Vol 1 Chapter 23 (1/2)

LEVEL 1: A Whisper, an Aria, a Prayer, an Awakening

Chapter 23: Prologue

The bell tolled, sounding the evening’s six o’clock hour When the echoes of the seventh toll suffused and reluctantly faded into the city, night had fallen upon Altana It was the final bell of the day, as the bells only sounded the ti until six o’clock in the evening

Though it was hardworking laborers who found itand finished with dinner and a nightcap, nal to close up shop Meanwhile, for food stalls it marked the busiest time of day, and for taverns it heralded the influx of patrons

And for Sherry’s Tavern, froht, they enjoyed their best business; large nu to replenish their spirits for work the next day

Tonight, however, Sherry’s was livelier than usual Members of Crimson Moon were not the only ones present; elderly crafts businesswoular army could be found scattered about

Everywhere Haruhiro looked was crammed full of people, and even the spacious second floor seemed cramped And naturally, all the seats were taken, so —not just on the first and second floors, but in the stairwell as well

Everyone had packed the heard a certain rumor

Normally, a well-known Crimson Moon ed That Man of Clan This or That Woh hu areas, the further one ventured from human territory, the th

Often, they relied on their superior numbers to kill any humans they encountered Therefore, clans were born out of necessity, and if the objective was to achieve certain oals, it was best to join one In fact, it was perhapswas a must; an indispensible measure

Despite that, there existed a party that had fought clanless this entire time Four of them were Crimson Moon o, was a Necro Zenht their party up to six members

They were considered the best of the best and their reputation in Altana always preceded them They were the only Crimson Moon members ever to have been invited to a dinner party hosted by the Earl of Altana, Gerran Vedoy They had even declined to attend

“Souood time, don’t you think?”

At the voluptuous wo, Souma rose from his seat That alone caused a hush to fall over a tavern so boisterous only moments before It was to be expected, of course After all, everyone was here to listen to the announcement he was to make What was the point if they did not hear him out in silence?

At any rate, today was a day for the history books Today was the day that the fa to form a clan Rumor had it he came to recruit members

But was the ruroundless, false whispering Many thought exactly that, but Souma hadshown up for real at Sherry’s, and he was athered

“shi+ma,” Souma said

“Yep,” the voluptuous woht nod

Souma then turned his attention to the man with dreadlocks “Kemuri”

“Here,” the dreadlock- his neck; left, then right

Souo”

“Mh “I dislike things like this”

“I see” The corners of Souhtest of frowns before he turned to the construct and its fearsome mask “Zenmai”