Side Story: A Letter from Cherry

One day after Cien's return to Death Valley. Located in Almarin City, Westya Kingdom.

At the C-Owl mansion, specifically in the building where the C-Owl information center was located.

Someone who was guarding and taking care of Sonic Bird had just received a new bird. He looked at the symbol on the bird.

"From Veritas branch in the Mandora Kingdom," he murmured, taking the letter from the bird's back and then giving the little creature some food.

The man briefly glanced at the message, realizing that the letter needed to be delivered immediately to Madam Ethel Kataleya.

What puzzled him was that the sender of the letter was Cherry, an intelligence leader in the Ashur branch, not Veritas.

The man frowned, feeling that something was amiss.

He didn't open the letter; instead, he ran straight to the front of the building, instructing the person on guard there to deliver the letter directly to Ethel.

Just as he gave the order, the Head of Intelligence of C-Owl, Arl, arrived and witnessed the scene.

"Let me be the one to take it to Madam Ethel," Arl said, taking the letter and walking towards Ethel's office.

He was curious about the contents of the letter. However, since Cherry had given the command for it to be delivered directly to Ethel, Arl had no intention of opening it beforehand.

He trusted the girl's decision. But that didn't mean he couldn't find out what it contained.

He could ask Ethel directly about its contents later.

It didn't take long for Arl to arrive in front of Ethel's room. He knocked and listened to his Master's voice instructing him to enter.

Arl entered and saw another middle-aged woman inside. It was Binya, the Chief Financial Officer of C-Owl.

"Oh, it seems like I'm interrupting again," Arl said politely, bowing slightly as he greeted the two women in front of him.

"It's fine, Arl. If we have to wait for our discussion, it will take a very long time. We can't keep you waiting outside for too long. It's more practical to let you come in and listen to the information you bring," Ethel said while her face was still busy with financial documents in her hands.

Arl bowed again, then approached and handed the message from Cherry to Ethel.

"There's a message from Cherry for you, Madam."

"Oh, Cherry! If I'm not mistaken, she's in Ashur, right? Hmm... Is this about the annual auction?"

Ethel said, still not taking her eyes off the documents.

She thought that Cherry's message wasn't too important and could be read after she finished verifying the expense reports she had in her hands.

"I'm not sure, Madam. This message was sent by Cherry from Veritas, not Ashur. And the letter must be delivered directly to you."

These words from Arl successfully made Ethel raise her face. She looked at Arl's face and then glanced at the rolled-up letter on her desk.

Ethel furrowed her eyebrows, starting to feel curious about the situation of the letter.

"From Veritas, not Ashur? Hmm, it seems like there's something going on in Mandora."

Ethel murmured, setting down the documents in her hands and picking up the message on her table.

Binya, sitting across from Ethel, glanced at Arl.

Her gaze seemed to question the meaning of the letter, which was answered by Arl's slight shake of his head and raised his shoulders.

Meanwhile, Ethel began to read the letter carefully.

At the beginning of the letter, Cherry exchanged pleasantries, inquired about Ethel's health, and wished good health for Ethel and others in Almarin.

As she continued reading, Cherry started explaining the serious situation in Mandora, particularly regarding Ashur.

She provided information about Asmodeus and his wicked plans.

Reading this information made Ethel's face darken. She hadn't expected and was concerned about the condition of each of C-Owl orphans in the Mandora.

Ethel then read that Cherry had fled from Ashur due to a conflict with the Millard Family.

Currently, she was under the protection of Niles, and both of them would be moving to Almarin.

"Niles is coming here too? Why?" Ethel mumbled, wondering.

However, her question was answered in the next sentence of the letter.

(The Grand Master is Alive!)

That one sentence left Ethel momentarily frozen. But then her mind rationalized, rejecting the possibility that the mentioned Grand Master could be someone else in Mandora.

But!

That assumption didn't last long, as the remaining content of the message was about Cherry's encounter with Cien Millard.

It described how Cien had saved her from the clutches of Edmond Millard, explaining that Cien had been living in Death Valley all this time and could only leave for a few days at a time.

It also revealed that Cien had kidnapped Lilinette Millard and intended to take his niece to Death Valley.

Finally, Cherry explained that she and Niles' plan to visit Cien in Death Valley.

Since Cien had already prepared a safe route and there was also a guide in Ethyria who could take them to Cien's house inside that cursed place.

As Ethel read the contents of the message, her slender fingers trembled.

She didn't even realize that tears were streaming down her face.

Then, as she read Cherry's cheerful description of Cien's current appearance, her heart began to beat irregularly.

The two individuals in front of Ethel were shocked by their master's reaction. In their minds, the letter may contain bad news.

They were not wrong, but it wasn't that part that caused Ethel to lose control of her emotions.

Binya glanced at Arl again, her gaze filled with questions.

'What news did you actually bring?!'

Of course, Arl responded with a gaze of his own, as if saying,

'I don't know!!'

They exchanged a brief look before Binya began to speak to Ethel.

"Madam, are you alright?"

"Is there bad news in the letter, Madam?" Arl added.

Both of them grew more anxious as it seemed that Ethel's tears wouldn't stop.

Ethel didn't answer until she finished reading the letter, her beautiful smile appearing on her face.

She put the letter down and wiped the tears from her cheeks, feeling embarrassed for being seen crying by her two subordinates.

"Madam..." Binya voiced her concern once again.

"I'm okay, Binya. Um... or not. Hahaha, well... there's bad news but also wonderful news."

"?"

"The bad news is that Abyss has successfully infiltrated into Mandora. And the situation there seems critical at the moment. The good news is that Cherry and Niles are on their way here to invite us to Death Valley."

"..."

Arl fell silent, his mind processing the bad news he had just received. He was eager to know the detailed situation in Mandora right now.

Meanwhile, Binya...

"To Death Valley?! I don't think that's good news at all, Ma'am. Besides, why would we want to join them to go to that dreadful place?"

"To meet Cien."

"...huh?"

Both individuals were stunned by Ethel's answer. It made Ethel laugh softly, with a few tears streaming down her face. She wiped away the tears.

"Cherry met Cien in Ashur. And so did Niles, Casey, Lilinette, Halima, and Duke Bahman himself. Cherry said that Cien is currently in Death Valley, trapped there and can only come out for a few days in Ashur by some circumstances."

"..."

Binya was left speechless.

"Does that mean the Grand Master is still alive?" Arl asked, still skeptical.

"Yes."

"This..."

"I dont think it's fake. Niles and Halima have been close friends of Cien for a long time. Both of them would know if Cien is fake or not when they meet him. Since Niles intended to come all the way here to invite us, it means he has met the real Cien."

"This... is very unbelievable," murmured Arl, who felt a sense of happiness but still couldn't easily believe it.

"Madam, what if we..."

"Arl!"

Binya interrupted, staring at Arl seriously with her reddened eyes. She seemed like she wanted to shed tears but held them back.

Arl looked at the gaze of the slightly fat woman and fell silent.

Binya then got up from her chair, bid farewell, and took Arl out of the office room.

"Ms. Binya..."

Outside the room, Arl called Binya in a low voice.

Binya responded with a faint smile. Tears began to flow from her own eyes. The happiness she had held back inside the room was now starting to come out.

"Madam just found out the news from Master Cien... let her have some time alone, Arl."

"...I understand."

"Hahaha, damn, these tears won't stop! Hiks! He's really still alive, right? This isn't fake news, right?"

Now Arl would be busy dealing with another woman whose emotions were beginning to burst.

Honestly, he wanted to believe in that news too. Cien Millard is still alive. The figure of a father to the C-Owl children still existed in this world.

Arl was just a little surprised. If Cien was really still alive, C-Owl in Ashur should have informed him already.

Not to mention earlier, Ethel said that Casey was one of the people who had met Cien. Casey reported to Rondo.

Rondo should have already confirmed the whereabouts of Cien. And sent the information to him. But until now, there's been no news from him.

'That means either Cien is a fake figure or C-Owl in Ashur is unable to provide any updates.' Arl thought.

Arl contemplated again. Cherry sent a letter from Veritas City, not Ashur. This clearly indicated that Ashur was currently not in a peaceful state.

Ethel didn't disclose anything about Ashur. She only mentioned the presence of demons in Mandora. That's why Arl was somewhat confused about the situation there.

In reality, both Rondo and Halima sent letters via Sonic Bird to Almarin. The letters contained news that Cien was still alive.

However, the Sonic Bird sent by Halima was intercepted by Dion Bahman.

Meanwhile, Rondo's Sonic Bird died in the skies at the border between Westya and Mandora. It was shot down by one of the knights from the Millard Family.

The day after the attack at Raphael Millard's residence, he sent a message to his home, instructing them to intercept all information from the C-Owl branch in Ashur.

He did this to buy himself time to think of an explanation for his son's abduction of Cherry. Raphael didn't want Ethel to know about the kidnapping until he returned to Westya.

That's why the two Sonic Birds from Ashur never reached Almarin. Only Cherry's message from Veritas made it there.

Although two messages failed, this one message successfully provided news about Cien, prompting Ethel to start preparing to visit her husband, who had long been thought to be dead.