The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 29

Carlson

Cecilia faithfully followed Rael’s instructions.

She rushed to the Xenon Guild, the gathering place for paladins, to find them and track down the demons.

“Uh… where did everyone go?”

However, when Cecilia arrived at the Xenon Guild, the paladins were already gone.

Cecilia looked around and asked a nearby resident about the paladins.

“Hello, um… Have you seen the paladins who were around here…?”

“Ah, Priestess. The paladins rushed off somewhere a few minutes ago.”

“I see. Thank you.”

Cecilia’s shoulders drooped.

She had already shown Rael the embarrassing side of the Order, and if she couldn’t even bring the paladins, she would be mortified to face him.

She looked around on her own, but the paladins were nowhere to be found.

“Ah…!”

As she was wondering what to do, she suddenly felt a disgusting demonic energy.

It was coming from the place Cecilia had just run from.

‘The demons have reappeared!’

The demonic energy wasn’t just escaping like before; it was rampaging.

A fight had clearly begun.

‘Rael and Carlson must be fighting together.’

Cecilia immediately headed back to the clearing where she had been.

She didn’t know how strong Rael was, but Carlson was a Silver Cross Knight [a high-ranking member of the paladin order].

Though her skills were lacking, her blessing might be of some help.

Whoosh-!

The stench of disgusting demonic energy grew stronger.

Cecilia ran to the clearing, panting.

The first thing she saw in the clearing was Rael, cutting through the numerous demonic energies and magic circles.

“R-Rael!”

Carlson was nowhere to be seen, and Rael was fighting the demons alone.

Cecilia urgently tried to cast a blessing on Rael.

However, the blessing didn’t affect Rael.

“Huh…?”

He cut through the demonic energy without the help of the blessing and slashed the demon’s chest.

Cecilia could only stare blankly at Rael’s battle.

‘He’s taking down a mid-tier demon alone…?’

The demon resisted to the end, unleashing demonic energy, but Rael ultimately defeated it without a scratch.

It was a truly overwhelming fight.

Cecilia turned her head to check the demon’s horns.

As a devout follower of the Order’s teachings, Cecilia knew it was a mid-tier demon [a demon of significant power, but not the highest rank].

Even though Cecilia lacked combat abilities, she knew how amazing it was to kill a mid-tier demon alone.

‘Rael is a guard captain… but how is he so strong?’

A mid-tier demon was not something an ordinary guard could kill alone.

It required at least a Carmen Knight or a Silver Cross Knight, and even then, a high-ranking one.

No, even they wouldn’t be able to put on such an overwhelming fight.

Slash-

Cecilia swallowed hard as she watched Rael behead the demon.

She didn’t know how to act in this situation.

Then, Rael turned his head sharply.

As soon as Cecilia met Rael’s eyes, she cautiously made excuses.

“A-Ah… Rael. I-I didn’t mean to see it…”

Blink. Blink.

Cecilia couldn’t hide her embarrassment, blinking and waving her hands around.

Watching her, Rael opened his mouth.

“Priestess Cecilia. How much did you see?”

Rael’s voice was strained because his head still hurt.

Cecilia began to tremble as she looked at Rael.

“F-From the middle. Rael destroyed all the demon’s magic and…”

“Tsk, you saw everything then.”

Rael clicked his tongue in disappointment.

The fewer people who knew his strength, the better… and now there was one more.

‘But still, Cecilia is the future Saintess. Her kindness is guaranteed.’

Maybe he could ask her for a position in the Order after she became the Saintess.

Besides, she had been tight-lipped so far.

There was no need to worry about it.

Slash.

Rael pulled the sword out of the demon’s neck.

As he shook off the unpleasant purple blood, Cecilia shuddered.

She anticipated where that sword would be headed…

“D-Dead men tell no tales, right? Yes. I understand.”

“… What?”

“Rael’s strength shouldn’t be known. I’ve heard of it. The Imperial Carmen Knights secretly deploy knights for civilian patrol… Since I found out, I’m going to die.”

“… What are you talking about?”

“S-Still, it’s a relief. Rael is a kind person… I believe you’ll end it without pain…”

Cecilia squeezed her eyes shut.

Was this also the guidance of the God Gaia [the goddess of the earth and nature in this world]?

If she was going to die anyway, she hoped to be killed as painlessly as possible.

‘What nonsense is she spouting?’

Meanwhile, Rael sheathed the sword after shaking off the blood.

Then he looked at Cecilia.

She was having strange fantasies on her own and waiting with her eyes closed.

He didn’t know why she was doing this to him.

‘Is my impression scary, perhaps?’

No way.

Surely, Ms. Sarah and Sister Reizel said, ‘Rael, you’re the most handsome.’

Reina told him to stop talking nonsense, but she was an elf, so she didn’t count. Ghent also said he was handsome…

Were they all lying to him?

While Rael was pondering.

Cecilia cautiously opened her eyes, as the sword didn’t come.

She expected to die soon, but strangely, it didn’t hurt.

And seeing Cecilia squinting, Rael raised both hands.

“Whoa.”

“Kyaaaaaaaa!”

Cecilia immediately covered her head with her arms and crouched down.

Her trembling figure looked like an ostrich that had buried its head in the ground, mistaking it for hiding.

Watching her, he couldn’t help but laugh.

Seeing his shitty mood improve quickly, it was a talent.

“Priestess Cecilia. I have no intention of doing that, so open your eyes.”

“… Really?”

Cecilia peeked out from between her arms.

She looked into Rael’s eyes and slowly lowered her guard.

“Yes. What kind of person do you think I am? Chapter 10, Verse 2 of the Order’s teachings. ‘A follower must not ignore a sheep in need of help.’ Don’t you know that?”

“B-But Rael is from the Imperial Knights…”

Cecilia couldn’t hide her confusion.

If he wasn’t an Imperial Knight, it was even stranger.

What kind of guard hunts demons alone?

Cecilia couldn’t understand it.

“I’m not a knight. Well, I don’t think you’ll understand, but I’m like a hidden master.”

“A hidden master…?”

Cecilia swallowed and nodded.

She didn’t know what it meant, but she thought it was amazing.

“Ha, I shouldn’t laugh after crying.”

Rael smiled as he looked at Cecilia’s blank expression.

Thanks to Cecilia’s antics, his heated head cooled down quickly.

“Rael… Were you crying…? Ah, come to think of it, what about Carlson…?!”

“I wasn’t crying. But thanks to you, Priestess, I feel better. Let’s go. … I have things to do.”

That bastard was also responsible for making Carlson like this.

Rael helped Cecilia up from her squatting position, urging her to hurry.

* * *

Silver Cross Knight Commander Marco frowned as he surveyed the demons’ corpses.

Forty low-level demons.

The force present was only a detachment of the Silver Cross Knights, and eliminating forty low-level demons wasn’t particularly difficult.

The problem was that forty was too many to be a mere coincidence—they had invaded the capital.

‘Something’s not right.’

As a sacred knight of the Order, he had little interest in politics or petty power struggles.

However, he couldn’t stand idly by if his followers were harmed.

As the commander of the Silver Cross Knights, he was obligated to lodge a strong protest.

“Sir Marco, the surrounding demonic energy has been completely cleared.”

“There are still remnants. Excluding the injured, gather the scattered knights and continue searching the area.”

Marco shook his head.

The presence of only low-level demons wasn’t typical. Usually, there would be a mid-level demon leading them.

Marco led the knights to hunt down this mid-level demon.

However, their progress was unexpectedly delayed.

A sacred knight, acting alone, had been caught in demonic energy and was rapidly deteriorating.

He was severely injured and needed a priest immediately, but this was District 4, making it difficult to summon a high-ranking priest quickly.

Ultimately, Marco, the strongest knight present, channeled divine power and injected it into the afflicted sacred knight.

“Commander! We’ll handle the healing; you must pursue the demons!” Leon, the adjutant of the Silver Cross Knights, urged.

The Silver Cross Knights present lacked the ability to track a mid-level demon.

“…No, stand by for a moment.”

Marco shook his head at the adjutant’s words.

While it was true that Marco was the only one capable of chasing the demons, he was also the only one who could save the sacred knight whose body was largely consumed by demonic energy.

Saving the Silver Cross Knights as their commander was as crucial as eliminating demons.

‘I should have targeted the leader first… I made another mistake.’

Marco’s flaw was that he tended to lose focus as soon as he encountered a demon.

Only after eliminating all visible demons did his mind clear.

“First, prepare your equipment. I’ll eliminate the demons, no matter what, so don’t worry.”

Marco issued the order and focused on treating the sacred knight.

He had to save the person before him first.

“Commander, someone is approaching from over there.”

At that moment, a man and a woman trudged toward them.

The woman was a priest, and the man was the swordsman Rael, whom he had seen at the Order earlier.

‘…A demon?’

Marco frowned as he noticed the demon the man was dragging.

“Kuhuk… Haa… Huh? Why did I collapse?!”

The seriously injured sacred knight had passed the critical point.

Marco, after handing over the treatment to the other sacred knights, rose and approached the newcomers.

“Did you perhaps defeat the mid-level demon yourself?”

Marco examined the corpse Rael was dragging.

It was the mid-level demon he believed had escaped.

“Yes, I followed and dealt with a demon that was fleeing.”

“You two alone took care of a mid-level demon?”

“Yes. I didn’t see any of the sacred knights.”

Rael placed the demon he had been dragging before Marco.

The demon, recently deceased, still radiated demonic energy.

‘…This man caught the mid-level demon?’

Marco studied Rael.

The magical power he sensed was ordinary, but he didn’t detect the look of weakness in his eyes.

He didn’t admire the strong, shrink back, or feign strength.

He simply made eye contact, trying to discern the other person’s thoughts.

This was a characteristic of the strong.

“Thank you for dealing with the demon. The Order will reward you. I’ll vouch for it.”

Marco made the sign of the cross and thanked the benefactor.

It was gratitude from the commander of the Silver Cross Knights.

“The damage to the Knights…”

“… Hmm?”

“What’s the extent of the damage to the Knights?”

Rael asked cautiously.

He knew he shouldn’t expect much, but he couldn’t help but hope.

Because Kuhelen didn’t have Carlson’s body.

“One death. Two seriously injured. It’s a good outcome, considering we dealt with forty demons.”

“… Ha. Damn it. Good outcome, my ass.”

However, the result was the same.

Rael clenched his fist involuntarily.

The thread of reason, temporarily restored by Cecilia, seemed to be fraying again.

“You bastard! How dare you use such vulgar language in front of the Silver Cross Knight Commander…!”

“You lackey, shut up!”

Rael trembled, his fist clenched.

Uncontrollable anger surged within him.

“Ugh…”

Leon, the adjutant who approached Rael, was startled and stepped back.

He instinctively reached for his sword hilt.

‘W-What kind of murderous intent…?’

However, Leon, meeting Rael’s cold gaze, couldn’t bring himself to draw his sword.

His senses, honed by long experience, screamed a warning.

He’s going to die.

The moment he draws his sword, he will die.

Leon felt his legs tremble and froze.

“You—you’re the commander, right?”

Rael fixed his gaze on Marco and continued, spitting out the words.

It reminded him of his days as a bounty hunter on the streets.

He couldn’t hold back, commander or not.

“The person who should be at the forefront of protecting the Knights… You lost the mid-level demon because you were blinded by the demons in front of you, causing a sacred knight to die, and you call that a good outcome? Is that what you have to say?”

Even if a stranger dies, it’s human to show respect.

A member of the same Knights died because of his mistake.

And you’re saying it’s a good outcome?

“If you’re a real commander…! At least… at least you should be responsible for the knights under your command…!”

Rael gritted his teeth.

He remembered the demon wearing Carlson’s face, writhing in pain and cursing.

Carlson must have died like that, too.

The sacred knight who returned to his beloved hometown died, buried in demonic energy, without even setting foot in the orphanage where he grew up.

“…I’m sorry.”

Marco, looking at Rael’s face, quietly lowered his head.

For Marco, the commander of the Knights, to lower his head meant that the Silver Cross Knights were lowering their heads, and that meant the Order was lowering its head.

He heard the knights behind him making surprised noises, but as he said, Marco felt guilty.

“Ha… haaa… This is bullshit…”

Strength drained from Rael’s body as he received the apology.

He wanted to draw his sword and start a riot, but that wouldn’t change anything.

Because Carlson would never return.

“He died instantly in a surprise attack by fifteen low-level demons. Although I ran as soon as I heard the sound… Yes, this is also an excuse. I’m truly sorry.”

Marco was the commander of the Knights.

The role of a commander isn’t to stand at the forefront and cut down demons.

It’s to unite and lead the Knights as one.

He knew that saving the Silver Cross Knights was important, but he prioritized killing demons.

He neglected his role because he was too busy killing demons.

Marco realized his mistake thanks to Rael.

“…Fifteen low-level demons?”

Rael sensed something strange.

Kuhelen clearly said that he buried Carlson in demonic energy and killed him.

A surprise attack by fifteen low-level demons…?

“Cough, keheuk. Huh? Rael hyung [older brother/friend]. What are you doing here?”

At that moment, a tactless voice was heard from behind Marco.