The Unexplored Lands Development Unit, as the name suggested, was an organization tasked with developing the unexplored lands of Blackout.
Although it was said to be founded on the premise of reforming prisoners who had committed heinous crimes within Blackout, the reality was that it merely used those criminals as fodder to push the frontiers of Blackout.
The biggest beneficiary of all this is the Issus Society.
The meeting of two forces: one dedicated to uncovering Blackout’s secrets, and the other to pioneering its wilderness.
Even in the game, when players took on quests from the Issus Society, they often ended up encountering the Unexplored Lands Development Unit.
After the battle with the orcs had ended—
The prisoners each sat down and began resting as they pleased.
Some frowned as they checked their injuries, while others picked fights with their fellow inmates.
“Th-The Unexplored Lands Development Unit…?”
Meanwhile, Aiden who had only just realized the name of the group looked at Jun with a face that seemed utterly devoid of spirit.
It was hard to believe this was the same person who had happily accepted the request just a while ago.
“Well, technically they are a group formed under the imperial family’s name. Not that anyone in the imperial family really cares about them.”
“They probably care more about the scraps these guys bring back.”
“Mhmm.”
Still avoiding Eleanor’s gaze, Jun turned his eyes toward Maya.
Out of all their party members, she was the only one who didn’t seem to have any complaints.
Or maybe she just doesn’t care?
Meanwhile, Aiden naturally moved his hand toward his waist.
I have to protect senior.
Aiden’s determination might have seemed a bit excessive, but Jun had always said it.
If they weren’t part of the same party, they were to be regarded with suspicion. No exceptions.
In a world where even those without criminal records could betray you, there was no reason to place trust in convicted criminals like these.
Even now, some of them were eyeing their companions with lecherous, unsettling gazes――
“Attention.”
All the prisoners’ heads turned toward a single individual.
It was a man in an imperial uniform with an expressionless face.
“Hmph.”
Jun let out a brief sound from right beside him.
Having spent a good amount of time with Jun, Aiden picked up on the emotion behind that sound.
He’s displeased?
Was there something about that man?
Aiden cast his eyes toward the nearby prisoners.
At the single word “attention”, they had all turned their heads toward the expressionless man.
But it didn’t seem like they’d done so of their own volition.
Each and every one of them appeared to be trembling, as though their bodies were being forced to move against their will.
“Welcome. I am Leon, commander and overseer of the Unexplored Lands Development Unit.”
Jun responded to the man who had introduced himself as Leon in a dry, lifeless voice.
“…Pleased to meet you. I’m Jun, leader of the White Whale Mercenary Group.”
“I look forward to working together. However…”
Leon’s gaze shifted toward Aiden.
At that very moment, Aiden felt a kind of pressure radiating from him.
His hand instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword tighter.
At the very least, he’s just below Sir Bern’s level.
Aiden immediately realized this man was no ordinary fighter.
“Your companion seems more tense than expected.”
Jun simply shrugged in response.
Only Aiden had noticed his displeasure, and Jun’s voice itself remained as relaxed as ever.
“Well, that’s just the nature of this business. There’s nothing to lose by staying tense in this line of work.”
“I hope he brings that same intensity to the mission.”
“You won’t have to worry about that. We certainly will.”
After saying that, the commander exchanged greetings with the members of the Issus Society, then turned his back and addressed the prisoners.
“Don’t get any ideas, you beasts.”
Even from behind, the disgust in his expression could be felt.
Jun’s eyebrow twitched once again.
Just as the prisoners, all eyeing Leon, were about to turn their attention away from the group—
“Sir Mage?!”
“…Why are you here?”
From among the silent prisoners, a small-framed young man stepped forward.
He had striking black hair and amber eyes.
Beside him stood a woman of similarly petite build and similar features, who looked over with a hint of surprise.
“Luke? Lucy?”
They were twin members of the Jinlang race. They were once part of the now-disbanded “Azure Cloud Party” and comrades during the Black Forest raid.
***
Luke and Lucy.
The two looked quite different from before.
In that short span of time, scars had appeared here and there, and their auras felt far more developed than in the past.
They’ve probably reached Level 4.
Given that they had already been too skilled to remain at Level 3, that kind of growth seemed only natural.
“Is that the mercenary group we’re joining this time?”
When Lucy asked, Jun nodded his head, and Luke cheerfully chimed in from beside her.
“Wow! Lucy! Are we really going to be working with Sir Mage this time?!”
If Aiden was like a golden retriever, Luke gave the impression of a young toy poodle.
“…Aiden?”
But there was a common misconception about golden retrievers.
It was the mistaken belief that retrievers had a gentle nature.
At their core, retrievers were hunting dogs.
Which meant that, toward anything they perceived as a threat, they could be fiercely aggressive.
Toward Luke and Lucy, Aiden openly displayed his hostility.
Seeing this, Jun was startled and turned to Aiden who quickly looked away.
“Ah… I’m sorry, senior. I just…”
“Hey, hey, it’s understandable. Jun, did you forget what those two did?”
Eleanor pointed at the Jinlang twin siblings as she spoke.
“Because of those two, you nearly died. Multiple times.”
“Ah.”
At the time, Aiden had been trapped inside a hidden piece and hadn’t known, but Jun had been attacked by Luke and Lucy.
After a series of twists and turns, he had managed to subdue them, but had there been even a slight mistake, it could have cost him his life.
On top of that, the awakening of the Fairy Queen, caused by the “Azure Cloud Party” to which they belonged, had nearly wiped out the entire raid party.
“……”
Aiden only learned the full story of the incident around the time everything had come to an end.
From his point of view, that kind of reaction is only natural.
What could he say? He didn’t exactly hate it.
After all, it meant someone was genuinely angry on his behalf.
Still, he was the leader of a mercenary group and had to act in accordance with the mission.
Just as Jun was about to speak—
“Uhh…”
Luke stepped forward first.
“I sincerely apologize for what happened back then!!”
“……?”
As if to show how a proper apology should be done, Luke bent at the waist in a deep bow.
“I was so happy to see you again that I couldn’t contain myself! Honestly, thinking back on what we did before, it was shameless of us to act like that!”
“…I was a bit flustered and didn’t get a chance to say this earlier. I truly apologize for back then.”
At Luke’s gesture, Lucy let out a small sigh and bowed her head as well.
In truth, it wasn’t something that could be resolved with just a few words like that.
However, Jun had no intention of holding those two accountable.
Did he forgive their crimes?
No, rather than that, it would be more accurate to say he simply had no interest in such things.
For him, that matter had ended the moment he returned safely.
At the time, what mattered more to Jun than revenge was the benefit of surviving the raid.
And if punishment was due, the imperial family would have taken care of it.
“……”
Only then did Aiden finally take a proper look at the two.
Scars were visible all over their bodies. They were marks that hadn’t been there when they had first encountered each other in the Black Forest.
Luke looked like he had an uncomfortable arm.
And a large scar could be seen through Lucy’s disheveled hair,
It was a wound that ran from her right temple down to the back of her neck.
The Unexplored Lands Development Unit.
Just as the name implied, they were a group gathered to develop areas that had yet to be tamed.
Naturally, in a place like Blackout where unknown dangers lurked, they carried out their missions fully aware that their lives were on the line.
In just a matter of months, they had faced death multiple times.
“Haah… Alright. Please lift your heads.”
“…Are you saying you forgive us?”
“I don’t think I’m in any position to do that. That decision… belongs to the Imperial Family.”
The judgment would come from the Imperial Family.
Aiden found his own words to be quite cowardly.
He himself knew all too well that the Imperial Family wasn’t exactly a fair institution.
Even though he held a deep resentment toward it, he had brought it up the moment things didn’t go his way.
And yet, Aiden couldn’t bring himself to completely despise them.
If Luke hadn’t protected the Forest’s Essence that was hidden within the Forest Guardian’s chest until the very end, Aiden wouldn’t have been able to deliver the final blow.
And even if I get more upset here… it’ll only get in the way of the mission.
Even thinking logically, there was no need to get worked up over them anymore.
In the end, this mission had to be carried out with them.
That was how Aiden convinced himself.
Jun looked at Aiden’s expression and gave a faint smile.
You’ve finally learned how to control your emotions, haven’t you?
Jun had taught Aiden to be naturally suspicious of others.
But simply doubting everyone would get you nowhere. It took courage to keep moving forward even while harboring suspicion.
And Aiden seemed to have mastered that well.
Physical growth isn’t the only strength that kid has.
Anyway.
“Th-Thank you!”
“…Thank you.”
Luke and Lucy both straightened their backs with expressions of slight relief.
“Still, we’re honestly glad to see you again like this! Oh, right! If it’s okay with you, we’d love to introduce our team membe—huh?!”
Luke’s words were abruptly cut off.
Startled, he let out a muffled “Mmmpf!” and clutched at his mouth, while Lucy, seemingly used to it, simply turned her head in the direction the voice had come from.
At some point, the expedition leader Leon who had just finished his conversation with Schneider was now giving orders to the prisoners with a cold expression.
“Break time’s over. Everyone, move on to the next point.”
The prisoners who looked like they wouldn’t listen to anyone under any circumstances stood up all at once and began walking in the designated direction.
Among them were Luke and Lucy.
What was it that made them look like marionettes being controlled?
“S-Senior…”
“It’s a word-binding spell.”
His gaze shifted toward the prisoners’ necks.
Rough iron collars that were far cruder than Jun’s.
Inside them, he sensed a familiar kind of power.
It felt similar to the choker around his own neck but of a slightly different nature.
“Well, how should I put it? It’s almost excessively efficient, don’t you think?”
That comment came from Eleanor who had approached him.
Excessively efficient, huh?
That was the perfect way to put it.
The prisoners, as long as the iron collars remained around their necks, could not defy the commander’s orders.
If the commander told them to eat, they had to eat. If he told them to walk, they had to walk.
Even if the order was to die.
They would undoubtedly have no choice but to obey.
It was truly a scene devoid of even the slightest trace of human rights.
There’s a restriction here stronger than even master’s incantation.
However, Jun instinctively judged that this word-binding was not magic.
Magic was more akin to the ability to convert mana into the forces of nature.
Binding humans in such a way belonged more to the realm of witchcraft.
Well, of course. To enforce that level of compulsion, the amount of power required would have to be immense.
In that case, there was no reason for Jun to take any interest in it.
The displeasure had completely vanished from his face.
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