Dragon hunting was an indescribably dangerous task. That was why the worry of what he would do if
something happened to Kasim would not leave his mind.
“Please, take care of yourself.”
At Lord Arne’s heartfelt request, Kasim silently nodded.
“I will return no matter what happens, so please do not worry.”
“Of course. You must.”
Kasim turned his head and looked into Matilda’s face.
“I still have a mission left to complete. Matilda. Will you wait for me?”
A smile appeared on Matilda’s face.
“I’ll wait as long as it takes. I’ve already waited ten years, haven’t I? But you mustn’t make me wait
too long, all right?”
“I promise.”
Matilda threw herself at Kasim, who was nodding, and showered him with kisses.
“Oh my.”
Juliana’s face turned as red as a carrot, and she looked away from the scene. The others, however,
were busy peeking at it with broad grins. The burly Patterson and Helton quickly caught on and
rushed over to block the others’ view.
“What are you looking at?”
But because Kasim’s physique was so imposing, completely blocking him was, in a word, impossible.
When the reluctant farewell ceremony ended, Kasim paid his respects to Lord Arne.
“Then I will be taking my leave. It seems it will be convenient to depart from here in order to reach
our destination.”
Lord Arne nodded with a smile.
“Do so.”
“I am sorry, but would you tell your wife and the people of the territory that I apologize for leaving
without greeting them? Time is very pressing.”
“Do not worry. I will explain it well. Then your men must be waiting, so go on.”
“Then I’ll be off……”
Kasim silently turned around. His party had already finished all their preparations to leave.
After looking back at Matilda one last time, Kasim shouted with vigor.
“We’re departing. We’ll pass beyond the Penslut border on foot first, and decide our next destination
there.”
At Kasim’s order, the mercenaries immediately began to move. Seeing that every one of their packs
was bulging, they seemed to have brought a great deal of food from Arne. The only ones not carrying
baggage were Damon and Juliana.
The members of Kasim’s Mercenary Corps strode forward with confident steps. Lord Arne and
his attendants watched them in silence.
When their figures disappeared from sight, Matilda burst into the tears she had been holding back.
“Sob, sob. Father.”
Lord Arne silently patted his daughter’s back.
“Do not worry, Matilda. He is a man reliable beyond measure, so he will surely return.”
“I know that, but that doesn’t mean I can help worrying.”
“That fellow……”
The lord gently stroked his daughter’s back and turned his head.
“We shall return as well. We cannot leave the territory unattended for long, so let us hurry.”
Watching the attendants busily move about, the lord turned his head to the butler. He was in a
position where he had to part from the group and go straight to Tudret.
“Then, Butler, I leave things to you.”
“Do not worry, my lord. I will manage it well.”
Leaving the butler bowing behind them, the lord’s party set off. In the teleportation magic circle
visible in the distance, a court magician stationed there by Duke Karsus was waiting for the group.
After marching diligently for half a day, the mercenary corps was finally able to leave the city of Cordo. When they entered a deserted road, Kasim brought the party to a halt.
“We’ll rest here for a while before moving on.”
The mercenaries did not show much sign of fatigue, but the problem was Juliana. Though she had
come on horseback, her face was full of exhaustion. Kasim, having noticed that, ordered a rest. Once
they had a moment, the mercenaries entered mana cultivation as if there were no need to think about it.
“Thank you.”
Kasim glanced at Mitchell, who handed Juliana a water bottle, and approached Damon. Just then,
Damon was also looking at Kasim.
“Do you not feel regret?”
“What do you mean?”
“Leaving your newlywed bride behind, I mean. In truth, if you had wished it, I was thinking of
leaving you behind as well. I did not want to break the happiness you had found with such difficulty.”
A faint smile passed over Kasim’s lips.
“No matter what anyone says, I am the captain. It is unthinkable for the captain to be absent from
Kasim’s Mercenary Corps.”
Damon nodded as if that were true.
“Indeed, where could we possibly find a captain like you? But you must always take care of yourself.
If you do not wish to make your beautiful bride cry, that is.”
Kasim, who had been looking at Damon with a strange gaze, suddenly spoke.
“There is one thing I would like to ask.”
“Tell me.”
“How exactly did you come up with the name Shirnak? It reeked of a villainous image, and it had
quite an atmosphere……”
At Kasim’s words, Damon’s eyes suddenly went as wide as saucers.
“What on earth are you talking about? Shirnak?”
“Was that not you in disguise, Damon?”
Damon shook his head adamantly, as if it were utterly absurd.
“Do not say such nonsense. Do you think I have nothing better to do than disguise myself as some
lich?”
Hearing Damon’s response, a triumphant smile appeared on Kasim’s face, as if he had caught him.
“How strange. How is it that you, who were not at the scene, know that the lich’s name was Shirnak?”
“T-that is……”
Damon was struck speechless. Before he knew it, he had fallen for Kasim’s leading question. Watching
Damon stammer without being able to continue, Kasim went on with his deductions.
“When I was frantically absorbed in fighting, I could not think of anything. But after I regained my
composure and thought back on what happened then, the situation seemed extremely strange.”
“……….”
“The point I found most suspicious was the swordsmanship used by the Elite Doom Warriors. Their
sword paths were exactly identical, without the slightest difference, to those of the Death Knights I
had already sparred with several times. Moreover, to be precise, the paladins Count Tudret brought
with him were men whose abilities were almost no different from mine. It is impossible to understand
by common sense that an Elite Doom Warrior who easily subdued two such paladins could not deal
with me alone. And there were four of them attacking me, were there not?”
“Th-that might be because you fought with your life on the line, might it not?”
Kasim shook his head, indicating that was not the case.
“No matter how much one fights ready to lay down one’s life, one cannot overcome that much of a gap
in ability. And the circumstances were far too coincidental. I had never once heard before that the Demon King takes a woman of the Red Scorpion constellation as his wife once every hundred years. Furthermore, the fact that this happened at the very moment the wedding was taking place, and that Damon happened to entrust the Staff of Verhazel and the Dragon Heart to me at just the right time—doesn’t it all fit together far too neatly to be dismissed as coincidence?”
“……….”
Damon silently kept his silence. Before long, the mercenaries had gathered and were listening to their conversation.
Kasim continued, staring straight through Damon.
“And so I reached a conclusion. That all of this was something you arranged, Damon.”
Damon, who had been listening, quietly raised his head and met Kasim’s gaze.
“When one lives, coincidences are bound to happen. In my opinion, this seems to be an astonishing
coincidence. The reason I handed you the Staff of Verhazel and the Dragon Heart that day was probably because your luck reached the heavens. Hm. And the fact that the lich’s name was Shirnak is something most of the people of Arne know. I know it because I heard it during a drinking party.”
Damon’s answer was an explicit denial. But Kasim, listening, showed not the slightest change in
expression. A moment later, a resolute voice flowed from his lips.
“Until now, I believed that if it was for Damon’s sake, I would never begrudge my life. But now, that
thought has changed a little.”
“………….”
“Now, for Damon’s sake, I can gladly die with a smile. That is my true feeling.”
At Kasim’s vow, spoken clearly one word at a time, the mercenaries all grew solemn. Mitchell, who
had been silently listening, was nodding as though he agreed. He, too, owed Damon a great debt. But
Damon did not seem particularly moved by Kasim’s words.
“The captain is more foolish than he looks.”
“……….”
“When there is someone to whom you ought to devote your life, why are you offering it to me of all
people? Shouldn’t your life properly be devoted to your wife? Do not say such things.”
Damon, who had spoken bluntly, sprang to his feet.
“You seem to think I would be pleased if you said you would die for me, but that is a clear
miscalculation. A dead body only brings sorrow to comrades. You should make your comrades happy
by living, not by dying. Why die? No matter the situation, you must value your life.”
“……….”
“You must return alive by any means and live happily with your wife. So do not carelessly let words
about dying pass your lips again. Understood?”
A faint smile appeared at the corners of Kasim’s mouth.
“Even if you say that, my resolve will never change.”
“Would you look at this stubborn fool? You are more single-minded than you look. Tsk, tsk. What a
hopeless man.”
Damon clicked his tongue and turned away sharply. As Damon walked off to one side, Kasim and the other mercenaries watched his back with indescribable looks in their eyes.
As he walked to one side, Damon’s face bore an expression as if he had taken a blow.
‘That fellow Kasim. He really is quick-witted.’
Damon shook his head, but his expression suddenly grew serious.
‘If that fellow had been just a little quicker on the uptake, I wouldn’t have had to waste that precious Dragon Heart. It’s a shame that I lost the Dark Shade I’d gone to the trouble of summoning, too…… But there was no helping it. If I had been even a little late, I might have suffered serious damage as well.’
Though he had lost the Dragon Heart, Damon forced himself to steady his mind because he had gained even more. As if something had occurred to him, a smile crept onto his lips.
‘As expected, the role of a villain suits me. Only a true villain can perfectly play the villain’s role.’
Arriving at a corner, Damon sat down on a small rock. When he turned, he saw the mercenaries busily preparing a meal. Since Kasim was still looking at him, Damon hurriedly turned his head away.
‘Persistent fellow. In any case, this turned out well. Considering what he does for me, one Dragon Heart can be considered a bargain.’
With his arm as a pillow, Damon flopped down on his back, and a gentle breeze passed over his head.