Ch.127127. Letter

After the royal support arrived at the County, the situation was quickly brought under control.

Magic swept across the battlefield, and the surviving stragglers were dispatched by valiant soldiers. The surviving demon was handled by Adelheid’s knight.

Ainel, who had just reached the Master level, was different from her sword which had reached that level long ago—it easily tore apart the mid-level demon.

The remaining monsters, now without a focal point, were all eliminated by skilled soldiers over several days.

At midday, when the final subjugation team returned after sweeping through the monsters, Sione and I received news that their cleanup had successfully concluded. We returned to the barracks to rest comfortably.

“Hmm~”

Sione hummed a tune.

While others had become hoarse from shouting atop the walls, Sione had mostly just quietly shot arrows by my side, so she hadn’t lost her cute, delicate voice.

Then she smiled slightly and sighed.

“Phew… we finally overcame it. When I first saw those disgusting monsters swarming in, it seemed hopeless.”

I nodded at Sione’s words.

Honestly, seeing their numbers, I thought at least one section of the wall would collapse.

Although cracks formed in the gates and outer walls, the walls held until the end, which is why we were able to win like this.

“Finally, I won’t have to sleep on this hard cot anymore.”

“Yes, yes, I want to rest comfortably in my room, not in these barracks.”

Sione’s blue eyes sparkled as she spoke about wanting to go back to her room.

She must be dreaming of relaxing in her room at the Count’s mansion, eating cookies to her heart’s content.

That much was obvious without even looking.

“While returning quickly to the mansion would be nice, you’re aware we still have the victory celebration and memorial service, right?”

“Ah.”

Unfortunately, it seems returning to the mansion right away will be difficult.

* * *

The victory celebration and memorial service ended without incident.

After the war ended, the victory celebration was held first.

Given the many sacrifices, it wasn’t particularly grand, but it was festive enough for everyone to rest and enjoy themselves for a day.

The memorial service that followed was literally a ceremony to comfort the souls of the dead. Led by clergy, the event was conducted in a solemn atmosphere.

After the victory celebration, the world around me changed.

And this continued even after returning to daily life.

“The Arcane Archer of the Wall.”

No, rather than the world changing, it would be more accurate to say that people’s attitudes toward me had changed.

“The Falling Wind and… oh! The Arrow that Pierces Demons!”

“……”

As proof, even my master here is reciting cringe-worthy phrases.

*Thump.*

Reacting to such teasing is amateur behavior.

As I remained silent without showing any reaction to her words, she began poking my cheeks and sides.

“Our Master of the Wind has become quite popular…”

Sione looked at my profile with narrowed eyes.

“Hey, hey.”

When there was still no reaction, she now openly poked my cheek with her index finger.

“……”

This is all because of what happened on the day of the victory celebration.

From the moment Ainel publicly announced that she and the Sianella family stood behind me, rumors about me that had been subtly circulating exploded outward.

Those who had seen the woman on the wall, or witnessed me throwing myself down to slit the throat of that half-human half-demon—they all gathered in the territory’s taverns and talked endlessly about me.

Thanks to that, the nicknames created by those drunk on alcohol eventually reached the Count’s mansion, and now—

“As expected of the Immovable Knight, you’re quite formidable…!”

Even Sione was teasing me with my nicknames.

“Haah……”

I finally caught Sione’s hand as she kept poking my side.

A small, white hand. Originally, it was the smooth hand of a well-raised young lady with almost no calluses. But perhaps because she had been frantically pulling bowstrings every night, calluses had formed on each of her finger joints.

“Why do you call me that?”

Sione pointed to an empty plate, as if she’d been waiting for this.

“Brother, I want more cookies!”

“Haven’t you already eaten two plates by yourself?”

“You’ll bring me some? Wow, you’re the best, brother!”

Sione pretended to be cheerful and hugged me.

She quickly pecked my cheek and pushed me on the back.

In an instant, Sione opened her room door and pushed me outside. From inside the room, she gave me a playful smile.

Sione waved her right hand in greeting.

“I’ll be waiting in my room then.”

Bang!

“What just…”

I stared at the firmly closed door, momentarily dazed by the sequence of events.

‘What just happened?’

After devouring two plates of cookies like someone possessed, she still wants more? After eating so many sweets, doesn’t her stomach feel queasy?

I suppose she knows I’d obviously tell her to stop if she asked for a third plate, so this is her strategy.

“Truly amazing…”

I moved my feet while praising Sione’s bold actions in fluent Korean.

While heading to get snacks, I encountered in the corridor some women I had briefly seen with Sione.

‘That woman is…’

One of those who entered the territory with the royal army.

That purple-haired princess. One of Adelheid Aisilia’s loyal knights, who had reached beyond Master level and could tear demons apart.

Since I had seen her rampaging on the wall, I clearly remembered her face.

Her name was… Airin, wasn’t it?

‘Not just at the entry level, but close to full mastery.’

Concise sword strikes and disciplined movements. She never mixed unnecessary movements into her sword dance. The enemies slaughtered by her bold slashes could form mountains.

Even those unfamiliar with swordsmanship could tell that her swordsmanship was on a different level from ordinary knights.

In fact, she didn’t seem to be using her full power even among those dozens or hundreds of monsters.

She was one of the monstrous talents I’d seen since coming to this world.

‘Come to think of it, the knights and mages under Adelheid were particularly outstanding.’

Though few in number, like an elite force, they all knew exactly how to use their personal power in the right place at the right time.

Moreover, I remember that the mage who came with that knight was also monstrously skilled.

‘Yet with such skills…’

Why didn’t they show themselves when Adelheid’s coming-of-age ceremony turned into chaos?

Did they receive separate orders from the purple-haired princess?

If just that mage or this knight had been by Adelheid’s side, I wouldn’t have had to go through all that trouble.

‘Well, it’s all over now.’

I cleanly erased my complaints and withdrew my gaze from her, one of Adelheid’s human weapons.

Then, as I was about to brush past her, it happened.

Airin’s footsteps, which had been moving silently, stopped, and her pupils focused on me.

“Are you Ray?”

Her face, visible through her dark brown hair, was like a sword.

Cold and devoid of any emotion, a sword guided only by its master’s handling.

Such a person was calling my name.

“Yes, I am Ray… do you have something to say?”

“I’m glad I ran into you. Her Highness the Princess commanded me to deliver a letter to you.”

“From Her Highness?”

“Yes, this.”

Airin took a letter from her breast pocket and handed it to me.

“Her Highness said that it would be better to read the contents of the letter carefully and contemplate them deeply.”

“…I understand.”

“Then, farewell.”

Having completed her task, Airin turned without hesitation and disappeared somewhere.

‘So Adelheid sent me a letter.’

I stood in place for a while, just staring at the letter, before belatedly walking away.

Since Adelheid said it would be better to read it with deep consideration, there must be a reason for saying so.

I decided to read the letter alone before bed. For now, getting cookies for our glutton was the priority.

* * *

After the sun set, I was finally able to return to my room and rest.

I was quite tired from playing hide-and-seek with my master, who would embrace me whenever I entered Sione’s room to escape the intense gazes I felt while walking the corridors.

Normally, I would have surrendered myself to the bed without delay and fallen asleep, but I sat down at the small desk.

I took out a letter from my breast pocket. It was Adelheid’s handwritten letter that I had received from Airin earlier in the day.

I opened the seal and took out the letter.

“Beautiful handwriting.”

To write the continental common language, with all its squiggles, so neatly.

Adelheid’s cursive was nothing short of masterful.

However, the content written in that beautiful handwriting wasn’t as extensive as I expected.

I quietly read aloud the words she had left.

“…This incident has greatly shifted the axis of everyone’s fate. My eyes have pierced through to see that the destinies of all those related to the West have changed.”

This must be about the recent war.

I checked the quest I had cleared previously.

The quest was called “The First War.”

A quest where history was changed by my intervention, and I was to stop the advance of demons and monsters.

From the beginning, this war had greatly twisted history, reflecting the changed fate in Adelheid’s royal gaze.

“The axis of fate I see now is close to defeat in war, so I am sending my knights and mages. This should be enough to tilt the axis sufficiently toward victory.”

The writing broke off after that. There was a series of worthless words, crossed out with two lines or blackened to make their meaning indiscernible.

Then, two lines below, a proper sentence appeared.

“…Victory will create a torrent in history. Countless events will rush in at once. And those who will ride this torrent are none other than the County of Sianella.”

It wasn’t particularly pleasing to hear.

The war had just ended, and already she was talking about riding the torrent of history.

I hadn’t been expecting anything from this damned world, but at this rate, there won’t be any time to rest.

“I have sent letters with different contents to the head of the family and others. As princess and future monarch, I command: Cultivate your personal power and ride the torrent with the County to twist the fate of ruin.”

Adelheid seems convinced that I have the power to twist fate.

She even briefly added in a postscript that thanks to my twisting her fate, she was busy gathering people.

I exhaled briefly and rubbed my chin.

“…Ride the torrent of fate and twist the fate of ruin.”

My status in this world is merely that of a commoner.

Isn’t the expectation placed on a lowly person too great?

My shoulders feel so heavy that I wonder if I can live well like this.

However, among the words she left, the instruction to cultivate my personal power reminded me of something.

The quest, “The First War.”

The reward for clearing it was granting new possibilities for my body and weakening demons.

Of course, the quest informed me that the overall influence of demons had decreased due to this war.

‘New possibilities for my body.’ This opened up the unique power that men in this world possess, which I had forgotten until now.

[Power is bestowed according to your achievements and path.]

As the demon whose throat was slit by Ainel on the wall had said.

While this body might be unable to naturally accept mana, it held the possibility of elevating its caliber according to the achievements made throughout life.

And as a result of beating cultists, protecting the princess, and piercing demons until now.

Finally, that possibility shone.

[Anti-demon power awakens according to the trajectory of life you’ve walked.]

Finally, I have a means to deliver a more satisfying blow to those demon bastards.