Chapter 35: A Lead (6)

Despite everything, Nike still regarded Vigo as his benefactor, so the moment he saw him, he was genuinely pleased.

No matter the twists and turns, it was true that Vigo had given Nike a new life and pulled him out of the mire.

Vigo chuckled quietly as he welcomed him.

The two had not seen each other for over a month, since Vigo had been absent from the training grounds all that time. In the meantime, Nike had changed a great deal.

“You’ve built some muscle, and you speak a little more smoothly now. I suppose you can even read contracts by yourself?”

Nike’s eyes went dead as he remembered that bad memory.

“Fraud! Die, boss.”

“Hahaha! You really did get better.”

Vigo laughed while studying him closely. Of course, he had already been receiving weekly reports from Morgana, so he knew about Nike’s growth. But seeing him directly, he realized Nike’s progress was greater than he had heard.

‘He has become much more like a hunting dog.’

It seemed the death of his fellow trainees and the chief instructor had left an impression on him.

‘It was a good experience for him. He is being broken in nicely.’

With a sly grin, Vigo tousled Nike’s hair. Nike shouted that he would kill him and tried to dodge the rough hand.

Rowen felt the playful atmosphere in the Captain’s office was terribly awkward.

Even if it was an act of pretending to be close, it was the first time she had seen her teacher show such interest in someone, and the unsettling Captain who usually revealed nothing of herself was personally meeting with a mere recruit.

Both of them were usually so detached from others that this sight was shocking.

‘It must mean that Nike is truly special.’

Rowen stared like someone witnessing a story from another world.

“So then, Rowen. What did you see in the Dark Forest?”

Vigo turned his head slightly and asked.

“Huh? Oh…”

He seemed to know everything already. Morgana’s eyes and ears were spread throughout the entire Order. Through the eyes of beasts she surely had seen what had happened in the forest.

The appearance of chimera monsters. The miraculous space magic Nike had used.

But that was still limited information.

The truth, the crucial details, could only be known by those who had been there.

“…The Golden Dawn Society.”

“Hmm?”

“The Golden Dawn is the force behind the attack on the Order.”

Vigo leaned back against a pillar and lifted his chin.

“Tell me everything in detail.”

* * *

Rowen spoke with a sense of duty, doing her best to deliver information cleanly.

She stripped away her own opinion as much as possible, conveying only what she had seen and heard.

She prided herself on being able to connect fragments of information into a conclusion, but she knew better than to show off in front of the Captain, who had once ruled the world with the wisdom of a witch, a wisdom far beyond human reach.

Still, she did her best to deduce.

The Dark Forest.

The mana barriers laid down again.

The sudden appearance of chimeras.

The distortion point that Nike discovered.

The witch’s lair filled with test subjects.

The fanatic enslaved as a servant.

The Eye of Providence of the Golden Dawn.

The first-rank slave witch.

The bindings.

The sacrifice that was Nike.

The Golden Dawn abandoned by Sin.

“And also, Hestia, she…”

“That part I already know, Rowen.”

The condemned cut her off. The past of a mere recruit was not worth dwelling on.

“…Ah. My apologies.”

Rowen bowed, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Vigo said nothing.

The truth was, during Nike’s training, Vigo had gone in search of information related to the Golden Dawn. He had found a survivor from Sinain Village, someone who had been there the day Nike was born, someone who might reveal the boy’s identity.

But when Vigo arrived, the person was already dead, and assassins attacked him. After slaughtering them, he realized they were from the Golden Dawn.

As Rowen watched Vigo fall silent in thought, Morgana’s condemned spoke in his place.

“Vigo also discovered—”

The three of them shared the information they had obtained. Strangely, all signs pointed to the same conclusion.

The witch-worshipping cult, the Golden Dawn, was targeting Nike.

“That cannot be… why would those zealots want Nike…?”

“We should pay close attention to what the child witch called the Ascending Star said. That Nike was a sacrifice.”

The condemned’s voice was calm. Rowen grimaced.

“They erased his past, and now they mean to take him. Is that it…?”

“Yes. They must have been waiting for the day to offer him up. But along the way, we snatched him away.”

“That does make sense…”

Rowen nodded. It was the same conclusion she had reached.

The Golden Dawn had known of Nike for a long time. Whatever “sacrifice” meant, it was clear they wanted him.

“I want meat.”

Meanwhile, the subject of all this talk lay sprawled on the cold marble floor, staring blankly up at the chandelier.

It was about him, yet he had no interest. Rowen was left speechless.

A terrifying cult was after his life, and he reacted as if it were nothing.

But of course, Nike had no idea what the Golden Dawn even was. Even if he did know, he would likely respond the same if an even greater witch wanted him dead.

The silence broke. Rowen and the condemned turned back.

“Rowen.”

“…Yes, Captain.”

“Tell us your thoughts.”

“…Huh? What do you mean?”

Rowen hesitated for a moment. Never before had the Captain asked her opinion in this way.

“Gather everything we know and tell us the conclusion you have reached.”

“…”

Rowen swallowed hard. Her braided hair slipped down over her chest.

She had no idea why the Captain was asking her.

Was she testing her? Was it to see if she had been brainwashed by a witch? Or was she acknowledging her, allowing her into the circle of conversation?

It was impossible to guess.

In the end, she stopped wondering and simply did as she asked.

“…From what I can tell, the witches themselves don't know of Nike’s existence. The true hand behind this is the Golden Dawn.”

“Yes.”

“The witches… whenever they see Nike, they are astonished. They are enthralled by his mana and potential. They react that way because they had no idea such an existence lived in the world. But the Golden Dawn knows at least this much, that he is a sacrifice.”

Rowen’s voice grew steadier as she continued.

“That is the key difference. The Golden Dawn may worship witches, but they don't share information with them. They walk their own path.”

“You’ve nailed the core of it, Rowen.”

Was that a praise? Or mockery? Rowen couldn't tell and felt a strange emotion.

“Do continue.”

“…Yes. At this point, the meaning of ‘sacrifice’ is not clear. But what matters is who is after Nike…”

She glanced uneasily at Vigo and Morgana’s condemned, embarrassed to be repeating what they surely already knew.

“A-As you know, the Golden Dawn has… three sects.”

The Order didn't know the full details of the Golden Dawn.

What little they knew was that the cult worshipped the first three witches, and the sects were divided according to which witch they followed.

Hundreds of years ago, all three witches and their sects had been active. But two of them had disappeared long ago, leaving only Sin left, who had been the most recent to act.

And so, the sect devoted to the Witch of Sin was the most active.

“If we focus on the claim that they were abandoned by Sin… then the ones targeting Nike now are Sin’s followers. My belief is that if we want to protect Nike, we must investigate that sect...”

“Tch. Of all things.”

Vigo groaned after listening.

Rowen understood why he gave that reaction.

Sin’s followers were infamous as the most vicious and violent sect of the Golden Dawn. Their savagery caused endless trouble for the Order.

And those were the ones targeting Nike. Of course Vigo would groan at the thought of fighting them.

“Thank you, Rowen.”

The condemned spoke at last.

“As expected, you are someone who can be trusted to guard Nike.”

“Eh?”

The condemned’s murky eyes swept over her, like the coils of a cold snake tightening around her.

“A hunter with insight like yours is needed. When Lord Vigo or I are absent, you will be the one to protect and control him.”

“…”

A chill ran down Rowen’s spine.

As she expected, it was a test. If she had failed to reach the right conclusion, she might have been stripped from Nike, or executed under suspicion of witch brainwashing.

Hunters often succumbed to corruption even without realizing it even after they were successful in their witch hunts.

‘Did I almost die without even realizing it? And my master just turned a blind eye to it.’

She felt cold sweat trickle down her neck. Vigo truly was a terrifying man.

No sympathy, no human warmth. Pure ruthless hunter despite being an ally.

In this world, the less human you were, the longer you survived. That was how Vigo had risen so high.

“The conclusion is clear.”

Morgana finally tied off the discussion.

“The followers of Sin are after Nike.”

And this was surely not the end.

“With their fanaticism, they may soon march an army straight into Vilnogo.”

“That’s…”

“Before that happens, we will strike them first.”

“What?!”

“We will uproot their leadership.”

Rowen stared at Vigo. Such decisions usually came from him, and it was clear the two of them had already agreed on this.

“Banyaksenir. I heard recently that many Golden Dawn believers have gathered in that city.”

“Banyaksenir is not that far from here…”

“Yes. Their movement seemed fishy, and it seems they moved their nest to secure Nike.”

The condemned narrowed its eyes on the boy.

“Rowen, prepare to go there with Nike. It will be his first official mission.”

“B-But—”

“I will go too, Rowen.”

“Master! You cannot bring Nike to the very people who want him! It is too dangerous.”

Vigo smirked and lit a cigarette.

“The brat is bait. To kill the insects, you first lure them out, right?”

“…”

His eyes gleamed with madness. He treated people as nothing but tools.

It was hard to say who was more monstrous, the witches or him.

“I am not bait!”

Nike leapt up and shouted after hearing him. Vigo roared with laughter.

“Then how about a flower?”

“A flower?”

“A flower that draws butterflies and bees.”

“Hmm…That one’s good!”

Rowen pressed her palm to her forehead.

“And besides… no one wonders more about his true nature than he does. Isn’t that right?”

“…”

Nike said nothing, and just stared out the window at the sunlight.

At last, Rowen understood the big meaning and agreed.

Even if they called him a sacrifice or bait, Nike was listening seriously, thinking it over in his own way.

‘Oh, yeah. For Nike, this is…’’

This was always a journey to discover who he truly was.

* * *

A city lined with grand buildings, elegant in both function and beauty.

On the bridge over the river that ran through its center, a noblewoman in an emerald velvet dress smoked her cigarette with elegance.

Beside her, a maidservant shaded her with a parasol and leaned close to whisper in her ear.

“…the sacrifice… has come… dispose of him… Lady Ascending Star as well…”

The noblewoman’s lips curled faintly as she listened.

She was pleased.

Things were unfolding exactly as He had willed.

The Great Order had never been wrong.

Covering her lips as if sharing a secret, the noblewoman spoke.

“See that our guest is received.”

“...Yes, my lady.”

“Ah— also. Prepare ‘that’ at dinner tonight.”

The words were vague, but the maidservant understood immediately. Those who couldn't would have long since been discarded.

With perfect elegance, she bowed deeply.

“Understood.”

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