Chapter 160 – The Young Lady (12)
The emaciated torso had two pairs of arms attached to it, shaped like blades, and similarly blade-like feet that floated slightly above the ground…
All Sword Demons look roughly similar in appearance, but when it comes to combat ability—including swordsmanship—there is a remarkably wide range of variation.
In that sense,
‘A beginner.’
Had this Sword Demon in front of me inherited the patient’s experiences and knowledge from when she was alive? There was even a possibility that some remnant of human rationality still lingered…
Screeech—!
“Tch.”
If any rationality remained, then the only conclusion was that the patient had gone completely insane.
A rebellion might at least be understandable as revenge, but to voluntarily drink poison and then massacre all her loyal followers?
Clang!
I lightly blocked the Sword Demon’s hand.
Creak…?!
“Surprised that you got blocked?”
The Young Lady, who never needed to learn even basic self-defense because of her personal guard, moved in a chaotic, childish manner—like kids playing house.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Sword Demon’s fast and sturdy body probably compensated for those shortcomings, but what happens when it faces a similar opponent?
“First, the legs.”
Snap!
I severed both legs first—legs so fast that even I, an Olympic-level track athlete, would struggle to keep up.
Especially since the Sword Demon’s ability to glide across the ground as if it were ice was outright fraudulent.
“……”
The now-silent Sword Demon could only twitch its lips.
“It’s not over yet.”
Snap!
Next, I cut off all four arms, completely neutralizing it.
“Waaaaah!”
“Count! Long live!”
“Amolang~!”
The watching soldiers, convinced of my victory, burst into cheers.
“Bind it.”
“Yes! Count!”
What should I even call this thing now—formerly Vienna Susan?—now lying face-down in the blood-soiled dirt.
It was hard to judge right away.
‘The real problem starts now, doesn’t it?’
According to the servant’s testimony, the Ranuvel patient had drunk poison.
Depending on a person’s constitution, there are quite a few cases where poison doesn’t kill, but considering it had transformed into a Sword Demon just like Nam Hae-soo, there was no room for doubt.
Treatment failure.
Yet the patient was dead and alive at the same time. The dream world still hadn’t ended. How was I supposed to interpret this…?
(The body of the patient lying in the hospital is still healthy.)
“……”
For a moment, I felt a twinge of regret for having captured the Sword Demon alive for no good reason.
(Think positively. This could be a chance to learn more about Sword Demons.)
“Ah…”
You’re being really positive about this, huh?
In the romance fantasy world of <The Generous Young Lady Who Receives Everything>, the patient had been such a pest-like existence that even the rumors I’d heard were more than enough to fill volumes.
But this was a dream. In reality, her crimes would easily warrant life imprisonment or worse, yet the very reason she could run wild like a pest was because it was a dream.
What kind of man would love a woman who only takes and takes for over thirty years? Such a relationship is impossible in reality.
To begin with, the genres of “romance” or “romance fantasy” are romantic only from a woman’s perspective. From a man’s perspective, it’s hell—being forced to marry a selfish woman when you’re already a flawless prince or emperor with nothing to be desired.
“Do you want to live?”
“……”
The Sword Demon—now reduced to just a head and torso—glared at me intently.
It wasn’t as fast as me, but its limbs had been slowly regenerating until I drove nails into the half-regenerated forearms and thighs, at which point regeneration completely stopped.
“If you understand what I’m saying, nod. If not, shake your head left and right.”
“……”
It could see me, but it showed no reaction at all—as if it couldn’t hear my voice whatsoever.
“Hm.”
(Place your hand on its head. I’ll try reading its memories.)
Ooh!
For the first time in forever, Senior stepped forward without me even asking.
(I’m interested in Sword Demons. They’re called living corpses, similar to jiangshi in the East and zombies in the West.)
Jiangshi in the East.
Zombies in the West.
The names and characteristics differ slightly depending on the country and culture, but the fantasy of corpses moving while retaining eternal youth and life seems to be something everyone imagines at some point.
Tap.
I placed my hand on the head of the patient, who could no longer resist.
“Hm…”
Every time I think about it, even when Senior uses sorcery, I feel absolutely nothing.
(…The resistance is intense.)
Really?
(Considering that Mao Zhai, who had a pianist aptitude and was afraid of her father, was relatively easy, this one is definitely unusual.)
I-is that so?
It’s creepy how you can peer into someone’s most uncomfortable dark history.
(It must be the unique resistance that comes from a Sword Demon building its own world.)
“…Stop resisting.”
“……”
“If you keep resisting, I’ll gouge out those two glaring eyes of yours.”
(Threats won’t work. This isn’t something the Sword Demon can control.)
Then what do we do?
(To break through a Sword Demon’s resistance… Ah, that’s it! That’s what it was! The world! It was the world! I’m really getting old. To overlook such a simple truth…!)
…What is it?
Dear respected Senior. Please don’t keep it to yourself—share it with me.
(It’s the world.)
Yes, the world.
(…Normally I’d call you frustrating, but since I only just realized it myself, I’ll let it slide this time.)
Thank you.
(The world isn’t an empty wasteland. You, too, have been building things in your own world, using your body as an excuse.)
That’s true.
(And that’s why there are no blanks.)
…Huh?
(Every time you achieve something in the dream, your world expands a little. And every time it expands, you immediately fill the new space instead of leaving it empty.)
Did I do that?
(Why do you think someone as weak in theory as you is so exceptionally strong in actual combat?)
“Ah!”
I accidentally realized an uncomfortable truth!
(That’s exactly it.)
“Damn it…”
Tears welled up at my complete dependence on the world and my own incompetence.
(Now we get to the main point.)
Yes.
(Junior. Look at this city. Why do you think there’s a plaza in the most expensive, yolk-like land? If you used that empty space, you could build five more plausible buildings.)
“Uh… huh?”
(It’s the same in real cities. Why does a city need a park right in the middle? People can live without one. In fact, without a park, you could fit even more people into the city.)
“…You’re right.”
I’m not an architect or urban designer, so I don’t know the details, but I cautiously guessed that it’s probably because people can’t live purely on efficiency.
(Your world is the same.)
What do you mean?
(You frustrating idiot… I just explained the necessity of unused empty space in a world, and you still don’t get it?)
Aha!
(To infiltrate a Sword Demon’s world, you need a lot of empty space. It’s very similar to how people with the same purpose gather in a plaza to protest.)
In other words…
(You’re correct.)
“Ah…”
(You have to bulldoze part of your world and turn it into a plaza.)
It meant giving up the ability that had allowed me to become who I am now.
***
Training was necessary. The maturity to let go of the greed to achieve things easily.
(This time, give it up. Emptying the vessel is incredibly difficult. Far harder than simply replacing one ability with another.)
Replacement had been easy.
The reason I could abandon being “human” and remodel my body efficiently was because it didn’t feel like a loss. It was like bartering!
But this was different.
“Ugh…”
Imagine being told to remove the refrigerator you’ve been using comfortably at home. Not to replace it with a bigger one, not because there’s a plan in place—just to take it out!
Could that be done easily?
I couldn’t let go of the convenience of the refrigerator (my ability).
“Count Amolang~!”
“…Princess.”
Had she rushed over the moment she heard the war was over?
Princess Aronia came to find me while I was attempting conversation with the Sword Demon in a temporary tent set up in the city plaza, having given up on the blood-soaked beautiful inner castle of the grand duchy.
Swish~
The princess, whose legs hidden beneath her voluminous skirt were a pity to behold, shyly rested her head against my chest and whispered.
“I was worried.”
“Ahem!”
Song Sun-young should learn from the princess in this regard… Never mind.
“Count. So this is the monster they say resembles the Young Lady.”
“That’s correct.”
Rumors were spreading rapidly that the Young Lady had turned into an ugly monster, but her followers were quietly suppressing them by labeling it an allied forces conspiracy theory.
“It really does… look similar to the portrait of the Young Lady hanging in His Majesty’s room.”
“Is it still there now?”
“He burned it the very day you treated him, Count.”
“I see.”
Even with its limbs severed, the Sword Demon still exuded a menacing aura. But Princess Aronia showed no sign of fear. She simply turned to me and said,
“Count. If you have time, how about a few rounds of cards with me?”
“I’d like that.”
Tap! Tap! Tap…!
She began shuffling the worn deck of cards she had brought.
(A classic tactic.)
Indeed.
Cards that have been handled a lot by human hands don’t have perfectly uniform backs. When it’s more blatant, coffee or alcohol stains don’t completely disappear even after wiping…
In other words,
(The conditions are the same.)
Not every card back had a mark, but it was as good as some of my hand being revealed to the princess.
Since I could see her entire hand, I was slightly at an advantage.
However,
‘I won’t look.’
In the romance fantasy world of <The Generous Young Lady Who Receives Everything>, the card game treated as a folk pastime had been practiced diligently by the young staff officers during the war. After the clean purge, the allied forces’ leadership had been filled with my card-game buddies!
“Count. Be nervous. I won’t lose so easily today.”
“I look forward to it.”
It would be hard to easily defeat a princess who had come up with such a naughty strategy.
(How arrogant. If you fought fair and square, you might actually lose.)
“How about the loser granting one wish to the winner?”
“Sounds good.”
A wish.
It was an extremely dangerous bet, but since I had no intention of burying my bones in this world, I threw around blank checks without hesitation.
“You’re staking your honor on this promise, right?”
“Of course.”
“Hehe!”
“……”
I began the card game with Princess Aronia, who was brimming with confidence in her victory.
Thump! Thump thump!
And the Sword Demon wasn’t quietly watching our little scene.
“…What the?”
Until now it had been relatively docile, but now it was violently shaking its only free part—its head—back and forth in a frenzy.
“It’s your turn, Count.”
“Ah, yes.”
The Sword Demon’s (the patient’s) sudden strange behavior was a little distracting, but it didn’t seem like a big deal.
Swish swish~
I focused on the card game. I definitely focused…?
“Damn it…”
“Hehehehe!”
“……”
This is because of the Sword Demon! I lost because the Sword Demon kept disturbing my concentration!
(How pathetic, Junior.)
“I won the first round~”
“Your skills have improved, Princess. This time, I’ll shuffle.”
“Yes.”
Tap, tap, tap.
I finally understood how the people who had played against me until now must have felt.
“……”
“……”
We immersed ourselves in the dangerous card game with the bet on the line.
(You’re the only one in danger. To a princess who grew up with everything—appearance, family background, wealth—without lacking anything, what she wants from you is obvious, isn’t it?)
That’s exactly why it’s dangerous.
(That depends on the person. If you had to marry an ugly princess, you’d have to risk your life to win, but…)
“Hmm…”
Having high perception wasn’t always a good thing.
Thump! Boom! Thump thump!
The Sword Demon was slamming its head so hard it looked like it was trying to split its own skull open.
I couldn’t concentrate on the card game at all because it kept breaking my focus.
On the other hand,
“Hehe!”
Princess Aronia displayed the composure and experience of someone who could cleanly ignore it.
“…Princess. Could you tell me in advance what your wish is?”
“Oh my! Naughty Count. Of course it’s a secret~.”
“I see. Ahem!”
I feel like I’m going to lose the second round too?!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
I wanted to snap the Sword Demon’s neck so it couldn’t disturb my concentration anymore.
(You used to play cards just fine even in noisy taverns. What’s with the excuses?)
“Ugh…”
It felt like the day I would personally confirm the legs hidden under Aronia Princess’s voluminous skirt was drawing near.
…But my determination to beat her was starting to melt into mush?
“Are you giving up?”
“What a shame. If I won, I was planning to steal a kiss from the princess’s lips.”
“…Huh?”
“Haha! I lost the second round too.”
It’s the Sword Demon’s fault!
“Count. The hero of the allied forces isn’t losing on purpose, is he?”
“Of course not.”
We immediately moved on to what might be the final third round.
Right at that moment,
“…Kwaaaaa!”
For the first time, a sound came from the Sword Demon’s mouth as blood began to flow from its eye sockets instead of tears.
“What?”
Noticing the abnormality, I instinctively wrapped my body around Princess Aronia to protect her.
“That’s my place! My place! Not that bitch…!”
“Calm down.”
“Move! Get out of the way right now…!”
Rustle rustle—
Golden hair began to grow rapidly from the previously bald head of the Sword Demon.
“What the…?”
The moment I took a step forward to investigate the bizarre phenomenon,
***
With a light dizziness similar to motion sickness, my vision changed.
“What the hell was that…”
I muttered quietly while staring up at the dim ceiling of my university dorm room.
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TL Note:
The novel is fully completed (231 chapters)
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