Chapter 189: Let Me Work for You
Four days later, at the border of Southport County, in a secluded forest.
Sally Hsu slowly awoke in bed.
Seeing that the room was still pitch-black, she realized it was undoubtedly still the middle of the night and couldn't help letting out a sigh.
For the past two days, she and Melissa had practically been living in seclusion inside this cabin hidden within the forest.
Leon had prepared plenty of supplies in the house.
Living here for ten days or even half a month wouldn't have been a problem.
However, since neither of them dared venture outside, their days had been rather dull and monotonous.
On top of that, they had constantly been worrying about Leon's safety.
Sally had also been thinking about what they should do if Leon failed to return at the appointed time to retrieve them.
Burdened with worries, she found herself unable to sleep once night fell.
Even when she did manage to fall asleep, one strange dream followed another.
Before she knew it, her sleep schedule had become completely disrupted.
She carefully sat up and leaned over to look at the other bed beside hers, intending to check whether Melissa had kept her blanket on while sleeping.
To her surprise, she couldn't see Melissa's silhouette.
The blanket appeared to have been left open.
“Huh...”
Sally reached out in surprise and felt the bed.
Melissa was indeed gone.
The blanket was already cold.
“Melissa?”
Sally immediately became nervous and hurried out of the bedroom.
Wandering too far into the forest in the middle of the night was an easy way to become hopelessly lost.
Fortunately, the moment she opened the bedroom door, she saw Melissa sitting on a chair in the main room, looking up through the glass skylight at the moon.
“Mom?”
Hearing the door open, Melissa looked over and blinked.
“Why are you awake too?”
“You scared me to death!”
Sally pressed a hand to her chest in relief.
“Come on.”
“Let's go back to bed.”
“I can't sleep...”
“I really can't.”
Melissa lowered her eyes as she replied.
Sally blinked before letting out a gentle sigh.
She knew Melissa's feelings were much the same as her own.
It was already the fourth day.
There was still no news from Leon.
The situation seemed to be growing increasingly bleak.
According to what Leon had told them...
If no one came to retrieve them after five days, it would mean something had happened to him.
At that point, they would have to flee the eastern region.
That meant they had, at most, only two days left to wait.
“Mom...”
“It's already the fourth day...”
Melissa said dejectedly.
“Brother Leon...”
“It's alright, sweetheart.”
“Nothing will happen.”
Sally stepped forward and embraced Melissa, gently pressing her daughter's head against her chest.
She knew she had to remain strong as a mother.
If something truly had happened to Leon...
She would have to protect Melissa with everything she had.
Leon had already prepared weapons for them to defend themselves.
Furthermore...
She now possessed the power of a Witch.
Just then...
A knock suddenly echoed through the silent cabin without any warning.
It reverberated throughout the empty house.
Sally and Melissa both jumped in fright.
However, neither of them made a sound.
Sally instinctively held Melissa even tighter while vigilantly staring toward the front door.
Her gaze flicked toward the nearby table.
Inside one of its drawers was a gun.
“Mrs. Hsu? Melissa?”
A familiar voice came from outside.
A second, louder knock followed.
It seemed the visitor assumed they were still asleep and was trying to wake them.
Sally and Melissa immediately recovered from their shock.
It was Leon's voice.
Sally breathed a sigh of relief and released Melissa, intending to open the door herself.
But Melissa instantly leapt to her feet and rushed over first.
She flung the door open.
Standing outside was Leon.
He carried a lantern and wore a military cloak wrapped tightly around himself against the wind.
Smiling faintly at Melissa, he said,
“I've come to pick you up—”
Before he could finish speaking...
Melissa threw herself into his arms.
She hugged him tightly.
Then, unable to hold back any longer, she burst into loud sobs.
She had endured four agonizing days of anxiety.
Each day had become more oppressive than the last.
Now...
She had finally found an outlet.
“Melissa?”
Leon was completely caught off guard.
“Everything's alright now.”
“Why are you crying?”
Watching Melissa cling to Leon, Sally couldn't help sighing as she recalled how downcast her daughter had been these past few days while constantly worrying about him.
In truth...
She had noticed her daughter's feelings quite some time ago.
“Mr. Leon...”
“You've finally come.”
Sally stepped forward and asked with concern,
“Has everything been settled?”
“Yes.”
“At least for the moment.”
Leon answered calmly.
“I won.”
After saying that, he reached out and gently patted Melissa's head before giving a slightly helpless smile.
“Alright.”
“You can let go of me now, Melissa.”
Perhaps because she had spent years doing manual labor...
Melissa's grip was genuinely much stronger than that of most girls her age.
Melissa sniffled before finally releasing Leon.
Still crying, she said,
“Brother Leon...”
“Why...”
“Why did it take you so long to come back?”
“I thought... I thought...”
“Cleaning up afterward took a little extra time.”
“But I'm here now, aren't I?”
Leon ruffled Melissa's hair before turning toward Sally.
“Hurry and pack your things.”
“We'll make the journey while it's still night and there are fewer people around.”
About fifteen minutes later...
Leon had helped the two of them pack up everything inside their hiding place.
Melissa and Sally climbed aboard the carriage.
Leon personally took the driver's seat and departed from the cabin hidden within the forest.
The carriage's lantern swayed gently as it passed through the woods before emerging onto an open road beneath the moonlit plains.
Everything around them was silent.
Leon continually scanned their surroundings.
The area offered an unobstructed view.
Tonight happened to be a moonlit night.
With his enhanced night vision, everything nearby lay clearly before his eyes.
Only after confirming there was no one else around did he finally speak.
“Once we return, I'll immediately arrange a fake funeral.”
“Melissa.”
“You'll need to attend it.”
“So prepare yourself.”
“After the funeral is over...”
“You'll still have to return to the Reformatory.”
“And as for you, Miss Sally...”
“I'll use my connections to prepare a false identity and a place for you to live.”
Over the past few days, part of the cleanup had included receiving personnel dispatched from the Archdiocese to inspect the disguised corpse.
Sally's case had already been over for a year.
Death by illness had also been the expected conclusion.
As a result, it hadn't attracted much attention from the Church.
Once the Archdiocese inspectors saw the corpse's severe Saltification, they immediately understood that no useful examination could be performed.
They quickly completed their report and submitted it.
Now Leon could officially arrange Sally's funeral.
Fortunately...
Witches had to be buried in a Church-designated underground cemetery.
That spared Leon from the difficult task of making the fake remains appear alongside Mr. Hsu's grave in the same cemetery.
Once the funeral concluded...
The person known as Sally Hsu would officially disappear from the world.
Through Father Auden's connections, Leon had already prepared a false identity for her.
That said...
Her appearance couldn't be changed.
Furthermore, Leon's own situation wasn't exactly secure.
Both Sally and Melissa might still become targets.
For the time being, Sally would have to remain under Leon's protection while living quietly under her new identity.
As for Melissa...
She first had to complete the remainder of her studies at the Reformatory.
The Reformatory was a Church-run institution with its own guards.
Even ordinary Underworld organizations wouldn't dare attack a Church facility lightly.
Nevertheless...
To be safe, Leon still intended to station people nearby to keep watch and patrol the area to ensure Melissa's safety.
After hearing this, Sally thought for a while before leaning toward the small front window of the carriage.
“Where will I be living from now on?”
“Will it be very far away?”
“No.”
“I'll definitely arrange for you to live within my territory.”
“I still have quite a few safe houses.”
“Next, we'll simply wait until Melissa graduates from the Reformatory.”
“There's less than two months remaining.”
“After that...”
“We'll make further plans.”
Leon replied.
“Then...”
After pondering for quite some time, Sally cautiously spoke.
“Is there...”
“Anything I can do for you?”
Sally disliked endlessly remaining indebted to others.
By now...
Both she and Melissa owed Leon far too much.
She felt she should find some way to repay him.
“If possible...”
“The same as before.”
“I may need to collect some of your blood.”
“Of course...”
“That depends on your physical condition.”
Leon replied.
Sally's Rebirth Blessing, combined with the accelerated-growth potions cultivated by Weiss, could play an enormous role in breeding Magical Beasts.
Many of the Labyrinth's combat-capable Magical Beasts had suffered heavy losses.
He needed to rebuild his monster army as quickly as possible.
Sally thought carefully again.
After a long silence...
She finally made up her mind.
“In that case...”
“Wouldn't it be better...”
“If I simply worked for you directly?”
She proposed.
“Mom?”
Melissa looked at her mother in surprise.
Leon was equally astonished by Sally's suggestion.
Turning Sally into a Witch had originally been nothing more than a way to cure her illness.
The fact that she possessed the useful Rebirth Blessing had been an unexpected bonus.
But Leon had never seriously considered recruiting Sally.
Working in this world was an entirely different matter.
It meant directly coming into contact with all the darkness hidden within this profession.
“Mrs. Hsu...”
“This is the Underworld.”
“It's dangerous.”
“This isn't clean work.”
“You only know that I sell Mana Essence.”
“You don't know everything I've actually done.”
“This past year...”
“I've done many terrible things.”
“I've killed a great many people.”
“You simply don't know about them.”
“You and Melissa don't have to become involved.”
Leon said.
Sally and Melissa probably couldn't imagine...
That he had kidnapped another man's daughter...
Or orchestrated a trap to kill both father and daughter one after the other.
“But we've already become involved, haven't we?”
Sally asked in return.
“I owe you a debt I'll never be able to repay.”
“And you're always telling us that someone might target us to get revenge against you.”
“If that's the case...”
“How can we possibly avoid becoming involved?”
Leon found himself speechless.
Indeed...
As long as someone targeted him one day...
Neither Sally nor Melissa could truly be considered safe.
Mother and daughter had already become tied to him long ago.
The road he walked...
Was one from which there was no turning back.
Not only for himself...
But also for those around him.
“I should have died once already.”
“You were the one who gave me the chance to keep living.”
“I once placed my own life on the negotiating table in exchange for that chance.”
“At this point...”
“I'm no longer afraid of danger.”
“I've already become a Witch.”
“If we're going to live under your protection for a long time...”
“Then please let me do something for you.”
“There must be some work I'm capable of.”
Sally suggested softly.
She had already realized that she and Melissa would likely have to remain under Leon's protection for a very long time.
If that was the case...
Whether to maintain their relationship...
Or simply to repay the kindness he had shown...
She ought to create some value that could be of use to him.
“Then I want to work for Brother Leon too!!”
Melissa finally couldn't hold herself back.
She leaned toward the carriage window and shouted.
“Melissa, you don't have to...”
Sally immediately tried persuading her daughter.
Although Sally herself no longer feared danger...
She still worried about Melissa becoming too deeply involved.
But Melissa ignored her mother's attempt to stop her.
“Next...”
“I'm going to get into the Archdiocese Academy!”
“The Sisters said I have an excellent chance with my grades!”
“Once I graduate from the Archdiocese Academy...”
“I'll have the opportunity to join the Church!”
“And then...”
“I'll be able to help Brother Leon too!!”
Hearing this, Sally hesitated.
She could hear the determination in Melissa's voice.
Once Melissa made up her mind about something...
She rarely changed it.
Sally knew her daughter's personality very well.
If Melissa entered the Church...
Rather than becoming a Witch like herself...
That sounded somewhat easier to accept.
After listening to both of them...
Leon remained silent for a long while.
In the end...
He still couldn't bring himself to make such an important decision so hastily.
Letting out a long breath, he finally said,
“This is too important.”
“You shouldn't make such a decision so quickly.”
“You'd better take some time...”
“And think it over again.”