◈ 124. [Side Story] Golden light
“Collock Coke!”
Curled up under the covers on the bed, Junior coughed.
Every time he coughed, blood leaked incessantly from the inside of his parched throat.
“Ha ha ha… .”
Junior glared at the bloody handkerchief in his hand with a blank gaze.
After violently using magic, I always suffered from aftereffects like this.
‘Besides, this time… … I think it hurts even more because I got sick… … .’
Due to the vampire lord’s magic technique reverse calculation, Junior’s magic was helplessly dispelled.
I didn’t show it, but the process itself was a significant blow.
‘Thanks to that, I learned a lot.’
The vampire lord’s dispel contained a simple yet profound magic trick.
‘I can make it mine if I study it.’
A new realization was at hand. Junior felt his magic approaching the next level.
but.
‘… Even if it becomes mine, how much more will I be able to use in the future?’
Death, which was not too far away, was also approaching.
Junior squeezed the blood-soaked handkerchief with his hand.
– Don’t even think about learning magic.
The voice of the person who said that… … It seemed to linger in my ears.
If you haven’t learned magic. So, how much longer could he live?
10 years? maybe 20 years?
‘A useless thought… … .’
That was when Junior shook his head.
smart.
A knock was heard from the door of the inn, followed by a familiar voice.
“Junior? Are you inside?”
The commander and lord of this frontline. It was Ash’s voice.
Surprised, Junior hurriedly got up from the bed and went to the door.
“Ah, Your Highness… Are you here? Cool cool!”
As soon as I opened the door, blood gushed out from inside. Junior covered his mouth and coughed violently.
“haha. This damn hemoptysis really comes out all the time hehe… … .”
When Junior finally stopped coughing and looked up.
In front of her is Ash with a puzzled face… … Jupiter stood.
Looking at my granddaughter who was vomiting blood with a broken face. In her hand, she was holding something carefully wrapped as if she were giving it to her granddaughter.
Facing Jupiter like that, Junior muttered shyly.
“… grandma.”
Grandmother and granddaughter stared at each other in silence for a long time.
– Even if you don’t learn that, Grandma can feed you for the rest of your life.
Suddenly, the scene from a long time ago when we had such a conversation… … .
It crossed Junior’s mind.
***
10 years ago.
The Eastern Front of the Everblack Empire. A rural village overlooking the sea.
“grandma!”
A small hand shakes the body.
“Wake up Grandma! It’s morning!”
“Hmm?!”
Jupiter, who had fallen asleep in a chair, suddenly opened his eyes.
When I turned my head and looked to the side, I saw a small girl with a stern expression on her face.
The morning sun is shining down on your face.
“wake up! time is tight I have to eat and go to work!”
A girl who covered the burn on her left side with her hair. It was Junior, the granddaughter of Jupiter.
Facing the grandmother who blankly looked at him, Junior tilted his head.
“what’s the matter? Did you have another bad dream?”
“… no no just… .”
Jupiter then yawned and sank back into his chair.
“Look at me… Yesterday, I left work in the middle of the night for an emergency dispatch. Whoa.”
“So you’re not going to work?”
“No, that’s not it again… … .”
The job of chief of the village guard.
Even at a meager salary, Jupiter’s work was the family’s only source of livelihood.
I wanted to skip it for about a week, but I couldn’t.
“Then wake up and get ready for work! I made breakfast on the table. Don’t be late again and don’t starve.”
Jupiter opened his mouth wide while watching his granddaughter nag at him.
“Grandma is tired, so can’t I scoop her up, Junior?”
“Again? You always act childish, Grandma.”
“I’m going to be a good old woman who works hard, huh? Feed me.”
Putting a small hand on her waist, Junior let out a sigh.
“Eh, I can’t help it.”
After a while, Junior brought a bowl and scooped oatmeal with a spoon and put it in Jupiter’s mouth.
“Ah~.”
“Oh~.”
Junior cautiously asked Jupiter who was mumbling.
“how is it? delicious?”
“no. It tastes awful. My granddaughter can’t cook.”
“Ah, that’s it again! Then Grandma makes rice!”
“Grandma doesn’t know how to do that… .”
He lived on the battlefield all his life. Meals were served with jjambab prepared by his subordinates.
Jupiter had no life skills whatsoever. I didn’t know how to cook, clean, or do laundry.
“What do you know how to replace Grandma!”
“It’s just magic… … .”
It’s like a complete disqualification for a grandmother.
At Jupiter’s mouth thinking, Junior grumbled, but continued to feed him oatmeal.
Jupiter gulped down and ate it.
meal is over
“Then I will go.”
Jupiter said, putting an imperial army coat loosely on top of a loose shirt.
A glance inside the house revealed that the rest of the grandchildren were still asleep.
Only Junior, the eldest, got up early in the morning to make breakfast for the family.
“Oh, my granddaughter is also admirable.”
“Wow! Stupid grandma!”
When Jupiter hugged him, Junior, frightened, quickly pulled away and held out his hand.
Jupiter blinked his only eye because he didn’t know why.
“why? What is that hand gesture?”
“Grandma for money! money! The cost of living is all gone!”
“what? right now? You gave it to me a while ago.”
“How many people are in this house, and do you think you can live on that kind of pennies?”
At Junior’s harsh words, Jupiter licked his lips bitterly.
The total number of survivors he collected that day was eleven.
Even excluding the money spent on treating the aftereffects of being hit by magic, the money was frighteningly drained just for food and clothing.
The money he had accumulated had run out long ago, and the only thing he could do was to scrape by with the guard’s salary.
Jupiter frowned as he counted the balance.
“It’s still a long way until payday.”
“Anyway, the cost of living has gone down! Earn or steal, by any means!”
Junior, who escorted the grandmother to the door, shed her eyes.
“Get some money!”
***
Out of town. guard post.
“I’m here, guys.”
When Jupiter went to work, the soldiers, who were spread out with tired faces in the guard post, stood up all at once and saluted.
“Loyalty!”
“Loyalty! Are you here?”
“Yes, loyalty… . suckers. How many times do you tell me to do it roughly? no one is watching rest!”
The soldiers who were immediately released were spread out on the chairs again. Similarly, Jupiter, who was comfortably seated in his seat, nodded.
“What’s wrong?”
“yes. Captain. Except for that bastard I caught yesterday, nothing happened.”
The soldier chinned the inside of the guard post.
Inside, there was a poorly built lockup, in which a young man was imprisoned.
It was the smuggler I arrested last night.
He was caught by the guards while trying to bring smuggled goods from neighboring countries to the village wharf.
“If you want to do it, do it in some other big town. What kind of smuggling in this small village… … .”
As Jupiter muttered, the smuggler shouted, pressing close to the bars of the cellar.
“No, the guards. Think carefully! If you just close your eyes, I will give you 40% of the money I sold! I’ll just give you up to 50%. yes?”
“… .”
“It’s obvious without looking at the salary of these village guards. Thinking of creating a small side job? huh? How nice. I like it because I do my job diligently. Everyone is happy!”
Jupiter, who had been listening quietly, got up slowly and went to the front of the detention center.
The smuggler was excited and kept talking.
“Especially the captain of the guard! I don’t know why a wizard like you is here, but think carefully! Right now, it’s just a small smuggling, but if the wizard helps, a much bigger business-”
Flash!
Lightning struck.
When Jupiter snapped his fingers, the lightning that came out heated the iron bars of the prison cell. The frightened smuggler rolled back.
“Hey!”
“Watch your words, criminal child.”
bang!
Putting his boots on the iron bars, Jupiter growled ferociously.
“I am Jupiter. It was Jupiter, the thunderbolt that once even served as the captain of the 2nd Division of the Imperial Magic Corps. Even if you don’t have money, you’ll starve to death, or you’ll get your hands on something like smuggling.”
“Hee hee hee… .”
“Because I’m out of luck.”
Jupiter spits on the floor and turns around.
“Keep an eye on that bastard. Because an investigator is coming from the capital tomorrow.”
“yep.”
“I’ll patrol the town or take a lap around.”
“Come on.”
“Come on!”
Being escorted by his subordinates, Jupiter left the post.
Normally, he would only let his subordinates patrol and doze off, but today he didn’t feel like that.
Villages along the coast were much more cluttered than before.
The eyes of the fishermen were fierce on the fishing boats going to and from the port. Could it be because of the corpses that drifted a long time ago?
‘Policy seems to be getting worse.’
Even five years ago, it was a very peaceful rural village.
The Empire’s war of conquest gave birth to countless war refugees, and the shaken security from the borders had an aftermath to the interior of the Empire.
‘I just want to be quiet until those kids are all grown up…’ … .’
The money is running out and the job as the head of the guard is becoming exhausted.
Jupiter suddenly became desperate for a cigarette.
However, it had been a long time since I had to live with my children and my pockets became poor.
‘All the Jupiters in the world are dead.’
When I think of myself in my prime, I find it very funny that I can’t smoke because the price of cigarettes is too much.
‘… It’s a cigarette.’
Jupiter suddenly thought.
‘Come to think of it, were there cigarette leaves among the confiscated contraband… … ?’
It was then.
“huh?”
Curling… .
Dark clouds quickly gathered in the distant sky and
flashed -!
A thin line of lightning struck.
It wasn’t normal weather. It was clearly an artificially formed thunderbolt.
‘Magic?’
And the lightning was falling toward Jupiter’s house on the outskirts of the village.
Quagmire!
“… Damn it.”
Taat!
Jupiter immediately kicked off the ground and ran to the house in a huff.
I arrived at the house in an instant and saw the charred corpses of a man and a woman lying on the porch.
The two of them were holding knives and clubs in their hands.
And Junior was trembling in front of him.
“Junior?! Are you okay?!”
“Ha ha Grandma… .”
With tears welling up on his pale face, Junior stuttered.
“These people suddenly opened the door and came in and said they would kill everyone if I didn’t give them money, so I was so scared that I didn’t know… .”
Inside the house, the other grandchildren were looking this way with terrified faces.
Did Junior, the eldest, awaken his talent as a wizard after stepping out to protect his younger siblings?
Jupiter hugged her granddaughter tightly.
“It’s okay, Junior. are you okay. are you okay.”
“Collock Cool!”
“Junior?”
Jupiter, who was trying to calm his granddaughter, felt something was wrong and looked down at Junior.
Junior was coughing up blood from his nose and mouth.
“Hey. Are you okay? Hey.”
“grandma… .”
Junior’s eyes went wide and he passed out. Now blood was pouring out of his eyes and ears.
Hugging her granddaughter, Jupiter hurriedly stood up.
“Damn it… !”
***
The village temple.
The priest, who is also the personal doctor of Jupiter’s grandchildren, removed his hand from Junior.
After receiving the healing magic, Junior looked much better.
“This is a temporary measure. It cannot be cured.”
The priest said coldly, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“Magic power is flowing backwards from the scars of the magical power left in the heart. It’s more of a problem because he’s gifted as a wizard. I can’t handle my magic because of the scars.”
“… .”
“The child is dying. You won’t live long.”
Blood oozes from Jupiter’s lips. The priest glanced at him.
“Did you know? That none of your children will live long.”
“… To save.”
Jupiter asked quietly.
“What if I want to live a little longer?”
“We should take them to the big temple in the capital. If you show it to the Central Priest, you will be given the highest level Miracle Healing Magic. money is… … It will cost a bit more.”
Jupiter gnashed his teeth and brushed his forehead.
“Where do I get the money for that? … .”
“Then he will die soon.”
“… .”
“Anyway, I don’t think I will live long, so please feed me something delicious. A child is just bones and skin.”
I saw the child’s old clothes and skinny limbs.
“… .”
Jupiter thought.
He only reaped these children, but in fact, he is gradually killing them.
Without being able to properly treat them, they left them suffering from poverty… … .
‘money… .’
Jupiter’s fists clenched as he stared at his granddaughter’s sleeping face.
‘That bastard’s money… … !’
***
It’s late at night when all the guards have gone home.
The smuggler dozed off in the dark jail and the door of the guardhouse slammed! I woke up to the sound of opening.
“What what what what?”
Has the investigator from the capital already arrived? Is it really over now? Thinking about it, the smuggler shivered.
jerk, jerk.
Before long, the one who came to the detention center… … It was Jupiter, the chief of the guard here.
“Hey trash.”
In one hand, he twisted the key to the detention house lock, and in the other, he rolled and burned a cigarette he had taken from confiscated contraband.
Sup- Jupiter inhaled the cigarette smoke and spat out slowly.
“Tell me about the smuggling trade you mentioned earlier.”
