Chapter 50: Departure and Commencement (1)
Under a dark moonlit night, the dim light of dusk lay like a veil across the land.
Through the rustling reeds swayed by the cold wind, several shadows dashed in desperation.
“Hah… huff…!”
They ran as if being chased by something horrifying, gasping for breath, not stopping for even a second.
Their clothes were all tattered, but curiously, the ‘clover’-shaped badges on their chests remained remarkably clean.
“How… much farther… do we have to run… huff!”
“I-I can’t go on! I feel like I’m going to die!”
“No, hang in there! Just a little more!”
A young man, ragged and out of breath like the others, took the lead, encouraging the group behind him.
“The village isn’t far! We’re almost there… just a bit more…!”
He was perhaps the most poorly dressed among them, but his natural air of leadership was clearly above the norm.
They ran, and ran—and at last, a faint flicker of light appeared on the horizon.
“Ah!”
In LAMPAS, once night fell, villages and cities lit torches along their walls.
The flames, fed with sap from the Jaya Tree, burned through the night, keeping people safe from darkness.
“A village!”
Monsters, geoma, hated fire and light.
Hope returned briefly to the eyes of the fugitives.
They were going to live. They had survived!
“Hurry, to the—!”
The young man turned back with a hopeful shout.
But what he saw was—
“…Huh?”
Skkk—!
The fall of a comrade’s head. It happened in an instant.
Before anyone could scream, in the blink of an eye, several lives were already lost.
“Elvin, Sarie, Jack, Mason…!”
The man collapsed to his knees. His body had been in poor shape to begin with.
And now, after nonstop fleeing and witnessing his comrades die before him, he had no strength left.
“No… no…”
Despite the promising future as a merchant that awaited him, this was not his moment.
He was young, inexperienced. He had no idea how to handle such a life-or-death situation.
“Ugh… uuaaa…!”
The enormous, evil shadow looming over him stared down with malice.
《Grrrk… grrrrrk…》
A geoma drooled, growling menacingly.
Chiiiii—!
Its saliva hit the ground, corroding the reeds black.
《Grrrrrrk!》
Step, step.
The creature approached with slow, deliberate steps and opened its maw wide.
Within was a swirling blackness—his likely grave.
I’m going to die!
Sensing the end, the young man squeezed his eyes shut.
Images flashed through his mind—his kind father sending him off with a warm smile.
—Go on, my son. This trade expedition will mark the beginning of your greatness.
—Yes! Leave it to me!
—But… perhaps it’s my age, but I can’t help but worry. Can you promise me you’ll return safely?
—Of course! I swear it before the great LAMPAS above!
He’d shouted so confidently, ready to prove himself.
It was his first official trade mission. A chance to demonstrate his skills and be recognized as worthy.
—As heir to the Clover Trade Company, I—Aajen Clover—will return safely, no matter what!
But what happened instead?
—Who here is the heir to the Clover Trade Company?
Just one day after leaving the city, the mercenaries hired to protect them turned traitor and drew their blades.
The Clover Company members were captured.
—Hmph. So no one’s talking? Truly, the Clover Company is famed for its loyalty!
They were seasoned merchants.
Even under torture, they never betrayed their pride as traders.
—Then we’ll just cut off one head at a time until someone talks.
Many of them died.
The trade convoy of nearly a hundred was reduced to a handful.
But then, an unexpected incident occurred—
—《GRAAAHHHHH!》
A pack of starving geoma attacked.
In the chaos, Aajen and some comrades escaped.
But unfortunately, a geoma broke off from the main group and chased them down…
It’s all because of those mercenaries!
If only they hadn’t betrayed them, the expedition could’ve ended peacefully.
Aajen could’ve proven himself, gained recognition as heir, supported his father, and grown the company…
But—
…No. This is all my fault.
As the person in charge, he should have been more thorough. He should’ve vetted the mercs better or paid extra for retired Hunters.
If he had, his comrades wouldn’t have died, and he wouldn’t be facing death by this creature now.
Forgive me, Father… I couldn’t keep my promise…
As he trembled, awaiting death—
“…?”
No pain. No agony came.
He cracked an eye open.
“Hey.”
And met eyes with someone staring down at him.
Glowing red eyes in the dark.
“AAAAAARGH!”
Aajen Clover screamed and fainted. The fear was too much.
“…Huh?”
The one watching him let out an incredulous snort.
“Why’s he looking at me like I’m a monster…?”
The owner of the red eyes—Gale Garav—groaned.
It made no sense. He’d saved the man from the geoma, and this was the thanks he got?
“Unbelievable!”
Gale pouted, and two figures approached.
Calix Tutatio Zahardt and Sercia Edelweiss.
“Well, guess you did look like a monster. I’d say that’s fair.”
Calix shrugged, flicking dark blood off his blade.
“Blood-red eyes glowing in the pitch dark? Yeah, that’d do it.”
“This damned noble brat, always got something to say—!”
Just as Gale puffed up to retort, Sercia sighed and cast a separating spell, pushing the two men apart.
“Again? Don’t you two ever get tired of this?”
She frowned in exasperation.
Then, she enveloped the collapsed Aajen Clover in a field of magic and lifted him into the air.
Fwoooosh!
She reached toward him and muttered a healing spell.
A flurry of magic circles appeared and vanished in a cycle.
“Huff.”
She exhaled, then said,
“I’ve patched up the external injuries, but… he’s got pretty serious internal trauma. We’ll need holy magic.”
That brought one name to mind:
Nahrhan Ferdic, their party’s healer and master of divine power.
“Let’s take him back to the airship. Calix, can you handle carrying him? You’re the best flier among us.”
“Understood. Leave it to me.”
Calix accepted the task with a nod.
“Well, the geoma are all cleared. Let’s head back. He said he had something important to tell us, remember?”
“Right.”
“Yeah, I wonder what that kid’s planning in the middle of the night…”
The three turned back, golden capes fluttering behind them.
***
Two weeks had passed since the formation of Spero, Elwin Krieger’s direct unit.
At first, tension ran high, but gradually everyone settled into life aboard the airship.
Calix trained in the sparring grounds. Sercia immersed herself in magical research in the library.
And Gale… sprawled lazily on his bed, doing as little as possible.
Everyone passed the days in their own way.
Then, a week in, Elwin summoned them.
—You’ll be eliminating geoma from now on.
Typically, Top Hunters and their teams traveled across continents to purge geoma.
—I’m a bit of an exception, since that’s not my primary role… but it’s good to clean up when we can!
From then on, Elwin occasionally stopped the airship—and dropped them from thousands of meters in the air without warning.
They’d gotten somewhat used to it by now…
“But man, I panicked so hard the first time.”
Gale chuckled, recalling the memory.
—Alright! Let’s start now!
Elwin pressed a button under his desk. Clunk. The floor beneath them vanished.
—Wha—!? Why is the floor—wait, what the hell?!
Suddenly, they were free-falling from thousands of meters up.
—Life is real combat! Good luck down there!
—YOU CRAZY BASTAAAAAAAAARD!
Just like in Virga Village, Gale screamed all the way down.
—…!
—KYAAAAAAHH!
Calix froze solid, Sercia shrieked.
—Huh? Wait—am I… flying?! Why am I flying?!
That moment, their golden capes unfurled into massive wings.
They survived—barely—and were stunned by what had just saved them.
“These were artifacts?”
Gale glanced at the golden cape fluttering behind him.
Flap—!
The cape expanded like wings, lifting him into the sky.
Now, he and the others could fly freely.
“Guess I’ve gotten used to this flying thing. Never thought I’d grow wings one day.”
The golden capes were given as a symbol of joining Spero—artifacts like Elwin’s own.
He was vastly superior, of course, but still…
“That makes three, huh.”
Rare artifacts people spent lifetimes seeking—Gale had obtained three with ease after joining Elwin.
“Man…”
It was an outrageous level of privilege. Almost too much for a former mercenary.
Sometimes he felt a chill, wondering what the true cost might be.
“What’s he gonna wring out of me? Planning to suck me dry or something?”
The value of what he’d received… and what he’d have to pay in return—those weights felt very different.
At least for now.
“What are you doing? Hurry up.”
“The hatch is open, Mr. Gale. Let’s go.”
As Gale paused, lost in thought, Calix and Sercia called out.
The airship’s hatch was wide open in the distance, waiting for their return. Elwin and that terrifying butler were probably inside.
“…Alright, I’m coming!”
Yeah, well… the future was uncertain.
But this life wasn’t half bad.
“I WANNA GO HOOOOOME!”
Still—soon enough, Gale Garav would scream to the heavens, more miserable than any beggar alive.