The leader of Corrupted, Lanfero, and his subordinate trudged back to the Hero Society. Their height difference was huge, and their appearances shared little in common, which made their side-by-side walk look strange. Fortunately, the grasslands outside the city were sparsely populated, so they didn't draw any unnecessary attention.
After walking in silence for a while, the goblin Ramon spoke first. "Brother, is this really okay?"
"What?" Lanfero asked.
"Luan Badniker."
"What about him?"
"Ugh... You are playing dumb on purpose again," Ramon grumbled. "To be honest, I am doubtful. What did he see in our clan that made him want to join?"
Only then did Lanfero offer a longer response. "What's the problem? He chose to join this ruined clan of his own free will. From our perspective, that alone deserves gratitude. His decision does not follow normal logic. If I had brought the contract with me, he would've signed it right away. It isn't like he doesn't know about Corrupted. Just before that, Desert Scorpion spoke badly about us. Given all that, does this make sense?"
Ramon looked confused. "What doesn't make sense? Maybe he simply liked our clan."
"Our clan? That Golden Fairy?" Lanfero sneered.
"What is that expression? Are you in pain?" asked the gullible Ramon.
"Kuaack! This is my sneering expression!"
"Ah, I see," Ramon said, nodding. "In any case, that fella received offers from dozens of clans the day after his promotion battle, and he turned them all down."
Lanfero blinked in surprise. "Where did you hear that from?"
"There is a cleaner who cleans the rooms every day. The cleaner entered the Golden Fairy's room to empty the trash. The bin was full of letters from A-class clans," Ramon replied.
"What? " Lanfero burst out laughing. "That is wonderful. The proud leaders of those prestigious clans must've received a real blow. And after all that, he chose Corrupted... Doesn't it make you feel proud?"
"I'm not proud. Rather, I find it unsettling," Ramon said, his voice low and serious. "Brother, I fear the unknown more than anything, and I am wary of unpredictable situations. That is why he is bothering me. A Youngblood has set a new record valuation. He is handsome, comes from the prosperous Badniker family among the imperial nobles, and possesses extraordinary talent. I can't understand why such a monstrous person joined Corrupted of all places."
"Yes, it is scary. Then what should we do? Do you want to void Luan's admission now?" Lanfero asked.
Ramon shook his head. "Not really. You know we can't do that."
"Yes. There isn't anything we can do. You just have to accept it," Lanfero said with a shrug.
Ramon sighed. "If only things were that simple. On top of that, I have heard some rumors."
Lanfero was intrigued. "What rumors?"
Ramon leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Luan Badniker even refused to join Black Rose."
Lanfero paused for the first time. "Black Rose extended an invitation? Are you certain?"
"Not entirely," Ramon admitted. "Black Rose's offer wasn't found in the trash. However, a few heroes witnessed the Iron-Blooded Lord staying at the Hero Society's headquarters yesterday and having a meeting with the Headquarters Chief."
Lanfero hummed.
"Isn't he the busiest man in the world?" Ramon pressed. "Time is literally money to him, so why did he stay at headquarters for two days? He must be supplementing manpower for his clan. The target is his offspring, the one who caused an unprecedented uproar! Doesn't it all fit?"
Ramon studied Lanfero's expression. "Brother, what do you think?"
Lanfero frowned. "Why are you asking me?"
"You said you used to be friends with the Iron-Blooded Lord."
Ramon's words made Lanfero scoff. "You didn't believe it before, but now you are bringing it up?"
Ramon grunted. "So it was a lie after all."
"You brat?!" Lanfero slapped his goblin subordinate on the head, then fell deep in thought. He turned down Delac's offer? If that's true, this means one of two things. Either he's a madman, or he has a deeper purpose.
"Well, he said he would come by to sign the contract. We can talk about it then," Ramon said.
"Let's do that. By the way, you didn't mess with the contract again, did you?" Lanfero asked.
Ramon looked confused. "Huh? What do you mean by messing with it?"
"Don't play dumb. I'm asking if you slipped in another clause in the contract!"
Ramon averted his gaze to hide his guilt.
Lanfero was exasperated. "Recruitment officer, my ass! If you weren't the one drafting contracts, we would have twice as many clan members today!"
Ramon rushed to defend himself. "No, Brother! I'm so upset that I'm about to cry! I didn't mess with anything. I carefully checked every clause! I squeezed every last drop out of our tight budget! I handle everything inside and out to keep the clan running!"
"I know! I get it! That is why I'm telling you to stick within the lines!" Lanfero cautioned.
"Of course, I did so! Damn it... Fine. What is the point of arguing with someone who doesn't have a single silver in his wallet?" Ramon jabbed.
Lanfero glanced at the head of his grumbling subordinate for a moment. In the end, he decided to trust him. After all, he knew that Ramon was doing his best to protect Corrupted.
By the way... Something nagged Lanfero. "Ramon."
"Yes?"
"You mentioned that letters were found in the bin of Luan Badniker's room," Lanfero noted.
Ramon nodded. "That's right."
"Then did anyone else hear about this?"
Ramon froze. A heartbeat later, he slapped his forehead, saying, "Ah."
***
At last, I decided which clan to join: Corrupted. The name was ugly, but I liked the clan leader, and the clan suited my goals perfectly. Staying there for a while would be worthwhile. Once I joined a clan, I would have to be a part of it for at least a year. However, if I completed four B-class missions, I could do whatever I wanted, so the restriction didn't matter much.
Lanfero and Ramon were only passing through the Hero Society. In four days, they would return to their jurisdiction again in the northern Land of Freezing Cold. I planned to travel with them at that time, but there were two problems.
Naturally, the first one was Verita. Obviously, she would follow me. The real issue lay in Bomb Girl Verita's unpredictable nature.
I confirmed through my duel with Heero that her behavior was controlled to some extent. I had also secured an escape route through my conversation with the Headquarters Chief. In other words, I had dampened the fuse to prevent the bomb from exploding.
The second problem was my current companion, Evan Helvin. His true identity was that of a Young Dark Pope of the Dark Church. Frankly, I couldn't predict what would happen when Verita and Evan met. For that reason, I wanted to meet Evan today.
It's the first day of the Origin's Commander's Great War... Or is it the second day? Either way, the test will probably last a few more days. Fortunately, the schedule guarantees rest time after sunset instead of nonstop trials.
I went to see Evan during that break. I worried that it would be difficult to enter, but the process went smoothly once I presented the B-class Hero Badge.
"Since you are acquaintances, a brief visit is allowed. However, clan recruitment offers are prohibited. You will be penalized if caught, so be careful," a C-class hero at the entrance informed me.
"I don't belong to a clan, but I understand," I replied.
Formal paperwork was required to join a clan, so I was still independent. We were also supposed to meet tomorrow at lunch.
The C-class hero nodded and cleared the way. That was how I entered the battlefield of the Great War.
"Luan!" Mir spotted me at once.
Was she training? She ran toward me from quite a distance, breathing hard.
"Have you been well?" I asked.
"Of course!" She nodded fervently. "By the way, how did you get in here? What happened to your promotion test?"
"I did well enough to get the rank I wanted," I replied.
Mir looked up at me with shining eyes. "As expected, you are amazing..."
I lightly patted the crown of her head and asked, "By the way, what is that on your face?"
"Huh? Ah! It is a sacred battle tattoo!" she said excitedly.
I arched my brow. "You got a tattoo?"
"No. It is surprisingly easy to erase." As she said that, she rubbed her face, and the red markings disappeared.
It seemed to be one of the giants' customs. On second thought, it shared a few similarities with the eastern tribes' practices as well.
At that moment, Evan emerged from the barracks. "Luan?"
I looked at Mir and said, "Mir, I need to talk with Evan for a bit."
"I understand!" Mir nodded and went back to the barracks.
I gestured to Evan and led him toward a quieter area. This wasn't a topic that could be discussed in the open.
Evan followed without hesitation. We walked far from the barracks until we reached a spot beside a shallow stream. The gentle sound of flowing water helped mask our voices and gave us a measure of privacy.
"What's going on?" Evan asked.
I decided to be honest with him. I believed this approach was much safer than telling Verita about Evan. "It is like this..."
After I recounted everything, Evan's expression grew serious. "She's a Colorless believer?"
"Do you know about them?"
Evan explained, "They are the most independent force among the factions. No one knows where their main base is, and they rarely respond to requests for cooperation. They only pretend to comply when the Dark Pope issues a direct order."
"Then can we treat them as a completely separate force from the church?" I noted.
Evan said, "It's more complicated than that. They share the same ultimate purpose as we do, and their faction is too powerful to ignore. Their numbers are small, but their overall strength rivals that of the other major factions."
I was dumbfounded.
By major factions, he was likely referring to Black Swamp, Blood Moon, Green Tongue and Golden Horn. Each of those groups counted its members in the thousands, and the numbers grew even more when the low-level followers were included.
On the other hand, according to Verita, there were around ten Colorless believers. Each of them possessed strength equal to hundreds of ordinary church members. After meeting Verita in person, I could not deny the accuracy of that assessment.
"By the way, this is the first time I've heard of a believer who can distinguish church members." After a brief pause, Evan said, "Just as you said, moving together right now is too risky."
"Right?"
"Yes." Evan suggested, "Let's act separately for the time being. I will find a better way to hide my strength, while you gather more information about the nun called Razbet."
Evan's conclusion closely matched my own.
I nodded. "Okay. Then let's meet again at the northern Utgard Concentration Camp in about half a year."
"The Utgard Concentration Camp?" Evan echoed. "Why there?"
"I've heard there have been disturbing movements from the church there. Something will happen there within half a year at the latest," I answered.
"Really?"
Evan didn't ask about my source. Due to this, I didn't get a chance to use any of the excuses I had prepared. I said instead, "You should try to find information about Utgard on your own."
"I understand." He nodded, then asked, "What about Mir?"
I hesitated briefly, though I had already made my decision. "I will ask her directly. She will either move alone or travel with me."
"Then I'll go and call Mir back," Evan said.
"Yes. Goodbye." It felt like I wouldn't be seeing Evan again for a while, so I waved. He smiled and waved back.
Shortly after, Mir returned. "The north? You're going to the north?"
"Yes. It is near the Utgard Concentration Camp, to a place called the Land of Freezing Cold."
"Ah! The Land of Freezing Cold!" Mir said with excitement. "I see! Once we reach the north, leave everything to me! I know that place inside and out! Hahahat! "
I wondered whether she truly knew the region better than the heroes who currently held jurisdiction over the Land of Freezing Cold, but I still agreed anyway.
"Thank you. However, if you want to accompany me, you must pass the Origin," I pointed out.
"That... umm. I will try my best," Mir said while touching her arm, where the cloth had been tied.
Perhaps she was worried because she had already lost her cloth. Still, no sane examiner would disqualify her. As such, I wasn't too concerned.
I added, "One more thing. The clan I'm joining isn't that good. If you join the same clan, you will have a hard time."
"It doesn't matter!" she said without hesitation.
"It's settled then."
I had expected that answer. I told Mir the approximate time and place of departure, then said goodbye.
I walked alone through the darkness, my shoes brushing softly against the grass.
Winter had ended completely. Even after sunset, the air held no trace of cold, which proved the season's passing. At times, a fierce wind swept across the grassland. The weather had grown mild, yet my destination lay in the north, where sharp, biting winds blew throughout the year.
At this rate, will I someday explore all four regions of the empire? As I was thinking about this, I crossed the grassland and returned to Teper.
Then I noticed something strange.
The streets were unusually quiet. It was only around eight in the evening, far too early for such silence.
The faint sense of discomfort sharpened the moment I entered the alleyway Chain Scythe had shown me.
Three figures appeared in front of me. Only three were visible, but more were surely hidden, watching from the shadows.
The middle-aged man at the center matched the classic image of a mage. He wore a robe and held a wand in one hand, his expression severe and unyielding. He regarded me with indifferent eyes before finally speaking. "Luan Badniker."
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I am Zach from Frostel."
I recognized the name. Frostel was a clan that I had heard of, and I had definitely received a letter marked with an ice pick pattern.
What business does this person have with me? I didn't know, but my hostility surged toward these bastards all the same.
"Shall we talk for a moment?" Zach asked.