Chapter 281
- It is most fun to watch fights(6)
Huff, huff, huff.
The appearance of knocking down the town’s best drunks was gone just a moment ago.
As if sipping on a very expensive drink little by little to save it, she was sipping the alcohol.
“You can drink more.”
“Ah, no! I drank a lot earlier so I’m fine.”
Flustered, Aria sipped her drink.
I nodded my head at Aria acting like that.
“Right. Overdrinking is not good.”
Hearing my words, Aria shed tears and sipped her drink.
“Yes…overdrinking is not good, very much so…”
I couldn’t tell if she was drinking the tears or alcohol with how much she was swaying the two.
“Now, let’s…”
“Um…I still have some drink left…”
When she slightly showed me the glass, it looked almost half full.
I couldn’t believe this was the same person who had downed drinks in one shot and knocked down the drunkards just moments ago.
Well, I guess it can’t be helped.
Sometimes you just want to leisurely have a drink.
I should patiently wait as her Instructor.
– Master? To me it looks like she’s trying to buy time?
Hmm…I guess you could see it that way.
– Aren’t you being too relaxed? What if scary sisters show up?
– That won’t happen.
If she was acting ordinary to buy time after becoming bait, I could think she’s playing a role in someone’s trap.
But look at that appearance.
As she raises the glass, her pupils are rolling around.
While her hand is slowly lifting the glass, I can feel a subtle shake in her legs.
Add to that her body slightly twisted away from me.
That was a posture to quickly get her body out.
Meaning her mind is full of thoughts to run away from me.
Of course after becoming bait she could be trying to get her body out when others come rushing in.
But my instincts were telling me there was an extremely subtle difference in Aria’s actions.
I can’t explain it but I’m certain she wasn’t waiting on someone else’s orders!
Those pupils still subtly shaking are not an act but a real reaction from being genuinely surprised!
– Well, if Master says so it must be the case. It only ruins your life if you’re wrong anyway.
As expected, the indifferent answer from that scumbag god.
You call yourself my soulmate bound by our souls when needed, compare our relationship to that of goddess and apostle, yet give such an irresponsible answer.
Truly fitting of your infamously evaluated terrible, no, evil divinity.
– And you always deny it when I say things like that? You only look for me when needed too.
The tone was somewhat frustrated but this happens often so let’s move on. An opportunity to beat up one person will resolve it later.
First is this.
“Aria”
“Yes?”
When I called, Aria, who was sipping her drink, flinched in surprise and turned to me.
“Why, why are you like that…”?
Why is she so surprised? Anyone would think she was about to be eaten.
– Clank clank?
– Quiet. No, before that, she’s an adult now.
Aria is a year younger than the hero and Mirea but still in her mid 20s.
The hero was 24 last year so Aria must be 24 now.
These days it’s more delayed but even at 15 she would’ve been a noble preparing to marry.
At this age it wouldn’t be strange to call her an old maiden.
Adding my commentary as an expert having spent years in the empire, Aria looked to have a very low chance of marrying for love.
For Aria to marry, it’d have to be by her family’s power pressing down, the magic towers power pressing down, or Aria herself pressing down by her own power.
– Master? The last one is a crime though?
– It was originally only a crime if caught, not a crime if not caught they say.
As my disciple she’d have the ability to secretly tie down some guy she likes.
– Don’t believe your disciple would like that.
– Not my life so don’t care.
Regarding love issues I have more problems so can’t pay attention to other’s issues.
– Well…
Even the world’s scumbag god’s rebuttal dies.
– Never…Happened right?
– Cough cough.
This guy…! Say you’ll think about it and come back!
“In…Instructor…?”
Because of the sudden ambush my mind went blank and she downed the glass at once.
“Why, why are you like this…?”
Seeing that, Aria trembled like a small animal.
With a pitiful face looking up at me like a rabbit in a lion’s hands, I wondered if she’d actually be quite popular with men.
Should I revise my evaluation?
– You saw when drinking right? That’s her true nature.
– You’re right.
The world is big and has many eccentric people but there are practically no noble men who’d like that kind of appearance.
It can’t be helped. As her Instructor I can only help her start a good household.
– How? Follow her on every date?
– That’d be an invasion of privacy.
I’m a kind Instructor who respects my student’s private life. So I need another method.
– What method?
– Making her a hero. A continent recognized hero!
As the saying goes, doesn’t a hero have 3 wives?
No matter how unpopular I’m sure in becoming a hero she could catch one man!
“First…look at this.”
When I showed Aria the paper I took out, her face turned ghastly pale.
“Tha, that’s…”
“Hmm… You know since you’ve written it before right?”
“Yes…”
– Master? Looks like she could die?
The brightly shining pupils in her messy hair and face clouded over.
How to put this?
Just a bit ago, those were eyes that could survive if she kept her wits even walking into a tiger’s den.
– Now they’re just eyes saying ‘ah…life is…’ right?
– That’s right.
Even an amateur metal bat could notice she was in despair.
“Instructor… That… What I know… That… No way… Right?”
A drop of water flowed down her right eye, down her cheek, and fell.
Drip.
The small drop falls into the glass making a sound.
Wow, you still haven’t finished drinking?
It’s really pathetic.
– That’s not something a master should say!
“Is that right?”
“Yes…….”
I know well the desire to deny reality, but it was an inevitable fate.
It was an inevitable fate the moment I met you!
“Here, read this carefully.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Aria’s face showed a variety of emotions.
Sorrow, despair, frustration, fear, anger, futility, denial, sadness….
Aria, who showed all kinds of negative expressions that a person can have, had one same thing every time her expression changed – she looked at the metal bat in my hand.
“Yes…….”
After Alternating between looking at me and the metal bat for a long time, the word Aria uttered was her last.
– Phew… She’s alive.
– She lost in the end.
The only emotion on Aria’s face that she showed me last was.
Murderous intent.
She wanted to kill me and turn everything back to nothing.
But from a very young age, the traumatic memory ingrained in her was too much for her to overcome, so she eventually accepted her fate.
– I almost died.
In a world with magic powers, being fifty years old was still young enough to be considered active. No, it was the prime age where one can possess both skill and experience, so much so that some call the 40s and 50s the peak.
But that’s only the case with magic powers.
Without magic powers, my physical strength and stamina decrease like me. Just holding a sword makes me tired.
On the other hand, Aria had the powerful summon Surtur, a style closer to a sorcerer than a mage yet not inferior to a knight in close combat.
If Aria was determined, reinforced her body with enhancement magic, sacrificed Surtur, and dodged the metal bat a few times, she could have easily blown my brains out.
But Aria couldn’t overcome her fear of the metal bat.
Because of that, I was able to gain a new trump card.
One that could cause great turmoil for the imperial army, Demon King, and heroes.
So,
“Can I not stamp it?”
“No, you can’t.”
Stamp it quick, Aria.
#8 Their Situation: Aria El Nermia’s Situation
Ah… I’m ruined.
Mother, save me!
– Flee! Flee! Flee now, Master! That is a devil’s contract!
With tears streaming down his face, Surtur was even more panicked than me.
After all, why did Surtur make a contract with me?
And it wasn’t a normal contract, but a slave contract to obey my words.
It was all because of that damned geas Scroll.
A powerful contract created by the Creator that even the gods who rule the world cannot violate.
I wonder why those Creators, after creating the world, disappeared and made such useless stuff.
– The Creator is not bad. It’s the master’s Instructor who exploits it that’s bad!
– You’re right.
The Creator wouldn’t have made the geas Scroll to be used like this either.
It’s just my Instructor… no, Instructor is exploiting the geasScroll.
But there was no other way.
I wanted to kill them all and run away but… There was no way I could overcome Instructor’s metal bat he was holding.
Didn’t I hear it from Mirea too? With just one metal bat, Instructor defeated over 10 Swordmasters and made even Her Highness the Princess yield.
There’s no way I can beat 10 Swordmasters. No, it would be impossible for any ordinary human.
It would be impossible even for the 5 people who have received the title of Swordmaster. No, didn’t I see even the Swordsman, considered one of the best, get beaten down by the metal bat?
So I have to obediently sign the slave contract instead of going against it.
But the state of the contract was very strange.
<Will receive support from the Magic Tower>
<Work with the Magic Tower to defeat the evil god forces and make the Imperial Army…>
<From the Magic Tower…>
Everything, from one to ten, mentioned the Magic Tower.
In other words, it’s telling me to go back to the Magic Tower and serve as the granddaughter of the Tower Master right?
“Can I not stamp it?”
“No, you can’t.”
Humans have something called conscience.
And I’m human.
As soon as the talk of fighting the evil god forces ended, the fact that I ran away… Going back now is shameful.
No, even before fighting, will Grandfather accept me again after I ran away?
If he doesn’t accept me… then I’ll have to break the contract, but what will the Instructor do to me then?
Even if it’s inevitable that I’ll suffer losses, I can’t bring harm to my family or the Magic Tower which is like my second home…
“Are you gonna do it?”
“Yes.”
It seemed I could betray them 10 more times or so.
“Good. That’s a nice choice.”
Instructor, with a benevolent smile, lowered the metal he had raised.
“Phew…”
I’m sorry, Grandpa. I had no choice.
If you got hit by that thing too, Grandpa, you’d understand.
No matter how important family and the Magic Tower are, human life comes first, doesn’t it?
If I could, I’d rather die bravely instead of not being able to die like this.
– Don’t be too sad. Your choice, Master, is the right one.
Even the Great Devil of Hell said it was the right choice.
So it can’t be helped.
Grandpa… I’m sorry, but
Squeeze
“Good. The contract is complete.”
I have to survive first.
“You remember the contract terms, right?”
As the blood droplets on my fingertips stamped the geas Scroll, a faint light began to emanate from the geas Scroll, and upon seeing that light, Instructor had a satisfied smile.
“Yes, I know.”
I know but it will be very difficult.
How will the people of the Magic Tower see me?
No, before that, will Grandfather accept me again after I ran away saying I’ll go to war?
If he doesn’t accept me… Then I’ll have to break the contract, but what will Instructor do to me then?
While I was worried about such things, Instructor took out a map and a small necklace from his bosom.
“Go there with these.”
“Those?”
I probed it with magic power but it was a very ordinary necklace.
Go to a village I haven’t even seen before with this necklace?
“I prepared a gift for you.”
I didn’t know what it was but I wanted to throw the necklace away.
I felt like going there and accepting this, I’d be crossing a river of no return.
“Yes…….”
But what could I do? I contracted with the geas Scroll to absolutely obey until capturing the Demon King.
With a small sigh at my fate, I went to the place marked on the map, and,
“Have you come, my King?”
“Huh?”
I became the Mercenary King.
…Huh? Why?
