The Iron-Blooded Monarch.
"..."
A woman crazy about killing.
Long, long ago, yes. In an ancient tale no one remembers, the woman known as the Iron-Blooded Monarch was a being who terrified everyone.
The place she passed through was filled with blood and war, and only the sorrow of a mother who lost her family filled the streets.
-Save my son!
-...
-My son...
People were afraid of her.
Because to rebel against her with her immense power meant paying the price of death.
The weak prayed that a warrior would appear in the world and punish evil, and the god who heard their prayers appointed a warrior with a good heart and ended the woman's evil deeds.
Until the end, the woman did not reflect on her actions.
-Why me...!!! I only did what you guys wanted...!
The warrior realized that he could not break the woman's powerful thoughts, so he decided to seal her, and the woman became a sword and lost her brilliant light.
A hundred years.
Two hundred years.
Hundreds of years had passed, and now, with his story fading from the world, the Iron-Blooded Monarch was preparing to reign over the world once more.
Yes, the current Iron-Blooded Monarch.
-Don't do that...!
-Goooom!
"Heeheeheehee!!!"
It was a toy.
I smiled awkwardly as I watched the bear running around, biting Caliban. I hadn't expected them to treat the magic sword like that.
-Huh? What is this?
-This is a newly acquired sword.
-Oh... pretty.
-Would you like to touch it?
-yes.
-Here you are.
The girl who caught Caliburn started throwing it into the yard, saying that it was a perfect toy for Gomtang. Gomtang, who was excited, kept running around with Caliburn in his mouth, which led to the current scene.
-I am the ancient and powerful ancestor of blood...!
"Heeeek!! Ricardo! The sword speaks!"
"That's because it's an expensive sword."
"Oh... I see. Then I can't just throw it and play?"
"Just play for a bit and then give it back. It's dangerous."
"yes."
-Take care.
"Ask me!!"
I decided not to overthink things, because whatever it was, as long as the girl liked it.
-I'm not a toy. I'm a really scary person...
I'm glad that the young lady likes the new family member.
The girl, who had been playing in the yard for a while, returned and held out Caliburn, speaking softly in a sharp voice.
"here."
"Are you done drinking?"
"yes."
"Was it fun?"
"It's not fun because you don't talk."
"yes?"
-He's the Iron-Blooded Monarch... What a... He's such a scary person... In the past, no one would even talk to him.
I smiled awkwardly at the sight of Caliburn, who was damaged in so many ways, and nodded with a small smile.
'I'll have to appease him next time.'
Caliburn's wounded heart needed to be healed through flattery. Listening to him talk to himself, he sounded like someone renowned in ancient times. I thought it might be helpful to find a book to read about him. When I listened to him in the carriage, I thought he was a minor noble from the outskirts... but he seemed to be a bigger man than I expected.
'I guess I should study a bit.'
I sheathed Caliburn and looked at the young lady, asking, "How have you been?"
"How have you been while I was away?"
"yes"
"Did you eat well?"
"My friend Ricardo cooked for me, so I ate."
"Oh... well done."
“And I also spent time playing with Gomtang.”
"That's a good thing too."
"I walked two steps while exercising my legs by myself."
"This is really cool."
The girl poked her head in, smiling brightly. I smiled at her cute expression, asking for a pat, and placed my hand on her white hair.
"Hehe..."
"You are amazing."
"Praise me more."
"You're absolutely amazing."
"Hehehe! I know..."
The young lady still lived in a confined space on the Ferri Unit 2. Walking with a cane was a challenge. The nerves in her legs hadn't fully developed, and it took time to rehabilitate her legs, which hadn't moved for years. Perhaps this was natural.
I wish I could just run around right now, but there is a process to things.
I was slowly developing a treatment plan that would restore the young lady's senses while also building her confidence. I stroked her head and spoke softly.
"Oh, by the way, did you send a letter to the head of the household?"
"yes?"
The girl looked at me with a large question mark above her head.
"Why are you sending a letter to your father?"
"..."
"Daddy is busy because he has to earn money."
Why are you sending me a letter?
After hearing the young lady's truly filial remarks, I shook my head and cautiously responded to her question.
"Shouldn't we tell the Lord that he can walk on his own? Not completely cured, but enough to walk on his own?"
"...Ohh..."
"Right?"
"yes,"
The girl nodded vigorously and extended her hand to me.
"Give me the letter."
"Where did the person who said they wouldn't use it go?"
"He's dead."
"Puhaha...! Okay. Then I'll bring it to you in a refreshing pink color."
"Pink...?"
"Then blue."
"Eeeeek!"
"Then red."
"profit...?!"
"Hmm. Then I'll bring you the white one."
"yes."
The girl, having received the letter, sat down at her desk and began writing. She seemed intent on writing a letter after a long time, and I smiled slightly at the sight of her pouting as she wrote. I rested my chin on my hand.
'You look just like an angel...'
"To the father who does nothing."
'What you're doing is evil.'
The girl, whose handwriting was beautiful but whose content was not, was telling me the contents of the letter by speaking it out loud.
"Dad, have you eaten? I need to earn a lot of money so I can have fun."
“You are very filial.”
"That's right. I think about my father a lot."
"You look great."
"Yeah. And..."
"..."
"Brother needs to be taken care of. I can only rest if he does well. Looking at the newspaper, it seems like reporters are writing strange articles. If they're wrong, I'll grind them up and sprinkle them on."
"yes?"
"yes?"
"It's nothing."
"huh."
The young lady began to write the last line of the letter with a faint smile on her lips.
With his mouth tightly shut.
[Abby. I can walk.
I still need Ricardo to hold me to walk, but I'll work hard so I can walk with Abby later.
Aren't I so great?
therefore...
Now don't worry about me and get some rest.]
I didn't know what was in the letter from the girl who smiled faintly and said nothing, but I decided not to peek, smiling slightly at the girl's girlish manner of hiding the letter. I had a rough idea of what it would be about.
Since it was obvious that the young lady, who hated being embarrassed, had written something embarrassing, I looked at her back with a small smile.
'You are a filial daughter.'
Although the traits of an unfilial daughter still remain.
I'm sure Darbab will like it.
He's the kind of person who's so excited that he'd say he'd keep a handwritten letter from a young lady as a keepsake, so he might come running to you as soon as he sees the contents of the letter.
I smiled as I thought of the Desmunt family, who would likely be visiting the mansion soon.
"Should I clean the mansion a bit?"
"Huh?"
I felt like I had to greet guests.
*
That moment.
The Academy members, who had returned from a long journey, sat in the conference room with heavier expressions than usual.
Shalltear, who seemed to have recovered from her old stagnation, was turning over documents with a tired expression on her face, and the executives were also nodding as they turned over documents.
Sharltia nodded and said.
"You all worked hard. You must have been very tired from this work. Did you all help?"
"..."
The executives were silent.
Because they had done nothing in this battle. Those who had thought they would become the masters of the world upon graduating from the academy were etched with worry on their faces.
It was my first time being seriously injured and I've seen countless people scream, so maybe it was strange that I was smiling so calmly.
Overwhelming force.
A strong man who cannot be touched.
The faces of the executives who had experienced a situation that could have been annihilated if Ricardo had not appeared were deeply saddened.
Shalltear cleared her throat and tried to lighten the mood. "Don't make such a gloomy expression."
"Don't be discouraged. It's not just us who were injured, many soldiers were injured too. It's fortunate that it ended like this. And we even obtained the Holy Sword."
"..."
"I'll pay for the after-party today. Let's cheer up..."
"..."
-Knock knock.
The executives stood up straight and remained silent at the sight of someone entering the conference room.
"What is everyone so nervous about?"
With bandages wrapped around his head and hands.
Because Malik came with a serious expression and documents in his hand.
"..."
Malik chuckled at the students' silence.
"It feels like we're at a funeral."
"..."
"Why is the grass so dead? The mission was completed successfully."
"..."
"Is your friend dead?"
"..."
"That's not it, but why is it like that?"
Malik took a deep breath and asked the executives indirectly, suggesting they share their thoughts on the incident.
"How was the actual battle?"
"..."
“And how do you feel this time?”
"..."
"Were you scared? Or did you feel dirty being pushed around by the healer running around the battlefield?"
"..."
"That's why I told you to train and work hard."
"..."
"The battlefield is not as easy as you think."
"..."
"Do you think the elves you saw would save you if you asked them to save you? There's no need to go that far. If you were unlucky, they'd all be wiped out."
"..."
"I hope you learn a lot from this journey."
As the story ended with Malik's bitter smile, the student council officers sighed and began to burn with determination.
Malik said to the student council officers.
"Then let's have a party."
Malik knew how to deal with people.
"We'll have palm time too, so look forward to it."