The Immortal Had a Guardian Spirit Chapter 20

The entire world seemed to hold its breath, and a quiet stillness continued for a long while.

“…Ah.”

Damn.

Raven let out a short sigh and raised a hand to cover his face. He could feel his eyelids trembling.

…It seems he was quite startled by the fire he’d encountered for the first time in ten years.

His non-functional eyes throbbed anew. His entire body protested in pain.

“If you just manage to pull off this job, I’ll set you and your parents free.”

“It’s not difficult. Just install the portal.”

The voices from the day the Association crossed the line gnawed at his brain.

“You can do that, right?”

Memories began to flood over the breached mental barriers.

The day a foolish child, raised cut off from the outside world and knowing nothing, first set foot in the world for a mission. The explosion that occurred along with the completion of that mission. The horrific heat that swept over his entire body. The eyes and part of his soul stolen from him that day. And the tinnitus that shook his brain.

Reeeeeee—

…What a pathetic sight. It wasn’t even an explosion, just a simple fire. What an absurd spectacle.

Aware of his own state, Raven hung his head low and let out a bitter laugh.

His hands were trembling.

“──Captain!”

It seemed the tinnitus was indeed real.

He thought he could faintly hear someone’s voice piercing through the ringing, and as it grew louder, proving it wasn’t a hallucination, he soon felt a hand gripping his shoulder firmly.

“Are you alright?”

His consciousness, which had been wandering between the boundaries of reality and the past, between severed worlds, was finally pulled fully into the present. Raven blinked blankly for a moment.

The startled mercenary was shaking him by the shoulders.

“I tried to stay quiet, but your reaction seemed anything but normal, so…”

“…Dizzy. Let go.”

“Ah, yes, sir.”

The mercenary quickly withdrew his hand and kept a discreet distance.

Only then did the trembling in Raven’s green eyes subside. The shaking in his hands disappeared too, and after checking that he was back to normal, Raven belatedly began to chuckle.

A sharp, self-mocking laugh scraped low along the ground.

“Fucking idiot.”

“…”

It’s not every day you find yourself dying alone in the middle of a monster’s lair, having lost an eye and a fragment of your soul, covered in full-body burns, so it’s memorable enough, but still.

‘This was even before I gained immortality.’

How much time has passed since then, and yet I still react like this?

The embarrassment reached its peak, leaving him with nothing but laughter.

[Guardian Spirit ??? sends you a pitiful look.]

…It’s even worse because of the Guardian Spirit’s reaction.

‘Don’t look at me like that.’

I was able to meet you because of that, but what am I supposed to do when you look at me with such pity?

This was simply because, after a very long time, I was caught off guard and faced a fire. The last thing I saw before losing my eyes was that crimson light, seething with intense heat. That’s all it was.

Forcing himself to look away from the message, he turned to the mercenary. A face full of bewilderment and concern came into view. Raven deliberately crooked the corner of his mouth.

“How can you just start a fire like that when I’m spacing out? You startled me.”

“Ah… I’m sorry. Shall I put it out now?”

“Forget it. We need to eat.”

He didn’t have a problem with ‘fire’ itself. Now that he recognized it as a campfire, there was no chance of repeating that embarrassing reaction. He waved his hand dismissively and sat back down. Of course, his chair was the bandit leader.

‘…Come to think of it, I cursed in front of the kid.’

My ancestors always said not to curse in front of children.

After pressing down on the rebellious chair and ruffling Didi’s hair as he hesitantly approached, the mercenary Eckhart, who had been grilling the meat, suddenly seemed to feel the injustice of the situation, lifting his head to ask.

As if forgetting Raven’s earlier behavior and attitude, his booming voice pushed away the subtly heavy air.

“Captain, don’t you know how to grill meat?! Why am I the only one…!”

“I do know how, but everyone stops me.”

“Ah…”

Was it just his imagination that he felt he understood why without even asking?

The mercenary’s expression turned awkward. Seeing that, Raven made a move as if to stand up.

“Should I do it?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Deciding he didn’t need to test whether it was shit or soybean paste, Eckhart quickly put on a serious face.

“I can’t possibly trouble the Captain with such a trivial task.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’m the one trying to recruit you into the company, after all. It’s only right that I serve you with utmost sincerity. I must have lost my mind for a moment there.”

“…I think it’s about time you gave up on that.”

Was he still at it? I clearly told him no.

Well, he’s only making it harder on himself. Since it means a comfortable journey for me, Raven didn’t add anything further, instead fixing his gaze on the meat that was starting to cook nicely.

Silence fell again, and some time passed.

“It’s done!”

The mercenary smiled proudly, tore off an entire leg, and held it out to Raven. Even though it was about the size of a whole chicken, he added that there was plenty more if it wasn’t enough, causing Raven’s face to twist oddly.

‘What does he think a person’s stomach is?’

…Does he think it’s some kind of magical pouch with infinite capacity?

Still, it was nice of him to take care of them. Watching the mercenary hold out a chunk of meat roughly the size of a child’s torso to Didi as well, Raven took the offered meat and threw it high into the sky.

Then, the sound of something cutting through the air followed.

Swoosh!

As if to prove that even a ridiculous fragment of a soul is still a fragment, a crow that had rushed over in an instant snatched the meat, which was easily twice the size of its own body, and carried it away.

Raven watched the scene and then turned his head.

“Ah.”

He met the mercenary’s eyes.

Judging by his wide, startled eyes, he’d seen everything. Busted.

“What… what was that just now…?”

“What was what.”

“The Captain threw meat into the sky, and then a crow… no, was that even a crow?! Can a crow carry something that big and fly?!”

“I was just feeding it. Calm down and eat.”

“Ugh!”

He snatched the meat the scoundrel was holding and stuffed it into his mouth.

With his mouth blocked, the mercenary fell silent for a moment. Raven enjoyed the brief quiet, extending his senses to check on the one who had received the meat through the crow. He could sense a busy movement, as if they were eating eagerly.

‘Eating well.’

During the journey to the imperial capital, through this not-quite-companionship, his relationship with Dan had developed to the point where they could share meals.

Of course, it wasn’t exactly sharing. He had to set aside a portion of food separately, like feeding a wild animal, and keep his distance for Dan to sneak in and take it. But still, that was something.

At least until they reached the capital, it had become nearly impossible to shake him off, so it was more at ease to keep him nearby and watch over him. Besides, as time passed, the distance he needed to keep when giving food was decreasing, so it wasn’t terribly difficult. Raven silently added Dan to the list of kids he needed to keep an eye on.

“Phew, forget it.”

In the meantime, the mercenary, having chewed and swallowed the meat, sighed and tore off another piece, holding it out.

“I won’t ask, so please just eat the meat. You need to eat to keep your strength up.”

“…”

“Some bandit leader over there keeps eyeing it like he wants it, and if you keep dawdling, I might just give it to him.”

…I wouldn’t really care if you did.

But the warmth contained in the playful threat was clear, and Raven looked down at the meat before him with a slightly complicated expression before finally accepting it.

He didn’t eat it, just held it. The mercenary, tearing into his own meat while glancing this way, suddenly spoke up.

“By the way, Captain.”

“?”

“That thing about killing that aspiring assassin’s family—was that true?”

“Yeah.”

So you have no reason to recruit someone like me. The position of Commander is out of the question.

Had he finally realized that fact? About time. Looking at the mercenary, who had fallen silent and seemed to be thinking, Raven raised his head to the sky to enjoy the returning quiet.

But it didn’t last long. Raven had to look at the mercenary again. A persistent gaze was prickling against him.

“Instead of staring like that, just say what you want to say.”

“Hmmmm…”

“…”

“Hmmmmm…”

…Should I hit him?

It’s annoying. One hit wouldn’t hurt, right? Raven, tilting his head as he looked at the man scrutinizing him, propped his chin up crookedly.

There was no reason not to hit someone who wasn’t a minor or a victim of the Gate incident. He decided to wait a little longer, and if he kept it up, he’d throw a punch. But whether he had good instincts or was just quick-witted, a voice came.

“It’s just…”

The mercenary lowered the hand holding the meat.

“I wanted to hear the Captain’s story.”

“…”

For a moment, Raven’s movements ceased.

“I haven’t observed you for long, but no matter how I look at it, you don’t seem like a bad person. And I figured there must be some reason why you became that kid’s enemy…”

A truly bad person wouldn’t keep alive a child trying to kill them.

Moreover, Raven didn’t just spare Dan; he even defended him and unconsciously looked after him. That was why Eckhart judged that Raven was, at the very least, not a villain.

‘Besides, there’s something about him that subtly breaks down people’s boundaries.’

When he’s right there, his presence is clear, but at some point, he feels like he’ll disappear as if he was never there in the first place. So his instincts keep arbitrarily deciding that he’s not worth guarding against.

It’s like he’s arguing that there’s nothing more pointless than being wary of something that doesn’t exist.

Therefore, he wanted to know more about him.

“Thinking about it, I realized I don’t know anything about you, Captain. It seems pretty stupid to try and recruit someone I know nothing about.”

“That ‘recruiting’ expression…”

Raven folded his arms and waggled the hand holding the meat.

“Well, at least you’ve realized you’re stupid, so that’s something.”

“Cap—taaain… Ugh!“

“But I have no reason to tell you.”

Even if he talked, time would pass and it would all be cleanly forgotten. Why bother wasting his breath?

After shoving the meat he’d been holding back into the man’s mouth, Raven dusted off his hands and stood up. Eckhart, having already been through it once and skillfully biting into the meat, tilted his head and asked.

“Captain? Where are you going?”

“A walk.”

The little noble Didi was a quiet child who seemed to be there and not, so it would be fine to leave him for a while.

With an indifferent face, Raven started walking. He heard Eckhart giving the leftover food to the bandit leader behind him, but he didn’t bother turning around.

‘…I didn’t know there were still fools like this left.’

To the very end.

Eckhart hadn’t asked about Raven’s reaction to the fire, nor did he point out that he’d ultimately avoided eating.

It was a truly kind consideration.

∞ ∞ ∞

[Erase Raven’s traces. Hide them.]

Regardless of worry or dissatisfaction, once an order is given, it must be followed.

Knowing well his unyielding stubbornness, and above all, because we are family. For one who prioritizes family above all else, if his family doesn’t trust and support him, what would he have to live for?

So, someone who had been faithfully moving according to orders discovered a problem and turned to Edard.

“How should we handle the bounty? It wasn’t issued openly, only discreetly passed down to places like inns and shops, so it’s difficult to deal with.”

The head of the intelligence organization Aurel replied after a brief thought.

“…I think it would be best to spread the bounty posters out in the open.”

If it can’t be completely eliminated, it’s better to spread it widely so it’s conspicuous, allowing him to notice and hide.

I’ve already told the Association Heads we’d find him, so there’s no worry about them suspecting this action.

‘It’s probably the result of the Association Heads’ own thinking and actions…’

If they didn’t want their own efforts to come to nothing, they should have given us a heads-up.

We’ve done nothing wrong. Edard smiled shamelessly.

And so, bounty posters for Raven were mass-copied and scattered everywhere.

It was a situation that would make someone grab the back of their neck in despair.

∞ ∞ ∞

‘Damn it all.’

The little noble Didi… no, Deceiver, grabbed the back of his neck.

What are they trying to achieve by spreading these posters so openly like this! If the Master sees these, it’s obvious the trip to the capital will be ruined!

‘This isn’t something my brothers and sisters would do… Another group must have gotten involved.’

Still, they are Father’s disciples after all. They wouldn’t act this stupidly. It must be that something went wrong because they tried to find the Master through others.

‘This is why moving directly is the most reliable method.’

Deceiver glared at the recovered bounty posters with an annoyed face.

He’d collected quite a few of these.

After briefly counting the thickening stack of papers as they neared the capital, he stopped the pointless action, let out a deep sigh, and held them in both hands.

Thankfully, he hadn’t dismissed all the people he’d borrowed just in case. He’d kept some on standby in case he couldn’t move freely after joining his father, but he never expected to use them like this.

‘…There are indeed areas where having more manpower is convenient, like collecting these bounty posters scattered everywhere.’

For his brothers and sisters, finding the Master probably looked like that kind of task. He was annoyed, but he understood.

He didn’t want to waste his energy on spilt milk anyway.

Just as he was about to tear up the stack of papers he’d received through the animals, as he’d done throughout the journey—

Swoosh!

The sound of cutting wind.

Thwack!

At the same time, a single crow snatched the bundle from his hand and flew off with it.

“Ah…”

A fragment of a soul—an ordinary noble young lady who could only have things taken from her—stared wide-eyed at the retreating bundle of paper. Her gaze briefly met the shiny eyes of the black bird.

“…”

“…”

And the crow saw it.

Unlike her innocent-looking face, a deep murderous intent flashing through her round eyes.

‘Just as I thought.’

Deceiver thought, feeling the emotions churning inside.

Dan, having moved his position closer to Raven’s location in preparation for any contingency, was internally convinced.

The crow, clutching the bundle of paper tightly, pierced through the tension-filled air and flew towards Dan’s location.

‘Should I kill it?’

‘That’s no ordinary noble brat.’