Trial Record: Dotta Luzulas

A faint stir rippled through the crowd the moment Dotta Luzulas appeared in court. The confessor and the judiciary committee on the other side of the thin veil were clearly taken aback. Whatever, thought Dotta. This was just a place to shame him publicly while proving to the world that he was an idiot.

It does…kind of bother me, though.

He unconsciously rubbed at the stub where his left arm used to be. The only thing that remained from the elbow down was the phantom pain that came with its loss. Right now, there was a dragon by his side, which only made it hurt worse. The dragon was a massive lizard-like creature with beautifully vivid green scales, wings, and four legs equipped with powerful claws. It looked no bigger than a horse while crouching, but if it were to stand up on its hind legs, it would be at least three times as tall as Dotta.

His mistake had been to believe the rumor that green dragons were more kindhearted than red ones. He’d learned his lesson. There was no such thing as a gentle dragon.

I messed up.

He was filled with regret. Not because he’d committed a crime. No, it was the poor execution and motive that bothered him. I wasn’tstealing for myself. That’s why I failed. Why am I like this? All these thoughts swam through his mind, and they all led to one conclusion.

He had a fatal lack of patience.

That was the core trait that had determined his whole life.

The problem was that his skills as a thief were extraordinary. Nobody could catch Dotta. Technically, he had been caught three times in the past, but he always managed to escape… Until now, that is. His luck had finally run out when he was captured a fourth time and locked away in a cell in the castle.

“Defendant Dotta Luzulas,” the confessor announced solemnly. “You have been accused of over a thousand crimes.”

That’s all? thought Dotta. He’d stolen a lot more things than that.

“But you are only being charged with one of those today. After being arrested for multiple counts of theft, you escaped from your cell.” The confessor paused for a moment before continuing. “And you stole that dragon from the stables.”

Dotta was caught completely off guard by the accusation.

…What?

This was bizarre. Something didn’t add up. Something important was missing. Dotta sat, chained to his chair, and cocked his head in confusion. The dragon was here—that was one piece of evidence. But the other key figure was nowhere to be found—the real evidence, what he’d really wanted to steal, was missing. The dragon was just a means of escape. So where was he?

“Defendant Dotta Luzulas, explain to me and the committee how you broke out of your cell.”

“Oh, I…”

It was simple, really. Dotta had already been in possession of the key to his cell long before he was thrown into the castle prison. At the time, he hadn’t had a real reason for stealing it. He figured he could, so he did. That was all there was to it. Dotta, however, was far more concerned with something else right now.

“Wait… Uh… B-before that…” Even he could tell that his voice was cracking. “Where’s the child?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t he the reason I’m here?”

Dotta spoke as loudly as he could. That was supposed to be the crime he’d been arrested for. His one and only failure. As far as Dotta was concerned, failure wasn’t determined by method or result. The problem was his motive. Stealing should be done without much thought, for much stupider reasons. That was why he had failed.

“The crown prince!”

A stir swept the judiciary committee, giving Dotta a small sense of satisfaction, though it didn’t mean anything.

“He asked me to save him! I’m telling the truth. The crown prince has been locked up in the castle and—”

“Defendant Dotta Luzulas, that is enough. All you need to do is answer the question.” The confessor’s dignified voice drowned out Dotta’s. “And refrain from talking nonsense. The crown prince never said such a thing to you, and he never tried to run away.”

“What?”

There was no way the confessor was telling the truth. Dotta most certainly ran into the crown prince while trying to escape from the castle.

From what Dotta had seen, the first prince of the Federated Kingdom had appeared to be around ten years old, and his eyes had been trembling with fear. It was probably the first time Dotta had ever seen someone more afraid than he was. The prince told him he had run away and that he wanted Dotta to save him. He was desperate. He was truly afraid of something, and he was going to do whatever it took to get away. He was even willing to ask an escaped prisoner for help—that was how desperate he was. Deciding to help the kid, however, was where Dotta had messed up.

I’m such a softy.

Although he was often misunderstood, Dotta believed that even he had a conscience. There just weren’t a lot of people who could draw it out of him. Specifically, he had a soft spot for anyone weaker than he was. Those were the kind of people he would consider helping. He had no desire to do anything for the strong and powerful. The problem was that there were few people in the world weaker than Dotta. The prince had met that key requirement, if only barely.

My motive was impure, he thought. It was a result of my own weakness.

But…being told it didn’t happen really pisses me off. The prince needed help. It didn’t have to be me who saved him, but someone had to do it.

He was being ridiculous. How would saying any of this help? His rational side was telling him to keep quiet, that it was pointless to argue. But Dotta had never once let his rational side win, and this time would be no different.

“I…I’m telling the truth,” he claimed, his voice hoarse. “It really happened. The prince said that there was something wrong with the royal family, and that he was living as a prisoner.”

Dotta tried to stand up from his chair, but was immediately reminded of the chains holding him down.

“He said the king started acting weird a long time ago, and that surely the chancellor—”

“Silence, Dotta Luzulas.”

“No! There’s something really wrong going on! The royal family—!”

“Silence.”

“B-b-but the prince was even willing to ask a guy like me for help! Can you believe that? Normally, someone like him would never come to a petty thief like m-me for help, especially when I’d just escaped from p-prison. I—”

All of a sudden, a guard covered Dotta’s mouth from behind. A gag was pressed to his face.

“I-it doesn’t have to be me! Send anyone! Just save the prince! Th-this is insane!”

But his words were muffled as the gag was stuffed into his mouth. The judiciary committee seemed taken aback, but once the confessor rang the bell in his hand, the room fell silent.

“It appears the trial cannot go on,” he said.

Not a soul objected. That meant all of this had already been decided.

“The prosecutors are demanding the death penalty… However…”

The confessor seemed to hesitate. It was hard to see his face on the other side of the veil, but he appeared puzzled. He kept looking back at a scrap of paper in his hand.

“Confessor.”

One of the members of the judiciary committee suddenly spoke. His voice was calm but carried strangely well.

“I believe the death penalty is reasonable. We cannot reduce his sentence, no matter what the circumstances may be.”

“…Yes. But in the case of this defendant…I must impose an even harsher sentence.”

“By whose orders?”

“This proposal was sent by the Central Noble Alliance and signed with the king’s seal.”

Dotta had no idea what was going on. All he could figure out was that he was to meet with a fate worse than death. All he could think about was how badly he had failed—it was almost physically painful. If only he could be given a second chance, he would surely manage to steal the prince as well. He’d have to be more casual, more detached. He couldn’t let his excitement or his nerves get the better of him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have the patience.

Dammit! That’s right—I’m upset because I failed.

He needed to do this for himself, not for the prince. No matter what happened, even if the prince refused to go, even if he died and Dotta had to take his corpse, he was going to steal the prince and get him out of that castle. It was all Dotta could think about.

“Dotta Luzulas, for the crime of trying to steal a dragon belonging to the royal family, in addition to the other thousand counts of theft and your fallacious slander directed at the royal family, I hereby sentence you to a fate far worse than death,” declared the confessor.

“I hereby sentence you to be a hero.”

Punishment: Sham Vacation at the Port City of Ioff, Part 1

I needed two full days to recover from the injuries I sustained during the battle at Mureed Fortress, but it gave me a lot of time to read. It was the first time I had gotten to relax in what felt like forever.

Altoyard Comette’s poems were truly something. Despite him being hopelessly inebriated, the way he chose his words was always so graceful, and at times stirring. He was a master in the expressions and wordplay of the ancient kingdom.

Of course, things weren’t always quiet while I was healing. Teoritta, for starters, brought a zigg board over twice. I could tell she really wanted to play, but she gave up once she realized I didn’t even have the strength to sit.

“I suppose we will have to play some other time, my knight,” she said, shaking her head with clear disappointment. “It is quite a shame, though. I figured you would be bored out of your mind, so I brought the game and pieces all the way here.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Hurry up and heal your body.”

With that single merciful order, she settled down and spent most of the day reading by my side. She had a book of poems she must have borrowed from the military’s recreation room. Perhaps she was simply copying me. Did she even understand the contents? I caught her frequently dozing off.

Teoritta seemed to be staying at the same hospital as me for protection…which meant that at least a few other members of my unit were likely here as well. Dotta, Tsav, and Jayce, the last of whom had been ordered back from the western front, each paid me a visit while I was awake.

Jayce Partiract was a dragon knight, and his job was exactly how it sounded. There were only about three hundred dragon knights in the Federated Kingdom, each operating as an independent unit. Their dragons were massive, winged, lizard-like creatures that could breathe fire. They fought bravely against the enemy, and were said to be just as intelligent as a horse, if not even smarter. For those reasons, dragons were raised by the military from a young age to be ridden in battle. As far back as you could imagine, people had been using animals other than horses in battle. From elephants to camels and cockatrices, man had tried them all before settling on the ultimate beast: the dragon.

“Heard you did some damage to the Blight, Xylo,” said Jayce with a cold glare the instant he walked into the room. He stood out with his heavy winter clothing and bright blue scarf. Teoritta, book in hand, stared at him in surprise.

“Oh… You haven’t met him yet, have you? That’s Jayce,” I explained to Teoritta. “I told you about him. Remember? Our unit’s dragon knight.”

He was a man of small stature with a similar build to Dotta’s, but he was oddly intimidating. It was probably the fact he had a dragon, and his unique scent of fodder and herbs. Anyone nearby could smell him.

“Don’t let it get to your head, though,” continued Jayce, completely ignoring me and my introductions.

“You may have taken out three demon lords, but what happened at Couveunge Forest was eighty percent thanks to Dotta, and you had Norgalle and Tatsuya to help you in the tunnels.”

I had a lot to say about the incident with Dotta, but I decided to swallow my pride, since arguing would just be a waste of time. I kept my mouth shut instead.

“Iblis—well, I guess I can give you that one. That’s it, though.”

Jayce then pointed at himself with his thumb.

“I killed two,” he said with a little smirk. That was quite an accomplishment, to be honest. An extremely impressive achievement.

“Seriously?”

I found myself skeptical of his claim, though. Pointlessly showing off, bragging, and bluffing was common behavior between the two of us.

“Did Rhyno not do any work?”

“He ignored orders again, so he’ll be locked up for a while.”

“A penal hero in solitary confinement, huh. Wow.”

It wasn’t very common to throw a hero into a cell, since their punishment was supposed to be suffering on the battlefield, only to die and be resurrected to repeat the process. Being locked away in a private cell would give you a safe environment where you could enjoy some alone time. Plus, it was difficult for heroes to ignore orders in the first place, since we had sacred seals on our necks that limited what we could do.

“The guy’s a weirdo, though, so I guess it’s not surprising.” That was the only reason I could come up with. “Anyway, so you’re saying you took out those two demon lords, then? I better not find out you’re lying later.”

“Go check for yourself,” Jayce said, snorting. “I win again, Xylo. Looks like you’re not as hot as you thought you were.”

“S-stop right there!” said an anxious voice.

Teoritta promptly got up and stood between Jayce and me, straightening her back proudly and meeting Jayce’s sharp gaze.

“Xylo is my knight, and I will not allow you to look down on him!”

“Oh. So you’re the goddess, huh?” He briefly glanced at Teoritta as if he wasn’t interested, then shifted his gaze back to me. “I heard Dotta found her. Seems like she’s really helping you out. It must be nice having a child protect you from all the big, scary monsters out there.”

“Wh-what insolence!” Teoritta cried. “I have never felt such disrespect! Xylo, are you going to let him speak to us like this?!”

“Just drop it, Teoritta. Getting mad won’t change anything.”

I patted her on the shoulder and sat her back down before she exploded with rage. Getting angry was pointless when you were up against Jayce.

“Dotta didn’t…find her. He stole her from the Holy Knights.”

“Hardly makes a difference.”

“It makes a huge difference. It’s a serious crime.”

“Pfft! Like I care about human laws.”

This statement encapsulated everything you needed to know about Jayce.

He was assigned to the penal hero unit for drug trafficking and mutiny. His first crime, drug trafficking, was simple. From what I’d heard, he used to cultivate plants meant to promote health in dragons. It just so happened they could also be used as narcotics for humans.

The second crime he committed…was pretty simple, too. Apparently, he’d revolted against the military in an attempt to free its dragons. If any ordinary person had done this, it would’ve only amounted to a reckless stunt and would have ended in a matter of hours. Once the troops got there, the revolt would be immediately crushed.

However, there were two problems in Jayce’s case. The first was that Jayce was a powerful noble. That made the incident an unbelievably huge deal. The second was how much dragons loved him. Every time he walked into the military’s dragon stables, the creatures would start making a fuss. Jayce would get seriously pissed off if you said this to his face, but for whatever reason, he was especially popular among the female dragons. As a result, the revolt escalated further than anyone could have imagined. There were even records of him leading the dragons in a direct attack against the Second Capital. It was a rebellion for the history books. I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up calling it Jayce’s Rebellion.

“Anyway, I won the bet.” Jayce held out his hand. “I destroyed you by sheer number of kills alone. Now, hand it over. I don’t have all day… Neely’s gonna be upset if I keep her waiting.”

Neely was the name of Jayce’s dragon. She was an azure dragon with sparkling scales like sapphires. “There’s something dark and mysterious about the look in her eyes. She’s definitely my type,” Jayce once told me, adding “I like her strong will, too.” Having a “type” of dragon didn’t make any sense to me, but whatever. A deal’s a deal, as they say, and I’d lost. I handed him a stack of military notes.

“Say hi to Neely for me,” I said, knowing this would put Jayce in a better mood.

The corners of his mouth curled into a smile, and he left the room. Teoritta, on the other hand, didn’t seem happy at all, but that didn’t matter. For whatever reason, Jayce’s behavior didn’t upset me. He may not give a crap about humans, but he was pretty honest, all things considered.

The guy I had issues with wasn’t him—it was Venetim, who showed up about the time I’d recovered. The pea-brain apparently thought I was still injured and couldn’t move, so when he found me out of bed and stretching, he froze.

“Xylo, wait. Please.” Those were the first words out of his mouth. “Before you resort to violence, I want you to hear me out, okay?”

“Nope.”

I stopped stretching and grabbed Venetim by the lapel. I was going to give him an earful. He’d lied to me. I specifically told him not to ask the Mastibolt family for reinforcements when we were defending Mureed Fortress.

“I hope what you did was worth having your face rearranged!” I began. Then I paused. “…Or, well…”

I hated to admit it, but Venetim had made the right call. The front gate wouldn’t have lasted as long as it did if the Mastibolt family hadn’t sent two thousand soldiers to our aid. Countless miners would have surely perished. And that wasn’t all Venetim had done, either. If he hadn’t negotiated that deal for us, we wouldn’t have had the leeway to implement a good plan. I would have been stuck inside the fortress. Venetim might be irritatingly useless once a battle was underway, but beforehand, he was a valuable asset. And that was why…

“Two punches, and we’ll call it even. Sound good?”

I swiftly stood and introduced my fist to his stomach and then to his chin. He theatrically fell to the floor, pretending to be in intense pain, really hamming it up. You could see the absolute dread on Teoritta’s face. She looked genuinely worried for him.

“Xylo, you mustn’t resort to violence!” she said. “He is not only a fellow hero but our friend—”

“It’s fine. Trust me. He’s still hiding something from us.” I grabbed Venetim by the lapel again and stood him up. “You thought I was bedridden, right? That’s why you came.”

“Wh-what? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Even I could tell he was lying.

“I’m not hiding anything,” he continued. “Before you got back, I was approached and asked if I could arrange a meeting with you… I have been doing everything I can to evade and delay, but I don’t know how much longer I can make them wait…”

I seriously doubted he was doing anything to help. I tightened my grip on his lapel, surprised by how much I’d recovered.

“Let me guess. The person who wants to see me is Frenci. Frenci Mastibolt.”

“Yes, uh… That…is correct… She has been begging to see you. She told me she wouldn’t leave until she did, and that if she had to wait another day, she was going to kill me.”

“Really? Well, aren’t you in luck? You can’t die.”

“Wait. Who’s ‘Frenci’?” Teoritta tugged at my sleeve, looking up at me curiously. “How does she know you?”

“She was my fiancée.”

Teoritta made a face that I could only describe as disturbed. Her right eye opened wide while her left narrowed. Suspicion and surprise swirled together in her expression.

“What did you say? Y-y-your fiancée? My knight’s fiancée…?!”

“That was a long time ago. We’re not engaged anymore.”

It was depressing to remember, even now. The Forbartz family had been decimated by the Demon Blight. I was the only surviving member, and the Mastibolt family had taken me in and raised me. For the survival of my family line, I’d had no choice but to agree to an engagement with Frenci Mastibolt. Her cold, empty glare flashed through my mind. I had a good idea of what she was going to say when she saw me.

Punishment: Sham Vacation at the Port City of Ioff, Part 2

“You’re a mess, Xylo.”

Those were the first words to come out of Frenci Mastibolt’s mouth. I’d known she would say that, word for word, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Laughing, however, only served to infuriate her further.

“Do you think this is a joke?”

She turned a cold, piercing gaze on me, her face stony. Her dark, bottomless black eyes were the trademark of her clan, the Southern Night-Gaunts.

“I see you haven’t changed,” she went on. “If anything, you’re getting worse. I would have equated you to a fly last time, but now you’re a caterpillar, at best. What a disaster.”

Frenci looked exactly how you would imagine a woman from the Southern Night-Gaunts would look. She was tall with long limbs and smooth brown skin. Her long, well-kept hair was a dull gray—what people usually described as iron-colored. Legend held that the Night-Gaunts hid their horns under their iron-colored hair, but that was an utter lie. They didn’t have horns.

The Night-Gaunts ruled over the southern ravine. Due to the nature of the terrain, their people were split into several smaller clans, which had led to a high degree of technological advancement in warfare. Supposedly, sacred seal technology owed much to their contributions.

But at the same time, their society had grown increasingly insular. Anyone who set foot in their ravine would either be erased from existence or, if they were lucky, be sent back without a limb as a warning to others. Apparently, that was how they came to be known as the Night-Gaunts.

“…What are you doing?” Frenci pointed at the couch on the other side of the room. “Hurry up and have a seat. You’re making it look like I’m reprimanding you. Are you slow in the head, or just in the body? Whichever it is, I suppose I’ll have to draw up some strategies for improvement.”

We were in a room in the barracks set up for receiving visitors, so the furnishings were of rather high quality, especially the couch.

“…I’m not making it look like anything.” I decided to speak up, since she could keep rambling on like this forever. “You are reprimanding me. So shouldn’t I stay standing until you finish?”

“I’m doing no such thing,” replied Frenci with her usual blank expression, making it impossible to tell whether she was joking or not.

“All I am saying is that as long as you are marrying into my family, then you must act presentable. If you cannot do that, then at the very least, I would like you to show me that you are working to improve yourself. So stop saying that I’m scolding you like some sort of overbearing wife.”

“What would you call what you’re doing right now, then?”

“I would call it giving you advice because I am expecting my husband to improve.”

“I guess we have different definitions of the word, then.”

“…I see.” A few seconds of silence passed as Frenci seemed to think about this. “Then I will accommodate my husband’s culture.”

She easily changed her opinion as if it were nothing.

“I shall completely acknowledge your definition in addition to apologizing for my behavior.”

She traced a sacred seal in the air with her right hand. It was an apologetic gesture, and she did it with a completely straight face. This was exactly why she was so hard to deal with.

Punishment: Sham Vacation at the Port City of Ioff, Part 3

The port city of Ioff was built on the east side of the massive Korio Bay, and developed as a strategic domain for commerce due to its residents’ trade with the communities on the West side.

The town was vibrant and bustled with life—it was one of the most developed cities in the kingdom after the First and Second Capital. In the port was a structure known as Tui Jia—meaning Coral Tower—which resembled a red spear and was a keystone of sea defense. Countless colossal ships equipped with sacred seals were docked there and merchant carts went in and out of the area throughout the day.

The city was so important that it was not included in any noble’s domain and was instead under the direct control of the Allied Administration Division.

As for tourist spots, its most famous was no doubt its main street, which split the west and east sides of the city right down the middle. Known as the Road of Steel and Salt, it served as a major thoroughfare for countless people and goods, from the era of the old kingdom right up into the present.

That was where Teoritta wanted to go first.

“We have to see it.” She was very adamant. “Venetim and Dotta told me about it. They said there were street stalls in the west and north selling rare goods, and every day was like the Great Exchange, and you could eat whatever and as much as you wanted!”

“It’s only an all-you-can-eat buffet if you’re Dotta, and what he does is illegal.” I rolled my eyes. “I better not see you grabbing anything you didn’t pay for.”

I couldn’t lock Teoritta away in the barracks like a sheltered princess, not this time. I had to uncover who was after her life and capture every last one of them. Those were our orders from Galtuile.

Although Kivia hadn’t said it in so many words, Teoritta was being used as bait to lure the enemy out. There were two reasons why Galtuile would take such a risk. The first was that when planning an attack, the side acting first could decide when and where they would strike, giving them a massive advantage. But if we used a decoy to lure them out, it would narrow down that window significantly. The second reason was it wasn’t possible to stay on constant maximum alert. Humans didn’t have the mental capacity, and we didn’t have the numbers to make up for that deficiency. Ideally, we needed to take the initiative, uncover every last detail of their plan, and strike first.

…At least, that was what Galtuile had stated as their reasoning. I had a feeling about half of it was crap. This was another place where Teoritta’s awkward position came into play.

I’m relieved, though.

This meant that the higher-ups still had no idea how we’d killed that demon lord. Venetim’s painful excuse to cover up for the Holy Sword Teoritta had summoned seemed to have worked, including his explanation of how we’d defeated Iblis.

“There was actually a small core inside that demon lord,” he’d said. “And we were able to destroy it with the sheer number of swords Goddess Teoritta summoned.”

It was the kind of story a child might come up with. But to an outsider, it would have seemed the most logical explanation.

Galtuile’s envoy had been ordered to take back whatever information he could to explain what had happened. With no knowledge of the Holy Sword, this was the only explanation he had. Venetim was good at this kind of thing—rattling off impromptu nonsense that nevertheless satisfied his target’s goals and obligations.

As a result, the military now saw Teoritta as a useful resource in battle. Though nothing more…probably. I had a thing or two I wanted to say to the people back at Galtuile, but well, the situation wasn’t as bad as it could be.

We had another advantage going for us too: We had gained the cooperation of the Thirteenth Order of the Holy Knights. They didn’t seem that thrilled to be working with a bunch of penal heroes, but Kivia took her job seriously, and she seemed to have put a lot of thought into how to position the guards and allot their time. And when Teoritta and I headed out, she insisted on coming with us.

“I will join you on your excursion,” she declared. See? Talk about dedication. “And should the time come, I will serve as the goddess’s shield and sword. You can count on me.”

“…Uh. I have Xylo, so I think I will be fine.” Teoritta seemed bothered by her offer, however, and tried to turn it down. “My knight and the other heroes should be more than enough to guard me. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Goddess Teoritta, we need to take every precaution we can to keep you safe. Therefore, I will join you.”

“…Then would you at least limit your activity to watching from afar?”

“I cannot, Goddess Teoritta. Xylo and I must walk on either side of you so you will not fall victim to an ambush. You may leave everything to us.”

I could tell this back-and-forth would keep going unless I cut in, but I didn’t have the right to refuse or oppose Kivia’s wishes. The only thing I could do was offer her some tactical advice.

“If you’re coming with us to town, then you’re gonna have to do something about those clothes, Kivia.”

I looked over her outfit from top to bottom—she was wearing her usual military uniform, modified for easier movement.

“Wh-what are you staring at?” she asked.

She was covering her chest, but that wasn’t the issue here.

“At least wear something that shows you understand the mission. If you’re in gauntlets and a breastplate, it’s going to be obvious you’re with the military. Don’t wear your uniform, either, okay?”

“Hmm? O-oh…” Surprisingly, Kivia groaned as if she’d just now realized what the problem was. ‘O-oh,’ my ass. Get your act together, I thought.

“…I knew that,” she said after a moment. “It’s obvious. Your advice was unnecessary.”

At any rate, Kivia and her Holy Knights were coming with us. That much was fine. The problem was on our side—which penal heroes to choose for the mission.

There was no way Venetim could guard anyone. He’d just get in the way, and if he had to, he’d use the person we were supposed to protect as a shield. Meanwhile, Dotta couldn’t be allowed to roam the streets without being handcuffed. And Norgalle? He wasn’t cut out for battle at all. If anything, he’d probably think we were guarding him. Tatsuya, of course, was not someone we wanted walking freely around town. If a fight broke out, the thought of protecting civilians wouldn’t even cross his mind.

That left Jayce, so I decided to stop by the dragon stables where he was staying.

To say I was taken aback by what I saw would be an understatement. Jayce had dragged Venetim all the way there and was making him help take care of the dragons. Most dragon knights were in the First or Second Capital, but there were apparently six stationed here in Ioff along with their dragons—seven if you included Jayce and Neely. It was a magnificent sight, to say the least.

“What a terrible environment. An absolute dump,” said Jayce.

He was busily hammering away and measuring the dragons’ heights while Venetim held up a giant wooden board for him.

“Like hell I’m gonna leave my darling Neely in a place like this. Assholes. Frankly, I’d like to rebuild these stables from the ground up. But since I can’t, the least I can do is give the dragons enough space for their tails and to spread their wings.”

“Hey, uh…Jayce?” said Venetim. He was holding on to the board, panting and looking like he was about to die. “I can’t hold this much longer. Plus, there’s not a lot I can do here, and I need to resume my work as commander… So can I go back to my room now?”

“Shut up, conman,” said Jayce. “‘Commander’? Do you even do anything?”

“Of course I do. I update Galtuile on our situation, join unproductive meetings to discuss strategy—”

“You can do all that later. Hey, who’s the strongest in this unit?”

“…You and Neely.”

“Then you’d better make sure we’re in tip-top condition.” Jayce turned and started to rub Neely’s chin. “Just a little longer, Neely. I’ll have a nice bed ready for you in no time.”

Neely, the beautiful azure dragon, softly cooed, and her vivid, sky-blue scales rippled like water. Jayce’s lips curled in a faint smirk, as if he could tell what she was saying.

“Hmm? …No. I was just measuring the other dragons,” he said to her. “I wasn’t peeking under any of their wings… I wasn’t. I promise.”

This is going to take way longer than I have patience for, I thought. Jayce was off in a world I couldn’t comprehend, and there was nothing I could do to move him while he was taking care of the dragons, so I gave up immediately.

All of that happened the day before, and so Kivia and I wound up accompanying Teoritta without Jayce. In his place, however, someone else came along.

“They’re seriously the worst.”

It was Tsav…who had been rambling on and on ever since we left the barracks.

“They were always doing crazy stuff, too. They’d hold at least one human sacrifice a month. I mean, wow. A secret society of pure evil—that’s what they are. Even I feel that way, and they raised me. They had this ritual where they would kidnap children and offer them to the goddesses. How much more diabolical can you get?! I mean, come on, right? Have you ever heard of the ‘Holy Communion’? Well, that one—”

“Um, excuse me…,” growled Kivia when Teoritta started to pale. “Do you never tire of talking?”

“Huh? Oh, don’t worry. Just leave it to me! I can talk nonstop from dawn till dusk! I went through special training for it.”

In the short time it took to move from the barracks to the main street, Tsav’s nonstop, tiresome rambling had already begun to drive Teoritta and Kivia up the wall. I was actually impressed by how little time it had taken him. We’d had no choice but to bring him along, however, and Tsav was one of the best candidates for this particular job.

At any rate, that was how Tsav, Teoritta, Kivia, and I ended up walking down the Road of Steel and Salt in broad daylight together.

“Oh hey!” he said, starting up again. “Bro, you asked about the organization I was in, right? Not about their sinister, cruel rituals but about their military power.”

After a maddeningly long-winded introduction, Tsav was finally going to tell us something useful.

“The wicked band of assassins I was part of—oh, they’re called Gwen Mohsa. Do you know the origin of the name? In the language of the old kingdom, it means the ‘light which purges sin.’”

It was a name I recognized. The group called Gwen Mohsa had gradually gained power as the Demon Blight spread. They were originally part of the Orthodox faction in the Temple, but after their beliefs were officially declared heresy, they went underground. There they became even more militant and reemerged as an independent, radicalized religious organization.

Their doctrine was simple at first—they believed that the purity of the goddesses, the protectors of world order, needed to be maintained. However, that eventually gave rise to an insistence that goddesses shouldn’t be used for war. And according to Kivia, they’d recently begun pushing the nonsensical idea that the number of goddesses could not increase or decrease, and vocally opposing Teoritta’s existence.

The group had already assassinated key figures in the military and in the Temple for trying to use the goddesses for war—or in the their words, for “sinning and leading people astray.” That was how Gwen Mohsa operated.

“And I was one of their elite members!” continued Tsav. “A real top dog! I excelled in every skill, and they called me a child prodigy! I was the future of their organization—the youngest, yet strongest, assassin there ever was!” Tsav repeatedly elbowed me lightly on the arm as he went on and on. “Pretty amazing, huh?”

“That is pretty amazing…”

I thought back to Tsav’s past. This was a story I’d heard countless times.

“But don’t you have a zero percent success rate?” I asked. “You never killed your marks. Just some random, unrelated people.”

“Yeah, being nice is my only fault. Man, this reminds me of back when I was in training! Those days were hell. Like, when I was abandoned in the wilderness with only a knife. That was insane. I was attacked by wild animals and colleagues I’d never met before! You know how it is. They didn’t let us talk or hang out so we wouldn’t get attached to each other.”

Tsav proudly patted his chest for some reason.

“And that’s why I talk so much now! Isn’t my past beyond tragic? I’m thinking about adapting it into a picture play or something. Are you interested in getting in on the act with me, bro?”

I didn’t have the energy to answer and instead looked back at Kivia.

“…I didn’t want to bring him,” I told her, “but we didn’t have any other choice, so we’ll just have to deal with it.”

“He’s a real piece of work, for sure…” It appeared that even Kivia had never met anyone like Tsav before. “How can one person talk so much? What kind of training did he undergo to become like this?”

“I don’t know the details, but his lung capacity is supposedly superhuman. That might be why.”

“What an aggravating talent to have.”

Kivia placed a hand on her forehead as if she had a headache.

“The enemy isn’t going to attack us if we keep standing out this much,” she continued. “…And then all the work we did to blend in and look like tourists will go to waste. Don’t you agree?”

“Yeah.”

I glanced at Kivia’s outfit once more: a rustic shirt under a gray cloak, slacks, and a belt with a short sword. I see what she means.

“You look good, by the way,” I said.

“…?!”

Kivia’s eyes went wide, and she quickly cleared her throat.

“Wh-what a cliché way to compliment someone. Did you honestly think a cheap remark like that would make me happy? Next time, you should choose your words more—”

“I wasn’t expecting you to disguise yourself as a man. You look like a tough bodyguard, exactly the type I’d expect to be protecting Teoritta. Very natural.”

Kivia’s chest should have been a little too prominent for such a disguise, but her cloak was doing a good job of hiding it, so you wouldn’t really notice unless you were staring at her body from the front. We didn’t want the assassins to be too wary of us, but we didn’t want it to be obvious that we were waiting for them to strike, either. The goddess was out shopping with three elite bodyguards selected for the occasion. That was what we needed them to think.

“Not bad,” I said. “Not bad at all. If this doesn’t lure them out, I don’t know what will.”

“…Just so we’re clear. I am not disguised as a man!”

Kivia seemed very upset.

“And Xylo,” she continued, “make Tsav shut up this instant. We need to do everything, no matter how small, to increase our chances of success.”

The way she followed up with a ruthless order only made her mood more obvious.

“All right.”

I complied, but I couldn’t help feeling this mission would go well, regardless of Kivia’s outfit or how obnoxious Tsav was being.

That was because I could feel a presence. For the past few minutes, I’d felt someone’s eyes on me. We were being watched and followed. Tsav seemed to feel it, too. He looked back at me with a shameless grin and winked.

Punishment: Sham Vacation at the Port City of Ioff, Part 4

Many rare and unusual goods were brought across the Korio Bay from the West. The land route to that region was completely blocked off by mountains, and as a result, it had developed its own unique culture.

When the Federated Kingdom formed and the five royal families unified, the West was the fifth and last to join. It was not originally a monarchy, and chose its chief ruler by election. The country had no name, either, and was called by the name of its region: “Won Daolan,” of which “Won” referred to the representative who unified and governed its various tribes. The area was known for producing special kinds of fragrant wood, handicrafts, fabric, and pottery, all of which were striking and especially popular among women and children.

It appeared goddesses were no exception.

“Look, Xylo.” Goddess Teoritta eagerly tugged on my sleeve. “I have never seen fabric like that in my life. It does not appear to shine, and yet look at how red it is! I have never seen anything like it! Have you, Xylo?”

She looked up at me, hardly able to contain her excitement. It seemed she wanted to show me all of the rare goods.

“Wouldn’t it look wonderful on me?” she continued. “Oh, and that bracelet there, too. What vibrant colors… Hey, what’s that? It’s shaped like a bird!”

“That’s jade,” I said. “And jadeite, at that. Some pretty high-quality stuff. That fabric is a well-known product from the West, too.”

Nobles wore stuff like this to evening parties. I could still vividly remember the time I went to a royal banquet with Senerva and learned how much jewelry like this cost. My jaw had dropped through the floor.

“You could buy a house for the price of that piece of fabric alone, and if it was tailored into a dress, it’d be worth the same as an entire fortress. We’d be asking for trouble if we brought Dotta here.”

“I am not asking you the price, nor am I worried about Dotta right now.” Teoritta seemed upset by my commentary. “I simply enjoy looking and using my imagination, and I expect you to understand that as my knight.”

“With all due respect, Goddess Teoritta,” Kivia cut in, “I believe understanding would be difficult for a man like this.”

It seemed Kivia was still pissed off, and she was doing everything she could to avoid eye contact with me. In fact, now that I thought about it, I couldn’t remember her ever being in a good mood.

“He lacks imagination,” she continued. “So it’s only natural that he isn’t able to comprehend the beauty of goods such as these.”

“Yes, I suppose you are right.” Teoritta glared at me as if I were some sort of ill-bred child. “Now, Kivia, if you could show me to a shop where I could find fabrics and jewelry like the ones here…”

“As you wish. I am quite familiar with the trendiest shops in this area… Hold up, Xylo. What are you looking at me like that for?”

“Huh?” I shook my head as Kivia glared at me. “I’m just standing here.”

“This city is near my order’s post, so I stop by from time to time.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Therefore, I know enough about the city to show Goddess Teoritta around, which is more than you can offer. In addition, I chose this outfit after considering the nature of our mission. That is why I purposely dressed plainly.”

“I’m telling you, I didn’t say anything…”

“But that still does not mean that I disguised myself as a man.”

She shot a hostile glare my way before picking up her pace and catching up with Teoritta.

As she moved away, she whispered, “Xylo, watch your back. You’ve noticed, right?”

Apparently, she’d realized we were being followed as well. All I could do was trail behind the two of them.

“Hey, bro. Rough day?” Tsav asked. He sounded utterly carefree. He’d been talking to the merchant at the next stall over this entire time.

From what I’d overheard, Tsav had caught a mouse the other day, and it had a birthmark on its back that looked like a person’s face. I believed I even heard him say something like, “You’ve never seen anything like it, but I can show you if you pay up. Oh, and you’re gonna need to treat me to a meal, too.” What an idiot.

“But at least everything’s going according to plan,” he said. “They’re getting really close now.”

“Yeah.”

Kivia and I had only one job: to fight on the battlefield. Guarding goddesses from assassins was outside our realm of expertise. Even though we could sense the enemy’s presence, we couldn’t be sure when or how they would attack. So I decided to ask a professional.

“Tsav, if you were going to kill a goddess here, how would you do it? Would you ambush her in an empty alleyway? Or could you snipe her?”

“Those are my two options? Not a fan of either, to be honest,” mumbled Tsav, while munching on a chicken skewer he’d bought from who knows where. “It’s not like the order has hundreds of assassins at their disposal. They can send maybe five or six at a time, tops…I think.”

“So an empty alleyway wouldn’t work, huh?”

“Yeah. The target’s a goddess, and she probably has ten or more guards around, so an empty alleyway would be suicide. You’d be outnumbered. No advantage whatsoever.”

Just as he’d said, Knights from the Thirteenth Order were positioned all down this road and in the surrounding area. And knowing Kivia, there were probably at least twenty.

“So if you can’t get near her, doesn’t that just leave sniping?”

“Bro, you can’t keep using me, the amazing prodigy Tsav, as your point of reference. Of course, I could pull it off, but I still wouldn’t risk it.”

He looked up. It was a sunny day, but hardly any sunlight reached the ground. The light was blocked by the street stalls’ colorful banners and roofs.

“If I couldn’t afford to fail, I’d go with a more reliable method,” he said.

“Use the crowd to your advantage, huh?”

“Exactly. Blend in and then casually stab her like some random slasher.”

There were a lot of people here. Although Kivia was making sure that nobody got near Teoritta, there was a limit to how much a single person could do.

But just when I was thinking of moving closer to the goddess for her protection, she suddenly turned around.

“Xylo!”

She was waving me over to what appeared to be a shop selling metalware like pots, knives, and iron plates.

“I found something that even you could appreciate.” Teoritta was pointing at a row of knives displayed on a table. “I want you to select a souvenir for me in remembrance of today.”

“In remembrance of what exactly?” I chuckled, but Teoritta appeared to be serious.

“The day that Goddess Teoritta blessed this town.”

“That’s fine and all, but…” I glanced at the shop’s knives. They were all finely crafted blades, but they were intended only for cutting small fruit and the like. “Knives are dangerous.”

“That is why you are going to teach me. Knives are your specialty, correct? Now choose one.”

There was no use arguing with her now, so I began looking them over. Blades from the West were of high quality. Their unique manufacturing process, known as “western tempering,” created ripples on the steel and was popular among wealthy collectors. After selecting a knife and exchanging what little military notes I had left for it, I began looking for some straps Teoritta could use in place of a sword belt. Buckskin with a glossy dye would probably be a good match for her.

But right as I was about to pick up a strap, I stopped myself.

“Kivia.” I unsheathed the brand-new knife and lifted it up to eye level. “You see that?”

“Yes.”

Reflected in the blade’s mirror finish were two people slowly approaching us from behind, pushing their way through the crowd. They looked like average citizens doing some shopping, but their hands were hidden under their long sleeves.

“So? Who’s gonna guard Teoritta?” I asked.

“You, Xylo,” said Kivia. “Don’t leave her side.”

“Hmm?”

Kivia nodded and Teoritta tilted her head, baffled. A little ways away, Tsav was happily snatching up the last bits of chicken off his skewer with his teeth.

“Teoritta,” I said, placing the rope-wrapped handle of the knife in her palm. “Use this to protect yourself if you need to.”

Then I started to move as naturally as possible, placing my hands on the puzzled goddess’s shoulders to hold her still. Kivia had already unsheathed her weapon. It was a short sword used for thrusting, with a fine blade about as long as her forearm.

“Drop your weapons.”

After delivering this single warning, her sword vanished in a flash of light, piercing one of the two men’s shoulders. A knife fell from his hand and hit the floor followed by trickling blood. Despite this, he managed to lunge for Teoritta. Immediately, Kivia’s blade pierced his thigh, skewering both his legs almost simultaneously. He fell to the ground, shrieking like a bird.

“I warned you,” she said.

There was no doubt Kivia was a distinguished swordsman. At the very least, she was far better than someone who half-assed their training like me. She already had the tip of her sword at the man’s throat by the time he hit the ground.

“Oops. Sorry, bro,” Tsav said awkwardly.

He’d already disposed of the other one. The skewer from Tsav’s chicken was now barely sticking out of the man’s throat. His left eye was missing as well.

“So, uh…I know I said they’d probably send five or six guys, tops, but…” Tsav was studying my reaction. He had the face of a man who’d just realized he’d made a huge mistake.

“You lied, didn’t you?” I said.

“Yeah, you know…I didn’t expect the order to get this big. Please don’t punish me.”

“I’m not gonna do anything to you. And besides, this really isn’t the time.”

I watched as more suspicious characters emerged from the crowd. There had to be at least ten of them forcing their way through. How many were the Holy Knights managing to hold back? Their numbers were just too big. There must be around fifty assassins. To make matters worse, our little scuffle had caused a stir that was now rippling through the crowd. Someone even began to scream when they saw the dead men on the ground. A few fainted, some ran. Goods were knocked off their displays as chaos ensued. This isn’t good.

“Xylo!” shouted Kivia as she stabbed another assassin and pulled her sword back out of the corpse. “This way! Change of plans! We’re using the alternative route!”

“Roger,” I replied, activating my flight seal and kicking another assassin. I hit him so hard in the stomach that he was briefly airborne before hitting the pavement again. I must have obliterated his organs.

“Nice, bro,” said Tsav. It was meant to be a compliment, but he sounded a little horrified. “You’re relentless. I see you like turning your opponents into mincemeat before killing them… Pretty scary stuff…”

“I didn’t kill him, and I didn’t turn him into mincemeat, either. I’m not like you,” I replied, grabbing a perplexed Teoritta’s hand. Her skin felt a little cold, but she glanced up at me with a bold expression, like she was trying to overcome her fear.

“Has it already begun, my knight? Is my vacation…?”

“Sorry, but there’s been a change of plans. Wanna go for a little walk down another street?”

I silently wished that this would be the last change of plans we’d have to deal with. But I knew, too, that such wishes were never granted.

Punishment: Sham Vacation at the Port City of Ioff, Part 5

The location wasn’t ideal, to say the least. There were too many civilians, and to make matters worse, everyone was panicking, so it was hard to move. I had to keep hold of Teoritta’s hand.

“Kivia!”

I kicked a barrel forward, bowling over an approaching assassin—or at least someone who looked like one.

“Do something! I can hardly move like this!”

But I wasn’t sure she could even hear me.

“We are the Holy Knights!” she called out. “I order all civilians to leave immediately! We are temporarily closing this road!”

Kivia raised a short staff into the air. It roared and emitted a flash of light from its tip. This, too, was a lightning staff, but it was the kind that used most of its power to create a loud sound. You’d have to be right next to your opponent if you wanted to do any damage with it. For the most part, it was employed by city guards as a warning, but it was also used to give commands to soldiers, so all commanders carried one with them.

“Anyone approaching us shall be deemed our enemy!” she declared, demonstrating her intent by thrusting her sword into a man’s right arm when he staggered out from the crowd.

“Ugh!”

Pain twisted the man’s face, and his knife dropped to the ground, bouncing off the pavement with a clink. And yet he still didn’t stop.

“I’m telling you to stay back. Did you not hear me?”

Kivia didn’t stop, either. Her blade swept at his feet, knocking down the knifeless man before he could lunge at Teoritta.

Her technique was beautiful. It resembled a skill normally used with short spears. Was that a northern sword style? It seemed to focus on thrusting and countering, with a very low stance—the polar opposite of the style I had learned in the south, where you just swung as hard as you could and chopped at your enemy.

“Uh…Ms. Kivia?” Tsav ventured. “Maybe we should, you know, have the townspeople help us?”

I wish he’d just keep quiet, I thought. He was slicing the throat of one of the assassins with a blade no bigger than the palm of his hand. He’d probably swiped it from one of the stalls.

“We can use them as shields,” he continued. “Oh! Especially small children!”

“Wh-what…? What are you—?” Kivia was outraged.

“We can have Teoritta carry a child on her back to use as a shield until we can get her to safety. I really doubt there’s gonna be a sniper, but you never know!”

Tsav was likely serious, but his tone was far too cheerful and flippant. The suggestion alone was enough to anger Kivia, and his attitude only made things worse. There was fire in her piercing eyes.

“Do you have any idea what you’re saying, you villain?!” she shouted. “There is no way we would ever do such a thing!”

“What?! Why?! Don’t you want to protect the goddess?! You two seemed to be getting along so well!” Tsav shot me a quizzical stare. “Bro, say something to her! How cold can a person be?!”

“Just focus on getting us out of this mess with as little damage to the town as possible, okay?” I led Teoritta by her trembling hand away from the crowded main street. “And no civilian shields. Got it, idiot?”

“Seriously?” groaned Tsav, the color draining from his face. “I mean, for real? There’s something really wrong with this. It’s not normal…” He took care of yet another incoming enemy before crushing their head, complaining all the while. His style of hand-to-hand combat was unlike anything I’d ever seen. He would grab some part of his opponent’s body, throw them to the ground, and dispose of them in essentially one movement.

What Tsav is saying does make sense. If you’re only thinking about you and yours, that is.

I thought about this for a moment as I shielded Teoritta’s eyes from the fighting. Come to think of it, Norgalle, Rhyno, and I were the only ones in our unit who refused to fight dirty like Tsav was suggesting.

“Xylo, look!” warned Teoritta as another man emerged from an alleyway ahead of us. Although I might have given it a little more thought in another situation, the sword in his hand made it clear he wasn’t some stranger who just happened to be in our way.

Wait a minute…

What the hell were Kivia’s knights doing? There was chaos all up and down the main street that needed to be dealt with. Were they busy dealing with enemies elsewhere? Dammit.

“Xylo, if our enemies are human, I…”

There was ill-concealed anxiety escaping Teoritta’s voice, but it wasn’t fear for herself. I understood that all too well as I held her hand.

“It seems I will not be able to help you, since I cannot attack them.”

“Don’t worry about it. Let me handle our human enemies.”

I lifted Teoritta up in my arms. I could feel sparks lightly prickling the tips of my fingers where they brushed against her hair, and there was no doubt in my mind she could tell how pissed off I was. These damn assassins really knew how to ruin a guy’s day.

“Hold on tight, Teoritta. Don’t let go of my hand.”

“I won’t.” She nodded gravely. “I will leave everything to you.”

That was all I needed to hear.

“Tsav!” I shouted. “Take out the underlings approaching us!”

“Oh, so I have to take care of the weaklings?”

“Damn right!”

I kicked off the ground and activated my flight seal. After leaping over the head of the man in our way, I used the seal again and kicked off a wall. Even after landing, I didn’t look back. The assassin probably had no idea what to do. Would he chase me? That would mean turning his back to Kivia and Tsav. One of them had probably taken care of him before he could even make a choice. I didn’t look back to check who it was, though.

We’d discussed how we would split up beforehand. I had the best mobility and could communicate with Teoritta the quickest, so I was to take her and run. Meanwhile, Tsav and Kivia had agreed to handle most of the violence. I was pleased to have the easy job for once.

At any rate, I managed to safely slip into a back alley. This was one of the escape routes Kivia had designated in case something unexpected happened on the main street. I’d even memorized a map of the city, just in case.

We were heading toward a corner of the city known as Sodrick’s Shell—a nest of complicated, winding streets. To put it bluntly, this was the sketchy part of town, and most people made sure to avoid it even during the day. If the map I’d used was correct, this alley should lead to an open area already under the control of Kivia’s Holy Knights. We should far outnumber the enemy there, and for the most part, assassins were no match for an army lined up and ready to fight. There were exceptions, of course, but it wasn’t the norm.

However, after the second turn in the road, I paused.

This isn’t good.

I hadn’t seen any sign of the Holy Knights. I began to sense restlessness in the air, like an itch on my back. Though it wasn’t a hard rule, I usually tried to listen to my gut.

“Xylo, do you sense it, too? Something doesn’t feel right.”

Kivia had finally caught up to me, along with Tsav. Both of them were still light on their feet and showed no signs of exhaustion.

“It appears this route has been compromised, too.” Kivia had an impressive grasp on the situation. She frowned, wiping the blood off her blade with her cloak. “My Holy Knights are nowhere in sight, and I specifically deployed infantry to this district. Something must have happened.”

“Probably all dead, then, huh?” Tsav began patting the dust off his clothing as if it had just now started to bother him. “Now that I’ve killed a few, I can tell not all of these guys are assassins from the order. They don’t seem to have undergone any training.”

“You mean they’re too weak?” I asked.

Tsav cheerfully nodded back at me. “I mean, nobody’s as strong as me, but these guys are pretty pathetic. Their weapons are definitely from the order, though.”

Tsav held up a knife he’d picked up along the way. Engraved on the blade was a triangular wedge-shaped seal.

“This is Gwen Mohsa’s seal. They call it the ‘True Great Sacred Seal,’ but it’s different than the one the Temple uses. You know, that circle with a line through it.”

“Then that would mean…” I didn’t even need to think about it and immediately put my hypothesis into words. “They’re trying to frame the order? There are way too many of them for an underground organization. It doesn’t make any sense. But who would do something like that?”

“It could be the ones siding with the Demon Blight.”

Kivia chose her words carefully. Her stiff profile hadn’t changed, but I noticed a somber note in her voice.

“The coexisters?” I asked. “They’ve been a real pain in my ass lately.”

“Yes, them. They would certainly benefit from killing the Goddess. I didn’t think they’d infiltrated the military or the Holy Knights, but…” Once she finished wiping clean her blade’s sacred seal, Kivia glared into the depths of the alleyway. “For now, we need to focus on getting out of here alive.”

I’d been expecting our enemies to come from that direction, too. I could hear a few sets of footsteps in the distance, when…

“Whoa?! What are those?!” shouted Tsav, his voice cracking. The assassins, or men who appeared to be assassins, emerged in helmets and full suits of armor. There were three of them, each with a two-handed lightning staff. “You see what I’m seeing?! Are they allowed to have those?!”

“They most certainly are not,” declared Kivia, astonished, as she began to move forward. “How did you get those, you scum?! What is going on with the military?!”

Kivia hurled insults and complaints at the enemy. Tsav was right—those staffs were exclusively distributed within the military and not available to the public. Not many were made, and ownership was highly regulated.

“The hell is going on?” I yelled, taking a step in front of Teoritta to shield her.

The assassins fired their staffs almost immediately, but their aim was amateurish. Two of them weren’t even close to hitting us, and Kivia was already dealing with the third.

She muttered the word “Niskeph,” as she lightly thrust the tip of her sword into the ground. This activated her sacred seal, and the air vibrated as a cloudy blue curtain took shape, blocking the lightning staff’s shot and scattering it into faint sparks. Niskeph was a common protection seal, and while it could only be used continuously for a short period of time, it created an extremely strong defensive wall resistant to heat and physical attacks.

Meanwhile, I was just finishing a strike of my own. I’d brought only two knives with me this time, so I had to use something else. Shoving my hand in my pocket, I promptly grabbed the first thing I touched: a coin. It was new kingdom currency issued by the Allied Administration Division, but it had far less value than the money of the old kingdom, which incorporated real gold and silver.

I infused the coin with Zatte Finde’s power before flicking it at the enemy. It was lightweight, allowing me to send it right into the group of assassins up ahead before it exploded with a flash of light. Of course, unlike with a knife, I couldn’t lodge it in their flesh, so it wasn’t able to blow them up from the inside. But it was more than enough to send a person flying and knock them out cold—three at once, in fact.

“This is a lot easier when there’s no one else around to worry about,” I said.

“Sure, but…” Kivia looked back at me, perhaps to crack a joke, but her relaxed gaze suddenly sharpened. “Tsav! Above you!”

“Ack.” Tsav grunted, mildly surprised.

I was shocked, too. The enemy really was right above him.

It was a lanky figure in all black, swinging their right arm with…was that a blade in their palm? No. They weren’t holding anything. They were simply swinging their fist, and Tsav reacted with beast-like instincts.

He moved out of habit, the result of constant practice. After evading the punch effortlessly, he swung his knife into the air at the enemy’s throat. It was precise and immediate, but his opponent dodged as well.

Tsav was unfazed. He spun his blade around in his hand to aim it once again at his target—all while reaching out to grab his enemy’s lapel and sweeping their legs out from under them. The move was very smooth and precise.

But just when I thought it was over, Tsav suddenly hopped back like a grasshopper. I could hear a series of hard, metallic sounds, and before I knew it, the slender, shadowy figure was standing on the ground, blocking Tsav’s knife with their left hand and burying part of their right palm into his side. Tsav appeared to have blocked most of the attack in time, but…

“What the…?”

Tsav’s lips tightened into a forced smile.

He still looked somehow flippant, but I could tell he was in pain, and I could see cold sweat on his skin. He’d protected his side with his left arm, and blood was gushing out from it, painting the pavement red.

“Something’s not right with this guy,” he said.

Tsav’s left arm was badly injured. The area from his forearm to his bicep had been gouged out.

“This guy’s doing something bad, bro… It hurts…real bad…”

There were countless holes in his arm, as if he had been bitten by a wild, fanged beast. What the hell did that guy do to him? The knife in Tsav’s right hand was broken as well. And just like that, the sniper fell to his knees.

The slender, shadowy figure in black shifted their gaze in my direction, but a piece of fabric completely concealed their face. I could just barely make out their eyes, and I saw they were locked on Teoritta and me.

They were the eyes of a wild animal.

We were too close—right in the enemy’s striking range.

Punishment: Sham Vacation at the Port City of Ioff, Part 6

The slender assassin in black didn’t waste their breath pointlessly chattering. They simply extended their right arm forward, as if they wanted to shake hands.

That must be their battle stance. It was an unusual style. They didn’t lower their center of gravity or form fists. Their left hand was pulled back around waist height, and they were standing about four steps away. Teoritta was right behind me.

This isn’t good.

They’d cut off most of my means of escape, and if I wanted to grab Teoritta and use my flight seal to put some distance between us, it would mean briefly turning my back to the enemy.

“Xylo, I—,” Teoritta began.

“Stay behind me,” I warned, cutting her off. “I’ll make this quick.”

“…As expected of my knight.”

Teoritta briefly but tightly squeezed the hem of my shirt from behind. It wasn’t going to be easy, but we weren’t in any danger. This was nothing compared to the shit we penal heroes had been put through time and time again.

That gave me confidence, and I called out to Tsav, who was still crouched on the ground.

“Don’t try anything stupid, Tsav.”

“I can’t even move, bro. This is bad.”

Tsav was trying to tighten something around his left arm at the shoulder, to stop it from bleeding. It looked like some beast had bitten deep into his flesh. But while he seemed to have lost a lot of blood, he shot me a carefree smile as sweat dripped down his forehead.

“This arm’s useless now,” he said.

“That’s rough.”

“More importantly, bro, did you see their arms? They—”

But the slender assassin made a move before Tsav could finish speaking. Technically, all they did was shift their weight a little, but that was enough to let me know they were about to strike. They kept up their guard all the while.

I really don’t want to end up on the defensive. Especially against an assassin.

That was why I chose to attack, unsheathing a knife from my belt and throwing it all in one motion. I’d practiced this technique over and over, until I was sick of it. What’s more, I always hit my target even in midair, so there was no way I was going to miss while standing on the ground.

I aimed right for the middle of their forehead. I thought they were going to sway in an attempt to evade, but they chose to intercept the knife instead, blocking it with one of their gauntlets—the one covering their right hand. And that was when I activated Zatte Finde.

I had to limit the blast, since we were relatively close, but it was powerful enough to blow someone’s arm clean off. And yet the slender assassin somehow charged through the blast, their right arm unscathed. They were totally unharmed… How? Their fingers cleaved through the air until they were right before my eyes, forcing me to lean back as far as I could.

Just then, a tall figure with long black hair blocked my view.

“Hff!”

Someone exhaled. Kivia’s sword thrust into the assassin’s right arm from the side. I heard the sound of sharp metal colliding as Kivia briefly held her breath, and the assassin narrowed their eyes. Were they laughing? They swung their left arm, aiming for Kivia’s stomach.

Just then, I sensed it. Kivia was stepping in to strike, and even I could tell.

“Stop!”

I grabbed Kivia’s shoulder and jerked her back as hard as I could, causing both of us to fall to the ground on our asses like idiots. She shot me a reproachful glare, but I didn’t care. We’d avoided a fatal blow.

Then I heard something crack. It was the assassin’s arm, or rather, the lead-colored gauntlet protecting it. When they’d thrust out their right hand, I’d seen it—the bizarre gauntlet had appeared to be coming apart. It seemed it was actually a bundle of cord, or perhaps steel rope.

Once it came apart, it changed shape, weaving and winding around and around, eventually taking the form of a beast’s jaw, complete with a row of sharp fangs.

That jaw snapped shut in front of Kivia’s eyes—right where she’d been standing seconds earlier.

A grunt escaped her pale throat. If she’d been any farther forward, her windpipe would have been torn wide open. This must have been what shredded Tsav’s left arm, and I bet it was a small shield formed from these steel ropes that blocked my explosion. Not only was the gauntlet quick, it seemed like it could reshape itself into just about anything.

It has to be some sort of seal compound.

It was probably specially manufactured and not yet in use within the military. From what I could tell, it was a kind of strike seal that raised one’s physical abilities. It wasn’t that complicated, but it was hard to deal with in close-range combat. I’d need a pretty powerful explosion to defeat it.

Was that even possible, though? Exactly how big and powerful of an explosion would I need? One wrong move in this back alley could bring down the surrounding buildings on us. As long as Teoritta was here, I needed to keep the blast as weak as possible.

The slender assassin rushed forward to strike while we were still down, but I wasn’t going to let that happen. While I was falling, I’d thrown a coin with my left hand.

Eat shit.

I’d aimed it over their head. The blast and impact were even more powerful than my previous shot. The assassin swiftly blocked it with their gauntlets, but they were forced to leap back, landing on all fours.

They didn’t make it out unscathed, however. The enemy’s black mask had been partially burned in the explosion, revealing the face of a thin woman. I’d expected as much, based on their size and movements.

Her savage eyes—the eyes of a creature assessing its prey—darted from me to Kivia and then to Teoritta.

“…You saved me,” groaned Kivia, her eyes still locked on the enemy. She wore a sour expression, but I realized this was her way of thanking me. That meant she could keep fighting.

“You still good, Kivia? Feel free to lie down if you need to.”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” She frowned and slowly got back on her feet. “Enough chitchat.”

Bending her knees, she assumed her battle stance and took a step forward while I took a step back. We positioned ourselves on either side of Teoritta. We had to—the situation was only getting worse. I could hear more footsteps approaching from behind us, and soon six assassins emerged from the other end of the alleyway. Five were holding lightning staffs.

Seriously, what the hell is going on?

I was sick of these guys. The organization behind this must be a hundred times bigger than I’d imagined.

“…That’s enough, Shiji Bau,” instructed one of the newcomers with a deep, hoarse voice. I lowered my center of gravity and swiftly shifted my gaze in their direction.

“Your chance of defeating the penal heroes and their goddess is only one in a thousand,” they continued listlessly. “It’s time for you to withdraw. There is no benefit in continuing a meaningless battle.”

This person, dressed in a filthy black robe, was clearly a man—the only one among the new arrivals without a lightning staff. His back was rounded almost into a hump, but he would probably be around the same height as me if he stood up straight. His face was pale and sickly. Even his words sounded gloomy, as if he was muttering to himself.

“Did you hear me, Shiji Bau? You claimed to be a professional assassin, yes? If so, you should know when it’s time to withdraw.”

“You’re clearly still an amateur,” said the woman called Shiji Bau, her face twisted into a blatant frown. “Stop blabbing people’s names like that. Never give out information. That’s just common sense for a professional, Boojum.”

Shiji Bau called out the slouched man’s name like she was trying to get back at him. Boojum. Was that his name? Or was it just an alias? Whatever the case, Boojum bowed to her politely.

“I see. I had no idea. I’m not familiar with what’s considered common sense in this business, so I am counting on you to—”

“H-hey, is now really the time for this?” interrupted one of the assassins with a staff, cutting off what was beginning to sound like a very long-winded dialogue. “We need to get out of here! If we don’t hurry, the Holy Knights—”

“I’m sorry, but I need you to be quiet.” Boojum turned around and lightly waved his left hand. “I am having a conversation with Shiji Bau, and it is rude to interrupt.”

From where I was standing, it almost looked like he was slapping the man. And just like that, the assassin’s jaw disappeared—no, it was knocked clean off. I had no idea what had just happened, but the man shrieked and dropped to his knees. Blood poured out as he curled into a ball in agony.

Teoritta’s eyes opened wide, and she gasped. I held out my hand to block her view.

“Hmph,” Shiji Bau glanced at the jawless man and snorted. “Now you’ve gone and done it. Did you forget we were told not to kill any more than necessary?”

“‘Kill’? I didn’t kill anyone. I have a heart.”

“You broke his jaw. There’s something really wrong with you. In fact…”

Shiji Bau continued to chitchat as she casually walked toward us. Both Kivia and I could feel it in our guts—she was about to attack. We knew what she was capable of, and we wanted to avoid engaging her in close combat, if at all possible.

“Kivia, let’s split up,” I suggested. “The other assassins seem dangerous, too.”

“Very well. I’ll take care of the woman with the gauntlets.”

Light began to illuminate the ground as Kivia pierced it with the tip of her sword.

“Niskeph!”

“Tsk.”

Shiji Bau clicked her tongue as a pale, misty wall appeared in her path. She swung her fist, turning her gauntlet into the jaws of a beast, but the barrier deflected her attack. The sound of the impact echoed down the alleyway. It wasn’t going to be easy for the enemy to break past something like Kivia’s barrier, especially when she was using her sacred seal solely for defense.

Meanwhile, I planned to use this time to dispose of the other assassins. I unsheathed a knife—one I’d picked up from a defeated Gwen Mohsa assassin.

“Since Shiji Bau is so serious about this, I’m going to help her. Don’t fire your lightning staffs. I don’t want you accidentally hitting me. It stings.” Boojum moved forward, dragging his feet across the ground. “Now if you’ll excuse me.”

Narrowing his eyes, he suddenly accelerated. He was far faster than I’d imagined. He jumped to his left, kicked off the wall, and flew into the air. It seemed he, too, intended to use the narrow alley to move and attack in three dimensions.

He’s coming from above!

I threw my knife, figuring he wouldn’t be able to dodge easily in midair—but that was a mistake. Boojum twisted his body, accelerating even as he came down. I had no idea what he was doing, but for a brief moment, it looked almost as if his right arm bent like a whip. At the same time, I heard a pop like a bubble bursting.

Just who is this guy?

The knife I threw missed, exploding in midair with a flash of light and a roar. Maybe it surprised him. Otherwise, I don’t think I could’ve leaped back in time to dodge. I landed somewhat clumsily, but managed to survive. Another pop, and a crater formed where I’d just been standing. I got lucky and managed to evade it by a hair. Slashes, as if from a sword, appeared all over the ground and walls. What was he doing? What kind of weapon was he using? It didn’t look like he was holding anything, but maybe it was a hidden weapon like Shiji Bau’s? A few things were still unclear, but there was no time to think about it now.

“…An explosion. The work of a sacred seal, I presume. You must be the penal hero, Xylo Forbartz, I’ve been hearing so much about.”

Boojum closed the distance between us in the blink of an eye. His speed was unbelievable, his movement beast-like. His back was so arched, he had to look up at me, and his eyes were filled with a surprisingly genuine admiration.

“I never expected to run into you here. When I thought through all the things that could go wrong today, this was one of the worst-case scenarios.”

“What are you trying to say?” I asked, carefully getting back on my feet. This guy was too unpredictable. How was he able to move like that in the air? What were these clawlike scars digging into the walls and ground? He wasn’t wearing gauntlets engraved with sacred seals like Shiji Bau’s—he just looked like some hunchback in poor health. And yet his presence made me strangely uneasy.

“‘Boojum,’ was it? What was that crazy dodge just now? Were you an acrobat in the circus or something?”

“No.” He refused to play along with my joke, and there was an uncanny, chilling luster in his serious eyes. “You, too, are skilled in your craft. The precision with which you threw that knife was remarkable. Perhaps you are the one fit to join the circus.”

“Actually, I was in the circus for around three years as a professional knife-thrower. I was really good on the trapeze, too.”

Boojum nodded at my stupid joke.

“Interesting. No wonder you are so talented.”

Was he being serious? Did he just take what I said at face value?

“You’re the best in the world as far as I know,” he continued. “I respect that.”

“Boojum, shut up,” Shiji Bau scolded in a low voice. “You’re talking way too much, idiot. Stop giving him so much information. You’re really starting to look like an amateur.”

“I see. Professionals don’t offer explanations, yes? Very well.”

“Ha-ha… There’s something really wrong with these guys, huh?” At some point, Tsav had crawled all the way to where I was standing. “The one with the slouch is dangerous, too, but Shiji Bau… I’ve heard of her before. She’s a famous adventurer, not an assassin from the order.”

“I bet she has a high success rate when it comes to killing her target, unlike you.”

“Probably. She seems like a really terrible person. Nowhere near as lovable and kind as me… Heh…”

You wouldn’t guess from his joking, but Tsav was still bleeding profusely and his voice was weak.

“You probably shouldn’t be moving around, Teoritta,” he said. “Here, come sit with me. My bro Xylo and that tomboy lady are strong… I’m sure it’ll be…fine…”

“Who are you calling a tomboy?” said Kivia with a frown. Clearly, she could still afford to joke around. That came as a relief. When you tensed up, your brain and body slowed down as well. I could see why Kivia had become a captain at such a young age. Teoritta, on the other hand, wasn’t feeling so confident right now.

“Xylo.” She grabbed on to the hem of my shirt from behind once again. “…Are you in need of salvation, my knight? Surely, I could…”

Her face was wan but serious, and it was clear to me that she was trying to make a decision.

“I could…save you… I could make it…r-rain swords…”

“Don’t.”

I placed a firm hand on her shoulder. She was pushing herself too hard. She was terrified, fighting against her fear and going against her instincts—if you wanted to call them that—through willpower alone. I knew just how unbearably painful it was for goddesses when they tried to harm humans.

There’s no way I could forget.

I knew that pain. I could still remember it. I forced my thoughts back to what happened that day.

“Stop, Teoritta. You don’t need to do that. This isn’t your job.”

“But I…can save you. I can…do it…!”

She was trying to justify her actions by framing it as a way to save us.

“Stop.” I grabbed her shoulder again and squeezed tightly. “It’s fine.”

“But…” She grabbed my hand. “It’s strange… There’s something odd…about that man…”

“Wait! Bro, Teoritta…! They’re here!”

Teoritta was about to say something, and I wanted to hear her out, but Tsav cut in, interrupting us. About damn time, I thought, nodding back at him.

“They made it, Teoritta. You don’t have to force yourself to do anything.”

“Huh?”

“We’re not alone out here anymore.” I looked up as a large shadow soared across the sky. “Get down!”

I grabbed Teoritta’s head and pulled her to the ground. Kivia joined us and Shiji Bau leaped back as if blown by the wind. The others, however, didn’t make it in time.

A surging stream of fire rained from the sky—so powerful it could cook you to the bone. The back alley glowed a bright red, and then, in the blink of an eye, it was overflowing with flame. The assassins shrieked in agony, almost dancing as they were cooked alive, before dropping to the ground. Boojum was right there with them. Engulfed in flames, he staggered before crashing into a wall. In an instant, the alleyway had become a scene from hell. Kivia was in a daze, and I covered Teoritta’s eyes with my hand—the horror wasn’t over yet. Covered in flames, an assassin tried to escape, only to have his skull shattered by a spear thrown from the sky.

“Hey there,” came an indifferent voice from above. The azure dragon, Neely, then spread her wings, rapidly descending to the ground with Jayce. Tsav had called for them.

With our dragon knight back on the roster, we would no longer run the risk of being isolated on the battlefield.

“The hell is wrong with you, asking us to come to a narrow alley like this?” complained Jayce with his usual scowl. “I didn’t want to, so you better thank Neely. You owe her.”

“I know.” I didn’t bother arguing. I would have to treat them to dinner or something later. “Sorry, Neely.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Neely,” Tsav said, smirking awkwardly.

Neely snorted. I didn’t know if that was her reply, or if she was laughing at us, but whatever the case, she raised her head as Jayce rubbed her throat.

“You sure? You’re so sweet, Neely… Of course. We’ll take another day off to make up for this. We can take a trip to the sea tomorrow, and fly as far as you want.”

This might sound crazy, but there was something very picturesque about seeing Jayce talk to Neely like this amid a sea of flames.

“Call the fire brigade!” shouted Kivia in a panic as she got to her feet. “Xylo, get in contact with the local government! We need to put out this fire immediately!”

…This was the problem with using Jayce.

He didn’t think twice about civilian casualties. In fact, he didn’t think he should have to. You had to keep him on a short leash with his sacred seal, or you were asking for disaster. And since there was a dragon involved, you could expect far more damage than with Tsav.

We’re going to get more than a slap on the wrist for this. That’s for sure.

I looked back over my shoulder as gloom filled my heart. Of course, Shiji Bau was nowhere to be seen. She’d probably run away already. The problem was the other guy: Boojum. The rest of the assassins cried out in agony as they perished in the flames, but I hadn’t heard so much as a groan from him. He simply stared at me, almost indifferently, as he was engulfed in the fire.

“You called a dragon for backup, I see. Very impressive, penal hero,” he said as his skin bubbled. It almost looked as if his flesh were regenerating as it burned.

“Interesting. The flames of a dragon are overwhelmingly hot. I’m a bit short on blood right now, but this has been a learning experience… Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

I hesitated briefly, wondering if I should ask him something.

“Until we meet again,” he said.

Then he leaped into the air, leaving a shower of sparks behind as he kicked off the walls and made his way to the top of a building. He had the physical ability of an animal—of a goddamn monster. Jayce watched the man escape, looking fed up.

“He just…ran away? Who was that man? Neely lit him on fire, for crying out loud.”

“I don’t know. But…”

I paused, unsure of what to say.

The man called Boojum didn’t make any sense. He had survived being lit on fire. It was like he wasn’t human.

“Teoritta.” I turned to the goddess. She was still tightly holding on to my hand. “What were you about to say a minute ago? About that man with the slouch. What was odd about him?”

“I am not sure, exactly. It’s just…when I thought of attacking those people… He was the only one…I felt like I could…strike…”

Her momentum gradually weakened the more she talked. It was as if she was beginning to doubt herself.

“Don’t worry about being wrong. Just say what’s on your mind. What’s your gut telling you?”

“…It’s possible that man isn’t human.”

I felt more certain than ever.

Was that Spriggan, then?

Punishment: Sham Vacation at the Port City of Ioff—Final Report

To make a long story short, there was a traitor among us. That was the only thing that made sense.

The guards Kivia deployed around town had been separated from one another and isolated. Looking at a map instantly made the situation clear. The enemy had sent concentrated groups of assassins to specific points, cutting off communication. Over a hundred Holy Knights had been deployed, and over half of them were dead or severely injured.

The attack had come as a surprise, and it had been brutal. This wasn’t something just anyone could pull off. We’d taken a decent number of survivors prisoner, but most of them were either low-level grunts or adventurers, who weren’t much better, and the rest took their own lives with poison they’d hidden somewhere on their body. If only Jayce had held back a little, I thought.

…Back at the barracks, we were busy discussing the situation.

“We” being Kivia, those in charge of the deployed units, and me. I was the only one from Penal Hero Unit 9004, since I didn’t want Teoritta to hear. Normally, our so-called commander would serve as our representative in meetings like this, but you couldn’t expect anything from Venetim when it came to military affairs, and he was busy writing a letter of apology detailing our mistakes. So, through process of elimination, the duty fell to me.

“…Then, Captain Kivia…,” grumbled a young man as he looked up from a map. “What you’re trying to say is…that we have a traitor among us?”

This was the officer in charge of the infantry—I believe his name was Rajit. He wore a humorless, overly serious expression—exactly the kind of guy you’d expect to find in a military uniform.

“We don’t know for sure yet,” replied Kivia calmly. It sounded like she was actively keeping the emotion from her voice. “They might very well be in another unit. I contacted Galtuile about our security measures and touched base with Ioff’s defense force, who we have been working with, as well.”

These were both natural reactions for someone in the military. She could have set up a trap herself, but she wasn’t a risk-taker. I understood and respected that decision.

“…It doesn’t make much of a difference anyway.” The officer in charge of the cavalry shook his head, his arms crossed.

This man was named Zofflec, if memory served. He sat up straight, but spoke roughly from time to time and seemed to always have a cynical smirk on his face.

“It could be one of us, one of those in power, or even one of our allied forces,” he continued. “And we can’t put up a decent fight if we can’t trust one another. We’re in an extremely bad position right now.” He heaved an overly dramatic sigh and shifted his gaze toward the corner of the table. “Wouldn’t you agree, Officer Siena?”

“…Yes, I agree,” said a petite woman. Her voice sounded somewhat restrained.

Siena, who had been quiet up until now, was in charge of their sniper unit. I wished she could give our sniper a little bit of her reserved attitude.

“Our unit suffered the most casualties,” she continued. “Almost every sniper deployed was killed.”

“That means we need to figure this out, and fast,” said Rajit, nodding cautiously. “Captain Kivia, I believe we should rethink how we’re guarding Goddess Teoritta. First, we should gather only those we can trust, starting with those of us here, and consider—”

“I don’t know about that. Sounds pretty pointless, if you ask me.”

I should probably keep my mouth shut, I thought as I spoke up, unable to resist. This was about protecting Teoritta, after all… The moment that thought crossed my mind, I sighed inwardly.

Could it be that I…?

Was I trying to make sure the same thing didn’t happen to Teoritta? Did I think this would help me take back something I’d lost? Dammit. Teoritta wasn’t going to replace Senerva, no matter what. And yet I continued:

“‘Only those we can trust’? First off, we should be skeptical of everyone in this room.”

“…The audacity.” Rajit glared at me just like I knew he would. “That includes you, penal hero… In fact, the ‘goddess killer’ should be at the top of our list of suspects.”

He had a point.

Can’t argue with that.

I smiled wryly, and Zofflec started to laugh.

“Good point, Rajit! I completely agree. Captain Kivia, are you sure we should allow this hero to join our meetings?” Although he was laughing, there was a sharpness to his words. “I’m suspicious of him, too. After all, he’s the one who stole the goddess from us in the first place. Nothing he does makes any sense.”

With Rajit and Zofflec criticizing me, I was growing more uncomfortable by the minute. The remaining officer, Siena, observed me in silence, her expression giving away nothing. How like a sniper. I couldn’t afford to back down, though.

“At the very least, we need to do some undercover work,” I said. “We should get in touch with the Twelfth Order of the Holy Knights via Galtuile.”

I knew that unit, and they specialized in intelligence. They occupied a special role, and were the only order that didn’t show themselves in public. Only a limited number of people knew what they looked like. Even when I was a captain, I never once met them. There were rumors they didn’t exist at all. But I knew there was a group specializing in such matters: the National Intelligence Corps.

“We can’t fight if we don’t trust each other. You’re right about that,” I said. “And yeah, of course, I must look the most suspicious of all, but in this situation, you can’t trust anybody.”

“…I understand what you all wish to say.”

Kivia slowly got to her feet, then turned to someone else—a man not at our table, but seated at the desk at the back of the room.

“What do you think, Uncle Marlen? I believe we should reconsider our strategy, report our findings to Galtuile, and conduct an internal investigation.”

“Yes…,” said a man with a heavy, somewhat husky voice.

This was High Priest Marlen Kivia, Kivia’s uncle. He occupied a seat at the Temple’s sacred council meetings, and was basically at the top of the Temple’s hierarchy. He was a skinny man at the end of middle age, and his hair was peppered with white—each strand evidence of worry and stress. His overly serious expression was much like Kivia’s, but in his case I got the impression he was more high-strung. Maybe it was because his eyes were sterner than his niece’s.

“I was just assigned to this investigation, but…”

Marlen Kivia wasn’t exaggerating about that. He had arrived from the First Capital not long ago, commissioned by Ioff’s city government to serve as a consultant for the defense force. For the past ten days, he had been working to get a grasp on the situation and secure the authority to preside over the case.

The division of roles between the military and the Temple was complicated in cases like this. Especially when goddesses were involved, there tended to be exceptions and special cases. The current balance of power and political state of the kingdom usually decided who was in charge.

“The fact that we don’t know who we can trust, including me, is a matter of concern,” he admitted, busily drumming his fingers on the table. “That said, we don’t know if the Twelfth Order can or even will help us… Therefore, our priority should be to revise our current security plan. I believe our only choice right now is to increase the number of guards protecting the goddess as much as possible.”

He heaved a long, soft sigh—conveying what sounded like days’ worth of exhaustion.

“It is extremely unfortunate that we weren’t able to capture anyone with useful information. How did the questioning go, Patausche?”

I’d almost forgotten that Patausche was Kivia’s first name, since I never had any opportunity to use it.

“Less than ideal,” she replied, straightening her posture. I could tell she was nervous. “Most of those caught were adventurers, and it seems they don’t know who hired them.”

“I see.” The high priest nodded coldly. There was something very unnatural about his relationship with his niece. They were way too formal with each other. Maybe it only seemed that way because of Kivia’s personality. Yeah, that had to be it.

“You have my deepest apologies. If only we’d been able to capture the ones who seemed to know what was going on, then…”

As Kivia bowed politely, the high priest’s lips curled into a faint smirk.

“Don’t let it bother you,” he said. “You’re far too harsh on yourself. Too much regret and anxiety will only hamper your work.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“You’re so serious. Eh, I suppose it can’t be helped. If you were any different, you wouldn’t be Patausche Kivia.”

High Priest Marlen let out a whispery sigh. I wondered if that was his way of laughing. He must be unable to laugh cheerfully, just like his niece.

“At any rate,” he continued. “All we can do now is prepare for the next attack—”

“One moment, High Priest Marlen,” I interrupted, raising my hand, despite once again thinking that I should probably keep my mouth shut. “There’s still something we can do.”

The moment I spoke, he turned to look at me. But he wasn’t glaring—he seemed more intrigued than anything.

“Oh my. How troubling. I don’t remember asking you for your opinion, penal hero Xylo. Although you may have forged a pact with the goddess, we can’t have you ignoring rules and regulations in a place like this. Otherwise, our organization will cease to function.”

“Yes, I understand that, but I think my opinion will come in handy.”

“Xylo! Stop! You—”

Kivia grabbed my elbow in a fluster, but there was no way I could back down now.

“We can probably get some information out of the middlemen who hired the adventurers,” I continued.

High Priest Marlen didn’t tell me to shut up, but his sharp gaze narrowed further.

“…Are you claiming to know who these people might be?”

“Yes,” I replied. “At the very least, I know of someone we should investigate right away.”

I met Kivia’s anxious gaze with a tiny smile and a nod. I let her know not to worry by lightly patting the hand she’d placed on my elbow, though she didn’t seem to understand what I meant.

“Mmn…!”

Her eyes opened wide, and she immediately looked away from me, causing the high priest to breathe another whispery sigh.

“Hmph. Very well. I will allow you to speak. I am sure you must have a wonderful idea you are just dying to grace us with.”

“You could say that. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t raise my hand in front of someone as important as you.”

“The way you speak is provocative and yet eases the tension in the room. Take note, Patausche. You needn’t be as laid-back as him, but you could learn a thing or two.”

Kivia swallowed her reply, but she was clearly annoyed.

“Now, penal hero Xylo… Who is it we should look into?”

“The mediator who arranges jobs for adventurers in the city.”

“It seems you’re quite familiar with such underground enterprises. And who is this mediator?”

“It isn’t one person.” I paused before giving a name. “It’s the Adventurers Guild itself.”

There’s one more thing I need to add to this report.

Venetim was waiting for me when I got back from the meeting.

“…Is everything okay?” he asked. Incidentally, Dotta was lying on the ground, drunk off his ass and snoring, with a bottle of booze still in his hand.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Oh, uh…” Venetim smirked uncomfortably at my confusion. “I was just worried that maybe we were being punished or something…”

“No, we’re good. That high priest is a real serious guy, just like his niece. He didn’t do anything to hurt us out of spite.”

“…I see.” Venetim covered his mouth as if to suppress a yawn. I had no idea what he was trying to say. “So…how were the others in the meeting acting?”

“What? Is there someone you’re concerned about? Don’t tell me you’re trying to get with that female sniper? Don’t even bother. She seems like a lot of work, and I’m sure not gonna help.”

“No, it’s not that…” He hesitated for a few seconds, then shook his head. “Never mind.”

“The hell’s gotten into you?”

Now I was even more confused. I grabbed Dotta’s bottle of booze without remorse. I was probably going to need this to prepare for the next day’s task.

“Time to get to work, Venetim,” I said. “But first, I need your help selecting the right people.”

In the end, Venetim was the only one I could count on when it came to discussions like this. His useless remarks and clueless responses helped me process my thoughts.

“Are we going to discuss strategy over drinks?” he asked. “I suppose I could help with that.”

“Not like you’ve got anything else to do. In return, I’ll listen to whatever it is you want to talk about, since it sounds like something’s bothering you.”

“Nothing’s bothering me.” His smile didn’t inspire confidence. “That’s not it. That’s not it at all.”

Venetim was a total mystery to me. But maybe all con artists were like this.

Proof of Criminal Record: Lideo Sodrick

Lideo Sodrick was in his room when he received a shocking report. He was speechless—of course he was. And he was restless, too.

The attack against the Holy Knights had been a success. The lightning staffs obtained were put to good use. The knights were carefully surrounded and separated from one another. And most importantly, Lideo had sent in his two most skilled adventurers. Though they were expensive, they were well worth their price.

I can’t believe both of them failed.

He directed his gaze to the two people in question, now back—the slender female dressed in all black and the man with the slouch: Shiji Bau and Boojum. Neither, he suspected, used their real names. Shiji Bau meant “spike” in the language of the ancient kingdom, and it was a reference to the spikes people used on the soles of their shoes in the north.

Boojum’s name was a mystery. Unlike Shiji Bau, who was moodily crossing her arms and gazing down at Lideo, he had taken a seat in the corner of the room and appeared to be reading a book.

“It was a dragon knight,” Shiji Bau said in a whisper. She seldom made a sound and preferred to move, speak, and work in near silence. “And he didn’t seem to care how much of the city he destroyed in the process. It was completely unexpected. I can’t work under such conditions, Guild Master.”

Guild master—that was Lideo Sodrick’s title. He was in charge of the Adventurers Guild, a kind of mutual aid society. The port city of Ioff was a commercial center with an endless number of guilds, and his was one of the most influential. Only the merchant guild and the Adventurers Guild had a private army at their disposal and thus the ability to resort to more forceful means.

And it was the Adventurers Guild, naturally, that specialized in violence.

Great… Lideo fell into a black mood. This kind of failure is not gonna look good to our clients.

Violence was one of the Adventurers Guild’s tools of the trade. More specifically, it was the resulting fear and intimidation that created and ensured profit. In fact, promoting their reputation of violence was more important than the violence itself. That was how these adventurers made a living.

“Considering the risk, I’ll be expecting a greater reward.” Shiji Bau stared at Lideo, her eyes devoid of emotion. Perhaps it was more of a glare than a stare.

“I understand where you’re coming from, but…”

Lideo stared right back at her. He was the guild master. Although he was technically her boss, she was far more powerful than he was. Nevertheless, he couldn’t allow himself to show any fear.

“You two failed, and from what I heard, you had plenty of time to get the job done before that dragon knight appeared.”

“Hmph. The penal hero guarding her was far stronger than your intel made him sound. And that man back there…” Shiji Bau pointed at Boojum with her thumb. “He’s a complete amateur. He might be good at killing, but he gave the enemy far too much information. You should remove him from this mission or kill him right away.”

“…Are you talking about me?” Boojum didn’t look up from his book. “Why? What is the problem? I followed orders, and withdrawing when I did was the right call.”

“That’s not the problem. You said I wouldn’t be able to defeat that hero. Why?”

“Because it’s true. You wouldn’t. You had only a one thousand-to-one chance of winning, at most.”

“Excuse me?”

Shiji Bau looked back at him and glared, but he simply turned the page of his book without a care in the world.

“Oh, my apologies. I was simply trying to be kind. In reality, you had only a ten thousand-to-one chance, at most.”

“…See what I’m dealing with?” she said, exasperated. “What’s wrong with this man? Did you hire him to lower morale or something?”

“‘Lower morale’…? I see… So that’s how you perceived my remark,” Boojum said seriously, his eyes still focused on his book. “Lideo Sodrick, you have my apologies. It appears I have upset her, when that wasn’t my aim. I was simply telling her the truth.”

Lideo didn’t say a word.

Unlike Shiji Bau, Boojum was an unknown adventurer who had appeared on the scene only recently. Lideo first learned of him when Boojum got into a fight at a gambling house run by the Adventurers Guild. Lideo didn’t know the details—what he did know was that ten adventurers had ganged up on Boojum and lost. Not a single one survived. Each of them had fatal gashes from what appeared to be the claws or fangs of a beast. None of the witnesses could say how Boojum had done it, but that was of little interest to Lideo. All he wanted was a bodyguard who could be controlled. And so he secretly took in Boojum at the Adventurers Guild, allowing him to stay for free.

At first, I thought he was some ex-adventurer who had fallen on hard times, but…

There was something strange about him. He was an excellent bodyguard with beast-like reflexes and the preternatural ability to sense danger. But although he would loyally follow orders, he didn’t understand how the world worked at all. At first, he didn’t even understand how money worked. So while he was merciless and excelled at violence, Shiji Bau wasn’t wrong—he was an amateur when it came to anything else.

“…Boojum stays for now,” said the guild master. “I’ve made my decision.”

He was strong. While you couldn’t predict what he was thinking, he was loyal, and that made him a valuable pawn.

“Shiji Bau, I want you to look after him,” Lideo continued. “If you feel that he’s an amateur, give him guidance.”

“What am I? His trainer?” She gave a haughty snort before shooting a glance at Boojum, who was still reading his book, and shrugging. “He’s going to hold me back. Plus, those guards are strong. I’m going to need a little more money.”

“Hmph! Excuses, excuses. You’re adding fees just because the enemy is a bit strong?”

“…Oh, you’re taunting me now?”

Her gaze sharpened at his provocative grin, but in the blink of an eye, another individual had stepped in between them.

“Brother,” came the low voice of a small, shadowy figure. “Please stand back.”

It was a girl with dull blond hair. She was young enough to be considered a child, but her eyes were eerily dark. Though perhaps that was only Lideo’s guilt talking.

“This woman is a stray dog. She doesn’t have an owner…which makes her dangerous.”

This girl was called Iri and was one of the children Lideo personally kept. Iri was the most violent of the bunch, but while she was decently skilled, it was her loyalty that made her so much more valuable than a hired mercenary or adventurer.

Lideo was raising twenty children altogether. This was something he’d been taught by his predecessor. He invested in the city’s orphanage via donations from the Adventurers Guild. And in return, he would take in the most promising children and have them undergo special education and training. This would provide him with a private army not reliant on any third party.

Other guilds were doing the same thing. Organizations for merchants and craftsmen would find children with potential and train them from a young age. The only difference was the type of “products” they handled.

Lideo referred to these children as his younger brothers and sisters and had them call him “Brother” in return. This, combined with special treatment, promoted a strong sense of loyalty.

“Brother, you’re always letting your guard down,” Iri insisted, almost reprimanding him. “I can’t believe you allowed these people into your room… I can mediate if you need me to.”

“I’m just doing things as my predecessor taught me,” Lideo replied. It was the excuse he always gave if he wanted to end a conversation quickly and save himself a headache. “Whenever you have important business to discuss, you should meet face-to-face. That way, you know if you can trust the other party. You have to listen to your gut.”

Of course, not all of that was true. The reason he’d summoned Shiji Bau and Boojum to meet him in person was because this room was the safest place for him to be. One of his “little brothers” was waiting in the room next door with a special weapon already aimed at the adventurers, and he had Iri by his side as well. The desk between Lideo and his two guests was even engraved with some sacred seal traps.

Lideo was something of a coward, you see—even he acknowledged it.

This is how I’ve survived so long in such a precarious post.

Shiji Bau was aware of the traps in the desk, of course, but Lideo wasn’t sure whether Boojum had noticed. He carefully chose his next words.

“At any rate, Shiji Bau, I trust in your skills, and in your loyalty to the contract you signed.”

About this, he was being serious. Honoring agreements was important for an adventurer, and you especially didn’t want Lideo, the guild master, to speak ill of you. If that happened, you’d have problems finding work even in other towns.

“Let’s discuss how to proceed. Something unexpected happened, and security around the target will most likely increase. In light of the heightened risk, I’m fine with raising your pay. However…” Lideo tapped the small cloth bag of coins on the desk—silver coins from the old kingdom. “You’ll have to accept another job as well.”

He took out another cloth bag of the same size and placed it on the desk.

“You haven’t finished the assigned job. In fact, if you ask me, expecting the unexpected is just part of our line of work. If you back out now, I will not be paying you your completion bonus.” His lip curled slightly. All he needed was for her to think he had the upper hand. “We aren’t the army, after all.”

He was trying to hint that he knew about her past. Shiji Bau’s peculiar sacred seal weapons and combat style were uncommon. This had caught Lideo’s eye, and he’d looked into her background, eventually digging up her real name. To make a long story short, she was an army deserter, and her name was on a list of soldiers assigned to an experimental unit. After escaping the military, she fell on hard times, fighting and doing whatever she could to make money. Although the details weren’t clear, if he were to let her former employer know she still had her sacred seal–engraved weapon, it would most certainly make her life difficult in the future.

“I believe we can establish a profitable relationship,” he finished.

“All right.”

Shiji Bau’s movements were quick. Iri reacted as the adventurer shifted her right hand, but her gauntlet had already changed shape in the blink of an eye. The steel wires formed a sickle, swiping the two coin bags off the desk.

“How dare you…!” shouted Iri, unsheathing her knife. She was enraged.

“That won’t be necessary, Iri. Stand back,” ordered Lideo calmly.

He understood what Shiji Bau was doing. She could easily kill Lideo, even in a situation like this. The traps in his desk didn’t matter. It would be nothing to take him out with her. That was what she wanted to say.

I know how she feels.

You couldn’t let people disrespect you in this line of work. Lideo understood that better than anyone.

“I’ll come back for the rest once the job is over,” she said. “Have three bags ready.”

“You’re being unreasonable. Can’t we negotiate a little?”

“No. I have necessary expenses,” Shiji Bau spat, before turning on her heel. “Those guards were tougher than I imagined. I’ll have to hire more people.”

“I can introduce you to some adventurers if you’d like,” offered Lideo. Shiji Bau snorted.

“Useless thugs are a waste of money, no matter how many you get. As long as our enemy has a dragon, we’ll need people who can use sacred seals. Professionals, unlike this idiot.”

“Wise words,” Boojum replied. “I will not be very useful to you in battles within the city. By the way, Lideo Sodrick…”

Only then did Boojum finally look up from his book. Every time Lideo saw his eyes, he felt as if he were staring into two bottomless black holes.

“I would like to request additional pay for my services as well,” the man continued. “I wish to purchase another book.”

“Another one?” Lideo asked.

Boojum was an avid reader and asked for a new book every time he completed a job. Although a cheap and easy request, it did make Lideo a little curious.

“Are you sure that’s all you want?” he asked.

“Positive. I’ve taken a special liking to this author, Altoyard Comette. What a brilliant poet.”

“If you say so.”

Lideo couldn’t comprehend the value of poetry, but it seemed an interesting hobby for a man who knew only violence.

“Very well, then. In return, I expect you to follow Shiji Bau’s commands at all times.”

“All right. Shiji Bau, I’m ready for orders.”

“…Then let’s get a few things straight.” She shot Boojum a brief but piercing glare. “First, no small talk. And when you speak with someone, look them in the eye. Got it? Now follow me.”

“As you wish.”

Iri waited a full thirty seconds after Boojum followed Shiji Bau out of the room, before turning to Lideo with a worried gaze.

“…Do you really think they can do it, Brother?”

“There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

Feeling stifled, Lideo shifted his gaze toward the world outside his window.

For a second, he was struck by the feeling that someone was watching them from the building across the street. The presence was soon gone, but he couldn’t simply dismiss it as his imagination. They were everywhere. The first one he’d met was a man with a sacred seal hanging over his chest—proof of his position as a priest.

He’d approached Lideo with a deal—a deal that Lideo couldn’t refuse. Obey, coexist, or die. Those were his choices, and if he didn’t want to die, he was going to have to prove that he could be useful.

…Coexisters.

He recalled the name of their group. Humans coexisting with the Demon Blight. By reaching an understanding with intelligent demon lords, they would ensure the survival of the human race. Lideo was familiar with such deals, and he understood them.

In other words, they want a system of slaves, people who control the slaves, and rulers.

…Or at least, that was how it looked to him.

The coexisters would allow the demon lords to rule and in return would be made into overseers with control over the slaves. Whatever the case, they had far more influence than Lideo had ever imagined.

At this rate, humanity is going to lose.

He was almost certain of it. And if that was inevitable, he needed to at least secure his place as an overseer. Only then could he guarantee a good life for himself and his family: his brothers and sisters. Iri and the others were no longer just tools of the trade to Lideo. He had become emotionally attached.

Perhaps he wasn’t cut out to be guild master. That’s what his predecessor would have said anyway. But there was nothing he could do about it now.

I’m probably already a traitor to humanity…

He felt Iri’s stare as the guilt slowly swallowed him up. To Lideo’s way of thinking, guilt was a privilege reserved for those in positions of power like himself.

…I don’t have a choice. I have to do this for my family.

We penal heroes hardly had any freedom when it came to our meals. We couldn’t complain about the food, nor could we choose where to eat it, though there were exceptions when on the move during missions. Some people brought back booze and snacks to enjoy in their rooms, but you couldn’t get your hands on stuff like that without special skills.

There were only two designated eating areas for heroes in the barracks in Ioff: a corner of the soldiers’ cafeteria and a spot beside the dragon stables. The latter was a special dispensation only afforded us because Jayce had to tend to the dragons.

For that reason, Jayce hardly ever ate in the cafeteria. But that day was one of the rare occasions when he did. Arriving at our designated corner, I found Jayce and Dotta sitting side by side, eating breakfast.

“You don’t see this every day,” I commented, speaking my mind as I took a seat by Dotta. “What’s wrong, Jayce? Neely kick you out of the stables?”

“Yep,” admitted Jayce grumpily, though I’d only meant it as a joke. “Neely got jealous.”

Our dragon knight stuffed his mouth with rye bread, as if to say he didn’t want to talk about it. This happened from time to time. Dragons had a peculiar love for Jayce, and he liked to take care of them, so naturally, they were always around him. When a female dragon approached him, however, Neely tended to get upset.

Things could get especially messy during mealtime. Occasionally a dragon would try to eat by Jayce’s side, or Jayce would share his food with one of them. This was the kind of thing that put Neely in a bad mood. I couldn’t tell you what it was that set her off, but I knew it happened.

I’d even witnessed it once. Random dragons were laying their heads in Jayce’s lap and on his shoulders. Some were even offering him the meat or vegetables clamped between their fangs. It reminded me of how young noblewomen might approach the sons of royalty or high-ranking nobles at an evening banquet.

“Hey, Xylo…? Just let him be,” whispered Dotta, poking me with his elbow. “I’d rather you guys not start another one of your stupid fights.”

“We don’t fight.”

“You do, too. You guys are basically the embodiments of anger and violence. It’s so bad, I wish they’d have you eat at different times…” Dotta glanced behind me, then scanned our surroundings. “Hey, where’s Teoritta? Is she not with you?”

“She’s still asleep, so I didn’t bring her. Besides, I have a favor to ask of you, Dotta, and I didn’t want her to hear.”

“Seriously?” He couldn’t have looked less thrilled. “Actually, I’m good. You’re just gonna make me do something I don’t wanna do.”

“Yep.”

“And it’s gonna be dangerous.”

“Yep.”

“Something so dangerous you can’t even bring Teoritta.”

“Wow, you’re good. Saving me a lot of explanation here.”

I shifted closer to Dotta and began biting into my rye bread. That day we had bread, cheese, and pickled cabbage. I could kill for some meat right now.

“Rejoice,” I said. “You’ll get to see the town shackle-free.”

“Yeah, yeah. I heard what happened to Tsav.”

Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Tsav didn’t have to go in for repairs after losing a good chunk of his left arm and only wound up in the hospital.

“So what’s the mission?” asked Dotta.

“Well, we have several objectives this time around, but our first priority is to infiltrate the Adventurers Guild.”

“Just great…” Dotta looked like he was struggling not to vomit.

We needed to look into the relationship between the Adventurers Guild and the people who attacked us the other day. That was our best way of finding out their identities. We couldn’t bring Teoritta along, however, since it was clear that would only cause more trouble.

“If you’re going to the Adventurers Guild,” said Dotta, “wouldn’t it be better if you brought Rhyno?”

“He’s still in the hole. Besides, you never know what that guy’s gonna do, and I don’t want to take any risks.”

Rhyno was our unit’s artilleryman, but he was currently in solitary confinement for violating orders. He was originally an adventurer, so he probably had a lot of contacts in the guild, but he wasn’t someone you could count on during missions like this.

“You still don’t need me, though. What about Venetim?”

“He has to pick up King Norgalle today.”

Those in charge had finally repaired Norgalle’s leg. That is to say, they’d finally found a body part they could attach to him.

“Plus, I need your skills,” I said.

“Mmm…,” Dotta groaned, but he couldn’t refuse. Even if he did, Kivia would eventually hand down the same orders.

“Sounds like you need help, Xylo,” said Jayce suddenly, breaking his silence. “I can go in Dotta’s place if you want. Not like I’ve got anything else to do today.”

“Wait! Really?! Then—” Dotta leaped to his feet, grinning from ear to ear in pure bliss. But before he could stand up completely, he froze. I was grabbing his shoulder.

“Sit down, idiot. You really want Jayce working in the city?”

There was a fundamental problem with getting Jayce’s help, especially when it came to working undercover. You were basically betting on a dragon who couldn’t understand the rules to not mess things up.

“We can’t take that kind of risk. Plus, he doesn’t even know what we’re doing.”

“I know. I was listening. The Adventurers Guild… You need to sneak into some building, right? Piece of cake. How many guards are there? A few puny humans can’t stop me.”

“See what I mean, Dotta? That’s why you’re coming.”

“Fine…” Dotta closed his eyes and flopped down on the table. “I’m sick of being locked up inside all day, and if it means I can walk around town for a bit, then…sure. I’ll do it.”

“Well, okay then,” said Jayce easily, before throwing a piece of cheese into his mouth. “Xylo, you better not cause any trouble for Dotta. Got it?”

Jayce respected Dotta and tended to be lenient toward him. He once told me: “Not only did Dotta try to help that dragon escape, but he even let her eat his arm. He’s just that kind of guy.” Almost choked with emotion, he added: “…He fed himself to a hungry dragon. I don’t know if even I could do that.” I decided not to comment on the matter.

“So? Give me the details.” Dotta looked up at me, an anxious cast to his eyes. “How do you plan on sneaking inside? Will it just be you and me? No Teoritta, right?”

“That’s right. Allow me to explain…”

We needed to wait until sundown before starting the mission, since that was when the Adventurers Guild conducted most of its business.

“It’s time,” declared Kivia. She looked so serious, it was almost painful to watch. “Dotta, Xylo. The three of us are about to infiltrate enemy territory. Our goal is to make contact with Lideo Sodrick, an extremely dangerous individual. Be careful.”

I glanced at Kivia’s outfit.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” I asked.

“Is there a problem?”

She touched her collar. Under a dark wine-red cloak, she was wearing a rather frilly shirt with lacy cuffs and a heavy skirt. She could easily be mistaken for a wealthy noblewoman if it weren’t for the sword strapped to her waist and the overly grim look in her eyes… In fact, that was exactly what she was.

“Or are you once again claiming that I look like a man? Is that what you want to say?”

She was being really aggressive, and I could tell it was scaring Dotta. He kept elbowing me in the side as if begging me to do something. Okay, Dotta.

“…I didn’t say that.” After a moment’s thought, I decided to give my honest impression. “You look really good. I would have assumed you were some sought-after noblewoman if I didn’t know any better.”

“Oh.” Her mouth opened wide for a second, then she quickly pressed her lips together. “Flattery is not necessary. It’s no use trying to curry favor with me, it will have no effect whatsoever.”

“Well, that’s great and all,” I said, “but…we’re about to sneak into the Adventurers Guild, so…”

There was a time and a place for everything, and the clothes Dotta and I were wearing were anything but luxurious. We looked more like struggling merchants or craftsmen, or at best, servants working at some richer person’s mansion.

“What’s our story?” I asked. “We need to come up with a fake job offer.”

“The most obvious choice would be a request to eliminate some faeries,” said Kivia. “Let’s ask them to kill some faeries that built a nest in our territory.”

“I don’t think that’ll work,” muttered Dotta quietly. “That’s usually a job for the military. I know the Guild has their own personal army, but they’d never take a job like that unless it meant making some serious money.”

“Then let’s offer them just that,” she countered.

“N-no, that still won’t work. It’ll just make us look really suspicious.”

“I see.”

Kivia glanced at me as if asking for help, and though I wasn’t too familiar with the business, I did know a thing or two about the kinds of jobs Adventurers did.

“There are some bandits we need dealt with,” I suggested. “How does that sound?”

It felt cliché, but we did hire an adventurer to help rid us of some bandits back when I lived with the Mastibolt family.

“Bandits have been sighted in our territory, and we need help getting rid of them.”

“Aren’t both of those jobs a little…violent?” said Dotta. “I’m sure you could find bandits in some more remote regions, but…”

He seemed to be choosing each of his words carefully so as not to anger us, but it kind of pissed me off to be treated like a useless child.

“We’re in Ioff, you know,” he continued. “…There aren’t any wandering bandits, and the ones they do have are already paying the guild their share, if you know what I mean.”

“Then…” Kivia knitted her brow and crossed her arms. “What do you think we should do? What kind of job would this city’s Adventurers Guild accept?”

“Well, uh…” Dotta looked back and forth between Kivia and me, until at last he seemed to come up with something. “Judging from your appearances, I think we can assume you’re the wife of a nobleman, and you’re her secret lover.”

“Excuse me?”

“Huh?”

“You’re plotting together to kill the husband,” Dotta concluded. “So, any nobles you’re itching to kill?”

The history of the district known as Sodrick’s Shell was that of the Adventurers Guild itself. You could even call it the city’s own history of violence, and I knew a little about it.

Back when maritime piracy was rampant off the coast of Ioff in the Korio Bay, the leader of a certain group of fishermen built a personal army to eliminate the threat. That was Sodrick’s ancestor.

After that, Dayir Sodrick, the dauntless champion and Sword of the Sea, announced he was founding his own group to promote the city’s independence…or something like that. The story had most likely been altered and romanticized over the years. In reality, it was probably nothing more than a fight between two opposing pirate crews over territory.

Regardless, the Sodrick family cared enough about appearances to push their version of the story, and they had the power and influence to do so. That much was true. The current head of the family was a man named Lideo Sodrick. He represented the Adventurers Guild, and on the surface, he was one of the most notable individuals in the city.

The district known as Sodrick’s Shell was the part of town over which Lideo Sodrick held the most sway. The streets wound around in circles like the whorls of a shell, all converging in the center, where the Adventurers Guild was located. There was no sign, but once you got up close, you couldn’t miss it.

After walking through the burnt and partially destroyed back alley, we finally made it to the heart of the district. The place was pretty lawless, and each step we took toward the Guild only made that clearer. The way was littered with street stalls with a plethora of illegal offerings: tools engraved with sacred seals, faerie carcasses, stolen goods, moonshine, humans, and even the forbidden plants that Jayce had cultivated and released into the world. Kivia narrowed her eyes sharply at everything she saw.

“Disgusting. What is the Temple doing?” she said. “This entire district should be eradicated.”

“It’d probably be a waste of time,” I said. “Get rid of this one, and another’ll just pop up in its place.”

“How is this in any way acceptable, Xylo?” Kivia bit back. “This is all a consequence of poverty, right? Better management and economic assistance would put an end to places like this.”

“I wonder.”

It wasn’t so simple when the desires of man were involved. While they could probably do something about human trafficking, solving poverty might not fix people’s cravings for things like Jayce’s illegal plants.

“Xylo, you’re being evasive,” said Kivia. “Don’t tell me that you’ve purchased goods at places like this before!”

“Of course not.”

To be honest, that was more an issue of not wanting to cause any trouble for Frenci’s father than anything else. Plus, Frenci herself absolutely abhorred these kinds of places. She would have killed me for even getting near one. But explaining all that to Kivia would be a hassle, so I kept it to myself.

“Haah… The Temple should be pouring their resources into projects like this… How frustrating,” she said.

“Yeah, yeah. Now do you think you could stop glaring at people? And stand closer to me, too. We’re probably already being watched by the guild.”

“M-mn…!” Kivia grunted, almost as if she’d choked. “Y-yes, you’re right. We’re supposed to be lovers after all. I admit, it does make sense to walk more closely by your side in order to increase our chances of success… But do not get the wrong idea! I am only doing this for the mission! For the mission! Got it?!”

After this rapid-fire monologue, Kivia took my arm, albeit somewhat reluctantly. It was more of a firm grasp than a loving hold, however. I hadn’t asked her to go so far, but it really did make us look like a wealthy noblewoman and her servant-turned-lover. I felt like she was squeezing my arm a bit too hard, but maybe she didn’t know how to control her grip. Either way, I’d just have to bear with it.

“Mnnn… I would die if my uncle saw me like this,” said Kivia.

“Oh hey. That reminds me…” I decided to ask Kivia something that had been on my mind. “Why did you end up joining the military?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your uncle’s a priest, right? High Priest Kivia. Er… This is getting confusing. High Priest Marlen Kivia is your—”

“Call me Patausche. That should make things easier. I’m only allowing you to call me by my first name for the sake of convenience, though. Got it? Convenience.” She was rambling again. “Even people not close to me, who know both me and my uncle, call me by my first name. It’s only logical, and sometimes it’s necessary for clarity, and that’s the only reason.”

“Uh-huh… All right,” I agreed, overwhelmed. “So… Patausche.”

“…! …What? This had better be important.”

“I just wanted to know why you joined the military.” I’d been wondering about this for some time now. “I assume your family are priests with a large domain. So why would you go out of your way to join the military?”

“I…” Patausche paused for a moment, then nodded. “When you get right down to it, I suppose I wanted to rebel against my parents.”

“…Can you be a little more specific?”

“My mother and father are priests with their share of duties at the Temple, and with that…comes various benefits. One of those benefits is land.”

Priests were only granted land after the establishment of the Federated Kingdom. Such individuals were also known as noble priests, and they received court ranks from the royal family. Priests were different from soldiers in the military, however. They had authority and faith but no skills that would benefit them in the real world.

As a result, unlike soldiers or civil servants, they didn’t have a salary. That meant many of them exchanged their authority and faith for money, and not always through modest means such as donations. Often, they got creative, such as buying and selling positions within the Temple via bribes, or securing territory under the guise of planned religious construction sites.

All of it was to enrich themselves and secure their family’s future.

“I hated that about my parents,” said Kivia. “That was why I chose a different path and joined the military. Whatever I get in life, I want to earn it through my own hard work.”

A tale as old as time. That was the first thought that popped into my head. It really was a common story among nobles, but it was more than a trite phrase for the one living it.

“My uncle was there for me and supported me after I more or less ran away from home.”

“That’s—”

“I know what you want to say. Having relatives in the military can be beneficial for a high priest. But he still helped me, and I owe him for that.” Kivia nodded, her expression steely. “My uncle is a man with a vision, and he is taking strong action to reform the mistakes of the past. He even plans on confiscating territory from corrupt priests and resettling the land with those who were forced to leave the developing regions.”

A lot of people had been displaced by the Demon Blight, and that was especially true of settlements in developing regions. Such people were given no choice but to abandon their homes, and helping them would definitely be beneficial to society as a whole.

“I wish to be the shield that protects his vision,” she finished.

This must have been yet another reason Kivia was willing to fight to the bitter end back at Couveunge Forest. It wasn’t only for Teoritta’s sake—Kivia had an image of what she believed a true warrior should look like, and she was risking her life to realize it. Dammit… I didn’t want to criticize Patausche, but I was so tired of all these idiots racing to throw away their lives.

At this point, though, I was in no position to criticize.

“By the way, Xylo…” Patausche shot me a piercing stare, as if she was about to challenge me to a dual. “…I want to ask you something as well. You, uh… You said you had a fiancée?”

“Yeah.”

“Then…that woman Frenci. Is she—?”

“Xylo.”

A voice suddenly called out to me from the side, and I felt a light tug at my shoulder. It was Dotta. We’d split up earlier, and Dotta had gone ahead to scout. I knew he’d wind up stealing something—that much I was prepared for. But he excelled at sneaking into places, and we needed those skills. In fact, it looked like he’d already come through.

“I checked out the guild,” he said.

“That was quick.”

“…A little too quick, I think,” Patausche chimed in.

I was impressed with Dotta’s work, but she didn’t seem quite so happy about it. She must have really wanted to ask me about Frenci. I bet she was just looking for something new to tease me with, but I wasn’t going to let her get the upper hand so easily.

“Security’s tight, but I guess that’s the Adventurers Guild for you,” said Dotta.

He’d sneaked inside the building and gotten the lay of the land. We wanted some idea of what we were up against, at least.

“It’s a three-story building with sacred seal traps all over the place. I already memorized the layout, so we’re good there. But I saw around…twenty guards inside. Ex-military, I’d guess.”

“That’s surprisingly few.”

“There were a bunch of weird kids, too,” added Dotta, biting into something that looked like a snake on a skewer. In his other hand was a small bottle of booze. It seemed like for Dotta, there wasn’t much difference between the infamous black market of Sodrick’s Shell and the touristy main street. It was all just a buffet to him.

“They were doing a better job guarding the place than the soldiers. I think they’re assassins of some kind, and I bet there are even more of them hiding on the third floor. I don’t have an exact number, though.”

“They’re using kids?” Patausche’s voice filled with disgust. “That’s unforgivable…!”

I had heard about people raising orphans into loyal, powerful soldiers. With enough training, they’d throw their lives away without hesitation. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“…Dotta, what about an escape route, if things go south?” I asked.

“I could probably make it out…alone, that is.”

“Good. We’ll be working separately from here on out.” I started to walk toward the Guild.

“Gee, thanks… What about you two?” asked Dotta. “Are you really gonna be okay? You’re not gonna mess up and put me in danger, too, right?”

“Actually, you still haven’t told me any of the details of our plan,” said Patausche, as if she’d just now realized this. “What will we do after sneaking into the guild?”

“Plan A,” I began. “We bring them a lucrative job so we can meet Lideo Sodrick without anyone getting suspicious. If that works, then Dotta doesn’t have to do a thing, and we simply capture our target.”

“Interesting. Is there a Plan B?”

“Yep. Things might get messy if Lideo has a body double. In that case, Dotta will have to find and kidnap him. I’ll spare you the finer details. I just need you to trust me. At any rate…” I elbowed Dotta’s side. “I need you to find Lideo Sodrick and steal him. That’s all you need to focus on.”

“Stealing people has never worked out for me,” said Dotta.

And yet I knew he’d do it anyway. He’d never learn his lesson. And that was exactly what we needed right now.

“All right, let’s get started,” I said. “Patausche, you’re a wealthy noblewoman, and I’m your lover. Got it?”

“…I—I know. You can count on me!”

As we exchanged glances, she tightened her grip on my arm…it really hurt. Just how strong is this woman?

Lideo Sodrick was in his room again when he received yet another shocking report. The tension had started to give him a light headache.

“I made sure, Brother,” Iri assured him. “He was a penal hero. He was covering his neck, but he fit the description perfectly. And the woman with him was most certainly a Holy Knight.”

“…I see.” Lideo wanted to sigh, but he stopped himself. He couldn’t worry his sister. “I wasn’t expecting them to really come. Bold move. Reckless, but bold.”

This kind of ploy wasn’t typical of the Holy Knights, which made Lideo curious as to what these intruders were thinking. Would they try to cause a scene to collect some sort of evidence or information?

“What do you want to do, Brother? Shall we capture them?”

“It depends on what happens next, but…it’s probably worth a shot. We might be able to use them as bait to lure out the goddess. If that doesn’t work, we could simply keep them locked up…”

Though he’d rather not do something so drastic, he was more than capable of it. He was in contact with the coexisters, and that connection gave him an advantage over even the military. The only issue right now was that both Shiji Bau and Boojum were out, so he’d have to try to make up for them with numbers.

Yeah… As long as we’re here…

Lideo’s turf extended beyond the Adventurers Guild. The whole area of Sodrick’s Shell was his kingdom. Here, he could set large-scale traps and make it impossible for them to escape.

“Very well,” said Iri. “Sim and I will keep an eye out for the enemy and wait for our chance.”

“All right. Then—… Wait.”

Lideo shook his head. His greatest strength was his cowardice.

“Let’s use our secret weapon. Wake up Duhrsami. You can never be too careful.”

This was one of the guild’s—no, Lideo’s—treasures and secret weapons. It was something he’d inherited from his predecessor, perhaps passed down for generations. Duhrsami was a former human who had been turned into a faerie. Not even Lideo knew any more than that.

“And get in touch with Shiji Bau. Have her and Boojum return immediately.”

This would put him on the coexisters’ good side and prove his worth. He had to protect himself and his family, no matter what the cost.

“There’s someone I want you to kill,” Patausche declared boldly. “And while I do not mean to be rude, I would like to request an expert in the craft.”

The woman at reception was taken aback. Her mouth hung partially open, and it was clear that she had no idea how to respond. I knew exactly how she felt.

“Ahem… Listen. No, I mean… I’m sorry, but…” The receptionist shook her head, pulling herself together. “First of all, who are you?”

A reasonable question. The woman looked up at Patausche with a sickly gaze.

“Madleen is the name,” Patausche replied, without a second of hesitation. “Forgive me for not giving my family name as well.”

This was a fake identity she had come up with before we arrived. While it was laudable that she’d managed to say it without stuttering, she had already made a fatal mistake: What kind of noble would walk into the Adventurers Guild and directly ask for an assassin? I felt her showmanship had some real room for improvement.

I reflexively looked away from the awkward scene. Might as well get a good handle on the Guild’s interior.

The building felt even more cramped than I’d expected, maybe due to the dim lighting. The first floor seemed to double as a pub for the adventurers while they waited for work. Some were drinking or smoking. A few here and there had illegal substances—the stuff called “Dragon’s Breath.”

The second floor was probably where they conducted business. I could see a few rooms and some men who looked like security, all with their eyes on us. It seemed we stood out, and our cover was probably already blown. Dotta was right—there were a decent number of children here as well, and the sinister look in their eyes made it clear that they weren’t around to sell candy.

Looks like they’re keeping an eye on us.

That didn’t matter, though. Everything was going smoothly so far. I glanced out the window. Dotta must have crawled up the building’s wall like a lizard and made it to the roof by now. He was probably waiting to see how things panned out. Walls were no different from hallways to Dotta. He could climb up them without making a sound, almost as if he were simply walking. Apparently, he had some sort of claws in his gloves and shoes. I heard he could even crawl across the ceiling if he had to.

“Ms. Madleen, pardon me, but…” The receptionist spoke to Patausche as if she were talking to a child. “We don’t take just any job someone brings us, especially when it comes to assassinations. As you’re a first-time customer, I doubt it will be possible. But let’s talk money. How much can you pay?”

“I can pay however much it costs.”

“I’m afraid that’s not the issue…”

The receptionist was clearly fed up. I felt I had no choice but to join in on the negotiation.

“Sorry, miss. Milady has lived a very sheltered life and isn’t used to places like this.”

Patausche knit her brows in protest as I placed an elbow on the counter. She’d insisted on taking the lead with the negotiation and had stepped out in front as if to say, “Let me handle this.” It was probably my fault, though. I really shouldn’t have told her she couldn’t do it. That said, while I was no old hand at such things, I felt confident I could do a better job than Patausche.

“It’s true there’s someone we need to get rid of. I know we don’t have a letter of introduction, but we’re desperate. If nothing else, we need you to help us disappear.”

I casually pulled a leather pouch out of my pocket to give her a little peek. I was really hoping that this gesture would make us look like naive, easy prey.

“We have money,” I said.

“I wouldn’t even be talking to you if you didn’t.” The receptionist seemed to be evaluating us. “Ahem. Okay, I’ll hear you out. Who do you want to kill? And why do you want to disappear? I’d rather not get involved in some mess you made and wind up taking care of your dirty laundry.”

“I want you to kill a nobleman,” I said, lowering my voice. “Have you heard of the Hystead family, the bridge-keepers of Ginai?”

“No,” she promptly replied, though she could have been lying.

Regardless, I continued. “Well, we’re having a little trouble with the third son of one of the branch families, and milady here—”

“Yes,” chimed Patausche, though I wished she hadn’t. “I married into the Hystead family.”

It was a bold performance, but more or less what I expected from her.

“Yet ever since I was a child…I vowed to spend the rest of my life…with this man here… We made a promise to each other under a sacred hargra tree.”

I can’t believe she went out of her way to make up such a bizarre background story. All the weird details she was adding would only make it harder for me to keep up.

“Therefore, I want to kill my husband…and use the inheritance to marry this man.”

Could she have been any more straightforward? You had to ease into this stuff. You know, start out trying to hide the details, then finally give up and spill the beans. Otherwise, you sounded crazy. She must’ve gotten distracted telling the story she’d made up.

“And if that isn’t possible,” she continued, “then I’m fine with simply running off with this man and getting m-married, but I need the Adventurers Guild to introduce me to someone who can help.”

She couldn’t have sounded more suspicious if she tried.

“U-uh… Hold on…,” the receptionist said, groaning.

That wasn’t a good sign. The woman turned around and started talking to someone out of sight in the back—security, I assumed. They were probably going to kick us out.

“Xylo,” whispered Patausche. She sounded extremely uncomfortable. “Maybe it’s my imagination, but I don’t think they believe us.”

“It’s not your imagination.”

“This isn’t good. What should we do? Do you have a backup plan?”

“Yeah, let’s kick some ass.”

“Wait. Excuse me?”

“Kick some ass. You know, create a disturbance. What we need right now is mass confusion. Imagine we’re looters, but the loot is Lideo Sodrick.”

Patausche opened and closed her mouth a few times, her face pale. “Wh-wh-what kind of reckless plan is that?!”

“Not like we’ve got any other choice. They’re already suspicious.”

“You don’t look panicked at all. Don’t tell me this was always part of the plan.”

“You’re sharp. I figured this would happen, and I’m really glad I brought along someone strong like you.”

“Mmm…! You’re… It’s really hard to be angry with you when you’re complimenting me!”

I knew I could count on her swordsmanship, and she was way better at close-range combat than I was. I would’ve liked to have been led to the second floor before causing a scene, of course, but it was a little late for that now. With Zatte Finde and Sakara, I was confident I could escape any building. Our opponents probably knew that, too. It was going to come down to a show-and-tell with our secret weapons. It would be a bit of a gamble, but there was a good chance we’d win. If things went sideways, it didn’t matter what happened to us; as long as Dotta managed to kidnap the guild master, the win was ours.

All right, let’s do this.

I glanced at my surroundings and noticed two armed men walking our way.

Looks like these two will be our first victims.

But just then, I saw someone behind them, and I couldn’t believe my eyes.

She had smooth, brown skin and dull, gray hair the color of iron. To top it all off, her eyes were practically glowing with a cold light that would send a chill down anyone’s spine. I knew this woman. Even the cheap leather suit of armor she was wearing couldn’t fool me.

“Sorry, Ms. Madleen. But—”

“Sounds like a fun job.”

The iron-haired maiden—Frenci—called out to us before the receptionist could finish her sentence. I heard Patausche gasp.

“It sounds like you need someone killed,” said Frenci, her voice devoid of emotion and weirdly intimidating. “I would love to hear more about this job. I do not care how sloppy or foolish your plan is. As long as I get paid, I will consider it.”

She shifted her chilly gaze toward the receptionist.

“Could we borrow a room upstairs?”

“Huh? Oh, yes…Madam Renzari.”

So that was the name she was going by? It looked like it was working, but who was she pretending to be around here? The receptionist had sounded very respectful.

“Room seven and onward are free to use. Please take your pick,” said the receptionist.

“Thanks… Let’s hear more about this little job of yours up there.” Frenci looked at us as if compelling us to follow along. “You are the lady of a noble family, yes? And you, her lover?”

Though I usually found Frenci hard to read, I was painfully aware of how she felt now. She was clearly in a bad mood. In fact, I’d never seen her so furious.

“You’re a mess, Xylo.”

I knew she was going to say that. Once again, it was so predictable that I laughed.

“You lack awareness of your situation. This is no time for laughter. Maybe I should sew that careless mouth of yours shut.”

After giving me a good tongue-lashing, Frenci settled into a chair in one corner of the room and crossed her legs. Two men I assumed were her bodyguards stood silently on either side of her. Although they were using their clothes and hats to hide it, they were members of the Night-Gaunt clan as well. That would explain their silence—Night-Gaunts usually didn’t speak much before the People of the Plains, in order to avoid unnecessary conflict.

“Are you listening, Xylo? Do you realize how reckless you’re being right now? I clearly remember telling you not to do anything foolish.” Frenci’s complaints were endless. “How stupid can you be? …They were going to tie you up and throw you into a cell if I didn’t step in to save you. A man who is to marry into the Mastibolt family, captured by a couple of lowlife adventurers? Such a scandal would be unbearable.”

“Hey, I had a plan, and it was going fine,” I said. “We were about to kick some ass and cause a scene.”

“Exactly,” Patausche chimed in. “An ally of ours was going to sneak into the building to get a hold of some evidence. This plan was chosen by Ioff’s defense force itself. We didn’t need your help at all.”

“…I see.” Frenci’s cold gaze swept over Patausche from head to toe. “You’re a Holy Knight, yes?”

“I am the captain of the Thirteenth Order of the Holy Knights, Patausche Kivia.”

“Whatever you say.”

When Frenci made it clear that she didn’t care about this title, Patausche reached for the sword at her waist almost instinctively.

“Do you think you could stop spoiling my soon-to-be husband like this?” Frenci continued, speeding through her words. “He is still an awful mess. He is undereducated, inexperienced, and a fool, so I would appreciate it if an outsider like you would leave him alone.”

“An ‘outsider’?” Patausche’s fingers turned white from squeezing her sword’s handle so hard. “You are the outsider. You have nothing to do with our mission.”

“And that is where you are wrong. I am that foolish man’s fiancée, so I should be by his side, even during the hardest of times. That’s how things have always been between us. Isn’t that right, Xylo? Whenever you caused trouble, I was there to save you.”

“That happened like once or twice at most…,” I replied.

“E-even so…!”

Patausche stepped forward, her taller frame looming intimidatingly over Frenci.

“That was the past,” she said. “Yes, that’s all in the past. I’m here now. We don’t need any help from an ex-fiancée.”

“Oh my. Are you claiming you can take care of him?”

“Of course I can. Creating a commotion and escaping a small building like this would be child’s play for Xylo and me.”

“Escaping the building is only the beginning. Are you planning on making an enemy of every person in this city? Of course, my fiancé could no doubt manage such a feat, but what if he were severely injured? What if it affected his memories of me? How would you take responsibility and make it right? At minimum, I would need to kill you.”

“Hmph! I’d like to see you try. Besides, don’t you think you’re underestimating this man’s skills? He has defeated three demon lords in a row. And with me by his side, no adventurer would stand a chance, even if they all came at us at once! Isn’t that right, Xylo?!”

“Well, I didn’t come here to lose, but more importantly…”

I took a step in between Frenci and Patausche, since even Frenci now had a hand on the hilt of her blade. I didn’t want a fight to break out.

It was difficult for Lideo Sodrick to believe the report. He had never imagined his opponents would take such aggressive measures.

“Brother…,” said Iri anxiously, “we should probably start heading toward the underground escape route. I looked into those people. The man is the goddess killer, penal hero Xylo Forbartz, and the woman is the captain of the Thirteenth Order of the Holy Knights, Patausche Kivia. The other three could not be identified, but I believe they are from the Night-Gaunts.”

The instant Lideo heard this, a heavy feeling of uneasiness began to weigh down on his heart. He knew those names, and he was especially familiar with that of the penal hero.

The goddess killer, Xylo Forbartz…

Lideo’s men had done some research on the penal heroes, and this one was the worst of the worst—the enemy of mankind. Normally, someone like him ought to be locked in the lowest floor of Taga Jaffa Prison, where they kept captured demon lords. Killing a goddess was out of the question, regardless of motive. Lideo knew people who committed murder for fun or just to feel something, but Xylo Forbartz’s sin was beyond his understanding.

He’s the last person I want to run into. But…

Xylo himself chose to come here, and he’d even started a brawl in Sodrick’s Shell. His actions surpassed the words “daring” and “fearless.” This was reckless violence—and for Lideo, it was both the most dangerous scenario and the opportunity of a lifetime.

If I can kill the man who forged a pact with that goddess…

That might just earn him some major perks from the coexisters. And in that case, he was going to use every secret weapon he could to dispose of the intruders.

“Iri, you mobilized our whole force, right?”

“Yes, Brother. I have already arranged for everyone to be here. I was told that Shiji Bau recruited the Iron Whale as well.”

That was a name Lideo had heard before.

The Iron Whale? Seems doubtful he’ll make it here in time, though.

The Iron Whale was an artilleryman—something like a mix between a mercenary and an adventurer. The concept of an artilleryman was only a few years old, and they constituted a new branch in the military, just like the thunderstroke soldiers. Artillerymen went through special training, and it was said they could even take on dragon knights one-on-one.

“All right. Then—”

Lideo paused, hesitating. There was one thing still bothering him. Why would Xylo Forbartz do something this reckless? The entire city was like a weapon in Lideo’s arsenal. The adventurers and his adopted family could wipe out any intruder in their way… Did Xylo believe he had a chance at winning? Surely, his goal wasn’t simply to kick up a fuss. He would probably try to escape the city very soon. Did he think that Lideo would chase after him, blinded by a desire to capture the man who’d forged a pact with the goddess?

Is that what he’s after? What kind of trap have you set for me, Xylo Forbartz?

Perhaps he planned to use the disturbance as a distraction to capture Lideo as he pursued them. The guild master stopped and took a few deep breaths until he was calm enough to stand.

The most important thing right now is to keep my location a secret.

Being a coward was his best chance for survival. That was what he’d learned from years working as head of the Adventurers Guild. He could feel it in his gut, and his gut was telling him that he was in danger. Xylo Forbartz wasn’t someone he should wait for and attack head-on. He was correct to summon every warrior he could, but he was going to use them to flee the scene.

“…Have the adventurers handle them while we escape.”

That was the best move they could make, in Lideo’s opinion.

Yes… The only thing they can do is cause a scene and leave town. And if I chase after them, I’ll be falling right into their trap. I’m not going to play their games.

Lideo began collecting the most important documents from his drawers and shelves. These were things he couldn’t leave behind, including any evidence that he was involved with the coexisters.

“Iri, don’t leave my side.”

“Yes, Brother.” It was clear she was nervous. Her already white cheeks were becoming even paler. “I will protect you, even if it costs me my life.”

“Good.” Family members risked their lives for one another. That was how Lideo believed families should be. “Keep the orders simple. Kill the penal hero and Holy Knight… In fact, kill anyone who gets in our way. We have no need for prisoners.”

That much was non-negotiable. The Adventurers Guild couldn’t afford to look soft, especially since violence was a big part of their business. Plus, they could neutralize the penal hero for a while if they killed him, which was itself a great achievement.

Even if we’re up against the military…

He had to make it a point, especially in this city, that if someone came at them with such lawless violence, the Adventurers Guild would crush them with twice the force.

It wasn’t long before Sodrick’s Shell was lit up like a festival, and just as loud. People started rushing out of buildings around the Guild, while merchants at their outdoor stalls grabbed whatever they could and ran, no time to close up shop.

I landed on a canopy of wooden planks and filthy cloth that hung over the street.

“Eek!”

A merchant shrieked and rushed off in fright. I felt guilty, but this was an emergency. I immediately activated my flight seal to increase my speed, blowing away the canopy and running up the neighboring building’s wall. It seemed to house a brothel, and for a second, I spotted a scene inside—a woman in the middle of work and a panicked man trying to put his clothes back on. Of course, I didn’t have time to watch. My concern right now was the ground below. As my body twisted in the air, the first thing I noticed was Patausche jumping directly out of the Guild building and onto the ground below. Her swordsmanship and athleticism were outstanding.

“Hey, get back! Stay away from that woman! That’s the one the guild master’s after!”

“Surround her, but do not engage!”

The instant Patausche landed, adventurers and common delinquents pushed and kicked merchants and their customers out of the way and began to encircle her. They lunged at her with hatchets and short swords, but none of them could get near.

“Tsk. Xylo… Was this really all part of his plan?” Patausche’s shoe scraped against the ground. “What a reckless fool!”

She deflected a pursuer’s blade, then pierced the ground to activate her shield before blocking another strike and thrusting her blade into the attacker’s shoulder. Any arrow shot at her from a crossbow would only be deflected by her sacred seal barrier. Patausche’s defense was the true heart of her swordsmanship. Or maybe it was her footwork.

At any rate, she took on the group alone. As she fought the enemy in close combat, she had to attack and defend while limiting the other side’s opportunities to snipe at her. I, on the other hand, had a relatively easy job. I had plenty of time to aim at my target while infusing my weapon with the power of my sacred seal. After unsheathing my knife in midair, I threw it straight down toward the ground. The blast sent flying numerous reinforcements and snipers targeting Patausche from the shadows, and took the surrounding street stalls, pavement, and buildings along with them. Stalls exploded into pieces, stone blocks shot into the sky, and walls came crumbling down.

It may have looked like I was merely destroying the city, but I was actually closing off the area to reinforcements. It was the easiest way to create panic while reducing our enemy’s numbers.

The job was easy with a skilled swordsman like Patausche on my side. When I landed, I had my back to a wall and around ten enemies lying on the ground around me.

The only issue now is—

“Xylo!” shouted Patausche. “There’s a child assassin. Wh-what should I do?”

A child with a small blade was charging right for her. Fighting adult adventurers was far less troublesome. With children’s youthful decisiveness came great speed, and the small assassin’s footwork made it clear that she was willing to sacrifice herself to take out her opponent. To make matters worse, Patausche seemed uncomfortable fighting children. I knew where she was coming from. The military didn’t train you for this sort of enemy. But things were different for Frenci and me.

“There is no need to fear the energy and agility of a child. They do not have the muscle mass of an adult.” Frenci swung her curved sword, hitting the child’s arm. “All you need to do is focus on blocking their attacks from a lower angle.”

She had delivered a blunt strike, not a cut. In fact, the blade of her sword was no blade but a meaty slab of steel—fine when using a weapon with a sacred seal. A flash of light sent the knife-wielding child’s body into convulsions, causing her to hop a few times before dropping to the ground.

Franci’s seal was called Gwemel, a seal of violet lightning. Her weapon was structurally similar to a lightning staff, allowing her to immobilize her opponent with an electric shock from the so-called blade. The design was meant for fighting warriors with heavy armor and faeries with armor-like skin, and it was one of many sacred seal technologies developed by the Southern Night-Gaunts.

“Do you see what I mean, Holy Knight?”

Frenci kicked the child on the ground without a second thought, then looked back at Patausche.

“Mmgh…”

As expected, Patausche was frowning. Frenci, however, expressed no concern. She was busy reprimanding me, now that the threat was neutralized.

“Xylo, what’s next? Surely, you have a plan. I hope there’s something in that tiny head of yours besides rocks. How are we going to get out of here?”

“Who said we were running away?” I countered. “We’re gonna fight. We need to create even more chaos.”

“Then what? Do you plan on eliminating every single person living in the slums?”

“Yep. We’re going to continue fighting until Lideo Sodrick can’t afford to keep ignoring us.”

“I was giving you far too much credit when I said your head was full of rocks. I have never heard a more poorly thought-out plan.”

Frenci may not have agreed, but we had a good chance of winning this battle. For now I needed to focus on creating as much chaos as possible while sealing off any street I could to prevent reinforcements from arriving. Merchants and customers were already pushing one another in a mad dash to run away, kicking up dense clouds of dust.

Just then, an angry shout came from somewhere in the crowd.

“That’s as far as you go, penal hero!”

The speaker was a bearded man pointing the tip of his short sword at me. He was probably an adventurer. He coughed as he stumbled over a small pile of wreckage.

“We, the Giant-Hunter Brigade, will make you pay for disturbing the peace of the city! Come on, men! Get ’em!” he shouted, signaling behind him.

A group of men came crawling out of one of the buildings I’d partially destroyed. They were covered in wounds, but they still hadn’t lost the will to fight. Each of them held a lightning staff in hand.

“Who are they?” Patausche sounded disgusted. “These are the people they’re trusting to protect the peace of the district?”

“Looks like it, and that one seems to be their boss. Hey, boss-man, don’t do this. I don’t want to fight you.” I tried to warn them. I didn’t want to kill them unless I had to. “Do you really wanna get hurt that badly?”

“Heh! I should be asking you the same question.” The bearded man shot me a smug grin. “Looks like you criminals don’t know who you’re dealing with. We’re the seasoned adventurers who cleared out the Western Shenvoo Crystal Cemetery—the Giant-Hunter Brigade! And guess what? My reputation even earned me an invite to join the famous Molchet’s Northern Expedition Corps!”

“No clue who that is.”

My comment was enough to make the bearded man’s expression twist with rage.

“Don’t you dare underestimate us… Fire! Did you see my skills, men? I stopped him in his tracks with the art of conversation, and now he’s wide open! A fat bonus to whoever hits him!”

The men behind him fired their lightning staffs, but their aim was poor and their timing, sporadic. Both Patausche and Frenci simply moved to the side and easily dodged their shots. This was going to be a piece of cake.

“Don’t stop! Fire, fire, fire!” shouted the bearded leader. “Hit ’em with whatever you’ve got! Use fireworks for all I care!”

One of his men did just that, in fact. Red, green, blue—a bouquet of beautiful colors dispersed as it exploded. Lightning staffs used to make flashy lights like that had minimal attack power. They were brought out during summer festivals or for New Year’s celebrations, so most of the technology went into making the colors and sounds pretty. In other words, they were just trying to distract us. The real attack was going to come from elsewhere.

“You guys handle this joker’s lackies,” I said. “I’ll take the one up top.”

“H-hey, wait!” Patausche shouted. “Don’t leave these nutjobs to us!”

“I agree,” said Frenci. “You explained nothing, and now you are going off to do something reckless again.”

But in spite of Patausche’s and Frenci’s complaints, I kicked off the ground and began running up the nearest building’s wall. I’d seen someone on the roof with something quite unsettling—a ring-shaped weapon composed of multiple elongated lightning staffs. It was the same weapon I’d seen earlier inside the Adventurers Guild, capable of firing multiple shots simultaneously. From what I could remember, the military called this weapon the Halgut Blaster Seal Compound, and it was still in testing. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if that thing started taking potshots at the ground below, so I activated my flight seal continuously until I made it all the way to the rooftop, then leaped into the sky and launched a knife.

“What the hell?!”

The rooftop adventurer reflexively fired the lightning staff seal compound the moment he saw me, but his aim was poor. Trying to be accurate with a rapid-fire weapon like this was an impossible task to begin with, and it was definitely not meant to shoot down an airborne target.

The multiple bolts of lightning didn’t even come close to me. Conversely, there was no way my knife would miss. It struck the Halgut Blaster head-on, blowing it to pieces and silencing the man holding it. The top of the building was partially destroyed in the process, causing rubble to come crashing down—perfect for creating even more chaos. I landed not on the ground but on the wall of another building. Thunderstroke soldiers with flight seals like mine achieved our highest mobility in labyrinthian districts like this, and we had the advantage over dragon knights, thanks to our ability to turn in confined spaces. They were welcome to come at me with arrows or bolts of lightning…

…But they aren’t gonna hit me.

That much I was sure of. Leaping over an alleyway, I threw another knife, blowing a hole right into the wall of a house and creating yet another avalanche of rubble.

“Aaah!”

I heard the bearded man scream below as his men were cut down by Patausche and Frenci before they could even fire their lightning staffs.

“Threatening me or Xylo is tantamount to a declaration of war upon the Mastibolt family,” declared Frenci as she swung her curved sword like a vortex. “You will regret this.”

Both Patausche and Frenci were covering each other’s blind spots as they moved. It was pretty good teamwork. In fact, they seemed surprisingly compatible.

…All that was left was for me to finish the job as I descended from the sky.

“I need precision, men! Now, fire!” shouted the bearded man, pointing his sword up at me, but he was asking the impossible.

Leaping off the walls to either side, I dodged their attacks while closing in on them, all in a single breath. Now I just had to continue toward the bearded man and kick the stuffing out of him.

“Gwah!”

He released a short scream as I kicked his body into a wall. With their leader gone, the team’s will to fight evaporated. Some of the men threw down their weapons and ran away, while others rushed forward, only to have my fists introduce their faces to the ground.

“How stupid are you guys?” I muttered.

The skirmish was over in five seconds. I searched the unconscious leader’s overcoat and found a short sword and a massive knife, both of which I kept. I ran my finger down their blades and found them sharp enough. Passable, I thought.

“Pardon me,” said a deep voice. When I turned around, one of Frenci’s bodyguards was holding up a round shield in front of us. The two of them seemed to have been handling some of the adventurers on their own. But before I could thank him, I heard a dry pop. An arrow, fired by the last standing member of the Giant-Hunter Brigade, skewered his shield. Frenci promptly coldcocked that adventurer as well.

“…Please take better care of yourself…,” said the bodyguard. “I’m the one who gets scolded when you act recklessly.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that. My bad. I really appreciate the help, though.”

“I’m just glad you’re safe.”

I’d carelessly let my guard down. While that arrow wouldn’t have fatally wounded me, it could well have done some damage. I would have expected a Night-Gaunt to tell me I was a mess or something.

“You’re not gonna insult me, huh?” I asked.

“Of course not. Why would I?”

“I mean… You know how Night-Gaunts are. Insults are as common as breathing.”

“Oh…? You still believe that? I feel your pain, but Lady Frenci simply—”

“Kalos!” Frenci called out, her tone stern. “Enough chitchat. Do not bother Xylo with such useless information. We are in the midst of battle.”

“My apologies.” Kalos smiled wryly. His expression gave me the impression of a boulder grinning.

Then, out of nowhere, Kalos’s brawny body was blown straight to the side, followed by a painfully loud thud as he hit the alleyway wall. At least, that was what I assumed happened. I didn’t have time to check—I had to move.

I caught sight of a large black shadow lunging toward me from the back of the alley. The figure must have thrown some rubble and hit Kalos. It…was humanoid, but colored a bluish-black with a sort of slimy luster to it. Its body was 50 percent bigger than mine, its head was covered with eyes, and fangs were protruding from its mouth. But what stood out most of all were its thick, long arms, hanging down to its feet. Occasionally, its knuckles would hit the ground, and the pavement would split open, shooting gravel into the air and reducing the pathway to dust.

I had to get out of there. The creature, now roaring at us, was obviously a faerie.

“What the hell?” Patausche put everyone’s curiosity into words. “Isn’t that a faerie?! It looks like a troll! Was Sodrick keeping this monster as a pet?!”

“It seems he failed to properly discipline it,” said Frenci. “Tahg! Go make sure Kalos is okay!”

The two of them might have been joking around, but they were getting the job done. Patausche shifted her gaze toward this new target, then stepped forward and thrust her blade, aiming for the groin. She stabbed twice—no, three times in the blink of an eye, all the while dodging the troll’s counterattacks with unbelievable speed and grace. However, the enemy’s legs were so massive that she only managed to take off a little bit of flesh from its knee and calf.

“Foul creature,” she cursed as she activated her sacred seal barrier to block one of the troll’s attacks. Its arm bounced off her shield of light with a heavy thud, causing the beast to stagger before leaping back. “I need a more powerful weapon! I knew I should have brought my lance and armor!”

“If you did that,” I said, “they would have captured you before you even walked into the building… Frenci!”

“Yes, I know. Good work drawing its attention.”

Patausche’s attacks were only a distraction. Frenci promptly threw her curved blade as I, too, infused one of my precious knives with the power of my sacred seal and threw it.

…However, neither of our attacks struck home. The troll was far more agile than it appeared and quickly guarded its head with its arms. Although some damage was done—the lightning from Frenci’s curved sword burned its arms, and my knife managed to take out a chunk of its shoulder in the explosion—neither attack was close to fatal.

It’s too damn big.

This troll appeared to be particularly large and tough, and defeating it was going to take a while. We needed to make a definitive strike to its head. That meant our only option was…

“Xylo!”

Someone called out to warn me, though I couldn’t tell if it was Patausche or Frenci. The troll screamed in agony, then reached out and grabbed a street stall’s pillar before throwing it with all its might, destroying countless shops in the way.

Dammit.

I wouldn’t be able to dodge in time, not with the collapsing stalls to worry about. I ended up using my flight seal to kick chunks of wood out of the way.

Had Patausche and Frenci made it?

It appeared Patausche had dodged in time, but her leg was bleeding as she tried to get back up. She’d been hit with a piece of wreckage. Frenci managed to jump on top of a still-standing street stall as she put some distance between herself and the troll. I could tell she was yelling something, probably hurling insults at me, but I didn’t have time to check.

Chunks of wood and gray dust soared into the air, and on the other side was the howling faerie. I’d thought we were finished with the adventurers, but now more began to emerge. It seemed their supply was endless. Here and there, I could see them crawling out of buildings, armed with bows and crossbows. It looked like they intended to let the troll fight us head-on while they showered us with arrows from the periphery.

“Dammit,” I said. This was absolute chaos. But if that was how they wanted it…

Heh. Bring it on. Don’t get too cocky, you assholes.

If they wanted chaos, then I was going to give it to them. I looked up.

This should be far enough.

I’d arrived at a street intersecting an alleyway connected to the main road. I had already led them right where I wanted them, all the while blocking off smaller side routes. I could feel her.

“Teoritta! I’m over here!”

Holy Knights and goddesses could detect one another’s presence to an extent, and Teoritta had probably already sensed me, just like she had in the tunnels of Zewan Gan.

“Save me with your divine blessing,” I called out. “I’m sorry for leaving you behind.”

Teoritta was here. Of course she was—the reason wasn’t all that complicated. When I’d met with Dotta that morning, Jayce had been there as well. He hadn’t shown much interest in our plan, so when Teoritta asked him where we went, he would surely have told her.

That was why she’d come.

And of course, she’d brought along some guards to watch over her.

“It appears you needed my protection, after all.” Her proud voice was even closer than I’d expected. “This situation is obviously your punishment for leaving me behind, my knight. However, I am a generous goddess, so I shall help you. Follow my lead, men!”

Beyond the cloud of dust and the troll stood Teoritta, her arms crossed. And standing behind her were King Norgalle, Tatsuya, and Jayce. Norgalle looked confident, while Tatsuya’s eyes were vacant and expressionless. Jayce, of course, looked bored out of his mind. I had no idea what any of them were thinking, but I knew exactly what was going to happen.

“People of Sodrick’s Shell! Run away now, or surrender! If you choose to fight, you’ll die!”

I shouted loud enough that everyone in the district could hear. Offering a warning was the least I could do, since this wasn’t going to be pretty for those who still wished to fight.

“Bow before me!”

King Norgalle’s voice carried through the streets, in spite of the chaos.

“I am Norgalle Senridge the First, king of the United Kingdom of Zef-Zeyal Meht Kioh.”

He sounded impressively dignified and absolutely confident, and that was why every single person there turned to look at him.

“I was told that this district has become a nest of criminals and sinners threatening my rule, and the moment I arrived tonight, it became clear that was true!”

The king raised his hand. In it was a small metal tube, and I could see plenty more sticking out of the rucksack on his back. I couldn’t be sure, but my gut was telling me those metal tubes were some sort of powerful, highly destructive weapon.

“I am giving you a choice! Submit to lawful punishment as my loyal subjects! Or—”

“Can it! What are you babblin’ about, you old kook? Move!”

“Die!”

“Outta the way, geezer!”

The bearded leader of the Giant-Hunter Brigade, along with a few adventurers, began sharing their extremely reasonable opinions as they rushed to leave the slums, pushing Norgalle and the others out of their way. King Norgalle’s face was overcome with pain and grief.

“It pains me to make this decision. Nothing is more regrettable for a country ruled by law than to be forced to carry out extralegal punishment. But as it must be done, I shall take on the unenviable role.” King Norgalle threw one of the metal cylinders. “For the crime of treason, I sentence you all to death by explosion.”

The instant the cylinder hit the ground, it exploded with a flash of light. A deafening shock wave sliced through the air, swallowing one—no, two—street stalls that had managed to survive the earlier fighting. They were blown to bits, leaving nothing behind. Screams followed, as the adventurers trying to make their escape were sent flying. Weak building walls in the area crumbled. Cracks spread, and destruction gave birth to yet more destruction. The chaos and panic grew, catching even the troll’s attention.

This was our chance. I traded glances with Patausche and held out a hand to help her up.

“Hey, can you move?” I asked.

“Y-yes… I-I’m fine. It’s merely a scratch…” A troubled expression flashed across her face, but she managed to stand, undeterred by the fresh wound on her leg. “Ahem… Um, that troll… It’s extremely tough. We should probably aim for its head.”

“I agree.”

A half-assed attack would only tickle a troll of that size. I started racking my brain for ideas, but time was running out, and we had to stop this monster before things got any worse.

“Tatsuya, Jayce, move out!” shouted Norgalle, as he threw another explosive tube. “Fight and protect our Goddess!”

“Guh.”

“Fine…”

Tatsuya grunted as he moved forward, while Jayce spoke through a yawn, assuming a battle stance with his spear. Both of them moved swiftly and mercilessly, after their own style.

Hearing that, I promptly shouted to the goddess:

“Teoritta, I need your help! Our enemy is a faerie!”

“Heh. Do you regret leaving me behind, my knight? I am sure you are now painfully aware of just how important and dependable I am.”

“…Yes, extremely aware.”

“Of course you are!”

Teoritta joyfully ran straight over to me without so much as a glance at her surroundings. And that was a good thing—she didn’t have to see any of the chaos, destruction, or tragedy. Tatsuya and Jayce stood to either side of Teoritta, disposing of whatever obstacle came their way.

“Gubba… Buh… Buh…”

Tatsuya continued grunting intermittently, using only his right hand to swing his battle-ax into a pack of adventurers. They instinctively countered, but his weapon didn’t care if you were a strong warrior or a delicate child. Tatsuya was like an autonomous killing machine. Challenging him was tantamount to sticking your hand into moving saw blades—it was essentially your own fault.

“Guuuh.” Tatsuya released a nonsensical battle cry from the back of his throat. “Bujiiiruaaah!”

He then swung his ax, cutting down a series of incoming arrows. One adventurer appeared to have lost it and came running at him screaming something awful, only for Tatsuya to split his head wide open. Meanwhile, a young assassin tried to pierce Tatsuya’s stomach with a knife but was met with the ax before he even got in range. Tatsuya didn’t spare the corpse a second glance. Instead, he reached out with his left hand, grabbed the nearest adventurer by the leg, and began spinning him around to use as a shield.

“Who the hell is this guy?!”

Someone tried to hit him with their lightning staff, but Tatsuya deflected the shot with his weapon. His reflexes were superhuman.

“Eek! Stay back!”

“This is bad! That guy’s a monster, too!”

Tatsuya rushed across the ground, seeming almost to hover. This charge was a weapon of its own, and each step he took tore into the pavement. Getting hit by him now would feel like being run over by a chariot.

“Fff,” grunted Tatsuya ominously. Nobody could stop him now, not even Tatsuya himself.

Those who tried to run away were caught up in his attack and slammed into the alley walls, reducing them to rubble. Impressive as always.

I’d heard that Tatsuya had been a hero ever since the days of Penal Hero Unit 9001, so long ago no records of it remained. Unit 9001 was created during the First War of Subjugation, when mankind’s war against the Demon Blight first started… But that rumor came from Venetim, so it was most likely false.

“Forget about the guy with the helmet! Just aim for the guy with the moustache and that bratty goddess!”

“You got it! Outta the way, shorty!”

That insult was hurled at Jayce, causing him to raise one eyebrow.

“Dammit,” he said. “…I should have never told the goddess where Xylo was.”

Although in battle stance, Jayce seemed to lack motivation. This was how he was when Neely wasn’t around. That said, his skills with a spear were useful, even when he wasn’t in the sky. Jayce used to frequently participate in and win martial arts tournaments all across the continent, though he did it only for prize money, which he used to take care of dragons.

I had heard of him long before we ever met. They called him Jayce the Rumbling Wind, since he went from tournament to tournament, sweeping every one. He was so strong that a certain princess from an extremely wealthy noble family had once asked for his hand in marriage, but I never heard what happened after that. Then again, I didn’t really need to.

“Tsk. All right, assholes. Shut up and get in line, or get out of my face,” he hissed, making his annoyance clear as day. “Stop wasting my time.”

To Jayce, people were no different from wild animals. He claimed that humans were important symbionts to dragons, but that didn’t stop him from killing them without much hesitation. I didn’t know much about his past, but Jayce’s code of morals did not seem to afford a special, superior place for his own kind. Personally, it made no sense to me.

“Stop while you can,” he said. “I’m serious. I’m warning you.”

But the adventurers didn’t listen to Jayce’s advice. After all, they were lowlife goons in the middle of an adrenaline rush.

“Shut your mouth! Cavalry, attack!”

A neigh rang out, and a bunch of men suited in armor immediately charged toward Jayce on horseback. I had no idea what they were thinking, but it looked like there were some ex-cavalrymen among the adventurers. While this surprised me, Jayce simply sighed as if he found it all very tedious.

“Cavalry? You know what?” His short spear bounced off the ground in an arch-like motion as he scooped up one of King Norgalle’s sacred seal–infused cylinders. “…I’m in a really bad mood today.”

The cylinder flew into the air and exploded in a blinding burst of light over the ex-cavalrymen’s heads. The horses reared, stopping the men in their tracks, while Jayce lunged forward, swinging his spear.

“You asked for it.”

The tip of his spear cut a single stroke through the first row of enemies, and that was all it took. Jayce’s small frame flew through the air, piercing a man’s head. I witnessed the weapon pass right through the enemy’s steel helmet before shattering his skull. This wasn’t a show of Jayce’s own strength. His short spear had a sacred seal engraved in it for when he was fighting from the back of a dragon. Normally, his weapon was for throwing, and the sacred seal was meant for sniping flying faeries while he sailed through the sky. Even if Jayce was still holding the spear, a strike from it was like being hit by a lump of iron with enough force to drill a hole through your body.

“Hyaaah!”

Another cavalryman charged forward in a frenzy while spinning his long spear, but there was no way an attack like that would hit Jayce. He effortlessly dodged it before swinging his own spear once more, gouging a hole into the man’s breastplate.

“I warned you all. Stop this. Are you really going to force your horses to join you on this suicide mission? …Go, you’re free now. Get out of here,” urged Jayce, patting the man’s horse on the rear to get it to leave, which it obediently did.

He seemed to sympathize with the horses and skillfully made sure to kill only the riders. The cavalry weren’t going to last much longer at this rate.

“Surely, you have realized you are no match for us! Surrender!” shouted Norgalle. “If you yield to the laws of my kingdom and pay for your crimes, then you shall be forgiven!”

The dreadful scene was rapidly growing grimmer. The slums would soon be reduced to ruins. One man surrendered to King Norgalle, throwing his weapon to the ground and clasping both hands above his head. It was a depressing sight.

“Just who are you people?!” Even the bearded man from the Giant-Hunter Brigade had dropped to his knees, with tears in his eyes. “This is insanity. Pure insanity…!”

Norgalle’s presence alone seemed to be bringing the conflict to a close on that end of the battlefield, and things over here were almost taken care of as well. After all, Teoritta’s arrival had basically solved our troll problem.

“Xylo, it’s coming,” warned Patausche. “And it’s angry, too. Do not let it get near Goddess Teoritta.”

“I won’t.”

Blood was dripping from the troll’s half-open mouth and from the wounds we’d inflicted. It screamed, pulverizing the ground and the walls as if it were in a great deal of pain. Stones flew through the air, hitting a few adventurers.

The hell is wrong with Lideo Sodrick, keeping a faerie like this as a pet?!

I sprinted to the right while Patausche went left so we didn’t get caught up in the troll’s frenzy. It was simple, but it worked. I reached out to Teoritta as she raced toward me, grabbed her, and held her in my arms.

“Sorry for leaving you behind,” I said. “I only did it in case of an emergency like this.”

“I do not need your excuses, my knight,” she replied.

“Yeah, I figured.”

I kicked off the ground, leaping over the faerie’s head while Patausche remained on foot and kept the enemy distracted. As the tip of her blade touched the ground littered with broken pieces of pavement, she muttered: “Niskeph Rada,” activating her sacred seal. A blue barrier appeared, sending a few stones from the rubble flying as it flickered. The barrier then bashed into the troll’s head beautifully. While this was hardly an attack and inflicted no pain on the troll, it did a good job of distracting the beast. The troll’s gaze instantly turned on Patausche. It didn’t last long, but it was more than enough time. With Teoritta by my side, a single faerie—not even a demon lord—was hardly a challenge. Against a nonhuman enemy, she could strike with her full power.

“Finish this quickly, my knight.”

She stroked the air before her, and over a dozen swords instantly emerged from the void, raining down upon the troll below. I grabbed one, twisting my body before launching the weapon with plenty of energy from my sacred seal. The shower of swords skewered the troll’s massive body to the ground, and it screamed for only a moment before the sword I’d thrown exploded.

The entire district shook with the blast. The light was so blinding it could burn your eyes just looking at it. I wasn’t expecting it to be that powerful or that loud…and that was apparently King Norgalle’s fault. Some of his tubes must have been caught up in the explosion. Whatever the case, the blast quickly engulfed the district, and by the time the air had finally cleared, the troll’s upper body and most of its lower body were gone. Its remaining flesh dropped to the ground, oozing a black, sticky, bubbling fluid into the city’s drainage channels.

“I owe you one, Teoritta. You saved us,” I said.

“Is that all you wish to say?” she replied. “Are you sure you are not forgetting something much more important? Such as praising me?”

“…Do I really have to?”

“Yes.” Teoritta snorted proudly. “I require praise from my knight and my knight alone, Xylo, and that is you. I want you to tell me how incredible I am—tell me that I am ‘one hell of a goddess,’ especially since I am still angry that you left me behind! Now speak! Shower me with praise!”

“Yes, milady! Uh… You’re one hell of a goddess.”

I couldn’t deny her a compliment after she’d said all that. This felt different from the innate desires that these living weapons were saddled with by the disgusting humans that created them. What Teoritta wanted was honor as a soldier. She wanted to be complimented by someone she thought was strong. That was the kind of praise she was after, and even I could understand that. At least, I really hope that’s all this is, I thought, and with that simple wish in my heart, I placed a hand on her head. Sparks shot into the air with each rub.

“You’re amazing, Teoritta. I can’t lose with you on my side. You really are one hell of a goddess.”

“Of course I am!” Her lips curled into an ear-to-ear grin. “I am the goddess of swords, and I promise to eliminate every last demon lord and bring peace and freedom to you all.”

“…What’s happening?”

Lideo Sodrick looked on in utter amazement. He had hidden himself among the other adventurers and was in the middle of trying to flee, when he suddenly realized that all of his escape routes had been sealed off, and he was now stuck in the middle of a storm of violence and destruction. Explosion after explosion—it was barbaric. The entirety of Sodrick’s Shell had been reduced to a vortex of screams. Any building might come crumbling down at any moment. This district was like a castle for the Sodrick family and had been passed down to Lideo from his predecessor.

How did things end up like this?

He had placed sacred seal–engraved traps and mechanisms all throughout the district, just in case there were ever any intruders or double-crossers. He once thought he would always be safe here, but now he felt the best plan was to mix into the crowd and flee.

And he still didn’t understand what the intruders were thinking. Once they’d made an enemy of everyone in Sodrick’s Shell and were surrounded, they should have immediately prioritized escape. Never in his wildest imagination did Lideo expect them to start aggressively destroying the city, fighting off all challengers. Perhaps he’d underestimated the penal heroes. He couldn’t believe all his safety nets had been destroyed by a bunch of irredeemable, foolish savages’ random acts of violence.

“…Brother!”

It was Iri’s voice that brought Lideo back to the present and made him realize that he’d become separated from her in the midst of the fleeing crowd. He glanced around in search of her, but someone else found him first.

“Hey, uh. Sorry…,” came a voice from behind. It sounded truly remorseful. Someone was standing behind him—and soon an arm wrapped around Lideo’s neck, and a small piece of metal like a blade pressed against his throat. “I’m sorry about this, but a really bad man asked me to steal you away, and he even threated me. I honestly don’t want to do this anymore, but I had no choice.” He sounded more embarrassed than frightened.

It’s true they were in a crowd of panicking adventurers, but Lideo was still stunned that he hadn’t realized someone was sneaking up on him. He scowled.

“I need you to come with me,” begged the man. “Please? I don’t wanna have to kill you…” He had a small, childlike frame—it was Dotta Luzulas. “You’ll be fine. Trust me.”

Ridiculous…

Lideo had said the same things Dotta was saying countless times, and he knew they were meaningless. Lideo saw Iri’s despairing face out of the corner of his vision.

I’m sorry.

He gently closed his eyes. It was all he could do.

…Just bear with it a little longer.

He would simply have to wait and see if the last ace up his sleeve was going to make it in time.

Under the blanket of night, the city was eerily chaotic, and in the center of all that activity was Sodrick’s Shell. Fires spread and rose toward the sky, and explosions could be heard in the background as adventurers ran down alleys, trying to escape.

Shiji Bau stood in a back street beneath the pale crimson moon and watched. It appeared the situation had gotten a little out of hand. She wanted to get a handle on what was going on, but she also knew that the first thing you had to do in times like this was move before it was too late.

“Quite the commotion,” muttered Boojum apathetically. He was seated on a stack of wooden boxes, reading again. Shiji Bau found his behavior especially aggravating.

“You know,” he continued, “in my personal opinion, this is far too dangerous. You should keep your distance.”

“I never asked for your opinion…but you’re right. Lideo’s probably already dead, and if that’s the case, we won’t get paid.”

“Damn… This is bad. The hell is going on here?” complained another strangely muffled voice from behind them. “I came all the way here, and the client’s already dead?”

This man was called the Iron Whale, and he sounded fed up. He worked as a mercenary and was known as an artilleryman—a rarity in their line of work. Getting in touch with him hadn’t been easy, and now it looked like it had all been for nothing.

“I’m not going to work for free,” he said. “I’m out. That okay with you?”

“I suppose it’s inevitable… We should probably withdraw.”

Shiji Bau began racking her brain. Lideo was a very cautious person, but you couldn’t predict what the penal heroes would do. They were out of their minds. Nobody had expected them to start destroying the city so quickly.

“The Guild seems to be in a state of confusion as well, so I think we should go in, collect our reward, and get out of town. What about you, Boojum?”

“Hmm… I’m going to save Lideo Sodrick. That would be the polite thing to do, I think.”

“Seriously? What are you so loyal to him for? He’s probably already dead, and I’m not going to help you.”

“I can’t save a corpse? I owe him, and I would feel bad for him if nobody went to his aid, regardless of whether he’s alive or not.”

“You would feel bad for him? You…” Shiji Bau didn’t know how to respond. There was something wrong with this man. It was as if he wasn’t human.

“I wasn’t planning on asking you to come with me. It’s just— Wait.” Boojum suddenly waved his hand and stopped Shiji Bau. He lifted his head from his book to reveal an even gloomier expression than usual. He even sighed. “…I see. How unfortunate. It appears this is as far as I go.”

“What?” This was the first time Shiji Bau had ever seen him express something akin to emotion. “What’s wrong? Did you notice something?”

“No… I was contacted. That’s all. I feel sorry for Lideo Sodrick, but I was given an order.”

He waved his hand around his ear again. There seemed to be a small bug—a fly-like creature buzzing in between and around his fingers. Boojum stood, then looked to Shiji Bau.

“I can offer you two a new job, Shiji Bau and Iron Whale. What do you say?”

“What?”

“You two are after money, yes?” continued Boojum. “That can be provided, or so I was told.”

Shiji Bau studied his expression. At first she thought this must be some kind of joke, but Boojum never told jokes, so that couldn’t be it.

“Unfortunately, we are cutting ties with Lideo Sodrick,” he said. “What a shame. I feel truly sorry for him.”

“Wait. Where’s the client? Who’s hiring us?”

“We are.”

A number of shadows emerged from the darkness of the back street as Boojum audibly shut his book. Shiji Bau immediately realized they weren’t human, or any other normal creatures. They were faeries, and relatively small ones, at that: a cir sith, a fuath, and a kelpie.

“Are they—?” she began.

The cir sith bared its fangs and growled, perhaps perceiving repulsion in her gaze, and Boojum began to softly caress its neck.

“Stop. You’re being rude,” he said to it.

To Shiji Bau, it looked like something was growing out of the tips of Boojum’s finger. Crimson blades…or some sort of claws.

Riiip. She could hear the muffled sound of the cir sith’s throat being torn open before the creature collapsed to the ground and began to convulse. It was silent, but it was obvious this was no quick and painless death. The other faeries took a step back in fear. Boojum looked at them and nodded.

“Good. We are asking them for help, so be polite. Now then…what was I supposed to say again? Oh, right… We can pay you more than Lideo Sodrick would have.”

Boojum stared at Shiji Bau with his bottomless black eyes. It was at this moment that her suspicions grew into certainty. This man was a demon lord, the center of an outbreak of the Demon Blight. Unlike Lideo, he wasn’t simply a traitor to the human race.

“You will be rewarded,” he said. “Humans will do anything for money. I learned that.”

Shiji Bau briefly closed her eyes, though not because the black abyss of Boojum’s stare had overwhelmed her.

I probably don’t have much of a choice, she thought.

This man was far stranger than she had imagined, and he was most likely a demon lord. I was naive, she thought. Where did I mess up? It’s too late now, though. I’m surrounded by faeries. The threat was clear, and she had no choice but to accept the mission she’d been offered—to obey orders.

“Works for me,” Iron Whale chimed in, with a hint of cynicism, before Shiji Bau could answer. “I don’t care if you’re an adventurer or a faerie, as long as I get paid. You’re just a client to me.”

Iron Whale moved slowly, accompanied by the sound of creaking steel. Shiji Bau looked at him in his black suit of armor. It made him look like a cavalryman with no horse, but he was shorter and stockier than a cavalryman, slower, and his body was covered in sacred seals.

The suit of armor he wore was the sign of an artilleryman, and the armor itself formed a single cannon. It covered even his face, concealing his expression.

“So, as our new client, what would you like us to do?”

“Technically, I’m not your client…but I have been given orders to destroy evidence.” Boojum pointed ahead, nodding. “We need to completely erase any connection between us and Lideo Sodrick. The Adventurers Guild, I believe it was called? I want that building destroyed without a trace.”

“All right. That’s my specialty,” said Iron Whale.

In truth, that was the only thing he could do—the job of an artilleryman.

“I appreciate your cooperation,” Boojum replied. “What about you, Shiji Bau? I owe you for all you have taught me, so I’d rather not kill you.”

“You know you’re asking me to turn against the human race.”

“Is that a problem?” Boojum tilted his head to the side as if this was a completely reasonable question. “I learned something important from Lideo Sodrick. Nothing is more important to humans than their own safety and that of their family. That is far more pressing than the fate of your race as a whole. Am I wrong?”

Hmph. Can’t argue there. In my case, all I care about is myself.

On that point, maybe Lideo had been a better person than she’d thought.

The man Dotta captured didn’t seem frightened at all.

He was the one and only Lideo Sodrick, and he was glaring at us like we were a nuisance. Maybe this was just the way he acted after all his years as a guild master, or maybe he simply didn’t like us. I had no idea. What I did know was that he’d hardly fought back as his arms were being tied. Perhaps he knew that resisting wouldn’t get him anywhere.

We decided to use the large hall of the Adventurers Guild to question him, since there was too much going on outside. The guild building was falling apart, thanks to us, but at least it was essentially empty. Every person in the district who wanted to run away had already made it out. I was sure Lideo Sodrick had some kind of right-hand man, but I hadn’t seen anyone like that around since things began to settle down. That said, I wasn’t sure if whoever it was had run for it or if they were simply biding their time.

“I want a man on watch on all sides of the building,” ordered King Norgalle before taking a seat in one of the few chairs that had miraculously survived the chaos. Looking around at the remaining adventurers, he said, “I am offering you a chance to atone for your crimes. Obey my commands and dedicate yourself to our nation.”

Though clearly bewildered, those he was speaking to had no choice but to start moving. These were the men who had surrendered after witnessing the violence Tatsuya and Jayce were capable of, along with the destruction Norgalle had visited upon the district. There were nine of them. They exchanged timid glances, then approached the crumbling walls and windows and began keeping watch.

Patausche and I would be doing the questioning. Tatsuya and Jayce couldn’t handle such a task, and Dotta was busy throwing back shots of booze as if he’d just finished a hard day’s work. After verbally abusing me, Frenci got her two guards who had already recovered and began to search the inside of the guild. If they managed to find physical evidence, that would probably be more useful than any confession we might manage to extract. Meanwhile, as for Teoritta…

“Repent.” The goddess crossed her arms haughtily before Lideo Sodrick, who had been forced to sit on the floor. “You kept a faerie as a pet, turned to wrongdoing, and attacked us! You have committed a grave sin, and if you understand that, then you need to repent this instant.”

She looked back at me. “What do you think, Xylo? Look at his solemn expression. He must be in awe of my presence.”

“You think so?”

“I know so! Impressive, huh? …Now, for you. Tell us everything.”

I had offered to do the questioning, but Teoritta wasn’t having any of it. Her mood seemed to have improved immensely, and she was now trying to prove her usefulness. To be completely honest, she wasn’t doing a very good job.

“I don’t know much,” replied Lideo gloomily. “Yes, I hired those adventurers and tried to have you all killed, as the master of the Adventurers Guild. But my client communicated via a messenger in a black mask. I don’t know any more than that.”

“Mmm…” Teoritta looked back at me with a frown. “This is not good, Xylo. This man does not seem to know anything.”

“Don’t trust people so easily. He’s lying.”

“Ohhh! …How dare you lie to me, a goddess! Such insolent behavior shall not be tolerated!”

“Indeed,” said Xylo. “Let me see if I can get anything out of him.”

Teoritta wouldn’t be able to pull this off. Goddesses lacked both the experience and the know-how required to negotiate with people, and their innate nature probably didn’t make it any easier. And so I crouched in front of Lideo and looked him directly in the eye.

“You realize you’re in a bad position, right? Normally, I’d hand you straight over to the Holy Knights, but I don’t have to.”

“Excuse me, Xylo?” Patausche furrowed her brow. “You don’t have the authority to make any deals with him.”

“Then should I threaten him with a little violence? Of course, I’m sure someone like him is used to that kind of thing.”

“If I made a deal with you…” That was when Lideo finally spoke up, a hint of nervousness in his voice. “Would you be willing to accept my conditions?”

His lips curled into something resembling a smile.

Looks like it worked.

“I guess we could hear you out,” I said. “I’m curious what kind of shameless requests you’ll make.”

“All I ask for is my family’s safety—that you not harm my brothers and sisters.”

“Oh…” He was probably talking about those assassins, though the look in their eyes was unlike that of any child I had seen before. “We couldn’t hold back during the battle, so some of them are already dead.”

“…I will consider a deal with you as long as you promise not to search for them.”

“In other words, don’t lay a finger on them?”

“Exactly.”

“All right,” I agreed. Patausche grimaced distastefully.

“Xylo, I said you didn’t have the authority to make deals with him. They may be children, but they are criminals. Those in power already have their eye on you. Do you really want to make things worse?”

“You’re telling me to find this guy’s siblings and kill them? I guess we could bring them here and kill them in front of him as a form of torture. I mean, we’ll do it if you want. Just give the orders.”

“…I never said I wanted you to do that.”

“Then we have an agreement,” I said. Patausche fell silent. I decided to take that as assent and shifted my gaze back to Lideo. “Just tell us everything you can.”

He must have been weighing his options. He was probably hedging his bets to make sure he’d be okay, no matter what happened. But for now, he seemed to understand he was in far more danger with us than with whoever hired him. Plus, I guessed he was just as worried about his “siblings” as he was for himself, and that seemed to be his weakness. He would probably betray his client if it meant saving their lives.

“Hey, Lideo. This is a pretty simple deal we have here. But you gotta give us something first.”

“…You already know what they were after,” he said, groaning. “They want to kill the goddess. My client called his people coexisters.”

Coexisters. It was a name I’d heard not so long ago. The group had been around ever since the Demon Blight began, and they were adamant about coexisting with the faeries. That might not sound so bad on the face of it, but in reality, they wanted to welcome the demon lords as our rulers. Humans would become slaves, and the coexisters would be in charge of those slaves.

I feel like I’ve been hearing about them way too much lately.

Some people claimed that they were nothing more than the delusions of conspiracy theorists, and I’d thought so as well until pretty recently. But even if people like that did exist, I’d always thought they were few and far between. Never did I imagine there were enough to put together a force this large. But they existed. I couldn’t deny that any longer. They were a threat, and they were my enemy.

“I don’t know much about the coexisters, either, but…” Lideo lowered his voice somewhat, then shot me a cynical smirk. “I met the man in the black mask for the first time ten days ago, and we only met three times after that. He did tell me his name, though.”

“It was probably a fake name, but let’s hear it.”

“Mahaeyzel Zelkoff.”

“…Hmph. Ridiculous.” Patausche was the first to react, and she fixed Lideo with a stern glare. “Mahaeyzel is the name of a saint at the time of the First War of Subjugation. In addition…” Her expression shifted somewhat. “Zelkoff. Zelkoff is…”

But before she could finish her sentence, a blinding light poured in through the window.

“Aaaah!” We heard the scream of an adventurer keeping watch. “Y-Your Majesty…!”

I felt bad for a second that Norgalle had made them all use his royal title, but stopped caring the instant I looked out the window.

“Shit.”

I grabbed Teoritta, then swept Patausche’s legs out from under her, dropping her onto the ground.

“What the…?!” she shouted.

“Get down!”

There was no time to listen to her complaints as the light and noise reached a crescendo. It was a bizarre sound, like an explosion. The pillars holding up the building crumbled as the wall was blown in. Chunks of wood swirled through the air as dust rose to the ceiling. Fire crossed the floor, spreading throughout the building, and the previously sporadic creaking of its frame increased considerably, signaling the final moments of the Adventurers Guild.

“Run! Get out of the building!”

I knew what this was. Dotta and Norgalle probably did as well. Jayce scowled and clicked his tongue.

“It’s a damn artilleryman,” he muttered in aggravation before swiftly rolling outside through the destroyed wall. The building was about to come crashing down.

“Xylo, we have to get out of here!” Teoritta took my hand in a panic.

I completely agreed with her, but were Frenci and the others okay? …Just then, I saw Frenci and her two guards drop down from a window. They’d been quick to react, and we needed to do the same. There was one idiot who didn’t seem to understand that, though.

“Patausche! What are you doing?! Let’s go!” I shouted.

“Wait. That man just…”

Lideo. It appeared that he’d taken off running the instant the blast hit us, heading toward the back of the crumbling guild. Was there some sort of secret passage there? I was sure we’d tied his legs as well, so he must have been hiding some sort of blade on him— Wait. There was no time to worry about that. I could regret my careless mistakes as much as I wanted later.

“Run!”

I knew another blast was coming soon, so I decided to give up on chasing him and focus on evacuating instead. I promptly grabbed Patausche and dragged her outside with me. We soon heard another impact, followed by a roar and radiant light—the finishing blow.

“Why did I have to get caught up in this mess?” After fleeing like a skittish rat, Dotta slipped behind Tatsuya to hide. “What’s going on?!” he yelled. “What kind of person does something like this in the middle of a city?! This isn’t normal!”

“Yeah, and there’s nothing we can do about it,” I said.

The only way to deal with a long-range attack like this was to have a sniper like Tsav or another artilleryman. If we had Neely, we might stand a chance. But without any of those, we were like sitting ducks.

“Let’s get out of here,” I suggested. “We now know the enemy has an artilleryman, and while I can’t say I’m excited about it, we’re gonna have to get Rhyno released from solitary. I’ll have Venetim pull some strings.”

“Seriously?” Dotta was clearly disgusted. “I mean, do we really have to? I don’t like that guy at all.”

“Me neither. But do you know anyone who can do his job better than him? He’s our only choice.”

I cast a final glance at the crumbling Adventurers Guild as the sound of shots continued sporadically. Then we began our retreat.

“Come on, pull yourself together. This is no time to space out,” I demanded, patting Patausche on the shoulder as she stood in a daze.

“O-oh, right…”

“It’s a shame we don’t have a lead anymore, but Lideo Sodrick is still alive. We can go after him again later.”

“Yes…” Patausche’s complexion looked unusually pale as she spoke. “Let’s do that. We can find out if he was lying or not once we catch him.”

The underground passage beneath the Adventurers Guild was created as an escape route for use during crises just like this.

Lideo stepped into the darkness. The smell was awful, but that was inevitable, since this passage was made by modifying an existing sewer system. It would get him out of town, but it would take some time. All he had to aid him was a small sacred seal–powered lantern, which cast a pale light on the path ahead.

“Brother!” Iri rushed straight over to him. She’d come here ahead of time to secure the route. “You’re okay!”

“Somehow.” Lideo wrapped her in his arms and rubbed her head. “We lost the guild, but we’re alive. I made sure you guys would be safe, too… I had to make a little deal with them, though.”

“A deal?” Iri’s eyes narrowed with uncertainty. “Are you doing something dangerous?”

“As long as we get out of here, we should be fine. It’s nothing you guys need to worry about.”

“But I am worried.” She looked up at him with her deep blue eyes. “Did you tell them anything?”

“I didn’t have a choice. Nothing important, but—”

That was when Lideo noticed something was wrong. Iri’s eyes. The words she chose. Why did she ask if I told them anything? he wondered.

“I see.” Iri nodded, and Lideo felt something warm at his chest. Pain followed shortly. “Then I have to do this, just in case… I’m really sorry, Brother.”

Her voice was mechanical. Before Lideo realized what was happening, he had dropped to his knees, looking up at Iri. Intense pain meshed with confusion.

“Who…?” Lideo struggled to speak. “…Are you…? Where is…Iri…?”

“She’s dead. I’m using her body and brain right now.” A bashful smile covered Iri’s face. That alone was the same as always. “Farewell, dear Brother.”

Those were the last words she left him with. Then she turned around and faced three others in the darkness: Shiji Bau, Boojum, and a man clad in armor, who must have been the artilleryman he’d heard about, Iron Whale.

“It’s over. Come on, let’s go,” said Iri.

“Very well. I’m sorry, Lideo Sodrick.” That was Boojum’s voice. His shoulders were slumped in his usual gloomy manner as he leaned that sickly looking face of his down toward Lideo. “I personally wanted to save you.”

“And disobey orders, Boojum?” Iri’s voice again.

“I would never. I will obey, but I have to wonder. Did you expect for all of this to happen?”

“No. I still could have used him. I never thought the entire district would be burned to the ground. What a despicable act of barbarism… So those were the penal heroes?”

“I knew they weren’t to be taken lightly after they defeated Iblis, but I never expected them to go this far. I’ll have to rethink how I approach them going forward.”

“I agree. We’ll need to speed up the plan. We have to dispose of that Holy Knight and kill the goddess at all costs.” A roughness entered Iri’s mechanical voice. Whether due to anger or fear, Lideo wasn’t sure.

“…Could I have a little time off before our next mission?” asked Boojum. “I wish to bury Lideo Sodrick.”

“There will be no need for that.”

“But I must pay my respects to him. That is the proper etiquette when it comes to the dead.”

“I said there will be no need for that. You were given orders to follow my commands. Did you forget?”

“…All right,” Boojum replied, after a brief moment of silence. “As you wish. I’m sorry, Lideo Sodrick. Thank you for buying me those books.”

He held his head low in what looked like a bow of apology. But that didn’t matter to Lideo any longer. The air felt bitterly cold. Everything began to blur.

“I need all of your help for our next mission,” said the one with Iri’s voice, “not only Boojum’s. Of course, you will be paid as promised.”

“All right, but I have a question.” Shiji Bau’s voice was cold. “What should I call you? Do you want me to call you by the name of the girl whose body you took?”

“Spriggan.”

The little girl’s smile lit up in the darkness—the smile of someone who used to be Lideo’s “sister.” How long had she been gone? When did this monster steal her body? Lideo hadn’t even noticed.

“Call me Spriggan.”

“All right. So what do we do first?”

“Get ready to destroy the city. We must eliminate all its inhabitants, including the penal heroes and their goddess, and reduce this place to dust. They are in our way, and I need your help to get rid of them.”

Lideo had finally realized his mistake—his failure—but it was too late to regret any of that now.

Trial Record: Tsav

The man’s methods were not what Theodney would call impressive. Horrific was a far better descriptor.

Once he’d checked the records on hand, Royal Inspector Theodney Nantia was certain: This man—the young man sitting before him—was a ruthless killer, and the rumors about him devouring his victims were sounding more and more plausible.

We inspectors are told to throw away our preconceived notions when conducting interviews, but…

Theodney Nantia stared fixedly at the man in front of him.

…sometimes, that’s easier said than done.

At a glance, the man in front of him was a little scruffy, with a cheerful smile. He seemed so carefree that it was hard not to let your guard down. But when you really thought about it, being so laid-back in an interrogation room wasn’t normal.

The man’s name was Tsav, but on the streets, he was known as the Man-Eating Ghoul. He didn’t have a family name, or a family, for that matter. He had been raised as an assassin by the group known as Gwen Mohsa, and he was almost certainly behind the disappearances of eight people. And those people didn’t simply disappear, either. This man had killed them.

“Eight people, huh?” Theodney read out the number written in the report—the number of this man’s victims. “That’s about one per month. You’ve had a pretty busy year, huh?”

“Wait, wait, wait! I’m sorry, Inspector, but that’s not true.” Tsav corrected Theodney with a smile. “I’m an honest guy, so I’m going to tell you the truth. I actually killed twelve people. That’s a fifty percent increase. I mean…I’m a real earnest person when you get down to it, you know? And I’m kind. I have empathy.”

Tsav sighed as if to say that being a “kind person” had been a real burden for him over the years.

“Whenever I mess up or I’m having trouble at work,” he continued, “it hurts my boss’s reputation, and I feel really bad about it. That’s the kind of person I am. And because of that, I always get the short end of the stick. Being serious just hurt me in the end, too. I mean, look at me now! They abandoned me.”

Theodney started to get a headache as he listened to Tsav ramble. The assassin didn’t seem to think killing people was a big deal at all. He was a monster. A terrifying monster was sitting right across the table from him.

“Don’t you feel any remorse?” he asked. The words escaped his lips almost unconsciously. “You killed people. Don’t you feel bad at all?”

Theodney knew of a man who had been raised by dragons. When he’d looked into it, he’d learned the man felt no remorse when it came to humans. Maybe Tsav was like that, too, Theodney thought.

“Oh, sorry! Are we talking about good and bad right now? Like morality? I honestly don’t know too much about religious stuff like that… That’s why I was considered a problem child even in the order.” Tsav gave a lighthearted chuckle. “The thought of killing someone I like makes me feel sick. That much I get, but the rest doesn’t make a lick of sense to me.”

Theodney felt as if he were conversing with a creature from another world. Without any clear reason, he began pouring himself a glass of water from the pitcher to his side. But when he drank it, the liquid left only a vague, lukewarm aftertaste. This man called Tsav made him indescribably uncomfortable.

“The reason why the order couldn’t—… How should I put it?” But Tsav continued to talk. It felt like he might never stop. “I’m too stupid to understand that stuff, you know? And that’s probably why the order couldn’t brainwash me. Know what I mean? Oh hey. Wait… What if I’m the chosen one? Oh man. That’d be too much for me to handle. I have a strong sense of responsibility, and that would really weigh me down. What if destiny has something even greater planned for me, though? What should I do?”

In a sense, Tsav might be right. Theodney knew how the order of assassins did things. They used countless techniques to instill a sense of right and wrong in children’s minds. They would use anything, from drugs to pain to pleasure. And yet Tsav still hadn’t understood the order’s morality. He must possess a very unique mental disposition.

“…Are you not scared?” Theodney asked. He was hoping to draw out some hint of Tsav’s humanity. He wanted to believe that Tsav was human, just as he was human. “If you’re lucky, they’ll lock you up for the rest of your life. And if you’re unlucky, you’ll get the death penalty. Does that not terrify you?”

“It does,” Tsav replied immediately. “It’s really scary, but being scared isn’t going to change anything, so…” He smiled foolishly. “Why not have fun while I still can? I’d be wasting what little time I have left, otherwise. I mean, it’s not like heaven and hell are real, and once people die, it’s over, right? So why waste that time trembling in fear?”

Theodney was certain now. Tsav truly was a monster.

“Most people might understand that in their head, but their emotions and instincts overpower them. Maybe your situation simply doesn’t feel real to you? Do you suffer from a poor imagination?”

“Ouch! I have a great imagination! I often think about what other people’s lives are like. But even then, some things just don’t make sense to me.” Tsav’s smile faded as he looked at Theodney with a serious expression. “Why should I care about anyone other than myself and the people I like? …It’s all about the positives and the negatives, and you’d do anything if it benefited you or people you like, right? And when you really think about it, being afraid of the death penalty is a huge negative. Man, do you think I’m too serious about this stuff?”

Theodney was at a loss for words. He felt like he was witnessing something deeply repulsive, and he almost wanted to throw up.

“Tsav, you—”

“—are one interesting guy,” cut in a voice from the side.

The speaker was sitting at the same desk as the other two men, and while he seemed like a cheerful fellow, there was something sinister about the way he smiled. Theodney didn’t know his name. All he’d been told was that the other man was an inspector as well, and of a much higher rank.

“Tsav, my friend, you killed twelve people, but I was wondering…” The man leaned over the desk to get a closer look at Tsav. “How did you choose them? What were your standards?”

“I don’t know,” Tsav replied. “I guess they seemed easy to kill?”

“So they were easy to kill. Interesting. Then what about this man here—Taldy?” The mystery man picked up a document consisting of a single sheet of paper. “He disappeared not from his home but from the government office where he worked, and in broad daylight. The window of time in which he disappeared was a mere seventy seconds. You killed him and took the body home with you, correct? Are you saying he was easy to kill?”

“Wait, wait, wait. I’m not talking about my methods,” Tsav said, laughing again. “I’m talking about feelings. Like, I’m a prodigy, right? It doesn’t matter what these random defenseless people in the city do or where they do it. It doesn’t change anything. In terms of difficulty, they’re all exactly the same. So, like…”

Tsav lowered his voice as if he were letting the man in on a secret.

“I just picked people who wouldn’t make me sad if I killed them.”

“And how do you decide that?” the man asked.

“I dunno. A gut feeling, I guess?” Tsav seemed to ponder the question for a moment, but soon gave up. “Once I become emotionally invested, I can’t kill them anymore. Sorry, but I’m just too nice of a guy. I was born kind. Know what I mean?”

“Yes, you’ve said that already. Now, about these twelve people you killed…” The nameless man tossed a stack of documents onto the desk. “Are you saying you empathized with none of them?”

“Exactly,” Tsav said, nodding, looking totally relaxed. “That’s why they were easy to kill.”

“I see.” The nameless man’s smirk curled into something more sadistic.

“Perfect,” he muttered. Theodney had no idea what he meant by that, but the nameless man proceeded to nod a few times, flipping through stacks of documents before turning his gaze back to Tsav. It almost looked like he was enjoying himself.

“Tsav,” he said. “I believe the death penalty would be too light of a sentence for you.”

“What? Are you saying I’m getting a punishment worse than death?”

“Yes.” The nameless man paused as if to build up suspense. “I am sentencing you to be a hero.”

“Wait.” This was the first time Tsav had shown any sign of panic. “No, no, no! Wait! Hold on! This is completely different! Being afraid of the death penalty or whatever else would be a waste of time, but being a hero… That’s—”

“Yes, it’s exactly how you’re imagining it.” The nameless man’s grin deepened. “Not even dying is permitted.”

Punishment: Service at the Great Temple of Ioff

“Permission denied,” the officer in charge declared, as if he were the law itself.

Although he was young, he was imposing. It looked like he’d been through a lot, and now he managed the prisoners in solitary confinement.

The officer—Rajit Heathrow—was also in charge of the infantry within the Thirteenth Order of the Holy Knights, and he looked like he’d been born to serve in the military—exactly the kind of person who Venetim didn’t get along with.

“I cannot allow penal hero Rhyno to leave his cell before he finishes serving his time,” Rajit insisted.

“Yes, I understand that very well,” Venetim replied. He was lying. He had no clue how long Rhyno had left to serve, but he had to play along and adapt. People like Rajit hated when you were irresponsible. “However, the situation has changed. This is a special case and you must release him immediately.”

That was what Xylo had told Venetim before ordering him to get Rhyno out of solitary, and Venetim had sensed violence behind his words. He had the distinct feeling he would get pulverized if he failed. But it didn’t look like this Rajit fellow was going to give him the time of day.

“I cannot make any exceptions,” he said. “The only way I will release him is if High Priest Marlen Kivia or Captain Patausche Kivia order me to do so.”

“I have already received permission,” Venetim replied quickly, holding out a slip of paper.

“Is this—?” Rajit’s eyes opened wide in astonishment, for on the paper was the official seal of the Ioff city government. “Is this real?”

“You are free to check and see for yourself.”

Venetim wasn’t bluffing this time. The paper was genuine—an official request for release issued by the Ioff city government. This was the same government that had entrusted the city’s defense to the high priest, making a note of permission from them even more effective.

Of course, there was a trick to all this. For the most part, governments were compartmentalized, and most of those in charge were dead set on avoiding responsibility, so personnel administration was extremely complex. Venetim had used this to his advantage. If he had gone directly to High Priest Kivia or Patausche, then he would have never gotten Rhyno out of his cell. They would never have agreed to releasing a penal hero who had disobeyed orders.

But what about the local government? All Venetim had to do was bend the truth a bit when he met with the defense force’s director—a man who would have little understanding of their situation. Venetim had met with him as Patausche’s representative, too, not as a penal hero. This lie was the foundation of Venetim’s con.

What’s more, it just so happened that the director wouldn’t be able to contact either Patausche or the high priest that day, even if he wanted to, since they had both left that morning on private business.

Requesting to release a penal hero from solitary confinement wasn’t anything unusual, either. To begin with, locking a hero away wasn’t a real punishment. Solitary confinement was a safe place away from the threat of death, where you could loaf around all day, snoozing. At least, that was what anyone who didn’t know Rhyno would believe.

No matter what order he’d disobeyed, Rhyno needed to be punished. Allowing him to stay in a safe cell all day was outrageous. It was the opposite of punishment. The defense force’s director had barely even questioned Venetim’s claim. In fact, Rhyno was always in and out of solitary confinement, and this was a common method of busting him out for emergencies.

“Patausche Kivia will take full responsibility for whatever happens,” said Venetim.

Those were the magic words. Once someone heard that, they’d stop caring if Venetim was lying. Whether or not Patausche Kivia would actually take responsibility wasn’t an issue. If something happened, they could simply place all the blame on Venetim. That quickly eliminated all foreseeable problems. The clincher was Venetim’s bold confidence and the menacing, powerful aura of his partner, Tatsuya, who he’d brought along.

In the end, releasing a single penal hero wasn’t going to cause any trouble, especially since the sacred seals on their necks prevented them from getting out of hand. So who cared?

“All right. Let me get in touch with Ioff’s government office to confirm.”

Rajit looked skeptical, but he accepted the documents Venetim handed him.

Sure. Knock yourself out, thought Venetim. All he cared about was that his job was finally over. I really hope Xylo doesn’t give me any more unreasonable tasks.

The only thing still bringing Venetim down was the thought of taking Rhyno back with him.

The morning started with an unreasonable request from Teoritta.

They were sitting in the penal hero’s corner of the barracks’ cafeteria, and the goddess was having breakfast.

“I want to go out today!” she declared, while spreading zeff butter on some fried bread. Zeff butter was a type of cream made from stirring heated sheep’s milk, and Teoritta seemed to have fallen in love with it. She ate it almost every day. “I want to go out today, my knight! Let’s go into town!”

“Hmm…”

She’d gotten the attention of Norgalle, which made the situation ten times worse. King Norgalle was always in the cafeteria for breakfast, but that day Jayce was there as well. That was a surprise, since I was sure he’d already made up with Neely. He had a huge blueprint unfurled in front of him, which he’d been working on all morning. He would sometimes turn to Norgalle for advice, so I assumed he was working on improvements for his dragon’s equipment.

“Why not take the goddess to town, Xylo? Show her around.” Norgalle elegantly used his knife to cut into the grilled fish Dotta had supplied. “The people of my nation will surely feel blessed simply to be in her presence.”

“Right?! You know what you’re talking about, Norgalle!” she replied.

“But of course. I am the king after all. So… Where do you wish to go?”

“Huh? Oh, uh… Err…,” Teoritta groaned. It seemed she hadn’t thought that far yet. But that was only natural, as she still knew almost nothing about the city. “D-do you have any recommendations? I wish to go somewhere fit for a walk with my knight!”

“Hmm… Then I recommend you stop by the Dujin Art Museum.”

Norgalle gracefully stroked his moustache. The museum in question was pretty famous—even I had heard of it. Ioff was a strategic center for maritime trade, and lots of things, like works of art, gathered here. The Dujin Art Museum, run by the local merchant association, had used that to their advantage.

“They have numerous mid-classical masterpieces,” he explained. “And the building’s architecture itself utilizes modern Nashida techniques. There is much to see if you have the time.”

“…I don’t get it. What’s so fun about art museums?” said Jayce. He continued to work on his blueprints, not even glancing in our direction. However, it seemed he’d been paying attention to what we said. That was the kind of person he was. “If you want to go for a walk, go to the beach. The view is wonderful when you fly toward the sea, and if you head slightly south, there’s a forest perfect for hunting as well. Flying through the ravine isn’t so bad, either.”

“Listen to this asshole, acting like we can all fly…,” I muttered. None of his advice was helpful. At all. The man looked at everything through the eyes of a dragon. “What do you even hunt? Bears?”

“No, that’d be boring. I’m talking about hunting faeries, of course.” Jayce briefly looked up and flashed me a competitive smirk. He was usually in a foul mood, but he seemed to find special joy in taunting me. “It’s hundreds of times more exciting than some museum. How about we make a bet, Xylo? Let’s see who can kill the most faeries.”

“Hell no. What’s wrong with you? Who in their right mind would waste their day off doing something like that?”

“Yeah, guess you’re right,” Jayce said, shrugging.

But I knew his game. This was all an act.

“I get it,” he continued. “I’m already beating you seven to six, and this would just be adding another loss to your record.”

“Wait. What was that, Jayce? Seven to six? Are you still counting what happened half a year ago? That’s not fair. Tsav’s the one who—”

“That is enough, you imbeciles!” King Norgalle’s thunderous shout instantaneously ended our argument. “I will not have my nation’s two greatest generals bickering like children! Use that energy against the Demon Blight. Now go cool off!”

Jayce and I had no choice but to shut up. I couldn’t believe Norgalle had told us to “cool off.” In fact, it was so unfair I didn’t even feel like arguing.

“U-um… I’m not really sure what is going on, my knight, but…!” Teoritta grabbed my arm. Maybe she sensed that this conversation had been one huge waste of time. “I am fine with wherever you wish to take me, be it the art museum, the beach, or even the forest. Norgalle has given us permission, so let us be off!”

“What are you talking about? How does getting Norgalle’s permission change anything…?” Of course, I wasn’t going to take her anywhere. That would be madness. “Did you already forget that people were trying to kill you?”

“I have not. I had a really good time seeing the market before that happened. I even wrote about it in my diary! So let’s go back and—”

“Oh, so you’re trying to lure the enemy out again, huh?” I said, cutting her off.

“…!”

“Don’t. It’s a waste of time.”

I could see her swallow her words. Teoritta wanted to help us, even if it meant putting her life on the line. I had to admit it: The reason why this kind of attitude pissed me off so much was because there was a part of me that would do the same thing.

I was willing to acknowledge that. But this was different. Using Teoritta as bait wouldn’t help us. We’d learned a few things from our failure. We could prepare the best defense possible, but it was meaningless if the enemy went right for our weak points. Someone was leaking information, so what we had to do now was find the mole. Everything else would have to wait.

“Just give up,” I said. “We won’t get permission to go out again. You know who’s in charge of making those decisions, right? Patausche.”

“Mmm…”

Teoritta lowered her head and stuffed her last piece of deep-fried bread into her mouth. She wasn’t happy, but there was nothing I could do about it. It was too dangerous to use Teoritta as bait when someone was leaking information to the enemy.

But just then, someone very unexpected reached out a helping hand.

“Actually, I think taking Goddess Teoritta out for some fresh air might not be such a bad idea.”

My shoulders jolted. I wasn’t expecting to hear Patausche’s voice coming from right behind us. She had a tray loaded with breakfast. Apparently, she’d been passing by and happened to overhear our discussion.

“I can grant you permission to visit the nearby temple. It’s just around the corner, and it’s well secured.”

“Really?! Patausche!” Teoritta’s eyes instantly lit up. They were practically sparkling. “You make the most wonderful suggestions sometimes! Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, this seems unusual,” I said.

I examined Patausche’s expression. Something felt off. I had the impression she’d been lost in thought ever since the events at Sodrick’s Shell the other day.

“Everything is fine.”

She stubbornly shook her head—exactly what I’d expected her to do. Patausche wasn’t the kind of person to easily admit that something was bothering her.

“Yo, Xylo… I’ve been wondering for a while now, but who is this woman anyway?” Jayce pointed his quill pen at Patausche. It appeared she’d finally registered with him as a new human in his periphery. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ve noticed she’s always hanging around you. Are you being kept under surveillance?”

“H-how dare you even suggest such a thing!” exclaimed Patausche. “I have never once ‘hung around’ Xylo! Retract that accusation immediately!”

“Oh. Well, I don’t really care, but could you keep it down?” Jayce said, turning back to his blueprint.

The exchange had taken some of the gloom out of Patausche’s expression, at least. Jayce could be useful like this from time to time.

After briefly clearing her throat, Patausche lowered her voice and continued:

“Xylo, you need to start thinking about Goddess Teoritta’s circumstances. She has been more or less forbidden from leaving ever since what happened at Sodrick’s Shell. I know going for a walk isn’t much, but you need to consider her mental health.”

“You heard the lady, Xylo!” said Teoritta. “Help me cheer up!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I supposed it wasn’t worth arguing if Patausche herself had approved the outing. The temple was just around the corner, like she’d said. Going there would be about the same as moving from the cafeteria to our sleeping quarters or the training grounds.

“Fine.”

I nodded and took a bite of my bread. It was hard, like tree bark. This was the kind of stuff we penal heroes got for breakfast.

“Ready to go?” I asked. “I haven’t been to a service in ages.”

“Yes, let’s go!” exclaimed Teoritta. “Thank you so much, Patausche!”

“I will do what I can for you, within reason, Goddess… Ahem, Xylo.” Patausche addressed me, but turned away for some reason, refusing to make eye contact. “Go tell my uncle—High Priest Marlen Kivia—that you will be going to the temple. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to get a few followers together for Goddess Teoritta’s sake. I’ll call for some soldiers I can trust as well. Head to the inner courtyard in half an hour.”

“Oh, so this is gonna be that kind of trip?” I said. “Great… What a pain in the ass.”

“It is not a pain at all!” cried Teoritta. “Hurry up and finish your breakfast so we can go!”

“Yeah, yeah. Patausche, you’re coming, too, right? You are her guard, after all.”

“No, I… I’m busy today.”

Patausche shook her head, still refusing to make eye contact. It was obvious she was hiding something. She was awful at lying. Whatever was bothering her must have been serious.

I didn’t press her for answers, though. If she was this troubled, it probably involved someone close to her. Did she have an idea who the mole was?

When it came to problems like this, some people simply weren’t able to talk about their worries. To them, doubting someone close was like insulting that person, and the closer they were, the more difficult the issue. Patausche probably wouldn’t say a word until she found concrete evidence. I understood that. After all, I was the same.

For that reason, I simply nodded in response.

“All right,” I said. “I’ll make sure Teoritta’s safe, then.”

“Good.” She looked at me, her gaze tense and serious. “Do not leave her side, no matter what.” She then turned to the other two heroes, who were acting like the matter had nothing to do with them. “Norgalle, Jayce, I want you two to guard Goddess—”

“Unfortunately, I have other matters I must attend to,” said Norgalle.

“Same here,” said Jayce. “I don’t have time to fool around.”

They both answered immediately. Jayce seemed to have finished with his blueprint, and he began loudly folding the large piece of paper, his quill held in his mouth.

“I need to make a new saddle to snap Neely out of her bad mood,” Jayce continued. “Come on, Norgalle—ahem—King Norgalle. We need to pay a visit to the leatherworker and the metalworker after that. Only the highest-grade materials will do.”

“A tour of the city’s shops, eh?” said the king. “Then you shall be my guard, Jayce. You never know when a terrorist will strike.”

“I know… Outta the way, giant human female. We’re in a hurry.”

“…Xylo, is it just me, or is…something wrong here?” asked Patausche. “I’m your superior. I should be the one giving orders, and yet…”

“Don’t bother with those two,” I shot back.

Norgalle and Jayce were the two worst listeners in our unit, and not even killing them would fix their insubordinate behavior.

“Come on, Teoritta. Let’s go.”

…And that was how we ended up here.

To make a long story short, Teoritta’s visit to the temple turned into quite the event. All eyes were on her the moment she took a step inside the chapel. She was so instantly popular that a crowd began to form around her. Children and elderly followers were especially excited.

“It’s the goddess!”

“The goddess of swords, Teoritta! Can I have your autograph?!”

A swarm of kids were the first to approach her, starting an impromptu signing event.

Signings were a unique custom held at temples worshipping the goddesses. Followers believed the handwritten signature of a goddess had sacred seal–like powers that warded off disaster…or at least, that was how it was in the past. The Temple’s current stance was that this belief was mere superstition. The custom, however, remained. A goddess’s signature was still recognized as a token of good luck to the faithful.

“Goddess, please sign my clothes!”

“Please sign my book! And this book for my little sister, too, please!”

Teoritta surged with excitement as children pressed in around her.

“Heh-heh. Gather round. I, Goddess Teoritta, shall bless each and every one of you.”

As people received their signatures, we guards would have to pull them away before they got too close to the goddess. Incidentally, there were thirty of us in total. Patausche had personally selected each one, and the sheer number struck me as a little overprotective.

Nevertheless, it ended up coming in handy, since Teoritta was very popular. We managed to get everyone lined up so they could each have a turn to speak with her, get her autograph, and shake her hand, but it was a long, difficult task. I had no idea why she was so popular with the children, but I could see why the elderly liked her. She was like a grandchild to them.

“I’m so proud of you, Goddess Teoritta.”

“You’re just a little girl, and yet you defeated all those demon lords for us.”

“My son lives in one of the northern settlements, and well… Thank you. What you did means a lot to me.”

They showered her with praise and offered her candy. Teoritta accepted all of it with a huge, satisfied grin. I suspected she was trying to smile benevolently and with grace, but she looked like a kid being praised by her grandparents.

I made a note to check all the candy for poison later.

“What do you think, Xylo?!” Teoritta puffed out her chest. “Look how popular I am! And as you know, being worshipped is a goddess’s greatest desire.”

She must have been in an extremely good mood. Her hair had begun to spark.

“As my knight, you must be very proud. I suppose I could share some of this praise with you! I will split my candy with you later as well! Here, hold on to it for me for now!”

“Great. Thanks.” I nodded humbly, the picture of a goddess’s Holy Knight, then accepted a surprisingly full bag of candy. I would have to ration it so she didn’t try to eat it all in one sitting.

That was when I realized that a few of the children who had received Teoritta’s autograph were now staring at me.

“Need something?” I asked them.

But the children immediately looked away, flustered. Perhaps they had never seen a penal hero before. Or maybe they were simply afraid of me. They began to whisper among themselves.

“Psst. That’s the guy, right? Goddess Teoritta’s Holy Knight…”

“The Lightning Bolt! The Demon Lord Hunter! Thunder Falcon!”

“Yeah, that has to be him. My dad said he’d seen him…!”

“I knew it. That’s Xylo Forbartz. D-do you think he’ll give me his autograph?”

The hell? I thought. They knew who I was?

All of a sudden, somebody patted me on the shoulder from behind.

“You seem to be quite popular yourself.”

“Huh?” I responded absentmindedly and turned around, only to find High Priest Marlen Kivia behind me. His sharp stare was similar to his niece’s, but his seemed a little gentler.

“How the hell—? Ahem. How do these kids know my name?”

I tried to speak as politely as I could, since he was the highest-ranking individual on the city’s defense force at the moment. Patausche was in charge of military affairs here, and he was clearly her superior.

“You’re the one and only Holy Knight who forged a pact with Goddess Teoritta, and you appear to have quite the following among this city’s children after your stunning victory at Mureed Fortress and the impressive performance you put on at Sodrick’s Shell.”

This is ridiculous, I thought, shaking my head. “I’m a penal hero.”

“The children do not yet understand what that means. I was surprised as well. I never imagined that the Xylo Forbartz would be so service-minded and caring.”

“That’s ’cause they’ll activate the sacred seal on my neck and blow my head off if I violate orders.”

“I am still amazed. I have heard a lot from Patausche about you, but…you have far exceeded my expectations.”

“She told you about me? What did she say?”

“She praises you often.”

Those were the last words I expected to hear. I’d been sure she was bad-mouthing me whenever she got the chance.

“She says she could learn a lot from you as a knight and as a person,” he continued.

“…Did she really say that?”

“She phrased it differently, of course. She often says things like, ‘He’s always so reckless,’ and ‘I can barely stand to watch him. His actions go against everything I’ve learned in the military.’”

“Figured as much.”

“Hmmm. I know her very well, you know.” The high priest looked me right in the eye. His face was serious. I had no idea what he was getting at. “My niece has a habit of valuing honor over her own life. Perhaps you could say she wants to be a true champion of the people. A very troublesome wish. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“…I guess,” I replied ambiguously. I couldn’t blame her. Teoritta and I were the same, after all. “Though it’s common to find aspiring generals in the military with hopes like that.”

Especially among those who fight the Demon Blight, rather than other humans.

“You must be worried, being her uncle and all,” I said.

“More than you know. Patausche is like a daughter to me. I treasure her, and I will not forgive anyone who betrays her or makes her sad.”

Where was he going with this? I met his gaze and tried to read his expression, but I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. I wasn’t good at things like this. In fact, I was a little wary of making assumptions based on the way people looked and acted. This guy could be two-faced like Venetim, for all I knew.

“My darkest fear is that someone with bad intentions will try to seduce her. Listen, Xylo Forbartz. I hear you have a fiancée, so let this be a warning. If you—”

What in the world did he mean by that?

But as I cautiously waited for him to finish his sentence, a deafening clamor suddenly drowned him out. The air around us shook with the raucous ringing of a bell. Claaang, claaang. The sound went on, echoing harshly through the temple, causing a stir among the believers. A few flustered priests took off running.

I knew this sound well.

“Xylo?” Teoritta looked back at me uneasily. “What’s going on?”

“Sorry, but it looks like your meet-and-greet’s gonna have to wrap up early. This is an emergency. We’re—”

“—under attack,” cut in High Priest Kivia. His tone was urgent. “That bell means the city of Ioff is being raided by the enemy.”

Patausche Kivia was in one of the rooms in the barracks when she heard the bell. Parts of the city were already on fire, smoke rising into the air, signaling danger.

“Captain! There you are,” a familiar voice called from the door—it was Officer Zofflec, in charge of the cavalry. Standing behind him was Siena, the woman in charge of the sniper division.

“I apologize for disturbing you like this,” he continued, “but this is a serious matter. I have sent for Rajit, but if possible, we need you to assume command right away.”

“…All right,” said Patausche, with a nod. She stood, placed the stacks of documents in her hand neatly back into the desk’s drawer, and tried to remain calm. “Deploy the troops. Protect the city. You’ve already sent scouts, yes?”

“Of course. We were only waiting for you, Captain. But…” Zofflec faintly creased his brow. “What were you doing in the high priest’s room?”

“I came here to discuss the town’s defense, but it appears I was too late.”

Patausche was well aware that she was a terrible liar.

She thought back to the documents she had been reading a few moments ago. They were daily reports on the town’s defense, and they provided an indirect account of her uncle’s recent actions, detailing when he had gone out or been absent during his ten-day stay in Ioff.

After examining his preparations taken, meetings attended, interviews conducted, and everything in between, Patausche found herself drifting toward a single, undeniable conclusion…

Punishment: Evacuate and Rescue the People of Port Ioff Cheg, Part 1

We were in a hastily constructed, temporary command center.

Then again, spaces allocated to us penal heroes always included words like “temporary” or “special.” The proper facilities were for regular soldiers, not us. Even this temporary command center was nothing more than a small storage shack next to the dragon stables.

When Teoritta and I stepped into the room, he was already there, standing next to Venetim, his arms behind his back, a faint smirk on his lips. As always, he was aggravatingly calm.

“Well, if it isn’t my good friend, Comrade Xylo,” said Rhyno. “You seem to be doing well. I’m glad. It sounds like you’ve had a rough time of it while I was gone. My heart ached for you all every day I was in solitary confinement.”

His behavior was not what you would expect from a man who had been locked up alone for so long, but he was always like this. He spoke like a priest or a teacher who loved to lecture everyone around him.

“Is that the goddess I’ve heard so much about?”

He narrowed his gaze at Teoritta. She visibly recoiled. You’re right, there, Teoritta. Rhyno is a very shady guy. Unbothered by her silence, he continued his greeting:

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Goddess Teoritta. I am Rhyno, the artilleryman for Penal Hero Unit 9004. Comrade Xylo here is my partner, after a fashion. Together we fight for the happiness of all mankind.”

Punishment: Evacuate and Rescue the People of Port Ioff Cheg, Part 2

No matter how reckless the plan, we still needed a base, and I wasn’t talking about the barracks. We needed something on the front line. If our aim was to evacuate the populace, then we had to have some place relatively safe. Norgalle, of course, was the perfect man for the job. The instant he arrived at the city wall separating Ioff Cheg’s port from the inland district, he emphatically declared:

“We shall build my fortress here!”

It didn’t take long after that.

The guards unfortunate enough to be stationed nearby received the king’s orders. Confused and being yelled at, they had no choice but to move to protect themselves. The military had ordered the gate to the inland district to be sealed off, and the low-level guards unable to evacuate in time had been left behind. Now they had no choice but to become Norgalle’s lackeys. After all, he did have the arrogance and distinguished appearance of a king. Those traits, in addition to the fear and confusion of the situation, compelled the guards to obey him.

What truly surprised me were the adventurers who came crawling out of the woodwork to follow Norgalle’s commands. Even more shocking, I recognized them from the fight at Sodrick’s Shell. Even the man with the beard from the Giant-Hunter Brigade or whatever showed up.

“Hurry, my people!” shouted Norgalle. “We must build this sacred seal–engraved wall exactly as I designed.”

“Aye, aye!”

“And we must start a fire! Guards, do you have any cooking equipment with sacred seals at your station? I need water boiling now! Collect every pot and ration you can from the nearby shops! The minister of finance will compensate everyone when this is over!”

“Aye, aye! …No dilly-dallying, men! Get it done!”

The high-spirited adventurers diligently got to work right before my eyes. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked. “They’re actually following Norgalle’s orders?”

“I’m just as confused as you are,” said Dotta. He looked like he’d just seen a ghost. The adventurers were running all over, following every one of Norgalle’s deafening commands.

“King Norgalle promised to hook them all up with new jobs. You know—sounds like they all lost their livelihoods after what happened to the guild and all. Scary stuff, right…?”

“What? Do you think this counts as a job?”

“Beats me… His Majesty offered them all official titles and salaries, but…”

“Seriously? Do those adventurers think he’s some kind of eccentric nobleman?”

“No clue.”

“The military might hire them if they work hard… Better than life as a bandit, I guess.”

Whatever the case, the adventurers were dutifully following Norgalle’s orders, using sacred seal–infused tools Dotta had stolen from the barracks and whatever scraps they could find to hastily make a line of defense.

Meanwhile, Teoritta and I were warming our hands over the swiftly prepared bonfire while we waited until it was time to attack. As the sun sank into the ocean, the temperature rapidly fell. Keeping your body warm was essential during times like this, and eating was just as important. You didn’t want to collapse from hunger in the middle of the mission.

For that reason, I was using one of the pots that the king had “collected” to cook us a simple meal—a porridge of fish and vegetable scraps. Once it was ready, I poured it into small bowls before taking a big sip.

“This is delicious. Hot, though…” My simple meal seemed popular with Teoritta. “I want to cook this for us next time, my knight!”

“Hopefully, we’ll have something better than leftover scraps… Hey, Tatsuya. Eat up before it gets cold.”

“Mmmfff… Grrr…”

“Seriously?! Don’t eat with your hands, dammit! I gave you that spoon for a reason!”

“Heh-heh! You’re getting food everywhere, Tatsuya. You shouldn’t rush your meal,” said Teoritta.

“Look who’s talking. You’ve got food all over your face… Stay still until I’m done wiping you off! Both of you!”

There was something about a hot meal that really motivated you, no matter how paltry the ingredients, and right now, I was feeling just that. One extraordinary thing about King Norgalle was that when building a base, he would always start with an area for cooking. He understood that hot meals both promoted morale among soldiers and helped civilians feel safe.

“Comrade Norgalle never ceases to impress me,” said Rhyno, clearly in awe. “Thanks to him, we were able to prepare for the mission and warm up our bodies as well.”

Just as he’d implied, Rhyno appeared fully put together and ready for battle.

He was wearing his familiar armor, made from a mysterious kind of steel with a dusky-red sparkle to it. He had an insect-like short, stocky appearance, and his arms were absurdly massive. His right hand served as the barrel of his armor’s cannon. It was a hollow cylinder with a sacred seal engraved into its surface. It looked almost like he had a chimney attached to his arm from the elbow down.

This bizarre metal suit, known as the Neven Artillery Seal Compound, was Rhyno’s weapon. But it was still in testing within the military, so how he got his hands on it was a mystery to me. In fact, I doubted anyone knew for sure.

“I thought we’d finally be working together as a unit,” he complained, sounding a little depressed. “But it appears Comrade Tsav and Comrade Jayce can’t be with us. What a shame.”

He always put too much emotion into his voice—to the point that it sounded fake. In a way, he was probably more of a liar than Venetim.

“Tsav’s arm is still being treated,” I said, “but I’m sure he’ll be dragged out of bed and brought straight here with minimal care.”

“What about Comrade Jayce? Did he not get permission to fight with us?”

“He did not. But I’ve got it covered.”

Bringing a dragon into urban warfare was dangerous, and that went double for Jayce and Neely. So of course, the military was reluctant to allow it… But I had Venetim negotiating with them, and there weren’t many people he couldn’t persuade. I would have a great time kicking his ass if he didn’t pull it off, though.

“Anyway, we need King Norgalle to stay at the base, and Dotta should stay here, too, to analyze the battle and keep an eye out for us.”

“That leaves the two of us, along with Comrade Tatsuya and…” Rhyno shot Teoritta a grin. “Goddess Teoritta, yes? It looks like the four of us will be fighting side by side tonight. Let’s do our best.”

“…Yes.” Teoritta was clearly wary of Rhyno, keeping her distance and hiding behind me. “We must hurry… Those people are waiting for us…to rescue them…”

“Oh, Goddess Teoritta! Yes! I humbly agree. What joy this brings me! With your approval, I feel we cannot go wrong.”

“I don’t know why you’re so happy,” I said, “but we’ve got more important things to worry about right now.” I had to face the reality of the situation. “The city’s guards have started to withdraw, so we’re vastly outnumbered. I have an idea, but we’re gonna need more men.”

“Allow me to handle that. We need more soldiers, yes?” replied Rhyno, with his usual calm. “May I suggest a strategy as well?”

“…I mean, I already have a plan, but I guess I’ll hear you out.”

“The city wall.” He pointed at the barrier behind us—a colossal structure separating the port area of Ioff Cheg from the rest of the city. “Let’s use my artillery to destroy it and allow the faeries inland.”

“What…?!” Teoritta was scowling something fierce. “Why would we ever do that?”

“Goddess, I believe suffering and pain should be shared among everyone. That is how humans create bonds. It’s beautiful, really. Once the faeries make their way into the inland district, the Holy Knights and city guards will have no choice but to help us fight.” Rhyno spread out his stubby, armor-covered arms as if he believed this plan was pure genius. “It isn’t fair that only some have to suffer. So when disaster strikes, we must divide the misfortune among everyone. Anyway, what do you think, Comrade Xylo?”

“My knight…!” exclaimed Teoritta. “This man is—”

“I know. That’s just who he is.” I wanted to sigh—a big, exaggerated, theatrical sigh. “Anyway, thanks for wasting everyone’s time, Rhyno. Maybe you’d have a point if we were just talking about the Knights and guards, but putting civilians’ lives in danger? What’s wrong with you?”

“Hmm? Are you suggesting you have an even better plan, Comrade Xylo?”

“Listen up, Rhyno. You may not know this, but it isn’t friendship or rainbows that motivate the average person.”

I pointed toward the port. Ever since I’d heard our orders, I had been thinking. I knew asking for one or two thousand reinforcements wasn’t feasible, but I wanted five hundred, and I had a slightly better plan for getting them than what Rhyno was suggesting.

“It’s profit—it’s getting something in return,” I said. “Rhyno, shoot that ship. You should be able to hit it if you get a little closer, right?”

“Interesting.” Rhyno was a quick thinker and eerily sharp. “That makes a lot of sense, Comrade Xylo. It seems like our best bet, in fact.”

I was sure he was smiling underneath all that armor. I could just tell.

“And this is why I respect you,” he said. “I always learn so much. Anyway, what’s the next step in this plan of yours?” He sounded as if he were testing me, or trying to get something out of me. “Do you propose we rescue each lost civilian one by one? You seemed to have thought of something a moment ago.”

“We’re going to do just the opposite, and drive the faeries into a corner.” I wasn’t going to play by the Demon Blight’s rules and allow its horde to push us back. We were the penal hero unit. Like hell we were going to fight fair. “We aren’t going to protect the city. We’re going to attack the enemy and retake what they’ve stolen.”

I pointed at the red edifice by the sea: Tui Jia, the Coral Tower. If we attack their nest, they won’t have time to attack the civilians, I thought. And there was no way we were going to wait for the Holy Knights and city guards to arrive.

“We’re going to take back Tui Jia and kill the demon lord.”

Even as I spelled it out, I realized how reckless my plan was. But that didn’t stop me.

Tui Jia was highly fortified. Not only was it fully equipped with lightning staffs specialized for sniping, along with an array of other seal-engraved weapons, it would likely be Shiji Bau and other adventurers using them. That much I was sure of. After all, the reason the faeries were able to occupy the tower was because those manning it had been surprised by an attack from land.

Still, we had a decent chance of victory, and while I hated to admit it, it was because we had Jayce and Rhyno on our side.

This is absurd.

That was Patausche Kivia’s first thought when she looked over their orders. But the document had, without a doubt, come from Galtuile.

“…It was inevitable, Captain,” said Rajit. He could have been admonishing or consoling her. “We need the support of the nobles, just as we need support from every citizen. And besides, there are numerous buildings in this district that belong to the Temple…” Rajit looked at the map with a serious expression. “And faith is essential. It is the foundation of our hearts, especially in desperate times.”

Patausche understood where those at Galtuile were coming from.

…I should understand.

Patausche tried to convince herself. A soldier must never question their orders. Doubts would only hinder her on the battlefield.

I need to hurry and deploy the infantry.

Zofflec’s cavalry and Siena’s snipers were already in position and ready for battle, and the situation would only worsen the longer Patausche hesitated.

But…

She stole a glance at the documents in her hand. That rude, unpleasant woman—Frenci Mastibolt of the Night-Gaunts—had grabbed them for some unfathomable reason right before the Adventurers Guild came crashing down.

The papers were a record of Lideo Sodrick’s daily movements, and they showed that in between his tasks as guild master, he was making strange visits to someone—a man calling himself Mahaeyzel Zelkoff.

It was the same name Lideo had given them.

The coexisters’ messenger, his face concealed behind a black mask. The fact that Lideo had kept this record might well be proof he was trying to play both sides. He made deals with the coexisters, but still did favors for their enemies, refusing to commit until it was clear who was going to win.

If only I could capture him… But I doubt we’ll ever find him, Patausche thought. He’s probably already long gone.

Something still bothered her, though. She was almost certain now, and if she was right…

“Captain Kivia,” came a sudden voice from the doorway.

Patausche looked up to see an overly pale man with a suspicious smirk: Venetim Leopool—the penal hero unit’s designated commander.

“You again? What are you doing here?” Rajit asked sternly. “The penal hero unit has already been given orders to attack.”

“Yes, and it is my job as commander to fire them up and send them into battle. However…” Venetim spoke fluidly, turning to Patausche. “I have received a report from the front line that the faeries are already marching up Ioff Cheg’s ninth water route toward the inland commercial district. Furthermore, for some unknown reason, they are now attacking the Temple’s seal ships.”

“…What?” Rajit’s eyebrow twitched, and he promptly looked down at the map.

“We will handle rescuing the civilians and eliminating the faeries,” said Venetim. “But we would like permission to use a dragon within the city. In addition, while we will do our best to succeed on our own, I would like to request the help of the Holy Knights to protect the Temple’s property and prevent any casualties among the affluent merchants living in the area.”

Venetim spoke quickly and fluently and topped it all off with a bow.

“I beg of you,” he said. “Please provide us with backup as we risk our very lives to defeat the enemy.”

“Captain… This sounds extremely suspicious.” Rajit groaned, staring at the map. “Would you like me to send some soldiers to the front lines to confirm his claims? Is what he’s saying even possible? Why would faeries prioritize attacking the Temple’s ships over humans…?”

“Perhaps they instinctively sense a threat,” Venetim suggested, without a moment’s hesitation. “Or maybe they are simply trying to hurt the Temple financially. I suspect they are being led by a creature with some kind of intelligence.”

“But—,” Rajit began, only to be interrupted by a messenger rushing into the room.

“Captain Kivia!”

The messenger was holding a sheaf of papers neatly rolled into a cylinder closed with a sacred seal—proof it was an official order. The man continued:

“We have received witness reports that multiple ships owned by the Temple are under attack. Two are currently ablaze! The Temple has requested these ships be saved at all costs!”

This sealed the deal. Patausche stood up. Though these weren’t orders from the military, it was still an official request from the Temple, and more than enough reason to act.

“Understood. I will have my soldiers on it immediately.”

What would Xylo Forbartz have done? Surely, he would have come to a decision more quickly, without waiting around for some justification… But such speculation is pointless, she thought. What do I need to worry about that for?

She promptly chased away these thoughts.

“Relay the Temple’s orders to Zofflec and Siena! I will allow the penal hero unit to use a dragon. Prioritize rescuing civilians.”

“Understood. And, um…” Venetim hesitated for a few moments, a timid, ambiguous smile forming on his lips.

“What?” she asked.

“No, it’s nothing.”

It was a cynical, almost self-deprecating smile that left a strange, lasting impression on her.

“Please give my regards to High Priest Marlen,” he said. “His support would allow us more flexibility, so I believe we should ask for his help.”

Patausche’s face stiffened.

High Priest Marlen Kivia. She would have to meet with him eventually… They needed to have a talk about a certain messenger for the coexisters who went by the name of Mahaeyzel Zelkoff.

Punishment: Evacuate and Rescue the People of Port Ioff Cheg, Part 3

Our artilleryman was back in action, and that had opened up a powerful new battle strategy—armored warfare.

Infantry could follow behind an artilleryman, using the latter’s massive suit of armor as a shield. The artilleryman would boost the infantry’s defense, while the infantry would in turn compensate for the artilleryman’s lack of maneuverability. With a skilled infantryman and careful scouting, this kind of strategy could work even in an urban environment.

Under these conditions, Tatsuya would be the ideal infantryman, and a thunderstroke soldier like me would be better able to turn in tight spaces than a dragon knight. The battleground would be relatively small. Dotta would stay in the rear and use his abnormally good eyesight for scouting.

In short, our team was set up to quickly remove any threat that targeted Rhyno, our artilleryman.

“Oh! They’re coming from the right,” Dotta said nervously through his sacred seal. “Bogies! Seven of them!”

Bogies were especially small barghests. Usually, barghests were around the size of a horse or an elephant, but not always. These smaller bogies made up for what they lacked in size with large horns on their heads and with speed, and they were a significant threat. When they charged, their horns could easily pierce thick armor. The fact that we were fighting in narrow streets made them even more dangerous, since the bogies could drop down from above or charge right at us in a group, allowing little space to dodge.

They were an artilleryman’s natural enemy. Or at least, they should have been.

“Comrade Xylo, I’m counting on you,” said Rhyno, his voice muffled inside his armor.

“I know.”

As I replied, Tatsuya was already moving. He didn’t have to be told.

“Vagrrr!”

He swung his battle-ax with lightning speed, chopping down a few bogies the moment they came rushing from a gap between some buildings. He let out an eerie battle cry, smashing the beasts with his ax, giving them no chance to counter.

“Keep your eyes forward, Teoritta!” I called out. “Let’s do this!”

“Very well.” Teoritta summoned a sword in midair. She instantly knew what I wanted. “You shall be blessed.”

I launched a knife as I grabbed the sword she’d summoned. A bogie exploded, taking out another bogie with it. When the third made its way over, I slashed it with the sword, blowing it up as well.

All done here.

“Taking it easy like this is rather nice, and nothing beats fighting alongside my hero comrades. I am blessed to have you all,” said Rhyno. Every word out of his mouth sounded insincere and shallow. I wanted to ask him if he meant any of it, but this wasn’t the time or place.

“Let’s keep pushing forward,” I said. “Once we’re in Tui Jia—”

“Wh-what the…?! Wait! There’s something up ahead!”

Dotta cut me off and ruined my speech right as I was trying to fire everyone up. He was panicking.

“There’s…some kind of warehouse up ahead, and uh… It has Verkle Development Corporation’s seal on it. There’s a bonfire, too. It looks like some people have barricaded themselves inside, and faeries are gathering around the building… Wh-what should we do?”

“Some people must be using the place as a shelter. Dammit. What a pain in the ass.”

“Right? So, uh… Maybe you should ignore it and go around,” chimed in Venetim, via our sacred seals’ communication function. Just what I expected him to say, I thought. “It would be best if we ignored them, don’t you think? We can let those civilians keep the enemy busy while we—”

“I don’t know about that,” Rhyno said, tilting his head to one side. “I don’t like it. I think we should save them before retaking the tower. What do you think, Comrade Xylo?”

Rhyno looked at me as if trying to confirm something, and while I hated to admit it, he was right. Regardless of my morals, our orders were to save the civilians, so we needed to protect them.

…And Teoritta looking up at me anxiously had nothing to do with it.