Death hadn’t liked the idea of Raven finding shelter, so it had chosen him as the next soul to harvest. In the end, it was my mistake for getting attached to someone again.
“…What? Was that a death threat?!”
“No, I mean… thank you.”
“How does that qualify as gratitude in your head?”
“I dunno.”
That’s why I’ll leave as soon as we reach the capital.
Once this guy’s gone from my sight too, it won’t take long for him to forget me. It’s always been that way. Just erase the bond like it never existed in the first place.
Raven had no intention of repeating the same mistake.
“…I’m still curious about your Captain’s stories, though… Would you tell me more about them…?”
“Obviously not.”
…The first person who made me beg Death.
The first idiot who forced me to kneel before Death. The first lunatic who made me grab Death’s damn coat hem and plead.
Please don’t do this. You can reap his soul yourself. Why does it have to be my hand? Why him, of all people?
I remember crying while I begged.
“…Not exactly fond memories.”
Raven remembered exactly what Death had told him that day.
Feigning kindness, Death had cupped his cheeks with both hands, lifted his chin, and smiled as it spoke.
[This is the price of your immortality.]
[……!]
[Fulfill the contract, ■■.]
It was a fleeting connection.
An idiot who smiled and asked to share breakfast every morning, despite not knowing me.
A lunatic who cut down the loudmouth rallying to have me killed as a cursed omen, blade still drawn.
A fool who handed me a fabricated weakness to gain my trust, yet never once betrayed or abandoned me.
…And in the end, I had to stab my blade into the heart of the one person who’d protected me.
“…Anyway, aren’t you sleeping? It’s night.”
“Oh, was I allowed to sleep? I thought you’d ditch me the second I passed out.”
“Didn’t think of that, but now that you mention it, not bad.”
Raven deflected with a faint smirk, changing the subject.
It was a joke, but with Dan—his most persistent stalker—already dozing off, and this mercenary clearly not the type to abandon a kid, it really might be a good chance to ditch them both.
…Honestly, I might try it.
Just as Raven was debating whether or not to knock the mercenary out, Eckhart made an exaggeratedly aggrieved face.
“Bit harsh, considering I made the fire and grilled the meat for you.”
“…Hmph.”
“Or is this about your ‘guest’?”
“…!”
Raven’s lips stiffened for a moment.
Eckhart didn’t miss it. As if expecting that reaction, he calmly muttered:
“Knew it. Not someone the Captain invited personally.”
“…Right. And I doubt you invited them either.”
I meant to handle this quietly, but… as expected, he’s annoyingly sharp sometimes. Guess I brought this on myself.
Raven turned his head toward a particular spot in silence. Eckhart’s gaze followed.
“So, who’re you?”
“…My apologies.”
The intruder, realizing they’d been caught, cautiously emerged from behind the tree.
“We’re with the Slave Liberation Movement. I know this is terribly forward, but we had no other way to approach Raven, so we took this… regrettable route.”
“My side, huh… Why me?”
“We want to recruit you.”
“…What? You too? Why?”
Bewildered suspicion crossed Raven’s face.
Eckhart made sense—he’d seen me in action—but what the hell does your group know about me? We’ve never even—…ah, wait.
“…You followed Dan, didn’t you.”
The only recent incident that could’ve connected Raven to the Slave Liberation Movement involved Dan.
The escaped slave.
If they’d attacked the slavers right after and tracked Dan’s trail to secure the escapees, it’s plausible they saw me.
Now that I think of it, I did feel eyes on me then. When I met his sister to help him, that presence vanished… Guess they decided it was safe to leave after that.
Whether it was lucky or not that they didn’t witness me kill her… I’m not sure.
“Yes, exactly. Our leader saw you that day and was adamant about bringing you in.”
“Nice of them to think well of me, but—”
“For the record, you may already know, but the Heads of the Associations are looking for you. If you join us, we won’t just stay silent about it—we’ll actively support you.”
…Unlucky, I guess.
Honestly, I’d have preferred if they’d seen me kill Dan’s sister and come at me, calling me trash.
What is it with people thinking polite speech masks veiled threats? Raven’s brow twitched.
“…‘Heads of the Associations’?”
“Yes. The Awakened Association, Warrior Association, Soulshaper Association, Shaman Association—almost every big player’s after you.”
…Pretty sure I just heard a name that shouldn’t exist.
Why is the Soulshaper Association on that list? Didn’t I wipe those bastards out personally? I can still feel the memory of wringing the Association head’s neck.
Raven’s lips twisted on their own.
“…The Soulshaper Association? Now that’s interesting.”
“Then—”
“But still no.”
I’ve already seen the wanted posters.
Big shots are looking for me? So what.
I’d been curious who was so desperate to find me. Now that I know, I’ll overlook the earlier veiled threat. Considering how unpleasant that left me, they should be grateful.
“I’ve made myself clear. You’ll be leaving quietly now, right? I assume your goal isn’t to make me your enemy.”
“…Apologies for disturbing you at such a late hour.”
At least they weren’t completely braindead. Despite the sour look, the stranger retreated without protest, letting silence settle over the camp once more.
Eckhart scratched his head awkwardly in the quiet.
“…The Heads of the Associations, huh. You’re more of a big deal than I thought.”
“So, aren’t you sleeping yet?”
“What about you, Captain?”
You must be tired.
As usual, the conversation topic changed on a dime, and Eckhart followed along, studying Raven.
“Looks like you haven’t rested at all…”
“I don’t need sleep.”
“No such thing.”
“There is. Right here.”
For Raven, sleep wasn’t a necessity, just an option.
Something to do—or not—depending on his mood. In other words, completely irrelevant.
“So take the night watch or whatever and go sleep. Makes it easier for me to ditch you.”
“Your jokes always sound serious.”
“…”
“…Captain?”
That’s a joke, right? You’re kidding… right?
Eckhart, lowering his voice so as not to wake the child, mumbled under his breath, then suddenly sighed and plopped down across from Raven.
“Judging by your face, Captain, I doubt you’re getting any sleep tonight…”
“…”
“How about you tell me an old story or something?”
“…Shouldn’t you be the one offering to tell one at times like this?”
Bold little bastard. Almost let that slide.
“As I’ve mentioned before, I’m curious about your stories, Captain.”
“…You’re annoyingly persistent.”
“I specialize in annoying persistence.”
“Can’t relate.”
What the hell’s he planning, knowing my past?
…Or wait.
Raven eyed Eckhart sideways, lips curling into a faint, crooked smirk.
“What? Curious about my ties to the Associations? Planning to snitch?”
“I told you, I won’t. I even handed you leverage against me, why would I?”
“…Right. You did, didn’t you.”
The reappearance of the Association—an organization Raven thought long gone—had distracted him enough to momentarily forget himself.
His expression vanished for a moment. Silent, lips pressed shut, he tilted his head to the sky before exhaling a faint, bitter laugh.
“…Nice weather.”
They’re someone I’ll part ways with anyway. Someone I’ll cleanly forget. Whatever I say, it won’t matter.
So, this is nothing but a whim.
“What should I start with?”
“…!”
Maybe it was hearing the Association’s name again when I least expected it. Maybe it was because the bond would be cut anyway. Or maybe it was simply because the star-scattered night sky was beautiful.
For whatever reason, Raven let himself loosen up, and opened his mouth toward the fool who kept insisting anything was fine.
****
The moon that had illuminated the night faded away, replaced by the rising sun.
Packing up their camp, Eckhart followed behind Raven with dark circles under his eyes. But staying up all night wasn’t the only reason for his exhaustion.
“…Those stories…”
“I distinctly remember only telling heartwarming ones.”
“Oh, they were heartwarming alright. It’s just that they all ended with ‘I killed them.’ That’s the issue!”
Stories of receiving help, giving help, stories of selfless people… Raven had, indeed, only shared heartwarming tales.
So why did every one of those stories end with him killing those people?
“What are you, some notorious serial killer? You don’t look like one.”
“Think whatever you want.”
Leaving Eckhart stewing in doubt, Raven kept walking with a blank look. From afar, he could feel Dan’s gaze fixed on him.
That brat probably heard everything too. At some point, during Raven’s rambling through the night, that piercing gaze returned. It hadn’t been hard to realize its owner was the Soulshaper.
“Got any stories where you didn’t kill someone?”
“Hmm…”
“Why do you even have to think about that?!”
“…Fifteen? No, maybe twenty years ago, I saved some kids. Taught them swordsmanship.”
Probably an illegal fighting pit where children, barely ten years old, were forced to gamble their lives for sport.
They weren’t victims of a Gate, but… maybe I stepped in because they were kids. Though honestly, even if they weren’t, I probably couldn’t stomach walking away from that filth.
They must be nasty grown-ups by now.
Hard to say how those helpless kids turned out, dragged from that brutal environment. I couldn’t take them all with me, so I dumped a pile of mana stones into the hands of an organization claiming they’d do anything for money and left the children there.
I made the most decent choice available, given their humanity didn’t seem completely rotten.
There weren’t many places willing to accept bloodthirsty kids, and the fighting pits were buried deep in the underworld—options were scarce.
Still, I revealed I was a Shaman and wrung out a promise that they’d raise the kids properly to adulthood. At least I knew they wouldn’t dare lay a hand on them directly.
Everyone knows better than to make promises lightly with a Shaman. And if they do make one, they’re damn well expected to keep it…
Besides, if anyone mistreated them, I told the kids to just kill them. Taught them how to use a sword, too.
I took as many precautions as I could within reason, so unless something really messed up happened, they should’ve been fine.
Though that’s a big ‘unless.’
Even as a Shaman, I can only directly intervene in so much. I only taught them swordplay briefly, and physically, they were still immature minors. Who knows what became of them. Maybe they didn’t even make it to adulthood.
The thought was detached, but Raven kept that part to himself, knowing saying it aloud would just stir up more noise. Instead, he continued flatly:
“If they kept training, maybe they turned out decent.”
“Another batch of mercenary recruits, huh? Wait—hold on. Did you say twenty years ago? Just how old are you, Captain?!”
“Older than you think.”
Raven chuckled faintly as his gaze fell on Didi, quietly resting in his arms.
…The small commotion that had delayed this particular issue finally resurfaced.
“More importantly, the problem is getting through the city gates with those wanted posters around.”
“Ah! I’d never ask my savior to take such a risk! Just get me close to the gates, I’ll handle the rest.”
“Leave getting her inside to me, Captain.”
“Alright, fine.”
I’ll part ways with them, scale the walls myself, and sneak in. Dan… can handle himself.
Having gotten his answers, Raven picked up his pace toward the distant city gates coming into view.
“Thank you for everything, Raven. I’ll never forget this debt!”
“Sure.”
“It was a short journey, but I enjoyed it, Captain. I’ll make sure the kid gets to her guardian safely, so don’t worry.”
“…”
“Why aren’t you answering me?!”
“Your voice’s been annoying me this whole trip… I got it, now get lost.”
Near the end of their journey, on a cliff overlooking the city gates, Raven handed Didi over to Eckhart with an indifferent wave of his hand. Eckhart, surprisingly steady as he cradled the child, whined for a moment, but as soon as Raven’s fist tensed, the mercenary wisely scurried off.
“W-Well then, I’ll really be going.”
“…”
“Oh, but Captain.”
“What now.”
“When will you join our mercenary corps—”
“Not happening.”
“Yessir.”
Should I actually punt this guy off the cliff?
No… Not worth it. This’ll be the last time anyway, no need to get rough. He’s holding the kid, after all.
Forcing his clenched fist to relax, Raven tilted his chin as a silent cue to leave.
Eckhart bowed politely, glancing once at Dan, who looked ready to follow Raven, before turning away without a word.
From the cliff edge, Raven watched the two figures draw closer to the city gates.
…Guess it’s my turn now.
I’ll kill some time somewhere inconspicuous, then sneak over the walls at night.
Raven turned cleanly away.
But before he even cleared the cliff—
“KYAAAH!!”
A sharp scream pierced his eardrums, freezing him in place.
“G-Gate! It’s a Gate!!”
“…!”
The shouts that followed snapped Raven’s head around in an instant.