‘My sword.’
As soon as Leniyar regained consciousness, she instinctively searched for her sword and was hit by both a sense of emptiness and memories of the moment before she lost consciousness.
In front of the barbarian who destroyed her Volatus-style ultimate move with inexplicable skill, she saw her cherished sword, her partner, disappear without a trace.
‘But why am I still alive?’
That was her next thought.
Logically, she should be grateful for being alive. Some might think so. But Leniyar knew firsthand that the world wasn’t so kind. She had learned that from the gutters of a slum where people weren’t treated as human beings.
‘There’s no reason to keep me alive.’
After all, she had picked a fight unilaterally, followed him to Hoarfrost Gorge for revenge, and attacked the barbarian’s sanctuary. Leniyar shook her head.
There would be consequences if she were left alive. Why would they spare her?
Yet.
For some reason, the barbarian hadn’t killed her. On top of that, her body seemed to have healed while she was unconscious, suggesting someone had treated her wounds.
‘Why?’
No matter how much she thought about it, the answer eluded her. Leniyar decided to try moving her body.
Sssss-
As she slowly raised her upper body, something draped over her fell to the ground. It was a fur robe, seemingly made from the pelt of a massive wolf with ashen gray fur.
‘This… belongs to that bastard.’
Why was the fur robe worn by the damned barbarian, who had haunted her thoughts for days, now covering her? Leniyar absentmindedly reached for the fur.
“Warm…?”
Startled by the warmth that spread from her fingertips like a burn, Leniyar withdrew her hand and muttered in disbelief.
Then she realized that the biting cold of Hoarfrost Gorge, which had been tormenting her until now, was hardly noticeable. The tent looked ordinary, but it was incredibly warm.
“You sure sleep a long time.”
“……!”
‘That voice!’
Reacting almost reflexively, Leniyar jumped off the bed and assumed the Volatus sword stance. Naturally, she grasped at nothing. The owner of the voice who had suddenly intruded was the one who had shattered her sword.
“You bastard!”
“Had a good rest? Slave No. 1.”
“Slave? What kind of…”
Her habitual cursing trailed off as memories resurfaced in Leniyar’s mind, forcing her to bite her tongue.
‘You barbarian consider it honorable to die in battle, don’t you? But you won’t die with honor. You’ll serve as my slave, doing all sorts of menial work, and once you’re useless, I’ll discard you. That will be the worst punishment for your kind.’
‘If I win, I’ll keep you as a slave for life and treat you like a dog. You might have a thick head, but your sword skills are decent.’
The threats exchanged just before their fight echoed in her mind. And it was Leniyar herself who had initiated those words.
“…….”
“Judging by your silence, it seems you’ve remembered. Slave No. 1.”
“You crazy bastard! Who do you think you’re calling a slave?!”
“Who else but the esteemed disciple of the Sword Master, next in line for the title of the Empire’s best swordsman, the Sword Demon…”
“Shut up!”
Leniyar’s face turned crimson with rage as she screamed to shut him up. Even she had realized the state she was in.
Storming in arrogantly, declaring she’d wipe them all out despite her exhaustion, only to end up losing her sword, fainting pathetically, and barely clinging to life.
Honestly, now she even wondered why she had chased this barbarian so tenaciously.
‘No, to begin with…’
“Are you sane?”
“Of course I am.”
“Bullshit!”
This mad barbarian genuinely intended to make her, the disciple of the Sword Master and a superhuman of the Empire, his slave. Leniyar now understood that he was dead serious. That was why he had spared her.
“Do you really think I’ll become your slave and obey you?”
“Which is why I kept you alive. We agreed, didn’t we? The loser becomes the other’s slave.”
“That’s not how it was! You con artist…!”
It was a matter of interpretation. Initially, it was Leniyar who had declared she would enslave him if she won, and Khan had merely echoed those words.
‘Agreeing that the loser becomes the winner’s slave’ was an entirely different matter. Leniyar glared at Khan, trying to clarify this point, but Khan, still facing the wall, nonchalantly snorted in response.
“You should have won then if you don’t like it.”
“You bastard─!”
Leniyar momentarily lost her temper and reached for her sword, only to find emptiness in her grasp, which sobered her up. The absence of her ever-present sword seemed to taunt her, reminding her she was indeed the loser.
“…Hoo. Let’s be honest. Do you really think you can trust me to act like your slave on the surface, without plotting against you for real?”
“Are you saying you’d betray me?”
“Obviously! You’re weaker than me. Sure, I lost this time, but that’s because the environment of Hoarfrost Gorge and my circumstances were unusually disadvantageous.”
“Well, that I recognize.”
Leniyar’s eyebrow twitched at how readily Khan admitted it. She mentally acknowledged relief at the fact he was still facing the wall as she continued.
“And yet, you’re keeping me as a slave? With the risk that I might slit your throat at any time? What if I decide to attack you from behind?”
“Well. In my opinion, that won’t happen.”
“That’s exactly it! Where do you get off with such confidence…!”
“If you really intended to do that, you wouldn’t be arguing about it. You would have attacked my back from the start.”
“That…”
Trailing off, searching for a counterargument, Leniyar eventually closed her mouth. She had been questioning it herself too.
Given her usual temperament, seeing Khan’s back would have been enough to make her rage and attack. Actually, that should have been the more accurate reaction.
‘Why?’
The question she first asked herself, “Why did Khan spare me?” now had deeper implications. How could she act like such an irreconcilable enemy and yet feel no murderous intent now?
It was baffling.
“Regardless, from now on, you’re Slave No. 1.”
Lost in her deep thoughts, Leniyar abruptly focused again when she sensed Khan stand up.
“If you don’t like it, you can challenge me again. Or if you prefer, you can swallow your pride and run away… though I do wonder how far you’d get on your own.”
“…….”
“If you want to keep any semblance of self-respect, just accept it, blockhead.”
With those final words, Khan lifted the tent flap and hesitated before adding.
“The clothes my servant used to wear are next to you. They might not fit perfectly, but they’ll do. The folks here in Hoarfrost Gorge are bigger, so their clothes won’t fit you. Return the fur robe if you’re going to run. Leave it where it is.”
With no further hesitation, Khan disappeared outside the tent. Watching his retreating figure blankly, Leniyar muttered.
“You bastard. I’m not a blockhead…”
Then it struck her why Khan had been facing the wall.
During the battle, her clothes had been torn to shreds, leaving her almost completely exposed. The barbarian had covered her with his fur robe like a blanket and then faced away….
‘No way.’
The thought that he had kept watch because nobody else could stop her rampage, but at the same time, he couldn’t just ogle a sleeping woman, so he had faced the wall instead—this realization made Leniyar’s skin crawl.
‘That brute who looks like an orc, doing something even those pretentious imperial nobles wouldn’t…’
No, the nobles were actually worse. They hid behind a facade of sophistication while being deceitful and disgusting on the inside.
They would prey on filthy orphans from the slums if it suited them. Yet, this barbarian, known for flouting civilized laws and being ruthlessly savage, showed a surprising amount of consideration?
“What kind of person are you….”
***
‘Damn, I almost had a heart attack.’
The moment Khan stepped out of the tent with a confident stride and felt those eyes on his back disappear, he exhaled in relief.
He knew in his heart it was a safe gamble, but feeling nervous was inevitable when there was any risk involved, especially when his life was the stake.
‘Looks like it worked, more or less.’
The fact that Leniyar, proud as she was, hadn’t attacked him again despite the humiliating remarks of calling her “blockheaded” and “Slave No. 1” was proof of that.
But Khan had no intention of truly treating her like a slave. Who knows when she might decide to stab him in the back? It was better to utilize her skills without pushing her too far.
‘Someone like the Sword Demon Leniyar would be invaluable insurance for later.’
This was crucial since his next destination would likely be the Empire once the matters at Hoarfrost Gorge concluded.
As details about the Sorceress Mortalia emerged, it seemed the main quest would soon need serious consideration. Some level of preliminary intervention was necessary to preempt future complications.
In that context, Leniyar’s value was undeniable.
‘Her abilities are formidable, but the influence of her backer, swordmaster Valken Leichtahp, cannot be underestimated.’
He hadn’t spared her on a whim. Keeping her alive posed the risk that she’d grow even stronger and become impossible to eliminate, but the benefits of having her as an ally far outweighed the risks.
Moreover, in ‘Midland Quest’, the named NPC Sword Demon Leniyar was meant to be a supportive ally. Despite her high self-esteem and independent streak, she wasn’t inherently evil.
And towards the end, the sight of her killing intent engulfing her entire body was certainly…
‘I’ll have to confirm that later.’
For now, it was best to give Leniyar some time to gather her thoughts. Since there had been no sign of the red aura on her recently, he could relax for the moment.
With Leniyar’s recruitment more or less handled, ‘Time to finish what I’ve postponed.’
Warrior God Karyan awaited him in the depths of the sanctuary. The God promised to reveal all the truths he could share.
TL’s Corner:
Khan’s Harem:
Tilly
Ludmilla
Leyinar
I’m not really into harem though.
-_-
Also, leyinar has 2 nicknames:
검귀 – Sword Demon
칼귀신 – Sword Ghost
귀신 – Ghost
which is also used for her move Ghost Step(귀신 걸음)