Chapter 63
Chapter 63. Facing Each Other
This year's Red Moon lasted a short three days compared to previous years.
122 deaths and 453 injuries occurred, but this too was a significantly lower figure than average.
If there was a special event, it was the sudden appearance of the End Order.
Since an archbishop-class had moved, it could have escalated into a terrible disaster, but thanks to Isolde Blackwood's heroic efforts, they succeeded in early containment.
Thanks to that, the victory festival after the Great Subjugation proceeded as planned.
"Waiter! One more bottle of the most expensive liquor here! Our guild got close to a Crisis Class monster! Everyone raise a glass to these heroes!"
"Aahahaha! You should have clearly seen me blow off that werewolf bastard's jawbone!"
"For Billy! He would've been the one partying hardest at times like this... Damn it!"
"Ah fuck, what the hell is this distribution money? Whose nose are we supposed to stick this on?"
"A dark mage, can you imagine? It almost became a disaster. If the Witch hadn't stopped them, we'd have had mass funerals."
"Hey, don't you have that Cola thing here? On a day like this, we should drink something special!"
"The red moon sets and dawn comes~ Under our heroes' blades~ The fallen monsters formed mountains~ Oh, peace came to Nortaris~"
The tavern streets of Lichfield Square were filled with the heat of celebrating victory.
Outdoor tables were packed full even with spare chairs, and people who couldn't secure tables sat haphazardly on the street giggling.
The smell of cooking meat, the alcohol smell rising from spilled Ale, and sticky sweat smells mixed together to thickly spread the scent of festival.
Some shouted boastful brags mixed with bluster while spilling their drinks, and the spilled drinks staining others' clothes led to quarrels.
Even while brawling in groups, when musicians played victory songs, everyone started chorusing with arms around each other's shoulders.
It was a total mess, but isn't that what festivals are like originally?
"Wow, the festival sounds reach all the way here."
The heat of the victory festival heating up the tropical night reached the trauma specialist hospital standing tall on a suburban hill.
"Lady Isolde, how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine."
To Brok, who worried while setting down a fruit basket, Isolde in a patient gown showed her newly grown arm.
"For Lady Isolde to be injured this badly, must have been no ordinary bastard. Tsk, I should have been by your side."
"If you'd been beside me, I'd just have one more person to nurse."
"What are you saying? With my Shadowless Crescent Moon Slash, it would've been cut in two in one strike."
"Just peel the apple."
Kaylus received a scolding from Ravina and sullenly peeled an apple.
"Lady Witch, don't get sick. They say getting sick when you're old is miserable. That heartless bastard Hanbin doesn't even show his face at times like this."
"Idiot, I said don't bring up Hanbin."
Though not that close, they were still comrades who shared hardships for several years.
Except for Stella, who urgently left for the Papacy to report, they came to visit as soon as the Red Moon ended.
They had to come peel apples, and hear the full story of exactly what happened.
"So, Lady Isolde. I heard a brief report, but what exactly happened? For an archbishop to appear directly."
Isolde looked intently at the ugly apple Kaylus peeled, then popped it into her mouth and answered.
"Seems like they targeted me from the start. Looks like they wanted to make me a host to birth minions."
"I'm telling you, there's not a single sane one among dark mages."
"After being quiet for several years, seems they've started activities again."
Anything involving dark mages was always an urgent matter.
Moreover, if an archbishop-class had moved, there was a need to examine the situation closely.
"Investigators from the Church and royal family will arrive tomorrow. A cooperation request came in and I arbitrarily accepted. Is that alright?"
"Do as you like. I need to sleep now."
"What? Already? We just got here."
"I'm sleepy."
Isolde pulled the blanket over herself, indicating the conversation was over.
"Oh my, with your body not well, we must have stayed too long. We'll take our leave for today."
"I'll visit again tomorrow. I'm glad you're safe."
"Sleep well, everyone."
At Brok's cue, the comrades quietly left the hospital room.
"You can come out now."
At Isolde's word, the curtain fluttered.
The one who walked out from the shadows was Hanbin.
Originally, VIP rooms in hospital wards prioritized privacy above all.
Without a pass, visiting was impossible, but this was Hanbin who had raided enemy nations' highest security facilities as if entering his own home.
Coming to visit while avoiding attention was an easy matter.
"Is your arm alright?"
"Yes, it grew back."
However, the difficult thing was this atmosphere.
An awkwardness proportional to the time the two had been apart.
After one formal exchange, a prickly silence settled.
There was much he wanted to ask.
But his mouth wouldn't easily open.
'How about trying to talk first? The other person too... perhaps they might be thinking thoughts Jurgen hasn't considered...'
Until hearing Serena's advice, he had a strange optimism that conversation would flow smoothly when he met Isolde.
But Isolde, whom he faced after various twists and turns, was still covered in thick moss-like ambiguity.
'Any conversation. One by one, step by step. That's what's important.'
Right, one by one as Serena advised.
Let's start with this.
"Master, you looked at Miss Penelope's circuits."
Isolde's 'Life' could directly intervene in others' circuits.
It was also Isolde who opened a new path for Hanbin, who became unable to continue as a Knight, by transplanting part of her own circuits.
At that time, their relationship was close to catastrophe, so it was a one-sided donation, but that's how devoted Isolde had always been to Hanbin.
"Yes, I cleaned them."
But Penelope was clearly another person.
No, to Isolde who occasionally showed childish possessiveness, Penelope might have been less than a stranger.
Then for what purpose did she approach Penelope and show favor?
"Why? Was there some problem?"
"..."
"You must also tell me why you headed to the abyss alone with Penelope."
"..."
Coming to his senses, he was questioning like an interrogation.
He calmed his mind.
This wouldn't be the 'conversation' Serena mentioned.
Thinking about it, Isolde protected Penelope against the dark mage until losing her arm.
If she had ill intentions, she could have created a different result any time before Hanbin arrived.
An overreaction.
An overreaction that came because this situation overlapped with Vic's time.
"I just."
Isolde, who had maintained long silence, opened her mouth.
"Wanted to reconcile. With Hanbin."
"Reconcile... you say?"
"I don't know methods of reconciliation well. She seemed like a child you cherish, so I thought you'd be happy if I treated her well."
A shock like being hit in the head came at the completely unexpected answer.
At last.
As if peeling off a layer of oiled paper, Isolde appeared clearly.
He saw her clutching her clothes hem small with her fingertips, lips trembling, unable to meet his eyes.
Just like a child afraid of being scolded.
"Hanbin, I'm sorry about that time."
Over her apology flowing weakly like a whisper, memories of the past surged back.
Isolde casting sealing magic to prevent the descent.
Despair, resolution. And that expression like a lost child.
Someone had to be sacrificed.
Just as Hanbin wanted to sacrifice himself in place of everyone, Vic too would have willingly given his life for everyone.
That's the kind of person he was.
Therefore, there was no guilty party in that situation.
He already knew the answer.
He just didn't want to know, didn't want to see properly.
Trapped in the sadness of losing someone precious, he hadn't looked back at Isolde.
"Are you very angry?"
He finally realized.
Isolde wasn't a witch transcending human reason, nor a self-righteous and childish hero.
Just someone quite a bit.
Clumsy.
He pulled a chair to sit beside her.
Isolde's shoulders flinched and trembled.
"Master, have you tried Cola?"
"Yes, Penelope gave it to me."
"How was the taste?"
"It was delicious. Enough to make you sing."
At the sudden change of topic, Isolde was bewildered but accepted the conversation.
"Recently I'm doing something called a culinary revolution."
"What's that?"
"It's about eating more human-like food. Aren't we all doing things to eat and live? Now that I've laid the foundation with Cola, I'm trying to move to the next stage."
Isolde blinked.
Hanbin grasped her hand.
It was a small hand.
"Once things settle down somewhat, I'll come visit. With Vic."
A dull sound like beating drums bloomed outside the window.
Fireworks decorating the victory festival's finale were coloring the night sky.
Remnant light seeping into the hospital room tickled her cheek.
"I won't be too late this time."
"Yes, I'll wait."
The two silently watched light petals bloom and fade.
It was a late reconciliation.
***
Y&P's company building was decided as the second floor of the Cola direct sales location for now.
The direct sales location was just a building remodeled from what was originally a warehouse.
The second floor was originally a shabby cubicle where the manager lived and ate.
At least thanks to Penelope filling it with various furniture, it achieved a minimum level of dignity?
On a luxurious carpet unsuited to a shabby cubicle.
"Serena, did anything change about me?"
Penelope showed Serena an elegant natural turn.
"Uwaa... That's really a question I hate to answer..."
Dangerous.
Based on Serena's direct and indirect experience, usually when choosing words wrongly at times like this led to long-lasting trouble.
Even during Academy days, answering wrongly once led to hearing 'There can be no eye for beauty. Would a mere viscountcy have tried dressing up? Ohohoho!'
"Don't dodge and look carefully."
"Ah! I think I know."
Still, this problem was relatively easy.
When Penelope thrust out her chest, a brooch set with a ruby the size of a sesame seed sparkled brightly.
"Correct, a 2nd Grade Dawn Medal...?"
"Your eye is useful. You can get married now. How is it? Isn't it amazing?"
Originally Penelope aimed for a 3rd Grade Dawn Medal, but it was upgraded to 2nd Grade with the merit of subjugating the dark mage recognized together.
"Hmm, that much..."
"What?"
When Penelope raised her eyebrows, Serena belatedly made excuses.
"B-but... compared to Lady Penelope's greatness, it's not a particularly honorable medal..."
"That's true. It's a cheap medal scattered several times a year. Still, with this Y&P will receive 17% tax deduction for three years. I'm satisfied."
"You surprisingly have no desire for honor..."
Well, if she did, she wouldn't have gotten so deeply entangled with the underworld either.
Serena nodded and understood in her own way.
More than that...
"For someone who met a dark mage, you're incredibly bright. Weren't you scared?"
For Serena, whose life goal after the last kidnapping became 'not getting entangled with dark mages,' Penelope's boldness was surprising.
Serena still couldn't sleep without leaving the lights on in her room.
"I was scared. But still, the medal went up a grade. I decided to close my eyes tight and forget about the misfortune of meeting a dark mage."
For Penelope, it was a profitable deal.
The medal went up, she received Magic Circuits cleaning, and she even got to meet the Hanbin she so respected.
However...
'Keep meeting me a secret. I'm carrying out a special mission with the kingdom's fate at stake.'
It was regrettable she couldn't even brag about that due to his request.
As she mulled over her regret, Serena was looking at Penelope like a puppy who broke a flowerpot.
"What are you staring at?"
"M-may I ask just one thing?"
"Since when have you looked at my face?"
"Um, did you show it to Jurgen too? The medal."
Whether the two had reconciled or not was a major matter to Serena.
But she couldn't directly ask 'Did you fight and make up?' with a straight pitch, so she indirectly asked in a roundabout way.
"..."
Penelope looked intently at Serena.
In her black tea-like red eyes, a spoonful of displeasure was mixed.
"Why, why?"
"...You're just hateful."
"I-I've never heard such words in my life..."
She hadn't met with Jurgen yet.
Not that she deliberately didn't meet him out of spite, but she just returned after giving statements and explanations about the dark mage.
Actually, compared to when they first fought, the hurt feelings and resentment had diluted considerably.
Looking at it, they hadn't fought that seriously.
It was just a small reason like 'Why share secrets only with Serena? Hmph!'
When she thought she'd be done in by the dark mage, didn't she think 'I fought for nothing'?
But she wouldn't apologize first.
Because this time it was definitely Jurgen's fault.
So the apology should also come with him seeking her out first!
"Are both of you here?"
Just then, Jurgen came upstairs.
"Ahem, Miss Penelope, I heard about your achievements this time. It's a great relief that you don't seem injured anywhere."
"..."
"Oh, you received a medal too? A 2nd Grade Dawn Medal. Isn't that a very impressive medal?"
"..."
Though these were conversations that could reasonably happen in the current situation, Penelope saw it.
Jurgen's attitude creaking somewhere.
Knowing the sin he committed, he was quite unnatural.
A tense moment.
Serena swallowed like an audience member watching a play's climax.
Penelope...
"Hmph, for an alchemist of my caliber, an archbishop or so is nothing."
Right, she decided to forgive him.
Of course, Penelope would remember this.
Jurgen, who secretly made a secret with just Serena and hid that fact from Penelope.
She couldn't just let it slide as if nothing happened.
She resolved to definitely create a secret later that Jurgen would be dying to know...
"Hm?"
...Looking at Jurgen standing awkwardly, she felt something off.
"Stand over here for a moment."
"Why suddenly?"
"Hurry, turn around."
"Gyah! L-Lady Penelope! I'm still here...!"
Having set up Jurgen like a mannequin, Penelope stood close behind him as if to give a back hug.
Serena held her breath, covered her eyes with her hands, and glanced through the gaps between her fingers at Penelope's bold reconciliation attempt.
"Hmm."
Penelope standing behind Jurgen's back.
As if gauging height, she moved her hand blade from her forehead...
This time she even spread both arms like a tailor to measure Jurgen's width.
"Hmmm..."
As expected, similar.
This height, this back, this thickness.
Wasn't it excessively similar to Hanbin's back that protected Penelope in the Demon Realm?
"Wh-why are you doing this?"
Jurgen's flustered voice, if listened to carefully, was thick and low, somehow, somehow...
"That can't be."
Penelope scoffed.
"Miss Penelope, what's this sudden behavior? Making someone stand."
"Your back is also hateful."
Her mind must have definitely gone.
Why would someone of Hanbin's caliber be making Cola with Penelope, lacking what?
Though Jurgen was sufficiently capable too, compared to Hanbin...
Hanbin who coolly saved Penelope in a life-or-death crisis.
Hanbin who instantly subdued the terrifying archbishop with Alchemy of such unfathomable depths that its limits couldn't be known.
Ah, she wanted to converse a bit more...
It was a eternal regret that she only got an autograph.
Still, since it was a handwritten autograph, she had already enshrined it preciously in a frame.
Perhaps this subjugation's greatest harvest.
"So why did you come here?"
"While Miss Penelope was earning merit, something came up to report."
"What is it?"
"Around the start of the Red Moon, wasn't the bottling factory completed at Keystone Company?"
Jurgen pulled out documents with a meaningful smile.
"The first week's license sales settlement."