Chapter 26

This is the second time since facing Gilitender that I’ve met the protagonist as soon as I traveled to another world.

I didn’t think much of it at that time because I wasn’t myself back then, but I’m different now.

What’s my chance of winning against a level 70 head on?

What’s my chance of winning if I ambush her now?

There is no answer.

I am a hunter, and a hunter does not fight head on.

In order to hunt those who are stronger than myself, I have to thoroughly prepare.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.”

Fortunately, the red haired protagonist, who looks to only be around 10, is not aware that I’m a hunter.

Indeed, it was a really good thing.

[ The Duke of Almus is the most prestigious family when it comes to swordsmanship in the Alethea Empire. ]

[ Alethea Empire is strictly a place where martial arts are practiced, so it’s best to refrain from using magic. ]

‘Why?’

[ Because magic is exclusively used by witches in this world. ]

[ And here, witches are the enemy of all mankind. ]

[ No witch survived after the last witch hunt a year ago. ]

It wasn’t surprising that there are other worlds with magic.

It also wasn’t surprising that I would eventually come across one where magic is ostracized.

By the way, if no witch survived, who’s the girl in front of me?

[ The protagonist is in a state of ‘possession.’ ]

[ She was the last witch, and after being killed by the Duke of Almus, she possessed princess Ella and lived on. ]

…Crazy.

Just hearing it gave me goosebumps.

It’s a shame Ella is the protagonist, but what if it was the Duke of Almus who was possessed?

What if he finds out that the worst enemy of humanity he killed has possessed his daughter?

There will be no good ending.

Should I say that I’m really glad Ella is the protagonist?

‘By the way, what the hell is a witch?’

[ It’s a superior race to human, being able to use magic naturally from birth. ]

[ They can handle magic and have a much longer lifespan than humans, but they have no emotions at all. ]

‘Really?’

Following Ella, I listened to her talk.

“That resident is Camillia and that…It’s the residences of the knights and guests respectively. And over there…”

Her voice was gentle, polite, and thoughtful.

She would greet the passing maids and butlers with a ‘good morning.’

She looked so kind and beautiful saying hello to everyone.

‘Are witches really emotionless?’

Ella, who was smiling and waving her hands, looked like an angel.

Also, while Ella and I were walking, a servant accidentally dropped a plate, and instead of reprimanding the servant, she approached to help.

“T-thank you! Princess!”

“No, please be careful.”

I was having my doubts.

Do nobles usually treat their servants with respect?

The image of what I knew about nobles and witches confused me.

‘…this isn’t a good protagonist, is it?’

Although their existence itself puts the world in danger by law of causality, the Client once said that not all protagonists are necessarily bad.

Though, whether the protagonist is good or bad, what I do doesn’t change.

Even the existence of good protagonists will slowly destroy their world, so I wasn’t just going to say, ‘Oh, they’re nice, so I’m going to let them live.’

I have no intention of changing my mind just because of that.

The reason I kill protagonists is to live, and it’s a selfish act.

Balancing worlds is just one of the consequences.

Nothing shall stand in my way of trying to survive.

All is fair game in this game called ‘life.’

That’s not to say what I do is fair.

I don’t intend to justify what I do.

Rather, it is what it is.

‘This little girl, if I try to kill her now, I would be the one dying instead…’

I can’t be sure of Ella’s personality after only briefing interacting with her.

An investigation is necessary.

After walking for a long time, Ella guided me to a training hall.

This magnificent mansion is said to have more than seven training buildings, with Ella using the third one.

In a place where hundreds of knights were gathered, Ella introduced me.

“This is Sir Yoo Seodam, from now on he will guide me in swordsmanship.”

The knights did not clap or speak.

They just remained silent with a sharp look.

It suddenly became quite awkward standing here.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Erache, 3rd squad leader of the Knights of Camellia.”

A middle-aged man with an impressive mustache shook my hand.

Somehow it felt like meeting a movie star, but I quickly dismissed that feeling.

“Nice to meet you.”

“…By the way. I’ve never heard of Sir Seodam’s name even when I was wandering out in the world. May I ask where you’ve resided?”

Shit.

How can I explain this?

When I looked around, Ella quietly stared at me, curious as well.

Erache’s question was normal.

An instructor was invited to teach the second daughter swordsmanship, yet he has never even heard of this instructor’s name.

Does that make sense?

I have always flowed along the river of fate, but now a stone has fallen in, forming ripples in the river.

Erache sensed something was wrong.

Anyways, no matter if I am a stone or whatever, the flow of the river will not stop for me.

Slowly taking out my aether sword, I spoke.

“I came from a far away place you won’t know.”

“Then…”

“I’ll show you instead.”

This was kind of a gamble.

The other day, I recalled what Gilitender said when he saw my aether blade.

‘It’s sword intent that only appears in legend.’

Sword intent.

It’s a very common word.

It’s a technique that only ‘master swordsmen’ could use.

Wiiiing!!

“Hmm?!”

“Oh…!”

“Oh, my. Master swordsman…!”

Master swordsmen seem to be able to infuse their swords with light as well.

Even if that wasn’t the case, I have other methods to pass this hiccup.

It was just easier this way.

I slowly walked towards the rock, and lightly swung my sword.

My 2nd-Grade aether sword very easily sliced the rock.

“As expected. That’s amazing.”

“Did you swing slowly so it would be easier for us to see?”

No, I did it with all my strength.

“A swordsman who has achieved the stage of master. That’s amazing.”

Said Erache, nodding his head and coughing.

Then, he looked at me and spoke.

“It’s not everyday I get a chance to witness a master swordsman. Is there any chance we can spar…”

“No.”

It was a terrible thing to instantly say.

Erache’s position seems higher than mine, but I only know how to swing glow sticks and my physical ability is poor.

Therefore, I must turn down all requests for a fight.

“I was seriously injured during a battle, so it’s hard to move now. My technique still remains, so I want to pass it on. Thus, I became a tutor.”

“Oh my. Really…! This, I was too rude.”

If anything, what I’m doing to you guys is rude.

So, that’s how I managed to blend in as an instructor.

The Duke of Almus has five children.

The eldest son, Phil Almus, is 27 years old and on the verge of becoming a master swordsman.

The eldest daughter, Haren Almus, is 22 years old and a professional swordsman.

The second daughter, Ella Almus, is 15 years old with little achievement.

And the last two are side characters.

To be honest, knowing the names of the eldest son and daughter was annoying, but as I listened, I had no choice but to find out.

“Right. Did you know? Princess Ella had a terrible illness until a year ago and couldn’t even get up.”

It’s a common possession cliché.

The princess fell ill, then another soul took over.

“But the amazing thing is, the moment the Duke of Almus stabbed the heart of the last witch with his sword, princess Ella opened her eyes. It’s amazing, isn’t it? Maybe the princess was cursed!”

“Aye. The maid there! What are you talking about to the instructor!”

“A-ahem! Anyways. Can you tell me this some other time?”

“Of course.”

Because there was no class today, after Ella dismissed me, I poked around and searched this place.

It turns out that this mansion is enormous.

Frankly speaking, it’s almost the same size as a small village.

And it wasn’t even a castle but a mansion.

“Come to think of it…Did the princess’s personality change after the curse?”

“Well. There’s one thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, like, before she recovered from her illness she was a total stranger…Something like that.”

Throwing plates and candlesticks at the littlest inconvenience, hitting maids and knights, or screaming in the morning because she was hungry.

Therefore, nobody in this mansion liked her at all, and everyone was worried because she was the second daughter of a master swordsman but didn’t even think of holding a sword.

While the eldest son and daughter have already made a name for themselves with their outstanding talents, Ella did not even want to do anything.

Then, princess Ella collapsed one day, and the moment the Duke of Almus pierced the last witch’s heart.

Princess Ella woke up with a 180 degrees change in personality.

“She became polite to everyone, took classes she was behind in, and even became interested in swordsmanship.”

“Aye. I hope she doesn’t strain herself too much.”

“Don’t you think the princess is reassuring?”

While listening, I turned my head to look out the window at the training ground.

Despite it being late afternoon and the knights’ training session being over, Ella was still swinging her wooden sword.

Honestly, it’s unbelievable that she’s level 70.

Most of those levels are probably due to her magic.

So, I shouldn’t hastily go after her until I know what magic she has.

Well, if it’s just swordsmanship, at best, she’s only a little better than Celeste.

That’s when it comes to technique.

It’s fortunate that her physical ability is at a very weak level.

The reason why she, who has a weak body, can show such outstanding swordsmanship is probably because the basic swordsmanship here is very good.

[Protagonist Ella used the skill Almus Secret Swordsmanship Style (SS+)]

That must be her golden spoon.

She can learn a SS+ Rank skill just because she was born into a good family.

“Well, she was originally a healthy person. Those witches were the real problem.”

“But I’m glad they’re all dead.”

“…”

The maid’s tone changed at the mention of witches.

A voice full of hatred.

It was a sincere hatred from the heart.

“You seem to have a lot of hatred for witches.”

“Of course.”

“It’s my first time on this continent, so are the witches here the same?”

“Oh, it’s the same everywhere.”

The maids told me all the horrible things the witches had done to humans without reservation, and it was so cruel that it made even me frown upon.

On top of that, the last witch was such a terrible existence that it scarred half the continent.

“The last witch…”

“His excellency finally caught the last witch!”

Shortly.

“I lost both my parents to that last witch.”

“I lost my hometown. Damn it.”

“Me too…I lost my husband.”

Perhaps because the last witch was the most notorious, she left the deepest impression in their mind.

While listening quietly, I heard a sweet and soft voice from behind.

It was Ella.

“What’s the matter?”

“Oh, young miss. Aye, I’m suddenly reminded of my hometown…!”

“What happened to your hometown?”

“Because of that last rotten witch…Ah! I’m sorry, young miss. Forgive my language…”

“No, it’s okay.”

Ella smiled, hugged the maid, then spoke.

Only

“It must be hard losing your hometown. I can’t be of much help, but I hope I can comfort you.”

“Ah. Young miss…”

Was this what it’s like when an angel came down from heaven?

Everyone teared up, moved by her caring heart, but I looked at Ella with a puzzled look.

The last witch.

Wasn’t that none other than Ella?

“If only I could share the pain with you, I would be happy to grieve with you.”

That’s nothing but a fucking psychopath.