Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Lilia
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 15 – The Descendant of the Hero and the Burning Wolf
After Zanba SwordX left the room:
The carpet stained by my blood was peeled off the floor with magic and removed from the scene.
As expected, there was too much unexplainable physical evidence.
“Compatriot, was it okay to let her go?”
After hesitating, Erin followed her brother out of the room.
Her stuffed animal was left sitting on the sofa. It looked lonely.
“I think it’ll be okay… his attack earlier was careful enough not to hurt Erin.”
“But compatriot, wasn’t it powerful enough to make you bleed?”
“Well, he must have expected me to block it.”
Even though I explained what made sense in my mind, Cadenta had an unconvinced expression on her face.
Well, I guess to her, it sounded like a crazy gamble.
I knew from the sequel’s scenario that in Zanba’s recollection scene, he cared for his little sister deep down in his heart.
That was why I could easily grasp the deeper psychology of someone I just met.
Game knowledge was the best!
“But there’s another problem, isn’t there?”
“Aah, it’s amazing for a third son to have such a determined spirit.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
To relieve Cadenta’s frowning face, I sat back down on the sofa and showed her my palm.
After wiping away the blood, there was no scratch on my skin.
It was a benefit of my passive skill.
Zanba and Erin had scars on their bodies.
Those must be allowed to exist as proof of the training and hardships they had overcome.
But it was the exact opposite for me.
This skill was necessary for my style of fighting.
It prevented me from losing too much blood from the accumulation of small wounds and kept poison from affecting my combat effectiveness.
As a fighting machine, it was critical that every battle be fought in the best possible condition.
It wasn’t possible to immediately heal a deep wound, but it would heal on its own if I rested enough.
It might have become a passive skill in this context, but anyone of the hero’s bloodline had always been born with an extraordinary ability to regenerate.
“I’ll say it again, I have no intention of making a big fuss over this situation. There’s no evidence that I was hurt. Neither I nor the other party said anything happened. Even Erin wouldn’t want to cause a conflict between me and her brother.”
Since the interview was held at the royal castle, there was nobody eavesdropping.
Only the four people in the room knew what happened.
“So all that is left is you, Cadenta. If you said nothing happened, then the case would be closed and forgotten.”
“Is that okay? If you share what happened with the forces that are on your side……”
“It would split the nation apart. The SwordX family is necessary to the Tail Kingdom.”
Even if I said that the SwordX family was no good and tried to demolish it, it would only cause damage in various places. What would that solve?
Of course, nothing would be easier than if this world could be controlled to my liking by just crushing people I didn’t like.
But that wasn’t the case. The game’s version of Haruto had proven the tragic end that awaited him after trying to do that.
“Do I look like a person who would cause trouble and destroy things just to protect my pride? What would Erin think of the result?”
“Okay, okay. If you say so, then I’ll keep it a secret.”
The scale of the SwordX family shouldn’t be underestimated.
The scope of their influence was immeasurable.
For example, if I were to invade their house and destroy only the members of the SwordX family, many normal people would end up on the street because they lost their jobs.
The military, the core of national defense, would also be weakened and exposed to pressure from other nations.
The world wasn’t so simple that an individual action could salvage that.
Rather, it was so complicated that it was hard to believe it was a world based on a couple of games.
“Well, that’s how it is. Sorry about that, Cadenta.”
“I don’t mind, or so I’d like to say…… but is that all?”
Cadenta looked intently at my face.
I suddenly looked away and scratched my cheek with my finger.
“Aah, that’s right.” She pointed at my cheek.
“When you tell a lie, you scratch your left cheek with your right index finger. It hasn’t changed.”
“Eh, seriously?”
“Aah, it’s a lie. Your habit of lying is something else.”
Hieeh……
Did that mean I couldn’t lie to her……?
“So what are you really thinking?”
“Is that something you really want to delve into?”
“How sad, so you’re hiding something from a close friend who grew up together with you in the same school and fought by your side.”
Guh…… It made me feel weak when she said that.
I couldn’t afford to lose a friend, especially since I only had a few to begin with.
“……It’s still Erin’s family after all.”
In the end, that was the reason why I overlooked his barbaric action.
Cadenta had a fed-up expression.
“Erin is still a kid who doesn’t know she has other options. After she graduates, she may still choose to return to that family.”
“Would you approve of that?”
“I’m not her boyfriend or anything here,” I said with a wry smile.
“I’m not someone who can teach them a better way of living. That wouldn’t be a teacher, but a cult leader.”
“In that case… What do you give them as a teacher? What do you teach them?”
Her questions confirmed her concerns about me and her suspicions about my sudden life change.
Cadenta stared at me.
Perhaps this old friend of mine worried about whether I was doing well, since I suddenly changed occupations and became a teacher?
In that case, I should answer her seriously.
After a few seconds of silence, I chose my words carefully and opened my mouth.
“I… want to make sure those kids can walk straight onto the path they choose.”
I knew this would end up as a journey to save the world.
I already had a rough idea of what they would choose.
Even so, I wanted to teach them something that would support them when they felt discouraged or sad along the way.
I wanted to teach them not just to choose that path, but also how to maintain that determination and keep choosing that path whenever they questioned themselves.
“That’s why I have no intention of making a fuss about the SwordX family.”
“I see,” said Cadenta with a nod.
It seemed things would be concluded peacefully.
“Well, I think the other party also knew I was thinking this way, though.”
“Hou? What’s the basis for that?”
“Zanba-dono doesn’t usually behave like that, right?”
“……Aah. That’s true. I can’t even imagine him actually drawing his sword inside the royal castle. He must have had a lot of faith that you wouldn’t escalate the situation.”
“I guess so…?”
If I recall correctly, he had been deeply involved in the kingdom’s army as a member of the SwordX family from the start, according to the sequel’s plot.
He was the kind of person who could suppress their deepest impulse and blend into society.
Yet someone like that actually brandished his blade that time.
“Worst case scenario, Zanba-dono could end up killed because of his impulsive act.”
“No, I don’t think they would abandon their third son like that……”
“The SwordX family would do it.”
I was silenced by Cadenta’s assertion.
No good. I knew from the game that the SwordX family was a dark group who would secretly do things like researching zombie viruses, but were they that strict to their own family……?
“Cadenta, do you think they will take Erin back?”
“You finally asked that after all this time? Of course they would.”
Gueeh, I guess I was no match for her when it came to high-level political thinking.
“It’s becoming troublesome… or rather, you are making it troublesome.”
“So it’s like that after all?”
“Umu. It is a golden rule to teach people like that a lesson to make them understand their place.”
Cadenta said that with a grin.
I was jealous of how she always seemed to solve everything with violence.
After leaving the gates of the royal castle, Haruto and Erin said goodbye to Cadenta.
“Thanks for the help this time.”
“T-thank you very much.”
Perhaps due to things she talked about with Zanba, Erin looked somewhat depressed.
I guess I’ll have to ask some delicate questions on the way home, thought Haruto, as he decided on potential stores to visit before heading back to the school.
“This is nothing, since it’s for the sake of my compatriots.”
Cadenta gave a fearless smile and patted Haruto on the shoulder.
But after that, her expression darkened once.
“However… you should think more carefully about your actions. It seems Miss Mariemaia has become quite rough, you know?”
“Rough, you say… she’s someone who doesn’t mind little birds landing on her shoulders and whispering to her, you know?”
“You seem to fantasize about her too much. Disgusting.”
“Why?” said Haruto indignantly. “I’m not fantasizing. It’s the truth.”
“Mariemaia would do something like that,” said Haruto as he exposed his own delusion.
As expected, Erin was taken aback by how disgusting her homeroom teacher was, but Cadenta took action.
“Aah, that’s right.”
As if recalling something, she took Haruto’s left hand.
Then she lifted it up to her mouth and dug her teeth into the back of his hand.
“Hah.”
Erin’s mouth dropped open.
A little blood oozed from the spot where Cadenta’s teeth sunk in.
Seeing that, Cadenta removed her teeth with satisfaction.
“Oh, the usual stuff, huh.”
“Yes.”
“We haven’t had many opportunities to see each other lately, so I completely forgot.”
As Erin was dumbfounded by the turn of events, Haruto immediately showed her his healed hand.
“It’s an advanced magic passed down through the Olheim family.”
“Thanks to that, I almost got killed many times by your henchmen, though…”
“Well, it’s something like a protective charm, right? I’m thankful for that. You did it a lot in the past, but it feels gentle compared to when you bit me seriously.”
In the past? Magic? What are they talking about?
Erin ignored all of Haruto’s mumbling.
Erin understood exactly what that action meant.
Even if his wound would heal quickly, it was unbearable to see him being hurt by a stranger.
The reason why Cadenta expressed her anger over the sword injury earlier wasn’t because it was done in the royal castle or because her precious Haruto was wounded.
“Well then, Erin-dono, I’m sure we’ll meet again someday. Until then, please take care of him, my junior.”
Even though she had the face of a respected senior, she had the expression of something else more intimate.
Cadenta Olheim’s eyes spoke volumes.
──I’m the only one who is allowed to hurt him, it said.
Author Note:
SwordX related matters would be in the next episode.
It was true that Zanba-kun had a proper intention for that.
In the end, the reason he was forgiven for drawing his sword was just as Haruto-kun said, it was because Haruto-kun was like a personification of scum who showed unconditional, lame, and sweet favoritism.
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