Chapter 35 : Mentor

The girl was alone in the room.

Sitting on the bed, she stared blankly at the cover of a storybook.

Murmurs of adults filtered in from outside.
Though she didn’t know what they said, she sensed the atmosphere was different from usual.

Her sister had gone somewhere.
Alone, to save a comrade.

Ruby didn’t like that.

Not that she felt abandoned or that her sister valued comrades more.
To the girl, Lapis was more important than Red Dog’s team.

Ruby gazed at the homemade bomb and pistol placed beside the storybook.

If she took them and went out, could she help her sister?

No.
She’d only be a hindrance, not a help.
She was still just a child who needed protection.

Despite her talent in engineering and shooting, she wasn’t classified as a combatant.
Knowing this better than anyone, she’d swallowed her plea to go along and let her sister leave.

All she could do was wait.
Ruby buried her face in her knees, waiting obediently as promised.

How much time passed?

Tap, tap.
A soft knock on the window made Ruby tilt her head.
A crow or rat scavenging for food?
But the presence outside was entirely unexpected.

“Ruby!”

A boy with bushy, tawny hair and a mischievous face.
Sion, who’d pestered her relentlessly since visiting the bar.

Seeing his face, Ruby frowned slightly.

Why was he clinging to the window instead of using the door?
The ground floor wasn’t dangerous, but a wall blocked the window, requiring a climb.
Sion was covered in dust and soot.

With a look dripping with annoyance, Ruby approached, cracking the window and speaking bluntly.

“Go back.
If you’re caught here, you’ll get in trouble.”

“Wait…!”

Normally, she’d slam the window shut without hesitation, but Sion’s desperate expression today made her pause, curious.

“You have to escape!”

“What do you mean?”

“I overheard—they’re planning to hand you over to the bad *guys!
If you stay here, you’ll get caught!”

“…”

Ruby’s expression darkened.

She didn’t know exactly what was happening, but she’d sensed the grim situation surrounding Red Dog.
She’d thought it lucky that allied merc teams were guarding the hideout, but now it seemed they planned to betray Red Dog too.

“Is your dad part of this?”

“…Even so, I’ll stay on your side till the end.”

“Thanks.
You never came here and know nothing, got it?”

“What are you gonna do?”

Ruby swiftly packed her bag with the storybook and essentials, climbing onto the window without hesitation.

“You said to escape.”

“W-Wait, let’s go together!
I’ll protect you…!”

“Sorry, but I’ll pass.
If you’re with me, you’ll get in danger too.”

She vaguely grasped the cause of this *mess.
Probably that pervert her sister killed that day.
The choice to protect her had led to this outcome.

The situation, even optimistically, was bleak.
Sion’s father, a key ally closely tied to Red Dog, joining the betrayal meant they’d written off Red Dog’s future.

So, what was the way out of this?

To Ruby, there was only one solution.

“I have to escape as far as possible.”

Flee with her sister to a distant place.
If they disappeared, Red Dog would be safe.

The destination didn’t matter.
Wherever it was, with her sister, it’d be home.

A deep, uninhabited forest sounded nice.
Like the girl and the bluebird in the storybook, living happily forever, undisturbed.

With Sion’s help, Ruby slipped out through the window, leaving him with a final farewell.

“If we get the chance, let’s meet again.
Bye.”

“Ah…!
Take care…”

Sion stared at the girl’s retreating figure, vanishing swiftly.

I warned the sheriff with a trembling voice.
She flinched, noticing me belatedly.
If she shot Karen, resigned to her own death…

I should’ve fired when she hadn’t noticed me.

The only reason I didn’t?
Karen’s look, stopping me.

I didn’t understand why.
Even in this standoff, she looked like she was dying.
I had to save her fast.

Overcome with urgency, I fired into the air, warning again.

BANG!!

“Drop it now!”

Moments later, the sheriff tossed her gun, raising both hands.

“Kick the gun away and clasp your hands.”

Completely disarmed, as I ordered.
Wouldn’t it be better to shoot her now, eliminating the risk?
Countless conflicts swirled, but my choice remained unchanged.

“Get out of my sight.
If we meet again, I won’t spare you.”

“…Thank you.”

Was she avoiding provoking me, or genuinely grateful for being spared?
Either way, hearing thanks from an enemy left me hollow.

Only after the sheriff vanished from view did I rush to Karen.

“Karen…!!”

“You brat, where’d you sell the title ‘Master’…?”

A faint, hoarse voice, barely audible.
Instinct told me Karen had crossed a point of no return, but I clung to her, denying the thought.

“Let’s go back and get Mary to treat you.
Everything’ll be fine.”

“Kid.
Forget it… just grab a cigarette from my pocket.”

There was no time for that.
Every second counted—I had to do something.

Right.
Contact Lycan.
What was I doing, dawdling like an *idiot?

I dialed through the network call.
After a short ring, Lycan’s weary voice answered.

[“…Big kid?”]

“Leader, I found Master.
Get Mary…”

[Why aren’t you at the hideout…?
No, now’s not the time.
Give me your location.”]

BAM!
BOOM!!

Noises crackled over the *call.

[Tch!”]

“Leader?
Leader!?”

The call cut abruptly.
Biting my lip, I panicked as nothing went right.
As if mocking me, Karen giggled, calmer than ever.

“Brat, I said to stop wasting time and hand me a cigarette…
One last smoke’s fine, right?”

“What…
What do you mean, ‘last’?
That’s not funny, so stop saying that.”

“Ugh.
My disciple’s a whiny crybaby.
So pathetic, I can’t even leave you alone.”

Choking back tears, I fished out a cigarette from Karen’s pocket, lit it, and placed it in her mouth.

“Hoo…”

Smoke rose with a deep sigh.
Karen’s gaze followed the smoke upward, her eyes unfocused.

With a faint smile, Karen mumbled, cigarette in mouth.

“Now I feel alive.”

A cruel joke I couldn’t laugh at.
She’d fully accepted death.

Knowing it shouldn’t be this way, I asked, resentful.

“Why…
Why did you tell me to let her go?”

“I’m not dying because of that sheriff.”

“That’s not what matters!”

“You’re right.
It’s nothing big.
But who knows?
That small choice might change the future.”

I fought back tears.
Crying here would mean accepting this as our final moment.

Karen struggled to raise her clenched fist, opening it.
There was the ring—the cause of this *mess, and what bound us.

I reached for it, but she closed her fist, shaking her head slowly.

“You don’t need it anymore.”

“…What?”

“Take your sister and leave, far away.
Never come back to this rotten place.
Live the normal life you wanted.”

I instantly understood her meaning.

She intended to shoulder everything.
To die bearing the //. blame for my wrongs.

That… that’s too unfair.

“No.
You can’t…!”

“Idiot.
It was my Stone to begin with.
I just lent it to you for a bit…”

Karen’s tone had turned dreamy.
Her breaths grew sparser, so faint I had to lean close to hear.

The fiery red eyes that always shone proudly dimmed slowly.

As the cigarette burned to ash, scattering into *smoke.
Karen closed her eyes quietly, as if sinking into deep sleep.

“…Karen?
Karen?
Please.
Please…”

That was the end.