TBAGM Vol. 1 Chapter 2 Part 6

Thirty minutes earlier—

“Well, well… What’s a damn rat from that trash guild doing sneakin’ around here?”

Nero unleashed a killing intent so fierce it was almost tangible.

The target was Wraith, who had been about to slip into the grounds of Veiled Moonrise.

There was no escape.

Wraith immediately dropped from the wall and faced Nero directly.

“I should be asking you the same. Why are you—”

But before she could finish, Nero’s overwhelming pressure silenced her.

“Guh!”

Wraith was seized by the scruff of her neck and slammed against the wall by Nero.

Her throat compressed, she coughed violently, spitting out the saliva forced up by the impact.

“Hey. I’m the one asking the questions here. Don’t you dare start scheming how to sneak away, you damn weakling.”

“Kh…”

Nero’s grip on Wraith’s throat tightened little by little.

Overwhelmed by his absolute strength and murderous aura, her face twisted in agony.

In truth, Wraith had been trying to find a way to escape.

Caught red-handed like this, there was no excuse she could offer. Worse, Nero was from the same guild.

Realizing that lying would be useless, Wraith decided to lay everything bare.

“I… I was ordered by Lord Kyros to gather information on Lloyd…!”

“Tch! That damned old man. Always getting in Mr. Lloyd’s way.”

Nero clicked his tongue at her confession.

His words were openly insulting toward Kyros; something that Wraith, who revered him, could not tolerate.

Even while still held by the neck, veins bulged visibly on her forehead.

“Take that back! Right now!”

“Hah? And why the hell would I do that?”

“You—! How dare you repay Lord Kyros’s kindness with betrayal!”

“Oh yeah… guess you’re one of his lapdogs too.”

Nero let go of her neck with an exasperated sigh.

From Wraith’s words, he understood that she didn’t even know the truth about Lloyd’s contributions.

Knowing the full story only stoked Nero’s rising irritation.

Still unaware of his anger, Wraith pressed on.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but you must retract your insult against the Guildmaster!”

“Hah. Guess I should tell you. I already left Incarnation of the Sun.”

“Huh?”

Hearing him say it so casually, Wraith froze in disbelief.

Nero was considered one of the three strongest members of Incarnation of the Sun.

For someone like him to just up and quit; it was hardly something she could process immediately.

“What about the penalty fee!? You still had a whole year left on your contract!”

When adventurers joined a guild, they signed a term contract; typically three years.

Leaving mid-term meant paying a massive penalty.

Thus, almost no one ever resigned before their time was up.

But Nero answered without hesitation.

“Already paid it. I wasn’t happy giving you lot my money, but whatever.”

“Where did you even get that much…?”

“Savings. Mr. Lloyd told me to start saving early; I’ve got about a hundred million pal stashed away.”

“A h-hundred million!? That’s… more than enough to cover the ten million pal penalty but still…!”

Wraith gaped at him in shock.

Ordinary people couldn’t even dream of saving that much.

Calculating backwards from his income, it meant Nero had spent practically nothing outside of food, shelter, and basic necessities.

“An A-rank like you quitting so easily… Lord Kyros won’t stand for it!”

“Then answer me this: if that’s the case, why the hell was S-rank Lloyd kicked out so easily, huh!?”

Nero’s voice thundered with barely suppressed fury.

But Wraith responded without hesitation, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Because he cheated to reach S-rank, of course! It’s only natural he was expelled!”

In that instant, Nero’s last shred of patience snapped.

“…Disgusting. Just die already.”

“Guh!”

Nero closed the distance in a flash, seized Wraith by the head, and slammed her into the ground.

It was a merciless, bone-crunching blow.

Wraith’s consciousness vanished instantly.

Without a shred of sympathy, Nero kicked her limp body to the side of the road so it wouldn’t block passersby.

And then, he steeled himself.

“Today… today I’m finally going to speak to Mr. Lloyd!”

Nero, abandoning his week-long plan of “casually bumping into Lloyd by coincidence,” gathered his courage and walked straight up to the gate of Veiled Moonrise, ready to face his mentor at last.

 †

“What’s with the sudden visit?”

I, Lloyd, asked as I warily motioned Nero to sit down.

This timing… this situation…

Could it be that Kyros had sent him to extract information?

Among my former squadmates, Nero was the one I trusted the most.

Now, suspicion and trust waged war within me.

Noticing my guarded demeanor, Nero hastily shook his head.

“Ah, no, I’m not here on Lord Kyros’s orders! One of the Zero Unit guys was sneaking around earlier, so I took care of them!”

“T-Took care of them!? W-Where’s that person now?”

“Left ’em by the side of the road. They should wake up by morning, probably.”

I couldn’t hide my unease at his answer.

He had attacked a fellow guild member, and then sought me out, the one who had been exiled.

If Kyros found out, Nero would definitely be punished.

Why would he take such a risk?

As I tried to make sense of it, Ellis, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.

“Um, Lord Lloyd, may I ask… what is your relationship with this person?”

“His name is Nero. He’s an adventurer from Incarnation of the Sun.”

As I introduced him, Nero stood up and bowed to Ellis.

“Nice to meet—”

“Get out! Right now!”

Ellis cut him off sharply.

Her face twisted in rage unlike anything I had ever seen; she radiated genuine killing intent toward Nero.

“Don’t you dare show your face in front of Lord Lloyd again! You have no idea how much pain you caused him!”

The usually courteous Ellis had completely vanished, replaced by someone shouting at the top of her lungs.

Even Serina, standing nearby, looked taken aback by her sudden transformation.

“What do you mean, ‘It’s been so long’! You’re the one who hurt Lord Lloyd the most! Or do you not even realize that?!”

Ellis wasn’t stopping; she kept shouting at Nero again and again.

Even though I had never shown weakness in front of her, she had seen right through me.

Seeing things were getting out of hand, I moved to intervene.

“Ellis! It’s fine now! Could you sit down, please?”

“Even if you say that, Lord Lloyd, I can’t forgive him! Not after how deeply he wounded you!”

I knew Nero’s personality well.

He was someone who used brute force to silence anyone who opposed him.

If he got angry now, we wouldn’t stand a chance.

Just as I worried, Nero slowly rose from his seat—

—and instead of lashing out, he lowered himself to his knees.

“…I’m truly sorry.”

““…Huh?””

Nero bowed deeply, pressing his forehead against the floor.

Ellis and I were left speechless.

“If I had stood up for Mr. Lloyd, maybe he wouldn’t have been expelled.”

“Even if you say that now…”

Ellis faltered, caught off guard by his sudden apology.

Honestly, I felt the same.

Nero was the kind of man who never bowed his head to anyone.

Yet here he was: prostrating himself, offering a heartfelt apology.

It was so earnest that I could hardly believe my eyes.

“I know. No matter how much I’m cursed or berated, I have no right to complain.”

Still keeping his forehead to the floor, Nero spoke quietly.

His sincerity was unmistakable, which only deepened our confusion.

“Coming here now… what do you want from us? What is it you’re after?”

Ellis’s voice was softer now, though her eyes still glared at him.

Nero slowly rose to his feet and bowed again, a deep ninety-degree angle, voice trembling slightly.

“I… I want to work under Mr. Lloyd.”

In that instant, it felt like something inside me snapped loose.

Was it joy? Relief?

Either way, it was undeniably something bright.

“You want to work under me? But aren’t you still with Incarnation of the Sun?”

Nero had been with Incarnation of the Sun for two years.

He should’ve had one year left on his contract, and being an A-rank adventurer, Kyros would never let him go easily.

Feeling a sudden unease, I used 【Appraisal】 and 【Insight】 on Nero.

.

[Name]	Nero (19)
[Title]	Unaffiliated – A-rank Adventurer
[Stats]	Vitality A/A    Magic D/D    Ambition C/BLeadership D/D    Intelligence C/B
[Skills]	Samidare Slash B/B    Throwing A/A    Shadow Strike B/BLightning Reflexes B/B
[Inherent Trait]	Magic Breaker
[Profession]	Light Warrior
[Attributes]	Agility A/S    Endurance C/B    Strength C/A

.

…Unaffiliated!?

“N-Nero? What happened to Incarnation of the Sun?”

I asked, voice shaking after seeing the result.

Nero answered with a scowl.

“I quit that trash heap of a guild. Paid off the penalty fee with the savings Mr. Lloyd told me to keep.”

“S-Savings!? How much did you have…?”

“About a hundred million pal.”

“Wha—!? You barely spent any money at all!?”

I couldn’t hide my shock.

Sure, I had once told him, “Saving money is important.”

But that was advice I gave to everyone—never expecting someone to actually take it this seriously.

Nero had faithfully followed my advice for two whole years.

Normally, no one could live like that without breaking.

I certainly couldn’t have lasted even a week.

Yet Nero, seemingly without regret, grinned proudly as he said it.

“I’m just glad, you know? Thanks to you, Mr. Lloyd, I was able to pay the penalty.”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

Nero had always obeyed the words of the strong without question.

In his mind, following the strong was the surest way to become strong himself.

Fortunately for me, he counted me among those strong.

By faithfully following my advice, Nero had risen to A-rank adventurer within just two years.

“Mr. Lloyd, I want to become even stronger under your guidance. Please, I’m begging you.”

Once again, Nero lowered his head deeply before me.

It was obvious at a glance that he had steeled his resolve.

After all, the mere fact that he had left Incarnation of the Sun proved that.

I decided to test him, just to be sure, with a slightly mean-spirited remark.

“Nero, your stats have almost hit their limit. No matter how hard you work under me from here on out, you won’t get any stronger.”

“W-What! Lord Lloyd?!”

That’s a bit much, Ellis said, looking at Nero with a sympathetic look.

Any guild would gladly welcome an A-rank adventurer like Nero.

And yet he had chosen Veiled Moonrise.

Because he believed that working under me would be the most efficient way to grow stronger.

So—what would happen if I pulled the ladder out from under that trust?

“You’ve already peaked at A-rank. You don’t have the talent to reach S-rank.”

Those words could easily shatter any adventurer’s spirit.

There was nothing more painful, more devastating, than being told you would never grow stronger.

But I needed him to overcome that wall of despair.

Nero, however, responded with a faint, fearless smile.

“I see… But even so, under you, Mr. Lloyd, I know I can be pushed to my absolute limits, right?”

It was the same unwavering gaze Ellis often turned on me: pure trust.

Seeing it, I couldn’t help but return a fearless grin.

“Yeah. If it’s me, I can help you break past your limits.”

“R-Really?!”

Nero’s face immediately lit up with hope.

Back when we were in Incarnation of the Sun, I had focused solely on raising his base stats, deliberately leaving his innate talent untouched.

It was the most efficient way to make him stronger in a short time.

But that method led exactly to the wall we were facing now.

Innate talents carried limitless potential.

Thanks to Ellis, I now understood that.

What I could offer Nero was to draw out that potential to its fullest.

(I’m sure of it—if it’s me, I can unleash Nero’s innate talent.)

“Ellis… are you okay with this?”

“Yes. If you believe it’s the right decision, Lord Lloyd, I will respect it. Besides, he did call Incarnation of the Sun a trash guild—that part I agree with.”

When I sought Ellis’s approval, she readily nodded.

Grateful, I turned my gaze back to Nero.

The path ahead for him would be one filled with thorns.

There would be countless walls to crash into and moments of bitter frustration.

But even so, he had chosen to believe in me; he had bowed his head and shown his sincerity.

If he was willing to walk that path, then so must I.

“We welcome you to Veiled Moonrise, Nero.”

With those words—heavy with my own resolve and joy—I extended my hand to him.

†