Ch. 4

The sword, which had been emanating light that sent the men flying just now, was glistening on my hands.

After that, the scabbard removed itself.

“.....!!!”

No, what the hell is this? Did the sword just unsheathed itself?

As soon as the men realized that the sword was in my hands, they ran towards me with sparkles in their eyes.

Amid the panic, I realized that I must do something and held the sword high.

At that moment.

[Hold it properly, you fool!]

A strange voice was ringing in my head. But my body moved quickly without having time to see who was the owner of the voice.

No, to be precise, the sword moved on its own.

“W-What the hell is thisssss-!”

[I told you to hold it properly, kid!]

The sword leaped, with me still latched onto it, and went straight to the old men who were staring at us.

“Gyaaaaghh!”

“Arrrrgh!”

And after circling around wildly, I landed safely on the ground.

‘W-Wait, what? What happened?’

I turned around in bewilderment and saw the men. They were looking at me with bewilderment, too.

And soon after.

“.....!!”

“......!!!!”

The men’s clothing was torn to pieces and stripped off from them completely.

The drunken men, who became nude in an instant, ran off into the forest while covering their crotch and chest area.

“...Should I finish them off?”

Gosh, I shouldn't do that.

If I do that, I might jinx another bad guy to come out. I slapped my mouth and sat down.

I could no longer stand because I’d run out of energy.

What the hell is going on here?

I was just on my way to ruin my dad’s business, but I met thugs who tried to steal my sword…

[You met me! Ahem!]

The voice that I heard earlier rang again in my head.

I held Excalibur in disbelief and asked.

“Is it really you who’s talking?”

[Of course! The mighty me is talking!]

“This is driving me crazy. Why did you give a seven-year-old this kind of sword, Dad?”

[That’s what I’m saying! Why did your dad give me to a stupid seven-year-old and make me mute for the whole year?!]

“Hey! I’m not a stupid seven-year-old! I will turn eight this year! Have you ever seen such a clever and skillful eight-year-old before?”

[No! Not at all! All my masters have always been either old knights or kings! I didn’t expect a kid to be my master….]

There was a rustle coming from the bushes next to us when Excalibur was throwing a tantrum.

I opened my eyes wide and covered Excalibur’s mouth…no, I mean the sword’s blade.

“Be quiet!”

Rustle.

Not long after, three men in black robes came out of the bushes.

Those men with faces covered by the robes had the word ‘suspicious’ written all over their bodies.

“Hey, you over there.”

The shortest man among them said while pointing at me.

“M-Me?”

I’m doomed. I’ve defeated two bad guys, and now it’s three?

“Yeah, where did you get that sword?”

[This is made by the world’s best weapon master, Neil Royc- ummph!]

“Shut up, you fool!”

I pressed my palm against the sword. Excalibur shook and soon calmed down.

“I asked where you got it.”

The man came a step closer and urged me.

I swallowed nervously.

I couldn’t see his face clearly because of the robe, but I could tell that this guy had a very different aura from the thugs earlier.

I felt like he would kill me if I didn’t answer properly.

Daaaad, hicc..I’m having really bad luck today.

While calling out to my dad inside, I tried to control my trembling legs and stand up again.

I stared straight at the man with Excalibur in my hand.

‘Should I answer you?’

But if I answered, he’d take away my sword or go after the man who made it…

If only these men in robes didn’t look so suspicious, I would have shouted, ‘Neil Royce! Neil Royce! My dad!’.

But something felt off about these men. They gave off the impression of being the supporting character at least or the main characters at best.

What if these guys were the Hero’s Warrior Party who commissioned fourteen swords from my dad?

Then everything I had gone through up until this point had been for nothing.

As if I let that happen.

I wiped the sweat off my face and looked at the men.

And then.

“.....!”

I ran away from the men in robes. I took a roundabout way in the middle because I was afraid that they’d find our house if I just ran straight home.

I heard those men shouting something in the back, but I ignored it and just ran straight forward.

Sorry, uncles! But I can’t tell you my house!

I went around the village just in case those men followed me.

But just in case, I stopped by Aunt Hillary’s house and Uncle Allen’s store on purpose before returning to my house.

When I saw my house in the distance, I let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off my forehead.

My original plan was to go to the market and ruin my dad’s business.

‘Today was really a bad day, after all.’

I guess if you’re unlucky, you’ll still break your nose even if you fall backwards.

On such an unlucky day like this, I'd be doomed if I went to the market to ruin my dad’s business and were to meet again with those drunkards or men in robes.

So, on a day like this, I should just stay home and drink warm milk without thinking about it.

I looked back to see if anyone followed me before walking into the yard.

At that moment.

Clack-

“Daaad-!”

I opened the door with the thought of telling my dad every last detail of what happened today.

But then.

“Ah, Eve, are you back?”

“It’s the kid earlier.”

“.....?”

Slam-!

I slammed the door shut as soon as I recognized the people inside my house.

Standing with my back against the door, I tried to process what I saw earlier.

“...What did I just see?”

I thought I saw the men in robes sitting on our dining table.

It wasn’t just one…it seemed to be two or three people sitting there.

I folded my fingers as I lamented about the harsh reality that I just witnessed.

And not long after that.

I must’ve seen it wrong, right?

I stopped folding my fingers and raised my head with an awkward smile.

Yeah, right. I must’ve seen it wrong.

I must’ve seen things because I’ve been through so much today.

Ahaaha, there’s no way those guys are in our house! Oh gosh, how stupid.

With that in mind, I opened the door again.

However,

“Sweetie, why do you keep opening and closing the door?”

“What an odd kid.”

It wasn’t just my imagination!

I stood stiffly at the front door and looked at them in a daze.

The big guys in robes were seated at the table where my dad and I used to have precious meals together.

One, two, three! There are three people!

All three people took off their hoods, but I was sure they were the men I met earlier.

What the hell are those guys doing here?’

They arrived faster than me, so they didn’t chase after me….

‘....Did you come to this town to look for my dad from the start?’

Now I understood why he asked me where I got this sword from.

While I was so stunned that I couldn’t do anything, my dad closed the door for me and pushed my back into the house with laughter.

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