Chapter 93
“Keugh―!”
Black blood burst from Pelles’s mouth. I felt the tip of the sword colliding with Pelles’s heart.
It was blocked. The power was slightly insufficient. Gritting our teeth, Kaiden and I poured aura into it.
At that moment, I saw the bracelet gleaming as it reflected off the blade. I poured aura into it as well.
Then….
“Ah… Aaaaah!”
Pelles screamed in agony. The sword began to pierce his heart. An intensely radiant light like the sun started pouring out from Pelles’s body.
“Keuk…!”
Kaiden and I gritted our teeth and closed our eyes. A tremendous energy enveloped us. I gripped the sword hilt tightly as if it were my lifeline. Kaiden also held my hand as if it were his lifeline.
As vibrations began from Pelles, the ground started shaking with him as the epicenter. Soon, an enormous noise and scattering of light erupted. Fierce winds whipped around, and then….
Everything disappeared.
The noise, the trembling, the wind.
“Huff, huff.”
Kaiden and I breathed heavily as we looked at Pelles in front of us. He stared at us with empty eyes like a monster puppet drained of life, then slowly collapsed.
With a thud, dust rose.
With the sword lodged in his chest, he twitched a few times on the ground before that movement completely stopped.
It was Pelles’s end.
“…….”
Kaiden and I watched him in silence for a while.
“…The sun is rising.”
At Kaiden’s murmur, I looked up at the sky. The dark night sky was gradually brightening faintly.
At that moment, cheers came from far away.
“We won!”
“Waa―! Long live Marion! Long live Kaiden!”
Turning back, I saw the soldiers gathered below Fernandi Castle throwing their weapons high into the sky, reveling in joy.
Kaiden and I looked at each other’s faces.
“We won.”
“Yes. We won.”
Bled slyly interjected.
[We won.]
The three of us hugged each other tightly and cheered.
“We won―!”
In the imperial year 515, the great war against demonic beasts ended in human victory.
* * *
One week later.
“Aigoo, my back. There’s no place that doesn’t hurt.”
I groaned while tapping my waist.
[Are you okay?]
Bled, who had somehow shrunk back to small size, climbed onto my back and did the cute act of stepping with his feet. Seeing that, a smile naturally formed.
“You’re definitely cutest when you’re tiny like a booger.”
[What?! Calling me a booger—don’t compare me to something so dirty! I’ll grow big again soon!]
The angry Bled hopped around on my back. I couldn’t help but tease him seeing that reaction.
“When, where, how. By what means?”
[Eek…! When the Demon King comes again….]
Bled trailed off and became sullen, then flew like a furball to bury his face next to my pillow.
I chuckled and rolled around on the bed. Only one week had passed since the great war against demonic beasts ended.
Bled, who had sustained many wounds here and there, seemed to have used up so much power fighting Pelles that his body size had shrunk back to hatchling level.
“Instead of being big, your wounds healed quickly. That’s more fortunate.”
[…Still, I like being big.]
Bled muttered in a disappointed voice. I patted and soothed the disheartened dragon.
“Let’s ask him later when the Demon King comes.”
[…You say it.]
He must be scared to say it directly to the Demon King.
“Okay, okay.”
After stroking his head, I lay straight. Turning my gaze, I saw a blue sky outside the window.
I had returned to Baltstein Castle.
While everyone was busy with damage recovery, I had been resting alone for several days. People insisted I rest, and in fact, bandages were wrapped tightly around various parts of my body.
I slightly raised my head to look around the room.
It was the room in the Archduke’s castle where I had stayed just about a month ago. Though it was summer and no fireplace was lit, being in the north, a cool air lingered.
How peaceful.
The great war against demonic beasts from a few days ago felt like a dream.
I gently closed my eyes and recalled that time.
When Pelles died, the demons fled to the eastern waterway. The demonic beasts under their brainwashing also frantically escaped.
Thunderous cheers erupted from our side’s camp gathered below Fernandi Castle. Kaiden, Bled, and I leaned on each other as we walked toward them. They welcomed us with faces streaked with tears and snot.
It was a complete human victory.
But the damage was great as well. Many soldiers died or were injured. The process of recovering their bodies and treating the wounded was still ongoing.
Moreover, the capital completely destroyed by the aftermath of the Demon King’s descent, and the considerable damage across the empire, would take a long time to restore.
The north could not escape that damage either, so as soon as Kaiden returned to the Archduke’s castle three days ago, he had been endlessly busy.
Marquis Fernandi, upon my return after defeating Pelles, cried and apologized, saying I had suffered much and that he was sorry for pushing me into danger. I muttered with an embarrassed face.
“Grandfather, you cry a lot.”
As soon as I called him grandfather, he opened his eyes in surprise and then sobbed even louder.
And the Archduke, Lucas, Stella, Durante, Bedel, and many others also extended various greetings to Kaiden and me.
“Are you both okay?”
The Archduke was foremost worried,
“Archduke, Marion. You are heroes! You saved the empire!”
Lucas was purely joyful,
“By Nyx, thank you so much. Ah, you both have suffered greatly. Truly thank you, and thank you again.”
Stella expressed gratitude while crying.
Others had similar reactions.
News of the great war against demonic beasts quickly spread across the empire via extras. Newspaper companies frantically printed papers, busy vividly reporting the battle from the previous night.
Amid that, when it became known that a dragon had fought on our side, Bled was completely revered as a sacred being. Unfortunately, since his size had shrunk, he could not display his majesty.
One newspaper company even covered all pages with praise for me in a happening. From my childhood known to the public to my record up to the present….
“…A stalker?”
I couldn’t help but suspect that.
In general places, they prominently described the heroic exploits of Kaiden and me, and were busy praising the soldiers who participated in the great war against demonic beasts as brave warriors.
As time passed, people’s reactions only grew larger. It seemed they found consolation in praising us as heroes amid the sorrow of destroyed homes and lost loved ones.
‘…Wait, we are kind of heroes, right?’
At this level, wouldn’t a page or two remain in history books? …Or not? Anyway, a few lines would be written.
Knock knock.
At the sound of someone knocking on the door, I opened my eyes wide. I sat up and answered.
“Come in.”
“Marion.”
“Your Grace!”
At the welcome face’s appearance, I approached him in one step. Kaiden had been so busy that this was the first time seeing his face in three days.
“Are you okay?”
He smiled and tucked my disheveled hair back. I nodded with a slightly shy smile.
“Of course. Are you okay, Your Grace? You must be tired, unable to rest….”
“Name.”
The mood was good, but…. Those two syllables made my heart cool a bit. So I subtly changed the subject.
“By the way, how is the territory damage?”
“It’s roughly wrapped up. Since it’s far from the capital, we had relatively little damage.”
“That’s a relief.”
I nodded in relief when another knock sounded. When I said come in, Madam March opened the door and entered.
“Sir Marion, how is your body…. Oh my, Your Grace is here.”
Kaiden lightly nodded in greeting. I answered cheerfully.
“My body is perfectly fine thanks to Madam’s attentive care.”
“You’ve become so thin…. You need to eat a lot. It happens to be lunchtime—would you two like to eat together? Is Your Grace’s time okay?”
Madam March seemed to have come to take care of my lunch. Behind her, a maid pushing a tray was visible. Delicious smells wafted over.
“Good.”
When Kaiden answered, his portion was quickly prepared as well. The table was laden with plentiful food. Bled flew like a furball and sat on my shoulder. He said it was lonely staying alone on the bed.
I invited Madam March to eat together as well, but she firmly declined.
“I’m not that oblivious. Enjoy your meal.”
Leaving those words, she disappeared with the maids. Kaiden and I unnecessarily blushed and then burst into laughter at the same time.
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