Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Peaceful Midterm Week (7)
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"Don't look, Louis."
"This is from the mountains, right?"
"Hand that over. Noah! Stop Louis quick!!"
"Sniff, sob..."
"Damn it, Louis. We're almost there. We have to conserve our strength, even a little! We can't get caught up in personal emotions in a place like this...!"
Paris Greenwood. I knew him. But that didn't mean I'd actually seen him.
My comrades and I hadn't fought to defend the kingdom at the Ravière Defense Line. We'd pushed deep into Helzev to sever the Demon King's head.
Countless mages, priests, and knights guarding the mountains. Even if we'd brushed past them after the war, there was no way I'd remember each one now.
The only reason I remembered Paris was because I knew about his death.
In a continent where the madness of war spread like wildfire, we'd used every communication method available to track the battlefield.
Like a massive hammer and anvil, we'd drawn the demons' eyes with countless units to advance a small elite hero party with the strongest firepower.
After trampling over our allies' corpses, we had to draw enemy attention without getting caught. We crushed, shattered, and intercepted the pursuers.
Any demon that spotted us was hunted down relentlessly, and every time one of the Four Great Evils appeared, we'd adapt our tactics and take them down one by one.
It was around the time the unique magic circuits etched into my body exceeded ten.
After falling into a trap, wandering Helzev's depths, and finally carving the eleventh one, Terra said,
"We won't last much longer like this."
The depths of the demon realm weren't an environment humans could endure. Even if I bore all the karma, the tightening encirclement and extreme fatigue left us unable to advance or retreat a single step.
In the pitch-black night without even a fire, I held a exhausted, sobbing Eris in my arms and listened to her.
"It's still a long way to the Demon King's castle from here. It's too late to turn back, so we need a way to close the distance."
"How? You said using gates or coordinates would alert them immediately."
"There's one way. You know, Louis."
"What."
"Do you like swimming?"
The next day, she squeezed out every last drop of her remaining mana and karma to cast a 10th-circle spell I'd never seen before,
Flood.
Rain poured relentlessly across the entire continent for three days and nights. Not just rain—massive waves of earth and mud crashed in like tsunamis.
"At the end of the Ravière Mountains lies the continent's largest river. The Cen River flows through Lake Cenlir into the North Sea. If we make it rain like crazy, we can redirect the tributaries."
"How crazy are we talking?"
"Enough to use up another tome of the Monarch's Scripture?"
She pointed to a half-torn continental map with a pale blue smile.
"The terrain will carve a canal straight to us here. It'll merge with the moat near the Demon King's castle. As long as we don't drown midway, we'll arrive in one shot. But..."
The plan had too many variables. Following the water current meant exposing our path completely.
If the canal broke upstream, we'd be stranded. Then the Demon King's army would swarm and crush us.
But our situation was so dire we had no choice but to gamble everything.
Fortunately—or by some miracle—the gamble paid off.
Hauling myself from the sluggish current, I finally glimpsed the Demon King's castle, tiny at the horizon's edge.
The end was in sight. Escape from this hell.
But after hiding and resting for days, waiting for the perfect moment when the Demon King's patrols slackened,
Terra recovered a carrier pigeon that had slipped through enemy lines, and her face hardened.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"The Ravière Defense Line... it's been breached. Or rather, it was."
The kingdom, deeming no second chances if we failed. The Demon King's army, seeing they couldn't stop the hero's advance otherwise.
A massive battle erupted at the Ravière Mountains' end—the starting point of the rapids and origin of the spell. No, the report's contents were too gruesome to call a battle.
Countless lives sacrificed blindly to guard the canal reduced to stark black numbers.
Among them, the only familiar name etched in my mind as I repeated it over and over. I quietly drew my sword.
"Louis!!!"
And that day, I erased seventeen villages near the Demon King's castle.
"He was a great man. Without a doubt."
I brushed aside the resurfaced memories and answered Liv's uneasy gaze. Still, her expression remained dark.
"While writing the report for midterms... I learned about my father's past."
"I see."
"Yes. They say he was... an incompetent leader who sacrificed many others."
"What do you remember of him, Baroness?"
"He absolutely wasn't the type. There must be... some mistake."
Did he know? That his child would suffer like this because of his choices.
Or did he even realize? Who or what he was fighting for, thrusting his spear at the apocalyptic beast that made high mages tremble.
I couldn't understand that choice, those feelings. I simply pulled Liv's tear-streaked waist gently and draped my outer coat over her.
"You're right. There must have been circumstances."
"But Father received a medal too... Sniff! Nothing...!"
"I told you before, right? A Hereditary Knight title isn't just given for battlefield merits."
A baronial peerage, rare for commoners, that could be inherited.
"They couldn't award a medal to someone with poor combat results, as you said. But if he'd truly done something unforgivable, he wouldn't have received the title at all, would he?"
"So... what you're saying, Uncle..."
"There were circumstances. Of course..."
Too many deaths followed those circumstances to debate them lightly.
"..."
Liv seemed lost in thought, eyes half-closed. Whatever path led her to Paris Greenwood's past, it surely wasn't the full story.
Still, I hoped she wouldn't dig to the end.
Not because I feared her resentment, but because unraveling that thread would plunge her into despair beyond compare to now.
"Thank you, Uncle. I feel... a bit better thanks to you."
"Glad I could help."
"Really, thank you for everything. I haven't done anything in return."
"You cast defense magic on me. That's enough."
"Still..."
Her trailing words met my eyes with those black pupils. The shoulder peeking from the coat, the pale arm dangling down, slender wrist, thin shoulder strap visible beneath the unfastened collar.
Every bit stirred desire and protectiveness—a troublesome sight.
She snapped to her senses soon enough, rubbing her still-flushed eyes and shaking her head vigorously.
"A-anyway, I need to look into it more! There's plenty of time."
"Right! Focus on acing midterms first."
"Yes. That way, I can apply to higher units in the Federation later."
"What?"
"Huh?"
Huh? What did this girl just say?
"The 12 Leagues. The ones stationed at the Ravière Mountains. I never planned to join a magic tower after graduation anyway."
Why go to such a dangerous place?
"I realized it clearly this time. If I join a unit higher-ranked than the 4th, it'll be easier to get info on Father. Places like 'Hooksclo' or 'Skirmisher' might be tough, but the combat mage corps 'Blue Moon'..."
"No."
"Huh...? Kyaa!?"
I yanked her hard, and Liv yelped as she stumbled into me.
Has she lost her mind? Walking into a warzone on her own two feet. No way—not while I'm alive.
"U-Uncle!?"
"People die there by the dozen every day. I won't allow it. Dream on."
Even the Snow Duke said it herself yesterday—who died, how many last week.
Imagining Liv assigned there? I wouldn't sleep at night.
"That's not your business...! Let go!"
Startled by the sudden contact, Liv tried to pull away with a sharp tone.
The more she squirmed, the more the coat slipped, revealing bold undergarments again. But I wasn't backing down.
"No. Not changing my mind. Forget it."
"Kyaa, w-wait! There, that's...!"
Liv suddenly groaned and froze.
I hadn't touched anywhere bad—not at all.
If it were Adella, I'd yank her ponytail or bop her already hopeless head without hesitation.
But Liv was delicate, hard to handle roughly, and grabbing her injured arm was out.
In the end, bending the arm around her slim waist to hold her back naturally pressed my hand to her lower abdomen.
Surprisingly effective—she stiffened like a broken cat.
"Wait, Uncle, there—stop for a sec...!"
"Listen, Baroness. None of those Leagues are sane. Even our graduates avoid those hellholes. Why volunteer for suffering?"
"I-I get it, so stop—hiiik!? Why press my stomach...!"
"Try hacking demon corpses in freezing winds day in, day out. Is that human? No. Demons might be better—they rot. Want frostbite? Amputate fingers? Root-deep rot takes a month to heal even with 4th-circle holy magic."
Squeeze, squeeze. Pressing her soft belly while kneading my throbbing temples, Liv stopped resisting.
Hm... Something from a TV show ages ago. Animals' bellies are weak spots?
Even over clothes, the smooth, elastic skin transmitted perfectly.
Not important now. A sigh escaped at our "smart" baroness's childish words.
"I'll decide my own path—ow! I won't—hngh!?"
"Think again."
"Why—eung...!"
"I said think again."
Liv's slender hand pushed desperately at my thumb on her abdomen. Futile, of course.
Pulling fingers one by one yielded the same. Her strength gave out, hand slipped, thumb prodding deeper.
"Kyaaah...!"
That ticklish? Or painful?
She gave up physical resistance, trying words instead.
Her flushed face, bitten lips, wriggling waist—oddly erotic.
"It's none of your business, Uncle."
"Why not? You're staff, even if not working now."
"I'm not staying here forever—ngh, nosy."
"Better than frontline. Work here for life."
"Huh?"
To her shocked echo, I gazed outside casually.
"I told you this morning. Protecting what's dear matters most."
"...!"
"What's so great about this building? You, Baroness, are part of it."
So please, no more nonsense.
Chasing Adella to the North Sea was hell enough. Liv too? I'd break.
"S-saying it like that..."
Testing for stubbornness, I pressed her abdomen lightly. She just twitched—no fight.
Moments later, a mosquito-like voice emerged.
"...I'll think... a bit... more."
Good, that's better.
"Stay here tonight."
"Ehh!?"
"I've got work downstairs anyway."
"I'm fine! I can't—!"
"What if your attacker returns?"
"That's..."
"Safe here. School rules say so. Relax."
I half-forced the compliant Liv upstairs, then cleared the bloody shirt and gauze.
With the place tidied, I sat alone at the counter, lighting a cigarette.
The darkness outside evoked demon realm nights.
Back then, night watch was always mine. How many days without sleep at the end? Over a week...
Luckily, just one night tonight. Easier. The bite wound on my arm, the emblem on her bag.
As expected, iron hounds never abandon prey.
Pop, pop! Pop!
I passed time flicking the cockroach toy I'd made. In the dark canteen, only Liv's weary snores from upstairs and rhythmic springs echoed.
Pop, pop, pop...!
Swish.
An alien brush against my ear. It's here.
I stubbed the cigarette on the counter and stood.