Expedition Group (3)

Deep night.

A certain alley in the main city of Hisperion.

On a dim street where even the streetlights didn’t reach, Preben, commander of the Heavenly Sword knight order, was waiting for someone alone.

― Swish.

Soon, there was a sound of someone approaching from behind her.

Preben smirked as she raised the corners of her mouth in a mock greeting.

“What a wonderful place for a first date. Ian Greysel. To meet in such a secluded place with the moon high in the sky—your taste is better than expected.”

“Hehe… Is that so?”

“… What the? Aris?”

Preben’s expression soured immediately.

“I was supposed to meet Ian here.”

“Ian is very busy. I came out instead. Are you disappointed? You were looking forward to a date with the young master, but your annoying niece showed up instead?”

“…”

Preben furrowed her brow.

“Don’t tell me you did something to Ian.”

Aris snorted in disbelief.

“Me? … Haha. Of course not. Ian and I get along well.”

“Then why are you out here instead of Ian? I was definitely supposed to meet Ian here.”

“I decided to take care of things in his stead. I’m bringing you into this expedition, aunt.”

“Expedition? You’re bringing me in?”

Aris got straight to the point.

“We’ve pinpointed the location of the Archbishop of Greed.”

“… What?”

“We’re assembling an expedition to capture him, and I’d like you to join, aunt.”

“No, no, hold on.”

“Why?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? You skipped too much in the middle.”

“I thought you liked getting straight to the point?”

“Well, I do, but…”

Preben ran a hand across her forehead.

“Aris. Niece. Do you think I’d just go along with whatever you say? Of all the people in Heavenly Sword Palace, you’re one of the ones I trust least.”

“Oh my… You’re stabbing your niece in the heart. I’m… getting teary-eyed.”

“Cut it out. At the very least, you should give me some basis for your claim. You found the Archbishop of Greed’s location? How?”

“Heh.”

Aris chuckled quietly.

“Sorry, but I don’t think there’s any real need to explain that.”

“… What?”

“Honestly, it was just a suggestion. Whether you come or not doesn’t matter much to me, aunt.”

Aris lifted her skirt lightly in a curt bow, then turned away.

“I’ll tell Ian everything. That you, Preben, coldly and decisively refused to join.”

“W-What?”

“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

“W-Wait, stop!”

“What is it? Do you have more to say?”

“You… What’s your relationship with Ian?”

Aris replied without turning around.

“Why are you curious about that, aunt?”

“I know you’ve been hanging around that boy. At first I thought you accepted the position of Sword Dragon school master because of Yuria, but now I see it was for Ian. And now you’ve shown up in his place—that cinched it.”

“… So what?”

“If you’re plotting anything evil against Ian, stop right now. Unless, of course, you want me as your enemy.”

Preben placed her hand on her sword hilt.

― Gooooo!

That alone was enough to freeze the air in the alley.

Even though Aris had now reached the advanced-rank Grandmaster realm.

― Gulp…

She couldn’t help but swallow nervously at the overwhelming aura Preben exuded.

“Still as reckless as ever, even with age. That’s aunt for you.”

“… This isn’t just a joke. I owe Ian a great debt. I can’t stand by and let a black widow like you reach out to him.”

“Heh…”

Though her body was weighted down by the aura, Aris let a smile curl across her lips.

“In that case, why not just come along?”

“… What?”

“I’m not going to tell you anything. So—if you’re curious, come and see for yourself what I’m doing with Ian. I won’t stop you.”

“… Are you mocking me now?”

“Does it sound like a joke?”

― Gooooooo!

Now, even Aris’s gaze carried a murderous intent.

― Bzzzzt!

Thus, in the middle of the night, the two Grandmasters glared quietly and exerted their force on one another.

“Tch… You foxy little—”

Preben clicked her tongue and withdrew her aura first.

It was clear that carrying on this contest would get her nowhere.

Aris quietly savored her victory smile.

“You’re just too simple, aunt.”

“No, it’s you who’s too complicated. I never know what you’re thinking, you’re always plotting something—and that’s why I don’t trust you.”

“Hmph. Not trust? Or are you just afraid? Of the unknown you can’t understand?”

“Are you trying to pick a real fight?”

“Haaa… Are you planning to break down the main estate? Just save your energy and come along. You said you can’t just sit by anyway, right?”

“… Right now? Where are we going?”

“To Ian.”

“… At this hour?”

Aris grinned mischievously.

“There’s no night or day between him and me.”

“W-W-What! Just what are you two!?”

* * *

About half a day earlier.

‘……’

Ian was agonizing over how to convince Preben to join the expedition.

To bring her in, he’d have to explain a lot, but there were just so many secrets he had to keep.

How could he persuade her while keeping the secrets intact?

As he brooded, Aris noticed right away.

“Young master? You look troubled.”

“Ah… Is it that obvious?”

“What’s weighing on your mind?”

“It’s nothing big. I just… I want to bring one more person into the expedition, but I’m not sure how to convince her.”

“Who is it?”

“Heavenly Sword knight order commander. Preben Hisperion.”

“Ah~ You were thinking of my aunt. Now that I think about it… I heard you took care of my aunt’s pet? Was it a rabbit?”

“…?!”

Aris knew about Preben’s secret lover, Renie.

And that Ian had healed Renie and saved her life.

“Hehe. Is it so surprising? As if I wouldn’t know what goes on in Heavenly Sword Palace.”

“Just how much do you know, exactly?”

“Who knows? Want to trade secrets—one for one?”

“… No thanks.”

“Che.”

Aris shot Ian a look, then spoke again.

“I’ll take care of convincing Aunt Preben.”

“… What? How?”

Aris smiled.

“Just trust me with it. Instead, will you gather the other companions and be at my villa by this evening? Is that alright?”

“That’s not too difficult… Alright, I’ll leave Preben to you.”

“Great. Then, see you tonight.”

With that, Aris and Ian went their separate ways, each to handle their own task.

Time passed, and night fell.

‘She really brought her…’

Aris had indeed brought Preben.

‘How did she convince her?’

Well, she probably wouldn’t say even if I asked.

‘But…’

Preben didn’t look pleased at all.

‘She probably didn’t use a very nice method to bring her…’

Maybe it was too careless to leave this to Aris.

Just as Ian was quietly regretting…

‘… Hmph.’

Preben was sizing up each of the expedition members gathered in Aris’s villa basement.

‘Good grief. What a bunch of misfits.’

The first one to catch her eye was Roxy Lockberman, commander of the Heavenly Beast knight order.

That woman was Aris’s direct subordinate, so her presence made sense.

‘But the rest… That’s surprising.’

Sword Fiend Silence Doomraven.

That person had apparently joined Ian’s knight order recently.

‘That was odd.’

The Sword Fiend who had wandered as a mercenary for over a hundred years, suddenly joining a knight order with no apparent connection to Ian.

‘But looking now…’

Seeing her here in Aris’s villa basement—it seemed she’d belonged to Aris from the start.

‘And those two…?’

The two women standing beside the Sword Fiend.

‘Vampires.’

Red eyes gleaming sharply, even in darkness.

An obvious murderous intent in every breath.

No doubt—they were vampires.

‘A festival of all sorts of strange and ancient beings.’

A fitting ensemble for that scheming niece of hers, Aris.

‘…’

Except for the silver-haired youth standing there awkwardly in the middle—Ian Greysel.

‘Pitiful fellow…’

To Preben, Ian looked like a poor hostage trapped among monsters.

‘Ian… Until now, I thought my elder brother was personally raising him as a hidden trump card…’

Looking at this now, it seemed Ian might not have been the Heavenly Sword Lord’s project at all, but Aris’s experimental subject.

‘Aris… My devious niece, who wouldn’t hesitate to conduct brutal human experiments to increase her faction’s power.’

Maybe Ian was the result of those ruthless experiments and modifications—a sort of artificial human, a homunculus.

‘If so, Ian’s talent and unique abilities aren’t so hard to explain.’

If you pieced together the bodies of Hisperion ancestors and mixed in relics of world heroes, making a top-class homunculus like Ian would be quite possible.

‘If my guess is right…’

How much pain and cruelty—near torture—had Ian endured during these years of Aris’s experiments and modifications?

― Thud. Thud. Thud.

Unconsciously, Preben walked over and gently placed a hand on Ian’s shoulder.

“…”

“P-Preben.”

Ian automatically greeted her.

“Thank you for coming.”

Preben nodded silently.

For some reason, she was clenching her teeth so hard her jaw stood out.

― Tap. Tap.

Preben patted Ian’s shoulder twice.

“You’ve endured a lot, Ian.”

“… Excuse me?”

“I’ll protect you from now on, so don’t worry.”

“…???”

While Preben was lost in mistaken sympathy, doing her best to hold back tears…

‘Of course…’

‘… As expected.’

The two vampires standing beside the Sword Fiend, Judy and Scarlet, were making a similar misjudgment.

‘Preben, Aris, Roxy, Sword Fiend… They’re all the top elites among Hisperion’s higher-ups.’

‘Only the Heavenly Sword Lord himself could mobilize a force like this at once…!’

Exchanging glances, the two vampires nodded.

‘Ian managed to gather all these monsters, by himself, in less than three days!’

‘There’s no explanation unless Ian is some kind of secret weapon favored by the entire Hisperion clan.’

To the vampires, Ian looked like a top-tier secret agent, entrusted with near-family head-level military authority.

‘This is insane…!’

Even the Sword Fiend standing beside the vampires was no exception.

‘On this side, the vampire elite. On the other, Hisperion’s top force…! To gather the pinnacles of both power groups in just a few days…!’

She barely suppressed the urge to clutch her head in frustration.

‘Just who ARE you, Ian Greysel!?’

And.

‘Why, why are they all women!?’

Wasn’t Hisperion full of male Swordsmen as well?

And there must be some male vampires, too!?

‘C-Could it be that Ian Greysel…?’

Maybe he was secretly the type with a taste for women.

‘Th-Then, maybe… tripping him up at the right moment might work…?’

“…”

“…”

“…”

Within the chilly silence—

‘Surely… with so many ancient beings gathered, Ian must be one too. That’s probably why he assembled them all so easily.’

‘I wonder how much Ian Greysel has suffered under Aris so far… From now on, I’ll protect him.’

‘… As expected!’

‘I knew it! Ian Greysel is, just as we suspected, the secret weapon personally raised by the Heavenly Sword Lord!’

‘When should I trip him up?’

Misunderstandings were flying thick and fast.

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