TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 217
Olaf’s head fell to the ground.
The Pillar of Evil, who had killed Yuria’s Father in the novel, was meeting his end at the hands of the Villainess’s Butler.
‘Haah…’
I couldn’t believe it.
I couldn’t believe that I had killed an Apostle with my own hands. The Apostle, who was powerful and had never lost to anyone, was defeated by me…. Honestly, I was prepared to go down with him, but I was relieved that things turned out well.
I moved the Apostle’s severed head to a place where the Young Lady couldn’t see it and muttered softly.
“It’s over.”
After all, the Young Lady, who should only see beautiful things, must not see something like this.
After hiding the Apostle’s corpse behind the Building Debris, I confirmed that Olaf’s body was no longer moving and looked at my clenched fist.
-Craaack….
It was the same fist as always, yet it felt different. It felt solid and overflowing with power. It felt as though I had become someone else.
So this is what it means to be a Sword Master.
It didn’t seem like anything special had changed, but I felt as though I could do anything. Like I wouldn’t be afraid even if the Sword of the Empire was in front of me.
I was about to call up the Status Window in my mind, but I hesitated for a moment and checked on the Young Lady’s safety instead. Gaining a longer lifespan was good, but the Young Lady’s health came first.
I couldn’t help but think that the Young Lady’s body wouldn’t be okay after using Dark Magic powerful enough to overwhelm an Apostle.
Severe internal injuries.
Or perhaps aftereffects.
Feeling an ominous premonition, I quickly turned my gaze toward the Young Lady.
“Young Lady!”
“Ungnya.”
The Young Lady, leaning against the wall with a dazed expression, seemed limp. Fortunately, it seemed to have only resulted in minor internal injuries, as the Young Lady, looking peaceful, waved at me with a calm gaze.
“Young Lady!?”
One peculiar thing was.
“Chippal.”
The Young Lady’s body had changed.
I let out a startled voice as I looked at the Young Lady. She had become small, as stubby as a dwarf.
It wasn’t anything particularly strange.
She didn’t grow four arms, nor did her torso shrink like a Dwarf’s.
It was just, how should I put it.
Her cheeks had puffed up adorably.
Her eyes had become sharper and more intense.
And no matter what she did, she no longer looked evil.
“Puhup…”
“Don’t laugh!”
Seeing the Young Lady’s childlike appearance for the first time in a long while, I burst into laughter and shouted toward her.
“No, what is that appearance!?”
The Young Lady had changed. She had reverted to the seven-year-old child from the time I first met her.
“Puhaha! No, uh… kuhuhup.”
“Eeeek…!”
The Young Lady raised her head and glared at me. Her already puffed-up cheeks swelled further as she filled them with air, clenched her fists, and glared at me.
“Don’t laugh!”
“No, how can I not laugh? Your body is kuhuk…”
“Eeeek… I said don’t laugh.”
“…Haah.”
Fearing the Young Lady might cry if I teased her any further, I decided to stop and approached her.
“Why has your body become like this?”
The Young Lady shook her head and answered me with an innocent voice.
“I don’t know.”
“This is serious.”
“It’s not serious.”
“Oh, really?”
The Young Lady looked at her shortened arms and nodded.
“I think I’ll return to normal after a day.”
“Oh…”
“It’s because I ran out of Dark Mana, so I’ll be back to normal soon.”
“…Hmm?”
“It’s fine. I can replenish it quickly.”
“How?”
The Young Lady smirked like a villain and said it was a secret.
“It’s a secret.”
A villainess who uses Dark Magic.
Though I wanted to scold her for looking like a real villain now, I couldn’t bring myself to reprimand the now-adorable Young Lady. Letting out a small sigh, I shook my head.
The Young Lady spread her arms and looked at me. With her Bright, Shining Eyes, she seemed to be asking for a hug.
“Carry me…”
“Young Lady.”
“Yes?”
I looked at the Young Lady’s legs.
“Right now…”
With tear-filled eyes, I gazed at the Young Lady’s stubby legs standing on their own.
I knew it was temporary, and I knew it was an aftereffect of Dark Magic, but it had been so long since I’d seen the Young Lady standing on her own two legs. I felt like crying.
With a trembling voice, I spoke to the Young Lady.
“Young Lady… you’re standing right now.”
“Yes?”
The Young Lady lowered her head to look at her legs.
Wiggling her pale toes, she changed the Question Mark on her head to an Exclamation Mark as she began to scream in a bizarre voice.
“Hiiiik?! Eeeek?!”
“Young Lady…”
The tearful Young Lady looked at me with a trembling expression.
“Ricardo…”
“Young Lady.”
“But still, carry me.”
“…”
Truly, the Young Lady never understood what it meant to be moved.
Letting out a deep sigh, I lifted the Young Lady into a Princess Carry. Holding her now-tiny body effortlessly, I carefully moved her to a place where no ghastly sights could be seen.
The Young Lady wiggled her tiny fingers and touched my cheek.
Checking if I was hurt or in pain, she stretched my cheeks while smiling innocently. Then, furrowing her brows, she spoke to me.
“You’re not hurt?”
I looked at the Young Lady warmly and answered.
“No.”
“Really?”
“I’m really not hurt.”
“Hehe.”
At my confident reply, the Young Lady smiled at me. Her tender, caring hands continued to check on me without pause.
The smile on my lips didn’t fade. I appreciated the Young Lady’s constant concern, even though I had assured her I was fine.
“More importantly, do you really think you’ll return to normal?”
“Yes. Why? Do I look very strange?”
“No. I like you as you are now, but personally, I prefer the Young Lady who has her Treasure Pouch.”
“Treasure…”
At the mention of a Treasure Pouch, the Young Lady looked down at her chest, her eyes widening as she wore a devastated expression.
“Hiiiik!!!”
As expected, she was a funny person.
“My Treasure!”
“I will make sure to take care of it later.”
“Okay. But don’t sneak it into Ricardo’s Pocket.”
“…You caught me?”
“Yes.”
Smiling at the Young Lady’s joke, I continued walking.
The Young Lady, cradled in my arms, lowered the corners of her lips and spoke to me.
“Ricardo, am I not heavy?”
“You’re light. You were always light, but now you’re as light as a Feather.”
“Hehe… Hey, Ricardo.”
“Yes.”
“Does it hurt from being beaten up by that Mister?”
“…”
The Young Lady, who hadn’t seen my cool side and only witnessed the parts I didn’t want to show, hit me with a piercing question. Asking if it hurt from being beaten up… That stung a bit.
I flicked the Young Lady’s forehead lightly and gave a small smile.
“I hit him more.”
“Liar.”
“It’s true.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
The Young Lady, who had a Sword Master as her Butler, still seemed to see me as a fragile Butler, as she kept stroking my cheek. Truly, she was someone I couldn’t bring myself to dislike.
Seated in her Wheelchair, the Young Lady draped herself in a blanket she found somewhere and looked at the Collapsed Inn.
“But, Ricardo, where will we sleep?”
“That’s a good question.”
There seemed to be so much to deal with.
Looking at the Vanished Inn, I gave a bitter smile.
‘I wonder if there’s homeowner’s insurance in Another World.’
I hope there is.
Well, I’ll figure something out for now.
Setting aside trivial matters, I decided to focus on finishing the battle. Olaf was dead, but one enemy still remained.
“Father….”
Carefully, I moved my Footsteps and looked down at the Dying Monster with a complicated expression.
Even in its dying moments, the Monster’s search for its Father tugged at my heart for some reason.
In the Novel, this Monster perished alongside Olaf at Yuria’s hands. To be precise, it might be more accurate to say it was purified, as it died by Divine Power. Either way, it was a being that shouldn’t remain alive….
Holding Tirbing, I fell into deep thought.
“Young Lady.”
“Yes?”
I pointed at the Monster with my sword and asked. I wanted to ask the Young Lady what to do. In my mind, I knew it should be killed, but I couldn’t shake the unease of ending a life with a story behind it.
The Young Lady looked at the Black Entity and shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t know.”
“I see.”
“Yes.”
I didn’t know either.
Still, it seemed like it would die even if I didn’t finish it off.
Sheathing Tirbing, I spoke to the Dying Monster.
“I’m sorry.”
“..”
“I’m sorry that you suffered Misfortune because of me.”
The Monster cautiously extended its hand toward me.
Though it was hard to describe as a hand, the warmth it exuded seemed genuine. As if comforting me, the Monster’s hand patted my shoulder and embraced me gently.
-Thank you.
A faint voice from the Monster.
It was funny. But I couldn’t laugh. Hearing words of gratitude from the one whose Father I killed, and who I was about to kill, didn’t sit right with me.
I bowed my head deeply.
“Thank you.”
And so.
Olaf’s Daughter took her final breath.
I didn’t know where she would go.
Whether it would be Heaven or somewhere else. I didn’t know. I didn’t even believe in the Afterlife, so hoping she’d go to a Good Place felt absurd.
Nodding slightly, I placed my hand on the fading body of the Girl.
“You’ve worked hard.”
In the spot where the Girl disappeared, a Small Sheet of Paper emerged, partially buried in Black Ashes.
Bending down, I picked up the Paper that had come from the Girl’s body and held it up to the Sunlight, a bitter smile forming on my lips.
‘…’
The Paper contained a Photograph of a young Olaf and a smiling Young Girl.
Looking at the Young Lady, who was picking her nose, I spoke. When our eyes met, she quickly hid her hand behind her back. Watching her, I burst into laughter and said.
“May I build her a grave?”
It was the final respect I could offer.
*
The Magic Tower branch in the Capital City.
Yuria stood before the Space-Transfer Magic Circle, reading a letter she had received from Chartia.
-Yuria!
The letter, hastily delivered by Princess Chartia, who had knocked on her Dormitory door at Dawn, contained something Yuria hadn’t expected.
A Photograph.
A Photograph of the Red-Haired Man fighting against the Heretics. Below it, her Burning Hometown was pictured, with no sign of her Father.
Yuria couldn’t shake the ominous feeling.
No one would look at their Burning Hometown and think, ‘It’s fine.’
Yuria was afraid.
Afraid that the worst she could imagine might have already happened.
Chartia spoke to Yuria.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“It’ll be okay.”
Chartia’s reassuring pat on Yuria’s shoulder didn’t bring her any comfort.
And so.
Yuria entrusted herself to the Portal to the North.