A thick glob of phlegm stuck to Zeno's ass, flying over Sean's and Tsubone's heads.
After leaving the old castle, the two headed straight for the butler's estate, finally seeing the injured Gotoh.
The young butler had lost his stylishness. His left arm was wrapped in bandages, with bloodstains faintly seeping through. He looked badly injured.
"Gotoh greets you, Young Master." The door opened, and Tsubone entered with Sean, who was walking with brisk steps.
Gotoh struggled to get up but was pushed back down by a sharp glare from Sean. "Forget it. I don't want you splattering blood on my face."
Gotoh's face flushed, and he lowered his head in shame. "My apologies, Young Master. I have embarrassed you."
Sean grunted noncommittally, plopped down on the edge of Gotoh's bed, grabbed an orange from the bedside table, peeled it, and stuffed it in his mouth. "Talk. What happened?"
Sean didn't believe he could be seriously injured by a few thugs from Meteor City. After all, no matter how weak Gotoh was, he was still someone who could exchange a few blows with a certain fruit farmer. He was far beyond the trash of Meteor City (besides the Elders).
"It's embarrassing... Sarasa, come and greet the Young Master." The curtain by the window was pulled back, and Gotoh called out softly.
A little girl with pigtails, her innocent eyes wide and dark, peeked out timidly from behind the curtain, clutching it.
The moment he saw her, Sean's gaze flickered. 'I never expected... the fuse that caused the young Spiders to collectively turn to darkness would appear here.'
'Looking at it this way, it's no wonder Gotoh was injured. If the other party was really sent by that foul Fourth Prince of Kakin, it's not impossible they sent a few experts!'
"Sarasa... greets the esteemed Young Master." Seeing Gotoh desperately signaling her, Sarasa awkwardly lifted the hem of her skirt and curtsied to Sean.
A child from Meteor City had clearly never seen such a scene and was obviously nervous. Thinking of her tragic fate and death in the original story, Sean signaled for Tsubone to help her up.
"I assume this is the reason you were injured." Sean finished the orange and wiped his mouth.
Gotoh nodded and explained what happened.
It was mostly the same as the original story. Sarasa was out alone and was targeted by a van of cruel human traffickers.
The difference was, this time she ran into Gotoh. The young butler was under orders from Kikyo to find recruits in Meteor City for the butler staff. He happened to see the scene, stopped the van, and desperately rescued Sarasa from the traffickers, saving her from the tragic fate of being dismembered and nailed in the forehead.
'Unfortunately... this guy Gotoh's skills are just not up to par! His future death at the hands of the fruit farmer is clear proof!'
After hearing the full story, Sean shot him an annoyed look. "You should know your own limits."
"It doesn't matter if you die, but where does that leave my, the Young Master's, face?"
"You're a bad person!" Before Gotoh could reply, Sarasa, puffing out her flat-as-an-airfield chest, bravely stood forward, hands on her hips, glaring at Sean. "You're not allowed to scold my savior!"
"Sarasa!" Gotoh shouted anxiously, but Sean waved him to silence.
The boy's 1.7-meter height compared to Sarasa's malnourished, skinny little frame was incredibly intimidating!
'Even so, she dared to jump out and confront me. As expected of Uvogin's favorite, the one tough girl among the young Spiders capable of mediating conflicts between him and Chrollo.'
'It's a pity... "Little girl, you've watched too much 'Clean-Up Rangers', haven't you? This isn't your singing and dancing troupe, and you're not the 'Orange Ranger'."'
'Fate works in mysterious ways. Who could imagine that the original purpose of the future, infamous Phantom Troupe was just to dub an anime called "Clean-Up Rangers"?' Sean smirked, reaching out to rub Sarasa's little head.
This earned him a protesting glare from Sarasa. "Who watches 'Clean-Up Rangers'? We all watch 'Pot Shadow Ninja' now!"
"You! Let me go! Be careful, or I'll hit you with a shuriken..."
Sarasa went all out, flailing her skinny arms and legs, launching a "fatal" air-attack on Sean.
Sean looked at her, stunned, then burst out laughing. '"Pot Shadow Ninja"? Studio Bones is really doing well! It's even spread to a place like Meteor City?'
'It's not out of the question to consider agreeing to do a signing event for them.'
Not realizing he had this much influence in Meteor City, Sean let go of Sarasa. The tough girl, who had been so brave moments before, instantly wilted, greased her feet, and hid behind the curtain.
'Scared now, huh?' Sean chuckled, ignoring the little quail. He turned to Gotoh. "You saved her. What are you planning to do next?"
'The bond between these kids is deep. Especially in Meteor City, which claims "We'll never reject anything, but don't ever take anything from us," it's particularly precious.'
'In the original story, Sarasa's murder caused the Troupe to turn dark. They hunted the killers for over a decade without giving up, even boarding the "Black Whale" heading for the Dark Continent. That just shows how much it meant.'
"I..." Gotoh looked at Sarasa hiding behind the curtain, then back at Sean.
Before he could speak, the curtain moved. Sarasa came out, looking pitiful, and pleaded with him, "Mister, I don't want to stay here."
"I want to go back to Meteor City. I miss my friends... Uvogin... Nobunaga... Machi... Chrollo..."
"Everyone must be waiting for me to get back to dub Tenten."
"Please... take me back."
As she spoke, Sarasa couldn't stop the tears. 'The kid must be terrified!'
Being kidnapped by a van of cruel traffickers and almost tortured to death as a plaything... for a ten-year-old girl to hold on until now, she had already reached her limit.
Tsubone felt like she had sand in her eyes. When one gets old, they can't stand seeing such things. She quietly pulled Sarasa into an embrace, and couldn't help saying to Sean, "Forgive my impertinence..."
"Young Master, why don't we just take her back to Meteor City?"
'The Spider must eventually return to its nest.' Sean raised an eyebrow at Gotoh. "What do you think?"
Gotoh lowered his head. "I'll leave it to you, Young Master."
'Leave it to me?' Sean let out a low, suppressed laugh. He stepped in front of Sarasa and looked at her intently. "You can go back, but on one condition: you must help me with something."
"Just say it. As long as I can go back, I'll agree to anything." No matter how naive Sarasa was, she realized who the real decision-maker was in this luxurious, magnificent estate.
'Is that so?'
"Then, I'll have to ask you to be the bait!"
'The traffickers were killed. The organization behind them definitely won't just let it go. If Sarasa appears at this time...'
'Even an idiot would know that certain big fish won't be able to resist jumping out to take the bait!'
'At that time...'
"I just don't know if it will be the one from Kakin, an Elder from Meteor City... or perhaps those pigs from the Ten Dons of the mafia."
Sean narrowed his eyes, grinning, revealing a set of chillingly white teeth. 'You hit my dog... so don't blame me for taking your lives!'
T/N: Please have a look at my new novel (Minecraft: Transmutation Tablet & Group Chat)