SS #37 Kang Yujin (11)

Sword Demon Kamael.

One of the Five Heroes of Paragon.

In swordsmanship alone, he possessed Absolute Sword Sense, a talent comparable to the Heavenly Martial Body.

He was one of the Four Great Swords of the Continent, a title for the four most outstanding swordsmen, and the former First Captain of the Holy Cross Guardians, which had since been reborn as the Guardian Knights of the Cordelia Church.

As the Commander of the Royal Knights of the Paragon Kingdom and a user of Extreme Cold Qi, he possessed ice-cold eyes and a handsome face so beautiful it seemed to have been painted.

However, he wore no adornments that would accentuate his appearance.

Jet-black clothes and a cloak.

Dressed head to toe in black, like the ravens that always followed him, two famous swords hung at his waist.

The Moon Demon Sword Ashanta, a legacy of the Magic Kingdom Endelion, and the Extreme Azure Dragon Sword, a demonic sword from the East that held the power of extremity.

Each was a national treasure befitting the renown of the Four Great Swords of the Continent.

But that wasn’t what was important right now.

Sword Demon Kamael.

Why was he standing by the window?

Why had he appeared so suddenly, as if bursting in with his ravens, and was now staring at them?

Scarlet swallowed dryly, and Kaisa, unknowingly excited, clenched her fists.

“So you’ve seen it,” Kamael said.

His voice was as cold, low, and sweet as ever, but Scarlet could sense it.

Is he different from usual?

As the Rogue Master of her generation, she had an exceptional talent for reading people.

Reconnaissance was a virtue of a good thief, and the important part of reconnaissance wasn’t just surveying the terrain.

It was reading the owner of the goods—what kind of person they were, what state they were in, what they were thinking.

Kamael was a man accustomed to hiding his emotions.

Therefore, though his voice was a sweet baritone, it rarely carried any discernible emotion.

But in this moment, Scarlet could say for certain.

Kamael was agitated.

It was a subtle difference, one easily missed even if you listened carefully, but his voice was a mix of various emotions.

A sigh… no, a sense of liberation? A bit of anticipation? Elation? Excitement?

As she continued her reflexive analysis, Scarlet couldn’t hide her bewilderment.

These were rare emotions she had only felt from Kamael a few times over the past decade.

And what he just said.

“So you’ve seen it.”

It was obvious what he had seen.

The notebook in Lucas’s hand. The one with the Bildwein’s Heroic Saga fanfiction written in neat handwriting.

No, wait a minute.

Was it really a fanfiction?

The words Lucas was about to say right before Kamael burst in.

A certain fact that the man who loved Bildwein’s Heroic Saga the most in the Sailun Kingdom—no, on the entire continent—had seen through.

This is insane.

It wasn’t a “could it be,” it was “this is insane.”

Scarlet’s sharp mind deduced a single fact, and she was certain.

It might not be on par with that beast Cordelia’s, but it was still a rather sharp—no, a woman’s intuition that she, the Rogue Master, could boast was the best in the Sailun Kingdom.

Sword Demon Kamael is—

“Kamael-nim.”

Lucas’s voice cut through her thoughts.

Everyone focused on his voice, which came just before Scarlet could formulate her conclusion into a sentence.

The situation and atmosphere demanded it.

Lucas’s voice was low and subdued.

His expression was stiff, and his blue eyes held a tense light, as if facing a formidable enemy.

“This… this notebook is…”

Lucas continued.

Kaisa unknowingly gulped, and Scarlet, though finding the sweat-inducing situation absurd, also swallowed dryly and turned to look at Kamael.

What was important to Lucas was also important to Scarlet.

Moreover, it had been over ten years.

She had started reading Bildwein’s Heroic Saga because of Lucas, but now Scarlet herself had become quite an avid reader of the series.

So Scarlet swallowed dryly again.

Although she had already deduced a fact from the circumstantial evidence and her intuition, she fixed her gaze on Kamael’s lips to find out the whole truth.

And then, Kamael opened his mouth.

“I think Yuria took it by mistake.”

The reason this notebook was here. It was plausible.

Kamael was Yuria’s sword master, after all.

Yuria, who respected and admired her master, bought the same kind of notebook and used it, and they must have gotten mixed up by accident.

Having instantly formed a hypothesis, Scarlet focused on Kamael again as his low voice flowed out once more.

“I came to retrieve it… but it seems I’m too late.”

He came to get it himself. He could have just told Yuria to bring it, but he came in person.

And in a hurry. Not through the front door, but through the window.

As if he wanted to hide the fact that the notebooks had been mixed up. As if he wanted to conceal the fact that he was the owner of the notebook.

I knew it.

Scarlet clenched her fists.

She was on the verge of concluding that her hypothesis was the truth.

But it was at that very moment.

[So he’s embarrassed about writing fanfiction. Well, that makes sense. He has his usual image to maintain, right?]

Scarlet’s face unwittingly became flustered at Kaisa’s telepathic message.

What is she talking about?

[No, I’m right, aren’t I? Fanfiction. Hmm… wouldn’t that be embarrassing? It’s like having your diary read, in a way?]

And to have that fanfiction discovered by none other than Lucas, the continent’s number one fan of Bildwein’s Heroic Saga—how mortifying must that be.

[That’s probably why his voice is trembling, too. Mmm-hmm.]

Scarlet was dumbfounded by Kaisa’s assertion.

She had known for a long time that the girl was a beast—but no, for someone who was supposedly a beast, was it okay for her intuition to be this bad?

[Hey, Kaisa.]

[Yeah?]

Just as Kaisa tilted her head.

“Kamael-nim.”

Lucas spoke again, and Scarlet and Kaisa stopped looking at each other and turned back to Lucas.

But Lucas, ignoring his beloved wives, faced Kamael directly, clenched his fists, and spoke clearly in a trembling voice—no, a voice mixed with an unknown sense of betrayal.

“Were you acquainted with the author of Bildwein’s Heroic Saga?!”

“Yes, I… huh?”

Kamael, who had been about to calmly nod and admit a certain fact, blinked in surprise.

And at that reaction, Lucas, as if convinced of his own thoughts, clenched his fists even tighter and declared.

“I knew it. So that’s how it was. This notebook belongs to Sanudil-nim, the author of Bildwein’s Heroic Saga… And you, Kamael-nim, are close enough to receive and review Sanudil-nim’s notes in advance… Gasp! Don’t tell me you’re the editor?!”

“That… uh… um…”

Flustered again by Lucas’s assertion, Kamael faltered, unable to form words, and just shook his head.

Shake, shake.

He wasn’t the editor. It wasn’t like that.

“Then perhaps you’re a consultant? Ah, I see. That makes sense. Sanudil-nim’s battle descriptions are so vivid, after all. As if they were a peak swordsman themselves.”

Seeing Lucas speak in a voice filled with ecstasy, as if all his questions had been answered, Kamael broke out in a cold sweat. And at the sight of the Sword Demon Kamael flustered for the first time in her life, Kaisa sent a telepathic message with a somehow excited face.

[So that’s it. I get it now. Lucas’s intuition is really good, isn’t it?]

[No… No, forget it. Let’s not even talk about it.]

[Why?]

[Nothing, um… I’ll admit it. You and Lucas are a match made in heaven.]

[???]

As Kaisa tilted her head at the sight of Scarlet pressing a hand to her forehead with a dizzy expression.

Lucas, who had been excitedly spouting all sorts of things, suddenly widened his eyes.

“Gasp! No way! Ruska! The character design for Ruska… did you tell him about it, Kamael-nim?!”

Ruska Pongrave.

A new male character who appeared in Bildwein’s Heroic Saga published after the Disaster War.

He wasn’t a major character, but he would appear just when you’d almost forgotten him, like a staple ingredient, and steal the scene, so he was quite beloved by the fans of Bildwein’s Heroic Saga.

But that wasn’t what was important.

The character design of Ruska Pongrave.

Lucas had thought about it before.

Isn’t the model for Ruska… me?

It might be an over-inflated ego, but he wondered if Sanudil-nim had created the character after seeing him.

There were several pieces of evidence.

Ruska’s appearance, personality, and the swordsmanship he used.

And crucially, the fact that he had two wives!

Moreover, the models for those wives resembled Scarlet and Kaisa so much that he couldn’t help but wonder.

Until now, he had thought it might just be a coincidence.

If it wasn’t a coincidence, he would indulge in the pleasant delusion that Sanudil-nim, knowing he was quite famous, had used him as a model.

But if Kamael-nim was an acquaintance of Sanudil-nim.

If Kamael-nim had told Sanudil-nim about Lucas.

Meeting Lucas’s clear blue eyes, full of expectation, Kamael not only broke out in a cold sweat but also let out a groan, then nodded with a face paler than usual.

“Well… you are the model, yes.”

“I knew it! I knew it!”

Joy exploded in Lucas’s eyes.

Seeing him rejoice like a child, Kamael’s expression became truly complicated again.

But Kaisa, seeing the happy Lucas, narrowed her eyes and sent a worried telepathic message.

[Scarlet, what if this author, Sanudil, is a woman?]

Until now, it didn’t matter if the author was a man or a woman, but now it did.

Because Lucas might be able to meet Sanudil through Kamael.

To even create a character modeled after Lucas.

Doesn’t that mean Sanudil is very interested in Lucas?

But if such a Sanudil happened to be a woman, and a beautiful one at that—

[No, no. Absolutely not. No chance.]

[Because of the handwriting and the tone of the writing? But there are plenty of women who write like men. Even in the collection I have…]

[No, no. Absolutely not. And didn’t I tell you to get rid of that erotic novel collection? What are you going to do if Vivian and the kids see it!]

[No, but… they’re the treasures and textbooks that accompanied me through my youth…]

As Kaisa fidgeted with her fingers, Scarlet momentarily pounded her chest in frustration, but only for a moment.

Because what was important right now was neither Kaisa nor her erotic novel collection.

There was Lucas, convinced that Kamael was Sanudil’s acquaintance, and Kamael, breaking out in a cold sweat and feeling dizzy.

Well, he is an acquaintance.

Kamael is Sanudil’s acquaintance. He has to be.

Should I step in?

The moment Scarlet thought that.

“Kamael-nim, I know this is presumptuous… but it’s my lifelong wish. Could you possibly…”

The words Lucas was about to say. She knew what they were.

It was clearly going to be about wanting to meet Sanudil.

So Scarlet reflexively looked back at Kamael. Kamael seemed to stumble for a moment as if his dizziness had worsened, but he quickly straightened his posture.

He then squeezed his eyes shut, and for a brief moment, a myriad of emotions flashed across his face simultaneously.

And then, silence again.

Kamael, whose face now looked exhausted, as if he had given up on everything rather than found peace, spoke in a voice that sounded like his soul had left his body.

“It’s me.”

“Pardon?”

“I… am Sanudil, the author of Bildwein’s Heroic Saga.”

Just as Scarlet gave a bitter smile and Kaisa’s eyes widened in surprise.

Lucas stopped breathing.

*

Yuria sat half-reclined on a long chair, panting.

Her face and even the nape of her neck were flushed as if she had a fever, but despite looking unwell, her face was one of utter bliss.

Y-Yujin-oppa, you idiot.

All the stories Yujin had poured into her mind.

The expressions were rough, and the vocabulary was lacking.

In the end, many were just repetitions of the same words.

But because of that. Because it was so immature and rough, she could feel his sincerity.

Even though it had only been two days since they met, she could tell how much Yujin liked her and what he thought of her.

Of course, for me it hasn’t been just two days.

Anyway, while Yuria was melting like that, the other children were having their own fun.

“O-one more round! Just one more!”

“Very well.”

Watching Aiden, who had just lost his 18th consecutive arm-wrestling match to Elwin, Amber commented curtly.

“…Pathetic.”

Aiden was desperately challenging him, saying he couldn’t lose to a kid four years younger, especially one trying to steal Regina, but the outcome was obvious just by looking at the thickness of their forearms.

Besides, it’s having the opposite effect.

Because Regina’s eyes were sparkling at the sight of Elwin effortlessly crushing even Strength magic.

“Take my hand.”

“Kugh! This time, for sure!”

As Elwin and Aiden clasped hands, Amber, Regina, and Yujin, who was watching from the side, focused on their joined hands again.

But there was one person, besides Yuria who was soaking in bliss on her chair, who had little interest in their arm-wrestling match.

Isn’t it about time to go back? I want to see Walter.

I’m getting a little hungry, too. And I’m worried about my younger siblings.

Just as Vivian was thinking this and clicked open the lid of her hand mirror, which contained a group picture of her and her siblings.

“Noona! Noona!”

“Walter?”

At the voice of her most beloved brother in the world, Vivian turned with a bright smile, but it was only for a moment.

While she did think, He’s so handsome, no matter when I see him! My Walter is the best! upon seeing his sweat-drenched face, she had read something far more important in his expression.

Urgency.

Emergency.

“What’s wrong?!”

Could something have happened to my siblings?

Vivian, who was more of a mother to the children than their two actual mothers, asked with a sharp aura, and Walter answered, panting heavily.

“It’s not about the siblings. It’s about Father!”

“Father?”

Vivian was relieved that it wasn’t about her siblings, but she immediately tilted her head at the question that arose.

What on earth could have happened to her father, the strongest swordsman in the Sailun Kingdom and Vivian’s own Bildwein?

Not just Vivian, but all the children gathered in the pavilion focused their gazes on Walter. After catching his breath once more, Walter opened his mouth and spoke.

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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