A Returner's Magic Should Be Special Chapter 183

[Desir Arman, the Hero of Victory who made outstanding contributions towards winning the war. He is a student of the Hebrion Academy who has been in the spotlight ever since his entrance examination…]
Desir turned the pages of the newspaper with his left hand, the other being in a cast.
In front of him, there was a pile of newspapers from various countries spanning the continent. Common amongst all of them was the name Desir Arman, written on the front page of each.
Desir smiled bitterly.
“This reporter has investigated me thoroughly since the entrance exam. I'm scared to death at this point.”
Romantica, sporting light bandaging on her arms and legs, stretched a hand towards him.
“Give it to me.”
Desir shrugged and handed her the newspaper.
'It's all going as planned.'
Desir had been aiming to win the public's attention for his role in the war from the start.
Of course, his primary purpose had been to remove the Outsiders, who had clearly distinguished themselves as an obstacle to his plan. However, if there was anything else he could gain while doing so, to not take it would be foolish.
Unlike when Dadenewt was defeated in Prillecha, Desir now had enough connections to assist and protect him while he furthered his goal.
He no longer had to operate from the shadows.
Rather, this fame was a necessary condition to proceed with his future plans.
Desir put down the newspaper and plopped himself down next to Pram's bed. He stroked the light blue hair wrapped in a bandage. Pram was sleeping.
“It's a real relief that Pram recovered safely.”
Turning away, Desir's eyes met Adjest's, who was lying in a bed next to him.
“How are you feeling?”
Adjest, like Pram, had suffered severe injuries that would render her unable to move for quite a while.
“Much better. It's rather stuffy in here, though. I'd like to move, even if only for light exercise… ”
Desir laughed, feeling that was a rather Adjest-like answer.
“Stay put for the time being. The saint herself has treated you, so you'll be back to normal soon.”
Saint Priscilla.
She cured all of the serious injuries of the Starling Party using her holy healing ability.
Adjest lifted her right arm gingerly. It had been set in place in a cast; she ended up breaking her forearm defending against an attack from the homunculus.
“I thought I'd become quite strong after obtaining the Center of Ice. But in this battle, I realized that I am still lacking.”
“Just because you have a weapon doesn't mean you have improved your core ability.”
“I have to devote myself to improving my competency.”
“You must never rely too heavily on any weapon. It's a common trap that can cause the strongest to become lazy.”
Desir noticed that she was trying to avoid meeting his gaze.
“What the matter?”
“You keep staring at me like that… I'm a little bit embarrassed.”
“Huh?”
Desir tilted his head. He couldn't comprehend what she meant.
Adjest played with her platinum blonde hair, which reached down to her waist.
“You know… I asked you not to return injured. Now look at me. You've got light wounds while I'm confined to a bed… So it's… a little… embarrassing… ”
She was ashamed of herself.
'Cute.'
He couldn't help thinking so subconsciously. She was a very different person from the stoic Adjest Kingscrown he got to know in his previous life.
“It was a considerably tough battle, so it can't be helped.”
When Desir changed the subject, Adjest responded immediately.
“Oh, yes it was. Honestly, right before I lost consciousness, I was very worried. You managed to fend it off, as well as beat it, even though you didn't have the back-up to prevent that homunculus from getting into close-range.”
It was certainly a difficult fight.
If Desir had not grasped its ability, it was clear that the homunculus would have easily slaughtered them all.
“If I had been alone, it would certainly have been too much. But Romantica stepped up and played a major role in beating it. Thanks to her, I was able to hold out for a long time.”
It was very slight, but Romantica's expression hardened very briefly. But no one noticed since she was covering her face with newspapers.
“It was a good plan. Isn't that right, Romantica?”
Romantica lowered her newspaper, and spoke casually.
“Oh, of course! Desir, if I wasn't there, we would have needed three beds in this room.”
She replied while throwing the newspapers onto the table in a hurry.
All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. The party members whipped their heads towards the sound.
The Saint, Priscilla, popped her head through the doorway.
“Nice to see you all.”
“Good morning, Saint.”
“Welcome.”
Sometimes Priscilla would visit the Starling Party. Officially, she would come to check-up on their condition and treat their seriously injured members, but the real reason she visited was to keep Desir abreast of the behind-the-scenes happenings in the Western Kingdom Union.
The Saint, after exchanging brief pleasantries, turned to Desir.
“Within the coming week, the West will officially declare the fall of the Outsiders.”
“It's clear that the collapse of the Outsiders is certain.”
The collapse of the Outsiders.
“The Outsiders's core organization has been wiped out, and the remaining members are now fugitives. Targets that are being tracked by intelligence agencies across the continent. You can say this is practically the end of it.”
That was the best result the war could have had. The reason why the Outsiders could grow so powerful was because they gathered forces and entrenched themselves in many locations across all of the countries.
With their main force now wiped out, only remnants remained to be cleaned out.
“A lot of the key metrics across the large cities are improving now. The rate of crime is declining, and even the underground market is shrinking.”
“In addition, the large quantities of goods they obtained are being repossessed by their respective kingdoms, bolstering the financial health of all countries.”
“And we, humanity, have found ourselves new friends.”
She, of course, was referring to the barbarians. Northern warriors who had settled in the Calcarus Mountains.
The fact that these people, who had only ever been known to remain recluse in the mountains, fought on the side of mankind against the Outsiders, had quickly become a hot topic. Since they didn't allow many people into their settlement, very few people were aware of just how awe-inspiring their strength was.
Their participation in the war had made things a lot easier.
“And in fact, the reason I'm here today is to connect you with such a friend. Looks like he just arrived.”
Priscilla's observation was indeed correct.
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*Thud*
*THUD*
A faint tremor could be felt on each footstep. Then the door opened once again and a man came in. He was so tall that he had to stoop down to fit through the door.
Donape Aslan.
“Nice to see you again.”
Desir bowed politely while voicing his greeting.
“It's an honor to see you too.”
Donape chose to sit by the window.
The incoming sunlight was immediately obscured, plunging the room into semi-darkness.
Donape took a peek at the pile of newspapers, before speaking to Desir.
“I knew you were unusual. You are a warrior after all.”
“You're flattering me.”
“You don't have to be so humble. The Great War has finally come to an end. As a fellow warrior, I pay my respects to you.”
Donape glanced outside once.
“We participated in this war at your request. The war is over and our people have undergone considerable change.”
In the distance he could make out the faint outline of various tributaries from the Calcarus Mountains.
“The Western Kingdom Union has offered us the Jormungand Citadel and its surrounding plains.”
The Saint added her thoughts immediately after Donape.
“The West has proposed complete peace. We're trying to form an alliance.”
It was a good deal for everyone.
Jormungand Citadel was built to defend against the barbarians. Since it was built on infertile and non-flat land, it was not a major loss for the Western Kingdom Union to give it up as a symbol of good faith.
“You've made a tough decision.”
Of course, the decision to give land to the barbarians could not have been easy in itself.
The Saint sighed.
“It was very hard to persuade everyone involved. But the northern warriors joined forces with us for the sake of humanity. They are reliable allies.”
“If I accept the request for an alliance, there will be an alliance of unprecedented size formed across the continent.”
Yes. If an alliance between the barbarians and Western Kingdom Union was established, a coalition of all of the large powers, its members ranging from the wild barbarians in far north and spanning all the way to the Western Kingdom Union and the Hebrion Empire, would be formed.
“But before I say yes, one thing remains to be solved. It involves the existence of the homunculus, captured and handed over to the Magic Tower at your request.”
A monster capable of controlling causality.
Donape's tone increased in pitch and strength.
“It killed Northern warriors, my brothers in arms. Therefore, we must avenge them by killing the homunculus. But you took it away without even asking us.”
One of the Barbaric traditions was vengeance.
“You've overpowered it, and I know what value the homunculus has from a magical point of view. That's why I ask very politely for the transfer of the homunculus for the sake of forming the alliance.”
The atmosphere in the room froze in a flash. Donape had just threatened to end all talk of an alliance, if Desir made the wrong decision here.
'Even so, I can't afford to hand over the homunculus.'
Desir had reason to avoid it. He had to make use of it.
'Of course, we cannot give up on the alliance with the barbarians either.'
If they joined, the first great union would be completed two years before the Shadow Labyrinth's appearance.
However, revenge was all that mattered to them right now. They were a people that would pay back every slight they suffered. And their code of honor dictated that they must be the ones to do so.
They were thoroughly beaten up by the homunculus, thus they had an obligation to exact their revenge.
'… It can't be helped.'
The solution was simple. Desir lowered his head.
“First of all, I apologize for not thinking about you, and for retrieving the homunculus without saying anything. I can promise that I'll never ignore the traditions of the North.”
“I think that's the right thing to do. The solution is simple.”
“… But I can't give you the homunculus.”
“You would threaten our alliance over one homunculus?”
“No. The King's revenge should not be limited to just the homunculus.”
Des1r added quickly.
“Did you know that there is a mastermind behind this?”
—-

Chapter end