Chapter 96

The wound left by that strike on Trail’s body was shallow, but the silver had already penetrated his flesh, delivering an irreversible blow to Damian’s soul that had assimilated within.

It was akin to the ability of a vampire, where even the smallest wound, as long as blood flows, can mercilessly drain the life force of the opponent.

The wound merely split the skin and slightly cut into the flesh, but through that small wound, it dealt a fatal blow only to Damian’s soul, leaving Trail’s soul untouched.

It was quite an ironic end for a vampire.

Thud!

Damian, unable to maintain his blood claws, let alone control his body, vomited blood and collapsed.

As Damian fell, the assimilation seemed to break, and Damian was expelled from Trail’s body as if being thrown out.

Lying there, unable to even think of getting up, he muttered in disbelief.

“…This is absurd. My end at the hands of such a trivial being… Princess… I’m sorry.”

That was his final word.

As the old saying goes, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The vampire’s body, which had lived an impossibly long life and taken countless human lives, lost all color in an instant and turned into a handful of ashes, scattered by the wind.

…

“…It seems I didn’t need to step in after all.”

I muttered, relaxing the tension I had built up in my body, ready to intervene between Damian and Nail at any moment.

Though anxious, seeing Nail’s resolute expression, I judged it right not to intervene.

I silently turned and headed back to the inn, seeing Nail supporting the staggering Trail.

Tap tap

“Haa… Haa… Mr. Kurt! Where is that guy?”

“Don’t tell me he escaped in the chaos. Could it be that Nail’s disappearance means he took a hostage and fled!?”

“That guy! If I catch him this time, I’ll definitely kill him!”

“…It’s over. Let’s go in.”

…

Several days had passed since the chaotic vampire attack incident.

The truth that the missing dwarves had been dominated by the vampire and turned into his minions, betraying the other warrior squads, was buried in darkness along with the vampire who had turned to ashes, for the sake of the village’s peace. Trail and the other missing dwarves returned to the village.

All the commotion was officially attributed to Trail leading a separated dwarf warrior squad through the great flood, chasing and slaying the vampire.

The villagers were somewhat confused by this fact but soon rejoiced purely at the safety of the missing warriors and the village.

The village’s atmosphere, which had been like a collective funeral, completely reversed into a festive mood, and my party and I, who had stayed in the village, could enjoy the atmosphere with ease.

In the inn, amidst the ongoing festive mood, Trail laughed heartily while eating pepperoni pizza.

“Hahaha! This pizza thing is incredibly delicious!”

“Agreed!”

Mari, who had nothing to do with making it, boasted.

At a table in the inn, my party, Tommy, Trail, and Nail were gathered, enjoying the meal.

After everything was over, I stayed at the inn as originally planned, teaching Tommy some cooking recipes. Today, as a final review of what he had learned, we decided to make a feast.

Perhaps because the incident, which had shocked the entire dwarf village, had ended, the atmosphere at the table was as lively as a festival.

In the midst of this, Nail suddenly stood up and shouted at Trail, realizing he had eaten his share of pizza.

“Father! It’s two slices per person, how can you eat three slices by yourself!?”

“What? Oh no… Suddenly, the wound on my chest from my son…! Cough…! Cough…!”

“Father!”

In fact, Trail’s wound was only long but not deep, and it was just a simple act.

But Nail, feeling guilty for having wounded his father, couldn’t make an objective judgment and fidgeted, making others secretly smile.

“Oh no… This unfilial son, who dares to swing a sword at his father, makes the wound on my chest throb…! At times like this, I need distilled liquor!”

“No, what kind of patient drinks distilled liquor…! Just drink beer quietly!”

“This pain needs strong distilled liquor to have any analgesic effect! Beer won’t do! Oh no! I’m! Dying!”

Glance

“To, Tommy uncle! Give me a bottle of distilled liquor here! I’ll pay for it!”

“Oh! Thank you! Son!”

It was truly a farce.

From the side, it seemed like a childish joke.

But it was a joke worth keeping.

In fact, when Nail wasn’t around, Trail would sit all day in the inn, drinking with other guests, showing off the wound on his chest, boasting that it was a glorious wound made by his son to save him. Nail didn’t need to be so anxious.

Trail, while complaining about the pain from the wound Nail gave him, seemed to smile happily as he drank the distilled liquor straight from the bottle.

Watching this, Karina, who had been quietly enjoying her pizza, spoke in a pleased voice.

“Perhaps that’s Trail’s way of expressing gratitude to Nail.”

“That must be it. Parent-child relationships are often not honest with each other.”

“Hahaha. Does that mean Mr. Kurt has had such experiences too?”

“…Well, yes.”

Saying so, I recalled a bitter memory and swallowed my beer as if to wash it away.

The beer, chilled by Serena’s magic, washed away the saltiness and oiliness of the pepperoni pizza in my mouth with its refreshing carbonation.

“But at least this time, it ended well.”

That’s what matters.

…

Several more days passed, and after finishing all our business in the dwarf village, we finally checked our carriage to head to our last destination, the Village of the World Tree.

“Plenty of food… All the luggage is loaded… Yes! Ready to go!”

“Shall we depart then?”

“It was a truly impressive village.”

Just as we were about to set off, we felt several dwarves calling us from afar.

“Wait, it seems someone is calling.”

“…Mr. Trail! Mr. Kurt!”

It was Nail, along with Tommy and the dwarf warriors I had saved.

I wondered why they weren’t visible; they must have been waiting for us here.

“We were waiting to thank Mr. Kurt!”

“If it’s thanks, I’ve already received enough.”

“No. Not just words of thanks, but we want to properly repay you.”

Nail said so and stepped aside, and a dwarf warrior came forward with a large box.

“…I didn’t do it expecting repayment.”

“We know. But we can’t let our benefactor leave without any repayment. Even monsters remember the kindness they receive, how can we, as humans, forget? That would be against reason. Moreover, it’s not just any kindness but saving the entire village, a debt we can never forget. So please, do not refuse our sincerity.”

The dwarf who spoke so eloquently and handed over the large box was someone I hadn’t seen before.

No. I think I’ve seen him somewhere…

“Ah! Could it be the vice-captain of the warrior squad…!”

“Hoho. I’m touched you remember me. It’s just a shame I was played by the vampire’s schemes and was rude to you, our benefactor.”

The dwarf, stroking his beard with a cultured demeanor, was Gale, who held the second-highest position in the warrior squad after Trail.

In my memory, Gale was growling at me like a beast…

But the dwarf before me looked as noble as a short Guan Yu.

So what Tommy said about his original personality was true.

While I was bewildered, Gale loaded the gift into the carriage.

“It’s nothing much. We wanted to repay you with money, but our village isn’t that big or wealthy…”

“Ah…! No, I didn’t mean to receive a gift by force…!”

“We’ve included cooking tools made by dwarves. Tommy said you’ve always wanted dwarf-made cooking tools.”

“If you insist so much, I can’t refuse! It’s impolite not to accept such gratitude! I’ll gratefully accept!”

“Wow… Look at how quickly he changes his attitude.”

“Hmm. Indeed, the master’s speed in flipping attitudes is master-level.”

“Well, I understand Kurt.”

As I shamelessly flipped my attitude like turning a palm, the girls looked at me with cold eyes, but I didn’t care.

Now that a box full of dwarf-made cooking tools had arrived, that’s what mattered.

Barely restraining myself from immediately opening the box to check the cooking tools inside, Trail stepped forward as the representative of the dwarf warrior squad.

“…Thank you. If it weren’t for you, this village would have disappeared from the map.”

“…Well, it was a big deal.”

“Although we couldn’t reveal the truth of the incident to the villagers, we will never forget your deeds.”

Thus, Trail and I exchanged our final farewells, and we set off in our carriage, leaving the dwarf village.

And as we left, Trail, from behind, held his weapon with both hands, lifting it to his chest.

A posture resembling a moment of silence.

It was a dwarf-style salute, showing respect and honor.

Starting with Trail, all the other dwarf warriors also held their weapons and took a moment of silence.

All the dwarf warriors gathered at the village entrance saluted us.

For a long time.

Until the carriage we were in disappeared beyond the dwarf village.