Rosevobelga, 89.

Agavert base.

"Come on, come on! Flip the cards already!"

"Damn it, I was about to win!"

The recruits were completely absorbed in a card game in the kitchen.

"Here, have a snack while you play. There have been a lot of sieges lately, it must be exhausting, right?"

Lady Marshal approached the table carrying neatly sliced fruit.

The squad members immediately whistled, welcoming her.

Rio, who had been sitting at the end of the table, stood up and took the plate of fruit.

"Thank you. Agavert is so well organized that the sieges do not feel that difficult."

Lady Marshal smiled broadly.

"That is good to hear. Back when we had fewer people, our Squad Leader and senior officers suffered a lot. Look, now that the newcomers have arrived, it is lively and noisy, right? There are not even any empty rooms left."

"Rio! Are you not joining the next round?"

The squad members had already started another game and were urging him, but Rio handed over the fruit basket and stood up.

Then he followed Lady Marshal toward the living room.

"Can I help with something? It is a rare day off, and you cannot even rest because of us..."

Lady Marshal’s eyes widened.

She looked at Rio with fondness, as if he were her own son, and asked:

"Then will you help me remove the sheets? We need to wash the blankets today, and since there are more people now, it is hard to do alone. And of all days, the workers did not come today."

Agavert did not employ permanent staff.

Partly because of Tie’s identity, and partly because few people wanted steady work at a mercenary base.

Rio nodded without hesitation.

"No problem."

The two of them walked through the mansion, starting from the upper floor, collecting dirty sheets.

By the time they returned to the first floor, Rio’s arms were piled high with a mountain of laundry.

"Alright, over here!"

Lady Marshal called out when the stack of sheets blocked his view.

Swaying slightly, Rio carried them out through the front door.

Following Lady Marshal’s directions, he went down the stairs and headed toward the back garden.

"I have already prepared everything for washing, you just need to put them into the basins. Here, you cannot see well, be careful."

"Yes, yes."

Thinking of his mother back in his hometown, Rio smiled faintly.

They were almost at the back garden.

"Hm? How did you come back so quickly?"

Lady Marshal’s confused voice came from the front side.

Rio tilted his head, buried under the sheets, having sensed nothing.

‘Did someone come?’

Today, the Squad Leader and the officers had all gone to the Luminel mansion.

Before leaving, the little Squad Leader had clearly said:

"Tie will play until evening and then come back! Uncle and oppa, have a great day, fighting~!"

Rio raised his head and looked at the sky.

It was still far from evening—the sun was still blazing.

"Rio said he would help remove the sheets. Oh!"

At that moment, a short cry escaped from Lady Marshal.

And immediately, Rio’s body was lifted into the air.

"H-hey!"

Several sheets slipped from his arms and fell to the ground.

As he struggled to keep his balance, someone threw one of the sheets over his head.

"Hey—!"

"W-who is that!"

Lady Marshal shouted, while Rio desperately tried to break free.

But his opponent did not even budge.

On the contrary, in a matter of moments, he tightly wrapped Rio in the sheets and carried him away.

"W-where are you taking him! You cannot do this! What will the senior officers say if they find out!"

Lady Marshal’s voice grew distant.

Inside the sheets, Rio breathed heavily and reached his left hand toward his waist.

‘What kind of lunatic kidnaps a mercenary right inside the base!’

It was so absurd that he could not even react properly.

Finally, his fingers found the handle of his dagger.

He was about to cut the sheets and escape, but—

"We are here. That is enough."

As if anticipating everything, the stranger grabbed his wrist and gently set him down on something soft.

Struggling, Rio pushed himself out of the sheets and took a deep breath.

"Hah—!"

Then he froze, staring at the scene before him.

"...Vice Squad Leader?"

A storage room filled with hay.

Standing at the entrance, his back to the streaming sunlight, was the Vice Squad Leader he had never spoken to before.

"Put down the knife."

Theseos Luminel slammed the storage door shut.

Then he took a rope from the wall and strode toward Rio.

"W-what are you doing!"

Rio backed away, but soon his back hit a pile of hay.

"Ah!"

Theseos twisted his arms behind his back and bound them tightly.

Overcome with fear, Rio’s thoughts raced.

What did I do wrong?

Ever since I joined Agavert, I have worked diligently and honestly!

And I definitely did not try to get involved with the Vice Squad Leader!

Every mercenary in the Tallocium Empire knew.

About that ominous incident that brought Tregava under Agavert’s command.

Who would dare speak to Theseos, who already walked around the base with such a murderous expression!

"V-Vice Squad Leader. There must be some kind of misunderstanding! I did nothing!"

After firmly tying both his hands and legs, Theseos stood up.

And answered indifferently:

"I know."

"W-what?! Then why are you—!"

"Before going to the garden, I stopped by the kitchen. I asked which recruit was the worst at lying—everyone pointed at you."

Rio’s face turned pale.

Traitors, damn them! For some unknown reason, they had handed him over to this terrifying man!

"I am going to ask you something."

Rio swallowed.

The shadow of the wooden ventilation grate fell across Theseos’s face.

"Who is the King of the Dead?"

Rio’s face went blank.

After a few seconds, he asked:

"...What?"

"I am asking who the King of the Dead is. It seems that everyone except me and those who came from Tregava knows."

Rio parted his lips.

Of course, he could not say a single word about the identity of the King of the Dead.

He had sworn an oath upon a sacred object, staking his memory.

But more than that—

"V-Vice Squad Leader... you do not know?"

"..."

Theseos’s brows slightly furrowed.

Rio continued, unable to believe it:

"I ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) thought you knew everything! If even ordinary squad members know, how can you not know?!"

Rio shifted, trying to get more comfortable.

And forced his most pitiful expression.

"But I cannot tell you anything."

"Why?"

"I made an oath to the Squad Leader. If I break it—I will die!"

In truth, he would not die but lose his memory, but Rio exaggerated a little.

No matter what, the person in front of him had tied him up in a closed room and was threatening him.

If he wanted to get out alive, he had no choice.

"...I see."

Theseos stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Rio swallowed as he watched him.

At that moment—

scrape—

A metallic sound rang out, and Theseos drew a dagger.

"V-Vice Squad Leader..."

Rio’s voice trembled.

But with an indifferent expression, Theseos took a step, then another—

"Go."

And in one motion, he cut the ropes binding Rio’s hands and feet.

Rio jumped to his feet.

Then, hesitating, he asked:

"Y-you are just letting me go? And... why tie me up in the first place...?"

He could have simply not wasted the rope.

Theseos frowned.

"It creates a better sense of danger."

Rio slowly stepped back, then suddenly flung open the storage door and ran.

Theseos remained alone in the storage.

"...So, an oath."

He muttered quietly, watching Rio leave.

"Then I will have to find out myself."

He started walking again.

That evening.

"Hehe."

Tie ran happily into the room.

Taking off her cloak and hanging it on a chair, she flopped onto the bed.

"Tie has a big family now too!"

Today, she had spent an incredible day with her family.

Her father, as always, was cold, but her grandfather and uncles were always kind to her.

When she was with them, unpleasant feelings seemed to fade.

Tie giggled and rolled around on the bed.

At that moment—

whoooo—

A cold wind suddenly rushed into the room.

"King of the Dead."

Someone leapt lightly through the open window.

Tie’s eyes widened when she saw the face.

"P-Pa—!"

The person who had entered Tie’s bedroom—

the Vice Squad Leader.

Her father.