The Wandering Mercenary's Disciple
The mentor of the survivor girl from the fallen kingdom was a wandering mercenary.
Because of her innate constitution, she could not train her body and was too frail to handle magic. Her parents hired an appropriate mercenary as her instructor. He was cheaper than ordinary teachers, and there simply wasn’t much to teach the girl in the first place.
In the first few days, the girl was terrified when she saw the mercenary. Scars covering his entire body. Calluses that spoke of countless hours swinging weapons. Black hair and black eyes so dark they made one wonder if he had been cursed. And the thick metallic stench of blood that assaulted her unusually keen sense of smell.
Knights who guarded the kingdom or butchers who slaughtered pigs carried the scent of blood as well, but the smell clinging to the mercenary was fundamentally different. It was the blood of humans mixed with the blood of things that were not human. Hundreds—no, thousands—of lives seemed to have been painted across his entire frame. For a fifteen-year-old girl, that was more than enough reason to tremble in fear.
So the girl begged her parents to change her teacher.
“No.”
“Do you know how hard it was to find him?”
Her parents simply brushed off her pleas. Instead, they left the mercenary with instructions to teach the girl well. After that, she never once heard her family speak of her education again. Perhaps someone had told them about her request to switch instructors. In the very next lesson, the mercenary suddenly asked her,
“Did you not like the lessons?”
The girl shook her head desperately. While the lessons continued, she gathered more information about the mercenary. What she learned was that the man before her was no ordinary sellsword. He was the Sword Demon. A superhuman who had crossed countless battlefields, earning the title of sword demon for the sheer number of lives he had taken, and who possessed a personality as fierce as his reputation.
The Sword Demon who had led innumerable battlefields to victory. If she told such a monster that she disliked his lessons, there was no telling what he might do. She might even be killed regardless of her status.
However.
“If there is anything that bothers you, tell me right away. Corrections are best made as soon as possible.”
“I’m not particularly skilled at teaching, so if something seems strange, you must point it out immediately.”
Contrary to the fearsome name he bore, the somewhat awkward-looking mercenary made the girl’s eyes widen. He was not nearly as savage as she had imagined; rather, he seemed gentle. From that moment on, she truly accepted him as her master.
The king of Raziel howled with his final breath. His body was riddled with wounds; blood sprayed from his mouth with every word. He was already a dying man. Yet his eyes burned with life as he glared at the one he called the Sword Demon.
“Why! Why did you interfere?! Our god was about to descend and save us!”
The god that wandered the Outer Sea. The deity bound to the royal scepter passed down through generations had promised them salvation. A god’s covenant would always be fulfilled so long as the contractor upheld their end. That was why the king had sworn the oath—to save his people. To cast off the cumbersome flesh of this world and deliver their souls.
“Why?”
To the king’s desperate cry, the Sword Demon—who had hurled the scepter far into the distance—answered coldly.
“I have nothing to say to fools who scream for destruction. You wouldn’t understand anyway.”
**
As soon as the sun rose, our journey began. Chief Lucas and Lieutenant Meln had already prepared to move at a moment’s notice—typical of the intelligence department. Princess Arleah appeared to carry no luggage at all, just as the report had claimed she had suddenly appeared in the southern Empire. The carriage lent to us by the Empire also made the trip far more comfortable.
Rattle. Rattle.
“……”
Inside the swaying carriage, Princess Arleah and I kept our silence. It wasn’t due to any particular incident; it was simply the natural quiet that comes when there is nothing left to say.
The problem was that the two of us were the only ones inside. The Empire had clearly sent a four-person carriage, yet Lucas and Meln had stepped outside under the pretext of maintaining perimeter security. Even if the matter concerning Princess Arleah was supposed to be classified, anyone who already knew—like Beatrice—would know. It wouldn’t be strange for someone to approach. In that sense, the two men standing guard wasn’t odd at all.
The only awkward part was that I had nothing to say to Princess Arleah.
With my mouth firmly shut, I stared endlessly at the passing scenery for a full hour.
“When was it?”
Princess Arleah spoke first.
“Pardon?”
“When did you begin serving in the Empire’s special forces?”
A sudden personal question. Back when I was in the special forces, I had been trained not to engage in private conversation with anyone outside my unit. However, her expression suggested she didn’t want this silence to continue, so I answered slowly.
“A little over five years, I believe.”
I had left and returned since then, but the actual time I spent inside the unit added up to just over five years.
“Five years… From what I heard, even though the working conditions are harsh, the monthly salary and benefits provided by the Empire are quite generous.”
“The Empire has deep pockets. At the level of the special forces, you can live without envying most nobles.”
“Then you must have lived comfortably?”
“…Well, yes.”
“That’s a relief.”
I tilted my head at her last remark, but Princess Arleah turned her gaze away slightly, as if she had spoken out of turn. I wondered for a moment but decided it was nothing and changed the subject.
“If we meet His Majesty the Emperor like this, what do you intend to do?”
“Hmm. The contact came quickly, so we should be able to meet him soon. If we do, I probably won’t cooperate with Kyle Amillan’s arrest, just as I said before.”
It was the answer I had expected. I pretended to hesitate for a moment, then brought up the main point I had prepared.
“When you meet him… do you truly plan to kill him?”
“Yes.”
Princess Arleah declared that she would kill me without the slightest hesitation. Even though I had anticipated the answer, hearing it directly still left a bitter taste. I carefully controlled my expression in front of her and asked for the reason.
“Is it because of the destruction of Raziel Kingdom?”
Her homeland—and mine. Raziel Kingdom. Was it because I had been the one to destroy it?
At my question, the princess’s eyes widened, as if she couldn’t believe I knew.
“How did you…?”
“Although the kingdom’s fall caused it to be largely forgotten, the fact that Kyle Amillan personally destroyed his own homeland is still remembered by a few within the Empire. The bounty amount this time was calculated with that incident included.”
In truth, most citizens believed Raziel Kingdom had been destroyed by an unfortunate accident. However, the Empire’s special forces and the nations directly affected by its fall had looked into the matter. Most had reached the same conclusion.
The Sword Demon. The sole survivor of Raziel Kingdom had led an entire nation to ruin.
It really was dangerous back then.
I had done all sorts of things in the name of saving the world, but driving a country to destruction ranked as the third most brutal act I had ever committed. Moreover, I hadn’t been able to change my identity and hide like I could now, which made it even riskier. If His Majesty the Emperor hadn’t helped me at the time, I probably wouldn’t be alive today.
Well, that same emperor had now placed a bounty on my head. But anyway.
“If you wish to kill Kyle Amillan because of Raziel Kingdom’s destruction, then I believe there is a misunderstanding. According to recent intelligence from within the special forces…”
“I know.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said I already know. Master.”
Master? What the hell was she—
Before the flustered words could leave my mouth, a loud roar erupted from outside. At the same time, someone pounded violently on the carriage. It was Chief Lucas.
“Major Kyle! A massive swarm of contaminants is suddenly forming around us!”
“Contaminants?”
“Yes. Most are between 30th and 20th class, but we’re also seeing some late 10th-class specimens! They’ve completely surrounded the carriage…!”
Lucas gave his rapid report. Beyond the window, I could see Lieutenant Meln already drawing his sword and cutting down the creatures. A horde of contaminants filled the view.
Instead of panicking, I whipped my head toward Princess Arleah.
“Did you do this?”
“You already seem certain, yet you still want confirmation.”
“I asked if you did it.”
“And if you want a clear answer…”
Princess Arleah nodded. At the same time, she pulled a small scepter from within her robes. It radiated an eerie energy I couldn’t identify.
I had encountered objects that emitted this kind of aura before.
Outer God. Cosmic entities that drifted through the Outer Sea, constantly seeking ways to peer into our world. This was proof that they observed our realm through their contractors.
A small scepter radiating an incomprehensible, alien power. An artifact that served as proof of a covenant with an entity from beyond the Outer Sea—an Outer God that promised salvation in exchange for the destruction of the world.
“Yes. This is my doing.”
What she held was the evidence of exactly that contract.