The Immortal Had a Guardian Spirit Chapter 17

“Even if you cannot be certain that the target you’ve found is ‘Raven,’ if they seem even remotely similar to the known description and appearance, erase their traces immediately. Waiting even for the time it takes to report and receive orders is a waste. As always, the principle is action first, report later.”

“We’re short on manpower—”

“We will not accept any additional requests for the time being. The requests currently in progress are also to be suspended temporarily.”

An incomprehensible order. A statement that would clearly deal a heavy blow.

Immediate objections laced with concern arose, but Edard, brushing them all aside, spoke once more, driving it home to his close aides and younger siblings.

“Keep this in mind. If possible, making discreet contact would be good, but the top priority is erasing his traces. He must not be caught by others.”

That was clearly an order from someone who knew ‘Raven.’

∞ ∞ ∞

Kian Ardal, the young Emperor of the Ardal Empire, felt a shift.

A small but definite distortion in the unchanging reality that seemed utterly devoid of hope. A movement so strong that he could feel its impact, even though it wasn’t directly related to him.

All currents were flowing in the direction of searching for a single person.

‘From the heads of each association to major intelligence organizations… I hear even the Republic and the revolutionary forces within it are taking an interest.’

Somehow, he felt he now understood why ‘that person’ had been away so often. Weren’t their movements, as if searching for something or someone, exactly like those of the current parties?

‘…Raven, they call him.’

Just who on earth is that person?

Kian, his index finger half-curled against his lips, furrowed his brow.

‘…This current was created by the ‘Association Heads.’’

It meant this was a matter that all the Association Heads were focusing on.

‘They are the leaders of independent forces that respect each other and every nation, and they hold power commensurate with that.’

This meant that if played well, he could gain the support of all the Association Heads.

“Stigma.”

He called out to the one watching over him.

“You called for me.”

“Could you discreetly deploy people to find a person called ‘Raven’?”

He absolutely had to secure this person called ‘Raven.’ Kian judged thus.

Only then would there be even a slight chance of escaping the position of a puppet emperor.

‘Now, when ‘that person’ is away, is one of the few opportunities.’

For the sake of this nation’s future, he had to find him. The young emperor clenched his fist tightly.

“…”

“…”

Stigma, upon hearing the order, silently looked his way for a moment.

The strange silence settled briefly, then he bowed his head gracefully. A neat, refined voice, befitting his immaculate demeanor, followed.

“Understood.”

“…”

∞ ∞ ∞

All forces are moving in the direction of finding the Master.

Even the intelligence organization ‘Aurel,’ which declined the request, is ultimately chasing the Master, so…

“The flow is good.”

The Association Heads were satisfied.

“No matter how great the Master is, he cannot evade the eyes of so many.”

They would soon hear news of discovery or capture.

Relieved of a burden, they found themselves with some leisure. The Association Heads belatedly brought up the whereabouts of the youngest, whom they had forgotten.

“But where on earth is that youngest one, and what is he doing?”

“He often disappears, but this time seems a bit long, doesn’t it?”

Of course, that was just talk; they made no move to find him.

That guy wouldn’t die wherever he went. And just like the others, they didn’t exactly get along with him anyway.

“Surely he hasn’t found the Master, has he?”

“Oh, come on, surely not.”

So the Association Heads casually dismissed the topic.

Completely unaware that the youngest was right near the Master they were so desperately searching for, gently dangling bait like an anglerfish, luring him right into his own mouth.

∞ ∞ ∞

And.

A certain man returned to his base.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a promising talent.’

His brisk stride across the corridor carried a hint of excitement and joy. Quickening his pace to reach the office as soon as possible, Daniel slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

‘That level of skill and a non-discriminatory attitude.’

As a slave liberation activist, he had gone to eliminate illegal slave traders and happened to witness a scene he couldn’t easily forget.

While clearing out and tidying up after the vile monsters who tried to use innocent humans in their trade, he belatedly received information about escaped slaves and their pursuers, and had rushed out without a second thought.

He wandered a bit due to the smeared and obscured tracks, but first found the younger brother, the one who had stirred up all the trouble, rather than the older sister.

A boy being chased by a gate that had opened nearby and the monsters that emerged from it. He was about to hastily step in at the dangerous and precarious sight.

Then the gate spat out a man instead of a monster.

Yes, ‘a man.’

The gate disappeared behind the man who landed calmly, without a hint of hurry. That alone made the situation easy to deduce.

He had closed it. That gate.

‘And he must have closed it alone.’

If he had lost comrades inside and come out alive alone, it would have shown in his expression or demeanor. A person who rushed out so desperately to help a child in tattered clothes, who looked worthless to anyone, wouldn’t act as if nothing had happened if he had lost his comrades.

Furthermore, even though he seemed to have noticed that the other party was an escaped slave, he stepped forward to help, so…

‘Perfect.’

Daniel, having watched until the man followed the younger brother and encountered the sister, quietly withdrew.

‘He’s exactly the kind of comrade I need.’

Skill enough to close a gate alone, and a fine enough character to willingly help an escaped slave.

He absolutely had to recruit this man.

What was his name again? Mulling over the name he had barely caught from a distance, Daniel opened the office door with an excited face.

“…Sir Daniel?”

His aide, who had been trembling with anxiety over the return of his troublesome leader—who had disappeared alone after carrying out dangerous tasks in dangerous foreign lands, leaving the cleanup to his subordinates—jumped up from his seat.

“Where have you been all this time! There’s new information that just came in…!”

“New information…?”

Daniel stopped in his tracks and folded his arms.

“Don’t you have something to report before that?”

The content was the same every time, but that didn’t mean it could be skipped.

People come first for us.

“…As for the rescued slaves, as always, those who want a normal life were helped to settle in suitable places, and those who wished to join were brought in as full members.”

“What about the investigation into those who leak information on slave traders to our side? Have you figured out their motives?”

“It’s not certain, but it’s presumed to be the intelligence organization ‘Aurel.’ What exactly they want is still…”

“Aurel…?”

He knew that the head of that place was called the King of the Underworld. For such a person to show interest in this side—should he call that an honor?

“It might be because it’s mostly the poor who get caught by slave traders. ‘Aurel’ rose from the slums, and the poor are ‘Aurel’s’ power.”

The poor are easy prey for slave traders. They can be captured and sold without repercussions.

Aurel’s power is information. They gather information through the poor. If the poor who bring them all sorts of information decrease, Aurel would lose its source of power, so from their perspective, slave traders would indeed be an annoyance.

“Well, that’s just speculation. We’ll take time to investigate that part further… But more importantly, what were you going to say?”

“Ah, well, the Association Heads have recently started actively searching for a specific person….”

Searching for a person?

Daniel raised an eyebrow, then let his expression flatten in disappointment and leaned against the wall.

“What, wasn’t it already known that the Association Heads were searching for someone? I wish they’d look into someone for me instead─”

“No, until recently they were acting discreetly as if they weren’t, but a short while ago they suddenly started moving aggressively. And the name of the target─”

“─Look into ‘Raven’ for me.”

“─was probably ‘Raven,’ I think.”

“…What?”

“Pardon?”

∞ ∞ ∞

Meanwhile, Raven, who was at the center of all these currents,

“You’re refusing?”

“That’s the conclusion, yes. As I said just a moment ago, I have things I need to do…”

“Well, then there’s no helping it.”

“Thanks for understa—.”

“I’ll have to take you by force.”

“?!”

His feet were tied elsewhere, and he was being threatened in his chastity.

Just one more day and he’d be at the capital—what kind of outrage is this, when he’s almost there?

His dazed green eyes, staring blankly into space, slid slowly to capture the woman who had pinned him down and mounted him as if subduing him. A beat late, bewilderment rose to his face.

‘…How did it come to this…?’

While he was speechless with disbelief, the sensation of a blade against his neck was vivid. As if giving him a final chance, the woman’s fierce voice rang out.

“I’ll ask again. Still no intention of becoming my 11th husband? It would be better if you came to me willingly, after all.”

“…”

Isn’t that not exactly willing?

“Ah, if the ’11th’ bothers you, don’t worry. I’m bored of the rest anyway, so if you want, I can just kill them all.”

Even a statement proving she was an excellent piece of trash.

As expected, trying to lure in even bandits was a dangerous move. He had momentarily forgotten that a criminal’s mind wouldn’t work normally.

Raven, who had tried to take the easy way and ended up with a complication, let out a cloudy sigh and retraced his mistake.

So… it must have started when he encountered the bandits.

From the threat to hand over everything, to declaring they’d kill everyone to eliminate any potential future trouble. As a wanderer of the world, Raven had encountered this common enough situation and tried to handle it without difficulty, but…

“No, wait.”

“…Boss?”

A woman interrupted.

“That face is too good to kill.”

She’d lamented that even among the fussy nobles she managed, such a face was rare.

Seeing her obvious interest in his face, Raven thought he might be able to pass through peacefully without any hassle, and subtly tried to persuade her. He’d added a bit of a smile with his eyes, just as he had with the innkeeper lady, but it was still persuasion.

…And things went wrong.

“…I’ve decided.”

His wrist was grabbed.

The woman, having found a way to not kill him and leave no loose ends, smiled satisfactorily and loudly declared.

“I will take this man as my husband!”

…Even thinking back, it’s absurd.

His neck stings. Returning to reality, Raven raised his hand and grasped the blade that had dug slightly into his skin, as if urging an answer. At his rebellious attitude, the woman’s eyes narrowed.

“Sorry, but….”

“It would be best if you answer well. The kids are here too, you know.”

Ah. The kids.

…No, wait. ‘Kids’?

The hand holding the blade, about to shake him off, hesitated. His green eyes rolled, and he then spotted Dan, captured right beside Didi.

‘…Why are you there?’

When did you come, following along so far out of sight that I didn’t even notice you?

His bewilderment was brief; blood, flowing down his palm cut by the blade, dripped onto his chest. Only after the woman, displeased at the unnecessary blemish on her artwork, yanked his wrist away, could Raven focus his attention on her again.

‘What should I do.’

The kids are being held hostage because of me. To ignore whether they live or die just because it’s troublesome and annoying would not be the duty of a human being, let alone an adult.

[Guardian Spirit ??? says, what are you waiting for, get it over with.]

A message came down as if reading his hesitation.

[Guardian Spirit ??? says they cannot approve of this marriage.]

[They strongly insist that it’s nonsensical to go through with a marriage where your own will isn’t reflected, especially with someone who isn’t even a good person.]

[And above all… they say that in anything, you yourself should be the top priority.]

[…Guardian Spirit ??? picks up their sword and rises from their seat.]

Stop.

I hesitated a little, yes, but for a Guardian Spirit to try to intervene in something this trivial—what would you do? Knowing full well that interfering when not called for builds up even greater karmic debt.

‘…No choice, then.’

Raven let out a faint sigh.

The Guardian Spirit said I should be the top priority, but that’s wrong. Isn’t it obvious that the life of a single person is more valuable than that of one who has countless lives?

The kids come before this worthless life that wouldn’t show any difference even if I died several times over.

‘I’ll just have to die once.’

If a person willingly dies right before their eyes, they’ll be flustered and show an opening. That much of an opening is enough to rescue the hostages and finish them off.

If I can kill all the ones before me without other casualties, using just this one life, then it’s a profit.

Calling the Guardian Spirit for something so trivial isn’t worth it, and above all, I’d be embarrassed, so this is better. Just as Raven, having made his decision, was about to thrust his neck onto the opponent’s sword—

[Guardian Spirit ??? says you might as well call them─]

“Hey, which one’s the bad guy here?”

An unfamiliar voice cut in.