The Sword and The Shadow

Let's Leave Together

"No!" Leguna shook his head.

While Kurdak wouldn't want him to face off against Alfreid and could endure it, Leguna couldn't. Alfreid had tortured Vera to that point and almost caused an unmendable rift between him and Kurdak, not to mention making Manhattan and Lamir disappear.

It would have been one thing if he were powerless to do anything, but he was the head of the most powerful intelligence agency on the continent and had close ties with Alissanda. While his status might appear inferior to Alfreid on the surface, he believed he at least had to try.

"Alright, I know you, so I know trying to talk you out of it won't work," Kurdak said, feeling a little helpless. He put a hand on Leguna's shoulder and seriously said, "Just remember, be careful every step of the way. No matter what happens, always put the lives of Annie and the rest in top priority. You can even run if there's danger."

"Don't worry, boss! I will take care of myself!" Leguna confidently assured.

"Vera and I will set ourselves up in Lance. If you manage to leave or have nowhere else to go, come to us. I am going to start a tavern in a small town with her where you can eat and stay for free!"

"Then make sure to make it big time! Don't forget Annie…"

"What does it have to do with me?!" That was the second thing she ever said to him after their argument.

Leguna ignored her protests and continued, "Eirinn, Innie, and…"

"And what?!" This time, Eirinn, Innilis and even Annelotte looked a little nervous.

And? And what? He couldn't be bringing another man along, right? What about a woman? The three girls were instantly ticked off at the mention of that.

However, Annelotte's nervousness seemed a little out of place. Eirinn and Innilis turned to her and mused. "Oooooh!"

"What are you doing?!" Annelotte blushed at the odd sound.

"Sis Annie, it's one thing for the two of us to be worried, but you…?" Innilis smiled teasingly.

"Hmph!" Annelotte tried her best to feign anger, but that didn't scare Innilis. Leguna on the other hand laughed like a fool beside them. He looked like he had found a few gold coins lying on the ground.

"You!" That was the third thing she said to him.

"Alright, that's enough." Kurdak could see she was at the brink of exploding, so he stepped in so that they didn't go too far.

As someone who had fought Annelotte head on, he knew how terrifying her abilities were. Despite being a magus only one stratum above him, she could withstand his barrage of attacks without using any offensive magic. A normal magus would've fell to his blade after ten minutes.

Yet, she had managed to defend against him for nearly half an hour. Not only that, she wasn't injured much from the frenzied attacks.

So, Kurdak didn't want Annelotte to burst with anger right there. The others also knew that they shouldn't push it too far and looked away, trying hard to keep their expressions neutral.

"Hmph!" Annelotte knew that they were definitely still mocking her inwardly. But since Kurdak and vera were about to leave, she chose not to escalate it.

"Annie…" Kurdak had a few more things to tell her. He took her to the side and whispered some things to her.

Leguna had wanted to listen in and casually approached them and stretched his neck. However, Annelotte turned to him all of a sudden and glared like a panther would before instant-casting a silent barrier.

He was speechless.

So, he didn't know what Kurdak said to her in the end. But given how she obviously blushed and seemed a little angry as she said something, it seemed like she begrudgingly agreed to something.

Kurdak smiled reassuringly when he got her word.

With her promise, this brat will be fine! he thought.

Then, he talked a little bit more with the rest of them. Since he was in a hurry to leave Melindor during the time frame of the guard duty switch, he couldn't stay for too long.

Leguna bade his good brother farewell. Initially, he had wanted to settle things on his front as soon as possible before meeting up again, but he didn't think their parting almost became permanent.

……

Leguna felt the force of Innilis's small hands pressing against his shoulder as he was seated in thought. There were not many things Kurdak was aware of. Even Alfreid saw him as nothing but a used pawn. He shouldn't be aware of where Kurdak had gone.

Since that was the case, Kurdak and Vera shouldn't be in any danger. He didn't make any arrangements with the bureau for Kurdak, instead he only gave him a dimensional pocket and ten thousand gold coins. They could go anywhere they wanted with that kind of money.

According to his estimations, they should be reaching Port Keder soon.

……

Someone knocked on the door and Kurdak's eyes snapped open. He shot up immediately and glared at it.

"Who is it?" he asked with a relaxed tone as he clutched his longsword tight.

Lava Blade had been confiscated by the empire, so he got a decent replacement along the way.

Vera had also sat up and had her weapons within reach. They were finely made throwing knives.

Knock knock…

The visitor didn't answer and only continued to knock.

"Who is it?"

Kurdak stepped down from the bed, shot Vera a glance, and went to the door.

Knock knock…

The person outside was still knocking, though the lack of any speech was suspicious. He could tell from the knocking that it didn't sound urgent in the slightest. There were only two possibilities. Either the visitor had no ill intent or he was really good at mind games.

He hid the sword behind the door and twisted the knob with his left hand.

Kurdak's heart skipped a beat when the door opened. The person was dressed in a hood that completely obscured his face!

The individual raised both hands and carefully removed the hood before Kurdak could say anything. The corridor's weak light illuminated a part of their face.

Kurdak took one look and felt his jaw drop. Vera could feel his tension dissipate.

"Come in," Kurdak said in a whisper and opened the door wider.

He closed it behind the individual and knelt without hesitation.

"Kurdak greets General Manhattan!"

"General?"

Vera exclaimed, before she kneeled without hesitation.

"Get up, quick! I'm no longer a general. Why the big gesture?" The light from the moon that shone through the windows made it clear who he was.

"No!" Kurdak said without hesitation, "General, you've helped the two of us a whole lot. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to survive this. You're always my general and savior!"

"Alright, fine." Manhattan helped the two of them up. "I'm helping you because of Lamir."

"I wonder where Miss Lamir is right now?" Vera asked.

Lamir had done so much for the two of them that she no longer cared about being jealous of her.

"She's living in a different inn in this port," Manhattan sighed, "That girl managed to predict you'd be here and had me wait for you. I didn't think she'd actually be right!"

"General, what are your plans?" Kurdak asked.

"What else could they be?" Manhattan didn't bother to hide it. He turned to Vera and back to Kurdak. "For some reason, that girl chose you. Just say it. Are you willing to accept her?"

"This…" Kurdak was in quite a dilemma. On one hand, she had granted him a huge boon which he would never be able to pay off. Not to mention, it wasn't as if he wasn't attracted to Lamir in the least. However, Vera was standing right next to him. Was he going to accept another woman before his very own?

"Kurdak," Vera spoke out first upon seeing his indecisiveness. She turned to Manhattan and said, "Let's leave together!"