Chapter 158: The greatest skill under the heavens, part 11
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Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama
◆Lyla◆
Roland’s body had gone completely limp.
As Lyla channeled restorative magic of the highest order there was, the flow of blood from his right shoulder finally slowed to a trickle and stopped. Noticing that his breathing had become more regular, she let out a sigh of relief.
She gently wiped the blood that had splattered onto his face with her hand.
「Your magic has returned to you, Lylael-sama.」
「Mhm. The collar that was sealing it away must have been destroyed.」
It was supposed to be indestructible, but one can only expect so much of antiques, she thought. It had suppressed the magicka of the strongest Demon King to date after all, and may have gradually weakened like an overworked dam before falling to pieces.
「Lylael-sama’s sudden appearance will cause a stir. I suggest that we leave for now.」
「You’re right.」
Lyla used the same restorative spell on the still-breathing Aimée.
「Carry this lady too, Rodje.」
「This human too?」
「Mhm. She’s an important person to Roland.」
Unable to object, the elf reluctantly slung Aimée over her shoulder. Lyla stamped on the ground, and the magic circle of a ‘Gate’ drew itself.
「We’re heading for that island. I doubt any humans will bother us there.」
「As you wish.」
Just before they made the leap, Lyla scooped up Roland’s severed right arm. Out of all the spells under the heavens, she did not know of any that could reattach a limb that had been severed for a long time.
The collar, though, was at least still physically there.
Maybe it can be restored.
They blinked to the island that they had not visited since the insurgence was suppressed. Lyla remembered the medic saying that she would remain there, but found no trace of her at present.
「Maybe she’s just bringing some samples back to the other side, like she does sometimes.」
She rested the two casualties in separate rooms of the building that had once been used as a barracks. Roland’s face was still pale, but she figured that he would come to sooner or later. She applied a preservation spell to his severed limb, ensuring that it wouldn’t rot until the magic was dispelled.
Her servant, noticing her when she peeked into Aimée’s room, spoke up as soon as she entered.
「What do you plan to do with this lady, Lylael-sama?」
「You said that she has an amazing skill, didn’t you?」
「Yes. If I’m not mistaken, it can copy others’ skills and add them to her personal arsenal.」
「That’s convenient indeed.」
Aimée may be asleep, but her beauty was still plain for all to see.
「We may be on equal footing…」, muttered Lyla, squinting at her with jealousy.
Knowing that Roland had spent many years living together with this woman made her feel rather gloomy.
「Shouldn’t we just kill her right here and now?」, asked Rodje.
She received a bonk on the head in response.
「No.」
「Ow!」
「If I kill her on a whim now, I’ll never have the chance to beat her in a fair fight.」
Savouring her own words, Lyla nodded a few times in self-affirmation. Rodje’s jaw dropped — not in astonishment, but because she didn’t really understand what her master was saying.
「Let Leyte and the other ladies know of this while I stay here and take care of these two.」
「Aye」, replied Rodje, leaving at once.
Lyla saw her out, then returned to the bunk when she was out of sight.
◆Roland◆
「Hey, you’re finally awake.」
Where am I? Why is Lyla’s face the first thing I see? Disoriented, I looked around casually and found myself on a bed. My head was resting not on a pillow, but rather Lyla’s thighs.
「Looks like I’m still alive.」
「All thanks to me, no less. I would appreciate a few words of gratitude.」
Lyla chuckled, smugness written all over her face.
「What is this place?」
「Remember the island that was used as a stronghold by the insurgents? We’re in the barracks.」
「Oh, the place where you had a stomach ache and assumed you were pregnant?」
「Don’t remind me…!」
I tried to sit upright, but lost my balance.
「Easy does it」, said Lyla without thinking as she hurriedly supported my right shoulder.
「Oh, right…」
My right arm may be gone, but it’s a small price to pay for having dealt a fatal blow to Aimée. I had been expecting to die at her hands too, but it’s good that things hadn’t gone according to plan.
「Remember now?」
「Yeah. Looking back feels like I’m peering into another person’s memories. I won, didn’t I?」
「You did」, assured Lyla with a smile.
She gently guided my head back onto her lap and stroked my hair.
That last attack I pulled off was not what an assassin would have done. Going against Aimée’s teachings felt like I had finally broken free of a curse. Because of that, I was able to attack in a way that she had never seen coming.
I also vaguely remembered a conversation with Lyla after the fight. I might have lost too much blood then, as I had felt cold. Abnormally cold.
「What happened to your collar…?」
I remembered Lyla’s voice coming from beneath my feet. She had appeared in front of my eyes, then hugged me. The fact that she was sobbing was fresh in my mind. But what I don’t remember is touching her collar — she had definitely been a black cat before the fight.
「Ah, ahaha… it broke.」
Giggling sheepishly, she showed me the literally shredded collar.
「I thought I had some guy verify that it was unbreakable.」
「The only absolutes are in math.」
「You really do match the title of the strongest Demon King to have ever lived.」
「What does that make you, then?」
Trying to look after me to the best of her abilities, she asked me multiple questions including whether I was hungry and could swallow water.
「Will you return to the Demon realm?」
「You were the one who relieved me of my duty as the ‘Demon King’. So if you wish that I return, then I will.」
「…Do as you wish.」
「Mhm. Okay.」
Her collar coming off is probably why she had come all the way to this island.
「Aimée… the lady I fought… where is she?」
「She’s sleeping next door. She was hit pretty hard, and it’ll be some time till she wakes up.」
「I see.」
I was told that I had slept for three whole days. Lyla also told me that she had disabled Aimée’s skill with a spell. It had apparently taken a while — that’s the magnitude of the raw power that had to be sealed away.
「It took some time, but she’ll no longer pose a threat to Almeria.」
「As expected of the Demon King. Were it not for your collar, I’d have consulted you first and foremost about the whole thing.」
「Not bad praise, coming from you.」
「So what will you do?」, I asked. 「Will you remain cooped up here?」
「That house was a little small, I’ll admit. This island’s my home from now on, and it’s where you’ll return to after work.」
I doubt that’s the real reason. Staying on this island is probably the only way for Lyla to live a normal life without running into humans.
「I can find someone to fix the collar, but do you intend to stay here until I do?」
「Does someone like that exist? It would be good if you could find him.」
「That’s a surprising response. Wasn’t it restrictive?」
「Well… at first, yeah. But I’ve come to treat it as a ‘symbol’.」
「A symbol?」
「Mhm. It’s a symbol you gave me, indicating that I’m no longer held back by my past.」
That’s one way to see it, I guess.
「You, without a doubt, killed the ‘Demon King’.」
Realising that she had stared at me for too long, Lyla’s face turned red and she looked away.
「It’s, uh… a-also an accessory you put some thought into」, she continued. 「Mhm, mhm.」
It looked like a collar when she’s a cat, but more like a choker when she’s in her human form. If that’s what she’s into… well, I won’t say anything.
「Okay, we’ll get it fixed.」
「Your arm too, while we’re at it.」
「Is there a way?」
Just as I was wondering if she had brought my arm along, Lyla brought it out from below the bed. Yup, it’s my right arm all right.
…But why is it giving a thumbs up?
「I cast preservation magic on it. As long as I don’t dispel it, it should remain like this」, explained Lyla, adjusting my fingers to make a peace sign.
That explains it.
「Don’t play with it.」
Lyla burst into laughter. Although there existed spells that could revive the dead, it appeared that the same couldn’t be said for joining different objects.
「You must be tired. Have a good rest」, said Lyla, leaving the room.
Staring at the ceiling, I recalled the details of the fight and what had happened after. I hadn’t killed Aimée — the relief that had washed over me when Lyla said that simply couldn’t be expressed with words.
Without Lyla, I’d have finished Aimée off, then died in a pool of my own blood.
Rodje had played the role of messenger while I was asleep, telling the others to wait for me to wake up. Regarding the loss of my right arm, she told those at the guild that it was an accident. Almeria and her various bodyguards were told that it was the price I had paid for victory.
「Lylael-sama knew something was wrong from the way you were behaving. Because of that, she made me watch over you to ensure that you didn’t try anything funny! You have her awe-inspiring judgment and foresight to thank for being alive!」
Same Rodje as always, I thought.
「She could have killed both of us easily.」
「The war’s long over」, replied the elf, taken aback. 「And as one who lives by the sword… I have no choice but to thank both you and the Heroine for indulging my eyes with that spectacular battle.」
That’s why she hadn’t done anything discourteous, she said. For all her faults, she’s still an elf with principles.
Two days passed before I could get up and walk again. It was a little disorienting without my right arm, but I knew I would get used to it in no time.
Aimée, on the other hand, still had yet to wake up.
「If she never wakes up, then all that effort I put into sealing her skill away will have been for naught」, Lyla was whining.
Rodje had also used a ‘Gate’ to facilitate the arrival of visitors. Leyte, Meiri, King Randolph, Almeria, Frank, Iris and Milia, who I entertained in order, all came to visit.
They may be of many different backgrounds, but they had all been equally worried for me. I had recovered enough to go about daily life as per normal, and was beginning to think about when I could return to work. In spite of that, they had all been worried about the loss of my right arm.
「We’ve returned to Lahati」, said Milia with evident worry on her face.
「I see.」
I found that I missed being at work, even though I hadn’t been gone for long.
So we finally left the Vadenhaag guild in local hands, I thought. Come to think of it, it was the first time I had taken up a large-scale quest in the form of launching a guild.
「Think you can continue working?」, said Iris, who had never been one to beat around the bush.
I nodded.
「Yeah. I’m ambidextrous… or was, at least.」
「That’s good to hear.」
My identity as an assassin might have died along with my arm.
「Isn’t Lyla’s magicka terrifying?」, I asked.
They looked at each other.
「No, I haven’t felt anything different about her」, said Iris.
「Hm?」
「Me too」, agreed Milia. 「I caught a glimpse of Warawa-san just now, and…」
Lyla’s magic had been unleashed, but the two of them, without the relevant abilities, were apparently unable to sense anything. Like a black mamba without poison, I sensed nothing threatening in her overwhelming magicka.
Could she have changed from the inside…? Since she no longer had to play the role of a ‘Demon King’, maybe her perspective had changed?
She looked at me sideways when I asked her about it.
「Demon magicka doesn’t fluctuate. It doesn’t mask itself towards friendly parties either… but if neither Iris nor Milia can detect mine at all, then that means…」
「We can go home?」
「Mhm.」
And so, we moved back into the quaint little house on the outskirts of Lahati.
Here’s how my first day of work back in Lahati went —
I showed up for work in the morning, and greeted my colleagues.
「Good morning.」
「Morning, Argan-kun!」
「While you were gone, Roland-kun, the number of female adventurers coming here literally dropped to zero.」
Not only did my mood lift at his quip, but I felt reassured too. I sat at my usual seat and engaged in idle chatter with familiar faces. Never had I expected to feel so… attached to the minutiae of daily life.
Iris, Milia and the other female employees were huddled together in a corner.
「Come on, Milia.」
「But…」
「Why do you look like you’re about to cry?」
The branch chief pushed Milia towards me.
「Roland-san!」, she said, wiping her tears with her sleeve.
She produced a bouquet of flowers from behind, handing them to me with a smile.
「Welcome back!」
I accepted them, drawing applause from the others. Late to the party for once, Morley entered with evident confusion on his face.
「Nice to have you here again!」
「Tell us all about Vadenhaag!」
「Aye, welcome back!」
「It’s been lonely without you!」
My mind went blank searching for a way to respond to the warm reception. I knew I had to say something, but what?
After a few seconds, I finally figured it out. One line was all I needed.
「It’s nice to be back.」
The cheering that followed went through the roof.
Not a shirt on my back, not a penny to my name…
But what I found, Aimée, is a place I can call home.
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