The Lazy Swordmaster Chapter 95:

“Ugh, you… I just fell asleep . ”
“You live over 10,000 years . I don’t want to hear that from a rascal like you . Do you understand? Just get the **** up . ”

There was a face looking down at Andal with the tip of his lips tilting upwards, full of mischievous atmosphere . Andal was annoyed all the way to the top of his head . He got up as he cursed at Riley .

“Ugh…”

Andal woke up with a fuzzy look on his face . The pub was a mess, but Andal cleaned it up completely with a sweep of his hand and walked toward the kitchen .

“Why are you back so soon?”
“Soon? It’s been months . ”

Riley looked around the cleaned pub and said the duration of his stay in Rainfield as he shrugged his shoulders .

“Not several years?”

Andal was looking at Riley with ‘why are you back so soon’ look on his face . Andal was pouting . Seeing his face, Riley talked back, finding the idea to be ridiculous .

“Are you bragging about your several tens of thousands years lifespan?”
“Ludicrous… I’m saying this because I’m sure of it . There isn’t a single dragon in this world that brags about one’s lifespan . ”
“Ah, is that so?”

Riley sat on one of the chairs that Andal tidied up . Riley ordered the usual, locked his fingers and rested his chin on it .

“How’s that lass?”

Andal, who was preparing the drink Riley ordered, asked as he added ice into the glass .

“Lass?”
“Your servant… What was her name?”
“Nainiae . ”
“That’s right . Nainiae . ”

He was talking about Riley’s maid in training who had a very limited lifespan left because of drug experiments at the Magic Tower .
It seemed Andal was curious about how she was . With a question mark on his face, Andal turned his head and looked at Riley .

“How is she?”
“What do you expect?”

Riley took a sip from the drink that Andal handed to him to wet his lips . Riley continued as he tasted the sweetness of the drink .

“It’s close . ”
“Close?”

Close .
From Riley’s perspective, it seemed to be the case .

“She can barely move her body, but she insists that she is not ill or in pain . It seems close . ”

Riley fiddled with the ice inside the glass as he leisurely mumbled Nainiae’s condition . Watching Riley, Andal cringed big time .

“That’s inefficient . The way humans think… I cannot understand it . Won’t it be more comfortable to just say she is ill and then rest?”

Andal was tilting his head side to side with a question mark on his face . Andal even prepared a glass for himself and sat in front of Riley .

“There are many different kinds of people in this world . There are foolish people like that who keep on working even when they are sick… The fools who do not realize they are falling deeper into a swamp . ”

Riley looked at the drink in the glass wavering as he explained it about people . However, Andal still had a confused look on his face and tilted his head side to side .

“Um . ”
“…”

Past .
Past life .
Riley was like Nainiae once . There was a time when Riley struggled in futility without realizing he was in a swamp .

“Why do you think humans are humans?”

Riley was thinking about his past, which was strikingly similar to Nainiae . Riley mumbled,

“Humans are humans because they are like that . ”

Riley was like that once . To save the people, to save the world, in order to live up to others’ expectations… There was a time when Riley marched on restlessly without caring for his own wellbeing .
Shattered in pieces…
The end result could be summarized in those words .
It didn’t end very well .

“As I thought, humans are very interesting . Their way of thinking is different from dragons, way different . It probably is because of the lifespan?”
“Perhaps . ”

With Andal bringing up Nainiae’s remaining ‘lifespan,’ Riley slowly narrowed his eyes and thought about Nainiae, a maid who was much like himself from his past life .

‘Young Master, I wish you could feel this sense of having accomplished something too . ’

Even if it lasted long, her life was going to last until the autumn . Because she used magic excessively in Rainfield, her lifespan was shortened even further . If nothing was done, she would have burned out and became dust by now .

“Lifespan… . ”

Her slightly extended time was from Riley patting her head .
Riley thought of a different way to use the time magic that Nainiae taught her . However, in the end… it was not possible for Riley to cure her illness .

“Hey, Andal…”

Riley, who was sitting there in silence, called Andal as if he made up his mind .

“What?”
“By the way, it’s about the thing you mentioned before… Do you still want to try it?”
“Thing I mentioned before? Ah, that?”

When Riley asked, Andal wiggled his eyebrows as if he was waiting for this . Andal nodded and said,

“Of course, I still want to try it . ”

It was about the idea that Andal discussed with Riley when he teleported Riley and Nainiae to Rainfield’s nearby area . Andal said he was still interested in ‘that profession . ’ Andal asked,

“By the way, what about it?”
“Try it . ”

Riley said as if he was tossing the words out . Andal, with a look of disbelief, blinked his eyes .

“Are you being serious? You were absolutely against it before . Why are you changing your mind now?”

Andal was rubbing the palms of his hands . He was implying that if there’s something that Riley want in return, then he should just spell it out . Riley, displeased with the gesture, cringed and said,

“Did I say I’ll give her to you? I’m not saying I’m going to hand her over . ”
“In that case, what is it?”
“You said you want to experience that profession, didn’t you?”

* * *

It was late summer .
The autumn was already almost here before anyone realized . The weather was pretty cool nowadays . It was perfect for Riley to sleep under the apple tree on the mansion’s garden .

“Young Master, are you sleeping?”

Looking at Riley leaning against the tree with his eyes closed, Nainiae asked carefully .

“…”

There was no response .
He had his eyes closed, and he was making regular light movements . They were telling Nainiae that the boy was taking a nap .

‘It’s pretty cold now . He might catch a cold like this . ’

Nainiae, concerned, turned around to go back to mansion to get a blanket . However,

“… Uuuuuu . ”

She heard a cry from Riley . She stopped walking and turned her head to look .

“Young Master?”

Riley was furrowing his brows as if something was bothering him . Concerned, Nainiae turned around and came next to him .

“Young Master, are you all right?”

Nainiae’s mask was broken during the seizure she had last time . With her scar fully exposed, Nainiae looked at Riley .

“… Uuuuuu . ”
“…?”

Having noticed that Riley was occasionally struggling as he slept, she looked at Riley with concerned eyes . Nainiae started to blink her eyes .

‘Just now?’

Through her right eye, which was no longer covered by the mask, she could see sceneries in her head . She tightly closed her eyes and shook her head .

‘What is this? Just now, something strange?’

She thought about the scenery, the people in Riley’s dream to be exact, and opened her mouth vacantly .

‘This is?’

It was a very strange sight .

‘This view is…’

There were highly angular buildings made of stones .
There were things with wheels moving around quickly .
There were people walking around in strange clothes .
They were all things that Nainiae had never seen before .

‘Oh no, this is not the time for this . ’

Riley was struggling as if he was having a nightmare . Noticing this, Nainiae got a grip and realized perhaps it was not a good idea to go all the way back to the mansion . She used the leather bracelet .

‘Instead of a blanket, at least this…’

She brought out her spare maid dress and covered Riley with it like a blanket .

“…”

It seemed he was spared from the nightmares thanks to the maid dress blanket . The look on his face was back to normal . Nainiae sighed in relief .

‘Young Master, the vision just now . . . ’

Nainiae looked at Riley with concerned look . However, a terrifying pain was creeping up again . With her left hand, she started to tightly grab her chest .

“Nainiae . ”
“…?”

Nainiae’s face was completely crumpled . However, having heard Ian’s voice coming from the back, it changed in an instant .

“Yes, Mr . Ian . ”

Nainiae straightened up the look on her face by force . With a normal look, she turned her head and faced Ian who was walking toward her .

“Rest today . ”
“…”
“I heard from Sera . She said you are not feeling well . Why didn’t you tell us about it all this time?”

Nainiae shook her head . Tightening her grip on her chest, Nainiae said,

“I’m not… ill . I’m fine . ”
“You are not ill?”
“Yes . ”
“How about saying that after your hands stop shaking?”
“… Ah . ”

Nainiae was able to put up a look on her face, but her hands and arms were shaking as Ian said .

“This isn’t just for Young Master… I’m saying it as a family and an elder who had lived longer than you have . Rest today . ”
“But… Mr . Ian!”
“Silence…”

Nainiae was gradually raising her voice . In response, Ian narrowed his eyes and said with a deadly aura,

“You’ll wake up our Young Master . ”
“…”

Having realized this, Nainiae had a look of panic on her face . Not knowing what to do, she bit her lips .

“Rest today . ”
“… Yes . ”

She had no choice but to listen to Ian . With her shoulders down, she started to walk .

“Nainiae . ”

She was on her way back to her room in the mansion . Having heard Ian’s voice, she stopped for a moment .

“One’s health is very important . If you are going to continue to serve our Young Master, you need to look after your condition . It’s one of important skills you should learn . ”

‘Continue to serve…’

Nainiae stood there vacantly . She had a bitter smile on her face as she looked at the ground .

“Yes, Mr . Ian . I’ll keep that in mind . ”

Nainiae figured Ian was looking at her back at this moment . However, she was not able to turn to look . She just answered like that and walked toward the mansion .

‘If I’m going to continue to serve Young Master…’

Nainiae was thinking about what Ian just said . In order to get a hold of herself, she shook her head wildly and tightened her fists .

‘Nainiae, get a grip . That’s just being greedy . ’

Her life was going to end when the autumn came .
She decided not to be pathetic . She decided not to cling on to her Young Master . She decided to firm her determination . As she thought that, she walked toward her room . However, she ran into someone on the way .

“Oh? Who is this?”
“…?”
“Our very own famous Six Circles mage?”

It was Lloyd, the second born Young Master of Iphalleta mansion .

“What’s going on? Shouldn’t you be right next to Riley at this hour?”

To pay respect, Nainiae lightly lowered her head . She responded as respectfully as possible .

“Due to a personal circumstance, I was ordered to rest today . So Mr . Ian is serving Young Master Riley at the moment . ”

Having heard what Nainiae said, Lloyd opened his eyes wide . Soon, he put up a look on his face . It was saying that Nainiae was a fool .

“Huh, rest? Wow, this is just… You are that Young Master’s servant?”
“…”

It was a low blow, unbecoming of a nobility of his status .
However, Nainiae knew that nothing good will come from expressing anger here .
So, she didn’t fight back . She was going to just walk past him and go back to her room . However,

“… Up . Cholok! Cholok!”

Because of something coming out of the throat, she couldn’t hold it anymore and started to cough .

“What the?”

She quickly closed her mouth with her hand . She was coughing hard as if she was about to cough blood . Watching this, Lloyd panicked and broke cold sweat .

“… Cholok! Cholok!”

It didn’t look like her coughing was going to stop any time soon . Nainiae’s eyelids started to shake uncontrollably .

‘My sight…’

Every time she blinked, her vision was getting whiter . Nainiae was desperately holding on to her consciousness . However, with each cough, that was getting harder .

“What, what is this? Hey, what’s wrong?”

Having noticed the black blood flowing out from Nainiae’s left hand that was covering her mouth, Lloyd flinched his shoulder .

“…?!”
“Cholok! Cholok!!”
“Hey… Hey!!”

Lloyd realized this was serious . In a hurry, Lloyd turned his head . He was about to call for someone . However,

“This is crazy . Hey! Is there anyone…”
“… Stop it, Lloyd . ”

However, he was stopped by someone grabbing his shoulder .

“B… Big Brother?”

It was the eldest Young Master in the mansion, Ryan .

“… Cholok!!”

Nainiae’s left hand could not take it anymore and fell . As if a dam broke, lumps of black blood poured out and made a mess on the corridor’s carpet .

“… Khurhuk, cholok!”
“…?!”

The amount of black blood pouring out from the girl’s mouth was enough to make Lloyd flinch once again .

‘What is this?’

Lloyd panicked after seeing the black blood that Nainiae spread to the carpet . He believed that calling for people was the right answer . However,

“… Just let it be . ”
“Pardon?”

However, he was stopped by Ryan once again .

“Just letting it be is the right thing to do . ”
“But…”

Right in front of them, there was a girl, moreover, a person who was a part of the Iphalleta’s household, was dying . However, Ryan was telling Lloyd that ‘just letting it be is the right thing to do . ’ Lloyd questioned Ryan’s judgment .

“But Big Brother!”

Even though Nainiae was a formidable supporter of Riley in the successorship… Turning a blind eye to a dying girl was a disgraceful act that would taint the name of Iphalleta . It was unbecoming of the family name .

“If our father was here… He would not leave her be like this…”

Slap!
With the sound, Lloyd’s head was quickly turned to the side .

“Big… Brother?”

Lloyd, with a look of disbelief, looked at his brother .

“Get a grip, Lloyd . ”

The look on Ryan’s face could not be colder .

“That lass is going to die anyway . ”

Ryan was aware of this because he got a letter from his fiancée a few days ago, which explained that the Six Circles mage maid has a very limited lifespan, so they don’t need to worry about her .

“… Cholok, cholok!”

Not able to endure it anymore, Nainiae suddenly fell to her knees as she poured out black blood from her mouth . Ryan said once again .

“Let her die . ”

By his Big Brother’s threat, Lloyd was petrified as he looked at Nainiae .

“…”

Lloyd was not sure if this was the right thing to do or not . With a vacant look on his face, his lips was shaking . It was at that moment .

“… Ah, you were here . ”

From the direction of Nainiae’s back, there was a man with flame-like red hair . He fixed the glass that fell almost to the middle of the nose as he showed himself in front of Ryan and Lloyd .