SWNOVELXO Chapter 629
Chapter 629 Then, give me some compensation. (1)
Zhiing—!
‘Kuhk.’
Yulien clutched his head in an instant. The woman’s words made his head feel like it was about to burst.
Gritting his teeth, he asked again.
‘What do you mean?’
Even in response to Yulien’s question, the woman remained silent. She simply faded slowly into the darkness.
It was then that Yulien realized. That was not a being capable of interaction.
It was merely a manifestation of the energy that had pierced his mind.
He couldn’t identify who the woman was, but he had his suspicions.
‘Is she the saint from a thousand years ago?’
The woman wore a necklace around her neck. He had seen that necklace before.
‘Sacred Relic.’
It was the sacred relic obtained by Ghislaine when she seized the Ruthania Kingdom. He recognized it because Ghislaine always wore it.
The necklace had emitted an unknown light the day he and Ghislaine met for the first time. He would never forget such a bizarre incident, even if it hadn’t happened again since.
Unknowingly, Yulien let out a sigh.
An inexplicable phenomenon had occurred. He considered consulting Ghislaine, but quickly dismissed the thought.
‘It must be a coincidence.’
He was aware that their eyes had met for a brief moment. However, he didn’t think Ghislaine could see this formless energy.
She probably just looked at him to confirm that he would take the next attack.
Since childhood, he had always solved everything on his own. He was still unaccustomed to asking others for help.
Besides, everyone was currently celebrating their victory over the dragon. There was no need to share any uneasy news with them.
The dragon’s energy, tainted with madness, had transferred to him. It felt unsettling, and anyone could see that.
And there was one more thing weighing on his mind.
Yulien soon looked at his hands.
‘What did I do?’
Arterion had definitely been saying something. It seemed Ghislaine wanted to hear it.
She could kill him afterward. But at that moment, the thought of having to die right away resonated strongly.
So he struck.
‘… It’s dangerous.’
Acting so impulsively meant that his thoughts and body were not fully under his control.
No matter how strong those feelings were, he should have thought things through once more. He had always done that. He had always judged situations and made decisions coldly.
This was unprecedented. He had never felt such intense “hatred” before.
‘…….’
After pondering for a moment, Yulien shook his head. He planned to reflect on himself a bit more. He needed to uncover the nature of this energy.
He must not allow this energy to influence him. He was confident he could manage that.
Yulien lifted his head and looked ahead.
“Waaaaah!”
“We won!”
“We defeated the dragon!”
Everyone was reveling in victory. It was only natural, having triumphed against an extraordinary foe like that.
Suddenly, Ghislaine looked impressive. How did she know and prepare so perfectly?
It was as if she had fought a dragon before, fully aware of everything. He couldn’t do that.
‘You are… truly remarkable.’
Though she had faced tribulations, she had never failed even once. That’s why he could always trust and follow her decisions.
If anything were to happen to him…
He suddenly thought that Ghislaine would surely resolve it.
Yulien gazed at Ghislaine, who was sitting down.
She was smiling as she watched the people cheering. When she turned her head, her eyes met Yulien’s.
Ghislaine grinned and gave him a thumbs up.
In her unchanged cheeky manner, Yulien couldn’t help but smile back.
*
Alfoy had a dream.
It was a dream he had sometimes since he was young. It was the foundation for the vain imaginations he developed later on.
—Karrurrr!
Young Alfoy waddled around various places in a mansion.
The mansion was vast and luxurious. Its shape was a bit blurred, but it wasn’t unrecognizable.
A large figure approached and scooped up the wandering child. He rubbed his fluffy beard against Alfoy’s face.
—Karrurrr!
Delighted, as he smiled, the man who held him shouted loudly.
—“This little shrimp is my kid! Oh, this pretty puppy boy!”
In the dream, it felt perfectly fine, but upon waking, Alfoy felt a bit uneasy.
Try as he might, the way the man spoke didn’t seem like that of a genteel noble.
Still, he ignored it. The probability that it was just a nonsense dream was high, and everyone said so, but Alfoy wouldn’t acknowledge that.
He needed to believe that this dream was a memory from his baby days to justify his claim of being the offspring of a noble family.
Whenever he had this dream, there was always a subsequent scene. It was a dream where he was swept away by water.
At such times, he would wake up startled. But today was a bit different.
Pshhh!
The water froze white. As he cried out in surprise, a gigantic face suddenly appeared.
Krrr…
It was a dragon. The dragon was glaring at him with its bright red eyes.
The dragon opened its mouth wide as if it were going to eat him.
“AAAHHH!”
Alfoy screamed and opened his eyes wide. His entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
Realizing it was just a dream, he finally felt a bit at ease.
“I’m awake!”
Someone shouted next to him. Everyone nearby rushed around Alfoy.
Blinking several times, Alfoy saw many people looking down at him as he lay there. It felt quite unpleasant.
“What’s… what are you looking at… tsk…”
As Alfoy mumbled in a dying voice, he finally regained his senses.
“W-what happened to the dragon?”
When Alfoy shot up to ask, the people cheered.
“Yay! Alfoy is awake!”
“Dragon Slayer!”
“Alfoy! Thanks to you, we survived!”
“Hey, idiot! You alright?!”
As the crowd cheered, Alfoy asked back, his face flushed.
“I-I caught the dragon?”
Vanessa took Alfoy’s hand and said.
“We caught it! Thanks to you, Alfoy!”
Jerome chimed in with a look of amazement.
“I heard you were really incredible? How did you do it?”
After waking, Jerome and Vanessa were astonished by the stories they heard.
Alfoy could release magic, albeit for a brief moment. That was all that Vanessa had hoped for.
But it turned out that the dragon’s magic was no simple feat. It was a long-lasting spell that altered the environment.
Just dispelling it briefly wouldn’t suffice. One had to continuously clash with the dragon’s mana or gather equivalent mana to shatter it all at once.
No matter how skillful one was in mana manipulation, it was no task for a person at the 6th Circle. It could only be described as a miracle.
Hearing this, Alfoy suddenly boasted.
“Hmph! It’s because it was me.”
Though he was showing off, Alfoy himself didn’t quite understand what had happened.
He had clearly felt it was impossible to nullify the dragon’s magic that time. He thought he would die. He simply poured all of his mana into the dragon out of sheer fury.
Yet, he succeeded.
Could it be said he was a man who defeated a god?
Although Alfoy wore a proud expression, nobody reprimanded him this time.
Instead, everyone showered him with compliments, making the place quite noisy.
“Alfoy! Alfoy!”
“I knew you could do it!”
“This irritating little brat actually pulled off something amazing!”
Ghislaine also placed her hand on Alfoy’s shoulder, laughing.
“Hey there, Dragon Slayer. This time we really won thanks to you.”
“Hmph! If I can defeat a god, a dragon is nothing.”
Kuuung!
At the heavy sound, Alfoy turned his head. Parniel was glaring at him, striking her mace on the ground.
Alfoy immediately bowed his head. He was in such a good mood that he forgot not to speak carelessly in front of Parniel.
So he swiftly changed the topic. Having achieved something great, he wanted to boast about it and receive his reward.
“Anyway, I did help catch the dragon, right?”
“Of course. If it weren’t for you, everyone would have been dead, right?”
Ghislaine was someone who always rewarded those who contributed. Alfoy knew this, so he immediately brought it up.
“Then, can I get some compensation?”
“Compensation? Sure, say whatever. If it’s something I can grant, I’ll grant it.”
With Ghislaine’s cheerful response, Alfoy’s confidence surged.
“I want to get out of my slave status! Grant me my freedom! I want to be a free person like everyone else!”
“O….”
The people around Alfoy looked intrigued by his words.
After all, breaking away from slavery was the top priority for whatever one wanted to do. Otherwise, no matter how much fame or money one earned, they would still just be a slave.
“Hmmm….”
Ghislaine crossed her arms, deep in thought.
Looking back, Alfoy had an unusual talent. During the war, he provided mana and subtly helped out. The same went for when they kidnapped Queen Grex in the Forest of Monsters.
In the territory, he would easily catch escaped slaves and maintained order well. This time too, he had brought back a tremendous number of wizards.
Though it had been with the intent to incite rebellion, the outcome was still quite favorable.
Moreover, Alfoy really performed a miracle during the dragon hunt.
It would be a shame just to let go of such a bizarre(?) talent.
So Ghislaine placed a condition.
“Alright. But until the continent stabilizes, you’ll stay in our territory. As a Branch Leader of the Mage Tower. I’ll let you escape your slave status.”
“Yayyy!”
Alfoy clenched his fists and shouted. His slave contract, which had gradually extended past 300 years, was finally coming to an end.
Although it seemed he was still tied to the Penris Territory, his status would change. He could retire and live comfortably.
Now, the dangerous tasks were almost all over. The Salvation Society had collapsed, and the dragon had been captured.
The chances of facing more dangers were almost nonexistent.
‘I will never fall for Claude’s schemes again!’
Alfoy firmly resolved this. No matter what Claude proposed from now on, he was determined to refuse.
Everyone congratulated him on Ghislaine’s declaration.
“Wow! Alfoy has finally escaped his slave status!”
“I thought this kid would never get out for life!”
“Awesome, awesome! This persistent brat!”
“Congratulations, Alfoy!”
Everyone laughed and enjoyed themselves. After all, Alfoy was merely a slave in name; his attitude and tasks hardly resembled that of a slave.
It would still be the same if he were forcefully tied to Penris. Working at the construction site wouldn’t change either.
Still, Alfoy was glad. Unknowingly, his slave status had often been a hindrance.
Above all, the feeling was certainly different. Alfoy shouted joyfully.
“I am! Freeeeeee!”
With this incident, Alfoy received immense praise from everyone. No longer did they look at him with scorn as before.
By capturing the dragon, he had gained the honor he had always wished for in an instant. His fame would surely spread widely.
For that matter, Alfoy had achieved something substantial.
After congratulating Alfoy, Ghislaine addressed everyone.
“Alright, since we’ve worked hard, let’s take a few days to rest.”
There were no urgent matters at hand. The rest began to eat heartily and prepare for the withdrawal.
They had been waiting here for quite a while. Meanwhile, the allied forces that had been out hunting remaining enemies had begun reporting back with information.
“Hmm, things seem to be going smoothly.”
Since the Atrode Kingdom had fallen, it wasn’t challenging to wipe out the remnants. The power disparity was just too great, and even the few High Priests left had all fled.
Those who participated in the dragon hunt could return to their territories.
Ghislaine wore a relieved expression.
“This war is almost over.”
He moved to the Sardina Kingdom, the center of the alliance, continuing to communicate with the various armies.
It was to assess any potential risk factors before proceeding with the next tasks.
As this happened, the results of the dragon hunt were relayed to each army.
Claude also received news about Alfoy.
He grabbed the letter tightly with trembling hands.
“Ah, Alfoy…… actually distinguished himself in the dragon hunt and escaped his slave status?”
He felt dizzy from the shocking news.
“How, how could this happen…?”
Alfoy managing to escape from his slave status alone! That was absolutely unacceptable. His stomach hurt so much, he felt like he might go crazy.
Not knowing what to do, Claude continued to tremble, clutching the letter, when suddenly, he appeared to have realized something.
“Aha.”
Wendy stared at him, and Claude suddenly wore a devilish grin.
“Then we just make him a slave again, right?”
Wendy clicked her tongue with a cold glance.
Indeed, this man was not normal.