Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou Zero - Volume 5 - Chapter 3

Chapter III: Spirits of the Lake

Some time had passed since Laus and the others had escaped from the assassins led by Kaime.

It had been close to a month since the church had claimed victory over the beastmen, but the theocracy’s capital was still in a celebratory mood. The city sat at the foot of the Divine Mountain, which was said to be the seat of God, so the people tended to be more austere and subdued in their festivities. There were no parties in the streets or anything, but you could still tell the people were more lively than usual. They gossiped in the streets and praised the glory of Ehit more frequently than usual.

Lilith Arkind looked down at the gaiety below with a frown on her face. Though she was only twenty-seven, she was the commander of the church’s Templar Knights. She was well aware of the heavy responsibility that rested on her shoulders, and she held herself to a strict standard. Lilith made sure that she was impeccably dressed and ready for battle at all times. She was keenly aware that many young women in the theocracy looked up to her as a role model, so she conducted herself with as much dignity and propriety she could muster at all times. But right now her beautiful blonde hair was disheveled and her deep green eyes were clouded over with melancholy.

“Those fools, if only they knew...” she muttered, but her tone was more resigned than acerbic. However, they were dangerous words that went against the church’s official statement and could have been taken as heresy if heard by the wrong person. Thankfully, she was in one of the abandoned walkways that connected the towers of the pure white palace on the Divine Mountain.

Lilith leaned against the railing, her head drooping. Her bangs fell forward, hiding her face.

“Why...? Why would you...?” she muttered in a voice soft enough to be drowned out by the wind. In contrast to how weak her voice sounded, she grit her teeth and gripped the railing with enough force to crack the stone. Despair, confusion, doubt, and anger all whirled inside of her.

“Come on, what did the poor railing ever do to you, Commander Lilith? Ease up a little.”

“Oh, Commander Allridge,” Lilith replied with a start, looking up.

Mulm Allridge stood at the other end of the corridor with his trademark monocle and parted black hair. He gave her a light wave and walked over.

“What’s happened to your usual poise?” he asked.

“My apologies. I showed you an unsightly side of me.”

“That was a joke,” Mulm responded with a shrug. He then leaned against the railing next to Lilith and looked up at the sky.

“You’re just like him. You’re too straight-laced to understand jokes.”

“Ack... Please don’t mention Laus Barn to me! Especially not to compare him to me! He’s a traitor whose name doesn’t even deserve to be—”

“But you’ve been thinking about him too, haven’t you?”

“W-Well—”

The fact that she didn’t immediately deny it was admission enough. Indeed, the primary reason for Lilith’s melancholy was Laus’s betrayal.

Embarrassed that she’d let herself get so preoccupied with a heretic, Lilith blushed and looked away. Mulm gave her a wry smile and said with a sigh, “Don’t worry, I have too. Every single day, in fact.”

For a while, there was silence. Lilith couldn’t figure out how to express the conflicting feelings inside of her. Had any other knight defected, she would have been able to say with conviction that the heretic deserved to die. She would have had nothing but hatred and disdain for such a traitor. And she would have crushed them the same way she crushed cockroaches she occasionally saw skittering around the palace. Everything would be clear-cut. But despite her deep faith, she still couldn’t fully come to terms with the fact that Laus Barn had deserted them. His betrayal had just been too much of a shock. And Mulm had known Laus for even longer than Lilith. They were close in age, and Mulm had even considered Laus a friend. He was undoubtedly even more conflicted about Laus’s betrayal than Lilith.

Lilith’s expression softened and she gave Mulm a sympathetic look.

“How’s restructuring the Templar Knights going? Sorry I had to take so many of your skilled members, but the Paragons of Light were running dangerously low on members... So...are you managing?”

It seemed the main reason Mulm had come all the way to this abandoned section of the palace was to discuss recruitment with her.

Relieved that the topic had moved away from Laus, she straightened her back and shook her head.

“There’s no need to worry. I know how difficult it is to train up new members for the Paragons of Light, and you lost your vice-captain and the Sacred Wolf in that last battle. If anything, you probably have it worse than I do, Commander Allridge.”

“Thank you for being so considerate,” Mulm shrugged his shoulders as he said that. Then he asked, “Oh yeah...is our sword saint going to be Zebal’s successor?”

“Yes, I already asked Sensei.”

“Wonderful, then there’s nothing to worry about.”

Zebal, the commander of the Templar Knights’ third division, had been martyred during the war against Haltina. Lilith had decided his successor would be the current Templar Knights’ swordsmanship instructor, as the old man had once held her post before retiring. He’d retired to the position of instructor due to his age, but despite pushing eighty, he was still unbelievably spry. If anything, his technique had only improved during his time in retirement.

Lilith had been forced to call him back into active duty because the Three Pillars of Radiance had been replenishing most of their losses from the ranks of the Templar Knights, and there were few people left with the necessary ability to serve as division captains. It didn’t help that Cardinal Baran Distark, who’d served as the supreme commander for the invading army, had been martyred during the battle as well. For now, Archbishop Kimaris Sintail was filling his post while still handling his original duties.

“All that’s left is to decide what to do about the Holy Templar Knights,” Mulm said.

“Yes...” Lilith mumbled, furrowing her brow as he brought up the one topic she’d wished to avoid.

Mulm glanced at her for a second, but by the time she turned to look at him, he was staring at the sky again.

“The neighboring nations are starting to get nosy. They’re sending in spies to check on the current state of the theocracy, claiming they’re just sending over congratulatory gifts for our victory.”

“Do you think they plot treachery?”

“No, I think they just want to get a true assessment of where we stand. But if we don’t show them that God’s might remains unshakable, some morons might start spreading unsavory rumors.”

Mulm was worried people would begin to think that the church, and by extension Ehit, weren’t absolute, so there was no reason to serve them.

“How foolish.”

“Indeed. I suspect the apostle will be making a public appearance soon to quell such rumors.”

The main reason other nations were beginning to doubt the absolute might of the church was because God’s Apostle had been struck down. It had been impossible to silence all the soldiers of the Odion Federation and Grandort Empire that had seen the apostle fall, so knowledge of her defeat had spread.

However, it would be easy for the church to prove the falsehood of those claims...because God’s Apostle was still alive and well. Lilith and Mulm had been surprised when they returned home and found the apostle they thought had perished coming out of the cathedral to greet them.

All the knights and priests had been beating themselves up over the fact that they hadn’t been able to avenge their apostle, but there she was, looking no worse for the wear. Everyone had been shocked. Her appearance had reaffirmed to them that God was indeed absolute and that his apostle hadn’t been defeated by some heretic. It had deepened their faith tenfold.

“I cannot wait to see the despair on the Liberators’ faces when they realize their struggle was futile,” Lilith said with a wicked sneer.

Her eyes burned with a dark, roiling hatred, and her muscles tensed up in anger. She didn’t hate them because they were heretics, or because they’d interfered with the church’s holy war. She hated them because they’d been the cause of Laus’s betrayal. If they had never come into contact with Laus, he would never have abandoned the church. Her hatred was so strong that she didn’t realize Mulm was staring quietly at her, appraising her. There was a cold gleam in his eyes, but when he spoke his voice was lighthearted.

“That being said, the apostle’s true role is to be Ehit’s oracle. It’s pathetic that we needed to rely on her on the battlefield, and that we’ll need to rely on her once more to restore the theocracy’s dignity.”

“You’re right.”

“If only Araym had been willing to serve as interim commander, we could have reorganized the Holy Templar Knights by now.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Araym doesn’t have what it takes to lead the Holy Templar Knights.”

Araym Orcman, the vice-captain of the Holy Templar Knights, had been impacted harder than anyone when he’d heard the news of Laus’s betrayal. He’d grit his teeth and glared at everyone with bloodshot eyes, his entire body trembling.

During that same meeting, he’d asked to be relieved of his post so he could chase Laus down personally. For some time now, he’d doubted Laus’s faith, but hadn’t reported his suspicions to anyone because he’d believed the man who served as a symbol of God’s radiance couldn’t possibly be a heretic. And as a result, he’d let Laus escape.

In order to atone for his sins, he wanted to be the one to bring justice to the heretic, and then kill himself in penance once Laus was put down. He’d been so emphatic in his pleas that it had honestly scared Lilith a little.

“Well, Araym did idolize Laus. It’s entirely possible he wanted to take charge of the subjugation team so he could join Laus.”

More than a few members of the church suspected that was Araym’s true motive. Now that Laus, the one person everyone believed was wholeheartedly devoted to the church, had turned traitor, the priests and knights were suspicious of everyone. Who knew who might defect next?

Naturally, Pope Lucifer had been forced to deny Araym’s request. Instead, he’d given Laus’s sons the power of demi-apostles and granted them an opportunity to clear the Barn family’s name.

When Araym had heard he’d been passed over in favor of Laus’s own children, he’d been so furious he’d gone insane.

“Is there any chance he’ll be reinstated?” Lilith asked. She was still struggling with her own problems, so she hadn’t had time to check up on Araym, who was in a different chain of command anyway. The last time she’d seen him, he was being forcibly dragged away to the dungeons by a pair of guards.

“He’s already been released, thanks to the mercy of His Eminence. But now he’s staying holed up in the martyr’s chamber.”

“So he still intends to die?”

The martyr’s chamber was a laboratory located in one corner of the palace. Those who had failed in their duty to the church but still wished to be of some use offered their lives to be used in horrific and inhumane experiments conducted at that lab.

However, Mulm shook his head and replied, “He offered to be the test subject for a novel strengthening procedure. He has the right aptitude, so if it succeeds, he’ll gain enormous strength.”

“And he wants to use that power to...slay Laus Barn?”

“Assuming Kaime’s squad fails, yes.”

“Will the procedure really make him that much stronger?”

“I’m not well-versed in the details, but if it succeeds, he’ll be the subjugation squad’s rear guard. It must give him at least as much strength as demi-apostleification does, if not more.”

“Hmm...”

The previous war had taught Lilith how sorely lacking in power she was. She didn’t think she was worthy of something as divine as demi-apostleification, but if the church had come up with some alternate method of strengthening its warriors, she was willing to volunteer to undergo the experiment.

“The procedure is still in the experimental stage. It’s not the kind of thing the commander of the Templar Knights should participate in,” Mulm said.

Lilith pouted at having been seen right through.

After a brief silence, Mulm added in a cold voice, “Though I guess it’ll all be the same in the end.”

“What?”

“Neither Kaime nor Araym will be able to defeat Laus,” Mulm’s voice dripped with conviction. Lilith gave him a scrutinizing look.

It was true that Laus was strong. Indeed, he was the strongest knight the church had. But Kaime and his squad had been granted exceptional power by the pope.

“I suppose it’s possible they won’t be able to match Laus, but...”

“Sorry, let me rephrase that. As if I’ll allow them to defeat Laus.”

“What?!”

Mulm turned to look out over the railing and gripped it as hard as Lilith had earlier. She couldn’t make out his expression, and she stared at his profile in shock.

“It’s unacceptable. Don’t you agree, Commander Lilith?”

“Commander Allridge?” Lilith asked, confused. Was he really saying that Laus shouldn’t be killed?

She couldn’t believe it. Saying the pope’s plan should fail was tantamount to heresy. But at the same time, she realized it was possible Mulm still considered Laus a friend. In fact, she found herself almost hoping that he did.

Unfortunately, those hopes were soon dashed.

“Laus cannot be brainwashed. Such spells don’t work on him. In other words, the Liberators didn’t brainwash him. From the very start, Laus has been carrying the seeds of heresy with him. He feigned piety while trampling all over Lord Ehit’s eminence. When he was talking to me, when we fought together on the battlefield, he was always plotting this betrayal! It’s despicable. I won’t ever forgive him for it! This whole time, we respected and befriended a heretic! How could he do something so cruel to us?! We were always dancing on Laus Barn’s palm! Isn’t that right, Commander Lilith?!” Mulm’s voice raised in volume as he spoke, and by the end, he was shouting.

Lilith gulped involuntarily when she looked into his eyes. They were bloodshot, and there was deep darkness within his pupils that made them look like portals to hell. His mouth was twisted in a vicious snarl. It was then that Lilith realized Mulm didn’t share her feelings at all. He wasn’t conflicted about whether or not Laus was truly evil. Oh no, it was quite the opposite.

There was no hesitation in Mulm Allridge’s mind. He wasn’t feeling depressed over his inability to accept Laus’s betrayal for what it was. He just felt humiliated, angry, and hateful. He wanted to crush Laus Barn with his own two hands, even if it meant going against the pope’s direct orders. There was nothing but rage left in Mulm now.

The reason he’d come to speak with Lilith wasn’t to share his doubts, but to see whether or not she felt the same as him.

“What do you think?”

“About...what?”

“Don’t you want to slaughter Laus Barn with your own two hands?”

“Calm down, Commander Allridge. You need to think this throu—”

“I am calm. And I have taken your measure.”

“What do you mean? Depending on your answer, I may have to—”

“You admired Laus, didn’t you?”

“Wh-What?!”

Lilith could feel the blood rushing to her face, though whether from anger or embarrassment, she wasn’t sure.

Ignoring her reaction, Mulm said, “Back when he was still a bachelor, you tried to become his fiancée, didn’t you?”

“Wh-What?”

“When you turned ten and it became time for you to decide your future husband, you wanted him. So much so that when your father told you the difference in status between your house and his was far too great, you gave such a heated speech that he reconsidered.”

“...” Lilith was at a loss for words. She was having trouble keeping her cool.

Everything Mulm said was true. Lilith’s house was one of the theocracy’s great noble houses, and when she was young, she’d often met Laus at social events. He’d already distinguished himself even from a young age, and she was smitten with him.

However, as an ancient magic user, Laus had gotten marriage proposals from every noble house in the theocracy, and ultimately, he’d ended up choosing someone else over Lilith.

Of course, none of this was secret information, so a little digging would have told Mulm all of that. But her debate with her father had been a private affair. Most members of the Arkind family didn’t even remember that episode, so why was it that Mulm knew of it?

Cold sweat dripped down Lilith’s forehead. She realized now that Mulm truly had come to size her up after thoroughly investigating her background.

“You’ve worked hard. Reaching the position of Templar Knight Commander at such a young age is quite a feat.”

“What are you getting at?”

“Your special magic, Thunderclap, is rather strong. But lightning-aspected special magic isn’t all that rare. A captain-class mage could replicate your ability with ordinary spells.”

Mulm was correct. Lilith’s special magic wasn’t all that special. Of course, it used less mana and activated faster than a spell of similar strength would, but that was all. It had taken an inordinate amount of effort to polish her magic up to the level needed to serve as Templar Knight Commander, and she’d also spent ages mastering all the practical applications of her ability.

Everyone believed the reason she’d put in that much effort was because of her devotion to Ehit and her desire to be useful to the church, but Mulm thought differently.

“If your house lacked the prestige needed to marry Laus, then the only logical course of action was to achieve a high enough station to grant you that prestige instead. You’re such a diligent girl. Debra-dono wished for Laus to take in a few more wives too, didn’t she? That would have been your chance. Could it be that you’re secretly hoping the subjugation squad fails as well so that you can—”

There was a flash of light, and Lilith’s twin blades were resting against Mulm’s neck.

“You may be the commander of the Paragons of Light, but that gives you no right to question my faith. Say another word and you’ll pay with your life.”

Lilith’s voice dripped with hostility.

Mulm looked into Lilith’s eyes, appraising her once more. His gaze was cold, lifeless, and seemed to sap the vitality of anything it touched.

Meanwhile, Lilith’s eyes burned with righteous indignation. The situation was tense, the slightest move could spark a full-blown battle between the two of them. But after what seemed like an eternity, a voice interrupted the two of them.

“What are you two doing?”

“Ah!” Mulm and Lilith turned around in surprise.

A man stood next to them, though it should have been impossible for him to sneak up on them.

“What business does the commander of the Paladins have with us?” Mulm asked warily. The newcomer was indeed the Paladins’ commander, Darrion Kaus.

Lilith gave him a searching look.

The pair’s suspicion was understandable. Until just a few days ago, there had been another man that they’d thought of as Darrion. The old Darrion had been an unassuming man with short brown hair. But this Darrion had white hair, red eyes, and was much younger.

Of course, everyone knew what had happened to the old Darrion. He’d been martyred during his fight with Laus. However, during their meeting with the pope, he’d told everyone that the church’s strongest knight, Darrion Kaus, was still alive and well. He’d waved toward the back door, and this Darrion had walked in. The pope had insisted that this was the real Darrion, and the Darrion everyone had known was just a regular member of the Paladins who’d been his body double.

Naturally, everyone had been confused at first. But when the pope pointed out that it wouldn’t have made sense for the commander of the division whose sole job was to protect him to go out and chase a heretic, everyone had nodded along in understanding.

It made more sense that Darrion had simply lost his right-hand man than that Laus had managed to slay the Paladins’ commander.

Afterward, the pope had organized a subjugation squad made up of thirty Paladins and granted them replicas of the Seven Sacred Treasures. That, Araym’s subsequent bout of insanity, and Kaime and Selm turning into demi-apostles had been such a crazy sequence of events that everyone had kind of just accepted the new Darrion was the real Darrion and put him out of their mind. But now that things had calmed down somewhat, Lilith had to admit it was strange.

First off, the real Darrion looked to be even younger than her; far too young to be commanding the Paladins. Second, he resembled his dead body double far too much. While their appearances were nothing alike, this Darrion’s mannerisms were so similar to the last one’s that it seemed only natural that he was the commander of the Paladins. That in and of itself was odd. It was for these two reasons that Lilith and Mulm were so wary of him.

They couldn’t tell if he was aware of their suspicions or not, but Darrion said in the same flat voice, “I’ll ask again. What are you two doing?”

His question was directed at both Lilith and Mulm, even though Lilith was the one with swords at the latter’s throat.

They could feel an invisible wall of pressure emanating from the man. Not answering was not an option.

“I am demanding an apology from Commander Allridge for the unacceptably rude comments he just made.”

“I am doing what is necessary for the knights’ and for the church’s survival,” Mulm said in a definitive tone. Lilith glared at him again, and sparks flew between their eyes.

“Commander Arkind, sheathe your swords. Commander Allridge, retract your statement and apologize.”

“But—”

“Wait, this is—”

Lilith and Mulm tried to argue, but Darrion narrowed his gaze and muttered, “How pathetic.”

His cutting words silenced both of them.

“Do you understand why I, the man who must stay by His Eminence’s side at all times, am here?”

Coming to their senses, Lilith and Mulm backed off. The answer to his question was obvious. Only a select few knights could stop a battle between the Templar Knight Commander and the Commander of the Paragons of Light. Especially now, with the church’s strength diminished.

“The lady apostle was saddened when she learned of this matter.”

“I-I’m terribly sorry,” Lilith said.

“Crap... Instead of improving things, I just made matters worse,” Mulm muttered.

Lilith hurriedly sheathed her swords, and Mulm frowned when he heard that the apostle had been aware of their conversation.

He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and turned to Lilith. Some of the color had returned to his hate-filled eyes and he gave Lilith an apologetic smile.

“I retract my accusation. I said it out of misplaced anger, nothing more. Please forgive me, Commander Lilith.”

He bowed to her, and after a brief moment of surprise, Lilith returned to her usual stony expression and said, “I understand. Your apology is accepted.”

“I truly am sorry, it just felt like I had to check.”

“You don’t want more Reinheit Ashes showing up, right? It galls me that you would even consider that I might be one, but with the Holy Templar Knight Commander’s seat empty, you are our army’s de facto leader. I understand how taxing such a position must be.”

“Ha ha. Well, I won’t deny that. Thank you for your magnanimity.”

Laus’s influence on the knights had been enormous. Many of them had worshipped him almost as much as they worshipped Ehit. Only the church’s top brass knew of his defection, but rumors couldn’t be contained, and people were beginning to talk. The church needed to stay on guard and suspect its own members. As someone who knew Lilith’s background, it was only natural for him to thoroughly vet her.

After the two shook hands, Darrion nodded and said, “We’ve been summoned.”

“I’m terribly sorry you had to serve as our messenger,” Lilith said, bowing her head.

“Yeah, sorry about that, Commander Darrion. So, what’s this meeting about?” Mulm asked, following after Darrion, who’d already started on his way back.

Darrion turned over his shoulder and said, “The subjugation squad has returned. They failed in their mission.”

Lilith’s eyes widened in surprise, while the corners of Mulm’s lips tugged up into a smile.

At around the same time, three figures lounged on the terrace of the throne room, which was six hundred meters above sea level.

“What should their punishment be?” Pope Lucifer asked, his white hair and beard fluttering in the wind. He gazed down at a landing platform jutting out from one of the cathedral’s aerial walkways. The wyverns carrying the subjugation squad were landing there right now.

“Grant them another chance,” a beautiful but emotionless, inflectionless voice said. It was the silver-haired apostle, Hearst.

“Then our lord enjoyed the familial drama?”

“Yes. The Barn family are exquisite pieces. My master is quite pleased with them.”

“Splendid,” Lucifer said in a delighted voice. His eyelids opened a little, and his gray eyes sparkled with joy.

“In the end, it seems letting him escape was the correct choice.”

The original plan had been to force Miledi Reisen and Laus Barn to kill each other.

Lucifer had planned to take Laus’s family hostage and use them as leverage to force Laus to fight. To make him choose between his own family and the girl who reminded him so much of Belta Lievre, the priestess whose life he’d once saved.

“Not ‘in the end.’ You make it sound as though this was unplanned,” Hearst said, turning to Lucifer.

“Either outcome would have been acceptable.”

In other words, Ehit didn’t care whether Laus sided with the church or with the Liberators. Laus was always destined to either kill his own feelings and become a pawn of the church or cling to hope and join the Liberators. Regardless of which path he chose, Ehit would enjoy watching him squirm. After all, Ehit was the one who’d sowed these seeds in the first place.

“The reason I allowed Belta Lievre to live and chose not to punish Laus Barn for his transgression was to help alleviate our lord’s boredom.”

From the moment Laus Barn had been born as an ancient magic user, from the moment Belta Lievre had entered the church as a priestess and saw too much of the truth, this age’s game had begun.

After bringing ruin to the previous era, Ehit had restructured civilization and set the stage for a new era to bloom. Then, he’d waited for the pieces to gather so that his games could begin anew. His primary pawns created yet more pawns for him to play with, and together they danced on the stage he’d made for them. The climax of this era’s play was about to begin.

Hearst explained all of this to Lucifer in an emotionless voice.

Impressed, Lucifer nodded while stroking his beard and replied, “Then I suppose I will be able to offer what’s left of my life to God’s great game. There could be no greater honor.”

“Indeed. They will eventually make their way here. You must stand against them as the church’s pope. Oppose them until your dying breath.”

“With pleasure,” Lucifer responded, tears streaming down his face. Hearst then turned from him to the final figure, a member of the Paladins who was standing a short distance away. She had messy ultramarine hair, matching eyes, and a slender build.

The entire time, she’d been silently guarding the pope like a shadow.

“The subjugation squad is hereby disbanded,” Hearst told her. “Recall the knights stationed at the dukedom’s borders. I have a new mission for them.”

“Very well. I shall inform them at once. What is our new mission?”

“Bring these people to me.”

Hearst brought her face closer to the knight’s and stared into her eyes.

A second later, the knight staggered backward. It appeared Hearst had entered the information directly into her brain.

Shaking her head, the knight said, “Understood. Do you want them dead or alive?”

“Alive. They are of no use to me dead.”

“They’re not?”

“Correct.”

Hearst looked out over the balcony again. Staring at the lands in the distance, she muttered, “If we take too long to prepare, my lord will grow bored.”

“I see. You want these people so you can dictate the start of the final game yourself.”

Hearst nodded in response.

“Avoid attracting attention. We don’t want to rush things. Make sure your timing lines up.”

“As you wish. I see now why you assigned us this mission instead of the other divisions.”

“It has taken quite a lot of time, but you’ve become a good pawn.”

“You honor me.”

Once the orders were given, Hearst faced forward and closed her mouth, looking like nothing more than a doll.

The female knight went quiet as well, putting a finger to her temple and looking off into the distance. She was using a form of communication available only to the Paladins.

“Lord Apostle, it is almost time for the meeting, so I must leave you now,” Lucifer said, then bowed deeply to Hearst and turned on his heel.

Still relaying orders, the paladin followed after him.

Lucifer held out a hand to stop her and said, “No need to guard me. Focus on the mission you were granted by the apostle, Darrion.”

The knight nodded and said, “As you command, Your Eminence.”

“Where’s my foooooooood?” Sui moaned, banging her knife and fork on the table.

The party was in a small village called Horuo, which was to the northeast of Obius, Entris’s biggest city in the northeast. Specifically, they were in one of the village’s inns.

Sui was covered from head to foot in bandages, as only half a day had passed since they’d made their escape from Kaime. The morning sun was almost blinding after a night spent on the run, and Sui was cranky enough to beg for her breakfast like a spoiled child. Though there were no other guests in the inn at present, she was still being a nuisance.

“Oh, shut up!” another girl with bunny ears shouted in response. She appeared to be the one cooking the aforementioned breakfast.

Unlike Sui, she was dark-skinned, and she looked far more affable and energetic than Sui ever did. In fact, she looked like the polar opposite of Sui, the queen of slacking.

This bunny girl who had no business running an inn in the middle of a human settlement was none other than Kiara. The very same half-rabbitman half-human Kiara who’d become friends with Miledi at Andika and had later joined the Liberators.

Unsurprisingly, this inn was called Wanda’s Inn. After joining the Liberator support branch, the Wanda family had settled here in Horuo.

“Wow, what a rude cook! You can’t treat your customers like this! After breakfast, I demand you pay reparations for emotional suffering!”

“Don’t just throw that in like it’s an after-meal dessert!”

Barely three minutes had passed since Kiara had started cooking. And already, Sui had complained that the water was too warm, that she wanted milk instead, and that the chair was too hard. She was the kind of customer who service workers despised.

Luckily, Kiara had plenty of experience with people like this. She had lived in the lawless city of Andika, after all. Customers as annoying as Sui had come by practically every day.

“Here’s something to stuff your snotty mouth with!” Kiara shouted, slamming a plate of vegetable sticks down in front of Sui. They were roughly chopped, the kind of thing you would feed barn animals instead of people.

“What an awful attitude. Plus, my room’s cramped, there’s no room service, and my bed’s too stiff.”

“You’re the one with an awful attitude! Just so you know, this is pretty upscale for the location we’re in!”

In truth, though the building Wanda’s Inn was located in now had been purchased secondhand, it looked brand new and travelers loved it so much that three out of ten came back this way just to stay at the inn again.

For a secret resistance base, it was doing pretty good business. But Sui didn’t care about any of that.

“Man, I miss my suite in the Lusheina Hotel,” Sui muttered, munching on a vegetable stick, and glaring at Kiara all the while.

“Don’t compare us to them, goddammit!”

Kiara wished she could glare back, but she still had a shred of customer service spirit left in her.

“Good grief. Who do you think’s the one taking care of you?” Kiara muttered.

“Excuse me? It’s the support branch’s job to take care of us!”

“Y-You little bitch!”

Kiara was this close to losing it.

I can’t believe I was so worried about her last night!

Things had been quite hectic when Naiz had teleported directly into the common room last night.

Of course, Kiara had been informed ahead of time that they might need to hide in her inn in case of an emergency, so she’d closed it down “for repairs” during the past few days, and no one had seen them come in. The windows had been boarded up and there hadn’t been any guests, but the state of Naiz’s comrades had still sent Kiara into a panic. One had been unconscious and on the verge of death, another had been so weak he could barely stand, the young boy was beside himself with worry for his father, and Sui was covered in wounds and still suffering from the adverse effects of Besshu’s special magic.

Vandre had started healing everyone immediately, while Kiara and the other members of the support branch had hurried to get beds, bandages soaked in healing potions, new clothes, and food for everyone.

Vera and Marcus, Kiara’s mother and father, had looked after Laus and Reinheit, while Kiara had nursed Sui back to health. And yet, once Sui had woken up, the first thing she’d done was demand a status report and introduction from Kiara. After that, she’d said, “Kiara? Oh, you’re the Kia-chan Miledi-san always talks about. Must be nice, getting to be the poster girl for your inn. You don’t have to risk your life, and this massive organization covers all your living expenses. God, I wish that was me.”

Her words had been dripping with jealousy.

Kiara had actually admired Sui, since she was a rabbitman the same age as her, but had worked her way up to one of the top generals of the republic. She’d been hoping the two of them could be friends, but Sui’s harsh words had crushed any hopes of that.

Of course, the reason Sui was so mean to Kiara was because she was jealous. She envied how bright and cheerful Kiara was, as well as the cushy job she had.

In other words, Sui was just a bitch.

While the two of them argued, Vandre came down the stairs to the common room.

“Do you have to yell so loud this early in the morning, you worthless rabbit?” he said with an exasperated sigh.

“Wow, even he’s shit-talking you, Kiara,” Sui taunted.

“He’s clearly talking about you!”

Vandre simply shook his head and Sharm and Reinheit walked down behind him. Like Sui, Reinheit was covered from head to toe in bandages.

In a worried voice, Kiara asked, “Are you okay, Mr. Knight? Your wounds still haven’t closed, have they?”

“No, but the bleeding has stopped, so I’ll be fine. Thanks for everything, by the way. I’d like to thank your parents as well, but I don’t see them around anywhere...”

“It’s fine, we were just doing our jobs! Besides, it’s not like we were much help, anyway!” Kiara said in a flustered voice.

She glanced over at Sui, who was glaring daggers at her. Sui clearly thought she was putting on a good girl act to get on Reinheit’s good side.

“Mom and dad are cooking breakfast right now.”

“I-I see. I suppose I shouldn’t disturb them, then. Umm...sorry,” Reinheit muttered, glancing over at Sui as he said that. He knew just how annoying she’d be if breakfast got delayed because of him. Plus, he was still weak from using Limit Break, so he really didn’t need Sui poisoning his drink or anything.

He staggered over to the table and Sharm pulled a chair out for him to sit down on before bowing to Kiara.

“U-Umm, I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself last night. My name is Sharm Barn. Umm, thank you so much for healing my father.”

Laus was still unconscious, but he was recovering. Still, any normal young boy would have been beside themselves with worry. Sharm, however, looked like he was handling it well enough to still remember his manners as he greeted Kiara properly. She found it adorable that he was trying so hard despite still being exhausted from the events of yesterday.

“Oh, come on, a kid like you doesn’t need to be worrying about proper manners!”

Kiara ran over and swept Sharm up into a tight hug. Like most female members of the rabbitman tribe, she wore rather revealing clothing, so Sharm blushed as his face was buried in her bosom.

His strict mother had never hugged him like this. It was a warm, gentle embrace.

“You’re amazing, you know that? You’re so young, but you’re still bearing all the pain and worry and doing your best to help everyone. But it’s okay now. You’re safe. You can relax and leave everything to us adults, okay?” Kiara said softly, patting him on the back. He let the tension drain from his body, and tears welled up in his eyes. But he held them at bay through sheer force of will.

“It’s okay to cry, you know?”

“Thank you, Onee-san. But I won’t cry.”

“You don’t need to force yourself to act tough, you kn—”

“I’m the son of the strongest knight.”

Sharm wasn’t forcing himself for no reason, this was a matter of pride.

Reinheit smiled proudly at him, while Vandre gave him an appraising look. Surprised, Kiara backed off.

“I see, I see. Sorry for treating you like a kid. You’re already a grown man, aren’t you?” Kiara said kindly.

“U-Umm, he he he...” Sharm chuckled, blushed, and scratched his cheek.

“Hey, little miss pedo. Is my food ready yet?”

“Grr, you little gremlin!” Kiara shouted, mad at Sui for ruining the nice mood.

The two looked like they were about to start fighting, but before they could, Vera came in.

“Yes, yes, here’s your breakfast, young lady,” the innkeeper said, gracefully putting a plate down in front of Sui.

There was a steaming pile of buttered potatoes, a crispy golden-brown omelet, thick slices of bacon, and a bowl of vegetable soup. There was also a separate basket containing heaping loaves of bread. The smell was so delectable that everyone’s mouths started watering.

“Hellllll yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Sui shouted, digging into her food like a starving animal. In fairness, she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday afternoon.

Even Sharm and Reinheit forgot their table manners as they started eating as fast as they could.

“Mmm, this is quite good,” Vandre said with an appreciative nod.

“Glad you like it, Van-nii-san. Miledi and the others really liked our cooking too,” Kiara said proudly.

“Guess I’ll eat too,” she added as she sat down at the table with everyone.

As she brought out more food, Vera asked Vandre, “By the way, Vandre-san. How’s Laus doing? I made some porridge that’s easy on the stomach, but...”

“Thank you. But I’m afraid he won’t be waking up for quite some time.”

After the battle was over and Naiz had teleported everyone away, Laus had used the last of his strength to disable Kaime’s tracking. Once that was done, he’d passed out. Vandre had managed to heal his external injuries, but there was nothing he could do to repair the damage to Laus’s soul that had been caused by repeated uses of Limit Break.

“I’ve done everything I can for him. All that’s left is to get these guys to Meiru as fast as possible.”

“I see... So regular healing magic isn’t enough, then...” Vera mused, looking pained. Her concern for Laus was genuine. But after a few seconds, she shook her head and smiled so brightly at Vandre that it was hard to believe she’d just pulled an all-nighter.

“Well, I can still give Kuou-chan his meal, right?”

“Yeah, please do.”

Kuou was guarding Laus just in case anything happened. The room was a bit cramped for him, and he was probably getting stressed having to sit there for so long. Hopefully, a hearty breakfast would help him relax somewhat. However, Kuou wasn’t especially happy that all the members of the Wanda Inn added -chan to the end of his name, so talking to Vera might just make him more stressed.

“Oh, my husband’s making boxed lunches for all of you. Be sure to take them before you go.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Kiara, once you’re done eating, I need you to go shopping. We’re ostensibly closed for repairs, but if all of us stay cooped up in here forever, people might start getting suspicious. Also, I don’t think anyone saw Naiz come in, but check to see if any rumors are floating around just in case.”

“Got it,” Kiara said through a mouthful of omelet, and Vera affectionately ruffled her hair before heading back into the kitchen.

The meal drew everyone’s attention, and they ate in silence. The sounds of clacking silverware, birds chirping, neighbors talking, and husband and wife bustling about in the kitchen heralded the start of a peaceful village day.

To Sharm and Reinheit, it almost felt like the harrowing battle they’d taken part in last night had just been a fever dream.

If only it had been just a nightmare... Sharm thought sadly to himself as he ate.

Reinheit gave him a concerned look, then turned to Vandre. It was thanks to the young demon that they’d managed to escape. At a glance, Vandre didn’t look much older than Reinheit. But he was so much stronger. Vandre’s familiars were stronger than the Paragons of Light’s sacred beasts, and he was a better ice mage than anyone Reinheit had ever seen. On top of that, Vandre could transform into a dragon, and in his demon form was a master of all martial arts. But what surprised Reinheit most of all was that Vandre was a demon. He was supposed to be humanity’s sworn enemy, yet he was helping a human organization.

Of course, Reinheit had heard the Liberators were an organization that accepted all, regardless of race or creed. But it was one thing to hear stories about it and quite another to see firsthand just how close Naiz and Vandre were, despite their radically different origins. They treated each other like close friends, not comrades who simply happened to share a common goal. It had been surprising, but in a good way. Plus, they also treated Sui and Kiara like equals.

Humans, demons, and beastmen were all sitting together eating breakfast at the same table. Most residents of the theocracy would have said this was heresy.

“What are you staring at me for?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, sorry...”

Vandre frowned, and Reinheit suddenly realized how intently he’d been staring.

“D-Don’t tell me...” Kiara exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

“Wh-What is it, Kiara-san?” Reinheit asked hesitantly. A faint blush spread across her cheeks, and her ears stood straight up.

“Don’t worry! I understand perfectly, Mr. Knight!”

“What do you understand?!” Reinheit exclaimed. He had a really bad feeling about this. There was no doubt that Kiara had misunderstood something.

“Van-nii-san’s handsome, and he saved you from certain death. It’s only natural that a development like this would happen!”

“What development?!”

“It’s okay, I understand! Everyone loves in different ways! Race and gender are no barriers to love!”

“Seriously, what the heck are you implying?!” he shouted just as Vandre kicked back his chair.

He scooted away from Reinheit, his face pale.

“I see... I didn’t know you swung that way, Reinheit-san.”

“What do you mean, ‘swing that way’?!”

“Now I understand why you told me not to strip on the train. You just don’t have any interest in seeing women in their underwear, huh?” Sui said with a grin.

“No, I think it’s pretty normal to tell someone not to strip in public regardless of their sexual orientation!”

“R-Reinheit?”

“Sh-Sharm-sama? Why are you backing away from me?! This is a misunderstanding! I’m into women, I swear!”

“Mr. Knight, does that mean you’re bi? Haaah... Haaah... Splendid! Even though you’re from the church, you’re more free than the rest of us! I can’t imagine what kinds of depraved orgies you were involved in in the capital... No wonder you’re the hero!”

“I mean, I definitely don’t share the values of the church, but you’re taking this too far! Quit fantasizing about me, you pervert!”

Blood was dripping out of Kiara’s nose and her face was as red as a beet. She’d once convinced herself that Miledi had a harem of guys and girls that she slept with each night, so it was hardly surprising she was misunderstanding things about Reinheit now.

Unfortunately, others were convinced her delusions were reality, and Sharm was muttering, “How should I act around Reinheit now...?” to himself.

As far as Reinheit was concerned, this was a far more dangerous situation than the one he’d been in last night.

“It’s a misunderstanding! I was only staring because I’m impressed that the Liberators really are an organization where everyone trusts each other regardless of race or creed! I just think it’s amazing that everyone trusts you even though you’re a demon, Vandre-dono!”

Vandre and Sharm exchanged glances, then nodded to each other. In retrospect, it made sense that a sight like this would seem strange to a knight of the church.

“Yeah, it really is amazing...” Sharm muttered to himself.

Vandre and the others turned to look at him.

Blushing a little, Sharm smiled and added, “At the very least, I like this place more than the capital, where everyone only talks about how great they are, and that they’re the chosen people.”

Silence fell over the table. But it was a warm, gentle silence.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Kiara squealed, “Oh, you’re just so cuuuuuute!” and hugged Sharm again.

Sui muttered, “Damn, he’s so pure that his words are exorcising me...”

Reinheit and Vandre chuckled at each other.

Blushing a lot brighter now, Sharm extricated himself from Kiara’s cleavage and said in an embarrassed voice, “A-Anyway, is Naiz-san doing okay?!”

“Now that you mention it, I am a little worried...” Reinheit muttered, his brow furrowing.

Naiz wasn’t in the inn right now.

Naiz and Vandre’s original plan had been to teleport all the way to the Dark Gate sitting outside Esperado. But when they’d reached the gate at the valley where Sui and the others were fighting, they’d seen the pillar of light Reinheit had created when he’d cast Limit Break and hurried over to see what was going on.

Had Reinheit not used it at that exact moment, Naiz and Vandre would never have made it back in time to save them.

Indeed, when Naiz and Vandre had first arrived on the battlefield, they hadn’t known that Laus had left Esperado, or that the train had been attacked.

“You don’t need to worry about him. If anything, you guys—and especially Laus Barn—should be more worried about yourselves.”

“Father...felt bad about getting innocent passengers involved in his troubles.”

“He may have abandoned his homeland, but Laus-sama is still a knight.”

After the battle, just before he’d passed out, Laus had told Naiz and Vandre about the train attack and asked them to go help the other passengers. He’d even cast a protective barrier on Naiz’s soul to make sure he’d be fine in case Naiz ran into Kaime while rescuing the passengers, though pushing himself that hard had nearly killed him.

Naturally, Naiz couldn’t refuse such a heartfelt request. Besides, he’d been planning to go help them anyway. That was why after dropping everyone off at the inn, Naiz had immediately headed back to the site of the attack.

But just as everyone started talking about him, he teleported back in.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Reinheit, Sharm, and Kiara all breathed sighs of relief.

“Welcome back, Naiz-onii-san! Do you want breakfast?” Kiara asked, getting to her feet. She could tell from Naiz’s expression that things had gone well, so she offered her seat to him.

“Yeah, I do...” Naiz replied. He knew they should probably leave right away, but he hadn’t had time to rest since leaving the forest. He needed to take at least a short break or he wouldn’t be able to function for much longer.

“There’s something I need to tell you guys. I’ll eat while I talk.”

“Got it!” Kiara said cheerfully and ran back to the kitchen. She wanted to know what was going on as well, but getting Naiz’s food took priority.

“Umm, Naiz-san. Where are Leonard-san and his friends?”

“Why aren’t they with you? And what happened to the passeng—?”

“Hold your horses. Let him at least drink some water first,” Vandre said, offering a glass to Naiz. He took it gratefully and downed it in one gulp.

“Haaah... Thanks, Van.”

“Don’t mention it. Is Uruluk in the forest outside the city?”

Naiz nodded. Uruluk had been there since last night. He was unfortunately too big to hide inside the inn.

“Okay, so for starters, Leonard and the passengers are safe,” Naiz said.

Sharm and Reinheit visibly relaxed, leaning back into their chairs.

“All of them? I figured since we got away, the church’s assassins would slaughter all the passengers and torture Leo-san for intel...” Sui muttered, surprised. The future of the Barn family was resting on Kaime and Selm’s shoulders, so she figured they would have taken every opportunity they could to raise their reputation.

I can’t believe Leo-san managed to escape from those guys... Sui mused as she swiped a slice of bacon off Reinheit’s plate.

“They probably would have, but I got there first.”

“Heh... We did kill all of their wyverns, and even if they could fly with magic, it’d take them at least an hour to get back to where the train was. I guess with Dark Gates in place, you can teleport to most places almost instantly, so that makes sense... Man, I’m jealous,” Sui said, buttering a slice of bread all the while. She looked like a predator sharpening her claws in front of her prey. It was kind of unsettling, honestly.

However, Sui’s jealousy was understandable. After all, Naiz was able to go from Horuo to Obius and from there to Esperado in a matter of seconds.

He ignored Sui’s jealous glare and continued with his status report, saying, “By the time I got to the train, Leonard had already gotten most of the passengers out.”

“So he used the Dark Gate...” Vandre said, his expression grim.

“Yeah. He opened a portal in the train and snuck all the passengers out without ever leaving the train cars.”

“I can’t believe the passengers all listened to him... Oh, did Jinx-nee-san convince them?” Sui’s guess was right on the mark.

Jinx didn’t have any special magic or any real combat abilities, but there was a reason she was the head spy of a major branch. Her specialty was disguises and information manipulation. In just minutes, she could disguise herself to look like someone completely different, and she could change the impression she gave off to people at will. Though magic wasn’t involved, it almost felt like it should be with how powerful her skills were.

“She perfectly acted the part of a church bishop.”

“I see. I guess most people would follow a bishop during times of emergency,” Reinheit said with an impressed nod.

Plus, they could handwave away the teleportation portal as the bishop’s special magic. Most of the passengers had probably been too glad that a leader like a church bishop had been on board to question the authenticity of whoever was commanding them.

“It helps that Jinx is pretty good at dark magic, especially hypnotism spells. She must have managed to get everything under control before the panic could spread.”

“Hmph, I guess that was the optimal solution, but it still pisses me off that people are going to think it’s the church who saved them,” Vandre spat.

“It’d be pretty hard to convince them the church was the one attacking them and it was the rebels who saved them,” Sui replied with a cackle.

Feeling conflicted, Reinheit glanced at Sui before saying, “Two of the assassins stayed behind to keep an eye on the train, didn’t they? It’s a good thing you guys weren’t spotted.”

“Actually, they started getting in Leonard’s way halfway through. And they were as strong as the other Paladins we were fighting. If I’d shown up any later, everyone would have been dead.”

“What were the last two Paladins like?” Vandre asked, and Naiz smiled ruefully.

“One was a man with a burn scar covering half his face, and the other was a woman with long black hair and a blindfold.”

“I take it they were using replicas of the Seven Sacred Treasures as well?”

“The knight with the burn scar had a Holy Sword and a Sanctified Shield, and the blindfold knight had a Divine Rod. Their special magic was pretty annoying too.”

Naiz went on to explain that the burn knight could instantly create a golem that repaired itself no matter how badly it was damaged.

On the other hand, the blindfold knight’s magic allowed her to compel people with her words. A simple command like “Don’t move” was enough to stop everyone in their tracks. People with strong wills like Naiz or Leonard could shake off the compulsion, but it still held them in place for a brief moment.

The noncombatant members of the Liberators barely managed to resist, and the civilians were completely at her mercy.

“Just how powerful are the Paladins...” Reinheit muttered with a shiver. And Naiz and the others looked just as worried as he did.

It felt like they were finally seeing the full extent of the church’s power, and they didn’t like what they saw. The mood darkened for a moment, but then Kiara appeared with a plate piled high with food.

“Here you go! Wait, why do you guys all look so serious? Did something happen?”

Naiz’s stomach grumbled as he breathed in the delectable scent of freshly cooked breakfast. That helped lighten the mood a little and he replied, “We’re fine, don’t worry. Thanks for the food.”

“Mmm, if you say so. I need to head out into town. Is there anything you guys need?”

“Not really.”

“Okay. See you later!” Kiara said with a cheerful wave. She then pulled a necklace out of her pocket and put it on. A second later, her ears vanished and her hair turned blonde. The necklace was a disguise artifact that Miledi had gifted her.

She went out into the street, greeting the neighbors as she walked past them. She looked so innocuous that no one would ever guess the inn she worked at was secretly an underground resistance base. Indeed, most of the neighbors seemed quite fond of her.

“Tch, this is why normies suck...” Sui muttered darkly.

“You’re seriously messed up, you know that?” Reinheit said with a shake of his head.

Sui covered her ears, shutting out his words. Kiara and Sui really were polar opposites. Still, Sui’s complaints had helped lighten the serious mood, and Naiz tucked into his breakfast while Vandre changed the topic.

“Anyway, our biggest problem right now is those Dark Gates. I take it that you opened one in Esperado?”

“Yeah.”

“Umm...what’s the problem with them?” Sharm asked hesitantly. He’d just been listening until now, but his curiosity had been piqued.

It was Sui who answered him. And as she did, she tried to steal the remainder of Sharm’s omelet, but Reinheit got between them to keep the young boy’s food safe. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, and Naiz gave her half of his omelet with a sigh. Her bunny ears immediately perked up and she started wolfing it down.

“Listen up, kid. Dark Gates don’t work the way you think. You can’t just teleport anywhere with them. If you’re within range, you can teleport to where a Dark Gate has been set up, but that’s it.”

“So then... Oh, I see. If there isn’t a Dark Gate in Esperado, then you can’t teleport to it. And it can’t be too far out of the effective range of the one in Esperado’s outskirts...”

The train had been derailed about ten kilometers away from the Dark Gate on the outskirts of Esperado. To effectively escape with the Dark Gates, you needed to be able to leapfrog from one to the other quickly, or you wouldn’t be able to escape from fast pursuers using wyverns.

Plus, if you wanted to keep the passengers safe, you had to transport them back into a large crowd in the middle of the city and keep them ignorant of who they’d been attacked by.

“Exactly. And it’s not like you can just put these things down anywhere, so—”

“You had one set up in one of the Liberator bases in the city? Wait, but doesn’t that mean all the passengers know about it now?!”

“That’s precisely the problem Vandre-san’s worried about. I guess the reason it took you so long to come back was because you got roped into cleaning up that mess?” Sui asked, turning to Naiz.

“Something like that.”

In truth, there had been a single Dark Gate in Esperado that had been set up for the express purpose of rescuing people.

Naturally, that meant it wasn’t located in the Lusheina Hotel. After all, if an enemy managed to follow them through the portal, it would mean the complete destruction of the Esperado branch. So instead, the Dark Gate had been placed in the safe house where people were brought to be screened on whether or not they’d be allowed to join the support branch there—a clothing store run by an old noblewoman named Melissa. It was the very same shop that Naiz and Kiara had once gone to.

The Dark Gate there was located in one of the changing rooms. And with her special magic, Penmaster, Melissa would be able to confirm whether or not the people teleporting in had been authorized to do so by a member of the Liberators, and people wouldn’t really notice if some of the people leaving the shop had mysteriously never entered it.

However, there had been over a hundred passengers on the train, and people would definitely have noticed that many confused people leaving a store. Someone would have reported it to a member of the church.

“So the reason you returned by yourself is because Leonard and the others are stuck at the branch office? I figure Esperado’s already in an uproar about the train attack. If people saw all the passengers coming out of Melissa’s shop, the church will probably launch an inquiry against her too. Leonard and the others must really have their hands full.”

“Actually, Leonard and the others are hiding out in a safe house somewhere else for now.”

Sui gulped upon hearing that and averted her gaze, but Vandre didn’t seem to notice and he continued questioning Naiz.

“So then, why did it take you so long to... Oh, I know. You probably wanted to make doubly sure you were free of Kaime Barn’s tracking.”

“Unfortunately, only Laus has any way of knowing whether or not our souls have been marked. If Kaime marked Leonard or any of the others during the attack, they can’t return to any of the Liberator branch offices.”

After hearing about what had happened from Naiz, Leonard and the others had also realized it wasn’t safe for them to return home for now.

Sharm’s expression clouded over with worry.

Noticing the change in Sharm’s expression, Reinheit asked, “Naiz-dono, if no one’s gone after them yet, shouldn’t it be safe for them to return home?”

“No, it’s possible Kaime is letting them move about on purpose.”

“Yeah. We can’t be sure until Laus wakes up. But with how hard he pushed himself, I doubt he’ll heal immediately even with Meiru’s magic.”

“Still, his soul will recover faster if his body is in peak condition.”

Naiz and Vandre thought back to Miledi’s current condition.

“Well, either way, our top priority now is getting him back to headquarters safe and sound,” Naiz said, causing everyone but Sui to nod.

“Umm...” Sui mumbled as she raised a hand into the air, her voice uncharacteristically meek. She refused to meet anyone’s gaze, and sweat poured down her forehead. Everyone could guess that she’d messed something up.

“Spit it out, you worthless rabbit. What did you do?” Vandre asked, a menacing smile on his face. It was moments like this that you remembered he was the younger brother of the Demon Lord.

“U-Umm, well...I’d just like to confirm something first. Naiz-san, what safe house did you send Leo-san and the others to?”

“Hm? I chose the one close to the theocracy’s capital, since I figured they’d be able to keep an eye on—”

“Ah,” Reinheit interrupted as if he’d just remembered something. His expression was stiff.

“Umm, Sui-san. When you were begging for your life, you told my brothers you’d tell them the locations of the safe houses in the theocracy, didn’t you?” Sharm asked hesitantly.

Silence fell over the dining table once more. Naiz and Vandre stared at Sui with eyes devoid of all emotion.

Sui looked away, refusing to meet their gaze. Finally, she shouted, “Okay, yeah, I did, but so what?! It’s not like I had any other choice! I was trying to buy as much time as possible! If anything, it’s your fault for arriving so late!”

She refused to admit she was at fault.

“I can’t believe you...” Vandre muttered, his cheek twitching. Naiz just buried his head in his hands.

“Besides, didn’t we decide to abandon that safe house the moment we learned Laus-san was in Entris?! I didn’t think we’d end up using it again! Plus, I didn’t tell them the exact location or anything! So it’s fine! I did a good job, even! You should be praising me!”

“Please, the very moment you even implied that we had safe houses in the heart of the theocracy, they probably decided to search the capital with a fine-tooth comb. I’ve gotta let Leonard know or he’ll be in trouble.”

“Yeah, just let him know and everything will be fine! It won’t be a problem!”

All right, discussion over! I’m outta here!

Sui got to her feet and ran off to her room on the second floor.

“W-Well, it is true that without her silver tongue, we might have been killed before you arrived...” Reinheit muttered.

“H-He’s right, Naiz-san, Vandre-san! Sui-san definitely didn’t betray us...I think. I’m pretty sure she didn’t, at least...” Sharm said, losing confidence in his own defense as he spoke.

Naiz and Vandre exchanged skeptical glances.

“Oh, we don’t doubt her loyalty at all,” Naiz said.

“It’s true that that safe house was probably the right one to mention if she was trying to buy time. Looks like she’s as good at catching people off-guard as ever,” Vandre added with a shrug of his shoulders. The two of them smiled sadly at each other.

Sharm and Reinheit both let out relieved sighs when they learned Naiz and Vandre’s trust in Sui remained intact.

Afterward, Naiz went into Sui’s room, grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, and dragged her back to the common room. They then hurriedly penned a message to Leonard and sent it off via messenger bird and began discussing their next steps. By the time Kiara had returned, the party had already left for the main headquarters.

Two days later, Naiz and the others reached the city that housed the Liberators’ headquarters. Damdrak, the capital of Uldia.

It sat on the east bank of Ur Lake, the largest lake in the world, and was known as the City of Water. One might think that was because it bordered the lake, but there was a bit more to it than that. The truth was, half of the city sat on the lake itself.

Centuries ago, men had driven stakes into the relatively shallow segments of the eastern side of the lake and built houses, bridges, and roads right on top of the water. Thus, canals connected much of the city, and most people owned small boats to get around. Damdrak was also considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world thanks to that unique aspect.

Since the lake fed the rivers that watered the fertile fields of the dukedom, everyone took great care not to dirty the lake water, and despite the large number of people who lived on and around the lake, it was still clear enough that you could see the bottom. Even the theocracy admitted that Damdrak was more beautiful than their capital, which said a lot.

Naiz and the others stared at the city from the safety of a dense thicket a short distance away. Sharm let out a gasp of astonishment, and even Reinheit couldn’t keep his jaw from dropping open.

“So, uh, how long do we have to wait here?” Sui asked, seemingly unimpressed by the view.

“Someone should come to pick us up soon,” Naiz replied, prompting Sui to cock her head.

“Wait, we’re getting picked up? Hmm, I guess we’re not taking the route through the city, then.”

“The canals are too narrow for our party to safely navigate,” Naiz replied, looking over his shoulder at Kuou and Uruluk. It would be impossible to move them through the city unnoticed.

“Can’t we just leave them here and—”

“Graaaaaah!”

“Eeek, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it!” Sui exclaimed and immediately prostrated herself before the two familiars the moment they growled at her.

Vandre, who was carrying Laus on his back, looked disdainfully down at Sui and said, “Uruluk and Kuou were hurt pretty bad in that fight. I need to get them to Meiru as soon as possible, so stop your whining.”

“Okaaay,” Sui responded, tears falling down her cheeks.

Done admiring the city, Sharm and Reinheit turned to look at her.

Trying to hide his disappointment at not being able to tour the city, Sharm asked in a serious voice, “Umm, you mentioned the route through the city... Does that mean the headquarters is in the city?”

“There’s no way...” Reinheit muttered, skeptical that they could hide their main base in a city.

But before Naiz or Vandre could respond, Uruluk and Kuou looked up at the sky.

Naiz and the others looked up as well...and they spotted a mottled black and white cat looking down at them from a nearby tree branch.

“Looks like our welcome party’s here.”

“Huh? This cat’s our welcome party?”

“Oh no, he’s just my guide,” an unfamiliar voice said, which made Sharm and Reinheit reflexively raise their guard.

They then turned to Naiz and Vandre, but the two of them didn’t look worried, just surprised, which helped ease their nervousness a little.

“Hey, Tim.”

“We must really be getting the VIP treatment if the captain of the messenger corps himself is here to guide us.”

“Please don’t tease me, Naiz-san, Van-san.”

Tim Rocket walked out of the undergrowth, a messenger bag slung over his shoulder and a hunting cap on his head. As he came closer, the cat leaped out of the branches and onto his shoulder.

Reinheit got between him and Sharm just in case and asked, “Umm, who exactly are you?”

“He’s a piece of shit who makes animals do all of his work, takes it easy, and lives the high life,” Sui answered in a contemptuous voice, and the cat hissed at her before leaping onto her head.

“Hey, stop, don’t pull the fur off my ears!” Sui shouted, trying to pull the cat off her. Everyone ignored her, and Naiz introduced Sharm and Reinheit to Tim. Once the introductions were over, they started moving.

“Still, it’s rare to see you here in person,” Naiz mused. “Err, not like how Sui meant it, just...”

“It looks like things are about to come to a head, so I was called back to headquarters.”

As the captain of the messenger corps, it normally made no sense for him to be holed up in headquarters. However, he had been using his special magic, Animal Harmony, to build out a network of animal scouts throughout the city, as well as in the mountains to the north. That was how he’d known almost immediately that Naiz and the others had arrived, and why he’d gone out to collect them.

Tim led the party west with sure steps, moving slowly out of consideration for Laus.

“Umm, we’re heading away from the city, aren’t we?” Sharm asked in a timid voice.

Tim cocked his head in confusion, and Naiz briefly summarized the conversation they’d been having before he’d arrived. Nodding in understanding, he gave Naiz a questioning look, who then signaled that it was okay to explain. A gust of wind curled around his finger, indicating that he’d used wind magic to keep anyone from overhearing them.

Relieved, Tim turned to Sharm and said, “Sharm-kun, the city only houses a few checkpoints that hide some of the routes into our headquarters.”

“So it’s a front?”

“Yes. In order to reach our headquarters, you need to contact one of our supporters. Most of them are living normal lives in the city, so it’s impossible for an outsider to figure out who they are.”

Said supporters worked all sorts of different jobs in various sectors of the city. Some were tour guides, others owned stores, and so on. Every day, headquarters gave all of them a different code and a specialized mark. The codes changed constantly, of course, and whenever a Liberator contacted one of them to go to headquarters, they had to give the correct code and present the correct mark. Once that was done, they were brought to an interim location. There, the Liberator would undergo a second inspection, and if they cleared that, a runner was sent to headquarters for final confirmation. It was only after that was given that the path to headquarters would open for them.

“Right now, we’re going to one of those interim locations. The interim locations outside the city change each day, and normally, there would be even more inspections you’d have to go through, but...”

Since Naiz and Vandre were vouching for Reinheit and the others, they were able to skip some of the procedures.

“Y-You guys are really strict about security.”

“Yeah, but it makes things really inconvenient. The Pale Forest made for a much nicer base, since Her Majesty Lyutillis could just use the fog to keep outsiders at bay and all,” Sui said nonchalantly, and nobody was able to offer a rebuttal.

Indeed, the Liberators had traveled the world, but they’d never seen a fortress as secure as the Pale Forest. However, the church had almost broken through even that, so they were taking as many precautions as they could.

Vandre glared at Sui to prevent her from derailing the conversation, then added, “Headquarters’s defenses are as good as you can get. For starters, it’s almost impossible to find. But even if you did figure out the location, you’d need an apostle’s strength to reach it without an invitation.”

“It’s that fortified?” Reinheit muttered, gulping. Sharm looked nervous as well.

Just then, Tim came to a halt. This section of the forest didn’t look any different than the rest. There were no landmarks or strange symbols etched into the ground or anything. In fact, it looked almost identical to the place they’d started in, except that it was much closer to the lake. If they took a few more steps, they’d be in the water.

Tim bent down and started shaking a nearby branch in a very specific way. After a few seconds—

“Yo, you guys took forever,” a voice said directly in everyone’s heads. Reinheit and Sharm looked around wildly.

“No need to worry, boy. I’m your inspector.”

There was a ripple on the lake surface, and the owner of the voice popped his head out of the water. Sharm and Reinheit pushed aside some branches to get a better look at him and—

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! An old man’s being eaten by a fiiiiiiiiish!” Sharm shouted.

“I-Is this some new species of monster?!” Reinheit exclaimed.

“Well, it is a pretty novel sight,” Naiz replied with a wry grin. He and Vandre had had a similar experience when they’d first met this creature. After all, it wasn’t every day you saw a fish with the face of an old man. Sharm couldn’t be blamed for thinking some carnivorous fish was eating an old man instead. That was just how nonsensical the creature’s appearance was.

Reinheit clutched the hilt of his sword, and Naiz hurriedly held out a hand to stop him from drawing it.

“Calm down, he really is our inspector.”

“He’s not even human!”

“What in the world is that creature?!”

Of course Sharm and Reinheit knew the Liberators were an organization that transcended species, but they still hadn’t expected to run into a fish with a man’s face.

Seeing their confusion, Vandre explained, “Back when the dukedom was still a kingdom and the people worshipped local spirits instead of the church’s god, this guy was considered a god. People believed his kind was the only spirits mortals could see, and that they were direct descendants of the great lake spirit.”

“What the hell did they think spirits normally looked like?!”

“They thought this guy was some great spirit of the lake?”

Unfortunately, Vandre’s explanation only confused them more.

“Hey, you two,” the man-fish said, his deep, pleasing baritone voice commanding Sharm and Reinheit’s attention. They shivered, wondering if they’d angered this great spirit.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff and just take life as it comes,” he said in a calm voice, and Sharm and Reinheit both breathed sighs of relief.

“Am I a man, a spirit, or a monster? Hah, who cares about that crap? What’s the point in quibbling over petty definitions?”

“U-Umm...” Sharm muttered.

“What kind of life have you lived? How will you live your life from here on out? That’s what really matters, isn’t it? Long as you know the answers to those questions, what manner of being you are doesn’t matter one bit.”

Even though they were talking to a weird fish with an old man’s face, Sharm and Reinheit both straightened their backs. They couldn’t help but be moved by the creature’s speech.

“As for me, I’m just some old man who’s taking a shine to these young folk who want to fight against the way of the world.”

He’s so coooooooool! Sharm and Reinheit thought simultaneously.

“Now then, enough small talk. I’ve got an inspection to complete.”

Dark red mana swirled around the man-fish. It was the same color of mana that all monsters had, and Sharm and Reinheit flinched.

“Don’t worry,” Naiz said. “As Van explained, he’s an inspector. He’s just going to read your thoughts to make sure you don’t hold any ill will toward the Liberators, and that you haven’t been brainwashed by anyone.”

“H-He can read people’s minds?!” Reinheit asked, aghast, and Vandre nodded.

“Just your surface-level thoughts though, apparently. All Seamen can use the special magic Telepathy, and this is apparently one application of it. Though I’ve heard only older Seamen have this power.”

“Seamen?”

“That’s the name of their species. This guy’s name is Lonely Wolf. Everyone just calls him Loman, though.”

“Vandre-dono, am I supposed to be taking this seriously?”

“It’s fine, I know exactly how you’re feeling. I was like that at first too.”

“I recommend not thinking too hard about it. Just pretend that he’s a regular old man who likes to lecture people about crap,” Sui said, and for once Reinheit took her advice.

He’s a spirit of the lake, and the Liberators are all crazy. Works for me.

And with that, Reinheit gave up on thinking about anything. Incidentally, when Sui had first visited the headquarters, Loman had read her thoughts and lectured her on her selfishness and jealous nature.

“All right, you guys are clean. I already contacted headquarters too, Naiz. You can go in whenever you want. It’s three hundred meters northwest and ten meters down. Can you make the jump?”

“Yeah, that’s enough information.”

“Normally, people gotta swim to get in. You guys got it nice. I’ll tell my family to keep an eye out just in case, though.”

“In that case, it’ll be fine even if I teleport everyone into the water. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Loman gave Naiz a friendly smile, then disappeared under the water.

“Naiz-dono, are you taking us underwater?”

Naiz grinned and nodded.

“Why underwater? Are we going into the city from the lake?” Sharm asked, and Naiz chose that moment to drop the bomb.

“The Liberators’ headquarters is...underwater.”

Sharm and Reinheit didn’t even have time to gasp. Naiz teleported them immediately after saying that...and a second later, the group was underwater. Or rather, they were in a sparkling tunnel under the water.

“Is this...a barrier?” Reinheit whispered.

“Reinheit, look! Over there!”

The tunnel was wide enough that Uruluk and Kuou could sit comfortably within it. While Reinheit was examining the glimmering barrier that kept the water out, Sharm tugged on his sleeve and pointed in the distance.

Reinheit looked down in the direction Sharm was pointing and—

“What...? Is that a ship?! Actually, with that shape, I guess it’s a submarine. But still, that thing’s huge!”

Indeed, the tunnel led to a massive ship. The tunnel was about two hundred meters in length, but even from that distance, the ship looked huge. At a rough estimate, it was about three hundred meters long. However, the main thing separating the ship from normal ones was the five-story high palace situated on the main deck. Unlike the tunnel the group was in, the palace and the ship weren’t encased by a glowing barrier, but there was still something keeping the surrounding water out.

“That’s the Liberators’ main headquarters, the underwater submarine palace Lac Elain,” Naiz explained to the dumbfounded group.

Guess that explains why the church never found it... Reinheit thought to himself.

Locating a mobile underwater base would be pretty hard, especially considering the size of Ur Lake. The lake was around a hundred kilometers in diameter, and about three hundred meters deep on average. The center was far deeper, and though six hundred meters was the deepest official dive on record, the bottom was even deeper than that.

Unless someone was explicitly invited to the Liberators’ headquarters, they’d never be able to make their way to it.

“All right, enough gawking. Let’s get a move on,” Sui said in a bored voice, leading the party down the tunnel. Her shoulders were still in a lot of pain and she wanted Meiru to heal them as soon as possible.

“Hm? Isn’t that—? Gulp.”

“What’s wrong, Reinheit? Did—? Gulp.”

As Reinheit started following Sui, he suddenly stopped and stiffened up.

Off in the distance, he could see an entire school of man and woman-faced fish. He instinctively looked away, but he saw enough to notice there were tons of aquatic creatures, including some monsters, swimming together with the school of Seamen.

“Seamen have the power to control other aquatic creatures. It’s one of the reasons the locals worshipped them as gods. They’re part of the headquarters’s defense force.”

“It does look like they’re quite skilled...”

“D-Does the church not know about the Seamen?”

“When Uldia became a vassal state of the theocracy, the church sent a team to investigate the spirits the locals had been worshipping, but the Seamen had a school of fish distract the investigators while they escaped through an underground current.”

“Wow, they’re really versatile!”

“This world is filled with so many mysteries...”

The group made their way to the submarine as they discussed the nature of the mystical Seamen.

The tunnel was connected to the bow of the sub, and as they got closer, they realized that the bubble of air around the submarine and palace was spindle shaped. It was like the entire structure was floating in a bulging disc of air anchored underwater...which, of course, meant the ship was capable of aerial flight as well as underwater travel.

There were several entrances on the sides of the ship, and people went in and out regularly.

Still in awe, the party touched down on the main deck. And the moment they did, the tunnel they’d been traveling through disappeared. Loman swam past and waved at everyone with his gills, then went off into the lake.

“This way,” Naiz said, leading everyone to one of the doors leading below deck. It opened with a heavy groan, and the awestruck party followed him inside.

“Ah...”

“Whoa...”

They were in the ship’s hold, and the massive space was filled with all sorts of goods. Two rows of people extended out from either side of the double doors. At the end of the corridor of bodies was a group of four people. Miledi, Oscar, Meiru, and Lyutillis.

Miledi was still wearing a maid outfit, though it was one of a slightly different design than last time. Oscar had a vast collection of subtly different maid uniforms. Vandre stared at him with undisguised contempt, and Oscar opened his mouth to defend himself.

However, before he could say anything, Reinheit muttered, “B-Beautiful...”

“Reinheit?!” Sharm shouted, looking as shocked as everyone else. Reinheit was staring straight at Miledi, staggering backward as if overwhelmed by her beauty. It was clearly love at first sight.

Oscar’s glasses glinted with a dangerous light, and Meiru and Lyutillis grinned at each other.

“Ahem!” an old man standing behind Miledi cleared his throat with a loud cough, bringing everyone’s attention to him. He had his long white hair tied back in a ponytail, and was wearing a black priest’s robe embroidered in gold. He glared at Reinheit, looking more like a battle-hardened warrior than an old man. In fact, there was so much force in his glare that even Oscar averted his gaze. Returning to his senses, Reinheit blushed and straightened his back.

Meiru and Lyutillis were still grinning, but the old man ignored them and said in a dignified voice, “Welcome to the Liberators’ headquarters.”

The Liberators had really rolled out the red carpet for Laus and his party, it seemed. Probably because he was the last ancient magic user they’d been looking for.

Miledi was hopping from one foot to the other in her excitement.

“Now then, Laus Barn-dono is...where, exactly?” the old man asked, confused. It was at that point that everyone else also noticed Laus wasn’t standing with Naiz and the others.

Everyone thought the tattered lump lying on Uruluk’s back was a bag or something, not realizing he was the man they’d all been waiting for. Sui walked over to Laus and pulled his hood back, revealing the bruised and battered former captain of the Holy Templar Knights. He didn’t so much as twitch when Sui touched him. At a glance, it even looked like he might be dead.

“What?!” Oscar, Miledi, Meiru, and Lyutillis yelled, running over to Laus.

“A-Ahhh,” Miledi wailed, lightly slapping Laus’s bald head.

“Calm down, Miledi. He’s just in the same state you were. He overtaxed himself and is sleeping off the exhaustion,” Vandre explained with a smile, and Miledi gave him a searching look.

“Really?”

“Really. So yeah, stop smacking his head. He clearly doesn’t like it, judging by the way he’s moaning.”

Of course, the reason Laus didn’t like it was because even in his unconscious state, it brought back memories of the time Miledi had made fun of his baldness. Regardless, he was, if not okay, at least alive and safe.

Miledi stepped back, relieved. The other Liberators looked visibly relieved as well. They started crowding around Reinheit and Sharm, pelting the two with questions.

“Is he really okay?!”

“What happened to you guys?!”

“Holy crap, his left arm is missing!”

“My, you’re such a cute boy!”

Sharm shrunk back, scared by the older ladies who seemed to have an inordinate amount of interest in him, while Reinheit tried to politely deflect their inquiries.

“All right, out of the way, you guys. I need to take care of our new patient!” Meiru exclaimed, parting the crowd.

“Meiru-nee-san. I’m suuuuuuper tired. Can’t you give me some restoration magic too?”

“Hey! You can’t talk to Onee-sama like that, Sui. It’s—”

“Save it for later, Your Majesty. I don’t have the energy to deal with you right now.”

“Is it just me or are you treating me with even less respect than usual?!”

“You can fantasize about that somewhere else, Lyu. Get out of my way so I can work.”

The moment Meiru said that, the crowd picked Lyutillis up and began passing her along, away from Laus.

“Stop! I command you, stop this instant!” Lyutillis shouted, but she sounded so happy no one actually believed she wanted them to stop. She hadn’t even tried to hide her masochism at the Liberators’ headquarters, so everyone present already knew she was a massive pervert.

At this point, they didn’t even try to pretend to treat her with respect. However, they were all quite fond of her. But if the beastmen ever found out their beloved queen was treated like a pet, they’d weep.

“I’m impressed you’re selfish enough to ask for healing first when there’s someone who clearly needs it more. Don’t worry, though, I’ll get all of you at once,” Meiru said, getting ready to cast restoration magic. But before she could start, Naiz interrupted her.

“Meiru, don’t regenerate Laus’s arm.”

“Huh? But it’s not like it’ll take me any extra time to fix it or anything.”

“I know. But...he’s the one who wants to keep it that way.”

Laus had told Naiz that just before passing out.

“In his words, ‘I lack strength. I want Oscar Orcus to craft me a replacement for my missing left arm.’”

At that, the room went silent. Everyone turned to look at Laus. Next to him, Sharm grit his teeth in frustration.

Despite the sorry state he was in, despite the fact that half of his family had turned against him, it was clear to everyone that Laus’s will remained unbroken. He was prepared to turn even his own weakness into strength to get his family back from Ehit’s clutches.

“I’ll craft the perfect arm for him. In fact, I’ll make it stronger than any weapon I’ve ever made,” Oscar stated without hesitation, nodding resolutely.

“Umm...thank you,” Sharm muttered.

“We’re counting on you, Oscar-dono,” Reinheit added with a low bow.

Meiru finished casting restoration magic on everyone, and eventually, the group dispersed. Laus was carted off to a hospital bed, while Naiz and Vandre went into a separate room to catch Miledi and the others up to speed.

“Now then, I suppose some introductions are in order. This meeting will go much smoother if we know each other’s names, I imagine.”

The group sat on leather sofas surrounding an antique table, while a small fire crackled in the fireplace—much to Sharm and Reinheit’s surprise, since this room was in a ship that was underwater.

Aside from Miledi and her friends, the two of them, the old man with the white ponytail and sharp glare who’d just spoken, and a young woman sitting next to him, were the only ones in the room. There was a space prepared for Sui as well, but she’d escaped at the first chance she’d gotten.

“My name is Salus. Salus Gaistrih. As you can see, I’m a strapping young lad of eighty-eight.”

Reinheit and Sharm tried their best to not visibly cringe at the awful joke. A second later there was a loud bang, and the two of them leaped to their feet, exclaiming, “What the—?!”

“Commander, didn’t you promise to limit yourself to one joke a day? You aren’t going senile, are you?” the woman sitting to the left of Salus said, her hand raised over the back of the old man’s head. She’d hit him with enough force to kill a normal man, and indeed, Salus was sprawled out over the table, seemingly unconscious.

The woman left him there and explained, “My apologies. Despite his antiquated antics, he is the de facto commander of the Liberators. And this girl here in the maid outfit is Miledi Reisen, our true leader. Unfortunately, right now her emotions and expressions are more muted than usual.”

“Ah, I see.”

“W-Will she be okay?”

“Once Laus-dono wakes up, she will be. I’ll explain what happened to her later; it’s a long story.”

The lady went on to introduce Oscar and the others, her voice perfectly level the entire time. Her slit-like eyes pierced Reinheit and Sharm, as if seeing through them. Her dark blonde hair was in a tidy bob cut, and her blouse and skirt had not a single wrinkle on them. She wore black gloves and black stockings, leaving nothing below her neck exposed. But what made Sharm and Reinheit uncomfortable wasn’t her intimidating aura or piercing glare, but the single fox ear on her head.

“Lastly, I am Cloris Gaistrih, aide to the commander and leader of headquarters’s third combat division. As you might have guessed from my last name, I’m this old geezer’s adopted daughter.”

Cloris went on to explain that her primary duties were guarding Salus and the headquarters. She finished off by saying, “To spare you the awkwardness of asking, I’ll tell you now that I lost my other ear to the church. A Templar Knight cut it off. Thanks to that worthless, shitty god of theirs, I went through quite a painful experience.”

“O-Oh,” Sharm said awkwardly, averting his gaze.

Reinheit quietly muttered, “I-I’m sorry...”

“No need to apologize. You’ve already turned your backs on God, haven’t you? In that case, I hold no grudge against you.”

Her voice was as level as ever, but that was exactly what scared Reinheit and Sharm. They couldn’t tell if she really didn’t mind, or if she secretly hated them.

Miledi turned to Cloris and mumbled, “Clo-chan, don’t bully them too much, okay?”

Reinheit looked up at her and muttered, “My goddess...” in a small voice.

“She’s nothing like how you described her, father...” Sharm whispered, moved by her kindness.

“If you say so, Mi-chan,” Cloris replied, looking down. It was clear from the way they addressed each other that the two women were rather close. Reinheit also found it cute how Cloris’s single ear drooped when Miledi scolded her.

“No, bully them more! That man is trying to make a move on my cute, precious Miledi!” Salus shouted, lifting himself off the table.

“I-I am not—”

“Silence, whelp! First we had that four-eyes with his fake gentleman persona and now you! Why are there so many disgusting pests hovering around my pure Miledi?”

Oscar looked away, which surprised Reinheit. Naiz and Vandre just sighed, while Meiru and Lyutillis grinned.

“I’ve still got enough strength left in these old bones to destroy anyone who dares defile— Gyaaah!”

“Shut up, Uncle Sal,” Miledi muttered angrily, using gravity magic to smack him against the table. This wasn’t the first or even the hundredth time Salus had felt the hard wooden table’s unyielding caress.

The young girl he doted on like his own granddaughter had spent almost all her time with Oscar, the man he—mistakenly or not—believed to be a womanizer who put on gentlemanly airs just to seduce girls. It was only natural that he’d take umbrage with Oscar’s existence, but then, it was only natural that Miledi wouldn’t like that either. And recently, Miledi’s “warnings” had been growing a lot more violent. It was only a matter of time before she accidentally killed him. Though, it didn’t seem like any of the other Liberators cared if she did.

“U-Umm, Miledi-san! I swear on my honor that I wasn’t—”

“Reinheit, please be quiet. You’ll only make things worse.”

“Sharm-sama?! I-I’m sorry...”

Reinheit tried to defend himself, but to his utter shock, Sharm was the one who reprimanded him.

“Oh my. Looks like you’ve got a rival in love, Oscar-kun,” Meiru teased.

“Isn’t this exciting, Onee-sama?! I can’t wait to see which of these young men manages to win Miledi-tan’s heart!”

“Meiru, Lyu, please stop teasing me, I really don’t like it,” Oscar said with an exasperated sigh. He then turned and saw Miledi staring intently at him, but she quickly turned to Reinheit, then back to Oscar.

“I see,” she muttered as she looked at Reinheit.

“M-Miledi?”

“Are you trying to make a move on me too, O-kun?”

“I’m not!”

“...”

“Hey, wait, don’t get depressed about that!”

“Ahem. Oscar-dono, I realize this is a rather intrusive question, but what kind of relationship do you have with Miledi-san, exactly?”

“Reinheit, please regain your senses!” Sharm’s pleas grew more desperate as he watched the knight he respected so much make a fool of himself over love at first sight.

“Haaah, everything is falling apart already. I should have skipped out on the meeting like Sui did...” Van muttered.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Van. You can’t just leave me to deal with these guys alone,” Naiz said.

Unsurprisingly, everyone had long since forgotten the original purpose of this meeting.

Incidentally, Salus and Cloris hadn’t derailed the conversation out of spite. The Esperado branch had sent over a message telling everyone at headquarters that a Templar Knight was traveling with Laus, so people had had time to come to terms with that already. However, they were still hesitant to trust any knight other than Laus Barn without at least speaking to them first.

Reinheit had been allowed into headquarters because Naiz had vouched for him and Loman had confirmed that he held no ill will toward the Liberators, but people were still uncertain of his motives. It was entirely possible Reinheit was a highly skilled assassin who’d bypassed all the checks the Liberators had put in place.

In order to make sure that he wasn’t, Cloris had purposely insulted his god and Salus had poked fun at him to see what kind of reaction they’d get.

Was Reinheit truly their ally or not? It was hard for them to believe an average Templar Knight would be willing to betray the church, considering how thorough the church’s brainwashing was. Fortunately, Sharm was here to vouch for Reinheit.

“Umm, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Sharm, Laus Barn’s youngest son. And this is the Barn mansion’s guard, Reinheit Ashe. He’s this generation’s hero.”

“Oho...” Salus muttered, his gaze suddenly turning sharp.

Oscar and the others turned to Reinheit as well.

“I see. May I see the sword at your waist?” Salus asked.

“Of course,” Reinheit said, drawing the blade, which glittered in the lamplight.

A second later, Lyutillis grabbed Oscar’s arm and exclaimed, “O-chan-san, look at this!”

Her Guardian Rod was oscillating and emitting a pale, white light. Judging by how surprised she looked, she wasn’t making it do that.

“Are the two artifacts...resonating with each other?” Oscar muttered, looking between the sword and the wand.

“Commander, isn’t this...?”

“Yes, there’s no doubt about it.”

“Do you understand now? There’s no need to doubt Reinheit’s loyalties!” Sharm said emphatically, which was more than enough to convince everyone present that the boy trusted him completely.

However, Sharm’s trust wasn’t enough. The look in Salus’s eyes made that clear.

Unlike Leonard, he wasn’t convinced with just that. He looked appraisingly over Reinheit, then said in a cold voice, “History has shown that the hero has always been pure of heart. But that does not mean they have always fought alongside those who resist the will of this world.”

“Huh?”

“Heroes are mortal, just like everyone else, meaning they fight the people whose beliefs contradict their own. There is no such thing as a hero who’s on everyone’s side. You may be a hero, but that does not automatically make you our ally.”

“But...” Sharm trailed off. Salus’s logic was sound, so he couldn’t think of a convincing counterargument. He grit his teeth, his shoulders trembling.

Seeing Sharm’s struggle, Reinheit smiled. No virtuous knight could remain unmoved when seeing a child fight on their behalf. Ready to undergo any trial to prove his trustworthiness, Reinheit stared resolutely at Salus. But before he could say anything, Miledi cut in.

“Stop being naughty, Uncle Salus.”

“Mmmmmmmmmgh?! Miledi, are you trying to kill me?” Salus shouted as she once again pressed down on him with gravity magic.

“Laus Barn trusts him. That should be enough for us.”

After all, Miledi trusted Laus.

Seeing how decisively she said that, Reinheit understood for the first time why she was the leader of the Liberators. She had a strength to her that the others didn’t.

“Well, we trust you, Miledi, so if you say that’s good enough, then that’s good enough,” Oscar replied with a smile, and Naiz and the others nodded. Even Cloris smiled for the first time that Reinheit could recall.

“Come on, it’s not fair to make me look like the bad guy. Don’t be mean to your elders,” Salus said.

“Don’t worry, I know you’re just doing your job,” Miledi said reassuringly.

The Seamen’s ability to detect animosity was unparalleled. Though they could only pick up surface-level thoughts, they had a sixth sense that alerted them to malice, even malice that had been temporarily removed through magic or hypnotism. However, their senses weren’t perfect. After all, there were people capable of hurting others without any animosity or ill will, emotionless dolls like apostles or psychopaths to whom violence was as natural as breathing.

Though it was unlikely the Holy Sword would ever choose a psychopath as its wielder, there was always a chance. Plus, to Salus and many others, it felt too good to be true that the final ancient magic user just happened to bring the hero along with him. You could call it fate, but Salus hadn’t lived this long by believing in fate.

“Miledi...I’m so happy... Actually, wait...if you knew all along, why did you crush me against the table?”

“Tee hee...”

“Ngh, how cruel! But you’re cute, so I forgive you! For cuteness is everything!”

Sharm relaxed, glad that Reinheit had been accepted. He let out a long sigh and looked up at his most trusted knight.

Reinheit blushed while muttering, “She really is cute enough to forgive anything...”

I guess love can really change someone... That realization brought Sharm one step closer to adulthood.

“Anyway, let’s get back on topic. Since Naiz and Van are back, I assume everything’s fine, but I still want to know why Leonard’s group isn’t with them,” Oscar said, turning to Sharm. He took great care not to meet Meiru’s or Lyutillis’s gazes. Not humoring their teasing was the best way to make it stop, or so he’d learned. He also ignored Salus’s glare, Miledi’s intense stare, and Reinheit’s look of frustration, since meeting any of their gazes would have been bad as well.

“Yes, let’s. There’s a lot to talk about,” Sharm replied, picking up on Oscar’s intention. He very well may have been the most mature person in the room at that point.

The information exchange happened mostly through Oscar and Sharm, with Naiz and Vandre chiming in to clarify a few things. Though the events of the past few days had been unbelievable from Sharm’s perspective, Oscar and the others didn’t seem too surprised. Not even the fact that the apostle was still alive fazed them. They’d been fully prepared to fight her again if she was immortal, or more of her if there were more. If anything, it was what happened to Kaime and Selm that elicited the harshest reaction. They looked enraged when they learned Ehit was trying to make father and son fight each other to the death.

In order to calm them down, Salus said, “Regardless, our top priority right now is healing Laus-dono.”

It was only after Laus was healed that he could heal Miledi. And without their leader at full strength, the Liberators couldn’t make a move. Or so Salus thought, anyway.

“There is something we can do,” Miledi stated, her voice arresting everyone’s attention. “Something we should do.”

Her voice had the same fleeting quality it had since she’d woken up, but everyone still sat up straighter, waiting for her next words. Their reactions surprised Sharm and Reinheit.

“But, Leader, how exactly should we do this?” he asked. Though he’d been joking around with Miledi earlier, he addressed her with her proper title now, in a voice full of respect.

“Tell everyone that the time has come.”

Those were the words that would summon every like-minded individual to Miledi’s side. At long last, the Liberators would emerge from the shadows and bare their fangs at the world.

“Heh... Now that gets the blood boiling,” Salus said with a feral grin.

“I’ll make final adjustments to Operation Revolution Tolls and put it into motion as soon as possible,” Cloris said, her grin almost a perfect match to Salus’s. In that moment, it was hard to believe they weren’t blood-related.

Miledi turned to Sharm, and the young boy saw himself reflected in those sky-blue eyes.

“We’ll grant your wish.”

“Th-Thank you very much.”

“You have our thanks, Miledi-san.”

Sharm just wanted to live peacefully with his family. It was a very ordinary wish, but one that was extremely difficult to achieve. However, Miledi had agreed to help grant it without hesitation, and Sharm and Reinheit teared up. Her aid would be invaluable in retrieving Kaime and Selm.

Finally, Miledi looked over Oscar and her other friends. With utter conviction, she said, “Let’s grow stronger, together.”

Oscar and the others grinned, confidence welling up within them.

“Of course. You won’t have to fight alone anymore,” Oscar said.

“You’ve already proven that the leader of the Liberators can take down an Apostle of God, which means the rest are our prey. Heh heh hee,” Meiru said.

“My, your sadism is inspirational!” Lyutillis said with a tiny moan.

“Hmph. I don’t know how many apostles are left, but I won’t let you one-up me again,” Vandre said.

“Yeah. There’s still time before everyone gathers. We’ll reach the same heights as Miledi before they do, you can count on it,” Naiz said.

The air shimmered as if heated by everyone’s determination. For a time, everyone had been lost and uncertain of what to do, but now their path was clear. They’d found their guiding light once more.

This was the power of Miledi Reisen, the leader of those who defied God. She burned like a blazing sun, and at long last, Sharm and Reinheit understood how Laus had been converted by her.

Miledi truly possessed the power to change even the world’s most stubborn man.

“We’ll help too! Actually, that’s not quite right. Please let us join the Liberators! We’ll fight by your side as comrades!”

“I feel the same way as Sharm-sama. I’ve already dedicated my life and my sword to Laus-sama and Sharm-sama, but thanks to a strange twist of fate, it would appear I’m this generation’s hero. In which case, I should do everything I can to help change the world.”

“Okay. We’ll carve out a new future together,” Miledi stated with a nod.

No one knew just how many apostles there were. They didn’t know how strong the Paladins were either, or how many people had been “demi-apostleified” or had clones of the Seven Sacred Treasures. Still, they weren’t worried in the slightest.

They weren’t making light of the problems they faced, but their determination was unflappable. It was the kind of determination only humans—only “people”—could have, the kind of determination that didn’t waver even in the face of death.

“A future where people can live freely,” Miledi said, wrapping up her speech.

Everyone cheered, their voices echoing loudly throughout the ship.