Chapter 306 : The Leader of the Dark Heaven Society

I passed out as soon as I lay down on the bed.

It felt like I was more mentally tired than physically.

And while I was out like a light.

I had a dream.

*Swoosh—*

A city at night, with a downpour of rain.

A kid was lying on the street, his face beaten to a pulp.

The thick raindrops relentlessly hit his ugly face.

I knew it the moment I saw it.

It was the situation after the little Ashuban had beaten him up and had run out of the city to save Tina.

The traitor, Yuri, lay there for a while, getting soaked by the rain, and then took something out from his bosom.

It was the hairpin that I had given to Tina, and that Tina had given to Yuri.

"..."

Yuri brought it in front of his eyes and stared at it blankly, and then...

Slowly, he got up.

Splash... splash...

Yuri, who had become a drowned rat from head to toe, limped toward the city wall.

He squeezed his body into a dog hole.

And so, Yuri, who had escaped the city of sin, walked somewhere.

Far. Far away, into the deep darkness. With the sight of Yuri walking into the darkness as the last thing I saw, I woke up from my dream.

.

.

.

Chirp, chirp.

When I slowly opened my eyes.

Warm sunlight was shining through the window, and the clear sound of birds was flowing in.

"Damn it..."

I roughly messed up my hair and got up from the bed.

"What a shitty dream."

It was a truly unpleasant dream.

The sight of his back as he walked into the darkness kept replaying in my mind.

Why was I being shown that scene now, of all times?

I hadn't seen that bastard Yuri since then.

I hadn't heard anything either.

If I had seen him, I would have beaten him to death, so it was clear that I hadn't heard any news.

I just treated him as if he didn't exist and forgot about him.

I thought he was dead...

Don't tell me, he's still alive?

With what face?

If he was alive, where was he and what was he doing?

Why was I being shown his dream now?

...My head became complicated.

Grumble!

[Just eat. Don't use your head from the morning. Your thoughts don't rest.]

As the Heavenly Demon said, let's fill my stomach first.

Come to think of it, I don't think I ate anything while I was time traveling.

The savory smell of food that was flowing in through the crack in the door ignited my decision.

Thump!

When I opened the door and came downstairs, a feast was being laid out on the table in real time.

"Ooh!"

I immediately took a seat and began to stuff the freshly made dishes into my mouth.

The captain, who had come out of the kitchen with another dish, hit me on the back of the head.

Thwack!

"Stop eating! I made it for Siri."

I rubbed the back of my head and protested.

"Captain. This is disappointing. Am I not family anymore?"

"Siri's face has become half its size since I last saw her, so I was going to feed her a little. But some strange guy is eating it all."

"Who told you to sleep in?"

I ignored him and devoured the dishes on the table, and the captain clicked his tongue and sat down across from me.

"This guy who steals his little sister's breakfast, what does Siri like about him?"

"What do you think? It's the difference between interest and love. You didn't even care where Siri was or what she was doing. I went and rescued her myself. Don't you know the difference?"

"No news is good news. I thought she was living well."

"Bullshit."

Thump.

The captain put the dish he had brought on the table and said.

"So, did you finish the Red Witch's special mission well?"

"Can't you tell by looking?"

"I'm asking because I don't know, you crazy bastard."

"Who am I?"

"A thoughtless idiot who steals his little sister's breakfast."

"I am the captain of the New Sherwood, the Red-Eyed Devil, the Half-Sword Ashuban. Of course I completed it successfully. There is no failure in my dictionary."

"Yeah, right."

Guston clicked his tongue at me.

"How long were you time traveling? You've aged a lot. Were you gone for ten years?"

"Shut up. I'm still better looking than you."

Guston sat across from me and watched me eat, and then he pushed a few of the dishes on the table toward me.

"Hey. Try this too. It's delicious."

"Shut up. I'll decide whether it's delicious or not. Nom, nom."

"How is it?"

"Mmm... well, it's not bad."

Guston chuckled.

"Don't be a picky eater and try this too."

"Hmm. This one's not so good."

"You idiot, that's delicious when you eat it with vegetables."

"I don't like vegetables."

"I pity you for not knowing the taste of vegetables."

"Life is short and hard enough to just eat meat. Get that grass out of my sight."

"You brat who doesn't even know the 'm' in 'gourmet'. Just shut up and eat."

"Ugh."

"This and this too."

"Ugh! Ah, shut up! Get lost! Don't tell me what to do. You dictator of this table. I'll decide what I want to eat."

While I was being the absolute ruler of the table and stuffing everything into my mouth...

I looked at Guston, who was watching me with his arms crossed, as if telling me to do as I please.

"What are you looking at?"

I swallowed the food in my mouth and then said.

"Captain."

"What, you bastard."

"Is something wrong? You're acting strange."

"What's wrong? You're acting like a starved beast, so I'm just taking care of you."

"...Really? You don't have any other ulterior motives?"

"Do I?"

"Hmm... something's suspicious."

When I looked at him with narrowed eyes, Guston suddenly got angry.

"Ah, this bastard is complaining even when I'm taking care of him. Forget it, get lost! The only thing that's going into your mouth is my fist."

"Ah, alright. I get it! I'll just shut up and eat."

I barely managed to calm Guston down and ate my fill.

"Burp! That was a good meal."

I patted my bulging stomach and went outside.

I could hear the captain's scolding from behind.

"Hey! You rotten bastard! Clean up what you ate before you go!"

"I'll clean it up after I go for a walk."

To aid my digestion, I kicked off the ground and unfolded my movement art.

"Hahaha!"

I could hear Guston's nagging from behind, but I ignored it.

Because I had already become one with the wind.

.

.

.

"That rotten bastard... he's getting crazier by the day."

Guston muttered and cleaned the table.

In the past, he would have beaten him to a pulp to bring him to his senses, but now, even that was not easy.

The way he was getting stronger day by day was unusual.

To the point where he wondered if it was possible to get stronger at such a fast rate.

"...I should be on my guard now too."

Clatter, clatter.

Guston, who had been diligently cleaning the table.

"...My heart is not at ease."

He briefly looked out the window where Ashuban had been.

"Even if I wasn't the right person, the burden that was mine is now on his shoulders..."

Guston, who couldn't show his feelings in front of Ashuban, secretly sighed with a complicated face.

* * *

I looked at the tombstone in front of me.

「Tina」

「May you be happy there」

"..."

Why did I come here?

At first, I was really just going for a walk to digest my food.

But when I came to my senses, I found myself at the cemetery of Sirnberg.

I was about to place the wildflowers I had picked on the way in front of her tombstone...

"...What is this?"

It seemed a guest had come before me, and a single flower placed in front of her tombstone caught my eye.

It was a flower that was white like Tina's hair, and the inside of the flower was sky-blue like the color of Tina's eyes.

I stared at it blankly, and then placed the flower I had picked next to it.

I raised my head again and looked at Tina's tombstone.

The time when I saw Tina's face and talked with her felt like just yesterday, and at the same time, like a long time ago.

The conversation I had with you is so vivid that it comes to mind.

Your smiling face is so clear that it's as if I can see it in front of me.

Why am I standing here, and you are buried there?

I stared at Tina's tombstone endlessly.

And then I sat down and looked at the tombstone.

As if it were her face.

A lonely wind brushed past my head several times.

How much time had passed like that?

Thump.

I heard a presence and looked to the side, and a very welcome face was looking at me.

"What are you doing here?"

"...Shushuruta."

She stared at me blankly and then sat down next to me.

"You said you were going on a special mission for the Red Witch, so why are you in a place like this?"

"That's what I'm saying. What about you?"

"Just. I was passing by."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"..."

A silence fell for a moment.

We looked at the tombstone without a word.

A cool breeze brushed past my head.

"Ashuban."

I turned my head and looked at Shushuruta.

Her jet-black eyes, which resembled the night sky, were staring at me.

"When you're having a hard time, tell me. I'll run away with you, far, far away. Like that time."

A smile formed on my lips without me realizing it.

I smiled and pushed her face away with my palm.

"Ugh!"

She, as usual, made a disgusted face and hit my shoulder.

And thanks to offering my shoulder as a sacrifice to the cat burglar, my heart felt much more at ease.

"So, are you busy beating up those Dark Heaven Society guys?"

"Why are you talking as if you've been gone for a long time? It's only been a day since you left to solve the Red Witch's commission."

"Ah, I see."

Shushuruta suddenly looked at the white flower placed in front of the tombstone and said.

"Did you bring both of those?"

"No. Mine is the one on the right."

"And the one on the left?"

"I don't know. It seems a guest came before me."

"Hmm..."

Shushuruta looked back and forth between the flower that an unknown guest had left and my tombstone next to Tina's, and then said.

"Come to think of it, I heard from Hudmilla."

"What is it?"

"When you fell off the cliff and they thought you were dead and were setting up your tombstone. There was a large anonymous donation. To help with setting up the tombstone."

"That's the first I've heard of it. Do you know who it was?"

"Didn't I say it was anonymous?"

"Hmm... anonymous..."

I looked at the white flower placed in front of Tina's tombstone for a long time.

* * *

Thump!

"Leader!"

The door opened urgently, and a man with long, black hair ran in.

An old man with white hair, who had been reading a thick book, raised his head.

"Deputy leader. What is it."

"It's the Sherwood guys!"

"What?"

"You have to escape!"

The leader of the Dark Heaven Society shot up from his seat.

"Have those bastards already come this far!"

"Yes! You must evacuate quickly!"

Outside the door that the deputy leader had burst through, all sorts of screams and shouts were rampant.

The leader, who had sensed that the situation was unusual, immediately ran to the bookshelf and pulled out a few books in a row.

Grrr!

A secret passage was revealed.

"I will assist you. Let's go!"

The leader and the deputy leader of the Dark Heaven Society ran down the dark, secret passage.

"Heok! Heok! The main base has been breached? How, without any warning!"

"They're not ordinary guys. The defense mechanism didn't work, as if they had infiltrated from the inside."

"Was there a spy!"

"I don't want to doubt the faith of the believers, but given the circumstances..."

"Damn it! What kind of cunning bastard!"

"..."

"The great plan was so close! Of all times!"

Just then, the deputy leader, who had been running breathlessly, suddenly stopped.

The leader, panting, looked back at him.

"Deputy leader! What's wrong."

"...This should be far enough."

"Hey, why did you suddenly stop..."

Stab!

The leader's words were not long.

Because the dagger that had come out of the deputy leader's bosom was accurately embedded in his heart.

The leader looked at the deputy leader with wide eyes.

The expression on his face, reflected in the leader's eyes, was cold and indifferent.

"What, is this..."

"Actually, it's a lie. The Sherwood guys are destroying the Dark Heaven Society's bases at a fast pace, but they haven't reached the main base yet. The location hasn't been discovered either."

"Y-Yuri. How could you..."

The leader's arms flailed, trying to grab the deputy leader's collar, but the deputy leader, still holding the dagger embedded in his heart firmly, continued to speak in a calm tone.

"It's an old story. Do you remember? Ashuban of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps."

"Keuk... that... was..."

"When he went to Salos Village on a D-rank commission. He was chased by a magical beast due to the sudden appearance of a B-rank magical beast, and in the end, he fell off the fog cliff."

The deputy leader looked at the leader, who was desperately scratching his neck, with cold eyes.

Blood flowed as his skin was scratched by his nails, but he didn't care.

"Did you think I wouldn't know?"

"That... was the final test... to see... your faith..."

Fwoosh!

The dagger that had been embedded in his heart was pulled out, and blood spurted out like a fountain.

The leader collapsed, with despair on his face.

"Ah... Dark Heaven..."

The deputy leader looked down at the leader, whose breath had stopped, with cold eyes.

"Actually, it would have happened even if it wasn't for that. The timing was just a little earlier."

He looked at the leader's white robe, which was spreading with red...

He wiped the blood that had splattered on his face with the back of his hand and said.

"Clean it up."

"Yes."

Two large men who had appeared from the darkness dragged the former leader away.

"...Finally."

The new leader of the Dark Heaven Society, Yuri, who had been watching that scene quietly, smiled softly and took something out from his bosom.

It was a faded hairpin.

"It won't be long now. Just wait, a little longer."

Yuri said that and walked alone down the dark passage.

(End of Chapter)