The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 36

Celestial Offering

It was obvious what Ferma was misunderstanding.

The mage thought he was a dragon.

“I know what you’re mistaken about, but I’m not such a great being.”

Raël tried to correct the damn misunderstanding first.

“I understand.”

“No, you don’t understand at all. I’m telling you I’m not a dragon!”

“I understand.”

“…”

Raël clenched his fist, his hand trembling.

No matter what he said, Ferma only bowed his head in a polite posture, like a eunuch [a castrated male servant] kowtowing [kneeling and touching the forehead to the ground] to the king.

Seeing tears still dripping down, he seemed to be still crying.

In short, it was a goddamn situation.

‘Raël, mages are blindly devoted to magic. It’s brave of you not to go crazy after directly facing the magic of a dragon, but that human has already come to worship the magic of a dragon deep in his heart.’

In the meantime, Tia’s nonchalant voice scratched at Raël’s insides.

It was like fanning the flames.

‘How can you say that knowing that! Are you crazy?’

‘You told me to convince the Master of the Magic Tower. Isn’t it what you wanted?’

‘Ugh…! I’m really going crazy.’

Raël looked around.

Fortunately, the sight of Ferma acting like this was not visible to the surrounding mages.

This was because Reina’s World Tree barrier blocked the surrounding view.

“But Raël. Why does that human call you a dragon? Is he stupid?”

“… Reina. I’ve never been more grateful to you than today.”

Raël was sincerely grateful to Reina for treating Ferma like a fool while deploying the barrier.

If she had started nagging Raël, asking if he was a dragon, he might have died of high blood pressure at that moment.

“Ah, ah…! Oh Dragon! Once again, show me that beautiful magic…!”

At that time, Ferma suddenly knelt down and prostrated himself.

Raël was startled and began to lift Ferma up.

“Please get up. Master of the Magic Tower. I’m telling you I’m not a dragon. Hey, listen to me first.”

“… Are you saying you are not a dragon?”

“Yes. Yes. I am a pure-blooded human. Get up quickly. People will look at you strangely.”

Raël sighed as he lifted Ferma up.

Lifting up a middle-aged man kneeling and crying was a terrible thing to do.

‘Damn it, I’m sure this guy didn’t have this image.’

Was this the price for rehabilitating a paladin who was crazy about the Demon race into a human?

Raël had turned the Empire’s best mage into a beast.

“If you are not a dragon, then what is that magic… ?”

“… It’s dragon magic that I accidentally discovered a long time ago. I just tried to imitate it once, and I don’t even know what kind of magic it is.”

Even Raël thought it was a lame excuse, but he couldn’t just stay still, so he blurted out something.

‘Puhaha. That’s such a stupid excuse. Even a beggar on the street wouldn’t believe it.’

‘Please shut up.’

Raël eventually spewed harsh words at the last crazy dragon on the continent.

Anyone would think that swearing at important figures in this world was a challenge.

But isn’t the person who made him swear also at fault?

Unfortunately, no one would understand Raël’s injustice.

“Ah ah… I see. These things happen in life…”

“Th, that’s right. I’m not a dragon. You believe me, right?”

Raël looked at Ferma with a hopeful heart.

There are elves like Reina who have lived for 150 years and are still… not the sharpest tools in the shed.

There may be people who are the strongest mages on the continent but are good at believing lies.

“I understand. Raël. I, Ferma, will believe that from now on.”

“…”

Ferma flicked his fingers to wipe away his tears and brushed off the dust from his clothes from kneeling.

On the surface, he looked normal.

Could he have really been fooled?

‘It’s no use. There’s a saying that a mage who has gone to the dragon never returns.’

‘Please don’t say nonsense.’

Raël frowned and cut off Tia’s consciousness.

*

“Damn it…! Master Ferma!”

“Master of the Magic Tower! Are you okay?!”

The mages of the Blue Magic Tower could not hide their embarrassment at the suddenly created World Tree barrier.

Several high-ranking mages rushed in, but they could not解除 [release] the barrier.

‘Just how strong is that elf…!’

Ferma’s secretary, Chiron, bit his lip.

He didn’t think that Master Ferma would be defeated, but as a secretary, it was embarrassing to leave him alone.

Whoa!

“Master Ferma!”

At that moment, the World Tree barrier opened and the three people inside walked out.

At the head was the Master of the Blue Magic Tower, Ferma.

“Don’t panic, everyone, and return to your positions! This elf has only blocked the aftermath of the bet.”

Ferma was the first to walk out and shouted at the mages gathered around him.

At his words, the mages, except for Chiron, returned to their places one by one.

“See you next time, Raël. Since you won the bet, the Blue Magic Tower will be your friend from now on. If you need help, feel free to ask.”

Ferma looked at Raël and smiled.

The kindness in that smile was somehow too much to bear.

“… Thank you.”

“Wow, Raël. That human is really… gullible. To believe such an excuse… Ugh. Ugh…”

Raël gagged Reina, who was saying unnecessary things, and dragged her out of the venue.

“Master Ferma. What happened?”

As soon as the two disappeared, Chiron approached and asked Ferma.

“I just had a usual bet.”

“A bet…”

Chiron muttered in disbelief.

It didn’t matter that the Blue Magic Tower became friends with Raël.

After all, the Blue Magic Tower belonged to Ferma.

But for the Master of the Magic Tower to lose a bet, that was truly unimaginable.

“Chiron. Stop all investigations into Raël from now on.”

Ferma stared intently at the place where Raël had disappeared, then turned his head and continued.

“Is it because he is now a friend of the Blue Magic Tower? That’s a pity. Bacchus’s abilities have also been proven… Then, should we withdraw the Celestial Offering event as well?”

The Celestial Offering itself was a device to approach Raël.

Now that he had become friends with Raël, there was no need to continue this event.

“… No. I will protect this place until the end of the Celestial Offering.”

“Wasn’t the Celestial Offering for Raël, no, Master Raël?”

Chiron no longer ignored Raël.

Now he was a guest of the Blue Magic Tower, so he had to be treated accordingly.

“I think I will gain enlightenment. I want to maintain this environment as much as possible.”

“Ah! I understand.”

Chiron nodded and immediately left the spot.

Enlightenment was important to a mage.

Especially for a great mage like Ferma, enlightenment was an opportunity that might never come again.

You have to focus on that moment when you encountered enlightenment.

“…”

Ferma contemplated himself and headed to a corner of the open space.

He recalled the dragon’s magic he had just seen.

In that short moment, Ferma saw the essence of this world.

It was a phenomenon that was different from magic, which was simply the interaction of magic power and magic power.

‘There are still many possibilities ahead of me.’

The thirst for incomprehensible magic made Ferma grow a little more.

This was a new inspiration and a profound change.

‘He didn’t want to be known to humans.’

I’ve heard of it.

The dragon’s play of staying in the human world and living an ordinary life.

That is what he wants.

That’s why his identity must be buried in this heart for the rest of his life.

And I must protect the ‘play’ of the person who showed me a new world.

“If I make a place in the Magic Tower… No, he wouldn’t like that.”

Is there a way to help without causing any harm?

Ferma began to meditate, thinking of his face.

*

“Ugh. Ugh…”

Raël took his hand off Reina’s mouth only after he had completely moved away from the Blue Magic Tower’s venue.

He didn’t know what kind of accident this crazy elf would cause, so he had to put a muzzle on her like he was handling a beast.

“Phew. Still, it’s a relief. Raël. For such a fool to be the best mage… the human race is really scraping the bottom of the barrel.”

“… I’m more surprised that you weren’t fooled.”

Looking at Reina’s usual behavior, it wouldn’t have been strange at all if she had been fooled.

“I’m an elf who even has tea time with Tia. There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize Tia’s magic circle.”

“That’s really a relief.”

Raël recalled the sight of Ferma seeing him off.

He didn’t think that the Master of the Blue Magic Tower had fallen for such a flimsy lie.

Perhaps, as Tia said… he must have lost his mind the moment he saw the dragon’s magic.

‘I clearly said I wasn’t… he’s not going to start nagging me belatedly, is he?’

In fact, it didn’t matter to Raël whether Ferma mistook him for a dragon or not, but the problem was when it was revealed that Raël was not a dragon.

It would be very annoying if he tried to save face at that time.

‘Even if that’s not the case, he’ll definitely ask me to show him the magic again… Should I ask Tia for help every time that happens?’

He had a firm grip on the golden rope called the Master of the Blue Magic Tower, but somehow it felt like even if he tried to let go, they wouldn’t let him go.

Whether this would be beneficial or detrimental to him… Raël didn’t know yet.

콰앙-! [Sound of something smashing]

While he was lost in thought, a huge sound came from beyond.

It sounded like something was being smashed.

‘This is the west side?’

He had walked quickly to get out of the Blue Magic Tower’s venue, so he had come to a place he had never seen before.

It was the west side of District 2, which people avoided.

“Hey, what’s that?”

“Heeek. It’s a giant. Let’s not get close.”

The Celestial Offering is a festival that anyone in the Empire can enjoy.

So, not only humans but also other races active in the Empire are sometimes seen.

‘It’s a giant.’

Of course, they are not treated very well, so they are usually dumped in the west.

So, those giants must be in the west.

“They’re Gent’s friends.”

“Reina. Shall we go over there?”

There was something he wanted to ask the giants anyway.

The shame of the giants, Gent.

He had to ask about him.

“Hmm, I don’t like giants because they’re… not very bright… Can I go over there?”

Raël looked at the place Reina was pointing to.

A group of people were grilling and selling meat.

It seemed that Reina was hungry.

“Well, go ahead. Let’s have dinner together later.”

In the first place, it was Reina who suggested watching the Celestial Offering together.

Raël’s purpose was the Blue Magic Tower’s event, so he had already achieved his purpose.

Raël sent Reina away and walked towards the giants.

콰아앙-! [Sound of something smashing]

The moment Raël walked towards them, one of the giants fell to the ground.

“I won!!!!”

“Wooaaah!!!!”

In front of the fallen giant, there was a sturdy steel table and a giant enjoying the joy of victory.

He wondered if they had been punching each other.

“Next! Who will challenge Zaimon!”

“The giant warrior Danin will fight!”

Only after seeing the next giant and the giant in the seat grabbing each other’s hands and taking a stance did Raël realize what kind of event the giants were holding.

“Start!!!!!”

콰아앙-! [Sound of something smashing]

One of the giants fell sideways as soon as the start signal was given.

“Wooaaah!”

“Danin! Danin won!”

“…”

Raël frowned as he watched the giants’ battle.

‘What the hell is that sound… it was just the sound of falling to the ground?’

A competition to 넘기다 [overturn] each other’s arms placed on the table, arm wrestling.

Those crazy bastards were arm wrestling each other at the Celestial Offering.

Because they were doing such 개짓거리를 [dog-like behavior], people were running away.

‘The saying that giants are smart orcs wasn’t a lie. What kind of fight is Gent doing?’

The only giant Raël had experienced was Gent.

So he thought that saying they were smart orcs was an exaggeration, but after seeing the other giants, it wasn’t exactly wrong.

“Who are you!”

At that time, one of the giants approached Raël, who was blankly watching the giants’ arm wrestling.

As one approached, the remaining giants also walked over and surrounded Raël.

‘These guys are shorter than Gent.’

Gent is three times the size of Raël, but these guys are only about twice as big.

Raël smiled and said.

“I’m a human who came to arm wrestle.”

“Good! I, Danin, will fight you!”

The giant named Danin reached out his hand as if he wasn’t even curious about the details.

Raël looked at the giant, who was twice his size, and took a stance.

‘Is this arm wrestling?’

Danin’s fist was so big that it completely covered Raël’s hand.

It was a strange experience where he couldn’t see his own fist even though it was arm wrestling.

“Zaimon. But can a human withstand the strength of a giant?”

“If they can’t, they’ll just die!”

“Oooooh!”

Raël forcibly ignored the sounds coming from the side.

It was like there were three Reinas who were more ignorant and uglier.

In other words, it meant they were completely useless.

“Start!!!!”

콰아앙-! [Sound of something smashing]

As soon as he heard the start signal, Raël 넘기다 [overturned] Danin’s arm.

At the same time as his arm 넘기다 [overturned], Danin, who had been thrown to the ground, rolled on the ground, causing a huge dust storm.

The giants who had been watching the arm wrestling opened their mouths in surprise.

“Danin lost. He’s a strong human!”

“No. Humans aren’t that strong. He’s a short giant!”

“He’s a giant!”

“…”

Raël shook his wrist while watching the guys who had been 발린 [defeated] by a human and were 승리하는 [triumphing] mentally that he was actually a giant.

As expected, there was nothing to lose by listening to Tia.

She thought that Raël, who was close to the body of a dragon, couldn’t possibly lose to a giant, and her prediction was correct. That giant, who was called Danin, was lighter than he thought.

“I’m human.”

“No! He’s a giant!”

The giants smiled as if they had been caught.

Among the humans they had seen, there was no human as strong as Raël.

“Giants are strong and 뛰어난 [outstanding]! You are also strong and 뛰어난 [outstanding]! You are a giant!”

“Wooooo!”

“I’m not a giant.”

“Then what is he? A smart orc?”

“I’m telling you I’m human?”

“He’s a half-giant and half-human?!”

“I’m a pure-blooded human! How many times do I have to say the same thing? You stupid 새끼들아 [bastards].”

Gent was a little… slow, but these guys were worse.

They had a talent for provoking Raël’s anger.

“Um, I’ll have an internal meeting for a while!”

The giants who heard Raël’s curse began to whisper among themselves.

As he watched the scene, Danin came out after a while and took a stance again, shouting majestically.

“If you’re not a human, not an orc, and not a giant, then who are you!”

“… What’s with these guys?”

Is it that difficult to admit that he’s human?

Raël sighed and approached them.

It’s not like he has time to spare to play with giants.

He had to ask about Gent quickly at this time.

“Hey. You guys. Do you know Gent?”

The shame of the giants, Gent.

Today was the day he was going to investigate the suspicious giant bastard.