Mide’s group stayed in the Tetra territory for five days.
Kaeld clenched his teeth without realizing it.
No. That’s impossible.
That can’t be.
The hero is supposed to be Bion Kunze, isn’t he?
Kaeld pulled himself together and spoke.
“I’ve decided on our next destination.”
“We’re chasing Mide?”
Serein asked, but Kaeld shook his head.
“No. I hate to admit it, but going after him now would be too dangerous.”
“Then where?”
“Let’s head to the Dronoar territory. The lord there should be sick.”
“I can heal him. Got it.”
They started walking.
Just before leaving the territory, Serein looked back.
‘Still, it’s a little sad. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to Lisel.’
Three days after leaving the Tetra territory.
While traveling in a carriage, I spoke to Trail.
‘Did you finish collecting the data?’
[Yeah.]
‘Show me the numbers. Let’s see the gap between me and Kaeld.’
[You got it.]
Soon, the screen appeared.
< Mide Mohan – Accumulated Fame: 55,760 >
< Kaeld Wake – Accumulated Fame: 27,980 >
My eyes widened.
Sure, my fame had surpassed 55,000—but that wasn’t what surprised me.
‘Kaeld’s fame dropped?’
Last time I checked, his fame was definitely a bit over 35,000.
[Looks like your plan worked a little too well.]
‘Huh.’
[Pretty satisfying, honestly. He went through hell and got less famous for it. If it were me, I’d cry into my pillow at night.]
‘Yeah, that does sound like you.’
[Hey, I didn’t mean that literally. Why do you only take the weird parts seriously?]
‘Anyway, I can’t just be happy about this.’
[Eh?]
I sighed lightly and said,
‘Since I met you, I’ve never once seen my fame drop. Same goes for Kaeld.’
[…]
‘I wanted this result, but seeing Kaeld’s fame fall with my own eyes is still shocking. I’d better be careful.’
Trail scoffed.
[It’s good to be cautious, but aren’t you being a bit too careful? I can’t even imagine you doing anything to lower your fame.]
‘Of course I wouldn’t. But still…’
I trailed off and looked at Neril.
Trail seemed to understand what I meant.
[Ah. Right. The infamy of the Witch of Carnage is definitely a minus for your reputation. So that’s why you’re working so hard to stop any more tragedies.]
‘It’s not me stopping them—it’s Neril holding back. She’s an incredibly cooperative party member.’
[Hmm.]
‘I can’t keep hiding Neril’s identity from the public forever. Once it’s revealed, my fame might take a hit too.’
That’s why I need to time it right.
But timing is tricky—because of Xenia.
Her secret pact with Dame. The weakness Dame holds over Neril.
Xenia’s deep respect for her father.
How do I untangle this mess?
Just then, Xenia suddenly spoke.
“Now that Mr. Offense is officially part of the party, how about we throw a welcome party or something?”
“I don’t really need that.”
“Ah, I knew Mr. Offense would agree.”
“That’s strange. Did I say something wrong?”
Neril chuckled and interjected.
“She just wants an excuse to eat meat.”
“Mm. That makes sense. I could tell from the first time I met her.”
“You’re pretty sharp.”
“I get that a lot.”
As Xenia pouted, Adwin quickly spoke.
“I’d be up for it too. But if we’re going to have a proper welcome party, we’ll need to find an inn or a restaurant…”
He glanced at me.
So did the rest of the party.
That’s not the kind of look you give when wondering if we’ll have a place to sleep tonight, is it?
I chuckled softly.
“You want me to tell you where we’re heading next, right, Adwin?”
“Heh. Precisely. You ordinary humans need at least some kind of marker to follow, after all.”
Offense tilted his head in confusion.
“What’s this now?”
“Don’t go saying this or that to our Adwin. He’s been hurt a lot, emotionally.”
“You’re the one saying worse things.”
…Anyway, next destination.
To be honest, it’s already decided. Just like always.
“We’re going to…”
It was at that moment.
Bzzzz.
Suddenly, a blue light glowed from inside Xenia’s robe.
She looked puzzled, pulled out a crystal orb—and then her face turned to shock.
“It’s Sir Tivre!”
“Who’s Tivre?”
“Wow, Neril, you really have no interest in me, huh?”
“Better late than never.”
“…You seriously don’t know?”
Seeing her unexpectedly hurt expression, Neril flailed her hands in panic.
“Hey. I was just messing with you. He’s the guy you sent to investigate the incident with the Ophelia kid.”
“Pfft.”
“…Wait, were you making fun of me just now?”
“Better late than never.”
As Neril scowled, Xenia activated the orb.
“Sir Tivre.”
—Lady Xenia. It’s been a while.
“Yes. What’s the progress on what I requested?”
—You ask that before even saying hello?
“Hello.”
Tivre let out a deep sigh.
—Ophelia’s last mission site has been safely reached, and the investigation is complete.
Investigation.
The investigation Xenia had asked of him was to identify the mage from the Holy Knights who had initially reported Ophelia’s disappearance as the work of the Witch of Carnage.
Even if it was Dame, she couldn’t just accuse Neril without any grounds.
It was a procedural formality, but someone had to carry out a proper investigation and secure the evidence.
‘In other words, that mage and Dame are in on it together.’
[Hmm. Looks like Tivre really went all in on finding this.]
‘Yeah. The identities of dispatched mages are top secret. If the lord finds out, it becomes a real mess.’
Tivre spoke again.
—The mage’s name is Gerd Ginaile.
“Where is he now?”
—He’s hiding under the guise of a common gardener in this territory.
“I’ll go there right—”
Xenia raised her voice in excitement, then shut her mouth tightly.
She quickly changed her tone.
“No, no. Thank you for your cooperation.”
—And what happens to me now?
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to mention your name to my father. You’ll receive a message soon enough.”
—Then I’ll wait for that moment. But even if I return to the Holy Knights, I don’t want to see you again.
“Thanks for saying what I wanted to hear.”
—Hmph.
Tivre grumbled like a child and shut off the communication orb.
As the light faded, Xenia tucked it back into her robes.
She quietly looked out the carriage window.
I sighed and said,
“Just say it.”
“Say what?”
“What you’re thinking right now.”
She cautiously turned to me.
“…Is it okay?”
“It’s okay.”
“B-But this has nothing to do with your path as a Hero, Mide.”
That’s when Neril spoke.
“This guy isn’t Kaeld.”
“Neril…”
“If it’s Mide, of course he’ll prioritize his companions. Worry about yourself instead.”
“…?”
“You might end up learning something pretty shocking from this.”
Xenia smiled as if to say she wasn’t worried.
“I’m not a kid. Wherever people gather, there’s bound to be scheming.”
“…”
“Even the Holy Knights of Light who serve the Celestial God aren’t any different. I’m only worried about how deep the rot goes.”
“…”
“Still, thank you for worrying. ‘Witch of Carnage’ really doesn’t suit you, Neril. You’re a good person.”
Neril muttered in a low voice.
“You’re a good kid too.”
Xenia didn’t seem to hear her.
Anyway, what should I do?
This was the issue I’d been turning over in my mind just earlier.
‘Yeah, reputation is one thing… but it’s hard to keep the party together while hiding Dame and Neril’s covert pact.’
No, to be precise, we could keep going like this.
But if we want the party’s bond to grow even stronger, we need to resolve this properly.
After a short while, I made up my mind.
Let’s untangle this mess once and for all.
“Where is Ophelia’s last mission site?”
“The Toth territory.”
“Map, please.”
[That’s what I was waiting for!]
“Here it is.”
I looked over the map Xenia handed me.
Trail looked sulky.
‘Why are you sulking over that? I’m the only one who can see your map anyway.’
[Who said I was sulking? There’s no one more open-minded than me.]
‘Sure. If you say so.’
To be honest, I didn’t even need to look. I already knew where Toth territory was.
Pointing at a location, I said,
“Southern end of the continent.”
“Yeah. Pretty far from here…”
Xenia glanced at me for a reaction.
I gave a small smile and continued.
“Think we could load the carriage onto Agril?”
“Oh! With Agril’s speed, this won’t get in the way of your Hero journey at all!”
“Yeah. But don’t you think it’s kind of blasphemous to load a human carriage onto a divine chariot?”
“Who says nonsense like that! Agril will totally understand!”
Neril gave her an sceptical look.
“Didn’t you act all high and mighty about giving us rides at first?”
“Ugh. That’s because when Agril carries people without divine power, it slowly weakens him. But if I feed him enough divine energy, it’ll be fine.”
“Still, shouldn’t you ask him first and get his consent?”
“Fine, I’ll go ask.”
Xenia leapt onto the roof of the carriage.
Then, summoning Agril, she soared into the sky in an instant.
We waited for quite a while.
So long, in fact, that by the time we reached the village, night had fully fallen.
While we were waiting for food at the inn, Xenia returned.
“You didn’t order without me, right?”
“Did it go well?”
She trudged to a chair and slumped into it.
Then collapsed onto the table.
“I nearly died. My divine energy got completely drained.”
“…”
“Oh, and I’d like my meal with meat, please.”
So meat was the source of your divine power, huh.
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