Chapter 156
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Homecoming with Arsha
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She even reached out toward me, wailing for me to save her, but I had no intention of rescuing her whatsoever.
There was no way to save a corpse that was already dead.
Even if Luna were here, which she wasn't, I still wouldn't have bothered saving her.
With that, she quickly turned rigid like a completely charred corpse and fell silent.
At the same time, vengeful spirits swarmed from all directions, lunging at her soul as it fled her body and began tearing into it.
Her spirit was somewhat stronger than an ordinary vengeful spirit, but surprisingly, the sheer number of them in this castle was beyond imagination.
Nowhere is free of vengeful spirits, but this place takes it to another level.
Once they started ripping into her, her screams didn't last long before fading into silence.
With the emergence of the King of the Forbidden Sea—the colossal octopus whale—and the overwhelming presence it exuded, any suspicions that I had destroyed House Remilish would inevitably diminish greatly.
After all, I'd only been arrested on charges of killing Baron, and I hadn't directly attacked anyone.
In fact, even though House Phinas Archipelago had been willing to go to war over it, this turn of events would shake the justification they had for challenging the central continent—or more precisely, Bata—to battle.
"Come to collect your subordinate?"
I stopped in my tracks as I made my way out of the castle to rendezvous with Luna and posed the question.
From the shadows nearby, a hooded figure in a robe and mask slithered into view.
The leader of the Moon Watch.
Among everyone I'd encountered so far, she was the strongest—excluding Sword Saint Osberg Mielephon.
No, considering her hidden aces, she might even be stronger.
"My agent is indebted to you."
"I heard the whole story. Your orders, right?"
"......"
The leader said nothing.
"How'd you know Arsha was here?"
"Do I have any reason to tell you that?"
"If you keep stonewalling me, I might have to do something about it."
I muttered the threat under my breath, and she tossed something from within her robes at me.
"What's this?"
"A relic. It'll help restore your sister's mind. Have her wear it around her neck."
I took the artifact and infused it with mana, causing a strangely intricate magic circle to shimmer into view.
Oh, it's been a while since I've seen this method. It's a bit different from the current magical systems of this world, but it's undeniably efficient.
"You know what it is, don't you?"
"No idea. But you do, don't you?"
Her attitude suggested she knew all about me, though she'd acted similarly before.
"They say that artifact contains Icor, a rare material."
Icor.
It does carry the meaning of "blood of the gods."
Of course, it's not actual divine blood, but no one can deny it's incredibly hard to obtain.
"Not like you'd answer even if I asked right now. You here to pick up your two people? Take them and go."
Examining the artifact's contents convinced me it would indeed be effective.
"Leon Cascadia."
She called out to me again, halting my footsteps as I turned to leave.
"If your sister regains her senses... No, forget I said anything."
The moment she turned away, I conjured a light orb in one hand and hurled it at her.
Boom!!
"......What the hell was that?"
She dodged it effortlessly, though of course, I hadn't aimed to hit her.
Come to think of it, hadn't the leader of the Moon Watch stirred up trouble midway through by sticking her nose in?
I just had to see that damn woman get pissed off.
"Hey."
"What?"
A chilling modulated voice echoed back.
"The two things that piss people off the most: first, trailing off mid-sentence, and second..."
She fell silent, waiting for what I'd say next.
But what I did instead was activate a spatial magic circle.
"You little..."
Realizing she'd been played, her furious curse erupted, but I flipped her the bird and leaped through space.
Now that felt good.
Arsha's body had recovered to some extent.
But her mind had taken such a severe blow that she remained unconscious.
Judging that prolonged sea travel in that state would burden her body too much, I forcibly gathered mana and cast an eighth-circle warp spell in one go.
Bag Enseil, who had carried us this far, still had business to handle there, so he stayed behind.
Word outside seemed to be that House Remilish had been annihilated by a massive monster, not me, so his lingering presence wouldn't cause issues.
It was a chaotic situation, but he just needed to hand over the goods and leave.
"Arsha!!"
Melissa came rushing out, abandoning whatever she was doing, and collapsed to her knees at the sight of Arsha on my back.
She'd thought the accident had taken her parents and Arsha, but her youngest sister had survived and returned—that joy must have been beyond words.
Of course, Arsha hadn't regained consciousness yet, but the mere fact she was alive seemed to be Melissa's greatest relief.
"Let's lay her down in her room. She's exhausted."
"Is her body okay?"
"Treatment's done for now, but she'll need time before she wakes up."
Melissa looked like she wanted to scoop Arsha into her arms right then, but she quietly followed without protest.
She appeared fine on the surface, but her hacked-off hair and the ragged clothes she still wore starkly showed how much she'd suffered.
"Go fetch some clothes for Arsha."
"Yes, Family Head!"
A few maids hurried off. Melissa gently stroked the cheek of Arsha, who slept soundly on the bed.
"Thank goodness. At least you're alive."
Her voice thick with emotion, she couldn't tear her eyes away from Arsha for a long while.
She looked ready to stay by her side all day, so I wordlessly grabbed her by the nape and pulled her away.
Arsha's survival was great, but reports still needed filing.
After hearing the full report on the Remilish Island incident and all the minor details, Melissa clutched her forehead as if her head ached.
"Hoo... So, you're saying that since it looks like the King of the Forbidden Sea went on a rampage, we actually have room to refute the accusations?"
"For now, yeah."
"That bitch. I should've torn her apart with my own hands."
Melissa made no effort to hide her rage.
"But you handled it well, so it's fine. From here on, let's focus solely on Arsha's recovery and the aftermath."
She smacked the table lightly.
"I know you're busy and you've been through a lot. So leave the messy national issues to me."
"You sure you can handle it?"
"If I couldn't, I wouldn't have dumped this on you."
She took a deep breath and slowly approached, nestling into my arms.
"Thank you, Big Brother. For saving our little one."
Her teary voice rang with sincerity. Had she ever acted like this since growing up?
Probably not.
Seeing her like that tugged at my heartstrings too.
So I responded to her sincerity in kind.
Thwack!!
"Get off me, you mega-neura bitch."
"What'd you call me, you liver fluke?"
Her irritation had chased away the tears, mission accomplished.
Yeah, that's more like you.
Bickering just like old times.
That was the Melissa I'd longed for and missed so much in the Labyrinthos.
"More importantly, you still have unfinished business, right?"
With my thoughts settled, I slowly asked.
"The Holy Kingdom?"
Saintess Nadia Ten Lilibel.
While on Remilish Island, she'd left word that she was heading to the Hael tribe first in urgency.
If you've received something, you should return it.
"They said they'll send a rendezvous point once things are sorted. Wait there until then."
It seemed the Holy Kingdom had its own internal issues.
If that's what she requested, no need to pry further.
"I'll let you know as soon as word comes. Rest up till then."
Thinking about it, recent events had piled up nonstop.
This was a matter between the Holy Kingdom and the barbarians, after all.
No quick resolutions in sight, so at least a few weeks of breathing room.
Though Melissa told me to rest, all I could really do was sit by the still-unconscious Arsha's side.
It'd be bittersweet if she woke up to find no one there.
"Her body's fine physically. Soul's stable too... but she just won't wake up."
"Mental exhaustion's too severe. Cold assessment: no timeline."
"Ha..."
"But that artifact's helping her recover bit by bit. Shortest: days. Longest: under a month."
Even Luna couldn't fully treat Arsha's mental damage right now.
The issue was she had no means to sustain herself unconscious for a whole month.
"We've barely saved a child who'd normally be dead by now. Leon needn't worry. I'll handle the treatment."
With Luna covering nutrition and other necessities, I felt a weight lift.
"Reliable as ever."
Luna puffed out her chest.
"I'm useful, aren't I?"
"When weren't you?"
"That's it?"
Her gaze demanded more, so I stared blankly at her.
She tapped her cheek with her pinky.
"Hurry up."
It didn't take long to grasp what she wanted.
Blood rushed to my face in an instant.
"Uh... um."
Thinking back, she'd slept by my side from day one under the guise of treatment. But even after baring our hearts to each other, we hadn't done anything particularly couple-like.
I'd resolved my engagement to focus on her, but this felt no different from before.
This kind of thing was far too unfamiliar to me.
Faced with such a daunting task, I covered my eyes with one hand and let out a short sigh.
"Won't do it?"
She was clearly teasing me. But going along with it didn't feel right either—my hand wouldn't move.
As I hesitated, she smirked with half-lidded eyes.
"Pfft... Cute."
That teasing attitude.
Treating me like some shy little kid!