I Became a Ruined Character in a Dark Fantasy

Chapter 828

They were punishments that condemned one to live the rest of their life in humiliation—a kind of social death.

Charlotte, who had stopped beside Thesaya, answered, "If it feels that way to you too, then I’d say it’s a success."

"Pretty good, right? I applied what I learned from Ian perfectly," Thesaya added, dropping down onto the ground with a soft thud, the cigarette still between her lips.

Ian’s mouth twisted a little further. He couldn’t exactly deny it.

"I’ll handle enforcement with our kitty here. But when we’re not around—" Thesaya glanced at the bottle in Ian’s hand, then looked back at him with a meaningful smile. "I’d like you to take care of it. You can do that, right?"

Ian clicked his tongue lightly and nodded. "I can’t exactly dodge responsibility after suggesting it. Fine."

He wasn’t thrilled about it, but there was no one else suited to bear that kind of burden.

"That conversation went on longer than expected. Did you settle everything?" Charlotte asked as she sat down beside him, not even glancing at the lieutenants who were still caught in uneasy silence.

Ian took a sip from the bottle and nodded. "Yeah. We’re setting sail together tomorrow afternoon."

"Together?" Charlotte blinked, momentarily taken aback. It was clear she hadn’t heard anything from Thesaya or Miguel.

The same went for Diana and Phoebe, who had been too preoccupied with their new bond.

"We’re boarding smuggling ships and heading straight to the Black Isles," Ian said plainly.

Charlotte’s orange eyes widened. "The Black Isles?"

The other lieutenants reacted the same way.

Thesaya held out her cigarette toward Ian as she said, "You probably don’t know, but the people in the archipelago are all corrupted. Right now, they’re even trying to awaken an ancient god sleeping beneath the Black Sea."

Her tone made it obvious she was enjoying their reactions.

Ian took the cigarette and handed her the bottle in return.

Diana, still looking like she’d been struck by lightning, muttered, "An... ancient god?"

"Yeah. If we don’t act now, we might not be able to stop it. The civil war in the Central is about to escalate," Ian answered calmly.

He then slowly looked over the lieutenants as he placed the cigarette to his lips. "Of course, it’s going to be extremely dangerous. We might have to fight the entire archipelago. We might not even make it there in the first place."

"To think we’d be heading into a fight the moment we reunited. And the archipelago, of all places—" She met Ian’s gaze, baring her fangs in a faint smile. "I’m looking forward to it, Ian."

"To think I’ll finally get to kill those damn pirates with my own hands..."

"The archipelago, huh?"

Palmer and Nehat added, their expressions twisting into predatory smiles. Idris’s pupils sharpened as she flicked her tongue.

Of course, not everyone shared that excitement.

"The archipelago... you’ve got to be kidding..."

"Lu Solar..."

Diana shut her eyes tightly, groaning, while Phoebe covered her face with one hand.

"So eat well tonight and get some rest. The waters near the archipelago are a doldrums, so we’ll be rowing in shifts," Ian added, exhaling a plume of herbal smoke.

He glanced briefly at Lily, who stirred awake at the sound.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes and nodded. "Then we’ll need to divide the manpower carefully."

"Exactly. It’s brutal labor, so rotation matters too. I’ll take the ship you came on. You command another one, Charlotte."

"Then what about the third?" Thesaya asked, taking a sip from the bottle, her gaze lingering with a hint of curiosity.

"The third one..." Ian murmured, turning his head.

His gaze passed over the fairy and beastfolk lieutenants, then finally stopped on the rugged face of the fire priest.

Miguel frowned a beat late and asked, "Me?"

Ian shifted the cigarette between his fingers and nodded. "You’ve led mercenary bands before. And you commanded the Ember Priesthood too."

"That’s not the same thing! You think fairies and beastfolk are going to listen to someone like me?" Miguel scoffed in disbelief.

Ian didn’t even blink. "You’re more than qualified. You’re the bearer of the ember and the messenger of that great Platinum Dragon, Ironfist Priest Miguel."

"What?" Miguel just stared at him, mouth slightly open, caught between a smile and a frown.

Thesaya, clicking her tongue, turned toward the lieutenants. "You heard him. Pass it along to the camp and prepare as the demigod instructed."

The beastfolk sprang to their feet almost instantly. Nehat hesitated for a split second, likely because she had reacted to Thesaya’s command rather than Charlotte’s.

As they began to turn away, leaving the still-stunned fairies behind, Thesaya added, "Leaving your partners already? Seems you’ve forgotten what I said."

The beastfolk froze—then, after a brief hesitation, turned back.

"Get up. Diana."

"Let’s... go. Pointy-Ear."

"Come on, Phoebe."

Palmer, Nehat, and Idris spoke awkwardly.

Diana let out a long sigh through her nose, and Phoebe dragged a hand down her face before standing. They walked toward the beastfolk with lifeless movements.

—I can practically feel the despair.

Yog whispered mockingly.

Ian suppressed a chuckle and put the cigarette back to his lips.

Watching the departing figures, Miguel finally let out a heavy sigh. "As if going to the archipelago wasn’t bad enough... now I’ve got to manage that lot too? Damn it. I get seasick, you know."

"Tell me about it," Thesaya muttered in agreement, then glanced at Ian. "I know you said not to ask, but Ian, instead of bullying that poor prosthetic, why don’t I just go with you to the archipelago?"

"That won’t be possible, Elder."

The reply came not from Ian, but from behind her.

Mukapa, who had been standing by the carriage, stepped forward and said, "You’re to return south with me as planned. The future of the South depends on—"

"Yeah, yeah. Very important matter. I know. Hey, Kitty, can you punch him just once for me?" Thesaya cut him off irritably, turning toward Charlotte.

Charlotte frowned. "He’s right. Why would I do that? The South is our homeland."

"Right. Should’ve known better than to expect anything from you." Thesaya sighed and took another drink.

Ian chuckled faintly, then turned his head. "You’re going with the Elder, Lily."

Thesaya snapped her gaze toward him, but Lily shook her head.

Thesaya slammed the bottle down. "Not you too, Pup!"

She looked genuinely betrayed.

Ian frowned slightly and shifted the cigarette again. "So you’re refusing to go South as well?"

Lily nodded without hesitation.

Miguel’s eyes widened as she pressed closer to his side, as if hiding.

"W-Well... maybe we could just let her stay with us. She could live at the temple or something," Miguel added cautiously.

Ian clicked his tongue softly, considering whether he should just knock her out and send her anyway.

"Why, though? Half-Pint, try the whisper spell. I need to at least know why," Thesaya said, turning to Elia.

Elia gave an awkward smile. "Uh, I can try, but it probably won’t work."

"Doesn’t matter. Fast!"

At Thesaya’s sharp glare, Elia raised both hands toward Lily.

A faint shimmer of magic flickered in her mismatched eyes, and magic radiated from her palms for a moment.

Elia lowered her hands and murmured, "As expected, it didn’t work. I’m sorry, Elder. The spell circuit is far too advanced. It’s beyond my ability."

Some of her spells had no effect on Lily. Elia suspected that among the intricate spell circuits engraved across her, there was one specifically designed to nullify certain types of magic.

"Forget it. I don’t feel like dragging along someone who clearly doesn’t want to go anyway."

Clicking her tongue, Thesaya shoved the bottle into Ian’s hands, almost collapsing against him. Then she snatched the cigarette from his fingers and dropped into an empty seat, glancing at Mukapa.

"I’ll just head to Racliffe with this ugly, stubborn Snub-Nose. The rest of you figure it out yourselves," said Thesaya.

Mukapa watched silently while Elia scratched her head awkwardly.

At that moment, Lily suddenly stood up. She strode forward and approached Thesaya, who still had the cigarette in her mouth.

"Don’t think acting sorry will help, Pup. I’m very disapp—" Thesaya froze mid-sentence, eyes widening.

Lily had wrapped her arms around her neck.

Blinking with the cigarette still between her lips, Thesaya slowly curled her mouth into a smile. "So it’s not that you hate me, huh? Fine. I guess I have no choice. I’ll forgive you."

Hard to tell who’s the child and who’s the adult.

Ian took a sip of wine and looked away. "Miguel, you take her with you. Seems she’s staying with us at least until we reach the archipelago."

"Got it." Miguel nodded.

Ian then turned to Elia. "You go with Charlotte."

"Yes, Sir Ian," Elia said without hesitation.

It was a deliberate arrangement in case anything went wrong on the way to the archipelago.

"This is the last time I’m giving in to your stubbornness, Lily. Next time, I’ll make you stay whether you like it or not," said Ian.

Lily gave a small nod, still held loosely by Thesaya as she sat at the edge.

"Let’s drink and enjoy the night. We’ll just be running an errand, but we won’t see each other for a while," Thesaya said, running her fingers through Lily’s hair.

Her lips curved into a relaxed smile, cigarette still hanging from them—as if she hadn’t been fuming just moments ago.

"We’ll be stuck on ships for a while anyway. We can rest on the way," Thesaya added.

Ian nodded reluctantly. "This isn’t a vacation, but... fine."

She had only just reunited with Charlotte after all this time. It wouldn’t be right to take even this small moment away.

—Ah, finally... then how about passing along my proposal to your beast friend, hmm?

Yog whispered eagerly.

Miguel stood up, reading the mood. "I’ll grab more food. And drinks."

"I’ll help, Priest." Elia rose and followed him toward the carriage.

Ian watched them go, then turned his gaze toward the distant camp, where a low murmur had begun to spread. He let out a chuckle and lifted the bottle again, turning his gaze toward the dark sea.

"You’re really enjoying that, aren’t you, Kitty?" Thesaya teased as she braided Lily’s hair.

Charlotte was sitting by the fire, turning her wrist guard back and forth in the light, examining it closely.

"I’m curious how you managed to gather so many dragon relics."

Charlotte didn’t deny it. Her gaze remained fixed on the intricate golden wing patterns etched into the dark surface.

"I’ll tell you. Ian would just give you the short, boring version," Thesaya cut in.

Ian only shrugged. That was exactly what he wanted—time to sort through his thoughts.

"As I said earlier, we took them from the Great Being’s nest. It gifted Ian an entire villa, you see."

"...What?"

"You’ll be even more surprised when you hear where it is. It’s—"

As planned, the three stowaway ships set sail the following afternoon, leaving behind only the silver-haired elder fairy on a pony and the gray orc standing at the harbor.