Episode 81. Please Trust Us Too!
“Is that the youngest son-in-law of the Rigel family?”
“I heard he was originally a sickly scholar…… But isn’t he a handsome man?”
“Yes, he’s not inferior to Lord Andres.”
“If only he wasn’t a married man……”
People couldn’t take their eyes off Sirius.
Especially the women, who praised Sirius’s appearance.
If the most handsome man in the Southern Union was the noble son Andres of Retiut, Sirius’s appearance was by no means inferior.
While the fiery red-haired Andres was a gorgeous and noble son, the black-haired Sirius was a mysterious and handsome man who exuded a dangerous charm.
“Why does he seem to care more about his appearance than usual…… What happened?”
Even Justiano, who had seen Sirius’s face often, couldn’t help but admit that today’s Sirius was attractive.
Was it because he was wearing more luxurious clothes than usual?
That was one reason, but that wasn’t all.
Recently, Sirius’s internal energy had exceeded 3 cycles.
As the harmony of yin and yang was achieved in his dantian, Sirius’s body was refined to another level.
The balance of his muscles became more perfect, and there were changes in the color of his skin and the luster of his hair.
That’s why his appearance had improved so much that even Justiano had doubts.
“Ahem, are you Sirius?”
At that moment, Lloyd Strauss approached Sirius with a fake cough.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. But isn’t your outfit too flashy? It’s not a ball.”
It was a petty complaint.
Pointing out someone’s clothing when trying to gain the upper hand in such a place was a very common tactic, but Lloyd was too blatant.
However, Sirius didn’t respond to Lloyd.
Instead, he bowed his head to Shadien, who was next to him.
“I’m sorry, Lady Shadien.”
Everyone was bewildered.
It would make sense if he apologized to Lloyd, but why did he apologize to Shadien?
“I wasn’t able to properly wear the outfit Lady Shadien prepared for me. I apologize.”
“I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m old, so I don’t know much about the current fashion.”
“……!”
This time, it was everyone’s turn to be shocked.
Shadien Strauss prepared an outfit for Sirius, who wasn’t even a member of her family?
“F, Father……?”
Lloyd’s face, in particular, turned ashen.
He had criticized Sirius’s outfit without knowing that his own father had prepared it.
“Sirius’s outfit wasn’t suitable for this kind of meeting. So I had it prepared in a hurry.”
“Ah…… I, I see. Somehow…… I felt a sense of style…….”
Shadien ignored Lloyd’s lame excuses and proceeded to the center of the meeting hall with Sirius.
“So, what were you talking about just now?”
Lloyd hurriedly opened his mouth at Shadien’s question.
“Recently, we were discussing the atrocities committed by the Rigel family in the south.”
“Atrocities?”
“There have been frequent incidents of private underworld organizations being attacked. We suspect it’s the work of the Rigel family.”
Loyd said, glaring at Sirius.
“The methods and timing are similar to when Sirius Canisroot was annihilating underworld organizations in the eastern region. But it’s more heated and brutal. There are too many victims……”
“I’ve already heard the explanations about the series of incidents.”
Shadien interrupted Loyd’s words.
“They say Sirius punished the wicked underworld members who were tormenting the people. Isn’t that truly heroic?”
“……?”
Loyd doubted his ears for a moment.
It was because it was hard to understand the words coming from his father’s mouth.
“Fa, Father, what did you just say?”
“I said it was heroic, Loyd.”
“……!”
Loyd gulped, looking at his father, whose expression was unchanged.
“Fa, Father, there are many victims! Do you think it’s okay to kill them indiscriminately, even if they are members of an underworld organization?”
“We shouldn’t kill indiscriminately. But from what I know, I heard there were certain criteria.”
Shadien turned his head.
“Andres, what do you think?”
“Ah, yes!”
The addressed Andres nodded urgently.
“All the underworld organizations that were attacked were committing criminal acts that violated human rights. We didn’t touch the groups that were simply organized for a living and ended up armed.”
“Ah, Sir Andres, how do you know that……”
As Loyd raised a question, Shadien opened his mouth.
“That’s because Andres is the greatest collaborator who helped Sirius’s heroic activities.”
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“……!”
The eldest son of the Retiud family was Sirius’s greatest collaborator?
Everyone was taken aback, but Andres had a proud expression on his face.
“Andres, I heard Sirius received great help from you. Thanks to you, they were able to operate in the south.”
“No. It is I who received an opportunity to work for justice thanks to Sirius.”
Andres spoke with a voice full of pride and looked around at the people.
“Everyone, what we have been doing is by no means indiscriminate slaughter. It is an act to make the whole south a better place by punishing the wicked who torment the powerless civilians.”
“Sir Andres……”
“We all know how much the underworld organizations in the south have tormented the people. Yet, we couldn’t fix it one by one.”
Andres’s calm voice reached the people in the conference hall.
“Sirius is the one who stepped forward to fix it.”
“Now, wait a minute!”
Loyd urgently interjected.
“Even so, this is too violent! It’s brutal!”
“That is……”
“We are people from a prestigious and cultured family. How can we resolve matters in such a cruel manner? This is unacceptable!”
After saying that, Lloyd glared at Sirius again.
“Sirius, try to justify this series of events. Try to justify your cruelty!”
“I will not make excuses.”
“What did you say?”
“Because I did this knowing full well that I would be condemned by people like you.”
“……!”
Sirius said with an indifferent expression.
“Violent, cruel…… I will gladly accept such accusations. It is clear that I was neither peaceful nor merciful. I entered the fight knowing that.”
“No, knowing that it was wrong…….”
“Do not misunderstand. I am saying that I will accept your accusations, but that does not mean that I believe your accusations are correct.”
“……!”
Lloyd was speechless.
Seeing Sirius’s confident attitude, he felt as if he were the one in the wrong.
“Ah, Father, this is completely different from the Strauss family tradition.”
In the end, Lloyd spoke to Shadien again.
“Didn’t you also hate such cruel methods, Father? Then why…….”
“Lloyd, I have spoken with Sirius for several days.”
“Yes?”
“Because I wanted to hear how Sirius sees this world. It was a very informative…… an enlightening time.”
“……!”
Shadien’s words caused a commotion around him.
“Sirius is very knowledgeable. Thanks to him, I realized that there were many things I had been thinking about incorrectly.”
“Ah, Father……?”
Lloyd looked at Sirius anxiously.
“Are you saying that Father received…… teachings from this young man?”
“Is there something wrong with receiving teachings from a young person?”
“No, but even so…….”
“Sirius explained things to me from various perspectives.”
Shadien said in a calm voice.
“He said that this world can only function properly if black and white are mixed together.”
“Black and white……?”
“The ideals that prestigious families like ours pursue are pure white. However, that alone will never save the world.”
“Father…….”
“When necessary, we need…… the darkness of black to wield the sword to punish the wicked.”
The harmony of black and white.
Shadien had come to fully understand Sirius’s ideology.
“Ah, Father, even so, Sirius is too dark…….”
“Lloyd.”
Shadien said in a rebuking tone.
“If Sirius were a dark-natured man, he would have killed everyone here, starting with us, the members of prestigious families. And he would have forced us into submission.”
“……!”
“If Sirius had had evil intentions, he could have caught me off guard and assassinated me while I was resting at my villa.”
Loyd’s face turned ashen.
Shadien may be a 9th Circle Archmage, but she is by no means accustomed to fighting.
If Sirius had attempted to assassinate her in the same way he had attacked the dark guild, Shadien would surely have lost her life.
“But Sirius didn’t do that. Instead, he talked to me, trying to persuade me.”
“Ah……”
“That means he is a man who can choose to use black or white, depending on the situation.”
Loyd was speechless.
After confirming that his son could no longer speak, Shadien looked around.
“Listen, everyone.”
Shadien spoke in a calm voice, drawing everyone’s attention.
“It has been quite some time since the Southern Union was formed. During that time, this gathering has played a major role in the stability of the entire South.”
“……”
During that time, there had been very few conflicts between the families in the South.
This was because the Southern Union had been doing a good job of coordinating relations between the families.
“However, as peace continued, the Southern Union gradually transformed into nothing more than a social gathering. While we were enjoying ourselves at lavish parties, the Dark Guild Alliance took root in the South.”
When Hwanwang was the Southern Branch Manager of the Alliance, things were relatively good.
However, after Yeomje’s subordinate took over as the new Branch Manager, he began to strengthen the Alliance’s dominance by thoroughly managing even the small and medium-sized organizations.
“The dark guild organizations in the South were linked together in a complex and intricate way that we could never have imagined. And the one who brought it all down, without being asked… is Sirius, who is right here.”
“Ah……”
“As I listened to Sirius’s story… I gradually came to believe that the Southern Union had reached the end of its lifespan.”
The Southern Union had reached the end of its lifespan.
For the members of the prestigious families present, this was a shocking statement.
However, since it was Shadien, the head of the Southern Union, who had said it, they had no choice but to accept it.
Everyone listened intently, pondering Shadien’s words.
“In the East, the Rigel, Agathas, and Albraim families have formed an alliance that includes various other forces. They have accepted not only prestigious families, but also civilians, organizations, and even individuals with dark guild backgrounds, and have established a massive organization to maintain peace and order throughout the region.”
“Th, then…”
Someone asked cautiously.
“Are you saying that we should create a similar alliance in the South?”
“No, there is no need to create a separate one in the South.”
“Huh?”
“We will join that alliance.”
“……!”
Everyone’s eyes widened.
Shadien’s proposal was that radical.
“I heard that there was a bandit group on the waterway leading from the East to the South. Sirius apparently subdued them… If such a group were to appear again, wouldn’t it be more effective for the East and the South to join forces and respond?”
“Ah……!”
“There is no need to divide the regions. After all, we are all countrymen living on the same continent, aren’t we? When there is something that requires us to join forces, we should simply do so.”
“So,” Shadien said, turning his gaze toward Sirius.
“Sirius.”
“Yes, Lord Shadien.”
“If there comes a time when the situation is beyond our power to handle, will you come to our aid?”
“Of course.”
Sirius nodded, his voice calm.
“We will all be one alliance. If the South is in peril, I will surely come running.”
“Very reassuring.”
“So,” Sirius said with a smile, “If I am in peril, will the South come to my aid? I ask this as a favor.”
“hahahaha, consider it done!”
Shadien roared with laughter.
Everyone was surprised to see the usually stern elder of the South laughing so heartily.
“I will trust you, so you must trust us too!”
The alliance that Sirius had formed was limited to the Eastern Region, which could be considered the outskirts of the continent.
But now, at this moment, the alliance had been expanded to include the vast Southern Region.
A true martial arts alliance was gradually taking shape.