Chapter 44: How did you meet my brother? ( 4 )

Jerome’s POV.

…

Conflict Zone’s Markien Mercenary Country. A country filled with war. And within that country was Hammerpolka, a town known for producing weapons and armor.

There was a boy. An incredulously foolish boy. He wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps as a blacksmith. The child bragged of his father’s achievements every time. That was how much he respected his old man.

One day, his father told him that he had found a way to enchant metal, turning ordinary metal into specialized metal. His father told him to keep it a secret. His son did not heed his words. He should have.

On his fifteenth birthday, the boy watched as his family fell. Bandits, lured by the scent of money, had come and slaughtered his family. His father died at the hands of those men while protecting his mother. His mother… she did not end well.

The boy watched in shock and horror as those men destroyed his family. And when his mother died, the eyes of those malicious bandits naturally fell onto the small figure of my younger sister, their desires bare and unrestrained.

The boy knew he had to move. He had to protect his sister from these wolves. He raised the sword his father made in an attempt to defend his younger sister. He was never taught how to hold a sword. He should have learned how to wield a sword when he had the chance. And now, he was going to suffer the consequences of not knowing how to swing the blade.

As his blade flew off, his life endangered and his sister’s fate unknown, that man appeared. On top of the broken ceiling stood a tall man staring down at him. As moonlight shone and the shadows blurred his face, all the boy could see was the pair of purple eyes smiling at him.

“My, my, my… Someone’s in a bind~”

“Who the hell?”

The bandit who spoke up died. No. All of the bandits, aside from their leader, had died with their heads fallen to the floor. Shock and fear entered the boy’s mind as the bandit ran far away from the burned village.

The boy covered his sister. He didn’t know how, but he had instinctively moved in spite of fear. And because of that, the man whose attention was on the bandit was drawn to him. The boy thought death had stared down at him.

“… I like the look in your eyes. What’s your name, boy?”

“Jer-Jerome.”

“Jerome, huh? Alright, Jerome. What do you intend to do from now on?”

“Huh?”

“It is as I said. It is unfortunate, but your parents are dead. You don’t look like you know how to defend yourself, much less your sister in the back. Can you even put food on the table?”

Jerome faced a series of questions that he didn’t even know how to answer. But the man had also given him a way out.

“Work for me.”

“Huh?”

“Lucky for you, I happened to be in need of personnel. Work for me for ten years, and in exchange, I’ll teach you how to survive.”

The boy hesitated. He didn’t know whether to say yes or no. However, the chance to answer was never given to him.

“Geese.”

“Tch, tch. Forcing me to do all the hard work while you stand there and look cool, huh? You really are Paul’s kid. Whatever, I tracked him down already. His base seemed to have a lot more people in there, though. Sure, you could handle it?”

A man with the face of a monkey showed up through the door. As the purple-eyed man floated downwards, he tossed to me a contract.

“I’ll come back to retrieve that when I’m done. Make up your mind then.”

“Wait!”

The boy said. Despite everything, the man had saved his life. And he was right. Jerome could not protect his sister nor feed her. It might have been foolish. It definitely was the dumbest thing he had done in his life.

But Jerome did it anyway. He signed the contract. It was better than rotting here struggling to protect his sister. Jerome would do anything to protect her, even if it meant making a deal with the devil.

And they followed the two. To the bandits’ hideout. And Jerome watched as the purple-eyed man removed all four limbs of the bandits. Casually, as if he were removing the arms and legs of a doll. And Jerome… He was told to kill those people.

“You said you’d do anything, didn’t you?”

The purple-eyed devil said gleefully. Then he turned to the monkey man.

“Geese. Let’s pick up whatever we can.”

“Jeez, boss. Isn’t that too much?”

“We’ll have to make do with what we have.”

“If you say so~”

“Rather than anything, I think I saw Ghislaine’s mana waves going rampant. If we hurry, we might make it in time.”

“Huh? Ghislaine? Seriously?”

The conversation behind him seemed important, but by then he couldn’t focus on it. His hands had been dyed in blood.

…

Six months… It had only been a mere six months, but so many things had changed him. The devil was lazily sprawling on the furry chair of his office, nagging at the pair of cat and dog girls that caused him trouble.

Laurel was not a nice person. He killed a lot of people, repossessing stolen goods from a bandit's hideout, acting as a mercenary, buying slaves, hanging out in brothels, beating up people, and coercing them into dedicating their lives to their goals, exploring... There were ups and downs, and Jerome’s hands were anything but clean. But it was worth it.

The boss was a weirdo, but he meant well. At least, the things he had been doing had improved Jerome’s life. He himself had become an intermediate swordsman. Not only that, but he was also a beginner-ranked silent magic fire user, although fire was the only thing he managed to manifest.

Sure, his boss was a tyrant that beat up people while telling them to do weird things while saying, "BECAUSE I SAID SO!" But he had his reasons. If Jerome had to give a speculation, it was because his subordinates were too uneducated to understand his greatness.

But the boss was also someone who had made sure no one died. In fact, Jerome was sure he had broken a rule or two to ensure that they all reached B-rank as adventures. People were fed, and they weren’t mistreated. His sister was safe, protected, and happy.

So, when a young maid with maroon hair came and asked what his impression of the boss was, Jerome smiled and inevitably let out his true thoughts.

“Laurel… was the devil incarnated.”

As well as the lord he had chosen to serve should Jerome become a knight.