“You bastard… You’re nothing short of a traitor to humanity! And to think we funded your orphanage for the past year—this is how you repay us!? Do you have any idea how many comrades in the North died for nothing because of what you did!?”
Hyacinth was a tall woman with a head of fairly common brown hair tied back in a long ponytail, exuding a heroic air.
Even as she spoke, she was already preparing to execute Sang. Her right hand had fallen to the knight’s sword at her waist, as if she might draw it at any moment and thrust it toward the young man.
Sang was no longer the helpless lamb he had once been. After all he had been through, he had grown stronger—both in body and in spirit.
He was confident he could defeat Hyacinth with ease.
Just as the tension between them thickened to the point it could be cut with a knife, Liyou stepped forward, breaking the standoff.
“Sang… no… we should use the name you registered on the organization’s roster—An Xiguang. I have no intention of killing you, nor even punishing you. I understand your reasons for siding with the Blood Race, and I respect the choices you made in the North…”
In the young man’s mind, Liyou had always been like Nightingale from another world.
She was an extraordinarily gentle person.
Ever since the young man had arrived in this other world, he had encountered several guiding lights. The first was Sister Lilian, the second Luna, and the third was Liyou herself…
When he had learned he would have to enter the 【Heavenly Key】 alone and become a True Ancestor Blood Servant, he had been deeply uneasy, terrified of death—like a wanderer embarking on a path of no return, or a bit of duckweed adrift on the riverbank. It was only thanks to Liyou that he had joined the 【Hunting】 Organization, making him feel like he was not alone, that he had a place to belong.
And so, at this moment, when Liyou addressed him by the name on the roster—“An Xiguang”—that sense of belonging welled up within him once more. He was profoundly moved.
He felt he was not on his own; the organization stood behind him.
“Thank you for understanding me, Liyou…”
“Pfft~ Hehehe, it’d sound better if you called me Sister Liyou…” Liyou laughed with genuine warmth. She truly did understand the young man.
Sister Liyou—even the way she carried herself felt a little like Sister Lilian.
The next moment, Liyou’s smile softened slightly. She took a step forward and gently clasped the young man’s hands. They were cool to the touch, a pleasant contrast in the late summer air. The sudden shift in temperature left him a little entranced—so comfortable.
After a moment, Liyou spoke again. “In any case, the events in the North are behind us now. You’ve regained your freedom—congratulations. But I do have one selfish request.”
“What is it?”
“To be frank, after the battle in the North, I lost track of you completely. I had no news until just now, when I learned you’d advanced to the rank of Earl. I know you want to settle into a peaceful life, and I had no intention of dragging you back into the organization’s affairs… but this time, we really need your help. There’s simply no one else suitable.”
Mm.
Yes.
Though Sang had not fully severed his ties with the True Ancestor, he was no longer a caged bird. He could leave the organization behind, live out his days as an Earl in comfort and security.
He clearly wanted to refuse, yet under the gaze of Liyou’s emerald-green eyes, his heart faltered for an instant, beyond his control. Tentatively, he asked, “What sort of matter?”
“Have you heard of the Montgomery Family?” Liyou inquired.
“Yeah, I have… The biggest slave traders in the Central Region’s underworld, affiliated with Duke Cape. In terms of status, they’re pretty much at the pinnacle of the Marquis class.”
Not long ago, Sang had visited Slave Street in the Central Region. He had even met the young heir of the Montgomery Family, and Aisha Hodhua had given him a rundown at the time.
“Since you know so much already, I won’t beat around the bush… The Montgomery Family is hosting a banquet soon. Plenty of nobles from the Central Region will be invited, including you, Earl Inset An. I’d like you to use the opportunity to infiltrate their estate and help us locate someone. That person is a vital member of the 【Hunting】 Organization who knows a great deal of our intelligence. He was captured during a recent operation and is currently held in the Montgomery Family’s dungeon. We need to get him out…”
Sang raised a doubt. “What if he’s already spilled everything—or worse, been killed? Wouldn’t we be wasting our time…?”
“No, whether the intelligence has leaked or not is another matter, but we can say one thing for certain—that member is still alive. There’s someone in the organization with the superpower 【Life Pen】 who writes all the entries in our roster. When someone dies, their name vanishes from the page… Of course, you’re the exception…”
Ah… In this world, all superpowers were based on 【Mana】 and 【Channels】. Someone like Sang—an Abandoned Child with nothing of the sort—could still be affected by physical superpower attacks, but he was immune to mental ones like that.
“Anyway, back to the point, Sang. We really need your help this time. We’re not asking you to join the actual rescue—we just want you to scout ahead during the banquet. Get a lay of the land in the Marquis estate and pinpoint the target’s exact location… Please, for the sake of your comrade~!”
Your comrade!!!
She said it with absolute conviction. Those words alone reignited the young man’s sense of belonging to the 【Hunting】 Organization.
From the side, Hyacinth couldn’t hold back any longer. She stepped forward, fuming. “You bastard! You already botched our operation in the North—won’t you even lift a finger for this!?”
Caught between Liyou’s gentle persuasion and Hyacinth’s hard pressure, Sang found himself torn.
He thought it over for a moment, then bit his lip. “Let me think about it some more.”
…
Under the setting sun, as they watched the young man’s retreating figure, both Liyou and Hyacinth wore grave expressions. In that great battle in the North, the organization had gained nothing—no benefits, only losses of soldiers and resources.
Only this one young man had emerged stronger.
They were astonished by his power, which was precisely why they held back from pressing him further.
“This guy beat the Wolf King—how on earth did he pull that off?” Hyacinth muttered.
Though Liyou and Hyacinth hadn’t been on the scene in the North, the reports made it clear: the Wolf King was at the Clan Lord Rank. How could a mere 【Abandoned Child】 accomplish something like that?
It felt like an ant toppling an elephant.
Liyou smiled faintly. “【Abandoned Child】 are creatures full of unknowns… The war in the North was a heavy loss, but it wasn’t without its gains.”
Sang alone was worth a thousand troops—nay, better than the entire organization.
Hyacinth glanced at Liyou, her brown ponytail swaying slightly. With a heavy tone, she said, “I understand what you’re thinking… But that guy’s clearly out of our control now. He’s a liability. He’s hiding things from us, and sooner or later, it’ll come back to bite us…”
“It’s fine. Opportunity and risk always go hand in hand—that’s what makes it a challenge. And besides…”
“Besides what?” Hyacinth asked, puzzled.
At that, Liyou whipped her head around. Her green bob gleamed in the sunlight, but her stunning face was cast in shadow, turned away from the light. That innocent countenance shifted from sunny to stormy, yet her smile never faltered—twisting into something chilling. She said, “Besides… isn’t it fun to toy with people’s hearts? Especially cute ones… To wipe out the Blood Race, for the sake of humanity—we can sacrifice the entire organization if need be!”
“You…” Hyacinth was a loyal soldier of the organization!
But before she could react, Liyou’s emerald-green eyes fixed on her, pulsing with some uncanny wave that plunged Hyacinth into hypnosis.
“Hyacinth, bark like a dog for me. And forget everything that just happened…”
“Woof! Woof! Woof…”
“Hmph, how adorable. You fools—who told you my superpower belongs to the Psychic System…?”
If it were a Psychic System power, Sang never would have been able to hear my voice…
