Settling In and Setting Out (4K)

In the afternoon, the sun gradually made its way west.

"Did Luona really say that?"

"Really. Madam even wants to spend a few days vacationing at your place."

"Hehe, Sophie, you're such a sweet talker."

After walking down the corridor, Carl stopped at the library door.

Hearing the laughter coming from inside, his lips twitched.

Her disciples had gotten into a conflict and come to blows, and someone had even died outside the church because of it.

How could her own unscrupulous master act as though nothing had happened?

Even if she wasn't going to stop them, she shouldn't be laughing so loudly...

"Ahem, ahem."

After deliberately coughing twice, Carl pushed the door open and strode in.

"Have you finished dealing with your business?"

Cradling the sleeping Sarasa, Lianke glanced at Carl as he entered and spoke irritably.

"It's taken care of..."

Carl froze at the question and answered instinctively.

"Master, aren't you curious why we did it?"

He looked at Lianke in puzzlement. Normally, when disciples started fighting, shouldn't their master step in to stop them first...?

Yet Lianke had not only watched the whole thing, but had even been laughing and chatting...

"Why should I care whether a stranger lives or dies?"

Lianke rolled her eyes, a look of surprise appearing on her face.

"First, she isn't my disciple. Second, she isn't your family. Why should I pay attention to her for no reason?"

"People die on the garbage heaps in Meteor City every moment of every day. Am I supposed to personally concern myself with every one of them?"

She had watched the whole thing and truly hadn't felt much. A stranger had provoked her disciples, so wasn't it perfectly reasonable and normal for them to take revenge?

The one who died was a stranger, not one of her disciples!

"But..."

Carl's lips twitched. How had he never noticed before that Lianke had such clear boundaries?

The Phantom Troupe had fought right in front of her, yet Lianke could still sit here chatting with Sophie.

"Stop your griping. Didn't the Keike Family send that girl Sheila over so you could take revenge in the first place?"

Lianke reached out to gently cover Sarasa's ears, her expression growing even stranger.

"Besides, Sophie came all this way and even brought you a gift, but you haven't so much as thanked her."

"I... thank her?"

Carl's mouth fell slightly open. Pointing at herself, he was speechless for a moment.

"You're welcome."

Sophie smiled as she answered.

With that, she slowly rose and bowed respectfully to Lianke.

"I've delivered the gift, so I'll be heading back now."

"Sorry for troubling you today, Lady Lianke."

She had completed the task assigned by the family, so naturally she had to return and report as soon as possible.

"All right, go see Sophie home."

Lianke glared at Carl again and spoke irritably.

The brat was muddleheaded all day long and had even forgotten his most basic manners!

"Well... all right."

Glancing at Sophie as she walked toward the door, Carl nodded helplessly.

For the sake of the seven-day flower seeds, he really ought to see Sophie off.

And...

"Phew..."

Letting out a long breath, Carl led Sophie down the corridor toward the exit.

The left side of the church had been stained red with Sheila's blood, so he deliberately took Sophie around a few corners, planning to leave through the side door.

They walked one behind the other across the dusty floor, and the atmosphere gradually grew awkward.

Glancing at the girl's increasingly stiff gait, to the point that she was swinging the same arm and leg forward together, Carl spoke first.

"Um... could I ask you a favor?"

The Phantom Troupe would soon be leaving for the Mist Forest, and they probably wouldn't be back for a long time.

To prevent another tragedy like Old Will's, they had to find a suitable backer for their companions' foster mother.

As it happened, there was a major power right beside him.

"Meteor City is getting more chaotic, and our foster mother can't leave the North District, so..."

"Madam Luona said she would send some people over specifically to maintain stability here."

The girl's voice was like a taut string.

Sophie didn't dare raise her head, only stealing glances at Carl's profile out of the corner of her eye.

Madam Luoman had also said that if she could win Carl's friendship, or even become Carl's wife-

Then she, Sophie, would become the future madam of the Keike Family!

A smile appeared on Carl's face. He looked sincerely at the girl and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome..."

"Oh, right, those children have already come back. You don't need to keep looking for them."

The Phantom Troupe hadn't gone missing, so letting the Keike Family know sooner would save them from wasting their time.

"Lady Lianke already told me. I know."

Sophie walked with her head lowered, making her voice as soft and sweet as she could.

For the sake of her future, she had to maintain the best possible image in front of Carl!

"Do you need me to see you home?"

Stepping through the side door, Carl looked back at the girl, his manner sincere.

She had come all this way, bringing a gift and offering protection, so naturally he wouldn't begrudge seeing her home!

"May I?"

Clutching the edge of her skirt, Sophie looked up at Carl, her eyes full of pleasant surprise.

Her chance to become the future madam of the Keike Family had arrived!

"I... I suppose so?"

No matter how slow Carl was, he could tell something was strange about the girl now.

But he thought it over and over. He was only seeing a kind person home, so how could there be any problem with that?!!

Although he didn't know where the Keike Family was based, as long as it was in one of Meteor City's five major districts, it shouldn't be too far away.

Meteor City was only so big. It wasn't as if he could get lost!

"Miss Sophie?"

In the shadows outside the church, a group of burly men hurried over when they saw the familiar figure appear.

Wao, their leader, bent at the waist and said with a fawning smile, "Let us see you home?!"

Since the boss had sent him along with the Keike Family's people, there was no way he could go back alone!

Get lost!

Can't you see we're taking a walk?

Under her parasol, Sophie stared at the man before her with a fierce look, wishing she could kick him flying.

"Hiss!"

Catching sight of the girl's expression, Wao shuddered violently.

In an instant, the hairs all over his body stood on end. The last time he had felt this way was when someone had clubbed him from behind, nearly killing him in an alley.

"Are they from the Keike Family too?"

Looking at the group of men before him, Carl spoke in an odd tone.

With so many people protecting Sophie, what was the point of him escorting her?

"Ahem, we're just passing by, just passing by..."

Without the slightest hesitation, Wao spoke up quickly, trying to save his own life.

Before he could finish, Sophie's gaze grew even fiercer as she stared at him.

"They're gangsters under the family. They were the ones who found Sheila."

"Originally, we wouldn't have needed them, but unfortunately they crippled the kidnappers and sold them to a recycling company."

"That's why I brought them along."

Sophie turned to Carl, her gaze growing gentle again.

"Since they've come to pick me up, I won't trouble you to see me home, Carl."

No, you can't!

You can't leave! What'll happen to us if you do...?

Catching sight of Sophie's clenched fist behind her back, Wao screamed inwardly.

As his thoughts raced, an idea suddenly sprang to mind.

"Oh! I just remembered we haven't collected the debts in the East District!"

"Sorry, we'll go collect them first!"

Wao straightened up, offered a quick explanation, then shot off with lightning speed.

"Come on, follow me!"

As he ran, he waved to his underlings.

"B-Boss? Wait for us!"

The underlings froze for a few seconds before hurrying after their boss.

A few seconds later, the group of burly men had run dozens of meters away.

"..."

"Maybe I should see you home after all."

Seeing the girl's awkward expression, Carl gave her an awkward but polite smile.

"All right."

Gritting her teeth, Sophie forced herself to walk forward.

This is all to win Carl's friendship. This is all to become the future madam of the Keike Family...

The girl kept reassuring herself inwardly.

The sky gradually darkened, and the dusk wrapped around the bus stop sign like thick asphalt.

The rusty metal body of the number 16 bus slowly approached under the moonlight, coming to collect the passengers for its final run.

"Please show your tickets when boarding. If you don't have one, please buy one."

The conductor stared at the crowd before him, his expression tense.

"Lien!"

Lianke patted the bus door and called to the driver.

"Good day, Lady Lianke."

Hearing her, the unshaven middle-aged driver whipped his head around and called respectfully to Lianke.

Glancing at the conductor still standing at the front door, Lien spoke in exasperation.

"Brat, get out of the way! They don't need their tickets checked!"

If he didn't have only one son, he swore he would never have let such a fool be his partner!

The boy had no sense at all. Sooner or later, he'd stab himself eighteen times and die by suicide!!!

His poor old partner had died young. Otherwise...

"Thanks."

Stepping onto the bus, Lianke casually patted the driver on the shoulder.

"Of course, of course."

A simple, honest smile appeared on Lien's face, and his tone was exceedingly humble.

Young people didn't know their own limits, but how could an old hand like him not know?

Who in all of Meteor City didn't know that the Corpse Stitcher's favorite thing to do was take people apart into pieces, then stitch them back together bit by bit!

A little later, the entire Phantom Troupe boarded the bus.

Bang!

The bus doors shut with a dull thud.

Sitting on the step by the door, the young conductor silently hugged his knees. Under the driver's glare, he hadn't dared take a seat...

Rumble, rumble.

The bus's wheels rolled against the concrete, making the conductor's bottom bounce about. He could only press himself farther back in silence.

No one spoke along the way.

Two bright beams pierced the night. Accompanied by the roar of an engine, a battered bus appeared at the end of the road.

"We have arrived at the Forest of Mist."

As the synthesized voice sounded, the bus pulled to a stop beneath the bus stop sign.

"Hiss..."

With a hiss of steam, the rear door slowly opened.

"Wake up! Stop sleeping!"

Nobunaga nudged the bleary-eyed Uvogin beside him. Seeing that he still looked half-asleep, Nobunaga slapped him across the face.

"Smack!"

"Ow!"

Clutching his stinging cheek, Uvogin stopped snoring at once.

"Who hit me?"

He looked around and finally noticed that Nobunaga was already standing outside the bus, rolling his eyes at him.

"Wait for me!"

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Uvogin hurriedly shouted and jumped off the bus.

"Bang!"

As the last passenger stepped off, Lien slammed the door shut and immediately floored the accelerator.

A man's name was like a tree's shadow.

Who knew why the Corpse Stitcher had brought so many people back to the Mist Forest?!!!

By the light of the bus's taillights, the Phantom Troupe surveyed their surroundings.

"Ahh~"

Lianke yawned and turned to the others.

"Come on. I haven't assigned you rooms yet."

With that, she slowly headed down the dirt road to the right.

They covered the three kilometers in no time.

By the time the moon reached its zenith, the outline of the little courtyard had appeared before them.

"Creak~"

The hinges groaned as Lianke pushed open the courtyard gate.

"Corpses?!!"

At the sight of the wall of corpses in the courtyard, Shalnark's pupils contracted sharply, and he cried out in alarm.

Hearing him, the others looked ahead, their gazes finally settling on the pairs of eyes on the wall, each emitting an eerie glow.

Even though they had just seen corpses that morning, most of their hearts still skipped a beat.

"It's all right. They're just some specimens."

Carl, carrying Sarasa on her back, was the first to enter the courtyard. She then turned and beckoned to her companions.

"Hurry inside. Master still needs to assign everyone their rooms."

The girl had fallen asleep on the bus, so Carl had simply carried her, sparing her the sight of the things in the courtyard.

"All right!"

Chrollo nodded slightly and was the first to step into the courtyard.

With the two of them leading the way, the others' fear vanished at once, and they quickly followed.

"Three rooms on the first floor, two on the second."

"Two to a room. Is that all right?"

Standing at the foot of the spiral staircase and looking at the children before her, Lianke made her suggestion.

"Thank you, Master."

Chrollo stepped forward quietly and answered respectfully.

An arrow once shot could not be recalled. Now that he had become Lianke's disciple, he would naturally show her the proper respect!

"Very good!"

Lianke looked at the young boy before her and nodded calmly, then turned and went upstairs.

The members of the Phantom Troupe were left behind, looking at one another.

After glancing at the size of the rooms, Chrollo quickly assigned everyone their rooms.

"Machi and Paku."

The two girls exchanged a glance and raised no objections.

"Nobunaga and Shalnark."

Hearing that he wouldn't be sharing with Uvogin, Nobunaga couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief.

"Phinks and Feitan."

"No problem!"

Phinks slung an arm around Feitan's shoulders and spoke casually.

"Franklin and me."

"..."

Gazing into Chrollo's deep eyes, Franklin nodded silently.

"Me and Sarasa, then?"

Uvogin scratched the back of his head, somewhat hesitant.

"You get a room to yourself," Chrollo said calmly.

"Then Sarasa..."

After hearing the room assignments, Paku opened her mouth, somewhat hesitant.

"Sarasa can share a room with me."

Carrying the small girl on her back, Carl spoke softly.

"Hehe~ Anyone want to share a room with me?"

Hisoka suddenly leaned over the second-floor railing, playing cards fluttering constantly between his fingertips without ever slipping from his control.

"Senior Brother, why don't you wash up and go to bed early?"

Carl rolled her eyes and headed straight up the wooden stairs with Sarasa on her back.