Chapter 37

Part 12: Return

"Sure enough, it was right to keep an eye on that woman in the cloak."

It seemed that the bird hunter had found her quickly, just as he had said.

I tilted my head as I looked at the psycho female mercenary.

"You didn't run away?"

Even though she looked half-crazy, her ability to find a place to hide seemed incredibly impressive. Yet, she was still in the territory.

"It was you, the brat, who messed things up."

She raised her sword at me.

The alley was already empty.

Did they run away knowing we were going to fight, or did other mercenaries drive the people away?

A strange thought popped into my head, but the words that came out of my mouth sounded quite plausible.

"It wasn't me who messed things up, but your mouth."

In this situation, and in my previous life, it was because of what you told me that I could do this much.

Grinding.

The sound of her teeth grinding came from her mouth.

"Because of you, the mission failed, and Benjamin died. If I hadn't been running around trying to catch you, we could have gone together... It's all your fault."

Unfortunately, Simon didn't hear anything from Benjamin, the mercenary captain.

Thanks to the knight captain, the fight was won without much difficulty, but Benjamin committed suicide before he could be interrogated.

I was puzzled by the absence of this woman, but it seems she was trying to catch me.

Sure enough, she was out of her mind. The priorities of the mission were completely up to her.

With the mercenary captain dead, the only source of information left was this woman.

I examined her.

Her eyes gleamed with madness, her red tongue frequently darted out to lick her lips, and her face was twisted with anger.

Just by looking at her, it was clear she wasn't someone from whom I could get any useful information.

"I'll kill you, give your soul to Benjamin, and hang your skin on my bed."

To be facing a woman who looked like she belonged in a horror movie in broad daylight.

If it were my previous life, I would have called the police right away, but now I had to deal with it myself.

She raised her sword and pretended to lick the blade with her tongue.

The sword blade glowed green. It would have been better if she had just licked it.

"Fortunately, it's my taste. You really look delicious."

I couldn't understand what kind of taste she was talking about, and I didn't want to know.

Since she had been looking for me, she didn't seem like she would let me go just because I was young, and I didn't want to run away either.

Rattle.

As I gripped the sword handle again, the sword wrapped in cloth dragged on the ground, making a rough sound.

'If I had known, I would have left this sword in the room and brought a more manageable one.'

A good sword made things more complicated.

Huff.

I took a deep breath and said,

"Come on, pull out the sword you're hiding under that cloak. Entertain me."

But there was no sword under the cloak.

I spread mana throughout my body as I inhaled.

I could feel the power in each cell.

I tightened my grip. The sword that had been dragging on the ground lifted off the ground.

Mana surged into my arm and then flowed out through my hand.

Plink, plink, plink!

The sound of the cloth tearing behind me echoed.

It was the cloth that had wrapped the sword.

The torn white cloth flew in all directions.

"What? That was a sword?"

A surprised voice came from the flying cloth.

The voice quickly approached, and I raised my sword with all my might.

Bang!

A heavy impact was felt in my sword hand.

It was a significant impact that would have pushed me back if I hadn't anchored myself to the ground with mana.

"Ugh!"

But I didn't step back at all, and the vision cleared as the cloths flew away, revealing the female mercenary being pushed back.

Crash!

She stopped after hitting the wall and glared at me with clenched teeth.

"No way! You can't push me back with that build?"

Ah, I see. She was blown away by a male mercenary while secretly listening to a conversation, and when we met later, her sword broke and she ran away injured.

Come to think of it, in this life, I had never properly fought with her.

So, she must have come after me without fear.

Whir, whir.

I held the sword with both hands, swung it in the air, and walked toward her.

It felt more like swinging a giant oar than a sword. With my build, it was difficult to wield such a large sword properly.

But there was no rule that I had to use sword techniques just because I had a sword.

I pushed off the ground with my legs.

Bang!

My mana-filled foot pushed the ground backward, and I shot forward.

The surprised woman quickly approached.

She swung her sword at me with all her might, but I just stood the large sword in front of me.

Clang!

The swords collided.

The opponent was a knight-level mercenary who used a nimble sword. In my previous life, when I used a sword that fit my body, I couldn't win, but this time it was different.

The large sword glowed, and the female mercenary's eyes widened.

Her sword couldn't withstand my new sword.

Her sword, which had been emitting a faint green light, was crushed and deflected to the side.

Her arm, along with the sword, was thrown wide, and there was nothing blocking her path.

I took one more step forward with the sword still standing.

Thud.

The large sword was deeply embedded in the wall.

"Ugh!"

The female mercenary spat blood from her mouth.

She grabbed the sword that had pierced her stomach and glared at me.

"Sure enough, you weren't just a kid. Did you have the ability to deceive like a kid? Where are you from?"

She extended her trembling hand toward me. Her weak hand approached my face.

I let go of the sword without hesitation and stepped back.

"How did you know?"

"A mercenary who uses a sword wouldn't grow their nails. I couldn't help but be suspicious."

At my words, she looked at her hand with a bitter expression.

Under her gradually lowering nails, a faint green light was visible.

Until the end, she didn't give up on trying to kill me.

"Really, you look delicious, but it's a shame..."

After leaving a chilling last word, she lowered her head.

I looked at her for a moment as she lowered her head.

She didn't move anymore.

'Is it over?'

Finally, the grudge from my previous life was settled.

People's voices began to be heard from a distance.

It was time to go home.

After pulling out the sword, I quickly left the scene.

The way home was leisurely.

Simon, who had experienced a real battle with the mercenary captain, seemed to have realized something and was quiet.

The knights and soldiers were more relaxed than before.

Monsters occasionally appeared as we crossed the territories, but this time they were weak mutants that the soldiers could handle.

After such a hectic journey, I returned home.

Several months had passed, but the territory and the mansion hadn't changed much.

After the brief welcome from the duke, the people who had been waiting gathered around Simon, and the knights and soldiers headed to the tavern with their waiting comrades.

However, unlike before, there were people who greeted me.

Soldier Juan clutched his money bag and thanked me, and Knight Hugo bowed to me before going to drink with Miguel.

The head butler nodded and followed the duke, but the captain of the knights ignored me and left.

Perhaps because it was different from when we set out, the gazes of the people who were secretly watching me were strangely different.

But more important than those gazes was my mother, who let out a sigh of relief in front of me.

"I'm back."

"Welcome back. Did everything go well?"

Although a lot had happened, I smiled and answered.

"Yes."

* * *

The next day after Simon's group returned, three people gathered in the duke's office.

The duke, the captain of the knights, and the head butler. It was the first time they had gathered in a while.

"...So, the rebellion was settled, and we heard that the remaining rebels would be dealt with by the marquis family, so we left the lord's castle."

After the captain of the knights finished his explanation, the duke nodded.

"From the message that flew in later, it seems the remaining rebels have been dealt with. Unfortunately, it seems they couldn't find out who was behind it."

"The marquis family also seemed to have suffered significant damage."

"It seems many knights died. The territory was also in turmoil due to the cleanup of the mercenaries. But the biggest problem is that the heir of the marquis family died. Although it was handled by the soldiers, the nobles will smell something and the marquis family's position will be significantly shaken."

The duke's words were met with nods from the captain of the knights and the head butler.

Rumors among the nobles can cause significant damage to those who value honor above all else. The marquis would undoubtedly suffer from baseless (?) rumors for a considerable period.

"Still, I don't intend to postpone the engagement. We can't show a weak side at a time like this."

The duke's words made the captain of the knights think for a moment.

"It would have been difficult for the mercenaries and the illegitimate child to swallow the marquis family. Who could have been behind it...?"

"Well, there are many people who oppose our alliance with the marquis family. The noble faction, of course, and even the first and second prince factions... "

The duke frowned, thinking of the tangled political situation of the kingdom.

"But there aren't many places that would actually take action."

"We are still investigating, but given how neatly the trail was cut off, it won't be easy to find out."

The duke's words made the captain of the knights tilt his head.

"Is that so? But the rebellion seemed a bit amateurish. The timing of the uprising was spontaneous, and the process of being discovered was also... "

Historically, many rebellions have been spontaneous, but not many of them have succeeded.

In the end, this rebellion might just be one of those common rebellions.

The head butler countered the captain of the knights' words.

"Perhaps it felt that way because it was discovered by a child. If it wasn't for Alex, the rebellion might have succeeded."

The duke's eyes lit up at the head butler's words.

"Really? Just a coincidence? He just happened to overhear the conversation?"

The duke's words made the captain of the knights look uncomfortable.

"Well, he said he overheard it by chance, but there are some points that don't seem like a simple coincidence."

The head butler continued the uncomfortable captain of the knights' words.

"He also became close to the marquis family's illegitimate child during the trip, strongly insisted on the city tour, and met the illegitimate child again during the tour. It's also hard to understand how Adria told him about the secret passage and they went out together."

"Besides, the child told the illegitimate child about the secret passage."

The duke recalled the story of Adria written in the message.

'Wasn't he almost half-locked in his room?'

He was said to be watched by a guard under the pretext of protection, even when sleeping, so his life didn't seem easy.

But, given what he had done, it was a natural punishment and surveillance.

Frankly, as a duke, he didn't find him a particularly desirable daughter-in-law.

But since Simon liked him and it was a strategic alliance, it would be better to bring him in quickly.

With that decision, the conversation returned to the original topic.

"Either he had incredibly good luck or everything was planned."

"He's a genius, but he's still a child. Considering his age, it might be more likely to be a coincidence."

"He's smart, but he's too young to be a double agent. It must have been a series of coincidences."

Both the captain of the knights and the head butler, who had just said it might not be a coincidence, immediately contradicted themselves when the duke expressed doubt.

The duke smiled bitterly at their words.

"It seems you like the kid."

The captain of the knights tried to say something, but the duke continued.

"It wouldn't matter if it was a coincidence, but if it wasn't, what should we do with this kid?"

The ducal family had Simon, the heir, and his younger brother, Manuel.

To have a more outstanding illegitimate child when there were two flawless sons.

The captain of the knights and the head butler, who had just been talking about the events at the marquis family, couldn't answer the duke's words.