"..."
Standing before me were five redheads. These five glared at me, causing the tense atmosphere to become even more intense.
"Did you need to kill all those soldiers?"
"No. But most people here would thank me for it."
Zangrif didn't take the soldier's storage. Those who weren't confident in their ability to survive had stolen their loot, which was pretty unethical when I did it myself.
And what I said was right. Everyone cheered for me when the soldiers died. The commander was an ass, and the soldiers had a lot of loot.
"If you survive the unknown, you will be marked as a criminal by the Vermonts."
They left and returned to their corners. By the sound of it, the Vermonts sounded important.
"Joanne, do you know the Vermonts?"
"Kid. They're a family that is known widely. Now that you killed their soldiers, you will be their enemy."
Instead of Joanne, the old man spoke in her place. So it is a family with massive influence. I can deal with a family.
"Is that so? If I kill everyone here, will they notice?"
"Kid! Stop with your jokes!"
I wasn't joking, but I will let it slide. The spines of some people chilled hearing my words. I made a slight chuckle looking at everyone's expression.
"Besides, silencing everyone here wouldn't work. They have a tracker of who killed their people."
"But I haven't killed them. The demon did."
"You're right. Then the only way someone will know is if they snitch."
"Stop joking. You are going to cause more fights with your attitude."
For an explorer, Joanne sure wasn't bloodthirsty. You would think that she would like to see an exciting battle.
"Fine, fine."
After stopping our antics, the three of us waited for hours. There was no action, and it became boring with everyone waiting for the fissure.
"Old man. What's your reason for coming into the unknown?"
What I asked was a harmless question. I wanted to find Constance, while Joanne wanted to explore. I didn't know the old man's reason.
"Reason? It's simple. I'm here for the riches. I will retire after this expedition."
That was a simple reason. Retirement? I could retire millions of times at my age.
"Do you have a wife or a child?"
Joanne had asked Greg a question for the first time. She had been ignoring him for his pervy remarks but was curious about Greg's personal life.
"A wife? We parted ways. I have a child and a granddaughter. They keep me company when I'm lonely. I plan to spend my remaining time with them after this. I have already left everything to them just in case I pass away."
Hearing Greg's story made us empathic toward his family. Greg had already resigned himself to death by coming here.
It was no wonder why he stood by my side without hesitation. I can respect a man who has this much resolve. Hearing Greg's story, we became idle for the whole day.
Ten hours had passed, and something had finally happened. Unlike the five redheads, a new group attracted everyone's attention.
"Gramps, do you know them?"
After ten hours of talking, I had gotten closer to Greg. With age comes knowledge. Joanne hasn't told me her age, but it just felt right to ask Gramps.
"I felt you had terrible thoughts toward me."
"..."
"You must be imagining it."
What sharp womanly instincts! I could deny my thoughts, but that would only work for so long.
"They're from the Lance family. The Lance family is well known for its strict attitude. Due to their talent and competence, they have always produced many talents in their family. Even the Vermonts don't come close to them."
The Lance family had fifty members. While all of them weren't insanely strong, there were three particulars that you needed to watch out for.
First was the apparent old man. He seemed like the butler of the family. The butler stood firm and tall; his gaze could pierce through anyone's soul.
Then we have a person who seems to be the same age as me. I can't help but stare at him, not because of his looks but because of his abilities. I sense that our physical powers are similar. Once I stared long enough, he looked at me back.
He had purple hair and bright purple eyes that could charm any girl. His fashion was pretty old, probably due to his family's influence.
As for the final person, it was a woman who was a bit older than the purple-haired man. I would assume that she was the older sister considering their similar appearances. Like her brother, she wore a traditional black dress that was rarely seen.
"We should expect more prominent families and more dangerous people to come now. We don't know when the fissure will open, but it should be here in another twelve hours."
We don't know how long until the fissure will open, but what Gramps said was right. I don't know if arriving later was a trend for stronger people, but it seems it was the case.
"Joanne, old man. Are you hungry? I got food."
Surprisingly, Rose had picked up cooking. She took her role as a maid seriously and cooked me some food. I had a month's worth of meals, so I shared them with these two.
"Food? I haven't eaten in a while, so why not?"
"You should know that none of us needs to eat."
"But it's great for passing the time."
I opened my packed meal and started to look at the content. Rose had made me a sandwich with premium ingredients. Joanne had picked one up while the old man stared.
"Wow, it's delicious. Who made it?"
"One of my lovers. And she's a maid."
"Why didn't you say so? Don't mind me taking one."
After Greg heard the term maid, he decided to pick one up. I slapped his hand away. Since he was like that, he didn't deserve any of Rose's cooking.
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