I Summoned the Demon King and Got a Dad - Chapter 90

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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90. The Beginning of Another Contract (1)

Theodor, who had risen to his feet, began to walk.

The place he headed to was the Helios Family Training Grounds.

Perhaps because it was just as the morning sun was rising, the training grounds were quiet.

A few knights who had already finished their training and were returning bowed their heads when they saw him.

“Good morning.”

Theodor briefly nodded his head, accepting their greeting.

After the knights left, silence descended upon the training grounds.

On the dirt floor, footprints and sword marks were scattered messily here and there.

Theodor slowly walked inside.

Since becoming human, he had visited this place almost every morning.

Now that his magic power was gone, he had no choice but to take up the sword to protect Elisia and Shuria.

Theodor stopped in front of the weapon rack and gazed at the swords for a moment.

After a brief moment of consideration, he picked up a longsword.

After gauging its weight with his palm, he began to swing it lightly.

The sound of cutting through air rang out briefly.

Though he couldn’t infuse magic power to cut like when he was the Demon Lord, that didn’t mean his sense for handling a sword had disappeared.

He was still an excellent swordsman.

Theodor slowly took his stance.

As he moved his feet and brought down his sword, a sharp trajectory was drawn on the dirt floor.

He swung his sword several more times without any particular expression.

His movements were simple without any excess, and equally precise.

Instead of using magic power, he had to focus more on each movement of his body.

Perhaps that was why.

The training itself actually taught him more than before.

Theodor regulated his breathing and raised his sword again.

At that moment.

“What are you working so hard on from this early morning.”

At the voice that came from behind, his sword stopped.

It was a familiar voice.

When he turned his head, he could see Elisia standing near the entrance of the training grounds.

When their eyes met, she smiled faintly and walked toward Theodor.

“I wondered where you went every morning.”

Elisia’s gaze turned to the sword in his hand.

At her words, Theodor smiled and opened his mouth.

“Still, I have to continue playing the hero, don’t I.”

At Theodor’s answer, Elisia likewise burst into laughter.

She liked this sense of responsibility of his.

“You could retire, you know. Why.”

She naturally reached out and grasped Theodor’s sword.

A brief exchange of glances occurred.

And Theodor obediently handed the sword over to her.

“With that guy around, how could I do that.”

That guy.

The moment she heard those words, Elisia’s expression stiffened slightly.

Kan.

As long as that being existed in the Mortal Realm, there was no telling when rifts might appear again.

“…Still, I’m worried about you.”

At Elisia’s words, Theodor smiled.

He knew well what she was worried about.

But there was one thing Elisia didn’t know.

“I never used magic power before either.”

Elisia’s eyes widened.

“What?”

“Thanks to my strong magic power, wounds healed quickly, but I never used magic power when facing enemies in the Mortal Realm.”

Except for when he first met Shuria.

Meaning there was no need to worry, Theodor lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“So there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.”

A moment of silence flowed.

Elisia quietly looked at him.

Though he wasn’t the type to lie about something like this, it was still hard to believe.

“Then… may I verify it myself?”

Theodor’s eyebrow moved very subtly.

“Verify?”

Instead of answering, Elisia lightly raised the sword she had just received.

And took a step back.

The center of the training grounds.

It was a combat stance.

“I request a sparring match.”

Her eyes held sincerity.

Theodor looked at her for a moment, then slowly walked to the weapon rack.

And picked up another sword.

Drawing his sword, he faced Elisia.

“Please go easy on me.”

At his shameless words, Elisia burst into laughter.

“Isn’t that what I should be saying?”

“I don’t have magic power now, so my wounds won’t heal.”

“I’ll at least provide healing.”

“If you would, I’ll gratefully accept.”

With those words, the smiles simultaneously disappeared from both their faces.

A moment of stillness.

And the next moment.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang out.

The gazes of knights who had come early to train all turned toward the two of them at once.

It was Elisia’s sword that moved first.

Though Theodor didn’t know it, Elisia had often trained at the training grounds.

Thanks to her divine power, her stamina was excellent and her skill was also counted among the best of the Duke’s knights.

The knights who knew both Elisia’s and Theodor’s abilities held their breath and watched their sparring match.

Her light and smooth strike, resembling her, was swift, but Theodor lightly twisted his body and deflected it.

It seemed it wasn’t a lie after all.

Even without magic power, he was still strong.

He was still a formidable opponent for her.

No, was there anyone in this Empire who could face him?

Though she felt a little sad that he was still strong, she also felt relieved at the same time.

Elisia smiled and swung her sword again.

Now that her probing was finished, there was no need to hesitate.

He was stronger than her.

There was no need to hold back.

Elisia, who had stepped back, respectfully saluted him again with proper etiquette.

Clang! Tang! Tang!

Metallic sounds echoed throughout the training grounds.

But Theodor’s movements weren’t disturbed in the slightest.

While blocking, deflecting, and dodging the sword, not a single unnecessary movement was included.

“…Ha.”

She let out a short laugh.

The sparring between the two continued for a long time.

Elisia exhaled a tired breath.

It was the first time.

The first time she began to feel physically lacking.

The moment Elisia swung her sword while looking at Theodor who remained unwavering, his sword lightly pressed down on hers.

The tip of Elisia’s sword was pushed downward.

And his sword stopped right in front of her neck.

It was a very precarious distance.

And just as she intuited the fact that she had been defeated, his sword moved away.

“It’s time for a meal.”

A polite voice.

Elisia, who confirmed the hand Theodor extended to her, burst into laughter.

She had no choice but to acknowledge it.

She lowered her sword and took his hand.

“It’s not time to retire yet.”

At Elisia’s words, Theodor smiled slightly and sheathed his sword.

A brief silence flowed through the training grounds where they had just finished sparring.

The knights who had been watching from a distance also withdrew their gazes one by one and returned to their respective duties.

Elisia placed the sword she was holding onto the rack.

And for a moment, she looked at Theodor without saying anything.

“…”

Feeling that gaze, Theodor tilted his head.

“What’s wrong?”

Elisia hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.

“…Still, I really don’t like it when you become dangerous.”

It was a quiet but honest statement.

Theodor looked at her for a moment.

“Even though your magic power has disappeared, you still try to go to the battlefield.”

Elisia’s gaze wavered slightly.

Elisia wished that he, having lost his magic power, would rather become completely weak.

She wanted him to live by her and Shuria’s side without any dangerous affairs.

But Theodor was still strong, and he had a sense of responsibility for what he had done.

She liked that sense of responsibility of his.

But sometimes it was also resentful.

“You’re not as strong as before, now you could get hurt or even die.”

Various emotions were embedded in her words, but perhaps the greatest one was.

Worry.

Theodor didn’t say anything for a while.

Because he could understand what feelings prompted her to say such things without having to ask.

After a brief silence, he slowly opened his mouth.

“Losing power… is fine.”

It was something he had resolved and expected from the moment he gave up the Demon Lord’s power, a natural consequence.

Elisia’s eyes turned to him.

Theodor’s gaze was unwavering.

“Becoming weaker than before, having my sword become duller.”

He paused for a moment.

And quietly continued.

“But being unable to protect you is frightening.”

Even in the moment when he nearly died to Kan.

Even after returning to the Mortal Realm.

It was always only that thought.

For him, power was no longer for maintaining authority.

It was for protecting the people he loved.

Shuria and Elisia, both of them.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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