Three days later, we returned to the guild with a large amount of loot and received a substantial reward.
Now, the sixteen companions are gathered together. Despite having accomplished the feat of defeating the desert dragon, no one has left, because everyone knows that the next step is the celebration.
After distributing the rightful reward to everyone, Nighold shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Thank you all so much for your help today, which made our successful return possible! Now, I'd like to treat everyone here to a drink! To celebrate our successful raid, let's all move to the restaurant!"
"Wow!"
Upon hearing Nighold's remarks, the crowd erupted in cheers, as their reason for staying was to prepare for the final victory celebration.
To my surprise, the three mages who had lost their companions earlier showed no sadness at this moment, but instead blended into the crowd as if adapting to the situation.
Although it seemed suspicious, it was indeed inappropriate to mention such a thing in this setting.
In other words, their reason for claiming their companion was attacked by other monsters might be that they deliberately abandoned their companion, thus giving the remaining three a chance to escape.
In short, even if I find such behavior hateful, I won't deliberately provoke it if it has nothing to do with me and brings me no benefit.
However, since there's free food and drink, it would be foolish not to go.
With that mindset in mind, I followed the crowd toward the restaurant.
~~~
A few hours later, I returned to the hotel.
To be honest, although the black-bearded uncle verbally agreed to only drink beer, he actually forced me to drink quite a lot of whiskey, which is a strong spirit with a unique flavor, just like Kylorans.
In short, I couldn't handle it at all. After a few drinks, I felt unwell all over and had a headache, so I had to lie and make a hasty escape.
Lilith seems to have been sleeping in Katia's room these past few days, which is why I found it empty when I opened the door.
My luggage and essentials were still neatly arranged in the corner. In short, I didn't have much energy left to pay attention to those unimportant things, so I went straight to sleep.
The soft bed was much more comfortable than the hard carriage and floor, so I quickly fell asleep.
~~~
Meanwhile, after the remaining members of the guild finished their rare victory celebration, they all said their goodbyes and left the guild to return to their own residences.
Nighold, as the captain, was the same.
He lived in a villa located between the noble and commoner districts. I had originally thought that adventurers were all poor people like me.
However, that's not the case. Even among nobles, there are quite a few who are tired of being bound by various rules every day, so they escape their hometowns and come to unfamiliar cities to become adventurers.
Nighold was that kind of person; he wasn't a native of Robebia, but came from Robebia's neighbor, "Dororo."
Although Niggholm was not a nobleman, he was not a poor commoner either; he was a wealthy family with some assets.
Therefore, after arriving in La Noscia, he had the basic funds to buy such a villa with a small yard.
Back at the villa, Nighold didn't fall asleep immediately after drinking too much like I did, nor did he go into the bathroom to wash away the grime of his journey over the past few days.
Instead, they went straight into the depths of the villa.
The maid he mentioned didn't exist at all; in other words, he was the only one living in what could be considered a large villa.
Looking in his direction, there was a wooden staircase. Mostly because of its age, it creaked loudly when stepped on with a little force.
At the end of the stairs was a dark and damp little room, with clutter piled up in the corners, taking up most of the space.
It's clear that this was where the villa's former owner stored some kind of fermented food, commonly known as a cellar.
After Nighold bought the villa, he seemed to have no interest in that kind of food, which caused the food to pile up in that place for years, emitting a strange and unpleasant smell.
In that corner, a woman was huddled up, her hands and feet bound by cold iron chains. Because of this, the woman's movement was limited to that narrow corner filled with clutter.
There were many food items and packaging bags lying in front of him, and even the water had been prepared for several days, but now there was less than a third left, probably because the woman had been eaten.
Hearing the creaking sound of footsteps on the stairs, the woman knew that the man had returned, but she was helpless because she had nowhere to go and could only weakly look in that direction through the gaps in her disheveled hair.
At this moment, the woman's clothing may be very ordinary and common in this world.
But if Leon were here, he would recognize the woman at a glance, because...
That was the woman he longed for, Sylvie Emilia.
"You know what? I never expected that this request... would yield such an unexpected reward. Would you like to hear it? Sylvia... no, no, I should call you by your full name now, Sylvia Emilia!"
Nighold spoke to Sylvie in a tone completely different from that during the day, and with a rare, lewd smile.
“Not only that, I even know… you once served the Cabinet family…”
Nighold slowly approached Sylvie, then suddenly reached out and gently pinched her chin, forcing her to look up and meet his gaze.
"However...if you're willing..."
When Nighold was able to recount her background as perfectly as before, she was visibly taken aback. This was information she had never told him; how did he know it?
The only possibility she could think of was that the Seg couple, who had also been affected by the disaster and moved to other places, had come here and were searching for her in some way.
"Let me go..."
"Hahaha... I'm sure you're familiar with this name, what's it again... Leon Cabador, that's right, that's the name!"
"Speaking of which... he seems to know about your transfer to La Noscia. He even showed that kind of expression when he saw the shards of your clothes, hahaha... but he's such a fool who easily trusts others, what a pity..."
"What did you do to Leon?!"
"What? What if I told you he'd already been eaten by the charging desert dragon... Oh, right, it seems there weren't even any bones left..."
"..."
Upon hearing this news, it struck Sylvie like a bolt of lightning, making her body tremble. However, she knew that with Leon's strength, Nighold was no match for him.
It was absolutely a lie, a lie that Sylvie could easily expose with just a little thought.
"You...you bastard...let me go..."
"Hahaha... I can let you go... but you have to promise to serve me well... maybe I can even take you to find his remains... there might be some left."
"You...you're dreaming! I'd rather die than let you touch me!"
"Hmph! You damned bitch! How dare you bite me! Stay here and reflect on your actions. One day I'll make you submit to me!"
Nighold had no patience to waste any more time with Sylvie, and after uttering a harsh remark, he left the cellar via the creaking stairs.
At this moment, he knew very well that Sylvie was already his, and he would use this kind of blow to torment Sylvie's heart until she completely collapsed and became his plaything.
However, Nighold seemed to underestimate Sylvie.
She's not the kind of person who would fall into the abyss with just a few lies.
Because she is Sylvie Emilia, the maid of the Cabinet family, and it is because of her that Leon mustered the courage to step out the door, giving him the strength to stand up when he was at his lowest point.
Therefore, let us look forward to the story of Sylvie Emilia, the woman who accompanied Leon throughout his life and whom he regarded as a goddess.
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