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Chapter 37 Part 3 – The dog with Blood Redemption. A cunning monster, a prideful man, and a merciless battlefield

 

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Ranzan

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In a vacant part under a twisted tree on the site of the Duke’s residence, four ghosts watched the battle between Scarlet and the demon dog Gallam.

Even from that remote area, they could get a rough idea of what was going on.

A ghost woman wandered anxiously and the warrior ghost sat on a stump silently.

The slender ghose rolled dice of will-o-wisp with his fingertips and with the other hand pulled down his hat,

「The roll is a baddd one. The demon dogg awoke with new powerss. It’s wouldn’t go to hell as it should have…but the guard is not finished yet…The Captain has stopped the deaths of his men with his might. The remaining sacrifices…before they are reunited as a happily family againnn, before seeing her husbanddd again, like a quickly falling blossom…in other words…」

The ghost of the thin woman began to quiver, holding her body.

「Stop fooling around! You’re talking about Cornelia! I know whattt you said! She’s going to protect her childdd from that beast! And she will die?!」

The warrior ghost moaned,

「That young wolf performed miracles in response to my expectations. It was amazing. But that dog used the Blood Redemption! And the illusion and the curseee as wellll…their imminent death didn’t scare them! And the Duke has yet to arrive! Without his help…that beast will defeat them…」

The fat ghost shouted as his nose twitched,

「Heeeee! It’s horrid! That demon dog escaped from the hole and will soon catchhh the Duchess and her daughter! What speed!」

The faces of the warrior and woman changed at the word of the fat ghost.

「W…what will happen to Corneliaaa? They chose that pond because it’s safeee! There’s a small boat at the dockk! Are they going to flee to the top of the pond?!」

「They’re still on the wayyy! AH! The demon dog grows close!」

「Oh no! Conelia will be killedd! What cann be done!? Cornelia looks just like the only rivalll I had in my life.」

「Well…even if you ask…」

The fat ghost said with a huff to the woman ghost.

「He’s come! The duke’s men are hereee! This may be in time for the wife!」

The fat ghost said, jumping up and yelling.

The female ghost looked up, the warrior ghost lifted and eyebrow, and the fat ghost looked over with a hopeful face.

However, contrary to expectations, the fat ghost again looked down with a sad expression.

「Haaah, everything goess wrong in this world.」

The slender ghost pulled the brim of his hat down further.

「Eeek! No good! The duke’s men have seen the burninggg manor and are rushing to it! What a disasterrr! The demon dog is running to the ponddd! They won’t even pass each other!」

The ghost of the warrior clenched his fist and stood up after the fat ghost screamed, and the female ghost scratched her hair.

The thing ghost murmured and hid his expression with his hat.

「I guess that I will winnn the bet. The dog will prevail. The flame of his life burns brightly as he pursues…the duchess will die. It is fate. The roll of the dice’s result is beyond comprehension…the wind blows, now east, next west…everything changes and is harddd to read. The last thing we can depend will be an issue is the boy of the Orange Company…he will soon show his true character. The wind can be read, but it’s hard to knoww what it saysss! Even after the dog’s blood mist, the Duke has come at last! And Seraphy is a dependable man, and he knows the wife is in a crisis! He was at first a loose associate of the duke, but now could be the man to change the result! Let’s see what he doesss!」

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The Crimson Duke and the Orange Company party were silent as they galloped along.

There was a tense atmosphere that felt like death to the Duke which stifled conversation, and it had been this way since he saw the fire.

Then the party ran when they reached the wall surrounding the duke’s manor and galloped on to help.

There were pillars of fire that had blown the roof off the Duke’s manor, smoke illuminated by it, and a roaring sound under the moonlit night, vividly illuminated.

Romalia’s Flame Flower was the secret technique of the Lawless Crew.

Even the knowledgeable Seraphy had no idea where the damage to the manor came from.

Anxious and sweating on the forehead, the image jumped into the eyes when he arrived at the gate of his house, which was crushed by that powerful violence. All of the broken wood was white in the moonlight, indicating that it had just been crushed.

The footprints of the demon dogs around the garden were smashed by the hooves of the horses as they passed into the garden.

However, since the Duke had almost killed the demon dog trainer before, he knew the traces of the demon dogs.

「…Cornelia!!」

He raised his face and looked at the manor and then called out to Cornelia with a wavering voice.

He glared over the grounds with a pale face and pushed his horse to a gallop again!

「…bastard dog! Dastardly trainer! I will have you drawn and quartered!」

He said through his teeth as he galloped with full speed without urging the Orange Company to follow him.

But the Company followed immediately.

Small Seraphy desperately dealt with the fear of falling from the horse as he clung on, in front of the skipper.

The ground was passing under the horse’s feet so quickly that it looked strange.

Even though the saddle was made for the kid to ride in front, it was crazy to run at that speed of a gallop. There were stirrups for Seraphy as well as for the skipper, but the horse bucked as it ran so hard that he couldn’t keep his feet in them.

But he wasn’t about to complain about it…it was almost like riding a rodeo horse with no time limit. If he was thrown, he would die instantly.

「Are you okay, chief?! Should I slow down?」

The skipper said, unable to see the boy’s face.

He couldn’t see that Seraphy was pale.

「Not too much a problem…I think of it as being like a stormy sea.」

He refused the offer flatly, trying to focus in front of him.

The wind blew up his bangs, showing the scars on his forehead, but his deep blue eyes showed no fright.

It was the gaze of a man that had no fear of the sea.

He used keep concentration to time himself with the horse so that his center of gravity was perfectly controlled so he was not blown away.

It was a skill almost no child had.

It came from riding the ship from one land to another over an ocean wasteland.

Seraphy, who led the Blanche from a young age, had led other sailors through stormy hell countless times.

Moreover, the Blanche was a fine craft that could always deliver cargo and personnel to their destinations regardless of storms. Even as a child, he had battled storms over and over.

The skipper smiled as the kid looked back unfrightened.

The son of the founder of the Orange Company, who cut through the sea of storms that everyone avoided and pulled in great sums of money, had the same face as the father the preceded him.

As long as he didn’t lose his soul, the Orange Company would return to its former glory.

So the skipper was satisfied.

Even though they had no bond in the past, now their bond we resiliently strong.

Seraphy knew that, so he worked hard to cooperate with the Duke.

He wanted winning results for everyone at the Orange Company. He had a mysterious intuition, and never made mistakes. When the Blanche was in trouble, it was Seraphy and not the skipper that took command…and then no storm could threaten the ship.

He could sew through storms and rough waves like a master tailor, always bringing the ship to harbor. After that, the burden of command was so great that he would lie on deck the whole day, but he had tremendous ability and courage to challenge any risk.

So all the veteran crew members of the Blanche looked up to Seraphy as the lord of the ship and had absolute trust in his decisions. No one could dispute that Seraphy should cooperate with the Crimson Duke.

And so all the sailors trusted him and felt affection for Seraphy and his ability and tireless efforts. He also looked at them as his own on his travels as well.

Together with Seraphy, forever.

That was the Orange Company.

And so Seraphy sensed something and suddenly uttered words to the skipper and all of his men, and they all listened closely.

「Duke! Wait! Don’t go to the mansion! Seraphy told us not to!」

The skipper called in the place of Seraphy with a roar that went out over the roaring wind and the sounds of hooves.

There was a fork in the road.

「What are you going to do? Why do you stop?!」

The eyes of the Duke who had stopped the horse were crimson, seen even in the moonlit night.

It was the same color of a blood moon on the horizon and was filled with silence and anger.

He had lost himself in his scramble to find his wife.

He doubted the knowledge of this new friend, and was ready to last out for the delay.

「Don’t head to the manor…your wife is not there.」

Seraphy looked at the Duke’s eyes without fear.

The Duke’s quiet and terrifying eyes, which had turned away all the red-bloods after they had disgraced Cornelia, could not scare Seraphy. There’s a calm courage not usual for a boy.

Seraphy never forgot he was responsible for the lives of the Orange Company.

All of their companions’ livelihoods rested on his shoulders.

It was that responsibility that gave Seraphy the courage to look straight at the Duke.

「Your reason?!」

His voice sliced the air like a blade of ice.

It was a quick question.

The Orange Company men were about to circle their horses around the boy to defend him, but he waved them off.

「No proof, but I’ve never been wrong before. If you go to the manor, you’ll never see your wife smile again. There is a wind that speaks of a different direction that could lead to a hopeful end.」

And so Seraphy pointed not to the manor, but to the road to the pond.

Blocked by the forest at night, it was impossible to see down the path.

「Do you believe such a thing, with that fire over there!? There is a fire at the manor! The hooves of the Royal Guard lead there as well!」

The Duke shouted at him, irascible.

He pulled out his sword as if he was about to hit the boy, but slashed it out in front of the boy’s eyes.

Seraphy’s bands fluttered in the wind.

Then he stuck the sword out at Seraphy’s neck.

「My Cornelia is being attacked by the demon dog now! She’s the only one! I don’t even know if the Guard was in time!」

The Duke was also unaware of Bradd. He was irritated and angry.

Seraphy clenched his fist.

The Duke’s horse had approached him so closely that he wouldn’t have seen if the Duke would attack him, and now the blade is at his neck. The Duke could stash his neck or stab his gut with one attack. But Seraphy did not give up.

「You may not believe my words this quickly, but you can believe us, the crew of the Blanche. They have my absolute trust. It’s my intuition. You must know what that means, even if you don’t understand it. You don’t have to believe me, but believe in the faith these men have in me! You can follow my words if you want!」

Seraphy said quickly without looking any different.

He had put faith in him not in the Duke, but in the men and their trust they had for him, and it struck the hearts of all the Orange Company.

The men all nodded, affirming their belief in him. Then they stopped and waited for his reply.

As the night breeze carried the smell of water, the Duke glared at Seraphy and uttered his reply.

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