How to Live as a Knight After the Ending

Chapter 146: A Wedding in the Rain (2)

Islow stared out the window.

The rain was pouring down, but the backyard was still being set up to welcome guests.

“Where are they?”

Kursha, who was in his room, answered.

“They’ve escaped. They’re more tenacious than I thought. I didn’t realize they’d choose suicide if they were caught.”

“That’s because they’ve been poisoned by evil.”

Balud’s men fled and scattered, or were mostly dead.

Those who chose death threw their lives away to help Balud escape.

It was supposed to be a show of loyalty, but the problem was that their loyalty was only to Balud.

Not him, the boss of the North Blinders.

Islow’s eyes sank heavily.

His daughter’s crush? It didn’t matter. What bothered him more than anything else was Balud’s behavior.

Looking at him, Islow felt so miserable.

Why is he ashamed of the fact that he, a northerner, has built such an organization?

Because he’s gotten to this point the hard way.

Betraying coworkers, selling out trusted friends, putting a bullet in his boss’ back.

Then he befriended those who stood in his way or would become his competitors, and then he got rid of them all.

Great stories from the past? Some of them are true. But not all of them are real.

He was a despicable man, and that’s how he survived and made it this far.

Once he became the boss, he cared about his past reputation.

He deliberately inflated rumors to make it seem like he was a great guy. Most of the people who knew his past were dead anyway, so no one would ever know.

Then Islow saw Balud, the newest member of the organization.

Uncharacteristically neatly dressed and groomed for a northerner, his eyes cold and steady, and he had a cold but sure way of getting things done.

His younger self was nowhere to be seen. There was no comparison, because Balud was a remarkable man by anyone’s standards.

The qualities he didn’t have that made him a hero.

Islow felt intense envy and jealousy for Balud.

At the same time, he felt a sense of urgency: if things continue as they were, Balud would become the next boss of the North Blinders.

He couldn’t let that happen. How could he build an organization and then hand it over to him?

So he kept interfering behind the scenes. He tried to use Kursha to attack Balud several times.

But each time, Balud had his own way of getting out of trouble.

“That’s it.”

At the last moment, Balud let his guard down.

He could never have imagined that his most trusted boss would betray him.

His power was shattered. Life or death is unclear, but there’s nothing he can do about it.

Today’s betrothal ceremony will see the North Blinders grow into a larger organization.

Even if Balud survives, the North Blinders will become an unassailable citadel.

“Make sure to properly prepare for the engagement ceremony speech today.”

“Aye, aye.”

Islow stared out the window.

The bodies of the Balud family had been quickly removed and the blood quickly washed away.

He could smell the stench of blood rising through the thick mist of water that followed.

The scent seemed to try to grab hold of him, but Islow shrugged it off.

It was familiar to him.

*

Balud looked at Osian.

He hadn’t expected to see anyone in this place, much less him.

“You…why are you here?”

Balud asked in a crawling voice.

His voice was weak from the intense exhaustion.

“Shouldn’t I be here?”

“Are you here to kill me? If so, you’ve come at a good time.”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but if I was trying to kill you, you’d be dead long ago.”

Balud then realized that Osian was holding a sword in the hand that wasn’t holding the umbrella.

And the blade was dripping with blood, presumably from someone he had just slashed.

“What the heck are you……?”

“You have good men.”

Balud seemed to realize something.

“Legor. Did Legor come to you? What happened to him?”

“He was seriously injured, but received first aid. For now, he’s resting in our office.”

“……That’s good, he’s alive.”

For the first time, there was emotion in Balud’s voice, relief that his precious right arm was alive.

“And I have come here, at his request, to check on your condition. Legor told me the approximate location, so I didn’t have any trouble finding you.”

Aside from that, the presence of pursuers in the area gave away Balud’s location.

The pursuers, of course, had fallen under Osian’s blade and were soaking wet from the rain.

“Legor wouldn’t have the money to hire a fixer of your caliber. What the hell were you thinking?”

“I got paid.”

Osian remembered the desperate look in Legor’s eyes as he gripped her wrist.

The hot tears rolling down his cheeks were clear in his mind’s eye.

“I’ve had enough.”

A man he would give his life to protect.

From the moment he had saved him, healed him, perhaps Osian had taken over that will.

Once it began to pour, the rain showed no sign of stopping.

The rains of Tirna were long and lingering.

It’s not a thin, long, trickling rain like the rainy season. It comes down hard, as if to wash away the world itself.

Beneath it, one could stand for only a few minutes and be swept away.

Such was the case with Balud, who was now crouched down.

“I heard the gist of it.”

Osian’s words brought a sneer from Balud.

It was a sneer directed at himself.

“I see. So you’re pitying me?”

“Of course not. You and I are not that close, and even if we were, didn’t you live your life expecting this to happen to you one day? Pity is a luxury for such a man.”

“Sympathy is a luxury. I don’t like you, but I like the sound of that.”

“So.”

“……?”

“What are you going to do now?”

Balud didn’t understand Osian’s question for a moment.

What did he mean?

“Legor’s request was to see to your condition. He also asked me to save you while I was at it.”

The blood on Osian’s sword washed away in the pouring rain.

Osian shook off the remaining blood and rain, then casually sheathed the sword at his waist.

“This is the end of my request. But now I have someone in front of me who needs a favor.”

“……I thought you said pity was a luxury?”

“You think this is pity?”

Osian stared at Balud, hard to read the emotion in those unwavering eyes.

“You want to take on a commission? Are you crazy? Don’t you know what kind of danger I’m in right now?”

“I’m a fixer. I get the job and I do it.”

“You’re talking about the North Blinders, an organization that one of you can’t handle.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“…….”

“There’s only one thing that matters now. What you want to do.”

Balud closed his eyes tightly.

Osian’s eyes hadn’t wavered from the moment before.

He was always sincere.

“Are you going to ask me for a favor? Or are you just going to give up here and stay in the rain?”

Osian’s voice rang clearly through the rain.

Balud suddenly remembered his past.

He was a child. When others were playing and frolicking, he was fighting for survival.

The land in the north had always been harsh. The barbarians had rejected even the waves of the Industrial Revolution.

Balud’s father was a typical barbarian.

-Son, you will be a great warrior!

His father always said that but Balud did not listen to him.

His father was a barbarian, a man whose fists spoke louder than his words.

As a child, Balud was beaten harshly by his father.

His only refuge was his mother.

Northern women are often fierce and unyielding, but his mother was not.

She was slender and gentle, like a trembling flower in a snowy field.

He never understood why a woman like her would marry a savage like his father.

Whenever he would ask his mother, bruised and battered by his father, she would always reply with a smile.

-Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s because of you, Balud, that we have a cute and smart child like you, and that’s the way it should be. I married him for the sake of a lovely child like you.

Young Balud did not understand the words.

Time has passed since then. His father went out and fought with another tribe.

When he came back, only his head was left.

It was a fellow fighter who brought his body back.

Balud was not sad. When the man who brought his father’s body to him told him that his father had killed more than twenty enemies in his death, it fell on deaf ears.

His father was the breadwinner, the one who brought home the bacon.

Now that he was dead, it was up to young Balud to protect his mother but his mother didn’t live more than a year.

She was already weak.

Her stubbornness in the harsh conditions of the north had taken its toll, and her broken body could no longer be repaired.

-Balud, I’m sorry, it’s all I can do for you, but somewhere in this world, you’ll find someone who loves you.

It was his mother’s last words.

And with that, Balud left the North and headed south.

He had heard rumors that there was a city of opportunity where he could make a fortune.

Tirna, the City of Gold.

Balud came there as a barbarian boy who knew nothing and had to face discrimination.

-What? You’re a barbarian, get away from me, kid.

-This kid has dirty eyes.

-If you don’t want to get beaten up, go away!

Yelling. Swear words, accusations. Insults.

The reactions were always the same.

This only made him more vicious.

-You’re quite the fighter. Where are you from?

-Balud? You’re impressive with an axe. How about you work for us?

Some coveted his skills and offered to recruit him.

But it wasn’t a gesture of goodwill; it was merely a deception to gain access to the weapon known as Balud.

As he ebbed and flowed through the underworld, he found himself in an organization called the North Blinders.

Balud’s work only got worse.

In order to stop being treated like a savage and to make a better life for himself, he grew his family.

They were all Northerners. People who, like him, had been driven from their homes or left on their own accord.

They had come together to fight the discrimination that was rampant in this world, or to live as people.

With them, things moved faster.

His enemies were easily defeated, and his status rose but there was always a lingering unease in his heart.

The way he looked at himself changed from disgust to fear.

In the end, he realized that he could not escape the fundamental mold of being a northerner.

Maybe he’ll have to live with the label for the rest of his life.

‘If that is fate and life maybe I should just accept it.’

But then, just as he was thinking that, Isela appeared.

Unlike his cold self, she shined as brightly as the sun.

She had no fear of this side of the world, but rather a smile that made him laugh.

A warm spring rushed into the cold north.

─Surely, somewhere in this world, you will find someone who loves you.

He remembered his mother’s last words.

Ah, yes.

This was it. He had lived for this moment, and this moment only.

‘If I have any life left I would use it for you.’

Balud opened his closed eyes.

Seeing the look in his eyes, Osian’s lips curled up slightly.

“I see you’ve finally made up your mind.”

Balud gripped his axe and slowly rose from the ground.

His strength was unbelievable for a man who had just been dying.

“Indeed, you look like a warrior of the North.”

“Didn’t I tell you, I really hate that word?”

“You don’t like being called a barbarian, and you don’t like being called a warrior?”

“To me, the origin itself is just a shackle. It’s just…….”

-Crack.

Balud tightened his grip on the handle of his hatchet.

“I can only hope that……for now, even this hateful blood will give me strength.”

“That seems to be enough for you.”

“Are you really going to accept my request? This isn’t something that can be done with mere bravado. More importantly, I currently don’t have enough money to hire you.”

Balud knows Osian’s skills.

He’s seen him fight, but he’s also fought him.

Osian’s strength, from what he’d seen in the ruins, was almost superhuman.

He can’t imagine how much money it would take to pay someone of his stature.

Balud, having lost his position and fled, had no money to spend immediately.

Osian heard Balud’s words and approached him.

He casually reached into his front pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

In the pouring rain, the pack of cigarettes was completely soaked. Naturally, the cigarettes inside were also soaked.

Osian opened the lid of the packet.

There was only one lantern left inside.

“The last one.”

Osian casually took it and threw the empty cigarette packet on the ground.

“That’s enough for the fee.”