Not far from Orario stood a port town called Meren.
Its sewers connected to Orario, and under the banner of the sea god Njord's Familia, it supplied the Labyrinth City with seafood.
The fishermen who made their living there were no weaklings, either—the average one could match a low-level adventurer in personal strength.
And because the Guild and the Njord Familia had never been on good terms, the Guild had long been trying to poach members from them.
Recently, the Guild had been especially eager to recruit a certain pair of elf sisters away from Njord's people.
The two had suddenly appeared in Meren more than half a year ago, but it was only in the last two months that they had begun to stand out.
They rarely had to fight in Meren, but on the few occasions they did, they had won with ease.
The local fishermen judged that the sisters were, at minimum, seasoned Level 2 adventurers.
Yet when the Guild tried to recruit them, the two refused flatly—and found the whole thing absurd.
"I honestly can't believe it," one sister complained while they worked. "Even the Guild's own representative couldn't recognize us?"
"Exactly, Sister. All we did was stop dressing the way we used to."
As they fished, the two of them could not help grumbling.
Their old outfits had certainly been distinctive, but was that really all people remembered about them?
Even after changing all their clothes and washing their faces clean, the very Guild that had once hunted them still failed to recognize them. Wasn't that a little too ridiculous?
Then again, there had always been examples like that. There were fans who claimed lifelong devotion to a game and still could not tell two iconic characters apart the moment their costumes changed.
"Did you two commit some terrible crime in the past?" Njord joked while working beside them, smiling lightly. "It's all right. Most people living here have something they can't talk about."
In truth, he already knew who the sisters were.
He simply did not care that much, and he had chosen to pretend ignorance.
The past half year had proven that the two could live here quietly and steadily enough.
What truly interested him, as a god, was why they had turned back.
Turning back meant acknowledging every mistake you had ever made and accepting it.
Not everyone was capable of that.
Some people never let go of the wrong faith no matter how far down it dragged them. Others were like failed web novel authors who kept writing even though they made no money.
Why did they keep going?
Because quitting would mean admitting that all the effort they had poured in was meaningless—that they had wasted time, derailed their lives, and gotten nothing in return.
The same went for those who had sunk too much money into some two-dimensional game to ever walk away.
In the end, it all came down to sunk cost.
"Yes," the older sister said quietly. "We committed terrible sins. We're waiting for Lord Shadow to pass judgment on us."
The younger one looked nervous. "Sister… Lord Shadow won't fail to recognize us too, right?"
The sisters were not afraid of being judged.
What they feared was being forgotten.
"Lord Shadow?" Njord's interest deepened. "You mean that Shadow from the Great Struggle? You know him personally?"
The two did not explain.
They were hardly about to reveal information about Lord Shadow to anyone else.
Besides, according to what they had investigated, the sea god before them seemed to have ties to the remnants of the dark faction.
They had actually meant to report that information to Lord Shadow later.
Only because they had gotten emotionally worked up had they let slip that they knew him at all.
After being spared by Shadow the last time, the two had left Orario and fled to the port town of Meren, avoiding both the Great Struggle and the Guild's subsequent manhunt.
Since they had already sworn themselves under that contract, only Lord Shadow had the right to judge them.
And after living here for more than half a year, they had gradually come to understand why Lord Shadow had spared them.
Filled with gratitude, the two had set their hearts on him completely.
They firmly believed he had not forgotten them, and that when the time was right, he would come to judge them.
But if Lord Shadow failed to recognize them—or had forgotten them entirely—then everything would lose its meaning.
The sisters returned home with hearts full of unease and found a letter lying on the table.
Fulfill our old contract amid the searing crimson, at the place where we first met. — Shadow
"Lord Shadow has been watching us all along!"
"Of course Lord Shadow is amazing!"
They tidied up the room, left behind farewell letters, and set off for Orario in high spirits, hurrying toward the promised day of their punishment.
That evening, Cid changed into Shadow's outfit.
Using a cursed tool to enter the artificial labyrinth, he made his way—now utterly familiar with the route—to the base of the Shadow Garden.
Over the past half year, he had done quite a few things.
For example: founded Shadow Garden, brought the remnants of the dark faction to heel, and laid preparations for future plans.
Granted, more than ninety percent of that work had been handled by Filvis.
But hadn't he at least contributed that remaining one percent?
For instance, the item in his hand right now—the Daedalus Jewel, a tool that opened mechanisms here—had been information he had personally dug up.
Standing before the Shadow Garden's main hideout, Cid took out yet another cursed tool.
Using the same principle, he had someone create a second hidden door and matching key.
Even the cursed-detection equipment built by the all-purpose genius wouldn't be able to find this place.
The moment he stepped inside, he heard screams.
Cid was already used to that.
As soon as he entered, he saw Alfia beating Chloe and Lunoa half to death.
"No, nyah… I'm already at my limit!"
"You're a demon! You're a demon, I tell you!"
"Limits are things that ought to be broken at least thirty times a day," Alfia replied coldly. "Filvis endured it, and now she's already broken through to Level 5. So why exactly do you two think you're allowed to say you can't?"
At the back of the room, a little girl of only eight—Bell—watched the scene in terror.
She knew full well that once Alfia finished with the other two, her turn would come.
"Why… why is my life like this, nyah…"
After being knocked down yet again, Chloe saw stars.
Back when she and Lunoa had joined Shadow Garden, they had both done so willingly.
They had accepted the mission to assassinate Shadow… only to get beaten down before they could even get close by his personal guard, Filvis.
At the time, Chloe had honestly thought that, since Shadow was the leader of the dark faction, she would be thrown into a cellar and made to give birth to ten kittens or so.
Later, however, she discovered that Lord Shadow was a genuinely good person, and that Shadow Garden was actually the ideal place for her.
She had listened to Lord Shadow describe the organization's grand purpose, heard Filvis's promises of a beautiful future, and in a burst of excitement joined up on the spot.
It definitely, absolutely, had nothing to do with coveting Lord Shadow's backside.
If she had known there was a monster like Alfia here, she would never have joined no matter what.
Unless, of course, Lord Shadow had been willing to let her touch his butt.
At the very brink of despair, Chloe felt a wave of healing energy wash over her.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw a familiar figure.
Without hesitation, she lunged at him.
"Boss! Just let me have your babies instead! I don't want to get any stronger anymore!"
....
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