episode_0049

When Linus greeted him, Hindrasta rolled his eyes and fell down.

It’s a shame I caught it in time, otherwise I would have ended up rolling around in my own urine.

“I’m sorry, Linus. They brought me in without even saying a word. After I sent you the letter, things got a little complicated.”

“It’s okay. Let’s move that dragon first. I’ll call the maids.”

At Linus’ instructions, the maids came and entered the mansion, carrying Hindrasta on their backs.

Celine asked, looking at it with concern.

“Is he that dragon? The white dragon you two chased away?”

“That’s right. I ended up coming to our academy by chance. But Linus, how did you recognize him?”

“If there was a girl I had never seen before who trembled and became incontinent when she saw me, who else would there be other than polymorph Hindrasta.”

After listening to it, it’s true again.

“Let’s go in quickly. I have a lot to talk about.”

“Shall we take a look at the baby first?”

With Celine pushing my back, I went up the stairs and approached Linus.

Linus smiled and showed the baby he was holding in his pom.

The baby had blond hair and big, clear blue eyes.

Its eyes were clear and transparent, as if they resembled the sky, and it was looking around with curiosity.

Her small face was covered in soft, fluffy fur, and her pink cheeks were full of healthy vitality.

A baby’s unique innocent smile spread between slightly parted lips.

The small, fragile hands were held lightly as if trying to grasp something, and the fingertips were transparent and clean.

The appearance of the baby had a beauty that made those who saw it smile, with its innocence itself.

I chose Linus for the overall appearance, and Celine for the smile and mood.

“You said it was your son, right? Your name is Lumien?”

“Okay. Look at this, Dian.”

Linus took a dried walnut out of his pocket and placed it in the baby’s hand.

Then, didn’t the baby crunch and crush the walnut?!

“What, what is it?”

“We only found out about it recently. Only after I kicked the bed railing and smashed it at night.”

“Hey, this. It’s already time to become a hero.”

We laughed and entered the mansion.

“Wow.”

When I saw the inside of the mansion, my mouth fell open.

This isn’t a house, it’s a real palace, right?

The entrance hall had an impressive high, vaulted ceiling, and a gorgeous chandelier was shining in the center of the ceiling.

The numerous crystals in the chandelier reflected light, creating beautiful patterns on the walls and floor.

The walls had detailed gold leaf decorations and delicate carvings, making it look like a real part of the palace.

The floor was finished with luxurious marble, and a rug with elaborate patterns was spread over the marble.

This rug gently absorbs the sound of footsteps, giving you a pleasant feeling every time you walk.

Various works of art were displayed on both sides of the hall.

On one wall were paintings by famous painters, and on the other, antique furniture and artifacts were on display.

In particular, there was a small museum-like space in the far corner where ancient armor and weapons were displayed.

“Hey, Linus. Yes, you. Didn’t people change when they learned the taste for money? Is it too extravagant?”

“Actually, I don’t want to live like this, but I couldn’t refuse because the 2nd princess was so strong.”

According to Linus, he originally planned to build a small, simple house, but the second princess forced him to build this magnificent mansion, saying that a hero and hero of the continent should not live in such a place.

“Probably because I was very conscious of external opinions. If the person who killed the Demon King is not treated like this, who will volunteer when something similar happens again in the future?”

“You’re right, Dian. And there must be another reason.”

Another reason Linus mentions is the second princess’s political ploy to keep Linus under her control.

The second princess, who showed tremendous political power after the war and monopolized important positions in the imperial castle despite being the child of a concubine, even brought the warrior Linus under her command.

It was only later that I heard that a huge number of mysterious deaths occurred in the process of the princess seizing real power at that time.

A general manager vomited blood while drinking, a corps commander was stabbed by a subordinate, a minister suddenly collapsed on his way to work, clutching his chest… .

What they have in common is that they are all vested powers, including the second princess, who stand at the antithesis of post-war power.

They had previously controlled everything in the empire, but during the Four Years’ War, they were relatively intimidated as they were unable to achieve any significant results.

Given the circumstances, it is clear that the assassination was committed by the 2nd princess, but the problem is that no matter how much we track the evidence, we cannot find it.

So, at the time, there was a widespread perception in the imperial castle that anyone who attacked the second princess would die without even realizing it, and after such indiscriminate assassination, the second princess was able to sit in the most important position as head of the National Security Office.

I was a bit puzzled as to how the child of a concubine, who may have been the seed of a downward spiral, became the head of the National Security Office, but it was only after hearing the story that my doubts were finally resolved.

For a princess like this who is vicious and capable, but whose legitimacy is weak due to her origins, she must always hold on to Linus.

So, he tried to appoint him as the principal of the academy he controlled.

And out of fear that Linus will be taken over by another faction, he is giving everything he has.

Last time, they gave us 10 years of paid parental leave, gave us a direct territory near the capital that everyone was drooling over, and built us this magnificent mansion, etc.

Anyway, that part is really too complicated. The decision I made 10 years ago when I gave up everything and left the Hwangseong drawbridge was a very good decision.

I sat in the living room, which was as ornate as the hall, looked around and asked.

“But where are the medals and such that we received from you in the past? Didn’t you put it on a separate exhibition?”

“What is the meaning of hanging that in my house?”

“Can’t you still show it to guests when they come?”

“I didn’t walk that path to brag to others.”

“Is that so? It’s been a while since I looked at them one by one and wanted to talk about old times.”

“If that’s the case, you’re welcome.”

Then, Linus spoke to the employee who was just bringing out the tea.

“You know the paper box left separately inside the warehouse? Please bring it to me.”

It’s very Linus-like to keep medals that other people would never receive in their lifetime locked away in a warehouse.

“By the way, Dian. What happened to Hindrasta? I see you wearing a school uniform. Are you a student at your academy?”

“Yes. Do you know that special students have been selected this time?”

“I heard. It was quite noisy outside too.”

“I applied at that time. I wasn’t trying to become a special student, but one of the applicants was a security guard. He said he joined the Leblanc mercenary unit after the war.”

I told Linus about the situation in Hindrasta.

At first, he thought it would be fun to fight, so he joined the fight, but after getting beat up by us, he ran away. Then, the dragon elders restricted him to human form, so he was kicked out and started working as a mercenary to make a living.

“You are such an impure dragon that you entered the war simply to make the situation more confusing. But apart from that, the recent situation is very unfortunate.”

Linus nodded slowly.

“So, did Hindrasta agree to continue studying at the academy?”

“It’s not an agreement, I’m just forcing it. To raise the level of academy graduates.”

“I understand. From the Emperor’s point of view, he would be happy if a polymorph dragon became his agent. But if you force it, doesn’t that mean you could run away someday? Then it would end up in a situation that would be worse than holding it in.”

“So I sold your name.”

Linus looked at me for a moment, understood what I meant, and smiled lowly.

“If you run away, it looks like this time, you and I will see to the end.”

“There’s no other way to suppress that dragon, right? So, when he wakes up later, you can threaten him.”

“I understand. Don’t worry about that.”

“So Dian. How on earth have you been living all this time?”

Celine asked as our story ended.

“I wanted to invite you to the wedding even though I didn’t know anyone else, so I asked everywhere but ultimately failed. Linus said it was over there in Brunswick.”

“Well, there was nothing special. I just played around with the money I received. Oh right. But there’s one thing I’m curious about… .”

I lowered my voice so that no one would hear me.

“Romane is not coming today either… ?”

“Lormane? No, I’m not coming. Last time I asked, he said he couldn’t come today because he was busy.”

“Phew, I’m glad.”

“Are you still not forgetting what happened then?”

I burst out laughing at Celine’s question.

“If it were you, would you be able to forget it in just 10 years?”

“Well, that’s true… . Anyway, tell me your life story. I was surprised to hear that you were the person who single-handedly defeated the top gangster in Brunswell.”

“Okay. Got it.”

I trembled, shook off the memory of Lormane, and began to talk.

It was until today after I crossed the drawbridge and fell into Brunswick on the night of the imperial welcome party.

# # # # #

“You really ate well and lived comfortably?”

When the whole story was over, Celine was impressed.

“It would have been nice if our Linus had done the same. I went through a lot of hardships in Hwangseong over the past 10 years.”

Celine placed her hand on the back of Linus’ hand with a pitiful expression.

“There’s nothing I can do because I’m a hero. I was able to leave because I was nothing.”

“Don’t say that you are nothing, Dian.”

Linus politely countered my words.

“If it weren’t for you, there wouldn’t be me and Celine. I probably wouldn’t have come out of the Demon King’s Castle alive.”

“It’s true. As I always said, the real protagonist of this world is you. Even now.”

“What on earth does ‘this world’ mean? . Ah, thank you.”

At that moment, a worker who had gone to the warehouse showed up holding an old cardboard box.

After receiving the box, Linus casually turned it over and spilled the contents on the table.

A pile of shining medals of various colors filled the table.

Linus lifted the box and placed it on the floor, then reached out and began to pull out the medals.

“These are things I received after the end of the war… .”

The medals flying around and falling into the box look like they are sorting miscellaneous fish at a fish market.

“Now, this is what I received then and the medals you left in my bag. I kept it as is.”

Linus swept about forty medals to the center of the table.

“This is the first medal we received.”

Among them, Linus held up a medal.

This is the Third Class Military Service Medal, and it is the first medal the two of us received for capturing an enemy prisoner during the defense of Camel Ridge.

“Ah, that. It was really fun back then.”

Memories of that time come to mind again and again.

# # # # #

“I finally found it.”

Linus, who was sitting in the corner of the trench eating potatoes alone, looked up.

A brown, messy-haired soldier was looking down at Linus, smiling.

“Are you that hillbilly Linus?”

“By the way. Do you have any business for me?”

“Potatoes taste better when eaten with salt.”

The soldier who sat down next to Linus held out a small pouch. There was a lot of salt inside.

“Where did you get this? I remember there was no salt in today’s supply.”

“In the platoon leader’s personal issue. Oh, don’t worry. It was supposed to be distributed to soldiers, but that bastard stole it and hid it.”

“But this is theft.”

“Isn’t stealing supplies theft? This is not theft, this is resupply.”

“But… .”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Dian. A new recruit like you.”

Dian extended his hand to Linus.

“Let’s get along well with our recruits.”