Time passed, and it was now the second year since Alon had rescued Yutia and begun exchanging letters with her regularly.
âIâve successfully rescued them again this time.â
âIs that so?â
Alon received the good news from Evan.
âDid you send them to the orphanage?â
âYes, this makes it the fifth one.â
At Evanâs words, Alon nodded.
Over the past year, Alon had successfully rescued the three Sins he originally planned to save.
âSaving the Sin of Greed was a bit tricky.â
The third Sin he rescued, who is currently known by the name Rine Groff, was difficult to find, but rescuing her itself wasnât that challenging. The same went for the other Sins.
It took a few months to locate each one, but with Alon diligently using his game knowledge to direct Evan, they were all found.
As he looked at Evan, who had been running around to rescue the Five Great Sins over the past year, Alon spoke.
âYou can take a break now.â
âIs it over?â
âItâs over.â
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âThatâs a relief.â
Evan let out a sigh of relief and looked at Alon.
âBut, Young Master, arenât you happy?â
âOf course, Iâm happy.â
âYou donât look like it, though.â
âReally?â
At Evanâs remark, Alon turned to look at the mirror.
In it was the face of Alon, a face he had grown accustomed to.
âIndeedâ¦â
The man reflected in the mirror had a blank expression.
No, on closer inspection, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, but the change in his expression was so subtle that it would be hard to notice unless one looked closely.
Alon tried to force his face into a smile, but stopped when he saw that his face, which was normally quite decent-looking, now looked like that of a strange man.
âIt feels like only my facial muscles didnât fully adapt to this body.â
Unlike before, when his emotions were clearly displayed, Alonâs face now rarely showed any expression. Even if it did, the change was exceedingly subtle.
âNot that itâs a bad thing.â
Of course, Alon didnât think much of it. The fact that his emotions didnât show wasnât a problem for him, but rather for others who interacted with him. He wasnât particularly bothered by it.
âAnyway, this concludes everything I needed to do for now.â
Alon smiled as he thought of the five potential Sins he had gathered at the orphanage.
âI didnât expect things to go this well.â
In truth, Alon hadnât expected things to go so smoothly from the start.
The Five Great Sins had every reason to become the monsters they were destined to be. No matter how hard Alon tried, it wasnât like he could save them before they encountered any misfortune at all.
In other words, Alonâs only concern had been that he wouldnât be able to save the Five Great Sins until they were already too far gone. But contrary to his worries, all five of the Sins were growing up normally.
âEvan.â
âYes.â
âWhen you visited the orphanage last time, you said there didnât seem to be any problems, right?â
âWhen I checked, even Rine and Seolrang, who were in bad shape before arriving at the orphanage, had returned to a relatively normal state.â
âReally?â
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âYes. When I first rescued Seolrang, she was like a broken doll, doing nothing and just staying still, but at the orphanage, she was getting along well. Similarly, when I first rescued Rine, she kept her eyes closed as if she didnât want to see anything, but when I saw her last, she was reading a book with interest.â
At Evanâs report, Alon nodded.
The content matched what Yutia had written in her letters.
âI didnât expect Yutia to do such a good job.â
Initially, Alon had left Yutia at the orphanage not only to keep her at a distance, but also because there was a setting in which she was somewhat attached to the orphanage.
However, he hadnât been entirely sure that she would take care of the other children as well, and he had originally planned to send Evan to check on the situation and, if necessary, bring in professional help.
âBut thatâs not necessary anymore.â
Alon smiled.
Everything had gone even better than he expected, and thanks to Yutiaâs efforts, there was now only one thing left for Alon to do.
âDevelop some level of self-defense skills.â
Of course, as the third son of the Palatio Countâs family, if he didnât take any particular action, his life wouldnât be in danger.
Especially since Evan was by his side.
But given that this world was based on a dark fantasy, it was essential to have at least some ability to protect himself. He was considering learning magic.
âOh, by the way, have you heard about the âBlue Moon,â Young Master?â
While he was pondering this, Evanâs question brought Alon back to the present.
âThe Blue Moon?â
âYes, itâs a recently famous organization in the eastern regions. From what Iâve heard, theyâve been hunting down other organizations.â
âAn organization hunting other organizations?â
âYes.â
âThen theyâre doing a good thing.â
Alon responded dully, having fully adapted to the dark fantasy world.
If the Blue Moon were massacring civilians, it would be a cause for concern. But if they were hunting other organizations, that was a different story.
After all, in this continent, Alon had never seen or heard of any organization that didnât involve death in some way.
If they were hunting those who played with human lives, there wasnât much reason to view them negatively, so Alon simply responded as such.
âThe problem is that theyâre also killing nobles.â
âEvan.â
âYes, Young Master?â
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âStarting today, youâll sleep in the room next to mine.â
Alon said decisively after hearing Evanâs follow-up.
âConsidering that this Blue Moon organization wasnât mentioned in the original story, itâs likely that they disappear before the main events start. But⦠Ah, come to think of it, Leoâs been in a bad mood lately. Could it be because of them?â
As Alon pondered this, he shrugged and began writing a letter in response to the one he received from Yutia yesterday.
âHmmâ¦â
As usual, Yutiaâs letter contained the same kind of contentâsome greetings, a brief update on the current state of those Alon had asked her to take care of, and a list of sponsors.
After confirming this, Alon considered mentioning the âBlue Moonâ organization that Evan had just told him about, but decided against it.
The Blue Moon might be hunting organizations and nobles, but they werenât targeting orphanages filled with children.
As always, Alon finished writing the letter and sent it through the mercenary guild.
It was a relaxed day.
***
A few weeks later, at the orphanage in the eastern region.
During a regular meeting that had begun on a weekly basis after activities had officially started, Yutia was reading the letter Alon had sent.
âIs that a letter from him? Let me read it! Me too!â
âMe too, I want to read it.â
A girl enthusiastically waved her hand, while another girl opposite her quietly raised her own hand as Yutia read the letter.
Even in the dimly lit hideout, their golden and green eyes sparkledâthese were Seolrang and Rine, the future Sins of Pride and Greed, respectively.
âHere.â
âReally? Can I really see it? You didnât let me see it last time!â
âItâs about time I did.â
Yutia smiled as she handed the letter over. Seolrang and Rine, along with Deus, who had been silently watching, all looked at the letter with curiosity.
A little while later,
ââ¦Is this⦠an instruction sheet?â
âIt just looks like an ordinary conversationâ¦â
They all expressed their confusion as they reread the letter before them.
The letter contained nothing but mundane daily conversation.
Deus, seeking an explanation, looked at Yutia with a questioning expression, and she smiled as she explained.
âThatâs how itâs supposed to look. He ordered me from the beginning to write it as if it were just a normal conversation.â
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Then, Yutia pulled out a slightly worn letter from her chest and showed it to them.
The content of the letter was simple. It started with casual greetings and naturally moved on to suggest that they regularly exchange letters about the orphanage.
ââ¦?â
ââ¦?â
Seolrang and Rine frowned, puzzled.
But Deus, seemingly understanding the true intent behind the letter, spoke.
âIs it because he doesnât want any secrets to be leaked, so he exchanges letters in this way?â
âCorrect.â
âI see.â
Deus nodded in agreement, then glanced at Seolrang and Rine, who were still focused on the letter.
âIf heâs worried about leaks, wouldnât it be better to use magic communication or have us go and report in person regularly?â
âRight.â
âThen why insist on using letters?â
âBecause thatâs his will.â
Yutia smiled as she added,
âIf heâs decided to do it this way, we follow. Thereâs no need to question or think about it.â
At her words, Deus felt a dryness in his mouth.
While Yutiaâs emotions were generally calm, whenever she spoke about him, there was a deep, unsettling conviction that even made his skin crawl.
ââ¦Understood.â
Thus, Deus nodded quietly, looking into her red eyes, which now gleamed with the light of a fanatic.
With that, Yutia collected the letter she had distributed to the members and carefully stored it in her chest, marking the end of the âmeeting.â
âSeolrang, what about the north?â
âYou mean the slavers?â
âYes.â
At Yutiaâs question, Seolrang flashed a bright smile.
âI took care of them all.â
âAnd your identity?â
âI wasnât exposed! The clothes Rine made seem to be working well. I gave them a quiz, saying Iâd let them live if they could correctly describe my face, but no one could answer.â
âAnd then?â
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âI plucked them all. Their heads.â
Her words were excessively brutal for such a cheerful laugh, but Yutia calmly turned her gaze to Deus.
âAnd the south?â
âAvalon was running rampant, so I cleaned them up. And I found something else to discuss while I was there.â
âWhat is it?â
âThe head of Avalon is the eldest son of the Countâs family where he resides, correct?â
Yutia nodded silently at Deusâs question.
Howeverâ¦
ââ¦It seems the eldest son is trying to poison him.â
As soon as he said that,
âWhat?â
The atmosphere froze.
Just moments ago, Seolrang, who had been smiling brightly, folded her ears back and looked around nervously, while Rine, who had been quietly observing, fixed her gaze forward.
The only one who could look Yutia in the eyes was Deus, who had anticipated this reaction.
But even he felt a cold sweat running down his back as he sensed the overwhelming killing intent that was far stronger than expected.
After a short while,
ââ¦Are you certain?â
âThere was an instruction sheet.â@@novelbin@@
âDid you bring it?â
âYes.â
Deus pulled out the letter from his chest as if he had been waiting for this moment.
Without blinking, Yutia read the letter.
[Once the Count, whose lifespan is nearly over, dies, quietly poison him and dispose of him.]
After reading that final line,
âI see.â
She gripped the instruction sheet tightly.
âSo, itâs true.â
With a chilling look in her eyes, she muttered softly.