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Chapter 56 - Caladbolg's edge
It was tricky, and it took a lot of work, but Merlin succeeded in getting the siblings out of the city. He left them in the woods nearby and went back in. He almost lucked out and got caught when crossing the entrance, but thanks to his disguise, he managed to convince the guards he wasn’t anyone suspicious.
*Master, I’m afraid I rushed things too much when inviting the siblings to join my adventurer group. I probably should have asked about their abilities before doing so… I don’t wish to go back on my word, but with their inability to wield weapons, it would probably be better for them to stay in Ragnarök instead. What do you think, master?* asked Merlin.
[*Indeed, you rushed it too much, but that doesn’t matter now. You think they will be useless to you because they can only wield weapons made by their own people, isn’t it? But you already have weapons suitable for them, besides, once they awaken the power of their bloodline, they will be able to create their own weapons, and problem solved!*] said Lokiseth.
*What do you mean, master? How do I have weapons suitable for them?* asked Merlin, surprised.
[*Do you remember the treasure vault you so efficiently “cleaned”, back in Klausna Kingdom? Among the things you got there, there were some ornamental weapons in wood… Well, they were actually witch weapons.*] replied Lokiseth.
*Master, do you mean…*
[*Regular weapons are useless for people of the witch bloodline, conversely, witch weapons are useless in the hands of regular people. Some idiot probably found the place of a deceased witch, thought those weapons were ornamental, and used them as such! They are low grade weapons, but witch weapons nonetheless.*] explained Lokiseth.
Merlin pondered about it for a while and came to a conclusion: he would keep them by his side as long as they were useful to him, but he would send them to Ragnarök the very second they became a hindrance to him.
Fifteen minutes had passed since he had come back into the city, he removed his disguise and left the city, he greeted the guards on his way out, so that they would remember when exactly he had left, and that he was alone when he did. Then, he went to the woods where he had left Camille and her brother.
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Gil: “Sister, can we trust that guy?”
Camille: “What do you mean, Gil? Of course we can trust him! After all, he saved our lives!”
Gil: “If you say so…” *Sis… Don’t think I’m just a little kid. Only a blind person would be unable to see your feelings for him, when he saved us, he became your knight in shining armor, but you don’t think any further than that… Fortunately, he doesn’t seem like a bad guy, and is dense enough to fail to notice how you act around him…*
Camille: “Gil, you are making a strange face.”
Gil: “Oh, it’s nothing, sister. I was just thinking about those people who are after us.”
Camille: “…”
Gil wasn’t exactly “delighted” by their current situation. He didn’t like to have to obey someone else’s orders, he had had enough of that back in the Dollan Empire. But then again, having to obey orders was still better than being dead, so for the time being, he decided to comply with whatever Merlin said to them.
At the same time the previous conversation between the siblings was taking place, Merlin was thinking about what approach he should take when explaining to them about their bloodline and the underlying reasons of their persecution. He wasn’t sure of how they would react to the news, and that made him uneasy which made him opt for delay tactics until they got to know each other better.
A couple of minutes later, Merlin arrived to where the siblings were, and noticed the tension in the air. He didn’t ask what had happened, for he wasn’t sure of wanting to know, he just told them to come closer to him and started to explain to them how things were at the moment.
Merlin: “Ok. First, Gil. From now, your race will be half-elf, and you probably should change your name to Will. It sounds similar so it will be easier for all of us to get used to it and remember it. Also, you are forbidden from calling Camille ‘sister’, I would say in public, but it is better if you stop altogether, that way the chances of you misspeaking in public will also lessen.”
Gil/Will: “I don’t like it, but I get your reasoning, so ok.”
Merlin: “Good. Now, Camille. You won’t need to change your name, with your changed appearance you can pass as my sister, which is what you will do from now on. Get used to calling me ‘brother’, because I’ll treat you as my sister from today onward.”
Camille: “O-ok…” *Damn! What are my chances to get you if you treat me like your sister? I guess it will do for now, but I won’t give up!*
Merlin: “Ok, let’s go back to the city and have you registered in the Adventurers guild! Oh, one more thing, you can’t have any contact whatsoever with your uncle, no matter how grieved you see him. If he were to know you are still alive, news would leak out and those after you would come to kill you more ruthlessly than before!”
Will: “Got it.”
Camille: “Isn’t that a little cruel for our uncle?”
Merlin: “Faking death will only work once on your enemies, are you willing to go back to being hunted down just to comfort your uncle? Furthermore, your enemies have spies inside your uncle’s manor. If they were to know you two are actually alive, what do you think would happen to your uncle? They would capture and torture him, expecting him to spill your whereabouts!”
Camille: “Sorry, I didn’t think about that.”
Merlin: “I know it is going to be hard on you two, but even if you cross him, or anyone you previously knew, you must ignore them. Doing otherwise would be tantamount to sentence them to death after a very long and painful period of torture!”
Will: “Ok, ok. We understand, you didn’t have to be so explicit about it!”
After that conversation, Merlin took the siblings back to the gate and entered the city normally. Something unexpected happened when they were at the gates of the city, though, they crossed a group of men going out which happened to be the people dispatched by the Dollan Empire to kill Gil and Camille.
*Eh? Aren’t those two our targets?* thought Alistair when he saw the siblings at the gate.
However, when he focused his attention on them, he discovered that though their features were similar, the girl’s hair and eye color weren’t like their target’s, as for the boy, he was a half-elf, so there was no way he was the one they had been chasing down.
*For a second there I thought our targets had come back to life… I think I am going to ask for a vacation after we get back home, this mission has taken a toll on me and I am starting to imagine things…* thought Alistair before going out of the city with his comrades.
The siblings didn’t notice anything amiss, but Merlin did. However, as things didn’t escalate, he didn’t bother to point it out to the siblings. Once they were inside the city walls, Merlin took them to his inn, and booked a room for each of them. Following that, he brought them to the Adventurers Guild to have them register as adventurers, to create his own adventurer group, and register Camille and Will as its members.
Right after they entered the guild’s hall, Merlin got distracted and separated a few steps from the siblings. The siblings didn’t notice it and continued their way to the counter. Merlin hurried up and followed them, but not before trouble came their way.
The adventurers that were in the guild’s hall when Merlin had previously destroyed the B Rank adventurer group that had attacked him, started to whisper upon seeing him enter the hall.
They didn’t know if something similar would take place again, but Merlin’s next words when he saw an adventurer grabbing Camille’s arm and touching her butt, let them know something interesting was going to happen.
Merlin: “Hey, jackass. Would you mind letting go of my sister?”
*His sister? That idiot just molested that monster’s sister!? He is dead! That idiot is definitely dead!* thought the ones who had seen Merlin before.
After Merlin spoke those words, silence was made and the adventurer, who didn’t expect anyone to speak to him in that tone, unconsciously let go of Camille. He turned around to face Merlin and sneered at him.
???: “Oh, what do we have here? A little peasant shit who doesn’t know his place! Do you know who I am? I am Lian Kless, the third son of Baron Kless! Even if I took your peasant sister to my bed, that would be her honor!”
*Now he has done it!* *He is dead!* *That idiot only knows how to think with his dick!* *Why did he provoke the monster?* *Like status would matter to that monster!* *I’m afraid Baron Kless is going to lose his third son…*
Many people present thought like that, however, no one was willing to interfere, first because they weren’t confident of being able to overpower Merlin, and second, because they were aware of Lian’s misdeeds with women, and hated him. As a matter of fact, despite Lian’s use of his status as the third son of Baron Kless, he had been disowned by his father due to him molesting the maids and even going as far as forcing his way with them!
Merlin: “Well, mister molester, I don’t care whose son you are. As far as I’m concerned, you are just a jackass who molested my sister, so I’m going to break your three legs and make you unable to use them anymore!”
He didn’t waste any time, right after voicing those words, Merlin kicked Lian’s crotch, and accompanied by Lian’s loud wail, a sound of something breaking was heard. Merlin didn’t stop there, he broke both of his knees, and taking out a dagger placed it in front of Lian’s eyes.
Merlin: “You better go away now, if you ever come near my sister again, I’ll let you know what it means to experience death while being still alive!”
Hearing Merlin’s words, a wet stain started forming in Lian’s pants, he turned around and crawled his way out of the guild’s hall. Many adventurers were delighted by Merlin’s actions, most of them female adventurers who had been molested by Lian or someone like him.
*Told you so!* *That was a good show!* *I better make sure not to bother that monster, ever!* *A molester less in the guild, good!*
The matter taken care of, Merlin accompanied the siblings to the counter and had them registered as adventurers. Camille registered as “Camille Lefey”, while Gil registered as “Will Ford”. Now that they had guild cards with those names, they could safely use them as their proof of identity, which meant, as long as they didn’t do something that revealed what their identities really were, their enemies would continue to believe them dead.
Merlin: “I would like to start an adventurer group.”
Receptionist: “Very well, what will its name be?”
Merlin: “Caladbolg’s edge.”
Receptionist: “Any adventurer other than you in that adventurer group?”
Merlin: “My sister Camille and my friend Will.”
Receptionist: “Ok. May I have all three of your guild cards, please?”
After they gave their guild cards to her, she placed them on the registration form and put an inked seal on the form. When she did, the words ‘Caladbolg’s edge’ appeared on each of their guild cards. Having finished the procedure, she gave the guild cards back to them, and conveyed to Merlin the guildmaster’s wish of speaking with him in private.
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