Declared Dead, Exiled, and Betrayed— Now I Walk Away, but I'll Save One Who Cared - Chapter 13

“Eranda… what have you done?”

“There was no other choice. ‘Flash’ was this city’s top adventurer party. If their name disappeared, people would stop coming here.”

That had nothing to do with stealing his personal assets or having a child, did it?

I was about to say something, but—

“That doesn’t explain why you had a child! Did Jekyll force himself on you?!”

Wait… could that be it?

My sister? The way she was? No, I didn’t think so. She wasn’t the type to trade her body as a bargaining chip.

“No, I used him. If Lax was declared dead, then I had to secure another leader. I convinced Claire to hand ‘Flash’ over to Jekyll, strengthened the party with the equipment Lax left behind, and added new solo members. As long as they kept clearing lower-layer monsters, that was all that mattered. And if my husband was the leader, I wouldn’t have to worry about him leaving me.”

That made sense.

Jekyll had always been a foolishly easy man to manipulate.

But she hadn’t anticipated that even after having his child, Jekyll would abandon her so easily.

She had no eye for character.

Father fell into deep silence.

“That still doesn’t justify stealing his personal assets.”

Michelle’s anger was palpable.

I found it surprising how much this detail seemed to enrage her.

But this wasn’t the moment to question it.

“Even if we accept the argument that Lax being declared dead led to his loss of citizenship, he still had a legal heir. His assets belong to them. Return them immediately!”

“What?”

“Lax had an heir? What are you talking about? Where?”

Michelle was furious, while my sister could only mumble in confusion.

Right.

An heir didn’t necessarily have to be a bl00d relative.

The adventurers’ guild had a system allowing adventurers to designate a beneficiary in case of death.

Usually, only family members could be registered, but…

“You’re saying you didn’t check? A simple look at the guild records would have told you. Or did you fail to do even that?”

“That’s… But the guild master never said anything…”

“Unbelievable. So the guild master was complicit, too. But that doesn’t excuse your failure. Let me make it clear—I am his sister by adoption. Lax and I registered each other as legal heirs.”

“What?!”

That was shocking.

Now I understood why she was so angry.

I hadn’t known.

“Michelle… you?”

“Yes. My parents adopted him. That makes us siblings by law. In our homeland, his status was actually higher than mine, so he never brought it up much.”

She patiently explained, as if she had anticipated my reaction.

“Now—return what you stole. The six-month period just ended recently, correct?”

“……”

“Say something. This was your doing. That wealth does not belong to you.”

“…It’s gone.”

“What?”

“What do you mean by ‘gone’?!”

“I already spent it. There’s nothing left.”

“You what?!”

“What the hell?! There were hundreds of gold coins, rare weapons, and high-tier items—you spent all of it?!”

“That’s right! It’s all gone! There’s nothing left to return!”

“W-Wait!”

BOOOOOOOM!!!!

A deafening explosion erupted.

“What…?!”

Right before our eyes, the guild building was blasted into the sky.

“Damn it… The stampede. The lower-layer monsters have arrived.”

Michelle swiftly readied her weapon and shield.

“Father, you must evacuate.”

I turned to the guards and instructed them to get my father to safety.

“Wait! Facing a monster stronger than the Orc King is suicide! You need to run!”

“We’ll ensure the adventurers escape first—then we’ll follow!”

Father clearly wasn’t convinced, but someone from the ruling family had to stay.

The gathered adventurers were still here.

Michelle was still here.

And I had already made my decision to fight.

Of course, that wretched sister of mine had fled without hesitation.

She never explained where all the money had gone.

Though, considering she had declared Lax dead, it was obvious she did it for personal gain.

But there was no time to dwell on it.

The guild building, launched skyward, crashed down onto the neighboring casino, collapsing both structures.

Fortunately, the mages had cast protective barriers, shielding the adventurers from harm.

Still…

“Lady Shifa, you need to flee! We’ll hold them off—”

“I won’t run. If I do, it’ll be after everyone else has left. As a noble of Riofendarl, I have a duty to remain here!”

“Shifa…”

“Lady Shifa…”

And then—

From the gaping hole in the ground, it emerged.

Only one monster.

The other monsters must have been terrified.

There was no other explanation.

Because what emerged from the depths was—

A massive claw, as large as my entire body.

A monstrous maw, lined with razor-sharp fangs.

A fearsome face, contorted in primal rage.

And wings, vast and black as the abyss, stretching toward the sky.

The hole blasted open by the destruction of the guild wasn’t enough to contain it.

As it surfaced, the very ground beneath the city began to collapse—swallowing the inns, the casino, the lord’s manor… and beyond.

This was impossible.

This wasn’t something we could fight.

This wasn’t something mere humans could stand against.

It clawed its way up, tearing apart the earth as it emerged.

Then, spreading its enormous wings, it took to the skies.

A being spoken of only in legends and myths.

A dragon.