Apostle of the Goddess of War

Ch.199 Apostle of the Goddess of War

The children ran without hesitation.

Even though they were about to come face to face with strangers—strange adults, strange violent people—they did not show fear.

Sion watched the backs of these young heroes with quiet admiration.

The era had produced such children, and seeing them made him feel that the future was not entirely without light.

'Kids like them will grow up and make names for themselves one day.'

They were not timber meant to rot away in a shabby shantytown.

These children he had stumbled upon by chance were beasts—and there were no beasts content with just one mountain. They would surely expand their territory and leave their mark on the world.

In some form or another, the name of at least one of them would eventually reach the Emperor's ears.

'I hope so. I truly do.'

His encounter with Rudy's gang had been a series of surprises and rising expectations. The desire to cheer them on had welled up in his chest on its own.

Sion followed along, keeping his steps light.

Rudy's gang still paid Sion no attention whatsoever. In its own way, that level of focus was impressive.

They crossed back through the village and wound their way through several narrow, tangled alleys before arriving at the village outskirts—a place long untouched by human hands, where weeds had grown wild and thick.

There, just as Rudy had said, five armed men stood in a loose formation.

Their appearance was too sloppy for regular knights or mercenaries. If anything, they were closer to thieves—though in these times, the line between mercenaries and thieves wasn't particularly clear. Whether they were thieves or something else, what mattered was that they were more than enough of a threat to a group of children.

"Ugh…."

The moment the children laid eyes on the men, they froze.

Even catching sight of Pale tied up and sobbing, they couldn't bring themselves to call out his name.

Fortunately, the men hadn't noticed the children yet.

Rudy's gang hadn't stepped out of the alley. Keeping themselves hidden, the children pressed their heads together.

"What—what do we do?"

Rudy spoke first. Confusion was thick in her eyes.

No matter how lionhearted she was, she was still just a cub. Coming face to face with people who carried genuine killing intent was an entirely different dimension from scuffling with rough adults in the neighborhood. These people could actually kill them.

Rudy understood that clearly. Because she was sharp, she was afraid.

And the others were just as perceptive as Rudy. They all fell into a quiet panic and couldn't easily put forward ideas.

'Well—what options do they have?'

He had half expected them to charge in the moment they arrived, so the fact that they hadn't done that was already a passing grade.

Sion decided to watch the children a little longer. He was curious how they would find their way through this crisis, and since they hadn't asked for his help, it didn't seem right to step forward and impose himself.

It was also, admittedly, a small act of revenge for being ignored this whole time.

"How dangerous do they look?"

"Can't make out what they're saying. Pale is tied up… what do we do?"

"This is terrible."

"Feeling terrible about it won't make those men suddenly let Pale go. We have to do something."

Jena spoke coldly to snap the others back to focus.

Rudy nodded in agreement.

"Right. We have to do something. I'll go out and try to talk first. If it goes well, great—and even if it doesn't, I might be able to buy some time and give a signal."

Rudy proposed it with a steady voice.

Watching the two of them, it became clear that Jena held things together at the center while Rudy charged forward at the front. It was quite an interesting dynamic—something like it could exist anywhere, but whether it actually functioned was another matter entirely. It worked here because there was complete trust between them.

Jena pushed back on Rudy's suggestion.

"Too dangerous. What if they attack the moment you step out?"

"It'll be okay. The fact that they tied Pale up without killing him means they want something from him, right?"

"Hmm. I can't figure out what that would be."

"We don't even know who those people are in the first place. I've never seen them around here."

Concerns passed back and forth. Rudy spoke once more.

"Either way, even if we sit here guessing among ourselves, we won't get anywhere. Someone has to step forward to make any progress. I'll go. If things go badly, come and get me tonight."

"……Alright."

Was this kind of thing a regular occurrence for them?

The strategy was bold for children their age. Sion watched them with admiration, though inwardly he felt a quiet sadness that even now, they hadn't said a single word to him.

'Am I really that untrustworthy? Me, of all people?'

Things going the way he intended were truly never easy.

In the meantime, Rudy stepped out into the open. The other children hid themselves skillfully—on rooftops, behind alley walls.

Sion crouched beside Jena, who had taken a position on a rooftop, and followed her gaze.

Jena glanced at him once, then immediately turned her full attention back to Rudy.

Rudy was fearless.

"My name is Rudy! Pale—I came for Pale!"

"What's this now?"

"Anyone know who that kid is?"

A buck-toothed thief asked while yanking at Pale's hair.

"Do you know her? That one?"

The boy named Pale didn't answer easily even after seeing Rudy. Was it because he feared that his answer might put her in danger?

The loyalty was enough to bring tears to the eyes.

Rudy responded without missing a beat.

"I'm Pale's older sibling. Who are you people? State your business!"

"Sibling? I heard beggar wanderers live together in packs around here—are you some kind of alley boss?"

One of the thieves asked with a smirk already spreading across his face. The word "mockery" might as well have been written across it.

"That's right!"

Rudy stood tall and answered. She didn't let their hyena-like laughter shake her.

"Oh, really? Then did you bring a ransom?"

"Ransom?"

The thieves broke into loud laughter. It seemed to amuse them, toying with someone who had no idea what was going on.

"B-big sister Rudy…… I'm sorry. I lied to you."

"Pale? What are you talking about?"

The thief shoved his face close to Pale's.

"Quiet, Young Master. Don't test my patience—I'd rather not mark up that pretty face of yours. If you understand, then answer me."

"Y-yes…."

"Or would you prefer I slit the throat of that friend who came chasing after you?"

"A-ah, no! I'm sorry. I won't say anything else. So please—"

"So what are you saying? You lot—Pale here is a Young Master."

Rudy's voice dropped low.

She began directing her fighting spirit straight at the men who were threatening her companion. It was a show of courage that even Sion found surprising.

To speak up and take action without the power to back it up is not easy. It takes a particular kind of heavy, grinding bravery.

"Hey. Kid. Listen carefully, because I'd rather not see blood spilled here."

"What—"

"This Young Master is of noble birth. A bloodline that was never supposed to get mixed up with commoners like you lot."

Rudy clenched her fist tightly. Jena, listening in silence from the rooftop, did the same.

Judging by Pale's reaction, it didn't appear to be a lie.

"You might have been playing along while he pretended to be an orphan for some little adventure of his. But this boy's parents are very much alive. They survived even the apocalypse and have since poured enormous wealth into rebuilding the city."

Screech!

A thief drew his sword. Rudy flinched and stepped back.

"And what happens? One son goes missing? They've been turning the world upside down looking for him, and it turns out he's been playing house with beggar children in an alley. Isn't that just charming?"

"Don't… say that…."

Rudy bowed her head, trembling. Pale was the same.

"The Young Master probably intended to hang around for a while and then slip back home eventually. We just found him a little ahead of schedule."

"Shut up! Pale is not that kind of person!"

Rudy screamed. The thieves' mood was shifting—the easy amusement on their faces was curdling into something uglier.

The men who had been lazily mocking her turned their expressions sharp and cold.

"Your little friend's situation is none of our concern. Just forget this Young Master ever existed. Pretend you never knew him. Walk away now while we're still giving you the chance."

The thief issued his final warning. To Sion's eyes, it read as something close to mercy.

If Rudy said one more word, things would pass the point of no return. Even now, the air coming off the thieves was dangerous.

'They're men who are used to killing. Probably have done it for less than this, even for sport.'

It seemed they were deliberately provoking her.

And naturally, the hotheaded, righteous Rudy would walk straight into it.

"Shut uuuup!"

Right on cue.

"Ha? What did you just say?"

"Pale is my sibling! My companion! If you want to take one of my people, you need to get permission from their boss first!"

"This kid really has a death wish."

The thief moved toward Pale. Rudy was frightened—but she didn't show it.

Instead, she had one hand hidden behind her back, sending signals.

'Wait—she didn't fall for it?'

She hadn't actually lost her temper. Sion couldn't contain his curiosity and leaned toward Jena.

"What is she signaling?"

Jena answered in the smallest of whispers.

"Retreat."

"Ah. Leaving Pale behind?"

Jena nodded.

"His safety is confirmed for now. So we pull back first."

Coldly rational. It was not the kind of judgment you would expect from someone her age. The more he saw of her, the more her talent stood out—even if she never became the Apostle of Protection, she had the makings of a brilliant commander worth cultivating.

'I really want to take them all.'

If it were possible—all of Rudy's gang.

"Last chance, alley boss."

The thief fixed his wide yellow eyes on Rudy in a hard stare.

"Last chance to walk away with your life. Don't cause trouble where there doesn't need to be any. Go home. I'll count to three. One—"

Rudy gritted her teeth.

Keeping up the appearance of standing her ground, she turned and slipped away toward the back.

Dash, dash, dash!

She vanished around the alley corner at full speed, completely abandoning any attempt to look dignified about it.

The thieves' laughter echoed between the alley walls. But the children, Rudy included, didn't care.

In fact, they had gotten exactly what they came for.

'Getting what you need without relying on strength. Remarkable.'

Skill with a sword wasn't the only kind of talent. Thinking the way these children thought—that was its own frightening ability. Perhaps that kind of genius would be needed even more in the world that was coming.

Sion returned to the shantytown alongside Jena and the others.

Rudy, who had sprinted back first, was waiting for them with legs still trembling slightly.

"Oh, you're back."

"Yeah. Left one person on watch for now."

"Good thinking."

"So what do we do now?"

Jena asked. Rudy already seemed to have the next steps mapped out in her head.

"We go in at night and get him out."

"I figured."

"No matter how you look at it, Pale wouldn't go back to that life willingly. He absolutely won't want to be taken away."

"Goes without saying."

"Yeah. Exactly."

The children were tightly bound together.

More solid and unshakeable than any fortress.

And still, not a single one of them had asked Sion for help.

'……Should I really just do nothing?'

He could only prove himself by actually helping. And only then would he have any real grounds for bringing them to the Imperial Palace.

Meeting children of this quality was one thing—but Sion was beginning to feel a creeping unease.

'This is starting to feel a bit off.'

***

The strategy meeting went on without end.

Sion listened in silence the entire time, and throughout all of it, his name was not brought up once.

They genuinely seemed to believe they could rescue Pale entirely on their own.

Setting aside how that made him feel—it was actually starting to look like they might pull it off.

'If only they had any fighting ability, but.'

No matter how he turned it over in his head, the conclusion was the same—what they had was not enough. Sion's assessment was firm.

'Yes. Definitely not enough.'

The sun set, and at last the time came to carry out the plan the children had poured their heads together to devise.

With solemn faces, the children went down into the village and linked up with the child who had been keeping watch the whole time.

"That man's boss seems to be in the middle of negotiating the ransom. So the waiting has been dragging on longer and longer."

"Good. Understood. You've done well. You can head back now."

"Will everything be alright?"

"Yeah. We've got it from here."

Rudy sent the lookout back. The way she placed each person in the role that suited them best was something to behold.

Rudy concealed herself and unwrapped a shabby bundle.

Inside was the very sword from earlier in the day.

'A sword she can't even use properly.'

Sion settled his expression into something neutral and resolved to watch—to see exactly where the limit of these children truly lay.