Sword Devouring Swordmaster

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

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Chapter 156 — Return (3)

Huff — with a puff of smoke the old man limped over to me. Even though the Flame Veil had been lifted and the mages who had been floating in the air were all neutralized, the old man showed no sign of embarrassment. He walked slowly with a bored expression.

“These bastards, tch.”

The old man clicked his tongue as he kicked aside the mages who were collapsed and groaning. The mages, moaning, heard the old man’s words and kept apologizing, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Judging by that, the old man seemed to occupy a fairly high position even within this mage corps.

“So you’re the landowner. Then you’re the lord of this place, I suppose.”

“That’s right.”

“You’re young. Well, hot blood makes people reckless — perhaps the lord didn’t keep to his post and wandered outside? I heard you were the lord who crushed Rhapsody’s legion… Strangely enough, your behavior mirrors Hugo Rhapsody. If you’d been a little slower, this village would’ve been gone.”

Puhuhu, the old man let out a hollow chuckle and flicked ash from the end of his cigarette.

Black ash fell with a soft pat.

“Did you kill all our people who were outside?”

“We killed those who didn’t run; those who fled we left alive.”

“How honorable. Are you a Knight or something?”

“No, I wasn’t a Knight.”

“Oh? Becoming a Knight must be really hard then.”

The old man looked my way with bleary eyes.

“There was no malice. We fought a war as soldiers under state orders, we targeted the weakest region during the campaign, and we simply fought and won. I, too, didn’t kill those who surrendered like you did. A few of my men acted atrociously… but I managed things so there were no fatalities. I tried, as a commander.”

“What’s your point in saying that?”

“Hmm, I mean, please spare us.”

He said it very matter-of-factly.

“It was a just war and we observed the minimum decency. If anyone violates honor, I’ll hand them over as my criminals. So instead of fighting another war, won’t you just let us go? We’ll leave quietly. We’ll vomit up everything we took. If you want, I’ll pay reparations.”

“You mean you’ll surrender, without fighting?”

“Why fight? We’d obviously lose.”

It was a statement devoid of pride.

Unlike Knights of the Iron Kingdom or other soldiers.

「Curious, isn’t it?」

“…….”

「He is odd, but the people of the Machine Empire are usually like that — valuing reason over emotion, calm in many situations.」

“…….”

「A society’s progress, dazzling technological growth, the shaping of fine culture — those things stemmed from that national character. Of course, that trait raises the average but makes those who reach ‘the top’ extremely rare.」

The old man stared at me blankly.

「They accept reality far too easily. There’s no romance.」

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to preserve this territory and protect the villagers by letting us go? Besides, we preserved the village’s appearance to use this place as a base. We even restored buildings we’d damaged and passed on mage-engineering techniques. We’d considered building a factory originally. So couldn’t you cut us some slack?”

「In youth parlance, you might call them ‘cool.’ But young descendant, those are not ‘cool people.’」

Puff — red smoke spilled again from the old man’s mouth.

“Say something. Do you want me to name the amount for reparations first? I’ll name the most I can. If it’s not enough, I’ll add more once I return home. If you want, I’ll swear to the gods that we’ll never invade again. Or maybe, young lord, do you want war?”

“…….”

“Think carefully. Then we’ll struggle as hard as we can. You — who brought the First Witch, of course you’d win, but you would take irreversible losses. No, not you — this village would suffer. We would all die but you would die too. Please don’t do such a foolish thing. ‘The greatest happiness for the greatest number’ — it’s my favorite maxim.”

“Greatest happiness for the greatest number, fine.”

I looked at the old man. Plausible words. A young lord of my age might have been swayed. But sorry, I couldn’t be that person. My suspicion had surpassed the level of mental illness and blossomed into my own kind of ‘mystery.’

“You said you would swear to the gods?”

“Yes, I did. Shall I do it now? That we won’t invade here again—”

“No. Make a different vow.”

“What?”

An illness beyond craziness — suspicion. To me, who lived with doubt.

“Swear by the Seven Lords and the Nine Goddesses and stake your soul. Swear that you committed no act in violation of proper conduct in this village, that you tried to stop your soldiers’ brutal deeds, and that you yourself committed no ethical wrong. Then I’ll spare you. I’ll send you back. No compensation will be necessary. Just make that vow. Prove your words.”

“…….”

“Nothing can be believed until it’s proven. Anyone can speak words. So here and now, stake your soul and swear.”

What, were you going to lie?

“Why can’t you swear?”

“……I cannot say I committed no acts against proper conduct during war.”

“Then exclude that part.”

“Honestly, I condoned some of the soldiers’ raucous acts because I feared they would riot; I turned a blind eye to many brutal behaviors where they tried to satisfy their urges. I apologize for failing to fulfill my duty as a commander.”

“I’ll let that one go too. Make the last vow.”

“……War is a special situation. So unethical acts are — unavoidable.”

“Then what wrongs did you commit?”

The old man could not meet my eyes anymore.

“……I beat farmers.”

“That’s it? Fine, I’ll forgive that. Swear — omit only that. Swear that aside, you committed no other wrong. Hurry, swear to the gods.”

“……I looted crops and valuables.”

“That’s okay too. So hurry! Swear!”

“…….”

“You won’t be able to. Do you know why? Even if you named a hundred wrongs with your own mouth, you wouldn’t be able to swear. You probably committed so many sins you wouldn’t even be able to remember them; you have sinned as naturally as breathing.”

Suspicion.

The instant the Flame Veil lifted, my suspicion saw my people’s condition. The marks on their bodies, their grief, their eyes, the tiny whispers, the sobs, the voice of a girl trapped in a shack muttering, the parents of a little daughter who stifled their anger upon hearing the old man’s words — every piece of information from my land’s people poured into me without omission. The old man was a criminal.

“An uninvited guest who merely set foot here I could send away gently. But an uninvited guest who touched my people could not return alive. Never.”

While glaring at the old man, Liam spoke.

「Yes, young descendant. They’re just ‘pretending to be cool.’ They conform and give up so easily to reality and belittle others’ efforts and fruits. Is that all? They commit filthy acts and pretend to be clean in front of people. Hypocrites, that’s the true face of the Machine Empire.」

As Liam’s voice rang out, several neighbors who had been holding their breath spoke. They had kept silent for fear the village would be razed if peace was not achieved or another fight broke out. They spoke.

“They stripped all of my father’s clothes and hung him upside down. They were yelling nonsense about checking for dangerous items — the Iron Kingdom folks are monstrous…”

“My sister was taken every night. That old man took her to a tent—”

“My daughter—”

The filthy deeds were too many to list one by one. Amid them a large voice rang out.

“Arhan!”

It was Audrey. The Witch Audrey.

“That bastard committed unspeakable vile acts. He brought unfading shame upon the people in this village, and Hailyn took in pitiful children who looked like her — you know what they tried to make those kids do? Horrible things, things you can’t even imagine. Unspeakable, the filthy desires of that old man!”

“…….”

“‘No guilt’? ‘He made an effort’? No way. You’re a mass of horrible desire and malice, you rust-flowing old man. Arhan, we can’t leave him be. Because of him, Hailyn— Hailyn is on the verge of death. To protect those kids, my friend— my friend is about to die.”

Audrey’s eyes had gone red.

“If I weren’t a Witch, if we lacked the background to scare them, I don’t even want to think what would’ve happened here. So we can’t let this pass. You’re the lord of this place. And Hailyn is my friend…”

A lord. And a friend.

“You finally came, noble sir.”

“……Tom.”

“It was hard. Still, not many died. Of course, that was because I acted, not because that old man didn’t try. He’s outdated, but he kept moving without rest. worked hard.”

Tom smiled. My dependable neighbors. Because of them, this village could be safe.

The old man sighed when he heard the flood of voices. The cigarette he’d been smoking burned down to the end. Red smoke spread as the old man went puhuhu and laughed.

“Oh dear. We were found out.”

“…….”

“But so what? Those lowly women, those lowly old men, those lowly trash in some worthless place of the Iron Kingdom — is it a sin to touch them? How malicious were other Machine Empire commanders? Compared to them, I’m quite benevolent. If another legion had come, you’d have cried blood. You should be grateful I came.”

“I see.”

Disgusting.

Watching his revolting face I said,

“But you won’t be grateful that I came.”

I glared at him. Soon the old man said,

“I’ll propose it once more. Send us back and take reparations. What my men and I did — they were rough, but it’s already in the past, isn’t it? What good does picking at the past do? It doesn’t undo what happened… If you stir things up, more people could die or be hurt. If you let me go, you’ll regain your territory, get compensation, and have the problem solved in no time.”

“Holding onto the past changes nothing?”

“Right. What does revenge bring back? A momentary thrill, maybe. That’s all. We must think rationally, rationally.”

“No.”

I said it without hesitation. To hear that from someone — to me?

“I’m foolish and dull, so reason doesn’t exist in me. I live only by emotion; I devoted my life to revenge, and care nothing for future gains — only the present injustice and rage matter, so let the wise you bear it.”

“…….”

“Ah, you insisted on the greatest happiness for the greatest number, so you might as well stick out your neck and die. Aren’t these people here the majority? The number of happy people would increase, so please just die quietly.”

“You’re insane.”

“I hear that a lot.”

“Don’t haggle over the past. Forget it. Think of the future. Revenge returns nothing. Be rational.”

I’d heard those tired phrases to death. But I could not agree.

Loss and wounds, injustice and rage, indelible shame and hatred — those could be relieved only by revenge. There were moments when the mere fact that the man I hated breathed under the same sky with me was unbearable. That could not be measured in money. Blood had to be repaid with blood.

“Fine, I’ll die. All my men will die too. I don’t even know how you brought the First Witch, Elizabeth. Damn. I should’ve run the moment I saw a young Witch in this hick town. Damn—”

“…….”

“But I won’t die alone. You’ll regret it. You’ll mutter, ‘I should’ve just taken the money, just accepted it — who knew so many people would die?’ Then you’ll realize you were wrong and I was right. Surely.”

“You talk too much.”

“Sons of the Machine Empire!”

The old man shouted with eyes wide.

“Your captain Edward Stein says—! Until the end! Until the end, kill one more of these hateful Iron Kingdoms! Smash one more thing! Rust and rot and die! You can’t run anyway! So struggle and die—!”

When the old man, the commander Edward Stein of the mage corps, yelled that, a strange atmosphere began to spread here and there. At that moment the villagers’ faces turned white, as if recalling old fears. After seeing their fear I murmured quietly.

“Elizabeth.”

“Don’t worry.”

A snap of fingers rang. The next moment, as if a door opened, white clouds split and the sky opened. In the open sky there was a huge pupil. An eye that watched everything.

“If we’re going to help, we won’t do it half-heartedly.”

I couldn’t tell what magic it was. Amid the mysterious magic, a sword was slowly raised and someone spoke.

“Sherizik.”

“Yes.”

“Can you make it so that no one dies?”

“It would be better to make sure no one died and no one got hurt.”

“……Is that possible?”

“It’s not easy.”

Sherizik lifted her glaive. Wearing a charming smile.

“But it’s easy for me.”

With two helpers confirmed, I shifted my gaze to the other side. There stood the old man — the commander who had called himself Edward Stein. Edward Stein laughed, “Ha, ha,” when I approached him.

“…You’re going to face me yourself with those powerful ones left untouched?”

“Yes. The leader of the uninvited guests should be dealt with by the lord, shouldn’t he?”

“Hahaha — young blood boils, it’s not just hot but boiling. Why make such a foolish choice? Did you find it ridiculous that I surrendered immediately? Did this old man look easy?”

“…….”

“If only that damned Witch hadn’t been here, you’d have tasted hell.”

Huff — red smoke gushed.

The scattering smoke began to wrap Edward Stein.

“You’ll regret it—! You bastard—!”

A tremendous shout brought with it a threatening aura.

“As a companion on the road! I can take at least one of you! What kind of inspector fool dares to take me on? Do you know what the Iron Kingdom used to call me? Knight Killer! The Grave of Steel! A knight’s natural enemy—!”

The ground I stood on trembled violently. As it shook the soil turned to mud, then in the next instant earth and rocks rose and formed a wave that crashed toward me.

“Earth magic that swordsmen fear most. I don’t know about other things, but when it comes to earth magic I could put myself in the Machine Empire’s top ten, you foolish young lord.”

“……hm.”

“It’d be fun to toy with you then kill you, but right now— huh?”

Edward Stein’s eyes suddenly widened as he went on excitedly. It made sense. His vaunted earth magic couldn’t even reach me; it vanished into the air. I watched Edward Stein gape, speechless.

“You use earth magic?”

Tch. You were really dead.

“What— why… what.”

His face looked like he denied reality.

I walked toward him and said,

“I told you. I am the owner of this land, remember?”

As if to say: use the land before the landowner.