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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Mercenary King's Homecoming
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Shocked to his core, he ignored his sister who had returned after two years and grabbed Nibelria, demanding the source of that horrific word.
"W-where did you hear the word 'mating' from?"
"A long, long time ago."
"A long time ago, when? Who!"
"When Nini was a cat!"
His fruitless interrogation continued.
"Hmm, shall we head into the mansion?"
"I have to stay with the young lady."
"The kid's got knightly spirit down to his bones. Want to hear a story from the Mercenary King herself?"
"Yes!"
Armifera regaled Arep with tales of her adventures.
She started with the hardships of her early days in the mercenary band, moved on to exploring a dragon's lair, then the infighting between factions within the group, and even the time she nearly lost an eye.
Arep, brimming with anticipation, listened intently at first, but horror gradually dawned on his face.
The raw adventures were far too brutal and gruesome.
Arep, who had secretly hoped for fairy-tale heroics, was deeply shaken.
Especially when she mentioned injuring her eye—he covered one of his own with his hand, as if it had happened to him.
"D-didn't it hurt...?"
"It hurt like hell."
Armifera proudly pointed to the scar on her left eye.
"But I only got a scratch on my skin, while the traitor who attacked me lost his eyeba—"
"Armifera!"
A sharp cry burst from a second-floor window.
Arep jumped and looked up.
Muniel Dayamor was visible through the wide-open window.
She glared at Armifera with fierce, narrowed eyes, completely ignoring Nibelria and Arep.
"Lady Muniel...?"
"Oh no... "
Armifera's face twisted in dismay, as if she were done for.
"I forgot about Mom."
Even the mighty Mercenary King was just a child before her mother.
"Are you out of your mind? No word for two whole years? Do you have to rot my heart out before you'll feel satisfied? Huh?"
"Ow! Mom, that hurts!"
Smack, smack!
The flurry of sharp slaps showed no sign of stopping.
Arep could hardly believe his eyes.
'Lady Muniel...!'
The one who always wore a kind smile no matter the situation, who always cared for him with gentle hands...!
Muniel, her eyes nearly rolling back in fury, laid into her daughter who had returned after two years, spanking her back mercilessly.
Her wrist snapped with the intensity of a veteran from the war forty years ago.
"Mom! It hurts!"
Unable to take it anymore, Armifera scooped up the nearby Arep and used him as a shield.
Arep's eyes went wide.
"Lucky you! Take some for me too, Nini!"
Nibelria whined, clinging to Armifera's leg and begging for the same treatment.
Given the situation, Seletrina pulled her daughter away and kept her at a distance.
"Mom, calm down a bit!"
Armifera had her own defenses.
"No news is good news, right? As long as I came back with all my limbs intact, that's what matters!"
"You think that's something to say? And what's with your eye?"
"Cool, right? I got this in the semifinals of the Mercenary King tournament—"
"Hey!"
Muniel was seething inside.
She had endured the pains of childbirth to raise her daughter with care, only for the girl to treat her own body so carelessly—it was utterly frustrating.
"fera."
Ardores Dayamor, who had been watching silently, spoke up.
"Muniel worried about you a lot."
His stern voice carried more weight than usual.
It was only natural. He too had constantly fretted over his daughter with no word.
Of course, he knew she wasn't one to be easily defeated anywhere.
Still, a parent's heart worries when their child—grown and strong as they may be—is out of sight.
"......"
Only then did remorse and regret flicker across Armifera's face.
"Maybe I shouldn't have come...?"
It was regret, but not quite the repentant kind her parents hoped for.
But soon shaking it off, Armifera set Arep down from his perch as her shield.
Arep, finally regaining his composure, cautiously touched her hand.
"If you did something wrong, you have to apologize."
He shared the vital lesson he'd learned at kindergarten and in the Dayamor mansion.
"If Lady Armifera did something wrong, apologizing is the right thing to do."
"Sigh, you're better than me at this."
Today's kids are so smart.
Her rough hand gently stroked the boy's fine golden hair.
Arep pressed down on his tousled hair with his own hand, then hurried off to Nibelria's side.
"Mom."
Armifera, steeling herself, stood before Muniel.
"I-I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"For not keeping in touch properly. I should have at least messaged regularly. And for not valuing my body."
"......"
Of course, a few words of apology wouldn't douse her anger so quickly.
But in the end, Muniel let out a long, heavy sigh that seemed to cave the ground beneath her, then pulled Armifera into an embrace.
"As long as you're safe. From now on, keep in touch on time."
"Yes, Mom."
Only then did the mother and daughter hold each other tightly.
Muniel cradled Armifera's sun-tanned face in both hands, cherishing it.
"It's so good to see you after so long."
"Hehe, right?"
"Don't grin like an idiot. You look dumb."
"At least save some face in front of my nieces and nephews."
Armifera also greeted Ardores.
Ardores swept up his grown daughter and spun her around gleefully.
Even a reckless runaway Mercenary King was still his small, beloved youngest daughter.
"By the way, fera."
"Yes, Dad?"
"What happened to my greatsword?"
"Better than losing my arm, right?"
Armifera revealed the sword's fate with an innocent smile and a metaphor.
Realizing his greatsword had crossed an irreversible river, Ardores's heart ached.
Fortunately, the shattered greatsword was currently being repaired.
"There's a skilled blacksmith in the Latro district. Name's Maleus—he even knew your name, Dad."
"Ah, that guy's moved to the mercenary district."
"Since it was your sword, he offered to fix it for free. But I stuffed his pockets full anyway—etiquette and all."
After greetings with her parents, Armifera caught up with her brother's family.
"Whoa, Bro, you look the same but somehow older?"
"You think saying that makes it come true?"
"Whether it does or not, who cares? Kyaa, Selly sis! Long time no see! You really haven't changed at all."
"It's great to have you back safe, miss. You look even stronger than before. Did you really become the Mercenary King?"
Seletrina congratulated her as if it were her own achievement.
Armifera beamed.
"Of course! It took six years, but I finally achieved my dream!"
The sole being capable of commanding uncontrollable mercenaries.
All mercenaries in the world had to move at her order, and any who disobeyed faced summary execution in the Mercenary King's name.
The Mercenary King's power rivaled that of a middling nation.
"So I'm planning to rest for a while. Six years nonstop has left me stiff all over."
"You're moving in completely?"
"Just for a bit. Even as Mercenary King, there's work to do. I have some plans in mind... "
"Enough."
Kaleo interrupted abruptly.
He scanned his sister from head to toe.
"First, go wash up."
Only then did everyone notice Armifera's grimy appearance.
Refreshed after a thorough wash, Armifera donned a loose shirt and pants.
She even swapped her boots for sandals that exposed her toes.
"Nini has these too!"
Nibelria pointed at Armifera's shoes, chattering away.
"Shoes that keep your toes cool. But when you run, uh, dirt and grass sometimes get in."
"Do you like sandals, Nini?"
"Sandals?"
"Shoes with toes showing like this are called sandals."
"Meh, so-so?"
Nibelria, Arep, and Solles stuck close to Armifera.
She was their aunt, back after a full two years.
And as the Mercenary King, no less.
Everything she brought was wondrous, and though her stories were a bit brutal, they were utterly captivating.
"Whoa, Solles, you've grown so much!"
Of course, Armifera was equally fascinated by her young nieces and nephews after so long.
"You're way taller than last time. Wow, looking at your hands and feet, you'll be as big as your dad and grandpa."
"R-really?"
Solles's eyes sparkled.
"Especially your feet. Big ones mean you'll shoot up tall. Look at beasts—wolves and tigers with huge paws are the biggest."
"Whoa...!"
Solles imagined himself growing tall and becoming an adult.
He desperately hoped her words would come true.
"Speaking of, Arep, your hands are big too? And sturdy bones."
"The duke said the same thing before."
He heard the familiar words again.
So Arep believed even more firmly that he too would grow tall.
Twice now—no way it was wrong.
"The duke? Ralph bro?"
"Ralph?"
Nibelria fiddled with her hand, mumbling to herself.
"Kalarop. Ralph. Degladis duke."
Recalling the neighbor uncle, Nibelria nodded.
"Oh, the thick-thighed one?"
"Where does this kid pick up words? She's hilarious."
"Here and there."
Armifera let out a short laugh and dumped the contents of her bag onto the floor.
"Curious about my stuff, huh?"
I saw those sparkling eyes earlier.
