3
“What…!”
My former mentor’s eyes bulged as he saw me cut off all of Hydra’s heads. Not just my mentor, but the two peers hailed as the Golden Generation were the same.
We had crossed swords once before. All three of them must have understood that I was different from five years ago, but they clearly hadn’t expected me to be able to slay a dragon species alone.
Feeling pleasantly superior at the dumbfounded looks on their faces, I swung my mind-blade once to shake off the blood and flesh clinging to the blade.
After that, I addressed the three in a deliberately slow tone.
“‘We three shall now assist you’? I don’t need your help.”
As I threw out these mocking words, Goz responded with what seemed to be an admiring expression.
“I am at a loss for words. I thought I understood Lord Sora’s growth, but to think you would slay a mythical species single-handedly… It’s magnificent! Lord Yakata will surely be pleased. When the other flag bearers learn of this feat, they will have no objections to your return!”
“Do you think that would make me happy?”
I gave a cold reply to Goz’s misplaced words, but he continued to speak with even more enthusiasm.
“Lord Sora, this is a matter for consideration. It depends on Lord Yakata’s will, but with your current abilities, it’s not a dream to reclaim the position of heir!”
“…Hm”
I was about to snort, but the moment I heard the word ‘heir’, my heart moved unwittingly.
It wasn’t that I had lingering attachments to the position. It was just that I was attracted to the scenario of returning home with the merit of dragon-slaying, reclaiming the position of heir, and showing those who had given up on me—
because that was the outcome that I had wished for more than anything five years ago. If I had acquired the soul-blade immediately after being exiled from the island, I would have probably gone along with his invitation.
Perhaps sensing my reaction, Goz tried to continue speaking with momentum.
I raised my left hand to stop him.
There was no need to reconsider. The past is the past, and now is now. I have no interest in the position of heir or anything that comes with it.
Before I knew it, my heart, which had wavered once, had regained its composure.
“More importantly, Goz. The fact that you all are here means that the magical beast rampage has stopped, right?”
Cutting off the talk of returning, I shifted the conversation elsewhere. Goz still looked like he had something to say, but I ignored that and prioritized my own questions.
What concerned me was that Goz and the others had appeared before Hydra, the cause of the monster rampage, fell.
The agreement we made in Ishka was that I would fight Hydra while Goz and his team would stop the monster rampage. If they had arbitrarily broken that agreement, we would need to hurry back to Ishka immediately.
Gripping the hilt of Soul Eater, I asked my question. Goz nodded deeply and answered:
“Rest assured. Most likely, all the monsters that could be expelled have been in these three days. By the time we entered the forest, there were only a handful of monsters coming out.”
Goz asserted that the defense line soldiers and adventurers could easily handle that level of threat.
I judged there was no lie in his words. While I had many thoughts about Goz, he wasn’t the type to tell petty lies.
With this, the immediate crises of the [Mythical Species] and the [Monster Rampage] had passed.
Of course, not all problems were solved. Even though Hydra was defeated, its poison remained. The pollution of Tittis Forest had already gone beyond serious to a hopeless level, and the contamination of the Kale River must have progressed as well. There were still many problems to tackle.
However, these weren’t issues an individual could handle. Since we had eliminated Hydra, the cause, it was time for those with position, responsibility, and money – be it the king, nobles, the Adventurers’ Guild, or the Temple of Law – to do their part.
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Still, I had acquaintances among such people.
The sisters Astrid and Claudia were from Canaria’s leading noble family, and Priest Sarah and Ilia were members of the Temple of Law.
Plus, the members of [My Clan] must be working hard in Ishka right now. It would be uncool to just say “I’ll leave the rest to you” while they were doing their best.
Above all, I still had a problem I needed to solve. The problem of [Onigashima].
I looked at Goz and the other two again and opened my mouth.
“Goz, you said in Ishka that after defeating the Mythical Species, you would return to the island to report. Was that your true intention?”
“Yes, without a doubt. If possible, we’d like you to accompany us, Sora-dono…”
“I see.”
I nodded casually, ignoring the latter half of his statement.
Goz and his team returning to Onigashima meant that the Mitsurugi family would learn about me slaying Jizenbou and defeating the Mythical Species. Of course, they would also learn about the existence of the Oni-people.
This was rather inconvenient for me. Naturally, the option of “silencing” them came to mind.
Originally, the temporary ceasefire four days ago was for this purpose. I reluctantly sheathed my sword because I needed forces to suppress the monster rampage while I was devouring Hydra.
With Hydra defeated and the monster rampage subsiding, the ceasefire had ended. No one could complain if I killed these guys who attacked Suzume and the others. There were no witnesses around here, and the bodies would dissolve in the poison, minimizing the aftermath. It was an ideal situation to settle things.
My current level is [26]. Exactly double what it was before fighting Hydra.
As I’ve mentioned before, my level progression, harboring the dragon factor, is exponential. With each level up, I need twice the experience of the previous one. The fact that I was able to raise my level this much at once shows how immense Hydra’s soul was.
Now, I feel no threat from not only the two from sibling but even from Goz. So, silencing them would be easy, but—there were two things I wanted to confirm first.
“Let me ask one, no, two questions. Do you intend to apologize for attacking Suzume and hurting my companions? If you’re willing to grovel before them, I might reconsider.”
Kilmt, not Goz, was the first to react to these words. The white-haired, red-eyed classmate curved his lips mockingly and retorted:
“Nonsense. Sora, do you think Oni-people are just another type of demi-human? If we had left that girl alone, the next Mythical Species would manifest right next to you. Oni-people must be killed on sight, and the same goes for fools who protect them out of ignorance.”
Kilmt spat out these words and continued without waiting for my response.
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