Chapter 195 - Divergence (1)

"Oh well… I wish you guys luck in doing whatever you want," Billy said. "You can leave now. We will pretend that we didn't meet you. Hey, Sarah, help me bury these corpses."

"Understood," Sarah said.

Those cloaked figures sighed in relief when they heard that and began to move. They would be left alone, and their pursuers had been dealt with, so they couldn't ask for a better outcome. However, they stopped when they saw Billy and Sarah using magic.

"Excuse me, could you be the group of allies that helped lord Jean in the last war and have been clearing dungeons recently?" The still cloaked man asked.

"No, I heard that they retired after that war," Billy replied. "I also heard that they went beyond the desert west of their lands, so good luck finding them."

"Billy… don't lie," Kate said. "We are that group, but not all of us participated in that war. Regardless, I saw that you recognized us after seeing the magic… what do you want exactly?"

"We would like to meet with lord Jean. We don't want anything like our position back," The man said and then lifted his cloak revealing someone dressed as a servant in his forties. "We just want to protect our mistress."

"You want this, you want that…" Kate said. "But you are not willing to give us the answers that we want. Unless you answer our questions, we will ignore what you ask of us."

"... You are right… we have someone related to lord Ignace among us," The man replied after a brief moment of silence. "All his relatives were hunted once the war ended to avoid problems of inheritance of the new state or to avoid possibilities of revolt. That is why we escaped the state since no soldier wanted to risk their safety and their families to protect us."

Billy cursed his unluckiness… Why did things have to take a turn like that? These guys didn't even try to talk with Gustave, the guild master of the nearest town, since he wasn't known for being that lenient. Besides, he lost many underlings, so all the reasons to keep a low profile on his territory.

"The truce demanded that both sides can't interfere with each other's business for ten years. If we help them here, we would be breaking the terms of the truce," Billy said. "We can't help them."

"But we already helped them… you defeated their pursuers," Kate said.

"We didn't know the situation yet when I did that. Besides, if we get rid of the bodies, no one will notice if there is no one to notice it," Billy said. "Still, helping or keeping contact with them will make things difficult to keep all this hidden."

"That sounds like a lame excuse…" Kate said. "She is a kid, Billy. We can't leave her alone. If we keep a low profile and…"

"She is a kid that might cause another war… I get what you are saying. In any other situation, I would help," Billy said. "However, any of those guys might open their mouths to protect themselves and put our people in a difficult situation. Besides, I don't think that Jean is a nice guy enough to protect her out of kindness."

"Hmm… you may be correct," Kate said and then began to think. "So, how about we hide her on our dungeon town until the dust dies down. I bet they will forget her after a while. Besides, they broke the agreement too. They sent their troops to this territory without informing anyone."

"Now you want to involve my family too?" Billy furrowed his eyebrows. "Have you lost your mind? And of course, they won't forget her. They will become even more suspicious once they stop receiving reports of the pursuers."

"No, but…" Kate said.

"Sorry, but no buts," Billy said. "This is too risky, and you are being too sentimental about this. You might regret this later if this causes another war."

"I understand… I am being selfish," Kate said after taking a deep breath. "Then let's do this… I will help them find a place to hide beyond our territory. If I do this alone, then only I will be punished if things get lit of hand. I will admit all this to take the blame and all punishment necessary."

"Things aren't that simple… Why can't you see that?" Billy asked. "Why do you want to help someone you never talked to?"

"If I don't help someone when I can, then why was I saved?" Kate asked.

"You weren't saved. You recovered on your own…" Billy said. "Guys, help me convince this naive girl that this is a bad idea."

"... I don't think that you are wrong, Billy," Lily said. "However, I can see Kate's point. We will regret this later if something happens to them when we have the chance to help. I also can't let Kate do this alone."

"This isn't like you, Billy," Natalie said. "Why do you want to follow the terms of those cowards that stabbed their own friends? I will help Kate as well."

"...Maybe we should clear our head and wait until tomorrow to make a decision," Sarah said.

"I am with Sarah. Making any decision now is too risky," Alexander said.

Billy took a deep breath to calm down. Alexander and Sarah were trying to be reasonable while the girls were letting their feelings decide things for them. Still, those two knew how bad things could become, but they still couldn't see his point. That was truly disappointing…

"All right, let's do things your way," Billy said and then resumed his work of burying the corpses.

"Hey, Billy… are you mad?" Alexander asked nervously.

"Nope, I don't have time for that," Billy said.

Although he said that, Alexander knew that Billy's words were a bit off. He was pretty carefree most of the time, but despite the calmness on his face, he could feel some sort of aura on him…