Chapter 106 — Returning Home in Retirement
Theodore's head rolled to the ground.
Robin wiped the blood from his blade and slung the greatsword across his back.
"Lord Elias, thank you. I've finally avenged my family… and my father."
"You shouldn't thank me."
Elias looked down at Theodore's corpse.
"This all began because I stubbornly forced my way into the Central Sea. In that sense, I'm the root cause."
"And your ancestor was even more stubborn than I was—
to the very end, she never once regretted it."
He turned to the young man.
"But tell me, Robin…"
"Do you regret it?"
Robin's gaze grew distant, as though he were witnessing a thousand years of his family's rise and struggle all at once.
"I wouldn't say I regret it."
"If the Green family hadn't resolved itself to protecting 'Elias,' we might have gone extinct long ago."
"Now that our ancestral wish has been fulfilled… I'm happy."
"But at the same time…"
He pursed his lips and looked up at the pale, overcast sky.
"…I don't really know how I'm supposed to live from here on."
Robin's face was as colorless as the sky above.
Elias studied him in silence.
After chasing a single wish for a thousand years,
achieving it only left behind a hollow uncertainty.
It was the same emptiness Frieren had sensed in that perfect dreamlike paradise.
Elias couldn't help but think—
"Then what about you?"
Robin spoke again.
"Lord Elias, now that you've reclaimed 'Elias,' once you become human… how do you plan to live?"
"Heh. No rush."
Elias lowered his head with a faint smile.
"I'll think about that when the time comes."
"Besides, I haven't actually tested that spell yet."
"There's always the possibility that you made a mistake."
"If it turns me into something even more terrifying than a demon…"
"That would be troublesome."
—Whoosh!
Robin suddenly raised his greatsword high.
The confusion in his eyes vanished, replaced by a blazing spark of hope.
"Lord Elias!"
He suddenly volunteered at the top of his lungs:
"You can try 'Elias' right now! If you really turn into some terrifying monster, I, Robin, swear my blade will take your head!"
Elias: (…Wow.)
So this kid… was trying to find his purpose in something like this?
Elias let out a slow breath.
"Robin, thank you. Truly."
"I've already witnessed your talent for lopping off heads in a single stroke. It was… unforgettable."
"But stopping me if I were to lose control—
I'm planning to entrust that to someone a bit more reliable."
As he spoke, an orange-tinted silhouette surfaced briefly in his mind.
If it were her, she would be the perfect witness.
Robin, rejected once again, instantly returned to his hollow, lost expression.
"As for you, Robin,"
Elias continued, "if you're willing, you can stay in the village. Help the villagers with odd jobs, together with Frieren."
"—Frieren?"
Robin ground his teeth.
"You mean that white-haired elf?!"
"Hmph! That unreasonable, stubborn white-haired menace—who'd want to work with her?!"
Elias frowned slightly, a trace of genuine confusion forming.
This was the first time he'd ever heard someone describe Frieren like that.
"Wait, Robin," he said.
"In the eyes of ordinary humans, shouldn't Frieren be considered… cute?"
Robin snorted.
"She's an elf!"
"She might look like a kid, but she's probably some hundreds-of-years-old granny!"
"…Is that so?"
Elias had never doubted Frieren's age, but he found Robin's attitude refreshing—completely different from everyone else's.
At the very least, this kid might keep the white-haired elf in check, stop her from bouncing around like a lunatic all day.
"Robin, in any case," Elias said calmly,
"I'm surrounded by mages. What I lack is a brave, straightforward warrior like you."
"If you help out in the village, you'll get the villagers' pay—and on top of that, I'll pay you myself."
"At double the standard mercenary rate."
"—Deal!"
Robin's eyes instantly lit up.
"Food, lodging, and money?!"
"Who wouldn't want that?!"
"Thank you, Lord Elias!"
---
Meanwhile, at the Silver Lake Manor on the western outskirts—
Leiya descended the floating stairs and entered the master bedroom.
The shattered debris scattered across the floor, along with Butler Pierre lying unconscious, told her everything she needed to know.
"Butler Pierre, wake up."
She gently roused him.
But the moment Pierre opened his eyes and saw Leiya, terror flooded his face.
"Miss Leiya!"
"It was Elias—!"
"—Butler, calm yourself first."
Ignoring her, Pierre scrambled to his feet and rushed inside. After scanning the empty room, his expression collapsed entirely.
"Miss Leiya!"
"General Theodore is gone!"
"He must have been taken by that brutal madman Elias—!"
"—Enough!"
Leiya's sharp shout finally forced the panicking old man to calm down.
She stepped into the room and spoke solemnly:
"Butler Pierre, listen carefully to every word I'm about to say."
"From today onward, my father Theodore no longer serves as commander of the Allied Army."
"To the outside world, we will say that he fell gravely ill and has returned south with me to recuperate."
"As for Elias—
we'll say he refused to accompany us south and resigned of his own accord."
Pierre hesitated. "Then… what about me, Miss?"
Leiya took a deep breath.
"Butler Pierre, since the war began, you've stayed by my father's side for many years."
"But at your age, it's no longer appropriate for you to continue serving in the Allied Army."
"I'll give you a generous sum. You can return to your hometown in the south."
"…Sigh. Perhaps that's for the best."
Pierre nodded quietly.
"Thank you, Miss."
---
That evening.
Pierre boarded a simple carriage under the setting sun, his belongings slung over his back.
As the manor's tower faded into the distance, he turned to the silent driver and suddenly smiled.
"Schlacht the Omniscient."
"To have the Demon King's confidant personally come fetch me—
I'm truly honored."
"You're too modest, Pierre," Schlacht replied without turning his head.
"Betraying humanity. Defecting to the demon race."
"Infiltrating the Allied Army with your aging body."
"For eight long years, acting as a mere butler while feeding Theodore strategies."
"Turning an empty-headed brute into the so-called 'Greatest Mind of the Human Front.'"
"The Allied Army believes its tactics superior, unaware that we deliberately leaked the intelligence."
"Thanks to you, the hidden passage to the Southern Continent is now fully secured."
"When the Demon King's army assembles in the south, even Serie will be caught off guard…"
Pierre let out a cold chuckle.
"You're the modest one."
"Schlacht—your future-sight magic saw all of this long ago."
"Didn't it?"