A Crazy Dog is the Best Medicine
Kim Sang-deok, a low-ranking knight of the Meyrud family, originally from the polar regions, thirty-eight years old.
“Back then, it was absolute chaos, you know. It was like the world was ending.”
— The mysterious figure. What was his true identity?
“I couldn’t tell you. I don’t know where he came from. But he looked pretty rough.”
Kim Sang-deok scratched his chin for a moment.
“He was probably around twenty at most.”
— It’s said that the figure fought Grand Magus Zenith Meyrud.
“Ah, that’s right.”
His answer came quickly.
“Back then, Zenith-nim was putting in a lot of effort in her own way.”
***
Zenith stared at the wooden stick Leon was holding, then spread her hands.
“……You’re insane.”
Immediately, the mana around her surged, and flames and lightning erupted at once.
Before one spell finished forming, another madoc formula began to take shape beside it, and before long the entire area was packed with magic.
As expected of a Grand Magus.
I didn’t know what kind of magic it was, but I knew it would hurt if it hit me.
“……I’ll admit you’re not a normal mage. But if you think a little extra mana lets you beat me—”
“Ki-blast.”
[Analyzing attack spell.]
[Allocating targets to 50 Ki-blasts.]
[Applying real-time trajectory correction.]
“Go.”
Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pang—!
Fifty Ki-blasts scattered in every direction.
The first one to finish, a flame spell, got pierced through the center and exploded.
The lightning that had been forming beside it collapsed before it could even take shape.
When a new spell unfolded from the right, several of them immediately veered off course.
Even the magic being secretly cast from outside my field of vision was located and destroyed.
“H-how is this possible…… How can you calculate that much in real time……!”
Paang—!
Even as I spoke, another spell shattered.
Zenith kept creating magic without pause.
She changed attributes, relocated positions, and unleashed multiple spells at once, but the results were the same.
Because the Ki-blasts reached the formulas before they could even appear.
“No…… How could you know in advance……!”
Pop-pang—!
The last remaining madoc formula disintegrated in mid-air.
Only then did the noisy garden grow a little quieter.
The red and blue lights that had filled the area around Zenith vanished completely.
The remaining Ki-blasts drifted slowly around me, as if they had finished their work.
Zenith moved her hands again, trying to gather mana.
Fwoosh—!
This time the spell shattered before it could even form.
“……”
I gripped the wooden stick I’d been holding more firmly and walked slowly toward her.
“W-wait. You’re not seriously thinking of using that on—”
Thwack—!
“Kyaaak!”
Zenith, who had taken a solid hit on the arm, collapsed to the ground.
“Hmm. That’s a nice, satisfying smack.”
So that’s why our ancestors used wooden rods as medicine.
***
— What happened after that?
“After that…….”
Kim Sang-deok made a troubled face.
“There was no magic fight or anything.”
— What do you mean?
“I just got my butt steamed with a wooden rod, you know.”
***
Thwack—!
“I’m done for!! I’m done!!!!”
Thwack! Thwack!
“W-wait! Wait!! Kyaaak!”
Hit the head and it’s the side, hit the side and it’s the thigh. It’s a full-power baseball swing I learned from watching countless professional players in my past life.
Reflexes don’t listen to me, do they…?
“W-wait……!!!! You’re a mage!!! Why are you hitting me with a wooden rod instead of magic……!!!! Kyaaak!!!”
“Why the hell would I use magic on a dog like you!!!!”
Thwack—!
***
— What were the knights doing?
“Ah, of course the captain didn’t just stand there.”
Kim Sang-deok gave a bitter smile.
“They were yelling at us to run over there and save Zenith-nim right away.”
— So, did you rescue Zenith Meyrud?
“I tried to, you know.”
Kim Sang-deok paused for a moment.
“I tried to.”
***
“Everyone, draw your weapons! We’re rescuing Zenith-nim right now!”
As the captain’s order rang out, dozens of knights drew their swords and spears at once.
They had drawn weapons, but no one stepped forward.
It made sense.
Just a moment ago, the guy who had completely destroyed the magic the Grand Magus had unleashed was now happily beating that same Grand Magus with a single wooden stick.
Even if it was an order, how could we charge at that?
Even if we had life insurance on top of our salary, this was too much…….
“What are you all doing! Move!”
As a urging voice came from behind, Leon stopped his rod work and turned toward us.
When our eyes met for a moment, without a word he set the end of the stick on the ground and slowly raised his empty hand.
“Black Flame Dragon.”
Huuuung—!
A jet-black flame rose into the sky above the garden.
No one screamed and ran away like when it first appeared.
Because we already knew what it was.
Instead, the knights stood with their mouths shut, staring at the sky.
The enormous black dragon that covered the entire mansion twisted its long body, then opened its mouth toward the mountains far from the Meyrud estate.
“Fire.”
Kwaaaang—!!!
The ground shook violently.
The shockwave that came belatedly swept through the entire garden.
Several knights couldn’t hold on and lowered their postures.
Only after the dust settled did everyone look at the same spot.
“Captain. The mountain disappeared, you know.”
“……I see.”
Precisely, the top half had been cleanly blown away, changing the shape completely from before.
Leon turned his gaze back to the knights.
“I’m not good at controlling my strength right now. So just stay still.”
No one answered.
Who would even answer?
A mountain had just vanished right in front of us.
Leon didn’t wait for a reply either.
He slung the wooden stick back over his shoulder, turned toward Zenith, and immediately resumed his work.
“W-wait……!”
“Kihieeeeeeeek!!!!”
Thwack— Thwack! Thwack!
“……Captain.”
“……”
“Are you telling me to stop that?”
The captain’s lips moved several times.
As if he thought he had to say something because he was the one who gave the order.
“……A noble knight must……”
“Please accept my resignation. I’m going back to my hometown, you know.”
“……”
Thwack—!
“Kyaaak!”
“Kih-hehehet!!! Kyahahaak!!!!”
The two of us stared ahead in silence for a moment.
Then one knight pulled his sword back into its sheath first.
Clank.
Without anyone giving a specific order, weapons began to be sheathed one by one.
The captain didn’t stop him this time either.
***
“……How were we supposed to stop that.”
Kim Sang-deok shrugged.
“We became knights to fight people, not to fight monsters outside the rules.”
— There are opinions that you abandoned your duties as a knight.
“Duty is just that, you know. Tell those guys to try stopping it. I’d be happy to watch.”
— In the end, no one intervened?
“The patriarch stepped in.”
— Did you participate in the direct combat?
“No.”
Kim Sang-deok shook his head.
“He just cried and begged, you know.”
***
Thwack—!
“Ugh……! Huuug……!!! Kkeuhk……”
Zenith, who had been trying to escape or block at first, now crouched on the ground, covering her head.
Her robe was covered in dirt, and bruises covered her exposed arms and legs.
“S-stop!!”
A desperate voice came from behind.
The patriarch of the Meyrud family, a stern-looking man.
“Stop! Isn’t it enough now!”
“It seems like you need to take more.”
“It’s all my fault!”
The patriarch continued speaking while breathing heavily.
“It’s all my fault that she became like this! I forced her to become strong since she was little, and I taught her that showing weakness was wrong. She became like this because I raised her that way!”
“……”
“So please stop……!!! If you want to punish me, punish me! It was all my fault from the beginning—”
“I don’t like it.”
“……What?”
I looked down at Zenith, who was crouching on the ground.
Her father raised her wrong……?
Well, that could happen.
People’s personalities are heavily influenced by their parents, and the saying that what you learn in childhood lasts a lifetime is true.
But.
“In the end, the choice was hers.”
“……”
“She’s not a child anymore.”
Just because the one who taught her was wrong doesn’t mean Iris’s cheeks weren’t slapped, and just because Celia said something like that doesn’t mean it never happened.
That’s the uncle’s fault, and this is the kid’s fault.
“Since she’s an adult, she has to take responsibility for what she did.”
“W-wait—”
Thwack—!
“Hwaak!!!”
I swung the wooden stick again.
“The uncle who did wrong should reflect on it later!”
Thwack!
“This is for hitting Iris!!!!”
“Kkuuk……! W-wait……!”
Thwack—!
“This is for Celia!!!!”
“S-stop…… Please……!”
Paaaaang—!!!!
“This is for Yemucha!!!!!!”
“Who the hell is Yemucha— Kyaaak!!!!”
The patriarch opened and closed his mouth several times from the side.
But he didn’t come any closer this time.
***
“But after a while, he stopped saying anything.”
Kim Sang-deok shook his head with a tired face.
“He just kept smiling and hitting.”
— ……Smiling?
“Yeah. I first learned that day that the time when a person is angrier might be scarier than when they’re happy.”
Kim Sang-deok clicked his tongue.
“After getting hit that much, he ended up having a second daughter too, you know.”
— Iris Meyrud?
“Yeah. Honestly, I don’t know when it would have ended if it weren’t for her.”
***
“Uhehehet!!! I’m done for!!!”
Thwack—!
“Hwaak!!”
“Kihahahak!!!”
Ah, this is so fun.
With all the accumulated stress relieved like this, it felt like ten years of phlegm was finally coming out.
Just as I was about to raise the wooden stick again, someone hugged my waist tightly from behind.
“L-Leon……!”
“……Huh?”
It was Iris.
She was clinging to my waist with both arms and burying her face against my back.
“Stop…….”
Her voice trembled a little.
“It’s enough now. So…… please stop……”
“……”
I looked back and forth between the stick in my hand and Zenith, who was crouching on the ground.
I had definitely hit her a lot.
“Ssaek…… Ssaek……”
She couldn’t even catch her breath.
It was a little regrettable, but…….
“Still, you have to listen to your wife.”
“W-wife……?”
Iris’s face turned bright red.
***
“Honestly, I thought he’d keep hitting.”
Kim Sang-deok smiled awkwardly.
— What happened to Zenith Meyrud after that?
“After that……”
Kim Sang-deok chose his words carefully.
“She became very obedient. Much more than the young lady I knew.”
***
As Iris released her hold, I approached Zenith, who was lying on the ground.
Up close, her condition looked worse than I thought.
Her hair was completely disheveled, and her face and arms were covered in bruises.
“Huuu…… Kkuuu…… Huuu……”
“Hey. You planning to mess up again?”
The answer came faster than I expected.
“A-no…… I won’t do it again……!”
“You’ll hit Iris again?”
“I definitely won’t hit her……!”
“You won’t say weird things to Celia again?”
Zenith shook her head vigorously once more.
“I won’t……! I won’t say that again…… Please……”
Hmm…… Was this enough?
They say it’s important to check if someone has properly understood the education they received, but given how quickly she answered, she seemed to have learned it well.
“As expected, a crazy dog is the best medicine.”
I stood up and stretched my stiff body.
“Whew. That feels good.”
After walking all night, I felt like the fatigue from the journey was easing a little.
***
— ……So, what happened after that?
“I don’t know. Suddenly he started calling the patriarch ‘father-in-law’ and dragged Zenith along into the mansion……”
— Wait a second.
“Yes?”
— Did you just say ‘father-in-law’?
“Precisely…… I think it was something like father-in-law No. 2……”
Kim Sang-deok nodded as if it was nothing, then his expression changed as he recalled the moment.
“Now that I think about it, before that he called her ‘executioner’ too.”
— Executioner?
“Yeah. He called the second daughter ‘wife’ and Zenith ‘executioner’ and the patriarch ‘father-in-law’……”
There was a brief silence.
— So does that mean you were married to Iris Meyrud?
“How am I supposed to answer that? I was there that day too.”
Kim Sang-deok waved his hand as if he was wronged.
“The knights were all the same. While Zenith was being beaten with the rod, they were too scared to think, but after the fight ended, they started seeing weird things.”
It really was like that at the time.
As Leon grabbed Zenith’s back and dragged her toward the mansion, the knights who had just put their swords away began to look at each other.
“……Didn’t you just call the patriarch ‘father-in-law’?”
“I heard it too.”
“So does that mean you’re the husband of the second daughter?”
“Did the second daughter get married?”
“I didn’t hear.”
“Me neither.”
The knights’ gazes naturally turned toward Iris.
Iris was following behind Leon with her face flushed red.
“……”
“……Did she?”
“I guess so.”
I couldn’t be sure of the exact answer.