The way back to the starting line (part 3)

"Long time no see, mister~ Who exactly took over our little group?"

Medea gave the man a short wave and asked while making a key he used to open the front door pop up in his hand.

"Boss...!"

Gerard couldn't answer straight, and at first, he only breathed out with a mixture of relief, happiness, and a rather generous serving of worry.

"...?"

Medea tilted his head the other way and blinked questioningly.

"Boss, you might not believe it – I couldn't believe it at first either – about two months after that officer took you away, Theodore showed up, and a lot of things changed."

"..."

Gerard took a deep breath and revealed, causing Medea to blink repeatedly in stunned silence.

"You are right in assuming that I would not believe that. Corpses people tend to stay dead on principle."

"I know! Boss, I've read your instructions and all, but I swear it's him!"

The black-haired man pointed out, which made the copper-haired man rub his temple greatly bothered.

"Ah... Natalie, papa is very proud of you. Now, go back to your room. You don't want to oversleep for tomorrow, do you?"

"Okay..."

Gerard realized that his daughter was still by his side and tousled her hair before giving her a little encouraging push towards the staircase.

"The situation is as confusing as you expect it to be, Boss."

Gerard watched his daughter grab the glass of water she had left on the floor earlier and start climbing the stairs before turning back to Medea with a sigh.

"...if he is actually alive, then Ava should be after me – and with her connections and possible funds, she should have found a way to deal with me long ago..."

The black-haired man looked to the side, furrowing his brows, trying to understand what could have influenced the hazel-haired girl to let him off the hook.

"That's the thing, Boss. Theodore doesn't remember you killing him. Allegedly his memories cut off shortly before he arrived at the Crownhorn farm."

"..."

The copper-haired man waved his hands powerlessly and revealed, making Medea raise his brow in silence.

"I expected you to return any day because... well, please don't hold it against me..."

Gerard continued hesitantly, gulping down his saliva and taking a deep breath as if preparing to dive into unknown depths.

"...I thought that you would get fed up with a soldier's life and defect at any given moment, so I was gathering all the information I acquired. That included listening in to Theodore discussing his reappearance with Thomas."

He said hesitantly as if expecting the backlash from the black-haired man.

"...Theodore didn't return alone either..."

Seeing that Medea's face is still serious and there is no trace of a smile, Gerard continued his explanation.

...even so, the tension didn't leave the copper-haired man as he knew that what he still had yet to say could change Medea's mood rather quickly...

"When he showed up, he arrived together with a few youngsters who escaped the conscription. They already were treating him as their leader and all. Your notes clearly stated that we should keep an eye on people like that and be hesitant with letting them join – especially because they were all eager to show off."

"You did change the lock. What the hell happened even though you were careful? How did some kids take over our gang?"

Gerard recalled while gritting his teeth at the memory, but Medea didn't let him ponder like that for too long and urged him to get to the bottom of things.

"Funds provided by young Miss Ava happened, Boss. Although we figured that out much later."

The copper-haired man breathed out and made eye contact with Medea.

"All of a sudden, Thomas and the guys from his closest circle changed their minds and started pushing quite hard to give those kids a chance. During that time, the youngest of that bunch got mister Connor to warm up to him and got taken in by the old man... with his support, Adam, Steve, Nentilear, and I wasn't able to uphold the gang the way you wanted. So we essentially got taken over – that's where the change of locks came from..."

Gerard explained himself, and his quilt caused him to lower his gaze and stare at the floor, deeply ashamed of himself.

"Then, not counting Mister Connor, all the people I considered trustworthy haven't failed me. Good job."

The black-haired man looked through the window at the mysterious reddish glow seen over the roofs of the other buildings as some sort of commotion began outside.

"Boss...!"

Gerard gasped, deeply moved by Medea's words...

"...Boss...? Umm... what is going on out there...?"

...but then the voices and the light brighter than the town's lamps got his attention too, and he asked, fidgeting nervously.

"If I had to guess, it's most likely the fire at Mister Connor's inn."

Medea glanced at Gerard before shrugging his shoulders and answering while looking back toward the reddish glow.

"...huh...?"

"...~"

The copper-haired man gasped and then flinched as he saw the friendly smile on the black-haired man's face reflecting in the window he was looking through.

"Haaa... this is worse than I expected... I won't be staying the night after all, sorry."

"Boss?!"

Medea sighed, looking to the side and shaking his head – causing Gerard to take a step back in fear.

"Don't act as if it means that I am going to dispose of you and your family, mister."

"I'm sorry, boss!"

The black-haired man's expression darkened, and he glared over at the copper-haired man, who straightened his back and bowed down even more fearful than moments earlier.

"If anyone from the forty-second company or Vultures show up, direct them towards Daakvillan. If they will want to reinforce whatever remains of our gang... I leave that decision to your discretion."

Medea passed the bowing Gerard and said, approaching the door.

"They will take it back, but Startington might not handle our tactics."

"... Boss, hold on...! What about you and the military and all...!"

Gerard rushed after Medea, but the black-haired man had already saddled up and was riding away into the night.

|A lot will change in seven years... Nah, it would be strange if everything stayed the same... I wonder what it's like in Daakvillan now; I haven't been there in over a decade~!|

Medea thought to himself rather playfully, although if anyone saw his serious face at the moment, they would not be able to figure out that the black-haired man was in a good mood.