215
Reunion
‘What a strange guy.’
I muttered while looking at Isher.
The man was wearing a baggy black shirt. His hair was pulled back, with two antennae sticking out.
He was quite tall and had a muscular build, but he showed no signs of having ever wielded a sword.
‘wizard.’
He muttered, looking at the small stick stuck in the bastard’s waist.
If someone was able to enter the management office, they must have considerable skills. The imperial family was where the best on the continent gathered.
But the double-lidded, thick eyes of the guy looking at me were somewhat subtle. They were not the eyes of someone looking at an intruder who had pointed a sword at them.
“Can he figure out the elevator route?”
“If you are Marshal Balhar Khan, you will have the authority.”
It was more cooperative than I thought.
“If he comes, how long will it take?”
“The elevators are very crowded due to the coronation ceremony. It will take quite some time.”
“quite?”
The guy squinted his eyes for a moment at my question. His focus went up and down as if he was calculating something.
“It will be twice as long as it took you to meet me.”
The guy answered, holding up his finger.
“Does the Eastern Management Office have any troops?”
“There weren’t any originally, but Avery recently came back and brought six royal knights with him.”
I stared at the guy for a moment.
“Why don’t you tell me that?”
The bastard’s eyes widened at my question.
The guy who was licking his lips-.
“···You asked, didn’t you?”
I asked back. I nodded, thinking that was correct, and pushed the sword in a little further.
“Haha-, just kidding! Actually, I read all your information for work.”
The terrified man waved his hand awkwardly.
“information?”
“Yes, the things you did in the past. Sir Aaron, you are quite famous in the administration.”
It was as if I knew my old self, not the me from the East.
It was only natural that I was famous in the administration. How many crazy people have been able to turn the Empire around? Of all of them, none had done as much damage as I had.
It’ll probably be on the list of problems shown to new recruits. There are crazy guys like this, so be careful when handling work.
“so?”
If you had read my information, it should have been the opposite.
“Ah, so… It’s a bit hard to put into words, but it’s like I got to participate in a novel that I enjoyed reading. That’s about it.”
The bastard answered, scratching his head.
‘It’s fun-.’
Where was ‘fun’ in what I experienced? It was just something unrelated to what I experienced.
It was just a needless venting. I tried to calm my excitement by breathing hard.
“I really hate Avery too. He’s so picky…”
He grumbled lightly. Avery certainly wasn’t a very good person when it came to interpersonal relationships. He had had a lot of friction with the mercenary group.
“···And you don’t really have a choice, do you?”
Asher smiled awkwardly, pointing at the sword pointed at his neck.
I nodded to him.
“You know I’m after Avery.”
“Yes, I read it all.”
My brow furrowed at his answer.
Anyone who reads about me knows that Avery is my target – the implications were obvious.
‘Avery betrayed me.’
Fragments of the past naturally came to mind.
[Oh, and Avery asked me for a favor, and the conditions are pretty good. What do you think?]
The captain, slightly tipsy, asked me, “Avery has a request. What do you think about it?”
To him I-.
[If the conditions are right, then I should go. Isn’t Avery a colleague too?]
ah···.
I sighed softly.
– What a pity.
***
Gesher Wind has been reading a lot of old information about Aaron because of Selena.
He could not handle auras, and he had no demons, yet there were records of him winning against knights.
It was clear that he had extraordinary skills. However, his opponents were not royal knights, but ordinary knights.
Moreover, he was so good at escaping that I was amazed even though he was just reading organized information.
The part where he voluntarily enters the nest of the ‘Red Calamity’ to avoid the pursuit of the royal family was shocking.
He was a man who jumped into deeper diagonals to find a way out of the diagonal line.
He was a man who committed an act worthy of being recorded in the history of the Administration Bureau, who struck the back of the Empire’s head without any demons or auras and even threw off their pursuit.
Of course, he had the help of Selena, the head of the Central Management Bureau, but that was also his ability.
Gesher Wind felt a kind of thrill reading about him.
So, there were quite a few high expectations for Gesher Wind.
However, the Aaron he actually encountered was somewhat different from what Gesher Wind had expected.
Aaron’s size and deep voice had something to do with being overwhelming, but it fell short of Gesher Wind’s expectations.
Gesher Wind wondered even more what kind of handsome face was inside that helmet.
…I thought so.
‘What is this···.’
Gesher Wind felt suffocated in the heavy air.
The mood changed abruptly as Aaron grabbed my helmet and made a low noise.
Although he was just quietly crying, Gesher Wind’s hands were trembling as if he was standing before a high-ranking demon.
It looked like he was going to cut his own throat at any moment.
It was only after he hit the elevator doors that Gesher Wind realized he had backed up. He was trapped with the monster.
Then, suddenly, the low crying stopped.
The pressure that had been weighing me down disappeared as if it had been washed away.
Aaron slowly lowered his hand. His face was hidden by his helmet, so it was impossible to tell what expression he had on his face.
Gulp. Gesher Wind took hold of his staff and chanted a small spell.
“Yeah, Avery is the director.”
Aaron asked in a calm voice.
Gesher Wind nodded.
“You’ve made it big.”
It was a word I didn’t understand. I couldn’t even see his expression, so I had no idea how to react.
Still, I knew that Avery had led his mercenary band to the west, and that his band had been annihilated because of it.
Gesher Wind opened his mouth hastily, like a dog wagging its tail in front of a wild beast.
“Yes, I guess the Demon of Despair···.”
“stop.”
A soft voice cut off Gesher Wind’s words.
“I plan to hear it myself.”
Although his voice was dry, it was filled with anger that could not be hidden.
Gesher Wind nodded vigorously.
He clearly stated that there were six royal knights next to Avery.
But you still plan on going like that? Maybe you’ve lost your mind because of revenge.
“What is the structure of the Eastern Management Office?”
That’s why his voice was so calm.
However, this was Selena’s plan. Gesher Wind wasn’t stupid enough to sabotage the Central Management Director.
Gesher Wind answered, searching his memory.
“Can you say that again?”
Gesher Wind had to repeat what he had just said three times.
***
‘I don’t think it’s a lie.’
I exhaled, trying to suppress the boiling heat.
Since I repeated it several times without making a single mistake, it didn’t seem to be a lie.
‘Six Imperial Knights… Did you know I was coming?’
I shook my head slightly.
Isher didn’t know about me now, so Avery must be the same.
The past me that Avery knew would have been burdensome to deal with even one imperial knight.
There was no need to have six or two.
It was clear that there was something else bothering him.
‘I’m out of luck.’
I muttered softly and took stock.
I was able to take on two imperial knights without any aurors.
If you cause erosion, you can do four or five at a time, but there is no absolute here. If you cut off the neck of the Aura, it is the same as falling down.
‘Six Imperial Knights and Avery···.’
He knew Avery’s abilities well. Avery, who specialized in fire, was no easy opponent.
Moreover, I couldn’t completely trust Aisha. Besides, this was the palace, so I didn’t know what variables might arise.
I don’t know what decision the first one who was chasing me might have made.
The situation was worse than ever.
However, the dice had already been thrown.
I muttered Avery’s name and adjusted my grip on the hilt of the knife.
‘One on each side of the elevator doors. Two in the hallway. Two in front of his room.’
I closed my eyes and tried to guess the layout he had given me.
The coolness from the hilt warmed my body.
At that moment, Isher stepped forward and said.
“Oh, I’ll show you to Avery’s room.”
I stared at the bastard’s face at his sudden words.
Sweat was beading on Asher’s forehead as if he was nervous. His somewhat dull eyes were now sharp.
I still don’t know why he wanted to help me, but it wasn’t a bad choice.
Woot. The elevator stopped with a heavy sound.
I nodded.
The guy stepped forward towards me in relief.
If you knew me well, you wouldn’t be fooling around and leaving me behind.
Then, the door opened slowly.
“···That’s why I said you should have put more people there. You lacked public service. It was because you got drunk and caused trouble.”
A woman’s voice could be heard through the gap. The accent was strong and the speech was somewhat rough.
I could see the wall in front of me. It was a gray wall. I took a deep breath and relaxed my body.
“Feeding that pretty boy to the devil—what a stupid idea. And you enjoyed it too.”
The door opened halfway, revealing two imperial knights.
There was one woman and one man.
The woman was tall and the man was rather short. The brown-skinned woman was glaring at the man with an angry expression on her face, and the man was staring at me.
Neither of them were wearing helmets.
“What? Why is the 700 series here-.”
The man spoke roughly, his eyes crinkled. The number tattooed on his shoulder was ‘321’. The woman’s was ‘313’.
313’s sword was a bit short and thin, not fitting the length of his arm. It seemed to be the type that drew out the aura long.
“Hmm? Was there a guy this big in the 700s? I don’t remember.”
The woman muttered in a low voice, a wariness appearing in her eyes.
At that moment, the elevator doors opened completely. Asher nodded slightly at me and stepped forward.
Only then did their gaze shift to Aisher.
“Ah, Gesher Wind-. Where did you go? Avery found you.”
“Oh, that’s… I just went to the Central Management Office.”
Aisha answered the man’s question quite naturally.
“Who’s that guy behind you?”
The woman asked in a sharp voice.
“This is a messenger from the Central Management Office. He said he has something to ask of you, Avery-.”
As if he had planned it out in advance, a natural excuse came out. As if his words had caught on, the knights’ guards as they watched me relaxed.
“No matter how low your rank, running errands for the management office… Tsk. Cheer up.”
The man patted my shoulder and encouraged me. I examined the seams of his armor. It didn’t look like anything had been added inside. 321 wasn’t wearing anything under his armor.
“I heard the management is really arrogant these days?”
“Haha… Is Avery inside?”
“Oh, I didn’t even take a single step.”
The man pointed inside and said. I naturally turned my gaze and looked down the hallway.
The passage was gray. It was wide enough for three men to stand side by side. It was a bit narrow for two to swing their swords. It was a good structure for me.
In the middle of the hallway, there were two knights on either side. They were the same height.
“Then this way-.”
Asher naturally led the way. As he was walking along, a woman reached out and stopped him.
At the woman’s sharp eyes, I lowered my hand toward the hilt of the sword.
“But this kid doesn’t even salute his senior?”
The woman tilted her head and glared.
‘···That was it.’
I saluted loudly. I saluted the man too, and he praised me for doing it properly, which is rare these days. Suddenly, I became a model imperial knight.
The hallway was quite long. The two knights in the middle had their heads bowed.
I thought he might be sleeping because there was no movement. I glanced at him as I passed by, and his blue eyes were clear as they could be seen inside his helmet.
‘You’re twins.’
I gave a quick salute and took in the length of their swords with my eyes.
There were four doors on either side of the hallway, but no sound was heard from inside.
I walked with my nerves sharp. Eventually, I was able to reach the door at the end.
A large man was guarding the door to what appeared to be the director’s office.
‘I can’t see one.’
I muttered softly as I examined the guy. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, and his hair was sticky with oil, as if he hadn’t washed in a while.
It was a creature with large facial features as big as its size. Of these, its nostrils were the biggest, giving it a strong gorilla-like feel.
‘Your arms are thick. The width of your sword is also wide.’
He was a good guy to deal with in tight spaces.
“Gesher Wind, you’re late.”
The gorilla spoke in a rough voice.
“Oh, I got a call from the Central Management Office.”
Isher’s voice was somewhat rough as she answered him. Her expression was also slightly crumpled.
“What about this guy?”
The gorilla looked me up and down and asked.
“This is someone from the Central Management Office. I have something to tell you, Avery-.”
At Isher’s explanation, I saluted him loudly like I did to those guys earlier. Unlike the others, I didn’t get a very good response.
“···To Avery?”
The bastard’s gaze became sharper, like a gorilla seeing another male approaching its mate.
“Hey, take off your helmet.”
At the sound of his rough voice, I turned my gaze towards Asher. Asher had a look of concern on his face.
“Sir Zenhaien, that’s not it. I’m here to convey a message from the Central Administration.”
“Then tell me and I will tell you.”
He took a step closer. He was about a fist shorter than me. He lifted his heel slightly. He was still small.
I slowly lowered my hand to the hilt of the knife, estimating the distance the men behind me could reach.
After cutting off the bastard’s head and sprinkling the blood on the floor to make it slippery···.
“This is an order from Director Selena of the Central Management Agency.”
At that moment, Isher spoke in a very stiff voice. Then the bastard flinched noticeably.
The name was surprising to me too. Why would Selena’s name come up here? I glared at Isher.
“Ahem, Avery is definitely close to the Director of Central Management.”
The gorilla nodded, but his eyes were still blocked.
“Take off your helmet, you little shit.”
The bastard pointed at my helmet and shouted.
I wiggled my fingers for a moment. I wondered if anyone knew my face. No, they didn’t.
After a brief moment of reflection, I exhaled and grabbed the pitcher.
Gulp. The sound of Asher swallowing was loud.
Bboong-. As I applied force, the compressed head opened with a refreshing sound.
The expressions on the faces of the two people facing him were colorful.
The guy in front had a very satisfied look on his face, while Asher had a look on his face that said he really didn’t understand.
Asher blinked and rubbed his eyes several times while looking at me, then tilted his head.
‘Those who don’t know funky.’
I clicked my tongue and stroked my hair.
“Yeah, I guess that’s okay.”
I nodded to the bastard’s strange mutterings and pushed my helmet down. It took some time for my fluffy hair to settle down.
“Then may I come in?”
Aisha, with a somewhat uneasy look on her face, pointed to the door and asked.
The gorilla opened the door. I clenched my teeth at the familiar scent.
“Don’t do useless things.”
I went inside, ignoring the bastard’s warning.
Without realizing it, my breathing became ragged and my hands became tense.
and-.
“Gesher Wind. Have you gotten the information?”
Avery was there.
Her face was radiant, and the robe she wore was incomparably luxurious.
In a word-.
It seemed like things were going very well.
“······This way?”
Avery looked at me and asked, his voice low and steady as ever.
“I’m from the Central Management Office. Hehe.”
The guy who followed me answered with a hearty laugh.
“Central Bureau? Is Selena finally making a move? It’s too late. I’ve already finished talking to the Western Bureau.”
Contrary to what he said, Avery’s expression was not very good. There was something uneasy about his face.
The gorilla seemed to be completely enamored with Avery, and he turned his back to me. It seemed as if he was courting her. He was leaning his shoulder against the wall, as if he was strutting.
Knock. I heard the door close.
By then I had made up my mind and pulled out my sword.
Avery’s eyes grew wide. The gorilla turned around at the sound of his sword being drawn. It was a clever reaction that did not match his size.
“···This kid!”
Then he tried to draw his sword. However, it was a little too late. My sword was pointed at his neck.
Then, without hesitation, he put his left arm on the sword. He seemed to trust my armor and thick arms.
Crunch-. The guy’s arm was cut off with a heavy sound.
No, it wasn’t cut off, it was just ripped off.
The gorilla’s face crumpled into a huge grimace. A long scream poured out of its mouth.
He put his strength into his right foot and twisted his waist roughly. His muscles screamed at the sudden change, but the sweat he had shed was oily.
The sword that had been swinging wildly stopped midway and immediately began stabbing.
The guy raised his aura and drew his sword. His sword was tied to his right. It was the worst for him because the wall on his right and his only remaining hand were his right hands.
The bastard realized it too, biting his lip and turning the hilt of his sword to the side.
“This kid- I am the Imperial Knight Zenhaien!”
The gorilla introduced himself and pulled his sword. Then, with a cool sound, the guy’s right waist was slightly cut and the sword was pulled out.
Cutting your own flesh to pull out a sword-.
‘The response is better than I expected.’
I gave a dry compliment and pushed the sword in further.
A giant sword moved towards me, slicing through the wall. Even though it was swung with one hand, its speed wasn’t bad, but it was somewhat slow because it was slicing through the wall.
It seemed like the guy was planning to cut both my sword and me at the same time.
I squinted my eyes at him and focused.
The guy’s sword seemed even slower. It was too blunt to swing with one hand.
I swung my sword upward at the exact moment. Crunch-. It was a perfect moment, but it ended up ripping my sword apart instead.
He was truly an ignorant Auror, as big as I am.
The guy’s greatsword rose and his front was wide open.
My sword, which had become slightly shorter, was embedded in the guy’s left shoulder.
“This gnome-!”
The bastard kept trying to swing his sword at me without giving up. I gritted my teeth and pushed the sword in further.
My sword went into the guard and the guy’s balance was disturbed. I applied force and pressed down on my sword.
The sword came down with an unpleasant tactile crack through the guy’s armor.
Kkaaaak-! The gorilla let out a long scream. At that moment, the sword he swung pressed against my left shoulder. I bit my lip in excruciating pain.
It was a bigger gorilla than I thought.
I stared at Avery behind him, my blood boiling.
Avery was strangely calm.
“Selena, are you acting so aggressively? Is she in a hurry?”
Avery asked in a slightly raised voice.
I pulled out my sword as I pushed the gorilla, whose eyes had lost their strength, towards Avery.
The gorilla stumbled and fell backwards.
“joy-.”
As Avery snorted, a wild flame burst out from below. Kkaaaak-. The creature’s horrible scream filled the air.
‘Magic circle.’
I quickly looked around the room. There was no magic circle anywhere.
‘That’s why wizards are so difficult.’
I clicked my tongue and readjusted my sword. Avery was the woman who told me that wizards are tricky.
“What an ignorant method. I was worried for nothing.”
Avery laughed heartily. That peculiar laugh almost brought back old memories. I tried to suppress it and stepped forward.
Avery’s eyes crinkled slightly, as if he hadn’t expected me to rush in right away.
Flames rising from below – Avery’s specialty, the ‘Hell’s Flames’.
Unfortunately, I knew that relativity.
Because I was her colleague-.
I quickly turned my foot. The floor was dug up a little. Then, the flames shot up-. I counted to three in my head and jumped into the flames.
The flames died down right in front of me. The timing was so perfect that it seemed as if the flames had opened on their own.
“how-.”
Avery muttered briefly and raised both hands.
Her wrists were full of precious bracelets.
[Ah. This? Ahem···. It’s a secret, but it’s the most expensive thing I own. It’s a magic tool.]
There was also a gold bracelet that the gambler Wayne had been showing off. His hand that held the sword felt stronger.
I held my sword askew, trying my best not to get excited.
The bracelet jingled to Avery’s hand movements.
A small fireball was fired without a spell. It was small, but Avery’s magic was not judged by size. Condensation was her specialty.
Most magic was proportional to its size and destructive power. So those who encountered her magic for the first time were often taken aback by her small size, and that was her plan.
I knew him.
Because I was her colleague-.
Instead of parrying, I slashed the lower part of the fireball with my sword. It was heavy, but not as heavy as the gorilla’s aura.
Kwaang-, a fireball exploded behind me, and the hot heat burned my back.
I stared into Avery’s eyes.
Avery bit his lip and waved his arm. The bracelet jingled and poured out a huge blast of flame.
It seemed that they had changed their method after realizing that normal magic wouldn’t work. It was a type of magic that couldn’t be countered.
A dragon-shaped flame poured down violently, as if it was trying to burn down the entire room.
It was definitely tricky and annoying.
Of course, that’s all.
The difference between a wizard and a knight was clear.
The knight’s aura could strike anything, but it wasn’t magic.
I felt dizzy and had erosion on my left arm. I covered my face with the eroded hand.
The heat was rising, but it was lukewarm compared to my boiling chest.
Two steps-.
“···You are the devil that Selena stole!”
Avery’s voice could be heard faintly from beside me. It was different from the location I remembered.
I stepped forward to my initial target without wavering. I swung my sword without hesitation. An uneasy sensation ran through my sword.
Avery’s tearing scream-. The heat rising again. Using magic even after cutting off his left arm, that was incredible concentration.
It didn’t work though-.
I muttered and swung my sword again. The scream grew louder, and the heat subsided.
When he lowered his left hand, he saw Avery rolling on the floor with both arms cut off.
“You’re crazy! I’m the director of the Eastern Management Bureau! Even if you’re Selena, you won’t be able to get past this!”
Even though he had lost his arm, Avery’s face was ferocious.
I looked at Avery and thought for a moment. She was part of the Administration. That must have been the case back then. If she had betrayed and the mercenary force had been annihilated-
It was clear that the words that would come out of her mouth in the future would be extremely heavy.
If you hear him-.
‘You’re going to be busy.’
I held the pitch with my left hand and slowly raised it.
Avery’s bloodshot eyes grew wide enough to touch his forehead. His chattering mouth stopped.
I tried to raise the corners of my mouth, but they just wouldn’t go up.
“Ah… Aaron?”
Avery’s expression turned pale, as if she had seen a ghost. Her eyes scanned me quickly.
“Aaron, you’re alive. That’s really lucky.”
Avery said with a strange expression. He seemed to know that I was alive.
“Yes, unfortunately.”
I nodded and squatted down, finding it hard to resist the force that kept creeping into my hands.
I looked into Avery’s eyes. I looked truly ugly in those clear eyes.
“however.”
I stroked Avery with my left hand, which was eroded.
Avery flinched sharply. The sparkling necklace around her neck glowed.
“Why are you alive?”
Her face was crumpled.
Now it was a face worth seeing.
At that moment, it became noisy outside.
The sound of heavy footsteps drew near.
“You idiot! If you survived, you should have just quietly hidden away! You came all the way here? Ha! Yes! Selena, this is it!”
Her face lit up again. Avery continued to babble on, his eyes looking like they were looking at a trapped beast.
“Yes, it’s nice to meet you too. Let’s talk about the rest later.”
Anyway, I was talking, so I didn’t need the legs.
He swung his sword lightly and stood up.
The door burst open violently, and the imperial knights rushed in.
The view gained from the erosion even showed everyone waiting outside.
‘Eleven people.’
There were twice as many as expected, but the space was somewhat cramped.
‘It’s worth doing.’
He muttered, causing further erosion.
My vision became blurry and my mind began to sink endlessly.
Only then did the heavy corners of his lips rise.
***
“You dare hit me in the back of the head… You’ve lost your fear. Five eldest sons.”
The five eldest sons frowned as they looked at their eldest son, Balhar Khan, who was constantly growling.
Of course. I knew that the third one would cause trouble, but I didn’t know that he would abandon me too.
We were both in the same situation, so why is that guy angry at me?
I was like that the whole time I was riding the elevator, so my ears were about to bleed. I even considered getting off several times.
The five eldest sons felt very wronged by the bastard’s interrogation. However, they could not explain it in a contrived manner, saying that they did not know and that they had been victimized along with him.
“Eastern Management Office? What on earth are you thinking? Just say something!”
The bastard shouted in a very harsh voice.
‘I wonder that too.’
It was somewhat surprising that they headed to the Eastern Management Office instead of anywhere else.
Of course, it could be true since the Cassidy where he was staying was in the East.
At that moment, the elevator slowly came to a stop.
“No matter what you did, you must be brought to Him.”
‘But why has this guy, who isn’t even the eldest son, been acting like a jerk since a while ago-.’
The five eldest sons were at a loss, but since it was the palace, they endured it.
While hanging out with the third child, I became somewhat more tolerant of rudeness and ignorance.
Then, the door opened slowly.
And the two of them shed tears of joy at the sight.
“Is the Eastern Management Office originally red?”
First I asked Balhar Khan, but there was no answer.
