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[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 146
“The child we’re looking for this time is Arsha Cascadia. The younger sister of none other than Leon Cascadia.”
Rebecca’s eyes widened at those words.
“What do you mean…?”
“I don’t know the details either. From what I’ve heard, something happened after that incident… and due to something related to it, it’s believed that he turned his back.”
Rebecca nodded in acknowledgment.
At that moment, a newcomer who had joined around the same time as her cautiously offered his opinion.
“I understand that, according to the Surveillance Corps’ policy, we leave alone those who haven’t committed any crimes yet… But if the situation is serious enough for all of our senior members to be concerned, wouldn’t it be better to just kill him now?”
“The commander hasn’t given such an order.”
“They must be busy. If we all take action…”
The man who had spoken first stopped him.
“No. That would be the worst move.”
“But he’s alone…”
“Whether he becomes an ally or an enemy could determine our victory or defeat. He’s that strong.”
“But he’s still young, isn’t he?”
“For him, age doesn’t matter. Even now, he has the power to single-handedly annihilate our entire Surveillance Corps.”
“…That’s unbelievable.”
He rose from his seat.
“Prepare yourselves. We’re going there. Our mission this time isn’t to kill. No matter what happens, we must ensure that child is rescued alive before she dies.”
“Then… should we seek his assistance?”
“We don’t know the child’s exact situation. If it turns out we’re already too late, things could escalate dangerously. In that case… it might be better if he never finds out the truth.”
If things went wrong, their judgment was that they might have to conceal the fact that his sister was still alive, even if it meant keeping him in the dark.
“And… if he eventually finds out? I doubt he’ll just let us go.”
“That’s why we have to save her. No matter what. We were never his subordinates to begin with.”
These people hadn’t gathered for wealth or glory.
Most of them were prepared to sacrifice their own lives without hesitation.
* * *
As if possessed, I headed toward a cold, unused room in the mansion.
Perhaps because of my tense expression, Melissa and Luna, sensing something was off, followed behind me.
“Why are you here?”
This room was currently unused, serving as a storage space for unorganized belongings.
I began rummaging through the piled-up boxes haphazardly, turning everything upside down.
Seeing me frantically searching like a madman, Melissa’s expression seemed to ask, What the hell happened to you?
How long had I been digging through the mess?
Luna grabbed my arm.
“I will help. What are you looking for?”
“There’s a box where I kept my old belongings.”
After hearing my explanation, the two of them exchanged glances but said nothing more.
Instead, they simply joined me in searching the room.
After another long while, Luna let out a small chuckle as if she had found something.
“Leon, you were quite adorable as a child.”
She held up a drawing from inside a box, smiling faintly.
It was a picture of my younger self, beaming brightly while hugging Melissa from behind.
It seemed we had been on good terms back then.
Ah, here it is.
“Why are you looking for your childhood drawings?”
“No, I wasn’t searching for the drawings.”
I pulled out an old, scribbled note from the side of the album.
It was a small, crudely drawn picture.
“That’s…”
“It’s exactly the same.”
As soon as I saw the picture, a wave of exhaustion washed over me.
The crude child’s drawing on the old piece of paper…
And the picture drawn in blood, carried by the Angler Bird…
They were identical.
There was no special technique involved, nothing unique added, yet this peculiar drawing style was unmistakably one-of-a-kind.
Since it was drawn in a hurried, childlike manner, it was truly distinctive.
“……”
Melissa also realized it, her face filled with shock.
“Leon. Our sister… is alive?”
“It seems that way.”
When I retrieved my parents’ bodies but couldn’t find Arsha’s…
I had held onto the faintest sliver of hope.
That perhaps, by some miracle, our youngest had survived.
But it was unrealistic.
It was impossible.
So I had buried that hope deep inside me.
Even as I carried my parents’ remains back to the Cascadia estate, a part of my heart had been restless.
And now, I had found a trace of my sister.
She was alive.
Somewhere out there.
And that meant there was no need to hesitate any longer.
“But… this is blood, isn’t it?”
Melissa’s expression hardened as she looked at the red markings on the paper.
“It is.”
“The fact that Arsha might be alive is amazing, but… doesn’t this mean she’s in danger right now?”
At that moment, all three of us had the same thought.
No matter what, we had to find Arsha before it was too late.
We immediately rushed to Melissa’s office and spread out a world map.
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The central continent, the eastern continent, the western continent.
Countless islands and archipelagos were marked across the map.
“Angler Birds are native to the archipelago between the western and central continents. But… ugh, my head is going to explode. Where do we even start?”
“Why did an Angler Bird bring that drawing all the way to us?”
The Angler Bird had clearly acted with intent.
The one that survived even delivered the paper to me.
How was that even possible?
“Angler Birds are intelligent creatures. But this… this goes beyond intelligence.”
“What’s your guess?”
“…A beast tamer.”
"A beast tamer."
Luna shared the information she knew.
"Among humans, there are beast tamers who can communicate with magical beasts or animals. Leon, did you or your younger sister have any talent in that area?"
"…Not that I can recall. We had a cat when we were young that liked Arsha, but that was just because cats have a communal nurturing instinct, so it took special care of little Arsha."
To be precise, neither Melissa nor I knew anything about it.
"Is it possible that someone helped her?"
"There are too many strange things about this. If someone had helped, they wouldn't have just sent a single drawing. And more than anything, what really bothers me is that the drawing was made with blood."
At my words, Melissa's face hardened as she shared her thoughts.
"Right now, most Angler Birds are laying eggs around the archipelago. But there are also many that have been taken as pets to other continents."
"That makes sense."
"So we can't be sure of anything. No matter how much of a migratory species the Angler Bird is, it shouldn't have been able to fly this far."
Hearing that, Luna shook her head.
"It definitely came from the archipelago."
"How do you know?"
"Did you see its feathers?"
She stood up, opened the window, and reached out her hand.
As if it had been waiting, an Angler Bird flew in and landed lightly on her hand.
"Looking at this one's feathers, the color matches those from tropical regions."
"Ah. And the only tropical region right now is… the archipelago?"
"The archipelago is the most likely."
Rather than worrying about why this bird carried that drawing or how it found us, the best course of action was to start moving immediately.
Melissa, stroking her chin in thought, looked between Luna and me before speaking.
"The worst-case scenario is that Arsha somehow survived but is still in danger. If, by some means, she awakened the qualities of a beast tamer, then it's certainly possible. Beast tamers rely heavily on natural talent."
"Then it's decided. We move immediately. Is there a teleport gate to the archipelago?"
"There's one. I'll contact them right away and get the coordinates."
There was no need for further discussion.
The best course of action was to search the most probable locations as thoroughly as possible.
To be honest, both Melissa and I were quite excited at that moment.
I couldn't remember the last time I had seen her so eager and hurried, her footsteps both light and urgent as she dashed off.
"Leon, are you happy?"
"I feel a bit unsettled. I'm happy, but also anxious."
Hearing my response, Luna quietly approached and nestled into me from behind, almost like an embrace.
"Even if things go wrong, as long as you don't die, I'll make sure to save you."
"Thanks."
There was nothing we could be certain about.
That was all the more reason to act quickly.
But from the very beginning, something unexpected happened.
* * *
The continent of Lazarus is divided into three massive regions: the western, central, and eastern continents.
Additionally, there are numerous large and small islands and archipelagos scattered throughout the seas.
Some of these islands were vast, larger than many kingdoms, meaning that Lazarus housed an extensive number of nations.
Of course, this also meant that there were many unexplored territories.
"As of now, the only place we suspect the Angler Bird came from is here."
"The Pinas Archipelago… Not exactly a place I want to visit."
Our current destination was the Pinas Archipelago.
It was the largest archipelago in the sea between the western and central continents.
One of its defining features was that each island was ruled by a noble family, forming a sort of confederation.
On their respective islands, these families held authority greater than most royal families or kingdoms.
While their overall military power wasn't as strong as a nation’s, they were still far more powerful than most noble houses.
Too weak to be a country, yet too strong to be mere families—
A collection of powerful noble clans forming a single nation.
That was the structure of the Pinas Archipelago.
However, Melissa’s expression remained grim.
"To be honest, the Pinas Archipelago doesn’t have a good relationship with the central continent. There was a war between them not too long ago."
"So, is entry currently impossible?"
"Hmm… Not exactly impossible. I'll check with Aurora."
Aurora?
Ah.
That must mean some trade is still allowed.
"Aurora’s Planetaria Trading Company is affiliated with the western continent, after all."
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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