After Story: A New Family (3)
Near the seaside of the coastal village, Fleur.
Aisha wrinkled her nose at the salty smell which was carried by the wind and spoke.
“Ugh, how can anyone live in a place like this?”
The scent of the ocean filled her nose.
The salty odor, the humidity, and the fierce winds were souring her mood by the minute.
As a cat beastkin with sensitive senses, the air of the Ronan Strait felt especially unpleasant to Aisha.
She sighed and glanced at Jenny.
“Aren’t you going?”
“Just a little more. Let me finish reading this.”
Jenny was squatting on the ground, reading a letter.
It was none other than a letter from the Holy Kingdom.
The letter was sent to keep them informed about the continent’s affairs during their long-term dispatch.
Of course, the letter today contained additional news.
“A baby…”
Jenny’s cheeks flushed red.
It was due to the anticipation that arose upon hearing the news that Renee was expecting twins.
“Renee’s children will definitely be cute.”
Aisha’s expression crumpled at Jenny’s beaming smile.
“You’ve said that like ten times already.”
She just couldn’t understand how Jenny could stare at the letter all day without getting tired of it.
Jenny tilted her head.
“Aren’t you happy, Aisha?”
“I am happy, but…”
She scratched her cheek and trailed off.
Her expression was filled with uneasiness.
“It feels awkward to think of them as Vera’s children.”
That was the problem.
Although they were Renee’s children, they were also Vera’s children. That unnerving disparity was the source of Aisha’s restlessness.
It was quite understandable for her to feel that way.
Why wouldn’t it be?
Wasn’t she Vera’s only disciple?
Because of that, she knew more about him than others.
He was a man whose only actions were nitpicking, requesting dispatches, and calling for Renee during work to make out.
The fact that such a man was becoming a father felt too awkward for Aisha.
How could Vera become a father?
No, putting that aside, wouldn’t Vera’s offspring turn out just like him?
‘A child resembling Vera?’
Chills—
Aisha felt goosebumps rising all over her body.
“…Surely not.”
For a moment, Aisha imagined a newborn baby criticizing her with a gloomy expression, and she rubbed her arms to erase the shivers running down her spine.
Then, she shouted at Jenny.
“Let’s go already. I want to finish this quickly and return to Elia.”
“Okay.”
Jenny stood up, and the two of them looked in the same direction.
At the end of their gaze was a large coastal cave with ships anchored in front.
The target of this dispatch was a place where someone who might be an Apostle was located.
Aisha let out a hollow laugh.
“Pirates…”
Seriously, there’s no one normal among the Apostles.
Thinking that, Aisha drew her sword.
*
A woman sat on a lavish throne in the deepest part of the cave, resting her chin on her hand.
She had red hair and red eyes.
The woman with fiercely upturned eyes and a cigar held between her lips was the Pirate King of the Ronan Strait, Ellen.
She was the owner of the cave Aisha and Jenny had infiltrated, and the one who had received the Stigma of Judgment after Vargo.
“Intruders?”
“Yes, yes…”
A middle-aged man in shabby clothing bowed his head.
His voice trembled as he spoke.
It wasn’t out of fear of the intruders, but fear of the woman before him.
“T-Two people…”
“And you can’t catch two people, so you’re saying this bullshit?”
“They’re from the Holy Kingdom! F-From Elia they said…!”
Thud!
When Ellen rose to her feet, the man let out an ‘Eek!’ and shrank down.
Normally, Ellen would have reprimanded him for his lack of spirit, but now she had no time for that.
“This is absurd…!”
There was cold sweat trickling down Ellen’s chin.
Her fingertips trembled, and her heart pounded.
‘I have to run away.’
She had to escape.
They had definitely come for the stigma she possessed, so she had to flee and plan for the future.
An anxious smile crossed her lips.
‘I won’t get caught like this…!’
She had none other than a stigma.
It was the symbol of the miracle the Gods had bestowed upon this land, the ultimate weapon that promised infinite power just by holding it.
Ellen, the Pirate King of Ronan, did not want to use her stigma for a noble cause.
“Hey!”
“Yes, yes!”
“Stop them and block them off somehow so they can’t reach here!”
With those words, Ellen looked around.
‘Let’s see… What should I take with me?’
The luggage should be minimal.
She could abandon the hideout and the ships.
As long as she didn’t get caught, she could obtain them again. All she needed was her fists and the stigma.
Her thoughts were spinning rapidly as her eyes darted all over the place.
And so, while contemplating what to take—
Boom—!
The door to the depths collapsed with a thunderous noise. Ellen’s head whipped towards it.
Standing there were two women who seemed to be around her age.
“Wenches?”
“Look who’s talking. You’re a wench, too.”
The blonde beastkin spoke rudely in a carefree attitude that was noticeable in the way she walked.
Meanwhile, the black-haired woman beside her yawned and added.
“Yep, an Apostle.”
“Really?”
The beastkin, Aisha, grinned slyly.
Ellen continued to think while calming her racing heart.
‘Two wenches.’
She changed her plan.
‘…I’ll kill them and leave.’
Since only two had come, she had assumed the worst.
People like the Apostles of Protection who had singlehandedly held off the invasion of Alaysia a few years ago, the Sword of Oath who had become the Holy Emperor, or Vargo, the previous owner of the stigma she possessed.
However, they were just two young wenches and not any of those people, so Ellen thought she could handle it.
“Fuck, I seriously got scared for nothing.”
Saying that, she drew upon her crimson divinity and unleashed her authority.
The God’s Eye, which saw the karma of others.
Immediately after—
‘…Eh?’
Ellen’s body was frozen stiffly.
A dumbfounded expression appeared on her face.
It was immense.
Too immense.
The karma flowing from those two… no, from the three of them, including the doll the black-haired woman held, was greater than anything she had ever seen before.
So, a thought naturally arose in her mind.
‘Am I screwed…?’
These beings were definitely not opponents she could defeat, and beings she couldn’t even lay a finger on even if she were to die and be reborn.
The blonde beastkin gripped her sword.
At that moment, what Ellen saw was a distant slash at a speed her eyes couldn’t follow.
*
From the northeastern edge of the continent, the Ronan Strait, to the southern end, Elia.
A journey that took nearly a month had come to an end.
Bound and dragged along, Ellen felt like crying.
‘Fuck…’
She had arrived.
She had finally arrived.
The realization dawned on her as the white castle that seemed to drive one insane dizzied her eyes.
“We’re home…!”
The black-haired woman and the Apostle of Death, Jenny, whose name Ellen had learned eventually, said.
Behind her, the blonde beastkin named Aisha responded.
“From now on, I’m not going out for several months. I absolutely won’t go out even if they beat me.”
She muttered with a fed-up expression, roughly tugging on the rope simultaneously.
Ellen was dragged along limply, her head hung low.
As she was being dragged, two heavy voices caused her to flinch.
“Jenny back.”
“Aisha back too. Brought a woman.”
Ellen’s head trembled as she looked up.
What reflected in her eyes were twins with foolish expressions.
‘The Apostles of Protection…!’
While she was gulping down dryly, Aisha spoke.
“This one’s the Apostle of Judgment.”
“His Holiness’ successor.”
“Our junior. Marek gives some cookies to the junior.”
Marek reached into his armor and brought out a cookie that was already half-eaten.
While blushing, he brought it to Ellen’s mouth.
“Junior, eat.”
Ellen was taken aback.
‘Food torture?’
Were they force-feeding her?
Was this punishment for using the stigma as she pleased?
Ellen’s body shuddered.
And Marek’s smile grew wider.
At that instant, Aisha struck Marek’s head with the sheath of her sword.
Clang—!
A dull sound that would never come from hitting a human’s head rang out.
“Just open the door.”
The twins’ faces turned sulky.
“Aisha taking after Vera.”
“Right. Aisha is female Vera.”
Grumbling, they headed towards the door, and as they flexed their muscles, the door opened with a creak.
“Let’s go.”
Aisha tugged her.
Ellen looked at her with a blank expression on her face, and upon grasping the situation, her eyes became filled with gratitude.
‘Did she help me?’
The ones guarding the door were clearly the Apostles of Protection.
Vera was also the name of the Holy Emperor.
In addition, they had called her Vera’s disciple.
‘This is…’
I have to stick close to this woman to survive; she’ll be my lifeline.
That was what Ellen thought.
*
The Grand Temple they arrived at after passing through the entirely white streets was serene.
And the mural of the Nine Gods was visible as soon as they entered.
A mysterious and warm light was coming from an unknown source.
Ellen stared at it blankly and thought.
‘How much would it sell for if I stole it…?’
Her eyes which had plundered all sorts of treasures could accurately assess the value of that mural, and a myriad of thoughts flashed across her mind upon seeing it.
Just as Ellen was about to forget where she even was, two sets of footsteps echoed in the Grand Temple.
Ellen’s body shook.
When her attention shifted to the direction of the footsteps, she swallowed her nervousness.
‘The Holy Emperor…!’
And the Saint.
The two people walking hand in hand were none other than them.
The man with black hair and gray eyes glared at her.
Beside him, the fair-skinned woman with a swollen belly smiled gently.
“Renee!”
Aisha approached her with a bright smile, and then Renee gently embraced her.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“No way! It was easy, so I’m fine!”
As Aisha moved, Ellen, who had been dragged and rolling on the floor, made a strange expression.
‘Wh-What the…?!’
Why is she suddenly acting innocent after grumbling the whole time?!
Why is she acting like a clueless little girl?!
Ellen’s face contorted in various ways at her incomprehensible behavior, and meanwhile, the conversation between the two… no, the three, including Jenny who had joined them at some point, continued.
“Is the baby here?”
“Do you want to touch it?”
“Yeah!”
Aisha and Jenny’s hands gently touched Renee’s swollen belly, their faces reddening.
“Ah! It just kicked!”
Aisha exclaimed in amazement, not knowing what to do.
Ellen felt like she would vomit at the disgusting sight.
-Damn it, we still have two more weeks to go?
-Ah~ I don’t want to work-!
-This time when I go back, I’m definitely going to kick Vera’s crotch. No matter how I think about it, he’s the biggest problem.
The words and actions she had heard over the past month were replaying in her head at that moment.
In the midst of the confusion, Vera opened his mouth.
“Is this it?”
This.
At the words uttered in a tone as if looking at a bug, Ellen flinched.
It was brutal, so brutal.
His voice sounded like it could kill a person just from the way he said it.
“This is…”
His words trailed off.
At the same time, Vera’s fists clenched tightly.
“The Pirate King?”
It was followed by Renee’s laughter.
He and Ellen pursed their lips simultaneously, with Vera’s face flushing.
“Wow, the Pirate King…!”
Renee looked like she was holding back her laughter.
No, judging by how her body kept trembling, she was indeed holding back her laughter.
Then, she spoke again.
“Just like… a certain someone.”
When Vera turned to face Ellen, his face twisted as if he wanted to murder someone.
Ellen wanted to cry.