26 — Chapter 26

However, at that moment, that thief Jaunis leaped out in front.

“Girls gotta look after their bodies, you know!”

With agile movements, Jaunis drove his knife into the lizard’s neck. I believe it dealt significant damage; the lizard’s scream made that much clear.

But such an action brought immediate risk to Jaunis himself.

Without mercy, the lizard spat flames from its maw, catching Jaunis at point-blank range.

“Gwaaaah! That’s hot, man!”

A thief’s ideal tactic is to chip away at the enemy while avoiding fatal blows. By stepping out in front and attacking, he had traded his chance to evade for a direct exchange of hits.

“Jaunis, are you okay!?”

It wasn’t just Angelica; the rest of the party called out his name as well.

Thanks to Jaunis’s opening, Selene managed to finish the lizard off with a spell that rained down icicles.

However, Jaunis seemed to have sustained serious injuries. Naharin the Priestess cast a healing spell, so his life wasn’t in danger, but the effort consumed a vast amount of her mana.

“Jaunis, why did you do that? You could have died instantly if things had gone slightly worse.”

“Well… a guy’s gotta look cool in front of the ladies, right…?”

Jaunis managed a smirk, though his face hadn’t quite regained its color. It looked like a smile he had forced himself to craft.

This boy has some spine, after all. At this rate, I might even consider letting him have Angelica—no, I wouldn’t go that far, but my opinion of him has certainly improved since our first impression.

He acts the fool, but he’s a man who steps up when it counts.

But wait… if someone who wasn’t usually so frivolous had done the same thing, would my opinion have risen this much? Am I falling for that psychological trick where a “bad” person looks better simply by doing something good?

And, fundamentally speaking, judging by this atmosphere, it doesn’t seem like Angelica is dating Jaunis. If they were, she would have been much more distraught.

In that case, I suppose I can say my initial objective has been met.

Angelica currently has no adventurer boyfriend, and her party members aren’t scoundrels. It doesn’t seem like she’ll be tricked by a wicked man anytime soon.

Lateia, your daughter is doing just fine. Please rest easy.

“Let’s head outside the cave and set up camp. The monsters outside are much wimpier than the ones in here.”

“I agree. Even the nearest village is too far to reach now.”

The party decided to pitch camp just outside the cave entrance.

On a side note, I’m glad I stocked up on bread. Without it, I would have been famished by now.

“Hey, I think even a non-thief could smell this, but… is that bread? Is someone eating…?”

“No one’s eating. If you ate something that spread a scent like that, monsters would be all over us.”

Oops…

Could it be that my bread has been attracting the monsters…?

Well, whatever. As long as I keep quiet, they’ll never know. Let’s just roll with it.

By the time we exited the cave, it was already night.

Wild monsters are more active after dark. The party decided to keep watch in pairs while the remaining members napped.

I was sleepy as well, but I was forced to continue my surveillance.

Particularly because there was no guarantee Jaunis wouldn’t try something while Angelica was sleeping… I shall cross the bridge only after testing the stones for firmness.

—As it turned out, however, Jaunis was deemed the most exhausted and was excused from watch duty. He fell into a deep sleep in a simple tent almost immediately.

“He looks like the type who won’t wake up until morning. In that case, the risk is pretty much gone. Maybe I should head home and sleep… No, I’ll stay up just a little longer.”

The first watch consisted of Angelica and Zenkei, the “boku-ko” martial artist.

The Mage and the Priestess, who rely on spells, seemed to have accumulated quite a bit of fatigue; letting those two sleep first was a sound tactical decision. If their mana remains depleted, their combat effectiveness drops significantly.

“I’ve never seen Jaunis push himself like that before,” Zenkei remarked while they sat by the fire on watch.

“You might not know this, Zenkei, but even though Jaunis looks like a total flirt, that stiff-necked Naharin was the one who recommended him to us. She told us his core isn’t rotten and not to worry. That’s why Selene and I accepted him,” Angelica replied.

Her expression was softer than it had been inside the cave.

Ah, so she can make a face like that, too. I wish she’d show me that side of her a bit more often. Please, give me more of that.

“Naharin did?! Whoa… I thought Naharin and Jaunis had a relationship about as antagonistic as a Hero and a Demon King.”

“I get the analogy, but it’s a little complicated…”

I felt complicated, too. Though, considering I’m eavesdropping, I suppose I brought this on myself.

“Well, they say all sorts of things, but I think they trust each other. They’d have to—otherwise, we never would have made it to the Demon King’s throne with our current strength. We’re a fine party.”

Angelica’s expression looked remarkably mature.

Even though she’s young, she is a Hero. She has to lead people. There is no falsehood in that.

Perhaps I’ve been treating Angelica too much like a child.

Even at fifteen, she is a Hero; should I have treated her more like an adult? Maybe I should have just left matters of romance to her own judgment after all.

“You’re right… We are a good party… We should be proud of ourselves…”

Beside her, Zenkei, the “boku-ko” martial artist, had tears welling up in his eyes.

“Back in my hometown, everyone called me a shrimp and a brat. I wanted to change myself, so I came to the city to become a martial artist… but in the beginning, I was always so scared, wondering if this was really okay for me…”

“I know. You get anxious, thinking you might never become anyone important.”

Angelica pulled Zenkei into a side-hug and patted his head gently.

Yes, Angelica is a Hero I can be proud of anywhere—a leader I can be proud of anywhere.

I can’t go into specifics, but I’ll tell Lateia that Angelica is a magnificent Hero. After all, I surely know her better as a Hero than anyone else does.