The Sword Demon Tears People Apart

Although there were decent shopping areas and restaurants in the academy’s amenities, Zeron and Medea left the academy.
The kingdom’s capital was right in front of them as soon as they exited the main gate, so why stay inside the academy?
“So where are we going?”
“Well. I heard there’s a nice beer place up ahead, shall we go there?”
“What beer in broad daylight!”
“We have to come back in the evening, don’t we?”
It wasn’t like they had taken overnight leave, and the kid had a curfew since she was living in the dormitory.
Probably 10 PM.
“Is that… so?”
The kid seemed tempted, making an interested expression.
“Okay. Then it’s decided?”
“Hmph.”
Beh-, the kid stuck out her tongue and scampered ahead.
Just looking at her steps, you could see how excited she was.
It’s not like she’s a dog out for a walk or something.
Zeron chuckled and followed the kid.
After walking for a while and passing through the academy’s main gate, the world changed as if they had passed through some barrier.
“Hehe.”
The excited kid’s twintails swayed gently.
Zeron moved his feet while roughly scanning the surroundings as he had heard from the maid.
There were many people.
It was inevitable that he found himself watching the actions of those brushing past him.
“Uncle, what are you doing! Come quickly!”
The kid waved her hand from far ahead, smiling brightly as if she had thrown away all worries.
And then, bump- bump-
Someone bumped into Zeron’s shoulder as he suddenly stood next to the kid.
“Watch where you’re going.”
“Uncle! How rude! You should apologize properly.”
“No, why should I when he’s the one who bumped into me.”
“This is why you…”
As the two bickered and moved away, the man who had bumped into Zeron stopped in his tracks, dazed.

His pupils were unfocused.
*
A dim room relying entirely on candlelight without a single window.
Two men were scattering a deck of cards on the table.
“It’s not such a difficult request.”

“Isn’t the risk too high?”
“Maybe in the past, but not so much these days. Thanks to that guy they call the Artist.”
“That’s true.”
Whew-, thick smoke obscured the view.
The man with a scar near his eye stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray.
“The reward is a whopping 500 gold.”
“Five hundred…!?”
The ordinary-looking man opened his eyes wide, then nervously put a cigar in his mouth and puffed out smoke.
“What kind of person is worth five hundred… Is it really dangerous?”
“David Company.”
“Huh?”
“I hear it’s their only daughter.”
David Company…
A familiar name.
It was a company showing explosive growth within the kingdom these days.
“I see… Is it a conflict between companies?”
“Yes. I hear there are even rumors of her being a Golden Child.”
“Ha! You believe that old tale?”
Golden Child.
It was a superstition, different from business acumen, that said they could make gold appear just by touching something.
Roughly speaking, it meant bringing luck in business, something like that.
“Of course not. But you know how merchants are. When it comes to money, they care about even the most ridiculous superstitions.”
“Well, anyway. I don’t need to capture her alive, right?”
“Killing is enough, they say. It’s to warn David Company, and I guess they think if money rolls into that side, it reduces what goes into their own pockets.”
“Accepted.”
As the person across nodded, thud-, the man with the scar near his eye laid down his cards.

“Full house.”
Then the ordinary-looking man grinned and put down his cigar.
Then, thud-, he scattered his cards on the table.
“Royal straight flush.”
*
I thought my luck was too good…

The man thought.
If I had hit a royal flush in a big casino, I wouldn’t be doing this.
“Ah…”
Gradually, his mind went blank.
There was no pain.
Just a dazed feeling, as if looking down at himself from above.
What did I do?
He grasped at his scattering memories.
He clearly remembered trying to stab the target with a knife while passing by naturally, but then a man who suddenly appeared knocked his arm away.
Man?
Who was that man?
What he remembered.
Messy brown hair.
Dull blue eyes visible through it.
And… eye corners curved as if sneering.
…Ah, the Sword Demon.
Yes, that’s right.
They said David Company had such a guy.
Stagger, his body swayed.
His head buzzed.
What is this?
The dull sensation became clearer.
And in an instant, flash-!
It felt like lightning struck his mind.
‘Aaaaaargh-!’
He screamed.
No, did he scream?
Pain as if his whole body was being sliced.
All his internal organs twisting and bursting, his eyeballs being crushed, his limbs shattering and fluttering, flutter, …flutter?
Memory. Request form. Testicles being crushed. Information. Sword Demon. Information. Information again. Nails curling. Shattering black and white. Gait. Distance. Vision? Murmuring people.
‘Aaaaaargh-!’
Sword Demon. Sword Demon. Sword Demon. Yes, Sword Demon…! A corpse without a single wound. A devil laughing wickedly over it! Ghost of the sword! Ghost wielding a sword! That damned ghost! Ghost, gho…!
Thud-
“Ah…”
The pain disappeared as if washed away.
A warm sensation enveloped his whole body.
Mother. Yes, ah… Mother.
And, blackout.

“Oh my, what’s wrong with that person?”
“Oh dear, did he collapse? Shouldn’t we call a doctor?”
“Goodness, what’s going on?”
“Looks like a heart attack?”
Murmuring people, and a man lying comfortably as if asleep.
The commotion was brief.
The street soon regained its usual liveliness.
As if nothing had happened.
Yes.
As if nothing had happened.
*
“Hm? Uncle. Looks like something happened over there.”
“They say someone collapsed? Well, other people will take them to the hospital or not.”
“Really, you’re so heartless.”
The kid pouted and then moved her feet, step- step-.
Humming~ She looked around the street while humming for a while.
“Oh? Uncle, look over there!”
She pointed at a cafe, her eyes sparkling.
It was a cafe decorated with cute ornaments.
Coffee and… macarons?
What are macarons anyway.
Anyway, it was a shop selling strangely shaped snacks.
“Sigh, do I have to go there? Huh? At my age?”
“Are you stupid? What does age have to do with cafes. Nevermind, just follow me!”
She was a willful kid anyway.
*

The macarons were quite expensive but tastier than expected.
“Uncle, are you rich…? How are you going to eat all that.”
“Huh? I have enough. I get something from your dad.”
“No, still, you should save a bit…”
Zeron walked with both hands full of packaged macarons.
He planned to use them as snacks with alcohol.
“Never mind that, you just watch where you’re going while walking. You might fall… oh.”
“Eek!?”
As soon as he said it, the kid’s ankle twisted.
The kid falling forward.
Zeron slightly lifted his leg to support her around the chest area.
It’s hard.
She really was a kid after all.
“It hurts…”
“That’s what you get. You’re wearing shoes you don’t usually wear.”
“I don’t know… This is annoying…”
The kid sat down and whined.
Zeron sighed deeply and looked at the macarons filling both his hands.
“Want me to carry you?”
“…Then what about the macarons.”
“I can throw them away.”
“No, that’s a waste of money.”
The kid pouted and stood up abruptly.
Then she immediately sat back down.
“It hurts…”
“Are you stupid?”
“Just shut up…”
Zeron stared at her for a while and then squatted down in front of her.
It was the best solution Zeron could think of to take care of both the macarons and the kid without throwing anything away.
“Get on my back, kid.”
“I said no…”
“Stop talking and hurry. My blood alcohol level is dangerously low.”
“…Alcoholic.”
The kid grumbled as she reluctantly climbed onto his back.
She looked tiny at a glance, but she was even lighter than expected, which was a bit surprising.
“You need to eat a lot more.”
“What are you saying all of a sudden.”
“No, how can a girl be on my back and I can’t feel anyth… Ow! That hurts, you brat!”
“Just shut up! How do you only say nonsense every time you open your mouth!?”
Whack-! The hand hitting his back was quite fierce.
It would be one thing if it ended with one hit, but whack-! whack-! whack-! It continued without any sign of stopping.
“Hey, I’m going to throw you off!?”
“Go ahead! Try throwing me, you pervert!”
“Oh? You really want me to throw you?”
“I said do it!”
He really was going to throw her, but… he held back thinking of David’s face.
Perhaps because he was lost in such intense deliberation.
…Zeron failed to notice that the corners of Medea’s mouth were shyly turned up.
*
“Ugh… it still stings.”
Zeron frowned as he sat at a table in the beer place.
His back was still burning.
“That’s what you get for saying such things…”
The kid also seemed a bit sorry, pouting her lips and rolling her eyes around.
I’ll let it slide because she’s cute.
Zeron clicked his tongue and shouted.
“Can we get some service here!”
“Yes, yes. What would you like?”
“Two glasses of whatever beer you recommend. For snacks… hey, kid. Sausages are fine, right?”
“I want this.”
“Pizza? Well, alright. Then give us sausages and one of these too.”
“Yes! Please wait a moment!”
As the owner busily moved, Zeron scanned the not-so-large beer place.
The interior, lit by orange lights so it wasn’t too dark, was quite cozy, and the sound of people talking loudly could be considered another kind of snack.
The tables were relatively clean, and glancing at the next table, the food looked good too.
“Not bad.”
“Hm? Yeah, you’re right.”
“Except for those.”
The place Zeron subtly gestured to was a table where drunk customers were talking loudly.
“That Artist bastard is definitely a corpse-fucker.”

“Hey, you bastard! How can you say that!? There are men among the dead too, what the hell!”
“You can fuck men too, why are you making a fuss!”
“No, shit… You’re spitting, you son of a bitch!”
“Damn, they’re making a racket.”
He couldn’t understand the context of the conversation, and all sorts of swear words flew back and forth, piercing his eardrums with loud voices.
A moderate level of noise is good, but this is just a nuisance.
“Should I go give them a knock on the head?”

As Zeron chuckled, Medea was shocked.
“N-no! Don’t do it, okay? I’m telling you?”
“No, they’re so fucking noisy. Usually, if you beat up guys like that a bit, they behave well.”
“Ah, jeez! Be quiet! They’ll hear you!”
“I think they already heard.”
Freeze, the stiffened kid slowly turned her gaze.
The table over there was already glaring at them as if to kill.
“Wh-what are we going to do about this…!”
“What do you mean what. I’ll teach you something, kid. This is also part of the charm of a bar.”
“Really, how does this guy always get into trouble…”
“Oh, you’re saying exactly the same thing as that David guy.”
Leaving behind the dumbfounded kid, Zeron got up with a grin.
From the other table, three or four men with fire in their eyes were already approaching.
“Why on earth did I…”
Medea’s quiet lament was buried in the noisy atmosphere of the bar.