Rondo

Following Cherry's suggestion, Cien abandoned his plan to rest until morning.

He bid farewell to Niles and Cherry, saying that he would wait for their arrival in Death Valley.

Cien also made sure to add them to his Friends List.

On the other side, Niles had to reluctantly postpone his departure from morning to noon.

He needed to dispose of the water he had brought and send some messages to the merchants who had bought his water in the last two days.

He also had to rethink the route they would take.

With the circulation of toxic water, Niles felt there was a risk in passing through urban areas where the contaminated water had spread.

He believed it would be safer to pass through rural areas.

Although there was a possibility that the water had reached the villages as well, it wouldn't be as abundant as in the cities. Besides, the merchants rarely sold their water directly to the villages.

Having said his goodbyes, Cien had now arrived in front of a large gate. The gate bore the emblem of an owl holding a coin.

"C-Owl, huh..."

Cien had never named his orphanage C-Owl.

Initially, he had only called it The Owl. However, over time, the nobles who knew him started referring to it as C-Owl.

The 'C' stood for his initials.

The nobles felt envious and thought that Cien had established the orphanage simply to gain favor. That's why the term C-Owl, during his time as a baron, became a sarcastic nickname.

But look at it now, that mocking nickname was being used as the official name.

Cherry mentioned that Ethel had chosen that name to commemorate Cien and prove that his decision to establish the orphanage was not a mistake.

Due to C-Owl's current success, the name that used to mock him now turns to mock those who used to mock Cien.

It's truly amazing to see that the orphanage created from the conversation of two drunkards could grow so big, even to the extent of having a branch in a kingdom other than Westya, which amazes Cien.

Ethel has truly done something extraordinary.

Cien approached the closed gate without any guards.

'Well, this wasn't a noble place, so of course there wouldn't be any guards. That's what I thought, but…'

Cien then glanced at a tower beside the main building inside the gate.

There, he could sense the presence of several people who were staring at him.

"Fortunately, this place isn't as dark as Death Valley. I can see all of you clearly, kids."

Cien waved towards the tower, hoping someone would come down and open the door.

After waving, Cien just waited for someone to come. Then, he tapped on his coffin.

"Are you still awake?"

"Yes."

"Do you feel dizzy over there?"

"No. Just bored."

"..."

"Uncle, can't you buy a lamp? Lili wants to read here."

"Heh, an interesting wish for someone who wants to die. Shall Uncle try to find that lamp? Hmmm?"

Suddenly, Cien felt swift movement coming from the direction of the tower.

Not just one or two people, but dozens. They all seemed to be running towards Cien's location.

Cien furrowed his brows, sensing that something was amiss. Would they attack? Or were they similar to Cherry and Casey?

There were no good cases between the two possibilities.

It didn't take long for Cien to see the dozen individuals approaching. They were all teenagers, both boys and girls in their early teens.

As they reached the gate, instead of opening it, they stared at Cien behind the gate with sparkling eyes.

"Whoaa…!!"

"…"

Cien stared back blankly. He hadn't revealed his face yet. He was still wearing a cloak that covered his entire body and a scarf that concealed his mouth. But somehow, they had recognized his identity.

Seeing the many pairs of sparkling eyes, Cien sighed wearily.

'So, they're of the same kind as Cherry and Casey... Will everyone in C-Owl be like this?'

Cien began to doubt his choice of coming to the orphanage. If the gate were to open, he could imagine the dozen individuals rushing to hug him.

"Hey! Don't crowd like that!"

Suddenly, a man's voice shouted from the direction of the main building.

Two men and one woman walked towards the gate. The man who shouted was at the front, while the other two followed behind.

The woman, Cien, already knew her.

'Casey…'

When the three individuals arrived, the dozen people who were there immediately stepped aside, making way, although their faces still gazed at Cien as if he were a star.

"Hey, Grand Master! Finally, you've come here!"

Casey greeted, walking towards the gate and starting to unlock it.

"So, you're the one who told them about me?"

"Hm? Ah, of course. How could I keep such big news to myself!"

"Well, thank you."

Cien then turned to the other two people walking with Casey.

One was a man with a large body and short blonde hair. His blue eyes shone in the darkness of the night.

The other one was a man with short stature and brown hair tied in a ponytail. This man had been smiling all along.

Cien didn't recognize the short man, but the same couldn't be said for the big man.

That face was quite familiar to him.

"I never thought I would meet you again after all these years, Rondo," Cien greeted as he took off his hood and scarf.

The big man named Rondo froze when Cien called his name and looked at his face.

Tears began to well up in his eyes. But as the leader of the Ashur branch of C-Owl, he held back the tears from falling.

Rondo was one of the first-generation orphans that Cien had taken off the streets in Rostgard.

At that time, Rondo worked as a petty thief in the market. Cien vividly remembered forcibly bringing young Rondo to the orphanage by tying him on his horse.

"I never imagined, Milord, that you were still alive."

Actually, when Casey returned to the C-Owl building and reported that Lilinette had been taken by Cien, Rondo couldn't possibly believe it.

He thought Casey had been deceived, and her task of protecting the Daughter of Millard had completely failed.

Rondo instructed Casey not to spread the news of Cien's presence to others because he considered it to be false.

However, Casey, who knew that Cien was indeed real, didn't feel the need to keep it a secret.

So Casey narrated her encounter with Cien to all the agents and orphans of C-Owl.

Rondo couldn't stop it, so he simply gave up. However, he didn't send a message to the main headquarters about this news because he still considered it to be false.

Now, looking at Cien's face, his conviction changed drastically.

Initially, he wanted to prove that the Cien mentioned by Casey was fake.

But upon seeing the face of the man he had regarded as his own father, Rondo knew that the person standing before him was the genuine Cien.

The gates opened, and Casey immediately hugged Cien without hesitation.

After Casey let go, Cien saw a row of people with sparkling eyes ready to rush towards him. Observing the scene, Rondo could only laugh and told Cien to fulfill their dreams for a moment.

Unable to refuse, Cien eventually acted like an idol, shaking hands and giving warm hugs to all his fans.

After it was over, he could still hear the whispers of joy from the teenagers.

Rondo then approached and instructed Cien to come inside, leaving behind the dozen teenagers caught up in their euphoria.

Inside the living room, Cien took off his scarf and asked Lilinette to come out.

Rondo, a short man named Donny, and Casey were taken aback as they realized that the Daughter of Millard had been inside the wardrobe all this time.

"Grand Master, has she been there since yesterday?" Casey asked, knowing that Cien had placed Lilinette inside the wardrobe while in the tower.

"No. I had to bring her like this because we had to escape from the pursuit of the Ashur army."

"Escape?"

Cien then began explaining the purpose of his arrival to C-Owl.

He first mentioned the presence of Asmodeus and the spread of toxic water. Upon hearing this, Rondo's face turned serious.

"Donny, have we opened the water we bought yesterday afternoon?"

"Sigh, fortunately, we haven't. The water is still stored in the storage."

They didn't realize that the water they had just bought was poisonous.

They were lucky they hadn't consumed it yet. However, this presented a new problem. If they couldn't drink the water, what about their future water supply?

"This is bad," Rondo muttered, realizing the crisis they were facing.

Cien understood their difficulty. He himself couldn't do anything.

The water in the lake could be purified with an antidote, but there's no material available. And with Asmodeus around, it would be very difficult to make and gather the materials.

Could they do it after Asmodeus left Ashur? Maybe.

But it wouldn't last long. Asmodeus would surely find out and start attacking Ashur, even Mandora, as a backup plan to destroy this kingdom.

Indeed, the biggest problem at the moment was the presence of Asmodeus. That's why Cien had to summon someone who had the potential to fight him.

Cien then explained to Rondo and his friends that he wanted to use C-Owl's intelligence to contact Prince Hanibal.

C-Owl had established branches throughout the western part of Mandora.

If Hanibal was in the west, they could find him quickly. But if he was in the eastern part of Mandora, they would have to give up.

Cien understood.

Without waiting for dawn, Rondo immediately instructed Donny to send a message to all branches in Mandora.

To search for and find Prince Hanibal. To explain the situation in Ashur and ask him to come here.

Donny promptly set off to carry out the order, and Casey would assist him.

After that, Rondo suggested that Cien and Lilinette rest. He guided them to two rooms in the main building.

"Milord..."

"Hm?"

When they arrived at his room's door, Cien saw Rondo with teary eyes. Cien understood. He opened his arms, accepting the embrace from the larger man.

"You have grown so much. Tch, it's embarrassing," Cien said jokingly.

Rondo released the hug, wiping his teary eyes, and expressed his deep gratitude for Cien's safety. He also thanked Cien for saving Cherry.

There were many things Rondo wanted to say, but his emotions were too tumultuous at the moment, making it difficult to find the right words.

Furthermore, Rondo sensed Cien's exhaustion. Well, the man somehow uncovered the conspiracy in Ashur and even Mandora.

Rondo smiles.

Cien was still as remarkable as Rondo remembered. That's why Rondo preferred to let Cien rest and have a conversation later, after he had recovered from fatigue.

"Thank you, Rondo. Ugh, it's truly been a day full of surprises."