Click.
Basil got out of the dining room and shut the door. He was perfectly drenched in blood from head to toe. His hair was matted with blood and it gave him a fearsome appearance. Currently, he looked like a Death God having done his job.
Familia Inn was as quiet as it had been before. None of the people outside knew a commotion had just happened inside. Although the Magic Barrier outside had been deactivated since the Mage had been killed, the dining room was far inside the inn.
Therefore, there was still no one could notice the commotion that was kept inside it. Basil walked his way to the cafeteria. Including Danzel and Clarissa, there were eight people there.
There weren't that many people fell victim to the hideous crime Davine had done. There was only one death from the lodgers. However, Basil knew the scar it left would be eternally remembered by them.
It was also fortunate that the time the incident happened was the time with the least female lodgers staying in the inn. If it hadn't been the case, there would have been many women fallen victim.
"That was quicker than I thought."
"No need to waste much time."
"Hm."
Now that the ordeal had passed, they were quite loss on what to do. Clarissa was using her social skills to console the violated women. All of them were trembling and crying. They were glad they had managed to pass through it, however they were still terrified.
"Tch! Just for the sake of money, that Bastard... Poor girls."
Basil didn't give any visible response to Danzel, he was merely observing the crying women one by one. All of them had visible red marks or minor swelling due to the violation they had received.
Basil was very familiar with this scene. Back then in the past, he had seen many female Knights and Mages alike were violated by the their enemies. Some of them were even the people he had known personally.
The outcome of the experience was very diverse. Some of them became meek and scared to meet anyone, while the others were crazy about killing every living men. What was sure from the outcome was they had never been the same person anymore.
The best thing Basil could do to somehow maintain their sanity was to let them kill their own demon. There wasn't much thing he could do beside that.
"Let us sleep at another place tonight. I will be hiring the Cleaners to deal with the inn."
Finally, Basil opened his mouth and said it to everyone there. Aside from Danzel and Clarissa, the other six women looked at him uncertainly.
"I will pay for your accommodations until the inn is ready."
They became even more uncertain after hearing that from Basil. However, he didn't care for that as he merely told Clarissa to pack their things.
Clarissa nodded her head and started to pack the stuffs she would bring. Without uttering any single words, Basil left the inn to hire some Cleaners.
Danzel looked at the place Basil had just left and muttered bitterly, "Ay, he is a good man, but he lacks the delicacy." He looked at the surrounding ladies who were squirming on their place and shrugged, "At least he is popular."
He moved his feet to pack his and Clarissa's things, for he knew Clarissa was packing these ladies' things first.
"Hm?"
At that moment, he was reminded of something. A cold sweat ran down his forehead.
"That son of mine.. he is still drenched in blood, isn't he?"
He was worried about the reaction of the people who would see Basil.
...
Cleaners were a bunch of people who cleaned dirty places. However, whenever a Mage or Knight alike talked about Cleaners, they always referred to one thing. It was no other than Corpse Remover.
Due to its fearsome name, the people who did this job called themselves Cleaners instead. It was a praiseworthy job actually, for they cleaned places people wouldn't normally clean.
A certain amount of courage was needed to clean a place littered with corpses. Although the pay was high, the scene they would witness was often more gruesome than they had thought.
Jose had been a Cleaner for two years. He could be called a veteran considering there wasn't that many people could last that long. That night, due to the minimum workers they had, Jose had to be the receptionist.
He was so familiar with death that he wasn't fazed with death anymore. Whenever there was someone dead, he would think about the way they died. Ghosts? He could sleep in the graveyard alone! Nothing could faze him.
However —
"Y-y-yes... S-s-sir... How.. may I.. help... You?"
— he was scared to death currently.
He was familiar with death, however he wasn't familiar with Death God himself! He was trembling to no end because of it.
"I want you to do a full clean on a place called Familia Inn."
Luckily, the Death God, no, the person drenched in blood could speak normally. He sighed in relief and recomposed himself.
"Huuh... By full clean, do you mean the body dissolution?"
"Hm. However, I want one of the bodies keep intact. It is the only body belonged to a woman."
"I understood. May I know how many bodies are there?"
"Twenty one."
"Huh..."
Jose sucked cold breath through his mouth. The number wasn't that surprising, he had heard more than that. However, all of those cases belonged to mass murder or forbidden practice of Black Magic.
Looking at Basil once again, he was starting to worry about his own safety. He didn't need to be told the one who did that. He knew, and he was absolutely sure, Basil did it by his own.
Gulp.
"It would be 19 gold, S-sir."
"Hm? There should be 21 bodies."
"Ahahaha... That is.. you are lucky to be our tenth costumer tonight, Sir! Therefore, we are giving you the privilege some people wouldn't normally get."
"Is that so?"
"Yes!"
That was utter bullcrap!
Normally, it would take 1 gold for each of body dissolution, while the cleaning itself would take 3 to 5 gold.There had never been a reward for the tenth customer in their policy!
He just wanted to get the job done quickly and got out of Basil's vicinity. Therefore, he didn't care about some gold he was about to lose to cover for the expense.
Basil merely nodded his head and took out a pouch of coins. He put it on the the table and was about to look inside it when Jose took it upon his hands politely.
"..."
"Thank you for using our service, Sir. Our cleaner would have the place cleaned tonight."
"Hm."
Basil was about to interject him, saying that the coins inside the pouch was merely 20 silver. However, considering that he had taken it, Basil opted to stay silent and received the fortune gladly.
Chime!
"Huuh... I am finally save. Hm? Hmm? Hmmm???!!!"
Jose heaved a sigh of relief when Basil finally exited the building. Sadly, it didn't last long, as soon as he opened the pouch Basil had presented him. Upon seeing the content, he really wanted to cry tears of blood!
...
The matters were quickly settled as Familia Inn was temporarily closed that night. The lodgers who returned back to the inn that night quickly understood the reason as they could see Cleaners occupied the inn.
They didn't want to know what had happened as they could see many bodies were stacked in front of the inn. Even while covered with cloth, they could somehow guess the gruesome state of the bodies.
While many people wondered how they couldn't notice the commotion that had happened inside Familia Inn, Danzel and the others quickly settled themselves in a rather luxurious inn that Basil had paid for them.
This time, not only the six women who felt uncertain, but also Danzel and Clarissa. They knew the cost would be enormous!
"Do you think it's okay to do it at such length?"
Basil and the others had cleaned themselves and were currently eating in the cafeteria. Basil especially ordered the biggest table the inn had and invited all of them to eat. Danzel was worried about the money he would spend for this.
Basil didn't give any immediate response as he merely ate his food with swiftness and finesse. He could have just eat together with Danzel and Clarissa, however it would be irresponsible to leave the women by themselves.
There was a need to make them see they weren't alone, so they could somehow forget the bad things that had happened to them. It was one of the way to lessen the burden on their mind.
"I am rich."
"..."
That was enough to stop Danzel worrying about the cost. Due to how close they had become, Danzel seemed forgot that Basil was someone with a prestigious background. Surely, Danzel didn't know it was the money he had earned himself.
Although Basil took a longer time than he had expected, he was rewarded with some unexpected findings. While searching the peak for Yamata no Orochi, he had found its cave and the content of the inside didn't disappoint him.
There were quite some treasures there. He had found some weapons, jewels, gold, and some Spatial Rings. He had organized them into six different rings and stored them inside one ring that he currently wore.
He could sell some of the lower quality weapons later and made some jewelries out of the precious jewels to either sell them or give them to his sisters — Shirley and Clarissa — and Irene.
"Hmm..."
He hummed quietly as he was reminded of Shirley and Irene. It had been almost half a month since he had last met them. He made sure he would pay them a visit after all of the matters here were settled.
"When a flower is tainted with dirt, a splash of water is enough to return its beauty. However, in the very first place, a flower has never lost its beauty even while tainted with dirt."
Basil had finished his food when he muttered those words. He wiped his mouth and gazed at the six women calmly. He had only a pair of eyes, however that light brown eyes of his seemed to stare at their eyes squarely.
The women stopped their wandering minds and paid their attention closely to Basil. His eyes alone was enough to captivate them, coupled with the tenderness from his tone, they couldn't move their eyes away from them.
"You are beautiful."
Boom!
They felt like something exploded in their hearts. Their anxiousness, depression, and self-hate, all of them were gone instantly by the time they heard his words. He wasn't lying and they could see it from his eyes.
Their hearts turned unburdened, and a foreign yet familiar feeling bloomed in their hearts. They couldn't hold their tears back and muttered thank you under their breaths.
Danzel and Clarissa looked at the scene in silent admiration. Even Clarissa was brought to tears. Although she hadn't been violated, she had been close to it. Therefore, Basil's words had soothed her heart that was in turmoil.
The night passed with the ladies sleeping peacefully without any over-thinking about their worth. They could finally accept themselves
...
Morning came, and as what Jose had said, the Cleaning was already done. Danzel, Basil, and Clarissa quickly reorganized the inn while the others returned to settle their room.
Although it was a stretch to have a cleaning for 19 gold — which was paid with 20 silver — the result was satisfactory. The building was cleaned to the point that no one would think such a horrible thing had happened the night before.
Actually, Jose had intended to do a half-hearted service due to the scam Basil had lured him into. However, by the time he had seen the state of the bodies, he had wisely stomped his urge and done it to the best he could.
Unaware of that, Basil appreciated the work ethics the Cleaners had.
"What is this?"
"A Unihorn Rabbit meat."
"Oh! I've heard that."
"Is that edible for ordinary people like us?"
Currently, Basil, Danzel, and Clarissa were having a breakfast that they had missed due to the reorganization of the inn. Basil took out a slab of well roasted seasoned meat and presented it to them.
By the time they heard the name of the meat, Danzel quickly exclaimed in wonder while Clarissa worried she couldn't eat it.
"It is alright. You may have a taste."
"Okay..."
While Clarissa ate it cautiously, Danzel sliced a big part of it and chewed it gleefully. Then, as if struck by lightning, they looked at Basil with widened eyes by the time they tasted the meat.
"This.. this is..."
"How...?"
The taste of the meat was very familiar to them. There was only one person they knew who had cooked this terribly yet somehow produced a fairly acceptable food. It was none other than James.
Basil merely showed them the widest smile they had ever seen on his face and said two words.
"I'm home."
Your son, your brother is home.
It wasn't uttered directly, however they could understand the meaning behind his words.. That morning became the best breakfast they had as they were finally reunited with their family.