Chapter 71 – Bro

As expected, Brant recovered on his own. It was even mysterious to see his skin distorted by the burns regenerating back to his original skin.

Brant, Emma, Thane, and Arin rode the carriage because Brant was in bad condition. Dex and Ed stayed on the roof of the carriage, and Diego was riding with Doug at the front.

Thane and Arin seemed to open up little by little to Emma’s appearance of taking care of Brant. Brant kept looking around, perhaps because he had sinned something.

Ed wanted to talk to Brant separately after saving him and having dinner at the inn in a nearby village.

Brant was a little nervous about Ed, who he couldn’t win even after trying his best. In addition, Ed seemed to be the leader of this group, so he had to put up his best attitude.

Ed poured alcohol into Brant’s cup because he seemed to be nervous. And Ed poured alcohol into his own cup.

Ed was looking at the foam of the beer and opened his mouth.

“Mr. Brant.”

When Ed first met him, he continued to speak informally, but after accepting him as a group member, he was being polite. It was natural for Ed to speak formally because Brant had a daughter and looked ten years older than him.

“Yes.”

And Brant also looked at Ed. Because he was the leader of the group and showed his power.

“What are you going to do in the future?”

“What?”

Brant raised his head and looked at Ed in surprise. Ed silently received his gaze and continued to speak.

“Emma’s wound is almost healed. It means that Arin doesn’t have to take care of her.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s okay for you to leave anytime.”

Brant was shocked by the words. He met them as enemies and his daughter was saved by them. But Ed was telling him that he can leave.

To be honest, Brant thought his power would be helpful enough for Ed’s group. He thought he was one of the stronger members after Ed.

Brant don’t know what they were doing, but he thought he could be helpful enough. So he wanted to be accepted into the group.

Brant also wanted to feel less burdened.

Brant thought he could pay them back whenever they needed them.

But Ed said it was okay to leave.

Was Ed thinking that Brant would really leave the group with dept? Together with Emma?

However, Brant’s selfish mind also raised its head. How about hiding alone with Emma? Even if he has the power of the demon, there is no reason to run away thanks to Eslan’s chain.

Living happily with Emma was something Brant had only dreamed of. Ed was saying now that it was possible.

“Can I really do that?”

“Of course.”

Ed said so and took a sip of beer. One thing Brant didn’t like was that he could only drink cold beer in the winter.

Brant, who was still looking at Ed, asked.

“Why are you so nice to me?”

Ed put his cup down at the words and stared at him.

“I was trying to kill you guys.”

“That’s right.”

“But I don’t understand why you saved my daughter and now letting us leave without asking for anything.”

Ed smiled and replied.

“Some I respect told me something. The bad guy is always the person to blame. You were just their sword. The real bad guys are Akalan.”

Brant looked at Ed without saying anything. Ed calmly continued to speak, receiving his gaze.

“According to the prophecy of the Astron Church, our group is working with the Holy Knight Arin to fight demons. To be honest, we can’t guarantee your safety.”

Brant tried to say that he could do it. But Emma was in his way.

“There is a boy named Diego.”

“He’s a spirit commander. He’s not much different from you because he can kill intermediate demons like you.”

“What?”

Ed looked at the surprised Brant.

If Diego uses the power of the demon, he can beat the intermediate demon. But honestly, Ed still had to admit that Brant was stronger than Diego for now.

And now that Diego’s powers are blooming, he may become stronger than expected.

Ed knows that Brant is sorry and grateful, but he has no clear motive.

Arin is following her prophecy, and Thane wants to kill the demon’s seeds. Diego is Juan’s son and wants to pay back his original sin, and Dex just wants to fight. A fiercer fight than now.

But Brant was different.

He had a daughter to protect, and so far he had not wanted to kill anything. So he had a weak motivation.

If Brant had not been involved with Ed, he would have gradually strengthened his powers with Akalan. But something would have gone wrong with them in some way.

Rather than giving him a chance to leave, Ed did not want to recruit someone who was not determined to become part of the group and kill demons, regardless of his ability.

It was always the same in games. You can tell how strong the characters are by their grade, but the difficulty level increases several times depending on their determination.

Realizing that Ed had sincerity, Brant emptied the beer in the cup.

“Can you give me some time to think?”

Ed nodded his head gently.

“Please do that.”

Ed stood up. Brant, who was looking at his back as he went up to the room, also got up and went up to the room. And Brant could see Emma leaning against the window and looking outside.

Emma turned her head and smiled at Brant.

“Dad!”

Emma ran and hugged Brant, and he hugged her tightly. How long has it been since he has been with my daughter like this without someone’s surveillance? Brant, who was still feeling her presence, wanted to be a little selfish. So he sat Emma in the bed and looked at her while kneeling down.

Emma stared at Brant’s eyes as he looked at her silently. Brant, who smiled and sat down, asked.

“Emma, what do you think about living with me? Just the two of us.”

“Just the two of us?”

“Yes, just the two of us.”

Emma tilted her head and asked.

“Then do we have to leave Arin and Thane?”

“That’s right.”

In fact, it hasn’t even been a few days since they met Ed’s group. Emma looked at Brant with a straight face. Her expression resembled her mother, so Brant instinctively looked down.

“Dad.”

“Huh?”

“There was something mom often said to me while you were on the battlefield. Mom said she married you because of what you told her.”

Brant blushed when he realized what Emma was going to say.

“Those who don’t know grace are worse than Goblins. So if you receive grace, you should pay it back twice more. That’s how you became a human!”

Emma grabbed her clothes. The scar on her chest caught Brant’s eye.

“I owe them my life. Then I have to pay back something twice more valuable than my life. Are you saying we should leave without repaying their grace?”

When Brant saw the wound on Emma’s chest, he reached out his hand and held her hand. Then he reached out and grabbed Emma’s shoulders and said.

“They’re doing something very dangerous. Your life could be in danger.”

Emma continued with a straight face.

“I would have already been dead if it weren’t for them. I’m not afraid of death. I’m going to pay them back even if I only do chores.”

Brant smiled at his daughter’s words. For a moment, his selfish mind raised its head, but when he heard Emma’s words, he woke up to his senses.

He was embarrassed to have felt selfish. They rescued his daughter, who was an enemy without asking for anything.

And only then did Brant realize why Ed said that to him.

According to the prophecy of the Astron Church, the work of a holy knight is to catch the great demon. Holy knights risked their lives doing this.

For Brant, it was a matter of proving his trust before his skills.

He couldn’t decide easily because of Emma’s worries, but after hearing Emma’s words, he came to his senses.

“Stay right here. I have somewhere to go.”

Emma raised both hands and grabbed Brant’s cheek when she saw his gaze change. And said with a gentle smile.

“Dad. Mom said she fell in love with you because you were a proud man. I was proud of that kind of dad. So please continue to be a proud dad.”

Brant got up from his seat after touching Emma’s hair.

“Thank you for bringing me to my senses.”

Emma waved her hand as if to go quickly. Brant came out and went straight to Ed’s room and knocked on the door.

It was Dex who opened the door. He yawned and asked.

“What happened?”

“Is Ed here?”

Dex pointed up with his finger and said.

“I heard he’s getting some fresh air”.

“Thank you.”

Brant slightly bowed his head and climbed onto the roof through the window of the hallway. Ed was drinking beer while sitting on the roof looking up at the sky.

Ed’s eyes turned to Brant, who had been looking at him for a while, and approached him. Ed looked into Brant’s eyes and opened his mouth.

“What’s going on?”

“I have something to say.”

Ed tapped the seat next to him and turned his eyes back to the sky. Brant sat next to him and looked up at the sky together.

“What are you looking at?”

“I was looking at the stars because someone said you could see the future if you read them.”

The power of the demon of stars, Pestoles.

Brant also looked up at the stars in the sky, but he didn’t see the future or anything. He never looked up at the night sky in the state of awakening the power of the demon, so he doesn’t know if it’s possible.

Ed’s gaze headed for Brant. Brant also looked down at Ed.

“Did you decide?”

“Yes.”

Brant bowed his head first as Ed waited.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t make up my mind earlier.”

Ed didn’t say anything and waited. Brant looked up and looked straight at Ed and continued to talk.

“Let me join you.”

Ed, who was looking at the determined Brant, held out a beer.

“You look determined.”

It is different from when he lived as Akalan’s hound. Ed decided to accept him as a group member because he was now trying to do something with his will.

When Brant received the cup of beer and emptied it at once, Ed, who was looking at him, smiled and said.

“Can I call you bro from now on?”

“What?”

Ed calmly told Brant, who was surprised.

“You look ten years older than me, so I want to call you bro. But I can call you uncle if you want.”

Brant burst into laughter. He never laughed like this since he was seriously injured in his previous battles.

“Jut call me bro.”

Ed reached out to Brant. When Brant held his hand, Ed smiled and said.

“I’m looking forward to working together with you. Bro.”

“I’m looking forward, too.”