Cleanup Time (2)
Kasel Roadmyu. Sub-director of Hope Tree Orphanage. A sturdy man who had just turned twenty-eight this year. An upstanding young man who knew how to love his neighbors and the children. A loyal imperial citizen who always gazed at the rising morning sun of the Empire and gave thanks for His Majesty's grace. He and Aren had been close friends since before she ran away from the Parates Estate to become an adventurer. Once a renowned knight of the Solar Knight Order, dubbed the Emperor's Sword. He had shone in the previous war, rampaging across the battlefield, but some incident triggered severe PTSD that he couldn't endure, forcing his retirement from the order. Now, at Aren's request, he served as the orphanage's sub-director. And fitting that position, Kasel was one of the few who knew some of the orphanage's secrets.
"Ha…."
Epia and Serelda had shown up, saying their big sister hadn't returned and she might come to the main building, so they'd wait here. Kasel waited with them for Gia. After some time passed, sensing something off, he left a teacher at the main building and prepared to head out himself. Lantern in hand, he took the two girls and headed toward the annex. Holding their hands as they climbed, they passed the warning signs and kept going until they spotted them. Three corpses neatly lined up by the roadside.
He muttered quietly to himself.
This is fucked….
Whether these guys had ignored the warning sign's message or hadn't even seen it, he knew what all those bodies on the path beyond the sign to the annex meant.
"Ah, Sub-Director Uncle, those…."
"…They're bodies, right?"
Epia and Serelda, whose hands he held, turned worried eyes toward them and spoke up. Kasel carefully covered their eyes with his palms and turned their heads away.
"…This isn't for kids to see. Look away."
Especially the last of the three corpses—blood gushing from its hands, feet, and neck in a particularly brutal death.
"…With skill like that, it has to be her, right?"
"The Director wouldn't stop at something that clean…."
"Camella sis…."
The two murmured quietly. Back at the main building waiting for Gia, they'd been bickering nonstop, but the moment they saw the bodies, even they sensed the gravity and stopped fighting.
"…Yeah, probably. She bragged about ripping out necks when she introduced herself."
"Right, that's what she said when you arrived? When I got here, she said she slices throats nice and clean."
The two girls whispered carefully, as if not wanting Kasel to hear. It piqued his curiosity a bit, but he didn't pry and kept moving. Finally, the orphanage annex came into view. The distant door stood open, so he hurried inside with the kids.
"Director Aren! What the hell happened here—?!"
Kasel burst in, eyes widening. Epia and Serelda, following behind, had their eyes go wide too. Deep inside the trashed room. Near the door, a roaring white flame blazed fiercely. And in front of it. Aren, Camella, and Chloe sat huddled like they were warming themselves by a midwinter bonfire, staring entranced at the flames. The missing Gia lay sleeping on a long bench beside them.
"…Ah."
"You guys are here? The Director found big sis!"
"Ah, Sub-Director… hello…."
Kasel stared blankly at the roaring white flame, too stunned to even respond to the kids' greetings.
"…Uh, Director? I've got a ton of questions popping into my head right now, but…."
If the fuel for that white flame wasn't human corpses, he wouldn't be reacting like this.
"—This is no sight for the kids' mental health. If you're gonna do bonfire gazing, do it outside, and ethically, use wood instead of people…."
"—Hey, you crazy bastard. You think that's what's going on?!"
Aren leaped up with a thud that shook the floor and clocked him right on the crown of his head.
****
"Gia sis, just hold on a bit. I'll make it stop hurting soon."
Still deep in sleep, Gia lay with her top removed. Serelda knelt before her wounded form, gazing down with a troubled face. Holy power manifested, swirling around her small hands. She glanced at Epia.
"Hey, I'm gonna use my power? Don't interfere and stay quiet, got it?"
"You're insane. You think I'd mess around now? Just heal sis quietly."
Serelda turned back to Gia after Epia stepped back a few paces. Her small hands hovered carefully over Gia's bruised skin. Warm, sacred light slowly seeped in, fading the dark bruises bit by bit.
"Sis… how could they… how much did they beat you for your body to be like this…."
Thick tears plopped from Serelda's eyes. The wounds visible only after removing her clothes were worse than they appeared, making it impossible to gauge how much pain she'd endured.
"Why are you crying? If sis wakes up and sees you bawling, she'll cry too."
Behind her, Epia stood ramrod straight with arms crossed, like I'm not crying, no way! Of course, her trembling lips and anxious eyes betrayed her as she watched tensely.
"…Serelda's power—second time I've seen it, and it itches to comment every time."
"…I told you before, don't dig too deep."
"Holy power healing a demon… haa, got it."
Kasel, leaning against the outer wall right by the door, started to peek inside. Hey now, where do you think you're looking?
"Hey, turn your head. You know damn well Gia's topless. Wanna die?"
Leaning against the open doorframe, straddling the boundary between in and out, I shoved Kasel's face back outside.
"…This angle doesn't show anything anyway. So put that fist down nice and easy."
I raised my fist, lightly channeling Internal Aura Technique. He paled and gestured downward frantically.
"Sigh, I know, I know. I'll keep this quiet as possible."
Kasel turned toward the white flame burning out front. After the earlier commotion. I'd explained what happened—the bodies burning inside. He'd agreed it was a useful scroll for situations like this and helped out. We'd moved the three bodies Camella had lined up by the road here and were burning them the same way.
"Can't rule out reinforcements entirely… but if there were any, they wouldn't hit us this sloppily. Relax."
Kasel's face twisted like a salaryman dragged out of bed right before clocking in. No one likes cleanup, naturally.
"Yeah. The boss guy's body is at that spot you mentioned, so if things get noisy, help smooth things over with folks."
"In pieces, right? Poor bastard had bad luck. A little quicker on the uptake and he might've lived."
Kasel briefly imagined himself in front of his ten-year friend here, beating Gia hard and fleeing.
"…Nah. Beat her like that and run? That'd be a hell all its own."
I smirked at his reaction—fitting from someone who knew my track record.
"Obvious, right? Mercenaries cruising the central lines, thuggin' it up for years in the relatively peaceful midlands."
I pulled a cigarette from my pocket and lit up. Slipped out the door crack quietly to stand beside Kasel. Rifling the nameless boss's stuff had yielded some silver coins and a few smokes. Sparked the memory, so I'd grabbed some old ones from the warehouse earlier. Using the dead guy's lighter.
"Want one? Pretty pricey stuff."
"Nah. Quit when I retired."
Click, hiss. Lit it up. No acrid, heavy tobacco stench—instead, a cool minty freshness like forest grass wafted subtly around.
"Herbal cig… yeah, expensive."
Kasel eyed me with a wry smile, inhaling the scent.
"You smoke and pick this kind?"
"You know why. War wrecked me dealing with all those brutal fucks. Not at my peak anymore."
"…Evil Dragon, and the Demon King."
"Yeah. Those two bastards hit hardest."
Our idle chat continued a bit. Prelude to war, dying comrades, memories from the battlefield alongside the hero party and Solar Knights. We'd chewed it over dozens of times, but chit-chat's just repeating yourself.
"You didn't forget the errand I asked Gia for, right? Sent her to the main building for that and look what happened."
I'd handed Gia a letter, which Kasel took and read.
"Got a report on that anyway. Perfect timing—let's talk."
Ahem. Kasel coughed lightly from the smoke and continued.
"Lately, more mercenaries and adventurers heading to Drakanscale—including those guys. Dungeon subjugation team thing."
"Knew that much. Looks like these idiots pivoted to robbing the orphanage on the way."
"Big recruitment. Two hundred strong, they say. Even Tremorn Estate knights joining."
Two hundred? My brow furrowed. Even for a subjugation force, that felt excessive compared to average dungeon spawns around here.
"Our Susan mixing her recruits with her house knights? How many knights?"
"Dunno. Just got the intel from Branche yesterday. Send her again to find out?"
"…No."
A bad premonition crept in. Guess I'd handle it myself.
"I'll go straight to Susan. She'll spill everything from her own mouth."
I finished my cig. Brushed off my hands lightly and perked my ears inside.
"…Mm, ah, Serelda?"
"Ugh… sis… I was so worried!"
Gia was awake. Peeking in, she was hugging Serelda.
"…I'll handle cleanup. Head back—you went through hell wrangling the kids."
"Yeah. Hope Gia doesn't carry big scars from this."
I waved as Kasel headed down the path.
****
Few roads cut through the Dragon's Ridge Mountains' central region. Mainly the big one linking gateway city Drakanscale to exit village Sebel, with side paths to shelters, hunting grounds, mines, lumberjack camps—like twigs off the main branch.
The Dragon's Ridge was too vast and treacherous for easy human access. Managed parts were minimal. Three families handled duties where the range touched their lands. Central: wealthy trade-famous Tremorn Count family. Upper: Jenbel Marquis with the Black Bear Knight Order. Lower: Parates Count with the Silver Wolf Knight Order.
Even with these Empire-renowned houses splitting it, the sheer size made management tough. Blocking naturally spawned dungeons and descending monsters. Maintaining traveler paths, garrisoning troops. Rewards: loot from monsters/dungeons, tolls from passersby, official resource rights where it bordered estates. Massive gains, but a drop compared to the mountains' untapped potential. The untouched depths were perilous opportunity incarnate.
The dungeon lay deep in a central cavern.
A colossal humanoid emerged from the dungeon. Mimicking human skin, but no human would call it one. Towering so high the entire continent's humans would crane necks. As if tens of thousands of tiny bones intricately carved and forced into human shape. In its hand, a crude wooden cart. Sprawled inside like luggage: a human. The sole survivor from this dungeon—a low-rank Tremorn knight sent on recon.
It tossed the cart forward lightly outside the cave. The cart shattered tumbling. The knight inside survived barely, thanks to superhuman prowess.
A deep voice rang directly in the knight's ears. Despite the distance rolled, it felt like whispers beside him.
Each resonant word in his mind chilled even a battle-hardened knight to the bone.