A clamor of voices called out as the manor's windows were broken up by a shower of stones and sticks.

Thom was nervously moving around in place while he bit on his nail, thinking about something that could help him lie his way out of the situation. Suu was thrown on a corner of the room with her hair into a mess, with a red nose and red eyes, showing how badly she had been crying since the past night.

Lourgh tapped his fingers on the desk once. His mouth moved up and down as if chewing on his own disappointment, his eyes shifting between the broken-down lass and the impatient man walking from one side to another. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but under the pressure of silence between siblings, he chose to not speak the first words.

"It's over... Sniff..." Suu said, finally standing up from her corner. "Why are you still trying to find your way out of this? Kei told everybody and there's no one that would rather trust us than him. It's fucking done Thom. Let's pack up and go back to Pontya already."

"No, no. There still has to be something we can do!" Thom bit his nail away and gripped his hand. "Maybe if I give everyone monetary compensation they will—"

"I think I'll stop you there, young prince." Lourgh sighed. "I don't want to sound rude, but you... You've committed a grave mistake. There are rumors running around that you extorted young Kei's late sister into giving you information and you somehow used it to convince the, also deceased, father to murder Argrand. I wasn't particularly fond of him even after all the things we went through, but... You're in the wrong here."

"That, that can't be right." Thom turned around and waved his hand. "I did all of this to help these people! I gave my resources away and I spent entire days thinking about this plan! It's not my fault that they ended up dead, the only death I will make myself responsible for is the baron's, and I won't be prosecuted for it!" Thom tapped his finger on the desk and yelled loudly with a reddened face.

"Hmph..." Lourgh sighed and closed his eyes shut. He seemed to think that it was useless discussing the topic with someone who was way too far into his own head.

"Thom..." Suu raised her arms and let them drop in protest. "I was fine with killing the bad guys. I really was. You know me, you know I'm not the kind of person to hold back when I'm in. But this? This is not at all what I wanted. The baron? Fuck 'im, I'm glad he's dead. But the knight and his wife? What about that other guy? What about Rii, Thom? What about the fucking girl, Thom?!"

"I know!"

Thom elevated his voice, his aura leaking out for a second. He held his temples together as he tried to calm down, but the noises of the mad villagers outside of the manor just wouldn't stop filling his head.

"I had a plan..." Thom swallowed dry. "It was supposed to work. If only it hadn't rained yesterday, then—"

"Then Predsman would still be dead. And the other knight too. Do you think that is a solution here, Thom?"

"It's not my fucking fault, okay?!" He yelled again, pointing at his own chest with veins popping out of his forehead. "I did everything that I could, but that stuck-up and impulsive shitty knight had to go and mess up the plan as if it didn't cost me three whole days of my life!"

"Are you crazy?!" Suu stood in front of him with her frown slanting downwards. "Are you really calling that man impulsive when you yourself couldn't stop throwing words around as if this place had suddenly become your home?! Thom, look at me! Don't forget why we're here, don't you...! Don't you dare forget it!"

She grabbed Thom's cheeks with her tremorous hands, and the man gritted his teeth as he heard her scolding voice. Lourgh scratched his eyebrow in extreme discomfort. He had been caught in the middle of warfare and couldn't get out.

Thom, on his side, was trying to contain his raging breath. He held Suu's wrists with his fingers which were in much better condition than hers, and not before gulping down, he opened his lips.

"We... Came here... Because I am going to become a king, Suu." He whispered.

"By the gods..." Her eyes turned soft as if she had just lost a battle. "You're being swallowed again. You've completely lost it."

"Listen, Suu." Thom grabbed Suu's hand and drew it nearer to his chest, a distorted smile starting to form on his lips. "We're not going anywhere. This is our place. We've earned this land and we're the lords of it! We only need to spend a bit more money, amass an army if we can, and then we'll become stronger! We, we could even be nominated to be the baron's of Saltbide in no time!"

"Kek, with the rumors going around?" Lourgh sneered.

"Thom... What are you trying to do?" Suu couldn't help but shake her head in a complete loss. "What about... The army and, and Valta? I know you were planning to quit, but this is... You're moving way too fast Thom, way too much."

"Suu, are you with me?" He held her hand even tighter, shoving aside what the woman had just told him. "Tell me, are you?"

"What about your mother? What about your sister and your brother back at the village? Thom, what about... What about Runa?"

"Runa..." Thom looked away as if pain had started to accumulate in his heart and the only remedy was to take his eyes off the thought. "You know Suu... After all this time, maybe even after the first few days, I started to notice something. I... I'm not looking for Runa. I haven't been looking for her, ever. And I honestly don't care for her anymoe! Since I got here, everything has been a shit show, but I somehow pulled through! The world wants me to have this, Suu, and I, I want you to be with me when I have it!"

"Have what?!" Suu screamed. "Have what the actual fuck, Thom?!"

"I..." The young man let go of his friend's chapped hands. "I only want to..."

His eyes turned red and his lips coiled up as he started to look around. He raised his hands and threw them down as if searching for an answer to come out his throat, but only received Suu's glassy eyes burying into his soul, and Lourgh's disappointed cold gaze.

"I only wanted to have something nice, kay?" He whimpered. "A, a village of my own. A place to call home. I was supposed to get the baron-hood after all this. After killing the baron. As the lieutenant of the army... Maybe I could climb up some seats, and free some families from all this shit and, and... You know what, I'm not even sure what I was trying to do in this place."

"Oh..." Suu placed her hands together and squinted her eyes, making the welling-up tears fall down her cheeks once again. "Oh, Thom. You're still following after your father, after all?"

"..."

The young man pulled back his hair with a heavy nod that threw Suu's heart into even more of a pained state. It was too much for her to take, seeing him like that. Losing so much of her humanity in only one week had already taken a toll on her health. She had quickly noticed that being at charge wasn't for her— responsibility wasn't for her, at all. She wanted to leave behind all those god-forsaken days and go back to a quieter life. That's all that she needed at the moment.

She did not know what Thom wanted or what kind of thought drove his mind, but for now, she could only lend him a hand so they both could let go.

"It's okay if you don't look for Runa." She smiled while cleaning her tears. "But you can't keep following a dead man's ghost, Thom. I think it's time to let him rest. And if you still want to follow that stupid dream of yours, I'll support you. But we'll do it your way. Not your pop's way. Alright?"

"Yeah... I, I'm sorry Suu." Thom sniffed, embarrassed about how he had poured all his thoughts like a waterfall. "Shit... I gotta work on that."

"I think you should both leave." Lourgh said, standing up from the office's desk. "You've done enough damage. You gotta mend for it, but it's not the time. Go back to wherever you're from, and if you have the balls, come back when you can fix this whole fucking mess."

The old man was pretty straight forward. He did not leave things open for interpretation, which made Thom kind of glad in a way.

He had been thinking so much as of late, imagining all that the village could do and how much it could grow. He had plans and a vision, but he had ruined it badly. He did not deserve to linger any more in the village, but he was still holding onto the illusion of seeing it thrive. The complicated emotions started to blend, so he shoved them away, and reached for his all-powerful bag.

He placed bundles of papers on the desk and proceeded to dump a mountain of gold coins in a corner of the room. After he had placed around twenty thousand gold coins in place and now it was possible to make a small bed out of them, Thom turned around to see Lourgh's serious face.

"Those are the plans we discussed. Here are the funds for most of them. Ehm... I know it will be tough, and if you want to quit, well... At least do find a fitting replacement. That is pretty much all I have to say."

"It's fine." Lourgh nodded. "I will talk to the villagers. Exit through the back door."

"Yes..."

Thom's steps were deafened by the sound of crashing windows as he exited the room. Suu looked back at the man with the death stare on his face, provoking a regretful sigh from her side. "Goodbye. Thank you for everything." She said, before turning around to leave.

Lourgh walked up to the manor's second-story balcony and cleared his throat as the hundreds of stares focused on him. The battering stopped when they saw that it wasn't the two royals coming out of the door, but the old man who had been going around the village proclaiming to be the chieftain.

Led by the young man Kei, the furious mob took a step back as if making space for Lourgh to speak. They all looked up with the sun at their backs, seeing the face of the old man that looked with disdain at their hands, raised up with rocks tightly clutched.

"Where are they, old man?!"

Kei asked with rage in his voice. Lourgh simply shook his head in response.

"Are they here to lynch the people who were supposedly responsible for your family's death, young one? You have been spreading that rumor around, but you lack the proof. I will not support you or condemn you, since, well, I understand how you feel for your loss. But youth, pay attention! Turn around and look at the village behind you."

He said, pointing his finger at the broken-down structures and the dirt roads that had turned into mud. He lowered his finger and pointed at the people, the ones wearing clothes that looked like little more than rags.

Kei looked around and the people looked back at him, acknowledging the weight of what Lourgh had to say.

"Is it really the time to worry about unfounded revenge?" He questioned the people while looking at their dirty faces. "Are you going to keep crying over what you've lost instead of fixing what can still be repaired? Shame on you, all of you! Use the sticks and stones you're throwing to build back your town, not to destroy it! Over and over again, no matter how many times it tumbles over! Maybe that way, maybe if you don't stop being some tough sons of bitches, the gods will look down on you and say, hey, these fuckers deserve somethin'!"

The people uncomfortably looked around as if they had been called out about something they did not know they had done wrong. Their eyes were even more visibly shaken because, even without reading the subtext, they weren't being scolded for hating the two nobles, but for their negligence.

It wasn't clear in Lourgh's words, but his intention came across well.

He wasn't defending Thom and Suu. He was just as mad as the rest of the villagers. However, he did not want to let that sour feeling accumulate in his throat and make his actions focused on the anger. He wanted to act, and he wanted everyone else to do the same.

"You've been at this for the whole morning." He laughed. "Just beat it. How many planks can be nailed in a morning? I think enough to keep your children's heads safe in case it rains again."

"What about those fuckers?!" Kei asked as he threw yet another stone to the house's walls.

"They're gone! So stop asking them to come out. You're just making a mess out of my house and I don't love that. Go, go back. Stop being ruffians and go rebuild your houses! This old man will throw in some nails too!" He said, rolling back his sleeves and showing his gold-tanned muscles.

The mob seemed to be thrown into disarray as they looked at each other and started to loudly chatter, leaving the dumbfounded Kei in the middle of nowhere. He moved around to see if someone still had the will to continue, but all he saw was complacent faces and laughs, people that had already let go of their weapons. It wasn't that they had been convinced to stop— no, they did not have any real motive to revolt from the very beginning.

They were only there to support him, to stand by his side in an attempt to relieve the pain of a loss as big as that. Those were all their intentions, indeed, but the hatred-blinded Kei did not think that way. The only thought that crossed his mind was: They did not care for me to begin with, they're only here to make noise. They're abandoning me already. They've already forgotten my pain.

As the people started to go away with relieved, happy chatters, Kei bit down on his lip and buried his nails on his palm.

He sniffed his feelings away, feeling the people turning their backs on him. He looked up and saw the face of the old man showing a smile, which set his anger ablaze even further. However, before Kei could curse, Lourgh pointed his thumb to the back of the manor and tilted his head.

"You ain't gonna be happy unless you give those two a good punch, aye?"

Kei gripped his teeth as he felt the pity of the old man fall on him, but decided to take it without showing how much it bothered him. He grabbed the grip of his sword, choking back the tears, and broke into a sprint to the other side of the manor.

His accelerated breath guided him down the slope of the hill, his arms moving at the same rate as his legs dashed to the main road. His dirty scabbard danced as he pulled out the broadsword, a worn-out blade, chipped, and still covered in stains from Kirk's blood.

He saw the image of two people boarding a carriage, and his face distorted into an ugly visage. He halted just short of ten meters away from them, making an effort to catch his breath and calm the violent beating of his heart. Just before he was about to talk, the two of them turned around to look at him, different expressions written not only in their faces, but in their bodies as well.

Although Thom's face seemed rather annoyed and dry, Suu was visibly taken aback.

"Kei..." The black-haired girl said, a certain softness in her voice, a great accentuation in her pity.

"Ha... Ha..." The blond man could only pant and hold his chest with his left hand, his right hand holding the sword. His sweat poured onto the hilt, but it did not make his grip any looser.

"What did you come here for?" Thom said, unsheathing his own pitch-black sword. "We're not bothering you any longer. We're going away already, so please, go back and help your village instead of chasing after—"

"Shut up!" Kei yelled, raising his sword at the height of his face, pointing it towards Thom. "My father taught me... Ha... Ha... He taught me that knights speak with their sword, not their mouth! So put down your fucking prince mask, and fight me, you big fucking coward!"

Thom's eyes filled up with pity as well, looking at the young man that couldn't contain his emotions. The black-haired swordsman swallowed dry at the same time that his feet moved forward, and he brandished his sword left and right as if stretching his muscles.

"Alright, Kei." He said. "I agree. I don't think talking would get us out of this fight."

"Oh, for fuck's sake..." Suu took a step back as if giving the two of them some distance, but tilted her sheathe just in case she needed to pull the claymore from her back as well.

Thom and Kei walked closer to each other until there were only three meters in distance from sword to sword, close enough to react in case somebody moved, but far enough that it would be risky to throw the first slash. The two of them weren't amateurs— the knowledge that Thom had obtained through Skill Master, Kei had obtained it through battle. A fight with swords was over as soon as the first proper hit landed.

That was, at least, what Kei thought.

After all, he could not know about Thom's skill, [Steel Skin], an upgraded version of [Copper Skin III].

"Hmph!"

And because of such advantage, Thom pounced in first like a hawk. He was, as always, fearless that any arrowhead or blade would pierce his skin, and he used it to courageously attack first.

The image of Thom dashing forward at a voracious speed reminded Kei of a giant manti's arrow-like punches, and his muscle memory activated after years of countless repetition. His feet slightly moved to the right side and he lowered his blade as he twisted the grip, proceeding to clash Thom's black steel with his own sword, making the dark metal grace the surface of Kei's blade.

Clank!

He pushed his shoulder's up and observed Thom's frightened eyes as his attack had been flawlessly parried. The titite sword he was so proud of was sent flying into the airs— he had been so overconfident in his that he did not secure his grip at all.

Kei seized the opportunity and dashed forward, sending a lightning-like stockade towards Thom's face—

That was actually a feint.

Kei let go of his own sword after Thom had covered his face with his hands, and after grabbing the black sword from the ground, he swung his arms with a violent scream, penetrating even his own hears with the rage that filled his heart, feasting in the fright that Thom showed before the sword clashed with his skin.

Splurt!

"Ack!'

Blood was shot from Thom's abdomen as the sword managed to pierce his skin and slashed all the way from his navel to his neck, breaking several ribs and making a deep cut in his collarbone.

A flashback of his fight with Erina crossed his mind, only that this time, the one wielding the sword was not holding back at all. He felt the boundless killing intent wrap around his body as the pain spread all throughout his body, and he let a pained wail escape his gritted teeth.

Luckily, Kei was not used to the weight of the sword, and after swinging upwards one time, he was thrown back and fell to the ground together with the sword, which buried itself on the muddy dirt up to the hilt. Thom stumbled backwards for several steps as he held his own wounds, trying to desperately keep them from opening further. He was about to trip and fall down, when Suu caught him, and put him down on the grass.

"Fuck!" Thom yelled, trying to avoid moving his ribs into his lungs, seeing his blood quickly leave him.

"You careless idiot!" Suu angrily yelled, gripping tightly on Thom's arm. "Why the fuck would you let go of your sword like that?!"

"Like it was on purpose..."

"Wha—!"

"Hehe... Hehe..."

Before she could yell again at Thom, she heard a burst of cold laughter coming from the Kei's mouth. The man stood up while shoving his hair away, holding the titite sword as if it was already his property. Suu got on her feet as she left the wounded man on the ground, clicking her tongue before talking to Kei.

"Three seconds." She scoffed.

"Huh?"

"I'll give you three seconds to give me that sword and go away, Kei. I'm doing this in consideration of your sister, so please, go away."

"Tch!" Kei spat on the floor. "Don't you dare mention my sister, you whore!"

Kei launched himself forward, feeling invincible from the power of the weapon on his hand. His mad eyes made a trajectory of where it would land, and as he swung back, he was ready to cleave down on the girl's head and split it apart.

But suddenly, Kei felt like he was pushed back. He saw his body float up in the air for a second before he landed a few feet away from Suu, who was looking at him with cold, menacing eyes, her hand pointing at him. Spheres started to appear on her back, one after the other, as she repeatedly uttered the same unknown words.

"[Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile], [Projectile]."

She said those words over and over again under the span of a few seconds, even before the bolt had already hit Kei. He took a quick look at his belly to see that his shirt had been burnt and a small bruise had appeared on his skin, and a sudden chill ran down his spine. That was because another two burning marks had appeared on his left leg and right arm.

In each of the twenty spheres— and counting— that had suddenly appeared besides Suu, three bolts with a similar appearance were floating. By the time Kei had noticed what had really happened, his whole body broke into goosebumps, telling him the wisest idea was to retreat.

However, the hatred he felt for that woman, who had sent his family to doom, was far greater than his instinct.

"Hyaaaaaaagh!"

He ran towards her with the foolish idea of dodging the bolts, holding his sword on the back so his swing could be powerful enough to sever the woman's throat.

"[Projectile]..." She said for the last time before a sigh escaped her mouth. "I told ya."

Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

What sounded like a hundred people suddenly letting go of their bows one millisecond after the other was the terrifying power of Suu's spell raining down on Kei's body. It seared his flesh as he was pushed back, making his body look like a violent convulsion, the stoic woman staring at him as her clothes and her hair were ruffled by the barrage of bolts. Kei groaned and yelled until he was finally thrown to the ground, and even then Suu did not stop, nailing the young man's body on the grass with ill and malicious intent.

The bolts that imitated the sound of little zaps had stopped after a few seconds, but there was no need to continue. The youngster's body looked as if it had been run over by a powerful stampede of bulls, and his hand no longer held the sword's grip. Even his clothes, leather or not, had been scattered along the field in the utmost image of humiliation.

Suu walked by and grabbed the titite sword, not before looking at Kei's sorry aspect.

"I really hope you died. That would be best for us both." She felt remorse creeping up in her throat, but decided to press on and go to the carriage. She grabbed Thom from the ground, unconscious and pale, and noticed something falling down from his hand.

"Hmm?"

They were a pair of vials holding some kind of liquid, which he had not managed to drink before passing out from blood loss. Suu grabbed them as well and placed Thom inside the carriage.

She looked back one last time before closing the door, and the sad and lonely image of a blonde man sprawled on the ground was the last thing she saw from poor Seashore.

"I hope your family rests well."

Slam!

As the carriage started to slowly drift away, the sound of the horses became distant and muffled. The only noise that remained was one drowned and disheartened sob, a sorrowful voice that got lost in the air as if no one had cried.

"I wished you had killed me, too." He said between whimpers and sobs.