Chapter 17 - An Unexpected Reunion (1/2)

Despite being much older, Shiro's face didn't change much. Drawn eyes, a broad chin, and a benevolent look, were the big man's main features.

”Shiro?” Luke questioned incredulously as he looked at the man in front of him.

”Luke?” The Protector also recognized him.

Shiro, skeptical that what he was seeing was real, hugged the half-wolf with all the strength he had. Luke reciprocated. After all, this was really like a dream. After so many years of searching, after the remaining trio had given up on finding their friends, Shiro was there and looked very well.

Ten years ago, when The Protector managed to convince Luke to go and get help, he was found by the knight in the orange cape and, in an interrogation, told everything he saw the tiara do, including the fact that the tiara fell apart with his friend.

John Landford, Sixth Knight of the Table of the Landford Family, did not believe any of Shiro's words and turned the boy over for trial.

Shiro believed that this was the end of him because the Patriarchs of the Noble Families of Oukiwa were not used to being lenient with thieves, even less so when you have the support of bigwigs like the owner of the knick-knack shed and the Landfords.

However, Shiro's case did not even come to light because a very perceptive woman managed to convince even the Patriarch of the Landford Family that sentencing a child to public death could result in a revolt.

Therefore, nine of the ten knights of the Landford Table decided to raise this boy and adopt him. Shiro was happy that he would finally change his life and have opportunities, only he regretted that he could not go back for his companions.

Luke listened to the whole story carefully, without interrupting the big man, who was now over six feet tall, and at the end asked: ”But what about the Landford massacre? Were you there?”

”Are you kidding? Of course, not... if I was, I wouldn't be here.”

The Landford Massacre, that's what the night three years ago was known, when all the Landfords were killed. Since there were no official witnesses left, no one knows whether it was rival nobles, monsters, or demons that killed them. Since Landford Manor was a little further away from Oukiwa, there were no witnesses.

With trembling hands as he remembered the fateful day that Sarah and Shiro disappeared, Luke said with a trembling voice: ”I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry... I looked for you guys, I swear I did.”

Sitting on a bench near the labyrinth of the Mansion, Shiro reached out and stroked the hair between the half-wolf's fallen ears.

”It's all right... Look at us, we've managed to change a lot. We're working for the Strogueher.”

Luke tried to pull himself together on the spot. ”Are you working as a security guard?” he questioned, seeing that the big guy was wearing black armor and an Ebony Sledgehammer on his back, both pretty expensive pieces of equipment.

”Uhum.”

At that moment, Luke considered telling the whole truth, that Matthew, Meredith, and he had not changed. But he thought better of it and didn't say, after all, as much as they were childhood friends, ten years was still a long time.

”Can you introduce me to the rest of the surroundings of the mansion, then?”

”It will be my pleasure. In this one year that I've been working here, I've had a lot of free time.”

For then, Shiro took the half-wolf for a full tour of the vicinity. Since Nathalia had already introduced him to the inside of the mansion and some of the staff, his only concern now was the grounds on which the mansion stood.

Since sneak attacks on noblemen's mansions were not isolated cases, it was also not strange for a new bodyguard to be concerned about this. However, his real intention was to find out more and more about the Strogueher family.

Behind the large field behind the mansion, there was a beautiful forest in which a small stream ran through the trees. Luke concluded that he should warn Nathalia about this because if she ran in this direction, she could be surrounded, and if she died, his contract was over.

After a few minutes of walking, the pair of friends decided to return to the mansion. During the walk, Shiro explained where he had been and what he had been doing in the past years.

It seems that when the Landford Massacre happened, he was doing escort duty for a load of medicine, so he was the only survivor of those who lived in the mansion.