The Ludwig Territory in the West was as enormous as the scale of its estate itself.
Connected directly to the western harbor, trade and tourism had flourished there to such an extent that it had earned the nickname, “The Empire’s Station.”
It was always crowded with people, but among all its bustling places, one stood out above the rest.
“Soluna.”
It was a famous establishment beloved by both tourists and residents of the territory alike.
By day, it operated as a restaurant and cafeteria. By night, a pub.
No matter the hour, it overflowed with customers.
Tonight was no different—the place was packed to the brim.
“Hey, Tom!”
“Gale!”
The man who had just exchanged cheerful greetings with the employee, Tom, glanced around the crowded interior.
“Busy as ever today, huh?”
“When isn’t it? Ah, would you like a quick game tonight as well?”
“Then maybe I’ll drink for free again today.”
At Soluna, patrons could enjoy light gambling games—legal wagers, no more than betting the price of a few drinks.
That too was one of Soluna’s charms, and the customers happily took part.
“There are some gentlemen from the East over there. What do you think?”
At Tom’s question, Gale bared his teeth in a grin.
“Take me to them at once. Wahaha!”
Unlike the noisy upper floor packed with people, Soluna’s basement was deathly quiet.
Occasionally, muffled sounds from upstairs drifted down, but that was all.
The only noise that regularly broke the silence was the occasional rustling of pages—until the creak of a door echoed through the space.
The man with his head buried in paperwork lifted it to see who had entered.
“Vice Captain? What brings you here in the middle of the night without any notice?”
At Hobbs’s question, Kendrick shrugged.
“Since when was I ever the type to give notice?”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true.”
The basement of Soluna—the headquarters of Illinia.
Having stepped into a place more comfortable than home itself, Kendrick casually threw himself onto the sofa he knew so well.
“So what exactly brings you here?”
“I just came to rest. No particular business.”
“Hm? Then why come all the way here instead of resting at home?”
“……”
At Hobbs’s question, Kendrick fell silent.
Quietly, he recalled what had happened with Owen.
“You keep pacing around the window like that—what if that woman starts getting suspicious?”
“The curtains on this side don’t cast shadows.”
“Yeees, I’m sure they don’t. Either way, it’s unsettling, so go read a book in your room or practice swordsmanship in the basement or something. Stop peeking into the neighbor’s house all creepily.”
Creepy?
Me?
I’m creepy?
Kendrick had initially been dumbfounded… then became speechless at the sight of himself.
He had been pressed right up against the curtains, staring toward Julieta’s detached residence.
Doing nothing but sneaking glances at the neighboring house—seen from another person’s perspective, there was probably no better word for it than “creepy.”
But still.
‘What am I supposed to do when I’m worried?’
The woman who had made a deal with him was living in that house next door.
Then naturally—
How was Julieta getting along? Was she being mistreated too harshly? Had she failed to adapt to Ludwig, a place like the belly of some enormous beast?
Wasn’t it only natural, as one party to the deal, to worry about such things?
Still, somehow it felt like he was making excuses to himself, so he had simply left the house.
If he stayed somewhere else, then at least he wouldn’t spend his time “creepily” staring out from behind curtains.
“Still, your timing was excellent.”
“Why? Something happen?”
“The Captain sent word.”
“The Captain?”
“Yes.”
As he answered, Hobbs rose from his seat—then frowned.
He glanced once at the right ankle he had just planted on the floor, rotated it lightly, and resumed walking.
“...Is it acting up again?”
“It only hurts sometimes.”
Hobbs answered calmly before adding,
“My ankle got completely wrecked and reattached. I should expect at least this much aftereffect.”
“Now that you put it that way.”
Kendrick let out a faint chuckle and straightened from where he had been sprawled out to receive the letter.
The small staff emblem drawn on the envelope signified that the sender was the Captain.
“You already read it, didn’t you?”
“Just roughly.”
“What does it say?”
“Well, about the same as usual.”
About the same as usual...
Then it probably wasn’t good news.
And indeed, he was right.
The letter, written in the cipher used internally by Illinia, contained only a single short sentence.
“We failed to find the treasure.”
‘So there were no results again.’
Resting his chin on the sofa arm, Kendrick recalled the Guildmaster’s face.
The first time he met him had been during the Ashlaid War.
“So even children are being sent to the battlefield now. The world really is ending.”
Those had been the Guildmaster’s first words upon seeing the young Kendrick.
At first, Kendrick had disliked him, thinking he was mocking him, but little by little he opened up to the man.
The Guildmaster protected the young Kendrick like a son—or perhaps a younger brother.
He was one of the very few people Kendrick could entrust his back to, someone for whom he would not have minded risking his life.
‘There were actually a couple of times I nearly took a blade for him.’
Experiences that placed their lives on the line forged an unshakable trust between them.
Enough that they could bare every secret hidden in their hearts.
And one of the greatest secrets the Guildmaster revealed was Illinia itself.
“I’m searching for something incredibly important. Something more precious than my own life. Illinia is the guild I created to find it.”
“Should you really be telling me something like that?”
“Of course! If not you, then who else would I tell, you little brat? Hahaha! Anyway, once you return home, if you’ve got nothing to do, come work for me. Since you saved my life, I’ll even make you Vice Captain!”
“...No thanks. I don’t intend to do anything.”
“Huh? You serious?”
“I am. Once I return home safely, I plan to do nothing and simply live quietly, unnoticed.”
“...Hm. Is that your way of protecting what’s precious to you?”
“Yes. That’s my way.”
“Well, look at this arrogant little punk!”
The Guildmaster flicked Kendrick hard on the forehead.
Then he scolded him.
“You fool! Without strength, you can’t protect anything! Haven’t you ever heard that the best defense is offense?”
As though proving those very words true, that same night—
The defensive lines established by the Imperial Army were ambushed, and countless allies lost their lives.
Kendrick survived only after endlessly cutting down enemy after enemy.
Killing people was horrifying.
But if he wanted to survive, he had to cut them down.
…Because the best defense was offense.
“See? Hiding away won’t protect anything, you idiot.”
The Guildmaster laid the utterly exhausted Kendrick down before collecting the bodies of their fallen comrades.
Among them were the men who had shared a meal with them just the night before.
‘The sky…’
The night sky had been unbearably clear.
Why was it that whenever something was lost, the weather was always so cruelly beautiful?
As if tragedies like this meant nothing at all to God.
Staring up at the stars that seemed ready to pour from the heavens, Kendrick declared that he would join Illinia.
While the Guildmaster searched for his treasure, Kendrick too would gain the strength necessary to protect what mattered to him.
“Run, Ken! Hurry!”
“N-No, Rion!”
“I’ll survive. I swear I’ll survive and come back to you. Meet me beyond the hill later!”
…Because losing precious things had become unbearably exhausting.
After briefly reliving those terrible memories, Kendrick pressed gently against his aching eyes and forced himself back to reality.
“Are you alright, Vice Captain? You don’t look well.”
“I’m fine. More importantly, did you resolve the request Miss Janette entrusted to us?”
“Of course. Here’s the money Gale recovered.”
“And what’s that gambler doing now?”
“Probably upstairs emptying the customers’ pockets.”
Gale’s main duty was to gather information by frequenting gambling dens and similar establishments. With his exceptional sleight of hand, he possessed the talent to manipulate wins and losses at will.
“As Miss Janette requested, let’s keep it stored in Illinia’s vault for now.”
“Yes, understood. Ah, and regarding the gift you mentioned earlier.”
“Right. Why hasn’t it been sent yet?”
How long had it been since he ordered jewels, dresses, and accessories to be sent to Miss Janette?
At Kendrick’s words, Hobbs clicked his tongue.
“You requested such a large quantity that it took quite some time to procure everything.”
“You’re painfully slow. Move faster next time.”
…This is exactly what higher-ups are like!
Silently lamenting the misery of subordinates everywhere, Hobbs irritably nodded his head.