episode_0002

“Linus… ?”

“Dian! It’s been a while!”

“Linus!”

I was more excited than wondering why the main character was here, so I jumped over the wall and ran to him.

When I suddenly ran quickly, the startled knights stood in front of Linus as if to block him.

I had no idea that the drivers would intervene, but I was unable to slow down and ended up colliding with them.

“Ugh!” “Wow!”

The knights who collided with me, my bare body, fell and rolled loudly on the floor.

“Oh my, I’m sorry. It would be difficult if you suddenly intervened like that.”

“It’s still the same even after 10 years, Dian.”

Linus let out an embarrassed laugh as he looked down at the knights who were moaning and writhing.

He raised the fallen knights and asked.

“But what on earth is going on here? Without any message?”

“I came because I missed you. I also brought a gift.”

Linus took out a bottle of alcohol from his pocket. That thing, with its long, slender, streamlined appearance that shimmers a somewhat strange red color in the warm sunlight… .

“Wow!? Isn’t that Armand Brignac!?”

“I thought you would like it as expected.”

“Let’s go in, hurry.”

I led Linus and the knights into the house. Olisia was already waiting with the front door open.

“Why don’t you take off your armor? It must be very hot here because it is different from the imperial capital.”

When I asked the knights entering the small garden, they shook their heads.

“Guards do not take off their armor anywhere.”

“This is not the Imperial Castle, so I don’t think there will be any problems… .”

Looking back at Linus, he smiled and said to the knights.

“Take off your armor. I will never reach out to the guard captain.”

Then, after hesitating for a moment, the knights finally began to take off their stuffy leather breastplates one by one.

“Olicia. Give them a glass of lemonade each. Give it to this person too.”

“Okay, Dian!”

The knights had us sit on the sofa in the living room, and Linus and I went out to the terrace.

“You really lived in a nice place.”

Linus spoke animatedly as he looked at the view of the city and sea below the terrace.

“Sea, seagulls, sailboat, market. It is a place full of romance. I really envy you, Dian.”

“I’m satisfied too. Now do you understand why I left the imperial castle that night?”

“It is only now, 10 years later, that I realize its great meaning. It is clear that you have the ability to see the future.”

Armand Brignac turned around and burst into laughter.

“I don’t have that kind of ability. If so, I would have already known that you would come here.”

“Anyway… It’s really nice to meet you, Diane. I was always curious and missed what you did for a living.”

“Well, I just live like this. Unlike you who are busy. by the way… .”

I asked, putting down the Armand Brignac on the nightstand.

“Aren’t you the captain of the royal guard now? From what I heard earlier, it seems like the position has changed to something like the guard captain.”

“I recently moved to a different position. Because it is not human to sit in the position of Captain of the Hwangseong Guard, which is a major promotion position, for a long time and block the path to promotion. It was just a symbolic position.”

“The imperial castle guarded by the hero of the continent! It must be something like this. but… There’s no way they would have appointed someone as big as you to be the captain of the guards. So what are you doing now?”

Just then, Olivia came with two glasses of lemonade for us.

“For now, keep this alcohol cool in the kitchen cupboard. It’s very expensive so you have to be careful.”

“How expensive is it?”

“With ten bottles of this, you can buy one of those imperial battleships.”

“Heek?!”

A startled Olivia wrapped her arms around Armand Brignac and trembled as she entered the kitchen. Linus asked with a smile.

“A maid? I think she’s too young to be a maid.”

“I bought it from a slave ship that stopped by here. They say that they were war orphans and that the captain of the ship who was deceived by saying he would take refuge in a safe kingdom sold them all to slave dealers.”

“There was such an unfortunate situation. It was a good decision, Diane.”

Linus shook his head, took a sip of lemonade, and said that it was refreshing and delicious.

“So, how did you know I was here?”

“Oh, you mean that? Recently, the Imperial Intelligence Department received information related to the Ferencino Association. As soon as I heard it, I knew it was you.”

“The intelligence department knows all those little details?”

“It’s a small thing. It’s about a person who single-handedly knocked out 30 members of a delinquent group that dominated this area. How could that be such a small thing?”

As he said that, Linus shook his shoulders and laughed lowly, wondering what was so funny.

“Dian, didn’t you leave the imperial palace saying you wanted to live quietly?”

“That’s right. But not everything in the world goes as I want.”

“Well, it’s actually a good thing because I was able to find out your whereabouts thanks to your accident.”

Linus smiles brightly again. Even though 10 years have passed, that guy’s unique good-natured aura remains the same.

Linus.

The one and only hero who is said to be the salvation of the continent and the scourge of demons. He is the original protagonist of this fantasy novel that I possessed.

With his blond hair, tall height, and well-built muscular body, he has an appearance that is comparable to that of any other aristocratic child.

Because of this, he appears arrogant and arrogant at first glance, but in reality, Linus is not that type.

His origins are the child of a serf belonging to a small fiefdom whose name is unfamiliar in a remote corner of the empire. He had been farming with his parents since he was young, but when the war broke out, he abandoned everything and suddenly left his territory and enlisted.

The reason was that after hearing the horrors of the war, they could not bear to farm and maintain their own well-being. Although I obviously knew Linus’ tendencies, when I heard this story in person, I thought he was crazy.

Afterwards, I felt it clearly while fighting in the same platoon. This guy is crazy.

Linus has a humble and just nature. He always has a gentle smile on his face and his eyes are extremely kind.

They cannot tolerate injustice and will do anything if they think it is right, even if it means risking their own lives. It can be said to be a very fine specimen worthy of the name ‘Hero’.

So that’s the problem.

Linus becoming a lowly soldier in the legion is the background setting of the original story. The prologue of the original work begins with Linus, who survived various battlefields with great skill, and is promoted to officer in recognition of his contribution.

That means that if this guy doesn’t die for the next few years, we can at least get the story started. I almost died more than once because of this kid’s overflowing passion and sense of justice.

As an example, in the worst situation where the platoon was wiped out and only the two of us were able to break through the siege, Linus entered into a desperate battle to save a civilian village that was under attack.

If I hadn’t helped him at that time, he probably wouldn’t have found his body. If this isn’t a crazy person, then who is?

After crossing the line of fire countless times like this, I was able to keep Linus alive until the prologue.

Afterwards, we were promoted side by side, and later we were selected to join a special team, a warrior party, to attack the Demon King’s stronghold. After that, it follows the original story.

So, to me, Linus is the main character of the original work that I need to help, and at the same time, he is an incomparable comrade who has shared life, death, and ups and downs.

“By the way, Dian. Let’s eat dinner together tonight. I’ll treat you at the best restaurant here.”

“Good. But let’s eat at my house instead of a restaurant. I was already planning to eat grilled meat for dinner. By the way, how long will you be here? If you are going to stay for a long time, please leave some room.”

“No, you don’t have to do that.”

Linus shook his head.

“I have to return to the capital at dawn tomorrow. I will also sleep on the boat.”

“You seem very busy. I can’t help it. Because it makes no sense for the savior of the continent to live like an unemployed person.”

“Hearing those words from you makes me so embarrassed that I don’t know what to do. Then, let’s eat dinner here.”

Linus brought a few knights with him when he told Olicia to buy more meat and other things.

# # # # #

As the sun slowly set, we ate grilled meat on a large terrace overlooking the sea.

While Olicia and the knights ate at one table, we talked about the past at a separate table. The story of his days as a junior soldier in the corps, the story of being later drafted to a special unit called the warrior party, the story of infiltrating the Demon King’s Castle with party members including Celine, etc.

The story did not end until the sun completely set and the stars began to twinkle in the sky over the eastern sea.

After emptying the entire bottle of Armand Brignac and getting both moderately drunk, I asked Linus.

“Linus. Why did you come here?”

“I told you so. I came because I wanted to see you.”

“Linus, you are.”

He pointed at Linus.

“You are a simple bastard. You have no talent at all when it comes to hiding and deceiving.”

At my words, Linus tipped his drink and smiled slightly.

“So tell me quickly. Why did you come?”

“Haha. As expected, it’s amazing.”

Linus said, looking at the port lights flickering below the hill.

“Do you remember the day we broke up 10 years ago? The words that said you would help me someday if I needed it.”

“I remember. So, do you need help?”

“Okay, Dian. There is something I can only ask of you.”

“What is that? Could it be that the Demon King has been resurrected again?”

“It’s more difficult than that.”

A task more difficult than killing the demon lord? Is there such a thing in the world?

“Do you know anything about the Imperial Special Mission Academy?”

“I don’t know. What is that?”

“It is a newly created institution recently created by the empire, and it is a place to train domestic and foreign information collection experts.”

“Is it spy school?”

“Haha. Well, to some extent. But not everyone does that. To put it simply, it can be said to be a place that creates all-weather civil servants for the empire.”

“So? You’re not trying to ask me to teach kids there, are you?”

Linus has no answer.

“… Really?”

“Dian.”

Linus put down his drink and looked straight at me with the most serious eyes in the world.

“Become the principal of the Imperial Special Mission Academy.”