Chapter 211 - Weird Capable People (1)
The Lazy Swordmaster
***
The man was having a hard time.
The reason was tardiness.
âNo, I mean! I saw some weird capable people, you see.â
As the man explained why he was late, the boss sitting across from him sighed and pressed his forehead as if he was tired.
ââ¦haa.â
âThey looked like foreigners, but there was something strange about themâ¦â
âNo, you⦠If you want to make an excuse for being late, you have to come up with a better excuse.â
Seeing the gibberish and the appearance of his subordinate holding his flushed cheeks, the boss, who was sitting at the top of the table, sighed again after judging that he was late because of womenâs issues.
âWhether itâs womenâs issues or capable issues! Youâre late, youâre still late⦠because youâre late, write me a written apology.â
âYes? Thenâ¦â
âIâll let you off once this time. Write it down now.â
Perhaps it was quite unfair, his subordinateâs eyes appealed desperately for reconsideration⦠But the boss only waved his palm coldly, as if to tell him to stop.
ââ¦haa.â
As his subordinate, who sighed, left his room, the boss, who was staring blankly at the documents on the desk, muttered quietly.
âCapable personâ¦â
Soon, the boss pulled out his cell phone and started calling somewhere.
*****
At Rileyâs request for a place to stay, Mi-rae, a young girl who brought a bouquet to the memorial, was guiding Riley, Sera, and Nara to her house.
âI thought mister was dead.â
âThis and that happened.â
Riley, who didnât tell the truth, was following her, explaining only that complicated circumstances were intertwined.
âMister is alive⦠I canât tell this to others, right?â
When Mi-rae, who was walking at the forefront, asked the question, Riley, who was wearing a hood, nodded.
âIf the dead were known to be alive, people would be confused⦠I would be like that too.â
Especially if Helena found out, he couldnât use the things like the âsurpriseâ and âpartâ operation that he had already talked about with Abyssâ¦
Now he had to hide his identity.
âBy the way, you managed to recognize me.â
âThe atmosphere was just like mister.â
ââ¦yeah.â
Given the timing of this place, Riley, who cut her friends to salvation around last year, stopped trying to ask the question, âDonât you hate me?â
âWhat a relief. Mister came back alive because you see, now the flowers to bring to the memorial were really running out.â
Because if she hated him, she wouldnât have put that pretty bouquet on the memorial.
âI think thereâs a lot Iâd like to ask you about the situation here since then⦠is it okay?â
âYes, I donât mind, butâ¦â
Mi-rae, who nodded at Rileyâs question, looked back at Sera and Nara, who were walking behind her, and continued.
âAre they two good people?â
âYeah. Theyâre foreigners, so you wonât understand their words, but theyâre good guys. Iâll explain it to you later.â
A foreigner, in other words, an outsider. At the time when the Demon King was in full swing, it was a word used to refer to people with different languages ??and cultures that they encountered in the process of merging cities that had been divided into several parts.
âHave you been out of town all this time?â
âWell, you can say that.â
Meanwhileâ¦
Sera and Nara, who were looking at Riley and Mi-rae, who were having a harmonious conversation, were tilting their heads because they had no idea what they were talking about.
âWhat are they talking about?â
âA depressing, serious story⦠no, it doesnât seem to be?â
Unlike Riley, the two felt awkward because they couldnât communicate with Mi-rae. Instead of hearing the story, they began to focus on staring at Mi-rae.
âMaybe looking at her atmosphere, I guess?â
âShe looks like to know young master, right?â
Riley slowly turned his head and began to stare at Sera and Nara, who were talking about Mi-rae in whispers.
âEven if you donât whisper like that, Iâll tell you everything in a little while, so just follow quietly.â
Sera and Nara flinched at Rileyâs scolding and bowed their heads with a grin.
âHere it is. It will be inconvenient for several people to stay, but if you donât mind, you can stay.â
With Sera and Nara bowing their heads, Mi-rae, who was looking back, said that they had arrived at her house and walked in quickly.
A shabby atmosphere. The future house that caught their eyes was all crumbling. It was so old and bleak enough to call it a haunted house rather than a house.
âThis is⦠her house.â
âThere were many castles before⦠whyâ¦â
Sera and Nara, who had been walking around looking at the apartments and buildings built on concrete, looked worried at the infinitely shabby future house.
ââ¦â
Most of the fences collapsed and couldnât do their job, and the garden was littered with dirt and dark weeds.
âLetâs go in.â
Riley, who was looking around the garden, had a similar feeling. He looked around with a worried expression and followed Mi-rae into the house.
âIâm home!â
Mi-rae shouted brightly, followed by Riley, Sera, and Nara behind her.
âMom, we have guests!â
The inside of the house was still well-organized compared to the outside. So, even though it looked a little messy, it didnât give off an eerie atmosphere as seen from outside.
âTake off your shoes and come in.â
Following Mi-rae who went inside first, Riley took off his shoes and went inside. While Nara and Sera, who were about to go inside with their shoes on, sweated profusely and took off their shoes.
âIs your mother here?â
Although Mi-rae allowed them to come with her, he didnât really think of making this place their hiding place⦠Riley went to Mi-raeâs parents to express his gratitude for being willing to take care of them for a while.
âOh, yes⦠she is here.â
After receiving Rileyâs question, Mi-rae seemed to hesitate for a moment and pulled the hem of his sleeve.
âMister, waitâ¦â
Riley, who was being pulled by Mi-rae, gave Sera and Nara a glance to wait in the living room for a while and then took a step.
Walking past the living room to the master bedroom, Riley entered the bedroom, where he could hear the sound of thin breathing. When he found a woman lying on the bed, he frowned.
âYour mother⦠right?â
âYes.â
Riley found her mother in a coma and carefully approached the bed.
âShe hasnât been able to speak properly for the past few days. The boiling heat on her forehead doesnât come down at all⦠Iâm worried about her.â
Mi-rae added that she had been working at a restaurant and was eventually fired because she couldnât get out for several days.
âMister, my mom⦠will she be okay?â
In response to Mi-raeâs question, Riley, who was looking at Mi-raeâs mother lying on the bed, put his hand on her forehead and then quickly pulled it.
Itâs not a high feverâ¦
Riley put his hand on her forehead again and let out a small amount of mana, then said.
âIt seems like she has a cold, but sheâll be okay.â
âReally? Really⦠Are you sure?â
ââ¦yeah.â
Riley, who once replied âItâll be okay when I save your friendsâ, bit his lips under his hood.
Pouring mana into her was only a temporary measure.
I need Priesia who can use divine power or Andal who is knowledgeable in medicine.
After taking off his hand, Riley looked back at Mi-rae, who had a gloomy expression on her face as if worried. He patted her head with a look that said, âFor sure this time.â
*****
ââ¦thatâs what happened.â
In the living room of Mi-raeâs house, with Sera and Nara sitting in front of him, Riley briefly explained his relationship with Mi-rae and her situation.
âThere was such a thing.â
âHiks, Hiks! Huuâ¦â
âNara, stop crying. Sheâs watching you.â
After listening to Rileyâs story, Sera urged Nara to stop crying by tapping him with her elbow, as if she was embarrassed by him, who was dripping with tears and a runny nose next to her.
âOh, right. The child⦠Mi-rae was watching.â
Mi-rae, who couldnât understand what Nara was saying, smiled slightly as if she realized that the crying Nara wasnât such a bad person.
âThis is Nara, this is Sera. Even though you canât understand each other⦠You can take it easy. If you do something with your gestures, theyâll understand.â
Hiding in the kitchen and peeping her face out, Mi-rae bowed her head and greeted them when Riley introduced the two of them too late.
âNice to meet you.â
Sera and Nara, who had no idea what Mi-rae was talking about, looked at Riley. Riley shrugged and interpreted what Mi-rae said.
âNice to meet you.â
âOh, well, same here!â
âPlease tell her, nice to meet you too!â
Sera and Nara waved to Mi-rae and asked Riley to interpret.
âLikewise.â
When Riley interpreted their words, Mi-rae smiled as if they were interesting and disappeared into the kitchen.
âThen, what do we do next?â
âAre you sure weâre staying here for now?â
Riley nodded at Naraâs question. Maybe because he was trained as a mercenary, to avoid any confusion, he was drawing a map.
âYeah, for the time being, weâll stay here and wait for the news of the others⦠Finding others would be a priority. Finding Helena in earnest is the next step.â
Because it was Abyssâs power, there wouldnât be a situation where some of the nine couldnât cross. Riley, who assumed that they were simply scattered, continued.
âAmong them, the ones with the highest priority we need to find are Priesia or Andal. The next would be Abyss and Nainiae.â
Sera tilted her head at Rileyâs words and asked, âIs there any particular reason for the priorities?â
Riley nodded and replied. âBecause I need Priesia or Andal to heal Mi-raeâs mother. Things donât look⦠very good.â
âAhâ¦â¦â
âThe reason why the next is Abyss and Nainiae is different. In Abyssâs case, the reason is that he can attract the âdemonsâ that remain here. In Nainiaeâs case, the reason is that she can use magic. It is easier to find others using her eyes.â
Then, thinking about the possibility that the scattered party might be wandering around without being able to adapt to âthis worldâ, Riley began to scratch his hair as if he had a headache.
âThinking about someone like Ian and Iril are scattered alone⦠Itâs terrible.â
Sera and Naraâs expressions crumpled at Rileyâs self-talk.
âThatâs really⦠I donât want to think about it.â
âFirst of all, they couldnât communicate.â
âWonât Iril cry?â
âIril is okay because sheâs strong, but Mr. Ian probablyâ¦â
âIf a person who doesnât understand the language and has no knowledge of this world⦠Thereâs Miss Priesia, too.â
âAh, she might be really cryingâ¦â
*****
In front of the memorial stone of a certain warrior.
A girl with a red coat over her shoulders, a girl with a white beret, and an old gentleman with one-eyed glasses⦠were staring blankly at the memorial.
âIs here⦠the place?â
âMaybe, you are right.â
ââ¦right.â
Nainiae, the girl with a red coat, took a step closer to the memorial and bent her knees towards the bouquet lying on the ground.
âYoung master, heâs here.â
Nainiae, who found manaâs traces in the new bouquet, began to look around blankly.
Forest of buildings. Busy passers-by. The noise of cars. Ian and Priesia, who were with Nainiae, finally realized it. The culture and scenery here were significantly different from the world they lived in.
âThis placeâ¦â
They had crossed to the world of Rileyâs previous life, where he was active as a warrior.
ââ¦there, the three people!!â
ââ¦?â
Nainiae and her group, who were standing in front of the memorial stone, slowly turned their heads at the sound of a voice next to them and looked at the men in suits approaching.
âWe have received reports that a person with a foreign ability is using his or her ability without permission. Please confirm your identity.â
When the man in the lead took out a business card from his pocket and showed it to them, saying he asked for identification, Nainiae, who was staring at the man, furrowed her eyebrows.
âIdentification?â