Chapter 45: Euphemism

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Euphemism

"Talk to him."

"You talk to him! You literally have the fucking No. 1 on your name."

"It's just a number, you're the one driving. So, you're the leader. And besides, I need to talk to the civilians we rescued."

"W—" Alll latest novels at novelhall.com

"Perhaps if I may offer some advice? I think it would be best for No. 2 to talk to him, he is our mascot, after all."

"W–the fuck? You're our mascot, you obese fuck. Have you seen yourself? No. 4, you talk to him."

"But he's literally deaf and mute. No. 2, you talk to him. Unless you want to be the one cleaning this mess?"

"Damn it!"

The Faceless crew's mission was pretty much a wrap, with No. 1 assuring the women that they are now safe, and No. 4 and 5 cleaning all the bodies and putting them in one place. Rhys was actually also collecting the bodies, but he was removing the ones that were in the back of the truck... the ones that he killed.

"Ehem, No. 6," No. 2 carefully approached Rhys, clearing his throat with his hands behind his back as he practically slid toward him, "Are you okay? Must have been a tartarus of a first mission, no?"

Everyone was worried about Rhys. How could they not, when they just found him covered in blood just moments ago and surrounded by mangled and dismembered corpses, and even carrying a decapitated head of a young hissyr?

"Oh... Yes. I don't really have that much combat experience yet." Rhys, on the other hand, seemed completely fine as he just casually wiped the blood on his face with the back of his hand, "I hope I wasn't that much of a burden."

"What...? No," No. 2 once again stuttered as he heard Rhys's words, "I'm talking about how you had to kill women and children in your first mission. Of course, they weren't exactly human, but they could easily pass as one. And as you have already seen... they are trying to pass as one."

"Oh," Rhys blinked a couple of times as he glanced back at the remaining mangled corpses behind him,

"Well, we're on the side of justice, right?"

"Jus...tice?" No. 2 tiptoed so he could glance at the sorry state of the bodies Rhys left behind, "I am sure they don't see it as that."

"I guess so..." Rhys's voice turned quiet as he sighed, "...I do feel sorry for the children, but they were a part of it too."

"...Right," No. 2 squinted his eyes as he patted his frilly dress, very subtly walking away as he did so, "I'll leave you to it, then. Good... good job."

"Lowborn..." No. 2 glanced at Rhys's hair, "...Figures. I guess you lost it when you saw your people being caged like animals. I mean, not your people... I mean—Ah, fuck. Why is it so hard to talk to you, No. 6?"

"I... don't know," Rhys closed his eyes.

"I know why. It's because of that soft, sultry voice. Stop it."

"But this... is my voice."

"Stop it, giving me goosebumps, ack," No. 2 stuck out his tongue as he stepped harder on the gas, causing the convoy behind them to press their horn.

"...This isn't the way back to the base, is it?" And as Rhys glanced back at the truck, he finally noticed that the forest region the Underworld Corps was on was behind them.

"No. Why would we go back to the base?" No. 2 raised an eyebrow, "We're bringing the women back to their home."

"...Home?" Rhys blinked, "In the Underworld?"

"You don't know?" No. 2 glanced at Rhys, "They have several settlements here, an entire village, even. I guess you still lucked out, huh? You have rich parents or something?"

"..."

"They can't survive up there on the Surface since no one's giving them any jobs and no one gives a fuck," No. 2 sighed, "And so they try their luck down here."

"But there are monsters down here."

"And there are monsters up there, you said so yourself, Rhys — you were beaten up," No. 2 looked Rhys in the eyes, "At least here, they are free to do whatever they want. They could farm, there are resources... and the monsters don't discriminate. But of course, sometimes, classist Commoners still find their way and make trouble."

"...I didn't know that," Rhys looked at the moving ground.

"Well, you do now. And you're going to learn more from now on, No. 6...

...that's their village right there, if you could call it that."

Rhys looked ahead, and there it was, the so-called village of the Lowborns...

...their only defense, walls made with scrap metal and barbed wire.