Chapter 349 : Hero
Look around, look around.
"Where are we?"
"Huhu. This is the Ghostwind Forest, which was once the territory of this Shadowless Phantom Thief, Shushuruta. Isn't it spooky?"
"Ooong. Is it called Ghostwind Forest because ghosts come out?"
"No, not that. It's called Ghostwind Forest because the sound of the wind sounds like a ghost's cry."
"Aha."
Shushuruta puffed out her chest with her arms crossed.
"Here, everyone used to tremble and run away at my single word! They were so scared that no one even came near!"
"Woooong!"
"...Of course, later on, Ashuban came and broke the magic necklace that modulated my voice, so I couldn't do that anymore."
"Oh no."
Pat, pat.
Linda patted the dejected Shushuruta's shoulder.
"So, this was your house, Shushu?"
"Well, something like that. How is it?"
"I like it!"
"Really?"
"Yeah! I like it because it's spooky! It looks like there will be a lot of poisonous mushrooms too!"
"Hmph."
Pleased with Linda's reaction, Shushuruta, whose lips were twitching, put her hands on her hips as if being generous and said.
"Then follow me! I'll show you something special."
"What?"
"You'll know when you follow me."
After running on the trees like squirrels for a while, they found a small, crudely built wooden house woven from trees, high up in a tall tree.
It looked like a children's secret base.
Seeing it, Linda's eyes sparkled.
"Woah!"
"Huhu. It's my own secret base. How is it!"
"It's cool! It's the best! I want to go inside!"
"Umm. Normally, you can't..."
"But?"
Sparkle, sparkle.
Shushuruta glanced at Linda, who was looking at her with eyes full of expectation, and said as if she couldn't resist.
"Hmm. Linda, since it's you, I'll let you in specially."
"Really?"
"Of course!"
"Yay!"
"For your information, you're the first one to enter here besides me! You should be honored!"
"Woooah! I'm the first!"
"Well then, would you like to come in?"
"Yeah!"
Rummage, rummage.
"Oh, the tree nuts I collected are still here! Want to try some?"
"I'll eat them!"
"Here."
"Nom, nom."
"How is it?"
"It's spoiled."
"What?"
The two of them went into the small, cozy shelter and chatted.
"Shushu."
"Hmm?"
"I'm hungry."
"Come to think of it, it's almost mealtime. Let's go back."
"Okay!"
They returned to Akenaten.
When they returned,
"Oing?"
"Hmm?"
They found Ashuban facing the kids.
"It looks like they're sparring."
"Heehee, it looks fun."
The two of them sat side by side on the roof of the mercenary guild and watched them fight.
***
"Mister! What's the test?"
I stood in the backyard of the mercenary guild and said to the three kids who were looking at me.
"Well... it's simple. Attack me with all your might. If your attacks touch my body even once, I'll accept you as a member of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps."
Fabio grinned and immediately rushed in.
"You said it!"
Fabio, who was the first of the three to reach me, swung his sword.
"Hmm."
I dodged here and there, watching the movement of his toes, gaze, and shoulders.
There were two reasons why I held a fake entrance exam.
First, because I was really curious about their skills.
I wanted to see how much they had grown in just a few years.
And second, to find Tina.
One's stance and sword path reflect one's life.
That's why Lasol held her sword so straight in her ready stance, and I always held my sword diagonally like a crooked bastard.
Even for a kid who has only held a sword for a few years, it gradually shows in their stance and the way they swing it.
Although I couldn't see what kind of life they had lived, I could get a rough idea of what kind of disposition they had.
Tina died when I was a kid.
If she was reborn, it was after that.
So, Tina must be among the kids who have not yet become adults.
I was also confident.
No matter how much she had changed after being reborn, with everything except her soul being different, I was confident I could recognize her.
There was no way I wouldn't recognize Tina.
"Hyaap!"
Hwoong!
I watched Fabio's sword flying towards me.
It was a sword slightly too large for his body.
Thanks to that, his center of gravity was very unstable.
When I lightly dodged and tapped it,
"Ugh."
Crash!
He lost his balance and fell over.
At that moment, Odd's eyes flashed and he rushed in.
For a kid, his momentum was quite sharp.
Hwoong!
But with just that, he couldn't reach me.
As I was dodging Odd's sword, watching it with my eyes, the kid suddenly lowered his stance.
A dagger suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.
"Oh?"
It was thrown by Odd's younger sister, Evelyn, who had been loitering behind.
"Oho?"
As I lightly caught the flying dagger and looked at her, Evelyn flinched and then quickly averted her gaze and ran away.
"Haat!"
Odd swung his sword and cut off my line of sight.
It wasn't the skill of someone who had practiced together just once or twice.
Was it because they were siblings?
They were a truly perfect match.
"Good combination."
Even at my compliment, Odd just silently swung his sword.
The younger sister seemed to have a talent for hiding her body and throwing hidden weapons, like Shushuruta.
She instinctively knew how to feel the opponent's gaze and how to escape from it.
Odd pressed me from the front and drew my attention, and Evelyn threw daggers from my blind spot.
"Haha! Not bad, are you?"
I laughed and kicked the stomach of Odd, who was clinging to me tenaciously.
Thwack!
"Gah!"
"U-uaat!"
Odd flew back and collided with Evelyn, who was throwing daggers from behind, and they rolled on the ground.
A cloud of dust rose.
I looked at the kids who had been knocked down and said.
"Is that all?"
I hadn't even drawn my sword yet.
I beckoned with my hand and said.
"This is your last chance. Come at me all at once."
Fabio and the Odd siblings exchanged glances, then rushed in all at once.
"Go, devil!"
At the voice that suddenly came from behind, I turned around.
Shushuruta and Linda, who had come at some point, were watching from the roof of the mercenary guild.
Linda was waving her hands above her head, cheering for me, and Shushuruta was yawning.
The moment I smirked and looked at them.
"An opening!"
"Haaap!"
Fabio and Odd's attacks flew in at the same time.
But there was no opening for me.
First, I brought my back foot to the side and simply dodged both of their attacks, and at the same time, I kicked Fabio's stomach.
Thwack!
"Keoheok!"
The moment I was about to reach for Odd.
Peet!
A dagger flew in from my blind spot.
Without even needing to use my hands, I caught the dagger, which was flying precisely towards my neck, with my mouth.
Without giving him a chance, I caught Odd's sword, which was cutting in diagonally, with two fingers.
"...!"
The kid's two eyes, each of a different color, widened.
I grinned at him with the dagger in my mouth.
Thwack!
I knocked down Odd, and then easily subdued Evelyn, who was throwing daggers from behind, by twisting her arm.
"O-ouch!"
I let go of Evelyn and said.
"Is it over?"
Fabio looked at me with a dazed face.
"...Mister, you had no intention of going easy on us from the beginning, did you?"
"Hey, kid."
I smirked and gripped the hilt of the sword at my waist.
"You seem to be mistaken about something. I went plenty easy on you."
Sreung—
With the drawing of the sword, I cut upwards towards the sky.
The red sword energy flew towards the sky and split the clouds.
A sight as if the sky had been split in half.
"...!"
The kids stared at the sky with their mouths agape.
I put the sword back and said.
"You still have a long way to go."
Whistle—
"That's amazing."
Colin whistled with a dumbfounded expression.
Clap, clap, clap—
"Waaah! The devil is so cool!"
Linda clapped, looking up at the sky.
***
After that, we went to the 'Hungry Gypsy' inn run by Fabio's father and had a meal.
We ate and drank the still-delicious food and beer, and talked with the aspiring mercenaries.
I thought they would give up after being miserably defeated by me, but surprisingly, the kids were burning with even more passion.
Around that time, I realized that I couldn't stop these guys.
In any case, life is something you live for yourself.
You can persuade, but you can't force.
Come to think of it, I had no right to say such things either.
Because I was the one who didn't listen to anyone's words and swung my sword like a madman every day, struggling to become stronger somehow.
To the kids who still said their dream was to become stronger and join the Sherwood Mercenary Corps, I had no choice but to tell them to do their best.
Of course, unlike Mary, the ace of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps, there were no special qualifications to join the mercenary corps.
But to motivate them, I told them they were far from ready and that they had to become much stronger than they were now to join the mercenary corps.
The next morning.
I came down to the first floor early, before the sun rose.
Linda, who was still in dreamland, was sleeping on my back, and Shushuruta followed me down, rubbing her eyes.
The kids had talked late into the night the day before and had fallen asleep, so I didn't see them again.
We met naturally, and we parted naturally.
This would be better for both of us.
As I came down to the first floor, yawning, the innkeeper, who was already up, came out of the kitchen and asked.
"Would you like something to eat?"
"Give me something quick."
The innkeeper nodded his head.
"Just a moment."
A moment later, a hearty breakfast of warm soup, freshly baked bread, boiled eggs, bacon, and milk was served.
Indeed, I thought it was a good thing I had stayed the night, and I quickly finished the food.
After finishing and paying, he said.
"May I ask one thing?"
I nodded my head.
"By all means."
"Fabio. In your opinion, does he have talent?"
I looked at the innkeeper, Fabio's father.
"Are you worried?"
He nodded his head.
"I am."
"If I were to say he doesn't have a speck of talent, what would you do?"
"Well, I'd have to believe in him and watch over him."
I tilted my head.
"Even if he could die from a sword wound?"
The innkeeper said in a quiet tone.
"My son wants to do it, how can I stop him?"
"Why, didn't you try to stop him more?"
"I've already stopped him enough. That's enough."
I clicked my tongue softly.
"They say no parent can win against their child. It seems it was true."
"Aren't all parents like that?"
I thought for a moment, then honestly shared my thoughts.
"From my experience, it's not that the talented ones live long. And it's not that the untalented ones die early."
The innkeeper listened quietly.
"Usually, they go after guys at their own level. The strong go after the strong, and the weak go after the weak. Whether you have talent or not doesn't make a big difference in living or dying."
It was true.
If it were by talent, I would have been fated to die on the road long ago.
Even after becoming stronger after meeting the Heavenly Demon, how many times had I almost died fighting guys stronger than me?
"Then?"
"Perseverance."
"Perseverance?"
"For whatever reason, the guys who have a reason to continue living. They don't die easily wherever they go."
I grinned and said.
"In that sense, Fabio doesn't seem like he'll die on the road, at least. Don't worry too much."
"..."
"He may seem a bit clumsy, but he seems to have perseverance. You can tell just by looking at how he stubbornly insists on being a mercenary even when everyone tells him to quit. Guys like that don't die easily wherever they go."
"...Is that so?"
A little relief appeared on his blunt face.
"So, there's something you can do to help, innkeeper."
"Me?"
"It's something only you can do. Would you like to hear it?"
"...I will listen."
I looked at Fabio's father and explained.
"It's a simple matter. You create a reason for him to survive, no matter what."
He looked at me quietly.
"For example, a delicious meal waiting for him when he returns. Or a father waiting with that meal."
"..."
"If I had a father like you, innkeeper, I would have returned no matter what. Literally, no matter what."
I smiled brightly at him, who was staring at me blankly, and turned my back.
"Thank you for the meal."
From behind me, I heard his blunt voice.
"Come again."
With Linda, who still had no intention of waking up, on my back, I walked side by side with Shushuruta and left Akenaten.
As we were climbing a slightly hilly slope.
Shushuruta looked back.
"Why?"
Shushuruta looked behind and said.
"I think we have to wait for a moment."
Did she hear something?
I pulled Linda's cheek, who was on my back, and waited for a moment.
"Hey. How long are you going to sleep?"
"Uiiing..."
After waiting for a while, the sound of small, pattering footsteps and panting breaths grew closer.
The owner of that sound was.
None other than Odd's younger sister, Evelyn.
"W-wait a minute!"
Since she was a rather unexpected person, I watched Evelyn, who was catching her breath with her hands on her knees in front of me, with curious eyes.
Evelyn, who had finally caught her breath, handed me something.
"Th-this."
I took what she handed me and looked at it.
It was a small statue carved from wood.
"Oh."
Surprisingly, the workmanship was not bad.
It was the figure of a man holding a broken sword.
Evelyn fidgeted with her hands and said.
"C-carving is my h-hobby."
"Really?"
"Y-yes."
Come to think of it, when I was talking with the kids late into the night the day before.
Evelyn had disappeared at some point.
I thought she had gone to her room early and fallen asleep, but she was making this?
"I made it in a hurry... h-how is it? Do you l-like it?"
I smiled brightly and said.
"I love it."
"Th-that's a relief..."
Evelyn put her hands to her chest and let out a deep sigh of relief.
Shushuruta, who was looking at the statue next to me, smirked.
"It's quite a heroic figure."
"I know, right. Isn't it too glorified?"
At my words, Evelyn looked up at me.
"It's not glorified."
"Hmm?"
This time, her voice was firm, without any stuttering.
"No matter what anyone says. Devil, you are our hero."
Evelyn bowed her head deeply.
"I w-wanted to thank you for saving us. Really, really... thank you. For pulling us out of that dark place... thank you so, so much."
Evelyn's shoulders began to shake, and soon, tears fell.
I looked at the small head bowed to me, then smiled and patted her shoulder.
"Alright, so raise your head."
I saw Evelyn's face, stained with tears.
I took out some beef jerky from my bosom and put it in her slightly open mouth.
Pop!
"...?"
Evelyn looked at me with a bewildered face, with the beef jerky in her mouth.
"How is it? Delicious, right?"
...Omm-nom-nom.
Evelyn, who was chewing on the beef jerky in her mouth, nodded her head blankly.
Her tears had stopped at some point.
I poked Shushuruta's side and said.
"Hey, give me a dagger."
Shushuruta glanced at me and obediently handed me a dagger, and I gave it to Evelyn and said.
"Here, this is my gift."
Evelyn accepted it in a daze.
"Use this to stab and kill the enemies who attack your brother. Got it?"
"Y-yes."
I roughly messed up Evelyn's hair and then turned and walked away.
After walking for a while, I heard Evelyn's voice.
"Th-thank you! I'll never forget it!"
I answered by waving my hand, then continued walking.
Shushuruta poked my side.
"It's my dagger, why are you taking all the credit?"
"Hey. What's yours is mine between us."
"Why did you suddenly give her beef jerky?"
"Give a crying child a piece of beef jerky. Don't you know? It's common sense."
"Where is such common sense?"
"I don't know. It's somewhere. Beef jerky is a panacea."
Shushuruta smirked and shook her head.
As I was looking at the statue I had received as a gift, Shushuruta asked.
"How do you feel?"
A hero.
"...Not bad."
A faint smile was on my lips.
(End of Chapter)