I Became a Raid Boss

Some of the flies unleashed by the troublesome client fell into a hellish abyss, while the remaining flies were torn apart and died.

The snake’s words were half right and half wrong.

It was true that I was young and full of vigor, but I wasn’t as sharp as the snake warned.

Objectively, I had to admit that he was quite strong.

At that age, it would be tough to find a worthy opponent, which likely led him to invade this place, feeling all high and mighty.

However, even if he could have risen to be a master someday, right now, he was just a greenhorn who didn’t know the fear of the sky.

…It’s strange for me to say this since I’m much younger than him.

But isn’t that what my past life’s memories are for?

I don’t remember exactly, but I think I must have been over twenty, so let’s say my mental age is higher than his.

With a higher mental age and impressive achievements, I have the right to say this.

Anyway, I perfectly completed the troublesome client’s request and shut the mouth of the Great Sword Peep.

Joanie and the man were talking seriously, and the surviving apostles, who hadn’t joined the empire, were glancing at me.

What were they so curious about, peeking out like baby birds looking for food?

I tilted my head in confusion but quickly brushed it off.

“Hmm…”

By the way, what should I do about these corpses?

Leaving them for wild animals or monsters to devour might be an option, but there are so many that they might rot before they’re all consumed.

Considering the stench and the risk of disease, I really should get rid of them.

“Such a hassle…”

If only I were a magician, I could just incinerate them all at once. In moments like this, I kind of regretted choosing the sword.

It’s not that I lack the means to start a fire, but using that for something like this feels excessive, and the aftermath would surely be more of a hassle.

So, it can’t be helped; I’ll have to do it the hard way.

That’s why swordsmen are like this.

…Suddenly, I felt the mocking laughter of an old fool snake, which made me quite uncomfortable.

Reluctantly, I dragged the corpses and tossed them into the cracked earth.

Thanks to the flies being fly in the first place, it wasn’t much effort.

Oh, our beautiful mountains, green and clear!

As I worked hard for nature and environmental protection, the watching apostles gradually joined my meaningful task.

“Oh, look at this sword. Its stats are insane!”
“I can’t wear armor. Do you have any money?”

Seeing them eagerly rummaging through the corpses, it’s clear they were more interested in treasures than honoring the dead, but at least it was helpful.

Finally, they looked like the mercenaries I knew from Liberi.

No matter if they’re apostles or whatever, it seems mercenary instincts can’t be ignored.

After tossing in the last big fly, I shook my hands off.

Digging up dirt to cover them would be too troublesome; I’ll just bring some oil later to pour on it.

With the rewarding work done, it was time to clock out.

“Oh right.”

I still had one task left.

*

Despite my personal dislike for the snake brat, I acknowledge his remarkable skill.

Hmm, no, “dislike” is too mild. Let’s say, ‘despite wanting to tear him to shreds.’

If his skills were even slightly lacking, he would have either been finished by Garid or torn apart by my hands long ago.

This is precisely why being a master is so annoying.

When one steps in, the other follows, and fighting means being prepared to die—it’s not something you take lightly.

Whenever we clashed, it usually ended with chaos all around, making it feel like mutually assured destruction, a situation where both sides cautiously observed each other.

Of course, my homeland Grasis, which had been proud to the point of destruction, was an exception.

I had to fight in that situation.

Thus, the reason I didn’t kill the snake brat wasn’t that simple.

I was sure I could defeat him one-on-one, but he knew that too, so he made a point of dodging and fleeing from me.

A fight only works face-to-face; catching someone who’s running away, distracted by various spells and schemes, is impossible.

Frustratingly, he had superior battlefield control skills, and at that time, I still had things I needed to protect.

That was a long introduction, but the point was as I initially stated—

The snake brat is quite skilled.

“W-What is this?! This definitely wasn’t here…?!”

What the hell was he babbling about?

He was supposedly a master mage; there’s no way a few thieves could break through his barrier.

I watched the apostles hammering against the barrier while I…

Oh right. It was broken.

Thud.

Instead of drawing my broken sword, I intentionally made some noise with my steps, causing a few of the barrier-banging fools to glance my way.

Their faces turned pale as if they had seen a ghost, which was quite amusing.

Seeing my face, the reaction confirmed that they weren’t exactly good guys.

“We’re screwed.”

I took that as it meant they thought they were in deep trouble.

With a sense of foreboding, I leaped forward.

I grabbed the nearest man’s collar and slammed him into the ground.

The man, who had no idea what was going on until the moment I grabbed him, intimately welcomed the ground and let out a heavy breath.

Next came a peculiar character charging at me, holding a staff.

While a staff isn’t a harmless weapon, it is definitely less lethal than others.

Running towards me with a staff, which is better suited for self-defense than for killing, could only be described as strange.

This was something I didn’t even need to dodge.

Thwack.

“U-ugh?!”

I smacked the side of the staff with the back of my hand, causing the wielder to lose balance.

A person should wield the staff, not the other way around! But every time the staff bobbed around loosely, its owner wobbled in kind.

In fact, his main tactic might have been distracting with his dance rather than the staff!

I watched this absurd dance for a moment, then leveled my foot towards the perfect position and kicked his head.

With a sound reminiscent of a watermelon bursting, I caught the retreating guy by the neck and tossed him at another one.

What’s it to me?

The thief who slipped from my hands excitedly reunited with another thief like two tangled vines in a forest.

Their already weak stances crumbled completely.

It took less than a minute to finish off the remaining foes.

After all, anyone trying to sneak into someone else’s house while everyone else was fighting couldn’t be strong at all, so what I’d done was more like cleaning than fighting.

Soon, the last apostle was enveloped in a beam of light and vanished.

Apostles like this are lucky. They don’t have to worry about corpse disposal.

“Wow…”

…So, how long are they planning to follow?

I turned and glared at the three who were trailing behind like baby birds chasing their mother.

I could let Joanie go, but what’s with the Great Sword Peep and that dagger guy tagging along?

“Do you think they’re looking at us? They definitely are… right? I mean, we’re here on a mission, but it’s kinda nerve-wracking. Are you okay?”
“If they challenge us again, will you fight back? I want to fight again.”
“Who are you talking to right now?”

As I silently listened to their conversation, Joanie chimed in.

“If it were really a problem, I would have taken action from the start when you began following me. So, it should be fine… Probably.”
“…Why is Joanie so nonchalant about this?”
“Me? Well, we’ve eaten meals together several times, so why would she kill me?”
“Please, just kill me.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“Huh?”

Somehow, it didn’t feel like the most meaningful conversation.

Anyway… I considered shooing away my guests, but after finally using a bit of strength, I became too lazy to do that and let them be.

Let’s just say it’s a reward for their displayed courage.

I stood before the barrier.

Although the form of the barrier wasn’t visibly apparent, I could feel a bizarre flow of mana surrounding the area.

“Hmm… How do I pass this?”

Suddenly, I thought the snake brat might have anticipated this outcome.

If he hadn’t, there would be no reason to set it up so that I could only enter with permission.

A snake wouldn’t possibly have a warm and humanlike heart to consider who might come to this remote location to pay their respects.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt I’d fallen into a trap.

It smelled fishy, but it was effectively protecting Garid’s grave, so I decided to let it go for now.

Despite that resolve, the reason I wasn’t entering my house was simple.

“…How do I get through this?”

I tilted my head in thought, feeling like a child who forgot their key and couldn’t enter home.

In reality, getting in isn’t hard.

If the door won’t open, I can just rip it off its hinges!

However, I couldn’t just break into my own home out of a desire to catch some criminals.

I had gone through the trouble of installing security only to rip it apart immediately after.

Fortunately, my contemplation didn’t last long.

As I reached out with my hand that doesn’t wear a ring—in other words, the one with the treaty mark—the barrier wavered.

As the snake brat’s symbol faintly appeared on the bluish surface of the barrier, a gap wide enough for a cart to enter opened up.

As I’d felt before, magic was indeed more useful in these situations than a sword.

Though the sword is superior in many aspects.

I stepped through the barrier with the three Peeps trailing behind me.

Joanie and the dagger guy, who had been here multiple times, showed no interest, while the Great Sword Peep constantly looked around, clearly overwhelmed by the new surroundings.

Although I had silently permitted their presence, I wasn’t offering to guide them as they were not officially invited guests.

Instead, I walked toward the cliff and looked down at Garid, suddenly furrowing my brow.

A blue flower I had never seen before quietly guarded the grave marker I had left behind.

“Ugh.”

What a ridiculous sight.

Clenching my fist around the blue flower, I made it vanish without a trace, as if it had never existed.

Perhaps the snake brat’s words about honoring Garid weren’t entirely a lie.

And since Garid had presumably felt relieved after fighting the snake, he might even welcome his visitor.

But what can you do?

The dead don’t speak; it’s up to the living to remember the departed.

Before long, the three apostles had lined up behind me.

With them like this, it felt like I was leading these three.

If the ones I used to follow were watching, they’d probably shake their heads, thinking I was pretending to be a leader again.

If that were the case, I would have certainly enjoyed the authority of leadership.

But…

It’s been three years and a half since Garid left this world.

I’ve settled here for a year and a half now.

Even if it’s not at this moment, thinking about leaving this place I’ve grown attached to filled my heart with melancholy.

Suddenly, it felt like a heavy rock was piled on my chest, suffocating me.

I thrashed around like someone floundering in water until I could barely croak out the name.

“Garid.”

As I rolled that name off my tongue—a name I’ve called for most of my life—I suddenly muttered the word that came to me.

“Dad.”

If it were the past, I would have felt so embarrassed that I’d never have done this, yet surprisingly, I felt no shame.

Once I finally let it out, what was so difficult about this simple act?

Like always, regret always comes late, haunting me afterwards.

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