The Immortal Had a Guardian Spirit Chapter 21

Dan was wary of ‘Didi.’

Because that little kid, no matter how you looked at her, wasn’t an ‘ordinary human.’

‘At first I thought I was mistaken.’

Raven, who himself was outside the norm and dull to the concept of ‘ordinary,’ might not know, and neither would the mercenary who had only just met her, but Dan, who had been watching her closely from afar without taking his eyes off her even once since before meeting her, could tell for certain.

‘She doesn’t use the bathroom.’

That little kid lacked biological functions.

Almost as if…

‘Yes, just like Raven.’

He had focused his attention on watching Raven, and only caught sight of the kid as a secondary observation, so he realized it a bit late, but it was definite. The little kid who was supposedly a noble lady had never once gone to the bathroom so far.

If that was the case, there was a high chance other aspects were similar to Raven too. From that, Dan could deduce one other thing.

‘The reason she kept missing meals and not mentioning it probably wasn’t because she didn’t want to be a burden, but because she’s an existence that doesn’t need to eat, so she just forgot.’

He wasn’t sure if Raven ‘couldn’t eat’ or ‘didn’t eat.’ At any rate.

‘That is not human.’

Dan dared to be certain the moment he saw ‘Didi’s’ eyes. Those were not eyes that viewed humans as fellow beings.

That must be why she got caught by my sense of unease. Because how could a strong being, who doesn’t understand the weak and has no intention to, possibly act like the weak? How could an existence that looks at people like annoying bugs and reveals murderous intent, just as she is doing now, perfectly act like a ‘human’?

…Dangerous.

His instincts sounded an alarm. ‘That’ shared traits similar to Raven but was an existence of a fundamentally different order. A more monster-like, fathomless being carrying an aura of the abyss.

‘…It’s fine.’

Even with the vivid, immediate threat to his life, Dan forced himself to feign composure as he took the wad of papers from the Fragment Soul. His back was soaked with cold sweat.

‘Because Raven is nearby.’

I will not die.

‘She wouldn’t take the risk of blowing her cover to the one she wants to stay beside, even going as far as acting like a ‘bug,’ just to kill me.’

It was laughable that his life was in the hands of his sworn enemy, but currently, this was the best option.

So Dan suppressed his instinct to flee and looked down at what was in his hands.

He hadn’t watched properly because he’d been busy monitoring Raven, but this was something the guy had been secretly receiving all along, and had been tearing to shreds before returning to Raven’s side.

He had to confirm what the monster clinging to his target’s side was trying to quietly dispose of.

‘This is…’

“What are you looking at so intently?”

“!”

Dan flinched and turned around. In that opening, the mercenary, Eckhart, snatched the wad of papers from his hand.

The face of the man, who had been scanning the papers without much thought, subtly changed in expression shortly after.

“What the hell is this?”

He came to check on the assassin-in-training because he was sneaking closer, worried he might try to kill the captain again.

“A wanted poster…?”

What’s he looking at this for? Is he trying to change careers from assassin to bounty hunter? Sure, a bounty hunter who stays within the bounds of the law is definitely better than being a criminal like an assassin or a stalker.

Anyway, he was relieved that the guy wasn’t trying to kill Raven.

So, who’s the criminal our little rookie is planning to nab for his first catch? Interest flickered in his now relaxed eyes. Eckhart slowly began to read through the contents.

‘…No criminal history? Is it just a missing person case?’

Indeed, catching a criminal right from the start would be difficult. He was about to roughly accept that and move on when a conspicuously large figure written at the top caught his eye.

An amount so huge it was excessive just for finding one person.

‘This is a bit suspicious.’

Though it would be quite profitable if he turned them in.

What kind of person could possibly have this much money on their head…? The face reading the description section with curiosity gradually grew stranger before long.

“This… why does it look like someone I know…?”

“Did someone you know get listed as a criminal or something?”

“Ah, Captain…!”

When did he get this close…!

Without any warning, Raven suddenly popped his head in and snatched the paper from Eckhart’s hand. Leaving the restless Eckhart be, he skimmed the contents, and the expression vanished from his face.

“…What’s this now.”

Right, of course he’d know the person.

It seems the ones chasing after me are quite diligent. Raven glanced around at the wanted poster containing his description, Eckhart, and Dan, then threw a look at Didi, who was fidgeting nervously not far away. His reaction was surprisingly composed.

‘It’s nothing new.’

He had been aware of Didi’s suspiciousness from the beginning. Being surprised now would be ridiculous.

Though he didn’t know that suspiciousness included something like this.

“This is…”

In any case, he had to sort out the situation now.

Amid the strange atmosphere where everyone was watching one person, Raven spoke with an expressionless face, feeling the attention focused on him. A voice hard to read any emotion in flowed out.

“If I go there myself, will they give me the money?”

“…”

“The amount is quite a lot.”

[Guardian Spirit ??? sighs.]

“No, Captain! That’s not what’s important right now! What kind of person were you before to have this kind of bounty on your head?!”

“I don’t know either.”

The tense air loosened slightly.

Lightly brushing off Eckhart’s retort, Raven aimlessly flipped through the identical wanted posters and then approached Didi. He handed the wad of papers back into her hands and asked calmly.

“So, the reason you secretly collected these?”

“Th-that’s…”

“Were you planning to hand me over when we reached the capital?”

So that’s why you collected them out of my sight?

Even deducing that she must have performed this action several times on the way here, he had never spotted papers like these, so perhaps she had been secretly destroying them. It would make sense if she had been caught trying to destroy them this time too.

He wasn’t angry.

Because it wouldn’t deal any blow to him anyway. In the first place, being betrayed was only possible if you trusted the other person.

‘I’m curious about who’s looking for me this desperately and for what purpose, so being caught on purpose might not be so bad…’

That was the moment Raven was thinking indifferently.

Didi frantically grabbed his sleeve.

“Absolutely not!! Hand you over! There’s no way I would!”

“Then?”

“That’s…”

“…”

“Ra… Raven, sir, I was afraid you wouldn’t go to the capital if you saw this…”

“…What?”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t escort me to the capital…”

Her voice grew smaller and smaller, until her head finally drooped down. Raven, who had been staring down at Didi silently, slowly closed his eyes and then opened them, letting out a deep sigh.

“…Such pointless worries for such a small head.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I will definitely escort you, so stop worrying about useless things and get some rest.”

When he tapped her back to hurry her along, Didi, still with an anxious face, glanced at him as if gauging his mood and walked in the direction she was pushed to sit down. After confirming that, Raven turned around and glanced at Dan.

‘…Rather than a bland revenge like handing me over, he’d probably prefer to kill me with his own hands.’

So he wouldn’t have to worry about a report.

In fact, he wouldn’t be unaware that if I were arrested, there was a possibility I’d slip from his sight, so from his perspective, he should be hoping I wouldn’t be caught.

So he’ll let this guy slide. He shifted his gaze to Eckhart.

“Are you going to report me?”

“What?! No, sir!?”

The brawny man jumped in surprise.

“As far as I can see, you don’t even seem like a criminal, so why would I make an enemy of you for no reason?”

“A criminal, a criminal huh…”

“…You’re not actually a criminal, are you…?”

“Not for now, no.”

He went around killing people, but since he had never been officially wanted, he wasn’t a criminal.

But, just where did he hear that I killed Dan’s family? Normally, if someone hears a story like that and then finds a wanted poster, isn’t it natural to assume the other person is a dangerous individual?

As expected of a guy who’s been acting unusual from the start. Raven tilted his head crookedly.

“With this amount, you could probably live without worrying about money for at least five years. Are you sure you won’t report me?”

“Well, of course─”

“Even if I don’t join the mercenary corps?”

“…That would be a bit of a shame, but.”

Eckhart scratched his head with a bitter look on his face.

“What’s obvious is that forcing someone to stay with that kind of threat would only backfire. Nothing’s more ugly and ridiculous than bearing a grudge just because someone rejected you.”

“…”

“And I’m not so desperate that I need to sell out a promising young man who isn’t even a bad guy just to make money…”

He paused.

Raven’s head turned back with a creak.

“Prom…ising young man…?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Who do you think? You, Captain.”

He looked like he was in his early twenties at best.

…said the fresh-faced twenty-something baby-faced brat with soft fuzz.

Raven, who had just recently confirmed through death that he was 174 years old, stared blankly at Eckhart, unable to hide his disbelief.

“You… no, forget it.”

“Are you still feeling anxious, Captain? I get it, but if you really insist…”

Interpreting Raven’s reaction differently, the mercenary walked towards the important client target. Sensing ominousness, the bandit leader rolled his eyes and tried to slowly inch his body backward, but there was no way struggling while tied up would mean anything.

Shing.

A glinting blade loomed before the bandit leader.

“Mmph! Mmmph!!”

At the threat of death right before his nose, the guy thrashed urgently. His gaze, instinctively following the hand gripping the sword, met chillingly gleaming eyes, as if the earlier cheerfulness had never existed, and was terrified.

No matter how lighthearted he looked, Eckhart was a ‘mercenary’ who had killed people before.

“There must be a reason this guy is wanted alive only. He seems to have someone behind him, so I’d probably be in big trouble if he dies.”

“…”

“So.”

“Mmph! Mm─.”

Slice.

The noisy sound was cut off.

Without even wiping the blood splatters off his face, Eckhart turned to look at Raven. A bright smile was directed at the man with the peculiar green eyes.

“Now my life is in your hands depending on the weight of your words, Captain.”

“…Why go this far…?”

“Well… Consider it payment for my life. You saved mine, didn’t you? I can’t carelessly pry into someone else’s circumstances, nor can I easily offer my words about something I don’t know well, so I had to set your mind at ease somehow, even like this.”

“…”

Crazy bastard.

I don’t know what to say.

He had intended to at least coordinate the timing if Eckhart tried to report him, but faced with the issue of silencing him resolved in a completely unexpected way, Raven was speechless. After a long silence…

“My life wasn’t on the line, actually.”

“What?! Am I the only one dying?!”

“Well, for now, I’ll applaud your courage for trying to live a more difficult life. Seems like your life was pretty boring.”

“No, Captainnnn…”

“Wouldn’t it be better to clean up that mess instead of whining? Unless you want to raise the difficulty of your life even more by leaving it be.”

Raising one corner of his mouth, he gave a crooked reply.

.

.

.

While the mercenary was cleaning up, Raven belatedly realized Didi was watching and, holding her in his arms, covered her eyes.

As if the tension relaxed under the soothing touch, the child’s body went limp and fell asleep. Around the time even the crow perched on a nearby tree was nodding off drowsily, Raven, who had been staring blankly up at the sky as if deep in thought, opened his mouth.

“No wonder it felt so familiar…”

“?”

“There was a fool just like you once before.”

A calm voice broke the silence and spread low through the air.

“A guy who would get his hands bloody without a second thought for someone he hadn’t even known for long.”

“Is that a compliment?”

He had been a mercenary too.

Was it because of that common point, being a mercenary, or because of a similar personality? At the newly resurfacing memory of a past day, Raven cast his eyes down.

…Now he thought he understood why he had been unconsciously backing down to this noisy guy.

“He was a proper, complete madman.”

“That was an insult?!”

“Quiet. You’ll wake the kids.”

Because his actions were exactly the same as that person back then.

Getting his hands bloody for someone he hadn’t even exchanged words with face-to-face for long.

“It’s a compliment, in its own way. Because it takes a considerable amount of courage to do something that reckless.”

“Ah…”

That fool would forget him completely if he didn’t see him for five hours, treating him like someone he was meeting for the first time every time he woke up, yet the immature Raven of the past hadn’t been able to bring himself to leave him.

And so.

“Well, in the end, I killed him though.”

…And so, he had no choice but to kill him.