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I focused all my senses on the sound of the falling rain and the burning sensation in my throat.

So that no thoughts would arise. Thoughts, memories, all washed away by the liquor.

Only after emptying the entire bottle did I come to my senses.

“Phew.”

Donkey was chuckling.

He had also downed a few cups in the meantime, his face flushed.

“Was this the right time?”

“You timed it well.”

Even as we spoke, rainwater seeped into our mouths.

It was raining too heavily.

Suddenly, I saw Kazen leaning against a pillar with a pale face. Even with his body battered, he was forcing himself to maintain composure and assess the surroundings.

I made eye contact with Kazen once, then called out to the officer standing nearby.

“Bravo Khan.”

“Yes.”

“Escort the Patriarch.”

Bravo Khan, equipped with potions, supported Kazen and led him inside first. I then instructed the servants to take the exhausted elders to the enemy’s main building.

Meanwhile, the commotion outside the estate continued.

Was madness contagious?

Everyone was getting drenched in the rain like crazy people swimming in it, chanting strange slogans.

Hardly anyone was sane.

I gestured to my subordinates and said.

“Let’s clean up first.”

“…”

Somehow, no one seemed to be listening. The Crazy Mage Squad, the mercenaries, everyone was mixed in with the locals.

“Who am I talking to?”

As I approached the outside of the estate, all eyes turned towards me.

“Commander of the Crazy Mage Squad! Samael! Woohoo!”

“Wait. Didn’t you say you liked being called crazy?”

“Commander of the Crazy Mage Squad! Woohoo!”

“No way. Crazy Mage is a better fit!”

“Crazy Mage! Woohoo!”

It seemed like my subordinates needed a good beating. They were losing their minds before the situation was even over.

Didn’t they learn that it’s not over till it’s over? Bunch of ignorant fools.

I glared at the crazy bunch with sharp eyes.

“Hey, you bastards.”

“Crazy Mage! Woohoo!”

“I am the Crazy Mage.”

Speaking of which, I was also crazy.

For some reason, laughter suddenly burst out of me, and I started laughing openly.

When I laughed, the Crazy Mage Squad followed, then the mercenaries, and then the locals.

“Hahahaha.”

In the end, everyone burst into laughter. We kept laughing, oblivious to the rainwater entering our noses and mouths.

Like a madman, I laughed, spraying rainwater everywhere.

I felt at ease. This was me.

***

It was quite a while before the locals left, and only then did I start to organize the situation.

“Crazy Mage Squad, start by collecting the bodies.”

“Ow, that hurts.”

“Ugh, my whole body aches too…”

“What?”

They were laughing and having fun just a moment ago, and now they were suddenly whining about being in pain.

I started by hitting the back of Palge’s head, who was closest to me.

“Gah.”

Palge’s face plunged into the mud, and he collapsed. I hit him lightly, but he fainted right away.

“Wow… Someone drag this pig away.”

A few mercenaries helped Palge up and took him into the main building.

Looking around, the other Crazy Mage Squad members were in a dire state too. They had all lost a lot of blood.

“For now, the Crazy Mage Squad…”

The Crazy Mage Squad members looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Clean up this entire place. Come to think of it, I’m the one who’s had it the hardest. Clean it thoroughly.”

Zion, who had been looking at the unconscious Palge with envy, suddenly approached me with a glare.

“What did you just say, boss? Clean everything up? The fuck?”

“What?”

As soon as I raised my right hand, Zion instantly presented the back of his head.

I stroked Zion’s flat head and said.

“Zion, you’re in charge of cleaning this place. New recruits in the Crazy Mage Squad always start with cleaning. If I’m not satisfied later, you’ll be the one getting punished, got it?”

Zion replied with a wronged expression.

“Damn, that doesn’t work anymore.”

I called out to Daisy.

“Daisy, gather all the Bayern remnants with the mercenaries.”

“Should we gather them and kill them?”

“Just give them a mental education for now. I’ll decide whether to bash their heads in later.”

“Yes, boss.”

After organizing the situation, I entered the main building and looked for a bathroom first.

One of Bayern’s maids, whom I encountered in the hallway, froze upon seeing me.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Do I look that handsome?”

“…”

When my joke fell flat, I asked awkwardly.

“Where’s the bathroom here?”

Suddenly, the maid’s eyes widened, and she walked over and opened the bathroom door.

As the maid entered the bathroom first, I said.

“I’m going to wash up first, so step aside. I can’t stand feeling sticky.”

“Pardon?”

“Why are you just standing there?”

The maid replied with a flustered expression.

“Didn’t you say you wanted me to attend to you…?”

“Shut up.”

Attend to me? What nonsense.

I hate being disturbed when I’m washing up.

After taking a thorough bath and coming out, I found a neat set of clothes folded nicely in front of the door.

After changing, I called the maid who was waiting nearby.

“You called?”

“Whose attendant were you originally?”

“The Patriarch’s.”

“Did you often assist him with his baths?”

The maid let out a small sigh and said.

“Yes. Every morning and evening. Three of us always went in together.”

I made a gesture of striking my neck and said.

“There won’t be any more bath assistance from now on, so don’t worry. Just act natural.”

The maid, already aware of the changing circumstances, bowed her head.

“Thank you.”

“Tsk.”

The maid’s reaction gave me a good idea of how Cyan usually treated his subordinates.

I asked the maid.

“Didn’t a few elderly people come in here earlier?”

“They’re inside. Shall I escort you?”

“No. Go and do your work.”

After the maid left, I entered a random empty room and sat down in a meditative posture.

Closing my eyes, I could hear the heavy rain outside the window.

It wasn’t the kind of rain that would stop easily. It would probably pour all night.

Listening to the pouring rain inside the room…

Peace settled in my heart. I could also hear the sounds of my subordinates panting in the rain.

The thought that everyone was suffering while I was resting alone brought double the peace to my heart.

“This is it. This is relaxation.”

I enjoyed the leisure to the fullest and left the room.

As I walked further into the hallway, I heard voices coming from one spot.

Opening the door, I saw the elders sitting in a large room, and an unfamiliar old man was chattering away beside them.

The elders stood up and extended their hands as I approached.

“…You’ve worked hard, Ruin.”

“Not at all. This is just the beginning.”

I asked the unfamiliar old man.

“Who are you to be with the elders? Are you the head butler?”

“Y-Yes. Please spare my life.”

The Bayern head butler abruptly knelt and said.

“I’ve already told the elders here that I have nothing to do with this. I merely managed the finances. I’ll do anything if you spare my life.”

“How much money is there here?”

The head butler replied without a moment’s hesitation.

“We’re in deficit.”

“You’re incompetent.”

Sensing the threat of death, the head butler said.

“It’s not my fault. I kept telling the Patriarch, but… he forced it through…”

“Be quiet.”

“But I know everything about Bayern’s businesses and the flow of money. I’ll be useful if you spare me.”

“Talk to the elders. Stop bothering me.”

I had no intention of killing an ordinary old butler. I looked around and said.

“Where’s the Patriarch?”

Elder Norman replied with a worried expression.

“The Patriarch is resting in the next room. It seems his internal injuries are severe.”

“I’ll go see him. I’ll take care of things outside, so the elders should rest and grill the head butler.”

The head butler, seeing how I interacted with the elders, was inwardly dumbfounded but didn’t show it on the outside. He was afraid of saying the wrong thing and getting killed.

Moreover, the elders seemed to accept it without any qualms.

***

I carefully opened the door to the next room.

Kazen was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, and Wright and Bravo Khan were standing quietly beside him.

Wright spoke as I entered.

“He just fell asleep.”

“How is the Patriarch’s condition?”

Bravo Khan answered.

“You don’t need to worry too much. The potion worked well. Fortunately, his heartbeat has stabilized. He should be mostly fine after a few days of rest.”

Bravo Khan, usually knowledgeable about many things, also had some expertise in medicine.

It seemed the top-grade potion made by the scatterbrained alchemist was even more effective than expected.

The image of the bald man with three strands of hair flashed through my mind, but I quickly shook off the thought. Now wasn’t the time to think about the bald guy.

“Only the Head butler should stay here. Bravo Khan, make sure no one else enters from outside. Rest is the most important thing right now.”

“Yes.”

Having opened his damaged mana circles twice, his body couldn’t be in a normal state.

Kazen’s body was currently as fragile as glass. Even the top-grade potion couldn’t heal him completely in a short time.

I looked down at Kazen for a moment. I saw him in a new light.

‘Indeed, Samael is Samael.’

To think he could generate that level of mana with damaged mana circles.

Just how talented was he?

“…”

I gazed at Kazen’s face for a long time, then picked up a few potions from the side and left the room.

“I’m taking these. If anything happens, come out to the estate and report to me. I’ll be there.”

“Yes.”

***

“Guys, the boss is coming out!”

The Bayern men, who had been standing still, knelt simultaneously.

I looked at the Bayern soldiers kneeling in the rain and was genuinely impressed.

“The prisoners are well-disciplined.”

Daisy replied proudly.

“Boss, I did well, right?”

“How did you do it?”

“I told them I’d kill them if they moved.”

“Hmm.”

It was a good method, but they still needed some breathing room.

“You have to allow for bathroom breaks. It’ll get smelly if they pee their pants sitting there.”

Daisy, suddenly enlightened, exclaimed, “Ah.”

I looked around at the Bayern men and said.

“Anyone who peed their pants, raise your hand. Don’t think I won’t know just because it’s raining. It’ll be obvious anyway.”

One guy looked around hesitantly and then raised his hand.

“You’re honest. I’ll spare you. Step aside.”

“Thank you!”

“I peed my pants too!”

“Too late, you bastard.”

I looked at the rest of the men.

“Should I kill you or not? You attacked Samael, so you deserve to die, but then again, that might not be the case from the perspective of low-ranking soldiers. I’ll give you a chance. Those who want to live, raise your hands.”

Everyone raised their hands simultaneously.

“That’s too many. It’s too much for everyone to live. I think only about half should live.”

“…”

“Those who want to live, destroy your mana cores. Three, two, one. Go.”

Surprisingly, everyone destroyed their mana cores at once.

There wasn’t a single person who hesitated. They had all seen with their own eyes that I was a crazy man who didn’t speak twice.

“This is troublesome.”

The guy kneeling at the very front shouted, enduring the pain.

“Please spare me. I’ll pledge my loyalty.”

After pondering for a while and failing to come up with a good solution, I just said whatever came to mind.

“All of you, go stand in the rain in front of the collapsed wall. Just keep standing there until half of you collapse. I’ll consider those who show signs of escaping their third-rate status.”

“Yes!”

As the third-rate Bayern soldiers headed towards the wall, I gathered the Crazy Mage Squad.

They all seemed to have reached their physical limits, staggering towards me and then plopping down on the floor.

Looking around, it was evident that they had done some cleaning in the meantime.

“You cleaned up diligently.”

I distributed the potions to the Crazy Mage Squad members, and I personally applied it to Zion’s wounds.

“Thanks. Should we keep calling you Commander now?”

“Yes.”

“Thanks, Commander.”

“Don’t mention it.”

As soon as I saw Zion’s wounds healing to some extent, I smacked the back of his head.

Smack—

“Ow, why did you hit me?”

“Didn’t you say ‘the fuck’?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You said it earlier, you idiot.”

“…”

While Zion was clutching his head, I happened to glance at the mercenaries rummaging through the estate.

I thought they were cleaning, but something seemed odd.

“What are you guys doing?”

One-Eye, who had just bent down to pick something up, replied with a bright face.

“Collecting iron skewers.”

“Why are you collecting those?”

“They might be useful. You can find good stuff if you look carefully.”

One-Eye grinned, showing me the red iron skewer he had just picked up. Looking closely, I saw it was the one Blood used.

“Are you going to use them as hidden weapons?”

“Yes.”

“Impressive.”

It turned out there were a lot of impressive people around me.

“…”

The idiot and I applied potions and watched the rain from the floor.

The mercenaries, as if on a treasure hunt in the mud, picked up good iron skewers and stuffed them into their pockets.

Meanwhile, the Bayern soldiers glared at us, determined not to collapse.

Everyone was engrossed in their own tasks for a while, not quite understanding what was going on.

Gradually, the rain subsided.

As the dark clouds disappeared, the moonlight emerged.

Anyway, it was an interesting night.

———-