The night deepened. The story of the Blake Kingdom had roughly come to an end, and the dinner party was also wrapping up. Linda had already fallen asleep with her head on the table, drooling, and Mary was dozing off next to her. Shushruta was dizzy, perhaps from drinking.

"Ashuban. The world is spinning. Spinning... Was the world you saw always spinning like this? That's why you weren't in your right mind. That's what it was..."

"Be quiet."

Before she could spout any more nonsense, I pressed the sleep pressure point under her ear and put her to sleep.

"Nyaak..."

Shushruta made a sound of losing strength and collapsed onto the table.

Seeing that, Scarlet looked at me as if she were intrigued.

"How did you do that?"

I raised my fingers and explained in a solemn tone.

"It's called pressure point striking. I gathered my internal energy at my fingertips and then pressed the sleep pressure point to put her to sleep."

Scarlet tilted her head to one side.

"Pressure point striking? I've never heard of that kind of black magic."

"I told you it's not black magic, it's martial arts."

"Shushruta said it was black magic."

"Sis. Are you going to believe this girl you just met today over me?"

Scarlet smiled faintly.

"She was so cute that I wanted to believe her. Cuteness is directly related to credibility, you know."

"...Sis. Are you drunk?"

Scarlet laughed out loud. I confirmed that the leader was looking at her with a slightly surprised face. It seems she hadn't laughed out loud much in a while.

Scarlet smiled and looked at me with an interested expression.

"Hmm... it's strange. I still don't feel any mana."

It seemed my sister didn't completely believe my story even after hearing it all. It's understandable. A pathetic guy who couldn't feel any mana at all suddenly had a chaotic adventure under a cliff and gained a special power. It was naturally hard to believe.

My sister stood up from her seat and said.

"I'll put these sleepyheads to bed."

"Yes."

As I stood up with her to help, my sister waved her hand and instructed me to sit down.

"No, you sit down. I can do it alone."

Scarlet, with a few gestures, made the chairs the girls were sitting on float and moved them upstairs. It was a strange sight to see every time.

Even the Heavenly Demon, who had been watching quietly, couldn't hold back his admiration at the sight.

[Oh...]

"Isn't it strange?"

[Is that also magic?]

"That's the real magic."

[Amazing. How is that possible? Is it a type of psychokinesis?]

"I don't know. I don't know anything about magic or whatever psychokinesis is, so it's hard to answer."

The leader, who was staring at me as I was talking with the Heavenly Demon, said.

"Your condition has gotten worse since I last saw you. You're talking to yourself now?"

I glared at the leader.

"How many times do I have to tell you? My heavenly master, the Heavenly Demon, is stuffed in my head."

"...You crazy bastard."

The leader muttered, emptying his glass.

"Your atmosphere has changed quite a bit. Your momentum is also quite sharp."

"Is that so?"

"I'll believe about half of it. You braggart."

"Well, I'll be."

It was 100% true, but this ugly magical beast seemed to be making the mistake of cherry-picking the truth.

"Leader. You don't believe me?"

"Do I?"

The leader snorted.

"I can understand you killing the baron, given your temper. But you defeated two of Blake's Royal Knights in the decisive battle that determined the owner of the throne, and you put the Black Prince on the throne? That's a gross exaggeration."

"...."

"Furthermore, you defeated the Knight of Frost..."

The leader said, pouring liquor into his empty glass.

"I know who that guy is."

"What?"

The leader looked at me, holding his glass. A strange light flashed in his eyes.

"Do you think I don't know the owner of the blue sword among the Eight Sword Masters?"

"...!"

"That person is not one to let his target go alive."

The leader said, emptying his glass.

"The Knight of Frost is a man who is so ruthless that he will carry out his orders no matter what. You defeated such a man? And Frost just gave up and went back? Nonsense."

I asked in a rather serious voice.

"Have you met Frost?"

"A long time ago."

The leader answered nonchalantly, refilling his glass.

"A long time ago?"

The leader snorted.

"Do you think I've only lived in the Maia Kingdom? Before I founded the Sherwood Mercenary Corps, I was also a wanderer. I traveled all over the place."

This was another unexpected piece of news. I couldn't hold back my curiosity.

"Who won?"

I focused on his mouth, feeling my five senses become extremely detailed. Of course, I had seen the leader for a long time, but that was when I couldn't feel mana. What could a clueless kid know by looking?

There are things that can only be seen after reaching a certain level.

Now that I had the ability to operate my internal energy, when I looked at the leader... I couldn't even guess his realm.

I remember when I tried to glimpse the skills of the Royal Knights of the Blake Kingdom, I couldn't see inside, as if looking into a deep pond. A chilling feeling, as if looking into a deep abyss, that sent shivers down my spine.

It was a similar sensation to that time.

Either his realm was a realm I couldn't dare to look into at my current level, or he was skilled at hiding his ki. Either way, it meant he was strong.

Then, it means his skill is at least above that of the Royal Knights. This is actually a given. The important thing here is whether his inside is as deep and dark as the Knight of Frost's.

"Who won when you fought Frost?"

When I urged him, the leader frowned.

"Be quiet. Is that important now?"

I stared at the leader blankly.

"You lost."

"What?"

"You lost, you lost. Seeing that you can't say anything, you lost."

The leader glared at me with terrifying eyes. It was still a fierce gaze.

"I didn't lose."

"Then you won?"

"...."

"Look at this. You lost, you lost. You were completely beaten. You must have been beaten to a pulp after acting all cocky."

"Shut up. I didn't win, and I didn't lose."

"Then?"

The leader muttered softly, avoiding my gaze.

"...A draw."

"A draw?"

"It was a draw, you bastard."

I blinked my eyes. I thought he was a man who knew no defeat, but now I see that he hadn't won all his fights.

"No, you've lost before?"

"I said I didn't lose. It was a draw."

"This is... shocking. I thought you just went around smashing everything from birth with your temper."

"Who do you think I am, a madman?"

The leader replied, as if he were dumbfounded.

"Then did you think I was invincible? I'm a person too, a person."

"You seem closer to a magical beast than a person."

"Oh, for crying out loud."

The leader threw a spoon. I reflexively caught the spoon that came flying at me. And then I wrapped it in a blue flame, as if to show off.

The leader looked at me with a slightly surprised face.

"...This bastard. It's not all bluff."

I grinned.

"Of course. The truth always wins."

After withdrawing the blue flame, I put a little starlight on the spoon and returned it.

Swoosh!

The moment the starlight settled on the spoon and sparkled, it flew towards the leader like an arrow.

Thwack!

The leader lightly caught the starlight spoon and then looked at me with wide eyes.

"...Mana?"

I grinned, showing my teeth.

"It's called ki, you ignorant fool."

Thud!

The leader shot up from his seat.

"You crazy bastard. Finally!"

I also shot up, not caring if my chair fell over.

"Hahahaha! What did I tell you? I told you it was real!"

We laughed out loud and slapped each other's shoulders and backs without mercy.

"You bastard. Take a glass! I thought you'd live your whole life as a weakling, but you've finally met a great opportunity!"

"Of course. Who am I? I'm Ashuban of Sherwood. I can't be the only weak one."

"Khaha! Well said! You must have realized something after getting your ass kicked by a kid. You deserved to be beaten."

"No, why are you suddenly bringing that up?"

"This is not the time for that. How can we enjoy this joy with this cheap liquor? I'll bring the 30-year-old Jilentine."

"You crazy bastard! What are you doing? Bring it right now!"

The two men, who had reunited after a long time, soaked the night with liquor.

***

"Gulp. The taste of this liquor is to die for."

The precious 30-year-old Jilentine whiskey was already showing its bottom. The world was spinning, so I blew away the drunkenness through my fingertips and then looked at the flushed leader.

"...But I don't know if it's that delicious. Why did you make such a fuss?"

The leader chuckled.

"You novice. What did I feed to a guy who doesn't even know the taste of liquor? I'm filled with regret."

In the mercenary corps, there had been a sharp conflict. This was the liquor that the leader had tried so hard to hide, and that I and the other guys had tried so hard to steal. The 30-year-old Jilentine that you can't get even with money. But I finally got to taste it, but there was no great reaction. To the point where I wondered why he had made such a fuss over this.

"Tsk."

A sense of emptiness washed over me. Is this what life is?

I looked at the leader, who was chuckling to himself like a madman, and said.

"I feel bad for drinking alone. The liquor would taste better if I drank it with the Jilentine task force guys."

A lonely emotion crossed the leader's face.

"...You're right."

It suddenly became quiet.

I stared at this heavy silence, and then suddenly looked at the stairs. Scarlet hadn't come back down. Now I see that she had deliberately left so that I could catch up with the leader.

"Leader."

"What."

"Where are all the other guys?"

"...One of them is nearby."

"Who?"

"Who do you think? Who else but that fox girl?"

"Ah."

Come to think of it, that girl was the one who had followed Scarlet, so she would follow my sister wherever she went.

"She wanders around the forest as she pleases and comes back once in a while when she's bored. It's been a while since I've seen her, so she might come tomorrow."

"And the rest of the guys?"

"I don't know. They've scattered."

"Where to?"

"How should I know? They're not the type to get beaten to death somewhere."

"That's true."

It's true that they're not the type to be beaten to death, although they might beat someone to death.

I said in a serious tone.

"Leader."

"What."

"I heard that the mercenary corps has been disbanded."

The leader muttered in a bitter tone.

"...It has."

"It has?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"So you're saying you let the mercenary corps disband?"

"...I won't deny it."

I barely held back the urge to grab him by the collar. It was unbearably annoying to see the leader so powerless.

"Why did it disband? Does it have something to do with me falling from the cliff?"

"I don't know."

"Tell me."

The leader looked at me. The yasha that had lived in him was already gone.

I glared at those pathetic eyes.

"Tell me. If you don't want to die."

"...."

The leader sighed and then slowly explained.

"After you fell from the Mist Cliff... after we buried your belongings in the cemetery. The guys were strangely subdued. They were incredibly gloomy. They didn't take on any requests and just killed time blankly at the lodgings."

"And then."

"You know they're all hot-tempered guys. Since they didn't go out anywhere and were just cooped up in the lodgings with their nerves on edge... do you think they were quiet? Fights broke out all the time. Fights broke out over trivial things that they would normally just let go, and those fights spread to others, and then they fought like crazy, and Siri was crying, telling them not to fight... It was a mess. There wasn't a single day that passed quietly."

"Hmm."

"Beating them up to calm them down only works once or twice. Since they were fighting all the time, I couldn't stand it anymore. In the end, I couldn't stand to watch it anymore and told them all to get out. I told them to get the hell out before I killed them all. Because I thought another one would die."

"...."

"I didn't want to see them fighting like they were going to kill each other over nothing. It was as if they were looking for an excuse to fight each other. It was as if they wanted to beat themselves up but couldn't, so they were borrowing the hands of others."

"...."

"I didn't want to see that anymore. I definitely didn't create the mercenary corps to see that."

The leader sighed.

"Ashuban. Do you know why I created the mercenary corps?"

"Why?"

"I just... wanted us insignificant guys to live well together. That was all."

"...."

A silence fell.

I fidgeted with my glass, and then downed the remaining liquor in one go and slammed it on the table.

"What's the problem? We can just gather them again. The pillar that was a huge part of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps has returned, so can't we just gather them again?"

The leader stared at me blankly.

"Gather them again?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"How?"

"What choice do we have? We have to find them one by one and drag them back by the hair."

"...."

"Why aren't you answering?"

The leader, like a weak man, emptied his glass again and said.

"You do it."

"What?"

"I'll stay here."

"...."

What did I just hear?

"Ashuban. Do you know what my dream was?"

"What was it?"

"It was to open a small restaurant. Like this one."

The dream of Gustan of the Greatsword was to be a restaurant owner? Not to defeat the demon king of the west?

"Are you kidding me?"

"It didn't go as planned, but this isn't bad. The magical beasts have already been eradicated, and people are gradually gathering. The customers will also gradually increase. I'm satisfied with my current life."

I couldn't believe my ears. What is this magical beast saying?

Satisfaction?

Did I hear that right?

The leader emptied his glass again. Looking at him like this, he seemed like a pathetic fallen noble who had been demoted from a high position and pushed out to the provinces.

I glared at the leader who was spouting nonsense with wide eyes... and then uttered a single word.

"Are you broken?"

"What?"

"When did you become such a weak man? Is this the leader I know?"

Screech—

I drew my silver sword and aimed it at the leader.

"Follow me out. If you don't want to die."

(End of Chapter)