Chapter 91: Venting Anger

Clop-clop! Clop-clop!

It was late at night, the moon was already high hanging up in the sky.

The Belling Waltz Mercenary Group, having barely eaten dinner, was riding towards Volten at an urgent pace.

Leading them all the way at the front was Sharen Helmont.

Eager to arrive quickly, she pushed forward relentlessly, disregarding the others’ stamina and well-being.

“Are we there yet?”

As she glanced back, Bellington, Belling Waltz’ leader, quickly spurred his horse to catch up.

“Yes. At this pace, we should arrive by tomorrow morning.”

“Really? Good.”

Hearing that, Sharen pulled out a snack from her pocket and popped it into her mouth. While munching on it, she glanced at Bellington.

“I won’t give you any.”

I don’t want any, you crazy bitch!!

He wanted nothing more than to teach this ill-mannered brat a lesson, but he forced a smile and held himself back.

Though he found it frustrating that he had to tread carefully just because she was a Helmont…

It wasn’t like he had any other choice.

After all, she was a Helmont.

No matter how much the brat looked like a kid munching on her cookies, if she wanted to, she could wipe them out without putting much effort.

Just let the wind and Helmont pass by.

As Bellington reminded himself of that saying while riding his horse…

“Someone’s coming. Quite a few of them, it seems.”

“Sorry?”

Sharen’s red eyes noticed a crowd approaching in the darkness.

What did she see?

Bellington was taken aback.

At first, he thought she was just talking nonsense, but then he actually saw the faint silhouettes moving in the darkness.

“You’re…right…”

“What? Did you think I was lying?”

Sharen puffed up her chest with pride.

Since they’re coming from the opposite direction, they’re coming from Volten?

But, who’d go out of the city at this hour?

“Huh?”

Once again, an exclamation of surprise escaped Bellington’s lips. It turned out that those people were his own men that he stationed in Volten.

Over thirty men were moving in a group.

Seeing how they waved their hands in greeting, they seemed to have recognized Bellington too.

“Miss Sharen, they are my men. May I speak with them for a moment?”

“…But, we’re in a hurry.”

“Please?”

He didn’t know why he’d need her permission, but he asked for it anyway.

“Fine, but make it quick!”

At that, he immediately dismounted and ran to his men. He kept some distance, just in case Sharen could overhear their conversation.

“What are you doing here? I told you we were coming. Baron Volten—”

“Boss, Baron Volten is dead.”

“What?!”

Before he realized it, he had raised his voice.

He quickly glanced back and saw Sharen absentmindedly staring at the moon while eating her cookie.

Seeing this, he let out a sigh of relief before asking his men a question.

“What happened?”

“Baron Logan came to Volten.”

“Logan… The guy from the banquet?”

Bellington, who had faced Isaac using the Soul Body, immediately remembered him.

But then again, there was no way he’d just forget about the man who had luckily dodged his unconventional swordsmanship.

“He killed Baron Volten just before we left. Now Volten is in the middle of a riot.”

“Those drug addicts must be really riled up.”

“Exactly.”

“Haa… This Logan guy keeps getting in our way. I swear, I’m gonna chew him up and spit him out.”

If it wasn’t because of him, their assassination attempt on Princess Adeline would’ve been a success.

And now, he became an even prickier thorn on Bellington’s side.

He let out a sigh and pondered.

Though they were working under the Sponsors for a hefty sum, this was clearly a dangerous business.

Maybe it’s best to just pull out.

We haven’t been caught yet, and if we were to run away now, the kingdom wouldn’t be able to catch us that easily.

I should talk to the Sponsors separately instead of returning to Volten.

After deciding so, he pondered for a bit.

What should I do about that stubborn tomboy, though?

You know what? I’ll just give her a horse and send her off.

It’ll be a bit of a waste, but it’s better than going to Volten now.

“Excuse me, Young Lady—“

“Inferno Surge!”

Whoosh!

A crimson Aura swept over Bellington and the rest of his men.

Caught completely off guard by the sudden attack, the mercenaries were engulfed in the Inferno Surge.

Their horses reared up in fright as they whined, adding to the chaos.

Bellington, who took a direct hit from her, clutched his burning body and shouted.

“W-What is the meaning of this?!”

This wasn’t a normal act even for a Helmont. As he was about to ask what on earth she was thinking…

“Baron Logan was Isaac, right? The title sounded awkward, so I didn’t realize it was him at first.”

“…Pardon?”

Did she hear us from that distance!?

Bellington looked at Sharen with bewildered eyes, but she just smugly put her greatsword on her shoulder.

“We Helmonts have good ears too, you know?”

Another Inferno Surge erupted from her greatsword.

Back in the baron’s bedroom.

Having finished telling the story on how she managed to capture the Belling Waltz, Sharen beamed.

“That’s how it happened!”

“…”

“…”

“You can praise me now!”

After she said that, she hummed, shaking her head from side to side.

Her pigtails swayed around, as if urging them to hurry up and praise her.

“…Well done.”

Isaac wanted to pat her head, but since his arm was injured, he couldn’t do it even if he wanted to, so he settled with that. Seeing that, Sharen pouted, seeming a little disappointed.

“You caught a mouse while the cow was backing up.”

“I’m not a cow! I’m a Helmont!”

“It’s a metaphor.”

The Grandmaster chuckled and patted her head in Isaac’s stead, but…

“Hey!”

She swatted her hand away and shouted at Isaac again.

“You owe me! Next time, praise me properly!”

“…”

Is she and Rianna really related?

No, wait…

She’s her parents’ daughter that’s for sure…

So does that mean one of them had this kind of personality?

Isaac felt a little confused, but he nodded anyway, telling her that he understood.

“Anyway, this worked out well. Thanks to you, we’ve managed to catch the Belling Waltz. We should be able to get some information about the Sponsors if we interrogate them. So, let’s go right away.”

Isaac suddenly stood up.

The other two stared at him with concern—since he was injured and all—but he was adamant about this.

“I think I’ll feel better if I move around.”

“If you say so, sure, I won’t stop you.”

“What about me, Isaac? What should I do?”

“You—“

He said that he wanted to interrogate them, but it would be more than likely that he’d end up torturing them instead.

Since he didn’t particularly want to show that kind of sight to Sharen, he pointed to the bed.

“Get some rest. You’re tired, aren’t you?”

“Okay!”

Sharen quickly slipped into bed.

Since they could hear her regular breathing as soon as they left the room, it was clear how tired she actually was.

“She’s quite cute for a Helmont.”

“You could even say that her cuteness is at Helmont-level.”

Isaac and the Grandmaster chuckled as they headed to the dining room where the Belling Waltz was tied up.

“Come to think of it.”

In front of the dining room, right before she opened the door, the Grandmaster looked at Isaac.

“What did you call me before? Before your regression, I mean.”

“…I called you Grandmaster.”

“Hmm? Grandmaster? Why was the ‘Grand’ added? Did my future self become more arrogant?”

“Well, you had many disciples under you, and you can’t teach everyone personally. There were times when I taught them on your behalf, so…”

It’s actually because you felt jealous of me at the time, but I don’t need to tell you that…

“I suggested changing your title to Grandmaster.”

“Huh, so I had many disciples?”

The Grandmaster wore an ambiguous expression, as if she found that revelation surprising.

“We should have a drink sometimes and talk about it. Is there anything else I need to know?”

“…”

“Just tell me. I won’t get angry.”

“You should find a partner in advance.”

“A partner? My sword is my lover, so I don’t need such—“

“Whenever you got really drunk, you’d cry about why you didn’t have anyone by your side.”

“…”

“…”

A moment of silence enveloped them.

The two’s eyes briefly met.

“…Was that a poor attempt at a joke?”

“You also asked if it was because of your age. If we calculate your age from that time, your current age would be—“

Clang!

The Grandmaster immediately opened the door and went inside.

Then she kicked the chest of the tied-up Belling Waltz’s leader and shouted.

“How dare you try to assassinate the princess!”

Her shout was passionate, reflecting her current emotion perfectly.

The Grandmaster could easily match a hundred men.

Add that strength to the anger of an old maid, the interrogation went quickly and thoroughly, and she got to squeeze out a lot of information.

It was to the point that Isaac had quite the challenge to include all that information in a letter due to his injured hand.

“How does your handwriting still look normal?”

Sitting on the adjacent bed, the Grandmaster drank her booze while Isaac was writing his letter.

Meanwhile, Sharen was still asleep.

“I have to try my best to do that. Normally, I would have finished much quicker.”

Since it was a letter to the princess…

He thought that it wouldn’t be proper if he were to scribble carelessly or to have someone else write it.

Gulp, gulp.

Hearing the gulping sound next to him, Isaac let out a sigh.

“That’s already your third bottle today.”

“What? I’m thirsty for alcohol today. Don’t mind me.”

“Is it because of what I mentioned earlier—“

“It’s not.”

The Grandmaster glared at him with bleary eyes.

Then, she looked down at the bottle and added.

“Acknowledging that my schoolmates are no longer alive is harder than I thought.”

“…I understand that.”

Isaac, too, still hadn’t shaken off his feelings for Milly.

But he was certain that both of them were moving forward, slowly overcoming their grief.

Gulp, gulp.

After taking another gulp, the Grandmaster glanced at Isaac and wiped her mouth.

“By the way.”

“Yes?”

Isaac answered while keeping his eyes on the letter, moving his pen with his hand, when a serious question suddenly came up.

“Do you have any idea why you regressed?”

Tap.

Hearing that, he slowly put down his pen.

He was glad to have someone to share the topic he had been agonizing over, but…

“Can I have some of your alcohol?”

Being glad was one thing, answering that question was another.

At least for now, he felt that he’d need to be a little drunk to have this conversation with her.