"You seem to have changed a lot from when we first met, Ahriman."

"Is there one? How do I not think? ”

Magnus's heir responded to the visitor's words as he kept busy in front of his collection case, his staff resting in the corner, the priceless Chanabal blade hanging from his waist.

At this time, Ahriman was happily humming a Prospero-style ballad, and with one hand he picked up the still intact alien skull, pondering where it would be most appropriate.

"Of course you won't notice, Ahriman."

Not far behind the son of Magnus, Hector sat comfortably in his preferred seat, tasting the wine of Ahriman as a guest, and could not help but nod his head in praise.

It has to be said that the Prospero people do have some skills in brewing, and Ahriman's brewing technology has indeed improved rapidly over the years, and even has a lot of fame among the entire Dawnbreaker Army.

Hector took a sip of it and went on.

"This is normal, because every man is full of blind and dull elements when he looks at himself, after all, the eye is a pair of one-way windows that only open to the outside world, and it cannot see the mind behind him."

"You have changed a lot, reliable Ahriman, but you don't see them yourself, but I see them: but I'm a little curious, what is it in our legion that has changed you?"

“……”

"Your words have changed a lot, my friend Hector, after all, when we first met, you couldn't say anything like that: what changed you?"

The words of the Son of Magnus were at once like an uncaring inquiry as much as a mere soliloquy, and the Prospero minor in his mouth was replaced by a low mutter, until his eyes finally found a place best for his new trophy.

"What do you think of here?"

Ahriman gestured to the place he had chosen, looked at Hecht, and was satisfied with a snort of affirmation, and he quickly placed the few remaining Osiris psionic skulls in the galaxy, between the skulls of several other alien races.

The son of Magnus took a few steps back slowly, examined it again, and until he saw that there was nothing wrong with him, he sat down opposite Hecht, chatting with his friends and looking at his loot display.

Looking at his attentive appearance, Morgan's proud son couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

"When did you start having this hobby, Ahriman?"

"I forgot too."

The son of Magnus took a sip of his wine and answered the question casually, and most of his energy was now concentrated on the display case that occupied at least a third of one wall: three identical counters carved out of the finest natural oak, and even exuded a certain smell of grass and trees that made people feel refreshed at the smell of it.

Compared to these counters, which can be called works of art in their own right, the exhibits on them are a little more impressive: the exhibits that have been carefully laid out and painstakingly collected are actually terrifying skulls that have been carefully washed and fleshed, bleached and polished, the total number of which seems to be more than thirty, and each one is different, all of them come from the various alien civilizations that the Dawnbreaker Legion has destroyed in the psionic realm over the years.

As the number one psionic in the entire human empire, Ahriman naturally did not miss these harsh battles that required a long spiritual confrontation, and he played a great role in these tragic battles of extermination, and even saved the lives of many of Morgan's sons: therefore, many Daybreakers already regarded him as half of Morgan's sons, and he became a celebrity known throughout the Second Legion.

It was during this time that the son of Magnus developed this strange habit: when he followed in the footsteps of the Second Legion and ruthlessly wiped out a new psionic alien race and their home planet, he killed those who were able to resist to the last of his opponents in the final seconds of the civilization's demise, and took the skull of one of them as a memorial.

Before he knew it, Magnus's descendants had collected more than thirty skulls, and although most of them didn't really impress him, this did not stop the veteran of a thousand sons from continuing to enjoy them, and even collected various opinions to give his collection a moving name.

The death of civilization.

Hector was pleased with the name, and found it to be a hypocritical cruelty, but when he looked again at the skulls that could even glisten in the night, and at the bed under which Ahriman rested, he had a doubt.

Could it be that Ahriman sleeps looking at these skulls every night?

……

He's changed a lot.

Hector sighed secretly in his heart, and his vision swept over the various weapons displayed in the corner of the room, as well as the [Arena Grand Slam] trophy that had been tried and tested repeatedly, and this emotion couldn't help but deepen.

"How much do you think I've changed, Hecht?"

On the side, Ahriman's whispered inquiry unconsciously came to his ears, which made Morgan's big guy think for a moment before giving a vague answer.

"At the very least, when you first came here, none of us could have imagined that you would become a high-ranking member of the arena and the champion of the last Sword Smash Bros.

"It's nothing, Hecett, after all, that champion doesn't live up to his name, many of the true elites of the Dawnbreakers don't participate, and swordsmen like the Terra Veterans are basically spectators and referees of the competition: I remember that Bayar never participated in this kind of competition?"

"The original purpose of this tournament was to determine the second swordsman under Bayar."

“…… Plausible. ”

Ahriman was silent for a while, and then nodded solemnly: even he had to admit that the commander of the second company of the Second Legion was powerful, even if Ahriman had improved too much in the arena and was no longer what it used to be, but in front of Bayar, he was still just a rather so-so [one-in-one enemy], and he couldn't even let the serious kind knight make a second move.

Thinking of this, and then thinking of an existence such as Acudona, even Ahriman couldn't help but start to wonder: Is it easier to give birth to some monsters in combat power in the position of the commander of the second company of the legion?

If you think about it, there seems to be some scientific explanation for this conclusion: generally speaking, most of the first company commanders of each legion are biased towards the role of commander, because their real duty is to manage or assist the original body to manage the legion, so those who concentrate on martial arts and are not enthusiastic about other aspects will naturally become the second company commander.

Does it seem reasonable to think about it?

In this way, Ahriman was thinking in his mind as he and Hector chatted from place to place, and they kept jumping and arguing, and the years of friendship had made them already familiar with their respective interests and fields, and allowed the boat of friendship to easily avoid those unpleasant corners and anchor for a long time where they could continue to talk.

For example......

"Hecht."

"I heard: you passed the primary examination of the Sculptors Association, and now you are an intermediate member of that interest association? I don't think I had time to congratulate you. ”

"It's just a small thing."

Morgan's pride was humble, but his smile had already betrayed his joy: after all, he had been working hard for this examination for several years, and through these years of hard work, he had succeeded in getting the judges to accept his aesthetics and art, and pulled them to the same track.

And so, he passed: although his style never seemed to change.

"In the words of the judges, the work I sculpted was very ...... Fantasy style. ”

"They can always see endless possibilities in those works, like a mountaineer standing on the edge of a cliff, enjoying what kind of scenery will be under the blue sky overhead."

As Hecht tried his best to suppress his proud boasting, Ahriman's brow furrowed slightly: he always felt that there was something to these comments, but he wisely did not point them out.

"I've heard that every piece that passes the examination is left behind to decorate the hall of the Society of Sculptors: that is, the next time I visit there, will I be able to see your work in the hall?"

"It's a little hard for a short time, Ahriman, because they're stuck in ...... Some kind of dispute. ”

"How?"

Hector was silent for a moment, as if he was pondering how to explain it.

"To put it simply, the work I used to pass the assessment was a large relief, the kind that could divide the different areas and tell an event from beginning to end: and the judges were debating which section to put it in."

“…… Have you carved a lot of events? ”

"Actually, it's just one."

"But the four judges each thought that I was sculpting a victory parade in the Legion, a big lecture by my mother, a brotherhood meeting within the company, or a collective award ceremony presided over by the original body: the four judges each insisted on their own opinions, and there was a stalemate for a while."

“……”

"So, Hecht, what scene did you sculpt?"

"Uh......"

Rarely, there was a hint of obvious embarrassment on the resolute face of the commander of the twenty-third company of the Dawnbreaker Legion, and he scratched his face and stopped talking.

"I ......"

"What I sculpt is the day when our Mother of Genes will be reunited with the Legion."

“……”

“……”

"Do you have any photos, can you show me your work?"

"Of course."

Ahriman took the picture, and though it was a little blurry, he could still clearly see the relief carved by Hecht, and Magnus's son looked at it carefully, his countenance wandering in strangeness and nostalgia, and Hector became more and more uneasy.

"What do you see, Ahriman?"

"Uh...... No, nothing. ”

"Maybe this picture is a little too blurry, Hecht, I can't see more specific details, so I can't explain my point and takeaway to you."

"Well, alright."

While the son of Morgan bowed his head and sighed with some regret, Ahriman looked away from his lies to his friend.

He didn't want Hector to know that he saw on that relief that he had won the swordsmanship brawl, and the carved appearance was so vivid, as if he had recorded that moment with a shutter, and then delicately translated it onto the relief.

……

Ahriman couldn't help but sigh.

Hecht's artistic level is really getting more and more evil, and with the growth of age, this degree of evil seems to have a strange climbing posture.

His first work, for example, the statue of Morgan that he called it, has so far been visited by 200 visitors, and there are no less than 500 answers, and these answers are irregular.

Why are there more answers than answerers?

Because the same people, seeing the statue at different times, get the answer is actually different: for example, Aliman, when he first saw the statue, he thought that Hector carved Abaddon, but in the next few visits, he saw the faces of several Daybreaker warriors.

These warriors were all different and had little in common: if anything, they had all been involved in the lively exchanges they had with Ahriman, and they were the most memorable of their opponents.

He even felt that deep down he hated those guys: maybe that's why the statues would change in his eyes?

……

It's really confusing.

Magnus's heir took another sip of wine and sighed silently, but just as he was about to continue to slander his friend in his heart, an inadvertent glance made him realize that something was wrong.

At some point, Hecht's gaze had left the conversation and drifted to Ahriman's display: specifically, he was scrutinizing one of the strange exhibits with a suspicious gesture.

"Ahriman."

"You told me that these aliens were the races we had exterminated in previous years, and you kept their skulls: but why don't I have any memory of this skull?"

"Have we ever been at war with a psionic alien like this?"

"Or have we fought separately for a while in the last few years?"

"I don't remember: you've been fighting with my Twenty-Third Company."

"So, have we ever exterminated an alien like this: then again, this alien skull is really unique, and even from a layman's eye like me, I think this kind of skull is very collectible."

"Well, I should have an impression of them......"

Hector looked at the display case, and muttered to himself blankly, although his topic was not a serious question, but a rather simple confusion, but it was still enough to make Ahriman on the side show a shocked face.

The skull was indeed quite conspicuous: among the savage kind, it actually revealed a certain dignity and elegance, especially the few pale green traces on it, and the pulp that can only be formed by repeated play, became the finishing touch, making it more like a work of art than a souvenir.

As a result, it's quite conspicuous: even a little too conspicuous.

“……”

"Ahem!"

Ahriman coughed heavily, and before he could catch Hecht's attention, the son of Magnus had already put on a face that was trustworthy enough, and he replied to Hecht's words seemingly casually, as if he were answering the decision on dinner.

"Ah, that's what I got in an encounter with a Alien pirate, and its former owner was just a mercenary, and there were no more of the same kind with him, so you don't have any impression."

"But like you said: it's collectible, so I broke my convention and put it on top of this display case, it's beautiful, isn't it?"

"That's right."

Hector nodded, he didn't doubt Ahriman's words too much, but when they clinked glasses again and began to look for a new topic, a question that had long since disappeared flashed through his mind, but quickly disappeared again.

……

Saying......

Did Sergeant Tarasim say that he seems to have lost something?

I don't know if I've found it.

(End of chapter)