Chapter 163
Chapter 163
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: The Regular Meeting
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"Penis?"
"Go to sleep."
—Body temperature, pulse. All stable.
Luna had checked on the rest of the group, excluding Zero who had gone to another island to gather information, and now sat on the living room sofa.
These gatherings, which had originally formed out of worry for Adelian, had occasionally evolved over time. They shifted from sharing complaints or suggestions about each other, or just casual chit-chat, into something that had become an indispensable event.
The reason they did it without Adelian was that it started as a meeting out of concern for him, but later turned into sharing things they wanted to say to one another—which they didn't want to worry him about.
'Now it's just... tradition?'
Luna organized her thoughts for a moment and made eye contact with Rachel.
"How about we talk about Adelian for the first time in a while today?"
Such meetings called for snacks. As Rachel picked up a cookie and opened her mouth, Kane naturally deployed a mana barrier.
"Honestly, raise your hand if you felt something this time."
Everyone raised their hands at Rachel's words as she crunched on the cookie. Their faces, looking into each other's eyes, said it all: *Of course*.
—We need to pay extra attention this time.
"I agree. Honestly, Kane, if you hadn't run off, we could've cornered Adelian last time."
"To be fair, Rachel, you're not wrong right now."
*So normally, you're saying I'm wrong?* Rachel grumbled, but Luna smiled brightly and offered her a slice of apple tart. Rachel's face lit up in response.
"Well, excluding me, there's no one else who can speak harshly to Adelian."
Kane took a sip of his black tea. Luna, originally a maid who doted on Adelian, would likely just think *Thank goodness nothing worse happened* rather than get angry if he did something reckless.
Rachel was a walking disaster herself, so she had no room to criticize others.
Leaf saw Adelian as his manager and would die if ordered, jump into fire if told—being a golem from the start, harsh words toward Adelian were impossible.
Zero had just emerged into the world and nearly gotten locked up alone in the imperial palace, so he clearly didn't grasp how dangerous that was. He'd probably see a monster jumping out in front of him as more of a threat to Adelian.
In the end, the scolding for nearly getting confined by First Princess Seria should have come from Kane, but since he had gone missing for a while, everyone had let it slide with a "Be more careful next time."
"Maybe we should've spoken up properly back then. Did you see him today?"
—He definitely looked like he was thinking about something absurd, even if just for a moment.
"Young master seems to know everything about matters involving us, yet he's oblivious when it comes to himself."
Everyone there knew Kane's prison remark wasn't made lightly.
Especially because it was out at sea.
Truth be told, the moment the ship was destroyed and everyone fell into the ocean, no one but Kane could have handled their own body, let alone anything else.
Unlike stable land infused with mana, the sea had no ground and its waters constantly churned, making the mana within unstable.
Adjusting one's own mana to stand atop such waters required immense mental focus.
Even standing on a plank was better, but in a combat situation rather than mere shipwreck?
'No one but Kane could look after the young master.'
Putting him in a real prison would at least make it easy for Kane to find him if something happened. The danger came when fighting together and getting flung apart by an explosion or the like.
"Honestly, I'm for the prison idea too."
—Prison sounds too cold. How about calling it a 'management room for the manager' or something else?
Luna watched Rachel and Leaf eagerly agreeing with Kane before speaking up.
"Honestly, I think a prison is just a temporary fix. If the young master gets urgent, he could use the Codex to break out."
"Then should we make a prison that's indestructible by magic?"
"Rachel, the young master isn't a monster."
—How about buying an artifact with powerful defensive magic from an auction house?
"He already has plenty of mediocre artifacts. Anything meaningful probably won't show up at auction, and besides, there's Aegis."
Aegis could block not just physical attacks and magic, but even curses and other formalized spells to some degree.
That made Adelian even more complacent, and Kane sank into slow thought.
"Adelian's plans probably include reinforcing his own abilities at some point."
He often talked about mobility artifacts, refusing to be carried or held by Kane, Luna, Zero, and the like.
But he always prioritized others' items over his own, so he hadn't acquired one yet.
Heck, wasn't he here now for that healer?
"By the way, Adelian still doesn't seem to have any Traits, right?"
Luna's expression darkened slightly at Rachel's words as she licked sugar powder from her lips.
"Seems that way."
"What could it be? Doesn't seem like Prophet."
—Doesn't appear to be physical, mental, or mana-related either.
Adelian had claimed a few times to have the Prophet Trait, but not a single companion believed it.
Given his personality, if it were real, he wouldn't even mention it—especially something so powerful.
'He wouldn't have lived ignored like that. If he was hiding it on purpose...'
Luna tilted her head.
Among the empire's nobles, Adelian was always at the top of the worst-reputed list.
Sure, there were nobles who did filthy, vicious things not worth mentioning.
Yet Adelian's fame stemmed largely from rumors leaking from the temple: as heir to one of the empire's three grand dukedoms, he had the most pathetic Trait of any noble—not even commoner-level.
'And yet.'
The way he sometimes acted was as if Traits meant nothing, perfect in every way.
Whatever the reason, even without the Prophet Trait he claimed—or any Trait to boast to others—Luna intended to follow Adelian.
"He is human, though."
Kane slowly closed his eyes and opened them at Rachel's mutter before speaking.
"Whoever Adelian is doesn't matter. I believe in the guy right in front of me."
—I feel the same.
"Once this is over, we'll make sure to get the young master what he needs, even if we have to throw a fit."
"And keep a close eye to stop any reckless antics."
*Sometimes he pulls clever stunts on us too.*
Everyone nodded at Kane's words.
* * *
"Pretty much anything can be bought with gold."
Irresponsible young noble lord. In a way, it was the easiest position to be underestimated by others while getting what you wanted.
Before the empire's patrols, warlocks, or even inquisitors from the All-Saint Temple could sort out whether it was heresy or something else, he'd snatched the site where traces of human sacrifice still lingered.
Sure, it cost a fortune in gold that commoners couldn't even fathom—but so what?
Gold would likely mean little within a decade anyway.
'*They wouldn't stick to one spot and run. Not a chance.*'
Surrounded by small islands with floating populations overflowing from trade.
They could've kidnapped people sporadically, gathered them on uninhabited isles, sacrificed in batches—or targeted small family groups on remote islets off the mainland.
They'd rampage like mad now, before multiple hits led to tails being caught and massive search-and-purge squads from the mainland.
"How much longer till we arrive?"
I'd moved as soon as the ship was ready, and now it was around dawn.
The small vessel rocked with every strong wave.
The captain, thinking me some clueless noble young master, kept glancing my way, apparently seeing me as picky.
'*No, with the robe on, only my nose and mouth are visible?*'
Power of the Arrogant Trait, I guess.
"Aigoo, young master. We're almost there, really."
"Feels like you said that 30 minutes ago."
Seeing Kane mutter lowly, I nudged the chair he sat in with my boot tip.
*Keep calm, man.*
Of course, from Kane's perspective, this was the moment evoking memories of the monster group that burned his village, slaughtered his family and villagers, and even took his sister.
'*Can't have you rattled already. Later, there might not be enough people to clean up everywhere we go.*'
That's how it went in the original story. At first, they erased the gruesome traces, buried the dead, called priests for prayers—grieving, outraged, furious, all hoping for justice.
But as the evil cult grew stronger, sacrifices became open, and by the end when the living evil god was active, cleanup was impossible—black smoke rising everywhere, or the stench permeating.
'*So no rushing or panicking yet.*'
Maybe because I nudged his chair with my boot, Kane shifted his gaze from the captain.
"Island in sight!"
Rachel, out on deck, burst into the captain's cabin with a clatter, lightening the mood.
I looked at her approvingly, then turned to Luna following behind.
"How's it look?"
"About five minutes to the shore."
—No signs of life detected. Looks like an uninhabited island.
The original residents were probably all sacrificed... and no cultists hiding just in case, either.
"By the way, Rachel, you look chipper."
"Man, I just learned today that seasickness potions are a real thing."
*I just learned today that dragons get seasick.*
*Or is it because she's a red dragon? Doesn't suit the sea?*
I'd been shocked seeing big-eater Rachel collapse without eating.
'*No, remembering amid that mess that we'd snatched a seasickness potion from Valbus is funny too.*'
Unlike the captain's cabin blanketed in orange flicker from the lantern, stepping onto deck revealed the fairly risen sun and a blue sky tinged purple.
Not a white sandy beach, but a rough shore mixed with pebbles. A small island you could circle in an hour or two at a brisk pace.
Steep slopes in places, cliffs on one side, faint houses near a small wooded area.
Few as three or four residents, maybe up to a dozen at most.
"Young master... no proper dock here... we'll have to use the rope ladder to a dinghy..."
It wasn't as big as I wanted, but not small enough to dock close either.
Transfer to a rowboat from here, row to shallow waters, then wade knee-deep.
"Then let's do th—"
"Young master."
As I nodded in acknowledgment, Luna quickly approached.
Huh?
A sudden thought hit me, and I placed a hand on Kane's shoulder.
"My knight will carry me there, so one guide excepted—captain and rest of crew, guard the ship."
Luna looked a bit disappointed at my words. Leaf's expressionless face showed he felt skipped. Rachel was just thrilled.
She was already leaping off the rail, kicking off the sea surface toward the island.
"Where was the sacrifice held?"
"In a cave between cliffs on the island's rear."
I just nodded once at the guide's words, then patted Kane's shoulder.
No choice. You'll have to do the work. Can't have me being carried by Luna or Leaf with others around.