Retired Hero Wants To Sleep

Mission No.1 Return of Magic Swordsman (18)

“Master, Master, are you really okay?”

“… It would be better if I spit on it.”

Usbel, who was sitting on Elif’s back, closed her eyes again, leaving behind a laugh of “Heh heh.”

Elif’s first-aid kit was roughly wrapped in bandages, and Ebalt groaned, but determined that he was not dead, he hurried his steps toward the ground.

“I never imagined that I would really catch Cerberus.”

“You got half of it.”

Turning her gaze to her Adele, Ewald threw her a small but refreshing smile at her.

“It’s not a bard, but you did it right, right?”

Adele, her face flushed, bowed her head at once. But Ewald patted her on the back and smirked.

“Good job.”

But Adele had to keep her head down even more. She felt the heat, and she didn’t want to see her blushing face.

“Karossa!”

The first thing she heard the moment she set foot on her ground was a tremendous shout. Elif shrugged her shoulders when he heard the voice calling him, then frowned at the sun stinging her eyes.

Usbel, who fell asleep on Elif’s back for a while, got off her back without realizing it and often walked beside Ewald.

“You! Hey, you crazy b*tch! What were you doing down there! Are you crazy?”

… Why do you say nasty things as soon as you see them? As Ewald followed Elif out of the monastery, he severely twisted his brows at the swearing that hit his ear.

Elif began to tremble weakly at the swear words. It’s not that she’s intimidated. A senior soldier who spat out harsh words and had a bad temper at first sight, couldn’t control his blood and was walking towards Elif.

“Are you not answering? You asked me where did you go! Can’t you hear this crazy b*tch ask where she’s been doing? Are you crazy?”

Even Usbel, who had escaped from the monastery following Ewald, frowned slightly.

“Master, Master, why did he put a rag in his mouth?”

“Originally people curse when they have nothing to say.”

“And the master? Master too?”

“I’m cursing because I can’t hit you.”

“Ah, the master is really wise.”

“… Let’s stop.”

However, the veteran soldier did not know how to spit a door rag into his mouth.

“Has this year passed? Is your face rotting? Has the b*tch, who hasn’t been in touch for over ten hours, now frowned and fell asleep? Don’t you answer? Who did you disappear to eat with at the monastery?”

Elif’s face began to shrink severely. It was such a humiliating insult that no one could say anything even if he got angry right away, but Elif was just trembling.

This is not it. Ewald glared at the veteran soldier with terrifying eyes.

“Answer me, sir!”

The veteran soldier, who had come in front of Elif, pulled his feet up to his waist. It’s about to kick Elif in the stomach right away.

Seeing that, Ewald’s nerve cords were severed.

“This sh*t year!”

The veteran soldier’s boots were thrust into Elif’s belly.

Quack!

“Master!”

Ewald dug between the two. The soldier, who was about to kick Elif with his feet, let out a thumping sound as he was caught by the collar in Ewald’s ignorant grip.

Ebalt, who was almost 190 cm tall, slowly raised the soldier’s collar and grabbed his empty right hand with a crunch.

Usbel often approached Ewald in a hurry. Due to his dirty Ewald personality, that soldier would die if he had to.

“Master, Master, out of your mind…”

But Usbel had to stop him.

It was because Ewald’s eyes, which had turned bright red, returned to him.

Goosebumps all over Demon King Usbel’s body.

After stopping Usbel with just his eyes, Balt shot his eyes at the soldier.

“What did you just say?”

A voice so terrifying that chills run through the body, yet soft. However, the soldier could not answer Ewald’s question, only spitting out a gurgling sound.

“You ask.”

I was in no position to answer. The soldier who approached with great force was dangling in the air like a doll, and his entire face was dyed red.

“Aren’t you going to answer me?”

However, an extremely evil expression appeared on Ewald’s face. At the same time, Ebalt stretched out his left hand and faced the floor.

“Máttur orð dauða.”

Black mana wriggled out from Ewald. It was the magic he used right before he pulled Usbel out of the dungeon. Usbel involuntarily shrank his body.

However, the momentum was completely different from the one used in front of Usbel. Mana snakes almost as thick as a human torso wriggled around the soldier’s body as if they came from hell. It has the momentum to tear it down and kill it right away.

“Answer me.”

Because I’m not in a position to answer. The soldier’s face looked at Ewald with a fearful expression on his face, but Ewald had nothing to do with that.

The soldier, who had been gurgling something, slowly began to roll his eyes. However, Ebalt gave more strength to the hand that gripped the soldier’s neck.

Die. Die there

“Please stop it!”

It’s elf

Elif came to Ewald’s side.

Ebalt’s eyes, which turned bright red, turned to Elif. The moment the eyes met, Elif’s body stiffened.

As if telling him to shut up, Ewald’s eyes were looking straight at Elif.

But Elif shouted.

“Stop it! Then die!”

An ice-like chill welled up along her spine, but Elif screamed as she closed her eyes tightly.

“There’s nothing to kill for swearing! So, if I was going to kill you, I would have already killed you a thousand times more! You can’t kill people with something like that!”

Usbel’s mouth fell open. A girl who shouts this and that in front of Ewald, who is possessed by the same madness as the madness that shredded Cerberus in the monastery. Usbel, sincerely admiring it, stepped back to see if the sparks would fly.

It wasn’t normal. His eyes were full of tears and he had a frightened face as if he would faint at any moment, but Elif bit his lips tightly and looked into Ebalt’s eyes.

“Stop?”

“… Yes.”

Her whole body trembled. Sweat dripped down the palms of his tightly clenched hands. However, Elif didn’t step back and met Ebalt’s gaze.

Elif’s body trembled more and more as he stared at those red eyes that did not appear to be human, but he never backed down.

And at that moment, Ewald’s bright red eyes returned to their original green color.

“… Elif.”

“I am listening! Please speak!”

It looked almost like crying, but Elif confidently faced Ewald.

To Elif, Ebalt opened his mouth in a low voice.

“If someone hates you for no reason, give them at least one reason, like X.”

And Ewald lightly tossed the soldier away.

The wriggling snakes of mana melted. All threats disappeared in an instant, as if there was nothing there originally.

As soon as the soldier who had been grabbed by Ebalt fell to the floor, he started twisting his body with crab foam in his mouth, and the soldiers who were watching the situation completely overwhelmed rushed to the fallen soldier.

“What are you doing! Sort!”

“… It comes soon.”

From the other side, a man in fancy clothes strode forward. Judging by his appearance, he is about the size of a centurion. Ewald stared at the man approaching him with cold eyes.

“What are you?”

“I’m a human named Ewald Kitsuka who is in charge of the Continental Sphere’s bodyguard unit under the direct control of the El Genor Empire and Casper’s Dog SeaX Cub.”

How many times do you take it out today? Ewald pulled out his officer’s badge and held it out to the centurion or something that approached him. The centurion, who confirmed the badge surrounded by a golden seal, stiffened on the spot and saluted with an angular pose.

That’s a badge given to squadron commanders of the rank of Knight Commander or higher. It is a class that cannot be broken even if ten thousand centurions like him are gathered.

“Ji-gun! The 7th Knights, the 62nd, 300th Centurion Janel Kraweg…”

“Noisy.”

“All right!”

The centurion, unable to pronounce his name properly, froze in his immobility.

“I heard you were assigned to subdue the demon lord?”

“That’s right, Captain Kitsuka!”

“The case is over. There is no devil under the monastery. Seal the monastery and return to the main unit.”

“Ha, but it’s an order from His Majesty the Emperor…”

“I’m going to boil Casper, so will you shut up?”

“Ah, I see!”

Ewald glanced at the soldier walking between this world and the underworld with foam at his mouth, then turned back.

Elif, who was shedding chicken sh*t-like tears with his head down, Usbel, who was looking at him with a faint smile somewhere, and Adele, who still looked dazed, came into Ebalt’s eyes.

Ewald quickly opened his mouth.

“Oh, and I’m taking this girl.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Elf Karossa. I’m taking you.”

Ewald threw a cold smile at the centurion with a dumbfounded expression.

“You guys have neither the ability nor the qualifications to have this guy.”

* * *

On the same evening that Ewald arrived at the imperial palace, Marcus held the bundle of papers Ewald had handed him in his hand and quietly opened his mouth.

“… So, there was no Demon King?”

“There was a bard instead of the demon king.”

After briefly explaining, Balt nodded his head with his arms crossed.

“A bard?”

Marcus’ brow furrowed.

“Isn’t it wrong? There’s no way a bard could be in a place like that.”

“That’s right Bard. Anyone can see that he was a bard.”

He spoke so emphatically that Marcus was embarrassed to even ask. Ewald doesn’t joke even if his mouth is dirty. But if Balt says the bard is hit twice, he’s right.

Marcus shook his head lightly, tapped his desk and opened his mouth.

“Okay, aside from that, what the hell happened at the monastery?”

“There was a misunderstanding. The bard lady was training, but the adventurers were twisted. Details are in the report.”

“… Was it a case simple enough to be explained so simply?”

“Any big event can be summarized in one line.”

Marcus looked over the report Ewald had handed over – actually written down in detail by Usbel – and smiled bitterly.

“A bard of the Mandragora class?”

“In terms of destructive power.”

Marcus smiled momentarily, then shook his head and opened his mouth.

“Hey, do you know what a bard is like?”

Ewald nodded his head as if it were natural.

“He’s from the Meles family.”

A frown passed over Marcus’ face.

“Meles?”

“Yes, Meles.”

“For a moment. The Meles family?”

“Stop asking. It’s because of the Meles family lineage. Founding contributor Finne Meles. That Bard Halma is a distant descendant.”

“… Was it true that bards are passed down through blood?”

“I don’t know about that.”

Marcus couldn’t even argue anymore.

“But it is real.”

Of course, he was a one-tenth bard who was terribly tone-deaf and couldn’t sing in front of people.

“Are you really a bard?”

“That’s for sure.”

Ewald paused for a moment, then spat out a word.

“He was a formidable bard who perfectly sang the Ode to Curse.”

“Ode to Curses?”

“That ode from the Karus myth. That part was truly a perfect bard.”

Marcus shook his head with a look of dizziness.

“… I really don’t know. To think that the one in the monastery was a bard, not a demon king.”

Of course, detailed explanations were excluded. Because there was no explanation in favor of Adele. Ewald did not have the hobby of revealing the weaknesses of others.

Instead, Balt opened his mouth in a calm voice.

“It burned properly. Thanks to that lady.”

“… Okay?”

Marcus smiled with an incomprehensible expression.

“Isn’t it great for you to say that?”

Ewald nodded his head.

“Then.”

“To the extent that you want to go on an adventure together?”

After a very short gap, Ewald smiled evilly.

“That’s right.”

It was then.

Tak tok tok tok!

Ewald and Marcus turned their heads at the sudden sound. The sound from the door quickly faded away. Ewald looked in the direction of the sound for a moment, then looked away.

“And do what I asked for.”

“Oh, I have something to say about that.”

With that, Marcus took out a roll of parchment. At the bottom of the document, which had the title Record of Medical Records written on the front page, the name ‘Eleph Karossa’ was written.

“As much as possible, I don’t say things like that.”

“Don’t be shy and talk.”

Marcus had a very serious expression.

“First of all, the transfer is pending.”

“… What are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you say you would transfer this lady to your unit?”

Ewald nodded his head as if it were natural.

“His Majesty seems to have finished his own review, but he told me to hand it over after receiving your final approval. It’s not transfer status by then, he said three times.”

“What? Why? What are you anxious about?”

“I don’t know either. So anxious His Majesty sealed it with the Seal of the Seal.”

“… Did the emperor seal the general soldier’s morbid records?”

Marcus nodded slowly and opened his mouth.

“That’s also the seal.”

Ewald frowned in front of the record book, where something uneasy was creeping up.

“They told me to open it when you decided to transfer to the unit. And when you make a decision…”

“What if?”

“… It’s called a dropout payment.”

“What bullsh*t? Is it a gambling board? Failed payment?”

However, Ewald, not feeling the need to think for a long time, nodded happily.

“That lady’s swordsmanship is enough. Imperial First Sword. If you do well, you can raise it to the continent’s number one sword. That’s huge.”

“Are you saying that you are such an outstanding young lady?”

Marcus nodded at Ewald’s boast. In fact, Marcus has no idea what is written on this medical record.

“Then let’s see.”