Chapter 248: Seven Southern Families (1) (1/2)
Around dawn in the morning.
Jude said as he looked at the sleeping Kajsa curled up next to Sebastian.
“You look alike.”
“Eh? What are you talking about?”
“It’s fine if you don’t know.”
“???”
He had thought that Cordelia and Kajsa were similar since they liked to sleep in a curled up position, just like how animals sleep.
But Jude did not dare to say that aloud, so Cordelia tilted her head and said as she looked at Kajsa.
“I feel guilty waking her up when she’s sleeping so soundly.”
Kajsa was sleeping so well that the phrase ‘a good night’s sleep’ perfectly described it. But Jude did not care about that as he shook Kajsa’s shoulder.
“Hey, Kajsa.”
“Uh? Huh?”
“Wake up.”
She indeed had a beast as an ancestor.
Unlike Cordelia who was almost defenseless when sleeping, Kajsa opened her eyes as soon as he touched her.
Jude gave some cold water to the half-asleep Kajsa before carrying the sleeping Sebastian on his back and leaving the room.
“Mister? Huh? W-wait! Where are you taking him!”
“We’re going home.”
“Eh?”
“Let’s go to your house.”
At Jude’s words, Kajsa instantly flinched. Because she thought that it was finally her turn.
‘I have to stay alert!’
Because these two will rob me if I let my guard down.
Anyway, apart from her, Cordelia woke up Bentham who was lying down with his stomach on the floor, and they hurriedly prepared to leave.
“We’ll have to leave the sirens secretly. Because we don’t know when we’ll be able to leave if it keeps going like this.”
“You’re right. I don’t think Electra and Chloe will let us go easily.”
Cordelia had a bitter smile at Kajsa’s words, and Jude also smiled.
“Anyway, let’s go now.”
“Okay!”
Kajsa immediately answered as if she wanted to step on land again like the two.
If one thought about it, Kajsa’s family, the Ophands, thought that Kajsa had been captured by the pirates, so it was proper to go back as soon as possible.
‘Because it’s been around 3 days since we left the pirate island.’
The Ophand family would have been anxious about Kajsa whom they had lost contact with because she had been kidnapped by the pirates for the past 3 days.
‘Perhaps they’ve already taken over the empty pirate island.’
They might be looking for Kajsa who was nowhere to be seen.
Calix Ophand who fought against Gaël in the fighting competition was a person who dearly cherished Kajsa.
Even in the game, the relationship between the two was so close that in fanfiction, the most frequent pairing with Kajsa was neither Sebastian nor Wolfe, but Calix.
TN: WTF… Incest route? Or are Kajsa and Calix not blood-related siblings?
‘Among the three men, Calix was the only who didn’t die in the beginning as he even appeared later.’
In any case, Kajsa and Calix had a close relationship, so they would be able to get support as well as rewards if they return her to the Ophand family.
Support in helping them rob the other 7 southern families.
‘They’ll probably help after knowing the entire situation.’
Because it was about the family heirloom of the other 6 families.
Perhaps they would help the two more than they could imagine.
“Anyway, let’s hurry.”
Jude urged the group again, and they hurried out of the mansion.
Everyone was drunk because of the banquet, so they didn’t encounter anyone while they were moving.
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Jude and Cordelia rode together on a seahorse as the group left the Gallas family’s mansion and the country of the sirens.
***
“Fuaa! Fwoo! I can breathe air now.”
At the seashore.
Kajsa deeply breathed the fresh air she had not breathed in a few days, while Bentham continued to pant next to her.
And Jude turned to Cordelia instead of the two as he asked.
“Are you feeling cold?”
“Yes, but it’s fine.”
Their hair and clothes were soaked since they were in the water, but unlike the last time they fell into the water, she didn’t have a pale face or lips.
Because they had received from the sirens a magic tool that maintained one’s body temperature in the water.
“But let’s get out of the water so that we can dry up quickly. We might catch a cold.”
“Okay.”
The two were very sweetly looking at each other.
Therefore, Kajsa instinctively wanted to interrupt them, and she quickly stepped in between the two and said.
“This is the coast of Piares, right? Then Argon is just nearby!”
When Kajsa shouted loudly at the sight of such a large city, Bentham also smiled happily.
“Oh! Argon! I’m glad since this is where the guild headquarters is! Wait, did you purposely bring us here in the first place?”
At Bentham’s question, Kajsa also looked at Jude in curiosity, and Jude slowly nodded.
“Because this is where the 7 southern families are gathered.”
Argon Port.
It was the largest city in the south that was under the royal family’s jurisdiction. The city was like an island on land because it was situated between the territories of the 7 southern families.
For this reason, Argon Port served as a neutral zone for the 7 southern families who had been fighting for a long time.
‘That’s why it became the biggest port here. However…’
The 7 southern families would fight whenever they met, but they did not get into physical fights on Argon Port which was under the direct control of the royal family.
Instead, the 7 southern families used Argon Port as the stage for their fierce battles of power, which eventually led to the growth of Argon Port into the best city in the south.
So the city was overflowing with money and people.
“Daram is nice, but I think it’s better to go straight to the marquis.”
“Hmm, you’re right. That’s a good idea.”
As it was an important land, the 7 southern families built their own mansions in Argon Port and assigned their family’s influential talents there.
There were also many cases where the head of the family lived there.
‘That is the case for Marquis Ophand and Count Kagehama.’
In other words, it was highly likely that Carlos’ tokens, the heirlooms of Marquis Ophand and Count Kagehama, were in Argon Port.
“Okay, I’ll take the lead from here. Follow me.”
The excited Kajsa lifted Sebastian, who was twice as tall as her, and began to take the lead.
Jude deliberately let Bentham walk ahead before he whispered to Cordelia.
“Let’s join up with Scarlet once we arrive at Argon Port.”
They had told Scarlet that they would be robbing the 7 southern families, so she was probably staying near Argon Port too.
‘Because we told her that we’d compete in two months.’
Preliminary investigation was necessary for thefts.
More than a month had already passed, so if she wasn’t at Argon Port, it was highly possible that she was traveling around the south to investigate the seven families.
But Cordelia’s reaction was a bit odd.
“Ah?”
She blinked her eyes with a slightly dumbfounded expression.
And Jude knew very well what that expression meant.
“What the… Did you forget Scarlet?”
Was Scarlet the one that you forgot last time?
Jude asked in surprise, and Cordelia flinched and shifted her gaze.
“N-no. Uh…”
It was clear to him that she was avoiding his eyes.
It seemed like she had indeed forgotten Scarlet.
“Wow, you’re amazing. Isn’t this too much?”
You’re the one who wanted to compete with her in the first place.
“It slipped my mind for a bit. Just a bit. I didn’t completely forget about it.”
It was at the moment when Cordelia wiggled her fingers and made excuses.
[Forgetting someone, huh… It happens often. I think it’s quite possible.]
A cold-sounding voice came out of Moonlight, and the really guilty Cordelia shrank even more.
“Uuuuh… I’m sorry.”
[Are you really sorry?]
“Yes, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
Scarlet is the one who got forgotten, so why is she asking Melissa for forgiveness?
In any case, Cordelia’s shrinking appearance as she asked for forgiveness was cute, so Jude decided to not say anything. He continued their conversation after taking a few pictures with a magic tool.
“Moving on, let’s begin the match right away after meeting up with Scarlet.”
“We’re stealing the 7 southern families’ heirlooms, right? The tokens of Carlos.”
Cordelia immediately replied as she was eager to change the topic, so Jude pinched her cheek and said.
“That’s right. The side with the most heirlooms of the 7 families wins… or the side who steals a family heirloom first wins. It would be easier for us if we attach conditions like the loser helps the winner afterwards.”
Jude said that in a straightforward manner like always, but Cordelia lightly pursed her lips instead of agreeing immediately.
She pulled Jude’s sleeve as she asked.