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It seemed as if the whole world held its breath, and the silence continued for a long time.

"...Ah."

Hah, Raven let out a short sigh and lifted his hands to cover his face. He felt his eyelids tremble.

... He must have been quite surprised as it was his first time seeing a fire in 10 years. His eyes, which had lost their function, felt sore all over again. His whole body was complaining of pain.

"If you do this well, I will set you and your parents free."

"It's not difficult. All you have to do is install the portal."

The sound of the day the association crossed the line gnaws at his brain.

"You can do it, right?"

Memories began to flood beyond the gaping mental barrier.

The day a foolish child who grew up cut off from the outside world and knew nothing entered the world for the first time on a mission, an explosion occurred upon the completion of the mission. A terrible heat swept through his whole body. A part of his eyes and soul that was stolen from him. And even tinnitus that shakes his brain.

Bleep-

... It must look funny. It wasn't an explosion, it was just a fire, but what an absurd thing this was. Raven, realizing his condition, lowered his head and laughed. His hands were shaking.

"──Captain!"

It seems that the tinnitus was real. He thought he could faintly hear someone's voice through the tinnitus, but as if it was not an auditory hallucination, it got louder and louder, and then I felt a hand grabbing my shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

The boundary between reality and the past, the consciousness that had been wandering in a disconnected world, was finally lifted into complete reality. Raven blinked his eyes blankly for a moment as the startled mercenary grabbed his shoulder and shook him.

"I tried to keep quiet, but I felt like your reaction was unusual... "

"...I'm dizzy. Hands off."

"Oh, yes."

The mercenary quickly withdrew his hand and widened the distance appropriately. Only then did the shaking of the green eyes subside. The tremor in his hands also disappeared, and Raven, who checked that my condition had returned to normal, began to giggle belatedly.

A sharp sneer lay low on the floor, as if clawing itself.

"Idiot."

"..."

It's not common for someone to die alone in the middle of a monster's den, losing their eyes and soul, and suffering burns all over their body, so it's worth remembering, but that's still the case.

'This was before I even gained immortality.'

No matter how much time has passed since then, he still reacts like this. his embarrassment is at its peak and all I can do is laugh.

[Guardian spirit ??? gives a miserable look.]

... Especially because of this reaction from the guardian spirit.

'Don't look at me like that.'

He was able to meet him thanks to that, but what if he actually felt miserable?

This was just because it had been a long time since he had let his guard down and faced the fire. The last thing he saw before he lost my eyes was a scarlet color with intense heat. And that's just it.

He struggled to look away from the message and look at the mercenary. An expression of confusion and concern is reflected in the field of view. Raven quirked up the corner of his mouth as if showing off.

"What if a fire suddenly starts while I'm thinking about something else? You act too surprised."

"Ah... I'm sorry. Should I turn it off now?"

"it's okay. You have to eat."

He's not sorry about the 'fire' itself. As long as he recognized that it was a bonfire, there was no way he would react as harshly as before, so he waved his hand roughly and sat down again. Of course, the chair was the bandit leader.

'...and now that I think about it, I cursed in front of the child.'

He didn't say his ancestors cursed in front of children. As he was pressing down on the defiant chair and stroking Didy's hair as she approached, Eckart, the mercenary who was grilling meat, suddenly felt the absurdity of the situation and raised his head and asked. As if Raven's actions and attitude had been forgotten a moment ago, a loud cry subtly pushed away the heavy air.

"Captain, don't you know how to grill meat?! Why me... !"

"I know how to grill, but everyone tried to stop me."

"Ah... "

Maybe it was because of his mood that he felt like he knew the reason without having to hear it. The mercenary's face became astonished. Raven saw that and pretended to get up from his seat.

"Shall I grill it?"

"No, thanks."

Eckhardt seemed to think there was no need to taste whether it was poop or soybean paste, and quickly gave it a straight face.

"I can't just ask the captain for something like this."

"Really?"

"Yes, aren't you trying to lure me into a mercenary group? I guess I lost my mind for a moment because even if I served it with all my heart, it wasn't enough."

"...I think it's time to give up on that."

Was it still in progress? Even though he clearly said he wouldn't do it. Well, if he do that, it's only a burden on him. Raven could go comfortably from this position, so instead of saying anything more, he focused his gaze on the slowly browning meat. Silence came again, and some time passed.

"It's done!"

With a proud smile, the mercenary tore off one of the legs and thrust it in front of Raven. Even though it was about the size of a chicken, he added that he could tell if it was not enough, and Raven's face darkened in a strange way.

'What on earth do you know about the human stomach?'

... Do you know what kind of magic bag has infinite capacity?

Still, it doesn't look bad as they are well taken care of. He quietly watched the mercenary handing Didi a piece of meat similar in size to the baby's torso, and then he took the meat and threw it high into the sky.

Next, the sound of the wind breaking was heard.

No matter how funny it may seem, the Fragment Soul is a Fragment Soul, and a crow that quickly runs in snatches and takes the meat that is twice as big as its body. Raven turned his head at the sight.

"Ah."

He made eye contact with the mercenary. Judging by his eyes widening in surprise, it seemed like he had seen everything. He got caught.

"Just now... What was it... ?"

"What."

"The captain threw the meat into the sky, and a crow... No, it's a crow?! Can a crow fly with that thing?!"

"I just gave it food. Just calm down and eat."

"Aye!"

I took the meat from him and stuffed it into his mouth. The mercenary, whose mouth was stuffed, became quiet for a moment. Raven enjoyed the moment of silence and sharpened his senses to look for signs of the person who had received the meat through the crow. He could feel the busy movements as if he was eating hard.

'You're eating well.'

Through companionship rather than companions while heading to the imperial capital, the relationship with Dan developed to a level where meals could be shared. Of course, it's not just sharing, but you have to set aside the meal and keep it at a distance, like feeding a wild animal, to sneak up and take it, but still, where is that.

It has become almost impossible to remove him, at least until it arrives at the capital, so it is more convenient to keep him nearby and watch it. In addition, as time goes by, the distance that must be opened when giving a meal decreases, so there is no need to be too picky, so Raven added Dan to the list of children to watch out for.

"Ugh, that's it."

Meanwhile, the mercenary, who had chewed all the meat in his mouth, tore off a new piece of meat and held it out with a sigh.

"I won't ask, so hurry up and eat the meat. Wouldn't eating give you strength?"

"..."

"There's a bandit leader somewhere who keeps looking at you as if he wants to eat you. If you keep acting like this, he might give it to you.

"...I don't mind just giving it away.

However, the warmth embedded in the playful threat was clear, so Raven looked down at the meat in front of him with a subtle expression for a moment and then accepted it. As he was holding it without eating it, the mercenary who was glancing in this direction while tearing at the meat suddenly opened his mouth.

"By the way, Captain."

"?"

"Is it true that you killed that assassin's dream tree's family?"

"Uh."

So there is no reason to bring someone like me into the mercenary group. The position of general manager is absurd.

Have you finally realized that fact? It's really fast too. After watching the mercenary think about something with his mouth closed, he raised his head and looked at the sky to enjoy the peace that had returned.

But even for a moment, Raven had to see the mercenary again. The persistent gaze was tingling.

"Don't look at me like that. If you have something to say, say it."

"Umm..."

"..."

"Ummmm..."

...Shall I hit you?

He feel bad, but wouldn't one hit be okay? Raven tilted his head to look at the guy who was looking at him, then clenched his chin crookedly. There was no reason why he couldn't beat up someone who wasn't a minor or a victim of Gate. He decided to wait a little longer and deal with him if it continues like this, but he don't know if he has a good sense or is quick-witted. He heard a voice.

"Just..."

The mercenary lowered his hand holding the meat.

"I wanted to hear the captain's story."

"..."

In an instant, Raven's movements stopped.

"I haven't looked at the captain for long, but no matter how I look at you, you don't seem to be that bad of a person. I think there's a reason why you became that guy's enemy..."

A truly bad person would not spare a child who tried to kill him. Moreover, Raven did not just simply spare Dan's life, but actually defended him and even took care of him implicitly. Therefore, Eckhardt judged that Raven was at least not a villain.

'Besides, there is something that strangely breaks down people's boundaries.'

When he's in front of him, its presence is clear, but at some point, he feels like he will disappear as if he never existed in the first place, so he keeps making the judgment that his instincts don't feel worth guarding over.

In other words, he seemed to be arguing that there is nothing as meaningless as being wary of something that doesn't exist, so he wanted to know more about him.

"Now that I think about it, I don't know anything about the former captain. And it seemed like a stupid thing to do to try to seduce him."

"That guy's expression of flirting..."

Raven crossed his arms and shook the hand holding the meat.

"Well, it's a good thing that he now realizes how stupid you are."

"Great ego... Whoop!"

"But there's no reason why I should tell you."

Even if he say it, it will be completely forgotten as time goes by, so why bother talking about it?

He stuffed the meat he had been holding the whole time into the guy's mouth, then shook off his hand and stood up. Eckhart, a mercenary who cleverly bit into a piece of meat because he had already experienced it once, tilted his head and asked.

"Captain? Where are you going?"

"Walk."

The little noble Didi is a quiet child who seems to be present or absent, so there will be no problem if you leave her alone for a while. Raven walked away with a nonchalant expression on his face. He could hear Eckhart handing out the leftover food to the bandit leader from behind, but he didn't bother to turn around.

'...I never thought there would still be idiots like this left.'

Until the end. Eckhardt didn't ask about Raven's surprise at seeing the fire, nor did he point out that he ended up avoiding eating. It was truly a sweet consideration.

***

[Erase and hide Raven's traces.]

Regardless of concerns or complaints, orders are followed once they are given.

I know very well his unwavering stubbornness, but more than anything, we are family. A person who puts his family first, how can he live if his family does not believe in him and support him?

So, the person who had been steadily following orders discovered a problem and looked at Eduardo.

"How will we handle the bounty? It was not given openly, but only secretly delivered to places such as inns and stores, so it would be difficult to handle."

The head of the intelligence organization Aurel answered after a short thought.

"...It would be better to openly post bounty badges."

If you can't get rid of it completely, it's better to spread it out in a conspicuous way so he can notice and hide. I told the association presidents that I'll find it anyway, so I don't have to worry about arousing suspicion because of my actions.

'It may be the result of the association presidents' own thoughts and actions, but...'

If they didn't want their work to go to waste, they should have told us in advance. We didn't do anything wrong. Eduardo laughed shamelessly. Just like that, Raven's wanted badge was copied in large quantities and distributed everywhere. It was a situation that could have caught someone in the back of their head.

***

'Damn it.'

Little noble Didi... No, Deceiver grabbed the back of his neck.

What on earth are you going to do if you openly hand out wanted badges like this? If this continues and the teacher discovers it, isn't it obvious that the monks' journey will be over?

'Brothers and sisters, this doesn't look like their work... Did another organization get involved?'

Still, they were my father's disciples in name only, but they had never behaved so foolishly. Perhaps something went wrong while trying to find a teacher through the hands of others.

'This is why moving it yourself is the surest way.'

Deceiver stared at the collected badges with an irritated face. How many were he able to collect? The closer he got to the capital, the thicker the paper got. He stopped his meaningless actions for a moment and sighed. He took a deep breath and grabbed it with both hands.

He's glad he didn't clear out all the people he borrowed just in case. After joining Father, he kept some of it alive in case he couldn't move freely, but he never thought he'd use it like this.

'...There are certainly some areas where more manpower is more convenient, such as collecting wanted badges scattered around the place.'

Finding Master must have seemed like such a field to the older brothers and sisters. He's irritated, but it's not that he doesn't understand. He doesn't want to waste his attention on water that has already spilled. He's just trying to dispose of the wad of paper he received through the animal by tearing it into small pieces as he did throughout the entire trip. 

Swoosh! 

He heard the sound of cutting through the wind. 

Taak!

At the same time, a crow snatched what was in his hand and took it away.

"Ah..."

An ordinary noble daughter, who had no choice but to lose it if a piece of spirit stole it, looked at the wad of paper moving away with her eyes wide open. Her eyes met the black bird's glossy eyes as if passing by.

"..."

"..."

And the crow could see. Unlike the innocent-looking face, a deep murderous intent flashed through the round eyes.

"As expected."

Deceiver thought as he felt emotions boiling inside him. Dan was confident in his heart as he moved his position towards Raven in preparation for an emergency. A crow clenched tightly on a bundle of paper flew through the tense air and into the platform.

'Should I kill him?'

'She is not an ordinary aristocrat.'