Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Chapter 184 The Scattered Team

The room was furnished with only the bare minimum of furniture, and his luggage was left lying around carelessly.

Although he felt he should start tidying up, he didn't want to do anything at the moment, so he just sat down on the edge of the bed.

It felt like my body was sinking into a hard mattress.

It seems the level of fatigue is higher than originally expected.

"well..

'

I didn't do anything particularly tiring today, but I still feel fatigue clinging to the inside of my body.

Is this what they call mental fatigue? No, that's not right... it's because he felt a blow.

Sauros, Philip, Hilda.

Although he believed he had not had any close interactions with these people.

But as long as I close my eyes, I can still recall it.

Grandpa Sauros, while riding a horse on a long journey, checked the crops in his territory and inquired about Alice's situation.

With a sly grin on his face, he suggested that they join forces to seize Philip of the Boreas family.

There's also Hilda, who wants him to marry Alice and become part of their family.

These people are all gone now.

Even the "home" itself no longer exists.

The vast mansion that would occasionally echo with astonishing roars throughout the house has vanished.

The hall where he danced with Alice, the tower where Grandpa Sauros enjoyed his romantic escapades, and the library that housed a vast collection of documents related to the territory... all of it is gone forever.

After learning the truth from Paul, his mind was already based on rational understanding, but understanding and seeing with one's own eyes are completely different things. Once he actually witnessed the situation, the impact was still beyond his expectations.

After all, losing something that once existed will always bring sadness and pain.

"well..

""

Rudius sighed.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

66

Please come in.

He urged the person knocking to come in, but to his surprise, the person who appeared behind the door was Alice, and Alice was wearing a very feminine black dress.

Rudeus, still confused and disoriented, invited Alice into the room.

And that night, everything changed.

"Hmm!"

Rudius got out of bed.

He felt a pleasant fatigue in his lower back, and thanks to this feeling, he was certain that what happened last night was not a dream.

It was really enjoyable.

"Hmm~ good!"

Such a refreshing morning is probably a rare treat.

At that moment, Rudius noticed something scattered on the ground; it was a red object.

"Huh...?"

It turns out it was hair.

Bright red hair was falling out and was scattered all over the floor.

Completely confused, he looked ahead.

Then, they found a piece of paper placed in front of them.

Rudius picked up the paper and read the words on it.

"I am not good enough for Rudius now, so I'm going on a trip."

'

""

The boy carefully and repeatedly pondered the meaning of the sentence.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

He rushed out of the room.

He glanced at Alice's room and saw that her luggage was gone, so he immediately rushed outside.

Arrive at headquarters and find Alphonse.

"Ah! Mr. Alphonse, where is Alice!"

"We've embarked on a journey with Gilead."

"Where...where to?"

He spoke slowly.

"Lady Alice instructed that this must absolutely not be revealed to Lord Rudeus."

"Ah...is that so...?"

""

Huh?

Why? I don't understand.

Huh?

Why was he dumped?

No, were they abandoned?

To be abandoned and left unattended?

Huh?

family...

...?

Huh?

It's like falling from the highest peak to the bottom of a valley.

A dejected Rudeus walked out of the headquarters, his eyes glazed over as he was lost in his own world. The next moment, he bumped into someone.

"Feel sorry!"

His subconscious apology and looking up finally eased his broken heart slightly, or perhaps, he wanted to cry.

Because the person he bumped into was a Yue person.

"What's wrong? Why are you making that face?"

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Big brother, Alice... she doesn't want me anymore...

Ahhh...

T

Unable to hold back any longer, Rudeus grabbed the Yue man's sleeve and began to weep.

""

Seeing this scene that left people speechless, Yue Ren rarely showed a bewildered expression.

What is all this about? What happened?

So, Yue Ren picked up the tearful fellow and led him to the room.

"So, tell me exactly what happened."

Thus, everything from last night's chat and the subsequent events this morning, including that note, was presented to Yue Ren.

"5

""

Yue Ren was speechless. He found this kid's thought process to be quite novel.

Rudius cried, seeing the way Yue Ren looked at him like he was an idiot, and a feeling other than sadness rose in his heart... Could things not be as he imagined?

"Forget it, I'm speechless. You can see it for yourself."

As he spoke, Yue threw something at Rudius. He was glad he had a good habit, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to convince this guy without some solid evidence.

The object that Yue threw at Rudius was familiar to Rudius; it was Yue's cell phone.

I caught it with lightning speed. Although I was a little confused, I still subconsciously opened the photo album. After all, it seems that the only function of this phone so far has been taking photos and videos.

He quickly found a video that had been recorded recently, just yesterday.

Are the main characters in the video the older brother and Alice?

That's right, the above was a recording he casually made yesterday when Alice was chatting with Yue Ren. He keeps almost every important conversation, and this time is no exception.

"6

""

Alice and Yue Ren's voices slowly came through the phone, and upon hearing this conversation, Rudeus's expression gradually changed from collapse to shock.

He watched the entire video until he finished watching it.

"Blame yourself for not teaching Alice how to express her feelings properly."

The Yue man's finishing blow made the boy blush and bury his face even lower, like an ostrich with its head down.

So, was that note really just what it said literally, Alice, feeling inferior?

"So... Alice did it all for me..."

""

"Otherwise, don't you realize at all that having a mature mind like yours, yet a body the same age as a teenager, makes other people feel inferior?"

"I...I have to win her over..."

"7

Before he could finish speaking, Yue Ren interrupted him.

"Get her back? Make her a plaything for this perverted nobleman?"

"Of course not... I want to leave with her..."

'

The boy hurriedly explained that now that he knew the truth, he wanted to take Alice and run away together.

However, Yue Ren's tone suddenly turned cold.

"Rudeus, are you underestimating Alice?"

"How could that be? How could I possibly underestimate him..."

'

"Then you don't even respect her decision? Isn't that underestimating what she's doing?"

66

'

Rudius was speechless for a moment.

"Make it clear, Alice has never been that weak girl who longed to live under your wing, but rather the other half who wants to stand by your side and help you protect yourself from harm. Now she wants to become that person, and she's taking action. Are you going to stop her with your ugly selfishness?"

Rudeus suddenly realized, yes, Alice had made up her mind. She didn't want to leave him, but for the sake of their bright future, she was willing to endure pain to temper herself. How could he stop Alice with wishful thinking?

Besides, even if he found her now, given Alice's personality, she definitely wouldn't want to come back with him, and they might end up arguing again...

"...I understand...I need to become stronger too, to become the kind of mage who can stay by Alice's side, right, big brother?"

The man from Yue smiled slightly.

"You're not too stupid. I really envy you, kid, having a girl who's willing to give up everything for you."

The Yue man's face was full of emotion.

Hehehe

Upon hearing this, Rudeus, unsurprisingly, chuckled foolishly, his previous dejected and lost expression completely gone.

Rudius was relieved. Although Alice's actions were indeed unexpected, he was overjoyed as long as he understood that she had not abandoned him, but was striving to become someone useful to him.

They had already consummated their marriage, which meant she was now his wife. Having such a proud and doting wife who valued him so much made him feel like the protagonist in a novel.

Ah, to be honest, he was really relieved to know that it wasn't because his skills were too poor that he failed to satisfy the other party.

Ahem, I've gone off on a tangent.

During the week that Rudius and the Yue people stayed home, Alphonse would sometimes come to Rudius to give him instructions.

I thought the territory of Fituia was completely empty, but in fact, small-scale pioneer villages seem to be gradually increasing.

Wheat crops have also begun to be planted in areas that have been moved a short distance from the refugee camp.

Rudius, following Alphonse's instructions, used earth magic to build protective walls around the village or to rebuild the dikes along the riverbanks where they frequently flooded due to their disappearance.

Although the pace is slow, reconstruction work is indeed underway.

However, it seems that formal pioneering work will not begin until after the large-scale immigration plan promoted by Milishion is completed.

As for Alice, who left, she will be considered dead.

This means that Alice Boreas Grerat will disappear, and an ordinary Alice will be born into the world.

According to the housekeeper, this matter could lead to many difficulties, so the official announcement will not be made for several years.

Perhaps that guy named Darius provided some kind of assistance.

Well, as long as it doesn't cause any trouble for Alice, that's fine.

Even after Alice was gone, Alphonse acted as if nothing had happened.

A week later, a familiar figure stood before Rudius.

""

"Can you stop looking at me like that? I came here to say goodbye properly, didn't I? It's like I'm some kind of heartless man."

'

....Feel sorry."

That's right, the person who came to say goodbye to Rudius was a Yue person.

His luggage consisted of only a horse, a small backpack he bought during his journey to avoid suspicion, and a gray robe, making him look exactly like a weary adventurer.

"Here you go. If you really can't bear to part with it, then use your magical talent. Here's what I know about 'teleportation magic circles.' The sooner you learn teleportation, the easier it will be to meet up whenever you want, right?"

Rudeus took the booklet handed to him, instinctively gripped it tightly, looked up at Yue Ren's handsome face, which remained as ordinary as ever, with a faint smile that gave off boundless warmth, and nodded heavily.

"I will succeed in my research as soon as possible, brother, I promise you."

Yue Ren nodded, squatted down, and patted the boy on the shoulder.

"Although I don't want to be sentimental, I still have to say... Rudeus, you have proven one thing to me: as long as a person has hope in their heart and strives forward, they will definitely achieve results and become a completely new version of themselves."

"So, keep going, Rudeus. No matter how bad you were before, that's all in the past. The person you are now is the most important. It's never too late to start."

'

""

Rudius's eyes widened.

For a moment, he felt a strange sense of fear.

The older brother knows about his past life? How could that be...?

Then it dawned on me that I might have misunderstood.

Did the older brother just sense that his past was embarrassing?

That's right. With my brother's ability to read people, he must have been able to deduce what kind of person I am from my terrible performance when we first met, right? Even so, I still won't disappoint my brother, will I?

Looking back on the journey, no matter what shameful things he did, his older brother never showed him the slightest disappointment. Instead, he always guided him in the right direction.

It helps you correct your arrogance, teaches you how to properly interact with women, and provides the correct solution when you see a dead end.

Rudius was very fortunate to have such an elder brother.

The world was kind to him. Teacher Rocky led him out of his home, Rachel and Alice helped him build confidence in his abilities, and his older brother was his most steadfast guardian and guide on his stumbling journey of learning to be a person...

I'm so glad I met them in my life so far.

Unbeknownst to him, Rudius had already shed tears.

"Alright, as the saying goes, a man doesn't easily shed tears. Go do what you need to do, Rudeus. We'll meet again someday."

As he spoke, the Yue man turned and rode away.

"Thank you for taking care of me all this way. Goodbye, Brother Yueren."

Rudius waved goodbye to the Yue people with a smile, and the latter did not turn around, but also raised his hand and waved a few times.

From this moment on, the four members of "DeadEnd" went their separate ways.

After leaving the territory of Fetoia on horseback, the Yue people did not go to the most prosperous royal capital, Ars. Instead, they headed towards the nearest teleportation magic circle.

After a year of travel, he had seen enough of the bustling cities. Now, he was interested in a place called the underground city.

There's no rush to learn swordsmanship from the Dragon God. It hasn't been long since they parted ways, and the other party probably hasn't finished their business yet. He wants to take this opportunity to visit the continent of Bekarit, which is known as the "Holy Land of Dungeons".

I've been interested in this for a while, but I haven't had the time because of a lot of things that happened. Now that I have the opportunity, I naturally have to go and see it.

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