Ned tried to dodge, but the stick still hit him on the side of his face, leaving a long red mark from temple to jawline.

“Ouch! What was that for?!”

“Nothing.”

“Red,” Alec said in a chastising tone. Sure, Ned might have asked for it by spilling Red’s inner fears, but throwing a stick at his face was a little too far. It also just confirmed that he had been right.

Red couldn’t help but get images of Alec being dead if she saw him with his eyes closed and his body unmoving.

“Why?” Red asked, instead of getting hung up on what had just happened.

“Why what? You’re gonna have to be a little more specific, Red.” Alec sighed.

“Why did you go so far?”

“What else was I supposed to do? Let you suffer? Let everyone else suffer? My conscience wouldn’t let me or something. Anyway, it’s in the past now, so let’s just move on. You’re safe, and I’m alive, that’s all that matters.”

“You’re strange, Alec. Most people wouldn’t risk their life for someone they’ve only known for a couple of days.”

Red’s words only confirmed Ned’s opinion of Alec.

“Well, I’m not most people.”

“I’ve noticed. It’s almost to the point where it feels like you’re from a different world. Your way of thinking is so different.”

“Uh…” Alec was speechless, and he could only blink mindlessly as he stared at Red. Eventually, he managed to squeeze out two words.

“Another world?” He asked curiously. Setting aside the fact that he was apparently stranger than he thought, Red must have used that expression because the concept of other worlds existed.

By now, he had made too many connections to give up on Miteria. But if other worlds existed, maybe ways to reach them did as well. It was desperately far-fetched, but maybe he could find and reach Earth, and grab Alex by the shoulders and shake him down for everything he knew about the world he had created.

Unfortunately, Alec’s question stumped Red. She had only heard the expression.

“I heard that a long, long time ago, a being from another world came here and almost destroyed it. If not for some mysterious big shots killing it, none of us would be alive today.”

Both Alec’s and Red’s eyes widened in surprise as they turned to Ned.

‘Alright, alright, alright.’ Alec immediately carved those words into his mind. Even if it was just a rumor of a story, it was a damn good clue toward what might be threatening Miteria in the future.

And while it didn’t point toward Earth, it possibly confirmed the existence of other worlds, which could mean parallel realities on multiple layers. And the fact that a being had crossed over into their world meant interplanar travel was possible.

In theory, he wouldn’t need the System to help bring him back. He could possibly do it on his own.

Alec’s eyes lit up with excitement, while Red’s narrowed with suspicion.

“Where did you hear that?” She asked.

“You were lucky to be saved before you had to do anything, but most clients are chatty. They talk and blabber and yap about anything and everything to each other and us. They don’t think of us as real people, so they spill secrets like pouring tea.”

“Does that mean you’re sitting on a lot of valuable information?” Alec asked, suddenly even more interested.

“I wouldn’t say valuable, but I know a couple of things about the clients and their relations. Of course, I haven’t been doing this for long, nor was I very good at it, so I mostly did chores. I’m sure some of the others have better intel.”

Alec nodded along before frowning.

“That probably means that Madam knows a lot.”

“Yes.” Ned agreed without hesitation.

“Indeed,” A sultry voice said from the shadows behind Red.

Alec immediately put up a barrier around Red and fired a Pebbleshot in the voice’s direction. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed her until she showed up.

The Madam had followed them.

“I did not come here to fight,” She said, her voice tired, as she raised her hands and stepped into the light of the campfire. A thin line of blood was visible on her cheek, where the Pebble had scratched her.

Alec narrowed his eyes as he scanned her up and down.

He had assumed she had remained conscious after his Mass Hypnosis because she wore a bunch of Nilver, as Old George had done. But now that he got a closer look at her, he could feel the pressure of magic emanating from her. She was a powerful mage.

Red slowly got up and turned around, retreating to Alec’s side while keeping her hand on the hilt of a dagger she picked up during the exodus.

The Madam accepted the invitation and sat down on the stump Red had used as a seat with a tired sigh.

“I’ll be frank,” She said, staring at the campfire for a while before she continued. She raised her gaze and looked Alec in the eyes.

“Your words reached my heart, young man.” She glanced at Ned and Red.

“Nothing I say, however, will reach the hearts of those I’ve hurt. I know that. I…have done too much. But I want you to hear me out,” She said, looking at Alec again.

Alec nodded slowly.

“As long as you don’t attack first, I’ll listen to what you have to say.” It would give him more time to recover his mana and prepare, after all.

The Madam nodded.

“I’ve known for a long time now that I was on the wrong side, that I had gone too far on my quest for survival. But it was like you said. I was scared.

“I told myself that as long as I was in charge, I could keep things in control. I could keep my girls and boys safe from the worst of it. I…deluded myself into thinking that they were safe with me, safer than they would be if someone else were in charge.

“I mean, I at least wouldn’t experiment on them or sell them for parts. As long as they worked hard, a life of luxury wouldn’t be out of their hands…”

“That—”

“I know.” Madam raised a hand in defeat before Ned could talk.

“I lost my humanity a long time ago. Over time, the punishments that were simply meant to caution you away from doing foolish things became harsher and harsher. The standards of the clients degraded. Your treatment worsened, and I let it happen.

“It is no one’s fault but my own.”

“That’s why…Please let me make it right. Not with words or hollow apologies but with actions,” Madam pleaded with Alec.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep