The Burden of Retirement
The luxurious car that had sped so smoothly came to a halt.
Rodeban looked out the window.
An unbelievably grand and imposing mansion stood before his eyes.
'Every time I come here, the house just gets better. How many stories is this mansion, anyway?'
To buy something like this in the empire, how much money would you need?
The gap was so vast that I didn't even feel inferior.
*Thud!*
Rodeban stepped out of the car and a middle-aged maid immediately approached him.
"Miss, you've been working so hard. What business brings a guest here today?"
Elise nodded and introduced him.
"This is the hero of the Winterfelt Battle. Treat him as a distinguished guest of the family."
"I understand, Sir Rodeban."
"Let's go, Rodeban."
"Yes, then excuse me."
Rodeban followed her into the mansion.
Given the late hour, they seemed to be heading straight for the parlor.
While walking down the corridor.
Elise glanced back and spoke.
"By the way, since you've retired, call me Elise instead of Commander."
She meant to call him comfortably.
Rodeban answered without a moment's hesitation.
"I'm sorry."
How should I address my former superior?
"...?"
At that, Elise let out a dry laugh, then resumed walking.
Suddenly she seemed to recall something.
"Oh, by the way, I think you mentioned getting married last month..."
"That was postponed again."
"Huh?"
"That guy. He got his fifth fiancée this time."
Rodeban sighed inwardly.
He had probably brought up the wrong topic.
Elise continued.
"The family on that side canceled the engagement. Thanks to that, I received a hefty compensation. Of course, none of it came into my hands."
"...?"
It was information he already knew.
What kind of comfort could he offer?
Even a seventh-rank mage found family matters difficult.
"...?"
Just as Rodeban was about to speak with difficulty.
*Thud!*
Elise opened the door to the parlor.
Immediately, with a smiling face, she pointed at the room.
"Make yourself at home. Treat it like your own house. You get the picture, right?"
"Thank you."
Rodeban nodded.
Of course his former superior's house would never feel like home.
Still, nobles' courtesy forbade a commoner from refusing.
Instead, he added a few words.
"I'll only stay for about a week. That should be enough time to figure out a way."
"No way~ You can stay forever. Even if the Information Bureau tries something, I'll handle it. Don't worry."
With that said, Elise immediately headed back to her own room.
Rodeban watched her retreating figure and swallowed his words.
'That sounds troublesome.'
It didn't suit his personality to leave everything to others.
Still, the comment just now carried a hint of matchmaking.
But how could anyone with a fiancé discuss marriage?
'This is getting dangerous. Really dangerous...'
He shook his head on his own accord.
He had a habit of reading too much into others' words.
Rodeban closed the door and entered the parlor.
After taking a quick look around, he clicked his tongue.
"Hm."
It was an opulent parlor.
Far grander than the residence he had once called home.
Money was definitely there.
***
The next morning.
Rodeban woke to a voice.
Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains.
"...What did you say?"
The voice belonged to Elise.
Of course, it hadn't come from inside her room.
Thanks to the Magic Eye, his expanded senses had picked up the sound from below.
"The Information Bureau has intruded into the family?"
Her tone was filled with shock, the kind that naturally showed her astonishment.
She seemed to be in contact with the family.
Rodeban muttered while lying down.
"I'll probably be kicked out soon."
It was probably because Elise had accepted him that the Bureau had come knocking.
After all, the Information Bureau was the Empire's hunting dog.
'They wouldn't give up so easily.'
He slowly sat up.
Due to low blood pressure, he had fainted in the morning more than once.
Even as he did so, Elise's voice continued.
"Why is being thanked my fault? My father accepted bribes without batting an eye! That's why he usually..."
"Thanked...?"
Rodeban nodded.
Financial threats were an extremely effective persuasion method.
The Terzepan Ducal Family was among the richest in the empire.
If money was that abundant, they wouldn't be so insensitive to it.
"Tell Rodeban to leave? No way. When did I ever let you interfere like this..."
Her voice gradually grew louder.
Anger was beginning to seep into it.
"Before that, how about you deal with your fiancé! Why should I have to listen to spinster talk because of that bastard? It's been seven years! Seven years!"
Rodeban headed to the bathroom with the words "spinster" echoing in his ears.
Because he had taken medicine in the morning, his steps were sluggish like those of a corpse.
*Click!*
Hot water gushed from the shower.
In an instant, steam and the sound of water filled the space.
In reality, it wasn't for washing but to wash away Elise's voice.
The conversation was somewhat inconvenient to eavesdrop on.
'I guess I did hear everything...'
Fortunately, when the shower ended, her voice had stopped.
When Rodeban arrived at the dining room.
Elise was already eating.
"You're here."
"Good morning, Commander."
"Call me Elise."
"I'm sorry."
She looked quite displeased.
The moment he sat down, she asked.
"Did you hear everything?"
"...Eh?"
Elise frowned at Rodeban's question.
"You heard everything. Don't pretend you didn't."
Of course he had heard.
Rodeban immediately apologized.
"I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize. I'll handle it somehow. Don't worry."
"I understand."
"However, I'll have to visit the family, so I'll be away for a few days."
Visiting the family meant the problem was quite serious.
Rodeban said.
"Commander, you don't have to force yourself."
Elise ignored his words.
"I called your attending healer too. Take care of your body properly and don't do anything strange."
She spoke with the eyes of someone watching a stray dog put out by the roadside.
In other words, no matter what he said, it wouldn't work.
Rodeban let out a dry laugh and nodded.
"...Understood."
"When I left, I saw the Information Bureau people scattered outside the mansion. Try not to leave the estate if possible."
With that, Elise left the dining room.
Soon after, a servant placed a plate in front of him.
"Meal is ready, Sir Rodeban."
"Ah, yes."
The servant explained the name of the dish and how to eat it before leaving.
Rodeban, who had been eating the steak with five descriptors, spoke to the servant standing nearby.
"Is there no alcohol?"
The servant firmly shook his head.
"I'm sorry. The miss strongly commanded that Sir Rodeban abstain from alcohol."
"Hmm... I understand."
***
A day passed, then two, then three.
Even after a week had gone by, Elise had not returned.
No contact either.
Rodeban lay on the bed muttering.
"I feel like I'm locked in a cage."
Thanks to his injury, he had stopped training—his mana, physical conditioning, swordsmanship, and martial arts.
All the miscellaneous training had been abandoned.
He had thought the world would be peaceful if he did nothing...
Yet it felt emptier than expected.
Probably because he couldn't go out.
But even in the garden behind the mansion, suspicious presences lingered nearby.
'Still, I guess I have to rest for now...'
Recently acquainted with the maid Liana, she asked.
"Um... Sir Rodeban. If you're not busy today, could you tell me the hero's story?"
She was the eldest daughter of Viscount Melion.
Most servants here were like her—eldest daughters of minor barons or viscounts from nearby territories.
'Yet here I am, the only commoner.'
The commoner raised himself.
"Hm. Would you like some tea while listening?"
"Yes! Oh, and could you sign a few more? My family sent letters asking..."
"There are no problems with that."
Rodeban readily nodded.
For some time now, people had often requested his signature.
The moment Rodeban sat at the table.
*Thud!*
The parlor door opened.
A servant bowed and said in front of him.
"Sir Rodeban. Dr. Len, the healer, has arrived."
"Ah, I understand. I should go right away."
Rodeban answered, then glanced at Liana before leaving the parlor.
*Creak!*
The moment he opened the door to the reception room, a man in priestly robes sat there.
He appeared to be in his mid-thirties.
He had a slightly plump build.
The man greeted him warmly.
"Ah, Sir Rodeban. Or should I say, the Empire's Eighth Hero now?"
"Len. Long time no see."
The man's name was Len.
An Empire army healer.
After saving his family during evacuation, Len had become his personal healer.
Being a commoner-born officer like Rodeban, he was one of the few people he could treat comfortably.
Len waved a hand as if to say he had come at Rodeban's request.
"Anyway, sit down. You look a bit paler."
Rodeban sat on the red sofa and tilted his head.
From his perception, his physical condition hadn't changed much from before.
"Is that so?"
Len carefully examined Rodeban's face and said.
"You have a more exhausted expression than before. Isn't that right?"
"Hm, hearing that, it does sound about right."
"So you retired, huh. Well, let's take a look."
Len began the examination.
He first lifted Rodeban's eyepatch.
A red pupil came into view first.
Where the whites should be, a profound darkness lay.
Through it, bulging blood vessels were visible.
It was simply not a human eye.
Len spoke briefly.
"Here it's fine."
He began examining other parts.
Using various tools for auscultation and asking frequent questions.
There were times when anger surged.
Had there been recent depression?
...Most questions concerned mental health.
Retired soldiers often suffered psychologically, like PTSD, which made sense.
'There are many other bad places, yet only these...'
After a while, Len set down his tools.
The examination was over.
"Your heart is worse than before. How was the Winterfelt Battle?"
Rodeban answered flatly.
"It was a bitter fight. We didn't rest at all for nearly a year."
"You didn't eat?"
"Yes. But while using the Magic Sword, it sucked the vitality from the magic beasts..."
Len nodded and cut him off.
"I understand. You starved for a year."
"...My stomach wasn't particularly hungry."
"That's not the important part. You're half-nourished right now, Rodeban. The fatigue accumulated in your body is severe."
The word "malnutrition" made Rodeban tilt his head.
It was a somewhat unfamiliar term.
The luxurious week-long diet flashed before his eyes.
"I still ate and slept well here for a week."
Suddenly, Len sighed and glared at him.
"...?"
Rodeban turned his head at the ominous look.
Thinking about it, comparing a year to a week was disrespectful.
Len said.
"You need more rest. Even right after the battle ended due to the victory tour, you couldn't rest much."
"That's true."
"And now you're being hunted by the Information Bureau, right?"
"Did the Commander tell you?"
"Yes. So I came to ask you to refrain from running away."
"...Why would I run?"
Rodeban scratched the back of his head.
He couldn't understand why everyone kept telling him to rest.
Len's serious expression warned him.
"No matter what, don't move for a whole month. Your body's really at its limit now. You might collapse on the way."
"Ah, I understand."
Everyone was in an uproar.
Rodeban nodded repeatedly and answered.
"I understand clearly. Why would I have retired unnecessarily?"
Only then did Len stand up.
"Understood. I'll go now."
Rodeban rose with him.
"You're leaving right away? Won't you have some food?"
"I have something to do. I wonder if you're not curious about how Luce is doing?"
Luce had been the child he sponsored since she was young.
She was now at the academy.
After graduating, she would become the next sword saint and protect the empire—a true talent.
He had seen it in the game, so it was certain.
One of the reasons he felt safe retiring.
Rodeban gave a light smile.
"No news is good news. She must be doing well on her own, right?"
"Well, yeah. Still, I hope you'll come to her graduation. She was really looking forward to it. I'll go now."
Len left the reception room immediately as he said.
Rodeban, seeing him off to the entrance, thought.
'He said he's been coming and going to the imperial capital lately. He's got it rough.'
While walking the first-floor corridor.
Suddenly his steps slowed.
"...?"
His senses were warning.
An intruder had broken into the mansion.
It was probably the one who had hidden when Len entered.
'...He's following me.'
How had he even entered?
The mansion surely had layered security magic.
Moreover, the number of resident guards wasn't small.
Rodeban sighed inwardly.
'Oh man, this is annoying...'