“Even if we can’t confirm whether the target found is truly ‘Raven,’ if their physical description matches in any way what we know, immediately erase all traces. Don’t waste time waiting for orders after reporting. As always, the priority is to act first and report later.”
“We’re short on personnel—”
“We won’t accept any new requests for now. Even those already in progress will be temporarily suspended.”
Faced with an incomprehensible and obviously damaging order, worried protests immediately arose, but Eddar completely ignored them and reaffirmed his instructions to his subordinates and comrades.
“Make this very clear. If possible, make contact discreetly. But the absolute priority is to erase all traces. We cannot let him fall into anyone else’s hands.”
It was clearly the order of someone who knew ‘Raven.’
***
The young Emperor of the Ardal Empire, Kian Ardal, sensed a shift. A small but firm change that was beginning to alter a reality that had seemed utterly hopeless. A movement so strong it could be felt even though it wasn’t directly related to him.
The entire flow was moving toward the search for a single person.
“The heads of the major associations, the largest intelligence organizations, even the Republic and its rebel faction, the Revolutionary Army, seem interested.”
Now he understood why ‘he’ had often disappeared. His movements, as if searching for something or someone, were very similar to what everyone was doing now.
“Raven…”
Who exactly was this person? Kian frowned, resting a bent finger against his lips.
“This movement… it was initiated by the ‘heads of the associations.’”
That meant it was an issue that had drawn the attention of the heads of the associations—figures who led independent forces respected even by nations.
“If I handle this properly, I might be able to gain the support of the association heads.”
Kian called for the person who monitored him.
“You called for me, Your Majesty?”
“Could you discreetly send people to search for someone named ‘Raven’?”
Kian had decided he must secure this ‘Raven’ at all costs. It was one of the few chances he had to free himself from being a mere puppet emperor.
‘Now that “he” is absent, this is one of my rare opportunities.’
It was something he had to achieve, for the future of his country. The young emperor clenched his small fist tightly.
“……”
“……”
Stigma, who had received the order, silently watched him for a moment. The strange tension lasted only a few seconds before Stigma finally bowed elegantly.
With a voice as polished as his noble demeanor, he replied:
“Understood.”
“……”
***
All forces were now moving to find the master. Even the intelligence organization “Aurel,” which had rejected the official request, was ultimately pursuing the master on their own.
“The flow is favorable.”
The association heads were satisfied.
“No matter how formidable the master is, he won’t be able to escape the eyes of so many.”
Soon, they would receive news of his discovery or capture. Relaxed by that belief, they belatedly remembered the whereabouts of the youngest member.
“By the way, what’s that brat up to?”
“He often disappears, but this time he’s been gone for quite a while.”
Of course, they only mentioned it casually; they had no intention of looking for him. He wasn’t someone who would die so easily. It wasn’t as if they got along well with him either.
“He couldn’t have already found the master, could he?”
“Nah, impossible.”
Thus, the association heads brushed off the topic lightly, unaware that the very ‘brat’ they were so desperate to find was at that moment shaking bait like an anglerfish to lure the master directly into his trap.
***
And then, a man returned to his base.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone so promising.”
In his long strides down the corridor, there was a faint hint of excitement and joy. Hastening his steps to reach his office as quickly as possible, Daniel wore a slight smile.
“That skill and that unprejudiced attitude…”
He couldn’t forget the scene he had witnessed by chance during an operation against illegal slave traders as part of his fight for the liberation of slaves. He had gone to eliminate monsters trafficking innocent people and, while cleaning up the area, he had received a delayed report about a fugitive slave and his pursuers.
He had rushed off blindly after hearing the news.
After getting lost due to faint tracks, he ended up finding the younger brother first, causing a bigger scene than his sister.
A boy being chased by monsters emerging from a nearby portal. Just as he was about to intervene, seeing the dangerous situation, the portal spat out a man.
Yes, a “man.”
The portal vanished behind him without him showing the slightest confusion upon landing.
From that alone, it was easy to deduce. He had closed the portal.
“And he probably did it alone.”
If he had lost companions inside, his face or demeanor would have betrayed it.
It was impossible for someone who had desperately risked his life to save a pitiful-looking child to remain so serene if he had lost comrades. He even seemed to realize the child was a fugitive slave—and still helped.
“Perfect.”
After seeing that man reunite with the sister guided by the child, Daniel had silently retreated.
“He’d make an ideal comrade.”
A man with the power to close a portal alone, and the noble heart to help a slave. Someone he had to recruit at all costs.
Recalling the name he had barely managed to overhear from a distance, Daniel opened his office door with a radiant expression.
“…Sir Daniel?”
The assistant, who had been trembling with nerves after the sudden disappearance of his troublesome superior in dangerous foreign lands, jumped up.
“Where have you been all this time? We’ve received some recent news…!”
“Recent news…?”
Daniel, halting in place, crossed his arms.
“Before that, shouldn’t you give me the usual report?”
It was repetitive, but it couldn’t be skipped. After all, people always came first.
“…As for the rescued slaves, as always, those who wished for a normal life were helped to settle appropriately, and those who wanted to join our cause were recruited as allies.”
“And the investigation into those leaking information to the slave traders? Any clue what they’re after?”
“We’re not entirely sure yet, but we suspect they’re connected to the intelligence organization ‘Aurel.’ We still don’t know exactly what their aim is…”
“Aurel…?”
He knew that their leader was called “the king of the underworld.” That someone like that was showing interest in them? He didn’t know whether to call it an honor or a threat.
“It might be because mostly the poor are targeted by the slave traders. ‘Aurel’ rose from the slums, and the poor are their power base.”
The poor were easy targets for slave traders. Capturing and selling them came with no consequences.
Aurel’s power lay in information. They gathered data through the poor.
If the number of poor people decreased, their source of information would also dry up, so it wasn’t strange that they opposed the slave traders.
“Well, in any case, it’s just speculation. We’ll have to keep investigating… And what was it you were about to tell me?”
“Ah, yes. It turns out that the association heads have recently begun actively searching for someone…”
“Searching for someone?”
Daniel raised an eyebrow and leaned his back against the wall, somewhat disappointed.
“What’s so new about that? When haven’t we known they were searching for someone? I need them to find someone too—”
“No, before they were acting discreetly as if it wasn’t a big deal, but recently they’ve started moving openly. And the target’s name is—”
“—Investigate ‘Raven.’”
“—I think it was ‘Raven.’”
“…What?”
“Huh?”
***
Meanwhile, Raven, who was at the center of all this commotion,
was currently tied up elsewhere, facing a threat to his purity.
There was only one day left to reach the capital, and this had to happen now?
As his green gaze wandered through the air, it finally focused on the woman who had knocked him down and was now straddling him.
Only then did an expression of disbelief appear on his face.
‘…How did I end up in this situation?’
Though he was left speechless by the absurdity of it all, he could clearly feel the blade of a weapon pressed against his neck.
The woman, her voice fierce as if giving him a final chance, said:
“I’ll ask you again. Won’t you become my eleventh husband? It would be better for you to surrender willingly.”
“…”
Wasn’t this already well past the point of being “willing”?
“Ah, if you’re worried about being the eleventh, don’t be. I’m tired of the others. If you want, I can kill them all.”
Proving with her words that she was first-class trash.
He should have known that trying to charm even bandits was a dangerous move.
He had overlooked the fact that a criminal’s mindset could never be normal.
Trying to resolve things peacefully, Raven had only made everything more complicated.
He let out a faint sigh as he reviewed his mistakes.
It all started when he encountered the bandits.
The usual threats of “hand over everything you have” and “we’ll kill you to leave no witnesses” were common situations for a traveler like Raven, and he had planned to handle it without any problem—
[No, wait a minute.]
[…Boss?]
A woman intervened.
[He’s way too good-looking to kill.]
She said, lamenting that even among nobles who took great care of their appearance, she hadn’t seen a face like his.
Noticing her interest, Raven thought he might be able to slip away without much trouble.
He tried to win her over with a small smile, just like he had done before with the innkeeper.
…And that’s where everything went wrong.
[…I’ve made up my mind.]
She grabbed his wrist. With a satisfied smile, she declared she had found a way to avoid both killing him and leaving loose ends.
[I’ll make this man my husband!]
…Even now, it was still absurd.
He felt the prick of the blade against his neck.
Returning to the present, Raven lifted his hand and caught the blade that barely grazed his skin, silently demanding an answer.
At his gesture of resistance, the woman’s eyes narrowed.
“You better answer properly. You have kids with you too, don’t you?”
Ah. The kids. …Wait, “kids”?
The hand gripping the blade froze.
His green eyes quickly darted around and landed on Dan, who was trapped alongside Didi.
‘…What are you doing there?’
Wasn’t he supposed to be tailing him from a distance unnoticed?
The surprise didn’t last long.
Blood was dripping from his cut palm onto his chest.
Only when the woman, irritated that her “work of art” was getting stained, grabbed his wrist tightly, did Raven refocus on her.
‘What do I do?’
The children had been taken hostage because of him.
Ignoring it just because it was troublesome or inconvenient wasn’t something an adult—or even a decent human being—could do.
[The spirit guardian ??? asks why you still haven’t resolved this.]
Reading his hesitation, he sent a message.
[The spirit guardian ??? says he does not approve of this marriage.]
[He strongly asserts that marrying without your consent, especially to someone like this, is unacceptable.]
[And above all… he says that you should always prioritize yourself.]
[…The spirit guardian ??? rises and takes up his sword.]
Stop. Even if he had hesitated a little, how could a spirit guardian intervene over something so trivial?
He knew acting without being called would only increase his karma.
‘…No choice.’
Raven let out a light sigh.
Even if the spirit guardian insisted that he should be the priority, he was wrong.
The life of someone who only has one chance was more valuable than the life of someone who could die many times.
Saving the children came first.
‘I’ll just have to die once more.’
If he died voluntarily before their eyes, they would surely be thrown off guard.
That would give him an opening to rescue the hostages and deal with the bandits.
If he could resolve everything with no further casualties, only at the cost of his life, it was a gain.
Besides, calling the spirit guardian for something like this would be excessive—and honestly, embarrassing.
Resolved, Raven tilted his neck toward the blade in front of him—
[The spirit guardian ??? says it would be better if you called him—]
“What’s going on here? Who’s the bad guy?”
An unfamiliar voice interrupted.