Ch.372Side Story 1 – Southern Continent Travelogue (27)

One wall had collapsed, and hot smoke rose from the blood-stained stone floor.

This place, once called the headquarters of the Red Moon Clan, was now too devastated to be called a “headquarters” anymore.

Walls were burning everywhere, causing the building to creak and tilt precariously, while the floor was littered with stone fragments and broken furniture shattered by magical shockwaves.

“Young Master, what do we do now?”

“About what?”

“I mean, we only needed to deal with the enemies. Why did you have to destroy perfectly good buildings?”

He slowly raised his blood-stained hand to wipe his forehead.

His silver hair was tangled with sweat and dust, and his silver pupils were cloudy from magical aftereffects.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at Jawil Wilson standing beside him.

“How am I supposed to think about buildings during combat?”

“W-well, that’s true, but… I noticed the Red Moon Clan members didn’t look too happy earlier.”

“That’s not because of the destroyed buildings, but because of their dead comrades.”

Jawil Wilson hastily looked around, unable to hide the anxiety in his eyes.

“Should we run away now?”

“Why should we?”

“What if they make us sign a magic-infused contract?”

“I’ve already revealed that I’m Selden Alphonse. What would be the point if they just come looking for me at Lake Territory anyway?”

“That’s true, but why did you take off your transformation leather…”

“Did I take it off? It was torn.”

At that, Jawil Wilson gave him a suspicious look.

“Young Master, you deliberately got cut by a sword to remove your transformation leather, didn’t you? To show off your handsome face?”

“Have you finally lost your mind?”

“It doesn’t make sense…”

“What doesn’t?”

“How could a mere mercenary leader manage to scratch your face?”

“That happened while I was trying to save Alicia. If I had been a moment later, she would have died.”

Jawil Wilson let out a short sigh.

He seemed to realize that the Red Moon Clan’s headquarters had already been reduced to ruins, and there was no going back.

“If only you hadn’t cast Meteor, we could have repaired some of it…”

“…It was necessary to prevent even a single one from escaping.”

“But will Merin, the leader of the Red Moon Clan, just let this go? With their headquarters in this state?”

“So what? After saving someone from drowning, should they demand their belongings too?”

“Well… I suppose not, but the damage here does seem quite severe.”

Honestly, I didn’t know the destructive power of “Meteor” would be this great.

Even though I had tested it a few times before, this was unexpected.

But.

Was it because anger had entered into the magic?

I ended up pouring out so much magical power that I could feel it surging within my body.

That’s why this disaster occurred.

*Swish*

I turned my gaze toward Merin.

She was carefully collecting the bodies of the deceased Red Moon Clan members from the ruins, gathering them in one place, and letting out a long sigh.

Then she approached me and bowed.

“Selden Alphonse, may I have a word with you?”

“Sure.”

Jawil Wilson also gave silent consent and walked with me.

We moved to a corner of the headquarters.

Fortunately, there was a small house that remained relatively intact.

The ceiling was half-collapsed, but at least it was a place where we could escape the chaos outside.

*Creeeeak—Thud*

Merin looked around the room first, carefully closed the door, and headed for a chair inside.

She sat down, sighed, and looked at me and Jawil Wilson.

“We would have been completely wiped out if it weren’t for you.”

“Good that you realize it.”

“…Thank you very much.”

Fortunately, the atmosphere was flowing positively.

While Jawil Wilson and I exchanged glances, Merin continued.

“But… why did you run away before?”

Since I had anticipated this question, I deliberately put on a relaxed expression while folding my arms firmly.

“Simple. I couldn’t let my identity be revealed.”

“You didn’t need to worry about that, did you?”

“The longer the tail, the easier it is to catch, isn’t it?”

“Was it because of the magic-infused contract?”

A question that hit the mark.

Beside me, Jawil Wilson couldn’t manage his expression and was breathing heavily.

Shaking my head, I spoke.

“Yes, I won’t deny it. I had no intention of signing a magic-infused contract. And I still don’t.”

“…You don’t have to.”

Right.

As I said earlier, if someone demands your belongings after saving you from drowning, you might as well let them drown again.

I straightened my back and raised my chin.

“It would be best if your members watched what they say from now on.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the person who fought your enemies wasn’t Selden Alphonse, but a mercenary named Casian.”

“…There are no organizations left to be curious anyway.”

“Why is that?”

“Because all the organizations in this area joined forces to attack us.”

So that was it?

I had suspected as much.

The armors were all different, and their swordsmanship felt distinct too.

I let out a short sigh and continued.

“Did you do something to offend them?”

“Nothing like that. It’s probably just because we were all women.”

“Indeed, following tradition isn’t always good. You should change—”

“We plan to change.”

“W-what did you say!?”

“To be precise, rather than changing, we’re going to disband the Red Moon Clan.”

I hesitated before carefully speaking.

“Don’t tell me… because all the headquarters buildings collapsed?”

“No, I’ve been thinking about what you said before, and you were right.”

“But why disband? If a boy is born now, you could just accept him as a Red Moon Clan member, right?”

Merin showed a somewhat bitter smile.

“…I’m tired of wielding a sword now.”

“A warrior tired of wielding a sword?”

“Do you know how the Red Moon Clan was formed?”

“Of course I don’t.”

“Women wanted to hunt monsters to earn money, but men wouldn’t let them join anywhere. So these women banded together, and that became the Red Moon Clan.”

“But what does that have to do with disbanding?”

Merin removed her smile and raised her head.

“But here in the Southern Continent, we now have to hunt people, not just monsters, for our livelihood. That’s how we survive.”

“Doesn’t that not matter now since I’ve already taken care of things?”

“Someone else will fill the void. And the vicious cycle will repeat.”

Although I didn’t know the exact situation here, I felt uneasy.

I tilted my head and furrowed my brow.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“…I’ve heard a lot about you, Selden Alphonse. The first to stop a monster wave in the Eastern Continent, the hero who ended the war in the Western Continent—”

“Skip the flattery and get to the point.”

Merin bit her lip before speaking.

“We want to immigrate to Lake Territory.”

“All of you!?”

“Yes.”

From what I could see, there were over two hundred people.

Moreover, they were mercenaries who had only hunted monsters until now.

With a serious expression, I twitched my eyebrows.

“We don’t have mercenaries who hunt monsters in Lake Territory.”

“I know. I heard that in the Eastern Continent, knights from each territory hunt monsters.”

“Let’s say you immigrate to Lake Territory. How will you make a living?”

“That’s a problem we’ll have to solve ourselves.”

“…I don’t think this is something you can decide alone, even if you are the leader?”

“I’ve already discussed it with the executives while collecting the bodies.”

At that moment, Jawil Wilson leaned forward and looked at Merin.

“May I have a moment alone with the Young Master?”

“…Of course.”

As Merin left the house, Jawil Wilson spoke with an anxious expression.

“Young Master, you absolutely must not accept them.”

“…Huh? Why not?”

“I’ve already checked, and the two Red Moon Clan women I slept with are still alive.”

“So what?”

“What do you mean ‘so what’… Those women still don’t know what my face looks like without the transformation leather!”

“You want to turn away people with nowhere to go because of that?”

Jawil Wilson swallowed hard and raised his voice.

“Since when have you become so kind!? If Clara finds out, I’m a dead man.”

“Why would you die? It’s not like there’s no solution.”

“D-do you have a good solution?”

“Just marry them all along with Clara.”

“…What?”

“I haven’t tried three yet so I’m not sure, but two is manageable.”

To Jawil Wilson, who wore an expression of despair, I continued.

“And as I told you before, instead of worrying about Clara killing you, shouldn’t you be more concerned about the Red Moon Clan women? They might kill you out of betrayal when you remove your transformation leather.”

“Come on… No matter what, after spending days and nights together in the same bed, they wouldn’t kill me over that, would they?”

*Creeeeak. Clatter-!*

Just then, two women entered the house.

Startled by the sudden opening of the door, Jawil Wilson also jumped to his feet.

“Y-you two…”

The two women pulled Jawil Wilson down to sit and raised their voices.

—Teiran, let’s live together in Lake Territory!

—I missed you! But… did you also use transformation leather, Teiran?

Jawil Wilson’s expression froze like stone.

I also hastily rose from my chair.

This situation was bound to happen eventually if the Red Moon Clan immigrated to Lake Territory.

Better to face it sooner rather than later.

*Riiiiip!*

I approached Jawil Wilson, who was holding the two women, and immediately removed his transformation leather.

Then, holding his transformation leather in my hand, I walked out of the house with a faint smile.

“…Good luck to you.”