Chapter 236
Chapter 236 – Side Story, Or (16)
“Sir Dian! Is Sir Dian here?!”
The tavern door slammed open as a young girl burst in.
“Olysia? What’s going on?”
I was just about to pick up my chopsticks when she grabbed my arm without warning.
“The Zhongrim Bandits are coming this way!”
“Zhongrim Bandits? I thought we taught them a lesson last time?”
“This time the boss came himself! He says he’s here to take revenge on you…!”
Revenge? What a joke.
“Alright, let’s go. But let me put this down first.”
I loosened Olysia’s grip on my arm and stepped outside the tavern.
Once out, I could hear the noise.
Crashing sounds, curses, screams, hurried footsteps—things that didn’t belong in a peaceful rural village in the eastern countryside.
Beyond the rooftops of the low buildings, a flag fluttered—black, with a crossed sword and bamboo. The Zhongrim Bandits’ flag.
Backdropped by that gaudy emblem, I saw around a hundred men marching this way.
They wore matching black uniforms, each wielding a sword, spear, or whatever sharp object they could get their hands on.
Let’s see… The ones in the back were small fry. That guy in front, with the oversized broadsword—he was the leader.
“Olysia, you should head home. Oh, too late.”
I chuckled as I saw her already fleeing down an alley.
Meanwhile, the Zhongrim Bandits were closing in.
I stood in the middle of the road, hands on my hips. They spotted me and began to slow their approach.
“Boss! That’s him!”
One of them pointed at me.
His left sleeve was empty and flapping—he was one of the guys who got beat up last time.
The Zhongrim Bandits were a so-called protective force for this area, Yunya Village, but in reality they were just thugs—bandits and extortionists.
Given the Eastern regions’ cultural conditions and crushing taxes, it wasn’t uncommon for fugitives to turn to banditry.
And since their activities were illegal anyway, most of them were ex-cons or total washouts. They were infamous in the area.
A while ago, they came right up to the village demanding protection money and caused a scene, so I gave them a proper beating.
That’s why they were back now, all gathered like this.
“So you’re the bastard who messed with my men!”
The boss shouted, pointing his oversized sword at me.
“Some lazy hick in a backwater town dares to touch the mighty Zhongrim Bandits—!”
“Sorry to interrupt.”
I raised my hand, cutting him off mid-rant.
“I was in the middle of lunch, so let’s wrap this up quick. You came to settle a score, right? Then go ahead and get it over with.”
“Th-this crazy bastard!”
“Kill him!”
I sighed as the bandits let out a war cry and charged.
So I’ve reached the second ending, and somehow ended up as the continent’s hero.
Tried to escape the pressure and live quietly… but now and then, things still get loud like this.
# # # #
“You’re back, Sir Dian!”
Olysia came running to greet me as I opened the door.
“How did it go?”
“They won’t be coming back again, that’s for sure.”
“Thank you. I’ll bring you something cold.”
“Sounds good.”
I stepped out to the front yard and sat down on a chair.
A breeze from the low hills behind the house rustled the tightly packed bamboo grove, making a pleasant sound.
This was Yunya Village, a small countryside village far in the East. I’d settled here after leaving the Imperial Capital.
After killing the Demon King at the palace and fleeing the Academy, I was stuck wondering where to go.
Brunswell was already exposed, and with my identity now known throughout the Empire, I couldn’t stay in the West.
I wanted a quiet, peaceful place where no one knew me—somewhere to rest until all the Demon King business was forgotten. But where?
This place was too backward. That place had too much trade with the West—no good.
After poring over maps for a while, I found the right spot.
A small village in the eastern continent: Yunya.
No real contact with the West, beautiful nature, moderately developed, and no one who knew me. This would do.
So I left the capital and moved here to Yunya a year ago.
I bought a small house next to a bamboo grove and spent my days doing absolutely nothing.
The plan was to rest here, and once the world forgot about the Demon King’s resurrection, quietly return.
The Academy graduated its class last fall, and the kids all got placed where I’d arranged for them.
Knightley went to the Ministry, Merilda to the cryptanalysis division, and Hindrasta… somewhere, to a special task force.
Kirlin was still at the Academy, preparing for a second graduation—apparently very busy.
The broken palace walls and buildings from the Demon King’s vortex and Linus’s extreme aura were finally repaired recently.
Ambassadors Nemara and Drebron succeeded in locating the dark elves and surviving demons hiding deep within the continent.
And as promised, the Emperor pardoned them and incorporated them into the Empire.
As for Mirelis, she’s steadily following the advice I gave her before her coronation and is running the Empire smoothly.
All thanks to the regular updates Kaiden sends me with his magic.
The only ones who know I’m here are Kaiden—and one other.
“Here you go, sir! Something cool to drink!”
Ismera smiled brightly, handing me a glass of cold green tea.
When I ran away from the Academy, I couldn’t stop thinking about Ismera.
So I asked Kaiden for one more favor.
If Ismera was willing to leave her position as vice principal and come with me, to send her here.
And so, she resigned and came to live with me.
I explained everything to Olysia.
That I’d saved Ismera back in the day when I roamed around with Linus, and that this was how things ended up.
I skipped over a lot in the “how it ended up” part, but Olysia didn’t seem too bothered or surprised.
“I was getting worried anyway. I thought you might stay single until you died of old age.”
So now the three of us have been living together in this little house by the bamboo grove for over a year.
Am I happy? Yes.
Ismera, no longer full of venom, had become gentle and calm.
Olysia adored her and followed her closely.
Ismera leaned back in her chair and looked up at the sky.
“Look over there, sir. A huge bird is flying by.”
I turned my eyes where she pointed—and sure enough, a massive bird was soaring with its wings spread.
What kind of bird is that big? If it looks that large from here, it must be enormous.
“It’s getting closer, isn’t it?”
Ismera sat up slightly.
It really did look like it was descending.
“Huh? What the—?!”
As the thing grew larger, Ismera gasped in shock.
“That’s not a bird!?”
It wasn’t. It was a dragon. Covered in white scales with a pink sheen.
As it descended, its wings blotted out the sun and turned the bamboo grove into night.
The heavy wingbeats bent the bamboo helplessly, some snapping and falling to the ground.
“Eek!! No! The bamboo grove is getting wrecked!!”
Olysia came running out at the noise and screamed.
“Why is a dragon even here?!”
Just as the dragon’s belly touched the highest bamboo tips, it vanished with a blinding flash of light.
“So this is where you were hiding, huh?”
Standing in the middle of the wrecked yard was Hindrasta.
Hands on hips, naked, fresh out of polymorph, and full of attitude.
“Student Sophie?”
Ismera recoiled at the sight of a proud, naked Hindrasta.
“What is that look?! Put something on right now!”
Ismera seemed more offended by the nudity than the dragon transformation.
“What the hell? How’d you break the polymorph? Wasn’t it cursed?”
“The elders lifted it after I lived well and repented in the human world!”
What the hell is going on…
Well, whatever. But how the hell did she know I was here?
“Dian, you!”
Hindrasta pointed at me.
“You’re not getting away again! Come on! We finish this today!”
You crazy dragon!
“Dian!”
Suddenly, Kirlin appeared like a shadow and hugged me tightly.
“Principal?”
“You disappeared without a word! I thought you died somewhere!”
“I didn’t die. But how did you even find—”
“Professor Dian!”
There were more.
Knightley and Merilda.
“Who runs all the way out here just to avoid marriage?!”
“Hello, Professor. I’m really glad you look well.”
“Wait, why are you two—? Gah!”
Before I could finish, they rushed in and hugged me.
“Because of you, I ended up working late in the Ministry! It’s been hell!”
“Professor, I’m not letting you go this time.”
Trapped by three women, I tried to accept my fate.
Surely, no one else would come.
“Professor Dian!”
What now. That was Professor Rina over there.
“Why are you here…?”
“They said people with ‘grudges’ against you were going to find you, so I tagged along!”
“Grudges?! What do you—”
“A yearning and affection for the missing Sir Dian.”
Then I heard Kaiden’s voice.
I turned and saw him standing there. And next to him—a dimensional gate.
They were all coming from there?!
“Kaiden! You traitor!”
“Traitor? Me?”
Kaiden smiled.
“You asked me not to tell anyone. But I never promised I wouldn’t.”
“You damn—! You knew what I meant!”
“I did. But I couldn’t bear to watch those left behind suffer after you disappeared.”
“You bastard!”
I tried to shake them off and run, but I couldn’t.
A glowing golden divine barrier wrapped the yard like a birdcage.
No way…
“Sir Dian.”
Lormane stepped through the portal.
She wore not the violet robes of her order, but ordinary clothing.
“Lormane?!”
“I’ve finally found you. After I was excommunicated, I longed to see you again.”
“Excommunicated? You were?”
“Yes, Sir Dian. I was excommunicated for embracing you after you killed the Demon King.”
What the hell? And why does she look so happy?
“So now, nothing binds me anymore. And I’m going to tell you what I couldn’t all those years.”
“Fine, but why the hell did you all show up at once?!”
“To stop you from running again. We’ve all agreed during the year you vanished. Oh, and…”
Kaiden snapped his fingers.
“Her Majesty the Emperor will also be arriving shortly.”
WHAT?! Mirelis too?!
Kaiden’s illusion magic began to spread.
If I got caught in that, it was over. I couldn’t break it either.
I tried to activate my Possession perks, but the time-freezing didn’t trigger.
Then I noticed—Kaiden’s hand had been glowing for a while. That bastard!!
“Olysia! Help me!”
But Olysia wasn’t beside me.
She was in front of Kaiden, receiving something.
“Lady Olysia, why don’t you go enjoy the capital for a bit? Just go through this gate.”
He handed her a few gleaming gold coins.
“Buy yourself some pork cutlet, do some shopping, and come back tomorrow.”
“Heehee. Thank you!”
Without even looking back, Olysia stepped through the gate.
“Ismera!!”
I called out desperately.
“Ahaha…”
But instead of fighting for me, Ismera just gave a troubled smile.
“Um, well…”
As she fumbled for words, Kaiden smiled at her.
“Lady Ismera, you’ve had him to yourself for a year. Shouldn’t Olysia have a guardian in the city?”
“R-right… I guess so…”
Ismera glanced around at the others, then bolted into the portal.
“I’m sorry, everyone!!”
“ISMERAAA!! Call Linus!!”
“Sir Linus won’t be coming.”
Kaiden smiled as he closed the gate.
“He was quite disappointed you vanished without telling him.”
Goddammit. I’m screwed.
It was my fault for trusting that golem who doesn’t understand basic decency!
I Possessed into a side character in a royal fantasy novel.
One where the Hero defeats the Demon King with his companions and brings peace to the world.
Most Possession stories turn the side character into a chaos agent—stealing opportunities, stealing heroines, hijacking the plot for a solo ending.
Claiming, “I just wanted to live quietly.”
But that’s trash behavior.
I wasn’t going to ruin a completed story or defile the original work.
And besides, the original Hero completing his journey was in my best interest too.
The greatest weapon I had was knowledge of the proper route. Messing with that would be suicide.
Rather than become the protagonist, it was far better to live quietly in a peaceful world after he did his job.
So I supported him. Fought at his side with the others.
I made sure the ending happened—and then I retired, just as planned.
But when the Hero needed my help again, I came back to finish even the side story properly.
I thought I could finally live in peace.
“GYAAAH! Let me go! Stop stripping me!!”
As I struggled against everyone’s hands, Lormane smiled.
“Don’t worry, Sir Dian. I’ll help you ‘recover’ with divine power the whole time.”
Kaiden’s illusion magic fully enclosed the area.
There’s no way this is the best ending for a Possessed side character!!
This was not in the original storyline!!!