so!¡± ¡°What¡¯s this? You¡¯re saying something nonsensical, but the moment you brought up that name, I began thinking that it¡¯s totally possible with him!¡± ¡°Indeed, our opponent is none other than Ast, the son of the evil god that even scammed a great demon!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. He has the previous form of bringing a nation down to its knees with nothing but his glib tongue. If it¡¯s him, then it wouldn¡¯t be strange to see him pull out all sorts of underhanded tricks!¡± The atmosphere in the meeting venue heated up a lot, but despite that, I still found the reason for the fiery exchange a bit strange. Everyone present seemed to agree that those possibilities were unrealistic, yet they changed their tunes as soon as our instructor¡¯s name was brought up. They were now saying that the possibility was all too real. Oh, before I forget, I dide to the same conclusion as them. It sounded like these people had suffered a lot at the hands of our instructor, too. ¡°I see. For sure, if it¡¯s Sir Ast¡­ If it¡¯s him, then he¡¯s fully capable of forcing a person into the demon continent to slip away by himself.¡± ¡°Where could he possibly be by now, then¡­? Wait, could he still be hiding somewhere in Ruibe the City Alliance?¡± ¡°That¡¯s definitely a possibility.¡± ¡°Indeed. He could have even infiltrated back into the empire, too.¡± ¡°Right. He¡¯s disappeared somewhere up in the northern region, so he could be hiding among His Highness the First Imperial Prince¡¯s faction.¡± ¡°No, that will be too much of a stretch. Even in His Highness¡¯s faction, there must be quite a few people who¡¯d grit their teeth at the mere mention of Ast¡¯s name. It¡¯ll be too dicey. It doesn¡¯t suit Ast¡¯s personality.¡± ¡°But, he could be aiming exactly for that.¡± ¡°Mm, now that you mention it, that also sounds logical.¡± All sorts of guesses began flying around now. We were working hard to determine the escapee¡¯s flight path but said paths were gradually getting higher in number instead. ¡°No, wait. The demon continent option is still avable, too. We can¡¯t ignore the possibility that he really did step foot into the demon race¡¯s territory!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. That man is fully capable of scamming even the demons!¡± ¡°He could scam a demon and establish a ve contract, then start living a cosy little life in the demon continent for all we know.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a crazy notion, but the real crazy thing is our current situation since we can¡¯t even dismiss that notion as something crazy!¡± This meeting was supposed to help us narrow down our instructor¡¯s possible escape path, but in the end, we concluded that from now on, we had to scour the demon continent AND the human continent, too. ¡°Hold on, everyone! At this rate, Her Highness might really start the continental war, you know!¡± ¡°Well, we don¡¯t have a choice but to do that if we were to perform our investigation inside the demon continent, Dame Reia.¡± ¡°Even though we work for the empire, we can¡¯t extend our influence into the demon race, after all.¡± ¡°Right. The demon continent is out of our reach, isn¡¯t it.¡± I noticed other team leaders nodding away, so I nodded along with them. But this happened just then. ¡°We think it¡¯s out of our reach, and that¡¯s precisely why he¡¯ll go there. Ast would surely do something like that.¡± ¡°Your Highness!¡± Her Highness opened the door and stepped into the meeting venue. Big Sis Reia yielded the seat of honour right away. ¡°I¡¯ve heard the gist of it on the way. So, the response wasing from somewhere in the demon continent, you say?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± I nodded while being subjected to the Imperial Princess¡¯s gaze. She closed her eyes and didn¡¯t say anything for a while. She must¡¯ve been thinking about something. She finally spoke up a short whileter, but her eyes remained closed. ¡°Team Leader Mirua. How many of our agents are currently stationed in Ruibe the City Alliance?¡± ¡°The total number of agents are three hundred, Your Highness. As for the deployment status, five agents form one team, and one team is deployed per city. Teams consisting of three agents are monitoring various main roads, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Besides them?¡± ¡°Temporary bases consisting of around twenty agents have been set up to activate teleportation magic, ma¡¯am. Without running into any issues, we were able to set up three such bases near the City Alliance.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Her Highness finished listening to my report and opened her eyes about three minutes of silenceter. ¡°Very well. This is what we will do.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness!¡± Everyone began paying utmost attention to Her Highness¡¯s lips. But that¡¯s because what our duties were would be decided by what she chose to say now. ¡°For the time being, each team leader will continue to monitor the zones you¡¯ve been assigned to. To make sure that not even a rat can slip through.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± Maintaining status quo? It seemed that Her Highness wanted to observe the situation first. ¡°However, I shall assign Team Leader Mirua with a new solo mission.¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± Uhm, this doesn¡¯t sound good. The instructor once told me that no solo mission in history was what you¡¯d refer to as ¡®normal¡¯ by any stretch of the imagination. Sure, that mission to infiltrate Marsis a few years ago was pretty enjoyable, but now¡­ ¡°You¡¯ll have to enter the demon continent and acquire intel for us, Mirua.¡± ¡°Hiiiing¡­¡± My foreboding was never wrong. Not even once. The demon continent, Your Highness? How was I even supposed to go there, though? ¡°B-but, Your Highness¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be alright. I have a n, you see.¡± Her Highness told me to wait, then vacated her seat. And a short whileter¡­ ¡°Here you go. With this, you can do it.¡± ¡°¡­Your Highness?¡± While smiling away, Her Highness put a headband sporting demon-like horns on my head. ¡°You can do it, can¡¯t you?¡± She continued to smile while asking me a question that nearly made me swear like a sailor. However, she was my boss, an Imperial Princess of this empire. Which meant my answer was already set in stone, more or less. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am¡­¡± And so, the meeting came to an end there. Other agents looked at me with eyes of pity while orderly leaving the venue, but Big Sis Reia remained right until the end. She patted me on the shoulder and tried tofort me somehow. ¡°Treat this as an opportunity to sample the demon race¡¯s unique regional cuisines. I¡¯ll also contact the treasury so that you can take lots of money with you, too!¡± Herforting words managed to undo this sadness and frustration welling up in my heart. She was right. Since things hade to this¡­! Let¡¯s think of this as me going on a journey to find new cuisines in the mysterious demon continent! However, the moment I thought that, a question suddenly popped up in my head. ¡°By the way, big sis?¡± ¡°Ng?¡± ¡°Will the empire¡¯s currency even be epted in the demon continent?¡± ¡°Uh? It won¡¯t?¡± Big Sis Reia just stood there, her eyes blinking away absentmindedly. And witnessing her response left me speechless in turn. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°W-well, I¡¯ll get you gold, instead. How about that?¡± ¡°Sure thing¡­¡± And so, that¡¯s how I got to travel to the demon continent. Chapter 180

Chapter 180

Evade the Hero and Flee! 180 #20. This World Doesn¡¯t Want to Leave Me Alone (9)> #6 Their circumstance: Belegrea¡¯s circumstances Is this really right? Am I really doing the right thing? ¡°There, there. Sign right here.¡± The human hand sneakily sliding forward held a piece of paper containing an incredible amount of magical power. ¡°Isn¡¯t this¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s a Geass scroll. I only have two of these things left, but lucky for you, I¡¯m prepared to use one!¡± How strange. Geass scrolls were produced in tiny numbers by the temple of the Creator God and nowhere else. Even the demon king¡¯s treasury held only five such scrolls, yet a regr human being possessed two of them? No, wait. He couldn¡¯t have been a normal human being in the first ce since he managed to get here. Even so, him coincidentally possessing a Geass scroll right this moment didn¡¯t make any sense. ¡°Could it be that all this had been prepared in advan¡­ Ha-euk.¡± Smack. I was left with no choice but to tremble when a small hand lightly smacked the ground. ¡°Too much talking~, sis.¡± Those words were spoken by a little girl with long silver hair. And this girl¡¯s small fist smacking the ground made me tremble in pure terror. Me, who had been trained for a long time by my father the former demon king! ¡°Y-yes¡­¡± The human man pushed a pen forward in my direction, and my constantly-trembling hand somehow managed to grab it. No, this was wrong. Without a shred of doubt, this contract had to be a deal with the devil. No, more like an evil god! This contract must be filled to the brim with every vile, disgusting and unreasonable demand I can imagine. ¡°W-where should I sign?¡± However, I had no choice but to sign such a contract with a forced smile on my face. I¡¯m sorry, Old Man Mekel. I think I¡¯m beyond saving now. ¡°Hey, that won¡¯t do. It¡¯s supposed to be a contract, so you should have a look-see at least once. It¡¯ll get annoying if you start some other nonsenseter on, you know.¡± ¡°Y-you think so?¡± Hahaha¡­ With a cramped smile on my face, I began reading the contractid out before my eyes. This was a Geass scroll, to begin with ¨C once signed, no one could go against it, so was he forcing me to read it just to make me even more miserable? ¡°¡­Eh?¡± But when I started reading the contract, I immediately discovered something strange about it. This contract, it¡­ was surprisingly a legit-sounding one. I had been expecting it to say that I¡¯d be this man¡¯s puppet in his quest to eliminate Aggreahrt, and then he¡¯d rule over the demon world, but¡­ But this contract featured exacting and detailed conditions regarding how he¡¯d like to live like a regr farmer in a small corner of the demon world, how I must help him achieve that end, and how I shouldn¡¯t try to get revenge or treat him unfairly just because he happened to be a human being. In other words, this human wanted me to help him and his group settle down and live a normal life in the demon world in return for making me the next demon king. Sure, there seemed to be all sorts of annoying-sounding additional uses but, all of them were for the eventuality of someone discovering their real identities as humans. If it¡¯s like this¡­ ¡°What do you think? It¡¯s not bad, right?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± Unlike how they suddenly started beating me up for no reason, the contract details written down on this Geass scroll were not bad at all. No, wait. I¡¯d say these conditions were actually advantageous for me. ¡°However, the most important aspect of these conditions is that you shall make me the next demon king. Is that even really doable?¡± Indeed, the crux of the contract on this Geass scroll was with me bing the demon king. But to do that, we had to somehow deal with the problem of defeating Aggreahrt and bringing the moderate faction under one banner. ¡°Of course it is,¡± the human man replied confidently. ¡°You have a way to defeat Aggreahrt? You do?¡± Ah, wait. It might be possible. If this silver-haired girl next to him somehow managed to get close to Aggreahrt and somehownded just one hit on him¡­! No matter how strong Aggreahrt was, he¡¯d be renderedpletely useless afterwards. Yes, she was that kind of a lifeform (?), wasn¡¯t she? Perhaps they had noticed my rising anticipation, triumphant expressions began filling up their faces while looking straight into my eyes. ¡°Of course we can¡¯t defeat him.¡± ¡°¡­I beg your pardon?¡± I was sure that a bbergasted expression showed up on my face just then. Just what was wrong with this human? How could he say something so idiotic with a triumphant look on his smug face? ¡°But, didn¡¯t you just say you will make me the next demon king?!¡± ¡°That I did. But I never said anything about fighting and defeating someone. Love and Peace, baby. Let¡¯s love peace, shall we?¡± [1] The man said some iprehensible things to me and brushed aside my concerns with that smug grin. ¡°You, you really are¡­¡± Anger rushed up to my head, and I nearly blurted out some harsh words, but my lips mped shut automatically after spotting silver hair strands dancing dramatically in the winds. That¡¯s because¡­ Anyone could tell that the moment I raise my voice would be the moment the silver-haired girl¡¯s fistnds on my face. ¡°You told me there are certain conditions to bing the next demon king, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes. Winning the election and getting the temple to acknowledge you. However, it¡¯s impossible to seed in either of those.¡± The sole remaining descendent of the Subi was nowhere to be found. Not even a single piece of information to go on. Not only that, the gamble called demon god¡¯s blessing had such terrible odds that anyone not deemed ¡®chosen¡¯ would die instantly. No matter how dire my situation was, I didn¡¯t wish to choose the demon god¡¯s blessing as myst resort. ¡°Can you see that carriage over there?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± These humans were riding on that carriage. The human man pointed at the carriage, where two humans with dazed expressions were looking back at us, and said something strange to me. ¡°My daughter is riding in it.¡± ¡°¡­Yes?¡± ¡°And my daughter is the descendent of the Subus race.¡± ¡°¡­Yes???¡± I ended up thinking that I must¡¯ve misheard him because of howid-back he sounded while revealing that shocking truth. Who was riding on what carriage now? ¡°Are you really telling me that the sole remaining descendent of the Subus race is inside that carriage??¡± ¡°Since my daughter is inside, yeah, you¡¯re spot on.¡± ¡°Are you¡­ telling me the truth?¡± My voice grew louder without me realising it. Just how badly did I search for her all this time! So many of our agents had to be sacrificed for a chance to cross Ruibe¡¯s walls, and after a few barely managed to pass through there and did their best to gather information, they still couldn¡¯t find a single trace of a Subus anywhere. But to think, she was actually inside the demon continent all along! ¡°Oh, and it¡¯s not just the descendent of the Subus race inside that carriage. There¡¯s a dragon, too.¡± ¡°You, you¡­!¡± However, his follow-up words woke me up and made me realise that he was lying to me. In fact, this man was making a fool out of me right now. Yes, he was deriving some kind of a perverted enjoyment from the sight of my hopes being lit again. For that reason alone, he lied about the descendent of the Subus riding in that carriage! ¡°Just kill me already. Rather than bing your ything, I will simply kill myself!¡± I chose to bite my tongue and die. I stuck my tongue out to show him how serious I was¡­ only for him to cut me off before that. ¡°Hey, even if you bite your tongue, we can still heal you. And that healing wille from¡­¡± ¡°Aru¡¯s hand is a healing hand, see~?¡± Whoosh, whoosh- I quietly pulled my tongue back inside after watching the silver-haired girl make whooshing noises while shadowboxing. ¡®He¡¯s not lying.¡¯ ¡®If you want to live, you better believe him.¡¯ I didn¡¯t bite my tongue because of her but the pair of a man and a woman far behind the smug-faced older man shaking their heads at me, their eyes of pity clearly visible. I might have imagined it, but I thought I could hear their voices, too. The older man asked me a question. ¡°Besides all that, princess, why did you even try to bite your tongue out of the blue?¡±. ¡°Are you serious¡­?¡± I truly disliked being led around the nose by this man, but it wasn¡¯t like I had a say in the matter. I couldn¡¯t see a way to escape, and this silver-haired girl was far too close to my side, after all. The justice was far away, while the fist was near ¨C now I fully understood what that old saying meant. ¡°Huh. I only spoke the truth, you know?¡± The older human man said that, then got up from the spot. He headed to the carriage, and along with a young pink-haired girl in tow¡­ ¡°Dad, who is she?¡± ¡°A big sister that will apany us from now on. Now, child. Greet her. And Kkokko, it¡¯s fine to greet this human¡­ no, I mean the demondy, too.¡± ¡°Hi, big sis! I¡¯m Alice!¡± ¡°Hi~. I¡¯m Kkokko!¡± The pink-haired girl and a drake¡­ was what I wanted to tell myself, but that lizard-like lifeform with wings speaking like a human could only be¡­ ¡°S-seriously?!¡± H-hold up! Just what kind of a dragon rides around in a bloody carriage! Besides all that, what is the real identity of this old human?! Could he be a dragon in disguise? A dragon travelling the world for fun or something? ¡°Are¡­ are you a great, noble existence, sir?¡± Existences calling themselves great and noble while even giving the gods the cold shoulder treatment¡­ I began trembling from the fact that one such existence was standing right before my eyes. ¡°A great and noble existence? My foot¡¯s great and noble. I¡¯m just a normal human.¡± However, the man rubbished what I said with an annoyed voice. ¡°Ah, wait. We do have someone that did kill the so-called great and noble existence all by himself right over there. Mister hero himself.¡± I followed the man¡¯s pointing finger and turned my head to spot a blonde man by the carriage. He and another woman had been watching me with eyes of pity for quite some time now. ¡°¡­He¡¯s a hero?¡± ¡°Yes. A hero affiliated with the Order of Nature.¡± This situation was getting further and further away from the realm of my understanding. What¡­ is this? The sole descendent of the Subus race that I¡¯ve been desperately searching for, a hatchling dragon and a hero from the Order of Nature¡­ What were the odds of such a group travelling together like this? Not stopping there, what were the odds of such a weird group running into me, the former demon king¡¯s daughter, out in the middle of nowhere??? Was such a thing even possible? N-no, wait. Before all that¡­ ¡°Just who, or what are you¡­?¡± This man, this existence, that the sole remaining descendent of the Subus race referred to as her dad¡­ The pain that couldn¡¯t have belonged to this world. The pain that defied all attempts to describe ¨C and the vile, sinister silver-haired girl capable of dishing out such pain¡­ This man was apanied by such a demonic creature! And on top of that, the hero from the Order of Nature was travelling with him, too? Finally, that man even used a Geass scroll to make a contract with the daughter of the former demon king, telling her that he¡¯d make her the next demon king. All I needed to do was assist him with starting a farm in some remote corner of the demon world. ¡­Was this man before my eyes really human? Maybe, Mekel made an error with his magic form, which caused me to ck out during the transfer magic and now, I was simply having a nightmare. No, that couldn¡¯t be right. That pain from earlier was so horrific that it simply had to be a reality, not a dream. That pain touched me in my soul, after all! My dreams weren¡¯t vivid enough to let me experience something that terrible. ¡°You wanna know who I am?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I was dying of curiosity from this man¡¯s true identity. A man who defied all attempts to figure out who he was! Just what kind of an individual was he that all these incredible beings were apanying him like this? Could he be a dragon, after all? If not, a transcendental existence referred to as one True Hero that surpassed the other heroes, who quietly retired in his old age? [Important T/N at the end of the chapter] If that¡¯s also not it, then maybe a trainee holy man wandering around the world to be the apostle of some god? So many thoughts flitted in and out of my head non-stop for a while there. I was confident of not getting shocked no matter what this man introduced himself as next. And so, as I stared at the man with just a tiny bit of anticipation building up inside my heart, he triumphantly revealed his true identity to the world. ¡°My name is¡­ Yes, it¡¯ll be Marcus! An exceedingly normal farmer!¡± ¡°Say what?!¡± A¡­ a farmer? ¡°Stop making fun of me!¡± ¡°My dear daughter, I¡¯m a farmer for sure, right?¡± ¡°Ng! Dad is a pro farmer! And I¡¯m an expert farmer!¡± ¡°W-what are you two even talking about??¡± The supposed descendent of the Subus race smiled brightly and agreed enthusiastically with the older man. What kind of farming were they partaking in that they need to have a dragon and a hero apany them like this?! N-no, before that! ¡°R-right! What do you mean, you¡¯re Marcus?! Even a moron can tell that¡¯s not your real name!¡± ¡°A person can change their name, you know.¡± ¡°Ng! Even Kkokko was called Bbi-yak and Chicken in the past, big sis!¡± [2] ¡°Really, mama?¡± ¡°Ng!¡± Just why was this father and daughter duo looking at me like I was the weird one here? Could it be that I really was the weird one? Or was this down to the cultural differences between humans and demons? ¡®Nope, definitely not.¡¯ ¡®They are the abnormal ones.¡¯ ¡®¡­Ah.¡¯ My gaze started to swim around the surroundings after the stares of the weird father and his daughter assaulted me. I eventually stopped at the spot where the young man and woman had been looking at me with eyes of pity for some time now. For some reason, I felt like I could clearly understand what they wanted to tell me simply by looking at their expressions and the light flickering in their eyes. ¡®Please, please tell me that I¡¯m not the weird one here, please?¡¯ ¡®Yes. That man is the weird one, not you.¡¯ ¡®To be more specific, it¡¯s not you, but everything connected to that man is weird.¡¯ Two of them nodded at me in silence. The hero acknowledged by none other than the Order of Nature directly confirmed that this old man was not right in the head. So¡­ what I¡¯ve been sensing all along must be true. ¡­That I¡¯m the normal one, and this man is insane! But the problem was¡­ ¡°Alrighty, then. The exnations are over and done with, so it¡¯s time to seal this deal.¡± ¡­That I was being forced into a contract with such a man! ¡°G-good sir, can¡¯t we, like, pretend this never happened?¡± My instinct was telling me that I need to be the next demon king to save the demon race, but it also told me that I must never, ever ept this human¡¯s help. The moment I do, something huge would happen, that¡¯s what it said! ¡°Alright, start signing.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry~ Be happy~ and sign already~.¡± But I was still too scared of the silver-haired girl who suddenly ced her small hand on my shoulder. Just when would that small fist start pounding on me again, I wonder? I¡¯m sorry, Old Man Mekel. I thought about this one more time, and I still think it¡¯s toote for me now. ¡°W-where should I sign?¡± My trembling hands rose up. The older man and the silver-haired girl began smirking like viins while watching me. I knew deep in my heart that I was making a terrible decision. But I didn¡¯t have enough power and could only seal this contract just as they told me to. And so, this was how I met the one referred to as the revolutionary of the demon world ¨C Marcus the scamming human. [1]: ¡°Love and Peace¡± bit was written in English in the raw. [2]: ¡°Bbi-yak¡± is a romanised onomatopoeia for the sound chickens make, while ¡°Chicken¡± bit was written in English. [Trantor¡¯s note: Until now, all instances of the Korean term ¡®??¡¯ have been tranted as ¡°hero¡± so that the trantion can stay more or less consistent with the previous trantor¡¯s efforts. However, that term originally should have been ¡°warrior¡±. In this chapter, the author revealed that the concept of ¡®??¡¯ (hero) does exist in this world. Which creates a conflict with how it¡¯s been tranted so far. The solution I came up with is to keep using ¡®hero¡¯ for ¡®??¡¯, which will apply to all the ¡®heroes¡¯ from different religious orders, and when the ¡®??¡¯ (hero) shows up for real in the future chapters, it¡¯ll be ¡®Hero¡¯, capitalised, as a means to differentiate. Thank you for your understanding.] Chapter 181

Chapter 181

Evade the Hero and Flee! 181 #20. This World Doesn¡¯t Want to Leave Me Alone (10)> Proofread ¡°Kuh~uh. That¡¯s beautiful.¡± I stared at the gleaming crimson hand seal imprinted on the paper. It sure was very nicely done, maybe because it was done by a pretty human¡­ oops, I mean, a pretty demon girl. ¡°Sob¡­¡± Yup, this was a good trade. My trade partner must¡¯ve liked this deal a lot because she softly sniffled away after sealing the contract. -Uhh, master? Don¡¯t you think those are tears of despair and regret? -Hey! Where in the world would you find more favourable conditions than these! She¡¯ll be the next demon king as long as she hands over a bit ofnd and helps me manage it, you know! -But that big sis is making a face of someone who lost everything, master? -Nope, that¡¯s the face you make when you get everything you wanted. We were talking about the demon king here. The demon king, a ruler of an entire continent! I didn¡¯t know the exact numbers for the total area of the demon continent or how many resources it had. But, when assuming it¡¯srgely simr to the ¡®other side¡¯, the position of the demon king must be as lofty as the emperor of the Karuan empire. Here I was, promising to give her that position on a silver tter. See how wonderful this contract is? -Master, if it reeeally was a wonderful contract, you wouldn¡¯t have to use a Geass scroll in the first ce. -You¡¯ve be pretty proficient at chewing me outtely, haven¡¯t you? -I learned from the best, master. You! Yup, I raised a dang tiger, didn¡¯t I? Honestly, this dang metal bat had been annoying me so muchtely that I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if my true enemy was this little punk all along. I might¡¯ve understood where her insolence wasing from if her stress level had been rising up, but that wasn¡¯t true, was it? When adding up all of her recent victims, we¡¯d almost get the total of the ¡®main protagonist in a novel¡¯, after all. Starting from the hero, an elf, a priest, a dragon, and even the daughter of a demon king, too! With such a collection, never mind venting her umted stress, she should be dancing around in pure bliss by now. Hang on a minute. Maybe she behaved this way because it¡¯s been too much fun for hertely? ¡°What are you nning to do, instructor?¡± The hero walked up to me and asked that. He was making a face of a part-time worker who had a ton of things to say but couldn¡¯t utter a single word out of fear of getting fired. ¡°What do you mean, what? We¡¯ll help the demon king¡¯s daughter so that she can im that position for herself.¡± ¡°But¡­ don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange for humans to interfere in the politics of the demon world?¡± ¡°Not in the slightest. Besides, not doing anything will mean the demon race invading the human world. Are you just going to sit back and watch that happen?¡± ¡°Well, no. But¡­¡± ¡°If Shuttle was here, we¡¯d have been showered by the oracles of the Goddess of Nature by now. We¡¯d be urged to quickly help this daughter of the demon king to defeat that Aggreahrt or whatever, then bring peace and harmony to both humanity and demonkind!¡± Belegrea, the demon king¡¯s daughter, told us this ¨C the goal of Aggreahrt, the instigator of the rebellion, was to create a world only for demons. And to achieve this goal, he sought to start another war between humans and demons. Just how many innocent people would get hurt if that was allowed to happen! Like what happened during thest great war, countless people would lose their lives on various battlefields. And to feed the army during the lengthy war, farmers all over thend would have no choice but to surrender their crops, too. That would lead to a shortage of food and people dying of starvation. And since this would be a war between humans and demons, the scale of devastation could very well be several times greater than other wars. Now that such unprecedented danger loomed over our world, what would be the job of the hero, I ask you! To protect world peace, the hero must step forward to eliminate Aggreahrt that chose to walk the path of destruction. Then, he must endeavour to install the girl who loved peace and harmony ¨C Belegrea! -To summarise, since he¡¯s a hero, he must fight to protect the world? And master, you¡¯ll be on the sidelines, dly mopping up all the benefits you can get your hands on? -This is all for the sake of this world. For this world, I say! This lifeform called the hero is supposed to ovee all sorts of trials and tribtions for the sake of our world, you know! Just as we stepped foot inside the demon world, the demon king¡¯s daughter miraculously appeared before our eyes! This had to be a divine revtion, some god¡¯s way of telling us to fight for peace and freedom. -Besides all that. Take a good look at the demon king¡¯s daughter. She¡¯s pretty, right? -Master, could it be that¡­ since you couldn¡¯t find a suitable partner among humans, you¡¯re thinking of marrying a demon¡­? -Not me, dummy, but I¡¯m thinking of tying her up with the hero punk over here. Since the beginning of time itself, it¡¯s always been like this. If the demon king has a son, the story would end up with him and the hero duking it out to their death. But if it¡¯s a daughter, all sorts of other storylines get added on top, eventually leading to the climax of the hero and the daughter entering that sort of a rtionship. -Why does it sound like you¡¯re trying to insult every demon king with daughters, master? Of course not. Since the dawn of time, the sub-species of humanity called ¡®hero¡¯ had this tendency of getting in bed with the demon king if thetter happened to be a pretty girl. And if the demon kings had pretty daughters, the heroes would end up with them, instead. Was it because of a father¡¯s instinctive love for their girls or something? Why was every demon king with daughters such goody-two-shoes? That¡¯s including Belegrea¡¯s father, too. ording to her, he worked hard to maintain peace instead of pursuing war against humans despite ruling over the most prosperous era in the demon race¡¯s history. ¡°Instructor, isn¡¯t there a possibility that this demon girl is deceiving us?¡± Unfortunately, this hero of ours didn¡¯t seem all that enthusiastic about fighting for world peace. To think that he¡¯d break the resolute silence he had been maintaining for so long with those churlish words. What a foolish kid! ¡°Do you honestly think anyone cane up with such a story after receiving the metal bat treatment?¡± ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Only those who had experienced it knew the true depth of the pain inflicted by the metal bat. Just one hit caused all strength to abandon your body. But that was merely the start; two, maybe three, hits were enough to let you have an out-of-body experience. Heck, you could even see how one¡¯s body would move ording to one¡¯s consciousness! Could someonee up with a sad tale about themselves mostlyposed of lies while stuck in such a situation? If they were capable of pulling off something like that, then it was only polite for us to fall for the ruse. ¡°Anything else you wish to add, my disciple?¡± ¡°Do we really need to eliminate this person named Aggreahrt and install the former demon king¡¯s daughter as the new demon king, instructor?¡± ¡°Yes, we do.¡± ¡°Is there no other way?¡± ¡°No, not really.¡± ¡°Is this truly for the sake of world peace?¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± Let¡¯s get one thing clear: the world at peace would automatically make my life peaceful. Sure, I still had to flee to the demon continent despite the world beingrgely in peace. Even so, peace was absolutely crucial. During the war, it¡¯d be cumbersome to travel between viges, for one thing. Back in the days of the previous great war, I was affiliated with the imperial court, which granted me a certain level of authority, making things a bit easier for me. But to a regr farmer, a war zone would be an environment no different from hell itself. -Master? You gotta break yourself out of the mistaken belief that you¡¯re a regr farmer, master. -Hey! Where would you find a farmer more ¡®regr¡¯ than me in this world?! I mean, except for my daughter¡¯s backstory, the unique characteristics of our pets, and my strange fate of getting tangled up with the hero, I¡¯m very normal, you know! -Master, you know just as well as everyone else that none of those qualifies as normal, now don¡¯t you? -Kuh-huk¡­ This is all the fault of the hero. If only this dang hero hadn¡¯t tracked me down! I would still be stuck in a remote corner of the human continent, preparing for the new year¡¯s crops while generally enjoying my days with my dear daughter by my side! Yes, it¡¯s all because this punk chased me down while mouthing some nonsense about oracles and whatnot, and that¡¯s why I had to travel to the demon continent like this! Now that I thought about it some more, one of the causes also happened to be this punk making the princess fall head over heels in love with him, isn¡¯t that so?! Yes, it was the fault of this punk all along! ¡°Well, my disciple. It¡¯s time to save this world.¡± I said that with a serious look on my face. The hero punk also nodded, seemingly havinge to grips with the sacred duty entrusted to him. -Oh, and it¡¯s not because of me gripped in your hand, master? -Probably not. Besides, just what kind of people were heroes? Weren¡¯t they the breed of brave men and women who were ready to discard their own lives like a pair of worn-down sneakers for the sake of world peace! Sure, the hero punk¡¯s eyes were currently glued to the metal bat but, he must be thinking about throwing away his life for the sake of world peace. I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I? I believe in you, oh dear hero! #7 Their circumstances: a certain hero¡¯s circumstance World peace?? What kind of a dogsh*t am I hearing now? I mean, c¡¯mon! Heroes wanting to risk their lives for world peace are a-dime-a-dozen, you know. Haven¡¯t I hunted down a dragon recently? Not just any dragon either, but an elder dragon that lived for not one thousand, not ten thousand, but twenty bloody thousand years! But why am I being saddled with this kind of trial? Are there no other heroes alive in this world or something? As far as I know, there are thousands of self-proimed heroes actively toiling away throughout thend, while the religious-order-acknowledged heroes numbered almost one hundred, so why! Why does it have to be me?! ¡­Could it be because of the instructor? No, wait. If I keep digging deeper and deeper, then the true culprit had to be my siblings that forced me into Howling in the first ce. If I ever get a chance to return to the empire in the future, I swear¡­ I shall crush and annihte my family. If they had been a Grand Duke family, then it wouldn¡¯t have been possible, but as a ¡®mere¡¯ ducal family, they should not be able to avoid punishment if many of their unsavoury secrets get exposed to the imperial court. I might have spent far more days outside the family than inside, but I still felt confident about finding out my family¡¯s secrets. How? I could just exchange the info on all the first-rate eateries I¡¯ve discovered during my travels for Mirua¡¯s help in getting my family¡¯s secrets! I believe in you, Team Leader Mirua! If it¡¯s you, it should be easier than breathing for us to acquire all the secrets a ducal family wishes to bury deep in their closet! I don¡¯t know why I feel this way, but you can definitely do it. You fully deserve my faith in you! Of course, I should assume that the odds of Mirua not being aware of first-rate eateries I had discovered in my travels were close to zero. Even so, I had seen all corners of the continent thanks to the divine oracles. If Ibed really hard through those experiences, I should know at least one ce she had never heard of. One at a minimum, three if I get lucky. That should be enough to motivate Mirua, I thought. ¡°Excuse¡­ me.¡± While I was mulling my options on how to rain down even more cmities upon the Raina Ducal Family, the former demon king¡¯s depressed-looking daughter called out to me from right next to my sitting position. Currently, she was in the same boat as me, our instructor¡¯s ¡­ Ahem, I mean, a travelpanion. Belegrea whispered to me in a tiny voice. ¡°What will happen to us?¡± Hmm¡­ How should I answer her? Like¡­ from a ruined noble family, now taken away by a ve merchant? Right, this atmosphere fit that exnation perfectly, wouldn¡¯t you say? Besides, did you just ask me about what fate awaits you? A dude who¡¯s been riding in said ve merchant¡¯s carriage before you joined us? ¡­What the hell? What¡¯s up with this nonsensically perfectparison? And how unfortunate it was that theparison also happened to include me! ¡°What do you mean, what?¡± Belegrea¡¯s eyes staring at me were faintly trembling. ¡®Wow, those eyes sure hold lots of emotions, don¡¯t they? I can see her anxiety, anticipation, despair, and even hope, too.¡¯ Once upon a time, I, too, made such an expression. I often made that face while staring at a certain someone, but the end result always remained the same. Aha. So, this was what it felt like. This feeling was the whole reason why that certain someone answered me in such a manner. A chuckle automatically leaked out of my mouth as I answered her. ¡°Obviously, we¡­¡± ¡°We¡­?¡± My bright smile managed to wash away negative emotions like anxiety and despair from her eyes. Ah, that¡¯s right. I was a hero. Well, thebel of a hero came with a certain image, didn¡¯t it? Like, an image, a symbol, of self-sacrifice for the greater good. That¡¯s why it¡¯s time to teach her about our cruel reality. Teach her that our fate had been sealed the moment the metal bat began hovering right in front of our faces. ¡°¡­We are f*cked, that¡¯s what.¡± That moment when her expression fell headlong from the heights of hope to the depth of despair, I¡­ I felt this strange satisfaction. Was this feeling the reason why our instructor showed us a glimmer of hope every now and then? We¡¯d dash madly forward at the distant ray of hope, only for it to disappear when we reach the spot. And that ray of hope would shine in the far-off distance once more. Since there was the light, we rushed forward with the belief that there would be an end to this tunnel. Unfortunately, that light was not a beacon of hope but merely a torch wielded by our instructor. When I managed to reach him, he¡¯d slyly retreat, and when I stopped to take a breather, he¡¯d slyly get closer and make me believe that I could finally reach the light. Yes, it was that kind of light! The thing was, though, I was not our instructor. I was not the former instructor from the evil organisation nor a professor from Yugrasia. I was a hero. I didn¡¯t be one out of my own volition, but people still looked up to me and respected me. Of course, I knew that Belegrea before me was not a human but a demon. Even so, I was a hero, and I had the duty to rescue this wandering soul. I spoke up. ¡°Does it feel like you can escape somehow? Does it feel like there¡¯s still some hope left for you?¡± Her eyes were steadily getting darker and darker. Good, it seems that you¡¯re pretty quick on the uptake, then. This is the only ¡®hope¡¯ I can give to you. ¡°Yeah, well. Sorry, but no. If that was possible, you think we¡¯d be sitting here next to you?¡± I first pointed at myself, then Ria next to me before shaking my head. ¡°Yup, it¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°Then, then what¡­¡± Belegrea¡¯s raven hair and those ck irises that suited her hair so well¡­ I stared at those eyes seemingly possessing an extrayer of something else that surpassed mere concepts like colours. And then, quietly nodded as an affirmation. ¡°Yeah. Giving up now will make it easier for you.¡± ¡°How, how can that be¡­¡± I shifted my gaze away from the despairing raven-haired girl and looked at the other end of the carriage. The metal bat must¡¯ve heard everything we were talking about just now, but she pretended to be none the wiser. That little evil silver-haired creature was currently ying with the pink-haired Alice. A golden-furred cat waszily curled up on Alice¡¯sp, and a dragon with the weird name, Kkokko, were chatting away with the two girls. At a casual nce, this scene resembled the very picture of tranquillity and peace. But amidst that peace were the metal bat, a Subus, and a dragon. Holy cow. To think that such a tranquil-looking scene would suddenly resemble a nightmare the moment I thought about their true identities! Ha. Ha. Ha¡­ ¡°Yup, we¡¯re all finished now.¡± We had already crossed a river that couldn¡¯t be un-crossed. Whether it was a threat from the Goddess of Nature or whatever, I should¡¯ve just ignored them all and chose to get chased around the human continent instead. Why, oh why did I go after our instructor and get myself into such a nonsensical situation? ¡°You only figured that out now?¡± The familiar voice of Ria came from next to me, sounding like she had already resigned herself about everything. Actually, the way she refreshingly smiled looked rather cool to my eyes. I replied. ¡°Well, it¡¯s like, I knew the truth in my heart but just didn¡¯t want to admit it.¡± ¡°I get where you¡¯reing from.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we can go back now anyway, right?¡± ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re right.¡± Hahaha, hohoho¡­ Ria and I began chuckling like the good friends that we were. ¡°This, this has to be a lie¡­¡± Only Belegrea was still rejecting her new reality, but it was only a matter of time before she realised the truth, too. Naruan, Ast, Nicerwin¡­ Ah, wait. He¡¯s calling himself Marcus now, isn¡¯t he? In any case, it didn¡¯t matter what his current name was, because Belegrea would soon learn that¡­ ¡­With our instructor choosing to butt into her business, she¡¯d better forget about living a life ofmon sense. More than that, she¡¯d never get to enjoy a normal life from this moment on. Chapter 182

Chapter 182

Evade the Hero and Flee! 182 #21. The Stories of Others (1)> Proofread #1 Their circumstance: A certain Elf¡¯s circumstance ¡°How long are we supposed to be in here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Currently, we were stuck inside a way-too brilliantly decorated room. So gorgeous was the d¨¦cor that I was beginning to feel rather out of ce. Just where did it start to go wrong, though? No, before all that, why were Hill and I even confined to this room in the first ce? I asked Hill. ¡°What about the Order¡¯s response?¡± ¡°Our opponent this time is a poor match, unfortunately.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Hill was a saint from one of the religious orders, and I was an Elf performing the duty of a High Elf ¨C an existence that could be referred to as the anchor of the Elf race. Anyone daring to confine us like this would naturally subject themselves to an incredible level of diplomatic pressure. Only a lunatic would deal with such pressure head-on. And as bad luck would have it, Hill and I got kidnapped by one such lunatic capable of utterly ignoring all those diplomatic pressure. No, wait, she was actually capable of kidnapping us and then exerting pressure on the other party. ¡°Please excuse me.¡± A maid knocked on the door, silently slipped inside, then quickly cleaned the room. It had already been over a month. And during that time, Hill and I did nothing but just lounge around and receive treatment fit for nobility. ¡°Just how long are we supposed to stay like this, I wonder¡­¡± The room was so gorgeous that it made us very ufortable. Being stuck in such a room meant that there was not a whole lot we could do besides sigh every now and then. Sir hero suddenly told us we needed to run away, so we tried to flee from the Neidon Kingdom through a small hole in the royal castle wall. But when we emerged on the other side, what waited for us were the princess of the Neidon Kingdom, Vera, and countless soldiers apanying her! Their sudden appearance knocked our senses out cold, resulting in our unceremonious capture. By the time we regained some of our wits, Sir hero was about to get captured himself. Right at that critical moment, a lone woman appeared out of nowhere, and, as if to make a mockery out of all those countless soldiers, she escaped from the cordon with us two and Sir hero in tow. It didn¡¯t end there, though, as she left us here and took Sir hero somewhere else afterwards. Aaaand that¡¯s how we got ¡®imprisoned¡¯ within the Karuan Empire. ¡°Well, I¡¯m still unsure about whether to call this an imprisonment or not¡­¡± ¡°I agree. It¡¯s too vague.¡± It certainly was an imprisonment of sorts ¨C imprisonment where we were forbidden from leaving the city. In other words, we were allowed to do whatever we pleased within the city limits. We could go on a stroll. We could also contact people at the Order of Nature. Didn¡¯t matter what we did, the ones monitoring us didn¡¯t try to stop or hinder us. The Neidon Kingdom did something roughly simr, but they weren¡¯t as open about it as the Karuan Empire. Including the maid that took care of cleaning the room and bringing our meals and snacks, we¡¯d always have around six people proiming to be our escorts tailing us whenever we went outside. They had themon decency of not following us into the toilet or the bath, but¡­ Those locations didn¡¯t have any windows, to begin with, making it impossible for us to slip away unnoticed anyway. Should I say, as expected of the empire? Even resorting to magic tools operated only through magic stones for venttion purposes! I had a sneaking suspicion that the upkeep cost for this building alone would be higher than my home vige¡¯s living cost for one month. Our issue with this situation was¡­ Did this building boast perfect security worthy of such cost? ¡°Hill, are you confident in sticking close to me if I try to force my way out of this ce?¡± ¡°Nope, not at all. But please be honest, are you confident in breaking through without anyone¡¯s help?¡± ¡°Not really?¡± Every single soldier guarding us nearby was stronger than me. Even if I didn¡¯t possess thebat ability ranked in the highest echelons of the Elvish society, I was still evaluated to be one of the higher-ratedbatants. Yet we were monitored by individuals that even I found very challenging to beat. And there were at least six of them, to boot. Judging from theirckadaisical behaviour so far, there must¡¯ve been quite a lot of hidden agents around us. Hill sighed. ¡°We need to escape first so that Sir hero can also make his escape¡­¡± ¡°Nope. The way I see it, even if we managed to slip away from this ce, Sir hero will not be so sessful in his attempts.¡± All the ¡®agents¡¯ here told me that they were still trainees not yet fit for active duty. People so strong that even I¡¯d have trouble winning against were merely trainees? Although difficult to believe, their revtion was unfortunately pretty close to being the truth. Their leader seemed to be acquainted with Sir hero. Her name was Mirua, and she seemed like Sir hero¡¯s ssmate. But the chasm between my skills and that, uh, kid¡¯s skills seemed unbridgeable to my eyes. If the difference between us was around two, maybe three times, then I¡¯d have figured out at least a small part of her true capability. But as I was now, I couldn¡¯t discern even the smallest fragment of this kid named Mirua¡¯s true strength. I wonder, if we brushed past each other in the street, would I have ever thought that this kid was an incredible warrior? Maybe I¡¯d have seen her as just a regr girl found practically everywhere. Probably? The thing was, every agent I saw in passing while being led into this ce looked like Mirua the Kid¡¯s underling, so there was that¡­ ¡°So, this was why people keep harping on and on about empire this and empire that.¡± Most of the time, your skills were honed through ¡®experience¡¯. Starting from the obvious one, like how many actual battles you¡¯ve been through, to how many times you¡¯ve been swinging that sword around every day¡­ ¡­Experiences that your body and soul memorised. ¡®Experience¡¯ was the only method avable for unremarkable, normal people to utterly humiliate geniuses. And it was also one of the reasons why other races were stronger than humans. Humans, on average, couldn¡¯t live past one hundred years. But both Elves and dwarves could live up to three hundred years, five hundred if they were the long-living kind. Such a gap in lifespan was a wall no human could ovee. Yet¡­ that wall had crumbled down oh-so easily. An elder dragon that had lived for twenty thousand years was defeated by a human that had only lived for two decades or so. I¡¯ve been alive for around fifty years, yet I was losing to soldiers that had lived for only twenty years or so. The onemonality in all these people was the simple fact that they were born and raised in the Karuan Empire. The one true hegemony of the continent, a powerhouse nation that not even the alliance of ten kingdoms could defeat! ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case,¡± Hill interjected just then and calmed me down when I began shuddering in terror. I had finally glimpsed the nonsensical level of the empire¡¯s true strength, so there was no helping it! ¡°There¡¯s a fairlyrge Order of Nature temple in the empire. And I used to be a citizen of the empire, too. So, please believe me when I say this¡­ These people are abnormal.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, really.¡± If I was asked who would most likely lie among all the lifeforms in this world, then without any hesitation whatsoever, I¡¯d choose humans. That¡¯s how much I distrusted humans. It was not for nothing that an Elvish idiom of, ¡®You can believe an Orc, but you must never trust a human¡¯s words¡¯ came into existence! But I could trust what Hill was telling me. As the saint of a religious order, he understood very well the weight of each and every word he spoke. Out of every human I met so far, I¡¯d say he was easily the most trustworthy one. Honestly speaking, I could never trust Sir hero, but I certainly could believe Hill. Hill continued on. ¡°If agents of such unbelievable skill levels were overflowing in the empire, then never mind emerging as the victor in thest great war, this nation would¡¯ve conquered the entire continent by now.¡± ¡°Well, you have a point there.¡± The empire might have enjoyed an overwhelming victory in thest great war, but that didn¡¯t mean everything was smooth sailing. It did taste some defeats here and there. A few renownedmanders of the empire were killed in action, and they lost several small andrge-scale skirmishes, too. Even so, the empire emerged victorious. That¡¯s because it never suffered a defeat that might have destabilised the overall bnce of the war. And perhaps more importantly, a certain military unit managed to win consecutive battles, thereby tilting the bnce in the empire¡¯s favour¡­ Mm? ¡°Could it be¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, your guess is probably right on the money.¡± ¡°But, why?¡± Even if Elves refrained from participating in human wars, we obviously had heard about thest war, which happened to be big enough in scale to earn the modifier of ¡®great¡¯. No, wait. During the great war, the forest where Elves called home was set on fire and preying on the ensuing confusion, a raid had been performed on us Elves. That prompted us to finally interfere in human society. That¡¯s why I knew as well as anyone the identity of the strongest military unit boasting the unbroken win streak in the great war. ¡­I knew to whom this unit belonged. ¡°Why would the unit belonging to that crazy b*tch do this to us?!¡± Atia Nel Karuan. Within the borders of the empire, she was referred to as the Ironblood Sovereign and also the Undefeated Empress. But in other nations, she absolutely monopolised every imaginable modifier associated with the term ¡®witch¡¯, such as the ¡®Cold-blooded¡¯ Witch, the ¡®Insane¡¯ Witch, the ¡®Bloodthirsty¡¯ Witch, etc., etc¡­ Born as the eldest daughter of the imperial family, her life before and during the first phase of the great war could only be described as quiet and uninteresting. But then, she suddenly jumped in with both feet. She searched for the defeated warriors and brought them under her wings to reinforce the military, and, during the great war itself, she utterly destroyed two kingdoms and trampled on three other kingdoms until they could never rise up again. Why was the unit belonging to such a witch imprisoning us? No, more specifically, why were they imprisoning Sir hero?! ¡°Could it be¡­ because of Sir hero¡¯s¡­?¡± ording to Hill¡¯s exnation, the reason for our hasty departure from the Neidon Kingdom were because Princess Vera fell head over heels with our Sir hero, and he felt his chastity being threatened by her! Hill butted in just then. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the reason.¡± ¡°But¡­ would there be another reason besides that one?¡± ¡°Even so, it¡¯s still a bit¡­¡± ¡°I mean,e on now. Sir hero is supposed to be a son of an important aristocrat affiliated with the Karuan Empire, right? Yes, he¡¯s a son of the Raina ducal family! What could be the reason for someone like that to leave his home and be a hero?!¡± All sorts of possibilities and scenarios formed in my head before vanishing into the ether, starting from utterly nonsensical imaginations to some that made me go, ¡®Huh? That kinda sounds usible, doesn¡¯t it?¡¯ ¡°Maybe¡­ Who knows? Sir hero could¡¯ve made her highness fall in love without realising it, and unable to forget about him, she decided to kidnap him in order to¡­!¡± ¡°Seriously, I can¡¯t listen to this drivel anymore.¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± ¡°Who goes there!¡± Just as I began mouthing off the most likely scenario out of all my imaginations, a voice of some man suddenly rose up from right next to us. ¡°What the hell? Just what kind of a flower field do you need to stumble around toe up with such a crazy imagining? Do Elves get high, too? Ah, wait. Now that I think about it, drugs were extracted from nts, weren¡¯t they? Elves love all things green, they say. I¡¯m guessing that green bit meant that kind of green, huh?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± This intruder insulted Elves just now but, before I could rebuke him for his rude words, I needed to ascertain our opponent¡¯s identity first. Honestly, my willpower was already at its limit trying to not tremble in fright, you see! ¡°Me? I¡¯m the unit leader¡¯s underling.¡± The intruder nonchntly threw that revtion out there, but it still managed to utterly shock us. The only ¡®unit leader¡¯ we knew was Mirua, the girl who took Sir hero away to who knows where. Which meant that this intruder was most likely her underling. And that also meant¡­ ¡®¡­Just how strong is this guy?!¡¯ The moment my eyesnded on this man, I instinctively felt the difference in the gap in our strengths. It felt like this man gave off the impression of a dark, foreboding aura tightly bunched up together, like some kind of a devil. If it was as simple as the dark-aura-in-a-bundle kind of a deal, I¡¯d have attacked right away. But it was not. This man also emitted apletely different aura, hidden beneath the wall of this dark aura. It was none other than the divine aura, quite simr to Hill¡¯s! And Hill was the saint of the Order of Nature! To think that this man of darkness emitted such sacred aura of divine nature?! I even got a feeling that I should be bowing my head and reverentially looking up at the rude intruder. ¡°Could you be a holy man from the demon race?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± ¡°Your friend¡¯s right. I¡¯m a human, see?¡± Hill replied before the intruder could. Did that mean Hill knew who this man was? Hill began exining. ¡°A god from another world¡­ Among the ranks of summoners, someone managed to summon a god from another world.¡± ¡°A deity-level summoner, you say?¡± Although the god was from another world, it was still a god. And someone capable of summoning such a being¡­? Rather obviously, such a summoning was absolutely impossible to pull off if you didn¡¯t have the aptitude and excellent talent for it. Deity-level summoners were divided into three phases, and the first phase involved the summoner borrowing a portion of the god¡¯s powers. The second phase was about borrowing the god¡¯s weapon, and the third phase was either summoning the god itself to this world or having the god take possession of your actual physical body. However, this man didn¡¯t seem to be in any of the three phases. The aura he emitted seemed like it¡¯d be the third phase, but the ¡®content¡¯ was a human, not a god. I didn¡¯t know how this was possible, but that person was undoubtedly a human being. A human that happened to emit an unmistakably sacred aura. ¡°Well¡­ Originally, we wouldn¡¯t have a reason to meet like this, but¡­ Now that we¡¯re here, I should at least introduce myself, eh?¡± The man lowered his head slightly as a greeting while looking like he had no choice in the matter. ¡°I¡¯m Rissen, team leader of the Kidnap Ast Squad, 4th division.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± ¡°Kidnap what squad??¡± For a moment there, I thought I misheard what this man was saying. What did he say the name of the imperial princess¡¯s exclusive unit was, again? You know, the one called the strongest in the strongest nation on the continent? It¡¯s the¡­ Kidnap Squad??? ¡°Is it really the Kidnap Squad?¡± ¡°Yup, it sure is.¡± He definitely said something very weird just now. But we had nothing to retort with when he looked at us as if we were the weird ones here. This was weird. Very, very weird! ¡°What, do you find something is weird?¡± ¡°W-well, that is¡­¡± The silent pressure began crushing down on me. This¡­ This is like, you don¡¯t want me to reply that it is bloody weird, isn¡¯t it?! ¡°N-nothing¡­ is¡­ weird here¡­¡± I barely managed to squeak out a reply through my trembling lips, prompting the man to grin in satisfaction. But then, he said something else. ¡°You know, I did find ¡®that¡¯ a bit weird, though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± ¡°Your daydreaming just now. You said that Her Highness was in love with someone, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°A-ah, that¡­¡± I had a slip of the tongue just then, didn¡¯t I? No matter what peoplebelled her with, she was still an Imperial Princess of the strongest nation on the continent, a symbol of victory in thest great war. Just what madness drove me to say such a sphemous thing towards someone like that?? Maybe I really did lose my mind just now? ¡°It was a slip of the tongue on my part. Forgive me.¡± The wisest course of action after making a mistake was to apologise as soon as possible. Out of all the human nations, the empire maintained the friendliest rtionship with the Elves. I simply couldn¡¯t afford to destroy that rtionship with my slip of the tongue. Thankfully, the man named Rissen readily epted my apology. ¡°Indeed, you had a slip-up. That¡¯s all. I mean, if it was only merely a hero, then none of us would be working our asses off like this, you know.¡± ¡­Why did hiseback deviate in a rather weird direction, again?! ¡°Do you have annnny idea how much we invested in capturing the professor from our former academy?! How dare youpare him to some measly little hero!¡± T-this pressure that forbade me from replying at all! By the way, I still can¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying!!! ¡°W-wait¡­ Could it be that your aim is not our hero, but Sir Sage¡­ no, I mean Sir hero¡¯s teacher?¡± Unlike me that failed to understand this man¡¯s muttering, Hill seemed to have figured something out by now. ¡°Correct. Your hero¡¯s teacher is indeed our target. And Her Highness¡¯s target, too.¡± Hill continued on with his questions. ¡°I must ask you this for rification, but¡­ It¡¯s concerning the scenario my colleague here, Selena the Elf, came up with. Was she right all along?¡± ¡°H-Hill!?¡± Hill had crossed the line there. What he said just now could be even more problematic than how I tried to romantically tie up the hero and the Imperial Princess! ¡°Ng, you¡¯re correct again.¡± Too bad for me, or fortunately for us, my expectation was wide off the mark. And from that day on, I got to experience something rather mystical where all my expectations needed to be thrown out the window. Chapter 183

Chapter 183

1. Evade the Hero and Flee! 183 #21. The Stories of Others (2)> Proofread by wFinder #2 Their circumstance: the circumstance of a man aiming for the demon king¡¯s position ¡°My lord, we¡¯ve finished taking over the demon king¡¯s castle.¡± Despite receiving the subordinate¡¯s report, the man with a massive physique didn¡¯t even bother to nod once. ¡°Lord Aggreahrt?¡± Feeling something was off from that behaviour, the subordinate walked up to his lord, only for Aggreahrt to finally reply with a quick nod. ¡°Good. Finish dealing with the remnants hiding out in the surroundings, then prepare for a potential counteroffensive.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± Aggreahrt watched the departing back of his subordinate before sighing out once more. ¡°¡­Something is making me anxious.¡± For some reason, he¡¯d been feeling uneasy for a while. Just when had this uneasiness begun taking hold of his heart? Was it back when he heard those curse-like words from Mekel¡¯s lips? No, it must¡¯ve been before that. Way, way earlier than that. Aggreahrt realised just then that he had been feeling uneasy about something for a long time now. ¡°Right, it started from then, huh.¡± Aggreahrtbed through his memories to trace the origin of his anxiety and eventually reached the destination he¡¯d been looking for. ¡°It began when all contact from the four dispatched to locate the descendant of the Subus race was lost. Yes, that¡¯s it.¡± His ns began going out of whack ever so slightly from that moment on, resulting in his forces attacking Belegrea¡¯s faction. ¡°The situation hasn¡¯t been good since then, too.¡± Not good. That¡¯s how Aggreahrt summarised his current situation. Whatever the justification was, the party attacking first would always find themselves in a politically disadvantageous position. It¡¯d been less of an issue if the previous demon king happened to be a tyrant or ipetent fool, but he was one of the greatest demon kings ever to grace the throne. So good was he that some even rated him among the top five in history. That¡¯s why the majority of the demon tribes that supported Aggreahrt still held favourable impressions of Belegrea, the daughter of the former demon king. The only reason why they chose to side with Aggreahrt was simply that their intentions didn¡¯t match up with Belegrea¡¯s. ¡°Not good. Not good at all.¡± The demon continent was mired in deep confusion and chaos right now. To upy the currently-empty throne of the demon king, the demon race¡¯s great general attacked the former demon king¡¯s daughter, resulting in her going missing without a trace. Some quarters were even saying that Aggreahrt had the princess stashed somewhere and that he was simply pretending to be none the wiser to fool everyone. That¡¯s how hostile the public perception in the demon continent was toward Aggreahrt at the moment. ¡°You can use power to make everyone submit, but you can never be their king without them willingly choosing you¡­¡± Aggreahrt closed his eyes while muttering what the former demon king used to say. ¡®The number of tribal chiefsining about me attacking Belegrea¡¯s camp, ten. And the number of elders grilling me for the missing Four Devas, thirteen. How troublesome.¡¯ The electoral process to select the next demon king would remain valid once it got going until a confirmable irregrity stops it. However, no one could tell the future. With how delicate the current situation was, would Aggreahrt be the next demon king if a new election was triggered by the sudden demise of the Subus¡¯s descendant? No. He¡¯d never be the next demon king in that case. Aggreahrt judged that the tribal chiefs currently supporting him would change their positions and start throwing their support to Belegrea instead. That would mean she¡¯d definitely be the next demon king. ¡°Even so, the most troublesome ones in my current situation are the elders.¡± The matter with them was far more headache-inducing than with the tribal chiefs. The four individuals that happened to be the strongest and most trustworthy cards in Aggreahrt¡¯s deck¡­ They called themselves the Four Devas, and even Aggreahrt himself allowed the quartet to call themselves that moniker. That¡¯s how powerful those four individuals were. Yet all of them vanished overnight. Aggreahrt hadn¡¯t said anything about it since he still needed to assess the situation first. But the elders of the tribes that the Four Devas hailed from seemed to have noticed something had gone awry and began showing up in front of Aggreahrt every day to demand answers on the whereabouts of their missing chiefs. The tribe filled with the craziest battle maniacs that prided itself as the greatest spearhead of the demon race, the Dogmen race and the Lycan race¡­ One of the dragonewt races born with the strength of real dragons, granting them incredible magical powers and high intelligence, the Fire Dragon Race¡­ And finally, the Snakemen race specialised in poisoning and deploying hidden weapons, silent in their movements and capable of assassinating the enemy at any time they wanted¡­ Theirbat powers were the most necessary factor for Aggreahrt stuck in the current situation. But to convey the news to these tribes that their chiefs were missing? Especially when Aggreahrt was upying the seat of the demon king through force? Absolutely the worst, then! The moment those four tribes turned their backs on him, other tribes would surely follow suit, too. That naturally would mean the end of his ambition. Someone would judge the current era as the most peaceful in the demon race¡¯s history. However, some others would surely judge the current era as the most foolish one since the demons right now possessed the strongestbat power in the demon race¡¯s entire history, but still chose not to invade the human continent. If Aggreahrt was born far in the future, he¡¯d definitely side with thetter group of descendants. He was that type of a demon, after all. He was also someone who did his best to turn this world into a demons¡¯ world as per the wishes of the demon god. ¡°The best course of action is¡­¡± That would be to locate the descendant of the Subus race and prove the legitimacy of his reign. ¡°¡­But, the backup n isn¡¯t so bad, either.¡± As for the backup n in case nobody managed to locate the descendant, he¡¯d simply im the position of the demon king for himself and invade the human continent straight away. That way, he¡¯d get to redirect the internal chaos to the external target while reinforcing his im to the throne. Furthermore, he¡¯d also get to create the world of demons that he dreamed about. But the worst possible situation would be¡­ ¡°It seems that I must find her, then.¡± Aggreahrt imagined what might happen in case of the absolute worst possibility ¨C the missing Belegrea finding the Subus¡¯s descendant first. He got up from his chair and walked with purpose toward his new destination. His goal, for now, was to find the Subus¡¯s descendant no matter what. Even if it meant he¡¯d have to mobilise every single demon under hismand! And so, this was how Aggreahrt began sending most of his army to the human side of the continent for the purpose of locating Alice ¨C who oh-so happened to be already in the demon continent. * #3 Their circumstance: a certain princess¡¯s circumstance She was feeling anxious; in too much of a hurry, in fact. It felt like crimson lights were constantly flickering disorientingly inside her head. If she had her way, she dearly wanted to turn away the guesting to visit the kingdom today. Too bad, she knew that such a thing was an unrealistic wish. That¡¯s how much of a bigshot today¡¯s visitor to the Neidon Kingdom was. ¡°Please wait for me, dear sir hero.¡± Princess Vera Ric Neidon muttered that to herself as hints of tears formed on the edges of her eyes, her mind still thinking about the dear hero. The hero who rescued her from the clutches of an evil dragon. Just how desperately would he be waiting for her right now! If it weren¡¯t for that detestable fox-like woman appearing out of nowhere, Vera and the hero would¡¯ve been enjoying their together-time by now! With her brain 100% filled with her very subjective point of view regarding this situation, Princess Vera headed to the room withdies-in-waiting to prepare herself to wee the iing guest. ¡°You look as beautiful as ever, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Thank you, Serel.¡± When thedy-in-waiting smiled brightly at her, Princess Vera responded with a warm smile of her own, but her inner thoughts at that moment were somewhat different. ¡®Ah, aaah¡­ Sir hero should be the one to whisper those words to my ears¡­¡¯ The princess thought about the hero one more time. With more hints of tears in her eyes, she steeled her resolve once more. ¡®I shall definitely rescue you, my dear hero!¡¯ Thest memory of the hero in Vera¡¯s mind was him getting kidnapped by an evil wench. Sure, that assessment was quite far removed from the truth, but Vera firmly believed in her heart that sir hero would never willingly run away from her side. ¡°We still haven¡¯t found their traces, I presume?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness.¡± ¡°No, no need to apologise. It¡¯s the fault of that evil wench. You and your colleagues haven¡¯t done anything wrong.¡± Princess Vera smiled as if she was fine with it, but Serel had been serving her since their childhood. She could easily read the true intent behind that smiling face. ¡°It¡¯s all because we¡¯re not good enough, Your Highness. None of us imagined that we¡¯d lose sir hero to a lone individual.¡± Sadness. Serel had never seen Princess Vera so sad in all of their time together. That only reaffirmed Serel¡¯s resolve to locate sir hero no matter the cost. ¡°Thank you, Serel.¡± Princess Vera seemed to have understood what was in Serel¡¯s mind because she returned a blindingly bright smile. ¡°Well, then. It¡¯s time that I get ready, yes? How much time do we have left?¡± ¡°About three hours still remain, Your Highness.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Three hours. Depending on one¡¯s mindset, that could be seen as either too long or too short. As the princess of a kingdom, that length of time seemed a bit excessive just to get ready for a visitor, but today¡¯s situation was different. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to lower our guard and give the Karuan Empire a pretext, now can we?¡± The guesting to see her today was someone in an even loftier position than Princess Vera. The sole hegemony of the continent possessing the mightiest army on thend! The only nation deserving of thebel ¡¯empire¡¯ on this vast continent! And a visitor hailing from such a nation wasing to the Neidon Kingdom, a small kingdom found in the northern part of the continent. Unsurprisingly, the royal court and the nobles were in a panicked uproar. Everyone believed that just one division of the empire¡¯s military could easily wipe out the Neidon Kingdom¡­ No, not just the Neidon, but three other nearby kingdoms, too. To think an envoy from that Karuan Empire was paying them a visit! Was this an opportunity or a grave threat?! Most people in the kingdom saw this as a crisis. But that¡¯s because of the envoy¡¯s identity: it was none other than the First Imperial Princess, famed for not really interfering in the matters of the imperial court. If it was the Crown Imperial Prince or the First Imperial Prince in charge of the northern borders, this visit would¡¯ve been less rming¡­ But to think it¡¯d be the First Imperial Princess without any connection to these parts! The Neidon Kingdom didn¡¯t know the goal of the empire, so it could do nothing but wait anxiously. Actually, there was something that the kingdom could do, and that was to do its utmost best to wee the envoy. The empire boasted enough military might to not really worry about the pretext before invading, but that didn¡¯t mean it could actually do that. As befitting the reputation of being the strongest nation on the continent, it had countless many enemies, so starting a war without a good justification would lead to the second continent-wide great war. Although the Neidon Kingdom didn¡¯t want to see a war break out, it still would choose the second great war if that ensured its own survival. Of course, the most optimal path would be resolving everything as peacefully as possible. And for that most optimal path, the Neidon Kingdom was doing its utmost to prepare the weing ceremony of the VIP guest. However¡­ ¡°I beg your pardon? She wants¡­ me?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± The First Imperial Princess of the empire finally reached the royal castle, but she rejected the banquet prepared for her and instead expressed her wish to speak to Princess Vera directly. ¡°Do you know why?¡± ¡°No, Your Highness. No one seems to know.¡± The noble affiliated with the foreign affairs department lowered his head apologetically. Princess Vera nodded at him while making aplicated expression. Since someone from the kingdom had to speak to the empire¡¯s Imperial Princess regardless of what, Princess Vera steadied her trembling heart and went to the meeting venue. And then¡­ ¡°I beg your pardon, but¡­ Do you mind repeating that one more time?¡± The wordsing out of the Imperial Princess¡¯s mouth set Prince Vera¡¯s heart racing once more. ¡°The Hero Swinn you¡¯re looking for? I said I shall lend you my help in searching for him.¡± Princess Vera was stunned when she came face to face with the Imperial Princess for the first time. That silver hair that surely couldn¡¯t havee from this world, and those crimson eyes emitting mysterious light that seemingly saw through Vera¡¯s everything in an instant! Vera was called the most beautiful woman in the north, but she paled inparison to the Imperial Princess¡¯s looks. She stared at the beauty in front of her in sheer stupefaction, but when the talk of her beloved hero, Sir Swinn, was brought up, the Neidon Kingdom¡¯s princess sobered up immediately. Her eyes began gleaming dangerously next. ¡°¡­How did you find out, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say that we have a simr goal. It¡¯s just that we¡¯re searching for different people.¡± Vera¡¯s heart nearly tumbled to the pit of her stomach when she heard that ¡®simr goal¡¯ part, but her head began tilting to the side at the ¡®different people¡¯ part. ¡°What do you mean, Your Imperial Highness?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not thatplicated. I¡¯m also searching for someone, and that individual happens to be apanying the person you¡¯re searching for, Swinn the hero.¡± Right at that moment, Princess Vera began recalling the faces of the hero¡¯s entourage. ¡®Surely, it can¡¯t be that female Elf¡­ Could it be that saint named Hill? Even if the Order of Nature allows its members to freely marry anyone they want, having a tryst with the empire¡¯s Imperial Princess is still¡­¡¯ Even though the Imperial Princess merely said she was searching for someone, Vera immediately connected that to a romantic rtionship and eventual marriage. Well, it was the same term she used, after all. Normal people would¡¯ve called themselves crazy for even entertaining such thoughts, but¡­ ¡°The person I¡¯m looking for, you know him as Naruan. Although, he does like to change his aliases quite often.¡± ¡°You were searching for sir hero¡¯s instructor¡­?¡± The issue here was that such a crazy thought happened to be the truth. ¡°I should be mobilising the imperial army for this purpose, but realistically speaking, the Karuan Empire needs to mind its movements at all times.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true.¡± Just one military division from the Karuan Empire could deal with a kingdom¡¯s entire army. That¡¯s how strong they were. Something like that didn¡¯t sound logically possible, but several of the empire¡¯s divisions really did possessbat prowess to earn such evaluations. That¡¯s why the empire¡¯s army performing any kind of actions outside their own borders would create massive ripples influencing the entire world. ¡°That¡¯s why my preparations to search for him had to get dyed somewhat.¡± Even though things were advancing at a nonsensical pace, the fact that several annoying hups did happen in the middle of the process hadn¡¯t changed. What was the reason for the incredible average skill level of the Kidnap Ast Squad in the first ce? It was to rely on a small number of elites to quickly infiltrate and kidnap their target. But their target was an existence that had already defeated twelve swordmasters. So, it seemed unreasonable to demand a small number of elites to kidnap him at this point. ¡°And so, to skip all the annoying parts¡­ I was looking for a suitable kingdom to ally myself with. As luck would have it, I found a kingdom rted to the matter involving the hero.¡± ¡°A kingdom rted to the hero¡­¡± ¡°Indeed. As an aside, your dear hero hails from my empire. More than that, he¡¯s one of the direct descendants of a grand ducal family of the empire. Meaning, he¡¯s someone not anyone can marry, not even if she happens to be a princess of a kingdom up north.¡± Princess Vera¡¯s eyes shot open so much wider at that moment. She had never imagined this. She always thought that the hero was amoner, but he actually was a bigshot from the Karuan Empire! A direct descendant of one of the top authorities in the empire, the Raina Grand Ducal Family, no less! ¡°However, if I step forward on your behalf¡­ I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ll get everything you want without too much trouble.¡± Gulp. Princess Vera nervously swallowed back, her eyes fixed on the empire¡¯s Imperial Princess. Even if she was the princess of this kingdom, her position wasn¡¯t high enough to decide on whether to form a military alliance with the Karuan Empire or not, so she should abstain from¡­ ¡°Oh, and as an aside, we found out where the hero wasst seen.¡± ¡°We shall do it!¡± Too bad, she¡­ No, these two women were brutally honest with their desires. They freely shared what their hearts desired with each other, then added several lip-service uses on their official agreements to make it look like they were doing this for the benefit of both nations. And this was how the seed of the Great Alliance was nted ¨C the alliance evaluated by the future generations as the sagacious move made after both parties predicted the uing events. Chapter 184

Chapter 184

Evade the Hero and Flee! 184 #21. The Stories of Others (3)> Proofread #4 Their circumstance: A certain spy¡¯s (a lonely gourmet) circumstance Creak¡­ A wooden door weed me with a creak. I entered the space beyond it. A space filled with nothing but darkness. But something like this was nothing to me. Compared to our instructor¡¯s training hall, well, this space was nothing at all. Sure, it was fairly dark inside, but a handful of candles lit here and there meant that even normal folks could move around mostly unhindered if they paid enough attention to their surroundings. Honestly, the atmosphere in this ce seemed even more alive than ever, thanks to the veil of darkness. Personally speaking, I preferred an atmosphere like this, too. Also, a quiet location was more conducive to focusing on my work than a noisy one. More importantly, I was acting solo to carry out a secret mission, wasn¡¯t I? I was busy wading the world hidden beneath the surface! ¡°Your business here?¡± A man with at least three times my size asked me that while looking at me from so high up. It was almost unbelievable how someone so massive could walk so silently. ¡°It was a rmendation.¡± ¡°¡­Understood.¡± Since ancient times, one must be very economical with what they say when doing serious work. A person¡¯s manner of speech was one of the tools thatid bare their true nature. Unnecessarily yapping away was basically the same as revealing your weaknesses. Sure, you could scam people with words, like how our instructor always did butpared to him, I was embarrassingly bad at talking, so the wisest thing to do was keep my mouth shut. ¡°This isn¡¯t so bad.¡± A space cloaked in darkness with not too many people in it meant that we didn¡¯t really need to be mindful of each other. A shy location had its advantages, but a dark, seedy ce like this had its own charms, too. Instead of relying on one¡¯s eyes, one should use their mind to see through such a ce. ¡°Hnnng¡­¡± First of all, I tried to smell the ce. There was an aroma of a certain oil seeping out of the wood. If you hate such things, then well, you¡¯d be hating this ce, too. Personally speaking, though, I liked it. How should I describe it¡­ It has a calming effect on my mind? This aged, soggy and oily smell was enough to let me know that this shop had been in operation for a long, long time. What would be the reason for potential patrons to seek out such a dark ce hidden in some remote corner of the world? And who knows how long this shop was in operation for! That¡¯s because only those with ¡®purpose¡¯ came here. ¡°On top of that, the smell of blood, eh¡­¡± A regr person would¡¯ve never picked up on it but I was evaluated to be possessing olfactory senses that transcended humanity. As such, it was not that difficult for me to pick up the faint scent of blood lingering in the air. It wasn¡¯t a simple ol¡¯ trace, either. This scent could¡¯ve onlye from very fresh blood. As expected of a ce rmended by an acquaintance that I identally became friendly with. ¡°Here it is.¡± ¡°Ng.¡± The hulking man returned with his preternaturally quiet steps to hand over the item. I cautiously received it. ¡°Payment first.¡± ¡°Here.¡± nk¡­ I pulled some gold out from a pouch and pushed them at the hulking man. ¡°Looks like they are all real.¡± ¡°One shouldn¡¯t fool around with a sacred trade like this, don¡¯t you agree?¡± The man smirked back at my reply while staring at me with friendly eyes. Without saying anything else, he turned around and returned to his post. I muttered softly. ¡°This is nice.¡± A secret trade that perfectly matched a quiet, dark ce like this! He could¡¯ve said something, but maybe he thought that we¡¯d see each other often from now on since he left without a word. Instead of people who incessantly yapped on about their methods or whatever, I much preferred people like him who knew when to leave without saying another word. Especially when I had received a personally important item. That¡¯s because such an action could only mean that he was deeply proud of his product, regardless of the production method he had utilised! ¡°Well, then¡­!¡± Shu-rnnng~! I pulled out my knife. A silver knife gleaming sharply under the weak light, that was. Stab. And then, I unhesitantly stabbed my knife into the product before me. ¡°Haa~nggg¡­ So, this is the hidden speciality product that only the locals know of¡­ the fried meat!¡± The product that made me gasp in sheer amazement¡­ was none other than food. It had been a month since I slipped inside the demon continent under Her Imperial Highness¡¯smand. I wondered if the horned headband would even ¡®work¡¯ on the demons, but it pulled through so splendidly that my worries were for nought. Thanks to its performance, I was able to take my time and enjoy this epicurean journ¡­ Oopsie, I meant to say the journey to locate our instructor. Even so, food should not be left out from such a journey. Yes, that¡¯s right. The goal from the get-go was to sample various cuisines¡­ Ehem, that¡¯s not actually true, the real goal was to find our instructor, but he said this to me a long time ago, didn¡¯t he! ¡®We¡¯re doing this so that we can put food on our tables!¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s why you must treasure your food!¡¯ I was totally in agreement with his derations. Except¡­ Uhm¡­ I still didn¡¯t think it was nice of him to say those things while feeding us only on a firste, first-served basis¡­ ¡°So soft, yet it¡¯s perfectly chewy, too!¡± This type of frying was different from the empire¡¯s method that usually dunked the entire ingredient in oil. Most of the meat dishes I had after arriving in the demon continent were steamed in one way or the other. I only found this after arriving here, but it seemed that meat in the demon continent tended to be far tougher and tendon-y than what¡¯s usually found in the empire. All sorts of demon races live here, and quite a few of them seemed to have no trouble with these tough meats, but it hadn¡¯t been all that nice for me! But to think that I¡¯d get to taste a new world like this in a dark corner of the demon continent! ¡°Sob¡­ So delish¡­¡± Our instructor used to tell us this. He said that when you get to finally enjoy a meal in happiness without worrying about time constraints or work matters¡­ A person experiencing that brief moment of bliss would lose themselves and be free. The act of enjoying my meal alone with no one to interrupt me and on top of that, not worrying about the gazes of others, too! This was it. This was the healing activity that even the fatigued member of the evil organisation could enjoy! There¡¯s no way that our instructor was wrong on this one. As I thought, food was the bestest way to heal myself! ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± I delicately raised my fork, then stabbed it into the fried meat cut into a perfect little piece. A dish¡¯s original vour was certainly important, but its apanying sauce was just as important, too. Very important. That¡¯s because the sauce was also the part of the dish, after all. I guided the fried meat and dipped it into the brown-coloured sauce. ¡°Hoh-oh~¡­¡± The sauce was surprisingly thick. Judging from the solid-feeling consistency, did the chef use some kind of flour? A wrong mixture could make it too dry and unappetising, though. I wonder, can this sauce be a good match to this soft yet crunch fried meat? Time to find out! ¡°¡­So¡­ delish¡­¡± The sauce was definitely not dry at all. No, it was buttery smooth. It clung so nicely to the fried meat, probably because of its thickness. Ohh, this gentle sweetness of vegetables and the distinctively nutty vour from ground sesame seeds! The sauce somehow managed to preserve the vour of the crunchy exterior but still stuck so wonderfully to the soft meat underneath, causing a merry festival to go off inside my mouth. ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s why. That¡¯s why the sauce wasn¡¯t poured on top¡­¡± If it was the wine-based sauce often seen in the empire¡¯s cuisines, then I had a feeling that this fried dish would¡¯ve lost most of its vour. The crunchy exterior would¡¯ve gotten all soggy and mushy, after all. On the other hand, dunking the meat into such watery sauce wouldn¡¯t have allowed its vour to permeate deep into the dish itself. ¡°It¡¯s perfection.¡± The crunchiness of its exterior. The softness of the meat. And even the gentle sweetness and nutty vour of the sauce¡­! I couldn¡¯t control myself after the perfectbination knocked me off my feet. ¡°¡­Huh?! Where did it all go?!¡± After wielding my sword (knife) and spear (fork) freely on this noble battlefield, I noticed the annihted enemy (no more meat!) before me and quickly made up my mind on the next course of action. ¡°O-o-one more serving, please!¡± My urgent calling prompted the hulking owner to approach me once more. ¡°Little miss. Will one te be enough for you?¡± ¡°Keu-huk¡­!¡± Unlike when I first entered here, he started talking to me first. A faint grin could be seen on his face as if he had analysed everything about me. But it was as he said. Such a delicious dish¡­ there¡¯s just no way I¡¯d be satisfied with only one extra te! ¡°Three more! No, scratch that, five more, please!¡± This crunchy texture was only possible because the meat was fried only a moment ago. Which meant that foolishly ordering a small amount could lead to a dy of sorts before I get to taste this dish again! That might not have been an issue if I hadn¡¯t started eating yet, but now that I have, there¡¯s no stopping me! ¡°Indeed, five additional servings.¡± The owner nodded and turned around to leave. While watching his departing back, I began tucking into the finely-sliced cabbage dish served alongside the fried meat. ¡°¡­Ng?¡± This was also delicious? The crunchy taste of the cabbage was basically the same as I already knew, but the red sauce poured on top had given it a new kind of vour. ¡°This must be tomato-based.¡± This sauce perfectlyplemented the cabbage with its gentle sweetness. What a wonderful vour this was. The owner exercised his great sense of timing by bringing a few easy-to-eat loaves of bread just as I was finished with the cabbage dish. Then, the fried food came out, leading to another round of frenzied knifing and forking next. I ordered extra servings while finishing up the third te. And finally, to finish off¡­ ¡°Takeaway, please!¡± ¡°Unfortunately, our shop does not have the option to¡­¡± Thud. Even after gobbling up the twelfth serving, I was still not satisfied so I asked the owner to pack the rest for takeaway. But he looked at me with an apologetic expression and told me that his shop didn¡¯t do that. However, I was taught by our instructor. I was a good disciple that always stuck religiously to his teachings ¨C especially the one about preparing yourself thoroughly no matter what, no matter where! ¡°W-what is this, little miss¡­?¡± ¡°My exclusive lunch box.¡± I had to lodge lots of requests to Her Imperial Highness for a magic pouch, but it was all worth it. It could hold a ton of stuff, you see. Of course, it required just as many magic stones or the constant supply of the user¡¯s magical energy to operate, but¡­ Like I¡¯ve mentioned before, Her Imperial Highness had supplied more than enough magic stones already. She trusted me enough to dispatch me alone to the demon continent, after all! The owner muttered. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like one serving will be enough.¡± ¡°Stating the obvious.¡± ¡°But, it won¡¯t taste as good once it goes cold¡­¡± The owner stared at me with worried eyes. I could fully understand where he wasing from, though. He was concerned about his dish no longer tasting as goodter on and about me, who¡¯d eat the foodter on. A person worthy of being called a master craftsman usually was never too far away. Well, there might be one very close to you, or somewhere no one has noticed yet, quietly pouring all of their being into their craft even as we speak. Finding a master chef of such caliber was an incredibly fulfilling experience. ¡°This lunch box is from the em¡­ Ehem, it¡¯s a very special lunch box, so it¡¯ll be fine. It automatically keeps the food warm or cold, meaning the food will be left protected in its most optimal state.¡± ¡°Sounds amazing.¡± If this was the human continent, just mentioning that it¡¯s a product of the empire would be enough to convince the other party. However, this was the demon continent. It was unfortunate, but I couldn¡¯t start exining the empire¡¯s amazing magic tool manufacturing capacity to demons. A short whileter, the owner walked up to me with the lunch box filled with enough food for three people (in my standard, of course). ¡°I¡¯ve kept the sauce in a separate container.¡± He even handed me a fairlyrge container alongside my lunch box, too. ¡°Hmm¡­ Is it possible for you to tell me the recipe for this dish?¡± The owner was looking at me quite favourably since I fully understood the true worth of his cooking. That¡¯s why now was my chance. Restaurants and diners boasting the master chef¡¯s mentality would never tell strangers their secret cooking method. However, they should be willing to divulge a small tip to someone like me that favourably evaluated their cooking. Truth be told, I¡¯ve never eaten a dish this distinctive and wonderful back in the empire. If I could just learn the method of preparing such a crispy, crunch exterior, then there¡¯s a good chance that I might get to recreate it back home. ¡°Unfortunately, I can¡¯t tell you that¡­¡± Too bad, the owner didn¡¯t want to tell me the recipe. I felt just a bit sad at that. ¡°It¡¯s because I didn¡¯te up with this dish. No, I learned it from a man who entered my diner with his family some time ago. I remember them because their appearances were all different. What a strange family that was¡­¡± Did he notice my sorrow? Unlike what his taciturn appearance suggested, the owner began telling me a rather lengthy tale all of a sudden. ¡°The oldest man among that group, who seemed a bit too young to be called an old man, asked me if I could lend my kitchen so that he could cook for his two girls, one with pink hair and the other with silver hair. Someone like me from the demon horse tribe is fine with the demon world¡¯s meat, but most humanoid demons find it a bit too tough to chew, you see. He probably wanted to cook for his kids since such meat is a bit too much for the young ones.¡± ¡­.Ng? Eh? Right at that moment, I felt a portion of my hair stand on its ends. ¡°I-is it possible for you to tell me what the others apanying them looked like, mister?¡± ¡°Mm? Others, you say? They were a trio consisting of one man, who looked pretty handsome by the standards of humanoid demons, and two rather beautiful women. The man was a blonde, one of the women had raven hair, while the other was a brte, I think?¡± ¡°Uhhh? Huh!?¡± W-well, it kinda felt like the picture was getting clearer, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°S-sounds like they were the folks I¡¯ve been searching for¡­ Do you remember their names, by any chance, mister?¡± Without even realising it, I was addressing the owner respectfully. To be absolutely honest, finding our instructor was harder than plucking stars from the heavens. And that¡¯s the story from when we were still on the human side of the continent, where the empire held so much influence! No, hang on a minute ¨C if we could bring our instructor back by bringing down some measly stars in the heavens, then Her Imperial Majesty would¡¯ve done so a long time ago! Obviously, catching our instructor was much harder than that! ¡°Mm¡­ Although it¡¯s been a while and I don¡¯t remember it well¡­ the old man, no the middle-aged man who taught me the recipe¡­ was his name Marcus? That¡¯s what I seem to remember¡­¡± The owner carefullybed through his memories to inform me of the name. Too bad, I didn¡¯t know who this Marcus was, but that made sense since I currently suspected this mysterious old man was our instructor. Just how many times has he changed his name until now, anyway? ¡°And then¡­ Hmm¡­ I can¡¯t be sure about other names, but¡­ Aha!¡± Ba-dump, ba-dump! My heart began racing faster and faster, just like when I first arrived here and ordered my food. And finally¡­! ¡°That silver-haired child was called Aru if I remember correctly.¡± ¡°I, I found them?!¡± The vast, expansive demon continent¡­ Despite how big it was, I still finally got a hold of a clue to our instructor¡¯s movements. As I thought, the za of encounters, a diner, was the best ce to collect information! Chapter 185

Chapter 185

Evade the Hero and Flee! 185 #21. The Stories of Others (4)> Proofread #5 Their circumstance: A certain religious order¡¯s circumstance ¡°Hah-ah¡­ To think it¡¯s the empire¡­¡± An old man kitted out in a pure-white priest robe was racking his brain while staring at a letter. ¡°It¡¯s not exactly a problem, but¡­¡± ¡°That, in itself, is the problem, isn¡¯t it¡­¡± In the world where gods presided, men and women of cloth exercised undeniable influence on all people. Even kings and queens would find it rather tough to reject a religious temple¡¯s request. However, the ¡®opponent¡¯ this time happened to be too powerful. Not to mention¡­ ¡°It¡¯s impossible to predict what the empire might or might not do, so¡­¡± ¡°Indeed, we can¡¯t carelessly step in front of them.¡± Before they earned thebel of the strongest nation on the continent, the Karuan Empire was known as that one nation that loved to stir up trouble. And the current problem was rted to that trouble-loving empire. ¡°There are plenty of nations possessing great military might and not much else. And there are many wise nations, too.¡± ¡°However, Karuan is both powerful in its military and wise in its tactic. Yet no one can even remotely predict what they will do next from their erratic behaviour¡­¡± The empire oh-so nonchntly did many acts that most normal people would¡¯ve said, ¡®No way, they wouldn¡¯t do that!¡¯. Such decisiveness and swiftness would¡¯ve been evaluated as ¡®terrifying¡¯ if it was done by a ¡®regr¡¯ nation, but the empire also possessed actual military might and abundant wealth to support their actions! Besides, the Order of Nature didn¡¯t even have a pretext toin regarding this matter either. The letter stated that the ¡®guests¡¯ were being treated royally under the careful ¡®protection¡¯ of the empire. With the way the letter was worded, what exactly could the Order do now? ¡°One of the hero¡¯srades was an Elf, wasn¡¯t she? How are the Elves responding to this?¡± ¡°It seems that they are also waiting, watching what will happen next. The empire is the most trusted ally of all the non-human races, after all.¡± ¡°Uh-huh¡­¡± Plenty of nations existed on the continent, and more than a few of them treated other humanoid races very poorly, with the justifications of them not being actual humans. Things were especially terrible during thest great war; the entire continent was embroiled in warfare back then. Human treated their fellow humans horribly during then, so it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that the treatment of non-human races would be even worse. Countless many people from those races were forcibly enved or thrown into various war zones. The two races that had it worst were the beastmen possessing excellent physical specs and regenerative abilities, and dwarves, reputedly blessed by the God of cksmithing. A handful of kingdoms actually focused more of their attention on capturing ves instead of fighting in the war ¨C so much so that it became difficult to distinguish whether they were participating in the war to capture ves, or were capturing ves to fight better in the war. While the whole world was mired in confusion and chaos, only the Karuan Empire acted differently from the other kingdoms by starting a ve emancipation campaign. The empire¡¯s forces quickly mobilised to dismantle all the hidden ve markets found throughout its territory. After sessfully conquering enemy nations, the empire freed all the ves regardless of their races, and they even pressured their allied nations to do the same. Quite literally, the empire was the saviour to all non-human races! Of course, their actions did raise a few heatedints. Thoseints mostly consisted of, ¡°Why are you butting in the domestic affairs of other kingdoms?!¡± The empire would simply nod at all thoseints before using their mighty military to wipe out theiners from the face of the earth. At the beginning of this campaign, everyone was still mostly oblivious. As more and more ¡®victims¡¯ piled up, however, other kingdoms had no choice but to mp their mouths shut and hold their tongues. The most notable incident during such tumultuous times was the attempted kidnapping of the High Elf, an existence meant to serve as the Elf race¡¯s chief priest and to protect the World Tree. A mysterious group tried to kidnap such a High Elf during the early days of the great war, but it ended with the empire¡¯s forces finding & rescuing the victim. This incident led to the Elves acknowledging the empire as their greatest ally, and since then, the two parties have been maintaining lively diplomatic ties. Was that why? An Elf tasked by the High Elf with a sacred duty was currently captured by the empire, yet the Elves hadn¡¯t made a move so far. ¡°Does that mean we don¡¯t have a choice but to act independently¡­?¡± Even the Order of Nature found dealing with the empire rather burdensome. ¡°Just where did our sir hero disappear to¡­¡± ¡°Indeed, if only he was here¡­¡± Priests constantly sighing away began bringing up the hero almost at the same time. ¡°When you confirmed the truth with the empire, they said that our saint and the Elf came under their protection right after sir hero vanished without a trace, yes?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct. A freakish turn of events led to sir hero and hispanions getting kidnapped, but the empire informed me that they managed to rescue thepanions.¡± ¡°But our sir hero is a dragon yer. Can anyone even kidnap such a powerful warrior? Is it possible that the empire did something to our hero¡­?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. If that¡¯s true, the Goddess of Nature would¡¯ve sent us an oracle.¡± Excluding crises dangerous enough to threaten the bnce of the world, gods chose not to interfere with the ongoings of human society. That was their rule, but some gods did interfere here and there when their believers were experiencing unfair treatment. However, the victims this time were none other than the Goddess¡¯s one and only hero and the saint apanying him. If something untoward happened to them, the Goddess of Nature would¡¯ve surely sent an oracle to tell her believers and inform them of what the heck was going on. ¡°Which can only mean that the current incident is within the range of what our Goddess deems as still tolerable. Or she has acknowledged the parties involved. Which leaves us with the potential candidates as¡­¡± One priest piped up, but that prompted the others to shut their mouths up instead. Their hero defeated a dragon by himself. Not just any dragon either, but an elder dragon that had been alive for twenty thousand years. Just who would be capable of kidnapping such a powerful hero, then? ¡°Could it be other dragons?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe they have a reason to make a move. That elder dragon, Aruketai, was designated as an evil entity by the dragons themselves. They made great efforts to distance themselves from evil dragons.¡± ¡°That¡¯s normally true, but the achievement of our sir hero must be very threatening to them. A human just over twenty years old managed to bring down a twenty thousand-year-old elder dragon. Such an event is more than enough to cause other dragons to be very wary. Don¡¯t forget, they are referred to as the strongest species alive.¡± ¡°Mm, sounds usible¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s already questionable if anyone among humans¡­ No, not just humans but from other races too. None of them is even remotely capable of defeating our hero, so how can a human try to kidnap him? Dragons are the only real suspects in this situation.¡± ¡°Indeed, that sounds about right. Even if Sir Swinn ran into, say, a Demon King, he¡¯s still good enough to make his getaway, after all¡­¡± Without a doubt, dragons were powerful existences that no human would dare to approach. However, they were still denizens of this realm of existence, despite their powers putting them at a level where even gods found it hard to interfere. ¡°Even so, I believe we should continue to offer our prayers to the Goddess until she¡¯s ready to reply. It certainly won¡¯t hurt us to try.¡± ¡°Mm¡­ Our benevolent Goddess does respond to our questions often, so she could possibly tell us something.¡± That¡¯s how the meeting of the Order of Nature came to an end. It was meant to find solutions to the mysterious disappearance of the hero and the saint half-imprisoned in the empire, but the conclusion was¡­ The Order¡¯s top representative, the pontiff, prepared to the best of his abilities and began offering his prayer to the Goddess of Nature in his room. ¡°Oh, dear Goddess of Nature. Your servant desperately seeks your guiding light. Please tell us the way forward.¡± Maybe the pontiff¡¯s desperation somehow reached the heavens? He could start hearing the Goddess¡¯s voice just then. ?Give up.? ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± ?Giving up now will make it easier for you.? But that voice was so feeble-sounding that it couldn¡¯t havee from a godly being at all. #6 Their circumstance: Certain Elves¡¯ circumstances Elves. Known as the people of the forest and a member of the fairy species. A race charged with protecting the World Tree. Their patron god, the Goddess of Benevolence and Commitment, sacrificed herself to stop the evil god from driving the world to a deadly crisis. To follow the will of such a god, the Elves did their best for the sake of this world. Unfortunately, not everyone acknowledged all the efforts put in by the Elves. Actually, several evil humans exploited this point and turned Elves into their personal ves or as cash cows. Even if Elves followed the will of their Goddess of Benevolence and Commitment, they were still living beings capable of emotions. Several Elves who willingly went against the will of the great Goddess began emerging from their ranks, their purpose in life to help out their families or friends. But things were different now. The best possible ally one could have, the Karuan Empire, was currently protecting the Elves, after all. With this protection, the Elves were finally able to put down the weapons always gripped tightly in their hands. The strongest, most affluent nation on the continent was protecting them, and it seemed that no humans were ballsy enough to try something with the Elves these days. Sometimes, Elves were forced to pick up their weapons again when a small number of humans chose to do something inexplicably moronic. However, most of such incidents were swiftly resolved by the empire¡¯s forces. As such, it was safe to say that Elves had no reason to fighttely. That demonstrated the empire¡¯s seemingly-endless goodwill towards the Elves. In return, Elves worked hard to reward such goodwill with something even better as per the will of their Goddess of Benevolence and Commitment. The rtionship of trust between the two was sturdy and unbreakable, in other words. Such a view was widespread throughout the continent. And this view was responsible for the Order of Nature¡¯s guess on why the Elves hadn¡¯t made a move yet. However, the reality¡­ was somewhat different. ¡°Goddammit! Selena is no longer with the hero?! In that case, what about the hero¡¯s teacher, then?!¡± ¡°What about our ns, then?! The one about Selena secretly sending us information, then we pounce on that man as soon as he steps foot in our forest!¡± Elves were currently mired in confusion. ¡°Goddammit! I knew it, that da*n empire! That stinking, evil, vile empire!¡± ¡°Damn it all to hell! This is exactly like the bloody empire we all know, isn¡¯t it!¡± While using the worst insults they could think of to nder the empire, the Elves red at the letter sent by the currently-imprisoned Selena asking for help. ¡°Can we do it with our powers?¡± ¡°How about temporarily halting the export of magic stones?¡± ¡°Diplomatic pressure, huh? Don¡¯t you think we have more to lose by doing that?¡± ¡°In return, we will get to preserve our sanity.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t like the idea, you can always go and report directly to Lady Lirelia yourself.¡± ¡°¡­Ah. My bad, then.¡± These Elves had pored through the letter¡¯s contents once, twice, dozens of times, but they still couldn¡¯t think of a way to resolve this. ¡°Dammit! Selena was a trustworthybatant, but to think that events unfolded this way¡­¡± ¡°It was the empire, after all. That damn empire!¡± ¡°Sh*t! To think that being weak would be this unfair!¡± These Elves beganmenting their ownck of strengths, but truth be told, almost no one in this world thought of Elves as weaklings. Each and every Elf could live for a long time. Which meant that they had been swinging swords around for decades upon decades for training purposes. They even spent as much time practising magic, ostensibly as a hobby to kill time! Even your average Elf was an excellent swordsman/woman or a magic swordsman/woman. And among the ranks of Elven warriors, you¡¯d often find mages that could either bebelled as knights on the simr realm as swordmasters or archmages without any problem whatsoever. Was that all, though? Of course not. Elves had natural aptitude towards spirit magic and were talented in the field of summoning, so it was nearly impossible to estimate an individual Elf¡¯sbat prowess. But the problem currently was¡­ ¡°Bloody hell. Even Harian has failed, so what now¡­¡± ¡°Ah, now I remember. I heard that Harian tried to resign again only to get a scolding. Was that true?¡± ¡°To think that it¡¯s so awful there that even a loon like that begged for a recement¡­¡± ¡°As expected of the empire.¡± Despite the excellentbat capabilities of Elves, two of their best warriors were helplessly held captive by the empire right now ¨C the summoner Harian and the warrior, Selena. ¡°Let¡¯s just give up on Harian. Don¡¯t you remember how that poor Elf we sent as a diplomatic student to the academy called Yugrasia turned out?¡± ¡°¡­Right. That was horrifying.¡± Yugrasia was famed for turning you into one of the greatest summoners, no questions asked, as long as you got admitted. Elves, having yed a part in the creation of that legend, decided to send one of their own to study in that academy. ¡°I hear that that poor Elf still goes into convulsions the moment someone even dares to bring up the topic of studying.¡± ¡°Yes, you heard right. That Elf¡¯s condition of trembling in fear at the sight of tree branches has improved a lottely, but they still mumble in fear at the sight of logs and things simr to that.¡± A certain scene was deeply engraved in the memories of the Elves gathered here today. And that was the sight of the Elf student who went to Yugrasia for a year of studies getting terrified by a tree branch, diving into a corner and muttering, ¡®I hate the bat. I hate it! I¡¯m so scared!¡¯ ¡°When we lodged aint to the empire back then, we got a very colourful reply, didn¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Right, I also remember that. The empire replied that one year isn¡¯t enough for our Elf student to develop the necessary tolerance yet, didn¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yes. They even added that in around two years, our Elf student would¡¯ve learned to give up on everything and thus learn how to ovee the trials.¡± ¡°Although that reply sounded utterly nonsensical, even Harian ended up acknowledging it, so what else can we say about that topic¡­?¡± Just what the heck was the empire¡¯s academy doing? As the prominent figures of the Elves attending this meeting began thinking about that question¡­ ¡°How are things going, everyone?¡± That was a simple enough question, but the voice asking it was so beautiful and melodious that it could¡¯ve been a musical instrument. ¡°L-L-Lady Lirelia?!¡± That voice was indeed like a heavenly instrument. But the Elves listening to it began trembling in fear instead. ¡°Oh, my? I wonder, why are you all acting like this?¡± ¡°W-well, it¡¯s nothing. ma¡¯am¡­¡± One of the Elves tried to hide the letter behind his trembling figure, but too bad for him, such action was way too eye-catching. Unsurprisingly, the woman before their eyes spotted it, instantly understanding the intention behind such a move. Well, she was an existence that Elves, famously referred to as the fairies of the forest, couldn¡¯t evenpare to, after all ¨C the High Elf! ¡°Oh, my. It seems something has gone wrong?¡± ¡°T-that is¡­¡± Lirelia gazed at the trembling and silent Elves with a warm gaze on her lips. ¡°It¡¯s quite alright. Can you tell me what happened?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Shuffle¡­ With her gaze still fixed on the paralysed Elves, Lirelia acted first. ¡°Ah, no¡­¡± Elves couldn¡¯t dare to bring themselves to reject or push aside Lirelia¡¯s hand reaching out to them. In the end, they had to watch as she snatched the letter away. Their expressions resembled the convicts about to walk into an execution chamber as their heads hung low. ¡°¡­Ah-ha?¡± She let out a short exmation. But that brief sound was more than enough for the Elf higher-ups to feel that their necks were ced under the guillotine. ¡®I¡¯m so dead.¡¯ ¡®I have no regrets, though.¡¯ ¡®Dear wife, please look after our children.¡¯ ¡®Ah, ah¡­ But I don¡¯t want to die¡­¡¯ ¡®Uh-huh¡­ Uh-huhuhuh¡­¡¯ And so, just as these Elves began watching the revolvingnterns sh by before their eyes¡­ ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter, anyway.¡± The executioner wielding the axe¡­ No, the royalty of the Elves, Lirelia put the letter down on the table with an unconcerned face. ¡°That person is destined toe to me soon, after all.¡± ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± Her totally out-of-character response prompted one of the Elves to dazedly mutter out. Even then, Lirelia proceeded to oh-so cheerily resolve his curiosity. ¡°That person wille to find me very soon. I can tell because I have a feeling.¡± A radiant grin bloomed on her face as she continued on. ¡°Just like back when I first met His Highness the Prince¡­ It¡¯s our destiny.¡± Chapter 185.1

Chapter 185.1

< Evade the Hero and Flee! Side Stories ¨C A certain imperial princess¡¯s reminiscence (17) > Proofread #22 Their circumstance: A certain viin¡¯s circumstance ¡°Hnnnng~~~.¡± The way to work today was just as unpleasant as ever. While trudging past the imperial pce¡¯s corridors, I ran into Dame Reia humming joyously away to herself. Seeing her cheery, airy steps, I couldn¡¯t help but ask her. ¡°You seem to be having funtely?¡± We spent the majority of a day next to each other, so I figured there was no need for a formal greeting. And that¡¯s why I just chucked that question in her way, but¡­ ¡°Ah¡­ Well¡­ Somehow, yes.¡± During myst few years in the imperial court, I seldom saw her get this bashful before. The way she answered me with a happy-embarrassed face made me think, ¡®I see, live long enough, and you¡¯ll eventually see your own Spring arrive¡­¡¯ Huh. Huhhuhhuh! Dame Reia, dating someone! It¡¯s been only just over three years and not some unountable number of decades since I stepped foot in the imperial court. However, the news of Dame Reia¡¯s romance was still more than enough to give me the feeling that the world has somehow transformed. Huhuhuh! ¡°How is your family responding to this situation?¡± ¡°I beg your pardon? Why do you ask? Wait, could it be that¡­ Sir Ast, are you regretting your decision now?¡± Oh-hoh? Does a person transform into a new being when they have room to breathe? To think that Dame Reia would try to tease me like this. The sun might rise from the west tomorrow morning or something! ¡°Yes.¡± In that case, I should kindly go along with her efforts, then! ¡°Uh? Mm? Ehng?¡± She looked kinda adorable, getting flustered like that. If only she constantly disyed that side of her, she wouldn¡¯t have been rejected so badly until now¡­ ¡°Eiiii~! Sir Ast, you¡¯re so~¡­¡± ¡­The moment I thought that to myself, an opportunity for me to cancel that immediately arose. While making that bashful but happy face, she took a swipe with her arm, but the wind noise generated sounded¡­ rather concerning. WHOOSH-! The sound of a solid object scything through the air suddenly rushed at me. The moment I heard the noise generated by the power capable of destroying everything, I instinctively ducked lower to evade Dame Reia¡¯s iing ¡®push¡¯. SMASH-! ¡°Uhm, excuse me???¡± I stared at the debris tumbling down from the destroyed wall behind me, sensing how close my life was to its abrupt end. What the hell, even a ¡®friendly¡¯ little pat from a swordmaster can deal a critical hit?! ¡°Excuse me!¡± ¡°Ah. Oops, my apologies.¡± She spotted the tumbling bits of the wall and hurriedly bowed to apologise. ¡°N-no, Dame Reia. It¡¯s alright¡­¡± ¡­To the other imperial court employees walking around nearby. ¡°Excuse me, Dame Reia!¡± Dame Reia, it feels like your attitude towards me has taken a turn for the worsetely. Am I imagining things?! Even though I was still standing in shock, unable to say anything, she simply grinned brightly and brushed aside as if there was nothing wrong here. Dammit! Dame Reia has changed! She almost killed someone, but to think that she¡¯d sweep it under the carpet with a grin! ¡°Sir Ast, you were trying to tease me just now, weren¡¯t you?¡± Maybe she got tricked by me one too many times? She had seen through my ruse in an instant, which was unlike her. ¡°Yes, I was. And Dame Reia, you just tried to murder me.¡± And the cost of my actions had be way too visceral, which waspletely different from how things were back in the beginning. That ¡®attack¡¯ just now would¡¯ve broken a few ribs at best, and at worst, I¡¯d have exited from this ne of existence altogether! ¡°Eiii, it was just a friendly little pat overflowing with my affection, Sir Ast.¡± Holy cow. If that¡¯s affection, then no thank you, I don¡¯t want any of your affection for the rest of my life! Besides all that, that punk from the foreign affairs department¡­ Just how much was he suffering in silence that Dame Reia can brazenly spew out pure cringe like that with a straight face? ¡°I¡¯m guessing that your boyfriend is already no longer a denizen of this world, then¡­¡± While standing back up, I began offering my prayer to Dame Reia¡¯s boyfriend, Viscount Pere¡­ whatever his name was from foreign affairs. This time, I made sure that my prayer was 90% serious. 10% of it was still made in jest, though. I have already analysed Mister Viscount Pere-whatshisname¡¯s abilities from how he handled himself during our duel back then. And I was certain that he¡¯d kick the bucket the moment he received Dame Reia¡¯s affection. ¡°Sir Ast! Even if you¡¯re jealous, you mustn¡¯t say things like that. I mean, he was perfectly fine when he went to another kingdom for a diplomatic mission, you know¡­¡± I was telling her the truth in my own unique way, but it seemed that Dame Reia was ever so slightly displeased by that. Even so, I couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡®She¡¯s having the time of her life, isn¡¯t she~?¡¯ while looking at her pouting andining. What a couple like this deserved was¡­! ¡°Go jump into a frozenke and drown or something! That dang gopher from the foreign affairs with a name that I can¡¯t even remember!¡± ¡°Sir Ast?!¡± Yup, cursing them out was just the medicine the doctor ordered. ¡°E-excuse me, Dame Reia!¡± But then, right at that moment¡­ ¡­A maidservant hurriedly rushed towards us from afar while calling Dame Reia¡¯s name. ¡°Something like that goes against the established etiquette of the imperial court, so howe¡­?¡± Thanks to that maid, I learned something crucial that day. ¡°An urgent call came from t-the Areis House for you, ma¡¯am!¡± I learned that one needed to do things in moderation, especially when it came to fooling around. ¡°He, he¡­!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Uh?¡± ¡­And also the cruel lesson on there always being appropriate time and ce for everything, including teasing someone. *** What¡¯s this? I tilted my head at this noticeably different mood than usual. ¡°What¡¯s up with this atmosphere?¡± After waking up in the morning, I got ready for another day¡¯s work with the help ofdies-in-waiting and then headed to the chamber where Reia and Ast were waiting for me. But what greeted me when I got here was a funeral-like atmosphere. ¡°Ast, what have you done?¡± Well, it was possible for the mood to sour as that¡¯s normal between people. But then again, the figure of way-too-quiet Ast kept bugging me. This wasn¡¯t like him at all. ¡°That is, well¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, Sir Ast. You are not at fault, after all.¡± Reia stopped him in the middle with a grown-up smile that didn¡¯t seem to suit her all that well. And that caused Ast to lower his head even further. What on earth is going on here? Ast didn¡¯t seem to be his usual self, and the same went for Reia, too? An adult-like Reia? What kind of abination was that?! ¡°Just what have you done, Ast?!¡± ¡°Your Highness, well¡­¡± ¡°Your Highness, Sir Ast has don¡¯t anything this time. He simply made a slip of the tongue in jest, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Just how bad was that slip of the tongue that Ast is hanging his head low like some kind of a convict?¡± Ast yapped so much every day that it wouldn¡¯t have been strange to see him get thrown into a dungeon for insulting the imperial family one of these days. So, just how big of a slip-up was it that he had to act like a convict like this? ¡°That is, well¡­ Dame Reia kept bringing up her boyfriend, so I said, he should just go kill himself.¡± ¡°Mm? That sounds awfully like your usual self, though?¡± For a moment there, I failed to understand what¡¯s this all about. Ast would usually throw around such curses every day, after all. I mean, he¡¯s the kind of a guy to tell you the exact year and date as well as the details along the way, wasn¡¯t he? ¡°¡­Wait, could it be?¡± A thought suddenly popped up in my head, and my lips promptly mped shut. I was initially skeptical of my guess, but it seemed like a good possibility judging from Ast¡¯s behaviour. ¡°Yes, your guess is correct, Your Highness.¡± Reia nodded coolly to say I was right. ¡°The Foreign Affair¡¯s Viscount Pereis del Pyukhes was dispatched as the special envoy to the central region currently embroiled in the war between the Madesen Kingdom and the Helkas Kingdom. And he was killed in action during his mission.¡± Reia spoke with an emotionless face, which wasn¡¯t like her. And something about that¡­ kind of scared me. If she was sobbing like how she¡¯d usually do, then I might have tried to console her somehow. But with how serious she was, I felt lost about what to even say to her. Ah, so this is why Ast has been keeping his mouth shut. ¡°I¡­ I see.¡± ¡°Yes. That is all.¡± Even I had to stop talking at this vague yet strong pressure emanating from her, which was something I had never felt before. And Ast kept staring at the floor while looking totally like a convict, his mind probably filled with utter embarrassment and guilt. Probably. ¡°This incident has prompted the empire¡¯s military to issue an emergency mobilisation order. That¡¯s because Viscount Pereis wasn¡¯t the only victim, Your Highness. Other diplomats and the soldiers meant to guard them were also killed, you see.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I still found Reia¡¯s emotionless exnations hard to take, but that wasn¡¯t the biggest issue at the moment. ¡°¡­I¡¯m guessing that the empire will now get involved in the war, then?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± If Viscount Pereis had been the only victim, this incident could¡¯ve been treated as an unfortunate ¡®ident¡¯. However, killing off all the other diplomats could only mean that they actually dared to dere war on the empire. Thiscking exnation might make you think that the empire sent diplomats to only one kingdom, but that wasn¡¯t it. No, the empire actually sent separate teams to the instigators of this war, the Madesen and Helkas Kingdoms, and both got wiped out. ¡°The investigative teams haven¡¯t been dispatched yet, I presume?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness. An allied kingdom near the conflict zone has promised to retrieve and deliver the remains, but¡­ They¡¯ve most likely already been tampered with.¡± The empire¡¯s diplomats and their entourage had been ruthlessly murdered. Sending more people over there in this situation was basically the same as increasing the number of body bagsing back home. My father, the current emperor, would not want to suffer unnecessary losses. That¡¯s not his character, after all. ¡°I see. We¡¯ll join the war, then.¡± Indeed, he was the type to m head-first into the wall if that¡¯s the only feasible option. He¡¯d certainly not sit back and do nothing. ¡°It seems so, Your Highness.¡± I sighed softly at Reia nodding once. To think that she¡¯d try to avoid facing her grief by throwing herself into work¡­ That was so much like Reia, but I wished that her personality of making things worse for herself would change just a bit. ¡°I see¡­ Do you know when the remains will reach the empire?¡± ¡°The exact date hasn¡¯t been set yet, but it could be within this week at the quickest, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± In the next five days at the quickest, eh¡­? ¡°Do you wish to go and see?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine, Your Highness.¡± I heard that the talk between Reia¡¯s and her boyfriend¡¯s family went well, and they were about to announce her engagement soon. That¡¯s why I was thinking of giving her a short vacation, but Reia outright rejected it. ¡°Reia, it¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t worry about it and go. Even if the empire enters the war, my unit will be tasked with the security detail of the imperial court, anyway.¡± I couldn¡¯t go outside even if I wanted to. Indeed, I was supposed to look after myself within the confines of the imperial court like a precious flower in a greenhouse. That¡¯s why the subordinates under me with the task of protecting me would never see the battlefield even if the empire went to war. With how things were, I thought it¡¯d be fine for Reia to go and retrieve the remains of her boyfriend, but to think that she didn¡¯t even want to do that¡­ ¡°You know what, let me go!¡± ¡°What? You, Ast?¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± Ast suddenly raised his hand up high to volunteer. He kind of resembled a new recruit to the army, so full of military discipline and stuff. Reia interjected. ¡°Sir Ast, I told you that it¡¯s not your fault, so you don¡¯t have to do this.¡± ¡°Nope! Please allow me to go and do this, Your Highness! I can¡¯t even breathe properly because of this guilt gnawing at me, you see!¡± Both Reia and I opened our eyes super-wide at what he said, and we spoke up at that same time. ¡°Ast, you can actually feel guilt?!¡± ¡°Sir Ast, you actually have a guilty conscience?!¡± ¡°Even though I haven¡¯t said anything, but¡­ Aren¡¯t you two being a bit too harsh with metely?¡± Ast replied with a wounded expression, which was rare for him. I cringed at his retort and retorted right back. ¡°Ast, there is this saying in the world.¡± ¡°What saying would that be, Your Highness?¡± ¡°You. Reap. What. You. Sow!¡± To think that he¡¯din about how others treat him without reflecting on his past actions! Let¡¯s be honest here, if Ast became a butler for another imperial family member other than me, then he would¡¯ve been executed twelve times over for insulting the imperial family by now. He got lucky by working for me because I¡¯m the patient one of the family. ¡°Hmm, I see. It¡¯s a good idea. Besides, it¡¯s the right thing to send someone from our camp, too. Since Reia doesn¡¯t want to go, it won¡¯t be such a bad idea to let Ast handle this. I mean, he was the otherpetitor for Reia¡¯s hand once upon a time, no? So, how about it? Would you like to apany him, Reia?¡± I sneaked a nce in Reia¡¯s way while saying that, but she still shook her head back at me, a bitter grin etched on her lips. I was probing her with a dangling bait of ¡®Going there with Ast will make it easier for you¡¯, but she still rejected my offer. ¡°Where did they say they¡¯ll deliver the remains?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Peleros Kingdom that shares a border with the empire, Your Highness. As they are an allied nation, the threat level should be low.¡± I nodded at Reia¡¯s exnation, then addressed Ast. ¡°I¡¯ll inform the imperial court, so you go ahead and get ready to depart. The foreign affairs will also dispatch someone, so Reia, you take care of selecting the protection detail to match the size of the group.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°And Reia, I¡¯m asking you for onest time. Are you really not going to regret this?¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t, Your Highness. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°But I won¡¯t be. The current you is so much different than your usual self.¡± ¡°Your Highness¡­ Although it saddens me to say the same thing as Sir Ast, aren¡¯t you being a bit too harsh on metely?¡± ¡°Nope. I¡¯ve always treated you this way since forever, so it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Your Highness!¡± Reia smiled ever so slightly. It seemed that my humour managed to get through to her. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m your sword. My utmost priority is your safety. My personal affairse after that. That¡¯s why I am truly fine, ma¡¯am.¡± Reia looked back at me with eyes overflowing with unyielding belief. All I could do at that moment was to nod in silence to say that I understood. Trying to interfere any more than this would only make Reia ufortable, so I should stop. ¡°Ng, got it. I¡¯ll just send Ast and leave it at that.¡± ¡°Thank you, Your Highness. As for him¡­ I¡¯ll make sure to let him go without too much pain. Please don¡¯t worry about me too much, ma¡¯am. I mean, someone like me will surely find another romantic partner before long. Wouldn¡¯t you agree, Your Highness?¡± Reia¡¯s smile looked self-mocking, but her words were still enough to end our discussion on this matter. At the time, neither I nor Reia, and not even Ast, could have imagined how things would turn out. We really didn¡¯t know that this¡­ was Reia¡¯s final chance at romance. Chapter 185.2

Chapter 185.2

< Evade the Hero and Flee! Side Stories ¨C A certain imperial princess¡¯s reminiscence (18) > Proofread #23 Their circumstance: A certain viin¡¯s circumstance ¡°Hah-aaaah¡­¡± A sigh jumped out of my mouth the moment I settled down inside the carriage. One slip of the tongue yesterday, and it felt like the entire imperial court had transformed into a bed of thorns. ¡°Should I just make my getaway now¡­?¡± Currently, I was on my way to another kingdom for a mission. Although the timing seemed ripe for a perfect getaway, I had a feeling that Dame Reia would strike me down with her sword if I did that. That¡¯s why I gave up on the idea. ¡°Getting hit by a swordmaster¡¯s sword strike will¡­ uh¡­¡± Right, I often heard about it in the past, no? Because a bullet spun in the air, the entry wound will be small but the exit wound will be so muchrger. I¡¯ve never been shot, so there¡¯s no way I¡¯d know how that feels, but something tells me that getting struck by a swordmaster¡¯s sword swing will have argely simr effect. The only difference will be the sword light¡¯s effect causing big holes in both entry and exit wounds! ¡°I knew it. I should¡¯ve bounced outta there a long time ago. It¡¯s toote now, isn¡¯t it!¡± Someone in my previous life said this. By the time you think it¡¯s toote, it really was toote to do anything. I have to concede that that saying is the truth now. I should¡¯ve made my escape the moment I thought about escaping but worrying about ¡®this and that¡¯ kept dying the timing for it. ¡°¡­No choice but to think of this as a valuable lesson, then.¡± Now that I¡¯ve learned my lesson, I swear to run away the moment I get any thoughts of escaping. Of course, the problem with that was whether I could actually escape from the imperial court or not in the first ce. Still, the imperial court was run by humans, and Her Highness was also a human being. An opportunity is bound to arise sooner orter, so I should take my time and wait. I should focus on handling the current matter first, too. ¡°Hah-ah¡­ What an ungainly mess.¡± As this good ol¡¯ me was the representative of the imperial court in this mission, I now upied a position simr to that of amander of our group. Which meant I was given the documents containing the information on the situation so far. And if I was to summarise it¡­ ¡­Well, that¡¯s about it. ¡°Kyah~, check out how blindingly obvious they are.¡± Of course, the way they did things was pretty rotten to the point where they were obviously trying to screw me over, but¡­ ¡°Most victims were poisoned to death, while the remaining few were openly murdered, huh? And I should consider the people taking care of the aftermaths, too?¡± Most of the corpses were discovered in the middle of cities. And the culprits didn¡¯t even bother to hide the cause of death, either. Seriously now, if you kill someone, shouldn¡¯t you be at least hide or burn the bodies?! If you don¡¯t wanna do that, how about sinking them in a pond or something! If only they had done that, someone like me would¡¯ve been able to say stuff like, ¡°The corpses¡¯ dposition have advanced too greatly, which made it too difficult to confirm the methods of assassinations,¡± in case I make a mistake. But¡­ ording to the report submitted by the Peleros Kingdom currently holding the remains, the bodies have been far too perfectly preserved, apparently. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t have the reason to do so, though.¡± Even a dummy could tell that the empire would demandpensation from the instigators of this war, the kingdoms of Madesen and Helkas, since the diplomats went there to get some answers. However, even the empire should know it by now ¨C that those two kingdoms were not the culprit. And that someone else did this hoping to expand the scope of the war between two kingdoms by having the mighty empire participate, too. The real culprit, then, could be either another kingdom participating in the war or some other bastards making a tidy profit from the war itself. No, hang on. It could also be one of the empire¡¯s allied nations currently fighting in the war. Since they were losing the fight, they schemed to have the empire join their side ¨C or something like that. ¡°Whatever the case may be, things would¡¯ve been more convenient for me if they had made it a bit moreplicated, though!¡± Here¡¯s the thing about incidents like this: the moreplicated and twisted an incident was, the more people will start harassing the one trying to solve it. Crucially, however, no one will call you out on your ipetence. That¡¯s because even though they¡¯ll say, ¡°How can you not solve something like this!¡± deep down, they also know there¡¯s not a thing anyone can do about it. But, now that the culprits had caused a scene and left behind plentiful evidence, any mistake on my part would be the same as proving how ipetent I am. If that happens, the best oue I can think of will be a reduction in my wages, but the worst will be getting fired from my¡­ ¡°¡­Mm?¡± Getting¡­ fired, is it? ¡°Huh? Wait, could this be actually an opportunity for me?¡± The persons in charge of the team heading to the Peleros Kingdom to retrieve the remains were a Count affiliated with Foreign Affairs and me. Now normally, this fat Count dispatched by Foreign Affairs should be the leader of this expedition. But I was ¡®rmended¡¯ by the imperial court¡­ No, make that the Imperial Princess who had personally selected me for this job. Which meant the fat Count and I held a simr level of authority during this trip. Besides, thebat force apanying us came from Her Highness¡¯s own unit, and the one of the dead happened to be engaged to Dame Reia, too. That¡¯s why the count was basically only here for the appearance¡¯s sake, and I was the actual leader of this expedition. Sooo, what if I caused a massive incident during this trip¡­? ¡°They¡¯ll surely fire me, right? But, uh, hopefully, they won¡¯t execute me or something like that.¡± Right. We¡¯ve been working side-by-side in the imperial court until now, so my colleagues surely wouldn¡¯t be so heartless and execute me for making a mistake. Maybe, my punishment would be getting kicked out of the court without receiving the benefit of all the taxes I¡¯ve been paying so far. But that much is a-okay in my book. Besides, I lived my life as a gopher for the evil organisation. I was pretty sure that such an organisation would not pay their taxes, so what right did I have to im benefits from it in the first ce? ¡°So, the best scenario would be someone sneak-attacking us and stealing the corpses¡­¡± Of course, I¡¯d have to protect Dame Reia¡¯s former boyfriend. If I fail to do that, then even before the imperial court could fire me, she¡¯ll fire me to the afterlife for sure. If the other corpses get taken away by the enemy, the grieving families would most likely lodge a strongly-wordedint to the imperial court, forcing me to take full responsibility and resign. Then, I could exin to the organisation¡¯s top brass that I got fired for so-and-so reasons. All said and done, I¡¯d get to start afy life as the organisation¡¯s instructor once more. ¡°Kuh-huk¡­ It¡¯s perfect.¡± Of course, things might get dicey during such a sneak raid, but one particr point about this incident put me at ease. And that was the fact that this whole thing was not arranged by someone in the same trade as me. If an agent from the evil organisation was involved in this matter, then they would¡¯ve twisted it just a bit further, making it that much harder to see through. They were pros at this sort of thing, after all. For instance, they could¡¯ve disguised the crime scenes in such a way to mislead people into believing that separate factions were involved in the matter, even if the crimes themselves were the same. People would naturally assume, ¡°Many factions are involved in this dastardly scheme!¡± or something like that. Not stopping there, they would win over a few nobles and persuade them to make some noise about this incident reeking of conspiracy. And then, they would win over the opposing nobles to have the different factions go against each other. Doing so would naturally attract other nobles supporting either side of the argument. As the unique traits of the nobles dictate, they would start spreading all sorts of baseless rumours to badmouth the factions opposing them. Without me or my¡­ colleagues doing anything, these nobles would do their best to burn each other down and fight to the death. Once that happened, I figured that the imperial court would be forced to investigate. And the ones involved would doctor the evidence to make it look like a few nobles were in cahoots with a kingdom embroiled in the war to instigate this incident. Only then will this thing qualify as a dark conspiracy, after all! ¡°Idiots that can¡¯t evene up with a conspiracy on this level¡­¡± To think that they, whoever they were, created such a juicy situation only to waste it as a one-time deal¡­ To me, this whole thing seemed to be concocted by a country or an organisation with no talent in cooking up dastardly conspiracies. ¡°Well, they could havee up with a n so perfect that not even I can see through it, but¡­¡± But, I didn¡¯t think this matter was so vile and convoluted that I, a master among the evil organisation¡¯s elites, would fail to notice the depths of its depravity. That¡¯s what I thought at the time. ¡°Mm?¡± Well, I never anticipated how pathetic my opponents¡¯ level would be, after all. #24 Their circumstance: A certain kingdom¡¯s circumstance ¡°My lord, we just receivedmunication from the border. The investigation team from the Karuan Empire has arrived at the border control.¡± ¡°Have we finished securing all the remains?¡± ¡°Magicians and sorcerers have been mobilised to operate preservation magic at all times, my lord.¡± Currently, inside the Peleros Kingdom¡¯s royal pce¡­ But, rather than a pce fit for a king, this ce now resembled a busy marketce, with so many people hurriedly running around like headless chickens. ¡°Good. The war in the center of the continent is heating up, so this is an opportunity for us to present a good image to the empire!¡± The Peleros Kingdom was among the nations located in the central region of the continent. Its royal court had sensed that the war started by two small kingdoms was gradually spiralling out of control. Not only a neighbouring kingdom was participating in the war, another one sharing a border with Peleros had recently joined the fighting, too. With their location being in the center of the continent, it was unsurprising to see the ruling ss of Peleros focusing heavily on reinforcing their alliance with the empire, the wielder of the strongest army in the continent! Especially when they could smell the approaching fumes of the deadly war! ¡°The war is getting bigger in scale. With how things are, we need the empire in order to keep the Merdeia Kingdom in line.¡± The Merdeia Kingdom. Although it wasn¡¯t called an empire, was it because they¡¯ve been in conflict with the Karuan Empire for so long? At this point in history, Merdeia boasted a military that wouldn¡¯t lose out to any empires on the continent. Peleros had chosen to side with the Karuan Empire diplomatically, meaning it now found itself at odds with Merdeia! The two kingdoms didn¡¯t share a border, but Merdeia had formed an alliance with one of the kingdoms that did with Peleros. Which meant that the ruling ss of Peleros felt a certain pressure toward the possibilities of Merdeia¡¯s invasion. ¡°My lord! An urgent report from the one in charge of the border control gate! The empire¡¯s representative has conveyed his wish to not use the transfer gate but continue using thend route, sir!¡± ¡°What was that?! But, why? N-no, wait. For now, pass my order that all checkpoints will let the empire¡¯s representative go through them as painlessly as possible!¡± To strengthen the kingdom¡¯s alliance with the empire, the very first hurdle to clear was managing the current event. The second important thing to remember after that was to earn a favourable impression from the representative of the iing investigation team, Baron Ast du Lc! ¡°He might be only a baron, but he¡¯s also the closest confidante of the empire¡¯s First Imperial Princess! He¡¯s also in a simr position as Dame Reia, the famed Sword Princess! As he¡¯s someone wielding a considerable influence in the imperial court, inform all the territories where he¡¯s scheduled to stop by to treat him with utmost courtesy!¡± ¡°Understood, my lord!¡± The Peleros Kingdom¡¯s representative watched the back of a magician hurriedly leaving, sensing that he might have earned a smidgeon of breathing room for himself. ¡°U-urgent reporting in, my lord! The empire¡¯s investigation team has arrived at the royal court¡¯s transfer gate!¡± ¡°Say what?!¡± Unfortunately for him, the moment he sighed in relief was when he got hit in the back of his head! ¡°But weren¡¯t they supposed to travel onnd?! What on earth are you talking about!¡± ¡°Sir! They said that, since they wanted to cut down on the travel time, they went back to use the transfer gate!¡± ¡°Dammit!¡± The investigation team also included heavily-armedbatants. Such a group of people stepping into what could be considered the nucleus of a kingdom, its royal pce, without permission was a terrible diplomatic discourtesy. Yet that man still chose to intrude the royal pce, seemingly not caring about consequences in the slightest. ¡°He¡¯s no ordinary opponent¡­¡± This had to be a protest, a show of force, by the empire. We had already experienced the death of the envoys in our allied nation. That¡¯s why we had to overlook such an uneptable discourtesy to protect ourselves. That man was asking us this: Even after suffering indignity on this level and other potential insults that maye in the future, can you really stay as our allied nation? ¡°What a rotten type of test this is.¡± Indeed, this was the empire testing the Peleros Kingdom. Even if the empire¡¯sbatants were powerful, a team consisting of around one hundred people couldn¡¯t possibly invade the royal pce of a kingdom. They wouldn¡¯t have a pretext toin even if we arrested them all and sent them to prison, yet the higher-ups of the empire still chose to risk it andmitted such an act. ¡°In that case, we don¡¯t have a choice but to ept it.¡± Our opponent this time was the First Imperial Princess¡¯s closest confidante, a man climbing up the imperial court¡¯s pecking order at an unprecedented speed! That man¡¯s prowess didn¡¯t seem all that real even after I went through the report submitted by our diplomatic agents dispatched to the empire, but this incident finally helped me understand it. ¡°ying a truly unexpected hand, admirable decisiveness, and enough charisma to put all of them to practice. Is this the true ability of the man who climbed up from the position of amoner to quickly seize a sizeable political power in the imperial court?¡± It hadn¡¯t even been five years. A man hired as a mere servant to deal with sundry chores rising up to be the First Imperial Princess¡¯s exclusive butler and earning himself a noble title¡­? That feat would¡¯ve been near-impossible even if it was within the halls of the weakest kingdom in the continent. But that man had achieved exactly that in one of the strongest nations on the continent. And I was about toe face-to-face with such an individual! ¡°This might be a lot harder than I imagined.¡± I, too, had spent my whole life working in the den of devious demons ¨C the royal court ¨C where one slip of the tongue could lead to my head getting chopped off. But my opponent this time had not only survived the empire¡¯s imperial court but even managed to upy the position of power in an unimaginably brief period. The imperial court, famed for being a literal hell on earth that even Peleros¡¯s own royal court paled inparison! If I continued to underestimate him as a greenhorn not even thirty years old yet, it¡¯d be me who might end up on the chopping board, instead! ¡°How did you respond?¡± ¡°My lord. We managed to dy them at the transfer gate by saying that we still need to perform brief inspections.¡± ¡°Very good. Your job now is to contact the agents looking after the remains as quickly as possible. Tell them to get everything ready in less than one hour.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord. However, Lord Chancellor, what will you do¡­?¡± ¡°I shall personally handle the empire¡¯s investigation team. Do not send anyone else lest you want to see them get mercilessly devoured!¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± I watched the knight rushing outside my office and sucked in a deep, deep breath. That poor man didn¡¯t even have enough time to wipe the sweat off his brow. I then turned to address my aides. ¡°The empire has arrived. From this moment on, hurry up and finish our preparations, then give your everything to carrying out your individual assignments! It¡¯s our sacred duty to disy the Peleros Kingdom¡¯s dignity to the empire¡¯s agents!¡± ¡°Understood, my lord!¡± We were trying to strengthen the alliance between us and the empire, but we could not afford to show them our weak side. Our aim was an amicable alliance, not to be some kind of a vassal state. ¡°Well, then¡­ Shall I go and meet the newest monster of the imperial court, then?¡± And to fulfil that purpose, I, the Chancellor of this kingdom, headed to the location of my encounter against the newest monster of the imperial court. Chapter 185.3

Chapter 185.3

< Evade the Hero and Flee! Side Stories ¨C A certain imperial princess¡¯s reminiscence (19) > #25 Their circumstance: A certain viin¡¯s circumstance ¡°Have you lost your mind, Sir Ast?!¡± Even as the Foreign Affair¡¯s Count yelled at me, I simply maintained my expressionless face. ¡°Yes, we were dispatched as an investigation team, but we still entered this kingdom with a sizeable contingent ofbatants! Yet, you dare to use a transfer gate without the approval of the royal court?!¡± This man upied a pretty good position in the Foreign Affairs office. He was also a Count, a noble title verging on the doorstep of high-ranking nobility. He might not possess a tremendously important title but, in a way, he could be seen as a thread connecting to some very important people. Even though the majority of the travelling group came from my camp and I held the authority tomand them, getting on the bad books of someone like this Count was an act of foolishness itself. Even though I knew that, I still went ahead, anyway. ¡°We are currently inside a kingdom embroiled in a war, sir.¡± ¡°Sir Ast, I know what you¡¯re trying to say! However, this country is not at war, and more importantly, it¡¯s an allied nation to our empire!¡± Indeed. And what I¡¯m trying to do right now would shatter the allied nation¡¯s pride and cause a serious diplomatic problem. ¡°And that¡¯s why I¡¯m doing this.¡± Yup, that¡¯s why I was doing this! ¡°Hah?!¡± The Count started ring at me, his eyes asking what on earth I was talking about. Around him were the subordinates of the Imperial Princess that ¡®knew¡¯ me well enough, and they were shaking their heads while sighing softly. If I were to interpret the light gleaming in their eyes¡­ ¡®What is that crazy SOB trying to do this time?¡¯ ¡­I guess that¡¯s about it? That¡¯s probably a correct guess, though. I sometimes look at the Imperial Princess in the exact same manner as they are doing right now, you see! Well, I do understand where they areing from. My current actions certainly qualified as insanity, after all. ¡°We currently do not know who our allies and enemies are. And in such a situation, we have a pressing need to find out, sir.¡± ¡°But what will do you if you lose a certain ally while doing that?¡± Ah, this Count. He has stabbed the sore point pretty urately, hasn¡¯t he? It was as he said. Nine times out of ten, people would demand an exnation from the empire and even go as far as ending the alliance. That sort of response wouldn¡¯t be surprising at all. However¡­! ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, unfortunately.¡± Indeed, it couldn¡¯t be helped in my quest to get fired. ¡°The war in the central region has be too unpredictable, sir. And in this war, you see kids murdering their own parents and parents selling out their own kids to survive. Nothing is more important than confirming who is our ally when going through such a war.¡± ¡°Sir Ast, do you even know what on earth you¡¯re talking about?!¡± Ng. Of course, I know. I know it¡¯s all bullsh*t. I¡¯m acting up like this simply because the Imperial Princess was backing me up. No, hang on a sec. My behaviour started going out of whack all because of the Imperial Princess in the first ce, no?! If only that kid hadn¡¯t be so weirdly obsessed with me! I¡¯d still be an anonymous gopher working in the imperial court, silently carrying out the orders of the evil organisation! Without needing to worry about anything, to boot! But all thanks to that damn Imperial Princess, my life became aplicated mess. So, as a just dessert, it¡¯s time I dump all the responsibilities of putting out the fire I started on her shoulders! Even if I do that, the Imperial Princess wasn¡¯t the type to discard people. So, the punishment for causing problems would only amount to me losing my noble title and getting chased out of the imperial court. My personal wish would be that I don¡¯t get tortured until the day of my firing. That¡¯s about it, I guess? If you throw me inside solitary confinement, I can keep myself upied no problem. That¡¯s why I want that kind of imprisonment, Your Highness! ¡°I shall shoulder all responsibilities.¡± ¡°But, that¡­!¡± When I stared back at the Count with resolute certainty in my eyes, he mped his mouth shut abruptly. Responsibilities. The thing all nobles generally hated with a passion. I brought it up first, and by the look of things, it seemed that Count was ready to quietly let it go now. ¡°¡­Sir Ast, are you really confident of dealing with the aftermath? To take full responsibility?¡± ¡°Yes. With my honour on the line.¡± Even though it was only in name, I became a noble by starting off as an honorary knight. No wonder the Count fell deep into his thoughts when I brought up my honour and all. But that meant he failed to notice the expressions of the Imperial Princess¡¯s subordinates silently shouting¡­ ¡®¡­This crazy as*hole is about to do something insaaaaane!¡¯ ¡­Or something like that. Ng, you¡¯re sooo right. I am about to do something insane, alright. If I was one of those nobles that treasured their honour above all else, I¡¯d have thrown away my life to protect my honour, sure. But I was a gopher of the evil organisation where having less honour and fame was seen as a plus point. In other words, I was ready to discard my honour whenever it was convenient for me. No, actually¡­ Please, somebody,e and take away my honour already! You dang nobles so obsessed with honour, what the hell were you doing when someone like me was busy earning honour and fame?! Seriously, man! Do your jobs properly, nobles! ¡°I shall¡­ believe in you, Sir Ast.¡± The Count deliberated it for quite a bit before finally relenting to my request. At the same time, lengthy groans burst forth from our surroundings. I quickly piped up. ¡°In that case, let us get going right away.¡± ¡°U-understood.¡± Should I say, as expected of a seasoned diplomat? Or maybe he¡¯s just quick on the uptake? The Count seemed to have realised that the mood in our surroundings had worsened a lot, and judging from the look on his face, he btedly wanted to say something about it. But I seized the initiative first, leaving him with no choice but to nod his head in eptance. ¡°Well, everyone! Time to head back to the gate!¡± The name of this operation was ¡®Wihwado Retreat¡¯! Yes, I was trying to re-enact that famous operation that led to Goryeo¡¯s demise and the founding of Joseon! Not only that but in someone else¡¯s kingdom, no less! ¡°N-no, you can¡¯t, sir!¡± ¡°Yes, we can!¡± We ignored the employees managing the gate despite their vocal and insistent resistance, and under the banner of the empire¡¯s investigation team, we forcibly took over the transfer gate. ¡°T-this will cause a diplomatic problem, sir¡­!¡± ¡°That¡¯s funny, didn¡¯t you say earlier that it¡¯ll be a lot better for us to use the gate, Baron Arulen? We trusted in your rmendation and came back all this way, you know?¡± ¡°B-but, that¡­!¡± The transfer gate¡¯s very cautious person in charge, Baron Arulen, began paling in fright as soon as I called him out by his name. ¡°Good sir, am I to assume that you were actually making irresponsible rmendations to the envoys of the empire?¡± ¡°N-no, that¡¯s not it, Sir Ast!¡± This dude has been stuck in this far-flung outskirts of his own kingdom, dealing with simr matters day in, day out. No wonder he couldn¡¯t deal with an empire-certified loon like me. While Baron Arulen just stood there and unable to offer a counterpoint, his lips bobbing up and down like a lost goldfish, we left him behind and began using the transfer gate without waiting for his permission. ¡°Alright, then! Let¡¯s hurry, everyone!¡± ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡± Although the replies weren¡¯t what I¡¯d call ¡®enthusiastic¡¯, it couldn¡¯t be helped, now could it? It was crucial for us to make our move first before this kingdom¡¯s royal court caught wind of our actions. I watched the members of my team get transferred to the heart of this kingdom one by one, and then¡­ ¡°¡­Ah, right. I forgot that I can¡¯t even use these gates.¡± Only my sheepish self remained stranded there. #26 Their circumstances: A certain sorcerer¡¯s circumstance ¡°W-who are you people?!¡± The moment we heard that question was when we instinctively realised that someone important among us had vanished. ¡®Why the heck is the culprit of this n not here with usssss?!¡¯ However, none of us revealed our own confusion, which was probably on the same level as the soldiers of this kingdom greeting us. ¡°But, uh, no one told us anything about this, though?¡± We silently observed their flustered faces and inwardly sympathised with their turmoil. Because of one single lunatic, we, too, were experiencing a lot of hardship right now. When we emerged from the sudden explosions of light, soldiers and magicians of the Peleros kingdom weed us with their weapons already drawn. They were ring at us, their stances suggesting that they would start attacking the moment we take one step. Damn it, we¡¯re screwed, aren¡¯t we! I knew it! Their suspicion and hostility towards us are serious enough to pierce the heavens right now! Still, that lunatic told us to say this, so at the very least¡­ I should have a go at it. ¡°You dare to attack the empire¡¯s investigation team?! So, this was the intent of the Peleros Kingdom all along!¡± I followed my superior officer, Sir Ast¡¯s teachings and diligently leaned on the name of the empire. He told us that the more we lean on the empire¡¯s name, the more effective it¡¯d be. So, I unhesitantly leaned all the way in. ¡°T-the empire?!¡± ¡°I did here the investigation team would be arriving sometime today, but¡­ didn¡¯t we receive a message saying that they¡¯ll be travelling over thend?¡± ¡°Could it be that the information was incorrect¡­?!¡± Was it because we were so unfazed, openly brazen? Besides, it looked to me that they were not entertaining the possibilities of us invading their royal court. This was definitely not the epted way of doing things. Plus, the job of managing the transfer gate was a veryfy one where you didn¡¯t have to worry about getting fired unless something extraordinary happened under your watch. This wasn¡¯t in the past when the space transfer magic was still unstable and a bit of a gamble. Unless someone made a mistake inputting the coordinates, things should not go wrong with this magic nowadays. ¡°P-please show us proof that you¡¯re from the empire!¡± While I was thinking that to myself, a magician with fairly high status among the soldiers stepped forward and yelled at us. ¡°Here.¡± So, I pulled out a token engraved with the imperial court¡¯s emblem from my inner pocket. ¡°L-lower your weapons!¡± As expected of the transfer gate¡¯s person in charge. Was it because he had encountered many nobles hailing from other kingdoms, like the dude in charge of the border control? Just a single peek at the empire¡¯s emblem was enough for him to freak out and begin withdrawing the troops. ¡°Sir, do you think it¡¯s working?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ll be able to tell by looking at their response, now won¡¯t we?¡± What will happen now, I wonder? Would they analyse this situation calmly and try to throw all of us inside prison? That would be¡­ ¡°Allow us to offer our sincerest wee to you all for visiting our Peleros Kingdom, oh the brave warriors of the empire. I¡¯m Relkerra, a Marquis of the Peleros Kingdom serving as its Chancellor.¡± ¡­That should¡¯ve been the normal thing to do, so why was he assuming such a position?! I mean, he¡¯s the bloody Chancellor! A dang Marquis, for crying out loud! ¡°Let me reiterate, we wee the envoys of the empire, our allied nation.¡± The warmly-smiling Marquis Relkerra began guiding us in the most courteous manner imaginable. ¡­What¡¯s this? What¡¯s up with this kingdom and its deep patience that even rivalled that of priests of religious orders?? #27 Their circumstance: A certain noble¡¯s circumstance Diplomacy is war. A war fought not with des but with words. Even before the start of the war¡­ Even after the war has begun¡­ Even after the wares to an end¡­ And even as the post-war peace continues on¡­ The war called diplomacy continues on, unabated. ¡°Your prank this time has gone overboard, Count Maures.¡± And Count Maures, who had spent almost his entire life on such a battlefield, knew oh-so-well the person right before his eyes. ¡®The light of Peleros, Marquis Relkerra!¡¯ Marquis Relkerra utilised his excellent diplomatic skills, the gift of gab and sharp insight to see at least one move ahead to act as a sturdy pir supporting his kingdom. Even though he possessed enough political clout to pressure the king if that¡¯s what he wanted, Relkerra always put the welfare of his kingdom first instead of gaining more political power. He was famous for not getting into a power struggle with the royal family for the future of his nation. ¡®If he makes up his mind, not even Peleros¡¯s king can change his decision¡­¡¯ Even though the Peleros Kingdom was a part of the central region embroiled in the great war, it has not participated in the battles so far. Sure, Peleros was located on the outskirts of the central region. However, it still chose not to dispatch anybat force even as an allied kingdom nearby was under attack. Which meant that either Peleros chose to forsake said allied nation, or it has sessfully dyed participating in the conflict via diplomacy! ¡®Dammit¡­ Baron Ast!¡¯ And Count Maures began chewing out Baron Ast in his mind. Well, he now had to deal with someone as fearsome as Marquis Relkerres by himself, after all! That¡¯s because Ast, as soon as arriving via thend route, rushed somewhere while saying he¡¯d go and confirm the status of the remains. ¡®That damn bastard! A meremoner who got lucky! How dare he wield Her Highness¡¯s authority as his own! I¡¯m a Count, dammit! Even if you¡¯re close to Her Highness, this¡­ Mm¡­ I guess it¡¯s allowed in that case?¡¯ The empire¡¯s First Imperial Princess was a celebrity of sorts. The monster of the imperial court, the seconding of the founding emperor, the inheritor of the dragon¡¯s bloodline, etc., etc¡­ All sorts of modifiers apanied her, but at the end of them all, one nickname would always sneak into people¡¯s conversations. ¡®¡­A personality disorder patient.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t just some ordinary disorder, either. Even the current emperor, a wielder of incredible power, had to concede to her whims. That¡¯s how much of a troublesome person she was. All these stories about to be told already had achieved legendary status by now. The stories went that she could speak from the moment she was born. Or, how about she became as strong as a swordmaster by the age of ten? There was also a legend about her chantlessly casting high-ss magic that only amander-level magician could use. However, her final nickname, ¡®the personality disorder patient¡¯, was not a legend. It was reality. Count Maures recalled that time when he witnessed the current emperor shut his mouth and do as she wanted. The emperor was famed for being strict, yet he was still rendered helpless when she brazenly dered, ¡®Oh? Then I¡¯m going to run away from home, you know? Or, maybe I¡¯ll cause a hugemotion!¡¯ That was when the Imperial Princess was only five years old. Thanks to her unreasonable demand back then, the youngest swordmaster of all time and one of the most promising talents in the empire¡¯s knight corps, Reia Lil Areis, got snatched away by her. And that talent had bloomed into someone deserving of the title, the Sword Princess, too! ¡°Marquis Relkerres, I assure you that it was not my intention.¡± They said that the birds of a feather flock together. Crows and herons would never fly together, though. Count Maures was reluctant to provoke someone minding their own business ¨C especially when that person happened to be a member of the First Imperial Princess¡¯s entourage, so he decided to dump all the responsibilities on Baron Ast but not go any further than that. The thing was, his decision came about after he heard the evaluations of the knights and sorcerers under the Imperial Princess regarding Baron Ast. They unanimously saw him as a ¡®truly insane bastard¡¯ ¨C an evaluation made when Ast was not around to re at them! ¡°Hahaha! Yes, I¡¯m already aware. This isn¡¯t our first meeting, Count Maures, so how can I not know?¡± ¡°¡­Hahaha, thank you very much! Chancellor!¡± Maures would always experience some losses whenever he had meetings with Relkerres, but there was no reason to point that out this time. As long as they couldugh together and sweep this incident under the carpet¡­ That would be the best oue for everyone. The discourtesy of today was so grave that it could easily spiral into breaking off of the diplomatic ties between two nations. ¡°Count Maures, if I may be frank, it was a rather aggressive move. Honestly speaking, I was stunned silly when I first received the report. As expected of the rumoured confidante of Her Imperial Highness¡­¡± ¡®Hmm?¡¯ Count Maures couldn¡¯t help but tilt his head at what Marquis Relkerra said as a follow-up. That sounded like the disrespected person giving out a high evaluation to the one who disrespected them. ¡°I¡¯ve already understood the empire¡¯s intentions, Sir Maures. However, a test of such nature is a bit too cruel, so I implore you to give us a small head-up next time. I¡¯m quite old already, and such a heart-stopping event is not good for my health, you see.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what I can do to rein in him in, but¡­ I¡¯ll do my best to persuade him from next time onward.¡± Count Maures had no idea just where the empire¡¯s intentions were and what kind of a test had taken ce here, but all he could do for now was nod slowly at Marquis Relkerra¡¯s gentle smile. ¡®Could it be that a diplomatic battle of a high calibre is taking ce right now? One that¡¯s too high ss for me to even notice?¡¯ Was this the case of a monster¡¯s trusted aide also being a monster? As expected of a man experiencing an unprecedented rise in his status, something that had never happened before in the empire¡¯s history! ¡®It¡¯s too early to say, but¡­ Could Sir Ast be a real tactical genius, then?¡¯ The First Imperial Princess was only five years old when she saw through the youngest swordmaster in history, Reia Lil Areis¡¯s talents. Five years old¡­ Young enough to be still called a little baby, even if she was an Imperial Family member! And someone like that had personally chosen Ast. Count Maures began to seriously ponder if every little crazy thing Ast had done without warning carried much deeper meaning behind them. ¡®Right. Common folk apparently can¡¯t recognise geniuses, no? In that case, he could be¡­!¡¯ It happened then. ¡°Lord Chancellor, sir!¡± A decisive blownded just as Count Maures began cooking up the theory of Ast being a certifiable genius. ¡°Baron Ast of the investigation team has uncovered information on the culprits, my lord!¡± ¡°What?! Already?!¡± Yup, that man was indeed a genius. That¡¯s the conclusion Count Maures hade to. Chapter 185.4

Chapter 185.4

< Evade the Hero and Flee! Side Stories ¨C A certain imperial princess¡¯s reminiscence (20) > ¡°Will this be really fine, Your Highness?¡± It¡¯s been three days since Ast was dispatched as a member of the empire¡¯s investigation team. Reia asked me that question with a worried expression on her face. ¡°You don¡¯t trust Ast?¡± Of course, I already knew what Reia meant. Was it really correct to send Ast as an investigator? That was the first thing Reia worried about after finally oveing her mental trauma. ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t trust him.¡± ¡°Eh¡­?¡± Her reply was as swift as it could get. I became speechless for a moment there at that very un-Reia-like reply. ¡°Ast is quite capable, you know! Surely, he can¡¯t fail at the task of bringing the remains back home, no?¡± The job of preserving the remains belonged to the magicians apanying him. And it was the job of the Foreign Affairs to return the remains to their respective families. Ast¡¯s role, then, was as simple as being there as the remains were transferred from the Peleros Kingdom to our empire. No matter how ipetent you were, something that simple should be doable, no? Not to forget, Ast was highly evaluated within the empire for his abilities, so there¡¯s no way he¡¯d mess up a task that simple. I mean, if you were that moronic to fail that task, then I¡¯d never grant you a peerage no matter how amusing you were to me. Ast was my exclusive butler because of how special he waspared to other people. But I granted him peerage as a reward for his abilities. I had nothing to hide. I did not grant Ast the honorary knight position or the peerage of Baron out of my selfishness or personal interest. Indeed, those were simply the reward for everything he had managed to achieve. That¡¯s why I got slightly mad. ¡°Reia, aren¡¯t you underestimating Ast a bit too much?¡± Evaluating him poorly also meant my own discernment was being questioned. I did evaluate him highly, after all. And that poor evaluation wasn¡¯ting from some stranger but someone I spent most of my life with, Reia. That did hurt me just a little. ¡°Your Highness.¡± Even then, Reia remained resolute while looking back at me, her expression hinting that I was totally wrong about this. ¡°We¡¯re talking about Sir Ast, Your Highness.¡± ¡°I¡­ uh, already know?¡± For some reason, I thought I could begin to grasp what Reia wanted to say to me. ¡°No, wait, you¡­ Reia, you can¡¯t be thinking of¡­ No, it can¡¯t be?¡± No, there¡¯s simply no way¡­ Logically speaking, there¡¯s no way that Ast would do that in a foreign country¡­! ¡°Your Highness, do you really think that won¡¯t happen?¡± ¡°B-but, I¡­¡± Reia¡¯s eyes looking at me were firm and unwavering, but my own eyes didn¡¯t want to stop trembling. ¡°Can you be certain about this, Your Highness? Certain that Sir Ast¡­ won¡¯t cause an incident in another kingdom?¡± ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t.¡± I had no choice but to admit defeat at what Reia said. She had been by my side for over half of my life, but this would be my first time losing to her in a verbal exchange. ¡°You¡¯re right. Ast¡­ I actually sent Ast over there!¡± It was as Reia said. We were talking about none other than Ast. The one and only Ast! That guy dared to act so flippantly towards me, an Imperial Princess, within the halls of the imperial court, so¡­ What kind of trouble would he stir in someone else¡¯s kingdom?! Did the shocking news of Reia¡¯s lover dying also affect my decision making? Without that exnation, how could I have made such an error in my judgement?! ¡°It¡¯s toote now, right? Reia?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, yes. Even if they were to use thend route, the team must¡¯ve arrived in the Peleros Kingdom¡¯s territory by now, Your Highness.¡± Never before in my life have I resented our beautifully-constructed public roads, one of the jewels of our empire, so badly like today. Seriously, though! What kind of trouble would Ast get himself into? My heart began pounding just thinking about it. ¡°Even so¡­ He won¡¯t cause something too grievous, I hope?¡± ¡°Your Highness, Sir Ast might use his discretion to¡­ hold himself back, probably?¡± Reia¡¯s sentence started off as one thing, only for it to end as a question. And I couldn¡¯te up with a suitable reply to her. Around three days after that conversation¡­ ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°Sir Ast, you¡­¡± Thanks to Ast, the empire ended up joining the central region¡¯s war. #28 Their circumstance: A certain viin¡¯s circumstance ¡°Is it here?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡± The other members of the investigation team abandoned me, leaving the soldiers of the Peleros Kingdom to escort me to my destination. So, I naturally expressed my gratitude. ¡°N-no, it¡¯s nothing at all, sir.¡± Judging from how they bowed slightly and retreated smartly, they seemed to be well trained in etiquette, but uh¡­ Why did it feel like they wanted to distance themselves from me as soon as possible? It must be my imagination, though. Must be. ¡°We shall be on our way now, sir.¡± They couldn¡¯t have read my mind, yet the soldiers escorting me didn¡¯t even wait for my reply and quickly disappeared from my sight. ¡°Well, then. Will youe with me, sir?¡± Once the soldiers disappeared, it was the turn of a civil servant-like character equipped with a pair of sses to show up next. It seemed that he was waiting for my arrival. ¡°I will.¡± I nodded and followed after him, all the while getting this odd feeling. Did the people of this kingdom hear all the bad rumours about me or something? Why were they treating me so oddly like this? This sses guy was supposed to show me the way, which was fine, but he always maintained the space of three steps ahead. Not only that, but he also avoided meeting my eyes and cut me off whenever I tried to talk to him. It was as if someone had ordered him not to engage me or approach me if at all possible. Man¡­ if you openly ignore me like this, I can¡¯t even me my imagination anymore, you know! ¡°Wait, could it be¡­?¡± Was it the Imperial Princess? Could it be that she spread baseless rumours about me this far, too?! ¡°¡­Eii, that can¡¯t be.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± I was muttering to myself, but Mister Civil Servant must¡¯ve heard my mumbling. He was looking at my way with an expression asking, ¡®Did something happen?¡¯ Even then, he still avoided meeting my eyes. Why are you looking at my torso and not my face? Are you lusting after my body or something?! ¡°Ah, no. It¡¯s nothing.¡± However, I was in another country. There was no need to deal with people from another country if they were actively trying to avoid me. It didn¡¯t matter what these people thought about me, after all. Actually, I¡¯d be happier if they sent a bucket load ofints regarding my behaviour back to the empire. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived, sir.¡± ¡°Sir Ast, you¡¯re here.¡± I continued to follow after Mister Civil Servant, eventually joining up with several sorcerers that came with me from the empire. I asked them. ¡°What happened to the remains?¡± ¡°We were on standby until the representative of the team is on-site, sir. And that¡¯s you, Sir Ast.¡± Tsk! All these civil servants have a simr mindset regardless of who they worked for, don¡¯t they! They needed to handle the remains first so that I might get a chance to dump the me on them if something does go wrongter on. Too bad for me, though, it seemed that I¡¯d be the first one toe in contact with the corpses. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the procedure, so¡­¡± Still, my job was a rtively simple one, so nothing should go wrong here¡­ ¡°¡­Aaaand that¡¯s why I lightheartedly checked the corpses, so why the freak did this thinge out from there?!¡± This had to be a trap. A mutual trap¡­ No, it¡¯s the Imperial Princess¡¯s trap! That damn kid must¡¯ve prepared a huge-scale hidden camera prank to screw me over! I¡¯m sure about this now! ¡°Sir Ast, isn¡¯t this¡­?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s the emblem of the Merdeia Kingdom.¡± I was checking the status of the dude from the Foreign Affairs, the one I crossed swords with for Dame Reia¡¯s hands in marriage. Was his name ¡®Pyukhes¡¯ or ¡®Pukes¡¯ or something? Anyways, I was nning to do a simple inspection, but then he was clenching his right fist so much that even a blind would¡¯ve noticed it. I had a gut feeling about that, so I was trying to gloss over it, but¡­ Humans were animals of curiosity, so when stuff like this presented itself, we simply had to confirm. So, one of the sorcerers unfurled the clenched fist, and then¡­ ¡°Why the hell were you holding this in the first ce¡­?¡± That fist was clenching a small token engraved with the distinctive insignia of the Merdeia Kingdom. ¡°Sir Ast, c-could this be¡­?¡± ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t seem nted, so your guess is probably right.¡± Grit. My teeth began gritting all by themselves. You stupid bastards! I thought that something seemed a bit amateurish from the very start, but to think that they even stupidly dropped a token of theirs like this! ¡°S-sir, there¡¯s a chance that this is a trap.¡± ¡°Indeed, but then¡­ Magic wasn¡¯t used here, and do you think it¡¯s possible to insert an object like that inside a hand frozen stiff due to postmortem rigidity?¡± It looked like the victim clenched that token tightly in his hand moments before his death, at least to my eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible that the assassins deliberately dropped it, Sir Ast?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s possible.¡± My organisation relied on that trick often, after all. Leave behind a token from someone else and make two different parties fight each other, then while they are too busy to notice, hit them on the backs of their heads! Now that was the method viins relied on quite often. However¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case this time.¡± ¡°Do you have a basis for that theory, Sir Ast?¡± ¡°Just my intuition.¡± ¡°Your¡­ intuition, sir?¡± ¡°Yes. My intuition.¡± Far too many amateurish slip-ups have been made so far to say that a professional had arranged this scene. As an agent of the evil organisation, I¡¯ve earned a fair bit of experience in this field, so I could tell that this scheme was just too poorly-arranged. Sure, there should be many folks in my line of work capable of even fooling me. And if they were truly meticulous with their nning, then this sloppiness could very well be a part of their overall scheme, too. However, could they have predicted that I would be the one toe here? And would the evil organisations of other kingdoms have ess to the information about how I was still an agent of an evil organisation as well as a spy of the empire? Very, very unlikely. My organisation, Howling, was one of the biggest within the entire continent. No way it¡¯d leak out crucial information that easily. ¡°But Sir, to say it¡¯s your intuition? Don¡¯t you agree that¡¯s not enough to go on?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible to confirm the truth by tossing a bait into the wild, though.¡± ¡°A bait¡­ you say?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± Since they were such amateurs, I figured that even an amateurish bait should be enough to catch them. ¡°Well, then. Should we confirm the level of our opponents, then?¡± ¡°How, Sir Ast?¡± What do you mean, how? ¡°Go and summon everyone among the investigation team who are also heavy drinkers.¡± Openly provoke them, of course. #29 Their circumstance: A certain pub¡¯s circumstance Bang! ¡°Eii! Dammit!¡± Inside a certain pub located in the Peleros Kingdom¡­ A man mmed his fist down on a table while angrily yelling out. ¡°Man, so bloody annoying!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wanna work anymore!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! I just wanna keep drinking!¡± This group resembled your local hoodlums from how they raised so much ruckus while demanding more booze. However, no one inside the pub dared to stop them. ¡°Eiii, what¡¯s wrong with this booze? Why does it taste so bad¡­?¡± ¡°I knew it, the empire¡¯s liquor is the best.¡± ¡°Eii! You fools, it¡¯s the correct etiquette to drink the local booze when you travel somewhere.¡± These men didn¡¯t even bother to hide their identities. The symbol of the Karuan Empire, the silver dragon, was clearly etched on their clothes. ¡°Why are those empire jerks drinking booze in this ce?¡± ¡°From what I heard, the leaders of their team got an invite to the royal court, but servants and the like didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Even so, why would they be in a cheap pub like this? The annual sry for an empire¡¯s servant must be pretty good, no¡­?¡± ¡°Is it like, it¡¯s not worth it to spend your money in another kingdom?¡± The pub was so shabby that the kingdom¡¯s knights entering it would¡¯ve been very eye-catching. Yet the agents from the empire were here, so the patrons couldn¡¯t help but focus their attention on them. Some people were genuinely curious about what the empire¡¯s agents would be like in real life since they heard so many stories about them. But most of them were here, waiting with bated breaths, hoping for some¡­ ¡®interesting¡¯ topic to pop out of the empire¡¯s envoys after the liquor has done its magic. Alcohol was capable of paralysing a person¡¯s rationale. And to those with non-functioning reasoning, there was no such thing as secrets. And so¡­ what would a group of totally-drunk empire¡¯s citizens say now? And as if to answer their expectations, one of the empire¡¯s agents loudly yelled and cursed. ¡°Those damn Merdeia punks! They dare to sneak attack and murder not some random nobody but our diplomats!¡± The pub fell into eerie silence at that very moment. A huge bombshell had dropped right at the beginning! ¡°Sh*t! Those damn Merdeia lowlives. We¡¯re the ones having a hard time because of them!¡± ¡°To think that they were stupid enough to leave behind all those evidence. Just how stupid can they be?!¡± ¡°Are the Merdeia Kingdom really deserving of the moniker, a military superpower? I mean, aren¡¯t their assassins just too amateurish?¡± The other patrons of the pub could hardly believe their ears. Everyone here was well aware of the reason for the empire¡¯s visit to the Peleros Kingdom. The murder of all the envoys from the empire at the central kingdoms¡­ And the investigation team seemed to be suspecting the Merdeia Kingdom as the culprit. ¡°I guess the imperial court will lodge a strongly wordedint to the Merdeia Kingdom, right? That much evidence is basically m-dunk, after all.¡± ¡°Yeah, most likely. To think that the Merdeia Kingdom wouldmit such a stupid mistake.¡± ¡°The evidence is just too undeniable, though. Compared to what we found, that Merdeia Kingdom token we found coincidentally is nothing at all.¡± Kuh~huh! As the number of empty bottles increased, so did the decibel of the curses directed at the Merdeia Kingdom. On the other hand, the number of patrons in the pub steadily decreased. ¡°I guess this should be enough?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± ¡°In that case, let¡¯s finally enjoy ourselves, yeah?¡± After confirming that all the other patrons had left the pub, the empire¡¯s agents sighed in relief and ordered the real booze. And as they began to get drunk for real¡­ The ¡®information¡¯ regarding this incident was already on its way to every corner of the Peleros Kingdom. Chapter 185.5

Chapter 185.5

< Evade the Hero and Flee! Side Stories ¨C A certain imperial princess¡¯s reminiscence (21) > #30 Their circumstance: A certain plotter¡¯s (?) circumstance Inside a pure-white room¡­ This spotlessly clean room was adorned with various beautiful works of art, and the furniture was just as gorgeous as well. However, an individual sitting on a pure-white couch to match the pure-white room was the sole exception that stained the beauty of this ce. This manpletely ruined this room by simply being there. ¡°I knew it. I¡¯m so meticulous.¡± This huge man was holding a flute of red wine in one hand. He might be huge, but not a single trace of exercise or training could be spied on his rotund figure. If a certain butler working for an Imperial Princess saw this man¡¯s face, he¡¯d no doubt go, ¡°Just one look, and you can tell that this fatso is a high-ranking noble. But he¡¯s also your typical two-bit viin who lusts after the female lead only to getpletely annihted by the protagonist!¡± The fat man¡¯s facial features were still distinct enough. However, his eyes were filled with vivid greed while his lips were twisted in a mocking grin. Now that was a typical face of a man who drooled after someone else¡¯s things while haughtily looking down on everyone else! And his personality was a wonderful match to his face, too. ¡°With this, my great n has taken another step forward.¡± He raised the wine flute sparkling in crimson colour and congratted himself for his meticulousness. ¡°What a perfect n that was, if I say so myself! Kill the envoys of the empire to prolong the war in the central region, then drag the empire into the conflict, too! And then, once the prolonged war depletes the Karuan empire¡¯s resources, the soldiers of the Merdeia Kingdom under mymand shall destroy them!¡± Kuh-euh~!!! The man brought the wine to his lips and savoured its taste. He continued to picture the end result of his so-called perfect n. He imagined the scene of the empire¡¯s gs burning down. He imagined himself nting the Merdeia Kingdom¡¯s g in the empire¡¯s capital. His imaginations sent shudders of pleasure down his spine, causing his figure to tremble noticeably. He¡¯d ascend from the peerage of the duke and be archduke¡­ No, more than that! He pictured himself establishing a new empire with his own two hands. ¡°Once I get my hands on the empire, even the royal family won¡¯t look down on me anymore. When that happens, the princess shall be¡­!¡± In this fat man¡¯s mind, the second princess of the royal family, famed for her beauty, was already his wife. ¡°Once I acquire the princess, I shall also be eligible to enter the session race. Which means it¡¯s more than possible for me to take the throne, too. No, hang on! By then, I should¡¯ve already finished destroying the empire, so doesn¡¯t that mean I will be an emperor instead?¡± Even though none of these things had happened yet, this fat man didn¡¯t doubt for one second that the outlook for his future was bright. Too bad for him, that rosy future¡­ ¡°My lord! Duke Raisha, sir!¡± ¡­got shattered into million pieces by a man urgently rushing inside the room. ¡°My lord, we got found out, sir!¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°The truth of our role in the massacre of the empire¡¯s envoys has been uncovered, my lord!¡± ¡°W-what did you say?!¡± Thud! The man sitting on the white couch, Duke Raisha, quickly tried to get up only to slip and crash straight into the floor. ¡°My lord! Are you unhurt, sir?¡± The red wine spilt on the couch and the Duke¡¯s clothes, dyeing them red. ¡°Don¡¯t mind that and keep talking, man! Just how the hell did we get found out?!¡± ¡°I do not know, sir. But ording to the intel from our agents, the investigation team sent by the empire apparently has uncovered irrefutable proof of our guilt, my lord!¡± ¡°Say what?!¡± ¡°The news has spread everywhere, and almost everyone near the Peleros Kingdom is aware of it, my lord. As a matter of fact, it¡¯s safe to assume that every citizen has heard of it by now!¡± ¡°D-dammit all to hell!¡± Realising that his so-called perfect n was not so perfect anymore, Duke Raisha chewed on his lips before exploding in a fit of curse words. At this rate, his perfect n would definitely go down the drain. No, it¡¯s actually worse than that! The Karuan Empire would definitely demand answers from the Merdeia Kingdom. Even if they were enemy nations, the kingdom didn¡¯t have the justification this time, so it¡¯d have no choice but to punish Duke Raisha severely. ¡°Bloody hell! Just how did they find out?!¡± If the Imperial Princess¡¯s exclusive butler heard that, he¡¯d no doubt retort with, ¡°Why on earth do you think we won¡¯t find out?¡± Unfortunately, Duke Raisha was not in the same room as that exclusive butler. ¡°There¡¯s no way that the assassins I raised made a mistake somewhere!¡± The duke had dispatched all of his assassins, raised and trained by ¡®him¡¯. That was why he firmly believed that this n was perfect. That it could not fail. ¡°¡­Could it be? A spy among our midst?!¡± Yes, there¡¯s an enemy spy among us. Without that exnation, it makes no sense that my perfect n has failed like this! While still believing that his assassins and his n were perfect, Duke Raisha quickly issued new orders. ¡°We have a spy in our midst! Find all suspicious bastards and execute them! And dispatch assassins once more, this time to the Peleros Kingdom, to kill the empire¡¯s troops!¡± ¡°M-my lord?! To kill the empire¡¯s troops? That¡¯s too dangerous!¡± ¡°As long as we can steal the evidence of our involvement, no one can prove that we are to me! Don¡¯t forget, the Karuan Empire is our enemy! As long as there¡¯s no evidence, the royal court will side with us!¡± ¡°U-understood, my lord!¡± Duke Raisha watched his underling hurriedly dash outside the room, then began gritting his teeth. ¡°Damn imperial bastards! I shall not fall for your schemes!¡± He didn¡¯t even realise that he had already fallen for the scheme by biting the bait. This moment eventually led to a certain exclusive butler finding out about Duke Raisha¡¯s existence. And then, that butler and his liege would go on to provide their wholehearted support to the overweight duke. Known as the Honorary Commander-in-Chief of the Karuan Empire, he¡¯d be the result of the project to create this world¡¯s version of RenXa MuXXguchi! [1] The curtains for the birth of the Merdeia Kingdom¡¯sstmander-in-chief were raised on this day. And his name was Commander Relli Gius lu Raisha. #31 Their circumstance: A certain viin¡¯s circumstance I was rendered speechless by a rather shocking scene before my eyes. ¡°Wowsers, this¡­¡± I stared at the copsed and unmoving figures of the ck-d people on the ground. They were dressed like assassins, but I should make sure, just in case. ¡°Hey. These people, they are definitely assassins, right?¡± ¡°Most likely, sir.¡± ¡°You sure? I mean, these people?¡± ¡°Mm, well¡­¡± The wizards who defeated the assassins along with me couldn¡¯t find a suitable answer to my question and mped their mouths shut. ¡°What the hell? Fine, let¡¯s say they sneak-attacked us in broad daylight because no one expects that. However, what¡¯s up with their outfits?!¡± Do you know what themon thing between the PoXer RanXers and all the mobs that appear in their shows is? It¡¯s their costumes. [2] Whether it¡¯s the PoXer RanXer or the mobs, they all show up wearing skin-tight spandex. The only difference between the two camps is the colour scheme: the heroes were colourful, while the mobs were kitted out in featureless ck spandex. Even if hundreds, nay, thousands were battling away, costumes helped you with differentiating the good guys from the bad guys. That¡¯s how important one¡¯s attire was when trying to announce who you were. It was not for nothing that you were supposed to change your clothes when putting on a disguise, you know! But these punks, they¡­ ¡°Aren¡¯t they openly announcing themselves as assassins?!¡± Their outfits loudly dered, ¡°We¡¯re assassins!¡± even at a casual nce. Even if you were looking at them from afar, you could still tell that! ck mask and hood to cover their faces, clothes designed to make it harder to see their physical size but also to conceal and carry weapons¡­ Their attire was a bit bby and unattractive but still afforded the wearer excellent movement. And to finish off their looks, they were dominated in colour ck from the top of their heads all the way down to their feet. Even a blind could tell that they were assassins just from their appearance alone! And people like that jumped out of a forest in the middle of the day. ¡°Could this be some sort of a trick?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a possibility, Sir Ast.¡± ¡°You think so, too?¡± These ck-d folks disyed pretty agile movements, and the way they chucked daggers around all screamed, ¡°I¡¯m an assassin!¡± but, uhm¡­ Should I say that there¡¯s something ever so slightlycking about them? ¡°Hey, I was wondering about something. Are the assassins of our empire on the same level as these guys?¡± I briefly wondered if all the regr (?) assassins employed by governments around the world only amounted to this much. Well, I was a pro at things like this, so my perspective could have been a bit warped. ¡°Eiii, there¡¯s no way, sir. If we¡¯d been fighting against imperial assassins, then even if they attacked in broad daylight like this, several of our team would¡¯ve died for sure.¡± ¡°Oh. So we do have assassins, eh?¡± ¡°Huph?!¡± The wizard replying to me hurriedly covered his mouth, but that ship had sailed already. But it was all good. Assassins were must-have employees for any government out there, but that didn¡¯t mean you should officially acknowledge their existence, after all. Besides all that, though? The empire¡¯s assassins must be pretty good since they are allegedly capable of killing several wizards on the level of the folks apanying me. Which means¡­ I should get out of that ce before theye for my head one of these days. Oh, before I do that, I should at least finish my job first. ¡°Mm¡­ Well, you did capture them alive, right?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. They were all too weak, and some might be on the brink of croaking out, but well, I don¡¯t think any of them has died yet.¡± ¡°Is that so? Well, then. Let¡¯s thoroughly search them, shall we?¡± Once I said that, the sorcerers with disinterested faces began stripping the assassins currently lying on the ground like dead logs. We deliberately came to this deserted mountain road to lure our attackers into the open. Which meant we didn¡¯t have to worry about eyewitnesses, but it didn¡¯t matter even if someone did see us. I mean, that¡¯s how it was with assassins, right? They were orphans brought up as killing weapons, and officially they were already dered dead, to begin with. Since they were supposed to be dead in the official records, they also couldn¡¯t enjoy the protection of human rights. ¡°Sir Ast? I just found a token of Merdeia on the¡­¡± ¡°Sir, I also found one!¡± ¡°On this one, too!¡± ¡°¡­What the hell? This sounds more and more like a trap now?¡± Were assassins supposed to carry around items that proved which organisations they worked for? My organisation forbade that, though. Wait, could it be that Howling was the weird one? ¡°Let me rify something here. Are assassins supposed to carry on their persons items to identify themselves?¡± ¡°Of course not, sir.¡± I could only nod at the wizard¡¯s reply. Both Dame Reia and the Imperial Princess had been treating me like a crazy man for a long time now, which made me question my own sanity. But I bloody knew it. I was the only one withmon sense among us! ¡°Sir Ast? I found this suspicious-looking bottle from this guy.¡± ¡°H-hey, don¡¯t open that! Can¡¯t you tell that¡¯s poison from just looking?! Look at that skull on the bottle! Why were you trying to open that, you dummy!¡± And so, we rummaged through the assassins and got ourselves not just tokens of the Merdeia Kingdom but various goodies like poison, weapons and even gold coins. Heh, if this was inside a game world, users would¡¯ve definitely targetted these assassins to farm juicy items. That¡¯s how much of a fat-cat mob these idiots were. ¡°Kuk¡­ What is the meaning of¡­¡± While we were gleefully dividing the gold coins among ourselves, one of the assassins finally regained consciousness. ¡°Uh? He¡¯s woken up. Beat him up!¡± ¡°Y-you bastards?! How dare you do this to us?! Do you even know who we are!¡± Never mind speechless, I forgot how to speak for a moment there when that assassin brazenly yelled at us. ¡°Dunno. Besides, is it okay for an assassin to go around dering who they are?¡± ¡°Kuwaahk?!¡± Since they were supposed to be assassins ¨C they did attack us, after all ¨C we had tied up their wrists and ankles. Which meant that they couldn¡¯t even stand up, and it also meant that even a weak butler like me could easily trample on them. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right, there was that thing, no? Hey, let me ask you something. You know what this is?¡± ¡°T-that, that is¡­?!¡± I took out the small bottle with a skull drawn on the side. ¡°Well, a certain dummy tried to open it earlier, so I did my utmost to stop him. And judging from your reaction, I did the correct thing, then.¡± I smirked deeply as the assassin¡¯splexion paled instantly. I continued to grill him. ¡°Okay, so. What is this thing?¡± ¡°I, I don¡¯t¡­ D-don¡¯te closer!¡± I only pretended to pull out the bottle¡¯s cork a bit, but the assassin still freaked out and tried to crawl away from there. ¡°Hey, guys. This punk can still move. Step on him!¡± ¡°Ku-waaahk!¡± Wizards¡¯ physical specs were inferior whenpared to knights, butpared to your regr magicians and sorcerers? It¡¯d not be a stretch to say ¡®on the level of a swordmaster¡¯ in that case. I sneaked closer to the assassin with the skull bottle as he was subjected to a group beating performed by a group of well-trained and healthy men. ¡°N-no, you mustn¡¯t¡­!¡± ¡°Alrighty, then. If you don¡¯t talk, I¡¯m going to drop little bits of this thing on you.¡± I threatened the assassin by turning the cork ever so slightly in front of him. As expected of a dangerous poison, his reaction was as visceral as you could imagine. ¡°Y-you crazy bastard! That, that thing is Grim Reaper¡¯s Breath! Just one whiff of that poison can kill you instantly! That¡¯s how powerful of a poison that is, yet you¡­ Kuwaaaaahk!¡± ¡°What the f*ck?!¡± These insane sons of b*tches?! Just what the hell were they thinking, putting something that dangerous inside a ss bottle?! ¡°Kuwaaahk?! I¡¯m dying! I¡¯m dying!¡± ¡°N-no, that¡¯s magic ss! The poison won¡¯t leak out that easily!¡± ¡°Hey, you dummy! Say that sooner, will ya!¡± ¡°But you tried to open the lid even before I could say anything!¡± I observed the assassin¡¯s state for around five minutes to confirm that he didn¡¯t die, then retrieved the bottle. As a bonus, I also didn¡¯t forget to tightly push the cork in even deeper into the bottle. ¡°You¡¯ve been asking if we know who you are for a while now, right? Looks like you¡¯re itching to tell us, so why don¡¯t I grant you a special opportunity to talk?¡± ¡°You think I¡¯ll talk?!¡± ¡°Hey, you were the one who asked us first. Since we don¡¯t know who you are, be kind and tell us already.¡± I picked up several articlesid out on the ground and ced them in front of the assassin. ¡°Hey, this is a dangerous object, while this one isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Oh, oh! So, there was a method like that, sir.¡± And so, we began bringing all the dangerous articles to surround the assassin¡¯s vicinity. ¡°W-what are you scheming, you bastard?!¡± ¡°You can talk once you feel like it. Having said that, I won¡¯t stop you if you wish to uphold your principles and integrity.¡± After finishing the job of surrounding the assassin with beautifully dangerous objects at a fixed distance, I asked the wizards to drag away the still-unconscious assassins to somece far away. Then, after joining them, I¡­ ¡°Well, then. Shall we have some fun, starting now?¡± ¡°Sir Ast? What fun are you talking about?¡± ¡°Guys, pick up a suitably sized rock and¡­ chuck it over there. But don¡¯t hit the dude, got it?¡± To set an example, I picked up a rock and threw it. The rock urately hit the ss bottle, issuing a clear nging noise. ¡°Like that.¡± Tiiing! ¡°Y-you insane bastardddd!¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. It might be a good idea to cast defence magic around us first, just in case. Well, then. Cast the magic and start throwing rocks, everyone.¡± Ssh, ssh? Oops, I mean, ting, ting, ting, ting~! If I mimicked the noise anymore, I¡¯d probably start ying the frying pan game or something. And that tempting noise continued to ring out in the crisp mountain air. ¡°Y-you insane bastards!¡± Initially, the wizards were not that good with throwing rocks but now? They seemed to have taken a liking to it since they became rather diligent with searching for rocks to throw in our near vicinity. Naturally, the assassin¡¯splexion paled with fright while watching this happen. ¡°As expected of magic ss. Pretty tough, ain¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Sir Ast, we ran out of usable rocks in our surroundings. What should we do now, sir?¡± ¡°Start using your magic, then.¡± ¡°Eh? Will that be fine?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°Y-you¡¯re all insane!!!¡± The assassin screamed desperately as he watched the materialised magic spells float up in the air. ¡°Well, start firing, then.¡± ¡°N-no, wait! I¡¯ll talk! I¡¯ll talk, so please stop!¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. We have other people besides you, so you don¡¯t have to trouble yourself like that, Mister I¡¯m-full-of-principles-and-integrity. I shall¡­ ah, right. Sorry, since I don¡¯t know your name, I don¡¯t think we can make a headstone for you.¡± ¡°N-no! Please! Stop!¡± And so, thanks to magic spells flying towards him, the assassin confessed to not just his identity but also to everything he knew. I knew it. What a bunch of easy marks. [1]: That¡¯ll be Renya Mutaguchi, a Japanese general during WW2. He was in charge of the Battle of Imphal where the Japanese army lost 55,000 soldiers out of 85,000 under hismand. That was the worst defeat suffered by the Japanese at the time. [2]: I don¡¯t have to tell you what they are, right? *starts singing Go Go Power Rangers~* Chapter 185.6

Chapter 185.6

< Evade the Hero and Flee! Side Stories ¨C A certain imperial princess¡¯s reminiscence (22) > #32 Their circumstance: A certain viin¡¯s (?) circumstance ¡°It¡¯s finished, sir.¡± Rummaging through a small houseted us a ton of document piles. Countless many among those documents featured the seal belonging to a duke household of the Merdeia Kingdom. ¡°With these, it¡¯s beyond the shadow of a doubt, sir.¡± ¡°Yup, it seems that way.¡± I watched the soldiers carry away thest batch of evidence and sighed grandly. ¡°Wowsers. This is a bit too much¡­¡± I might have tagged along to supervise, but in all honesty, I had no idea there would be so much evidence in this ce. No, before all that ¨C I had no idea those guys wouldn¡¯t know the concept of integrity or principles to this degree! We only joked around a few times, but not a single one of the would-be assassins held out. Some did shout at us, saying that we should just kill them. A couple of them even said that they would rather kill themselves instead, and that¡¯s why we¡¯d never get to find out the truth. We simply replied with, ¡°We¡¯ve already pulled out your mrs containing hidden poison,¡± which led them to give us the silent treatment. Although, that didn¡¯tst long, either! ¡°And I¡¯ve prepared so many things in advance, too¡­¡± I learned various torture techniques from the evil organisation, but they were all just theories. A novel I read in the past depicted scenes of trainees torturing each other or kidnapping innocents to use as examples, but things were somewhat different in real life back in the organisation. Trainees tortured each other during ss, but that led to a build-up of resentment, which resulted in team kills during assignments. Andmotions repeatedly broke out during the torture technique sses, too. One of the ¡®unique¡¯ aspects of an organisation lurking in the shadows was a chronk of manpower, so losing agents in this manner was just uneptable. The organisation believed that agents dying during assignments was already enough, and there was no need to lose more in other ways. Of course, some agents got arrested or even kidnapped due to their ties to the organisation. In any case, ck magic was at the top of the ¡®human biological experiment¡¯ to-do list, so most trainees never got their chance back then. ¡°Bastards! Punks without any loyalty whatsoever! You embarrass every assassin in existence!¡± I would love to acquire some experience in actually torturing someone to learn just how much a person could withstand pain, and how far I can push before the subject dies. And as an added bonus, I¡¯d have a perfect story to spook my pupils when I start teaching them again in the future! To think that these idiots confessed to everything so easily from just a little bit of joking around! I hadn¡¯t even started on the ¡®serious¡¯ torturing yet, too. I felt so bitter and dismayed by it. This was why my organisation often made us sing ¡°Loyalty, loyalty!¡± every day. ¡°I knew it. The most important thing in any organisation is loyalty!¡± Once I get back to the organisation to take up on the mantle of an instructor again¡­ I swear to prioritise instilling loyalty in my disciples. Loyalty to me, of course! While I was thinking that to myself¡­ ¡°Truly amazing, Sir Ast! This is already beyond the realm of fabrication. To think that you¡¯d achieve such a stunning result!¡± The one tond the truly unexpected blow on the back of my head was¡­ ¡°Count Maures¡­ Do you mind repeating that again, sir?¡± Even if it was done with the justification of ¡®investigation¡¯, soldiers from another nation searching through a residence of your private citizen would never present a good look. That¡¯s why the empire¡¯s investigation team agreed to cooperate with the Peleros¡¯s military in the investigation. For the purpose of arbitration and mediation, Count Maures and several folks from Peleros¡¯s foreign affairs were apanying the investigation team. I told him that it might get dangerous but still allowed him toe after learning about how he graduated from the greatest academy in the empire, Arusia. Oh, and he also said hisbat ability rivalled that of a well-trained knight, so¡­ Since he was an Arusia graduate, I figured that he¡¯d be more helpful than me in an emergency situation. Of course, I wasn¡¯t too chuffed about him getting all chummy with me out of the blue like this. I wanted to ignore him since my goal was to get fired from the imperial court by messing up this investigation, and I¡¯d never get to see him again, anyway! But to think that he made me realise something important like this! ¡°I said, you¡¯ve achieved something truly amazing, Sir Ast! We aren¡¯t talking about another kingdom, but Merdeia. You seeded in uncovering a dastardly scheme by that kingdom, a thorn in our side!¡± While dazedly staring at Count Maures busy yapping away, I quietly muttered the word responsible for smacking me in the back of my head. ¡°Achieve¡­ ment, you say?¡± Achievement. It means I did something and got a result from doing so. Most of the time, that word was used positively, often employed when you seeded in something you desired or aplished amendable feat. That¡¯s right, I achieved something. Something truly spectacr! Delivering the remains back to the empire alone would¡¯ve been seen as a sessful mission, but I even managed to catch the culprits responsible for the assassinations, too. It got better, though. I also interrogated the culprits and made them confess, then recovered all the necessary evidence, too! Evidence showing that the empire¡¯s long-time enemy, the Merdeia Kingdom, was behind this scheme! ¡°It seems that, once we return, I should stop calling you Baron Ast, but a Viscount, instead!¡± Hahaha! Count Mauresughed heartily while pping me on the back. Judging from hisughter, it seemed that he failed to understand my current emotions. Bloody hell, I screwed up so bad this time! In that case, the only remaining way is to¡­! ¡°Stop that carriage! Raid it, right now!¡± ¡°S-Sir Ast? But that carriage belongs to an allied kingdom nearby¡­¡± ¡°No, that carriage is too suspicious!¡± ¡­To start an irreparable incident, no matter the cost! #33 Their circumstance: A certain noble¡¯s circumstance ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Neeeiiighh! The horses neighed energetically, signalling our departure from the Peleros Kingdom. We have achieved our purpose. No, we have achieved something even more. ¡°As expected of Her Highness the First Imperial Princess¡¯s subordinate!¡± Everything got taken care of in the cleanest, simplest way imaginable. That man looked beyond the mission assigned to him and dealt with the root of the problem. He uncovered evidence then deliberately leaked that information out to turn himself into the bait. A school of naughty fish approached him without realising that and got caught quite easily. And now, they were about to get handed over to the waiting customer (the imperial court) all nicely cooked and everything! Everything was dealt with so meticulously. It was reminiscent of an expert chef cooking a dish he was intimately familiar with. The process of Sir Ast ughtering the fish, trimming the vegetables andpleting his dish was admirably sleek. It was hard to believe that the formermoner who had spent only five years in the imperial court possessed such abilities. I even had to seriously wonder if he was a spy from some other organisation! However, that seemed unlikely. The empire wouldn¡¯t be disadvantaged in any way by this incident going public. Indeed, it¡¯d be the Merdeia Kingdom feeling the brunt instead! ¡°As expected, Her Highness¡¯s discernment is something else¡­¡± After getting her hands on Dame Reia, Her Highness the First Imperial Princess also managed to snatch away yet another stunning talent. No, hang on. Dame Reia was already a celebrity before she rose to the level of a swordmaster. But from what I heard, Sir Ast was merely hired as a low-rung employee to deal with the imperial court¡¯s misceneous tasks. And Her Highness took him under her wings as her exclusive butler on the same day, apparently. She abruptly promoted a fresh-faced newbie, amoner with an unclear background no less, and managed to bring home such an incredible achievement! ¡°It seems that time hase for me, too¡­¡± Her Highness the First Imperial Princess has already reached two digits in her age. Starting from the First Imperial Prince, who was slightly older than her¡­ the time for the countless princes and princesses to fight for the right to seed the throne was rapidly approaching. The single greatest position in the entire empire¡­! This battle would greatly influence not just the imperial family and the nobles taking an active part in the imperial court, but even those nobles living in territories far away from the capital, too. If I had been one of those nobles in the sticks who was too busy with his own territory to mind the politics of the imperial court, then I wouldn¡¯t have a need to worry about the session battle. However, I belonged to the imperial court, meaning I¡¯d have to choose which imperial to throw my lot with sooner rather thanter. ¡°For now, it won¡¯t hurt me to get as friendly with Sir Ast.¡± It was always wise to increase your allies. No, more than that ¨C even if not as an ally, I¡¯d still have scored big as long as he didn¡¯t end up as an enemy. Here was the truth that any diplomat worth their salt knew in their hearts: it¡¯s not ¡®having more allies¡¯ but ¡®having fewer enemies¡¯ that made your life much morefortable. ¡°It¡¯s foolish to get into a conflict with a man like that. He may only be a Baron right now, but as soon as we reach the empire, he¡¯ll surely be a Viscount. And who knows, maybe the peerage of Count one of these days, too. Same peerage as me¡­¡± Getting a noble title wasn¡¯t as difficult as you might imagine. But trying to maintain that noble title was difficult, indeed. And trying to get a promotion was even tougher. The empire¡¯s imperial court was unforgiving. The number of people being granted new peerage every year was not inconsiderable but just as many nobles lost their peerages. Those with abilities were granted a peerage, while those without lost theirs. A genius might get themselves a peerage, but if their offspring weren¡¯t as good as them, then the family might not get to maintain their status. This was one of the reasons why nobles with peerage higher than ¡®Count¡¯ that also boasted history and tradition were called upper-ss nobles. Only those families that continued to attain great fame and acim generation after generation, and those that continuously produced geniuses to enhance the prestige of their families, could be Marquises and Dukes. ¡°I¡¯m truly looking forward to finding out just how much further he¡¯ll climb.¡± In the extensive history of the empire, the highest peerage a noble climbed up in his lifetime was ¡®Count¡¯. I haven¡¯t been with him for long, but with the abilities and contributions he has made so far, I began believing that Sir Ast would easily climb up to the peerage of Count. As long as his luck held up, of course. ¡°As such, I should keep observing his march, and then¡­ Mm?¡± Just as I was about to immerse myself in a bout of contemtion, my carriage came to an abrupt halt. I asked the carriage driver. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°My lord. It seems that some kind of an issue has cropped up in the other carriage.¡± ¡°Other carriage? The one carrying the criminals?¡± ¡°No, my lord. It seems to being from Sir Ast¡¯s carriage¡­¡± After hearing that, I decided to open the carriage¡¯s door just a little and take a gander. Indeed, I could hear quite a bit ofmotion outside. I paid closer attention and picked out Sir Ast¡¯s voice among the noises. ¡°What on earth is going on here?¡± Once Sir Ast stopped talking, a group of soldiers, including wizards and knights, began moving out. Their destination seemed to be several carriages on standby in a corner over yonder. It seemed that that group of travellers saw our gs of the Karuan Empire and decided to yield the road to us by moving out of the way. ¡°Is he thinking of chastising them for not moving out of the way quickly enough?¡± Even if the empire¡¯s roadwork was exemry, the roads outside the capital orrge cities were inevitabl y narrow. As such, it wasmon to see a battle of wills breaking out when nobles with simr peerage and strength ran into each other on a narrow road where only one carriage could pass through. ¡°Does that mean he¡¯s still too immature?¡± Acting this way within the territory of another kingdom did not present a good look. Especially so when those unknown carriages were flying the gs belonging to an allied nation to the empire. Even if said nation was tiny, it didn¡¯t change the fact that it was still an ally. Judging from the carriages themselves, they seemed to be a group of merchants. As long as they flew the allied nation¡¯s gs, they should be considered our allies, too. As such, it was not a good idea to pointlessly provoke them. ¡°Gentlemen, what are you all doing?¡± I quickly descended from my carriage and asked the wizards by the rear of the group. The reply they gave me was somewhat different from my expectation, however. ¡°My lord. Well, Sir Ast said that those carriages are not what they seem, and we need to investigate the reasons for their subterfuge, so¡­¡± ¡°Say what now?¡± Just what about them roused his suspicions, I wonder? To my eyes, they seem like your regr merchant carriages, and nothing seems out of ce, so why? My puzzlement was resolved rather quickly, however. ¡°ves! They are ve merchants!¡± ¡°Bloody hell! Attack!¡± One of the soldiers talking to the merchants began yelling at the top of his lungs after confirming the contents of the carriage. Theplexions of the merchants rapidly changed as soon as they were outed as ve dealers. After yanking out weapons from somewhere, they began charging straight at us. ¡°Dang it?!¡± Wizards got caught off-guard since they weren¡¯t expecting Sir Ast to be right this time as well. While panicking somewhat, they began chanting magic spells to assist their fellow soldiers. ¡°Sir Ast, you¡­ truly are¡­!¡± Even as he rode on a carriage, he instantly saw through other normal-looking passersby and determined them to be ve merchants! Just where was the limit of his abilities! ¡°I knew it. I should line myself up with Her Highness the First Imperial Princess.¡± You could tell the liege¡¯s abilities by looking at their subordinates. Since Her Highness was capable enough to keep someone like Sir Ast as her loyal servant, she must be the right candidate for me to serve as my liege, too! And in a not-too-distant future¡­ This decision proved to be the best one I¡¯ve made in my life. #34 Their circumstance: Someone¡¯s circumstance This is a story from when I was still young. While reading about legends, fairy tales and other books of such nature, I began dreaming about a certain topic. -I wanna meet my own prince charming! Yes, that was my dream. While awake, I read the books and imagined myself encountering my prince. While asleep, I dreamed of bing a princess and meeting my handsome prince. Some princes were kind and gentle, but some were what you¡¯d call bad boys. Onemon theme among these varied princes was fate; fate led them to me, and as fate dictated, they all fell in love with me. Unfortunately, they were nothing more than just dreams. Dreams that would nevere true. From the day of my birth, I was forbidden from going outside. Even those who coulde inside where I stayed were limited, too. However, I never gave up. A prince will surelye for me one day. That is my fate. As long as fate exists in this world, my prince and I will be united one day! But then, on a certain day¡­ -If you don¡¯t act and meekly wait, fate will never choose you. Someone¡¯s voice rang inside my head. For some strange reason, that voice continued to swim around in my head. Even before realising it, I had slipped out of the ce I was supposed to guard. And that¡¯s how I got captured by viins calling themselves ve merchants. They didn¡¯t seem like your average ve merchants, either. They instantly realised that I was not a normal Elf and eventually found out my real identity. Honestly speaking, I was so scared that my body trembled all on its own. However, there was another reason that made me shiver, too. This was a desperately dangerous situation. A situation where I couldn¡¯t tell what might happen to me if these humans managed to drag me away somewhere! And in such a situation¡­! ¡°Mm? An Elf?¡± It was destiny for my fated prince to appear before me, you see! Chapter 186

Chapter 186

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 186 #22. Well, this is merely the beginning (1) > I dazedly stared at the road ahead while listening to the horses¡¯ hooves ttering on the ground below. The border region was still in the grips of the wintry weather ¨C simr to the human continent in that regard ¨C but the deeper we went in, the warmer it got. Well, it¡¯s true that some time had passed, and Spring was steadily creeping upon us, so that might have yed a part in that. ¡°Hey, is this the right ce?¡± ¡°Yes, it is.¡± Belegrea poked her head out from the front part of the carriage and replied to my question. Since the weather had be warmertely, the window panels set up to block out the biting winds had been reverted back to how they used to be. Doing so had the additional benefit of not needing to raise my voice when trying to hold a conversation. Well, Belegrea did try to escape through the open window this one time. But she got caught three secondster and experienced three straight days of pure pain. After that¡­ no one among our group decided it was worth trying their luck escaping from me. ¡°Which way should we take, then?¡± ¡°Sticking to the road we¡¯re on will take us to our destination, sir. The roadwork itself¡­ no, the whole city itself was constructed with the temple of our Lord Demon God in mind. As such, everything is organised the same in the demon continent.¡± ¡°As expected of the top deity of the demon race.¡± Besides the Creator God that created everything in the world, including the God of Beginning, the Demon God should be the most worshipped deity on thend. Oops, I should also exclude the Goddess of Love and Devotion reputedly responsible for sealing away an evil god. People in the human continent usually believed in different deities. ording to Belegrea¡¯s exnation, though, things were a bit different with the demons. They believed in various gods like humans but also worshipped the Demon God separately. You could say that different religious orders in the human continent were on an equal footing, but in the demon continent, the rtionship was more like in a pyramid shape. That was why a fixed amount from the donations various religious orders received would be sent over to the Demon God¡¯s temple, ording to her exnation. Of course, the Demon God¡¯s temple received separate donations on top, too! I muttered quietly. ¡°Now that¡¯s a wonderful system, alright.¡± ¡°Do you think so, sir?¡± This little girl, seriously now? You¡¯re aiming to be the next demon king, yet you can¡¯t even recognise such a wonderful system?! ¡°Indeed. It¡¯s probably the best system out there if you wish to embezzle a ton of money. As long as the god isn¡¯t watching, of course.¡± ¡°T-the Demon God¡¯s temple is a sacred location dedicated solely for the Demon God¡¯s glory, sir! Who would dare to embezzle in that case?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I added that ¡®as long as the god isn¡¯t watching¡¯ use, you know.¡± ¡°Even if Lord Demon God isn¡¯t watching over us constantly, no demon out there willmit such a dastardly act, sir!¡± No demon, eh? My foot. A huge religious organisation boasted wealth that easily rivalled global corporations. While the devotees were voluntarily cooking inexpensive soups to distribute among the poor and downtrodden, the so-called pastors drove around in imported luxury cars and gorged themselves on expensive steaks. Such examples were amon urrence. Of course, there were quite a few small, newly established churches willing to borrow heavily to spread their gospel. Even so, the thing was¡­ ¡°It¡¯s inevitable that a corrupted person will appear once the organisation grows in scale.¡± There was no power ¨C authority ¨C in a small-scale operation. An operation with no fame and no recognition¡­ Such an organisation wouldn¡¯t have much authority to speak of unless it was a shadowy organisation wishing to stay anonymous. Since there was no authority, there was no reason for corruption to bloom. Belegrea asked back. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Acquiring the authority of a minor organisation won¡¯t do you much good. Sure, you¡¯ll find one or two folks trying to act like tyrants in ces like that, but idiots like them are small fries. Not big enough dreamers, if you will.¡± Obviously, you couldn¡¯t just assume that no one would be corrupt. Didn¡¯t the Great Sage JiXXbo say this before? If five people gather, one of them is bound to be trash! [1] In other words, one among the group of five could potentially turn out to be a traitor! ¡°It¡¯s easy to deal with small-time idiots like that. However, the story will be different with big fish.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that, sir?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find big fish in big ponds. You can still find idiots drooling after their own benefits in small ponds where there¡¯s not much to go around, so it¡¯s inevitable that the corrupted will pop up in an ocean full of juicy benefits.¡± ¡°Does that mean¡­ bing the top of the food chain in such an abundant ocean makes you incredibly powerful?¡± ¡°I guess you do understand a bit, then? That¡¯s right. A punk who fought and wed his way to the top now finds himself with abundant prey, so it¡¯ll be difficult to deal with someone like that.¡± ¡°I think I understand now. But what does that have to do with the system of the Demon God¡¯s temple, sir?¡± ¡°Oh, it has a lot to do with it. You said that a fixed amount of donations from every temple in the demon continent is paid as tribute to the Demon God¡¯s temple, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even have to lift a finger, yet money just keeps rolling in. And since it¡¯s the temple serving the Demon God, the top deity around here, people also donate generously to it. So, then. You just sit there doing nothing, but money keeps rolling in and in¡­¡± ¡°But¡­ is that a problem?¡± ¡°I mean, think about it. You don¡¯t do anything, yet your position means your wealth keeps piling up. Isn¡¯t that super wonderful?¡± Right, that was almost on the level of a dream job. Be the head priest of the temple, and money automatically piles up in your bank ount! Wealth, power, and even prestige ¨C here was a position that helped you get all three! I knew it! For pirates, it¡¯s the Pirate King. And for the temples in the demon world, it has to be the Demon God¡¯s temple! ¡°But sir, what¡¯s the issue with wealth ¡®rolling in¡¯ without doing anything?¡± ¡°Since the god is watching, you can¡¯t carelessly spend it willy-nilly. No, hang on a minute. It doesn¡¯t really matter even if the god is watching. As long as the god watching you from above isn¡¯t nning to punish you, you¡¯ll use that wealth and political power to fulfil your ambitions.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way a devoted follower of Demon God would do such a thing!¡± The way Belegrea yelled that out while trembling in indignation managed to capture my heart. Good. Very good! -Aha, so we finally have ourselves a new mommy for my little sis? -Shut up. That¡¯s not what I meant. Belegrea¡¯s figure began trembling even more noticeably now. A second ago, it was anger motivating her, but now? It¡¯s fear. ¡°Heeeeiiiik¡­!¡± That¡¯s because of a certain face that peeked out a small window in the front of the carriage, which also happened to be the same opening Belegrea was using. And that face belonged to the metal bat. ¡°Hey, you. Go back inside. You might kill her at this rate.¡± ¡°Huuuiiing¡­!¡± The metal bat let out a bizarre snort and went back inside. I could hear herints in my head, but if I let her be, Belegrea might really die. So, I roundly ignored all those voices. Hmm¡­ Even if the metal bat couldn¡¯t physically harm anyone, maybe three days of sustained beatdown wasn¡¯t such a good idea for one¡¯s mental health. ¡°You alright there?¡± ¡°N-no¡­ A-ah, t-that¡¯s not what I¡­ Y-yes, I¡¯m perfectly fine, sir!¡± Yup, she¡¯s not fine at all. ¡°Oh, well. We¡¯ll brush that aside for now. You should go back inside and get some rest.¡± ¡°Y-yes¡­¡± Belegrea¡¯s face slowly retreated back inside. There were still a few other things I wanted to ask her, but much of my curiosity had been sated by our little chat, so I should let her be for now. ¡°To the demon race, the position of the Demon God is almost absolute, is that it?¡± I could understand where they wereing from. Consider the tale of Zeus from the Greek pantheon. We all know him as the father of Greek gods and a perverted old geezer because he only appeared in tales from the ancient world. But, if he really existed and went around chucking thunderbolts out of anger while a beauty was stuck to his arms, then well, he¡¯d be seen as the object of terror and worship. Gods existed in this world. And they exercised their authorities. Lying to such gods was a veeeery foolish thing, but¡­! ¡°Apparently, I¡¯m excluded from that, right?¡± I suffered various inconveniences after the Order of Nature and its hero got involved in my life. However, I got to learn a few crucial things from that experience. For one, gods could not touch me. Not just no-touch, but they couldn¡¯t even spy on me, too. ¡°If I abandon the hero somewhere appropriate, then it¡¯d be perfect. But he still has his uses, doesn¡¯t he?¡± Indeed. The hero was a powerfulbatant capable of killing an elder dragon all by himself. ording to Belegrea, the dude throwing a massive tantrum to be the new demon king was named Aggreahrt, and he was the strongest fighter in the entire demon world. That evaluation came from Belegrea, who was no immature little daughter of the previous demon king. Having seen her get beaten up by the metal bat, I could definitely tell that she was actually a swordmaster. The vivid sword light she produced this one time when she freaked out still sent shivers down my spine whenever I remembered it. Yet someone like her lost overwhelmingly against Aggreahrt. When the timees to fight him, our hero will be a very useful card up our sleeve. Well, the best-case scenario for me would be Aggreahrt and the hero killing each other during the battle, so¡­ Ah, wait. Since that fool¡¯s my disciple and all, I¡¯d rather not see the hero perish that way. ¡°Keuh~euh¡­ What a sincere and kind teacher I am.¡± If he¡¯sid out in the hospital for the rest of his life, then I swear to find and send the most suitable people to look after you, oh sir hero. Besides, Belegrea seemed to be of an upstanding disposition, so she wouldn¡¯t treat the hero poorly when he¡¯s partly responsible for making her the next demon king. If you¡¯re a hero, then it¡¯s a harem all the way! And the harembination of heroes and demon race girls was one of the oldest traditional couplings in existence, so even our hero should be satisfied! ¡°And for that bright future, I should hurry up and finish setting up the safety mechanism.¡± Belegrea was trustworthy. Starting from the evil organisation, the imperial court, and the academy¡­ I lived most of my life in environments where I had to keep my wits about me at all times. That¡¯s why I was confident about my people discerning skills not losing out to the best of the best. However, no one could predict the future. Didn¡¯t my ancestors say something about a trusted axe falling on your foot instead? Just because she¡¯s trustworthy, that didn¡¯t mean I should let my guard down! That¡¯s why I mustplete a perfect safety measure that even Belegrea couldn¡¯t do anything about! ¡°I wee you to the Demon God¡¯s temple, our fellow devotees.¡± And I¡¯ll be doing that right here, in the Demon God¡¯s temple! #1 Their circumstance: A certain archbishop¡¯s circumstance The number of gods overseeing this world was quite a lot. Even so, there could be only one greatest deity among them all, excluding the Creator God, of course. And that was the Demon God! One of the creators, so noble that we mere mortals dare not mention their names, created the Demon God first while giving birth to this world! Or so I¡¯ve been told! The ones living on the human side of the continent argued that their god was created first, but I knew the truth. I knew that the Demon God was the first to see the world. ¡°And I must spread this truth even further afield, yet¡­¡± The demon race already believed in this truth, but the foolish people in the human continent refused to see the light. ¡°What a bunch of idiots.¡± This was why I, the holder of the highest office of the Demon God Order, decided to back Aggreahrt on a personal level. Well, once the demon race conquers the human continent, then we¡¯d get to spread the true gospel of the Demon God to the uneducated fools in that part of the world. ¡°However, our great and noble Demon God also loves creatures like them¡­¡± The benevolence of the Demon God, who loved those that didn¡¯t even believe in him! To protect the Demon God¡¯s vast ocean-like will, I was also doing my best to protect the sacred temple of our god. ¡°Lord Archbishop, sir! Lady Belegrea has reached our Demon God¡¯s temple!¡± ¡°I see. In the end, she has chosen toe here, then?¡± While I was praying to the Demon God for the peace and prosperity of the demon race, one of the bishops rushed into my office to inform me of Belegrea¡¯s arrival. ¡°Are the preparationsplete?¡± ¡°Yes, your grace.¡± ¡°Then, proceed as nned.¡± ¡°Understood!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but tut in dissatisfaction while watching the bishop rush outside the office. All demon race stepping foot in our temple were servants of the Demon God regardless of their status. Yet, to think that he was losing his mind over the daughter of the previous demon king! ¡°Tch! To think that someone socking in faith is a bishop! Oh, my dear Demon God, I pray that you send us the next demon king to guide us, your foolish servants.¡± At the current point in time, Aggreahrt¡¯s faction was gaining influence within the demon race. In the beginning, there had been a lot of dissenting voices within his camp. However, Aggreahrt wasn¡¯t so slow-witted that he¡¯d miss the opening presented by the moderates swaying precariously after they lost their focal point called Belegrea. ¡°All of it is meaningless tomfoolery, though.¡± Grabbing power like that woulde to a crashing halt once the Demon God chooses the next demon king. To think that some people would go so far to obtain a throne that¡¯s simr to bubbles waiting to be popped¡­ ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped?¡± That was the allure of political power, or so I thought. Besides, the Demon King directly choosing the next demon king was an incredibly rare urrence, anyway. ¡°Lord Archbishop.¡± ¡°Are the preparationsplete already?¡± ¡°Yes, your grace.¡± ¡°I see. Regardless of what, she¡¯s the daughter of the previous demon king responsible for peacefully ruling over the demon race. Being there to witness her final moments should be my duty, as well.¡± I was well aware of Belegrea¡¯s circumstances. She probably came here after failing to escape Aggreahrt¡¯s closing in. With thest ray of hope clutched to her heart, no less. Even though a part of her brain was saying that going through with this ceremony might kill her, she chose to struggle until the end for all those people still believing in her! ¡°Oh, our merciful Demon God, I pray that the girl will safely return to your embrace.¡± I offered my final prayer for her then stood up from the chair. It was not possible for me to pray for her survival today. The Demon God¡¯s Blessing was something bestowed only by the god himself. A mere servant like me could not butt in the Demon God¡¯s decision-making process, after all! ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Yes, your grace.¡± This bishoping to guide me was more devoted to the faith than the other bishop from earlier. He didn¡¯t say a word and resolutely upheld the weighty atmosphere. I followed him and reached the biggest, most sacred location in the Demon God¡¯s temple. ¡°Oh, dear Demon God. Your faithful servant is about to carry out your sacred will.¡± Before entering through the door, I offered onest prayer to the Demon God. I was aware that the ceremony about to take ce would fail for sure. Even so, we were about to undergo a sacred ceremony meant to confirm the Demon God¡¯s will, so I must devote myself fully to the process. ¡°¡­Mm?¡± However, when I opened the door and stepped inside, I was not greeted by the figure of Belegrea but some random male human-like demon instead. ¡°And who are you supposed to be, fe?¡± ¡°The one to receive the Demon God¡¯s will, of course!¡± ¡°Not Belegrea, but you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but frown ever so slightly just then. She dares to use such a cheap trick?! The daughter of the previous demon king was someone even I have acknowledged, but to think that she¡¯d send a substitute in fear of her own life! ¡°Fe, you might die here.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the will of the Demon God, then so be it.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I spotted theposed expression on the human-like demon and couldn¡¯t say anything else. ording to the rules set by the Demon God, this ceremony to receive the Demon God¡¯s Blessing could be undertaken by anyone. ¡°¡­We shall nowmence with the ceremony!¡± All the bishops in the temple, including me, the archbishop, began surrounding the random demon man. ¡°Oh, our Lord Demon God, bestow upon us your will!¡± ¡°Our Lord Demon God, bestow upon us your will!¡± I started off the chant, prompting the other bishops to call out to the Demon God in one mind and in one voice. And our ardent prayer was heard by our lord, Demon God. The sacred darkness signifying the Demon God had directly impaled the human-like demon right before us! ¡°Ah, aaaah¡­¡± And so, yet another demon race¡¯s child has returned to the embrace of the Demon God¡­ huh?! ¡°Is it over?¡± ¡°HUH?!¡± However, the human-like demon before us began looking around nonplussed as if nothing had happened to him. ¡°C-could it be?!¡± ¡°Yup, it is.¡± And that human-like demon, no, the one who inherited the Demon God¡¯s noble will, grinned widely and dered loudly for all to hear. ¡°From this moment on, I¡¯m the new demon king.¡± And so, this was the sixth time a demon king was chosen through the Demon God¡¯s Blessing. [1]: I¡¯m not sure what this is supposed to reference. A quick google search got me Jirobo, an antagonist from Naruto. Chapter 187

Chapter 187

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 187 #22. Well, this is merely the beginning (2) > #2 Their circumstance: the Demon God¡¯s circumstance In the beginning, two Creator Gods created the world and gave birth to two new gods. The two Creator Gods then showed the newly-born gods two continents and asked them. -Choose the side you find to your liking. And then establish a suitable bnce for this world. Two newly-born gods might have been born on the same time, same day, but boasted two opposing personalities. As such, they unhesitantly selected different continents from each other. -These will be the lifeforms you shall now look after. The Creator Gods began releasing various lifeforms they had formted throughout thend. Once everything wasplete, the two gods dered thus: -We have now aplished everything we set out to do. The rest is now up to you. At the end of that deration, the two Creator Gods allowed the newly-born gods to decide their own beliefs, distributed ¡®underling¡¯ deities to serve the two, then left the world. The two newly-born gods, named the Good God and the Demon God, took the first word in their names and renamed the continents they were in charge of as the Good Continent and the Demon Continent. And so¡­ time passed. The Good Continent eventually became the human continent, and soon afterwards, a concept the two Creator Gods had never considered appeared ¨C the concept of evil. And then¡­ That concept, evil, gained divinity and began threatening the world. That forced the Good God and Demon God to stop their ongoing conflict to join hands and seal the evil. But then, a certain god undid that seal on the rest of the world. The Goddess of Benevolence and Devotion gave up on her godhood and used herself up as a sacrifice to re-seal the Evil God. Her selfless sacrifice meant that the world regained its bnce, even if it was still unstable. The remaining gods worked hard to restore and maintain the world¡¯s bnce. And the Demon God referred to as the top god among them all was currently¡­ ¡°Ouch¡­¡± ¡­She was lying on her back, busy clutching her pounding head. ¡°My head hurts¡­¡± A god¡¯s job is to watch the world. To keep an eye out on her belief system, her temple(s), and her faithful flock. And that was why the Demon God was bitterly regretting her short-sightedness right now. ¡°I should¡¯ve changed the name of my continent, too¡­¡± The Demon God repeated these exact same words every single day ¨C no, make them as often as three times every minute! It bears repeating once more: a god¡¯s job is to watch the world. The belief system, the temple(s), the believers. These three things. And the Demon God was the object of worship for the entire continent. In other words, the Demon God was burdened with a massive responsibility to watch every single subject on the demon continent! ¡°Urgh¡­ When that damn broad said she¡¯d change the name of her continent, I should¡¯ve noticed the truth¡­¡± The humans¡¯ continent that used to be called the Good Continent, but now simply referred to as the human continent¡­ The master of this domain, the Good God, willingly gave up on the position of the master and began co-managing the continent along with other gods. The Demon God initially scoffed at that, but when enough time passed by for the number of humans and demon races to creep up higher and higher¡­! She finally learned the true meaning behind that broad¡¯s actions. -Oh, dear Demon God! Please bestow your curses to this seditious bastard! -Kuwaaaahk! Oh, my Demon God, please! -Oh, our great Demon God, why have you forsaken us¡­! -Demon God, we beg thee! ¡°Urghhh¡­¡± The non-stop stream of desperate, ardent calling towards her entering her head finally pushed the Demon God over the edge. ¡°You bloody sons of b*tches, why are you calling out to me when it¡¯s you lot that caused your own problems?!¡± Aaaaaaaargh! The Demon God yelled like a little kid throwing a tantrum, but unfortunately for her, the world¡¯s rules didn¡¯t want to go easy on her. ¡°Why don¡¯t you all just disappear¡­¡± You lot, just get wrecked or something! The Demon God muttered that half-jokingly, then began pondering something quite seriously. ¡°Should I just switch off? Like, seriously? But thest time I did that, things went to sh*thouse real quick¡­ Even so, I¡¯m going crazy over here. Why did the children have to go and make so many more children so quickly? Why can¡¯t they just make one kid and focus on raising that one? Aren¡¯t they too loose with their birth policies?!¡± The Demon God honestly began hating the increasing birthrate of the world, or more specifically, the demon race. She was even seriously pondering switching her receiver off and not listening to the voices of the believers. ¡°Urgh¡­ But if I do that and the seed of evil pops out, then we¡¯ll all be in trouble, so¡­ I mean, one did pop out thest time I tuned myself out, and everyone was gging me off for it¡­¡± In the past, the Demon God did switch off the believers¡¯ voices only for a portion of the evil to wake up somewhere in the demon continent. That sure was a huge incident that could¡¯ve caused the utter destruction of the demon continent! That incident prompted not just the Good God but also the Demon God¡¯s subordinate deities to severely criticize her. That¡¯s why she couldn¡¯t dare switch off the believers¡¯ voices. ¡°Urgh¡­ B-but, wait! Wouldn¡¯t it be okay to switch it off for just a century?! N-no, not even that long. Just a decade! Yes, only a decade!¡± Even the dragons that lived for thousands, nay, tens of thousands of years were nothing more than little kiddies to the real gods. To the Demon God and the Good God created first by the Creator Gods, things like a century or a decade were truly a brief wink of time. ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s fine? No, it should be fine. I mean, will the world really change in only ten years?¡± Just as she finished convincing herself of the idea, the Demon God heard a single voice in her head that stopped her from potentially ruining the entire world. -Hooray to the Demon God, hooray to our new demon king! ¡°Mm? Did that guy, Aggreahrt, finally be the demon king?¡± A god couldn¡¯t arbitrarily interfere in the world of the mortals. Granting some powers to an apostle or a believer was fine, but directly influencing who gets the throne or outright selecting a king was totally out of the question. Unless, of course, the situation was bad enough to threaten the bnce of the world. For instance, unless things were on the level of humans invading the demon continent, all the Demon God could do was just watch on. ¡°Last time I looked, he seemed to be still working extra hard for the throne¡­ Why method did he use, then?¡± The Demon God¡¯s curiosity was aroused, so she temporarily turned off the voices of all the believers except for one and focused her attention on this voice. -Not yet, huh¡­ ¡°Mm?¡± That voice sounded just a little tired but still t,posed. But that¡¯s how Aggreahrt usually sounded like, though? ¡°That¡¯s weird?¡± The Demon God extended her authority and began observing Aggreahrt¡¯s surroundings. He was dealing with a mountain of documents on his desk, a look of fatigue staining his face. However, there were no discernible voices praising and exalting Aggreahrt as the next demon king. ¡°Could it be that some loons are trying to install a new demon king somewhere?¡± Something like this happened asionally: some random idiot would show up from nowhere, iming that he had survived the Demon God¡¯s Blessing to be the next demon king. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a suicide hopeful? Let¡¯s see¡­¡± The Demon God stopped paying attention to Aggreahrt, closed her eyes again and focused on the voices she could hear. ¡°It¡¯s not here, not there¡­ Mm¡­ It¡¯s not here, either¡­¡± Demon king, demon king, demon king! The Demon God listened to each voice crying out ¡®demon king!¡¯ one at a time, eventually figuring out that all of them wereing from one location. ¡°H-huh?¡± And she was left with no choice but to stand there, mouth agape, at the revtion. ¡°T-that ce¡­ It¡¯s my own temple?¡± Feeling flustered now, the Demon God began to search through her temple more thoroughly next. ¡°W-what is the meaning of this?!¡± Doing so allowed her to finally realise something important. ¡°I never chose anyone today, though?!¡± She realised that someone had withstood the Demon God¡¯s Blessing¡­ without her even noticing it! ¡°But how?! I¡¯m supposed to get an automatic notification when a Demon God¡¯s Blessing ceremony takes ce, you know! So why wasn¡¯t there any signs? Could it be a fraud?¡± The Demon God¡¯s Blessing was a ceremony for the Demon God to ¡®select¡¯ the chosen individual as the next ¡®demon king¡¯ ¨C more specifically, the brave warrior of the Demon God. A hero, in other words. Whenever the demon continent lost the war against the human continent and was threatened with the prospect of losing all of its territories, this ceremony would be performed to give birth to the strongest demon king in existence! The ceremony was meant to grant all of the Demon King¡¯s umted powers to the chosen. Not only that, even the gods under her borrowed their powers to the recipient, too. The passage of time meant that the demon race¡¯s idea of the ceremony¡¯s purpose had changed somewhat, but regardless of that, this ceremony was never meant to give birth to a new demon king but the hero of the Demon God. Her direct apostle, if you will. Being a god¡¯s apostle was like being a god¡¯s clone. Obviously, such a being would never be born without the permission of a god! ¡°Just what on earth is the problem with¡­ Huh? Ehhh? What is that thing doing in that ce?!¡± The Demon God locked eyes with that thing, and her jaw fell all the way to the floor. She was f*cked. That thing had butted in now, meaning the Demon God would not have much of a way to interfere. ¡°Oh no, this is bad!¡± The Demon God hurriedly left her divine territory and rushed into another deity¡¯s domain. ¡°Hey, Goddess of Nature!¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re finally here¡­¡± The domain she rushed to belonged to a subordinate deity to the god standing on the opposite side to the Demon God, the Good God. Yes, it was the domain of the Goddess of Nature. ¡°W-why is that thing in my¡­!!!¡± ¡°My sincerest apologies.¡± ¡°You think your apology is sufficient right now?! In some ways, that thing is far worse than the seed of evil the humans mibelled as the Demon King!¡± ¡°Indeed, you¡¯re correct¡­¡± ¡°You know, yet you let this happen?!¡± Griiit! Even though the Demon God openly gritted her teeth, the Goddess of Nature didn¡¯t say anything to excuse herself. ¡°Why did you let it happen, then?¡± ¡°Because of the rules, unfortunately.¡± ¡°Wha?¡± ¡°Since the beginning, any human entering the demon race¡¯s territory cannot receive my powers even if that human happens to be my apostle.¡± After the world¡¯s creation, there were times when humans had the ascendency, or the demons held the upper hand. However, a ¡®Hero¡¯ would always appear on the losing side to save their continent and re-establish the boundary between the two continents. ¡°That is the rule.¡± Ever since the world¡¯s creation, the boundary between the human side and the demon race side of the continent was fixed, unmoving. ¡°H-hey, you! Even if that¡¯s the case¡­¡± The Demon God was rendered speechless, her lips bobbing like a goldfish. But just as she tried to say something¡­ ¡°The Goddess of Nature is right, Demon God.¡± ¡°¡­You!¡± The God of Beginning born at the same time as the Demon God but possessing an opposing nature from the get-go¡­ The god of all human races, tasked with managing the human continent¡­! ¡°The Good God!¡± The Demon God gritted her teeth while staring at the goddess that looked exactly the same as her except for the pure-white hair, which was in stark contrast to her ck hair. ¡°How can you be like this? Shouldn¡¯t we work together to deal with that thing?!¡± ¡°Since they¡¯ve gone over to the demon side of the continent, we can¡¯t carelessly interfere.¡± ¡°Is this how you really want to y?! Is that it?!¡± Despite the Demon God¡¯s pointed re, the Good God didn¡¯t avert her gaze. ¡°It¡¯s difficult for us, too.¡± ¡°What is?¡± ¡°Soon, the Demon King will awaken. This time, on our side of the continent.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already that time?¡± The Demon King¡¯s eyes opened wide. The Good God watched her counterpart¡¯s reaction and muttered ¡®I knew it¡¯ quietly while nodding her head. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯d like you to manage that situation by yourself. I mean, it¡¯s in your side of the pond, after all.¡± ¡°T-that, well¡­¡± The Demon God pouted unhappily, but she couldn¡¯t think of a rebuttal. ¡°The problem was with you not noticing them crossing over to the demon continent in the first ce. Be honest, you weren¡¯t paying attention to your continent because you got annoyed, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not true!¡± Sure, the Demon God almost nearly did that, but in the end, she hadn¡¯t done it! Of course, she was not stupid enough to mention that out in the open. ¡°We¡¯ll do our best to eliminate the Demon King on our side. That¡¯s why we want you to deal with the problem by yourself. I mean, it¡¯s still rtively docile right now, no?¡± ¡°It being docile is even more terrifying, you know!¡± The Demon God closed her eyes and looked into her temple once more. There she was, the daughter of the previous demon king, Belegrea. The Demon God had taken a liking to that girl and Aggreahrt. And that girl was apanied by thest surviving descendent of the Subi race. The Demon God granted that child a blessing of survival since her race was about to go extinct. And then¡­ ¡°Dammit! No wonder I couldn¡¯t notice anything! Even after focusing like crazy, I still get only a blurry image¡­!¡± A human that could faintly be sensed by the Demon God, but then, those monsters that could not be discerned when using her divine powers¡­ The Demon God spat out a lengthy groan after using her powers to borrow the eyes of her apostles and finally take a look at that monstrous group. -I shall be your demon king from this moment on! -Hooray, our demon king! Hooray for our Demon God! -Glory to all corners of the demon race¡¯s territory! ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong¡­!¡± The Demon God gritted her teeth at the birth of a new demon king she didn¡¯t even choose and at her foolish believers happily celebrating it. ¡°Very well. I shall deal with this mess.¡± The Demon God immediately headed back to her domain, then issued a new oracle. -Awake, my child. #3 Their circumstance: A certain small farmer¡¯s circumstance ¡°Urgh!¡± Plop! I wordlessly stared at my farming tool falling to the ground. I was supposed to plough thend but had no energy and couldn¡¯t even do a decent job of that. ¡°So hungry¡­¡± Today¡¯s breakfast was also potatoes. Lunch, more potatoes. And there¡¯s also a very good chance that supper will be more potatoes, too. ¡°I¡¯m so sick of potatoes¡­¡± I stretched my limbs grandly, but my head was still filled with the images of potatoes. I was confident of almost never whining about my food, but for the past month or so, 95% of my meals consisted solely of potatoes. Even someone like me would find it hard to endure in such a case! ¡°I pray that this year¡¯s harvest will be¡­¡± I looked up at the sky and began praying at the great Demon God. I prayed for an abundant harvest this year to spare me from the fate of eating nothing but potatoes next yea¡­ Eh? -Awake, my child. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Before I could finish, though, someone started talking to me first. -The child who can hear my voice. You are to immediately head to the Demon God¡¯s Temple to dere my will. I¡¯m the god of all demon races, the Demon God. Imand you as your noble god. Go and inform them of my will. ¡°Y-yes, sure¡­¡± I inadvertently ended up swearing an oath to deliver the message. Well, that voice sounded so noble and divine, you see. Despite my family trying to stop me, I followed the Demon God¡¯s will and eventually reached the Demon God¡¯s Temple. Then, I tried to deliver her noble will. -Child, you shall now dere the following. I am none other than¡­! ¡°I am none other than!¡± -¡­The great, noble Demon God¡¯s apostle, the new demon king! ¡°The great, noble Demon God¡¯s apos¡­ Kkueeewek?!¡± In the middle of carrying out the noble Demon God¡¯s will, a middle-aged demon suddenly rushed up to me and attacked me. That¡¯s when I finally understood the truth of this world. ¡­That gods were dead. -H-hey, I¡¯m not dead! No matter how many times the sacred voice ringing in my head proimed to be the god¡¯s will, the violence unleashed onto me right now was simply far scarier! Chapter 188

Chapter 188

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 188 #22. Well, this is merely the beginning (3) > ¡°From this moment on, I am your demon king.¡± I spoke in a dignified manner while ever so slightly looking down on my new subjects. -But, master, you don¡¯t look dignified at all? You just made people want to beat you up, you know? -Shut up, will ya? The metal bat tried to get on my nerves again today, but I have be rather used to ignoring her. ¡°Are you really¡­ Mister, you¡¯re really our new king sent by the Demon God?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m a ¡®Mister¡¯, now is it?¡± ¡°S-sir, are you truly our king?¡± Yup, that¡¯s better. Maybe the confusion hadn¡¯t abated yet, since the situation was unfolding in a very favourable direction for me. I mean, just one short observation from me, and these people were willing to correct themselves and all! ¡°That¡¯s right, I am.¡± ¡°Oh, ohhh!¡± ¡°The Demon God has finally sent us our new king!¡± ¡°Our dear Demon God!¡± The way they started exalting me and the Demon God exceeded what Belegrea told me earlier. As expected of the high-ranking priests belonging to the Demon God¡¯s temple! Their faith in the Demon God is truly strong! ¡°N-no, wait! Not yet!¡± However, it seemed that there was someone still unconvinced by what happened. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°The Demon God is a benevolent god but can also bring down merciless punishment to foolish individuals!¡± ¡°Okay, so?¡± ¡°The Demon God has said that the one bestowed with the divine power can only be thoroughly awakened through the endless pain!¡± ¡°Ooooh¡­¡± I think I¡¯ve heard that from before. If I were to alter that statement a bit, it kind of sounds eerily simr to what I often said as the evil organisation¡¯s henchman, doesn¡¯t it? ¡°As such, I shall not acknowledge you as the demon king chosen by the Demon God until you demonstrate the divine power!¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± ¡°I-indeed, there¡¯s that still remaining!¡± One by one, the others around me began nodding along as if their opinions were gradually lining up. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s that.¡± So, I also followed along and nodded away. If it was anything other than beating someone up without killing them, I might have been in trouble. However, I was confident of pulling this off. Actually, I was really confident of making my victims healthier than ever before! -Is it my turn, master? -Yup. It¡¯s party time! Trudge, trudge¡­ I leisurely walked up to where the metal bat was on standby. ¡°This girl looks like a normal child, but in reality, she¡¯s the token of the Demon God granted to me by the deity herself!¡± The metal bat in the form of a young girl suddenly transformed into a bat gleaming in a silvery hue. ¡°C-could that be!?¡± ¡°T-the grace of the Demon God?!¡± The demon race folks stared at the metal bat with eyes full of sparkling lights. I nodded to affirm their observations. ¡°Correct. This here is the Demon God¡¯s grace.¡± -Since when did I be the Demon God¡¯s symbol, master? -What about it? You even gotbelled as the evil god¡¯s weapon once upon a time, no? Whether they were the evil god or the Demon God, I was prepared to wee them with open arms as long as my life could benefit from their assistance. -Huh, huh! Master, you¡¯re saying things that might give the Demon God a heart attack, you know! -Oh? So you¡¯re okay with the evil god, then? -I guess so? Haha! That dude called the evil god, it seems that he¡¯s a pretty solid character, then! As expected of the symbol of all evil that tried to destroy this world! It¡¯s a perfect match for viins! ¡°S-so, this is¡­¡± A kind ¡®volunteer¡¯ stepped forward while gulping down his saliva. To thank him for his uing services, I quietly ced the metal bat on his shoulder. ¡°This is the grace granted to us by the Demon God.¡± Then, I raised up the metal bat high in the air. ¡°And now, dly receive the Demon God¡¯s grace!¡± Pow! ¡°Kku-waaaaaahk!¡± The priest receiving the strike screamed and began rolling on the floor. ¡°Oh, oooh! As expected of the Demon God¡¯s grace!¡± ¡°No, not yet! Getting hit by an ordinary metal club will hurt just as much!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. That¡¯s why¡­!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°We must observe for some more!¡±¡±¡±¡± -Wooow, master. Will you listen to these guys? -They just want to confirm the Demon God¡¯s grace, that¡¯s all. Let¡¯s quickly wrap this up, then. To save the soul of the poor man writhing on the floor after that deadly strike, I began swinging the metal bat with a bit more enthusiasm. ¡°This¡­ is the Demon God¡¯s mercy!¡± ¡°Keo-huurk?!¡± ¡°This¡­ is the Demon God¡¯s favour!¡± ¡°Kuwaaaahk!¡± ¡°And this¡­ is the Demon God¡¯s grace!¡± ¡°T-that¡­! Kkaaahuk?!¡± ¡°Finally¡­ here¡¯s the endless stream of the Demon God¡¯s meeercy!¡± ¡°N-no, spare m¡­ Kuwaahak?!¡± Two small hands and arms grew out of the metal bat¡¯s shaft and began to pummel the downed priest. ¡°And so, have you witnessed it?¡± Starting from the poor sucker¡¯s shoulder, the metal bat proceeded to pummel his head, belly, legs and even his most preciousponent, too. The priest continued to scream in pure agony, but not a single trace of injury could be found on him. That could only mean one thing. This whole thing might look like vicious, indiscriminate violence, but it didn¡¯t hurt at all! ¡°Ah, aaaah¡­ Yes, indeed. The mercy of the great and noble Demon God¡­¡± ¡°To think that I¡¯d get to witness the Demon God¡¯s mercy with my own eyes¡­¡± The priests began shedding tears of gratitude at the disy of¡­ ¡®love¡¯ meant for my disciples that matched the strength of the Demon God¡¯s mercy. ¡°Our dear Lord, the Demon God, should have sensed your unyielding faith in her by now.¡± A bit far away from me was the hero¡¯s entourage. They were gawking at me, their expressions saying that this whole world had gone mad¡­ Whatever they were feeling at the moment was none of my business, though! ¡°I, I want to experience it, too!¡± ¡°Yes, please, the Demon God¡¯s mercy!¡± ¡°I beg of you, grant me the chance to taste our god¡¯s mercy, too!¡± -Hey, looks like this ce is teeming with the kind of perverts you enjoy. -Aaahng? There¡¯s more than one? Uuheeheehee! The demon race, hooray! The Demon God, hooray~! ¡°The Demon God has spoken thus, ¡®Oh, you foolish children. You don¡¯t need to experience this pain, but as you ardently wish for it, I shall grant your wish!¡¯ That¡¯s what she said!¡± ¡°Ah, aaaah¡­ Dear Demon God¡­¡± ¡°Our eternal god¡­¡± ¡°The only true deity remaining in this world¡­¡± ¡°Demon God, hooray! Our new demon king, hooray!¡± ¡°Glory to our Demon God! Glory to our demon king!¡± I didn¡¯t even need to run my mouth here. These folks were already crazed fanatics that believed in the Demon God. Simply by invoking the god¡¯s name and calling myself her servant, I could earn their undying loyalty. -I knew it, master is a conman. -And just who is the aplice in this con? -What do you mean, who? It¡¯s none other than your goddess, Aru, of course! I made the right call to leave my dear daughter back in the carriage in the case of an emergency. If she saw the metal bat beating up all these priests without hiding anything, then for sure, that would¡¯ve left a powerful mental trauma in her. And so, the metal bat continued to ¡®toushi-toushi¡¯ away for a while, apanied by the priests¡¯ screams ringing throughout the temple. ¡°Are you finished now?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± The metal bat walked back to me with a refreshed look on her face, so I naturally sent her over to the frozen-stiff hero entourage. They flinched and jolted whenever the priests screamed, but in the end, they didn¡¯t try to run away. Honestly speaking, though, they looked ready to bolt if only the temple¡¯s doors hadn¡¯t been shut tight¡­ ¡°Our great and noble Demon God has spoken.¡± The moment I said that, all the priests crawling on the floor hurriedly raised their heads. Judging from their trembling lower halves, they probably wanted to get down on their knees and into a more respectful position to listen to the Demon God¡¯s ¡®oracle¡¯. Unfortunately for them, though, their legs didn¡¯t want to humour their pleas. But I had a feeling that the Demon God would be pleased with how her priests still tried to get up even after the metal bat¡¯s mercilessly beating. It was just a feeling, though. ¡°No need to force yourselves to get up. This is the Demon God¡¯s mercy. It¡¯s not something weaklings such as yourselves can withstand.¡± -Hey,e over here for a sec. -What now, master? -What do you mean, what now? It¡¯s to instil the sense of respect towards me in these folks, that¡¯s what. The metal bat trotted back to where I was. I told her to start hitting me, but not too roughly, of course. ¡°Whoosh, whoosh!¡± She started hitting me enthusiastically while making whooshing noises with her mouth, but all I could feel was¡­ just some light pounding. It hurt a tiny bit but was still easily tolerable. ¡°Ah, aaaah¡­¡± ¡°As expected of someone chosen by the Demon God¡­¡± ¡°Sob¡­ To think that I¡¯ll be able to serve such a person from now on¡­¡± Our little performance caused every priest in this temple to be my ve, so to speak. ¡°I am the Demon God¡¯s chosen. My words are the noble and great Demon God¡¯s words, and my actions are the same as the Demon God¡¯s actions!¡± ¡°Hooray to our great Demon God! Hooray to our great demon king!¡± ¡°We shall exalt our great and noble Demon God and swear to serve you, the one chosen by our god!¡± Just as the exaltation meant for me reached its fever peak, I slowly raised my hand. ¡°Everyone, be silent.¡± Even though I didn¡¯t raise my voice, everyone quickly mped their mouths shut. Feeling satisfied by that, I solemnly dered the following. ¡°The demon continent is mired in confusion and uncertainty right now. The Demon God found this state of affairs unfortunate and sent me here to resolve it. However, the vile, evil people will use this confusion to enrich themselves even further.¡± ¡°Which means¡­?¡± I ever so slightly raised my head and stared at the ceiling. ¡°The Demon God has spoken thus, the evil ones will try to deceive you all. Just like how our noble and great Demon God sends her oracles, the evil ones will whisper negative things about me in your ears.¡± ¡°We¡¯re faithful servants of the Demon God! We swear not to fall for the words of some evil creatures!¡± One of the priests cried out with so much fervour. It didn¡¯t really match the way he still crawled on the floor, but despite that, I should give him credit for his passion, at least. ¡°Our Demon God is well aware of your loyalty towards her. Unfortunately, the vile creatures of evil also are well aware of it. Just like insidious, sly snakes, they will entice you. They will use your unshakeable faith against you to pull a wool over your eyes.¡± ¡°B-but, we¡­¡± Just as someone tried to deny their frailty, I looked down on him and began yelling angrily. ¡°Oh, you foolish one! Do you not trust the wise oracle of the noble Demon God! Why do you fail to understand that your faulty faith will cause you to be deceived!¡± -Master, that¡¯s not something you should be saying while busy conning all these people! -That¡¯s why I¡¯m nting the seeds ahead of time, you know. To prepare for that one unexpected eventuality. Gods could not interfere with me. However, they could still annoy the heck out of me by utilising their affiliated heroes or apostles. Hill Shuttle and the blonde hero over there watching the proceedings with a stupid-looking expression on his face were good examples of that. It was absolutely possible for the Demon God to get pissed off at this development and suddenly summon a hero forged through the real Demon God¡¯s Blessing ceremony. ¡°Oh, you foolish ones, listen closely to what I¡¯m about to say. I shall now pass on the will of the Demon God. The vile creatures of evil will try to speak to you as if they speak on behalf of the Demon God. A false apostle of the Demon God will appear before you to deceive you. You shall question and then question it some more, yet you will fall into the trap in the end.¡± I kindly exined in a solemn voice, prompting the priests to start bowing deeply one by one. ¡°I shall ask you again. Do you still think you can escape from the vile deceit of those evil beings? Beings that have prepared themselves, so much so that even our Demon God is worried about it?¡± -Yup, they will all fall for it. I mean, these fools are gullible enough to fall for my master when he hasn¡¯t even prepared anything in particr. ¡°Ah, aaaah¡­ Yes, we¡¯ve been acting too foolishly, sir. We have failed to realise the noble, great will of our Demon God.¡± ¡°Please, forgive us, the idiotic disciples!¡± ¡°Yes, please forgive us!¡± The priests threw themselves on the floor and began howling in anguish. Watching their suffering brought this warm feeling to my heart, though. Aha, so this feeling is the reason why we get leaders of shady cults popping up every now and then! ¡°ording to the oracle of the Demon God, you are not at fault. No, the fault lies with the evil beings deceiving you.¡± I diligently exined to them how benevolent and merciful the Demon God really was. If she saw me right now, she probably would¡¯ve chosen me as her apostle solely on my salesman skill alone. -But master, you aren¡¯t even going to ept that role in the first ce, right? -She can¡¯t even choose me to begin with, anyway. Gods couldn¡¯t hear what I was thinking about, nor could they watch my actions. Which meant they also couldn¡¯t grant me their powers, either. If I was a god, then even I wouldn¡¯t want to pick someone like me as an apostle. ¡°From this moment on, beings hoping to deceive you wille knocking on our doorstep. Your job is to wee them all with warm smiles. Yes, you shall be the ones to deceive them, instead! Bring those deceivers to me. There is no need to worry. Remember that I¡¯ve already received the Demon God¡¯s favour. As such, I shall make sure to teach the Demon God¡¯s mercy to those foolish deceivers!¡± The priests still grovelling on the floor looking up at me began disying all sorts of emotions in their eyes. Respect, awe, admiration, etc., etc¡­ And now, crazed religious fanatics ready to die at mymand had been sessfully created. And these weren¡¯t the Demon God¡¯s fanatics, either. No, they were my fanatical followers. That¡¯s an important distinction. ¡°Everything will be dealt by me, the one carrying out the Demon God¡¯s noble will. You all have only one job to carry out.¡± I straightened my back, pushed my chest out, then spread my arms wide open while loudly crying out. ¡°My fellow disciples! Go and inform every believer in this ce! Tell them that the man who will carry out the Demon God¡¯s will is here! If anyone wishes to experience the Demon God¡¯s mercy, tell them toe to me!¡± When I finished my deration, everyone just stared at me without saying anything. Understandable, as the only one being managed to figure out the true intention behind my deration, after all. And that was none other than the metal bat. -W-what are you saying, master! Wait, are you saying what I¡¯m thinking?! Is that it? -Yup, that¡¯s exactly it. -Haa, haaa! Master, you¡¯re the best~! I love you so much, master! This moment heralded the beginning of a festival. A festival that should satisfy me, satisfy the metal bat¡¯s craving, and even please the priests. Except for the Demon God, who should be fuming at the unfairness of it all. Probably. Chapter 189

Chapter 189

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 189 #22. Well, this is merely the beginning (4) > #4 Their circumstance: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance I was sure of it now. This world? It¡¯s gone bonkers mad. ¡°You¡¯re number 128.¡± I somehow managed to stay sane even in this bonkers mad world. While pretending to be unaffected by what was happening, I continued to hand out numbered tickets. ¡°Ah, ahhh¡­ I¡¯m 128¡­?¡± A resident of this mad world made a disappointed face after receiving the ticket. ¡°Can¡¯t I get an earlier spot, sir?¡± The resident of the mad world looked at me with a truly desperate, pleading expression, but I replied with a stern, no-nonsense voice. ¡°No, you can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Ah, aaah¡­¡± Looking at that despairing face as if the whole world had copsed, I thought that I might end up making the exact same face, too. ¡°Crazy. Insane. Every single one of them.¡± ¡°Ng, I have to agree with you.¡± Ria passing by me nodded at my quiet little muttering, her face devoid of any expression. ¡°Did the world go insane? Or is it us that lost our minds?¡± I spat that out in a distant, hollow voice. Ria replied to me in a sharp yell filled to the brim with certainty. ¡°How can you ask me something that obvious! Of course it¡¯s the world that¡¯s gone bloody insane!¡± ¡°But there are simply too many nutcases here for that. When everyone¡¯s gone insane, the insanity bes the norm, and the not-insane people end up bing the outliers, you know.¡± ¡°W-well, I don¡¯t have any cleverebacks if you put it like that, but¡­ Even so¡­¡± Ria raised her head and dazedly stared at the skies above for a little while. Soon, though, she seemed to have made up her mind as she looked back at me. ¡°If this kind of thing is now considered normal in this world, then I¡¯ll dly live on like a nutcase.¡± I have to say, the way she resolved herself so heroically was very cool. ¡°Get back to work!¡± ¡°Yessir!¡± Too bad, her cool appearance vanished in an instant with just one yell from the metal bat passing by us. ¡°Hey, you¡­¡± ¡°What choice do I have? I don¡¯t want to get hit, you know.¡± My heart began racing just then¡­ In fact, I thought you were really cool. No, make that very, exceedingly cool! ¡°Well, I get where you¡¯reing from.¡± Still, I had to admit that Ria had a point there, considering who we were dealing with here. ¡°Can I make our escape, though?¡± While rubbing the horn attached to my head, I began thinking about my chances of escaping from here. It seemed impossible, though. ¡°The demon continent¡­ And the one I need to escape from is the demon king¡­¡± Now that was somethingpletely unexpected. The Demon God¡¯s Blessing that not even the powerful demon races could endure and lose their lives¡­ was granted to a mere human being! Not only that, said human being could now bestow a version of the Demon God¡¯s Blessing, too! ¡°That can¡¯t be right, though. That¡¯s probably just the metal bat inflicting pain, isn¡¯t it?¡± In the human continent, the Demon God was viewed as the evilest deity in existence. The only one worse than her was the Evil God. However, ording to all the demon race folks we met until now, the Demon God was worshipped as the greatest, most loving deity in existence. That¡¯s why¡­ As long as the Demon God was not the Evil God or my instructor in disguise, she¡¯d never let something that horrible happen to her believers! ¡°It¡¯s just a coincidence¡­ A disgustingly convenient coincidence at that¡­¡± That¡¯s right, it was just a sheer coincidence that the metal bat happened to be simr to that thing called the Demon God¡¯s Blessing or favour or whatever it was called. My instructor was a human being at the end of the day. There was just no way that he held such an in-depth pool of knowledge on the Demon God. ¡°However, we¡¯re talking about my instructor here, and that¡¯s a big problem, no?¡± Although it sounded far-fetched, my instructor could have known everything about the Demon God¡¯s Blessing already and made ns ordingly. Even I knew that was logically impossible, but¡­ Could anything that happened around my instructor be called ¡®logical¡¯? First of all, he had been raising a Subus in the territory of humans. Sure, she was half-human, but still. And when the Imperial Princess was hot on his heels trying to capture him, he unhesitantly chose to cross over to the demon continent. No, hang on a sec. The instructor didn¡¯t just cross over, he even became the bloody demon king! ¡°What if he really ends up conquering the demon continent¡­?¡± I might have no choice but to live out the rest of my days in the demon continent in that case. Just as I began shuddering at the chill crawling down my spine, my ears picked up on yet another horrifying scream ringing throughout the temple. ¡°Yup, this world has gone insane.¡± ¡­And I was back to square one. I couldn¡¯t understand why anyone would want to get hit by that metal bat. Why would you be willing to receive a numbered ticket to reserve your spot in the queue just for a beatdown? But, thanks to this arrangement, I¡­ ¡°¡­Mm?¡± I sneakily surveyed my surroundings. I was currently working by the entrance to the Demon God¡¯s temple. The temple¡¯s priests were here, but my instructor was nowhere to be seen. But that was obvious, wasn¡¯t it? Those screams were produced only when the instructor was beating people up with his metal bat, after all. In other words¡­ my instructor wasn¡¯t here. And the metal bat wasn¡¯t here, either. ¡°So¡­ Now is the best time ever?¡± Indeed, this seemed like the most opportune time to run away without a second thought. The issue with escaping was with the metal bat showing up out of nowhere to beat the living snot out of me, though¡­ ¡°Gulp.¡± However, those screams were stilling from so far away. As long as those screams didn¡¯t end, it indicated that the metal bat was waaaay over there. In that case¡­ what should I do? Obviously, it¡¯s to put to practice what my instructor had taught me and consider every possible scenario! First of all, how long has it been since Ria and the metal bat passed by me? It couldn¡¯t have been five minutes yet. What about thest numbered ticket that I handed out? It was number 128, wasn¡¯t it? How many people got smacked around by the metal bat during the morning session? If I remember correctly, it¡¯s about twenty people! How long did the metal bat take to beat them up? It depended on individual cases, but the shortest was around five minutes while the longest was over ten. At least, that¡¯s how I remembered. Which meant that the average length of the beatings for a single individual was around seven minutes or so. And whenbining all these data¡­? Even if I excluded the current victim, which was the first person in the queue, beating up ten people should get me a window of at least one hour long. But we had more than a hundred people waiting in line for their chance to get beaten up, so it¡¯s not gonna end any time soon due to theck of volunteers! ¡°This¡­ is a golden opportunity.¡± I used only my eyes to scan my surroundings. Ten armed individuals were standing around as the security guards of the temple. Meanwhile, around twenty-five priests were diligently cleaning the temple here and there. Aaaand, that was it! This is¡­ perfect! *** Kuwaaaahk! ¡°So, there¡¯s the change.¡± I paid the utmost attention to the scream. It took nine minutes for the screaming voice to change! If the next dude endures for a minimum of five minutes, then I should be able to escape from this city, no problem! Okay, now. Take it easy. Do it like nothing¡¯s out of the ordinary. I began leisurely stepping away from the area where the numbered tickets were issued. I was taught that only a rank amateur would start running in a situation like this. The most important thing for me right now was looking rxed. By acting ¡®leisurely¡¯ as if nothing was wrong, I¡¯d be able to fool the eyes of the surroundings. ¡°Oh, the subordinate of the great and noble demon king, can I help you with something?¡± ¡°Oh, not really¡­ I was thinking of going to the carriage to get something I need since I was already on my way to a bathroom.¡± There was no need to panic just because a mere priest decided to speak to me. After all, I was a subordinate of the ruler of this demon continent, the demon king personally selected by one and only Demon God! ¡°Understood, sir.¡± I replied while looking down on him slightly. The priest bowed lightly before backing away. The highest position in the Demon God¡¯s temple was ¡®archbishop¡¯. However, my instructor was the Demon God¡¯s proxy, which gave him the necessary authority to appoint cardinals on an equal footing as the archbishop. In other words, Ria and I were destined to be cardinals in the eyes of these people! Oops, I mean, these demon race folks! As such, this level of haughtiness was perfectly eptable. And so, I slowly made my way to where the carriage was, looking utterly rxed and unconcerned. Once I reached a spot well out of view, though, I quickly hid myself. ¡°Hah-ah¡­ Great. I¡¯m halfway there now.¡± As long as I escape from the temple, then I¡¯d have done my job. In the contest of movement speed, my instructor would never be able to catch up to me. And as long as I sessfully cross the border, it¡¯d be game over. My instructor escaped to the demon continent in order to evade the Imperial Princess¡¯s dogged pursuit. So, he wouldn¡¯t try to cross over to the human continent trying to capture me. No, hang on. He¡¯s now the demon king, so he can¡¯t leave the demon continent even if he wanted to! And so, I took a deep breath and was about to use the stealth technique I learned from the evil organisation, but then¡­ ¡°Where are you going, sir?¡± Belegrea showed up out of nowhere, unsheathed her sword, and pointed the de at me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± ¡°I asked you where you are going, sir.¡± Dark-red aura began oozing out of her de. Although there was no killing intent, I could still sense her strong will to cut me down if I make any sudden moves now. ¡°I need to briefly pop out and¡­¡± ¡°So, you were running away.¡± I didn¡¯t even have enough time to make excuses. That¡¯s because Belegrea swung her hands, causing the crimson magical powers to soar through the heavens! ¡°What is the meaning of this, Miss Belegrea?¡± ¡°I made a promise to Marcus.¡± ¡°But, why?!¡± We were supposed to berades of soul who shuddered together at the terror of the metal bat. Sure, I was a human while Belegrea was a demon folk but I still believed that we shared something special capable of transcending the racial lines. So, why was she doing this! ¡°The moment you escape will be the moment the demon race will enter a war against the human race. That¡¯s why.¡± ¡°Hang on a minute?! Why does my escape suddenly have such weighty importance?!¡± ¡°Marcus told me that you will understand when I say these two words: Imperial Princess.¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± It was right at that moment that a certain scenario quickly painted itself in my head. Me, escaping to the human continent. The Imperial Princess sessfully captures me. The Imperial Princess is asking me. She asks, where is my instructor? And I reply to her, he¡¯s be the king of the demon continent. It might sound like a dog¡¯s drunken howling, but the Imperial Princess knows my instructor well. She believes my exnation, and then¡­ ¡®Wipe them out.¡¯ ¡­Along with those chilling words, her army starts marching into the demon continent. ¡°W-what the hell?!¡± Even a child from a rural vige would not think that this series of events was even remotely possible. But those who know about my instructor and the Imperial Princess woulde up with roughly the same conclusion as me. I could easily picture the war between humans and demons now. ¡°E-even if that¡¯s the case, I can¡¯t afford to stay in this ce!¡± ng-! I yanked out my holy sword and cut down Belegrea¡¯s sword. The longer I stay here, the sooner the metal bat would arrive. What I require now is the resolve to go all the way! I didn¡¯t want to do it, but if she tried to block my path, then I¡­ I shall cut her down mercilessly, even if she was therade of soul that felt the same pain as me. ¡°Even if you¡¯re the daughter of the previous demon king, do you think you can defeat me?¡± I defeated an elder dragon all by myself. There was no way I¡¯d lose to a demon race girl who seemed to be about the same age as me. ¡°¡­Huh? Huuuh?¡± Against my expectation, though, blood began travelling down my arm. That¡¯s because Belegrea oh-so easily defended against my sword aura and even counter-attacked me! ¡°H-how can this be?!¡± When I panicked at how easily she fended off my attack, Belegrea smirked and exined what just happened. ¡°I¡¯ve heard all about how you hunted down an elder dragon. But you didn¡¯t do that through your own strength. You didn¡¯t hunt an elder dragon with only your skills, but as the hero chosen by a god.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± I began sensing that something was off here. It was hard not to when my holy sword currently couldn¡¯t even output half of its normal power. No, make that a quarter of its normal power level! ¡°Regr demon race people don¡¯t know this, but as the demon king¡¯s daughter, I was privy to the history of our people. Among the knowledge I acquired was the information pertaining to the ones chosen by the gods, the heroes. Heroes capable of borrowing a portion of their gods¡¯ powers! The existence called heroes borrow the powers of their gods and create miracles. However, there¡¯s a restriction ced on the powers of the gods.¡± ¡°A restriction, you say?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct. And that is¡­ the gods can only exert their influence in the continents they rule over! My father uncovered this fact and chose the path of peace even after uniting the demon race!¡± Her series of super-quick attacks began forcing me back. This was bad. If this kept up, then never mind getting out of here, I might get captured by Belegrea. ¡°What are you talking about!¡± That¡¯s why I must weaken her concentration. My instructor told me that I should keep talking to my opponent when stuck in a situation like this. ¡°It is as I said! Even if we invade the human continent, we¡¯ll end up suffering a grave defeat at the hands of the heroes borrowing the powers of their gods!¡± ¡°How can this be!¡± I pretended to get shocked while holding back my strength more and more. Belegrea must¡¯ve thought that she had the upper hand against me after witnessing my continued retreat. As proof, she became even more talkative than before. ¡°I know I can¡¯t be the next demon king through my own power. I don¡¯t have the necessary confidence to defeat Aggreahrt! However, Marcus promised me. If I help him, he swore to bring peace back to the demon continent and immediately step away from everything!¡± ¡°Do you really believe that!¡± ¡°Marcus was personally selected by the Demon God herself. And he swore upon the name of our great and noble Demon God!¡± ¡°But he¡¯s a human!¡± ¡°Indeed, yet he was still chosen by the Demon God!¡± Wowsers, she¡¯s been brainwashed pretty thoroughly! Belegrea didn¡¯t doubt my instructor one bit. She condensed the sword light and, almost at the same time, began stabbing forward in a straight line. Not stopping there, she even released the condensed sword light to cause a powerful explosion. ¡°Keuh-huk!¡± ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± The explosive thrust forced me back well over twenty steps. Belegrea confirmed the hit, then got ready for another powerful thrust. But that was the opening I¡¯d been waiting for. I was pretending to be losing to her while preparing myself. And as Belegrea performed her sword thrust once more, I grinned softly at her. ¡°¡­Warp.¡± ¡°What?!¡± From the moment I began bleeding during our first exchange, I have been pouring all my attention at activating a certain magic spell. The spell was called ¡®Blood¡¯. It allowed the caster to freely manipte blood. In the world of magic, blood was one of the mediums that symbolised you, the spellcaster! Even without any prior preparations, this medium was more than enough to let a single individual, namely me, teleport a short distance! ¡°Goodbye, then!¡± Before Belegrea could attack, my spell activated first. We moved quite a distance away from the temple during our battle. By immediately escaping as soon as teleportation isplete, neither Belegrea nor anyone else from the temple would be able to chase after me. This was one of the survival skills I learned from the evil organisation! Always have a hidden ace up your sleeve! For this very purpose, I¡¯ve made sure to never use magic after bing the hero! Not even Hill and Selena suspected that I was an expert in magic! ¡°¡­Uh?¡± While I was busy patting myself on the back, my eyes caught the sight of silvery something making a beeline towards me from afar. Is that Belegrea¡¯s explosive thrust? Could it be that my teleportation spell failed to activate? No, that¡­ wasn¡¯t it. I knew the true identity of that silvery something. That was not Belegrea¡¯s sword, but¡­! ¡°You think you can run!¡± ¡°How?!¡± That was the only word I could cry out after spotting a small fist surrounded by dancing silver hair flying straight at my face. ¡°Kuuuwaaaaahk!¡± But that¡¯s because all I could say afterwards was just a pain-filled scream of pure agony! Chapter 190

Chapter 190

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 190 #22. Well, this is merely the beginning (5) > I climbed down the temple¡¯s entrance in airy steps and walked on the road. Soldiers tried to apany me as my escort, but I used a light little wave of my hand to stop them, only permitting two priests toe with me. ¡°It is my honour to serve you, sire.¡± ¡°Where would you like to go, sire?¡± I pointed at Ria while replying to the priests. ¡°My disciple knows the way. Let us simply follow her guidance.¡± Ria also left the temple to show me the way. The two priests nodded and silently stepped back, then began following me. ¡°Kuwaaaaahk!¡± A familiar scream could be heard. It seemed that we had already reached our destination. ¡°D-Don¡¯t kill me¡­¡± And soon, we were treated to the sight of the hero crawling on the ground. ¡°Aaaaahng? You know me so well, yet you still dare say that! This big sister never killed anyone, I¡¯ll have you know!¡± Next up, we saw the entrance of the metal bat snickering away right behind him. ¡°No, I¡­ Just¡­ kill me¡­. Kkuwaaaahk!¡± My entourage and I watched the hero crawl around and cry out in despair. A little whileter, Belegrea silently spectating the carnage from some distance away walked up to me. ¡°Is this to your satisfaction, sire?¡± After I became the demon king, Belegrea¡¯s attitude underwent aplete transformation. Wanting to test her loyalty, I assigned her the role of monitoring the hero and Ria. And what do you know, she sessfully handled the task. ¡°Yes. Well done. I shall also rely on your help in the future.¡± Belegrea wordlessly bowed slightly at my reply and went back. Since I also had nothing to say to her, I shifted my attention to the metal bat currently mounting the downed hero for a good ol¡¯ ground-and-pound. ¡°C-can I go now, too?¡± ¡°Yes, you may go. Good work. Our itinerary for today isplete, anyway. You should try to get some rest.¡± ¡°Y-yes¡­¡± Ria, who could legitimately be viewed as the MVP in apprehending the hero alive, sneakily slunk away from here, too. It seemed that her mental trauma was reactivated after witnessing the metal bat beating up the hero while making the familiar ¡®toushi, toushi¡¯ noises. ¡°Oh, and don¡¯t try to escape, Ria.¡± ¡°O-of course¡­!¡± Ria¡¯splexion paled in an instant as she quickly fled from the scene. She was acting like someone was chasing her down. Of course, she was still one of my disciples. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t forget to signal Belegrea to silently monitor that girl. Belegrea managed to stop the hero, so it should be a cinch for her to stop Ria. ¡°Still, that was too close forfort, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Since the image of the hero wielding his sword was so strong in my head, I ended up unconsciously forgetting that I did teach him how to cast magic. Honestly, if it hadn¡¯t been for Ria, this situation might have turned into a very dicey one for us. ¡°I dunno who raised her, but she sure has been raised well. She¡¯s quitemendable, indeed!¡± Ria managed to detect the flow of the hero¡¯s magic energy even from so far away, then quickly analysed the nature of the magic spell and determined that he was trying to use short-distance Warp. And what can I say about her talent in magic that allowed her to not only predict where the hero would warp to, but also send the metal bat there in time? Sure, the metal bat was not a living entity, but still! Most important of all, all these happened in only ten seconds after an enticing reward of one exemption from the metal bat¡¯s beating was dangled in front of her face! ¡°Kuwaaahk!¡± Thanks to this excellent disciple of mine, we were able to prevent a naughty disciple from making an ill-advised getaway. People finding out that I¡¯m over here would be a bit troubling. No, make that very dangerous. Even if this was the demon continent, the Imperial Princess was fully capable of forming something like the human alliance to invade as long as she had confirmation of my location. ¡°He must be kicking himself, then.¡± I could more or less guess what the hero must¡¯ve been thinking to himself. He probably believed that this would be his final chance at escaping. And that¡¯s why he immediately took action. As a professional escape artist, I had to admit that his decisiveness was quite admirable. Too bad, not trusting hisrade stuck in the same situation as him, Ria, became the massive stumbling block he couldn¡¯t ovee. Any other ¡®normal¡¯ people would have tried to win Ria over to their cause first. For one, she was a direct descendent of the House Nermia, one of the top magic-user families in the empire. Two, she was also one of the top students in Marsis, widely acknowledged as the best school for magic in the empire. Oh, wait. Ria supposedly dropped out of Marsis after the school lost in the imperial tournament or something, didn¡¯t she? Even if that was the case, sheter became the student council president of the number one academy in the continent, Yugrasia, anyway. Instead of falling lower, her stock has gone up even higher. In any case! No matter who it was, they would have to admit that Ria was one of the top talents out there. A kind ofrade who could help you be more fearless as long as she was by your side! But to the idiot hero, she wasn¡¯t one of the strongest magic users in the world. No, she was actually arade who was there to experience the worst part of his life together with him. They have been backstabbing each other since their young age, and that¡¯s why in the hero¡¯s head, she became an enemy that could betray him at any given moment. Faith. Trust. Such things were a necessary virtue for a hero. But I made sure to separate and dispose of such concepts from his head a long time ago. ¡°I, I¡¯m sor¡­ Kuweck!¡± I frowned a little when the hero cried out pitifully and copsed. If this had been a normal day, sure, I would¡¯ve been just fine. But after bing the demon king, I had to witness simr scenes as this one y out all day long thanks to the long queue of the demon race folks wanting to get beaten up. Crazy bastards, even asking for numbered tickets just so that they could get beaten up! As I thought, it was time to use the authority of the demon king before things get even more tedious! ¡°You two. Once it¡¯s over, bring that guy to me.¡± ¡°Yes, sire.¡± As expected of the demon king¡¯s authority. The power of this position! If this was any other time, I would¡¯ve had no choice but to wait until the metal bat was done with her violence before picking up the hero¡¯s carcass. But now, I didn¡¯t even need to raise a finger. I could just order the faithful priests of the Demon God¡¯s temple to deal with it. That¡¯s because I was the proxy of their beloved Demon God! Onemand from me, their master, and they would have to throw away their lives! I muttered. ¡°It seems that the granting of mercy will have to stop for today.¡± ¡°Sire. We shall send the waiting ones home.¡± Over one hundred folks had to be sent back home, but no one here questioned me for it. That goes to show how much authority my words possessed. Kuh-huh~! Was this the reason why the imperial family members fought so intensely to be the next emperor? To savour the incredible taste of power? I might even have to give up on the dream of living a farmer¡¯s life with my daughter if I get too addicted to this taste. That¡¯s how joyous it was! ¡°No, I won¡¯t do that. Rather than being a demon king with a ton of things to do, the uplicated farming life with my daughter is so much better!¡± Besides, one of the biggest problems guing us, my daughter¡¯s demonic sex appeal, got nicely resolved after we entered the demon continent. The human continent operated with the human kingdoms as the centre, but the demon continent¡¯s society functioned with the individual tribes as the focus. Each tribe operated with their chieftain as the centre. Above the chieftains was the demon king. In other words, there was no one higher than me in the pecking order. If any demon dares to fall for my daughter¡¯s demonic charms and tries to cosy up to her, I¡¯ll simply execute that fool in the name of the Demon God. If it¡¯s for my dear daughter, I¡¯m sure the Demon God will allow this little bit of transgression. Probably. ¡°For now, I¡¯ll just let it go and take it easy.¡± I¡¯ve already finished drawing up my ns after running into Belegrea. And I¡¯ve achieved the first goal in the n by bing the demon king. That was crucial for the future. The final goal was to have Belegrea seed me as the demon king, then I¡¯d get to live a simple, honest life in some remote corner of the demon continent. All I needed to do to get there was for me to take it easy and slowly advance forward. Of course, to get there, I¡¯ll¡­ ¡°¡­Although it¡¯s annoying, I¡¯ll have to work for a while.¡± No one was pursuing me right now. Even the Imperial Princess would have a hard time believing that I managed to cross over to the demon continent. And even if her people managed to trace the signal from Ria¡¯s cor, any sane-minded human being would never think that I¡¯d cross over to this ce. ¡°Sure, since it¡¯s me and all, she might suspect that I have entered the demon continent. But she likes to overthink most of the time, so she will think that I¡¯m trying to trick her here.¡± If I was to list people in this world who evaluated me highly, then the Imperial Princess would no doubt be one of the top three. However, I was not as smart as everyone gave me credit for. It¡¯s just that I relied on things I picked up in my previous life and the metal bat capable of winning everything once itnds a hit. And some incredible individuals capable of turning dogsh*t nonsense into reality happened to be apanying me, too. And that¡¯s about it. However, the Imperial Princess didn¡¯t want to acknowledge that and tried to see through whatever little trick I might have hidden up my sleeve. And in the process, she¡¯d often shoot herself in the foot. Such a mental state being fatal had already been proven through the event of 3 Sunbun¡­ no, through 3 stacks of boulders. [1] The Imperial Princess was not in the demon continent. Which meant there was only one existence in this part of the world that could prove to be a hindrance to my ns ¨C Aggreahrt! ¡°Everything wille to an end once we get rid of that punk!¡± I¡¯ve already amassed as much information as possible on Aggreahrt, all thanks to Belegrea. He sounded like a tiresome individual to hang around with, but, as your superior officer, you couldn¡¯t ask for a better man. Or a demon in this case. And hisbat prowess was more than good enough for the position of the demon race¡¯s topmander. The demons considered physical abilities as the best qualification, after all. Must be a trait of a tribal society, I reckon. But he also possessed excellent intellect, which didn¡¯t really match his physical prowess. In other words, Aggreahrt was a true genius that excelled in both the physical and academic side of things! As an ally, he¡¯d be more trustworthy than anyone out there. But as an enemy, he¡¯d prove to be the most cumbersome opponent in your life. It¡¯s really too bad that he was diametrically opposed to me, a peace-loving man, as the leader of the radical faction! ¡°As such, I better kill him as soon as possible.¡± The longer things drag on, the more advantageous it¡¯d get for me since justification was on my side. But I was slowly getting on in years. I wanted to start my retirement as soon as possible. It didn¡¯t matter if our house was a small little wooden hut. I¡¯d love to live with my daughter and not worry about anything important for the rest of my life if I could help it. For the sake of achieving this modest dream, I decided to use the greatest hidden weapon of the demon king. #5 Their circumstance: A certain Aggreahrt¡¯s circumstance Griiiit¡­ My teeth began grinding all by themselves. My hand holding the letter was trembling almost out of control, too. I seriously considered ripping up this damn letter into pieces and killing the priest that delivered it to me, but¡­! ¡°Is this really the will of the demon king after he received the Demon God¡¯s oracle?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct, sir.¡± I red murderously at the demon priest standing haughtily in front of me, but the bastard didn¡¯t even flinch once. We act only for the sake of the Demon God, so they say. The group of individuals willing to sacrifice themselves for that purpose was the priests serving in the Demon God¡¯s temple. Even if this priest was about to die, he¡¯d smile and wee his death while saying that he was finally on his way to the Demon God¡¯s embrace. Meanwhile, his death would result in the fury of not just the Demon God¡¯s temple, but all the other temples in the demon continent. Attacking Belegrea first resulted in many among my fellow demons viewing me as their enemy. And my subordinates that believe in my cause and follow my will would swiftly turn their backs on me if Iid my hands on this damn priest. But, I¡­ ¡°Really? This is really his will?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± I stared at the priest nodding away before looking back at the letter. Death. This¡­ was supposed to be the will of the new demon king who received the Demon God¡¯s oracle. ¡°Is this demon really¡­ Is he really the new demon king who received the Demon God¡¯s trust?¡± ¡°The servant of our great and noble Demo God, the new demon king Marcus went through the Demon God¡¯s Blessing ceremony and emerged unscathed. And he even personally showed us the Demon God¡¯s grace and mercy. He let us experience this otherworldly pain to wake us from our foolish ways, yet our bodies were left with not a single scar or an injury!¡± The priest exined passionately as spittle flew out of his mouth. I could only groan under my breath while listening to this nonsense. This was the absolute worst. It didn¡¯t matter at this point whether that new demon king was really chosen by the Demon God or not. I had no doubt in my mind that these priests would do exactly as that new demon king tells them. ¡°Have I been wrong all this time?¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Aggreahrt.¡± I closed my eyes. Have I really been walking on the wrong path until now? Are you saying that this path was not what the Demon God wanted from me? -No, you¡¯re not wrong! That punk is the fake one! ¡°Kuh-huk¡­¡± A painful moan leaked out of my lips. That¡¯s because a voice filled with an overwhelming level of willpower mmed straight into my brain just then. If this was any other time, I would¡¯ve believed that the voice of our great, noble Demon God had finally reached me, but things were different now. Was this voice really that of our Demon God? Or maybe it was just an imaginary voice created by the ugly part of my heart. Such suspicion bubbled up in my head. -No, wait! You gotta believe me! That punk is a fraud! And that letter is a fake, too! You mustn¡¯t kill yourself! Stay strong, Aggreahrt! My dear servant! ¡°Kuh-wuk¡­!¡± Was this really the Demon God¡¯s voice? But¡­ Why was her voice reaching me only now, even though I¡¯ve been desperately searching for her guidance all this time? -I¡¯m really sorry about that! I promise to speak to you more often from now on! That¡¯s why you must stop those abominable bastards no matter what! The voice mming into my head once more almost made me faint on the spot. However, this powerful, unrelenting thought grabbed hold of my consciousness, not letting go. It said, I must follow her. I must do as the voice says. Was it really the Demon God¡¯s will? Or a liar¡¯s voice created by my feeble heart facing down my imminent demise? -Argh, I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m the real deal! The voice entering my head was gradually losing its dignity. Nevertheless, I still picked up on this unquantifiable sense of desperation from it. -Just try to hold on for a little while longer. I¡¯ll select the real apostle and send them to your side soon! That voice sounded way too desperate to belong to a deity. But it was still enough to make me say that I shall not recognise the new demon king to the priest delivering the letter. Even though this new demon king sessfully survived the Demon God¡¯s Blessing! ¡°I do not acknowledge this demon as our new king.¡± I immediately regretted saying that, but it was toote by then. ¡°Such foolishness, Sir Aggreahrt¡­¡± The priest tutted briefly before leaving my office. For a moment there, I seriously debated on whether to stop the priest or not, but the milk had been spilt already. Nothing would change even if I stopped the priest now. ¡°Which means it¡¯s really a civil war.¡± A war that would be more disadvantageous for me the longer it drags on. From the remnants of Belegrea¡¯s faction that I haven¡¯t taken care of yet to the alliance of the temples centring around the Demon God¡¯s temple, and finally, all the citizens that believed the Demon God¡­ The longer this war drags on, and the more rumours make their rounds among the popce, it¡¯ll be progressively harder for me to win. In my estimation, I probably have only about a month. But it also meant that, as long as I kill the one called Marcus within a month, I should gain an opportunity for myself, too! ¡°All chieftains, listen to me!¡± There was no time to waste. I needed to contact the chieftains through themunication magic tool to inform them of the start of the civil war. ¡°From this moment on, we shall unite to punish the swindler Marcus, who ims to be our new demon king!¡± The moment I finished dering the start of the war¡­! KA-BOOOOOM!!! The demon king¡¯s castle I was in¡­ blew up. [1]: Whew, wow. Two references here, one fairly well known and one very obscure. The first one, ¡°3 Sunbun/???¡±, refers to an infamous pro Starcraft match between Lim Yo-hwan aka yerS_`BoxeR` and Hong Jin-ho aka [NC]¡­YellOw that took ce on November 12th, 2004. It¡¯s an abbreviation of ¡°three sets of continuous bunkering¡±. The second term, ¡°3 stacks of boulders/???¡± is¡­ As far as I can tell, it originated from a Twitch stream of a Korean Dark Souls yer who got repeatedly punted around by a series of boulders on a staircase of a dungeon. Don¡¯t ask me which game, cuz I¡¯ve never yed a Souls game before. But, watching the streamer il about helplessly, trying to navigate through the staircase, was hrious. Chapter 191

Chapter 191

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 191 #22. Well, this is merely the beginning (6) > ¡°He¡¯s here.¡± From afar, a person was walking up to where we were. Actually, I should say a demon instead. The distance meant his face was not really discernible, but his attire was that of a Demon God¡¯s temple priest. The Demon God was basically the anchor of the entire demon race. Unless there was another me among the demon race, some random weirdo wouldn¡¯t show up here in that attire. ¡°I¡¯ve returned from my duty, your majesty.¡± As I expected, the one walking up to me from afar was one of my new underlings, a priest of the Demon God¡¯s temple. ¡°He refused, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡± ¡°How foolish.¡± ¡°Yes, sire. Very foolish.¡± Even though we said that, the really foolish thing would be to immediately kill yourself just because someone told you to. Just because everyone else epted it, you should also follow along and kill yourself? What would you do if everyone was being conned? -Master, that¡¯s not something a swindler should be saying, you know? -The ones getting swindled are at fault here. Didn¡¯t someone say this before? Deceiving others was a standard tactic in the art of war. That¡¯s why¡­ who told you to get deceived in the first ce! -Oh? And who said that, master? -A very famous war tactician. Sun Tzu probably said that. Although¡­ thest half could¡¯ve been a bit different from the original! ¡°You have delivered my letter as intended, I hope?¡± ¡°Yes, your majesty!¡± ¡°In that case, let¡¯s begin.¡± ¡°Yes, sire!¡± I wordlessly watched the priest bow before me and back away politely. A king had no need to make a move. Back when I was thrown into the middle of a warzone thanks to a certain insane Imperial Princess, what was the dear emperor doing? He was having fun tracking down and beating up those who disobeyed him or tried to mess around with the military supplies! -Uhmmm, master? This could be nothing more than my mood ying tricks on my judgement, but¡­ Why does it sound like the emperor was doing an excellent job? Is it really because of my mood? -Well, sure. Mister Emperor of the Karuan Empire was top-notch when it came to taking care of his business. Not even once did our supplies run out during the war, you see. -Even I can do that! I also never wanted to go to a warzone and just do jobs as simple as that, you know! If it was you in charge, master, why do I get the feeling that you would have siphoned off the military supplies? -I might have back then, but I won¡¯t do that now! I was nning to retire empty-handed, so¡­ Actually, that¡¯s not true. After handing the throne over to Belegrea, I was nning to use that as a pretext to rip her off aplenty. At least, enough for my family and I to live on without issues even if I decide that working for a living would be too bothersome! Things like fertile farnds, a vast expanse of emptynd nearby, and even a sizeable pension paid out on time, that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! Yup, I¡¯ll rip that girl off for those things and end it there. -Huh. Sounds like you¡¯re ripping her off for all it¡¯s worth, though? -I¡¯m turning her into a ruler of an entire continent. That¡¯s a cheap price to pay, wouldn¡¯t you say? How unfair is this, I ask you! I¡¯m trading the seat of the continent¡¯s ruler for a little bit ofnd and money! And I am even eliminating Belegrea¡¯s biggest political rival, Aggreahrt! Uwaaahk! I¡¯m getting pissed off! ¡°When angry, one should do this to blow off some steam.¡± I lightly raised my hand. A simply little wave of my hand was the simple little signal for the things to set off. It might have been a simple little gesture, but I was none other than the top ruler of the demon continent, the demon king! *** Kaaa-boooooom! ¡°Oh, nice~.¡± Apanied by a humongous explosion, a portion of the former demon king¡¯s castle began crumbling down. ¡°Will this really be fine, sire? Using the secret passageway to sneak in and quickly eliminate Aggreahrt might be more advantageous for us,¡± said Belegrea in aposed voice. Even though she maintained a calm face and kept her voiceposed, it was still impossible for her to hide the light in her eyes. Those eyes contained so many emotions while watching the home she had spent almost all of her life in crumbling down in mes and dust clouds. Of course, I amply understood the emotions in her heart. I, too, had to witness my farnd dyed in the ripening golden colour get burned down not too long ago, after all! However, that was that, and this was something else. Instead of allowing your emotions to cloud your judgement and mess up our n, it was far better to steel your heart and minimise our losses as much as possible. ¡°Do you honestly think that Aggreahrt isn¡¯t aware of that passageway?¡± ¡°My father told no one but me of the passageway¡¯s existence, sire.¡± ¡°I see. However, do you think Aggreahrt is an idiot? You once told me that he was one of the most trusted aides of the previous demon king. As such, we should assume that he¡¯s good enough to correctly guess what¡¯s on your father¡¯s mind. And truth be told, the explosions happening right now seem way more powerful than the explosive magic devices we¡¯ve nted are capable of.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. If we tried to slip in through that secret passageway, then there¡¯s a good chance that we might have gotten buried alive.¡± Of course, I was lying. Ah, but that didn¡¯t mean 100% of what I said was a lie. It¡¯s just that I couldn¡¯t predict the full firepower of all the magic explosive devices bought with all the avable funds of the Demon God¡¯s temple. In other words, I had no idea if Aggreahrt really knew about the secret passageway and tried to bury anyone alive if they wanted to use that route. ¡°I-is that so¡­?¡± However, such a lie was absolutely necessary for convincing Belegrea, a useful underling and the future ruler of thend who would diligently pay me my pension. Peoplebel such a lie the ¡®white lie¡¯, don¡¯t they? -Master, as far as I know, a white lie actually benefits the one getting lied to, right? But you are the only one reaping the benefits right now, no? -What do you mean by that! I¡¯m about to hand over the position of the demon king to this little girl, so this benefit is all for her, you know! Back when I wasn¡¯t as wise as now, I allowed the metal bat to read my mind as much as she wanted. She didn¡¯t call me out as often back then, but now that I learned a way to close my mind off, she began rubbing against my nerves the wrong way far, far too often for my liking. -Oh? Since you know, why don¡¯t you let me in, then? -Everyone will be happy if you just learn to keep your mouth shut, you know! In any case! Something as measly as the demon king¡¯s castle? We can always rebuild it using the funds from the Demon God¡¯s temple. Even bigger and shier than ever before, too! ¡°Alright. Next.¡± The first round of explosions destroyed a portion of the castle walls, destabilising the structure in the process. I gave the order for the next round of bombardment. ¡°In the name of our Demon God!¡± ¡°In the name of our Demon God!¡± A bishop¡¯s rallying cry prompted the other priests to yell out the Demon God¡¯s name. At the same time, several huge pools of magical energy began gathering! ¡°¡­Fire!¡± Those pools of energy were injected into the giant magic cannons to fire their magic projectiles. What we have here were magic weapons from the ancient era, sealed away in the Demon God¡¯s temple until now! ¡°Yup, bombarding your target is the best.¡± When long-distance damage-dealing was possible, there was no need to get up close and personal. Only the young, energetic warriors would request for an honourable duel and fight with their swords despite carrying firearms. Someone like me, who¡¯s already getting on in years and needing to lead the popce as the demon king, could not do something that stupid. ¡°As expected of a sealed weapon, huh.¡± These weapons were in another realmpared to what¡¯s on sale in the market ce. Themonly-avable magic cannons were simple devices that condensed magic energy into a projectile and fired it. However, not only did our cannons gather the magic power far more efficiently, but they also amplified the users¡¯ magic power dozens of times by passing it through countless engraved magic circles. When exined this way, our magic cannons sounded like the greatest weapon in the entire world, but there was a downside. Each shot required arge number of magic stones to fire, and their sizes were about double that of the regr magic cannons, which were already pretty big, to begin with. As such, these weapons rarely saw the light of the day. However, such issues posed no problem for me after utilising the financial wherewithal of the Demon God¡¯s temple. Hooray for money. Hooray for bombardment! ¡°Sire, will this be fine?¡± ¡°No. Keep at it and utterly destroy the target.¡± ¡°But sire, they have hostages.¡± ¡°Hostages aren¡¯t usually kept in the upper part of the castle. Destroying some walls should not be a problem.¡± We had plenty of magic stones, while each and every priest here possessed top-flight magical energy among the demon race. Some demons finished getting ready and tried to approach our position from afar, but they were instantly turned into chunks of bloody meat when the bombardment fell on top of them. Some tried to snipe us using magic, but I¡¯ve already calcted the distance before setting up camp here, so none of their attacks could reach us. ¡°Sire, this is totally one-sided, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Of course. Long-distance warfare is a battle of who can attack the farthest. It¡¯s impossible to win against an opponent shooting at you from a spot you can¡¯t reach.¡± The current situation made me automatically recall a scene from a TV show I saw a long time ago¡­ The scene of the admiral who never lost in the naval warfare crying out, ¡®Fire at our enemies!¡¯ to utterly sweep away the opposition! Demons so far away that they were no bigger than ants to my eyes were visibly getting dyed in the hue of crimson energy. ¡°Sire, they are chiefs of various tribes.¡± ¡°Yes, I can tell.¡± These chiefs looked small like everyone else since they were so far away. Despite that, I could easily guess their identities after witnessing how they managed to cut down the magic projectiles fired from our massive magic cannons. ¡°However, they are still too weak.¡± Since they could literally cut down the magic projectiles, they probably knew how to use sword light to some degree. But that was about it, really. I couldn¡¯t sense anything beyond that from them. For instance, an extraordinary level of skill to push back the former Sword Star, or the fleet of foot swift enough to escape from a hero who defeated an elder dragon, things like that. ¡°Could it be that the chiefs of the dog, wolf, snake and dragon-headed demon tribes are exceptionally strong?¡± ¡°I beg your pardon? Ah, yes, they are. Those four chiefs were the strongest among Aggreahrt¡¯s subordinates. So strong that people used to call them the Four Heavenly Kings.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Usually in fantasy novels, the so-called Four Heavenly Kings appearing early on in the story would get killed off quite easily only to be reced by others even stronger than them. However, let¡¯s think about that realistically for a second. Why were the Four Heavenly Kings called the, uh, Four Heavenly Kings in the first ce? Simple, really. It¡¯s because those four happened to be the strongest among their tribes. Imagine if there were stronger beings than them popping out of everywhere; forget Four Heavenly Kings, they would be nothing more than some mid-bosses, instead! ¡°They won¡¯tst long, it seems.¡± The chieftains initially looked haughty as they stepped forward to cut down the projectiles from our massive magic cannons, but that eventually petered out. They began missing more and more of the projectiles, and not too long afterwards, had to beat a hasty retreat. ¡°Is it over already?¡± We still had a ton of magic stones and magic energy recovery potions. I figured that we could still continue bombarding our target for the next twenty, no, make that thirty minutes as long as we managed the load sensibly. Of course, our opponents wouldn¡¯t be sitting on their butts doing nothing in the meantime. ¡°What is the current status of the demon king castle¡¯s siege weapons or defensive capabilities?¡± When attacked with weapons, the right way to fight back was to use your own weapons. Whatever weapons our opponents possessed, it shouldn¡¯t be as good as the ancient artefacts sealed away in the Demon God¡¯s temple. Even so, it was better than not having any. For instance, they could prevent us from firing our massive magic cannons in time, which should put them at an advantage over us thanks to their greater numbers. ¡°There are none, sire.¡± ¡°Mm?¡± However, the reply I got was shockingly anti-climactic. But, but! That¡¯s the castle of your leader, you know! A castle is constructed as a defensive structure, you know! How can there be no defensive weapons or measures built in?! The massive magic cannons we were using were designed to utilise the powers of the low-rank magicians that were basically useless in warfare. Fundamentally speaking, these cannons were never meant to be lugged around on the battlefield as I have done. No, their true intended purpose was to sit pretty in a castle somewhere and fire at the enemies by sucking out every drop of magic energy from the castle¡¯s upants! But to think that the biggest castle in the demon continent, the demon king¡¯s castle, didn¡¯t even have a single anti-siege weapon! Not even a magic cannon, you say? Belegrea tried to exin. ¡°No enemies came this far in our history, sire. And as I¡¯ve told you earlier, my father also knew a part of this world¡¯s truth.¡± ¡°Fine, no human managed toe this far. I get that. Putting that aside, what about the breakout of a civil war?¡± ¡°The instances of civil war in the demon race¡¯s lengthy history are so few that they can be counted in one hand, sire. Even those conflicts ended overnight due to one side sneak-attacking their opponents. Or the leaders of each camp fought it out in a one-on-one duel to end the conflict.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that the demon race doesn¡¯t have much of a history in siege warfare?¡± ¡°Basically, yes.¡± ¡°Even though an artefact from the ancient era is this powerful?!¡± ¡°As far as I know, these weapons were created to destroy the castle walls of the humans back in the ancient times, sire.¡± Huh, huhuh¡­ What a bunch of weaklings. Humanity¡¯s continent was overrun with all sorts of wicked trickery and schemes since the days of old. It was only normal to see dozens upon dozens of anti-siege weapons installed in human-controlled castles. Hell, humans even kept hundreds more anti-siege weapons in their storage just in case! ¡°So, then. That huge castle doesn¡¯t have a single anti-siege weapon. That¡¯s what you¡¯re saying?¡± ¡°Yes, sire. Aggreahrt argued for the instation of siege weapons, but those capable of reaching this far are catapults and not much else. But they¡­¡± ¡°No need to exin. They need time to assemble the catapults. Right?¡± ¡°Yes, sire.¡± Catapults can be quite a cumbersome weapon. They were big, too unwieldy, annoying to move around¡­ Not only that, those things were made out of wood and iron, so any rain would rot and rust theponents. But their huge size meant it was impractical to store them as-is. That was why people normally disassembled the catapults before storing them or moving them to the battlefield. Magic could be used to teleport them, too. That¡¯s how catapults were used in this world. Unsurprisingly, catapults wouldn¡¯t be assembled and ready to fire all day, every day, since that was a ¡®normal¡¯ castle we¡¯re talking about. And catapults weren¡¯t even a proper anti-siege weapon, to begin with. ¡°Wowsers. I¡¯m getting a bit deted here.¡± Why do I get the feeling that in a head-on sh, just two of the empire¡¯s corps would be enough to sweep these demons aside? The way these demons mobilised and reacted seemed systematic and not at all amateurish, but¡­ How should I say this¡­ ¡°¡­They are just weak.¡± The way I saw it, these punks wouldn¡¯t even serve as my shield before getting shoved aside if the Imperial Princess decides to invade this continent. Dammit! Looks like I now have more things to do! ¡°At the very least, someone make a breakthrough. Please¡­¡± The n I cooked up oh-so-carefully seemed to be drawing to a close during its first phase. Regr soldiers were too busy hiding from the magic bombardment by staying behind the copsed castle wall. Meanwhile, the chieftain-levelbatants couldn¡¯t do much other than evacuate the surviving soldiers to a safer location. Which meant only one variable remained unounted for. ¡°Who dares to do something this horrific!¡± And there he was, a man with a hulking physique pulling out his greatsword and stepping forward menacingly. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s him?¡± ¡°Yes, sire.¡± Belegrea nodded while pointing at the man advancing towards our position. That man dodged or deflected the magic bombardment while expending the least amount of energy. ¡°That man is the strongest fighter in the demon world right now, the greatmander, Aggreahrt!¡± Befitting his fame as the strongest warrior in the demon race, he made a beeline at the closest magic cannon to his position with a blinding turn of speed. ¡°Well, now. Time to enjoy the show, then?¡± And near that massive magic cannon was¡­! ¡°Let¡¯s enjoy the battle between the one closest to the demon king and our own hero!¡± ¡­Our blonde hero on standby! ¡°Since ancient times, nothing is more entertaining than a battle between a demon king and a hero, after all!¡± CLANG!!! While watching the sh of ck sword light of the demon and the golden sword light of our hero, I pulled out a bucket of popcorn prepared earlier. Chapter 192

Chapter 192

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 192 #22. Well, this is merely the beginning (7) > #6 Their circumstance: Aggreahrt¡¯s circumstance The castle began rumbling and shaking as loud explosions went off. The rocking of the building was so bad that even Aggreahrt boasting extensive training under his belt could barely stand upright. Judging from how the castle rumbled at a fixed interval, this couldn¡¯t have been a natural disaster like an earthquake but something artificial, an attack of some kind ¨C that¡¯s what Aggreahrt perceived. ¡°Can it be? But that can¡¯t¡­ be¡­¡± Once he realised it, a soft gasp left his lips. Currently, there were three factions hostile towards him. The first faction was the moderates led by Belegrea. This group was probably most hostile out of the three towards Aggreahrt, but without their core, Belegrea, to lead them right now, it¡¯d be hard for them to work together. The second faction was a group within Aggreahrt¡¯s own clique opposing his actions. Several chieftains disappointed by Aggreahrt¡¯s attack on Belegrea came together to form their own small faction. Although notrge, they weren¡¯t a clear enemy to him like the moderates, making their group rather difficult to deal with. But this faction didn¡¯t have a clear pretext to physically attack Aggreahrt other than throw around some disparaging remarks in his way. Since that was the case, only one faction remained. ¡°No, it surely cannot be¡­¡± The most cumbersome enemy out of the three factions¡­ Thergest and most influential religious sect in the entire demon continent, the Demon God¡¯s temple! The sect that the entirety of the demon race believed in! This faction was built around the demon king allegedly chosen by the Demon God herself, and it wished for Aggreahrt¡¯s death from the get-go. This faction attacking Aggreahrt¡¯s camp was a foregone conclusion. However, he was still taken aback, and there was a good reason for that. ¡°Didn¡¯t that happen not too long ago?!¡± The messenger from the Demon God¡¯s temple only left Aggreahrt¡¯s office not too long ago, and that¡¯s why he was so shocked. Indeed, it couldn¡¯t have been more than ten minutes. That wouldn¡¯t be enough to reach the nearest city, no, the nearest vige from the castle even if it was Aggreahrt moving at full speed. Unless an army centred around an archmage was outside the castle, this level of continuous attack wouldn¡¯t be possible unless the enemy had been preparing their armaments for quite some time. ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­?¡± [But the moment you suspect the sincerity of my deration, I swear to attack you without mercy.] Right at that moment, Aggreahrt began recalling thest chilling words written on the letter from the demon king allegedly chosen by the Demon God. ¡°He already finished his preparation when he sent that letter?!¡± Aggreahrt suddenly realised how scary his enemy actually was. There was no such thing as ¡®negotiation¡¯ to the demon king. He would simply punish those rejecting his hands of mercy right there and then, that¡¯s all. That was shockingly decisive. And it shook Aggreahrt all the way down to his core once more. ¡°Is he really following the will of the Demon God, then?¡± Not even the terms, daring and bold, were enough to describe such decisiveness. To think that that man would start bombarding the symbol of the demon continent, the demon king¡¯s castle, just because of a single rejection! Aggreahrt couldn¡¯t help but start thinking, ¡®He must be this bold in his decisions because he can hear the Demon God¡¯s voice!¡¯ Too bad for him, though, since Aggreahrt had already crossed a river that couldn¡¯t be uncrossed. ¡°Lord Aggreahrt!¡± Realising the severity of the situation at hand, Aggreahrt quickly began arming himself. Just as he was finished putting on his armour, one of his subordinates staggered into his office, looking clearly injured. Aggreahrt asked without even looking back. ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± The subordinate began his report. ¡°We¡¯ve been gatheringbatants with chieftains as our core to prepare for a counterattack, but we¡¯re having great difficulty due to the enemy¡¯s intense, unending bombardments, my lord.¡± ¡°Counterattack? Chiefs wanted to do that under such heavy bombardments?¡± ¡°Yes, my lord. They said that attack was the best form of defence, and¡­¡± ¡°Those fools!¡± Aggreahrt, who wasn¡¯t fazed by the bombardment, couldn¡¯t help but frown angrily at the report. He was the topmander of the demon race. As such, he was well aware of the individual chieftain¡¯sbat prowess and personality. ¡°If it¡¯s those muscle-brained martial art-loving fools, then they must be thinking of breaking through the bombardment head-on!¡± Aggreahrt might be a warrior, but he never overlooked the importance of tactics and strategies. Ever since he was a young boy, the history between the demon race and humans intrigued him. That¡¯s why he was well aware of how the demons were superior in strength but still lost to humans in the realm of strategies and tactics during the various skirmishes throughout history. Unlike humans and their history overflowing with tactics and all sorts of schemes, demons purely relied on their powers to end their conflicts. That was the reason for the demon race losing all the time. And this was the difference between Aggreahrt and the leader of the moderates, Belegrea. Belegrea determined that demons would always taste defeat when invading the human continent since they couldn¡¯t receive the Demon God¡¯s assistance. But Aggreahrt determined that demons could still win without the Demon God¡¯s backing if tactics and strategies formed the foundation of their invasion. Having determined that, Aggreahrt worked hard to implement this idea among the demons for almost a century, but now¡­ ¡°M-my lord, they might be thinking of another way to¡­¡± ¡°If those idiots were capable of something like that, demons would¡¯ve taken over the world a long time ago!¡± ¡­But now, he realised that it was an utter waste of time trying to change the minds of the chieftains! ¡°Bloody hell¡­! The Four Heavenly Kings were the only usefulrades by my side, but to think that they have all gone missing!¡± Aggreahrt gritted his teeth while recalling the four strongest, most loyalbatants under his wing. He deeplymented that they were not here with him right now. The chieftains of the dog-man and wolf-man tribes that could be controlled by him to a certain degree. And then, the only ones capable of making strategic decisions among Aggreahrt¡¯s faction, the chieftains of the me dragon and the snake-man tribes! If only those four were here¡­ Other chieftains wouldn¡¯t have made such a dumb decision! ¡°Tell everyone to¡­!¡± Aggreahrt was about to issue an order for the others to hide behind some covers and wait for an opening, but the loud screamsing from outside his office firmly mped his mouth shut. ¡°Kkuwaaaaahk!¡± ¡°S-save me¡­ My, my leg¡­¡± ¡°G-get out of the way!¡± ¡°Dammit!¡± It was already toote. It sounded like the muscle brains had already finished gatheringbatants and tried to charge at the enemy. While thinking about the chieftains that only knew how to order ¡®Attack!¡¯ and ¡®Charge!¡¯ Aggreahrt lifted his greatsword and mmed it against the window frame. ¡°This is mymand to allbat personnel. Give up on protecting the castle and spread out. There¡¯s a good chance that our enemy has already stationed theirbat force in our rear.¡± ¡°U-understood, my lord!¡± ¡°Combatants that managed to escape the bombardment will aim to take the enemy from the rear to the best of their abilities. As long as we kill the one proiming to be the demon king, we will have a shot at victory.¡± Aggreahrt spoke up to here, then jumped out of the window he just shattered. ¡°Dammit!¡± He couldn¡¯t do much other than curse out loudly at the sight of bloody lumps of meat that couldn¡¯t be called corpses anymore. This was nothing more than a one-sided massacre. ¡°L-Lord Aggreahrt!¡± ¡°All of you, retreat! Hide behind the sturdiest,rgest cover you can find!¡± Aggreahrt angrily roared at the demons that noticed his arrival. Even as he spoke, blue lumps of concentrated magic energy continued to rain down on his position. Even someone like Aggreahrt would have a hard time defending against such attacks yet those chieftains were still stupidly rushing forward nheless. He inwardly swore to re-educate his subordinates properly if he emerges victorious from this battle. ¡°Their bombardment is well-coordinated, but we still have a chance! Taking out only five cannons minimum will disable the enemy from firing so consistently at our position! I shall destroy the nearest cannons, so chieftains, follow after me once the enemy bombardment slows down!¡± Aggreahrt roared out his newmand, then began charging toward the nearest source of the bombardment. His speed belied his heavy armour and the massive greatsword! He maintained this impressive turn of speed and evaded the iing bombardment, eventually reaching the nearest source of the attack, but then¡­! ¡°Sky Cutter!¡± That¡¯s when he came face-to-face with humanity¡¯s hero right in front of the demon king¡¯s castle in the centre of the demon continent! #7 Their circumstance: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance Who am I, really? And why am I even here? Such philosophical questions danced around in my head nonstop, but then¡­ ¡°¡­Kuh-huk!¡± I no longer had the leeway to harbour distracting thoughts once I tried to defend against the iing attack. ¡°Die!¡± I tried to slip past the iing attack and counterattack from the side but my n ended in failure when the opponent¡¯s greatsword came down unbelievably quickly. This guy¡­ he was easily one of the strongest I¡¯ve ever fought. I had a feeling that out of everyone I ran into recently, only the Sword Star could rival this hulking demon! ¡°There was a talented individual like you among the human-like demons? Which vige are you from?¡± My opponent seemed to evaluate me quite highly, too. Although, there was this one thing that made me sigh in disappointment. ¡°I¡¯m Swinn of Raina.¡± ¡°Raina? There was a city of the human-like tribe like that?¡± And that was¡­ This big guy¡¯s eyesight didn¡¯t seem to be good at all. At this point, I had to assume that poor eyesight was a race-specific trait for all demons. ¡°Yeah, well, there is.¡± I nodded while touching the fake horn. What a miracle it was for this dang thing to not fall off during this intense battle. But then again, it was apparently manufactured by the absolute ¡®worst¡¯ race in the whole world, dwarves, so I had no choice but to ept my defeat here. Dwarves were the absolute worst since they were the best race for manufacturing evil things capable of threatening this world¡¯s existence, you see! ¡°Could it be a new settlement? But to think that such a ce managed to raise a warrior of your calibre!¡± ¡°We have a pretty deep history and tradition, though?¡± I ended up grumbling a bit at the demon¡¯s ignorance for turning the historic Raina house into a newly-established vige. Even though my family had its roots from the founding of the empire and all! Honestly speaking, though? I kind of understood where he wasing from. If I was a real demon, even I would never imagine that the enemy in front of me was a human hero. ¡°Stop lying to me. There exists a vige of human-like demons that I¡¯m not aware of? One with history and tradition?¡± The demon frowned a little and red at me, but I had no obligation to resolve his misunderstanding. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you believe me or not.¡± As soon as I finished replying, a stupidly huge mass of magic energy shot forward above my head. ¡°Don¡¯t you think this is far more urgent for you to deal with?¡± ¡°You bastard!¡± The way this demon charged straight at me after only a minor provocation made me think that his body and mind would be easy pickings for my instructor. How should I describe this¡­ He¡¯s quite powerful, but his mind was far too rigid? ¡°I knew it, all the education I got was rubbish.¡± All themon knowledge I learned during my youth back home and the information I picked up after leaving home and joining the Order needed to be amended in full. The leader of the enemy, famed for being an outstandingmander in both literary and martial arts, was this straightforward and inflexible. So, I have to wonder, will the demons really resort to vile schemes like what we¡¯ve been taught to believe until now? I had to ask that question in my head since the topmander was fighting even more honestly than a regr human knight, you see! ¡°Boulder Splitter!¡± I tried to attack with the most straightforward downward chop in the Order of Nature¡¯s swordsmanship, but then¡­ ¡°¡­Psyche! It¡¯s actually the Sword of Thorny Vines!¡± ¡°Kuh-huk!¡± My opponent dodged with a quick movement, but my sword aura mmed down like a flexible reed and still managed to carve out a chunk of his thigh flesh. ¡°How cowardly!¡± ¡°If you think that was cowardly, you shouldn¡¯t even think about attacking the human continent.¡± The empire was home to several individuals ¡®educated¡¯ by none other than my instructor, who had no rival in all things vile and underhanded in the entire continent. No, make that ever since the creation of this world itself! Those people were tormented and tortured by unimaginable methods, which led to them developing genius-level talent in unleashing suffering in others. And then, those who trained under them naturally inherited said talent. One of the symbols of this vicious cycle was Yugrasia, and it continued to produce monsters every year. These graduates were all brought under the empire¡¯s care for the sole purpose of capturing my instructor. Actually, I should say it¡¯s the Imperial Princess and not the empire, but whatever. ¡°I promise you this. No matter which army the demon race will meet in the human continent, nothing but death waits for them.¡± ¡°You know nothing, you bastard!¡± What do you mean, I know nothing? At least I can tell what your skill level is when you keep insisting on using way-too obvious sword attacks even in the current situation! ¡°Even so, you¡¯re pretty strong, aren¡¯t you¡­? Make that seriously strong.¡± The moment our swords collided, I was forced back three steps. Sure, I was unable to receive the divine blessing right now, but that took away nothing from all the trials and tribtions I have experienced in my life. For example, the bat or my instructor. Whether that bat was the wooden one or the metal one, it didn¡¯t matter! In any case, I survived and grew stronger in that hellish environment. Even so, I was being forced back by the enemy in terms of pure strength and magic power. While I was battling Belegrea earlier, I couldn¡¯t bring out 100% of my true power due to my nervousness and all the pressure I was under. But now? Despite calmly using all of my abilities, I still didn¡¯t think I could win against this guy. I inflicted him with various shallow wounds, but that¡¯s about it, really. Such wounds might help me if the battle gets drawn out, but my magic energy reserve will run out first before that happens. I managed to solo an elder dragon, but it looked like I wouldn¡¯t even be able to win against a much-weaker demon. ¡°Although, I don¡¯t need to win this.¡± Another round of heavy bombardment forced the demon to clench his teeth and began swinging his greatsword even faster. Time was on my side. All I had to do was drag things out, and the bombardmenting from the rear should eventually kill the enemy. ¡°You bastard!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. I also don¡¯t want to do this, you know?¡± ¡°Are you making fun of me!¡± The demon seemed to have given up on defending as he terrifyingly swung his greatsword. I was merely telling him the truth, but he refused to believe me. What a lonely world this was. His sword strike filled with killing intent came swinging in my way while the powerful aura solidified on the de. A technique to physicallyunch the solidified aura? It was possible to attack long-distance with this technique like magic, but the magic energy consumption was too high, making it impractical to use all the time. However, its effectiveness was unquestionable. ¡°Hey, I might really die here!¡± I watched as the massive magic cannon near us became nothing more than scrap metal in an instant. That made me think, ¡®Hey, isn¡¯t this getting a bit too dangerous?¡¯ ¡°You bastard, you still dare to mock me!¡± What the heck? I only blurted out that I might die because that was a distinct possibility today, so why are you getting so pissed off? You don¡¯t seem to have much patience, dude. Fortunately, there¡¯s a very good item to fix a person with a short fuse like you. ¡°You should be more careful with where you step.¡± I was talking about the best item in the world that taught you how futile your life was! #8 Their circumstance: A certain demon¡¯s circumstance The bombardment continued on, followed by a seemingly unending stream of wretched screams. I watched this nightmare unfold and shuddered in terror, but then, our sovereign finally stepped forward. As he has always done, our sovereign stood at the front of the battle. And as usual, he rescued us from the danger. ¡°Lord Aggreahrt¡­!¡± Watching the gant back of our sovereign, I¡­ No, we finally regained our courage. He always brought us victory. If we follow his gant back as he leads from the front, then, as usual, we should emerge victorious once more. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The magic bombardment still came flying in overhead, but we roused up our courage and began advancing. Even though ourrades next to me evaporated from the magic projectiles, none of us looked back and continued to march forward. One by one¡­ We didn¡¯t pay any attention to the gradually decreasing number of ourrades and chose to simply run forward to catch up to our sovereign. And when we finally reached the nearest source of the bombardment, we got to see ¡®it¡¯. ¡°Die, you bastard!¡± We witnessed our sovereign unleashing his strongest final attack on a blonde-haired human-like demon¡­ and said blonde demon grinning mockingly at the iing attack! ¡°You should be more careful with where you step.¡± The moment the smirking blonde demon said that, I used all my strength to cry out at the top of my lungs. ¡°My loooooooord!¡± My sovereign had failed to notice it, but from where I was, that thing was clearly visible. I could see a pool of silver liquid wiggling right below my sovereign¡¯s feet! ¡°Rising Dragon of Salvaaaaaaation!¡± A small fist emerged from the pool of silver something as a yell exploded forth. My sovereign tried to withdraw his sword in panic, but the blonde demon didn¡¯t permit that. The golden sword light wrapped around and entrapped the sovereign¡¯s powerful materialised aura. The sovereign couldn¡¯t withdraw his weapon in time because of that and allowed a silver-haired girl to smack him in the chin. ¡°Kkkuwaaaaaaaaahk?!¡± And we were given the opportunity to hear a primal scream exploding out of my sovereign¡¯s mouth just then. A scream that none of us thought was possible toe out of him! That one attack decided the victor of this battle. Chapter 193

Chapter 193

Evade the Hero and Flee! 193 #22. Well, this is merely the beginning (8) > #8 Their circumstance: Belegrea¡¯s circumstance My hand working overtime came to a stop. Was it because I¡¯ve been writing with a pen for too long? My wrist was screaming in pain. ¡°Mm¡­¡± I stretched both of my arms and yawned loudly, but that caused my entire body to scream in pain, too, starting from my shoulders. ¡°Ouch¡­¡± No matter how well-trained my body was, the fatigue from sitting behind a desk for who-knows-how-long was still difficult to endure. ¡°So much time has passed already.¡± I turned my head and looked outside the window, realising that the sun had set before I noticed it and the cool moonlight was flooding in. Was it nighttime already? It felt like I¡¯d been working nonstop for the past half a day without eating anything. ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine to call it a day?¡± So tired¡­ I¡¯ve been pulling all-nighters for the past few days in a row, and my fatigue level steadily umted during that time. Especially my mental fatigue¡­ ¡°Hah-ah¡­ Just a little bit more, then¡­¡± However, a shock far more graver than any mental fatigue still lingered in my head. I wasn¡¯t the only one suffering from it, though. Everyone present in that location at that moment must¡¯ve all felt that shock, too. I mean, quite a few of Aggreahrt¡¯s subordinates still haven¡¯t epted the reality even now, after all. Who knows what they will do once they finally get over the shock? Before they caused a problemter, I had to settle things down in our unified demon continent as quickly as possible. That¡¯s my duty, after all. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Unfortunately, my hand holding the pen didn¡¯t want to move at all. The memories from that day reared their head again, you see. ¡°Hah-ah¡­ I should get some fresh air. That should help.¡± After deciding that a bit of a break would do me a world of good, I got up from my chair and walked up to the window. My cautiously extending hand opened the window pane, letting in the moonlight and the still-cold night wind to brush past my face. Unfortunately for me, the memories inadvertently recalled didn¡¯t want to go back to the deeper recess of my mind. Actually, the moonlight proved to be effective in making me recall those moments even more vividly. I closed my eyes, causing the events of that day to y themselves out oh-so clearly in my head. * A few days ago , the demon race¡¯s greatest general, Aggreahrt, was executed. Despite his fame, his final moments weren¡¯t what you¡¯d call ¡®honourable¡¯ in the slightest. ¡°Kuwaaaahk!¡± The demons following behind Aggreahrt could only stand there and dazedly witness the figure of their gant general scream pitifully after a little girl began beating him up. That sight was just too unrealistic for anyone to behold, after all. Even I ended up thinking that it made no sense at all when the beatdown began. ¡°That¡­ is really Aggreahrt?¡± My jaw fell all on its own, and I ended up staring in disbelief. Aggreahrt, themander of the demon race¡¯s most powerfulbat force¡­ was no longer here. The one recing him was a loser screaming wretchedly while crying like a baby in front of his subordinates. ¡°Kuwaaaaahk?!¡± If you knew what Aggreahrt was like¡­ No, even if you heard about him in passing rumours, you¡¯d never, ever believe that he was capable of screaming so viscerally and with such primal emotions, too! ¡°P-please, no! No mooooore!¡± If I hadn¡¯t already experienced the beatdown of the silver-haired girl referred to as the Demon God¡¯s Blessing, I would¡¯ve thought that Aggreahrt was putting on an act to make me lower my guard. But that¡¯s how wretched and pitiful the current Aggreahrt looked. So much so that even I, his sworn enemy, couldn¡¯t bear to look at the torment he was in. ¡°S-save Lord Aggreahrt, now!¡± One of Aggreahrt¡¯s stupefied subordinates eventually sobered up and cried out desperately, prompting hisrades to charge straight at the silver-haired girl. Unfortunately, most of them fell powerlessly from the human hero¡¯s de. As for the rest¡­ ¡°Kuuuwaaaaahk!¡± Even those who managed to slip past the hero to reach Aggreahrt copsed while screaming in pure agony. No one had attacked them, however. No, they simply tried to attack the arms of the silver-haired girl, but they promptly copsed and started screaming right afterwards. ¡°Is someone sniping at us?!¡± ¡°Dammit! Even though the massive magic cannons are still firing away?¡± ¡°They had backup magicians on standby!¡± ¡°We must rescue our sovereign no matter what!¡± The demon race scanning their surroundings tried to rush to the side of Aggreahrt, but none of them was able to stop the silver girl. One by one¡­ As thebatants attacking the silver girl fell one by one, other demons watching on finally began realising something. And that was¡­ They were not being sniped at all! And their wretched screams were the exact same primal scream that their sovereign was making! ¡°C-can it be?! Merely attacking that child will cause that situation?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible to attack her, and she¡¯s so terrifying that even Lord Aggreahrt ended up in that state?!¡± ¡°But, but! An illogical creature like that cannot possibly exist! Either there¡¯s special magic or sorcery cast on that child, or we¡¯re being fed false information through illusion magic! I¡¯m sure about this!¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s right! There¡¯s no way a monster like that can really exist!¡± Their voices were getting louder in an effort to hypnotise themselves, but well¡­ They should be aware of how much their voices were trembling right now. As if to prove my point, none of the soldiers raising their voices wanted to take the first step forward. They simply watched their sovereign screaming away from some distance away. A short whileter, in this location where even the hero had stopped moving around¡­ Only the noises of Aggreahrt¡¯s screaming, the incoherent chatter of the silver girl, and the intermittent firing of the cannons could be heard now. ¡°P-please¡­¡± And everyone present finally got to witness it. They witnessed Aggreahrt¡¯s primal screaming morph into ardent pleas. They witnessed his ardent pleas morph into rage-filled curses and rants. And then, his rage-filled curses and rants became a pitiful little whisper of voice filled with utter desperation. ¡°Kill¡­ me¡­ now¡­¡± We all witnessed Aggreahrt begging to be killed. ¡°I shall humour your request.¡± The human hero watching on quietly walked up to Aggreahrt. The silver-haired girl observing this situation grumbled inaudibly, but she still stepped aside for the hero. That¡¯s because everything that happened until now was unfolding exactly as our current demon king, Marcus, had envisioned. ¡°I¡¯m envious. Of how you can find peace now.¡± The hero muttered that out while looking at the downed Aggreahrt, then he raised his sword up. Did Aggreahrt take those words as an insult? He gathered what remained of his energy to raise his fallen head and red at the hero. ¡°I was never given that opportunity, you see.¡± But Aggreahrt¡¯s head faltered back to the ground after he heard the hero¡¯s follow-up words. He had sensed how sincerely envious the hero was from thetter¡¯s expression. ¡°How¡­ is that¡­ thing¡­ even¡­¡± Aggreahrt, his throat too hoarse from all that screaming, barely managed to squeeze those words out with his dying voice. Those words seemed iprehensible even if you were right next to Aggreahrt. But the human hero and I both had experienced the soul-rending agony before, and we could understand Aggreahrt perfectly well. -Just what on earth is that irrational creature?! That monstrosity was capable of turning a swordmaster, a hero and even the demon race¡¯s greatest general into the same thing with just one hit. That ¡®same thing¡¯ being a powerless wreck that could only scream in agony! Your physique or mental fortitude cultivated through arduous training meant nothing in front of the silver-haired girl. You¡¯d simply turn into a creature that knew nothing but how to open your mouth and scream. The pain that you could never get used to¡­ The sense of powerlessness that dominates you, where it feels like you can¡¯t even lift a finger! The agony of repeatedly going through both could only be understood by those who had experienced it. It was only obvious that you¡¯d be curious about the silver-haired girl capable of creating such a nonsensical phenomenon. Aggreahrt chose to spend his final-words-before-death allowance on finding out the true identity of that silver creature. ¡°That thing¡­¡± The hero nced at the silver-haired girl some distance away for a second or two before opening his mouth again. ¡°The Evil¡­ No, I mean, the Demon God¡¯s¡­ uh¡­ Blessing in the¡­ eh¡­ physical form¡­ Something like that¡­¡± From the way he stuttered and stumbled with his words, it sounded like he was changing around what he initially wanted to say. Even so, Aggreahrt didn¡¯t doubt the hero at all. ¡°I¡­ see¡­¡± At the end of those faltering words, the hero¡¯s sword finally made its descent. One clean striketer, Aggreahrt¡¯s head was separated from the rest of his body. That was an empty, lonely death of the demon race¡¯s greatest general, the one who almost seeded in taking over the throne of the demon king. * ¡°Hah-ah¡­¡± I sighed and opened my eyes to stare at the bright moon shining away in the middle of the night sky. ¡°I wanted to take a short break, but now I feel more tired¡­¡± While closing the window, I continued to sigh away. Despite taking a break, I ended up even more tired. No need to mention the reason for that, of course. I settled back down on my chair and began delving into the mountains of documents waiting for me. Aggreahrt¡¯s death was a monumental event indeed, but the demon continent as a whole didn¡¯t fall into chaos as I initially feared. First of all, the witnesses to Aggreahrt¡¯s final moments were powerful demons that broke through the magic cannon bombardment through their own strength. Most of them were either chieftains or direct subordinates of a chieftain. And they all witnessed Aggreahrt¡¯s death with their own two eyes. In the process, they also witnessed Aggreahrt¡¯s pitiful figure, something they had never seen before. They watched it happen without being able to lift a single finger. The shock of the moment prevented them from doing something. No, wait. Maybe it¡¯d be more correct to say that they didn¡¯t do anything. The witnesses didn¡¯t oppose Demon King Marcus¡¯smands. They simply disarmed themselves at his order and returned to their individual tribes. I, too, followed his order to regroup my faction, and they have gathered here in the demon king¡¯s castle. We were currently focusing on repairing the castle and resolving various issues guing the demon continent. ¡°Mydy.¡± ¡°Old man¡­¡± The demon with a lizard¡¯s head, the Old Man Mekel, opened the door and stepped inside my office. ¡°Mydy, I thought you¡¯ve gone to bed by now.¡± ¡°I still have lots of work left, you see.¡± I smiled bitterly while pointing at the pile of documents on my desk. Demon King Marcus didn¡¯t work. Like, none at all. He handed over the authority to resolve all matters to me¡­ and at the same time, dumped all the work on my shoulders. Honestly, I could dere, ¡°I¡¯m the demon king now!¡± and everyone would start nodding along in agreement at this point! He seemed to value his time spent entertaining his daughter in the Demon God¡¯s temple more than actually working as a ruler. -Ng, that¡¯s it! You gotta wake up, girl! He¡¯s busy lying to you! A woman¡¯s voice rang inside my head once more. She sounded so¡­ mystical and holy that if a deity was really speaking to me, her voice must sound like this. -Y-yeah, you¡¯re right! I¡¯m really your God! Belegrea, you gotta wake up! However, the follower of the Demon God¡¯s will, Demon King Marcus, had dered thus: the insidious Evil God had already infiltrated the demon continent, and its influence was growing stronger every day. That¡¯s why he was asked by the Demon God to be her ¡®Apostle¡¯ despite being a human being. The Demon God received assistance from the Goddess of Nature to bring Marcus and his group to the demon continent. Apparently, the Goddess of Nature tended to be surprisingly neutral despite being a deity of the humans. Through the noble will of the Demon God, I encountered Marcus in that snowy field out of nowhere. To say he was lying¡­ His replies to my questions had always been utterly convincing, to say the least. And the human hero next to him also swore under the Goddess of Nature¡¯s name that everything Marcus said was true. -N-no, they are lying! That idiot hero was simply subdued by all the violence he¡¯s subjected to, that¡¯s all! The human hero was subdued? Even though that sounded nonsensical, if it was that silver-haired girl, it seemed quite doable somehow. -Y-yes, that¡¯s it! You got it! If I¡¯m being honest, this voice ringing inside my head has managed to shake my belief just a bit. No, wait. Before all that, I must admit that I didn¡¯t want to acknowledge Marcus as the true demon king in the first ce. -Y-yes, you¡¯re on the right track! Belegrea! If youbine your strength with my soon-to-arrive real apostle, you can definitely defeat the vile, evil, scheming seeds of¡­ The voice sounded rather desperate, which didn¡¯t suit the previous description of how holy it was, and it began clinging onto me. If this voice really belonged to the Demon God, then I have to be honest, the image I had of her would start to crumble a bit¡­ Nope, make that it¡¯d crumble by a lot! -W-well, I don¡¯t have a choice right now¡­ Well, sure. Let¡¯s say the voice was right. If Marcus really wasn¡¯t the demon king chosen by the Demon God, then this situation was easily the absolute worst one in the history of the demon continent. Simply put, both the Demon God¡¯s temple and the throne of the demon king had been taken over by a human. To think that a human was now in a position to do whatever he wanted with the demon continent! -That¡¯s right, Belegrea! The demon continent finds itself in its most dangerous crisis yet! That¡¯s why you¡­! In that case, oh the mighty Demon God. Please step forward and save our demon continent. -¡­Eh? The demon continent is in danger, so we need the help of our Demon God. -N-no, wait! I can¡¯t touch those punks, you see! That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been asking for your help! Why was a god called a god? We called them ¡®gods¡¯ because no other creature out there could disobey their will unless it was another god. Thisnd wasn¡¯t the human continent but the demon continent. Thend permeating in the Demon God¡¯s will, home to countless many demon race folks! Even if gods were restricted by the world¡¯sws, the Demon God should still be able to exercise her authority with such favourable conditions. I was confident of this, and my proof was all the recorded history of the demon race. -B-but, it¡¯s a bit different this time, you know¡­ Oh, you Evil God, be gone! -C-calling me Evil God¡­?! You actuallypared me to that rotten piece of trash¡­! After that, the voice stopped ringing in my head. I thought that the speaker sounded rather shocked judging from her parting words, but that¡¯s not something I should concern myself with. ¡°Mydy?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, old man.¡± I had been keeping my eyes closed after the voice came to me. Opening them treated me to the sight of the Old Man Mekel. ¡°Mydy. Marcus has contacted us to ry a message to you. He asks for your presence at the Demon God¡¯s temple tomorrow.¡± ¡°But, I already gave him the report on our progress yesterday?¡± ¡°He said that the matter tomorrow is of grave importance.¡± I nodded to indicate that I understood, then had the old man return. We had no choice but to follow Marcus¡¯s orders in our current situation, anyway. I didn¡¯t see a need to keep the old man here and grill him when he had been locked up in a prison cell and got tortured for a long time. Besides, that man, Marcus, did lots of totally random things, to begin with. ¡°Congrattions! Oh, the demon king chosen by the demon race!¡± The problem here is that he¡¯s just too unpredictable, that¡¯s all! Chapter 194

Chapter 194

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 194 #23. Policy Meant for My Dream! (1) > It all began with Ria¡¯s question. ¡°Sir, is it alright for you to be like this?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I was enjoying my time off with my daughter as usual, but Ria suddenly showed up and began interfering. Just what could have dissatisfied her so much? Not only was she staying in a highest-ss residence and enjoying top-quality meals, she even received top-tier service, to boot! Best of all, no weird people were chasing after her, either! -Master, your disciple is originally a daughter from a wealthy family, no? You dragged someone like that here, imprisoned her against her will and forced her to work like a ve, you know? Not being dissatisfied will be bizarre in that case. -N-no, hang on a minute! That¡¯s totally wrong! If it was No.1000, she¡¯d be over the moon just to get some delicious meals! It was unfortunate that I couldn¡¯t spread the joy of eating rice while dering, ¡°Oh, you wheat-eating heathens, this is what rice tastes like!¡± in this world, since I mostly ate the OttXgi¡¯s Ready-Washed Rice in my previous life. However, I still managed to usher in a new culture of fried foods. Sure, you could say that oil was a bit of a luxury item in this world, but people wouldn¡¯t think it¡¯s a wasted expense if I say it¡¯s a crucial ingredient in weing the¡­ Lord ¡®Chi-God¡¯. [1] Keuh~¡­ Hey, are you watching? Dear God, that brought me to this world? Just by spreading the goodness of fried chicken to this world, I¡¯ve already fulfilled my quota, you know! Not only that, but I also taught the people of this people how to fry potatoes, so you better show me your appreciation by guaranteeing myfortable retirement life! However, Ria was not a god, and it seemed she was not interested in guaranteeing myfortable retirement. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be working, sir?¡± ¡°Working? Belegrea is in charge of that, though?¡± ¡°Yes, she and I are resolving the majority of the matters, but there certainly exists some matters that can only be resolved by the demon king himself.¡± Ria handed over a thick pile of documents, and it was heavier than I¡¯d like. After taking a quick look-see, all of them seemed rather annoying to deal with. These matters had been already ¡®mostly¡¯ dealt with, but I still had to stamp my seal of approval as the top representative of the government. Even so, they could be sorted out simply by throwing around the name of the Demon God. ¡°These are some annoying things, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Please try to have some sympathy for people who need to deal with these annoying things, sir.¡± Ria¡¯s words were prickly, to say the least, but her voice didn¡¯t have much energy. How should I describe this¡­ She wasining because she had already given up on everything? I guess I could summarise it like so? ¡°Very well. I can certainly help you deal with these matters.¡± When I took the document piles, Ria spat out a long sigh from the deepest part of her heart. ¡°Thank you.¡± She didn¡¯t sound thankful at all, though¡­ ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I¡¯ve been dumping all the work on her shoulders until now, so it¡¯s about time I graciously humour a few of herints, no? ¡°Mm¡­ Nope, I was wrong.¡± Aaaand I began regretting right away. ¡°Master, you¡¯ve gotten a lot frailer, haven¡¯t you?¡± The metal bat muttered from my side. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not a spring chicken anymore, after all.¡± My eyes poring over the documents were getting dim and tired. I only moved my hands a little to wield a pen, but that was enough to ache my joints. And most importantly of all¡­ ¡°¡­I can¡¯t even be bothered.¡± ¡°Well, master hasn¡¯t done work like this in a long while, after all.¡± As soon as I spread out these documents on a desk, my daughter and the cat quickly escaped from here. I decided not to mind them and did my best to focus on the work at hand. But it was getting hard for me. And it was getting too annoying for me to care. ¡°All I wanted was to retire as a paper-pusher back when I still worked for the organisation, but to think that I¡¯ve be this useless at writing letters on some paper¡­¡± ¡°Well, back then, a desk job was much simpler for youpared to fieldwork, so that¡¯s why. But, things are different now, right?¡± ¡°Keuh-euk! Demon king, what a scary job it is¡­¡± I knew it, the demon king was a scary existence. Just one word from me was enough tomand countless priests. And I didn¡¯t even have to lift a finger to do that. On top of that, a scarcely-believable amount of wealth automatically entered my coffers every month. Let¡¯s not forget the vault filled with wealth saved up for hundreds of years, too! In one fell swoop, I acquired a job title as good as the emperor of the Karuan Empire and also became the wealthiest man alive on the continent at the same time. ¡°I joined the organisation after realising how much money I could make, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. And you made quite a bit of coin, master.¡± The sries and the incentives I received from the organisation was considerable, but what I skimmed off the top or while cooking the books was even more astronomical. For instance, I made sure to pocket about half of the repair budget allocated to the trainees¡¯ barracks that got destroyed once or twice every year. While saying stuff like, ¡°I need funds to train the prospects,¡± or ¡°Funds are necessary to attempt this task,¡± I kept siphoning off an astronomical amount of money from the organisation¡¯s coffers and used them for my own gains. A hefty chunk of that moh went into the metal bat, though! ¡°I knew it. Master, you¡¯re so evil!¡± ¡°That evil streak of mine led to your birth, so you better keep your flippant piehole shut.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± I briefly red at the metal bat after she quickly mped her mouth shut. But she looked up at me with a face that said, ¡®What¡¯s the problem?¡¯ This metal bat of mine was getting stronger with every passing day. Since day one, she was already strong enough to be called deus ex machina, but I always had a way to take her down a notch through a mental attack. But these days? It was her that found a way to take me down a notch, instead! -It¡¯s all thanks to a great master teaching me! As expected of a pro instructor! -Weren¡¯t you going to keep your mouth shut? -My mouth is shut, you know. It¡¯d never end if I kept humouring her like this. I was the busy one here, after all. Left without a choice, I stopped engaging the metal bat and picked up the documents again. And then, I swore to myself. ¡°Yup, as I thought, not working is for the best.¡± ¡°But master, you have to do this, no?¡± ¡°That¡¯s unfortunately true. I wish I could just quit being the demon king, but the demon race as a whole is just too weak.¡± These demons were so weak that if I put up the subject of conquering the demon continent as the graduation test for Yugrasia, I had a feeling that the conquest would be a resounding sess. Although, if I think about it more seriously, then something like the conquest of the demon continent seemed very unrealistic. However, if the incentive was the immediate discontinuation of the night studies, then well¡­ I got this sneaking suspicion that the Yugrasia students could really pull the conquest off. ¡°Master¡­ Your suspicion is usually on the money.¡± ¡°Indeed. Especially when it¡¯s a bad one.¡± ¡°And if that scenario also happens to contain a situation very unfavourable to you, master¡­!¡± ¡°It¡¯ll happen with almost 100% certainty!¡± This theory was amply proven by the fact that I was acting as the demon king right now. When I learned that my daughter was a half Subus, I had a gut feeling that one day, events would force me to enter the demon continent¡­ And it really happened! ¡°The demon race simply has to be stronger.¡± Even though these demons were socking, they fooled themselves into believing that they were stronger than humans. Sure, a single demon could easily y dozens of humans¡­ if those humans happen to be powerless civilians. Move up the powerdder, though, and humans were clearly stronger than demons. Thanks to the great war, the number of experts on the human side had increased by quite a lot. On the other hand, the demons had been enjoying a period of peace that gradually whittled down their number of experts. As a result, the number of new experts rising to prominence was certifiably low. ¡°Hang on, master? Aren¡¯t you basing that opinion on the people you know?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget that it¡¯s those people chasing after me right now.¡± ¡°Ahhh. You¡¯re right.¡± Even the metal bat nodded in eptance without any retort at that undeniable fact. Humans might be weak, but those humans trying to capture me were incredibly strong. Worse still, they were also crafty, to boot. ¡°First of all, I¡¯ll have some peace of mind by building sturdy walls by the borders¡­¡± ¡°Master, if you¡¯re thinking about that now, it¡¯s already toote, you know? I think spies sent by the scary big sisters are already hiding in the demon continent.¡± ¡°Come on, now. This is the demon continent. Which crazy underling would want to sneak in here as a spy?¡± There was a chance of a frontal assault, sure, but spies? That sounded far-fetched to me. Other than me, how many people out there could¡¯vee up with a revolutionary item like a wearable demon horn headband? ¡°I guess it¡¯s safe to assume that there aren¡¯t any hidden enemies in our own ranks for the time being. Aggreahrt¡¯s faction has already been disbanded and taken care of, so I don¡¯t have to worry about rebellions, either.¡± As such, there was only one thing remaining to do! ¡°Once we hold the coronation ceremony, the demon continent will have its normal demon king!¡± ¡°Ng? I thought you didn¡¯t want to be the demon king, master?¡± The metal bat tilted her head after hearing my grand n. ¡°Of course. There¡¯s no need for me to be the demon king. Why did wee to the demon continent in the first ce?¡± ¡°Well, the Imperial Princess is chasing us down, that¡¯s why.¡± ¡°Yes, that is certainly a reason. Make that the biggest reason, too. Buting to the demon continent wasn¡¯t just because of me. No, it¡¯s also rted to my daughter.¡± ¡°¡­Uh?¡± It seemed that the metal bat had finally caught onto what I was saying. ¡°C-could it be?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, my daughter holds the right to choose the next demon king!¡± The sacred authority of the chieftains¡­ As the sole remaining descendent of the Subus race in this world, my daughter held that authority. The current split in the votes was 50:50. This vote was still ongoing even though one of the candidates, Aggreahrt, was already dead. ¡°Like this, dad?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, my child.¡± As such, we cast our vote the next day while I held my daughter¡¯s hand. In my previous life, I often heard the tagline ¡°Your precious vote can change our country!¡± and here I was, actually witnessing that scenario bing reality! ¡°Oh, ohh¡­!¡± Once thatst vote entered the ballot box, the voting venue became awash with all sorts of magic circles. Letters rose up while emitting brilliant white light, and in the middle of them were 101 ballot papers floating up in the air. And then, even brighter rays of white light exploded to blind us. -ording to the Demon God¡¯sws, Belegrea is now dered as the new demon king. ¡°Oh, ohhh¡­¡± ¡°So cool, dad!¡± My daughter and I were suitably impressed by the gorgeously-shing letters floating up in the air. And the very next day¡­ ¡°Congrattions! Oh, the demon king chosen by the demon race!¡± I personally delivered this wonderful bit of news to Belegrea. Belegrea gasped out. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the demon king from this moment onward!¡± She looked utterly gobsmacked, but I didn¡¯t criticise her for that. I mean, she became the demon king practically overnight, so her shock waspletely understandable! ¡°Well, then! Let¡¯s prepare the official coronation ceremony, shall we! Since you¡¯ll be the new king of all demon races, the ceremony should be as grand as possible¡­¡± ¡°W-wait a minute!¡± [2] Since she looked out of it, I nned to quickly finish this up and go home, but too bad, it didn¡¯t work in the end. ¡°Tch!¡± ¡°S-since you clicked your tongue just now, does that indicate my suspicion is correct, sir?!¡± ¡°Ng? What do you mean by that? I¡¯m merely following the great and noble Demon God¡¯s will, that¡¯s all. Yes, all of this is the Demon God¡¯s will.¡± This kid was quite a lot sharper than she looked. Too bad for her, though, I was in possession of the solve-everything magic term ¨C the Demon God¡¯s will! ¡°Is that true, sir?¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible to fool a god. If I am lying, then there¡¯s no way that our great and noble Demon God would allow me to live!¡± -Uhm, master? Demon God must be trying to rip you apart right about now, you know? -But she can¡¯t, right? -Well, yeah. -Then it¡¯s all good. -You and your rotten humanity, master! Even if you say that, gods already had a prior of doing character assassination via bad manners on me before. Or, should I say, character assassination via godly manners? [3] I mean, they sent a hero and a saint to annoy the heck out of me just because they couldn¡¯t see what I was doing! Stalking was treated as a punishable offence back in my previous life¡­ and in this life, too! If only it wasn¡¯t for their meddling, I would¡¯ve been living my life quietly in a forgotten corner somewhere, you know! That¡¯s right, everything is the fault of the gods! ¡°Behold, Belegrea! Lying to the great, noble Demon God in her temple, yet there¡¯s no divine punishment? That simply can¡¯t be it, now can it! Our Demon God is a great being, a noble creature that watches over all demon folk in existence. There¡¯s simply no way that she doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s going on in her own temple. And that proves that my words are sincere.¡± That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t feel a single pang of guilt even when selling the Demon God¡¯s name down the river! -Master, even if the Demon God was a friend to you, you¡¯d still sell her down the river, you know? And still not feel any guilt whatsoever. I swear on my name as the Goddess Aru that I¡¯m 100% sure about this. A surprisingly sharp tackle tried to knock me down just now, but fortunately enough, only I could hear her. A tackle that no one else in this world would ever find out as long as my unyielding mentality, forged through so many trials and tribtions, endured! ¡°I-is that so?¡± As a result, Belegrea was left with no choice but to ept that she was now the new demon king. As expected of a devout believer of the Demon God, then. -I feel sorry for her, master¡­ -She¡¯s the new demon king, so why feel sorry for her? I was nning to make her the greatest demon king in the history of the demon race. The demon king that inherited the traditions and conventions of the demon race¡­ the one with the legitimacy, approved by the Demon God herself! You see, my n was to make her the first-ever demon king to possess both of those qualifications. -Master, I don¡¯t recall anyone enjoying a nice end after receiving your considerate support¡­ -Huh?! How dare you lie like that! Who are you even talking about! Who was it! -That good-looking Oppa that became your substitute, Yugrasia that became the greatest academy in thend, and then¡­ -Hey, you! You actually want to remind me of them?! I ended up getting flustered a little when the metal bat unhesitantly began naming the individuals in question. She must¡¯ve gotten excited by it too, because she even began pummelling my mind with horrible fact bombs like, ¡°Being next to you causes even a perfectly-normal hero to turn into a demon king¡¯sckey, master!¡± N-no, this won¡¯t do! I still have a ton of important things to do! Don¡¯t you know how hard I have been preparing in that brief time for the sake of not working in the future?! I can¡¯t afford to let them all go to waste! I even had to send my daughter away for this asion, you know! The sight of her being so sad and saying, ¡®Dad¡¯s too busy to y with me¡­¡¯ really hurt me in the feelings, too! Don¡¯t give up, me! I mustn¡¯t lose to a fake living organism made out of some metal! ¡°The Demon God has dered thus. You possess the qualifications to be called the demon king. Just like your predecessors have done, devote yourself for the sake of all demon race.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Belegrea deeply bowed her head at me¡­ Oops, I mean, at the Demon God she thought was standing behind me. However, this is merely the beginning. ¡°We must spread the will of our great, noble Demon God using the opportunity afforded by the coronation ceremony.¡± While saying that, I handed over a document to Belegrea. It contained some things I wrote after diligentlybing through my memories. ¡°This is¡­?¡± ¡°This is the will of the Demon God. The proof that she wishes to change the demon world.¡± Belegrea¡¯s eyes darted around as she quickly read the document. ¡°A spectre is wandering on the demon continent. A spectre called Communism¡­¡± The wordsing out of her mouth was none other than a certain great speech from my previous life that ushered in a significant change to the world. Since ancient times, a demon king was supposed to have a stirring speech ready to dere at any given moment! Of course, my memories being what they were, I only knew the foreword and the general gist of the contents. But the crux of this document, what I really wanted to convey, wasn¡¯t the Socialist ideal that Engels or Marx wanted! No, what I was going for was the lip-service Socialism often mentioned by the Missile-firing pig¡­ Oops, I meant the great leader of the North, Kim X-un! Yes, my goal was to create a pseudo-socialist society where only I get to live a good life! ¡°From this moment on, the demon world will follow the Demon God¡¯s will to be the People¡¯s Republic of Ko¡­ No, I mean, People¡¯s Republic of Demons!¡± And so¡­ a social revolution meant only for me and me alone began to take shape step by step. [1]: The Korean ng used here was ¡®???¡¯, which is a portmanteau of the English word ¡®chicken¡¯ and Korean word ¡®???¡¯ (God) Basically, it¡¯s fried chicken¡­ [2]: Maaaan, I almost went with ¡°chotto matte!¡± here. [3]: There was a reference to Hearthstone¡¯s ¡®BM/bad manners¡¯ here, but the joke itself was impossible to trante to English. I did what I could, so noints, please¡­ Chapter 195

Chapter 195

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 195 #23. Policy Meant for My Dream! (2) > The preparations proceeded quite quickly. The overflowing wealth of the Demon God¡¯s temple was put to good use to rebuild the demon king¡¯s castle into something even more shy than before. Messages were sent to all the other temples, ordering them in the name of the Demon God to attend the coronation. That alone was enough. The best-quality material from all corners of the demon continent was being brought in every day to repair the demon king¡¯s castle. Meanwhile, many temples found throughout the continent began sending envoys. This world might not have social media, but rumours still had a way to spread everywhere. Just like the old proverb from my ancestors about the legless horse travelling a thousand leagues! [1] Then again, half of all the demons were in Belegrea¡¯s faction, to begin with. Obviously, they would¡¯ve known what was going on. And the remaining half was in the now-dead Aggreahrt¡¯s faction, so unless they were as blind as bats, they must¡¯ve realised the truth by now, too! ¡°Do you really think your scheme will work, instructor?¡± ¡°Everything is ording to Demon God¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that might work with the demon race, but it won¡¯t fool me, sir. And I certainly don¡¯t have a reason to fall for it, too.¡± Ria¡¯s re had gotten a lot coldertely. I sneakily averted my gaze away from her. My workload had increased, sure, but her workload had increased three times¡­ no, make that five times worse than before. She wasn¡¯t even an office worker, yet she now had to do overtime, too! My conscience had no choice but to acknowledge the depth of her rage. -M-master, you¡­ actually have a conscience?! -Hey, you! You¡¯re getting too shocked by this, you know! The metal bat¡¯s shock and agitation transmitted through our mental link were far too strong for my liking. She wasn¡¯t trying to put me down like usual, but really was freaking out right now. -B-but, I thought you discarded your conscience back in the human continent, master! -Hey! Where would you find a more conscionable man than me! At the very least, I¡¯m in the top five, I¡¯ll have you know! -But we¡¯re in the demon continent, master! And there are only three humans here! Obviously, you¡¯ll be in the top five, then! Dang it, she saw right through me. I was being clever with the top-fiveparison and tried to fool the metal bat with it, but she didn¡¯t fall for it. -This is Goddess Aru¡¯s power of observation! Thanks to an evil master, this goddess¡¯s eyes can now see through all sorts of lies! What a pride-filled reply that was. If she had been standing next to me in her human form, I thought the metal bat would stretch that t chest of hers while trying to put on airs. Since she was just a lump of metal in the first ce, I didn¡¯t know where her eyes really were. But if Ie out and say that out loud, she and I might end up in a war of words. If this had been in the past when I could¡¯ve easily runps around her, then fine. But now, there was a risk of getting hit by her painful counterattack, so I should be the adult in this situation and back off. This was what people called the strategic retreat. I might yield this particr battlefield, but I shall triumph in a different one. Indeed. Right now, I don¡¯t need Lu Bu (the metal bat), who was basically useless in internal affairs. But I certainly needed someone like Xun Yu, who worked hard at home and contributed significantly to the governance of his country! ¡°This is all for the sake of world peace.¡± The words I came up with after much brain-racking to appease the troubled heart of my own Xun Yu were¡­ ¡°Lies.¡± ¡­Were shot down mercilessly with a single word. ¡°W-what do you mean, lies!¡± Not even a kabocha would¡¯ve been this firm and decisive! [2] Even I became a little flustered at how assured she was with her reply. ¡°Achieving world peace from the demon continent? Do you honestly expect me to believe that, instructor?¡± ¡°The demon continent is also a part of our world, is it not? It all depends on what we do in the demon worl¡­¡± ¡°Yes, sure. I already know.¡± I tried to continue on with a speech I prepared just in case, but Ria abruptly cut me off and brazenly stared straight into my eyes. -I¡­ I¡¯m being cowered¡­! -Keuh~! Master is being pushed back by his disciple? I guess you¡¯ve lost your edge now, master. My disciple is all grown up. But maybe she has grown up too much! Well, I guess the adorableness of their teen years wouldn¡¯t stay the same as they enter their 20s. After all, there have been far too many incidents during those years¡­ Years that could either be too long or too short, depending on how you wanna look at it. This girl matured into her current self somewhere where I couldn¡¯t watch over her. And now, she was mature enough to corner me, her dear instructor, to this degree. Sniffle¡­ As her teacher, I feel so gratified about¡­ My foot! She was already a dangerous individual that lorded over one of the top ten Great Demons, to begin with. But now, her danger level has gotten even higher! -Master, from where I am, most of her life¡¯s events were rted to you or your surroundings, you know? In other words, you definitely ruined this girl¡¯s life. -But, that can¡¯t be! I personally raised her back in the organisation, and thanks to me, she was able to enter Yugrasia Academy, and after that, she¡­ ¡­Hmm. She got captured by the Imperial Princess and was forced to join a criminal organisation that shouldn¡¯t be allowed to exist, the Kidnap Ast Squad. -After that, she got summoned against her will during her sleep, and now, she has to take care of the demon continent¡¯s internal issues! ¡­When listening to this chain of events, it honestly felt like I¡¯ve been leading a trash life so far. -It¡¯s not just your feelings, master. It¡¯s the truth! Thanks to the metal bat making an utter mess of my conscience, a small gap was pried open in my iron-like mental fortitude. Ria didn¡¯t miss that opening and mercilessly began digging in. ¡°What is your true objective, instructor?¡± ¡°Well, that¡­¡± Since I had my wisdom, it didn¡¯t take me long to construct yet another perfect-sounding pack of lies, but I had a feeling that it would not work on this girl right now. When stuck in a situation like this, being upfront might yield a better result. ¡°I merely wish to enjoy afortable life. A life where no one tries to interfere.¡± ¡°I see. Understood.¡± ¡°Mm?¡± Fearing that Ria would not back off that easily, I prepared myself to lean on my daughter¡¯s cuteness and create a Korean soap opera that you couldn¡¯t watch without shedding emotional tears. But Ria epted my exnation quickly, and that caught me totally off-guard. ¡°A-are you happy with just that exnation?¡± ¡°Yes, instructor. I¡¯m in charge of dealing with most of the issues, and naturally, I learned all about those things you ordered Belegrea to carry out. There seemed to be quite a lot of dangerous things in your orders when viewed from the standard of the human continent, instructor.¡± Of course, they were dangerous. Very dangerous. I mean, I was saying the concept of the social ss should be thrown to the dogs and that everyone must live on as equals. You don¡¯t need any social status. Simply follow themand of the ruler chosen by the Demon God herself! Say something like this in the human continent, and you¡¯d immediately get burnt at the stake by the pdins dispatched by a nearby religious order. If the pdins were feeling charitable, then you might taste the nobles¡¯ full course torture meal instead. Ria continued on with her observation. ¡°However, this is the demon continent. This doesn¡¯t concern us, does it?¡± Indeed, that¡¯s why it didn¡¯t matter. In a certain sense, what Ria said could be seen as heartless. Even then, that was a reply worthy of my disciple. ¡°However, I have a request, instructor.¡± ¡°What kind of a request?¡± ¡°If this matter works out as intended, then¡­ I¡¯d like to head back to the other side of the continent.¡± Ria¡¯s unyielding eyes staring at me didn¡¯t even tremble once. If I said no to her here, she¡¯d probably resist me with everything in her power. There was the option of beating her up senseless with the metal bat, but doing so would mean all the humongous piles of work on her desk falling down on top of me, instead. And if I¡¯m being honest, it was seriously challenging to cover this girl and the hero with just the lone metal bat. If it hadn¡¯t been for their psychological fear of the metal bat that went beyond mere mental trauma and had evolved into something even worse, one of these two would¡¯ve escaped from me by now. ¡°Let¡¯s say we do, then you¡­¡± ¡°I swear not to say anything to the Imperial Princess. I¡¯ll mp my mouth shut and lead a quiet life.¡± I could only chuckle hollowly at how she expertly snatched away the words on the tip of my tongue. Her eyes were resolute as if she was driven by belief. Even so, I noticed her tightly-clenched fists trembling ever so slightly. Despite her fears, she couldn¡¯t give up here. She must¡¯ve thought that this would be herst chance. That¡¯s why she tried to ovee her fears and bravely stepped forward! ¡°I shall allow it.¡± ¡°R-really?¡± Ria¡¯s eyes were sparkling so brightly as if she didn¡¯t expect me to agree so quickly to her request. I nodded again to reaffirm. ¡°As soon as I step down from the position of the demon king, I shall permit you to leave the demon continent.¡± Well, I already had the hero as my go-to gopher so there¡¯s no real reason to keep a risk factor near me, no? #1 Their circumstance: Ria el Nermia¡¯s circumstance ¡°Hah-ah¡­ Hah-ah¡­ Hah-ah¡­¡± The moment I stepped into my room, a heavy panting broke out of my mouth. My heart was pounding madly away. So terrifying. Terrifying, but¡­ ¡°¡­But, I¡­ I did it!¡± Finally, I could unfurl my tightly-clenched fists. They were so soaking wet that actual sweat drops trickled off my palms. -Congrattions, master! ¡°Sniffle¡­¡± When Surtr sincerely congratted me, I inadvertently plopped down on the floor. The handsome substitute teacher told me this some time ago: ¡®The instructor once said this to me. If you could transform that fear into courage, then¡­ Then, you can achieve anything.¡¯ I remembered those words while buried in my new work. And those words gave me the necessary courage. The substitute teacher made a distant expression and said, ¡®As soon as the instructor told us that, he pulled out the metal bat¡­ And that was when we learned for the first time the existence of the metal bat.¡¯ How terrified was I when those words entered my head while asking the instructor to let me go home! I even began thinking, ¡®Ah, it¡¯s over now. I¡¯ll spend the rest of my life here¡­¡¯ In the end, though, I am free. -No, to be more specific, you¡¯re scheduled to be freed. ¡°You¡¯re right. So, let¡¯s finish everything as quickly as possible.¡± The sooner we hold Belegrea¡¯s coronation, the closer the date for my departure will get, too! Once I get back home, I swear to stay in the family home forever. I¡¯ll request grandfather and spend the rest of my life researching in the magic tower¡¯s basement. But if he says no, then I¡¯ll just ask mother and get married to a powerful, prominent family right away. I have long discarded my foolish daydream of not getting married until I be an archmage, after all! It¡¯s about time I get married, anyway. The average age for marriage in the empire¡¯s top four families was on the higher side. Even so, most of them would already be engaged to someone by now. Only I didn¡¯t have something asmon as a fiance. ¡°As for my husband¡­ I guess younger than me?¡± People around my age, who haven¡¯t married yet? The number of such people was extremely low. And most of them were, rather mysteriously, all working for Her Majesty the Imperial Princess. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll give up on a man with a simr age as mine!¡± Everything would be over if I get connected to someone from that circle again! I mean, how hard was it for me to earn this freedom?! I had to infiltrate deep into the demon race¡¯s territory, so much deeper than anyone else in humanity¡¯s history. But that wasn¡¯t even the end of the story, as I was now dealing with tasks of far more importance than what the demon race¡¯s princess was doing. In one sense, I was a traitor to humanity. But on the other hand, I have somehow achieved an incredible feat when viewed from humanity¡¯s history! ¡°I¡¯ve done and seen everything that life can offer. And it¡¯s about time I lead a normal life.¡± -Indeed, master. Even a Great Demon that lived for thousands, nay, tens of thousands of years acknowledged my life¡¯s ups and downs. I entered the evil organisation at a young age and encountered the instructor, then entered Marsis afterwards¡­ only to re-encounter the instructor during the empire¡¯s academypetition. To survive, I had to enter Yugrasia only to end up in a strange organisation controlled by the empire. And after that eventful ride, I was forced to enter the demon continent and be the right hand of the demon king. Right now, I was basically the prime minister who managed the demon continent¡¯s affairs. Write an autobiography of my life, and people would g me off for lying my head off. Write a novel about it, then people would evaluate me for being very creative. That¡¯s how nonsensical my life sounded. -But that will be over soon! ¡°You¡¯re right! It¡¯ll end soon!¡± I burst out in a happy yell at Surtr¡¯s deration. Yes, it¡¯ll be over soon! This horrible, crazy life will end soon! ¡°What will end soon?¡± -H-how in the world¡­?! ¡°Obviously, I¡¯m talking about this nonsensical li¡­ Huh?¡± I was so lost in this overwhelming happiness that I assumed the voiceing from right next to me belonged to Surtr. But that mistakested for only a moment. That voice sounded way too different from Surtr¡¯s, after all. No, more than that, the voice itself was physical in nature, not transmitted directly to my mind. And that voice sent a deathly chill down my entire body. ¡°H-h-how¡­?¡± My jaw went ck from the presence of someone who shouldn¡¯t even be here. We were in the demon continent. A continent where humans didn¡¯t live. No, a ce where humans shouldn¡¯t even be present! That¡¯s why I had let my guard down. Even though I¡¯m a human being, too! Even though I¡¯m in the demon continent! ¡°Of course the team leader will be where her underling is!¡± Ehem~! While proudly pushing her chest forward, the team leader of the Kidnap Ast Squad, Mirua, grinned brightly in satisfaction. ¡°Okay, so~, what will end soon?¡± ¡°T-t-that, well¡­¡± ¡°Ng? What is it? Is it something you can¡¯t confide in your dear team leader?¡± For a moment there, I fell into a dilemma. Should I tell Mirua everything, or should I try to escape and alert my instructor? I mean, the instructor¡¯s influence and power are far greater than hers in the demon continent, aren¡¯t they? Besides, the metal bat is here, too! ¡°Ng? You can tell your reliable team leader, you know? Get it off your chest, and it¡¯ll get so much easier for you~.¡± However, the way Mirua nonchntly munched on a piece of jerky in the Demon God¡¯s temple smack dab in the middle of the demon continent was¡­ I ended up confessing everything to her as if I was under a hypnosis spell. [1]: The Korean word for ¡°words¡± is the same as ¡°horse¡±, hence the proverb of legless horse(words). [2]: There was a Korean pun here that got lost in trantion. A kabocha (sweet pumpkin) is called ¡°???¡± while ¡®firm and decisive¡¯ is ¡°??¡±. Chapter 196

Chapter 196

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 196 #23. Policy Meant for My Dream! (3) > #2 Their circumstance: Belegrea¡¯s circumstance ¡°Old Man Mekel, am I¡­ trembling?¡± ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± I could only sigh at length at Mekel¡¯s instant reply. ¡°Old man, you¡¯re supposed to give me encouragement in a situation like this, you know¡­¡± ¡°But ma¡¯am, you were always on top of your game without me around.¡± Mekel¡¯s remark managed to calm my trembling hands. ¡°You¡¯re still the same, old man.¡± ¡°But ma¡¯am, I¡¯m no longer a youngster. I¡¯m old enough to have retired a long time ago. That¡¯s why I ask of you to stop putting me to work and let me get some well-deserved rest.¡± The Old Man Mekel¡¯s solemn request brought a faint grin to my lips. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being too much, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°No, I really can¡¯t.¡± When I solemnly replied to him, Mekel¡¯s expression stiffened a little. ¡°Is it¡­ that serious, ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just going easy on you because of your injuries, old man. But once you recover to an extent, you¡¯ll be wading the depths of Hell with me. You better prepare yourself.¡± I wasn¡¯t joking at all here. The birth of two demon kings led to the busiest-ever period in the demon continent¡¯s history. However, one of said demon kings was doing nothing but sucking on his thumbs, which meant I was saddled with all the work. Ria was helping me, but even she dumped most of the difficult work on myp while saying that a human shouldn¡¯t learn about the important matters of the demon race. She was right about that, of course. Marcus might be a human chosen by the Demon God, but Swinn and Ria were not. Not only that, but they were also high-ranking nobles of the human continent¡¯s most powerful nation, the Karuan Empire. This issue was beyond the matter of trusting them or not; nothing good woulde out of them learning about the demon continent¡¯s secrets. Ria was right. But, all the really important documents still went through her first before reaching Marcus. Which meant that she still had ess to all the important information! She was going to find out anyway, so why couldn¡¯t she help me out?! I requested her help so many times, but her silver tongue managed to get me every single time, and I had to leave her office with documents clutched in my arms, my head passively nodding away. ¡°Sounds like I¡¯ll have to tender my resignation soon.¡± ¡°As the new demon king, I forbid it.¡± Old Man Mekel seemed to be panicking slightly here, but if this work rate kept up, I¡¯d end up as the first demon king in history to copse from overwork. ¡°I¡¯ll never let you go, Old Man. It¡¯ll be better to resign yourself.¡± ¡°Ah, aaah¡­¡± Just as Mekel began despairing, I taught him the truth of resigning oneself to reach one¡¯s peace of mind. ¡°To think that I¡¯d have to work overtime in my twilight years¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s better than working overtime from the start of your career, though.¡± I felt genuinely sorry for the old man but, truth be told, there weren¡¯t any talented individuals in the demon continent. Do you know what Aggreahrt and I had inmon? It was our policy. A policy to foster individuals with excellent intellect even if theirbat prowess was foundcking! The demon continent¡¯s politics and economy might be smaller in scalepared to the human continent, but we still had them, and we needed to deal with them ordingly. Tribes mostly took care of those matters, but Marcus¡¯s ultimate aim was to unite them all! ¡°Old man, our dream has been achieved. Demons will not invade humans in our generation, at least.¡± While trying to deal with the internal matters, the ruling ss of the demon continent should keel over from overwork. ¡°Is that so, ma¡¯am¡­¡± Mekel¡¯s tail visibly sagged, a sigh leaking out of his mouth after imagining all the work waiting for him in the future. ¡°That damn Aggreahrt. He should¡¯ve tortured me until I couldn¡¯t even move anymore¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t feel too aggrieved by it, old man. If your lower half was left paralysed, I¡¯d have dumped a desk job on you. If your hands were cut off, I¡¯d have tasked you with a speaking role. While alive, there are still so many things you can do for me.¡± ¡°I heard that the Demon God even has ties to the Great Devils in Hell¡­ But I had no idea that our home would be actual Hell.¡± ¡°Ng. And she even brought her apostle to do so, too.¡± Hah-ah¡­ Old Man Mekel and I groaned at the same time. That¡¯s because we both feared what was in store for us. ¡°Even so, I¡¯m no longer nervous now.¡± ¡°Compared to what¡¯s waiting for us in the future, a coronation is nothing at all, ma¡¯am.¡± He was right. This was nothing at allpared to what Marcus and I had to do in the future. All this was the Demon God¡¯s will. To bring her will to reality, I shall devote my entire being. -B-but, it¡¯s not my will at all! My heart demon began voicing its noisyints in my head again, but it was not enough to shake up my determination. -I¡¯m not a heart demon! ¡°And so, we shall nowmence with the coronation of the demon king, Belegrea.¡± I ignored the voice ringing in my head and stepped forward in light steps. The demon king¡¯s crown that once adorned my father¡¯s head was now ced on mine, and Marcus began his congrattory speech. Soon, though, my turn hade. ¡°A spectre is wandering on the demon continent. A spectre called Communism.¡± I began reciting Marcus¡¯s speech that I memorised earlier while putting my life on the line¡­ Since the silver girl was standing next to me while I was memorising it! *** ¡°When the concept of private property gets abolished, you could argue thatziness will run rampant in our society! However¡­!¡± I watched Belegrea passionately make her speech while sensibly adjusting the tone and the force of her voice. It was very satisfactory. As I thought, that girl was very good at this. -But you ced me right next to her and threatened to beat her up if she gets any part wrong, master! -Isn¡¯t it fine to get a little love tap on the head, no? -If you say that to the one getting hit, I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯ll try to strangle you to death? -Didn¡¯t you also get excited back then? -Obviously! An overabundance of people to beat up! All those people personally showing up to see me for their own beatdowns! The demon continent is the best! The metal bat let out a shriek of delight and began exining to me all the advantages of the demon continent. Well, if I were to summarise her rant, then the demon race was the ultimate masochist group in existence. ¡°All demons are fundamentally born workers! The first step in our revolution is for you to seize the authority for yourselves and secure democracy!¡± The content of the original speech was quite long, but I had to trim it here and there. The thing was, I couldn¡¯t recall far too many parts of the speech. However, I also bravely omitted certain sections that I did remember. For instance, stuff about our history being one of ss warfare, or how the ss warfare was political warfare. I also omitted things like ¡®bourgeois¡¯, ¡®capitalism¡¯ and others of simr nature. If I had left all those stuff in the speech, then well¡­ The speech itself would have to end with, ¡°All of you understand now, don¡¯t you? And now, kill each other,¡± as if a certain famous snake ¡®teacher¡¯ from an orphanage was saying it. What I required now was absolute royal authority. On the surface, it was supposed to be an equal, fair society no longer governed by the ss system. But in reality, what I wanted to see was a world where the king¡¯smand meant everything. Even I couldn¡¯t tell just for how long the magic term ¡°Demon God¡¯s will¡± would continue to work on the demon race, after all. Before someone starts questioning this whole thing, I must create a world where following the demon king¡¯s will was the most natural thing. ¡°We shall endeavour for the total unity of all the tribes! We abhor hiding our opinions and intentions! What we discard today is the rotten, corrupted order of yesterday, but we shall gain a new world ording to the Demon God¡¯s will! People of the demon race, we shall unite as one!¡± Belegrea reached the climax of her speech and began shouting even louder. Demons that showed up today to witness her coronation apuded raucously and cheered on. Very good. It¡¯s going very well. From now on, I shall spread the goodness of Communism and be the Great Comrade Leader, Marcus! And then, I shall rule the demon race from the shadows! ¡°¡­But things are not working out as you intended, right?¡± ¡°Dammit!¡± The metal bat¡¯s snarky remark made me hold my head in despair. Bloody hell?! This really was beyond my expectation! ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought that the demon race as a species could be this stupid!¡± I had to spend three days and nights racking my brain toe up with that Communism speech! If the original writer, Marx, had read it, then he would¡¯ve tried to grab my cors and yell at me, asking me what I have done to his speech. However, I really did put in a lot of effort when judging from my own standard to write that speech. I felt so gratified afterpleting it and even thought to myself, ¡°To think that I managed toplete something this monumental!¡± But now?! ¡°A-are you sure that none of the chieftains understood the speech?!¡± ¡°Y-yes. Unfortunately¡­¡± I stared in disbelief at Belegrea as she sneakily averted her gaze away. ¡°Really? Seriously?! Not even one?¡± ¡°Yes. No one.¡± ¡°Okay, but what about regr demon folk, not the chieftains?¡± ¡°The thing is, most intelligent individuals among the demons happen to be the chieftains. And since none of them understood the speech, well¡­¡± Huh. Huhuhuh¡­ I was speechless. Sure, I¡¯ve already heard that the majority of demons were muscleheads and that they hated using their brains. However, I still didn¡¯t expect them to be this hopeless. Even though I really believed that the Communism speech I wrote would be understandable even by young teens! No, make that kids from the lower grades of elementary school! But none of the demons understood it in the end?! ¡°B-but, what about their passionate roars and apuse at the coronation? Weren¡¯t they reacting like that after understanding the speech?¡± ¡°W-well, that¡­ I also thought it was strange, so I began asking around. And they all answered that¡­ that it seemed like a good time to start apuding, so¡­¡± Belegrea couldn¡¯t finish her sentence and turned her head away. This¡­ was pathetic. To think that the level of the demon race would be this pathetic! ¡°Howe the demon continent hasn¡¯t been ruined yet?¡± ¡°I believe that it¡¯s all thanks to the Demon God¡¯s grace.¡± When Belegrea offered her honest opinion, I silently offered my prayer to the Demon God, who must¡¯ve worked her arse off until now. To think that she had to lead these morons still stuck in the Stone Age to repel the humans¡­ How difficult would it have been? At least, for the sake of the Demon God that must¡¯ve worked so hard until now, I swore to myself toe up with a more thorough n this time. ¡°Belegrea, have you exined it in detail to the chieftains?¡± ¡°Yes. But almost none of them understood what I was even talking about.¡± That didn¡¯t sound all that surprising, considering that chieftains were selected through the contest of strength. Each individual was either a swordmaster or had stepped into aparable realm. It would be difficult to hammer home philosophical ideas into the heads of demons that only thought about how to be stronger until now. However, that didn¡¯t mean there were no other methods to go around this problem, though. ¡°So, then. I should assume that other demons will roughly be the same as them?¡± ¡°Basically, yes.¡± ¡°Very well. In that case¡­ We shall alter our n. No, let me correct myself. We shall be adding to our n.¡± ¡°What will you be adding, sir?¡± I could tell Belegrea the rough outline of my new altered n, but it was still Belegrea we were talking about here. Up until now, I thought she was a smart little cookie, but after learning the truth about the demon race? I found it a bit difficult to ce all my faith in her now. Before there could be a misunderstanding, I should perfectly organise the n before telling her. ¡°I shall inform you of it through Ria, so there¡¯s no rush. We¡¯ll just take it step by step. The most urgent issue we have is with the chieftains.¡± The core part of my n was the abolition of the rank called the chieftain. My goal was to create my own version of a Communist country that looked like democracy on the surface, and it began with turning the tribal society of demons into a socialist one through a cultural revolution. That was why we needed to convince the chieftains first. Convince them¡­ very nicely, of course. ¡°The job of convincing them falls upon me, the one who spreads the Demon God¡¯s will. Belegrea, your role as the demon king is to bring them together.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± I watched Belegrea bow slightly and leave my office. Honestly speaking, I¡¯m a pacifist acknowledged by everyone! I detest fighting, you know! ¡°¡­Yet, this world doesn¡¯t want to leave me alone.¡± ¡°But master, from where I¡¯m standing, it looks like you¡¯re the one not wanting to let go of this world, ya know¡­¡± Uh-huh! A person always wants the world to revolve around them, don¡¯t you know! I¡¯m merely working a bit¡­ no, I¡¯m working extra hard to ensure that happens for real, that¡¯s all! ¡°Besides, this ain¡¯t gonna be a bad deal for you, now is it?¡± ¡°Ehehehe~. Ever since we crossed over to the demon world, it feels like my workload¡¯s gone through the roof, master. And I feel so happy!¡± Indeed, it¡¯s your turn this time, too! Go and teach the concept of socialism to the chieftains to your heart¡¯s content! #3 Their circumstance: Chieftains¡¯ circumstances In a room within the Demon God¡¯s temple¡­ The chieftains, considered to be the core of the demon continent, began gathering one by one in this room. ¡°Why did Her Majesty Belegrea request us the chieftains toe to this ce?¡± Asking such a question was not strange at all, of course. Not too long ago, these chieftains and Belegrea were trying to kill each other, after all. But Aggreahrt was now dead, and Belegrea had ascended to the throne of the demon king. Which meant that officially at least, they were at peace ¨C but that didn¡¯t mean all grudges had been washed away. ¡°Thest chieftain has arrived.¡± The Demon God¡¯s temple priest announced that, prompting one of the chieftains to raise his hand. ¡°No, there are 100 of us here. One chieftain is still missing, so what do you mean, everyone¡¯s here?¡± ¡°He¡¯s right. Even if she is a mixed-blood child with human blood coursing through her, she¡¯s still the head of her race. No reason to exclude her.¡± If a certain former demon king heard that, he¡¯d have been greatly surprised by what these chieftains were saying. But that¡¯s because said demon king was expecting the chieftains to hurl all sorts of abuse like ¡®How dare an impure blood like you attend this meeting!¡¯ and ¡®There¡¯s only one of you, so how dare you call yourself a tribe!¡¯ if his daughter showed up to the tribal conference. If only the former demon king heard these chieftains right now¡­ He¡¯d most likely think a bit harder about what he was about to do to them. Unfortunately for the chieftains, however, the former demon king was not around to hear them. And because of that¡­ ¡°No, sirs. All chieftains requiring further education have gathered. And from this moment on¡­¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s the start of your educatiooooooon!¡± The light suddenly went out of the room for a brief second, only for a small girl to jump out of nowhere. At the same time¡­! Clunk! The only exit to the room was locked from the outside. ¡°W-what is the meaning of this?!¡± One of the chieftains, realising that something suspicious was afoot, hurriedly raised his voice, but what amentable thing it was¡­ Only one creature in the room was capable of replying to his question. ¡°Today is reserved for learning about the joy of Communism! And now, receive the great and noble Demon God¡¯s will¡­ with your bodies!¡± And that was the silver-haired girl called the Demon God¡¯s blessing and her tiny fists. T/N note: From the onward, the name ¡°Marcus¡± will change to¡­ ¡°Marx¡±. The romanised Korean could¡¯ve gone either way, but with all this Communist talk, I figured ¡°Marx¡± (as in Karl Marx) would be a better fit. Thank you for your understanding! Chapter 197

Chapter 197

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 197 #23. Policy Meant for My Dream! (4) > Bombardments. What a wonderful way to attack one-sidedly in a war that was. Especially when my side holds the absolute advantage in the firing range; I could one-sidedly annihte the enemy without hurting my allies once. The best example of this would be Korea¡¯s Chungmugong Yi Sun-shin. Admiral Yi¡¯s only crime in life was serving under an idiot king. During his battles against the invading Japs, he fully exploited the difference in the level of ships and firepower to never lose a single encounter. And the most important aspect regarding bombardments was¡­ It¡¯s safe. While fighting in close quarters, there was a good chance of getting hit by a stray arrow and dying! When almost all kingdoms in the continent join the war, you¡¯d inevitably encounter all sorts of unexpected variables. Among those variables was the death of the famed undefeated general during his one and only defeat. Just how hard did I have to work to deal with the aftermath! The valuable lesson I learned back then was: ¡°If I ever be amander, I shall immediately slink off to the rear of the battlefield.¡± However, that lesson had a fatal w¡­ None other than the morale of my fellow soldiers! Which soldier in their right mind would be happy to see theirmander hiding in a far-off safe ce to hurl orders at them? Since ancient times, soldiers trusted and followed amander that stayed by their side and took the lead in the battles. That¡¯s why¡­ I took everyone else and stayed in the rear. Our role would be to diligently fire the bombardments from there. Fire, then fire some more, then¡­ fire even more! Just like how a SiXtanX in SiXmode was firing mercilessly at the X army charging in to attack! [1] Thanks to all the practice, my ability to calcte the distance with my naked eyes has be a bit¡­ No, it has be one of the best in the entire world. I rekindled that memory and resorted to long-distance bombardments against Aggreahrt. The result? Overwhelming sess. There was not a single casualty on my side while we ughtered countless many enemies. Even Aggreahrt was sessfully killed in the end. But now, I¡¯ve realised the truth. That wasn¡¯t the overwhelming sess, but an overwhelming failure. I should¡¯ve been a bit more cautious back then. However, that ship had set sail already. ¡°¡­What a chaotic mess.¡± I stopped by at the demon king¡¯s castle to get a better understanding of the situation, only to be greeted by scenes of utter pandemonium. ¡°Documents! Hurry up!¡± ¡°Dammit! Where did the manager for this matter run off to?!¡± ¡°He died!¡± ¡°Dammit?! Then who¡¯s the next in line?¡± ¡°Also dead!¡± ¡°Daaaaaaaammmit!!!¡± ¡°P-please, save me¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t die! If you die, you¡¯ll only increase our workload!¡± ¡°Which bastard is trying to die without permission?! Are you dying after finishing your work first?!¡± This was Hell. Not a single demon walking around with documents clutched to their bosoms were free from dark circles below their eyes. I even witnessed a fair few demons crawling on the floor, too. Some crawled, some walked, some ran, some even flew. I watched these folks hurriedly moving around while utilising every inch of the corridor, then quickly left them alone. There¡¯s no need to disturb hard-working people, now is there? When I reached my destination and opened the office door¡­ ¡°Are you busy?¡± ¡­I was greeted by the sight of a corpse. ¡°Can¡¯t¡­ you¡­ tell¡­ by¡­ looking?¡± The corpse¡¯s lips barely managed to squeeze out some intermittent words. That voice should¡¯ve been quite pleasing to listen to, but right now, it reminded me of withered, cracking farnd after a lengthy drought. ¡°You¡¯re dying, then.¡± ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s¡­ deadly.¡± What a one-sided bombardment this was. Never mind casualties, not a single person on my side was wounded during the battle. On the other hand, the enemy camp¡¯s leader, Aggreahrt, was killed, while the enemy suffered hundreds of casualties and even more injured overall. But, during themencement of the bombardment, a shellnded on a not-so-nice area, and¡­ ¡°To think that all the office workers doing the government work got massacred like this¡­¡± ¡°And their demise is pushing the rest of us to the brink of death as well, sir!¡± Belegrea raised her gaunt face and shoved the pile of documents aside. Unfortunately for her, though, a worker abruptly rushed inside the office as soon as she did that and dropped a new pile of documents on the cleared space. ¡°Let¡¯s just die.¡± ¡°Oii?¡± The situation was so severe that Belegrea, resolved to sacrifice her everything for the peace of the demon continent once upon a time, had to give up! ¡°Sirrrr! Please help us with the work!¡± She stared at me with such desperation in her eyes that I was forced to reply to her right away. ¡°Don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Euh-euk¡­¡± Of course I didn¡¯t want to. I didn¡¯t want to work, and that¡¯s why I dumped the position of the demon king on her, so why should I roll my sleeves up again? ¡°Don¡¯t you have any new spare recruits lying around?¡± ¡°No, there is no one¡­¡± The story Belegrea told me earlier heavily implied that the demon race prioritised theirbat strength, and their perception of a desk job was that it only belonged to losers and trash who got left behind in the fiercepetition. That¡¯s why those born with defects or those who lost parts of their bodies during battles usually ended up with desk jobs. ¡°But, going by that logic, don¡¯t you have plenty of new recruits this time?¡± ¡°¡­When I tried to employ them, sir, they only caused more headaches.¡± ¡°Hmm. Makes sense¡­¡± Pushing documents outwardly seems like a simple enough job, but in reality, each letter and each number on a document meant a world of difference. As such, it¡¯d be too much of an ask to bring fresh-faced recruits here just because they are patients of some kind and put them to work immediately. Especially more so when those patients lost their arms and legs from our bombardment in the first ce! ¡°I could lend you my hero punk, but well¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already requested his assistance, but he keeps running away.¡± ¡°Mm¡­¡± As expected of my disciple. He certainly has a good nose for things like this, doesn¡¯t he! ¡°And our n¡¯s progress?¡± ¡°It¡¯s stillcking in so many areas.¡± Belegrea sighed at length with her head faltered. She red at the documents resting on her desk for a little while, then looked up at me with a pair of pleading eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not doing it.¡± ¡°But sir, just a little bit¡­¡± Belegrea made a dumbfounded expression when I expressed my stance even before she could ask. ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine to help me just a little?! I¡¯m only talking about this tiny little work, sir!¡± ¡°Still don¡¯t wanna.¡± ¡°S-such a firm answer?!¡± What was the old saying about continued kindness eventually bing entitlement? If I dip my toes while saying it¡¯s only temporary, then before long, I¡¯d be in charge of that particr problem for good. Even though my initial thought would be ¡®Just a little¡¯¡­ By the time I regain my wits, all the work would be dumped on myp! And before long, such a thing would¡¯ve be so natural that everyone starts asking me for the work¡¯s progress or just dumping more work on my desk. Once that situation happens, it¡¯d be toote to back out. I¡¯ve already experienced that situation many times during my past life and this one! You think I¡¯ll go through that again at this age?! ¡°Give up, Belegrea. Training the new recruits will yield faster results.¡± ¡°Hah-ah¡­ Devoting myself to work will get the job done faster than that, sir.¡± Belegrea dropped her forehead on the desk with a thud. I decided to cheer her up. ¡°Since you know, hurry up.¡± ¡°You¡­ Really?!¡± While staring at Belegrea gritting her teeth, I began exining the purpose of my visit today. ¡°The chieftains¡¯ education ising along quite nicely. I estimate that their education will end in about a month.¡± ¡°A, a month, you say¡­¡± Belegrea squeezed her eyes shut since she intimately knew the contents of my so-called education. She silently prayed for the chieftains¡¯ good luck. ¡°Oh, you poor demons¡­¡± ¡°Their sacrifices will ensure the peace and prosperity of the demon race. You are not suspecting the Demon God¡¯s will, now are you?¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s not true, sir!¡± I smiled in satisfaction when Belegrea urgently shook her head. It seemed that the cure-all remedy called ¡®dropping the Demon God¡¯s name when appropriate¡¯ was still working just fine! ¡°Well, then. This is my new n.¡± I handed over a list that I worked on diligently for a while. I meant to give this list to her thest time we were together, but my distrust in the demon race¡¯s intelligence level had postponed it. ¡°¡­New Tribe Movement?¡± [2] ¡°That¡¯s right. The goal of this n is to boost the demon race¡¯s hard-working nature, self-reliance, and ability to cooperate. Then, evenly develop the entire demon race, not just the weak and small tribes. One of the most important aspects of that is, without a doubt, the reformation of the national consciousness!¡± I¡¯ve heard that a certain ¡®Socialist¡¯ country up north started this policy called Chollima Movement, but I didn¡¯t know what it was all about. The only Chollima I know is an online store, after all! [3] That¡¯s why I decided to copy a movement that I was a bit more familiar with. ¡°T-there is even a song to go with it, sir?¡± ¡°Of course. Singing while working will enhance productivity, you see.¡± The name of the song was New Tribe Song! Its first verse even started with, ¡®The new dawn¡¯s bells are ringing!¡¯ and ended with, ¡®Let us build a new tribe!¡¯. There were four verses in total, and I made sure to jot them down in detail. [4] ¡°There is also a g?¡± ¡°Well, having a symbol is important, after all.¡± The design I personally came up with had the emblem of the Demon God in yellow and green, while the words [New Tribe] were written right below it in Gungseochae font. [5] ¡°Sir, the contents in this list seem¡­ like they will require a lot of funding¡­ Am I mistaken?¡± ¡°Development of this scale naturally requires a lot of capital. But do not worry. The funds will be provided by the Demon God¡¯s temple.¡± We will be transforming the residential spaces and building new roads, then proceed with various types of education for the young demon race kids. The funds would be provided by the Demon God¡¯s temple with its still-humongous wealth. If that proves to be still insufficient, we could always collect from other temples affiliated with us. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Belegrea nodded, then continued to read my n while flipping through the pages. She quickly went through the list and sometimes asked me about certain aspects that puzzled her. ¡°Sir, about this part¡­¡± ¡°Sir, it says here that it¡¯s meant to teach the noble Demon God¡¯s will to the young ones, but the loyalty of the demon race to our god is already¡­¡± ¡°Sir, wouldn¡¯t this be a little too challenging?¡± Once she got going, Belegrea didn¡¯t hold back on her questions right up until thest page. And once she heard all of my answers, a truly bright grin lit up on her face. ¡°Sir, this is a really wonderful n!¡± ¡°You think so, too?¡± As far as I know, the original Korean movement was evaluated as a sess overall. I heard that the whole world had evaluated it favourably, and some aspects of the movement were being spread overseas, too! ¡°The most crucial part is with the leadership understanding the policy and setting an example by taking the initiative. And when you said the chieftains were receiving education, did you mean this?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I christened it as ¡®Bat-style Cram Education¡¯. My many disciples were good examples of how effective this education regime was. ¡°Sir, it seems everything is going ording to n.¡± ¡°Indeed, everything is proceeding smoothly.¡± ¡°As long as things stay this way, of course.¡± ¡°Indeed. As long as they stay that way.¡± If things continued to progress in this fashion, then the demon race would eventually get to enjoy a more prosperous future. The problem with that was¡­ ¡°I guess it¡¯s time to die, sir.¡± ¡°Oiii?!¡± Belegrea, seemingly understanding everything, opened the window and got ready to jump outside. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to oversee all these things, aren¡¯t I, sir?!¡± ¡°Obviously! You¡¯re the demon king, after all!¡± ¡°But sir! Lord Marx, aren¡¯t you also the demon king? Not just any, but one chosen by the Demon God herself?!¡± ¡°And I¡¯m nning to hand that title over to you, too!¡± ¡°I refuse! I will refuse, so please, please! Lend me your assistance!¡± She cried out and threatened to jump out of the window, but uh¡­ It¡¯s too bad for her, but we were on the first floor. Besides all that, someone on the level of a swordmaster wouldn¡¯t die after jumping off from the top of a castle wall as long as they didn¡¯t want to. And there were soldiers on the ground outside, so they should easily catch her even if she did jump. Worse still¡­ ¡°Lady Belegrea?! Are you taking a break?!¡± ¡°We¡¯re wasting away with work like this, yet you¡¯re actually taking a break, ma¡¯am?!¡± ¡°Get back to work, ma¡¯am!¡± If Belegrea dies today, the amount of work the bureaucrats have to deal with would go up ordingly. That¡¯s why they would never allow her to kill herself. Belegrea was also aware of that, of course. She wordlessly closed the window to block out the loud jeers and boosing from outside, then settled down demurely on her chair. ¡°If I do this, I¡¯ll really die, sir.¡± She pressed her face on the desk¡¯s surface then began talking to me with a sobbing voice. ¡°After I became the demon king, the amount of work I deal with has grown, sir. I still had enough time to sleep before all this, but now? I can¡¯t even do that!¡± Sniffle¡­ She continued to sniffle while leaning her face against the desk. Watching her made me groan deeply. ¡°This New Tribe Movement also includes the education of the demon race. While spreading the will of the Demon God, we shall change the people¡¯s perception of desk jobs. And once more people have learned basic knowledge, we should see the appearance of useful workers.¡± ¡°How long do you think it¡¯ll take us to change the perception, sir! 100 years? No, maybe ten? How about we assume a minimum of five years? Will that be fine?!¡± I will die of overwork well before that happens, sir! Belegrea didn¡¯t directly say that out loud, but the way she red at me told me that loudly enough. She was too powerless. With her current state, exploiting her might not be feasible. There were three ways to resolve this. However, the first method was the metal bat, and she was currently being used in the education of the chieftains ¨C so she¡¯s out. The second method was for me to help her out. But I didn¡¯t want to work, so that¡¯s also out. Which meant I had no choice but to go with the third option. And that was the so-called shock therapy! ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but, uh¡­ Shouldn¡¯t it be better for you to work instead of wasting your time burying your face on the desk?¡± ¡°¡­¡± She was exercising her right to silence. Very well. Let¡¯s see if you can keep that up after I drop this bombshell. ¡°The thing is, Ria will soon stop working here, you know?¡± ¡°Say what?!¡± Bang! Belegrea powerfully jumped up, her eyes trembling urgently. ¡°W-w-what are you t-talking about, sir?!¡± ¡°Ria will be retiring soon.¡± ¡°H-hold on?!¡± I turned around and was about to leave her office, but Belegrea physically threw herself forward and tried to block my path. ¡°What are you even talking about, sir?!¡± ¡°Ria says she¡¯s going home.¡± ¡°B-but, what about her work¡­?¡± Belegrea was now on the floor, crawling, her hands clinging onto me. However, I easily shook off her desperate hands and grinned insidiously at her. ¡°Of course, you¡¯ll have to do her share.¡± ¡°No! Noooooooo!!!¡± The legend of the nightless castle recorded in the annals of the demon continent¡¯s history all began with Belegrea¡¯s tragic scream. [1]: I have no idea what the author is referring to here. Tried to google, but didn¡¯t get any concrete results. [2]: This is a riff on the New Community Movement of South Korea kicked off by President Park Chung-hee in 1970. [3]: Chollima Movement was North Korea¡¯s state-sponsored Stakhanovite movementunched in 1956. As for the online Chollima store, it¡¯s actually 1000lima dot kr, an online phone store. 1000 is pronounced, ¡°cheon/?¡±, which is the same as ¡°Chollima¡± in Korean ¨C ???. [4]: There really is a song (more like a jingle) for the New Community Movement, apparently written by President Park himself. And yes, it starts off with the line, ¡°The new dawn¡¯s bells are ringing.¡± [5]: Gungseochae is an old-school Korean (or Hangul) font invented in the middle of the Joseon dynasty for the ease of learning thenguage for the pce¡¯s maids-in-waiting. Chapter 198

Chapter 198

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 198 #23. Policy Meant for My Dream! (5) > #4 Their circumstance: the demon race¡¯s circumstance A noble king blessed by the Demon God herself was born. And after that monumental event, many changes began taking ce on the demon continent. First of all, three factions constantly locked in the contest of strength were finally dissolved. Lady Belegrea¡¯s faction chose to serve the new king. Aggreahrt, who dared to go against the Demon God¡¯s will, got his head chopped off in less than one day, which left his subordinates with no choice but to admit defeat and wait for the great king¡¯s punishment. However, the noble king was a follower of the benevolent Demon God and proved to be a different breed to his predecessors. Other demon kings would¡¯ve demandedpensation and executed the chieftains involved, but our new king chose to warmly embrace them while saying that they were being deceived by the false voice in their heads. Was that all? It wouldn¡¯t have been strange to see Aggreahrt¡¯s severed head put on disy on a spike for a month in front of the demon king¡¯s castle. But our king acknowledged all the service Aggreahrt performed for the demon race and gave thete general a wonderful funeral. As expected of a demon king that followed the Demon God¡¯s will! All demons watching on were moved to tears at our demon king¡¯s generosity and began exalting the Demon God. And our noble demon king didn¡¯t want to be a dictator. He respected the opinions of all the tribes, saying that this was also a part of the great, noble Demon God¡¯s will. How shocking that was. Our great, noble Demon God respected the opinions and words of someone as insignificant as us! Thanks to that, we were able to choose the king that would rule over us with our own hands. That¡¯s how Lady Belegrea could be the demon king. After her ascension, Lady Belegrea swore that she¡¯d usher in a new era of peace for the demons as per the Demon God¡¯s wishes. She then made a great speech that signalled the change in the demon race¡¯s history. The speech¡¯s name was the Deration of Communism! Not for the sake of tribes, but for the entire demon race! Not for individuals, but for the many! The Demon God¡¯s noble wish for individuals to let go of their vested interests and pursue a world where everyone is equal! Lady Belegrea dered that she¡¯d follow that wish ¨C and everything changed ever since then. Starting from insignificant little tribes in the rural outskirts, various locations of the demon continent saw buildings and roads getting built in great numbers, signalling the dawn of a society where everyone¡¯s equal! And after that¡­ *** ¡°Stop! That¡¯s it for today¡¯s lesson!¡± Tap! The teacher pped the desk to signal the end of the lesson. We cautiously put the sacred textbook inside our own school bags. ¡°We¡¯ll end today¡¯s lesson here. Our great king has said that students will get bored if sses are too long!¡± Our great king is indeed a great person. To think that he even thinks about students like us! ¡°Well, then. We shall also conclude today¡¯s lesson with a prayer for our noble and great Demon God and the demon king!¡± ¡°Yes! We profess our belief in the Demon God, the creator of the demon continent, and her faithful servant, demon king Marx¡­¡± We began reciting the wonderful teachings found on the first page of the textbook. Of course, I had no need to take the book out of my bag. I had already fully memorised it a long time ago, you see! This teaching was directly from the Demon God, handed to us through our great and noble king. Of course I¡¯d memorise it as soon as the textbooks were distributed to us. ¡°De-men.¡± [1] It will be so, ording to the Demon God¡¯smands. The end of our prayer also heralded the end of our lesson. ¡°Do not forget to be watchful of the false voice today as well! And continue to think about our great and noble king and the Demon God¡¯s will!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Apparently, there was this evil voice trying to scam unsuspecting demons by telling lies about our current demon king being a fake. Some idiot was fooled by that voice and even tried to attack our great king while dering that they were the true apostle of the Demon God. However, our great king was the real apostle chosen by the Demon God herself. That idiot received the Demon God¡¯s blessing and quickly realised the error of their ways. I heard that our great king implored the idiot shedding tears of repentance that they should start following the will of our great and noble Demon God. Ah, aaaah! How warm-hearted is our king! Back then with Aggreahrt, and even with the self-proimed Demon God¡¯s apostle this time, too! To think that he¡¯d graciously forgive them while saying that they were merely fooled by the false voice! As expected of our Demon God! As expected of our great, noble king! -N-no, that¡¯s wrong! That punk is a fraud! A fraud! You mustn¡¯t get fooled! ¡°Ah, ah¡­¡± As I was heading home, I also began hearing the voice of the fake god. -W-what do you mean, the fake god?! I¡¯m the real deal! Hey, I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m the real Demon God! ¡°Well, it sure does sound like a god¡¯s voice¡­¡± The voice made me want to follow itsmands. The voice oozing with so much sacred aura made me let out a gasp of admiration without being aware. Now I understood why some people would go against our great king even though he served the Demon God¡¯s will. -No, I¡¯m the real god here¡­ I¡¯m your real Demon God! The voice sounded urgent, desperate even, but my teacher told me this before. The evil creature pretending to be the Demon God¡­ the false god would appeal to a person¡¯s sympathy and blind you from the truth! However, our great and noble king told us this! ¡®Our great, noble Demon God is always an aloof existence. She respects your opinions and words, but she will never lower herself to you.¡¯ That¡¯s right. Our god, Demon God, was given life by the Creator God to manage this world. And in ce of the absent Creator God, our Demon God protects this world. So, how can someone that magnificent and powerful be pleading with mere mortals like us? There¡¯s just no way that our great Demon God would do that. -I¡¯m doing this because you don¡¯t believe me at all! The voice sounded so wronged and unhappy. Maybe she was getting desperate now that I didn¡¯t fall for her tricks. -N-no, that¡¯s wrong¡­ Indeed, as expected of the fake. Unlike the great, noble Demon God, this voice kept nagging at me and tried to cling to me. My teacher told me to say this out loud in a situation like this one. ¡°Begone, you evil creature!¡± -Kuwaaaahk! I hate you all! The fake god beat a hasty retreat while screaming. Hmph! What does it matter if a fake god hates me? We only believed in the great, noble Demon God. She always looked after us. Our great king served such a god¡¯s will. The road I was walking on was constructed ording to that divine will. My tribe originally was a small, weak one that others didn¡¯t even bother with, but the great Demon God was different from them. She was watching over us andmented our circumstances. That¡¯s why shemanded us to create roads for us demons to walk on and for carriages to pass through so that we could reach other viges much faster. Our great king called this road the ¡®highway¡¯. This amazing road where ten carriages could pass through side by side! All tribes were quickly being connected through a single roadwork. And the ones responsible for constructing these roads are the tribes near the roads in question! Although the work often got tiresome, we received appropriatepensations, which led to a steady improvement in the tribes¡¯ overall situation. People with no money and dying of starvation gradually disappeared. And with the roads nearingpletion, merchants began visiting viges like ours located on the far outskirts, too. Not only that but even schools were being built so that kids like me received apulsory education on the will of our great, noble Demon God. Meanwhile, our old, run-down houses were changing to newer, shinier ones. And all we did for these improvements was to work. We simply followed the great, noble Demon God¡¯s will and lent our strengths. And as a reward, our great king gave us money, food, homes and even opportunities to learn! Ah, aaah¡­ Oh, the great and noble Demon God! And your wonderful servant, our great king! There will never be another demon on thisnd that suspects you. No one will be foolish enough to fall for the voice of the fake god ever again! #5 Their circumstance: the Demon God¡¯s circumstance ¡°Aaaaaaahk!¡± All I could do was hold my head and scream at the top of my lungs. That guy called me an evil creature. My own children are actually calling me an evil creature! ¡°You¡¯re being scammed! All of you got scammed!¡± No matter how desperately I pleaded with them, my voice was failing to reach my children. It¡¯s over. The demon continent¡­ it¡¯s all over! The demon continent I inherited from the Creator Gods, my parents basically, was lost to the seeds of evil! ¡°N-no, wait. I shouldn¡¯t be doing this¡­¡± The current situation was seriously bad. The people¡¯s faith in me was diminishing with every passing day. However, if you solely judged the level of faith among the popce, then it was at its historic high. Mortals were looking up to ¡®me¡¯ and praising ¡®me¡¯ far more often than when they were fighting against the humans, after all! The problem with this was that the subject of their worship was not me, but the fake Demon God cooked up by the seed of evil! I travelled through multiple dimensions to arrive at my destination, a divine realm where other gods were gathered. As soon as stepping foot inside, I roared out with all the dignity of the top god in this pantheon that I could muster. ¡°Hey, you lot! Do something about this, will ya?!¡± Others gods loitering around here ¨C more specifically, gods overseeing the demon continent ¨C heard my roar and began replying one by one. ¡°We¡¯re screwed, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve given up already.¡± ¡°The demon continent is already finished¡­¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I became utterly speechless from their way-too powerless replies. When I stood there in dumbfounded silence, the God of Emptiness standing nearest to me said something. ¡°Dear Demon God, ma¡¯am. We¡¯re also gods overseeing the demon continent. Did you really think we¡¯d not do anything while those seeds of evil were rampaging around?¡± Yup. I almost blurted that out aloud. To think that the one exining things to me was the God of Emptiness. If it had been the God of Fulfilment that oversaw the human continent, I¡¯d not have a problem. But this punk? He might have actually incited other gods while saying they should abandon all hope now. ¡°Oh, so you were doing something, then?¡± ¡°We also mobilised the champions and saints of our temples, ma¡¯am.¡± The champions from the demon continent temples performed the same role as the human continent¡¯s heroes. In other words, the temples¡¯ champions and saints were the same as apostles personally chosen by the various gods of the demon continent. Mobilising them meant the gods had done everything they could within the permitted range of actions. ¡°But ma¡¯am, do you know what the result was?¡± ¡°I think I already know¡­¡± Even my apostle, the first one I¡¯ve chosen in centuries¡­ no, in several millennia, fell into the hands of the seeds of evil on the same day they reached the Demon God¡¯s temple. An apostle couldn¡¯t resign that easily once chosen ¨C unless they died, obviously ¨C so I¡¯ve been trying to convince them at least one hour every day, but my words were no longer getting through to them. The one calling himself Marx sounded so sincere and trustworthy that my own apostle became his servant and was following every one of hismands. Thanks to that, I was called an evil creature by my own apostle three times today. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly it, ma¡¯am. All of them got smacked around and started acknowledging that man instead.¡± ¡°Ah, ahhh¡­¡± I did expect that reply but directly hearing it caused this shock that defied my imagination. We¡¯re screwed. The demon continent and the demon race fell into the hands of those seeds of evil. ¡°N-no, this can¡¯t be¡­¡± The great Creator Gods entrusted me with the demon continent, you know! But to think that I lost it to those bastards! ¡°I, I can¡¯t ept this!¡± Just as I began letting out a despair-filled scream¡­ Tap, tap¡­ Someone lightly tapped me on my shoulder. C-could it be¡­ there¡¯s a way out of this?! ¡°¡­Ah, ah¡­ No¡­¡± But when I turned my head to look, I instantly fell into an even deeper pit of despair. That¡¯s because a pair of male and female gods were standing there, smiling brightly at me. ¡°It¡¯s already toote.¡± ¡°Giving up will make it easier.¡± They were none other than the God of Despair and the God of Resignation! ¡°Why is every single god on our side like this?! God of Hope! Yes, somebody go and fetch the God of Hope, right now!¡± ¡°But, uh, aren¡¯t the human side also really busy right now? I mean, the seed of evil is supposed to be waking up in the human continent, after all.¡± ¡°Man, these seeds of evil are working their butts off, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Hahaha! Well, we¡¯re already finished over here, but at the very least, that side should still try to survive, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. One side needs to survive so we won¡¯t get too embarrassed to face the Creator Gods.¡± Haha! Hoho~! Watching these already-resigned gods made me despair even more. The gods supposed to rule the demon continent were beyond help at this stage. And then¡­ ¡°Our great Demon God, hooray!¡± ¡°Our great king, hooray!¡± ¡°Glory to our Demon God and her faithful servant, Marx!¡± Listening to the voices of the demon race exalting me more than ever made me realise that maybe, they also were beyond saving now. ¡°Ah, ah¡­¡± Fine. Now that things have gotten to this stage¡­ ¡°You. You just be my apostle, then.¡± ¡­I¡¯ll also just resign myself. [1]: No, that¡¯s not a typo. It¡¯s a riff on ¡°Amen¡±, except now, with ¡°de-¡± Chapter 199

Chapter 199

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 199 #23. Policy Meant for My Dream! (6) > #6 Their circumstance: Ria el Nermia¡¯s circumstance I was packing my bag. Although not thatrge, the bag still swallowed up a surprising amount of luggage once I pushed everything down with all my strength. ¡°Spare clothing and underwear, and then¡­ food and water¡­¡± I checked and re-checked the luggage while consulting the list of things I wrote earlier. The trip was supposed to be a lengthy one. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to be cautious, right? Yes, preparing thoroughly is probably the wisest since no one knows what might happen. Riiiight. For instance¡­ ¡°Ria!¡± Bang! My old ssmate, currently the demon king¡¯sckey despite being a human hero, kicked open my door and invaded my room! Yes, things like this are a real possibility! ¡°Bind him.¡± ¡°Kuwaaahk?! H-hey, hold up!¡± I used the preinstalled magic circle in front of my door to bind the hero. Metal chains shooting out from the floor wrapped around his body, causing my old ssmate to cry out in despair. ¡°You¡¯re running away alone?! Alone?!?!¡± ¡°Ng? But, don¡¯t you have plenty of prior records of escaping by yourself? And now that I¡¯ve looked at you, isn¡¯t this eerily simr to how I was so viciously tied up by your blinded-by-food self all those years ago? Ah, ahhh~¡­ I was so sad back then. How could you tie up a weak young girl and even put cuffs on her¡­ This is your punishment for back then.¡± ¡°H-hey, wait a second! Didn¡¯t that happen, like, a decade ago or something?! Just how long are you going to bite my head for that?!¡± Of course I couldn¡¯t forget it. He dared to put handcuffs on a woman, nay, a young and impressionable girl like me, after all! Having said that, I could have forgiven the hero since the circumstances back then were pretty extreme. ¡­If only he had cuffed me in a ¡®normal¡¯ manner, that is! He pped six cuffs on my slender wrists and seven of them on my ankles! That feeling of utter helplessness as my legs got tightly bound, and I couldn¡¯t do anything other than count the rising number of cuffs! I¡¯ll probably remember that feeling right up until my final breath! ¡°You have done something cruel to a frail young girl back then.¡± ¡°A frail¡­ girl?¡± The hero muttered as if he was doubting his hearing. He wasn¡¯t acting but being genuine just then. So, I¡­! Grit! ¡­I gritted my teeth and hurled several choice magic spells in Swinn¡¯s way. Not stopping there¡­! ¡°C-r-u-s-h him!¡± ¡°Kkuweeek?!¡± I threw a nearby book at him and activated another spell simultaneously. It was a spell to explosively increase the weight of an object. I even used a magic stone for it, so the book¡¯s increased weight should be heavier than a massive boulder. ¡°S-save me¡­!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you a hero? A symbol of invincibility? I know you won¡¯t die from this, so behave yourself. And don¡¯t make a ruckus, either.¡± Snap! I snapped my fingers and made his screams inaudible. ¡°I was right. My skills have gotten bettertely.¡± This wasn¡¯t any ordinary silence magic. The space itself had been partitioned off, preventing any and all noise from entering or leaving. It wasn¡¯t as simple as using magical energy to block out sounds. No, this technique was iparably more advanced. I was told that my getting more familiar with this technique would eventually grant me the best-possible shield that¡¯s capable of blocking out not just sounds but vision, light and all types of magic, too! ¡®He¡­ really can¡¯t use magic, right?¡¯ Funnily enough, it was the instructor who taught me about this technique. The original agreement was for him to release me right after Belegrea¡¯s enthronement ceremony, but there was simply too much work. So, the instructor asked me to be more patient until we could find someone from the demon race to take over my job. I had to wonder if he was lying to keep me here. But I had to nod my head in eptance when he pulled out a Geass Roll, which he repeatedly said that he didn¡¯t have many left. If I¡¯m being honest, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t believe the instructor¡¯s exnations, but¡­ I¡¯ve been partnering with the victim ¨C a Great Devil ¨C of the scam contract induced by that Geass Roll for such a long while that it became natural for me to remain sceptical. Shockingly, though, the instructor kept his words. Not only that, he even taught me a few new magic techniques while saying that they werepensation for my working for free all this time. One of them happened to be this space-manipting magic. What an out-of-the-box magic technique this was. So much so that I found it hard to believe that my instructor couldn¡¯t use magic at all. Not even someone with a master¡¯s degree in magic could have thought up this technique, I¡¯d imagine. ¡°If it¡¯s the instructor, then it¡¯s totally possible, right? He¡¯s definitely capable of smacking me in the back of the head with, ¡®I was an archmage all along!¡¯ or something like that¡­¡± My hands shoving luggage inside the bag sped up faster and faster. The instructor said, ¡°Using teleportation magic to separately transfer a person¡¯s body and head might be a useful way to attack, don¡¯t you think?¡± during his exnation. He also mentioned that¡­ ¡°If you use the space-maniption magic I taught you just now to set coordinates near the enemy¡¯s throat, wouldn¡¯t their head separate from their body the moment they try to move?¡± Scary. To think that he was creating a mass murder magic spell using an unimaginable method! What¡¯s even scarier was that¡­ his suggestion seemed to be so, so very efficient, too! As an example, let¡¯s say that a group of magicians cut off the space horizontally in a straight line right in the middle of an intense battlefield. What would happen if the enemy soldiers and cavalry charged straight in without realising anything? The moment theye into contact with the space, their upper and lower torsos would be cleanly split in half. If this idea could be implemented in reality, it¡¯d be the arrival of one of the most effective sure-kill trap magic in existence. ¡°I knew it. I need to run away as soon as possible.¡± I gotta bounce right now when the instructor was allowing me to leave. Otherwise, who knows what¡¯s in store for meter! I finished shoving luggage inside my bag, then pulled out a few magic stones from my pocket. I had stashed them away during my work for a rainy day. ¡°Here, a gift from me.¡± Was it because I hadpletely blocked out all sounds? I couldn¡¯t hear the sounds of the magic stonesnding on the spot right in front of the hero¡¯s face. Well, I still couldn¡¯t hear his screaming even after another book was ced on him, so I guess that makes sense! ¡°Well, then. This is goodbye.¡± Since you¡¯re my ssmate and all, I shall pray to the Goddess of Benevolence that you avoid the fate of getting beaten up by the metal bat. I left those words behind ¨C even though Swinn couldn¡¯t hear me ¨C and headed to where my instructor was. Knock, knock! ¡°Are you in, sir?¡± I cautiously knocked on his office door. It felt like my pounding heart was right next to my ears. But, from this moment on¡­ This long, ursed sojourn into the demon continent is over! ¡°Instructor?¡± Knock, knock, knock! Strangely, though, the instructor did not respond to all the knocks on his door. ¡°C-can it be?¡± Did I¡­ get scammed again? Could it be that the instructor was trying a new dastardly scheme to keep me here! -That human is fully capable of doing that! Hurry up and run! It¡¯s not toote, Ria! Cold sweat trickled down my back. Ah, aaaah! Can it be? No, it can¡¯t! ¡°Are you looking for our noble king? His Majesty is currently at the demon king¡¯s throne to oversee his duties, miss.¡± Just as I stood there shuddering while imagining all sorts of worst possible situations in my head¡­ A priest walking past stopped, tilted his head at me, then kindly informed me of where the instructor was. Oh. That¡¯s a relief. The instructor was merely doing his job, wasn¡¯t he! -Do not be fooled, master! That man will never work! Mm¡­ That¡¯s a very convincing take on the matter. However, isn¡¯t it possible that the instructor has no choice but to work now that I¡¯m leaving? -No! This is definitely another scheme to entrap you once more, master! You could be right. However¡­ ¡°¡­What if he uses the pretext of noting to speak to him before leaving to capture me?¡± -That¡¯s also a possibility. Mm, mm¡­ An image of a massive giant nodding contemtively away popped up in my mind. If my instructor had indeed concocted this trap, then avoiding it would be impossible for me. In that case, I had to be courageous likest time and face it head-on! And so, I headed to the second-most sacred area in the Demon God¡¯s temple after the Demon God¡¯s altar ¨C the chamber of the demon king¡¯s throne, that only the one chosen by the Demon God herself could upy! And then¡­ ¡°Will you do it?¡± The moment I entered the throne chamber, the instructor asked me that. That question forced my brain to analyse the current situation faster than I had done in my entire life. In the chamber were the priests of the Demon God¡¯s temple and the archbishop, the king of the demon world Belegrea, and for some reason, Alice prostrating on the floor! ¡°Nope.¡± With that simple reply, I was able to return to the human continent safe and sound. *** ¡°¡­And that is the current situation of the demon continent, oh, the great king.¡± Belegrea finished her report in an extremely business-like voice. The New Tribe Movement had been going on for only a few months now, yet she had almost be a living zombie. ¡°As expected of you, oh great king!¡± The archbishoppletely ignored Belegrea¡¯s current status and simply expressed his awe at the contents of her report. ¡°Indeed, as expected of Demon God¡¯s n!¡± ¡°Let us exalt our great, noble Demon God!¡± Priests began exalting and praying to the Demon God. It had only been a few months since its implementation ¨C but the New Tribe Movement¡¯s results thus far have been more pronounced than expected. I used a dignified voice to reassign this achievement to the other folks around me. ¡°It¡¯s all because you have been adhering to the Demon God¡¯s will so well.¡± If I¡¯m being honest here, then sure, I might be the one who came up with this n, but these folks were responsible for bringing it to life in the first ce. If the results exceeded my expectations, then it simply meant that these guys worked their butts off to make it possible. ¡°No, sire! We are merely the Demon God¡¯s servants! We simply followed her noble will as it¡¯s only a matter of course! If it wasn¡¯t for your strength, oh great king, we probably would have been still charmed and lost to the fake one¡¯s lies! All this is thanks to your guidance, oh our great king!¡± A demon passionately prostrated on the floor and began singing my praises. This particr dude showed up around two months ago proiming to be the real apostle of the demon god, and tried to take my head at the same time. Although, he¡¯s now my most loyal subordinate these days! ¡°Our magnanimous Demon God has spoken thus. You had been charmed by the false one¡¯s seductive voice, that¡¯s all. And the Demon God mes herself for not caring for you better while you were blinded by the false voice.¡± ¡°N-no, that can¡¯t be! It¡¯s all my fault for being such an idiot, sire! Our great, noble Demon God always protects us, the demon race! It¡¯s my fault for falling to the evil scheme when our noble Demon God briefly looked away to check up on other demons!¡± Unlike the initial impression, this demon had be a lot more docile. He broke through the defences like the hero and entered the Demon God¡¯s temple, then even managed to crash into my room when I was entertaining my dear daughter. His scary aura made my little girl break down and cry . Kkokko got enraged by that and fired off its breath, but this dude managed to survive the direct hit. That scene even made me go, ¡°Well, I might really die here at this rate!¡± back then! Ah, of course, there¡¯s no need to worry. The dangerous Demon God¡¯s apostle was ably dealt with by the metal bat, so there¡¯s no need to panic here. His crime of making my daughter cry was unforgivable, though, so I gave him a month-long moral education at the hands of the metal bat ¨C which eventually led to the birth of a docile subordinate as you see here. What a useful addition to the team he was since he made monitoring the hero much more convenient for me. And surprisingly, he was pretty good with the administrative work, too. Ah, aaah, oh dear great Demon God! Please send us more punks like this one! ¡­That¡¯s what I¡¯d like to pray with if I was a praying type. Even if the Demon God couldn¡¯t hear my prayers, I was in the Demon God¡¯s temple. So¡­ maybe there¡¯s a chance that she could hear me now? -If that was possible, Demon God would¡¯ve tried to kill you first thing first, master? -Uh-huh! The noble wish of the great Demon God is the continued peace of the demon race and the demon continent¡¯s protection! And I simultaneously carry out both of those tasks, so why would the great Demon God try to kill me! -Wow, you¡¯vepletely be the Demon God¡¯s apostle, haven¡¯t you! This is a betrayal, you know! -Betrayal? Who did I betray? -What do you mean, who?! You betrayed the great Goddess, Arcadia, that¡¯s who! Uh-huh! How dare a mere creation demand worship from her creator! While I was failing to see the need to retort to the metal bat¡¯spletely ridiculous ims¡­ ¡°Next up on the agenda is¡­ To bring to life the system of governance as dered by our noble king, the suitable candidate is¡­¡± Just as Belegrea reached that part, I got up from my throne and dered loudly. ¡°My daughter, Alice, shall be appointed to the position of the Minister of Agriculture!¡± ¡°Ng? Dad, what¡¯s that?¡± My daughter looked up at me while tilting her head. ¡­Too cute. Too fatally cute! ¡°Mm¡­ Simply put, my dear daughter, you can do whatever you want with all the farming in the demon continent.¡± ¡°Inscrutable are the king¡¯s favour! Your Majesty!¡± Plop! The way my daughter prostrated on the ground oh-so-perfectly was rather simr to the historical dramas I watched in the past. ¡°Dear daughter? Where did you even learn to do that¡­?¡± ¡°Ng? Big sis told me to do this earlier, though?¡± -Hey, you¡­ -Euiinng? But I saw such a scene in your memories, master? Dammit! She stole another look at my memories while I was distracted, didn¡¯t she! ¡°Dear daughter, there¡¯s no need to do that.¡± ¡°Ng? Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Mm¡­ Ah! Dad! Let me do one more thing!¡± ¡°What one more thing do you speak of, child?¡± ¡°Minister of Chicken Department!¡± ¡°There is no department like that, but¡­ since you want it, we shall have to create it, now shan¡¯t we!¡± ¡°Inscrutable are the king¡¯s favour! Your Majesty!¡± When my daughter prostrated quickly once more, all I could do was chuckle hollowly. Since she¡¯s so adorable, let¡¯s brush it aside this one time. Belegrea urgently asked me. ¡°B-but, sire? Will this really be alright?¡± ¡°Yes. The actual work will be done by other demons, after all.¡± What we needed now was someone to fill the position ¨C the first position of a ¡®government minister¡¯ in history. And by getting this position, my dear daughter will finally enjoy the dignity of a chieftain of a tribe! No other demon would dare to look down on my little girl during tribal conferences now that I¡¯ve done this! Of course, if some chieftain dared to look down on her, I¡¯d have thrown them into jail with all sorts of trumped-up charges! ¡°Well, then. Sire, it¡¯s time to select the Minister of Economy and Finance. My rmendations are¡­¡± Knock, knock! Even before Belegrea could finish her sentence, sounds of knocking reached us and Ria stepped through the doorway. Mm. Good timing. ¡°Will you do it?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Tsk. She doesn¡¯t even know what it is, but to offer such a quick response¡­ Howmentable that is. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving now, sire.¡± ¡°I see. Take care.¡± I nodded once, and Ria replied with a slight nod of her own, then quickly left the room without even a single nce back. Well, that¡¯s too bad. She had been a fairly useful¡­ no, a very useful talent up until now. ¡°May I continue, sire?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± If I¡¯m being honest, these ministerial positions were going to be filled by those folks Belegrea rmended to me. We were simply selecting people who¡¯d take responsibility when things go sideways, after all. With the sole exception of my daughter, all these ministers were basically meat shields. And so, while listening to Belegrea diligently yap on and on, I began pondering what I should do to entertain my daughter this evening. ¡­Without realising that yet another threat had reached my side in the meantime. #7 Their circumstance: Ria el Nermia¡¯s circumstance ¡°Hah-ah¡­¡± A relieved sigh jumped out of my mouth. I leaned my back against the nearby wall to prop myself up instead of my shaking legs. Without this solid wall¡¯s support, I¡¯d have plopped down on my butt by now. ¡°No, not yet¡­ It¡¯s not over yet.¡± That¡¯s right, it wasn¡¯t over yet. I bit down hard on my lip. While tasting the blood pooling inside my mouth, I clenched the magic stone inside my pocket. I¡¯ve managed to ovee the biggest obstacle. But the next hurdle happened to be the disciple our instructor had personally raised. One who happened to resemble the instructor the most! ¡°I will¡­ definitely¡­ escape from you, Mirua.¡± While thinking about one more tall mountain I had to ovee for the sake of my perfect getaway, I stoked the burning mes of my will to escape. Chapter 200

Chapter 200

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 200 #23. Policy Meant for My Dream! (7) > As time passed, the demon continent steadily morphed closer and closer to my idealisednd. Demons exalted the Demon God and me from seemingly every corner of the continent. Some became such devout believers that they would have believed me even if I told them that mud could be turned to diamond¡­ no, wheat could be turned into a dragon! Of course, this was mostly due to the policies I¡¯ve enacted on the pretext of making everyone¡¯s life better. Under the watchful eyes of the chieftains, who had been thoroughly educated by the metal bat, roads werepleted in no time at all. This allowed the smooth transportation of material and even quicker construction of many buildings. These structures provided a home for the demon race, giving them a chance to enjoy a better sweet-home life. That¡¯s not all, though! I also established schools in certain areas and paid close attention to basic education. Of course, you don¡¯t have to be a genius to figure out that the contents of education itself would be repeated brainwashing via textbooks I¡¯ve written! I knew it; it¡¯s important to start such¡­ rote learning while they are still young! The goal was to get the public atrge to reach a point where¡­ Where the public would be willing to start an uprising if Belegrea had a change of heart and tried to kill me as revenge for the metal bat tormenting her. All while loudly crying out, ¡°The demon king is trying to harm our noble, great king!¡± Once we reach that point, no one would dare to touch me even after I step down from the king¡¯s throne! ¡­And that line of thinking had gotten me into the current crisis. ¡°Mm. We¡¯re screwed.¡± ¡°Ng, totally screwed, master.¡± One year and a couple of months had passed since we started living in the demon continent. That could be seen as either a long time or a short one depending on your view. In any case¡­ It was around this point in time that I decided to step down. With what I have achieved so far, no one would be brazen enough to provoke me! My dear daughter also earned a lot of fame while ¡®working¡¯ as the Minister of Agriculture and the Chicken Department! I no longer had any lingering desire for political power. Instead of drooling over power until my dying day only to live a disgusting and cumbersome life, I shall simply retire now and live a peaceful one! And to bring this dream of mine to reality, I announced my decision to step down as the demon king, only to¡­ ¡°But sire, stepping down from the throne¡­?! No, you cannot, sire! Oh, our great king!¡± ¡°We beg of you, please reconsider!¡± ¡°Yes, please reconsider!¡± Suddenly, a scenemonly seen in historical dramas began unfolding in front of my eyes. ¡°I failed to raise my daughter properly¡­¡± She often prostrated while crying out, ¡°Please reconsider, sire!¡± However, as she was too adorable doing that, I just let her do as she pleased. But now, other idiots were using the exact same tactic as her. The crucial difference here, though, was that all these idiots were either middle-aged or older. A group that old prostrating on the floor while crying out ¡°Please reconsider!¡± in unison like some kind of a magic chant was rather displeasing to behold. -Hey, you! This is all your fault! -Wuing?! W-well, that is true, I guess¡­? What is up with those uncles, anyway¡­ -It¡¯s all because you taught my daughter some weird-ass crap, that¡¯s why! My mind would never change just because some old men were prostrating on the floor. ¡°All of you, listen to me. This isn¡¯t just my wish but the noble Demon God¡¯s will. She has constructed a new demon world, and she now wishes for a new king to step forward.¡± Indeed, times like these call for the Demon God¡¯s name! Since ancient times, using the Demon God¡¯s name opened all doors in the demon continent! ¡°Oh, our great, noble Demon God, please hear our prayers.¡± ¡°There can only be one great king for us, and that¡¯s Lord Marx.¡± ¡°Without our wise ruler, Marx, guiding us, who can possibly deliver us your true wish, oh our great Demon God!¡± Unfortunately, it seemed that I had been too enthusiastic about their mental education. Even though they were demons, they dared to go against the Demon God¡¯s wish and tried to convince their god! -Well, it does kind of feel gratifying, but¡­ -¡­But, also feels like something¡¯s going wrong somewhere? Right, master? Cries of ¡°Please reconsider!¡± and ¡°Oh, great Demon God, please don¡¯t forsake Marx!¡± began rising up everywhere. Yup, something about this did not smell good at all. Situations like this one were usually followed by events solely meant to screw me over, after all! That¡¯s why I might get screwed again this time¡­? -¡­Fut! That¡¯s not going to happen this time! -Ng? But master, isn¡¯t it too dangerous to be so confident this soon? Whenever you jinx it, you REALLY jinx stuff, right? The metal bat threw a weirdly on-point retort in my way, but I was able to easily counter her this time. -If this was in the past, sure. But, here¡¯s the thing. Unless she¡¯spletely lost the plot, would the Demon God really let me stay? When I¡¯m responsible for changing the demon continent to my whims? -S-something pragmatic came out of my master¡¯s mouth and not some random nonsense?! Uh-huh! I always gave you pragmatic replies. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been way too ahead of everybody else, and they fail to understand me! Just give it one year or so, and who knows, people might start pping their knees and go, ¡°Ah! So, there was such a way!¡± -And so, all I can do is sigh in awe at how my dear master reverts so quickly back to his random nonsense self¡­ -Hey, hold up! Suddenly calling me dear master makes it sound like I¡¯m the one at fault here! I keep saying this, but I¡¯ve done nothing wrong! Yes, the world is at fault for tormenting me until now! ¡°Oh, oh¡­¡± And the evidence of my suspicion began sprouting up from here and there. ¡°W-what is going on?¡± I began noticing more and more demons looking up at the heavens while shedding tears. Some began whispering in soft voices and said, ¡°Oh, our noble, great Demon God¡­¡± or ¡°I knew it, she¡¯s the great and noble deity that listens to our voices¡­¡± I was getting anxious. No, hang on. This was already beyond the description of ¡®anxious¡¯ and straight into the dangerous territory. Such derations were flooding forth from seemingly every corner. ¡°N-no, could it be¡­?¡± For a moment there, a totally inconceivable scenario formed in my head. Looking at these folks now, though, I began sensing that that scenario might be a reality, after all. And who knew¡­ My gut feeling indeed became a reality. ¡°Our noble, great Demon God has acknowledged you, oh our king!¡± ¡°Yes, our great king. Our noble and great Demon God has indeed chosen you as our one true ruler!¡± ¡°Ah, aaaah¡­ dear Demon God! The all-powerful and noble master of our race!¡± ¡°O-oiii¡­?¡± Hey, Demon God, what¡¯s gotten into you? You aren¡¯t the type to do this, right?! ¡°Ah, ahhh¡­ The Demon God has spoken, sire. Oh, my dear apostle! It sounds like you have misunderstood me, so let me say it one more time! You did extremely well. That¡¯s why, stay and keep doing it!¡± W-why are you doing this, Demon God? You aren¡¯t some clueless child, you know¡­! Besides, can¡¯t you go with Belegrea or something? She¡¯ll do a better job than me, you know! ¡°Oh, our great king! Our king, acknowledged by the Demon God, no less!¡± ¡°We beg of you, please continue to protect the king¡¯s throne!¡± ¡°Yes, please protect the throne, sire!¡± As soon as the Demon God gave her permission, every demon present in the temple rushed here and began prostrating before me. Scary. This was getting a bit¡­ no, a lot scary! -Master, it looks like the number of demons is getting higher and higher¡­? Am I seeing things? -Yeah, I¡¯m seeing it right now, too! Was someone spreading a rumour or something? The ranks of prostrating demons were gradually increasing with every second. ¡°I require some time to myself. I shall converse with our great Demon God first.¡± I got up from the throne and dered in a dignified voice, thinking I needed time to retreat and regroup. However¡­! ¡°Sire, our great Demon King spoke to us again. She said, there¡¯s no need for all that. Just do it!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the best apostle I¡¯ve chosen ever since the creation of this world! That¡¯s why¡­¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s why, my apostle! Continue to lead the demon race!¡± The archbishop and cardinals in the front of the pack got up and roared in unison, prompting the rank-and-file priests to also cry out together. H-hey, isn¡¯t that voice¡­ Haven¡¯t you all been treating that voice as the fake god?! Didn¡¯t you treat that version of the Demon God as the evil creature?! Howe are you listening to it so religiously now?! -T-terrifying¡­ -This is youreuppance, master! This is why you should¡¯ve moderated yourself while selling the Demon God¡¯s name everywhere! Look, the Demon God¡¯s pissed off, and now, she¡¯s taking revenge on you! -E-even if that¡¯s true! The Demon God is the top deity after excluding the Creator God! So how can she take revenge on me by turning a con man into her apostle?! -Oh, at least you know you¡¯re a con man, master! Oops, I ended up revealing what¡¯s on my mind! -Even though you know you¡¯re a con man, you pretend otherwise. I knew it, you¡¯re an evil person! Kh-hmm, kh-hmm! Khhhmm! I took a second or two to clear my throat, then roared out with all the power I could muster. ¡°All of you, now listen!¡± Whether it was out there or in here, people with the intention to torment me were¡­ No, rather than people, it¡¯s the demon race and one lump of metal. The smartest way to navigate through a situation like this was to defeat the easiest opponent first. The metal bat had known me far longer than anyone here, so I thought the priests treating me like a demigod should be a lot easier to deal with. ¡°I¡¯m well aware of the great Demon God¡¯s wish. And yes, I¡¯m also aware of your wishes.¡± ¡°I-in that case!¡± The archbishop jumped up to his feet at my words and stared at me with sparkling eyes. However, the archbishop was a reptile-type demon and not a human-like one, so he kind of looked like a drooling lizardman standing in front of a prey! ¡°However, I have an important mission to fulfil.¡± I put on some serious airs while saying that. Everyone couldn¡¯t do anything but quietly look up at me. Well, I was telling the truth, after all. I really did have an important mission of spending the rest of my life with my daughter. I developed the demon continent to this point so that I could enjoy my retirement! The rest can be taken care of by Belegrea and the Demon God working diligently together! ¡°As such, all of you should go back for today. I shall personally speak to the Demon God.¡± I stared at the priests with my go-to re used to look down on the trainees back in my evil organisation days. It¡¯s been a long time since I used this re, though. ¡°Understood, sire.¡± A short standoffter, the archbishop took the lead by bowing his head and retreating from the chamber. The cardinals I had selected and the other priests followed him and slowly filed out of the demon king¡¯s throne chamber. ¡°Hah¡­¡± Only after all the priests had left and the door shut behind them did I plop down on the throne and let out a lengthy groan. Things just gotplicated. Veryplicated. I only wanted to retire, but to think that such interference would hinder my goal! ¡°Damn you, Demon God! You are no help to my life at all, now are you!¡± ¡°And just who was it that freely sold the Demon God¡¯s name everywhere while never forgetting to thank her?¡± The metal bat grumbled while settling down on the armrest of the throne. As the throne itself was absurdly huge, it was no problem for the metal bat in a small girl¡¯s appearance to sit there. ¡°What are you grumbling about this time?¡± ¡°Hng! How dare a measly Demon God call you her apostle, master! I mean, you are my master! The one and only deity of this world, Lady Arcadia¡¯s master!¡± Boo! Her cheeks puffed up as she pouted. Anyone seeing the metal bat for the first time would¡¯ve found her really adorable, but¡­ ¡°Why are you raising a fuss?¡± But, from the perspective of those who know the truth, it was just a contemptible throwing-toys-out-of-pram by her. ¡°Uboooooo?!¡± After I pinched both of her cheeks hard, the metal bat could only let out a pained grunt instead of coherent words. ¡°Okay, so. What should I do now¡­¡± Staying on as the demon king wasn¡¯t the worst decision I could make. It wouldn¡¯t be the same as getting captured by the Imperial Princess since I wasn¡¯t mortgaging my life here. The one issuing all the work was Belegrea, while the ministers of different departments were responsible for carrying out those tasks, anyway. I was simply sitting here in argely symbolic role. The demon continent functioned well without me. However¡­ ¡°Master, can¡¯t you just stay in that case?¡± ¡°The more noticeable I am, the greater the chance of things happening, that¡¯s why.¡± The most peaceful era of my life was when I was tilling thend with my daughter. I spent six quiet years just like that, didn¡¯t I? ¡°Give up, master. Since most of your life was tough-going, doesn¡¯t that make the average sum of your life also tough-going? In that case, you should stick to the average sum for the rest of your life, too.¡± ¡°Hell no! If I stick to that lifestyle, I¡¯ll really kick the bucket soon!¡± This year was thest one where I could attach the adverb ¡®almost¡¯ in front of half a century of life on thisnd. Come next year, I¡¯d really have lived half a century in this world. So much about the current me had changedpared to the peak period in my life, i.e. between the age of 30 to 40 when I was still in the evil organisation. First of all, my muscle mass had decreased significantly. Even though I still exercised diligently, the decrease still came about due to theck of actual field experience. Besides, I had been wielding farming tools a lot more than swords in thest several years. And the end of exercise always brought massive aches all over my body. Getting hit by cold winds made my bones and joints ache, too. The time to let go of my sword and settle down on a rocking chair to watch over my daughter growing up was slowly creeping up on me. ¡°My daughter is growing up well, so now would be the best time to let go, I¡¯d say.¡± My dear daughter was already 15 years old. The racial trait of demons caused her to grow slower than humans, but she was still growing into a respectable young woman. Which meant this was a crucial period in her development. Soon, the era of storms and gale winds will arrive. Just a small disagreement could even cause my daughter to run from home while saying, ¡°Dad, I hate you!¡± My daughter, running away from home after I have entered the twilight of my life? How horrifying would that be! ¡°I should just quietly run a farm with my daughter or help her job as the Minister of the Chicken Department.¡± My daughter told me that, although she could resign from the position of the Minister of Agriculture, she could absolutely not give up on the Minister of the Chicken Department. She even dered that she¡¯d never give up on this ¡®business venture¡¯ until the fried chicken was spread to all corners of the demon continent. To make her wishe true, just how many fried chicken franchises have I opened? How many new sauces did I have to develop! Even after I went through all that trouble, she still said, ¡°Dad, I¡¯m still hungry,¡± and tried to create a World Cup legend, oops, I mean, the fried chicken legend. [1] ¡°But, master, you don¡¯t have a choice now, do you?¡± Statues of my likeness have been erected in almost every corner of the demon continent. Every living demon on thisnd will probably recognise me. In a certain sense, the situation had be even harder for me to escape than back in the human continent. If that¡¯s the case¡­! ¡°There¡¯s only one way out of this, then.¡± ¡°You do have a way?¡± I looked at the metal bat making a shocked face and slowly nodded. I had abruptly recalled an old mobile game I used to y in my previous life. That game went sideways in the long run after it became too much of a pay-to-win, but it still had a pretty solid storyline at its core. ¡°Do you know why there aren¡¯t that many kings?¡± ¡°Because¡­ it¡¯s a king?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s because there can¡¯t be many kings, to begin with.¡± There could be only one king in a country. One single existence! A unique being! Currently, only I and Belegrea were the kings on the demon continent, which meant my worth was quite high, but¡­! ¡°What if there are one million kings?¡± What if you asked random strangers on the street what their day job was, and nine out of ten replied, ¡°I¡¯m the demon king?¡± ¡°Will everyone still pay attention to me in that case?¡± ¡°Wow, now that you¡¯ve run out of ideas, master, you¡¯ve resorted to spewing utter nonsense! And so proudly, too!¡± The metal bat cried out in rm, but I paid her no mind. I didn¡¯t care whether the metal bat or the Demon God was mocking my n. There was no need to retort right now. Whether my imagination wascking or my n had too many holes in it¡­ That would be decided by the end result, you see! [1]: No clue what the author was trying to reference here. The ¡®World Cup¡¯ is most likely Football World Cup, but other than that¡­ shakes head Chapter 201

Chapter 201

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 201 #23. Policy Meant for My Dream! (8) > #7 Their circumstance: A certain team leader¡¯s circumstance Ba-dump, ba-dump! Just like always¡­ I¡¯m looking forward to my payday. I rushed all the way back to the border region to get this secret stash of my sry. How can I not look forward to it when I risked my life to get this! With a buoyant mood, I opened the pouch, and then¡­ ¡°Hiiing¡­¡± ¡­And then, met with a bitter disappointment. ¡°I need to get a job this month, too¡­?¡± Sniffle¡­ My reduced sry isn¡¯t going back up at all. And it seemed that this month would be yet another tough one to get by. ¡°This is all Ria¡¯s fault¡­¡± To think that girl would abandon her precious team leader and run away! The reduced sry from that incident and the extreme changes in the demon continentbined as one-two punches to give this poor me a hard time with theck of funds. ¡°Sniffle! Should I go ask a nearby fried chicken ce if they have a job for me¡­?¡± In the past, I could¡¯ve earned some money by hunting down rampaging monsters in the countryside¡­ But nowadays, monsters were on the brink of extinction and even that money-making avenue has dried up. ¡°Instructor, you meanie¡­¡± This was all because of the demon king, Marx¡­ No, because of my instructor! While building this thing called the highway, my instructor, uh, instructed the demons to subjugate all the monsters that could potentially damage the newly-built roads. Ordinary demon race folks were happy about that, saying things have be safer for them, but people like me who earned a living through mercenary work? We ended up jobless almost overnight. The demon continent¡¯s monsters were far more vicious than their counterparts in the human continent, and they also fetched quite a high sum, so the monster subjugation work was a popr job among the mercenaries, you know! But now, all the former mercs were either running fried chicken shops, frying chickens or taking up part-time jobs of delivering said fried chickens. ¡°Hiiing¡­ Those jobs are all difficult, though¡­¡± I would be among the very first to meet the freshly-fried chickens, but I can¡¯t even touch them?! Would there be anything crueller than that in this world?! ¡°Ah, I wanna eat more fried chicken¡­¡± Yes, the fried chicken tastes so good. One of the main reasons for my constantck of funds was that I¡¯ve been buying lots of fried chickentely. If the fried chicken only had one vour, I¡¯d probably have grown tired of eating it, but¡­ Thanks to far-too talented Minister of Chicken Department Lady Alice, new sauces were constantly being introduced on the market, and I¡­ I just can¡¯t get enough of them! ¡°The new addition to the menu this time is the Onion Chicken¡­ I-I guess I¡¯ll find a ce to stay instead of a job first.¡± Gulp¡­ Fried chicken and onions, is it¡­? Thatbination should not work at all, but our Minister of Chicken Department, Lady Alice, always brought a new paradigm to us without fail. Thestbination I thought would never work was fried chicken and spring onion¡­ However, the revolution of the so-called ¡®Spring Chicken¡¯ remains to this day a monumental paradigm shift that still sends shivers down my spine. Lady Alice is truly amazing. No, make that utterly divine! Hooray for fried chicken! Hooray for Minister Alice! Hooray! ¡°¡­Heok?! N-no, I can¡¯t!¡± I also went astray like thisst month, ended up spending all my money and had to camp outdoors for three days straight. Only one year ago, most of the demon continent was in a simr state of affairs as a kingdom in the rural outskirts. Even then, a backwater vige in the remote corner of said kingdom! Some tribes even called natural caverns their home, too. But my instructor managed to transform the demon continent in just one year. Buildings and the educational environment rivalling the empire¡¯s top cities were created, while shops selling fried chicken sprang up in every vige in the demon continent even though no such shops could be found in the empire¡­ No, not just the empire, but the entire human continent! I knew it, my instructor is a fearsome person. But the problem with such a transformation was camping outdoors as I have done became an odd thing to do these days. And I couldn¡¯t even catch food in the wilds as most of thends nowadays had an owner. An era where it¡¯s be harder to procure food without money? The demon continent seemed to have be far too dreary these days. Sniffle, sniffle¡­ ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time to mop around like this.¡± I tucked the sry pouch away in my inner pocket and turned around to head back to the Demon God¡¯s temple where my instructor was staying. However¡­ ¡°¡­Uh?¡± I sensed a vibrationing from a magic tool stashed within my inner pocket. I pulled out the faintly-vibrating crimson jewel and red at it. ¡°Isn¡¯t this¡­¡± To find a better reception, I began dashing around everywhere. This tool emitted a specific type of pulse to reduce the risk of eavesdropping but that made it harder to get a good reception. However, just who am I! In the end, I had to leave the vige near the border and reach the fortress walls separating the two continents. That¡¯s where I finally got a good enough reception tomunicate. ¡°It¡¯s Mirua here~~.¡± -You sound the same as usual. Hiiing¡­ Since she¡¯s my employer, I tried to sound as friendly as possible, but my conversation partner doesn¡¯t seem to have one iota of desire to be my friend. Sniffle¡­ -Your current location is¡­ Mm, good. I¡¯ve more or less confirmed it, soe closer to the fortress wall. It seemed that the transmission from the magic tool was used to pinpoint my current location. Well, my employer said so, which means I must believe her. I travelled within the shadows and stuck close to the fortress wall. Even if the time now was early dawn, this ce was still the border region separating the humans from the demon race. I must avoid getting spotted by the soldier uncles tirelessly toiling away even today. -Here ites. Yessir, I¡¯m d to have you! Although I would¡¯ve loved to shout that out loud, the fortress wall was stered with several powerful magic spells. I had to focus my attention on staying undetected at all times. How long did I wait in that position, I wonder? One minute felt like one hour as I waited. And after enduring that torturous wait, a ray of salvation finally came down from the heavens above. ¡°Huph!¡± Tap, tap! I lightly kicked the air to jump up, caught the falling pouch and rapidly hid within the shadows once more. Before anyone could notice me, I speedily distanced myself from the wall. This might set off those magic spells applied to the wall, but I¡¯ve already made preparations to ensure that the hard-working border patrol uncles wouldn¡¯t be unduly troubled. I left behind two birds where I was standing earlier. Those birds weremonly found in the border region, so the soldier uncles should assume that the rm was erroneously set off by some birds and not a person. Of course, that¡¯s not important to me right now! ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­!¡± Ba-dump, ba-dump! I cautiously opened the pouch as my heart pounded away. ¡°Whoaaaaah¡­!¡± -Did the items arrive unscathed? The employer¡¯s voice came out from the magic tool just as I opened the pouch. I promptly began nodding away enthusiastically. Yes, they arrived! The best-possible items I could ask for are here! -I can¡¯t hear you. Did the transmission cut out? ¡°Ah, no! The pouch did arrive! I¡¯m always thankful! Big sis~! I love youuuu!¡± It seemed that I got momentarily blinded by the splendour of the golden lighting from the pouch. To think that I dared to not reply to my precious employer¡¯s question! That¡¯s a straight fail as a subordinate, isn¡¯t it! -I don¡¯t need your love. The reply I got was so cold-hearted. Hiiing¡­ So uncaring still! But, oh well. The amount of gold and jewels is certainly not uncaring, so I guess it¡¯s all good. -Give me the status update. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± That was an order from my great employer. I smartly organised everything I knew, including the demon continent¡¯s state of affairs, then informed my dear employer of only the essential bits. I even added in-depth exnations like the good employee that I was since my dear employer had never set foot in the demon continent before. My employer must¡¯ve been deeply moved by my full-on customer satisfaction drive because she praised me in a deeply satisfied voice. -Nice work. Keep up with your good work in the future, too. My employer was not known for handing out praises, yet she praised me just now! Now¡¯s my chance! ¡°P-please put more in the pouch next time, ma¡¯am!¡± Ba-dump, ba-dump¡­ My heart began pounding hard once more. W-what should I do? The employer gave me a lot this time, but I dared to ask for even more! She¡­ won¡¯t reduce the budget while saying I¡¯m being too insolent, right? I waited for my employer¡¯s reply as my heart quivered nervously. -Very well, I shall consider it. Yesss! I did it! With this, my dream of one fried chicken per day will be a reality! My dear employer seldom sends me my wage, but when she does, it¡¯s a lot of money, you see! ¡°I love you, Big Sis Sia~!¡± -I¡¯ll say this again, but I¡¯ve no reason to be called a big sis by you¡­ I shall continue to rely on you to provide me with information as a double agent. Drop-! My employer must¡¯ve been feeling embarrassed because she quickly ended the transmission. But it didn¡¯t matter since the funds had correctly reached me already! ¡°Hhhhng~ fried chicken~ I¡¯ll have chicken today~ and fries as a side, too~~.¡± A hum escaped out of my mouth all on its own. I quickly returned to my lodging and slipped under the covers, hoping for the morning toe as soon as possible. And when I opened my eyes again, its was morning already! For the sake of an enjoyable dinner tonight, I had a light breakfast. I then summoned a carriage to quickly head to the demon continent¡¯s capital city where the demon king¡¯s castle was. There was a considerable distance to the Demon God¡¯s temple, but now that we had this highway thing, I could arrive there in only around a day, you see! The empire was famed for having some of the best roads on the human continent, yet it still couldn¡¯t build a roadwork of this magnitude. I knew it, my instructor is someone incredible. Sure, I ended up jobless because of him, but my respect for the instructor still mushroomed nonstop whenever I was travelling sofortably like this. As a team leader, I also would like to be someone like my instructor. ¡°Mm¡­ First of all, I should get some fried chicken¡­ No, I mean, gather information near the demon king¡¯s castle¡­¡± My generosity had increased proportionally to match the increased funds. And that¡¯s why I was currently riding alone in the most luxurious carriage avable. While rolling around in the vast interiorrge enough to just lie down and sleep, I tried to organise everything on my agenda, only to realise how many required my attention. Of course, the most important one was my meal¡­ or not. Yes, it¡¯s to collect information! ¡°First stop is the demon king¡¯s castle, then the Demon God¡¯s temple where the instructor is. And then¡­ check the situations for individual tribes, and, and¡­ Mm¡­¡± Yup, this can¡¯t go on. I gotta request Her Highness to increase my sry during my nextmunication with her. Travelling around the demon continent, is it! Even if I travel in the cheaper carriages from tomorrow on, the travel expense will no doubt be a killer to my finances. My meal budget will decrease if that happens, and I certainly cannot allow that! The instructor forbade the umtion of private property, and that had a knock-on effect of lowering the price of goods. Even so, what¡¯scking was stillcking in the end. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived, miss.¡± While I was seriously pondering how to get a sry raise for the next time, the carriage driver uncle alerted me that we had arrived at the demon king¡¯s castle. I took out a silver coin and tipped the chicken-head driver uncle. He¡¯ll probably buy delicious fried chicken for his kids with this tip. When I saw the birdmen race eating fried chicken for the first time ¨C more specifically, the Chickenmen tribe ¨C I was shocked quite a lot. But I had to nod along and ept the reasoning that chickens were simply livestock while the Chickenmen tribe was a demon race. I mean, being unable to eat fried chicken just because the birds look simr to you is just too cruel, don¡¯t you think? ¡°Kkeunnnng-cha!¡± Even though the carriage ride was prettyfortable, it was only natural to stretch my limbs after climbing outside. After confirming that that fake demon race horn was still attached to my scalp, I entered the capital city of the demon king¡¯s castle. ¡°Mm¡­ First of all, a ce to stay¡­¡± I looked around to find today¡¯s lodging. If my instructor was responsible for transforming the demon continent, then the demon responsible for putting his policies to practice was the current demon king, Belegrea. In other words, the capital city the demon king Belegrea calls home was where all the demon continent¡¯s policies were enacted first! This was the starting point of the city development policy, so the state of the lodging found here was fundamentally great. But there were also a lot of travellersing here, making it difficult to find a ce to stay. If I spend a bit more, finding a ce should be feasible, but if I was seen carrying too much money on me, folks would suspect me of being someone wealthy and start questioning me. And I¡¯d get a chunk of my funds ripped off as the so-called tax, thereby making my financial situation even worse. That¡¯s gonna be too troublesome for me. I didn¡¯t buy and wear clean but worn-looking clothes all this time for no reason, you know! ¡°¡­Uh?¡± This happened just then. A demon kitted out in a ck priest uniform that symbolised the Demon God¡¯s temple began approaching me from afar. It could be just a coincidence, but well¡­ For some reason, he was staring at me while heading straight in my direction. Before all that, though¡­ Did our eyes meet just now, too? For a moment there, I wondered whether to run away or ignore the dude and walk straight past him. However, it was not a good idea to get marked by the Demon God¡¯s temple if I wanted to stay on this continent. My instructor was with that temple, so who knows what might happen! ¡°Excuse me, miss. But you¡­¡± ¡°Y-yes?¡± When I looked at the priest with a surprised face that implied I didn¡¯t expect him to grab me, he began scanning me from top to bottom, nodded sagely, then said something quite iprehensible. ¡°I can sense the aura of our great, noble Demon God from you, miss!¡± For a moment there, I¡­ I had to wonder if this priest was a con man¡­ or a con demon. To say that he could sense the Demon God¡¯s aura from a human like me! I heard the chants of ¡®Oh, our great Demon God!¡¯ and ¡®Oh, our generous, merciful Demon God!¡¯ oftentimes while living in this part of the world, but to think that she¡¯s generous enough to share her divine aura with a human who¡¯s been living on the demon continent for less than a year! Isn¡¯t this god pretty much simr to the so-called Donation Angel my instructor told me about? Oh, hang on. Comparing a deity to an angel is a bit weird, isn¡¯t it? So, uh, Donation God, then? The God of Donation, the Demon God! ¡°Miss, I see that you follow the will of our great, noble Demon God. Indeed, you¡­¡± What the priest said after that, though, left me so speechless that I ended up dazedly staring at him, my jaw falling to the ground. ¡°You¡­ have the qualifications to be a demon king, chosen by the Demon God herself!¡± ¡°Ehng?¡± And so¡­ I somehow became the second human chosen by the Demon God to be a demon king. Chapter 202

Chapter 202

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 202 #23. Policy Meant for My Dream! (9) > #8 Their circumstance: Atia nel Karuan¡¯s circumstance I closed my eyes and paid attention to Reia¡¯s voice. ¡°ording to the report, that¡¯s the current situation, and from then on¡­ things will unfold this way.¡± Reia¡¯s voice stopped there, but my eyes remained closed. After pondering what I¡¯ve heard for some time¡­ ¡°What I heard just now, are they all¡­ true?¡± ¡°ording to the team leader Mirua, yes, they are all true.¡± Reia sounded utterly unconvinced during her report, but her reply didn¡¯t reflect that. I muttered. ¡°That is insane, then.¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s so like Sir Ast.¡± My opinion was that it was insane, yet the reply I got was ¡®as expected of Ast¡¯. However, that answer was good enough to make all my underlings¡­ no, everyone in the Imperial Court nod in affirmation. Ast never was sound in his head, but¡­ ¡°¡­But it sounds like he¡¯s even crazier than ever before?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t deny that, Your Highness.¡± While watching Reia nod in agreement, I ended up holding my head. I used to tell myself it¡¯d not be feasible. Even if Ast wanted to flee, would he really enter the demon continent? I got quite a shock thinking that he hated me to the point of escaping to thends of demons, beings clearly in an antagonistic position to humanity. Even if he didn¡¯t like me, wasn¡¯t that, you know, too much?! Even if I was a tough cookie, that left a pretty severe impact on me. To think that he¡¯d flee to the demon continent just because he hated someone! But then, the subsequent reports on the situation wiped my worries clean. Actually, I had to seriously ponder if Ast crossing over to the demon continent was simply a part of his intricate n in the first ce. ording to Team Leader Mirua¡¯s report currently dispatched to the demon continent, Ast¡¯s actions could be summarised as thus: 1. Crossed over to the demon continent. 2. Acquired an individual equivalent to the demon race¡¯s princess, a leader of a faction locked in the demon continent¡¯s civil war. 3. Despite being a human, received the Demon God¡¯s will and became the demon king. 4. In only one day, followed the Demon God¡¯s will and assassinated the demon king candidate of the opposing faction. 5. He fashioned himself as a demon king in symbolic meaning while installing the demon king candidate he had acquired as the real demon king. 6. Fixed various customs and institutions of the demon race while dering the founding of the demon race¡¯s People¡¯s Republic. ¡­No matter how many times I thought about it, those were some of the most gob-smacking achievements I¡¯ve ever heard about in my life. What made them so much more shocking was the fact that¡­ He achieved all this in less than one year! I heard the old saying, ¡®Revolution can happen in one day¡¯, but I still couldn¡¯t believe that the entire continent changed this much in one year. Not only that, he actually changed the continent¡¯s rules, too! ¡°A republic, is it? Maybe Ast doesn¡¯t want to live anymore?¡± A society with no ss system and where everyone was equal? If you say that out loud, nobles in every kingdom in existence would unanimously send assassins your way. In the ¡®republic¡¯ Ast was trying to create, things weren¡¯t as simple as nobles giving up their authority, you see. Wealth, power and everything rted to them had to be given up, and everyone under the heavens would be allowed to ess them equally. It was inly obvious that not just humans but demons would also baulk and resist that idea! But shockingly enough, Ast received enthusiastic support from the nobles of the demon continent, chieftains of various demon tribes. Thanks to their support, Ast got to construct the roads for the demon race and their carriages. Those well-constructed roads connected the poorer tribes torge towns and cities! He even beganpulsory education and gradually strengthened his control over the demon race! ¡°This won¡¯t do. Bring me Ast¡¯s disciple working in the treasury.¡± Thinking more about this would only give me a migraine. Instead of giving myself a headache, it might be better to just call someone with a close history with Ast and let them take a look at the current situation from a different angle. Reia left my office, and a short whileter, a man stepped inside. ¡°Your Highness. I¡¯m Maren Graine from the treasury.¡± The man greeted me with the Imperial Court¡¯s epted etiquette. He was the core of the empire¡¯s treasury and a ssmate of Rein currently educating Yugrasia¡¯s students back during their days in Howling. It might sound odd to have a former member of an evil organisation working for the empire¡¯s treasury, but I heard that the finance minister evaluated this man quite highly. Maren had a ¡®coincidental¡¯ meeting with his ¡®instructor¡¯ in the past, and thetter made sure to instil skills in this poor man. The instructor was Naruan/Ast, of course. This man received a slightly different education from the rest of Ast¡¯s disciples. So, how would someone like that analyse this situation? I warned him before we got going. ¡°What we¡¯re about to discuss from this moment on, you must not tell anyone. Even if the finance minister asks you about it.¡± ¡°Understood, Your Highness.¡± After my warning was epted, I personally told Maren everything that had happened so far. Specifically, how Ast crossed over to the demon continent and things he had done on that side! Maren listened to this tall-sounding tale, and then, he seemed to take some time to organise the influx of information. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Then, he let out an impressed gasp and began shuddering as if he was finished organising his thoughts. ¡°As expected of my amazing instructor! I can only marvel at your greatness!¡± He began straight up praising Ast. ¡°Keuh~¡­! To think that he¡¯d enter the demon continent and be the king there! Not just any king, but one chosen by the Demon God, no less! I knew it, my incredible instructor is cut from a different cloth!¡± I felt goosebumps on my skin while watching this man shudder in pure bliss. How can he be this ecstatic when a human became a demon king?! And this man¡¯s supposed to be the core of our treasury? My empire, will it really be alright? ¡°I want to ask for your opinion on this matter. How do you view everything Ast has done so far?¡± Maren began crying out as if he had no need to even think about his reply. ¡°It¡¯s obviously perfect, Your Highness! First of all, the construction of the roads! No matter how well-developed magic is, only a few can use it. That¡¯s why the instructor has chosen to construct the roads. Heid the foundation for the demon race to move around much easier, and now, more products and material can be transported through those roads!¡± With that, Ast sessfully improved the average living standard of viges in the demon continent. So much so, the average now verged on a city¡¯s scale! I didn¡¯t try to stop Maren as he continued on in agitation and excitement. ¡°Even the idea of a republic is like that, Your Highness. Everyone being equal! To achieve that, the finance ministry would have to deal with a catastrophic level of work, but my instructor has a cure-all medicine called the metal bat, Your Highness. If those folks don¡¯t want a beating, I¡¯m sure they will do their best!¡± Maren closed his eyes as if he was reminiscing about his past. His body even began shuddering, too. If I were to guess, then that past must¡¯ve involved getting beaten up by the metal bat. ¡°And my instructor must¡¯ve summoned the chieftains, Your Highness. He probably tricked them by saying he wanted to discuss the new policies with them face-to-face. The chieftains opposing the changes would obviously have a ton of things to say, so they must¡¯ve hurried on to meet the instructor, only to¡­ get a royal beating from the metal bat.¡± He began nodding for no reason and added that resisting would¡¯ve gotten those chiefs even harsher beating. He didn¡¯t stop there, though, and continued to praise Ast while disying fear and awe. ¡°My amazing instructor pacified all the chieftains, then probably confiscated all of the private property of those tribes. The transformation of the demon continent you have mentioned will note cheaply, Your Highness. It¡¯d require a truly ridiculous amount of funds. An investmentrge enough to change the wealth of an empire must¡¯ve gone into this project.¡± I agreed with that assessment. Constructing a roadwork and various buildings in a kingdom-sizednd would require a few years at the shortest and decades at the longest. But Ast pulled it off in one year. Such an achievement could only be attributed to the power of money. ¡°All this is a part of my instructor¡¯s n! He most likely would have summoned the demon race merchants or financiers capable of supplying the materials for a quiet word or two. And then, he must¡¯ve handed over the wealth collected from the demon continent¡¯s chieftains as the funds for all the construction work.¡± Always keeps his promises, Maren said. Ast never kept his promises with me, and my trust in him had hit rock bottom, but Maren nodded confidently as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and continued on from where he left off. ¡°And then, he must¡¯ve beaten them up with the metal bat while saying that he¡¯d confiscate all their wealth too for the sake of true equality!¡± Ah, aaah¡­! To think that such enormous wealth would circte freely! Maren looked like he¡¯d start praying to Ast at any second now. All I could do was groan softly. Let me say this again ¨C a fool like this became the core of the empire¡¯s treasury¡­? I knew it, this empire is done for. I asked Maren. ¡°Is that something amazing?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness. It¡¯s the most ideal scenario for the cirction of wealth. But our current reality is that a small number of people hold most of the wealth in cirction. That¡¯s why a perfect cirction like this makes people from financial departments sigh in admiration, Your Highness.¡± Maren¡¯s voice was filled with intense admiration. However¡­ ¡°But, isn¡¯t it basically¡­ The whole cycle starts from Ast¡¯s pocket and circtes all the way back to his pocket at the end of the day?¡± ¡°Indeed, returning to his hands after one round trip! It is indeed the perfect cirction, Your Highness!¡± Chieftains and merchants, was it? If this man¡¯s hypothesis was correct, then Ast had robbed the wealthiest group of individuals in the entire demon continentpletely clean. ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s such an aplishment, Your Highness! To think he got his hands on such an incredible wealth!¡± The way Maren kept crying out, ¡°Ah, ahhh, my dear Instructor!¡± emotionally made me think that if I erected Ast¡¯s statue right here, he¡¯d get down on his knees and start prostrating right away. No, wait¡­ Maybe Maren would carve out the statue by himself at this rate. ¡°But, wouldn¡¯t they think it¡¯s unfair? It¡¯s the same as taking their property through force, is it not?¡± ¡°Your Highness, money has always been fair to everyone. It¡¯s just that those who hold all the money are not. As that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t it be better for everyone to have the money in the hands of someone capable of using it fairly?¡± Hmm¡­ I guess. The wealth of nobles rotting away in their safes would be used to better the world atrge ¨C that certainly sounded like a good ideal to strive towards. ¡°And also, avoiding the punishment of the metal bat by simply giving up some money? They would¡¯ve dly done that at the first opportunity, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Mm¡­¡± I almost inadvertently nodded just then. That couldn¡¯t be helped since I too, had experienced the beatdown in the past. That thing was¡­ Even I didn¡¯t want to remember it, after all. ¡°What do you think will happen in the future?¡± ¡°All the infrastructure has been constructed, and it only took one year. I¡¯m honestly terrified at the prospect of how far the demon continent will advance at this rate, Your Highness. However, this growth ispletely focused on the economy, thus neglecting the military side of things, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Tap, tap, tap¡­ The noise of my finger tapping on the desk echoed within the office. This man was right. Looking at the current situation in the demon race, it was clear to me that the new infrastructure going up was in consideration for Ast¡¯s own future, not the improvement in the general warfare capability of the demons. Because he was on another continent ¨C and he also probably thought that I didn¡¯t know his exact location ¨C Ast must¡¯ve decided to transform the demon continent to secure hisfortable life instead of improving the demons¡¯ fighting power. In that case, this could be an opportunity. Arge contingent of elite operatives¡­ The best course of action would be to dispatch arge group of operatives on a simr level as Mirua and secretly kidnap him. ¡°Very well. In that case¡­!¡± I finished making up my mind and began instructing Reia to prepare to capture Ast for once and for all. However¡­! ¡°M-my liege!¡± A magician burst into my office, havingpletely forgotten about the Imperial Court etiquette. This individual was in charge ofmunicating with Mirua. ¡°Y-you must read this, ma¡¯am¡­!¡± He delivered a piece of paper to me, his hands clearly trembling. An ominous foreboding crept up in my heart just then. And when I read the paper¡¯s contents, I ended up staggering dizzily for a second. ¡°Y-your Highness!¡± Reia panicked at something I had never done in my life and hurriedly propped me up. I had a dizzy spell? It really was the first time in my entire life that I lost myself like this. Grit! ¡°Ast¡­!¡± My trembling hands held up the paper so that I could read it one more time. I became a demon king! But, uh, there are 101 other demon kings, too! And I think more will be chosen in the future too, Your Highness! -Mirua- What nonsense was this?! The demon king was the ruler of the demon continent, but to think that there would be 101 of them! And one of them happened to be a spy sent by the humans, no less! Reia cautiously asked me. ¡°Your Highness, just what¡¯s in thatmunique that you¡­¡± ¡°Here, see for yourself.¡± ¡°¡­Huph?!¡± Reia took a nce and sucked in a cold breath. Just one nce, and she was already shuddering in shock. ¡°T-that¡¯s insane¡­!¡± 101 demon kings? It certainly sounded insane, but we were talking about Ast here. If it¡¯s him, then such a scenario didn¡¯t seem so oundish anymore. Although, only those who knew the human named Ast would feel that way. ¡°Y-your Highness, this¡­¡± ¡°Ng, that¡¯s right. Most likely¡­ he¡¯s now nning to foster abat force rivalling the power of demon kings.¡± ¡°Would such a thing even be possible, Your Highness?¡± It seemed that only Maren from the treasury had failed to understand our conversation. But that wasn¡¯t so surprising if you thought about it. If swordmasters and archmages could simply be created through nothing but education, then individuals boasting such powers wouldn¡¯t be praised as geniuses chosen by the gods. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s possible.¡± However, Ast managed to do exactly that. The most obvious example of that was¡­ ¡°You and your ssmates, then there¡¯s also Yugrasia. That¡¯s the proof.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Yugrasia¡¯s students had already demonstrated their strengths and capabilities to the empire¡­ No, to the rest of the continent by now. A student ranked around 70th in the academy for theirbat prowess¡­ No, for their academic performance had a set a precedence of soloing a hero party chosen by a god. Oh, and Yugrasia had only a hundred students per year. In other words, a student ranked mid-low in the academy managed to defeat a hero from a religious order! As for this man before me, Maren, he also possessedbat strength rivalling a captain of a knight corps., even though he was a mere ountant in the treasury! ¡°Your Highness, what does that mean¡­?¡± ¡°It means Ast is now also shoring up the military strength, too.¡± The demon king was the strongest warrior in the demon continent. So, the meaning behind selecting 101 of them¡­ And the meaning behind selecting more in the future¡­! ¡°Does it mean he already knows what I¡¯m nning?¡± The n of sending arge number of elite operatives was already a failure. Even with the full army, there were still no guarantees of achieving victory against individuals trained by Ast. Grit! If I could, I wanted so badly to mobilise everyone and march straight into the demon continent right now. However, far too many hurdles stood in my way. The first hurdle would be to deal with the political blowback, then I¡¯d have to break the unspoken agreement among the human countries not to invade the demon continent, too. By the time I deal with all those matters, Ast would probably have finished constructing the perfect army for himself. ¡°Just a little bit more¡­ Just a bit more¡­!¡± I had to be patient. Just a little bit more patient! I clenched my trembling fists and closed my quivering eyelids while resolving myself once more. ¡°Next time we meet, I swear to finish it once and for all!¡± Until then, I will be patient for a little bit longer. Just a little bit longer. Chapter 203

Chapter 203

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 203 #23. Policy Meant for My Dream! (10) > What a miss! That¡¯s just too bad! If I only knew what might happen, I¡¯d have recorded this with a magic tool or something! I should¡¯ve yed the BGM of ¡®Tonight¡¯s MC is [Pick Me]¡¯ to this lovely 101 Dalmatians¡­ Oops, I mean, 101 demon kings! [1] ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped, then?¡± Even I never expected the first round of the recruitment drive to end with exactly 101 candidates, after all! ¡°Next time, I might as well select males and females separately, and then make the girls sing, ¡®pick me, pick me¡¯ while the boys will go, ¡®me, just me¡¯.¡± The metal bat suddenly butted in. ¡°Master? I have no idea what nonsense you¡¯re spewing now, but I can already tell this one thing. Whatever it is you¡¯re saying, it¡­ has freak-all to do with demon kings. Am I right?¡± Tch! Pretty sharp, ain¡¯t ya! No, hang on a minute! Even I don¡¯t trust myself, so who would believe me in that case! If one wishes to be a sessful liar, one must fool themselves first. I can¡¯t even fool myself, so how can I sessfully scam other people?! ¡°Nope. Those things are vital to our causes. Building solidarity by making the candidates cry out, ¡®Pick me, pick me!¡¯ A non-living creature like you can never understand the importance of doing this!¡± I confidently dered in order to fool the metal bat, but¡­ ¡°I definitely don¡¯t wanna know, though?¡± ¡­The metal bat curtly retorted straight to my face. ¡°E-excuse me¡­¡± Belegrea, our co-judge, addressed us with an awkward expression on her face as the metal bat and I began ring and growling at each other. ¡°It¡¯s time to start the judging process.¡± The metal bat and I went ¡®hmpf!¡¯ and turned our heads away to re at the scene before us instead. Which happened to be¡­ The super-massive audition that will change the history of the demon continent! Kaku-San-Sei, Million Demon Continent! [2] Subtitle: Demon King Produce 101! ¡°Let us begin.¡± Belegrea got up from her chair and strode forward. She followed mymand and passionately memorised the speeches I had written. And now, she was capable of saying stuff that I¡¯d like to say, greatly decreasing my workload in the process! As expected of the first demon king I had personally selected! ¡°Alice picked her, not you, master! You don¡¯t even have the qualifications to cast a vote!¡± ¡°Hah! My daughter¡¯s wish is mine, and my wish is my daughter¡¯s. As such, whenever my daughter does something, it¡¯s the same as me doing something.¡± ¡°Apologise! You better apologise to my little sis working hard today, too!¡± ¡°Uh-huh! I¡¯m also participating in a project that will change the fate of the demon continent! Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m also working as hard as my daughter for the future of the demon continent!¡± For rification, my daughter was currently searching for an environment suitable for raising even ¡®better¡¯ chickens. She said she¡¯d also investigate other farm products along the way. My daughter was the only minister in charge of two departments, and her jobs made her super-busy. So busy that the time we spent together was gradually decreasing! ¡°I must hurry up with the creation of new demon kings and enjoy my retirement with my daughter. Why am I still working this hard at my age, anyway?¡± ¡°Master, from where I¡¯m at, it looks like Belle is doing all the heavy lifting for you, though?¡± ¡°Oii, at least try to say her full name. It sounds like Bellend when you say it.¡± The metal bat pointed at Belegrea passionately exining to the crowd the importance of the new project and how much Demon God was looking forward to the results. ¡°Master, youe up with all these things, but she¡¯s the one dealing with them all.¡± ¡°I made her into the demon king. It¡¯s only expected that she can do this much.¡± ¡°I think that girl wants to kick her past self for bing the demon king, though.¡± Someone upying a high position is bound to get inundated with work. That¡¯s just how it is. Of course, the one right at the top issuing all themands is excluded from that logic. You could say that this would be a beneficial experience for her. If she works hard and learns everything she can in her current mid-level position, then well, she might grow into a leader capable of ruling the entire demon continent with just a few words. After I pass on from this world, of course. ¡°But master, it doesn¡¯t look like you¡¯ll die?¡± ¡°Uh-huh! I¡¯m still a human being. Humans die when they grow old.¡± There¡¯s no orderly queue on who will die first, but there was a limit to how long you can hold on to your life. The longest-living swordmaster lived well past a hundred years old and reached a simr realm to other non-human races. However, I didn¡¯t have a drop of magical power in me, so I would probably die in a simr time frame as regr civilians. Of course, I have been diligently exercising until now, so maybe I might get to remain healthy for a little longer. ¡°Making my daughter sad is no good, though¡­¡± Sure, she had the cat and Kkokko by her side, but the wound she received early in her life meant she always craved other people¡¯s affection. I couldn¡¯t help but worry if my death would make her cry her eyes out before copsing from exhaustion. The metal bat butted in again. ¡°My little sis is riding high on her popritytely, you know? Don¡¯t you think other people, oh wait, we¡¯re in the middle of the demon continent, right? In any case. Don¡¯t you think other demons would console her, helping her get over the grief quickly and bring a smile back to her face?¡± ¡°Uh? That¡¯s sorrowful in a different meaning, innit?¡± Are you saying that my daughter would smile and focus only on the development of fried chicken right after my funeral? I actually ended up picturing her smiling face in my head, whichnded a severe blow to my psyche. ¡°This is no good, but that¡¯s also bad¡­ Master, you just can¡¯t make up your mind, can you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s how all dads operate.¡± While the metal bat and I chatted about the demon continent, no, what the future held for us, Belegrea was reaching the end of her passionate speech about the demon¡¯s future as well. ¡°I wish that all of you will serve the Demon God¡¯s will!¡± ¡°Oh, oooooh!¡± Loud cheering came from everywhere. I could hear many energetic roars dering that they would definitely be the next demon king and inherit the Demon God¡¯s will. Ah, ahhh¡­ Good. Very good! It always feels great when moulding the candidates filled with such passion andmitment. Feeling satisfied now, I got up from the judges¡¯ area and walked up to the podium where Belegrea was. ¡°Lord Marx?¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s Lord Marx!¡± ¡°Even Lady Arcadia, the manifestation of Demon God¡¯s blessing, is here too!¡± Young demons looked up at me and the metal bat walking behind me with sparkling eyes. Even though I said ¡®young¡¯, some of them were undoubtedly older than me due to the differences in our racial traits. For instance, I¡¯ve heard that quite a few elders from the tribes inheriting the blood of dragons like the me Dragon or the Ice Dragon could live past well over one thousand years. So, that dude over there with the dragon head must be at least a couple hundred years old. Dammit! I was already feeling down from the discussion over my natural death in 30 to 40 years! Aren¡¯t there way too many bastards that make a mockery of my worries in front of me?! ¡°What we want is just this one thing,¡± I addressed the crowd with a voice containing just a hint of my resentment. Honestly speaking, the first round of judging was fairly simple in nature. Most of the candidates should pass the test. If you thought about it, there was no need for me to spend too much time trying to judge them. ¡°The ability to appropriately judge the situation and a powerfulbat strength.¡± They were about to go through a filtering process, anyway. No need for me to shoulder the annoyance of judging them one by one since I had already thought of a better way. ¡°We only need individuals capable of following the great Demon God¡¯s will.¡± So, what I¡¯m saying was¡­! ¡°From this moment on, you shall ki¡­ Ahem, I mean, you shall now fight each other until only fifty-one candidates remain.¡± The survival of the fittest. We only had to pick up the survivors, that¡¯s all. * #10 Their circumstance: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance ¡°From this moment on, you shall ki¡­ Ahem, I mean, you shall now fight each other until only fifty-one candidates remain.¡± He said ¡®kill¡¯ just now. He might have corrected himself in the middle, but he definitely told them to kill each other! I was entrusted with managing this weird event called the Best Demon King Audition as an equally weird-sounding role of a co-judge. And that¡¯s why I got to hear what my instructor said just now! ¡°And now, hurry and fight!¡± Unfortunately, I seemed to be the only one to hear the ¡®kill¡¯ part of the instructor¡¯smand. With just onemand from him, the atmosphere in the venue began shifting rather eerily. Candidates, full of smiles and friendly chatter only a second ago, began sharpening their auras and gauging the capabilities of others around them. ¡°Insane¡­!¡± All these people were willing to risk their lives and fight just because he said so? What on earth was going on here?! ¡°I would never do¡­ Mm¡­ Huh?¡± When I carefully thought about this, uhm¡­ Haven¡¯t I done something simr to this before? No, my case was a lot worse, I think? Food was involved in my case, after all. ¡°Die!¡± ¡°How dare a mere weakling¡­!¡± I bore witness to the demons crossing swords and hurling magic spells at each other from the closest vantage point. I was told that this test would be a simple demonstration of an individual candidate¡¯s abilities, so how did it morph into a free-for-all deathmatch instead?! ¡°Senior!¡± A blue-haired, red-eyed boy rushed up to me from the sideline. ¡°Rarel? What happened?¡± This boy¡¯s name was Rarel. ¡°I¡¯ve brought you the message from the great, noble apostle of the Demon God, Lord Marx!¡± Rarel¡¯s voice was filled with respect and awe. So much so that this kid and the wannabe assassin following the Demon God¡¯s wish to kill my instructor once upon a time couldn¡¯t have been the same person at all. As expected of the metal bat, then. To think that one could be a loyal servant just from a beatdown! I asked Rarel. ¡°What¡¯s the message?¡± ¡°He said to observe the proceedings from the side and stop the test if you think we¡¯ll see casualties.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± I watched my much-younger junior at work bow to me and walk away before shifting my attention to the candidates. I wanted to find out if there were any ¡®dangerous¡¯ looking fes among them. ¡°¡­And there are so many.¡± Yup, there were many. Way too many, if you ask me. These small-fries seemed to have gotten full of themselves after thinking that they were chosen to be a demon king. My instructor¡¯s goal was to train one million warriors¡­ And to think that the candidates would be this boastful for being selected among that one million! ¡°Not only that, their abilities are¡­¡± ¡­Pretty shabby, actually. With the candidates amounting to only this much, even the past version of me during the Howling days could¡¯ve had a shot at bing a demon king, too! ¡°Fail. Fail. Fail.¡± My workload had increased to match their low levels. These idiots couldn¡¯t even tell the difference between their capabilities and their opponents. As such, they went all-in even when fighting against weaker opponents than they were. Idiots so weak that even a light little tap could kill them were giving their everything to attack one another. If I don¡¯t intervene at the right time, I might end up removing corpsester on. And so, as I began intervening one candidate at a time¡­ ¡°¡­Mm?¡± How should I describe it? For a brief second there, I saw a very familiar set of movements just now? ¡°No, hang on. Before all that¡­!¡± No.1000¡­ No, Mirua! ¡°Why the heck is she here??¡± Rarel asked me in confusion. ¡°Senior?¡± ¡°Hey, there¡¯s something I gotta check out, so take care of these two for me, will you?¡± I tossed two young demon king wannabes under my arms to Rarel, then began chasing after one of the candidates. The overall number had gone down a lot, and only around ten candidates needed to be disqualified for this contest to be over. While pretending to be removing the copsed candidates, I got close to the suspicious one of the lot! ¡°Mm¡­ What is your name, candidate?¡± ¡°H-hello, sir! I, I¡¯m Kirellia from the Babelest tribe, which is a humanoid horse demon tribe! I¡¯m 42 years old. The apostle, who chose me as the demon king¡­¡± The candidate began a round of non-stop yapping with a surprised look on her face. Listening to this natural stream of exnations made one think that she was just another demon chosen to be a demon king. ¡°Mm¡­ I see. Lady Kirellia, my bad for rming you. You resemble another demon that I¡¯m acquainted with, you see¡­¡± ¡°To think that I resemble a demon you know, Lord Swinn, the right hand of our great Lord Marx! I¡¯m honoured!¡± The way this candidate looked up at me with those sparkling eyes¡­ Mirua always maintained a poker face that made it hard to gauge her true emotional state, and after considering that fact, this girl came across as a totally different person to me. And when I was tailing her just now, she behaved just as amateurishly as the other candidates here, too. However, the most important test was this one! ¡°Have you ever experienced the Demon God¡¯s blessing yet?¡± ¡°N-no, I haven¡¯t had the honour yet.¡± ¡°Is that right? Well, it¡¯s fate that you resemble my acquaintance, soe seek me outter in the future. I shall speak to the demon king and let you experience the Demon God¡¯s blessing.¡± ¡°T-thank you very much!¡± I came to a decision while watching the candidate hurriedly bow to me. Right, she merely resembled Mirua, that¡¯s all. Someone with the first-hand experience of the wooden bat¡¯s powers wouldn¡¯t want to receive a beatdown from the upgraded version called the metal bat, after all! As far as I know, Mirua has never got a beating from the metal bat. That¡¯s why she might not know that thing¡¯s true terror. But Mirua was a very crafty, cunning kid from the beginning. Sure, the organisation she worked for had a weird name of ¡®Kidnap Ast Squad¡¯, but that shouldn¡¯t distract you from the fact that she was still a leader of a small group of incredibly powerful elites. Mirua was the underling of the Imperial Princess, the most influential individual in the empire. Her position meant Mirua held enough power to get her name on the list of the top movers and shakers of the empire. That girl started off as a meremoner, a tool of the evil organisation no less, yet she still managed to reach an unimaginable height of power. Someone like that had experienced the might of the wooden bat. And she was currently carrying out the mission of capturing our instructor. In other words, there was simply no way she didn¡¯t know anything about the metal bat. Can a person thank me for the prospect of getting hit by the metal bat even though they knew the truth? That would be impossible. ¡°Tomemorate that you resemble someone very close to me, I shall do my utmost.¡± I smiled benevolently after making up my mind and then patted the candidate on her head. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± The demon girl before my eyes grinned brightly at my gentle patting. Our surroundings resembled a war zone, yet only our location was overflowing with this gentle atmosphere. Other demons nced in our direction and began making dissatisfied expressions. But then¡­! ¡°Yes, yes. I shall take you to Lord Marx first, and then¡­¡± Crunch-! ¡°Kkyack?! Uh? H-hey¡­?¡± I grabbed the girl¡¯s horn and roughly yanked it off her head! ¡°¡­And then, you shall confess everything after the metal bat does her thing with you.¡± ¡°Kkyack!¡± The horn stubbornly refused to yield, but I still managed to pull it off her head in the end. This rather-familiar-looking horn was actually a fake crafted by those despicable dwarves! ¡°B-but, how¡­?!¡± Mirua was staring at me with a panicked expression on her face. I smiled faintly at her. ¡°This situation is just too absurd, isn¡¯t it? When I thought long and hard about this, the conclusion I got was¡­ This absolutely can¡¯t be real.¡± If one looked at all the evidence avable, this girl could not be Mirua ¨C at least, that should¡¯ve been a natural conclusion. As for the odds of her being Mirua? It¡¯s only around 0.1% or so? ¡°The ¡®Mirua¡¯ I know is fully capable of seeding even if the odds are only 0.1%, you see?¡± Mirua. When I first acknowledged her abilities, a corner of my heart started carrying this unspoken respect for her. She leisurely slipped past the empire¡¯s magic bombardment. She used a method even I couldn¡¯t imagine to survive. Her actions made her the object of my jealousy and yearning. That¡¯s why¡­! ¡°The moment I concluded that the girl before my eyes cannot be Mirua, the odds of her actually being Mirua went up so much higher.¡± ¡°Euhk¡­!¡± Mirua frowned deeply after realising that her too-perfect acting got her exposed, but her expression morphed quickly soon afterwards. ¡°I¡¯m gonna get mad at youter, you know.¡± Ah, ahhh¡­ That¡¯s a bit scary. Now that I thought about it, the first and thest time I saw Mirua get mad at me was back when Ria and I worked together to stop her from eating all those years ago. If my memory serves me correctly, she¡­ started using the sword aura the following day, didn¡¯t she? Scary. Very scary. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re trying to escape, but do you even have an escape n?¡± ¡°Yup, I¡¯ve already thought about it.¡± Suddenly, Mirua¡¯s figure grew transparent before disappearingpletely from the view. ¡°Sure, if it¡¯s you, that makes sense. The thing is, though¡­¡± If you wanna talk about ns, I too have made lots of them. Actually, anyone can n, too. And the disciples of my instructor had a tendency toe up with lots more nspared to other people. ¡°Before you get the taste of the metal bat¡­!¡± ¡°Kuwaaaahng!¡± ¡°Hey! I captured a human spy!¡± I couldn¡¯t see her, but the moment those two sounds hit my eardrums, I acquired a new fellow ve¡­ Oops, I mean, arade who will share the pain with me. Ria left already, so Mirua was just the right person to fill the void. [1]: ¡®Tonight¡¯s MC is [Pick Me]¡¯ is my poor attempt at tranting the name of the opening song for MNET¡¯s idol survival show called Produce 101 season 2. The song¡¯s official title seems to be [Pick Me] but the actual lyrics during the chorus are: ¡°Tonight¡¯s protagonist is me, just me.¡± Confusingly enough, though, the female version of the same programme¡¯s theme tune is also called ¡®Pick Me¡¯, but they are two different songs. Also, the ¡®pick me, pick me¡¯ part of the lyrics from the girls¡¯ version of ¡®Pick Me¡¯ is sung in English. [2]: Kaku-San-Sei Million Arthur is a series of Japanese RPG games released by Square Enix. I¡¯m guessing this is the game MC was talking about in the ¡­ Chapter 204

Chapter 204

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 204 #24. Why Does it Have To Be Me? (1) > Stuff like torturing wasn¡¯t necessary. ¡°That¡¯s all I know!¡± Mirua cried out in surrender while prostrating on the floor. Just one hit from the metal bat did the trick. She began confessing everything she knew in great detail even before I had a chance to ask her. From the number ofbatants the Imperial Princess had dispatched to capture me to the overall budget of the n itself, Mirua told me everything, including the information on Sia¡­ which I hadn¡¯t even considered before! ¡°I¡¯ve got to hand it to you. To think that you were actually two-timing the Imperial Princess with Sia¡­¡± Even I was not ballsy enough to pull that crazy thing off. ¡°Ehehe~¡­ The economy is rather tough these days, and I gotta pull two jobs to put food on the table, you see¡­¡± The way Mirua poked her tongue out and went ¡®Teehee~!¡¯ was outwardly cute enough, but the contents of her confession were definitely not adorable. Like, none at all. I mean, really. She somehow managed to walk the tightrope between two personality disorder patients with simr looks and temperament, so¡­ Yup, Mirua must be totally nuts, then. I continued on with my questioning. ¡°Okay, so. How much did you tell them about me?¡± ¡°Well, things like how you were now the demon king, and how you were creating this thing called a republic, then how you were creating one million demon kings¡­ About that much?¡± Aha. Hahaha, I see. So, it was only that much, huh? It¡¯s not as bad as I thought¡­ ¡°¡­is what you thought I¡¯d say, no?! You dumba*s, if you told the Imperial Princess that much info, she practically knows everything about me now!¡± ¡°Kyahk! Kyaaak! No to violence!¡± Mirua shielded her head and began screaming. That sight forced me to lower my raised hand about to strike down on her. However¡­! ¡°Dear Aru?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Please hit me as much as you want.¡± The moment I called for the metal bat, Mirua changed her attitude incredibly quickly. So, I replied to her just as quickly. ¡°Don¡¯t feel like it.¡± ¡°Uhehehehe!¡± Obviously, I had no obligation to humour her. ¡°N-no, I don¡¯t want this!¡± Mirua cried out and suddenly vanished into thin air. Huh, I never taught her techniques like that, so where on earth did she pick that one up? If she were to sneak-attack me one day, I¡¯d probably get taken out without offering any resistance. Of course, that¡¯d be the case if we were still on the human side of the continent. ¡°Kkyahk?!¡± Mirua let out a short cry and tumbled to the floor. The thing was, I wasn¡¯t alone in this ce. This room was filled with some of the strongest folks on the demon continent, so escaping from here should be impossible even for someone like Mirua. I pointed at her. ¡°Beat her up.¡± ¡°W-wait a minute, please!¡± ¡°We can talkter!¡± Mirua urgently extended her hands in surrender, but the metal bat had already fired a punch at her face by then. ¡°Kkuweeeck?!¡± Aru¡¯s punches had been honed to perfection aftering to the demon continent. Mirua couldn¡¯t even prepare herself on time and had to obediently yield her cheek to the iing small fist. A pig squeal escaped from her mouth, and the metal bat¡¯s pummelling began raining down on Mirua¡¯s huddling figure. I issued a new order. ¡°All of you, leave us alone. Candidates must be flustered by this development, so go and try to calm them down.¡± ¡°T-thank you, Your Majesty!¡± ¡°Understood, sire.¡± The group of several chieftains, Rarika and Belegrea acting as my guard, shuddered at the sight unfolding before their eyes before stepping outside the room. They all had first-hand experiences with what it¡¯s like to get beaten up by the metal bat. And that must be the reason for their hasty retreat from here. ¡°Stop,¡± I ordered the metal bat, and thetter looked back at me with a disappointed face. That thing once told me that different people tasted differently when hitting them ¨C and it seemed that hitting a human after such a long time was a good pte cleanser for her. ¡°Even so, you need to stop.¡± ¡°Tch!¡± Ptooi! As the metal bat was a non-living object, she couldn¡¯t produce saliva, but she still pretended to spit on the floor before backing off. I red at Mirua. ¡°That was pleasant, yes?¡± ¡°Please, just hit me insteaaaad¡­¡± Now that surprised me. To think that she could say something rather sensible after all that! Must be a first, then. Most of the time, the majority of victims would go, ¡°Please spare my life,¡± or ¡°Just kill me instead¡­¡± I knew it, this girl is no ordinary punk, alright. ¡°I¡¯m not a violent person, Mirua.¡± ¡°Hiiing¡­¡± Mirua became tearful at what I said. Her tearful, upturned eyes were trying to plead with me, telling me how deeply hurt she was, but¡­ ¡°You dared to sell my info to the highest bidder, but I see that you still haven¡¯t learned your lesson yet!¡± ¡°N-no, wait! Please spare my life! I don¡¯t wanna die!¡± Wiggle, wriggle¡­ She tried to writhe her unmoving body this way and that on the floor, probably hoping to appeal her pitiful case. Which was¡­ the case of a living creature wanting to keep living on, that is! ¡°I don¡¯t remember saying I¡¯m going to kill you, though?¡± ¡°N-no, I don¡¯t wanna¡­!¡± Mirua screamed in terror as the metal bat slowly approached her. Too bad, her body was already beyond the control of her mind by now. Honestly, I was surprised by how she could still cling to her consciousness and hold a conversation with me until now. Unfortunately¡­ ¡°Finish her.¡± ¡­Even that would soon. ¡°Big sis? To say I¡¯m gonna cherish all the memories we shared, we haven¡¯t shared that much, have we?¡± How unfortunate~! The metal bat dered thus, then began shadow-boxing with the empty air. ¡°Whoosh, whoosh! You know, I¡¯m not making this noise with my mouth! Yes, it¡¯s the sound of my fists slicing through the air~! If only you stayed under my master for one more year, you too could¡¯ve learned this dark art for yourself¡­! Too bad the evil organisation was destroyed before that¡­¡± ¡°I, I already learned about that from my subordinates, so I don¡¯t need it! I¡¯m being serious!¡± ¡°Eeehng? Ah, that reminds me. The summoner school students all became your underlings, right? Is Big Sis Aris doing well? She was one of the beeest feeling victims I¡¯ve ever tasted, you know! Don¡¯t feel too disheartened, though, ¡®cuz you also feel pretty great yourself!¡± Plop¡­ Mirua tried to escape somehow, but the metal bat still triumphantly sat on top of her as if to say it was time to give up. ¡°Noooooo!¡± ¡°Yeeeeees!¡± While exchanging opposing screams, the metal bat¡¯s fists began raining down on Mirua¡¯s body. Well, when I say ¡®rain¡¯, I was trying to be more artistic there since it¡¯d be rather boring to say ¡®one-sided massacre¡¯! With the harmonious noises created by Mirua and the metal bat serving as the backdrop, I leisurely picked up my teacup filled with now-cool tea. While drinking it, I tried to organise all the thoughts swimming inside my head. ¡°¡­What a scary b*tch.¡± And the result of all the organising was that¡­ I bloody knew it, the Imperial Princess was insane. How mad must you be to cook up a scheme to put demon horns on a person¡¯s head and send them to the demon continent? ¡°That¡¯s not something a man who already did it and acting like a demon king should say!¡± The metal bat still didn¡¯t forget to tackle me even during the beatdown session. ¡°You¡¯re being noisy.¡± ¡°I know~!¡± What a relief it was, then, that the metal bat had someone else to focus her violent energy on this time! She must¡¯ve thought that spending some quality (?) time with Mirua was more important than retorting to me. How can I tell? From how quickly she agreed with me and began making that ¡®toushi, toushi¡¯ noises with her mouth! ¡°Eh-whew. Must be nice, being a non-living object with no worries whatsoever.¡± Here I was, trying everything in my power to survive, yet that metal bat just did whatever she pleased. ¡°Uhehehehe~he! Being faithful to one¡¯s desire! That is the true essence of this goddess, Arcadia!¡± ¡°Sure, sure. Is that right¡­¡± Let¡¯s just leave the so-called goddess to her desires, while I should focus oning up with a n as soon as possible. My first course of action was to pay a visit to Belegrea, the de facto ruler in charge of politics, military and administration. Along with everything else, in all honesty. My aim was to find out the progress on the construction of the border walls. ¡°Belegrea, how far along is the fortress wall construction at the border region?¡± Considering the empire¡¯s firepower, these walls would probably not do much, but still! There was a world of difference between not having any versus having them. At the very least, the time the empire took to destroy those walls would be enough for my getaway! ¡°If you were referring to the overall progress, then it¡¯s about 40%plete, sire.¡± ¡°40%, is it¡­ How long untilpletion?¡± ¡°At least one year, if you take into ount every project currently underway, sire. But, if we were to hasten the construction as much as possible¡­ We will still need half a year, at least.¡± ¡°Half a year¡­¡± Depending on your perspective, that could either be considered too long or pretty short. However, considering it¡¯s the estimated time to finish building fortress walls, that was still a stunningly short estimation. Something only possible thanks to the manpower¡­ Oops, I mean, the demonpower of the demon race. This miraculous act could only be possible due to the demons possessing physical stats iparably higher than humans. On efficiency alone, the demon race workers constructing the fortress walls would be equivalent to human knight corps containing several swordmasters working together with a regiment of magicians. Let¡¯s say there¡¯s a giant boulder that could only be moved by many normal humans working together. Or, maybe it¡¯d require some devices or contraptions to move. However, some demons could pick such a boulder up with one hand. Demons could also use magic to instantly handle all the building materials that would¡¯ve usually required many hours. ¡°I see. Well, do your best toplete the walls as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Understood, sire.¡± I left Belegrea bowing her head, then sought out my former disciple, the hero. He was currently managing the ¡®101 DalXatian¡¯ project¡­ Oops, I mean, ¡®ProduXe 101¡¯ on my behalf. If I personally went there, the demon king candidates would be too distracted to give it their all, so I chose to summon the hero instead. Mm¡­ Yes, that¡¯s right. That¡¯s how deep my consideration was. And no, it¡¯s not because I¡¯m toozy to walk down the long-ass steps of the temple. Definitely not! ¡°Did you call for me, sire?¡± ¡°Yes. First of all, I thank you for all your hard work. You exceeded even my expectations.¡± ¡°It was nothing, sire.¡± The hero replied like that, but his eyes clearly said that he was expecting a reward from me. It was kinda like, ¡®You let Ria go, so let me go, too!¡¯ Well, he did fish me a pretty useful worker, so I guess I can humour his request. Not for free, of course. ¡°We are in the middle of a very important mission. And you already know what it is ¨C to create one million demon kings.¡± ¡°Yes, I know¡­¡± Judging from how he nodded while looking disappointed, it seems that our hero has finally learned the virtue of patience. -Master, wouldn¡¯t it be more appropriate to say giving up, despair or even resignation instead? -You just stick to your job, okay? -Yessir~! The metal bat still didn¡¯t miss the opportunity to get smart with me, but I ignored her and continued dangling the carrot my all-grown-up disciple desperately wanted. ¡°The ones being trained right now are merely the starting point of my grand n. Only by these candidates turning into splendid demon kings capable of leading their future juniors will I consider my n a sess. This means the first generation must be stronger than anyone. Wouldn¡¯t you agree? That will be your job. Make the first generation the world¡¯s strongest. And when you sessfully achieve that goal¡­¡± ¡°W-when I do¡­?¡± Gulp¡­ Just as the hero swallowed nervously, I smiled and finished the rest of my sentence. ¡°I shall release you, as well.¡± The moment I said that¡­! The hero¡¯s attitude transformed into that of his senior from the organisation ¨C more specifically, back when Rein was entrusted with a bat! ¡°I shall carry out your will, sire!¡± He swore toplete my grand n while totally resembling a Demon God believer receiving a divine order from the leader of his religion. #1 Their circumstances: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance I took in the sight of 100 demon kings. What an absurd notion that is, but here we are. Only one demon king should have existed in the demon continent, but a hundred of them were¡­ No, wait. That number should be 102 after including my instructor and Belegrea, no? What¡¯s even more shocking is that¡­ this number will swell even higher in the future. As a human hero following the Goddess of Nature¡¯s will, I should be doing my best to stop the number of demon kings from increasing. A demon king was the worst enemy of a hero, after all! However¡­ ¡°Who cares about that.¡± A deity couldn¡¯t be killed. But I certainly could. No, let me correct myself. I won¡¯t get killed. Not really. Instead, it¡¯d be more like, I will be subjected to a level of pain beyond the description. Whenever the metal bat beat me up, I used to seek out the goddess that I usually forgot about. Since she picked me as her hero, wouldn¡¯t the goddess try her best to save me? That was the single ray of hope in my heart. But that hope proved to be a lie. Only pain remained. So, I chose to forsake the goddess and only believe in my instructor. In the distant past, my instructor told me this: the nearby fist should take priority over the far-awayw and order. You need to survive first before you start thinking about reporting the crime. That¡¯s why, oh the Goddess of Nature who might be watching over me right now? All this is your fault for not saving me in time. That was my mindset as I slowly walked up to the podium and looked down at the candidates below. And then, I¡­ ¡°The demon race is facing her worst crisis yet!¡± I stared at the 100 future demon kings and spoke as the loyal retainer of Marx chosen by the noble, powerful Demon God. ¡°A spy from the insidious humans has infiltrated our midst. With a fake identity, she managed to fool all of us. And unfortunately, the fake must¡¯ve murdered the true demon king candidate originally meant toe here.¡± That wasn¡¯t true, of course. Mirua got lucky ¨C or unlucky ¨C by randomly getting picked as a candidate. Even though I thought she was rather perfect as a candidate, the rest of the demon king wannabes would feel discouraged by the fact that a mere human was selected under the same criteria as them. So, I figured that making up a lie about one of the candidates¡¯ murder would bring about a sense of danger in the rest and keep their fighting spirit zing for a while longer. ¡°The crafty, sneaky humans always have been drooling over ournd. Ournd, watched on by our great, noble Demon God!¡± The great, noble Demon God, eh? I¡¯ve been saying that name for so long that it became second nature to invoke it. I was now worried about this habit getting me into troubleter on after I crossed over to the human continent. Imagine me crying out, ¡°Oh, our great, noble Demon God!¡± in the middle of the Goddess of Nature¡¯s temple¡­! Of course, I should worry about that after I actually manage to cross over to that side first. ¡°That¡¯s why we must be stronger. What do you think was the reason for a human spy toe here? It can only mean one thing ¨C the time hase! The time for their invasion, that is!¡± Actually, that invasion was more like a war of minds between the Imperial Princess and my instructor, who became the demon king to avoid that crazy woman¡­ But there¡¯s no need to say that out loud, now was there? Honestly speaking, the marriage between those two could potentially bring reconciliation and peace between the humans and demons, but what do I know? I must apologise to all humans and demons out there, but I¡¯d never say that out loud. The moment I say that, the metal bat would mercilessly beat me down, you see! ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why we must be stronger. And I shall make sure to strengthen you. Stronger than ever before!¡± Yes, yes, I know. I know that your sacrifices would actually be for my escape from this ce, but whatever. ¡°Now, all of you. Are you ready to follow me?!¡± ¡°Yes, we shall follow!¡± ¡°We shall follow you, Lord Swinn! The warrior of our great, noble Demon God!¡± ¡°Oh, our great and noble Demon God!¡± Hah. Remember that you all willingly said you¡¯ll follow me. ¡°I shall engrave your determinations to my heart! Not only me, but even our great Demon God will remember this moment!¡± That¡¯s why, don¡¯t regret itter, okay! Chapter 205

Chapter 205

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 205 #24. Why Does it Have To Be Me? (2) > #2 Their circumstance: Certain demons¡¯ circumstances I looked up at the sky above. It was dyed in a golden hue. However, that light wasn¡¯t cast by the setting sun. Oh no. It was an artificial light created by a living entity. That¡¯s the simple description, but, well¡­ ¡°¡­This is hell.¡± Yup, it¡¯s basically ¡®Hell¡¯ here. Sir Swinn was yelling loudly at us. ¡°It¡¯s only this much, yet you dare call yourselves demon kings! You noobs!¡± The deluge of sword aura dyed the sky gold while raining down on the demon king candidates. A single hit in the vitals would be instant death. Unfortunately, the one firing all those golden rays didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°S-save me¡­!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wanna die!¡± ¡°No need to panic! I won¡¯t kill you! Yes, you won¡¯t die! I don¡¯t have time to train your recements, after all! That¡¯s why I won¡¯t kill you!¡± ¡°Ah, aaaah¡­ Dear Demon God¡­ Why do you put us through this sort of trial¡­¡± ¡°What do you mean, why! It¡¯s to create demon kings capable of carrying out Demon God¡¯s will, obviously!¡± ¡°Aaaaaahk! Nooo! I give up! Bing a demon king is a step too far for me!¡± ¡°It¡¯s toote to give up now! Be the next demon king!¡± Goosebumps broke out all over me while watching that. Those dodging the attack were too focused on their survival to do anything, yet the one attacking had enough leeway to retort to the desperate screams¡­ Even though he was practically fighting 100 people at the same time! ¡°That¡­ That is the true power of Sir Swinn? The instructor chosen by the Demon God¡­ And the subordinate of the great Demon God¡¯s servant, Lord Marx?¡± For the first time in my life, I felt deep in my soul the true meaning of ¡®difference in status¡¯. But, what shocked me even more was¡­ ¡°Kkuwaaaahk!¡± A wolf-race demon male screamed and fell as the sword light pierced his thigh. But then¡­! ¡°Aha, a new patient!¡± This whole ce resembled a war zone, yet a frail-looking little girl who totally didn¡¯t belong here quickly walked up to the wolf-race victim. And then¡­ ¡°Aru¡¯s hands are healing hands!¡± Her small, cute hands rolled into fists, then she began punching the wolf-race dude¡¯s thigh where blood was pouring out like a fountain. ¡°Kuwaaaaaaaaahk?!¡± The poor guy screamed until his throat went hoarse, probably because his wound was attacked. ¡°It¡¯ll all get better with some spit and polish~!¡± The little girl didn¡¯t stop her punching, however. ¡°That¡¯s not spit, you knoooooow!¡± Amid the golden bombardment, the humming of the little girl and the screaming of the wolf-race dude rang out tragically. ¡°Alright, treatment, finished~!¡± The silver-haired girl dered as the wolf-race stopped screaming, then dragged the poor guy out of the battlefield. Their destination was a pile of ¡®corpses¡¯ by the side. ¡°N-no, wait¡­¡± ¡°D-don¡¯te here¡­ Nooo, don¡¯te near me!¡± ¡°Hiiiieeeek! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry that I got injured! Forgive me for being so useless!¡± I guess I should correct myself, then. That was not really a pile of corpses. Nope, it was just a gathering of victims that tasted the little girl¡¯s beating. Except that it was apt to call them corpses as they were crawling weakly on the ground, their arms and legs limp and not functioning as intended. ¡°Here¡¯s your friend! Catch!¡± Just how did that small body of hers produce such physical strength? The little girl picked up the wolf-race dude with utter ease, even though he had a muchrger body than her, then lightly tossed him into the pile. She then cheerily headed to the area of the golden bombardment with a happy grin on her face. ¡°That¡­ That is the physical form of the great, noble Demon God¡¯s blessing?!¡± I was so shocked. That pile of ¡®corpses¡¯ was filled with demons that should¡¯ve been literal corpses. The sword light pierced their arms, legs, and even their abdomens in some serious cases. If not treated on time¡­ No, never mind that, without a highly-skilled healer on standby, all of those poor folks would¡¯ve been having a nice little chat with the Demon God by now. But that silver-haired girl¡¯s punching disyed a truly absurd level of healing power that worked very quickly. The funny thing was, when the ¡®patients¡¯ were interviewedter¡­ Rather than praising the Demon God, they all seemed to be scared of the Demon God¡¯s blessing. ¡°Kuhahaha! Only half of you managed to survive this level of attack?! I received far worse training than this at the age of ten from Lord Marx!¡± A voice filled with madness was apanied by a series of explosions next. At this stage, it looked like not just the sky but the entire world was being dyed in the golden hue. Even though I was so far away, I still felt this way, so imagine what it would be like for those actually trying to survive the golden onught! As the explosions rang out¡­! ¡°It¡¯s party time~!!¡± The silver-haired girl cried out in tion and began rampaging around the battlefield. It was all so shocking to me. Just what could possibly be the great, noble Demon God¡¯s intention to put those poor folks through Hell like that? That¡¯s what I used to think. But my thoughts had to change really quickly ¨C while watching the demon king candidates going through the same training the very next day. ¡°H-how can this be¡­!¡± I couldn¡¯t close my ck jaw. That¡¯s because I realised something while watching the demon king candidates. ¡°Their¡­ their statuses¡­ are no longer the same!¡± Indeed, they were no longer the same people. Only yesterday, all they could do was get hit by the bombardment but today? They were dodging the attacks splendidly! ¡°Diiiiieee!¡± ¡°You scum instructor!¡± ¡°Kuwaaahk?! No, not yet! I can¡¯t fall just yet!¡± No, wait! The candidates even went beyond that and reached the realm of actually attacking the instructor selected by the Demon God herself, Sir Swinn! ¡°To think that you¡¯d bare your fangs at me so soon! Quite useful tools, aren¡¯t you!¡± ¡°Shut up! You don¡¯t even know what it¡¯s like to receive the Demon God¡¯s blessing and the associated pain!¡± ¡°You never even experienced that hell before!¡± ¡°It hurt so much! I¡­ I hate it. I haaaate it!¡± What Lord Swinn said led to the candidates yelling and screaming and howling while pouncing on him. Some of them even began emitting dense killing intent. ¡°Hah¡­¡± Lord Swinn looked down on the candidates, and then¡­ ¡°I see. I was wrong.¡± ¡­He readily admitted to his sin. ¡°To think that I thought these weaklings were ready! It seems I¡¯m still too na?ve!¡± And that sin was evaluating his opponents too generously! ¡°W-what is going on?!¡± I gasped out, unable to breathe at the incredible quantity of killing intent gushing out from Lord Swinn so far away. This killing intent was so intense that several demon king candidates too close to Lord Swinn inadvertently dropped their weapons. ¡°Did you ask me if I know the pain? Did you really ask me if I have experienced Hell before?!¡± Griiiit! The sound of Lord Swinn gritting his teeth reached this far where I was. He was genuinely furious right now. ¡°You only experienced it for a day, so how dare you¡­!¡± Lord Swinn raised his hand towards the sky, causing the vibrations in the atmosphere to suddenly stop. And theplexion of every candidate became paler than ever before. The calm before the storm! That¡¯s what I thought, and the others probably thought the same as me. This silence had to be the one you¡¯d encounter right before a fierce storm. Everyone must¡¯ve felt it! ¡°It was only one day. One freaking day!¡± Lord Swinn repeated ¡®One day¡¯ over and over again. Every time he did that, lights shed ominously in the air to engrave runes in the sky. I muttered in stupefaction. ¡°¡­Magic circles?¡± Just how quickly your brain must calcte magic forms in order to create that many magic circles so fast?! Even before I could answer myself¡­! Oneyer after another?! More magic circles began ovepping on top of one another repeatedly. The demon king candidates on the ground below began shuddering in pure terror. ¡°I¡¯ve experienced that for so many years, yet you dare to spew such ludicrous statements after tasting ¡®it¡¯ for only a day!¡± His roar served as the trigger. Candidates began kneeling one by one. ¡°Keuh-huuuuurhk!¡± ¡°Kuwaaaahk!¡± Several magic circles ovepped each other to amplify their powers. And the amplified magic circles were performing truly, absurdly powerful gravity magic! The overwhelming assault crushed everyone t to the ground. ¡°You lousy fools, kneel before me!¡± Lord Swinn the instructor triumphantly roared while ring at the candidates. ¡°This¡­ is the difference in our true levels!¡± He even made a truly evil grin as he continued to roar. ¡°If you wish to reach my level, then, at the very least¡­!¡± Step, step¡­ The demon king candidates couldn¡¯t even breathe properly, yet a certain existence seemed totally unaffected as she oh-so leisurely strolled around within that crushing gravity field. ¡°Ah¡­ aaaah¡­!¡± ¡°N-no, please no¡­!¡± ¡°I, I was wrong¡­! Please, please! Not that¡­!¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Dear Demon God¡­!¡± The existence that ignored the power of gravity magic and leisurely walked up to the candidates was¡­! ¡°Uheeheehee~! There are so many here today, too~.¡± ¡­None other than the silver-haired girl, currently humming joyously to herself while muttering, ¡°Has anyone passed out yet~?¡± ¡°P-please, not the Demon God¡¯s blessing¡­!¡± ¡°F-forgive me, please! I was wrong! Yes, I was terribly wrong!¡± The Demon God¡¯s blessing that turned these poor candidates into half-dead corpses yesterday was roaming around the field, waiting for someone to copse from the magic¡¯s effects. Lord Swinn growled loudly. ¡°Come talk to me again after getting beaten by the metal¡­ I mean, the Demon God¡¯s blessing for at least 100 times!¡± Snap! With a snap of his fingers, screams exploded from the gravity field. Soon, the number of candidates passing out began shooting up, and¡­ ¡°Uheeheeheet~! cking out from the pain, eh! You¡¯re making this older sister so sad~!¡± ¡°Kkuwaaaaahk?!¡± Wretched screams I heard yesterday began again. ¡­And so, another day passed by like that. ¡°Uhm¡­ Huh¡­?¡± It had only been three days. No, to be more precise, it had been two days since the training began in earnest. But the demon king candidates before my eyes had transformed so much that I barely recognised them. It wasn¡¯t as simple as their status levelling up, though. If the first day¡¯s training levelled up the skills of these future demon kings, then yesterday¡¯s training had utterly transformed their very essence into something else entirely. ¡°Frontlines, defend!¡± ¡°Rearguards, unleash the magic spells!¡± Commanders had appeared in their midst. Well, that wasn¡¯t all that surprising to see, but¡­ ¡°Frontlines! Defending!¡± ¡°Rearguards! Firing magic!¡± But, it was surprising to see the others following the issuedmands withoutints. Demons were different from humans. They might be lumped together as one race, but different tribes hadpletely different appearances and characteristics. Some were physically strong, while some others were born with excellent magic-rted abilities. That wasn¡¯t all, however! Some demons with strong physiques might be born with great strength, while some others might possess high mobility. It was the same story for magical powers, too. Some were born with huge quantities of magic energy, while some others instinctively knew how to cast magic efficiently. Unsurprisingly, everyone was very proud of their traits and their tribes. Such pride also resulted in them developing strong tendencies of looking down on other tribes that were different from them. As such, the demon race¡¯s army was made up of individual divisions consisting mostly of the demons from the same tribe. Some divisions might contain tribes of simr traits, but that only happened under unavoidable circumstances. But then¡­ An army consisting of demons from various tribes working under a singlemander rarely happened unless the one giving that order was a demon king! However, the situation right now was different. ¡°Kuwaaahk!¡± ¡°Hold on for a little longer!¡± ¡°Ten seconds left until the activation of the anti-Great Demon Sword defence magic spell!¡± ¡°Stay strong for a little bit longer!¡± It wasn¡¯t as if someone overflowing with charisma had be their leader, nor did a powerful individual make them submit through violence. No, these candidates were actively working together to find the best course of action. And they were diligently sticking to what they thought would help them survive. This unity that transcends the deep-rooted tribalism¡­! And at the centre of it all, is¡­! ¡°I won¡¯t get beaten up today!¡± ¡°Yes, we will all survive and return home alive!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need the blessing anymore, oh dear Demon God!¡± ¡­None other than the silver-haired girl, AKA the Demon God¡¯s blessing! ¡°So, what do you think?¡± As I began shuddering from tip to toe at this sight, someone walked up to me from behind and asked that question. I looked back and gasped. ¡°L-Lord Marx¡­!¡± ¡°Ahaha. It¡¯s fine to drop the title and just call me Marx. All demons are servants of our great, noble Demon God. We¡¯re all equal under her gaze. It¡¯s just that we¡¯re entrusted with roles that suit us the best.¡± The one smiling and greeting me was the demon continent¡¯s top ruler. The noble revolutionary who brought this wonderful revolution to the demon continent as per the Demon God¡¯s will¡­! Indeed, he was Demon King Marx, called the top demon king by every other demon king out there! ¡°Sire, I¡­ I¡¯m unsure about what to write in my article, sire. This has to be the first time in my career as a reporter.¡± And Lord Marx was also responsible for summoning me here, a reporter, to write an article about the newest policy of the demon continent, the One Million Demon King project. Marx asked, ¡°Is there something you don¡¯t understand?¡± ¡°Yes, sire. Just why are they so motivated? Honestly, I¡­ I can¡¯t understand it, sire.¡± ¡°Aha¡­ Is that so?¡± When I confessed to my dilemma, Demon King Marx smiled warmly and offered a solution. ¡°That¡¯s quite easy to resolve, actually.¡± Snap! He snapped his fingers, prompting the silver-haired girl to suddenly pop her head out from behind him. A sinister grin was attached to her lips. ¡°Allow me to help you understand, mister reporter.¡± ¡°Uh? Ehhh?!¡± And just like what she did to the demon king candidates for thest two days¡­ ¡°Time to understand. Aru Punch¡î~!¡± ¡°Kuwaaaaahk!¡± ¡­The silver-haired girl began beating me up, too! Chapter 206

Chapter 206

1. < Evade the Hero and Flee! 206 #24. Why Does it Have To Be Me? (3) > ¡°Mm¡­¡± I knew it. Reading a newspaper in the morning is how it¡¯s supposed to be. ¡°Good. Very good.¡± The first articles to appear weren¡¯t like these ones. Yup, they were either pessimistic or filled with distrust towards what I was doing. Since that reporter said this whole thing was hard to understand, I told the metal bat to lightly knock him around to help facilitate the¡­ ¡®understanding¡¯ process. That reporter was now pouring his entire being into writing articles containing truths and a dash of fake news. Of course, I had to double-check the articles he wanted to publish first. If I hadn¡¯t done that, the support for my One Million Demon Kings n could¡¯ve fallen even further. The people¡¯s faith in me wouldn¡¯t have decreased either way, but I couldn¡¯t afford my n to fail. The single most important aspect of the One Million Demon Kings n was equipping the chosen candidates with power and a sense of pride that they became demon kings through their own hard work. That¡¯s why I had to work extra hard to change the reporter¡¯s mind on this matter. Well, to be more specific¡­ ¡°Indeed, the truth will always prevail.¡± ¡°Oh? And it¡¯s not my fists prevailing in the end?¡± I did the correct thing by arranging the meeting between the reporter and the metal bat! ¡°I knew it. The press will always be fair in front of money, power and the metal bat.¡± ¡°No, master. I think it¡¯s just being fair in front of me?¡± ¡°Not really. I gave them some money, too.¡± ¡°¡­Was that for taking the corpse away, master?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t kill that dude, anyway. So it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s true~.¡± In some areas, the metal bat and I were perfectly in tune. Unfortunately, though, we were at odds in everything else. ¡°Hah? That¡¯s because my master isn¡¯t normal in the head, you know? No wonder you don¡¯t get along with me, who¡¯s perfectly normal!¡± Huh? Huhhuh¡­ Wow, I don¡¯t know what to say. You think you¡¯re normal? That¡¯s not possible, you know! ¡°I wonder, why is my master the only person to not realise how abnormal he is?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s you saying it. How can I trust the nonsenseing out of your mouth?¡± Even if my motto was, ¡°A trusted knife will stab you in the back,¡± AKA trust is the mother of deceit, I wasn¡¯t desperately friendless to the point of believing everything the metal bat said. Since I knew that the metal bat was the symbol of lies and distrust, to begin with! ¡°Hah¡­ Oh, you poor soul that can¡¯t even trust the words of a goddess like me! Believe in Goddess Aru, and let¡¯s go to heaven together!¡± ¡°Not heaven, but hell.¡± ¡°But not even Hell will ept me, though?¡± ¡°I definitely agree with that.¡± ¡°Tch.¡± The metal bat tutted unhappily, then slunk off to where the hero was to blow off some steam. Judging from how she kept grumbling away, I guessed she was feeling quite cranky today. ¡°Hmm. The demon king candidates will be even stronger, then.¡± Oh, well. The more the metal bat took her anger out on the candidates, the further my n would advance, so it was all good for me either way. Even the blind could tell the enormous difference between the days the metal bat beat up the candidates versus the days that went without one. ¡°The Goddess of Nature must be tearing her hair out in the divine realm or something, then.¡± A human hero was training a bunch of demon kings, eh? Well, such stories could be found every now and then in the manhwas and novels I used to read in the distant past, so I guess it shouldn¡¯t be that surprising. However, the candidates in most of those stories were heroines. Usually, th e settings in those stories would be either those girls had no choice but to be demon kings, or their fathers were one, and they simply inherited the crown. Or, a hero and the demon king ended up fighting for no discernible reason other than the cruel twist of fate. Whatever the case might be, the hero and the demon king would inevitably fall in love and live happily ever after. Probably. However, the hero in our story was training one hundred candidates. Not only that, those candidates consisted of humanoid demons and beast-types, too. In other words¡­ He was busy training real demon king candidates, not his future wife! ¡°Oh, well. It¡¯s got nothing to do with me, anyway.¡± Who cares if he fell in love with one of the candidates? It was none of my business. I mean, it wouldn¡¯t be weird to see a hero surrounded by ten pretty heroines, right? Oh? You think he still can¡¯t win against the MC from ReturnXLife? [1] ¡°Alright, then¡­¡± Since everyone was hard at work, I should also roll my sleeves up and start working. Keuh¡­ I¡¯m such a hard-working demon king, aren¡¯t I! The Demon God seemed to have acknowledged my hard-working nature too, since no demons showed up to use me of being a faketely. Well, it could be that no one believed the voice in their heads and chose not to say anything out in the open, but whatever. ¡°Keu-heum. This is Demon King Marx. I¡¯ming in.¡± I announced myself and opened the door without knocking on it. This was supposed to be a sudden inspection, after all! One of the demon king¡¯s duties was to monitor the ministers of various government departments to see if they were doing their jobs properly. Let me tell you, this is a very important job! ¡°Dad!¡± Yes, very important! ¡°Uh-huh! I¡¯m Demon King Marx right now!¡± ¡°Ah! Yes, sir! Alice the Chicken Department Minister, reporting in!¡± Salute! My daughter saluted me quite cutely¡­ No, I should amend myself and say that her salute was quite cool to behold. After all, she was the Minister of the Chicken Department tasked with spreading the goodness of the fried chicken to the rest of the demon continent! ¡°Mm. Minister, how is your worktely?¡± I spoke as the demon king inspecting the Chicken Department¡¯s Minister in Charge, not a doting father visiting his dear daughter. And she had be¡­ ¡°We don¡¯t have enough budget, sire!¡± ¡­A rather wily minister already! ¡°That¡¯s the first thing you say to me?!¡± ¡°But, sire! It¡¯s true that we are running short on funds! With our current budget, all we can do is open one fried chicken outlet in a small tribe somewhere!¡± The demon race consisted of 101 tribes in total. And each of those tribes was made up of many smaller tribes. The simplestparison would be¡­ Inside the category of ¡®dogs¡¯, you¡¯d get a ton of different breeds. And just like that, the dog-type demon tribe would consist of various smaller ¡®breeds¡¯¡­ Oops, I mean various small sub-tribes. However, I shouldn¡¯t forget that¡­ ¡°Just how big is this so-called small tribe? And you¡¯re not satisfied with just that?¡± The thing was, a ¡®small¡¯ tribe was small only in name. Some tribes withrge-enough scale rivalled human kingdoms in size, for crying out loud! The dragon-type demon tribes were considered minority groups since their numbers were few, to begin with. However, tribes of the dog- and wolf-races were so huge that they might as well be called empires! In other words¡­ you could say that even a small sub-tribe might have the size of a county! ¡°Of course not, sire! One vige, one fried chicken outlet! Even if you¡¯re my dad, no, the demon king, I cannot give up on this ideal!¡± ¡°Nonono, hang on a minute. Even if you¡¯re my dear daugh¡­ Ahem, the Minister of Chicken Department, you¡¯re still asking for the impossible!¡± ¡°Eeeek! More money! Please give us more money!¡± ¡°No! Don¡¯t you know we have too many projects going on right now that require lots of funds?!¡± ¡°But this policy is for the happiness of the citizens! Fried chicken can bring true happiness to the world!¡± ¡°You already are getting quite a lot of money for the research and development for sauces, no?! And, after adding the cost of other misceneous research and funds to build individual fried chicken outlets, your department takes home one of the highest budget allocations out of everyone!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t want to be one of the highest, sire. We want to be THE highest!¡± Dang it, my daughter is doing her job way too well! The most important duty of a government minister was to receive the highest budget among their peers. And to think that she had figured that out so soon! Didn¡¯t matter what you were in charge of, it was always better to have more budget allocated to you. After all, more money meant you could do more, and your subordinates would get fatter paycheques! However, my current position wasn¡¯t someone who received the budget, but the one giving it away! ¡°Even if you¡¯re the Minister of the Chicken Department, I cannot increase the budget any further!¡± As the demon king¡­ As the ruler of this continent! I cruelly rejected the Minister of Chicken Department¡¯s earnest plea for an increase in their budget. ¡°Hiiiing¡­ You can¡¯t?¡± ¡°Keu-heuk¡­¡± My dear daughter looked up at me with tearful eyes. What a strategically-chosen angle this was! If it wasn¡¯t my little girl doing it, I¡¯d have 100% suspected that it was deliberate. N-no, hang on a minute. No matter what, she¡­ She must be aiming for this, no? ¡°E-even if it¡¯s you, I can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°You really can¡¯t?¡± My daughter cut me off and walked up to me. She grasped my sleeve and looked up with wet, puppy-dog eyes to invoke this powerful sympathy in me. ¡°You still can¡¯t?¡± ¡°Y-yes, I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I, I can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Really really?¡± Keuh-heuk¡­! My daughter, she¡¯s¡­ so strong! Too powerful, I tell ya! I didn¡¯t expect her to be this crafty! ¡°I-it¡¯s still a no!¡± No matter how adorable she was, I couldn¡¯t afford to get weak in this kind of situation. If a precedent is set, it¡¯d be only natural for a person¡¯s wicked heart to keep exploiting it! If she decides to use the method that works on me, then believe me, she will get kidnapped 100%, for sure!!! Even if the potential kidnapper is not a lolicon, my daughter¡¯s tearful eyes are powerful enough to convert them in an instant! ¡°Hiiiing¡­¡± My daughter seemed to have understood my intentions as she cleanly gave up and moved on¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll run away from home if you¡¯re like this, dad!¡± ¡­Or so I thought, but she upended my hopes splendidly by dering her intentions to run away. ¡°Who was it?! Who dared to teach my daughter such a terrible and evil thing?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Big Sis Aru, of course!¡± That damn metal bat! -Why are you badmouthing this pure goddess behind her back, masterrr! Pure goddess, my foot! Which so-called goddesses would teach a lovely girl like my dear daughter naughty things like running away from home! ¡°My child, it¡¯s no good to learn bad words like that!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not your daughter right now, dad! I¡¯m the Minister of the Chicken Department!¡± ¡°But, you threatened to run away from home just now!¡± ¡°A minister is supposed to utilise every tool at her disposal to reach her goal!¡± ¡°Who told you that?!¡± ¡°You, dad!¡± My daughter¡¯s swifteback shut my mouth up. Now that I thought about it¡­ I did say something like that in the past. ¡°My daughter, listen¡­ I think the lesson about the ministers is somewhat faulty. Your dad made a dumb mistake on that. Even if you¡¯re a minister, it¡¯s no good to bet your private life away like that. If you forget what I taught you and cancel your threat to run away from home, I¡­ I shall increase your department¡¯s budget.¡± ¡°I knew it! Dad, you¡¯re the best~!¡± My daughter smiled radiantly and jumped into my embrace. Yup, she¡¯s way too powerful, alright. I spotted a certain cat leering at me as if it had something to say, but I cleanly ignored the fool and carried on. ¡°Vice Minister! Please apany the demon king!¡± ¡°Understood, Minister!¡± My daughter seemed to be satisfied with my answer and summoned the Vice Minister of the Chicken Department, Khokho, to ¡®escort¡¯ me. I looked at the dragon and muttered quietly. ¡°It has¡­ gotten quite big recently, hasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Ng! Khokho¡¯s growing big and strong through our fried chicken diet. See? Fried chicken is the best, dad!¡± Khokho has gotten twice as big since we arrived in the demon continent. However, I almost began thinking that the dragon simply got fat after listening to my daughter¡¯s exnation. ¡°Reporting in! The current situation of the fried chicken outlets in the demon continent is¡­¡± Khokho, utterly disinterested in my inner conflict, began diligently running its mouth to fulfil its duty. As if to match its growth, the dragon¡¯s ability to speak had gottenmendably great. Truth be told, though, I wasn¡¯t interested in the slightest about the report. ¡°That¡¯s the end of the report, sire! Are there any questions you¡¯d like to ask?¡± The thing is, though¡­ A divisionmander showing up in an army base to kill some time was doing just that, killing time. However, the officers on site or the basemanders would never realise that. Just like our Khokho here. ¡°Mm¡­ You¡¯ve done an excellent job.¡± As such, I should say some praises and end it here. ¡°Yes, sire! Along with the department head, we¡¯re doing our best!¡± The department head, is it? Mm. That demon made quite an impression, alright, since he was from a bird-type demon tribe. More specifically, a chicken-type demon bird tribe, no less. So¡­ The Minister was a girl in her teens, while the Vice Minister was a dragon only around four years old. And the department head hailed from a bird-type demon tribe that looked eerily simr to the main ingredient of the fried chicken. Thisbination seemed quite suspect, but to my surprise, the public support of this trio was easily the highest among all the government ministers. ¡°Mm¡­ I¡¯ll leave the operation to your care.¡± ¡°Thank you, sire!¡± And so, I spent the next hour ying¡­ Ahem, inspecting my daughter¡¯s work, then I visited the other ten ministers for the next thirty minutes to check out their work. Yup, that distribution of my time seems about right, doesn¡¯t it? Mm, yes. Very. Even if there are twenty ministers in total, they will never triumph over the importance of my daughter! After working hard as a demon king, I finished the day by visiting Belegrea and telling her the result of my sudden inspections. I also told her to punish the poorly-performing departments by lumping more work on them. With that, my work was done for the day. A month flew by while I spent such idle days. And eventually¡­! ¡°It¡¯splete, sire.¡± My disciple, who was the Order of Nature¡¯s chosen hero and the Minister of the One Million Demon King department (first in the demon continent¡¯s history!), showed up in my office one day to announce something important. ¡°Already?¡± ¡°Yes, sire. They will not embarrass themselves no matter who their opponents are.¡± The hero was quite confident in his reply. I honestly thought that this project would require another month at least, but to think it waspleted so soon! ¡°In that case, I shall test them.¡± I summoned Belegrea and told her to mobilise the army corps she thought was the strongest. Once thebatants had lined up, I asked the hero. ¡°You think they can do it?¡± Thebatants Belegrea had mobilised belonged to her personal corps. They were elites from the human-like demons, the lizardmen who pride themselves as a part of the dragon demon race, and even the giant demons who reputedly have inherited the bloodlines of the titans! Their number seemed to be over ten thousand in total. And, while looking at this impressive army¡­ ¡°I guess one candidate can defeat a hundred enemies or so, then.¡± The hero confidently threw that opinion out there. He then looked behind him. ¡°Am I right?¡± -Yes, sirrrr! Behind him were one hundred first-generation demon kings emitting fighting spirit and dense killing intent. They roared in unison to reply to the hero¡¯s question. ¡°Go, my disciples! Show the world your qualifications as the peak beings of the demon race!¡± The hero emitting an overwhelming charisma that was fit for a demonic deity roared out, prompting the hundred demon kings to charge straight into the ten thousand-strong army. And the result was¡­ ¡°Did you see that, instructor?¡± Without a single casualty, the demon kings utterly annihted the ten thousand-strong army. [1]: I tried to google, but couldn¡¯t find what the author was trying to reference here. The original text was ¡°?X?¡±. Chapter 207

Chapter 207

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 207 #24. Why Does it Have To Be Me? (4) > #3 Their circumstance: A certain hero¡¯s circumstance ¡°You all have done well.¡± That was my honest feeling. The 100 demon kings before my eyes really had done an excellent job. ¡°Very, very well, all of you.¡± However, they didn¡¯t say anything and simply stared at me in a daze. ¡°From this moment on, you are excellent demon kings that no one, and I do mean absolutely no one, on the demon continent will make fun of!¡± Even after I said something inspirational, they still didn¡¯t say anything and looked up at me on the tform. ¡°Sob¡­¡± Several awkward moments ticked by, then one of the demons began tearing up all of a sudden. Tears didn¡¯t really suit that demon¡¯s outward appearance, though. One hundred demons had been brought here regardless of their gender or tribe. Even their race-specific traits had been disregarded. And the one tearing up was¡­! The dragon-demon race, categorised as the strongest demons there was! And let me tell you, they do deserve that moniker, that¡¯s for sure! They believed in the legend of how their race had inherited the blood of true dragons, the destroyer of worlds! Yes, the dragon-demon race member, infamous for their excessive pride for being the descendants of dragons, began crying before everyone else! ¡°Sniffle¡­ Sob..¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ over¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s over? Really?¡± ¡°Did we¡­ Did we really survive?¡± One demon tearing up had opened the floodgates, and more demon kings began breaking down in emotions. In a way, you could say this was a heartwrenching, emotional moment for these demons. Honestly speaking, though? I was unhappy. If a third party who didn¡¯t know anything about what happened looked at this scene, they would misunderstand me for being a bloodthirsty monster that tried to kill these candidates! Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to control my strength and not kill them?! Every time Inded a hit, I was so worried that my attack had been too strong for them. I even had to worry myself nearly to death while thinking about how to adjust my strength to match the growth of the candidates. If the candidates were really weak, it¡¯d be easy enough for me to watch my strength. However, if they were only moderately weak, then controlling my strength would be that much trickier. If my attacks are too weak, they wouldn¡¯t serve as proper training, and if I get a bit too serious, the candidates might die. What kind of a harsh condition was this! Even I had to admit that it was one heck of a fine tightrope walking. I even ended up understanding how my instructor must¡¯ve felt ¨C just a little ¨C as the training drew to a close. ¡°Silence.¡± One word from me, and all the sobbing instantly ceased. Only still silence existed in this field. I was deeply satisfied by the knowledge that one hundred demon kings did exactly as I said. Maybe instructors trained their disciples just to taste this satisfaction? ¡°Has it been difficult, my disciples?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°It was really difficult, sir!¡± ¡°I thought I was going to die!¡± ¡°¡­¡± I only asked them in passing, but not a single one of them denied it. Wouldn¡¯t it be normal for people to reply with, ¡°No, sir!¡± in this kind of situation? However¡­! ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± I too had been ¡®trained¡¯ by the instructor for around a year in a simr fashion. Okay, fine. Instead of training, he had us beaten up all the time. Training might be harsh and torturous, but it was nothingpared to the metal bat. If I asked them, ¡°Do you prefer twice-as-intense training if it means the metal bat won¡¯t ever hit you, or forgetpletely about training and just let the metal bat hit you for twice longer?¡± I was reasonably sure that everyone would choose the former. Regardless of what¡­ We wererades that had tasted the terror of the metal bat¡¯s merciless beating. ¡°I too had to go through what you have gone through.¡± Sniffle¡­ Someone quietly sniffled after hearing what I had to say. ¡°I was beaten up just as badly as you. And so, as your senior who got beaten up before you, I¡¯d like to say this to you.¡± I intensely stared at the demons. They came in all shapes and sizes. All of them were a part of the demon race, yet they came from different tribes. They didn¡¯t even look alike, for crying out loud. However, they all got to acquire something historic. ¡°By working together, no one will be strong enough to oppose you in the demon continent!¡± They all acquired a bond thicker than blood, which was only possible through getting beaten up mercilessly! ¡°And so, the demon continent wille to realise the truth. They will realise that powerful, noble demon kings that no one can sneer at now walk thisnd!¡± ¡°Wuooooooh!¡± An even stronger sense of satisfaction filled me up while listening to the roars of these demon kings. These were no ordinary roars, either, as a considerable amount of magical power was contained within. If I¡¯m being honest, though, this level of roaring wasn¡¯t all that powerful. Even a trainee knight should be able to endure it. However, there were 100 demon kings here. All the roaringing from them had harmonised perfectly and now possessed enough power to crush space. This quantity of magic energy was powerful enough to make weak people vomit blood and copse. Well, if said weak people were on the level of knights from some other kingdoms, of course! In other words, these demon kings could create a space where ordinary knights were not strong enough to breach just with their roars alone! This was the power of the metal bat! That greedy metal bat never gave peace to her victims. Actually, she even modified the bodies of her victims so that they could get beaten up for longer! I had no idea that she was capable of such a thing while I was the victim. Now that I had the time to leisurely observe the beatings of the others, I could finally see it. The longer the metal bat hits you¡­ The more you¡¯d get beaten up! At first, I thought that the pain stayed the same while the amount of the beatings continued to go up. And that was pretty much it. But then, the technique to read the magical energy¡¯s flow that I learned in the evil organisation showed me something unimaginable. And that was the flow of the magic energy within these demon kings! I was close enough to sense it. Every time the metal bat hit the demon kings, their magic energy circted in their bodies faster and faster. That cirction speed was too fast for your magic energy to stabilise inside you. I was taught that the too-fast cirction of magic energy could lead to the magic power deviation. However, those who got beaten up by the metal bat didn¡¯t experience that as if¡­ the magic power deviation was too scared of her! And so, the magic energy circted faster and faster inside the demons. And their physique quickly adapted to this surging cirction to grow stronger and tougher. The rapid cirction led to the opening and widening of the magic energy channels called meridians. The widened channels could amodate more magic energy, and the more the demon kings got beaten up, the more magic energy circted in their bodies. Magic energy was often called the source of life itself. Having it umte inside you obviously made your body healthier and stronger. And what do you know, a healthier body meant it could endure the metal bat¡¯s beatings for a bit longer. Of course, it still couldn¡¯t do anything about enduring the pain, though! In any case. The metal bat¡¯s desire to beat up people for longer was transmitted in full to her victims, making their bodies stronger and tougher. I uncovered the shocking revtion that the secret of the metal bat¡¯s beatings making you stronger was somehow linked to your mental and physical state. Although, this didn¡¯t make me happy at all! After learning this truth, I made the metal bat beat these candidates up as much as possible. I figured that since they were destined to get beaten up anyway, I might as well do that in bulk! And thanks to my excellent (?) judgement¡­! ¡°Can you see, instructor?¡± I only needed one month toplete the training of one hundred demon kings. ¡°Excellent, my disciple.¡± These demon kings were strong enough to make my instructor acknowledge them. This level ofbat force wouldn¡¯t lose against the empire¡¯s finest. Of course, if the empire¡¯s forces were determined to be stronger, then these demon kings would raise disciples of their own. Now imagine those disciples getting beaten up by the metal bat! And then, those disciples raising more disciples so that they could also get the metal bat treatment! If this keeps up, it wouldn¡¯t be long before one million demon kingspletely conquer the entire world! ¡°¡­Eh?¡± After imagining that future, I couldn¡¯t help but tilt my head. Demon kings I created, conquering the world? Didn¡¯t that mean I¡¯d have to stop them one day? ¡°Excellent work, my disciple.¡± However, the ¡®strongest¡¯ demon king ¨C my instructor ¨C patting me on the shoulder chased away all of my worries. As long as he was here, this event was bound to happen sooner orter. That¡¯s right, this was fate. Unavoidable. I wouldn¡¯t even be able to lift a finger if my instructor was my enemy! That¡¯s why¡­! This isn¡¯t my fault, oh Goddess of Nature! No, hang on! This is actually your fault for making me chase after my instructor! ¡°My disciple, what are you mumbling about?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡­ I, uh, I was just talking to myself, sire.¡± Oops¡­ I got careless, and my thoughts must¡¯ve slipped out. I couldn¡¯t tell if my instructor didn¡¯t hear me or was pretending. However, I could see that he didn¡¯t care either way. ¡°S-so, sire. Can I go back to the other side now?¡± My heart began racing. The instructor did let Ria go, but would he also release me? What if, with a smile on his face, he orders the metal bat to dispose of me? ¡°Yes. You¡¯re free to leave.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± I ended up foolishly asking back when my instructor replied without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you can leave.¡± The instructor didn¡¯t seem to care, and with a dismissive wave of his hand akin to chasing away an annoying bug, he permitted me to leave his side. ¡°I see. Understood.¡± I courteously bowed my head as my final goodbye. Of course, I¡¯ve already made thorough preparations. For instance, I was ready to yank my sword out at a moment¡¯s notice! So that I could evade the metal bat¡¯s sneak attack! To prepare for the iing assault of the metal bat, I raised my head, but! ¡°¡­?¡± ¡°What are you doing, my disciple? Is the idea of being free making you feel rueful?¡± ¡°N-no, sire¡­¡± Something was wrong. Nothing was happening here. However, I did not lower my guard. My instructor surely wouldn¡¯t let me go right up until I actually escaped from the demon continent. I was sure about this! Since I didn¡¯t know when and where the metal bat would pop out, I declined the offer of a free carriage and simply got myself a fast horse. My horse and I ran on the shiny new roads. We ran and ran some more. When the horse got too tired to continue, I switched it to a new one. I even gave up sleeping for the next few days. I eventually reached the border where the fortress walls were still being constructed. Even then, I didn¡¯t rx and hid myself until nightfall. Once the night came, I avoided the demon race patrols and leapt over the border walls, sessfully escaping from the demon continent in the process! ¡°No, wait.¡± It was too early to celebrate. When I thought about it, the metal bat could be hiding near the border managed by humans. Since there was still that unknown danger, I chose to be extra stealthy by crawling up the humanity¡¯s fortress walls protecting the border. I would¡¯ve dearly loved to cast flight magic and just fly across this ce, but anything could happen at this stage. I concentrated and concentrated some more while stealthily mbering up the tall wall. After quietly entering the human continent like that, I¡­ ¡°A horse! Give me your fastest horse!¡± I dashed to the best stable in Burbelion, purchased the best steed there, and immediately fled from the city. Who knows! The 100 demon kings I raised could blow away this city under my instructor¡¯smand, right?! And so, I spent another day on horseback. Even if this steed was the best one avable in the city¡¯s best stable, at the end of the day¡­ It was just amercially-avable horse. It didn¡¯t seem to be from a good breed as it teetered on the brink of copse after galloping for one full day. I let it go before that happened, then entered a nearby mountain. While maintaining my stealth technique, I created a hideout for myself and took a much-deserved break. That¡¯s how I got to enjoy the first rxing sleep after I departed from the demon continent. But then¡­ ¡°¡­ro¡­ Hero¡­¡± ¡°Mm¡­?¡± A familiar voice aroused me up from my sleep. ¡°Please¡­ wake¡­ up¡­¡± ¡°Who¡­?¡± Just as I struggled to wake up from my sleep¡­! ¡°Please wake up, sir hero.¡± That voice registered in my brain so clearly. And it was a very familiar voice, too. ¡°Ng?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re finally awake, sir hero!¡± That voice belonged to the brightly-smiling Hill. And Selena was right next to him. ¡°W-what the¡­?¡± They are here? How? Why? All kinds of thoughts raced through my head, but Hill spoke up first to interrupt my thought process. ¡°Sir hero, we have a new mission.¡± The moment I heard that¡­ ¡°Ahh¡­ I should¡¯ve stayed¡­¡± I ended up regretting leaving the demon continent. #4 Their circumstance: A certain god¡¯s circumstance ¡®Glory to our great Demon God!¡¯ ¡®Everything is for the glory of the Demon God!¡¯ ¡®Oh, the one upholding the Demon God¡¯s will, be the next demon king!¡¯ ¡°Wowsers¡­¡± Have I ever received such powerful and overwhelming faith from my flock like this before? No, I don¡¯t think so. That¡¯s what the Demon God told herself while holding her aching head. ¡°Why¡­ Why are things working out so well after that guy started calling himself my apostle¡­?¡± If only¡­ If only that guy wasn¡¯t rted to that ¡®dang thing¡¯, the Demon God would¡¯ve taken him in as her apostle, even though he wasn¡¯t even a demon. The Demon God could only groan while observing the demon continent¡¯s state of affairs that had so easily surpassed the demon race¡¯s previous golden era. ¡°This is insane.¡± In less than two years, the demon continent had changed so much. The tribal society transformed into a Communist one. Roads and buildings were constructed in many ces, and the number of demon kings continued to increase. Even though there should¡¯ve been only one demon king. Apparently, those upholding the Demon God¡¯s will were all demon kings! The crazy thing was, these demon kings mass-produced under that nonsensical ¡®logic¡¯ all possessedbat abilities rivalling that of a real demon king. Sure, the power of the individual demon king was below Aggreahrt¡¯s, but two or three of them working together could easily subdue him. And there were already over a thousand of such individuals now. If they were around during thest war, the unification of the continent would¡¯ve been a distinct possibility! ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s just leave him alone.¡± After watching the demon continent grow stronger, more prosperous and advanced than before, the Demon God sensed her will had been truly broken now. ¡°T-that¡¯s right. No matter how long he lives, it¡¯ll be less than a century, anyway. Let¡¯s just turn a blind eye until then¡­¡± The Demon God managed to achieve a moral victory like that and decided to leisurely watch over her children in the mortal realm, but then¡­ ¡°Why are you here?¡± She couldn¡¯t help but frown deeply at a sudden visitor interrupting her me-time. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The unwee visitor, the Good God, apologised as their expression crumpled. ¡°Eh? What¡¯s gotten into you? Apologising for something this minor and all?¡± The Demon God was taken aback at the attitude of her bitter rival. However, her expression soon became the same as the Good God¡¯s at thetter¡¯s subsequent words. ¡°Well, I need to apologise to you about ¡®this¡¯, after all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I always thought how great it¡¯d feel when you apologise to me, but¡­ When I think about it, you aren¡¯t the type to say sorry, now are you?¡± The unusually-sinct apology only made the Demon God nervous. And when she recalled the recent conversation she had with the Good God¡­ her nervousness became an ominous foreboding. ¡°No way¡­ It can¡¯t be¡­¡± As if to say her guesses were correct, the Good God nodded gravely. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. We failed to stop that thing. From now on¡­ The season of evil will begin.¡± This was the moment that every temple in the human and demon continents received oracles from their respective deities. Chapter 208

Chapter 208

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 208 #24. Why Does it Have To Be Me? (5) > The demon continent¡¯s weather was getting gradually colder. Winter wasing. The cold weather that greeted us when we first crossed over from the human side of the continent was creeping over us once more. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¡°My dear child, don¡¯t you think this is a good spot?¡± In the meantime, my daughter and I were doing a very important job tomemorate our two years in the demon continent. ¡°Nope. The soil quality here is not good, dad. Thisnd isn¡¯t suitable for farming!¡± ¡°D-does that mean¡­?¡± ¡°Yup, next! Let¡¯s check out the nextnd, dad!¡± It was none other than real estate shopp¡­ Oops, I mean, inspecting the farnds. ¡°But this is already the 14th ce we¡¯ve checked out¡­¡± ¡°Dad~! You said we¡¯re looking for a nice ce to build our forever home, didn¡¯t you! A goodnd will cut down on our hardships, you know!¡± We had reached the point in time where I began thinking that retiring wouldn¡¯t cause any major issues with the governance of the demon continent. The one hundred demon kings my dear hero/disciple had trained were doing a ster job with raising more demon kings. The results they had shown so far were all very satisfactory. Each newly-minted demon king obviously couldn¡¯t control a hundred candidates like the hero had done, but they still could train at least three hopefuls by themselves. Even five candidates under the right circumstances. One hundred demon kings soon increased in number to five hundred. Those five hundred demon kings then ballooned to over 1000 in the proverbial blink of an eye. The future history books would most likely depict the hero as¡­ someone like Abraham, I guess? As a hero, he created one hundred demon kings. Then, those demon kings went on to create even more demon kings, then more and more would be created down the line, so¡­ ¡°¡­So, the demon continent is in good hands.¡± Mm¡­ Of course it would be. Even with only one demon king, the demon continent had been chugging along fairly well, didn¡¯t it? With a thousand demon kings now in existence, they should be able to deal with whateveres their way, including the likes of the Evil God. ¡°Dad! Let¡¯s go to the next location!¡± ¡°Alright, my child.¡± My daughter had been searching for a fertile piece ofnd as if she was out shopping for a cute handbag in a department store. She didn¡¯t just pay attention to the soil quality, but also to the overall terrain, such as the mountains, rivers and nearby roads. ¡°Next is¡­¡± My daughter went inside the carriage to check the list ofnds she had been keeping an eye on. I felt quite content with this scene. Seriously now, I don¡¯t know whose little girl she is, but she sure has grown up so well! The metal bat grumbled. ¡°You know, my little sis got your most annoying traits, master.¡± ¡°Uh-huh! Taking into ount every variable and possibility, then carefully consider them! There can¡¯t be a better habit than that in this world!¡± ¡°But, master! Have you forgotten about the Evil God thingy? Are you not ¡®taking into ount¡¯ that little inconvenience, oh my dear demon king?¡± ¡°Yup, I¡¯m not.¡± The Evil God¡¯s fragment was supposed to wreck everything as soon as making its appearance, whether it was on the human or demon side of the continent. ording to Belegrea, that ¡®god¡¯ thing was the king of all monsters. Magic didn¡¯t work, while physical attacks were just as useless against that creature. How many fifty-year-old-plus folks in this world would want to fight against a monster that could wipe out a kingdom or several tribes the moment it shows up? No one, I tell ya! ¡°This year is drawing to a close, isn¡¯t it?¡± I looked away at a distance. ¡°I always nned to retire at the age of fifty while working for the evil organisation, so this feels right.¡± Of course, that was my n, not the organisation¡¯s. They would¡¯ve never let me ¡®retire¡¯ in one piece, especially when I knew so much inside information about them! ¡°Oho, so¡­ Master, you were nning to set off a very explosive ¡®fireworks festival¡¯ just before you retire, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°More or less.¡± Since ancient times, explosions equal art! I worked tirelessly for the evil organisation, so the least they could do for my retirement would¡¯ve been to participate in my fireworks demonstration! ¡°Those poor uncles. To think that they actually gave top wages to someone like my master¡­¡± ¡°Hey. Don¡¯t forget that I worked tirelessly for them .¡± I could confidently swear that I worked to earn my keep. ¡°Master, don¡¯t forget that you also pocketed a loooot under the table too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just side ie.¡± What did it matter when I was only pocketing some extra benefits the organisation didn¡¯t know about? Sure, some of those benefits identally included the family seals of some noble families, and kids like Ria had to infiltrate the organisation to get them back, but¡­ Wasn¡¯t that just another day in the evil organisation? An evil organisation without double- or triple spies in its midst doesn¡¯t deserve to be called evil, am I right! ¡°The big boss resting in the underworld must be waiting for you while shedding tears of blood, master.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, because I¡¯m immune to curses.¡± Honestly, the ineffective curses were not the problem here, but my legs getting tired from all this walking! ¡°Next is this one, dad! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Of course, of course.¡± Although her work with the Chicken Department had overshadowed it a bit, one should never forget that my dear daughter was also in charge of agriculture. She might be young, but I trusted her wholeheartedly in matters like this! ¡°Alright, we¡¯re setting off!¡± I began driving the carriage ording to my daughter¡¯s guidance. Thanks to the well-maintained roadwork, we should be able to reach our next destination in around two hours, but¡­ ¡°Please, waaaait!¡± But, Belegrea caught up to us by then. ¡°Lord Maaaaarx!¡± ¡°Tch! She¡¯s supposed to be a demon king, so doesn¡¯t she have work to do or something?¡± ¡°Master, that¡¯s not what you should say!¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me since I¡¯m about to retire!¡± Demons lived for a long time, but I was just another human! Since it¡¯s my wish and all, can¡¯t you just let me retire in peace? ¡°My dear daughter?¡± ¡°Yup, dad!¡± My daughter seemed to have already finished making her preparations since this situation had been repeating itself a few times recently. ¡°Keep going, dad!¡± At her energetic voice, I whipped the horses even harder. Pow! Just as the horses cried out from my abuse, the sound of something exploding reached my hearing. Like an item battle from the KamXn Rider series, my daughter threw some kind of a magic tool behind the carriage and generated a smokescreen on the road. ¡°Get rid of that!¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± However, Belegrea had seen enough of our tricks by now. She and herrades used wind magic to quickly blow away the smokescreen. ¡°We will definitely take you back this time, Lord Marx!¡± ¡°Ganging up on me, is it! To think that you¡¯ve already opened your eyes to the truth of our world to this degree!¡± Getting fooled five times in a row seemed to help Belegrea mature as a strategist. ¡°Kkyahck?!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± The chase seemed to be on, but for some reason, Belegrea cried out cutely and fell t on her face. To think that she¡¯d trip up like that when she could ride horses, wyverns and even griffons like a pro! ¡°Hihihihi~! I knew this would happen, so I used a magic tool to make the ground slippery, dad!¡± ¡°Oh, oooh! As expected of my smart child!¡± I was left in awe at my daughter¡¯s proud deration. Not just a smokescreen, but also magic to make the ground slippery, too? Using only one type of magic tool until this moment must¡¯ve been a strategic move on my daughter¡¯s part. And so, along with the chaotic Neighing! noises, other demons following Belegrea¡¯s lead all tumbled off their rides. ¡°My child, get ready!¡± ¡°Already finished!¡± However, it was still too early to rx yet. If you only counted pure speed, then a swordmaster was so much faster than horses. We almost got capturedst time after lowering our guard too early, so the same thing won¡¯t happen again! Still, we managed to dy all those pursuers. I nced back and saw that Belegrea and her chums were having a hard time trying to get up. The metal bat tutted. ¡°They can just use magic to fly up, though?¡± ¡°Falling off your rides makes it rather hard to think about such things,¡± said I. ¡°Ehng? Was our lil¡¯ Bele that easy to fool?¡± The metal bat asked herself while tilting her head this way and that. It might sound like she was praising Belegrea in the backhanded-p kind of way, but I got this sneaking suspicion that ourdy demon king would not be happy to receive such an evaluation from the metal bat. ¡­Including calling her ¡®our¡¯ little Belegrea and calling her ¡®Bele¡¯, which kind of sounded like ¡®Bellend¡¯ whening from the metal bat¡¯s mouth. ¡°Dad¡­? Up there¡­¡± ¡°Mm?¡± My daughter poked her cute face out of the small window between the carriage and the driver¡¯s seat, then tilted her head. ¡°What should we do about those?¡± I followed her pointing finger and looked up at the sky. ¡°Uh¡­ Hmm. Looks like we¡¯ll have to prepare anti-air measures next time.¡± ¡°Hiiing¡­ Even though we still haven¡¯t checked out lots of properties¡­¡± Up on the sky¡­ Those creatures up there made noisy squawks like a flock of seagulls, but they were actually wyverns. I counted at least ten wyverns flying up there, so it should be safe to assume that around twenty demons minimum were riding on them. ¡°¡­ We should keep running.¡± ¡°But, dad. Didn¡¯t you say it¡¯s always better to surrender quickly?¡± ¡°Mm¡­ I did, yes. But now isn¡¯t the right time to give up!¡± ¡°Howe?¡± ¡°Because we¡­ still have Aru!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! We have her!¡± ¡°I knew it! It¡¯s always up to me to save your butt!!!¡± No one can interrupt my heartwarming family time with my daughter! That¡¯s what I thought, but then¡­ ¡°¡­Huh. Even I haven¡¯t thought about this.¡± ¡°And I also can¡¯t do anything about it, masterrrr.¡± Right, that¡¯s what I believed, but now this¡­ ¡°Dad, this is one of those things, right? We raise a fuss, they¡¯ll just let go, and we gooo st?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct, my child. And what did I tell you to do in situations like this?¡± ¡°I must mp my mouth shut and stay quiet!¡± ¡°Yes, indeed. You can attempt to escape only when you¡¯re still alive, after all!¡± While saying that, I looked below me. The carriage must be around two, three thousand metres in the air. If we fell from this height, it¡¯d be instant death, no question about it. In other words, we couldn¡¯t afford to get smart here. ¡°¡­Next time, I¡¯ll make sure to install anti-air defence mechanisms in the carriage!¡± Wyverns never approached us. They maintained suitable distances and activated magic spells to lift up our carriage in the air, then flew away with us in tow. Once we reached an altitude where falling would mean certain death, the wyverns closed in to chain up our carriage, then began flying even higher up in the air. Yup, even I couldn¡¯t predict this kind of strategy. ¡°Dear. Demon. King¡­!¡± We were brought back to the demon king¡¯s castle. Belegrea must¡¯ve thought that the Demon God¡¯s temple held too many of my allies and brought me to her castle instead. She red at me while gritting her teeth. I nonchntly replied. ¡°I¡¯ve already resigned from that role, though?¡± ¡°Sire! You are the demon king upholding the Demon God¡¯s will! You can¡¯t just walk away willy-nilly like that!¡± ¡°However, the great and noble Demon God has¡­¡± ¡°Yes, shemanded you to continue working as the demon king!¡± Belegrea brusquely cut me off in the middle of my sentence. I was puzzled by that. ¡°Is that right?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s exactly right!¡± What the heck? It hasn¡¯t been that long since Demon God used me of being a fraud and sent assassins my way, but now she wants me to stay as the demon king? A deity shouldn¡¯t flip-flop this quickly, you know? -But master, considering all the things you¡¯ve done to her, this change in attitude makes sense, though! -Hey, you. I¡¯m no longer your master but your enemy, isn¡¯t it! -Eiii~, of course not! My master is the most entertaining human alive, after all! What was that?! I¡¯m beginning to get the feeling that you¡¯d put the finishing touch on a certain notebook as I¡¯m about to die, judging from how much amusement you¡¯re deriving from humanity! ¡°Lord Marx, it¡¯s about the emergence of the Evil God¡¯s fragment. Despite its appearance on the human continent, we cannot lower our guards. No, wait! More than anything else¡­ To think that humans dare call such a disgusting, abominable creature a demon king¡­!¡± I figured Belegrea was really incensed, judging from how she was gritting her teeth like that. Well, humans used the term ¡®demon king¡¯ to denote a rampaging monster, so, in that sense, it seemed like an apt title to me. However, I did have to concede that the term meant something totally different to the demons. ¡°Do demons use a different name to call that creature?¡± I asked out of curiosity. ¡°Of course, sire! How dare humans use the noble, sacred title of the demon king to refer to some lowly fragment of the Evil God! Humans are despicable for calling the Evil God¡¯s apostle the demon king.¡± Belegrea grumbled passionately about how humans were trampling on the sacred title of the demon king. However, wasn¡¯t I human? Since she¡¯s calling humans with all sorts of demeaning things, didn¡¯t that mean she was also insulting me?! ¡°Fine, fine. What is it that you want to say to me?¡± Well, since she¡¯s now a loyal demon king chosen by the Demon God herself, I decided to graciously overlook her transgressions. ¡°It¡¯s obviously about the Evil God¡¯s apostle, sire. ording to the oracle, this evil creature was born in the northern regions of the human continent and is currently travelling South.¡± ¡°The northern region?¡± It seemed that the drinking water in thend I used to live in was contaminated or something. Let¡¯s look at the evidence, shall we? First, it was the sudden appearance of the so-called Four Heavenly Kings of the demon race. Then, my former disciple, who also happens to be a hero, jumped out of nowhere to interfere with my life next. It didn¡¯t stop there, though! An evil dragon showed up to kidnap some princess, and now, we even had the Evil God¡¯s apostle on our hands, too! Just how contaminated were your waters, oh the kingdoms of the northern region! -Master? What is this feeling I¡¯m getting? Except for the Evil God business, it feels like all those things were your fault, somehow? -N-no, hang on! I¡¯m not responsible for the evil dragon, either! -Oho? Except for those matters with ¡®evil¡¯ in their names, are you admitting that all those events were your fault, then? N-no, that¡¯s not true! Those Four Heavenly whatevers invaded the human continent precisely because the troops guarding the border failed at their jobs. And the hero tracked me down because the dang Goddess of Nature ordered him to do so. As such¡­ I¡¯m totally innocent here! Belegrea continued on with her situation report in the meantime. ¡°The Evil God¡¯s apostle haspletely obliterated the kingdom it first appeared in. I heard that not a single soul survived in that kingdom¡¯s capital.¡± ¡°You seem to be up-to-date with the news from the human continent.¡± ¡°The matters involving the Evil God require action on the level of the religious orders, so our side is cooperating with the human temples.¡± Ohhh¡­ I didn¡¯t know that. ¡°The Evil God is a dangerous entity that almost destroyed the entire world, sire. This entity¡¯s fragments havee together to give birth to the Evil God¡¯s apostle, and its sole purpose is to destroy everything in its path.¡± ¡°And so, you¡¯re saying everyone must cooperate to protect the bnce of this world?¡± ¡°Yes, sire.¡± Honestly, I couldn¡¯t understand this thought process. Humans and demons were always thinking about invading each other, after all. Wouldn¡¯t the act of invading another¡¯s continent be the very definition of upsetting the world¡¯s bnce?! ¡°And ording to the additional information we received recently, the Evil God¡¯s apostle has somehow corrupted the monsters in its surroundings to create an army.¡± Belegrea ended her exnation with the revtion that the apostle was heading toward the demon continent for some inexplicable reason. ¡°The Evil God¡¯s apostle, is it¡­?¡± The first evil from the beginning of creation tainted the world and gave birth to the Evil God ¨C or so said the history book I read in the empire¡¯s library all those years ago. Evil was contagious. Not limited only to different races but also animals, monsters, and even spirits and gods, too. Evil tainted everything that existed and turned them into its allies. That was the reason why the world feared the ¡®evil¡¯. And why it detested and hated the reawakened Evil God¡¯s fragment. Even so¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t see a need to worry here, though?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± I wasn¡¯t all that concerned about the Evil God¡¯s apostle headed this way. ¡°Sire, do you know of a way to defeat it?¡± ¡°No, not really. However¡­¡± Ria and the hero punk had already left this ce and returned to the human continent. Sure, they swore to never reveal my current whereabouts, but keeping their mouth shut would be a tall order as long as they lived in the empire. Which meant¡­ ¡°I¡¯m guessing that the border region is teeming with the empire¡¯s army right about now.¡± ¡°The empire? Do you mean¡­ the Karuan Empire, reputedly the most powerful human nation in existence? But, sire¡­ Even if it¡¯s them¡­¡± Belegrea muttered while frowning a little. But I cut her off in the middle. ¡°Let¡¯s be honest here. Even though there have been lots of casualties and destruction, an Evil God¡¯s apostle never managed to destroy this world, right?¡± ¡°Well, yes. That¡¯s true¡­¡± ¡°Some little apostle of the vanquished Evil God that can¡¯t even do its job properly can never win against the empire, you know?¡± The Imperial Princess was with the empire. Under that monster¡¯s wings were more monsters busy churning out even more monsters. -But master, they are your creations, though? Sure, I will admit that that¡¯s my doing. However, they all work for the Imperial Princess now, so the description of monsters under the wing of a big monster isn¡¯t wrong, now is it? ¡°Forget about the Evil God¡¯s apostle. The empire¡¯s army might destroy the continent faster.¡± I explicitly believed in the empire¡¯s might. I believed in the strongest nation on the continent! And I believed in the Imperial Princess¡¯s army that boasted the strongest might within the strongest nation on the continent! Around three monthster¡­ ¡°The Evil God¡¯s apostle has crossed the border!¡± I got another chance to engrave deep into my heart the wise saying of our ancestors regarding how misced trust coulde back to bite me in the butt. Chapter 209

Chapter 209

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 209 #24. Why Does it Have To Be Me? (6) > #5 Their circumstances: Atia nel Karuan¡¯s circumstance ¡°What did you say? The demon king has appeared?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness!¡± I tilted my head in confusion at the report made by the dispatch rider who had made an urgent trip to my office. I turned my head to Reia and asked her. ¡°Reia, I thought Ast was the demon king?¡± ¡°Could it be that Sir Ast finally understood your heart and decided toe back to us?¡± ¡°What, that Ast? No way.¡± Reia must¡¯ve said that to make me feel better, but I was too aware of our reality. That guy, Ast, would do everything in his power to avoid me until the day I died and was reborn. Still¡­ ¡°Well, that did make me feel better, so thanks, Reia.¡± ¡°I¡¯m honoured, Your Highness.¡± Even though it was nothing more than an empty talk, I still felt better. ¡°Your Highness¡­ The Kingdom of Mareid has been annihted. The epicentre of the cmity, the kingdom¡¯s capital, has been wiped out of the map. Even the nearby cities could not avoidplete and utter destruction, ma¡¯am. ording to the report, the influx of refugees is overwhelming the neighbouring nations.¡± What Reia said ensured the office¡¯s atmosphere would be more rxed, but the dispatch rider didn¡¯t seem to want to let that happen. He frowned as if to say now wasn¡¯t the time, then spat out a report that contained threatening and urgent matters. ¡°So what?¡± ¡­If your kingdoms happen to be located in the north, that was! The dispatch rider looked stunned. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness?¡± ¡°This crisis is unfolding in the northern kingdoms, right? So, they should be solving it with their powers.¡± ¡°B-but, ma¡¯am! This is the demon king we¡¯re talking about! The abominable demon king that worships the Evil God!¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m aware. I¡¯m well aware that you¡¯re talking about the demon king that brings destruction to our world.¡± Throughout history, demon kings borrowing the Evil God¡¯s powers had appeared several times. They went on to destroy many kingdoms, and the strongest demon king of them even almost wiped out an entire species, too. ¡°However, they were stopped eventually.¡± ¡°Y-Your Highness¡­¡± I waved my hand and dismissed the dispatch rider. I already knew what he wanted to say, anyway. And that would be, ¡°All of humanity must work together to stop the Evil God¡¯s fragment.¡± And that the world¡¯s strongest nation, the Karuan Empire, must be the centre of this united force. In my view, that was¡­ ¡°¡­Utter dogsh*t, I say.¡± ¡°Your Highness¡­ Again¡­!¡± Reia frowned deeply and began badmouthing Ast. ¡°Your Highness, such scandalous turn of words should be left to Sir Ast. If people learned that someone as noble as you were using such vulgar words¡­!¡± ¡°What will happen if they learn, I wonder?¡± Reia¡¯s nagging had gotten worse as she got older, so I must be quick with shutting her down. ¡°¡­Mm, well. They will all shut their mouths up and say nothing, ma¡¯am.¡± Hah-ah¡­ Reia spat out a grand sigh and spoke The Truth. I nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Of course. Only you, Reia, can talk back to me in this empire, after all!¡± ¡°Was that¡­ a praise, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Of course. Being able to say whatever you want to the person wielding absolute power is no easy feat, wouldn¡¯t you say? It¡¯s impossible unless you are the most loyal subordinate in history, like Reia.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll take it as apliment, then.¡± Reia replied like that, but her eyes were still filled with suspicion. ¡°Reia, your distrust of people has gotten worse. You weren¡¯t like this in the past, though¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Sir Ast, ma¡¯am.¡± Reia ruefully nodded away. I nodded alongside her. It wasn¡¯t like Ast pulled a wool over her eyes once or twice, after all. Anyone who suffered as much as Reia would surely be a lot less trusting, too! ¡°Ah, aaah¡­ I miss the young and na?ve Reia. It used to be so much fun to tease you back then, but that source of entertainment has been robbed from me, I guess.¡± ¡°I¡¯m no longer the old me, Your Highness. I¡¯ve matured over the years.¡± Reia responded confidently, which was kind of cool to see. As expected of Reia, who had been voted as the No.1 role model by the empire¡¯s female knights for the past twenty years! ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Now I only have your marriage issues to tease you with. How unfortunate.¡± ¡°Keu-heuk¡­¡± Reia¡¯s body suddenly began convulsing. She was getting physically stronger as she got older, but her mental defence was still weak against the matter of her marriage even now. Actually, it felt like the mental damage she received was getting disproportionally greater than her ever-increasing power level. ¡°Y-Your Highness¡­¡± Reia staggered and couldn¡¯t even raise her head. However, she still retorted to me even as her voice was ready to give out. ¡°You know that¡­ you¡¯re in the same boat as me. That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t openly bring that up, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°¡­Keuk!¡± Reia¡¯s unexpected counter sessfully shut my mouth up. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re also past your prime to get married, Your Highness!¡± As expected of Reia, one of the top warriors on the entire continent! She didn¡¯t miss the small opening in my defence andunched a merciless barrage. ¡°You have already gotten older than the age I was when you kept teasing me about this matter! And now, Your Highness, you¡¯re already in your mid-thirties!¡± ¡°Goddamn it¡­!¡± I inadvertently swore under my breath. I wanted to forget that inconvenient fact, yet Reia had urately pointed out that sore point! ¡°I never imagined you¡¯d bring that up, Reia¡­!¡± The shock from the betrayal of my closest subordinate was indescribably huge. ¡°You started it first, Your Highness! Even if it¡¯s you, I cannot back down on this subject matter!¡± Reia cried out as the look of unyielding determination filled her face. That expression stopped me from saying what was in my head, and I said something else instead. ¡°Fine, I understand. I¡¯ll watch my words from now on.¡± I could retaliate here, but doing so might cause Reia to run away and never return to my side. She was making a resolute face right now, but I¡¯ve known her long enough to realise what was happening here. That determination of hers was actually her final, desperate struggle. She was giving her all to hide her inner self about to fall apart and protect what¡¯s left of her dignity. ¡°Besides all that. Will this really be fine, Your Highness?¡± Reia quickly changed the topic once I gave her my assurance. ¡°Of course it will be. The northern region and the empire are quite far apart, after all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant, Your Highness. Will it be fine to not offer our help?¡± ¡°Mm, well. We should consider helping out the Neidon Kingdom, at least. We¡¯re in an alliance, after all.¡± Did my reply sound too flippant for Reia¡¯s liking? She held her forehead as if a migraine was assaulting her and groaned deeply. ¡°Your Highness! This is the Evil God¡¯s fragment we¡¯re talking about. The whole world might get destroyed!¡± Reia was speaking in a serious tone since the topic was indeed a grave one, but if I¡¯m being honest, I thought she was more serious while talking about the marriage problems a few seconds ago. I dismissively replied to her. ¡°If this world was frail enough to get destroyed just because we didn¡¯t help, it would¡¯ve been annihted a long time ago.¡± This was the basis of my rxed attitude. Besides, I had something more pressing to think about. ¡°Your Highness, people will start resenting the empire.¡± ¡°We already have plenty of those people, anyway. What does it matter if their ranks grow by a little more? Actually, many bastards would be waiting patiently for our strengths to weaken after confronting the demon king.¡± If Ast was here, he¡¯d have said the same thing. No, hang on. If it was him, he would¡¯ve suggested sacrificing a few kingdoms to make the demon king run out of steam first and then swoop in to finish the creature off to hog all the glory for ourselves. Ast said such a move was called the ¡®Last Hit¡¯ in the professional circles or some such. ¡°Your Highness! Are you saying that Sir Ast is more important than the world?¡± ¡°Of course not. If there¡¯s no world left, I wouldn¡¯t have a ce to call home with Ast, no?¡± That¡¯s why the world getting destroyed would be troublesome for me. The ideal situation would be for only those areas where Ast could possibly escape to getting destroyed while everything else was left unscathed. ¡°Besides, the Evil God¡¯s so-called apostle is supposed to be defeated by the united coalition of heroes from various religious orders. You need divine powers to defeat the demon king since magic doesn¡¯t work on it.¡± The Evil God¡¯s fragment, the demon king, couldn¡¯t be harmed by sword auras or light, magic, and even the ancient sorcery. That meant the ordinary soldiers and knights couldn¡¯t offer much help other than dealing with the monsters stained by evil so that the heroes receiving divine blessings could have an easier time fighting the demon king. I didn¡¯t see a need to send the empire¡¯s troops since that¡¯s the case. ¡°But, Your Highness. The religious orders will no doubt request for our aid.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they will. That¡¯s why we should use the hidden ace up our sleeve. After all, haven¡¯t we been ¡®looking after¡¯ the followers of the Order of Nature?¡± Ast told me something quite important a long time ago. The one who didn¡¯t work didn¡¯t deserve to eat. Since we had been treating those two like royalty until now, it¡¯s about time they start working to repay the debt, so to speak. Reia gasped in surprise. ¡°Could it be¡­!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The hero of the Order of Nature¡¯s real name is Raina lel Swinn, a direct descendent of the renowned Grand Duke family of the empire.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he staying with Sir Ast in the demon continent?¡± ¡°He has apparently crossed the border early this dawn. It¡¯s probably true as the Goddess of Nature herself has been tracking him ever since he left the demon continent.¡± Earlier in the morning, the Saint of the Order of Nature, Hill Shuttle, had rushed to my office to tell me that. As this person was connected to Ast, I couldn¡¯t fully trust this new information, but Hill Shuttle was still a saint of a religious order. No matter how talented Ast was, he couldn¡¯t have brainwashed a saint to lie with a straight face. If he could, then the Evil God¡¯s fragment, the demon king, should bow its head in awe at Ast¡¯s feet. I proudly dered our next step. ¡°We shall help that hero and hispanions to show our support of the Order of Nature.¡± ¡°¡­is what we¡¯ll say while capturing Hero Swinn and extracting information from him.¡± ¡°As expected of Reia~!¡± I grinned faintly as Reia whined back at me, saying this scheme wouldn¡¯t work out. ¡°Don¡¯t be too concerned, Reia. If things look bad, I¡¯ll simply have the demon king defeated before we set upon our quest to capture the other demon king in the demon continent.¡± I revealed my intention to kill the Evil God¡¯s fragment if the world was really in danger to put Reia¡¯s mind at ease. She sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Of course. I mean, it¡¯ll be too unfair if you and I lose our lives even before experiencing what married life is like, right?¡± ¡°Your Highness!¡± While listening to Reia¡¯s cry, I grinned in satisfaction. #6 Their circumstances: Reia lil Areis¡¯s circumstance Right after my discussion with Her Highness, I went to deliver her intentions to the Saint of the Order of Nature, Hill Shuttle, and hispanion, Selena the Elf. Then, I assigned 100 of our finest to apany them on their quest to appreh¡­ Ahem, I mean, to reunite with Hero Swinn. Basically, their new situation was not that different from the house arrest they had been under for the past couple of years. Even then, the two of them readily epted our offer. And they remained just as amodating even after I told them we had ulterior motives for apanying them. The Saint exined that the Goddess of Nature had given him an oracle. And in that oracle, the hero might turn his back on the world and run away somewhere. So, they needed to stop him before that happened. In other words, our interests aligned rather nicely. On the same day of our discussion, the Saint and the 100 ¡®guards¡¯ departed from the empire¡¯s capital with enough supplies. A few dayster, I received a report saying that Hero Swinn had been found on some nameless mountain range. Considering Sir Ast¡¯s training regime¡­ This was rather fast. However, this result proved once and for all that you couldn¡¯t escape from the eyes of the gods unless you were right next to the Evil God¡¯s fragment or on the demon continent where the divine influence held no sway. The hero seemed to have put up quite a struggle, but the 100 ¡®guards¡¯ I sent along did their jobs splendidly. Hero Swinn had defeated an elder dragon all by himself, but outsmarting 100 summoners from Yugrasia was still a step too far for him. The report went on to state that the captured hero was tortu¡­ nope, not that, but threa¡­ Oops, not that one either, was requested to divulge everything that had happened on the demon continent. Hero Swinn apparently sang like a canary and spat out every little piece of information he knew. ¡°That¡¯s surprising¡­¡± While organising the new influx of information, I discovered a surprising bit of news. ¡°Team Leader Mirua was captured, too? I guess we shouldn¡¯t underestimate the demon continent¡¯s capabilities.¡± Even I couldn¡¯t see through Team Leader Mirua¡¯s depths of talent. She was the core member of the Kidnap Ast Squad with skills to prove her worth, yet she still got captured! She hadn¡¯t been making her reportstely, so I figured that glutton must¡¯ve relocated beyond the reach of magic transmission just to find a new diner or something. But the truth was far grimmer than that. Sir Ast had already captured her and was using that poor girl as a ve! ¡°Should we consider dispatching more operatives into the demon continent¡­?¡± A defensive fortress wall was being erected on the border of the demon continent, and there were now hundreds of new demon kings instead of the usual one. Not only that, even the one and only Team Leader Mirua got captured by them! Did we have someone talented enough to infiltrate a ce like that? ¡°¡­This isn¡¯t a problem that I can decide alone, anyway.¡± I organised the report into more digestible summaries and headed to Her Highness¡¯s office. After lightly knocking on the door, I spoke to thedy-in-waiting beyond the doorway, then stepped inside the office. Her Highness weed me in. ¡°Good day, Reia. You¡¯re a littlete than usual.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am. The report from our agents dispatched to apany the hero has arrived. They have secured him without encountering any problems.¡± ¡°The power of a goddess is rather convenient, isn¡¯t it? To think we can find someone so quickly.¡± Before Her Highness could grow too interested in the divine powers, I hurriedly stopped her. ¡°However, the goddess still can¡¯t locate Ast, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, I¡¯m already aware of that.¡± If you know, why are you making such a rueful expression, ma¡¯am! If I hadn¡¯t stopped her now, Her Highness would¡¯ve kidnapped a few saints and heroes and threatened them to capture Sir Ast through the powers of their gods! ¡°Here¡¯s the report, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I handed over the report that I did my best to summarise. Her Highness only needed to know the really-important stuff while the sundry could be handled by other team leaders and myself, or alternatively, the applicable military personnel. Her Highness perused the summarised report that only contained information rted to Sir Ast, then with a grave look on her face, she began pondering something. ¡°This is odd.¡± ¡°But ma¡¯am. Sir Ast has always been odd. As such, one shouldn¡¯t be surprised by his antics by now.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Her Highness pondered something, then ordered me to bring the map of the continent. ¡°Take a look.¡± She spread therge map on the desk, then pointed at a certain location. ¡°It began in the Kingdom of Mareid. Then, the kingdom next to it¡­¡± ¡°Uh?¡± What Her Highness pointed out was not Sir Ast¡¯s movements, but the demon king¡¯s. I¡¯d normally have omitted the information on the creature, but as it was rted to Hero Swinn, I left it in the report. ¡°Now look.¡± Her Highness used red ink to trace the demon king¡¯s path so far. Then, from the creature¡¯sst reported sighting, she began tracing a new path that it should take, eventually stopping at a certain location on the map. And on it was¡­ ¡°¡­The City of Burbelion?¡± At the end of the surprisingly-straight crimson line was the Final City, Burbelion. ¡°Is this a coincidence?¡± Her Highness quietly muttered, but I couldn¡¯t offer a reply. That¡¯s because¡­ She probably was thinking the same thing as me. ¡°The demon king is heading towards Burbelion? That can¡¯t be it.¡± ¡°I concur, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Yes. This demon king¡­ The possibility of this creature heading to the demon continent is great.¡± This behaviour was noticeably different from prior demon kings in the history books that simplyid waste to everything around them. I narrowed my eyes in confusion. ¡°This is so strange, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Indeed, very strange. However¡­ What if it¡¯s rted to Ast?¡± ¡°Then, well¡­ I can confidently ept this strange event as ¡®normal¡¯, ma¡¯am.¡± Sir Ast had a way of utterly smashing yourmon sense apart. If it was him, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised to learn that he was an acquaintance of the Evil God! Her Highness muttered with a suspicious grin on her face. ¡°Looks like we now have one more reason to let the demon king be.¡± And so¡­ The demon king we left alone crossed the border as expected and disappeared into the demon continent. Chapter 210

Chapter 210

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 210 #24. Why Does it Have To Be Me? (7) > ¡°¡­is what I think they left the Evil God¡¯s apostle alone. Probably?¡± Mirua told me her opinion while tilting her head. ¡°Huh? But it¡¯s the apostle of the Evil God we are talking about here!¡± ¡°Her Highness isn¡¯t the type to care about stuff like that, you know.¡± I was left speechless for a while when Mirua nodded as if what she said was inalienable truth. And after a dilemma, I had no choice but to agree with her. ¡°I¡­ I see.¡± My opponent was the Imperial Princess. That woman who seemed to have fed hermon sense to a dog and did all the nonsensical things without hesitation! She was definitely capable of leaving alone the Evil God¡¯s apostle that threatened the world¡¯s existence just to catch me. ¡°Indeed, if it¡¯s Her Highness, she could very well be treating the Evil God¡¯s apostle as a useful siege weapon, instructor. It can easily smash through the annoying fortress walls on either side of the border and give her the pretext, too.¡± Mirua continued on with some persuasive arguments. ¡°The more I hear you, the more convincing you sound.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re talking about Her Highness here, after all.¡± ¡°¡­I guess you¡¯re right.¡± As expected of the team leader appointed by that hard-to-please Imperial Princess. Mirua sure knew that woman well, didn¡¯t she? ¡°If it¡¯s Her Highness, she wouldn¡¯t even bat an eyelid over a couple of kingdoms getting obliterated.¡± ¡°True, true.¡± ¡°No, wait. It¡¯d be a relief if she didn¡¯t care, but I think Her Highness might have told the Crown Imperial Prince to go and take care of the ruined kingdoms instead. Searching for you will get easier by increasing the empire¡¯s territories, you see!¡± ¡°Hang on a minute, now that¡¯s a scary reason!¡± What¡¯s even scarier is that¡­ what Mirua said is definitely possible! ¡°Waaait! The truth is! The demon king has already been defeated by Her Highness! And then! She might have told the demon king if it wants to keep calling itself that title, it must defeat the demon continent¡¯s demon king first! And that¡¯s why it¡¯sing here!¡± ¡°What the hell? I know that¡¯s bullsh*t, but what¡¯s up with this persuasive power?!¡± Mirua¡¯s expression remained the same as usual, but her voice was gradually heating up. ¡°Orrrr! Her Highness has already turned that creature into her ve!¡± ¡°Hang on? How do you turn the apostle of the Evil God into your ve?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be possible by using a Geass roll like you¡¯ve done, instructor?¡± ¡°Mm¡­ No one has used a Geass roll on the Evil God before, so I can¡¯t be sure.¡± The imperial court held some information regarding the Evil God, but it mostly talked about the general suspicion of how it was rted to the demon race. When Ipared that info with what I learned from the demons, though, that stuff was totally wrong. The devils being summoned to this ne of existence was done through the medium of contracts and magic. However, the Evil God began as one of the deities that ruled this world. Three days and nights might not be enough to exin all the hypotheses involving that deity, but if I were to summarise them greatly¡­! After the gods worked so hard to seal away the concept of ¡®evil¡¯, a nameless god pulled a troll move and released it back on to the world. As a result, the thing that the Creator God didn¡¯t even create, ¡®evil¡¯, spread to all corners of the world. Some theories said that the world was already tainted by evil by the time the concept was sealed away. Then, a deity was hurt by humanity and released ¡®evil¡¯ as retaliation to destroy the world, etc, etc¡­ Various stories floated around, but that¡¯s how they all ended. Just like how a gathering of five people would inevitably have a trash among them, there was no guarantee that gods wouldn¡¯t have a trash among their ranks! Sounds like you¡¯re also victorious today! Oh, Sage JiXbo! [1] Mirua suddenly said something. ¡°I heard from Ria that Surtr was the first great devil to get scammed by you, instructor. Sooo, if it¡¯s you, I¡¯m sure you can also scam the Evil God¡¯s apostle!¡± Hey, what¡¯s up with your baseless confidence? Your trust in me sounds pretty absolute, but it¡¯s still making me feel bad, you know! ¡°Besides all that, why does it feel like you¡¯re being cheeky with metely?¡± Hoping to find an excuse to punish her, I zeroed in on her impolite, overtly friendly manner of speech. Sure, she¡¯d panic slightly and try to sound more polite every now and then, but almost everything she said to me sounded casual. ¡°Ehehe~! I can¡¯t escape from here anyway, so I might as well get a job here!¡± Huh? She wants to work in the¡­ demon king¡¯s castle, of all ces? Even though she¡¯s a human? To think that she¡¯d say that with a straight face! Yup, she¡¯s definitely got some screws loose in her head. ¡°Oh, so you want to betray the Imperial Princess?¡± ¡°Oh, no. It¡¯s not betraying, but more like I¡¯m already fired by her a long time ago. Something like that? Both Swinn and Ria prepared themselves before crossing over, but they are probably captured by Her Highness by now. Her Highness knows that you have captured me¡­ Which means I¡¯m unemployed now¡­¡± Sniffle¡­ Mirua pretended to cry¡­ Actually, she even began tearing up while looking up at me, but¡­ ¡°You know, the hero punk once told me this.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s too convincing with you, then you¡¯re definitely faking it.¡± ¡°Hiiiing¡­¡± Mirua now looked genuinely disappointed. ¡°Well, you did give me your opinion on the matter, so I shall uphold my promise.¡± While saying that, I pushed a te of food slightly towards Mirua. ¡°Gulp! C-can I really eat it now?¡± Mirua drooled messily as she stared at the te of food before her. Her eyes were clearly burning in a gluttonous desire. I wanna eat that! I wanna shove that food in my mouth right now! Although she hadn¡¯t said anything, I thought I could clearly hear her mind scream those words out loud. ¡°Yes, you may.¡± ¡°Thank you so much!¡± Mirua resembled a puppy that couldn¡¯t eat the pet food in front of her and had to wait for the owner¡¯s permission first. She pounced on the te of fried chicken. ¡°This vour is still an experimental one, so give me feedback on itter on.¡± Mirua nodded with her mouth full of new product bravely put forward by the Chicken Department. ¡°Listen to me while you¡¯re eating. Got that?¡± Mirua might not look like much, but she used to lead a powerfulbat unit. And it was no ordinary unit either, but a gathering of elites within the elite-only army belonging to the Imperial Princess, revered as the strongest in the entire empire! It meant that the Imperial Princess had acknowledged Mirua¡¯sbat strength, intelligence, and ability to think on her feet. Not only that but she also amply demonstrated her ability by capturing me through the ¡®Aerial Transport By Wyverns¡¯ tactic at Belegrea¡¯s behest. Well, the crucial bit about that story was that Belegrea bribed Mirua with a dish of special cuisine, but that¡¯s the tale for another day. In any case! A te of new, not-yet-released fried chicken was enough to get her opinion on the matter at hand. ¡°If the Evil God¡¯s apostle and demons fight, who do you think will win, Mirua?¡± ¡°Mm¡­ I don¡¯t know the scale of the Evil God¡¯s apostle, so¡­ Mm¡­ I¡­ can¡¯t tell.¡± Mirua replied while diligently chewing on the boneless chicken pieces. ¡°Gulp~! Honestly speaking, I¡¯ve never seen this so-called demon king AKA apostle chosen by the Evil God, so it¡¯s difficult to estimate anything. However, if it¡¯s purebat strength, I don¡¯t think the demon race with hundreds of demon kings would lose¡­ Then again, I heard the apostle is leading an army, so their numbers must be huuuge, too¡­¡± Urgh¡­ Judging by how Mirua stopped shoving fried chicken in her mouth and pondered the topic, I guessed that she was dead serious about this. Since I found her grunting and racking her brain pitiful to watch, I told her the current information on the Evil God¡¯s army. ¡°ording to thetest information, the Evil God¡¯s army consists of over twenty thousand animals and monsters in the ¡®berserk¡¯ state. However, unlike the previous apostles that threatened the existence of our world, there are no evil dragons or spirits tainted by evil.¡± Sure, this information wasn¡¯t reliable, and the unique trait of that Evil God¡¯s apostle allowed it to increase the army¡¯s scale. However, having the info was better than not having it. ¡°Mm¡­ I guess it¡¯s winnable, then? As long as the enemy demon king isn¡¯t you, instructor.¡± ¡°Hey, you. Just what do you think I am¡­?¡± Did this girl think I was at least an equal to the Evil God¡¯s apostle? No, wait a second. Before that¡­ ¡°So, you think we can definitely win?¡± ¡°Yup. If the enemy army is only that much, even Her Highness could¡¯ve won easily.¡± Mirua resumed gorging on the fried chicken as if there were no longer any problems to worry about. But her statement left me speechless. Just how much power does that crazy b*tch of an Imperial Princess possess that she could look down on the Evil God¡¯s apostle capable of ending this world?! ¡°¡­What are you basing that on, Mirua?¡± ¡°Mmmmm!¡± ¡°Finish eating that first, will you?¡± Mirua got my permission, so she ever-so-lovingly chewed the chicken in her mouth and swallowed it down. My daughter told me that bones had to be removed from the meat by hand until recently, but a new type of magic spell was developed to go around this stumbling block. However, I began wondering if magic really was necessary here. To me, demons seemed 100% capable of munching through the meat, bones and all, and not worrying about any bone pieces getting stuck in their throat. As expected of my dear daughter! As expected of the Chicken Department! They were disying the power of the No.1 budget allocation in all the government departments in the demon continent! ¡°So delish¡­¡± ¡°Stop being emotional and tell me your basis.¡± While staring at Mirua tearing up in awe, I sneakily pulled the half-finished te of fried chicken in my way. ¡°Ahh?! I based my opinion on the records of the Evil God¡¯s apostles appearing on the continent until now! There was precedence of a small kingdom withstanding an army of twenty thousand monsters for about a month, you see!¡± Mirua quickly replied, then reached with the speed of lightning to retrieve the rest of the chicken. She then lovingly held the food in her embrace. ¡°What you¡¯re saying is¡­ Thebat force of our demon kings will wipe out a small kingdom in around a month.¡± ¡°Yes, instructor. My subordinates can do that much, you see.¡± Ehem~! Mirua replied with a haughty pride in her expression. In that case, how should I knock her down a notch here? How about¡­ ¡°Hey, you. Didn¡¯t you get fired already?¡± ¡°Hiiiing¡­¡± For now, let me point out her (presumed) firing first. ¡°To think I got fired! I¡¯m an unemployed bum now?!¡± Mirua made a depressed face while munching on the chicken pieces. I thought I saw a brief glimpse of my past self in her at that moment. Right, I used to be like her in my previous life. I worked my butt off to get hired by my first job, but myck of ability got me fired on the first day. Sure, my employer was not exactly a ¡®privatepany¡¯ in the traditional sense, nor could I call that ce a government department, but man, their pay was pretty sweet, wasn¡¯t it! To think I got fired on the first day! I became unemployed as soon as saying, ¡°I¡¯m gonna do my best!¡± The recollection of the painful past, something I haven¡¯t experienced in a while, helped me see Mirua in a more¡­ ¡®pitying¡¯ light. Indeed, I was just like her once upon a time. If it hadn¡¯t been for my master who taught me how to use des, I wouldn¡¯t have bought myself a home, never mind being able to pay rent every month. The house prices back then might have been in the doldrums, but I was making less than a million in my day job, you see! ¡°Hey. You want me to find new employment for you?¡± ¡°C-can you really do that, instructor?¡± By now, I¡¯ve lived in this screwed-up world longer than on Earth. It must¡¯ve been my age at fault here since the past memories continued to rear their heads rather often these days. Sure, this kid¡¯s previous job title was the team leader of a bizarre organisation called Kidnap Ast Squad, but she was still my former disciple! As such, I should at least help her find a new job! I¡¯m none other than Instructor Naruan, guaranteeing you a 100% chance of employment after leaving my care! ¡°Do you have a department you want to work for?¡± ¡°Yes! The Chicken Department, definitely! I¡¯ll devote my life to assisting Minister Alice!¡± Mirua jumped up from her chair and rushed at me with the vigour of a runaway truck. Now that I thought about it¡­ This kid, she¡¯s a fervent worshipper of my daughter, isn¡¯t she? The first time Mirua met my daughter, she began trembling and said some indecipherable things, such as ¡°Thank you, I¡¯m sorry¡­ and I love you!¡± I did get an exnation from herter on. Apparently, she was trying to say, ¡°Thank you for spreading the goodness of fried chicken. I¡¯m sorry for not eating your delicious chicken every day. And I love you, Lady Alice!¡± As expected of my devastatingly charming daughter! I was left in awe of my daughter¡¯s charms that could even enve Mirua like this. I slowly rubbed my chin. ¡°The Chicken Department, is it¡­ Indeed, it¡¯s one of the most popr departments to work for.¡± The Chicken Department was a mysterious ce filled with workers willing to do anything and everything my daughter told them to do. Her cuteness and charisma had utterly enved them, after all! As proof, look no further than how they managed to create a magic spell to separate bones from the chicken meat! ¡°Very well. If our demon kings don¡¯t lose in the battle, I shall have you assigned to the Chicken Department right away.¡± ¡°Thank you so much!¡± Mirua prostrated on the floor while still diligently hugging the te of fried chicken. While looking down at her, I waited with bated breath on the report detailing how powerful the Evil God¡¯s apostle really was. If it looked bad, I was thinking of fleeing with my daughter in tow, just in case! And then, about a weekter¡­ ¡°Sire. Our army has won,¡± said Belegrea. ¡°Really?¡± The great war with the fate of the demon continent at stake ended oh-so easily in the demon race¡¯s favour. ¡°Yes. Out of over thirty thousand enemybatants, about twenty thousand have been killed, and the rest have retreated, sire. However, the Evil God¡¯s apostle never appeared during the war.¡± ¡°Mm, that¡¯s rather concerning, isn¡¯t it?¡± If I¡¯m being honest, killing the Evil God¡¯s apostle would¡¯ve cleanly ended everything, regardless of whether the enemy army had thirty thousand or a hundred thousandbatants. No matter the numbers, that army consisted of regr animals and monsters turned into mindless killing machines by the Evil God¡¯s apostle, after all. As long as that apostle was not dead, the so-called Season of Evil, a fancy name for the impending world destruction, would not be over. ¡°Currently, our demon kings are searching for the Evil God¡¯s apostle, but¡­ Even the workers constructing the border fortress wall have testified that they did not witness the Evil God¡¯s apostle during the first engagement.¡± I groaned. ¡°In other words, there¡¯s a chance that that creature hasn¡¯t even crossed over to this side.¡± ¡°Yes, sire.¡± Belegrea nodded. Since she was themander during the war and witnessed everything personally, it should be fine to trust her report. ¡°However, I¡¯ve been burned by trust before, so no.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± My original prediction was that the Evil God¡¯s apostle wouldn¡¯t have crossed the border to enter the demon continent. However, my belief in that was already betrayed once. ¡°From this moment on, increase the defences of the demon king¡¯s castle to the absolute maximum! Then, summon Mirua and my daughter here right away!¡± ¡°Sire? May I ask for the reason?¡± Belegrea was somewhat flustered by my suddenmand. In that case, I should tell her. ¡°I have a bad feeling.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± ¡°And whenever I get such a feeling, someone is definitely aiming for my life!¡± ¡°What are you even talking about¡­?¡± Belegrea looked dumbfounded by what I said, so I also told her to believe in the noble Demon God¡¯s will. Since Belegrea was a fanatical worshipper, she readily nodded away and began carrying out mymands without any further questions. Unfortunately, my prediction turned out to be spot on. What I didn¡¯t expect, though, was¡­ ¡°You¡­!¡± The Evil God¡¯s apostle paying me a visit was¡­ ¡°Yes, I was also surprised,¡± said the Evil God¡¯s apostle with a bitter smile. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, instructor.¡± ¡­The creature turned out to be one of my former disciples. [1]: Again, this seems to be a reference to Jirobo, a character from Naruto. Chapter 211

Chapter 211

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 211 #24. Why Does it Have To Be Me? (8) > I started off as a substitute to fill the void left by an instructor who had passed away. After discovering how much of a dream job it was, though, I freaked out like a moron and put in extra hard work to eventually make the position mine. However, there was a ¡®first time¡¯ for everyone. ¡°Now, look closely.¡± I was a newbie instructor and still not very adept at teaching others. ¡°See? Look! Look!¡± My sword drew shy arcs in the air. The training scarecrow was cleanly sliced apart. Feeling satisfied by the result, I loudly dered to the spectating trainees. ¡°This is swordsmanship!¡± ¡°Whoa~¡­¡± ¡°Wow¡­¡± p, p, p! The number of trainees apuding and cheering on was¡­ only two. I thought weaklings were unnecessary, so I went a bit overboard with kicking them out. But when I regained my wits, only two trainees were left. Even worse¡­ ¡°Wow. So. Freaking. Brilliant. Instructor.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± One of the two had such a poor attitude that he deliberately entuated every word he spoke. However, his skills were pretty good, so I hadn¡¯t punished him for his conduct yet. ¡°Now, it¡¯s your turn,¡± said I. ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°What the hell¡­?¡± ¡°Why did you two be my disciples? Wasn¡¯t it to be exemry members of our organisation? Learning swordsmanship is a given if you wish to work for this organisation.¡± The two trainees mped their mouths shut and nced at each other. ¡°And how do we learn that?¡± The one who said that was the trainee with a poor attitude. He raised the white g first during their fierce staring contest. ¡°Mm¡­ That¡¯s obviously¡­¡± I used the sword in my hand to draw a straight line in the air. My master, often referred to as the world¡¯s greatest swordsman, hadplimented my swordsmanship as at least perfect in terms of framework. And now, it was about to be unleashed once more. ¡°Watch and learn.¡± ¡°Watch you and learn? That?¡± ¡°Sounds impossible to me, though¡­?¡± The two trainees frowned and stared at my demonstration. Huh? These are just some basic moves, you know¡­? It¡¯s not that difficult to pull off¡­ Wait, could it be¡­ ¡°¡­Are you two morons?¡± ¡°Wow, how did you arrive at that conclusion, instructor?¡± ¡°No, sir. I¡¯m not a moron.¡± Mm¡­ These two had pr-opposite personalities, yet they werergely of the same opinion when dealing with me. How bizarre. Could this be the oft-talked-about power ofradeship or something? I mean, even if you disliked yourrade, they would eventually be your supporting pir sooner orter, right? ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is, you can¡¯t follow this?¡± Well,rades relying on each other for support is a good thing. The thing was, though¡­! Not only my performance-rted bonus pay but even my career was also hanging in the bnce here! As such, I cannot afford to go easy on these two trainees, even if they unite to fight together! ¡°Sir, it¡¯s tooplicated.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. He¡¯s right.¡± ¡°This isplicated to you?¡± Whoosh, whoosh¡­ I was simply shing down and sideways with my sword. Sometimes I¡¯dbine that and cut diagonally or draw a smooth circle. Basically, it was like drawing with a pen, except I was using a sword instead. ¡°Maybe you two are morons, after all?¡± To think that they couldn¡¯t even do something this simple¡­ I thought only the useful trainees were left behind, but even these two turned out to be failures! Unfortunately, the ship had sailed already. If I chase away these two because they were not up to my standards, I¡¯d end up as a useless instructor that couldn¡¯t even raise a single disciple. Ah, ah¡­ Was there really no easy job in this world? To think that I have to raise such morons to get my bonus pay from the organisation! ¡°There¡¯s no choice, then.¡± I groaned deeply, then immediately resorted to a special measure my master from my previous life had devised. ording to my master, you¡¯d find far too many morons among the naturally-gifted ones that couldn¡¯t even understand the simplest of instructions. He said that all those morons could have exceeded him in terms of physique and every other conceivable category, but their dim wits let them down, and they couldn¡¯t even understand half of his swordsmanship. I red sharply at the two trainees. ¡°Raise your swords.¡± To train those morons, my master came up with this method. ¡°If you can¡¯t understand it¡­ Then, I shall make your bodies understand it first.¡± And that was the ¡®repetitive learning¡¯¡­ that included muscle memory training with a dash of pain on the side! ¡°Uh?! H-hold on¡­?!¡± The trainee who figured out my intention first stumbled back as hisplexion went deathly pale. Unfortunately, it was toote by then. ¡°As a special consideration, I shall use an edgeless sword.¡± Sheath¡­ I sheathed my sword and took out a new one. It was made out of steel, but its de was blunt. A certain triple-katana wielder¡¯s master said that a swordsman that doesn¡¯t cut could cut down anything in their path, but I hadn¡¯t reached such a realm. If I showed off with a real sword, I might end up decreasing the number of my already-running-short disciples. So, I chose to deal with these two with a blunt weapon. ¡°Now,e!¡± When I pulled out the blunt sword and assumed the stance, the two disciples stared at me in silence before ncing at each other. Were they thinking of attacking me together? Well, I guess that¡¯s obvious since our skill levels weren¡¯t the same. In that case, how much ¡®easier¡¯ should I go on them? I better control my strength properly, or else these two frail disciples might die. After all, my master nearly sent me to heaven with Hiten Mixxxrugi-ryu¡¯s Ryuxxxsen back then, didn¡¯t he! Even though he was using the back of the sword! [1] ¡°I¡¯ll go right.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯m left.¡± The two exchanged meaningful nces, then dered the directions they¡¯d take and nodded in agreement. Still noobs, I guess. Since they said their ns out loud, now I knew how to respond. I knew it, abined attack should only be performed after the trainees had received sufficient training first. Just brief exchanges of nces and slight movements of muscles should be enough to figure out where yourrade was targeting and where they were thinking of moving. You also needed to know about yourrade¡¯s techniques and habits to pull off a sessfulbined attack! ¡°I shall teach you a proper way to attack togetherter, so for now, you¡­ Eh?¡± However, it seemed that these trainees were one step ahead of me. ¡°Run!¡± ¡°Run, now!¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± The two trainees cried out at the same time and started running, but they¡­ Just as they had advertised, one began running to his right while the other ran to his left. That¡¯s right, these two abandoned me and began running away! Even though I was in position waiting for them toe at me! ¡°Escaping first as the operatives of the evil organisation¡­?¡± Of course, knowing how to escape was a good thing. Obstinately refusing to run away even though the situation was clearly going down the drain was akin tomitting suicide. Since ancient times, wasn¡¯t using your hidden sure-kill attack immediately when you can (and running away immediately when things don¡¯t look good) one of the important truths in life? However, there were some problems with this right now. ¡°You stinking bastards¡­¡± First of all, this was the evil organisation we¡¯re talking about. And those two were trainees of this organisation. The evil organisation desired operatives that stayed loyal no matter what. Operatives who would unhesitantly kill themselves when ordered! That¡¯s what the organisation wanted, not those idiots that ran away at the first sign of trouble! ¡°When I catch you, I¡¯ll thoroughly wreck you.¡± I gritted my teeth and decided to chase after the disciple with a poor attitude first. It didn¡¯t matter how far they ran, they¡¯d still be stuck inside the organisation¡¯s borders. As for the other trainee, I should take my time beating his ass up while making sure to unleash all my pent-up resentment. The next day¡­ The two idiots, now resembling half-dead sacks of meat, were revived with expensive healing potions. While doing so, I came to realise something important. Most instructors trained, on average, one hundred trainees. But I only had two! What could this even mean? Of course, it meant the budget for training a hundred trainees could now be dumped on two! And so, despite being a novice instructor, I managed to exploit the power of P2W that didn¡¯t involve my own money and raised these disciples as two of the finest operatives. Although they were a little on the older side, they still graduated from being trainees in only one year. Which meant I had created two excellent operatives of the evil organisation! As a result, I was left with too much time to kill and got assigned to the worst-possible job posting called the imperial court. I encountered so many close brushes with death in that ce! Meanwhile, my two idiotic disciples got fooled by something or someone somehow and left the organisation to be heroes instead. The disciple with a poor attitude went missing, and I hadn¡¯t heard a single peep about him since then. As for the other one¡­ Thest I heard about him was that he had be the greatest hero in the world and the worst enemy of all the evil organisations out there. So¡­ ¡°¡­Why are you here?¡± Seriously now, why are you here?! #7 Their circumstance: Mirua¡¯s circumstance ¡°Why are you here?¡± A man appeared before us without any of us noticing his presence. Weirdly, though, my instructor seemed to know who this man was. Of course, even I knew who he was. He was the demon king. Sure, the instructor is a demon king, and I was also called that for a brief moment or two, but this man before my eyes was a totally different demon king than us. Why? He¡¯s the Evil God¡¯s apostle meant to destroy this world, that¡¯s why! ¡°Allow me to repeat myself. I was also rather surprised, instructor.¡± The demon king, he¡­ No, hang on. Since almost everyone here has the title of the demon king, I guess calling the intruder the Evil God¡¯s apostle will be easier to differentiate us from him. In any case! The Evil God¡¯s apostle stared at the instructor and shook his head while making a stiff face. ¡°Whedon and I often joked about how you are a devil, but¡­ I never imagined that you¡¯d actually be a demon king in the demon continent, instructor.¡± Right, right! Me too! When I first heard that the instructor had crossed over to the demon continent, I thought that move was just like him. But, even I never imagined that he¡¯d be a demon king. ¡°And on top of that¡­ Who would¡¯ve imagined that you possessed a fragment of Evil on you?¡± ¡°Say what?¡± The instructor made a bbergasted expression. ¡°What is that?¡± The Evil God¡¯s apostle cocked his eyebrow in suspicion. ¡°Don¡¯t you know already?¡± ¡°No, I do not.¡± The instructor and the apostle stared into each other¡¯s eyes. ¡°¡­I see. You are not lying, then.¡± The apostle was the first to break off the staring contest. As expected of my instructor! He didn¡¯t cower despite his opponent being the Evil God¡¯s apostle! The instructor asked another question. ¡°Just what is this fragment thing that the Evil God¡¯s apostle deigned to seek me out?¡± ¡°The Evil was sealed away by the gods once. However, the Goddess of Greed and Lust tried to release the seal, only for the Goddess of Benevolence and Devotion to sacrifice everything of hers to stop it. She wasn¡¯tpletely sessful, however.¡± I got the feeling that a very important backstory was about to be exined to us. Backstories were important. My instructor used to warn us that those with too many things to say usually don¡¯t live long, you see! Our opponent was the Evil God¡¯s apostle, a dangerous existence threatening the world¡¯s survival. Such a being was yapping away all by itself? There could not be a better chance than this to prepare for our attack. Even the instructor was silently signalling with his eyes, telling us to quickly prepare for a sneak attack on the back of this intruder¡¯s head! ¡°The Goddess of Benevolence and Devotion even had to give up on her divinity to seal the power of Evil, but her sacrifice wasn¡¯t enough. As such, the remaining gods used their divine powers to separate the much-weakened power of Evil into seven pieces.¡± ¡°This ain¡¯t even Draxxn Ball, so what the¡­¡± The instructor grumbled loudly. His acting was so natural that even I was almost fooled. However, I still noticed it ¨C the sneaky movements of the metal bat, obviously! [2] ¡°Those seven pieces, the fragments, were scattered all over the world. And I came to possess the Evil of Men, the strongest of the crystallised fragments, to be the Evil God¡¯s apostle, the one you talked about previously.¡± This man kindly exining everything must have been my instructor¡¯s first disciple. I mean, my instructor¡¯s disciple was exining things this nicely for everyone¡¯s benefit? Usually, disciples trained by our instructor would yap on nonstop like that if they find themselves in a disadvantageous position and want to buy some time. Or, to scam people! However, they would be spewing rubbish about how their actions were meant to save the world and stuff like that instead of droning on about the plot. ¡°What¡¯s that got to do with me?¡± The instructor asked suspiciously. ¡°I¡¯ve managed to gather all the fragments bar one. And instructor, you¡¯re the possessor of thatst fragment.¡± ¡°Howe?¡± ¡°I also do not know that.¡± I sneakily pulled out my hidden dagger and chanted a magic spell in my head. Even though I was busy preparing, I could understand the flow of the conversation somewhat. The fragment of Evil was¡­ with my instructor? I guess the instructor still hasn¡¯t figured it out yet, but I knew what it was. It was none other than that metal bat! If it¡¯s that demonic weapon, then I can wholeheartedly agree that the fragment of Evil definitely resided in that thing! Yup, it had to be. The metal bat was the fragment of Evil, for sure! ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t need something like that¡­¡± The instructor rubbed his chin. ¡°In that case, can you hand it over to me?¡± ¡°As I¡¯m a peace lover, I certainly can. As long as you swear to leave peacefully, that is.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to die to hand over the fragment, however.¡± The Evil God¡¯s apostle replied calmly, prompting the instructor to groan loudly. ¡°That¡¯s uneptable.¡± ¡°In that case, it can¡¯t be helped, then.¡± The two men red at each other before muttering simultaneously. ¡°My apologies, instructor.¡± ¡°Get lost.¡± At the instructor¡¯s signal, I threw my dagger. Of course, the throw was done with magical power, while the weapon itself was imbued with a special magic spell. This dagger was a special magic tool designed for the sole purpose of throwing at a target. It absorbed magic power quite well, and thanks to the spell, it would explode as soon touching the target, too. ¡°How amateurish.¡± However, the apostle oh-so easily flicked the dagger away with a simple wave of his hand. And the report about magical powers not working on him seemed to be true as the dagger didn¡¯t explode, either. ¡°Be gone, you seed of abominable Evil God!¡± The thing was, though, I wasn¡¯t the only one in this chamber. Several demon kings, including Belegrea, were also present. The deflection of the dagger bought enough time for them to charge in at the apostle with their weapons drawn. ¡°You¡¯re all too weak.¡± Unfortunately, the Evil God¡¯s apostle was strong. He pulled out a greatsword and swung it at a blindingly-fast speed to fling away five demon kings. Some of them seemed to be gravely injured, too. ¡°An opening!¡± However, that was arge, shy attack. And the apostle was minding the other demon kings on top of that. Which meant¡­ I spotted a small opening! Although it wasn¡¯t enough to inflict a fatal wound, our enemy was a human, so making him bleed should help us in the long run. While thinking that, I cut open a small wound in the enemy¡¯s waist. But then¡­! Shudder. ¡°Huh?¡± I instinctively used all my strength to back away from there in a hurry. Even though I¡¯ve definitely cut his flesh, something jet-ck oozed out of the wound instead of blood. The quantity of the ck ooze wasn¡¯t a lot, but even I could tell I shouldn¡¯t go anywhere near that unknown thing. ¡°Not bad,¡± said the apostle as our eyes met. Our opponent was the instructor¡¯s disciple. That look on his face probably indicated that he¡¯d not forget this and let me taste the full punishmentter. That sure sounded like an attitude befitting the instructor¡¯s disciple, but¡­! ¡°Didn¡¯t our instructor teach you this?¡± ¡°Our instructor? I see, you are my junior, then.¡± The Evil God¡¯s apostle looked at me as if I amused him. To think that he¡¯d not understand me, though! It seemed that this senior disciple hadn¡¯t learned properly from our instructor. ¡°He must¡¯ve told you to focus during battles, though!¡± Our instructor was already standing right before the Evil God¡¯s apostle. He powerfully struck down with his metal bat. And so, the apostle should be falling down while screaming his head off¡­ Huh? ¡°Instructor, that hurts a lot, but for you to use a stick rather than a sword¡­ That reminds me of some unpleasant memories.¡± W-what? ¡°How?!¡± The clearly-stunned instructor struck down with the metal bat once more. The Evil God¡¯s apostle tried to dodge but couldn¡¯t escape from the instructor¡¯s stunning disy of swordsmanship using the metal bat. The apostle frowned deeply after getting hit several times with the metal bat. ¡°Is this because you can¡¯t bring yourself to kill me, your former disciple? Or do you still see me as one of your trainees?¡± Huh? Huuuuh? Why isn¡¯t he in pain at all?! ¡°Doesn¡¯t it hurt?¡± The instructor must be flustered as well judging from his question. Was this the true power of my senior? For some reason, he kinda looked amazing for a second, but¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s stop messing around now, shall we?¡± The senior began unleashing that ck something in full to remind me that he was the Evil God¡¯s apostle, a being that should not be allowed to exist in this world. [1]: ¡°Hiten Mixxxrugi-ryu¡± and ¡°Ryuxxxsen¡± refer to the sword technique of Himura Kenshin, the protagonist of the Rurouni Kenshin series. The uncensored versions are ¡°Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu¡± and ¡°Ryushosen.¡± [2]: Yes, that¡¯s a reference to Dragon Ball. Chapter 212

Chapter 212

1. < Evade the Hero and Flee! 212 #25. Other¡¯s Stories (1) > #1 Their circumstances: the circumstance of Wieref Lil Vereiden, a man who used to be a hero I was always alone since my childhood. By the time I became fully aware of who I was, there was no one beside me. To survive, I did my absolute best every day. If I got lucky, the local churches provided me with food. On ¡®normal¡¯ days, I picked up discarded¡­ things that couldn¡¯t be called food to eat. On those unlucky days, though, I had to do everything in my power to steal food. Sometimes I got caught. On some days, I didn¡¯t. If I got caught by a nice person, they only gave me a little bit of a lecture before letting me eat the stolen food. On the other hand, not-so-good people catching me meant I¡¯d get beaten up within inches of my life. Where Iy my head was my bed. Sometimes, I had to sleep in the middle of mountainsides. Living in the wilds wasn¡¯t all that different from where people lived. I could find a little more food in the mountainside, but there were also more dangers here. Some fruits and mushrooms looked edible but some of them were poisonous. I hadn¡¯t run into any monsters but did encounter many wild animals. And so, when I began to wonder what was the point of struggling so hard to live every day¡­ ¡°We shall give you a ce to sleep and food to eat.¡± A man kitted out in ck showed up in front of me one day to make an offer. ¡°In return, you shall give us your life.¡± I looked up at the man and pondered my options. ¡°Alright.¡± However, I didn¡¯t ponder for too long. Rather than keep living like this, I figured that giving up on my life for a slightlyfier time was a fair trade. That¡¯s how I got into the evil organisation. I found many people in that ce. Some of them came from slightly better circumstances than mine, while some were worse. However, our stories didn¡¯t vary that much ¨C we all had roughly a simr-sounding backstory, and most of us had been alone since our births. We¡¯d sometimes get a member who wasn¡¯t ¡®alone¡¯ like the rest of us, but that didn¡¯t mean their circumstances were better than ours. If they had families, that implied that their loved ones had sold them off to the organisation. People like that couldn¡¯t adapt to the organisation¡¯s ways andgged behind their peers. In any case, I was now a low-ranking trainee of the evil organisation. Honestly, I was happy. I got to eat hot meals every day and could sleep under a solid roof at the very least. Maybe the best thing about this ce was that no one here looked at me like I was a piece of trash. That¡¯s because we all had instinctively recognised that everyone here came from simr backgrounds. It didn¡¯t matter whether you were old or young. This ce was a gathering of those abandoned by this world and those who did their absolute best to survive, after all. However, no one took pity on each other here. We were brought here to be the organisation¡¯s tool, after all. That¡¯s why we all minded our own businesses and tried our best to survive. Some timeter, I got a neither-bad-nor-good score and was promoted from low-ranking to a high-ranking trainee. And that¡¯s how I got to meet the instructor. ¡°My name is Naruan, and I shall be your instructor from now on. I took on this job once before, but that was as a substitute, nothing more. As such, this would be my first time as an instructor, and I¡¯m quite nervous about it.¡± The instructor introduced himself in a t, not-nervous voice. ¡°I¡¯m still new at this job and don¡¯t know everything about it. That is why I promise to educate you to the best of my abilities.¡± And then, he really did train all the trainees to the best of his abilities. In less than half a year, an unbelievable incident urred. All the trainees besides myself and one other dude had to be ¡®retired¡¯. As for me, I wasn¡¯t sure how I made it through that. All I remembered doing was simply enduring and enduring some more. By the time I regained my wits, only onerade was remaining standing to my right, while no one stood to my left. Myrade stared at me, then turned to his right to see no one there. And then, we both groaned grandly at the same time. Our groans contained so, so many emotions, but they could still be summarised in one sentiment: ¡°We are so screwed.¡± Even after we found ourselves alone, we somehow managed to survive. It really felt like death was snapping at our heels every day, but our instructor freely dumped the expensive healing potions on us in the name of our education to keep us alive. Honestly, it was so hard for me. I even thought about running away several times in a day. However, this ce was still the evil organisation. It had guaranteed an eptable level of living standard for me until now so that I could endure harsh training like this. Others were also receiving this kind of training, weren¡¯t they? So, I should just endure for a bit longer, and then¡­ I used to think that way, but then something weird happened. ¡°Huh?¡± I began tilting my head. ¡°Why are they so weak?¡± Even my brother-in-arms next to me made a surprised face. In front of us were over one hundred fellow members of the organisation, copsed to the ground and unmoving. They were trainees under a different instructor. We had to fight them because a certain high-ranking operative of the evil organisation suddenly paid a visit to our instructor. That operative seemed to be even higher ranked than our instructor. He was stunned to learn that only two trainees were left in our dormitory and scolded our instructor that this training was far too inefficient. Our instructor looked straight back at the senior operative and replied with the following words: ¡°I believe raising a hundred operatives to do a job of one person is too inefficient, sir. Wouldn¡¯t training two people until they are as good as a hundred people far more efficient?¡± The senior operative flew off his handle, using our instructor of talking utter nonsense. And we got dragged off to the nearest neighbouring training centre and forced into an everything-goes melee in the name of evaluation. Against one hundred trainees, no less! Of course, myrade-in-arms and I freaked out and tried to talk reason to our instructor. This so-called duel was a real battle where we¡¯d be using real swords and even magic spells. It was only logical that two people would be more advantageous than one, three against two, etc, etc¡­ The more people you had on your side, the better it¡¯d be for you. If two people were to fight against one hundred, the logic dictated that you didn¡¯t even have to ask who¡¯d win. However, our instructor evidently didn¡¯t think that way. ¡°Each of you is a match to a hundred men. In that case, what¡¯s the problem with the two of you facing off against less than a hundred opponents?¡± But, instructor? There are over a hundred of them, you know? We were left dismayed and bbergasted by the sight of our instructorining away. Really?! We¡¯ll be the ones fighting here, you know! And it¡¯ll be a fight against a hundred people, too! And you will be doing nothing but spectating from the sidelines, so what the heck?! Unfortunately, we couldn¡¯t win against our instructor and had to fight a hundred opponents in the end. The result? We beat down our opponents way too easily. That¡¯s when we realised something. These trainees, their skill level¡­ They were only a tiny bit better than lower-ranked trainees. And that their level was the norm, and the training we received was the abnormal one. We weren¡¯t the only ones who thought that, either. We were promoted from high-ranked trainees to the official operatives and were put into active duty right away. While going through our blood-soaked missions, our realisation had gotten even firmer. Our instructor always told us that the actual missions were tougher than training, but¡­ ¡°¡­Hey, isn¡¯t this way easier?¡± That¡¯s right, the actual missions were easy for us! Our enemies were weak while we were strong. We only needed toplete a few missions for our abilities to be acknowledged by the higher-ups. As a result, we began getting more and more solo missions. Eventually, we only got solo missions, and that naturally led to my brother-in-arms and me meeting up less and less. And by the time we haven¡¯t seen each other in years, I heard the news of my brother-in-arms betraying the evil organisation and bing a hero of a religious order. Now that was funny. That guy became a hero? He was definitely not the type, so how? I mean, he cared about himself more than anyone else, so how could he have be a hero? ¡°I guess the Goddess of Nature really isn¡¯t trustworthy, then.¡± Didn¡¯t our instructor say it to us before? A person shouldn¡¯t take on a job as thankless and worthless as being a hero. That¡¯s what he told us. He also said that a hero was always exploited, and people strongly ¡®expected¡¯ heroes to sacrifice themselves. Being a hero was a job only fit for morons, he said. He even told us that, in case the organisation went under for some reason, we should just work as regr soldiers or be a farmer instead. I agreed with his advice wholeheartedly. That¡¯s right. A smart person shouldn¡¯t be a hero. But now¡­ ¡°Good sir, please take my hand and be a hero. Let us save this world together!¡± Why couldn¡¯t I yank my hand out of the smiling woman¡¯s grip right now? How? ¡°E-excuse me?¡± When I stared at her weirdly¡­ ¡°Ah, no! Please wait! I¡¯m not some random crazy weirdo, sir. I¡¯m a priest belonging to the Order of Struggle! I even have the identification issued by the Order, sir!¡± The woman hurriedly took out an identification token with the symbol of the God of Struggle stamped clearly on the surface. ¡°Hang on, that¡¯s not what I meant, miss¡­¡± My hand was finally freed from her grip when she took out her identification token. Even then, I found myself unable to run away from her. This was so strange. ¡°Well, then. Sir hero¡­ No, wait. I mean, sir provisional hero! Allow me to exin why you were chosen by the God of Struggle¡­¡± The woman put away her token and clung to me while making friendly smiles. She proceeded to diligently exin how wonderful God of Struggle was, how much good work her religious order did, and all the nice benefits the hero chosen by the God of Struggle would receive. ¡°Excuse me, miss. I told you, I don¡¯t want to¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, and please listen a little more. When you be a Hero of Struggle, you will receive special privileges such as¡­¡± Maybe I didn¡¯t make my refusal clear? This woman continued to stick to me like glue. ¡°Miss, listen to me for a second. I¡¯m not¡­!¡± ¡°Sir hero! Sir hero~!¡± ¡°Hah? You are already leaving out the ¡®provisional¡¯ part?!¡± The woman tried to cling on to me like a leech, but I managed to push her away and run away. I was scared that I might really be a hero (?!) if she was allowed to continue. ¡°Seriously now, how the heck does someone like me even be a hero?¡± That woman didn¡¯t know anything about me, and that¡¯s why she could say nonsense like that. An evil organisation¡¯s operative bing a hero? Something like that was¡­ ¡°¡­a possibility, huh.¡± I became speechless after recalling the face of my brother-in-arms, currently acting as the hero of the Order of Nature. That dude used to rebel against our instructor often, yet he became a hero. Maybe that¡¯s what the old-timers meant by the world going to the dogs? ¡°Or, maybe it was the disposition of a hero that helped him to push back against a devil like our instructor,¡± I smirked softly while reminiscing about my brother-in-arms. Even though I didn¡¯t have much leeway to leisurely remember the dude who has taken over the No.1 spot in the organisation¡¯s must-kill list. ¡°Okay, so. Today¡¯s mission is¡­¡± The strange woman might have dyed me for a bit, but my goal remained the same ¨C to carry out the mission assigned to me by the evil organisation. ¡°What a funny notion that was.¡± My mission this time was the same as before ¨C robbing the fortune of some other person. It was a standard practice to kill witnesses if there were any, and I was nning to set the mansion on fire to erase all the evidence, too. How many people would die from my actions today? And how many people would be hurt by it, too? Yet, that woman wanted me to be a hero? I¡¯d never meet that woman again after tonight¡¯s mission, so might as well stop thinking about her, and¡­ ¡°As expected, you¡¯vee, sir.¡± ¡°But, how?!¡± That was my n, but I found the woman waiting for me when I infiltrated the mansion. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s the divine oracle from our god! I was told I¡¯d get to see you again here, sir hero!¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not a hero!¡± That¡¯s right! I¡¯m actually a viin, an enemy of heroes! ¡°Sir, anyone can be a hero. All you need is a little bit of courage.¡± She¡¯s a witness. Therefore, I must kill her. Such thoughts danced around in my head, but I couldn¡¯t stop her from approaching me. ¡°Sir, anyone¡­ can be a hero.¡± My softly-trembling hand was once again held in her grasp. ¡°Even if your hands are stained in blood, you can still save people in need. Sir, with your hands¡­¡± ¡­You can save the world. I could only stare dazedly at her smiling face. But then, I suddenly sensed clear killing intent. ¡°What is the meaning of this!¡± Someone cried out. At the same time, a dagger flew in my direction, but I instinctively deflected it. ¡°Kkyack!¡± A beatter, the woman screamed. That stealth technique that the target couldn¡¯t see through right till their final moments! That perfect throwing technique! That dagger thrown in my direction was amonly-found weapon, not a specially-manufactured treasure de, too! This could only mean that an elite from the organisation had shown up here. ¡°A religious order¡­? I heard that your fellow trainee became a hero, but I didn¡¯t expect you to be thinking of joining in on the fun!¡± ¡°No, I do not¡­¡± I needed to clear up this misunderstanding, but my words got caught in my throat for some reason. ¡°In that case, kill that woman.¡± That was an obvious thing to do, yet I couldn¡¯t respond to it as expected. This woman was trembling pitifully in fear while leaning against me. And I¡­ ¡°If you can¡¯t take care of her, then I will do it.¡± Even though the elite assassin and I belong to the same organisation, the woman wasn¡¯t scared of me in the least while she couldn¡¯t contain her fear of him. Seeing her like this, I¡­ I couldn¡¯t abandon her. ¡°Yup, it¡¯s over.¡± A groan escaped from my mouth on its own. Partly because of the blood sticking to my de, and partly because of the woman screaming away while staring at the dead evil organisation assassin. ¡°Do you still think¡­ I can be a hero? When I¡¯m like this?¡± I asked the still-sobbing woman that question. Internally, I was feeling quite mncholic about bing the new No.1 on the organisation¡¯s must-kill list. ¡°Sniffle¡­ Without a doubt¡­¡± The woman did her best to wipe her tears away, then tried to smile back at me. But her expression only looked weird to me. ¡°¡­You will be the greatest hero ever.¡± I stared at her totally-unconvincing smile and recalled what my instructor told me once upon a time. He said that¡­ ¡®In romance, the one who falls first will be the loser. That¡¯s why you must not fall first. You will end up as an even worse idiot than a hero.¡¯ While recalling those sage words, I looked up at the ceiling and muttered quietly. ¡°Instructor. If a hero falls first, how much of an idiot would he be?¡± I thought I could hear my instructor scolding me, telling me to just jump in theke already. Chapter 213

Chapter 213

Evade the Hero and Flee! 213 #26. Other¡¯s Stories (2) #2 Their circumstances: the circumstance of Wieref Lil Vereiden, a man who used to be a hero II ¡°There isn¡¯t much difference.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± I had to smile awkwardly at Ariel, who looked up at me with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Ariel.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± I did not dare to tell the truth to her, who focused again on cooking. How could I say to her, who believed in the God of Battle, that what I did as a hero was the same as what I did in the evil organization? The only difference was that I received oracles instead of orders. However, I still had to do everything to follow them. ¡°The soup is finished.¡± I had to sigh as Ariel handed me the soup. ¡°Why are you sighing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Ariel seemed to think it was due to her cooking skills, and I changed the subject. ¡°Try some, sir.¡± ¡°Let me eat in peace.¡± ¡°Right!¡± I had to sigh again, this time at the soup. It looked normal, but I would not be surprised if this soup tasted like poison. This is one of the reasons I had maintained a tough schedule to eat at restaurants, but today we had to camp. ¡°Please, give me grace¡­¡± I closed my eyes, took a sip, and opened my eyes wide. ¡°It¡¯s¡­tasty?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t trust me?¡± I was astonished to find the soup delicious. ¡°I have been a priestess for over ten years!¡± She tapped her ample chest, and I had to look elsewhere. ¡°Yes, it is.¡± ¡°Have more!¡± I followed her words, and in such ways, we became closer. Other things also changed, but my life continued to surprise me. ¡°We need to hunt a dragon!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a request to hunt an evil one!¡± Her usual smile sent a chill down my spine. ¡°Ariel, you said a dragon, right?¡± ¡°Yes! Lime, our party, will y a dragon soon¡­¡± Lime, an elf summoner, smiled at me. ¡°Thank you for everything, Wieref.¡± She nodded before walking away. ¡°Lime?¡± ¡°Get off me, Beral. We end here.¡± Lime red at Beral, another one of our party. ¡°Like this?¡± ¡°The oracle said to hunt a dragon. How can that be possible?¡± Beral had to nod, and Lime had been about to escape from this situation. ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± ¡°Let go!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t!¡± Ariel grabbed Lime by the ankle. ¡°How can you expect me to hunt a dragon?!¡± Ariel was not your usual priestess who acted as a healer. She had trained in the Temple of Battle and had high physical abilities. Lime could not move an inch. ¡°Wieref, do something.¡± Beral, and the final member of my party, the mage Jeruel, pressured me to act. ¡°Stop!¡± Ariel pressed down on Lime as she screamed, and I decided to take my chance to run away. I could walk silently thanks to my days in the organization and- ¡°Ariel, Wieref is running away!¡± Lime pointed at me with a shout. ¡°What?¡± Ariel, Beral, and Jerual looked at me in astonishment. ¡°How can we y a dragon?¡± I used magic now to run away with all my might. ¡°God sees all, especially you!¡± I was caught in three days. ¡°Damn¡­¡± ¡°How can a hero run away?¡± Ariel looked at me in a pout. ¡°How can the God of Battle ask me to y a dragon?¡± Ariel frowned as other members agreed with me. ¡°Our god does not order impossible things!¡± ¡°Yeah, but a dragon is a dragon.¡± The other three nodded as Ariel grew teary. ¡°You really think it impossible?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± While Ariel seemed despondent, some things were impossible. How can we y a dragon? There was a time I thought such things, but now I was feeling something else. ¡°Lime?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t¡­make me..speak¡­¡± Lime was gasping as shey on the floor. Beral and Jerual were also almost dead. ¡°Ariel?¡± ¡°I have to heal Beral first, so please wait!¡± I had no choice but to stab at an object on the ground with my held sword. While mine was one of the sharpest, there was not even a scratch. It may be natural. ¡°Dragon scales are sharp.¡± I was stabbing at the red dragon¡¯s corpse and was trying to refuse to understand reality. ¡°Amazing, what the God of Battle can do.¡± Our party had battled the dragon after being dragged by Ariel to Mareid Kingdom, and had won. ¡°I told you to believe!¡± Ariel smiled her signature smile as she came up to me. She had finished healing Beral and was now doing the same to me. ¡°Justice wins.¡± Maybe it was because the fight was over or because I was healed. Or perhaps, her smile made me rx. ¡°I know, I know. Your words are divine.¡± Iid down on the dragon¡¯s corpse with a grunt. I did not know how we managed to y a dragon, and if someone asked me to do this again, I would refuse. The dragon was that strong. ¡°Please marry me.¡± The prize was also as valuable. ¡°What?¡± Mareid¡¯s princess came to propose to me. ¡°This is the greatest gift Mareid can give to our savior.¡± While her words were formal, her eyes said otherwise. I knew what that stare meant as I looked at Ariel in such a way. I had heard she had been in danger of being kidnapped by the dragon, and I would look like a knight in shining armor. However, my answer was decided. ¡°I apologize.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I am grateful but am in love with someone else.¡± She made me betray an organization I had stayed for more than half my life. I ran away from her to Ariel¡¯s room provided in the pce and exined what had happened to me. ¡°You refused a princess¡¯s proposal?¡± She looked around despite there being no one else. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I told her I loved someone else.¡± I decided to y things straight. ¡°I refused a princess¡¯s offer for you. How about it?¡± She slowly grabbed my sleeve. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for this moment.¡± I had to hug her then, and we became lovers under our party members¡¯ blessing until that day. Chapter 214

Chapter 214

Evade the Hero and Flee! 214 #26. Other¡¯s Stories (3) #3 Their circumstances: the circumstance of Wieref Lil Vereiden, a man who used to be a hero III We did not spend much time in Mareid Kingdom. Aristocrats and bureaucrats came multiple times each day and tried to force me to marry their princess. We had to run away during an outdoor event and did not care when Mariedined to our elders. The princess seemed strange, and I was actually concerned she might do something. We traveled on, and the oracles stopped like our God wanted to give us rest after catching a dragon. However, our rest did notst long. ¡°It¡¯s an oracle, Wieref!¡± ¡°Damn¡­¡± While Ariel started to call me by my name after we became lovers, she was now even more forward when asking me to do jobs. However, just looking at her made me glitch. ¡°Please, stop.¡± ¡°How can I go on¡­¡± I heard myradesin, but Ariel was indifferent. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s my man here! Go and find someone if you¡¯re jealous.¡± Everyone became silent and looked at me. I could not even hide my face as her hand was on my arm. I changed the subject.¡± ¡°So, what¡¯s the oracle?¡± ¡°It seems a kingdom nearby is in danger, but you can solve it!¡± ¡°Yeah, this job should be easypared to the dragon.¡± I tried to lighten the mood as we arrived at the designated kingdom. My party members did stop ring at me as their anger went toward our God. ¡°We just fought a dragon!¡± ¡°Why us?!¡± ¡°How many left?¡± ¡°A lot!¡± The problem was that all of the monsters were ogres. ¡°Damn!¡± ¡°I need time to heal!¡± ¡°Drink a potion!¡± Beral ignored me, and Lime also took the chance to step back. ¡°Hey, is this revenge?!¡± ¡°How can you say that?¡± However, I knew that this was payback for Ariel and my antics. ¡°Hey,e back!¡± The ogres looked straight at me. Thirty of them were ripping trees and everything. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Help!¡± ¡°You can do it, Wieref!¡± ¡°You, just give me strengthening spells!¡± While Ariel cheered me on, I needed something stronger. ¡°Your love has grown cold¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re enjoying this, right?¡± I then had no time to talk, as I really had to defeat the ogres mostly by myself. While they did support me, I still had to do that. ¡°Wieref!¡± I had to wonder whether Ariel was ying me on as she healed me. ¡°Ariel, are you doing this on purpose?¡± ¡°Does it work?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± I again felt my party members¡¯ res, which became our daily routine. Beral and Lime grumbled, and Jerual¡¯s silent gaze. Ariel would ply me on, so their gazes grew colder. I actually did not mind what went on as we grew older. I gave up my ce as a hero to my sessor and found a ce to live with Ariel. There was trouble, but we had augh every day. However, such days would nevere again, as none of myrades remained alive. ¡°What do you think?¡± I red at the voice but could not speak. My vocal cords were ruined. Maried¡¯s princess, Nahel, seemed satisfied with my condition. ¡°You seem to be enjoying my gift.¡± Her gift meant killing myrades in front of me. The crazy bitch. ¡°However, that was myst.¡± Her sincere expression made me nauseous. How could she be so cold to those who had saved her country? ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. This is all your fault.¡± That was exactly what she said when she killed Lime in front of me. ¡°¡­¡­¡± I wanted to tell her to get this over with, but I could not speak still. ¡°Your voice was like music at first.¡± I wanted to rip her apart. As she was saying, my curses and screams were like music. Myrades died in front of me in the cruelest ways one by one, and today was thest. ¡°You could have just epted me. I would have been happy to be your mistress! Yourrades, who had saved Maried, would have not met such deaths if you¡¯ve only looked at me!¡± Nahel came up to me holding a ck orb. ¡°God¡­will not¡­¡± ¡°Ah, are you waiting for the God of Battle? However, even such a deity cannot know our secret.¡± She held out the orb. ¡°I know that Gods watched over our world and helped out those who had helped them. That was why I had to wait for you after your retirement.¡± That meant she had been watching me, as my sessor was not famous yet, and my temple wanted to use the title Dragon yer. While it was not a secret, the information had not spread out. ¡°However, I found this orb.¡± Nahel stroked it lovingly as she spoke. ¡°This is a fragment of the Evil God, the only evil our Creator had not made. This allows us to remain in secret.¡± She was truly crazy, as even those who whispered the Evil God¡¯s name drew soldiers. That fragment would ruin her country. ¡°So, let¡¯s go to our main event.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± I knew who she meant as she took out a bag, but the only thing I could do was frail about. My ankles and wrists were cut, and I was doused in medicine. Only the chains nked. ¡°I¡¯m happy that you¡¯re happy.¡± Nahel looked ecstatic as I red at her, but my eyes grew dim on seeing the bones that spread out from the bag. ¡°I did not kill her before she had the child! But they were too delicious for me to resist!¡± I knew what she would have done as I watched her act. I could only cry, and that was when I heard the voice. -This is human evil. -I am born from such evils. -Are you not angry for having met this fate after all you and yourrades have done? -ept me and fight the world. While you will lose, I promise you this. -You can rip her and her country with your hands. -That is why I was born, and I exist. My answer was fixed, and Maried was in ruins as I answered. Then, the evil disciple who would bring about the end of the world was born. Chapter 215

Chapter 215

Evade the Hero and Flee! 215 #27. Other¡¯s Stories (4) #4 Their circumstances: the circumstance of the Evil Disciple III As I became an evil disciple, or what humans called the Demon King, I knew several things. I was not subordinate to the Evil God and only needed to absorb the divine parts to be stronger. I spent my powers doing so. I was an enemy of the world, and the only thing I could do was show my anger to the world before someone killed me. I would try my best toplete myself, and I found that most parts were gathered in one ce. I went there to see my teacher there. I was honestly surprised, which was a feat in itself as I had lost most of my feelings except for anger. He really was evil incarnate¡­ However, I was even more surprised that he could not use any divine parts. Even evil had refused him! It gave me confidence that I could beat him, but that was also arrogance. When I was human, he told me to fight to win instead of running away. He had always fought to the end, and I thought he had been looking for a chance. However, things went wrong when I felt the divine parts run away from me. Even though he could not use magic, his speed was unbelievable. While I killed the demon running up to me, I was growing anxious. I could not let him get away, but I failed to catch him. #5 Their circumstances: the circumstance of Hawell Rain ¡°Die!¡± I felt spears, swords, and magic attack me. Their intent to kill was pure murder, and I sighed. ¡°How dare you speak that way to your professor!¡± I grabbed my weapon as I was in the academy instead of the battlefield. ¡°Go study!¡± ss was over, and it was time for their own studies. ¡°You don¡¯t let us!¡± I heard a student cry and had to agree. The academy did not let students study easily, and interfered, as true studying here meant trying to escape from here despite me. Their seniors had been the weird ones who had done so without motivation. ¡°You demon!¡± ¡°Stop talking!¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t I beat that evil one!¡± ¡°I became stronger to survive!¡± I swung my wooden bat to keep the students in line and confirmed that they were down. ¡°You did well.¡± Iris came up to me with a smile. ¡°Professor Iris, you too.¡± ¡°Rain, you¡¯re too conservative in calling me by my title.¡± I could not smile at thedy as I felt another professor¡¯s re at me. Iris¡¯s smile grew cold as she spoke. ¡°Be aware that you¡¯re a professor here.¡± ¡°You¡¯reing between us, lovers?¡± ¡°Since when had Rain be your boyfriend?¡± The two red at me, and I felt actually terrified. Only a few could dare speak to Iris, but the other one was also as formidable. ¡°Is it me or Le?¡± ¡°Is it me or Iris?¡± Le was also the daughter of a powerful aristocrat in the Empire and an aplished mage in the Tower. The important thing was that she had also been my former customer. ¡°Don¡¯t we have more important things to do?¡± The corridor was filled with unconscious students, and I thought it was not good for professors to show this kind of behavior here. They would leave after waking up anyway, and I thought it was better¡­ ¡°No, there isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I had to shut my mouth at their adamant answers. This urred probably three times a day, but I still could not adjust. This became my daily routine when noble youngdies found out I worked here through their social circles. The good thing was that the princess had sole control of who worked in the academy and had agreed to not hire any more youngdies after Le when Iris requested so. My organization¡¯s club had rules, but this was a free-for-all. Even though I was a swordmaster, I was unsure whether I could protect my chastity if thedies worked together. The Empire was a scary ce. ¡°Lady Iris, Lady Le.¡± A member of the knight squad, who was normally of no help, hade to save me when I had to watch the twodies ring at one another. ¡°What is it, Sir Bivel?¡± ¡°There had been an urgent order for all those working here toe back.¡± Something seemed toe up from his seriousness, and I thought he might have found my instructor. I desperately wanted to continue working here, but the twodies now bickered over who would go with me. I found myself being dragged to the meeting ce. ¡°We have to save the world by defeating the evil Demon King!¡± I suddenly heard that we had to save the world. The girl who was saying so with an impassive face was Mirua. She had grabbed our graduates and was running the Ast Kidnappers, which was one of the most powerful groups of fighters around here. ¡°The Demon King is aiming for Sir Ast.¡± I could not believe that now even the Demon King was going after my instructor. While I felt sorry, they were not concerned about his safety. ¡°How about going after Sir Ast after he is attacked by the Demon King?¡± ¡°If he¡¯s connected with the Evil God, he may be useful.¡± Even though the Demon King had at a time taken half of ournds, they were only thinking of how to use him. ¡°He is a good bait, as Sir Ast is now in ournds. If we beat the Demon King and block the path to the Demon world, we will achieve our goal!¡± While people shouted at Mirua¡¯s words, I felt like something would go wrong, but there was nothing I could do about it. #6 Other circumstances: Students¡¯ circumstances ¡°¡­Therefore, the school will rest until the Demon King is conquered.¡± A long silence ensued before the students reacted. One cried while another pinched her cheek. It was real. That was when the shouts came. ¡°Bless the Evil God!¡± ¡°This hell is finally over!¡± They were joyful at the prospect of a short vacation. Chapter 216

Chapter 216

Evade the Hero and Flee! 216 #27. A princess¡¯s memory (23) I prepared many things to celebrate Sir Ast¡¯s aplishments when I heard he would return. I was a member of the Imperial family and his direct superior, but it was also due to wartime. I was the only one with any free time and had been able to meet Ast first. ¡°Who is that?¡± ¡°An elf.¡± ¡°I can see that.¡± ¡°A High Elf, actually.¡± ¡°Why did you bring her?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Ast and I looked at the elf sticking close to him. We both thought, how could such a being be an elf, but I stopped. ¡°Prince! My name is Lilellia!¡± I could see that she was only pouting, but I was more concerned with the first word. ¡°Prince?¡± Ast looked away from my words. ¡°When did you be one?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± The elf seemed to call him a prince out of her own will. ¡°Wait.¡± I looked at Ast in astonishment, and he uncharacteristically looked away from me. That was a huge shock. ¡°What¡­¡± Did the elf think of him as her prince on a white horse? How can she think- ¡°Ast is my prince on a white horse!¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± I was at a loss for words. ¡°Ast?¡± ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡± While Ast could not look at me, he answered. ¡°Exin.¡± I could not fathom what had happened. A High Elf was the royal blood and priestess of elves and protected the World Tree, a gift from the Goddess who had protected the world from the Evil God. She was a fairy tale to humans, and elves could not meet one easily. I could see that Ast had gone through an ordeal as he hesitated before speaking. ¡°A carriage from one of our allied countries passed us on the way.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°I inspected it.¡± ¡°What?¡± The story was already strange. ¡°The carriage looked suspicious to me.¡± What was he saying? He knew he could not touch a carriage from an allied country without evidence, as it would be a diplomatic fiasco¡­ ¡°Ast.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Tell me the real reason.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± He looked away from me. ¡°You wanted to create a scene that would nullify your aplishments, right?¡± Ast was sweating, which meant I was right. ¡°You rescued a High Elf, so congrattions.¡± I could see that he had done so, which was the logical conclusion and the solution. It did not matter if the carriage was real, as kidnapping a High Elf meant that anyone who believed in the Goddess was their enemy. ¡°Viscount Ast.¡± Ast gasped. This aplishment, along with others, would easily make him a viscount. ¡°Look at your speed up the aristocratdder. It¡¯s unprecedented.¡± I was not lying even as I was making fun of him. I had not seen anyone go this quickly. ¡°Thank you, your majesty.¡± Seeing Ast shake was a sight, as he knew he needed to ept the title. ¡°So, Viscount Ast.¡± ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡± ¡°What are you going to do with her?¡± I had not heard of a High Elfing out in the human world, which made this difficult. ¡°I heard the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted a nearby elf vige.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fast.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a High Elf¡­¡± We ignored her antics, like asking Ast to call her name and such. Only Rea seemed nervous. ¡°Your majesty, she is a royal blood of¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right.¡± I was certain that the High Elf was not your normal being. No one would attack the World Tree despite the war, which meant she hade out ording to her free will. ¡°Someone who calls Ast her prince needs to be treated ordingly.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Rea seemed to understand, and I spoke to Ast. ¡°Ast, what room should I give her? A flowerbed?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you break her away?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a princess among elves. You¡¯re the perfect escort.¡± The High Elf¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°You understand me!¡± I was not happy even though she was certainly praising me. ¡°Ast, so please take care of her until we receive an answer from the elves.¡± ¡°You, your majesty?¡± Ast looked desperate, and while I would have granted his wish after teasing him more, it would not work this time. ¡°Go on.¡± He was enough alone. With a High Elf in tow, it was best to let him take responsibility. ¡°¡­I could not believe I thought that yesterday.¡± ¡°Your majesty¡­¡± I clenched my teeth after getting a report from my maid to the pce flowerbeds. ¡°It¡¯s¡­true.¡± I had not believed the maid¡¯s report and would not havee it if Ast had not been involved. My head turned white on seeing the High Elf sleeping among the flowerbeds. She had been ced here. ¡°Rea.¡± ¡°Yes your majesty.¡± ¡°How should we call this situation?¡± ¡°¡­Madness?¡± I clenched my teeth again. There would have been witnesses, and the elf delegation would know of this whening here. They would think I had ced a High Elf in the flowerbeds. If this was intentional, Ast was a criminal mastermind. If unintentional, I would have to erase him soon in the future. ¡°Where is Ast?¡± I shook off the headache and searched for Ast. Would he have slept in his room after leaving a High Elf like this? The scariest part was that it seemed probable. ¡°I do not think he is nearby.¡± ¡°Find him at once.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Rea spread the world, and I saw Ast a short whileter. ¡°Where have you been?¡± ¡°I had gone to work to your rooms.¡± ¡°Did you sleep in your own room?¡± My lips were shaking as I spoke. ¡°Of course.¡± Ast seemedpletely indifferent, and I was at a loss for words. He had really unintentionally done this. ¡°Why is she sleeping here?¡± I pointed at the High Elf, who was still fast asleep. ¡°You said to give her a flowerbed.¡± ¡°¡­Ast. Do you know who a High Elf is?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t they priestess and the royal blood of the elves? They¡¯re considered half-gods among elves and are seen as protectors of the World Tree¡­¡± I felt faint at Ast telling me the definition of the elves. He was truly crazy. ¡°Rea¡­kill him!¡± I also felt that removing him from this world was the right thing to do. Chapter 217

Chapter 217

Evade the Hero and Flee! 217 A princess¡¯s memory (24) Unfortunately, I failed to remove Ast, as he was quick on his feet. He somehow managed to run around like the pce was his own home, which reminded me that he had been a thief. ¡°Where are you, Sir Ast?!¡± Rea gave up after a week of chasing after him. ¡°I cannot do this alone.¡± I consoled Rea as she shook. ¡°It¡¯s all right, Rea. You would have caught him if this wasn¡¯t the pce.¡± I told her to kill Ast, but he was an aristocrat, which meant I could not kill him with only my word. Also, one could not attack another human being easily here, which was a handicap for Rea. ¡°I would have cornered him into a one-on-one¡­¡± Rea¡¯s reddened eyes finally reminded me I had something more important to do. ¡°Your majesty!¡± I saw Aste out from the doors of my office. ¡°Let¡¯s stop the chase. I give up.¡± A war was going on, and the Empire also supported other allied countries. Also, we had quite a few battles with Merdeia, and an all-out war was looming. That meant people would not have seen Ast and Rea¡¯s chase as something doable. ¡°So today, work as usual.¡± ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡± Ast now came into the room and stood near me as usual, as if nothing had happened. He did stand a few steps away from Rea. She was not staring at Ast with fiery eyes. ¡°Sir Ast.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Rea.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you take one hit from me?¡± ¡°I refuse.¡± While conversations like this happened, things were not bad until she came. ¡°Prince!!!¡± ¡°Your majesty, may I run away?¡± ¡°She is an honored guest, so try to be patient.¡± The high elf came in with teary eyes, as she usually had chased after Ast and Rea. However, what was going on? I usually had soldiers protecting my room and maids who attended to visitors. They had standing orders to speak to me who hade and ask whether the visitor coulde in. Even Rea had to follow this practice and had done so this morning. ¡°Anything wrong, your majesty?¡± Had I answered unconsciously when talking with Rea? Ast now looked at me as he expertly blocked the elf from jumping towards him. ¡°How could this elfe in without my guards or maids speaking to me first?¡± Even if this elf was a royal among her race, having here in without anyone notifying me meant consequences. However, Ast answered me lightly. ¡°That is because I had them go away beforehand.¡± ¡°What?¡± What nonsense was he saying? ¡°You will know that Sir Rea ambushed me yesterday.¡± ¡°That was close.¡± Rea sighed like she really regretted it. ¡°I know that.¡± Rea had been waiting by the door to ambush Ast when he came in yesterday morning. ¡°You didn¡¯t¡­¡± I stared at Ast with shaking eyes. ¡°Yes, I thought Sir Rea may be waiting for me if the maids announced mying in, so I came secretly after sending them away.¡± Ast seemed almost proud of himself, and I had to stop myself from ordering Rea to attack him. What had he done/ ¡°What reason did you give them to do so?¡± ¡°I told him we were going to proceed on a secret mission. Wartime makes such excuses work.¡± Did he say excuses? ¡°They would not have believed you.¡± My maids were young noblewomen who had been educated and trained specially to be my maids. My guards could have be soldiers in othernds. They would not have gone away without asking me. ¡°I told them the chases were a smokescreen for the secret mission. Also¡­I showed them your letter.¡± ¡°What?¡± I vacantly stared at the document Ast showed me. ¡°What is this?¡± The document was in my writing, and my seal was pressed onto it. ¡°I never wrote this.¡± ¡°Of course, I forged this one.¡± ¡°Prince, what amazing things you do!¡± My head turned white at listening to the two of them. He really was crazy! ¡°Ast, hand that paper over.¡± I ripped the letter into shreds. He really was too dangerous to let loose. ¡°Remember, if something like this happens again¡­¡± I made a motion of slicing my neck, and Ast nodded. ¡°Your majesty, are you in?¡± I heard a voice that did not belong to anyone directly under me. ¡°The elf delegation is here.¡± ¡°Right.¡± I finally could take care of that nuisance of an elf. That fact made my headache lessen. But¡­ ¡°I won¡¯t go! Where would I go without my prince!¡± The ache came back again as I saw the elf lying on the floor in front of the delegation. ¡°He is only my butler and not a prince.¡± I exined quickly, lest they really thought of him as a prince. ¡°Is that so?¡± I told them how that high elf came to call Ast her prince, and I had to sigh at the same elf rolling around the floor. While I would have made a formalint, I could not say anything as the elves were more embarrassed than I was. ¡°Ast, catch her and make sure that she goes back.¡± ¡°I?¡± ¡°Do you want to talk about the punishment for forging my signature?¡± ¡°I will do so immediately!¡± I sighed as I saw Ast do what I asked and breathed easier only when she went away with the elves, who were grateful and humiliated. ¡°Prince! We will meet again soon!¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± She was finally going away, and I watched Ast make sure the princess did not return. ¡°Rea.¡± ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡± ¡°I think my patience is increasing in leaps and bounds these days. Maybe I will be a saint one day.¡± It was true that I was more lenient with Ast than anyone else because he amused me. I kept him near to observe him. ¡°That is why Ast is acting out like that, and I need to train him.¡± ¡°How?¡± Ast was an aristocrat, and I could think of one way that I could act around that fact. ¡°He can go to the army.¡± Chapter 218

Chapter 218

Evade the Hero and Flee! 218 A princess¡¯s memory (25) What was she saying? ¡°I¡¯m going to be enlisted in the army?¡± ¡°I have a lot of troops under me. Who knows what will happen during the war? It¡¯s best to prepare for the future.¡± I agreed with that sentiment but also suspected something was afoot. She would not send me to the army just because of preparations, which meant I may suffer in the future. ¡°I see.¡± However, it was not a good move to show that I knew something more was going on. She may try another n, and it was better for me to prepare against what I already knew. ¡°Yes. Therefore, we¡¯re going to train troops directly under me.¡± Just the word army brought back bitter memories from the past. Even though each and every Korean man had their own stories about the army, mine were quite disastrous. ¡°Your majesty, do we really need to do this?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± However, I had no other choice but to obey this princess. When will the organization take me back so I can be an instructor? I would so go there now. ¡°Rea and Ast, you two are close to me. If I lead an army, you two will have to follow my orders and lead my troops.¡± No, I would have to run. I heard thatmanders were killed first in battle and did not want to be a target. ¡°So, I will divide the troops between you two. Then, you will train them for three months, and there will be a test.¡± I expected this but expected other conditions from this princess. ¡°However, just doing so is not fun. The loser will be given a special punishment by me.¡± I sighed as her majesty smiled like she was enjoying herself. ¡°Your majesty, weren¡¯t we doing something serious? What¡¯s this about punishment?¡± ¡°Why, Ast. Do you think you¡¯re going to lose?¡± While she attacked my pride, I knew my life was worth more. ¡°Yes, I think I will lose.¡± ¡°Ast¡­¡± ¡°Sir Ast¡­¡± Her majesty and even Rea looked at me with saddened eyes. ¡°I am only a butler and not a knight. I am at a disadvantage.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a knight, you know.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t those who will be an example to knights be honorary knights? The title should be removed.¡± I was more than confident of ruining how knights were viewed. ¡°Your majesty¡­¡± Rea looked at the princess nervously as she valued a knight¡¯s honor. ¡°Unfortunately, I cannot choose it out of my own will.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I knew it was a lie. While aristocrats raised their voices in normal countries, the Emperor ruled supreme here. Howling had tried to influence the Imperial family politically through aristocrats, but they had been unable to sway him. However, her majesty right here could make the Emperor what she wanted, and she had probably given me knighthood in the same manner. ¡°I advise you to follow my words, as you are both knights.¡± Rea would have cried over such words, but they sent me to the army. However, I soon discovered something seriously wrong with the game she had set up. #36 Other circumstances: An officer¡¯s circumstance. While I did not consider myself a good officer, I was expectant to be assigned under the eldest princess¡¯smand, who his majesty favored the most. I arrived with my family¡¯s pride and dreams and fell into¡­hell. ¡°What is this¡­¡± I felt absolute fear. Other members of the imperial family set up proxies even at a young age, as raking up victories would act favorably when fighting for the throne in the future. I had heard those who were low-ranked rested in castles in countries they had gone to assist. Only the youngest and the eldest princess stayed in the Imperial Castle, and I had heard many rumors floating about the reason why. ¡°She was unable to go¡­¡± Even as a new officer, I knew what I saw. ¡°Liquor tastes good in the morning-¡° ¡°Let him sleep¡­¡± I saw soldiers drinking during the day, and most slept on the ground. I saw gambling, and no one looked at me despite my officer uniform. It was natural, as no one was a soldier here. I could see that they could not be called soldiers and that they would be disastrous on the field. This was¡­ ¡°Hell.¡± ¡°What?¡± Someone said what I had been thinking. A man with ck hair was looking at me. While we were simr in height, I could see that he had trained for a long time, and the three medals on his chest told me he had achieved greatness on the battlefield. While I would normally think that he was an experienced officer, he was emitting that he did not want to be here. ¡°I am Officer Aderu, assigned here today!¡± I saluted him since he seemed my senior. He looked at me with sympathy, and I could not help but agree. ¡°I am Ast, butler to her majesty. I am also responsible for this troop.¡± ¡°Sir Ast!¡± I heard his unprecedented speed up the noble ranks and knew his name was famous in the army. It was said that no one in the army had opposed Sir Ast receiving his title. Maybe I still had a chance after all! ¡°I heard your reputation during training and am honored to work under you.¡± It was not ttery. People were either jealous or respectful, and I was thetter. One did not go up thedder without noise unless he was the real deal. ¡°Is that so?¡± Sir Ast nodded indifferently as I stared at him with respect. ¡°Then, we have something important to do.¡± I knew what he was referring to, as a war was not fought alone. We needed soldiers, but here all of them were mere drunken men. The first thing to do was make them into soldiers, which would be possible with Sir Ast. ¡°Then, begin.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said, begin.¡± Sir Ast did not show himself for a while, and no one listened to me for a month. I had given up when he appeared again with a wooden stick! Chapter 219

Chapter 219

Evade the Hero and Flee! 219 A princess¡¯s memory (26) #37 Other circumstances: A viin¡¯s circumstance. After seeing the weaklings, I immediately went to Rea, and I could barely suppress a curse. ¡°Sir Ast? What are you doing here?¡± Rea approached me quickly to see how my temper was rising, even though she seemed surprised to see me on the day we were supposed to meet our troops. ¡°Are they yours?¡± I could only watch Rea¡¯s troops training and knew immediately that they were elite soldiers. She would be unable to make them elites within the hour it took me to get here by horseback. ¡°Do you know the standard of my troops?¡± Rea shook her head. ¡°Aren¡¯t they simr to mine?¡± I would not havee here if they were even adequate. However, mine drank on duty. ¡°Will youe with me?¡± Rea looked at me with suspicious eyes, but did so after a few words with her sergeants. ¡°I will go now.¡± She ran using magic, and I could not catch a Sword Master doing so. At least I knew she was not in league with this situation, which meant only one person was left. ¡°Your highness.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± The princess did not even try to hide her smile. ¡°I believe you¡¯re aware of the reason.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t read minds.¡± However, her eyes told me a different story. ¡°Is that it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± That one word meant I had to make the best of her trick. I sighed, and the princess red at me for a moment before speaking again. ¡°The elves sent you a gift.¡± ¡°A gift?¡± ¡°You did save one of their nobles.¡± She asked her maid to bring the present, and two soldiers carefully brought arge box. ¡°Is it heavy?¡± ¡°No one knows, but I heard it was something rare and should be carefully treated.¡± ¡°How can your highness not know?¡± ¡°Since the elf you saved sent it, it¡¯s possible.¡± The present seemed foreboding. At least I would not get cursed since I am immune to curses. While her majesty also seemed askance, she asked me to open the present. While there would normally be aplicated procedure for a member of the Imperial Family to open a present, a high elf sent it. I opened the box and narrowed my eyes. ¡°What is this?¡± I saw that it was a thick tree branch from an old tree and had a surprisingly divine aura. ¡°What is that?¡± Her highness said the same thing as she stood up to see the box. ¡°It is still fresh.¡± ¡°I think it was cut a short while ago.¡± ¡°Is it a special tree from the elves¡¯ forest? The tree will be something if the branch is this impressive.¡± ¡°I think it would sell well as furniture.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± The branch¡¯s scent calmed one¡¯s senses. That may have been why I opened the letter despite knowing who had sent this box. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­Prince, I am sending a branch of the World Tree you said you needed¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± Her majesty turned cold as her small hand rubbed the branch. ¡°A branch of the World Tree?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°It does feel alive.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± I could not reply to her words as I vacantly read the letter. ¡°What does it say?¡± ¡°That she and I are destined to meet again, and that she will¡­¡± ¡°Stop saying such nonsense.¡± I went back in the letter as her majesty¡¯s voice turned ice cold. ¡°I send the branch¡­which I picked from the World Tree¡­I did it myself. While it was a difficult job, you wanted it. It was thrilling to smuggle this¡­Shall I read more?¡± ¡°Not necessary.¡± Her highness looked like an old woman in her eighties as she sighed wearily. It was like she thought about what she had to go through such ordeals like this. ¡°Ast. Did you want the World Tree so badly an elf would send a branch?¡± ¡°It was a joke. Don¡¯t think I said it seriously. I did not ask for a branch in the first ce!¡± The World Tree was what the Goddess left behind to protect the enved elves due to human greed. The tree was said to have been nted by the Goddess and was the legacy she had left with most of her power. Elves would take a seed from it and wait for it to grow before building a vige. To think an elf would pick a branch off¡­even wooden canes used only by high-ss elves were made of naturally fallen branches. ¡°Ast?¡± I could see she was asking me what I was going to do with only her eyes. ¡°I¡­¡± I had only said it in jest because I needed a special ingredient for the n I was hatching. I had only been preparing for my next position as an instructor, as my first job had been filled with many difficulties. I needed to prepare for a situation where words would not make a difference and for instructees who would not listen. That was when I thought of a bat that would not harm them but teach them a lesson and keep them from harming themselves and me. One of my teachers back when I was in Korea had effectively used it on me, and while using it on mere students was bad, to people who may harm others if not kept in line¡­It was a project worth preparing for, and I acted as such. Before I came to the pce, I had requested a bat to the dwarves. A weapon that would not kill had struck a chord with one of the dwarf ns, and they began to try. However, they failed multiple times despite the huge amounts of money that had gone in. The dwarves told me that normal metal would not work, and there was not enough money to buy special metal. I tried some mithril I had smuggled, but the effort still failed. That was when I had mentioned the World Tree branch filled with divine power, but I did not think she would actually¡­ ¡°Ast.¡± It seemed she was preparing to send me to the elves, and I opened my mouth. ¡°Your highness, a crime doesn¡¯t exist unless it is discovered.¡± Chapter 220

Chapter 220

Evade the Hero and Flee! 220 A princess¡¯s memory (27) ¡°Ah¡­¡± I sighed and looked at Rea. ¡°Did I make the right choice?¡± ¡°It could not be helped.¡± While I wanted to put Ast to prison, doing so would reveal that a high elf had picked off a branch from the World Tree. As the elves were silent, I wanted o keep it that way. I only told Rea what had happened. Ast took some time off with the branch, saying he had to contact someone to create something. ¡°He¡¯s not going to sell it, right?¡± ¡°Sir Ast would not do such a thing if he was sane.¡± ¡°He is not sane!¡± Rea became silent. I was worried about Ast selling the branch; the rest could be managed. I kept worrying for ten days. ¡°Your highness, I have returned.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± I could not bring up the question. Had he sold it? I never hesitated like this, but Ast was an exception. ¡°What happened to the branch?¡± ¡°The dwarves are keeping it.¡± I was surprised at the answer. ¡°Dwarves?¡± ¡°Yes, I have known them for a while¡­¡± Even the Imperial Family could not easily meet dwarves, as there was a history between humans and dwarves. If elves were hunted for their beauty, dwarves were sold for their skills. There were usible rumors that they were still enved in other countries. ¡°I had helped them escape from ve traders¡­¡± ¡°I see.¡± However, I believed Ast could do such things. ¡°What are you going to make with the branch?¡± Even the Imperial Family did not have an item made with such a freshly picked branch. ¡°It is something necessary toplete your tasks.¡± ¡°Tasks. You mean training?¡± The tasks I had given him these days were mainly training soldiers. ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I had to think, as I had given Ast the worst soldiers in the country. It had been difficult to gather the worst of the worst without criminal records. Their history showed that they would never submit to their superiors. The Empire would have thrown such soldiers out except for the fact that they were strong. If they were rash enough to risk their lives for their temper, they would go into fights for the same reason. ¡°I thought they needed special training.¡± Ast seemed to like my present, as he clenched his teeth while speaking. ¡°It took time to gather them from all over the Empire.¡± ¡°I am forever grateful for your goodwill.¡± As usual, Ast covered his emotions with words. Days passed by like that, and now two weeks had gone from this talk. ¡°Ast?¡± I frowned as I watched Ast stay right by my side every day. ¡°How is your training going?¡± Even Rea took her often leave for training her elite soldiers. However, Ast worked in my room every hour. ¡°I must wait until my weapon returns from the dwarves.¡± ¡°I gave you three months. It has been nearly a month. What will you do if it doesn¡¯te within the deadline?¡± ¡°I will admit my defeat.¡± I watched Ast smile like someone who had given up on life. ¡°Will you marry me if you lose?¡± ¡°The dwarves will finish within the deadline!¡± It seemed that fate had taken pity on Ast as the weapon returned a few dayster. #38 Other circumstances: A military officer¡¯s circumstance. I thought of giving up my military career, as no one listened to me. I wanted to shout to the world the truth about my troops, but I had to remain silent. If I told the truth, I would be denouncing the Imperial troops. ¡°When will Sir Aste¡­?¡± He was my only hope, but I had not seen him for nearly a month. Should I transfer now? ¡°Is the leader here?¡± ¡°What?¡± I was in a temporary tent and therefore could hear the voice I was waiting for from outside. ¡°Sir Ast!¡± ¡°Your name was¡­Aderu, right?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± It seemed Ast had not given up. Well, he would be busy as the exclusive butler for her highness. She only had one guard and one butler, which meant they were trusted with almost all her secrets. ¡°You have done well.¡± ¡°It was nothing!¡± I almost cried. I had tried my best from the first day, but they would not listen and took their punishment with glee. Punishing them with force did not work. Also, they thought of suspensions as rest. I was on the verge of giving up, as the least experienced soldier had seven years and tens of battles under his belt. They all knew how to act under the radar, and the only choice I had left was to behead one by iming that they had denounced a superior. However, I could not face the consequences. However, now Sir Ast hade like a miracle. He could manage this situation. ¡°Prepare them for physical punishment.¡± ¡°Sir Ast¡­¡± However, he seemed to follow the military rules, which I knew to be useless. ¡°I will perform the punishment myself.¡± Ast was firm and would perform it on Beke, their leader. He had lived for twenty-five years on the battlefield from age fifteen. He had enlisted to protect his family, but his entire vige was burnt when he fainted from his first battle. Despite his social status, he would have gone up thedder, but his battle tactics that ignored all ns stopped him. He was known as a soldier ready to die and was a legend among military men. ¡°Hurry.¡± Beke had yawned at my attack enhanced with magic and acted the same with Ast. ¡°Let¡¯s take three hits.¡± ¡°You¡¯re benevolent.¡± I saw that Ast was holding only a wooden stick and believed that stick would break first. ¡°One.¡± Ast had lightly hit Beke¡¯s behind with a stick. ¡°Ahhhhhhh!¡± It was then I heard Beke¡¯s shout. It was bbergasting. ¡°Two.¡± ¡°Wait, wait!¡± ¡°You said to hurry.¡± Beke was now screaming like a pig. ¡°What is going on?¡± I was not the only one astonished, as the soldiers were even more askance. ¡°One left.¡± ¡°Please!¡± However, Ast was merciless as he took the final shot. ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± It was a day remembered by everyone who learned their lessons. Chapter 221

Chapter 221

Evade the Hero and Flee! 221 A princess¡¯s memory (28) #39 Other Circumstances: A soldier¡¯s circumstance I had raised my sword to protect but had failed. I had be a soldier to protect my family and lover when I was young because the enemies wereing. However, they had died. The enemy troops had avoided where we had hidden to massacre the entire vige. Only corpses remained. It was then we pledged to kill our enemies. We had be stronger, but there was a cost. One by one, we died, and those still alive kept the promise alive. When I returned to my senses, the revenge was over, and no one was by my side. I was the only one alive and had no will to live. I began to fight, looking for a ce to die. Berserker Beke was born this way. I was weary, but I fought on the battlefield because I was still breathing. Even when I nearly lost a limb, I did not feel pain. The physical pain had been nothingpared to my mental agony, but now¡­! ¡°Ah¡­¡± I could only say that I was in pain. What had hit me?! ¡°Ahhhh!¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Screams came up everywhere, and I nearly fell down when I tried to stand up. It seemed I had lost strength in my body. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me!¡± ¡°You won¡¯t die.¡± ¡°Is that¡­¡± The knight from the pce was beating soldiers up, and I saw at least thirty on the ground. Not onested three hits. ¡°What is that?¡± It seemed that he was hitting people with a wooden bat. It seemed ordinary, but everyone was screaming like it was made of fire. ¡°Next is¡­¡± Our eyes met, and I could not suppress a shudder. It had been too long since I had felt fear. I now remembered my first days as a soldier, and that memory affected me severely. ¡°It¡¯s only three hits.¡± I knew I could not win. My body tried to run for survival, which I had not done for twenty-five years. However, I could not. ¡°I was hit!¡± I suddenly found myself raising my hand and shouting. ¡°You did?¡± ¡®Yes, I was the first.¡± The knight nodded. ¡°I recognize your scary face¡­you were the first.¡± ¡°I am!¡± ¡°You¡¯re quite something to stand up already.¡± I felt sweat pour down my back. I knew what that smile meant. He was going to repeat his performance! ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to seeing you.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± I pledged to follow the rules in the future. #40 Other circumstances: Rea¡¯s circumstance ¡°At ease.¡± ¡°At ease!¡± All troops halted at mymand. ¡°Rest for twenty minutes.¡± ¡°Rest!¡± Everyone lowered their weapons and removed their helmets. They spread out everywhere on the ground, and I let them be. They were all elites who had done their training perfectly. Giving them rest was not a bad idea. I could allow this because they knew how to regte themselves. ¡°To think of¡­¡± I had to admit that Ast had a tough job controlling his soldiers. ¡°Her majesty had been too much.¡± She had given Ast soldiers that had caused problems, and I was still uncertain whether the men I had seen were really empire soldiers. I had thought Ast had hired thugs as camouge and had asked her majesty for confirmation. She had said yes, but I still remained undecided. ¡°Get ready!¡± The troops got into formation in an instant, and I was certain I would win this time. I had trained elites with my family¡¯s training, and I could say I had not done a bad job. Therefore, I was really curious now. ¡°What have you done?¡± I could not keep my mouth closed. I hade without thinking too much, as the three months her majesty had given us was nearly over. I had gone to observe how Sir Ast was doing. However¡­ ¡°Count!¡± ¡°One!¡± ¡°Two!¡± ¡°Three!¡± I saw soldiers moving as one. ¡°Sir Rea, you¡¯re drooling.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± I closed my mouth on Sir Ast¡¯s words and wiped my lips. ¡°You don¡¯t have a handkerchief?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­¡± I used it and thought Sir Ast was not such a bad¡­ ¡°If you touch me with those hands, your drool would be on me. That¡¯s unclean.¡± I felt my face go red. ¡°Do you have to say such things?¡± ¡°This is why you¡¯re still solo.¡± ¡°Agh!¡± I did not have aeback. ¡°I had one¡­¡± I had someone I may have married if he had not died in an ident. ¡°I apologize.¡± ¡°Be careful if you really are.¡± It seemed Sir Ast thought he had gone too far. ¡°Sir Rea¡­¡± Sir Ast tried to console me, and I must have looked blue. ¡°You will meet a better person¡­ maybe.¡± ¡°Why do you end in such a way?!¡± I was angry, but the sergeant¡¯s orders had my attention. ¡°Go!¡± ¡°Formation!¡± ¡°Move quickly!¡± The soldiers moved naturally like how water flowed in a river. ¡°What in the world did you do, Sir Ast?!¡± I red at him once I saw the troops move in perfect lines of ten. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me so heatedly!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject!¡± I saw him cluck his tongue and knew that he had given me his handkerchief to hide what he had done from the first. ¡°Isn¡¯t that so, Sir Ast?!¡± ¡°No, the drooling was real.¡± I quickly spoke once he showed me the wet handkerchief. ¡°What did you do to change the soldiers like that?!¡± I recognized the soldiers. They were the ones I had met before. What had he done to change them in two months?! ¡°Things can change a lot in a short time.¡± That was not possible. Soldiers like his were the most difficult to control, as they were too strong to kick out. ¡°Did you threaten them? No, that won¡¯t work since they do not have families. Then¡­¡± ¡°Why do you think Imitted a crime? I only hit them three times.¡± ¡°Did you do it with an axe?¡± ¡°What in the world do you take me for?¡± ¡°An evil viin?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± I thought I had gone too far in his silence and only eximed my surprise. I would not know Sir Ast was an actual viin until some more time passed! Chapter 222

Chapter 222

Evade the Hero and Flee! 222 A princess¡¯s memory (29) There had been signs. Rea started using more time on training after Ast began. She even prioritized it more than guarding me. What had he done? I had kept silent because I wanted to enjoy itter, but this was unbearable. ¡°What in the world is going on?¡± I had to observe the battle between As and Rea. ¡°Die!¡± ¡°What the¡­¡± I saw Ast¡¯s soldiers charge, and while Rea¡¯s troops were more trained, Ast¡¯s soldiers were stronger. ¡°What is this?¡± I tilted my head. I had known Ast¡¯s soldiers were stronger individually, but soldiers worked only as a group. Those unable to follow orders were useless. Moreover, they all lived in battle and would die in a heartbeat for a good one. Since they managed to survive for years, however, they became stronger. I thought that was why the fight between Rea and Ast¡¯s troops would be interesting to see, as they were opposites. ¡°I wanted that¡­¡± However, both troops followed orders faultlessly as they changed formations. Blunt spears met each other, and those deemed injured and dead increased. Ast¡¯s soldiers were even using spears! They used their preferred weapons, which was a minus as troops. Each weapon had its own role in the field, and soldiers would need to fight ordingly. However, Ast¡¯s soldiers refused such ssification, which made them unusable. ¡°What had he done¡­¡± I had heard many leaders who had tried to help, threaten, or heal them, but none had seeded. However, they followed Ast¡¯s orders like they would die for him. ¡°Charge!¡± Ast raised his wooden stick, and the soldiers marched on, following the charge g. However, it seemed that they were looking at the stick. ¡°For Karan!¡± They were shouting the Empire¡¯s name and fought with their expertise. ¡°Ah!¡± Rea groaned at seeing her troops beaten, as the two were onpletely different levels. While her troops were well trained and already had been elite soldiers. They would be considered the best of the best anywhere. However, they lost without any excuse. ¡°I have lost.¡± Rea admitted her defeat and looked devastated. ¡°Rest.¡± Ast¡¯s soldiersy down on the floor when he let go of the wooden stick. ¡°I was a bit surprised.¡± Ast came up to Rea without a smile. ¡°Are you ying with me?¡± Rea seemed to be in a pout. ¡°No, they were stronger than I expected.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Rea¡¯s face hardened even more at his words. I knew they had seen each other¡¯s troops for the first time. Ast¡¯s words meant he had thought he would win more easily. ¡°What had you done?¡± I questioned Ast. ¡°Your majesty¡­I just beat them up.¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± Rea put in a word, and I saw that she looked despondent. It seemed her loss had really taken a toll on her. ¡°Yes.¡± I stared at Ast. Had the answer been that simple? ¡°How did you do it?¡± Rea also seemed curious. ¡°I just hit them with this stick.¡± Ast showed us his wooden stick. ¡°With that?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Rea¡¯s eyes were vacant. It was only a wooden stick. A well-made one, but still a stick. ¡°Would you like to see what it feels like?¡± ¡°What?¡± Ast raised his stick at Rea¡¯s frown. ¡°You¡¯re going to hit me with that?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± While Rea seemed surprised, she nodded. ¡°Try.¡± Rea was a knight. She was called the greatest genius in the Empire, but she trained even harder. A wooden stick would be useless against her. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± ¡°What?¡± I saw Rea was on the ground. ¡°What, what did you do?!¡± Rea stood up after one hit but stumbled. She was down again with two hits and started to show tears with three. ¡°Rea?¡± I could only stare down at my best knight and closest guard. ¡°You are impressive, Sir Rea. My soldierssted three hits at the most.¡± Ast looked down on Rea with satisfaction before raising the stick again. ¡°Sir Ast! You¡­you can stop now. I think that¡¯s enough. Ahh!¡± However, Ast lowered the stick down again. ¡°Argh! What?!¡± ¡°Sir Rea! You¡¯re amazing!¡± ¡°Stop¡­.¡± I had to turn my gaze away for a moment at the situation. ¡°What is that stick¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s something I made to train them well with love.¡± I saw Rea rolling on the ground. I could not see how love had anything to do with this. ¡°Ast, don¡¯t you think that is enough?¡± I did not want to see Rea suffer like this anymore. ¡°If you say so, your majesty.¡± Rea closed her eyes as Ast lowered the stick again. ¡°Rea, are you alive?¡± ¡°I did not die. Why would I do something so drastic?¡± ¡°I thought death may have been the preferable choice.¡± I had only felt pity at seeing Rea¡¯s state. ¡°I do not kill.¡± However, he would kill someone¡¯s social reputation or mental with ease. ¡°What had you made with the World Tree¡¯s branch?¡± The goddess who had saved this world would shed tears if she saw this weapon. ¡°I worked hard so my soldiers would learn their mistakes without being wounded.¡± ¡°How does one work hard to make a swordmaster roll about the ground like this?¡± However, I now understood. If that weapon had made Rea like this, he would have been able to control the soldiers. Ast had made them the best soldiers, even if they followed only his orders. ¡°This is another achievement for you.¡± The situation of thends wasplicated. Small countries were swaying, and even therger ones showed trouble. The Empires were moving, and if we did, the Pernes would do so, too. Only the two countries could call themselves empires. If we fought, things would escte in a second. Maybe Ast would have be a legend if he went to the military in the current state of affairs. ¡°You would still remain with your current title.¡± He may be wasting his talents but would not participate in the war if I had anything to do with it. I would remain in the pce. Which meant he would, too. I was not nice enough to let go of what I already had and liked the current situation. ¡°I am sorry¡­really, forgive me.¡± ¡°It is nothing.¡± I saw my father apologize to me. It seemed that those days were over. Chapter 223

Chapter 223

Evade the Hero and Flee! 230 A princess¡¯s memory (30) #41 Other circumstances: A Viin¡¯s Circumstance My steps were light, and I felt extremely good. ¡°How could I torment Rea?¡± It had been a long time since I felt this joyful, as her highness had given me permission to punish Rea once. I had to have at least this entertainment in my bleak life here, and I knew her highness would be looking forward to this. This was why I had been surprised to see no guards or maids in the corridor or her room. I had heard she had scolded her people hard after I had deceived them, so there should have been people here. Did people make the same mistakes? I knocked, but there was no response. ¡°Is this a trap?¡± It may be possible, but I chose to go in. While I may be beheaded for going into a noble¡¯s room, her highness would not kill me, at least. ¡°I will enter.¡± The room was unnaturally dark, even if it was night. I heard a sudden moan. ¡°Your highness?¡± I was surprised for a moment but recognized her highness¡¯s voice. ¡°A¡­st?¡± Her highness clenched her teeth. ¡°Why are you so¡­angry?¡± I replied in my usual style, as I could not show I had been surprised. ¡°Ast?¡± ¡°Your highness?¡± She spoke to me like she had received an awakening. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Where? ** When the world was created, it is said that the two Gods who had done so had left for another world after leaving the world to other gods. However, Evil had appeared from somewhere as a deity, and the Goddess of Benevolence and Devotion sacrificed herself to stop it. Everyone would know this, but the truth was that Evil could not be fully stopped. Each of the seven fragments had indwelled in the Evil God, in humans, and one had gone in dragons. Dragons knew evil but had not sumbed to it for a long time. However, they had becent, which was literally fatal, as they began to die for unknown reasons. A human had be a Demon King to destroy everything, and another race became self-destructive. However, dragons died one by one, even though they were known for their longevity. As each dragon was strong, there were only a few of them. This made the deaths catastrophic. Dragons tried to find a way to stop this and learned that one dragon died every hundred years due to the fragment of evil. Humans would have let this go, but dragons, who live tens of thousands of years, give birth once or twice during their life. Their race could be extinct if things continued like this. Even though theymunicated with Gods and studied other fragments, they could not find a way. One sage had saved them. ¡°If this curse is sent by blood, shouldn¡¯t you increase the number in any way possible?¡± The dragon who had asked a human in desperation got that answer. That meant making half-bloods, which was unthinkable. However, they were near extinction. Dragons transformed themselves into humans and intervened in various races to spread their seed. That was why dragons hade out, and after several attempts, dragons managed to create their first half-blood child. Dragons were expectant, and the fragment activated on the half-bloods. That made dragons create even more perfect sacrifices. The result was this Karuan Empire, which had been built by dragons. They had promised the Empire limitless support if the humans died for them and had done their part. ¡°That contract is still valid today.¡± ¡°That means¡­¡± Father had told me that when I was very young. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re this generation¡¯s sacrifice.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I had not felt anything special at that time, but only noticed the fact that I was the one chosen. ¡°The evil fragment chooses the one closest to the dragon blood.¡± He told me that dragons found a way to make us their sacrificialmbs and that the one closest to the dragon would be the next sacrifice. There was a reward. ¡°The dragons help us indirectly when our Empire is in a crisis. The chosen sacrifice is protected by the dragons and can make a single with to the dragons.¡± While Father did not mention it, I had also received the benefits of dragon blood. I was only five, but I could understand everything Father said with a calm mind. This was made only possible with the dragon blood inside me. ¡°Are you not scared.¡± ¡°I¡¯m rather¡­¡± It was rather astounding. When I said my world had turned gray, Father, whose face I saw rarely, came up to me. He then suddenly told me this legend and that I would die. ¡°¡­surprised.¡± That would be the right word. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Father looked down at me with aplicated gaze and changed my room and those who cared for me. The room was where the sacrifices had resided and were filled with magic and spells to mitigate the damage when the evil fragment was awakened. Then, they found me a person who knew everything and would protect me with her life. ¡°I am Rea Lil Areis.¡± ¡°The Marquis Areis?¡± ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± Even if her memories were suppressed by Gears Roll, I did not expect her to be my guard. ¡°You¡¯re strong.¡± My dragon blood told me Rea was strong with a single stroke of her sword. As expected, Rea became a swordmaster a few yearster. And then, after four years of seeing the world in gray colors, I met Ast. While my head hurt, I remembered a few good things. ¡°What is this¡­¡± Was this a shback as the world grew dark from the evil fragment awakening inside me? ¡°I cannot believe this¡­¡± I felt my life being eaten away and shadows looking down at me. I could see that they were those who had the fragment before me. ¡°Have youe to take me away?¡± I could see that dragons had alsoe, which was something unexpected. I could feel my body growx, and I realized that I did not have many regrets. ¡°Your highness?¡± I saw something spring out from the dark. ¡°Ast?¡± Was this a dream? If it was, it would be a nightmare. Chapter 224

Chapter 224

Evade the Hero and Flee! 231 A princess¡¯s memory (31) However, this was too real. ¡°Why are you so¡­angry?¡± I could not understand why he was here when the spells would block out everything. I knew I had to send him back, but¡­ ¡°All right, Ast.¡± It was a sudden urge, but I did not want to be alone, like a child who did not want to sleep alone at night. ¡°Your highness?¡± He was Ast, and my conscience was not hurt. I would take him with me. ¡°Come¡­¡± And die with me. The evil fragment rushed at Ast like it heard me. #42 Other Circumstances: A Viin¡¯s Circumstance What was she saying with a smile? However, I saw the darkness move. Something else was here! ¡°An intruder!¡¯¡¯ I shouted, but no soldiers came in. Damn, was there an assassin? ¡°Die!¡± I threw a chair that was my month¡¯s wage to the ck something. ¡°Are you a ghost?¡± The chair went through, and was this ck magic? ¡°Ast. Give up. This is the power of the Evil God.¡± ¡°What?¡± What was she saying?! ¡°Did you sell your soul?¡± ¡°I did sell some blood.¡± I only knew that she had done something crazy, but I realized that she had intended for me to go to hell with her. I did not want to die this early when I had so much to do. ¡°Instant Bullet.¡± I knew that life was precious and shot the bullet I could use only once. #43 Other Circumstances: ???¡¯s Circumstances Finally, I can have it! #44 Other Circumstances: A Villian¡¯s Past Circumstance My family had been neither rich nor poor, but my father would gamble whenever our lives became durable. My mother would borrow money from her acquaintances, but my father would repeat his crimes. I was weary at my father¡¯s insistent demand for money and realized that I just had to escape as soon as possible. I would just need to endure and get out to get a job and a house. I studied hard, went to a good school, and prepared to be a government official after finishing my hellish military requirement. ¡°Damn¡­¡± However, my fantasy life became a life in a fantasy world. I turned on my cell phone to check some announcements. ¡°It was a prophecy!¡± I nodded at the novel, which proved to have estimated everything that would happen to Earth correctly. However, one different thing was that there was some time to adjust. But during that time, my country suffered massive damage, and the cities became smaller. That meant fewer officials were needed or could be hired, and I had to wait for months until I got my special ability as an awakened. However, it happened. [Instant Bullet. This bullet can be used once, with random effects. One does not know the ability until used. If lucky, the user can kill a god, but the bullet will be wasted if unlucky. This bullet can be used once, nor the ability be gotten again.] The skill was a once-in-a-lifetime gamble, and everyone who saw my skill shook their heads. There was nowhere to use it, as it may prove destructive. That was why even though I could join a guild, I could not participate in any raids. That was why I grabbed my sword. As low monsters could be killed with weapons, I thought the sword would be more useful and sustainable. I met a trainer who taught me many things. As I had less work, I worked in my trainer¡¯s dojo as I discovered I had skills. However, my level only enabled me to kill goblins, and the dojo actually paid more. However, I was about to buy my house when a gate opened in my neighborhood, and an S ss monster came out. The awakened were all ordered to fight to buy time, but the lucky thing was that the dojo was filled with high-ss awakened. I only needed to survive. However, there were other monsters from F to A. I met a C ss monster, which was not manageable at my level. That moment had been the time to use my skill, but I did not know what the effect would be. I could not help thinking that I would be an ordinary person the moment I used this. That thought made me hesitate, and the C ss ogre crushed my body. This skill followed me to this world, and I lived thinking this skill did not exist and worked hard. I believed, however, if I still had this skill, it would prove useful someday, which was¡­ ¡°It would be now.¡± I did not hesitate this time, as I could survive without it now. [The Instant Bullet hit the opponent, and the bullet effect is activated.] The message window only those who had been awakened in their past life could see appeared. ¡°Damn¡­¡± [The effect is ¡®nothing.¡¯ The ability Instant Bullet ends.] How can this be? ¡°The world does want me dead.¡± The dark thing reached out, and I felt death. However, it did not kill me like it was ying with me. I gulped and felt cold sweat. Was itughing at me, or was I already dead? ¡°What did you do, Ast?¡± I felt her highness¡¯s voice, which shook like she was a frail thing that needed to be protected. While it was true in form¡­ ¡°What do you mean?¡± She may be trapping me, as she asked me to die with her. I tried to learn her intentions, but¡­ ¡°What did you do?!¡± Her voice was too annoyed for me to wait. ¡°What?¡± The dark room was filled with moonlight, and the dark thing disappeared. I only saw her. ¡°What¡­did you do?¡± Her highness, who looked impossibly fragile, fell down on her bed. While I did not know what had happened, I was just relieved that I was still alive. #45 Other Circumstances: An Emperor¡¯s Circumstance ¡°What?¡± I had to suspect I mistook her voice, as I saw my daughter, who should not be here, in front of me in my room. ¡°Your majesty¡­Father.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡­ survived.¡± ¡°What?¡± Chapter 225

Chapter 225

225 Evade the Hero and Flee! 232 A princess¡¯s memory (32) I dreamed that everything had turned ck and the dead waited for me in my room. Then, someone came in to save me. My knight in shining armor had been...Ast. Therefore, it was a nightmare. To think that thest face I saw before I died was Ast. While only Lea and Ast were close to me... still. ¡°To think Ast was thest face...¡± I had sweated all over, and I should change my pajamas... ¡°What?¡± I stood up to look around. It was my room, and I was wearing my usual pajamas. ¡°Wait...¡± Had that not been a dream? It was all too real. If it had been not a dream... ¡°Was Ast dead?¡± I looked around to see that there was no corpse. ¡°Is he alive?¡± I did not remember much about yesterday, but Ast had swallowed the evil fragment. ¡°Which is real?¡± I wanted to change and called the maid outside to prepare for a bath and a change of clothes. The maids acted like nothing was different, which meant I should do the same. I changed and acted the same, but... ¡°Your highness!!!¡± ¡°Rea, stop.¡± I had to look at my clothes get wet again with Rea¡¯s tears, and I noted that she was taller than me even when kneeling. ¡°Rea, my clothes are getting wet.¡± ¡°But!!¡± She was sniffling into my clothes. I was a princess... ¡°Rea.¡± I thought this was too much, but Rea did not stop crying. I had to change my clothes again and wait for Rea to calm down. ¡°Your highness...¡± ¡°Wait, there.¡± I changed my clothes twice. I stopped Rea from charging at me with tears and asked her to prepare me to meet my father, the Emperor. ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± Rea nodded and went out, and it was then Ast came in. ¡°......¡± ¡°......¡± Ast avoided meeting my gaze when our eyes met. ¡°......¡± As I also had nothing to say, we both remained silent. It was awkward, and I had not felt an emotion like this before. I did not know what to say. ¡°Your highness, the preparations are finished.¡± Rea broke the silence, but we both did not say anything for a moment. ¡°Wait, I have something to do.¡± ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± That was all, and Rea looked surprised. ¡°Has anything happened?¡± ¡°Not much.¡± I decided to keep the situation a secret from Rea until I knew more about the situation. She did know a bit, but not what had transpiredst night. ¡°What?¡± However, my father, who knew the most, looked unreliable. ¡°What should we do?¡± ¡°Hmm...¡± Father closed his eyes and began to think. As he also had dragon blood in him, he was a genius. He may know something from my information. ¡°If you¡¯re alive...you should go on alive.¡± We were talking as father and daughter now. ¡°Then, what should we do?¡± ¡°Hmm...¡± We were thinking more deeply now, as this was important as the beginning of our Empire. This nation was built for the evil fragment within the dragon blood. ¡°Let¡¯s check the situation and wait for now.¡± Father shook his head as he spoke. ¡°Ast may have that fragment, so we must observe him.¡± ¡°All right.¡± The conversation ended there. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°His highness said we should observe the situation.¡± He seemed to not have understood the situation, but so did I. ¡°Then, your highness, what will you do?¡± I thought it over. I would have already died. Since I was now suddenly alive... ¡°Should we do it?¡± I thought of one thing. All members of the Imperial Family these days did it, but I had been unable to do so due to the evil fragment. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I was thinking of going out and avenging you, Rea.¡± ¡°You mean...¡± Rea opened her eyes wide, and I nodded. ¡°Let us participate in the war too.¡± #46 Other Circumstances: A Villian¡¯s Circumstance ¡°Noooo way!¡± I desperately opposed her highness¡¯s idea of participating in the war. ¡°What are you saying all of a sudden? Has there been a defeat somewhere?¡± She was suddenly saying such things after meeting the Emperor. ¡°No, I just wanted to go.¡± Was she for real? The only good thing about serving under her was being able to stand back during the war! ¡°Your highness, think this again. Wars are meant to be avoided.¡± ¡°I have to avenge Rea.¡± She meant we were going to fight Merdea Kingdom, nearly as powerful as the Empire, in a battle. They were cooperating with Pernes and had killed Rea¡¯s lover. That would be reason enough for her highness, but she had remained still before... ¡°Why are you doing this all of a sudden?¡± The atmosphere grew cold. Why? ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Was this because of what happened yesterday? But she did not seem to remember much, probably due to her state. I had run back to my room when she fainted since I had not known what had happened to that ck thing. I only knew I had not made it go away with my ability, as I had no way to do so. Then, she would have to be the one who had made it go away and had fainted due to the exertion. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I met her eyes, and I realized nothing would get better. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I knew the ck thing wouldplicate my life, so I kept saying no. ¡°Is that so...?¡± I noticed she seemed unsure about yesterday¡¯s events because she scared me. Therefore, I should fake ignorance. ¡°Well, if you say so...¡± I sighed in relief as she turned to Rea. ¡°What do you think, Rea?¡± ¡°If it is war...¡± I pleaded with my eyes to Rea. ¡°You do not have to avenge me. That does not end well.¡± I shouted in joy inwardly. The world was already violent! ¡°But...¡± ¡°Sir Rea?¡± I saw Rea kneel in front of her highness. ¡°If you wish, my sword will be yours.¡± ¡°You heard what she said, Ast.¡± I saw Rea¡¯s face, and she seemed determined. I knew she would protect her highness with her life. Then, there was only one thing to do. I was deadly serious as I took something out of my pocket. ¡°Ast...?¡± I kneeled, and her highness stared at the resignation notice. ¡°I will quit your service, your highness.¡± ¡°......¡± ¡°......¡± ¡°I am serious!¡± I was not going to war, as I knew what would happen in my days in the organization. ¡°Ast...will you go to the front line?¡± ¡°I am your butler and will follow you.¡± I felt the res but staying near her highness was better than the front line. ¡°Huh...I am sorry, your highness.¡± I met the losing soldiers on my first encounter on the battlefield. Chapter 226

Chapter 226

226 Evade the Hero and Flee! 233 Why Me? (1) My leg muscles were screaming, but I had to go on. ¡°Daddy!¡± My daughter smiled and waved her hand from afar. ¡°My sister is too carefree!¡± That was one of her merits, and I ran to her as she waved on top of the Drake I had prepared. ¡°Bracelet.¡± -Right. If the Metal Bat kicked the Drake in the wrong way, it could not be ridden anymore. I, therefore, changed the Bat into a bracelet and rode on the saddle. Drakes could fly, which made it a much faster way to travel than carriages. ¡°Fly!¡± I had ridden many carriages and thought drakes would be easy, but there was no response. Should I whip it more?! It was then I saw dust clouds from afar. Someone was running at full speed this way. ¡°This soon?¡± The Demon King was stronger than I thought! ¡°Damn! I should change to horses...¡± ¡°Instructor!!!¡± However, the voice stopped me. ¡°Mirua?¡± ¡°Safe!¡± Mirua jumped on the Drake in a fluid motion and tapped its body. The movements were too natural to stop, and the Drake started to fly with a shout. ¡°I know how to ride this one!¡± ¡°Did you learn to catch me?¡± ¡°Ah...¡± Mirua¡¯s smile diminished, and she avoided my gaze. ¡°Things are going crazy.¡± Only a very few normal soldiers gained magic after many years of experience. However, that was one in ten thousand. Only the chosen could walk that path. Except for that route, a normal soldier¡¯s highest goal was to be a cavalryman. Anyone could be one, but the training and management fees were severe. Also, some cavalrymen could ride wyverns, griffons, and drakes! Training thoroughbreds were hard enough, and monsters would be next to impossible. Also, the maintenance and training fees were equal to an entire troop. Falling from a horse was a dangerous experience but from the sky? Mages had to wait during training, and troops that could control wyverns had to secure the area. That meant huge amounts of money. ¡°Tell me the truth. How many got that training?¡± ¡°Everyone trying to catch you.¡± They did that to catch me. ¡°How many are there?¡± ¡°Umm...¡± Mirua looked at her fingers and started counting. ¡°Two...¡± ¡°Two thousand?¡± If there were enough monsters, that number could control the sky of thesends. ¡°No, twenty thousand.¡± ¡°What?¡± ...However, the opponent was the Empire¡¯s princess. She brokemon sense. ¡°Twenty thousand?¡± Did the Empire have that much money? ¡°We used most of the money from Howling to catch you.¡± Howling had been the greatest evil organization in the Empire. We had to make transactions with cash and objects, which meant the Empire had to have... ¡°You must have earned a lot.¡± My secreted assets alone would feed a vige for a century. How much would Howling have earned for a century? ¡°Training had been easy for us there.¡± ¡°Damn! Summoners...¡± Since the academy¡¯s summoners had gone under the princess, there would be no reason to call for mages and soldiers. I knew that some of them were already familiar with sky battles, so they and other summoners would be enough. ¡°That would save money.¡± ¡°Wyverns were also easy to get.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°You hit them with a bat like this!¡± The Drake cried under Mirua¡¯s bat. ¡°They listen to me well after this!¡± ¡°That is not why I gave you that bat...¡± It seemed I had made the wrong decision giving the bat to Raine. They had even trained wyverns with that? I gave them the worst weapon. -All your fault. Damn! To try to catch me with my own methods. ¡°Do you want to know more?¡± ¡°...Yes.¡± I hesitated but knew I had no choice. I needed information. ¡°Every empire soldier can receive a bounty for you...¡± ¡°What?! Everyone?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ...I knew that the Empire held about four hundred thousand soldiers. Maybe five hundred now. That would equal the poption of a small country... ¡°What the...¡± ¡°Also, diplomatic negotiations are underway to catch you on a national level...¡± ¡°Nation?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ...If Mirua was serious about diplomacy... ¡°Have there been deals?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The princess seemed to have really negotiated with other countries to catch me instead of relying on power. ¡°That¡¯s why...¡± The Nayden Kingdom¡¯s princess had fallen in love with the hero, which must have been part of why Nayden and the Empire had be allies. ¡°And...¡± ¡°There¡¯s more?¡± ¡°This is the important part.¡± What could be more important than this? ¡°Over one hundred sword masters.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Divine summoners and equally strong summoners. Over fifty of them.¡± ¡°Say again?¡± ¡°Over ten high mages and a hundred mage teams.¡± ¡°Wait a minute.¡± ¡°They are all under her highness¡¯s control...¡± ¡°Turn back! I will just fight the Demon King!¡± Had I just heard the entire fleet of warriors to catch the Demon King? There was no other reason for such a number of elite warriors to gather. ¡°Tell me you¡¯re lying.¡± Mirua quietly showed me a dagger from her belt. ¡°Ah...¡± I saw the de flicker, and she then raised her hand to point at the empty sky. ¡°sh!¡± While she spoke a word, she used a lightning spell, and even in a perfect spear shape. It seemed powerful as well. ¡°I¡¯m this good.¡± ¡°......¡± I had nothing to say. She was a swordmaster, a mage, and could ride a drake? If she was a troop leader, how strong would her members be? ¡°You would not be able to escape anywhere...¡± I had to agree. The sheer number of elites was astounding. ¡°So, just return to her ce...¡± I had to think things over as Mirua hummed. Staying near her highness could ensure my safety, as her authority and power were overwhelming. ¡°I refuse!¡± However, I had to live with her highness, who went to these extremes just to catch me! ¡°Is that so...?¡± I slowly raised my arm and grabbed the Metal Bat, which I had transformed. ¡°Instructor? We could all die!¡± Mirua shouted, and I knew we were all high up. However, I needed her help if I wanted to survive. ¡°Is the food good in the pce?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I needed bait. ¡°There¡¯s this legend in the Imperial Kitchen.¡± ¡°Are you...¡± I took out the secret weapon I had prepared, just in case. ¡°This is my collection of imperial secret recipes.!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± I recollected all my memories about the Imperial Kitchen and the recipes. Mirua was looking at me with bright eyes. ¡°I will give it to you...¡± So please be my double spy for the Imperial Pce. Chapter 227

Chapter 227

Evade the Hero and Flee! 227. Why Me? (2) ¡°I will go below.¡± ¡°All right.¡± I could see the ground clearer as Mirua flew downwards. I now saw monster and demon corpses, and the iplete castle walls were half destroyed. ¡°The damage would have been less severe if the walls had beenpleted¡­¡± The enemies would have retreated, so I would lessen my guard. If they had tried to destroy everything, the damage would be severe. ¡°I hope the demons win¡­¡± They had a chance, as normally only an elite number of heroes faced the Demon King. Soldiers all over thend were utilized so the heroes could only focus on the Demon King. ¡°My life would not be that easy¡­¡± However, the Demon King would only know destruction and madness in the past. This time, he remembered the past and me. He had rationality and differed from past records. Variants are known to be strong, and my past student and current Variant Demon King will appear in front of me to get back that fragment or something! ¡°At least it was him.¡± He was one of the normal ones and had been inflexible. Even I was surprised to hear that he had run away because of a woman. That was why I had trained them not to be allured by beautiful women. I had been lucky that it was my earlier days and had not taught them much. If it had been another student, he or she would have coerced me to remove the fragment by saying I would be unharmed. It would have been an alluring gesture, as I did not like having it in me. ¡°Instructor, we¡¯ve almost arrived.¡± Mirua spoke to me as I organized my thoughts. ¡°Drakes are fast!¡± While wyverns were faster, the Drakes ruled the skies and flew fast enough for me. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I could fly to anothernd as I saw our destination, the Last City Vervelion. While I had thought of living the drake near the national borders as knights riding on griffons patrolled the area, and detection spells were used, I thought I could ride it more. ¡°Everything is destroyed.¡± ¡°It is so¡­¡± I saw that the castle walls were destroyed, and there was no response from them as we entered Vervelion. ¡°Can I go lower?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mirua went slowly lower. ¡°Wow!¡± We went below the clouds, and I saw the castle utterly destroyed when we went low enough to lift the spells. I saw human remains now. ¡°They would have resisted until the end.¡± The useful cat had made my daughter and Cocofortable enough to sleep, so they did not have to see this. ¡°They have needless pride.¡± Mirua shook her head as she looked below. She was truly my student, as while other guys with feelings or honor would have praised their resistance, she thought their deaths useless. ¡°They only needed to let them pass to the demons, but they did not even do that¡­¡± Mirua clucked her tongue as she criticized them for their stubbornness. She was truly my student. Now, the problem was that¡­ -She¡¯s the one who caught you? -Yes¡­ While she was on my side now, she could betray me anytime. Mirua had done it three times already, and it would be easier each time. -Should we take care of her here? -No, we need a rider, for now, so let¡¯s sleep on it. Verveilon waspletely destroyed, and Ruive city alliance, which had simr ideas to this city, would not have acted differently. That meant I could ride the drake at least there! That meant Mirua needed to work until then. -After that? -I will think it over. ¡°Ah¡­¡± While Mirua shook due to the cold, she survived in icebergs by hunting bears. She would feel suspicious already, and those sensitive to danger survived longer than those with skills. Mirua had both, which meant I had to think whether taking care of her here and now was the better idea. While I did not want to harm my former students, she was too dangerous! ¡°Uh?¡± However, Mirua showed me why she should leave. ¡°Instructor, there¡­¡± I turned my gaze to where she was looking. ¡°There are a lot.¡± Monsters steeped in ck evil were destroying things. ¡°They seem strong¡­¡± ¡°I agree.¡± Mirua whipped the drake for us to rise in the air. I could see ck orcs punch out stone buildings, and they seemed like ogres. The problem was that ck ogres were destroying castle walls and looked powerful enough to throw boulders and hit us. ¡°Uh¡­I don¡¯t want to return¡­¡± Mirua looked down at the monsters. ¡°Instructor¡­¡± I thought I knew what she wanted to say. ¡°No.¡± Mirua looked sad at my refusal, but my answer remained the same. ording to my n, the Karuan Empire would have to stop the monsters, and Mirua was my key. ¡°You have to let them know where I am.¡± ¡°All right.¡± The n was simple. The Demon King knew where I was due to the fragment, and that meant I had to kill him in order to be able to keep escaping. ¡°You know the code, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Giving her specific information will end in betrayal, as she will inform the princess. Therefore, I gave her general coordinates and my secret code so she could follow me a whileter. I used Hangul and was grateful to Korea for giving me this tool. ¡°Listen. If you betray me, all unknown dishes will die with me.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± My threat worked as Mirua¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡± Mirua looked like a frail girl as she looked at me. ¡°I will tell you a recipe when you bring people to me as promised. Fried chicken is one, so think carefully.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mirua nodded. I had only given her 10 recipes as advance payment. While the cooking methods differed, the Imperial Pce could achieve miracles if the princess asked people. I still remember how she used magicians to make soft ice cream. Mirua¡¯s love for food and her finding me would enable her to recreate the dishes, which were simple in Korea. ¡°Remember, the dishes will get better with time.¡± ¡°I will keep my secret.¡± Mirua nodded and pretended to lock her lips. ¡°I cannot trust you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trustworthy!¡± Her lock had many keys to open. ¡°¡­I will trust you.¡± She was the only one I could trust at the moment. She and Raine were the only ones near the princess who would listen to me, and as Raine was stuck with the princess, Mirua was all I had. -Master, there¡¯s a saying you say often. -Cherish a serpent in one¡¯s bosom. -Yes! ¡­As I did not trust her fully, I could avoid that. We stayed together for three days and passed the destroyed Ruive alliance tond on a nearby nation¡¯s border. The problem was that¡­ ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡°Why are you here?¡± I met someone I should not meet on the mountain wended. ¡°I was called to fight the Demon King¡­¡± I saw my former student and current hero and raised my bat. ¡°Let¡¯s pretend we did not see each other.¡± ¡°Right.¡± We thought our meeting ended when a voice was heard. ¡°Hero, the Demon King is¡­!¡± Chapter 228

Chapter 228

Evade the Hero and Flee! 228.. Why Me? (3) #1 Other Circumstances: A Hero¡¯s Circumstance I did not want to do this. I just wanted to retire and start farming. I now knew why the Instructor started to do so after the organization went down. That was why I would hand in my retirement to the Order¡­ ¡°Damn Demon God¡­¡± The timing! If he hade out a bitter, I could have retired! The appearance of the Demon King, the disciple of the Demon God, had rmed all temples. Therefore, I hade to Ruive alliance, the frontline where the Demon King had invaded. I had worked so hard to cross the national border. I heard a loud sound. It was going to be trouble. ¡°What is that¡­¡± I did not want to go. ¡°Hero!¡± However, I had to stand up at hearing Heal¡¯s voice. She would nag me if I did not go now, and I at least wanted to avoid that. ¡°All right¡­¡± I grumbled as I walked to where I heard her voice. That sound had been somethingnding, and that meant a monster who had been unable to restrict its destructive tendencies had strayed from its group. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go¡­¡± I unsheathed my Holy Sword as I walked. The information about the Demon God¡¯s forces were spreading around thend. While there were weird rumors, the Order and the Pce had rtively urate information. The heroes fighting at the frontlines had the quickest ess to them. ¡°Let¡¯s see, wyverns are flying¡­¡± The information was that the flying monsters were three types. Harpies, which resembled humans and birds, wyverns, and griffons. ¡°That sound would be¡­wyverns?¡± Harpies were out from the sound, and I heard griffons were notrge here because Ruive had grown them for patrol. That meant wyverns. ¡°Let¡¯s finish in one strike.¡± If I did not do that, there would be more trouble. I wanted to rest as quickly as possible. ¡°What? Drakes?¡± It wasrger than I thought, as Drakes were higher-ss than wyverns and descendants of dragons. They were slower than dragons but bigger and with harder scales. Also, they could breathe mes! ¡°When did they get dragons¡­¡± I had to curse how far the evil troops were spreading, which meant I could die toiling away. ¡°Should I run¡­?¡± Thend would be in chaos until we caught the Demon King. As the temple that would catch me would use their elites for the Demon King, this was the perfect time to run! While the world may go down, the Instructor said that the fate of the world should not rest on one person. ¡°All right¡­¡± However, a person jumped off the Drake when I decided to run. There were one middle-aged man, one woman around my age, and one small girl. The problem was¡­ ¡°Why are you here¡­¡± I froze on seeing the middle-aged man, as he was the Demon King of the Demonnd. Why was the Instructor here? I had to endure until the Demon God¡¯s disciple would avenge me. ¡°I was called to fight the Demon King¡­¡± My voice shook, and sweat rolled down my back. I saw the Metal bat in his hand and wanted to run. However, I would be caught, so I just watched the Instructor¡¯s mouth. ¡°Let¡¯s pretend we did not see each other.¡± ¡°Right.¡± My answer was immediate, as the Instructor seemed to have also found me a problem. The situation seemed to end there¡­ ¡°Hero, the Demon King is¡­!¡± It was when Heal arrived. ¡°Coming this way¡­¡± It was when Heal had noticed the Instructor. I raised my sword in case Heal told me we had to follow the Instructor under God¡¯s orders. I was going to knock her unconscious. ¡°What did you say?¡± However, the Instructor had noticed Heal first. ¡°Instructor?¡± He had tried to avoid Heal, but now he was talking to her first. ¡°Ah¡­¡± While Heal seemed surprised at seeing the neers Heal started to inform him about the Demon King. ¡°The Demon King is said to being to ournds again, and the Evil Troops are charging in preparation.¡± The Instructor thought for a while before he spoke. ¡°Who told you that?¡± He dealt Heal like she was his subordinate like he would never see her again. ¡°The God of Nature did.¡± Heal seemed astonished, and I had to agree with the Instructor. With his bat, he looked formidable. However, I felt something was wrong. I looked at Mirua as they talked and spoke with my lips. ¡®Why are you here?¡¯ Mirua answered with a smile. ¡®Take. Care.¡¯ ¡°What?¡± My instincts shouted danger when Mirua shook her hand. I heard a voice from nowhere. ¡°Toote!¡± ** As I ordered, the bat ambushed the hero, and he went down with a groan. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The bat showed masterss movements as it continued to hit him. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Heal started to step back at the shouts, and I nodded to Mirua. ¡°Mirua.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mirua cuffed Heal¡¯s arms with handcuffs. ¡°Where did you get that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a must-have item for team leaders!¡± Mirua took out cuffs and a lead, and it seemed like her magic wasced with magic. ¡°Those items are to catch me, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± I decided to ignore that affirmative silence for a moment. ¡°Well, it will be useful.¡± Heal looked at me with a shaky gaze. ¡°Why are you doing this¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a viin, so don¡¯t worry.¡± I helped Heal up and shook the dust off her clothes. -You are one. -Shut up. I was now only a father with a cute daughter who wanted to be a farmer. However, I had something to do now. ¡°Is that wood bat real¡­?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then, that Metal Bat¡­?¡± ¡°Is also real.¡± Heal looked like the world had ended. ¡°Are those evil weapons mass-produced now?!¡± ¡°No¡­¡± The dwarves had been unable to produce more bats. While the ingredient for the wooden bat, a fresh World Tree Branch, could not be gotten anymore, the Metal Bat could not be reproduced despite using the same ingredients. ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°This can be separated.¡± The Metal Bat had been in bracelet mode during the flight, and I had made a smaller duplicate to gain the hero¡¯s attention. At the same time, the other prepared to ambush him. ¡°Wow¡­¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± Heal looked at me with teary eyes. ¡°Please, the situation is dire. Just let us live¡­!¡± I shook my head inwardly. I really looked like a viin. ¡°Ah¡­don¡¯t worry. I have no intention to run away.¡± ¡°What?¡± Heal seemed naturally confused as I had tried to run away from them as quickly as possible. ¡°What is that¡­¡± ¡°The situation has changed, as The Evil Demon King is after me.¡± ¡°What?¡± She still seemed confused, and I began exining as she had to be one of myrades. ¡°I have something the Demon King wants, so he ising to get me. If I get captured, the world is in danger. Therefore, I have to escape from him!¡± This was actually a good deed for the world, as the Demon King would get stronger with my fragment. ¡°You guys are now involved in a quest that would save the world!¡± Heal blinked, and I decided I needed to speak more simpler. ¡°You told me the God of Nature was giving you the whereabouts of the Demon King.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°The Gods are positioned to observe all over thend for the Demon King and Evil Troops.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I smiled as Heal nodded. ¡°That meant I can know where he is with you.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Yeah, I want to know where he is, too. It¡¯s only fair.¡± I smiled at Heal¡¯s astonished expression. That was when I got a Demon King detectorrade. Chapter 229

Chapter 229

Evade the Hero and Flee! 229. Why Me? (4) ¡°I will be back!¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t!¡± I shouted at Mirua from afar. She was dangerous in that she may reallye back. ¡°Should we capture the Demon King?¡± The Metal Bat looked at me. ¡°That will be trouble.¡± Even the elite Demons had not been able to stop the Demon King. Heroes would not be able to stand a chance, as I looked at the hero on the ground. The world was in trouble if he was the strongest hero alive. ¡°He did defeat a dragon alive¡­¡± While the Bat looked astonished, she was the one who made the hero sleep again after Heal joined us. ¡°Five elite Demons can hold against him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s strong, right?¡± ¡°Enemies are even stronger.¡± Power wasparative, but if someone was iparably strong, there was only one answer. ¡°We have to fight in numbers.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± A party of heroes going against one Demon King was usually called justice. ¡°All histories are made of power. The strong are those who are justified at the end.¡± Therefore, our actions would be justified. ¡°You really are a viin¡­¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I give you a perfect exnation?¡± ¡°Daddy, the meal is ready!¡± I heard my daughter¡¯s bright voice as Imented over the Bat¡¯s incapability to understand. ¡°Right.¡± I took Heal, and the Bat took the hero to my daughter. I had knocked Heal unconscious because she had been too joyful at bing myrade. ¡°Wow! It looks delicious.¡± ¡°Yay~¡± I saw my daughter had made two stews. One pot had meat and vegetables, and another smaller pot only held vegetables. ¡°I found them!¡± ¡°That meant¡­¡± I remember there were three members of the hero¡¯s party, and one of them was an elf. ¡°They usually don¡¯t eat meat¡­The elf ran away from the food not long ago.¡± I thought of chasing methods. While it is said that chasing elves in forests was impossible, there were ways. The elf would probably be ¡®Selena¡¯ unless there was a change. ¡°She would have been making the stew¡­¡± Then hade to call the hero and Heal but ran away on seeing the Bat and me. ¡°Do you want me to catch her?¡± I could if I wanted to. Selena had been hit by the Bat already, and she would have been in too much of a rush to not leave traces I could follow. However¡­ ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± I had Heal as my radar and the hero I would throw at the Demon King and run. Was there a reason to catch the elf? I thought not. ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡± ¡°What if she calls in other heroes?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a possibility but Heal, and the hero may get away while we catch the elf.¡± It would still not be easy to catch the elf in the forest, and that may give the heroes a chance to escape. ¡°Let them be.¡± There were limits to the number of people who could chase me in this situation, and there was a chance they would encounter the Demon King. That meant they would fight each other. If they caught the Demon King, I needed to return to the Demon Lands. ¡°Would they allow us back?¡± The Demon King Marx who had been chosen by the Gods, meaning me, had run away, which would have confused the Demonnd. I could find a way to move myself amidst the chaos to carve out a position. ¡°That would be the best¡­but it¡¯s you.¡± However, the Metal Bat opposed me while eating the stew. What did she mean by that? Why did I understand her nuance? ¡°I would be hated if I had just run away for no reason, but if I made them understand¡­¡± I had already finished the preparations to make the Demons understand! ¡°I am certain that the Demons would look up to me even more, when we return!¡± If everything goes ording to n. However, why was I so nervous? #2 Other Circumstances: Belegrea¡¯s circumstance ¡°How many are dead?¡± ¡°Five.¡± After Marx and the Evil God¡¯s Disciple had suddenly left, the highest Demon in thends was me. Therefore, I was taking care of things¡­ ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°Belegrea!¡± My condition was not good. ¡°I am fine.¡± I calmed the sub tribe leader down as I wiped the blood from my mouth. I was not fine, as the internal bleeding was serious. To have incurred this much damage. The Disciple could really destroy the world. ¡°The number of the injured?¡± I had to gather the people, as the enemy hade alone to the heart of the Demon Lands, the Demon Castle! I had to have the injured healed and prepare for battle. I was the only one who could lead them. ¡°The injuries are light, but there are thirty in total.¡± ¡°Thirty¡­¡± The fight had not been long, and while we had been surprised at the enemy being unaffected after the Metal Bat hit him, we fought with the best we had. However, we had been beaten. Marx, after seeing all this¡­ ¡°Had run away.¡± I felt the blood from biting my lips. ¡°Ha¡­¡± While he had been praised as being chosen by the Demon God, he was human. That would be why he would desert us. We were the elite leaders, and if we all died, the Demon Land would be vanquished. The monsters would be able to easily destroy unled soldiers. ¡°I know that. Belegrea! Stand up!¡± I had known all this from the beginning. I had been afraid of the silver-haired girl beating me and hoped that they could remove Agreat. I had justified with ideas of peace for thend, despite being determined that he could deceive me at any time. ¡°You knew, Belegrea¡­¡± I had to control the situation, but my hands shook. Let¡¯s not do this. I had pledged everything to honor my father and his will for peace. However, it was not working. ¡°Belegrea!¡± I heard a voice, and a blue-haired boy was running towards me. ¡°Larelika? What is¡­¡± He hade to kill Marx, but had followed him loyally after being beaten. ¡°This!¡± He had been despairing even more than me but seemed jubnt now. ¡°What¡­¡± I held my breath on seeing the familiar writing. ¡°Marx¡­¡± I could read the harried writing. ¡°Marx¡­had not deserted us.¡± Larelika¡¯s voice was shaking. ¡°Ah¡­¡± I was crying. I had suspected him of throwing us away! ¡°The Disciple had disappeared suddenly despite being able to easily kill us.¡± I understood that the reason for that had been Marx luring the Disciple away so we could have a chance! ¡°I have no time.¡± I had lost time due to suspecting him, despite his running away to buy us this chance. I had only one thing to do. ¡°Let¡¯s prepare to beat the Disciple as quickly as possible.¡± This was the only thing I could do for not having believed Marx. Chapter 230

Chapter 230

Evade the Hero and Flee! 230. Why Me? (5) #3 Other Circumstances: A Hero¡¯s Circumstance My memories were hazy, like a mountain shrouded in fog. Who am I? However, I saw something. ¡°Did you wake up?¡± Ah, I was in hell. I was about to run¡­ ¡°Are you going to go?¡± ¡°No.¡± I shook my head at the Bat¡¯s smiling face. ¡°Sit.¡± ¡°Right.¡± I kneeled and showed that I had no will to fight. ¡°What happened?¡± Why had the situation changed from ignoring each other? I was willing to give them what they wanted. I looked up at the Instructor and wondered what he wanted. ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± I found myself at a standstill. ¡°Then why¡­¡± I almost cried. What had I done wrong? Was bing a hero a mistake? Meeting the Instructor? Running away from home? However, the next words stopped my thoughts. ¡°My goal was that girl and not you.¡± I looked where the Instructor was pointing and saw Heal. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Damn the Order of Nature! My life had changed after receiving that Holy Sword and the God of Nature choosing me as the hero! How could God make me spend time with these monstrous people? Why cannot God observe the world directly? I mean, this time, I had been caught by the Instructor because of Heal. ¡°What do you need?¡± However, I was not going to give up¡­ ¡°I need her as she is.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± I had no hope left. Come to think of it, there had been no hope from the beginning. ¡°But, can¡¯t you let me go alone?¡± However, I could beg. ¡°No.¡± The Instructor was concise when cutting me off. ¡°Why? I thought I did not matter.¡± I could give him Heal for any reason! ¡°She is a Saint of the Order of Nature. You are responsible for protecting her.¡± ¡°No, I was going to quit. You can have her.¡± I had been dragged in and wanted to quit if I could. ¡°I have no reason to take a risk.¡± ¡°Please¡­¡± He ignored me and started to y with his daughter. That brought tears to my eyes. A bitter, Heal began to scream at seeing the Bat. ¡°Why?!¡± I wanted to say it was all because of you. Why was she screaming her head off? ¡°Haha! I think he said the reason already.¡± ¡°What is the reason?!¡± I asked Heal, as she had been the reason for all this. ¡°That¡­¡± Heal flinched but started to speak. ¡°He said he is currently being chased by the Demon King¡­¡± ¡°The Demon King?¡± He, the greatest Demon King of the Demon Land, being chased by another Demon King? The one chasing the Instructor would be the Evil Disciple himself. That meant¡­ ¡°You are for warning¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I had hope then, as the Instructor needed only Heal as a Saint. Then¡­ ¡°I will get a Saint for you who meets your standards! Anyone from thend!¡± I still had room to negotiate if I captured another Saint! ¡°Why should I trust you? You can run away.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± He was right, as he had no reason to let me go. ¡°I see¡­¡± The Instructor nodded at my words. ¡°You understand?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then, stay still.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± I had nothing else left to say and saw that Heal was in despair. Was there no other way? This meant I had to stay with the Instructor until the Evil Disciple was dispatched¡­ ¡°Instructor!¡± The Instructor looked at me with a look that could kill me, but I could not give up. This was myst chance. ¡°I will kill that Evil Disciple!¡± The Instructor had told me before that while we could not change the past, we could change the future by choosing the right action. ¡°Idiot.¡± However, the Instructor¡¯s answer was cold. ¡°Do you really think no one in the Demon Land can face you?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°All Demon Kings and tribe leaders avable went against the Evil Disciple, but we could not beat him.¡± ¡­I knew that five of them would be too much for me. ¡°I cannot do it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I closed my eyes. The only thing left for me to do was to ask the God of Nature for salvation. The answer came back. ¡®Sorry.¡¯ The divine voice told me to give up. #4 Other Circumstances: Mirua¡¯s Circumstance I started to think about how I could reap the most profit. ¡°¡­I could not contact you for these reasons.¡± I would reveal the confirmed information. I knew trying to deceive her highness was useless, and she and the Instructor could not be lied to. How would her highness react? ¡°Hmm¡­good work.¡± She lowered her teacup and nodded. There seemed to be no questions. ¡°It was nothing.¡± It was a relief. Usually, there would have been questions. However, she seemed excited that the Instructor hade from the Demon Lands. ¡°The problem is the Evil Disciple¡­¡± Her highness closed her eyes and started to mumble. ¡°No, not this¡­umm¡­not that¡­¡± As she would not forgive those threatening the Instructor, she would be thinking of how to remove the Evil Disciple. I learned that while there had been many attempts to remove the Instructor from Howling, his students were immensely strong. There had been a legendary hero from his first batch, and the second batch had established an organization of their own. While Howling was wary of this and wanted to remove the Instructor, they and her highness had removed all threats. It seemed that the Evil Disciple was no exception. ¡°The Metal Bat and the Demon Kings were ineffective.¡± I mentioned this again, just in case. ¡°Also¡­I heard he had been the Instructor¡¯s student.¡± I added in something I had not said before. ¡°Troubles are adding up.¡± Her highness knew very well how the Instructor¡¯s students thought and acted. ¡°A Demon King who will do anything for his own good¡­¡± She had already formed an opinion, and I could not help but agree. ¡°I will help out the temple, as heroes, saints, and holy knights will have to be utilized.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If the opponent is Ast¡¯s student, he will act unexpectedly. That means we will have to act in apletely different way.¡± In the past, Demon Kings were destroyed until they destroyed themselves. They had been irrational monsters, but this Demon King had a reason, and was looking for a way to be stronger. ¡°So, Rea.¡± ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± ¡°We will kill the Evil Disciple first.¡± ¡°Right.¡± My heart beat faster as everything was going ording to n. ¡°Mirua.¡± ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to ask you this so soon, but chase Ast. Don¡¯t surprise him until we kill the Evil Disciple.¡± I had seeded. I could fulfill all conditions made by the Instructor. I had described the Evil Disciple as troubling as possible, so her highness would act. ¡°But, your paycheck for this month will be quite nice.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± I bowed. Things were going perfectly. She seemed unsuspecting, and I could receive recipes from the Instructor and a paycheck from her highness. Also¡­I had a chance to earn a bonus. Chapter 231

Chapter 231

Raws for Evade the Hero # 231 26. Why me? (6) I got a great detector shuttle, so I started running. I had to prepare for the possible betrayal of Mira. Drake, who was riding, grazed. Mira knows I can¡¯t control Drake, but due to the nature of the empress, it would be hard to ignore. And the escape route is a mountain road. As I was old, I chose an ordinary mountain path route because I could only think of using a general road. I think the imperial family would look for general, mountain, sky, and underground roads. And most importantly, ¡°You should sleep at a ce having a roof.¡± As soon as I found the vige, I rented an inn. ¡°Can I do this?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± If you focus on yourself, even X-Tem X-Rer will look blurry. If perfect hiding is impossible, camouge is better than hiding. A vige full of people is more suitable for hiding than a mountain full of trees. ¡°Isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡± ¡°It¡¯s safe unless the Imperial Girl built this vige.¡± I saw the gaze when I first entered the vige. They were afraid of us. It¡¯s not unreasonable. The evil god has sent his own apostles for the world! Such rumors were spreading throughout the continent. It is a situation in which kingdoms that have been hidden but have already been destroyed have been created, and the temple¡¯s personnel are busy gathering. No matter how much themon people have not learned, there is no way that they will not notice. And this was the first vige that came in after leaving the Ma continent, that is, it was close to the Ma continent. Unless there were no survivors of the Rube City Union, they would have gone through this town. In other words, they remain because they cannot abandon the vige but are trembling with fear and wary of outsiders. Perhaps they would not have epted us if they had not sold us the name of the warrior of nature. There were rumors about evil gods that it was contagious to be stained with evil! However, the brave man has made unexpected objections. ¡°What if this vige was built by an empress?¡± ¡°Huh¡­ ¡­ ?¡± It¡¯s ridiculous. The expression on the vigers¡¯ faces when they first saw us was something that couldn¡¯t be made out of smoke. From being wary of us with eyes full of fear to changing their attitude as soon as they announce that they are warriors cannot be all acting. So, no need to worry! ¡°Is this the end?¡± I couldn¡¯t tell the warrior. I thought it was ridiculous, but I thought that the princess might be able to do that. ¡°Honestly, isn¡¯t a mountain with a lot of space easier to escape?¡± ¡°Well¡­ ¡­ .¡± If it is not a house that has built an escape route, it is over as soon as it is surrounded. The only ce to escape is a window. And he would have been prepared to catch me underneath. But, ¡°Why are you so worried about me?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°If I get caught, you are free¡± I red at the warrior who was silent for a moment. What did you mean by saying this? Maybe this guy¡­ ¡­. ¡°I¡¯m already in contact with the Empress¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°Oh no!¡± I heard somewhere that a strong negative is a positive¡­ Where was it? The Organization? Imperial family? Ma continent? ¡°Argh.¡± ¡°Huh!¡± ¡°Hmmm!¡± Once suspected, Aar was ced next to the hero. ¡°If you do something suspicious¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°yes!¡± If it had been a mountain, I would have knocked it down and interrogated it, but this is a vige inn. It is also a very small-town inn. It is difficult to expect soundproof facilities at vige inns that are protected by wooden fences without stone walls. There is a way to cover the mouth and hit, but if you cause a fuss for no reason, the vigers wille running, so I decided to just keep an eye on it with a metal pad. ¡°Daddy, it¡¯s soft!¡± A separate room with the hero. I see her rolling around in bed when I enter the room where my daughter and I will be staying. ¡°Good~¡± It would be nice if the bed in the vige inn was good, but I slept on Drake¡¯s back for a few days or on a nket in the mountains. Of course, even the nkets were stolen by the warriors. ¡°Yes, that would be great,¡± So, I decided to be content with just having a bed in such a vige inn. ¡°Where are you going now?¡± My daughter, her pink hair tossing around on the bed, said, putting her head on myp. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to go around and decide, won¡¯t I?¡± ¡°I wish I could go back to the of the devil as soon as possible.¡±¡­.¡± My daughter pursed her lips and grumbled as she looked into my eyes. ¡°There were still a lot of projects going on¡­¡­ I couldn¡¯t even pick up a ce to live thereter.¡­.¡± I gently patted my grumbling daughter on the head. ¡°lol¡­ ¡­ .¡± My heart is healed when I see my daughter smiling as if she is in a good mood. ¡°Well, I will try to get back quickly.¡± ¡°yes!¡± As I stroked her hair which was slightly longer than usual, both I and my daughter find peace of mind. Yes, I will have to exert a little more strength on my daughter. ¡°From now on, I will exin the n. By the way, you have no right to refuse.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°All right.¡± Looking at the two guys who were looking at me with the eyes of a master monk, I informed them about my future ns. ¡°Our n is¡­ ¡­ .¡± The best way to escape while saving your job! ¡°Join an evil organization.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°An organization of evil.¡± #5 Their situation: The situation of a cat ¡°ohh my!¡± You can see a benefactor stretching her arms out. Thanks to this, the bulging chest stood out even more. The benefactor, who was a child when we first met, was also bing ady under the influence of time. ¡°Mom!¡± ¡°Okay, did you sleep well too, khokho?¡± ¡°yes!¡± The way he smiled and stroked the lizard was the same as before, ¡°Well, you should sleep well. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be busy now.¡± The way he changed his expression and smiled coldly was never the same as before. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! If you bother your grandfather and mom, I¡¯ll get rid of them all!¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll trust only Khokho!¡± ¡°Yes! trust me only!¡± I could understand the story between parents and children. It¡¯s the way children appeal to their parents to trust them. But if the child is a dragon, the story will be different. I can really get rid of it all. I have the power to burn down a decent vige. A dragon that can shoot breath is like that, no matter how young it is. The moment I shook my body slightly at the separation, my eyes met with my benefactor. ¡°Huh? Did Missha sleep well, too?¡± It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been told about my identity, but I¡¯ve been living with the same behavior as before. When I was asked why my benefactor treated me the same way when I found out that my identity was revealed, the benefactor answered like this. ¡®Because Dad wants it.¡¯ She was obviously smiling, but she was afraid. My benefactor hugged me as I watched her with a slight shiver. The benefactor in her arms stroked me and whispered in my ear. ¡®Because what Dad wants is what I want. So, Missha will do the same. I¡¯ll trust you.¡¯ That whisper made me think a lot. And I decided to follow the benefactor¡¯s words. I was supposed to be dead anyway. I decided to live for my benefactor, who had nowhere to go. If she wants¡­ I thought it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to live to maintain the form of family she wanted. ¡°Did you sleep well, Missha?¡± Meow! So, I imitated an ordinary cat, and she treated me like an ordinary cat. ¡°Well, Misha might have something to do, too. The benefactor sat the lizard on herp and whispered softly, stroking his back. ¡°In any case, I have to fight against the apostle of evil.¡± There was no intent to kill in the voice of the benefactor. But I was more afraid of it. A god of evil is an object of fear. Not only humans but also some of the other ethnic groups were even afraid to say their names out loud. And the apostle of the evil god who inherited the power was treated simrly to the evil god. But the benefactor was different. He is saying that he might fight the evil spirits for granted as if he had to get rid of the stones on the side of the road. It¡¯s as if we¡¯re going to win easily. ¡°I must make sure I¡¯m done and go home. Because of more troublesome things, my dad and I¡­ I don¡¯t want my house to be ruined.¡± The lizard nodded quietly as she was grinding her teeth. Anger in both eyes. That¡¯s what she would say I won¡¯t experience losing my home to the Ma people who chased me in the past! I¡¯ll get rid of the evil spirit¡¯s apostles and go back to the Ma Continent and build a new house this time! ¡°But since I came to the human continent, I wish I could save my stepmother¡­¡­. ¡±The benefactor¡¯s eyes widened beautifully. It was a bright smile as if the quiet anger a moment ago had been a lie. ¡°Oh, Mom! I¡¯ll do my best too!¡± The lizard spoke in a slightly trembling voice. ¡°Mom, you can just trust Khokho!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Since then, it has been my usual routine. ¡°Dad, where are you going today?¡± The benefactor asked the man a question with a look of ignorance. ¡°I guess I have to move to the mountain again from today.¡± The man replied to his benefactor with a clueless look. To be sure, that man was a very frightening man. When I think about what he has done, I can¡¯t believe it. If there is a force chasing after them, won¡¯t humans go over to the Ma continent, the continent of the Ma people, or won¡¯t they kill the man closest to the Ma king and be the Ma king himself? He developed the Ma Continent by continuously proceeding with ridiculous policies. And I knew the process of those things going on right next to me. This man who practiced nonsensical things and nonsensical actions is not the type to trust others. Even now, you can tell just by looking at those two people who are being dragged like ves. Even though he seemed to have already given up on this life, he had the silver girl right next to him and was ready to beat her up at any time. It was the same in the Ma Continent. They attacked those who opposed the sudden development. They were thoroughly trampled on so that they would never think of getting up again and they would be traumatized by the work themselves. But was he also a human being? He was so unchanging about his daughter, his benefactor. The benefactor is not a child. No matter how long the Ma people live, half of the benefactors are human beings. The 12-year-old girl I first met is now a 16-year-olddy. She acts like a pure girl who knows nothing when dealing with a man, but she is already old enough to know how everything goes. The man didn¡¯t notice it. No matter how powerful you are! Even if you¡¯re in charge of a funny department called Chicken Club! The benefactor was so clever that he could carry out his policies without any opposition on a scale that he was never inferior to a human continent, neither a small town nor a small kingdom. Making chicken was not simply the policy of the chicken club. In order to satisfy the various tribes of the Ma Continent, he identified their tendencies, improved tides ordingly, and created sauces. In addition, consider the arrangement of each chicken restaurant. It has been distributed so that too many chicken restaurants do not flock within a certain distance, preventing excessivepetition in advance. Is that all? It can be described as a great thing, or achievement, to promote simple cooking as a culture and eliminate resistance to the Ma people. Even the Jomas, who don¡¯t eat birds because they look simr to themselves, made them eat chicken. I can¡¯t believe that men still think of the benefactors who have done such tremendous things as children. Is this what parents think? ¡°Dad~¡± Or is the acting ability of the benefactor, who has an innocent smile that says he doesn¡¯t know anything, too good? I don¡¯t know. I thought it would be nice to tell a man, but anyway, what I had to protect was a benefactor, not a man. If so, ¡°Missha!¡± For the benefactor with a bright smile, Meow~ I¡¯ll just have to follow what she wants me to do as she pleases. Chapter 232 Raws for Evade the Hero # 232 26. Why me? (7) The devil is here! The god of evil is resurrecting! The world may end! He has appeared many times before, but the world has never fallen. However, most people say that the world will perish when the devil appears. Because it is a revtion from God. Even in previous lives, where there was no evidence of the existence of God, there were many stories of one end or another. Myths, prophecies of prophets, thest days of a civilization recorded, and so on. Although there is no evidence, people believed in such an apocalypse. Even when the gate opened, the streets were full of voices saying that God¡¯s judgment had finally arrived and that it was not toote to believe in God. Besides, this is a fantasy world. It is a town where the gods act as soldiers of interest because they want to let them know their existence. A neighborhood where they do their best to let people know that they exist, and if they impersonate themselves, they even judge themselves! In such a town, if God says, ¡°The world might end!¡±, ordinary people cannot help but shudder in fear. Yes. That¡¯s normal people. ¡°Well, well, you¡¯vee to see me. Give us a little reward, and we¡¯ll¡­¡­.¡± And the extraordinary, extra-viin fellow, who seemed to be level 1 when he said level 10, was waving at us. It looks like you make a circle by putting your thumb and forefinger together and shaking it! In other words, it was a sign to give money. To put it roughly at the level, it is a mob of viins at level one. Far from being a warrior, he was a fellow who would be dealt with only by the local guards. ¡°You came to the right ce.¡± ¡°yes. Is it the cheapest around here? Who will help me escape with only 10 silver?¡± When I sighed with relief, he was more likely to show off his greatness. ¡°Hold it,¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°uh?¡± In a moment that I couldn¡¯t even recognize, the 1st level viin who had been mmed on the floor by the hero was about to scream in pain. ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°Eup -eup!¡± But what we have to do now is secretly kidnap the viins. It is difficult to hear a scream about something that is secretive. ¡°Isn¡¯t it too extravagant to say that it hurts that much?¡± ¡± Eup! Ugh!¡± At the hero¡¯s insipid voice, the viin screamed desperately. Of course, his mouth was sealed by the magic of the warrior, so he only heard the sound of ¡°eup-eup.¡± Now, don¡¯t make a big deal out of it, and shut up.¡± I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the right thing to say to the man who stuck his face on the floor that he could just magically suppress, but¡­¡­. ¡°Huh? Come on, be quiet. huh? Are you still rebelling? Even like this? Even like this?¡± Rather than a warrior, he shows the appearance of a great viin, but he just lets it go. It seems that anger is building up over the arrest, but I¡¯d be happy if you let me go like that. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen if it explodes at me. So, I¡¯d be happy to release him to such a mob. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go before the guardse.¡± The eyes of a 1st-level viin turned upside down by all kinds of bullying. The hero, carrying the viin who couldn¡¯t be bothered more, leaves and goes to the warehouse prepared in advance. ¡°Eup-up-up!¡± ¡°Ugh!¡± ¡± Eup!¡± Already 15 people were left with their hands and feet tied and their mouths tied. ¡°Is it full already?¡± It was a warehouse obtained by selling the hero, but there seems to be no space for about five adult men. ¡°Can¡¯t you just crumple it in?¡± At the words of the hero, I looked at the warehouse again. If it was crumpled, it seemed like it could hold about 10 people. ¡°Hmm¡­ ¡­. I think it will be a nuisance when I clean it upter.¡± I¡¯m doing things quickly, but I¡¯m doing it while watching the general citizens. It took 3 days to secretly kidnap 15 people. Those who use some magical power may not know, but these small brims are bound to have limitations in physiological phenomena. It¡¯s already starting to smell like filth, but if you add more people here, what a terrible smell it will be! Who wants to clean up after that? In response to my answer, the warrior gave me a neat solution. ¡°You can just leave it alone.¡± uh¡­ is it? It¡¯s convenient to leave something alone, but I borrowed it under this guy¡¯s name. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be troublesome to find a bunch of kidnapped men in a warehouse rented in the name of the Church of Nature?¡± ¡°What does that have to do with us? The church will take care of it.¡± Wow¡­ this coolness. Who would think of this guy as a hero? They¡¯re more like viins than those who are shaking. ¨Cfor he has learned from his master, the ultimate viin. -Should I say that I learned well? Even though he was a hero of the Church of Nature, he did not care about the Church of Nature at all. What kind of god is nature¡¯s god to choose such a man as a warrior? If you had listened to your master, the God of Nature would have been very upset. ¨C He chose such a warrior as his apostle, but he feels unfair. ¡°Would you like to go again?¡± Look!! It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been kidnapping people, and I¡¯m the one who¡¯s aiming for the next target. ¡°yes.¡± However, I did not refuse because it was very important to the n I was implementing. ¡°How long are you going to continue?¡± In the middle of the street, the warrior asked as if there was no one. Well, there¡¯s really no one. ¡°Until the main body bites the bait.¡± That¡¯s why I answered without hesitation. ¡°Is that so.¡± It wasn¡¯t a small town. It is not enough to be called a big city, but it is in the middle of a fairlyrge city. But there are no people on the street. Sometimes I could feel the eyes looking at us from the windows, but I didn¡¯t see anyone passing by on the street. ¡°Is this the way it will be until the apostle of the evil spirit dies?¡± It was a word uttered by a brave man looking at the quiet street. ¡°right.¡± It is a world where there are people who believe in many gods, but there are no people who do not believe in gods. In such a world, when all the gods mention the end of the world, ordinary people cannot help but tremble in fear. Because all they can do is tremble in fear inside their homes and ask God for mercy. In this situation, people walking around the streets are people who need things urgently and run around. or, ¡°Wait, let me check¡­ ¡­ .¡± There were only fifteen soldiers from far away. ¡°Come on,¡± Before the soldier finished speaking, the hero threw an object to prove his identity. ¡°Now this¡­nothing¡­ ¡­ . uh?¡± The soldier, who was irritated by his poor attitude, shut his mouth when he saw the object thrown by the hero. ¡°What, hero?¡± ¡°yes.¡± An identity que proving a hero recognized by the Church of Nature. Looking at the card and seeing the soldier with his mouth wide open, the hero frowned. ¡°What more do you need?¡± ¡°Oh no!¡± The soldiers who quickly handed over their ID cards saluted and started to leave. ¡°As expected, it¡¯sfortable.¡± After all, he was a walking high pass, like a warrior. ¡°Is that so?¡± Well, the expression of the brave guy who put his ID was full of dissatisfaction, ¡°Or should I rece it with Heel?¡± It wasn¡¯t that there was no one to rece him. ¡°no! way¡± He was a warrior who smiled quickly as if he had frowned. For your information, my detector shuttle, who could rece this guy, was lying on the bed and sleeping. Of course, it¡¯s not just sleeping. He was beaten by a soppata and passed out. ¡°As far as I know, I¡¯ve heard that Heel is also quite strong inbat¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°Still, I can¡¯tpare to the hero who defeated the dragon!¡± Hurry up and follow the hero who wants to kidnap people. There is one soppata and two people to manage. Even if there are no people around, it is good to move the minimum number of people to kidnap. In the end, the other one who is afraid of escaping is¡­ It is necessary to put them to sleep periodically. ¡°Let¡¯s see, was the destination this time in that alley?¡± You enter an alley where the security situation looks bad no matter who sees it. Commonly known as backstreets, of which there are at least one or two in any fairlyrge city. It was a space inhabited by various viins, including all kinds of crooks and criminals, starting with the neighborhood bullies. ¡°What is going on?¡± As soon as I went inside a little bit, a man who was rted to painters such as Van Gogh and Gauguin appeared. For reference, the association was Impressionism. ¡°That, that¡­ ¡­ .¡± Seeing that, the hero started to tremble. ¡°I-over there¡­ with my father¡­ ¡­ .¡± The trembling figure is truly a gentle deer itself. Who would think that this guy is a warrior who even defeated a dragon? ¡°Oh, is that?¡± Despite the hero¡¯s selfish pronunciation, the impressionist painter, no, the man with an impressionist¡¯s face showed an expression of understanding. ¡°Are you going to stand out?¡± ¡°Yes Yes!¡± Perhaps because he understood what he was saying, the warrior¡¯s expression brightened. It was acting, of course. ¡°Hmm¡­ ¡­ . There have been fewer peopleing these days¡­ Is there a reason why you want to run awayte?¡± The man seemed to understand what we were trying to say. ¡°My father said he couldn¡¯t leave his hometown and go¡­ It took time to convince them.¡± ¡°Well, there are cases like that.¡± The man looked at me with a pathetic expression. Well, I can understand that look. This is a city in a kingdom adjacent to the Rube City Alliance. It is a city established to deal with the demons. It is far inferior to the Empire, butpared to other kingdoms, it is a city alliance of Rube that has almost no enemies. The forces of the evil spirits destroyed even the city union of Rube in an instant. Where will the army aim next? This kingdom right next to it, or this city, is a ce where you don¡¯t know when the evil god¡¯s army will invade. -Isn¡¯t that because it has an owner? ¨C Uh-huh! This is the right ce formon sense. Even if I can¡¯t say that I came over to the Ma Continent because I was the target, there¡¯s an army of evil spirits right next to me! No matter how much our ancestors lived in, there is no one who wants to run away. However, for the lord, territorial people are property that cannot be handed over carelessly. Yes. It may be a small town that is easy to run away from, but a city with a wall does not let its preciousbor force run away. After closing the gates and making it impossible for people to leave, the lord said, ¡®Don¡¯t worry, everyone. The evil spirits will be defeated by good warriors!¡¯ Of course, when the forces of the evil spiritse, the lord can run away alone. ¨C What¡¯s the owner¡¯s? -Because mine is precious. Sometimes there are perverts who fight to the death iming it¡¯s the honor of a nobleman, so let¡¯s just bet on the warrior¡¯s hand. ¡°Recently, the surveince has be more severe, so the cost has gone up. Is that okay?¡± Surveince sucks. After all, it¡¯s about letting people out through a secret underground passage. Even if the number of guards increases, there¡¯s no way the risk will increase. Unless, of course, it is a ce of human trafficking, either by a scammer or by a secret passageway. ¡°of course. It¡¯s small, but¡­ ¡­ .¡± But neither of us has any intention of paying for it anyway. What does it matter how much money you won¡¯t pay anyway! ¡°Well, you have a good sense,¡± The man smiles after receiving a silver coin poking him. ¡°I will introduce you to some particrly good guys.¡± The man with a big smile called a person from the alley he came out of and gave it to us. After following him through theplicated alleys, I arrived at the alley most suitable formitting a crime. ¡°Wait for a little.¡± The man yawned and went back the way he came. And maybe 10 minutes passed. ¡°2 people?¡± A level 1 viin with scars on his face, no matter who sees it, approached us. ¡°Another dud¡­ ¡­ .¡± A sighes out of my mouth. At my sigh, the warrior seized the mob and knocked him to the floor. The warrior, who had been taking out his anger with rubbish mobs to relieve his stress, ended it with a single blow. That¡¯s what I mean! ¡°You asked this time!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± To my words, the hero replied with a bright smile. ¡°I thought the kids were disappearing from our district these days¡­ After all, it wasn¡¯t a runaway.¡± ¡°There should be more numbers.¡± ¡°As expected. There are some guys in this city who don¡¯t realize what it means to touch us.¡± ¡°To touch our darkness, which not even the lord can touch¡­ ¡­ . What kind of kids are they?¡± I look at the four men and women whoe out one by one. Seeing him carrying dozens of subordinates behind him, he must be at least a mid-boss! ¡°You seem quite confident in your skills, but!¡± ¡°As long as our Darkness Four Heavenly Kings appeared, it¡¯s impossible!¡± ¡°Regret, regret that you went against us!¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s only death anyway!¡± Each of them began to spit out the lines of third-rate viins with shriveled limbs. But what do I do? ¡°Who, who are you?¡± It¡¯s all game over if you get caught by the hero who defeated the four kings of the demons as well as the 20,000-year-old dragon. ¡°Who are we?¡± A bloody street. Seeing the four Heavenly Kings staring at him with astonished faces, the hero smiled like a viin. ¡°Former member of Howling¡­ It is a viin.¡± Hey, are you a warrior? Chapter 233 Evade the Hero and Flee! 233. 26. Why me? (8) #6 Their circumstances: The circumstances of a viin boss ¡°This is the current situation.¡± With trembling hands, he turned over a thick stack of papers. Of course, no matter how thick the paper is, it¡¯s just paper, and there¡¯s no reason for a guy who knows how to use magic to tremble just because he¡¯s holding paper. ¡°Hmm¡­ ¡­ .¡± The reason he¡¯s shaking is that, ¡°Have you still not found the reason?¡± ¡°sorry!¡± Because mistakes keep happening. ¡°What number is it now?¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s the tenth.¡± ¡°If you add doubts, it increases even more.¡± The contents shown in the first chapter of the pile of documents were reports of recent disappearances. ¡°There is a possibility of your escape.¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± The contents of the document were full ofplex and technical terms, but they were easily summarized. In other words, ¡°You are ipetent.¡± ¡°sorry!¡± I looked down at the subordinate who was lying on his stomach. It¡¯s pathetic. It is said that the disappeared ones ounted for only the number of heads, but they are still members of our organization. I¡¯m not worried about them, but it¡¯s a sign that something is going on, but you don¡¯t know anything? ¡°Do you think you can sneak out of this city right now?¡± ¡°no.¡± The city¡¯s gates have never been opened in thest month, except once when a man called the warrior of the Church of Nature came in. If the caravan came in to transport supplies, there¡¯s a chance they might have escaped. ¡°Do you think there is a way to escape without using our Darkness secret passage?¡± ¡°There is not.¡± One or two people might not know, but there is certainly a reason why more than 10 people disappeared in a short period of time. ¡°I¡¯ve seen a man called a hero¡­¡­.¡± He is also considered a Dragon yer and the strongest warrior. Even Master, who was born for the incarnation of evil, the viin, told me not to associate with the warriors. A brave man appeared, even the master, who was a specimen of the viin, and he tried to move on with suchcency! ¡°Put this guy in the dungeon!¡± ¡°Boss, boss!¡± I¡¯ve started begging for help, but I can¡¯t let it go. It¡¯s a situation where four or five people go missing every day, and the guy who is the in-charge of the organization¡¯s information doesn¡¯t know anything. ¡°It¡¯s cheap even if you die.¡± It¡¯s not about surveince of the whole kingdom, it¡¯s about surveince of a city, but you can¡¯t even do that. ¡°If the head of the intelligence department had been there, none of this would have happened.¡± It was a very unfortunate situation for the head of the intelligence department in the capital to gather information rted to the demon king. But it can¡¯t be helped. After the appearance of the devil, the kingdom, which pursued a policy of seclusion, began to exterminate evil organizations in order to stabilize the country. Thanks to this, I moved to this city, which was the most powerful city in the capital, and had no choice but to leave the head of the intelligence department to obtain information on the capital. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the difference between the manager and the deputy director to be this big.¡± It was too wasteful to kill him, so it seemed like he should be transferred to another department. ¡°Please, this guy must be an idiot¡­ ¡­ .¡± We need to elect a new intelligence director, but the problem is that it doesn¡¯t seem to be any different from this guy. ¡°That guy must be him.¡± It is clear that the head of the intelligence department must have split his subordinates in order to survive. And the result would be this. ¡°It¡¯s disastrous.¡± I thought I would be able to livefortably if I became the boss of the organization, but it feels like I am working more than when I was in the middle position. ¡°boss!¡± At that time, one of his subordinates ran hard. ¡°What is going on?¡± The running man is the head of the guard in charge of the organization¡¯s defense. He was a fairly capable man who could use a sword. ¡°The enemy has invaded!¡± The moment I heard the words of my subordinate, I quicklypleted my thoughts. ording to the head of the intelligence department, I heard that the royal family has sent a mission to the lords to carry out internal extermination. That¡¯s why I decided not to fight hard while bribing the lord. ¡°Darn it, lord¡± No matter how much I ate, I finally pulled out my sword! ¡°That¡¯s not it!¡± ¡°yes?¡± Damn it! It¡¯s the worst. If it¡¯s not the lord, there¡¯s only one person who can attack our organization right now. ¡°Is he a brave boy?¡± Damn it! When I heard that the warrior had arrived, I was told not to work outside! What kind of idiot touched the hero? ¡°no way!¡± However, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of daze at the words of the defense leader. ¡°Huh?¡± The evil organizations in this city have all been sorted out. The city is in a state of istion, so there is no chance for other organizations toe in from outside. So, the only ce that can attack us is the lord who is under pressure from the royal family and the warrior of the Church of Nature. But isn¡¯t it both? ¡°no way¡­ Are you saying that even the demon king invaded?¡± Then this is not the time. You have to get ready to jump. There is no reason to fight against the devil, who can be said to be the apostle of evil spirits! ¡°no!¡± However, the defense chief repeated the same words. ¡°Who is he, then?¡± Not the lord, nor the hero, nor the devil! What kind of man can break into our organization? ¡°I am a former member of Howling!¡± ¡°huh¡± What kind of bullshit is this again? Howling, the organization of evil. It is always mentioned when considering the most powerful organization of evil in the empire. To evil organizations like us, Howling is royalty. Even at the end of Howling, it was such a great ce that other organizations were treated as minimal encouragement. And then , ¡°It¡¯s ruined there,¡± It was also the 10th anniversary of its copse soon. ¡°That¡¯s why I changed jobs!¡± ¡°No, not another organization?¡± Originally, the circumstances of this floor are all simr. Especially from Howling, everything in the past is there. Either they were abandoned by their parents and became orphans, or their parents sold them into very when life became difficult. Or their parents died in the Great War, and they were caughtmitting crimes to survive. There are no exceptions, but most of them go into howling because of such circumstances ande out as viins. I was like that, too. It¡¯s because I created an organization called Darkness with my own hands after running away from the organization as a former Howling. ¡°I am saying that I am a former member of Howling.¡± ¡°Damn it! What kind of crazy man are you?¡± That¡¯s why I am well aware of the characteristics of Howling. Since childhood, I swears allegiance to the organization in a form close to brainwashing. It is unavoidable. I have no choice but to swear allegiance to those who are dying of starvation and provide them with warm food and a bed! Having been so loyal and educated to the organization since childhood, howling members can do nothing but join other organizations after retirement. Since childhood, I have lived to be a cog in an organization, so there is no other option. In other words, 10 years after Howling¡¯s fall, there could have been no one who survived an external mission who had entered another organization, but there was no one who survived in Howling¡¯s name so far. ¡°Who is the boss here!¡± But I hear a voice looking for me from far away. ¡°I¡¯m going crazy.¡± In other words, this ridiculous situation is a reality. ¡°Where are the four heavenly kings?¡± Darkness is the strongest four. Although hecks a lot, he needs to figure out their skills with the Four Heavenly Kings, who are talented enough to be a leader from Howling. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll lose, but there are situations. ¡°I have already betrayed you! Those who guide the way in the vanguard of the enemy are the Four Heavenly Kings!¡± ¡°what?¡± Even if their skills weren¡¯t satisfactory, they were trustworthy in terms of loyalty. What kind of guy was he to conciliate the Four Heavenly Kings? ¡°Guys who don¡¯t even know grace!¡± Is this why the Master said that disciples are not to be raised? You¡¯re all dying, and you¡¯re betraying me when I¡¯ve raised them to be useful? ¡°Block off all roads! I will go ahead and wipe out the enemies!¡± ¡°Okay, boss!¡± I felt a bit uneasy, but it was time to show my dignity as the boss of an organization. Annoying but¡­ I have no choice but to use force directly to punish the enemy and even kill the remaining Four Heavenly Kings! ¡°Who is the boss here!¡± Bang! I looked at the blondeing in with the door smashed in. Appears to be in her early to mid-20s. A pure white sword, the exact opposite of my pitch-ck sword. ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± The moment I saw it, I made an estimate. You can win. The enemy is still a child. Of course, sometimes there are people who are talented enough to transcend their age. For example, students from the Empire of Yugovia. It¡¯s a monster¡¯s den that spits out to the Sod Master before his 20s. As expected, the students of the empire destroyed even Howling. If you take such monsters as a standard, you can¡¯t help but say that age is just a number. But I was also a very talented person. When he was a Howling senior trainee, he never fell behind in the top 5 in the rankings, and even after bing an official member of the Howling, he was known as one of the leading divinities within Howling. In his early 20s, he became a magic swordsman with magical skills that were not enough to be called a great mage and swordsmanship that would not be pushed back at all evenpared to knights. The only enemy who could stand in my way was my colleagues who served my master like him. In other words, no matter how good the enemy was, I couldn¡¯t see his talent surpassing mine. ¡°Come on, kid.¡± So, I was full of confidence. What is the most important thing when people of simr talentpete against each other? Of course, it¡¯s an experience. The skill to understand the opponent¡¯s psychological warfare and the judgment to deal with embarrassing situations. Even if your skills arecking, you can win if you have the upper hand in a number fight, needless to say, if your skills are simr. ¡°Really?¡± He smiled as he faced the little fellow who smiled confidently. But¡­ something¡¯s wrong. What is it? I¡¯ve never seen him before. ¡°Where have we met before?¡± It¡¯s a very familiarugh. ¡°No way.¡± That¡¯s right. It¡¯s definitely the first time we¡¯ve seen each other. But why am I so used to it? That face, that expression, and that pure white sword. ¡°The instructor said it.¡± ¡°uh?¡± Golden hair, blue eyes. A pure white sword? I¡¯ve heard this before. Where did I hear that? Where did I hear it? I¡¯ve heard this before. Where did I hear that? Where did I hear it? Yes, Master said something like that. But there was no one like him around me. ¡°Because there¡¯s something up your sleeve!¡± ¡°Oh my god!¡± At that moment, the golden sword steel emanating from the sword cut through the air. And the moment I saw that sword river, I was able to realize. ¡°You¡¯re a warrior, aren¡¯t you?¡± When a swordsman realizes magical powers, he realizes swordsmanship, and furthermore, when he bes a sword master, he can use swordsmanship. And the colors are so different. Even if they are the same brothers, even if they have the same teacher, apletely different color of sword or sword wille out. But there is one exception, the warrior. The golden sword, the sword, is the proof of the warrior chosen by the gods! ¡°Damn the cheater!¡± I twisted the space to escape from the inspection, and shot dozens of fireballs and pulled out a sword. ¡°What a scam!¡± ¡°A guy called the Hero deceived us by saying he was from Howling!¡± It was a great deception tactic. I couldn¡¯t figure out the enemy until I used the word ¡°howling¡± to say that I was from Howling. Perhaps the same was true of the members of the organization. Hearing that the Church of Nature¡¯s hero had arrived, I showed the portrait of the hero to all members of the organization. ¡°I am just a former member of Howling!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you ashamed of the god of nature?¡± Shamelessly impersonating Howling, it was hardly something a hero would do. ¡°God of nature, what did he do to me?¡± ¡°yes?¡± However, the answer that came back made my mind go nk for a moment. Thanks to this, half of the 20 magic spells I was preparing were canceled and almost hit by the censorship. ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t it?¡± But more important than that was the identity of the enemy. A warrior called the apostle of God wouldn¡¯t say such a thing. ¡°Well, then, try the God of Nature!¡± It might be an enemy trick, so I brought it up and prepared magic. ¡°God of nature dog bird X!¡± ¡°what?¡± However, he failed toplete the magic again with an immediate answer. ¡°Oh my god!¡± Thanks to that, I received the sword steel and suffered a fairly serious internal injury. ¡°Coughing¡­ ¡­ . What the hell are you guys up to!¡± Even if it was the same sword, the size of the power waspletely different. blood dripping from the mouth. The victory has already turned. it¡¯s my defeat But¡­ I wanted to ask about this. ¡°What the hell are you!¡± It certainly looks like a natural God¡¯s warrior, but it uses golden steel! How dare you speak ill of the God of Nature! What the hell is this guy? ¡°The identity of this guy is¡­ My disciple¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°uh?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but freeze the moment I heard a familiar voice. What is this? huh? What the hell? He must have aged a lot, but he had an unforgettable. And a man with an unforgettable, no, unforgettable face said: ¡°It¡¯s your priest.¡± ¡°ah¡­ ¡­ .¡± The moment I heard that I realized. Okay. I don¡¯t know what. ¡°I¡¯m screwed,¡± Chapter 234 Evade the Hero and Flee! 234. 27. In a world of viins where maniption of power is rampant, a clumsy person cannot survive (1) I got an unexpected benefit. ¡°Save, save me!¡± I poked it because I thought it was simr, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be true. ¡°It doesn¡¯t kill.¡± ¡°Please kill me neatly!¡± The way he crawled on the floor and talked seemed so disastrous. What the hell did you do? Whatever I did, I did my best to teach you. If my student dies somewhere, I think his dream will be fierce. You mean you hit it properly! That¡¯s right! He was one of the second students of mine who did not get to meet the iron beater but instead tasted the wooden beater. -Is that all? -I hit it to the point where it¡¯s hard to say its ¡®only¡¯ level. In terms of the number of hits, he is probably the most beaten of all the students. I was a novice instructor when I was teaching that guy because all of the guys graduated in one year. Instead, unlike the first generation, there was a wooden paste from this generation. What did you do when I wasn¡¯t there? It¡¯s no big deal; it¡¯s just that the novice instructor trained him with too much enthusiasm. I just overused the best falcon called wooden beater. I was so excited back then. No matter how hard I tried, I didn¡¯t listen to it, but after the wooden beater was formed, I listened to it if I hit the rod of love a little bit. ¡°Please, please, Beater-man!¡± I looked at my old student, who was trembling. Still, I think I fought equally as my disciple, but I think it was too much for a warrior who is a lump of cheat on a subject that I never had in my previous life. By the way, wasn¡¯t cheating a prerogative of reincarnated people? Why aren¡¯t you giving it to me? ¡°You look very sick.¡± Tears covered my eyes when I see my disciple with dead blood flowing around his mouth. He was brought up hard not to get hit anywhere. ¨C The person who hit was raised like that, so there¡¯s nothing we can do. Is it a spear and a shield¡­¡­. The strongest spear and the strongest shield fought, and the strongest spear won! We can conclude that the first punch is the best! I don¡¯t think so. Well, if not, never mind. That¡¯s not what¡¯s important. ¡°Oh, it doesn¡¯t hurt! It doesn¡¯t hurt at all! Hey, this is just tomato sauce!¡± ¡°Where is there such a dark red tomato sauce?¡± ¡°It¡¯s, it¡¯s new!¡± What an appetizing sauce. I need to get rid of it right away. ¡°Stop! Please! Beat, Beater-man! Please, mercy¡­. ¡°uh? uh!¡± Space is limited. As soon as he saw the wall that blocked him, he began to beg me for help, ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t?¡± He uttered the words with nk eyes, and this time he began tough like crazy. ¡°Ha¡­ Hahahaha! Hahahaha!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s crazy.¡± I guess you¡¯re right. ¡°None! If you don¡¯t have that cursed beater, no matter how much you¡¯re a master, it¡¯s worth trying!¡± Oh, right. The wooden beater didn¡¯t have this function. ¡°Beral.¡± ¡°It¡¯s toote!¡± To my former pupil, who suddenly rose from his seat as if, ¡®I crawled on the floor to gain momentum!¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He swung his hand as it was. ¡°What?¡± The iron beater worn on the wrist naturally changed to the form of a beater. ¡°What!¡± Oh¡­ As expected, my former student. Even though it was a sudden attack, he quickly deflects and avoids it. In the days of Howling, I trained myself as a wizard except for a little closebat, but what a great body move! When I fought with the warrior earlier, I used something simr to a sword, so I think I became a swordsman. Man! A magician who¡¯s close to a sword master! You¡¯ve grown up great! But! ¡°Can I avoid it?¡± Twist the wrist to modify the sword path or the barrow. ¡°You¡¯re old!¡± But my former pupil seemed to escape my attack with a single piece of paper and prepare for a counterattack. ¡°I¡¯m old.¡± I¡¯m not just saying it, but I feel like I¡¯m really old. Even if it¡¯s been almost 10 years since I¡¯ve been away from active duty, I can¡¯t believe my wrist hurts because I swung the beater a few times. I had no choice but to feel that time was really free. ¡°Sighing The atmosphere rings. a sign of magicpletion. To be honest, magic that uses pure magical power doesn¡¯t work, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t die. For example, if you change the ground into the form of a spear and stab it, you will be really stabbed, and if you get hit by explosion magic, you can explode and die from flying debris. If I can use magic, I can block everything. It¡¯s really unfair. So you have to beat it before the magic is done. ¡°Gasp!¡± I roll my eyes and look at the former student who copses. ¡°What? Argh!¡± ¡°Beral, this can be an automatic chase.¡± Well, it was the usual attack. The iron beater, which was moved thinly like a thread, hits the former pupil. It¡¯s always the same pattern of attacks, but there¡¯s no reason not to use them because they keep getting attacked! ¡°Sa, sappu-nim The former pupil looks at me with shaky eyes. I think it¡¯s a big shock to see that you can¡¯t even pronounce it properly. ¡°Now, then, let¡¯s be right.¡± ¡°Oh, yes!¡± ¡°You can!¡± It¡¯s been a long time since I knocked on my disciple with Jajinmori rhythm. ¡°Ka-hak? Ack!¡± ¡°Cough!¡± Fast 3 beats, 4 beats! ¡°Please go to a good ce.¡± When he nced at him, the warrior did not run away and prayed for the repose of the deceased. I¡¯m not gonna kill you! Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m sorry. Murder? We can¡¯t do such a scary thing. It is true that iron beater tackled him, asking what kind of nonsense he was talking about. No one has died in my hands for at least 10 years. In my hand! ¡°Help, help me¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Beral.¡± Is it because I was thinking about something else? My former pupil grabbed my ankle. ¡°Please, please, save¡­¡­. ¡°Argh!¡± p out the wrist quickly. It may seem too cold, but it is very dangerous to get caught by a wizard. It¡¯ll be big trouble if you blow yourself up! ¡°Beral, you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± ¡°Argh!¡± The former pupil begins to scream at the start of the thrashing again. ¡°This is not the beater you knew.¡± ¡°Well, then¡­.¡± Hope began to grow in the dying eyes. If you read your thoughts, you can say, ¡°Yes, there can be no such evil weapon!¡± or ¡°Lord, you can die!¡± Hahahah¡­ ¡°This is a beater you know¡­ a new product followed by a wooden beater. It¡¯s a steel bar of ck anvil.¡± ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh¡­¡± The words of new products and ck anvil made the eyes of hope fall into despair. Sorry to hear that. ¡°Itsts longer.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to!¡± Higher notes than female soprano begin to resonate. You have a nice voice! ¡°Nice!¡± Like celebrating the beginning of my grand scheme! #1 their situation: The situation of some warrior ¡°You¡¯ve raised him well ¡°Thank, thank you.¡± I kneel down in front of the instructor and look at the shaking man. Darkness¡¯s boss who used the considerable skill of sword and magic. ording to what they say, Darkness is the organization of evil that ruled this kingdom. Well, right now, anyway, ¡°Well, then I¡¯ll tell you what to do.¡± ¡°I ept your order!¡± You¡¯ve been beaten and enved! ¡°Do you keep in touch with any of your friends?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± As soon as the instructor¡¯s words are finished, an answer is heard. a struggle for life. It¡¯s not like other people¡¯s work, so tears flow a little. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°Everyone is connected.¡± I was a little surprised at that. They¡¯re all connected? I was a student of the instructor, but I couldn¡¯t believe that they could get along with each other. We pretend we don¡¯t know each other when we meet and go on our way. Of course, the 1,000th Mira will try to catch us the moment we meet! ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, we don¡¯t keep in touch very often, but we do exchange information from each country.¡± After hearing the story, the instructor nodded with a satisfied expression. ¡°As expected, peer love is the best.¡± It was a statement that I could not sympathize with at all as I, was caught by that peer and went to the Demon Continent after struggling. ¡°Maybe I can call the others ¡°It would be impossible. Since the demon king appeared, I¡¯ve been taking care of myself as much as I can¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­¡­.¡± Chaos is the best stage for ces like evil organizations to work. In particr, the situation where the apostles of evil spirits are roaming around like now is the best opportunity for an evil organization! Being confused, morale works well, and even if theymit all kinds of crimes, the risk of being caught is low because all the soldiers are out at war. However, this was not the first time that an apostle of evil spirits appeared. Get hit once, get hit again. Whenever evil spirits appeared, viins and those who were looking for opportunities yed the game, and internal problems began to arise. Internal problems are bound to spread to the outside world. If you look at the past records, while the soldiers were fighting the apostles of evil spirits, the younger brother staged a coup, killed the older brother who was the king, and robbed the throne! The king¡¯s father-inw and the general, who was fighting on the front line, heard the news and recalled his troops. Thanks to this, it is said that the front line that fought against the apostles of evil spirits copsed. Despite the dissuasion of each denomination, human greed was endless, and when simr things were repeated, each kingdom began to clean up the interior first when the apostle of evil spirits appeared. However, the opponent is an organization of evil. They were creatures with the same vitality as cockroaches. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m running away to survive, even if I¡¯m abandoning my home base! ¡°Try to get in touch somehow.¡± ¡°All right!¡± As a result, however, the boss and senior of the poor evil organization caught reminded me of the old saying that justice wins. ¡°Oh¡­.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, sir the old saying said that nothing was wrong¡­ Does that mean the winner, the instructor, is justice? It would be better for evil spirits to be destroyed in such a world. ¡°It¡¯s nd.¡± Fortunately, the instructor, who does not have the ability to read the inside, looked back at the senior with his eyes closed. ¡°How many secret passages are there?¡± ¡°There are three underground.¡± ¡°What other guys don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Just in case, I¡¯ve made five passages that only I know!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± ¡°Because I learned everything from a great master!¡± Tears cover my eyes when I see Abu and the senior rubbing the instructor¡¯s shoulders. Because I acted like that¡­¡­. ¡°I don¡¯t need ttery. Hurry up and send the information to the other guys.¡± ¡°Hehe¡­! What information should I send?¡± ¡°The Demon King¡¯s Movement Path.¡± ¡°What?¡± The senior stopped for a moment. ¡°Does the devil have a route?¡± If it originally appears, it is the apostle of evil spirits that destroys everything in the world. A symbol of destruction that just moves forward and destroys everything. But this time it¡¯s different. ¡°Yes. The devil is looking for someone.¡± ¡°What the hell is he doing, so the evil spirit hase¡­¡­.¡± suuk (sound). The senior¡¯s gaze went down to the instructor and the iron pad in the instructor¡¯s hand. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± ¡°Oh¡­.¡± The senior nodded with his mouth open nkly. ¡°As expected, Master.¡± It was a word with various meanings. ¡°Do you want to get hit?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll get in touch with you right now!¡± As the instructor raises his hand, a senior is seen running away quickly. a pathetic look. But you can¡¯t swear¡­¡­. ¡°Follow me and check.¡± ¡°I see.¡± It was because I was in a simr situation. #2 their situation: The situation of some evil boss ¡°Yes, you are my junior¡¯s junior.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Huh! I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s a warrior who beat up a dragon. Howling was a great ce, too. ¡°Should I stand out?¡± ¡°Can you stand out?¡± I tried to talk to him, but his eyes are empty. He has already tried to run away several times, but he seems to have failed. ¡°If possible?¡± ¡°Of course I will.¡± ¡°Is it right if I fail?¡± ¡°Yes. And I¡¯m going to make soup for a week.¡± I can¡¯t believe it fits that for a week. It¡¯s better to kill yourself¡­¡­. ¡°Even if you kill yourself, you¡¯ll be saved.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I shook my head at the appearance of my junior who said that he had already done it. ¡°You¡¯re doomed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already a ruined life.¡± I had to realize it when I saw a guy who looked like a warrior swearing at his god. That such abnormalities were only around the instructor in my life! ¡°Well, I can¡¯t help it.¡± Raise your hand and write a letter ofmunication. Since we found out the path of the evil spirit, let¡¯s meet. But there was one more hidden content in it. Junior, can a senior be a senior for nothing? You don¡¯t know, but I still have a way to live. Chapter 235 Evade the Hero and Flee! 235. 27. In a world of viins where maniption of power is rampant, a clumsy person cannot survive (2) ¡°Nice.¡± I felt like I was in my hometown. ¨C It¡¯s because the viines to the evil organization! It¡¯s really home. These were the words of Iron beater who was lying in bed with his daughter. I¡¯m grateful that my daughter didn¡¯t say that she can hear me, but I think I¡¯d be more grateful if she didn¡¯t just say it. This is the only thing I¡¯ve been doingtely! Kids hit me a lot. It¡¯s not fun because they¡¯re always the same! Rather, give me the generation of students, whom my brother beat to the fullest! He¡¯s busy doing what I told him to do. You can¡¯t knock a hard worker out. Just like him. ¡°Where are you now?¡± ¡°Could you please wait a moment?¡± I sat down on a chair and said to God, ¡°Why are you giving me this ordeal? ¡®God, please save your servant.¡¯ I confirmed the position of the demon king to the shuttle who was praying. ¡°Um¡­Um!¡± The shuttle started praying with a grunt, and after about a minute passed, it told me the location of the demon king.. ¡°It is said that we have now arrived near the kingdom¡¯s borders.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fast.¡± ording to the shuttle, therge army that exterminated the Rube city union, not alone, was moving together. I¡¯m leading tens of thousands of troops, but it¡¯s about 10 days apart from me who fled near the border on Drake. ¡°I need to get ready to run away a little faster.¡± ¡°I suppose so.¡± Did he give up? It was a shuttle guy nodding his head indifferently. Even if you hear the words of prayer to God, you seem to think that there is no other way than salvation. Then you¡¯re not going to hit me anymore? No way. That¡¯s it, that¡¯s it. I haven¡¯t seen it for a long time, but it¡¯s a shuttle that seems to have lived without lying as a saint of a church. But the guy next to him was a disciple from when I was at my peak as an instructor! I had to be careful and more careful because I was trained to cheat better than most scammers. So you can¡¯t let your guard down! So why did you tell me all those useless techniques¡­¡­. -There are many ces to use in the mission, and if you run away from the organization, it was a consideration to cheat and make a living. Howling was highly loyal to members of the organization because he brought in and trained children who had been raised in poor conditions since childhood. This is because they brought in the guys who were starving to death on the streets and the guys who were abused every day by the ve traders, and provided them with a guaranteed bed and three meals a day, and sometimes snacks. Well,ter, more than that was pulled out, but for those who were dying, Howling was a ce like heaven. So it¡¯s good to say that there are few people running away¡­ Strangely, only my students ran away a lot. Maybe the first guy who escaped was Akatsuki, and he¡¯s collecting fugitive ninjas, no, fugitive viins? The first of my disciples to escape was enough to survive. If it¡¯s real, you¡¯ll be a very nice rider. One is a former viin, a former hero, and the one who is listening to the incumbent demon lord, and one is a former viin, former hero, and current head of Akatsuki! By the way, since you¡¯ve met disciples from one and two generations, is it your third turn now? If you¡¯re going to meet, I hope you meet Ludna, who is full of fear in an iron beater. Because there are so many things to use. And if you meet Lane or Shia¡­¡­. ¡°Should I give up my life?¡± Meeting Lane means meeting the Empress and meeting Xia is a simr threat. It¡¯s scary. Now that I¡¯m really half-white, why won¡¯t the world leave me alone? If you worked this hard, you¡¯ve done a lot, right? Please share with the other kids! ¡°Daddy, let¡¯s y too!¡± Perhaps it was because I had met unexpected students one after another, but my daughter called me with a smile on her face as I was thinking about something else. ¡°Shall we?¡± The image of the smiling daughter in bed is very cute and lovely. The point of Moe is to quickly dodge the moment they are about to bump into each other while rolling around on the bed with the iron beater. The innocence of rolling around without giving up even though you can bump into an iron beater can only be seen in pure children. It¡¯s healing to see your daughter who is still pure as ever. Yes. There is no reason to meet the disciples of the three generations just because you met the first and second generations sequentially. So you don¡¯t have to think about it. This is a time when your tired soul needs healing! ¡°Let¡¯s sleep!¡± I sit on her bed and tickle her side. ¡°Heehee! Oh, dad!¡± The daughter¡¯s face turned red as if she was taken aback by the sudden attack. ¡°Let¡¯s sleep, sleep!¡± ¡°Hahaha! Stop!¡± When I tickle my daughter, who is ring at me, I give her a ¡®biggie ¨C two-handed tickling¡¯ and the daughter screams and rolls around on the bed. A bed where there is no risk of falling even if my daughter rolls over with me and the iron beater. Looking at the bed that looked bigger than a room in the house where I once lived with my daughter, I realized that being a boss also makes you rich. ¡°I have done all you havemanded, Master.¡± That¡¯s how I look at the former owner of this room and the disciple who became the current leader of Darkness from a former Howling executive. The first thing that came to my mind was, ¡°Didn¡¯t you run away?¡± To be honest, I thought I would join hands with the hero and jump. ¡°Ha ha! How could that be? I¡¯ve been ordered by a heavenly master, and I won¡¯t run away!¡± That¡¯s nonsense. How can I trust a guy who tried to bomb me as soon as he knew I didn¡¯t have a beater in my hands. Rather, I believe in the first person I met, I couldn¡¯t believe that they were my students. Who taught you that? Yes, the owner taught me, so I can¡¯t believe it! Yeah, I¡¯ll admit this time. I taught you, so you can¡¯t believe it! ¡°You just didn¡¯t run away because you thought you¡¯d get caught.¡± ¡°No way.¡± The prompt answer is rather suspicious. Well, I can¡¯t help it because I didn¡¯t run away. The best-prepared operations havee to nothing. If you run away like a dragon I tried to change the Demon Lord Detector Hill to a Hero Detector. If you run away alone, I¡¯m going to gulp down this organization. ¡°The room is nice.¡± However, when these guys didn¡¯t run away, both ns had to be discarded. Well, a good ve¡­ No, let¡¯s be satisfied because we got a disciple. ¡°You have seen it exactly. This is a room made by Dwarves¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± It wasn¡¯t a coincidence that three of the secret passages this guy said were here. There¡¯s no manpower like the Dwarves when ites to building escape routes. There are experts among humans, but most of them are killed if they are made to keep secrets, so it is impossible to find them. On the other hand, there are many experts because Dwarves can¡¯t be killed recklessly. Because if you promise a secret, you¡¯re a n that will protect it even if it costs you your own life. No, in the first ce, there are only a handful of people who can meet dwarves, so unless they are connected to dwarves, they cannot meet dwarves themselves. ¡°Is it a ck anvil?¡± I also mentioned the names of the ns I used often. They are the ones who created the wooden beater and the Steel beater, and a n with outstanding skills enough to renovate Eugracia in just a few months! I haven¡¯t met them since they were beaten by an imperial woman in Eugracia, but their skills are still trusted. but, ¡°I would rather choose death than leave it to that cursed n.¡± It seemed to my disciples that they were more vicious than evil gods. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes. This ce was created by the White me n. They are clean as opposed to dirty ck anvils.¡± No, it¡¯s dirty because it¡¯s ck and clean because it¡¯s white. In my previous life, it was a statement that I would not have been able to say even if I was bullied for racial discrimination. Before that, the color of the n and the dwarves had nothing to do with it! Honestly, if you mix the two ns, the Dwarves don¡¯t know who they are! ¡°Hmm! Anyway, it¡¯s the best room.¡± I nodded to my former student, who boasted of his room like that. ¡°Yes, my room is such a nice room.¡± ¡°What?¡± He tilts his head and looks at me for a moment. I wasn¡¯t cute in the past, but it¡¯s disgusting to see a guy in his 40s doing that. ¡°I heard your room introduction well.¡± ¡°you, you don¡¯t?¡± Yeah. That¡¯s not true. ¡°Use it well from now on, disciple.¡± I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve made such a great room for me. As expected, it¡¯s worth raising my student. It¡¯ll be a robbery. You don¡¯t like it? You¡¯re the best, master! It was an iron beater that kept rolling around to see if it liked the soft bed with the theme of a metal ball. What a nice bed! As expected, the bed was Dwarf, not Essex. ¡°Well, then where should I sleep?¡± ¡°You have a lot of rooms, right?¡± Oh, there aren¡¯t that many rooms, to be exact. It¡¯s an organization in the back streets of the city, at best. If there is a huge building that stands out, all I can do is openly ask them to hold me. So how is Darkness, a huge organization, working? The answer is rather simple. You can control the entire back alley and change all the buildings in it to Darkness¡¯s possession. In other words, every building in the back alley is Darkness¡¯ hideout! It was an individual building, and the secret passage was connected to each other, so it could move like a building. ¡°Or I don¡¯t mind sleeping in another building.¡± If you send it to another building, it might run away. Then we can use the strategy that we discarded earlier. He knocks down the warrior with an iron beater, and he knocks down Darkness with the warrior he knocked down. After that, after checking the information collected from Darkness, you have to grab something that can make money and stand out the moment the devil crosses the border. ¡°Can I do that?¡± Did it shake for a moment? I nodded to my former student who looked at me trembling. ¡°Whatever you want.¡± Who cares? Who cares? If the devil crosses the border anyway, he has to stand out, but I can¡¯t afford to take him. I¡¯ll let you go anyway, so it doesn¡¯t matter if you just run away. ¡°Uh¡­¡­¡± At my words, the eyes start to move in an instant. ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡± ¡°Yes, you can¡¯t.¡± He gave a quick answer to the shuttle, who had hoped while looking at his former student who was worried. ¡°Is that so?¡± I¡¯m sorry to the shuttle who got sullen for a moment, but you have to sleep on the sofa in the corner. But it¡¯s a dwarf product, so it¡¯ll be softer than most beds. ¡°I will live here. If I don¡¯t serve the master, who will?¡± It was the answer of a former disciple who had finished his thoughts. In a way, it may seem like a warm-hearted priestly rtionship, ¨C The student who learned from the owner can¡¯t be such a warm-hearted guy. Right? There was no one who was obedient to my disciple. Excluding the strange species like Siana and Maren, I am the only one who starts attacking or flees the moment they see the beater type. In other words, to act so admirable means that you are aiming at the back of my head. ¡°Is that so? Please take good care of me.¡± It¡¯s a waste of time to say it. The heavy water secretly blocks what the other person is trying to do, and the master takes advantage of what the other person is trying to do to benefit himself. The opponent is the boss of the evil organization, and he¡¯s quite a master, but he hasn¡¯t reached my level. My age is half a century. More than half of them lived as viins in evil organizations! Disciple, in a world of bad guys full of tricks, the clumsy can¡¯t survive! As ast lesson, I decided to let my student know about what I did¡­ ¡°What?¡± I feel like I¡¯ve fallen into a trap. Chapter 236 Evade the Hero and Flee! 236. 27. In a world of viins where maniption of power is rampant, a clumsy person cannot survive (3) I ended up living in a former student¡¯s house longer than expected. This is because the Demon King, who seemed to be about to charge, stopped at the border. Maybe the shuttle is cheating? If not, wouldn¡¯t the God of Nature be giving false information to fool me? So when I secretly received information from my former student, it was said that it really stopped at the border. Did he say he was collecting troops? As far as I know, the national power of this country is not that strong. It is known that during the Great War, the Fernes Empire fell and even its soul was robbed by the Karan Empire while holding hands with the Fernes Empire. In addition, even after World War, the funds were dried up bypensating neighboring countries for damages. Why are they collecting troops when they have not been treated as a nation but have also swept away the Rube Urban Union, which has the highest military power? It was a mystery. ¡°Hehe! Master, is this enough?¡± Well, thanks to that, I am living afortable life receiving various help from my former students. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°It is natural for a student to serve a teacher.¡± He was smiling and spouting nonsense lies. -Do you have no confidence in your disciples, or do you think about what you¡¯ve done so far? -Both. That¡¯s how it¡¯s supposed to be from evil organizations. I could understand that the disciples hated me because they had taught me all kinds of lessons as a viin, so I couldn¡¯t believe it at all, and I did a lot of terrible things in the process. What a sad thing. I worked so hard to raise him! But there were no fatalities like the other instructors! You¡¯ll understand once you¡¯ve been an instructor! I can¡¯t understand because none of my students have been instructors. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll understand if I do. Is that so? I lift the fruits that my former student peeled for me. Trade with the outside world is not being done properly. What a fresh fruit. ¡°Come on, eat.¡± I handed over the finished fruit to the warrior and the shuttle. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± I thought about it and handed over the fruit, but the gaze is strange. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°This is¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it a test?¡± ¡°What are you testing?¡± I frowned slightly, but the brave man answered without hesitation. ¡°It¡¯s poison.¡± I don¡¯t like quick-witted kids. ¡°I hope it can¡¯t be. More precious than anything else¡­ A colleague.¡± ¡°I thought I just heard the ve¡¯s ¡®no¡¯¡­¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just my imagination.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­¡­.¡± The sight of a warrior looking at me with his eyes narrowed makes me sigh. But this is my student. If the disciple does not understand thenguage, it is the teacher¡¯s duty to exin it again. ¡°It¡¯s just my imagination.¡± ¡°I suppose so.¡± As expected, you understand me well when I say it again. Go now. I see¡­ It¡¯s Chewy. The brave man sighed when he saw the iron beater going back to bed, smacking his lips as if it were a pity. ¡°Thank you¡­ for the food.¡± The warrior, who nced at his former pupil, began to eat fruit with suspicious eyes. Well, it¡¯s not poisonous. ¡°Is it good?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a fresh fruit, so it¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°Really?¡± After watching the warrior and shuttle who ate about two or three fruits for a while, they stole the te. ¡°You ate a lot, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only eaten three yet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot.¡± After waiting enough time for the poison to spread, he handed over the fruit to his daughter. ¡°Eat a lot.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± He smiles and begins to eat fruit with an iron beater. ¡°Is it good?¡± ¡°Yes! It¡¯s so sweet!¡± He is healed by the way he smiles while chewing apples. I don¡¯t know whose daughter it is, but she¡¯s so cute! ¡°Isn¡¯t that too much¡­¡­?¡± I can hear the voice of a grumbling warrior in the outfield. ¡°Adults should be able to sacrifice for their children.¡± ¡°Is that so??¡± Perhaps he couldn¡¯t get his senior to work, or maybe the senior didn¡¯t want to peel fruit for his junior, the warrior who was chewing the entire apple gave an answer that didn¡¯t contain even 1 percent of his soul. ¡°How long do I have to stay here?¡± It was a question from the shuttle, who was crunching and chewing apples together next to it. I have a lot of questions because I¡¯m waiting longer than I expected. We wait until the talks proceed or the devil crosses the border.¡± ¡°You mean there¡¯s no time¡­¡­.¡± I¡¯m sorry to the shuttle who sighs deeply, but it can¡¯t be helped. This is because Mira, who has to control the imperial army, cannot move unless the devil moves. This is because all the messages he will receive must follow the devil¡¯s path to get connected. I left this city alone when I was walking around with a warrior. Oh,e to think of it, did I release the guys I kept in the warehouse? ¡°Beral.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°There were some kids in your organization in the warehouse where we stayed¡­ ¡°Did you go to see him?¡± ¡°¡­yes. I did get it from my junior.¡± I see. Thanks to this, unnecessary lives could not be sacrificed. I couldn¡¯t tell if it was a viin or a warrior when I saw them in custody. Still, seeing that he had the intention of saving people, he still seems to have the heart of a warrior. ¡°You told me in advance.¡± ¡°I talked to my senior a little bit It just came out by chance.¡± Oh, was it a coincidence? ¡°I see.¡± A warrior has no intention of saving a man. Should I say that I feel sorry for the god of nature who chose this guy as a warrior, or should I say that I feel sorry for the warrior who was chosen by the god of nature even with this personality? First of all, my conclusion is that they are both simr, so I don¡¯t feel sorry for them both. The god, the warrior. ¡°Well, isn¡¯t it enough if you¡¯re alive?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. As long as you¡¯re alive.¡± I nodded at the warrior¡¯s words. Yeah, you just have to be alive. They¡¯ll get caught trying to get behind others anyway. There¡¯s no way the guy who was my student could have taught me a secret passage to make a little money, right? Does it? ¡°Oh, that¡¯s true. We didn¡¯t create it, we were trading using a secret channel created by another organization in the past.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true.¡± It was real. ¡°Originally, if it¡¯s an evil organization, it¡¯s standard practice to seduce people with such rumors, enve them, and then send them back after only stealing money!¡± ¡°Hahaha! How old are you talking about? How hard it became to sell ves after the Karan Empire cracked down on ves. If you sell it incorrectly, you have an imperial army that cooperates with the kingdom. Howling was also rooted out within a month, but a weak organization like us can¡¯t do it because it¡¯s scary.¡± What do you mean, by a small organization? It is based in this kingdom, but it has upied the surrounding kingdom¡¯s organizations, and there are dozens of affiliated organizations. ¡°The devil has recently popped out there, so you have to be more careful. The kingdom is doing everything in its power to eliminate all possible internal trouble. If you steal money for no reason and get reported, the organization will be ruined.¡± ¡°Are you not going to use the good means of murder and destruction?¡± ¡°It¡¯s usually possible, but not now. It is difficult to dispose of the body because external control is prohibited. It¡¯s cheaper to just let the body out for money than to move it into a secret passage.¡± Well, that makes sense. but, ¡°Why don¡¯t you just lead him to the end of the secret passage, take care of it there, and bury it around you?¡± ¡°What?¡± It was an expression that he hadn¡¯t thought of this way. ¡°As expected, Master.¡± I think people who have buried them areplimenting me for asking. Is this apliment? It¡¯s apliment, right? Ah, but if you praise something like this, is it apliment? ¡°By the way¡­ Isn¡¯t it convenient not to do it if it¡¯s so annoying?¡± I think you¡¯ve done it with considerable thought, but you work to make such a small sum of money. Was it necessary? ¡°What¡¯s the point of ying?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t even work properly, so I have to make a small amount of money and pay the children¡¯s sries.¡± ¡°Really?¡± That was a pretty bossy answer. ¡°Oh, and I have one more thing to tell you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve reached an agreement. He asked me to have a meeting with my colleagues after a long time ago.¡± Oh, you¡¯ve been here all this time to say that. ¡°No, wait! You should have said that first! When, where, how!¡± I thought it wasn¡¯t a big deal because you said it so casually. Did you aim for it? You did, right? ¡°Oh, I¡¯m getting ready in ten days. All three of the other guys areing. I think it¡¯s tempting because everyone¡¯s business is hard because of the devil.¡± 10 days? All of them? There are so many things to tackle. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m getting everything ready. The instructor can wait in peace.¡± Wow, it¡¯s so ufortable. I think it¡¯s going to be full of traps. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll trust you.¡± But you don¡¯t have to make it obvious. I¡¯ll have to deal with it on my own first. But¡­ Why am I so nervous? #3 Their Situation: The Situation of Some Soldier I¡¯ve escaped the organization of evil that I¡¯ve been staying in for quite a long time. Sneaking out through the underground passage, we crossed two cities and arrived at a small vige. ¡°Is it here?¡± ¡°Yes, it is the town we have created.¡± Creating a vige was also like an evil organization called the best in a kingdom. And all the people I¡¯m going to meet now are the disciples of the instructor and the ones who came out of Howling and created their own organization. In other words, each and every one of them is a formidable group. That means you may have a chance to escape! However, it seemed very difficult to seize the opportunity thanks to the iron beater who was walking in close contact with me. Damn it! I¡¯m usually stuck with Hill¡­¡­. It means that the instructor knows that the current situation is not so good. ¡°Here you are.¡± While checking around and thinking about the escape route, we arrived at a ce that looked like an ordinary inn. Is it because the apostles of evil spirits are walking around? Or is it because it¡¯s an artificial vige? The streets of the vige, as well as the inside of the inn, were empty. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± An ordinary man who appeared to be the innkeeper bowed to his senior. ¡°What about the others?¡± ¡°Everyone has arrived.¡± Nodding his head with an expressionless face, he is indeed the boss of an evil organization that rules a kingdom. There was a sense of discord with the instructor, but this is probably the usual way. It¡¯s just¡­ I guess I got hit a lot during training. Our rider learned from the instructor for just over a year after Howling¡¯s fall. Beater¡¯s time was only a few months. His seniors are said to have been beaten by beater for four years, many times, or tens of times. If you think you were about the same age as us¡­ There¡¯s no reason not to get traumatized. No, even an adult would have it. ¡°Here you are.¡± The senior, who had appeared as the boss of the evil organization, went down to the basement, not upstairs. ¡°It¡¯s big.¡± It was what the instructor said as he went underground. As I went down, it became sorge that I couldn¡¯t think of it as an ordinary inn. Roughly going down the second floor of the building, you can see a colorful door. Maybe if you open that door, there will be people of the same age as your senior. It was a moment when I was slightly looking forward to what kind of people they would be. ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± ¡°You¡¯rete.¡± ¡°Are you doing this because it¡¯s your house?¡± And inside the room, there are three men who are full of individuality, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting.¡± I saw a senior who was waiting for us with a bright smile. The problem is that the senior¡­ ¡°Why are you here¡­¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m the one who manages these four evil organizations, or most of the evil organizations on the continent.¡± It is not the person who was the second disciple of the instructor, but the person who was the third disciple. Chapter 237 Evade the Hero and Flee! 237. 27. In a world of viins where maniption of power is rampant, a clumsy person cannot survive (4) #4 Their Situation: Sianel Karan¡¯s Situation I searched and searched and found again. But the limits were clear. Me too, and my men. They weren¡¯t active with their names revealed, so there were restrictions on what they could do. It is clear that the best people are the ones who move secretly, but the opponent is someone who cannot be caught even if the imperial family moves. It was bound to be more efficient to send people from the country than to move. Because it couldn¡¯t be helped. This is because there is a wall that cannot be crossed between the sun and the dark, no matter how excellent it is. No matter how hard we try to move, there is a limit to the information we can gather. Even if you get information from the Empire, it¡¯s a long timeter. I was anxious. If it goes on like this, it will be taken away. But what should I do? Can we go out to the sun and start in the same ce? I think it¡¯s too much. It was because he didn¡¯t think there was a chance of winning even if he went to the sunny side now. I pondered over and over again and came to a conclusion. Yeah. Even if you go out to the sun now, there¡¯s no chance of winning. No, there will be more troublesome things. I changed my goal. First of all, you must know the enemy. Enemy¡­ ¡­who has the same goal as me. She was the queen of the Karan Empire, the strongest on the continent, and the one who held the real power. It¡¯s a woman in the best position. Will you be able to win bypeting with such a person? There is no need to think long. There is no chance of winning against someone who has the best conditions in the best position. Even if they had the same title as princesses, the limits between those who had alreadypleted the foundation and those who did not were clear. If so, you can aim for a higher rank than the imperial woman. If my opponent is the princess of the Karan Empire, the best in the sun, then I just need to be a king who moves in the dark. It is also an overwhelming level of the king! If there is a limit, you can break it down. Yeah, you just have to admit it. If there are things that are impossible because they are in the dark, there are things that cannot be done in the light because they are in the dark. Let¡¯s take advantage of it. Thinking so, I began to upy the small organization around me. It was easier than I thought. It is said to be a howling that was destroyed in an instant when the empire moved, but it was an evil organization that was in the best position in the empire, no, on the continent. That¡¯s how good it is, that¡¯s how strong it is. Therefore, it was simple to bring other organizations to heel with the n that was based on Howling. But didn¡¯t the master tell you, too? Where there is sess, there is also failure. No matter how much you n, there wille a day when it will fail. When I was upying nearby evil organizations one by one, I realized that the n was going wrong in an unexpected ce. At first, I thought it was a coincidence. As Master said, I didn¡¯t think all ns would seed. However, the moment when once became twice, and twice became three times, I realized that this was not a coincidence, but inevitable. I checked the information. Most of them were kingdoms that were defeated in the Great War and remained in existence. Even if it wasn¡¯t as strong as Howling, it subdued those that could be said to be powerful. However, it failed to topple evil organizations that have established themselves in smaller countries. It was iprehensible inmon sense. What should I do in this case? ¡®Sia, extraordinary things happen sometimes in the world.¡¯ Yes, the master said. ¡®In that case¡­ You just have to solve it in an unreasonable way.¡¯ It was the words of the master, the crystal of the unconventional. Reliability has to be high. In this way, I mobilized all my personnel to attack the opponent¡¯s evil organization. And it faced more resistance than expected. It was a strength that reminded me of Howling. As I was in charge of Howling¡¯s intelligence department, I knew Howling¡¯s potential well. And these¡­ Although they are few in number, they have powerparable to Howling! It was ridiculous. Therefore, we gathered information while taking the offensive. And what I learned is that the four evil organizations are allies. This is something I could never have imagined. An alliance of evil organizations that never know when and where they¡¯ll hit each other in the back! It is dangerous even if two ces form an alliance, but four ces form an alliance! Anyone who has been involved in an evil organization will know. how dangerous this is. The betrayal of one could destroy the other three. It is a world of evil organizations where even blood brothers cannot be trusted, but those who seempletely unrted are gathering strength? Then there is only one conclusion. That there is a third force gathering them. The reason for settling in a weak country may have been to hide its power. He must have been holding his breath as a weakling, and then took a chance and tried to rule the world. All right, If they are like that, I have to risk everything to fight. We attacked an organization that pretended to concentrate all its power. As expected, other organizations sent troops to protect the organization. And attack the enemy with hidden forces. Unknown troops were defending whether the opponent had predicted it. But there¡¯s something they didn¡¯t know, ¡°What number!¡± That there is an emperor of the empire behind me. ¡°shit! The headquarters give up! Only the bare minimum of defensive forces remain!¡± Perhaps the enemy investigated us, too. An organization that was merging evil organizations at an rming rate. I would have calcted the number of people moving in the process of merging and also counted the number of people who increased by merging. Those hidden there must have also been calcted. Their mistake was to think that the organization I run was a mere evil organization. Who would have thought of it? That someone supported by the emperor would have created an evil organization. Those included in the Imperial Household are uniting evil organizations! As one organization copsed, other organizations began to falter. And after a while, I was able to take over all four organizations. But it wasn¡¯t the end. Because they couldn¡¯t catch their boss. They are the key. Only by catching them can we find a third person who runs these four organizations. As a person who had no shortage of dealing with, I was willing to appoint him as long as he did not rebel. Therefore, we put more effort into expanding our power. The personnel were turned to the outside and the internal defense was sloppy. I think it¡¯s a trap, but I have no choice but to approach it. It was prepared by throwing sweet prey like a bee approaching a flower to eat nectar. However, the opponent was cautious. People were dispatched across the continent, and they hid and hid until all the people they had hidden were dispatched. All the defenses inside were removed to the extent that it can be said that they are naked like that much. Too tant prey. Still, it¡¯s a delicious meal that¡¯s too good to miss. Looking at the prey, the other person repeatedly pondered. And, ¡°The front door has been breached!¡± In the end, the opponent took the bait. They also seemed to have hidden personnel. Or maybe they were on an outside mission. The numbers weren¡¯t that big, but they were all top-notch. And one of the people who led them was a sword master. What a lot of talent in the evil organization¡­¡­. That¡¯s when I was thinking. ¡°What?¡± My head tilts automatically. The one who leads the enemy in the vanguard is too familiar. It wasn¡¯t a very famous organization, but it was a friendly-looking person. Who is it? Who is it? ¡°Boss!¡± It was an urgent voice, perhaps because of the faster-than-expected advance. ¡°Go ahead with the n for now.¡± ¡°But!¡± ¡°It¡¯s already toote to turn back.¡± ¡°All right¡­.¡± Others quietly performed their part in mymand. Thanks to this, the people who were rushing to the main gate were able to reach our front at a very high speed. ¡°It¡¯s over now.¡± It was one of the enemy bosses who arrived before us. ¡°Is that so?¡± Numbers aren¡¯t everything in a fight. Because there is such a thing as the quality that overwhelms quantity. Even so, numbers cannot be ignored. The enemy¡¯s numbers are overwhelminglyrge. I eat half of it and go in. On top of that, they are talented people who can be called first-rate. It¡¯s not strange to think you¡¯ve won. ¡°We used too much bait to catch us.¡± ¡°Really?¡± One of the bosses in the vanguard looked at me. ¡°You¡¯re younger than I expected. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this kind of girl to be the one who screwed us up.¡± ¡°Oh my! Thank you.¡± I was worried about my age, but it seemed to others that I still looked young. ¡°Why are you working for an organization of evil with such a pretty face? I mean, I just can¡¯t understand¡­ ¡­ . I¡¯ve seen before¡­ ¡­ . huh?¡± The enemy boss, who was grumbling to himself at my words, tilted his head. It looks like something is wrong. ¡°Where did we see each other?¡± Huh? This is an unexpected remark. ¡°I thought I did too¡­¡­.¡± Wasn¡¯t it an illusion? Where did I see it? When was the time I couldn¡¯t remember even though I met a person? A long time ago, when I had a hard time living in my mother¡¯s hands. And the other one is¡­¡­. ¡°No way¡­¡± ¡°No way¡± I couldn¡¯t help but open my mouth wide at the moment that came to mind. no way¡­ Is this a trap? ¡°Hit!¡± ¡°Use it!¡± I and my opponent shouted at the same time. At the same time, a geometry of swords was formed by the swords of the enemy, ¡°What!¡± It disappeared in an instant. ¡°Pure skills, not magical power. That was the master¡¯s teaching, wasn¡¯t it?¡± He pokes into the opponent with the three swords he has drawn. At the same time, those who remained in the room pull out their swords and rush in. There is no wizard. pure prosecutors. They were selected only by their sword skills, not by their magic. ¡°Nonsense! Was it the devil¡¯s trap?¡± The opponent¡¯s boss pulls out the sword and starts to push. There is an overwhelming difference in the weight of the sword. As soon as you hit it, the thin sword will break. but, ¡°Can you fight with such ignorance?¡± It won¡¯t hit. The opponent was also trained by a very nice person, so he has excellent physical abilities, but it is unreasonable to wield such a great sword. It ismendable to wield such a sword only with physical strength, but it is literally wielding it. A figure swayed by weapons. It is a side effect thates from the usual use of magical power to increase physical ability. In contrast, my three swords, ¡°Cough (sound)!¡± Even if there is no magic, I can swing it as I please. ¡°Nonsense! What the hell did that demon create!¡± ¡°Magic Suppressor. It¡¯s a device that suppresses the magical power of a certain space.¡± To be precise, it was made by the imperial family, not the Master. ¡°For your information, I made a ck anvil.¡± ¡°You¡¯re worse than this damn evil god, again!¡± This made it clear. That reaction thates out the moment you say the ck anvil, a face I think I¡¯ve seen somewhere. They were disciples of the instructor. Come to think of it, I had four seniors. Fortunately, it was not an organization created by the master. Not long ago, I was appalled because I thought the master would hide in the back world and unify the back world of the continent. The Magic Suppression Device is a double-edged sword. The enemy can¡¯t use magic, but neither can we. And if an instructor and an iron beater show up in a ce like this¡­ Something terrible would have happened. ¡°I can¡¯t be beaten like this!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Avoid flying the Great Sword. Throwing a weapon is to raise an ordinary sword on the floor. The opponent is the instructor¡¯s disciple. You don¡¯t know what will happen if you let them raise their swords ¡°Laughing!¡± Cut off the hand that tries to hold the sword. I didn¡¯t cut it off at all forter use, but it¡¯s impossible to lift a sword without treatment. ¡°I surrender.¡± ¡°You¡¯d better die! Death is easy!¡± The other person seems to think that there is a master behind me. Yes, I do. If there¡¯s a master¡­ I¡¯d rather die. ¡°The Master is not here.¡± ¡°You mean it¡¯s not here.¡± Well¡­ that makes sense. I used to be fooled a lot by things like that. ¡°I mean¡­¡­¡± With a deep sigh, I told a pretty long story. And I told him to convince the other bosses, that is, my seniors. Of course, I did not forget to say that I would kill everyone if they could not be persuaded. Three monthster. HI subdued my seniors who did not surrender until I showed my strength, and began to take control of the world behind the continent. About a year, when I upied the world of viins like that, I could finally receive a letter saying that I had found the master. Let¡¯s stay calm. You¡¯ve done a great job, Sia. So, let¡¯s hang in there a little longer. Let¡¯s hold it in, hold it in, hold it in. And if you meet the Master, ¡°Wee, Master.¡± You should greet the master with the best smile. Chapter 238 Evade the Hero and Flee! 238. 27. In a world of viins where maniption of power is rampant, a clumsy person cannot survive (5) ¡°Wee, Master.¡± No, I want to go back. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting.¡± The one who is looking at me with a bright smile is my disciple, but¡­ The jockey is a little different from the ones I¡¯ve been looking for. The guys I¡¯m looking for were my second disciples, but this one is my third. ¡°Why are you here¡­¡­.¡± I said it with all my heart. No, why is this guy here? In terms of novels, this guy was like the final boss of Volume 1! He¡¯s knocked down, so he shouldn¡¯t reappear! ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m the evil organization in these four ces¡­ No, he¡¯s the one who manages most of the evil organizations on the continent.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡­¡± However, Shia showed up as a stronger boss by properly leveling up. This time it¡¯s really boss. ¡°Most of the continents?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It¡¯s also a dark ce that dominates the world behind the continent! This is almost the final boss! Are you the princess by day and you by night? Who¡¯s having lunch? Does that matter now? Of course! It¡¯s interesting to see who else follows after the owner! No, I¡¯m holding back, my legs are about to tremble and that¡¯s the reaction to the owner¡¯s crisis! ¡°It was a tough job. But I aplished it thinking only of you.¡± ¡°Oh, oh!¡± ¡°Wonderful, boss!¡± ¡°Wow, so determined!¡± ¡°You guys¡­¡± I see former students pping and cheering as they sit. Are you saying you see your boss, and I don¡¯t? ¡°Instructor! It¡¯s time to show off your great side as a man!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Marrying a woman much younger than you! Wow! As expected, my master has the ability.¡± ¡°If the instructor doesn¡¯t have the ability, who has the ability?¡± ¡°Yes, it is. He also made the beater. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± They chatted among themselves, and they became a sudden chill among themselves. And look for the gap¡­¡­. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Hahaha! It¡¯s been a while since I met my colleagues. Shouldn¡¯t we be together?¡± The former student who created this bloody situation was slowly trying to escape. ¡°Beral¡­ do you want to die?¡± ¡°Hahaha! Well, I didn¡¯t lie! I only told the truth!¡± Yes, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s true that I brought my ssmates together, and it¡¯s also true that I brought only the members of the organization. The problem was that they brought them all the way to the final boss that united them, but I didn¡¯t lie, I didn¡¯t lie. ¡°But¡­ I never said I wouldn¡¯t hit you either.¡± ¡°Oh, my!¡± I stroked the iron beater in my hand. In response, Beral tried to avoid it by bending his body in a bizarre direction. ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll let it slide?¡± ¡°Oh my god!¡± However, if the patting so far has usually been patting, the patting now is truly patting. It¡¯s not to the point of going bald, but I¡¯ve trained myself! Will you guys be able to dodge the heartfelt blows? ¨C I¡¯m the one who moves, but why is the owner acting smug? ¡­ I said, but it was just that the iron beater hit me on its own. ¡°Die.¡± ¡°He- help me, boss!¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Oh, no!¡± The former disciple begged for his life from his junior, but his junior, Shia, refused to listen. Chet! I was going to use this guy as bait and hit him and run away. For now, I¡¯ll have to be content with neutralizing a powerful force. ¡°Is your anger relieved?¡± ¡°No.¡± After finishing Beral¡¯s public execution, Sia talks to him without losing the smile. It was the opposite of the seniors who were shivering while sitting. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°What are you doing¡­ ¡­. I am just implementing Master¡¯s teachings.¡± What the hell did you teach? I, I¡¯m not at fault! When I see that word popping up, I feel guilty! ¡°Love allows everything. Therefore, love allows greed, too.¡± She says it with a serious expression, but her limbs shrivel. That¡¯s what the owner said! I, I don¡¯t remember saying that! You¡¯re making meughable! I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s a lie that I said such a cringe of time and space. It must be a lie. ¡°After the training with the master is over¡­ This is what the master said when I went to check my unstable mind. I don¡¯t know what to say¡­ I can¡¯t forget it.¡± But what is this feeling, like the more I hear Sia¡¯s words, the more I think of something? That¡¯s really specific? Was it the early morning vibe? Yeah. By the time Sia ended her apprenticeship, I was still in my 30s. If you¡¯re in your 30s, you can say something cheesy like that with your dawn sensibility! At that time, the owner was 39 years old¡­¡­. You¡¯re lou¡­loud! I never had a nket kick in my life, but I shouldn¡¯t have¡­ One has been created since today. Isn¡¯t there a lot more than that? There¡¯s none! If I don¡¯t remember, there¡¯s none! I know! There¡¯s nothing! And the owner, I don¡¯t mind kicking the nket at night, but can the owner choose the nket? I came to my senses at iron beater¡¯s words and looked at Sia. ¡°How many times have you suffered because of strange things?¡± It seems unintentional, but Sia, who gave me serious mental damage, is looking at me with sparkling eyes. What¡¯s with that gaze. It¡¯s very burdensome. Would you mind not looking at me like that? And¡­ can I get out of here? ¡°I¡¯ve heard it all. Even though Eugracia was transformed into the best academy, she was driven out by the Imperial Empress, and settled in various ces, but was attacked by the Demons¡­¡­.¡± There was no wrong information in each mention. ¡°In addition, I went over to the Demon Continent, saved the next demon king who was a moderate, and defeated the next demon king who was a hardliner.¡± Uh¡­ um¡­ how do you know that? ¡°And with his own power, he reformed the Demon Continent, calling himself the Demon King chosen by the Demon God¡­ In the end, I became the body chased by the apostle of the evil spirit,monly called the devil.¡± There was a heavy look. It was the view of the former disciples next to Sia. ¡°Wow, crazy¡­.¡± ¡°What did we learn from someone?¡± ¡°I have never heard of a human who went over to the Demon Continent¡­ Did the demon king do it too? He learned from such a person, but to be satisfied with being the boss of an evil organization that controls only one kingdom¡­ ¡­ .¡± I can see my former disciples sending eyes of astonishment, admiration, and respect. ¨C There is no normal among the master¡¯s disciples? I couldn¡¯t refute the admiring iron beater¡¯s words. Why are all my disciples like this? Oh, of course, the best of them all, ¡°How hard was it? How much did you suffer? You don¡¯t have to do that anymore. I¡¯ll see you. From now on, I will continue to live with Master.¡± That guy who looks at me with an ecstatic look must be the most abnormal. Shia doesn¡¯t seem to notice because she¡¯s only looking at me, but the former disciples around her are sitting in their chairs and slowly starting to move away from her. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the demon king myself. If you move the empire, it will not be difficult to remove the demon king.¡± It was Sia who looked at me to the point of being scary and burdensome. What do I have to do now? Of course, it stands out. But is it possible? The enemy¡¯s ce, underground there. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the escape route I made, can I escape from where I don¡¯t know what kind of traps there are? I roughly memorized the road, but due to the nature of the underground, there are bound to be restrictions if all the torches are turned off. It is said that people are used to working in the dark, but the ground where there is even a faint moonlight and the underground filled with only darkness ispletely different spaces. With my daughter here as well, it was almost impossible. shit! I brought it because I was afraid that someone who was targeting me or someone who had be a prisoner of my daughter¡¯s cuteness might kidnap me! If I knew this would happen, I would have hidden it in a safe ce! The only hope right now is the help of a warrior looking at Sia with a nk expression. But will he help me? No, I¡¯ll never help you. Now I¡¯m just embarrassed by this shitty situation, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll surrender to Sia when I wake up. Because the moment Shia grabs me in that guy¡¯s situation, I¡¯m liberated myself too. I could pretend to help, but it would be to target my back. ¡°You can forget everything so far. From now on, I¡¯ll¡­¡­.¡± The sight of Sia looking at me with the eyes of a pink-haired axe woman looking at Yoo X is getting scarier. but, ¡°Noisy!¡± ¡°What?¡± The expression of her real pink-haired daughter, quietly listening to Sia, ¡°What are you talking about knowing?¡± It was even scarier. #5 Their Situation: The Situation of Some Soldier ¡°Noisy!¡± It was a sharp cry that awakened the dazed mind. Naturally, eyes are turned to the owner of the voice. And the main character of that voice is, ¡°What are you talking about knowing?¡± It was Alice, the instructor¡¯s daughter, who breathed violently with a stern look on her face. ¡­What, I¡¯m scared. I thought that kid was normal though. Seeing her grind her teeth, I could also realize that Alice was also a person around the instructor. If a look could kill a person, it would probably be a look like that. ¡°What is it?¡± But there was someone who looked me in the eye¡­ He was also a person around the instructor and a senior directly under me. I realized it the first time I saw it, but he¡¯s not normal either. ¡°Do you forget everything you¡¯ve done so far?¡± You don¡¯t even know what¡¯s been going on!¡± ¡°No, I know it all. There¡¯s a way to know everything.¡± When I felt the gaze and turned my head, the instructor was looking at me with a strange expression. That was obviously ¡®Did you inform me?¡¯ ¡°Oh, no.¡± I quickly shook my head in denial. I think the instructor is going to be taken under the current circumstances, but has there been a simr incident once or twice? You may be misunderstood and interrogatedter. So, misunderstandings should be resolved quickly. ¡°Hmph! On a subject, you don¡¯t know anything about! I¡¯ve only heard of it, but I don¡¯t know what¡¯s in it!¡± ¡°Is it necessary to know that?¡± It¡¯s scary. The men in the room began to shudder at the life of the two women. In particr, Hill, whose momentum is weak, is likely to copse with bubbles. ¡°Yes, you don¡¯t need to know. Who is not the person concerned.¡± Alice, who snorted, looks at the senior with a contemptuous look. ¡°What is it?¡± And the senior who received the gaze frowned. ¡°Hmph!¡± ¡°What are you looking at?¡± The senior became enraged at Alice¡¯s snoring. What is it? Was he that easy to get angry with? We only met a few short times, but I know it was absolutely not. He¡¯s a person who puts pressure on people with a smile, not someone who shows his feelings so openly. ¡°Boss?¡± ¡°Why, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Looking at the embarrassed surroundings, I think my memory was correct. Others are embarrassed, too. That he¡¯s so angry. ¡°You know¡± ¡°Wow!¡± What do you know? What the hell is it? Alice didn¡¯t say much, but why are you so angry? I don¡¯t know, I really don¡¯t know. All I know is, ¡°So what are you going to do? Do you think you can get away from here?¡± That he was really angry, ¡°Kkokko, break it.¡± Alice was really angry, too. Chapter 239: I apologize for not being able to find suitable replacement so far. I recruited a new trantor who starts working from chapter 241. I apologize for not being able to find suitable recement so far. Evade the Hero and Flee! 239. 27. A clumsy person cannot survive in a viinous world full of trickery (6) #6 Their circumstance: A certain warrior¡¯s circumstance Chuck! Alice, who pointed her index finger at the sky, said. ¡°Kkokko (sound), break it.¡± a clear voice. ... Chapter 240 Evade the Hero and Flee! 240. 27. The clumsy cannot survive in a viinous world full of trickery (7) #7 Their Situation: Sianel Karan¡¯s Situation ¡°Is that enough?¡± I saw a junior who was rolling his eyes, unlike a warrior of the natural church, who is currently praised as the strongest warrior. I wanted to flip it all over, but I can¡¯t help it. ¡°Yes¡­¡­¡± I really couldn¡¯t help it. ... Chapter 241: In the world of cunning villains, the incompetent don’t survive (8) First chapter with new trantor # 241 Chapter 27: In the world of cunning viins, the ipetent don¡¯t survive (8) Thud, thud, thud. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to ask the cat that had jumped onto the floor to let go. I was worried about Ddani. The problem was, if I let go¡­ she would surely die. It was already moving at a speed that indicated it had reached the surface. When it jumped down the broken stairs, it was only using them as a foothold, but in terms of speed alone, it was faster than the air movement of the mages. ... Chapter 242: In the world of cunning villains, the incompetent don’t survive (9) Chapter 27: In the world of cunning viins, the ipetent don¡¯t survive (9) Part 10: Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of an Evil Apostle I could feel it. Even at this moment, the fragments of evil were drifting further away. ¡°How fast.¡± They had been standing still for a while, so I had been waiting. What could be the reason for their sudden movement now? Since the opponent was that officer, I couldn¡¯t help but think of various possibilities. Even though they knew that I was following them, they stopped, which meant¡­ ¡°Either they know my location or they think they can defeat me.¡± It was possible, considering my previous failure on the maind. They would know the fighting skills of those who had fought the greatest demon lords on the maind, and they would have an idea of the power needed to challenge me. Knowing or not knowing the enemy¡¯s strength made a huge difference. If I didn¡¯t urately estimate their power, I could send arge army against an opponent who only seemed strong, or my elite forces could be destroyed by a small enemy group. The officer often stressed this point. ¡°You must scout to avoid surprises.¡± Sometimes he said things that were hard to understand¡­ Nevertheless, he always stressed the importance of information, and since I was his disciple, I gathered forces here without attacking him. If they were preparing to defeat me, I would smash their ns with even greater power. And what if they had a way to detect my location? Well, in that case, it was easy. When facing someone who was adept at escaping, you just had to eliminate every possible escape route. If I conquered the continent with overwhelming power, even if they were an officer, they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape. ¡°Then I should move, too.¡± I had gathered enough power. The surrounding animals, monsters, and even parts of nature had been corrupted by evil and formed my army. With such a formidable force, I could quickly wipe out these small kingdoms and pursue the officer. ¡°Now go. My army.¡± With a simple gesture, the hundreds of thousands of troops surrounding me let out a roar. These beings,monly referred to as the army of evil spirits, had individual abilities that were at least twice as powerful, and in some cases, dozens of times more powerful. The wolves that could have been defeated by the vigers if they had joined forces were now capable of fighting knights, and the ogres had the power to break down gates with their bare fists. ¡°Destroy the world. Smash and burn everything!¡± I burst outughing as I saw the borders of a kingdom shattered in an instant. I had worked hard for everyone, but the world had mercilessly taken everything away from me. For the sake of revenge against this world. ¡°I hope you try to run to the end, Officer.¡± There would be no one to stand in my way. And after some time¡­ ¡°Hmm?¡± Once again, I realized that things were not that simple. Part 11: Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of the Diligent Persecutors It was hard. Exhausting. I wanted to rest. ¡°Is this the right ce?¡± ¡°Well~¡± I sent a suspicious look, but the leader remained calm. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be wrong again, right?¡± ¡°This time I¡¯m sure. You don¡¯t believe me, do you?¡± No, honestly, I don¡¯t. How many times have you stumbled? I¡¯m exhausted! ¡°No, that¡¯s not true. But I am just a low-ranking member, and the other person is the head of this organization, the leader. Not only is my rank lower, but my abilities are also inferior. I can¡¯t be honest. Especially if the other person is the leader, I can¡¯t say anything. ¡°Oh, really? I thought you would think, ¡®How many times have you stumbled? I¡¯m exhausted!''¡± ¡°Hahaha! No way~¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I smiled and looked at the back of the leader standing at the front. Scary, so scary! What? Right now? How did you know what I was thinking? You know everything, but you pretend not to! Who the hell is our leader? Trembling, I followed the leader with cold sweat running down my back. ¡°Now we¡¯re almost there.¡± At the leader¡¯s words, myrades around me cheered. They had seen countless battles, both in the air and underground. Of course, even if I were dropped in the middle of the forest with nothing, everyone in this organization could survive by chewing on tree roots or bark. And at the same time, ¡°Since you all worked hard, I¡¯ll treat you today!¡± ¡°Long live the leader!¡± ¡°Long live the leader!¡± ¡°Our leader is the best!¡± As members of the leader¡¯s gourmet club, we also explored all the famous restaurants scattered across the continent. Even though we could survive by chewing bark, we were originally nobles who had been raised as nobles. Instead of sleeping on the cold ground, we naturally preferred a soft bed. Instead of a simple soup, we would choose a fine steak from a fancy restaurant. No, even if we weremoners, we would still prefer thetter to the former. Didn¡¯t the leader say that? The best survival skill is not to create situations that require survival in the first ce. ¡°Now, let¡¯s go to our destination!¡± ¡°Ohhhh!¡± Everyone gathered their strength and moved forward. It wasn¡¯t long before we saw the fortress wall. ¡°Now we¡¯re at the border. Shall we start preparing?¡± At the leader¡¯s words, our army, the official military force of the Karan Empire, the most powerful nation on the continent, began to form. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± ¡°Good.¡± With quick movements, the leader nodded in satisfaction and pointed a finger at the fortress wall. ¡°Let¡¯s cross it.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Of course, each person broke through the fortress walls in their own way, like flowing water. Some jumped over the walls, while others soared through the air. A few people demonstrated their ability to tunnel underground. That¡¯s right. We were the official army of the Karan Empire, the strongest nation in the world. In the eyes of other countries, we were thest people they wanted to let in. Well, considering the circumstances, we would open our way to confront the demons, but doing so would lead to arge-scale publicity campaign. We would speak as if we were working diligently, even though we had nothing to do and were filled with fear,forting the worried citizens! Yes, the Karan Empire, the strongest nation in the world, had begun to move! Now, the people would rejoice to bring death to the evil demon king who was trying to destroy the world, and upon hearing the news, Professor Niserwyn would eagerly flee. But that can¡¯t happen. We can¡¯t chase the professor forever. We must catch him. We must capture him and bring him before Her Highness, the Princess. If we fail¡­ I closed my eyes for a moment. It was dark. I couldn¡¯t see anything. And this¡­ would be my future. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The team leader tapped me on the back and spoke. ¡°Senior.¡± ¡°It¡¯s ¡®team leader¡¯ now.¡± She was the team leader of my group, and also my senior from the academy I attended. ¡°Can¡¯t you concentrate?¡± ¡°No.¡± That wouldn¡¯t happen. Who was I? I was one of the worst generation. Among the members of the Astrid Abduction Squad, we were only a very small number of the Worst Generation. ¡°I have learned something from Professor Niserwyn. There¡¯s no way I can¡¯t concentrate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The team leader nodded, she too had learned a lot from Professor Niserwyn. No,pared to others, she had definitely been taught a lot. So she would know. ¡°If you can¡¯t concentrate¡­¡± For summoners or mages, if they couldn¡¯t concentrate, they wouldn¡¯t be able to summon or use magic, and if that happened¡­ ¡°You¡¯ll get beaten up even more.¡± The team leader¡¯s body shook. It seemed like the memories of being attacked by the silver demon were shing through his mind. ¡°Then why did you close your eyes?¡± ¡°Ah, well¡­¡± What should I exin? That¡¯s right. There was something. ¡°Close your eyes.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The team leader tilted her head slightly, but obediently closed her eyes. ¡°They¡¯re closed.¡± ¡°What do you see?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see anything.¡± Of course I couldn¡¯t see anything. If everything was normal, there wouldn¡¯t be anything to see. Unless it was Professor Niserwyn, Her Highness the Princess, or Commander Mirah, there would be nothing to see. And¡­ ¡°This is our future, if we can¡¯t catch Professor Niserwyn.¡± ¡°Gulp!¡± The team leader copsed to the ground in an instant, shaking violently. ¡°Hey, why would you think that?¡± The team leader rose from her seat, still shaking, and grabbed me by the cor. ¡°I can catch him! I can!¡± ¡°But didn¡¯t you think the same thingst year?¡± ¡°That was¡­¡± ¡°What about the year before?¡± ¡°That was¡­¡± ¡°Before that?¡± ¡°Heuk¡­¡± The grip around my neck begins to loosen. The team leader is shedding tears with a pitiful expression. ¡°No, I can catch him, I will for sure¡­¡± ¡°Team leader¡­¡± She looked incredibly pitiful. Should Ifort her? ¡°Would you like a match?¡± ¡°I said no! It¡¯s not like that!¡± My heart ached as I watched my senior run away in tears. ¡°Senior Alice¡­¡± The youngest swordmaster of the empire. The girl who led Eugrasia for three years in her prime. Senior Alice, who was often referred to as the Princess of the Sword, the sessor to Princess Leia, and many other titles. Especially the title of Sessor of Princess Leia was mentioned the most. Her talent to be a sword master at a young age, her irresistible beauty and grace even to other women. And¡­ ¡°Will you be able to marry, Senior Alice?¡± She was even praised for perfectly matching the assessment that her romantic history was dismal. ¡°Thank you, Arell.¡± As I watched Senior Alice leap three times over the city walls, I saw the face of my childhood fianc¨¦. Thank you, Arell. I¡¯ll definitely catch Professor Niserwyn¡­ I¡¯ll get back to you! ¡°Let¡¯s stay strong.¡± Even though we were in a semi-arranged marriage, thinking of each other as we loved each other, we decided to gather a little more strength. Had even the great gods blessed our love? ¡°Kyaaaaaah!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Demon King¡¯s army!¡± ¡°No, we are all dead¡­¡± Some timeter, the demon army began to invade the town where we were, and as the terrified and confused vigers watched, leader Mira shouted, ¡°This is exciting!¡± She let out a squeal of delight. ¡°Um¡­ Leader?¡± One of the members, worried that she had picked and eaten poisonous mushrooms or something, cautiously approached the leader¡¯s side. ¡°Why are you acting like this?¡± The leader smiled and replied to the member who couldn¡¯t bring herself to ask, ¡°Are you crazy?¡± ¡°You said the demon army wasing, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°The Demon Army is rted to the Professor.¡± Professor = Professor Niserwyn. Apply this equation, ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Professor Niserwyn is rted to the demon army. Hmm¡­ Yes. If he is Professor Niserwyn, it¡¯s only natural that he would be rted to them. It seemed like everyone, not just me, thought so. Honestly, even if there was a silver demon in the vanguard of the demon army, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising. Of course, there wouldn¡¯t be any need to fight. If there was a silver demon in the vanguard, we would run away, no matter what the world was like. ¡°So the fact that the demon army ising here means¡­¡± ¡°Ah!¡± As soon as I understood, my body started shaking. ¡°It means that the Professor is nearby. So¡­ let¡¯s take care of the troublesome things first.¡± We all nodded at Leader Mira¡¯s words. Part 12: Your Circumstances The Circumstances of a Demon Ambassador I close my eyes. I can feel the fast movement of the demon army. Not something as fast as a horse, wyvern, or drake, but amander riding on something slower. The gap is closing. At this rate, we¡¯ll be able to catch themander in a rtively short time. ¡°Huh?¡± I thought, but some timeter, a part of the army waspletely destroyed. ¡°Are they the heroes?¡± Finally, the heroes seemed to be moving. If we push harder with more force, it will work. They sent more troops. We will be destroyed again. They sent a stronger force. We will be destroyed again. We have decided to concentrate all our forces on attacking the enemy. ¡°Huh?¡± Once again, half of the army was wiped out. ¡°What is happening?¡± I don¡¯t know what it is, but it looks like we failed. Chapter 243: In The World Of Cunning Villains, The Incompetent Don’t Survive (10) 243 Chapter 27: In The World Of Cunning Viins, The Ipetent Don¡¯t Survive (10) Thanks to Shuttle, we escaped Shia safely. ¡°The forces of evil are gone?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Now that the capable Shuttle had be an observer, he began to assess the situation. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Well¡­ Please wait a moment. I¡¯ll check right away.¡± I waited for Shuttle, who began to mutter and pray. Isn¡¯t there an old saying, ¡°The faster you hurry, the slower you go¡±? I am a patient person who knows how to wait. ¡°Is it ready now?¡± ¡°Just¡­a little more¡­¡± I looked at Hill, who was muttering and praying to the gods. It¡¯s not ready yet. It¡¯s too slow! -It¡¯s been a minute! -Isn¡¯t a minute enough time to pray? -Don¡¯t you think so? As expected from a self-proimed goddess. It seemed like she didn¡¯t know how easy it was to pray because she never prayed to others. Praying is easy. 1. First choose the subject of prayer. 2. Speak your desires. 3. Ask for them to be granted. That¡¯s all it takes to pray. One minute should be enough. -Even if Master¡­ Even if Master were born as an ordinary person, the gods wouldn¡¯t answer his prayers. -That is true. I nodded as well. Even if I was an ordinary person, the gods wouldn¡¯t have listened to my words. ¡°I don¡¯t have any money.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about that¡­¡± Suddenly, Iron Bat returned in the form of a little girl and started kicking me without permission. How annoying. ¡°Normally, the gods only listen if you give them a lot of offerings!¡± ¡°But¡­ what did you do to the gods? You didn¡¯t do anything wrong, right?¡± There aren¡¯t any¡­ even now, that former disciple of mine has be the Demon King and keeps pestering me. ¡°That has nothing to do with the gods, right?¡± ¡°You need someone to me.¡± ¡°But why should it be the gods?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s because the gods looked hateful. I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s because I got stuck with the Demon King. ¡°I have to speak up.¡± When I hummed a song, Iron Bat let out a deep sigh. ¡°It hurts.¡± As she sighed, Iron Bat¡¯s speed of kicking me increased. ¡°You¡¯re hitting me yet it hurts.¡± Sheined while hitting me, but her attacking power was too strong for me to hit her back in return. This brat¡­ She used to hit others, but now she¡¯s getting stronger and stronger! ¡°Hitting has its own technique, you know.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± She stopped hitting me when I praised her a little and started boasting. ¡°Did you find it?¡± ¡°Just a little more¡­¡± Damn Nature God. He has so much to say. ¡°I found it.¡± ¡°Were you listening?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I looked at Shuttle¡¯s face, as if she was aiming for the timing when the prayer was about to end. She seemed slightly flustered, but it seemed like a coincidence. ¡°What did you hear? Tell me the contents.¡± ¡°Understood. ording to the Nature God¡¯s words, the forces of evil quickly invaded the borders of the Royal Kingdom of Loral and were wiped out by the forces of the Karan Empire, whom they coincidentally encountered. Afterward, they sent their forces several more times, but they couldn¡¯t defeat the forces of the Karan Empire.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Finally, the effect of sending Miria was beginning to show. ¡°How much did the forces of evil decrease?¡± ¡°They say about half of them were annihted.¡± ¡°Really?¡± The number of enemy forces decreased more than expected. Half of them, huh? The Empire¡¯s forces must have also decreased significantly. ¡°What about the losses of the Karan Empire?¡± The forces of evil were a replenishable army if there were beasts or monsters nearby. There were even records that ordinary trees or rocks could be turned into monsters if exposed to evil energy for a long time. In contrast, it would take several years or even decades for the Karan Empire¡¯s forces to replenish their troops. As a Demon King, it would be a good cost-benefit ratio if ten monsters could capture just one soldier of the Empire. So, if the losses of the Karan Empire were worse than expected, we would need to revise all the ns. ¡°There are no losses.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°The Imperial Army reported that there were no serious injuries or fatalities.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°They said there were a few minor injuries, but they were treatable.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes. I found it hard to believe as well, but Nature God confirmed it to be true.¡± No way, that¡¯s insane. I heard that the demon forces numbered in the millions. If half of that number, at least a hundred thousand. The demonic forces possess power and destructiveness several times greater than regr monsters. Would the gods just casually say that the world could be destroyed by the Demon King? They were such dangerous and powerful beings! ¡°Did the entire Imperial Armye?¡± ¡°No. I heard that after the first battle, there were reinforcements against the ever-growing demonic forces, with about 3,000 troops, but not more than that.¡± What¡¯s that? A thousand against thirty thousand? Does that mean they took down thirty monsters per person? ¡°Well, it could be possible.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s thirty monsters per person¡­ Maybe they could do it?¡± Numbers are important in war. However, there are cases where quality is more important than quantity. If a knight who can use magic fights against thirty ordinary peasants, they would obviously win. A Swordmaster could easily defeat about thirty knights. So, the group called the Ast Kidnapping Gang, with EugraShian members, especially centered around Mira, would have enough power to handle such a task. The problem is¡­ ¡°They¡¯ve gotten stronger.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°The pursuers.¡± If it was just one person fighting against thirty, it would be one thing, but it was a battle between a thousand individuals and mindless thirty thousand monsters. Personalbat and battlefieldbat are different. When using powerful techniques, it could also sweep away allies in the front lines, and the battlefield is where one person fights against fifty or a hundred enemies, not thirty. In a battlefield where numerous variables can arise, the fact that there were no fatalities or even serious injuries is synonymous with overwhelming victory. In the current situation, where the world could be on the brink of destruction, they are like a ray of hope or salvation¡­ ¡°I can¡¯t exactly be pleased about it.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± The name of those who possess overwhelming power is the ¡®Ast Kidnapping Gang¡¯. A group created to kidnap me, with much stronger power than one could imagine. It was news that I, who was being chased by them, could not possibly be pleased about. ¡°What are the other heroes doing?¡± ¡°That¡­ Well¡­¡± I decided to modify my ns due to the unexpectedly powerful forces. If I misused the forces of the Karn Empire, it could result in my own demise. So, I decided to make use of the fool¡¯s synonym, the heroes. ¡°Many are fighting against the demonic forces¡­¡± ¡°Is the oue not good?¡± ¡°No. Many of therge parties of heroes have met their downfall.¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± No, what are the gods doing? These people who n to kidnap me are overpowering the demonic forces. Aren¡¯t heroes supposed to be the light and saviors of the world? At least give them some blessings for the sake of their apostle! ¡°Who is the most capable hero?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Swin.¡± ¡°Swin?¡± I tilted my head. I¡¯ve heard that name somewhere before¡­ ¡°He¡¯s our hero.¡± ¡°Ah, right.¡± It¡¯s been a while since I referred to him as a hero rather than by his name. ¡°Is he the most capable?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not just capable; he¡¯s the strongest among the current heroes.¡± Seeing him y a dragon, I thought he was no ordinary person, but his evaluation dropped significantly after that. But now I have to raise it again. ¡°What is the hero, I mean, Swin doing now?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ That¡­¡± Seeing Shuttle hesitate for a moment, I nodded. ¡°Just wait.¡± ¡°Understood¡­¡± Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes in a pious stance, waiting for Shuttle to calm down. After fiddling with my iron balls and waiting, then¡­ ¡°The hero is currently moving with a small group to find Lord Nerwyn.¡± ¡°Is Shia among that small group?¡± ¡°If you mean Shia, the woman you mentioned, no, she¡¯s not there.¡± ¡°How long did they talk? Was there anyone else using the hero as bait?¡± ¡°No, there wasn¡¯t. While there were others who apanied the hero, they seemed to be moving in order to contact Shia.¡± ¡°Is that so? And what about my child?¡± ¡°It seems like the hero and Alice are separated.¡± So my child is with Shia¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a pity, but I guess I¡¯ll have to meet my childter.¡± In the past, it might have been different, but my child has shown great independence since thest incident. Yes, our bloodline may not continue, but she is still my daughter. My child carries the bloodline of escape in her DNA! No matter what her name is, if she sets her mind to it, she can escape! I need to remove the evil quickly and wait at the Demon King¡¯s Castle on the maind to meet again. So, the task I have now is¡­ ¡°Where is that hero?¡± Once I defeat the evil and make ns to return to the maind, everything will fall into ce. #13 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of a Certain Hero ¡°Let¡¯s stop here for today.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± The people in ck around me nodded at my words. ¡°Is there a vige nearby?¡± ¡°No, there isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Homeless again¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I see. Then let¡¯s get ready before the sun sets.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± As I finished speaking, I let out a deep sigh as I watched those who had disappeared. ¡°Should I run away¡­¡± I had heard the senior¡¯s threat not to run. But who am I? I am not just anyone, but a disciple of that professor. My body, no, my soul, cries out to run away. If I flee to a quiet vige in the countryside right now, ¡°The professor wille looking for me. Tears begin to blur my vision. Yes, I am listening to the senior¡¯s words because of the professor¡¯s order. The Professor said, ¡°Protect Alice. If you can¡¯t protect her, find the means and ways to find that hero¡­ and get rid of him forever.¡± Get rid of him forever. This may sound appealing to some nobles who dream of immortality. But to the Professor¡¯s disciples? They would rather enter the mes of hell. If it meant killing him, even if it meant taking risks and running away, I could do it. But when he said to get rid of him forever, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do it. ¡°Damn it! That blond guy!¡± I can¡¯t just drag Hill all the way over there and run away for no reason. Hill is a saint of the Order of Nature God. And I am a hero of the Order of Nature God. When Hill prays, I will be able to know my location in real time, just like an apostle of the evil spirit. If Professor appears and I run away alone? I will live. I will live forever. I tried my best to stop the fight between Senior and Alice, but Professor wouldn¡¯t believe it. First, I will endure the pain of the Iron Bat, ¡°Aaah!¡± Such a scream¡­ ¡°What are you screaming about¡­¡± Scary. Cold sweat began to trickle down my back. ¡°What¡¯s happening¡­ Haaaaaah!¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°Aaah¡­¡± I could hear a sound, whether it was a whimper or a scream, I couldn¡¯t tell. The sound was getting closer. But I couldn¡¯t move. Even though my mind was telling my trembling body to move, my terrified body couldn¡¯t follow my mind¡¯smand. And a momentter, ¡°Fortunately, you were nearby.¡± ¡°Hero¡­¡± With a rustling sound, two familiar men appeared. ¡°Hill¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I looked at Hill with resentful eyes, but he avoided my gaze. It couldn¡¯t be helped, he knew that better than anyone, but I still felt betrayed. ¡°Why¡­ Why did youe?¡± I had a feeling he woulde one day, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be so soon. ¡°There¡¯s something we have to do.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± My question made the professor ponder for a moment. And after a moment of silence, ¡°Be a hero.¡± Professor told me to be a hero after calling me a hero. I had heard that bitter things are good for the body, but I had never heard that they hurt. ¡°First, we have to deal with those guys.¡± The blond beauty, who emitted a golden aura of a hero with his pure white sword, was not afraid even when facing hundreds of enemies. ¡°Wh-Who are you?¡± I asked him with a trembling voice as I approached him, and he answered without turning around. ¡°I am Hero Sven, the man who will defeat the demons.¡± Chapter 244 28. Ah, Is That So? (Part 1) In a disy of my versatility as Shuttle and an astute observer, I stealthily approached the Hero and vanquished the viins encircling him. -Current viins, you say? -Well, their outfits couldn¡¯t scream ¡°viins¡± any louder. Undeniably, they were d in the quintessential viin attire. From head to toe, ck garments engulfed them, even their swords coated in darkness. They were unmistakably viins. ¡°You¡¯re too into the viin look.¡± Certainly, it may be natural for nocturnal viins to don all ck attire, but¡­ ¡°You¡¯re too fixated on stereotypes.¡± Embracing unpredictability would be wiser than parading around in suspicious garb. For instance, dressing in all white. Who would suspect a viin then? People might even mistake you for a saintly figure. -Mistaken for a saintly figure? Preposterous. -I mean, haven¡¯t you seen professors who have that saintly aura? If you walk alongside a saint on the left and a Hero on the right, no one will question you. Huh? That¡¯s actually a pretty good idea. Well, for that to work, ¡°Ma, Master?¡± ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anyone else nearby, right?¡± Prioritizing the hero¡¯s safety, I inquired. ¡°How did you find your way here?¡± ¡°I confirmed your location with the god of nature and came to find you.¡± ¡°Of course¡­.¡± Looking at the Hero¡¯s face filled with deep despair, it seemed like he had realized his fate. -Isn¡¯t it pitiful? -He was the one who started it. I did tell him to go away, but it was the Hero who tenaciously clung to me. If only he hadn¡¯t chased after me when I ran away. I ended up in this mess because he followed me, believing he was fulfilling a divine order. -But even if you were the master, wouldn¡¯t he have stuck around anyway? Is it because of your mood? -Hmm¡­ It¡¯s probably not because of my mood. ¨C Ha! How wicked! Wicked, indeed. Humans do their utmost to survive. I¡¯m merely striving to live. And the hero is not entirely meless either. The n I¡¯ve devised is to maximize our chances of survival in the current situation. If he hadn¡¯t been around, I would have employed a different approach instead of relying on the hero. ¨C Are you sure? ¨C I can¡¯t be more certain. If he had escaped, Shuttle would have done the same, and then I would have had no way to find him. ¨C That¡¯s true. It¡¯s all about killing two birds with one stone. ¡°Why¡­ have youe?¡± And it seemed like the hero realized that too, as he sighed deeply and asked. ¡°I have something to do.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± At the hero¡¯s question, I hesitated for a moment. How should I exin what I¡¯m thinking right now? Hmm¡­ ah, there it is. ¡°Be a hero.¡± ¡°What?¡± The most appropriate phrase to exin the strategy I¡¯vee up with was ¡°Be a hero.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Be a hero.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m already a hero?¡± That¡¯s a well-known fact. Lyna Rael Ironbat, the hero chosen by the gods! Not many people know his full name, but there are probably few on the continent who don¡¯t know the name ¡°Hero Ironbat.¡± The dragon yer who took down a dragon and the mightiest hero of the current continent! The more the demon king roamed the world, the higher his reputation soared. As I said before, humans are creatures who do their best to survive! ¨C What do you mean? ¨C Just like I¡¯m using him to survive, other people support him to survive as well. All they can do is pray. Commoners whock the strength and courage to take matters into their own hands pray to the gods, waiting for the hero to defeat the demon king. ¡°And for those citizens, you must be the hero of heroes.¡± ¡°Commander¡­¡± After finishing my perfect exnation, the hero remained silent. ¡°Are you telling me to fight the demon king?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Do you think I can do that alone?¡± ¡°I never said you have to fight alone. Mira¡¯s Imperial Army is sweeping away the demon king, so you just have to pick up the pieces.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Shuttle began to exin eagerly to the perplexed hero. ¡°Naran faced the Empire¡¯s forces in pursuit and shed with the army of malevolent spirits, resulting in a decisive victory for the Empire.¡± While in Naran¡¯s captivity, the Hero had not received any information, leaving him unaware of the unexpected turn of events. As Shuttle continued her exnation, the Hero¡¯s astonished expression turned into disbelief when he heard that not a single casualty urred among the Empire¡¯s troops. ¡°Is that even possible?¡± ¡°It is possible, and that¡¯s why they need you.¡± Even if the bnce had been somewhat equal, there would have been no need to find this guy. Those who had lost theirrades and were filled with anger would have done their best to defeat the Demon Lord, and after the battle with the Demon Lord¡¯s forces, the exhausted Princess¡¯s forces would have retreated to the maind, and everything would have been over. ¡°Damn! Why are they so powerful¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± It was a perfect n, but thanks to the Empire¡¯s troops, who turned out to be even stronger than expected, both the Hero and I had be exhausted. ¡°Hero, isn¡¯t it a good thing that the Empire¡¯s forces are strong?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± Seeing me and the Hero sigh, Hill raised an eyebrow. ¡°What on earth is the problem?¡± There are many problems. Too many. There has not been a single ce on the continent where the forces of malevolent spirits have been stopped. As soon as the Demon Lord was born, he wiped out one country and advanced, destroying countless cities along the way to the maind. Even the Rube City Union, with one of the strongest military forces on the continent, had been annihted by the Demon Lord and his forces. Many people would have been discouraged. ording to Shuttle, even other Heroes were unable to stop the forces of malevolent spirits and were dying. What would happen when news spread that the Empire¡¯s army had overwhelmingly defeated the enemy? ¡°They will praise the Empire¡¯s army.¡± ¡°And then what?¡± ¡°Well¡­ Oops! Right.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. In weak countries, they will start calling on the Empire¡¯s army. Then, the Empire¡¯s army will have a legitimate reason to travel to other countries.¡± Having defeated the forces of malevolent spirits without any losses. At the moment, only a few people know about it, but soon this news will spread throughout the continent. And many countries that have allied with the Empire will probably request aid. Is that all? Not only allied countries but even non-allied kingdoms will seek help from the Empire¡¯s army, offering various concessions in exchange. Rather than bing a destitute and helpless person who was defeated by malevolent spirits, it would be wiser to hand over oneself to the Empire, a fellow human. ¡°The princess won¡¯t miss such an opportunity. She will use it as an excuse to gain military power, using it to oppose the malevolent spirits, and will even use the military forces of those kingdoms to capture me.¡± The entire continent is after me. It is even more dreadful than being pursued by the Demon Lord. ¡°That¡¯s why this guy needs to step up.¡± That¡¯s why a Hero is needed. This guy needs to make a name for himself across the continent. ¡°Will anything change if the Hero steps up?¡± ¡°It will. It means there is still hope.¡± ¡°Hope?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The opponent is the Karan Empire. That name represents the strongest, but at the same time, the worst name.¡± The Karan Empire. The country that emerged victorious in the previous war and the only hegemonic power on the continent. ¡°The Karan Empire is strong. No one can deny that.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And as strong as they are, the enemies are equally numerous.¡± No country on the continent would dare to engage in a fight against the Karan Empire. Even if they considered only the two countries belonging to the Karan Empire, they were evaluated to possess a military strength stronger than that of the average kingdom. Analyses suggested that at least five or more kingdoms would need to unite their forces to barely stand a chance in battle. At most, it was said that all the kingdoms on the continent, except for the Karan Empire, would have to join forces to face it. That¡¯s how powerful the Karan Empire was, and from the perspective of other nations, it was a ce that should not be allowed to grow even stronger. For if the Karan Empire were to be stronger, the continent might be unified under the name ¡°Karan.¡± ¡°A country that shouldn¡¯t be any stronger, that¡¯s the Karan Empire. Even the countries that were once allies with the Karan Empire wouldn¡¯t wish for its growth.¡± ¡°But now that the forces of evil have appeared, there¡¯s no choice.¡± ¡°Right. Currently, the only existence that can stand against the forces of evil is the Karan Empire.¡± ¡°But if the hero can-¡° ¡°They¡¯ll seek help from someone other than the Karan Empire.¡± While officially, this individual¡¯s birthce was also within the Karan Empire, not many people knew that. Many simply regarded him as a Hero from the Order of Nature. Someone who shouldn¡¯t be allowed to grow stronger, the Karan Empire, and the hero, an excellent pawn. If they can both defeat the forces of evil, it¡¯s obvious which choice the other kingdoms will make. ¡°But the hero has to defeat the forces of evil for this to be possible.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it impossible?¡± ¡°Given the current situation.¡± No matter how powerful the hero may be, he is still just one person. Shuttle cannot be sent out to do the job, as he must be brought along, and the otherpanion, the elf Selena, fled long ago. Copywriting Editing: ¡°So, ¡®You have to be a hero.''¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You have to be the greatest hero.¡± Thus, the decision was made to assemble newpanions for this heroic journey. #1 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of Certain Heroes ¡°Cough¡­¡± ¡°Fesche! H-Hang in there!¡± ¡°Just hold on a little longer!¡± ¡°No¡­ I was wrong¡­¡± As I gazed at myrade, who was smiling through coughs of blood, I noticed the wounds he had endured for our sake. ¡°Laria¡­ There¡¯s nothing you could have done.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Laria, the priestess capable of healing within our party, sobbed as she apologized. ¡°Laria¡­ Don¡¯t make that face.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not your fault.¡± ¡°No. If only I had been more devoted¡­ If my faith in the Nature God had been high enough to be chosen as a saint!¡± ¡°No, your faith is more than sufficient. Nature God knows that too.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t smile like that! Just tell me you¡¯re in pain!¡± ¡°Hahaha! It¡¯s already toote.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not toote! Act like your usual dramatic self! Why are youughing at a time like this?¡± This guy, who would always beg Laria to heal even the slightest scratch, was now coughing up blood but still smiling. Both Laria and I knew. We were already toote. But we couldn¡¯t give up. He was a preciousrade to us. ¡°Heryl, leave me behind.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°I was wrong. You know that, right?¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°Soon, the forces of evil wille after us. If we stay like this, both you and Laria will die.¡± ¡°We can just die.¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t say that. Isn¡¯t it unfair to die out of pity?¡± ¡°Why are you bringing that up!¡± Taken aback by the sudden outburst, she fell silent. Fesche, looking at her like that, chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re feeling sorry for me too¡­¡± ¡°Huh? No, I¡¯m not!¡± ¡°What, what?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already had a passionate night with the beautifuldy from the inn.¡± ¡°What on earth are both of you talking about!¡± Blushing, Laria shouted while continuously using healing magic on Fesche¡¯s wounds. Having lived in the temple since childhood, she was not ustomed to such stories. ¡°After all the treatment is done, both of you will get married.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t do anything wrong¡­¡± ¡°And I was wrong to begin with¡­¡± ¡°Both of you just stop it.¡± With her lips tightly shut, Laria red at Fesche with teary eyes. ¡°I-If you¡¯re going to get married, Fesche, you must stay alive.¡± Taking a deep breath, Fesche sighed. ¡°Dying isn¡¯t that easy.¡± ¡°Of course not. You still owe me money, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yeah, you do.¡± So don¡¯t die. Drawing the holy sword bestowed upon him by the Nature God, he stepped forward. In the distance, hundreds of armies were approaching. They were the demons who plunged the world into crisis and some of the forces who followed them. Each one possessedbat power far beyond that of ordinary monsters, and their numbers were in the hundreds. ¡°Is this the end?¡± If he abandoned Fesche now, he could return to life with Laria. But¡­ ¡°I am a hero.¡± He was a formal hero chosen by the Nature God. Death scared him, but abandoning hisrades was even scarier. ¡°Come, bring it on!¡± Drawing his sword and infusing it with magic power. At the moment he swung the golden sword, hundreds of sword energies struck the demon army! ¡°Huh?¡± Everything came to a halt for a moment. Hundreds? Was I that strong? ¡°Not leaving myrades behind, you¡¯re a good one.¡± ¡°W-Who are you?¡± As soon as she realized that the handsome man had appeared next to her, she nodded. ¡°You want to save yourrade, right?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I can save that guy, do you want me to?¡± As soon as she realized he was referring to Fesche, she nodded again. ¡°He may be pitiful, but I can save him.¡± At the wave of his hand, Fesche¡¯s screams could be heard in the distance. ¡°H-How?¡± ¡°He¡¯s being treated. You know that sometimes what¡¯s good for the body can be painful.¡± It was a phrase she had never heard before. Chapter 245 28. Ah, Is That So? (2) ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± To sweep away hundreds of demonic forces without a single scratch, truly a monstrous feat. Indeed, this guy is also a monster. There are just too many monsters around him, that¡¯s all. -But it¡¯s not his surroundings, it¡¯s the owner¡¯s surroundings, right? -Well, he¡¯s also around me, so it¡¯s the same thing. -Is that so? -Yes, it is. Technically, this guy might also be one of the monsters around me. ¡°Is the treatment finished?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Nodding my head, I pointed to the guy lying on the ground, sticking out his tongue. ¡°We¡¯ve treated him perfectly.¡± ¡°The fact that he looks dead might just be because of his mood, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The guy looked like a corpse when I first saw him. He had numerous minor wounds all over his body, and his stomach had a small hole in it. But who are we? We¡¯re the strongest healerbo, Iron Bat and Shuttle! As Shuttle emitted a brilliant light and Iron Bat swung the iron mallet between them, they brought the dying guy back to life. Look at him! He¡¯s sticking out his tongue and asking to be killed! He¡¯s speaking perfectly and breathing as well. ¡°Laria! Is Fesche alright?¡± ¡°Heryl! She¡¯s alive! Fesche is alive!¡± A handsome guy popped out behind the hero. -Does a god have a face? -Of course not. -Really? -Of course! If gods could see faces and choose their disciples, then there¡¯s no way the owner would be a disciple of a demon. -So, you see his face? Yes, even gods must have had no choice. If you make a hero and a saint look like viins, see what happens when you pick them as disciples. They¡¯ll be scared and run away if you ask them to stay overnight in a vige like ours. Then the hero¡¯s party will end up homeless and, due to umted fatigue, won¡¯t be able to fight properly! That¡¯s why heroes should be pretty and good-looking. -But won¡¯t that cause more problems? The owner¡¯s disciple almost got swayed too. -Oh, that¡¯s true. I nodded involuntarily at Iron Bat¡¯s words. As symbols of the sect, heroes hold a higher position than most nobles, but there are nobles who cannot overlook this fact. There are people who can¡¯t forgive that a meremoner became a hero and reached a position simr to theirs, and there are princesses who are against the hero. This is almost like a death g. Most gse from things you¡¯ve seen in oldics, novels, or movies, but this is from my own experience, so it¡¯s even more certain. That¡¯s why gods should change the heroes to average guys instead of handsome ones. It¡¯s for the sake of world peace. ¡°Sa¡­ve¡­me¡­.¡± ¡°Fesche!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry! All the demon forces of the Evil Sect have been defeated by the natural sect¡¯s hero, Sween Dall!¡± The Hero guy, who was dying just a moment ago, finally regained consciousness. ¡°Sa¡­ve¡­.me¡­.¡± ¡°Commander, what¡¯s that¡­.?¡± ¡°Ignore it.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± After I slightly raised the iron mallet in my hand, which had been used to hit Sween Dall, the guy fell silent. ¡°His condition was too serious. Though we treated him, the mental shock must have been great.¡± Since treating the guy, Sween Dall had been making a gentle smile and approached the other heroes. ¡°That¡¯s right, Saint?¡± ¡°Y-Yes.¡± As Shuttle, who had been treating him together, awkwardly nodded her head, a priestess-looking girl with sparkling eyes looked at Shuttle. ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much!¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t do much.¡± That¡¯s true. I only acted with a sacred light to hide the appearance of the iron mallet. ¡°No, thanks to you, ourrade is alive.¡± But it will probably look like Shuttle healed him to the others. When even heroes from other sects bow their heads, Shuttle looked at me with a troubled expression. Well, I can¡¯t do anything about it. So, you do what you can. ¡°It¡¯s alright. If those who believe in the gods don¡¯t help each other, who will help?¡± Shuttle, who was hesitant to approach me, finally smiled faintly and told me not to worry. Yes, don¡¯t worry. ¡°So, I wanted to say¡­.¡± Shuttle quickly dug into the opportunity he had created. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you gather your strength to save the world?¡± ¡°Strength¡­ Do you mean?¡± ¡°Yes. The world is in peril. The Demon King, actingpletely different from before, and the systematically moving forces of evil. To stop them, even the Heroes must unite their strength and resist.¡± While it was an action I had to take to survive, it also helped the Heroes. In reality, the one called the Demon King was in full control of his senses, allowing the organized forces of evil to move strategically. The evidence was the part of the evil forces that the Hero just swept away. Originally, the forces of evil were mindless monsters, and although there were cases of a few straying from the group, there were never hundreds of them gathering together like that. ¡°Gathering Heroes, you say?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°But you¡­¡± ¡°I am Naran.¡± ¡°Yes. As Naran mentioned, the forces of evil are moving differently from the past. They¡¯ve created separate armies to disperse their troops.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we need to gather even more strength.¡± ¡°No. That¡¯s why we can¡¯t gather more strength.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± It was an unexpected answer. While some inexperienced Heroes believed they could handle anything with their strength, this one was different. ¡°The enemies are currently scattered, attacking multiple viges and cities simultaneously. If we concentrate our strength in one ce, there will be casualties.¡± Surprisingly, they were considering the well-being of ordinary citizens. Heros were truly creatures beyondprehension. -The master¡¯s temperament makes them into fools, protecting people¡­ -Before judging their temperament, let¡¯s consider reality. It¡¯s noble to fight to save ordinary people, but winning is essential; otherwise, it¡¯s all for naught. Look at it the other way. Why are the forces of evil scattered? If the Demon King didn¡¯t know my exact location, he would have dispersed his troops to find me. But that¡¯s not it, is it? The forces of evil are scattered to defeat the Heros. It¡¯s the situation the enemy wanted. In such a situation, the fate of these Hero fools is to fight. Truly a pitiful existence. ¡°I see.¡± Despite this, I couldn¡¯t me these pitiful beings. Although I felt like going somewhere alone and letting out a frustrated sigh, I had to endure it. My goal was not to gather a few Heros, but to gather tens or hundreds. I had to stimte the foolishness of these Heroes who weren¡¯t fools themselves. ¡°But if we continue like this, the damages will only increase. The Demon King, who is worshiped by wicked demons and corrupts the world, must be defeated; otherwise, the forces of evil will keep replenishing.¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t abandon ordinary citizens.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not abandoning them. We¡¯re moving strategically. Our goal is not the forces of evil. We need to eliminate the root cause.¡± ¡°By root cause, do you mean the Demon King?¡± ¡°Yes. More precisely, it is up to the strongest Hero, Sir Sween, to personally defeat the Demon King.¡± As I nodded, the Hero looked at me with a face full of things he wanted to say. Did I not mention it? -No, you didn¡¯t. You said you¡¯d gather Heros to defeat the forces of evil, not that your disciple would defeat them. -He¡¯s also a Hero. So if we include him among the Heros, it makes sense. And this guy once said that he defeated the Demon King alone. -He gave up because he couldn¡¯t beat the elite of the continent, right? -But a man shouldn¡¯t be so wishy-washy! -He gave up on men, huh, Master! Hmm¡­ Let¡¯s consider what they say for the sake of survival. ¡°This Demon King is different from other Demon Kings. If he is in danger, he will undoubtedly gather his forces to protect himself.¡± ¡°That could be true. But if not, the damage to ordinary citizens will be unimaginable.¡± That¡¯s true. Even if just one demon-possessed ogre appeared, a small city would be razed to the ground. With just three or so, they could attack even arge city without knights or swordmasters. But if I admit that, I might as well give up on my n. ¡°It¡¯s okay. The Karan Empire is moving right now.¡± You can just sell the empire. ¡°You mean the Karan Empire?¡± ¡°Indeed. It¡¯s effective to sell the empire. Even the Heros are surprised!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°The priest prayed to the gods to confirm, and it seems that the numerous armies moving around have wiped out over half of the forces of evil.¡± Have they not heard this news yet? They seem really surprised. ¡°I-I see, Hero! The gods of the earth said that the forces of evil moving all over the ce are being annihted!¡± ¡°Indeed, it is the empire¡­¡± The Hero started to shake. Indeed, even though he was a Hero, he couldn¡¯t defeat hundreds of armies. It was no wonder his resolve was breaking. Well, he wasn¡¯t an ordinary soldier despite rumors, but from a Hero¡¯s perspective, it might be seen as being simr to that. -Are Swordmasters and Grand Magicians considered simr to ordinary soldiers when they summon gods, demons, and elemental kings? -But he isn¡¯t one of those guys! They were hard to exin and even harder to understand. They were not knights, but a group with the capacity to abduct people. However, their average skills wereparable to Swordmasters or Archmages. Exining this would likely have an even greater psychological impact. ¡°Now is the chance while the Imperial Army is on the move. If the soldiers of the Empire can ovee the forces of evil and the heroes gather their strength to defeat the demon lord, the Apostle of Evil! We will be able to live in a peaceful world again!¡± It is not only for my peace but also for the peace of the world. So I am not lying. Look at these pure eyes striving to save the world! ¡°Understood.¡± Perhaps because he saw my sincere eyes, the hesitant Nature Hero nodded and expressed his willingness to join us. With that, we obtained our firstpanion¡­ No, ally. Together, we moved forward to rescue the endangered Heroes and persuade them to join our cause. Initially, like the Nature Hero, other Heroes also refused to join forces, but we persistently convinced them with earnest words. And after a while, as Heroes with double-digit numbers gathered, the number of those who refused gradually decreased, and soon, voluntary Heroes began toe to gather their strength. As the number of Heroes increased, starting with the Nature Hero and reaching 100 members, ¡°To defeat the wicked servants of evil! Charge!¡± ¡°Roar!¡± The unitprised of Heroes advanced. Chapter 246

Chapter 246

28. Ah, Is That So? (2) ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± To sweep away hundreds of demonic forces without a single scratch, truly a monstrous feat. Indeed, this guy is also a monster. There are just too many monsters around him, that¡¯s all. -But it¡¯s not his surroundings, it¡¯s the owner¡¯s surroundings, right? -Well, he¡¯s also around me, so it¡¯s the same thing. -Is that so? -Yes, it is. Technically, this guy might also be one of the monsters around me. ¡°Is the treatment finished?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Nodding my head, I pointed to the guy lying on the ground, sticking out his tongue. ¡°We¡¯ve treated him perfectly.¡± ¡°The fact that he looks dead might just be because of his mood, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The guy looked like a corpse when I first saw him. He had numerous minor wounds all over his body, and his stomach had a small hole in it. But who are we? We¡¯re the strongest healerbo, Iron Bat and Shuttle! As Shuttle emitted a brilliant light and Iron Bat swung the iron mallet between them, they brought the dying guy back to life. Look at him! He¡¯s sticking out his tongue and asking to be killed! He¡¯s speaking perfectly and breathing as well. ¡°Laria! Is Fesche alright?¡± ¡°Heryl! She¡¯s alive! Fesche is alive!¡± A handsome guy popped out behind the hero. -Does a god have a face? -Of course not. -Really? -Of course! If gods could see faces and choose their disciples, then there¡¯s no way the owner would be a disciple of a demon. -So, you see his face? Yes, even gods must have had no choice. If you make a hero and a saint look like viins, see what happens when you pick them as disciples. They¡¯ll be scared and run away if you ask them to stay overnight in a vige like ours. Then the hero¡¯s party will end up homeless and, due to umted fatigue, won¡¯t be able to fight properly! That¡¯s why heroes should be pretty and good-looking. -But won¡¯t that cause more problems? The owner¡¯s disciple almost got swayed too. -Oh, that¡¯s true. I nodded involuntarily at Iron Bat¡¯s words. As symbols of the sect, heroes hold a higher position than most nobles, but there are nobles who cannot overlook this fact. There are people who can¡¯t forgive that a meremoner became a hero and reached a position simr to theirs, and there are princesses who are against the hero. This is almost like a death g. Most gse from things you¡¯ve seen in oldics, novels, or movies, but this is from my own experience, so it¡¯s even more certain. That¡¯s why gods should change the heroes to average guys instead of handsome ones. It¡¯s for the sake of world peace. ¡°Sa¡­ve¡­me¡­.¡± ¡°Fesche!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry! All the demon forces of the Evil Sect have been defeated by the natural sect¡¯s hero, Sween Dall!¡± The Hero guy, who was dying just a moment ago, finally regained consciousness. ¡°Sa¡­ve¡­.me¡­.¡± ¡°Commander, what¡¯s that¡­.?¡± ¡°Ignore it.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± After I slightly raised the iron mallet in my hand, which had been used to hit Sween Dall, the guy fell silent. ¡°His condition was too serious. Though we treated him, the mental shock must have been great.¡± Since treating the guy, Sween Dall had been making a gentle smile and approached the other heroes. ¡°That¡¯s right, Saint?¡± ¡°Y-Yes.¡± As Shuttle, who had been treating him together, awkwardly nodded her head, a priestess-looking girl with sparkling eyes looked at Shuttle. ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much!¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t do much.¡± That¡¯s true. I only acted with a sacred light to hide the appearance of the iron mallet. ¡°No, thanks to you, ourrade is alive.¡± But it will probably look like Shuttle healed him to the others. When even heroes from other sects bow their heads, Shuttle looked at me with a troubled expression. Well, I can¡¯t do anything about it. So, you do what you can. ¡°It¡¯s alright. If those who believe in the gods don¡¯t help each other, who will help?¡± Shuttle, who was hesitant to approach me, finally smiled faintly and told me not to worry. Yes, don¡¯t worry. ¡°So, I wanted to say¡­.¡± Shuttle quickly dug into the opportunity he had created. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you gather your strength to save the world?¡± ¡°Strength¡­ Do you mean?¡± ¡°Yes. The world is in peril. The Demon King, actingpletely different from before, and the systematically moving forces of evil. To stop them, even the Heroes must unite their strength and resist.¡± While it was an action I had to take to survive, it also helped the Heroes. In reality, the one called the Demon King was in full control of his senses, allowing the organized forces of evil to move strategically. The evidence was the part of the evil forces that the Hero just swept away. Originally, the forces of evil were mindless monsters, and although there were cases of a few straying from the group, there were never hundreds of them gathering together like that. ¡°Gathering Heroes, you say?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°But you¡­¡± ¡°I am Naran.¡± ¡°Yes. As Naran mentioned, the forces of evil are moving differently from the past. They¡¯ve created separate armies to disperse their troops.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we need to gather even more strength.¡± ¡°No. That¡¯s why we can¡¯t gather more strength.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± It was an unexpected answer. While some inexperienced Heroes believed they could handle anything with their strength, this one was different. ¡°The enemies are currently scattered, attacking multiple viges and cities simultaneously. If we concentrate our strength in one ce, there will be casualties.¡± Surprisingly, they were considering the well-being of ordinary citizens. Heros were truly creatures beyondprehension. -The master¡¯s temperament makes them into fools, protecting people¡­ -Before judging their temperament, let¡¯s consider reality. It¡¯s noble to fight to save ordinary people, but winning is essential; otherwise, it¡¯s all for naught. Look at it the other way. Why are the forces of evil scattered? If the Demon King didn¡¯t know my exact location, he would have dispersed his troops to find me. But that¡¯s not it, is it? The forces of evil are scattered to defeat the Heros. It¡¯s the situation the enemy wanted. In such a situation, the fate of these Hero fools is to fight. Truly a pitiful existence. ¡°I see.¡± Despite this, I couldn¡¯t me these pitiful beings. Although I felt like going somewhere alone and letting out a frustrated sigh, I had to endure it. My goal was not to gather a few Heros, but to gather tens or hundreds. I had to stimte the foolishness of these Heroes who weren¡¯t fools themselves. ¡°But if we continue like this, the damages will only increase. The Demon King, who is worshiped by wicked demons and corrupts the world, must be defeated; otherwise, the forces of evil will keep replenishing.¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t abandon ordinary citizens.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not abandoning them. We¡¯re moving strategically. Our goal is not the forces of evil. We need to eliminate the root cause.¡± ¡°By root cause, do you mean the Demon King?¡± ¡°Yes. More precisely, it is up to the strongest Hero, Sir Sween, to personally defeat the Demon King.¡± As I nodded, the Hero looked at me with a face full of things he wanted to say. Did I not mention it? -No, you didn¡¯t. You said you¡¯d gather Heros to defeat the forces of evil, not that your disciple would defeat them. -He¡¯s also a Hero. So if we include him among the Heros, it makes sense. And this guy once said that he defeated the Demon King alone. -He gave up because he couldn¡¯t beat the elite of the continent, right? -But a man shouldn¡¯t be so wishy-washy! -He gave up on men, huh, Master! Hmm¡­ Let¡¯s consider what they say for the sake of survival. ¡°This Demon King is different from other Demon Kings. If he is in danger, he will undoubtedly gather his forces to protect himself.¡± ¡°That could be true. But if not, the damage to ordinary citizens will be unimaginable.¡± That¡¯s true. Even if just one demon-possessed ogre appeared, a small city would be razed to the ground. With just three or so, they could attack even arge city without knights or swordmasters. But if I admit that, I might as well give up on my n. ¡°It¡¯s okay. The Karan Empire is moving right now.¡± You can just sell the empire. ¡°You mean the Karan Empire?¡± ¡°Indeed. It¡¯s effective to sell the empire. Even the Heros are surprised!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°The priest prayed to the gods to confirm, and it seems that the numerous armies moving around have wiped out over half of the forces of evil.¡± Have they not heard this news yet? They seem really surprised. ¡°I-I see, Hero! The gods of the earth said that the forces of evil moving all over the ce are being annihted!¡± ¡°Indeed, it is the empire¡­¡± The Hero started to shake. Indeed, even though he was a Hero, he couldn¡¯t defeat hundreds of armies. It was no wonder his resolve was breaking. Well, he wasn¡¯t an ordinary soldier despite rumors, but from a Hero¡¯s perspective, it might be seen as being simr to that. -Are Swordmasters and Grand Magicians considered simr to ordinary soldiers when they summon gods, demons, and elemental kings? -But he isn¡¯t one of those guys! They were hard to exin and even harder to understand. They were not knights, but a group with the capacity to abduct people. However, their average skills wereparable to Swordmasters or Archmages. Exining this would likely have an even greater psychological impact. ¡°Now is the chance while the Imperial Army is on the move. If the soldiers of the Empire can ovee the forces of evil and the heroes gather their strength to defeat the demon lord, the Apostle of Evil! We will be able to live in a peaceful world again!¡± It is not only for my peace but also for the peace of the world. So I am not lying. Look at these pure eyes striving to save the world! ¡°Understood.¡± Perhaps because he saw my sincere eyes, the hesitant Nature Hero nodded and expressed his willingness to join us. With that, we obtained our firstpanion¡­ No, ally. Together, we moved forward to rescue the endangered Heroes and persuade them to join our cause. Initially, like the Nature Hero, other Heroes also refused to join forces, but we persistently convinced them with earnest words. And after a while, as Heroes with double-digit numbers gathered, the number of those who refused gradually decreased, and soon, voluntary Heroes began toe to gather their strength. As the number of Heroes increased, starting with the Nature Hero and reaching 100 members, ¡°To defeat the wicked servants of evil! Charge!¡± ¡°Roar!¡± The unitprised of Heroes advanced. Chapter 247

Chapter 247

Chapter 28: Ah, Is That So? (4) ¡°Eek?¡± Another patient who had been quite aggressive copsed with a cartoon-like scream. ¡°Well, you have endured quite a lot.¡± ¡°Shall we continue?¡± In an instant, Shuttle, who had been flying through the air with a waving arm, approached. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Radiant light emanated from Shuttle¡¯s outstretched hand. Shuttle possessed incredible power as a Saint of the Natural Doctrines. And the true nature of the light emitted by Shuttle, who had decided to release it, was¡­ ¡°Is this brightness enough?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It was just light. -He uses his abilities so casually. -But it¡¯s us who make him use it. -It¡¯s not us, it¡¯s the owner! At Soffada¡¯s words, I unconsciously nodded in agreement. Well, I have to admit that I wanted this situation. ¡°Then let¡¯s start the treatment.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± I picked up the fallen man and woman and looked at Soffada. First the man. ¡°He seems to have lost an arm. Did the wound go up in mes?¡± ¡°Looks like it was consumed.¡± ¡°If he still had the arm, I would have tried to reattach it.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s not possible.¡± Truly unfortunate. If they were able to withstand such a formidable force on their own, they must have possessed considerable fighting skills. ¡°It¡¯s really unfortunate.¡± A situation where even one person¡¯s fighting ability could not be used is disheartening. The opponents were the Demon Lord and the Empire, both monsters capable of standing against the world. To save the world from such monsters, a hero would be the most suitable existence. -Not the world, but the owner. -What you see with your own eyes is your whole world. In other words, if I don¡¯t exist, my world doesn¡¯t exist. -That¡¯s just an excuse. It¡¯s not an excuse. First of all, the world revolves around your perspective. Even if it¡¯s an established principle, if it makes me suffer it¡¯s a curse, but if it makes me gain something it bes an established rule. The world is the same. People are born and die. But each person¡¯s life is unique. There may be someone who lives worse than me, but finds more happiness. There may be someone who lives better than me but experiences more misery. For example, let¡¯s say there¡¯s a student who¡¯s ranked 35th in a ss of 40, and he moves up to 20th. He would probably be happy, and his parents would be happy. But what if the student who usually ranks first identally drops to third? Would that student and his parents still be happy? They might consider it a mistake and try to do better next time, or perhaps it would be normal for them to feel that way. But the scene that sticks in my mind is that of a depressed student. Did they receive all kinds of criticism from their parents? In any case, it was not a happy ending. A student who ranked 20th in the ss and a student who ranked third in the whole school. To everyone, the student who ranked third should be more outstanding and receive more recognition, but the reality is a little different. There are no absolutes. Everything is subjective. Like the different value of 10,000 won to a kindergartener and an adult. Or the different value of a ss of water in an ordinary ce and in the desert. Or how the sales of air conditioners differ between summer and winter! Oh, thatst example might not fit. Anyway, there are no absolutes in this world. My own way of thinking, my physical abilities, my possessions, and the circumstances around me are the whole of my world and the whole of this world. Why should I worry about a world without me that I don¡¯t even know? -Young Master? -Oh, that¡¯s a worry. Our innocent young master. Based on his recent behavior, it didn¡¯t seem like he was being deceived by anyone, but Father was still worried! That¡¯s right! He¡¯s going through puberty and has be a bit more temperamental, but he¡¯s still our innocent Young Master. What would happen to our beloved Young Master if I left? -What would happen? He¡¯d live well. -The world is a scary ce. It¡¯s too hard for an innocent child like him to live in! -Being innocent¡­ Young Master has already begun to resemble the owner. You¡¯ve seen it, right? He¡¯s already changed so much through puberty! -Oh no! -ept reality! ¡°The treatment isplete.¡± Soffada¡¯s shaken consciousness returned. There was a man on the floor, foaming at the mouth. Even if Soffada was omnipotent, he didn¡¯t create a scene with a severed hand sticking out like a great demon lord, but all the wounds the man had suffered were healed. ¡°Now it¡¯s the hero¡¯s turn.¡± The shuttle that had rolled the fallen hero of the Ganges Temple to the ground lowered its gaze when it heard Shuttle¡¯s words. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± It was a face that did not seem to belong to amoner. The saliva dripping lips were as red as if they were covered in lipstick, and despite being covered in dirt and dust, the hair fluttered gracefully. In addition, she exuded the beauty and mature charm of a woman. The estimate came out. ¡°Let¡¯s wear the mask.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Shuttle and I covered our faces with the ck masks we had prepared. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Since I had warned Shuttle about the dangers of dealing with beauties, he had heard my story a few times and quickly understood what I meant. Well, if he didn¡¯t understand, he would be a fool, considering how his esteemed warrior was enchanted by a princess. Still, I should make sure that he memorizes the precautions before we start, because there is a risk of bing too immune to security. ¡°Now repeat what I told you.¡± ¡°Amoner can be good, but a beautifulmoner cannot be good. Amoner without abilities can be good, but amoner with abilities can¡¯t be good.¡± ¡°True. Why is that?¡± ¡°There are exceptions! If someone is beautiful or capable but has no one around him, be careful. Chances are, their personality is a mess!¡± ¡°Good, excellent.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Shuttle, nodding vigorously, gathered magic again and created a bright light. They got along so well that even after the battle was over, I felt like taking the role of hero and demon radar with me! It¡¯s just a shame that I have to release them because of the risk of being traced after defeating the demon lord. ¡°Now, let¡¯s begin the operation.¡± I looked at the fallen hero with the sledgehammer in his hand. He had already been treated a bit because his body had gone wild even when he was unconscious. He hadn¡¯t suffered as much as the man next to him, and Shuttle had treated him enough with the sledgehammer¡­ but¡­ -When else will I get the chance to hit warriors like that! Determined by the strong will of the sledgehammer, I decided to use my own hands this time. I swung the sledgehammer with a steady rhythm. It was like a salmon jumping against a strong current! But what came out of the hero¡¯s mouth was the roar of a beast, a strangebination. ¡°It is done.¡± The hero¡¯s body, which had been bouncing around, came to a halt. There seemed to be nothing left to treat or bless him with. ¡°Your skills seem to be quite good.¡± ¡°I heard that he moved with the Knights of the Ganges Temple. Although the Ganges Temple is not well known due to itsck of aplishments, these people all recognize his skills.¡± ¡°Even so, he wouldn¡¯t have survived without his own abilities.¡± I had found a quite useful talent. No matter how strong the Knights of the Ganges Temple were, the hero of the Ganges Temple was just a novice who had been chosen as a hero for only one year. Not only did he survive a rtivelyrge battle, but he wasn¡¯t even seriously injured! There was no other way to describe him but as a true hero. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± And Op¡­ no, Shuttle, who provided me with information about the hero, would surely understand how remarkable the Knights of the Ganges Temple were. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the hero to the waiting priestesses¡­. What about this one?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ First, we need to get the opinions of the two people involved before making a decision, but we should probably send him back to the Temple of Instruction.¡± There would be nothing but trouble if I brought that guy along for no reason. For example, he woulde forward as usual and be in a life-threatening situation, and the warrior who was enchanted by the beauty of the Ganges Temple would break formation to save him. And then the male warriors who were enchanted by the beauty of the Ganges Temple would rush to save him, creating chaos¡­ ¡°It¡¯s terrible.¡± ¡°What?¡± At the words that slipped out, Shuttle looked at me with a puzzled expression. ¡°Losing a hand as an examiner is more painful than death.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± No, I didn¡¯t hear anything. He¡¯s just saying things that sound usible. We need to shape public opinion like this to make it easier to send him away. It¡¯s not a good idea to leave an inspector or the Immortal Affection on the battlefield until the decisive moment. Who knows what might happen. It¡¯s best for the patient to restfortably at home, especially in the current situation where the final battle is imminent. ¡°What is the Demon King¡¯s current location?¡± ¡°It is quite close. At the current marching speed, we may be able to meet within ten days.¡± ¡°And the position of the Empire?¡± ¡°They are scattered in various ces, but the main force is about five days away from here.¡± The main force belonged to Mirah. With their speed, they could probably arrive within a day if they set their minds to it. ¡°What about support from other kingdoms?¡± ¡°Food supplies are expected to arrive this afternoon, and militarily, there are about ten thousand elite soldiers from the Parsis Kingdom, the closest ce.¡± Ten thousand. A considerable number, but considering that they¡¯re soldiers, it¡¯s a force that can handle about five hundred evil armies. Not bad at all. ¡°How reliable is the information?¡± ¡°As for the Demon King¡¯s location, it¡¯s reliable because it was directly informed by the Nature Gods. As for the Empire¡¯s location, it¡¯s not entirely urate due to some manipted information, but we¡¯re sure of the main force¡¯s location.¡± ording to the shuttle, the leader of the Empire¡¯s main force, Mirah, had requested assistance from the Divine Sect and appeared to be apanied by some of the Sect¡¯s priests. They imed it was for emergency treatment, but there were some powerful healers among the Eugrasian members. Whenever they were injured, Soffada would heal them¡­ so they must have worked hard to get treated before Soffada arrived. Maybe Mirah called the Holy Sect people to signal me. I haven¡¯t collected all the recipes yet. Of course, there¡¯s a chance that she¡¯s targeting my weaknesses, so I have to be careful, very careful. In the worst case scenario, the moment the Demon King is defeated, I¡¯ll be able to go after him and capture him! ¡°The preparations are almost finished¡­ Then, Shuttle, take the heroes to the temple. I¡¯ll leave this man in someone else¡¯s care ande back.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Shuttle, bowing slightly and lifting the hero, left. ¡°I told you not to do that¡­¡± Her appearance, carrying the hero like a princess, seemed as if she hadn¡¯t fully recovered from her shock. If she continued like this, the moment the hero woke up and fell for the shuttle¡­ ¡°No, that¡¯s too fast.¡± Soffada, who had finished everything, began to grumble naturally in the form of a girl. ¡°They say love can start suddenly.¡± ¡°What? I haven¡¯t even been in a rtionship, let alone married!¡± ¡°Hey¡­ you¡­¡± At that moment, Soffada¡¯s words hit me mentally, leaving me slightly speechless. Damn it! It looks like this life is confirmed to be that of a bachelor. Even if there¡¯s someone to follow, I still feel a pain in my side! ¡°Anyway, why did youe out again? You said you had a lot to do.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡­ ¡° Soffada looked around for a moment and then stared at me with a serious expression. ¡°Master, listen carefully to what I¡¯m about to say. This is a legend¡­¡± ¡°What legend?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe in legends.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Soffada¡¯s expression turned cold. But I couldn¡¯t help it. We¡¯re preparing for the Demon King¡¯s battle, which will take ce in a few days! In such a situation, there¡¯s no need to listen to Soffada¡¯s nonsense! ¡°Hmph¡­ Hmph!¡± Soffada tried to protest with a puckered lip, showing that she was in a bad mood, but I ignored her and focused on nning the operation ahead, looking at the heroes fighting on the battlefield. ¡°It was really important¡­!¡± Soffada¡¯s gaze turned to me. At that moment, I didn¡¯t realize that her eyes werepletely different from her usual ones. Editing and proofreading: ¡°It¡¯s just a shame that I have to release them because of the risk of being traced after defeating the demon lord.¡± ¡°Now, let¡¯s begin the operation.¡± I looked at the fallen hero with the sledgehammer in his hand. He had already been treated a bit because his body had gone wild even when he was unconscious. He hadn¡¯t suffered as much as the man next to him, and Shuttle had treated him enough with the sledgehammer¡­ but¡­ -When else will I get the chance to hit warriors like that! Determined by the strong will of the sledgehammer, I decided to use my own hands this time. I swung the sledgehammer with a steady rhythm. It was like a salmon jumping against a strong current! But what came out of the hero¡¯s mouth was the roar of a beast, a strangebination. ¡°It is done.¡± The hero¡¯s body, which had been bouncing around, came to a halt. There seemed to be nothing left to treat or bless him with. ¡°Your skills seem to be quite good.¡± ¡°I heard that he moved with the Knights of the Ganges Temple. Although the Ganges Temple is not well known due to itsck of aplishments, these people all recognize his skills.¡± ¡°Even so, he wouldn¡¯t have survived without his own abilities.¡± I had found a quite useful talent. No matter how strong the Knights of the Ganges Temple were, the hero of the Ganges Temple was just a novice who had been chosen as a hero for only one year. Not only did he survive a rtivelyrge battle, but he wasn¡¯t even seriously injured! There was no other way to describe him but as a true hero. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± And Op¡­ no, Shuttle, who provided me with information about the hero, would surely understand how remarkable the Knights of the Ganges Temple were. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the hero to the waiting priestesses¡­ What about this one?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ First, we need to get the opinions of the two people involved before making a decision, but we should probably send him back to the Temple of Instruction.¡± There would be nothing but trouble if I brought that guy along for no reason. For example, he woulde forward as usual and be in a life-threatening situation, and the warrior who was captivated by the beauty of the Ganges Temple would break formation to save him. And then the male warriors who were enchanted by the beauty of the Ganges Temple would rush to save him, creating chaos¡­ ¡°It¡¯s terrible.¡± ¡°What?¡± At the words that slipped out, Shuttle looked at me with a puzzled expression. ¡°Losing a hand as an examiner is more painful than death.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± No, I didn¡¯t hear anything. He¡¯s just saying things that sound usible. We need to shape public opinion like this to make it easier to send him away. It¡¯s not a good idea to leave an inspector or the Immortal Affection on the battlefield until the decisive moment. Who knows what might happen. It¡¯s best for the patient to restfortably at home, especially in the current situation where the final battle is imminent. ¡°What is the Demon King¡¯s current location?¡± ¡°It is quite close. At the current marching speed, we may be able to meet within ten days.¡± ¡°And the position of the Empire?¡± ¡°They are scattered in various ces, but the main force is about five days away from here.¡± The main force belonged to Mirah. With their speed, they could probably arrive within a day if they set their minds to it. ¡°What about support from other kingdoms?¡± ¡°Food supplies are expected to arrive this afternoon, and militarily, there are about ten thousand elite soldiers from the Parsis Kingdom, the closest ce.¡± Ten thousand. A considerable number, but considering that they¡¯re soldiers, it¡¯s a force that can handle about five hundred evil armies. Not bad at all. ¡°How reliable is the information?¡± ¡°As for the Demon King¡¯s location, it¡¯s reliable because it was directly informed by the Nature Gods. As for the Empire¡¯s location, it¡¯s not entirely urate due to some manipted information, but we¡¯re sure of the main force¡¯s location.¡± ording to the shuttle, the leader of the Empire¡¯s main force, Mirah, had requested assistance from the Divine Sect and appeared to be apanied by some of the Sect¡¯s priests. They imed it was for emergency treatment, but there were some powerful healers among the Eugrasian members. Whenever they were injured, Soffada would heal them¡­ so they must have worked hard to get treated before Soffada arrived. Maybe Mirah called the Holy Sect people to signal me. I haven¡¯t collected all the recipes yet. Of course, there¡¯s a chance that she¡¯s targeting my weaknesses, so I have to be careful, very careful. If the worstes to the worst, I can go after the Demon King the moment he¡¯s defeated and capture him! ¡°The preparations are almost finished¡­ Then, Shuttle, take the heroes to the temple. I¡¯ll leave this man in someone else¡¯s care ande back.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Shuttle, bowing slightly and lifting the hero, left. ¡°I told you not to do that¡­¡± Her appearance, carrying the hero like a princess, seemed like she hadn¡¯t fully recovered from her shock. If she continues like this, the moment the hero wakes up and falls in love with Shuttle¡­ ¡°No, that¡¯s too fast.¡± Soffada, who had finished everything, began to grumble naturally in the form of a girl. ¡°They say love can start suddenly.¡± ¡°What? I haven¡¯t even been in a rtionship, let alone married!¡± ¡°Hey¡­ you¡­¡± At that moment, Soffada¡¯s words hit me mentally, leaving me slightly speechless. Damn it! It looks like this life is confirmed to be that of a bachelor. Even if there¡¯s someone to follow, I still feel a pain in my side! ¡°Anyway, why did youe out again? You said you had a lot to do.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡­ ¡° Soffada looked around for a moment and then stared at me with a serious expression. ¡°Master, listen carefully to what I¡¯m about to say. This is a legend¡­¡± ¡°What legend?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe in legends.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Soffada¡¯s expression turned cold. But I couldn¡¯t help it. We¡¯re preparing for the Demon King¡¯s battle, which will take ce in a few days! In such a situation, there¡¯s no need to listen to Soffada¡¯s nonsense! ¡°Hmph¡­ Hmph!¡± Chapter 248 248. Ah, so that¡¯s how it is? (5) It had been three months since I had met my firstpanion, the Earth hero. At first, the stubborn hero and hisrades didn¡¯t listen well, but as their numbers grew, they began to follow orders more obediently. Such is the power of a group. Even though they could im a mental victory over those of lesser status, everyone gathered here was a hero and his party. A motley crew! In such a ce, there weren¡¯t many who could im to be superior. ¡°The world is currently under threat. The threat of destruction at the hands of evil spirits!¡± And one of those few was my disciple. ¡°Even now, many people are falling prey to the forces of evil spirits. Their hope is in us. If we don¡¯t defeat the evil spirits, all beings on this continent¡­ no, all species are in danger!¡± ¡°Oooooh!¡± Cheers and apuse echoed around the room. Even though I was stating the obvious, I received apuse and cheers. This must be what they mean when they say that once you¡¯re famous, people will apud you even if you take a dump. ¡°Now is the time to fight. If we don¡¯t fight, who will? We will fight the evil spirits in the name of the heroes!¡± As the hero spoke, the other heroes raised their holy swords and shouted in excitement. I wanted to say that the Empire would have handled this even without you, but I held my tongue. ¡°Seeing us unite, humanity has also begun to unite. Several kingdoms have already gathered their forces to send reinforcements. Not only that, but the elves, dwarves, giants, and even other races that previously had no interest in the world are offering their support. They all trust us and are waiting for us to defeat the evil spirits. Now is the time to fight. In the name of the heroes, it¡¯s time to defeat the evil spirits!¡± As the hero raised his hand, another round of cheers erupted. It was the perfect time to throw a windfall into the midst of the heroes! Even without a windfall, their unity was incredible. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± ¡°Well done.¡± I nodded slightly to the approaching hero, and he returned the gesture. It wasn¡¯t just empty words; he did better than I expected. Or should I say, he was even more popr than I expected? The heroes practically treated him like an idol. ¡°So¡­ are we going to fight?¡± ¡°We have to.¡± ¡°Me too?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re a hero, you should fight against the evil spirits.¡± I looked disdainfully at the hero, who looked at me with an uneasy expression. This was serious. If you¡¯re a fool, act like one¡­ No, if you¡¯re a hero, then fight the evil spirits like one. ¡°Understood.¡± With a deep sigh, the tired looking hero nodded. His back looked pitiful as he walked away. So, ¡°Have someone follow him.¡± There was a good chance that he would run away, so we needed someone to follow him. ¡°Understood.¡± Now it was time for my aide, Shuttle, to give orders. Of course, Shuttle wouldn¡¯t leave my side. The moment he left, the heroes would grab him and run. ¡°It is simply because Shuttle¡¯s words carry more credibility than mine when he speaks to others. People trust a handsome cleric more than a middle-aged man of uncertain status. I watched with satisfaction as Shuttle secretly asked people to protect the hero and anticipated the battle between the heroes and the demon king. And the result! ¡°What did you say?¡± I tilted my head, wondering if I had misheard, but Shuttle¡¯s trembling voice confirmed that I hadn¡¯t. ¡°The demon king has fled.¡± ¡°Fled? The demon king?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°It seems that except for some forces left behind to buy time, the entire army is following the same path as the advance route. Some specte that they may return to the Mared Kingdom.¡± ¡°Specte?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How are the heroes?¡± ¡°They seem quite confused, but it looks like they¡¯ve decided to go after them.¡± ¡°That is to be expected.¡± Throughout history, demon kings have fought to the death, knowing that it means their doom. No matter how unusual this demon king is said to be, I never expected them to flee. Not even I, who know the Demon King¡¯s true form, could have predicted this! -¡­ Huh? -Huh! I was expecting the usual ¡°I learned it from my owner, so of course I¡¯ll run away!¡±, but it was strangely quiet. -Still sulking? -I don¡¯t know! After our discussionst time about not believing in legends, he sulked and mumbled, but I had no intention of giving in to that legend. What he knows as a legend is limited to what I know. My knowledge is all that matters. I¡¯ve kept it with me since it was forged by a cksmith, so my knowledge is the sum of what the cksmith knows. Everything he doesn¡¯t know is what the cksmith doesn¡¯t know. Normally I wouldn¡¯t mind, but in this busy situation there¡¯s no time to y with him. ¡°The chances of a trap are high. We need to confirm it and continue the pursuit, right?¡± ¡°They are using a vanguard to check for traps during the pursuit. The heroes are handling the situation well in the midst of the troops, so we can trust them.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s them, we can trust them.¡± He was a hero in charge of themand in the middle, as if he was my apprentice, because I was worried about who wouldn¡¯t be my apprentice. They cedrades in the dangerous vanguard for traps or sneak attacks, and also in the dangerous rear for surprise attacks! As long as they¡¯re careful about bombing from above, there shouldn¡¯t be any danger to the heroes. By the way, what does the Demon King want? Is it to retreat and increase the number of troops? That would be difficult. All the beings in the area are fleeing to a ce created by the forces of evil. In order to gather new forces, they would have to go to a new ce. Of course, that would probably involve battles, and in the worst case, they could be ambushed by the heroes. So they can¡¯t really increase their troops, and they might end up going back to where they came from. ¡°What were the characteristics of the destroyed Mared Kingdom?¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t have any special characteristics. The ce was characterized by its inconspicuousness. Due to the nature of the northern continent, the weather was cold and winter came early, but these were conditions shared by all nearby kingdoms.¡± ¡°Are they waiting for winter?¡± ¡°Um¡­ That¡¯s a possibility.¡± The northern winter wasn¡¯t just cold; it brought heavy snowfall and bone-chilling cold, conditions so harsh that even movement could lead to casualties. They might want to use that to lure the heroes out. Unlike the wild monsters, the heroes and theirpanions were human. Even if they disrupted their supply lines, there should be no danger to the heroes as long as they were careful about ambushing them. ¡°Support will be more difficult. We should quickly request help from the northern kingdoms¡­¡± ¡°Understood. We¡¯ll send a request for support through the heroes of the Martial Temple, including the prince of the northern kingdom.¡± ¡°Good¡­¡± In order to address the only option that Shuttle and I could think of, we moved quickly and performed various administrative tasks. We informed the prince of the northern kingdom, who was actively serving as an inspector at the Martial Temple, and the northern kingdoms quickly responded by preparing supplies. The northern kingdoms had developed magic-based supplies to withstand the harsh winter conditions, so they would undoubtedly be helpful to the heroes. And it seemed that our efforts were bearing fruit! A few dayster, we received word that the Demon King had sessfully fled to the northern continent. ¡°We finally found them, my lord.¡± They appeared before us. Huh? #3 Your situation: A Certain hero¡¯s Situation ¡°Rest!¡± ¡°It¡¯s time to rest!¡± ¡°Contact the vanguard for their return!¡± At mymand, the others quickly began to move. Most of them were former underdog heroes, so they quickly formed ranks and set up a makeshift barracks. Of course, not everyone was familiar with these procedures. After the appearance of the Evil Apostle, a significant number of heroes died, and an equal number were resurrected. About half of them became heroes after the appearance of the Evil Apostle! Except for a few heroes, they could be said to be baggage, but theirrades around them were quite useful, so there was no choice but to take them along. The instructor had said that in order to fight against the forces of evil, both quality and quantity were important. ¡°The vanguard has returned, and preparations for the siege are 80%plete.¡± Although they wererades of other heroes, this was the voice of a mage who had traveled with me thanks to her excellentmunication magic. ¡°It¡¯s time to prepare a meal. Didn¡¯t the vanguard say anything special?¡± ¡°They only mentioned that they had removed a simple trap.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I nodded and took a map of the continent out of my bag. Our current location was just above the border between the central and northern continents. In other words, we were at the entrance to the northern continent. ¡°What do you think the enemy wants?¡± ¡°Could it be that they want to incapacitate us with the northern cold?¡± ¡°As the Demon King, it doesn¡¯t seem like prolonging time would be to their advantage¡­¡± ¡°Perhaps they intend to divert their forces to attack elsewhere?¡± ¡°That would be difficult. All the gods are watching the Demon King and his forces. The moment the Demon King moves, a message will be sent to the apostles.¡± The members of my staff, who had each taken out their own maps, began to express their opinions about the Demon King¡¯s retreat and what it might mean. They discussed various ideas, such as preparing for the harsh northern winter, increasing their own forces, and so on. However, they couldn¡¯te to a conclusion. ¡°No, it¡¯s more like this!¡± ¡°This is unreasonable!¡± I deliberatelyughed heartily to calm down the employees who had been arguing since the Demon King had fled, and gradually, they calmed down. After a while, a fragrant meat stew and¡­ ¡°An attack!¡± A soldier burst in, shouting urgently. Damn it! Isn¡¯t it a rule not to interrupt meals? Didn¡¯t the instructor say, ¡°I¡¯m not disturbing a dog¡±? As expected, it was the apostle of evil who resembled the instructor who spoke like this. ¡°Damn it! How many did they send this time?¡± It would probably be a small attack, as usual. But don¡¯t underestimate small-scale attacks; they could easily level a city. As enemies, they weren¡¯t very well coordinated, and they unleashed violent monsters that were difficult to control. However, with the power of the forces of evil, these already strong monsters became even stronger when they returned. ¡°It¡¯s a force of 50,000! And the Demon King is leading them himself!¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± Why? That was the first thought that popped into their minds. There was no reason for them to start a battle here right now. The Demon King had been constantly retreating, discarding parts of their forces to gain time, yet they chose such unfavorable terrain. There had been better terrain several times before, yet they kept running away. ¡°They¡¯ve finally reached their limit!¡± ¡°50,000¡­ Considering the reinforcements, that¡¯s a number worth fighting for.¡± However, I seemed to be the only one who thought this way. The reactions of others were more like, ¡°Finally, they¡¯re here. In fact, they acted in a way that was not like the Demon King¡¯s behavior before, rushing into battle knowing that they would die. I was probably the only one who thought like that, because I knew that the enemy was a disciple of the Teacher and had various pieces of information. So I understood. ¡°Defeat the forces of evil!¡± ¡°The author is a disciple of the Teacher!¡± The man in the midst of the evil forces looked at us and said, ¡°Who are you?¡± That he wasn¡¯t a true apostle of evil! Chapter 249 249. Ah, is that so? (Part 6) #4 Their Circumstances A Certain Hero¡¯s Circumstances The man before me was definitely not the Demon King. He was one of the Instructor¡¯s disciples. As a disciple of the Master, I knew how dangerous the existence of the Master¡¯s disciples could be. I had thoroughly gathered information about his appearance, behavior, characteristics, and even his personality. But what was certain was that this man was dangerous. My instincts were screaming at me. They were telling me to run, that he was not an opponent I could defeat right now! ¡°Who are you¡­?¡± It took me a while to find the strength to speak. What on earth did he say? Even if he imed to be the Demon King, I would believe him. ¡°Are you talking about me?¡± He chuckled at my question and pointed at himself. ¡°Yes, you. You are definitely not the Demon King, but¡­¡± What incredible power was he talking about? ¡°Who am I¡­? Hmm¡­ How can I exin¡­¡± I bit my lip in frustration as I watched him scratch his head, pondering my question. It wasn¡¯t his actions, but the behavior of the demonic forces around him. You see, I had heard that the minds of the demonic armies were filled only with thoughts of destruction! Yet, the demonic army around him acted as if they were patiently waiting for his instructions. ¡°Hmm¡­ should I call myself another executor of evil, or maybe, for the sake of you humans, should I just call myself another demon king?¡± He called himself a Demon King. Normally, I would have dismissed it as nonsense, but his overwhelming presence and the way hemanded the demonic forces made it difficult to say it was wrong. ¡°Well¡­ I see. That makes sense.¡± He was silent for a moment, deep in thought about how to describe himself. ¡°Maybe this fits me best. A dragon tainted with evil, an evil dragon. That¡¯s what I am.¡± ¡°Damn it¡­!¡± I drew my holy sword without hesitation. If he imed to be a dragon, it would not be strange for him to have such an overwhelming presence. ¡°Ho-ho! Indeed, you¡¯re quite a hero for defeating my kin. Well, maybe I shouldn¡¯t call them my kin now?¡± Seeing me like that, the man pped his hands andughed. ¡°But you¡¯re still missing! No matter how much Arquette has let his guard down, you can¡¯t defeat him with just that level of power. Is it because you¡¯re a hero blessed by the gods? But even divine blessings have their limits, don¡¯t they? I¡¯m curious. Very curious! What could possibly make you or Arquette win?¡± Damn it! He casually mentioned a 20,000-year-old dragon. At least that¡¯s what he said about his age. ¡°Lord Sween¡­ do you believe what he said?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to believe it, but it seems to be true. I¡¯d rather he was just a madman, but even if his control over the demonic army is a lie, he¡¯s still a threat to us.¡± ¡°He could be using humans as puppets, with the Demon King controlling them from behind.¡± Damn it! There was no one suitable. No one felt the enormous presence around us. Maybe I should break away¡­ but as long as that healer is with the teacher. I¡¯d end up being captured again, and I¡¯d have to fight that monster. It¡¯s better to fight now. If I run away and the other heroes are wiped out, I¡¯ll have to fight itter with a group of rookie heroes. ¡°He¡¯s stronger than me.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m joking?¡± As I spoke, the atmosphere around us began to change. All I had to do was stop talking. That alone conveyed my sincerity. ¡°Oho! It seems that you are all eager to fight.¡± ¡°We have no intention of turning back.¡± Even though that monster wouldn¡¯t let us go, it was better to stay and endure than to endure the eternal pain of being crushed. Well, he said he would keep me alive forever. It seemed better to die here than to endure this agony forever. ¡°Our opponent is stronger than me.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m joking right now?¡± As I was saying this, the dynamics around me began to change. I gave the order to stop speaking. That alone conveyed my sincerity. ¡°Haha! You all seem to be full of fighting spirit. But it¡¯s not much fun like this.¡± ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°Heroes!¡± Yes, as long as we hold out, everything would be fine. ¡°Let¡¯s step back from the formation and put those who aren¡¯t swordmasters in the back!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± After giving the order, I drew my sword and stepped forward. ¡°Hmm¡­ so it¡¯s you after all? The heroes of this era who will judge evil?¡± ¡°Heroes of this era? What nonsense!¡± I wondered why he even bothered to be a hero if he wanted to enjoy his old age. If the me from the past saw this, I¡¯d want to tell myself to just run away instead of trying to be a hero. ¡°You killed my rtives, and now you are standing in front of me, ready for a duel. That alone makes you great heroes. I can vouch for the fact that you¡¯ve defeated demons. Of course, you still have a long way to gopared to the heroes who¡¯ve defeated demons, but still!¡± Demons appeared every thousand years or so. There were some exceptional cases, but on average, you had to wait at least a thousand years for them to appear. The time it took for a nation to be born and die. But for dragons, this was an experience they could have dozens of times in their lifetime. Yes, dragons could witness demon-rted events as they happened. ¡°They¡¯re just born in the cradle of dragons, and yet theye out like this!¡± The man held his sword in front of me. The Cradle of Dragons, where all dragons are born. Is it for the bnce of the world? It is said that dragons only produce one or two offspring in their lifetime. Although they are known for their individualistic behavior, the future of their race, known as Hezzlings, is crucial. Therefore, dragons give birth in the safest ce for them, the Cradle of Dragons, and raise their children there for over a hundred years. They then take their young to theirirs and raise them until they reach the age of a thousand, known as Hezzlings. After that, they leave their children to live their own lives. There are only two reasons for dragons to return to the Cradle of Dragons: one is to have more children, and the other is when a demon appears! ¡°Oh, don¡¯t misunderstand me. I didn¡¯t stupidlye out of the Cradle of Dragons to be tainted by evil. I came out to be a full-fledged dark dragon.¡± ¡°Zenzahhh!¡± Kwaaaah! Heughed while swinging his arm, no, an attack from the Dark Dragon pushed me back several meters. ¡°Damn! Is he really the Demon King?¡± ording to my mentor, the Demon King cannot use magic. Instead, he is dealing with an unknown power. But I¡¯ve heard that the Demon Apostles are only human? Besides, the Demon Apostle already exists! ¡°Why are there two Demon Kings?¡± ¡°Your human Demon King was quitepetent. Well, he was different from previous Demon Kings. While the others lost their minds and went on a rampage, he acted methodically. He managed to get most of the evil fragments, gave one to me, and turned me into another Demon King.¡± ¡°Does that mean you can create as many Demon Kings as there are fragments?¡± ¡°In theory, yes.¡± Chills ran down my spine. There are only two races that the Demon Apostle can¡¯t create: the elves, who are protected by the World Tree, and humans, for some unknown reason that even the gods don¡¯t know. And apart from these two races¡­ ¡°Aside from elves and humans, anyone can be a demon king?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The dragon¡¯s grin made my cold sweat pour down like a waterfall. ¡°Please, let there not be such a crazy dragon!¡± ¡°Yes. The Cradle of Dragons is a ce that even the gods can¡¯t easily touch. Maybe if the world was on the brink of destruction and all forces were mobilized, but that¡¯s impossible now.¡± Fortunately, it seemed unlikely that another demon king of dragon lineage would emerge. ¡°If Arke¡¯Tai were alive, he would have joined us. Why does he do this now?¡± He clicked his tongue as he spoke, and the name he mentioned was very familiar. Arke¡¯Tai. The dragon I had faced alone, led by my mentor. And surprisingly, he easily defeated another dragon that was 20,000 years old. If we hadn¡¯t captured that dragon back then, there would have been three demon kings by now. However¡­ ¡°That means¡­ whenever a dragon that ims to be a dark dragon appears, it can potentially create a demon king¡­¡± I sincerely hoped that there wouldn¡¯t be such a crazy dragon. ¡°Yes. Even though I¡¯ve maintained my sanity as a Demon King, there¡¯s still one thing I must do by force. That¡¯s to bring about the destruction of this world.¡± As he spoke, a ck substance began to emerge from his lightly-wielded sword. I tried to block it with my own sword, but the difference in strength was too great. ¡°Grrgh¡­¡± ¡°Therefore, in order to protect the world, I must be strong enough to defeat myself. The real Demon King is still stronger than me, and with the final fragment of evil, he¡¯ll be even stronger.¡± Come to think of it, that guy wasn¡¯t the final boss. The senior who turned this guy into a Demon King was the real final boss! I trembled at the thought that the enemy was so overwhelmingly powerful that I hadpletely forgotten about it. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Could it be that the Demon King¡­!¡± ¡°Yes. He was trying to find thest fragment. We were bait. He wanted to deceive you and the gods and lead his main force here. The real Demon King, that guy should be at your main base by now¡­¡± Reacting quickly to the sudden revtion, I channeled my magic and unleashed a burst of golden energy. ¡°Get to the point, you brat!¡± ¡°Oho! Did you rise to stop the danger at your main base? Or perhaps to protect thest fragment of evil?¡± Ignoring the mockingughter of the evil dragon, I gathered all the magical power I could for an attack. ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s right,e at me like that! If you want to defeat me!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± #5 Your Circumstances: The Story of a Certain Dragon¡¯s Circumstances ¡°Shut up!¡± It¡¯s quite something for a human. Even in a psychologically challenging situation, he¡¯s making rational judgments. He seems to be preparing for a final attack now, but he¡¯s subtly weaving magic. That¡¯s probably his ultimate goal. But there¡¯s something this hero doesn¡¯t know, something he doesn¡¯t realize: the person who received a fragment of evil is beyond the norms of this world. He can¡¯t use magic, but he¡¯s also immune to magic attacks, which is one of the rules of the world. Well, he might still take some damage if the attack directly maniptes matter. ¡°What a shame.¡± If only the opponent wasn¡¯t a representative of the Fragment of Evil, there might have been a chance. But for me¡­ ¡°Hmm?¡± My head tilted slightly as I prepared to withstand the hero¡¯s attack. The reason being¡­ ¡°He¡¯s retreating?¡± The hero was retreating. Chapter 250

Chapter 250

28. Ah, is that so? (7) ¡°Ah, did you really?¡± What¡¯s going on? I received a clear report that the Demon Lord¡¯s forces had moved to the north. The shuttle confirmed it as well. The Demon Lord is in the north. I don¡¯t know if he went to the north, where battles are difficult in winter due to the gathering of heroes, or if he¡¯s building up his forces there, but the Demon Lord has fled to the north. All the information points in that direction. But right in front of me was the Demon Lord. ¡°I finally found you, Commander.¡± ¡°How?¡± This was something I couldn¡¯t have imagined. Even if you believe in an unreliable source, wasn¡¯t the informant supposed to be a god? Even if he¡¯s as ipetent as it gets, with the power to perceive everything in the world, how could he have missed this? ¡°I was lucky.¡± That¡¯s a lie. Even if you were a hero blessed by the god of luck, you wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the gods¡¯ surveince. It was a cunning n, not luck, that deceived the gods. ¡°How did you fool the gods?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t deceive the gods. The gods have been constantly watching the existence known as the Demon Lord.¡± It meant that they already knew that the gods were watching them. Well, it was an obvious statement. People who have lived in this world for some time should be aware that the gods are watching the world. The previous demon lords probably didn¡¯t think about it because theycked reason. ¡°You were being watched by the gods all the time, not just at this moment?¡± ¡°Indeed, Commander! They don¡¯t even listen to casual remarks.¡± The situation right now is too dire to be dismissed as an aside. The Demon Lord¡¯s forces, or rather the monsters, which were far too few to be called forces, were enough to defend this ce against the knights and soldiers. The power of the remaining heroes and theirpanions was quite considerable. However, dealing with this guy would be another story. Even the most talented people on the maind couldn¡¯t stop him, let alone this group of people who aren¡¯t heroes. Especially here, you can¡¯t escape from riding a drake like you can on the maind. It¡¯s not because you can¡¯t control it, but because there aren¡¯t any drakes to begin with, due to the Demon Lord¡¯s nature of corrupting other species. Ah, what should I call this? A great paradox? ¡°The God of Nature says that the heroes are fighting the Demon Lord right now! But why are you here?¡± Shuttle¡¯s voice trembled next to mine. He had been quiet for a while, but it seemed like he was praying to the god during that time. ¡°It¡¯s quite simple. The heroes really are fighting the Demon Lord. That is true. I¡¯m just not the Demon Lord they¡¯re fighting.¡± Ah, what kind of nonsense is this? ¡°Are there two demon lords?¡± ¡°There could be more than that.¡± He didn¡¯t seem to want to give any more information. However, what I could gather was that there might be more than one demon lord. Whether his words were true or false, he was right here in front of me, and that was a fact. ¡°How is that possible?¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite simple. I just gave a fragment of evil to one of the dragons that came to find me. The fact that I can use the power of evil is because the evil of the world is gathered in that fragment.¡± What he meant was that there could be as many Demon Lords as there were Fragments of Evil. Last time, there were as many fragments as the number of dragons I had, which was seven. Since I had one of them, at worst, there could be six Demon Lords? Compared to hundreds of heroes, that might seem like a small number, but one of them could destroy the world. And there were six potential destroyers. ¡­Am I really in trouble this time? ¡°I can¡¯t believe that a dragon became a demon lord. It was beyond my imagination.¡± ¡°I was also surprised. I had heard that there were dragons who got tired of eternal life and went on a rampage, but I never imagined that there would be a dragon who would willingly join the ranks of evil gods. As individuals, dragons can easily destroy an entirend. Even ordinary goblins can gain thebat power to fight a well-trained soldier when they join the ranks of the evil gods. So if dragons, known as the strongest race on the surface, were involved, how much stronger would they be? That¡¯s why it¡¯s a rule that dragons stay hidden in the dragon¡¯s nest and don¡¯te out into the world when they¡¯re associated with evil gods. Why, in my lifetime, did a dragon worse than a demon willinglye out of the dragon¡¯s nest to serve an evil god? They say it¡¯s a rule that unprecedented events should not happen in my lifetime! ¡°Is there anything else you want to ask?¡± ¡°Well, I have a lot of questions.¡± ¡°Please, go ahead. I will answer everything to the best of my ability.¡± Huh¡­ Did I get them all? I had a little too much leisure. Well, it¡¯s a good thing for me. ¡°Ah, if you¡¯re just buying time until the people around you arrive, it¡¯s best to give up. I¡¯ve alreadypleted the barrier, so there¡¯s no way anyone can enter.¡± ¡°Barrier?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you learn about it from the god? Whenever your enemies speak, pretend to listen while preparing to strike from behind. I¡¯m sure you were trying to prepare something while I was talking. I also prepared this powerful barrier around this area.¡± Upon my suggestion to contact the god, Shuttle began to pray. ¡°Narahn, please¡­¡± And soon, Shuttle¡¯s face turned deathly pale. Damn! Was that really true? ¡°There are not many beings that can break this barrier. Beings capable of opposing evil, at least someone on the level of the strongest heroes of the Nature Order, will be necessary.¡± Warriors at the level of the Nature Order¡­ that¡¯s quite a lot. ¡°At least ten of them, right?¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°I said that beings with the strength of a Nature Order warrior are not thatmon.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± My words seemed to momentarily puzzle the demon lord, but he quickly regained hisposure. ¡°But for humans, the demons on the maind are their enemies. Even if the demons of the maind were toe over to defeat me, humans wouldn¡¯t trust them. They might even take the opportunity to invade the maind themselves.¡± That¡¯s right. Humans won¡¯t easily trust even their fellow humans, let alone the demons of the maind. Even if an organization brainwashed them and convinced them that demons from the maind wereing to save me, humans would probably still consider the demons as enemies and attack them. But¡­ ¡°What I said was that heroes at the level of a hero among humans are not thatmon.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± The demon lord¡¯s face showed a brief moment of confusion at my words, but then he maintained his expressionless demeanor. ¡°But in my time, beings with the strength of a hero were notmon. At the very least, they had to be at the level of the Empire¡¯s Sword Saint to be on par with me.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes. The heroes of the Nature Order are not inferior even whenpared to the Sword Saint. If there are several such beings, then the world might already be in the hands of humans.¡± So, he believes that heroes at the level of a hero are not thatmon. But reality always surpasses imagination. I bet there will be at least ten beings with hero-levelbat abilities in that strange organization that¡¯s making a fuss about kidnapping me. The problem is, I don¡¯t know my exact location right now¡­ I¡¯d rather be kidnapped than lose my life! So, please rescue me, whoever you are, or at least give me a way to escape! T: Please, juste out when I need you! ¡°It¡¯s fine that you challenged me, but it¡¯s true that beings with that level of strength are notmon. Now, please give up.¡± Even though I was speaking seriously, it seemed that he still believed I was lying. He¡¯ll realize the truth when he has to fight the Empireter. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll ask you something.¡± Did my inner cry reach them? The demon lord continued to give me opportunities, like those third-rate viins in stories who give the heroes chances to escape. ¡°What do you want to ask?¡± This is an opportunity. I need to act like I know everything as much as possible and buy some time. If I know the answer, I¡¯ll talk about it as much as possible, and if I don¡¯t, I¡¯ll pretend to know as much as possible. Alright, let¡¯s ask anything. Show them my skills in spinning words, learned from the evil organization and the royal pce! ¡°Why are you there, O Demon Lord?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± But in response to the next question, I involuntarily blurted out, ¡°Huh?¡± I¡¯m done for. It¡¯s no different from saying I don¡¯t know. ¡°Of course¡­¡± However, mypanion Shuttle seemed to know something. Or at least, he looked at me with an expression that seemed to say he thought of me as the demon lord. ¡°Not me?¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Why are you answering like that? Your expression clearly shows you don¡¯t believe me, Shuttle! ¡°I also know that you¡¯re not the instructor.¡± Look, even the demon lord acknowledges that I¡¯m not an evil spirit. ¡­But is it effective? ¡°That means¡­¡± This time, I gave Shuttle a scrutinizing look. Could it be that the saint of the Nature Order was a fake, and the evil spirit hidden in the world was this guy? The idea that the saint was actually the viin and the plot twist would be quite an interesting story! ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s true!¡± Shuttle jumped around as if feeling unjustly used, but I didn¡¯t buy it. The only two people here are me and Shuttle. I¡¯m not an evil spirit, so the remaining option is you, Shuttle! ¡°I never thought you would be that guy¡­¡± ¡°I, as a follower of the god of nature, couldn¡¯t possibly be something like an evil spirit!¡± ¡°Well, it could be a setting where the evil spirit lost its memory in a previous life.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the setting!¡± Hah! You know, there¡¯s a saying that strong denial is a sign of strong affirmation. With such a strong denial, it makes me even more suspicious! ¡°There are only two people here, me and Shuttle. Firstly, I¡¯m not an evil spirit, so the only person left is you, Shuttle!¡± ¡°Could you really be that guy¡­¡± ¡°As a devout follower of the god of nature, I couldn¡¯t possibly be something like an evil spirit!¡± ¡°Well, it could be a setting where the evil spirit lost its memory in a previous life.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the setting!¡± Hah! You know, there¡¯s a saying that strong denial is a sign of strong affirmation. With such a strong denial, it makes me even more suspicious! ¡°Come on, reveal your true identity, evil spirit!¡± ¨C Yup. Then, a voice echoed in my mind. And at the same time, ¡°That person is not an evil spirit either.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m a faithful follower who believes in the god of nature! I¡¯m definitely not an evil spirit!¡± I couldn¡¯t hear what the demon lord and Shuttle were saying anymore. The voice I had heard earlier was more shocking than anything else. ¨C Was it you who just spoke? I managed to speak with a trembling voice. The guy who hadn¡¯t said a word since thest outburst suddenly decided to speak at a time like this! ¨C Yup. ¨C No, there¡¯s a time for jokes and a time when it¡¯s not! ¨C It sounds like a joke? ¨C Why are you so scared¡­ ¡°Come on, say it with high tension like usual! Something like ¡®Tada! Actually, I¡¯m an evil spirit!¡¯ or ¡®Hahaha! Gotcha, master?¡¯ Please!¡± ¡°Actually, the evil spirit I mentioned is the one that the instructor has.¡± The demon lord pointed at the crowbar in my hand with her finger. ¡°At first, I thought the evil fragment the instructor had was powerful. It was a fragment of evil gathered from dragons. I thought that since they were the strongest race and were devoted to their desires, they would gather strong evil. But over time, as I sensed the instructor¡¯s evil aura, I realized it wasn¡¯t the same.¡± ¡°So¡­¡± ¡°Yes. That is the aura of an evil spirit, originally the god of this world who sealed their own evil and fell into corruption. And that evil spirit¡¯s soul is attached to the object the instructor is holding.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Shuttle looked at the crowbar with trembling eyes. Although it¡¯s natural to trust the demon lord, he seems to trust her a bit too much. He should be more suspicious! ¨C And the owner is not even saying anything. Well, you seem real, though. ¨C Yeah, you said it¡¯s real? ¨C Why are you saying this now? ¨C I¡¯ve been saying it all along, haven¡¯t I? I kept saying I¡¯m a goddess, didn¡¯t I? Who would believe that? You need to exin it more clearly for people to believe! ¨C Master. The crowbar called me in a voice that was very different from usual, low and cold. ¨C Huh? ¨C I was going to say that, but you told me not to, right? It¡¯s rted to evil, so I was going to tell you! I was worried, you know! I was going to say it considering all the affection we¡¯ve had! But you rejected it, Master! ¨C Ah¡­ Is that so? Chapter 251 251 28. Ah, is that so? (8) This is truly my responsibility, isn¡¯t it? ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right; it¡¯s your responsibility.¡± Iron Bat¡¯s response was uncharacteristicallyposed. Hmph! I attempted to unveil the world¡¯s secret, but my efforts were dismissed! No, this predicament stems from my usual behavior. Had Iron Bat possessed a more serious disposition, he might not have dismissed my words. Yes. All of this¡­ ¡°Is it your fault, Master?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I suppose it¡¯s my fault. ¡°I pondered this matter before its urrence. Why did the god entrusted with maintaining the world¡¯s bnce unseal the evil?¡± I feel as though I should be acquainted with the reason, given who I am addressing. ¡°If it¡¯s this person¡­¡± ¡°Just because I felt like it?¡± The individual who emerged from within Iron Bat, taking on a female form, replied nonchntly. ¡°¡­Is that all?¡± ¡°Is there a need for further justification?¡± Indeed, there is. The unsealing of this seal nearly led to the world¡¯s annihtion, and even afterward, the being known as the Demon King relentlessly sought to bring about destruction. The damage inflicted upon the world is too substantial to be dismissed as a mere whim. ¡°When I was a deity, my dominion was that of avarice and desire. I unsealed the evil in ordance with my creation¡¯s intent, for the sake of greed and desire. What¡¯s amiss with that?¡± ¡°It appears there is much amiss with that.¡± For an instant, there was an audacity that nearlypelled me toughter. Did this individualprehend the magnitude of the catastrophe they nearly unleashed upon the world? ¡°Master¡­ Even as a deity, there are asions when one must act ording to their desires, even if it means knowing that the world might be imperiled.¡± ¡°Are you not of the same mind?¡± ¡°I acted diligently in the name of avarice and desire!¡± Ahem! Observing them ce their hands on their hips and puff out their chest, I felt as though I could perceive the gods¡¯ tribtions. Even prior to bing a demon, this individual must have conducted themselves in a simr manner. ¡°I acted in ordance with my desires¡­¡± Hearing them repeat the same assertion, it seemed that even the Demon King was taken aback by Iron Bat¡¯s words. ¡°Excellent.¡± Huh? Did I hear that correctly? ¡°You are genuinely knowledgeable.¡± Iron Bat regarded me as if to say, ¡°See?¡± What is with that self-assured expression? No, hold on, how did the Demon King of all beings be like this? This is not the individual I once knew. ¡°When I became a hero, I was unable to act ording to my desires. I always existed to safeguard something, yet I was unable to protect what was most dear to me.¡± Hmm¡­ the Demon King appears to be in a rather dire state. So, they can react in such a manner to Iron Bat¡¯s absurdity. ¡°Nonsense, you say? It is better to candidly pursue your desires.¡± ¡°That is correct. It is preferable to authentically follow your desires rather than losing something precious due to concern for others¡¯ opinions.¡± ¡°Exactly! Desire is a virtue! It entails staying true to oneself!¡± ¡­Who would dare to assert that Iron Bat and their prot¨¦g¨¦ are not authentic? ¡°What are you referring to? You are my prot¨¦g¨¦.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± What sort of preposterousness is this? ¡°As anticipated¡­¡± Shuttle, who appeared bewildered by the rapidly progressing conversation, gazed at me with an expression that seemed to convey they were aware of everything. Shuttle, it is one thing for me to behave in this manner, but I do not believe you should emte me. ¡°I selected a singr apostle, and that apostle is you. In a way, you are my master, but I am also your master!¡± ¡°What kind of confounding rtionship is that?¡± A master and a subordinate concurrently! Where does such a rtionship exist? ¡°Right here!¡± ¡°Nevertheless, an apostle of an evil deity¡­¡± ¡°Hey¡­¡± Even though this is evidently nonsense, everyone except me appears to believe Iron Bat¡¯s words. At this rate, both the demon and the Demon King will regard me as an apostle of an evil deity. ¡°As expected, Professor¡­ Not only do you bear the fragment of evil, but you also bear the very evil deity.¡± Even though they are our adversaries, why does everyone remain soposed during this conversation? What did I do wrong? ¡°It is because I disregarded their words.¡± ¡­Is this still concerning that matter? ¡°I am a delicate goddess, after all!¡± To avoid making eye contact with me, Iron Bat turned his head and released a sneeze. ¡°Evil deity, I have a proposition for you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± As I exchanged nces with Iron Bat, the Demon King approached and spoke. I am apprehensive. It is as if the Demon King knows what they are about to propose. ¡°Will you join us?¡± ¡°Oh! A recruitment offer!¡± ¡°Yes. We are an army of evil, as our name implies. It is only natural for a deity such as yourself to lead us.¡± ¡°Oooh!¡± ¡°Th-Then, I cannot permit it!¡± ¡°That is correct!¡± Iron Bat¡¯s response to the Demon King¡¯s words reached a level of high tension that I have not witnessed in quite some time. Lately, following all this confusion, upon hearing about being the deity of greed and desire, I am beginning to believe that I might go mad and align with the enemy! ¡°But you¡¯re not actually going, right?¡± ¡°Well, how should I put it¡­¡± Iron Bat continued to avoid my gaze and hummed a tune. Seeing Iron Bat¡¯s choice and realizing that our lives, the fate of the world, are hanging in the bnce somehow made me feel like I had to give up my pride. ¡°Hmm~¡± ¡°Goddess, we are prepared to unleash greed and desire upon the world.¡± ¡°Iron Bat, I have always been filled with desire and greed!¡± Shuttle¡¯s gaze next to me turned chilly, but there was nothing I could do. Shuttle, I¡¯m putting aside my pride to save the world right now! ¡°If you had always been like this, it wouldn¡¯t shake me¡­¡± ¡°Honestly, I¡¯ve been good to you, Goddess.¡± ¡°Hmph! So now I¡¯m a goddess. You kept calling me that and then ignored it!¡± ¡°I was wrong!¡± He quickly apologized. Seeing Iron Bat take a step forward as he spoke, I had to swallow my pride. ¡°Hmm~¡± ¡°Goddess, we are prepared to unleash greed and desire upon the world.¡± ¡°Iron Bat, I have always been filled with desire and greed!¡± Shuttle¡¯s gaze next to me turned chilly, but there was nothing I could do. Shuttle, I¡¯m putting aside my pride to save the world right now! ¡°If you had always been like this, it wouldn¡¯t shake me¡­¡± ¡°Honestly, I¡¯ve been good to you, Goddess.¡± ¡°Hmph! So now I¡¯m a goddess. You kept calling me that and then ignored it!¡± ¡°I was wrong!¡± He quickly apologized. Seeing Iron Bat take a step forward as he spoke, I had to swallow my pride. ¡°Hmm~¡± ¡°Goddess, we are prepared to unleash greed and desire upon the world.¡± ¡°Iron Bat, I have always been filled with desire and greed!¡± Shuttle¡¯s gaze next to me turned chilly, but there was nothing I could do. Shuttle, I¡¯m putting aside my pride to save the world right now! ¡°If you had always been like this, it wouldn¡¯t shake me¡­¡± ¡°Honestly, I¡¯ve been good to you, Goddess.¡± ¡°Hmph! So now I¡¯m a goddess. You kept calling me that and then ignored it!¡± ¡°I was wrong!¡± He quickly apologized. Seeing Iron Bat take a step forward as he spoke, I had to swallow my pride. ¡°Hmm~¡± ¡°Goddess, we are prepared to unleash greed and desire upon the world.¡± ¡°Iron Bat, I have always been filled with desire and greed!¡± Shuttle¡¯s gaze next to me turned chilly, but there was nothing I could do. Shuttle, I¡¯m putting aside my pride to save the world right now! ¡°If you had always been like this, it wouldn¡¯t shake me¡­¡± ¡°Honestly, I¡¯ve been good to you, Goddess.¡± ¡°Hmph! So now I¡¯m a goddess. You kept calling me that and then ignored it!¡± ¡°I was wrong!¡± He quickly apologized. Seeing Iron Bat take a step forward as he spoke, I had to swallow my pride. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re just drawn to my words?¡± ¡°Could it be, after I turned you down, you changed your demeanor and now you¡¯re going to kill me?¡± ¡°I taught you well.¡± Persuasion is good when needed, but if it doesn¡¯t work, it¡¯s best to eliminate them quickly. ¡°You know, Master? Master, if you don¡¯tply, you¡¯ll change your stance immediately after being refused, and you¡¯ll say you¡¯ll kill me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve taught you well.¡± While persuasion can be useful, there¡¯s no point in using it on those who won¡¯t listen. ¡°And you¡¯re aware that you¡¯re also included in that target, right?¡± ¡°Hahaha! What are you worried about when the goddess is with us!¡± Once a deity who nearly destroyed the world, now Iron Bat. Even though he had hidden his true identity until now, revealing it would undoubtedly demonstrate immense power! No matter how much he¡¯s referred to as the Demon King, divine power can be dangerous! ¡°Master? The goddess is with us, so what¡¯s the concern!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame.¡± It was a genuinely regretful expression. ¡°Then I guess I have to kill you.¡± ¡°Master, as expected of my disciple. You threatened to kill me immediately after being refused.¡± ¡°I taught you well.¡± If persuasion doesn¡¯t work, eliminate them quickly. ¡°But Master can¡¯t help either.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± I nodded my head, and Iron Bat let out a deep sigh. ¡°Master might not die since there¡¯s something like an evil fragment in you, right?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the case for you too, being an evil god?¡± ¡°Hahaha! Well then, I guess I¡¯ll just die.¡± Haha, Shuttle, who wasughing, looked pitiful, but I couldn¡¯t guarantee that I¡¯d survive either. It¡¯s over. It seems there¡¯s no way to stop that. Now all that¡¯s left is for a hero to appear and defeat the evil Demon King, but will such a hero exist? The one known as the mightiest hero seems to be like that, after all. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Professor. Please let me die for my goal.¡± As the giant spear-shaped thing was about to be fired, there was a massive explosion that shook the heavens and the earth. ¡°What have you done!¡± I didn¡¯t do anything. If I possessed this ability, I would have employed it to escape a long time ago! ¡°Is it you, by any chance?¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t have that ability.¡± Indeed, what remains then is¡­ ¡°Could it be the god of nature¡­?¡± Although a somewhat ambiguous response, it offers the most hopeful prospect. To save the world! And to save your disciple! Perhaps the god of nature has harnessed their power to halt the Demon King! ¡°Not yet!¡± As the barrier gradually disintegrated, the Demon King, wearing an expression of despair, gazed upwards. If this follows the conventional pattern, it¡¯s likely to involve a hero. Typically, antagonists entertain backstories and inquiries from newly introduced protagonists orpanions, and subsequently, things take a turn for the worse for them. He remains oblivious to this. You have a long journey ahead of you, my former disciple! ¡°Do you wonder who I am?¡± The voice emanating from outside the crumbling barrier was a melodious soprano. ¡°How did you break this barrier? Mere strength alone would not suffice to dismantle it!¡± ¡°I am not obligated to divulge that information.¡± ¡°Tsk!¡± A sound like the splitting of wind, followed by a resounding explosion. The hurled spearnded precisely where the Demon King stood! The immense power emanating from the white spear shed with the ck spear and erupted. ¡°Ugh!¡± The shockwave propelled me back approximately ten steps. Fortunately, Shuttle swiftly conjured a protective shield, limiting the impact to a mere shove. However, had it been slightly off, I might have sustained an injury. ¡°Who are you?¡± As the Demon King¡¯s failing barrier left him increasingly vulnerable, he looked skyward with an expression of awe, and I heard the voice of a girl. If this aligns with the conventional plot, it¡¯s likely the entrance of a hero. Typically, viins entertain the backstories and inquiries of newly introduced main characters orpanions, leading to unfavorable oues for them. He remains oblivious to this. You have a long journey ahead of you, my former disciple! ¡°Do you wonder who I am?¡± The voice emanating from outside the crumbling barrier was a melodious soprano. ¡°How did you break this barrier? Mere strength alone would not suffice to dismantle it!¡± ¡°I am not obligated to divulge that information.¡± ¡°Tsk!¡± A sound like the splitting of wind, followed by a resounding explosion. The hurled spearnded precisely where the Demon King stood! The immense power emanating from the white spear shed with the ck spear and erupted. ¡°Ugh!¡± The shockwave propelled me back approximately ten steps. Fortunately, Shuttle swiftly conjured a protective shield, limiting the impact to a mere shove. However, had it been slightly off, I might have sustained an injury. ¡°Who are you?¡± As the Demon King¡¯s failing barrier left him increasingly vulnerable, he looked skyward with an expression of awe, and I heard the voice of a girl. Could it be¡­ ¡°Are you the prince?¡± Chapter 252 252 28. Ah, Is that So? (9) In the realm of syntax, addressing me as a prince, even if one merely observes the structure, is quite unconventional. ¨C It¡¯s abnormal. ¨C Especially the women around the master. It¡¯s not usual. ¨C Does that include you? -¡­? Fine. I sealed the chatterbox¡¯s mouth shut. If she referred to herself as a goddess, then she must have included herself. ¡°Are you okay, Your Highness?¡± As the elf crazily shook hands with me, I subtly avoided eye contact. ¡°What about the instructor¡­¡± Suddenly, a frowning demon lord appeared before my eyes. Could the World Tree connect to the demon lord? ¨C Of course. The World Tree is a tree imbued with the power of mercy and dedication, a tree containing the power of a god. It possesses a strength beyond ordinary deities, enough to be called a demigod. Historically, it holds the power of a god that defeated evil spirits, making it a natural adversary for a demon lord with fragments of evil. Thinking of a demigod as a divine incarnation wouldn¡¯t be too strange. In other words, each branch of that tree held the attack of a god filled with mercy and dedication, simr to the attacks of evil spirits, or so it meant. Certainly, those branches must have possessed enough power to defeat evil! No, even before that! ¨C In other words, it means if you had carried a tree branch instead of that chatterbox, you could have harmed that guy! ¨C Didn¡¯t you think you would have been caught by other sisters before that? I¡¯ve saved you several times. If you keep doing this, I won¡¯t help youter. ¨C Um¡­ that¡¯s awkward. Honestly, I had solved too many problems with the chatterbox. No, I had solved most issues with the chatterbox. There was no better tool for conversing with people than the chatterbox. Create a one-on-one situation and beat the chatterbox. Create a trauma that couldn¡¯t be resisted again. Tame and tidy up the surroundings one by one. If repeated a few times, the surroundings would be cleaned up in an instant. I could proceed with the situation neatly ording to the scenario I created. I taught students in Ugrasia that way, resolved issues with warriors in that manner, maintained it even when I went to the maind, and used it effectively when uniting the warriors. Sess rate 100 percent. If strange guys didn¡¯t pop up from somewhere, I could have created my own utopia. There were a few limitations, but I acknowledged the usefulness of the chatterbox. ¨C Wait a minute. ¨C Why? -I said I couldn¡¯t use magic because I¡¯m an existence outside this world. It¡¯s natural to assume that you, who are also an existence outside this world, can¡¯t use magic either, right? -Huh? Well, that¡¯s natural. Well, before that, even though I was a god, I didn¡¯t use magic. -Is that so? But you needed magic to use your powers, right? You mentioned that you needed magic for transformation and maintaining a specific form! -¡­ -Hey? I continued to press the chatterbox, who suddenly fell silent. -Excuse me, Goddess? Could you please exin! Living in this world, the concept of magic always hindered me. Even though I had been evaluated as the best swordsman in my past life, myck of magic imposed limitations on mybat abilities. Magic, too, remained an enigmatic domain. Unlike awakened beings from past lives who inherited one attribute, magicians, with their abilities determined by their own limits, were an iprehensible race. While their attacks did not affect me due to theck of magic, I couldn¡¯t prevent physical phenomena caused by magic. The memory of charging past a massive fireball only to have the magical explosion uponnding create arge hole in the ground is still vivid. And the chatterbox was no different. As a soul embedded in ego, the chatterbox could use spells and magic applied to itself. However, for spells, specific conditions or mediums were required, and magic required mana. Changing from the original chatterbox form to a different one and operating in the form of a girl all required the use of mana. So, when escaping the organization, wasn¡¯t it because I couldn¡¯t use the armor mode that broke through Sia¡¯s encirclement in Ugrasia! ¨C Th-that¡¯s¡­ ¨C That¡¯s? The chatterbox, who had been hesitating with a trembling voice, answered more energetically than usual, no, even more energetically than usual. ¨C It was a concept! Teehee! -¡­ ¨C M-master? Will you forgive the yful prank of the cute goddess? Reject the temptation of the demon lord and forgive the goddess who has maintained dignity and repentance? Right? This time, my mouth remained closed. I didn¡¯t hear anything, not a word or a thought, as the chatterbox continued to babble on. I almost died¡­ Not to mention, I was almost caught by the princess! My life almost ended! All of that turned out to be the mischief of a former goddess, a current demon! ¨C Where was the Stiors volcano¡­ ¨C Master? Whether it¡¯s a goddess or a demon, if it exists in this world, there must be a way to solve it. Even the World Tree, known as the demigod of the goddess of mercy and dedication, had a history of being threatened by other races. But if you put it in a volcano that could melt even the body of a great demon, you could eliminate it! ¨C Is this a joke? Are you ying a prank like me? Even if you¡¯re the goddess Arcadia, if you were put into the Stiors volcano in your current state, you wouldn¡¯t be able to see the world for a thousand years! ¨C Is that so? Sealing a demon that almost brought about the destruction of the world for a thousand years. This should be treated as if I saved the world. Anyway, the remaining enemy, the chatterbox that doesn¡¯t work on the demon lord, can be retrieved from Rain¡¯s hands, and the chatterbox can be put into the Stiors volcano. ¨C A-are you really going to do that? Well. I need to think about what to do. Should I pay back the misfortunes I suffered, or should I let it go since she did things for me? I need to consider the two options. But for now, the more pressing matter, ¡°You are¡­¡± ¡°Shut up. I don¡¯t want to talk to the seed of a demon like you.¡± There was movement between the crazy elf and the demon lord who had been ring at each other. Is it because she is the guardian of the World Tree, a shrine maiden of the elves who worship the goddess of mercy and dedication? In the eyes of the crazy elf looking at the demon lord, there was full of anger. ¡°Dare to touch the prince¡­ Have you prepared yourself?¡± ¡­It didn¡¯t seem like it. ¡°Your Highness¡­?¡± Oh¡­ don¡¯t look at me with those eyes. It¡¯s as if I became a prince turned into an instructor of an evil organization due to some story¡­ There is a story, but it has nothing to do with being a prince! I was just born as a normal farmer¡¯s son, and I became a viinous organization¡¯s instructor just to make a living! ¡°Please don¡¯t look at the prince with those dirty eyes before pulling out your eyes!¡± Kwaaang! With a massive explosion, a hole appeared where the demon lord had been. As expected, in the spot where the demon lord was, there was now a long wooden stick. ¡°I¡¯ve heard legends about using a branch of the World Tree to kill a demon lord, but I never thought it would be to this extent¡­¡± The demon lord looked at the branch held by the crazy elf¡¯s hand, which disappeared like ash burning in fire as the ck energy emanating from him vanished. ¡°Just a rotten branch with this much power¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Do you think a rotten branch would be used to save the prince?¡± ¡°What¡­ the heck!¡± Momentarily taken aback by the words of the crazy elf, the demon lord barely avoided the flying javelin aimed at him. In the meantime, the crazy elf next to him received another branch from the World Tree and concentrated mana on it, shouting. ¡°A fresh branch borrowed from the World Tree before you came! It may not be enoughpared to the rotten branch lent to a mere hero!¡± ¡°Lies!¡± Dodging another javelin, the demon lord shouted with his mouth wide open. If you lived in this world, you must have heard stories about the World Tree¡ªa divine being that saved the world. It was thest deity left by the goddess of mercy and dedication. If properly processed, the branches of the World Tree, more solid than steel and more efficiently utilizing the user¡¯s mana, were amon motif in fairy tales and legends. However, no story or fairy tale ever mentioned breaking and using branches of the World Tree. Even if it were a dragon, it was only natural not to touch the World Tree, a sacred object. But thatw was now broken. By none other than the hands of a high elf, supposed to protect the World Tree! ¡°For the sake of the prince, this level of investment is essential!¡± ¡°Instructor¡­?¡± Don¡¯t look at me with such eyes. I have no idea. The elf is just crazy, and I got involved with that crazy elf. I wanted to answer the demon lord, who looked at me with an indescribable gaze, in that way. ¡°Is it a lie?¡± The momentarilyposed demon lord looked at the other elves behind the crazy elf. ¡°Is it true¡­!¡± But was it counterproductive? As if enduring shame, the elves next to each other, lips tightly sealed, avoiding the demon lord¡¯s gaze, caused the demon lord¡¯s body to stiffen for a moment. ¡°Grrr¡­!¡± The crazy elf seized the opportunity and seeded in cutting off the demon lord¡¯s left arm. ¡°Darn¡­!¡± Momentarily distracted, the demon lord, whose arm was severed, directed his gaze at me again. It was just a moment, but it was enough. Taking advantage of that moment, I used my sword to deflect the attack of the demon lord, which was aimed at me. ¡°Such¡­!¡± ¡°Your skills haven¡¯t rusted enough to be defeated by you.¡± The demon lord, who lost his left arm due to a momentary distraction, was not in a good state. Although I taught that viins be less favorable the longer they drag out, could it be because there was an interval with a hero¡¯s life in the middle? He forgot my teachings and got excited, resulting in losing his left arm and going back empty-handed. ¡°Will there be a next time¡­?¡± ¡°Yes. Next time, I¡¯ll bet everything and bring the instructor and the power of the demon to destroy the world. So until then¡­ please wait.¡± ¡°No way.¡± I wanted to answer the demon lord, who looked at me with eyes burning like mes but got distracted by the javelin falling on him. The crazy elf, looking at me with eyes full of tears, handing a branch of the World Tree to another elf next to him, seemed to have torn off quite a few. The face of another elf looking at the crazy elf, who confirmed the infinite refills in the wrestling part of the wrestlingpetition hall, was the expression of the boss who confirmed that the wrestlingpetition had brought in a seedling, not a wrestler. ¡°Give up.¡± The demon lord, who had already missed his chance, was in a pitiable state. After all, could it be that having a hero¡¯s life interspersed in between made viins less favorable, or did he forget my teachings because of that? He was excitedly speaking and got his left arm chopped off, and it seemed he might go back empty-handed. ¡°Will you give up¡­?¡± ¡°Your fate is that.¡± ¡°Fate¡­ I don¡¯t believe in such things.¡± I got into big trouble once when I said something simr. So believe in fate and give up on me. -We are beings that have left this world with the master, so the fate god can¡¯t manage us, right? -Volcano¡­ -Eek! I was about to tell him to shut up before being put in the volcano, but the perceptive chatterbox shut his mouth even before I finished talking. ¡°Where are you running!¡± Seizing the opportunity amidst the chaos, Iron Bat stabbed the sword into Shuttle¡¯s back as he tried to escape. Chapter 253

Chapter 253

#29. Other People¡¯s Stories (1) 1. Their Circumstances: A Certain Goddess¡¯s Circumstances ¡°Blow it all away.¡± Even though I said I was a goddess, my appearance was consistently irreverent. ¡°Is an evil spirit also a god?¡± ¡°I am a god! Evil! God! And even before that, I was a god!¡± ¡°You were a nuisance god.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t deny that!¡± Even before being called an evil spirit, during the time when I was referred to as the goddess of greed and desire, I never heard anything good. Was it because I pursued instincts over reason, saying and doing whatever I wanted to the followers, as if preaching the doctrine of pursuing instincts? It was a religion that many criminals among the warlike demons believed in. Even among the kids who were supposed to be priests, there were cases of secretly embezzling donations sent to their demon sisters. There was even a time when the demon sister, who was happily watching over the embezzlement scene, had to intervene with a stranglehold. ¡°That¡¯s why even a master without morals could be epted as a disciple with a broad heart!¡± ¡°Who asked to be epted?¡± ¡°Honestly, the master should be in a position to be grateful to me. If it weren¡¯t for me, you would have died long ago!¡± This wasn¡¯t a lie. The master created a situation where he had no choice but to be in such a state, just like a master with a copsed personality. Was it because he had a hero¡¯s life in the middle? ¡°Why?¡± ¡°A long time ago, when the master used a strange ability from a past life, the master lost the power of being an extranar being and became an ordinary person.¡± Did the creators make a slight mistake when they made the world? Originally, beings that shouldn¡¯t enter sometimes entered. Although summoning magic connected dimensions in this world, it wasn¡¯t magic powerful enough to summon gods from other worlds. The gods of this world exist, so why would gods from another worlde? It was a significant event that could disrupt the bnce of the world, and indeed, the bnce of the world wavered when gods from another world were summoned. And the master was no exception. I don¡¯t know what kind of power he had from another world, but it was a power that the regtions created by the gods did not apply to. Thanks to that, the world cut off the master from itsws, and since he was originally an extranar being, even the fragment of evil held by the imperial princess couldn¡¯t touch the master. But it was different after the master used his ability. Even though he used it only once, the ability disappeared cleanly, and the master, who lost his uniqueness, had to be an ordinary human. ¡°If I didn¡¯t make the master my disciple, if I didn¡¯t give part of my power to the master, the master would have died being torn apart by the souls that died with the fragments of evil!¡± Because I had been watching all along, it was just a name to call him the master and nothing more, but originally, he was a god. ¡°Why did you make me your disciple?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you wanted to be alive, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Then, you should be grateful to the goddess of life who is your benefactor!¡± I didn¡¯t make him my disciple to demand a price. I helped him because I wanted to, and he, who was originally an extranar being, was now required to obey thews of this world. The fragment of evil that the imperial princess held couldn¡¯t touch him either. But after the master used his ability, everything changed. Even though he used it only once, the ability disappeared cleanly, and the master, who lost his uniqueness, had to be an ordinary human. ¡°That¡¯s why, be grateful to the goddess of life and your savior!¡± If it weren¡¯t for me, he would have already died in the past. Well then, ¡°Quickly, show gratitude to the goddess of life, your benefactor!¡± He should apologize for everything he did. For his disrespectful behavior towards the goddess. ¡°Isn¡¯t all of that your fault?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± It¡¯s clearly the timing to apologize! He was saved, so he should say thank you! But instead, the master took the initiative and attacked. ¡°Evil has appeared in the world. And the gods sealed it.¡± ¡°R-Really?¡± ¡°Who broke the seal?¡± ¡°¡­Was it me?¡± ¡°Yeah, it was you. And what is this thing called the fragment of evil?¡± ¡°Uh, when I was sealed, the evil energy that escaped from me gathered to other races?¡± ¡°Yeah. So why did the fragment of evil appear?¡± ¡°Because there was evil in the world?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s because some idiot released evil into the world!¡± ¡°Ouch!¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s all your fault! Because of you, I almost died. You should be grateful that I saved you, right? Don¡¯t make meugh. You should apologize. You should apologize for almost killing me!¡± Wait¡­ this is not right¡­. Why did I suddenly be the one who has to apologize? I was clearly trying to receive an apology! Why did the situation suddenly turn into me apologizing? ¡°Why should I?¡± ¡°If the master still has a bit of humanity left, the master should apologize! You should apologize for the fact that you almost killed me!¡± Huh¡­ This is not what I expected. Why did it suddenly be a situation where I have to apologize? I was clearly trying to get an apology! Why did the situation suddenly turn into me apologizing? ¡°Why should I apologize?¡± ¡°For everything! Where is the volcano?¡± ¡°I apologize! I was wrong! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯ve caused trouble by releasing the seal!¡± In the past, my angry sister had given everything to seal me. Thanks to her, I could barely wake up after thousands of years, but I still wasn¡¯tpletely resurrected. The reason I could resurrect was because there was still a trace of the divine in me. If that wasn¡¯t the case, I would have to sleep for at least a thousand more years after losing this body. If I make a mistake, I might never wake up again. So I have to beg. To live, I must beg. If I die, it¡¯s only a loss for me. It¡¯s no use being stubborn and dying. The master, who had been watching me for a long time, learned what he learned and put it into practice. ¡°Reflection?¡± ¡°I am reflecting!¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Fine. So, do I have to forgive? Back then, the princess stuck to me like glue. I¡¯m still a fugitive because of that incident, you know?¡± Wow, look at that attitude. Honestly, everything rted to the princess was the owner¡¯s fault. If the owner hadn¡¯t saved the princess? The empire wouldn¡¯t be in the position it is now. The reason the empire became an unrivaled nation that no one dared to touch was not just because they won in the war, but because they won the war perfectly. Among the victorious nations, no one had a military power as moderate as the empire. Victorious, yet in a state ofplete disarray. In a situation where the defeated nations had suffered losses due to the excessive demands ofpensation and, if the empire demanded something, the defeated nations had toply unconditionally, and even the victorious nations had to move under the empire¡¯s watchful eye. Thanks to the enormous reparations received from the defeated nations, the empire became stronger, and the power of the princess, who pursued the owner, reached unimaginable levels. Humans call this kind of situation ¡®reaping what you sow.¡¯ Yes, it¡¯s all the owner¡¯s doing. Saved the princess who was supposed to die, brought victory to the empire, gave a younger sister to the disciple, disrupting the bnce of the world. All of this was the result of the owner¡¯s actions. Whether desired or not, the small actions of the owner umted and resulted in a butterfly effect. In other words, it¡¯s all the owner¡¯s fault. The owner is the bad one! I¡¯m not at fault! ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ It¡¯s all my fault¡­ Please forgive me¡­¡± But the most important thing is that I have no power. Sigh¡­ Apologizing to the Apostle of the Gods, a god that was beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Thinking about the known evil spirits in the world, ordinary people wouldn¡¯t even be able to imagine such a thing. In reality, I only bowed my head once since the creation of the world, and that was when my younger sister barged in when the lid was open. Even to the senior god, I never bowed my head. Bowed my head to a human? Well, it¡¯s kind of exciting! ¡°Well¡­ Since I¡¯ve apologized¡­¡± ¡°Just for now¡­ You¡¯ll bring it upter, won¡¯t you¡­¡± ¡°Of course. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll forgive you here when you threatened my life.¡± ¡°Wow¡­¡± After witnessing all this, the owner, who looked kind in a way, seemed amusing for some reason. I might not have chosen the owner as an apostle and fled if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the owner and I were bound in various ways. ¡°Think wisely.¡± ¡°What now?¡± ¡°The ones taking us are elves. You know that, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Do you know which god the elves serve?¡± ¡°The owner¡­?¡± After surpassing the threat, another threat is emerging. Wasn¡¯t there supposed to be some kind of moderation in threats? I should throw a carrot while whipping. It shouldn¡¯t be just whipping all the time! ¡°Ask anything you want!¡± ¡°You¡¯re a goddess, after all. Maybe because you¡¯re a god, you seem to understand the situation properly.¡± I wondered what kind of existence the god in the owner¡¯s head was, but I didn¡¯t bring it up. After a moment of silence, the owner asked what he was curious about. ¡°What is an Apostle of Evil? Are there good and bad aspects to it?¡± ¡°An Apostle is a being chosen by a god to lend a part of their power. Saying that the rtionship between the owner and me is a proper one between a god and an Apostle is a bit, no, quite ambiguous.¡± ¡°Ambiguous?¡± ¡°Yeah. For now, I barely maintain the status of a deity,pletely stripped of my soul and even my divinity to serve the owner. In other words, I can¡¯t lend any power to the owner.¡± ¡°So, it means you¡¯re useless.¡± ¡°Thanks to that, I¡¯m alive! Originally, the moment I was recognized as a resident of this world, the owner would have died from the souls of the fragments of evil!¡± ¡°¡­?¡± The owner momentarily closed his mouth and seemed lost in thought. Was there something to feel after hearing the story twice? Yes, there should be. If he¡¯s not an animal or a person, if he¡¯s not an animal but an animate being! ¡°Hey, if I hadn¡¯t be your Apostle, I could have been recognized as a resident of this world, and I could have used magic, right?¡± Certainly, this human is not an ordinary one. He¡¯s an animal who doesn¡¯t appreciate kindness! ¡°Oh, no! You saved my life! Isn¡¯t that important?¡± ¡°Of course! How painful it was not being able to use magic all this time!¡± Looking at his expression, he really seemed to have suffered. ¡°But, still, isn¡¯t it nice to have a cute goddess with you instead of magic?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t need it!¡± ¡°Straightforward?¡± I felt a bit hurt. ¡°Isn¡¯t that too much? We¡¯ve been together all this time as partners! As soulpanions!¡± ¡°An Apostle of Evil and a Soul Companion! I hear voices everywhere in every temple chasing me away!¡± Another ce to run away from. The owner, who sighed about the increasing number of ces to run away to, held me by the cor and shook me, demanding I release my magic. ¡°Release your magic!¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s toote since the fragments of evil have already settled in your body! And do you know if magic gathers in an instant? Even if you start practicing magic from now on, you won¡¯t learn a single spell until the owner dies!¡± ¡°Darn! Is it toote already¡­? Then, how do I use this thing called the fragment of evil? I can use some strange technique like a demon king, right?¡± ¡°Well¡­ there is a way¡­¡± The fragment of evil contains the desires of each race. What the owner has is the desire that dragons have. In other words, ¡°If the owner uses the fragment of evil¡­ he can seduce women incredibly well.¡± ¡°What? That¡¯s¡­¡± The one thing that dragons, the supreme race and a wealth-driven race, didn¡¯t possess was only one. The reproduction of the race. ¡°Dragons have the desire to have many children. So, they have the ability to seduce the opposite sex well.¡± ¡°¡­Is that it?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Looking at the owner¡¯s expression, he really seemed upset. ¡°Even so, it¡¯s better to have a cute goddess like you with me, right?¡± ¡°Not needed!¡± ¡°Is it a direct response?¡± I felt a bit hurt. ¡°Isn¡¯t that too much? We¡¯ve been together all this time as partners! As soulpanions!¡± ¡°An Apostle of Evil and a Soul Companion! I hear voices everywhere in every temple chasing me away!¡± Another ce to run away from. It took an hour to calm down the owner, who threatened to throw me towards Volcano. Chapter 254

Chapter 254

#29. Other People¡¯s Stories (1) 1. Their Circumstances: A Certain Goddess¡¯s Circumstances ¡°Blow it all away.¡± Even though I said I was a goddess, my appearance was consistently irreverent. ¡°Is an evil spirit also a god?¡± ¡°I am a god! Evil! God! And even before that, I was a god!¡± ¡°You were a nuisance god.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t deny that!¡± Even before being called an evil spirit, during the time when I was referred to as the goddess of greed and desire, I never heard anything good. Was it because I pursued instincts over reason, saying and doing whatever I wanted to the followers, as if preaching the doctrine of pursuing instincts? It was a religion that many criminals among the warlike demons believed in. Even among the kids who were supposed to be priests, there were cases of secretly embezzling donations sent to their demon sisters. There was even a time when the demon sister, who was happily watching over the embezzlement scene, had to intervene with a stranglehold. ¡°That¡¯s why even a master without morals could be epted as a disciple with a broad heart!¡± ¡°Who asked to be epted?¡± ¡°Honestly, the master should be in a position to be grateful to me. If it weren¡¯t for me, you would have died long ago!¡± This wasn¡¯t a lie. The master created a situation where he had no choice but to be in such a state, just like a master with a copsed personality. Was it because he had a hero¡¯s life in the middle? ¡°Why?¡± ¡°A long time ago, when the master used a strange ability from a past life, the master lost the power of being an extranar being and became an ordinary person.¡± Did the creators make a slight mistake when they made the world? Originally, beings that shouldn¡¯t enter sometimes entered. Although summoning magic connected dimensions in this world, it wasn¡¯t magic powerful enough to summon gods from other worlds. The gods of this world exist, so why would gods from another worlde? It was a significant event that could disrupt the bnce of the world, and indeed, the bnce of the world wavered when gods from another world were summoned. And the master was no exception. I don¡¯t know what kind of power he had from another world, but it was a power that the regtions created by the gods did not apply to. Thanks to that, the world cut off the master from itsws, and since he was originally an extranar being, even the fragment of evil held by the imperial princess couldn¡¯t touch the master. But it was different after the master used his ability. Even though he used it only once, the ability disappeared cleanly, and the master, who lost his uniqueness, had to be an ordinary human. ¡°If I didn¡¯t make the master my disciple, if I didn¡¯t give part of my power to the master, the master would have died being torn apart by the souls that died with the fragments of evil!¡± Because I had been watching all along, it was just a name to call him the master and nothing more, but originally, he was a god. ¡°Why did you make me your disciple?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you wanted to be alive, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Then, you should be grateful to the goddess of life who is your benefactor!¡± I didn¡¯t make him my disciple to demand a price. I helped him because I wanted to, and he, who was originally an extranar being, was now required to obey thews of this world. The fragment of evil that the imperial princess held couldn¡¯t touch him either. But after the master used his ability, everything changed. Even though he used it only once, the ability disappeared cleanly, and the master, who lost his uniqueness, had to be an ordinary human. ¡°That¡¯s why, be grateful to the goddess of life and your savior!¡± If it weren¡¯t for me, he would have already died in the past. Well then, ¡°Quickly, show gratitude to the goddess of life, your benefactor!¡± He should apologize for everything he did. For his disrespectful behavior towards the goddess. ¡°Isn¡¯t all of that your fault?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± It¡¯s clearly the timing to apologize! He was saved, so he should say thank you! But instead, the master took the initiative and attacked. ¡°Evil has appeared in the world. And the gods sealed it.¡± ¡°R-Really?¡± ¡°Who broke the seal?¡± ¡°¡­Was it me?¡± ¡°Yeah, it was you. And what is this thing called the fragment of evil?¡± ¡°Uh, when I was sealed, the evil energy that escaped from me gathered to other races?¡± ¡°Yeah. So why did the fragment of evil appear?¡± ¡°Because there was evil in the world?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s because some idiot released evil into the world!¡± ¡°Ouch!¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s all your fault! Because of you, I almost died. You should be grateful that I saved you, right? Don¡¯t make meugh. You should apologize. You should apologize for almost killing me!¡± Wait¡­ this is not right¡­. Why did I suddenly be the one who has to apologize? I was clearly trying to receive an apology! Why did the situation suddenly turn into me apologizing? ¡°Why should I?¡± ¡°If the master still has a bit of humanity left, the master should apologize! You should apologize for the fact that you almost killed me!¡± Huh¡­ This is not what I expected. Why did it suddenly be a situation where I have to apologize? I was clearly trying to get an apology! Why did the situation suddenly turn into me apologizing? ¡°Why should I apologize?¡± ¡°For everything! Where is the volcano?¡± ¡°I apologize! I was wrong! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯ve caused trouble by releasing the seal!¡± In the past, my angry sister had given everything to seal me. Thanks to her, I could barely wake up after thousands of years, but I still wasn¡¯tpletely resurrected. The reason I could resurrect was because there was still a trace of the divine in me. If that wasn¡¯t the case, I would have to sleep for at least a thousand more years after losing this body. If I make a mistake, I might never wake up again. So I have to beg. To live, I must beg. If I die, it¡¯s only a loss for me. It¡¯s no use being stubborn and dying. The master, who had been watching me for a long time, learned what he learned and put it into practice. ¡°Reflection?¡± ¡°I am reflecting!¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Fine. So, do I have to forgive? Back then, the princess stuck to me like glue. I¡¯m still a fugitive because of that incident, you know?¡± Wow, look at that attitude. Honestly, everything rted to the princess was the owner¡¯s fault. If the owner hadn¡¯t saved the princess? The empire wouldn¡¯t be in the position it is now. The reason the empire became an unrivaled nation that no one dared to touch was not just because they won in the war, but because they won the war perfectly. Among the victorious nations, no one had a military power as moderate as the empire. Victorious, yet in a state ofplete disarray. In a situation where the defeated nations had suffered losses due to the excessive demands ofpensation and, if the empire demanded something, the defeated nations had toply unconditionally, and even the victorious nations had to move under the empire¡¯s watchful eye. Thanks to the enormous reparations received from the defeated nations, the empire became stronger, and the power of the princess, who pursued the owner, reached unimaginable levels. Humans call this kind of situation ¡®reaping what you sow.¡¯ Yes, it¡¯s all the owner¡¯s doing. Saved the princess who was supposed to die, brought victory to the empire, gave a younger sister to the disciple, disrupting the bnce of the world. All of this was the result of the owner¡¯s actions. Whether desired or not, the small actions of the owner umted and resulted in a butterfly effect. In other words, it¡¯s all the owner¡¯s fault. The owner is the bad one! I¡¯m not at fault! ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ It¡¯s all my fault¡­ Please forgive me¡­¡± But the most important thing is that I have no power. Sigh¡­ Apologizing to the Apostle of the Gods, a god that was beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Thinking about the known evil spirits in the world, ordinary people wouldn¡¯t even be able to imagine such a thing. In reality, I only bowed my head once since the creation of the world, and that was when my younger sister barged in when the lid was open. Even to the senior god, I never bowed my head. Bowed my head to a human? Well, it¡¯s kind of exciting! ¡°Well¡­ Since I¡¯ve apologized¡­¡± ¡°Just for now¡­ You¡¯ll bring it upter, won¡¯t you¡­¡± ¡°Of course. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll forgive you here when you threatened my life.¡± ¡°Wow¡­¡± After witnessing all this, the owner, who looked kind in a way, seemed amusing for some reason. I might not have chosen the owner as an apostle and fled if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the owner and I were bound in various ways. ¡°Think wisely.¡± ¡°What now?¡± ¡°The ones taking us are elves. You know that, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Do you know which god the elves serve?¡± ¡°The owner¡­?¡± After surpassing the threat, another threat is emerging. Wasn¡¯t there supposed to be some kind of moderation in threats? I should throw a carrot while whipping. It shouldn¡¯t be just whipping all the time! ¡°Ask anything you want!¡± ¡°You¡¯re a goddess, after all. Maybe because you¡¯re a god, you seem to understand the situation properly.¡± I wondered what kind of existence the god in the owner¡¯s head was, but I didn¡¯t bring it up. After a moment of silence, the owner asked what he was curious about. ¡°What is an Apostle of Evil? Are there good and bad aspects to it?¡± ¡°An Apostle is a being chosen by a god to lend a part of their power. Saying that the rtionship between the owner and me is a proper one between a god and an Apostle is a bit, no, quite ambiguous.¡± ¡°Ambiguous?¡± ¡°Yeah. For now, I barely maintain the status of a deity,pletely stripped of my soul and even my divinity to serve the owner. In other words, I can¡¯t lend any power to the owner.¡± ¡°So, it means you¡¯re useless.¡± ¡°Thanks to that, I¡¯m alive! Originally, the moment I was recognized as a resident of this world, the owner would have died from the souls of the fragments of evil!¡± ¡°¡­?¡± The owner momentarily closed his mouth and seemed lost in thought. Was there something to feel after hearing the story twice? Yes, there should be. If he¡¯s not an animal or a person, if he¡¯s not an animal but an animate being! ¡°Hey, if I hadn¡¯t be your Apostle, I could have been recognized as a resident of this world, and I could have used magic, right?¡± Certainly, this human is not an ordinary one. He¡¯s an animal who doesn¡¯t appreciate kindness! ¡°Oh, no! You saved my life! Isn¡¯t that important?¡± ¡°Of course! How painful it was not being able to use magic all this time!¡± Looking at his expression, he really seemed to have suffered. ¡°But, still, isn¡¯t it nice to have a cute goddess with you instead of magic?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t need it!¡± ¡°Straightforward?¡± I felt a bit hurt. ¡°Isn¡¯t that too much? We¡¯ve been together all this time as partners! As soulpanions!¡± ¡°An Apostle of Evil and a Soul Companion! I hear voices everywhere in every temple chasing me away!¡± Another ce to run away from. The owner, who sighed about the increasing number of ces to run away to, held me by the cor and shook me, demanding I release my magic. ¡°Release your magic!¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s toote since the fragments of evil have already settled in your body! And do you know if magic gathers in an instant? Even if you start practicing magic from now on, you won¡¯t learn a single spell until the owner dies!¡± ¡°Darn! Is it toote already¡­? Then, how do I use this thing called the fragment of evil? I can use some strange technique like a demon king, right?¡± ¡°Well¡­ there is a way¡­¡± The fragment of evil contains the desires of each race. What the owner has is the desire that dragons have. In other words, ¡°If the owner uses the fragment of evil¡­ he can seduce women incredibly well.¡± ¡°What? That¡¯s¡­¡± The one thing that dragons, the supreme race and a wealth-driven race, didn¡¯t possess was only one. The reproduction of the race. ¡°Dragons have the desire to have many children. So, they have the ability to seduce the opposite sex well.¡± ¡°¡­Is that it?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Looking at the owner¡¯s expression, he really seemed upset. ¡°Even so, it¡¯s better to have a cute goddess like you with me, right?¡± ¡°Not needed!¡± ¡°Is it a direct response?¡± I felt a bit hurt. ¡°Isn¡¯t that too much? We¡¯ve been together all this time as partners! As soulpanions!¡± ¡°An Apostle of Evil and a Soul Companion! I hear voices everywhere in every temple chasing me away!¡± Another ce to run away from. It took an hour to calm down the owner, who threatened to throw me towards Volcano. Chapter 255 255 #29. Other People¡¯s Stories (3) #5 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of a Certain Viin What did I just hear? ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°My sibling carved a wooden dildo.¡± No, what nonsense is this again? ¡°Why would a wooden dildo be a goddess?¡± Are all gods fond of dildos? ¡°No, don¡¯t turn all the gods into perverts.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only seen you as a god in front of me.¡± Judging a group based on one individual is usually a very unwise behavior, but is a metal dildo amon thing for them? Prejudice cannot be avoided. Well, looking at the disciple, who is a warrior of the gods of nature, and Shertley, who is a saint, I can be more convinced. All gods are perverts. ¡°Ugh¡­ If the Master thinks that way, there¡¯s nothing we can do.¡± Somehow, it feels like many gods are feeling unjustly used, but it¡¯s not important, so let¡¯s move on. ¡°Why did the goddess who saved the world be a wooden dildo?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because the raw material for wooden dildos is the branches of the World Tree, right? The World Tree is a tree created with my sibling¡¯s full power.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with it?¡± ¡°It does. It¡¯s less dangerous to attach to something that¡¯s practically a part of yourself, and it¡¯s easier to regain your strength.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± After all, all creatures have instincts of attachment, isn¡¯t that what they say? Gods might have something simr. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t mean that items made from the World Tree only exist as dildos, right?¡± It¡¯s an extremely rare item, but it¡¯s not like there are no items made from the branches of the World Tree. Among the elves, elders would probably have at least one item made from the World Tree. And I know that in a country that has greatly helped the elf race, like the Empire, items made from the World Tree have been transmitted. But why is it that only the dildos made by me and the dwarves are imbued with divine power? Could it be that the ck Anvil n is an extraordinary race associated with gods? ¡°No, they¡¯re just ordinary dwarves. The only thing is that the items used to make wooden dildos were rare. Do you understand that, master?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°After the world was created and my sibling made the World Tree¡­¡± The Iron Bat paused for a moment and continued with a serious expression. ¡°The being that broke a branch of the World Tree and fell for the master is only the High Elf, and the one who made items with such fresh World Tree branches is also none other than the master.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°Think about it. If there are extremely old houses and newly built houses under the same conditions, where would the Master live?¡± ¡°Obviously in the newly built house.¡± ¡°Right? It¡¯s the same for my sibling. It wasn¡¯t in a situation where reason prevailed. Therefore, driven by instincts, they settled in a ce where they could recover more easily.¡± ¡°Why not ascend to the divine realm?¡± ¡°My sibling stripped away everything, not only the divine but also the divine essence, to seal me, remember? Well, because of that, my sibling became a god admired not only on the maind but also on the sea continent. Once resurrected, they can quickly recover divine essence.¡± ¡°Then isn¡¯t it more normal to be in the divine realm?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s difficult until perfect resurrection. Because my sibling, who put everything on the line to stop me, is bound to me.¡± Huh? Isn¡¯t it the opposite? ¡°The goddess of mercy and dedication sealed the Evil God. Then shouldn¡¯t the goddess of mercy and dedication be binding you?¡± That¡¯s also possible. ¡°But it can change depending on the bnce of power. Right now, I¡¯m stronger, so my sibling is bound to me.¡± So, it¡¯s like a tug-of-war where one side is unterally pulling the other. ¡°I understand, but were you sealed because you were weaker?¡± Considering this guy¡¯s personality, it¡¯s unlikely that they were sealed for their sibling. Didn¡¯t they say themselves that they are the goddess of greed and desire? A guy devoted to their own greed and desire wouldn¡¯t sacrifice themselves for their sibling. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Master¡­ Why is my perception like that? I mean, I¡¯m still the elder sister of the Goddess of Mercy and Dedication!¡± ¡°It became even clearer. Surely, you explicitly stated that the creators created gods with opposite concepts! If you are the elder sister of the Goddess of Mercy and Dedication, it means there is no mercy and dedication!¡± ¡°I, I¡¯ve been exposed!¡± Finally, speaking honestly! ¡°To be honest, at that time, the power of an Evil God and the power of a goddess of greed and desire were in conflict. Internally, the powers shed, and externally, while everything was at stake, my sibling popped out, grabbing and shaking me by the hair.¡± ¡°Do gods really grab each other¡¯s hair and fight?¡± ¡°Metaphorically speaking. Ah, but at that time, I was really caught!¡± Gods fighting by grabbing each other¡¯s hair. How intense must that have been? ¡°It seemed like I received an enormous beating. As I mentioned before, it was the first andst time the world was created and exploded. Who would have thought that my sibling, responsible for mercy and dedication, would get that angry? I really almost died!¡± Honestly, they reaped what they sowed. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°If there were beings witnessing that battle, whether it be ten, a hundred, or a thousand, they would have cheered for the Goddess of Mercy and Dedication!¡± ¡°Even the master?¡± ¡°Of course. As residents of this world, the destruction of the world is as good as my death. There¡¯s no way I would support an Evil God trying to kill me.¡± ¡°Master¡­ Do you not want to hear the rest of the story?¡± I nodded while looking at the half-asleep Iron Bat. ¡°Do you want to go to the volcano?¡± ¡°Hahaha! How far did we get in the story? Ah, yes. It was about the bnce of power between my sibling and me.¡± Although it seemed like we were passing it off withughter, I decided to let it go. ¡°Now, the reason I¡¯m stronger is not only because I suffered great damage when my sibling sealed me but also because of the master¡¯s assistance.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yes. Every time the master wielded me, my essence became stronger.¡± What kind of nonsense is this again? ¡°That means I get stronger every time you wield me.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the reason behind it?¡± Iron Bat closed its eyes for a moment to organize its thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s a bitplicated to exin, and I feel like the master might get angry if it takes too long.¡± ¡°Just give me a brief exnation.¡± ¡°nning to do just that.¡± With a small tongue click, Iron Bat provided a concise and straightforward exnation as I wished. ¡°In simple terms, when my sibling sealed me in a state where my power was not properly organized, concepts of evil, greed, and desire got mixed inside me.¡± ¡°So what?¡± ¡°In that state, where it¡¯s neither here nor there, I can¡¯t use my power as a proper god. But I¡¯m somewhat outside the ordinary in this world.¡± Iron Bat continued to exin that if it had existed purely as an Evil God, the emotions of greed and desire might have disappeared from the world. ¡°So, I became a god with the concepts of both an Evil God and greed and desire.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because the master¡¯s design was wed, even though you and the Iron Bat n worked hard to create Wood Bat and Iron Bat.¡± ¡°What nonsense is that?¡± ¡°In simple terms, the master¡¯s design was wed. It doesn¡¯t make sense for a weapon to cause pain while healing wounds. Where can you find such a ridiculous weapon?¡± ¡°What?¡± An unexpected response came. ¡°It¡¯s strange not to think about it. Miracles are called miracles because they don¡¯t happen as a matter of course. That¡¯s why we call events where divine power is borrowed ¡®miracles.¡¯ The weapons the master created are the same. They were miracles made possible only because of the power of the gods, not because the master¡¯s n was perfect.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be¡­¡± Today¡¯s story was the most shocking. The fact that Wood Bat and Iron Bat were just the results of miracles. Then, all the funds I invested to mass-produce Wood Bat and Iron Bat until now! ¡°Are you saying I¡¯ve been throwing money down the drain¡­¡± ¡°No, revealing the truth of the world is the most shocking part, and you find the story about wasting your money the most surprising?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± The tales of old are just that ¨C tales of the past. For those who cherish them, like archaeologists or historians, it may hold value. As for someone like me, who has engaged in nefarious activities to earn a living, money is of greater importance. As the crab boss mentioned, money is paramount. ¡°I¡¯m revealing a secret that I haven¡¯t shared with anyone else¡­¡± Although it seems unrewarding to disclose it, I have no choice. ¡°Well, to put it bluntly, the reason is this. The goddesses ofpassion and dedication dwell in the wooden paddle that my brother is bound to. They alleviate the suffering of the opponent because, quite literally, they embodypassion and dedication.¡± ¡°And what about you?¡± ¡°I am literally here to enact greed and desire. Do I seem to dislike delivering a blow?¡± ¡°Absolutely not.¡± ¡°Yeah, I thoroughly enjoy it. The sight of the opponent being hit and flinching! It¡¯s truly exhrating!¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re a sadist. How does that rte to healing?¡± ¡°When you hit someone who¡¯s dead, there¡¯s no reaction! Even if they faint, there¡¯s no fun in the response!¡± ¡°So, you revive them for that?¡± ¡°Yeah! I perpetually revive them to satisfy my greed and desires! That¡¯s the essence of the existence of Iron Bat!¡± And it seemed that as these desires were fulfilled, this guy¡¯s power increased. ¡°Yeah, you got it. While it¡¯s natural that I recover faster since I woke up first, the difference was even greater thanks to the Master.¡± Good grief¡­ I was unknowingly aiding this Evil God in gaining strength. If word got out in the divine realm, I¡¯d immediately be the top target for elimination. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Since I¡¯m your disciple, being the top target for elimination is a given!¡± ¡°You should be very worried!¡± Now, all that was left was to eliminate the evidence. I had no choice; this guy had to be thrown into the Stiorus Volcano. ¡°I had a really bad feeling just now¡­ Master, you¡¯re not nning¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Why would I do something like that?¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Even though I hid my true feelings, it seemed he could still sense them. Over time, ourpanionship has turned toxic. ¡°Master? You wouldn¡¯t be thinking of abandoning this fragile goddess, right? Is that what you¡¯re nning?¡± With teary eyes, Iron Bat looked up, presenting an extremely delicate appearance. ¡°Yeah.¡± However, Iron Bat¡¯s frail appearance didn¡¯t match at all. ¡°No, that¡¯s too much! Even though we¡¯re soulmates!¡± ¡°I could pretend to be slightly indecisive, but your overly insincere attitude killed any desire I had for that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about indecision; it¡¯s about pretending to be indecisive!¡± When it came to matters rted to Evil Gods, pretending to hesitate was amon urrence. Normally, I wouldn¡¯t have bothered pretending and would have ignored the situation altogether. ¡°Yeah. Thanks for everything, Master!¡± ¡°Just be aware of it.¡± ¡°Eeeekkk!¡± Iron Bat protested vehemently, but what could he do? He had no power whatsoever! ¡°I may not be able to fool Master and the Demon King, but I have enough power. It¡¯s just that it won¡¯t work on ordinary humans!¡± ¡°But your opponent is the Demon King. Therefore, you¡¯re useless!¡± ¡°You¡¯re an Evil God, Master¡­¡± Being evaluated as a demon by an Evil God. I¡¯m not sure if this is a good or bad thing. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s bad! You seem like a wicked viin!¡± ¡°If it¡¯s bad for an Evil God, isn¡¯t it considered good by the world¡¯s standards?¡± ¡°Such logic!¡± So, ahead of you lies nothing but the roaringva. ¡°If you want to live, you¡¯ll have to make a deal that moves my heart.¡± ¡°An individual demanding from a god¡­ and an Evil God at that¡­¡± Looking at the gaping Swoopad with an indifferent gaze, Iment, ¡°It¡¯s not a threat.¡± Indeed. I don¡¯t possess a personality reckless enough to carry around something as dangerous as an evil God. ¡°Even though loyalty is unnecessary, I continue to be with you because it¡¯s not about sharing harm that I¡¯m aware of.¡± ¡°All the things I¡¯ve done for you¡­ How could I¡­¡± Though a sense of betrayal flows through the continued soul, it doesn¡¯t leave a scratch on my heart. After trying various things for about 10 minutes, Iron Bat finally raised the white g and surrendered. ¡°I lost. I lost! I¡¯ll tell you how to defeat the Demon King!¡± ¡°You should have done that earlier.¡± With a satisfied smile, I nodded, and Iron Bat let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Haah¡­ Listen well, Master?¡± Nodding, I pretended to listen to Iron Bat¡¯s words. The opponent is an Evil God, a god of evil. Despite the threat of being thrown into the Stiorus Volcano, such a creature didn¡¯t flee and stuck with me. Is it to enhance its power? Would enhancing its power be crucial in a situation where entering the volcano would render it useless? Probably not. It implies that this creature might be with me because it needs me, or, at worst, it might be nning to betray me and strike me down when I least expect it. In the context of novels, isn¡¯t it quitemon? The one who was an ally turns out to be the antagonist, striking the protagonist¡¯s back! When the Demon King falls, there might be a scene where this creature, having been an ally, strikes me down and gathers all the fragments of evil to resurrect itself. So, Iron Bat, I don¡¯t trust you. Never! Chapter 256 256 # 30 Chapter 4: Other People¡¯s Stories (3) #5 Their Circumstances: Sia Nell Karan¡¯s Circumstances. ¡°Are you awake?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± As the sound of a familiar subordinate¡¯s voice reached her ears, Shia Nell Karan¡¯s eyes slowly opened, revealing the expanse of a ck ceiling. Yes, she¡¯s gone. Left without a trace¡­ That thought persisted, circling in her mind ¨C When I wake up, I¡¯ll find my way home. Still, he¡¯s a bad person, saying such words to an orphan with nowhere to return There¡¯s only one ce I want to return to. ¡°By any chance, did you get caught by the princess?¡± ¡°Yes. The personnel who defeated the ck Star were identified as Astral Knights, or rather¡­ eventually revealed to be Rain, the leader¡¯srade, and were chased away.¡± ¡°What? Rain defeated the ck Star? He was the weakest among us, right?¡± ¡°ording to eyewitness ounts, that seems to be the case.¡± Judging by what I¡¯ve gathered, it seems the master must have defeated the ck Star. Rain must have been unconscious if he needed to be carried. Probably not in perfect condition, but still, it¡¯s the ck Star. It¡¯s unlikely for Rain to defeat an awakened ck Star. Perhaps¡­ ¡°You surpassed Iron Bat.¡± ¡°Iron Bat?¡± ¡°Yes, the ultimate weapon of humanity.¡± If that¡¯s the case, it makes sense. With the help of the shadows directly under the emperor, the creatures I secretly raised, and even the princess, the total number is 200. Intentionally reducing the number of torches to underestimate in the darkness. But my master is always one step ahead of me. Sadly, even in the most crucial moments, he was one step ahead. Truthfully, I was uneasy. My master, who is not superior to anyone, became superior to everyone, and my master, who was not sophisticated, became more sophisticated. Eliminating weaknesses at any cost, constantly developing strengths. It sounds easy, but realistically, my master always did the difficult tasks. Honestly, I was anxious about this operation, and, in a way, it turned out as expected. ¡°Any casualties?¡± ¡°Surprisingly, none. Even the personnel attacked in the chaos have been treated. Honestly¡­ we still don¡¯t know what we faced.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s true.¡± Once you¡¯re hit, it hurts. Even I, who trained and developed resistance, couldn¡¯t avoid the pain. But ironically, that¡¯s the treatment. Once, when Maren suffered a serious injury during training, the master arrived with Iron Bat. Ah, looking back, that was also the first moment I saw Iron Bat. ¨C P-Professor! Even if you say that, it¡¯s too much! ¨C I¡¯m trying to give pain to those who haven¡¯t finished training¡­ Huh? We all had to watch that scene with wide eyes. The man who, whileughing, dered he¡¯d go first, even as he cried out in pain and begged for death with entrails spilling out from a torn side, was experiencing a phenomenon beyond a miracle¡ªwhere the wounded area gradually healed. ¨C K-Kill me¡­ Please, kill me¡­ ¨C Well, disciples. It¡¯s okay to get hurt. There¡¯s a way to heal. So rest assured. At that time, the smile on Master¡¯s face was a smile that made even me, who loved Master more than anything else, take a step back, and the impact of the iron bat I receivedter was enough to deepen my affection for Master in an instant. And at that moment, as Mareny on the ground, receiving treatment from the iron bat, he came back to life. Perfectly fine. The next day, he woke up more refreshed than us. Incidentally, due to the trauma of this incident, Maren declined numerous offers from various military organizations and strongly desired an administrative position, eventually joining the finance department. It was because he feared getting hurt. ¡°Heh¡­ hehe¡­ hehehe¡­ Yeah, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Shia, are you okay?¡± I looked at the ceiling, letting theughter flow. It might seem a bit unattractive for a woman tough like this, but for some reason, I just want to keepughing like this. ¡°Yes, Master is¡­ an enigma.¡± ¡°Enigma?¡± ¡°Yes. Master is the unknown itself! An unknowable person.¡± It cannot be known by anymon sense. Even after looking for a long time, it¡¯s still unknown. Honestly. Whether the Master¡¯s name is Naran, Ast, Herman, or Esedna. Or maybe it¡¯s something I don¡¯t know, I really don¡¯t know anything. The territory where Master lived, which I diligently searched for, has already been engulfed in mes by the empire, leaving no records. The movements of the Master, which I secretly pursued, were ever elusive. Even when I stole and checked records of others investigating Master, the information never matched. Sometimes, I feared that I might mean nothing to Master Sometimes, I felt afraid that I might be nothing to Master. Sometimes, I felt emptiness, questioning if the Master I love actually exists. So, despite feeling embarrassed, I went to Master and asked. ¨C Master, Master! ¨C Professor. ¨C Yes, Professor. I came because there¡¯s something I want to ask. ¨C Although you¡¯vepleted your education, well, what is it? ¡°What is love? Is love something that exists? If so, why does love change?¡± ¡°Heh¡­ youe to me with a sudden question.¡± Master seemed tired or, in a way, almost helpless. However, he answered my question seriously. ¡°Most people fall in love with something unusual when they first fall in love. Something mysterious. Something interesting. Something different. They fall in love with such things. But they don¡¯t really care whether it¡¯s real or fake. Why is that?¡± ¡°Answering a question with a question. It¡¯s frustrating.¡± ¡°Wisdom acquired without depth is easily forgotten.¡± I pondered deeply. What made me like Master? Yes, at first. I cursed him. ¡°Crazy bastard! Why did that bastard have to die in the Great War and survive to do this nonsense?!¡± A veteran among veterans who participated in the mission in the Great War, the best of Professor. But when hit by the recently developed imperial magical bombardment, you couldn¡¯t help but curse. And then. What was it next? Yeah. Still curses. ¡°Kuaak! What¡¯s this! Seriously! Is that guy even human?!¡± But there¡¯s nothing you can do. Getting hit by the bat for the first time just happens. Oh,e to think of it, why did I end up liking Master? ¡°Do you know? What? What does Professor know about me! Even I don¡¯t know who I am! What do you know about me! Do you have any evidence that you know about me?¡± Ah, it was then. Looking back now, it was extremely embarrassing and probably just adolescence. Just a day when I could only think that way. On that day, when my already foul mood shed with meing to terms as a woman, it was embarrassing and humiliating. It even made me kick the nket in my dreams. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Genuinely indifferent, to the point of appearing so. However, that answer prated deeply into my heart. ¡°I can¡¯t im to know you even when you don¡¯t know yourself. No, from the beginning, there is no need for mutual understanding between an Professor and a disciple who met as enemies in an evil organization. Only, I teach you, and you grow. And originally, the truth itself is not something visible. So, I cannot show you true evidence.¡± Oh,e to think of it. I can¡¯t understand my own existence. Where did I fall for Master exactly? Ah, I remembered. ¨C So, you also don¡¯t know yourself, and I don¡¯t know you either. We are the same. Funny. It¡¯s not really saying anything, but it¡¯s funny. The word ¡°same.¡± That word was salvation to me. Later, by chance, I stumbled upon the secret of my birth, which was not even funny, and learned about the nonexistent father when I was born. The events that followed were a series of unimaginable events, but even so, I thought I had somewhat figured myself out. However, I still don¡¯t understand Master. ¨C Don¡¯t you know? The awakening voice was the leisurely voice of Professor. I answered in a hurry. ¨C Th-that¡¯s¡­ because it¡¯s unfamiliar? Honestly, now I don¡¯t resist saying such things. Honestly, my love for Master remains the same, but I couldn¡¯t understand it back then. But Master nodded. ¨C Yes, it¡¯s because it¡¯s unfamiliar. I want a love that is splendid and cunning. So, I yearn to im a young and beautiful soul or find a way to make an extraordinary person mine, keeping them within my sphere of influence. Believing that elevating one¡¯s worth constitutes genuine love. This is why people often grow weary of it swiftly and, naturally, move on when it no longer aligns with their preferences or when they find someone even better. ¨C Then¡­ does love undergo a transformation as one bes more ustomed to it? Surprisingly, Professor smiled gently and patted my head in response to my question. ¨C Yes. More precisely, love matures rather than merely getting used to it. As a person matures, they willingly embrace the profound truth that they might have initially overlooked as simple or trivial. Regardless of beauty or craftiness, truth holds the greatest value for an individual. ¨C It¡¯s a challenge. ¨C Huh, who is the one posing this difficult question? ¨C I-it¡¯s me, Master? ¨C I¡¯m your Professor. Master, who messed up my hair recklessly, waspletely different from the usual demeanor of the Master. Later, during my investigation with individuals who coborated with Master in the organization, I discovered that Master¡¯s typical demeanor vastly differed from their mission persona. And the Master I knew was charming, but the Master at that time was also charming. So I heard various stories from the Master, but at that time, I couldn¡¯t fully understand those words. Just conversing like this intensifies my fondness for this person. That¡¯s all I could realize. Oh, one thing. I kept only this saying in my heart. ¨C Love permits. Love allows, even the embrace of desire. ¡°It¡¯s urgent! It seems that Professor Naran¡¯s purpose is to live a farming life in thend¡¯s end vige on the continent. And it seems that the princess herself is moving on behalf of the imperial family.¡± Ah, it¡¯s been a while. Nostalgic memories crossed my mind. However, that princess has set her ns in motion Despite leading vastly different lives, our paths converged toward the same person. ¡°It seems like she¡¯s decided to move on her own now.¡± By the way, Professor, farming? What is this peculiar yet fitting sensation? ¡°How will you proceed?¡± ¡°I will move independently, excluding the princess¡¯s side. The princess¡¯s team members will withdraw. Kindly inform His Majesty that I¡¯ll be taking a break.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t get vacations.¡± ¡°Huh? I have a lot of umted vacations. The empire is a ce with pretty good welfare.¡± ¡°We are irregr workers.¡± ¡°Well, I see. You guys aren¡¯t officially organized. Okay, then I¡¯ll tell you the story.¡± As it turns out, serving as a shadow to the imperial family is an irregr position. As I contemted it, a brightugh escaped me. ¡°The first vacation is a continental trip. The goal is the vige at the end of thatnd.¡± ¡°It seems more difficult than a mission.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my part-time job.¡± If you¡¯re going to make fun of it, you should. That¡¯s why Her Majesty assigned you to me, as my beloved Master mentioned. Love permits. Love allows, even the embrace of desire. Therefore, allow me to be greedy ording to my desires. ¡°If you can escape, try to escape.¡± I will capture Master ording to my desires. Chapter 257

Chapter 257

# 31
    Other People¡¯s Stories (4) #6 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of Number 1000 Unlike Number 1 and Number 17, Number 1000 had nowhere to go back to. This meant returning to a daily life where they couldn¡¯t afford to eat every day. Realizing this fact, Number 1000 felt discouraged. ¡°Kugung!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to shout.¡± ¡°It¡¯s serious.¡± ¡°I-is it?¡± As Number 17 began discussing the matter seriously, questioning whether Number 1000 would considering to her ce, Iris, still unable to recover from the shock, paled. ¡°Hey, you. The princess took you with her. You can¡¯t refuse.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Others may be taken because of their families, but you were specifically told toe. Here.¡± From a pouch specially ordered at the Royal Pce, she took out a small box. When she opened it, there was a sulent steak exuding a mouthwatering aroma. ¡°Ca-can I eat this?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± As Number 1000, who had already swallowed a chip, put a piece of the well-cut steak into their mouth: ¡°¡­!!!!!!!!!¡± In an instant, Number 1000¡¯s face turned red, and their eyes widened. Their hands fluttered in the air as if unsure of what to do. ¡°If only I could have this kind of meal every day¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go! I¡¯ll go!¡± And just like that, Number 1000 willingly became the princess¡¯s servant. #7 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of Number 17 ¡°You did it!¡± ¡°Good job.¡± Looking at my family with warmth in my eyes, my heart should feel warm¡­ What should I say? Why do I sense this tingling sensation? -Give up, master. Master has already adapted to that ce. -Oh, no! There¡¯s no way that¡¯s true! -Master, don¡¯t deny it. Master has already been recognized by the Great Demon Surt, acknowledged as the possessor of a soul more wicked and cruel than a demon. -No! I am pure¡­ My words got stuck in my throat for a moment, a feeling blocking them But -Now, master, about purity¡­ how should I put it? -I am still pur¡­ ugh¡­ Th-that¡¯s not it. But! What does this mean? Is it the will of the world? Or is it my remaining conscience? Something is preventing me from saying what I want. -Ugh¡­ I am¡­ pure¡­ but I can¡¯t say it. I¡¯ve been tainted. I¡¯ve been corrupted! There was a time before going to Howling when I learned magic with pure joy! This is all because of the evil organization! ¡°I trusted you. Among my daughters, you demonstrated the most talent for adaptation, even in Howling.¡± ¡°Sister also trusted you. Believing that you, who were more like a wild beast than a nobledy¡¯s life, would adapt well and live freely¡­ not chaotically. I mean, adapt well there.¡± -Master, your family seemed to recognize the master¡¯s talent well. -No! Th-that¡¯s a lie! My sister is lying! She¡¯s undermining me out of jealousy because I sessfullypleted a major mission! -Seeing it like that, master seems to have very pure eyes¡­ ¨C No, no¡­ It¡¯s a lie¡­ But the more I heard my family¡¯s praises, the more it reinforced their belief that I would adapt well to the evil organization. Moreover, the only one among my family who didn¡¯t say such things was my mother. ¡°Now, all you need to do is get married.¡± What kind of nonsense is this? Wasn¡¯t the reason for me going to a ce like Howling to avoid arranged marriages and such? But right aftering back, she talks about getting married! ¡°Mother, I stillck knowledge.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I can quickly teach you about being a bride.¡± ¡°No, not that kind of learning. I want to learn more about magic.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Convincing my slightly disappointed mother and boldly dering to my father, who is also the head of the family, ¡°I will attend the Academy to further my education!¡± I endured true agony and resisted. Those who used to y in the flower fields could not be my rivals! However, at that time, I didn¡¯t know. ¡°¡­..Enduring pain greater than mine, those who live the life of academy students. #8 Their Circumstances: First Circumstances. Returning home and receiving a bit of praise from my father, I thought it would be forgotten just like that. No, that¡¯s only natural. With my mother gone and no sponsor, and not even that old. And no recognition either? So, naturally, I thought I should quietly live as if I were dead. I felt sorry for sending the not-so-threatening sibling to Howling, had to pay attention to other siblings in trouble, and it seemed bothersome for them to care about me, so they just left me alone. But¡­ ¡°Hah, is someone like this obstructing my path?¡± The problem was that my rationality disappeared when one of the Aristocrats who came to the family tried to break a street food stall just because a carriage was obstructed. ¡°Stop that!¡± ¡°Shut up! Just this? Just this kind of thing?¡± Oh, I wasn¡¯t like this. I wasn¡¯t someone who acted like this, and I thought I could eat anytime I wanted. But still! ¡°The clothes you wear, the food you eat every day! Do you think they juste from nowhere? You, who eat for free, causing a scene where people eat, do you know the agony of not being able to eat and dying from hunger?!¡± That¡¯s about all I remember of the incident.¡± ¡°¡­..I cursed that noble brother with all the profanity I knew, and I knocked down all of his knights who tried to stop me with force. I roughly spent over an hour lecturing them on how precious and valuable food is. Thanks to that, I became the most renowned person among my siblings in our territory! ¡°Isn¡¯t Iron, the son of His Highness the Grand Duke, so considerate of us?¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard he understands our hunger well.¡± ¡°I heard he achieved great merit in the recent Howling incident. Truly an impressive person.¡± When three or more residents gather in the territory, praises about me fill the air. The rumors twisted, from me single-handedly dismantling the evil organization Howling, which had conspired against the empire and history, Thanks to that, there were those among the nobles who started to watch me closely, and even my siblings couldn¡¯t just ignore me anymore. ¡°Escape.¡± I decided to run away. #9 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of the Host Who Became a Captive (ve) The three little ones were taken away separately, and I am currently waiting in a temporary tent of Iris. However¡­ ¡°How, how, how¡­¡± Always noble and beautiful, Iris, who was like a flower on a cliff among the numerousdies of the club, was broken. Biting her thumbnail, Lady Iris kept repeating the same words, holding onto my leash and circling around me. What kind of person is this Princess to instill such terror in Lady Iris? ¡°Lady Iris?¡± ¡°Iris!¡± Nevertheless, I won¡¯t overlook that detail. ¡°Lady Iris, someone seems to havee.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Knock, knock, knock. Someone tapped on the wooden nks at the entrance of the makeshift tent, as if announcing their visit. ¡°Head of the Mage Corps, I am Regas. We will soon conduct a meeting with the princess through themunication device, so please gather within the next 10 minutes. That Rain person as well.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Despite appearing to calm herself, Lady Iris¡¯s voice still trembled noticeably. However, it wasn¡¯t just Lady Iris; even in Regas¡¯s voice, the head of the Mage Corps, there was a deep sense of fear. What kind of devil is Professor being chased by?! The fact that the vicemander of a knight order and the head of a mage order, reigning supreme as the pinnacle of mages even within the Empire, were both so terrified indicated that their subordinates were likely in the same state! ¡°¡­..When I seriously considered that perhaps Professor should sacrifice himself for world peace by being captured by the princess, Lady Iris let out a deep sigh and shouted with a confident expression. ¡°Yes, the conclusion is suicide!¡± Is this even safe?! ¡°Lady Iris? Suicide, why would you say such a thing¡­¡± ¡°Rain, Rain might not understand, but there are times when afortable death is more important than continuing to live.¡± ¡­I understand. I¡¯ve been through a lot, so I understand! Every time I was beaten by Iron Bat, I wished there would be casualties like other Professors! ¡°So, Rain¡­ Can you¡­ go with me?¡± What? Where? ¡°If I¡¯m with Rain¡­ I won¡¯t be afraid¡­¡± ¡°Lady Iris? Hey, Lady Iris? Calm down. Right now, Lady Iris is having very impulsive and dangerous thoughts!¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s impulsive. But¡­ the Lord did some crazy things to catch her this time¡­ and failed. No, I was wrong.¡± Ah, I was wrong. My vision is spinning. Am I going to die here? -Thud. It was then that a considerable noise emanated from arge crystal ball in the corner. -Thud, thud. Creak¡­ Ah, thud. Creak, creak¡­ Ah, ah. Hmm. Is it done? ¡°My lord?!¡± In that crystal ball, a beautiful woman with silvery hair and an eye-catching silver eye smiled gently, reminiscent of Sia. -Oh, Iris. The vicemander of my trusted 3rd Order. ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Unlike the princess, who smiled pleasantly, Lady Iris moved as stiffly as a statue, as if under the petrifying spell of a legendary witch. -Yes, Iris. My trusted Iris. Did the Iris I believed in step on my foot? ¡°Eek?!¡± While the Princess continued to smile brightly, herughter was, yes, as merciless as the smile of Yama, the King of Hell, when he dered the journey to Hell. -Our Iris got the person she wanted, Rain. Meanwhile, I didn¡¯t get Ast, who I¡¯ve been waiting for for ten years? Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. To be honest, I missed Ast even though I tried to catch him. Lady Iris, who was trembling like a rabbit in front of a lion, gradually started tough brightly, but in contrast, the chill running through my body only increased. ¡°¡­.. By the way, if it¡¯s the Iris I know, she might suggest that we should die together to findfort with this rain. It¡¯s just my imagination, right? Shudder, shudder, shudder, shudder. At that moment, my leash began to vibrate as if it had a vibrating function. Of course, it was Lady Iris¡¯ trembling that was transmitted through the leash in her hands! ¡°Ah, ah, no¡­ not at all.¡± -Yes, that¡¯s right. Not at all. Comfort through disappearance and death. I won¡¯t allow it! Shudder, shudder, shudder, shudder. With my leash, my whole body began to tremble. Ah, of course, this was partly due to Lady Iris¡¯ trembling reaching its peak, but I also began to tremble! What¡¯s this, even if I die, it feels like I¡¯ll be resurrected with dark magic! -You belong to me. Allowing death is also something I do. You can¡¯t choose that. ¡°Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!¡± -Good, then let¡¯s start the meeting. Bring out the rain quickly. ¡°Ah, understood!¡± I hurriedly pulled my leash, and where Lady Iris had gone, there were hundreds, no, thousands of people gathered. All eyes were on me, making me feel extremely ufortable. I¡¯m not going to be publicly executed, am I? ¡°W-What is that?!¡± ¡°No way!¡± And as I walked towards Lady Iris¡¯ seat, everyone¡¯s attention began to focus on one spot. Specifically, on my side¡­ ¡°That Iron Bat¡­ Ast, no, Naran gave it to me!¡± Yes, the Iron Bat. Oh. By the way, Iron Bat seems to be quite famous. It¡¯s even known in the Imperial Army. ¡°Is that so?¡± As soon as I finished speaking, dozens of people nearby simultaneously knelt down, bowed their heads, and shouted. ¡°Greet the sessor of Iron Bat!¡± And ¡°Greet the sessor of Iron Bat!¡± Except for a few people, including Lady Iris, who were gathered on the wide in, thousands of people simultaneously knelt, bowed their heads, and shouted. ¡°Rain? What is this Iron Bat thing?¡± I couldn¡¯t say anything to Lady Iris, who looked at me in confusion. I thought I knew, but I don¡¯t¡­ What on earth was Professor doing with Iron Bat in the Empire? #10 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of a Certain Academy. ¡°¡­Is it really true that this person ising to our academy?¡± ¡°The conditions, on the other hand, are quite extreme.¡± Once ranked among the top two prestigious academies in the Empire, Eugrasia, the summoner¡¯s academy, had declined to the extent that some suggested its exclusion from the top four, proposing a change to the top three with Eugrasia excluded. And the current headmaster of Eugrasia, Old Man, pondered over a document. ¡°ept him.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Nevertheless, the hesitation was short-lived. The current situation of Eugrasia was not favorable, and the reputation of the other party had the imposing presence to ovee the current situation. ¡°I¡¯ll trust Niserviin, the legendary summoner and researcher.¡± And so, a new chapter in Eugrasia¡¯s history began.
Chapter 258

Chapter 258

    Fighting is usually the most fun to watch (5) News began to spread across the continent. ¡°Crazy! What nonsense is this?¡± It was a situation where curses came out naturally. ¡°Why would they do that? Isn¡¯t it good for the Demon King to die?¡± No. It¡¯s very good. ¡°But that¡¯s not right, is it?¡± He¡¯s the Demon King. A being who brings about the destruction of the world. Even if he¡¯s supposed to be the original disciple, he¡¯s just an imposter. ¡°He¡¯s just a mid-level boss who died too soon.¡± It was an unexpectedly quick exit for a demon king of dragon lineage. Really, really fast! ¡°It¡¯s good when a strong enemy disappears quickly, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It also means that there¡¯s another strong enemy.¡± I heard the news that a demon king was defeated, but it turned into a situation where you couldn¡¯t evenugh. ¡°Originally, it¡¯s a character that¡¯s supposed to bring the heroes to a crisis by surviving longer than even the final boss.¡± ¡°What nonsense is that?¡± ¡°It means he shouldn¡¯t go down so easily.¡± Originally, final bosses tend to go down anticlimactically. They have tremendous power, but are defeated anticlimactically by protagonists who have already awakened to their full potential. However, in the case of mid-level bosses, there are times when the protagonists are defeated before they¡¯ve fully grown. For example, if there¡¯s a fatal weakness in the protagonist that the mid-level boss exploits, or if there¡¯s an overwhelming power differential that leads to defeat. Even the ParX leinX we saw in our childhood suffered a major defeat at a midpoint and faced a major crisis, but we¡¯ve seen them ovee it several times with new weapons or robots! Surely, a former dragon turned into a perfect mid-level boss character like the Demon King wouldn¡¯t go down so anticlimactically! ¡°The final boss won¡¯t go down any more anticlimactically, will it?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ With the currentbat power of humans, they might be able to defeat him in one go.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be¡­¡± The Demon King needs to inflict as much damage as possible on the humans. That way, after the Demon King is defeated, there will be a need for recovery time, and they won¡¯t be able to follow me. ¡°Wishing for people to die for your escape time¡­¡± ¡°They don¡¯t have to die. It¡¯s actually more effective to seriously injure them than to kill them.¡± In wars where there are many casualties, it¡¯smon to bury or cremate the dead all at once. It¡¯s best to recover and bury each body and offer condolences, but it¡¯s practically impossible because badly damaged bodies often dpose before their identities can be confirmed, creating the risk of spreading infectious diseases. On the other hand, severely injured people, though alive, may die if left untreated, making it easier to hinder the enemy. ¡°As many seriously injured as possible. And if necessary, as many dead as possible. To the point where they can¡¯t even think ofing to get me!¡± ¡°Right now, the owner has turned the ruined kingdom into an enemy.¡± ¡°Even though the Empire and the Demon King are going crazy trying to catch me, what are the other kingdoms worried about?¡± They were kingdoms that didn¡¯t even listen to what I said. ¡°And originally, it¡¯s not scary when a kingdom copses.¡± What¡¯s scary about power is the ability to wield state power at will. If you mess with the royal family or the nobility, you break thews of the kingdom, and soldiers and knights are sent to punish you. What have viins always had to watch out for? Avoiding a beating. No matter how strong a viin is, if he gets beaten up, he¡¯ll suffer a devastating defeat. It¡¯s a fact that can be seen from the past lives of ParXXinger¡¯s senior viins, who often fought against an average of 1 to 5, or the past Demon Kings, who fought bravely against tens or hundreds of heroes and died bravely. There¡¯s no business in Daguri. That was the truth that remained unchanged in both past and present lives. But for royals or nobles without a kingdom to mobilize military forces, history changes! They say that when it rains, it¡¯s the time when old bones ache, but nobles with limited troops can be assassinated at any time. Even looking at it this way, I was once an elite agent in the most evil organization in the Empire. I can still do it! ¡°I have no intention of doing that.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s another story.¡± Being able to do something and deciding to do it are two different things. At this age, moving around is very tiring. And right now there were many more important things to do. ¡°We have to tie these things down so they can¡¯t move.¡± It¡¯s better to deal with things that have happened than things that haven¡¯t. ¡°We mayck information, but it should be somewhat urate.¡± I continue to look at the map, which shows various pieces of information. Since you never know when the gods of nature will strike unexpectedly, the uracy may not be exact even with the shuttle destroyed, but it should still be roughly urate. ¡°They arepletely decimated.¡± The ces marked on the map were where battles between the demonic forces and the Empire Army had taken ce, all of which had ended in theplete annihtion of the demonic forces. ¡°With only rumors¡­?¡± ¡°At least one and a half times more areas must have been cleared.¡± In past lives, there were madmen who took pictures of monstersing out of the gates and posted them on social media, but there were no such madmen here. Thanks to this, information didn¡¯t spread as quickly, and could be easily blocked if desired. The only official announcementse from the individual temples, but it¡¯s questionable how much the temples willmunicate about the activities of the Imperial Army. ¡°Temples have to survive, too.¡± As Iron Bat said. Why do people donate to temples and pray to the gods? It¡¯s to borrow the power of the gods when faced with events that cannot be resolved by human power. But if the heroes who call themselves the power of the gods keep losing battles, and the Empire Army suddenly appears and wipes out the demonic forces, what will be of the dignity of the gods? Probably, the gods are just as excited as I am about the Empire Army¡¯splete victory. ¡°In the future, the heroes should take the lead, and the Imperial Army should be kept in check as much as possible. But can the Heroes do that?¡± In terms of past skills and talents alone, the Hero Fellows were much more outstanding than Mirah. But there seemed to be something inexplicable about Mirah. What should I call it¡­ protagonist privilege? Surely, considering all the conditions, if this is a novel, the hero fellows should be the protagonists, but there was something like an inexplicable protection around Mirah to the extent that she felt like the protagonist. In reality, when Ria and the Hero Fellows shed with Mirah, they said there was such a huge gap that they couldn¡¯t even think of opposing her. ¡°Did I turn the enemy for nothing¡­?¡± I didn¡¯t expect them to be strong enough to move the Imperial Army. Even without the main force moving, a demon king has disappeared, and the demon army is being wiped out! ¡°What should we do?¡± ¡°Um¡­ we are short of resources¡­¡± What I have now is some pocket money, some gold bars, and some precious metals that can be sold at a high price, along with two Gear Scrolls and an Iron Bat. With them, it¡¯s impossible to make changes to the hero, the Imperial Army, and the Demonic Forces. In the end, only one thing was needed. Someone who could bring about a change in these powers. ¡°There is no chance for such a person to appear.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± At the very least, my disciples should have be formidable powers, but most of them were connected to something. Whether it¡¯s a demon king, a hero, the Empire Army, or a mid-level boss of the evil organization Sia founded. ¡°I raised my disciples wrong¡­¡± ¡°I admit it.¡± As Iron Bat said. These so-called disciples seem to be filled with thoughts of catching and sacrificing their master instead of helping. The only ones whose whereabouts I can¡¯t seem to track down are Ria and Rude, but there¡¯s no way those guys would be in such a shabby inn, right? ¡°Sigh¡­ Shall I drink some alcohol?¡± Personally, I don¡¯t like alcohol. No, I hate it. I have often told my disciples that no matter how strong you are, when you get drunk you lose your mind. Losing your reason means that you can¡¯t make rational judgments, and not being able to make rational judgments means that you might lose your life to the viins at any moment. That¡¯s why I advised you not to drink alcohol. There might be unavoidable circumstances, but normally I advised you to abstain from alcohol as much as possible, and even if you do drink, just have one or two drinks. But as human beings, there are times when it¡¯s unavoidable. I was like that now. I just wanted to get drunk and fall asleep without any worries. And it seemed I wasn¡¯t the only one. ¡°Cough!¡± ¡°Come on! You amateurs!¡± It was a shabby bar near the shabby inn. ¡°What, copsed again? Next!¡± A woman in shabby clothes shouted as she raised a ss of alcohol. ¡°Did Messik go down?¡± ¡°Damn it! Seven already!¡± ¡°Hey, bring more drinks!¡± Ignoring the people moving the copsed bodies, the woman kept shouting for drinks. ¡°The kid who hasn¡¯t even dried the blood on his head is something else!¡± At that moment, a middle-aged man in his fifties approached beside the woman. ¡°You¡¯ll die when the blood on your head dries up!¡± At such a man, the woman held out her ss of alcohol with a sly smile. ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s a good one.¡± The man who took the ss filled it with alcohol and downed it in one gulp. ¡°Better to die drunk than sober.¡± ¡°You say that, but look at you. Can you handle it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not so untrained that I could lose to a young girl.¡± Huh! The woman chuckled softly, then emptied her ss neatly. ¡°Thene and see.¡± ¡°Fevra! You¡¯re our hope!¡± ¡°Cheer up, Fevra!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lean on outsiders any more!¡± All the guests in the tavern cheered for the middle-aged man. -Owner, not drinking? It was Iron Bat¡¯s question, transformed into the shape of a bracelet so as not to attract too much attention. ¨C Yes. Originally, I wanted to get drunk and copse after a long time, but when I saw that scene, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to drink. And that¡¯s understandable. ¨C Because what was needed came up. It wasn¡¯t the time to drink alcohol. #7 Your situation: The Situation of a Drunkard ¡°Cough!¡± ¡°Th-that can¡¯t be!¡± ¡°Fevra, even you!¡± It was a tough opponent. To withstand such a barrage without copsing wasmendable. It was a level that even an ordinary person should not underestimate. ¡°Haaaaaaah!¡± But they copsed. The joy of defeating a strong opponent flooded my mind. ¡°Ooooooh!¡± ¡°A deity, a deity has appeared!¡± ¡°Um¡­ do you have money for drinks?¡± As I shouted, praises came from everywhere. Of course, thest voice I heard was that of the tavern owner. ¡°Me~ hic! Even though I look like this! I¡¯m a¡­ not a top-ss¡­ I mean a mercenary!¡± I took a piece of gold out of my pocket and handed it to the owner. With this amount, I could buy a lot of this cheap alcohol. ¡°I¡¯m treating today! But only those who drink with me cane!¡± The tavern owner¡¯s face lit up at the sight of the gold coin, and the drunken patrons cheered as I offered to buy drinks for everyone. Drunk¡­ and caught up in the atmosphere. ¡°Let¡¯s drink! Let¡¯s drink and forget!¡± I had only heard negative stories about alcohol, so I didn¡¯t know it could feel so good. I didn¡¯t have to use magic to remove the drunkenness if I wanted to, but there was no need to remove such a good feeling. ¡°Come on, drink! More!¡± I poured drinks for the new challenger. This challenger couldn¡¯t hold out for long and ended up kissing the floor after only seven drinks. ¡°What¡¯s the matter! Are all the men here this weak?¡± My tongue began to slur. But I could drink more. ¡°I can¡¯t back down after hearing that!¡± ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s right! That¡¯s the spirit!¡± I beat down one challenger after another who epted my challenge. I didn¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t know that I was so strong against alcohol. Even if they weren¡¯t trained, I was able to defeat most of the people in the tavern with alcohol alone. ¡°Indeed, I¡¯m a genius!¡± Hahaha! Was it because I was drunk? I even enjoyed the strangeughter. ¡°Shall I have a drink with you?¡± At that moment, a new challenger arrived. ¡°Sure. Always wee¡­¡± I smiled as I looked at the new challenger. ¡°Come?¡± The weing smile for the new challenger vanished instantly. I couldn¡¯t believe the presence in front of me. ¡°As expected, it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°Huh? Huh?¡± Had I drunk too much? Was that why they said not to get drunk? ¡°We were meant to meet, Sis!¡± Thunk! A silver-haired girl appeared and put her hand on my left shoulder. And at that moment, the drunkenness vanished as if it were a lie. ¡°Why¡­ why¡­ why¡­¡± My trembling lips couldn¡¯t form words. And tears began to well up in my eyes. At the same time, ¡°Alcohol is something you should learn from your parents or your master.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± I heard the Professor¡¯s voice right next to me, and I slowly, very slowly, took the ss of alcohol offered by the Professor, thinking to myself. I¡¯ll never get drunk again!
Chapter 259 259
    Originally, watching fights is the most entertaining way. (6) Huff, huff, huff. There was no sign of the figure that had just knocked out the vige leaders. They sipped their drinks slowly, as if saving the very expensive drink drop by drop. ¡°You can have more if you want.¡± ¡°Oh, no! I had a lot earlier, so I¡¯m fine.¡± I nodded in surprise at Ria, who sipped her drink hesitantly. ¡°Yeah. Binge drinking isn¡¯t good.¡± At my words, Ria teared up and continued to sip her drink. ¡°Yes. Binge drinking is not good, very¡­¡± She seemed to alternate between drinking alcohol and tears to the point where it was unclear whether she was drinking tears or alcohol. ¡°So, shall we¡­¡± ¡°Um¡­ I still have a little bit of alcohol left¡­¡± She showed me her ss, which seemed to be half full. A while ago, it would have been hard to believe that this was the same person who had emptied her ss in one shot and knocked out the vige leaders. Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped. There might be times when she wanted to enjoy a drink in peace. As a mentor, I should wait patiently. -Master? From what I can see, it seems like she¡¯s deliberately stalling for time, right?¡± Hmm¡­ You could say that. ¨C ¡°Isn¡¯t she being toocent? What if scary sisters show up because of this?¡± ¨C ¡°That won¡¯t happen.¡± If she was deliberately acting normal to buy time, you might think someone was acting as bait in a trap. But look at her now. Although she was raising her ss, her pupils were rolling around, and there was a slight tremor in her hand as she raised her ss. Her body was slightly turned away from me. This posture was to get out of the way as quickly as possible. It meant that she was full of escape thoughts. Of course, after bing the bait, someone else could step in when the trap was set. But my instincts were telling me something. There was a subtle difference in Ria¡¯s actions now. I couldn¡¯t exin it, but I was sure that those slightly trembling pupils weren¡¯t from acting, they were genuinely surprised! ¨C ¡°Well, if Master says so, then that¡¯s probably it. It¡¯s not like I have anything to lose if I¡¯m wrong, except for Master¡¯s life.¡± That was Iron Bat¡¯s answer. Even though he imed to be soul mates, connected by souls when needed, andpared it to the rtionship between a goddess and her disciple, he gave such irresponsible answers. ¨C Every time I say that, you deny it, don¡¯t you? Master onlyes to me when she needs something.¡± It was a slightly petnt tone, but since it was amon urrence, I let it slide. After all, when the opportunityes to drop a person, everything wille out. For now, this was more important. ¡°Ria.¡± ¡°Yes, um¡­¡± When I called out to her, Ria, who was sipping her drink, turned her head in surprise. ¡°Why are you¡­?¡± Why are you so surprised? Anyone would think I was going to eat her. -Break? -It¡¯s loud. No, even before that, she¡¯s an adult now. Although Ria was one year younger than the heroine Mirana, who was in her mid-twentiesst year, she was still in her mid-twenties herself. At present, it¡¯s a veryte development, but still, at the age of 15, she was a member of a noble family where marriage wasmon. At that point, it wouldn¡¯t be out of ce to call this boy an old maid. Besides, as someone who had spent a few years in the Imperial Pce, it seemed highly unlikely that Ria would enter into a romantic marriage. For Ria to marry, she would either have to be pressured by the power of her household, the power of the Magic Tower, or she would have to forge ahead on her own. -¡°Master? Isn¡¯t thatst part a crime?¡± -¡°It¡¯s considered a crime if you get caught, but it¡¯s not a crime if you don¡¯t.¡± As my disciple, she would surely have the ability to secretly protect the man she likes. -¡°Even if you believe that, Master, an apprentice wouldn¡¯t approve.¡± -¡°It¡¯s not my life, so it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Since I had more problems regarding romance, I couldn¡¯t pay attention to other people¡¯s problems. -¡°Well¡­¡± Even the mighty Iron Bat was at a loss when it came to matters of love. -¡°You¡¯ve never¡­ had one?¡± -¡°Cough.¡± Th-that boy¡­! I told him toe in with the lights on! ¡°¡­Professor?¡± Sare¡¯s voice suddenly rang out, causing me to swallow the drink in one go. ¡°Why, why are you¡­?¡± Seeing her like that, trembling like a small animal, Ria looked up at me with a pitiful face. It seemed to be the kind of face that would be popr with men. Should I reconsider my judgment? -You saw it when you were drinking, didn¡¯t you? That¡¯s her true nature.¡± -¡°I¡¯m doomed.¡± Although the world is vast and there are many strange people, noble men who like such appearances are rare. It can¡¯t be helped. As a teacher, the only thing I can do is to help my disciples raise a good family. -How? Should the master follow her every time she¡¯s in love?¡± -That is an invasion of privacy. I am a kind teacher who respects the privacy of my students. So I have to find another way. -¡°What kind of way?¡± -¡°Make her a hero. A hero recognized by the whole continent! You say a hero is wanted by everyone, right? Even if he¡¯s unpopr, if he bes a hero, he¡¯ll be able to get at least one girl! ¡°For now¡­ look at this.¡± When I showed Ria the paper I took out of my pocket, her face turned pale. ¡°T-this is ¡­.¡± ¡°Um¡­. You know what to do, right?¡± ¡°Yes¡­.¡± -¡°Master? Won¡¯t this child die?¡± The clear eyes that shone through the messy hair and dirty face were now clouded. What should I say? Just a moment ago, those eyes were saying, ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll survive even in the tiger¡¯s den if I keep my wits about me. -Now they¡¯re just saying, ¡°Ah¡­ life¡­¡±? -¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Even the non-expert Iron Bat could see how desperate she was. ¡°Professor¡­ this¡­ what I know¡­ this¡­ darkness¡­ it¡¯s not, right?¡± A drop rolled from her right eye and trickled down her cheek. A drop. A drop of water fell from her slim chin, making a sound as it hit the ss. Wow, she hasn¡¯t finished her drink yet. Truly pitiful. -¡°Master shouldn¡¯t say that!¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± I knew she wanted to deny reality, but it was an inevitable fate. A fate that couldn¡¯t be escaped from the moment we met! ¡°Now read this carefully.¡± As soon as I finished speaking, various emotions appeared on Ria¡¯s face. Regret, despair, disappointment, fear, anger, emptiness, denial, sadness¡­. Ria showed every negative expression a person could have, but one thing remained constant: every time her expression changed, she looked at the Iron Bat in my hand. ¡°Yes¡­¡± At thest moment, after alternating between me and Iron Bat for a while, Ria muttered. -¡°Phew¡­. I survived.¡± -¡°In the end, I lost.¡± Thest expression Ria showed contained only one emotion. Killing intent. She wanted to kill me and undo everything. But perhaps she couldn¡¯t ovee the trauma she had suffered since childhood and finally epted her fate. -I really almost died. Since it was a magical area, it was enough to be fifty years old to still be active. No, it was an age where one could have both the skills and experience to be considered in one¡¯s prime, as some call the 40s and 50s the best years. But that¡¯s if you have magic power. Without magic power, like me, your strength and endurance diminish. Just holding a sword makes you tired. Ria, on the other hand, with her powerful summoning, Surtr, had a style closer to a mage than a sorcerer, but in melee she was a monster that could rival a knight. If Ria had decided to cast body enhancement magic and sacrifice Surtr, she could have easily blown my head off with just a few dodges of Iron Bat. But Ria couldn¡¯t get over her fear of Iron Bat. This gave me a new advantage. An important advantage that could cause a great stir among the Imperial Army, the Demon King, and the heroes. So, ¡°Ah, can¡¯t you take it?¡± ¡°No. You can¡¯t.¡± Hurry up and take the shot, Ria. #8 Her Circumstances: Ria El Nermia¡¯s Circumstances Oh no¡­ I¡¯m lost. Mother, please save me! -Run! Run! You must run, Master! This is a contract with the devil!¡± Surtr, who was more frightened than I was, cried tears. Why did Surtr make a deal with me? Besides, it wasn¡¯t an ordinary contract, but a ve contract that had to obey my words. It was because of that gear scroll right there. A powerful contract that even the gods who manage the world after its creation cannot break. I really don¡¯t understand why the Creators made such useless things after creating the world and then disappearing. -The Creators aren¡¯t bad. It¡¯s the Master who abuses the Gear Scroll!¡± -¡°Indeed. The creators probably didn¡¯t intend for the Gear Scroll to be used this way. It¡¯s the Master¡­ no, the Professor who¡¯s misusing the Gear Scroll. But I had no choice. I considered killing them all and fleeing¡­ but there was no way I could defeat the Iron Bat the Professor was holding. ¡°Didn¡¯t Mirah tell you? Professor defeated over ten sword masters with just Iron Bat, and even defeated Her Highness, the princess.¡± Even I couldn¡¯t defeat ten sword masters. No, no ordinary person could. Not even the five who hold the title of Sword could aplish such a feat. Didn¡¯t you see Iron Bat defeat even the most revered Sword Master? So stop being stubborn and quietly sign the ve contract. But the condition of the contract was very strange. . From the first to the tenth, they all mentioned the Magic Tower. In other words, it was an order to return to the Magic Tower and serve as a devoted granddaughter of the Magic Tower. ¡°Ah, can¡¯t you take it?¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t.¡± Humans have a conscience. And I am human. Just as I was about to flee after fighting the demonic forces, I would be too ashamed to return. Before the battle, I would die of shame. No, even before that, I can¡¯t let my family and the Magic Tower be toyed with by the professor. Just looking at the contract, how many uses were there that urged me to be vignt against the Empire and the heroes of the Magic Tower? Even if I have to suffer, I can¡¯t let my home, my family, and my second home, the Magic Tower, suffer¡­ ¡°Will you do it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± There it was. I could sell myself ten more times. ¡°Good. That¡¯s a good choice.¡± With apassionate smile, Professor lowered the Iron Bat he had raised. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± I¡¯m sorry, Grandpa. I had no choice. You¡¯ll understand when you get hit by that thing. No matter how important family and the Magic Tower are, aren¡¯t people more important? If I could die bravely, I would, but since I can¡¯t even die from it. -Don¡¯t be too sad. The master¡¯s decision is the right one. Even the Great Demon of Hell said it was the right choice. So there¡¯s no other choice. Grandpa¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Clench. ¡°Alright. The deal is done. I have to survive first. ¡°Okay. You remember the terms of the contract, right?¡± When I stamped the contract with a drop of blood, a faint light began to emanate from the Gear Scroll, and seeing that light, Professor smiled with satisfaction. ¡°Yes, I do.¡± I know, but it¡¯s going to be very difficult. How will the people of the Magic Tower see me? No, will Grandpa ept me again after he fled as soon as I mentioned the war? If he doesn¡¯t ept me again¡­ I¡¯ll have to cancel the contract, but what will Professor do with me? While pondering over these various concerns, Professor took a map and a small ne out of his pocket. ¡°Take this and go there.¡± ¡°This?¡± I tried to detect it with magic, but it was an ordinary ne. Go to a vige you¡¯ve never heard of with this ne? ¡°I have prepared a gift for you.¡± I didn¡¯t know what it was, but I wanted to throw it away. Taking this ne and going there felt like crossing a river of no return. ¡°Yes¡­¡± But what could I do? I had already made a deal with the Gear Scroll to obey it until I defeated the Demon King. With a small sigh, I despaired of my fate and went to the ce marked on the map. ¡°Have youe, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± I became a mercenary king. ¡­ Huh? Why?
Chapter 260 260 Evade the Hero CH 260 TL #9 Their Situation: The Situation of a Man Once Called the Mercenary King ¡°King? Me?¡± I nodded, observing the woman¡¯s evident confusion. ¡°The one who brings the ne will be the Mercenary King. That¡¯s the rule.¡± ¡°Command? But from whom?¡± Her momentarily dazed eyes began to focus again. ¡°No way¡­!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, no way.¡± Getting the ne meant being tied to that wicked professor. Even if that person was an incredibly evil viin who could ruin lives at will, they wouldn¡¯t send someone unrted. ¡­probably. ¡°What is your rtionship with the person who gave it to you?¡± ¡°With that person¡­¡± The woman¡¯s face, as she nced at the sky for a moment, held various emotions. ¡°I think you know.¡± While others might not, I could understand. I would have a simr expression if asked such a question. Respect for the pure ability, anger when I remembered the tortures I endured to learn this skill. Sadness at meeting this person again, hope at the chance to distance myself from him. All these emotions yed out on her face. ¡°You¡¯re his student, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m his student.¡± After thinking it over, the woman nodded in agreement. ¡°How much have you learned?¡± ¡°About two years of learning different things.¡± I nodded at the woman, who sighed again as she looked at the sky. ¡°That seems to be expected. I¡¯m her student too, about a year¡¯s worth of learning.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky you left quickly.¡± ¡°I am. Incredibly lucky.¡± How much effort did we put into escaping that hell? Normally one spends over four years at the crossroads of life and death, undergoing training. We cut it down to one year. It was an amazing aplishment credited to talent. Effort. It was the result of sacrificing everything. That¡¯s how we escaped from the grasp of our instructor, that devil known as ¡®Guardian.¡¯ Although I heardter that it didn¡¯tst long. Because we became official members within a year, the professor gained three years to aplish tasks that the organization couldn¡¯t ignore due tock of manpower. This led the Professor to infiltrate the royal pce and build up an impressive resume. However, attempts to return to the organization were thwarted by threats of betrayal and ongoing continental wars. Thus, the organization was forced to postpone all ns. As a result, the Professor remained within the Empire to gather vital information and earn even greater recognition. They pledged never to take on missions as the Professor again after enduring so much in the Empire. From now on, they would prepare the following students not to graduate early. Just hearing about it sent shivers down my spine. They were essentially extending the training by three years. If it had been me, I¡¯d have gone crazy. And to think we grew up under the tutge of Bat, who constantly pushed us to our limits. ¡°You¡¯ve been through a great deal.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± Although she was about a year behind me, this girl was one of the professor¡¯sst students. Given the professor¡¯s nature, they must have done a lot of research with each new generation. Research, implementation, then more research. This led to perfecting techniques for torture and lethal methods without causing death, which were then passed down. However, what truly mattered was, ¡°You will face even greater challenges ahead.¡± ¡°Yes, I will.¡± It wasn¡¯t just about the past; it was ongoing. ¡°Let me rify, the person once known as the Mercenary King is me.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Due to past circumstances, I left the organization and eventually became a mercenary.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°But after training under that Professor, there is no way I could be ordinary, right? Eventually, the whispers in the neighborhood about the Mercenary King turned from a nickname to a title.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that expected for the professor¡¯s students?¡± ¡°True. Not during my time as a mercenary, but a little earlier, even the rookies I met back then ended up that way.¡± I had met a former rookie who had risen to be the head of a viinous organization from our days in Magic Origins, where survival meant wielding a sword. How happy we were to meet. So happy that we couldn¡¯t help but sh swords at every opportunity. But in the end, I emerged victorious. Thanks to that, I learned a lot from my juniors. Most of the thoughts I had before, I heard from those juniors. ¡°Yet, it¡¯s a title I earned through hard-earned efforts. Well, it was a neighborhood nickname, so I had to throw a few punches whenever I gathered mercenaries. It was a title limited to my kingdom and the neighboring realms, so whenever new mercenaries gathered, there were many whoughed at the nickname ¡°Mercenary King¡±. Usually, I would have disregarded them, but the professor aimed for full control over the mercenaries. For that, I had to give the new recruits a good beating. ¡°It¡¯s not difficult, but it¡¯s quite annoying.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s something we¡¯ll have to keep doing in the future.¡± The one who had been lost in thought for a moment nodded his head. ¡°Shall we fight?¡± ¡°We must.¡± Even if there is an employer who pays well, mercenaries don¡¯t leave their fate in the hands of others, especially in matters where a single judgment can determine life or death. In a situation where we have to fight against absurdly strong enemies, would any mercenary really listen to the sudden orders of a woman? ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll lose in the end, but I still have to show some skill. When I¡¯m the professor¡¯s disciple, I won¡¯t be weak.¡± So I can do it, right? With that look in his eyes, he actually smiled bitterly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to lose on purpose.¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s what the professor ordered.¡± If I could just distance myself from them, I could market not just the title of Mercenary King but also my reputation. Sacrificing nicknames and fame is a very cheap price. ¡°So go easy on me.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll be reasonable.¡± How bold. Considering, he¡¯s likely in his mid-twenties, correct? He still doesn¡¯t know much about the world, though. Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped. After all, he was the professor¡¯s student. That¡¯s how strong he was. I also thought I was the best at a simr age, left the organization to be a hero, only to be rejected. It was really heartbreaking. Enduring poverty for years, then turning to mercenary work when funds dwindled, felt like a second chance, no, a fourth chance at life. I learned a lot during that time. As a senior, it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to pass this knowledge on to my juniors. ¡°Gather everyone.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Despite their usual disregard and unkempt appearance, my loyal subordinates promptly carried out their duties, quickly gathering people and starting to serve food and drinks. Huh? ¡°Why are you serving food and drinks?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it like watching a fire in someone else¡¯s house, or watching someone else¡¯s love affair while watching a fight?¡± ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s most enjoyable when there¡¯s a fight.¡± ¡°These guys¡­¡± They wereughing, betting on who would win, showing that human nature doesn¡¯t change. I wish these trashy personalities would change a little. ¡°Ugh! I can¡¯t help it.¡± It¡¯s unpleasant to be the spectacle, but what can you do? If I don¡¯t do this, I can¡¯t make that guy a mercenary king. In any case, even though I lost, I fought well. ¡°What? Still a beginner, huh?¡± ¡°A woman? The chief is fighting a woman like that for the position of king?¡± ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a ritual. She does seem attractive, doesn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Anyway, those bastards¡­¡± The typical mercenary banter began to echo around. Some were hurling crude remarks. There were also some female colleagues nearby, but they didn¡¯t seem to care much. ¡°Is she the king¡¯s mistress?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯te when I called her, but young people are always preferred!¡± ¡°Did you charm the leader into this position?¡± ¡°Appearances can be misleading!¡± No, there were even female mercenaries who caused more trouble. ¡°Sorry, but this is a world where such things aremonce.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Looking at my calm junior, I didn¡¯t let my guard down. Despite her appearance, who was I? I was none other than the professor¡¯s student. Among the things the professor used to say were things like this. ¡°Be careful of those who look like beggars. If you look closely, you¡¯ll find some who don¡¯t look like beggars at all, or some who are subtly well-groomed. They usually have stories. Most of them are strong. What nonsense is that? I sometimes thought. But since I had lived as a beggar and understood what it meant to be one, I could understand the professor¡¯s words. Because I had a story that made me live like that. I had defeated all the neers who looked down on me and put them under the gallows, presenting them as if they were carpets. Despite their filthy appearance and cunning demeanor, there was dignity in them. They would be strong. Apart from me, I don¡¯t think there was anyone among the mercenaries who could defeat this person. ¡°Well then, shall we begin?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After a brief nod to my junior, I raised my sword. ¡°Crazy! A sword strike right from the start!¡± ¡°Wow¡­ Chief, isn¡¯t it too strong toe out like that against a young opponent?¡± ¡°Wow, are you going for the leg shake effect?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Chief for you. Knowing how to use your own weaknesses for effect.¡± The surroundings were noisy as usual, but I paid it no mind. ¡°Alright, are you ready?¡± Even though he¡¯s called Professor Student, I wasn¡¯t sure about his swordmaster skills. If he wasn¡¯t a swordmaster, should I opt for a scenario where I deplete my magic power and ept defeat? Being a Sorcerer wouldn¡¯t be bad either. I should have checked first, but I got too excited at the thought of distancing myself from the professor and ended up making a mistake. Nevertheless, I possessed sufficient skill to manage the uncertainties. Find a bnce¡­ ¡°Huh?¡± Was it my mood? I sensed a sudden darkness. No, before that, the surroundings suddenly became quiet. Gulp. The sound of swallowing saliva could be heard. What was going on? ¡°I¡¯ve been ready for ages.¡± As I observed my junior smirk, a cold sweat trickled down my back. ¡°I¡¯ll take the name of Mercenary King¡­ from you, Senior.¡± The moment he finished speaking, I lunged forward. Thud! ¡°Crazy! What was that?¡± A massive fist struck the ground where I had stood. Gazing up at the creature responsible for the blow, I let out a scream. ¡°Let go, Surtr.¡± Kwoooong! A giant with a crimson body began to roar. Immediately, that huge body was enveloped in a crimson me. ¡°Madness! Watch out!¡± ¡°Scream!¡± ¡°Sorry! Sorry for being arrogant!¡± Some mercenaries were blown backward by the massive magic storm. Amidst the chaos as the onlookers screamed and fled, my Junior was still looking at me. ¡°Junior?¡± ¡°Yes, Senior.¡± I had a feeling something was amiss. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Oh, just¡­¡± My junior paused briefly, then offered a sweet smile and said, ¡°The professor has a contract with this big demon.¡± Although she said with a cute smile after blinking a few times, Kwooooom! The massive fist of the great demon descending upon me was anything but cute. ¡°Why on earth are you making a deal with a big demon?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s Professor.¡± ¡°Now something makes sense!¡± I shouted as I blocked the subsequent attacks with my sword. But the opponent wasn¡¯t the Great Demon. ¡°I¡¯m here too, Senior?¡± ¡°Crazy?¡± Upon diverting my attention from the great demon, I noticed almost a hundred magic orbs hovering in the air. Crazy. Using magic on a great demon and being able to cast such spells. ¡°Enough! Surtr, take up your sword as well.¡± -Rise, Ragnarok! With ominous words, the great demon summoned a gigantic sword out of thin air. ¡°Uh¡­ Junior, can¡¯t we stop this?¡± We can¡¯t win against that. My instincts were screaming. Nevertheless, ¡°No, we can¡¯t.¡± My adversary was the professor¡¯s pupil. They were unrivaled in wickedness among all living beings on Earth. Ultimately, I found myself the target of my junior¡¯s onught and spent the following day fleeing desperately. The mercenaries knelt in reverence as a new king was born. Chapter 261 Evade the Hero CH 261 TL
    Originally, watching fights is the most entertaining way (8) #10 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Tower Magic Tower. This is a sacred ce and homnd for Sorcerers. A long time ago, in what is now called ancient times. Magic was a technology rejected as demonic power, and Sorcerers who could use magic were shunned by people. Rejection breeds rejection. Just being called a Sorcerer made people see them as equivalent to demons. It didn¡¯t end there. Some people went beyond rejection and started hunting, and when their lives were threatened, Sorcerers began to unleash their pent-up anger. Humans killing Sorcerers and Sorcerers killing humans continued. Even innocent people became targets of wrath. A Sorcerer who hadn¡¯t done anything was killed by an ordinary human. The angered Sorcerer who killed ordinary people then. It happened once, twice, thrice¡­ What started as small-scale murders in a vige escted into a war between ordinary humans and Sorcerers. That¡¯s when a deity intervened. ¡°Sorcerers are not heretics!¡± It was the deity¡¯s decree, a divinemand that humans dared not defy. Normally, it would have been an absolutemand to obey, but humans did not stop. The deity who uttered those words was none other than the goddess of mercy and devotion. Magic at that time was akin to miracles of the gods. Fire erupted in empty space, and solid ground moved as if alive. With skilled Sorcerers manipting even the climate with magic, who would think of them as ordinary people? This led ordinary people to believe that only demons could perform god-like miracles. Yet, the question remained: why did the deity issue such a decree? The one who issued the decree was none other than the goddess of mercy and devotion. Since she was the mostpassionate and devoted, people thought she would even pity demons and further believed that they were being deceived by the words of evil demons. The goddess of mercy and devotion had worked tirelessly since the creation of the world, showing her mercy to even the worst of criminals, so people believed she would forgive them no matter how bad their deeds. And indeed, she did. The goddess of mercy and devotion tried to reform even the most heinous criminals through mercy and devotion to the very end. Many repented and atoned for their sins, but because of such actions, people ended up not listening to her, creating a paradoxical situation. As a goddess of mercy and devotion, it was unbearable. She looked down upon the earth with sorrow every day, pleading through other gods for a new decree. However, the ancient gods hesitated to intervene in worldly affairs. Prior to the imminent chaos caused by evil, there were no notions of heroes or saints. The only one who responded was her sister, the goddess of mercy and devotion. But the goddess of mercy and devotion knew. The moment her sister, the goddess of greed and desire, acted, the world would descend into chaos. It was evident that she would incite conflict between non-Sorcerers and Sorcerers for mere entertainment. So, the goddess of mercy and devotion worked alone to prevent the conflict between non-Sorcerers and Sorcerers. Was her effort sessful? A great Sorcerer emerged from among the Sorcerers. He led many Sorcerers who followed him and spoke of trusting in the goddess of mercy and devotion. Ordinary humans were only fearful of themselves, Sorcerers said, and if Sorcerers behaved a bit more, they could avoid fighting. Other Sorcerers didn¡¯t believe him. They had lost too much to simply ept his words. They rejected and rebelled against his words. However, the great Sorcerer acknowledged it. He knew he had lost a lot. He knew that if he made mistakes, he could lose even more. ¡°However, that¡¯s inconsequential.¡± Although he acknowledged it, he refused to leave it unchanged. ¡°You must follow my lead.¡± With these words, the great Sorcerer exerted his power, crushing all Sorcerers under hismand. The great Sorcerer was formidable. Though not transparent, the moment he cast magic, all Sorcerers fell. He instructed his students and Sorcerers who followed him to gather the fallen Sorcerers and led them to a massive tower he created with magic. Of course, to not intimidate humans, the tower was structured to descend from the first floor to underground. There, under the guidance of the great Sorcerer and his followers, who upheld his will, they researched and taught magic until humans no longer feared Sorcerers, patiently waiting. As time passed, awakened magic wielders emerged. As evil spread across the world, a misguided deity turned malevolent, plunging the world into crisis. Amidst the birth and disappearance of numerous nations, magic naturally became a part of human strength, and Magic Towers gradually emerged from seclusion. The most notable change was the outward appearance of Magic Towers. Instead of underground towers, enormous towers began to rise visibly from the outside. Nevertheless, the independence of Magic Towers remained steadfast. Magic Towers maintained their independence against any external authority. The value of Magic Towers, once the pride and homnd of Sorcerers for ages,y not in authority but in magic. Empowered by this pride, Sorcerers from Magic Towers resisted external temptations and upheld their distinct identity. There were kings who tried to lure Magic Towers into their fold through persuasion and threats, but none seeded. This led to the development of independent Sorcerer training institutions within their respective domains. One prominent example was the magical school of Marzis in the Karan Empire. There, Sorcerers from the empire and those from Magic Towers engaged in a ndestine war to recruit exceptional talents. If we were to delve further into the story of Magic Towers, it would be endless, but the most crucial history would be summarized as such. ¡°This is the history of Magic Towers.¡± Having concluded his speech, the Sorcerer of Magic Tower surveyed his surroundings. ¡°For ages, we have lived and studied magic in Magic Towers. There were times when we fought non-Sorcerers, but thanks to the efforts of the goddesses of mercy and devotion, Sorcerers were eventually recognized as a part of human society.¡± These were young Sorcerers, barely in their twenties. They possessed remarkable talents, but their mental strength wascking. To excel as Sorcerers, they needed the knack for making sound decisions in diverse situations and the mastery to analyze foes while employing optimal magic. The current state of the continent was such that even Sorcererscking these qualities had to be sent out. Therefore, this Sorcerer was teaching them the history of Magic Towers. The narrative included the struggles and adversities Sorcerers faced, detailing their journey to their present stature. ¡°For the sake of repaying the mercy and devotion of the goddesses, we must eliminate the evil spirits.¡± The goddesses of mercy and devotion were revered by all beings in the world. Even dragons, who didn¡¯t believe in gods beyond continents and magic continents, acknowledged the goddesses of mercy and devotion. The Sorcerers were no exception; they held in memory the goddesses¡¯ endeavors on their behalf and for their shared history. ¡°Fight for the pride of Magic Towers and Sorcerers. It is to save the world from evil spirits. That¡¯s why we are praised as Sorcerers of Magic Towers by others, and it¡¯s our duty to leave our pride in history!¡± With nods from the young Sorcerers, the Sorcerer of Magic Tower raised his staff. ¡°Everything is for the truth of magic!¡± ¡°Everything is for the glory of Magic Towers!¡± Simr cries reverberated across numerous Magic Towers scattered throughout the continent, symbolizing their devotion to magic and the Magic Towers. It seemed as though the Sorcerers of Magic Towers would defeat all the armies of evil spirits. However, the world proved unforgiving. ¡°Grr!¡± A Sorcerer was caught by the ws of a griffin descending from the sky and disappeared. Soon after, apanied by a ¡®squish¡¯ sound, the fallen Sorcerer transformed into a pool of blood upon impact. ¡°Use magic towards the sky!¡± ¡°And the ground too!¡± ¡°Gah! The front line! The front line has been breached!¡± The battlefield resounded with curses and screams. Even the esteemed Sorcerers resembledmon soldiers once they engaged in battle. ¡°Ugh¡­ Is this all¡­¡± Leading the Sorcerers anding to support the Marker Kingdom, the Head of Magic Tower, Lemin, grimaced at the unexpectedly strong armies of evil spirits. Even though they were under the protection of evil spirits, it didn¡¯t mean magic couldn¡¯t affect them. Butpared to ordinary monsters, their firepower was at most half or even less. ¡°Head of Magic Tower!¡± A cry akin to an elder¡¯s scream made Lemin turn his head. ¡°Damn it¡­¡± These were adversaries they hadn¡¯t encountered before. Initially, they encountered small-scale forces numbering in the hundreds. These numbers were used to give Sorcerers with nobat experience the experience they needed by using magic. Many Magic Tower Sorcerers struggled with distributing their magic power in their first battles. In the military, the focus was solely on concentrating firepower at the moment to train Sorcerers and continue using that experience. However, in the case of Magic Towers, they approached magic as a lifelong study, allowing them to use various types of magic. Yet, they rarely had the opportunity to use it in practice. While Marzis students had opportunities to practice magic in the Karan Empire, their focus wasn¡¯t onbat spells. ¡°However, Eugrasia¡¯s monsters were an exception. Despite this, inexperienced Sorcerers disyed their full magical potential against the demonic hordes, draining their reserves. The crisis came afterward. Demonic forces continued to appear in small numbers. Unable to defeat the increasing demonic forces due to dwindling magic, their numbers grew unchecked. Eventually, the Sorcerers of the Magic Tower and the soldiers of the Kingdom, pushed back, had to rely on the nearby stronghold¡¯s walls for siege, and the demonic forces seized the opportunity. Keep pushing. If we fight until our magic runs out, we can defeat powerful Sorcerers! They acted as if speaking so. It was unbelievable that these demonic forces, believed to be devoid of intelligence and driven solely by destruction instincts, were so relentless. Such sentiments weren¡¯t unwarranted. Even now, as if supporting the necessary troops, types of monsters whose numbers had dwindled wereing to support, one after another! ¡°Scout¡¯s report! The newly emerged force includes arge army with Ogres and Trolls!¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± No matter how sturdy the walls were, they could crumble under the attacks of the tainted Ogres. So, they used up their remaining magic to eliminate the Ogres, but it was futile. ¡°How many magic recovery potions do we have left?¡± ¡°About 50 bottles.¡± The words of the army officer here left Head of Magic Tower Lemin with an impression. ¡°It¡¯s not enough¡­¡± The magic recovery potions used so far were substantial. Perhaps in another territory, Sorcerers would have already run out of potions, having consumed them repeatedly. The lord of this ce had prepared exceptionally well against the demonic forces. Nevertheless, it proved inadequate. The demonic forces disyed greater cunning and strength than anticipated. If things continued like this, everyone would die. ¡°We can¡¯t let that happen!¡± As the Head of Magic Tower and the representative of its Sorcerers, leading them to certain death was inconceivable. ¡°This realization was regrettable.¡± At that moment, thoughts of his missing granddaughter flooded the Head of Magic Tower¡¯s mind. She was quite the audacious child. What sort of child would consider joining the empire¡¯s most nefarious organization simply due to the disappearance of the family crest? She had defied everyone¡¯s objections and disappeared like running away. She managed to deceive the esteemed Sorcerers of the Nermia family and escaped. What happened next? After the downfall of Howling, she returned to serve the Great Demon and enrolled in Marzis. Later, after leaving the imperial academy, she came to Eugrasia and even became the student council president. She was one of the three leading Eugrasia¡¯s prime. That was none other than his granddaughter. ¡°Fortunately,¡± Her summoned creature, Surtr, would have been a great help in such a situation. It might have handled those Ogres, granting the Sorcerers a safe window to cast magic. But even that had its limits. No matter how exceptional his granddaughter was, humans had limits due to magic. ¡°Indeed. It¡¯s high time for a normal life.¡± After disappearing suddenly, then reappearing just as suddenly, his granddaughter hid everything and lived in hiding at the Magic Tower. As if fearing some kind of contagion. He considered it rather pitiful to ask his granddaughter to venture onto the battlefield, feeling like a typical grandfather. ¡°It appears that as one nears death, emotions intensify.¡± The Head of Magic Tower chuckled and raised his staff. If this consumption battle continued, this ce would be conquered. But they had to resist. They would hold out until heroes or the imperial army arrived. ¡°Alright then¡­¡± ¡°Head of Magic Tower!¡± The gathered magic in the staff began to pressurize the atmosphere. The Magic Tower, the homnd of all Sorcerers. Lemin¡¯s magic, leading one of those Magic Towers, had long surpassed human limits. ¡°Come on! Evil demonic forces! I will take you on!¡± A massive storm of wind tore through the enemy¡¯s vanguard. ¡°Wow!¡± Instantly, over a hundred demonic forces disappeared, and the morale of the soldiers and Sorcerers began to rise. ¡°This is the power of the Head of Magic Tower!¡± That was the moment Lemin shouted thus. ¡°Kwaaaah!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± A deafening roar, more than ten times Lemin¡¯s magic, echoed. ¡°Huh?¡± And they witnessed the disappearance of forces greater than ten times Lemin¡¯s magic. ¡°What¡­ what¡¯s happening?¡± Despite Lemin defeating lower-tier monsters like Goblins and Orcs, the roar vanquished powerful units such as Ogres and Trolls. ¡°Oh, the reinforcements of the demonic forces are gone!¡± ¡°Did a dragon appear?¡± For over a thousand demonic forces to vanish in a single strike! It had to be a dragon; nothing else could achieve this. ¡°T-There!¡± At that moment, through the magical device, soldiers saw what seemed like thousands of troops. ¡°Reinforcements!¡± Hundreds of Sorcerers must have unleashed abined spell. Before the Sorcerers could grasp the situation, a colossal fire giant materialized, wielding a massive greatsword. Kuoooooh! As the giant swung its ming sword, the demonic forces vanished in the hundreds. ¡°Huh?¡± Their struggles appeared inconsequential against such overwhelming firepower. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Althoughrger than before, Lemin, recognizing the giant, intercepted the magical device from the scout. ¡°Oh¡­¡± At the forefront stood his granddaughter, leading the army. ¡°Head of Magic Tower¡­ Should we attack?¡± Despite his waning magic reserves, witnessing his granddaughter effortlessly unleash her full magical potential made the Head of Magic Tower contemte retirement seriously.
Chapter 262

Chapter 262

    Originally, watching fights is the most entertaining way (9) Reports indicate that the Mercenary King leads thousands of mercenaries, renowned forbat prowess that rivals even the most esteemed knightly orders. Moreover, rumors suggest that the person iming the title of the Mercenary Kingmands a formidable demon as a familiar, alongside being a highly skilled Sorcerer themselves. Thebination of the colossal fire giant Surtr and the Sorcerer controlling it! This proved to be an unstoppable alliance, one that not even the forces of darkness could resist. Surtr¡¯s awe-inspiring might, effortlessly decimating armies of evil-tainted ogres, truly embodies that of a great demon. Its master, capable of sweeping away hundreds with a single spell, thus bringing annihtion to the forces of darkness across the continent. The army of the Mercenary King, supported by heroes, the Imperial Army, and the Magic Tower, is making swift progress in eliminating the forces of darkness. Consequently, numerous factions across the continent are mustering their strength to provide support! Experts predict that at this rate, the Demon King will fall within three years, leading to theplete vanquishing of the forces of darkness. The being bringing peace to the world, the Mercenary King, astonishingly turned out to be none other than the second daughter of the renowned Nermia Family of the Karan Empire. Indeed, she was Lia El Nermia, the former student council president of Eugrasia, the continent¡¯s preeminent academy, whose legacy intertwined with Lemin El Nermia, the Head of the Magic Tower, and Nerkia Li Derif, Aries lil Letia! Recently, it was revealed that the natural-born hero Laina is a direct descendant of the Royal Family of Laina. Before the shock of this revtion could subside, the Empire had already unveiled yet another outstanding talent. Hence, many believe that the Empire stands as the sole hope in halting the advance of the forces of darkness. Will the other kingdomse to the Empire¡¯s aid? Or will they show that they too can fight against the forces of darkness? < There is widespread curiosity about the future trajectory of the continent following the demise of the Demon King.> Thud! I folded the information sheet, which serves as a newspaper in this world. Through Lia¡¯s leadership, the mercenaries were sessfully integrated with the forces of the Magic Tower. ¡°Are they doing even better than I thought?¡± It was Iron Bat, munching on chocte cake and swinging his legs from the side. Yeah. They are doing really well. Lia¡¯s performance far exceeds my initial expectations. ¡°Is it because of my mood that I think there might be a problem?¡± ¡°Usually, yes, but things change when you¡¯re in charge.¡± I got a little annoyed at Iron Bat, who was enjoying the cake so much that he even hummed a tune. ¡°Take this!¡± ¡°Ouch!¡± Therefore, I resorted to a rather cruel act. ¡°My, my strawberry¡­!¡± That¡¯s right. I snatched the one and only piece of fruit from the cake that somehow looked delicious! I usually don¡¯t like fruit, but when it¡¯s on a piece of cake, it looks appetizing. ¡°You¡­ devil!¡± ¡°What?¡± That wasn¡¯t something an evil spirit, worse than a demon in this world, would say. No, nowadays, demons have a much better image. Thanks to the great Demon Lord ughtering the forces of darkness, demons are quite popr now. ¡°That was a stupid thing to do.¡± ¡°There are many fools who think they can do anything just because others do.¡± Entering a contract with a demon carries immense risk. While Lia¡¯s betrayal of a demon from behind marked a historic event, entering such a contract resembles a form of very. Under different circumstances, Lia might have been spectating heroes and the forces of darkness while enjoying popcorn in the underworld. The typical payment demanded by demons in contracts is the soul. They im the soul when it departs the body. This is why demons often circumvent contracts by cing summoners in fatal predicaments. For reference, the source was the great demon Surtr, who can be considered the representative of demons. To think¡­ they would strike a deal even with a soul on the line and then stab them in the back. Such devilish beings exist in this world. ¡°They are demons after all. And the person stabbing them in the back is their master.¡± ¡°Usually, those who stab others in the back should watch out for their own backs.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something a master should say, no matter how you think about it.¡± I punished Iron Bat, who was being noisy, by snatching thest bite of cake from him. After having a simple snack at the caf¨¦, I stood up and left the ce. ¡°Why are you going out at such a dangerous time?¡± ¡°I want to visit some rtives; it¡¯s been a long time since west contacted.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Following some necessary precautions, I was permitted to depart through the gate, adhering to standard procedures. ¡°Everyone seems relieved.¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re winning.¡± As Iron Bat said, since we¡¯re winning against the forces of darkness, such things were possible. ¡°Not long ago, even countries far removed from the forces of darkness had travel restrictions in ce. It¡¯s surprising that passage is now possible in a Kingdom so close to the forces of darkness. ¡°They call this safetycency.¡± The current safety suggests there¡¯s little to no risk. The circting news reinforced this belief. Lia¡¯s forces, united with several Kingdoms, the Magic Tower, and mercenaries, along with a minority within the Imperial Army and thebined might of heroes and some of the Imperial Army, formed the strongest human army. Thanks to these forces, thousands upon thousands of the forces of darkness were vanishing each day. ¡°Is the master trying to say that? The most painful backstab oftenes when you least expect it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± A battle persists until its conclusive end. Why else would the concept of aeback exist if you couldn¡¯t win from a disadvantaged position? Surely the Demon King is preparing some kind of countermove. It¡¯s none other than my student. In situations like this, one gains the most fromunching a sudden attack, knowing that more than anything else. As expected, the Demon King devised a countermove. ¡°Huh¡­ this is¡­¡± A familiar maneuver, reminiscent of a previous encounter. #11 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Kingdom ¡°The prevailing trend favors the Empire!¡± The nobles remained speechless in response to the King¡¯s deration. ¡°To survive, one must align with the Empire. There¡¯s no one else who can halt the Empire!¡± These weren¡¯t the words of just any King. A King is the supreme authority responsible for a nation. Their duty is to strive for the nation¡¯s benefit and aim for greater strength. For a King to dere that one should follow another country¡¯s lead¡­ Even though he was a King, it was a situation where the nobles should intervene. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yet, the nobles held their silence, with a few nodding in agreement with the King. This indicated the significant shift in the continent¡¯s dynamics. ¡°Your Majesty¡­¡± At that moment, a noble stepped forward. ¡°It¡¯s true that our Kingdom may seem weaker than the Empire, but we have a history that predates the Empire¡¯s. Such statements are not favorable.¡± Speaking was the head of Marquisate Peckerez, known for its rich history and tradition in the Kingdom. ¡°Marquis Peckerez is correct!¡± ¡°Yes, indeed. While we may be weaker than the Empire, our history¡­¡± ¡°Our Marus Kingdom has safeguarded thesends for a long time. Therefore¡­¡± Marquis Peckerez initiated the discussion, prompting other nobles to voice their thoughts one by one. ¡°Silence! Does history feed you?¡± But the King ignored the nobles¡¯ words. ¡°The longer history? The moment the Empire decides, that period ends. What¡¯s the problem with swallowing your pride and aligning with a stronger nation?¡± ¡°They were hostile nations.¡± Another noble stepped forward in response to the King¡¯s words. It was Marquis Backerias, whomanded the military of Marus Kingdom. ¡°In previous wars, our Kingdom was allied with the Fernes Empire. Our people, including our soldiers, hold grudges against the Karan Empire.¡± As Marquis Backerias spoke, other nobles nodded in agreement. Marquis Peckerez, overseeing internal affairs, and Marquis Backerias,manding the military, represented opposing factions. Yet, they unified in this crucial moment. And the decision of these nobles¡­ ¡°What does that matter?¡± The Kingpletely disregarded their decision. ¡°Your Majesty!¡± Despite his status as King, such speech was deemed disrespectful. Marquisate Peckerez, while having a rtively shorter history within the Kingdom, and Marquisate Backerias, a lineage descended from the founders of the nation, had dedicated themselves to Marus Kingdom and its people. Marquis Backerias, heading the formidable Backerias lineage andmanding the military, rallied numerous nobles under his banner. In some aspects, Marquis Backerias wielded more influence than the King. Nevertheless¡­ ¡°Marquis Backerias, could you remind us of your motto?¡± ¡°T-that is¡­¡± The King¡¯s abrupt inquiry regarding their motto rendered Marquis Backerias momentarily speechless. ¡°Why can¡¯t you speak? I¡¯ll ask again. What is the motto of your lineage?¡± ¡°That is¡­¡± After a brief pause, Marquis Backerias, prompted by the King, proceeded to articte the motto of the Backerias lineage. ¡°All decisions¡­ are made ording to¡­ the orders of the King.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. And why is that?¡± ¡°I heard it¡¯s because the King never makes wrong judgments.¡± ¡°Indeed. Our Royal Family has never made a wrong decision.¡± The situation where Kingdoms were forming alliances across the continent was due to the fear of the Empire¡¯s dominance. Yet, Marus Kingdom¡¯s King chose to align with the Empire. ¡°The sentiments of the people? The morale of the soldiers? The pride of the Kingdom? Our Royal Family has never followed such things. There¡¯s only one thing we follow.¡± The King¡¯s words evoked memories among the nobles, recalling the Kingdom¡¯s true founding legend. ¡°It¡¯s intuition.¡± Intuition, though it may sound unconventional, was the cornerstone upon which this Kingdom was founded by the Royal Family. ¡°More urately, you could call it tightrope walking. Our Royal Family has a good sense of intuition. It¡¯s like feeling the flow of things.¡± The Royal Family consistently exhibited remarkable decision-making prowess during times of crisis. ¡°During thest war, the Royal Family said we must remain neutral. You and your fathers were different.¡± Most nobles who participated in the war perished. The nobles present were either the remaining ones focused on internal affairs or the children of the deceased nobles, still present for the sake of the Kingdom¡¯s stability. ¡°Was I wrong?¡± It was a question akin to poking a ho¡¯s nest. ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± However, the nobles couldn¡¯t say a word. As the King had predicted, under the pressure of the nobles, Marus Kingdom suffered greatly. If they hadn¡¯t sumbed to temptation then, if they had listened to the Royal Family¡¯s words¡­ Marus Kingdom would have maintained its military strength, possibly absorbing defeated Kingdoms into itself. After all, the surrounding nations had fallen under the Fernes Empire¡¯s rule. ¡°Believe it. In the strength of the Royal Family that has safeguarded Marus Kingdom¡¯s history.¡± It was a strength not precisely defined as ¡°power.¡± However, the King harbored profound faith in this inherent strength. The other nobles, regardless of their fears, continued on! ¡°¡­Understood.¡± Despite his internal struggle, Marquis Backerias, lips clenched to the point of bleeding, ultimately acquiesced to the Royal Family¡¯s directive. And soon after, ¡°General! The forces of darkness have appeared in the Kingdom!¡± ¡°What? How did the forces of darknesse this far?¡± ¡°They fell from the sky.¡± ¡°What?¡± Upon receiving the report, Marquis Backerias was extremely surprised but made a calm judgment. ¡°Summon the Imperial Army!¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± While neighboring Kingdoms were suddenly overwhelmed by the appearing forces of darkness, Marus Kingdom, considered a weaker nationpared to its neighbors, suffered no losses. This was because it had entered into a military pact with the Empire under the King¡¯smand. ¡°This is the power of the Royal Family¡­!¡± Marquis Backerias felt chills run down his spine. The forces of darkness were stronger than anticipated. Though they were few in number, they were formidable opponents, and given time, they could have absorbed local flora and fauna to grow their forces. Indeed, hadn¡¯t the forces of darkness appeared in Kingdoms that had failed to defeat just a few forces? If Marus Kingdom hadn¡¯t made an alliance with the Empire, it would have faced a simr fate. ¡°Believe it. In the strength of the Royal Family that has safeguarded Marus Kingdom¡¯s history.¡± After that, Marquis Backerias, a stalwart of the noble factions, adhered unwaveringly to the Royal Family¡¯smands, solidifying his reputation as a loyalist until his final breath.
Chapter 264 264
    Originally, watching fights is the most entertaining way (11) #13 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Hero Suddenly, there was an aerial surprise attack. I was caught off guard in ways I never anticipated. ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s the senior¡­¡± Although it doesn¡¯t seem like Iron Bat¡¯s style, he learned from that professor. He surely knows how to strike from behind. The neighboring countries were unprepared for the sudden attack. ¡°Worst case scenario, a Kingdom could copse.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¡°The serious expression on the side was from Shuttle, or rather, Hill. ¡°With the rear support no longer needed¡­¡± ¡°A copse in the rear will create more enemies.¡± A situation where we could be surrounded from all sides might arise, worst-case scenario! In such dire straits, ¡°Can¡¯t we just eliminate them all?¡± Mira tilted her head as if asking what the problem was. ¡°Excuse me, Lady Mira? Could you consider themon people?¡± Maintaining the front line, utilizing geographical advantages, it was difficult to defend against the enemy¡¯s strength. With formidable power and magic resistance. Moreover, an army of evil spirits who fear not even death and only seek destruction is nothing short of a disaster. ¡°Isn¡¯t weakness the problem?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Indeed, a Professor¡¯s student. He was a humancking something fundamental that one should possess as a person, just like the Professor. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Even though itcked humanity, there was no choice but to nod. Because Mira emphasized strength. If one denied it here, it would be affirmed through force! Even if it¡¯s not right, affirming it is the best option. Unnecessary beliefs only lead to suffering. It was a significant lesson learned from the Professor. ¡°Can we send the Imperial troops to all the Kingdoms?¡± The enemies only attacked the rear unexpectedly, and their numbers were not that many. Over time, the evil spirit¡¯s army¡¯s numbers might be an issue, but not immediately. In fact, in some Kingdoms, they had seeded in eliminating the appearance of the evil spirit¡¯s army in their own territories, and now sending just a few Imperial soldiers to one Kingdom would solve everything. However, ¡°No, we can¡¯t.¡± Mira firmly refused. ¡°Why on earth?¡± It was iprehensible. Mira¡¯s goal is to capture the Professor and deliver her to Her Majesty, the Empress. And the King is an obstacle to that. Does Mira have a reason for just watching the masterpieces of the evil spirit¡¯s army, knowing better than anyone that it¡¯s not good if the enemy bes stronger? ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Wait, I didn¡¯t say anything yet?¡± I said ¡®why on earth?¡¯ but the response was ¡®what could be the reason?¡¯ Why the difference?? Could it be because of my mood? ¡°It¡¯s not because of the mood.¡± ¡°Just say it¡¯s because of the mood!¡± Reading people¡¯s thoughts as well? What kind of magic is this? ¡°It¡¯s not magic.¡± ¡°That¡¯s even scarier!¡± The more I couldn¡¯t understand Mira¡¯s ability, the more fear grew. ¡°If you have this ability, you don¡¯t need to use mental magic on me!¡± Mixing up one¡¯s memories is an unpleasant feeling that only someone who has experienced it would know. Wait, didn¡¯t this person try to torture me before? ¡°It¡¯s better to be sure, isn¡¯t it, to be sure~¡± ¡°This is¡­¡± I wanted to say many things, but I was rendered speechless. I couldn¡¯t even think straight; it felt like my thoughts were being read. ¡°Isn¡¯t it absurd to have such a being?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the result of effort.¡± I didn¡¯t even want to imagine the effort required to be such a being. Let¡¯s forget about that and focus on what I originally wanted to ask. ¡°Never mind about other things, what¡¯s the reason for not providing support to the other Kingdoms?¡± Mira responded to my question in a somewhat dismissive tone. ¡°Because they¡¯re enemies of the Empire.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Her words sounded usible. ¡°Enemies of the Empire? Were such beings real?¡± The Empire was a country that held undisputed power over the continent, with no nation capable of opposing it. ¡°You¡¯re mistaken. There are nations capable of opposing it. In fact, almost every nation is opposing it.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Not being able to win in a fight and not opposing are different things.¡± Mira¡¯s words seemed out of ce. ¡°I feel like you¡¯re misunderstanding. I¡¯m someone bestowed with the title of a Countess. And it¡¯s hereditary.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°No matter how noble one is as a child of the Grand Duke, it¡¯s natural for someone who¡¯s been erased from the family tree to know more about the current situation of the Empire.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Mira, looking at me with a cold gaze, wasn¡¯t the Mira I had known until now. What should I call her? Your Grace? Mydy? ¡°Are you a noble?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± Yeah, just a noble. But not the noble I knew; more like a splendid noble from a novel! ¡°Wait, hold on. I heard something strange, like it was just flowing naturally? Erased from the family tree? Why?¡± Despite my dislike for my lineage, being erased from the family tree without consent was shocking. ¡°Laina Rel Swin decided to discard the name ¡®Laina,¡¯ which is the adult name of the family, and just live as a warrior Swin. And out of respect for his sacrificial spirit, the next heir of the Grand Duke¡¯s lineage decided to exclude him from the family tree¡­¡± ¡°This is¡­!¡± Risking one¡¯s position is one thing, but cutting off a sibling from the family tree is outrageous. If the King is overthrown, everything, including siblings and the family, will be turned upside down. ¡°I¡¯ve instructed to ry the decision to the Royal Pce.¡± ¡°You instructed?¡± ¡°Oh, my mistake. I threatened.¡± ¡°Things have gotten worse, haven¡¯t they?¡± So what? What are we going to do about it? I couldn¡¯t offer any rebuttal to Mira, who was looking at me with such eyes. I felt a moment of understanding akin to the viins in legends who would sell their souls to demons for power. ¡°Sir Knight¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m used to it.¡± Beside me, Shuttle looked at me with pity, but I offered him a reassuring smile. Yeah, my opponent is Mira. This is how Mira behaves. Simr to Mira, she embodies the essence of the Professor¡¯s teachings more than any other student I¡¯ve encountered. Mira just disposed of the Professor. ¡°For now, let¡¯s leave aside the discussion about the lineage¡­¡± Satisfied with knowing one fact in exchange for being erased from the family tree. This means that aside from the Emperor, Mira had the authority to threaten the next heir of the Grand Duke¡¯s lineage, one of the Empire¡¯s highest positions. And that the next heir of the Grand Duke¡¯s lineage quietly epted it. I was reminded once more of the importance of never provoking Mira! ¡°Well¡­ In short, not all Kingdoms were left without support. There are several countries that have already sent support and defeated the evil spirit¡¯s army.¡± ¡°A few?¡± ¡°Kingdoms that have signed military treaties with the Empire.¡± ¡°Military treaties?¡± ¡°Yeah. Because we need to avoid as many inconveniences as possible when capturing the Professor.¡± Therefore, Mira¡¯s words implied that the Empire¡¯s army was only intervening in countries that permitted their troops on their soil tobat the evil spirit¡¯s army. ¡°Isn¡¯t that too much?¡± Even if the world is in crisis! Isn¡¯t saving the world the priority rather than excluding it! ¡°Yeah, no.¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± With such a definite answer, I just nodded. ¡°Many countries see the crisis as an opportunity. Those who are not helping us are the same. They exclude the Empire and try to solve things by uniting among themselves.¡± Without the necessary power or capabilities. Mira¡¯s atmosphere, speaking coldly with an expressionless face, was very frightening. Just like amander. It felt overwhelming, like being surrounded by unreasonable monsters under amander¡¯s authority. ¡°So are we just going to let it be?¡± ¡°If there aren¡¯t just fools, we can win.¡± ¡°Even if many people die?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t help it. Those who reject us are the powerful ones there. It¡¯s illegal for us to cross borders without their permission.¡± Mira discussed the vition of internationalw in sending military forces but emphasized that it¡¯s not unwillingness but inability to send them. Is it my misunderstanding that Mira seems to emphasize the inability to send rather than a choice not to? ¡°They also don¡¯t care about the world¡¯s crisis. They¡¯re just doing their best to benefit themselves, with the premise that the King will fall anyway.¡± Mira didn¡¯t seem to have a particr dislike for that. No, the Mira I know would think that¡¯s only natural. Mira was someone who would do anything to survive. ¡°So they¡¯ll manage to survive on their own.¡± It was a really irresponsible statement, but Mira¡¯s words were correct. Other Kingdoms didn¡¯t want to see the Empire¡¯s influence expand. They rejected the Empire, sought unity for strength, and are now facing the consequences of their choice. But, ¡°To defeat the evil spirit¡¯s army and beyond that, to overthrow the King, we need to secure the rear.¡± Despite my difort, I couldn¡¯t simply stand by and watch the King¡¯s n unfold. ¡°Who said anything about standing by?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Ha¡­ This is supposed to be the strongest Knight? Give me back my childhood fantasies¡­¡± ¡°You had fantasies like that?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess I did.¡± ¡°Okay. I was a naive girl too.¡± ¡°Huh¡­¡± What¡¯s this? It almost sounds like you¡¯re saying the Professor was a decent person? I felt like I had just heard an absurd story. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± I shook my head vigorously at Mira, who met my gaze with indifference. ¡°Sigh¡­ I¡¯m toozy to exin it all, so I¡¯ll say it quickly. Why did the King send reinforcements to the rear?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°As expected, you need to be hit by Iron Bat, just like the Professor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too harsh!¡± There are certain things you shouldn¡¯t say, you know. I looked at Mira, who had gone beyond insults to curses, with a resentful gaze. ¡°You need a lesson in what¡¯s normal. Listen carefully. The reason the King withdrew troops is simple. He¡¯s falling behind.¡± ¡°Falling behind?¡± ¡°Yeah. He¡¯s falling behind in every aspect right now, so he¡¯s trying to divert attention elsewhere and buy time for an opportunity.¡± Mira grumbled as if recalling a lesson from the Professor¡¯s ss. ¡°Turning crises into opportunities. ¡®No matter how difficult the situation, as long as there¡¯s a possibility of turning it around and people who can make it sessful, that¡¯s why the word ¡®reversal¡¯ exists in the dictionary,¡¯ Professor used to say.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± It seemed like one of the things I learned in Howling. Additionally¡­ ¡°Sending a small force to attack the rear is an example of that. But it¡¯s not about seeding in turning the tables¡­¡± ¡°If you seed, it¡¯s fifty-fifty. Even if you seed¡­¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean the crisis is over.¡± Mira nodded at my words. ¡°Yeah. They used their best tactics to ovee the crisis. But that doesn¡¯t mean the crisis is over. In fact, it¡¯s be even more dangerous.¡± ¡°True.¡± The overall picture that hadn¡¯t been clear before was starting to form in my mind. ¡°The evil spirit¡¯s army that invaded the rear isn¡¯t that numerous. They¡¯re spreading across each Kingdom, not gathering in one ce.¡± ¡°Right. But that¡¯s considering the scale of each Kingdom.¡± ¡°When you look at the entire continent, it¡¯s a significant number.¡± The current active evil spirit¡¯s army is in dozens of Kingdoms. And there are over ten Kingdoms where they¡¯ve failed. Assuming there were a hundred evil spirit forces in one Kingdom, that would mean over a thousand evil spirit forces in ten Kingdoms. ¡°The Kingdoms with fewer evil spirit forces have hundreds of them. The Kingdom with the most has thousands.¡± And if you add them all up¡­ ¡°It means there are more than ten thousand forces held in the rear, and that means the King¡¯s forces have seriously weakened.¡± Indeed, Commander. Thinking about all this by yourself¡­ ¡°Professor used to say that we should learn from the enemy¡¯s sessful methods. The King¡¯s methods, we should use them too.¡± Since the evil spirit¡¯s army attacked the rear, the King would think we¡¯ll send reinforcements to the rear. They¡¯ve divided non-existent forces into the rear, so the logic goes that they¡¯ve sent arge number of forces to the rear. So, ¡°Tell the rear to fight, and let¡¯s move to the sky and attack the King!¡± The sky¡­ the sky¡­ ¡°Easy to say, but is moving to the sky not difficult?¡± ¡°Hehehe!¡± Mira, who smiled for a moment, took out a small metal badge from her pocket. ¡°What¡¯s that now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an Imperial Mage Pass! It allows you to always have ess to the highest level of mages on the continent!¡± Looking at Mira boasting about receiving it to capture the Professor for the Princess, I couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Professor, it feels like I made a mistake by making this person an enemy. This person is the scariest, no, the scariest girl! ¡°I¡¯m not that scary, you know?¡± ¡°I got goosebumps from how scary you were!¡± Professor, did I make a mistake?
Chapter 265 265
    Originally, watching fights is the most entertaining way (12) ¡°Achoo!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Iron Bat frowned in response to the sudden sneeze. ¡°You just sneezed on me!¡± ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± Ahem, ahem! He wiped the sneeze off with a handkerchief. ¡°What¡¯s this? Who¡¯s cursing at me?¡± ¡°There are¡­ so many people cursing at you. Surprising, right?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that bad.¡± ¡°Thousands, at least?¡± ¡°Why would there be that many?¡± Even if I¡¯ve done a lot, would there really be thousands cursing me? That¡¯s crazy. ¡°First of all, there are those chasing after the owner.¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that be a small number?¡± ¡°Not just those known to you. What about all the subordinates?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ true.¡± ¡°That alone could be a thousand.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I concede to that.¡± We¡¯ve already counted a thousand, but there are thousands more. Can Iron Bat really manage that many? ¡°And every time the King is active, the owner gets cursed.¡± ¡°What kind of logic is that?¡± ¡°The owner is a devil¡¯s follower¡­ umm!¡± ¡°What nonsense is this?¡± Iron Bat quickly covered the speaker¡¯s mouth and got up. -What are you doing! -This is what I should do, fool! -A fool? Being called a fool by a goddess, am I cursed? -If there¡¯s a curse, it feels like I¡¯ve already received it. Just this guy¡¯s existence was a curse. Because of him, I can¡¯t use magic, I¡¯m hunted by dark students, separated from my family, and even after defeating the King, I still have to flee. ¡°Umm, umm, umm!¡± -Thest one is because of the owner! It¡¯s unfair! -I won¡¯t deny the previous charges! Yet, Iron Bat had be more conscientious than before. -Isn¡¯t it unreasonable for the owner to mention conscience first? And how long do you n to keep silencing a goddess? -Until you think and speak? -I always think and speak! -Is that what you call thinking and speaking? Calling someone an apostle of evil in the middle of town is what you call thinking and speaking? -I¡¯ll have to shut this mouth forever! -Hey! People of this town! There¡¯s a bad apostle of evil kidnapping our cute goddess here! An evil calling another evil an apostle of evil. Such nonsense didn¡¯t even exist in nonsense. ¡°Help, help!¡± Trying to block Iron Bat¡¯s nonsense, someone¡¯s voice was heard not too far away. ¡°The heroes are on the move! To defeat the wicked King!¡± Usually, this statement would be followed by distributing detailed papers, but reality was different. ¡°For just one silver, you can confirm the details!¡± Information is money. Everyone knows that. And this information was on paper. Even in past eras with advanced technology and mass-produced paper, it still cost money. So, does spreading news by tossing papers around a fantasy world make any sense? Selling it at a high price made sense. ¡°It seems things are starting to move.¡± ¡°Is the King dead?¡± Both I and Iron Bat were interested in the news, so we approached the boy selling the papers. ¡°Partially.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be one silver!¡± It was pricey, but reasonable when you considered the cost of paper, gathering information, and the boy¡¯smission. Of course, given the shy title, it mightck substantial information. ¡°It¡¯s notpletelycking in content, right?¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be. This is a verified news source from Pecanes.¡± I hadn¡¯t heard of Pecanes before; it seemed like a prestigious source known only within this kingdom. ¡°Well, if it¡¯s endorsed by Pecanes¡­¡± For merchants, reputation and trust are crucial. They wouldn¡¯t risk their reputation for a quick profit. ¡°Here it is.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± After handing over one silver, the boy bowed and handed me the newspaper. ¡°Is there a nearby ce to sit?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a shop over there!¡± The newspaper was half the size of a regr one, with more than ten pages. It seemed like it would take some time to read, so I decided to find afortable ce in the shop. ¡°Wee!¡± I smiled at the cheerful waitress and ordered a simple meal and water before sitting down. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± The cover of the monthly news, endorsed by Pecanes (urgent edition), caught my eye. Thoughbeled as monthly, this edition seemed to be urgently published because of important news. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± As I flipped through the first page, a handsome man in ck and white appeared. ¡°He looks impressive just from his face.¡± Even with the flowing hair and ck-and-white image, his eyes seemed to shine. With striking features, he looked like a perfect hero. ¡°The owner picks based on looks too.¡± ¡°Well¡­ but it¡¯s so different from his usual appearance, it feels unsettling.¡± The photo source wasbeled as Magic Origins. It seemed they sent this picture to confirm a hero¡¯s identity through magical means. Even though he was considered a hero or a disciple of a god, there were still impostors. ¡°Your food is ready.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± The waitress blushed slightly as she saw the hero¡¯s photo in the newspaper I was holding. ¡°Poor guy.¡± Having a face that makes women happy just by looking at it is nice. But because of that face, he got caught up with the Ice Cream Princess, and it was clear he would be involved in more such incidents in the future. ¡°People shouldn¡¯t stand out too much.¡± ¡°Indeed. It feels even more so when the owner says it.¡± Even with a normal face, living that kind of life is tough; imagine being a hero. ¡°Have your meal.¡± I handed Iron Bat a simple meal of bread and sausages and continued reading the newspaper. The content was about heroes mobilizing on arge scale to defeat the King, just as the boy who sold the papers had said. ¡°This is propaganda, isn¡¯t it?¡± As I read further, I was slightly surprised by the bold tactics mentioned. ¡°We are aware of the sudden attacks by the wicked King and his followers, causing harm to several Kingdoms. But each Kingdom possesses great power. I believe in them. I believe in you, who are doing your best to protect your homnd. That¡¯s why we trust in human strength and have thought long and hard about what is best as heroes. And now, I am convinced that bringing down the King as soon as possible is not just for humanity, but for the sake of this world.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot of rhetoric here.¡± Although it used the term ¡®believing,¡¯ it was more like neglect. ¡®Those entering the battlefield behind us, block them on your own, we will go on the offensive. So, make sure to hold your ground.¡¯ It was just politely packaged nonsense. ¡°The heroes wouldn¡¯t n something like this¡­ Is it Mir?¡± As I took a sip of refreshing water, I grabbed a piece of bread. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± With one hand eating bread and the other flipping through the newspaper, I came across another picture of the hero. This time, he had a serious expression. ¡°Is this a newspaper, or a hero¡¯s photoshoot?¡± Now that I thought about it, there seemed to be a higher number of women buying the newspaper. It wasn¡¯t just my imagination. Clearly, they knew how to make money at Pecanes. ¡°If I¡¯m lucky, I might get a free meal.¡± Since the waitress seemed quite interested in the hero¡¯s face earlier, I considered trading the newspaper for my meal instead of paying. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Despite the serious expression on the hero¡¯s face, the page was filled with hopeful content. ¡°The Empire¡¯s mages join the heroes in battle!¡± ¡°The Empire¡¯s strongest mages gather to aid the heroes!¡± ¡°The greatest mages in human history support the heroes in their quest to defeat the King!¡± ¡°This page doesn¡¯t have much information.¡± The small text below the bold letters was filled with irrelevant details about the mages¡¯ backgrounds, their performances in battles, and so on. There was not a single line about specific scales or the extent of equipment they had. ¡°¡±Well, that¡¯s obvious.¡± Even if the Empire has no enemies, they wouldn¡¯t expose military secrets in a newspaper formoners. No matter how skilled the writer was, they couldn¡¯t breach the Empire¡¯s security. With that thought, I turned to the next page and found unexpected content. ¡°What? They¡¯ve already fought?¡± It was truly unexpected. Normally, these newspapers end with, ¡®The heroes have set out, and the King will fall, bringing salvation!¡¯ But here, with several pages left, they were already detailing the sh with the King. ¡°Has the fight already ended?¡± Unlike the Empire¡¯s mages¡¯ page, this one had urate information stating that the heroes had already fought the King. ¡°The Apostle of Evil, the King! Proving the power of that name!¡± ¡°The overwhelming force of the King that brought down dozens of heroes in a short time!¡± ¡°Despite many sacrifices, they couldn¡¯t bring down the King!¡± ¡°The defeated King, but the King who escaped!¡± ¡°Heroes victorious in battle. But a victory with only scars.¡± ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the Empire¡¯s army, could we have defeated the King?¡± Every article was negative. Even the detailed information was the same. They could defeat an overwhelming force of evil during the fight with the King, but the main King couldn¡¯t be captured, ording to the newspaper. ¡°Hmm¡­ It was good they escaped.¡± Underestimating the King¡¯s power in a fight could lead to a premature death, as many heroes had experienced. Thirty heroes had died, and it seemed the hero I saw earlier had also suffered significant injuries. Though he managed to inflict substantial wounds, if the Empire¡¯s army hadn¡¯t defeated the overwhelming evil force in time, the hero would likely have perished. ¡°Was the King always this strong? Is everything in history a lie?¡± History is often written by the victors. They exaggerate the good and minimize or omit the bad. I wondered if the information about the King was also manipted in such a way. ¡°Well¡­ the King is definitely stronger than recorded. Temples write the truth, but not the kingdoms.¡± ¡°True.¡± For me, temples were even further away than other races. While an ordinary person could visit a temple daily, I didn¡¯t lead an ordinary life? Apart from visiting the Earth Temple and the Temple of Life to pray for my parents¡¯ souls in my youth, I had never visited other temples. So, I had no way of knowing the records written in temples. ¡°Anyway, the fact that this King is an unreasonable irregr doesn¡¯t change.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yeah. Usually, even if they¡¯re strong, they fight to the end and die.¡± Iron Bat¡¯s words implied that if it were a normal King, the hero would have died. ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s a shame.¡± ¡°People need to appreciate your character, right?¡± For me, the hero and the King fighting to the end is the best scenario. With those two knowing my information, their deaths wouldplete my peace. ¡°Sigh¡­ what happens now?¡± As I turned to the next page, there was more about the hero¡¯s face and the events after the battle. ¡°The near-destruction of the overwhelming force of evil!¡± ¡°The experiences of many heroes. What about the remaining ones?¡± ¡°The rapid recement of heroes. Heroes without basic skills.¡± ¡°Heroes being brought to the frontlines immediately upon selection. Is this okay?¡± It felt like reading amentary section. It exposed the plight of heroes who were suddenly chosen, had no proper training, and had to fight against an overwhelming force of evil. It was informative and important, but¡­ ¡°Skipping.¡± It had nothing to do with me, so I skipped it. ¡°Well¡­ at least the important parts were covered.¡± On thest page, I found information that the hero had recovered and was now chasing the King with the Empire¡¯s army. And more importantly, ¡°The crazy guy is still following till the end.¡± The pursuit was tantly directed toward me. It meant the King was aiming to catch me as ast resort. ¡°Are we fleeing again?¡± Iron Bat, having finished his meal, swung his legs cheerfully. Well¡­ fleeing would be a good idea. There was a risk of getting caught by the King, and then by the Empire¡¯s army following him. But¡­ ¡°As the saying goes, life is a tragedy up close and aedy from afar.¡± ¡°Huh? What nonsense is that?¡± ¡°Anyway, if the King doesn¡¯t die, my location will inevitably be revealed continuously, right? So, it¡¯s better to wait at a suitable ce and create a meeting ground.¡± If I have to face the end, it¡¯s better to do it while I¡¯m still young. So, ¡°Get some popcorn and get ready to watch the fight.¡± After all, watching a fight is the most entertaining.
Chapter 266

Chapter 266

# 310
    Stories of Others (1) #1 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Demon Lord ¡°Argh¡­¡­!¡± Blood slowly oozed from his chest. The pain was intense. Since bing the Demon King, he had never experienced such agony. ¡°What¡­ was that?¡± A deep wound carved into his side by the hero, who had risked everything. An unexpected, brilliant move. Truly the savior of the world, the natural enemy of the Demon King! Ironbat, the Hero, proved his title by pushing me to the brink, even burning his own life force. Had I defended instead of attacking, I would have fallen to his sword. But, my instincts honed through countless missions for the organization of evil, andter as the Demon King oveing numerous trials, chose attack over defense. That choice sealed the hero¡¯s fate. Until that monster appeared. ¡°Ugh¡­¡­.¡± Blood flowed from the wound inflicted by that monster. It was a severe injury. As soon as the sword pierced my heart, it moved with such fluidity it felt unbelievable to have a de lodged inside. Had my reaction been slower, my heart and surrounding organs would have been shredded. ¡°My recovery is slow.¡± Even pouring healing potions and using recovery magic simultaneously couldn¡¯t easily heal such a grievous wound. Moreover, I couldn¡¯t benefit from recovery magic. The Demon King is one who exists outside the world. Immune to powers created by the world¡¯sws, like magic. This is a double-edged sword. While I am immune to enemy attack spells or curses, I am also immune to healing magic and various buff spells. Thus, this wound had to heal naturally, but the situation was dire. Bang! ¡°There he is!¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± Before I could hear them, the attacks had already begun. The Karan Empire. The strongest human nation and the de facto ruler of the continent. And¡­ ¡°Why on earth?¡± They were specialists in pursuit. ¡°Die!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t die to a nameless knight!¡± A man, covered in dirt and dust, charged at me with a swinging sword. I drew my own sword to block his, shing at his chest¡­! ¡°Damn it, he¡¯s strong!¡± ¡°Crazy¡­¡± That¡¯s what I wanted to say. No matter how skilled the empire¡¯s knights are, I was once hailed as the strongest hero. With divine aid, I single-handedly yed a dragon, and my abilities have remained at their peak even after bing the Demon King. Yet, an unknown knight could block my attacks! The empire was powerful enough to hide such monstrous talents. ¡°Are you an imperial knight?¡± With this level of skill, he could be the head of the King¡¯s knights in a Kingdom without a Swordmaster. And he didn¡¯t look even thirty, yet had such abilities. ¡°What nonsense! A rookie like me can¡¯t be a knight!¡± ng! I was slightly dyed in reacting to the knight¡¯s swing due to his words. ¡°What does he mean?¡± A rookie? If this was a rookie, then all the knights on the continent would be newborns. ¡°Just as I said! I¡¯m an apprentice knight of the empire!¡± ¡°What on earth are you talking about!¡± It was an iprehensible statement. Having traveled through many Kingdoms as a hero, I assessed that he was definitely at the level of a small Kingdom¡¯s knightmander. Even the empire wouldn¡¯t call someone of such skill an apprentice. ¡°Is it a code?¡± Then he must be someone from a very special organization within the empire, with the code name ¡®apprentice¡¯. ¡°What are you babbling about since earlier!¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡­!¡± A strike from the unknown knight, called apprentice, made blood spurt from my heart. The wound had reopened. ¡°I can¡¯t waste more time on someone like you!¡± No matter how hidden they are, I am the Demon King. The bringer of terror to the world. The destroyer of worlds. Until I fall to the hero¡¯s sword, I will never fall! ¡°Haaah!¡± Despite his great skills, pure swordsmanship was beneath me. The apprentice couldn¡¯t block my strike, learned at the risk of my life under that Professor, and was sent flying. ¡°Burn.¡± ¡°A spirit?¡± An upper-ss fire spirit suddenly appeared and punched me. ¡°Tch!¡± Clicking my tongue, I couldn¡¯t finish him off and started fleeing again. Perfectly killing him would prevent future enemies, but things are different if the opponent is a summoner. ¡°Just what is the empire¡­!¡± Summoning was a technique only chosen ones could use. Even if one could summon a familiar with magic, making a contract with it was another matter. No matter how much magic power one has, if the familiar rejects the summoner, the contract cannot be made. However, the imperial army chasing me could universally use summoning. While earth spirits, who can move thend itself, are difficult to handle, they were imperial soldiers. The summoner who controlled the fire spirit could also summon earth spirits and even familiars. Although high-level familiars were not invincible, they could buy time by holding off enemies. One minute, no, even 30 seconds. Dying for just that amount of time would allow many of the empire¡¯s enemies to catch up to me. Having experienced several battles already, I quickly realized I had to give up on defeating them swiftly. BOOM! ¡°He went that way!¡± ¡°These crazy bastards!¡± Before I could even speak, they attacked again. With a massive explosion, I saw a huge crater from 40 meters ahead, and I began to run, keeping as low as possible. ¡°Just a little¡­ just a little more!¡± I needed to get over two more mountains. Then I could join up with the forces of evil heading this way. I knew the forces of evil couldn¡¯t defeat the imperial army, but they could at least buy me some time. All I needed was to escape safely. If I could get thest fragment of evil that the Professor possessed, and if I could hold out until the fragment given to Parfait had grown to a certain extent! No matter how many monsters the empire had, I would be able to drench the world in evil and bring about its destruction. And now, ¡°I must endure.¡± This is a time to endure and endure again. Why do I live? Why do I seek to destroy the world? Was it not for her, who had to face a terrible death despite doing her best for the world? It was for her revenge. No, to be more precise, it was for my own satisfaction. And for that, I was willing to endure anything. So, I endure. ¡°Where did you run off to, Demon King!¡± ¡°A Demon King running away from an apprentice! Are you really the Demon King?¡± ¡°You became the Demon King?! Do your parents know about this?¡± ¡°Your parents didn¡¯t feed you for this!¡± Such low-level insults from what is supposed to be the strongest army¡­! #2 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Hero ¡°Good job.¡±Wiping the sweat off her forehead, Miria spoke, and I shook my head. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything.¡± It wasn¡¯t a falsehood. The Demon King¡¯s escape was all thanks to Miria. If Miria hadn¡¯t been there¡­ ¡°I would have been killed by the Demon King.¡± Indeed, I would have been in by the Demon King. ¡°You fought well considering you were alone against the Demon King.¡± ¡°Alone¡­¡± It was true I faced the Demon King alone. However, just before the fight, I received various buffs from multiple saints and priests, including healing. I barely managed to stand my ground, using every trick I had. Even then, the Demon King effortlessly blocked my attacks and attempted counterattacks without breaking a sweat. Thanks to that, I had to prepare my final strike with everything I had. I reinforced my body with magic and waited for the right moment. Just before the enemy¡¯s final blow, I chose to risk everything on onest attack, knowing it would either be him or me. I managed to inflict a long wound on the Demon King¡¯s side, but that was it. Despite the severe wound, the Demon King didn¡¯t stop attacking and kept pushing me back. I thought it was over. My wretched fate would end here. At that moment, Miria appeared. And then she died. Seeing her body, perfectly bisected and falling to the ground, was surreal. Was she really dead? Miria? It seemed like she could get up any moment and cut down the Demon King. Just as I thought that, Miria appeared behind the Demon King and drove a sword into his chest. ¡°What¡­ was that?¡± The Miria lying on the ground looked real. It wasn¡¯t magic or an illusion. Blood was gushing from Miria¡¯s body on the ground, and it was warm. ¡°This?¡± Thud! Suddenly, Miria popped out of thin air. It was the corpse, with the upper and lower halves separated. ¡°What the hell!?¡± Startled by the falling corpse, I jumped back. ¡°It hasn¡¯t fully recovered yet?¡± ¡°I told you not to summon it¡­¡± ¡°What¡­ what is this?¡± The Miria on the ground started to grumble. ¡°Sorry. My colleague wanted to see it.¡± ¡°Can I go now? This is annoying.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± When my eyes met Miria lying on the ground, I could only nod. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go?¡± ¡°Good work.¡± Miria waved at the disappearing corpse of Miria. ¡°What on earth is that?¡± I didn¡¯t know what it was, but it was terrifying. Two Mirias. If there were two Mirias, they might be able to take on the Professor. ¡°A familiar.¡± ¡°A familiar?¡± ¡°Yes. A doppelg?nger. I saw it a while ago and thought it might be useful, so I made a contract.¡± Doppelg?nger? From before? Something came to mind. ¡°Could it be¡­ from the fall of Howling?¡± ¡°Yes. It was effective enough to fool even the imperial army, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Indeed, the effectiveness of the doppelg?nger was extraordinary, fooling tens of thousands of the empire¡¯s soldiers. The doppelg?nger could not only replicate a person¡¯s appearance but also mimic certain aspects of their personality and abilities. Especiallypared to magically animated dolls or golems, doppelg?ngers were much more natural and intelligent, making them highly useful. During the training in Howling, we even fought against the doppelg?ngers of previous batch seniors. However, the doppelg?nger had a significant drawback as a summoned creature. ¡°Doppelg?ngers are demons, aren¡¯t they?¡± That¡¯s right. Doppelg?ngers were demons, and high-level ones at that. Even though they weren¡¯t singr entities like archdemons, making them easier to contract with, they were still demons. Making a contract with such beings wouldn¡¯t be easy¡­ ¡°Of course it is. Have you forgotten what we have?¡± ¡°What? Did you make a fraudulent contract or something?¡± There was a case where the archdemon Surtr, iparable to a doppelg?nger, was forced into a ve contract by the Professor. If Miria, Professor¡¯s apprentice, did something simr, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising. ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°Yeah. That kind of fraud requires deep knowledge of demons. I used the Eugrasia method.¡± ¡°The Eugrasia method?¡± Eugrasia, that prestigious academy where the Professor was a faculty member. Since Professor taught there, it must have turned into a new hell, ¡°Could it be a natural urrence?¡± It was quite possible that demons had arisen in the new hell and made contracts with the students! ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°It seems possible.¡± Miria denied it, but if it were the Professor, it seemed entirely usible. ¡°That¡¯s not it. The Eugrasia method means¡­¡± I listened quietly to Miria¡¯s exnation. In some sense, it was an absurd method, and in another, it made perfect sense. ¡°So, you summon it first and, before it can get a grip and reverse summon, you beat it with a wooden bat? Until it agrees to the contract?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± I wanted to ask the calmly nodding Miria one thing. What color is your blood? ¡°Red.¡± ¡°No need to answer that. Argh¡­!¡± As soon as I screamed, my wound burst open, and blood started to flow again. Damn! It was a severe injury that would take at least a week to heal. ¡°What are you nning to do now?¡± Clearly, the Demon King was more seriously injured than I was. There was no choice. No matter how strong the Demon King was, there was no way he could be fine after having his heart shed to shreds. If I pursued him now, I could defeat the Demon King and save the world. And as a bonus, I could end my contract and live a free life. ¡°What else? As the Professor taught, I¡¯ll set a trap.¡± But I knew that Miria wouldn¡¯t want that. ¡°A bait that can catch the Demon King, the Professor, and my recipe all at once.¡± Miria¡¯s faint smile naturally reminded me of the Professor. To be honest, if this guy is the mastermind, I doubt I could stop him. Could he possibly be the final enemy or something? Hopefully not, right? -Sorry. I don¡¯t know¡­ Oh, damn god, stay quiet at times like this!
Chapter 267

Chapter 267

Their Situation: The Situation of Certain Kingdoms 311
    Stories of Others (2) #3 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Kingdom ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°The wall is breached!¡± ¡°Stop the monsters from entering! If they get in, it¡¯s over!¡± Screams and shouts filled the air. The wall was breached. This meant facing the powerful and evil army of the dark god directly. ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°Sir Bekefe!¡± The knight, the city¡¯s only hope, began flying through the air. He didn¡¯t fly by his own power. He was an ordinary knight. Though he knew simple magic, he couldn¡¯t use spells to fly. The knight had been struck by an orc¡¯s blow and was sent flying. And once in the air, what goes up muste down. ¡°Argh!¡± The knight who had been flying through the air crashed to the ground. From his short, intense scream and the fact that he wasn¡¯t moving, it was clear he was dead. The thick armor that should have protected him from even such a blow from an evil-tainted orc became a curse in such a situation. ¡°Damn it! The knight is down!¡± ¡°It¡¯s over¡­ We have to flee!¡± ¡°But where? Is there anywhere to run?¡± ¡°We need to survive first!¡± With the only knight dead, this city was finished. The soldiers of this small kingdom¡¯s small citycked the strength and will to fight the dark god¡¯s army. One by one, soldiers began to grab their weapons and flee. Themanders tried to stop them with shouts, but it was futile. Most of themanders had already fled. The fewmanders left couldn¡¯t possiblymand all the soldiers. As more soldiers fled, the burden on those remaining increased. They weren¡¯t well-trained regrs but mostly conscripts. It was virtually impossible to endure the increasing burden. As time passed, more soldiers died or fled. And so, another city fell to the dark god¡¯s army. ¡°Already?¡± The grand general of the Fusedin Kingdom frowned as he received the report. He had received a report two hours ago that one city had fallen, and now another city had fallen. ¡°What did the lord of that ce do?¡± ¡°Baron Loddet fled. His two knights tried to defend the city, but it was too much.¡± ¡°What happened to the knights?¡± ¡°They fought to the end to protect the city.¡± ¡°Damn¡­ Those knights were too good for Loddet.¡± In a situation where every force mattered, the loss of a knight was a significant blow. Even knights defending small cities were still knights. Trained professionals capable of using magic, knights were worth more than a hundred soldiers, depending on how they were used. ¡°Damn it! If this continues, the dark god¡¯s army will reach Count Hursch¡¯s territory. We must stop them before that.¡± Count Hursch¡¯s territory was the heart of this kingdom. Connected to all the kingdom¡¯s roads, Count Hursch¡¯s territory was a logistics hub. Its fall would mean a massive loss of resources and severe disruption to future supply lines. ¡°If Count Hursch¡¯s territory falls, the kingdom falls. Doesn¡¯t the royal court understand that?¡± The dark god¡¯s army was twice as strong as regr monsters and couldn¡¯t be killed by ordinary soldiers. At a minimum, an apprentice knight with magical abilities was needed to fight them. Even a regr goblin became so hard that a sword would dull when struck after being tainted by evil. If that was true for goblins, how thick would the skin of an orc or an ogre be? Unless you had siege weapons or dwarf-forged magic swords, you needed at least sword energy to defeat the dark god¡¯s army. Yet the royal court did nothing. To protect their safety, they ordered the kingdom¡¯s main knight orders to guard the royal castle andmanded the grand general to conscript soldiers to stop the dark god¡¯s army. ¡°Damn it!¡± It was an impossible order. The grand general of the Fusedin Kingdom realized this after several battles with the dark god¡¯s army. ¡°There aren¡¯t that many enemies. It¡¯s not enough to call them the dark god¡¯s army. Why doesn¡¯t the royal court realize this?¡± The general was right. The dark god¡¯s army in the Fusedin Kingdom didn¡¯t number over a hundred. Even now, after growing in numbers, there weren¡¯t even a hundred. When the first report came in, there were maybe thirty. At most, there were no more than fifty. ¡°Damn it!¡± The grand general struck the table roughly, blood trickling from his lip. A sign of his effort to suppress his anger. ¡°General¡­¡± His subordinates looked at him with pity. To them, the grand general was a treasure of this country. The eldest son of a noble family, he left the family to his younger brother and joined the military to protect the country. He didn¡¯t discriminate between nobles andmoners and treated all his soldiers equally. Even the noble officers, who initially resisted, started following him due to his charisma. Even now, with the kingdom falling apart, the soldiers gathered because they believed in the grand general. But the general was also just a man. No matter how exceptional, he was alone. Hecked the strength to defeat the dark god¡¯s army. It was heartbreaking. It wasn¡¯t hopeless. In fact, they had a higher chance of defeating the dark god¡¯s army. If the royal court were to release even half of the knight orders protecting the royal castle, the grand general could defeat the dark god¡¯s army. But the royal court remains inert. The royalty and nobles do not want to face any danger themselves. They are using the popce as shields and making the grand general, who didn¡¯t follow their orders, the scapegoat. They don¡¯t realize that this will bring about the fall of the Fusedin Kingdom. ¡°Even now¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say such foolish things. There are still people left to protect.¡± The subordinate¡¯s suggestion to flee was silenced by the grand general¡¯s words. If the grand general and his loyal soldiers sought asylum, any neighboring kingdom would wee them with open arms. But the grand general¡¯s words shut the subordinate up. ¡°No matter how hopeless it seems, there are still things we must protect. That is the duty of a soldier.¡± ¡°General.¡± The subordinate bowed his head in shame. ¡°Sorry.¡± He felt embarrassed. His superior had not yet given up on the country, but he had already considered abandoning it. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I know you said it out of concern for me.¡± The grand general warmly embraced his bowed subordinate. ¡°Don¡¯t give up. We are still here. And the people who believe in us are still here.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± p, p, p! Someone began pping, watching the two of them. ¡°Who¡¯s there!¡± This was a private space with no one but the grand general and his subordinate. Suddenly, apuse in the grand general¡¯s room! The grand general and his subordinate quickly drew their swords and pointed them at the source of the sound. ¡°Oh¡­ To see a noble who loves his people so¡­ It¡¯s beautiful.¡± p, p, p! The man who had briefly wiped his eyes began pping again. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful. I thought this country was doomed! I thought it was already in ashes! But to see such a beautiful ember glowing in those ashes!¡± The man stretched out his arms in an exaggerated gesture, pointing at the grand general. ¡°Oh¡­ Thest spark of hope in this rotten Kingdom, do you want to save this country? Do you want to save this Kingdom?¡± ¡°You¡­ who are you?¡± He acted like a clown. His voice felt like listening to a demon, and his actions were repulsive just to watch. But the grand general and his subordinate couldn¡¯t move. They were paralyzed by fear. It wasn¡¯t because they were weak. The grand general was the only Swordmaster in this Kingdom, and his subordinate was his bodyguard. If you had to pick the strongest people in this Kingdom, the grand general would be first, and his subordinate would be third or fourth. The strongest in a Kingdom. Yet, the man before them exuded such a bizarre aura that they couldn¡¯t move. ¡°Who am I?¡± The man tilted his head at the grand general¡¯s question. ¡°Hmm¡­ How should I put it¡­? I am a low-ranking soldier in an unnamed organization acting as a scout?¡± That couldn¡¯t be. Such a person couldn¡¯t be a mere scout. The grand general, having made his judgment, bit his lip and red at the man. ¡°Such intense stares make me shy, you know?¡± ¡°Enough! Who are you? Speak clearly!¡± The man flinched at the grand general¡¯s loud voice. ¡°Oh, speaking so harshly is scary.¡± He shrugged his shoulders and avoided the grand general¡¯s gaze, as if genuinely frightened. But the grand general and his subordinate felt an even stronger pressure. ¡®This is¡­¡¯ He was not someone they could defeat alone. If they faced him together? One of them would likely not survive, and even if the other did, they wouldn¡¯t be whole. ¡°Hmm¡­ There¡¯s no need to be so scared. I really am just a low-ranking member. I was recently demoted for making a mistake. I used to be more like a mid-level boss.¡± ¡°Mid-level¡­?¡± The fact that such a monster imed to be mid-level implied there were several others like him. And there would be someone leading them. ¡®We can¡¯t win.¡¯ The grand general realized that if this was their fate, then the fate of Fusedin Kingdom was sealed. ¡°What¡¯s your objective? Is it this Kingdom?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± The grand general, speaking with conviction, didn¡¯t expect the man to answer so straightforwardly. ¡°Our boss is looking for someone, but found it limiting to operate only in the shadows. So, we thought we¡¯d take over a few Kingdoms during the chaos caused by the dark god¡¯s army¡­¡± The man looked at the grand general with a peculiar gaze. ¡°It would be a waste to take over a Kingdom with such a remarkable person in it.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Would you like to be King?¡± ¡°What?¡± The grand general was momentarily at a loss for words, not understanding what he had just heard. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Just as I said. We intended to secretly absorb the Kingdoms about to fall to the dark god¡¯s army, but we don¡¯t need honor or power. We just want to find someone more easily.¡± The grand general couldn¡¯tprehend it. Conquering Kingdoms wasn¡¯t child¡¯s y, and they talked about taking over several just to find someone! ¡°What are you¡­ no, who are you people?¡± ¡°Well¡­ um¡­¡± At the grand general¡¯s words, the man looked troubled. ¡°Well¡­¡± For a moment, it felt as if the mask had slipped off. Seeing the man genuinely troubled, the grand general and his subordinate felt an indescribable, eerie emotion. ¡®What is this?¡¯ ¡®Is this guy an idiot?¡¯ The man, seemingly oblivious to their scrutinizing gazes, finally spoke after much hesitation. ¡°We are a conglomerate of all evil organizations, forcibly united to find one person. We are the Alliance of Evil, Naruan.¡± ¡°The Alliance of Evil, Naruan?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. By the way, the person we¡¯re looking for is also named Naruan.¡± ¡°What in the world¡­¡± It sounded so ridiculous that it felt like a joke. But the next thing the man said left the grand general speechless. ¡°Oh, the royal court has fallen.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The Fusedin royal court was just blown up in a sudden explosion. It appears they were attacked by the dark god¡¯s army. Quite unfortunate.¡± ¡°What nonsense are you spouting!¡± A blue aura began to emanate from the grand general¡¯s sword. ¡°You scoundrel!¡± As the grand general prepared to unleash a powerful strike that could cleave the entire room, ¡°Oh, please don¡¯t be so angry.¡± The man drew his sword and blocked the grand general¡¯s attack. ¡°Ugh!¡± Not only was his attack blocked, but seeing the dozens of magic circles appearing around him made the grand general break out in a cold sweat. ¡°A Swordmaster and a magic swordsman¡­¡± Where had this monster suddenlye from? The grand general felt a crushing sense of despair. ¡°It¡¯s not like the royal court was any help anyway. Our boss is quite efficient, only targeting the royal court and the nobles hiding there. The capital is inplete chaos! If you, Grand General, lead your army to restore order and establish a new kingdom, it would be the perfect situation.¡± That was the voice of a devil. It was not worth listening to. But with the dark god¡¯s army invading, he had no choice but to consider it! ¡°Are you asking me to abandon my people?¡± If he withdrew his forces to return to the capital, Count Hursch¡¯s territory would fall to the dark god¡¯s army, and countless civilians would be ughtered. But if he didn¡¯t go to the capital, what horrors might these fiends unleash? Seeing the grand general¡¯s dilemma, the man tried to reassure him. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. The more people there are, the easier it is to find someone. If you help us, we¡¯ll cleanly eliminate the dark god¡¯s army.¡± It was an offer the grand general couldn¡¯t help but consider. He was currently unable to stop the dark god¡¯s army. But what if this was a trick? What if the royal court hadn¡¯t fallen? How would the royal court view him if he marched on the capital with his army? And what if they didn¡¯t help him? What would happen to Count Hursch¡¯s territory? ¡°Damn¡­¡± The grand general weighed countless thoughts, searching for the best path he could take. Finally, he made his decision. ¡°Alright¡­¡± He chose to trust the man before him. ¡°A wise choice.¡± The man smiled brightly and introduced himself. ¡°My name is Beral, Beral Lyke. I am a low-ranking member of the Alliance of Evil Naruan and the master of the evil organization Darkness. I swear in my name and my master¡¯s name, as long as you help us, we will be your allies.¡± And from that day on, all the dark god¡¯s army in the Fusedin Kingdom vanished, and a new kingdom was born.
Chapter 268 268 # 32. Stories of Others (3) #4 Their Situation: The Situation of Ria El Nermia ¡°Attack!¡± With mymand, thousands of spells rained down from the sky. No matter how resilient the evil god¡¯s army was, they couldn¡¯t withstand such a barrage of magic. ROOOAAAR! But of course, there were exceptions. Some beings were naturally resistant, like the descendants of ogres or dragons, with their tough scales. ¡°Burn, Surtr.¡± WOOOSH! The fire giant Surtr took on those tough enemies. ¡°Everyone, use fire magic!¡± ¡°Understood.¡± The sorcerers from the Magic Tower cast their spells. Surtr, a demon with a legend of burning a world, was unaffected by human fire. Only mes from a fire spirit king or a simr deity could harm Surtr. Still, he couldn¡¯t defeat even a simple stick. ¨C What about the master? ¨C True. A stick or metal rod that makes one¡¯s body tremble at the thought of facing it. I¡¯d rather fight the demon king than that. This battle against the evil god¡¯s army was no different. ¡°So, I must give my all.¡± I didn¡¯t need to use magic myself. Just increasing the mana supplied to Surtr was enough. The mes grew stronger, shifting from red to blue, then to white! The army of the evil god began to disappear as Surtr¡¯s white mes swept across them. ¡°Phew¡­¡± I drank a mana recovery potion as I felt my energy draining rapidly. Adjusting Surtr¡¯s mana flow was crucial. My grandfather, the head of the Magic Tower, often said that the difference between a high-level sorcerer and a grand sorcerer was the ability to manage mana distribution. Summoning was the same. No matter how powerful the summoned creature, if the mana supply was inadequate, it couldn¡¯t perform effectively. But using too much mana would lead to rapid unsummoning. ¡°Ah, Nerkia, the spirit legion.¡± He was famous for using all his spirits effectively. Unlike others who would only use high-level spirits once contracted, Nerkia used lower-level ones based on the situation. This earned him the nickname ¡®spirit legion.¡¯ ¡°Have I overdone it?¡± Thinking of my poor seniors, I might have used too much mana. But with most of the evil god¡¯s army defeated, it should be fine. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Feeling dizzy from using most of my mana, I held my forehead. I¡¯d done my part. Time to let others handle the rest. ¡°Clean up, please.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± A former mercenary king and hero, now my senior, led the charge. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Mounted on his horse, he drew his sword, followed by many mercenaries. Despite their numbers, only a few could use magic. As my professor once said, there¡¯s strength in numbers. No matter how strong, multiple hits will eventually hurt. ¡°Ah, where did that stinky mouthe from?¡± ROOOOAR! Even the evil ogres couldn¡¯t withstand continuous attacks from humans. In the end, many monsters fell, unable to tell if they died from the blows or blood loss. The battle ended in our victory. ¡°More casualties than expected.¡± It was inevitable. Fighting the relentless evil god¡¯s army, who didn¡¯t value their lives, meant many mercenaries also fell. Yet, mercenaries kept joining because of the huge bounty offered by Magic Origins. ¡°Please confirm and prepare the list. Magic Origins will handle the rewards.¡± Money was the driving force. As long as there was money, mercenaries would follow and replenish. My professor was right¡ªmoney was indeed the best motivator. ¡°Just do as usual?¡± I nodded at my senior¡¯s question. With Swyn¡¯s endorsement, Magic Origins had no choice but to pay. Swyn¡¯s reputation ensured it. ¡°Yes. And recruit more mercenaries.¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll handle it.¡± My senior left, handling everything smoothly, as expected from someone taught by our professor. ¡°Resting isn¡¯t an option with my grandfather around.¡± ¡°Grandfather¡­¡± ¡°No casualties among the sorcerers, but the mercenaries suffered.¡± ¡°Yes, unavoidable sacrifices.¡± Actually, these weren¡¯t unavoidable. With better strategy, many could have survived, but it would dy our mission. We wanted to end this war quickly. ¡°So, I must bear their sacrifices to save more people.¡± ¡°Ria¡­¡± His eyes filled with mixed emotions, my heart ached slightly. ¨C A small remnant of your conscience, cherish it. ¨C Quiet. My words held no falsehood. Ending the evil god¡¯s army quickly would save countless lives. ¨C But the goal is different. ¨C Quiet, I said. Surtr, once only a decoy, now became a figure of fear and respect. Recently, he began nagging me more. ¡°I wish I could exin our contract to you¡­¡± ¡°Can¡¯t believe my granddaughter has grown so much¡­¡± My grandfather¡¯s wet eyes and gentle hold on my hand made me endure. ¡°I¡¯m not a child anymore.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re all grown. Your sister married years ago.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± My sister, who left the family through an arranged marriage, now had arge family. She was a talented sorcerer, yet chose love and family. ¡°Ria, after this war¡­¡± ¡°Grandfather, let¡¯s talk about itter.¡± His words hinted at a future, post-war. Professor once warned us about making such ns during missions. They often led to unnecessary risks and deaths. ¡°No, grandfather. I¡¯m fine.¡± After a long talk, I finally managed to send my grandfather away, exhaling a small sigh. ¡°Tiring¡­¡± Every day, battling the evil god¡¯s army, moving from ce to ce. It was exhausting but necessary. ¡°Once I defeat the demon king¡­¡± I¡¯ll take a year off, away from people. ¨C And that was your unachievable dream. ¡°It is achievable.¡± It is, really¡­ maybe. Chapter 269 269 ## 32. Stories of Others (4) #5 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Hero (Aspirant) It all started back then. ¨C I am the goddess of love and devotion. Can you help me save the world? ¡°This is ridiculous!¡± It was truly absurd. And the source of this absurdity was my weapon, Bat, which I had been using for ten years since receiving it from my Professor. Bat spoke again. ¨C Please save the world. ¡°Huh?¡± No matter how many times I heard it, it was nonsense. If Bat could talk, it would likely say something like, ¡°Destroy the world¡± or ¡°Spread fear.¡± ¨C Please, save the world. There was no way it would plead so desperately to save the world. ¡°Ha¡­ so that¡¯s it.¡± As the voice continued, I thought this must be a trap set by my Professor. I couldn¡¯t fall for it! No wonder my Professor gave me Bat. He must have known this would happen. ¡°Of course, my Professor wouldn¡¯t just give me something like Bat.¡± My Professor wasn¡¯t the type to give away anything, especially something as powerful as Bat. That¡¯s right. This was a trap my Professor had prepared for over ten years. ¨C No, it¡¯s not. ¡°There¡¯s no way!¡± ¨C Really, I am a goddess¡­ ¡°Of course, I was right!¡± Iron Bat also referred to itself as a goddess. Calling itself a goddess just like Iron Bat was definitely my Professor¡¯s trap. ¨C What kind of person is your instructor to make you think that? ¡°My Professor is the kind of person who would prepare a trap for ten, no, even a hundred years just to cause trouble for someone.¡± Indeed, my Professor would n a hundred-year scheme. So, a trap set ten years ago activating now was not surprising. It was inevitable! ¨C No, really¡­ After that, the goddess tried very hard to persuade me. It took her three days of effort, and if I were to write it down, it would fill five novels. Even now, I wasn¡¯tpletely convinced. ¨C Even now? Ignoring the flustered goddess, I looked down from the fortress wall. ¡°Why am I here again?¡± ¡°It¡¯s by the prince¡¯s order.¡± ¡°Right.¡± The ruins of the Rube city alliance were rapidly being rebuilt with the empire¡¯s support. Resources yed a part, but the real reason was, ¡°Hey, that wall¡¯s a bit low over there.¡± ¡°Bring some more stones!¡± ¡°No time to waste.¡± Swoosh- As soldiers carried stones, a man approached and extended his hand. Stones rose from the ground like magic. ¡°Lift it.¡± Roar! A spirit of the earth appeared, lifting the massive stone onto the wall. ¡°This is insane.¡± What would take regr soldiers half a day waspleted in less than ten seconds. Not only did they ce the stones, but they seamlessly integrated them with the existing wall using earth spirits. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m just doing my job.¡± The soldiers bowed, and the man waved them off, moving to another area. ¡°I thought dwarves were the best at construction, but summoners are even better.¡± ¡°No argument here.¡± Seeing walls spring up overnight was truly magical. And these weren¡¯t shoddy constructions. Made with the help of spirits, they were stronger than any human-made walls. ¡°Finished here?¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s start the next task.¡± Riding their summoned creatures, they even inscribed magic onto the walls. These were true master craftsmen of fortifications. ¡°At this rate, we might finish in a week.¡± ¡°Unless the prince gives new orders.¡± We weremanded to rebuild the walls of the Rube city alliance, destroyed by the evil god¡¯s army, and protect thend. The stated reason was to prevent further demon invasions by rebuilding the city alliance. But in reality, it was to stop my Professor from crossing into the demon continent. And then, there was another matter¡­ ¡°Rain, are you here?¡± ¡°Oh, Yer.¡± A smile spread across my face as a demon approached. ¡°Rain¡­¡± Despite the sharp res I felt from behind, there was nothing I could do. ¨C You¡¯re truly loved, Rain. That alone shows you¡¯re fit to be the apostle of a goddess of love and devotion¡­ ¨C It¡¯s just my face. And I¡¯ve told you, I¡¯m not interested. ¨C Why don¡¯t you want to be my apostle? The goddess¡¯s sad voice didn¡¯t move me. After all, she was Bat, a weapon scarier than the demons my Professor created. ¨C You promised to believe me! ¨C Back then. Every time she asked me to be her apostle, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this was another trap by my Professor. ¨C I¡¯m truly a goddess! Sigh¡­ Please find someone else, goddess. I¡¯m already too far gone, tainted by Bat and Iron Bat. ¡°Wait, is that true?¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± I muttered to myself, trying to distract the demon Yer in front of me with a big smile. Which made the noblewoman behind me re even harder, but that was probably just my imagination. ¨C It¡¯s not your imagination. She¡¯s really ring at you with intense hatred. ¨C No need to point it out! ¡°Have we received any contact from the demon continent?¡± ¡°Ah, well¡­¡± Blushing, she pulled a small envelope from her pocket. ¡°Here it is.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Avoiding my gaze, she handed me the envelope, looking very cute. ¡°Rain, focus on the task.¡± As I stared at her, the noblewoman¡¯s voice reminded me of my duty. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± Right. This was work. A task given by the princess. I opened the envelope to check on the progress. The letter was quite long, but, ¡°In summary, they understand our position. It seems we won¡¯t have to fight the demons.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± The noblewoman sighed in relief. The biggest threat, the demons, were no longer a problem. Thanks to Yer, a distant rtive of the demon king, we managed to establishmunication and avoid conflict. ¡°Thank you, Yer.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s thanks to you, Rain, for saving many demons.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Honestly, I hadn¡¯t intended to save any demons. The evil god¡¯s army had wrecked everything, and in the chaos, I ended up beyond the Rube city alliance, where I found demons being attacked by the army. They looked human from a distance, so I helped them, and the princess ordered me to save them. My Professor had apparently ruled the demon continent as the demon king. It sounded impossible, but knowing my Professor, it made sense. The princess said my Professor would flee to the demon continent if he had no other escape routes, so we had to ally with the demons and block that path. That¡¯s why the princess chose the noblewoman and me for this mission. She also mentioned setting up a honeymoon house and that more people would join uster¡ªthings that sounded ominous but were probably just my imagination. ¨C I heard it too. ¨C ¡­ ¨C I will never be your apostle or hero! ¨C Why? This clueless goddess¡­ If I became her hero, my future would be dark and uncertain. Professor always said that being a hero was the most foolish job in the world. Had he ever been wrong? No. So, following his advice could only be beneficial. ¨C What kind of person is this Professor? Or are they even a person? ¨C Of course, they are. I think. ¨C ¡®Of course¡¯ and ¡®I think¡¯ don¡¯t go together! Such a strict goddess. We definitely don¡¯t match. ¨C I agree! So, pass your body to someone more suited to be a hero! Then I¡¯ll give up on you! ¨C That¡¯s not possible. ¨C Why? Handing over Bat to save the world was out of the question. ¨C It¡¯s not nonsense! It¡¯s about saving the world from evil! The most important task! This goddess had no idea that the most important thing in the world was not angering or getting noticed by my Professor. ¨C Is this Professor your sibling? Or an evil god? ¨C Well¡­ something simr. ¨C What? I didn¡¯t know then that my Professor really was something akin to an evil god. I believed it possible, but not that it was so true. At that time, all I could think about was where and what my Professor might be doing! ## #6 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Researcher In a dark room. A man watched as something unfolded in the flickering light of a small hearth. Crackle, crackle. He swallowed nervously, watching the transformation before him. ¡°Please¡­ it¡¯s time. Just work!¡± As if responding to his plea, Crackle, crackle! The object in front of him began to shake more violently. ¡°Move. Show yourself to the world!¡± It was like a dark sorcerer summoning a demon from hell. The man desperately wanted the object to change, and it began to break free of its shell, emerging into the world. Crack¡­ crackle! ¡°Ooh!¡± The object jumped, as if alive. ¡°Finally¡­ it¡¯s finallyplete!¡± Tears of joy filled the man¡¯s eyes. ¡°I finally made popcorn!¡± This man, the most sought-after person in the world by the imperial princess, the ruler of darkness, high elves, the demon king, demons, and many others, known as Nararn, was moved to tears by the sight of popcorn popping in his pot. ¡°This kingdom¡¯s corn was perfect for popcorn!¡± Nearby, a small girl tilted her head, confused. ¡°Master, have you lost it?¡± ¡°Lost it? Do you realize how big this discovery is? Do you know how many dried corn kernels I bought to make this?¡± ¡°A lot. We ate only corn for quite a while.¡± The girl looked at the man with disdain. Her cold, icy stare didn¡¯t bother him. ¡°Popcorn is essential for the final battle between the heroes and the demon king!¡± ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be the main character of that story. Can you just watch?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± He handed her the world¡¯s first popcorn. ¡°Here, taste the real deal!¡± The girl sighed, took a piece, and put it in her mouth. And the first popcorn ever¡­ ¡°Tastes awful¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Too nd¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Without salt, it was indeed quite tasteless. Chapter 270 Evade The Hero 270 Side Story ¨C Memories of a Princess (43) #57 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Soldier Bombardments raining down. It had be a daily routine. Magic, once rarely seen, was now amon urrence here. Magic didn¡¯t cost money. War usually required vast amounts of money, especially for things like arrows. Arrows were costly because once shot, they couldn¡¯t be retrieved. While a single arrow¡¯s cost might not seem like much, it added up when used by hundreds or thousands. With each volley, you were spending gold. In contrast, spells cast by sorcerers or mages didn¡¯t cost money. As long as they were paid their wages, they could keep using magic as soon as their mana recovered. Normally, high-cost sorcerers wouldn¡¯t be overworked, but in wartime, a lucky strike could cause mass casualties, so bombardments were daily. ¡°Damn! Another bombardment?¡± ¡°It¡¯s so noisy during mealtime¡­¡± Even soldiers who once feared magic were now used to it. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one wetting your pants at first?¡± ¡°You¡¯re acting like you didn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Since the sorcerers block everything, there¡¯s no point in worrying.¡± At first, when bombardments began, soldiers were terrified and couldn¡¯t do anything. Some even tried to flee and were executed on the spot. But that was all in the past. While it was terrifying that the enemy had powerful sorcerers, we also had sorcerers on our side to protect us. The enemy¡¯s magic was scary, but our magic shielded us. Once you got used to that, magic wasn¡¯t so fearsome anymore. ¡°Hey, did you hear?¡± One of myrades, frowning, tried to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Hear what?¡± ¡°The Empire has developed a secret magic that can¡¯t be blocked by magical barriers.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no such thing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± It sounded like nonsense. Magic that couldn¡¯t be blocked by other magic? ¡°If it existed, they¡¯d be using it, wouldn¡¯t they?¡± In war, anything that could kill the enemy was used. Winners took everything. Ethics and legality didn¡¯t matter to losers; they had to ept whatever terms the winners imposed. Even amon soldier like me knew this, so nobles, educated from a young age, surely knew too. Magic that couldn¡¯t be blocked? If such a thing existed, those seeking victory would definitely use it. ¡°Maybe the Empire is hiding it?¡± ¡°Why hide something so good?¡± ¡°Maybe they can¡¯t use it yet¡­¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s useless. Anyone can talk big.¡± My serious-lookingrade finally rxed. ¡°Right?¡± ¡°Yeah. No matter how strong the Karan Empire is, they can¡¯t create such ridiculous magic.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Right. If they had it, our kingdom wouldn¡¯t side with the Pernes Empire despite our bad rtions with Karan.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Seeing myrades reassured, I pulled out a small pendant from my pocket. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Our kingdom¡¯s military is strong enough to match the Empire¡¯s. Just focus on surviving. If we win this war, we¡¯ll make a lot of money.¡± ck! I opened the pendant and looked at the portrait of my beloved inside. ¡°Wow¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s pretty, despite your looks.¡± ¡°Of course, Belli is the most beautiful girl in our vige!¡± Even more beautiful than this portrait. The vige artist couldn¡¯t capture all her beauty. ¡°If only I could show her real beauty with a magic tool¡­¡± ¡°Boo-hoo!¡± ¡°Bragging about your girlfriend in the army!¡± ¡°Some of us don¡¯t even have a sweetheart!¡± Myrades red at me with jealousy and envy. ¡°Have you heard?¡± ¡°What now?¡± ¡°Birds of a feather flock together.¡± ¡°Huh? Why?¡± ¡°Belli¡¯s friends are just as beautiful.¡± ¡°Brother, I¡¯ve always admired you.¡± ¡°Oh, why so respectful all of a sudden? I saw greatness in you from the first moment!¡± ¡°Today, you shine more than ever, brother.¡± Laughing heartily, I let them massage my shoulders and limbs. ¡°Hahaha! Yes, think that way. When this war ends,e to my vige! I¡¯ll set you up!¡± ¡°Woohoo!¡± Hearing their cheers, I tightly held the pendant. ¡°When this war ends¡­ I¡¯ll use my war earnings to marry her.¡± As I dered this with a serious face and voice, Crash! ¡°What?¡± I heard something shatter. Then I saw a blue, silver object. ¡°What is that¡­?¡± Crack! ¡ª #58 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Viin ¡°You want to know why we don¡¯t use magical bombardment?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I sighed at Sir Lea¡¯s question. ¡°Don¡¯t you know?¡± ¡°I could not know!¡± Her boldness left me momentarily speechless. ¡°You¡¯ve grown.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better to admit ignorance than to pretend and get mocked.¡± Such shameless confidence. It was so bold that I wondered if I was in the wrong. Compared to the past, she had indeed grown. ¡°Then I shall exin.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± Teasing someone with no shame was pointless. ¡°We don¡¯t use magical bombardment to increase its efficiency.¡± ¡°Increase efficiency?¡± ¡°Yes. They don¡¯t know about our magical bombardment.¡± Sir Lea frowned and pursed her lips, deep in thought. Unbelievable. Sir Lea was thinking! Even fools could be cured with time! ¡°Something unpleasant just passed by, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your imagination.¡± She was perceptive, as expected of a knight. ¡°I¡¯ll let it go since this is more important, Sir Ast.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Lea.¡± ¡°You said the enemy doesn¡¯t know about our magical bombardment, but how is that possible?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Their vanguard was wiped out by the mages you sent, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And they used magical bombardment then.¡± ¡°They did.¡± ¡°Then how can they not know?¡± Typical of Sir Lea¡¯s innocence. ¡°Sir Lea, let¡¯s say one of your units was wiped out.¡± ¡°Why suddenly¡­¡± ¡°Just an example. Don¡¯t think too hard.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± She nodded, and I continued. ¡°Your unit was ambushed and defeated. The survivingmander tells you, ¡®Sir Lea! The enemy is using dragons! We tried everything, but one dragon breath wiped us out!¡¯¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°If your subordinate said that, would you believe it, or think they were lying to cover their failure?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°Most would think it a lie to avoid punishment. Others might think it¡¯s just the enemy making excuses.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s simr. We know the truth, but to others, it sounds unbelievable. If your defeated soldiers said, ¡®The enemy uses magic that can¡¯t be blocked!¡¯ would you believe them?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be cautious, but without proof, you¡¯d dismiss it. That¡¯s our goal. Use magical bombardment only when necessary. Now, we create a false sense of security.¡± ¡°False sense of security?¡± ¡°Yes. Imagine an old cart, used for over ten years. It creaks but hasn¡¯t broken down. Would you use it?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯d buy a new one.¡± ¡°Right. But a poor farmer might not. To them, it¡¯s reliable because it¡¯ssted ten years without issue.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°Just as they believe the old cart will work another day, the enemy will believe our usual attacks are all we have. When they least expect it, we¡¯ll strike with magical bombardment.¡± ¡°That¡¯s clever.¡± Sir Lea looked at me with admiration. Admiring my perfect strategy? I hoped she didn¡¯t see me as too amazing. She wasn¡¯t my type, and her family would make thingsplicated. Last time, a simr situation caused much trouble! My ideal woman was simple, lived in a quiet vige, with no hidden past or secrets, and wouldn¡¯t give birth to heroes or demon kings! But all this was just, ¡°Diabolical.¡± Wishful thinking. ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°I never thought of that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s unfair to call me diabolical just because you didn¡¯t think of it.¡± ¡°¡­Your words seem ten times harsher.¡± ¡°A person striving for victory deserves praise.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you treating me simrly before?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± She was right. I hadn¡¯t expected such sharp retaliation from Sir Lea. ¡°Too much growth¡­¡± ¡°If someone heard, they¡¯d think you raised me.¡± ¡°Personality-wise, you were shaped by Ast.¡± The princess appeared, speaking to Sir Lea. ¡°Your Highness, what do you mean?¡± ¡°Exactly as it sounds.¡± Ignoring Sir Lea, the princess handed me a folded paper. ¡°An approval for the strategy. Check it.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ Crazy?¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± Unfolding the paper, a curse slipped out. The princess watched, amused. ¡°Is it okay to fold a royal decree?¡± I thought it was just a military document, but it bore the emperor¡¯s seal, meaning it conveyed his words! A mismanaged royal decree could mean treason. ¡°I can.¡± ¡°What if I did?¡± ¡°This.¡± She mimicked shing her throat, implying my execution. How kind of her. Kind enough to make me want to hit her just once! ¡°Understood.¡± But hitting her would mean death. Recognizing this, I restrained myself with deep patience. The paper was dangerous, but its content pleased me. ¡°Perfect.¡± A typical king wouldn¡¯t approve this strategy, but the emperor, like his daughter, was a bit mad. ¡°The emperor was curious too, so do your best.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± With the emperor¡¯s approval, it was time to start. ¡°I¡¯ll make our army a symbol of fear.¡± Thus, to create the great general Religius Lu Laisha, the imperial army began working diligently. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!