The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 18

The Last Dragon of the Continent

After finishing his duty of guarding the Gui Wang.

Rahel, who had returned to the Special Guard, was immediately cornered by the elf without a moment’s rest.

“Rahel…!” Reina sniffed. “Are you really giving them all to me? Really?”

Tears welled up in Reina’s eyes as she clutched five branches of the World Tree in her arms.

She wasn’t just tearing up; she was genuinely crying.

“Sorry, but I’m not giving them to you for free. I’m going to charge you the black market price for everything, including what I gave you yesterday.”

That included the one branch Eric got from the Magic Tower, and the four branches picked up from Bennett’s house.

Five branches of the World Tree would be incredibly expensive, so Reina probably wouldn’t be able to afford to retire from being a bounty hunter for a while.

“T-The market price… Thank you! I love you!”

Of course, from Reina’s perspective, it was a godsend.

She would have had to pay several times the black market price to acquire the World Tree branches herself.

“…I said the black market price, not just the market price. Sigh… Gendt, can’t you take her away?”

“Sorry. I have things to do.”

Gendt was carefully selecting fruits one by one and placing them in a basket.

It looked neat and tidy, like a gift basket.

“What’s that? Are you going to sell it or something?”

“Well, something like that.”

“You son of a bitch. Then it’s not that important! Take this elf away instead!”

“Rahel! Thank you! Thank youuuu!”

“You crazy elf…! Get away from me! I’m going to charge you the black market price, I said!”

After pushing her away for almost 10 minutes, Reina finally gave up and returned to her spot.

She hugged the World Tree branches and lay down on the hammock with a happy expression.

‘What a crazy elf,’ Rahel thought.

“Rahel, take this.”

“Huh?”

Just when he had managed to subdue Reina, Gendt approached him this time.

Gendt handed him a basket filled with colorful fruits.

He had been preparing it while Rahel was busy arguing with Reina.

“Are you giving this to me to eat?”

“No. It’s an errand. Rahel, go visit Tia.”

“…?”

Rahel tilted his head at Gendt’s serious voice and expression.

Tia? Who is that?

“Gendt.”

“Hmm. If you have any questions, ask them now. Tia is generally kind, but during the first meeting…”

“You should at least pay someone to run an errand. Who just shoves something in their hands out of the blue?”

“…”

“I barely managed to get Reina off my back, and now you want me to deliver fruit? And who is Tia anyway?”

Gendt blinked at Rahel’s words and then carefully opened his mouth.

“Rahel, I’m sorry if I offended you. But… weren’t you the one who said you wanted to meet the Dragon Lord?”

“Huh?”

Rahel belatedly widened his eyes at Gendt’s words.

He had definitely said he wanted to meet the Thousand Slayer Sword Lord and a dragon.

‘Was the dragon’s name Tia?’

Gendt had set up the meeting thinking of him, but Rahel’s street pride unconsciously made him blurt out harsh words.

Rahel belatedly took the basket and gave an awkward smile.

“…You should have said so earlier. Sorry, Gendt.”

“…”

‘You should have said so earlier, he says.’

Gendt was speechless and closed his mouth.

Who was the one who snapped at him when he was just about to explain?

“Ahem, it was definitely the lake on the opposite side of the Gui Wang, right? Don’t worry, my friend Gendt. I’ll make sure to deliver this fruit to Tia.”

Rahel patted Gendt on the shoulder and quickly ran off.

Even for Rahel, it felt a little bad to have spoken harshly to someone who had done nothing wrong.

Thud thud thud-

After Rahel ran towards the lake, Reina, who had been lying on the hammock trying to become one with the World Tree branches, got up.

She stared intently in the direction Rahel had run and then questioned Gendt.

“Gendt, shouldn’t you give him a blessing? Tia hates the smell of humans.”

Elves, being a race of nature, were fine, but Gendt, a giant, or Yuri, a human, had to receive a blessing on their bodies before meeting Tia.

Dragons are sensitive to the smell of magic.

“Well, you should have said so earlier if you were curious about that.”

Gendt gave a faint smile.

Since he had been cursed at, he could at least take this light revenge.

“Wow. You’re petty for someone so big. I didn’t know.”

“…”

Gendt’s expression hardened at Reina’s tone, which seemed genuinely disappointed.

Was it really his fault?

Wasn’t Rahel the one who told him to take care of it and then cursed at him?

He had been hit with a one-two punch and a right hook while standing still, and was landing a single jab such a big mistake?

‘Living in the human world is really hard.’

Gendt drooped his shoulders dejectedly.

‘Gasp. He’s not angry, is he…? Scary.’

And Reina, startled by Gendt’s size, took two steps away from him.

*

There was a time when it was popular to run magic tool factories in the slums.

The cheap land and labor were the reasons, but there was a reason why it was cheap.

The abandoned factories in District 4, exposed to numerous accidents and crimes, were eventually left abandoned.

“Tsk. This is all money, you know.”

Zenon, who had entered the abandoned factory, frowned and looked around the interior.

Numerous investigators were examining every corner of the abandoned factory.

“Zenon-nim [Zenon-sama, a term of respect]. You’ve arrived.”

“Enough with the greetings, have the results come out?”

“The sword energy at the scene where he appeared matches 99%.”

“…It must be the guy I’m thinking of, right?”

“Yes. Gaksital has reappeared.”

“Damn it. Just hearing the name makes my knees tremble.”

Zenon, who dominated the underworld of District 4, frowned and examined the traces of sword energy on the floor.

Gaksital was a symbol of terror to the underworld of District 4.

Money, women, power, even men were sent, but Gaksital was a monster that couldn’t be swayed by anything.

‘I almost died thanks to him.’

Zenon, unable to operate in District 4, fled to District 3 as if running away, and fled to the forbidden Alheim after being injured in a power struggle.

But the magic he accidentally obtained there gave Zenon a second chance.

Surprisingly, the magic was a perfect fit for his body.

Based on the overwhelming power of the magic, Zenon occupied District 3 and created a much stronger force.

‘If I meet you next time, I will definitely kill you. Gaksital.’

While Gaksital had disappeared, Zenon quickly swallowed District 4 again.

The Godfather of the underworld, who simultaneously controls Districts 3 and 4 of the Empire, only had to wait for Gaksital to appear.

His curse: no one will be able to avoid it…

*

Rahel entered the forest, looking at trees he had never seen before.

It was the road to the lake on the opposite side of the Gui Wang.

This was his first time here, and the atmosphere was very different from where the Gui Wang was.

“I hope it’s not a crazy dragon that attacks out of the blue… Reina said they were close, so it should be okay, right?”

Dragons inspire awe just by their name.

Dragons appear in numerous cultures and myths, but in fantasy, they are usually respected beings.

It was a strange feeling to meet such a dragon.

‘If it’s a fantasy dragon, it’s the progenitor of magic, after all.’

It was even the last dragon of the continent that survived the Great War.

At least as strong as the Thousand Slayer Sword Lord.

‘If it’s a dragon, it’s magic, so can I finally use Fireball?’

The magic of this world is the exclusive property of the nobility.

Rahel also used to read novels about wizards who grew up from the bottom with genius talent in his previous life.

But in this world, you can’t even go near the Magic Tower unless you’re a noble, and wizards who aren’t authorized by the Magic Tower become wanted criminals.

‘Anyway, there are only assholes here…’ Rahel thought.

Rahel quickened his pace with a bit of anticipation.

Maybe he also had a talent for magic and could learn magic.

He thought as he looked at the approaching lake.

“Wow. It suddenly became real fantasy?”

Rahel looked around in admiration as he gazed at the lake.

The lake he saw up close was like a huge sapphire embedded in the earth.

The calm and transparently shining water had a mysterious charm, and the beautiful scenery of various wildflowers and elegant trees stretched out all around.

‘If a dragon is in a place like this, it can’t be a bad guy.’

He could see fish swimming in the lake, and seaweed swaying gently.

It was such a beautiful lake that it wouldn’t be strange if a dragon was swimming in it.

“It must be near here… Huh?”

Rahel, who was walking along the outskirts of the lake, discovered something floating on the lake.

Bubble bubble-

A woman was floating on the lake with her head submerged, entrusting her body to the water.

To put it bluntly, her posture with her arms and legs drooping was like a Zerg Overlord [a reference to the StarCraft video game series].

Bubbles were rising, so it seemed like she was breathing, but no matter how he thought about it, it was too alien a sight to see a person in a place like this.

‘Could that be the dragon?’

Rahel put the basket down for a moment and slowly approached the lake.

Twitch-

At that moment, the woman who had been submerged raised her body abruptly.

“Puhahahaha!”

“…!”

Surprised, Rahel stepped back and distanced himself.

The woman who had raised her body walked to the shallow part of the lake and looked at him with a bewildered expression.

“Hoo. Sorry! I asked for fruit and fell asleep for a while?”

She brushed her disheveled hair behind her shoulders and gave a bright smile.

“You can leave the fruit there. Thank you, Reina.”

“Uh… Yes.”

Rahel couldn’t hide his embarrassment as he looked at the woman with a dazed expression.

Reina?

No, not even Gendt, how could she confuse him with Reina?

‘It doesn’t seem like she’s looking at my face properly?’

The woman never made eye contact with Rahel while talking.

Rather than avoiding it, she just seemed annoyed.

‘No matter how I look at it, that woman seems to be Tia.’

He could just hand over the fruit basket and run away, but then he would miss the opportunity to talk to the dragon.

Unlike the Thousand Slayer Sword Lord, who only said what he wanted to say and disappeared, this dragon seemed to be able to communicate, so he couldn’t miss this opportunity.

She might know important facts about the Gui Wang or this world.

“Come to think of it, didn’t you say you were going to introduce me to a human today? Why did you come yourself?”

“…I’m that human.”

“Huh?”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Rahel.”

“…”

Tia finally made eye contact with Rahel.

There was a human man she had never seen before, not an elf.

“Uh…? Uh?”

Tia widened her eyes and scanned the human’s body.

Then, she quickly jumped out of the lake and grabbed the human.

“What?! Human? How can a human have this scent…! Hold still for a moment!”

“Yes? Wait, just a moment!”

Tia grabbed Rahel’s shoulders tightly and pressed her face against his neck.

Rahel, who was startled, tried to pull away, but this crazy woman was emitting magic with her hands.

“Oh, you’re trying to escape my magic?! No way! It’s definitely the blood of the Dragon race!”

Tia smiled gleefully as if she was so happy and began to smell Rahel.

He didn’t even feel ashamed because this situation was so absurd.

‘What the hell… Is this the progenitor of magic? Is there no one normal here?’

From the crazy elf to the crazy giant, the crazy old man, and the crazy dragon.

It was too difficult a place for an ordinary person like Rahel to survive.

“Rahel, was one of your parents a dragon?”

After a while, Tia, who had moved away from Rahel, looked at Rahel and asked.

“…I don’t know because I’m an orphan.”

“Orphan? Then have you ever breathed fire when you cried as a child?”

“I’ve never done that.”

“Have you ever had lava come out of your eyes instead of tears?”

“Never.”

“That’s strange… I’m sure the blood of the Dragon race is flowing. You don’t smell like that disgusting human.”

Tia looked at Rahel as if he was a strange sight.

‘I feel an unconscious liking,’ she thought.

Tia, who had lived for thousands of years, was feeling this for the first time.

To put it bluntly, it’s similar to the long-lived elf, but… it doesn’t smell like a fresh forest like an elf.

This unknown liking was similar to what she felt from her own kind.

“I just tend to shower often. I shower once a day.”

He was probably the only one who showered once a day in medieval fantasy.

These guys have no concept of hygiene.

“That’s not the problem. Creatures that handle magic inevitably leave traces on their souls. Especially a strong human like you should definitely leave traces…”

Tia, a dragon sensitive to magic, can feel the magic residing in the souls of living beings.

Originally, any living being that learns magic will have some magic residing in their soul.

The higher the living being, the cleaner the traces, but the human race is not that high in soul class.

The elves, who receive the blessing of the forest, don’t smell, but other races give off an unpleasant smell in the process.

It’s the smell from the remnants of magic that they haven’t properly digested.

But the human in front of her was different.

“The magic residing in your soul is not visible at all. Rather… magic is engraved in your muscles and blood vessels, not your soul. This is the way of the dragon.”

Humans use magic training methods to forcibly accumulate magic in their bodies.

But Rahel can use magic without such tricks.

At this point, it was safe to say that he had already transcended the human species.

“Besides, the magic pattern is also very strange. It’s like you crammed magic into your body before it even grew properly… It seems like you moved the magic yourself, not someone else injected it. Your body itself has changed accordingly.”

The dragon, the progenitor of magic and the master of magic, has a body that is a medium for magic.

The human in front of her was becoming a dragon with the body of the human race.

Tia looked at Rahel with interested eyes at the unbelievable sight she was seeing for the first time.

“An existence that has the characteristics of the human race but is like a dragon… Human. No, Rahel. What is your identity?”

“…”

‘I don’t know either…’ Rahel thought.

Rahel, who had come to deliver fruit, could only blink at the sudden situation.