In the courtyard, the wind wailed.
In a vision that ordinary people could not see, an unprecedented, dense surge of soul energy—almost material in its intensity—rose from Leon's shattered demonic remains.
Following a specific trajectory, it surged frantically into Leo's lower abdomen.
Like rain after a long drought.
The mana circuits, which had long been shattered and dried up like cracked earth, were instantly replenished and nourished by a large portion of this "special abyssal experience pack."
"Oh... that feels good..."
Leo felt his mana source. Combined with the group of worthless scrubs he had killed earlier in the tavern, it had been repaired to roughly 11.68%.
However, human joys and sorrows are not shared.
Beside the blissful Leo, the 【Glorious】 rank powerhouse Gareth Hawthorne was kneeling weakly beside his son's cold corpse. His hands covered his face, his shoulders trembling violently, as tears slid silently through the gaps of his fingers and dripped into the blood-stained soil.
The grief was real, and so was the regret.
But when his gaze fell upon the cat-girl Vespa, who was standing not far away wiping her dagger, an uncontrollable urge to vent his rage surged in his heart.
Even though Leon had been beyond saving, and even though he deserved to die... seeing his eldest son slaughtered like a chicken with his own eyes...
Gareth's fingers dug deep into the dirt, and the sorrow in his eyes gradually stained with a dangerous crimson.
"Ahem."
A light cough interrupted Gareth's thoughts just as they were about to spiral out of control.
"Oh, my dear Baron."
Leo had stood up from the ruins at some point. Though his face was still somewhat pale, that half-smiling expression of his remained as inscrutable as ever.
"Your son chose the Abyss. If he hadn't died, the entirety of Kent Town—including you, your second son, and even the entire Hawthorne family—would have been buried with him tonight."
"You should thank this lady. She helped you preserve the last shred of the Hawthorne family's dignity."
Leo's words were like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing the fire in Gareth's heart.
It was true.
Colluding with the Abyss was a crime punishable by clan extermination.
If Leon were still alive, or if the Church had captured him alive... that would have been true, irreversible ruin.
Like this... it seemed to be the best possible outcome.
"Phew..."
Gareth let out a long breath, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant. He slowly stood up and bowed deeply to Leo and Vespa, his voice full of bitterness and exhaustion.
"I lost my composure... Thank you, my lords, for taking action to help the Hawthorne family clean its house."
Just then.
"Hey! You stupid minnow! Do you want to drop this princess to her death?!"
A shrill cry came from the sky.
Lucrezia was drifting down from the heavens, bobbing like a dandelion seed.
After landing, she huffed and straightened her silver hair, which had been ruffled by the wind, and shot Leo a glare.
"Father..."
At the same time, the Second Young Master, Ovind, who had been shivering in a corner observing the situation, ran out covered in dust now that the crisis was over.
He looked at his brother's corpse, a flash of complexity in his eyes, but it was mostly the relief of having survived the disaster.
"Alright, save the nostalgia for later."
Leo interrupted what could have been a sentimental moment between father and son. He stepped forward, grabbed Gareth's arm, and lowered his voice.
"Baron, a word in private."
...
A moment later, the four of them stood in a cleared area of the courtyard.
"Baron, we are in a hurry. I'm afraid we must leave now," Leo said, getting straight to the point.
"So soon?!"
Lucrezia, Vespa, and even Gareth were surprised.
"Won't you rest for a bit? My lord, you are injured, and..." Gareth hesitated.
"No, I appreciate the sentiment. But our mission is urgent and time is of the essence. Some things... the sooner they are reported, the better."
Leo glanced meaningfully at the corpse on the ground (though in reality, he was just afraid the Church would arrive too quickly).
Gareth's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.
'Urgent mission? Is he hinting at me?'
'No! I have to appease these lords first! This Fel business can be a big deal or a small one, depending entirely on what they say!'
"Someone! Quickly, come here!"
Gareth shouted, but then remembered that most of the butler and servants had died in the Fel explosion earlier.
"Damn it! Is everyone dead?!"
He cursed while frantically shooting looks at his second son, Ovind.
"Father... they really are all dead..."
Ovind was also a sharp one and instantly grasped his father's meaning: this was the time to show goodwill and offer bribes, but also to cry poverty to avoid being extorted too heavily!
"Father..."
Ovind immediately put on a sorrowful expression and said with a sob in his voice:
"The butler... he was blown up by Big Brother's Fel energy while trying to protect the family assets... and the storehouse was mostly destroyed. Our family... our family can't even put together a decent carriage right now!"
"What?! The storehouse is destroyed too?! Then bring my own mount! How can we let the lords walk?!"
Upon hearing this, Gareth looked even more devastated, slapping his thighs in grief.
"This... how am I supposed to host these lords! What a misfortune for my house! What a misfortune!"
The father and son played off each other perfectly, without a hint of acting. Every word conveyed one message: 'We are miserable, we have no money, please have mercy on us, my lord!'
Lucrezia and Vespa watched, stunned, even feeling a bit of sympathy for this unlucky family.
Only Leo.
He watched the two of them perform their double act, his lip twitching.
He knew they were acting, but he hadn't intended to extort them anyway—after all, less trouble was better than more. Getting out of there was the priority.
"Alright, Baron."
Leo interrupted their performance.
"We see your difficulties. Rest assured, since we took this mission, we have considered various contingencies."
"This place is, after all, under the jurisdiction of Grand Duke Solaris. We in the Empire shouldn't interfere too deeply."
Leo turned to look at the still-dazed Vespa and said in a serious tone:
"Vespa, you will write a detailed report later, documenting the situation here. Remember, emphasize Baron Hawthorne's act of placing justice above family and his heroic resistance against the demon, as well as... the great sacrifices he made to maintain regional stability."
Leo patted Gareth on the shoulder and said meaningfully:
"Our Empire does not forget its friends."
"Huh? Me?"
Vespa pointed at her own nose, looking completely bewildered.
'Huh? Who's writing the report? Me? Isn't writing reports something only official staff are allowed to do?'
'Come to think of it, that old geezer did say before I came that I didn't need to worry about anything else, just get out after the mission was done, and then a specialist would come to handle the aftermath...'
Vespa glanced at the calm and collected Leo.
'Could this guy... be that legendary "specialist" boss?!'
'It has to be! Look at the way he orders me around, so natural! So practiced! Just like ordering a subordinate!'
'And isn't the specialist supposed to meet up in Worcester? Why did he suddenly run to Kent Town?'
'Could it be... for the sake of this little girl beside him?'
Vespa's brain began to spin wildly, instantly completing a logically closed loop of self-rationalization.
'No! This kind of thing is top secret! Department regulations say I shouldn't prying!'
'I just need to follow orders and cooperate with Lord Leo!'
'That's right! Vespa! Your chance has come! Whether you can land a stable job and become a winner in life depends on this!'
'I must consider if this is the only chance I'll ever have in my life!'
'I have to perform well!'
Having reached this conclusion, the way Vespa looked at Leo changed instantly. It was a look of fervor and worship, as if she wanted to pounce on him and lick him right now.
Vespa immediately stood at attention, her expression serious, and answered loudly:
"Yes! Understood! I guarantee the mission will be completed!"
Rate on N.U.
