The Strongest Wizard Becomes a Countryside Guardsman After Taking an Arrow to the Knee

Chapter 29 – Young Hero Cruz and Old Man Wizard
Why is there someone here in a place like this?

That was my first thought.

「Dammit…」

「What is it?」

I quickly changed my voice with magic and turned back around.

I had my back turned to the hero – I finally answered.

「No…nothing.」

「…have I…met you before?」

「No, this is the first time, I think.」

The hero suspected something…I still had my back turned.

「I’m sure that I’ve met you somewhere…」

The hero then walked around and faced me.

I tried to turn away as the hero circled around to face me…must be doubting who I am completely.

「What is it?」

Millet looked at me with a troubled and confused look.

A hero had a lot of fighting power but is VERY easy to fool. The hero still didn’t know who I was.

Since my face was covered by cloth, I thought I could still keep my identity a secret.

I was thankful that Millet gave me that cloth to cover my face with.

Thank you CLOTH! And thank you, stinky herbs!

Seeing my chance, I took off the cloth and put on the beard that I got from Millet.

Then I looked at the hero.

「If you have something you need at Mulg Village…I can show you there.」

「Yes, well thank you.」

The hero tilted his head after seeing me with my beard. It seemed I had fooled the hero…phew!

「Well, Mr. Al, let’s go home!」

「Mr. Al?」

「No, my name is Rall, okay?」

「Is that so?」

The hero was completely fooled.

Millet thought it over a bit, and then after coming to some realization, gave me a thumbs up.

She knew that I was trying to hide who I really was.

I’m glad she had a little sense.

The hero walked with Millet, while I rode on top of Femm.

「Sorry for riding on this dog here. My legs are bad.」

「No…no need to worry.」

Since my voice and tone had changed, the hero simply thought I was an old man named Rall.

It hurt a bit to fool a person…but oh well.

Millet innocently introduced us both.

「I am Millet, and this is…」

「I am Rall.」

「Thank you for your courtesy. I am Cruz Conradine.」

「What an excellent name.」

「Thank you very much.」

The adventurer was a baron. Of course, the hero had a great family name now after fighting the Demon Lord with me.

「So what business do you have with Mulg?」

「Well, I came to fight off an undead Great Dragon…」

「Oh, well…」

Millet seemed to notice. We had just happened to kill a dragon just like that.

So I had to cover for her.

「My…that sounds like a terrifying thing!」

「Yes. It’s said that a necromancer from the Demon King’s remaining army created the zombie dragon.」

「A necromancer?」

「Yes! But no fear! The necromancer was dealt with! He had created a laboratory for himself in the western mountains. But I STILL was able to sniff him out.」

The hero proudly said.

「That is a magnificent story.」

「However, it seemed that the zombie dragon was intent on coming to the capital to attack it. Therefore, I was asked to dispatch it, post haste.」

Hearing this from the hero, I finally understood.

If the dragon was flying towards the capital from the western mountains, then it would pass right over Femm’s forest and Mulg Village.

「I see.」

「And since the dragon was flying that way, I thought that I would come to protect Mulg Village.」

「We’re quite thankful that you did.」

「No, no, I was also thinking of getting some supplies here as well.」

The hero smiled.

「There’s nothing much in Mulg Village…will you be able to get the supplies you need?」

「Of course I will!」

I had no idea what Cruz wanted to get, but the hero seemed pretty sure about it.

「Even so…to fight off a dragon, you must be quite strong, Cruz.」

「Because of training! And because of my other party members.」

「Still, for you to be a girl the same age as me…it’s really something.」Millet said.

「No need to compliment me, young lady.」

Cruz was embarrassed.

I would have to explain sometime soon why the threat of the dragon was gone.

I thought about an excuse as fast as I could.

―――――――――

We walked a little while longer and arrived at the village. I shouted in my own voice after seeing the disaster in front of me,

「WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!?」

My guard house was burning.

There was a river near the village. I quickly chanted a water spell and put out the fire.

「Looks like a lot of trouble, huh?」

The hero saw me use magic but really didn’t think much of it.

Just like a hero. Raised up around a lot of high-powered magicians.

She never was affected much by magic. She just thought it was a normal thing.

「What happened?!」

I entered the village and asked.

「And outlaw attacked us! Vi-Vi tried to protect us…but…」

The chief yelled to me.

Vi-Vi probably shot a magic fireball from a circle…and it ended up hitting my house.

There was someone facing off against Vi-Vi, I saw.

It was Luka…a warrior in our former party.

「Dammit.」

I ran and jumped in between Luka and Vi-Vi.

Because Luka was a member of the hero’s party, she was VERY strong.

So strong that if I faced her, even I would have a tough battle. It wouldn’t be strange if I lost 3 times out of 10 to her.

「Sorry about that…this outlaw came in here and I had to stop her…but…」Vi-Vi said.

From what I saw, Vi-Vi had drawn circles while shooting magic at Luka.

But…she messed up.

I was the one that taught her to draw circles as fast as you could in battle and not think too much about results…so I couldn’t get angry at her.

I rubbed Vi-Vi’s head.

「Sorry, traveling warrior. She may be a devil, but she’s a good one.」

「What do you mean by GOOD DEVIL? This idiot!?」

「Was there something wrong with what she did?」

「SHE WAS TRYING TO MAKE A HUGE UNDEAD COW!」

She must have seen her trying to turn Moofy into a skeleton soldier.

「Even though it is undead, there’s a difference between skeleton and zombie…you know.」

I said to Luka in an attempt to talk her down. With my voice changed and beard on, I was really feeling like an old man, now.

「Whatever! The things just too big! You can call it just a skeleton, but the thing is clearly a MONSTER!」

「You may say so, but from what I’ve heard, there are cities that use skeletons and skeleton dragons to guard the city, right? No different than a cow skeleton, I suppose?」

「Well, it’s just…」

Luka started to mumble.

「Yeah! There’s nothing wrong with what Vi-Vi did!」

「These youngsters, when they get angry, are crazy!」

「She must be a thug from the city.」

「The city sure is scary!」

The villagers were now all talking.

「Grrr….」

Luka was now getting badmouthed, even though she was one of the hero’s party.

This might be the first time this happened to her.

「Are you going to keep fighting? You’re in a lot of trouble, Luka.」

The hero Cruz said sarcastically to Luka.

Usually it was always Cruz that freaked out and attacked. Is seemed that Cruz lost all of her self-awareness when she was talking to Luka.

「Cruz! Vi-Vi, one of the Sub Bosses of the Demon Lord is here! We have to get rid of her!」

「What?」

I was completely surprised, that I shouted out what in my normal voice.

Vi-Vi was actually one of the sub bosses? No, I just thought she was trying to act tough.

「But I thought we got rid of all four of the sub bosses of the demon lord?」

「What?! There are FIVE of them! Everyone knows that!」

Luka said. I was embarrassed that I had no idea that there were five.

Since I was always fighting in the front lines during those battles, I didn’t think really that Vi-Vi amounted to that much.

It was possible that the Four Sub Bosses was just a name.

「Of course this girl is plotting to resurrect the Demon Lord as the remaining Sub Boss! She’s going to use this massive cow skeleton to attack us and bring the Demon Lord back!」

Luka was the one in the party that had the most academic sense. Pretty strange to find a smart warrior.

But there was some truth to what she was saying.

It’s true that Vi-Vi was trying to raise a massive boar and use it to invade and probably resurrect the Demon Lord.

She was stopped in the middle of it.

「If that’s the case, then we have to vanquish her.」

The hero Cruz put her hand on the handle of her sword.

「W…wait a second!」

If I had to fight both Cruz and Luka…I was going to lose.

Of course, Vi-Vi wouldn’t win either. Her ass would get kicked quickly.

And it was hard to buy more time.

But I had to.

I thought I would have to reveal myself and explain, so I grabbed my beard and said…

「The SUB BOSS ISN’T BADD!」

「DON’T BULLY OUR SUB BOSS!」

Collette and the other children surrounded Vi-Vi and looked at the two angrily.

「You kids…」

Vi-Vi suddenly became emotional…I saw tears in her eyes.

「If the kids are that attached to her…oh well.」

Cruz took the hand off her sword and backed off. Cruz was like that.

She was weak to human affection. Especially if it involved children.

That’s why she was so easily fooled by evil enemies.

However, Luka wouldn’t be moved that easily.

I thought there’d be trouble, then,

「Well, dammit…I guess there’s no use.」

And Luka too stood down from her fighting pose.

「I very much appreciate it.」

I said with a calm, and now bowed, head.

「Just make sure you take care of that huge skeleton cow, okay?!」

「Certainly.」

Cruz said with a smile, which Vi-Vi replied to with a look of relief.

With Cruz still smiling, she went and patted the heads of the children around Vi-Vi.

One thing about Cruz…she’s always loved children.

「Hey wizard! Come over here a bit.」

「Oh, yes?」

Luka called me over with a pissed look on her face.