Chapter 54: I'm Ryoga, the captain of the vigilante corps

"......"

Plop. The sound of water echoed through the bath.

Ryoga and Karl sat facing each other in the quiet bath, both silent.

"Hey, Ryoga. Where did you hear that information?"

"How about answering first before you start probing? Well?"

"That’s..."

Karl intended to keep the fact that Silent Blade Ray was Lev’s older brother a secret.

That’s why no one should have leaked that information to the vigilantes.

Karl trusted his comrades. They were all tight-lipped—or so he believed.

...No, there was Ilyu.

They hadn’t known each other long, and he still hadn’t figured out her personality. But somehow, she gave off the impression of being a bit loose-lipped.

She didn’t have much reason to be loyal to Karl’s party either. Maybe she was the one who let it slip.

"...Yeah, sorry for hiding it. I was planning to share it with you eventually."

"That was the day before yesterday, wasn’t it? But you got all worked up and couldn’t bring yourself to tell me, right?"

"That’s right. I could tell you genuinely resented Ray."

Whatever the case, Ryoga had apparently picked up on something about Lev. If Karl kept hiding it, it would just leave a worse impression.

He gave up and decided to come clean with Ryoga.

"Silent Blade Ray is Lev’s older brother."

"Thought so. So? What were you planning to do by hiding that?"

"I was going to decide after speaking with Ray himself. If there was no chance of reasoning with him, I figured I’d work with you guys to take him down."

"Tch. Which means you might’ve also tried to protect him and help him sneak away in secret, huh?"

Ryoga let out a displeased grunt and shot Karl a sharp glare.

An uncomfortable silence fell around Karl.

"More importantly, where did you hear that from, Ryoga?"

"I didn’t hear it from anyone. I was just fishing for a reaction."

"..."

"You looked like the worst at keeping a poker face in your party. Thanks for confirming it."

Now it was Karl’s turn to be speechless.

Come to think of it, Karl probably was the most expressive one.

Two aristocrats skilled in political games, their emotionless attendant, a stoic girl, a conniving schemer, and a bumbling hero. If anyone were to be targeted with a bluff, of course it’d be Karl.

"I heard that girl’s from this Ressal place. Her features are kind of similar, and she was acting odd. I just took a shot in the dark."

"..."

Karl turned pale as he realized his mistake. From how things played out, he could’ve bluffed his way out of it if he’d just played it cool.

To Ryoga, Lev was family of his sworn enemy. Now that he knew, a confrontation might be inevitable.

"Hahaha, don’t get so down. Think of it as training—chalk it up to experience."

But Ryoga didn’t seem all that upset.

Karl looked up at him, surprised, and Ryoga continued with a smile.

"Listen. It’s true I want to kill Ray—but more than that, I don’t want to lose any more comrades."

"Ryoga?"

"If that girl really is his sister, then maybe she can convince him to surrender. If you think there’s a chance, I’ll help you. If we can get him to give in, we can wipe out the rest of those scumbags in one shot."

Ryoga said that, folding his arms as if swallowing his rage.

"I hate that bastard down to my bones. But I won’t let my emotions lead me to act recklessly and cause unnecessary casualties."

"...You're sure about that?"

"If killing Ray means we lose a bunch of allies, I’d rather not kill Ray and lose no one. The living are more important to me than the dead. Sucking up to the frontier marquis is just a means to an end. As long as we can claim the ‘defeat of the villainous tribe’ as a victory, the details don’t matter."

...That was the face of a true leader.

The mindset of a hero who puts the group before personal grudges.

"I’ve had enough of seeing people die and others cry because of it."

Ryoga was far greater a man than Karl had imagined.

Still young, yet entrusted with leading the vigilante corps. Ryoga was, without a doubt, someone worthy of being called a hero.

"...Understood. I’ll help. I’ll talk to Lev and get her to convince Silent Blade."

"Yeah, I’m counting on you."

And so, Karl and Ryoga concluded their bathhouse meeting.

"Then tomorrow, Karl, gather your party and bring them to my room. Let’s discuss the concrete steps."

"Got it."

With that, Ryoga turned his back to Karl and stood up.

"......"

But his shoulders trembled ever so slightly.

Was it just Karl’s imagination? After Ryoga left, from behind the door outside the bath, he thought he heard a faint sob.

---

“Idiot, dumbass, moron! You just went and spilled everything like a fish on a hook!!”

“S-s-sorryyyy!!”

Watching Karl getting throttled by Maika, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

From what he told us after coming back from the bath, it sounded like Ryoga had found out about Lev.

“Don’t be too hard on him, Maika-san. That man’s quite sharp, you know.”

“I know that! Ryoga might look like a flirty little perv, but he’s way more cunning than he lets on. That’s why I told you to watch out for him!”

Coming from Maika, who got caught cheating on day one and was publicly grilled for it, the warning hits differently.

“Well, in the end, it’s not all bad, right? I mean, Karl looks like he feels better now that he’s not hiding anything. Originally, the plan was to outwit that guy anyway.”

“Yeah, I guess so...”

“...Big bro’s not gonna get captured and executed or anything, right?”

“I don’t think so. Judging by what he said, he wants Ray to atone for his crimes, not die.”

Hmm. In that case, as long as Ray surrenders, things might end relatively peacefully.

“The next issue is how we make contact with Ray.”

“What if we bring Lev and hit their base with a surprise raid?”

“If we already know where their base is, that could work.”

“Let’s go over those details with Ryoga tomorrow.”

Yeah, no point in us just talking it out among ourselves.

Tomorrow, after morning training, I’ll ask Ryoga to spare us some time.

“Well then, let’s wrap it up for today. Get some sleep so we’re ready for tomorrow.”

“Right.”

The sun had already set, and the sky was dark. There wasn’t much more to discuss tonight.

We split into our respective rooms—guys and girls—and settled in for the night.

──── Clack.

──── Clack.

That night was a bit restless.

The air was strangely humid and stifling.

“...What was that sound?”

Pulled from sleep by the sound of footsteps, I opened my eyes in the middle of the night.

I looked outside, and the stars were still twinkling in the night sky.

“...”

When I sat up and looked around, Sakura was fast asleep beside me.

Ilyu was half-undressed, snoring with a creepy smile and a snot bubble wobbling on her nose, and Maika was curled up neatly in a corner, sleeping like a model of good behavior.

────And Lev was gone.

“...Don’t tell me she went out?”

The sleeping bag where Lev should’ve been was empty. No matter where I looked in the room, she wasn’t there.

And those footsteps just now—maybe she went outside.

If it’s just a bathroom break, then there’s no issue. But in her current fragile state of mind, it’s a little worrying to leave her alone.

...Yeah. I’d better go check on her.

---

As I stepped into the hallway, she was already gone.

I first tried heading to the restroom, but Lev wasn’t there.

As expected, she must’ve gone outside.

“…At this hour, where could she have gone?”

Think. If I were Lev, where would I go?

Training alone at the dojo? Or maybe sneaking a late-night snack in the cafeteria?

…No, Lev isn’t that much of a glutton. The more likely option is—

“…She might’ve gone to the cemetery.”

She probably couldn’t sleep.

Overwhelmed by anxiety, unsure of what to do, she may have headed to the cemetery where her late grandfather rests.

With that in mind, I got myself ready and set out toward the graveyard in the middle of the night.

---

Irine’s guess wasn’t exactly right—but not entirely wrong either.

It’s true that Lev couldn’t sleep, crushed by a swell of emotions. But the place she went to was a hill where you could see the night sky.

—“Lev, look. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

—“…Yeah.”

It was a place filled with memories of her brother.

A hill they’d sneaked off to together in the dead of night when they were kids, just to stargaze.

“…Brother…”

Coming here always brought back those nostalgic feelings.

So vivid, it almost felt like her brother was lying beside her, pointing up at the stars.

Since arriving in Ressal, whenever Lev couldn’t sleep, she found herself drawn to this spot.

The town was wrapped in silence.

Nothing moved. Only the stars quietly colored the world around her.

Looking out across the town again, Lev could see how much it had changed. The roads had crumbled, buildings were half-destroyed, ruins were everywhere.

Hard to believe it had fallen apart so much in just a few years.

But this hill hadn’t changed.

The one place that still looked just as it had in her memories with her brother.

Blown by the night wind, Lev began to doze. A gentle warmth washed over her loneliness.

Ah… I want to see my brother soon—

At that moment, she heard someone gasp.

Someone was nearby. If it was a thug, she might be in danger.

Anyone walking around at this hour likely wasn’t up to anything good. Better to stay alert.

The girl slowly got to her feet atop the hill and faced the approaching presence—

“Eh—?”

Her eyes met those of the “Silent Sword, Ray,” who was staring wide-eyed through the darkness.

---

“……”

No voice came out.

She couldn’t speak.

There he was—her long-lost brother, the one she had desperately wanted to see again.

“Aniki (Big Brother), what’s wrong? …Wait, a townsperson!”

“Tch, strike first! Kill her—”

“Wait!”

Rey stopped his subordinate, who had drawn his sword upon seeing Lev.

Sweat glistened on her brother’s forehead as he glared at her with a ferocious expression.

“…Aniki?”

“—!”

When she timidly called out to him, Rey fell silent and dropped his sword.

That reaction made it clear—this wasn’t a case of mistaken identity or someone who just looked similar. He was the real deal. Lev’s brother, Reital.

“Huh? Wait, you’re… his sister?”

“Don’t. Don’t kill her. Please, not her…”

“But Aniki! She’s one of the townspeople!”

“I know. I know that! But… not Lev—”

Rey’s tears began to fall as he hesitantly stepped closer to his sister.

Lev didn’t resist. Their eyes locked as they slowly embraced.

“Ah… ah… Lev…”

“…Aniki.”

Her brother’s body, after so long, was warm.

Even after falling in with bandits, Rey still held her with gentle eyes.

“Aniki, please… calm down. This town is already…”

“I know. But seeing Lev’s face like this…”

“…”

Even as he spoke to his subordinate, Rey clung to his sister and wouldn’t let go.

Large tears streamed down his cheeks as he silently continued to hold her.

“…You’re alive, Aniki.”

“Yeah… thanks to Cain.”

Cain. He was like an older brother to both Rey and Lev. Practically family to her, too.

“Is Cain… still alive?”

“He’s dead. …Left behind to die.”

“…I see.”

So Cain had died. Only Rey had survived that battle.

Now, he was the only family Lev had left in the world.

“Aniki, it’s about time…”

“Yeah. …Lev, I’m sorry. I couldn’t save you.”

“…?”

“Just the fact that you’re here in this town… it must mean that. Are Father and Mother here too?”

“Aniki? What are you talking about?”

But something about Rey’s words had been off for a while now.

Their father and mother had been eaten right before their eyes.

“Father… got eaten, remember?”

“Right… I see. Never mind.”

“Are you okay, Aniki?”

His incoherent words left her confused.

But at the moment, she was far too happy to have reunited with her brother to press the issue.

“Hey, Aniki. I’m traveling with someone now. An adventurer named Karl.”

“…An adventurer? What do you mean?”

“…After I barely escaped from the demons, Karl found me. Then I came to Ressal to report to Grandpa.”

She spoke unusually animatedly, looking Rey straight in the eyes.

“Aniki, why’d you join the outlaws? I heard about what happened. That you killed the townspeople.”

“…Lev, what are you saying? You survived? You made it through that horde of demons?”

“…Yeah. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”

She pressed her brother, asking why he had turned to banditry.

“…Wait. Lev. You… you’re alive?”

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be standing here. Aniki, what are you talking about?”

The outlaws around them stirred with a murmur.

They looked at Lev with expressions like they were seeing something unbelievable.

“If you’re alive, then we’re getting out of this town. You shouldn’t be here.”

“…What do you mean?”

“There’s no time for explanations. We have to get out of Ressal, now.”

Rey turned to face her with serious eyes.

“Listen closely, Lev. This town… has already fallen.”

“…What? What do you mean?”

“This place is no longer for the living. It’s a town of the dead. The dead move and act as if nothing’s wrong, in this space between the world of the living and the dead.”

Sweat trickled down his forehead.

With an expression of barely contained panic, Rey pointed toward the ruined town.

“There’s no one left in this town but the dead—”

---

There was no one in the cemetery at this late hour.

I thought Lev-chan might come here, but I was wrong.

“Hmph, maybe she’s already back.”

Well, that was a waste of time. Just where did Lev disappear to?

It wouldn’t help to wander around blindly. I should head back to the dorm and check—if she’s still not there, I’ll wake the others and organize a search.

Thinking that, I turned to leave the graveyard—only to stumble over a gravestone.

“Whoa—”

Thankfully, I managed to stay upright. That could’ve been bad.

Dying from a head injury after tripping in a graveyard at night isn’t exactly the way I want to go.

“…Spirits of fire.”

Yeah, let’s light things up.

Now I could see around me. No more danger of tripping.

I set the gravestone I’d accidentally kicked back in place and gave it a quick bow.

“My sincerest apologies, honored one.”

I prayed sincerely at the grave.

It was my fault for kicking it, after all—I had to show proper respect.

…

The fire magic lit the grave.

Its flickering glow cast shadows, and characters slowly emerged on the stone’s surface.

“…Huh?”

A night wind passed through the cemetery.

An eerie stillness blanketed the town under the cover of darkness.

—Here lies a great hero of Ressal.

I had seen it.

In the act of praying to the one buried here, I’d read the name.

—A hero who fell in service to the people’s protection.

My breath came in ragged gasps. An unspeakable dread gripped my chest.

Was this some kind of cruel joke? Why would something like this be here?

Because the name engraved on this relatively new gravestone was—

—Ryoga, leader of the Vigilant Corps, rests here.