Chapter 107

“A pleasure to meet you, Dussell Duke.”

The boy offered a greeting.

“I am Shion, the owner of Art Gallery Lamponé.”

He offered tea to Dussell and Yeni.

It was high-quality Fre leaf tea brought from Schmeizen.

Yeni hesitated but brought the teacup to her lips, while Dussell only directed his glaring eyes toward Shion.

The life he lived as an agent prevented him from drinking a beverage he could not trust.

“I was commissioned by His Excellency the Bishop to bring you back to Merion like this, but were there any inconveniences?”

“…There were none.”

“That’s a relief. I was worried, as my subordinate is quite taciturn.”

Shion glanced at Amethus, but he paid no mind and continued with his task.

The jade-eyed man was in the middle of solving a crossword puzzle in the newspaper.

Dussell Duke slowly opened his mouth.

“His Excellency the Bishop……”

“Is he very angry?”

“…I suppose he would be.”

An agent of the parish had not only fallen in love with a nun but had even deserted.

It was tantamount to not just trampling on Bishop Hille’s honor but throwing it into a cesspool.

He would have nothing to say even if he were summarily executed.

“Still, you can probably tell by the fact that you’re still alive. He said not to take your lives.”

“…….”

“I understand. The cost of raising an agent is no small sum.”

So the reason he wasn’t killed was that he was still considered useful.

Dussell Duke could finally understand.

The Original Ladder Church would not let him go.

A swordsman of Dussell's caliber was rare, and now that he had a weakness named Yeni, they would surely take him in hand and work him even harder.

A grinding sound was heard.

It was the sound of Dussell Duke's molars clashing together.

He had run away because it was obvious this would happen.

Because he wanted to live like a human, because he didn't want to think of his lover as a weakness.

But to think it ended up like this after all, he felt empty.

His powerlessness in failing to protect Yeni cut him to the bone.

“A message from His Excellency the Bishop.”

Shion held out a letter.

The paper was stiff, and atop the wax seal was Bishop Hille's crest.

Dussell Duke's eyes sank deeply.

Thinking that his future was written in that letter, it happened on its own.

‘…It must be a transfer order.’

The Original Ladder Church, Bishop Hille, where would they send him?

Since he ran away once, they would surely send him to a place he couldn't escape from a second time.

Would it be a very distant frontier, a battlefield where conflict never ends, or perhaps he would become a spy and be sent to the Empire.

Whichever it was, greater danger and the smell of blood than before would be waiting for him.

‘I have to survive. That way Yeni, at least Yeni…….’

If Yeni was Dussell Duke's weakness, it also meant that as long as Dussell was alive, Yeni's safety was guaranteed.

Therefore, he resolved himself. He would brave any danger, any pain, any hardship to survive and protect Yeni.

Even if they could not be together.

Even if that fact felt like it was scraping his very bones.

Dussell, having hardened his heart, reached out his hand.

With a strength incomparable to that of an ordinary person, the wax seal crumbled easily.

On the document he took out, Bishop Hille’s handwriting was clear.

Dussell's hand trembled and his already glaring eyes widened even more.

He muttered as if he couldn't believe it.

“…Dismissal notice?”

“Yes. The Original Ladder Church has decided to relieve you of your position.”

Miss Yeni's is here too.

Ah, thank you.

Yeni politely accepted her own dismissal notice.

The two sheets of paper declared freedom to Dussell and Yeni.

Dussell, chewing over an indescribable bewilderment, spoke.

“…Agents do not have dismissals.”

“That’s why His Excellency the Bishop went through such a hell of a time.”

Shion took out a metal case from his pocket.

He thought the man might be about to smoke, but a hard candy rolled out.

The scent of mint and raspberry, the taste he always had.

Would you like candy?

Yeni accepted, but Dussell refused.

Shion mumbled on the hard candy.

“He said he officially raised it as an agenda item at the recent bishop’s council. Arguing that not allowing agents to be dismissed goes against the precepts of mercy. The debate was fierce, but he ultimately won against 17 doctors of theology.”

“Such a……”

“Congratulations on your retirement, Mr. Dussell Duke. As long as you don’t leave Merion, the church will not impose any sanctions.”

He was so dumbfounded he couldn't say anything.

Yeni held her dazed lover's hand tightly.

She couldn't understand everything, but it was clearly good news for them.

“For reference, since this is the first case, there’s no severance pay. You should probably look for work quickly.”

Shion smiled brightly.

The sight of the two lovers gave him a good feeling.

“You’re not alone anymore, after all.”

Dussell squeezed Yeni's hand in return.

He treasured it all the more, having thought he might never be able to hold it again.

Yeni leaned into his embrace, and Dussell accepted her. The dismissed agent spoke.

“…Didn't you say that the bishop was very angry……?”

“He was very angry.”

Shion chuckled.

“He said he didn’t expect you to run away without any discussion. He was furious, asking what you took him for, a cleric, and if you thought he was going to catch and kill you.”

The blue eyes were round with laughter.

“He said if you don't ask him to officiate at the wedding, he'll never see you again.”

“Is that so……”

Dussell Duke lowered his head.

The precepts of the Original Ladder Church were strict.

Not even Bishop Hille could create a new clause in a day or two.

That meant Bishop Hille had noticed the relationship between Duke and Yeni long ago and had been preparing to help them.

Despite the fact that Dussell had been preparing to escape while posing as a mercenary.

“Yes…….”

Embarrassment and gratitude were mixed together.

There was also a lot of guilt.

Since they were all things that made one's face red, Dussell Duke's face became completely flushed.

And yet, he was happy.

The prospect of surviving and being with his lover, of being able to dream of tomorrow, made him so indescribably happy that he wanted to shout for joy.

Instead of shouting, he squeezed Yeni's hand firmly. He gripped it with the resolve to never let go for the rest of his life.

“Our business is concluded. You may leave.”

Even at Shion's words, Dussell and Yeni did not get up.

The reason was simple.

Having both lived their entire lives in the church, they didn't know where to return to.

A hard candy rolled in Shion's mouth.

“Do you perhaps need a place to stay?”

“…Embarrassingly, yes.”

“In that case, would it be alright if we looked for a job for you? We’ll only take a small finder’s fee.”

A referral?

Dussell Duke raised his eyes.

Shion continued as if he had been waiting.

“The Verchello family is looking for a flour mill manager. The work is hard, but the pay is high, and there’s a house for the manager's family. And the bread baked at that mill is absolutely to die for.”

Shion had a knack for making facts sound enticing.

Anyone who lived with secrets and lies for a long time would learn it.

“…Interesting.”

Dussell Duke was also very intrigued.

The Verchello mill was in the outskirts of Merion.

The fact that it was away from the city center was actually a good thing and on top of that, a house and food were provided.

Compared to risking his life to escape to Schmeizen, it was no different from paradise.

“The previous manager ended up quitting because the Del Conti family's guards kept harassing the workers… but that shouldn’t be a big problem for a certain someone who used to be an agent, right?”

“I have never called such things a problem.”

“Then do you call it chasing away bugs?”

“I called it dusting off.”

Only then did Dussell Duke smile.

“I can introduce you with confidence, then.”

Shion smiled back.

“The Verchello family wants a new manager as early as today, what will you do?”

***

“Lady Serena was very grateful. She said they were on the verge of closing the mill if they couldn't find a manager.”

Shion chuckled as he brushed the mud from his feet.

He was on his way back from introducing Dussell and Yeni to the Verchello family.

“She said she’ll bring more bread tomorrow.”

“That’s welcome news.”

Amethus scratched his chin.

He was very fond of the bread from the Verchello mill.

It wasn't white and was a bit coarse, but he found that aspect more to his liking.

“This job is finished. Good work, Amethus.”

“It was hard work.”

The jade-eyed man shook his head.

“I was reminded again this time. The west is certainly on a lower level. I thought he might be a match for me, being an outstanding man among the agents.”

“The Empire is a strange one and weren't you a particularly strange one even there?”

Shion remembered the Grand Convergence of the Succession War.

Amethus, who had broken the horn of the former Seven-Forged General, Marina Debius.

Has it really been seven years already?

Amethus was even more of a monster now than he was then. Of course, so was Shion Pollinglight.

“What level did you think Dussell was at?”

“Let's see. A little below Legion Commander Niko?”

“…Niko? Niko Nereyades?”

Amethus nodded, and Shion let out a hollow laugh. Niko Nereyades, the Whale of Hobel Bay.

Once one of the Ten Great Generals of the Empire, the Nine Harbors General.

An old man who could easily win even if he fought a hundred Dussell Dukes.

“You think little of the Ten Great Generals, don't you?”

“There's no need to fear them.”

“Well, that's true.”

It was a conversation that if anyone else heard, they would have scoffed at it as the greatest of bluffs.

The Ten Great Generals, the ten generals symbolizing the Great Empire Cordis.

Their names were too immense to be mentioned in a small art gallery.

But there was not a hint of bluff in Shion's and Amethus's words.

“Go get some rest. I’ll watch the gallery.”

“Understood, Shion.”

Amethus got up from his seat.

He was quite used to it now, but not using honorifics with Shion was still not entirely comfortable.

Watching Amethus head for the basement stairs, Shion asked.

“You’re going down?”

“Yes. Where’s the bundle of money? I’ll take it to the warehouse on my way down.”

“I left it roughly by the stairs.”

“Ah, here it is.”

There were several bundles next to the stairs.

When he lifted one, it jingled heavily.

It was all gold coins, the payment from Bishop Hille for this commission.

Eighty coins as a down payment, eighty coins upon completion.

A total of one hundred and sixty coins.

A huge sum, enough to buy a nice house with a garden and still have money left over.

“You’re going there, right?”

“Is there anywhere else for me to be?”

“Right.”

Shion said no more.

Amethus gazed at Shion for a moment before slowly parting his lips.

He rolled the question he had held in his heart for a long time on his tongue several times.

He had always held it back, but this time he could not.

“…Shion, I know you don't like being asked about your past life. But……”

“I’m sorry, Amethus.”

Shion Pollinglight replied with sincere eyes.

The blue eyes were deeply sad.

“She didn't wake up that time either.”

“…Right.”

Amethus turned away.

There was a staircase leading to the basement.

Amethus did not step on the first stair.

He stepped on the second and third.

He did not step on the fourth again, stepped on the fifth, did not step on the sixth and seventh, stepped on the eighth…….

It was an ordinary staircase, but the destination it led to was different depending on the way it was stepped on.

It was a barrier created at great expense.

The stairs continued endlessly.

Amethus kept descending into the darkness.

The further down he went, the more the stairs spiraled.

It had stretched straight at first, but at some point, it began to form a spiral.

Only after descending about two hundred steps like that did it become bright.

Amethus jumped lightly.

There were several doors.

Amethus familiarly opened one door.

The inside of the door was all sparkling.

Gold coins, jewels, at any rate, were full of precious and expensive things.

This one room could easily buy several cities.

So he felt no burden in tossing the bundle from Bishop Hille like a pebble.

Gold coins poured out from the carelessly thrown bundle.

But it hardly made a difference, like adding a pile of dirt to a sandy beach.

Even in front of the mountain of gold coins and jewels, the jade eyes did not sparkle in the slightest.

Rather, he slammed the door shut as if looking at it any longer would only be tiring.

Amethus walked on.

No treasure could hold him back.

The most secret place in this location that Shion and Amethus had hidden beneath Merion.

A small, deep, and heavily guarded room that was hard to even fully describe.

“…….”

The jade eyes were sad.

It was the most precious place, yet the saddest.

The deep, small room was windowless and cozy.

There was a woman lying on the bed with her eyes closed. Her face had the lustrous dark color characteristic of people from the East.

Amethus sat down beside the bed.

Then he stroked the curly hair of the woman with closed eyes.

Every single gesture was careful.

The jade eyes were colored with a sad light.

It had already been seven years since she was unable to open her eyes.

Since that day on the rocky island next to Arete, already.

“Shadi…….”

Amethus's sword is sharp.

It can cut anything.

That fact was particularly painful on this night.

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