The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 119

Loren began to speak.

“I… I overheard people talking. Rumors that you defeated the Hector Kingdom and saved the southern front from the enemy. At first, I couldn’t believe it. The Roman I remember had no interest in swordsmanship. He even asked me to take his place to avoid military service.”

About a year ago?

It wasn’t a distant memory.

Roman had contacted Loren, suggesting that Loren should bear the family’s burden in place of Roman, the eldest son.

At that time, Loren felt sorry for him.

In fact, other noble families do not usually entrust military service to the eldest son.

If they had the power, they would somehow resolve the issue, or another sibling, like the second son, would fulfill the duty instead.

However, Baron Romero pushed Roman Dmitry to the battlefield. He had also decided to make Rodwell his successor, but he hoped that Roman, who had been causing trouble in Dmitry until his mid-twenties, would come to his senses with his military enlistment.

In that situation, Roman Dmitry couldn’t bring himself to contact Rodwell, so he contacted Loren and poured out his grievances.

He was a pathetic brother.

Loren couldn’t boast about Roman like he could about Rodwell. But Loren didn’t dislike Roman. Maybe it was because he felt they were both in a similar difficult position.

Roman Dmitry and Loren Dmitry were born into a commoner family, and they grew up with Rodwell Dmitry, who was far superior to them.

He understood.

Loren sincerely understood Roman’s departure.

“But you’ve completely changed since I last saw you. The Roman Dmitry who was in a similar situation to me is gone, and people now call you the hero of Cairo. How could you change so much? You and I know that to succeed when you are not from a powerful family like us, you need talent like Rodwell. At least you and I were the kind of people who couldn’t live up to the expectations around us.”

Speaking from the heart was the hardest first step.

The emotions he had suppressed all this time exploded.

“I’m so ashamed of myself. I came to the capital following Rodwell to try to live up to Father’s expectations, but I haven’t done anything while Rodwell has been promoted to the S-class. Honestly, I still don’t even know what mana is. Others feel mana and get promoted in a month or two, but I’m just taking classes as a D-class because I’m old, and I don’t know when I’ll be demoted to E-class.”

He choked up.

He looked at Roman with desperate eyes, unable to tell his family the truth.

“That’s why I came to you. You were in the same situation as me. But how could you become strong, unlike me? I want to be a son that Father is proud of, too. Not just pretending to be okay, pretending to be doing well, but genuinely showing him results instead of forcing a smile when I contact him.”

In the end, he couldn’t hold back his tears.

He cried and cried.

He lowered his head, his shoulders shaking as he poured out his sorrow.

It was a side of him that even the original Roman didn’t know.

Loren Dmitry.

The family thought he was doing well in the capital with Rodwell Dmitry.

Of course, he wasn’t showing great progress like Rodwell, but he was still diligently taking classes and, unlike Roman, who was called a troublemaker, he wasn’t causing any trouble.

But the truth was different. Knowing how much Baron Romero was suffering because of Roman Dmitry, Loren Dmitry couldn’t say anything.

He also found life in the capital difficult and hated it, but he thought that one problem child among the children was enough.

He couldn’t continue the conversation any longer.

His crying completely burst out.

Roman didn’t say anything as he watched him cry so hard that it was hard to breathe.

Like that, Roman quietly watched Loren until he calmed down, waiting for him to stop crying.

Loren cried for a long time.

He was a fragile child.

He was only 18 years old, and Loren wasn’t strong enough to bear the weight of reality.

‘How should I treat Loren?’

He had no ill feelings.

Not because he didn’t have bad memories of Loren, but because he didn’t think too badly of the second son, Rodwell, either.

It was a new life.

Although he had inherited the life of the original Roman Dmitry, Roman had no intention of continuing the relationships with people in the same way.

The original Roman had accumulated a lot of karma.

He showed a hostile reaction to everyone he met, and that’s why he often suffered damage even though he hadn’t done anything wrong.

However, he didn’t look at them with prejudiced eyes.

Baron Romero had given up on his expectations due to repeated disappointments with his son, but he became a more reliable supporter than anyone else.

Chris hated Roman.

He tried to attack Roman even in front of Baron Romero, but now he showed such loyalty that he would jump into a fire if Roman ordered him to.

Most of them were like that.

In addition to the two, many people, such as Master Blacksmith, were hostile to Roman, but Roman formed new relationships with them.

Therefore, he thought the other way around.

Just as other people accepted the new him, he didn’t discriminate against new relationships.

‘I have no feelings for Loren. If he distances himself from me, I will not think of him as special, even if he is my brother. The same goes for Rodwell. The status of the eldest and second sons created a complicated bad relationship, but even so, it is not a suitable reason to antagonize Rodwell. Whether it’s Loren or Rodwell, evaluating them will be based on what I have directly experienced, not the original memories.’

It was Roman’s way.

Living a new life, he set new standards.

Since his life did not originate entirely from himself, Roman showed the ability to embrace a new life.

“Loren.”

“…Yes.”

He called his younger brother.

Not yet.

He had no special affection for him.

Just because he had experienced the same difficulties as him, there was no reason to take special care of him.

But, “I don’t want to see someone with the same surname as me being looked down upon. That would damage the Dmitry family, and furthermore, my reputation. You said you were curious about how I got to where I am now, right? If you want the answer to your question, show me you are willing to work hard. I heard there is a swordsmanship test coming up soon. Show them clearly there what happens when they look down on someone named Loren Dmitry.”

At least once, he could give him a chance.

Because they shared the same surname, Roman gave him one chance, unlike his previous life where he had to kill his brothers to survive.

From now on, it was up to Loren.

If he proved himself, he would accept him as a younger brother.

But if he couldn’t, he wouldn’t have many opportunities to talk to him like this in the future.

The day dawned.

Loren’s eyes were swollen.

His face was blotchy and swollen, his eyes red-rimmed from crying so much, but his eyes held a new spark of determination because of the thoughts that had been swirling in his head all night.

‘He told me to prove my worth if I wanted the answer.’

It was strange.

From those words, Loren felt a strange sense of courage.

He had been feeling like he was drifting in an endless ocean, but now someone who had overcome the same reality as him was offering to show him the way and give him the answer.

Then what was there to fear? If he could prove his worth, his brother, whom Cairo praised, would tell him how he had changed from the fool of Dmitry.

His head cleared.

It had been a long time since he felt this way.

Even though he hadn’t gained any transcendent power overnight, his mind calmed down peacefully.

It was time.

The students gathered at the training ground for the swordsmanship test, and the professor examined the students’ faces before proceeding with the test.

“I will now begin the test. The first turn is…”

The previous test saw students who were called out in turn compete against each other.

Joys and sorrows were mixed.

Some students rejoiced in victory, while others grieved in defeat.

How much time had passed?

The professor’s gaze turned to Loren.

“Loren, come forward.”

He rose from his seat.

And, “William, come forward.”

The opponent for this match was William Castro.

Even as William Castro rose with a smile, Loren showed no signs of agitation.

“Ha, seriously. Life is so fun. Why did it have to be me?” William sneered.

Before proceeding with this test, there was a saying exchanged among friends: whoever was matched with Loren would easily get promoted to C-class.

And now, William faced Loren.

He wasn’t interested in the fact that he didn’t respond, but that was okay.

‘I’m going to mess you up this time.’

The Castro family were elites from the central government.

William Castro’s father supported the aristocratic faction, and he had been living in the capital since he was a child, so he was imbued with elitism to the bone.

His father always said people have limitations based on their birth, and their usefulness is determined by whose womb they were born into.

Having always lived hearing such words, William Castro felt a sense of disgust as soon as he heard the name of the Dmitry family.

Cairo Royal Academy was a place for the elite, but a son from a commoner family was his classmate.

It was ridiculous that a loser like Loren was using the family’s power, let alone a sure-fire talent like Rodwell.

So he had been waiting for this.

He was planning to send Loren back home this time.

The professor said, “The evaluation criteria for the test are not winning or losing. We will evaluate how well you have incorporated the teachings into practice, and refrain from extreme attacks. Now, let’s begin the test.”

Beep.

The signal went off.

At the same time as the start, William Castro immediately kicked off the ground.

There was no reason to drag out the time.

Loren wouldn’t even be able to respond properly, so he seized the momentum with a bold move.

Thwack!

“Ugh.”

The attack was blocked.

Loren hurriedly raised his sword, but his expression contorted due to the physical difference. The impact was considerable even though he blocked it.

William Castro didn’t stop there and launched a series of attacks, and Loren was constantly pushed back by the relentless attacks.

Clang!

Tap tap tap!

“You cowardly bastard!”

It was an overwhelming match.

There was no way that Loren, the weakest, could withstand the attacks of William Castro, who was evaluated as being beyond D-class.

It was as expected.

Not even once could he counterattack properly.

William Castro, who had cornered his opponent, noticed a gap that Loren had revealed for a moment.

‘It’s over.’

His chest was wide open.

He was going to strike down on it as it was.

If even one bone was broken, Loren would no longer think about staying at the academy.

Whoosh!

He plunged his sword down.

It was then that Loren instead thrust his head forward.

Even though the wooden sword would be stuck in his head if he stayed like this, he looked up at William Castro with a determined expression.

It was a touch-and-go situation.

Loren gritted his teeth.

Thwack!

The wooden sword brushed past.

Even though he slightly turned his head to avoid it, blood splattered along with a tingling shock as it grazed his eyes.

At the same time, whack.

Loren struck William Castro’s chin as it was.