217 – The Difficult Villainess

Olaf’s head fell to the ground.

The evil axis that had killed Yuri’s father in the novel was being held back by the hand of the evil woman’s butler.

“Ha…”

I couldn’t believe it.

The fact that I had killed a being like Sado with my own hands was unbelievable. Sado, who was strong and never lost to anyone, was killed by me… Honestly, I had prepared myself for the worst, but things turned out well, so I felt relieved.

I pushed Sado’s dead body, which had fallen to the ground, to a place where the young lady couldn’t see it, and muttered softly.

“It’s over.”

The young lady shouldn’t see this, only beautiful things.

After confirming that Olaf’s body was no longer moving, I looked at my clenched fist.

-Kwaak….

My usual fist, but it felt different. It felt solid and overflowing with power. It was as if I had become a different body.

Is this what it means to be a Sword Master?

It didn’t seem like anything had changed, but I felt like I could do anything. I wouldn’t be intimidated by the Empire’s sword.

I tried to call out my status window in my mind, but I hesitated for a moment and checked on the young lady’s condition. It was good that her lifespan had increased, but the young lady’s health was my priority.

I didn’t think the young lady’s body, which had used overwhelming dark magic to defeat Sado, would be okay.

Serious internal injuries.

Or aftereffects.

I felt a ominous premonition and quickly turned my gaze to the young lady.

“Young lady!”

“Hmm.”

The young lady, who was leaning against the wall, had a pale expression and was panting. Fortunately, she seemed to have only minor injuries, and her calm eyes were looking at me, waving her hand.

“Young lady!?”

One special thing was…

“Chipal.”

The young lady’s body had changed.

I let out a surprised voice and looked at the young lady. She had become small, like a dwarf, and was looking up at me.

It wasn’t a special change.

Her arms didn’t grow four, and her body didn’t shrink like a dwarf’s.

It was just…

Her cheeks had become round and puffy.

Her eyes had become more innocent and childlike.

She had changed to the point where she didn’t look evil no matter what she did.

“Puhuh…”

“Hehehe!”

I burst out laughing, seeing the young lady’s childish appearance for the first time in a long time.

“What’s with that face!?”

The young lady had changed. She had become the 7-year-old child I had first met.

“Puhahaha! Ah, no… Kkhuhuhuh.”

“Hehehe!”

The young lady looked up at me, her puffy cheeks blowing air, her fists clenched, and her eyes glaring at me.

“Uddima!”

“No, how can I not laugh? My body is going crazy…”

“Hehe, I told you to laugh.”

“…Haa.”

I thought that if I teased her a bit more, she would cry, so I stopped teasing her and approached her.

“Why is your body like this?”

The lady shook her head and replied to me in a innocent voice.

“I don’t know.”

“This is serious.”

“It’s not serious.”

“Is that so?”

The lady looked at her shortened hand and nodded.

“I’ll recover in a day.”

“Oh…”

“It’s because I lack dark magic, but I’ll recover soon.”

“…Hmm?”

“It’s okay. I can refill it soon.”

“How?”

The lady smiled mischievously, as if it was a secret.

“It’s a secret.”

She’s a dark magic user, a wicked woman.

Now, I wanted to scold her for her genuinely wicked appearance, but I couldn’t scold the lady who had become cute, so I let out a small sigh and shook my head.

The lady opened her arms and looked at me, her big, round eyes sparkling as if asking for a hug. I shook my head, my eyes wide open.

“Don’t hug me…”

“Lady.”

“Hmm?”

I looked at the lady’s legs.

“Lady, right now…”

I gazed at the lady’s legs, which were standing on two feet, with tears in my eyes. Although I knew it was temporary, and I knew it was the aftereffect of dark magic, I hadn’t seen her stand on two feet in a long time. I felt like crying.

I spoke to the lady in a trembling voice.

“Lady… you’re standing up right now.”

“Hmm?”

The lady bowed her head and looked at her legs, her white toes wiggling as she raised an eyebrow and moved her knees, making a weird sound.

“Heehee?! Heehee?!”

“Lady…”

The lady, filled with emotions, looked at me with a tearful expression.

“Ricardo…”

“Lady.”

“Still, hug me.”

“…”

She was a young lady who didn’t know what it meant to be touched.

I let out a deep sigh and hugged her tightly. I carefully lifted her small body, cradling her like a princess, making sure not to reveal the scars on her body.

She touched my cheek with her small fingers.

Checking if I was hurt, if I was in pain. As she smiled brightly, stretching her cheek, her eyebrows furrowed, and she spoke to me.

“Are you not hurt?”

I gazed at her warmly and replied.

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Really, I’m not hurt.”

“Hehe.”

With a confident answer, she smiled at me, her eyes sparkling. Her worrying hands continued to caress me.

The smile on her lips didn’t fade. I liked her concern, even when I said it was okay.

“Will you really come back?”

“Uh-huh. Why? Are you worried?”

“No. It’s just that I personally like girls with treasure pouches, so…”

“Treasure…”

At the mention of a treasure pouch, she looked down, her eyes widening in surprise, and her face fell.

“Heehee!”

She was still a funny person.

“My treasure!”

“I’ll take care of it for you later.”

“Uh-huh. Don’t try to sneak it into Ricardo’s pouch.”

“…Did you get caught?”

“Yes.”

I smiled at her joke and continued to hold her.

As I hugged her, she looked up at me and said.

“Ricardo, am I not heavy?”

“You’re light. You’ve always been light, and now you’re as light as a feather.”

“Hehe… Yeah, Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Does it hurt when you get hit by your uncle?”

“…”

She only saw my uncool side, not my cool one, and spoke to me with a biting remark. Does it hurt when you get hit? That stung a bit.

I gently patted her forehead, giving her a small smile.

“I got hit more.”

“Liar.”

“It’s true.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

The lady, who had placed the Sword Master next to her, or rather, had made the Sword Master her servant, was still treating me like a weak servant, continuously patting my cheek. She was really a person you couldn’t help but love.

Sitting in her wheelchair, the lady wrapped herself in a blanket she had found somewhere and gazed at the ruined hotel, saying:

“But, Ricardo, where are we going to sleep?”

“That’s right.”

There seemed to be a lot of things to take care of.

I gazed at the ruined hotel with a bitter smile.

‘Do they have home insurance in this world too?’

It would be nice if they did.

For now, let’s just do whatever we can.

I thought I had to put aside trivial matters and finish the battle. Olaf was dead, but one enemy still remained.

“Dad….”

I carefully approached the black, struggling creature, looking down at it with a sorrowful gaze.

The monster, which was still searching for its dad even as it was dying, somehow tugged at my heart.

In the novel, this monster had died together with Olaf at Yuri’s hand. To be precise, it was said to have been killed by divine power, so it didn’t matter what happened. Whatever the case, it was a living being that shouldn’t exist…

Holding Tirving, I fell into thought.

“Miss.”

“Yes?”

I pointed at the monster with my sword, asking the lady what to do. Although I thought I should kill it, I hesitated because it was a living being with a story.

The lady looked at the black creature and shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t know what to do either.

Even if I didn’t finish it off, it was going to die anyway.

I put Tirving back in its scabbard and spoke to the dying monster.

“I’m sorry.”

“..”

“I’m sorry that you’ve experienced unhappiness because of me.”

The monster carefully reached out its hand to me.

It was difficult to describe its hand, but the warmth in its touch felt like it was embracing me. The monster’s hand patted my shoulder and comforted me, as if to say it was okay.

-Thank you.

The monster’s small voice echoed.

It was ridiculous. I couldn’t laugh. To hear the monster say thank you to me, who had killed its father and its mother, was unbecoming.

I bowed my head, and bowed again.

“Thank you.”

And so, Olaf’s daughter took her last breath.

I didn’t know where she would go.

Would she go to hell or heaven? I didn’t know either. As someone who didn’t believe in the afterlife, it was ridiculous to hope she would go to a good place.

I nodded slightly and placed my hand on the girl’s body as she disappeared.

“You’ve worked hard.”

On the spot where the girl had been, a small piece of paper was stuck to the black ash, fluttering slightly.

I bent down and picked up the paper, holding it up to the sunlight to reveal a faint smile.

‘…’

The paper contained a photo of a young Olaf and a smiling little girl.

I looked at the girl who was wiping her nose and said with a laugh, “Can I build a grave for this person?”

It was the last respect I could pay.

*

The Magic Tower branch in the capital.

Yuria stood in front of the space teleportation magic circle, reading the letter she had received from Shartia.

-Yuria!

The letter from Shartia, who had urgently knocked on her dormitory door the previous dawn, contained something Yuria had never thought of.

A photo.

A photo of a red-haired man and a heretic fighting, with her own house destroyed and her father nowhere to be seen.

Yuria couldn’t shake off the ominous feeling.

Who would think it’s okay to see their burning hometown and say “it’s fine”?

Yuria was scared.

She was terrified that the worst-case scenario she had thought of might come true.

Shartia said to Yuria, “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“It’ll be okay.”

Shartia’s reassuring pat on the shoulder did little to comfort Yuria.

And so, Yuria stepped into the portal heading north.