Some of the flies released by the troublesome client fell into a bottomless pit like a Venus flytrap, while the rest had their wings ripped off and died.

The snake’s words were half right and half wrong.

It was true that the young man was full of energy, but he wasn’t as sharp as the snake had warned.

Objectively speaking, he was fairly strong.

For his age, it would’ve been hard to find an equal opponent. That’s probably why he grew so arrogant and dared to come here.

But even if he had the potential to become a Master one day, right now he was just a reckless, immature brat who didn’t understand the dangers of the world.

...It’s a bit strange for me to say that, considering I’m much younger than him.

Then again, isn’t that the point of having memories from my past life?

I don’t remember everything clearly, but I’m pretty sure I was over twenty back then, so let’s just say my mental age is higher.

I’m more mentally mature, and I’ve reached a higher level of mastery, so I have the right to say these things.

Anyway, I had completed the annoying client’s request perfectly, and I’d shut up that cocky wielder of the greatsword.

Joni and the man were having a rather serious conversation, while the Apostles who hadn’t sided with the Empire kept stealing glances at me.

Why were they acting like curious little birds, poking their heads out like they were waiting for food?

I didn’t understand their behavior, but I quickly decided not to care.

“Hmm…”

Now, what should I do with these corpses?

Leaving them for wild beasts or monsters to eat is one option, but there are so many that they’d probably start rotting before they’re all devoured.

Considering the risk of disease and the stench, I really should take care of them.

“What a pain…”

If I were a mage, I could just burn them all in one go, and that’d be the end of it. At times like this, I almost regret choosing the sword.

It’s not that I don’t have a way to create fire, but using that would be too much for this situation, and the aftermath would probably be even more of a headache.

So, I have no choice but to handle this manually.

‘This is why swordsmen are such a hassle.’

...I suddenly had the unpleasant feeling that the senile snake was mocking me again.

Grumbling, I dragged the corpses over to a split in the ground and tossed them in.

Since the flies had already been “squashed,” it wasn’t too hard to move them.

Keeping the land clean and green.

As I diligently worked for the sake of environmental protection, the Apostles who had been watching started joining in, one by one, in this noble task.

“Hey, check out this sword. Its stats are insane!”

“This armor’s useless. Any money on them?”

Seeing them rummaging through the corpses with such enthusiasm, it was clear they were more interested in the loot than the work, but hey, they were still helping.

Now, this was the Liberi mercenaries I knew.

Even if they were Apostles, it seemed their mercenary instincts couldn’t be suppressed.

After tossing in the last of the giant flies, I clapped my hands together.

Filling the pit with dirt was too much of a hassle, so I’ll have to bring some oil later and just burn it all.

Now that my hard work was done, it was time to clock out.

“Oh, right.”

There was still one more thing I needed to do.

Even though I absolutely despise that snake bastard, I still have to acknowledge his skills.

No, wait. Despise is too mild of a word—let's go with “aside from the fact that I want to tear him to pieces.”

If his abilities had been lacking even a little, he would’ve been dead long ago, either when he faced Garid or, more likely, at my hands.

This is why the title of Master is such a hassle.

When one Master steps in, another inevitably follows, and if they fight, both must be ready to die, which makes it hard to act impulsively.

And if we ever do end up fighting, turning the entire area into a wasteland is just a normal occurrence. It’s like mutually assured destruction—we just keep a wary eye on each other, waiting for the right moment.

Of course, my homeland, Grassis, was the exception. It was too proud for its own good and ultimately destroyed itself.

Back then, it wasn’t about being a Master or not—we had no choice but to fight.

So, the reason I hadn’t killed that snake wasn’t because of some standoff.

I was confident I could kill him in a one-on-one fight. But he knew that too, so he made it his mission to avoid me, always running away.

Fights require both sides to actually face each other. It’s impossible to catch someone who’s always distracting you with magic and tricks while they run.

As frustrating as it was, the truth was that he was better at controlling the battlefield, and at the time, I still had things I needed to protect.

I’ve gone on long enough about this, but the main point is the same as before:

That snake bastard is extraordinarily skilled.

“W-What is this?! This definitely wasn’t here before…?!”

There's no way that a barrier created by a Master Mage could be broken by a few petty thieves.

As I watched the Apostles pounding on the barrier, I reached for my sword…

Oh, right. It’s broken.

Thunk.

Instead of drawing my sword, I deliberately made a loud noise by stepping forward.

Some of the thieves, still hammering away at the barrier, turned their heads to look at me.

Their faces went pale in an instant, as if they’d just seen a ghost. It was pretty amusing, to be honest.

As I suspected, these guys weren’t here for anything noble. The way they reacted to seeing the homeowner only confirmed that.

“…We’re screwed.”

I figured that’s what the muttered curse from one of them meant.

In a flash, I lunged forward.

I grabbed the man standing in the front by his collar and slammed him into the ground.

The man, still too dazed to understand what had just happened, finally let out a sharp gasp after his body made rough contact with the earth.

Next up was a strange one charging at me with a staff.

While a staff isn’t completely without killing power, it’s certainly not as lethal as other weapons.

Charging at me with a staff—a weapon better suited for self-defense than outright combat—was definitely an odd choice.

There was no need to dodge this one.

Thud.

"W-What?!"

When I struck the side of the staff with the back of my hand, the wielder completely lost their balance.

A person should wield the staff, not the other way around. But here, every time the staff wobbled, its owner wobbled along with it.

I started to wonder if their true skill was dancing to distract opponents rather than actual combat.

Watching them flail around was amusing for a moment, but when they lowered their head into a perfect position, I delivered a kick to it.

The sound of their head cracking like a watermelon echoed behind me as I grabbed the neck of a fleeing thief and hurled them at another.

What difference does it make?

The thief I threw flew into the arms of the other one like vines entangling on a mountainside.

Their postures, already shaky, crumbled entirely.

It didn’t even take a minute to clean up the rest of them.

Honestly, these guys weren’t much of a challenge. While everyone else was out fighting, these fools were sneaking into other people’s houses. There was no way they were skilled fighters. What I did wasn’t even a fight—it was more like cleaning up.

Soon, the last Apostle vanished in a flash of light.

That’s the nice thing about Apostles—you don’t have to worry about cleaning up their bodies.

"Wow..."

...And now, how long do they plan to keep following me?

I turned my head and stared blankly at the ones trailing behind me like baby birds following their mother.

Fine, I could tolerate Joni following me, but why were the greatsword girl and that dagger guy tagging along too?

"I think she's looking at us... Is she looking at us? I know we're following her for the mission, but it's making me really nervous. Hey, are you okay?"

"Should I challenge her again? I kinda want to fight her one more time."

"Who are you even talking to right now?"

Joni, who had been quietly listening to their exchange, finally spoke up.

"If she really didn’t want us following her, she would’ve done something about it from the start. So, I think it’s fine... Probably."

"...Why are you so calm about this, Joni?"

"Me? Well... we’ve had a few meals together. No way she’d kill me, right?"

"...I kinda wish she would."

"What?"

"Sorry, what?"

"What?"

Their conversation didn’t feel particularly meaningful.

Anyway... I briefly considered kicking out these unwelcome guests, but I’d used a bit of energy today, and I was too lazy to bother with it. Let’s just say I’ll tolerate them for now, as a reward for their courage.

I approached the barrier.

Though the barrier wasn’t visible, I could feel the strange flow of mana that surrounded the area.

“Hmm… How should I do this?”

Suddenly, it occurred to me that the snake bastard had probably anticipated this situation.

Otherwise, why would he have made the barrier inaccessible without my permission, yet still possible to pass through if I allowed it?

There’s no way that snake, with his insidious personality, would’ve set this up with any kind of warmth or concern, thinking of potential mourners who might visit this remote place.

The more I thought about it, the more it felt like I was caught in the snake’s trap.

Still, while his methods were shady, the barrier was doing a good job of protecting Garid’s grave, so I decided to let it slide for now.

Despite my decision, I hesitated at the entrance.

“…How do I get through this thing?”

I tilted my head, confused.

I felt like a kid who’d forgotten their key and couldn’t get into their own house.

Honestly, getting in isn’t that hard.

If the door won’t open, you can just rip it off its hinges.

But I’m not trying to break into someone else’s house for a crime investigation—I can't exactly go tearing down the door of my own home just because it won’t open.

What’s the point of installing a security door if you rip it down as soon as it’s in place?

Fortunately, I didn’t have to struggle with this dilemma for long.

As soon as I raised my hand without the ring—the one with the proof of my oath—the barrier resonated, causing it to ripple.

The snake’s insignia flickered on the surface of the bluish barrier, and a gap large enough for a carriage appeared.

Just as I’d thought earlier, magic was more convenient for things like this. But of course, the sword is still superior.

With the three followers trailing behind me, I stepped through the barrier.

Joni and the dagger guy, having been here before, didn’t show much interest, but the greatsword girl, who was visiting for the first time, couldn’t stop looking around in awe.

Even though I’d implicitly allowed them to follow me, they weren’t invited guests, so I didn’t bother giving them a tour of the place.

Instead, I walked toward the cliff, looking down at Garid’s grave, and suddenly frowned.

A blue flower I hadn’t seen before was quietly standing in front of the gravestone where I had left.

“Hmph.”

What a ridiculous gesture.

I picked up the blue flower and clenched my fist. When I opened my hand again, the flower had disappeared without a trace, as if it had never been there.

Maybe the snake wasn’t lying when he said he respected Garid.

And since Garid had always enjoyed fighting that snake, maybe he would’ve been happy to know that the snake had visited his grave.

But what can I do?

The dead can’t speak, and it’s the living who are left to remember them.

Before I knew it, the three Apostles had lined up behind me.

Standing like this, it almost felt like I was leading these three.

If any of my old companions were here, they’d probably roll their eyes and complain about me acting like a captain again, saying I still couldn’t shake off my old habits.

If they had said that, maybe I would’ve let them feel the full weight of a captain’s authority.

It had been four and a half years since Garid had passed.

It had been a year and a half since I’d settled here.

Even if not now, the thought of eventually leaving this place weighed heavily on me.

All of a sudden, it felt like a huge rock was pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

I felt like I was drowning, flailing helplessly, before finally managing to whisper the name I missed so much.

“Garid.”

As I let his name, one I’d called my whole life, roll off my tongue, another word I hadn’t intended slipped out.

“Dad.”

Once, I would’ve been too embarrassed to ever say something like that. But now, surprisingly, I didn’t feel ashamed at all.

It turned out to be so simple—what had made me turn away from it for so long?

As always, regret came too late, creeping in to haunt me.