🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 3
I’m Happy Too
“…If I answer, will you spare me?”
In my previous life, I killed everyone who stood in my way.
Back then, I believed they all deserved to die.
But now that I think about it, I’m no longer certain that was truly the case.
So before cutting this bastard’s throat with my sword, I decided to organize my thoughts while gathering information.
“I’ll decide that after hearing you out. Who ordered you to kidnap me?”
I already knew the answer, but I still needed confirmation.
Gojang hesitated briefly before replying.
“…Baron Scalen. You should know him. His territory isn’t far from the Luminar Family’s land.”
“I see.”
Just as I thought.
Nothing had changed from my previous life.
“You don’t seem surprised. Baron Scalen has a good reputation publicly, so most people would be shocked… or were you already suspicious?”
As he said, Baron Scalen was well respected.
He regularly donated to temples and treated his people well.
“Shut up. I’m the one asking questions.”
“……”
“Answer.”
“Understood.”
Satisfied, I nodded and continued.
“Is Baron Scalen planning to attack my family in a month?”
“Most likely. The original plan was to kidnap you, draw attention away from your family, and strike during the confusion.”
“I see.”
“But now that you’ve escaped, he may move even sooner since there’s a chance the plan leaked.”
That was possible.
Baron Scalen was cautious, but more daring than people expected.
“Why is Baron Scalen targeting my family?”
“Even I don’t know that much. I only accepted the job.”
He carefully watched my reaction before continuing.
“But I’m guessing he wants your territory.”
“Our territory?”
“He’ll secretly destroy the Luminar territory, then use his good reputation to ‘save’ the people and legally take control of your land. Otherwise, there’d be no reason to target your family.”
At this point, it almost felt like this bastard knew everything.
Still, with enough information, anyone could make reasonable guesses, so I didn’t think too deeply about it.
“You’re smarter than I expected.”
“T-thanks.”
After I stayed silent for a moment, he spoke first.
“Honestly, it’ll be difficult to stop Baron Scalen like this. He won’t move personally, so there won’t be clear evidence. Use me as a witness.”
“You?”
“Yeah. That way you can give the Holy Nation’s Inquisitors a reason to investigate. Even if they can’t find proof, they could at least delay the plan.”
“That could work.”
At those words, a strange spark appeared in his eyes.
‘Ah, right.’
Then I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten and searched inside my clothes.
But all I found was the alcohol bottle.
Nothing else.
“What did you do with my letter?”
The reason I suddenly returned home after wandering the Holy Nation was because of the letter my younger sibling sent me.
Gojang looked flustered and silently glanced toward the collapsed campfire.
“…I see.”
I slowly stood up from the chair.
“What’s your specialty?”
“Specialty?”
“Yeah.”
“Like you saw earlier, I can use a sword. And…”
“And?”
“I roast sweet potatoes well.”
“That’s true.”
I nodded while looking down at him.
“I see. So your plan was to feed me nothing but sweet potatoes until I suffocated.”
“What?”
“And when I asked for water, you planned to pull your sword and cut off my head. An eye for an eye, sweet potato for sweet potato, is that it?”
“……”
“Am I wrong? Answer me.”
The color drained from his face instantly.
Realizing I had seen through him, he lowered his head in defeat.
“…Kill me.”
“Obviously.”
I pulled the longsword from the ground and swung it horizontally.
His head flew off together with a spray of blood.
And just like that, one sweet potato master disappeared from the world.
“Now who’s going to roast sweet potatoes for me?”
I shook the blood from the sword with genuine regret.
‘That’s why you shouldn’t burn someone else’s letter.’
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason I killed him.
Someone who betrayed his employer this easily could betray me just as easily.
And after losing the tendons in his wrist, he might have run straight to Baron Scalen for revenge.
“Letter… are you still alive?”
I searched through the fire, but all I found were flames and ashes.
Clicking my tongue, I stirred the campfire.
Sparks flew upward like fireflies.
As I followed them with my eyes, I unconsciously looked up at the sky.
Countless stars decorated the darkness.
And above them hung the round moon.
“Oh…”
It was strangely beautiful.
After becoming Sword Demon, I rarely looked at the sky.
The world had always been stained red with blood.
And whenever I looked upward, it felt as though the dead were staring back at me.
“Hmm…”
As I stared at the moon, a sudden thought crossed my mind.
I wanted to protect this night sky.
In my previous life, I never really had a goal.
I merely wandered around unable to die until I eventually fought the Demon God standing in my way.
But now—
For some reason, I no longer wanted others to stain this sky with darkness.
“Sword Demon… can you win?”
The question Rudian asked me at the edge of death.
The Demon God was strong.
Not only was his demonic energy endless, but even wounds made by my sword regenerated almost instantly.
Now I possessed a new power called Holy Power.
But even so, the strength I had in my previous life still wouldn’t be enough.
If I wanted to defeat the Demon God—
I had to become even stronger than before.
‘Who knows. I’ll try.’
After quietly staring at the night sky for a while, I finished the remaining alcohol.
It was finally time to return home.
Inside the office of the Luminar Baron Family.
Benedict Luminar, the head of the family and lord of the territory, rubbed his aching forehead.
“Ugh… one disaster after another.”
Recently, the condition of the territory had become terrible.
The Luminar territory was unusually large for a barony, allowing them to grow huge amounts of crops.
Even though Benedict was not particularly talented at management, he could still feed the people well.
‘But half a year ago, a plague spread and the harvest sharply decreased.’
And that wasn’t all.
Rumors said businesses filled with greed and lust were spreading throughout the territory of Luminar, a land devoted to Ella.
Because the land was so vast compared to the population, controlling it became even harder.
‘And my eldest son keeps wandering outside the family estate…’
It had already been half a year since Kael left on his so-called pilgrimage.
If he truly left to deepen his faith, Benedict would have been happy.
But by now, he knew Kael had simply used it as an excuse to run away.
‘Kael always hated being trapped by rules.’
Benedict could understand why someone like Kael would feel suffocated in a devout family of Ella worshippers.
Still, he wished his son would finally come home.
‘Goddess Ella, please allow my son Kael to return home safely.’
Benedict clasped his hands together in prayer.
If Kael returned, he would no longer force religion upon him.
He only hoped his son would not stray too far.
Knock knock—
“Lord Benedict, it’s Cedric.”
“Come in.”
The head butler entered the room.
Benedict immediately asked,
“What is it?”
“Young Master Kael, who left on pilgrimage, has returned home.”
Benedict’s eyes widened as he instantly stood up.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he now?”
“Well…”
“Well?”
The butler hesitated briefly before answering.
“He’s at the chapel.”
“The chapel?”
“Yes…”
The chapel?
Did that mean he truly went on a sincere pilgrimage rather than running away?
“I-I can’t believe it. I need to see it with my own eyes.”
“Yes. I’ll guide you there.”
Following the butler, Benedict arrived at the small chapel in the village.
Standing before the entrance, he swallowed nervously before stepping inside.
Many people were gathered there, all staring toward the statue of the Goddess.
As Benedict pushed through the crowd—
“Ah…”
He collapsed to the floor in shock.
Sunlight poured through the windows.
And beneath that light stood a young man quietly praying with both hands together.
That troublesome delinquent who always gave Benedict headaches…
That free bird who left home because the teachings suffocated him…
Was now praying willingly before the statue of Goddess Ella.
Gulp—
Benedict swallowed dryly, feeling as though he were dreaming.
“I-Is that really him…?”
There are many ways for Holy Knights to increase their Holy Power.
Praying to Goddess Ella.
Hunting demons and offering them to the Goddess.
Being worshipped by others.
And so on.
Periods of silence and fasting also increased Holy Power, though not very efficiently.
More importantly, that method simply didn’t suit my personality.
‘That’s why the most basic method is prayer.’
This method only granted a small amount of Holy Power, but it was useful whenever one had free time.
That was why I was praying now.
‘Goddess Ella, stop hiding and come down here for a moment. We need to talk. At least explain what’s going on.’
If any follower of Ella heard that prayer, they would probably faint.
Fortunately, silent prayer could only be heard by the Goddess herself.
Whoosh—
Surprisingly, my Holy Power slowly increased.
After all, prayer itself was meant to be a conversation with the Goddess.
Meaning it didn’t matter what I said, as long as I prayed.
‘Though I’m getting more Holy Power than expected.’
Maybe because this was the first time I had ever prayed willingly.
The Goddess must have been moved by how much I changed.
‘Come to think of it, I’m the only one talking. Is this really a conversation? Hey, Goddess Ella. Say something.’
No answer came.
Maybe she was shy.
Or maybe she simply couldn’t speak.
Either way, the increase in Holy Power was slowing down, so I stopped praying.
The longer prayers lasted, the less effective they became.
‘So this is how I should increase my Holy Power. I won’t have to worry about growth.’
The reason Sword Demon knew these methods was simple.
Because Holy Knights chased me around for years, I naturally learned all sorts of things about them.
‘When I was young, girls chased me. When I grew older, Holy Knights chased me…’
The one thing they all had in common—
I always ended up running away from them.
My life had always been about chasing and being chased.
“L-Lord Benedict, are you alright?”
“Y-Yes…”
When I opened my eyes, I heard commotion behind me.
“Is the eldest young master really praying to the Goddess?”
“What if he’s trying to headbutt the Goddess statue? Remember when he asked who would win—”
“Shh! He’ll hear you!”
I turned around, waved at the villagers, and smiled brightly.
“That’s right. It’s me. The delinquent eldest young master has returned as a devout follower of Ella. Please welcome me with applause.”
“……”
Nobody clapped.
The villagers only stared awkwardly in confusion.
Only one little girl clapped before her mother hurriedly stopped her.
“Kael?”
At that moment, someone called my name.
It was a voice I had somehow forgotten.
“Are you really Kael?”
A middle-aged man with streaks of white in his hair stood there.
Though thin, his body remained firm and upright, making him appear noble and dignified.
Yet when he looked at me, he could not hide his emotions.
“It’s been a long time.”
I smiled faintly at him.
“Father.”
Benedict Luminar.
A face I had long forgotten now stood before me once more.
Father smiled softly and approached me.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. Are you healthy as well, Father?”
I genuinely examined his condition.
Father suddenly felt emotional before answering.
“Of course.”
As he said, aside from looking tired, he seemed perfectly fine.
There were no wounds on his body.
“What about Mother and Aren?”
“They went out briefly. If you return to the mansion and wait, you’ll see them soon.”
“I see.”
Father glanced between me and the Goddess statue before asking,
“By the way… were you truly praying just now?”
“Yes.”
“On your own?”
“Of course.”
“Haha…”
Father laughed happily.
“The Goddess must have been pleased with your prayer as well. This is the first time you willingly worshipped her.”
“I think so too.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“Hahaha.”
“Hahahahaha.”
Father laughed for a moment before calming himself.
“Then… will you now attend services properly?”
“That’s a bit…”
“Hmm.”
Father nodded as if he understood.
“Very well. I won’t force the matter anymore. Move forward at your own pace.”
I looked at him in surprise.
“Oh. Your kindness has grown together with your white hair.”
“……?”
“I’ll help you turn the rest white too.”
“…Kael.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Today is a happy day.”
“I’m happy too, Father.”
Father stared at me before letting out a deep sigh.
“Still… why the sudden change of heart? Did something happen during your pilgrimage?”
“Hmm…”
At Father’s question, I crossed my arms and thought deeply.
A previous life where my family was destroyed.
The Holy Nation collapsed.
Humanity exterminated by the Demon God.
I couldn’t possibly explain all of that, so I simply nodded vaguely.
“A lot happened.”
“…I see.”
Father smiled faintly before turning around.
“Anyway, let’s return to the mansion. We have plenty of time to talk later.”
“Yes. I agree.”
And so, after a very long time—
I returned to the mansion together with Father.
Now it was time to begin the next step of my plan.
(To be continued)
