F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 252: Nando’s Salvation
"Farewell, brothers! May we meet again!"
Thrad bade them farewell with the widest of grins.
Dwarves were quite the happy bunch, and while the stocky fellow, six or seven years older than Caleb, truly viewed them as brothers, he apparently had a son and a wife back home that he kept secret for fear that he would be treated like some fragile thing by his comrades.
It was impossible to exchange the chance to return to one’s flesh and blood for brotherly sentiment.
At least not for Dwarves, who loved their kin deeply.
Aesyn had left before him, leaving Lesha heavy-hearted.
The relic was in the hands of the humans, after all, so as much as she wanted to attempt meeting her shy yet stoic sister again, she couldn’t.
Unless she conquered an Underworld Region for a key relic...
The sheer difficulty of it all. Perhaps she would try, but not anytime soon.
With Thrad’s departure, only the five of them were left — Daru, Elara, Caleb, Lesha, and Nando.
The four youngsters stood in a loose circle around the old man, who scanned his eyes over them and sighed once more.
He had been sighing a lot lately.
"So, why did I lie, huh?" Nando crossed his arms over his aged chest. "For selfish reasons, what else?"
None of the four spoke, though. They only listened.
"Tch." Nando clicked his tongue, then scratched his head and turned to look at Daru. "Fine, fine...maybe I’ll ask for your help as well, brat."
"That relic...it can open a portal back to this place, correct?"
Daru nodded.
"I have a huge quest, you see, and the moment I accepted it, it gave me a huge stream of necessary information that, while not omnipotent, granted me a shot at success. Of course, the difficulty was astronomical, so there’s no time limit."
The old man paused, observing the youngsters’ reaction for a moment before continuing.
"It had to do with the Cemetery of the Damned being a cover for the resurrection of five beings. Even their race had not been named. However, the souls of five of them were preserved inside the heads of The Five. The reward is the restoration of my youth...and my world."
The four youngsters’ eyes widened.
The restoration of a world?
This quest...it could only have been given by a divine being, couldn’t it? Who else, except gods, can bend divine laws to their will and restore an entire realm?!
"What?! But why?! Didn’t you say you’re from Neo-Earth, too?" Caleb burst in bewilderment.
Nando only sneered lightly in response. Instead of his usual lunacy, he gave off the vibes of a trustworthy veteran of a thousand wars.
Wasn’t he such a person, though?
While participating in a thousand wars was an exaggeration, his trustworthiness was not.
After all, wasn’t Nando only a step away from completing a divine quest, and without being a capable fighter himself, at that?
He even made everyone in Egress believe he was an absolute headache of a demented old man who needed to be taken care of.
His acts — both the subtle and exaggerated — were played just right to get what he wanted.
Although it was true that he was helping the Damnedlings of Egress progress to their escape, he could’ve sent them to their deaths to achieve his goal, as well.
But in the end, he didn’t.
The sneer was both a response and a mild confirmation of his masterful manipulation.
"I don’t have a world to return to, so how would I leave? I just found you fools a bit pitiful, and so I’ve decided to abandon the quest and just stay here. Farming for eternity and helping a wretch or two doesn’t seem too bad, though I’m not sure what would happen now that there’s no key to be obtained."
Caleb wanted to speak, but no words came out of his mouth.
The old man...he was using them, the life and death of many firmly within his grasp. Very few would have returned to their worlds, or maybe even none at all, had he chosen to remain silent.
He could’ve been so vile, building up their hopes and guiding them towards freedom, but the payment was the lives of their comrades.
A few would be free in exchange for hundreds of lives sacrificed for his cause. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
That was Nando’s salvation.
At least that was how it had been...but no, in the end, the old man chose not to charge them the fee, granting them freedom for the lowest price possible.
Now, his sacrifice would cost him his world and his youth.
He would be left by his lonesome in this desolate realm, eating bitter sustenance that he had labored for for eternity, his only source of amusement being a lost wretch or two.
Who knows?
He might even be punished by the gods in the future for his choices, or with one wrong move, he would be left gasping for air, lucid six feet under the ashes.
Nonetheless, in the end, Nando chose to do the right thing, and Caleb, although glad that he would be able to return, suddenly found it difficult.
How could he leave the old man, who saved all of them, by his lonesome?
’Damn it, damn it!’ he cursed inwardly.
"Stop whatever it is you’re thinking, dumb brat. I don’t need your pity. Besides, it’s not like my quest had already failed. It only would if you guys decided that this old man was suddenly not worth your time."
Caleb was confused.
His thoughts were muddled by his emotions, so he wasn’t able to understand what the old man was saying, despite it being so simple to figure out.
After all, Nando even asked to confirm whether Daru’s relic would allow him to return.
While the old man — muddled by the weight of his thoughts and emotions earlier — had not thought about this easy yet very effective solution the moment he made the huge decision to sacrifice himself for the hardworking youngsters, it had dawned upon him the moment he saw the first of the wretches return to her world.
Truly, the gods graced the good.
Had Nando been blinded by his goals, there was a decent chance he would fail, and the force he had so painstakingly built would be wiped out.
He would’ve been back to square one then.
And even if he succeeded, the weight of the youngsters’ deaths would remain on his heart for eternity.
But since, out of the goodness of his heart, he had chosen a graceful self-sacrifice, he had accidentally sown seeds of goodwill.
All that was left to do was to wait to see whether the brats he had sacrificed himself for were worth his world and his youth.
It was a good gamble — one that shifted the weight of the decision to others.
Even if they decided to abandon him, he would continue to exist with his head held high and his heart as light as a feather.
Daru was not as weighed down by his sentiment for the old man as Caleb was. It wasn’t too difficult for him to deduce what Nando was getting at.
"Ah, I see," he nodded. "Don’t worry. I know someone who can help. I’ll definitely come back to help you, old man, so stay in Egress and don’t put yourself in needless danger anymore. It wouldn’t take too long, either. I just need to take care of a few things, then I’ll be back."
"O-Onimaru!" Caleb cut in.
But another person did, too. Elara.
"Oh, just call him Daru, will you? I already know. Did you think it was actually impossible for me to learn his name? Gods...this man frustrates me...If you worry that I will expose his identity to my guild, then don’t. My invitation has already been rejected, and I doubt that there’s a better emissary than this princess. You and your faction could take him, for all I care!"
There was a hint of bitterness in the way she said the last part, though.
Caleb coughed, a bit embarrassed.
"I-Is that so...then, Daru, let’s meet on the Surface. Take me back here with you. I want to help, too."
Of course, Daru wouldn’t refuse an extra hand.
"Alright, but you go to where I am. I’m not too good at these matters, you see."
"That’s not a problem!"
"I’m from Southern Noravia."
"Really?! Hahahaha! Me too! Let’s meet somewhere in Edgehaven, then!"
"Starter Yield Traders."
"W-What? A novice shop? W-Why there, of all places? What about the main gate of the Southern Bladeborn Academy?"
"That works too..."
Hearing the youngsters discuss so eagerly about helping him, the old man’s heart warmed.
It seemed he made the right decision...
He noticed that Lesha was clenching her fists so hard that her nails were digging into her skin. She would’ve most likely helped, too, if she could, but from what Nando learned, these fellows’ worlds were enemies in the Sword Trials.
The thought that his grandchildren would be off to kill each other for real in the future was more bitter than a Hellberry.
But what could he do?
This was the will of the gods, and mortals like them could only follow.
