Chapter 103

I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 103: Wood

Wood
Chapter 103. Wood

In the middle of a snowy mountain where nothing existed,
Even cold-resistant creatures hibernated for the winter under the bleak weather, so silence reigned.
In that space, a large vertical rift opened.
Like oil spilling onto the earth, the rift of chaotic colors spat out its contents.
What was inside were a burly man in black and a man wearing a gray robe.
It was the man Ferda had identified as Gokma.
They arrived at the foot of the snowy mountain.
— Did we have to come this way?
— No.
— Then?
— I couldn’t think of any suitable location.
— Mmm.
The burly man looked up toward the snowy mountain.
There was the place where a Dark Elf named Linne had served as research director.
But that was merely in the past tense.
— What was decided about Linne?
— The research will continue.
— A generous disposition.
At that, the burly man snorted.
— As if I’d be generous? Once it is complete, I will kill her. She was a woman of no value other than that from the beginning.
— Boil a dog? That won’t cause any aftermath either.
The man said that and turned around.
It was then that it happened.
Gokma suddenly felt a murderous intent directed at him.
He raised his hand and simply turned his body just like that.
Something was blocked by his hand.
Kwoong!
The burly man’s fist touched his hand.
Although he was pushed back significantly by the difference in strength, he stood firm on his two feet.
— …What is the meaning of this?
— I simply did what you were doing.
— What did I do?
— You are avoiding the conversation, so I gave up on it as well. Are more words needed?
— I don’t understand what you are saying at all.
— Don’t think about fooling me. You brought up that Dark Elf woman precisely to avoid the conversation, didn’t you?
— What conversation did I avoid? It seems you know.
— Ferda Valdrova.
The burly man growled as if he were angry.
— Why didn’t you kill that man?
— …..
— Look. You can’t answer, can you?
At Gokma’s silence, the burly man scoffed.
— I didn’t like you from the beginning. You died pathetically stabbed by the Hero, yet you secretly prolonged your life and showed your face again.
— …..
— You should have died right there. Not returning like this, living shamefully.
— If dying like that is better…
Gokma looked at him with eyes containing emotion.
— Why are you still alive instead of following Father?
— Isn’t it because of you?
— That is nothing more than an excuse. When I saved you, I told you my clear purpose. And you accepted it. Now behaving like this, what makes you different from a human who changes their mind in an instant?
The burly man’s eyebrow twitched.
But instead of leading to violence, he pulled back the fist with which they had clashed.
Gokma opened his mouth as he watched that.
— There was a reason why I didn’t kill Ferda. As expected, humans are unknown until you see them directly.
The only one who had made Gokma utter those words in the past was exactly one person.
He recalled the distant past he remembered.
Gokma had looked down on human weakness as something trivial.
He had destroyed and crushed what they believed in, mocking their fragility.
That was why he hadn’t known until the moment of his death.
That among those fragile humans, someone would arise with the power to pierce his heart.
And that that man, ultimately, would eliminate even the Demon King.
The seed of rebellion that severed Godwin’s intent.
“Hero.”
Gokma touched his chest.
What led him to death was not the holy sword blessed by all the gods and dragons, but a humble kitchen knife.
Although he was now resurrected, the fact that he had died in that manner instilled caution in him.
Yet he smiled.
It was an emotion woven purely of joy.
Because that incomplete death allowed the intent to continue, and he was able to become this strong.
Surely Father, too, is smiling within the void.
Gokma thought that the Hero was the only one who could make him reverse his evaluation twice.
But there is no such thing as an absolute in the world.
“Ferda Valdrova.”
He was feeling that same sense of the unexpected he felt from the Hero, coming from that man.
Although the direction differs, the texture is a similar sensation.
Gokma also knew what that was.
— Hm?
The burly man fixed his gaze on a point in the snowfield and made a sound.
— Why?
— …There is someone there.
What was visible was a snowfield completely covered in snow.
No. When Gokma turned his eyes toward where the burly man was looking, something protruding distinctively was visible.
It had a shape resembling a helmet.
Given its rough shape, he thought it must be a stone statue placed somewhere.
But that thought was brief: the snow piled upon that statue shook off.
It rose from its spot.
Rough and coarse armor like a massive rocky mountain expressed in a human body.
Seeing that armor, one could understand how he could remain motionless while snow covered his body.
— Alberto, it’s you.
An appearance as upright as his title.
Truly worthy of being called the Walking Fortress.
— It can’t be a coincidence that we meet like this. Were you waiting?
He did not answer.
It wasn’t something that needed words to begin with.
He picked up the club and shield he had set down.
A heavy club over 2 meters long and a shield of similar size.
The armor wrapping his entire body was also coarse and rough.
Judging by what he wore, he seemed slow, and his movements were actually on the slower side.
However, he was the most notorious figure among the demon race.
His accumulated notoriety was by no means empty.
Especially the burly man, seeing that appearance, trembled violently.
— You, you son of a bitch…!
The burly man, as if delighted to meet him, lost his reason and charged at Alberto.
— Today I will kill you without fail!
His fist shot forward with the momentum to crush the armor.
Alberto also raised his club in rhythm with that strike.
Just as they were about to clash.
Gokma traced a line in the air with his finger.
Space opened between the burly man and Alberto, swallowing the burly man.
Alberto cleaved the empty air and struck the ground.
Kwoong!
The ground resounded loudly, and the snow shot up toward the sky before settling back onto the ground.
Alberto looked toward Gokma.
He spoke.
— Understand. He is doing that because he is resentful over having his limbs broken by you.
— …..
— Besides, what you want isn’t insignificants like them, but him, isn’t that right?
At first listen it sounds self-centered, but those words were the truth.
Alberto had come pursuing only Gokma, and that was why he was sitting here.
— Stop. Nothing will change even if you track me. Alberto.
— …..
— You have no mana, nothing; you are just a mere human. If I trace my finger once and leave this space, you will have to walk the continent again on foot. Even in such irrationality, you seek only me.
— …..
Alberto gave no answer.
Gokma spoke that way, but he did not mock Alberto.
The number of demons and monsters felled by his parsimony was countless, and the destroyed settlements exceeded double digits.
Without a single person acknowledging him, he moved silently solely to kill demons.
That was why they called that man the Walking Fortress, Alberto.
— Since you hate demons to death, I will tell only you. Do you know what I saw today?
What surfaced in his mind was Ferda’s face.
— Demon King material.
— …..
— A human with outstanding potential. Right now he harbors the brazen desire to conquer the Demon Land, but that is only temporary.
Gokma smiled maliciously.
— What remains at the end of loss is always emptiness.
Gokma tore space once more.
— And in emptiness, anger always takes its place.
Thus, Gokma escaped from that place.
There was nothing Alberto could do.
He raised his head and looked at the sky.
Bleak weather.
Soon a snowstorm would blow.
Strong winds would blow and snow would pile up again, but that would not stop his steps.
His steps, moving toward where the monsters are, aimlessly.
But today was different.
Unlike usual, his steps were clearly heading somewhere.
The sudden appearance of monsters.
Contrary to expectations that it would cause panic, the morning was peaceful.
Although someone had died and there were seriously injured people, it did not turn into a path of mourning.
They were only relieved that the worst situation was avoided thanks to trust in Security Captain William and support from the Dragon Descendants.
Yet there are always humans who do not even like this atmosphere.
Hanson was precisely that type of human.
Hanson, who had first dreamed of the Gold Rush and come here, did not like this peace.
“It should have caused more chaos.”
Social mobility fundamentally arises from chaos.
Hanson’s obsession with that social class was stronger than anyone else’s.
He was a carpenter, a second-rate architect in the Empire.
Had he stayed in the Empire, the position of site manager would have been limited to imagination.
He already held a position beyond his ability.
Yet human greed knows no bounds.
“I want to rise to a higher position.”
The position of a noble.
No, not of a noble, but at least a position where the commoners here bow their heads.
“It was something that couldn’t happen to bastards like me.”
Originally it is just a simple daydream that commoners have.
Just as storytellers don’t only recount tales of beggars obtaining divine opportunities to become princes and princesses, such fantasies exist in everyone’s heart.
Hanson’s delusions were particularly severe.
That was only natural, since he had had a tremendous stroke of luck, hadn’t he?
“Armor Knight.”
It is not an exaggeration to say that everything was achieved through him.
He was easy to handle as a person, and his skills were outstanding, so he made Hanson look good every time, didn’t he?
Thus, he elevated him from a simple foreman to the position of site manager.
Hanson thought this while watching him at first.
“That person will surely become a knight soon.”
So he flattered him, acted as his voice, represented him, and took care of everything he could.
He thought he would become a knight in a month at most.
Yet the Armor Knight did not become a knight.
He still remained at the construction site.
“If Sir Armor Knight becomes a knight, I will also gain power…”
Beyond site manager, to field management,
He wanted to command more people as subordinates.
For that, the Armor Knight had to rise higher.
“When he was summoned to the castle, I thought: ‘this is my chance’, but…”
Who knew he would be a bastard who wastes his own luck?
Although outwardly he said it was fine, secretly he drank to soothe his bitter heart.
What can be done?
You have no choice but to live according to your status.
— The atmosphere is truly ominous!
The one who casually blurted those words was a woman.
An age that had not yet passed marriageable age.
The brazen look on her face was no different from that of a maiden.
Yet there was no way such a brazen maiden existed in this town.
This woman was definitely a newly graduated mage.
“Getting involved would be a hassle…”
Hanson ignored her as if he hadn’t heard her.
Then the woman approached his side more brazenly and spoke.
— Ahem, ahem, I heard wolf monsters attacked.
— …And?
— ‘And’ is informal language. I heard there were many casualties because I didn’t arrive in time.
— Only 4 died.
— Do you know what casualties are? It includes the injured, not just the dead.
— Still, this was a good defense. If the adventurers had united more, there wouldn’t have been those deaths either.
— So, in the end, it is the incompetence of those above who cannot respond to this situation, isn’t that right?
— …What are you saying?
Hanson frowned and looked down at the woman.
The woman smiled boldly and said.
— Think about it. What was the reason you came to this city? To make money, right?
— That’s true, but…
— Those employers who lured you surely also said this. It’s close to the Demon Land, so it’s actually safer, something like that.
It was true.
He didn’t believe those words, but everyone simply let them pass with a “whatever.”
The people who came here were people without jobs anyway.
— In the midst of that, an attack occurred. People died. And you still plan to stand still?
— …Then, what do you want me to do, miss?
— Haha! That’s why I’m proposing a method, aren’t I?
As if communication was finally going to work, she stepped closer.
A thick floral scent spread.
— So you are the site manager?
— That’s right.
— How many workers do you have under your command?
— About 50 or so…
— If you seduce other site managers too, it will be 100.
— That’s right.
— Think about it. The population of this city is now close to 600. You alone are 100. That’s an impressive 1/6.
— Is… that so?
— Do you know how much loss would occur if you suddenly withdrew from a town like this?
— …..
Now that I think about it…
It’s true.
Right now, isn’t this construction site running because we are here?
If it stops in a place where daily work must continue, a major blow will come.
— You are precious and irreplaceable labor. The fact that such labor is being exploited like this is something you should be angry about, isn’t that right?
— Mmm…
— You have the right to enjoy more money and a higher status. That rookie regent needs to clearly realize that human lives cannot be bought with money alone.
Hanson thought it made sense.
Above all, they were words heard when his material greed was boiling.
It was no different from a whisper of the devil.
— But, how would I do something like that?
At that, the woman smiled like a trickster.
— There is a way. I will help.
Despite the sudden appearance of monsters, the town successfully defended itself.
The casualties were 30: 5 soldiers, 15 civilians, and 10 adventurers who had joined; among them 4 died, all civilians.
Therefore, the morning in Hestia Town could not be the same as usual.
Isabella said this.
— A strike has occurred.