The slums were located opposite the Royal Palace of Alheim, with Yggdrasil in between them. Sunlight barely reached this area since the World Tree was blocking it, so it’s dark here even at noon.
In a dilapidated bar house located at the corner, an Elf with a muscular physique—rare for their race—was drowning his sorrows in alcohol, all alone.
“Darn it, why me…”
The murmuring man was no other than the former Military General who had fought against Halt during the first round of the tournament that determined Tina’s wedding partner.
After the tournament, he had been blamed for losing against Halt, and he had lost his job.
It did not mean that he was weak—it was just that his opponent was fearsome. Truth be told, this ex-general was the strongest person in Alheim, with the exception of the Elf King and his butler, Sarion.
The nobles had decided to make him join the contest, and they had even decided the order in which he would go out, just so they could eliminate Halt, the nuisance.
It was not a bad deal for the former general, as well. He just needed to defeat a boy from the human race, and then he would withdraw from the contest by faking illness before the aristocrat’s son’s turn.
Such an easy task and he would be able to obtain a huge sum of money.
Unfortunately, he had lost.
It was also a form of self-destruction. With their plans being thwarted, the furious aristocrats had proposed the change of generals.
The Elf King had tried to stop it, but because he had lost all too easily, the ministers had been in favor of his replacement, and the King had no choice but to force him out.
Now, he was here. He had lost his job because he had been dazzled by the large sum of money they had offered to him.
Not only that, the aristocrats had not paid one cent, claiming his loss as the reason.
He did not have a family. He had been pouring his heart into training himself and his subordinates. But that did not mean he was a military man through and through.
Most of his salary as general was spent playing with girls and drinking. The army rented the house, so he was evicted from it.
He did receive a scant retirement allowance, which was considerably reduced because of his disgrace, and now he was drinking here.
With a creaking sound, the bar’s door, which looked like it would collapse right now, opened.
“General, you were here!”
An Elf wearing a patch on one eye entered.
She was the subordinate of the former general.
“So it’s you. I’m no longer the General, so stop calling me that.”
“However, I…”
The former general suddenly realized that this eye-patch-wearing Elf was in love with him. Long ago, he had rescued her from attacking demons, and from then on, she had been desperately training herself in order to repay him. She had even reached the position of the Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces.
“You still have work, right. Quickly return. You might even be the next general.”
“You are the only one who can be my superior! An army without you has no meaning for me. I have also beaten the nobles who taunted you earlier, and now I am discharged!”
“You… Such a stupid thing.”
He said that, but the former general felt happy. At the same time, he was ashamed of his current appearance.
No home, no money—he was ashamed of the person he had become, a person reduced to binge drinking in the slums.
“Do you want to take revenge?”
“Wh, what on earth are you talking about!?”
“It’s all because of those aristocrats that you are in this state! It’s the Elf King’s fault! The nobles, the ministers! It’s this country that should be blamed!”
The patch-wearing Elf drew nearer, and then she removed her patch.
“You, your eye!?”
The eye, which was supposedly blinded long ago because of the demons, was shining red and staring at the former general.
Hatred overflowed from the bottom of the general’s heart.
Hateful.
I hate the human who brought me this shame.
I despise the Elf King, who discharged me from the military.
I abhor the nobles who conspired against me.
I hate this country. I loathe it.
Resentment and hostility blackened the general’s heart.
“Yes, I want to take revenge against this country. Are you willing to help me?”
“Of course.”
“W, what are you saying!”
The bar owner, who was listening to their conversation, tried to escape. However, he only managed a few steps before he fell on the spot. The dagger thrown by the patched Elf was stuck on his back. The former general did not even blink an eye even though his subordinate had killed a citizen.
“I want to exact my revenge as ostentatiously as possible. Do you have a good plan?”
“Please leave it to me. We’ll bring utter destruction to all the people living in this country.”
“I’ll look forward to that.”
The former general and the patched Elf left the bar, whose owner passed away, and they disappeared into the darkness of the slums.
——
T/N: Hello! ???? Thank you so much for sticking with us till here. ???? I do hope you’re enjoying Level 1 – Strongest Sage as much as we enjoy working on it. ???? We finally launched our Patreon page; if you wish to support our translations and want to have earlier access to chapters (as low as $1 a month and you have 3 advanced chapters!), please feel free to check it out. ????
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