I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 238 Longing, Motivation

"Dear An, I was wrong. Please, have mercy on me! My little body can't take a punch from you!"

Seeing that her old friend seemed genuinely angry, Avril quickly raised her hands to beg for mercy, but inwardly she couldn't help but roll her eyes and silently complain that Anne, this muscular woman with her violent tendencies, was indeed just as the Sword Saint had described—an incurable brother-complex.

She was just making a casual joke, but her friend of twelve years gave her such a terrifying look because of it.

Isn't this saying that their twelve-year friendship is nothing compared to the other's brother, whom they haven't seen for almost nineteen years?

Thinking of this, Avril couldn't help but glance resentfully at her friend in front of her, her whole body sulking.

“I’ll say it one last time, Avril, I don’t like people making fun of my family, especially my brother. Even if you’re my friend, it’s still not okay.”

Seeing Avril's resentful expression, An paused slightly, then closed the pocket watch in her hand, carefully hung it around her neck, and tucked it into the specially crafted groove inside her armor before adding in a serious tone:
"Moreover, as John's sister, I have an obligation to find him a wife who is truly suitable for him."

"Although Avril, you are a good woman, the final thing is that there is a full eleven-year age gap between you and John. That's too big of a gap. I don't want to see John forced to sacrifice more than ten years of his happy life because you've aged first. So I absolutely cannot agree to this absurd request. I think you should just give up on that idea!"

"what?!"

Although she already knew that her old friend was a muscle-bound idiot who spoke without thinking, Avril's blunt and almost undisguised label of her as an old woman still made her forehead veins throb the moment she heard it, and she was about to explode with anger.

What words, what kind of words are these!

What old woman? I, Avril Eris, am only thirty-five years old this year. I am also a rare lightning-type super-rank mage of the Steel Warband with the title of 'Sound of Thunderstrings', and an outstanding inheritor of the unique spell 'Song of the Wind' of the 'Hurricane Eris' family.

The line of handsome young men in the entire Kingdom of Loran who want to pursue me could stretch all the way to the Kingdom of Franci. Only you would treat your brother, who may or may not have grown up properly, like a treasure.

Even if you tried to force him on me, I wouldn't want him!

Avril muttered viciously to herself, but she only dared to say it in her mind.

Because she knew An's personality all too well, if she dared to say anything bad about her brother in front of this hopeless brother-obsessed guy, he would definitely fly into a rage on the spot and slap her face until it was swollen.

After all, she had already experienced this feeling six years ago when she sneaked into the other party's tent at night to touch his breasts and was mistaken for an assassin.

Under the opponent's unique spell called 'Absolute Destruction,' which was like a monster, even if her magic shield was strong, it would be difficult to withstand the opponent's full-force attack.

Otherwise, she would have already used her status as a super-ranking mage to mold him into a shapely shape, and slept on his perfect body that she coveted every day.

That feeling... just thinking about it makes me...

hey-hey……

"Why do I always feel like you're thinking something strange, Avril? You're not still eyeing my brother, are you?"

Seeing Avril's glazed eyes and inexplicably flushed face, as if she had been drugged, Anne's gaze instantly sharpened. However, before she could continue to warn her, Avril rolled her eyes at her and waved her hand dismissively.

"Okay, okay, I promise you, I'll never try to get involved with your brother again, alright? Seriously, An, do you have some kind of prejudice against me? It feels like in your eyes I'm some kind of desperate, indiscriminate woman, even though I have a lot of suitors."

"To be honest with you, I like strong people with power. I really don't like your brother who has always lived in a small town, who, according to his letters, has never learned magic and is also weak and sickly!"

Seeing Ann's increasingly dangerous gaze, and sensing that she was about to be beaten for her inappropriate words, Avril quickly added:
"Ahem, of course, I'm not trying to belittle John. After all, he's incredibly handsome, both in terms of his bloodline and his appearance as a child. But as a fellow super-ranked mage, I think you, Anne, should also know very well that we beings, who have an almost obsessive pursuit of power, simply cannot accept someone weaker than ourselves when it comes to choosing a partner, right?"

"...Although you are right, I don't accept that statement. In my heart, my brother is the best man in the world."

After a slight pause, Anne added, under Avril's speechless gaze:
"none of them!"

You damn brother-obsessed idiot, you're hopeless!
Avril rolled her eyes again. Now she understood. Ann was probably just missing her brother too much because she hadn't been home for nineteen years and had added too much of a filter to him.

That's why he was able to say such absurd things.

After all, how can an ordinary man who doesn't even have magic, let alone be a unique inheritor of a spell, be compared to a superhuman?
Well, of course, if this ordinary male has a sister whose strength has already reached the Transcendent level and who has a chance to reach the Grand level within five years, and who is also a brother-obsessed older sister, then among the extraordinary beings, he seems to be a rather tempting golden egg.
"However, speaking of which, Anne's experiences over the years have been quite dramatic. First, he replaced his adoptive father as a soldier in the Kingdom of Brown. After the defeat, he was captured. Because of his innate superhuman strength, he was discovered by Lady Elena, who was only a major at the time, and she discovered the outstanding level of the skills she inherited from him, which had been rated as outstanding in the Age of Heroes."

"However, due to the fall of the Delian Empire, and the fact that the hero who possessed the Absolute Destruction spell died on the battlefield before establishing his family, he was eventually identified by scholars as having no bloodline and had long since become a thing of the past. The unique spell called 'Absolute Destruction' was thus fortunate enough to join the 'Rose Commando,' the predecessor of the Steel Chapter."

"However, due to the war between the two countries and his own sensitive status as a 'traitor,' Ann has been unable to return to his hometown for many years. He can only alleviate his longing by sending letters home every month through the agents planted by the Kingdom of Loran in the Kingdom of Brown."

"Fortunately, three years ago, the new emperor of the Norman Empire regained military power and planned to expand the empire's territory. This caused the two countries, which were constantly at odds, to put down their weapons and reunite under the mutual assistance alliance established hundreds of years ago to jointly resist the empire. This gave An hope for a reunion."

"Now, thanks to our efforts, the northern front of the Empire has successfully recaptured the Morton Magic Stone Mine in conjunction with the 2nd Army Group of the Kingdom of Brown and the North Sea Fleet, and has also completely repelled the Empire's garrison."

"If nothing unexpected happens, after a period of preparation and after negotiations on the benefits following this battle, Lady Elena should lead the Steel Legion to the Walden battlefield where the Kingdom of Victoria retreated, in an attempt to reclaim the Lake of Magic."

"Under this plan to re-offend the western front, when our side marches south, it will most likely pass through the territory of the Kingdom of Brown as an ally, and Ann will be able to take the opportunity to see her family."

Although, a full nineteen years have passed since then.

Nineteen years—almost an entire youth. How poignant…

Recalling Anne's tragic experiences, a complex look flashed in Avril's eyes. Looking at her old friend who was walking along while occasionally taking out her pocket watch to look at the photos and laughing foolishly, she couldn't help but hesitate to speak.

She wanted to remind the other person not to have too high expectations for the so-called reunion.

After all, given the considerable time involved, when the other person finally reunites with their long-separated family, the scene that they have been longing for and looking forward to may very well be replaced by unfamiliarity.

But seeing her friend so lost in her longing, Avril decided against it after some thought.

After all, as a friend of twelve years, she knew very well that the fundamental reason why Ann had been able to survive the brutal war was because of her longing for her family.

If this longing is erased, it's hard for even her to predict what path An will take.

"However, since An's family has been subtly hinting at their need for money in their letters over the years, citing financial difficulties, and An has sent almost all of her salary over there."

"With this financial support lasting nineteen years, even if that family never treated An as their real daughter, from an ordinary person's perspective, they probably wouldn't let her go, would they?"

"Of course, that's true, but things can always be unexpected. I'll have my family send some people to Red Lotus Town to find An's adoptive parents and give them some instructions or advice in advance."

"With this preparation, An's trip home this time should not be too bad."

"Although this kind of kinship is fake in general, as long as it is fake, it is enough as long as An is not disappointed by it."

Avril pondered for a moment, then glanced at her friend with a complicated expression. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she paused abruptly, then casually asked Ann:
"By the way, Anne, speaking of which, what are your thoughts on Lady Elena's plan to recruit you as her subject and bestow upon you the surname Camrofi a while ago?"

Seemingly afraid that her dim-witted friend would miss out on a chance to rise to the top, Avril reminded him with a serious expression before he could even speak:
"Don't rush to answer. Let me say a few words first. According to my current information, Lady Elena has never made any recruitment requests to anyone before this."

"As for Lady Elena's strength and the meaning of the title of the sole heir of the Camrofi family, as someone with 19 years of combat experience and who has also learned about the noble system and extraordinary knowledge that many people can never touch in their entire lives under the guidance of the Sword Saint, you should be very clear about what this really means, shouldn't you?"

"Besides, even if you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about your adoptive parents and your younger brother, right?"

"After all, only if you are strong enough and have a solid enough backing will you be able to protect your family in the face of the far-reaching turmoil when we go to war with the Empire, won't you?"

"..."

Seemingly moved by Avril's words, Anne, who had intended to refuse outright, suddenly fell silent and then furrowed her long, purple eyebrows.

After a long while, she slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, then replied to her old friend with a serious expression:
“I understand what you mean, Avril. I will seriously consider this matter.”

"However, I can only make a real decision after I go home and meet my family."

"I have waited too long for this day. If it weren't for the concern that a hasty trip to the Kingdom of Brown might cause trouble for Lady Elena, I would have already taken leave and embarked on my journey home."

"This longing, which has lasted for nineteen years, this desire to reunite with family, and this urgent longing to see my parents and my lovely younger brother."

"You, who can reunite with your family every year and enjoy the joy of reunion, cannot understand why, for nineteen years, I have always been alone on Christmas Eve, holding a letter from home and gazing at the moon, only able to forcefully alleviate my longing by saying that I am gazing at the same night sky as my family."

"I want to experience the joyful smile of my father, whom I haven't seen for nineteen years, the warm embrace of my mother, and my younger brother tugging at my skirt and whispering 'Sister.' These are the only things that have kept me alive on this damned battlefield, in that hell, and have allowed me to rise from an unknown nobody to become the strongest super-ranked mage in the Iron Legion."

"Before I rediscovered this warmth, I had no energy, let alone any extra time, to think about the so-called future."

"I only have one thought left now, and I can only have one."

"That is, going home!"

Anne's tone was exceptionally calm, yet carried a resolute air, causing Avril, who had intended to continue persuading her, to give up under the influence of Anne's almost overflowing longing.

But after a moment of silence, she casually asked An, pretending to be nonchalant, while twirling her long hair with her hands:

"Remember to take me with you when you set off. Anyway, if nothing unexpected happens, we'll be traveling through allied countries. I don't have much to do in the military camp, so I might as well go back to your hometown with you. I can also use my noble status to put pressure on the local nobles and let them know that you have powerful backers."

"Thank you, Avril."

Seeing her friend's awkward expression, An smiled sincerely. Then, gazing at the command tent so close ahead, as if already anticipating the wonderful reunion to come, she murmured expectantly:

"I think my family will be very happy to see you."

"And I can assure you, my family will certainly not let you down!"

……

(End of this chapter)