Fire Mage Dir’s Scheme

Approximately two years ago, in the Duchy of Loggervia.

Rit the hero, Princess Rizlet of Loggervia, rose back up. She had

managed to persuade her father, the king, to write a letter

requesting aid from the surrounding countries in exchange for

relinquishing claims to various watering holes and quarries. The

official statement would solicit reinforcements from two neighboring

countries, the Duchy of Sunland and the Republic of Beryllia.

Sunland lay on the other side of the bewitching woods. Receiving

reinforcements from them in particular would be decisive in

determining the outcome of the battle. As was perhaps standard for

neighboring countries, Loggervia and Sunland had a history of

disputes before the demon lord's invasion had even begun. In fact,

the two countries were openly hostile, and Beryllia supported

Sunland's claim and, as such, had been on poor terms with Loggervia.

But in order to save Loggervia, it was essential to get help from both

of them.

The final war council over, I was mentally exhausted. I walked down

the hall as I tried to stretch my stiff shoulders.

"Big Brother."

A voice stopped me in my tracks. It was the blue-haired Hero, looking

up at me with the same quiet expression she always did.

"Hey, Ruti. The meeting's over. In the end, they went along with all

our suggestions. I imagine we'll be heading out tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Ruti nodded but seemed a little sullen.

"Is something wrong?"

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"Not really."

"You seem a bit annoyed."

She probably intended to be expressionless, but there was a slight

tension to her lips, betraying a touch of melancholy. I had been with

Ruti since she was little, so I noticed things like that. Everyone else

thought she was antisocial and expressionless, but on the inside, she

actually had a pretty wide range of emotions.

"You're getting along well with Rit."

"Hmm? I suppose? She's the sort of person you can't just leave be, I

guess?"

"Is that so…?" Ruti's eyes narrowed the tiniest fraction as she

glowered at me.

"Ah, I'm sorry. But since she, Ares, and I are dealing with the

diplomatic relations, it can't really be helped."

Situations like this were sort of a specialty for me thanks to my

training as a knight. Ares had been a high-level government official

before joining the party, so he was well qualified, too. Well actually,

Ares did know the etiquette and how to compose diplomatic

documents, but he didn't really have any sense of diplomacy itself.

Perhaps because of the impulse of the Sage blessing, even if what he

wanted was to be done, he just couldn't let someone else get the

credit for it. His clear self-assuredness that he was the smartest

person in the room and his bad habit of looking down on everyone

else inevitably reared their heads in those sorts of situations.

But Danan, a martial artist through and through, was out of the

question, Theodora the Crusader was an archetypical military sort,

too, and Ruti wasn't a skilled orator. She would just end up using the

effects of the Hero's charisma to make the other side agree.

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It wasn't like I was particularly adroit at negotiations when I was a

knight, but Ares and I still ended up being the most qualified for the

job. It was a bit of a poor showing, honestly, considering this was

humanity's strongest party.

"But Ares is slacking off."

"Well, yeah."

Once a vague course of action had been settled, Ares stopped

coming to the meetings. He was laying the groundwork with the

nobility of the country by arranging a small-scale get together every

night, apparently, though he was probably going to enjoy the

inevitable fawning over him, too. He liked that sort of thing.

"The three of you are talking late into the night, but if Ares isn't

there…then it's just the two of you," Ruti said with a look of

dissatisfaction before tapping my chest. "I want you to be with me

today."

"Okay, I get it, I get it. Why don't we get ready for tomorrow

together, then?"

Hearing that, Ruti finally looked satisfied and nodded with a quiet

expression.

True to the plan, the first thing we did was scatter the demon lord's

forces attacking the forest village. The lower-tier demons making up

the infantry of the force there withdrew without too much

resistance.

"Gideon! You finally came!" a long-eared high elf exclaimed as she

wrapped me in a powerful hug.

"I'm glad to see you in such good spirits, Yarandrala. Sorry for being

late."

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"It's fine. They weren't serious about attacking this village anyway.

The hug was just because I was happy to see you!"

Yarandrala beamed gallantly as she kept her arm clamped around my

waist. She was close enough that our cheeks were almost rubbing

together.

Generally, high elves kept a distance from others until they made

friends, but once they did, they apparently enjoyed a physical sort of

intimacy. It wasn't particularly related to love or anything, but even

knowing that, a human like me still got a bit flustered by it. It seemed

high elves found it amusing when humans they got along with

became embarrassed, which just aroused their affection even more.

"Gideon, who is she?" Rit asked, shocked by the high elf who

suddenly engulfed me in a hug when we reunited.

"Ah, this is Yarandrala, a high elf. She's the one who can help us get

through the bewitching woods."

She was the other crux of this plan. The bewitching woods along the

border of Loggervia was the dangerous forest that the wood elves

around here had chosen as the location of their final stand back in

the era of the previous demon lord. They had cast countless layers of

magic to transform it into an inescapable and unexplored region. It

was unknown exactly what had become of those elves who had

fought here, but it was a fact that the bewitching woods had

swallowed up dozens of skilled adventurers.

"I have a blessing that allows me to communicate with plants and

borrow their strength," Yarandrala said proudly as she looked at Rit.

The power to speak with plants was one of the benefits of the elf's

blessing of the Singer of the Trees.

"The magic placed on the bewitching woods has no effect on beings

born in the woods, so by talking to the plants, it is possible to learn

the correct way through."

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With Yarandrala, we could make it through the bewitching woods.

The perimeter the enemy had formed was thinner near the deadly

forest, and they would be completely defenseless once we crossed.

The members of our expedition were Ruti, Rit, Yarandrala, Ares, and

myself. With the five us, the odds of success were high.

Glancing around, Ares was conspicuously absent. After searching a

bit, he appeared to be spurring on a man who was the head of a

mercenary band. It was a rare sight, since Ares usually didn't pay

much heed to soldiers' morale.

"All right, I leave the rest to you," Ares said to the man wearing a

hat-style helmet with a wide brim called a kettle hat.

"Aye, sir. I'll be sure that the residents get there safe. And you can

count on me for defense, too!" the man said, bowing his head.

The kettle-hat man was named Dir. He was a mercenary, hired by

Loggervian aristocrats, who had served as an intermediary between

Ares and the aristocrats and had helped out with gathering

mercenaries.

The force of fifty or so sellswords had officially been gathered by

Ares. His role in the upcoming fight was to go with the group headed

out to call for reinforcements, but he had arranged to have a

mercenary force under his name in order to be able to claim that he

had helped with the defense of the battle as well. Money earned by

the Hero's party was only to be used for dealing with the demon

lord, not for personal glory. However, Dir had approached Ares with

such flattery and assembled more than fifty mercenaries without any

payment.

Their efforts and accomplishments would be credited to Ares, and

pleased by that fact, rather unlike himself, Ares went out of his way

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to offer encouragement to them, even going so far as to cast some

modest support spells and the like on them.

"But to cross the bewitching woods and solicit reinforcements, I'm in

awe of your bravery, sir."

"Thanks to you, we were able to gather information necessary for

the trip. Just between us, Gideon was the one who came up with this

plan. He has a fondness for gambles with low chances of success, so I

always have to follow behind to clean up after him."

Ares had asked Dir about any dangers lurking within the bewitching

woods that had made the rounds among the nobles. How much faith

could actually be put into the rumors passed around by wealthy men

who had never ventured farther than their own estates, though? For

Dir, the truth didn't matter. As long as his reports sounded

believable, it was fine.

"I thank you for your faith in me, sir. And the decisiveness to act on it

is to be expected of the great Sage."

Ares happily accepted the praise, more pleased than he had ever

been. Dir's face was hidden in the shadow of the kettle hat as he

lowered his head, careful that neither Gideon nor Rit could see it.

If they could have seen his face, they might've recognized the man

glaring sidelong at Rit as the fire mage the blond princess had run

out of that town.

"Haaaaah." Rit sighed.

In the bewitching woods, the voices of the spirits she should have

been able to sense because of her Spirit Scout blessing could not

reach her. The illusionary magic confused even them. Partly because

of that, Rit could not even tell whether their group was actually

advancing through the woods. Her sense of direction and the

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passage of time seemed to have vanished. All the young woman

could do was suffer, stewing in her unease and impatience.

And…

Glancing over, she saw the beautiful high elf chatting intimately with

Gideon. Her chest tightened at the sight. She felt stupid for having

spent so much time with him in Loggervia.

Gideon was one of the Hero's comrades. He was a true hero, who

would lend a helping hand to anyone in need. Of course, the young

man tried to encourage her when she was depressed, and of course,

he would do his best to save the princess's home.

How long had it been since she had stopped being able to look him in

the eye? When she spoke with Gideon, she'd often end up smiling or

blushing. To hide it, Rit had taken to covering her mouth with a

bandanna. Something about it was just so embarrassing. To hide the

feeling, she began speaking more harshly.

Just yesterday, when they had been talking about Loggervia, the

topic had shifted to how Gideon would have run the country, and

even though they had just been making idle conversation at first, she

ended up yelling at him, saying "It's not like I want you to stay behind

in Loggervia! Don't get the wrong idea!"

Gideon looked flabbergasted after that outburst, and Rit regretted it

from the moment the words crossed her lips. She had not meant it to

be like that, but for some reason, she'd lost the ability to have a

proper conversation with Gideon. She'd averted her eyes from him,

her face red.

"…"

And in avoiding him, she met the gaze of Ruti, who stared coolly at

Rit. The princess had buried herself in her sleeping bag to escape and

closed her eyes.

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The next day, she had intended to apologize to him, but for some

reason, he was smiling at her warmly, and the young adventurer felt

she'd missed her chance to broach the topic.

She'd been like that ever since they had set out. Compared to

Yarandrala, who was walking beside Gideon and chatted so easily

with him, or Ruti, who, despite her expressionless demeanor, still

managed to demonstrate a deep affection for Gideon in everything

she did, Rit was just spinning her wheels.

"What am I doing?"

Struck by a sense of self-loathing, Rit hung her head as she walked at

the tail end of the party. According to Yarandrala, they would exit

the forest tomorrow. Rit had subconsciously complained about how

everything looked the same a few times, but Gideon had tried to

cheer her up.

Did I ever properly thank him after that?

Rit was feeling increasingly depressed.

"Hey."

"Hmm? Oh, Yarandrala. What is it?"

At some point, the elf had started walking next to her. The woman

was bent over, peering at Rit's face, which was focused on her feet.

"I asked a white birch tree, and apparently, there's a river a little past

here," Yarandrala said. She tugged at Rit's clothes. "Your clothes and

body are dirty, so why don't we take a break and go bathe?"

"Huh? Bathe?"

"It'll help pick you up. It's a high elf proverb that cleanliness fulfills

the body and mind while evil breeds in impurity."

Rit was the princess of a royal family, so she considered herself

someone who kept herself fairly clean, but Yarandrala was on

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another level. Gideon and the others would diligently set up camp

and make sure not to start any fires because it'd upset the plants of

the bewitching woods, despite causing their party more difficulty.

Yarandrala, however, would shamelessly use a full bucket of water to

rinse herself. Rit could not help but admire it. Even she could not

bring herself to do that much, so instead, she helped Gideon and the

rest of the party. But it was apparently just part of high elf culture to

be finicky about cleanliness. Their values were a little different from

humans'.

"But—"

"We're going to go ask for reinforcements after this. You looking like

that won't be doing us any favors. Let's go. Hey, Gideon! We're going

to go wash up a bit, so you all should take a break."

"Eh? I didn't say I was going…"

But when Gideon glanced over at them:

"Yeah, I suppose it's about time for a break," he said with a nod.

"Are you really going to indulge Yarandrala again?!" Ares groused

indignantly.

But Gideon just patted the other man's shoulder.

"It's fine, isn't it? And we promised to follow her instructions while

we were in the bewitching woods, didn't we?"

"Your softness is the reason that…!"

Gideon was taking the blame for the high elf. When Rit realized this

and was about to speak up, Yarandrala just gently shook her head.

"It will be fine. Just leave it to Gideon and let's go."

"But."

Looking over to the young man, he just waved his hand, gesturing for

Rit to not worry about it and go ahead. He had a wry smile, as if he

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felt bad for having made the blond princess worry about him at all.

Seeing his expression, giddiness rocked her mind. She could not

really understand it herself, but a strong urge to hug Gideon washed

over her. If Yarandrala had not taken her by the hand, she might

actually have run over and embraced him.

The river was a small one. At its deepest point, it barely came up to

the waist.

Because it was in a forest entirely untouched by humans, though, the

water was totally clear and clean. So clear that Rit was hesitant to

submerge her dirty body in it. Yarandrala, however, seemed

unperturbed as she immersed her beautiful, naked figure in the river.

"Come in, Rit. It's cool and feels lovely."

"This isn't the season for that."

It was currently autumn. Beneath the forest trees, the climate was

strangely warm, to the point that Rit had worked up a sweat after

walking for an entire day, but it still wasn't really temperate enough

to be playing in a river.

Rit sat down on the riverbank and dipped her feet in its clear water.

"Cold!"

The young woman reflexively pulled her feet back. Then she

gradually lowered her legs, enjoying the comfortable coolness as she

slowly grew acclimated.

In the end, Rit also stripped and entered the river.

"Phew."

It was cold. There was a calm voice in the back of Rit's mind asking

how exactly they were going to warm up after getting out of the

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water in the bewitching woods where they couldn't build a campfire,

but her desire to cool her head was stronger.

"Hey, Rit."

Yarandrala seemed to be freely enjoying herself, swimming

uninhibited. Rit had been idly wondering whether high elves were

naturally more resistant to cold than humans.

"You like Gideon, don't you?"

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"Huh?" Rit suddenly snapped back from her daydreaming. "Wh-why

are you asking that all of a sudden?"

"If you could see yourself, you'd know," Yarandrala said, breaking

into a laugh.

Rit's face turned red, and she submerged herself under the water.

Yarandrala swam over to Rit.

"You're a wonderful person, and Gideon's pretty taken by you, too."

"…Really?"

"But you should probably work on your habit of getting angry when

you're embarrassed."

"Ugh…yeah…," Rit said, mortified.

Whenever Rit got harsher with Gideon, it was generally because it

had become obvious she was embarrassed.

"If you're going to try to hide the embarrassment, then just go all out

with the affection and play it up a bit. If you're going to get so

flustered, at least say something worth getting embarrassed over

first."

"Even if you say that…it's not like I can just flip a switch…"

"Really? I'm sure if you express your feelings straightforwardly,

Gideon will respond to how you feel."

"What about you, then? You seem to get along well with him… Do

you have the same sort of feelings as me?"

"Me? You've got it wrong."

"Really?"

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Yarandrala was smiling, but to Rit, her expression conveyed a faint

loneliness.

"High elves have a bit of a longer life span than humans. I wouldn't

end up loving a human like that. I've learned that the hard way. You

could almost say the great tree in the capital is my true love now. I'm

the Singer of the Trees, after all."

"…"

"I might not look it, but I'm pretty old, you know? A high elf's

appearance doesn't change much, so it can be hard to tell."

"Y-yeah."

"So to me, Gideon is more like a best friend, or a comrade in arms, or

even the human I consider most trustworthy. But that isn't love."

Having said that, Yarandrala wrapped Rit in a tight hug. She could

feel the warmth of the high elf's body. They may have both been

women, but they were still both naked. Rit, with her human sense of

values, could feel a shyness welling up in her. Yarandrala's serious

tone quickly dismissed the girl's feelings, however.

"I want Gideon to be happy. He has always borne all the hard work

for his comrades and will probably continue to do so, but I want him

to live a bit more for himself. I want him to be able to enjoy a more

standard, straightforward sort of happiness living with someone he

loves."

"Yarandrala…"

"I can't share Gideon's worries. None of them realize it, but Gideon's

strengths lie beyond things like blessings and skills. I can't take his

place."

"Yeah, I understand. If he hadn't said what he did…I don't think I

would be here now. Because he was there for me, I was able to reach

a place where I could try to fight again."

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Rit understood the feelings Yarandrala held for Gideon. She felt the

same way. It was a deep affection, the sort of feeling one might bear

for a precious friend or a sibling. A respect for someone, simply

wishing the best for them.

"Gideon is strong. But he isn't invincible. He can be hurt by heartless

words, and when he's sad, he cries like anyone else would. Everyone

has taken it for granted that they can rely on Gideon, but I think if

things continue the way they have, there will be problems."

Rit could not respond. To her, Gideon seemed an even more perfect

person than the Hero. On an intellectual level, she could understand

what Yarandrala was saying, but it was not really something she

could visualize.

But I want to understand.

All she had seen so far was Gideon's strength, the heroic man who

always came to save Rit when she was suffering, but that was not all

there was to him. He was human, just like her. Their blessings were

different, but he was a man who could be hurt just as easily as

anyone else.

Yarandrala smiled sweetly at the blond girl's expression.

"I think you and Gideon just might be able to make it work, and you

might be able to do more than simply depend on him. You could help

support him, too."

"Me…? But I've only ever been supported by him."

"That's fine. Because in the end, you really love him."

"…Yeah, I do. I love him."

"Then it will be fine. When Gideon's suffering, he'll lean on you."

Yarandrala seemed sure of this. Rit was surprised the elf held that

sort of opinion of her. It was a bit embarrassing, but the princess also

felt much closer to Yarandrala, who cared so much for Gideon.

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From Rit's perspective, everywhere in the bewitching woods looked

the same. No matter how much they walked, it never felt like they

were making any progress. It was just day after day of torturous

changelessness. However, that finally came to an end, and they

made it out of the forest that was said to swallow up all who dared

enter.

And what should have greeted them was hope, the lands of the

Duchy of Sunland, famed for its bazaars.

The bright vista they should have seen, though, was instead being

trampled by a dark horde of orcs.

"Why…?"

Rit sat on the ground, shocked.

The party was hiding in the shade of the trees as they peered out at

the scene. The road a short distance beyond the underbrush was

filled with horses clad in riveted leather armor. It was a battalion of

orc hussars. They were patrolling in shifts, executing careful rounds

so as not to miss anyone coming out of the woods.

The party's gambit was dependent on the demon lord's army's belief

that the bewitching woods were impassable. It was for that reason

that Gideon and Rit had limited the number of people who knew the

whole plan to the bare minimum. They had only told the nobles that

they would use the abilities of the Hero, a sage, a guide, and Rit to

break through the enemy encampment without being noticed.

Gideon had not even scouted the bewitching woods because he did

not want it getting out that he'd been in the area. He had merely

trusted Yarandrala's word when she said she could make it through

the forest and had made no effort at all to corroborate that. He had

said as much to Ruti and Ares, explaining why, but…to Ares the Sage,

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entrusting his life in an unknown place to the word of a comrade he

did not know that well was unacceptable. He had subsequently

leaked details to the mercenary, Dir, in order to further research the

woods.

Rit was in utter despair, and Ares was speechless. Gideon merely

faced the reality of the situation. Internally, he wanted to rampage,

to scream and shout, but it was not as if doing that would improve

their situation. The young man had trained himself in that sort of

emotional control.

Besides, having heard Ares talk so much about the bewitching woods

during the trip, it was not as if he hadn't considered that something

like this might happen. To the extent he had envisioned this

possibility, Gideon could have been said to be as calm and collected

as Ruti. The Hero herself stood beside her brother and observed the

fiendish forces placidly.

"Big Brother, what should we do?" Ruti asked.

There was no fear or panic in her voice. As the Hero, despair was

something to move beyond, not to be overwhelmed by. Reassured

by his younger sister's tone, Gideon studied the orc hussar troops

with the keen eye of a hawk.

"Their forces there are a bit thin. If we were going to break through,

that would be the place."

"Yes, I agree. But it would be hard as we are now."

If they were leading a force of one hundred, they would undoubtedly

be able to breach the enemy lines. Orc hussars made up the core of

the demon lord's army, but they were not well trained and were

well-known for retreating when their enemy had the upper hand.

Their strength was in flanking attacks and wide-range pillaging,

things that took advantage of their mobility.

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Indeed, because they were so quick to retreat, they could continue

ransacking elsewhere without being wiped out, which made them

difficult to deal with. No experienced knights of any country on the

continent of Avalon would lose to such creatures in battle. However,

because the knights wore heavy armor, they could not catch up to

the hussars and truly rout them.

In this situation, all the party needed to do was get past them. It was

a much simpler task than wiping them out.

But there were only five of them.

Just five people. Before their meager group was a force of at least

two thousand. They would have to defeat several hundred orcs with

nothing more than their own power. All while continuing to run.

Every one of the five of them had a strength that would never lose in

a one-on-one battle. Even against dozens of hussars, none of them

would fall. If the five worked together, they could probably even

vanquish a hundred, but that was their limit.

There were just too many.

They were each heroes who might one day be so overwhelmingly

powerful as to be able to face those sorts of odds, but at that

moment, they were still at a level that the five of them together

could not match a force of such strength.

"All right, here's my idea," Gideon said, steeling his resolve. "I'll draw

away the enemy. Ruti and Rit, while that's happening, I want you to

try to break through their line."

The blond princess had still been feeling down, but suddenly looking

up at Gideon's face, the young woman appeared as if she was about

to cry.

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Rit was on a drake borrowed from Sunland and riding hard. Her usual

willful attitude was nowhere to be seen.

A bit of a silver lining to the terrible situation in which they had

found themselves was that Sunland had been wary of the demon

lord forces deployed along the edge of the bewitching woods and

had sent their own army along the border. Having broken through

the enemy's line, Ruti, Rit, and Ares met up with the Sunland army.

The three had requested aid on the spot from Prince Blaze, the

commanding officer in the field, and then moved back across the

border with a force of Sunland drake knights.

Altogether, there were five hundred of the fearsome soldiers. Both

riders and steeds were heavily armored. Following behind was a

compliment of two thousand infantrymen, but it had already been

more than an hour since Gideon and Yarandrala had drawn the

enemy's attention to create an opening for Ruti and Rit's group.

Waiting for the infantrymen to catch up would've taken too long.

"I beg of you, Almighty Demis and Larael, guardian of hope, please

watch over Gideon. Victy, guardian of martyrs, please don't take

Gideon away," Rit prayed as she spurred her drake on.

The force they had secured would surely be enough to save

Loggervia. That alone should've been enough for Rit to rejoice. But in

that moment, Rit forgot all about her home country and prayed only

that Gideon still lived.

Faced with five hundred drake knights charging in formation with

spears at the ready, the orcs were swept up in a moment's fearful

stir, but upon seeing Ruti and Rit riding at the head of the force, the

monsters started jeering loudly.

"Look! The cowardly Hero came back to give us another feather in

our cap!" The orcs believed they had just cornered the Hero's party.

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It was true that Ruti had cut down countless orcs who stood before

her in order to pass through their lines. It was also true, though, that

the Hero's party had desperately fled to escape the onslaught of

sabers that had borne down on them like a storm. The wounds had

only been minor, but the orcs' blades had cut their flesh and drank of

their blood.

"We've got more soldiers! Surround and crush 'em!"

Using their superior mobility to flank the enemy was the standard

maneuver for the hussars. Drake knights would normally be forced to

perform a series of hit-and-run-style clashes when facing an enemy

that outnumbered them four to one. But in terms of mobility, the

orcs—with their lighter armor—were much more agile. The fiends

should've been able to take care of the knights and head home with

another achievement to boast of before the distant infantry ever

arrived.

Rit knew this, of course. She had raced there driven by her concern

for Gideon, but she could feel a sense of dread as she saw the dull

flashes of the orcish weapons through the cloud of dust.

"Rit," Ruti said as she rode alongside her.

"Wh-what?! I'm not scared!"

Ruti was expressionless as she quietly looked at her flustered blond

companion.

"Disperse."

"Eh?"

Ruti suddenly raised her left hand. It was the signal to break away.

The knights' commanding officer responded immediately, sounding a

bugle. The next instant, the orc forces unleashed a hail of arrows.

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"Don't worry, orc hussar bows are diversionary. They're only fired

randomly, so they aren't a threat as long as none of us are too

bunched up."

Readying their swords, Ruti and Rit cut down any arrows that came

their way. They could hear the sound of the metal arrowheads

glinting off armor behind them. There were a few cries of pain, but

because the knights had properly distanced themselves, the damage

they suffered was minimal.

"But at this rate—!"

Their scattering also reduced the strength of their charge. For a

cavalry charge, it was best to maintain a dense formation while

breaching at a single point in the enemy's formation. A dispersed

charge was devoid of any impact or force.

Doubt reared its head in the back of Rit's mind, and she wondered

whether it might not have been better to accept a few more losses in

order to maintain the formation. Ruti's cool expression remained

unchanged, however, as she held the Holy Demon Slayer aloft and

urged her drake to run even faster.

"Wh—?! Wait! Charging alone?!"

Ruti moved faster and faster atop her mount. Rit could only assume

she must have had some kind of riding skill. The princess turned

adventurer tried to keep up, but it was a rate of acceleration she

could not match. The lone Hero reached the army of two thousand

hussars. Even with a blessing that had reached a level that one could

truly call heroic, Ruti needed everything she could muster just to

protect herself. At first, Rit assumed it would be a repeat of when

she and the Hero had been surrounded by the foul creatures,

desperately trying to escape their ranks.

The thought was quickly proven wrong, though, as orcs and their

horses suddenly went flying through the air.

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"Huh?"

A single swing of Ruti's sword sent five of the hussars flying. Every

orc sailing through the air had been cut in half, armor and all. Masses

of flesh thudded to the ground. Some of the felled monsters'

comrades were knocked down by the corpses or else bucked off their

steeds panicked at the gruesome sight before them.

Ruti swung her sword again and again. Every swipe of her blade sent

large groups of orcs into the air.

"Wh-wha—? B-bastard! When did you learn to do that?!" one of the

orcs screamed, his ferocious face twisted in terror.

"I couldn't make a scene before. I'm serious now."

With the plan for Gideon and Yarandrala to lure the enemy away,

Ruti could not afford to fight seriously. Had she stood out, it

would've just drawn the orcs after her, rendering the risk those two

had taken meaningless. It would have compromised the entire plan.

Three orcs, including the commander of the hussar forces, roared

and charged, though they were obviously frightened. However, Ruti

just swung her blade at them head-on. The sabers of the orcs were

infamous for the swathe of destruction they'd cut across Avalon. Yet

they shattered easily, and the bodies of their bearers were left

twisted, collapsing to the ground, still clutching the hilts of their

severed swords.

One after another, the orcs fell. Even as the drake knights

approached, the orcs could not take their eyes off Ruti as she flicked

her blade to remove the blood splattered on it. They were unable to

look away; they dared not, because the Hero was terrifying. If a maneating dragon were right next to you, would you really be able to

take your eyes off it? Even as the monsters were about to be run

through by the spears of the knights, compared to that terrifying

Hero, spears were…

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The force of the hussars began to weaken. Rit and the Sunland

knights finally arrived and charged toward their enemy. The orcs

could not even put up a proper resistance, instead collapsing in the

face of Rit's swords and the knights' spears. The spirit scout adroitly

slashed two orc hussars who rushed her, easily knocking them to the

ground. The orc sabers that had seemed so menacing when she'd

been fleeing now felt like a scant showing.

"So this is the strength of the Hero…"

Before Rit even realized it, the knights were roaring victoriously,

even though they had only just seized control of the first contact.

The orcs were already on the verge of a full retreat, and some had

even started to run. The rout was just a matter of time.

The key to victory in a battle pitting five hundred versus two

thousand had been the lone Hero. The way she had cut into the

enemies head-on and her immense martial prowess and charisma

caused the enemy to cower and her allies to forget their fear. That

was the war fought by the Hero, Ruti.

But Ruti did not even exalt in the victorious cheers of her allies. She

just continued fighting detachedly.

"Yo."

In the middle of the battlefield, Yarandrala and Gideon stood

battered and bruised but still alive. Gideon continued to look fairly

hardy thanks to his Immunity to Fatigue, but Yarandrala appeared

exhausted. Her neat high elf face betrayed her overexertion.

After the two of them had pulled off the feint, they had apparently

kept the ruse and continued running. They must have stolen some

orc horses partway through, too, because there were two mounts

that looked quite unhappy snorting next to them.

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"I'm only still alive because Yarandrala came with me."

"Me, too. If it wasn't for Gideon, there's no way I would have made

it."

They grinned at each other. Their wounds had already been taken

care of by healing magic, but their armor was covered in scratches,

proof that the two of them had suffered a number of wounds and

continued fighting regardless. Gideon's trusted sword,

Thunderwaker, was still covered in a thick coating of orc blood.

"Y-you idiot…"

Elated, Rit was about to rush to them, but…a smaller-framed girl cut

in even faster from the side.

"Big Brother." Ruti gently touched Gideon's face with both hands.

"I'm sorry. There wasn't any other way. Never again."

"It's fine. As you can see, Yarandrala and I are safe."

"Never again," Ruti said with quiet, firm determination.

Ruti was usually so calm, never showing emotion. There had been no

exaltation, pity, or even hatred as she killed the orcs, yet now she

showed a powerful affection for Gideon, even though her expression

did not change.

Neither Rit nor Yarandrala could bring themselves to say anything.

When Gideon had said he would face the orcs himself and lure them

away, Rit had been against it, of course. Ares had criticized it as rash,

too, but Ruti had reined them in.

"Trust him."

"B-but."

"Yarandrala, I want you to go with him."

"Got it. Leave it to me."

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"Wait, Ruti! I can't accept that…"

"I'm giving orders to my comrades. I don't need your consent," Ruti

said as she looked Rit in the eye. The Hero did not glare; it was her

default expression.

"Ah, uh…"

But Rit had been unable to say anything under the pressure of that

gaze. Gideon patted Rit's shoulder as she recoiled.

"It's fine. I don't try to do things I can't do."

Despite the fact that he was the one doing the most dangerous job

there, he had gone out of his way to reassure Rit. At the time, in her

heart, Rit had been enraged at the thought that the Hero would

sacrifice her own brother for the sake of some supposed justice, but

she realized now that she had misunderstood.

Seeing the two of them holding each other like that, Rit could not

hide her shock.

I never thought Ruti could look like that.

Ruti had actually been more concerned about Gideon than anyone,

but there had still been no other way. Because he understood that,

Gideon had volunteered to be the diversion. He didn't want Ruti to

have to be the one to suggest sending her brother to near-certain

death.

"It must be nice," Rit muttered to herself as she looked up at the sky

a short distance from the two of them.

In the end, Rit did not join the Hero's party. Gideon seemed

disappointed. To the princess, Ruti looked relieved.

Part of the reason she had stayed behind was to help oversee the

restoration of Loggervia, but even more so, she had felt it wrong to

come between Ruti and Gideon. At least for now. Gideon was still

too important to his younger sister.

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After the man she loved left, Rit cried by herself for a little while.

"Tch!"

With his things hastily gathered in a bag, Dir the Fire Mage fled

Loggervia looking annoyed.

He had betrayed humanity and sided with the demon lord's army for

the promise of money. Realizing the situation had turned against

him, he immediately moved out. The man had gotten into the castle

under the auspices of the head of the royal guard, Gaius—the

transformed Shisandan—and knew he would get caught quickly as

soon as the war was over. It was the right time to leave.

"Don't you dare forget this, Rit. I'm a vengeful man. Someday, when

you're happiest, I'll appear and destroy everything you love."

There was a hideous hatred in his sinister gaze as he spat on the road

and then fled. He kept turning to look back, unable to let go.

Present day. Zoltan's slums, Southmarsh.

Southmarsh was home to a conspicuously out of place manor. It was

the residence of Bighawk, the number two man of the Thieves Guild.

Feared for his brutal methods, the giant of a half-orc had migrated to

Zoltan from lands beyond.

A thug known as Dir, who stood before Bighawk, had a menial smile

plastered across his gaunt face. The vengeful fire mage readily

bowed his head to Bighawk. Dir's stance conveyed extreme

obsequiousness toward one more powerful than him, but there was

no hint of fear in his manner.

This is nothing compared to dealing with the demon lord's army's

Asura demons.

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Even after fleeing Loggervia, Dir had continued his life of infamy,

working as a mercenary outlaw all around the continent. Along the

way, he had been an informant for the demon lord's forces as well.

The result was that he'd burned all his bridges and had to flee to

Zoltan and the frontier.

"Anyway, what I'd like you to do is take care of the Rit situation."

"I'd be happy to do anything within the limits of my capabilities."

"The Thieves Guild would rather Rit not retire from adventuring. Do

you know why that is?"

"Ummm, because they don't want to lose someone to hire for

difficult jobs?"

"No."

Bighawk slammed his tree trunk–like leg down on the floor with a

thud. Dust fluttered down from the ceiling and sprinkled over Dir's

head. The fire mage felt an urge to brush it off but resisted.

"Cases we can't handle ourselves, we can just get Albert's party to

take care of. The problem is if someone with interests opposed to

our guild contracts Rit the hero."

"Ah."

"She's this country's wild card. Every group with any sort of power in

the area would pay a steep price if she stood against them. When

she gets involved in something, even the Thieves Guild just sucks it

up and backs down."

"So why not celebrate her retirement?"

"Because it's not that simple. In the past, if there was a situation

where we absolutely could not afford to have her stand against us,

we could just send her an unrelated request to keep her far away

from Zoltan while we took care of things. Now, though, she's always

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going to be in town. What if she goes against us on a whim? It's

gonna be bad for business in ways you can't begin to imagine."

"I see."

That was the point that really concerned Bighawk. The wild card they

had been able to control to some extent had entirely slipped its

leash. And if they tried to pull one of their tried-and-true

assassinations, they would be targeting a genuine hero strong

enough to have the upper hand in a brawl with the entire Thieves

Guild. The Thieves Guild chief and every last one of the higher-ups all

agreed that making a move on someone like that would be suicide.

"So we come to you, Dir. You seem to have some kind of dirt on the

girl."

"Or something, at least. It might not be enough to get her to do

whatever I say, but it might be enough to at least get her to go back

to adventuring or else to push her out of Zoltan," Dir intimated with

a sly grin.

It was no coincidence that this man had been summoned by

Bighawk. He had been playing dumb before, but knowing that the

Thieves Guild was struggling with what to do about Rit retiring, Dir

had implied to a member of the organization that he knew

something about her past.

"Huuuh. That's quite intriguing. I'd like to hear a bit more, but…you

don't really plan on telling, right? Our group's got no intention of

taking a stance on Rit one way or the other."

"H-huh?" Dir was flustered at the unexpected turn as he looked up at

Bighawk's face.

The half-orc avoided meeting his gaze, grabbing a walnut from a

plate nearby and crushing its shell with his thick fingers before

tossing the nut into his mouth. He chewed the walnut with an

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audible crunch. Dir was taken aback as he waited for Bighawk to

explain.

"Basically, the gist of it is that I'd be quite happy if this problem just

took care of itself."

"!"

Dir nodded, understanding where Bighawk was going.

"And if that problem resolves itself, might I happen to get a nice little

something?"

"You'd get nothing at all, since the Thieves Guild has nothing to do

with this. Perhaps you might find yourself a nice job carrying baggage

shortly afterward or something. Maybe those bags would be filled

with money."

So basically, instead of a reward, just "steal" that money. Catching

Bighawk's drift, Dir cackled.

"Understood. I'll be taking my leave now, then," he said.

"All right. Sorry for calling you out here. Hey, one of you show him

out."

Some rather unpleasant-looking men from the Thieves Guild showed

Dir to the door with the utmost courtesy. A little parting gift, a bag of

silver coins, had been slipped into his breast pocket.

"I've been rotting away in obscurity to the point of washing up in a

piece-of-shit town like this, but looks like my luck's finally about to

change."

I'm gonna get to smash Rit's happy little life.

The thought of that made Dir want to cackle, but he forced himself

to stay quiet.

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Maybe it's a bit premature, but I, Rizlet of Loggervia, am currently

utterly happy.

I never would have dreamed I would get to live together with

Gideon—no, Red—when I left Loggervia.

"Lunch is ready," Red called.

"Okaaay."

Hearing the voice from the kitchen, I hang the ON BREAK sign on the

store's door and headed to the living room. My stomach is already

preparing to enjoy some more of Red's delicious cooking.

"Today we're having bacon gratin, a seafood soup, and some bread."

The ingredients themselves are not particularly expensive or rare,

but his cooking always looks and smells so delicious. Just seeing the

grill marks on the bacon gratin is enough to pique my appetite, and

the smell of the sea from the soup is irresistible.

"Thank you!"

First, I drink a bit of water to cleanse my palate. Then I take a

spoonful of the gratin… Mmmm, the steam has such a delectable

smell… Hmm, but it seems a bit hot; maybe starting with the soup

was better? It would be a waste if I burned my mouth and couldn't

taste the food he made.

The soup has a bit of red fish meat and two shellfish in it. It also has

some vegetables—cabbage and little green things. Herbs? The

addition of those as a garnish to decorate the amber soup is just

superb.

I blow on it a little to cool it, and then the taste of the sea fills my

mouth as I hold it there for a moment. But it doesn't have a fishy sort

of flavor. Supposedly, boiling the seafood in an alcohol of some kind

gets rid of that fishiness. Is this taste from the wine he used for the

preparation?

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I can't wait; what about the bacon gratin?

The surface is fried to a golden brown, but the inside is pure white

and soft. It gives off a rich steam. Thick-cut bacon, a generous

helping of macaroni, and onions to go with it. Simple ingredients, but

they've all been prepared carefully and properly seasoned. In other

words…

"Delicious!"

Red smiles happily when I say that.

In the morning, Red had been preparing more medicine, but after

lunch he sits at the counter with me. Neither of us is so busy as to

need the extra help, so Red said I could take a break, but why would I

want to spend less time with him?

"Eh-heh-heh." I have to be careful; looking at him from the side, my

mouth just sort slips into a slack smile.

Maybe noticing I was watching him, Red adjusts his clothes just a

hair. He has a faded scar that runs from his neck down across his

chest. He doesn't normally mind it, but he must have felt a bit

awkward when I looked at it. I don't mind it at all, though. It's

honestly endearing. Proof of the life he's lived.

It isn't like I enjoy him seeing my scars, either, so I understand the

feeling.

"Come on, don't hide it."

But I still want to look.

"H-hey."

"It's fine. It's not the end of the world."

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Besides, seeing Red's face blush in embarrassment is a cute side to

him entirely different from his usually cool demeanor.

Today it's my turn to deliver the fragrance bag to Zeff's sauna.

Zoltan's summers are as hot as ever. Though it's technically already

fall if you go by the calendar. Having grown up in the cool

temperatures of Loggervia, part of the reason I chose Zoltan was to

live someplace warmer, but I never would have thought it would be

this hot.

Once I finish the delivery, I aimlessly walk in the direction of home.

"How can it still be this hot?"

The sun has dropped pretty low in the sky, but it's still warm. I wipe

the sweat on the back of my neck with my bandanna.

"So hot."

All I can do is grumble about it, though.

"Missy," someone calls out to me.

"What do you want?"

I'm already a bit fed up because of the heat, so an edge of

annoyance creeps into my response. But it is what it is. Besides, I'm

the uncouth princess who always sneaked out of the castle. While I

might know proper etiquette, that doesn't mean I like using it.

Turning around, squinting, I see the guy who called out to me looking

a little surprised. He's hunched over, his cheeks are sunken, and he

has a dangerous sort of glint in his eyes. I have a vague sense that

I've seen him somewhere before, but I can't place him.

"Do I know you? You need something?"

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"Ah, um, I'm a C-rank adventurer by the name of Dir. I had

something I wanted to talk with you about."

"Really? Then make it quick."

"It's not really something to discuss in public. Maybe we could head

somewhere to relax and chat over a beer or two?"

"Not interested. See you."

I have the feeling I've met him before somewhere, but the fact that

I've forgotten means he couldn't have been that important. I just

ignore him and start leaving at a brisk pace.

"W-wait a minute!"

"I told you to make it quick."

"Are you sure you want to do that? I know where you hail from."

"It's not like I was particularly hiding anything."

"Not just that. I know your real name, too, Rizlet."

"…Hmph."

"Kh, no need to make such a scary face."

This guy is getting unpleasant, and my ire flares a bit without me

realizing.

A look of fear flashes across Dir's face, and then, maybe annoyed at

himself for being scared, he makes an arrogant show of spitting on

the ground. I furrow my brow at his performance.

"So? Start talking."

"You sure you want to have this conversation out here?"

"You heard me. It's not like I was particularly hiding anything."

"Ha-ha, that's the one and only Rit the hero for you. A true princess

does things head-on and in the open, unlike a guy who lives in the

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shadows, like me." Seeing me reach for my shotel, Dir gets flustered

again. "I came to give you a warning."

"About?"

"Don't be so standoffish. Try being a bit nicer, like you are with

Red— Gh?!"

I draw my blade, slamming the hilt into his solar plexus. His face

pales as he recoils and hunches over. The three people passing

nearby glance our way, wondering what's happening.

"I'm a former adventurer. I'm not so high-minded and polite as to

laugh it off and forgive someone looking down on me. Got it?"

"Ugh…gh… Y-you asshole…"

"So warn me about what? If you aren't going to talk, I'll just leave."

I feel like beating him down a bit more, but given that I work at an

apothecary, maybe I should leave things as they are?

"W-wait a damn minute!"

"What now? If you've got something to say, then quit putting on

stupid airs and just spit it out already. You could have saved yourself

some pain that way."

"I'll tell Loggervia that you're living with Red."

Hmph, so that's what this is about?

Seeing my quiet response, Dir smirks as he stands back up.

"Heh-heh, cutting loose when you're far from home is all well and

good, Princess, but you should realize the position you're in."

"…"

"Put simply, Princess Rizlet, I'd suggest you might want to either stop

your little fling with Red and go back to adventuring or else head on

home to Loggervia. Hasn't the whole succession problem just about

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been resolved there now anyway? You're around the age to be

getting married off to some tubby old noble, right? 'For the

prosperity of both our houses' and all, eh? So sad. But that's the role

of a princess, isn't it? I guess it can't be helped. We can't have the

princess becoming damaged goods at the hands of some no-name,

backwater apothecary, after all."

Perhaps a little mindful of the surroundings, Dir lowers his voice as

he prattles. I just heave a disinterested sigh.

"Whoopsie. You're probably better off not trying to take me out

here. I've arranged for a letter to be sent to Loggervia immediately in

the event that I die."

The gaunt man mistook my sigh for a murderous impulse, I guess. He

sure is getting all high-and-mighty talking about what the

precautions he's taken. Sheesh… This guy needs to get a grip already.

"Do as you please."

"Huh?"

"Tell my father or whomever else you want," I say before turning on

my heel and walking away.

"O-oy! I'm not bluffing here! If Loggervia finds out, you might even

get disowned! At best, you're in an awkward position! A hero

princess more popular than the prince—you can be sure there are

tons of people who would love the chance to be rid of you…"

Man, he's persistent. I decide to delay my return home just a little bit

longer.

"You seem to misunderstand, so I'll keep this short and simple. I

couldn't care less about my position as Loggervian royalty."

"What?!"

"If it was for Red's sake and to maintain this day-to-day life, I

wouldn't mind being disowned as both royalty and a hero. If we can

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just be Rit and Red in our apothecary, I don't need fame or wealth or

anything more than just that."

"Y-you're lying! There's no way your blessing could be satisfied with

such an unremarkable life!"

"My blessing? Probably not. But this is what I want." I leave and

don't look back. Dir must have been dumbfounded; he didn't say

another word.

The Fire Mage blessing is one of the four main Mage blessings. Its

special characteristic is that, in exchange for not being able to use

water magic, the skill level required to activate fire magic is lower

than for other mages. In addition to that, fire magics with high

offensive output can be used at an earlier stage.

One particularly notable difference is that Fireball, which causes an

explosion, is a lower-level spell rather than an Intermediate Magic

spell as is normally the case. Fire mages are the most popular of the

four Mage blessings because, in terms of pure power, they can

punch above their level. They are so popular that it was said that

even at level one, people with the Fire Mage blessing would not be

turned down when trying to join a party.

That's only while everyone's levels are still low, though.

There are a wide variety of offensive spells within the flame magic

school. However, that also means that a single kind of energy

resistance spell could counter everything a fire mage brings to the

table.

Dir the Fire Mage made it as an adventurer for five years. That fifth

was the year he was kicked out of his first party. But Dir already

understood the peculiarities of his blessing by that point. It granted

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him a strength that surpassed his level, as long as he faced

opponents with a lower level than his own.

The people of this world had a distaste for fighting those not on par

with them. Even when goblins attacked a village, it was thought that

adventurers of a level similar to the goblins' should be the ones to

defeat them.

Blessings developed and grew by fighting and killing opponents who

also had a blessing, but if the opponent had a lower blessing level,

the efficiency of that growth dropped dramatically. The holy church

taught everyone that this was an expression of Demis's will,

forbidding the exploitation of weaker people. In a world where good

and bad people alike sensed the presence of Demis through their

blessing, the holy church's teachings were treated as fact.

But Dir trusted his own blessing over that dogma. He made a living as

a mercenary outlaw who pillaged and robbed the weak. Seeing the

low-level warriors who protected their small villages being burned to

a crisp with no way of resisting evoked a feeling of satisfaction.

The impulses of the Fire Mage blessing led to enjoying seeing things

burning in flames. Pillaging a village and then setting it on fire, with

the villagers standing there in a daze. All of that triggered a joyous

emotion that proved to Dir the correctness of the life he had chosen

to live.

"Heh-heh-heh, make a fool of me, will you?"

He was unable to restrain the twitchy grin that crossed his face as he

considered what he'd do next.

Dir stood in the shade of the building that neighbored Red & Rit's

Apothecary. He had just placed some dried kindling and a vase of oil

at the foot of the structure. What for? Arson, of course.

"Ahhh, I'm gonna burn that insolent bitch's happy life to the ground.

All because she made a fool of me. Heh-heh!"

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Dir had used Shadow Hide, a concealment magic, before starting the

preparations for his revenge.

People killed in a fire set like that would not count toward leveling up

his blessing, but Dir had successfully killed a knight far more powerful

than him using this method in the past. Four other innocent

bystanders who'd happened to be staying at the targeted lodge that

day had been killed in the blaze, too, but that was a trivial matter to

him.

Unfortunately for the would-be arsonist, the person with whom he

was dealing this day was not someone who could be fooled by a

cloaking spell of that level.

"Hey," I called out to the man about to set fire to my shop.

"Eep?!"

What an irrational guy, just straight-up trying to start a fire like that. I

figured someone might try something like this over the thing with Rit

but hadn't expected it to go this far.

"If you don't want to get hurt, then don't do anything stupid.

Attempted arson's not as serious a crime as going through with it."

Arson was a gravely serious offense. All the more so in the workingclass part of Zoltan with so many wooden homes. Even attempted

arson would merit a pretty stiff sentence, but actual arson meant

death, so it didn't take much to appear light in comparison.

The man in front of me looked around restlessly but smirked when

he realized I was alone.

"I heard about you from Ares. You didn't have any real skills and

were only in the Hero's party because you were her big brother," he

said as he readied himself.

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"If you want to have at it, then fine. I'm honestly ticked at you, too."

"Heh-heh, so you remember me?"

"Yeah, you caused more than a few problems in Loggervia."

I knew this man. We had some unfinished business.

I had guessed that the reason Yarandrala and I ended up in the

situation with the orcs was because of him getting information out of

Ares, but he'd run away before we could know for sure. However,

more importantly… Well, it might've been a bit late, but I was still

annoyed by the way he'd made a pass at Rit in that bar. He'd put his

hand on her shoulder.

I drew my bronze sword and took a step forward. Dir had a Fire

Mage blessing. People with Mage blessings tended to have trouble in

one-on-ones at close range, but Dir still seemed pretty confident.

When I took another step, Dir's stance faltered slightly. The moon

hung at his back.

"It's been awhile since someone was that cautious of me in a fight."

It was almost nostalgic; I'd been getting by as D-rank adventurer

here in Zoltan. Honestly, I thought I'd never be in a position like this

again.

While I was busy awkwardly getting all emotional in the middle of a

fight, a nervous smile crossed Dir's face. When I took a third step,

Dir's face twisted into a broad smirk.

"Do it now!" Dir shouted, raising his left arm high.

He was looking toward a watchtower that stood in the distance. It

would be a great place for a sniper with a bow or crossbow.

Yet…nothing happened.

"Huh? Hey! What are you doing?! Shoot already!"

He kept raising his arm over and over, but there was no response.

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"This makes it twice now," I said.

Dir's face paled.

"I-it can't be? Not again!"

"The roles are somewhat reversed this time, though."

The reason Rit wasn't around was because she had guessed that Dir

would try to get rid of us and had taken a detour to gather some

information. While she was gathering intel, she'd heard there had

been some two-bit thug adventurer asking around for someone with

a Sniper blessing, and just like I had long before, she had

preemptively taken care of the problem.

"Grr, damn you!"

Dir started to cast Fireball, but before he could, my sword pierced his

shoulder.

"Gah?!"

I hadn't hit a vital point, but it cut to the bone, the pain causing his

spell to fail. Concentration was required to activate magic. This was

why spells had a disadvantage at close range. Mages could not

exhibit their true value without someone there to defend them.

"Ugh! Kh!"

I held my sword pointed at his brow as he recoiled in pain. The vile

man toppled back onto the ground. I lowered the blade of my sword

to keep it pointed over his head. I only needed the slightest

movement to pierce his forehead. It was my win. There was nothing

else he could do. Just as I started to put some force into my right

hand…

"W-wait!" Dir shouted in a panic. But his next words were not a

surrender. "I-if you lay a hand on me, the Thieves Guild won't take it

lying down!"

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"What?"

"Bighawk thinks you guys are bad for his business! If you kill me, you

won't be able to stay in this town!"

"…"

I slowly lowered my weapon.

"Is that so?" I murmured in a low voice.

Dir had committed a grievous mistake. But when he saw my quiet

response, he broke out in a triumphant grin.

"Heh-heh-heh, either way, you won't be able to stay here, though.

Once you've made an enemy of the Thieves Guild, you can never

sleep safe again."

Dir slowly scooted back, still clutching the wound on his shoulder.

Then, still acting as though he'd won, he ran away.

"Yeah, it isn't a good idea to make an enemy of the Thieves Guild."

My words never reached Dir as the cowardly fire mage escaped into

the night.

I cleaned up the kindling and oil he had left behind. As expected of a

fire mage, both were of high quality.

"I'll help myself to the fuel, thanks."

Since Zoltan was surrounded by wetlands, kindling was a bit on the

expensive side. I happily reaped the spoils of war. There was

something nostalgic about it.

Returning to the house, I put the wood to quick use and lit a fire to

prepare a bath. A little while later, Rit returned.

"I'm back!"

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"Welcome home."

I met her at the door. For some reason, Rit froze up for a second, and

her cheeks turned red.

"What is it?"

"No, it's just, hearing you say 'Welcome home' made me feel really

happy all of a sudden."

Hearing her say something like that, there was no way I wouldn't

have gotten embarrassed, too.

"H-here, I'll take your cloak, so change into something comfortable."

"S-sure…"

We both smiled clumsily as Rit headed to the bedroom to change.

"Here you go."

When she came back, I handed her a cup of hot milk.

"Thank you… Ah, this is delicious; there's honey in it."

"It's a specialty of mine that I made a lot as a kid."

"Coffee's good, but sweet drinks are really nice, too."

That satisfied smile Rit got after eating something delicious overtook

her face. It was satisfying enough just watching her in that state.

How long had it been since I started thinking about her when I

prepared food?

"Something this delicious, I'm going to want to have it again

tomorrow."

"All right. I'll make it again tomorrow—and whenever else you want

it."

"Hooray!" Rit cheered, looking pleased.

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I was just as happy as she was. Making food for her was way more

enjoyable than when I was only cooking for myself. That was

probably exactly what I wanted out of a slow and easy life.