I Became a Retired War Hero the Heroines Are Obsessed With – Chapter 4

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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The refreshing shower cleansed both body and mind.

He glanced out the window at the sky, painted crimson by the setting sun.

“I might have overdone it a bit… but it should be alright, right?”

His tactic of chipping away at the magical beast, minimizing collateral damage, had worked well enough.

Until, that was, the beast’s recall time approached.

It had gone into a magical frenzy with its remaining energy.

If he hadn’t suppressed it, the entire forest would have been obliterated.

“My body still aches. Damn cultists.”

His expensive clothes, recently purchased in the capital, were now in tatters.

Even though they appeared intact, they were saturated with dark magic.

If he didn’t purify them, he’d be mistaken for a cultist himself.

He sighed, purification was expensive… Weighing the cost against replacing the clothes, discarding them seemed like the better option.

He tossed the ruined garments into a corner and stretched his weary body.

A large mirror caught his eye.

Reflected in it was his body, riddled with wounds.

Cuts from swords, punctures from spears, bruises from axes… his arm had even been severed at one point.

His body was nothing short of a patchwork of injuries.

If he hadn’t ascended to Master level, he probably would have died several times over.

“Hmm, I wonder how he’s doing…”

While most scars had vanished with his ascension, some stubbornly remained.

The largest stretched from his right shoulder to his left hip.

He gently placed his hand on his chest, tracing the scar.

It was healed, no longer painful, but the texture differed from his unscarred skin.

This scar held deep meaning. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was the reason he became a Master.

Lost in thought, reminiscing about the scar that now represented a memory, a knock echoed on the door.

Knock knock

He threw on some clothes and called out.

“Who is it?”

“I thought you might need a meal.”

He opened the door to find a middle-aged man bowing respectfully.

As he expressed his gratitude, a black dagger tattoo on the man’s neck caught his attention.

It was the mark of the ‘Blackwater’, one of the Empire’s special forces, specializing in reconnaissance and assassination.

A wave of nostalgia washed over him, and he couldn’t help but ask.

“How is Blackfang doing?”

“…I graduated a long time ago, so I’m not familiar with her current situation. I am merely a professor here now.”

The man’s pupils flickered for a moment, and his voice was subdued.

Sensing the shift in atmosphere, he quickly apologized.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

He’d just remembered that graduating from Blackwater was essentially the same as being expelled.

He wished he’d recalled that a little sooner.

The man waved his hand dismissively, a strained expression on his face.

“You’re probably the only person who would ask about Blackfang. She’s… a beastkin, you see.”

Blackfang wasn’t some grand, meaningful nickname.

Anyone who saw the canine ears atop her black hair would call her that.

“Why would anyone dislike someone so capable? She helped me so much.”

“It’s strange to hear that from the ‘Savage Slayer’.”

“It was their fault, not Blackfang’s, right?”

The man nodded slowly, a peculiar expression on his face.

“…If I ever see her, I’ll pass on your regards.”

With those words, the man placed the tray of food he’d brought on a table and turned to leave.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what is your name?”

“Darius. I teach information-related courses.”

It sounded like a name suited for someone skilled with an axe.

He smiled faintly and offered a handshake.

“I see. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Professor Darius.”

Darius stared at his face and outstretched hand for a moment, then let out a small sigh and accepted the handshake.

“The other professors won’t be as kind as me.”

“Well, I’ve heard as much. As long as they don’t interfere with my mission, it’ll be fine.”

And if they did interfere, they would pay the price.

Darius met his gaze and shook his head slowly. “I truly hope so. I’d rather not get caught in the crossfire.”

Like a true Blackwater graduate, he was incredibly perceptive.

“What could possibly go wrong?”

He simply offered a knowing smile.

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The meal on the tray far exceeded his expectations.

A thick, savory soup, likely infused with meat fat, and warm bread. A beef steak and salad completed the spread.

It was practically a feast.

“Oh, this looks delicious.”

He immediately cut into the steak and savored the juicy, flavorful meat.

The blissful sensation was momentarily interrupted by a subtle emotion that dampened his appetite. It was a sense of guilt that occasionally surfaced when he felt excessively happy.

Another symptom of his PTSD, perhaps.

“Huh… I knew this scar was bothering me for a reason.”

Blackfang, the third leader of the Empire’s special forces, Blackwater.

He had met her two years after he first set foot on the northern battlefield.

That day, he had been patrolling near the base, braving the frigid north wind.

“Another damn cold day. This is so tedious.”

All around him was a landscape of pure white snow.

The initial wonder had long since faded, replaced by utter boredom.

As for why he was patrolling this desolate place alone… it was because he had the highest chance of survival.

It was too cumbersome to look after others.

“Nothing out of the ordinary today. …Did they all go into hibernation or something?”

“Snowmen don’t hibernate, human.”

“Right. I knew that… who are you?”

He feigned composure as he addressed the sudden voice.

He, whose senses had been praised by his mentor as Master-level, had been caught off guard.

This meant the speaker was a formidable opponent, capable of threatening his life.

“Blackwater.”

He swallowed at the mention of the ‘Black Dagger’.

“…An honor. To see the famed Blackwater in person.”

“‘Infamous’ would be more accurate, human.”

The sarcastic tone suggested the speaker wasn’t particularly friendly.

But they wouldn’t outright kill an ally… He decided to cautiously gather information.

“We’re infamous too. As the ‘Suicide Squad’. Seems like neither of us is too fond of our respective units… but let’s skip the sob stories and get to the point, shall we?”

“The point?”

“What brings Blackwater here?”

“You’re not unaware of our duties, are you, human?”

Blackwater’s missions were espionage and assassination.

Was assassination even possible in this snow-covered mountain range?

“There’s no enemy Blackwater can’t kill.”

…He’d have to see about that. More importantly, who were they planning to kill…?

Click

A metallic sound echoed from behind him the moment his guard dropped. His body instinctively drew his sword in response—

— Groan!

A grotesque cry pierced the air.

The pristine white snow began to stain crimson.

The heat of the blood melted the surrounding snow, revealing the hidden corpse of a snowman.

“Ha… You could have given me a heads-up.” He sighed, looking at the black dagger embedded in the snowman’s neck.

“You failed to notice something so obvious. Your skills are less than what your file suggests, human.”

“I don’t know what’s in my file, but…!”

He used all the muscles in his body to propel his sword forward with explosive force. He aimed behind him, where the speaker stood.

— Groan!

“…?!”

“Blackwater isn’t as skilled as I thought.”

The tip of his sword, which had grazed past the speaker’s head, now impaled another snowman’s head.

Anticipating what would happen next, he explained in a weary voice.

“Snowmen operate in groups. The one hiding in the snow is a decoy. While you’re distracted by the decoy, the real one approaches silently from behind. They won’t attack unless you show an opening, so I left it alone, but…”

Now that their comrade’s cries had echoed, the snowmen in the vicinity would soon converge on their location.

— Groar…!

See? The roars of snowmen were already approaching from afar.

“…I made a mistake. My apologies, human.”

“What’s done is done…”

He turned to finally get a look at the speaker and was momentarily taken aback. Canine ears perched atop soft, fur-like black hair.

Proof that the speaker was a beastkin. Noticing his surprise, the speaker asked with an impassive face.

“What is it? Is there something else I should know?”

“Um, sorry. It’s my first time seeing a beastkin.”

“…My robe must have slipped. I apologize for showing you something unpleasant.”

The speaker quickly covered their ears with the robe.

Their dejected demeanor made him blink in confusion.

“Why is it unpleasant? Is there a reason to be unpleasant?”

“You… you don’t dislike beastkin?”

“If I had to choose between liking and disliking, I’d say I like them. They’re cute.”

He might have hesitated if they looked entirely like animals… but aside from the ears on their head, the speaker looked like an ordinary human.

It could almost pass as cosplay.

More importantly, beastkin were on the Empire’s side.

“C-Cute…! You have peculiar tastes, human.”

The speaker’s amber eyes darted around nervously before they lowered their head.

He wondered how long they intended to keep calling him “human.”

“My name is Allen. What’s yours?”

“…Seven, human.”

“Don’t call me ‘human’. Call me Allen. Hmm, Seven…”

It seemed they would be spending some time together, and such a stiff name felt awkward. It sounded like he was addressing a slave, not a comrade.

After a moment of thought, he decided to keep it simple.

“Alright. From now on, you’re Blackfang.”

“Black… fang?”

Literally translated, it meant ‘black wolf’.

It was a chuunibyou-esque name… but wasn’t Blackfang better than Blackdog? Fortunately, the speaker didn’t seem to dislike it.

“I don’t know how long it’ll be, but I look forward to working with you, Blackfang.”

“Understood… Allen.”

— Roarrr!

Countless snowmen had appeared, surrounding them. It would be a tight squeeze, but… he judged it wasn’t an unwinnable fight. H

e proposed a wager to Blackfang.

“…A wager?”

“Yeah. Let’s see who can take down more. The loser has to grant the winner one request.”

“Alright.”

“Oh, and if I win, I get to touch your ears. For the rest of my life.”

They looked so soft and fluffy that he couldn’t resist.

“W-What…?!”

“An opening!”

Leaving the flustered Blackfang behind, he charged towards the snowmen, aiming for a swift victory.

“Y-You… cowardly wretch!”

And so, their first encounter began with a life-or-death struggle against snowmen.

And until they had wiped out the entire snowman tribe on that mountain peak, no reinforcements arrived. He later learned that his mentor had said,

‘You’re not the type to die easily, are you? As long as you’re alive, that’s all that matters.’

It had infuriated him, and he’d immediately challenged his mentor to a duel… but naturally, he couldn’t defeat his mentor, who was already one of the twelve Zodiac Knights.

…Damn it.

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About a year later, Blackfang and he finally succeeded in assassinating the Snowman King.

“…Can this even be called an assassination?”

The area was littered with snowman corpses.

Even after luring away as many as possible with other troops, a seemingly endless number remained. Since it was a long-planned operation, retreating wasn’t an option.

They had no choice but to eliminate every last one.

He grinned and replied, “It’s an assassination if there are no witnesses.”

“I still don’t understand you…”

“That’s my charm. Anyway, this tedious mission is finally over, so I’ll be taking my leave.”

He felt a pang of regret. He had grown quite fond of her.

“Perhaps you should remove your hand from my ear before saying such things.”

“I don’t know when we’ll meet again, so I have to take advantage of this opportunity.”

He couldn’t bring himself to let go of the soft, velvety feel.

Blackfang frowned but didn’t push his hand away. He had won their wager from their first encounter.

Since then, he’d often touch her ears whenever he felt like it. Did she even realize how much comfort it brought him in this bleak battlefield?

“…You’re going to die like this.”

“It’s fine. It’s not that bad.”

The wound he’d received from the Snowman King throbbed. He was lucky to have survived a direct hit from that massive axe.

“Why did you save me? If you hadn’t…”

Just as they were about to finish him off, the Snowman King’s eyes had turned crimson, and he’d gone berserk.

The problem was, the transformation had been so sudden that Blackfang’s reaction had been delayed. He had no choice but to throw himself in front of her to save her.

“If I hadn’t saved you, I would have lost these soft, fluffy ears.”

“You…”

“Don’t worry. I’m a Master now, so I won’t die. …Probably.”

Whether it was due to the imminent threat to his life, or the realization that they would both die if he didn’t act, he had awakened his Aura, the proof of a Master.

Thanks to that, he had narrowly escaped death… but he couldn’t move a muscle.

“It’s not just because of this wound. If you don’t change your fighting style, you’ll lose yourself someday.”

Her face was still expressionless and stoic, but perhaps due to their time together, he could detect sadness and worry in her amber eyes.

“Mimicking the traits of savages using dark magic is certainly a unique talent… but if you continue like this, you’ll cease to be human.”

“You’re quite talkative today. I like it.”

“I’m serious.”

He knew what Blackfang was worried about.

His fighting style was so unorthodox that everyone called him a madman.

“The side effects seem to have disappeared, but even as a Master, I can’t guarantee it. This is uncharted territory.”

Among the dark magic spells, there was a secret art that manipulated the flesh.

He had used it to transform his body into that of a savage.

It was like turning himself into a chimera.

Thanks to that, he could cut down his enemies despite his lacking skills.

The minor drawback was that the longer the transformation lasted, the harder it became to revert to his human form… but thankfully, upon becoming a Master, the remnants of the savage traits had vanished.

“Now that you’re a Master, stop using it. You don’t need to use such dangerous…”

“You know I can’t.”

If one or two Masters could eradicate the savages, the war would have ended long ago. The savages also had their own powerhouses comparable to Masters.

The Snowman King he had just killed was a monster on par with a Master.

To end the war against such foes, he couldn’t change his fighting style.

“It’s fine. I have no intention of dying. Have you ever seen me lie?”

“…This might be the first time.”

“Heh heh, I won’t die even if I try, so don’t worry.”

His forced laughter made his consciousness fade.

“Tha… thank… you…”

Through his blurring consciousness, he barely managed to make out a single phrase.

“Thank you.”

You’re welcome.

Before losing consciousness, he thought he saw tears in Blackfang’s eyes. He’d have to ask her about it next time they met.

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