***
(Casimir Kismet)
I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was the white ceiling of my room. I groaned as I felt pain in my nape and tried to move my right hand, but there was something over it stopping it from properly moving. I slowly raised my hand and felt hair and a tiny horn.
Ah… I see.
Maybe she felt my touch so she immediately moved and raised her head. The first thing I saw was her pair of blue eyes, they were full of concern. She was lying next to me as if I had terminal sickness.
I just got knocked out by a long-haired red fox, Young Lady. I’m far from being fatally wounded.
I smiled to show her I was fine, but tears started to come out of her eyes as she hugged me.
“Big bro Casimir!”
I patted her head and chuckled. “Yeah. I’m still alive.”
Suddenly, I heard sounds of rumbling, as if there was a freaking riot happening outside!
“I’ll go first!” The door of my room slammed as someone kicked it so hard I thought it would fly towards me. “Boss!”
I exhaled as I stared at Leo. “You could use the doorknob, you know?”
Entering the room next to him was Mehrad just casually walking toward me.
Leo tapped my shoulder. “How are you? I saw what you did back there! You were this close to wiping them out.”
I sat at the side of my bed and touched my nape. “Ah, as you can see, I am completely fine. But my nape hurts like hell.”
Mehrad chuckled. “Pardon me, maybe I overdid it.”
Misha sat next to me, I patted her head and veered my eyes to Mehrad. “No. You did the right thing. I was the one who ordered all of you to let the legion go once they decided to retreat, but the next thing you knew, I was the one chasing after them. I didn’t expect that to happen, it’s a good thing that you were there. Thanks, Mehrad.”
“Don’t thank me, if it was just me, I wouldn’t stop you. Seeing you not holding back was a breath of fresh air and it was fun to watch.”
The hell? Then, who am I going to thank?
“I agree with that, Mehrad. Too bad I couldn’t keep up with your speed so I could watch you closer.” Leo seconded.
Yep, that’s the 2 leaders of the Fang faction for you.
Ahm, I need a normal person here!
“How’s your sleep?”
As I shifted my gaze, I found Leal leaning on the frame of the door while crossing his arms, looking cool. He was expressing a gentle smile on his face.
“Fine, I guess?” I put my hand on my aching nape and healed it. “How long did I sleep?”
Leo shrugged. “About 5 hours? You did sleep very soundly.”
“Mister Casimir!” Karoon ran through the door and repeatedly tapped my arms. “I’m glad to see that you are fine!”
I smiled. “Yeah, me too. I’m glad to see you are fine as well, Karoon.”
“Of course, I am. The town was fully guarded, so that’s expected. Right, Misha?”
Misha nodded with a big smile on her face while her head was leaning on my arm. “Yes.”
I nodded while smiling. “By the way, where is Tanya?”
Karoon put her palm beside her lips and leaned toward me and whispered. “She’s standing next to the door outside, she doesn’t want to enter.”
Leo chuckled. “Oy! Old hag! Don’t tell us you disdain us too much that you don’t want to be in a tight room with us! Hasn’t your small back been engraved on that wall yet? You have been leaning there for 5 hours now-” But he immediately stopped when saw a sharp glare coming from the door.
After a few seconds, Tanya’s face emerged from the door while crossing her arms. “It can’t be helped then, for now, I won’t breathe until all of you, especially you, Leo, get out of this room.” Her eyes pointed at me for a very brief moment before closing them and releasing a slow sigh. “You look fine, of course, you are. After all, you just went on a rampage with an attempt to completely annihilate the retreating army after giving us a strict order to let the legion go once they take their retreat. How awful. You should have seen yourself back then.”
I smiled. “I am glad to see you are fine as well, Tanya.”
“Hmph, of course, I am fine. You don’t need to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
What came next was the laughter from the people inside the room with us. I laughed with them while Tanya just glared at me.
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Did I say something funny?”
After some time, they decided to go out and leave me and Tanya alone. I stood up and stared at the door of my room’s terrace. The sun was up and I could see the town from here.
“Finally, it’s over. I hope no more like that. Fighting in a war is quite tiring… and terrifying.” I stared at Tanya. “I hope I didn’t have you worried.”
“About you ending up losing? No. Not even a little. I knew you would do well in that battle.” She stood beside me and stared outside. “What concerned me was, if you woke up, you were no longer the same Casimir I know. After seeing you rampaging like that, I thought you would completely change.” She stared up at me, for some reason, I saw great pain in her eyes. The pain of remembering something that she should not.
I see. This is not the very first time it happened to her.
“Your meruem friend, after she rampaged. Did she change?”
She paused for a second, then slowly nodded. “Yes. She changed so much that I asked myself if it was still her.”
I stretched my arms. “Welp, good for me, it’s still me. I didn’t change even a little, I guess?” I tapped her shoulder. “Maybe I’m just a special case?”
Or maybe because I am not even a real meruem.
“The things that you did earlier. Did you decide to do it yourself or… something made you do it?”
“No. I wanted to do it. I had full control of myself and decided to do it of my own accord. However, I am fully aware that I overdid it, so I will try to restrain myself next time.”
She stared back outside and stared at the scenery of the town. “Please do so.”
Upon seeing her subtle smile, a realization occurred to me. I am fine, she is fine and everyone close to me is fine. The entire town is still as it is. It only means.
The battle against the kingdom of Milana really is over now, and we won.
***
Jack Of All Trades, Master Of None
Dark Fire Magic
Healing Magic
Mana Concealment
Mana Perception
Dark Water Magic
Dark Wind Magic
Dark Electricity Magic
Dark Ice Magic
Fire Resistance
Warrior’s Rage
Extreme Speed
Mystic Thread
Dark Earth Magic
Dark Plant Magic
Dark Magic
Synthetic Blacksmith
Hive Mind
Cursed Touch
Dark Light Magic
Dimensional Storage
***
