Chapter 22

A portion of the flies released by the troublesome client fell into the abyss, reminiscent of a Parisian hell, while the remaining flies died with their wings torn off.

The snake’s words were half right and half wrong.

It was true that I was young and vigorous, but it wasn’t as sharp as the snake warned.

Objectively speaking, he was indeed strong.

At that age, it would be hard to find a worthy opponent. That’s why he must have gotten carried away and invaded this place.

However, even if it was a talent that might one day reach master status, right now it was just a naïve rookie unaware of the sky’s dangers.

…It feels strange that I’m saying this when I’m much younger than them.

No, isn’t this the moment I should use the memories from my previous life?

I don’t remember exactly, but I think I was over twenty, so let’s just say my mental age is higher.

With a high mental age and achievements, I have the right to say such things.

Anyway, I perfectly completed the troublesome client’s request and forced the beak of the great sword to shut.

Joanie and the man were having a rather serious conversation, and the apostles, having survived by not siding with the Empire, were glancing at me.

What were they so curious about, poking their heads out like baby birds begging for food?

I tilted my head at their incomprehensible behavior but soon shrugged it off.

“Hmm…”

Now, how should I deal with these corpses?

Leaving them for wild beasts or monsters to eat is one way, but there are so many that they’d likely rot before finishing.

Considering the stench and the risk of disease, I suppose I need to dispose of them.

“Such a bother…”

If I were a wizard, it would be easy to burn them all at once, but at times like this, I feel a bit regretful for choosing the sword.

It’s not that I don’t have a means to set fire, but it’s too excessive to use for this task, and considering the aftermath, it would definitely become more troublesome.

So, what can I do? I have to use my body.

‘This is why swordsmen…’

Suddenly, I felt the insane snake laughing at me, which was quite unpleasant.

Reluctantly, I dragged the corpses and threw them into the split ground.

Thanks to the flies becoming “fare/ries,” it didn’t take much effort.

Our strong land is beautifully clear.

Since I’m working hard for nature and environmental protection, the apostles watching also began to join in on this meaningful task.

— “Oh, look at this sword. Its stats are amazing!”

— “I can’t wear the armor. Do we have any money?”

As they busily rummaged through the corpses of the flies, it seemed they were more interested in the loot than the funeral rites, but they were indeed helpful.

Finally, after tossing in the last king fly, I dusted off my hands.

Shoveling dirt to fill this up is a bothersome task, so I think I’ll just pour in some oil later.

With the rewarding work finished, it’s time to head home.

“Ah, right.”

I still have one thing left to do.

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Despite my personal dislike for the snake brat, I must acknowledge that his skills are impressive.

No, scratch that. “Dislike” is too mild of a term; let’s revise it to “I want to tear him to shreds, but that’s separate from my acknowledgment of his skills.”

If his abilities had been even slightly lacking, he would have already ceased to exist the moment he faced Garid, or he would have been torn apart by my hands a long time ago.

This is precisely why being a Master is annoying.

When one side takes action, the other side does too, and if a fight breaks out, both must be prepared to die, making it risky to intervene casually.

Whenever a confrontation occurs, it usually turns the surroundings into a complete mess, leading to a mutual destruction scenario where both sides merely eye each other warily.

Of course, my homeland, Grasis, which was destroyed to the point of pride, was the exception.

It was a situation where I had no choice but to fight, Master title or not.

Thus, the reason I couldn’t kill the snake brat wasn’t that I lacked the ability; rather, he knew that I was capable and made a point to run away from me.

A fight can only happen face-to-face; capturing a guy who dodges and distracts me with all sorts of magic and tricks is an impossible task.

It’s frustrating, but he has the superior ability to control the battlefield, and at that time, I still had things to protect.

That was a long introduction, but the essence remains the same.

The snake brat is exceptionally skilled.

— “W-What is this?! This shouldn’t be happening…?!”

For someone claiming to be a Master Mage, it’s hard to believe that his barrier could be breached by mere thieves.

Watching the Apostles banging on the barrier earnestly, I reached for my sword… Ah, right. It was broken.

Instead of drawing my sword, I purposefully made noise as I stepped forward, catching the attention of a few of those banging on the barrier.

Their faces turned pale as if they had seen a ghost, and I found it quite amusing.

Considering they reacted that way upon seeing the homeowner, it was evident they weren’t exactly honorable.

— “…We’re screwed.”

I guessed that this likely meant they were done for.

With the meaning of one guy’s murmur in mind, I leaped into action.

I grabbed the collar of the nearest man and slammed him into the ground.

The man, who didn’t understand what had just happened until his collar was gripped, gasped for breath after meeting the ground in a sticky embrace.

Next was an unusually peculiar guy charging at me with a pole.

The staff, while not entirely harmless, certainly lacked the lethality of other weapons. It was only natural that wielding such a weapon while charging in would seem peculiar, especially given the context of a battle filled with blood and gore.

There was no need to dodge something like this.

Thud.

— “W-What?!”

As I struck the side of the staff with the back of my hand, its balance was immediately thrown off. The person wielding the staff should have had control, yet with every wobble of the weapon, their body swayed as well.

In truth, their main weapon was not the staff but rather a dance designed to dazzle the eyes.

After pausing to enjoy the comical sight of them dancing in the midst of a fight, I executed a perfect kick to the top of their head.

With the sound of a watermelon bursting, I caught the fleeing thief by the scruff of their neck and hurled them at another one.

What does it matter whether it’s this or that?

The thief, now out of my hands, joyfully reunited with another as if entangled in the vines of the Man-susan (a type of plant).

Their posture, which had been somewhat steady, completely crumbled.

It took less than a minute to take care of the remaining thieves. Given that they were the type who snuck into someone else’s house while others were busy fighting, their skills were hardly impressive. What I did felt less like fighting and more like cleaning up.

Soon, the last of the Apostles was engulfed in a swirl of light and vanished.

Apostles are a curious lot. They don’t have to worry about disposing of bodies.

“Wow…”

…So how long do they plan on following me?

I turned to glance at the little ones trailing behind like fledglings chasing their mother, watching them with a sullen expression.

For a hundred reasons, I could understand Joanie’s presence, but why were that sword-wielding chick and the dagger-wielding punk still following me?

-“Do you think she’s watching us? …I mean, she did follow us because of the mission, but I’m kind of freaked out. Are you okay?”

-“Want me to fight her again if she come at us? I kinda want to go for round two.”

-“Who are you even talking to?”

Joanie, who had been silently observing their conversation, finally spoke up.

“If she really hated it, she would have taken action the moment we started following her. So, it’s probably fine… I think.”

-“Why are you so calm, Joanie?”

“Me? Well, we’ve shared a meal together a few times, so I doubt she would kill me.”

-“…I hope she do kill you.”

“What?”

-“Excuse me?”

“What?”

It didn’t feel like there was much meaning in this conversation.

Anyway… I thought about driving away the intruders, but after putting in some effort for the first time in a while, I became too lazy and decided to leave them be.

I might as well treat it as a reward for their displayed courage.

I stood in front of the barrier.

Though its shape wasn’t visibly apparent, I could sense a strange flow of mana enveloping the area.

“Hmmm… What should I do?”

Suddenly, it felt like the little snake had anticipated this situation.

If that weren’t the case, there would be no reason to allow entry without my permission—meaning if I did grant permission, they could enter.

A snake wouldn’t have the humanity and warm heart to consider visitors making the trek to such a remote place.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I had fallen into the snake’s trap.

It reeked of something sinister, but it was doing a fine job of protecting Garid’s grave, so let’s just overlook that for now.

Even with that thought in mind, the reason I wasn’t heading into my house was simple.

“…How do I get through this?”

I tilted my head in contemplation.

I felt like a child who had forgotten their key and couldn’t get into their home.

In reality, getting in wasn’t difficult.

If the door didn’t open, I could simply rip it off its hinges.

However, it wasn’t as if I was breaking into someone else’s home to capture a criminal, and just because my home’s door wouldn’t open didn’t mean I could go ahead and tear the door down without a care.

I had gone through the trouble of installing a security door only to immediately rip it off right after.

Fortunately, my contemplation didn’t last long.

As I extended my hand—the one without the ring, meaning the one without the pact’s symbol—the barrier shook as if responding.

As the serpent’s emblem faintly appeared on the bluish surface of the barrier, a hole large enough for a cart to pass through opened up.

As I had felt earlier, in these matters, magic is indeed more useful than a sword.

Though a sword might be superior in other aspects.

With the three little chicks following me, I stepped into the barrier.

Neither Joanie, who had been here many times before, nor the dagger guy showed much interest, but the sword-wielding chick, who was here for the first time, kept glancing around.

Though I had given my tacit permission, I wasn’t about to go out of my way to guide the uninvited guests.

Instead, as I walked toward the cliff, I glanced down at Garid and suddenly frowned.

A blue flower I had never seen before quietly guarded the front of the tombstone I had left behind.

“Hmph.”

What a silly act.

As I clenched and then opened my fist while holding the blue flower, it vanished as if to say, “What were you expecting?”

Perhaps the little snake’s words that it respected Garid weren’t a lie after all.

Moreover, since Garid had been relieved after fighting the snake, he might even be glad that the little snake had come to find him.

But what of it?

The dead don’t speak, and it’s the living who must bear the burden of remembering those who have passed.

Before I knew it, the three apostles had lined up behind me.

It looked like I was leading this trio.

Had those who followed me seen this, they might have clicked their tongues and remarked that I was again pretending to be a leader.

If that were the case, I would have fully savored the authority of a leader.

However, it had been three and a half years since Garid had passed away.

And a year and a half since I had settled here.

Even if it wasn’t now, the thought of soon leaving this place I had grown fond of made my heart feel unsettled.

Suddenly, it felt like a large rock had been placed on my chest, suffocating me.

I floundered like someone submerged in water, and finally managed to utter the name I longed for.

“Garid.”

Rolling the name I had called out for nearly my entire life off my tongue, I suddenly blurted out the words that came to mind.

“Dad.”

If it had been in the past, I would have never done something so embarrassing, but surprisingly, I didn’t feel ashamed at all.

Why had I turned away from such a simple thing when it was so easy to just say it?

As always, regret came too late to torment me.