Chapter 37: Master’s Counsel, a Slum Showdown, and a Royal Execution

After helping Anastasia with the relief efforts, Logan.

Came to a shabby house in the slums.

It was to catch up with his master, whom he had reunited with after a long time.

However, the process of getting there was not entirely smooth.

– Re-Renate! I want to go with Logan too…!

– Haa… I understand your feelings, Your Highness, but that is not possible.

– You must consider your position.

– Ehehe… Your Highness, you can rest assured.

– The kind of thing Your Highness is worried about won’t happen.

– Wh-what are you saying I’m worried about!?

– And what do you mean, ‘that kind of thing’!?

– Anyway, Renate!

This was because Anastasia insisted on joining them…

– Yes, anyway, it’s not possible, Your Highness.

– Ah, ah..! Logan..!

In the end, Anastasia was dragged away by Renate.

Before long, the sun set.

Inside the room, a single small lantern faintly illuminated the darkness.

Fiona tilted her wooden cup.

And gazed intently at Logan’s eyes, which were as deep as the darkness outside the window.

The clamor of the daytime was gone.

Only a heavy silence hung between the two.

“You… foolish fellow…”

It was Fiona who broke the silence first.

Her voice was a mixture of pity and frustration.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? You haven’t wronged me.”

“…I’m just sorry.”

“Haaah…”

Fiona had always told Logan.

Not to be too good to Irene.

That he had already done enough.

He didn’t take care of himself at all.

His foolish devotion solely to his childhood friend was so pitiful to see.

However, the student who usually heeded all his master’s words.

So very foolishly.

Did not listen to that particular piece of advice at all.

Because he liked Irene so much, because he wanted to do even better for her.

On the contrary.

As if stubbornly refusing to listen to his master’s words.

He devoted himself even more to Irene.

“It was because I pitied that sight that I took you in as my student, though…”

“Yes…?”

“Never mind, I was just talking to myself. Anyway, are you okay now?”

“…Yes.”

“Eugh…”

Fiona sighed again looking at Logan’s dark expression.

At this, her student spoke in an awkward voice.

“I’m really okay. I think I made you worry unnecessarily…”

“Worry? It’s just frustrating, that’s all, you fool. Why did you endure it so foolishly for so long? And…”

How he had managed to get over his feelings for Irene.

Fiona wanted to ask Logan…

But she swallowed the end of her words.

Just hearing the story from Renate, it seemed he had suffered something terrible and cruel.

Going further than that…

There must have been a decisive moment.

For him to have given up those feelings.

Just recalling it would be extremely painful and agonizing.

So, the master decided not to ask her student about it.

As Fiona remained silent, saying nothing.

Logan opened his mouth with a bitter expression.

“I regret many things too…”

“Right…”

Fiona was about to say something to the even more melancholic Logan but stopped.

This fellow probably wasn’t regretting why he hadn’t gotten angry and just endured it.

‘He must be regretting that Irene became selfish because he was too good to her.’

It was a situation where even cursing her with unspeakable words wouldn’t be enough.

Yet, he was blaming himself.

The master couldn’t bring herself to speak kindly of her foolish student.

“You foolish fellow…”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Enough, forget about it now. You’re not that child’s parent.”

“…Yes.”

At Fiona’s words.

Logan nodded with a bitter face and drained his cup.

Yes, I am not Irene’s parent.

And…

Not her lover either.

Just a childhood friend from the past.

Now that the Demon Lord was defeated, they were no longer members of the same hero party.

She had grown enough to live on her own now.

There was no need for him to take responsibility for her.

They just needed to find their own paths.

As proof, she was doing well with Lian.

And wasn’t he doing well with Anastasia?

Fiona watched her student, who was lost in such thoughts, without a word, and she too drained her cup.

Just as they were tilting their cups in that heavy, gloomy atmosphere.

“My, why so gloomy?”

Hanna, the owner of the house, placed a plate with a newly made dish on the table and joined the conversation.

“Hey, Hanna. I’m having a heartfelt conversation with my student after a long time. Are you going to butt in without any tact?”

“Excuse me? Who do you think made this heartfelt conversation possible for you to act like this? Ouch!”

“Quiet, you brat!”

Perhaps because the atmosphere was refreshed by the newcomer.

“Pfft…”

Logan, who had been wearing a gloomy expression.

Burst into laughter at the sight of Fiona and Hanna bickering cheerfully.

“Wow, he finally smiled! Look at this. The atmosphere brightens up because I’m here, not some stiff unni, right? Ouch!”

“I said quiet! What do you mean stiff!”

“No, that’s not what I meant… Ouch!”

“Then what did you mean!”

Logan watched Fiona and Hanna bickering for a moment.

And suddenly became curious about how they had come to know each other.

So, he asked.

“Ah, her? It’s a long, ill-fated relationship. She doesn’t even appreciate the kindness of being saved and just keeps being cheeky.”

“Cheeky? It’s the kind consideration of a younger sister playing with her older unni… Ouch!”

“Why are you suddenly bringing up age, you brat!”

Fiona gave Hanna another knuckle sandwich and told him how they had met.

In the past, Fiona was in the imperial capital.

Here in Arcadia, she was actively working as a gold-grade adventurer.

Then one day.

She happened to meet a girl, Hanna, who was in crisis in the slums.

It was the moment she was being dragged away by a vile group of human traffickers.

Fiona, just as she had helped Logan when he was young, being righteous, immediately saved Hanna.

And then, she completely decimated that vile organization that engaged in human trafficking…

“That organization was funding some dirty nobles, you see.”

The nobles immediately cut their ties, so they weren’t legally punished or disadvantaged.

Instead, Fiona ended up facing retaliation.

Disgusted by such reality, Fiona immediately packed her bags and came down to the remote countryside village where Logan lived.

“Ah… so that’s what happened.”

“Yeah, so since I was in the capital after a long time, I dropped by to see her too, but I got my foot caught, you know.”

“Your foot got caught…?”

At Logan’s puzzled question.

Hanna began to explain instead.

“Ah, yes. Here’s what happened…”

The organization that Fiona had completely crushed in the past.

The information was that it had revived and was operating in secret.

Children who had lost their parents due to the chaos of war, debt, or disease.

Naturally had no choice but to flow into places like these slums.

It meant that those preying on such orphans had reappeared.

“I can’t be sure since I haven’t seen them myself, but Hanna told me kids have been disappearing suddenly lately, so I’m investigating.”

“Ah… so that’s why there are so many children in this house.”

“Yeah, if those guys find out there are no kids wandering the streets and they’re all gathered here…”

“Those guys will eventually have no choice but to come here… is what you’re saying.”

“Yeah, so since it’s come to this, will you help me out a bit?”

“Yes?”

“It seems like speaking of the devil, our guests have arrived now.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

Logan nodded calmly.

As she said, when he raised his senses.

He could feel the presence of several people approaching menacingly from outside.

---

“Hanna, you go to where the kids are.”

“…Yes, unni.”

Hanna’s playful demeanor from moments ago vanished completely.

She quietly followed Fiona’s instructions and entered the inner room where the children were sleeping.

Confirming this, Fiona assumed a combat stance and rose from her seat.

“Shall I see my student’s skills after a long time?”

“…You’ll be very surprised. Even if I look like this, I’ve fought the Demon Lord.”

Logan also rose from his seat and readjusted the dagger at his waist.

At this, Fiona chuckled and nodded.

“Hmph… Yes, I’ll look forward to it.”

“But… will they openly try to force their way in?”

Even if it was an organization committing illegal acts.

No matter what, this was the imperial capital.

Even in the slums late at night, wouldn’t they have to be wary of the guards?

At Logan’s question, Fiona gave a wry smile.

“Yeah, they’re more than capable of it. This is a blind spot where guards don’t patrol often. And probably…”

Just as she was about to say they probably bribed them to turn a blind eye.

Instead of a knock.

Crash!!!

An axe was deeply embedded in the wooden door.

At this, Fiona gestured with her eyes and added.

“See? They’re just crazy. So, no need to show any mercy. They’re beasts, not even human, so if it’s really hard to keep them alive, you can leave just one.”

“…Yes.”

Logan felt a slight reluctance at the thought of having to kill people, but he nodded at Fiona’s instruction.

His hands had already been stained with blood many times.

While carrying out various guild requests, he had dealt with not only monsters but also bandits and criminals.

Furthermore, having fought countless battles in the war against the Demon Lord’s army.

He wasn’t naive enough to say he couldn’t harm people.

Therefore.

Bang!!!

Logan kicked down the broken door and, without hesitation, swung his dagger at the assailants who were roughly barging in.

“You dog-like b*tches! If you don’t want to die, hand over the brats quickly… Keoheok!”

Slash!

Slash!

His dagger accurately severed tendons in the shoulder and legs of the man at the front.

Fiona had said it was okay to kill them if it was too difficult.

But to Logan, the level of these riffraff was very low, so subduing them wasn’t that difficult.

Logan immediately went outside and confronted the rest of the group.

Counting them, there were about twenty.

Seeing the weapons and ropes in their hands.

They were undoubtedly assailants who had come to kidnap the orphaned and wandering children, just as Fiona had said.

He thought he could understand why his master had told him not to let them live.

Because they were worse than beasts, trying to exploit the weak and powerless in this chaotic situation caused by the war.

‘How can people be like this…?’

As Logan exuded a murderous aura, one of the group shouted urgently.

“This is crazy! There are way more of us! Don’t be scared, everyone attack!!!”

The assailants charged at Logan with their respective weapons, but their resistance did not last long.

Not only were Logan’s skills outstanding enough to have defeated the Demon Lord.

“I’m here too, you bastards!”

Fiona, who joined in, was also a considerably skilled gold-grade adventurer.

“Keoheok!”

“Kuaaaak!!”

In an instant, all twenty-odd assailants were subdued, screaming and rolling on the ground.

“Hoo… Logan, I told you. It’s fine to just kill all of them except one.”

Fiona dusted off her hands as she looked at the fallen men.

Her expression seemed to show that she was very displeased with Logan.

Saying it was ‘fine’.

It was actually no different from telling him to kill them.

It seemed her soft-hearted student had hesitated, not wanting to commit slaughter.

However, Logan shook his head and replied firmly.

“I’m not as kind a person as you think, Master.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that? If you’re not kind, then who in the world should be called kind?”

To find someone kinder than this fellow…

Wouldn’t one have to bring at least an angel?

Such a question naturally arose in Fiona’s mind.

At this, Logan gave his master a bitter smile and changed the subject.

“These people, didn’t you say they’re not just a simple human trafficking ring but have backers?”

“Yeah, so I thought it would be more effective to keep just one alive for interrogation, that’s why I said to kill the rest.”

“That’s not a bad idea, but I have a better one. That’s why I went with keeping them alive.”

“Really? Let’s hear it then.”

Fiona grinned at her student’s meaningful words, showing interest.

At this, Logan raised one hand as if to say ‘wait a moment’ and spoke.

“Yes, before that, could you please call Ms. Hanna? I think I need to inform Sir Renate.”

“Ah. Alright.”

At Logan’s request, Fiona roughly understood what her student was planning and nodded.

‘He’s become more daring in the time I haven’t seen him…’

Fiona looked at her student, inwardly impressed.

Was he really just a little over twenty?

She wondered such things.

And Logan, too, couldn’t help but wonder.

‘I’ve definitely changed since that day…’

Since that day in the conference hall when the Holy Sword exploded.

He felt that his own body had become unbelievably light.

---

The next morning.

The Hero’s room inside the church.

“Hero! Please stop being stubborn and come out! I’ve given you enough time!!!”

Sera couldn’t help but shout angrily at Lian, who was trying to coop himself up in his room again today.

As it was, yesterday already.

Anastasia had given a speech and carried out relief activities, stealing a march on them.

Her insides were boiling with rage.

Yet this foolish idiot was still just groaning.

“Sorry… Sera… Really… Just one more day…”

Sera could no longer maintain the mask of the benevolent saintess.

“Ah, really…!”

Just as she was about to explode.

A priest rushed over and delivered a report.

“Saintess! Hero! Right now, the Crown Princess is…!”

“What on earth is that supposed to mean!?”

Lian, upon hearing the report, immediately rushed out of the room.

Following the speech she gave in the capital square yesterday…

Today, Anastasia.

“The Crown Princess is said to be carrying out a large-scale execution in the square!”

Because the shocking news that she was executing people had been delivered.

“We have to save the them!”