“Soldiers! The war is over!”
GASP!
Everyone just got hit with a brain freeze, huh?
WHAAAT?!
Looks like everyone has question marks floating over their heads right now.
On top of the visible WALL, Kalintz suddenly declares peace, and everyone’s left staring at each other with jaws dropped.
Of course, they’d be shocked if he just popped back out of nowhere and declared an end to the war.
But, I mean, I get where Kalintz is coming from.
Now that Harpas is dead, the Halphas Cult shouldn’t be causing any more trouble.
“What does that mean? And what’s with this stench…?”
Archbishop Pierre glanced back and forth at us with a bewildered expression, demanding an explanation. I stepped forward instead of Kalintz and spoke up.
“We defeated Harpas.”
“What?!”
“Harpas?”
“How?”
The bewildered murmurs grew loud enough that even people atop the WALL could hear them. Obviously, they would react like that if someone claimed to have just taken out the enemy leader.
So, I had to show proof.
I turned my head to look at Renny.
“Renny, show them.”
Upon hearing my command, Renny nodded and stepped forward, proudly holding up the bisected head of Harpas. Since her sword had cut diagonally, the head remained intact but split in two.
WOW!
Looks like the demon’s body was remarkably sturdy after all.
How on earth did it not just disintegrate after that?
Sure, a few feathers are missing, making it look a bit shabby.
“Th-That’s…!”
“I feel an incredibly wicked energy coming from it…!”
The paladins must be sensitive to demonic power as they instinctively drew their weapons and pointed them our way. That head must look quite ominous.
When I shifted my gaze back to Pierre, his brow furrowed as he stared at the head and then asked me.
“Are you saying that’s Harpas’s head?”
“Indeed.”
“How did you catch him? That cunning demon wouldn’t easily show himself!”
A fair question, and a rather dangerous one too.
We had to align our stories beforehand. It could get messy if caught.
Geren ensured Renny got the message through by sparring with her.
I guess when you’re strong enough, you don’t have to think too hard, huh?
“Do you remember when he cursed the Saint? We extracted the curse’s energy from her body to track Harpas. Then we summoned him to what we believed to be his location. Through the Book of Wishes, of course.”
“The Book of Wishes…!?”
“Is that really a real object?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Is that true? The Book of Wishes? I didn’t know it was an actual thing—”
“I swear on my name that it exists.”
DING DING DING!
Nice backup!
With Merlin, the Grand Sorcerer and headmaster of Kalon Academy, serving as a witness for my statement, the murmuring crowd suddenly fell silent. It was only natural.
Doubting the Grand Sorcerer’s words would be a challenge to his authority. In a world where authority has immense power, no one could casually doubt him.
“He obtained the legacy left by Andras, hidden within the Academy, and became the owner of the Book of Wishes. Even though he could have used it for his own desires, he willingly spent all his wishes to defeat Harpas.”
Merlin’s voice, typically composed, had a serious tone to it. His majestic timbre signaled he was using magic too. Thanks to that, his words were powerful.
“…For someone to willingly use such an item to slay a demon…”
“If it were me, I’d have asked for enough money to live lavishly for life…”
“Didn’t know that…”
What’s with this atmosphere? Why are you all acting like this?
“This young man has done something big.”
“Right! Even though he messed around a bit, he outsmarted Harpas like a real man!”
With the old-timers backing me up, now everyone was looking at me with awe. I thought I’d catch attention, but this level of attention is a bit overwhelming.
“Long live Sir Quartz!”
HURRAH!
I don’t even know who it was, but when one soldier shouted my name, the crowd quickly joined in, chanting my praises.
Oh, whatever. Let things go how they will.
I mean, the war’s basically over now, leaving just some cleanup and a return trip.
The cleanup can be left to the paladins, so no need for us to get our hands dirty.
Sure, the Executors may be bothersome, but they’ve all drawn power from Harpas, so now that he’s gone, they shouldn’t pose much of a threat.
Wasn’t Harpas’s death enough to send them all into shock and leave them mentally fried?
Regardless, this means the war can wrap up here.
HURRAH!
“Ah, your name will spread throughout the Empire.”
ARUGH!
“That sounds like it could become a hassle.”
“Isn’t it bound to happen?”
Renny! You’re supposed to at least pretend to disagree!
“You all head back first. We’ll take care of some post-war responsibilities before we return.”
[Are we heading back now?]
“Is that okay?”
“Regardless, you’re the one who deserves the most credit for this war. In my lifetime, I’ve never seen someone defeat a cunning demon in a battle of wits; it’s been quite the spectacle.”
Merlin patted my shoulder with a hearty laugh. His jubilant laughter tickled my ears along with the cheers.
Honestly, it wasn’t half bad.
———————
“But can we really take this head with us?”
“Normally we’d give it to the paladins, but there’s a purpose for it, you see.”
Carrying around the bowling ball-sized head of Harpas feels a bit iffy, but this head actually serves a purpose.
If I’d invested in the Book of Wishes to take down Harpas, this head could become an item that allows me to reshape future events to my liking.
…And let’s not forget about my promise to Karina.
“Let’s hurry back.”
“Guh—nothing’s happened while we were gone, right?”
“It’s barely been three hours, so not much should’ve happened.”
I figured sending an assassin after Karina at this timing would be nearly impossible, hence calling Renny to come along.
“But it’s pretty dark here…”
“It’s underground.”
We quickly rushed through the EMERGENCY PASSAGE and stood before the huge door of Yeomyeong-gwan. The guards were startled once when they saw us covered in dirt and then startled again when they noticed the head I was carrying.
“Wh-What is that?”
“It’s Harpas’s head. Brought it back as a souvenir.”
[The only person who’d call a demon’s head a souvenir is a contractor!]
“What?”
“I plan to display it in my ROOM.”
If possible, I want to find a taxidermist and get it stuffed, or learn to do it myself.
“Alright, I’ll go in.”
“Y-Yes, yes…”
With a dazed expression, I walked past the confused guards and opened the door. Yeomyeong-gwan was quiet. Since it was Sunday, I thought people would be partying, but why is it so silent?
“Renny. Was there anything that happened before we arrived?”
“No? Karina was just sitting on her bed reading a book? Today, there’s no schedule.”
Renny and I exchanged puzzled looks as we stepped inside Yeomyeong-gwan. As we passed through the lobby and reached the central staircase, faint sounds reached our ears.
GASPS and LAUGHTER.
What’s going on? What could’ve happened to incite such reactions? Renny and I glanced at each other and nodded.
“Let’s check it out.”
“Seems like it’s coming from the GARDEN.”
“Right.”
We walked towards the back door, which was unusually wide open today, revealing maids dressed in black and white gathered beyond it.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a gathering of maids like this.
“Karina…!”
“Hmm?”
The maids exclaimed Karina’s name in joyous, overwhelmed voices that pierced our ears.
What’s going on? What’s happening?
Naturally, my pace quickened.
Reaching the back door in no time, we asked Ashley, who was among the crowd.
“Ashley, what’s going on?”
“Johann, you’re back!”
Turning to look at me, I noticed Ashley’s eyes were puffy.
Did she cry? Why?
“Could you please move aside?”
At Ashley’s words, the maids parted like the Red Sea, creating a path. And at the end of that path was…
“Johann! I’m not seeing things, am I?”
“Of course not.”
“Johann! Renny! You’re back!”
YAY!
A voice filled with delight.
An even more enthusiastic tone than usual greeted me, and I scratched my cheek, saying,
“The curse has been lifted.”
“Are you hurt at all?”
Karina approached us, unassisted by anyone.
I stared blankly as Karina walked towards me on her own two feet.
Sure, her steps still looked wobbly, like a newborn calf, but she’d be fine with time.
“Ah…!”
“Be careful. Karina.”
I dropped the head of Harpas to the floor and caught Karina as she stumbled toward me.
SOFT!
The soft sensation and the startled look on Karina’s face. Plus, I could feel ardent gazes from behind us.
Amidst the flood of newfound information, I spoke to the rabbit-like Karina, whose eyes were wide open, cradled in my arms.
“I’m back, Karina.”
“…Welcome back, Johann.”
The most beautiful smile in the world was stamped onto my brain.
This was just a day when the second semester of freshman year was nearing its end.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.