When Charles and Stella left the village chief's house and reached the village center—where Gilthunder had planted his sword—they didn't see Meliodas.
From the villagers' grumbling, Charles learned what had happened.
Though the Boar Hat wandered from place to place, it often came to Bania Village. After all, there was the famous Bania Ale here.
So the villagers all knew the "kid boss," and when he arrived, it happened to be when some stubborn villagers were trying to pull the sword again.
Just then, the child who had tossed a bug into Gilthunder's cup earlier ran over and claimed he was friends with the wanted criminals, the Seven Deadly Sins.
As a result, the villagers drove the child and Meliodas away together.
By the time Charles and Stella arrived, they saw only a silver-haired girl speaking with the village chief.
The girl was Elizabeth Liones, the third princess of the Kingdom of Liones—a reincarnated member of the Goddess Clan.
Stella glanced at Elizabeth. "So that's the heroine of this world you mentioned? I don't sense any special power from her. Though… her taste in clothes is pretty bold!"
Charles chuckled. Elizabeth was, at the moment, a bona fide human. Even he couldn't sense the yet-unawakened goddess magic.
As for the wardrobe remark, that Boar Hat server uniform wasn't Elizabeth's preference—it was Meliodas's "interest."
After saying a few words to the village chief, Elizabeth left. Stella tugged on Charles's sleeve. "She's leaving. Should we follow?"
Charles nodded. The two of them trailed her at a distance to that uniquely styled building.
While Stella eyed the Boar Hat's signboard, Charles looked down at the ground beneath his feet.
Right below was the condensed entity of this world's most powerful force, but perhaps because the Mother of Chaos's seal had been jointly cast by the Demon King and the Supreme Deity, even knowing where Chaos's power lay, Charles still couldn't perceive its true nature.
"Charles, what are you spacing out for?"
Hearing Stella's voice, Charles snapped back and, with a quick reply, pushed open the door and went in.
Having studied magic across many worlds, Charles had long since learned a lesson: there is no such thing as a perfect seal. Not even gods can manage it.
That's why so many villains eventually break their seals, run into the protagonist, and get wiped out.
It's not that those who sealed them initially didn't want a permanent solution—there simply aren't seal arts without flaws.
So Charles never plans on sealing enemies; destroying them is the best seal.
Given time, he would find a way to peek at Chaos's power. For now, the most important thing was to meet this world's protagonist, Meliodas.
And at a glance, he saw a blond boy of about eleven or twelve sitting at a table.
He first eyed the oddly shaped "hilt" behind Meliodas, then looked to the cup in Meliodas's hand.
The handle of the cup fractured with fine cracks the instant Meliodas saw the two enter the tavern.
His instincts, honed to a razor's edge, screamed danger—no malice, just a pure sense of overwhelming power that made him feel it.
For a moment, he failed to restrain his strength and cracked the cup's handle.
Meliodas wondered when such people had appeared in Liones—no, in Britannia.
Not just the man; even the girl behind him possessed frightening power.
But as he pondered, his first thought was to protect Elizabeth.
He had little confidence. With the scraps of power he had left, he might not even be able to get away with Elizabeth in tow.
Thinking at full tilt, Meliodas said, "We're not open yet, you two. If you want a drink, please come back later!"
He told himself that if the man really left, he'd turn around and run.
Charles smiled. "We're not here for a drink. We were wondering if you needed staff."
Meliodas blinked. "You're here to apply?"
"That's right," Charles said. "Boss, your tavern looks short-handed. We're travelers; we can help."
Meliodas set down the cup. Maybe it was his imagination, but he felt like Charles's "help" carried another meaning.
His instincts told him the man wasn't an enemy—and might even help him fulfill his thousand-year wish.
At this moment, Meliodas chose to trust his instincts. Most importantly, he sensed no malice from Charles.
"I agree," he said. "From now on, you're staff at the Boar Hat!"
Charles grinned. "We'll be in your care, manager!"
A pink pig trotted over. "I'm part of the crew too—the leader of the Leftover Disposal Corps, Hawk."
Charles crouched. "I'm Charles, and that's Stella. Let's get along well, Senior Hawk."
Being called "senior" put Hawk in a great mood. "You're a pretty nice guy!"
Stella had seen talking cats, so a talking pig wasn't that surprising—but Hawk was so cute she went over and "handled" him a bit.
While Stella and Hawk greeted each other, Charles looked into Hawk's eyes, his gaze growing deep.
Meliodas was a key piece in the Demon King's revival; naturally, the Demon King wouldn't let him roam Britannia unobserved.
Hawk was a creature from Purgatory, sent by the Demon King to monitor Meliodas.
Hawk's eyes were linked to Purgatory—to the Demon King, the apex of dark power.
Elizabeth walked over. "Welcome aboard. I'm Elizabeth—I joined a few days ago too."
Charles withdrew his gaze and returned the greeting.
Just then, a commotion sounded outside—the boy named Mead, afraid something would happen to the village, ran out.
Meliodas and Elizabeth hurried after him, and even Stella went to see what was going on.
Charles didn't join them. He stayed in the tavern alone.
It was just two kingdom soldiers here to make trouble; nothing unexpected would happen.
A wanted board on the wall caught Charles's eye.
He had no idea what the bounty artist was thinking—four out of seven posters were flat-out wrong.
King, the Sin of Sloth, and Gowther, the Sin of Lust, having incorrect images was understandable; both concealed their true forms completely.
But Meliodas's and Escanor's portraits were wildly off.
Relying on those posters to catch anyone? Not likely. Even if the images were accurate, almost no one could capture the Seven Deadly Sins.
And yet it just so happened the two strongest, most dangerous ones were the ones drawn wrong. Was that deliberate on the kingdom's part?
Looking around, Charles spotted a small bookshelf in the corner. It held a few books—mostly cookbooks.
What surprised him was a Britannia travelogue. He pulled it down and started reading.
He hadn't gotten two pages in when Meliodas and the others returned, and Stella told him what had happened.
As in the original story, two soldiers came to extort them. Spurred by Mead's desperate attempt to pull the sword, the villagers were scolded awake by the village chief and finally resolved to face their troubles together.
Meliodas then lent a hand, pulled out the sword, and restored the village's water source.
That evening, the villagers gathered at the Boar Hat to celebrate.
And Charles finally experienced the captain's "legendary" cooking. How did he manage to make food look delicious but taste absolutely awful?
No helping it. Since he'd agreed to be staff, he couldn't let customers be scared off by the food. He grabbed the cookbook and headed for the kitchen.
Even with command over fire, Charles wasn't much of a cook. What he made was only average—but still better than Meliodas's inedible fare.
He was only temporary anyway. Once Ban, the Sin of Greed, returned, they'd have a proper chef.
Suddenly, Charles sensed a surge of magic. He pushed open the kitchen door and stepped into the hall; only Stella and Hawk were there.
Stella wore a serious expression. Charles lifted a hand to reassure her, then asked, "Where are the manager and Elizabeth?"
"Who knows?" Hawk said. "That guy Meliodas just left. He's definitely slacking off!"
"I got it," Charles said, untying his apron. "I'll step out and take a look."
He walked outside and saw the two talking.
Charles approached. "Manager, mind if I take care of that?"
Meliodas had already sensed something approaching; he'd come out to deal with it.
He smiled at Charles's words. "Then I'll leave it to you."
Charles waved off the thanks. Then he turned his gaze to the night sky.
Even Elizabeth saw the blue streak tearing across the darkness—a spear wreathed in lightning, flying toward them.
Charles stepped forward and caught it out of the air in one hand. He only took half a step back before settling his stance. Lightning crackled over him from the spear, bursting again and again.
A second later, the lightning dispersed—replaced by a surge of flame.
"The direction it came from… this way. Distance… roughly 7.3 miles."
He traced the spear's trajectory, fixed the target, and hurled it back.
Gilthunder had gone too far. Even if he was acting cold to protect the First Princess, he shouldn't have dragged innocents into it.
That throw had enough power to level half the village. He hadn't even considered what would happen if Meliodas had stepped away and no one was there to catch it.
So Charles wasn't going to let him get away with a scratch. Whatever the purpose, people should pay for what they do.
At the Solgres Fortress 7.3 miles from Bania, the stone-built fort had been reduced to rubble. Soldiers rushed around with buckets, trying to douse the flames.
Moments earlier, a spear wrapped in fire had flown in from the horizon and blasted the supposedly impregnable fortress flat.
Out of the blaze, Gilthunder staggered forth, armor shattered, blood at the corner of his mouth.
He could hardly fail to recognize the spear he had thrown—but he hadn't expected it to be hurled back by someone unknown.
He had received a report that a child had drawn the sword he'd planted in Bania. Instinctively, he'd thought of Meliodas.
To test whether Meliodas had appeared—and to display his "ruthlessness" before the soldiers—he had thrown that spear.
But the power on the returning spear wasn't Meliodas's—it was unfamiliar, and far stronger than he'd imagined.
Even using all his strength, he couldn't catch it. He was badly injured, and the fortress was flattened by the residual force.
Gilthunder coughed; bright red blood spattered the ground. He couldn't help but smile bitterly.
After years of doing things against his principles, he was finally tasting consequences beyond pangs of conscience.
Even so, he felt a spark of hope. A strike that powerful, still devastating after traveling 7.3 miles—if someone like that had appeared, and with the Sins reemerging, perhaps the kingdom's crisis could be turned around.
(End of Chapter)
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