Book 9 Chapter 11
Chapter 210
“Finally, the time has come.”
Here was a bizarre combination that could hardly be called a family.
“You’re ready to show us the results of your three days of training, aren’t you?”
Father, the reincarnation of a great mage.
Mother, the swordsman of the Demon Sword.
Eldest daughter, the Red True Dragon.
Youngest daughter, the Yellow Wyvern.
But they were a family. More precisely, today they had to perfectly act as a family, more so than any other family.
“I’m okay.”
A blonde beauty, who instinctively caught the eye of many men, replied.
Even though her utterly plain attire contained no suggestive elements, her beauty was radiant.
Her appearance and hair color proved that she was Nen’s biological mother.
“Ab-boot!”
“Ar-woo-oong!”
As Akky bravely reached out her hand, Nen immediately followed her older sister, flailing her hands.
“Alright, let’s go!”
A hooded figure watched the bizarre family from a distance.
The hood’s color was the darkness of dawn, and the simply worn cuirass and gauntlets shimmered with the light of dawn.
A sinister smile appeared beneath the shadow of the hood.
“Hmm~ Is that the dragon’s guardian that Lady Elamas ordered to kill? Looks awfully weak.”
The Lanoa Grand Bridge was bustling from morning with people crossing between both continents.
Even though crowds gathered with no room to step, no traffic jams occurred on this grand bridge.
This endlessly wide and long bridge, built by dragons, had no less than four lanes. This meant four wagons could pass simultaneously.
“Soooo wiiide!”
The grand bridge was so vast that Akky exclaimed in admiration.
Without needing Akky’s judgment, the Lanoa Grand Bridge was listed as one of the 11 wonders of the world.
But they weren’t here for sightseeing now, so she had to be sharply scolded.
“Akky, your speech.”
“Ak-ky sp-poke like I pr-racticed. I c-can do w-well.”
“That’s wonderful.”
The inspection for those who crossed the bridge multiple times was brief, but first-time visitors were called by the witch at the immigration checkpoint.
“What, Goblin Slayer. You said you married an Imperial man?”
But then one problem arose.
The witch on duty today… was quite acquainted with Myria.
“And that was six years ago? How old were you six years ago, exactly? Why didn’t you tell me?”
However, such questions were also included in Valensidis’s always reliable ‘Guaranteed Passage, Immigration Check!’ examples.
“Because I wanted to cheat.”
“?”
“I’m too pretty, aren’t I?”
“???”
“But if I say I’m married, men won’t flock to me, right?”
Myria, feeling a sense of self-loathing that threatened to unleash tears, recited the memorized answer sheet in a mechanical tone.
“This person is utterly deplorable, blatantly with a husband…”
The junior witch next to the senior witch, holding documents and a pen, narrowed her eyes.
“Why did your husband marry a woman like this?”
“Because I love her.”
For a moment, Myria felt her face flush hot, but she immediately calmed herself. It was just a script, after all.
“How cool!”
“What a man!”
“How romantic!”
Unchanging love! Those eavesdropping on the inspection from behind applauded.
“You must suffer a lot with parents like these. Five years old this year? You’re quite tall for a five-year-old. Nine? You look ten?”
As the witch, sighing, stamped the approval seal on the ink pad and cast a glance, Akky, whose hands and feet were trembling, opened her mouth.
“Ah, Ak-ky, ha, ha-ppy. D-dad-dy and m-mom-my g-got m-married s-six years ago. Ak-ky was b-born l-like t-that. D-dat? D-da-dat, dat? D-dat…”
Akky rolled her eyes around, rambling on with the family setting.
By now, perhaps it wouldn’t have been out of place to feel something strange, as the witch stared intently at Akky.
Rein and Myria exchanged tense glances. A suffocating silence flowed.
But what was rising in the witch’s heart wasn’t suspicion.
‘So cute…!’
Damn it, if the trainees weren’t watching, I would have hugged her tight.
“Senior, isn’t the name Akky very famous up north? Was she a martial arts tournament winner? Seeing her in a Cheonhwapa do-bok, it looks like it’s her, should we let her pass?”
No, don’t let her pass.
I want to hug her once!
But that couldn’t be said, so the witch suppressed her pure desires.
“If there’s a problem, Goblin Slayer will handle it, won’t she? She’s a reliable one. Issue the passes and send them through.”
The disguised family, as if it were the obvious result, received their passes with nonchalant expressions but rushed through the checkpoint like criminals.
And only when the checkpoint was out of sight did they exhale the breath that had been held back by urgency.
Myria lifted Akky up brightly and smiled sweetly.
“You did really well, Akky, it’s thanks to you.”
“Ak-ky w-worked hard. Ak-ky d-did w-well.”
“You don’t have to use that speech anymore.”
“O-kay!”
“We decided to meet the others beyond the bridge, so let’s hurry.”
The Lanoa Grand Bridge boasted a scale that made all other bridges in this world seem insignificant.
Along both sides of the bridge, two- to three-story buildings and stalls lined up, selling snacks, glass, gold and silver, and accessories.
To be able to withstand such an unbelievable load, one couldn’t even guess what kind of technology was used.
“Aruru!”
Nen eyed a grilled octopus skewer, while Akky stared blankly up at the Dragon Statue erected in the center of the bridge.
It was a dragon that nobly looked up at the sky, casting cool shadows over passersby with its majestic wings.
The degree of its weathering was immense, but passersby didn’t know anything about the dragon, and Myria said she didn’t either.
‘They don’t know?’
Three hundred years ago, everyone knew about this dragon…
One of the four Red True Dragons I saw during the period of strife; unlike the other three, I didn’t see this one directly.
Because this True Dragon had died 200 years ago, which was 500 years ago from the current point in time.
‘That great name, Shalesarum…’
To think that the dragon who saved the Adrion continent from crisis and died is forgotten. The Leestar Party might also be forgotten in the next era.
‘I don’t feel particularly lonely.’
After all, I didn’t rush into that chaos to be remembered as a hero. The other three would think so too.
‘Still…’
It would have been nice to hear their stories from others.
Because it proved that the life I lived, the days I accompanied my comrades, the battle 300 years ago, was real, not a lie.
Five hundred years, five hundred years, huh…
Then, no matter what great achievements I accomplish in this life, will Akky one day be the only one to remember me?
‘Is it an immortal life?’
Thinking that Akky would have to walk that endless and arduous path, somewhere in my chest became unbearably uncomfortable.
Ding…
It was around that time that a strange melody permeated the sea breeze crossing the bridge. It was truly a strange tone.
Ding, di-di-ding…
Even though it was a sound she had never heard before, it was strangely familiar, and so deeply missed that it brought tears to her eyes.
‘Let’s go back.’
The melody seemed to be whispering that.
‘Let’s go back to where we belong.’
The tempting voice began to echo in her ears, deeper into her ears, and then reverberated through her mind──
“Rin!”
“It’s Rin!”
“Rin’s here!”
──the form of that sound changed into voices she had yearned for and missed her entire life.
Was it just hearing?
The scent of her hometown, serenely nestled amidst the pine forest in the north, tickled her nose.
‘Huh? What was I doing…?’
In the weight of the Golden Staff she held, Rin felt her eyes inexplicably well up with tears.
‘Right, I finished my journey to the South Pole and returned to the school’s magic tower.’
She liked the feeling of her classmates rushing out and embracing her.
She liked the feeling of pats on her back.
She liked the sound of laughter erupting. She liked the sound of someone sniffling. She even liked it knowing that the sound was her own.
She felt as though she had dreamt of this moment for an incredibly long time.
“You’ve returned, Rin.”
Her senior disciple, who had told her to definitely return and that he would only wait for the day she came back, smiled sweetly and wiped away those tears.
“We were all just waiting for you to come. It took five years.”
Why was it, tears flowed endlessly.
Not only from Rin’s eyes, but also from the eyes of Rein, who was sprawled out on the Lanoa Grand Bridge.
And not just Rein; everyone crossing the bridge, including Myria, was lying prostrate on the ground in various comfortable positions.
All were unconscious, but some had a smile on their lips, while others shed endless tears.
The woman sitting on the high railing of the bridge, playing a harp, smiled wryly.
“Ah, humans.”
Beneath the hood, which had been blown off by a strong gust of sea wind, long ears were revealed. A symbol of circumcision, a distinguishing feature of the fairy race.
“A pitiful race that only trains their bodies to death, but doesn’t know how to train their minds.”
And the more moderately strong a human is, the more sad memories they possess commensurate with that strength.
Because they are the ones who became stronger using those sad memories as their driving force.
That’s why their attachment to the past is very strong, making it very easy to infiltrate their minds like this.
“All targets have fallen, Lady Ruelaya.”
Three figures appeared on either side of her.
They wore robes colored with the hues of dusk and armor of dawn light, the uniform attire of the members of the Dawn Brigade, composed of a hundred people (the members are executives).
Ruelaya cast an intrigued gaze.
“It seems my art hasn’t reached everyone? I’m a little offended.”
The absolute lifeform baby dragons were not enchanted by Ruelaya’s harp music and were definitely conscious.
Nen burst into tears after Rein lost her grip when her body went limp and she fell to the ground.
Akky picked Nen up, but no matter how much she shook him, Rein wouldn’t wake up, so she didn’t know what to do and just stomped her feet.
– It’s not hard, cherish them a lot.
So, just like Rein had done for her when she was little, she simply hugged Nen tight.
Their body temperatures overlapped.
Then Nen’s crying gradually stopped. Akky untied her Cheonhwapa do-bok belt and firmly secured her younger sister to her own back.
“No matter how strong they are, if they’re unconscious, they’re no different from babies. Deal with them. Bring me the guardian’s head. It’s a gift for Lady Elamas.”
The three members descended onto the bridge.
Akky, sensitive to the murderous intent slowly approaching with each step, revealed her fangs and took a martial arts stance.
On her back was Setsnen, behind her were Rein and Myria. The option of running away didn’t exist. She would only protect everyone.
– Do you want to learn martial arts? Do you want to protect Rein with your own strength?
The moment the leading member reached out to Akky.
Left foot forward, shift of weight.
Controlling the flow of Ki.
Exploding the magic condensed in her Mana Heart at her fist’s tip.
“Akky Punch.”
The storm of flames fiercely unleashed from her fist’s tip was the roar of a Red True Dragon, judging the evil of this world.
The member’s arm was instantly incinerated.
Not only that, he was pushed back by the exhilarating shockwave of power, flew back to the railing, crashed into it, and spat out blood.
‘What was that power just now…?’
The eyes of the remaining members widened at the unexpected turn of events. For a moment, they could only stare blankly, alternating glances between their comrade and the baby dragon.
“D-don’t cry.”
Akky, skillfully tidying up her Poomsae movements, turned to her sniffling sister amidst the suffocating murderous intent and gave a brave smile.
“Because Ak-ky unnie will protect you!”
Just like her dad had done for her when she was young.
Exactly the same as then, just the same.
Indeed, children are inherently destined to resemble their parents.