Chapter 57: The Returned Heir
“Wait a moment. I have something I want to ask as well.”
“What is it, Lady Clover?”
At that moment, Enaka Clover looked the boy directly in the eye and asked,
“If you're his representative, if Aajen Clover is still alive—why doesn’t he show himself? If he’s alive, why send only a representative instead of coming himself?”
It was a reasonable question. Elwin, who had been silent, parted his lips to respond.
“That’s because... ah.”
But suddenly, he stopped mid-sentence and turned around, quietly looking toward the entrance of the hall.
Enaka’s face flushed red, feeling she had just been ignored.
“What do you think you’re—!”
“My apologies. But wouldn’t it be better if the person in question answered that himself?”
“…What?”
“He’s finally arrived.”
Bang—!
Just as Elwin said those words, the door burst open, and a group of people entered. Each of them stood out with distinct presence.
They seemed to be surrounding and guarding one individual in the center...
Parting the group, a man at the back slowly stepped forward.
“It’s been a while, everyone.”
Gasp!
“Aajen Clover…!”
Someone breathed the words in disbelief. Truthfully, nearly everyone reacted the same, so it hardly mattered who had spoken.
They had already guessed he was alive through his representative—but seeing him in person rendered them speechless.
It was like watching a corpse rise from its own funeral.
“Seems like everyone’s been doing quite well.”
Spoke the man who had, in a sense, returned from the underworld.
“Judging by how lively you all look.”
“Hrm…”
“Ahem!”
As Aajen looked around the room, he offered a thin smile. There was sharpness in it.
The elders cleared their throats and averted their eyes.
“Since I’m clearly alive and well, let’s consider this meeting adjourned.”
“That won’t do.”
Someone raised an objection.
“Hm?”
It was Enaka Clover.
It was the expected move.
She had nearly been named successor moments ago—there was no way she’d let that opportunity slip from her grasp so easily.
“We must thank the heavens of LAMPAS a hundredfold that you, the rightful successor, survived that tragedy unscathed…”
Her eyes gleamed sharply. Then she struck at the only point she could currently attack.
“But that doesn’t erase the fact that you failed to prove your competence, Aajen Clover.”
A valid point.
In the Clover Trade Company, a successor could only be truly acknowledged once they had demonstrated their capabilities.
Historically, most successors proved their worth through the success of their first expedition.
“But Enaka, you’re a sharp one. Surely you noticed something peculiar about this expedition.”
Aajen spoke calmly, eyes briefly closed in recollection. But his voice trembled faintly with horror he could not hide.
The room grew quiet to hear him speak.
“The large mercenary groups carefully chosen by the company—the Black Blade Mercenaries, the Crimson Flame Mage Corps, the Ratata Battalion… every single one turned on us. All at once.”
“Y-You don’t mean—!”
“That’s right. As if it had been premeditated.”
A murmur broke out once again in the hall. Suspicious circumstances, once only suspected, were now confirmed in words—from the very person involved.
“As you all know, the Clover Trade Company spares no effort to ensure the success of an expedition.”
Each Clover expedition was a continent-wide affair, spanning all seven nations of the Northern Continent.
Even those nations eagerly awaited its arrival each year.
“From preventing information leaks about the schedule, securing high-demand goods, applying preservation magic and size-reduction spells, to finding safe routes…”
Every possibility was considered in meticulous planning to prevent delays or shortages of goods.
“But the most critical concern is selecting trustworthy mercenaries who can keep secrets. And yet, they all betrayed us.”
Bands of thieves hoping to rob the expedition for quick profit, Geoma monsters that might attack out of nowhere in the night…
Reliable escorts were essential. If not just goods, but lives were lost, there would be nothing but losses.
But the selected mercenary groups had all betrayed them—unsheathing their blades without hesitation.
“That’s why my client, Mr. Aajen Clover, had every reason to fear for his safety.”
Elwin stepped forward to add.
“Because those mercenaries, clearly bribed, were approved through internal meetings within the Clover Trade Company.”
“…!”
One of the elders—hot-tempered and hairless—jumped to his feet, his bald head turning bright red.
“Are you accusing us?!”
“Who knows? I can’t exactly say no. After all, before I arrived as Mr. Aajen’s representative, you were all about to pass a motion to select a new successor, weren’t you?”
“T-That’s…”
Speechless at Elwin’s sharp remark, the bald man sat back down, fuming.
“But this expedition made one thing very clear.”
Aajen Clover spoke with finality.
“There is a force working behind the scenes to bring me down. A force powerful enough to bribe loyal executives and multiple mercenary groups.”
Then his gaze fell on Enaka Clover, who was biting her lip in silence.
Though long retired from the front lines, those once-prominent merchants in the room didn’t miss the brief moment Aajen’s eyes landed on her.
“Could it be… the Magpie Merchant Group?”
The thought flickered across everyone’s mind.
After all, everyone knew Enaka Clover’s greatest backer was her maternal family—the Magpie Group.
And then, completely unexpectedly, Aajen said—
“However, Enaka Clover is right.”
He acknowledged her claim.
Enaka and many others wore stunned expressions.
Given the suspicious circumstances, her words should have been seen as desperate and childish.
“Conspiracy or not, the fact remains—I failed to prove my abilities. That’s why I will demonstrate my worth in another way.”
Aajen smiled with deep meaning.
“I, Aajen Clover, will retrieve the Red Clover.”
“…What?!”
“Did he say the Red Clover?!”
The room erupted once more.
—The Red Clover!
Said to bloom at the bottom of Nevera Valley, it was a flower that never wilted.
Everyone understood the significance of claiming to retrieve it.
“……”
In a corner of the bustling conference hall, the raccoon beastkin disguised as a Magpie merchant—actually a Depicio spy—narrowed his eyes.
Taking advantage of the commotion, he slipped out of the room.
He was heading to inform Depicio of the development as quickly as possible.
“Yes, go. Hurry and report to your boss.”
But what the spy didn’t know…
Was that Elwin had been watching him the whole time.
“Bring him to me.”
He never even realized.
***
Shortly after leaving the chaotic conference hall, Elwin, Aajen, and the Spero members swiftly exited the Clover Trade Company and Skya’s central plaza.
“Kyah!”
“W-What was that?! Something just sped by!”
They had run so fast that the people lingering near the plaza only caught blurred afterimages.
“Great job, everyone.”
It wasn’t until they were far enough to see the cityscape growing small behind them that they finally stopped.
“No one’s tailing us. Shall we take a breather here?”
At Elwin’s words—who kept his eyes on Skya’s direction—Gale, Sercia, and Calix all relaxed and slumped down.
Each showed their exhaustion in their own unique way.
“Uuugh… I’m gonna dieee…”
“Haa… I’m a mage, why am I sprinting like this…”
“…Phew.”
Gale flopped down on the dirt, Sercia crouched with bent knees, while Calix remained standing and wiped his face dry.
“Haha… Thank you, all of you.”
Aajen, who had been carried like luggage by Elwin midway, still had enough energy to pass around cool water.
He had pulled it from his ever-ready dimensional pouch.
“…This is insane.”
Gale chugged the water in one go and mumbled like his soul had left him.
Though they had burst into the conference hall in dramatic fashion guarding Aajen…
Reality had been very different.
—Aaaaaagh! We’re late! We’re late!
—You idiot! Stop talking and run!
—Ugh… Leave me behind…
—Wow. This girl’s stamina is trash. Fine, I’ll carry you. Pay me back later.
—T-Thanks…
—She fainted.
Right after rescuing Nonohen Clover, they had sprinted like mad to the conference hall.
And despite their exhaustion, they had put on composed faces and endured through the entire meeting.
“Hah, that was f***ing brutal…”
Gale’s single remark summed up how they all felt.
Originally, the operation wasn’t supposed to be this complicated.
—My father would never collapse! He’s strong. No matter the bad news, he wouldn’t just lose his mind like that.
Spero had seen through the lie that Nonohen Clover had collapsed and was hospitalized at Skya Royal Hospital.
They decided to rescue him.
—Please!
And then—
—Please let me join the rescue mission! I know I’ll only be a burden… but I must see my father with my own eyes…!
Contrary to expectations that he’d be refused, Elwin had readily agreed.
And so Aajen was included in the rescue operation.
Though it complicated things somewhat.
Aajen Clover had virtually no combat strength.
—That’s a problem. According to the plan, Aajen is supposed to declare his intention to retrieve the Red Clover in front of everyone.
But the issue was—Elwin wasn’t someone who let opportunities slip.
—Ah! I’ve got it! Once you all rescue Mr. Nonohen, hand him off to Nahrhan waiting nearby…
—A-And then?
—Run back to the conference hall! Good luck!
—…….
Elwin wasn’t just catching two rabbits—he was after three.
So, while Elwin drew everyone's attention at the meeting as Aajen’s representative…
The Spero team had infiltrated the hospital, fought through numerous obstacles, and succeeded in rescuing Nonohen Clover!
The outcome was fantastic.
But the process had been… agonizing. Assassins popping up everywhere, strange plants, illusion magic, torture traps…
Let it be known: it was hellish.
“Ugh…”
Tears glimmered in the corners of their weary eyes.
“If everyone’s feeling a bit better, shall we get moving?”
Elwin gave a tired chuckle and encouraged the group.
He planned to get them back to the airship, where they could eat, drink, and rest to their hearts’ content.
But just as they were about to move—
“Haah, haah, haaah! W-Wait! Aajen—!”
A loud voice called from afar.
“…Mister?”
It was a middle-aged man, panting heavily as he ran up.
Dalton Pactio.