TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 93

“This organization was founded by my dad and brothers!” Albin declared proudly, looking deeply honored.

As for a strange organization he had only just heard the name of, Larimar naturally felt no trust or fondness toward it. If anything, he was suspicious.

Uniting monsters and humans? Was that even possible? What kind of power would such an organization need, and what were their true motives?

Yet for some reason, hearing that it had been created by Albin’s family made it feel just a tiny bit more believable.

His sister would probably be interested in an organization like that, wouldn’t she?

Albin vowed confidently, “Even though I’m not directly involved in the monster affairs side, I can introduce you!”

The organization had been established five years ago.

Back then, Albin, who was still in the Rose Kingdom, noticed the adults secretly discussing something together. At first, he thought they were hiding plans for some New Year’s gift for him.

But afterward, everyone ended up giving gifts separately, making it obvious they hadn’t been discussing presents at all.

Curious, Albin asked Zeman what everyone had really been gathering for.

Zeman pondered for a moment before saying, “A gift? I suppose that’s not entirely wrong.”

Gently stroking Albin’s head, he asked, “Albin, do you want humans and monsters to coexist peacefully?”

“Of course!” At the topic, Albin’s eyes lit up. “And if monsters like Dad could stop suffering, and monsters could stop losing control, that would be even better!”

“But what does that have to do with the gift you mentioned?” Albin asked, puzzled.

Zeman slowly explained, “We founded an organization. An organization devoted to peaceful coexistence between monsters and humans. That is the gift we prepared for you.”

As he looked at the young white-haired boy before him, he thought of another white-haired youth—the one who had fallen during the organization’s earliest days while still trying desperately to recruit him.

According to Moon’s information, before time had been reversed, it seemed that he himself had eventually taken over the organization.

Zeman did not know whether his future self had managed to fulfill that white-haired youth’s dream. But even if he had, the boy who died would never get to see that world.

Now that they had been given another chance through time reversal, this time they would fulfill Albin’s wish. They would absolutely allow Albin to witness that peaceful world with his own eyes.

“Then what’s the organization called?” Albin asked after staring blankly for a moment. A strange feeling of joy inexplicably welled up from deep inside him.

“It doesn’t have a name yet,” Zeman replied, recalling how the white-haired youth’s organization in his dreams had never been named.

Coming back to himself, his gaze landed on Albin, and inspiration struck.

“Apostles. Let’s call it the Apostles of White.”

“That name sounds so cool!”

The Apostles of White… Did that mean white apostles? Like angels in white?

Albin only vaguely understood unusual words like “apostle.” He’d seen the term in some foreign anime before but never really grasped it. He just thought it sounded like an awesome title.

Then he remembered Team Rocket’s famous line from Pokémon: “A white hole, a white tomorrow is waiting for us.” Even though he didn’t really know what “white tomorrow” meant, adding “white” somehow made it sound beautiful.

By the same logic, “Apostles of White” sounded amazing too—holy and solemn. It sounded incredibly righteous!

Albin immediately became excited about joining.

But the Apostles of White frequently dealt with dangerous monsters. His father and brothers had even gone into the Abyss of Monsters to negotiate with them. In addition, monsters who held opposing ideals sometimes attacked them.

It was too dangerous, so his father and brothers refused to let Albin participate directly—at least not before adulthood.

Albin sulked about it for a long time, but seeing everyone working so hard, he wanted to help in his own way.

If humans and monsters were truly going to coexist peacefully, they couldn’t focus only on the monsters’ side. Humanity’s side mattered too.

So Albin worked hard to fulfill his duties as Holy Son and improve his abilities.

Being the Holy Son was far from easy. Most temples functioned with the High Priest acting like a hands-off boss who still held ultimate authority, while the Holy Son, as second-in-command, worked tirelessly beneath them.

Zeman was not completely uninvolved, of course, but the Sacred Sunflower Theocracy still operated under a religious state system. That made Albin equivalent to a crown prince serving as regent, meaning his workload was immense.

Daily reports, audiences, studies, training, social events, rituals, and diplomatic visits already kept him overwhelmingly busy. Thankfully, with guidance from experienced figures like Zeman and Edward, he avoided becoming completely swamped.

He also constantly sought ways to improve the lives of ordinary people—having priests use magic to accelerate agriculture, selectively breeding crops, promoting suitable new foods, and more. He had always taken these matters seriously.

Every year, he also had to inspect various dioceses, both domestic and foreign.

Still, that was his favorite part.

He loved traveling with his father and brothers, learning about the lives of the people under his jurisdiction, seeing different landscapes, meeting different people, and witnessing how his actions improved people’s lives.

Beyond that, he also supervised pilot communities where humans and monsters lived together under the Apostles of White.

He loved the peaceful atmosphere there.

If the sirens could join this organization too, that would be wonderful!

Albin said to Larimar, “Perfect timing—one of the leaders of the Apostles of White is nearby right now. I’ll bring him over so you can talk and establish contact. Then when you return, you can discuss it with your clan leader.”

“I’ll be right back, so wait for me!” Albin rushed out excitedly.

Larimar watched his departing figure.

He would tell his sister that such an organization existed in the human world.

But right now, he still could not coexist peacefully with humans without reservations.

First, he needed to rescue his people.

That boy… regardless of how the rumors had started, from what he had seen so far, interacting with him would probably not reveal any information about the captured sirens, nor help him locate them.

He could not waste more time here.

—

Albin hurried back with Gold in tow, only to find the room completely empty.

A crooked note remained on the parchment in Larimar’s messy handwriting.

【Goodbye.】

“He left?” Albin froze, lowering his head in disappointment as he explained everything to Gold.

After listening, Gold felt a wave of relief.

“You actually encountered a siren hostile toward humans…” Gold said with lingering fear.

Albin looked guilty. “Don’t tell Dad about this. He was probably hurt by humans before, but he didn’t hurt me, and we talked for a long time! I can tell he actually likes humans deep down too.”

Gold helplessly ruffled his hair.

“Your idea isn’t bad, though. If we can get the sirens to join us, many maritime matters could bypass the Temple of the Sea God entirely.” Gold thought for a moment. “I’ll try to speak with their king.”

Albin puffed up proudly. “See? I told you!”

“The siren race is rather mysterious. I’m not sure how powerful their king is. To be safe, after cooperation is established, we may need Zeman or Moon to come personally.”

The Apostles of White had divided the continent into several regions, each overseen by powerful monster lords capable of truly controlling them. Gold was one of them.

Though he appeared to be nothing more than a cunning, profit-driven merchant, no one dared underestimate him.

He possessed wealth rivaling entire nations. Among humans, he was an honored guest of royal families, nobles, and temples alike—even a financial backer for some kingdoms. He held noble titles and territories granted by various monarchs.

Whether in the human world or the monster world, he maintained an incredibly sharp intelligence network. In fact, he had detected the existence of the Apostles of White himself and approached them voluntarily.

It was only after he joined that Albin learned Gold was actually a monster—and the same homeless drifter he had once encountered before.

“Leave it to me!” Albin declared, patting his chest. “I’ll contact them right now.”

He lowered his head and activated his communication rune bracelet, quickly receiving a response.

“Wow, Dad and my brother both said they’re coming over! Perfect—I was planning to stay here a few more days anyway to deal with the siren issue.”

Thinking of Larimar’s wounds, Albin frowned. “It seems a lot of young sirens have disappeared from their clan. I met many today, but I don’t know whether others are still being captured. After something like that happened to their children, there’s no way the sirens would agree to peaceful coexistence with humans right now.”

Gold nodded thoughtfully at his concerns.

“It’s probably connected to the nobles. I can investigate faster than most. Establishing good relations with the sirens would benefit me greatly as well. Oh, and regarding the Mandrake family matter you asked me about earlier—I’ve already figured it out.”

Albin stared in shock. “That fast? Didn’t I only ask you this morning?”

“They were existing records already. It just took a little time to dig them up,” Gold replied lightly before continuing. “The Mandrake family really did have several illegitimate children, but none of them match the person you’re looking for.”

“I see…” Albin drooped in disappointment.

“However, based on the age you provided, there is one suspicious individual in the family.”

Albin immediately looked up at him.

“It’s the younger sister of the great noble you encountered before. She married the promiscuous Cuckoo King and became his fourth queen. Less than two years later, she supposedly died a few days after childbirth. The little prince she gave birth to also died shortly afterward.”

Albin had previously heard Jacques talk about the Cuckoo King.

The king had married six wives in succession while maintaining countless mistresses at the same time. He had over thirty children, most of them illegitimate.

“The palace held a grand funeral, but rumors claimed the queen’s death was suspicious. Some say she never died at all and escaped the palace instead. There were even scandalous rumors involved. You mentioned before that Little Black’s mother once lived in Thorn City. I’ll send people with the queen’s portrait to verify her appearance.”

“Thank you so much!” Albin cheered happily, his eyes sparkling. “Gold, you’re amazing!”

Even though they still had no clue where Little Black was, simply getting even the slightest lead connected to him made Albin genuinely happy.

“If it makes you happy, that’s enough for me,” Gold said.

In front of Albin, Gold always concealed his cunning greed, appearing unusually generous and straightforward instead.

Albin grabbed his arm and blinked at him. “Is there anything I can help you with? I want to make you happy too!”

“You’ve already helped me more than enough. Just do what you want to do.”

Though he sometimes had complaints about Albin constantly picking up dangerous people, he could not deny that Albin’s kindness—the very kindness unlike his own profit-driven nature—had once extended a hand to someone who had nothing.

It had pulled him from endless darkness.

The compassion he once dismissed as worthless was actually a priceless quality no amount of gold could buy. He wanted to protect that pure-hearted innocence in Albin forever and let his light continue shining.

After settling these matters, Albin decided to head out again. Maybe he would run into another young siren who needed help.

Or perhaps he could visit the shore where he met the siren lady yesterday. Maybe he could communicate with her first and work together to rescue the missing sirens.

Come to think of it, he felt like he had forgotten something…

Ah, the beach!

Oh no!

—

At the shore.

The Sea God Okean waited and waited, but no one came.

His face darkened like storm clouds about to unleash a tempest. Grinding his teeth furiously, he stirred the sea itself into violent waves. The sky immediately grew gloomy.

That brat!!

This was the first time anyone had ever stood him up!

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