# Chapter 160
—
As soon as he heard the news, he headed straight for Arcane Station.
Clang—clang—!
At that moment, the great roar of the iron beast reverberated throughout Arcane.
Arthur’s eyes lit up at the rough bellow as he leapt into the air.
“Ah, w-wait! Young master!”
Jeannie, startled, shouted after him.
But Arthur was already flying far into the distance.
Jeannie shook her head and summoned Sylph.
“Sylph, chase after that man.”
\[Got it, Jeannie.]
Taking off, Jeannie belatedly followed Arthur.
After running for quite some time, the two of them finally arrived at the station, where they saw the steam-spewing train.
Clatter—clatter—!
Arthur let out a breath of awe at the sight.
Now that he was watching the iron beast begin to move, it finally felt real.
He was finally going home.
His beloved family, his beloved estate.
He would be able to see it all again, after seven years.
Unable to hide the swelling emotions, Arthur murmured.
“I never thought going home would be this difficult.”
At his words, Jeannie gave a soft laugh.
“Please give Anna my regards, young master… and tell her I’m sorry for not keeping in touch.”
“Why?”
“…?”
“You can tell her yourself. Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed to meet her after so long?”
Jeannie’s eyes widened.
“Uh… but I have to stay in Arcane.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
“What business do you have here?”
“….”
At Arthur’s reply, Jeannie closed her mouth.
She stared at him for a while with an incredulous look.
“No, young master… you might not know, but I’m also one of the rebels who made huge contributions to Arcane’s liberation, you know?”
Arthur shrugged.
“At the end of the day, you’re still a thug, aren’t you?”
“….”
“You’re not planning to keep living like a gangster in a free Arcane, are you?”
Jeannie’s face twisted in protest, but before she could argue back, Arthur grinned mischievously.
“And besides, you made a promise with me first, didn’t you?”
“…What promise?”
“Don’t remember? Seven years ago, you promised to come to my house with me.”
Jeannie’s eyes widened again.
“Well… that’s true.”
“You’re not the type to break promises, are you?”
“…Am I really allowed to go? Like you said, I’m still…”
Her words trailed off.
‘I’m still the leader of a gang… Wouldn’t I just be a burden to the Bayern family?’
Hesitating, Jeannie couldn’t bring herself to speak the thought aloud.
If Arthur said she would be a nuisance, she felt it would wound her deeply.
But Arthur couldn’t understand her hesitation.
“Whatever it is, hurry up and get ready, Jeannie.”
“….”
“You have to see Anna, and take a look at the Imperial capital too.”
Urged by Arthur, Jeannie hesitated, then burst into laughter.
“Don’t regret this later.”
With those words, she turned and walked away.
Arthur chuckled at her retreating figure.
Just then, familiar faces came into view from afar.
Among them, Julie—no longer a child but a young woman—had tears brimming in her eyes.
“Mister…”
Seeing her like that, Arthur hesitated, then smiled warmly.
“Julie. We’ll have to say goodbye for a while.”
—
—
Julie clenched her fists tight.
“….”
She had always known the day would come when they would part.
But now that the time was here, it pained her deeply.
Her mentor, reunited after seven years.
There were so many things she wanted to say, so many things she wanted to do together.
Because of that, she didn’t want to let him go, yet she couldn’t bring herself to be selfish.
She didn’t want Arthur to be troubled because of her stubbornness.
So Julie smiled.
“…You’ll come back, right?”
Arthur nodded.
“Of course. I’ll definitely be back.”
“When?”
“Hmm… once everything is settled?”
“When will that be?”
“That, I don’t know. But… it’ll be much sooner than seven years.”
Julie bit her lip hard.
She had wanted to see him off with a smile until the very end, but her emotions suddenly surged out of control.
In front of others, she could wear a mask and act grown-up just fine—
but only in front of Arthur did she become like this.
So she stood there, unable to say anything.
That was when a large hand reached out and stroked her head.
“Julie, I’ll leave you in Elder Willet’s care.”
“….”
“With how well you’ve grown, I can trust you’ll be fine. You can do it, right?”
At those words, Julie finally burst into tears.
“…I can do it, Mister.”
“I told you, I’m not ‘Mister’—but you keep calling me that to the end.”
As he said this, Arthur patted her back while she wept, then turned his head.
Willet, with a cigar between his lips, and Angelina were watching them.
Arthur smiled brightly at the two.
“Thank you, Elder. Thank you, Madam Mayor.”
Willet gave a faint chuckle.
“Thank us? It’s the other way around.”
With that, he hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.
“…?”
Arthur blinked, surprised, as Willet suddenly bent down and embraced both the crying Julie and Arthur together.
Arthur’s eyes widened at the sudden hug, but then Willet murmured.
“Blood doesn’t need to bind a family.”
“….”
“Go safely. Stay healthy… We’ll be waiting here for you.”
Julie, startled, stopped crying, and Arthur opened and closed his mouth soundlessly.
Angelina, watching from behind, covered her mouth in surprise.
“My goodness… Elder has this side to him too.”
Willet straightened up, unable to hide the redness in his ears.
Arthur, finally regaining his composure, laughed.
“…Elder. You must be really embarrassed.”
“Shut it.”
“I’ll come back healthy.”
“…Don’t take too long.”
Even Julie, who had been crying rivers, finally laughed at their banter.
As the three prepared to part ways with smiles instead of tears, two professors approached.
“Arthur… student Bayern.”
“Huh? Professor Chizzy?”
“You’re… leaving now?”
Arthur nodded.
“Yes, Professor. The train is running again, so it looks like I’ll be leaving soon.”
Chizzy gave a look, and Professor Norse stepped forward with something in hand.
Arthur tilted his head.
“What’s this?”
“A diploma.”
“…!”
Arthur’s eyes widened.
Watching his reaction, Norse smiled faintly.
“A student graduating from Arcane after seven years—that’s a first.”
“….”
“Thank you for attending our school. As for the ceremony…”
Trailing off, he patted Arthur’s shoulder.
“We’ll hold it the next time you come to Arcane.”
Arthur stammered, then whispered.
“I only ever finished first year… Can I really graduate?”
“A special graduation—for the student who saved Arcane.”
Hesitant, Arthur accepted the diploma.
The rebels who had fought for Arcane broke into applause.
“Thank you for coming to Arcane, Arthur Bayern!”
“Come visit our city again sometime!”
“We’ll be waiting—come anytime!”
They no longer called him “the Donn.”
But that didn’t mean their attitude had changed.
To them, Arthur Bayern wasn’t just the heir of a ducal house—
he was their comrade, a fellow warrior who had fought at their side.
Watching them, Arthur couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Ah… how regretful.’
If only he had more time, he would have shared so much more with them.
He wanted to help transform Arcane, now finally free, and breathe alongside them in that journey.
‘But I have duties to fulfill.’
So Arthur swallowed his regret and stepped back.
At that moment, Jeannie, who had finished preparing, returned.
“Young master, everything’s ready.”
Arthur turned to leave, then paused.
He looked back at Arcane’s heroes, who still remained, and spoke.
“I’ll definitely return, everyone. And when I do…”
He smiled.
“You’ll welcome me again, won’t you?”
Willet answered for them all.
“Of course. You’re always welcome, Arthur Bayern.”
At that, Arthur boarded the train.
And the Arcane locomotive began to move.
Whoooosh—!
For the first time in seven years, the train carried him home.
—
—
Professor Chizzy, watching the receding train, murmured.
“He really… left.”
Norse couldn’t take his eyes off the departing train.
‘In the end… I never asked how he became a Swordmaster.’
No matter how much of a genius Arthur Bayern was, reaching Swordmaster in just seven years was beyond common sense.
And if something defied common sense, it meant a price had been paid.
That was why, even up to the moment of departure, he couldn’t bring himself to ask.
But now that Arthur was gone, the regret gnawed at him.
As he couldn’t tear his eyes from the train, Chizzy smiled and advised him.
“There will be another chance, Professor Norse.”
“…You think so, Professor Chizzy?”
“Of course… Arthur Bayern—no, Arthur Bayern the man—will return here again.”
At those words, Norse nodded.
Meanwhile, Julie too couldn’t take her eyes off the departing train.
“Ah…”
She let out a sigh, unable to hide her sadness.
‘So he really left….’
She had smiled at the end as she saw him off, but now that he was out of sight, the ache in her chest was unbearable.
At that moment, Willet gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Hurts to say goodbye, doesn’t it?”
“…Yes.”
“Well, you have admired Arthur since you were little.”
He smiled.
“If you want to see him again, work hard, Julie.”
Julie tilted her head.
“What do you mean, Elder?”
“Exactly that. If you want to see Arthur Bayern again, then from today onward, pour your effort into rebuilding Arcane.”
Julie’s eyes widened.
Willet stared at the train, now completely gone from sight, and muttered.
“Arthur Bayern—no, Arthur will one day need our strength. For that day, devote yourself to this city and to your own growth.”
His eyes gleamed.
“When that day comes, it will be our turn to help him.”
—
—
Rain fell.
Dark storm clouds and pouring sheets of water filled the sky.
A man, watching the deluge that swept away summer’s scent through a window, raised a glass of liquor.
The bitter spirit seared heat into his mouth.
Forcing down the unpleasant burn, he muttered.
“Arcane… was liberated?”
“Yes, my lord.”
A serpent, cloaked in shadow, flicked its tongue as it answered.
“The Thirteenth Ghost, Kyeon, has perished, and Arcane’s rebels have seized the Governor’s Office.”
The man turned his head at the words.
His unfocused red eyes glistened with madness.
“Who was it that accomplished that? The mayor of Arcane? Or that mercenary rabble said to lead the rebels?”
The serpent hesitated.
“Well….”
“Report.”
“…It was neither. The one who slew Kyeon and toppled the Governor’s Office was said to be a legendary mercenary of Arcane, returned after seven years.”
The man’s brow twitched.
“A… legendary mercenary?”
“Yes. Still under investigation, but… astonishingly, reports claim his level is that of a \[Swordmaster].”
The man’s eyes snapped wide.
“A Swordmaster? Is that true?”
“That is what our reports indicate.”
A hollow laugh escaped him.
‘A Swordmaster? How could a mere mercenary attain such a noble realm?’
It was impossible to believe.
Among countless swordsmen, only geniuses.
Among those geniuses, only one in an era might reach that transcendence: Swordmaster.
And yet, to say that someone had escaped the fate of the mortal blade and stepped into the realm of transcendence—
and that he was a mercenary?
Even idle street gossip would not dare mouth such nonsense.
His gaze dropped low.
“Is it truly fact, Serpent?”
“W-well… I will investigate further.”
He stared at the serpent for a long moment before finally averting his gaze.
The serpent let out a breath of relief.
‘…The lord’s temper is unstable. I mustn’t tell him the rest.’
The next part of the report came to mind.
That this so-called legendary mercenary was, in fact, the heir of the Bayern ducal house—Arthur Bayern, returned after seven years.
‘If he hears this, who knows what he’ll do? I must confirm the truth before reporting it.’
So the serpent kept silent, awaiting his master’s next command.
The man, still gazing out the window, slowly rose to his feet.
“…Come to think of it, the engagement is soon, isn’t it?”
The serpent bowed.
“Yes, my lord. At the latest, next week. Perhaps even within this week.”
The man drained his glass in one motion and ordered.
“Before dealing with Arcane… best to finish that first. Prepare it.”
His eyes gleamed with madness.
“I will visit the Bayern family at once.”
Thunder crashed outside.
Boom—!
In the flash of lightning, his face was revealed—marked by a massive scar.
The serpent glimpsed the eerie wound, then bowed deeply.
“Your will be done, Lord Cain Dormund.”
Ah so short I need more you have 2 really good
Novels.