Mission No.1 Return of the Magic Swordsman (03)
Kasper turned away from Ewald’s gaze.
“What if I can’t give it to you?”
Ewald clenched his fist lightly. However, as blue thunderbolts began to wriggle out of his clenched fists, Kasper had to move his eyes at least to observe Ebalt’s expression.
“I’ll look for it myself, so it will be a little late. Well, the possibility of a new imperial palace being built is high.”
A supportive weave that will not fall out.
“I think we can harpoon the audience room.”
“… Rotten bastard, that…”
“Because of your personality, there’s no way you haven’t taken care of the demon lord since Beelzedeus, so things must be pretty well organized. Is not it?”
“It’s not something I made to catch.”
Ewald’s lips went up.
“It means there is.”
“Of course not! There can be no way!”
It is strange that the entire continent is driven to the brink of destruction because of the demon king Beelzedeus, but it does not accumulate information.
However, it only bothered Kasper that he felt like he was going to die of a stomach ache from giving him the data.
It was obvious that that human would go around to catch the demon king – including the candidates – but if that happened, there would be no reason to bring him out of the dungeon. He was brought out to survive, not to die.
And with the liberation of Beelzedeus, who died suddenly, disaster spreads to all mankind.
That much should be blocked.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Since I was released, I grow flowers at home, have a hobby of cooking, and stay at home all the time. It’s good.”
“Aha, are you going to change only the place to be confined to the house in the dungeon?”
“… Better than dungeons, better than dungeons.”
“Hey, Casper.”
Kasper, who was preparing his mind for what kind of curse would come, blinked a couple of times at the strange smile that appeared on Ewald’s face.
“I said that the remnants of Beelzedeus would attack me, but no matter how much I think about it, I think the remnants that will move will be the ‘demons’?”
“… I guess so.”
Can’t forget There are more than dozens of comrades lost to them. Casper pressed down his throbbing temple and glanced at Ewald with a sidelong glance.
“I don’t think there are that many if you only count demons.”
“There are three of them: Rahaf, Jaskia, and Feloch. Including Ypone, who did not appear in battle, there are a total of four.”
In addition to the demons mentioned by Ebalt, there were three more demons identified at the time of sealing Beelzedeus, but he continued with a strangely dark smile after listing realistic possibilities.
“As a person who has had the experience of facing swords with them, if they decide to come and kill me, will the dungeon or the house be an obstacle?”
Alternately opening and closing his fingers as if buds were blooming, he let out a barely audible ‘Pong, Pung, Pung’ sound.
Kasper’s face quickly darkened at his action. Even if the garrison in the capital fought desperately, how many hours would they be able to hold out if the demons decided to attack right now?
At that moment, what came to Kasper’s memory was the tragedy that brought Rotume, the capital of the El Genor Empire, to the brink of destruction by the advance of the Demon King’s army 27 years ago.
At that time, the Demon King’s army didn’t even have Beelzedeus, Lahaf, Jaskia, or even Feloch. The monsters who went crazy with the demonic nature of the demon king just crushed the most powerful country on the continent.
If Ewald’s party hadn’t tied Beelzedeus and the demons on the plains of Nuremzbühl, all mankind on the continent would have been wiped out, starting with the Elzenor Empire. The thought gave Kasper goosebumps.
“… It won’t be too much of a hindrance.”
“Right now, since Beelzedeus doesn’t have demonic powers, he won’t be pushed helplessly, but every single thing is dangerous.”
“So what are you going to do, Ewald?”
“Yeah, of course…”
The corners of Ewald’s mouth went up.
“I hit first.”
* * *
“… Hey, are you crazy?”
“Then wash your neck and wait until you come to cut my throat?”
It’s not like that. Kasper frowned, but Ewald quickly opened his mouth before he could continue.
“Don’t you remember that it was you who went around saying that the best defense is offense?”
Kasper shut his mouth.
“They will only know that I am locked up, so it is advantageous in many ways for me to move first, whether it’s a fight or a separate break.”
“It’s advantageous, it’s advantageous!”
In the end, Kasper, who couldn’t stand it, spurned his seat and stood up.
“Then, if you die, you won’t be the only one killed, so isn’t this a mess!”
“Because it’s the least dangerous.”
Looking straight into Kasper’s eyes, Ewald put on a heavy expression.
“If they unite and attack, then I don’t know if I can handle it or not. By the time they figured out that they could free Beelzedeus by killing me, the fight had already ended.”
Casper couldn’t help but open his mouth at his low voice.
The person who opens his mouth in front of him now is a warrior who sealed the demon king in his body and sacrificed most of his youth by being locked up in a dungeon.
“You understand?”
Ewald, who showed a subtle and faint smile, drove away the bizarrely intertwined emotions for a moment and met Kasper’s eyes.
“So the surest solution would be for me to hit them first or wander around to get them out of position.”
“… Wandering?”
An ominous thought flashed through Kasper’s head.
Ewald is a person with strong reverse magic and a person whose wanderlust has reached its peak. Thirty years ago, it was that person who was entrusted with the oracle as a hero to subdue the demon lord in all temples on the continent.
However, it took almost 15 months for the demon lord subjugation army to be completed.
There was only one reason, because it took a year to figure out the whereabouts of that adventurous maniac, Ewald.
But now you’re going to wander?
The words ‘that rotten man’ passed through his throat, but Kasper barely stopped speaking. It was because the Ewald in front of me was not the Ewald of 30 years ago, and I cautiously came to my mind that his proposal might work.
A deep breath escaped Kasper’s lips.
“I’ll give permission as long as I can contact you at any time.”
At Kasper’s complicated permission, Ebalt raised the corner of his mouth instead of answering.
“And I need a few more things.”
“… I guess so.”
You’re probably trying to get everything you need. That much can be enough.
Its name is the continent’s strongest Elgenor Empire, but that rotten bastard won’t ask for anything to the point of ruining the country.
Kasper, who had gone crazy with his thoughts, suddenly had a strange idea.
The thought that once came to his mind was followed by his tail in an instant, and he quickly developed the situation in a ‘direction favorable to himself’.
And this time, a smile appeared on Kasper’s face.
“I will give you full support.”
“… Hey, why are you laughing so hard all of a sudden?”
“Is it?”
Eventually, Kasper Elze Nor, the emperor of the Elze Nor Empire, who was sitting on the throne, changed his tone of voice and let out his solemn voice.
“I, Casper Elzenor, the emperor of the Elzenor Empire.”
Casper stood up from his seat. Ewald couldn’t even guess what that human was doing, but he furrowed his brow at the thought that something was going on strangely.
And before Balt could react, Kasper quickly moved his lips.
“I appoint magic swordsman Ewald Kitsuka as the vice-captain of the Continentaler Speer, a bodyguard unit under direct control of the imperial family!”
Guard… Army unit?
Ewald’s face contorted quickly.
“… What is it, man?”
“My strength is your strength, and my voice will be your voice. As the vanguard of the glorious empire, do your best for the empire.”
Are you saying you’re going to use yourself as a soldier now? Ewald clenched his fists involuntarily, and the absurdity and slight anger began to cling to his fists, absorbing mana.
However, Kasper met Ewald’s gaze with a fishy smile.
“Shouldn’t this level be enough to provide ‘full support’?”
Of course, Ewald began expressing with all his body that he was very dissatisfied with the emperor’s remarks.
“So you want me to become a soldier?”
Ewald’s face was clearly visible with a hint of rage.
“Because it’s the Royal Guard, the Royal Guard. I’m not a soldier, I’m a unit commander.”
Kasper carried on his words before the man got pissed off and really destroyed everything.
“We will provide unconventional support so that the operating expenses of the unit will never be insufficient.”
“… I robbed all three dragon rares and stuffed them into my bag, do you think you’ll run out of money?”
Oops. He is a man who transcends money, but he was a man who stole from a dragon enough to buy a small kingdom with cash.
“Of course, Artifacts will also be supported.”
“… Collecting artifacts yourself is fun.”
Aha, he was a true adventurer who didn’t have much desire for money, and he had a lot of artifacts he collected, and he enjoyed finding them himself.
“Well, then I’ll give you full power so that you can choose the members of the unit as you please!”
Ewald’s eyes flashed.
“Hoo…”
It was. That person is greedy enough to be greedy when it comes to human resources.
Of course, his greed was focused on having a party and going on an adventure, but Kasper noticed that Ewald’s eyes suddenly changed.
“That’s kind of enticing.”
It worked.
“Can I choose my own?”
However, Kasper tilted his head as he threw his gaze into an ambiguous place with an embarrassing smile.
“I’m sorry, but it’s a bit difficult to choose completely at will. It’s a war situation, so it’s hard to remove people. It’s also hard to manage power.”
“… Is it war again?”
Even Ebalt is not reckless enough to take people out of the battlefield.
“Then collect it yourself. Instead, if I decide, I will support you unconditionally. Can you do that much?”
“Hmm, that’s about it, but if you can, why don’t you gather some young, high-potential friends?”
Ebalt’s face twitched at the obvious words.
“Does it sound like raising children?”
“Hey, are you good at that? Grinding the kids and bringing out their abilities to the limit.”
“… You wicked bastard.”
He said that, but Kasper saw a distinct smile on Ewald’s face. Of course, that smile was quite twisted and even sinister, but one thing was certain: Ewald was satisfied.
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“Okay, then there’s nothing to procrastinate about.”
The emperor nodded his head with a satisfied smile, then turned his gaze to the other side of him.
“Commander Schilling, come in.”
Schilling? Ewald’s eyes moved slightly.
Then the sound of footsteps came from the other side. As if he had been waiting for Ewald before he entered, his steps came straight towards Ewald. Along with that, the protagonist of the footsteps appeared.
He was a man with a face much older than the emperor. As expected, his head was full of gray hair, but Ewald, who saw him wearing stylish armor, closed his eyes with an expression of absurdity.
“… Marcus Schilling?”
“It will be a reunion after a long time.”
The emperor looked back at Marcus while smiling brightly.
* * *
The two old men – of course, one of them was in his twenties in appearance and temperament – did not say anything for a while. However, after some time, a man named Marcus approached Ewald with a face full of emotion.
“Oh, Ewald.”
“It’s been a while, Mar…”
“Hey, how can only your hair grow old?”
“… Hey, you son of a b*tch.”
hahahaha, how long has it been since we met? It’s so bubbly. How did you take care of it so you don’t age at all? Do you have any secrets, Ewald?”
“… Perhaps the demon that sealed Beelzedeus…”
“Know. I heard it all before.”
“… This new X really is.”
“You really haven’t changed.”
Marcus laughed heartily. Balt, who was thinking of blowing magic on his face, sat down in his chair, scattering his thoughts.
“Well, I roughly listened to the emperor.”
A warm smile befitting his age floated across Marcus’ face.
And words that didn’t quite match the smile came out of Marcus.
“You really stepped on sh*t.”
Sending his curse to the sky, Balt let out a sigh of relief from the ground.
“Isn’t there still hope? At least you won’t get stabbed and killed while sleeping in a dungeon.”
“… In the past and now, I am really worried about how a guy like you can be that optimistic.”
“People don’t change that easily.”
With those words, Marcus stood in front of Ewald.
“What? What’s the matter?”
“Let’s go. Let’s start before it’s too late.”
“Start? What?”
A bright smile spread across Marcus’ lips.
“Should I return to the field, the continent’s best magic swordsman?”