episode_0000

Early in the morning when everyone is asleep.

The full moon rose high in the sky, shining brightly and illuminating the imperial capital.

Thanks to this, the thick darkness had completely disappeared from the streets of the capital.

And this came as a definite misfortune to just one person.

Chomp!

Red blood spurts out under the bright moonlight.

“Ugh..!”

A woman was running down a street at night carrying a baby.

Behind her, a dozen women were seen chasing her.

“Don’t miss it!!”

A voice full of spirit.

The sound of metal rubbing against each other as you run, and the ornate patterns engraved on your armor.

Anyone who lives in the empire can tell at a glance by looking at their appearance.

Those people are knights of the empire.

Knight of the Empire.

The sword of the Empire that protected the Empire from the invasion of the Demon King’s army before the hero appeared and defeated the Demon King.

And all the swords that were pointed at the demons were pointed at one woman.

The knights’ skills were excellent, having been trained through countless battles, so there were many moments of crisis for the woman who was running away.

As if to prove that she was no ordinary person, the woman dodged the archers’ arrows and escaped the knights’ encirclement by a hair’s breadth every time.

How much time has passed?

As the breathing of the pursuing knights grew heavier, her position began to approach the outer walls of the capital.

Looking at this, the sharpest sword of the empire. The knight commander sneered.

“Stupid bitch, that’s where your limbs will be.”

To drive her away with a bitter smile, the Knight Commander started running at a faster pace.

The moonlight illuminated the knight commander’s armor as he ran.

The emblem of the Imperial Knights, engraved in gold, symbolizes the ‘Royal Knights’ and responds to the moonlight.

The Emperor’s direct unit, comprised of the strongest men of the era who fought and survived against the Demon King’s 1st Corps Commander.

As the Royal Knights’ encirclement tightened, they began to block the woman’s escape route more skillfully, and it seemed certain that the pursued woman would soon become a rat trapped in a trap.

But things started to go differently than the Knight Commander had expected.

A wall protecting the empire’s capital from the outside.

Royal Knights closing in from all sides.

Although there was clearly no way to escape, she did not slow down.

Instead, he started running towards the wall with all his might, as if he had a way to get through it.

The first to notice the change was the Knight Commander.

“Shoot the arrow!! Block the way so they can’t run!!!”

At the same time, dozens of arrows were flying at the woman. However, no one could stop her swift movements.

The longsword she held in her right hand began to glow with red energy.

The Knight Commander also felt the mana flowing out of her and had a premonition of failure.

All I can do is scream in anger.

“Hilda-!!!”

Kwaaang!!!!

Immediately after the call, she passed through the wall with a tremendous noise.

Of course, the Knight Commander did not just sit back and watch this happen.

Even if I couldn’t catch her, I was planning on at least injuring her, so the moment she broke through the wall.

He blasted a slash made of mana towards her.

Crunch!

The Knight Commander heard something being cut off in his ear.

The anticipation was short-lived, and there was nothing there when I looked.

As if no one had ever been there from the beginning.

All that was left was a piece of paper torn in half by the impact, lying where she had been.

‘Teleport scroll… I see.’

This is the capital of the empire.

That is, since the entire capital city was covered with 8 circles of protective magic and a transfer obstruction spell based on the outer walls of the capital city, the Knight Commander did not think of this escape method.

Breaking down a wall and using a scroll? This kind of stupid method is usually not even thought of.

“You broke through that wall with that body?”

“This is going to be a huge mess.”

The other knights seemed to have half given up on catching her.

On the other hand, the commander of the knights who had not given up yet sighed and said.

“Joanne, bring the magicians to the Magic Tower right now. From now on, we will track the mana in the scroll and track Hilda.”

At the commander’s words, the knights moved in unison, and the sunlight streaming through the broken walls dazzled the commander’s eyes.

Morning had come to the capital city’s night, which seemed like it would never end.

* * *

A forest quite a distance from the capital.

She was hiding there, holding the baby, leaning against a tree and resting for a while.

Her name is Hilda.

He was a member of a warrior party, but became a fugitive overnight.

Did you manage to escape safely?

How did things turn out like this?

My head is a mess.

“Coolook… Wooweeek.”

Is it because of the influence of the curse written by the emperor that it has become too weak?

To break down a wall, you have to draw on your innate energy.

While I was calming my mind and resting my tired body, a familiar voice echoed in my head.

-You’re the only one I can trust.

-I have to stop it here. I’m already late. And there’s no way I can leave Elin behind.

-Hilda… I’m asking you to take care of Elin and my child.

-Go quickly!!! Hurry up!!

The moment I was about to lose myself in the vivid voice, as if the warrior was still shouting right next to me.

Hilda felt the baby in her arms weakening.

Oh no!! Why are you doing this?

Hilda quickly began to examine the child’s condition and discovered a black wound on the baby’s right hand.

Damn it. This is so bad.

I need treatment quickly..!

Even at this very moment, as I was pondering this, I could see a black color spreading from the wound on the baby’s hand.

There was only one poison of this kind, as far as Hilda knew.

A highly poisonous Amu made by refining the blood of a high-ranking demon.

Of course, as a member of the warrior party, she was able to detoxify the poison on her own through mana even with her weakened body, but there was no way that would be possible for the baby born today.

Should I drive it out with my mana?

No, that’s impossible.

The baby’s body won’t be able to handle it.

And right now, even this kind of time to ponder was a luxury.

Because the baby’s hands were turning black in real time.

In the end, Hilda had no choice but to make a quick decision, and she took immediate action on that decision.

First, Hilda pressed the baby’s blood to numb his right arm, and without hesitation, she swung her longsword at the baby’s wrist.

months!

The bracken-like hand was cleanly cut off, and at the same time, a large amount of the highest-grade potion was sprinkled over the child’s severed wrist.

“I’m sorry… This was the only way..”

A child who has to live with a disability due to his own mistakes.

It seemed that I would live my entire life without being able to escape discrimination and pain.

Hilda held the baby and began to sob.

“I’m sorry.. because of my incompetence..”

But since time for self-reproach was a luxury, Hilda wiped away her tears and got up from her seat, holding the baby.

It was obvious that the magicians of the Magic Tower were chasing her even at this moment, so Hilda moved again, holding the baby in her arms.

The destination is,

“Okay, let’s go to the outskirts of the empire.”

It would be good to avoid the eyes of the empire.

It would be easy to hide your identity in the villages on the outskirts, as magic tools are not yet widely available and information is slow to come by.

…

Hilda arrived in a rural village on the outskirts of the empire.

The name of the village is Gunargil.

It would be nice if she could settle down in the village and live quietly now, but unfortunately, Hilda still had a lot of work to do.

Because even right now, I could feel the distance between me and the Empire’s pursuers growing closer.

“Whew… Is the magic tower really starting to take action? It must be using the blood I shed as a medium to cast tracking magic.”

There was no way I could run away anymore.

The moment of choice has arrived.

Bam.

The wind caused leaves to fall and Hilda’s red hair to flutter.

Hilda naturally shifted her gaze and took in the village ahead.

Even looking at it again, it was a really nice town.

The townspeople also seemed kind, there were just the right number of people, and there was no one who could be called a bad person.

There is no way I could have seen it wrong.

Because she had reached such a high level, she could even see through the good and evil of ordinary people.

While Hilda was looking around the village like that, a couple came in, and only a bright light could be seen in their eyes.

I’ve passed through dozens of villages on my way here, but this is the first time I’ve seen a couple with such kind hearts.

Yeah, I guess I can believe that.

Just then a couple appeared entering the house.

Hilda lifted the spell that had severely reduced the baby’s metabolism and put him to sleep.

The baby soon woke up and looked at Hilda with clear eyes.

“Abubu!!”

A baby babbling and stretching out both arms to Hilda.

But the right arm was missing its intended hand, and the innocent baby continued to reach out to Hilda with eyes that knew nothing.

Hilda looked at the baby and felt her heart being torn apart by guilt, but she quickly pulled herself together and looked at the baby’s face.

He had black hair and eyes like a warrior.

Although he was a baby, he resembled Elin and the warrior and was incredibly handsome. However, as if his misfortune was not over, the baby’s right eye was gray and could not focus properly. Just like a blind person.

Hilda, seeing this, was convinced that it was the effect of a curse.

Because the curse did not cover all life in that place.

It was just a pity that we had to take comfort in the fact that there was no danger to life.

Hilda patted the baby’s head once and then carefully placed him down in front of the couple’s door.

Hilda knocked on the door carefully and quickly hid out of sight.

“Huh? Who are you?”

The door opened, perhaps because there was no answer from outside, and the man coming out of the house was startled to see the baby at the door.

“Ah..what is this? Honey!! Come here! Hurry up!”

At the man’s words, a pregnant woman came out of the house.

“…Baby? Who would leave a baby in a rural village like this?”

After a moment of doubt, the couple left the house and went looking for the baby’s parents, but of course, they were unable to find them.

Hilda was watching this situation from a distance with her superhuman senses.

“Awwwㅡ!!”

A situation where the baby cries and the parents do not show up no matter how hard they look for them.

Now the couple had no choice but to admit that the child’s parents had no intention of showing up.

“Are you good? Don’t cry.”

For now, the man held the baby in his arms and tried to comfort him.

Thanks to this, the baby quickly stopped crying and started smiling brightly at the man.

The man who was examining the brightly smiling baby was shocked by the baby’s physical condition.

“Honey, the baby… has no right hand… and only the right eye is gray. The left is black…”

“What? No, how did such a small baby come to be…”

“Honey.”

“..Huh?”

“This baby. Let’s raise it.”

“What are you talking about? Just in case, we need to find this baby’s parents.”

“No. I looked around earlier, but no one was there. I think they left it behind. And the cloth this baby is wrapped in is really expensive. It’s not even sold in places like the capital. There must be a reason for it. In the meantime, let’s raise it.”

“Phew… I see. My kid suddenly has a family.”

The woman who was playing with the baby’s hair smiled and stroked her stomach with the other hand.

* * *

Hilda, who had been watching the whole situation from afar, felt relieved.

I’m so glad, they’re good people.

Now I have to do what I have to do. The Empire’s target is me and the child of the warrior.

They won’t even think about me leaving the child behind. And since there are dozens of rough villages on the outskirts, they won’t know that there’s a baby here, so I can fight without worry.

Okay. First, I need to find and kill all the wizards who are chasing me.

Hilda looked at the house where the warrior’s child was and made a resolution to herself.

Just wait a moment, I’ll come back later.

Hilda, who had set a goal, started running at a fast pace.

So that we can get as far away from the village as possible.

* * *

“But what should we name the baby?”

The man seemed to be thinking, but then quickly answered.

“… Arthur, what do you think?”

* * *

3 years later.

A red-haired woman who claimed to be a retired adventurer came to the village.

Soon a small bakery opened in the village, and the woman quickly became part of the community.