Episode 23. Return (1)
“found! “This way!”
It’s a dark time when dawn comes.
Everyone who heard the sound gathered in one place, and each of them could not close their mouths in shock.
There were wet bushes and knights surrounding them, and in the center of it all, there was an unfamiliar being whose body was limp, as if he had fainted.
Exactly 24 hours after falling into the Blood River and disappearing,
Sian Berthe, Duke of Berthe’s descendant, was discovered.
Considering that his body was soaked from head to toe and that the place where he was found was close to the Blood River, it was presumed that he had passed out from exhaustion while trying to drag his body after escaping from the river.
Now all that was left was to confirm whether he was alive or dead.
-Sigh
A senior knight personally held his body and listened to his heart.
The surroundings are filled with silence.
The knight focused all his senses on hearing and checked for any remaining breath of life.
– Excited.
“… … !”
A heartbeat that can be clearly felt.
A faint but clear breathing effect was taking place in the nose.
“I’m alive!”
Everyone around could only think it was a miracle.
“From now on, we will take Master Xian to the rear. “Be prepared for possible attacks from demonic beasts!”
Now that the search was complete, the next step was safe transport.
There were no demonic beasts encountered during transport, and as a result, Xian’s body was safely returned to the rear without any problems.
* * *
-plodding along
Duke Berthe’s urgent footsteps crossing the hallway.
Everyone he met bowed to him, but the duke had no time to worry about such things right now.
The place where our steps stopped was in front of a certain door.
Ignoring the guardian knights’ salute, the Duke opened the door and hurried inside.
“Xian, the youngest child of the Bert family, meets your father… … .”
A man who calmly said hello as if he knew he would come.
It was Xian, the duke’s son.
Although it was done indirectly while sitting on the bed, the duke’s face when he saw it was truly a mixture of emotions.
He soon calmed down his excitement and approached Sian with calm steps.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“I am trying to recover quickly. “You must be very busy with frontline work, and I apologize for causing you such great concern.”
The place where Xian was recuperating was a monastery located in Belias, outside the border gate.
It is also used as a military hospital for knights injured on the front lines, and the duke had already received a message that there was no problem with Xian’s body.
“… … .”
There were many things I wanted to ask, but nothing in particular came out.
For a child who has passed through life and death, he looks so calm.
It felt like I was dealing with a veteran who had experienced all the hardships of life, rather than a ten-year-old child.
“Do you remember anything about that day?”
“device. They succeeded in evacuating the princess and eluding the pursuing trolls, but unfortunately, they encountered a large demonic beast, the Devil Dragon, near the Blood River. “The dragon seemed to recognize me as prey and snatched me up at once, and I had no choice but to be dragged along helplessly.”
The answer continues as if it were prepared.
The duke continued to ask questions.
“Weren’t you scared?”
“It is said that even if you are captured by a dragon, you will survive as long as you keep your wits about you. “I had a persistent desire to live, and I continued to stab the dragon’s feet in the hope of causing at least a small amount of damage.”
Now I know why the dragon kept circling around him.
Not only did he save the princess, but he also showed that he would not give in to a devil dragon.
Although it was certainly a praiseworthy situation, the duke was hardly happy.
“Now that it’s like this, I won’t make any excuses either. As you can see, the thought of slaying that devil dragon took precedence over my desire to save you. In the end, the devil dragon escaped, and you fell into the river and came to the point of knocking on the door of the underworld, but I never regret what I did. “I hope you understand on that point.”
“I think it’s rather natural. The top goal here is to subdue the demonic beasts. “Shouldn’t you take care of your own life on the front line in the first place?”
Sian remained resolute until the end.
Is this really the mindset of a ten-year-old child?
Even though he was a child created from his own seed, he felt an inexplicable sense of distance.
‘I wish I could show a little bit of a childlike side… … .’
It felt like all of this was caused by me.
As they shouldered the great responsibility of the family ideology, the burden was passed on to their children.
In the end, isn’t it the father’s lack of care that created such an adult child?
The duke was truly distraught.
“Anyway, your merit for safely protecting the princess must be acknowledged. “She wants to pay her respects to him.”
“You mean veterans?”
“okay. “If there’s anything you want, just tell me.”
When told that he would be giving out an award, Xian appeared to be thinking deeply.
Even as a duke, I can’t help but wonder what he, who has crossed the line between life and death, will ask for in the current situation.
“By the way, I have one favor to ask of you.”
“What is it? “Tell me.”
“I hope you don’t kick me out of the front line because of this.”
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There was silence in the room for about 10 seconds.
A thousand thoughts passed through the duke’s mind as he looked down at the draft in silence.
And then I felt it.
Regardless of age, this child is already perfectly prepared to maintain the family… … .
The image of a young child that was briefly visible during sword fighting was now completely erased.
Now all that was left was to quietly watch how much he would grow.
The duke spoke in a resolute tone.
“I will grant your request. That doesn’t change anything. As before, your body will be yours to guard until the end.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
After finishing his business, the duke immediately turned around, walked a few steps, and then turned his head again to look at Xian.
There was a faint smile on his face.
“I look forward to your endless growth.”
With those words, the duke left the room.
* * *
[You still haven’t come to your senses?]
“Why again?”
[Are you going to go back there after that mess?]
“Is there anything to call an uproar? “At least I was swept away by a river and went to the demon world once?”
[How about it? Where was the person who was so confident that it would be fun if the devil showed up, but whose hands and feet were shaking as soon as they encountered him? Was he so shocked that he lost his memory?]
“Is that so? “I guess I felt joy without even realizing it.”
[That’s it! It’s brave that the little boy came back alive.]
As she naturally brushed off Kayram’s mockery, she shook her head as if she was tired.
The front line returned from the Demon World after walking for half a day.
When I sensed the presence of a search party, I laid down around them and created a situation where they could be found naturally.
I heard on the way that if he didn’t find me after that, the duke had given orders in advance to put me to death. Well, I guess that’s only natural.
In the first place, the odds of surviving with a body the size of a chestnut like this would be slim.
I believe he made the best choice as a leader since it was unnecessary to prolong the dangerous search any longer.
In fact, even I am now in a state of bewilderment as to how I came back.
[But is he really the devil? Was the demon lord you fought so light?]
That is a question that still remains unresolved.
The Belkarion I knew must have been the embodiment of a heinous evil with not even a trace of humanity, but somehow what I saw that day was a no-nonsense demon as bad as Emily.
It only takes a moment for a person to change, and even if it were a demon, it wouldn’t be any different.
It seems like something huge happened in the demon world that I couldn’t figure out in my past life.
As someone who knows the future, I can’t just dismiss it as something from another world.
Since it is insurance and the transaction has been made, even if there is nothing you can do right now, you will have to take your time and take your time.
[hmm?]
Suddenly, Kayram looked towards the door.
At the same time, calm yet urgent footsteps were heard beyond the door.
[Ho~?]
“what? “What about that laugh?”
A sudden, bewitching smile suddenly made me feel uneasy.
[It would be nice for our owner to have a lot of people who care about him~]
“what?”
[So please stop complaining and be gentle. If you get caught by a woman in the wrong way, it’s a pit you can’t get out of. I’m going to sleep now~]
Leaving behind unintelligible words, Kayram turned into fog and entered the sword.
-smart
After a while, a knock was heard at the door.
“Come on in.”
Through the carefully opened gap, I saw Emily with a happy face.
“Wow, master! “Are you really alive?”
It’s not ‘I’m glad you’re alive’, but what is ‘I’m glad you’re alive’?
“I knew it would be like this! Everyone else clicked their tongues thinking that he would be dead, but I was sure that he would come back in perfect condition! “I guess my intuition wasn’t wrong?”
He immediately ran up to me and hugged me, but for some reason I didn’t feel the slightest bit of sadness.
Well, I’m thankful that he was the only one who believed in me, but why am I not feeling very happy?
She wasn’t the only visitor.
There was another visitor, Princess Arin, wandering in front of the open door, not knowing what to do.
She made eye contact with me and was startled, but then gathered her courage and came forward.
“Well, I’m glad you’re alive.”
“I’m glad that the princess evacuated safely as well.”
A hesitant appearance, no different from before.
It seemed like there was something else to say, not just confirmation of life or death.
When I glanced at Emily, she made an unknown gesture as if telling me to cheer up, but then walked out on her own.
In an instant, only Princess Arin and the two were left.
“Your maid was so amazing. No one would have thought you would be alive… … “I could see that he really trusted you a lot.”
If we live together, we’ll never say something like that, right?
For now, I tried to stay quiet.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Maybe it was just a stroke of luck, but it turned out to be better than expected.”
“Well, I see… … .”
As expected, there is silence again.
“If you want to apologize, you don’t have to.”
“huh? Uh, why?”
“Because it’s not something you need to apologize for. “Isn’t it the princess’s fault that the demonic beasts appeared?”
“Yeah, that’s right, but if I hadn’t come to you that day, you wouldn’t have been there for me…” … .”
“If that was the case, you wouldn’t have even come to the front in the first place. The root cause is the demonic beasts themselves, not the princess’s actions. “Please don’t say any more than this.”
She nodded reluctantly.
Now that we’ve gotten the trivial stuff out of the way, it’s time to get to the point.
“That day you asked me to become emperor… … . “What did you mean?”
The tone of her voice suddenly lowered.
I also lowered my intensity and quietly chanted.
“That’s literally it. “I said this in the sense that if you want to help the empire as a member of the imperial family, it would be better to become emperor and do it properly.”
“Do you think I have the potential to do that?”
“I guess that’s up to the princess. I just give you directions. “I am not a kingmaker who can make the princess an emperor.”
Are you disappointed with the unexpected answer?
Princess Arin just looked at my face again without saying anything.
“… … “Can’t you help me?”
You didn’t understand me.
“What power do you say I have? “I am just a son of a duke.”
“Well, it’s not like that! You clearly have great insight and ability, right? “If you stay by my side, I think I will improve a lot more than I do now!”
There was a clear will in the princess’s eyes.
Then, he finally revealed his true purpose for coming to me.
“Can’t you be mine?”
(Continued in the next part)
