A year had passed, and it was now the second since Caelan had rescued Seraphina and begun his regular correspondence with her.
“The latest rescue was a success.”
“Is that so?” Caelan replied, taking the report from Gareth.
“You sent them to the orphanage?”
“Yes. That makes the fifth one.”
Caelan nodded at Gareth’s words. Over the course of the last year, he had successfully rescued the three Sins he originally planned to save, bringing the total to five.
Saving the Calamity of Greed was a bit tricky.
The third Calamity, currently known as Sabine Groff, had been difficult to find, but the rescue itself hadn’t been much of a challenge. The same held true for the others. It took a few months to locate each one, but with Caelan diligently applying his game knowledge and directing Gareth, they were all found.
He looked at Gareth, who had spent the better part of a year running around the continent to save the Five Calamities. “You can take a break now.”
“Is it over?”
“It’s over.”
A sigh of relief escaped Gareth’s lips. “That’s a relief.” He studied his master’s face. “But, Young Master, you don’t seem pleased.”
“Of course, I’m pleased.”
“It doesn’t show on your face.”
“Really?” Caelan turned to a nearby mirror. The face that stared back was his own, one he had long since grown accustomed to. Indeed… The man in the reflection wore a blank expression. On closer inspection, the corners of his mouth were turned up ever so slightly, but the change was so subtle that no one would notice unless they were looking for it.
He tried to force a broader smile, but the expression felt alien, twisting his normally handsome features into the mask of a strange man. He let it drop. It feels like my facial muscles never fully adapted to this body. Unlike his past self, whose emotions were always on clear display, Caelan’s face now rarely betrayed his thoughts. When it did, the change was vanishingly small.
Not that it’s a bad thing. It didn't bother him personally. The fact that his emotions were unreadable was a problem for those who had to interact with him, not for him.
Anyway, this concludes everything I needed to do for now. Caelan allowed himself a genuine, if still imperceptible, smile. He thought of the five potential Sins he had gathered at the orphanage. I didn’t expect things to go this smoothly.
In truth, Caelan had been prepared for a much rockier path. The Five Calamities had every reason to become the monsters they were fated to be. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t possibly save them before they experienced any misfortune at all. His greatest fear had been that by the time he found them, they would already be too far gone. But contrary to his worries, all five were growing up surprisingly well.
“Gareth.”
“Yes.”
“When you last visited the orphanage, you said there were no problems, correct?”
“That’s right. Even Sabine and Elara, who were in a terrible state when they arrived, have returned to a relatively normal condition.”
“Really?”
“Yes. When I first rescued Elara, she was like a broken doll, utterly still and unresponsive. But at the orphanage, she was playing well with the others. Likewise, Sabine initially kept her eyes shut, as if she couldn’t bear to see the world. When I saw her last, she was engrossed in a book.”
Gareth’s report matched what Seraphina had written in her letters. Caelan nodded. I didn’t expect Seraphina to handle it so well. He had left her at the orphanage not only to keep her at a distance but also because he knew from the game’s lore that she had an attachment to the place. He had never expected her to take on the role of caretaker for the others, and had been prepared to send Gareth to assess the situation and hire professional help if needed.
But that’s no longer necessary. Caelan smiled. Everything had gone better than planned. Thanks to Seraphina’s efforts, only one thing remained on his to-do list. I need to develop some self-defense skills. As the third son of the Devereux Count’s family, his life wasn’t in any immediate danger, especially with Gareth by his side. But this world was a dark fantasy. The ability to protect himself was essential. He was considering learning magic.
“Oh, by the way, Young Master,” Gareth said, pulling Caelan from his thoughts. “Have you heard of the ‘Cobalt Moon’?”
“The Cobalt Moon?”
“Yes. They’re an organization that’s become rather infamous in the eastern regions. From what I’ve heard, they’ve been hunting other organizations.”
“An organization that hunts other organizations?”
“Yes.”
“Then they’re doing a good thing,” Caelan replied flatly. He had long since adapted to the harsh realities of this world. If the Cobalt Moon were slaughtering civilians, that would be one thing. But hunting other organizations was a different matter entirely. He had yet to encounter a single organization on this continent whose business didn’t involve death. If they were targeting those who played with human lives, he saw no reason to view them negatively.
“The problem,” Gareth added, “is that they’re killing nobles, too.”
“Gareth.”
“Yes, Young Master?”
“Starting tonight, you’ll sleep in the room next to mine,” Caelan said decisively.
This Cobalt Moon organization wasn’t in the original story, he mused. They probably disappear before the main plot begins. Still… now that I think about it, Leontius has been in a foul mood lately. Could this be why? Caelan shrugged off the thought and began to pen a reply to the letter he had received from Seraphina the day before.
As usual, its contents were mundane. A simple greeting, a brief update on the children he’d asked her to watch over, and a list of sponsors. After reading it through, Caelan briefly considered mentioning the Cobalt Moon, but decided against it. They might be hunting organizations and nobles, but it was unlikely they would target an orphanage full of children.
He finished his reply and, as always, sent it through the mercenary guild. It was a peaceful day.
A few weeks later, at an orphanage in the eastern region.
Seraphina was reading Caelan’s latest letter aloud during the weekly meeting she had established once their activities began in earnest.
“Is that a letter from him? Let me see! Me too!”
“I want to read it as well.”
A girl with golden eyes waved her hand enthusiastically, while another with green eyes, sitting opposite her, raised her hand quietly. Even in the dimly lit hideout, their gazes glittered. They were Elara and Sabine, the future Sins of Pride and Greed.
“Here.”
“Really? I can really read it? You didn’t let me last time!” Elara chirped.
“I think it’s about time you did,” Seraphina said with a small smile, handing over the letter. Elara and Sabine, along with Deus, who had been watching silently, leaned in to read it with curious eyes.
A few moments later.
“...This is just... a normal letter,” Sabine murmured.
“It just sounds like two people talking,” Elara added, her brow furrowed in confusion. They reread the page, but its contents remained stubbornly mundane.
Deus looked to Seraphina for an explanation. She smiled. “That’s how it’s supposed to look. He instructed me from the beginning to write as if we were having a normal conversation.” She then pulled a slightly worn letter from inside her shirt and showed it to them. The text was simple, beginning with casual greetings before suggesting they exchange regular updates about the orphanage.
“...?”
“...?”
Elara and Sabine were still puzzled. But Deus seemed to grasp the true meaning.
“The mundane nature of the letters is a security measure,” he said, “to prevent secrets from being intercepted?”
“Correct.”
“I see.” Deus nodded, then glanced at the two girls still staring at the letter. “But if he’s worried about leaks, wouldn’t magical communication be better? Or having us report in person?”
“It would.”
“Then why insist on letters?”
“Because that is his will,” Seraphina said with a serene smile. “He has decided on this path, so we will follow. There is no need to question it.”
As she spoke, Deus felt his throat go dry. Seraphina’s demeanor was usually calm, but whenever she spoke of him, her voice carried a deep, unsettling conviction that made his skin crawl.
“...Understood.” Deus nodded quietly, meeting her red eyes, which now gleamed with the light of a fanatic.
With that, Seraphina collected the letter and carefully tucked it away, signaling the end of the ‘meeting.’
“Elara, what of the north?”
“The slavers, you mean?”
“Yes.”
At Seraphina’s question, Elara broke into a bright smile. “I took care of all of them.”
“And your identity?”
“I wasn’t exposed! The clothes Sabine made worked perfectly. I even gave them a little quiz. I told them I’d let them live if they could describe my face, but none of them could.”
“And then?”
“I plucked them all,” she said, giggling. “Their heads.” Her words were shockingly brutal, but her laugh was cheerful. Seraphina simply turned her calm gaze to Deus.
“And the south?”
“Avarice was running rampant, so I cleaned them up. While I was there, I found something we need to discuss.”
“What is it?”
“The head of Avarice is the eldest son of the Count’s family where he resides, correct?”
Seraphina nodded silently.
“...It seems the eldest son is trying to poison him.”
The words hung in the air.
“What?”
The atmosphere froze. A moment ago, Elara had been smiling brightly; now, her ears folded back against her head as she glanced around nervously. Sabine, who had been observing quietly, fixed her gaze forward, her expression hardening. The only one who could meet Seraphina’s eyes was Deus, who had anticipated this reaction. But even he felt a cold sweat prickle his neck as he felt a wave of killing intent, far stronger than he had expected.
After a long moment, Seraphina’s voice cut through the silence, thin and sharp as ice.
“...Are you certain?”
“There was an instruction sheet.”
“Did you bring it?”
“Yes.” As if he had been waiting for the command, Deus pulled the document from his coat. Seraphina took it, her eyes scanning the page without blinking. She read until the final line.
[Once the Count, whose lifespan is nearly over, dies, quietly poison him and dispose of him.]
She read the words, and then read them again.
“I see.”
Her hand tightened, crumpling the paper.
“So, it’s true,” she muttered, her eyes glowing with a chilling light.