A Betrayed Master Will Not Return

13 – The Supreme Leader (8)

“Ugh…”

Dawn had not yet fully broken.

Feeling a nauseating sensation, I slowly opened my eyes.

The first alcohol I consumed since being transported to this world.

Furthermore, yesterday’s meal was excessively oily, filled to the brim with cheese and meat.

The result of recklessly competing in a drinking contest with Gabriel in the midst of the high spirits and atmosphere, was bringing me more misery than I had anticipated.

In my current state, I was experiencing a pain I never felt even when fighting demons, in the most unexpected of places.

With my head throbbing and a burning sensation in my gut, I forced myself to sit up.

‘I never knew I would crave hangover soup this badly…’

Longing for food that seemed absolutely impossible to find in this world, I reached out with effort and gulped down the water from the teapot beside me.

“Ha… it seems like I’ve gained a bit of weight…”

A faint sense of clarity is slowly returning to my muddled mind.

The speed that felt like it might go haywire has calmed down slightly, and cautiously, I get up from my seat and hastily put on my clothes before leaving the room.

The mansion is unusually quiet, even more so than usual.

Although it is the passage of time, it feels like everyone is still asleep, probably due to the aftermath of last night’s reception.

I decide to wake myself up and at least go for a walk in the mountains.

Then, at that moment.

“Huh? Master, are you already awake?”

A familiar voice comes from behind me.

I turn my head and see someone who looks surprisingly put together, dressed neatly.

Jeanne Bernadotte.

If my memory serves me right, she was the one who drank the most at the party yesterday.

However, in this moment, Jeanne’s face doesn’t show any sign of the drunkenness from yesterday, instead wearing her usual bright smile on her lips.

“Surprising, I thought you would be sleeping like the rest of the people.”

“Master, it’s you who drank with Gabrielle so much yesterday and yet you seem quite fine. Are you as strong with alcohol as you are with your power?”

“Not particularly. I may appear fine on the surface, but I don’t feel good inside either.”

“Oh… is that so?”

Jeanne starts to show a strangely meaningful look in her eyes in response to my words.

Then, she casually grabs my hand.

The touch of her hand feels colder than I had anticipated.

However, without any time to think about it, Jannu grabbed my hand and pulled me along as she said,

“It worked out well. Honestly, I didn’t feel too great either, but it’ll be easier if we go together.”

“Go… where are we going?”

“hehehe, just follow me quietly. At least I can definitely help you with the hangover.”

“Hmm…”

Jannu spoke confidently.

With a mix of curiosity and doubt, I had no choice but to follow her for now.

*

Inside the mansion, in the kitchen.

Just like this place that was still empty at this hour, Jannu immediately started to make something.

Wearing only a simple apron over her Devil Hunter outfit, Jannu skillfully handled the cooking utensils.

Then, she put the prepared ingredients into the pot and started boiling them rapidly.

At the same time, a simple yet delicious smell started to fill the kitchen.

And a short while later.

When I saw what Jannu had made, I couldn’t help but look slightly surprised.

“This is…?”

“It’s tomato soup. I always eat it on days when I suffer from a hangover, just like today. Now, go ahead and try it, Master.”

The food had a bright red color and looked more like a stew than soup.

Although I half-doubted whether it would really resolve my upset stomach, since it was a dish earnestly made by my “disciple,” I cautiously took a bite.

Unexpectedly, a sense of relief started to wash over me right after.

The sour and sweet taste of the tomato unraveled my stomach, and I started to feel much more at ease than before.

“How is it?”

“It’s quite good. Honestly, I never thought tomatoes could have this effect…”

“It’s a secret recipe that our mother taught us. When we were young, our father used to drink and when he came home, she always made this for him in the morning.”

“I see…our mother.”

As we enjoyed our share of tomato soup and had a pleasant conversation, Jeanne recalled how their mother used to make dried fish soup for their father when he came home drunk from work or a gathering.

“Come to think of it, my late parents were similar. After my father finished work and went to a gathering… um… a dinner party, he would come back drunk and the next day my mother would always make soup for him. She made fish soup.”

“It seems like parents are all the same regardless of where they are. If this is not enough, let’s continue talking.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Even though there was a stain of poverty, these were some of the few warm memories from my previous life that made me feel a little happy and bitter at the same time.

With a slight sense of happiness and bitterness, I emptied about half of the tomato soup and quietly spoke to Jeanne.

“I feel much more at ease thanks to this. If I get the chance, I will express my gratitude to my mother.”

“hahahaha, I understand. I’ll make sure to do that when we go visit the grave next time.”

“!…”

Although she continued to smile, I noticed that Jeanne’s voice had slightly dropped as she spoke.

Through this, I realized belatedly that she, too, carried the sadness of losing her family just like me.

Thus, I was engulfed in a slightly heavier emotion.

“…I’m sorry. I’ve been a little thoughtless.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. It’s already been over 10 years, right? It’s just something that occasionally comes to mind now, unlike before.”

With those words, Jannu casually slurped her tomato soup.

However, as I watched her pretending to be nonchalant,

Instinctively, I could sense that she, who also carried the same scars, knew.

Unlike always wearing a bright mask,

The fact is that there is still pain in her heart.

The reason why she chose such a dangerous job like a devil hunter was also because of that.

“The pain of losing family… doesn’t easily disappear.”

When a loved one is lost, a large hole forms in a person’s heart.

And even if that hole becomes hazy and forgotten,

It remains unfilled throughout one’s life.

“Perhaps… her overly cheerful personality is also because of that.”

In a way, she could be considered a strong person, but she also appears to be struggling to maintain herself to that extent.

Feeling sorry for that fact,

At the same time, feeling a bit of empathy as someone who carries the same pain.

I neatly finished the tomato soup she had made for me.

*

A city covered in thick fog.

Just a few days ago, this place was full of vitality, but now only cold and gloomy energy lingered.

The street lamps scattered throughout were unable to fulfill their purpose, and

The empty street was engulfed in a solemn yet heavy atmosphere.

And in this moment…

In the center of the city, a man wearing a thick coat was slowly walking towards somewhere.

-Drrrk… Drrrk…

A gruesome sound emanated from the hefty axe.

In one hand, he tightly gripped a blood-stained axe, while in the other hand, he firmly held onto something that was still wriggling.

He securely pinned down the squirming thing with his foot,

“Uooop!! Ubwooowoop!!!”

He slowly swung the axe,

And struck down towards the thing right in front of him.

“Uooowoop!!!!”

-Pak!!! Pak!!! Pak!!!

With a chilling sound, red substances splattered all around.

Blood and flesh.

Fragments of bones and organs.

A cold smile started to form on the man’s lips, as he turned them inside out.

“There are so many…too many.”

With those words,

The man struck down once again on the lifeless thing.

And with that, the thing ceased to move…

Continuing on, he

Dragging the blood-stained axe, he started moving towards an unknown destination again.

“Too many demons… to hunt…”

Mumbling as if under a spell, the man took heavy, laborious steps.

At that moment.

“Ugh…”

“Krrgh…”

A chilling voice came from behind him.

The man promptly adjusted his grip on the axe and turned to look in that direction.

And then.

“Come on, come to me, you filthy demons. I, Carlo, will slay you all.”

*

A few days after a bustling banquet.

We had once again boarded a carriage, arriving at our designated mission location.

“Is the place we’re heading to also where the northern devil hunters failed?”

“It seems so. According to Elli, an entire devil hunter team disappeared off the face of the earth. The details are unclear, though.”

“…Hmm.”

At Jeann’s words, I found myself unconsciously furrowing my brow.

The recurring failures of devil hunters.

Such incidents were an indicator of entering the later stages of the game,

making it not too difficult for me to predict that a series of complicated problems were bound to arise.

“If it turns out like this… I might have to reconsider the timing to tell the story.”

At that moment, while contemplating that thought and examining the weapon in his hand,

We began to hear sounds indicating our arrival in our ears.

“Is this the place?”

“Oh… this atmosphere is no joke.”

“Hmm… I really dislike this.”

A massive city appeared in front of us.

Covered in fog, with dim lanterns scattered throughout, the unsettling appearance of this unusual village

made me feel the unease that I had expected slowly creeping in.

“Just like in the previous part, and now in the second part… damn Insuhmas…”