‘...It’s over.’
He felt no sense of relief—no joy at surviving, no thrill of victory.
It was rely the feeling of finally completing a difficult, necessary task he’d been forced to undertake.
For soone who had defeated a legendary monster, his reaction felt hollow, but he couldn’t help it.
“I lost...”
Had he defeated the monster with his own hands, perhaps he would have felt so satisfaction. But in the end, he had relied on soone else’s strength. He had given it his all, yet he lost—thoroughly, without a single excuse.
The taste lingering in his mouth wasn’t refreshing; it was as bitter as chewing a mouthful of herbs.
...However.
“Heh, as long as the kids are safe, that’s enough.”
He didn’t feel any sense of helplessness or self-loathing.
His students, his kids, had survived. That one fact was his only source of pride.
—For Pendragon! For Lionel...!
—Waaah!
From a distance, he heard the triumphant cheers of victory.
It seed they had succeeded in annihilating the gnolls within the Coliseum.
Even amidst the mingling shouts of countless voices, he could distinctly recognize his students’ voices, confirming that they were all safe.
“You brats.”
Finally, Ihan allowed himself a satisfied smile.
“Haha, it seems being a teacher suits you well. Or maybe you’ve always had a soft side, and I just didn’t know,” said Baltar Grace.
“...I’m just savoring the afterglow, so leave be.”
“That arrogant mouth of yours hasn’t changed... If only you’d learn to respect your elders.”
“When soone’s worthy of respect, I do show it. But you’re not one of them, old man.”
“...Should I have just let you die?”
Baltar Grace clicked his tongue in exasperation. Even as Ihan lay there like a wilted vegetable, he was still as sharp-tongued as ever. He was the type of person whose mouth would float even if he drowned.
“Who told you to co so late? It would’ve been nice if you’d shown up when I called.”
But Ihan wasn’t complaining without reason.
—Help out, old man.
When he’d first noticed the unusual presence of the monster, Baltar was the first person he had sought for help.
But the old man had—
“It’s unwise to act on uncertain information.”
“So you co after the disaster? I’d love to see you use that excuse if everyone had died, ha!”
“...Ahem.”
At this point, Baltar had nothing to say and averted his gaze. It was his own decision not to trust Ihan.
“Still, I ca running the mont I sensed any trouble. So let’s move on, alright?”
The distance between the academy and the royal castle was roughly 30 kiloters. Baltar had covered that distance in an instant, so he’d put in quite an effort. But on the other hand—
“If I and the kids hadn’t held out, everyone would’ve been dead.”
“Mm, you’re right.”
Recognizing that the effort had aning only because Ihan had held his ground, Baltar acknowledged the debt owed to Ihan for preventing a disaster when no one else had acted.
“Who knows about those mongrels, but if that thing had rampaged in the capital, it would have been disastrous.”
Slither... Slither...!
Baltar glanced at the dismbered Demon King, who was still attempting to regenerate even though he should be dead.
The title of “Immortal” suited this grotesque creature perfectly.
“...If that thing had managed to consu any food, even I would’ve struggled.”
“Lucky for us, it was too stupid.”
Ihan didn’t downplay his own contribution. Had that monster ignored him and consud so other source of food, it would have regained much of its full strength, and the fight would have ended on the spot.
Had it regained even a fraction of its pri power by feeding, not even an aura user could have—
“Still, it’s a sha. Fighting it at its peak would’ve been fun. Heh.”
“...Senile old man.”
Ihan found himself wondering, if the Demon King had been at 100% instead of just 30%, would Baltar have still erged victorious? In Ihan’s mind, Baltar Grace was a figure who could not be imagined losing.
‘If that troll is the Demon King, then this old man is the “God of War.”’
A giant of his era, undefeatable.
He doubted that even his perfected plum blossom sword technique would be able to make a dent.
“Enough. I’m tired of this.”
The mountain he aid to climb still seed far from visible.
Later, royal soldiers and reinforcents finally arrived, quickly securing the area.
?
I just stayed put.
“Rest now. I’ll handle the rest.”
Since the old man had shown rare consideration, Ihan decided to trust him with the cleanup. However—
“There may be people who’ll try to use that thing to their advantage, so burn it quickly.”
“I know. Don’t nag .”
Knowing exactly what Ihan was referring to, Baltar obediently agreed to burn the Demon King’s corpse.
Undoubtedly, nobles, mages, or other schers would try to claim ownership of that body. It wasn’t just speculation; he was certain they would, and he could already imagine the kinds of sches they’d devise with it.
‘I won’t let anyone pull any stunts with sothing I struggled so hard to kill.’
If Ihan ever saw people scheming over the corpse, he would snap and break all their necks.
Understanding this, Baltar complied.
There might be complaints later, but...
...Who could even say anything to him?
Unless the War God himself returned, no one had the authority to command Baltar.
Fwoosh!
With aura blazing like fire, he set the Demon King’s body ablaze.
Aura—the mystical power obtainable only by superhumans, the ultimate goal of every knight. Its mysterious properties were beyond even magic’s understanding. And with the touch of that unknown power, the Demon King’s corpse went up in flas.
Ordinarily, burning a monster would release a foul deathly energy, and burning sothing as powerful as the Demon King should have filled the capital with black smoke, but aura “purified” it all.
The purest, most potent cleansing force in the world.
Before aura, even curses, resentnts, and impurities had no place to linger.
‘If aura existed in the modern world, environntal issues would be solved.’
He wondered if aura users in the modern world would have made a fortune, clearing away impurities without harming the ecosystem.
‘...Guess I must be exhausted.’
Such random thoughts. Ihan gave a bitter laugh, realizing he wasn’t in top form.
And with that—
“...Handle the rest yourself, old man.”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I want to rest.”
“You ungrateful brat, planning to dump all the work on an old man?”
“Should the one who did all the hard work also have to clean up?”
Why should he have to explain everything to people who arrived late?
“Haha, you’ve got quite the tongue on you.”
Though he was being sarcastic, his tone was lighthearted. It seed he had no intention of stopping Ihan from leaving.
And then—
“You’ll be busy from now on. You’ve made too big a na for yourself with this incident.”
“...”
“Until now, they managed to keep all your achievents hidden, but this ti, that’ll be difficult. You’ll likely be summoned to the capital within a few days.”
“...”
“Don’t act so put off. For so, this would be a glory they’ve dread of their entire lives.”
“Ugh! I can’t think about that right now. I’m leaving.”
Ihan waved dismissively, signaling he didn’t want to hear more, already feeling a headache coming on.
Knowing his personality, Baltar just chuckled, refraining from further comnt.
Instead—
“Take this with you.”
“What is it?”
“Take it to a trustworthy alchemist or mage. You might get sothing useful out of it.”
“...Hm.”
He handed Ihan a gift.
The only remnant of the Demon King’s body that had survived the aura flas.
It looked like a jewel, but its grotesque appearance betrayed it as sothing else.
“This isn’t...?”
“It’s the heart. It sohow survived the fire.”
It was the heart of a monster.
And not just any monster—this was the heart of the Demon King.
Considering that even a troll’s heart could fetch the price of an entire castle, the value of the Demon King’s heart was beyond estimation.
A priceless treasure.
Ihan looked at Baltar with a curious expression.
Why would he give him such a treasure instead of keeping it for himself?
“I should reward the one who put in the effort. I’m not going to give a gift to freeloaders. Just take it. This is just between you and .”
“...I’ll consider it compensation.”
“You rascal, can’t you say sothing nicer?”
“Want to flatter you?”
“That’s not what I ant.”
“You’re so inconsistent.”
With that, Ihan tightly clenched the Demon King’s heart in his hand.
There was no point in questioning whether he deserved it.
‘I’ll make good use of this.’
Grip.
Once was enough to feel powerless.
Even though he was exhausted to the point of collapse, his eyes shone brightly, seeing this as a stepping stone for the future.
“...So heartless.”
Watching him disappear without a proper goodbye, Baltar muttered in annoyance.
So uncaring.
Yet—
“Taking care of the kids... he’s really changed.”
Seeing him tend to the fallen girl and the boy who remained, sothing unthinkable for his forrly solitary self, filled Baltar with satisfaction.
But it wasn’t just his softened deanor that he appreciated.
“You’ve grown broader in the shoulders since I last saw you.”
His strength had developed considerably.
It was clear.
He’d grown much stronger than when he was in the Order.
Even among the White Lions, only a handful could match him before, and now they couldn’t compare.
Now, except for Baltar, none of the White Lions could defeat him.
At this point, only mbers of the legendary Order of the White Dragon, handpicked by the War God himself, could challenge him.
As the forr commander of the White Dragon Order, Baltar Grace felt a peculiar satisfaction.
“If only he were a bit more responsible, he’d be worth entrusting sothing to...”
Though his words carried an ambiguous aning, Baltar decided not to tie him down.
Letting him roam freely, he continued to grow in ways he hadn’t under daily sparring.
So he let him go.
The boy would find his own path in freedom.
“I look forward to seeing you next ti.”
When they t again, how far would he have progressed?
Smiling at the prospect of the young man’s growth, the old knight chuckled.
...However.
“But why doesn’t he take care of this old man?”
Despite seeing to everyone else, Ihan left the elderly mage alone, and Baltar clicked his tongue.
The rascal.
“He doesn’t respect his elders.”
Mistaking the unconscious mage, Ordwal Bernard (28 years old), as soone older than himself, Baltar scolded Ihan’s lack of manners.
He still had a long way to go in character.
Ihan’s load had beco considerably lighter.
In Taechang’s case—
– Thank you, for bringing him back safely.
The violet-eyed girl from the previous day’s debate had co rushing to take him in her arms. With affectionate hands, she tended to the boy, making Ihan feel a strange pang of jealousy.
Though the boy had denied it, it seed their relationship was anything but ordinary.
The sa went for Irene Windler.
– I’ll take her with .
A female knight, presumably from a duke’s family, appeared, and Ihan entrusted Irene to her. Though he found it suspicious...
‘Is she that guy’s sister?’
He saw a resemblance to the annoying guy he’d t the previous day. She was likely his younger sister, and she seed reliable.
Not to ntion, her bloodied state suggested she’d probably taken down dozens of gnolls alone.
That alone was enough reason to trust her.
– Thank you for trusting , and for taking care of the young lady.
– Never mind that. Tell your brother that next ti, I’ll make his face look like a rag.
– I’d welco that.
...She seed to have a good personality.
Sohow, he ended up empty-handed, and began searching for a place to rest. At so point—
“...Ah.”
He realized he was standing in front of his own ho.
He could’ve laid down anywhere, yet sohow, he’d returned ho?
What a fool, even to himself.
“Welco back, Sir Knight.”
“......”
“Hehe, you’ve done well.”
“When did you...”
“Well, I’ve been waiting all along?”
“......”
There was a woman warmly greeting him.
How long had she been waiting?
Seeing her standing there as if she had been waiting until he arrived, he felt a mont of daze.
Thud.
“Lady Winter?”
“Yes.”
As he called to her, she approached until she was standing right in front of him.
Why was she getting so close?
‘Ah, I must be collapsing.’
Realizing that he was the one falling, Ihan tried to stand back up. But Lady Winter—
Grab.
“Just relax and rest. Lean on .”
“......”
“Sleep. Sleep is the best dicine.”
“...Quite a wise remark for a maid.”
“Yes?”
“Haha...”
Unable to escape her embrace, Ihan allowed himself to be held.
There was no trace of an overpowering fragrance, just the subtle scent of soap and the warmth of sunlight.
And...
‘Ah, this is comfortable.’
The gentle touch of a mother’s hand.
Overwheld by her irresistible warmth, he soon drifted off to sleep.
Completely vulnerable.
“It’s alright. It’s alright.”
But Lady Winter, as if guarding him, gently held his head in her lap and stroked his hair.
As if he had nothing to worry about.
Rustle.
Under a sky where the dark clouds and sunset mingled, a gentle breeze swept through the yard.
“You’ve done well.”
The maid held the knight warmly, ensuring he wouldn’t catch a chill.
Endlessly.
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